Category: Computers, Science & Technology

Our ol’ buddy By Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols seems to think so!

Amid abandonment and failures, ?is Firefox the walking dead?

ZDNet – By: By Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols – “Once upon a time I was a big Firefox fan.

Firefox 1.0 was a world better than the decrepit Internet Explorer 6 in 2005. A decade later it’s a different story. Mozilla and Firefox are the zombies, and IE — alongside its Windows 10 browser cousin Edge, are alive and well.

How did Firefox go from being a popular, open-source web browser to the unpopular program it is today? It happened a little something like this.

It’s been getting slower and klutzier release after release. I run all the major browsers and Firefox can’t compete. I like Google Chrome the best today, but I think it could stand some improvement and competition.

Unfortunately, Firefox is no longer a competitor.

This isn’t just my opinion. The federal government’s Digital Analytics Program (DAP), shows that Firefox has dropped in popularity from 11 percent in March to 9.7 percent in December. That’s far behind, Chrome, with shy of 42 percent, and all varieties of IE with 22.2 percent.

In short, fewer and fewer people like Firefox.

It’s not simply that Firefox is slow and prone to bugs. Mozilla, Firefox’s parent organization, seems to be falling apart at the seams.

I date Mozilla’s collapse to Brendan Eich, Mozilla co-founder and creator of JavaScript, being forced out as CEO in June 2014. Nine days after being named CEO, Eich went from Mozilla’s savior to a pariah. Eich’s donation of $1,000 to the campaign supporting California’s anti-gay-marriage Proposition 8 in 2008 led to a bloody internal fight. Eich eventually backpedaled from his position, but it was too little, too late.

Since then Mozilla has drifted both with its goals and its technology. Firefox, the web browser, became an after-thought. Mozilla’s leadership put its focus on Firefox OS, its smartphone operating system rival to Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android.

It failed — badly.

By early December, the word was out. Mozilla was giving up on Firefox OS. Ari Jaaksi, Mozilla’s senior vice president of connected devices, explained (perhaps as he was packing his desk): “Because we were not able to deliver the best user experience possible, we decided to stop offering Firefox OS smartphones through carrier channels.”

Oh, in theory, Firefox OS will live on as Internet of Things (IoT), but that won’t save Mozilla’s bacon.

Neither will Thunderbird, a once popular e-mail client. Mozilla is trying, for the second time, to kill off Thunderbird. While web-based e-mail is now much more popular than clients, many old-time Mozilla fans aren’t happy with Mozilla booting Thunderbird to the curb.

Equally damaging was when Mozilla alienated its loyal developer community by deprecating XPCOM and XUL, the foundations of its once popular extension system. Mozilla also annoyed its users by quietly deploying Suggested Tiles, a built-in commercial ad system.

Three months later Mozilla killed the unpopular program.

Mozilla also replaced its profitable Google ad deal with three different search engine deals: Yahoo, Yandex, and Baidu. How much does Mozilla make from these deals? We don’t know. Mozilla isn’t saying.

We do know, however, that Yahoo is in a world of hurt thanks to its many mistakes.

Ironically, in its latest financial report for 2014 but just released earlier this month, the Mozilla Foundation has its best financial year ever. The foundation increased its revenue from $314 million to more than $329 million. In the bank, Mozilla has $266.5 million in assets. Of course, this was all before Mozilla turned away from Google and to Yahoo for its main revenue stream.

While Mozilla may be cash-rich, it’s hard to see where it goes from here. It’s grand plan for the future, Firefox OS, is a dead operating system walking. The Firefox web browser continues to bleed both users and developers.

Mozilla and Firefox will continue to stumble forward, but it’s both a zombie group and product. It’s only a matter of time until both expire once and for all.”

Around the holidays the tech news slows to a trickle, everything I read this past week was boooooring! So, no show this week, and since I will be tied up during the holiday, no show this coming week either! Sigh. Sorry! Here’s the thing… don’t forget me in my absence! Also, I MAY try to do a few other shows – like VirtZine or Chromest, if I can. No promises… but we’ll see!

More good reasons to abandon old OS platforms!

Google will retire Chrome support for Windows XP, Vista, OS X 10.6, 10.7, and 10.8 in April 2016

VentureBeat – By: Emil Protalinski – “Google today announced it is extending Chrome support for Windows XP until April 2016. The company will also end Chrome support for Windows Vista, OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, OS X 10.7 Lion, and OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion at the same time.

This means Google will provide regular Chrome updates and security patches for users on these operating systems for five more months. After that, the browser will still work, but it will be stuck on the last version released in April.

Google rightly explained that ‘such older platforms are missing critical security updates,’ ‘have a greater potential to be infected by viruses and malware,’ and ‘are no longer actively supported by Microsoft and Apple.’ If you want to receive the latest Chrome versions and features, the company thus advises you to move to a newer operating system.

In October 2013, Google originally announced it would retire Chrome support for Windows XP in April 2015. The company then pushed the date back until December 2015. Now it’s being pushed back yet again.

