05/14, 4:30am
Mozilla says lack of browser choice takes users back to dark ages
The Mozilla Foundation, maker of the Firefox web browser, is calling out Microsoft for anticompetitive practices with regard to browser capabilities on the upcoming Windows RT. In a blog post, Mozilla's General Counsel Harvey Anderson takes Microsoft to task for programming decisions that will limit the power and feature set of non-Internet Explorer browsers in the next version of Windows.
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04/12, 12:05pm
Microsoft software roadmap from December leaked
Microsoft has begun sending out a roadmap that shows some details about its future software products such as Office 15, Internet Explorer 10, and Windows Phone to some of its partners. One of them, CEO of Meetroo Maarten Visser, shared part of it over Twitter, revealing said details. Dated December 22, 2011, the images weren't password-protected. Considering the date, the Windows roadmap doesn't mention anything past the Developer Preview and certainly not the Consumer Preview that launched on February 29.
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04/09, 3:15pm
Firefox nightlies to support WebRTC for video chat
Mozilla is gearing up to allow a plugin-free approach to video chat in upcoming versions of Firefox. A demo at the IETF 83 conference caught by TechCrunch showed off the implementation of WebRTC, an HTML5 component that will allow two-way voice, video, and file swaps. As shown, it would sign in with Mozilla's Social API.
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04/02, 1:20pm
NetApplications shows second big increase for IE
New NetApplications data has shown that Internet Explorer might be on a sustained, if slight, recovery in web share. Microsoft's browser gained almost exactly one point to hit 53.83 percent of browser use online. The gain roughly mirrored one from January and saw IE at its highest position since October.
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03/21, 10:55am
Spike sees Chrome get one-day browser lead
A brief if historic milestone in web browsers occurred this weekend as Google Chrome temporarily overtook Microsoft's Internet Explorer in usage, StatCounter found Wednesday. For one day, March 18, Chrome had 32.71 percent of traffic to IE's 32.5 percent. A rise in share from Brazil, India, and Russia was credited for the sudden position swap.
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03/19, 1:55pm
Mozilla loses Blizzard to California start-up
Chris Blizzard served his last day as Mozilla's director of Web platform this past Friday, March 16, he revealed on his blog. He will move on to a "very small startup" based in Palo Alto, though didn't go on to name it. Blizzard would only say the work involves the intersection of systems, compilers, and web-scale problems.
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03/14, 10:30pm
Browsing engine performance improved
Microsoft has detailed the upcoming Internet Explorer 10 browsing experience that will be brought to Windows 8 devices. The company suggests the browser has been completely reworked, bringing improvements to the underlying browsing engine while adding a number of interface tweaks to match Windows 8's Metro-style layout.
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03/02, 11:00am
Chrome now used by government, IE 8 coming soon
In a fairly recent question and answer period during a Town Hall meeting, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton revealed the government offices will move to Google Chrome. Rather out of place, the question was addressed after a snicker from Clinton and more widespread laughter from the crowd, revealing Chrome was already being installed on government computers as of February 14. Clinton did say Chrome won't work perfectly with some of the government's software, so Internet Explorer will still be accessible.
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03/01, 8:10pm
NetApplications sees Apple grow widely in February
Apple saw an unusually widescale, comprehensive growth in its share of the web in February, NetApplications showed on Thursday. On the desktop, it bounced back to near an all-time high at 6.9 percent, a level seen in October. Its mobile share followed suit, going up almost exactly seven points to 60.6 percent.
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02/22, 7:55pm
OnLive Desktop Plus tries subscription
OnLive on Wednesday boosted its Desktop for iPad with a new subscription tier. Desktop Plus gives access to a version of Internet Explorer with both Flash and PDF support. To help justify the software additions, OnLive gives high-priority access to its streaming virtualization service.
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02/21, 3:55pm
Google now sued over blocking Safari cookies
Google is facing a new lawsuit for violating privacy rights on Apple's Safari web browser, Bloomberg reported. An Illinois man, Matthew Soble, claimed in the suit that Google sidesteps the computer settings that are designed to block monitoring of a user's whereabouts on the web. The lawyers representing Soble alleged that Google did so willfully and knowingly.
