8 quick IE8 tips
1. Use Accelerators to speed up your work
2. Bookmark only the info you need
3. Cover your tracks
4. Navigate pages without a mouse
5. Protect your privacy and even block ads
6. View incompatible pages
7. Decode the Status Bar
8. Customize the interface
Sidebar: IE8 keyboard shortcuts
Computerworld - Internet Explorer 8, the latest update to Microsoft's venerable Web browser, introduces several features intended to provide greater security and ease of use. New security settings in IE8 allow for more privacy, new add-ons allow quick access to Web-based information and services, and a new browsing mode changes the way you interact with your browser.
Some old features return in new form, too, such as toolbar customization, the ability to view pages the way earlier versions of Internet Explorer saw them, and a set of mysterious boxes that have colonized the bottom of the browser window.
These tips will help you take advantage of the new and enhanced features. And if you're among those who still haven't upgraded from IE6 or 7, take a peek to see what you're missing.
1. Use Accelerators to speed up your work
Accelerators are add-ons for IE8 that let you quickly do a variety of tasks based on text you select on a Web page: get a stock quote, look up the definition of a word or phrase, map a location, convert currencies, share selected text on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, create a shortened URL, search for a product at an online shopping site and much more.
Select any piece of text on a Web page, and the Accelerator button, shown at right, will pop up; click that button to see the Accelerator menu. (You can also access Accelerators on the right-click contextual menu.)
Some Accelerators show their results in a pop-up window, as shown in the image below, while others appear in a new tab.
Using the Google Dictionary AcceleratorIE8 comes with several built-in Accelerators, but third-party developers are already starting to produce a wide range of new ones that you can install yourself. Go to Microsoft's Accelerator Gallery to see the available options.
2. Bookmark only the info you need with Web Slices
Another add-on that's new in IE8 is the Web Slice. Web Slices allow you to subscribe to a frequently updated part of a Web page, such as sports scores, headlines or current weather -- if the site's developers have designated that part of the page as a Web Slice. (Most Web sites are not Web Slice-enabled at this time.)
When a page you're viewing contains a Web Slice, a green icon appears on the toolbar next to the Home icon, as shown to the right. The same icon appears next to the Slice-ready content on a Web page when you mouse over it. Click the icon in either location to see a dialog box asking if you want to add the content to your Favorites bar.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Internet pioneer Cerf urges IPv6 migrations
InfoWorld - Internet pioneer Vinton Cerf repeated a call for migrations to IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6) to stave off an anticipated lack of available addresses on IPv4.
Speaking at an industry event at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif. on Wednesday, Cerf, co-designer of the TCP/IP protocols, warned that IPv4 will run out of addresses next year or in early-2011. While there will be a period of attempts to sell off IPv4 spaces, Cerf stressed that the "smart thing to do is implement v6 now." He has made similar calls for migration to IPv6 previously.
[ Many businesses say they see no economic advantage to deploying IPv6 over their networks, but IPv6 is coming, ready or not. ]
IPv6, from the Internet Engineering Task Force, dates back several years and represents the next generation of the Internet protocol. Internet service providers need to move to IPv6, said Cerf, who currently is vice president and chief Internet evangelist at Google Inc. Without more IP addresses, the Internet will not be able to grow very well, he said.
Cerf and other dignitaries in computing were featured at a dual celebration of the 40th anniversary of ARPAnet (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), which was a forerunner of the Internet, and the 125th anniversary of IEEE, which sponsored the event. The first transmission of the ARPAnet was on Oct. 29, 1969, from the University of California, Los Angeles, to SRI.
Cerf hailed the growth of the Internet and predicted its expansion into numerous devices, including household temperature systems and even into outer space. Sensor networks on the Internet will tell people which devices are consuming how much electricity, Cerf added.
"There are over 600 million servers on the Net that we can see," and the actual number is probably double that, Cerf said. The Internet has 1.6 billion users as of 2009, he said.
