Browser Battle: Firefox 3.1 vs. Chrome vs. IE 8

Mozilla's second alpha of Firefox 3.1 is upping the ante in the next-generation browser battle. So how do the main contenders stack up so far now? One thing's for sure, the Firefox team has taken note of Google's recent Chrome release and worked hard to make sure its offering can hold its own.

Mozilla had already claimed its 3.1 version could outperform Chrome when it comes to speed (and most independent tests show it at least tying). Now, the engineers have incorporated Chrome-initiated options such as the ability to drag and drop tabs in and out of browser windows. The second alpha release also adds support for the HTML 5 video tag, which gives Web developers expanded options for embedding video within a page. Don't forget, too, that Microsoft's new Internet Explorer 8 beta 2 -- released at the end of August and quickly eclipsed by Chrome's introduction -- is also vying for a piece of the pie.

Here's a breakdown of the high and lowlights of each offering and where it stands as far as a full release.

Contender #1: Google Chrome

The status: Windows beta released September 2. Mac OS X and Linux versions still under development and said to be coming soon. No indication of targeted full release date.

The good:

* Reliability. Chrome's multiprocess architecture makes a bad Web page less likely to take down the whole browser.
* Speed. Chrome loads fast and keeps your surfing super-fast.
* Simplicity. Its clean design wastes no screen space.
* Searching. The Omnibox lets you type search terms or URLs into a single spot and figures out what you want.
* Privacy. Chrome offers an "Incognito" mode that lets you easily leave no footprints from where you've been.

The bad:

* Privacy. Chrome's taken a lot of heat for its monitoring and collection of user data, some of which happens before you even hit enter.
* Security. It didn't take long for users to discover vulnerabilities in the beta browser. Several of these have already been patched.
* Reliability. Some sites and online services still don't work with Chrome.
* Consistency. Because Chrome is build on the WebKit system, it differs from the dominant platforms that most designers focus on.
* Support. Chrome doesn't yet have any add-ons or customization options available. It's yet to be seen how these, once developed, will compare to the rich options available for Firefox.

Contender #2: Firefox 3.1

The status: Second alpha build released September 5. Beta expected in the next month. Full release targeted for end of 2008.

The good:

* Strong foundation. Mozilla's already built a loyal following with Firefox, and it doesn't intend on letting that go. With Firefox 3.1, you know you'll have a powerful library of add-ons and support already at your fingertips, not to mention the slew of other assets unveiled in Firefox 3.0.
* Speed. Mozilla says its still-under-development TraceMonkey JavaScript platform will leave Google's V8 in the dust. The second alpha build revs things up, too, with added support for "Web workers" -- a system that lets multiple scripts run as background processes.
* Competitive edge. Mozilla's developers have good reason to watch what Chrome is doing -- and work to match it, if not one-up it.

The bad:

* Security questions. Some studies -- albeit, Microsoft-funded ones -- have suggested Firefox, with its frequent new versions, is more susceptible to threats than the other options.
* Crash potential. Unlike Chrome, Firefox does not have separate environments for each tab -- so one rogue page can still take the whole program down.
* Support. Firefox has worked hard to snag a small portion of the browser market share, and most early predictions show Chrome taking away more of its userbase than IE's.
* Google's focus on Chrome will also take away some of its previous focus on Mozilla's development efforts. Will Firefox be able to remain a key player in the browser war?

Contender #3: Internet Explorer 8

The status:: Second beta released August 27. Full release expected before the end of 2008.

The good:

* Support. Love it or hate it, Internet Explorer is hanging on to about three-quarters of the browsing market with its default status in all Windows machines. You know developers and designers are going to cater to it.
* Security. With Microsoft at its helm, IE hangs on to a reputation of safe and reliable browsing.
* Privacy. IE 8 was the first to offer a no-record browsing mode, branded here as InPrivate Browsing.
* Searching. IE 8's Smart Address Bar offers similar functionality to Chrome's Omnibox, letting you type in URLs or search terms and taking you to the right place.
* Added add-ons. IE 8 finally catches up to Firefox with a new "Gallery" full of third-party add-on options..