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02/20, 10:20pm
Google defends against Microsoft cookie claims
Google's Senior Communications VP Rachel Whetstone claimed Microsoft was being dishonest in making claims of suspicious browser cookie circumventions in Internet Explorer 9 and elsewhere. The executive argued that Microsoft had effectively ignored the issue since 2002, when it had implemented the P3P approach of requiring a cookie state its intent. Microsoft not only knew about the "loophole" of using an undefined intent for years, letting Amazon and its recent investment target Facebook use the trick, but knew that P3P would break the modern Internet regardless
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02/20, 5:00pm
Microsoft tries to press Google on privacy tricks
Microsoft's Corporate VP for Internet Explorer, Dean Hachamovitch, made allegations Monday that Google was bypassing Internet Explorer's privacy settings, not just Safari's measures. After checks, he claimed that Google's cookie text files, meant to allow +1 actions for those who were signed into Google, were skirting the P3P Privacy Protection standard as it was implemented in Internet Explorer 9. The technique supposedly made IE9 take third-party cookies that it would block by default while keeping the action a secret.
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02/09, 6:20pm
Devs call for action
Mozilla and several other browser developers have voiced concern over the dominance of WebKit-based browsers, notably Safari and Chrome. World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) co-chairman Daniel Glazman suggests programmers have begun to disregard alternative browsers, such as Firefox and Internet Explorer, when optimizing website compatibility.
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02/01, 3:25pm
Windows 8 desktop may get special-case scenarios
New leaks have hinted that Windows 8 could make important gestures to catch certain users. Although it's still thought by The Verge that the regular Windows 8 desktop won't be on ARM, it will purportedly kick in for Internet Explorer and Office 15. The restriction would in part be to keep traditional Windows apps from draining the battery, since they can't suspend themselves like Windows 8's new Metro apps.
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02/01, 11:25am
Microsoft full-page ad tackles Google policy swap
Microsoft has started running a slew of full-page newspaper ads in an attempt to scare users over Google's simpler privacy policies. It claims that Google's attempts to simplify and clarify its policies are disingenuous and that the real goal is to "connect the dots" between Google's services and track users. It goes on to insist that the policy makes it difficult to back out.
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02/01, 9:35am
NetApplications shows gap in mobile share
Android tablets are gaining share of Internet use, but they still present no competition to the iPad online, NetApplications uncovered with its January wrap-up. The combined Samsung Galaxy Tab line had just 0.42 percent of mobile Internet share, while the Kindle Fire's possibly brisk sales still saw just 0.34 percent. Although down from December, the iPad at almost 24 percent was still in no danger from Android tablets, where even Android 3.2 was at 0.77 percent.
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01/03, 3:55pm
Microsoft cheers end to IE6 use
Microsoft's hopes that Internet Explorer 6 would die were partly validated after the company's Roger Capriotti noted that the decade-old browser had been reduced to irrelevance in the US. Working from data at NetApplications, he declared IE6 over as it made up just 0.9 percent of all American web traffic. The US was late, having been preceded by parts of Europe and Scandinavia, but was coming at the same time as the Czech Republic, Mexico, the Philippines, and others were also dropping below one percent.
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01/02, 6:15pm
Windows Phone web speed claims already outdated
Microsoft's claims that Windows Phone 7.5 would beat iOS in web browsing speed have already been rendered obsolete after a follow-up test run. A comparison from YouTube user 359gsm posted at My Nokia Blog of a Nokia Lumia 800 pitted against both an iPhone 4 using iOS 4.3 and an iPhone 4S on iOS 5. While Microsoft's showcase HTML5 Speed Reading test sees the Lumia beat the iPhone 4, even the older, 1GHz Apple phone and OS beat the 1.4GHz Windows Phone soundly in every other test, including Browsermark, the JavaScript-focused Sunspider test, and the generic HTML5 Test.
