(OT) - Software and Internet searches .
I would like to continue Peter's initiative with some more off-topic software suggestions as well as add some internet search suggestions.
Mozilla Firebird.
Once upon a time Netscape ruled the web, then M$ took over with Internet Explorer. In the background development has continued on Netscape's codebase, barely visible but still there in three different incarnations.
Netscape.
The official Browser which these days are owned by AOL-Warner and which I cannot say much about. I guess it is much better that it used to be. After all it is developed using the same code-base as the two Mozillas. Although it is a couple of development mutations behind.
Mozilla - the internet suite.
This used to be the cutting edge in the Mozilla development team's efforts at rebirth. It is still rather big and clunky although a number of good ideas have found their way into the product. I have it but I don't use it very much.
Phoenix - Mozilla Firebird.
Phoenix is the stand alone web-browser. It is still under very active development. Version 0.6 was released yesterday. It has just been renamed Mozilla Firebird. All future development efforts of the Mozilla consortium will concentrate on this product (once Mozilla 1.4 has been released).
Mozilla Firebird is fast, lean and very useful (IMHO). There are a number of features, which may be of some help for people searching for information over the internet. Something which I suppose most of us do from time to time.
Tabbed browsing.
Most of us (my guess) likes to have a couple of Browser Windows open at the same time. Which means several instances of the same program is runnng at the same time. The Mozilla Family supports tabbed browsing. That means in short that these windows can be opened within the same program. Which has some advantages and is also saving PC resources.
Bookmarks Folder.
There is a quite flexible Bookmark't Toolbar. OK, it takes away a slice of the screen's real estate. But not very much. It is possible to put individual bookmarks as well as folders containing bookmarks on the toolbar.
Searchbar.
Next to the adressbar there is an additional bar for internet searches. And there is quite a choice of search engines that may be used.
Extension and themes.
As the Mozillas are being created with open code, there are a number of various more or less useful extensions being created to enhance the functionality of the basic browser. Some of them are indeed very helpful.
Some examples on how some of these features may be combined to improve the internet trawling for "information".
Tabbed Browsing.
I like to see (on a daily bases) if any of "my" biotech companies have filed anything with SEC. This used to be quite a tedious search operation in the Edgar database. With Mozilla Firebird it is very fast and easy once it has been set up.
I have created one bookmark for each Edgar-search that directly loads the Edgar page for the concerned company. I have put all of these (some 15 of them) in one folder on the toolbar.
When I want to do the search in the database, I open the folder, click on "Open in tabs" and all the different bookmarks are opened. Each one in its own tab. It helps to be on a broadband to do this. After 15 - 20 seconds all the Edgar pages have been loaded. I can check the latest filings and if there is nothing new I can close that particular tab with one click. Very handy.
It is of course possible to to similar "searches" on other subjects.
The searchbar.
One of the features of the searchbar is that there has been written a number of extensions to the bar creating interfaces to most known search engines and to some of the lesser known as well. For my searchbar I have (as an example) installed interfaces for Cambridge Dictionary, Dictionary.com, dmoz.org, Google (of course), PubMed, HubMed, Thesaurus.com, Uwhois and Xrefer.
PubMed searches.
If I would like to to a search at PubMed I just type (or paste) in what I would like to search ofr. I select the PubMed interface and the result of the PubMed search will be loaded.
Alternatively I can use the HubMed interface. HubMed is a somewhat slicker and more helpful PubMed trawler. HubMed also has the advantage that if I for some reason is not satisfied with the searchresults it is possible with one click to engage search engines like Graph, XplorMed, PM2Mail, PubMed, OAI, PMC, BMN, Scirus, Google or BioMail to take over doing the same search. Very slick indeed.
Disadvantages.
Mozilla Firebird is still beta software. There are some rough edges.
The program crashes sometimes when it shouldn't. But for the everyday average user I would still like to suggest that it is very stable.
Mozilla Firebird is extremely standard compliant. But some websites are not. There might be problems visiting them. Sometimes loading Mozilla (proper) will help. Sometimes I even have to load Internet Explorer to manage.
There is no automatic procedure for installation and upgrading. To install is simple enough. Just unzip the program, find the exe, create a shortcut and start running it. To upgrade is trickier as the old installation has to be deleted (as well as the personal profile that will be found on a completely different location) before the new version can be installed. Due to differences in the codebase developers firm advice is not to just unzip the newer version over the old one. This "procedure" has the disadvantage that all old configurations are lost and that the new version has to be reconfigured, extensions re-installed etc. It's especially important to remember to export the bookmarks from the old version before it is deleted.
I take a somewhat more cautious approach and rename the two directories for the working version before I install a new one. In that way I can preserve my old configurations (but they will still have to be reinstalled in the new one) if the new version should turn out to have some serious bugs. That is normally not the case unless one wants to experiments with one of the nightlies. Yes, there is a new development version available almost every night. But those are dangerous beasts to play with.
Some links.
Mozilla.org
mozilla.org
Mozilla Firebird
mozilla.org
Mycroft (search extensions)
mycroft.mozdev.org
Hubmed
pmbrowser.info
Pubcrawler (which I have not mentioned above).
Pubcrawler is an "agent" which searches PubMed - say weekly - and returns any new hits by email. I have at present set this up to search for any reference to any of "my companies". So, if anyone with an affiliation to anyone of them has aomething filed on PubMed, I will have an email the following Sunday morning with a reference. Could turn out to be very useful once I know what I should be looking for. Presently I have registered three searches.
For the company references.
For anything related to anti-CTLA-4
For anything related to natalizumab (Antegren).
It is possible to define these searches is such a way that several references are used for the same search.
pubcrawler.gen.tcd.ie
Newsmonster.
There is also a program called newsmonster running on the Mozilla family of browser. I have not had time to really use it, but it appears to be a very powerful implementation for pulling information off pubmed (for example).
newsmonster.org
Alternatively there is a commercial stand-alone program appearantly doing the same thing (and perhaps even som more) called NewsCrawler.
newzcrawler.com |
