Mozilla has narrowed the development of Firefox Mobile to two platforms – Maemo and Android.

They had been working on an alpha version for Windows Mobile, but decided to stop development after Microsoft took a new direction with Windows Phone 7 (no NDK support). A quick look at Mozilla’s mobile platforms page reveals there are no plans for BlackBerry, iPhone, or Symbian. Since Maemo has failed to catch on, that leaves Android as the premier platform for Firefox Mobile.

The last time we saw Firefox for Android, developers had already ported the mobile UI (Fennec) and had it running on a Droid and Nexus One. Mozilla has demonstrated rapid progress in developing their browser for Android and plans to have a public release this year. Jay Sullivan, Mozilla’s vice president of mobile, has stressed that his goal for 2010 is to ship at least a beta version of Firefox for Android.

Now that a Windows Phone version is no longer on the table, we expect Mozilla will reach their goal of an Android release by late 2010. Based on our analytics reports, Firefox is the most popular browser of visitors to this site (27%) so we will definitely keep an eye on them.

For the latest news on Firefox for mobile, follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

Related Posts

• Mozilla shows rapid progress on Firefox Mobile for Android
• Sneak peek of Firefox on the Nexus One
• Firefox on Android renders its first web page, no plans for iPhone
• Mozilla Firefox coming to Android
• Firefox Mobile a.k.a. Fennec schedules a date with Android

Filed under: Things I found in the Interwebs by Jeremiah | No Comments »
Source: Android and Me

I have been using Google Chrome since it first came out and it has a lot of features to recommend itself (the speed and lower memory usage being the main sells). But there were lots of features that were lacking which prevented me from making the full switch from Firefox. With my heavy usage of Greasemonkey scripts and a few “can’t live without them” extensions, I had to keep Firefox as my default browser and have Chrome sitting on the sidelines.

But now the Google Chrome Extensions Page has lots of browser extensions you can try out. As with everything else, it is populated with a lot of junk but the gems are there if you do a bit of searching.

To use them though, you need to change your version of Chrome to the beta version. You can find it here and updating is very easy. And it goes without saying that you need to open up the Extensions website in the Chrome browser (just covering all bases here!)

Here are 5 good Chrome extensions which are seriously tempting me away from Firefox.

XMarks (Previously Known As Foxmarks)

This is the one that has really got me excited.  One of the biggest problems I previously encountered with having two browsers was being unable to synchronize everything.   As well as two browsers, I also use two computers so being able to have my large set of bookmarks wherever I go was an essential must-have.

As long as I stayed with Firefox, I was safe with using XMarks but what about Chrome?  I briefly looked at Saikat’s suggestion of Transmute but it still didn’t feel right.   But now I don’t have to worry because Xmarks now works on Chrome too!   Just make an XMarks web account, keep it synchronized whenever you close your browser and you will always have an up-to-date set of bookmarks wherever you go and whatever browser you happen to be using – Firefox or Chrome.

Google Mail Checker

I have always been keen to have a decent Gmail Notifier but I didn’t want to install the Google Toolbar or the Google Talk client just to have an email notifier.  So this easy basic no-frills notifier extension is just the trick for me.

Once you have installed it, just open a new tab in Chrome, log into the desired Gmail account and then the notifier remembers the details.   It will also start monitoring the account and will notify you when you have new mail (as well as tell you how many new emails you have).

Since I use Google Apps instead of a regular Gmail account, I had to do some changing about but it’s very easy.  Just go to the Chrome options (that little wrench at the top right of the browser), choose Extensions and then choose Google Mail Checker –>Options.  Then enter your domain details and save it all.

Stumbleupon

I use Stumbleupon a lot on a daily basis and not having a Stumbleupon toolbar for Chrome was a tad annoying.  This meant I was constantly having to use Firefox for my stumbling when I would much rather have been using Chrome.  True, you can go to the Stumbleupon website and start up a web toolbar from there but being the lazy person that I am, even that was a bit too much effort for me when all I had to do in Firefox was click a toolbar button.