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01/01, 12:55pm
NetApplications shows Android loss in December
In spite of its device share, Android is losing ground in terms of actual use online, NetApplications found on New Year's Day. Android slipped to 16.3 percent of mobile web share in December, or the same share it had in September. Unusually, most of the loss came to otherwise shrinking platforms: Java ME bounced back to get just under 21.3 percent, Symbian returned to 5.8 percent, and even the BlackBerry recovered slightly to 3.5 percent.
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12/30, 5:00pm
IE9 continues to gain pace at IE8's expense
Microsoft hopes that Internet Explorer 9 will have reached a 25 percent share of the desktop browsing market on its own Windows 7 platform once figures for December are in. According to projections from Net Applications, IE9 will soon become the leading browser among Windows 7 users, overtaking IE8. As it stands, IE9 has now also overtaken Chrome and Firefox in browser user on Windows 7.
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12/22, 4:25pm
Google to pay $300m per year in Mozilla deal
When Google and Mozilla renewed their search royalty deal earlier this week, they didn't reveal that Google will pay $300 million per year, AllThingsD learned. For this amount of money, Google will be the default search engine in Mozilla's Firefox browser. The numbers are a sharp increase from the previous arrangement because of the new competition from Yahoo and Microsoft.
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12/15, 11:00am
Internet Explorer to auto-upgrade soon
Microsoft GM Ryan Gavin told Windows users that the company would start auto-updating Internet Explorer. Beginning with Australia and Brazil in January, anyone using Windows XP or later with automatic updates turned on will go to the most recent version of the browser available for the OS without prompting. More countries would come in line over time.
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12/14, 5:55pm
IE9 site features pinning and JumpLists
Microsoft has partnered with Internet music service Last.fm to create a website optimized for Internet Explorer 9. The Discover site leverages the browser's inbuilt functionality to provide pinning and JumpList features. Also, by building upon an HTML5 foundation, the companies claim the web-based service will have the look and feel of a native Windows app.
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12/01, 10:05am
NetApplications shows rare Windows reversal
Windows saw a rare increase in its share of the web in November, NetApplications found on Thursday. Microsoft bounced back slightly from a low in October to just over 92.2 percent. The increase pushed the Mac down half a point from its all-time high, although still giving its second-best result to date at 6.46 percent.
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11/18, 1:30pm
Barnes and Noble relies on prior art to deflate MS
Barnes & Noble in its defense against Microsoft has countered with a 43-page list of prior art that it believes invalidate Microsoft's supposedly Android-related patents. The examples often go back over 16 years and include software as far back as NCSA's Mosaic browser, the precursor to Netscape and Microsoft's own Internet Explorer. The strategy would only need a handful of prior art claims to negate Microsoft's case.
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11/15, 5:30pm
Foursquare tackles iPad with location-aware page
Foursquare picked Tuesday to show a heavily redesigned version of its main website. The page depends on HTML5 and uses it for a fully location-aware map; users can browse nearby areas without having to search for them or use their phones. The interface is also suited to the iPad, although users can't yet check in.
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11/03, 4:50pm
Offers tighter integration between apps
Google has updated Google+ to more tightly integrate the app with two other web and desktop apps, YouTube and Chrome. For YouTube, the company has added a "slider" to make it easier for an individual to share personal videos with members of their circles. Google has also added a +1 button and notification button to Chrome to help users stay in touch with their circles as well.
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11/01, 6:40am
Safari wins mobile browser battle, IE top in PCs
The latest data on mobile and desktop browser use is in and its shows that Apple has extended its lead as the dominant mobile web browsing platform. Safari usage rates increased from 55.6 percent of all mobile web traffic in September to a new high of 62.2 percent in October. Google’s mobile browser leap frogged Opera Mini by taking 18.7 percent of web traffic, while Opera Mini dipped from 18.9 percent to 13.1 percent.
