Video Opera Fingertouch

Opera labs showcased a technology where its browser zooms in on mobile devices. User are likely to make less false decision with this improved input method.

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Version jump from Firefox 3.1 to Firefox 3.5

German news source Golem.de reports (German) that the next release of Firefox might be numbered Firefox 3.5. They cite the Firefox3.1 StatusMeetings on 2009-03-04.

Need to do some testing to find any weirdness with 3.1 -> 3.5 version change.

The reason for the jump is the amount of changes. The next pre-release (beta) of Firefox 3.1 Beta 3 is scheduled for 12th of March 2009.

Upgrade to Opera 9.64

A minor upgrade of the Opera browser for the desktop got released this week which addresses several security issues and few minor improvements. If you are an user of Opera you should consider updating your release to Opera 9.64.

Starting with this release, Opera on Windows supports the security measures Data Execution Prevention (DEP) (available in Windows XP SP2 and newer) and Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR) (available in Vista and newer). These security measures are a kind of second line of defence once an application runs into a serious fault, which would normally cause it to crash sooner or later.

Quote: Opera Watch in Opera 9.64 update

Opera Mini Simulator

If you do development for mobile sites or just want to know what Opera Mini looks and feels like before you install it on your mobile device you might to check out the Opera Mini Simulator.

The simulator is a live demo of Opera Mini that functions like it would when installed on a handset. You need to have a java plugin installed in your browser to run it. Once you do it does an amazing job to test mobile surfing behavior.

Rumors of Opera Turbo for end-users

Opera watch reports that ‘Opera Turbo’ is being considered for non-business users. Opera Turbo reduces bandwith usage and is only available for business user so far. The blog post also covers some interesting facts on the financial situation of Opera Software cited from Haavard’s “State of the Opera: Q4 2008”.

Yahoo! will deliver Opera Mini

Opera Software and Yahoo!® announced a partnership to bring the Opera Mini mobile Web browser and the full Internet to more mobile phone users around the world. Yahoo! will begin distributing Opera Mini via Yahoo! Mobile and also as a standalone download from Yahoo!’s mobile Web sites in the near future. The Opera Mini client will be available free of charge.

As the most popular mobile browser on the planet, Opera Mini will also be available to users of Yahoo! Mobile. Yahoo! Mobile with Opera Mini is easily accessible to end-users, operators and manufacturers and provides a cost-effective means of getting the Internet on your phone. Together, Yahoo! and Opera will bring the full Web experience to your phone, similar to how you know it from your desktop computer.

CEO Jon von Tetzchner of Opera Software is quoted in the press release Yahoo! Mobile to take flight with Opera Mini mobile Web browser.

BOLT Browser – a new mobile browser

What is BOLT?

BOLT is a fast mobile browser that offers an uncompromised browsing experience on even entry-level mobile phones. It is compatible with virtually any handset with Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP) 2.0 support. In non-geekspeak, this means “it works on lots of phones, even basic ones.”

Rather than offering a simplified, mini version of the Internet, BOLT provides users with an efficient, feature-rich way to enjoy full PC-style Web pages and rich media applications on all levels of mobile devices.

Source: Bolt FAQ

UNCOMPROMISED MOBILE BROWSING

• Full PC-style browsing on all types of mobile phones
• Web content is never reformatted, repurposed or removed

LIGHTNING FAST

• Loads pages faster than competing mobile browsers
• Patented navigation and display technologies get you where you’re going faster

SUPER EFFICIENT

• 23:1 over the air data reduction speeds delivery of pages to your phone
• Consumes 1/3 of the battery power of other mobile browsers

You can download the Bolt Browser for free over at BoltBrowser.com. You need an email to start the download.

User Agent Switcher as Mozilla Firefox Addon

If you do web development or cannot access a page because it asks for a certain user agent you might want to test how a site reacts to a user agent string other than which your default browser sends a little add-on called User Agent Switcher comes in handy.

If you are using Mozilla’s Firefox as a user agent most likely you are almost aware of its capability to add features through its add-ons. One of the available add-ons is the User Agent Switcher by Chris Pederick. With the add-on which is available for free (donations are welcome!) you can switch the identifier your browser sends on the fly. That way you can pretend you are surfing a site with a mobile user agent if you are still using your regular desktop browser.

Chrome browser for Mac OS X and Linux

Google productmanager Brian Rakowski confirms rumors that Google is actively developing a Chrome port to Mac OS X and the Gnu/Linux OS. Google switched to a self-developed HTTP-library for Chrome 2.0 to be independent from Windows and one its system libraries which was used before.