Redmond Pie » Web

Download Firefox 11 Beta For Windows, Mac & Linux

Paul Morris — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:35:28 +0000

I know what you’re thinking, you only installed Firefox 10 a few days ago on your desktop and Android devices, and the beta of Firefox 11 is out already? Well yes, it does seem that Mozilla are pumping out updates faster than a steaming freight train, but worry not as the beta version of Firefox 11 may just bring some updated goodness that appeals to you if you are a fan of the foxy browser.

Considering this beta release comes right on the back of the release of version 10.0, it contains some pretty sizeable and notable changes. One the largest and probably most useful additions, is the inclusion of add-on synchronization. The new sync features offer the ability to mirror any add-on installations you may have across multiple desktop machines, whereas previously you would have to go through the whole process manually for each set up. Firefox is playing catch up a little bit, considering browsers such as Google Chrome have offered this enhanced sync ability for quite some time, but considering the implementation issues; Chrome has suffered and it will interesting to see if Firefox handles this feature in a more elegant manner.

The official Firefox beta 11 release notes contain a number of feature additions as well as fixes and updates to certain aspects of the browser and reads as follows:

[NEW] Firefox can now migrate your Bookmarks, History and Cookies from Google Chrome.
[NEW] With Sync Enabled, add-ons can now be synchronised across your computers.
[NEW] The CSS text-size-adjust property is now supported.
[HTML5] The outerHTML property is now supported on HTML elements.
[HTML5] View source syntax highlighting now uses the HTML5 parser.
[FIXED] Redesigned media controls for HTML5 video playback.
[FIXED] Firefox notifications may not work properly with Growl 1.3 or later.

Users may have noted that in the Google Chrome browser, the update process occurs seamlessly in the background. This silent update feature will also now be included with Firefox on Windows. The somewhat annoying User Account Control, which seems to require permissions to do anything, will only need to be granted access one time only, meaning after the initial permission has been granted; updates will be handled seamlessly upon restart of the browser.

The latest beta version will also include support for web developers, allowing them to visualize a webpage in full three dimensional goodness using the page inspector 3D view which has been built in. If the machine being used is compatible with WebGL then viewing the page in 3D will offer a whole new perspective on web page structure and make up.

All in all, the new beta version of Firefox offers a mix of much needed features along with some important bug fixes and developer implementations. Visit the downloads page for Windows, Mac and Linux compatible versions, or, simply refer to the download links below to download Firefox 11 in standard English:

Download Firefox 11 beta [Windows]
Download Firefox 11 beta [Mac]
Download Firefox 11 beta [Linux]

You can follow us on Twitter, add us to your circle on Google+ or like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple and the web.

What Does Facebook’s IPO Mean For Users

Oliver Haslam — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 01:17:00 +0000

Facebook has been long rumored to be getting all its ducks in a row, ready for its Initial Public Offering, or IPO. On Wednesday, the social network flicked the switch, instantly making itself a target for those looking to make money off its huge popularity.

But now Facebook is on the verge of raising itself a few billion dollars to play with, where can we expect the world’s biggest social network to go next? Where will all that money be used?

The real question that is on most users’ lips is a simple one. They want to know how Facebook will change for them, and whether it will be for the better or worse. The answer is, we just don’t really know.

With all that money, Facebook is now more of a business than it has ever been before. With investors no doubt on the lookout for the company to grow quarter on quarter, year on year, Facebook’s management will need to find new and improved ways of making money. That means making money out of you, the user.

Many changes will come behind the scenes, or at least they will be so subtle that most people just won’t notice. All that money could be put towards some semi-useful changes, though. With money on tap, Facebook could compete with Google and Apple in the talent stakes, taking all the best people to Facebook with an aim of doing great things. Could Facebook lure some search people away from Google with the aim of making Facebook the home of everything on the web? It always accounts for a lot of online time for many people, and anything that keeps its users on Facebook.com is worth money. More time on Facebook means more ad impressions. Those always equal money.

Mobile is one area that money could come in useful, too. With Facebook long rumored to be working on a smartphone, having the money to get that off the ground could see the search giant finally take the step into the mobile world, though judging by the state of its iOS and Android apps, we’re not holding out much hope.

The only thing we can be sure about at this point is that we don’t really know what will change, but we can’t help but think that with more pressure on Facebook to make money comes a higher change we’ll find ourselves being the product, even more than ever.

