Launch the 1Password application (from your applications folder) and you should be notified that 1Password 2.5.13 is available for download. If not, just select the Check for Updates option from the menu-bar. Once you have 1Password updated, just relaunch Camino and you’ll see the familiar 1Password button in your application menu-bar!

It’s great that the developers are so quick to release an update to support a new browser release. If you’re not familiar with 1Password, head on over to the 1Password website. A license for 1Password will set you back $34.95 USD.

Less than 12 hours from now, the early giant in web browsers will be given its final resting place. On March 1st, 2008, AOL will end official support for Netscape, thus rendering it pretty much dead to the world. Used by over 90% of web users in the mid 1990′s, the browser has seen a steady drop in usage to less than 1% today. The death blow for Netscape was the bundling of Internet Explorer with Windows by Microsoft in the mid 1990′s. The intense struggle between Netscape and Microsoft during the 1990′s for browser market share is known as the Browser War.

Though Netscape itself is headed to its eternal resting place, the Netscape DNA still lives. In the late 1990′s, Netscape open-sourced their next generation layout engine. This new engine eventually became known as the Gecko layout engine. Today Gecko powers a number of browsers, most notably Firefox, Flock, and Camino.

If you’re really curious about the Gecko engine, Netscape, or Camino, check out the below video. The video features Mike Pinkerton, one of the Camino developers who worked at Netscape. He shares a lot of inside information about what went on during the browser war and the open-sourcing of the Gecko layout engine.

If you like to play with the latest toys, you might want to give Radon a try. Radon is a new Webkit based internet browser that is focusing on speed and speed alone. The website claims that on average it’s 1.5x faster than Firefox, Safari, Camino, and others.

You can visit the developers website to download the latest version. I’ve included a screenshot of the application to give you a peak at what it looks like.

After testing the browser for a few minutes, I can say it’s definitely fast. Pages loaded up noticeably quicker than in my default browser, Camino. I was able to get into Yahoo Mail (Classic version only) and my corporate webmail account (Outlook Web Access) with no problems. Radon lacks a few simple features such as tabs and bookmarks. The entire download for the application is 1.2MB (1.1MB for the Tiger version). The application is beta software, so use whatever caution you typically use with beta software.

As with most beta software, Radon is not bug free. I noticed a few bugs while using the software, but as a quick web browser, it seemed to work just fine. Among the bugs I noticed:

• No bottom application window bar. The resize window corner is just floating in space
• After setting a homepage, the browser doesn’t actually connect to said homepage
• The home button doesn’t seem to do anything when clicked

Radon is fairly impressive when you consider it’s being developed by only two people. The Radon beta is currently freeware. If you really like it, they have a donation button too.

Most Mac applications are downloaded as a .dmg file. The .dmg file is a disk image that contains the compressed application files. After downloading the dmg file, Safari will automatically open and mount the file in the finder and on your desktop unless you have changed the default preferences. If you are using another browser, just double click the file and the disk image will mount on your system.

From this point, application installation can vary a little. Some applications, like Adium, provide you with a pointer (alias) to the applications folder in the installation window. Just drag the application icon and drop it on the applications folder alias. The application will now be installed to your applications folder.

Other applications, like Camino, provide you with a windows and the application icon. To install applications like this, just drag the application icon from the window to your local applications folder.

Some larger applications, like Boot Camp, are installed via an installer. Much like setup.exe on windows, the installer provides you with a few options and after clicking a few buttons here and there, the application gets installed. While the application is still installed in your applications folder, it will often install additional files on your system. For example, the Microsoft Office 2004 installer will install additional fonts on your system.

There are a few other ways applications can be installed, but they are mainly variants of the first method. Some developers package their applications in a zip file, and then after uncompressing the application you just drag it to the applications folder. Others package the disk image in a zip file and after uncompressing the disk image you just install it like you would a regular disk image.

That should cover the vast majority of ways to install applications on OS X. If you know of any other ways applications are installed, drop it in the comments below.