Google begins killing off support for older browsers -- well, not that old
Wouldn't it be funny if Google turned out to be the Internet's security cop? That's one way to interpret the search and information giant's continued push to clear away aging web browsers. First Internet Explorer 6, now Firefox 3.5, IE7 and Safari 3. Google will stop supporting these latter three browsers two months from today.
Google's reasons have nothing to do with security, but there could be a safety benefit. Let's face it, major developers invest more in their newest browser versions. More significantly, Google, Microsoft and Mozilla are now on fast development tracks, with new browser milestones coming every six to eight weeks. For example, Firefox 4 launched in late March with great fanfare -- 6 million downloads in 24 hours -- yet version 7 Nightly builds are already available for download. Firefox 5 is scheduled to release on June 21.
Genie Timeline Cloud grants your wish for online storage
Genie9 Corporation, the company behind the Genie Timeline backup tool, has introduced a new cloud-based backup for businesses and families. Timeline Cloud features the usual cloud-based backup tools, plus adds in some unique features that could prove invaluable for businesses and families.
The most notable feature offered is Cloud Disaster Recovery, which makes it possible to restore a computer to working order via the Internet or network. Timeline Cloud is also designed to be administered from the web, allowing one person to set up and manage backup policies for employees or other family members. Genie9 claims that configuring backup plans takes just five minutes.
Perhaps Microsoft didn't overpay for Skype after all
According to Pew Internet, nearly one quarter of American adult Internet users have placed phone calls online. That works out to 19 percent of U.S. adults. Hell, this is but one country -- with huge built-up telephony infrastructure. What about the world?
"On any given day 5 percent of internet users are going online to place phone calls," according to Pew. That may seem like a small number, but it's part of a big trend. The chart above -- and the steep climb in number of people who call online -- is graphic enough. The number of Internet users making online calls since April 2007 climbed from 8 percent to 24 percent three years later.
Apple looks to steal Computex and D9 thunder with iCloud
In a simply unprecedented announcement -- well, since founder Steve Jobs' return as chief executive 15 years ago -- Apple tipped off a new product coming next week. Before Wall Street's opening bell this morning, the company dropped a press release explaining that Jobs would present next week's Worldwide Developer Conference keynote and that the new iCloud service would be announced. Jobs and team also will unveil Mac OS X "Lion," which was expected, and the next version version of iOS.
From a competitive buzz perspective, surely Apple is looking to steal some thunder coming from Computex, which opened earlier today in Taipei, and the D9 conference, which starts tonight here in California. Both venues will produce major news ahead of WWDC. Intel kicked off Computex by announcing new chips, a new tablet platform and Ultrabook, a portable category competitively aimed at Apple's MacBook Air and iPad. Google Chairman Eric Schmidt will be D9's first-day headliner. Apple has little to no direct presence at either event.
Want to sync bookmarks across browsers? Xmarks the spot
These days, an increasing number of browsers, including Chrome and Firefox 4, make it easy to access the latest version of your bookmarks from any computer you own thanks to built-in sync. The problem is that these proprietary sync technologies will only work with the browser they're designed for.
If you're wanting to switch from one browser to another, or you don't want to tie yourself to a single browser, you'll need a third-party solution in order to keep your bookmarks in sync across all machines and browsers. That solution comes in the form of a free add-in called Xmarks, which is available for various browsers, including Firefox, Chrome, Safari and Internet Explorer.
Why can you download Office for Mac 2011 from Amazon but not Apple?
If you've seen Amazon's new Mac Software Downloads store it's the question to ask. Amazon offers digital downloads from the Mac's two largest developers, Adobe and Microsoft. Apple does not. Well, Windows Phone 7 Connector is available from Apple's shop. But, hey, where's Microsoft Office?
Perhaps the answer to that question will come next month during Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference, where Mac OS X 10.7 "Lion" takes center stage. The Mac App Store, which debuted in January as an add-on to v10.6 "Snow Leopard," will be built into Lion.
Online Drive Benchmark: Speed test cloud storage services
Storing your data in the cloud has its pros and cons, but one of the biggest drawbacks has to be the speed at which you can both upload and download data from your storage pool. Not all online storage providers are equal, but there's also factors unique to your PC and Internet setup to consider too.
If you're in the market for signing up for online storage with the likes of Box.net or DriveHQ, it goes without saying you'll want to know which ones are quickest when it comes to making a decision. This is where a new freeware tool, currently in beta, comes into play: Online Drive Benchmark is designed to let you know which provider performs best on your computer.
Yahoo Mail puts final touches on the big makeover
Yahoo Mail is coming out of beta over the next couple of weeks, Yahoo announced today at the Witching Hour. I'm scratching my head asking "Why tell us today, if it's rolling out in weeks?" The whiles of public relations timing stymies me.
The new service, which started beta testing in October, will be available to 284 million users in 43 markets and 26 languages. "This is the largest redesign of Yahoo Mail in six years, and we rebuilt it with a focus on performance to make it at least 2x faster than previous versions," according to a post on the company's Yodel Anecdotal blog. "In addition, we upgraded our spam technology to ensure that you aren't receiving unwanted messages. Did you know that Yahoo! Mail already blocks more than 550 billion spam messages per month?"
Chrome OS is only a failure to people living in the past
Point-Counterpont. In the second of two posts about Google's cloud-connected operating system and Chromebook, Joe Wilcox argues that PC defenders are an unimaginative lot living in the past. He refutes Larry Seltzer's morning commentary: "I'll take Windows and a good browser over Chrome OS."
