MozillaZine has announced that Firefox 2.0.0.5 has been released (though, as of this writing, I still don't see it via auto-update). I enjoy looking through change logs (weird as that may seem), so for every new Firefox release, I take a look at Bugzilla to figure out what has been fixed and what is new. Here's how I do it:

1. Browse to the BugZilla keywords description page (the link to this page is also available on the advanced search form).
2. Look for the "fixed[versionNumberHere]" and "verified[versionNumberHere]" keywords. Note that the [versionNumberHere] bit refers to the Gecko version number, not the Firefox version number. For example, Firefox 2.0.0.5 uses Gecko version 1.8.1.5 (as you might guess, the 2.0 release used 1.8.1). Firefox 3 will use Gecko 1.9.
3. Out to the right of each keyword, you should see a count of the total bugs that particular keyword corresponds to. Click that number, and you will see all of the bugs that use the specified keyword.

Here are the fixed bugs and verified bugs for 2.0.0.5. If you really want to get clever, you can combine these keywords together (separated by a comma) on the advanced BugZilla search page. You'll need to tweak some of the default settings on that form to get it to work, but it can be done (as this query for Firefox 1.5.0.5 indicates).

There are two special notes about doing things this way:

1. These queries are looking at fixes in the Gecko engine. As such, bug fixes for Thunderbird and Seamonkey will also show up.
2. You may not see everything, particularly high-risk security fixes. For all security changes, see the known vulnerabilities page.

My Creative Zen Micro only has 5GB of storage and, having filled that up, I'm looking for a new (and larger) MP3 player. All of the major players (the iPod, the Zune, and the Creative Zen Vision M) have their own frustrating drawbacks, like non-replaceable batteries.

As such, I've been trying to figure out which way to go, mostly by reading reviews around the web. The more I read, the less impressed I am with each player. What MP3 player(s) do you use and/or own? Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

As I recently mentioned, the way I was handling the "skip to main content" links on this site wasn't as accessible as I had originally thought. I have fixed this issue, and hopefully things will be much better. Please let me know if anything looks odd or out of place.

A few weeks ago, I purchased a pair of Audio Technica ATH-ANC7 Noise-Cancelling Headphones. Over the July 4th holiday, my family and I went to visit my grandmother in Georgia, so I got a great chance to try them out. As the title of this post suggests, I really like them.

I attempted to take some pictures of the headphones, but they turned out really bad. Rather than horrify you with my pathetic attempts, I've decided to go with some stock photos.

As one might guess from the above picture, the ear pieces on these headphones are large enough to cover your ears. This design passively reduces any ambient noise, even before the noise-cancellation circuitry is turned on. Another plus is that active cancellation doesn't need to be enabled to listen to music (unlike the mega-expensive Bose headphones). Passive mode works well enough that, in a quiet place like my office, I don't really need to enable the active cancellation. However, it's worthwhile to note that, when in passive mode, any music played through the headphones sounds slightly muffled.

Enabling active mode is done through the flick of a switch located on the left ear piece. When enabled, any sound coming through the headphones is amplified, in addition to the added noise-cancellation. The difference between music quality in the enabled and disabled states is startling. What once was muffled becomes crystal clear. You literally have to hear the difference to understand what I'm talking about. Again, in a quiet enough location, I can live in passive mode. But active mode is good enough that many people may prefer to leave it enabled all the time.

So how does the actual noise-cancellation stack up? On our trip to Georgia, I used active mode the entire time to block out all the road noise. Needless to say, I was astounded at how well it worked. In the past, I ran my MP3 player at a volume level of 14 or 15 to hear the music over the noise. Now I can run the volume down to 7 or 8 and still hear amazingly well (even music with a high dynamic range). Great sounding music, and I'm saving my ears: win-win!

This second photograph showcases everything that you get with the package. The headphones and accessories come in an ultra-nice carrying case, which is rigid enough to prevent it from being crushed. A little zippered pouch holds the various accessories: the detachable headphone cable (5 feet long), a 6.3mm stereo adapter, an airline adapter, and a single AAA battery. Yes, this pair of headphones uses a single AAA battery. Shocked? I know I was. The battery lives in a tiny compartment in the left ear-cup, neatly tucked out of sight. I partially expected the included battery to be a no-name brand, but they actually shipped an Energizer brand battery. Time will tell how long the battery life is. I haven't been keeping track of how long I've used the headphones, but a rough number of "days" will suffice.

