Desktop software

Canonical has begun beta-testing a file-synchronization service called Ubuntu One for its Ubuntu Linux desktop operating system.

The closed beta test began Monday for invited members of the Ubuntu user community, with further testers able to sign up by requesting an invitation, Canonical said.

Ubuntu One offers file synchronization for systems running Ubuntu 9.04, code-named Jaunty Jackalope, and is intended to be available to the general public in time for the launch of Ubuntu 9.10, code-named Karmic Koala, in October, Canonical said.

The system is integrated into Ubuntu's Gnome desktop software via a downloadable client, and once … Read more

A new developer version of Chrome takes some significant strides to adding the top-requested feature--the ability to accommodate extensions that customize what Google's browser can do--but programmers also pushed back support for a collection of significant advanced Web features.

Google Chrome 2.0.180.0 emerged Tuesday night for people willing to try the developer preview version. The new version installs some of the plumbing necessary to support the feature, according to the release notes.

"The extensions posse would like to point out that as of today's dev channel release, extensions are starting to be a bit … Read more

Microsoft has failed to remove a long-recognized Windows Explorer security risk from Windows 7, according to security company F-Secure.

The "hide extensions" feature, which was present in Windows NT, 2000, XP, and Vista, is also included in the Windows 7 release candidate, Mikko Hypponen, F-Secure's chief research officer, said Tuesday in a blog. The feature could allow virus writers to trick users into opening and running malicious files, he added.

"In Windows NT, 2000, XP and Vista, Explorer used to hide extensions for known file types," Hypponen said. "And virus writers used this 'feature' … Read more

Did you pine for those missing Gmail scrollbars when using the latest version of Chrome, as I did? Pine no more, because Google said its latest developer release of the open-source browser gives them back.

Chrome 2.0.177.1 is on the developer preview release channel, not the better-tested beta or stable channels, so not everyone will get it. (You can sign up for the developer or beta channels by downloading the Chrome Channel Changer, but be warned that you have to uninstall them if you want to step back immediately to the stable version.)

The new version also … Read more

Mozilla on Monday released beta 3.5 of Firefox, a revamp of the open-source Web browser designed to include better performance, several new Web programming features, and a private browsing mode.

The earlier betas had been numbered 3.1, but Mozilla switched to the version 3.5 name after concluding the changes were more significant than it envisioned earlier. Mozilla has said earlier the fourth beta will the last, with more polished release candidates expected before the final version of Firefox 3.5 is released. You can download Firefox 3.5 beta 4 from CNET Download.com for Windows and … Read more

Here's what the official press release won't tell you about Ubuntu 9.04, which formally hit the streets overnight: its designers have polished the hell out of its user interface since the last release in October.

So much so, in fact, that I am starting to prefer using my Ubuntu "Jaunty Jackalope" desktop over the similarly slick Windows 7 beta (which I am currently running full-time on one desktop) and Mac OS X Leopard operating systems, which I also use regularly.

I left Windows Vista, XP, and even Debian lying bruised and battered by the roadside … Read more

Version 9.04 of the Ubuntu Linux distribution was made available for download on Thursday.

The latest iteration of the operating system, code-named Jaunty Jackalope, comes in three versions: desktop, server, and Netbook. Jaunty Jackalope is the first version of Ubuntu to come in a Netbook-friendly version from its initial release.

The previous version of Ubuntu, Intrepid Ibex or version 8.10, was released by sponsor company Canonical in October last year. The new version improves upon its predecessor by updating the Gnome interface, the Linux kernel, and the X.Org server, as well as starting faster and supporting ext4, … Read more

Google released a new version of its Chrome browser Thursday to fix a high-severity security problem.

The problem affects Google's mainstream stable version of Chrome and is fixed in the new version 1.0.154.59 (download). Google has built Chrome so it updates itself automatically with no user intervention, though the software must be restarted for the new version to run.

The security problem, reported April 8 by Roi Saltzman of the IBM Rational Application Security Research Group, allowed cross-site scripting attacks. Such methods can make a Web browser process unauthorized code such as JavaScript, enabling a variety … Read more

One of the features that set Chrome apart from rivals on its debut, the array of Web page thumbnails that greeted users when they launched the browser or opened a new browsing tab, is becoming optional.

In the Chrome 2.0.174.0 update Google released Thursday to those signed up for the raw software available through the preview channel, the browser now includes the "ability to remove thumbnails from the New Tab Page," said Google Chrome Program Manager Anthony Laforge in a blog post.

Personally, I like the feature overall, since it makes some constructive use of … Read more