Mozilla’s recent product roadmap has dated the release of Firefox 4.0, the next major update of the popular web browser, for October - November 2010. The version will offer a new user interface and multi-touch gesture support. Of course before Firefox 4.0 is released, there will be many upgrades set to be released of the browser, such as Firefox 3.6 and Firefox 3.7.
The releases made before Firefox 4.0 will improve Javascript handling performance, improved “form completion tools”, pageload enhancements and more. This report however is currently classed only as a draft, and therefore it could change between now and the time that Firefox 4.0, or any of the in-between versions are released.
One thing that is expected with Firefox 4.0 however, is for every individual tab open in the browser window to have its own separate process, like they do in Google Chrome. This reduces the risks of losing a browser session when you have multiple tabs open.
Result for: bs
In September of 2007, the advertisement supported free music download site SpiralFrog debuted with 700,000 songs available , including the entire Universal catalog. In June of 2008, the service added more music, this time from the EMI catalog, putting available tracks at over 2 million.
Today, that service has shut down, leaving all users who purchased any music with 60 days to play their DRM-crippled tunes before they disappear.
SpiralFrog was once dubbed a possible “iTunes Killer,” but financial issues and an executive shakeup shook many consumer’s confidence in the company.
At the time, the service was one of very few that allowed users to listen to music for free but since then much bigger companies have made similar services available, including MySpace, Last.fm from CBS and imeem. Also notably, the behemoth video sharing site YouTube shows music videos, for free, from three of the Big 4 labels.
Result for: bs
Beginning next week, AT&T will begin selling the popular iPhone 3G smartphone without contract, but at a large premium.
The 8GB model will sell for $599 USD and the 16GB version will sell for $699 USD. Currently, with a two-year new contract or upgrade, the phone costs $199 and $299 respectively.
Only current AT&T customers can purchase the no-contract iPhone however, leaving out other GSM users who were looking to pick up the phone. Another potential problem is that even if users purchase the phone to use with T-Mobile, they will only get voice and EDGE service, not the faster 3G data plan.
Although the unsubsidized price may seem high, it is about equal to what the original iPhone sold for without contract, and is in line with other non-subsidized smartphones from Sony, Nokia and RIM.