Several other points are worth mentioning. These headphones are extremely comfortable, and I find that I can wear them for an extended period of time without causing my ears to hurt. The adjustable band at the top of the headphones also allows folks with a large cranium (like myself) to wear them comfortably, without having their brains squeezed out of their head. Yet another plus is that the headphones are surprisingly lightweight. And I can even store my MP3 player in the case (in the middle of where the headphones themselves live). Score!

Overall, I couldn't be any happier with these headphones. Note that the availability (and pricing) of these is hit-or-miss. The ATH-ANC7's were recently one of two pairs recommended by a reviewer from the NY Times (his video review is pretty funny). Due to the upswing in demand, they disappeared shortly after the review was released. They used to be available at Amazon for around $135, but they shortly thereafter disappeared. I picked mine up on eBay for just under $200 (shipping included). Amazon now lists them again at $180 (as of this writing), but I know that Dustin recently bought a pair for around $160 at Amazon. So your pricing and participation may vary, as they say.

If you're in the market for noise-canceling headphones, I strongly suggest checking out the Audio Technica ATH-ANC7's. I've been thoroughly impressed, and they are quite a step up from my $10 Sony ear-buds. :-D

I just ran across an excellent article entitled Why “left: -9999px;” is Better For Accessibility Than “display: none;”. It discusses the two primary means by which web developers try to hide text (usually to allow for accessible logos or titles), and why using an offset is (often) better than just simply making it invisible. The author also explains why this is better, using some documentation from Microsoft on Internet Explorer accessibility. Looks like I need to fix my websites!

I've come across a few articles on how to optimize WordPress performance (all of the following links come from the first linked story in the list below):

• Wordpress Performance: Why My Site Is So Much Faster Than Yours
• Optimize WP Loading Times
• Optimizing Wordpress Performance
• Optimizing Wordpress for High Volume Traffic
• High Performance Wordpress
• Diggproof & Speed up Your Wordpress Blog

WordPress is by far my favorite content management system, but I opted to use Movable Type over at Born Geek, mainly because it uses static HTML pages (which load faster). Considering the content in the above guides, I may eventually switch from Movable Type to WordPress.

Can anyone recommend to me a secure (i.e., spam-resistant) contact form? I use the NMS FormMail script over at Born Geek, but spam is starting to pour through it. A replacement would be great, so any recommendations would be appreciated.

I've been out of town, so I know that this story is a few days old, but I really dig the new look at CNN.com. It's clean, sleek, and takes up much more screen real estate. The HTML doesn't validate, nor does the CSS, but I still think this is a step in the right direction.

Several weeks ago, I finally got around to installing Windows Media Player 11. Having put it through its paces, I'd like to share my thoughts on this release.

The most apparent change in WMP 11 is the new look and feel, courtesy of Windows Vista. In fact, the player features the Vista-esque minimize, maximize, and close buttons in the upper right hand corner. Strangely enough, a 1-pixel "dead zone" exists above each of these buttons when the application is maximized. I tend to run most applications maximized, and when I want to either minimize or close a window, I throw my mouse all the way up to the upper right of the screen. With Media Player 11, I can't do that. Instead, I have to move the mouse down at least 1 pixel from the top to activate any of the buttons. What an unnecessary aggravation, not to mention a break in the Windows XP standard!

The entire interface, as with most things Microsoft tries to make modern, looks like it has been coated in plastic. Everything is black, with the exception of the buttons, which sport an electric blue, back-lit effect. Overall, the interface feels uninspired, but it's one I can live with. It took me a while to figure out that you have to right click the top of the player to access the standard application menus. Why exactly is Microsoft getting rid of the menus in all of its new applications? Internet Explorer 7 does the same thing.

