browsers

Is Facebook planning to jump on the browser bandwagon?

Tech blog Pocket-lint says one of its "trusted sources" revealed that Facebook is trying to buy Opera Software, the company behind the Opera Web browser, a sign that the social-networking company might be looking to launch its own browser.

The move would put Facebook in competition with other tech companies in the browser game -- including Yahoo, which recently launched Axis, and Google, which has already released extensions to integrate its social-networking component, Google +, into its browser.

Pocket-lint speculates that a Facebook browser "would allow you keep up … Read more

Yahoo made its first foray into the browser business this evening, but did it give us an unfinished product?

As my colleague Rafe Needleman explains, Axis is an aggressive product designed to eliminate the middleman in the usual search process and take visitors from query process straight to the desired page.

However, this doesn't appear to be the only step Yahoo skipped; the struggling Internet pioneer also left out an explanation of its terms of service. A search for those basic rules turns up a placeholder page that informs users:"Terms will go here."

Granted, most users … Read more

Axis, Yahoo's new standalone Web browser for iOS (and extension for desktop versions of Google Chrome, Firefox, and Safari), embodies some really neat ideas about surfing the Web, especially on the touch screen. The app keeps the bloat to a minimum, and offers tools that make searching and browsing a snap. Unfortunately, like every third-party browser, Axis suffers from Apple's restrictions in that it can't be set as the default browser.

Axis has a helpful tutorial overlay when you get started, but it doesn't take long to explore the cool and unique features of this Web … Read more

It appears that ditching Adobe System' Flash Player wasn't as easy as Microsoft thought earlier this year.

Because screenshots from WinUnleaked show the browser plug-in working even in the Metro version of IE10 where Microsoft had earlier said plug-ins would be barred.

Microsoft and Adobe declined to comment for this story. But a source familiar with the plans said IE10 will build in a version of Flash Player optimized for Windows 8 matters such as touch-screen interfaces, power consumption, and security.

The reason, the source said: browsers just aren't ready yet to ditch Flash, so Microsoft will give … Read more

Like to pick your browser? Beware, because new mobile devices threaten to stifle the competitive vigor of the market for Web browsers on PCs.

On personal computers running Windows, Macs, and Linux, you can pick from a variety of browsers, finding the best combination of user interface, performance, expansion, customization, and other attributes.

There are real differences between browsers, and the shifting share of browser usage shows that millions of people aren't content with whatever came with their computers. IE6 security flaws getting you down? Firefox to the rescue! Firefox seeming bloated? Chrome to the rescue! Chrome invading your … Read more

There's no debating Google Chrome continues to gain momentum and put pressure on Internet Explorer. But according to one browser-tracking firm, it's now more popular than Microsoft's alternative.

Analytics site StatCounter has revealed that for the first time, Google Chrome overtook Internet Explorer last week to become the world's most popular browser. According to the data the company compiled, during the week of May 14 to May 20, Chrome secured 32.76 percent market share, compared to Microsoft's 31.94 percent.

At the start of this week, however, Chrome has come back down to 31.… Read more

Android smartphone and tablet browsers sometimes load mobile versions of Web sites. On native Android browsers, you can try the about:debug trick to change the user agent to force desktop sites to load. You can also use an alternative browser, like Dolphin Browser HD, which lets you easily change the user agent in its settings.

If you're a Firefox for Android user, you can change the user agent with a simple Firefox add-on called Phony. It works with the new Firefox beta for Android as well, which was released a couple of days ago.

To set up Phony, … Read more

Netflix began rolling out a new fandangled video player for PCs today. Besides beefing up the playback with added options, information, and video accessibility, the video service also redesigned the control bar to be more user-friendly.

There are a handful of notable new features to the video playback. First, the control bar has different options that include access to subtitles, previews of the next episode, and previews to the whole season (if users are watching a TV show). If users click on the previews to the whole season, a box will pop-up that lets them watch previews from within the … Read more

European authorities who earlier cracked down on Microsoft's browser behavior are now are keeping an eye on its upcoming Windows RT operating system -- but they aren't saying yet whether they have any objections.

Mozilla last week criticized Microsoft's choice to deny browsers other than Internet Explorer privileges necessary to make what it sees as a competitive browser on Windows RT, the new version of the operating system for ARM processors. Specifically, IE gets access to deeper Win32 interfaces, but Firefox, other browsers, and any other third-party software only get access to the new and more limited WinRT interface. … Read more