A few hours ago, beta invites were received by a variety of Microsoft Connect members, other registered Microsoft users, and even by quite a few users that simply have a .net log-on address. The Hohm beta website, which is open to ALL, is now live and can be found here . You’ll need a .net logon (IE: @live, @msn, @hotmail, etc.) to access the site. A critical examination (with links to other articles as well) was posted this morning by my colleague Peter Troast at Energy Circle here .
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Earlier today, I noticed a post on WebMonkey that the public ‘final’ version of Firefox 3.5 could be available as early as Tuesday. Apparently, BetaNews confirmed this info a short time ago. Firefox is still my default browser. The reason, for the most part, is the myriad of extensions that just make it an easier and customizable Internet experience for me. I do use Google Chrome (the dev versions), and seem to have had a better-than-most experience with the version of Internet Explorer 8 version that’s comes with Windows 7 RC. My earlier attempts with various release candidates of 3.5 were not as ‘healthy’ but that’s what Beta and Release Candidates are all about…… To get those of us that like messing with this stuff to help get the bugs out (while getting the word out) … for free 
Late this afternoon, I downloaded the latest RC (3) of Firefox 3.5. I installed it using Windows 7 RC on a laptop with reasonable system resources. There IS a ‘noticable’ difference and it’s been running smoothly with no crashes or huge ‘memory blocks’. While I don’t (never have) benchmark software because I think it’s a very safe assumption that there are too many variables (IE: Your hardware, Internet connection, existing running processes, etc.), I think it’s safe to say that Mozilla has a fairly substantial improvement on the way with Firefox 3.5. The Firefox 3.5 Release Candidate 3 can be downloaded here , or, you can ‘play it safe’ and wait for Tuesday Great Weekend you guys … Charlie Update 1: Some major websites are not yet recognizing Firefox 3.5 including the new Google Adwords PPC interface. Update 2: June 30, 2009 11 AM ET: Firefox 3.5 has been released. The current ‘available languages’ download page can be found here , and the release notes are here .
In a post to the Official Gmail Blog a short time ago titled So, you want to be a Gmail ninja? …. in a way I suppose only Google can do, the Gmail team introduced a new chart explaining the in’s and outs of Gmail, which … ugh .. allows you to rank yourself: White Belt .. Green Belt .. Black Belt, or (have a seat?) …. Gmail Master! From what we can tell, there is no bodily harm potential (IE: Kicking, quick movements, splitting bricks). Just a good understanding of what you can do with a Gmail account. You can ‘peek’ at the chart right here . (Note: It will open as a PDF) … or …. you can order an (official) laminated one from www.barcharts.com/gmail for $1.25 US. The 1024 freebies that Google offered earlier today are already gone. (Yeah, I know, bummer). There’s also a new online Gmail tip page just launched here . I have a feeling we may see a few of the laminated babies floating around SMX East or the next Google get together … We’ll see