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fdb THE MIX Monday, Nov. 14,2005 ®L ■ 1 J 1 -4 _X_ T _l I m Page 5 o Firefox browser's following shows dramatic growth Jeremy Turnage FOR THE GAMECOCK Next to Internet Explorer, it is the one of the most recognizable gateways to the Internet, but many students on campus have never heard of it until they came to college. ’Mozillas Firefox Internet browser is fast becoming the most-used ^rowser on the planet, and it might have Microsoft shaking in its boots. Mozilla Firefox began as a side project by Dave Hyatt and Blake Ross of the Mozilla Foundation. They built up a simple, user friendly browser known as Phoenix, named after the mythical firebird. In September 2002, Mozilla began public testing for Phoenix, and an Internet revolution began. However, Mozilla Phoenix had to undergo several name changes before it became the browser that many know and love. The name Phoenix was used until April 2003, when it was revealed that Mozilla had run into trademark trouble when popular BIOS manufacturer Phoenix Technologies had gotten wind of the browsers name. To avoid legal issues, the Mozilla Foundation changed the name of the browser in late April to Mozilla Firebird. However, it was not smooth sailing from there. It became apparent that there was another program out in the world known as Firebird — a popular open-source database server program. In February 2004, Firebird became Mozilla Firefox, and the rest is Internet history. Many users note Firefoxs clean, simple interface as a high point. Others state that the browsers ease of use has made it a hit. However, most users recognize one true reason for the success of the browser: security issues. Many critics around the world believe Firefox to be the most secure browser ever created — topping even Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. The Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg suggests “dumping Microsoft’s Internet Explorer Web browser, which has a history of security breaches. I recommend instead Mozilla Firefox.” Firefox’s source code is available for anyone to take a look at. Users and developers around the world can suggest changes and fixes for the browser that will increase security. Mozilla has also become famous for its “Bug Bounty” system. If a user locates a critical security problem or a code-breaking bug, Mozilla will reward that user with $500 and a free Mozilla T-shirt. The success of Firefox also has owes much to the Internet community. In 2004, Mozilla and users across the Internet created an aggressive marketing campaign known as “Spread Firefox.” Many users were introduced to Firefox through this method. Downloads of the browser have done nothing but increase in the last year. Within the first day of release of Firefox 1.0, Mozilla reported more than a million downloads; the first 100 days, 25 million; April 2005, 50 million; August 2005, 80 million; and 344 days after the initial release of the browser, 'lozilla • orted 100 o n t h Clearly, the popularity of the browser has not faded. Mozilla is also easily the most customizable browser ever to be released. At the Mozilla Web site (www.mozilla.org) users can download extensions to the browser to add different functionalities. For example, users can download a Gmail notification extension so they’ll always know when they get a new e-mail on their Gmail account. . Perhaps one of Firefox’s most recognizable features is tabbed browsing, a simple process that allows users to view multiple Web sites while using only one window. This process alleviates FIRCFOX • 6 —'' v 'MiiMiiUMiiMii ssw^MfiENBSSSttji « ■* t»«*«f t»* FWto* TFv^iMftwV^a -«««» SBar^tu F&#wf icfJySSww ** ®* *•* a» swx^** >» »* .^|f| a *s &♦ - tr.>, *~Z ~TT ~ ~—SF'JkfS ~ rs^SB^s:- r f.tr~r——- ~ ~ ~?qj Get Firefox tJowNMd fx*fo% mv> me t»ta*t M$jnty and statxMv update* &v«*ab» *«• Windorr%, H*cO***«l t*W. *X&HSl - «** »w*«a<8 we* Straat Journal fry gttwwtoatf m?1 *--efe* ;.5 i fe"a*«b**< &*£*> ^fe^aftwaja^A&aaateas G«i Thund«rbtrd In th# Stof* Tna a-«**» c*an*make* ****Ko$ i»%, f**t*r. and Get?«*%». i-CanCft **d jggt »«** than aver before *,tfc »e-« feature* (*.* pwfcjant epw* purenaea me cfteaat *«$*<& Wta*t, **v«d search fewer?, RSS support, privacy protects*' aod Nfc|pf awdefe&ok tha ■Za’LZ&S- | ctwwnmiw -"..eto> j.a rhwWertrird i4),? Wr Wrxtowe. grtafcsn ■ 5.8MB} { fc&g*f*********» _ ksb^u-J sga«.satt> ® . V ... — #,T Special to THE CAMECOCK Many tech experts say Firefox is more secure than other browsers. Meghan van Aarde was treated for whooping cough in the Cough Center located in California. Doctors say adults need •whooping cough vaccine Blyth Bernhard and Scott ITIartindale THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER Meghan van Aarde’s recent coughing fits kept her awake at night, left her gasping for breath and even interrupted her classes at California’s Whittier Law School. “It got to the point where I’d have to leave class. I knew I was disrupting other people,” ^an Aarde, 30, said. Doctors blame pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough, for a spike in hacking fits nationwide. Despite decades of vaccinating children against pertussis, cases of the potentially fatal infection are at a 45-year high. Pertussis has been linked to the deaths of six California infants in 2005 and is the only contagious