Ilya Kozhevnikov

Browser Newsletter #23

April 24, 2008

iPhone is already the top mobile browser

It’s been on the market for just six months, and already the iPhone (plus its Wi-Fi-only variant, the iPod Touch) is the most used mobile browser for Internet access in the U.S., according to Irish researcher StatCounter. At No. 2 is the Symbian OS used in Nokia’s devices. Globally, the two positions are reversed. In either case, Windows Mobile — in all its versions — is just a blip.

First look: Mozilla Fennec takes browser fight to handhelds

With Firefox 3 right around the corner, Mozilla’s top lizard wranglers are turning their attention to the next step in their plans for world browser domination. The Mozilla Mobile initiative, which was first announced last October, has reached the functional prototype stage. The developers now have released pre-alpha test builds of a mobile Firefox prototype, codenamed Fennec, which we tested and discussed with Mozilla Mobile director Jay Sullivan.

The story behind Opera Mini on Google Android

This article takes a look at one of Opera’s latest and greatest projects - the creation of an Opera Mini version that will run on Google’s Android open mobile development platform. Over the course of the article, we’ll explain why we created it, how, challenges we faced, and how you can try it out for yourself. We’d like to encourage you to try it out, and give us as much feedback as you possibly can.

HTML and DOM Standards Compliance in IE8 Beta 1

With the release of IE8 Beta 1, I’m pleased to be able to talk about the first round of improved standards compliance and bug fixes in IE’s HTML and DOM support for the new IE8 standards mode. Doug hinted at some of these improvements, and I wrote a little bit about them in the IE8 Beta 1 whitepapers here and here. In this post, I’d like to enumerate the ‘change list’ (of sorts) here on the blog in response to requests for such a list that I received at MIX08. Personally, I’ve been long-awaiting this release because of what I know it means to web developers (like myself) that have had to code around a lot of IE’s DOM quirks for many years.

For IE8, I have really focused on the HTML and DOM Core standards and concentrated on building a solid cross-browser compatible foundation for many of the APIs that are already supported by Trident. This effort to fix some of the cracks in IE’s foundation has been a long time in coming, and I believe it’s a critical and necessary first step before adding on additional standards support.

For IE8 Beta1, we looked at many community-provided bug reports and found that the top pain-points were related to IE’s attribute handling (with a few prominent exceptions like getElementById). Therefore, attribute-handling has served as the ‘theme’ for the set of issues to tackle in IE8. We probably won’t be able to fix all of the community-reported bugs in the DOM in this release (there are many), but we want to make sure that we get to the worst offenders first. Help us out by submitting or voting on the bugs that you feel are most impactful to your business.

The new Internet Explorer Mobile for Windows Mobile 6.1 - desktop browsing from Windows Mobile

As I mentioned previously, Microsoft is aiming to deliver the same desktop-like browsing experience that you get with Opera Mobile/Opera Mini and Firefox Mobile in an updated Internet Explorer Mobile (Pocket Internet Explorer, as some of you might know it). The new IE Mobile is based wholly on code from the desktop version of Internet Explorer and is ported to work on the WM6.1 platform. The browser is still in development, but from what I saw, it worked beautifully on a touchscreen handset.

Research fingers ActiveX, QuickTime as buggiest browser plug-ins

ActiveX controls accounted for an overwhelming majority of all browser plug-in vulnerabilities in the second half of 2007, Symantec Corp. said this week in its semiannual Web security report.

Microsoft Corp.’s technology, which is used to create add-ins for Internet Explorer, accounted for 79% of the 239 plug-in bugs discovered between July and December of 2007, Symantec said. The plug-in with the next-highest number of flaws was Apple Inc.’s QuickTime, which had just 8% of the six-month’s total.

Only one vulnerability in a plug-in for Mozilla Corp.’s Firefox browser was detected in the same period, meaning Firefox’s extensions — the moniker Mozilla Corp. uses for plug-ins — accounted for only 0.4% of all flaws found.

