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Opera's next move is to keep your online data private and secure
For years now, Opera Software's been creating speedy and data-saving internet browsers for consumers, making them available on desktop and mobile devices at no cost. But it doesn't want to stop there. The company, which is responsible for web-browsing products like Opera, Opera Max and Opera Coast, has announced its acquisition of SurfEasy, a firm that focuses on online privacy. According to Senior Vice President of Products Nitin Bhandari, this move isn't just to strengthen the company's portfolio, but also to show its users that it is committed to serving tools that keep their data extremely secure and private. With SurfEasy now a part of Opera, Bhandari says that the goal is to offer features that Opera browser users have requested -- such as encrypting personal information, among other things.
O2 says calling just fifth most-used task on smartphones, suggests we call them 'best buds' instead
Virtually anyone who's been a frequent smartphone user for the past few years has already suspected it, but O2 UK has provided some possible evidence in a study: calling is one of the last things we do these days. Although the number hasn't gone down, the 12.1 minutes of time study subjects spend talking every day is just fifth-highest on the list of what they do with their smartphones. Web browsing (24.8 minutes) and social networking (17.5 minutes) dictate the largest slices of time, but the combined effect of all those apps, media playback and messaging leave voice as just 9.5 percent of the 128 minutes of daily use. The British carrier suggests the shift is more a virtue of smartphones becoming all-singing, all-dancing companions in our lives than from some disdain for human contact: about half of those asked have replaced alarm clocks and watches with their phones, while 39 percent depend on their smartphone as their main camera. There's even 28 percent that no longer feel the need for a laptop. O2's insights aren't all-encompassing and don't necessarily reflect how everyone uses their devices -- they do, however, explain why we're turning to phones that aren't all that comfortable as phones.
Google Screenwise panel will pay you to track your every move online
Don't mind letting Google watch your every click while browsing the web? Awesome, because the folks in Mountain View want to pay you for letting them do just that. The company is recruiting panelists for a project it's calling Screenwise, a program that will give the internet behemoth more insight into how the general public uses the interwebs day in and day out. Once you opt in, you'll receive a $5 gift card code to Amazon and for up to a year, you'll get additional spending money every three months. But how will The Goog track your mouse clicks? Just before getting paid, you'll have to download a browser extension that will keep an eye on things and send your data back to the mothership. If you're looking to make a little more dough, Ars Technica reports that you'll be able to opt for a more lucrative hardware monitoring option. Here, you'll have to install the Screenwise Data Collector (pictured above) on your home network; however, the pay out is an initial Benjamin and $20 for every month you participate. Sound like something you'd want in on? Hit the source link below to be notified when registration opens. Update: Google has passed along the following statement on the Screenwise project with a reminder that participation in the panel is 100% voluntary. Like many other web and media companies, we do panel research to help better serve our users by learning more about people's media use, on the web and elsewhere. This panel is one such small project that started near the beginning of the year. Of course, this is completely optional to join. People can choose to participate if it's of interest (or if the gift appeals) and everyone who does participate has complete transparency and control over what Internet use is being included in the panel. People can stay on the panel as long as they'd like, or leave at any time.
Internet Explorer does less than 50 percent of world's web surfing, Chrome on the come-up
It's been a long and winding road for Internet Explorer, Microsoft's venerable web browser, and for over a decade it's been the browser of choice for most netizens. According to Net Marketshare's latest numbers, however, IE now enables just under half of the world's total -- meaning mobile and desktop combined -- web traffic after owning 95 percent of the browsing market seven years ago. The decline is at least partially due to a rise in mobile web browsing and an increasing Chrome user base. Of course, Microsoft's finest still has a healthy 52.63 percent desktop market share, which gives it a sizable lead over the competition from Firefox (23 percent), Chrome (18 percent), and Safari (five percent). There's plenty more graphs and charts to show you exactly how the browser war is going, so hit the links below for the full pie-chart treatment.
