The Linux Extremist

When I first tried Firefox on Linux, I thought to myself “Things simply don’t get better than this”. I had never used a quicker browser; it seemed to be making the most of my broadband connection. Never before had the internet seemed so accessible.

I then learned about some tweaks one can apply to Firefox. After making these modifications, again, I thought, “Well, it couldn’t get better than this!” I have been very happy with its performance and wondered how it could be improved further still. Given how fast it was, it seemed unlikely.

Happily, this has come to pass. An optimised build of Firefox for Linux, called appropriately enough, Swiftfox, is by far the fastest and best browser I’ve ever used.

For Ubuntu users, installation is painless. Simply one has to go to www.getswiftfox.com, and click on the link to get the Ubuntu distribution. The package works well with Ubuntu Dapper Drake’s GDebi package management system and installs perfectly.

However, a slight bit of tweaking is required to make it available to the menu system. First, go to Applications >> Accessories >> Terminal. Then type in the following.

cd /usr/lib/swiftfox/icons

This will take you to a directory with all the Swiftfox icons you’d care to use. In my case, I chose to use the 128 x 128 pixel icon, which is entitled mozicon128.png. I tend to like to keep all my menu icons in one directory, namely, /usr/share/pixmaps. In order to get the Swiftfox of my choice into that directory, I typed

sudo cp mozicon128.png /usr/share/pixmaps

Type in your root password when asked, and then the icon will be copied into the appropriate directory.

One can keep using both Swiftfox and Firefox; the only problem is that every time one engages either programme after using the other, it acts like it is a “first time” launch. In my case, I chose to simply replace any launcher for Firefox with a launcher for Swiftfox. In order to do so on the main menu in Ubuntu, right click on “Applications” and select, “Edit Menus”. The Alacarte Menu Editor will appear. Select “Internet” on the left hand side of the panel. Then right click on the Firefox icon on the right hand side of the panel, and select properties. Click on the Firefox icon, navigate to /usr/share/pixmaps, to find the Swiftfox icons. All instances of “firefox”, whether in the title or in the Command should be replaced with “swiftfox”. Once done, click “Close”.

All that said, it is possible to make Swiftfox even faster. Start it up, and enter in “about:config” as a web address. Scroll down to a value entitled network.http.pipelining.requests. Right click on that and choose “Modify”. Swiftfox sets this value at 8; with a good broadband connection, one can push it to 30 without any problems.

Once this value is set, then right click anywhere on the screen and choose New and then Integer. Enter the new value’s name, which is nglayout.initialpaint.delay, and set it to “0″.

With Swiftfox and these small tweaks, I’ve had a browser which is definitely the best web browsing experience to date. In fact, I can only think of one fault with it. Really, the developers have done such a bang up job making it so that Linux users get the most out of the web, surely they should do it also for the users of BSD.

The War on Terror has been brought home to me on several occasions. My mother was in the New York area on September 11, 2001; trying to get through to her on the phone without success for 2 hours was a genuine “heart in the mouth” episode. Fortunately, e-mail still worked and she wrote back to me.

Additionally, I had a long walk home thanks to the terrorism on 7/7; trains as far out as West Sussex were out of commission. I remember standing on the train platform and using my mobile phone to do a text message roll call of people I knew in the city, to see if they were all right. They were, thankfully.

My most recent brush with terrorism was far less traumatic and annoying than these previous incidents. As I was waiting to board the plane to go to Frankfurt last Saturday, I glanced up and saw two security officers dragging a man dressed in dark clothing off of the ramp leading to the airplane. The officers were swift and ruthless. The suspect was dragged off forcefully, and then made to do a “perp walk” in handcuffs, which proceeded past the window of the waiting area.

I have no idea if he was Al Qaeda or just some loony, but it was clear that the fellow, who appeared to be of Asian / Middle Eastern origin, was somewhere he didn’t belong. If he was a terrorist, he failed. If he was a loony, then he was completely bonkers to go skulking about without a proper security pass. Given that we haven’t heard anything on the news about this incident, I suggest it’s the latter rather than the former. Still, it had the feel of a close shave.

