I'll admit it right now. I'm a Google Chrome user. I downloaded it however many months ago it was now and it it's still the default browser on my work PC.

I might try to convince myself that it's still here through laziness or that I've just become accustomed to it but the fact remains that it just seems quicker and to crash less than Firefox does. (Sorry Leon, I've tried Opera but it's just not my cup of tea.)

So, I'm quite pleased today to see that Google has launched a new beta channel for Chrome for us to try out. The new version is supposed to be 25-35% quicker and they're also trying out a few catch-up features like form autofill, full page zoom and autoscroll. Best of all for me though is the split screen view, as pictured above, where you can drag tabs out to sit next to each other in full view. Very useful when read and writing at the same time.

You can get on the Google Chrome Beta over here and enjoy the kind of features already available on all other browsers only working faster and cleaner.

(via Chrome Blog)

The internet is too big. There's simply too much stuff on it. In 2006, an estimate of how much put the figure at 40 Petabytes, which is about 38000000000 short novels. There's a lot more than that today, and Microsoft's innovation labs are trying to work out the best way of sifting through it.

Recommendations engines can run in lots of different ways. You can look at people's interests and try and match those up with content, which is a bit of a hassle. You can use the wisdom of the crowd to predict based on what other people have consumed next to each other, which is a bit better.

But what Microsoft is doing takes things a step further - they try and work out your mood, see what other stuff you listen to when you're in that mood, and predict things that way. They also tap into your network of friends - who you presumably have common ground with - to try to work out what stuff you like.

As with any recommendations engine, the more you put in, the more you'll get out. Microsoft doesn't claim, therefore, that this is going to work perfectly out of the box. Instead, it'll get better the more you use it, and ties in with Microsoft's massive social network around Windows Live Mail (Hotmail) and Messenger (MSN).

The project's still at an early stage, so it's difficult to judge whether the company will be able to pull off something as effective as Last.fm's music recommendation engine. Let's hope, though, that something comes off it, and the stranglehold that the media holds over mainstream taste can be eroded.

MyMedia

Skype has just announced that it's giving away its SILK speech codec, which is the bit of software that processes your voice into a small enough stream of data for you to be able to communicate over a slow internet connection. A codec is basically a balancing act between file size and audio quality.

The SILK codec has been in development for three years at Skype and was finally bundled with the most recent release of the software - Skype 4. It's a major step forward in audio quality and scales depending on the bandwidth available.

So if it's so great, then why is Skype giving it away royalty-free to its competitors? Good question. My best guess is that Skype has the VoIP market so firmly tied up that it wants some competition to help grow the whole market. Then, I suppose, it's confident enough that those users will switch to Skype thanks to its fantastic software.

It might also be a sign that Skype's considering offering an API. Opening up the service, which is famously closed, would mean that other programs could be able to make Skype calls natively, without people having to open and install Skype itself. It could mean that you'll just be able to highlight phone numbers on websites and right-click to call them from the browser.

More information's available on the SILK website, and TechCrunch has an interesting take too.

Have you been testing out the Windows 7 beta, and clicking that little 'feedback' button in the top right of every Window? Well, Microsoft has been listening, and they've just announced a massive list of the changes they've made as a result of the feedback.

The full list is here, but there's a few highlights that I'll share with you if you can't be bothered to read the whole thing. Firstly, there's plenty of functionality for making things more obvious on the taskbar, along with keyboard shortcuts. There's also a multi-touch onscreen keyboard (so you can shift-tap stuff).

There's better format support too, and anything that can't be played will be filtered out of Windows Media Player, so it doesn't bother you. There's also resuming video from sleep with actual files, like you would with a DVD, and some changes to what the Windows team call 'needy windows' - so you can see when a program wants your attention.

The full list is worth a look, because it's got a lot more detail in. Most of this stuff we're unlikely to see until release, though. Are you looking forward to it? Is there anything missing that you think needs changing? Let us know in the comments.

