Archive for the ‘General’ Category

Apple recently announced that it will be holding its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) from June 6th through June 10th at San Francisco’s Moscone West.

During this conference, Apple is preparing to “unveil the future of iOS and Mac OS,” according to Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “If you are an iOS or Mac OS X software developer, this is the event that you do not want to miss.”

Apple will most likely be unveiling the new version of iOS and Mac OS X Lion, which are both due by this summer. At the conference, they will demo “new kinds of apps” that developers will be able to build using iOS (iPad, iPhone, iPod) and Mac OS X (laptops and desktops). The company’s engineers will host more than 100 technical sessions for developing, deploying, and integrating their new technologies.

Another thing to look forward to at the conference is the possible unveiling of the iPhone 5. The past two WWDC saw the unveiling of the iPhone 3 and iPhone 4, so it is very likely that at this year’s conference the unveiling of the iPhone 5 will be revealed.

Mozilla has finally released the new Firefox 4. After a year-long trail period attempting to get all the kinks worked out, the company finally unleashed the new browser on March 22nd, 2011. Within the first 24 hours of the new release, the browser was downloaded more than 7 million times. Mozilla’s Firefox 4 fell just short of the Guiness World record, held by their own Firefox 3 release which was downloaded more than 8 million times. This debut left the new Internet Explorer 9 browser in the dust, which, in its own debut, saw only a quarter of those downloads in the first day. This demonstrates not only the faithful users of Firefox, but also the people wanting to get their hands on the new browser, which has some new features that are worth noticing.

The Improvements

Speed

The biggest improvement that Firefox 4 has made is the loading speed, whether it’s JavaScript performance, startup times, or graphics. Mozilla boasts that its new speed is up to six times faster than the older versions of Firefox. In fact, even the beta versions were faster than their predecessors, but Mozilla claims that the new release is even faster than the beta versions tested. To really see if this is true, you will have to download the new version and check it out for yourself.

Interface

The new user interface has been stripped down to make the browser less cluttered, easier to navigate, and with a single menu button like that which you would find on the Google Chrome browser. Also, the tabs have moved to the top of the browser to give users space for more tabs, whereas before it was at the bottom and only allowed users to have limited space. The toolbar even has more space: Mozilla has moved the reload, stop, and bookmark buttons into the address bar. It may take users a little while to get used to, but it’s a simple and clean design for the new toolbar.

Panorama

One new feature that was tested during the beta release, called “Panorama,” helps users to organize tabs into manageable categories while navigating around with many tabs open. It lets them create a little window to display the tabs they have open, which they then can sort to be organized by tasks or categories. Once users have organize their tabs, Panorama allows them to open only one group at a time, saving the other unopened groups so that the tab bar doesn’t get too cluttered.

Pin

Another feature that Firefox 4 offers is that users can now “pin” tabs in the same way Google Chrome allows for its users. This lets users send tabs to the left side of the tab bar as a tiny “favicon only” tab for those sites they utilize the most. Also, users are able to search for tabs that are open in the address bar, making it quicker and easier to jump from tab to tab.

Other Additions

The above improvements are some of the biggest features added to Firefox 4, but are definitely not all of them. Mozilla has really stepped it up with their new release, adding support for the WebM video format, full hardware acceleration for graphics, plugin sandboxing for crash protection, extra privacy protection, and increased HTML5 and CSS3 support. There’s an even longer list of all the features that were added, so if you would like to find out more about Firefox 4, go to Mozilla’s page. Download Mozilla’s new release and tell us what you think about the new browser.

Recently, Google has made a major change to their search engine algorithms to enhance their search quality. The changes that were made are very subtle, and many users likely won’t even notice them. But they are modifications that will get rid of those low quality sites with useless content, also known as “content farms.”

Google hasn’t released any information about what exactly they did to the search algorithms, but the change is expected to impact 11.8% of Google queries. The changes will help high quality websites by essentially rewarding them for their creative and original content – an arguably appropriate move.

“This update is designed to reduce rankings for low-quality sites—sites which are low-value add for users, copy content from other websites or sites that are just not very useful. At the same time, it will provide better rankings for high-quality sites—sites with original content and information such as research, in-depth reports, thoughtful analysis and so on,” stated Google’s Amit Singhal and Matt Cutts in a recent Google blog post.

