Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

So, we’ve all been seeing the hoopla the past few days surrounding Google’s Chrome browser. First it was how exciting! Google has a new browser! Then that excitement lessened somewhat as time went on. It went from performance benchmarks being less than stellar to the fact that it was discovered that their snazzy new browser was susceptible to a carpet-bombing vulnerability that could expose Windows to malicious hacker attacks.  And now, we’re taking note of Google’s fine print in their end-user license agreement. To put it lightly, it does not look friendly in the least to the user.

Taken from their agreement terms:

“By submitting, posting or displaying the content you give Google a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any content which you submit, post or display on or through, the services. This license is for the sole purpose of enabling Google to display, distribute and promote the services and may be revoked for certain services as defined in the additional terms of those services.“

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Sections: Computers, Security, Software / Applications, Web, Web Browsers, Google

Bill Gates promised frequent updates way back when they were doing the final testing of IE7. Yet somehow, it’s been almost two years before they finally released the beta mode of Internet Explorer 8 just today. Some will hurrah, some will cringe, some won’t care one way or the other. But…it’s out…and along with actually seeming to be an improvement over the previous version…it’s pretty clear that the folks at Microsoft are also using their latest browser as a clever little way to try to take over some Google ground.

I admit, I’m a diehard Firefox user. And when I checked out IE8 beta, I immediately recognized the same thing others seem to be seeing. The Smart Address Bar is very similar to the Awesome Bar in Firefox 3. When you start to type in the address bar, it tries to guess where you want to go, based on where you’ve been before. Although I have to give it to Microsoft, their Smart Bar seems to do the job even a little better. It shows history items, autocomplete suggestions, and your saved Favorites all in lists that you can collapse or expand with just a click. Also, you can delete an address from the Smart Bar with just a click as well, which is really handy for any addresses you may have in there that were typed incorrectly or if you have bookmarks you just don’t use anymore.

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Sections: Computers, Software / Applications, Web, Web Browsers

Only ten days left of August. Microsoft claimed Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 would be out some time this month. Well, the countdown is on. And hmmmm…there are rumors flying around that it is going to be a special version. Private. Yeah, code name for “porn mode”.

Private browsing lets a user go anywhere they want without leaving any tracks. It’s like they were just magically never there.  Firefox decided not to go with it, and currently Safari is the only browser sporting this feature. The Mozilla Foundation, however does argue that “although while viewing pornography may be a popular use case due to the nature of content on the Web, assuming that this is the only reason that users need private browsing trivializes the overall feature. For instance, users may wish to begin a private browsing session to research a medical condition, or plan a surprise vacation or birthday party for a loved one.”

If trademark filings are any indications…the rumors of IE taking on private browsing may indeed be based on fact. July 30th filings by Microsoft:

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Sections: Computers, Security, Software / Applications, Web, Web Browsers

Perhaps in a catch-up game with the recent launch of the ultra popular Mozilla Firefox 3 and upcoming Opera 9.5, Microsoft has been beefing up its own Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) with plethora of new security features

Currently in public beta phase, this once dominant Web browser hopes to win back the hearts of its disheartened users with its new anti-malware protection and Cross Site Scripting (XSS) filter to fight against the so-called reflection attacks.

On top of these new developments, Microsoft recently announced other security features in IE8 such as the upgraded version of its phishing filter called SmartScreen Filter, improvement on ActiveX controls as well as anti-social engineering features.

However, most of these features are already available in other Web browsers so it won’t do much to help IE8 differentiate itself from competition. To make matters worse, your computer must be running Windows Vista SP1 or Windows XP SP3 for you to enjoy this added protection.

In short, we suggest sticking with Firefox!

Read [InformationWeek]

• Random Amazon game deals
• Xbox 360 Arcade units confirmed to include 256MB onboard memory
• Microsoft using Office’s AutoUpdate feature to check licensing

Sections: Computers, Software / Applications, Web, Web Browsers

Bill Gates was on hand for TechEd down in Orlando where he let loose some interesting surprises.  Announcing beta releases of IE8 and Silverlight 2, Gates says IE8 will come in August (meeting their forecast) and Silverlight 2 beta will show up at weeks end (early!).  As Gates is somewhat prone to do as of late, he credited developers as Microsoft’s savior.

In a more bizarre step, Microsoft thought it would be funny to build a robot with Steve Ballmer’s face (as if we didn’t have our doubts about the real one).  The Steve-Bot 3000 (my name, not theirs) rolled out to showcase Microsofts advancements in robotics.  Apparently an egg was thrown.

It is good to hear a real investment being made on IE, it has been a bit since we’ve seen some real advancements to the browser and Silverlight is touted by many as a real credible cross browser interesting.

Read [The Register]

• Random Amazon game deals
• Xbox 360 Arcade units confirmed to include 256MB onboard memory
• Microsoft using Office’s AutoUpdate feature to check licensing

Sections: Web, Web Browsers, Online Music/Video

Microsoft has just released Internet Explorer 8 in beta mode and ready for download.Although the IE8 beta was geared for web developers, Microsoft does not restrict its download status. In fact, it is even encouraging everyone to try it out and see for themselves how useful IE8 is. But like all other software that comes out in beta stage, users are still advised to exercise caution when downloading IE8 and installing it on their machines.

So what can loyal users of IE expect from the latest version of Microsoft’s browser? IE8’s new features can actually be categorized into three: interoperability and compatibility; built-in tools that help both first time and experienced developers and designers get pages built right;browser capabilities that enable innovative experiences.

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Sections: Computers, Software / Applications, Web, Web Browsers