private

Open private Firefox window in existing private window

The reuse-and-recycle mantra can be extended to Firefox windows, in an effort to create less pollution on your desktop. With the Open in Private Window extension, you can reuse an existing private browsing window instead of Firefox's default of opening a new private window.

After installing the extension and restarting Firefox, the browser will no longer open a new private window if such a window is already open. Instead of launching a new one, it merely calls up the private window you already have open. Sure, it would be nice if the extension would open a new tab in … Read more

Open private tabs with Firefox extension

If left to its own devices, Firefox lets you open a private window for Web browsing on the sly, but the browser does not extend such functionality to new tabs in your current window. If such flexibility sounds appealing, then the Private Tab extension for Firefox is just thing for you.

The extension couldn't be easier to use, though you'll need to be running the latest version (20.0) of Firefox for it to work. Private Tab doesn't require a restart and simply installs a new menu item on Firefox's File menu (on a Mac, anyway).… Read more

Protect your private photos with Private Pics

The iPhone is not a secure device. Even with the PIN required to open your phone, Apple provides limited additional security features to keep your device free of intruders. If you lose your phone and don't realize it, or if someone gets the phone for a short period of time, they can probably access the majority of your personal data relatively quickly. So an app like Private Pics is a useful tool, allowing you to protect your photos with a PIN that is not tied to the iOS and is therefore harder to bypass.

After installation, you are prompted … Read more

Dell buyout could be impeded by possible Blackstone bid

Blackstone is reportedly looking to get its hands on Dell before the Silver Lake and Michael Dell $24.4 billion buyout is complete.

According to Bloomberg, the asset management firm is supposedly considering a bid that could out-do what Silver Lake offered for the Dell acquisition. People familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that Blackstone has not yet made a decision and that it may bid as part of a group of investors. Reportedly, Blackstone has already reviewed Dell's finances after signing a non-disclosure agreement.

Dell announced in February that it had plans to take the company private via … Read more

Firefox betas pull the shades per-tab on 'porn mode'

Private browsing, or 'porn mode' for people with more prurient Web browsing requirements, will soon be available in Firefox on a per-window basis for desktops and a per-tab basis on Android.

The latest versions of Firefox 20 Beta (download for Windows, Mac, and Linux) and Firefox 20 Beta for Android (download) have been updated to allow people to have a more streamlined private browsing experience. Private browsing disables built-in browser recording, including history and cookies.

This is a pretty big change for Private Browsing aficionados, since previously in Firefox switching to Private Browsing would save all your tabs, close the … Read more

BlackJet, the Uber for private jets, takes off

SAN FRANCISCO--In an era of "Entourage" and a well-publicized fleet of planes personally owned by Google's top execs, the private jet has never before seemed as accessible to so many.

The truth is, of course, that just a tiny fraction of the population will ever set foot on any plane other than a commercial airliner, but traveling by Gulfstream has become romanticized in popular culture, and as that's happened, there's been a rise in the number of companies aiming to provide a more efficient, and more affordable way to fly private.

Into that new environment … Read more

Dell board said to be meeting tonight to vote on buyout deal

Rumors of a Dell buyout deal have been swirling for the past few weeks and now word is that Dell's board plans to vote tonight on whether to take the company private, according to Bloomberg.

The deal would offer Dell shares at $13.50 to $13.75 each, which totals around $24 billion, sources familiar with the negotiations told Bloomberg. The buyout could be announced as early as tomorrow morning.

Reportedly Microsoft, private equity firm Silver Lake Management, and company CEO Michael Dell will all contribute sizable investments in the deal. Michael Dell is expected to contribute $700 million, … Read more

Dell closing in on $23B deal to go private -- WSJ

Dell is reportedly close to finalizing a deal to go private -- but it's still not there yet.

The Wall Street Journal reported today that the PC maker is nearing a buyout deal worth $23 billion, or between $13.50 and $13.75 per share.

According to the WSJ, here's how the plan is supposed to break down:

CEO Michael Dell will contribute his 16 percent stake, which is valued at $3.7 billion. An investment firm he controls will contribute another $700 million. Microsoft will invest $2 billion in the form of a "subordinated debenture," … Read more

Dell buyout deal could happen Monday -- Reuters

Dell may be close to a deal that would take the PC maker private, Reuters reported this morning.

Citing "two people familiar with the matter," the news service reported that the company could announce an agreement as early as Monday. Expectations are that Dell would be bought out by a group led by its CEO and private equity firm Silver Lake Partners.

Later in the day, Reuters published a separate report, also citing two people familiar with the matter, saying that Michael Dell and partners were negotiating with the company at a price of $13 to $14 per … Read more