Tag Archives: Firefox 4
Firefox Going the Way of Chrome Could be a Troubling Sign for Mozilla
Posted on 07. Feb, 2011 by Daniel Cawrey. 
7 Comments
When I first saw that Firefox was expecting to release multiple versions this year I of course thought of Chrome. It should come to no surprise that Mozilla is trying to keep up with Google’s browser, but is starting to fall behind. I mean, whatever happened to Firefox 4? I remember trying the Beta, not being impressed with it, and then forgetting about it.
Well, it turns out that Firefox 4 is behind schedule. Instead of Mozilla waiting for all of the new features/fixes for the browser, they are going to a faster release cycle.
thechromesource Weekend: Links for 9/12/10
Posted on 12. Sep, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 0 Comments
With this battle of tablets brewing, PCWorld asks what is Google’s Big Tease on Tablets: Android or Chrome OS?
Facebook has passed Google for the first time in time spent on the respective sites.
Here’s a look at how Bing could have beaten Google’s Instant Search a year ago.
Just like the upcoming Internet Explorer 9 and Chrome 7 stable, Firefox 4 Beta 5 now has hardware acceleration.
Lilliputing’s Brad Linder believes Google may not allow any devices without access to make cell phone calls to use Android Market.
thechromesource Daily: Links for 8/26/10
Posted on 26. Aug, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 0 Comments
Calls that cost zero from Chrome OS? Here’s a look at the impact that Google’s new voice features will have on cloud computing.
A new tabs interface in Firefox 4 called Panorama makes Mozilla’s browser the one to beat according to Computerworld.
At least when it comes to small businesses, Google is gaining market share over Microsoft.
The first day of Google Voice’s Gmail integration resulted in more than one million phone calls from the service.
What are former Google employees up to? A look at some “Xooglers”.
The Chromification of Internet Explorer
Posted on 25. Aug, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 0 Comments
Do you like fast acting tabs, the Omnibox and simplicity to your browser design? Then you’re going to love Internet Explorer 9.
According to Computerworld, this image was taken from Microsoft’s Russian site. It appears that in order to save its slowly diminishing browser share, the company is willing to concede that Chrome’s design is successful enough to copy. That goes for features like a faster JavaScript engine and hardware acceleration in the browser, the latter coming to Chrome 7 soon.
Mozilla has also been heading down the same path with the beta version of their newest browser, Firefox 4.
The Internet Explorer 9 beta release will be available in September for Windows 7 and Vista, further alienating Mac, Linux and Windows XP users.
Video: Chrome 6 vs Firefox 4 vs Opera 10.6 vs Safari 5
Posted on 21. Aug, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 6 Comments
Here’s another installment of browser comparisons with some of the newest generation browsers tested. Sadly, Internet Explorer is not included. I guess I’ll have to find some time later to weep about that fact.
Firefox 4 Going the Auto-Update Method
Posted on 08. Aug, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 4 Comments
It was a big deal when Google released Chrome and decide that the browser needed to be updated automatically without user prompting. While somewhat controversial, the method works and keeps Chrome as current as possible, thwarting it from malicious attacks. Indeed, a recent study has shown that 97% of Chrome users are running the most recent version because of the auto-update method.
Now the new version of Firefox, the fourth installment, will go down this route and Mozilla will quietly update their browser automatically. Not only does this keep the browser safer, it allows Mozilla to better compete directly with Chrome by being able to stream updates to users.
Take a look at these graphs on update cycles for both Chrome and Firefox.
You can see that Chrome users in the past have been recipients of browser updates that allow previous versions to simply die off. Consider that if Microsoft had been doing this method some time ago, they wouldn’t be confronted with the Internet Explorer 6 scrutiny they’ve been under; instead they have opted to promote Windows 7 instead which does version 8 of IE.
thechromesource Daily: Links for 7/27/10
Posted on 27. Jul, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 1 Comments
Google Alarm is a new extension that allows you to be notified every time your data is sent to Google servers, which is a lot of notifies.
Cloud Music is an iPhone app that allows you to stream music from your Google Docs account to your mobile device.
Translation features and the ability to undo “smartquotes” are a part of a new Google Docs update.
Firefox’s new operating system-like user interface may have a leg up on that of Chrome browser according to TechRepublic.
Lee Matthews from DownloadSquad has deftly discovered that a new download manager is coming soon to Chrome.
Inside Chrome 6: Video
Posted on 19. Jul, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 2 Comments
This article on video is part of a series of posts discussing the new features and technology that will come with the official newest release of Chrome browser – Version 6.
The rise of video on the internet is going to really change the web – although that has been said for years, it’s taking advances in broadband and browser technology for it to happen. We’re getting close, and the fact that Google TV is coming later this year with a version of Android and the Chrome browser on top, new technology in Chrome 6 will propel web-based video even further.