The bad:
* Speed. Independent tests have found IE 8 to be significantly slower than the alternative choices. Resources. IE 8 uses a lot of memory compared to its competitors -- a factor that could considerably slow down the rest of your system.
* Crash potential. While IE 8 does use separate processes for tabs, similar to Chrome's approach, it does not do so to the same degree
* -- still leaving room for a total meltdown.
* Competition questions. Can IE's add-ons reach the level of Firefox's? Already, some users are complaining of problems even getting them to work.

That's the lowdown on the battle's current status. Remember, all three of these programs are still early in their development, so many of the pluses and minuses could change as things move forward. One thing's for sure, though: This battle is on, it's growing fierce, and each of its contenders will do anything it can to win.

Firefox 3 vs. Internet Explorer 7 - Which is Better?

Mozilla released Firefox 3 with many new features and made download history. How does this version compare with Microsoft's Internet Explorer 7? I'll discuss both the good and the bad here.

Mozilla has finally released the long anticipated Firefox 3. On the day of its release, there were a record breaking 8.3 million downloads, making download history. What many Internet users are wondering now is: How do these two power houses compare in features and usability, and, is there a really that much of a difference between them? Let's take a look at the features that each browser offers and discuss the pros and cons.

One of the new features in the Firefox3 upgrade is a change to the Password Manager. In the past you'd log into a site and a dialog box would pop up asking you if you would like it to remember your password information. This happened before you’d log in. In the latest version, you log into a site first, and after you log in, a strip dialog appears at the top of the browser window. It is there you’re asked if you want Firefox to remember your password. This feature change is geared toward making your browsing experience safer. Along those same lines, Firefox 3 also has the following new upgrades: Instant Web Site ID, Anti-Malware, Anti-Phising, Parental Controls, Anti-Virus Software, Secure Connection Add-ons, Clear Private Data, Customized Security Settings, Automated Update, and customized Pop-up Blocker.

Under their new personal services for browsing, Firefox 3 gives the user a huge amount freedom for making the browser work better for you. The Smart Location Bar gives you the ability to use the smart auto-complete function (which no longer just remembers the page address but also the page title). Other features include: One-click Bookmarking, Smart Bookmark Folders, Library, Tags, Add-ons Manager, Feed Reader, Download Manager, Full Zoom, Session Restore, Spell Checking and the ability to customize your browser in 5,000 different ways through Add-ons that you chose.

Now let’s look at Internet Explorer 7. As you may have noticed, there’s a new interface design, but the features I like best is the Phishing Filter. The filter turns the address bar red in your browser and will display a warning web page for any known phishing sites. There other features too: Extended Validation SSL, RSS Tab, Tabbed Browsing and Opt for Ad-ons. And there’s one more thing: every time someone upgrades to IE 7 Microsoft plants a tree in Carbon Grove. This area only consists of trees donated by those using the IE 7 browser. Neat.

So, what are some of the problems you may run into with Firefox3? Well, only five hours after the downloading rush began, on day one, the TippingPoint found a security whole that is yet undisclosed but that Mozilla began working on right away. There have also been some problems with the browser crashing on older machines and not uploading for some users who are still using Windows 95. As far as IE7 goes, there are one hundred and thirty-six known bugs within IE 7. We won't be going into every problem here but will just touch on the main ones. The browser can crash when you visit some sites that contain common CSS. Some code used by developers won't display properly in IE and some sites that show correctly in Firefox, Opera or Safari won't be the same in IE. Microsoft will be coming out with Internet Explorer 8 soon but it is important to note that while they have continued to develop better security features since the release of IE 7 they have not fixed the bugs that came with the original release.

Ten Reason To Switch to FireFox

1. Tabbed Browsing - Makes surfing the web faster
Screenshot of toolbar

Background Tabs (shown in red) let you open pages to read later without leaving the current page

Tabbed browsing changes the way you use the Internet by allowing you to open links on a page in background tabs and then read them when you're ready. Tabbed Browsing makes it much easier to keep track of several pages or sites at once by letting you view them within a single browser window. It's easy to navigate between tabs - just click on a tab to view the page. Tabs load in the background so you can browse the web faster - and stay organized. To use Tabbed Browsing, hold down Ctrl while clicking on a web link, or click with the middle mouse button.
Screenshot of toolbar

"Open in Tabs" opens contents of Bookmarks Folder in Tabs.

Tabbed browsing makes the web faster and more efficient. You can concentrate on reading a page without the confusion of having to switch between windows. While you're reading a page, links you have opened in background tabs are loading so when you're ready to read them, they've already finished loading and you don't need to wait.