Mobile Firefox Prototype Arrives

The mobile version of the Firefox browser is now available for download in the form of an early prototype. This download of the browser, code-named “Fennec,” is only intended for developers as it is still in the pre-alpha stages. It is also only recommended for Nokia N810 devices. Even so, the browser already shows a lot of promise.

Despite it being very early in the testing stages, the Fennec browser is already showing major performance gains. In the chart below, found on Mozilla technical evangelist Chirs Blizzard’s blog, the blue bar is the “MicroB browser,” which is the Mozilla-based browser based on source code from around the Firefox Alpha 1 timeframe that Nokia included with their OS2008 release. The red bar is Fennec. The chart shows that Fennec is 5.9x faster than the earlier Mozilla version!

Why Firefox Is Thinking Small: Mobile Browser Market To Explode

Firefox parent Mozilla is hard at work shrinking its Web browser software to work on mobile phones. So far, it’s available in a very early edition for some Nokia (NOK) gadgets, with the first “alpha” release scheduled for August, DailyTech reports.

Why bother? Because the high end of the mobile browser market, where Mozilla will operate, is poised to explode in the next six years, according to a report published today by ABI Research.

ABI sees “open-Internet” browsers, like Firefox and Opera, soaring to 700 million units delivered worldwide in 2013, 820% more than the 76 million delivered last year. (These “open-Internet” browsers support more sophisticated Web technologies like AJAX, CSS, etc., unlike the crappy browsers available on most mobile phones.)

Updated Web Browsers: Which One Works Best?

Apple’s Safari, Mozilla’s Firefox 3, and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 8 duke it out to be the program you use most on your PC.

First look: AT&T’s Pogo browser beta tries too hard, fails

AT&T has opened up a private beta of its new, hyper-visual web browser named Pogo. Yes, you read that right—AT&T is diving into the web browser market with a new creation of its own, based on Mozilla and 3D technology from Vizible, a Canada-based company that AT&T has invested in. The goal is to create a web browsing experience that is more robust than the crufty old browsers that we have all grown accustomed to. The software is not yet open to the public, but we had an opportunity to test out Pogo and see what it was all about.

First off, Pogo is Windows-only, and AT&T makes no indication that it will be available for the Mac anytime soon (or ever). It requires Windows XP SP2 or later or Windows Vista, and its minimum hardware are surprisingly steep: a 1.6GHz processor, 2GB of RAM, and a video card with at least 256MB of VRAM. Seem like a bit much for a web browser? It is, and as we found out, these requirements posed some major challenges for us during our testing.

Is the Mobile Web Dead? Some Mobile Entrepreneurs Say Yes

Former Yahoo! Mobile evangelist turned startup entrepreneur Russell Beattie announced today that he’s calling it quits for his company Mowser because the market for mobile browsing is taking a fast turn for the worse. “The mobile traffic just isn’t there,” Beattie says, “It’s not there now, and it won’t be.”

Beattie’s announcement comes just two months after mobile blogger and consultant Michael Mace wrote a much discussed post titled Mobile Applications, RIP. “The business of making native apps for mobile devices is dying, crushed by a fragmented market and restrictive business practices,” Mace wrote.

about:mozilla - Firefox 3 RC1, New tinderbox trees, Fennec reviewed, Web analytics, AMO, and more

On April 8th, the Firefox tree entered a lockdown period in preparation for delivering Firefox 3 Release Candidate 1. The same process will be used for this release as for past betas — the blocker lists will be driven to zero, and only patches with explicit approval will be allowed to land in order to more tightly control potential for regressions. For more information, please see the DevNews blog post.

