Mozilla have released an update for Firefox 3.6 users, taking the browser to version 3.6.2.
The latest update fixes several security issues, one of which is rated as critical, the highest on the Firefox security severity scale.
A full list of changes can be read in the release notes.
Existing users are strongly urged to accept the update when their browser prompts them in the next 2-3 days, or alternatively, Firefox 3.6.2 can be downloaded from the Firefox website.
Opera have announced that downloads of their browser are up a whopping 53% on average after the roll-out of the browser ballot screen for Windows users in the European Union.
The above numbers are a sample of the percentages of each country downloads of Opera 10.50 that originates from the Choice Screen, as part of the total Opera 10.50 numbers for desktop.
Full stats for European Union countries are available from the Choose Opera Blog.
A better idea of how the browser ballot screen in the European Union has affected worldwide market share will be known at the end of March.
Google has pushed out Chrome 4.1.249.1036 to Windows users, which adds several privacy features and closes several security holes.
Users now also have the option to translate pages using Google Translate if the page they are visiting isn’t in their native language. A great time saver for many.
This latest release closes 9 security holes, 5 of which are rated high, 3 medium, and one low. More details on these security issues can read on the Google Chrome Blog.
The update will automatically be pushed out for Windows users, while users can download the browser from the Google Chrome website.
Dear Mozilla and Opera,
Get with the <video> programme! Ogg Theora has lost the HTML5 video format war.
The evidence is all in front of us. The battle seems to have been won with the final move by Microsoft, who have announced that they will support the H.264 and MPEG-4 formats for Internet Explorer 9, completely ignoring the OGG video and audio formats.
In contrast, both Firefox and Opera only support the Ogg video, which is a free open source video format that is not covered by any known patents.
Microsoft has clearly been heard at work, and announced today at MIX10 the availability of Internet Explorer 9 “test drive” (IE9) Developer Preview.
The browser, which is clearly still in its early stages, is missing the expected Internet Explorer interface such as tabs and address bar, but it does allow users to test and see the new JavaScript and rendering engine in action.
Available at ietestdrive.com, the browser includes support for some HTML5 and CSS3 features, including the new video element and CSS3 border radius tags.
Video tag support appears to be limited to the H.264 and MPEG4, while audio is limited to MP3 and AAC, totally ignoring the OGG format for both video and audio.
Microsoft really seems to be pushing standards compliance, and performance with this relase, and it shows. While not perfect, the browser is already leaps and bounds ahead of its predecessor, IE8. With the aid of the new JavaScript engine (codenamed Chakra), the early release browser is able to complete the SunSpider JavaScript benchmark test with a score of 598.80, slightly faster than Firefox 3.6. The browser also scores 55/100 in the ACID3 test, while IE8 only scores 20/100.
Internet Explorer 9 will be limited to only Windows Vista and Windows 7 users, while XP users will miss out on release.
All round, Microsoft really seem to be putting in a lot of effort with Internet Explorer 9, and it really shows. The Internet Explorer 9 “test drive” is available from the Internet Explorer 9 Test Drive website.
Opera have announced the availability of Opera Mini 5 and Opera Mobile 10 final.
Both mobile browser have been in development since at least October last year, and include many improvements over their predecessors.
The browser both include new tabbed browsing, a streamlined user interface, new faster JavaScript and HTML rendering engines.
Perhaps the best inclusion is Opera Turbo, which can compress data by as much as 90%, and save mobile browsers time and money.
A full list of features plus download links can be found on the Opera Mobile website.
Apple has released a new version of Safari, taking the browser to version 4.0.5.
According to Apple, the release fixes several issues:
This update is recommended for all Safari users and includes improvements to performance, stability, and security including:
Mac and Windows users can download the update from the Safari website, or it will be pushed out via Apple’s Software Update tool.
Microsoft has announced that it has discovered a new zero-day exploit in Internet Explorer.
The vulnerability is being exploited in the wild, and allows remote malicious code to install itself on a users system.
Currently, it appears only Internet Explorer 6 and 7 are affected while Internet Explorer 8 is safe this time around.
No word from Microsoft on when we will see a patch, but users are urged to upgrade to Internet Explorer 8 to protect them from the current vulnerability.
After reports two weeks ago that Microsoft’s Browser Ballot screen for the European Union was not as random as first seemed, Microsoft have updated the algorithm used to determine a browsers random position.
“We can confirm that we made a change to the random icon order algorithm in the browser choice screen for Europe,” said Microsoft spokesman Kevin Kutz.
IBM software architect Rob Weir who has been testing the randomness of the browser screen said he noticed a change last week. “Sometime last week — I don’t know the exact date — Microsoft updated the code for the browser choice website with a new random shuffle algorithm” Weir wrote on his blog.
From Weir’s early testing, the update appears to have solved the problem, with each browser now just as likely to appear in position number one.
Weir has created a test page, where users are able to test the ballot screens randomness for themselves.
Microsoft is looking to push Internet Explorer 9 at this years MIX conference, with a Customer Technology Preview build of the browser expected to be released to the public at the same time.
Two sessions at MIX 2010 give clues as to what we might see in the new browser; HTML5 Now: The Future of Web Markup Today and Future of Vector Graphics for the Web.
“Couple these clues with a post from the IE team on its official blog late last year about increased JavaScript rendering speeds and CSS support, and the team’s recent push to provide better support for SVG graphics and animations, it looks like IE 9 will present a huge step forward for Microsoft into the realm of HTML5, CSS 3 and other modern technologies that drive the most forward-thinking web apps” wrote Scott Gilbertson.
This is good news for browser users, with signs that Microsoft is taking its falling browser market share seriously. It suggests Microsoft are trying to bring the browse back to the forefront of browser technology, something we have not seen since the release of Internet Explorer 6 back in 2001.