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10/10, 8:50pm
HTC HD7S to finally get update to Mango
An internal staff memo slipped out to WinRumors Monday has pointed to the HTC HD7S getting its hoped for Windows Phone 7.5 update soon. As of Tuesday, AT&T and Microsoft will start rolling out the OS upgrade on a gradual basis. The revamp is showing up in "controlled batch" amounts to make sure there aren't any problems.
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10/10, 7:45pm
Initial release snubs IE compatibility
Google is previewing Dart, a new programming language for building web apps. The language has been designed to be flexible, meeting the needs of a one-person project, without much structure, and scaling up to a large-scale project needing formal types in the code. Initially the code will support at least Chrome, Safari 5, and Firefox 4 browsers, but not Internet Explorer.
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10/01, 11:55am
NetApplications Sept 2011 shows school effect
The Mac hit a pair of record highs in web share during September thanks to the back-to-school effect, NetApplications found in its monthly roundup. The Mac saw one of its sharpest gains in the past year and was up nearly half a point in desktop share to 6.45 percent. Helped by the new leap, Apple's stake in computers has grown by nearly a quarter in the past year, the close look found.
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09/26, 5:00pm
Windows 8 to allow syncing across Windows Live
Microsoft just revealed that Windows 8 will bring with it the ability to sign into a PC with a Windows Live ID for quickly accessing quick settings wherever they are. Doing so is available for all compatible devices, apps and services. Logging in will have the Metro-style apps in their last-used settings and state, for example.
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09/21, 2:10pm
Windows Phones to get Mango patch in week or two
Microsoft's Eric Hautala told Windows Phone owners that the Mango update was finally near rolling out to existing devices. The 7.5 upgrade should arrive in the "next week or two" on the first wave. As with the NoDo update early in the year, Microsoft will have a status page showing how far into testing each release is and how soon it will arrive.
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09/15, 9:20am
Sites that rely on plugins will get work-around
Dean Hachamovithch, Microsoft's Internet Explorer team leader stated in a blog post that the Metro-style version of Internet Explorer 10 will not support Flash or other plugins and will rely on HTML5. Hachamovithch said running Metro style IE plugin free would have advantages for consumers, including improved battery life, enhanced security and privacy, and greater stability. Steve Jobs, chairman of Apple, listed many of the of these same reasons for his decision early on to not support Flash in iOS.
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09/07, 1:00pm
Microsoft addresses fake DigiNotar certificates
Microsoft has responded to the recently unveiled hack that saw DigiNotar issue fake security certificates for some high-profiles websites by issuing a patch on Tuesday. The patch only applies to affected versions of Windows Vista and is delivered through Internet Explorer. After the vulnerability was discovered on August 28, Microsoft released a security advisory on August 29 and removed the DigitNotar root certificate from the Microsoft Certificate Trust List.
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08/10, 8:40am
Kindle Cloud Reader carries offline support
Amazon has quietly provided an end-run around Apple's App Store rules. Kindle Cloud Reader brings a touch-friendly reading app that provides all the settings, highlights, bookmarks and other features of native apps in a device-independent form. The page takes advantage of HTML5 to work entirely offline and thus can keep going even during a flight or another moment where no Internet connection exists.
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08/01, 11:45am
Net Applications shows Mac at new high
Apple hit new highs for market share of the web in July, Net Applications found on Monday. The Mac saw a sharp uptick and hit 5.59 percent of OS traffic online. iOS saw its own boost and reached 2.98 percent, almost triple what it had a year ago.
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06/29, 7:50pm
Preview offers the same HTML5 engine as Win8 demo
Microsoft has released its second Internet Explorer 10 platform preview, which is said to utilize the same HTML5 engine as the company's recent Windows 8 demos. Developers can take advantage of several new technologies, including CSS3 Positioned Floats, HTML5 drag-drop, File Reader API, Media Query Listeners and support for HTML5 forms.
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06/24, 9:40pm
Opera founder exits over board dispute
Opera's creator Jon S. von Tetzchner surprised the industry on Friday with word he was leaving the company. The web browser developer is due to leave June 30 and will do so on friendly terms. He has made no public mention of why he will be leaving but currently has "ideas about new projects" that are being kept secret.
