Browser maker Opera Software has released a test version of software called Opera Turbo, designed to use compression and the company's own servers to speed browsing over slow Internet connections.
Opera Turbo is useful when grappling with overtaxed wireless networks, slower broadband wireless cards, or Net connections through a mobile phone, the company said.
(Credit: Opera)Opera Turbo runs on a person's PC, fetching data not just from the original Web site but also from an Opera server that compresses that site's text and images on the fly, Opera's Roberto Mateu said in a Friday blog post about Opera Turbo.
That's useful when grappling with overtaxed wireless networks, slower broadband wireless cards, or Net connections through a mobile phone, the Norwegian company said, recommending that people test Opera Turbo with connections in the range of networks transferring data at about 100Kbps.
The compression can shrink the data by up to 80 percent, according to Opera's video explanation, in part because it modifies image files.
"Web sites' layout and text will look exactly the same, but image resolution may appear considerably lower, as a result of the compression," Mateu said in the post.
More elaborate Web sites that use advanced JavaScript techniques and Adobe's Flash technology, however, might require manual intervention to work via Opera Turbo. "Dynamic Web technologies such as Ajax and Flash are supported, but some plug-in content will load only after clicking on the empty element," he said. Encrypted sites aren't accelerated or sent through the Opera servers.
The Turbo software is available from the Opera Labs download site but will be included in "future desktop versions" of Opera, Mateu said.
Yahoo Smush It finds Web site images that can be put on a diet.
(Credit: CNET News)Yahoo, which has considerable expertise in maximizing Web site performance, has long offered advice on how to speed up sites up by minimizing photo size. Now it's released a tool to help Web programmers automate the process.
The Web-based tool, called Smush It, can perform multiple operations to shrink graphics file sizes without impairing visual appeal, Chris Heilmann of the Yahoo Developer Network said in a blog post after tool creators Nicole Sullivan and Stoyan Stefanov announced the tool at this week's Ajax Experience conference.
Among the things Smush It can do: convert GIF images to the PNG format; reduce the range of colors used in PNG files; strip out textual metadata from JPEG images.
Web developers can upload images to the site, send it a Web site address, or install a Firefox extension that submits a particular Web site with the click of a button. The tool presents users with a downloadable package of the smaller images that can be substituted.
Perhaps Yahoo should try its own medicine. I ran the tool on the Smush It announcement page and found that Yahoo could be trimmed away 23.6 percent of its graphics heft, saving 20KB of data. The Yahoo Developer Network page could be pared down 9.2 percent, saving 19.5KB.
FixMyMovie is a new service that takes your pixelated digital video clips and does its best to fix them. The technology stems from MotionDSP's processing technology, which is similar to what's used in government intelligence operations to improve those dark and grainy security films--like you see in movies.
The entire process is fairly straightforward: Just upload and tag a supported movie file, and the service will crunch it on its servers. You get a note by e-mail when it's done. Once it's finished you can preview the first 10 seconds of the enhanced version, as well as compare before and after results live, by pressing the "compare" button. What's even cooler is a stills mode that lets you compare the before and after with an easy-to-use slider that follows your mouse. Whatever's on the left of the slider is the old, with the new on the right.
To grab the improved film, there are download options for multiple formats, including iPod-formatted H.264, Adobe Flash, and Windows Media. You can also grab quick embed code to stick it in any blog, which I've done after the break.
I tried out the service on several video clips this morning and got improved results on every single one of them. The most dramatic improvement of all was with text, which managed to turn almost unreadable pixelated words into legible sentences. Just be wary, though: The service can only handle clips up to 352x288 in resolution, which means the VGA videos from your digital camera aren't going to cut it. Older cameras, on the other hand, are fine.
FixMyMovie is launching in beta at this morning's DEMOfall conference in San Diego with $25 worth of free processing for everyone while still in its beta period. Eventually, FixMyMovie plans to charge users for the option to enhance video and still images, which can also be captured manually by users within the Flash player. I can see this service being hugely popular, as everyone wants better looking video clips, and ways to improve older, lower resolution clips.
Update: It's worth noting you need the latest beta of Adobe Flash 9 to view videos on the service (which makes the neat, live before and after feature possible). You can pick it up here, or just get a feel for what it can do with the screenshot below.
FixMyMovie did a great job with this choppy and pixelated video clip, making small bits of text actually legible.
-- Skype founders name new video start-up Joost. The once-named "Venice Project" now has a real name. The service, which has been in private beta since this summer, aims to bring free, high-quality Internet programming through a Web-based interface. (News.com)
-- Putting a squeeze on Net video. Internet media technology company On2 has some exciting new codecs that could mean streaming high-definition video on services such as YouTube and Google Video in the near future. (News.com)
-- DMCA complaint with YouTube dropped. A controversial DMCA complaint about a video on YouTube has been dropped after the man who made the complaint realized the video in question was simply just offensive instead of a copyright violation. He originally pulled the DMCA card when complaining got him nowhere. (News.com)
-- User-generated Web sites in clicks-to-cash dilemma. The future might have a lot of Web video, but according to market research analyst Screen Digest, all of that won't amount to much money for content providers. We checked out a proposed solution for this a couple weeks ago with Podaddies. (News.com)
-- For sale: One-way trip on a private jet--no waiting. Got $9,500 for a quick trip wherever you want? Sure, that could get you a couple of round-trip, first-class tickets on most jetliners, but what if you want to take your own plane? OneSky is here to help you out with a private jet Web service akin to Expedia. (News.com)
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