Microsoft will debut anti-tracking technology as part of Internet Explorer 9, which will use “Tracking Protection Lists” (TPL) to better allow surfers control over which sites can see where they’ve been browsing previously. According to the company’s IE blog, the system will be similar to a “do not call” register for phones, with users creating lists of trusted or untrusted sites in their TPLs that set out which sites can access cookies, images, HTML and other code.
“We designed this feature so that consumers have a clear, straight forward, opt-in mechanism to enable a higher degree of control over sharing their browsing information AND websites can provide easy to use lists to manage their privacy as well as experience full-featured sites.” IEBlog
Sites will be able to create their own TPLs with details on external URLs that are necessary for full functionality, and users will be able to optionally accept or deny those TPLs. Microsoft is positioning it as an opt-in system, partly in response to a recent report by the FTC which criticized industry self-regulation on privacy and suggested that it had “failed to provide adequate and meaningful protection.”
IE9 is due for release early in 2011, and Microsoft has given examples of the sort of coding required to put together TPLs so that websites can get up to speed in advance. Whether users will be willing to take a more active role in their privacy online remains to be seen, however.
Amazon is expected to demo its latest version of Kindle for the Web today, opening up the online ebook preview system to full texts available in the browser. According to ComputerWorld, the cloud-based ereading system is Amazon’s response to Google’s eBookstore, which has launched complete with an online ereader app.
Amazon’s Kindle for the Web launched in late September, offering sample content from Kindle ebooks that could then be purchased and sent to either a hardware Kindle ereader or one of the company’s apps for iPhone, iPad, Android or other platforms. At the time, the retailer was positioning the samples as a way of earning referral fees; users could embed the Amazon widget onto their site and earn click-through on any subsequent sale. It’s unclear when the full ereader version will be open for business, however.
Opera has done a pretty commendable job of keeping its latest, greatest wares up to date on most of the major mobile platforms, and here’s another checkbox they can tick: Opera Mobile 10.1 has now gone final for Symbian. Of course, this isn’t to be confused with the lighter-weight Opera Mini product that went into beta for Symbian last month — this is the full package that’s capable of operating without a proxy. What’s new? Well, the company claims that this version operates some nine times faster than 10.0 did in JavaScript tests thanks to a refreshed JIT compiler, and support for location services is definitely a welcome addition. It’s available now for S60 3rd Edition, 5th Edition, and Symbian^3; follow the break for the full press release.
Opera has done a pretty commendable job of keeping its latest, greatest wares up to date on most of the major mobile platforms, and here’s another checkbox they can tick: Opera Mobile 10.1 has now gone final for Symbian. Of course, this isn’t to be confused with the lighter-weight Opera Mini product that went into beta for Symbian last month — this is the full package that’s capable of operating without a proxy. What’s new? Well, the company claims that this version operates some nine times faster than 10.0 did in JavaScript tests thanks to a refreshed JIT compiler, and support for location services is definitely a welcome addition. It’s available now for S60 3rd Edition, 5th Edition, and Symbian^3; follow the break for the full press release.
Opera has announced some good news for Nokia Symbian Series 60 smartphone users that are looking for a new browser. Opera 10.1 for the device has now launched. The new browser brings with it some really nice updates for the user to enjoy and make their browsing experience better.
Those new updates include significantly faster JavaScript performance for speedy browsing. The new browser is also marking the debut of the Carakan JavaScript engine, the same engine that drives the Opera desktop browser. The latest version of the browser claims to be nine times faster than Opera Mobile 10.1 in SunSpider JavaScript testing.
The browser also brings support for Geolocation so maps and travel apps will know where you are to provide relevant content for your needs. The 10.1 version of Opera Mobile browser can be downloaded now for Symbian^3, S60 3rd and 5th editions.
Opera has pushed out the first beta of Opera 11, the latest iteration of its browser and the first to support tab stacking. Billed as a less cluttered and more intuitive way to deal with tabs than the regular side-by-side layout, groups can be organized by site or by theme, and new stacks created by simply dropping one tab onto another (a little like how iOS folders work). Meanwhile Opera 11 also gets extension support, mouse gestures and more.
