When Mozilla released Firefox 23 on Tuesday, the updated browser put an unofficial end to one of the annoyances of the early Web—the “blink” tag. According to the for the new browser, Firefox 23 completely drops support for the “blink” element, preventing browsers from rendering text that, well, blinks. Some may consider the blink tag to be largely innocuous, a carryover from when sites like GeoCities ruled the Web. But others have claimed that the blinking text is actually harmful, including the U.S. government, which recommends that Web pages avoid blinking images at between 2 hertz and 55 hertz to avoid triggering epileptic seizures among users. Lou Montulli, who , claimed that the whole thing was a “thought experiment.” Montulli, who wrote the Lynx browser, went on to be one of the founding engineers at Netscape. Late one night at a bar, he and a few engineers figured out that Lynx could not display many of the HTML extensions they were proposing—save for blinking text. “We had a pretty good laugh at the thought of blinking text, and talked about blinking this and that and how absurd the whole thing would be,” Montulli wrote.
Mozilla and Google have updated their browsers with features to help developers more effectively write and debug their websites. , Mozilla has introduced a number of features to its Web Developer Toolbar. And Google has announced features to its Chrome Developer Tools as well. Both sets of technologies recognize the growing use of the browser for richer interactions between users and services, over and above the viewing of static Web pages. “We still use the browser language, although most of what people do isn’t browsing. You have email, calendaring, social networking—it really is a different kind of activity,” said Johnathan Nightingale, vice president of Firefox engineering at Mozilla.
U.S. government agencies are exploring new ways to provide incentives for private companies to invest more money in cybersecurity, President Barack Obama’s administration announced. The Departments of Homeland Security, the Treasury and Commerce have identified several potential incentives, including cybersecurity insurance, federal grants and legal protections for companies that invest additional money in cybersecurity efforts, Michael Daniel, Obama’s cybersecurity coordinator, . In the coming months, the agencies will further examine the proposed incentives to determine which ones to adopt, Daniel wrote. The agencies will also look for input from operators of critical infrastructure, he said. The focus on incentives builds on Obama issued in February. Incentives can be an important part of cybersecurity efforts, Daniel said. “While the set of core [security] practices have been known for years, barriers to adoption exist, such as the challenge of clearly identifying the benefits of making certain cybersecurity investments,” he wrote.
For the modern student, a tablet might be the single best accessory since the backpack. It can hold a four-year degree’s worth of important stuff, including everything from school papers and textbooks to music and movie collections. Add a keyboard and your tablet can even take the place of laptop, though you’ll want to check with your school to make sure there aren’t specific software requirements a tablet can’t meet. For example, some colleges require students to use Microsoft Office. Normally that would dictate a laptop, but there are two tablets capable of running the suite: Microsoft’s Surface, which conveniently comes with Office, and Apple’s iPad, which requires an Office 365 subscription. Here are some other things to keep in mind when shopping for a new tablet. Models like the Surface and iPad make good choices for students not just because they can run familiar software, but also because they have comparatively large screens. The 10.6-inch Surface, 10.1-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab 3, 10-inch Google Nexus 10, and 9.7-inch iPad are among the tablets offering sufficient space for word processing, at the same time allowing for comfortable Web browsing, textbook viewing, and (during study breaks), movie watching.
In an update rolling out to users Tuesday, Facebook is pushing important stories you didn’t see to the top of your News Feed.
IBM said Tuesday that it will begin licensing its Power chips to other companies, pursuing a direction that companies like ARM have followed with great success. . While consumers typically buy a graphics card or PC with a microprocessor inside, manufacturers like Intel, which makes its own chips, are a comparative rarity. Instead, companies like Nvidia send their designs to merchant foundries, such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., to perform the manufacturing for them. Companies like ARM abstract the process a step further: ARM, whose products power the vast majority of the world’s smartphones, doesn’t actually make any of its chips itself. Instead, it licenses its microprocessor designs to companies like Apple, Qualcomm, and Nvidia, which sign agreements that let them add their own logic blocks to the ARM design and build them at a foundry of their choosing. .