Safari, the default browser on Apple computers, has just been upgraded. The company claims the new beta is "the fastest and most inovating web browser for Mac and Windows PCs".

Apple's lifted some of the best features of other browsers - Chrome's speed and tabs in the title bar, and Opera's top sites. They've also added a cover-flow style interface for browsing through your bookmarks too. Pretty, but a little pointless?

Interesting, Safari 4's default UI on Windows looks like Windows, unlike previous versions where it looked like OSX. That's a pretty significant change for a company that usually prides itself on its design.

If you want to try it out, it's available from Apple's website right now. Let us know what you think in the comments.

Safari 4 (via Tech Radar)

Massive PC ubercorporation Dell hasn't got the best reputation with gamers, despite owning the expensive Alienware gaming PC brand. That hasn't deterred them, however, from launching a download service where you'll be able to get PC games and software, as well as music.

Codemasters, Sega, Electronic Arts, Eidos and Atari have signed up on the gaming front to offer titles including Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box, Spore, Tomb Raider: Underworld, F.E.A.R. 2, Alone in the Dark and Football Manager Live. You'll notice that none of those, with the possible exception of F.E.A.R. 2, could be called "gamer's" games.

That might be because gamers are generally already invested in one download store -Valve's Steam. I think Dell realizes that they're going to find that audience very tricky to crack, so they're aiming at a more mainstream target demographic instead.

As well as games, the service also offers software from Kaspersky, Nero and Lavasoft, presumably Kaspersky Antivirus, Nero Burning Rom and Lavasoft Ad-Aware respectively. It's a bit of a shame for PC owners, because programs duplicating the functionality of all those bits of software are widely, and legally, available on the internet for free (for home use).

Lastly, there's also music. Albums from "major artists" are available, there's no DRM, and there'll be new titles on a weekly basis. The catalogue doesn't look incredible, and the prices aren't any better than other download sites, but I suppose it could be handy for people who haven't checked out Spotify yet.

The Dell download store will roll out across Europe in the next few months, starting with the UK, France and Germany. It's been up and running in the USA for a while.

Dell Download Store (via IT Pro)

Over here, we're well in favour of handset makers experimenting with different operating systems. That's why I was filled with glee this morning after reading that Samsung's planning not one but "more than three" Android phones this year, as well as one running LiMo - a mobile OS based on Linux.

We've been praying for more Android phones ever since the G1 turned out to be not *quite* the iPhone-beater that everyone was hoping for. Hopefully Samsung will take note of Dan's shopping list for the perfect smartphone, and build one accordingly.

(via Reuters)

Late last week, in a small office near Holborn, Microsoft showed Tech Digest Windows Mobile 6.5, and shared its vision for smartphones that the company hopes will combat Apple's growing appetite for the sector.

At the opening of Mobile World Congress today in Barcelona, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer unveiled the company's new mobile OS to the world. The new features are split 50:50 between interface and usability.

Let's talk usability first. Microsoft's stated goal with Windows Mobile is to make things take fewer clicks to do. Instead of clicking five times from a locked handset to reading your email, the company wants to minimise the hassle.

The next version of Windows Mobile will feature a brand new home screen, lock screen and a fresh look to the interface that echoes Vista and Windows 7. The home screen looks remarkably Zune-y, which is unsurprising given the praise heaped upon Microsoft's MP3 player's interface, and the recent integration of the Zune team into Windows Mobile.

The phone-is-locked screen will now allow you to unlock straight to specific applications, allowing you to move from a locked phone straight to email, text messages, voicemail, calendar and missed calls with one movement.

The look and feel of the software has been upgraded too. There's more colour scattered around, and the scroll bars match the feel of the desktop version of the OS, rather than echoing Windows 3.1 as they did previously.

Lastly there's a redesigned start menu - instead of a drop-down list, you now get a honeycomb of different applications. Microsoft claims that a series of hexagons makes the best use of the space, but I rather suspect that the redesign is more about making the product more visually distinct - something that Windows Mobile has always struggled with.