"We are still in a state of evolution," Cerf said. "There are so many opportunities to add new functionally and new capabilities," to the system, he said.
"We are going to see billions and billions of devices on the Net," he said. The Internet, for its part, has invited many people to contribute content, Cerf said.
He explained he has been developing protocols for Internet-like space exploration systems. A three-node interplanetary network already is in use in a test mode involving the international space station, the EPOXI space craft and an Earth-bound surface system, he said.
Also speaking at the event, Howard Charney, senior vice president in the Office of the President at Cisco Systems Inc., said development of the Internet has come a long way, although three-fourths of the world remains unconnected. This leaves an amazing opportunity, he said.
"Basically, the advent of this technology has transformed every single sector of our lives," including government, retail, health care, manufacturing, and education, Charney said. "Nothing -- nothing -- is the same anymore."
"What comes next is pervasive computing, where everything is connected, 24/7, to everything else," Charney said.
Echoing Cerf, Charney said everything would be connected ranging from pacemakers to maybe even cartons of milk. The Internet, meanwhile, can offer the opportunity for someone in Botswana to sell crafts to a much larger market, Charney said. In Cambodia, one spot lacking electricity nonetheless is improving itself through use of wireless Internet access, he said.
The Internet boosts productivity and, in turn, standards of living, Charney said.
Speaking at an industry event at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif. on Wednesday, Cerf, co-designer of the TCP/IP protocols, warned that IPv4 will run out of addresses next year or in early-2011. While there will be a period of attempts to sell off IPv4 spaces, Cerf stressed that the "smart thing to do is implement v6 now." He has made similar calls for migration to IPv6 previously.
[ Many businesses say they see no economic advantage to deploying IPv6 over their networks, but IPv6 is coming, ready or not. ]
IPv6, from the Internet Engineering Task Force, dates back several years and represents the next generation of the Internet protocol. Internet service providers need to move to IPv6, said Cerf, who currently is vice president and chief Internet evangelist at Google Inc. Without more IP addresses, the Internet will not be able to grow very well, he said.
Cerf and other dignitaries in computing were featured at a dual celebration of the 40th anniversary of ARPAnet (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), which was a forerunner of the Internet, and the 125th anniversary of IEEE, which sponsored the event. The first transmission of the ARPAnet was on Oct. 29, 1969, from the University of California, Los Angeles, to SRI.
Cerf hailed the growth of the Internet and predicted its expansion into numerous devices, including household temperature systems and even into outer space. Sensor networks on the Internet will tell people which devices are consuming how much electricity, Cerf added.
"There are over 600 million servers on the Net that we can see," and the actual number is probably double that, Cerf said. The Internet has 1.6 billion users as of 2009, he said.
"We are still in a state of evolution," Cerf said. "There are so many opportunities to add new functionally and new capabilities," to the system, he said.
"We are going to see billions and billions of devices on the Net," he said. The Internet, for its part, has invited many people to contribute content, Cerf said.
He explained he has been developing protocols for Internet-like space exploration systems. A three-node interplanetary network already is in use in a test mode involving the international space station, the EPOXI space craft and an Earth-bound surface system, he said.
Also speaking at the event, Howard Charney, senior vice president in the Office of the President at Cisco Systems Inc., said development of the Internet has come a long way, although three-fourths of the world remains unconnected. This leaves an amazing opportunity, he said.
"Basically, the advent of this technology has transformed every single sector of our lives," including government, retail, health care, manufacturing, and education, Charney said. "Nothing -- nothing -- is the same anymore."
"What comes next is pervasive computing, where everything is connected, 24/7, to everything else," Charney said.
Echoing Cerf, Charney said everything would be connected ranging from pacemakers to maybe even cartons of milk. The Internet, meanwhile, can offer the opportunity for someone in Botswana to sell crafts to a much larger market, Charney said. In Cambodia, one spot lacking electricity nonetheless is improving itself through use of wireless Internet access, he said.
The Internet boosts productivity and, in turn, standards of living, Charney said.
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