Tag: Browser
Apple to be sued over iPhone web browser because it makes pages smaller
Hey look, it’s another lawsuit! This time, EMG Technology LLC (a company of one) is suing the iPhone manufacturer because it allegedly infringes a patent for the way that it displays web sites on the mobile’s screen.
It’s not entirely clear what Apple is supposed to have infringed, because the iPhone’s web browser is based on Safari (which has been available on the Mac for years), and effectively displays a scaled-down version of each web page (sans Flash and Java, of course) which can then be manipulated by the user using the multi-touch interface.
If anything, the mobile version of Safari appears to do very little to the original web page — that’s the whole point and it’s what Apple has been banging on about since the iPhone was launched. It’s other mobile phone manufacturers that are more likely to have browsers that manipulate the page in order to make it more readable on their tiny screens…
Mobile Internet Explorer 6 not available as an upgrade
The problem with massive companies like Microsoft is that while some bits of the company can be doing great, forward-thinking stuff, other bits of the company can spectacularly drop the ball.
That’s what’s happened at Microsoft over the weekend. On Friday, Microsoft announced sweeping changes to Windows Live. Today we find out that Mobile IE6 won’t be available as a download – you have to upgrade your handset to get it.
It’s a ridiculous, idiotic move from Microsoft that’s only going to annoy and frustrate its users, who’ll turn to piracy to get the software they want on their handset. Microsoft says, in explanation:
Firefox hits 20% market share
I feel a bit guilty. I’ve almost completely abandoned my former favourite browser – Firefox – in favour of Google’s zippity-quick Chrome browser. I love Firefox, but the little tiny touches in Chrome make it a joy to use compared to the relative clunkiness that is Firefox 3. Still, in a world where most people are still using Internet Explorer, it should be celebrated that 1 in 5 people on the internet are now using Firefox for their surfing needs.
The report, from Net Applications, shows Firefox with a 20% market share for two out of four weeks in October. Firefox didn’t have a major release then, so it’s doubly impressive that it’s still building converts across the world. New features are constantly announced, including a private browsing mode (dubbed ‘porn mode’ by some) in a forthcoming 3.1 update.
Firefox (via ReadWriteWeb)
Related posts: Mozilla releases first alpha of Firefox for mobiles | WHY OH WHY OH WHY would anyone put a Firefox theme on Google Chrome?
Opera release 9.6 beta
Gosh, everyone’s going browser-mad lately. First IE8, then Chrome, now Opera are releasing a new version. Opera, of course, is the fourth largest browser out there, after IE, Firefox, Safari, and Safari. It has a small, but passionate, fanbase, which includes 2.6% of Tech Digest readers…
Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 is out – 5 reasons why you should try it
The biggest news this morning (that doesn’t relate to a German trade show) is that Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 is out. It’s still a developer’s preview version, but it seems stable enough for consumers to test. I’ll cut to the chase – you can get it here.
Internet Explorer is still used by a whopping 73% of internet users, and 47% of Tech Digest readers (42% Firefox, 7% Safari, 4% other, in case you were wondering). Why do so many people use it? Well, almost certainly because it comes as standard on Windows machines. Many people can’t be bothered to change the default. At one point in 2003, IE had 95% market share.
A little history, then. IE6, released in 2001, was a big pile of awful. It was insecure and heavily criticised, which let Firefox (and Apple, too) take quite a big chunk of market share. IE7 was playing catchup, adding tabs and better security, but IE8 looks game-changing, and a strong challenger for Firefox 3.0. Click over the jump to find out why…
Firefox 3 creeps closer to official launch, as Release Candidate 2 arrives
Firefox pushes on towards an official launch with yesterday’s launch of the Release Candidate 2 version. Mozilla’s eagerly awaited third version came out of beta last month, and now web developers and other interested parties are crawling all over a version which should be fairly close to the final version.
There’s a mountain of improvements in Firefox 3 compared to Firefox 2, many relating to the important issues of security, reliability, and performance…
CES 2008: Archos TV+ – media player and streamer
Archos will be launching the Archos TV+ at CES, a 250GB recorder that doubles as a Wi-Fi receiver for streaming media, as well as a web browser.
Firefox detention letter an "altered version" according to principal
Yesterday the whole world laughed at the absurdity that a high-school student in the US got detention for using Firefox in class, but now it’s time for those chuckles to die down, as the principal himself has rubbished the story on the Big Spring High School website itself.
Principal John C. Scudder claims on the site it was “an altered version”, and that “the reports, blogs and other sources…
Nokia getting in on the touchscreen thing with updated Symbian S60 OS
Buttons are so last-generation right now. Nokia’s rather awesome S60 Symbian mobile phone operating system is getting upgraded to feature modern, fashionable, stylish touchscreen capabilities, in a move that’s sure to have Apple quaking in its boots – or at least consulting its lawyers.
The one particularly innovative feature Nokia’s revealed is support for tactile feedback, with users able to feel a satisfying vibration when selecting an option. Existing S60 3rd edition apps will run on the new system…
SpaceTime web browser hasn't been created by Jobs and Gates, promise…
SpaceTime may look like it’s a child born out of wedlock between Windows Vista and Mac OS X on a summer holiday in Majorca when a boozy night went a bit pear-shaped, however the 3D web browser isn’t actually related to them at all.
The application is free for PCs, and there’s a version swinging its way over to Mac soon. Check out the video above for a glimpse at what it can do, and to hear…