technology, though, Flash may soon be a fading memory (pun intended). Consider how much you and your business depend on flash memory. Smartphones rely on it. Tablets rely on it. So do USB thumb drives. Most ultrabooks use SSD or hybrid drives that combine traditional hard drive technology with flash memory. Without flash memory, your business might come to a grinding halt. As ubiquitous as flash memory is, though, one of the hurdles for the technology has been capacity, especially larger capacity at a reasonable price. Most smartphones and tablets come with 16GB, 32GB, or sometimes 64GB of storage. Each step up typically adds $100 to the cost of the device. With SSDs the problem is greater. The most common SSD capacities are 128GB and 256GB, both significantly smaller than the 1TB-plus capacities of most traditional hard drives. Yet a 128GB SSD costs as much as a 1TB or even some of the less expensive 2TB hard drives, and a 1TB SSD costs at least 10 times as much.
TextNow is jumping into the low-cost wireless service fray, with smartphone plans that start at $19 per month for data-based service that relies on Voice over IP for calls.
While it may sound underwhelming on paper, the Moto X packs impressive performance into a great form-factor.
Google has treated Feedburner like a bad impulse buy ever since purchasing it in 2007, leaving it in a state of neglect. After the announcement that Google Reader was being discontinued, the Internet grapevine began buzzing about what Google service was next on the chopping block. The general consensus is that it will be Feedburner (since both the API and Adsense for Feeds have already been closed). It would make sense, if you are a webmaster, to redirect your RSS feed and newsletter subscribers to FeedPress before it's too late. FeedPress (formerly URI.LV) is the only serious opponent to Feedburner right now. For years, Feedburner dominated the RSS aggregation market, but now that it is looking vulnerable, the scrappy upstart FeedPress has emerged to provide a serious viable alternative to those who are nervous about possible future events. The only slight downer about FeedPress is that the free basic service is restricted, with the muzzles taken off only if you pony up $30 a year (or $3 a month). If you sign up for the free basic FeedPress service, the RSS feed restricts you to a maximum 5,000 subscribers. If you want to exceed that, you need to pay. The restriction will make no difference to most small sites, and commercial sites have the budget to afford the $30 a year. The most important part of the feed is how often the site is checked and the feed refreshed. After all, if you are a breaking news website, it makes no sense if your feed lies unchecked for hours on end. The free version gets checked once an hour, and paid users get checked every 20 minutes. The totally free Feedburner, by comparison, gets checked every 30 minutes.
It’s a great smartphone with a great camera, but not much else stands out about it.
Xerox scanners have been found to randomly alter numbers on documents when reproducing them if a certain combination of image quality and compression setting is used. The problem first came to light last week when David Kriesel, a computer scientist pursuing a PhD at the University of Bonn, on his website. On Tuesday, Xerox acknowledged the problem and advised customers to use a higher quality scanner setting if it wanted to avoid the problem. Kriesel said he first noticed the problem when he used a Xerox WorkCentre to scan to PDF some building construction documents. The documents were of a building floorplan and each room was marked with a small box that contained a room name and the area in square meters: 14.13m2, 21.11m2 and 17.42m2.
School is hard enough without worrying about which laptop to buy. But for any student shopping for a new machine, the choices can seem daunting. With so many models, specs, and options to consider, you may feel like you need to sign up for Laptop 101. However, picking a school-savvy PC is actually pretty easy if you consider a few key options and figure out what kind of workload your school year will bring. For starters, make the big call: Windows or Mac. This is largely a matter of personal preference, and unless your school has a specific requirement, you should probably stick to the platform you know best. Next, think about your computing needs. If it’s mostly word processing and Web browsing, an inexpensive system like the will get the job done. However, these entry-level models rely on entry-level processors (the Intel Celeron and AMD E-Series, respectively), which lack the horsepower for higher-education tasks like CAD and video work.
Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales, a key technology adviser to prime minister David Cameron, has slammed the government's demand that ISPs should introduce porn filters by default, saying the move is "ridiculous".
