Firefox 3.0 Debuts, Server Crashes

Like so many people who have expressed their fondness for the web browser, Firefox, I have been patiently waiting for the release of version 3.0. Yesterday, I downloaded my copy, snagging it between server crashes.

Yes, Mozilla’s server crashed, probably several times during the day, as the company could not keep up with download requests. Blame Mozilla for this event anyway — they were trying to set a Guinness record for the most downloads in one day with hundreds of thousands perhaps millions of people doing it on June 17th. Hence the broken server issue.

Anyway, if you haven’t downloaded your copy yet, then head over to Mozilla right now and get one immediately.

As far as the latest version goes, Mozilla says they made over 15,000 improvements over the previous version. Version 3.0 is faster, safer, and smarter (so they say) and my quick take on it is that it is easier to use.

I’m one of the early users of Firefox, having gotten fed up with Internet Explorer and making the switch over soon after its November 2004 release. I hardly ever use Internet Explorer, but I still have to in order to see how IE scrambles my blogs. It is so easy to be comfortable with Firefox and forget any other browsers exist, though I do use Opera on my laptop as Firefox got fried and I still can’t use it!

Some of the other big changes with version 3 include:

• An improved address bar that will try to guess where you’re going. So far, this has worked out okay, but it hasn’t always guessed what site I want. Just pay attention to what the toolbar is doing and then choose the right URL to go to.

• Bookmarks, history, and start page all carry over from version 2.0 which is great; previous updates meant doing this all over again — what a pain that could be when you had scads of bookmarks to handle.

• Malware protection is new — if you attempt to download something harmful to your computer, Firefox will warn you before you can.

• New web forgery feature could be useful. Yes, stolen content won’t see the light of day with Firefox.

There are countless other updates that I am just now finding and you’ll want to explore on your own once you download your copy.

Got to love Firefox. Together with Word Press, working online has gotten a whole lot easier!

AP Take Down Demands Seems Overreaching

The AP Should Rethink Their Policy

I’m just now digesting the Associated Press (AP) decision to issue take down notices to bloggers and website owners who quote excerpts from AP articles on their own sites. According to various reports including here and here, the news service recently started issuing DMCA (Digital Media Copyright Act) notices to offending publishers.

Boy, is someone at the AP instituting a really dumb policy.

All right, I won’t defend everyone’s right to republish excerpts of news on their sites, but the AP seems to be making a huge mistake with this blanket policy. Specifically, when someone includes a blurb from an AP article, they also provide a link back to the AP. And, I must tell you, that some of the links going back to the AP carry a lot of weight with them.

Stick Out Foot And Shoot It

At the very least, the AP is shooting themselves in the foot by cutting off their supply chain of readers. If people cannot easily find an AP article, even if only a blurb is provided, AP traffic is likely to decrease. I wonder if the folks at Reuters, Bloomberg, BBC, and other news services are clapping their hands with glee?

I am not 100% familiar with all of the particulars of the DMCA — if you read the Wikipedia entry you’ll understand why — it is quite long and somewhat hard to decipher. Regardless, the AP does have the authority to enforce the DMCA (based on Title II, infringing material), but the wisdom of doing so is likely to backfire.

The Letter Killeth

C’mon AP, lighten up. There is the spirit of the law and there is the letter of the law. By upholding the letter of the law you risk losing the goodwill of bloggers who are (for the most part) your allies in the dissemination of news, not your competitors. Unless, of course, you want to create a new breed of internet competitors who will work against, not for you.