Since the release of addons.mozilla.org 3.2, the AMO team has been actively reviewing the feedback users have sent in through a number of channels. In response to some of that feedback, Mike Morgan has posted an explanation of the rationale and trade-offs made with the new design and its attempts to balance the needs of various audiences AMO has to address — first-time users, seasoned experts, and add-on authors and publishers. Basil Hashem has also written a post about the feedback the team has received, summarizing the top concerns they’ve heard and outlining plans for the next iterations of the AMO site.

Mobile Web must die!

Mowser, a startup that concentrated on mobile web browsing, is no more. While it’s sad to see a startup die, especially one where the founder put in so much work, heart and money go under, I think that it’s time for the whole concept of mobile web to die.

Mobile web is a product of a “think small” mentality. In the early days it was necessary to have that “think small” mentality because the hardware and software of the time just wasn’t up to delivering a full-on web experience on an ultra-portable device. That age is now coming to a close and devices such as the iPhone and iPod touch have shown us that it is possible to have a decent browsing experience on a mobile device.

Gomez Announces Web Performance Testing Support for Microsoft Internet Explorer 8

Gomez, Inc., a leader in web application experience management, today announced support for Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (IE) 8 beta 1. Using the Gomez(R) ExperienceFirst(SM) platform of on-demand web application experience testing and measurement services, developers can quickly understand how existing and new applications will look and perform in IE8, as well as the impact of IE8 on their infrastructure.

“The introduction of IE8 presents developers with great opportunities for web experience improvements but also potential pitfalls for the unprepared,” says Gomez’s CTO, Imad Mouline. “IE8 will impact both the visual rendering of a website as well as its performance due to its increased connection parallelism. Using the Gomez ExperienceFirst platform will enable web developers to assess their readiness for IE8, mitigate performance issues and plan for infrastructure investments.”

Firefox 2.0.0.14 security and stability update now available for download

We strongly recommend that all Firefox users upgrade to this latest release. If you already have Firefox 2.x, you will receive an automated update notification within 24 to 48 hours. This update can also be applied manually by selecting “Check for Updates…” from the Help menu.

For a list of changes and more information, please review the Firefox 2.0.0.14 Release Notes.

Camino 1.6 released

Camino, the Gecko-based native Mac OS X browser has reached final status for version 1.6 and has been released.

Among the most relevant new features is an automatic update system, support for OpenSearch engines, integration with KeyChain, Mac OS X’s integrated credential repository, the ability to pass web feeds to online feed aggregators such as Google Reader, a new Find toolbar displayed near the bottom, improved AppleScript support, and general user interface improvements including some new and retouched icons.

After Criticism, Apple Software Updater Gets UI Makeover

Apple has made a small but significant tweak to its Automatic Software Update utility to make a clear distinction between security patches and new products being pushed out to Windows users.

The UI redesign, which adds a new box labeled New Software, follows intense criticism of Apple’s recent decision to bundle its new Safari for Windows browser alongside an iTunes+QuickTime security patch.

The company is still pushing Safari down to Windows boxes (pre-checked by default, unfortunately!), but that download is clearly marked as new software, an important distinction that shows Apple is paying attention to the loud grumbles from its user base.

AT&T, Vizible To Launch Firefox-Based Browser With Ads

AT&T has gone Pogo. The telecommunications giant has partnered with emerging tech firm Vizible to develop Pogo, a Web browser that adds a visual dimension to searching for and organizing info on the Web.

Pogo is built on the Mozilla Firefox browser, and the free, potentially ad-supported application is not geared toward the tech-savvy digerati. AT&T is aiming for the everyday users of the Web with Pogo–a factor that pits it head-to-head with Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.

Mobile Web Browsers Have No Where To Go But Up

As InformationWeek recently reported, mobile web browsing is a market with a substantial amount of upward growth potential. More and more mobile phone customers are swapping their ‘dumb’ phones for smartphones that feature mobile web browsers and other data-centric applications.

There are many mobile web browsers featured on various smartphones, but which are worth the most attention?

Let our round-up give provide you guidance.

