IE9 and Firefox 4 post top marks in Web browser power use comparison

Over on the Internet Explorer Blog, Microsoft has posted results from an extensive comparison of the top five Web browsers. The goal: to determine whether Internet Explorer 9, Firefox 4, Chrome 10, Safari 5, or Opera 11 is able to squeeze the most life out of your laptop's battery.

A baseline was determined with test systems sitting idle, and then browsers were pointed at about:blank, a news site, the HTML5 Galactic demo, and the IE9 fish tank demo. Perhaps unsurprisingly, IE9 came out on top -- though Firefox 4 was a very close second on nearly every test. As you can see, the other browsers didn't necessarily fare quite as well, with Google Chrome, Safari, and Opera all posting significantly worse scores. In Opera 11's case, a laptop battery would last over one hour more with Internet Explorer 9 installed.


But what we'd really like to know is where did Microsoft find the dilithium crystals required to run a Galactic Total Power Consumption test...

IE9 and Firefox 4 post top marks in Web browser power use comparison originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 30 Mar 2011 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/30/ie9-and-firefox-4-post-top-marks-in-pc-power-use-comparison/

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Why Facebook Is Missing From Apple?s New Desktop OS

Facebook is the dominant player in social media, but its direct integration is nowhere to be found in Apple's desktop and mobile operating systems. It's a glaring omission considering Facebook updates are a simple drop-down menu choice in Android and Windows Phone.

Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/02/apple-osx-facebook-twitter/

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Color vulnerable to simple GPS hack, lets you spy on anyone, anywhere

Color, the $41-million-in-funding location-oriented photo sharing startup, is susceptible to simple GPS spoofing. With nothing more than a jailbroken iPad or iPhone, you can use FakeLocation to trick Color into thinking you're somewhere else. Within seconds you can be browsing photos that were snapped thousands of miles away. With a little digging, you can pore through photos not intended for your eyes.

Of course, such a hack isn't illegal as such -- every photo you take with Color is public. With FakeLocation you are simply circumventing Color's very limited location-oriented security mechanism. It does undermine Color's usefulness (and uniqueness), though -- if nefarious types can sit in their bedroom or basement and eavesdrop on classy dinner parties and wild night club soirees, people might be less inclined to share personal photos with those around them.

Fortunately, both for Color and its users, this is an easy security hole to plug -- at least in the short term. The app (or server-side) code simply checks to see if the user has 'teleported' an impossibly large distance, without any intermediate steps in between. In the long term, though, Color's users must be aware that its social graph is completely public. Color's users must realize that every photo they upload is visible by anyone, from any place.

After the break, just to elucidate a little on Color's actual business model and ultimate intention, we have two amazing quotes from Bill Nguyen, Color's founder.

Continue reading Color vulnerable to simple GPS hack, lets you spy on anyone, anywhere

Color vulnerable to simple GPS hack, lets you spy on anyone, anywhere originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 29 Mar 2011 05:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/29/color-vulnerable-to-simple-gps-hack-lets-you-spy-on-anyone-any/

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Electric Cigarette Explodes in a Man's Face [Wtf]

A Florida man is in the hospital after the battery in his electric cigarette caught fire and exploded, knocking out all of his teeth and part of his tongue. We already knew that electric cigarettes weren't good for your health, but that's ridiculous. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/JYnh6kLviaY/electric-cigarette-explodes-in-a-mans-face

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Windows 8 getting a built-in PDF reader, Metro-style

For what seems like an eternity, Download Squad readers have reacted to news of security exploits targeting Adobe Reader with a common sentiment: why doesn't Microsoft build its own secure PDF reader into Windows? Apparently the Windows 8 team agrees, and they're working away at an application called Modern Reader which is exactly that.

From the handful of screenshots Paul Thurrott has shared, it's clear that Modern Reader has been built with Metro in mind. You can see the Reader back button in the top-left corner of the yellow image and the minimal page navigation bar on the right. We've posted some larger images we managed to scrape from Google's cache after the break.

Thurrott also mentions that Modern Reader is the first program spotted which is built using AppX -- a packaging technology that may allow developers to roll a single build to both Windows 8 desktops and Windows Phone 8 mobile devices.

Continue reading Windows 8 getting a built-in PDF reader, Metro-style

Windows 8 getting a built-in PDF reader, Metro-style originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/04/windows-8-getting-a-built-in-pdf-reader-finally/

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Speedtest.net overhauled with new look, new features

speedtest
Speedtest.net is pretty much the go-to site for quickly figuring out how fast (or slow) your connection really is and comparing the numbers your ISP boasts with what it actually delivers. And now it's got a new coat of paint and a couple of neat features. In brief:
  • New UI: The map widget is much improved; it actually looks like a map now, and it's easy to see where you are.
  • Smart server selection: If there are several test servers nearby, Speedtest will now ping each to see which has the least latency and use that for the test. You can still specify servers manually, too.
  • User accounts: You can sign up for a free account and aggregate results from several computers/connections.
  • Speed Wave: This new feature lets you add your test results to the results of many other users, and get a nice composite view.
All in all, you get some nice, new functionality and a snazzier interface to boot. Nice!

Speedtest.net overhauled with new look, new features originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 07 Mar 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/07/speedtest-net-overhauled-with-new-look-new-features/

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Clik for iPhone and Android: Magically Control Any Web Browser from Your Phone [Apps]

So you have a YouTube video on your phone but you want to watch it on a bigger screen. Do you open a web browser and find that video again? Guh. That would take too long. Instead, use Clik, an app that magically pushes YouTube videos from your phone on to any screen with a web browser. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/DOlXEMYV_7o/clik-for-iphone-and-android-magically-control-any-web-browser-from-your-phone

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Jetbus is a retro-tastic physics game, with a bus

jetbus
Once upon a time, there used to be a DOS game with a caveman and a human powered helicopter. The caveman would shuttle around the screen, madly trying to get customers to where they wanted to go.

Jetbus is not that game, but it's obviously inspired by it. You're driving a yellow school bus which has jets. I guess the jet engine takes quite a bit of space inside the bus, because you can only pick up one person at a time.

There are several doors on the screen, each with its own number. As you pick up a person, the status bar at the bottom of the screen shows you which number door you have to take them to.

You must fly your bus carefully, because if it gets bumped around too much, you lose. You earn money on each level, and can visit the garage to buy better jets and damping, power-ups, or even a whole new vehicle.

So while this game isn't made as well as the original that inspired it, it does provide a few minutes of fun. And now, which one of you guys remembers the original and feels like pointing to it in the comments?

Jetbus is a retro-tastic physics game, with a bus originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/15/jetbus-is-a-retro-tastic-physics-game-with-a-bus/

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VMware adds Mozy to its cloud and virtualization empire

mozy vmware
Mozy is one of the most popular cloud backup services around, with more than one million users storing around 70 petabytes of data. Its popularity apparently put it on the acquisition radar of VMware -- which has now made Mozy part of its virtualization empire.

VMware's official blog post makes it clear that the company wasn't so much interested in Mozy as a consumer offering. Rather, it's the inner workings of Mozy which piqued VMware's curiosity. CTO Steve Herrod says, "Over the past 5 years, Mozy has built one of the best examples of a globally distributed, large-scale cloud offering." He adds that the move will allow VMware to "further ramp our own cloud-related learning and accelerate new IP, scale, and capabilities" of its existing offerings.

Existing Mozy customers don't need to worry, of course. VMware has pledged to continue running Mozy's service without interruption.

VMware adds Mozy to its cloud and virtualization empire originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/05/vmware-takes-over-operation-of-mozy/

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