Deep Tech

Google has agreed to build support for Do Not Track into Chrome so its Web browser can tell Web sites when people don't want advertisers scrutinizing their behavior.

The Do Not Track technology modifies communications between browsers and servers so people can signal that they don't want their browsing behavior to become the basis for ad targeting.

Mozilla developed Do Not Track and built it into its Firefox Web browser. Microsoft followed suit not long after with Internet Explorer, Apple has enabled it as an option for developers in Safari 5.1, and Opera is building it into the forthcoming Opera 12. … Read more

Not long after Mozilla brought its browser to Android, the organization has adapted its Jetpack tools for building browser add-ons for mobile use, too.

"Now you can start developing add-ons for the mobile version of Firefox," said Dave Mason, Mozilla's product manager for add-on technologies, in a mailing list message yesterday about the latest Jetpack, formally called the Add-on SDK version 1.5. "For this initial release we have the page-mod API working so that you can, among other things, create add-ons that will display mobile-friendly versions of Web sites that do not have that option.&… Read more

LG Electronics, a second-tier smartphone maker hoping Google's Android operating system will lift its fortunes, today unveiled its new Optimus 3D Max.

The phone, like its 2011 Optimus 3D predecessor, includes glasses-free 3D display technology on a 4.3-inch display and an ability to shoot 3D videos and photos with dual cameras. This year's model is thinner, has faster 21Mbps HSPA+ networking, and supports near-field communications for tap-to-pay systems and other NFC uses such as switching the phone quickly among car, home, and work modes.

One thing that did not change is the version of Google's latest … Read more

When Google introduced Chrome in September 2008, people laughed at the bare-bones browser--no extensions, no bookmarks, no Mac version, and who needs yet another browser anyway?

Nobody's laughing now.

Under the leadership of Senior Vice President Sundar Pichai, though, Chrome dramatically extended its reach. One in five people use Chrome, according to Net Applications. Google uses the browser to push its technology agenda, even when its ideas are unpopular with colleagues in the Web standards world. Chrome is the foundation of the Chrome OS operating system, Google just released Chrome for Android, and under Chief Executive Larry Page, Chrome … Read more

Because I've got cloud-computing religion, you'd think that Google convincing me to like a Chromebook would be as easy as preaching to the choir.

It's not.

After a few months using Samsung's 3G-equipped Series 5 Chromebook, I can firmly say the first-generation Chromebooks are not for me, for one big reason: sluggish performance.

But there's some good news here for people like me: There are new, faster Chromebooks on the way, Google revealed to me.

"We remain very excited about Chromebooks. We got a lot of positive feedback, and we are really looking forward … Read more

Google has released a test version of its browser with the ability to run programs written in Dart, the company's language designed to improve on JavaScript.

"This release of Chromium with Dart VM integration is a technology preview, and should not be used for day-to-day browsing. After more testing and developer feedback, we plan to eventually include the Dart VM in Chrome," said Google programmers Anton Muhin, Vijay Menon, and Pavel Podivilov, in a blog post yesterday.

Google developed Dart as a way to improve Web programming, for example with better performance and with a language it … Read more

Firefox developer Mozilla will reveal partners later this month for its Boot to Gecko project, an ambitious attempt to build a browser-based operating system for mobile devices.

At first glance, it's easy to write off Boot to Gecko (B2G) as doomed from the start. When it comes to taking on iOS and Android, WebOS was a dud, BlackBerry OS is struggling, and Microsoft is carving out a niche for Windows Phone only by dint of extraordinary effort.

But B2G has a couple things going for it. First, it's a browser-based operating system, meaning that Web apps become its … Read more

Taking another step to diversify its revenue sources and extend into the mobile market, browser maker Opera Software said it's acquired two mobile ad companies, Mobile Theory and 4th Screen Advertising.

The Norwegian company announced the deals today in conjunction with reporting fourth-quarter financial results. In that quarter, revenue rose from $33.4 million the year earlier to $43.6 million in 2011, while net income of $0.9 million rose to $7.4 million.

The two companies Opera acquired offer demand-side ad networks, Mobile Theory focused on U.S. advertising and 4th Screen focused on Europe. Demand-side ad … Read more

In the current Photoshop CS5, Adobe introduced a technology called content-aware fill that could automatically fill in a hole left when a portion of the image was excised. In the upcoming CS6, the company will take that idea much farther.

In the company's fourth Photoshop CS6 preview, Photoshop Senior Product Manager Bryan O'Neil Hughes showed two new ways to use the tool.

The existing tool fills in holes by making its best guess where to find filler material elsewhere in the image. O'Neil Hughes said that with the new version, photographers will be able to pick the … Read more