Last week, Microsoft showed off some browser technology that could help Internet Explorer leapfrog the competition. But if Mozilla succeeds in its hope, Microsoft could be playing catch-up instead.
The technology in question is hardware-accelerated graphics and text using interfaces called Direct2D and DirectWrite that provide an easy way to use graphics cards' computing power. They're built into Windows 7, and Microsoft is bringing them to Windows Vista but not Windows XP.
The performance boost from Direct2D and DirectWrite was the centerpiece of Microsoft's demonstration of Internet Explorer 9 goodies shown last week. Online maps flashed on the screen quickly and tracked mouse movements responsively; text was clearer and changed sizes more gracefully.
But the day of Microsoft's demo, Mozilla evangelist Chris Blizzard had this to tweet: "Interesting that we're doing Direct2D support in Firefox as well--I'll bet we'll ship it first."
There's work to back up his rhetoric. On Sunday, Bas Schouten, the programmer who's been leading the work for Mozilla, posted a prototype of Firefox using the Direct2D and DirectWrite.
However, any Firefox fans tempted to crow about a victory should be cautious. Mozilla wouldn't commit to including the technology, much less to a release schedule such as Firefox 3.7 due in the first half of 2010. "We are currently investigating Direct2D for Firefox, but do not have a target for shipping it in Firefox at this time," the organization said in a statement..
Several Web pages arrive significantly faster using Direct2D rendering technology in Firefox.
(Credit: Bas Schouten) The race is on
Microsoft declined to comment for this story, referring readers just to last week's blog post about coming Internet Explorer 9 features. "While we're still early in the product cycle, we wanted to be clear to developers about our approach and the progress so far," the company said while sharing a Direct2D demonstration video.
There's no doubt the race is on, though, given the potential benefits of the new interface and the commercial success of Window 7. Microsoft is lighting a fire under its developers, but the company's browser has lagged Firefox and other rivals in many technological areas for years, and many Web developers loathe earlier versions of IE still widely used. IE's market share has steadily eroded, though it remains dominant overall.
The attention is giving Google ideas, too. In a Chrome issue logged Sunday, Chrome programmer Peter Kasting pointed to Schouten's blog post on the subject as "motivation."
"If we can speed up the rendering time, the most noticeable benefit will probably be smoother-feeling scrolling," Kasting said. He also directed attention in October to DirectWrite support in Chrome, though cautioning that it might not work with the browser's present "sandbox" design to isolate elements of the browser for security reasons.
Mozilla has its own results to show off, too. Schouten offered a graph showing improved performance displaying a variety of Web pages. Facebook, Google, and Twitter rendered on the screen in half the time using the Direct2D; Slashdot and a Wikipedia entry were barely changed. One taxing page using the Scalable Vector Graphics format (SVG) to show movable, resizable graphics showed more than twice as fast, dropping from about 11 milliseconds to less than 4 milliseconds.
Microsoft's DirectWrite permits smoother display of many fonts.
(Credit: Microsoft) What actually changes?
Direct2D replaces an older technology called Graphics Device Interface (GDI) used in Windows XP. Both offer a way for programs to tap into computing hardware without having to worry about the particulars of video card capabilities and settings, but Direct2D taps into hardware acceleration features.
The technology lets programmers control basic elements such as transparent boxes, curved lines, and resizable photos. Out of these, user interface elements are constructed; Direct2D calls upon a computer's graphics processor to speed that up. It's particularly helpful for dynamic situations that change element properties such as color, size, or opacity.
DirectWrite offers a similar graphics chip boost to the task of displaying text. That may not sound computationally intense, but some parts of it are. In particular, DirectWrite offers a more sophisticated mechanism for displaying text to take advantage of something called sub-pixel positioning of letters.
Each pixel on an LCD screen is actually made of three tiny slices--for red, green, and blue components--and sub-pixel technology subtly draws letters using pieces of these pixels to make the overall appearance smoother. The older GDI permitted some sub-pixel positioning, but only smoothed letters in the horizontal direction; DirectWrite smooths curves vertically as well.
