Filed under: Browsers

Firefox Army clashes with IE in Central Europe, wins browser share crown

by Lee Mathews Nov 20th 2009

The Firefox army is hundreds of millions of soldiers strong. After successfully taking the southernmost continent on the globe, the Mozilla Militia continues to run full speed ahead across Europe. Today's battlefront: the central region.

As you can see in the header image, Firefox and IE recently crossed paths. The chart shows data gathered from nine countries - Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine - from January 1, 2007 to the present. Internet Explorer continues its downward slide, Firefox has now claimed almost 50% of the browser share in Central Europe.

So go ahead, EU, complain all you want about Microsoft unfairly using their influence to ensure everyone's PC is running IE. It's obviously not hurting Firefox (or Opera, for that matter).

Maybe users really are smart enough to find and install their own browser? Who'da thunk it.

[via Mozilla]

Tags: firefox, market share, MarketShare, web browser, WebBrowser

Filed under: Games, Mozilla, Browsers

Proper web browsing on a console: Firefox coming to the Sony PS3?

by Sebastian Anthony Nov 20th 2009

It seems the age of humdrum, crippled browsers on consoles might finally be coming to an end! Though the details are very slim, with the only source being an unnamed insider very close to Sony, it is exciting news indeed if it turns out to true.

Games consoles have always had feeble browser offerings, with PS3's default browser generally considered one of the worst and most unreliable. Porting Firefox to the PS3 would make a lot of sense, especially if Sony intend to inroads against the competing XBox Live service. Or perhaps they need a proper web browser for their newly-announced iTunes-killer...?

Obviously this is very much a rumour, but it would make a lot of sense -- and it will probably appear quite soon, considering how hard Sony are pushing for a larger slice of the console market at the moment.

I wonder if Flash and the ability to stream videos from sites like ~~YouPo~~ YouTube will be included....

[via CNET]

Tags: console, firefox, ps3, sony

Filed under: Internet, Microsoft, Browsers

IE9 unveiled. Faster, more standards-compliant -- DirectX accelerated!

by Sebastian Anthony Nov 18th 2009

It's only three weeks into its development, but Internet Explorer 9 has officially been unveiled today at the Professional Developers Conference (PDC). In fact, as I write this now, they're still talking about IE9 and other tech advances over on the Microsoft PDC09 website.

Their goals with IE9 seem pretty obvious from the graphs shown in their presentation: faster, more standards-compliant website rendering. If you look at the slide above, lower is faster. And that's just three weeks into their development of a new browser and web rendering engine!

They're also including 'hardware accelerated' rendering using your graphics card using the DirectX D2D technology. Whether you're trying to perform funky stuff with CSS3, Javascript or DHTML, IE9 should render things a lot faster.

There's a big video (that requires Silverlight!) after the break. It explains and impressively-demonstrates the new DirectX D2D speed-up.

[via GeekSmack]

Tags: browser, directx, ie9, internet explorer, InternetExplorer

Filed under: Mozilla, Beta, Browsers

Windows 7 taskbar previews to be disabled by default in Firefox 3.6

by Lee Mathews Nov 18th 2009

Those of you running Firefox on Windows 7 who were excited when taskbar previews landed, get ready for a little disappointment. It looks as though getting Aero features ready in time for the release of Firefox 3.6 is no longer part of the game plan.

It was already known that jump list support won't be arriving until later on. After a lengthy discussion on Bugzilla, the decision was made to disable Firefox 3.6's other Windows 7 integration feature.

The code is still there in 3.6b3pre, so you can still enable thumbnail previews in your about:config. The general feeling is that too many users were still seeing the spinning up circles and not actual thumbnails.

The general perception is that Windows 7 enthusiasts would be OK with simply flipping the switch themselves.

Ultimately, this move is about Firefox devs addressing more critical issues now so that 3.6 can be released. They'll have plenty of time to perfect the feature in future minor updates to 3.6. For now, the priority needs to be on getting 3.6 final out the door.

Tags: aero, firefox, tasbkar thumbnails, TasbkarThumbnails, windows 7, Windows7

Filed under: News, Google, Beta, Browsers

Chrome Extensions gallery draws nearer, coming tomorrow?

by Lee Mathews Nov 18th 2009

It's no secret that Google is hosting a highly-anticipated Chrome OS preview event tomorrow. You're probably also well aware of the fact that an official, Google-powered Chrome extensions gallery is in the works. This morning, a small but noteworthy change took place at https://chrome.google.com/extensions.

