Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1

As mentioned in the previous post, I upgraded to Vista Ultimate last night, and then somewhere on the ‘Net I read about Internet Explorer 8 (I’ve been following the news of it when I see it). And I have to say - it’s pretty much the same ;) though the Back & Forward buttons have been moved and altered slightly.

I can’t post a proper review of it because I use Firefox 3 as my main browser, but I might give it a try and see if I find any interesting bug’s (or “features”) when I’m using it. Microsoft have included an “Emulate IE7″ button, which should render a page EXACTLY as IE7 does, though I’ve found Xbox.com doesn’t render correctly (I think this may be due to an issue with Flash not being installed correctly in my IE8 install though)

I also noticed just before publishing this, that the top level domain is highlighted different, it’s displayed like this:

IE8 Title Bar

And then if you hover the mouse over it, the whole URL becomes black (I assume this is for readability).

Netscape

Well today is the last day of Official Support for the old-school web browser - Netscape Navigator :(

It’s a shame to see it go, though technically it’s still with us because it’s the foundation for Mozilla Firefox :) I think you’ll still be able to download the browser though, it just won’t be supported. I also have to give credit to AOL for trying to revive it a few years back…it was/still is good, and has some nice features.

Hey I might even download it, just for old times sake :) As long as it’s not IE I don’t care :)

Wiki Editing

It’s not as geeky as it sounds. Purely because it isn’t Wikipedia :)

Instead it’s on http://wiki.ubuntu.com as I figured it’d be an easy way to get a little bit more involved in the Ubuntu community, without knowing how to get the program code and contribute through development.

I added a wiki page for myself, which can be found here.

On another note - I will be posting up my Pro’s & Con’s of Blu-Ray Vs HD DVD in the coming days.

Something Exciting

I read a really interesting Blog Post earlier about the new sub-corporation of the Mozilla Foundation called Mozilla Messaging. It details some exciting prospects for the future of Mozilla Thunderbird - the Open-Source email client. I’d recommend it to anybody for a read :)

Just to make it official - I am looking forward to the release of Thunderbird 3 :D

Xbox Live - Down Again??

I seem to be having issues with Xbox Live again…very similar to those I was having just after Christmas and around New Year.

Also they seem to be relating to Call Of Duty 4 again which seems more than a coincidence to me. If it carries on I’ll be phoning Microsoft to see what I can get out of them for it, because I know that I’m not the only person that has been experiencing this problem. :(

Free XBLA Game: Weds 23/01/2008

Found out last Thursday, that the free Xbox Live Arcade Game all members are meant to receive as compensation for the completely abysmal performance of Xbox Live over the Christmas period.

The game we’ll all be receiving is Undertow which normally sells for 800 MS Points, though there isn’t yet a word on whether Microsoft will be refunding those people who have already bought the game. Quite why they didn’t just release a new game for free is beyond me, it’d be a lot easier. Never mind.

From what I’ve found out, Undertow is some sort of “Aquatic Shooter” now - whether that means under water, or based on water, I’ve got to wait until morning to find out. Plus, if I get bored, you might find a review on here as well soon :)

Google H4×0r

Yes you read that right!

I stumbled upon it earlier, and it did make me laugh. It’s even a genuine Google  page, along with Google Klingon.
Below you’ll find links to both :)

Google H4×0r

Google Klingon

Back To Normal

So it’s back to normal for most people and we’re all back at work/college/university and all can’t be bothered (me especially!!) so I figured I’d make a post in the 3 hours I’m free today.

I noticed last night that the Xbox Live issues everybody has been experiencing over the Christmas season still haven’t gone completely, which is annoying…and there’s still no news on that free arcade game.

Also there’s been a lot of people on the Ubuntu Forums posting in “Internet Speak” e.g. lyk this n its hard 2 read sumtimes LoL!!1!  I’ll be honest, and I’m sure I speak for most…it’s annoying…don’t do it :) I’ve been doing my bit to help all the newcomers that we’ve had over Christmas, so try to help us, and make the posts’ readable :)

Free: Xbox Live Arcade Game

I just read a post on Major Nelson’s website (it’s also on the official website) that there will be a free XBLA game for all Xbox Live users (Gold & Silver), as a sort of apology for the, frankly, appalling performance of Xbox Live over the Christmas Period.

I’ll put up another post when I find out what it is and when you can get it :) Until then, I’m just hoping it doesn’t go down (again), because I’ll be very annoyed, along with a lot of others I’d imagine.

Xbox Live 3rd Jan 2008

After almost a week of Xbox Live being down, and just generally not working, it seems that the problems are almost all fixed. I had trouble signing in to the Xbox website last night, and in finding a game of Call Of Duty 4, but in the end perseverance paid off, and I managed to do both :)

Trouble is that it was still slow, so I’m hoping that it’ll all be sorted by the weekend!