Using the graphics chip in Direct2D and DirectWrite operations brings several advantages. Performance is the first: some operations are faster or smoother, and having more power on hand lets programmers tackle more ambitious projects. Second, the general-purpose central processor, relatively inefficient at handling graphics tasks, is unburdened, freeing it up for other tasks and saving battery power.
Firefox already has a graphics system of its own called Cairo. Schouten has been adding a Direct2D and DirectWrite.
Firefox is of course a browser that doesn't just work on Windows. The DirectWrite technology helps that operating system catch up to its rivals, said Mozilla's John Daggett in a blog post Sunday. "Platform APIs [application programming interfaces] on Mac OS X and Linux already do a good job rendering Postscript CFF [Compact Font Format] fonts," he said. "This just brings them up to parity under Windows 7."
Direct2D is used elsewhere in the browser. "We've made significant progress and are now able to present a Firefox browser completely rendered using Direct2D, making intensive usage of the GPU," or graphics processing unit, Schouten said. And because Cairo is used by other open-source software, other projects will benefit from the work, he added.
The Direct2D work is Mozilla's second hardware acceleration effort; the company also is working on one using a different hardware acceleration interface called OpenGL for mobile devices using Nvidia's Tegra chips, according to Mozilla.
This Mozilla demonstration of photos and Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG), with transparency and click-and-drag resizing, works more than twice as fast Direct2D graphics.
(Credit: Screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET) The interactive Web
Microsoft went out of its way to emphasize that the Direct2D and DirectWrite work will help existing Web pages without programmers having to change a line of code. Dean Hachamovitch, general manager of Internet Explorer, contrasted that to other hardware acceleration efforts including Native Client and O3D from Google and WebGL from Mozilla and the Khronos Group.
Native Client, O3D, and WebGL are part of a long list of developments designed to transform the Web into a foundation not just for static pages but also for interactive applications. Those technologies, though, require new programming skills and tools.
Mozilla, Google, Apple, and Opera have been pushing this interactive Web agenda, and Microsoft is showing signs of interest, too. However, for now, Microsoft emphasizes that Direct2D support will help the existing Web. But the browser makers have their eyes on interactive technology as well. Direct2D will help with complex sites that use 2D graphics interfaces such as SVG and Canvas, Mozilla said.
Added Schouten, "As Web sites become more graphically intense, dynamic graphics will start playing a larger role, especially in user interfaces."
Three new features are now available to Windows 7 users of the new beta release of Firefox. Firefox 3.6 beta 1 introduces enhanced previews for both the new Windows 7 taskbar and the tabs.
The taskbar previews for tabs brings Firefox into parity with Internet Explorer 8, allowing users to see and select their open tabs via Aero Peek. The obvious limitation with this feature is how it impacts the display when you've got a high number of tabs open. As you open more tabs, their preview panes will shrink.
Firefox 3.6 beta 1 will show individual preview windows for each tab on the Windows 7 taskbar.
(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)While the taskbar preview will work without manually changing settings in about:config, the others will require a bit of fiddling. As such, they're not recommended for new users, or for those who just aren't comfortable tweaking the about:config.
The enhanced Control + Tab will now show you a preview window of your tabs, as long as you have three or more tabs open. To activate it, go to about:config, search for browser.ctrlTab.previews, and double-click on it to change it from False to True. Then restart Firefox, and the CTRL+Tab hot key will give you Aero-style preview pane of your tabs.
A revision to the List All Tabs feature gives it a visual component mimicking CTRL+Tab. Using Control + Shift + Tab combo, you can pull up a CTRL+Tab tab preview window that includes a search box. As you type in the name of the tab you want to call up, it will filter the tabs. Enter or the left mouse button will take you directly to the tab. To activate this one, go to about:config, search for browser.allTab.previews, and double-click on it to change it from False to True. Then restart Firefox.
The new Firefox beta can search your tabs on the fly.
(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)You can disable the Windows 7 taskbar preview by going to about:config, search for browser.taskbar.previews.enable, and double-click on it to change it from True to False.
As this is a beta, be prepared for Firefox to break compatibility with many add-ons. In my test, All-in-One Sidebar wasn't compatible, even after doing the stability-reducing version compatibility override. Also notice that the visual component to the tabs previews within Firefox don't appear to be fully baked.