Keep in mind that Microsoft retired Mainstream Support for Windows XP on April 14, 2009, and then pulled Extended Support for the operating system on April 8, 2014. Google’s extensions are a little ridiculous. The company was already going out of its way to support XP a year longer than Microsoft, but two years is really bending over backwards.

Windows XP users cannot upgrade to newer versions of Microsoft’s browser: IE8 is the latest version they can install. IE9 is only available for Windows Vista and Windows 7, while IE10 and IE11 are only for Windows 7 and Windows 8. Many XP users thus choose to use third-party browsers like Chrome.

Last month, XP still had over 11 percent market share, according to Net Applications. Vista had 1.74 percent market share, and the three old OS X versions had a combined 1.17 percent. That’s exactly why Google keeps updating Chrome for XP users: There are still hundreds of millions using the browser on the ancient OS.

But with all these extensions, Google isn’t helping — it’s encouraging users not to upgrade. Even with an up-to-date browser, using Windows XP is simply a poor security choice.”

My favorite connection manager gets an upgrade! Check out the new features!

TeamViewer 11 beta up to 15x faster, debuts Chrome OS app

BetaNews – By: Mike Williams – “TeamViewer GmbH has unveiled TeamViewer 11 beta, a preview of its free-for-personal-use remote control package.

Performance enhancements are a highlight, with up to 15x faster file transfers, and a potential 30 percent reduction in data usage.

Image rendering has also been optimized, bringing better image quality at any given bandwidth.

A shiny new TeamViewer Chrome OS app gives you even more ways to connect, and there are options for unattended access to Android devices, or connecting directly to the Linux console (no GUI required).

Extra web support means you’re now able to run TeamViewer from your browser, and use your TeamViewer account as a web-based chat platform, wherever you are.

Both the TeamViewer toolbar and client interface have been redesigned to make them easier to use.

Corporate users also see a host of improvements, including smarter channel, group and device management, and a new customer feedback option via an automatic satisfaction survey at the end of a session.

TeamViewer 11 beta is available now for Windows XP and later.”

I know, this is getting to be a habit! I had to much going on again this weekend! I had to rebuild a server from scratch! Sigh. Another show soon though!

So, yes, you SHOULD still get that Chromebook for Christmas!

Google swears it won’t phase out Chrome OS

Engadget – By: Jon Fingas – “That talk of Google merging Android and Chrome OS, effectively killing Chrome OS as you know it? Google would rather that you forget about all that. In a follow-up to its early rebuttal, the search firm acknowledges that it’s working on ways to “bring together” the two platforms, but insists that there’s ‘no plan to phase out’ Chrome OS. The web-focused software is still popular in classrooms and offices, Google says, and there are plans to upgrade it with everything from a more substantial Material Design makeover to a new media player. There are ‘dozens’ of Chromebooks launching in 2016, the company adds.

That’s all good news if you were worried that Google would drop Chrome OS like a hot potato, although we wouldn’t blame you if you’re skeptical about its long-term future. Google isn’t saying what’s happening in 2017, when the rumored Android/Chrome OS merger takes place. It’s hard to imagine the company spending years unifying its two platforms, but still pouring tons of energy into Chrome OS by its lonesome. The real litmus test is whether or not Google has this same answer in a couple of years, when it doesn’t have to worry as much about assuaging customers and preserving sales.”

HWMonitor Pro is a hardware monitoring program that reads PC systems main health sensors: CPU temperature, voltage, power consumption and utilization.

HWMonitor Pro

• Mainboard voltages, temperatures, fans speed.
• GPU voltage, temperature, utilization.
• HDD temperature.

Remote Monitoring:
Watch the sensors of one or several distant PCs or Android devices using a simple TCP/IP connection.

Graph Generator:
Save monitoring data and generate logging graphs as bitmap files.

Improved Interface:
Sensors in system tray, editable sensors labels.

Now, this is interesting!

Android and Chrome OS to merge by 2017, says WSJ

MNR Daily – By: Sanjit Dutt – “Rumors about Google merging its two operating systems, Chrome and Android, will finally come true according to a new report.

For the last two years, there have been reports of Google planning to merge its Chrome OS and Android, which has now been confirmed by a report from Wall Street Journal. Google will reportedly integrate its Chrome OS into Android by 2017 and the name ‘Chrome’ will no longer be used. Chromebooks will continue to be available, but under a different name, while the Chrome browser will also continue to be available in the same name. This means that all functionalities of Chrome OS will be available in Android and apart from smartphones, the new most operating system will become available on other devices.

At first glance, the move to merge the two operating systems appears unnecessary, as Chromebooks have a loyal user base, particularly in educational institutions across the United States. However, Chromebooks are not so popular among the general public and have managed to achieve a market share of only 3 percent. On the other hand, Android dominates the mobile market with a share of about 78 percent and is also found running on the majority of tablets. Google’s plan to merge Chrome OS and Android was also confirmed when the company recently launched its high-end tablet Pixel C, running on Android OS. Similar to Microsoft’s Surface series of tablets, Google’s Pixel C also comes with an optional keyboard that can be plugged into the Android powered tablet.