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06/20, 5:20pm
Dedicated Website demos IE9 Mobile's capabilities
Microsoft has created a dedicated Website to demonstrate the capabilities of its Internet Explorer 9 Mobile. The site, the Internet Explorer Test Drive, provides 15 samples of the look and feel of the future version of Windows Phone's browser. IE9 Mobile will be released in conjunction with the Mango update in the fall.
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05/25, 7:55pm
All sites said to be vulnerable
An independent security researcher, Rosario Valotta, suggests Internet Explorer is vulnerable to attacks that target the private data stored in HTTP cookies. The flaw is said to leave users open to what Valotta calls "cookiejacking," a method that hackers can reportedly use to access a cookie and log into victims' various online accounts.
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05/23, 9:30am
Ballmer says WP7 Mango has 500 new features
Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer gave clues at his presentation for the Japan Microsoft Developer Forum (video below) that the upcoming Mango update for Windows Phone 7 would not just have a large number of features but might be matched by new hardware at the same time. The release would have over 500 new features, including the known expanded language update that would give Japan devices by the end of the year. He alluded also to more details of hardware partners and carriers, suggesting more hardware might show at the planned May 24 event.
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05/01, 10:50am
NetApplications shows Mac, iOS, IE9 gains in April
Apple made one of its best strides in recent memory for market share on the web last month, NetApplications determined on Sunday. The Mac reached a new adjusted high of 5.4 percent market share, but its gains were small relative to iOS. Led mostly by the iPhone, Apple's combined mobile platform jumped 16.5 percent and staked out 2.24 percent of all web traffic.
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04/27, 2:35pm
Microsoft no longer under antitrust watch May 12
Microsoft will be out of the eye of special antitrust terms in less than a month, District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said in the last hearing ever in the case. Oversight of the company's actions, including direct access to its computers and records, would no longer be mandatory after May 12. The watch had been originally limited to five years after a 2002 settlement but had been extended multiple times after technical problems and other issues that needed to be taken care of, including some running past the deadline.
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04/19, 6:10pm
YouTube starts streaming new videos in WebM
YouTube in an update Tuesday afternoon said it was now encoding all new videos in its in-house WebM standard. The format would let viewers using new versions of Chrome as well as Firefox and Opera see video in HTML5 using the open format. Videos would still be playable in the H.264 format and the original Flash containers.
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04/12, 1:00pm
Microsoft intros Internet Explorer 10 test
Microsoft used the first day of its MIX11 conference to unveil the first Platform Preview for Internet Explorer 10. The new version is more iterative but focuses on boosting CSS3 feature support. It now supports gradients, grid and multi-column layouts, and can run in a "strict" mode.
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04/01, 9:40pm
NetApplications March share shows IE9 growing fast
Internet Explorer 9's launch was enough to see it carve out a significant piece of the Windows web in its first two weeks. New data from NetApplications for March showed IE9 getting 3.56 percent of Microsoft's web traffic. While small, it was enough to outpace Firefox 4's 2.8 percent.
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03/29, 10:30pm
Browsers compared based on power consumption
Microsoft has staked an interesting claim regarding Internet Explorer 9, essentially labeling it the greenest browser. In an IEBlog post, the company graphed results from power consumption tests using IE9, Chrome 10, Firefox 4, Opera 11 and Safari 5. The first three browsers showed close numbers on an idle system, however IE9 achieved the lowest wattage when visiting a news site and running HTML5 applications.
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03/29, 7:00pm
Now official for web, Android devices
[Update: Sony, other media companies upset by early announcement] Amazon in the night unveiled its rumored media locker and beat Apple and Google in the process. Cloud Drive gives users a way to store a minimum of 5GB of files on the web and access them from any Mac or PC. The company has a unique tie-in with Amazon MP3: any songs bought through the music store are saved to the Cloud Drive and available either for backup or for remote streaming without counting towards the quota.
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