So how about new features? Well, there's the previously-talked about "Skymarket", which is now called Windows Marketplace. That will bring the 20,000 applications developed for Windows Mobile into one central place to better combat Apple's App Store.

Microsoft told Tech Digest that it won't exercise as much editorial control over the contents of its app store. Applications that aren't permitted in Apples store because they compete with things that Apple itself is trying to do, like browsers, will be welcomed with open arms into Windows Marketplace. Microsoft says that the bar for entry will be based on the quality of the code, not the content.

There's also a new version of Internet Explorer - IE Mobile 6. This will feature increased performance and better rendering of desktop-sized pages. Microsoft says that having one of the oldest browsers on the market means that they've learnt a lot about how to make a browser. I think it'll be interesting to see how it compares with Fennec and Opera.

Lastly, Microsoft's unveiled a service called "My Phone" that will act as a cloud backup of your contacts, photos, calendar items, mail and documents. It may launch sooner than the main OS, and grant a rather measly 200MB of data initially.

It'll be free, but Microsoft suggested that more storage might be available at a price, for syncing music collections and the like. Needless to say, you'll need to decide for yourself whether your data package is adequate for syncing photos and music, but anyone should be able to sync contacts and other text-based data.

The handset where we saw all this in action - an HTC Touch Pro, not a slow phone - crawled in the demonstration, so it looks like Microsoft still has a lot of optimisation to do before Windows Mobile 6.5 is ready for primetime. The OS is due in Q4 2009, so there's still time, but let's hope that Microsoft applies some of its learnings from Vista to Windows Mobile, and doesn't release a product that's too weighty for its own good.

O2 announced this morning on the forum of its application store - Litmus - that it would soon be paying customers to test out applications, thanks to a partnership with a company called Mob4Hire.

O2 has 19 million customers, and the ones eligible for the Litmus project will be invited to participate in testing out applications. Customers who help to test an application will receive a free copy once it becomes commercially available, but they'll also have the opportunity to earn hard cash.

It's a bit of a complex system that involves bidding for applications. You put a figure on what you think your time is worth, and developers decide whether they think you're worth it, and if both sides agree, then trialists get paid the pre-agreed amount.

Frequent and helpful testers will increase their "O2 Litmus tester reputation", though it's unclear if that's going to be some sort of rating system, or just a more traditional, ethereal, reputation based on those things we used to have called "feelings". Remember them?

O2 Litmus is available on the Motorola V3, Nokia N95, O2 Xda Orbit II, Samsung U600 and the Sony Ericsson W910, among others. Nearly 150 apps are available, and you can sign up at the O2 Litmus website.

(via O2 Litmus Forum)

You're NOTHING in the tech world without your own, personalised, branded store through which you sell things to children without troublesome "retail" taking a slice of the cash.

That's the realisation that has dawned within the corporate mind of Nokia, which has today announced its Ovi Store - an application based around "connecting content providers with consumers," which, we think, means an easier way to flog Rihanna and Beyonce ring tones to the youth demographic.

You will be getting "applications, games and videos, widgets, podcasts, location-based applications and personalisation content for Nokia Series 40 and S60 devices" and developers will be able to start populating the service from March - with Nokia clearly hoping for something rivalling Apple's App Store in terms of depth of content and cash-raking power at the end of it all.

The required app to run the Ovi Store will come pre-installed on Nokia's near-mythical N97, which will launch in June, with the store front app appearing for installation on most Series 40 and S60 mobiles when the Ovi Store goes live in May.

(Via Nokia)

If you happen to inhabit the same deadly underground hacking world (forum) as the creator of the "Conficker" virus that's been wreaking havoc on PCs since last October and even left France vulnerable to aerial invasion, you might be in luck.

Microsoft has put up a $250,000 reward for information leading the the capture of the creator of the worm/virus, hoping that some of the man's internet friends might be a bit keen on grassing him up and bringing him to justice in return for more than enough money to buy a gaming rig and a Vaio P for on-the-go.