Chrome 6 will support the WebM standard, which runs on the recently opened-up video codec called VP8. WebM is supported by Mozilla, Opera and Google among other technology companies. The early beta of Firefox 4 is the first browser to support WebM.
Earlier this year, Google bought On2 Technologies, which owned the patent to VP8. Once the acquisition was made, several open source groups such as the Free Software Foundation asked Google to open up VP8, and they did. The On2 acquisition was big for the development of HTML5 video in newer generation browsers. With WebM, HTML5 video is run through an open standard, a process that in the past has been handled by Flash and a video technology called H.264, which is not open.
So what does this all mean? Improved quality of video as well as overall performance, no matter where you are. Plus, we’ll see more capability to mash-up, modify and generally edit videos in ways we probably have not yet even though of.
Need some proof? Consider this Chrome Experiment called “Destructive Video” by Sean Christmann. Although it uses the Ogg video codec instead (WebM just came out), you are able to break up a clip into pieces whilst the video is play. Also, check out the YouTube mobile site, which is HTML5-based and very snappy. Although the codec used here is H.264, the WebM format will be introduced as mobile devices get WebM, which Android is expected have implemented later on this year.
Firefox 4 Sure Looks a Lot Like Chrome
Posted on 08. Jul, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 4 Comments
Firefox 4 Beta 1 certainly looks familar. I can’t seem to place where I’ve seen this interface before. Oh, I know, it’s the one I see every day when I use Chrome. You be the judge.
Tabs have been moved to the top of the window, the color scheme has changed accordingly and even the input boxes on the main toolbar area now have a rounded look to them. I can’t wait to download this and check out the generation-leaping JavaScript engine this thing is supposed to have.
WSJ: Chrome Browser Now at 7.24% Market Share
Posted on 08. Jul, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 5 Comments
Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Google’s Chrome browser worldwide share is now at 7.24%. This is impressive to consider since Chrome was launched in September of 2008 and has blazed through versions and innovative features with new releases, currently at version 5.
The question at hand, now that Chrome is at number three of all browsers, is if it can challenge Firefox. NetApplications, the source for the Wall Street Journal Data, puts Firefox in second place to Internet Explorer at 23.81%. In an interview with Gizmodo, Mozilla Open Source Evangelist Christopher Blizzard said that the threat of Chrome overtaking Firefox does not seem to be one of his concerns. In fact, he believes that the fact Mozilla focuses solely on the browser will give his organization competitive advantage.
“What we’re gonna have, I think, with Firefox 4 is that we’re gonna have a Javascript engine that’s a generation ahead of everybody else, which will be pretty interesting. We’re the only one that makes browsers! We don’t sell ads, we don’t make operating systems. We don’t sell hardware. We just make browsers,” Blizzard told Gizmodo’s Matt Buchanon.
And in terms of competing directly against Google, “As long as we stand behind the technology that we have, and continue to improve and invest in it as a mechanism for getting the larger goals done, we’re gonna be fine. I’m not that worried about competing with them.”
That’s good to hear Mozilla has no qualms going up against Chrome. It will be for the best, in the long run, for there to be competing web browsers pushing technology forward – more like web platforms than browsers at this point actually. Firefox’s beta releases of version 4 have shown that they aren’t a afraid of taking something in Chrome and making it a feature in their browser to remain a worthy rival. Anyways, remember when it was only Microsoft that dominated the browser market? It was a black hole in terms of web innovation. Plus IE was hacked a lot, not really a fun time to remember.
By the way, NetApplications by all accounts must be the authority on browser share. In the past, there have been disputes over the validity of calculating browser share worldwide, but major publications seem to quote NetApplications most often in browser research.
Browser Tests: Which of the Current Generation is Best?
Posted on 29. May, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 3 Comments
Here is a video that pits Chrome 5, Firefox 4, Internet Explorer 9, Opera 10.5 and Safari 4 against each other. Using a good array of speed tests, including one for JavaScript, the SunSpider test and the Peacekeeper Benchmark, you might be surprised to see some of the formally fastest browsers on the market are starting to fall behind the pack.
It’s clear that Google is directing a lot of resources into the development of Chrome. Witness the fact that Chrome 6 in now in the development channel, and the browser was first introduced in 2008. It appears that major financial and development time is what is going to win the title of best browser, so it doesn’t come as a shock that IE9 is pulling itself up by its bootstraps and start moving up the rankings.
An interesting point: some seem concerned about the fact that Android and Chrome OS are being developed concurrently, and that the logic behind doing something of this nature is faulty. But the reality is that Chrome is not going anywhere. Massive resources are being used to develop this platform, and along with the fact that Google TV will use Chrome as well, I don’t see Android and Chrome merging anytime soon. Plus, perhaps with Chrome OS Google will be better able to handle the fragmentation issues that have plagued Android via its auto-update technology.
What do you think? Should Android and Chrome be merged? Or does it make sense for the two to be separate, one used for phones and one for computing?
