browsers

A more granular approach to how Firefox has implemented the controversial "Do Not Track" setting leads off the changes to Firefox 21, which updated on Tuesday. Also in the browser is support for more social networks including MSN Now and a "Firefox Health Report."

More options for the Social API, which debuted at the end of last year with Facebook Messenger integration, allows Firefox 21 (download for Windows | Mac | Linux) to work with MSN Now, Cliqz, China's Weibo, and the Japan-only Mixi. While there's no doubt that they're not even on a scale … Read more

Performance improvements over the last year mean Web pages measured by the Google Analytics service load significantly faster for people using mobile devices.

The pages load 30 percent faster for mobile browsers now than they did a year ago, Steve Souders, Google's head performance engineer, said in a presentation earlier. And for desktop browser users, the pages load 3.5 percent faster.

Mobile Web performance -- often impaired by big Web pages, slower networks, and limited processors -- can be irritating. The slower a Web page responds, the less people use it, and that's a problem for a … Read more

In a step to help browser-based apps catch up with the abilities of other software, Google has made it possible for programmers to push notifications to Web apps running in Chrome.

On Thursday, Google enabled a service called Google Cloud Messaging for Chrome (GCM) that brings push notifications to its browser and to Chrome OS, its browser-based operating system. Mark Scott, a Google product manager, announced the service in a blog post.

The technology means that servers can send a message -- a stock price alert or news item, for example -- that triggers an action in the browser. To … Read more

Facebook's engineers like Google's WebP and want Mozilla to build support for the image format into the Firefox browser.

Google hopes to speed Web performance with the image format, which can do the job of both of today's major graphics formats, JPEG and PNG. Facebook began testing WebP support in April.

And now it looks like the powerful company has become Google's biggest ally in the effort to promote WebP. Mozilla is deciding whether to reverse its earlier opposition to WebP, and Facebook programmer Bryan Alger on Wednesday encouraged Firefox developers to do so in a … Read more

For parents, the Internet is an unlocked Pandora's box of every possible threat to their children. What could be worse? How about the Internet wherever they go, out of your reach, on their smartphones? Fortunately, you have options. Blue Coat's Web Protection is a popular desktop parental control and Internet filter program. K9 Web Protection Browser extends its robust filtering and security capabilities to Android devices. It can block inappropriate and adult-themed content, gambling sites, spyware-infected Web sites, or any site you want to block. It relies on the same filtering technology used by Blue Coat's enterprise … Read more

Some users may find modern Web browsers too complicated for basic Internet use. Minimalist Browser for Mac accomplishes its goal of presenting a less complicated browsing experience, but ultimately appears incomplete.

There were no unnecessary steps required to download and install Minimalist Browser for Mac. After installation, there did not appear to be any technical support for updates, but the first page in the browser was a rudimentary instruction page. The program, itself, is just a Web page window with no control or URL bar. Navigation is limited to a key combination that brings up a Google search and a … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO -- First-person shooter games don't appeal to Brendan Eich, Mozilla's chief technology guru and the guy who created JavaScript nearly two decades ago. He doesn't let his kids play them, either, he says. But he was so excited on Friday about showing off the potential of a new browser codec called ORBX.js at Autodesk's One Market Street offices here that he began playing Epic's Unreal Tournament 3 "Sanctuary" level in a room of 20 or so witnesses.

As Eich maneuvered somewhat awkwardly through the onslaught of opponents, Jules Urbach, CEO … Read more

Google is working on software that will improve Chrome (Windows, Mac) during moments when people lose their network connection by letting the browser load its own stored copy of previously visited Web pages.

Google programmer Randy Smith said yesterday he's added support for "offline cache mode" to Chrome. It's only on the developer version of the browser so far, and it's disabled by default, but the flag to enable it says the feature will let Chrome load Web pages from the browser's local cache if the online version isn't available. That could help … Read more

Internet Explorer 10 doubled its reach last month thanks to its recent debut for Windows 7.

In April, Microsoft's latest browser won a 6 percent share of all traffic seen by Net Applications, a healthy rise from the 2.93 percent captured in March. Of course, the bounce isn't too surprising.

Up until recently, Internet Explorer 10 existed only in Windows 8 and RT. But in late February, Microsoft released it for Windows 7 users. Among all desktop browser versions, IE 10 is now in sixth place, trailing slightly behind IE 6.

Internet Explorer 8 is the top … Read more