While it seems like a simple idea, Tabbed Browsing is a revolutionary enhancement to web browsing. Firefox brings you the simplest, most intuitive version of Tabbed Browsing you will find today.
2. Popup Blocking
Screenshot of toolbar

Icon showing that popups have been prevented from opening

Firefox stops annoying popup windows dead in their tracks. Experience the web as it was supposed to be - peaceful, convenient, accessible.

Some sites make legitimate use of popup windows. When Firefox blocks a popup window, it displays an icon in the status bar. Clicking this icon shows a breakdown of the popup(s) that Firefox stopped when loading the current page. You can then allow some or all of the popup windows to be shown.
3. Find Stuff Easier
Find Bookmarks Screenshot

Bookmarks QuickFind in action

Much of the time you spend using a web browser is spent looking for things. That's why Firefox has the best search functions of any browser. Ctrl+K takes you to the Google bar. Enter what you're searching for and hit Enter to search Google. Entering a search into the Location bar does an "I'm feeling lucky" Google search (that is, it automatically loads the first result returned by Google for that search).
Web Features Panel Icon

Firefox's Smart Keywords lets you find things faster.

Firefox's collection of Smart Keywords make it easy to look up words in the Dictionary, check on stock quotes, etc. Just type the keyword, then the word, stock symbol or other value in the Location Bar, and hit Enter. A full list of Firefox's supported Smart Keywords is available here, and if they aren't enough for you you can make your own!.

Firefox's "Find Stuff Faster" mantra is more than just skin deep. Other parts of the browser have been engineered with search in mind. Take Tab-Browsing - run a search in one tab, then open search results in background tabs, and flick between them to compare. Bookmarks and History have QuickFind bars that let you quickly locate a bookmark in a long list, or a place you visited several days ago. Firefox's handy browser context menus also let you instantly search for selected text.
4. Simplified Privacy / Annoyance Eliminator
Privacy Controls

Firefox has sophisticated privacy controls

Your privacy is important to us. Firefox makes it easy to keep track of information that the browser has stored while you've been surfing, such as things you've typed into forms, Cookies, files you've downloaded, pages you've visited (History), and so on. You can quickly clear any of these things from the Privacy panel of Tools, Options. If you're using a public or shared computer, you can also instantly clear all stored information with a single click.
Find Bookmarks Screenshot

Firefox puts an end to annoying web page tricks

Aside from preventing popup windows, Firefox will also stop a number of other actions that have been annoying web surfers for years, like status bar tricks (e.g. animating status bar tickers, and spoofing that prevents you from seeing where links really go). We've designed Firefox so that the standard settings offer the least annoyance. Controls for these settings can be found in the Web Features page under Options.

Firefox comes with the same sophisticated set of controls as Mozilla that allow you to control cookies, Javascript, and other settings to suit your tastes.
5. Better Bookmarks and History
Privacy Controls

Firefox's Bookmarks Window makes organizing your Bookmarks easy.

Firefox makes it easier to organize your Bookmark collection with its handy Bookmarks manager (Bookmarks, Manage Bookmarks... menu item). Create folders to group similar items, and add annotations to remind yourself of why you bookmarked a particular item later. Sort on any of a number of properties including Name, Location, Date Last Visited, etc. Firefox also lets you associate a Keyword with any bookmark so you can open it by simply typing its keyword in the Location Bar of the browser.

Both Bookmarks and History are available as convenient Side Bar panels for quick access. Simply hit Ctrl+B for Bookmarks, and Ctrl+H for History. Links open with a click.
6. Accessible, Intelligent, Responsive
Privacy Controls

Type Ahead Find in Action

Best Accessiblity. Firefox offers the best set of keyboard shortcuts about. Ctrl+L quickly focuses the Location Bar. Ctrl+K the Google Bar. Ctrl+T opens a new tab and Ctrl+S does what it should do - save the current page. A full set of keyboard shortcuts is available here.
Privacy Controls

Firefox helps you fill out web forms and remembers what you've searched for

Both Bookmarks and History are available as convenient Side Bar panels for quick access. Simply hit Ctrl+B for Bookmarks, and Ctrl+H for History. Links open with a click.