"People who write this malware have to be held accountable," George Stathakopulos from Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing Group said, rather worryingly, adding that "whoever wrote this caused significant pain to our customers and we are sending a message that we will do everything we can to help with your arrest."

Arrest. Then trial. Then EXECUTION by lethal injection.

Meanwhile, on the side of RIGHT and JUST and HONOURABLE, Microsoft has revealed it's planning a move into the retail world - and will be opening a worldwide chain of shops to flog PCs and software.

We cannot wait to go inside a Microsoft Store. It'll be like an Apple store, only with geekier, more dishevelled staff and much more swearing at crashed display machines.

(Via BBC)

Cuba, long the subject of a trade embargo from America, finds it difficult to get its hands on Microsoft software legally. Given that MS Office formats are the global standard, it makes things rather difficult for the island nation, so the country has decided to put its eggs in the Open Source box.

Cuba has developed its own variant of Linux, called "Nova". It was introduced at a Havana computer conference on "technological sovereignty", the Cuban government's desire to become more technologically independent from America.

About 20 percent computers in Cuba currently run Linux - but sales of computers to the public only started last year. The dean of the School of Free Software at Cuba's University of Information Sciences, Hector Rodriguez, says "I would like to think that in five years our country will have more than 50 percent migrated (to Linux)".

(via Reuters)

Then step right up! The Pirate Bay, the mega piracy portal which always goes to great lengths to point out it doesn't actually host the files it catalogues, is going to court very soon - charged with, well, you can probably guess. Letting the world watch Quantum of Solace without having to go to the cinema or HMV.

A live audio feed of the Bay's trial will be made available online, but the problem is it's all being conducted in Sweden. In Swedish. And with the best will in the world, Swedish could hardly be described as the language of the internet. We'd imagine it's only the third most popular language even in Sweden.

So the Bay has sent a "shout out" to the internet, requesting help. It wants Swedes to translate the trial, as it happens, dump the key points onto blogs and particularly Twitter, and for everyone to tag anything relevant with the tag #spectrial so it's easy for everyone to follow events as they happen via Twitter.

The Bay's trial begins on February 16 - you can follow it all pretty much live on the Bay's special trial news aggregator portal thing, if you've not yet surrendered to the media barrage and got yourself a Twitter account.

(Via Torrentfreak)

The husband in question is John Best, 34, who, if you ever believe what the News of the World says, was using his laptop in bed - while his wife was asleep - to indulge in a bit of M2M action in Second Life.

He had a great excuse for doing it. He said "it wasn't real life" which, to be fair, is 100% correct. Here's the NotW's superb visual representation of the story...

"I couldn't sleep a wink the rest of the night wondering whether this meant he was betraying me or not - that he'd rather have gay sex on Second Life than have sex with me," said pained Lisa, her pain probably lessened a bit by the money the newspaper's paying for the story.

So, what do you think? Is having sex in Second Life cheating? And if you're a man and doing it with a man, does it make you gay? Or doesn't it count? Is it all just a game? I've played Mario quite a bit and it certainly hasn't made me a plumber, for example.

(Via NotW)

Related posts: Second Life FILM? | Previous SL sex/divorce shame

D-Link has invented a niche it's calling the "home security market" - and has released a couple of webcams to help you discover who it is that's eating all the biscuits.

The DCS-2121 Megapixel Wireless Network Camera is the hottest of the pair, coming fully loaded up with wi-fi connectivity so there's no tell-tale wiring going from your computer to the cavity you hollowed out behind the mirror.

The DCS-910 is the wired version, coming with an Ethernet socket for easily hooking it into your home network. Both come with D-ViewCam 2.0, D-Link's monitoring software that has the power to let you watch 32 simultaneous video streams from 32 separate cameras at once, should you have a PC powerful enough, a bank balance unrestricted enough, and compound eyes.

They and their little software friend can record video direct to the hard drive as EVIDENCE, plus motion detection sensors let you leave them running - and have them email you when there's something happening in the room. If you're very, very paranoid and controlling, both are out now - at £129.99 for the 910 and £174.99 for the wi-fi 2121.