Chinese government to track users of free WiFi, small businesses react with service cutoffs
Thought Google had a mountain-sized stack of your up close and personal online habits? Think again, because the omnipresent search king's all-seeing eyes are nothing compared to the Chinese government, which recently enacted stricter regulations to identify free WiFi users. The government-issued monitoring software will cost the cafes and restaurants it targets $3,100, putting small business owners in a sticky situation -- pay up, or shut down the free surfing. An informal survey conducted by the New York Times found not one owner willing to bow to the Republic's pressure, citing the out-of-pocket cost and low number of actual users. It's possible the move to clamp down on anonymous browsing was spurred by recent youth-embraced, social networking-backed uprisings, like the one in Cairo earlier this year. Seems a loophole in China's net management policy allows "laptop- and iPad-owning colleges students and expatriates" -- the very same group behind recent revolts -- to go online undetected. It remains to be seen if the Communist Party will make this new measure widespread, or just restrict it to central Beijing. For their sake, we echo one owner's hope that "official fervor [will]... soon die down."
iPad makes up one percent of global web browsing, magic
This is surely the sort of thing Apple likes to see -- it might not be the prettiest graph in the world, but it certainly drives home the fairly consistent growth of the iPad's global web browsing share. Back in April of last year, we reported that the company's "magical" tablet had nabbed 0.03 percent of global web traffic in its first week. The decimal point has moved a couple of places, according to NetMarketShare, with the device now making up more than one percent of worldwide web browsing. That number is even higher in the US, at 2.1 percent, with the iPhone and Android devices pulling in 2.9 and 2.6 percent, respectively. As for Apple's share of tablet traffic -- well, there's not a heck of a lot to report on that front. [Thanks, Alan]
Chaufr lets you shout searches, yell URLs at Chrome
Generally, shouting commands at the internet isn't going to get you very far but, if you're just yelling a few destinations and search terms, Chrome extension Chaufr can take you where you need to go. A previous add-on, Speechify, let you speak to fill input fields, but couldn't help you actually navigate the web. Chaufr, on the other hand, lets you simply say the magic word -- "Engadget" -- and it drops you right at our online doorstep. You can also use it to perform searches by saying Wikipedia, Google, Amazon, YouTube, or Yahoo followed by whatever it is you're looking for. It worked well enough in our brief hands-on, but we do have one nit to pick -- activating voice input requires you click on an icon in the tool bar then click on a microphone in the drop down menu. (Can't a brother get a keyboard shortcut?) You can try it out for yourself by clicking on the source link.
Bookeen does real time web browsing and scrolling on standard E Ink screen (video)
Bookeen has already taunted us with an E Ink Pearl display hacked to playback clips of chubby bunnies without so much as a hiccup, now it's showing off web browsing and scrolling on the same screen. It's a little stuttery, as you can see in the video below, but considering this is the same tech found in the Kindle it's quite impressive. The trick is accomplished using custom software and off the shelf hardware -- in other words, nothing terribly fancy. So, while we sit here letting out exasperated sighs with every digital page turn, we'll just keep hoping Bookeen gets this in something we can buy soon.
RockMelt browser resurrects itself as iPhone app
Remember RockMelt? Neither do we, mostly, but the "social browser" -- which debuted for the Mac and PC late last year -- is back and more portable than ever. The minty fresh iPhone version plays nice with Facebook and Twitter, as well as a few other social-type things you're probably doing with your phone already. If you're a devoted user of the grown-up version, however, the networky app is probably worth a download for its ability to sync with its desktop counterpart. Peppily-soundtracked video after the break, a must-watch for those who believe in second chances. [Thanks, Mikey]
Is Amazon hiring devs to build a robust web browser for Kindle?
