Firefox plans a Metro-style makeover for Windows 8

Firefox

Microsoft is betting big on the new Metro interface in Windows 8, with its tile-based Start screen and apps that fill the entire display and work well on touch-screen devices. But how many third-party app developers will wager their own time to adjust to Microsoft’s new world? Mozilla gave its answer over the weekend, outlining… Read More…

Microsoft plans true auto updates for Internet Explorer

ie9l

Microsoft plans to streamline the way Internet Explorer is upgraded through its Windows Update process, aiming to move more PC users to the latest version of its web browser, even if they don’t actively decide to make the upgrade. Updates to Internet Explorer are already distributed to users who have opted to receive important updates… Read More…

Microsoft on board with Upgrade Your Parents’ Browser Day

ieneonnew

The day after Thanksgiving is traditionally known for shopping, but Alexis Madrigal of The Atlantic this week suggested an alternative purpose: quietly dumping the ancient Internet Explorer 6 from your parents’ computers while visiting home for the holidays, in the interest of making the web more secure for everyone. For Microsoft, this suggestion brings both risk… Read More…

Startups are like standing in line for Space Mountain; Google as Death Star… and other quotes of the week

Death Star II (Via Wookiepedia)

The best insights, observations, comments, tweets and random zingers we heard this week. “A friend, on the choice to quit Microsoft and join Google: ‘I don’t think of it as jumping ship, more like switching Death Stars.’ ” – Scott Hanselman, on Twitter. “Every six weeks is a lot of cupcakes.” — a spokesperson for Microsoft’s Internet… Read More…

Microsoft offers holiday freebies to boost IE9 usage

ieholiday

Microsoft has rolled out a new holiday promotional campaign that aims, in part, to get people on Windows 7 to use Internet Explorer 9 rather than Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or other browsers. As reported overnight by winbeta, the IE9 holiday campaign offers discounts and promotions such as three free months of Slacker Premium Radio,… Read More…

Netflix for Kids, LinkedIn apps, and other new stuff to try

JustforKidss

Interesting new releases and downloads catching our attention today …  Netflix rolled out a new section of its website called “Just for Kids” today, offering a simplified menu of streaming movies and TV shows for children 12 and under. The company says it worked with non-profit Common Sense Media on the project. It’s available initially… Read More…

Firefox releases get smaller, as do Internet Explorer cakes

ffcakesmall

Mozilla debuted Firefox 6 today, less than two months after coming out with Firefox 5. The new rapid release schedule might seem to create a dilemma for Microsoft’s Internet Explorer team, which had instituted a tradition of sending a congratulatory cake to the Mozilla team back when the gap between Firefox versions was considerably longer. But Microsoft has solved… Read More…

Stats: Chrome, Safari gain on Internet Explorer and Firefox

ieneonnew

Overall usage of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox fell slightly in July, while Google Chrome and Apple Safari both posted modest gains, according to numbers tracked by Net Applications. The numbers are notable in part because they reflect the first full-month measure of the market since Firefox shifted to a new rapid release cycle. IE… Read More…

Rapid releases for Firefox: An opportunity for Internet Explorer?

Firefox

Years ago, Microsoft hobbled its browser business by allowing five years to pass between the release of new Internet Explorer versions. Is Mozilla about to do the same thing to Firefox by moving too quickly? That’s the debate now boiling in the technology industry over Firefox’s new rapid release schedule. It’s being fueled by a… Read More…

A cupcake for Firefox 5: Microsoft has some fun with Mozilla’s new rapid release

via Mozilla's Damon Sicore on Twitter

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer team has made a tradition of sending the Firefox team a big, congratulatory IE cake upon the release of a new version of the rival browser. With today’s debut of Firefox 5, the first in Mozilla’s new rapid release cycle, that tradition has been downsized to reflect the IE team’s view of… Read More…