New Technology Reviews!.: Browsers

In Depth: What's new in Internet Explorer 10 Platform Preview 2

<img alt="" class="aligncenter" height="90" src="http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/3020/main200200.jpg" width="120" /> When IE head Dean Hachamovitch announced the first platform preview of IE 10 at the MIX conference in April he said further preview releases would be "between 8 and 12 weeks apart". Platform Preview 2 arrives after 11 weeks and adds features for web apps, including Drag-drop and File Reader; so you can drag objects around on a web page - look for a magnetic fridge poetry demo on the IE test drive site soon - or drag files into browser windows to upload them and have that happen in the background. File access is possibly the first feature from the HTML5 Labs previews to make it into IE. PP2 also gets the web workers spec. Rob Mauceri, the lead program manager on the IE team, calls that "a popular request from developers" (we count it as the most common request in the IE blog after Flebox, which arrived in PP1) and it's going to make a big difference to the performance of web apps – and maybe your battery life. With web workers, a web app can shift some code to a thread running in the background – so a game can be working out the next turn without slowing you down while you play (usually the JavaScript for that would slow down what you're doing). This should work particularly well in IE because of the way the Chakra JavaScript engine can split code across multiple cores (and Microsoft's latest figures say that as of March 2011, the average PC has 2.4 cores). Other browsers already support web workers, although Firefox 5 does not allow messages sent through a direct 'channel' between different pieces of background code which Microsoft says explains why PP2 does better than Firefox at its new Bellagio Fountain test drive demo. <img alt="IE10" class="aligncenter" height="161" src="http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/2152/bellagioff5242090.jpg" width="252" /> FASTER: IE10 gets Web workers after other browsers… <img alt="IE10" class="aligncenter" height="268" src="http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/929/bellagioff5142090.jpg" width="420" /> FIREFOX 5: …Microsoft says Firefox is slower at this test because it doesn't have message channels PP2 is the first browser to support three new performance APIs, including the Page Visibility setting that the Chrome team has been suggesting web sites use to check if a page is in a background or tab or a minimised window. "If a web app is pinging the server for data it could be doing a lot of work and increasing the cost of running that server, none of which is needed because the window isn't visible to the user," Mauceri explained. The IE team confirmed that IE10 PP2 is "the same HTML5 engine seen in the recent public "Windows 8" demos". One new feature that would explain the snappiness of the interface reflowing as you change the size of windows is Media Query Listeners; instead of the browser having to check periodically to see if you've changed the window size, changing the size sends a message to the server that it's changed and might need a new layout. IE10 PP2 is also the first browser to include CSS3 Positioned Floats (a spec Microsoft recently proposed to the W3C) and Rob Mauceri told us this is "part of the bigger picture of where reading is going online, towards a more print-like experience"; once you have a multi-column page flowing through a grid (all standards added in PP1), you want to be able to position a picture and have the columns flow around it – and that could be useful for web app layouts too. <img alt="IE10" class="aligncenter" height="172" src="http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/2241/bellagioff5442090.jpg" width="252" /> FULL HARDWARE: Using hardware acceleration PP2 shows more fireflies… <img alt="IE10" src="http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/4753/bellagioff5342090.jpg" width="420" /> CHROME: It might run on XP but Microsoft shows Chrome lagging on this demo There are also security improvements for embedding content like maps, ads or feeds form social networks in a web page using iframes; these will now run in a sandbox for extra security (again, something Microsoft tools us Firefox 5 doesn't support). PP2 also adds HTML5 forms and fields that will only accept specific types of information like email addresses or telephone numbers (something Joe Marini first mentioned to us as coming in the Windows Phone version of IE in the Mango update, suggesting that might be a version somewhere between IE9 and IE10). Mozilla evangelist Chris Blizzard recently told us Firefox is "almost as fast as IE9 and faster in some places" and Mike Belshie of the Chrome team showed background tabs in Chrome running faster than in IE9 at the Velocity conference this month (but using more battery to do it) but it looks like Microsoft is keeping up with performance improvements. The IE team isn't afraid to point at problems in other browsers either. <img alt="IE10" class="aligncenter" height="161" src="http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/5622/bellagioff5742090.jpg" width="252" /> COLOURFUL IE10: It's not enough to implement HTML5 if you get it wrong, says Microsoft A demo titled 'how stuff works' (showing an HTML5 Canvas app that works in Chrome and Firefox but displays the wrong colours) could almost be called 'how IE10 works better'. <img alt="IE10" class="aligncenter" height="161" src="http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/7771/bellagioff5642090.jpg" width="252" /> OFF-COLOUR FIREFOX: HTML5 is supposed to cope better with pages that aren't quite perfect – Firefox doesn't seem to manage that as well <img alt="IE10" class="aligncenter" height="161" src="http://img813.imageshack.us/img813/6679/bellagioff5542090.jpg" width="252" /> GREY GOOGLE: Even worse, Chrome gets no colours at all Although Mauceri diplomatically phrases it as "we've made a lot of progress as an industry but there is still work to do". --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In Depth: What's new in Internet Explorer 10 Platform Preview 2

When IE head Dean Hachamovitch announced the first platform preview of IE 10 at the MIX conference in April he said further preview releases...

