Mozilla Ships Final Firefox 4 Beta

Mozilla released what it claims to be the final beta of Firefox 4. 9 bugs are left to be fixed for Firefox 4 RC.

There is light at the end of the tunnel. After more than 7000 patched bugs, Mozilla released Firefox 4 Beta 12, which the company says will be the final Beta of the new browser. There are pre-Beta 13 builds on Mozilla’s FTP server, but this is merely a result of Mozilla’s automated release process and there will be no official Beta 13 of Firefox 4, Mozilla’s Christian Legnitto said.
Beta 12 was released ahead of the expected release early next week, while the browser is now about four months behind schedule. Mozilla decided to “kill” its blocking bugs list. At the time of the release of Firefox 4 Beta 12 late Friday, there were 12 open bugs that needed to be fixed for RC. This morning we saw 9 open bugs, giving us some hope that we ma see Firefox RC in early March and a final version by the end of March.
Firefox 4 Beta 12 can be downloaded here.

Firefox 5 to Further Tweak the new Firefox 4 UI (Pics)

Firefox 4 is in the final polishing phase, but it's still not done yet. That's not keeping part of the Mozilla team from looking forward towards Firefox 5 which is supposed to land only a few months after Firefox 4, according to Mozilla's new release schedule. Among the changes planned for Firefox 5 are some refinements for the UI and related features.

The Mozilla UI team has been working on concepts for new UI features in Firefox 5 and uploaded some mock-ups to its "Are We Pretty Yet?" website.

One feature that could be landing in Firefox 5, though it's only a concept for now, is menu buttons for individual sites. Using Firefox's implementation of site specific browsing, shortcuts to certain sites will load Firefox with a minimal UI which will incorporate a menu button customized for each site. 

For example, the mock-up shows that a menu entry for Twitter would allow users to create new tweets, check out direct messages or mentions and even search the site. Similar actions are listed for sites such as IMDB or Facebook.

Motorola Atrix a powerful smart phone (Reviewed)

By RACHEL METZ, AP Technology Writer – Wed Feb 16, 5:28 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO – As smart phones get an increasing array of features, they need faster processors. The Motorola Atrix 4G, billed as "the world's most powerful smart phone," arrives with 2 gigahertz of processing power_ the kind you're more likely to find on a laptop than a phone.
That's notable because there's an optional laptop dock, which makes the phone function as, well, a laptop.
The Atrix is available now for pre-order from AT&T Inc. and will begin selling March 6. It costs $200 with a two-year contract. But if you buy it with the dock, it will cost $500 after rebate, and you'll have to get a more expensive data plan.
On its own, the Atrix is a speedy phone, though not necessarily eye-catching. With the skinny, light dock, the Atrix is a Web surfing and e-mailing champ, which could make it a good travel buddy. For heavy-duty computing, though, I'd still stick with my full-featured laptop.

Alcohol kills more than AIDS, TB or violence: WHO

By Stephanie Nebehay – Fri Feb 11, 7:03 am ET

 

GENEVA (Reuters) – Alcohol causes nearly 4 percent of deaths worldwide, more than AIDS, tuberculosis or violence, the World Health Organization warned on Friday.
Rising incomes have triggered more drinking in heavily populated countries in Africa and Asia, including India and South Africa, and binge drinking is a problem in many developed countries, the United Nations agency said.

Yet alcohol control policies are weak and remain a low priority for most governments despite drinking's heavy toll on society from road accidents, violence, disease, child neglect and job absenteeism, it said.
Approximately 2.5 million people die each year from alcohol related causes, the WHO said in its "Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health."
"The harmful use of alcohol is especially fatal for younger age groups and alcohol is the world's leading risk factor for death among males aged 15-59," the report found.
In Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), every fifth death is due to harmful drinking, the highest rate.
Binge drinking, which often leads to risky behavior, is now prevalent in Brazil, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Russia, South Africa and Ukraine, and rising elsewhere, according to the WHO.
"Worldwide, about 11 percent of drinkers have weekly heavy episodic drinking occasions, with men outnumbering women by four to one. Men consistently engage in hazardous drinking at much higher levels than women in all regions," the report said.

Firefox 4 beta 11 released

By Paula Rooney | February 8, 2011, 3:08pm PST

As promised, the Mozilla team released Firefox 4 beta 11 this afternoon.
The open source browser company published a brief report on the 11th beta, which features a new “Do Not Track” privacy feature.
“The latest Firefox 4 Beta is now available to download and test,” the post notes. “We’ve continued our work to improve performance and stability, while also implementing a “Do Not Track” privacy feature to provide more control over online behavioral tracking.”
The team said there is no hard date for beta 12 but it is expected to “close up” this weekend, according to meeting notes posted today.

Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily e-mail newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.

