opensource

Sorry if it sounds like I'm drinking the Google Kool-Aid here, but I switched from Mozilla Firefox to Google Chrome as my default browser for the very reason Google's executives said we should: speed. (Get Google Chrome from Download.com.)

Years ago, Firefox won me over chiefly with plug-ins, tabbed browsing, and some security advantages. But using Chrome removed a bit of friction from the Web I hadn't realized was there. It felt like discovering I'd been driving with the parking brake on just a bit.

Here's what coaxed me away: Chrome starts way faster … Read more

Google is speeding up the Google Chrome beta release cycle, offering a new version 0.4.154.25 Monday night with a new bookmark manager.

The bookmark manager appeared in Chrome 0.4.154.18, a less tested developer-oriented version released less than two weeks ago. Other new features include consolidated settings for privacy options, a rejiggered pop-up blocker, and security features, according to Program Manager Mark Larson in an e-mail announcement.

In addition, the built-in version of Gears, a collection of Google browser extensions for features such as offline browsing and geolocation, has been updated from 0.4.24.… Read more

Things just got a lot more complicated for Mitchell Baker, the Mozilla Foundation's chairman and "chief lizard wrangler."

Gone are the days when Microsoft's Internet Explorer was the sole rival for Mozilla's Firefox. A new open-source browser, Google Chrome, has come to town, and it's from the company that provided $66 million of the Mozilla Foundation's $75 million in 2007 revenue.

There are other browser alternatives--Opera and Safari, for example--but Chrome is likely to catch on with the same techno-savvy, early-adopter, Google-proficient crowd that's been so passionate about Firefox. Baker, though, isn'… Read more

The Mozilla Foundation pulled in $75 million in revenue in 2007, the "vast majority" of it from a search partnership with Google, the Firefox backer plans to announce Wednesday.

"Mozilla is well positioned to remain vital and effective during the current difficult economic times," according to Mozilla Chairman Mitchell Baker in a blog post about the foundation's 2007 results. The revenue includes that of both the foundation and its for-profit subsidiary, Mozilla Corp., that's focused on developing Firefox and related open-source browser technology.

The revenue increased about 12 percent from 2006, when Mozilla garnered $66.8 million in revenue. … Read more

It was probably inevitable given what Google did with Gears, but Yahoo said Tuesday it's releasing BrowserPlus software as open-source software.

BrowserPlus and Gears are aimed at improving browsers' native abilities so Web applications can better match those running natively on a computer's operating system, and Gears already is open-source software. Yahoo announced its intent to make BrowserPlus open-source software on its Yahoo Developers Blog on Tuesday.

"Openness is a key initiative and a major theme for Yahoo this year and beyond, and open-sourcing BrowserPlus is part of that commitment," said team member Lloyd Hilaiel. "… Read more

Starting to answer the clamorous demand from open-source fans, Adobe Systems plans to release an alpha version of its Flash Player technology on Monday for those using 64-bit Linux software.

Linux has moved more rapidly than Windows or Mac OS X to support 64-bit processors, in part because the developer-friendly compile-your-own-software ethos that prevails makes it easier for the technically savvy to make the switch. But one of the obstacles in the switch is that people could only use the 32-bit Flash plug-in, which meant that they only could use the 32-bit version of Firefox.

The company plans to release … Read more

Buddi is a finance managing program that's poised with potential. Open source and free, it offers an extensible experience for both Windows and Mac users that's wrapped up in a simple tabbed interface. As they say in the money biz, it looks great on paper.

The application can create new accounts from four credit types--cash, checking, investment, and savings--and five debit types--credit card, liability, line of credit, loan, and prepaid account. Users can create their own account types, too, and take brief notes on an account. Strangely, the notes don't seem to surface anywhere besides the window … Read more

Canonical will release the newest version of its Ubuntu version of Linux on Thursday, Chief Executive Mark Shuttleworth said Monday, but the company's profitability isn't on such a fast track.

Ubuntu 8.10, aka Intrepid Ibex in the company's alphabetically ascending naming convention, is the latest installment of Linux for desktop computers and servers in the company's six-month release cycle. Among the new features are support for 3G wireless modems, the ability to set up an encrypted and password-protected private directory, a guest account that can help out someone needing temporary use of a computer, and … Read more

In this how-to video from CNET TV Editor Tom Merritt, you'll learn about the importance of PGP, why you don't have to pay for it, and how to go about setting it up. He also uses the must-have Mozilla Thunderbird extension Enigmail to get you there. You can download Thunderbird for Windows and Mac, although Tom demonstrates on a Mac.

You know I'm using it. Well, you probably don't know I'm using it, since by using it my e-mail's encrypted and you shouldn't be able to tell what I e-mail about. But you … Read more