REVIEW - Finally, an alternative web browser that doesn't suck.

Until just recently, I have been using Internet Explorer to find my way around the internet, just like 99.99% of the rest of the online world.  It's not really because I like IE, but I've stuck with it really from a lack of other good alternatives.  I have messed around with Netscape and Opera and even a couple of other lesser known browsers in the past, but was really disappointed with each of them, and always found myself back on Internet Explorer in short order.  Not too long ago I decided to step off the Microsoft bandwagon once more, and give another new browser that has been gaining momentum a try: Firefox.  Well, at first it was actually called Phoenix, then they renamed it Firebird, and now it's called Firefox.  How the name evolved from a mythical flaming bird to a nickname for the red panda I'll never know, but call it whatever you like, it is easily the greatest web browser I have ever used.  It's fast, simple, elegant, stylish, and highly customizable.  What's not to like? The browser is very clean, straightforward, and simple.  No confusing layout or menus, and even the options menus are very easy to follow.  Looking for something more than the basic menu options though? Not a problem.  It has the ability to easily download and install tons of additional extensions, giving the browser all kinds of added functionality.  You can add RSS and news readers, web developer tools, bookmark managers, download managers, and a large variety of other tools to help you search and navigate and get the most out of the internet.  At first I was a little tentative about switching browsers, because I have a couple of 3rd party tools installed on my Internet Explorer that I didn't want to lose, namely my Google toolbar and my download manager, Flashget.  I installed the Google toolbar in IE mainly to block popups, but having a Google search box always sitting there has proved quite useful, as well as the form auto-complete feature it has.  As it turns out, Firefox already has a built-in popup blocker and a Google search box by default, and just a quick search through the available extensions and I also had a souped up form auto-complete option as well.  But what of the download manager? Turns out there are also extensions to add Firefox support to most 3rd party download managers, including Flashget, so looks like I'm all set.  But wait, there's more! As long as I was perusing the available extensions, I decided to try a few more of them out.  My favorite by far is the Adblocker.  Firefox already blocks popups by default, but with this extension you can actually remove banners and ads from within webpages.  That's right, it just strips out all the annoying blinking eyesores on the fly so you don't even know they're there.  It's fairly simple to configure, and within minutes you get commercial free internet.  Simply brilliant.  I won't go into all the extensions I installed, and bore you with details on news readers or web developer tools.  I'll just sum it up by saying that whatever you use the internet for, Firefox can make it easier.  Firefox also has Internet Explorer beat hands down on aesthetics.  By default it already looks better than IE, but you can also download new themes for Firefox, completely customizing the interface to your heart's content.  Try doing that in Internet Explorer without giving yourself a headache.

In summation, not only is there nothing that Internet Explorer can do that Firefox can't do better, but Firefox has tons of cool features that Internet Explorer can't even come close to touching.  I highly recommend downloading it and giving it a try.  It's simpler to use, easily customizable, highly configurable, and just plain looks cooler.  Thus I give it the new Warped Core stamp of approval:

COMMENTARY - Voting for Dummies

This is going to be sort of a two part article, covering both the subjects of voting, the sheer brilliance behind the "Dummies" books, and why it's a shame that there isn't actually a "Voting for Dummies" title...

Voting.  That's right, it's election season again, and all these stale old farts are on TV droning on and on about why they're so great and why their opponents aren't, in hopes that when the big day comes and you find yourself in that little booth, you will be inspired to clearly mark the entry next to their name.  The candidate typically tries to make this impression upon you by prattling endlessly about subjects you've never heard of, don't really care about, and/or don't understand, and you quite frankly wouldn't even know any different if they were just making most of this stuff up.  Yet there are all these "vote for something" public service announcements going around, telling you it's your Patriotic duty as a member of a democratic society to vote.  Bull crap, I say.  I am honestly offended by the very concept.  It is at best a half truth.  Yes, the right and privelege to vote is at the very foundation of democracy, but it is my opinion that no vote at all is better than an uneducated one.  The power to vote without knowledge is a dangerous one, and is actually detrimental to the entire system of democracy.  Encouraging people to vote just for the sake of voting is ludicrous.  An individual with a solid knowledge and understanding of politics, the candidates, and their policies, who casts his or her vote out of a concern for the well-being of the country can just as easily be undone by some moron who couldn't even point out the nation's capitol on a map and is selecting random entries on the ballot simply because a TV commercial told him that was the "patriotic" thing to do.  It is for this reason that I find the whole concept of "just vote for something" unpatriotic.  If you don't even know what you're voting for, you're only destroying the entire system by doing so.  I'm not saying that anyone does not have the right to vote.  Voting is a great power given to us, and any U.S. citizen is free to excersize it.  But as wise old Uncle Ben once said to Spiderman, with great power comes great responsibility.  Voting without any knowledge of what you are voting for is irresponsible and goes against the principles on which a democracy operates.  So yes, do vote for something.  Just remember that Patriotism simply isn't about voting, but voting responsibly.

Unfortunately, a "Dummies" book does not exist on the subject of voting.  It would be able to clear up all these issues for the average American, as well as include a chapter instructing Florida residents on how to clearly mark a ballot.  It would be a top seller, I'm sure.  I love the "Dummies" books.  I think the concept behind them is ingenious.  The titles clearly insult you just for picking them up, yet they are bestsellers nonetheless.  How they can even get away with this, I don't know.  Here are a few of my particularly favorite titles published in the "Dummies" series...

• Sex For Dummies: If you need this book, you shouldn't be procreating anyway.
• Raising Smart Kids For Dummies: Sorry, genetics dictates you've already lost...
• Dog Tricks For Dummies: Sit, dummy, sit! Good dummy...
• Slow Cookers For Dummies: Redundant?
• Starting an Online Business For Dummies: Tips on scamming AOL customers, maybe?
• AOL For Dummies: Again, redundant.
• Alzheimer's For Dummies: Are you stupid, or just forgetful? I can't remember...
• Living Longer For Dummies: Great, just what we need. Idiots with longer life spans.
• Negotiating For Dummies: No really, no need to negotiate. You can keep them all.
• Communicating Effectively For Dummies: Because where would a dummy be without a good translator?
• Preventing Identity Theft For Dummies: For the people that fell victim to someone who read "Starting an Online Business For Dummies".
• NASCAR For Dummies: Another redundant one...
• Florida For Dummies: There's an understatement...
• Writing a Romance Novel For Dummies: Well, who else reads them?
• Inventing for Dummies: How can you invent something if you need a book to tell you how to do it?