FireFox 2 and IE 7 ~ What is Missing.

There is no point comparing Firefox 2 vs Internet Explore 7. Both browsers offer almost everything we need for day to day browsing. So I'm not going to compare the browsers.

Instead, I just open up the both browsers and explore what is missing in both new browsers - just for 5 minutes - nothing big. Here are 3 possibilities to update I found on both browsers in 5 minutes.

Auto switches 'Right Click Menu' item order depending on the menu display position.
I use the right click a lot. Since there are tabbed windows in both browsers, it makes us use right click more than before. When we right click top of the page, the menu comes underneath the mouse pointer. Like this:


If there is no enough space under the mouse pointer, menu display above the mouse pointer.


Now if menu is under the pointer, [Open In New Tab] link on the top of the link - very good, easy to click on it. But menu come up above the mouse, then it is at the distant point from the mouse position. Not good. I don't want to move the mouse - I'm lazy. Why not simply change the menu item list order also alone with the menu position. Here is a fake image I created how it should be.
 

Now	How it should be

Freeze Inactive Tabs.
No matter how many tabs we open at the same time, we can only see one tab at a time. Why browser doesn't freeze all the inactive tabs? That mean no sound, video or no animations should be active until I looking at it.
Isn't it annoying when multiple pages start to play sound at the same time?

Browser base Sound control
Browsers are not HTML viewers any more. We use them for sound, video and animation.
So why not add a multimedia control function to browser.
Have you ever bump in to annoying noisy flash advertisement banners? Most annoying one I have seen is one with mosquito noise. (Mosquito noise is nothing funny to me) When that flash base banners comes up - I have only two choices: click on the banner, so it can shut up - or close the page altogether.
We need at least a mute button in browsers - may be browsers can add full mute function to already excising stop button.
 

Internet and Me

I never seen people excited about browsers like this month. It was Netscape Navigator the first browser I used. I got my first internet connection form Sys-Tec. Eudora was the first email application, ICQ was the first IM application, and 'Corel Web Designer' was the first web page design application. 14.4 modem with third-party DUN application to dial in - took half an hour to configure and 5 minute to download a picture. The first site I surfed in was rick.com. As soon as Susil (from sys-tec) left, I went to sex.com. A whole new world started form that day.

Right now I spend around 12 hours a day on the net. I don't have zillion bookmarks to porn sites any more. Only bookmark left in that category is darlina.com (don't click on it - it is porn.)

I used to spend around 10,000 Rs a month or more on my phone bill + dialup internet bill. Right now I Spend 27,000 Rs ($270) for 64kbps dedicated connection in Sri Lankan and $30 (3000Rs) on 30mbps connection in NY. Cost of Internet has not changed significantly outside Colombo for last 10 years. TRC should stone to death for it.

Internet is a great place to find girls - Pretty girls too. I can not say anything about internet without thinking about certain beautiful people I met online who have changed my life. I have my bitter and sweet experience there. Browsers have nothing to do with that.

Internet is not a luxury to me any more like how it used to be. Matter of fact finding time to stay out of internet is a privilege. But I keep on finding so much valuable things and valuable people online; I can not voluntarily do that - not yet. In that case I start my day with cup of coffee and usual walk through Blogs.

In my internet life time, Netscape is the first best thing happened to Internet. But after IE came out I was eager to see the death of Netscape. There was a time period every web site had an image at the bottom saying 'Best Viewed with Browser x'. It was a nightmare for web developers. Have you ever a seen a country struggling to deal with two official languages at the same time and no matter how hard they struggle it never works perfect? That is how it was for developing a web site to work with both browsers. I hope that will not happen with IE and Firefox.

VOIP is another internet wonder. Remain illegal to general public in Sri Lanka till this day. dialpad.com rock the net with free calls. That is what brings down 250+Rs a min SLT IDD charges to 22 Rs. At last till 2004, you could have make couple of millions a day with an illegal VOIP root in SL. All you needed was proper political connection, TRC protection (could buy it for around 25c a minute depending on your volume), good hardware and E1 line(s). That was the only major business with possibility of recovering the investment in one day and makes million(s) profit next day.

At this age, Flash is the real competitor of browsers. Flash keep on offering new opportunities while IE was sleeping like a giant. youtube.com came out as soon as flash introduced flash video - sold for $1.65 billions in less than 2 years. After flash video, it came up with Flex - competitor for Ajax. None of new browsers could create new invention opportunities like Flash does - they even fail to offer anything new for Ajax, but they make themselves user-friendlier and healthier. We need strong browsers - no doubt about it. But that is about it.