The new media library interface is a prime example of Media Player's stance as an iTunes wannabe. Gone is the oh-so-useful tree control for browsing through your stored albums. Instead, the user is presented with a visual collection of music "stacks," as Microsoft calls them. The more albums in your library for a particular artist, the bigger that artist's stack will be. This new interface is fairly confusing to me. I have a much harder time finding the artist I want to listen to now, mostly because I can't quickly scan for the artist's name (looking down an alphabetized tree control was much easier). One other problem is that the media library is very slow, especially on initial startup. It takes Media Player a while to load all of the album art it needs to display, and this initial slowdown is quite noticeable.

Speaking of album art, Media Player occasionally can't find the appropriate album cover image. One 2-disc collection of mine (John Denver's Rocky Mountain Collection) has the correct album image for disc 1, but only has a blank placeholder for disc 2. I note that some of the meta-data for disc 2 also differs, so it's no doubt a problem with the music database service that Microsoft uses. It's still a noteworthy annoyance.

I can find at least one positive note about the new media library interface. Playing music from the artist level, rather than the album level, allows me to listen to all of a particular artist's albums without having to click through them. Media Player automatically moves to the next album in the list when the current album has finished playing, a most welcome feature.

Playing videos through WMP 11 is fine, though I have experienced some occasional stuttering on locally saved files. I recently attempted to watch an episode of Diggnation that I had downloaded, and I found that I could not jump around in the video without experiencing incredible delays of 5 to 10 seconds or more. This wasn't a problem in version 10.

Ripping music has changed slightly (progress bars now advance in 10% increments), but still seems fast. I have not yet performed a sync operation with my Creative Zen Micro, so I can't comment on that part of the application. I'm avoiding the "built-in" Napster and URGE music stores, since I still prefer to obtain music on CD.

I'm not sure how to sum up Media Player 11. While it has a few nice features, I think Microsoft has generally taken a step in the wrong direction with this. Have you used WMP 11? If so, what do you think?

Matt Mullenweg has an interesting post on security in WordPress. He points out that, as a product becomes more popular, its security issues garner more attention:

When a product is popular, not only does it have more eyes from security professionals on it, but any problems garner a level of attention which is not quite warranted by the frequency of the general event, like Angelina Jolie having a baby. There are certainly things intrinsic to coding that can make software more or less secure, but all things being equal the software with the most eyes on it, which usually means Open Source, will be the most robust in the long term.

Jeffrey Zeldman has written an intriguing article on why "maybe" is one option too many. He compares the usage of "maybe" in questionnaires to five-star rating systems, exposing a point I had never thought of. As always, it's a well written article that makes you think. Zeldman FTW.

Best 5 second video ever (thanks Dustin)!

It was announced on Monday that EA will reorganize into four labels: EA Games, EA Sports, EA Casual Games, and The Sims. This is an interesting move on their part, intended to "streamline the company" (don't all companies seem to do this on a daily basis?). It should be interesting to see if this makes any real difference, though I doubt it does. I've heard that working for EA is like working in a sweat shop; it's amazing that any products are released at all, if that's the case.

What intrigues me most is the fact that "The Sims" will be broken off into its own label. Who knew that a single video game would spawn such an empire? I won't deny that I was a Sims junkie at one point. I own all of the Sims 1 expansion packs, and I even developed several tools for that very game. The game was highly revolutionary at the time, and remains one of the best examples of an object-oriented programming model (Sidebar: Each individual game object contains the necessary sounds and animations used when a Sim interacts with that object. This programming paradigm is incredibly beneficial, since new objects can be added at a later time without a need to update the game's core files.).

As one might expect, when the sequel (The Sims 2) was released, I eagerly picked it up. Surprisingly, I was disappointed with the game. Like many Maxis games, performance was sub par, even on my fairly beefy home computer (Sim City 3000, a game dating back to 1999, still stutters on my current machine). In addition, the game play mechanics had changed drastically: Sims had a finite life span, a number of goals needed to be reached through the Sim's lifetime, and relationships were even harder to maintain. I lost interest fairly quickly, and haven't played either title in several years.

So, to make a long story short, I'm a little amazed that the product line has continued to do so well. The Sims 2 has a total of 5 expansion packs (with at least 1 more on the way), 3 of which are essentially the same expansions as are available in The Sims 1. I get a "been there, done that" kind of feeling in that regard, but apparently lots of people don't feel that way. Otherwise, EA wouldn't have spun the franchise into its own label.