Are you a software dev with a Bachelors Degree in Computer Science, familiarity with current Web standards, and experience with browser engines, Linux on embedded devices, and Java? If so, do we have the job for you. Lab126, the group at Amazon responsible for the Kindle, wants you to help "conceive, design, and bring to market" a new embedded browser on a Linux device. Might this be a sign that the company is ready to start taking web browsing on the e-reader seriously? We don't know, but it sure sparked some interesting discussion over at All Things Digital. As Peter Kafka points out, a decent browser for the thing is pretty much a no-brainer in light of the Apple iPad. On the other hand, the idea of a robust browser on the Kindle has its own complications. What about subscription content like the New York Times -- why would anyone pay for something that's available for free on the web, if you're using the same device to view both? And what about all that new data traffic? Surely AT&T will have something to say about that. Of course, we've been hearing enough scuttlebutt about a mysterious next-gen device being developed at Amazon that perhaps this has nothing to do with the Kindle whatsoever. Who knows? These are all questions that will have to be answered sooner or later, but in the meantime we can say with some certainty that E ink is definitely not the best way to troll 4chan.
RIM patent app will have you barely browsing the web at incredible speeds
Let's not mince words: any way you slice it, RIM's built-in browser for BlackBerry renders sites about as well as your $199 netbook renders Avatar. The good news is that we've got every reason to believe the company recognizes the problem and is working to solve it -- but on a completely unrelated front, they're trying to speed up the process of fetching raw data off the interwebs, too. In a patent app made public this month, RIM's lab geeks describe setting up a proxy server right on the phone that would intercept the browser's web requests and bundle, compress, and send them to a gateway on the other end (BIS, we presume) that would know how to deal with the packet. Likewise, compressed data would be sent back to the proxy, which would expand and deliver standard HTTP to the browser, just as it would normally expect. The proxy component would have other tricks up its sleeve, too, like automatically downloading and caching images in an HTML stream so that they're ready when the browser wants them. In practice, really, it'll make no difference to the end user whether all this magic is accomplished in a proxy or the browser itself -- as long as we get some thoroughly-reworked rendering capability to go along with it, of course. [Thanks, Anand]
Gartner forecasts phones overtaking PCs as most common web browsing device by 2013
Predictions about phones overtaking PCs at one task or another are hardly anything new, but research firm Gartner has gotten a bit more specific than most with its latest forecast -- which, among other things, foretells of a day when cellphones will be the most common device used for browsing the web. That momentous event will supposedly happen by 2013, when Gartner expects the number of browser-equipped phones to exceed 1.83 billion, compared to 1.78 billion old fashioned computers in use. According to Gartner, however, while browser-equipped phones will outnumber PCs by then, they won't actually be most folks' primary browsing device until sometime in 2015. In other prognostication news, the firm also says that fully three billion of the world's population will be able to make electronic transactions via mobile or internet technology by 2014, and that by as soon as 2012, 20% of businesses will "own no IT assets" -- meaning that employees would be using their own personal computer, and that the businesses themselves would be relying on cloud-based services.
Friday Favorite: HistoryHound, bookmark with abandon
Today's Friday Favorite is a new one to me, but it's been around for a while. I just picked up the latest version of HistoryHound from St. Clair Software -- more famous, probably, for Default Folder X -- and have been using it constantly for days. Its hotkey already has its own spot in my muscle memory. Here's what it does: HistoryHound indexes bookmarks, history and cache from all of your browsers, with presets for Camino, Firefox 2 & 3, Flock, iCab, OmniWeb, Opera, Safari, Shiira and URL Manager Pro. It means being able to bookmark willy-nilly in any browser and know that you'll be able to quickly locate noteworthy sites again, in any application. Not just the bookmarks, though; in the background -- with a very low footprint -- HistoryHound starts indexing the full text of each page. Then you can search for exact or fuzzy matches, or with Spotlight-style boolean keywords for any text on the landing page. Search comes in two flavors: a tiny popup panel which can be assigned to a hotkey and provides a list of matches as you type, and a full, Webkit-enabled search window with page previews and a multi-column result list.