Video demo after the cut
Opera claims to be seeing 10-20 new extensions added each day; you can browse the catalog here. As you’d expect, it’s billed as faster and more efficient than Opera 10, too, being a 30-percent smaller install and 15- to 20-percent faster on the regular benchmarks than its predecessor. Plug-ins can now be set to load on demand, rather than being constantly active, which is also good for up to a 30-percent performance boost.
Automatic extensions updates, new security indicator badges and a streamlined address bar round out the main changes, along with a new bookmarks bar. It’s a free download from here, and is available in Windows, Mac and Linux versions.
Press Release:
Tabs go to 11 First beta of Opera 11 showcases tab stacking
Oslo, Norway – November 23, 2010 – Tabbed browsing, one of the essential features in all browsers, has evolved yet again thanks to its long-time pioneer. Opera 11 beta introduces tab stacking, a better way to organize your open tabs. Traditionally, tabs were opened side-by-side, but now people using Opera can stack their tabs, grouping them by site or by theme. Tab stacking reduces clutter and makes it easier to identify and work with sets of open tabs.
It is easy to stack tabs. Simply drag one tab on top of another. Hovering the mouse over a tab will cause the stack to expand in a visual preview. Clicking the arrow icon expands the current stack across the tab bar. This brief video showcases tab stacking in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hqSGGk1YTI.
“Tabs are the most popular feature in browsers today,” said Jan Standal, VP of Desktop Products, Opera. “Because so many of us wrestle with tens or even hundreds of tabs, we wanted to find a better way to manage them. So, whether you are tracking positive reviews of your new album or researching the proper dimensions of Stonehenge, stacking your tabs is an intuitive way to organize and group your open webpages.”
Extensions go to 11
Opera 11 also introduces extensions, browser add-ons that enhance the capabilities of Opera. In the three weeks since extensions debuted in the alpha release of Opera 11, more than 500,000 extensions have been downloaded. Fueling the growth in available extensions, developers submit between 10 and 20 new extensions each day. The full extension catalog is available here: https://addons.labs.opera.com/.
Thanks to a new developer mode in Opera 11 beta, extensions are even easier to make. Developers can use the developer mode to launch, test and package extensions quickly.
Mouse gestures go to 11
Mouse gestures provide a simple and effective way to control Opera with a few simple mouse movements. Since their introduction in Opera 5, mouse gestures have proven to be one of the most loved Opera features. In Opera 11, a new visual interface highlights mouse paths and helps guide the discovery, use and mastery of these powerful shortcuts. The full list of mouse gestures is available here: http://www.opera.com/browser/tutorials/gestures/.
But wait! There is more:
- The address field now hides unnecessary information and puts the security status of each page front and center. Now, badges explain the security state of the site, giving consumers clear information about the sites they visit.
- Plug-ins can be set to load on-demand. This can give as much as 30 percent performance improvement.
- Extensions and Opera Unite applications are updated automatically through Opera’s update mechanism.
- Even more work has been done to boost browsing speed, particularly for Linux. Opera 11 for Linux is 15 to 20 percent faster on common benchmarks than Opera 10.63.
- Bookmarks are just a click away thanks to a new bookmarks bar that replaces Opera’s personal bar.
- Opera 11 is 30 percent smaller than Opera 10.63, despite including new features.
Availability
Download Opera 11 beta (English only) from http://www.opera.com/browser/next. Opera runs on Windows, Mac and Linux computers.
Resources
Opera 11 beta press kit: http://www.opera.com/media/presskit/Opera11beta.zip
Timeline of tabbed browsing in Opera: http://www.opera.com/bitmaps/press/resources/campaign/opera11beta/tabs_timeline.gif
No drummers were harmed in the making of this browser.
About Opera Software ASA
Opera Software ASA has redefined web browsing for PCs, mobile phones and other networked devices. Opera’s cross-platform web-browser technology is renowned for its performance, standards compliance and small size, while giving users a faster, safer and more dynamic online experience. Opera Software is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with offices around the world. The company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol OPERA. Learn more about Opera at http://www.opera.com/.