I've been meaning to discuss The Totally Rad Show for some time now, and I'm just now getting around to it. For those unfamiliar with the show, TRS describes itself as the "summer blockbuster of geek news shows." Alex Albrecht (from DiggNation), Jeff Cannata, and Dan Trachtenberg all host the show, and they talk about movies, video games, television, comics, and more. One of the great stylistic elements of the show is that it is shot entirely in front of a green screen. Throughout the show, as the guys bring up various topics, related images appear behind them. The effect is subtle, but it really adds to the overall presentation.

TRS is currently on its 12th episode as of this writing, and I have followed it since episode 1. The content of the show is entertaining, and I've been introduced to several really great things based on their discussions. If you're a geek, or you like video games, movies, and more, be sure to check it out. If nothing else, it's a great thing to listen to at work. :-D

I have updated the WordPress install that powers this website to version 2.2. A number of theme-related API calls were deprecated in 2.1, so I had to make some changes to my custom theme. If you spot any broken links or weird SQL errors, please let me know about it so I can correct the issue.

Nearly a week ago, a malicious person or group of persons hacked into DreamHost, the company I use as a web host. The passwords for over 3,500 FTP accounts were compromised, and some customers found unauthorized changes to files or directories. My account was among those that got hacked, and the experience has made me a better computer user.

Having a password stolen is frightening enough, but my situation was nearly a worst case scenario. When I originally set up my user account with DreamHost, I naturally provided the password to be used with that account. This user account granted me access to the DreamHost web panel, FTP uploads, and access to the web server's shell (via either telnet or ssh). When I later set up an email account, I chose to use this same account out of sheer convenience. I made a likewise decision for access to my web server logs. So, in short, one username and password provided me access to five areas:

1. The DreamHost Web Panel
2. My web storage (via FTP)
3. My web server home directory (via telnet or ssh)
4. My primary email address
5. My server logs

Do you see the problem here?

As soon as I got the email that my FTP password had been compromised, I realized how slack I had been about security and panicked. Thankfully, none of my files or databases were corrupted (though I'm still taking a look through everything). I have since changed all of my passwords, and they now all differ from one another, something I should have done from day one.

I try to be as security conscious as possible, but I really dropped the ball in this area, mostly for convenience's sake. This is the first time I have been 'hacked' like this, and I'm actually glad it happened. The experience has motivated me to be more secure in my password handling.

Lots of people are jumping ship as a result of this, but doing so seems premature to me. The folks at DreamHost are being open and honest about the problem, and I really appreciate that. Any company that steps up and says "we made a mistake and we're trying to prevent it from happening again" is worth sticking with. At the very least, I've learned a much needed lesson.

Update: I forgot to mention that other web hosts were also hit by this attack (according to this post), so it wasn't solely a DreamHost issue.

I am growing increasingly frustrated with Google Maps. In the past month, on two separate occasions, Google Maps failed to find my intended destination. What really gets under my skin is the fact that Google's competition found each place without any problems.

Example 1 My family checked out the Clarksville Station restaurant in Roxboro, NC for my sister's graduation. It's a steak-house built inside of an old train station and a couple of dining cars from an actual train. It's located at 4080 Durham Road, Roxboro, NC. Let's see what the mapping services show for this query:

• Google Maps: Only locates Durham Road, not the 4080 address.
• MapQuest: Shows the location as expected.
• Yahoo! Maps: Can't find the exact location, but interestingly enough, centers the map at the exact location. Weird.
• Microsoft Live Search: Gets it exactly right.

Example 2 My car needed service recently, so I took it to Jay's Automotive, a repair place not too far away from where I live. They are located at 3510 Highway 70 West, Efland, NC. Let's see how the various mapping services do with this one:

• Google Maps: Wow. This is so far off, it's not funny.
• MapQuest: Again, MapQuest gets the location exactly.
• Yahoo! Maps: Again, they cannot locate the address, but the map is centered at the correct location.
• Microsoft Live Search: Again, Microsoft got it exactly right.

