Best Stories of This Week [Total Recap]

Firefox 4, 5, 6 and 7 to be released before the end of 2011

Firefox's official roadmap has been updated, and boy are there some interesting changes afoot. Most notably, Firefox 7 will ship in 2011. The second biggy, and the main focus of Firefox development in 2011, is to make sure there is no more than 50ms between any user interaction and feedback from the browser.

As far as feature sets go, this is what the roadmap looks like: Firefox 5 will absorb the Account Manager and F1 Simple Sharing add-ons to become built-in features. It looks like Windows 7 64-bit will be officially supported with FF5, too.

Firefox 6 will have a focus on the Web applications framework, JavaScript optimizations, and support for OS X 10.7. For Web applications, some missing pieces of CSS3 and HTML5 will be added to Gecko, the rendering engine.

Firefox 7's feature list is less clear. Electrolysis (splitting everything into separate processes) and changes to XBL support are mentioned, but nothing certain.

Overall, there's a big emphasis on responsiveness and "shining the primary UI until it gleams."

It'll definitely be interesting to see how Mozilla transitions to a new release cycle -- and it'll definitely mean a lot more Firefox-related news, too!

Update: some conscientious eyes have noticed that the roadmap says 'Draft' at the top, so this could all change...

Firefox 4, 5, 6 and 7 to be released before the end of 2011 originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 07 Feb 2011 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/07/firefox-4-5-6-and-7-to-be-released-before-the-end-of-2011/

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Apple patent application points to denser batteries, improved charging technique

Some might think a ten-hour Macbook battery mighty fine, but we're happy to say that Cupertino's not quite satisfied. AppleInsider spotted a pair of Apple patent applications detailing a improved way of juicing up those lithium-polymer cells, which should greatly increase the number of recharge cycles they can endure -- or, optionally, allow Apple to use denser batteries that last longer on a charge. We'll break it down for you: the graph in the upper-left shows how Li-ion batteries currently charge, first very rapidly (constant current, increasing voltage) and then more slowly (constant voltage, decreasing current) to top the cells off.

What Apple's proposing is the multi-step method depicted on the right, where current and voltage trade off, to charge the battery while being far less harsh on the physical chemistry of the electrodes inside. As you can see in the bottom graph, the multi-step CC-CV cells lose much less of their potential after 300 recharge cycles, but that's not all Apple's cooking up -- the company figures that it can increase the thickness of the electrodes to improve battery life (by as much as 28Wh/L, according to one chart) without negative effect thanks to the softer charge. Sure, we'd rather have plant-eating graphene supercapcitors, but this sounds like a plan for now.

Apple patent application points to denser batteries, improved charging technique originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 20 Feb 2011 15:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Apple Insider  |  sourceUSPTO (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments


Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/e4AezGOvDg0/

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Watch Thor get tazed and hospitalized, and act like a crazy person [Video]

Finally, a trailer for Marvel's Thor movie where the main character is actually acting like Thor, the Norse God. Demanding more coffee by smashing his cup, yelling at puny humans and crashing about. Now this is the dense blonde butt of Iron Man's jokes that we know and love. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Cr-D1Gd8gFU/watch-thor-get-tazed-and-hospitalized-and-act-like-a-crazy-person

INTERNATIONAL RECTIFIER INTERNATIONAL GAME TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES (IBM) INTERDIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS INTEL INSIGHT ENTERPRISES INGRAM MICRO INFORMATICA INFOCUS ZORAN ZIONS BAN YAHOO YAHOO XILINX WESTERN DIGITAL VOLT INFORMATION SCIENCES VISHAY INTERTECHNOLOGY VIRGIN MEDIA VIEWSONIC VERISIGN

Download every Sports Illustrated 2011 Swimsuit photo with a simple Perl script

After the runaway success of last year's Sports Illustrated Perl downloader, Download Squad reader and cameltoe connoisseur, Sparticus, has produced the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Downloader 2011. It's a simple Perl script that you can run on Windows, Mac and Linux -- and before you know it, your computer will be positively overflowing with bikini-clad babes.