Time to get those tin hats out guys!

For discussion on this topic: Check out the threads on Facebook or Google+.

You can follow us on Twitter, add us to your circle on Google+ or like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple and the web.

It’s Official! Facebook Files For $5 Billion IPO

Paul Morris — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:32:25 +0000

After being in the pipeline for quite some time, Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook has taken the long anticipated plunge and filed to go public with the company’s eagerly anticipated initial public offering (IPO).

The technology world has been waiting patiently for what has been the most anticipated IPO since Google in 2004, with Facebook looking to raise approximately $5 billion. It remains to be seen whether or not how the capital will be raised, but if the world’s largest social network succeeds, then it would value the company at approximately $100 billion, or 26th in the world, just behind the golden arches of McDonald’s.

Facebook is eight years old, and for the first time laid out details of their finances with the company bringing in approximately $4.3 billion of revenue last year. With 850 million registered and active members, half of the United Kingdom’s population are registered users of the network and it is clear that it is the user-base which provides the value.

The underwriting of the deal will handled primarily by leading investment bank Morgan Stanley, with additional responsibilities being given to Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan. With shares expected to be traded as early as May 2012, the question I’m sure people are asking themselves is, is Facebook really worth $100 billion? Even at the lowest end of the expected valuation, it would value the social network at more than the Disney Corporation.

Research firm eMarketer estimate that Facebook’s ad revenue will rise to $7 billion by 2013 after they have already overtaken Yahoo! in terms of ad revenue, which may seem like a lot of income purely from ads alone, but when compared with Disney’s revenues of $40 billion and Google’s $37.9 billion, it pales into insignificance.

One of the many benefits of the IPO for Facebook will be the immediate cash generation, allowing the company to pay off early investors and possibly invest in acquiring smaller companies to grow their product portfolio. Google used the cash that their initial public offering generated to purchase companies like YouTube and DoubleClick which dramatically increased their business.

All eyes will be eagerly fixed on developments with long time Facebook fans waiting to see just what kind of numbers Mark Zuckerberg’s company can generate.

(source SEC)

You can follow us on Twitter, add us to your circle on Google+ or like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple and the web.

Download Firefox 10 For Windows And OS X

Oliver Haslam — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:38:48 +0000

If you’re a Firefox user then you now have a new version to download, with the popular browser being updated to version 10.

Other than being a nice round number, version 10 brings with it a few minor alterations that are not going to set the pulse racing, unless you have a particular hankering for a ‘forward’ button that hides itself until it has a function?

Oh, you do? Well then, there you go.

Other updates include support for full-screen web apps, perfect for games and the like, as well as extension management improvements across the board. With Firefox’s biggest pull being the huge number of extensions that are currently available to it, anything that makes the browser handle them better is going to get the thumbs up from us!

Antialiasing for WebGL is also now implemented, according to the new version’s release notes.

Firefox version 10 also sees the addition of an "Extended Support Release," which allows the enterprise to install Firefox without it updating quite so often as everyone else’s browser. Security updates will be applied as and when they are available, but regular updates will not. The idea here is that support departments do not need to worry about supporting a new version of the browser every six weeks.

That six week update cycle is something which began nine months ago, and that new cycle has seen Mozilla take Firefox from version 4 to the 10 release we’re talking about here. Google’s Chrome also sports a similarly speedy update cycle, with the search giant’s browser currently on something of a market share charge. While both currently have similar shares, Google’s Chrome is without a doubt the one that is very much on an upswing.

Firefox version 10 will be a silent update for those of you who already have an earlier version installed, or new users can download the app afresh should they so wish.

Use of both Chrome and Firefox is mixed at Redmond Pie Towers, with Google’s offering feeling slightly slicker than our old friend Firefox. We’ll be sure to give this new release a buzz soon though, but do let us know how you find it on Facebook, Twitter or indeed, Google Plus.

Download Firefox 10 [Windows]
Download Firefox 10 [Mac]

(via TheVerge)

TimelineMovieMaker Turns Your Facebook Timeline Into A Cool Motion Picture – Try It Now!

Ben Reid — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 23:04:27 +0000

As if Facebook wasn’t theatrical enough already, design outfit Definition6 have collaborated with Mark Zuckerberg’s social platform to create an app which morphs your Timeline into a cinematic-esque movie.