[h/t Lifehacker]
Amazon already has a free Kindle iPhone app. And soon it will have a free Kindle app for Windows PCs.
While the new app won't be available for download until next month, Microsoft demonstrated it at the Windows 7 launch event in New York City on Thursday. Like the iPhone app, Kindle for PC turns your PC into another reading device that can be linked to a Kindle account (you don't have to own a Kindle to set up a Kindle account). You can then choose to send Kindle e-books and periodicals to your PC via a wired or wireless network connection. Also, you can read an e-book on your PC while at home (or elsewhere), then send that same e-book to your iPhone or Kindle and pick up reading where you left off.
"Customers have told us that they want access to a wider variety of content and an increasingly diverse set of form factors," said Mike Nash, corporate vice president of Windows Platform Strategy at Microsoft. "With the announcement of Kindle for PC, Amazon is making its massive selection of Kindle books available on the world's most widely used platform."
Both Amazon and Microsoft are quick to note that Kindle for PC takes advantage of capabilities in the new Windows 7 OS, including Windows Touch technology. Also, the app isn't compatible with Windows 7 machines only, but will also work with Windows XP and Windows Vista computers.
Here's a list of features:
- Purchase, download, and read hundreds of thousands of books available in the Kindle Store
- Access your entire library of previously purchased Kindle books stored on Amazon's servers for free
- Choose from over 10 different font sizes and adjust words per line
- View notes and highlights marked on Kindle and Kindle DX
- Zoom in and out of text with a pinch of the fingers (Windows 7 users only)
- Turn pages with a finger swipe (available in a future release for Windows 7 users)
And what about a Kindle app for Macs? Well, Drew Herdener, Amazon.com's Director of Communications, tells us, "We will be coming out with Kindle for Mac in the next few months." Herdener also confirms that Kindle for Blackberry will debut soon.
To receive an e-mail when Kindle for PC is available for download, sign-up at amazon.com/KindleforPC.
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Programmers have mostly overcome a crucial hurdle to releasing a beta version of Chrome for the Mac, printing support, but several Windows 7 features won't make the cut for the present 4.x version of Chrome.
The Mac printing support is now added, according to the Google browser's issue-tracking system, though there are "minor remaining issues" and the new features aren't yet distributed with the software.
Google has cited Mac printing support as one holding back a Mac version of the browser. Mac support is important for the company's ambitions to spread the browser and its fast-Web philosophy to mainstream users. The Linux version, while less mainstream now, also is important since it's the foundation of Google's Chrome OS project to build a browser-based operating system for Netbooks.
But on the Windows side of the shop, a number of planned features to support Windows 7 were pushed back to the next version Chrome on Wednesday. That includes support for showing thumbnails of open tabs on the task bar, showing "jump lists" for quick actions such as links recently or frequently visited pages, pinning thumbnails to the task bar, and overlaying a download progress status bar on the Chrome icon.
The present beta and stable releases that Google issued Monday, Chrome version 3.0.195.27 (download for Windows only), are members of the 3.x family. The developer preview is in the 4.x family (download for Windows or Mac OS X). The Windows 7 features had been slated for the 4.x series, but now are planned for version 5, according to the issue-tracking system.
The change doesn't indicate the features have retreated into the distant future, though; Chrome version numbers change relatively rapidly, as evidenced by the move to version 4 in just over a year.
Also pushed back to the 5.x series is built-in support for discovering when Web pages have RSS feeds, one of Chrome's most-requested features. Its absence is ameliorated by a Chrome sample extension for RSS, though.
Extensions remain a work in progress. New ones are arriving steadily, and existing extensions such as Lastpass for filling in passwords and forms and AdSweep for blocking ads is progressing. But Google recently switched interfaces, dropping the use of a toolstrip across the bottom of the browser with pop-up "moles" in favor of browser actions, small icons along the top of the browser.
Google Chrome fans who live on the edge and use the developer's build now get access to one of the best features in Windows 7. Browser jump-list access had previously been limited only to Internet Explorer, but Chrome version 3.0.197.11 supports it.
Jump lists in Windows 7 for Internet Explorer 8 (left) and Google Chrome 3.0.197.11 (right).