International Kindle won't let you use terrible web browser overseas
Amazon got the world's attention when it announced a $279 International version of its heralded Kindle, but if you thought you'd be able to roam globally and really put it to AT&T, think again. Wired has noticed that the fine print explains that accessing blogs and the experimental web browser won't be allowed overseas, though even Americans are cautioned against using the Kindle's browser unless smoke signals and morse code have already failed you. In related news, all International Kindles will ship with US power plugs from a US warehouse, so folks in Europe will need to factor in import fees as well as some sort of power adapter. Ah well, at least you guys get universal healthcare.
Opera locks down agreement to bring Opera Mini to Virgin Mobile USA
Opera Mini has definitely seen a good deal of face time here lately, but it's looking to up its presence even more by inking a new partnership with Virgin Mobile USA. Starting April 14th, Opera Mini will be available as a free application download on select devices -- Slash, Arc, Shuttle, Super Slice and four others -- for Virgin Mobile USA prepaid customers via the VirginXL download storefront. Going forward, the browser will come pre-loaded on other "select" Virgin Mobile USA phones. So, one carrier down -- who's next?
Mobile Firefox (Fennec) being developed for Symbian
We can't be certain, but we're fairly sure we just heard the remnants of a million celebratory shouts from Symbian users the world over. Mobile Firefox, the promising web browser that just went alpha a few months back, is reportedly well on its way to S60 land. According to Mozilla's Christian Sejersen, the team feels that "in order for Mozilla to be relevant in the smartphone space, it needs to have a presence on the Symbian platform." Better still, the crew has already sparked up conversation with Symbian engineers, and early word has it that an initial release could be but months away. It's cool, you have every right to be thoroughly stoked.[Via UnwiredView]
Skyfire v0.85 supposedly available for worldwide consumption
Being that we're currently situated in the United States of America, we can't personally test out Decoder's claims that the latest and greatest version of Skyfire is ready for global domination, but we're taking it's word for it. Reportedly, most WinMo users and Symbian S60 owners can point their browsers to Skyfire's download page and suck down v0.85 without having to prove that they're in the US / Canada. Stop salivating and give it a go, hopefully everything turns out just peachy.
WebKit-based Iris browser for Windows Mobile hits beta v2
We know how it goes -- once you get your Windows Mobile setup situated how you like it, making tweaks is a rare, rare occurrence. To that end, you probably passed on the highly dangerous first beta of the WebKit-based Iris browser. At long last, the entirely more stable beta v2 has emerged for those courageous enough to give it a go, and the designers are promising that the over 100 fixes and improvements make it "incredibly fast" and almost life-altering. If you're not keen on waiting for the next iteration of Internet Explorer Mobile, and if you're somehow not pleased with Opera Mini or Mobile Firefox, roll the dice with this one and see how things turn out.[Via the::unwired]
Internet Explorer Mobile 6 coming soon, emulator out now
In all honesty, Internet Explorer Mobile would've done good to come out yesterday (or the day / week / month before), but we guess the slow and steady approach may pay off eventually. Hot on the heels of Mobile Firefox comes word that the Internet Explorer Mobile 6 Emulator is available now for developers to tinker with, which is sure to excite throngs of coders across the web. For all of you out there simply waiting for a better browsing experience within IE Mobile, you're treated to yet another "coming soon" message. Still, we're totally looking forward to support for "full fidelity desktop rendering," enhanced Script / AJAX support, improved handling of multimedia and touch / gesture support, we just wish all of this was available already.[Via UnwiredView]
Mobile Firefox (Fennec) alpha officially goes live
We knew the Fennec alpha was but moments away from release, but at long last, the wait is over. Mozilla has crafted a dedicated page for the early, early version of Mobile Firefox along with release notes, known issues, tips / tricks and installation instructions. Speaking of which, this release was made to be used solely on the N800 or N810 Internet Tablet from Nokia, though there are versions available for Windows, OS X and Linux computers in case you want to dabble from the comfort of your desktop / laptop. We won't bother keeping you any longer -- feast your eyes on the links below for all sorts of long-awaited mobile browsing goodness.[Via NetworkWorld]Read - Mozilla Fennec pageRead - Fennec video walkthroughRead - Fennec on Windows Mobile screenshot