disease on the rise despite the availability of a routine vaccination for children. t An immunization advisory committee at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently expanded its recommendations for the pertussis vaccine to all adults. The vaccine is being added to the tetanus-diphtheria booster shot for adults and already has been recommended for adolescents. Pertussis immunization wears off about five to 10 years after children receive their last vaccine between the ages of 4 and 6. About 60 percent of those infected with pertussis are teenagers or adults, researchers say. While pertussis is usually not serious in adults, it can be fatal to infants who have not received the full course of five doses. There were about 26,000 reported cases of pertussis in 2004, the highest total since 1959. Experts do not know the reason for the increase, but suspect that more accurate diagnosing is at least partly responsible for the spike. Pertussis is difficult to diagnose because its initial symptoms — low-grade fever, runny nose and cough — mimic a cold, allergies or bronchitis. Research has indicated that some 97 percent of cases may go undiagnosed. “I’m so concerned about the spread of pertussis,” said Dr. Brian Levine, who treated van Aarde at the newly opened Cough Center in Mission Viejo. “We’re treating adolescents and adults, but really it’s a concern for mortality of infants under four months.” Levine founded the Cough Center to diagnose and treat whooping cough and chronic coughs caused by allergies, asthma or other illnesses. Patients with coughs often PERTUSSIS • 6 Experts weigh in on freshman 15 Specialists offer tips for staying slim after studies show many first-year students gain weight Brian Alexander THE SEATTLE TIMES SEATTLE — Throughout her high-school years, Christina Olson never really worried about her weight. She ate and exercised when she wanted and didn’t put on extra pounds. She didn’t think anything would change when she moved to Virginia to attend college. But after her first semester, she came home to discover her old clothes didn’t fit as well. Blame the “freshman 15,” that notorious bit of college lore that says freshmen will gain 15 pounds in their first year away from home. Though the lore is nor hard fact, a few studies join nutritionists and college fitness experts in saying that, on average, students actually do gain weight in their first year away. It’s an average of 5 pounds before winter break, according to a 2003 study by New York’s Cornell University. The reason? It’s the many parts of a lifestyle change, said Judy Simon, a clinical dietitian at the University of Washington Medical Center’s Roosevelt clinics. It’s staying up late, snacking while studying, drinking beer and having irregular meals, not to mention a lack of physical education classes and after school sports, among other things, she said. College students don’t give enough thought to nutrition or their weight when they’re ordering that meat-laden t pizza at midnight, she said. I Nor do they think about the calories in beer when they go to a party. “They wouldn’t drink six regular sodas, but they’re drinking six regular beers,” said Simon. Weight gain for students who graduate from high school but don’t go to college differs from those who do go ■ to college, said David Levitsky, a professor of nutrition and psychology at Cornell University. Those who don’t go to college don’t gain weight. One of the key reasons for freshman weight gain is emotional eating, Simon said. When students get stressed, break up with a boyfriend or girlfriend or have a big test coming up, they often chow down on comfort food: cookies, chips, ice cream and anything else that can be found at the convenience store down the street, she said. For Olson, who is now a senior, it was the cooking in Virginia: “They fry everything, and you can only eat so many salads,” she said. She said she also found herself staying up late and snacking, but she didn’t start worrying about it until she tried on an old swimsuit in preparation for a spring-break trip. So Olson started looking for a way out. And that’s a typical experience, Sihion • said. Though some students come to her before they start putting on pounds, she said she sees many of her patients only after the jeans stop fitting. “I don’t think the freshman 15 is inevitable,” she added. “Not everybody gains it, and not everybody has to.” Simon’s advice is aimed at busy college students: Go to the gym. Or at least walk a lot. Eat a good breakfast and don’t skip meals. Skip fast food and fatty lattes, and eat reasonable portions. Drink alcohol in moderation. Drink lots of water all day long. Levitsky, at Cornell, found in his research that if freshmen watch their weight, it helps keep them from eating too much.-Also, if they’re educated about proper portion sizes, they will be less likely to gain weight, he said. There’s another danger, the experts warn: Some students become obsessive about their weight, and it turns into a control issue, Simon said. Olson, for example, said her worries about losing weight for spring break led her to create her own diet. She started counting calories and signed UJCIGHT Gflin • 6 : 3 pm pm KRT CAMPUS i clinical dietitian says the infamous “freshman 15” is prompted y students adopting unhealthy eating habits upon starting college.