How Google is collecting user data — and paying users for it, too

As part of a project called Screenwise, Google is paying normal people to install a Chrome extension and browse the web as usual.

“Panelists,” as these average-Joe-and-Jane users are called, will be paid in Amazon gift cards — one $5 gift card every three months, to be exact. (Google notes that Amazon is not part of the program.)

The Chrome extension will track what these people do around the web, the sites they use, and … Continue Reading

Chrome finally comes to Android, get the new beta now

If you’re running the Ice Cream Sandwich operating system, a.k.a. Android 4.0, on your smartphone or tablet, you can run along right now and download Chrome for Android.

The latest addition to the Chrome family is a mobile beta that brings a (purportedly) better and faster browsing experience to Android devices. Perhaps most exciting of all, it allows for the desktop-to-mobile syncing and sign-ins we have loved so much in competitor Firefox for Android.

“Like … Continue Reading

New Chrome Beta release renders web pages as you type, screens downloads

Fast is never fast enough for Google. Case in point: The latest version of Chrome Beta, Google’s testbed browser for those who want to browse on the bleeding edge, now loads web pages while you type.

“To get you where you want to go even faster, Chrome will now start loading some web pages in the background, even before you’ve finished typing the URL in the omnibox,” Google software engineer Dominic Hamon wrote in a … Continue Reading

Microsoft celebrates the demise of Internet Explorer 6

Microsoft pulled out the champagne today with a report that its Internet Explorer 6 browser had dropped below 1 percent usage in the U.S., a sign that businesses and crazily stubborn users have finally upgraded to a better browser.

“IE6 has been the punch line of browser jokes for a while, and we’ve been as eager as anyone to see it go away,” wrote Roger Capriotti, Director of Internet Explorer Marketing, in a company blog … Continue Reading

Uh oh, Google may be in trouble for fishy Chrome sponsored-post campaign

A series of low-quality posts meant to increase the search ranking of Google’s Chrome browser, which also appear to have been sponsored by Google, could put the search giant in hot water for violating its own rules.

More than 400 such posts, which contain the phrase “This post is sponsored by Google,” were first uncovered by SEO Book’s Aaron Wall, which led Search Engine Land’s Danny Sullivan to do even more digging.

Why the hubbub? … Continue Reading

Shodogg will let you pause and restart video from any device (exclusive)

There’s a series of DirecTV commercials where a TV viewer is immersed in an action scene but easily pauses and begins the scene where he left off in a different room. While that idea is easy to grasp, it’s not fully realized because our homes have more screens than just TVs. The viewer can’t begin watching again, on say, his smartphone.

Shodogg, a startup focused on consuming and syncing video easily across platforms and devices, … Continue Reading

Google nabs Square Enix and other game developers to do native client Chrome games

Google announced today that its three-year effort to create a muscular browser technology that can run heavy duty apps such as console-like games is now ready for prime time.

Google has provided the platform to allow games to run in the Chrome browser and make use of the computers 3D graphics hardware. That makes it possible to run games with high-end console-like graphics in a web browser.

[See our video interview with Google's Eric Kay … Continue Reading

Google Chrome upgrades: Gamepad & WebRTC support coming in 2012

Google is set to add plug-and-play gamepad support to its Chrome web browser early next year, Develop reports. Google developer advocate Paul Kinlan also announced the search behemoth will be adding open source video and voice chat application WebRTC to its browser.

Speaking at the Develop Liverpool conference, Kinlan’s plans could pave the way for cloud-based gaming and open video chat services to make an appearance on the browser, which is currently supported by over … Continue Reading

Google celebrates holidays with Chromebook price drop, OS update

Google’s ”Chrome team elves” have been busy prepping for the holidays and will be celebrating with an update to the Chrome OS and a price drop on Acer and Samsung Chromebooks to $299, the company announced.

Google’s foray into “Chromebooks” — basically Chrome OS-based netbooks with some additional functionality — hasn’t been as smooth as its move into smartphones with Android, which has spread like wildfire through the mobile world — Android is now the … Continue Reading

Evernote launches Clearly, a browser extension for naked news reading

In search of a distraction-free way to read the day’s web news? Evernote, the ubiquitous note-taking service, has released a Chrome browser extension called Clearly made with you in mind.