Before I digress into a rant about the social-networking attention-seekers though, the app – aptly named TimelineMovieMaker – is actually pretty darn good.

Introduced at the f8 conference, Timeline was one of the more significant new features implemented into the world’s number one social networking site. Competition from the likes of Google+ saw Facebook push out arguably the largest upgrade in its history, and the response from users has been positive hitherto, with a fast-approaching milestone of a billion active users.

Timeline sought to shake the "here an now" ideal prevalent in many of the popular social hunts, allowing users to create a life story, and offer some structure to profile pages in amongst the vast array of in-and-outgoing chit-chat.

TimelineMovieMaker, whilst not everybody’s proverbial cup of tea, allows you to add special effects and music in an animated timeline. For purpose of clarity, imagine a PowerPoint presentation with your pictures daily blurbs included – that’s pretty much what you’ll be getting with this app.

The movies take a matter of minutes to compile, and once you’ve finished playing director, you’ll probably want – in true Facebook fashion – to share it with your friends, which is is as simple sharing a link.

Try it for yourself, and once you’ve watched an abridged version of your life thus far, we’re pretty sure you’re going to want to edit a few things to reach that 6+ IMDB rating – a benchmark most would class as ‘watchable’.

Currently, there aren’t any features to upload created videos onto YouTube and such, but we reckon that’s probably on the horizon, since the benefits of doing so are clear for all to see.

How do you get started? Follow this link, hit the ‘Make Your Movie’ button, and you’re good to go. You’ll obviously have to log in and allow permissions, but after that, it’s relatively straightforward, and you’ll soon find your feet in the directors’ lounge!

Hey, feel free to share your life stories via our Facebook fan page – we’d love to see them!

(via TNW)

You can follow us on Twitter, add us to your circle on Google+ or like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple and the web.

Angry Birds Is Coming To Facebook On Valentine’s Day

Oliver Haslam — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:49:24 +0000

Angry Birds is already available for just about every platform under the sun, be that iOS, Android, Windows Phone 7 or Google Chrome, but that apparently isn’t enough for those fluffy little birdies.

Now the bird and pig war will be coming to a social network near you as well, with Facebook set to be the latest platform for Rovio’s hugely popular game.

Those who need their Angry Birds fix but don’t have immediate access to one of the millions of other devices that support it, can hop on over to Facebook from Valentines Day onwards, with February 14th being both the day of love and the day of avian war at the same time!

The game’s creators, Rovio, are currently keeping their cards very much lose to their chest, but what we do know is that the pigs will be more heavily involved in the game this time around. We don’t quite know how Rovio plans on making that work, but were sure it will be super popular regardless.

We’re also looking forward to seeing what kinds of social features Rovio will be bringing to Angry Birds. With Facebook underpinning the whole thing we’re hoping to see some sort of social interaction the likes of which just are not possible on other platforms. We’ll see come February 14th, no doubt.

Rovio CEO Mikael Hed has already said that the game will feature new aspects and a more collaborative feel to it, which will be music to the ears of those who have already played Angry Birds to death over the last year or so. Rovio will need to come up with something other than just being able to check on your friends’ high scores if Angry Birds for Facebook is to be as big of a success as its predecessors have been.

Facebook gaming is already big business, with Zynga making plenty of money already creating games that live on Facebook’s social platform. It was surely only a matter of time before Rovio brought those Angry Birds to the party too, but we can’t help but feel disappointed to see our beloved pigs move on over to Facebook.

So long little piggies. It’s been a blast!

(via Mashable) (source Facebook)

What’s Under My TV – A Look At The Tech We Use

Oliver Haslam — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 13:30:37 +0000

We all use a variety of technology during our daily lives, and no more so than in the living room. If you look under your TV then you’ll no doubt see plenty of set-top boxes, DVRs and games consoles along with various audio equipment and the like.

I thought it might be an interesting exercise to share my choice of living room tech, complete with a little information on why I chose it. I’ll cover my television and a variety of set-top boxes along with a couple of things that don’t really fit unto the usual category of ‘home entertainment.’

Being from the UK you may not recognize a couple of these pieces of hardware, but I’m sure you will most!

So, here we go!

Samsung 40-inch HD LCD screen – A good five years old now, this LCD has seen plenty of changes over its lifetime, and is certainly getting ready to be replaced with a nice 50-inch model at some point in the future. The impending arrival of a baby to the family may scupper those plans, though!