Bonding with an ex-Karachi Jew against the Indians in Israel

By Salman Siddiqui

Published: February 7, 2011- Express Tribune

KARACHI: Writer Mohammad Hanif shared anecdotes from Israel and announced the title of his new novel at the Karachi Literature Festival on Sunday evening.
The ascerbic author of A Case of Exploding Mangoes had the entire audience in fits of laughter as he described his sources of inspiration, his experiences in Karachi and his recent trip to Palestine where he was on a creative-writing teaching assignment.
Once as a reporter for an international media organisation he was sent to Israel, where he was asked to address an event. “When I mentioned Karachi, I noticed that a man at the back row began to weep,” he said. “At the end of my address, I inquired and learnt that he belonged to the generation of Jews who once used to live in Karachi.”

HP’s unveils new, sliding touchscreen PCs

By Ben Patterson – Mon Feb 7, 9:52 am ET

HP has been cranking out its touch-enabled, all-in-one TouchSmart PCs for years now, but the latest model comes with a twist: a 23-inch display that slides almost all the way down, turning the system into something akin to a jumbo touch panel.
Slated to go on sale this week for $900, the TouchSmart 610 runs on Windows 7 and arrives with the latest version of HP's TouchSmart user interface, complete with touch-friendly versions of Hulu, Netflix, Rhapsody, Twitter, and even R.U.S.E., a popular real-time strategy game.

The revamped TouchSmart UI lets you post images, notes, and other content onto a multi-panel, swipeable home screen—and yes, there's an app store featuring more TouchSmart apps, some free and others for

AOL steps up news, ad push with Huffington Post

By RACHEL METZ, AP Technology Writer 

 

Arianna Huffington, author, syndicated
columnist and co-founder and
editor-in-chief of the 'The Huffington Post'.

SAN FRANCISCO – AOL Inc.'s $315 million deal to buy news hub Huffington Post signals that it is serious about building its profile as a media company as its legacy dial-up Internet business dies away.
The acquisition announced Monday is AOL CEO Tim Armstrong's most aggressive play so far as he tries to reshape a fallen Internet icon and boost efforts in news and online advertising. It is the largest purchase the company has made under Armstrong, a former Google advertising executive hired by AOL to engineer a turnaround.
The Huffington Post ranks as one of the top 10 current events and global news sites and draws 25 million U.S. visitors each month. It has built its popularity by compiling news from a wide selection of other media outlets, with links to articles and video on everything from politics to style to food. The site combines that type of aggregation with original work by its own small staff and blog posts from celebrity contributors who work for free in return for a platform to express their opinions. Bill Gates has written for Huffington Post, along with President Barack Obama, Robert Redford and several university presidents.
But just as important as gaining the site itself, the deal adds Huffington Post co-founder and media star Arianna Huffington to AOL's management team. Once the deal closes later this year, Huffington will run AOL's growing array of content, which includes popular technology sites Engadget and TechCrunch, local news site Patch.com and online mapping service MapQuest.

Oscars Aims to Fulfill New 'You're Invited' Tagline

Q&A: An Oscars Producer on the Slogan, the Montages and Bringing Back Song Performances

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- For the first time in the ceremony's 83-year history, the Oscars has a tagline.
The show's producers are going after a younger audience with hosts Anne Hathaway and James Franco.
ABC
The show's producers are going after a younger audience with hosts Anne Hathaway and James Franco.

The catchphrase, "You're Invited," will be featured in all aspects of marketing for this year's Academy Awards, which air Feb. 27 on ABC. While the tagline may seem pretty straightforward for the movie industry's big dance -- usually the second most-watched TV event of the year next to the Super Bowl -- it's a big deal for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.

Sony teases Xperia Play with disturbing thumb-graft promo

 Mobile World Congress is a little over a week away, but PlayStation continues to tease us with the upcoming Xperia Play. We got a thorough look at the device recently, and now a promo hyping the device is out there. And it’s both weird and awesome.
There wasn’t much (or any) argument to begin with, but the commercial confirms the gaming phone is Android based.  The ad shows an Android bot undergoing a successful human hand transplant in the warehouse of some city’s seedy underbelly. See for yourselves.

Britney Spears reveals title and cover of her upcoming album: Are you ready?

by Brad Wete

“Hold It Against Me,” Britney Spears’ new single, annihilated the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in its debut week. Today she revealed the set’s name and cover art on Twitter. And the title is…Femme Fatale. Hmm. Leading up to the announcement, she talked about the effort she’s put into the project. “I’ve poured my heart and soul into this album over the last 2 years. I’ve put everything I have into it,” she wrote. “This album is for you, my fans, who have always supported me and have stuck by me every step of the way!  I love you all!”
Find out what kind of album Fatale will be from Britney after the jump.
Britney describes Fatale as “Sexy and Strong,” “Dangerous yet mysterious,” and “Cool yet confident!” The album is expected out March 15. So here comes the big question: Are you anxious for it? And what do you think of the cover art? See how they snuck the 7 in under Fatale‘s F? Nifty!
 
courtesy: Entertainment Weekly