What used to be a redirect go the good ol' index at google.com (or your regional version) has now been replaced with a "coming soon..." tease and puzzle piece image which matches the one added to Chromium's new tab page on Sunday.

Coming soon, eh? Why not announce it at the big event on Thursday?

While news of the official extension gallery opening would no doubt be dwarfed by anything remotely Chrome OS-related tomorrow, it certainly seems like a good time to open the doors. It would help build more buzz for the browser and keep Google fans charged for the upcoming preview release of Chrome OS.

Not that they need help on that front. Chrome OS has somehow already built a rabid fanbase and no one who isn't involved has even seen it yet.

Tags: chrome os, ChromeOs, extensions, google chrome, GoogleChrome

Filed under: Internet, Windows Mobile, Mobile Minute, Browsers

Opera 10 Beta for Windows Mobile released

by Paul O'Brien Nov 18th 2009

Over the past few years, Opera Mobile has become the browser of choice for the majority of Windows Mobile users. Shipped as the default browser on many devices and available as download for others, Opera Mobile addresses the many failings of the preinstalled IE browser with better performance, variable zoom and text reflowing as well as a polished and intuitive UI.

Pushing the mobile browser closer to a desktop grade experience is the promise of Opera's latest release, Opera 10 Beta for Windows Mobile.

The Opera Mobile 10 Beta overhauls the look and feel of it's predecessors and is similar in design to the Opera 10 desktop browser as well as the Java based Opera Mini 5 beta. The UI overhaul brings Opera's offering across all of it's platforms in line, as well as providing a great range of features from the desktop platform including Speed Dial, tabbed browsing, a password manager and Opera's server side compression technology, 'Opera Turbo'.

I've had a try of the new browser and it does indeed feel more consistent in style with Opera's Java based offering, no bad thing as Opera Mini has always made excellent use of the available screen real estate. Performance seems great and the UI seems intuitive. Some features found in previous releases don't seem to have made it into version 10 yet - we spotted a lack of device rotate support and no support for multitouch zoom on the HTC HD2, but Opera does look set to maintain it's class leading position on the Windows Mobile platform.

The Opera Mobile 10 Beta is available for free download now from the Opera website.

Tags: Browser, Opera, Opera Mobile, OperaMobile, Windows Mobile, WindowsMobile

Filed under: Mozilla, Beta, Browsers

Mozilla's Weave browser sync add-on for Firefox hits beta

by Lee Mathews Nov 16th 2009

I've been using Mozilla Weave to keep my Firefox profiles synched across different machines and platforms for quite some time. Today, Mozilla Labs has announced that the add-on is finally ready for official beta testing.

Version 1.0b1 is out now and available for installation. Version 0.8 is still listed in the Firefox add-ons directory, but it should install the newest release. If you're already running Weave, just head to your Firefox add-ons and check for updates.

What's new in the latest version? More speed, a simplified interface, and smarter syncing in the background. Weave's settings screen is nicely integrated into the Firefox options menu, so there's every chance we'll see it integrated in a future version of Firefox - like its Labs cousin Personas.

Tags: add-ons, addons, extensions, firefox, mozilla, sync, synchronize, weave

Filed under: News, Google, Open Source, Browsers

Google preparing to launch Chrome Extensions gallery?

by Lee Mathews Nov 15th 2009

A few months back, the new tab page in Chrome tipped us off to the impending launch of Google's theme gallery. Tonight, there's a new change that could very well mean that Google is getting ready to open the doors to a similar gallery - for Chrome extensions.

Up until now, the corner of the page featured a small graphic which linked to the Themes Gallery. Today, that image was replaced with the puzzle pieces you see above which links to https://chrome.google.com/extensions. Don't get too excited, though. As with the themes gallery thumbnail in July, the link doesn't go where it's supposed to yet. You'll be redirected to Google's search page.

According to a recent posting on Google Groups by Chrome team member Neil Baum, extensions are set to hit Chrome's beta channel in early December. The plan may well be to launch both the updated beta and extension gallery at the same time.

