browser

Browser offers a fresh change of scenery

This freeware browser has two components--the browser, and a menu bar that strongly resembles Apple's dock. The browser, while not perfect, performed well. We could have done without the menu bar.

As soon as Aw2 Explorer Flex was installed, our computer's performance slowed down considerably. The menu bar appeared at the top of our desktop window, and contained shortcuts to IE, Control Panel, and our Recycle Bin. The programs were slow to launch using the menu bar, and we couldn't empty our Recycle Bin using the bar. The browser itself was slow to load, but as soon … Read more

Firefox, Google's Chrome speed past IE, Opera

ZDNet Australia on Tuesday released updated browser speeds, as measured by the industry-standard SunSpider JavaScript test, and the results should give pause to proprietary-browser makers Microsoft and Opera Software:

Every open-source browser completely obliterated the proprietary browsers in terms of performance, and by a huge margin.

The test compared Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8 Release Candidate 1, Opera 10.00 Alpha, Firefox 3.1b1, Chrome 2.0.158.0, and the WebKit r40220 developer project included in Chrome and Apple's Safari.

Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox (along with WebKit) left the proprietary competition in the dust:

Maybe there's … Read more

Firefox-branding start-up gets funding

Brand Thunder, a company that lets people customize Firefox with brands, has received an undisclosed amount of funding from Ohio TechAngels and other angel investors, the company said Tuesday.

The company revamps the open-source Web browser with various brands such as Nascar, hockey teams, country singer Julianne Hough, and various other partners.

To fund its business, Brand Thunder also changes the default search engine to Yahoo, which shares resulting advertising revenue with the company.

Brand Thunder also said it's signed a new partnership with Major League Soccer for a branded browser.

Update 9:45 a.m. PST: The company … Read more

Internet Explorer 8 in pictures

As Microsoft counts down the final days to when it feels that Internet Explorer 8 is ready for public use, you can take a look at what's coming in this slideshow of IE 8's first Release Candidate.

Click on the image to your left to launch the gallery.

Google promotes Chrome with YouTube ads

Well, now we know one customer who's excited by Google's new ad possibilities at YouTube: Google.

The company is showing ads for its open-source Web browser. I saw Chrome overlay and display ads on a classically viral video, "No Pants Subway Ride 2009." (Snow angels on a New York City sidewalk in your underwear? Does your mother know?)

Chrome ads also are appearing on Facebook's Boggle-like Scramble game.

Both of these venues have plenty of unsold, low-cost inventory, so Google probably isn't spending Super Bowl-level marketing money on them. On the other hand, they … Read more

Worth the wait for IE 8 Release Candidate 1?

If you've played around with the previous beta versions of Internet Explorer 8, there's not much new in today's IE 8 Release Candidate 1. The feature improvements from IE 7 haven't changed: Web slices, InPrivate browsing, and Microsoft's new add-on system known as Accelerators remain the big-ticket items. Security enhancements include the SmartScreen Filter, which warns you in advance if other users have reported an URL as suspicious.

What has been improved in the RC is stability. Users who experienced persistent and irritating browser crashes should expect to see a much more stable browsing environment. … Read more

Microsoft ready with near-final IE 8

Microsoft on Monday released a near-final "release candidate" version of Internet Explorer 8, the next version of its Web browser.

The software maker plans to say more on its Web site around noon, but, as noted by enthusiast site Neowin, the code is already available from Microsoft's download center.

With IE 8, Microsoft is hoping to regain some lost ground by adding features such as private browsing, improved security, and a new type of add-ons, called accelerators.

On the security front, Microsoft is adding a cross-site scripting filter, as well as protections against a type of attack … Read more

Mozilla's Ubiquity gets faster, prettier

On Monday Mozilla released a new version of Ubiquity, the in-browser command line-like utility. While mostly a "stability" update, the add-on has undergone considerable cosmetic change as well, sporting a new dark plastic look. This look can be changed by anyone as part of a new styling system that uses simple CSS. Presumably, user-designed themes will go into an add-ons site as the product matures.

In addition to its new look, Ubiquity now borrows a few features from Firefox 3's "awesome bar." It remembers some of the commands you've used in the past and … Read more

What this Firefox user misses about Chrome

Call me fickle, but I switched my default browser back to Firefox for the time being. In doing so, I discovered the features I really miss about Chrome.

Why did I switch back so soon after lavishing praise on Google's open-source Web browser? Well, when Google added the option to use a cutting-edge "developer preview" version, I signed up, and guess what--it's not as stable. Specifically, both 2.0.156.1 and the newer 2.0.157.2 that I now have installed inexplicably become unresponsive for long periods of time--at least 10 seconds, which is … Read more