And now clicking a button is all you have to do in Chrome too.   This is still the web version of the Stumbleupon toolbar but going to it is made a lot easier now.  Just click the SU logo now on your browser and it will instantly open a web toolbar so you can go stumbling.  When you are finished, press the button again and the web toolbar goes away. Much faster and more convenient for those impulse moments when you want to have a quick stumble or two.

Evernote Web Clipper

I am starting to use Evernote a lot more now, especially for keeping records of URL’s, screenshots, general notes, as well as synchronizing my web account with my Android phone.  The company has now introduced an extension for Chrome that has the same functionalities as the Firefox extension, including being able to clip the whole page to your Evernote web account.

RSS Subscription Extension

One of the really big things lacking in Chrome was the fact that webpage RSS feeds were not being “auto-discovered”.  I was so used to the orange RSS box in the Firefox address bar that when I started using Chrome, I instantly found it really annoying that this feature, which I took for granted in Firefox, was gone.

But now RSS Subscription Extension addresses that issue by putting the “auto-discover” box back into the address bar (but really this should be a default feature).

With these five extensions, a lot of the main tasks I do in Firefox are now covered – email, RSS feeds, stumbling, synchronizing bookmarks and clipping material to Evernote.    It would be even better if I had small search boxes like Firefox but I can’t complain – Chrome is definately heading in the right direction.

Are there any Chrome extensions which you are finding invaluable and which are tugging you away from the clutches of Firefox?   If so, let us know what they are in the comments.

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Filed under: Things I found in the Interwebs by Jeremiah | No Comments »
Source: MakeUseOf.com

The first time I came across this issue, I was attempting to send video from my laptop to my television via s-video.  You see, at the time we did not have cable television (and still don’t by the way) so I was wanting to watch some YouTube videos with my wife while still working on other stuff on my laptop.

It really isn’t that complicated to do this.  The TV basically acts as a second monitor extending my screen to a second “desktop.”  Now I can watch videos while still working, right?

All was fine until I attempted to make the video full screen on the second monitor – the television – and still click on anything else on my laptop screen.  You see, flash video tends to not hold the full screen if something off the screen is clicked.  I’m sure there is a reason they have it that way but that is not the purpose of this post.  The purpose of this post is to tell you that I finally found a way around this!

Well, someone else actually figured it out, but I want to give some exposure to the trick because I’m SURE there are many people out there just living with this issue just like I have been.  Please note that I am a Windows user and I use Firefox and Google Chrome and I don’t think it’ll work on Internet Explorer.

So, to give a basic rundown, there is one file that needs to be changed.  It’s called “npswf32.dll” and it’s the culprit.  It’s found in C:\windows\system32\macromed\flash\.  The cool part is that someone else has already taken care of the technical part and has been kind enough to post the modified file online for our downloading pleasure!  Very cool, huh?

Let me now take you through the process of fixing the problem so that you can watch videos full screen on a second monitor. Just follow 4 simple steps: find the file responsible, backup the existing file, copy the downloaded/modified file into the file, and close and reopen all browser windows.

STEP 1: Find The File Responsible

As I mentioned earlier, the file is found in C:\windows\system32\macromed\flash\ so basically just open File Manager and copy and paste that path into the box.

STEP 2: Backup The Existing File

Anytime you are looking to replace an important file, like a DLL file, it’s good to back it up just in case the new file doesn’t work out the way you were hoping it would.

So let’s go ahead and rename the file to something like “NPSWF32old.dll” so the new file doesn’t copy over it.  To rename it, just right-click on the file, choose “Rename” and get your cursor in between the “2″ and the period and type “old.”

STEP 3: Copy The Modified File Into The Folder

You can download the modified DLL file here.  Note it is compressed in a zip file so you’ll have to open and decompress it before moving it into place.  Some Windows versions will handle the zip file just fine for you.  If not there are free utilities that can help decompress them for you.  Then just move the new file into place.

