Bit Revolver

The much anticipated version 3 of the Firefox web browser is due for release — but instead of just putting up the application for download, the Mozilla Foundation is orchestrating Firefox Download Day 2008. Download Firefox on the date they release, and you can be a part of world record-breaking history.

Quite an ingenious way to chase a larger slice of the web browser marketshare. And hey, I am all for it. Firefox is a quality open source application whose weight and influence in the browser market helps spur innovation and keep all the other software vendors on their toes. I’ve been using Firefox for years, so sure, I’ll show my support and help chase the Guinness World Record for most software downloads in 24 hours.

I have been writing Of Zen and Computing for over two years, publishing computer help, tutorials, tips, tricks, and general technology information in my best attempt at Plain English. Over that time, I have published one article or post nearly every business day of the week. Why keep it up for so long? Advertising dollars? No. Making money is great, but it doesn’t provide fulfillment. E-mails like this do, though:

I am a radio reporter and your tip for recovering deleted files from a memory card just saved my tuchus. I conducted three hours of interviews yesterday and thought they’d been lost. But the PC Inspector Smart Recovery found the files. It took more than 2 hours to process. But it was worth it. Thank you for your website — it’s a great public service.

- Jill B

With hundreds of millions of blogs on the Web, and most bloggers quitting after just a few weeks or months, it is easy to feel like just another drop in the bucket. Without a clear vision of why I blog, I too would probably have quit a long time ago… but hearing from readers who have directly benefited from my writing is the perfect motivation.

Consumerist reader Peter, who pays for top-tier Internet service from Comcast, recently found that Comcast’s definition of unlimited doesn’t really mean unlimited. Comcast is infamous for cutting off subscribers who download too much, and Peter received a notice warning him of such.

The infuriating part begins when Peter is told that an unlimited account is not entitled to download an unlimited amount of data, it is just entitled to download a limited a mount of data faster. What’s worse, Comcast cuts off customers who download too much while and at the same time refusing to inform them of what their bandwidth cap is or how much of it they have consumed. When was the last time your mobile carrier fined you for going over your minutes, but refused to tell you how many minutes were included in your plan?

Link via Ross McKillop.

Broadband Reports covers the ever-developing story of cable broadband providers looking to role out bandwidth caps. As customers consume more and more online content, their ISPs are looking to set up limits and fees. Sounds like prime time for competing services like Verizon FiOS to lure away customers.

We used to pay companies like AOL per-minute to get online. That didn’t last very long. Does anyone honestly think paying per-gigabyte might be any different?