Orangeinks

Google Chrome: New Updates, Steady Growth

Since the release of Google’s very own browser (Chrome), there were mixed reactions about the search engine giant’s attempt to take a market share in the browser business. Some thought that it’s just a copycat of the best features of its competitions and some thought that the browser is an improvement to the browser that they are currently using. If you’re using IE, any browser is an improvement if you ask me.

Now, Google seems to be speeding up the development of the browser. As of last week, Google released a bookmark manager for Chrome and improvements on its other features.

The bookmark manager appeared in Chrome 0.4.154.18, a less tested developer-oriented version released less than two weeks ago. Other new features include consolidated settings for privacy options, a rejiggered pop-up blocker, and security features, according to Program Manager Mark Larson in an e-mail announcement.

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Tags: browser, chrome, Google

Can Google Chrome Beat Firefox?

After releasing their desktop application for Google services, the search engine giant just released another application in the form of a browser called Google Chrome. Ok, so by now you must have heard/read about it. It’s getting great reviews from the early testers/users and there are reports that Mozilla is already feeling the pressure.

I gave it a test drive and I must say that it is an excellent browser. It loads pages really fast and consumes less memory than Firefox. There is of course the issue of add-ons installed in my Firefox so the comparison regarding memory usage  is not quite accurate.

The interface is great. The positioning of the tabs is very efficient. It gives you more space for reading which the other browsers didn’t take into account. This is great if you are browsing from small notebooks with wide screens. The tabs, menus and toolbars consume precious browsing space.

The start page is similar to Opera’s speed dial. The only difference is that it displays your most visited pages other than your personal bookmarks. There is also a quick bookmarking star similar to Firefox’s quick bookmark. I personally liked the feature that lets you drag the tab outside the browser to open it in a new window.

Chrome also comes in incognito mode. It’s a feature that allows you to browse privately. It will not save any information regarding your browsing if you use this feature. This is very useful if you are using another computer other than yours. Its own task manager is also a very useful tool which allows you  to close a single misbehaving page instead of closing the whole browser.

The browser is still in its early stages but is already creating a lot of buzz and great responses from its users. Firefox still leads in customizability but given the proper support from third party developers, Chrome can definitely become a major player in the browser wars. Firefox’s enormous amount of add-ons and plugins still makes it number one in my book but I have to admit that Chrome is pretty cool and won’t mind having it around.

Who do I think would kick ass?
“Firefox”

Created by Datepad

Google Chrome is currently available for Windows users only. Mac and Linux versions are coming soon.

Tags: browser, chrome, Firefox, Google

Aurora Update: The Future of Browsing

We covered the first two videos of the Aurora browser concept a while back. It’s a project of Adaptive Path and Mozilla Labs. This is the update on the development of the concept. This is part 3 and 4 of the videos for the future browser concept.

Video 3

This video shows us Aurora’s view on integrating the web with physical environment which is particularly focused for mobile use.

Video 4

It gets more interesting with the gestural interface. It’s like using a browser form the movie Minority Report. It shows how Aurora design would work on a large screen with a gestural interface which uses a camera to interpret the user’s gestures.

Aurora sure does promise a lot of cool things for future browsing. Aurora is super interactive and a real eye candy. What I am particularly interested in right now is the future of websites. From the looks of it, all the pages that they are browsing are full of widgets if not flash based. What will happen to the good old text pages like blogs and wikis? After all, the browser is only as good as the website it is visiting. That being said, Aurora is still a very interesting concept.

You can view the full video without the commentary.

Tags: adaptive path, aurora, browser, future, mozilla labs, Technology

Aurora: The Future Browsing Concept

Adaptive Path partnered with Mozilla Labs produced a video of a concept browser model called Aurora. It’s a part of Mozilla Labs’ browser concept series which is an ongoing initiative to encourage designers and developers to contribute their own visions of the future of browsing and the web.

With Aurora, we set out to define a plausible vision of how technology, the browser, and the Web might evolve in the future by depicting that experience in a variety of real-world contexts.

Judging from the video, the Aurora concept is actually pretty cool. It looks like a combination of instant messaging service client, a browser and an online collaboration tool. The users can interact with each other within the browser. From what it looked like, you can even have someone do the browsing for you.

The second video is for mobile application. The browser is trimmed down and optimized for mobile phones.

You can also watch the video in HD at their site and check for updates on the Aurora concept.

Tags: aurora, browser, Concept, future

Vysr: RoamAbout Offers a Better Browsing Experience

Ever since tabbed browsing became a common feature for browsers, accessing information became a lot easier especially for heavy internet users like researchers, bloggers and information geeks. The problem today is that there are so many web services out there that you’ll often end up opening and closing a tab just to fit them all to your browser.

Vysr came up with a solution in the form of an application called RoamAbout. RoamAbout is a useful, non-intrusive browser extension which will allow you to access information in just a couple of clicks without leaving the page you are currently browsing. The application is equipped with webapps that you can access instantly through RoamAbout. A small overlay window will appear on the page you’re in once you clicked on a web app.