Back in 2009, Google’s founder Sergey Brin had hinted at the possibility of the merger of Android and Chrome OS. ‘Android and Chrome will likely converge over time,’ said Brin. After Sundar Pichai took over in 2013, the first step to merge the two operating systems was taken by offering Android app support on Chrome. Recently, Pichai had told analysts, ‘Mobile as a computing paradigm is eventually going to blend with what we think of as desktop today.'”

Bad move, Amazon! You don’t build a market by looking like you are afraid to compete!

Amazon Officially Removes All Apple TV And Google Chromecast Listings From Its Website

Tech Times – By James Geddes – “Amazon had previously said it would be removing all Apple TV and Google Chromecast devices from its online retail listings, and now it has followed through on its promise. As of today, all listings of the devices through the company as well as via third-party sellers have been removed, and customers searching for the units are redirected to listings for a Fire TV device.

The planned move first became apparent not through an official announcement by Amazon, but via an email to resellers with whom it partners, advising them that the company would be discontinuing sales of the products at the end of October. Media requests for confirmation of the new policy were met with the following statement from the company:

‘Over the last three years, Prime Video has become an important part of Prime. It’s important that the streaming media players we sell interact well with Prime Video in order to avoid customer confusion. Roku, Xbox, PlayStation and Fire TV are excellent choices.’

Now, Amazon has followed through on its promise to eradicate the competing products from its site. A search for ‘Chromecast’ results in a series of listings topped by ‘Amazon Fire TV Stick.’ The items which follow do include several accessories for the Chromecast dongle, however, such as a mini-USB power cable for the device. Amazon also still lists both paperback and Kindle edition books related to the use of the device, such as ‘Chromecast: Go from Chromecast Beginner to Master in 1 Hour or Less! (Master Your Chromecast Device)’

A search for Apple TV results in listings for the Amazon Fire TV Stick, Amazon Fire TV, and other media players.

Amazon’s claim that the removal of the competing products is being done to avoid customer confusion appears disingenuous. Clearly, customers will only be more confused when they search for a product they have a specific interest in buying only to discover it is nowhere to be found and that they have been redirected to another product manufactured by Amazon. While the company might earn a few more dollars by steering customers away from their original purchase interests to its own products, is that really worth the loss of goodwill when loyal Amazon customers realize they are being manipulated?”

We love our hand held devices!

Pew Research Center: Many Own Smartphones, Not Ebook Readers

PC Magazine – “Smartphone ownership has been on the rise over the last few years, but you hardly need a survey to tell you that—just look at all of your friends and family members who plant their faces in their mobile devices at any given opportunity. (A fun game for the upcoming holiday season.)

What’s more interesting is just how some of the other big tech devices in the market have ebbed and flowed over the past few years. The Pew Research Center has a few figures: Most notably, that the once-popular e-reader is starting to fall on tougher times—probably because any tablet you can buy today can also serve as a pretty good digital book.

According to its figures, which the Pew Research Center generated by conducting a whole host of surveys over the past decade, just around 68 percent of all U.S. adults have a smartphone right now, which is up from an estimated 35 percent back in 2011. Only around 19 percent of today’s adults say they own any kind of e-reader, however—a bit of a drop from last year’s 32 percent. (Pew didn’t release detailed stats for exact years, so we can’t make an apples-to-apples comparison back to 2011.)

Tablets, on the other hand, have been on a steady increase since Pew started tracking them in 2010. According to Pew Research Center’s figures, just around 45 percent of all adults now own one.

Curiously, just around 40 percent of adults say they own an MP3 player, and that figure hasn’t really changed since 2008. One might assume that the growth of smartphones that also double as audio players would have made MP3 players fairly irrelevant, but that’s not the case—not according to Pew Research Center’s features, at least. However, MP3 player ownership is on a decline for younger demographics. Only 51 percent of those aged 18–29 say they own an MP3 player now, versus 75 percent in 2010.

Our suggestion might have some merit, as smartphone ownership has jumped from 52 percent in 2011 to 86 percent in 2015 among this younger group. As for other devices, game console ownership has dropped from 62 percent in 2010 to 56 percent today, and e-readers went from 5 percent to 27 percent in 2012, but have dropped back down to just 18 percent in 2015.

‘The Pew Research Center surveys cover ownership of seven types of devices. The center studies them because their use often affects how people connect with each other, with information and with media. They also impact the way people spend their time. And each kind of device has its own attributes of how people use them and engage with the material they provide,’ reads the Pew Research Center’s report.

‘Thus, device usage has notable social and cultural implications, and there are sometimes important political and macroeconomic consequences to the way people use their gadgets. For instance, every major media industry – those built around video, audio and text – has been disrupted by these devices.'”