browsers

The latest version of the Dolphin mobile browser debuts a slick new feature for sharing, desktop sync, and Evernote Web Clipper integration.

The Dolphin browser for Android (download), Dolphin browser for iPhone (download), and Dolphin browser for iPad (download) all come with one-tap sharing, a multi-faceted option for getting the Web site you're looking at to your friends as efficiently as possible.

One-tap sharing currently works with Twitter, Facebook, and e-mail, but it also includes an option called Wi-Fi Broadcast. Wi-Fi Broadcast will let you share an item with anybody on the same Wi-Fi network who is also running … Read more

Sometimes code speaks louder than words.

That's why Microsoft today published software demonstrating its own proposal for a Web standard enabling browser-based audio and video chat. In the demo, the CU-RTC-Web (Customizable, Ubiquitous Real-Time Communication) technology is used to set up a real-time voice communication link between Chrome on Mac and IE10 on Windows.

Microsoft has an uphill battle getting CU-RTC-Web to catch on: it showed up late to the game, well after the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) began work standardizing a different approach called WebRTC.

But Microsoft thinks its own proposal … Read more

Google got a big new ally in its Chrome OS push today: Lenovo, the No. 2 PC maker.

Although Lenovo is a notable ally, it's only really a foot in the door for Google. Lenovo's new ThinkPad X131e Chromebook is only geared for schools. Presumably it could lead to greater things for Google if the device gets a good reception, but this shouldn't be confused with Lenovo pushing a mainstream device the way the two existing Chrome OS partners, Acer and Samsung, have done.

It's not clear whether Lenovo has grander ambitions for Chrome OS, something … Read more

Firefox maker Mozilla has concentrated more engineering power in the hands of Chief Technology Officer Brendan Eich as the organization expands its ambitions beyond just browsers.

Eich, who in the 1990s invented the JavaScript at the heart of the Web's interactive abilities, had been leading Mozilla's strategy and Web standards work. Now he'll be more directly involved overseeing engineering for projects including Firefox for PCs and Android phones, the upcoming Firefox OS, and efforts such as the Firefox Marketplace. He'll also lead the organization's work marshaling the open-source programmers who help Mozilla.

The move comes … Read more

Adobe Systems' Flash Player plug-in has been under attack in Web development circles for years, but now Adobe's Reader software is becoming more of a target in the war against plug-ins.

Mozilla released the with its own built-in PDF reader, called PDF.js, which uses the browser's own JavaScript engine to decode the Adobe-created but industry-standard document format.

The Portable Document Format for years was an awkward part of the Web, often ambushing the unwary with long page-load times as the Adobe Reader plug-in loaded. But PDFs have become more common, exposed in Google search results and used … Read more

Android users who want to live an edgier life now can try a beta version of Chrome.

Google yesterday released the Chrome 25 beta for Android 4.x for smartphones and tablets, a version number in sync with the release for personal computers. Previously, the only option was the stable version of Chrome for Android, which is still way back at version 18.

The Chrome for Android beta is available on the Google Play app store, but only by following that link -- it's not visible in Google Play's search, Google said. The beta version can be installed … Read more

Google released the stable version of Chrome 24 today, adding support for IndexedDB for apps that work better offline, mathematics formulas formatted with MathML, and faster JavaScript.

The new version also comes with a range of security fixes, including two $1,000 bounties and one $4,000 bounty paid to people who found high-severity vulnerabilities. Because Chrome automatically downloads updates by default in part to patch holes as fast as possible, people just need to restart the browser to update it.

IndexedDB, under development for years, is geared to store data for use even if a Web site or Web … Read more

Microsoft issued a fix today for a zero-day vulnerability in older versions of Internet Explorer that could allow attackers to gain control of Windows-based computers to host malicious Web sites.

The company confirmed Saturday that it was investigating a remote code execution vulnerability in IE 6, IE 7, and IE 8 that could allow an attacker to use the corrupted PC to host a Web site designed to exploit the vulnerability with other users. Versions of the browser after IE 8 are unaffected, Microsoft said.

Microsoft said in an update to that security advisory that it has developed a one-click fix … Read more

The evolution of the Web is a messy process.

We do so much with the Web today that it's easy to take it for granted. Banking, social networking, word processing, travel planning, education, shopping -- the Web is reaching to new domains and tightening its grip where it's already used. To match that expansion, the Web is evolving.

But the Web is built by countless individuals -- browser engineers who enable new technology, Web developers who bring that technology online, and standards group members who iron out compatibility wrinkles. With so many constituents, it's no wonder there'… Read more