Intelligent. Firefox remembers what you've filled in web forms, to make searching for things again, or filling out things like your name and address a simple process. Firefox also features a handy Password Manager that automatically fills out user-name/password fields on sites that require you to log in.

More Responsive. Firefox feels more responsive in day-to-day browsing than competitors like Internet Explorer. Pages appear on screen sooner, and there are fewer annoying lock ups. The effect is a browser that feels faster.
7. Customizable and Extendable
Privacy Controls

Customizing Toolbars in Firefox

Customize Toolbars. Set up your toolbars the way you want them. Have just a thin strip with everything on one bar. Have a set of toolbars with every option available within reach. Firefox's toolbars are fully customizable so you can have it the way you like it. Choose View, Toolbars, Customize... and simply drag on the items you want. Firefox even lets you create new toolbars. Third party extensions often add Toolbar items to the Customize Palette as well.

Most Extensible. Firefox's user interface can be extended by developers using industry standards such as XML, CSS, JavaScript etc, as well as complex C++ add on modules. Examples of such extensions include everything from relatively simple utilities to advanced tools such as a JavaScript Debugger and Document Inspector. A full list of existing extensions is available at update.mozilla.org. Extensions are easily installed.
Privacy Controls

Applying themes is easy

Themeable. Firefox's user interface is fully customizeable, using the same CSS, XML, etc, industry standards as the extension UI. The themes are endless. Firefox can look like the StarTrek Lcars computer or even resemble Microsoft Internet Explorer. A full list of existing themes is available here. Themes are easily installed.
8. Modern Download Manager
Privacy Controls

Downloads to a specified folder, indicates in taskbar when finished

The built-in Download Manager is modern and user friendly. It shows all pending and completed downloads as a graphical list along with relevent text. A user has complete control over the active and inactive downloads. The user can cancel an active download, retry failed ones, remove the complete and failed ones, open completed downloads in system directory browser and also clean up the list if desired. Double-clicking the file can be used to launch it directly.

The Download Manager saves real-estate in the tasklist toolbar by having one window for all downloads and showing the average complete percentage in its tasklist menu along with the number of pending downloads. On completion of downloads the users get a "mail-biff" style notification: "Downloads Complete". Moreover, the download manager is intelligent enough to warn the user in case Firefox exits and there are pending downloads.
9. Built for standards
Privacy ControlsPrivacy Controls

Firefox is leading the pack when it comes to standards support

Firefox has world beating support for W3C standards like CSS, DOM, etc. Where browsers like Opera or IE may fail on a dynamic page, Firefox usually succeeds.

Firefox is also Open Source. This means that the browser is not just 'free' to use, but it's also open for development. Firefox is just one of many browsers and projects based on the Powerful Mozilla Gecko engine. Since its open source, the software is guaranteed to not have intended malicious code or spyware included.
10. KISS (Keep It Simple and Straight-Forward)
Privacy Controls

The Simple interface and embeded search allows for a simple and uncluttered web experience

Simplified User Interface. We've put a lot of thought into making using Firefox easy and obvious. Browsers like Mozilla and Opera seem to be focused more on esoteric features, at the expense of all-round usability. That's why we have created a browser that works in the simplest and most straight-forward way out of the box. Defaults have been carefully chosen so you don't need to spend time setting up the browser. Menus and dialog boxes are kept clean and free of options that only a marginal number of people use. If there's a feature that Mozilla or Opera has that Firefox lacks, it's probably for good reason. But if you really do need a particular enhancement, a large number of quality extensions are available for free.

More Space for Pages.We place a great deal of importance on space for web pages in Firefox. That's why our browser has more space devoted to web pages than Internet Explorer, Opera, or Mozilla. Firefox offers 2% more space to web pages than Mozilla, 4% more than Internet Explorer, and a whopping 10% more than Opera. (Standard configurations tested, sidebars closed, window maximized at 1600x1200). You can get even more space by rearranging the content of the toolbars. Firefox also offers a Full Screen mode (Press F11 to enter/exit) that devotes even more of the screen to the web page. You can even gain more space by using some themes and by disabling the 'Bookmarks Toolbar'

Top 5 Reasons to Use Firefox

5. Originality
In the most recent version of IE 7, you'll find a lot of cool new features - unfortunately, almost all of these features have been in Firefox for years now. With Firefox, you'll have the latest and best features straight out of the box.