After one year on Mars, the NASA rover Curiosity is changing the way we look at our solar system -- and it may change how we look at ourselves.
as well as the way Windows Phones connect to WPA2 networks. as his work phone. Every day Bob’s phone automatically connects to the company’s Wi-Fi network, called ACME1, using WPA2 security. Whenever Bob’s phone sees a Wi-Fi network called ACME1, the handset assumes that this is his work network and attempts to make a connection. Now, let’s say that two blocks down the street there’s a café where a lot of ACME employees grab a latte on their lunch breaks. All a hacker would have to do is set-up a wireless router called ACME1 secured with WPA2 and wait for a Windows Phone to connect to the rogue access point.
Samsung has started making flash storage chips that it claims will be twice as fast and up to 10 times more durable than the current flash storage used in mobile devices. The so-called V-NAND flash memory employs a 3D structure in which storage modules are stacked vertically, said Steve Weinger, director of NAND marketing at Samsung Semiconductor, a division of Samsung. Samsung is already producing the new flash chips in volume and has shipped units to companies for qualification and testing. The technology will likely appear in enterprise solid-state drives this year and in mobile devices next year, Weinger said. The 3D memory differs markedly from conventional NAND flash, in which storage modules are placed side by side. Samsung has stacked 24 NAND layers in one chip package, with each stack connected by a proprietary interconnect that Weinger described as the "secret sauce" that makes the 3D storage faster than conventional NAND.
Amazon has launched , a marketplace that includes more than 40,000 works of art by the likes of Norman Rockwell and Claude Monet from over 150 galleries and dealers. The store includes the works of more than 4,500 artists and is one of the largest online collections of original and limited edition artwork for purchase directly from galleries and dealers, according to Amazon. The Amazon Art store demystifies the world of art, it said. On Amazon Art users can find Andy Warhol’s “Sachiko” for $45,000, historic artwork from Monet including “L’Enfant a la tasse, portrait de Jean Monet” for $1.45 million, and works from iconic artists such as Rockwell’s “Willie Gillis: Package from Home” for $4.85 million. Users can choose between main departments such as drawing and ink, mixed media, painting, prints and photography, and narrow search results by using filters such as subject, style, color, size, price and gallery.
The Tor Project is advising that people stop using Windows after the discovery of a startling vulnerability in Firefox that undermined the main advantages of the privacy-centered anonymity tool. The zero-day vulnerability allowed as-yet-unknown interlopers to use a malicious piece of JavaScript to collect crucial identifying information on computers visiting some websites using The Onion Router (TOR) network. posted Monday by The Tor Project. The Tor Project's reasoning comes from the characteristics of the malicious JavaScript that exploited the zero-day vulnerability. The script was written to target Windows computers running Firefox 17 ESR (Extended Support Release), a version of the browser customized to view websites using TOR.
Cloudberry Kingdom, the debut game from Pwnee Studios, is a strong effort that unfortunately falls prey to the main flaw of procedurally-generated content—recognizable algorithmic patterns of behavior. Once the puzzle is solved, there's little reason to return.
Businesses that rely on cloud-based services are getting more options for falling back on another cloud if necessary. On Tuesday, Nasuni introduced a cloud-to-cloud mirroring option to give customers extra assurance that their data will be available in case of a service outage. The same day, cloud-to-cloud backup vendor Backupify added more choices for where users can have their data sent. Both Nasuni and Backupify provide backup services that operate on top of larger cloud storage operations such as Amazon S3. Many businesses are looking to cloud services for storage, often to get away from buying and operating gear of their own, according to Enterprise Strategy Group analyst Mark Peters. Services that store many customers' data in many cases can do so more efficiently through scale, he said. Cloud storage has proved pretty reliable, and using one cloud-based service as backup for another should make users safer, Peters said.
For small businesses today, there’s nothing that can’t be done in the cloud. You could plunk down your cash for Basecamp, Yammer, and Google Docs like everyone else, but alternatives to these stalwarts abound. For something that does more, costs less—or both—check out these six Web-based tools, categorized based on their primary functionality. may still fly under the radar of such behemoths as Basecamp, but it’s rapidly emerging as the go-to collaboration tool for a new generation of knowledge workers. Originally a Danish startup, Citrix acquired it last year, and the new features keep on coming. Designed (like most collaboration systems) to eliminate excessive emailing, the structure is relatively simple: You invite employees into Podio’s internal communication network, then create any number of “workspaces” in which they can collaborate. You can admit outsiders on a workspace-by-workspace basis, keeping them out of the broader employee network. The centerpiece of Podio actually isn’t its basic collaboration and project management system, but rather its innovative use of apps. Podio’s built-in marketplace includes thousands of highly specialized apps for just about every type of management need: property management, managing an art studio, even structuring the due diligence process when acquiring a company. A couple of clicks, and you can transform Podio from a general project-management tool into a highly focused one.
