Desktop software

Recent Microsoft and Intel primers on Internet Explorer 9's accelerated graphics point to snappier Web browsing.

Microsoft will launch the beta of the upcoming Internet Explorer browser on Wednesday at an event in San Francisco as competition from Chrome, Firefox, and Safari has spurred Redmond to beef up its graphics acceleration, among other improvements. And Intel is slated to introduce its Sandy Bridge chip architecture, with features enhanced graphics silicon, at the Intel Developer Forum, which begins on Monday.

In a blog posted on Friday, Microsoft spelled out what it says are the merits of "full vs. partial acceleration," while Intel, in a new video, is claiming IE9 acceleration on its Core i series of chips--which will include new Sandy Bridge processors.

Graphics chip-based acceleration (Microsoft calls it "hardware acceleration") shifts some tasks from the main processor (CPU) to the graphics processor (GPU). Mainstream GPUs pack in dozens or even hundreds of processing cores. While each GPU core delivers a tiny fraction of the processing power of a CPU core, combined, they can tackle certain tasks much more quickly and efficiently than a CPU. Intel, for its part, has improved the built-in graphics on its Core i series of processors and will integrate its fastest graphics function yet onto the CPU in its upcoming Sandy Bridge processor.

In the Microsoft blog, Ted Johnson, program manager lead for Web graphics at Microsoft, explained the merits of a "fully-hardware accelerated display pipeline that runs from their markup to the screen."

In March, Johnson explains, Microsoft released the first IE9 Platform Preview with GPU-powered HTML5 turned on by default, enabling hardware acceleration on "everything on every Web page" including text, images, backgrounds, borders, SVG (scalable vector graphics) content, and HTML5 video and audio.… Read more

On Wednesday, when the world's dominant search company launched the Google Instant search-as-you-type service, a technically savvy section of Web users were left out: those who prefer the Opera browser.

But they won't be for long, Google said Thursday. "We hope to support Opera shortly after launch," the company said in a statement.

Google Instant works on newer versions of the four most widely used browsers: Google's Chrome version 5 and later, Firefox version 3 and later, Safari for Mac version 5, and Internet Explorer 8, the company said. "We encourage people to upgrade … Read more

Computer games have played an important role in advancing the state of the art for computing, and now Mozilla hopes to draw upon gaming to advance browser application development.

The Firefox backer launched the new Mozilla Labs Gaming project Tuesday with the goal of encouraging programmers to use a host of new browser and Web technologies.

"Modern Open Web technologies introduced a complete stack of technologies such as Open Video, audio, WebGL, touch events, device orientation, geolocation, and fast JavaScript engines which make it possible to build complex (and not so complex) games on the Web. With these technologies being delivered through modern browsers today, the time is ripe for pushing the platform," said Pascal Finette, the Mozilla Labs "catalyst" whose job is to "make things happen."

As part of the effort, Mozilla also announced the Game_On 2010 browser-game contest that will start in September.

The work dovetails with a broad industry transition: Browsers are growing from a vessel for containing Web pages into a foundation for applications. Even Microsoft, for years a laggard in the browser realm and still a powerhouse with PC applications, has gotten Web app religion with its coming Internet Explorer 9, due to launch next week in beta form. … Read more

Mozilla released two new versions of its browser on Tuesday, Firefox 3.6.9 and Firefox 3.5.12, to close 10 critical security vulnerabilities in each and to help Web site operators block a risk called clickjacking. Firefox 3.6.9 is also available from CNET Download.com for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Critical vulnerabilities can let a remote attacker run arbitrary code on a computer. With Web browsers becoming both more important and more powerful, browser makers must constantly watch for new attack possibilities.

Firefox 3.6 also gets a new general approach to cut down browsing risks: … Read more

The fifth Firefox 4 beta makes some small feature changes to the in-development browser, bringing a new audio API to the table, revamping its menu, and turning on hardware acceleration by default. Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux, Firefox 4 beta 5 continues Mozilla's new beta release schedule, marked by more frequent releases and smaller feature revisions per update.

The most visual change to the beta is the redone menu in the Windows version, which returns a lot of functionality that had been missing from the menu in previous betas. The single-column menu has been replaced with a two-tiered, … Read more

It's been two years since the first public version of Chrome appeared, but in some ways, Google's browser remains a novelty.

On Thursday, Google released the sixth stable version of Chrome (Windows | Mac | Linux), though only the second for Mac OS and Linux users.

In others' hands, it would be called Chrome 6, but Google sees things differently.

To the company, a version number is a passing milestone on an indefinitely long road to improvement. By default, the browser is updated behind the scenes and automatically, downloading new versions and installing them after a browser restart. It sees the practice as similar to how Web applications are updated constantly, usually without the user being involved and often without even being told.

This update philosophy is one of several differences that has set Chrome apart since Google inadvertently scooped its own announcement by prematurely issuing comic books describing Chrome just before its launch.

Google has attracted millions of allies. It's grown steadily to account for 7.5 percent of global browser usage, according to Net Applications' most recent statistics.

Besides numberless versions, another departure from prevailing custom was Google's idea that the browser should be as minimal a frame as possible around the content or application it's delivering. Chrome's minimal menu buttons--shrunk from two to one by the new version--its top-mounted tabs, and its lack of real estate for a status bar or search box reflect that philosophy. Programmers working on Mozilla's Firefox 4 and Microsoft's Internet Explorer 9, the new versions of the world's most-used browsers, have adopted similar goals.

Another departure was Chrome's focus on performance in processing Web-based JavaScript programs, loading pages, and other matters. Performance was important to other browsers, but Chrome's initial near-instant launch and notable JavaScript speed that concept at the top of every browser's agenda and raised Web developers' expectations of what they could tackle. … Read more

Google's "canary-in-the-mineshaft" version of its Chrome browser gained a new "labs" option for users to explore on Wednesday. Users of Chrome Canary, named to indicate that it's an even rougher version of Chrome than the developer's build, can now activate rougher, in-progress features by typing "about:labs" into the location bar. About:labs was first revealed last week.

The first feature to land in the lab is Side Tabs. To activate it, go to about:labs and click the Enable button under Side Tab. Restart Chrome Canary and when you right-click … Read more

Internet Explorer's growth slowed once again, and Chrome shook off its slump in August, new statistics show.

Although Microsoft made progress in its goal to exterminate IE6 in favor of IE8's more modern and secure design, Internet Explorer overall slipped from 60.7 percent to 60.4 percent of global usage, as measured by Net Applications.

Chrome had slipped for the first time in its history, sinking to 7.2 percent in July, but returned to growth with 7.5 percent of August usage, Net Applications said.

Mozilla's Firefox market share was essentially flat, with 22.9 … Read more

Chrome programmers have begun experimental work to endow Google's browser with a full-screen tab-management interface similar to the Panorama feature Mozilla is adding to Firefox.

As browsers have expanded to accommodate ever larger amounts of computing tasks, separating different tasks into different tabs across the top of the browser window, managing them has become more onerous. A list of five or six tabs isn't so bad, but when there are 20 or 40, it's a different story. Mozilla's Panorama, nee Tab Candy, provides a full-screen view of all a browser window's tabs, grouped how the … Read more