(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)The jump list, accessible by right-clicking on the Chrome taskbar icon or by holding down the left mouse button and dragging, mimics the Internet Explorer jump list. What IE calls "Frequent", Chrome labels "Most Visited Sites", but both merely show your most frequently visited Web sites. Both lists of URLs are configurable, so you can remove sites from the list.
Below the frequency list is a short list of tasks. Chrome again copies IE here, offering a quick start link to open a new private browsing window. Where IE offers a link to open a new tab, though, Chrome curiously offers a link to open a new browsing window.
Google continues to lay the groundwork for the stable version of Chrome on other operating systems, too. Mac users of the dev build, which has been updated to version 3.0.197.12 for them, now get extensions enabled by default. Linux users, meanwhile, should no longer find Chrome crashing when reading their Gmail.
The developer's build of Chrome can be downloaded directly or enabled using the Chrome Channel Changer.
The announcement of Google's Chrome OS plan puts an exclamation point on the challenge faced by Microsoft, but actually doesn't really change the core threat to Microsoft.
In short, Google is aiming to render desktop software irrelevant. To thwart them, Microsoft needs Windows to do things that a browser can't--or do the same things significantly better.
Interestingly, if Microsoft wants some tips on how to do this, it might want to look toward Apple. Essentially, this has been Apple's challenge all along: make the Mac experience enough better than a generic PC that it is worth the added cost.
The Mac's resurgence came when it had a strong OS--Mac OS X--combined with iLife applications that really nailed the experience for the tasks that people wanted to do on their computer at the time.
If Microsoft wants a blueprint on how to make the PC worth paying for, it might want to take a page from Apple's playbook.
(Credit: Apple)This is an area where Windows has been languishing in recent years. Although most people wouldn't want to give up their favorite desktop applications (Windows or Mac), the Web has been gaining ground. Even areas that were once squarely in the desktop's domain--such as photo editing, productivity software, and personal finance--are making their way onto the Web. What Windows really needs is a new generation of killer apps.
Microsoft also has to do something that Apple doesn't--aim for the masses. Part of Apple's success story has been about choosing its battles and accepting that it can't win everywhere. The Windows model depends on ubiquity, so it needs answers with nearly universal appeal.
One area where Microsoft has been investing is around the area of doing the same things better. Its focus on touch screens in Windows 7 is an example of this. Although multitouch is likely to remain a niche in the short term, it shows the power that a desktop interface can have.
Microsoft also needs to minimize the downsides associated with Windows. On that score, Microsoft has made significant strides with Windows 7. The operating system boots quicker and behaves better than its predecessor.
On the Office side, Microsoft needs to create software that is enough better than Google's that companies want to pay for it.
Next week, Microsoft is expected to talk more about Office 2010, the next version of Office, which is due out next year. Microsoft is taking a two-pronged approach.
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First, it is taking Google Apps head-on with lightweight browser-based versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote that can run on Safari, Firefox, and Internet Explorer.
It will offer them to consumers via its Windows Live service--a service that today is free--and businesses will also be able to give the browser-based apps to their workers.
But Microsoft is also doing more on the desktop, adding in the kinds of features it hopes will make the Office suite worth paying for.
The path for Microsoft is clear. The big question, though, is whether Google will be able to be "good enough."
Microsoft has some time, but not a ton. Google's operating system won't even arrive on PCs until the second half of next year. Plus, for now, Windows has the advantage of legacy application support--i.e., businesses and consumers want to run their existing programs. But to stay in front for years to come, it will have to do better than that. It needs to figure out--and quick--the next set of tasks users want to do with their computer and how to make those tasks demonstrably better on a PC.
The company also has another option as well. It can work on Windows' successor. It could be that it needs a lightweight browser-based OS of its own.
Indeed, the thinking beyond its Gazelle research project is that the browser needs to be more like an operating system. In that case, the browser doesn't actually take on the operating system's complete role, but rather relies on Windows. However, Microsoft has other operating system work under way as well, including its top-secret Midori project.
My guess is Microsoft will take both approaches, but hold off on the latter unless and until it needs to. That's pretty much what Microsoft has done with Office vis-a-vis Google Apps. It was only after large business customers started threatening to go to Google Apps that Microsoft conceded that it needed to offer full-on browser apps.
