HitChrome

There is more news on the browser front than the release of Google’s Chrome and Microsoft giving a complete makeover to its dominant Internet Explorer with Version 8 Beta 2.

Opera Software is leading a first-of-its-kind project to create a search engine that tracks how Web pages are structured on the Web. This engine will help browser makers and standard bodies work towards a more standards-driven and compatible Web.

Opera today announced results from its MAMA (Metadata Analysis and Mining Application) search engine, a brainchild of Opera engineers that indexes the markup, style, scripting and the technology used while creating Web pages.

From the beginning, Opera is known as an innovative company and MAMA is proof of its understanding of the Web, claimed the company.

The MAMA search engine scours 3.5 million Web pages, and the resulting data can answer questions such as “can I get a sampling of Web pages that have more than 100 hyperlinks?” or “what does an average Web page look like?”– a dream come true for Web developers. Read the rest of this entry »

Google’s ironically named Chrome browser, which launched last month, advanced the notion that browsers ought to be neither seen nor heard. Like operating systems, they should sit obediently in the background and make sure that the applications on top of them run quickly, reliably and safely.

Flock took the opposite approach, insisting that the browser should provide a lot of upfront functionality on its own, not fade out of sight. Tonight’s Flock 2.0 release - brings the Mozilla-based browser up-to-speed with Firefox 3 technology and adds new support for MySpace and media RSS - reasserts this notion by giving the browser an even higher level of visibility than before.

Flock 2.0 has taken advantage of media RSS, a standard developed by Yahoo that syndicates rich content like photos and videos much like regular RSS syndicates blog posts. Now Flock users can add media RSS feeds to their My World start pages from any website that provides them, such as 12seconds.tv and Qik. VP of Marketing and Business Development Dan Burkhart describes media RSS as the quickest way for small to medium sized startups to integrate with Flock. Read the rest of this entry »

Battling hard for market share with Google’s Chrome, Opera Software is promising users a faster surfing experience, an improved email client, and better browser-synchronisation capabilities, with the latest version of its browser which they launched.

The Opera developer says that Opera 9.6 contains an expanded Link. This means that users can more easily use their personal browsing identities on any computer. Essentially, it synchronizes a user’s browser history, bookmarks and personal bar.

In addition Opera has also tweaked its built-in email client, Opera Mail, with a feature designed for users stuck with a slow broadband connection. The email client’s “low-bandwidth mode” allows users to retrieve mails faster when bandwidth is limited. Another feature is that Opera mail that will help users swamped with email overload, as the email client now has two new ways to prioritize emails, so that users can easily (with a single click apparently), track important threads, and ignore less important ones.

Jon von Tetzchner, CEO, said in a statement “Our improved email client is now the ideal communication tool, Opera Link gives you more flexibility to take your personal browsing identity with you to any computer.”

Opera is also claiming increased speed for the new browser, with “improved responsiveness and page loading” compared to Opera 9.5. Read the rest of this entry »

If you think your computer is attack-proof merely because you had the latest and licensed antivirus software, it is time to worry. Clickjacking, has come to light and has caused enough anxiety among the security researchers, a new browser vulnerability.

The worrying fact is that none of the popular browsers, including the newly launched Google Chrome, besides Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari and Opera are free from this exploit. The only browser which is reported to be immune to this attack is the lesser-known Lynx which incidentally is a text-only browser.

A security advisory issued by Adobe with regard to its Flash Player states that it could be subject to clickjacking attacks and hijack webcams as well. Clickjacking enables an attacker to force a user click on an invisible link, obviously without his knowledge or consent. Once a user clicks the link unknowingly, the hacker takes over the control.

When you might think you are clicking on your bank funds transfer link, or saving a favourite link at Digg, or Facebook application, the reality could be entirely different, and dark.

So if you havn’t heard of it, it looks like a variant of the clickjacking vulnerability was outed before Rsnake and Jeremiah Grossman could present it publicly. An attack can invisibly hover these virtual buttons below the users’ mouse, so that when they click on something they visually see, they actually are clicking on something else the attacker wants them to, security experts have reported the vulnerability. Read the rest of this entry »

We’ve all sent emails we regret after stumbling back home late at night in a fog of alcohol-fuelled bravado - a pathetic plea for reconciliation with an old flame, forwarding furry porn to your grandma, or accepting job offers to work at Metro. The sign of an ill-advised night is no longer a traffic cone on your oven the next morning, but something titled ‘IVE WANTD TO SAY THIS FOR A LONG TIEM JEREMY’ lurking guiltily in your Sent Mail folder.

If only there was some kind of drunkenness detector that could stop you from baring your virtual soul to loved ones and authority figures after a night on the funny juice. Well, now there is.

Google have just unveiled a feature for Gmail called Mail Goggles. It allows you to specify times and days when you fear you might be a bit tipsy (say, after 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays) - and if you try to send an email after that, it’ll force you to take a sobriety test.

If you’re not of sufficiently sound mind to complete some basic arithmetic puzzles……then you’re also not in any fit state to be emailing anybody. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve managed to crash Google’s new supposedly super-stable browser, Chrome.

That in itself isn’t terribly noteworthy, but I did appreciate the humorous message Chrome gave me (while trying to preview an upcoming review), so I screengrabbed it for your viewing pleasure.

Your turn to talk, come on lets talk………..

BusinessWeek has just revealed its annual listed of the 25 most influential people on the internet, as voted by its readers and staff.

While the usuals have made the list, some unexpected entrepreneurs make an appearance with their smaller, but just as significant, contributions to the web.

Who has missed the cut? Who doesn’t deserve their spot. We would love your feedback on this, so please take a moment to have your say at the end of this list.

1. Steve Ballmer. Microsoft’s CEO is suffering complaints over Vista and a consumer base that’s moving from software to the internet. While the group’s revenue is bringing in $1.8 billion each month, Ballmer will have to chart a new course to stay on top.

2. Mitchell Baker. The founder of the Mozilla Group has seen its market share rise to nearly 20% while Microsoft’s Explorer has lost ground from 95% to 72%. But competition from Google’s Chrome browser may see them bring out new software quicker than usual.

3. Jeff Bezos. Amazon.com’s leader brought the group’s stock to a record high last year, continuing to focus on technology and the site’s new music download service.

4. Sergey Bin, Larry Page and Eric Schmidt. Google’s trinity have managed to turn this once simple search engine into a massive online force, expecting over $US16 billion in sales and an employee base of over 18,000. The new G1 smartphone, running on software developed by Google, may make an impact in the mobile market.

5. Jeff Clavier. This angel investor started a venture capital firm that has seen the rise of sites such as SocialMedia, Mint and news feed aggregator NetVibes. Clavier has been one of the most influential investors in web 2.0, with five of his start-ups acquired by Yahoo and AOL, among others. Read the rest of this entry »