Most computer users do not and will not use more than two browsers on their computer. After all, what the third browser offers in additional functionality will most likely be offset by the extra effort keeping these three browsing environments synchronized.
Which browsers will they use? In short, people using only one browser will use whatever browser is pre-installed on their new computers (Internet Explorer on Windows and Safari on the Mac). People in need for a second browser typically look for a highly customizable browsing environment that they can tweak to their exact liking. And that environment is Mozilla’s Firefox, mainly due to the ability of customizing it with many of the thousands of extensions that already exist.
So why is Apple releasing Safari on Windows? The obvious answer is the iPhone, since Apple hopes that iPhone developers on Windows will grow to like Safari enough to abandon Internet Explorer or Firefox. The less obvious reasons are:
- It puts pressure on Mozilla and the open source community to keep on executing. If they stumble, Apple will be there to exploit the situation and to try to unseat Firefox
- Should the next “iThing” from Apple become another smash hit, PC OEMs might start to bundle Safari on their Windows machines. In any case, they will be able to use the Safari bundling threat in their negotiations with Microsoft. Plus it would be bad news for Mozilla, since users would immediately have access to two browsers
Will any of these two options become reality? I would not count on it. But I’d keep a weary eye on the situation, if I were Mozilla!
Nope, not that season. This is the other season – it’s summer in California, which means it is the season for Heirloom tomatoes!
These succulent tomatoes are called heirloom, because seeds are not hybrid and have typically been handed down within a family through generations. Thus, they are grown locally, are available only during a certain time of the year and their taste is much better than your usual greenhouse tomatoes that you can buy year-round in a supermarket. Heirloom tomatoes are a treat and if you’ve never had one, come on over and try some. We often eat them with just some mozzarella cheese, basil and a bit of extra-virgin olive oil sprinkled on top. Or as part of an heirloom tomato salad, with olives, onions and feta cheese, or even with some pesto.
So go to your local farmer’s market or visit your Whole Foods or other supermarkets and indulge as long as they are still in season!
Recently, Century Theater, which was headquartered in our county and thus operated most of our movie theaters, was acquired by Cinemark. The benefits from this acquisition became immediately obvious:
- They must have updated their pre-movie screening technology — they are now able to entertain us with regular advertising rather than semi-entertaining stills they had beforehand. As a result, arriving early might allow you to grab the best seat in town, but you now have to suffer through a barrage of ads. To us, it’s a total turn-off!
- They hit the $10 per ticket mark in some of their theaters. I’m sure they need extra revenues to pay for their new ad screening technology
- One theater charges a quarter more on Friday and Saturday nights, so it’s $10.25 rather than $10 per ticket during weekend prime-time. I inquired as to why, but nobody seems to know. My guess: They think they can. My hope: They monitor their attendance on these nights and reverse this decision
- If you take a family of four to the movies, it will cost you close to $50, including sodas and popcorn. Even if you just go out on a date night, it’s $20 without the drinks and food. For that money you can get a monthly 3-movies-at-a-time subscription from Netflix
No wonder that these days you don’t find us (and apparently others as well) in the best seats in town that often: The product offered simply does not match the price Cinemark asks for. Especially after the acquisition.
While it does not really look like it could make a big difference, this one does. Lightsphere is a flash diffuser that looks dorky, but delivers beautiful results. Designed by renowned wedding photographer Gary Fong, it is an add-on to your existing flash that diffuses the light in its cylindrical dome (similar to a lamp shade) to eliminate the typical direct flash or bounce flash shadows. It does so with excellent results that have to be seen to be believed!
Despite their cheesy-looking website that looks like it’s overselling what the Lightshere delivers (hey, the man is from L.A. 
, this one not only works, but it far exceeded my expectations. Try it out and I bet you will not go back to on-camera flash again. Definitely worth the $50 investment!
