A narrative on the future of web browsers and web browsing

Browser Bits and Bobs for May 15, 2008

Thursday, May 15th, 2008

Opera Mini 4.1, with a number of bug fixes and tweaks, has been released. TechCrunch with an article on Mozilla's "stealth data project", which aims to collect statistics on web usage from Firefox's 170 million strong user base. Mozilla CEO John Lilly provides some clarification. Mozilla joins the LiMo Foundation, which develops ...

Memo to Microsoft: Buy Adobe, Not Yahoo

Thursday, May 1st, 2008

If nothing else, Microsoft's prolonged attempt to acquire Yahoo has added some zest to the tech news echo chamber. The ongoing saga has provided seemingly endless fodder for mainstream news outlets and blogs to speculate about the financial merits of the deal, the strategic implications for Microsoft and Yahoo's allergic ...

Deconstructing Rich Internet Applications

Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008

A post by my Prism partner in crime Mark Finkle sent me spiraling back in time along an interlocking blogathon of attempts to nail down the term Rich Internet Application. Intense speed-reading of so many mammoth posts can scar the psyche, so let me paraphrase them and save you the ...

Adobe’s Quest for Web Domination

Wednesday, March 12th, 2008

With the announcement of the first official release of AIR, all eyes have been on Adobe's ambitions in the Rich Internet Application (RIA) space. But Adobe also has far-reaching plans to add new features to its Flash runtime with big implications for the web, both inside the browser and out. Content ...

Steve Jobs Says Flash Sucks

Thursday, March 6th, 2008

Well, actually he didn't. When CNet initially reported on the last Apple shareholder meeting, his comments about Flash on the iPhone, buried in a list of bullet points, seemed innocent enough: Turning back to the iPhone, don't expect support for Adobe's Flash technology anytime soon. The full-blown PC Flash version "performs ...

AIR, Flex and the Open Web

Tuesday, February 26th, 2008

With the official release yesterday of Adobe AIR and Flex 3, it's worth taking another look at the question of what these products mean for the evolution of the web. Criticism of Adobe for the proprietary nature of its technology is hardly novel. A widely read piece by Ted Leung ...

Flash on the iPhone?… Probably Not

Thursday, February 14th, 2008

There's a reason that they call them rumors. The other day, a lot of sources (including Just Browsing) were pointing to a Gear Live article claiming that Flash support for the iPhone web browser is just around the corner. Ryan Stewart, who works for Adobe, doesn't rule out the possibility ...

Flash Coming to the iPhone

Tuesday, February 12th, 2008

Support for Adobe Flash is high on the list of iPhone browser improvements I've been yearning for. According to Gear Live, the wait is nearly over. As rumors go, this one is pretty plausible, as is the author's speculation that the launch will be timed to coincide with the release ...

A Week at the Opera, Initial Impressions

Monday, February 11th, 2008

Today we kick off Just Browsing's ongoing Browser of the Week series. I installed Opera on my MacBook Pro this morning, though I couldn't cut the Firefox umbilical cord entirely and I'm still using it on my other computer (a Windows XP box). I'll be delving into some of the ...

AIR, Flash and Self-Fulfilling Prophesies

Wednesday, January 30th, 2008

Yesterday I mentioned in passing my bet with Mike Shaver that Adobe will deliver AIR as part of a new Flash version at some point during the year. So naturally I speed-dialed my accountant when I saw the following on Ajaxian this morning: The biggest advantage that AIR has, though, is ...