Mozilla yesterday released Firefox 12, patching 14 security bugs in the browser and moving it one step closer to matching rival Chrome in silent updating. The latest in the line of updates that have rolled off the Mozilla development line every six weeks since mid-2011, Firefox 12 fixed seven vulnerabilities labeled "critical," the highest threat ranking in Mozilla's four-step scoring, four bugs tagged "high" and three pegged "moderate."
If you have been following the recent development of the Firefox web browser, and in particular Mozilla’s plans with the next upcoming versions, you know that there will be lots of – good – change coming to the browser. From excellent features like click to play, a new Firefox design, a Metro version for Windows 8, Silent Updates, and many cool features for Firefox 13 (which not all may make it into that version).
The Android OS version of Google's Chrome browser is now available in a host of new languages and has gained several new features, but it remains in beta testing and is afflicted with a variety of bugs. First released in February for tablets and phones that run the 4.0 version of Android, also called Ice Cream Sandwich, Chrome for Android now has its user interface in 31 additional languages and is available in all countries with access to Google Play, which was previously known as the Android Market.
The announcement that Samsung's follow-up to its Galaxy Tab 10.1 would be receiving some downgrades from the previous entry, filled with a mixture confusion and disappointment. Eric Franklin just couldn't wrap his head around why the sequel to one of the premiere Android tablets would launch with a less impressive spec list than its predecessor. Yesterday, Samsung revealed that the Tab 2 10.1 would be released on May 13th for $400. That's $100 lower than the original Tab 10.1's list price and it fills the logic hole he believes Samsung was falling into, he is still not 100 percent on board.
Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols has little love for the new generation of desktop interfaces, such as Windows 8 Metro. They use a smartphone/tablet like metaphor in which each application takes up the entire screen. So, why did he bought all these 20-inch and larger displays? Google, in the latest developer release of its Linux and cloud-based Chrome OS, has reversed this trend. This developer Chrome OS update adds a taskbar and support for multiple windows to its light-weight, desktop operating system.
For some time now, YouTube Live has been thinking about how to move beyond a free, ad-based service. Now it's moving ahead with that plan. After tests with a handful of publishers, YouTube is offering pay-per-view options to publishers on its live-streaming service. The company said that it was in the process of rolling out live streaming to its partners.
Mozilla recently published a demo of standards-based video chat in an experimental build of Firefox. The functionality is built with the Web Real Time Communication (WebRTC) standard, which aims to support streaming audio and video communication on the Web without relying on plugins. The WebRTC standard is currently in the draft stage, but it has been endorsed by most of the major browser vendors. Some initial components are already available in several browsers.
YouTube last year allowed video creators to convert their clips to 3D. Now, they're giving ordinary viewers the chance to do so. The online video site yesterday announced that when users access certain 1080p 3D videos from the site, they'll be given a 3D option under the Quality settings pane. Upon clicking it, the video is automatically converted to 3D, which will require users to don their favorite 3D glasses to view it.
As a webmaster who is always looking for the latest and greatest, Caschy has to admit that he dislike the Chrome web store. The core reason for this is that it does not allow him to sort by new extensions, or updated extensions. When you open it, you always see the same old extensions and apps at the top, with little room for changing what is displayed on the page. While it is possible to sort by popular, recommended and rating, it does not change the fact that you won’t see a lot of new extensions at the top of those pages.
Mozilla has moved one step closer to its goal of delivering a “Metro style enabled browser.” In a status update earlier yesterday, Mozilla’s Brian R. Bondy announced that his team had produced a “working Firefox Windows 8 Metro prototype”: As of last week, we have a working browser in Metro. It currently looks and feels the same as the Android browser. You can navigate the web, create tabs, bookmark pages, build history, retain cache, adjust preferences, and more.