STEP 4: Close & Re-Open All Browser Windows

As far as the fix goes, that’s it.  You won’t see any difference until you close all browser windows and re-open them.  This will refresh things and put the new file to work!

Disclaimer:  I have tested this myself on my Windows Vista laptop using both Firefox AND Google Chrome and it has worked for me.  I believe people have tried it on Internet Explorer 8 and it DID NOT work and I am not sure about Opera.  In fact, if you try this running Opera, let me know if it works or not.  Also, keep an eye out because this may work now but it may need to be fixed again after further Flash updates.

Thanks to Polybore for posting this fix on his blog!  Also thank you to d.i.z. for posting the modified file for the world to download.  When a new version of Flash DOES come out, and it will, I would probably check back at d.i.z.’s page to see if he has another updated file.

Do you have a better fix for this problem?  Let us know!

Image Credit : unimatrixZxero

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Filed under: Things I found in the Interwebs by Jeremiah | No Comments »
Source: MakeUseOf.com

Firefox and Safari partially support it, Google’s Wave and Chrome projects are banking on it, and most web developers are ecstatic about what it means. It’s HTML5, and if you’re not exactly sure what it is, here’s an explainer.

Image taken from Bruce Lawson’s fantastic HTML5 presentation.

What is HTML5? Some kind of really fancy link tag?

HTML5 is a specification for how the web’s core language, HTML, should be formatted and utilized to deliver text, images, multimedia, web apps, search forms, and anything else you see in your browser. In some ways, it’s mostly a core set of standards that only web developers really need to know. In other ways, it’s a major revision to how the web is put together. Not every web site will use it, but those that do will have better support across modern desktop and mobile browsers (that is, everything except Internet Explorer).

What Awesomeness can I expect from HTML5?

The big, marquee changes in HTML5 have already made some headlines, thanks to browser makers like Google, Apple, Mozilla, and others picking them up and implementing them. The shortlist:

• Offline storage: Kind of like "Super Cookies," but with much more space to store both one-time data and persistent app databases, like email. Actually, you can think of offline storage as something a lot like Google Gears—you just won't need to install a plug-in to reap the benefits.
• Canvas drawing: Sites can mark off a space on a page where interactive pictures, charts and graphs, game components, and whatever else imagination allows can be drawn directly by programming code and user interaction—no Flash or other plug-ins required.
• Native video and audio streaming support: It’s in the very early stages and subject to format disruption, but sites like YouTube and Pandora could one day skip Flash entirely to bring you streaming audio and video, with timed playback and other neat features.
• Geolocation: Just what it sounds like, but not limited to a single provider’s API or browser tool. HTML5 can find your location and use it to tailor things like search results, tag your Twitter updates, and more. Location-aware devices are a big deal.
• Smarter forms: Search boxes, text inputs, and other you-type-here fields get better controls for focusing, validating data, interacting with other page elements, sending through email, and more. It may not sound that sexy, but it could mean less annoyance as a user, and that’s always a good thing.
• Web application focus: Without breaking down the hundreds of nuts and bolts, it’s fair to say that HTML5 is aimed at making it easier to build wikis, drag-and-drop tools, discussion boards, real-time chat, search front-ends, and other modern web elements into any site, and have them work the same across browsers.

Where can I see HTML5 in action?

Ooh, good question!

From this page right here, with a soon-to-be-optional-maybe-Flash, you can check out these video demonstrations:

Google I/O 2009 Keynote, pt. 1

Firefox 3.5 Treats Videos Like Web Pages:

If you're running an up-to-date version of Firefox, Safari, Chrome, or Opera—or, basically, any regularly updated browser besides Internet Explorer—give these links a shot.

HTML5 Demos: Huge list of capability demonstrations, gracefully compiled by Remy Sharp.

Welcome to Safari: Written entirely with HTML5 and CSS 3.

