Benjamin-Newton Creative Works: General Help for Linux, PC-BSD, and OpenSolaris

Ultimate Experience for Linux Users

Firefox 4.0 (or the very similar Iceweasel 4.0, or GNU IceCat 4.0, or Firefox 4.0 optimized for Yahoo), Seamonkey 2.1, and Google Chrome 5.0 (stable channel version), Epiphany 2.30.2, Midori .3.2, or higher will provide an ultimate browsing experience on Linux. The latest browsers will provide stunning visual effects involving high impact graphics shapes, light and shadow, and conditional formatting tricks, like: angled rounded corners on images, headings, quotes pages, and select paragraphs; image, page, quote rotation; text drop shadows on headings; drop shadows on images, quotes, select paragraphs; stylized drop caps for quotes; alternating colors for featured links; featured links going to a different website, going to another one of my websites, and on the same page marked as such; featured links to zip files marked as such; faded featured previously visited links; and background gradients. This is all done without any plugins (including Flash Player), without any additional graphics or slower download times, it keeps the website just as accessible as before, and only needs to be edited in one place to change or update the entire website.

New Font and Built in Audio for Linux Users

Also, if you are using Firefox 3.5 (or the very similar Swiftfox 3.5, Iceweasel 3.5, GNU IceCat 3.5, or Swiftweasel) 3.5, SeaMonkey 2.0, Google Chrome 5.0 (stable channel version), KDE's Konqueror 4.3, Epiphany 2.28, Midori .1.9, or Kazehakase .5.8, then you can see my website with the new font (which will work without any installation necessary).

Unfortunately you see that different browsers support different audio formats, which makes things more complicated, than necessary. This will likely not change, because of licensing fees and fears of being sued for using someone's unknown patents and these issues will not be resolved for many years, if ever. I have made listening to my songs and readings on my website simpler and less technical, for my visitors, by setting up my audio, to auto detect the correct version, for your web browser. If you use one of the above browser listed versions or higher, the audio on my website will automatically determine the correct file format, that works best, with your web browser.

Google Started a New Format War

Google has now removed the Apple/iPod/iTunes version support from Chrome now to force its users to use its own new format (WebM) or use Flash for video. This was designed to make trouble for the entire consumer electronic industry and its users.

Google is making trouble for Apple and its users, because Apple has decided not to allow Flash on its iPhones, iPod Touches, and iPads due to it radically lowering battery life, to not populate its store with poor performing widget apps, and because it was only available several years after the iPhone and iPod Touch were released.

Google's newly preferred format (WebM) likely has patents on it, opening up those who use it on websites to likely but unknown liabilities, without any patent pools like, in the Apple/iPod/iTunes format, and has no hardware acceleration support in most devices, unlike the Apple friendly format, so it would destroy battery life as well. Google has also refused to pay potential patent royalties, for users of its new format, when the inevitable patent lawsuits begin.

Ironically this Apple friendly format is not owned by Apple or Microsoft (and both pay more for using the patents in software then they get from them) and every major consumer electronics manufacturer (including Google and many of its phone manufacturer partner companies) had not just agreed to it, but actually funded its development (and they all cross license each other as they are the patent holders).

Improving your Experience Level with Linux

If you are using a major distribution of Linux or FreeBSD (and OpenSolaris should work fine too) you most likely have everything you need. You're experience with my website will be optimum. Current versions of Linux and FreeBSD come with a good experience level for my website built in, but could be improved to an ultimate experience if you can upgrade to Firefox 4.0 or Google Chrome 5.0 (stable channel version) or higher.

Special Instructions for Linux Users

Linux, PC-BSD, and OpenSolaris users won't need Flash Player for this website. If you have Flash Player installed for another browser for another website, it will work fine on my website too, but you will get better performance disabling it or all plugins, when browsing my website.

There seems to be a problem with the anti-aliasing in Epiphany, Midori, and Kazehakase, so that some of the graphics look somewhat choppy, as compared to: Firefox 4.0, Safari 5, and Google Chrome 5.0 (stable channel version). Konqueror 4.6.0, Arora .10.2, and ReKonq .7.0 could barely render my ideal version, but do fine with my failsafe version. I guess webkit anti-aliasing is not uniform for different web browsers or even the same web browser on different OSes. Google Chrome 5.0 (stable channel version), Epiphany 2.30.6, and Midori .3.2 anti-alias very well, with both my ideal and failsafe versions, so that graphics appear very smooth in these two browsers at those respective versions. Flash Player also works well with Epiphany and Midori.

Flash Player on Linux

There are now no incompatibilities with Flash Player on Linux as nothing on my site uses Flash by default.