(Via D-link)

Related posts: D-Link wireless N router | Some sort of media thing

It was, as everything always is, leaked on the internet a couple of weeks ago, now Amazon's finally detailed the specs of Kindle 2 - ideal if you're just starting to get in on the hot new book-reading scene.

Kindle 2 will feature a 25% longer battery life, according to Amazon, will turn the pages 20% quicker if you're an amazingly impatient person for whom TIME is MONEY and you can't waste TIME waiting for PAGES to BLOODY TURN, will be thinner and lighter, feature a higher-res screen with 16 rather than four shades of grey for sharper text displaying, plus the internal memory has been boosted to a ludicrous 2GB.

2GB is enough room to store 1500 books - ideal if you've got a long flight coming up. Like, if you're manning the first mission to Mars.

(Via BGR)

Related posts: Amazon after "casual" gamers | Kindle 2 leaked to the internet

Now, to us lot, The Woz is a true star. He started up Apple with Steve Jobs in the 1970s, designed and built the original Apple and Apple II computers, before officially leaving the company in 1987 - but remaining a popular commenter on Apple issues to this very day.

But is he really famous enough to become a reality star? Apparently so, with the bearded Wozniak signed up to appear on the US treatment of Dancing with the Stars, the latest in abysmal TV shows to feature famous people literally DANCING FOR OUR AMUSEMENT.

Lucky old Wozniak will get to rub the sequinned flesh of 80s pop star Belinda Carlisle, 90s rap dirty mouth Lil' Kim and Starship Troopers star Denise Richards, with the new series starting on March 9. Expect YouTube clips of Woz stumbling about to be so popular and unintentionally hilarious they make the proper news.

(Via BBC)

Related posts: No netbook for Apple | No DRM for Apple

Google's Chrome software, which is already my browser of choice, is getting extensions by May. No, not hair extensions. Little bits of software that do stuff in the browser that isn't built in.

Now, Firefox users (the majority of our readership) will know about these, because they've been available since launch on that browser, but if you're on Internet Explorer you may not be aware. These plugins enhance the browser's functionality, adding weather info, toolbars, or various other features.

Those of you who aren't using Chrome, would the addition of extensions make you give it another try? Chrome users - is this a good move, or will it slow down the blazing speed of the browser? Let us know in the comments.

Chrome (via Google Operating System)

More on Chrome: HOW-TO: Tweak Chrome to get the newest features early | Still searching for reasons to switch to Google Chrome

Do you, or someone you know, spend a little bit too much time in Photoshop, tweaking those digital camera images a little more until you really can't see the difference any more? Well, here's the perfect birthday present, or Valentine's gift, I suppose. It's a set of magnets that look like the myriad of menus and toolbars that come in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.

Brazillian company Meninos sell these magnets on their own for $25, with a 20" magnetic whiteboard for $65, and with a 40" whiteboard for $95. That seems rather on the bargainous side, to me. Just a pre-order for the moment, though - they'll be shipping on Feb 15th, so your Valentine will have to make do with an order confirmation until it arrives.

Meninos (via Technabob)

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Stephen Fry, who has gone from obscure advert voice-over man and trainee Peter Ustinov to become the WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS PERSON thanks to his embracing of the tech world and Twitter in particular, has, once again, done it.

He got stuck in a lift.

Fortunately, there was a mobile signal available in the Centrepoint building's accommodating shaft, so Fry was able to update his rabid, slavering Twitter fans on his confinement status via his phone. Fry's 110,000+ followers went berserk, as the newly-crowned geek king posted words and a couple of photos from his impromptu cell.

"I am stuck in a lift on the 26th floor of Centre Point. Hell's teeth. We could be here for hours. Arse, poo and widdle." was the first post, with Fry managing seven Tweets about his status during his 45 minute spell in the lift.

Amazing. It's like actually being his friend, or at least having him as a pet.

(Via Tech Central)

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