Apple patches Safari bug from hacking contest

Apple has released a new security patch for its Safari browser, to fix the infamous bug that a hacker was able to exploit in a matter of minutes.

Cyber security researcher Charlie Miller was one of three participants in the “Pwn 2 Own” contest at the CanSecWest conference, and beat out his Windows and Linux competitors by breaking into a Mac the same day the contest began.

Paypal to block ‘unsafe browsers’

Web payment firm Paypal has said it will block “unsafe browsers” from using its service as part of wider anti-phishing efforts.

Customers will first be warned that a browser is unsafe but could then be blocked if they continue using it.

Paypal said it was “an alarming fact that there is a significant set of users who use very old and vulnerable browsers such as Internet Explorer 4″.

Phishing attacks trick users into handing over sensitive data.

Paypal said some users were still using Internet Explorer 3 , released more than 10 years ago. It lacks many of the security and safety features needed to protect users from phishing and other online attacks.

Apple Ends Stealth Safari Installs Via Software Update For Windows

Apple has revised the way it sends software updates to Windows PCs via its Software Update service in response to charges that it was sneaking its Safari Web browser onto users’ desktops without their permission or knowledge.

The latest version of the Software Update tool for Windows, version 2.1.0.110, now clearly lists software that can be downloaded via the service and groups the updates into those for applications already on the user’s computer and updates for new software.

PayPal Bans Browsers; Mac Love; Cell Phone Bans

One company is taking dramatic steps in an attempt to reduce so-called phishing attacks, which trick people into giving away personal information by luring them to a fake Web site. PayPal, the online payment system owned by eBay, will prevent people who use older Web browsers that don’t have built in phishing detectors from accessing its site, InfoWorld reports. While the move won’t stop people with old browsers from visiting fake PayPal sites, the company hopes that the move will force people who frequent the real PayPal to upgrade.

Update: We just spoke to PayPal. It seems we in the media are reading to much into this. It will block people using old browsers and old operating systems, but contrary to many reports it will not block Apple’s Safari browser.

Apple should call PayPal’s bluff

PayPal is in another stand-off with Apple over EV SSL (Extended Validation Secure Sockets Layer) certificates, but Steve Jobs & Co. may call the transaction service’s bluff.

According to Ryan Naraine, PayPal is about to launch a whitepaper that advocates blocking transactions from browsers that don’t have anti-phishing protection. This whitepaper is a thinly veiled attempt to get Apple to add EV SSL certificates to Safari.

Yahoo! BrowserPlus: The rumour is true

Awhile back I heard a rumour that Yahoo! had a “Gears-like” project that was cancelled. I thought this was a shame, as having Yahoo! pushing the browser would be a great thing, and I wished that we could all join forces and push together.

After 3 years of hiding out in the campuses of Yahoo! it’s good to finally have something external to show for it. Most exciting is the release of BrowserPlus, a software and software distribution framework that allows device developers (desktop, mobile, etc.) to seamlessly bridge the browser programming environment (DHTML, JS) to any component they can dream up (VoIP, image manipulation, data caching, etc.). Some time ago we created a platform team to focus on device software at Yahoo! and this is what has emerged amidst the quickly shifting strategy of the mothership. The 1.0 release of BrowserPlus is intended only for use by Yahoo! sites to enhance customer experiences; however, in the coming months, developers might expect the ability to use components on their own sites.

AT&T Pogo Browser

AT&T is trying to get in the to the web browser market now with their own browser called Pogo. Before you run out and download this keep in mind, it is still in development and in limited private beta. You can sign up to be notified when the public beta will be opened. [...]

Pogo is suppose to be a Mozilla based browser, so why is it so power hungry? This is because it has this massive 3D interface for navigating through the browser’s history as well as bookmarks. These screenshots (courtesy of CyberNet News) show the history (top) and bookmarks (bottom).

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 24th, 2008 at 12:55 am and is filed under Browser Newsletter. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.