What gets me even more steamed is the lack of aerial (or satellite) images for example number 2. Google Maps only has images beginning at zoom level 6 (levels 1 through 5 are all "unavailable"). MapQuest has color images down to zoom level 3 (1 and 2 aren't available), which is very close. Yahoo! Maps has color imagery at all zoom levels, while Microsoft Live Search has images to zoom level 3 (just like MapQuest, though the image quality is very poor).

Google needs to stop spending money and effort on cheap gimmicks like their recent Street View (is that thing worthless, or what?), and instead beef up their location database and aerial photographs. I can't even see my house on Google Maps! All the other mapping services have it, so it's certainly possible to do.

Get with the program, Google. Until then, I think I'll stick to your competition (at least when satellite photographs are involved).

The latest addition to my Nintendo DS gaming library is Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords. Although the name is a little hokey, the game is incredibly addictive.

Built around the Bejeweled game play premise, Puzzle Quest is a puzzle / role-playing game combination (one of the first of its kind, to my knowledge). You build a character using one of four character classes (Wizard, Knight, Druid, or Warrior), and travel around the game's world taking on quests. The game purely makes use of the stylus, and it does a remarkable job in the process (though I might argue that the stylus controls aren't quite as finely tuned as I would have liked).

Combat with enemies takes place on a Bejeweled-style game board, where you must match 3, 4, or 5 items in a row by swapping two items (just like Bejeweled). There are seven game pieces: red, green, blue, yellow, purple stars, stacks of coins, and skulls. The four colored game pieces correspond to the four types of mana that are available to your character (red, yellow, green, and blue). As you match these game pieces, your corresponding mana reserves increase. Mana is used to cast spells in the game, which you learn over time (you can also learn the spells of captured enemies). Some spells can be used to alter the game board while others can be used to do direct damage to your opponent. Other spells affect other aspects of the game, such as taking an extra turn or healing the damage you have taken.

Matching purple stars provides your character with extra experience during a battle, which helps you level up faster. The stacks of coins provide money when matched, giving you the necessary resources to purchase additional items for your character, or to spend on leveling up your various attributes. Skulls provide the means for doing damage to your opponent.

Interestingly enough, the AI in the game is very challenging. I frequently lose to the difficult opponents, especially after they get lucky and deal 40 or 50 points damage in a single turn (thanks to the cascades that can build up). Since players cannot die, I happily retry the match, hoping to do better the second (or third or fourth) time around.

There's more to the game than just battling enemies. You can build up a citadel with various buildings, each of which gives you a new capability. For instance, a dungeon allows you to capture enemies that you have beaten three or more times. A wizard's tower allows you to learn the spells of captured enemies. And other buildings provide further benefits. Cities can be sieged, allowing you easy access to your citadel, as well as a monthly income.

Thankfully, the writing in the game is fairly humorous. A number of silly side quests provide a good chuckle or two, and some have interesting twists. Overall, the main story line is fairly entertaining (if a bit cliché).

A few mildly annoying bugs lurk in this game, but they don't mar the overall presentation. One particular problem stands out: the game doesn't remember the music volume between game sessions, but it does remember whether or not you've turned the music off. I got pretty tired of the uninspired music after awhile anyway, so turning it off was no big deal.

I have yet to finish this game, but I have already made up my mind about it. If you don't own this game, and you have a Nintendo DS, you should be sure to pick it up. My final rating: A+

Last Thursday, Google unveiled their new universal search, complete with a change to the look and feel of their website. Now when a user searches Google, not only are web results returned, but other search results (e.g., news and product results) are also returned. What's most convenient is the fact that these additional items are inserted quietly amongst the web results, not directly above or below them. This new search paradigm is interesting, and it will be interesting to see if it holds on. I particularly like the subtle changes Google made to their look and feel, with that slick little menu bar running across the top of all pages. Having direct access to all the various search types is very handy.

I try to avoid blogging political stories here at this site, but Jimmy Carter calling the Bush administration the worst in history is so awesome. A Bush administration spokesman immediately fired back, dismissing Carter as 'increasingly irrelevant.' Huh?

Quick trivia question: how many US Presidents have a Nobel Peace Prize? Answer: only one (Jimmy Carter).

In short, President Carter is the man. And I whole-heartedly agree with his statement.

It's funny because it's true.