beta

Mozilla updated Firefox for Android beta (download) today with an interface and underlying code that have been in development since the end of 2011.

The new beta features are nearly the same as those in the current stable build of Firefox for Android, except that the browser now supports Adobe Flash. That's a notable difference from Chrome for Android beta and the default Android browser, although Firefox isn't the only Android browser to play Flash content on Web sites.

However, the changes in this beta go beyond a new interface and Flash support. The browser loads pages significantly … Read more

Better firewall technology, smarter bandwidth monitoring, and Windows 8 compatibility are the hallmarks of the latest Norton betas, now available for download.

The Norton AntiVirus 2013 beta, Norton Internet Security 2013 beta, and Norton 360 v7 beta all include support for Windows 8, though the company has yet to reveal what the specific Windows 8 enhancements are. Savvy Symantec observers will note that Norton 360, usually a first-quarter release, has been moved to the company's fall schedule.

Norton has updated its firewall, too, so that it uses the suite's Insight analysis technology to detect and block suspicious Internet … Read more

Firefox 13 has moved to the browser's beta channel today, bringing with it default support for SPDY, some elbow grease on default landing pages like the Home page, and better memory management for open tabs.

Firefox 13 beta can be downloaded for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Having SPDY active by default means that, for sites that support it, they will appear in your browser faster than before. SPDY is also a more secure protocol than HTTP, which it's the successor to, because it uses SSL encryption for all sites.

The new Home page, available at about:home, puts … Read more

Opera has released the first beta of its next-generation browser, code-named Wahoo. Opera 12 beta 1 for Windows, Mac, and Linux, contains many improvements that modernize the browser. It also abandons several quirky features that die-hard fans are likely to miss.

Much of the browser simply brings it in line with its competition, but there is one stand-out new feature. Formerly known as Opera Reader, it takes a few lines of CSS code to allow you to lay out a Web page like a book. It also allows for page resizing without losing the formatting. Opera has decided to open … Read more

Chrome for Android recently updated, adding some new features. Yesterday we took a look at ditching the mobile version of a Web site and forcing the desktop version to load. Today we are going to take a look at the ability to add a bookmark shortcut to your home screen

To place a shortcut on your home screen, you simply need to view your bookmarks in Chrome for Android. Pick the bookmark you want to add, and then long-press on the icon. You will then see a menu pop up, with the last option being add to home screen. Select … Read more

Earlier this week Google released an update to Chrome for Android. The update added some great new features, including the ability to request the desktop version of a Web site that just isn't looking that great in its mobile form.

Requesting the desktop version of a Web site can be done in just a couple of steps.

When viewing the mobile version of a site, open the menu and check the box located next to Request Desktop site. The Web page will automatically begin to reload in the background.

With the box checked, you will see the desktop version … Read more

The Windows 8 Metro Start screen can quickly get overrun with a huge number of tiles, making it hard to find the app you need. How can you manage this mishmash?

Users who have taken the Windows 8 beta for a spin already know that the Metro Start screen poses certain challenges. For every app you install -- Metro or non-Metro -- one or sometimes several tiles are plopped onto the Start screen. Each Web site you pin gets its own Start screen tile. Displaying features such as Administrative Tools adds even more tiles.

Windows 8 is designed with a … Read more

Google has started to warm up Chrome with features designed to make it interact more smoothly with Android and other computers, as the summer's Google I/O conference and a possible final street-ready version of Native Client wait in the wings.

Google Chrome 19 beta for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Chrome Frame landed today, updated with Other Device support. The new feature lets you access your Chrome tabs from other computers, and includes Chrome for Android if you've got an Ice Cream Sandwich device. The Other Devices option is available at the bottom of the New Tab page, … Read more

Could Microsoft unveil the Windows 8 Release Candidate as soon as early June? At least one report says yes.

Blogging site WinUnleaked.tk seems certain of that, spilling the beans over the weekend that "we know the Release Candidate of Windows 8 will be shared with the public between the end of May to the beginning of June." Apparently receiving the intel from an unnamed source, the site notes that the RC will sport at least a few changes from the current beta.

Modifications are in store for the Charms bar, the desktop version of Internet Explorer 10, … Read more