Daily Bits

Browsers

Opera 10.50 Browser for Mac Makes You Want to Forget About Safari

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Alright Mac users, if  you’re tired of using the stock Safari browser on your machine but you don’t feel like using Google Chrome for Mac or Firefox, how about Opera 10.50 for Mac which is now available for download?  This new version of Opera for Mac is said to be using a new Javascript engine and boasts of key features like HTML5 support and multi-touch gestures.

Honestly, I’ve never used the Opera Browser on a laptop or desktop before. The only time I used it was on my old Sony Ericsson P990i mobile phone. But that was a long time ago. For all I know, both the Opera Mini browser for mobile phones and the Opera desktop browser have probably gone through several revisions already.

Anyway, here are the new things that you should expect in the latest iteration of Opera browser for Mac:

  • More stable than the pre-alpha build
  • A whole new polished UI
  • Supports Opera Unite allowing you to download unite apps from the Unite Apps Repository
  • Supports HTML5 tag
  • Supports widgets as stand-alone apps
  • New menu for Developer Tools

Now, why did we say that Opera 10.50 for Mac might make you forget about the Safari browser that comes preloaded in your Mac? Well, blame it on the guys from 9 to 5 Mac who’ve tested the browser and found that it beats Safari in a WebKit Javascript benchmarking test.

You may want to give Opera a try on your Mac, get it from here.

Firefox 3.6 Release Candidate Goes Up for Download

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Frankly I don’t remember the last time I downloaded a release candidate for Firefox. In fact, I don’t even know what version of Firefox I have on my Mac. Well, forgive me Firefox fans because ever since Google Chrome for Mac came out, I’ve stopped using both Safari and Firefox.

But if you’re not like me and still using Firefox whether on your Mac or PC, you might want to check out the latest release candidate that you’d probably be trying out for the last time before Mozilla officially release Firefox 3.6 is now available for download.

If you’re using Firefox 3.6 beta, the latest RC is an automatic update so you don’t have to download and install anything manually. This RC now contains 75% of the current Firefox add-ons that were updated by their authors. So, they would all work perfectly with Firefox 3.6.

New features of the Firefox 3.6 Release Candidate which you may or may not be concern with are as follow anyway:

  • Users can change the browser’s appearance with a single click using Personas.
  • Firefox 3.6 alerts users about out of date plugins to keep them safe.
  • Changes to how third-party software integrates with Firefox to increase stability.
  • Improved automatic form fill provides better options from your form history.
  • Open, native video can now be displayed full screen, and supports poster frames.
  • Support for the WOFF font format.
  • Improved JavaScript performance, overall browser responsiveness and startup time.
  • The ability to run scripts asynchronously to speed up page load times.
  • Support for the HTML5 File API
  • Support for new CSS, DOM and HTML5 web technologies.

So, are you brave enough to use an unstable version of your favorite browser? I’m sure you are.  You may get Firefox 3.6 RC here.

Faster Google Chrome with Full Screen Mode

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The phase at which Google is developing its Chrome web browser may be slow but the time it loads web pages is getting faster. And so Google Chrome has just became faster with its latest version. Along with the increase in loading speed are some minor new features with the full screen mode as the most notable of them. [Read more…] about Faster Google Chrome with Full Screen Mode

Flock 2.5 Will Surely Please Twitter and Facebook Fans

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For those who are not using IE, Firefox or Safari browser, chances are they might be using Flock. For those who are not aware, Flock is a highly customizable and feature-rich browser created for the minority of users who don’t use the major browsers.  Flock did not really strived to steal the thunder away from any these browsers despite is rich features. Until now, as Flock has released version 2.5 which is sure to please Twitter and Facebook fans. [Read more…] about Flock 2.5 Will Surely Please Twitter and Facebook Fans

Get Ready for Firefox 3.5, Beta 4 Available Now

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Just a few days after I’ve updated my Firefox installation, here comes a new announcement on the release of Firefox 3.5 Beta 4. If you’ve been closely following Mozilla’s development of Firefox, you’d know that it won’t  be long until the official Firefox 3.5 browser will be available.  Still, if you couldn’t wait for the full version release, you might want to download the beta 4 version right now. [Read more…] about Get Ready for Firefox 3.5, Beta 4 Available Now

8 Useful Accelerators Worth Adding to Your Internet Explorer 8

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So the final version of Internet Explorer 8 is finally out. This is an important release for Microsoft especially since the web browser competition is getting pretty intense right now. What used to be a niche that was dominated by Microsoft now belongs to other browser brands as well, particularly Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple’s Safari browser.  Microsoft came prepared when it released IE8 infusing the browser with cool features that adds to its interactivity and social aspects. One of these features are the accelerators.

There are many accelerators already available for activation in your IE8 installation.  We’ve selected 8 of them and all of which aim to make your IE8 browsing experience as great as possible.

1. Send with Live Search Hotmail – This accelerator is of course most useful if your webmail is Windows Live Hotmail, or if it’s one of your alternative webmail platform. It lets you send webpages, links or text directly to anyone using Live Search Hotmail.

2. Find on eBay – A simple tool that lets you find and preview eBay items anytime, on any website that you are browsing. Useful for those who are fond of acquiring items through eBay.

3. MySpace Toolbar – Ultimate Edition – MySpace users would find this accelerator useful as it lets you stay connected to your MySpace profile through persistent login. Its features include notifications with updating messages, simplify messy profile pages, and dual riot menus. It also comes with OneRiot Social Search.

4. Shop and Save with Live Search Products – In this economically challenging times consumerism doesn’t have to suffer that much.  Live Search Products might actually find you the best deals on online products as it gives you instant product prices, cashback offers, reviews and other relevant information and helps you save when shopping online.

5. CloubBerry Tweetie – Of course with the growing popularity of microblogging service Twitter, it’s no wonder that everyone would seem to jump into the bandwagon. This accelerator helps you post excerpts when you’re browsing the web to your Twitter timeline.

6. Share on Facebook – I wouldn’t be surprised if this accelerator gets the most number of activation by IE users. Facebook is the most popular social networking sites, where members just love sharing anything with their contacts. IE8 users who are avid Facebook fan should enable this accelerator.

7. Send with Gmail –  Yes I know Microsoft has Windows Live Mail or Outlook for email, but hey even if you use IE8, Gmail is still the best webmail, well at least in my personal opinion. So, it’s good to know the interplay between Gmail and IE8.

8. Find on Facebook – Another useful accelerator for Facebook users. It lets you search people or group from any webpage. So, while browsing and you find an interesting group, you can immediately check whether that group has a Facebook account and be a member quickly.