# FireFox 3 Beta 5 & Skype 3.8... Cool, and FREE

Category: Geeks r Us

## Post 1 by Beach Boy (Generic Zoner) on Wednesday, 30-Apr-2008 12:08:09

Some of us enjoy surfing the web, and some of us enjoy talking to others online. I enjoy both, and here's my thoughts about two must have apps for your PC...
FireFox is one of the best (ok, best) web browsers out there, and it gets better with v3.0 beta 5. Unlike the previous betas which crashed while using a screen reader, this version is quite smooth. Pages render very well, and certain up and coming technoligies (HTML 5, SVG, offline browsing, etc...) are supported in v3.0b5. If you want a more friendly browsing experience, then give this a spin and forward any comments to Mozilla. It's worth it (and it won't overwrite your current version of FireFox either).
Oh, how I drool at the audio quality of Skype 3.8... I tested it this morning by calling ZBP (you need a Skype Pro account/Skype Out credit to do this), and a friend was in Conference 1. We got to chatting, and she asked "What did you do to your audio? It sounds real clear and crisp." I explained that I was using the new version of Skype... version 3.8, and this was the first call I made with it. She was blwn away by the life-like sound of my Skype to POTS (plain old telephone service) connection. Not bad, Skype, not bad. Try it out for yourself... and see what I mean. The audio quality of Skype-to-Skype calls should be superior as well.

## Post 2 by louiano (I'm going for the prolific poster awards!) on Wednesday, 30-Apr-2008 18:22:46

hmm, I would have to disagree with the skipe audio quality for a bit. Furthermore, both of these programas are coming more and more bloated! the installers would be first nice and small at a size of perhaps 3 to 5 mb. But now, we get firefox at almost eight, and skipe is maybe 23 or so. One nice improvement on skipe is that it is finally learning how to recognize your sound cards and moreover, it changes the sound cards instantly.

## Post 3 by Beach Boy (Generic Zoner) on Wednesday, 30-Apr-2008 22:00:47

I'm using FireFox 3 beta 5 right at this very moment, and it makes me feel more secure than IE (Internet Exploiter)... no issues, just a relaxing cruise down the Information Superhighway. After the upgrade to Comcast's 8M/768K connection, I'm not worrying much.
Skype's installer may be bloated, but the audio quality improvements for those using a fast broadband connection speak volumes... No drops, cut-outs, or annyoning background hiss. Better than a normal land line.
-- Greg

## Post 4 by battle star queen (I just keep on posting!) on Thursday, 01-May-2008 0:02:03

Whear can you get the new verison of fire fox?

## Post 5 by Dave_H (the boringest guy you'll ever know) on Thursday, 01-May-2008 0:06:10

Greggie!
I agree with you re: the Mozilla 3 apps. Am using both Firefox and Thunderbird 3, and NVDA as my screen reader. Very nice! No comment re: the latest Skype. I find the one I now use to be sufficient.
-Dave

## Post 6 by Beach Boy (Generic Zoner) on Thursday, 01-May-2008 8:20:27

Just do a Google search for "Download FireFox 3 Beta 5" and look at the results to make sure that it's the Mozilla site (you don't want a virus do you?)... Download the one that's in your native tongue, and that's for your OS...
-- Greg

## Post 7 by Svenja (don't need any!) on Saturday, 03-May-2008 9:13:58

I'll check that out, thx greg!

## Post 8 by TylerK (This site is so "educational") on Sunday, 04-May-2008 19:14:25

I'm still using Skype version 3.6.244, any reason I should upgrade to Skype 3.8? And does the new version still work with the JAWS scripts?

## Post 9 by Nick6489 (11 years a Zoner) on Sunday, 04-May-2008 20:15:05

The new version does work with the JAWS scripts, and Skype's one of those programs you should really keep up with the new version regarding. Otherise, your calls might start to sound bad as versions progress.

## Post 10 by blindndangerous (the blind and dangerous one) on Sunday, 04-May-2008 22:50:10

one thing i wanna kow. has voice over improved its capability with firefox 3? SInce my school has put some damn security measures on my windows laptop, making it so that I can not access the web except from the school's server, I can't use firefox with windows. I use safari with voice over, but this mac also has firefox. Man, I don't wanna gve this mac back at the end of the school year.

## Post 11 by ¤§¤spike¤§¤ (This site is so "educational") on Monday, 05-May-2008 5:47:03

To post 10, Firefox hasn't ever worked well with voiceover.
This may be the same for Firefox 3.
Could another mac user on here, invalidate or validate my point with their own opinion, or research?
As for the laptop issue, I'd say, you've got a Macbook, not Macbook Pro, correct?
If so, why not just buy one of your own?
They start at $900, though the specs that you've got currently is what you're gonna order, which will mean that it'll be more than $900, most likely.
Them locking Windows down, is fine, its their system, after all, not yours, so its fair, since anything that's not authorized to be installed by the school, could get them and you, in alot of trouble.

## Post 12 by ¤§¤spike¤§¤ (This site is so "educational") on Monday, 05-May-2008 8:10:45

To post 10...
I'll explain the last point a little more.
You installing software isn't the issue that your school will have, its the fact that they don't own legal copies of it, if its shareware or cracked.
If you absolutely need it, such as Dreamwever for Web Design, as an example, you can justify getting a nonfree copy, if they aren't willing to give you a legal license key.
Why they'd not allow Firefox installation is a very good question.

## Post 13 by blindndangerous (the blind and dangerous one) on Monday, 05-May-2008 17:30:00

firefox is installed but it will not work on the school's server. y? I haven't a clue. I just know that only IE works with it.

## Post 14 by Beach Boy (Generic Zoner) on Monday, 05-May-2008 23:12:04

Sounds like a porxy to me... some schools and companies use a proxy to allow connections to the Internet, and not using the proxy causes problems with connecting to the Internet. (This is why a VPN is so useful, as it can get around such annoyances if set up right).

## Post 15 by blindndangerous (the blind and dangerous one) on Monday, 05-May-2008 23:16:28

yeah, they use a proxy. but when i go home, i'm am supposed to just disable the proxy server, and I am supposed to be able to get back online with my home network. Unfortunately, that isn't able to work due to something they did to it.