With extensions one step closer to landing on the stable version, it will be important to provide a centralized location where willing testers can find and install them.

While you wait for the doors to open, you can always check out our list of 15+ great Chrome extensions and Chromeextensions.org's massive collection.

Tags: google chrome, GoogleChrome

Filed under: Linux, Google, Open Source, Browsers

Chromium bookmark sync now cross-platform, lands on Linux

by Lee Mathews Nov 15th 2009

Jay posted yesterday about the arrival of bookmark sync on Chromium for Mac, and it appears as though Linux users have been invited to the dance as well.

After finishing the updates on my Ubuntu 9.10 dual-boot, I gave the --enable-sync command line switch a go on my 64-bit Chromium install. Sure enough, sync is now working on Linux. Head to the wrench menu and press "Synchronize my bookmarks," enter your credentials, and within a few seconds your bookmarks appear.

The change is certainly making my work day a heck of a lot easier. With the LastPass extension already handling my logins and passwords and Chromium now providing cross-platform access to my bookmarks, jumping back and forth between Linux and Windows is a much smoother process.

Chromium (and Chrome) on Linux is shaping up rather nicely. I'm in agreement with the devs on this thread - it feels speedier than its Windows counterpart. With about 80% of my computing time spent in a web browser, Linux is becoming a more compelling option for me - thanks to the Chromium project.

Tags: bookmark sync, BookmarkSync, chromium, google chrome, GoogleChrome

Filed under: Utilities, Macintosh, Google, Open Source, Browsers

Bookmark sync arrives on Chromium for Mac - here's how to make it work

by Jay Hathaway Nov 13th 2009

We've told you before about Google Chrome's slick new bookmark syncing feature, available in the Windows beta version of Chrome 4. It automatically keeps your bookmarks synced across multiple Chrome installations, using your Google Account. Well, this feature has landed in recent builds of Chromium for Mac (that's the open-source project Chrome is based on). To enable it, you'll first need to grab the latest version of Chromium.

Bookmark sync isn't on by default. To use it, you'll have to pop open your Terminal and do a little command-line magic. You'll want to right-click Chromium, show package contents, and then find Chromium inside the MacOS folder. Drag that to the Terminal, and then add the argument --enable-sync. Chromium should open, and you should see bookmarking syncing in your preferences.

Sign in with your Google account, and your bookmarks will be synced automatically to any other Chromium/Chrome browsers that you sign into. If you want to see where they're stored on the web, check a slightly strange location: a Chrome folder in your Google Docs account.

I know it seems like a lot of trouble to go through for bookmark syncing, but such is the peril of being on the bleeding edge of browser development. Bookmark syncing will very likely pop up officially in the Chrome Mac beta scheduled for early December.

Tags: bookmarks, browser, chrome, chromium, google, sync

Filed under: Macintosh, Google, Beta, Browsers

Google Chrome for Mac will hit beta by December

by Jay Hathaway Nov 12th 2009

OS X browser geeks, start salivating ... Reports from around the web are saying that Google's Chrome browser might get a finished Mac version in about month. Stephen Shankland at CNET has been vigilantly monitoring the Chrome development mailing lists, and some talk about Chrome's new extensions UI reveals that the Mac launch is scheduled for early December.

Chrome 4 for Windows is in Beta already, while Mac and Linux only recently got their first developer previews. Since the highest-profile new feature in the Chrome 4 Beta is browser actions (Chrome's equivalent of Firefox's add-ons), developers are getting their extensions ready for launch. Apparently, a product manager for Chrome posted a message advising developers to switch to the new browser actions system so they'd have more time to get their code in shape for a beta launch in "early December."

Tags: beta, browser, chrome, google, mac

Filed under: Mozilla, Browsers

Add URL tooltips to Firefox with a handy add-on

by Lee Mathews Nov 12th 2009

I'm not a big fan of status bars in browsers. Most of the time, they're just wasting 20 or so pixels of vertical display space.

That doesn't mean I want to miss out on the functions the status bar provides - like displaying the destination of links I hover over.

The URL Tooltip addon offers a simple remedy for that. Once installed, you'll see a tooltip balloon whenever you park your pointer on a link. And never mind the status bar - it's nice to see the link appear in the spot you're already looking at.

