Problem to set Firefox as standard web browser in Windows Vista
Somehow I could not set up Firefox as fully standard browser. At first start up of Firefox, I was reminded that Firefox was not a standard browser and asked to make Firefox as standard web browser. I did tick the selection and Firefox icon appeared on the very above of the start menu.
But, when I clicked links from Yahoo! Messenger or Acrobat Reader, the links were opened with Internet Explorer. I do not hate Internet Explorer, but I just want to use one browser and the links should be opened in one window, so that the taskbar is not too crowded.
I thought it was a method from Microsoft so that people will tend to use Internet Explorer, but I was mistaken. The setting of the standard programs can be change. To make your Firefox as fully standard browser for your Windows Vista, just follow these simple steps:
Start button > Control Panel > Programs > Default Programs > Set program access and computer defaults
and this window will appear:
Untick the option “Enable access to this program” and then click OK. After that, the links you click from other program such as Yahoo Instant Messenger or Adobe Reader will be opened via Firefox. But, the links from Windows Live Messenger are still opened in IE7.
Save Session – Start your Firefox with previous session
Current internet browsers such as IE7 and Mozilla Firefox allow users to surf the web using tabs function. This makes the surfing neat and easy as you can browse many webpages just in one windows. The new Firefox allows users to restore their latest session if Firefox is not closed properly such as during blackout or your computer stopping from responding. And this feature really helps me a lot.
But, what can I do, if I want to intentionally save the current session and want to restore it when I open the Firefox again? A little trick that I have found is by killing the Firefox process. You can do this by pressing CTRL+ALT+DEL to open the task manager and kill the process with image name firefox.exe.
It works great but this is not practical. There must be an easier way. Then, I searched in Mozilla addons page and I’ve found this plugin for Firefox, Save Session. By using this plugin, you can save your session by just clicking on the menu “save session and exit” under the File Menu. On the next start of Firefox, you will not be asked whether you want to restore the session or not, instead the session will be restored automatically.
To download this plugin, you can go to this page. -Save session-. By the way, it is compatible to Firefox version 2.0 – 3.0a4.
Windows Live Hotmail ended the test phase
New Hotmail account can be set up at www.hotmail.com. If you already have Hotmail account, you can switch to this new version by clicking the button “Join Windows Live Hotmail” after you have logged into your account. But, as I went to www.hotmail.com (German version), I could see that they only offer 1GB space. After clicking the button to register a new user, then you will see the 2GB spaces offered.
Some new functions offered by Windows Live Hotmail are:
- Double space with 2GB (before only 1GB)
Hotmail is quiet slow in free email service competition. GMail is now offering to 3GB and Yahoo!Mail is planning to give unlimited storage. - Colorcodes for doubtful and suspicious emails.
- The ability to be accessed via internet reada cellphones or PDAs using the address http://mobile.live.com
- “Safety Bar” function. This will show you the potential of the mail to be dangerous to you. White for know email address, yellow for unknown sender, and red for mails with potentially dangerous contain.
- The Outlook design. Besides, you can also use right click for some context menus such as making a new folder, which is not offered in GMail. You can also move you emails using Drag and Drop.
- Integrated chat with Windows Live Messenger. You can chat direct on the email interface. Just like GMail and GTalk.
I’ve already regsiter my new hotmail and ready to test it. Why don’t you get one now? It’s free by the way.