For now, Google is only launching this change in the United States. Over time, they will expand its launch, but first they’re looking to get feedback on the new algorithms. For those websites that this change will be affecting negatively, you can be sure there will be some angry website owners who feel their website is ranked too low, but it’s likely that, in most cases, Google will be correct in their rankings. This is Google’s effort to get rid of those content farms, or at least significantly decrease the number in their search results. These are important changes that needed to be made for Google to maintain their title as the number one search engine.

Google has recently accused Bing of copying some of Google’s search results. Google has been keeping an eye on what they called “synthetic queries”, which are test search queries that connect a word that you would never expect someone to type into the search to a site that has no ties with the word in the search – and usually the word isn’t an actual word. Eventually, when they searched for the same word on Bing, however, Google found the same results appearing as if searching from their own site.

In Google’s blog post they said that it began with the word “tarsorrhaphy,” which is a surgical procedure for the eyelids; however, the word was misspelled “torsorophy,” so Google fixed the search so that you would be able to search the correct spelling or the result would pop up for it. At that time, Bing had no results for the misspelling of that word. But later in the summer, Google searched for it again and found that they (Bing) had the misspelled word in their results, and without even offering the correct spelling. Google began to wonder: How could they return their first result without the correct spelling of the word? And, if they had, couldn’t they have given an assortment of other relevant results for the correct query?

Over the next few months, Google kept a close watch on Bing, noticing that even other URLs from their results were appearing in Bing, and with a frequency that continued to increase for all types of queries. This is when Google came up with the idea to experiment with “synthetic queries,” and thus conceived about 100 different queries for investigation.

For example, one of these words would be jeugosdeben1ogrande, and the results for searching that query would be hip-hop bling jewelry, or as it comes up in the result, a “Dookie Rope Chains.” Honestly, this is a pretty funny “synthetic query,” considering the fact that someone actually had to find and connect the site to the query, and it sounds pretty ridiculous.

But according to Google’s blog post, the experiment confirmed their suspicions of Bing using IE8 and the Bing toolbar, which allows them to send data to themselves about what people search for on Google and the search results they ultimately click. This explains why Bing has been coming up with the same results when searching the same queries. So, here is what Google had to say about that: “Put another way, some Bing results increasingly look like an incomplete, stale version of Google results—a cheap imitation”.

You might call those fighting words, but Google truly does have a whole excess of evidence to back up their suspicions. Microsoft isn’t going to take this lightly, and we’re sure to hear more about Microsoft’s side of the story. How do you think this will end?

With Microsoft getting ready to release their final version of Internet Explorer 9, they are encouraging users to upgrade from those who still use Internet Explorer 6. The final version will be available on March 14th at 9 pm Pacific time, ending the several months of testing of the beta version of the new browser. Microsoft will be launching the new browser at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas. Talk about launching the new browser in style with a huge party.

Microsoft has launched a new website that encourages users to move away from Internet Explorer 6. Their website is dedicated to trying to kill IE 6, their goal of this is website is to educate why users should upgrade and to watch the usage of the browser drop worldwide less than 1%.

IE 6 was one of the most successful browsers in history but Microsoft doesn’t want to spend any more money on the outdated browser trying to fix the security vulnerabilities that goes along with the browser. About 12% of the world is still using the browser, that’s a pretty big percent still and only about 2.9% in the U.S. Surprisingly, more of the Asian countries are still using the browser, China at 34.5%, South Korea at 24.8%, Japan at 10.3% and Taiwan at 10.7%.

Here are some reasons why users should upgrade to the new browser or at least IE 8:

First off the browser is too slow. Trying to surf the web on this browser is like watching a snail move, especially if you are used to surfing the web on newer generation browsers. If users are trying to get more done as fast as possible this is definitely the worst option any user could have. The new browsers have improved speed while browsing and it keeps getting better.