It’s no secret that RIM doesn’t exactly agree with Steve Jobs’ characterization of the company’s prospects, and Jim Balsillie has some more to say on the Apple vs. RIM front, particularly where it comes to apps. It’s hard to imagine RIM catching up with Apple’s 300,000+ apps, but Jim doesn’t think that’s the point: “We believe that you can bring the mobile to the Web but you don’t need to go through some kind of control point of an SDK, and that’s the core part of our message.” The statement was made at the Web 2.0 Summit a couple days ago, and on further prompting Jim made it clear he rejects Apple’s “appification” of the web. RIM’s strategy is obviously riding on highly portable Adobe AIR apps and Flash support in the browser (much like Microsoft’s Silverlight app strategy for Windows Phone 7), and we look forward to seeing just how well that playbook plays out in the PlayBook. Of course, “there’s not an app for that, but our browser is fully capable of performing that functionality” isn’t quite so catchy…
Unusual testing results have led to speculation that Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 9 engineers are building the browser to return unusually high benchmark results, unwarranted by overall performance. Mozilla coder Rob Sayre noticed that IE9 consistently managed a score at least 10x faster than every other browser on SunSpider’s math-cordic test; he tweaked a few variations into the test (which should all have roughly the same results), and found that the performance boon only applied in the default SunSpider benchmarking.
In fact, where IE9 managed the standard math-cordic test in an impressive 1.0ms, when the tweaked versions were introduced it delivered scores around 20x slower. Similar tweaks to Chrome and Opera produced consistent results, as was expected.
Digitizor suggests that Microsoft has either optimized IE9 to return strong SunSpider results – which they say is “cheating” – or that the company’s engineers have been focusing too greatly on the benchmarking test and have over-optimized the JavaScript engine to suit its requirements. Alternatively, it could be a legitimate bug, and indeed Sayre has filed a bug form on Microsoft Connect.
Internet Explorer not stirring your cup of Windows Phone 7 tea correctly? Well, you now have an alternative in the form of a new browser that’s arrived in the Marketplace: Browser+. It does seem to have been built on IE code rather than its own framework, so don’t get your hopes up for Chrome to Phone on WP7 any time soon. Anyhow, the new app’s been given a test drive by a couple of sites, who note it integrates a view of your current tabs and a Google search box right into the general web view, providing a slightly more accessible interface than the default option, while also throwing in a private surfing mode for the paranoid among us. A few crashes and bugs have been spotted in Browser+ so far, but hey, it’s cheap and it at least gives us hope for a less monotheistic browsing experience. See it in video action after the break.
With the BlackBerry PlayBook not expected in stores until sometime in early 2011, you can imagine our ears will prick up when RIM offers a head-to-head comparison between their 7-inch slate and Apple’s iPad. This particular video – which you can see after the cut – focuses on web abilities, more specifically browser speed, Adobe Flash support and HTML5 performance.
Video demo after the cut
Now, obviously this is RIM’s demo, but on the face of it the PlayBook is doing a far slicker job when it comes to rendering webpages. It also seems capable of decent Flash playback, which some slates struggle with and, it has to be said, has been a contentious addition to certain tablets.
Performance goes a long way to making up for any usability loss in going from a 10-inch to a 7-inch display, and we imagine the experience will only get better as RIM polish the PlayBook’s firmware closer to launch. Still, we’ll save final judgement until we can grab one ourselves.
Microsoft will debut anti-tracking technology as part of Internet Explorer 9, which will use “Tracking Protection Lists” (TPL) to better allow surfers control over which sites can see where they’ve been browsing previously. According to the company’s IE blog, the system will be similar to a “do not call” register for phones, with users creating lists of trusted or untrusted sites in their TPLs that set out which sites can access cookies, images, HTML and other code.
Unusual testing results have led to speculation that Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 9 engineers are building the browser to return unusually high benchmark results, unwarranted by overall performance. Mozilla coder 
