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Posts Tagged ‘Desktop Browser’

TechCrunch, The Google Chrome Extension

I’ve enjoyed using Google’s Chrome browser ever since it was introduced back in September 2008, albeit using other browsers alongside for different purposes. With the launch of Extensions for Chrome, the need to occasionally fire up Firefox or Opera has diminished, and I doubt I’ll be using any browser other than Chrome much in 2010. Just to drive home the point that Google Chrome Extensions, though still in beta, is a crucial feature for the fledgling desktop browser.

And now self-proclaimed TechCrunch addict and student at Illinois Institute of Technology Viggnesh Kandasamy has hashed together a basic extension designed to let Chrome users stay on top of what gets published on here. More reason to love Chrome Extensions (and more reason to love our fans).

The add-on for Chrome is fairly rudimentary: installing it will add a favicon in the top menu that will open up a window displaying the last four articles published on TechCrunch when clicked. Clicking the headlines shows a short description before a ‘read more’ link, and you also get to share the link instantly on Twitter and/or Facebook. In addition, you get a box that allows you to run a search for companies, people and more who’ve appeared on this site or in CrunchBase.

What more would you like to see added to the extension?

Let us know in comments; Kandasamy will be reading them.

Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0

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Mobile Web traffic increasing rapidly for non-smartphones

Apple’s iPhone changed the way we think about mobile Web access by giving us the “real” Internet via its Mobile Safari browser. Since its introduction, smartphone vendors have scrambled to offer a comparable browsing experience, generally by building a browser based on WebKit—the same engine that powers Mobile Safari. But consumer expectation is driving demand for mobile Internet access for standard cell phones as well. According to data from mobile browser maker Opera, mobile traffic to standard smartphones surged in October, growing 16 percent over September.

Opera Software’s Opera Mini browser is one of the few usable solutions for standard “feature phones.” The Java-based browser actually uses proxy servers to compress and handle much of the rendering of websites using the same rendering engine as Opera’s desktop browser, which is then pushed to the phone and displayed on-screen. This arrangement makes it possible to view even complex pages on meager hardware (by smartphone standards) and helps avoid some of the network congestion and speed issues that can sometimes affect full-featured mobile browsers.

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Opera 10 Downloaded 10 Million Times In Its First Week

In the first week after its release and after many favorable reviews – including our own – Opera Software has announced that its revamped desktop browser has been downloaded 10 million times and is now in use by millions of users around the world. For Opera, this is a record achievement.

If my own experience is anything to go by, these users are happy users. As I wrote before, Opera 10 is blazing fast – comparable to the speed I was experiencing with Google Chrome – and that’s a huge plus. It doesn’t hurt that everything ‘just works’ either, and I’m already so used to the (all new) Opera interface that it’d be hard for me to switch again.

If you haven’t tried out Opera 10 yet, do it now. You won’t be disappointed.

Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0

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Opera 10 Slated For September 1 Launch. Will Anyone Take Notice?

That other browser maker, Opera Software, has just released Opera 10 RC1 to the masses and has announced it will be debuting the final version of its upgraded desktop browser next week on September 1. You can download the release candidate and get more information right here.

Opera 10, formerly codenamed Peregrine, will feature an improved user interface, increased web standards support, bug fixes, performance improvements, and new tools for web developers. Opera 10 Final will also include Opera Turbo, the new bandwidth-booster for slow Internet connections, and a revamped Opera Mail, its built-in e-mail client. Also worth testing when it comes out: Opera claims the next version of its desktop browser will be significantly faster on resource intensive pages such as Gmail and Facebook, deeming it more than 40% faster overall than Opera 9.6.

The question is: how many people will actually experience any of that?

The Opera desktop browser, contrary to its mobile sister, hasn’t exactly been adopted like crazy since its initial release back in 1996, even if it has been known to innovate the browser field with several useful new features over the years that nearly always end up in competing web browsers shortly after introduction. As of July 2009, usage data on English-language sites show Opera’s share of the browser market as being 1.97%.

For comparison, according to Net Applications the July data shows Internet Explorer still leading with a 67.68% share of the browser market, followed by Firefox (22.47%), Safari (4.07%) and Google Chrome (2.59%).

Also, I’m not really sure what to make of this:

Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors

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