Amstrad Sky HD Box – The satellite company here in the UK, Sky is the provider of the vast majority of our television in glorious high definition. Offering plenty of sports and movies along with a handy series-link feature for recording whole seasons of TV shows, the box has served us well. An on-demand, streaming-powered feature is also available via the box.

Microsoft Xbox 360 – My game console of choice. This is our fourth machine thanks to various reasons, two of which include the RROD. Along with a catalogue of games that has cost more than I care to admit, the box 360 is probably the most used of our gaming solutions.

Sony PlayStation 3 – More there just for the first-party games we cannot get on the Xbox 360 and to play Blu-ray movies than anything else.

Nintendo Wii – Because every home has to have a Wii, right?

Apple TV – The second release of Apple’s famous ‘hobby’, our Apple TV provided access to Netflix as well as the US-based iTunes account we use for watching movies before they arrive in the UK. Perfect if you refuse to pay the silly prices expected at the cinema!

Logitech 5.1 Surround Audio – With a model number that I just cannot remember, this set of THX-certified speakers has served us well but, like the LCD screen, these are getting ready to be replaced. Sound quality is good, although the rear speakers could definitely be better which may be more down to the break in the speaker wire than anything else!

Apple iPad 2 – Yes it’s not under my TV, but we use it so much when watching TV that I had to include it. Great for checking IMDB when you just can’t remember which movie that guy was in!

For discussion on this topic: Check out the threads on Facebook or Google+.

You can follow us on Twitter, add us to your circle on Google+ or like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple and the web.

Geohot Quits Facebook, Jumps Back Into Hacking [VIDEO]

Paul Morris — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:24:40 +0000

The jailbreak community is brimming with development and security research talent, you only need to look at the individuals involved in producing the jailbreak tools to know that is really the case.

Individuals who have built an online kinship with other people sharing the same passion, forming a bond which lets them work together from remote locations around the world to circumvent security measures put in place by one of the largest technology companies in the world. If you actually take the time to look back at the software which has been created and the vulnerabilities which have been found and exploited, you will quickly realize the depth of talent that exists.

Of course, like any other scene or community in the world, there will always be people who appear to have been born to do it. The Chronic Dev Team is made up of some extraordinary talent, the iPhone Dev Team has members who possess mind boggling technical skills and plenty of individuals exist in the community who are working solo in the pursuit of liberation for iDevices. If you ask the most prominent researchers and jailbreak producers to be honest, I am pretty sure they will concede that a few names stand out among the best of the best. PlanetBeing, who has recently made a comeback as part of the A5 Dream Team, will undoubtedly be considered up there with the best.

Of course, we cannot forget the infamous George Hotz, or Geohot as he might be more well-known to most of us. Geohot is famed for providing a hardware-based unlock solution for the first iPhone, developing and releasing the Limera1n jailbreak tool, and also being dragged through the courts by Sony Computer Entertainment for releasing tools and tutorials online showing people how to ‘jailbreak’ a PlayStation 3. No one can deny that the jailbreak community is a little less colorful without Geohot, but after his Sony court case, he appeared to have slipped from the public eye by accepting a position to go and work for the Facebook social network.

Step forward six months, and if rumors are to be believed then Geohot’s tenure at Facebook is no more, after he has reportedly quit. Business Insider are reporting that George Hotz has left his position from Mark Zuckerberg’s company and has been spotted taking part in a hackathon at a startup named Backplane which has been funded, rather bizarrely, by Lady Gaga. During the competition, Hotz built an application which showed where your Facebook friends were on a map at any time through their check-ins. Working alongside Aviv Ovadya, Geohot concentrated on extracting the API information and programming it into the location data.

As far as I am aware, we don’t have full confirmation that he has indeed left his position with Facebook, but if he indeed has, It would be very intriguing to see what the next chapter holds from the ever-entertaining Geohot. I for one hope it is a return to the iOS scene. Fingers crossed.

You can follow us on Twitter, add us to your circle on Google+ or like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple and the web.

President Obama To Hangout in Google+, Find Out How You Can Be A Part Of It

Paul Morris — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:42:34 +0000

It was only last week that Google announced that its social network, Google+, had breached the 90 millions users mark which represented quite a staggering rise in registrations considering that number was closer to the 40 million mark in October last year. We all know however, that a registered consumer base is somewhat different to an engaged consumer based but in the Google+ world; Larry Page reckons that sixty percent of those users use the site daily, with approximately eighty percent being active weekly users.