Flex/Ajax will replace exciting web applications and desktop applications very soon. (Google spreadsheet, Office Live Beta is good experiments going on in this area right now). This is the current technology to create new dot com wealth. Look for it. Browsers have nothing to do with that.

By the way, we Sri Lankan have no significant advantage from none of above. In Sri Lanka internet limited to upper and urban middle class only. It is not because Sri Lankan are not interested in Internet or because it is expensive but because TRC have no interested in next generation.

Jesus Camp ~ Get ready to Born Again or Die.

Jesus Camp is out. Jesus Camp is 84 minute documentary about Evangelical Christian summer camp name 'Kids on Fire' in North Dakota, USA, where kids train to become Christian solders - run by Pastor Becky Fischer.



I didn't watch the movie yet. I'm not sure I'm really wanted to watch the movie. I watch too much trailers and news reports about the documentary and it already make my stomach sick.

Evangelicals are very good at drill their idea in to anybody's head. Loud screaming, same thing over and over again, same thing over and over again, same thing over and over again, loud screaming, same thing over and over again, can drill anything in to anybody's head.

But this is not about adults. This is about children - children as young as 6 year old. Pastor Becky says:

'Enemies of Evangelicals put their ideas in to children's head and give them guns and bombs. They are ready to kill them for cause of Islam.'
'I wants to see Evangelical children radically lay down their life for gospel.'
'There are two kinds of people in this world. People who love Jesus and people who don't.' 'Us against them, either you with us or either you with them'.
'Excuse me. We have the truth.' She said.

A Day in Jesus camp includes, 6 year olds praying for end the abortion, worshiping pictures of president bush, smashing coffee mugs emblazoned with the word 'government', speaking in tongue, publicly confession their impure thoughts, wail charismatically, weeping in salivation and getting seizures, train be a foot solder with toy swords.

Some of those activities are normal to kids anyway. I have seen lot of kids get seizures, scream, cry and pray front of Candy counter in Majestic City food court. Also I seen public confession of impure thoughts lot of times - like 'Mom, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you.' But I have not seen so far a kid want to be the God's army and pledge that they will fight to end abortion. It calls to my mind Timothy McVeigh.

Levy, a 12-year-old with a rat-tail who is a preacher too, said he was saved at age 5 because he wanted more out of life. I still trying to understand what it possibly be, 5 year old needed to be saved from? Is that form Riddler or is that form Batman?
What it can be he want more in his life ~ more m&m? He went far as saying.

'We are the Key generation to bring jesses back. There is lot of people die for God. There are not afraid. We want to give up our life to Jesus.'

There is a scene 9 year old Rachael feels bound to walk up to strangers and awkwardly evangelizes to them, without being prompted. Tory, a 10-year-old who likes music and dancing but worries about using her gifts 'for the flesh' instead of for God. 7 year old boy in painted faces, performing spiritual war dances and little hands reaching out to bless a cardboard cutout of President Bush, praying him for been Christian global leader.

Unfortunately Muslims are ready for the cosmic battle too. It is not earthly battle. It is ultimate cosmic battle between good against bad. Look like Evangelicals feels like they are loosing in the fanaticism race.

Alright. This is Americans with stomach full. Humans need a hobby after stomach full. Even monkeys do. After "Rock &Roll" and 'Coca Cola' they choose "God" to dominate the world.
We Sri Lankan can not escape form American phantasm. Ship will land in Sri Lanka very soon with lot of funding. We - third world humans - are their toys. 'Excuse me. We have the truth' - 'We are saved - you are not' That is the descending attitude of most of the Evangelicals in Sri Lanka already.

When I see this 12 year old boy - Levy - all I see is Heterosexual White American want to dominate my children's freedom and ready to punish them if they do not follow his path.

Religion is the main problem in this century, if there is a third world war that will be for Religion. The day before the cosmic battle begins will be the best day of all of us.

This is my question. What will you do when Jesus Camp come in to your town?
 

I'm All For Child Labor.

Child labor is one of the biggest politically incorrect topics. When I read Mashisha's blog "Child labor - let protect the children...?" I thought of writing my own addition to that. Please read Mashisha's post first.

