beta

Windows 7 gets an outside tester: The government

The headline was updated at 3 p.m. to note that it is several states, not the U.S. department of Justice, that are overseeing the compliance of Vista and future Windows versions with the consent decree.

Microsoft has said precious little about Windows 7, but it has provided at least one outsider with an early test version of the forthcoming operating system.

The software maker confirmed in a court filing last week that it has provided a test version of Windows 7 to the technical committee helping to oversee Microsoft's compliance with the U.S. antitrust settlement.

Windows … Read more

Get your hands on Firefox 3 beta 4

Claiming a massive number of fixes, Mozilla has released Firefox 3 beta 4 (download for Windows and Mac). This version is more stable than previous FF3 betas, but it also showcases some of the more interesting new features that we'd been promised, but until now hadn't yet arrived.

Of the more than 900 changes and fixes, four of the most useful are the add-on finder, the full-page zoom, the one-click site info, and greater cross-platform integration. Extensions are handled the same way as in FF2: users can click on an XPI and it will automatically be saved to … Read more

Firefox 3 beta, memory usage, and overlooked extensions

The big news today in the software world is a new beta version for Mozilla Firefox. The world has been sitting on Version 2 for almost a year and a half now, but the open-source foundation is making sure that Version 3 is fully baked before releasing a final version.

The latest beta release promises "more than 900 enhancements from the previous beta," but a large number of those improvements are back end and mostly invisible. Two significant features in the fourth beta that I appreciate are: an improved password manager toolbar that replaces the old semifunctional dialog; … Read more

Mozilla releases Firefox 3.0 beta 4

The fourth beta of the Firefox 3.0 browser (download Firefox 3 beta 4 for Windows or Mac, (English-US) from Download.com) was released Monday and includes more than 900 enhancements over the previous beta, Mozilla announced.

The creator of the open-source browser said the new beta includes improvements to performance and memory usage, fixes for stability, and platform-specific enhancements. Some of the enhancements include a new download manager to make locating downloads easier; a full page zoom feature that allows you to zoom in and out of pages more easily; and integration for Vista, Mac OS X, and Linux … Read more

A quick look at IE8 beta

Microsoft has released Internet Explorer 8 beta 1, but so far it doesn't seem to be the drastic overhaul that Internet Explorer underwent with version 7. That's not to say that there aren't any substantial new features, like the potential for Firefox extension importing, but this beta indicates that Microsoft is building on what they created in the last version, not reinventing their wheel.

Microsoft is promoting the Activities and Web Slices, a "web clips" feature that updates only selected parts of Web sites, such as front-page headlines or eBay auctions. What I found most … Read more

Here's something interesting, a beta test for coffee

This post is straying a bit away from my typical posts on web services, but I saw this a little bit ago and just had to share. The Tampa, Florida based company, Joffrey's Coffee and Tea, is holding a "beta test" for their Jamaican Me Crazy brand of coffee. They are asking 10,000 bloggers to sign up and try their new coffee, for free, hopefully in exchange for buzz about their product.

The beta test page appeals to the tech crowd, by saying, "Using web software that is in perpetual beta, like Gmail? Frequently signing … Read more

HD DVD: Just another brick in the wall of defunct formats

They're all born with the best of intentions, but only the strong survive.

Formats come and go. Some are barely noticed, and some die a slow, painful death. So now we can all breathe a sigh of relief that the format war between Blu-ray and HD DVD was comparatively brief--unless you're on the losing side, stuck with a slowpoke player and a collection of HD DVD discs. I've already heard from some angry HD DVD supporters. War is tough.

If you're over 35, you probably remember the Betamax vs. VHS wars, which raged from 1975 to … Read more

Mozilla releases third Firefox 3 beta

Mozilla has released a third beta version of Firefox 3, bringing about 1,300 changes to the widely used open-source Web browser.

Firefox 3 Beta 3 should be more stable, perform faster, use memory more efficiently, and fit in better on various operating systems than its predecessors, Mozilla said.

Having tried the new version out for a while this morning, my top impression hasn't changed since beta 2: the best thing about the new version is faster performance. Pages load faster.

Other improvements, according to the Firefox 3 release notes, include a better tool for seeing who owns a … Read more

You've found our old episodes! Good for you!

EPISODES 1-17

Hey everyone, there's been a lot of demand for our first 17 shows before we "officially" launched on CNET, so here they are (this also includes the now infamous Buzz Out Loud CES 2008 hijacking). If you're really lucky, maybe one day we'll post the episodes before these when we used to call our show The Dudecast.

Click here for the shows!… Read more

Firefox 3 beta 2 is out and about

Mozilla fans can now download Firefox 3 beta 2 for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux.

The new version sports a wide range of improvements over the first test version of the browser upgrade, most notably plugs for memory leaks, security fixes, and a download manager that includes improvements previously available only through plug-ins.