Mozilla.org offers an early developer release of the mobile version of their web browser Firefox called Fennec. A fennec (Vulpes zerda) is a fox subspecie, which can be found in North-African Sahara and the Sinai. It features huge ears and a extra large tail, making that little night active critter look extremly cute. Thus, so far for the donator of the name, let’s go technical.
The features are:
- Bookmarks, including tags
- Smart URL bar (“awesome bar”)
- Tabbed browsing with thumbnail images
- Integrated Web search – built into the URL bar
- Easy access to multiple search engines
- Maximize content by auto-hiding controls and URL bar
- Zoom in and out
- Instant Web site ID (“Larry“)
- Password manager
- Popup blocker
- Clear private data
- Click on a phone number to initiate a call
- JavaScript API to get device location
- Popup blocker
- Clear private data
- Searchable download manager
- Preferences pane
The mobile desert fox now only runs on OS2008 (“chinook” or “diablo”), like the Nokia Internet-Handheld N810, but there are versions for Windows and Mac OS X available, too.
Mozilla now wants to gather feedback and plans “further alpha releases which focus on performance, including projects like TraceMonkey, speculative parsing, and many Fennec and Gecko optimizations.”
Google is passing the next logical milestone towards complete internet domination in a determined way, they are releasing their very own browser. Denied since years the gauntlet shall be slapped on Microsoft today at 20:00 GMT and Chrome should be available for download in over 100 countries.
The own browser closes an important gap in the Google web portfolio, offering already email and office applications, online advertisement, analysis tools, a feed reader, an instant messenger, blog software, online photo albums, translators and not to forget the different websearches.
So it’ll be interesting, what exactly they will deliver…
But as Michael Arrington from Techchrunch said, one should think about whether we really want Google to know everything we do online.
(Btw, Techchrunch.com seems to be offline, any coincidence with their critic…?)
For customizing Firefox to your personal needs and for maximum performance by using the options menue, close limits are set. But there is more:
By typing “about:config” into the address bar and hitting “Enter” you will access a vast list of parameters handling the behavior of your Fox. Using Firefox. 2.x you will access this list without a explanation about the risks, Firefox 3.x demands you to confirm, that you will be careful, once you done that, the fun may begin…
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Micro$oft presents the next generation of their browser compensatory Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2, claiming as usual, having made is faster, better, easier and more secure…
One of the problably most discussed features is “InPrivate”, sarcastically baptised the “porn mode” due to is most striking operation field. But this function is simply an automatism for a standart procedure, which are already offered by several other competitors on the browser market, i.e. “Clear private data” function in Firefox.
By concealing the browsing behavior and thus avoiding the data mining by webpages, this function cuts off targeted advertising, which will not be appreciated by the marketing companies.
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