After more than 11 years of development, Flightgear 1.0 has arrived.

Flightgear can be played on Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, as well as other *nix platforms including FreeBSD, Solaris, and IRIX. Distributed under the GPL, Flightgear is one of the first major Free Software games and has become a flight simulator that rivals it’s commercial counterparts. It is a stellar example of enthusiasts coming together to create something for the community.

Airbus A380 landing

Despite the unbelievable attention to detail, Flightgear can be played on a rather modest PC. However the better the PC, the better it looks and runs so those with the latest, greatest 3D cards can still enjoy the extra beauty and a smoother experience.

How to get safe and quick access to alternative file systems? DiskInternals Linux Reader is a new easy way to do this. This program plays the role of a bridge between your Windows and Ext2/Ext3 Linux file systems. This easy-to-use tool runs under Windows and allows you to browse Ext2/Ext3 Linux file systems and extract files from there.

“There are a number of evident merits of the program, which you should know. First of all, DiskInternals Linux Reader is absolutely free. Secondly, the program provides for read-only access and does not allow you to make records in Ext2/Ext3 file system partitions. This guarantees that the interference in an alterative file system will not affect the work of Linux later. Apart from this, it is necessary to note, that it gives you an opportunity to use common Windows Explorer for extracting data. A preview option for pictures is one more pleasant point, which is worth mentioning.

While saving, it ignores file security policies. It means that it is possible to access absolutely any file on a Linux disk from Windows. The program can create and open images of Ext2/Ext3 disks.”

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“Test on multiple browsers” has been a mantra ever since there have been multiple browsers to test on. Testing them all—especially these days—is impossible. But you can come a lot closer than you may think. In this article, learn a variety of techniques for cross-browser testing, from the very thorough to the quick and dirty. The choice you make will depend on your resources, but this is an issue you can’t ignore.”

go-mobile Announces SugarCRM and KnowledgeTree Integration Product for Sugar Exchange 

go-mobile, a provider of popular extensions for SugarCRM, has released ZuckerDocs version 2 which integrates the open source KnowledgeTree document management system into SugarCRM.

 

ZuckerDocs (”Zucker” is the german word for “Sugar”) is a Sugar module which extends Sugar suite with full Document Management and Knowlegde Base features. This datasheet contains an overview of features and pricing.ZuckerDocs, already one of the most popular projects on the SugarCRM community portal, SugarForge, provides access to KnowledgeTree’s advanced document management features from within SugarCRM. KnowledgeTree’s version control and full-text document search mechanisms are exposed to SugarCRM users. Documents within the KnowledgeTree repository may also be associated with SugarCRM objects such as accounts, opportunities and leads.

“Companies use SugarCRM to provide a customer-centric view of their information,” says Florian Treml, lead developer of the ZuckerDocs project at go-mobile. “ZuckerDocs extends that philosophy by allowing a customer-centric view of documents. KnowledgeTree and SugarCRM together provide a powerful application combination in a simple and easy-to-use manner.”

The latest version of the ZuckerDocs product uses KnowledgeTree’s Web Services application programming interface (API) and provides integration for both the open source and commercial editions of SugarCRM and KnowledgeTree.

go-mobile’s ZuckerDocs Version 2 is also listed on SugarExchange, the online marketplace for third-party applications from SugarCRM partners and community members.

“KnowledgeTree and SugarCRM are both developed on the popular LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) stack,” says John Thorne, chief sales officer at KnowledgeTree. “When we published our web services API a few months ago, our intention was for third-party developers to build applications around KnowledgeTree,” he says. “Zuckerdocs is a significant use of the API and we’re pleased that this strategy is adding value to both the KnowledgeTree and SugarCRM communities.”

SugarCRM for itself only provides rudimentary support for document management – it is possible to attach documents to notes, which for itself can be attached to contacts, accounts and other objects. ZuckerDocs uses a “real” document management system, from KnowledgeTree, and integrates the following into SugarCRM:

• manage document templates for each client
• organize business reports and invoices
• store email attachments

• ZuckerDocs server available for free
• Assign documents to Accounts, Bugs, Calls, Cases, Contacts, Emails, Leads, Meetings, Notes, Opportunities, Tasks, Users – in short, all Sugar objects
• Document Categorization for easy retrieval
• Version history for all documents
• Document locking with checkin/checkout functions
• Fulltext search
• “My Documents” for every user
• All document types supported
• Quick edit of text- and html-files
• Knowledge Management with interlinks, “Recently Changed”, article categorization etc
• Advanced document management by using the native KnowledgeTree UI

Both KnowledgeTree and SugarCRM have significant community traction. KnowledgeTree has 30,000 registered community members, over 420,000 open source software downloads to date, and 67 community-run projects. SugarCRM counts over 60,000 community members and nearly four million downloads of all things Sugar. The ZuckerDocs version 2.0 Beta release is available for download from SugarExchange: http://www.sugarexchange.com/product_details.php?product=21

Firefox 3 Beta 2 is now available for download. This is the tenth developer milestone focused on testing the core functionality provided by many new features and changes to the platform scheduled for Firefox 3.

New features and changes in this milestone that require feedback include:

• Improved security features such as: protection from cross-site JSON data leaks, tighter restrictions on site-specific content using effective TLD service, better presentation of website identity and security, malware protection, stricter SSL error pages, anti-virus integration in the download manager, version checking for insecure plugins.
• Improved ease of use through: better password management, easier add-on installation, new download manager with resumable downloading, full page zoom, animated tab strip, and better integration with Windows Vista, Mac OS X and Linux.
• Richer personalization through: one-click bookmarking, smart bookmark folders, location bar that matches against your history and bookmarks for URLs and page titles, ability to register web applications as protocol handlers, and better customization of download actions for file types.
• Improved platform features such as: new graphics and font rendering architecture, JavaScript 1.8, major changes to the HTML rendering engine to provide better CSS, float-, and table layout support, native web page form controls, colour profile management, and offline application support.
• Performance improvements such as: better data reliability for user profiles, architectural improvements to speed up page rendering, over 330 memory leak fixes, a new XPCOM cycle collector to reduce entire classes of leaks, and reductions in the memory footprint.

More Here

Mozilla labs published info on a cool add-on for Firefox, called Personas – lightweight theming to your browser.

Personas is a prototype that builds upon the ideas that:

• themes today are too hard to find, install and use
• graphic designers should be able to style the browser without having to code
• browsers can be more than just desktop software, they can include online components
• people just want their computer to be a little more fun and personal

This version improves upon a prototype that was discussed and tested earlier this year.

In this version, the Persona selector is dynamically loaded and populated from a JSON feed and all designs are loaded via URLs to remote resources. All changes to the browser chrome are applied instantly, with no need to restart.

Team shortly be releasing an API that will allow developers and designers to submit Personas that are based on Web content, including support for anything that can load in a content window such as HTML, CSS, PNG, JPG, Javascript, SVG and Canvas.

Features

• You can select a Persona from the dynamic menus and see results instantly without having to discover, select, download or install a separate bit of software or code.
• Personas can be added, removed or updated by their designers at any time, without requiring a software update.

Install Now for Firefox 2.0.0.* – 3.0b2pre, Windows/Mac/Linux
Compatible with the default themes that ship with Firefox

Just what you’ve been waiting for: the Firefox for Windows installer available in 5¼” and 3½” floppy disks.

– SpreadFirefox