4. Cleaner Interface
Firefox's interface is clean, and easy to use. Additionally, you have the ability to customize the navigation to just about any specification, as well as easily implementing thousands of new themes to personalize Firefox.

3. Easy to Use
If you know how to use Internet Explorer, you'll know how to use Firefox - all of the keyboard shortcuts are the same, and Firefox will import your bookmarks and settings for you, meaning no learning curve for you. Just download and surf.

2. Free and Open
Firefox is completely free and supported by a dedicated community of developers to constantly make it better. since it's "open source", that means that anyone can make improvements to the software and could possibly make it into the next release of Firefox.

1. Customization with Plugins and Extensions
The real power of Firefox lies in it's added functionality through the use of 'extensions'. Thousands of developers program small additional tools for the browser that allow you to do almost whatever your heart desires, and make your life easier

Download firefox 3.5

www.mozilla.com




We’re very excited to announce the official release of Firefox 3.5! You can download Firefox 3.5 at firefox.com and enjoy the new features and faster performance. If you’re using the latest version of Firefox 3.0, you can get Firefox 3.5 by clicking on the Help menu and then selecting Check for Updates.

The Firefox 3.5 press release is available here. We also compiled a guide to frequently asked questions. You can also check out this video for a guided tour of what’s new in Firefox 3.5.

Mike Beltzner, Director of Firefox has a comprehensive post here. The post includes a list of some of the coolest Firefox 3.5 features, excerpted below.

* Firefox 3.5 is available in more than 70 languages – get your local version.
* We have included tools for controlling your private data, including a Private Browsing Mode, and the ability to go back in time and Clear Recent History.
* Firefox 3.5 has support for the HTML5

Firefox 3.5 arrives

After some rather impressive RC builds, Firefox 3.5 is all packaged up and ready for public consumption. Mozilla is saying its new browser is more than two times faster than Firefox 3, but what has us more excited is the support for plugin-free "open codec" video and audio playback using Ogg Vorbis and Ogg Theora-- it's still in its infancy, but the subtle glimpse we've seen so far of a world without Flash video reducing our CPU to jelly is rather compelling.

Mozilla Firefox 3.5

Firefox 3.5 is based on the Gecko 1.9.1 rendering platform, which has been under development for the past year. Firefox 3.5 offers many changes over the previous version, supporting new web technologies, improving performance and ease of use. Some of the notable features are:



download:
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/products/download.html?product=firefox-3.5&os=win&lang=en-US

iphone

The iPhone is an Internet-connected, multimedia smartphone designed and marketed by Apple Inc. Since its minimal hardware interface lacks a physical keyboard, the multi-touch screen renders a virtual keyboard when necessary. The iPhone functions as a camera phone (also including text messaging and visual voicemail), a portable media player (equivalent to a video iPod), and an Internet client (with email, web browsing, and Wi-Fi connectivity). The first-generation phone hardware was quad-band GSM with EDGE; the second generation added UMTS with HSDPA.

Apple announced the iPhone on January 9, 2007, after months of rumors and speculation. The original iPhone was introduced in the United States on June 29, 2007 before being marketed worldwide. Time magazine named it the Invention of the Year in 2007. Released July 11, 2008, the iPhone 3G supports faster 3G data speeds and assisted GPS. On March 17, 2009, Apple announced version 3.0 of the iPhone OS operating system for the iPhone (and iPod Touch), released on June 17, 2009. The iPhone 3GS was announced on June 8, 2009. It was released in the U.S., Canada and 6 European countries on June 19, in Australia and Japan on June 26,and will see international release in July and August.

Microsoft's Bing search wins share from Google

Microsoft Corp's new Bing search engine gained U.S. market share in its first month in operation but still trails dominant rival Google Inc, according to data released on Wednesday.

Bing, launched on June 3 but available to some users a few days earlier, took 8.23 percent of U.S. Web searches in June, up from 7.81 percent for Microsoft search just prior to its rollout and 7.21 percent in April, said Internet data firm StatCounter.

Google lost share slightly, dipping to 78.48 percent from 78.72 percent before Bing. Yahoo Inc, the perennial No. 2 in the market, rose to 11.04 percent from 10.99 percent.

Bing's share peaked in the first week of June at 9.21 percent, falling away in the middle two weeks before coming back at 8.45 percent in the last week of June.

