Firefox 2.0 Beta 2 should ship on Thursday

Microsoft is by far the market leader in the competition between browsers, but Firefox has been making steady inroads. Now it appears that Firefox and Microsoft Internet Explorer are releasing new versions to a similar timetable.
Last week, Microsoft launched Internet Explorer 7 release candidate 1 (RC1), the first version of IE7 that was deemed up to release quality, without being quite ready for general release.

I've been using Firefox's Beta for a few weeks at home and monitoring a few web sources on progress. I've been impressed with some of the new features included in the release after being extensions in earlier versions. My personal favourite is the session saver that remembers the tabs from your last session: it's a fantastic aid for research.

The new version also seems much more stable, I've experienced far fewer crashes since upgrading (not that there were many anyway).

It is disappointing, however, that some of my old extensions don't work with the new version just yet. I guess I can't have my cake and eat it, so I'll sit and admire it from afar, anticipating the feast.

I'm the first to admit I can't offer an objective opinion on IE7: I've yet to download it personally.

More great news:

But while the competition between Microsoft and Mozilla is seen as being quite fierce, the two companies have been making overtures to show that they are prepared to co-operate.

Earlier this month, Microsoft sent an open letter to Mozilla offering facilities and help to make Firefox fully compatible with Microsoft's upcoming Vista operating system — an offer which Mozilla appeared to accept.

The browser war hots up...

Giveaways: Great Idea or Waste of Time?

We have all been to events where we are given a carrier bag by the organiser and their sponsors. We then proceed to parade round the event collecting all sorts of paperwork and useless items.

When we arrive back at the office the following day and empty the contents onto the desk, we realise that all we have managed to collect is half a tree and some cheap biros. If we are lucky, we have collected a mug or a cap but most of them are cheap and nasty and serve little purpose.

Or do they?

Giveaways are designed to enhance your company's profile by providing the potential customer with a free gift that will serve as a series of reminders. Firstly, your company name, and secondly the nature of business.

The best giveaways are those that are unusual and have some form of business use. My personal favourites are; a pen from a hotel which read stolen from, and a mug where the company logo changed when you added a hot drink.