I'll be the first to admit that laptops running Chrome OS aren't for everyone. But they're for many more people than my colleague Larry Seltzer suggests. He argues that a Google OS-powered notebook is "defined not by what it can do but by what it does not do; there's nothing that a Chromebook can do that a Windows notebook running Chrome browser cannot." The same reasoning could easily apply to smartphones, tablets, televisions and other high-tech devices running an operating system and web browser. Yet consumers and businesses use these devices in droves. Context often defines what's good enough, and that's missing from most Chrome OS criticisms.
I'll take Windows and a good browser over Chrome OS
It's point-counterpoint time. In the first of two posts about Chrome OS and Chromebooks, Larry Seltzer argues that Google and its partners are putting "old win in new bottles" -- that Google's cloud-based OS and laptop concept isn't defined by what it can do but by what it can't. Joe Wilcox responds with "Chrome OS is only a failure to people living in the past."
The web as a platform is a really old idea, by tech standards. You really began to hear people talk about it seriously 15 years ago, although of course the tools were primitive then. It was no later than 1998 when I began to see products to implement this, including client systems that were "web-only." I recall terminals from the likes of Neoware and Wyse that were really Linux boxes with a browser user interface as the shell. The Java PC from Sun and IBM was a similar idea in that the client was dumb and manageable and all the software resided on the servers, although it used mainly Java apps. Yes, the web has changed and improved a whole lot since then, but so have client systems and the management of them. This is why the Chromebook is old wine in new bottles.
Happy day! Playstation Network is back up -- well, almost
Is the waiting finally over, or is Sony making more promises? Today, the entertainment giant announced partial PlayStation Network restoration, after a 24-day self-inflicted outage. PSN is being restored in Europe and the United States and, at that, on a rolling basis. This evening, I downloaded the necessary PS3 firmware update necessary to access PSN only to be confronted by that nasty "PlayStation Network is undergoing maintenance" screen, now in dark gray instead of the previous grim green. However, before posting the service went live.
In a video message announcing PSN's return, Sony Representative Corporate Executive Officer and Executive Deputy President Kazuo Hirai says that PSN, Qriocity, and third-party services like Hulu and Netflix are being "restored in phases, and I'm pleased to say that the first phase has been launched in most regions of the world." He claims that Sony has been "working around the clock" to bring gaming and media services "back online."
Have it your way with Better Facebook
There's pretty good chance that you are one of the millions of people who have a Facebook account. While the social network has an undeniably huge user base, there are few who would claim that there is not room for improvement. If you've ever wished for a way to customize the appearance of your Facebook account, or would like more control over the way the site works, assuming you're using Firefox, Safari, Opera, Chrome or Greasemonkey, Better Facebook may be just what you have been looking for -- Internet Explorer users are left out in the cold, however.
Better Facebook is a browser extension that can be used to completely change the way Facebook looks and works. In all, there are more than 70 settings that can be applied in various combinations to personalize the social network to your liking. Anyone who has a fairly extensive list of friends will be all too aware that it does not take long for your Facebook news feed to run out of control. Better Facebook adds options such as tabbed news feeds and news filtering so you can concentrate on what is most important or interesting.
Who is dropping Dropbox over terms-of-service changes?
Not surprisingly, Dropbox's recent ToS changes have upset many users. In late April, I posted a poll asking people to describe their reaction to changes that would allow law enforcement access to some subscribers' Dropboxes. About 71 percent of respondents are unhappy with the changes.
The ToS revision was unexpected. Before the change, the service boasted that "Dropbox employees are unable to view user files." Now it's "Dropbox cooperates with United States law enforcement when it receives valid legal process, which may require Dropbox to provide the contents of your private Dropbox." Essentially, Dropbox strips off encryption when the cops come asking for access to specific user files -- or at least I should hope specific instead of broad fishing expeditions.
YouTube 100: Chart with professional musicians
Move over Billboard. "The times they are a-changin'." Today Google launched a music chart for videos -- the YouTube 100 -- that empowers Jack and Jane Wannabe to stand tall with the likes of Lady Gaga or, gasp, Justin Bieber. The chart tracks "song popularity in user-generated and professional music videos," Chris LaRosa, Google Music product manager, explains in a blog post.
YouTube is still mostly about user-generated content, and opening information -- and possibilities -- is fundamentally in keeping with Google corporate philosophy. So it's very appropriate that Google's music chart should include user-generated videos alongside those from popular, commercial musicians.
Want Google Music? You could buy XOOM
There were enough leaks in Google's streaming music plans to sink Titanic. So it was no surprise that earlier today at Google I/O, the search and information giant launched a cloud locker for your tunes. Well, for the tunes of special invitees (I/O attendees for starters) or Motorola XOOM tablet owners (the music app is included with Android 3.1). It's a closed beta. You can't attend I/O now if not registered, but you could still buy XOOM to get beta access -- that's if your domicile is the United States. The beta's only open here.
Keeping with Google's mindless marketing approach to nomenclature -- with Android and Chrome being two of the few exceptions -- for now the service is called Music Beta by Google, presumably Google Music on release. If someone got paid to develop the brand, please tell me how to get such an easy cash-producing gig. If Music Beta by Google is the product name, seriously I want the brander's job. That said, I must concede Music Beta by Google does evoke a sense of exclusivity fitting with the invitee or XOOM "Honeycomb early adopter" status.
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