Firefox faithful have reason to be excited. Mozilla recently announced that Firefox 3 has reached the fifth beta. The new beta is now available for download for those who want to experience the new browser earlier than others.

The new beta version will have about an astounding 750 changes from the previous beta, which was no slouch either as it was already considered as very fast and stable. Beta 5 is seen as the last before the actual release. With the number of changes for Beta 5, one would be hard put to consider that the final release will still have a number of changes. This is good news for us users because, frankly, I am sick and tired of doing the beta for software companies who love to just release half finished or unstable builds and yet claim it is an official release (hear that, Microsoft?).

Some of the features that we can expect from Beta 5 are native Windows icons as well as widgets as well as support for 45 languages. The new “Places” feature has also been updated.

Whenever I get cabin fever from working too much inside my house I would often bring my laptop, go to coffee shop and work from there. Free hotspots have really helped in making me more productive. Of course, productivity can only happen when there is an existing hotspot near you.

I discovered this limitation when I decided to accompany my wife in one of her errands as a magazine editor. She needed to visit a number of commercial shops and look for items that can be featured in her magazine. Hoping that this would be a great way to spend some time with her while at the same time catch up with work, I decided to join her. The plan was for her to walk around these establishments while I go look for a coffee shop where I can work. Good idea, right?

It wasn’t. The commercial area we went too didn’t have a hotspot and the one area that did have Wi-Fi was restricted to subscribers of a Wi-Fi service. I was well and truly screwed. This incident really drove home the convenience of having a ready internet connection wherever you go. Subscriptions to a Wi-Fi service is really not a good idea because it is still dependent on an available hotspot. This made me really see the value of HSDPA based internet connections. With just a small gadget plugged to your lappie, you can access the internet literally wherever you are — in the car, in the middle of a mall, even on the beach! As long as the area is within range of a mobile network you’ve got internet.

With the level of mobility that my work requires from me especially in the near future HSDPA will give me the productivity edge that I need.

Looking at all of my new gadgets that my friends and I have acquired this year made me realize how wired and connected we are. We have achieved a level of connectivity with each other and with information that ten years ago we would only think it could happen in science fiction novels. Our laptops, our phones, our desktop computers… heck, even our refrigerators are plugged in and wired to the world wide web.

A new survey done in the United States by Deloitte and Touche shows the level of connectivity that we have and the results have been quite interesting. For example, 38 per cent of US consumers now watch TV shows online, while 36 per cent use their mobile phone as an entertainment device. Also, 45 per cent have made it a habit to make online content for others. This include music, videos, blogs and websites.

The survey confirms that new media is now a legitimate form and advertisers see a more universal strategy as the most effective means of reaching your target audience.

The figures cited have actually increased quite dramatically from the last survey and this is quite telling because it means the level of acceptability and absorption of these devices has also increased. Advertisers should take heed of this new development in making new ad strategies this year. We should also look at this as a sign that society is really becoming more and more connected whether we like it or not.

“I think for advertisers one of the conclusions is you don’t make decisions to advertise either on television or the Internet when you want to hit all the demographics, but rather you need to have a multiplatform strategy,” said Ken August, vice chairman and national sector leader for Deloitte & Touche’s media and entertainment practice, which commissioned the study. “It shouldn’t be an either or proposition.”

Among the study’s other findings:

– 54 percent of consumers said they socialize via social networking sites, chat rooms or message boards, and 45 percent said they maintain a profile on a social networking site.

– 85 percent of consumers still find TV advertising to have the most impact on their buying habits, but online ads are second best, with 65 percent of consumers saying they have the most impact, beating out magazines at 63 percent.

Net neutrality is one of those technology issues that are polarizing a lot of people. I myself favor net neutrality (the position is just an extension of my libertarian political views) so I would naturally back those who support it too.

In the run up towards the US presidential elections, different candidates are expressing their views with regards to net neutrality. One of the frontrunner Democratic candidates Barak Obama has already issued strong support for it. But surprisingly, another Democrat, Sen. Hillary Clinton has been criticized for what has been seen as waning support for net neutrality. Last January she was became a co-sponsor (along with Obama) for legislation that would make net neutrality a law in the country. Since then she has not mentioned it again. This despite issuing a nine-point technology plan as well as mapping out an internet strategy last month. Fortunately, the senator has clarified her position and reiterated her support for net neutrality. I just hope that she will be more vocal about it. Contrast that to Obama, who has been forceful and very clear about his political stand on various matters, including net neutrality.

My favorite social responsibility organization, the One Laptop Per Child initiative, officially started its very useful “Give One, Get One” funding project.

This project essentially gives a computer to the person who purchases the said PC while also funding one other PC that will be given to a child in another country. The said project will last for 15 days. The amount given/donated is 399 dollars. As an additional incentive any participant who lives in the United States will get a free one year access to T-Mobile’s HotSpot broadband service.

The OLPC has said that it is committed to deliver these laptops to children within the holiday season although they also know how daunting this task will get so they have also said that there are no guarantees at this point. Only purchasers who were able to buy the laptops early will be sure of getting their units during the holidays.

As I have previously posted, Quanta Computer will be manufacturing the XO laptops. Mass production of the units actually started last week.