Beta

The bottom line: Internet Explorer 9 is surprisingly competitive across the board. Zippy browsing speeds, minimalist layout, and innovative features make this not only the best version of IE to date, but will catapult Internet Explorer back into the browser wars. The one big drawback? You must have Windows 7 or Vista to use it. XP users are stuck on IE8. Forever.

Review: The sound bite on Internet Explorer 9 will be a variation of "it doesn't suck," yet the changes to the browser go far deeper than that glib comment can reflect. Microsoft engineered a campaign, … Read more

RockMelt boomed onto the alterna-browser landscape last November, grabbing some notable attention from social browsing competitor Flock but then fading from the limelight. After four months, RockMelt announced today that it's ready for the next step: entering into a public beta. That's right, this entire time the Marc Andreessen-backed, Chromium-based RockMelt beta (download for Windows | Mac) has been restricted to invitation-only.

A TechCrunch story reported that RockMelt is claiming "hundreds of thousands" of active users and that about 20 percent to 30 percent of users who downloaded RockMelt have used it at least once every seven … Read more

Apple is seeding the seventh beta of Mac OS X 10.6.7 to developers for testing. This version, build 10J868, like the last few builds, contains no known issues, suggesting that Apple may be prepared for a public release of the update.

Similar to the previous build of 10.6.7 beta, the applications and functionality under scrutiny include the Mac App Store, Bonjour, SMB, and Safari. Graphics performance is also a focus for developers testing their software against the operating system.

Though Mac OS X 10.6.7 will provide some much-needed updates and enhancements for current features … Read more

Mozilla has begun to wind down work on the next generation of its Firefox browser. In today's release of Firefox 4 beta 12, there are few improvements that will be instantly noticed by most users. Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux, what has changed are under-the-hood improvements to how Firefox 4 handles Flash and more stable overall performance.

One visual change has been to move hover-over links to the bottom of the window, rather than place them in the location bar as was done in the previous beta. Along with the changes to Flash handling and stability, Mozilla said … Read more

As part of the latest round of hardware updates and announcements from Apple, the company has released a beta preview version of OS X 10.7 Lion to a number of Mac users. The distribution to various Mac users seems to be rather random, with some new switchers receiving invitations in addition to those who have used OS X for a while. Despite this, Apple does seems to be targeting a few sources that may help them develop the system in specified areas, including its security components by inviting some notable security experts who have criticized OS X's security … Read more

If there were three words to describe Mozilla's biggest concerns with the mobile version of its browser, they would be: speed, speed, and speed. The company released today Firefox Mobile 4 beta 5 for Android 2.1 and higher and Maemo with no major new features or feature improvements, instead choosing to make this release about improving the browser's performance.

Mozilla is claiming noticeable improvements in start-up speed, page load speed, and JavaScript rendering speed. The company also said in its Firefox 4 Mobile beta 5 release notes that it intends to continue to focus on "reducing … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--The next generation of Internet Explorer is nearly ready for the public at large, as Microsoft announces the release candidate of Internet Explorer 9 at the Hang Art Gallery in San Francisco's Union Square this morning.

A massive list of improvements debuted in the new RC, available for 32-bit Windows 7; 64-bit Windows 7; 32-bit Windows Vista; and 64-bit Windows Vista. Among the most notable enhancements are the new ActiveX filter, expanded support for HTML5 and "future-tech" standards, and advertiser tracking protection, which also was introduced this week into a prerelease version of Firefox 4.

The … Read more

Free security suites have long been offering protection for Windows computers that has ranged from adequate to excellent. After using the Avast 6 beta for the past week, it looks like Avast 6 will land far closer to the high end of the spectrum thanks to its new WebRep browser add-on and sandbox environment, unique in the free antivirus marketplace.

The security suite is available in three forms: Free Antivirus, which replicates the features available in the upcoming Avast 6 Free; Pro Antivirus, which offers a 30-day trial for checking out Avast's first level of paid security; and Internet Security, … Read more

Firefox 4 beta 11 has landed a useful security feature for people who are sick of "stalkertizements," those cookie-based ads that use your browsing history to target ads at your perceived tastes. The new "Do Not Track" feature in Firefox 4 beta 11 for Windows, Mac, and Linux sends out a header that tells Web sites that you want to opt out of behavioral tracking, though Mozilla cautions in a blog post that it will take some time for sites and advertisers to respond to the header.

The feature can be toggled via a check box … Read more