The results may give heart to Microsoft, which is investing heavily in its loss-making online services business and is refusing to cede the market to Google.

"At first sight, a 1 percent increase in market share does not appear to be a huge return on the investment Microsoft has made in Bing but the underlying trend appears positive," StatCounter Chief Executive Adohan Cullen said in a statement.

The world's largest software company may yet strike an online search partnership with Yahoo to make itself a credible competitor, but talk of such a deal has quietened down.

StatCounter, based in Dublin, says its data are based on 4 billion pageloads per month monitored through a network of websites. Other data research firms such as comScore are not expected to release figures on Bing's share until mid-July.

(Reporting by Bill Rigby and Georgina Prodhan; editing by Simon Jessop)

Different Types of Advertising

Advertising is the promotion of a company’s products and services carried out primarily to drive sales of the products and services but also to build a brand identity and communicate changes or new product /services to the customers. Advertising has become an essential element of the corporate world and hence the companies allot a considerable amount of revenues as their advertising budget. There are several reasons for advertising some of which are as follows:
Increasing the sales of the product/service
Creating and maintaining a brand identity or brand image.
Communicating a change in the existing product line.
Introduction of a new product or service.
Increasing the buzz-value of the brand or the company.
Thus, several reasons for advertising and similarly there exist various media which can be effectively used for advertising. Based on these criteria there can be several branches of advertising. Mentioned below are the various categories or types of advertising:

Print Advertising – Newspapers, Magazines, Brochures, Fliers

The print media have always been a popular advertising medium. Advertising products via newspapers or magazines is a common practice. In addition to this, the print media also offers options like promotional brochures and fliers for advertising purposes. Often the newspapers and the magazines sell the advertising space according to the area occupied by the advertisement, the position of the advertisement (front page/middle page), as well as the readership of the publications. For instance an advertisement in a relatively new and less popular newspaper would cost far less than placing an advertisement in a popular newspaper with a high readership. The price of print ads also depend on the supplement in which they appear, for example an advertisement in the glossy supplement costs way higher than that in the newspaper supplement which uses a mediocre quality paper.

Outdoor Advertising – Billboards, Kiosks, Tradeshows and Events

Outdoor advertising is also a very popular form of advertising, which makes use of several tools and techniques to attract the customers outdoors. The most common examples of outdoor advertising are billboards, kiosks, and also several events and tradeshows organized by the company. The billboard advertising is very popular however has to be really terse and catchy in order to grab the attention of the passers by. The kiosks not only provide an easy outlet for the company products but also make for an effective advertising tool to promote the company’s products. Organizing several events or sponsoring them makes for an excellent advertising opportunity. The company can organize trade fairs, or even exhibitions for advertising their products. If not this, the company can organize several events that are closely associated with their field. For instance a company that manufactures sports utilities can sponsor a sports tournament to advertise its products.

Broadcast advertising – Television, Radio and the Internet

Broadcast advertising is a very popular advertising medium that constitutes of several branches like television, radio or the Internet. Television advertisements have been very popular ever since they have been introduced. The cost of television advertising often depends on the duration of the advertisement, the time of broadcast (prime time/peak time), and of course the popularity of the television channel on which the advertisement is going to be broadcasted. The radio might have lost its charm owing to the new age media however the radio remains to be the choice of small-scale advertisers. The radio jingles have been very popular advertising media and have a large impact on the audience, which is evident in the fact that many people still remember and enjoy the popular radio jingles.

Covert Advertising – Advertising in Movies

Covert advertising is a unique kind of advertising in which a product or a particular brand is incorporated in some entertainment and media channels like movies, television shows or even sports. There is no commercial in the entertainment but the brand or the product is subtly( or sometimes evidently) showcased in the entertainment show. Some of the famous examples for this sort of advertising have to be the appearance of brand Nokia which is displayed on Tom Cruise’s phone in the movie Minority Report, or the use of Cadillac cars in the movie Matrix Reloaded.

Surrogate Advertising – Advertising Indirectly

Surrogate advertising is prominently seen in cases where advertising a particular product is banned by law. Advertisement for products like cigarettes or alcohol which are injurious to heath are prohibited by law in several countries and hence these companies have to come up with several other products that might have the same brand name and indirectly remind people of the cigarettes or beer bottles of the same brand. Common examples include Fosters and Kingfisher beer brands, which are often seen to promote their brand with the help of surrogate advertising.