The War on Terror is very real. I tried not to laugh too hard when I saw Michael Moore say on television that “There is no terrorist threat”. It’s very clear you don’t live on the same planet I do, Mike. I wonder how he would have felt if he saw the same incident I did last Saturday. I also wonder how he would have felt if he had overheard a security guard say, as I did, “Yes, the government has just broadened the ban; we’re not allowing people to carry any cosmetics or powders on the plane as well as gels and liquids.” But as Mike probably flies solely on private jets (how very environmentally unfriendly of you!) I doubt such incidents even register on his radar.

The temperature of the conflict went up a bit this week; President Ahmadinejad of Iran made it very clear that he’s not going to stop his country’s nuclear programme. The United States is angry, the United Nations is reeling, but it looks like the world is going to be paralysed by indecision about what to do.

However, something must be done. Let’s put it bluntly, President Ahmadinejad is a complete and utter loon. I’m not saying this lightly. He provided ample evidence of how barmy he is in a video distributed by an Iranian website last November. The video quotes him saying that when he made his maiden speech at the United Nations, one of his colleagues said that he saw a “glow of light” around the President.

Rather than suggest that his colleague needed to have his eyes checked, he said:

“I felt it myself too…I felt that all of a sudden the atmosphere changed there. And for 27-28 minutes all the leaders did not blink…It’s not an exaggeration, because I was looking.

“They were astonished, as if a hand held them there and made them sit. It had opened their eyes and ears for the message of the Islamic Republic.”

This is not his sole brush with insanity; worse, he has stated his desire to “wipe Israel off the map”. Such a person should not be allowed anywhere near nuclear technology (unless he suddenly decides he wants to irradiate himself), let alone be allowed to possess a bomb. Forget reasoning with him either; it’s akin to trying to talk to a lunatic with a gun. Rather, he should be treated like a lunatic with a gun; the priority should be to disarm him.

I am sure that the leaders of the world know all this and more; I can imagine the jokes about him having a Napoleon complex doing the rounds at all the fancy diplomatic dinners. However, there is a complete lack of willingness to deal with this problem. The Russians and Chinese like cheap oil and probably secretly snicker at how Iran pokes America in the eye. The French are no-shows in this struggle; let’s not forget how they set a new record for the world’s quickest surrender by first pledging to lead the new UN mission in Lebanon, and then saying they would commit a paltry 200 troops. It was only the shame of seeming weak compared to Italy that made them change this position.

Britain and America are thoroughly occupied with wars in Afghanistan and Iraq; both President Bush and Prime Minister Blair are due to leave office within a relatively short timescale, and thus their political capital is spent. There really is no one who is in a position to do anything particularly tough.

Fortunately, there is one soft option and it is provided by technology. I suggest that we consider hitting Iran’s nuclear facilities with an Electromagnetic Pulse Bomb.

EMP technology, according to Globalsecurity.org, has been tested and can be effective. It’s non-lethal except within several meters of the epicentre. It will completely fry the computers and electronic equipment that Iran is using in their programme. As such, if Iran doesn’t comply with the will of the international community, detonating such a device should be acceptable to everyone. If Iran decides to build these facilities again, they will have to start from scratch. In which case, we can launch another one.

This is just an idea; I am sure a military expert could poke holes in it. However, there is very little of this kind of discussion happening at present. There is a flurry of paperwork and nonsense at the United Nations, accompanied by the hand wringing and posturing that have become typical among modern politicians. I suggest that they need to start doing something, rather than engaging in this flimflammery. The consequences of doing nothing are going to be dire. Given this, it is time to be as forceful and purposeful as any Heathrow security guard would be with any loony or saboteur. I have to say to the world’s leaders, do something, please.