Secondly, the security and the privacy setting of the browser are horrible. Users who are using IE 6 are far more likely to get hit with malware, then those who are using new versions of current browsers. IE 6 was not designed for this generation, were security threats are more sophisticated, than they have ever been. Those users who are sticking with IE 6 still and haven’t been attacked or hit by threats yet have a far greater chance that it will happen.

Lastly, there is no tabbed browsing on the browser, making users open a new window or have to search on the same window. If your trying to find research for something and you need more than one source no tabs makes it hard to do so. What users would have to do is copy and paste that site to a word document or just remember the website you were on. This is no convenient to the user at all, users waste a ton of time this way.

These are the three main reason users should upgrade to a new browser, but there are plenty of more reason to upgrade. For Us here at Chico Web Design IE 6 is a pain in the rear trying to design for the browser, waste a lot of time trying to make it work in IE 6. Check out http://ie6countdown.com/ for yourself and find out the other reasons why.

Google Hotpot is the new location-based rating system for helping users discover and rate nearby businesses. The system is based on either your history of spots that you have searched and reviewed on Google Places, or new searches you have done from Hotpot.

Hotpot not only tracks your search history, but it also keeps track of the reviews that you have written and the ratings you have given, while also allowing them to be public. Hotpot results are personalized based on previous ratings and, with each user, get their own modified recommendations according to the individual’s tastes.

With Hotpot, writing a review or giving a rating is made easy. All you have to do is click on the business to go to your Google place listing. Then, when you scroll down, you are given a field to provide your rating and write your review. But you must be sure to be logged into your Google account in order to do this.

Hotpot also lets you create a profile so that you can add friends and comment on their reviews and ratings. This gives users a chance to see what kind of restaurants or types of foods their friends enjoy when they go out to dinner. That way, if your friend leaves you in charge of picking a place for dinner, you can see what kind of places your friend enjoys so that you can pick something you’ll both want to eat.

Hotpot also gives the option to choose “Save For Later” or “Not Interested” for businesses that you’ve looked for in searches. That way, if you aren’t interested, the same places won’t keep popping up in new searches.

This is a great way for businesses to monitor what the public thinks about their establishment by checking their business ratings. The review might make suggestions or describe problems in areas that need improvement, which could in turn help each business improve their own ratings and reviews on Google Hotpot.

Both Google Hotpot and Places are making it easy for users to have their opinions heard, not only in to regard to their area but also even when out traveling. For those users who are traveling, Hotpot will help in making decisions about where to eat based on type of food and rating as well as on location. Thus, instead of driving around a town that you don’t know trying to find something that looks good to you, you can choose something nearby that’s highly rated.

Recently, Google released an app for the iPhone – an upgrade from the Places App experience – with a native app that includes the new Hotpot recommendation engine. This allows you do exactly the same thing on your mobile phone, making it even easier to find spots like restaurants, ATMs, and gas stations while on the go.

With Mozilla releasing its beta version for Firefox 4 toward the end of last year, it still has some features to add before the full version is released. This complete Firefox 4 is supposed to release sometime in February.

Mozilla plans on implementing the No-Track feature that lets users opt out of online behavioral advertising. This move is an attempt to give users the ultimate control of their own web experiences.

Mozilla’s head of privacy, Alex Fowler, recently wrote in a blog post, “The web is evolving quickly in how information about people is collected, used and shared online. We believe it’s crucial to put people in control of their personal web interactions and experiences… In particular, we’re seeking ways to provide Firefox users a deeper understanding of and control over the flow of personal information online.”

How Firefox’s No-Track Feature Will Work

The No-Track feature is a way for users to opt out of online advertising. Mozilla is giving users the ability to set a preference that will transmit their desire to opt out of third party, advertising-based tracking by relaying a Do Not Track http header with every click or page view in Firefox.

“When the feature is enabled and users turn it on, web sites will be told by Firefox that a user would like to opt out of OBA,” Fowler said. “We believe the header-based approach has the potential to be better for the web in the long run because it is a clearer and more universal opt-out mechanism than cookies or blacklists.”

Fowler also said that the No-Track header builds upon the work the advertising company has already done without the cookie based system that the users have access to online. Fowler argued that the header is less complex and easy to locate and use, it is more tenacious than cookie-based solutions, and it doesn’t depend on users going out to find and load lists of ad networks and advertisers in order to block them.