For those of you running a netbook, this is a great little add-on to make part of your add-on arsenal.

And no, I did not just buy a Maximus keyboard - just in case you were wondering...

[via Mozilla Links]

Tags: balloon, hover, link, tooltip, url

Filed under: Developer, Google, Open Source, Beta, Browsers

Kiosk mode added in Chromium nightly build

by Lee Mathews Nov 12th 2009

Developers have a number of features they still want implemented in Google Chrome. In a recent nightly build of Chromium, one that I've seen requested numerous times on the official mailing lists has finally landed.

Kiosk mode has arrived in Chromium, though it's an awful lot like full screen mode. In fact, Mohamed Mansour says as much in his note on the source: "Kiosk mode will just hide the status bar and initially set it as full screen. "

You're left to your new tab page and bookmarks bar to navigate. As in full screen mode, control-L doesn't bring up an address bar, nor does hovering near the top edge of the browser. That's something I'd like to see addressed in future builds.

If you've been waiting to see what kiosk mode in Chrome would look like, grab a current build from the Chromium server and append the --kiosk command line switch.

Tags: chromium, google chrome, GoogleChrome, kiosk mode, KioskMode

Filed under: Mozilla, Beta, Browsers

Mozilla launches Jetpack Gallery, restart-free pseudo add-ons now available

by Lee Mathews Nov 12th 2009

Jetpack is certainly an interesting project, and the fact that it brings no-restart add-on-like functionality to Firefox is awesome.

Today, Mozilla announced the launch of the Jetpack Gallery. It is to jetpacks what the Firefox add-ons site is to traditional add-ons. Up until now, Jetpack users had pretty limited options for finding packs - a single page of descriptions and links maintained by Mozilla and a community-powered assortment at Userscripts.org.

At the Jetpack Gallery, you can search for jetpacks and browse by tag. The assortment is still quite limited, though submissions will likely begin flowing in now that the doors have officially opened.

Tags: firefox, jetpack gallery, JetpackGallery, mozilla labs, MozillaLabs

Filed under: Google, Browsers

Chrome OS browser saddles up and mounts your drives

by Sebastian Anthony Nov 12th 2009

Not only does Google's Chrome browser allow for file navigation (type 'C:\' into Chrome!), it makes sense that the browser in Chrome OS will act as a system navigation tool, much like Windows Explorer or 'My Computer'.

Recent changes to the code base reveal a 'mount library' that monitors newly-inserted devices such as USB memory sticks -- something an operating system usually does -- not the kind of thing a browser would usually worry about. We suspect that when you open a new tab in Chrome you'll have the option of a 'My Computer' view that will update in real time as you plug in new devices or insert CDs. Or perhaps when you insert a USB device an Explorer-like new tab page will simply pop into existence.

Currently the changes only appear in the Chrome OS branch of the source code, but it doesn't take a wild stretch of the imagination to believe that Google has larger, all-encompassing plans for the Mac and Windows platforms. This might just be the next step for the Google Desktop.

Watch out...Google is coming.

Tags: chrome, chrome os, ChromeOs, source code, SourceCode

The World's Hardest Game 2.0 - Time Waster

So, just how good at time waster games are you? Think you've got the stuff? Well, The World's Hardest Game 2.0 doesn't think you do. Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game. The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...

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Filed under: Browsers

Firefox Army clashes with IE in Central Europe, wins browser share crown

Proper web browsing on a console: Firefox coming to the Sony PS3?

IE9 unveiled. Faster, more standards-compliant -- DirectX accelerated!

Windows 7 taskbar previews to be disabled by default in Firefox 3.6

Chrome Extensions gallery draws nearer, coming tomorrow?

Opera 10 Beta for Windows Mobile released

Mozilla's Weave browser sync add-on for Firefox hits beta

Google preparing to launch Chrome Extensions gallery?

Chromium bookmark sync now cross-platform, lands on Linux

Bookmark sync arrives on Chromium for Mac - here's how to make it work

Google Chrome for Mac will hit beta by December

Add URL tooltips to Firefox with a handy add-on

Kiosk mode added in Chromium nightly build

Mozilla launches Jetpack Gallery, restart-free pseudo add-ons now available

Chrome OS browser saddles up and mounts your drives

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