Posted 11/03/09 at 09:30:54 AM by Paul Lilly

Google's minimalistic Chrome browser continues to improve one feature at a time, and the latest release adds the ability to sync bookmarks across multiple machines. There's one caveat, however - it's a beta release, not a stable build.

If you're thinking to yourself that's not much of a caveat, then in your luck, because the new beta also purports to supercharge performance. According to the Chrome devs, you can expect the beta to run up to 30 percent faster than the current stable release, as measured by Mozilla's Dromeao DOM Core tests, and about 400 percent faster than the very first stable Chrome build.

But let's get back to the bookmark syncing, because that's going to be the realy draw for most users. This essentially the same implementation as was previously available through Google's dev channel, which is geared for developers and "can be very unstable at times." And just like before, there's nothing complicated about the feature in the beta build. Just mosey over to the Wrench icon, select 'Synchronize my bookmarks...' and sign in to your Google account. All of your bookmarks will then be uploaded. When you do the same on another PC with a different set of bookmarks, Chrome will offer to merge your bookmarks. Pretty slick.

Check out the video walkthrough here.

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Posted 10/20/09 at 03:24:01 PM by Bart Salisbury

Microsoft appears to be in a beta-state of mind. Hot on the heels of the announcement that Visual Studio’s beta 2 release, Microsoft has announced that an Office 2010 public beta will be available in November.

Computerworld’s Gregg Keizer is reporting that Steve Ballmer, in his keynote address to kick off Microsoft’s SharePoint Conference 2009 in Las Vegas, said the Office 2010 beta would be forthcoming, and that anyone will be eligible to give it a try. Up to now Office 2010 beta testing has been confined to a technical preview to a select few thousand.

Office 2010 is a bit of a hybridization, having computer, web browser (Office Web Apps), and smartphone (Office Mobile) components. Up to now only the Office Web Apps have been available for review, and only on Windows Live.

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Posted 10/19/09 at 04:20:12 PM by Bart Salisbury

Beta 2 of Microsoft’s Visual Studio 2010, along with .NET Framework 4, is being readied for its second round of beta testing. Visual Studio is a development system which Microsoft touts as “a comprehensive suite of tools designed to help software developers create innovative, next-generation applications.” Visual Studio supports development for Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Azure, SQL Server, Office 2010 and, in Beta 2, SharePoint 2010 making it, says Microsoft, “the perfect work environment for application developers.”

.NET Framework 4, which is being released at the same time, is said to be 81 percent smaller than earlier versions, allowing it to be downloaded more quickly, and be more easily installed. It adds support the the Microsoft Dynamic Language Runtime (DLR), giving programmers more language choices. And it is better suited for parallel-programming, workflow-centric and service-oriented application development.

Microsoft plans to put Visual Studio 2010 Beta 2 into the hands of MSDN members on October 19. An open public beta is will be launched on October 21. The final version of Visual Studio 2010 is expected to be released in March, 2010.

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Posted 10/15/09 at 10:35:35 AM by Paul Lilly

Those of you eager to give Firefox's next browser a release a spin can now do so, however bear in mind that this isn't the official beta launch. Instead, Mozilla today has made available for download an experimental test build of Firefox 3.6.

"A beta is indeed available, but I would like to clarify that the Beta program for Firefox 3.6 has not yet launched, this is a test build, not necessarily Firefox 3.6 Beta 1," Patrick Finch from Mozilla wrote.

If the test build status doesn't scare you off, downloading the new release gives you access to a few new goodies. Included in Firefox 3.6 is the Gecko 1.9.2 engine, tab previews (use CTRL and Tab to switch between tabs), thumbnail taskbar previews for Windows 7 users, an automated plug-in checker, and of course more improvements to the all-important JavaScript engine.

What you won't find in this early release is the orientation detection feature Mozilla recently announced. Nevertheless, you can snag a copy of the build right here.

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Posted 10/14/09 at 08:51:21 AM by Paul Lilly

Originally intended as a separate download -- or at least released that way in beta form -- Opera Unite now comes bundled with the release of Opera 10.10 beta as a standard feature.

Opera Unite is a peer-to-peer system with an API that allows developers to create feature-rich apps using only HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Or as Opera describes it, a Web server in the Web browser. The software ships with six pre-installed apps, including photo sharing, an instant messenger, file sharing, a Web server, media player, and an app called "the fridge," which allows users to share notes with friends and family.

You can view a corny YouTube video of Unite here, which looks like it took a page from Microsoft's Launch Party video. If you want to give a whirl yourself, grab the download here.

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Posted 10/07/09 at 03:54:59 PM by Jason Barry

Some clever Google Apps users stumbled across an internal feedback form for seemingly new service to be offered by Google, Cloudboard.

Google released a beta to internal Trix and Writely users hoping to get some feedback on how the services work together. Judging from the feedback survey, it looks like Cloudboard will be an internet based clipboard. It appears to allow copying nearly any content (pictures, text, media, etc.) and pasting it into your “Cloudboard.” The survey asks about integration preferences with Gmail, YouTube, Sketchy, Picasa, Maps in addition to functionality and UI based questions.

Someone snapped a pic of the survey before Google realized someone was peeking up their skirt and removed the page.

Does an internet clipboard sound like something you would use?

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Posted 10/06/09 at 06:00:00 PM by Bart Salisbury

Mozilla is prepping for an October 13 release of the FireFox 3.6 beta. This beta for the  popular open source browser, built with Gecko 1.9.2, is the first in a series of incremental improvements that will culminate in the planned roll-out of a Google Chrome-like Firefox 4.0 in October 2010.

Improvements planned for the 3.6 release include better page rendering speed, a bumped up TraceMonkey JavaScript engine, some additions for theCascading Style Sheet (CSS) technology, optimized sessions restoration, and lightweight themes. Adoption of Microsoft’s Windows Vista/7 Aero Glass look will wait until the 3.7 beta.

According to a post by Mike Beltzner, at mozilla.dev.planning, code for the 3.6 beta freezes October 5, and the beta will ship late in the day (PDT) on October 13.

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Posted 10/05/09 at 04:31:40 PM by Mark Edward Soper

ArsTechnica passes along a rumor that the next release of Microsoft's Windows Live, Wave 4, may reach beta status this week. Details are scarce, but Softpedia points out that Windows Live Hotmail Wave 4 Milestone 1, which offers a number of new features, has been live since mid-September.

When will Windows Live Wave 4 Beta shed the beta tag? ArsTechnica has run a Japanese blog entry about Wave 4 through a couple of online translators, with the rather fractured results pointing to a spring to summer 2010 target. Stay clicked to MaximumPC.com for more information.

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