Razer, the company that built its reputation on gaming mice and keyboards, is now doing what Acer, Dell, and Microsoft seemingly won’t: building topflight laptops and tablets with hefty price tags. This year the upstart company introduced both the to outship laptops 2-to-1 in 2014. We visited the Razer design office in San Francisco to see how they do it. The company maintains three design offices—the other two are in Taipei and Singapore—but the San Francisco office focuses primarily on designing systems rather than keyboards or headsets. Hardwood floors, arched ceilings, and a gaudy chandelier in the foyer hint at the Razer office’s origins as part of an old department store. In its current life as a research and design facility, the bright space holds open workstations, shelves of reference material, and a homebrew testing lab filled with custom-built machinery. Razer’s testing lab is what John Wilson, vice president of systems at Razer San Francisco, seems most proud of. It’s one of the last stops on a device’s trip to market, says Wilson, and it’s the most grueling: Razer engineers crush, bend, and burn everything far past the point of reasonable return.
Internet companies and rights groups have criticized a new Internet law in Vietnam that will put curbs on bloggers and social media. A restriction on the use of blogs and social networks to only exchanging personal information and bans on using these media to share information from news sources will deprive the Vietnamese "of the independent and outspoken information that normally circulates in blogs and forums," said Reporters Without Borders. The Asia Internet Coalition, an industry association formed by eBay, Facebook, Google and Yahoo, said Monday it was disappointed with the Vietnam Internet Management Decree, also referred to as Decree 72, that was recently passed by the government of Vietnam. Decree 72 (Decree 72/2013-ND-CP) requires Internet companies and other providers of information to Internet users in Vietnam to cooperate with the government to enforce the prohibition of a range of vaguely-defined acts of expression, said the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights. The prohibited acts could include opposing the " the Socialist Republic of Vietnam," undermining "the grand unity of the people", and damaging 'the prestige of organizations and the honour and dignity of individuals," it added.
Apple saw a dip in its smartphone market share in China as the company was overtaken by local rival Xiaomi, a seller of low-priced handsets that has been making waves in the country’s tech industry. During the second quarter, Apple was ranked seventh among China’s smartphone vendors, with a market share of only 5 percent, according to research firm Canalys. This was down 3 percentage points from the . Xiaomi’s market share was also at 5 percent, but the company’s smartphone shipments narrowly surpassed those of Apple, said Nicole Peng, an analyst with the research firm. “This is amazing for a company that only started to ship products two years ago,” she said. “It’s really big progress for a company that is so young.”
IBM has introduced x86 and Power processors with a new dual-chip server module that will help speed the deployment of cloud and virtualized environments. The Flex System servers, announced Tuesday, are based on a new board design in which two blade-type motherboards are combined into one server package, which can then be slotted into one socket. That effectively doubles the processors, memory, storage and other hardware resources available per socket. As a result, a server chassis will carry more processing power and the increased density will help deploy more virtual machines in a denser space, while better utilizing server resources, said Jeff Howard, vice president of PureFlex and Flex systems at IBM. More intense workloads related to analytics and databases are being transferred to the cloud and the new servers will also help in a more efficient cloud deployment, Howard said, adding that virtualization is one the cloud’s “foundational elements.”
BMC is continuing its push into the consumerization-of-IT trend with the acquisition of Partnerpedia, which makes software companies can use to roll out secure, governed app stores to their end users. Terms of the deal, which closed last month, were not revealed. Partnerpedia's AppZone software gives IT departments the ability to make volume purchases of applications from sources such as Apple's iTunes store and push them into a private catalog for company use, said Geoff Mair, senior director of product development for BMC and founder of Partnerpedia. Then the applications can be obtained by employees based on access policies set by IT, he said. The goal is to radically streamline the way workers can get the applications they need, while preserving proper oversight of what's being downloaded and used, according to Mair.