Like last year, the script doesn't only download the final, glossy-magazine-destined photos. There's tons of behind-the-scenes stuff, and lots of shots that simply didn't make the final cut. Last year there were around 1200 photos to download -- we're still running this year's downloader, but it looks like there could be even more!

Linux users, you'll be able to simply download the script, chmod +x, and run. Windows users will need a copy of wget and a Perl distro, such as ActivePerl. Mac users can use the Xcode Developer Tools.

Alternatively, be a cool kid and run Ubuntu in VirtualBox!

Download every Sports Illustrated 2011 Swimsuit photo with a simple Perl script originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 06:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/16/download-every-sports-illustrated-2011-swimsuit-photo-with-perl/

VERIFONE HOLDINGS VEECO INSTRUMENTS VARIAN SEMICONDUCTOR EQUIPMENT ASSOCIATES UNITED ONLINE UNISYS TRIQUINT SEMICONDUCTOR TRIMBLE NAVIGATION LIMITED TRIDENT MICROSYSTEMS TRANSACTION SYSTEMS ARCHITECTS TOTAL SYSTEM SERVICES TNS TIBCO SOFTWARE TIBCO SOFTWARE THQ TEXAS INSTRUMENTS TERADATA TELETECH HOLDINGS TECHNITROL TAKETWO INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE SYNTEL

Speed up Internet Explorer 9 with the Add-on Performance Advisor

Did you know that Internet Explorer 9 has add-ons? Like, real, experience-altering extensions? Head on over to the IE Add-ons Gallery and take a gander. Marvel at how the most popular add-on in the U.K. has a mind-blowing 18 ratings.

Truth be told, there isn't a whole lot to choose from, but if you do end up using a few add-ons or toolbars, you may run into the Add-on Performance Advisor. If any add-on takes too long to load, you'll see a notification at the bottom of your window (see above) -- and if you click through, you'll be shown a list of all your add-ons and how long they take to load (see right). It's just a matter of clicking Disable on any add-ons that are bogging down your surfing, and away you go!

From the same window you can also select the threshold for slow add-ons (but the default of 0.2 seconds is fine).

If you just want to see the general performance of your add-ons and toolbars, click Cog > Manage add-ons and every add-on's load time can be seen.

[Admittedly, a better question to ask at the start would've been 'does IE9 have any useful add-ons?' but that was beyond the scope of this post.]

For more IE9 tips, see our tips index, or read our complete IE9 guide.

Speed up Internet Explorer 9 with the Add-on Performance Advisor originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 14:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/17/speed-up-internet-explorer-9-with-the-add-on-performance-advisor/

ARIAN SEMICONDUCTOR EQUIPMENT ARROW ELECTRONICS ASML HOLDING ASUSTEK COMPUTER ATandT AUTODESK AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING AVNET BHARTI AIRTEL BT GROUP CANON MEMC ELECTRONIC MATERIALS MICROSOFT MILLICOM INTL CELLULAR MOBILE TELESYSTEMS NANYA TECHNOLOGY NII HOLDINGS NIKON NINTENDO NOKIA

German researchers take mind-controlled car for a carefully-controlled spin

Emotiv's mind-reading EPOC headset may not have changed the face of video games, but it looks like it's proven to be more than adequate for a team of German researchers, who've used it as the key component in their BrainDriver project. Yes, that's a mind-controlled car and, after a bit of training, is does appear to have performed reasonably well -- albeit with a slight delay that makes any real world test a worse idea than it already was. Interestingly, this latest effort actually follows some previous attempts at a completely autonomous car by the same group of researchers at the Freie Universität Berlin, and they say that the two could eventually be combined at some point in the distant future -- for instance, in a taxi that's able to drive itself but also responds to the thoughts of its passengers. Head on past the break for the video.