Turn the TV on, bring the tea cup, and go to the store, water plants, wash the car, my nephews are always sweet deal. But nieces are by nature lazy. But that is alright, they will find a rich man when they grow up (God bless them)

Legal age to work is 14 in most of the countries. When you are 14 you can start working part time. In some countries it is mandatory for school children to work part time in summer vacation.

Sri Lankan law permits the employment of younger children by their guardians in limited family agriculture work or to engage in technical training. Employment of Women and Youth Act prohibits all other forms of family employment of children below 14. Persons under age 18 may not be employed in any public enterprise in which life or limb is endangered. (Yeh right. What about going to school in crammed private bus footboard?)

What ever the law says - first time - around 11 years old or so - helping a relative to clean the yard - I got 20Rs. It was kind of orange color note with bird on it. I never have been happy as much as that, with money ~ even now. First time I earned it. First time I knew I don't have to beg my mother all my life. I know I really didn't do any work worth of that - but who cares.

I started real work around when I'm 16 - painting sign boards - 50Rs to 100Rs a night (night. Because we are not professionals - we had to wait till professionals finish their work). After that I started silk screen printing with my friends - it was hard - specially when you don't know what you doing - break night straight couple of days. I remember Imperial Printing at Bambalapitiya gave us paint free, and told us it was first time school children were interested in screen printing. Good people. After that we make sure to shop in school uniforms.

We print collage T-shirts, even print posters - profit was like couple of 100 Rs after long nights of work. I don't do any of those works any more. But when I'm out of the school, I knew what the work is. I'm not young any more - but I can still work couple of nights straight without complaining.

My parents are teachers - some times transfers to rural areas, I went alone with them - I know how children work and learn at the same time. Some time 12 year old girl take care 3 siblings alone, till their parents come form farm (Hena). She cooks, feed siblings, carry sand form the river for house they planning to build (in villages everyone planning to build a new house always), and also make extra couple of rupees too some how. But they always went to school - at least till interval - because they got biscuits at interval. (It was American Aid square biscuits)

If the parents didn't get killed by elephants, they come back after around three months. (It makes me laugh when Tamil politicians trying to put only their area is not developed.)

One of my clients - Managing Director of the travel section in one of the oldest company in SL - later become a friend of mine -  told me he even have not finished O/L. he grow up as "helper" in his rich relative's house. Then he started to work as a labor ~ pushing wheelbarrows. Then become a welder in Alpha industries. But he wanted to have a job let him wear a tie and don't have to take a wash when every time visitor come to meet him at his work, so he can date 'classy' girls. He got a cleaning job in a small hotel. But a man used to work hard, end up as a managing director.
Alles's life story is not much deferent too.

My point is child labor is not always bad as Whiteman point out. Sometimes it is necessary too, for the child to survive, learn and become the person who he has to be. Rich western countries have enough resources to maintain well funded welfare system. But we are not and we never will be. Our children have to live on the real earth.

When I see a working kid, I see young working man who I wanted to be when I was young. Some times I see a kid in Havelock road selling marbles with bunch of notes between his fingers - like a bus conductor. I don't know his background, but I always admire his marketing skills. A smart young fellow.

In Sri Lanka we don't have child labor issue as much grown up kids not doing any work. Not only grown up kids, even university graduates stay at home depending on their parents. (Protest once is a while, that is not real work).

I'm all for child labor. First of all we need to get this grown children to work. Then we may need to make school kids starts to work part time after 14, as a school activity. At least then they do not have to beg their parents for money. When they out of the school, they know what the work is already.

I'm all for child labor. But I'm not for child labor manipulation. Child labor and child labor manipulation is two deferent things. In Sri Lanka we have a more than enough reasons for children to support family economy - as long as those reasons exist, children will work one way or another. That is not limited to Sri Lanka, that is nature of human family.

But once we put child labor underground, like how we do with prostitution, exploitation starts to grow bigger. Not only that, we loose the control of controlling the exploitation. That is how the parents end up letting children work as housemaids, behind the curtain. If we have open opportunities for children to work with descent wage - with standards - parents may not have to send the children to work behind the curtain.

Bottom line is - I want to see children deliver news papers in Sri Lanka too. I want to see children working on copy machine too. I want to see children working in the post office too.

P.S: Child Solders - that is a deferent issue - we need to campaign in Canada against recruiting child solders in Sri Lanka.