YouTube in HTML5: No Flash required at all (for Chrome and Safari only, at this point).

Canvas drawing and audio

Neat interactive site that shows tweets from folks who are digging on HTML5, with streaming background audio and interactive data pieces.

Why is it being pushed? Don’t Flash and JavaScript already work?

Make no mistake, HTML5 has much love for JavaScript and its many relatives—in fact, the new markup standards make it easier for JavaScript-type code to point at, and pull from, pieces of each web page. As for Flash, and Silverlight, and other browser plug-ins, well, they are artificial solutions for a natural problem that HTML5 is trying to fix: Placing and managing interactive elements on a web page.

Besides being a major source of browser memory leaks and crashes, Flash and its brethren also doesn’t work on every platform, and has to be re-written and adapted for every new one. If you’re looking to make a clever application available to as many people as possible, a write once, use everywhere system is ideal. When more browsers and developers support HTML5's audio, video, and interaction standards, the idea of the web as the universal app store—for smartphones, for desktops and laptops, Windows, Mac, and Linux—gets closer to reality.

Apple tried to pitch this mentality to developers with their first iPhone release. That pronouncement was, to put it mildly, roundly mocked. Since then, webapps have become a lot more powerful and respectable as mainstays of productivity, and enthusiasm for the walled garden model of application markets has waned quite a bit in the minds of an increasing number of developers.

That’s not to say that HTML5-powered web applications, with their lack of serious local storage, hardware access, and serious offline capabilities, are going to make the iPhone App Store, the Android Market, or the desktop software we’re all used to obsolete. But look at how Chrome is positioning its Chrome OS for netbooks, which relies on HTML5 for offline storage: A secondary computer, in terms of hard-and-fast capabilities, but one you might use just as often, if not more, for the web-connected convenience.

How will HTML5 makes its way onto my web?

HTML5 isn’t a software release, or a web development law. It’s a voted-upon and group-edited standard, written in broad fashion to accommodate different styles of development and the different thinking among web browser makers.

Put more simply, it depends on what you’re using to surf. And what standards your web makers are following.

Firefox, Safari, and Chrome on the desktop support a few of the styles and features outlined in HTML5′s draft specifications, like offline storage, canvas drawing, and, most intriguingly, tags for audio and video that allow sites to stream multimedia files directly into a browser. Apple’s Safari for iPhone and the Android browser also support elements of HTML5, as does Opera Mobile. Want to know the nitty-gritty of where your browser stands on HTML5? Web geeks have put in the time to put it all in a Wikipedia chart.

Those audio and video tags aren't quite as liberating as they may seem. The writers of the HTML5 standard—Ian Hickson of Google and Davd Hyatt of Apple—wanted to define a single, standardized format for video streaming, but while their employers favor the H.264/MPEG-4 standard, open-source firms like Mozilla can’t abide by its patent “encumbrance,” and Opera and other web firms don’t particularly love the licensing costs. Their alternative is Theora, better known (relatively) as Ogg Theora. As it stands, HTML5 simply doesn’t require or suggest a single container format or codec to use, which could mean browser-by-browser differences down the road. Ars Technica has a good explainer on the HTML5 video codec debate.

Further reading

• HTML5 – Wikipedia: Because, seriously, where else would you start?
• HTML5: The editor’s draft of the whole darned standard.
• Dive Into HTML5: Programmer, and explainer of all things programming, details what’s different about HTML5 in an ongoing work.
• HTML5 Supersedes Web Forms 2.0: A good read on what changes with web forms in HTML5, which I’m not quite developer-y enough to concisely explain.
• The Future of HTML 5 by Bruce Lawson: Funny, digestible bigger-picture take on what HTML5 really means for the web.

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If you’re already savvy with HTML5, what differences or improvements would you point out that we left out? Tell us what HTML5 means to you, and your browser, in the comments.

Filed under: Things I found in the Interwebs, Video by Jeremiah | No Comments »
Source: Lifehacker