Browsers and extensions

iPhone users now have yet another choice for a mobile browser.

Maxthon has finally made its debut for Apple's iPhone. As of today, the new version of the mobile browser is compatible with the iPhone 3GS, 4, and 4S, and with the iPod Touch 3G and 4G.

A dedicated iPad app has been around for a while. Maxthon also provides desktop clients for Windows and the Mac, as well as mobile versions for Android phones and tablets.

Like its big brother iPad edition, the iPhone flavor offers several features not found in Mobile Safari.

Maxthon starts off with a … Read more

When searching Google for something such as a specific product, it's likely you have come across a content farming Web site or 10. These sites are meant to draw you in to click on their ads or buy their products, which are usually unrelated to the topic or item you were searching for to begin with.

To combat this issue, Google created a Personal Blocklist extension for its Chrome Web browser. The idea behind the extension is to help users easily block content-farming Web sites easily, so they can find what they are actually looking for. Here'… Read more

You can add bookmarks, favicons to the toolbar, or just type the Web address to get to your favorite Web site. But what if you want something even faster? Evidently the development team behind Google Chrome feels the same way.

Thankfully, the process is very simple: just navigate to a Web site you want extra-fast access to, and then click the wrench icon near the top right-hand corner of the Chrome window. From there, pick Tools and then select Create application shortcuts.

In the pop-up window that appears, pick the places you'd like to have a shortcut for the … Read more

For more than three years, Skype has worked to improve online audio through involvement in a project now called Opus. But perversely, Skype's new owner, Microsoft, is undermining Opus just as a Web standards effort is poised to carry it into the mainstream.

Opus is an audio "codec" -- technology to encode and decode media streams for efficient transmission over the Internet or storage on computing equipment. Opus backers besides Microsoft's Skype division include Google, Opera, and Mozilla.

Opus has a lot of potential to improve online audio, something that's increasingly important as more communications … Read more

When your e-mail inbox starts filling up it, it becomes more difficult to keep track of what you need to do for each message you've received. Maybe you need to get verification on a work contract, add a reminder to call Grandma Betty about one of her famous recipes, or follow up with someone once you have more information. Unfortunately, Gmail doesn't offer a solid feature to add notes like these.

You might be thinking: what about drafts? The issue with creating a draft is the possibility of sending said draft. This could cause issues with personal or … Read more

Sending items from the Web to your Kindle is now a one-step process for users of Google Chrome.

Amazon has rolled out a new Chrome extension called "Send to Kindle for Google Chrome." Installing the extension adds a button to Chrome that lets you send stories, blog posts, and the like directly to your Kindle device and apps. The goal is to let you archive and read your favorite Web pages while you're not online.

You can send yourself an entire Web page or just selected text. And by tapping into Amazon's Whispersync technology, you can … Read more

Those of you running Adobe Flash, Reader, and/or Acrobat are advised to download the latest updates. Adobe yesterday rolled out new and critical security fixes for all three products.

The update for Flash patches a vulnerability that could cause the software to crash and allow someone to remotely take control of an infected computer.

This hole has already been exploited through limited attacks, Adobe said. Deployed through a malicious Word document, this exploit attacks the ActiveX version of Flash Player installed as a plug-in on Internet Explorer for Windows.

Windows and Macintosh users can update Flash through the Adobe Flash Player Download Center. … Read more

Google's program to pay outsiders who find Chrome security vulnerabilities is working well enough that the company has concluded it's time to add new financial rewards.

"Recently, we've seen a significant drop-off in externally reported Chromium security issues," Chrome programmer Chris Evans said in a blog post yesterday. "This signals to us that bugs are becoming harder to find, as the efforts of the wider community have made Chromium significantly stronger."

Thus, Google added a new $1,000 bonus on top of the regular incentive in three circumstances. The bonus applies if a … Read more

Facebook has made a lot of changes over the past couple of years. We've seen new features get added, while others died off. We've seen new games get added and take over most of our Timelines. And we've also seen Facebook pick settings for us that we can't seem to change by default because the options just aren't there.

Well, enough of that.

If you're like me, you find keeping track of family and friends on Facebook much easier when the posts are in chronological order. Facebook obviously disagrees because at some point after … Read more