New Aurora 8 works on memory, guts, and add-ons

Mozilla upgraded its developer's edition of Firefox today to version 8, including changing how forced third-party add-ons are handled and debuting a series of under-the-hood tweaks that continue a renewed assault on performance gains made in Firefox 7 Beta. Firefox 8 Aurora can be downloaded for Windows, Mac and Linux, and it marks the first release of Aurora for Android.

Firefox's new add-on confirmation window, debuting in Aurora 8.

(Credit: Mozilla)

Two add-on changes were revealed last week that represent, for the first time in possibly years, that Mozilla has forced changes on how third-party programs and Firefox interact. Basically, Mozilla is disabling the ability of a third-party program, like security suites, to forcibly install add-ons without user permission. The change comes in two parts: one automatically disables those add-ons, and when you start Firefox after the add-on has been installed for the first time, a notification window prompts users to either activate the add-on or ignore it.

The second feature kicks in the first time Firefox runs after upgrading to version 8. It goes through your add-ons and sorts them into two categories: ones you've installed, and add-ons from third-party programs. All active add-ons that you have installed will be kept active, while all third-party add-ons will be deactivated unless you choose to reactivate them. As an additional level of protection against unwanted deactivation, the feature will offer a confirmation list of the add-ons you want killed.

The company continues to develop its Firefox channels into separate beasts. Aurora 8 debuts a light-blue button color to help distinguish from the Nightly build, which has a deep blue button, and the stable build's orange button. More important than that aesthetic tweak are changes to provide better icons when dragging and reordering tabs, and a new choice in the Options menu to load tabs only on demand. This will let people who have many tabs open start the browser faster.

In Windows, the option is available in the General tab of the Options menu. On Macs, go to the Aurora menu, then Preferences, then General, and check "Don't load tabs until selected."

The new Master Password option in Firefox 8 Aurora for Android.

(Credit: Mozilla)

Under the hood, Mozilla continues to work on its flagship product. How the browser creates threads for HTML5 media elements has been changed, which will allow for a large number of media calls without killing the browser, and a new media APIs sees support to improve the overall performance of video and audio in the browser. Newer HTML5 standards will work in Aurora 8, including the crossorigin and insertAdjacentHTML attributes, as well as native right-click menus via HTML5. There's been a WebSocket update to the latest APIs, and a security tweak forces WebGL textures to use CORS.

Two notable changes have also landed in the new Firefox 8 Aurora for Android. The first creates the option of a master password, for one-password entry when browsing. This is available under the Privacy and Security section of the Preferences tab. You also can add Firefox bookmarks directly to your home screen in the new build.

While Mozilla continues to push ahead with its rapid release cycle, and face opposition from a vocal minority of fans that Google didn't encounter when it moved Chrome to rapid release, it is also beginning to look at changing how version numbers are counted. One blog post proposes ditching the current whole-number format and counting major versions released in a single year. For example, the fifth major release in a particular calendar year would be "Firefox 2011.5".

If you have a question or comment for Seth Rosenblatt, you can submit it here. However, because our editors and writers receive hundreds of requests, we cannot tell you when you may receive a response.

Seth peers into the deep, dark corners of software so that you don't have to. He has yet to suffer a single nightmare about OS/2.

Download.com editors cover the world of downloadable software and beyond.

Add this feed to your online news reader

View the original article here

Read More

‘The Smurfs’ Opens at No. 1 in PHL, Sequel in the Works

True-blue cuteness prevailed over apes, cowboys and aliens at the Philippine box office as Columbia Pictures’ live action and animated comedy “The Smurfs” opened at No.1 nationwide, hauling P29.25-M for the Aug. 10 to 14 opening weekend frame.

This was announced today by Victor R. Cabrera, managing director of Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., the film’s local distributor.

“Rise of the Planet of the Apes” came in at second place (P22.41-M), followed by “Cowboys & Aliens” at third (P18.14-M), and “Captain America: The First Avenger” at No. 4 (P9.14-M).

Delighted by the over-achieving success of “The Smurfs” both in the U.S. and overseas, studio Sony Pictures has already green-lighted a sequel, due in theatres in 2013.

Rolling out in 115 screens (including 63 digital 3D cinemas) in the country, “The Smurfs” posted its biggest gross at SM Mall of Asia with P1.67-M, followed by SM North EDSA (P1.59-M), Trinoma (P1.50-M), Power Plant (P1.24-M), SM Megamall (P 932,939), Greenhills (P 841,418), Newport (P 829,703), Alabang Town Center (P 775,042), Glorietta 4 (P 727,033) and Greenbelt 3 (P 722,255).

Also generating huge receipts were Robinsons Ermita (P 581,256), Eastwood (P 550,222), SM Cebu (P 513,924), Robinsons Galleria (P 493,299), SM San Lazaro (P 480,978), Shangri-la (P 475,721), SM Clark (P 470,900), SM Dasmarinas (P 455,950), Festival Mall (P 414,053) and Marquee Mall (P 393,150).

In the film, when the evil wizard Gargamel chases the Smurfs out of their village, through a magical portal, and into our world, they land in the middle of New York’s Central Park. Just three apples high and stuck in the Big Apple, the Smurfs must find a way to get back to their village before Gargamel tracks them down.

The film stars Neil Patrick Harris, Jayma Mays, Sofia Vergara, and Hank Azaria as Gargamel, with voices provided by Katy Perry and Anton Yelchin, among others.

Still playing across the Philippines, “The Smurfs” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

View the original article here

Read More

Google+ app works on iPad now ... kinda

Google+

As soon as the Google+ app became available for the iPhone, folks started pleading for iPad support to be added. Well, it's here now — along with iPod Touch optimization— but it might not be what everyone was hoping for.

The change came when the official Google+ app found in the Apple App Store became a universal app — meaning that it can now run on various iOS devices. At that point, iPod Touch and iPad users were finally granted access to what their iPhone-carrying friends have been enjoying for a while. The iPad users got the short end of the stick though: The iPad version of the Google+ app is basically just a scaled up version of the iPhone app — it doesn't feel optimized for the tablet's large display.

That pesky issue aside though, the Google+ app has definitely improved since we first saw it. A lot of the stability issues which initially plagued us have disappeared and the app appears to run more smoothly. 

Related stories:

Rosa Golijan writes about tech here and there. She's obsessed with Twitter and loves to be liked on Facebook. Oh, and she can be found on Google+, too

View the original article here

Read More