Trimit reads, simplifies, and condenses web content for social networks

<img alt="" border="0" class="aligncenter" height="68" src="http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/9128/screenshot20110628at906.jpg" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 8px;" width="178" /> Trimit is a new app that promises to automatically summarize text. The idea is this: You enter a URL, trimit ingests the web page you pointed to, and then it spits back a condensed version at the length you specify. TUAW had a chance to take an early peek at this app, which is due to launch soon on the App Store. So how did it measure up? All in all, I was impressed by its looks, but not by its functionality. Trimit is visually lovely. But that loveliness has not been designed around a solid user experience. I did eventually get the hang of using the application, but given the number of steps it took to make things happen, I felt that the app would benefit from hiring a usability designer. Here are the steps you need to take for the most common use case: <ol> 	<li> In Safari, find a URL you want to work with and copy it to the system clipboard. The application does not offer a built-in web browser.</li> 	<li> Tap the link button (it's in the center of the screen, one icon over from the left, looks like a two-link chain).</li> 	<li> Paste the URL into the "import text source from url:" field.</li> 	<li> Tap Go and wait. Trimit extracts the content text from the page.</li> 	<li> Tap on settings. This is the leftmost icon in the middle of the screen. Once tapped, it becomes a keyboard icon. You'll need to use this after picking your destination.</li> 	<li> Select a destination, like Twitter (which is the top-left of the options). A teeny tiny checkmark appears next to the choice. I could figure out Twitter at a glance, and "f" is probably facebook, but the other options may leave you guessing. <div><img alt="" class="aligncenter" height="419" src="http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/4442/img07191309290704.png" style="width: 220px; height: 328px; margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid;" width="279" /></div></li> 	<li> After tapping on the destination, once again tap on it, but this time tap and hold until the iPhone vibrates. A pop-up appears. Choose whether you want to compress vowels and/or add abbreviations.</li> 	<li> Tap anywhere but on the destination again. (It took me forever to realize you could not dismiss the pop-up by re-tapping.)</li> 	<li> Tap on the keyboard icon to leave the destination settings mode.</li> 	<li> Shake the iPhone strongly. A gentle shake will not do. And *only* shake in the right mode, which seems to be compose mode or something like that, after destination picking. You'll be shaking your arms off otherwise. Honestly, I'm not entirely sure why some massive shakes would work sometimes and others wouldn't.</li> 	<li> Wait for trimit to compress your message.</li> 	<li> If needed, further edit the message by hand (so you can add a bit.ly'd source to the summary, for instance).</li> 	<li> Tap the send button at the top-right corner of the screen. It does not look like a button, just like an arrow, but it is a button. (Other on-screen buttons have shadow effects to show they are tappable buttons that invite interaction.)</li> 	<li> Select how you want to send the message, e.g., "Twitter it" or "Facebook it" (their phrasing). While these items do explain what each icon means, those same explanations should have been on the destination chooser and should follow the same order. They aren't and they don't. <div><img alt="" class="aligncenter" height="419" src="http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/8476/img0721.png" style="width: 220px; height: 329px; margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid;" width="279" /></div></li> 	<li> Enter credentials, authorize the application, and send.</li> 	<li> Tap the keyboard to re-enable the link button.</li> 	<li> Pull down to clear the previous text (otherwise the app will append new material, not replace it) and confirm your deletion.</li> </ol> I love the idea of trimit, but the app itself is a big ol' mess. With this high degree of summarizing, not being able to include a source link is incomprehensible. What's more, people seem to do a much better job of summarizing the cool web pages they just read, whether using a basic tweet test or allowing more lax summaries. For example, consider this Auntie TUAW post. Most people would tweet it like this: "iOS devices are no replacement for Wacom tablets http://aol.it/jx5AvB" 70 characters or so. How does trimit summarize the same material? I am looking for an iPad app that allows it 2 function as a graphics tablet, similar 2 something like a Wacom tablet. No source link, and very little context. Here's another go. Website io9 seemed to like Sunday's True Blood season premiere. What does trimit have to say about their write-up? Con: Sookie is pized that Jason had the audacity 2 sell her (her grandmother's) house, after she's been mizing for over a year. Honestly, do you really want to tweet that out? As if you had written it? I found trimit more concept than execution. I didn't like the "shake to summarize" -- don't build your apps around shake gestures, people -- I wasn't impressed by the summaries, and I found the user interaction crippling. Trimit is an app that should have soared. It is a great concept, but the app doesn't deliver on execution. Trimit will be available on App Store for US$0.99 (introductory price), moving to $4.99 once the initial sale concludes.

Trimit reads, simplifies, and condenses web content for social networks

Trimit is a new app that promises to automatically summarize text. The idea is this: You enter a URL, trimit ingests the web page you pointe...

Choosy 1.0.1 [UB]

<div class="image" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://pixhost.ws/pictures/1043177" target="_blank"><img id="external_img_1043177" src="http://pixhost.ws/avaxhome/e9/ea/000feae9_medium.jpeg" /></a></div> <div class="center" style="text-align: center;">Choosy 1.0.1 [UB]</div><div class="center" style="text-align: center;">mac osX | rs | 5.6 mb</div> Choosy... Forget the default browser, Choosy opens links in the right browser. When you click on a link Choosy will do the right thing, whether that's something simple (like using whatever browser is already running) or something complex (like prompting you to pick a browser, but only when you hold down the shift key and click on a link to google.com). <div class="center" style="text-align: center;">download:</div><div class="center" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://rapidshare.com/files/288293813/Choosy_1.0.1_UB_.zip" target="_blank">http://rapidshare.com/files/288293813/Choosy_1.0.1_UB_.zip</a></div>

Choosy 1.0.1 [UB]

Choosy 1.0.1 [UB] mac osX | rs | 5.6 mb Choosy... Forget the default browser, Choosy opens links in the right browser. When you click on a l...