A report by Variety indicates that the nation's largest cable provider will send real-time alerts if it thinks you're pirating a movie--along with a legitimate alternative.
Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos has announced a surprise plan to buy for $250 million in cash. Bezos is snapping up one of the country’s most respected daily newspapers in a private deal that is separate from his role at Amazon. Bezos will not run the Post day to day, he said Monday in . “I am happily living in ‘the other Washington’ where I have a day job that I love,” Bezos wrote, referring to Amazon’s headquarters in Seattle. Details are unclear on what the purchase means for the future of the 136-year-old newspaper.
The majority of adults surveyed by Pew Research Center use social media, with adoption by the older age group growing each year. Twitter specifically was most popular with ages 18 to 29 while the 65 and older group saw slower adoption in that area.
YouTube has rolled out several new features for YouTube Partners and Content Creators in just the past few weeks. This includes adding new charts in YouTube Analytics, a YouTube subscribe button for websites, and more tools to build channels.
Twitter announced a new way to search that displays photos, people profiles and status updates, as well as the ability to go back to recent searches and know how you’re connected to the profiles in the suggested search results.
Testing a new website may seem overwhelming, but there are things every team member can do to assist in the pre-launch process. If you can rally your team around these 25 tests, no one person needs to bear the full weight of a site launch.
Link building is hard work. But you can teach individuals with the right skills and work ethic to become an awesome link builder – even if they have little (or no) experience. Here's an in-depth lesson plan to help you train new link builders.
Want to maximize your visibility in Google's search results? This Google+ SEO guide explains how to optimize your profile, page, local, communities, and even your updates for specific keywords to rank – as well as how Google handles outgoing links.
SEO company The Rainmaker Institute, which markets its services to law firms and bills itself as a "law firm marketing provider", is on the receiving end of a RICO lawsuit for providing SEO services that violated Google's webmaster guidelines.
Google AdWords has launched the new Google Display Planner, which is a combination of three long-time AdWords tools: the Contextual Targeting Tool, Placement Tool, and Google Ad Planner. Its goal is to give advertisers the tools in one place.
Google has a new fun tool. If you ever need a quick online timer, now you can type a specific search query into Google's search box. Google will create a timer for you right on the search results page, and then beep when time expires.
Experian Marketing Services analyzed 2012 back-to-school data to give insight into trends in shopping, device usage and reaching moms during this critical retail season with offers that matter to them. Walmart is winning on back to school searches.
One health care company has found itself being outranked – sometimes big time – by a competitor every time in every location. What's to blame? A weak link profile? A lack of social media presence? Or something else? What's the missing link?
Pinterest represents a virtually untapped marketing channel for online retailers and brands. It's capable of driving incremental revenue, improving SEO performance, and increasing brand awareness. Here's how to pin and win for SEO and e-commerce.
B2B marketers have developed many different content streams to help attract customers and disseminate their messages. Here's a closer look at different content types, how to make them effective, and how to decide if they're right for your business.
If you sell in a market where safety must precede enticement, then you must be sure to soothe potential clients and built trust prior to sharing expertise and offers. How? By showing prospects your human side and not overwhelming them.
For search engine optimization newbies (including people who are both learning about building links and clients who seek link services), this helpful glossary will help define some of the more common link building terminology, from A to Z.
One site owner claimed that adding Google authorship caused a drop in traffic and removing authorship triggered a Google retaliation in the form of an even more dramatic traffic drop. Is this possible, or could there be another "smoking gun"?
Pinterest has always been the place for users to pin a visual wishlist. Now, Pinterest is turning into a true e-commerce player. The social network has added a new feature that alerts users when prices on pinned items drop.
To succeed as the app-based search ecosystem evolves, brands need to understand the relevant apps on the market, the value proposition of each, and how to build rank and findability. Here's an overview of mobile SEO basics and the big engines.
While real-time reporting has made it easy to make adjustments to campaigns on-the-fly, it still requires human interaction to monitor and observe what's going on. With the real-time API, code can now be written to automate that kind of checking.
Facebook announced embedded posts yesterday, allowing users to embed public status updates across the web. Embedded posts looks fairly simple, but will install the Facebook SDK for JavaScript code on the page when embedding status updates.