Public Service Advertising – Advertising for Social Causes

Public service advertising is a technique that makes use of advertising as an effective communication medium to convey socially relevant messaged about important matters and social welfare causes like AIDS, energy conservation, political integrity, deforestation, illiteracy, poverty and so on. David Oglivy who is considered to be one of the pioneers of advertising and marketing concepts had reportedly encouraged the use of advertising field for a social cause. Oglivy once said, "Advertising justifies its existence when used in the public interest - it is much too powerful a tool to use solely for commercial purposes.". Today public service advertising has been increasingly used in a non-commercial fashion in several countries across the world in order to promote various social causes. In USA, the radio and television stations are granted on the basis of a fixed amount of Public service advertisements aired by the channel.

Celebrity Advertising

Although the audience is getting smarter and smarter and the modern day consumer getting immune to the exaggerated claims made in a majority of advertisements, there exist a section of advertisers that still bank upon celebrities and their popularity for advertising their products. Using celebrities for advertising involves signing up celebrities for advertising campaigns, which consist of all sorts of advertising including, television ads or even print advertisements.

Steve Jobs officially back at Apple

Steve Jobs, co-founder and chief executive of Apple, officially returned to work this week after almost six months sick leave.



Steve Job will be working from home a few days a week.
"He's at Apple a few days a week and working from home the rest of the week," an Apple spokesman said. "We are very glad to have him back."
Mr Jobs, who received a liver transplant following a hormonal imbalance, has been off work since January. Apple, which has been criticised for being secretive about the nature of Mr Jobs' illness and treatment, refused to disclose any further details.



Steve Jobs given 'excellent prognosis' after liver transplant
In January Mr Jobs, who previously survived pancreatic cancer, said that he was seeking treatment for the illness again, but said it would be "relatively simple and straightforward".
About a week later Mr Jobs told staff that the problem was more complex than he initially thought and he would have to take time off work.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating Apple's handling of Mr Jobs's illness.

Cisco may offer Web-based office software

BOSTON (Reuters) -
Cisco Systems Inc is considering offering Web-based alternatives to Microsoft Corp's popular Office software as the networking giant expands on the Internet.

Cisco Senior Vice President Doug Dennerline said on Tuesday his company may develop a service that would allow business users to create documents they could draft and share through its WebEx meeting and collaboration service.

Internet-based alternatives to Microsoft Office cropped up about five years ago, but corporate users have yet to embrace them. If the approach does take off, it could become big business: Microsoft's Office division rang up sales of $60 billion in the software company's most-recent fiscal year.

Google Inc sells Google Apps, an Internet-based alternative to Microsoft Office that includes a spreadsheet, word processor and presentation software. Design software maker Adobe Systems Inc and privately held Zoho Corp offer similar products.

Dennerline, who manages Cisco's online collaboration products, said he is interested in getting into that area.

"That is an interesting space. We are certainly thinking about that," he said on Tuesday during an online news conference. He did not elaborate.

Dennerline also said Cisco is not interested in competing with Salesforce.com Inc in selling online applications that companies use to manage sales and marketing activities -- an area analysts have long speculated that Cisco planned to go into.

Salesforce is the biggest maker of web-based applications, a segment of the software industry that research firm Gartner estimates will see sales rise about 30 percent this year to $6.5 billion.

Cisco, over the past decade, has expanded its focus from routers and switches to a wider range of products including software and video products, such as a high-end video conferencing systems called TelePresence and the WebEx service that facilitates online meetings.

Chief Executive John Chambers said on Tuesday the expansion into new services would continue, including a TelePresence product for homes in the next one to two years.

Chambers has in the past cited plans for a consumer TelePresence system, but analysts have said it would be hard to come up with a cheaper version of the high-definition, life-size video conference system for corporate customers.

"On the one hand, make no mistake about it, we will stay focused on our core competencies, switching and routing. You will see a constant flood of product capabilities and directions coming in these areas," Chambers said.

"At the same time, we realize that the network has evolved."

Shares in San Jose, California-based Cisco fell 1.8 percent to close at $18.65 on Nasdaq.

(Reporting by Jim Finkle; Additional reporting by Ritsuko Ando in Tokyo; editing by Andre Grenon, Richard Chang and Bernard Orr)

F&N, Coca-Cola extend agreement

PETALING JAYA: Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd (F&N) has signed a transition agreement with The Coca-Cola Co to sell Coca-Cola and Sprite soft drinks in Malaysia for a further 20 months.