According to Chris Holmes, build 7048 of Windows 7 includes Internet Explorer as one of many Windows components that can be turned on or off via a Windows Features dialog box. In the public beta version, IE8 is not on that list.
(Credit: Chris123nt.com)Microsoft has included in recent Windows 7 test versions an option to turn off the Internet Explorer 8 Web browser, according to testers who have used the recent builds.
According to Chris Holmes, build 7048 of Windows 7 includes Internet Explorer as one of many Windows components that can be turned on or off via a "Windows Features" dialog box. The control panel exists in the public beta version of Windows 7, but IE8 is not listed among the features that can be turned on and off.
Microsoft declined to comment on the feature's inclusion as well as the reasons behind the move. Others are speculating it might have something to do with the European Union's objection to the inclusion of a browser within Windows.
The software maker has cautioned that the EU may seek to have Microsoft allow PC buyers to choose their browser and then require Microsoft to disable certain IE code if a user chooses a non-Microsoft browser.
Enthusiast site AeroXperience has more detail on how IE can be toggled on and off and what exactly that might mean.
As we've already noted, Microsoft is making a number of changes to Windows 7 as it moves from the beta to "release candidate" stage. However, the IE change was not one that was called out in a recent Microsoft blog posting on the topic.
LOS ANGELES--Microsoft on Monday announced a version of Windows that runs over the Internet from inside Microsoft's own data centers.
Dubbed Windows Azure, it's less a replacement for the operating system that runs on one's own PC than it is an alternative for developers, intended to let them write programs that live inside Microsoft's data centers as opposed to on the servers of a given business.
"It's a transformation of our software and a transformation of our strategy," said Ray Ozzie, a computing industry pioneer who now serves as Microsoft's chief software architect. (For a play-by-play account of Ozzie's speech, see "PDC 2008: Windows Azure live blog.")
Ray Ozzie delivers his keynote address at Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference.
(Credit: Robert Vamosi/CNET News)Microsoft first outlined a shift to "Live Services" at an event in San Francisco in 2005. The company has released a few things piecemeal, such as Live Mesh, but Monday's announcement marked the first real discussion of how Microsoft's disparate Internet strategies fit together.
The announcements come at the start of Microsoft's Professional Developer Conference here. On Tuesday, Microsoft plans to go into more detail on Windows 7, the successor to Windows Vista, due out by about January 2010.
With the launch of Azure, Microsoft will find itself in competition with other providers of Internet storage and computing services including Amazon, Salesforce.com, and Rackspace.
Ozzie said he was tipping his cap to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos for innovating the hosted computing model. Amazon "established a base-level design pattern, architecture models, and business models that we'll all learn from," he said.
Microsoft is making Windows Azure in preview form to developers, with a limited subset of the features that it plans to have in the product before its final release.
There weren't many details on how Microsoft will charge for Azure, saying it will be free during the preview period. Final pricing, Ozzie said, "will be competitive with the marketplace."
The company itself plans to offer businesses the option of running over the Internet the kinds of software that have traditionally run on a company's own servers. Microsoft already sells its Exchange corporate e-mail software in this way, but that is just the beginning, said Microsoft vice president Dave Thompson.
"All our enterprise software will be delivered as an online service as an option," Thompson said.
CNET News' Elinor Mills contributed to this report.
Server and Tools senior VP Bob Muglia talks about the benefits to businesses of Windows Azure.
(Credit: Robert Vamosi/CNET News)
Microsoft's cloud computing team discusses how a common set of tools can be used for developing applications for traditional Windows as well as for Windows Azure.
(Credit: Robert Vamosi/CNET News)
Microsoft's Dave Thompson tells attendees at the Professional Developer Conference that all of the company's enterprise software will be offered as an online service over time.
(Credit: Robert Vamosi/CNET News)
One of the biggest challenges in business software, whether it lives inside a company or is part of a hosted service, is making sure that only properly authorized employees have access to the data and applications. Microsoft discusses how its Federated Identity platform will work with the new hosted services.
(Credit: Robert Vamosi/CNET News)
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