How to Use:

The application comes in two packs: the business pack and the social pack. You can download any of them for it makes little difference which one you choose. Once downloaded, you can customize either pack to fit your browsing need by clicking the green “+” button.

After installing the application (works with Firefox and IE) a small blue “R” button will neatly appear on the bottom right of your browser. You can toggle that button to show/hide RoamAbout.

When browsing, highlight a text from the page you are currently in and click a service (e.g. Wikipedia) from RoamAbout. A popup window will appear containing related information about the highlighted text. If you clicked YouTube, related videos about the highlighted text will appear on the popup window. It also lets you view the video from within the RoamAbout popup window.

I also find the map, weather and stocks feature very useful. Just the same, highlight a text (e.g. Address) and once you click MapQuest, the popup window will display the map of the highlighted address. A weather report will be given for a highlighted zip code or city and you can immediately access stock reports for a highlighted company name.

You do not need a highlighted text every time you want to use RoamAbout. You can do your own searches from within the popup window. Other features include Twitter Access, Roam About Games, Related News, FaceBook ang Gmail sharing and Related Photos from Flickr.

When I tested the application, I found some loading delays and thought that it could use a bookmarking service. I emailed the Vysr team and I got a reply from Guda (CEO of Vysr) through Bernadette of Vyser. Check it out below.

We will continue to deploy apps on a regular basis and will be releasing a
platform api and development kit for third parties to develop their own
apps. We also fixed the problem that was causing the sluggishness some
people noticed.

We have a number of exciting features in store. At the moment, however, we
are collecting feedback and suggestions from users on what is most important
and desired and will be prioritizing based on such feedback. We welcome any
and all feedback.

We are definitely looking at a bookmarking service in addition to a number
of other web services based on user feedback and evaluating potential web
services for this purpose. Our preference, of course, is to work with
existing third-party apps when available.

The application is very useful and can save a lot of time going from one service to another to access information. It is non intrusive and neatly placed on the bottom of the browser. What I like about the popup window feature is that it does not follow you around on other tabs. Once an overlay window appears on a page, it stays there (like I said, it’s non-intrusive). This will let you freely browse other sites without a small window following you around on other tabs.

Tags: app, browser, browser app, Firefox, internet explorer, roamabout, vysr

Test Websites on Differrent Browsers and Operating Systems using CrossBrowserTesting

CrossBrowserTesting is a unique and useful tool to test websites on different browsers running on a variation of operating systems. The service will allow you to properly view websites without going to the process of dual booting or finding computers that runs on different operating systems and installing different browsers just to see what your website looks like on a specific setup or configuration.

What is great about CrossBrowserTesting is that it will allow anyone to do the tests for free. Five minutes per session free services is available for anyone who wants to do a test. This will allow enough time to open a browser and open a website, login (if needed) and make a few clicks. Anyone who wants a longer session will have to buy credits to get an uninterrupted stream. Paid users are always given priority and the free users will have to wait in line if a server is full. Streaming speed will vary depending on your connection and other factors. In my testing, I experienced some lag which ate a chunk of the 5 minutes free time given to me but did not encounter any disconnection from the stream.

I did get an email from the team who are kind enough to answer a few questions regarding the improvements in the service.

I would think we should be on par with any other service (there are very few) that offer this kind of remote capability and running VNC through a Java applet is going to be somewhat sluggish no matter who you are. Still, we are working to speed things up as best we can and hope to offer the ability to use a client to connect to our service and that would improve performance significantly. However that is months away from seeing daylight.

CrossBrowserTesting currently supports different Microsoft Windows OS (98, XP, Vista) and Ubuntu Linux. The list of browsers includes Firefox, Internet Explorer, Mozilla, Netscape, Opera and Safari. Regarding the Mac OS-X:

As for the Mac OS, that is a completely different implementation due to their licensing and hardware. However, we are currently working on adding it to our list of configurations, hopefully within the next month (possibly sooner if we get lucky). It is currently our top priority.

To use the service, just register for an account and you can select from the list of operating system and configuration you want to perform the testing. When the stream starts, you can choose the browser available in the desktop and begin the testing. Full administrative access on the operating system is given to any user doing the test. You can load whatever client application you need to test and after each session, the virtual instance goes away and so does any trace of your work upon disconnection. You can also take a snapshot of the website which utilizes Flickr for the storage of the snapshots from your testing sessions. .

You can mark your snapshots as public or private. Snapshots marked public will be shown to visitors at CrossBrowserTesting.com, showcasing your work. A link to your Flickr profile will also be included when your work is shown, giving you credit and recognition for your work. You can also choose to keep your snapshots private. This is useful for people working on projects which are not public yet.

Whether you are a webmaster/developer, website owner or blogger, CrossBrowserTesting is a valuable tool for checking out if a website runs well on different browsers on different operating systems and settings.

Tags: browser, explorer, Firefox, internet, java, mac os, mac os-x, microsoft windows, straming, test, ubuntu, Windows XP