F&N yesterday announced that the new agreement would take effect from the expiry of its existing bottling and distribution agreement on Jan 26, 2010, for another 20 months until Sept 30, 2011, “with some modification terms.”

Under the terms of the agreement, F&N would also be entitled to launch new brands or categories (except cola and lemon-lime carbonated soft drinks) from Jan 27, 2010 for both domestic and export markets.

In a separate statement, Coca-Cola said it would continue to bottle, distribute and sell brands from F&N for the markets in Singapore and Brunei over the same period.

“The transition agreements, which will run for 20 months, will allow Coca-Cola and F&N to independently pursue opportunities in categories other than sparkling fruit-flavoured drinks & isotonic drinks, and sparkling beverages (cola and lemon), respectively, in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.

“It is currently not the intention to renew these transition agreements when they expire on Sept 30, 2011,” the company said.

F&N said in February that Coca-Cola Co was not extending the bottling and distribution agreement with F&N when it expired on Jan 26, 2010.

Sales revenue of Coca-Cola Co products, mainly Coca-Cola and Sprite, amounted to RM421mil, or 35% of F&N’s soft drinks division’s revenue for its financial year ended Sept 30, 2008.

What's Pirate Bay without the pirates?

Having announced that torrent site The Pirate Bay has been sold to Sweden's Global Gaming Factory and are to list on the Swedish stock market, Peter Sunde (one of the mega-popular site's co-founders) has also announced sweeping changes that could see the iconic web service embracing a new business model.

In addition to changing hands, the Pirate Bay also plans to cease directly hosting torrents (which are used connect file sharers with each other), instead using a third party service.

With the PirateBay's torrent tracker connecting up to half of all BitTorrent users, many speculate that that this could have significant short term impacts on other popular BiTtorrent file sharing services as they are swamped by BitTorrent users seeking alternative sources.

These announcements come as the stiff fines and jail terms imposed on the Pirate Bay founders loom large.

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Many hypothesise however that decentralising its torrent tracking service and hosting torrents across an array of third party services is a good thing as it could act to frustrate future attempts to by the recording industry and Hollywood to attack the BitTorrent file sharing service via legal means.

Speculation is also growing that the Pirate Bay could soon become a legitimate pay-to-download service amidst announcements from Global Gaming Factory CEO Hans Pandeya that they will seek to work with copyright owners to see that "content providers and copyright owners get paid for content that is downloaded via the site.".

Taken in isolation Pandeya's comments could be written off as pre-acquisition hype, or even a bid to sooth twitchy copyright holders, however other moves by Global Gaming Factory add further credibility to his comments.

Global Gaming Factory has recently acquired Peerialism who have developed enhanced file sharing and distribution technologies.

Sources also indicate that whilst torrents listed on the new Pirate Bay site won't be hosted on Pirate Bay servers, they will be instead hosted by a new service that will be open to other file sharing services through proprietary application code.

This could signal a move by Global Gaming Factory to build a highly decentralised and potentially global pay-to-download BitTorrent file sharing service based on adding proprietary extensions they own to existing BitTorrent technology.

Regardless of what will eventually happen with Pirate Bay, speculation around its future direction looks set to go into overdrive over the next few months as industry pundits and speculators try to second guess Global Gaming Factory's plans.

Either way, the Pirate Bay looks set to undergo significant change as the fight between intellectual property lobbyists and file sharers continues to escalate and becomes increasingly complicated.

Reading PDF files in ipod touch

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Did you know an amazing feature of the iPod touch and iPhone.You can read pdf files,word and excel documents and various other file formats on it.But for that you require to have a jailbroken ipod touch or iphone.

This is what you need to do....

1.You have to have Cydia installed on your iPod touch or iPhone.

2.Open cydia..select the search option.

3.Then look for the application called Docs.Install that application.

4.Now that you have done that you have to transfer the pdf files and the other files to your iPod touch or iPhone.

5.You need to have OpenSSh installed,install it from cydia.

6.Now you have to install WinSCP on your desktop.

7.SSH into your iPod Touch or iPhone and put the files in /mobile/Documents.

8.Set the permission on the Documents folder as 0755.