At the beginning of November last year, Google started rolling out the ability for companies and celebrities to open up their own dedicated Google+ page. With The White House taking advantage of this, in an attempt to offer a more publicly engaged government to the American citizens. The opening of a Google+ page comes on the back of The White House which also has a Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts which they believe shows that they are committed to public engagement and participation.

As you might expect, The White House Google+ page contains official blog posts, which are also featured on the website, along with photographs, videos and any official announcements which may be made, which gives followers the chance to comment on the posts and share them amongst their followers should they wish. One of the powerful features of Google+ are the Hangouts and Huddles which allow groups of people to come together in one place to have a voice and video conversation. It seems as if The White House is about to use the power of Google+ Hangouts directly after the President’s State of the Union speech to answer questions the American public may have, and take on board any ideas about rebuilding the nation.

The Google+ Hangout is set to be the first entirely virtual interview held by a President, with hopes that it brings about some transparency and encourages mass public participation. To go alongside the social hangout, President Barack Obama and his team will also be responding to questions relating to his State of the Union speech as well as addressing any pressing issues which the public may feel should be known about. The Hangout will take place on January 30th from inside The West Wing of The White House and will feature him personally answering specifically chosen questions which have been submitted via YouTube.

If you plan on submitting a question to President Obama, I would probably wait until the State of the Union speech, you never know, you could be one of the lucky ones who is chosen to actually feature in the Hangout and make history by asking the first question in the first ever completely virtual presidential speech.

You can follow us on Twitter, add us to your circle on Google+ or like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple and the web.

RIM Set To Have Another Stab At The BlackBerry PlayBook To Get Back Into The Game

Oliver Haslam — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:34:58 +0000

Not even the two outgoing CEOs of RIM would argue that the company’s ill-fated BlackBerry PlayBook tablet was a success. In fact, as far as tech flops go we’d argue that it’s right up there with the HP TouchPad.

Now that the Canadian firm has a new man in charge following the resignation of Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis it will be hoping for better things to come. If the Wall Street Journal is correct, that might involve anther crack at the tablet market with another PlayBook. Yep, they’re at it again!

Sandwiched inside a report about the CEO shakeup currently going down at RIM, the WSJ claims that the BlackBerry smartphone maker is once again hard at work to come up with a follow-up to its poorly received PlayBook tablet.

Seemingly undeterred after its first foray into the tablet market, Research In Motion could possibly learn from its initial mistakes, though we’re not entirely convinced that is on the cards given the firm’s apparent inability to realize where it is going wrong in the smartphone market. Having once been the king of the hill when it came to phones that did more than just call people, RIM has slid to the role of also-rans behind the might of Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. With the pair already eating up the tablet market, is it really possible that RIM can come in and make an impact?

The WSJ article says that the new tablet is one of two big projects that RIM is currently working on, with the other believed to be the new operating system that BlackBerry owners have been clamoring for – BlackBerry 10. With release dates slipping for that new software and accompanying phones however, it will be a race against time to get them in the hands of users while RIM is still relevant in a market that just will not stand still.

One thing is absolutely clear though – 2012 is potentially going to be the most important year of Research In Motion’s history. Get it right and the Canadians could be on the up once again. Get it wrong, and we might not have a RIM to speak of this time next year.

Interesting times ahead indeed.

You can follow us on Twitter, add us to your circle on Google+ or like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple and the web.

Redmond Pie » Web

Download Firefox 11 Beta For Windows, Mac & Linux

Related Posts

What Does Facebook’s IPO Mean For Users

Related Posts

It’s Official! Facebook Files For $5 Billion IPO

Related Posts

Download Firefox 10 For Windows And OS X

Related Posts

TimelineMovieMaker Turns Your Facebook Timeline Into A Cool Motion Picture – Try It Now!

Related Posts

Angry Birds Is Coming To Facebook On Valentine’s Day

Related Posts

What’s Under My TV – A Look At The Tech We Use

Related Posts

Geohot Quits Facebook, Jumps Back Into Hacking [VIDEO]

Related Posts

President Obama To Hangout in Google+, Find Out How You Can Be A Part Of It

Related Posts

RIM Set To Have Another Stab At The BlackBerry PlayBook To Get Back Into The Game

Related Posts