Continue reading German researchers take mind-controlled car for a carefully-controlled spin

German researchers take mind-controlled car for a carefully-controlled spin originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 19 Feb 2011 16:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Slashdot  |  sourceIEEE Spectrum  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/19/german-researchers-take-mind-controlled-car-for-a-carefully-cont/

FIRST SOLAR FINISAR FEI COMPANY FAIRCHILD SEMICONDUCTOR INTERNATIONAL

Samsung Announces the GALAXY Tab 10.1

Samsung has announced their newest Android tablet, the GALAXY Tab 10.1.  The Tab 10.1 will have a 1280 X 800 10.1″ display and a 1GHz Dual Core processor running the Android 3.0 Honeycomb platform.  There’s a rear camera (8MP) and a front-facing camera (2MP) for video chatting.  You’ll have 4G and WiFi connectivity.  You can [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2011/02/15/samsung-announces-the-galaxy-tab-10-1/

ANIXTER INTERNATIONAL APPLE COMPUTER APPLIED MATERIALS ARIAN SEMICONDUCTOR EQUIPMENT ARROW ELECTRONICS ASML HOLDING ASUSTEK COMPUTER ATandT AUTODESK AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING AVNET BHARTI AIRTEL BT GROUP CANON MEMC ELECTRONIC MATERIALS MICROSOFT MILLICOM INTL CELLULAR MOBILE TELESYSTEMS NANYA TECHNOLOGY NII HOLDINGS

CrunchGear Week In Review: Go With The Floe Edition

Here’s a selection of stories from the past week on CrunchGear: Cloud-Based Storage Coming To PS3 (But For A Premium)? Audi-Designed Carbon Skis: Want So Bad Just In Time For Trenta: Send Your Facebook Friends Starbucks Card eGifts So Why Should You Care About NFC? How The Glif Got Made: From Design To Sales In [...]

Source: http://www.crunchgear.com/2011/01/31/week-in-review-go-with-the-floe/

TOTAL SYSTEM SERVICES TNS TIBCO SOFTWARE TIBCO SOFTWARE THQ TEXAS INSTRUMENTS TERADATA TELETECH HOLDINGS TECHNITROL TAKETWO INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE SYNTEL SYNTAXBRILLIAN SYNOPSYS SYNNEX SYMANTEC SYKES ENTERPRISES INORATED SYBASE SUN MICROSYSTEMS STANDARD MICROSYSTEMS SRA INTERNATIONAL

Nokia CEO: cheap Windows Phones can come 'very quickly'

We'd raised our own concerns in interviews with both Stephen Elop and Microsoft's Aaron Woodman in the past week that Nokia could have difficulty pushing the Windows Phone platform low enough to fill the holes left by Symbian's departure in the bottom rungs of the market, but the Nokia CEO is making it very clear that he thinks that won't be a problem. In a talk with Finnish journalists on Friday, Elop said that it has become "convinced" that it can hit "a very low price point" and do it "very quickly," a strategy that will be key to converting significant swaths of Symbian market share into Windows Phone market share without losing it to other manufacturers or platforms. Of course, something tells us the leaked design concept (pictured right) doesn't represent the types of hardware Nokia has in mind for those low price points -- but no single device or market segment is going to take Espoo to the promised land here.

Nokia CEO: cheap Windows Phones can come 'very quickly' originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 19 Feb 2011 19:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink SlashGear  |  sourceReuters  | Email this | Comments


Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/wjCGRnpW7Aw/

BT GROUP CANON MEMC ELECTRONIC MATERIALS MICROSOFT MILLICOM INTL CELLULAR MOBILE TELESYSTEMS NANYA TECHNOLOGY NII HOLDINGS NIKON NINTENDO NOKIA NVIDIA ORACLE POWERCHIP SEMICONDUCTOR PRICELINECOM QIMONDA QUALCOMM QUANTA COMPUTER RESEARCH IN MOTION ROGERS COMMUNICATIONS