Webware

There was a day when exploring that famed fractal, the Mandelbrot set, took a supercomputer. Now Google has created a Web application that--while not the highest-performing or most subtly-shaded rendering of this surreal mathematical landscape--shows the browser can now outdo the supercomputers of yore.

The Julia Map project uses a newer Web standard called Web Workers that lets the browser perform background processing tasks in parallel with the more ordinary user-interface chore in the forefront of a browser's thoughts, so to speak.

The Mandelbrot set is a close relative of another fractal called the Julia set; Google's application … Read more

eBay is continuing to press into markets beyond its original model of running an auction house and global garage sale. And I don't mean it's buying more companies with inexplicable connections to commerce, like Skype. Instead, the company is working on highly targeted apps designed to hook new users into the eBay ecosystem.

The first of these is already out: The iPhone app for eBay Fashion. It's a little subset of eBay, focusing on apparel. It has some special sauce, like a "closet" feature that lets you drop images of clothes you're interested in … Read more

If you tend to fall for Facebook posts like "Lose 18 pounds now!" or "WTF I can't believe this picture of you is online!" I can't help you. But if you'd like to secure your Facebook sessions from hackers and spies, you're in luck.

Facebook is now rolling out a new security feature that enables HTTPS encryption throughout your Facebook session. This long-awaited feature, which encrypts data transferred during Facebook sessions, is designed to prevent attackers from compromising users' accounts.

Here's how to enable it:

Until now, the only way to … Read more

Lazy eaters, stop simply searching for restaurants to call for takeout. The GrubHub and Seamless Web apps for iPhone and Android go one step further to place your delivery order.

Seamless what? Seamless Web is a nonsequitor of Web nomenclature for sure, but the app and its GrubHub rival do a decent job walking you through the ordering process. Of course, you are limited to the establishments displayed in each app and the apps may not serve every U.S. city. Still, if you use either Web site, or are looking for a new way to find and secure food, … Read more

AOL is targeting its editorial divisions to teach them a new "way" of doing business.

BusinessInsider is reporting that it has acquired a leaked document from AOL that outlines the company's editorial strategy through 2011. Dubbed "The AOL Way," the 58-page document is reportedly designed to be a guide for editors, writers, and other content creators on what is expected of them in the coming months.

The document first discusses the company's traffic goals for the next few months. It claims about 31,000 pieces of content were produced by AOL editors and writers … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--Hours after Google accused Microsoft of copying its search results, representatives from the two companies exchanged rhetorical blows over the difference between "copying" and "listening to users."

Google's Matt Cutts and Microsoft's Harry Shum smiled for the cameras at the Farsight 2011 conference today but barely disguised their mutual contempt. It was the first public appearance by each following Google's revelation that it set a trap to test whether Microsoft was using browser click data from Internet Explorer users on Google to inform search results on Bing.

Microsoft isn't taking the … Read more

Google Street View is going indoors.

Starting today, folks can explore 17 museums around the world using Google's Street View technology, the search giant announced in a blog post. Dubbed Art Project, the initiative lets users view artwork from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, the National Gallery in London, and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, among others.

When users choose a museum, they can opt to walk through its many halls, or learn more about a particular piece of art with an information pane to the right of the program'… Read more

After noticing curious search results at Bing, then running a sting operation to investigate further, Google has concluded that Microsoft is copying Google search results into its own search engine.

That's the report from Search Engine Land's Danny Sullivan today, who talked to both companies about it and presented Google's evidence. According to the report, a mechanism could be the Suggested Sites feature of Internet Explorer and the Bing Toolbar for browsers, both of which can gather data about what links people click when running searches.

The story began with Google's team for correcting typographical errors … Read more

When Microsoft starts pointing to statistics that don't make it look so great, you can expect the company has a strong turnaround plan in place. Today's example: its share of browser usage.

Microsoft, while still the top browser maker, saw Internet Explorer slide as a fraction of worldwide usage from 57.1 percent in December 2010 to 56 percent in January, according to statistics from analytics firm Net Applications released today. That decline continues a years-long trend for the company, which first lost share to Mozilla's Firefox but now is losing it primarily to Google's Chrome … Read more