With Mozilla adding the No-Track feature to its latest browser, Firefox 4, and all other browsers starting to do the same, do you think this feature will make a difference in how many people use Firefox? Do you think it will help them in the browser war?

Apple’s CEO is once again taking a medical leave of absence from the company in order to focus on his health. This is Jobs’ third leave of absence since he started the company in 1976, the most recent incident happening in 2009 when he had a liver transplant. Jobs composed an email that he sent to his staff, according to a statement released by Apple:

“Team,

At my request, the board of directors has granted me a medical leave of absence so I can focus on my health. I will continue as CEO and be involved in major strategic decisions for the company.

At my request, the board of directors has granted me a medical leave of absence so I can focus on my health. I will continue as CEO and be involved in major strategic decisions for the company.

I love Apple so much and hope to be back as soon as I can. In the meantime, my family and I would deeply appreciate respect for our privacy.

Steve”

Jobs didn’t declare a date for when he will return to day-to-day work, but he will still be included in all of the big decisions. Specific information was not released about what aspect of his health needed attention.

With Job’s absence, Cook will be taking over the daily operations, much like in 2009 when Jobs took leave. At that time, there was much debate about what was going to happen with Apple, and Apple’s investors were very skeptical about the future. Even more, Apple’s shares fell below $80 per share, and no one knew what to expect with their Key-To-Success out of the picture. Today, though, Apple has still been selling products like crazy – with products like the iPad and iPhone 4 easily generating such high revenues. Apple’s shares are currently worth over $300 each, making it one of the most valuable companies in the world.

With Steve Jobs’ medical leave of absence, do you think the company’s shares will take a sudden plunge?

Google started off the new year by saying in a recent blog post that 2011 is going to be the biggest hiring year in company history. Last year was already a great year for Google, which grew as a company while also adding a plethora of new products to its arsenal.

Google said that it plans to exceed the company’s 2007 hiring record – when it added more than 6,000 new employees to the team. Last year, in 2010, Google added more than 4,500 employees, primarily in engineering and sales, which was the second largest hiring campaign in Google’s history.

“We’re looking for top talent — across the board and around the globe — and we’ll hire as many smart, creative people as we can to tackle some of the toughest challenges in computer science,” Alan Eustace, Google’s Vice President of engineering and research, said in the company’s blog.

With Google’s Android running over more than 100 devices and with over 300,000 activations each day, it’s no wonder they need to add some more “Googlers” to their team. Also, Google needs new employees for some of their toughest challenges, like building a web-based operating system from scratch or developing cars that drive themselves. No matter what they hire someone for, they claim to have something to do for everyone.

Before Google posted about hiring, Google gave all employees a raise of 10% or more plus a $1,000 cash holiday bonus in November. Google also posted a 20% jump in the last quarter of 2010 and a 26% sales growth, year over year.

As Google continues to grow, it seems that so does their popularity. But with Google always pushing to innovate new products, how could you slow their growth down? And who wouldn’t want to work for a company that collaborates in teams and treats their employees right?

At their Mountain View headquarters, Google held a press event on February 2nd to show off their new “Android Honeycomb,” (code name) or Android 3.0, which is the company’s tablet-optimized operating system.

The new OS was made to compete with Apple’s iPad, which has seen a lot of popularity in the early tablet market. The Motorola Xoom will be the first Honeycomb-based tablet to launch, which should be coming out later this month in order to get a head start over other rivals. Google has completely redesigned the Honeycomb’s user interface, giving it more interactive widgets and notifications, easier multi-tasking, and mobile services optimized for tablets.

Along with the launch of the new Android Honeycomb, Google made another huge announcement that there will be a new Android Market web store that will let users download applications through their browser – a move taken in order for Google to compete with Apple’s ever-so-popular App Store.

Previously, only mobile devices were able to reach Google’s Android Market, but now you can access an abundance of apps through any standard web browser. Furthermore, not only are you able to peruse and purchase apps via the browser, but it also gives you the ability to install applications directly to your device – no cords are necessary; All cloud. And, last but not least, Google will be upping the currency offerings and improving currency seller support, as well.