Evernote specializes in mobile and web applications for taking and saving notes, and has more than 16 million users. Clearly is Evernote’s first original product launch since it released Peek, the iPad 2 Smart Cover application.

With a single click of button, Clearly slides in … Continue Reading

Google buys Apture to improve Chrome browsing experience

Apture, maker of in-page search technology, has been acquired by Google for an undisclosed sum. Apture staff will join Google’s Chrome team and work to improve the browser’s user experience, the startup announced Thursday.

“We were impressed by the Apture team’s approach to enhancing the web browser experience, and we think their expertise will complement the Chrome team’s efforts in this area,” a Google spokesperson told VentureBeat.

Apture, founded in 2007, raised more than $4 … Continue Reading

Firefox 8 gets official, adds handy Twitter search function

Mozilla has released the newest version of its popular Firefox browser today, Firefox 8, adding in a useful Twitter-search ability and disabling add-ons by default to boost performance.

Firefox users have seen quick updates of their browsers ever since Mozilla decided to mimic Google Chrome’s rapid release schedule. Six weeks ago Firefox 7 debuted with performance gains, and six weeks before that Firefox 6 hit with extra tools for developers. Mozilla has been a little … Continue Reading

Chrome to surpass Firefox in market share by December

Google Chrome is well on its way to surpassing Mozilla Firefox’s No. 2 market share position and should overtake the fox no later than December, according to Irish analytics company StatCounter.

We reported at the beginning of August that Chrome had overtaken Firefox in the UK, but now that trend appears to be intensifying on a worldwide scale. Chrome has gained an incredible eight percentage points in worldwide market share since January, which is a … Continue Reading

Mozilla: Firefox 6 will be officially ready tomorrow

Though several reports have suggested users can download the new Mozilla Firefox 6 browser early from the company’s FTP server, Mozilla says that version is not final and the real build will be available tomorrow.

“As part of Mozilla’s open source development process, we post our builds publicly for testing and verification,” a Mozilla spokesperson told VentureBeat. “While we appreciate everyone’s excitement about the Firefox release, these builds are currently not final and are still … Continue Reading

Updated: Is Angry Birds maker Rovio in the process of raising more funding?

[Update: Another audience member also asked if Rovio was raising money, to which a representative of the company said it was serious about raising money.]

Angry Birds maker Rovio might be in the process of raising another round of funding.

When asked what companies were raising money, Rovio’s head of global brand advertising Wibe Wagemans raised his hand. When asked whether the company was raising money on stage, he said the company was always looking … Continue Reading

Is Facebook scared of Google+? Blocks Chrome extension

Facebook has blocked a popular extension for Google’s Chrome web browser that allows users to export their Facebook contacts.

The open-source extension, Facebook Friend Exporter, lets users grab all the information about their Facebook friends, which can then be imported to other networks such as Google’s new social service, Google+.

The practice of exporting contact information explicitly violates Facebook’s terms of service, as CNET notes. The official TOS states: “you will not collect users’ content … Continue Reading

Microsoft lets loose second Internet Explorer 10 preview

Microsoft on Tuesday released a second preview of its Internet Explorer 10 browser, which will give developers a chance to test out new features and technologies related to IE10. The new browser is expected to launch officially next year when Windows 8 is released.

Internet Explorer has been losing market share for years, first to Mozilla’s Firefox and now to both Firefox and Google’s Chrome. With the release of Internet Explorer 9, it appeared Microsoft … Continue Reading

Mozilla kills security updates for Firefox 4

When Mozilla launched Firefox 5 yesterday, there were no mentions of security updates for Firefox 4. And for good reason: Mozilla is treating Firefox 5 as 4′s final security update.

Now that Mozilla has put itself on a rapid release development cycle, similar to what Google does with Chrome, old numbered versions of the product will no longer get security updates. Users that don’t update will likely be exposed to vulnerabilities as they are discovered.… Continue Reading

Firefox 5 launches only months after last version

Mozilla’s new rapid release cycle for Firefox is moving along in full force. The non-profit announced the release of Firefox 5 today a mere three months after the release of Firefox 4.

Mozilla touts over 1,000 improvements in the new browser, but it’s certainly nowhere near as big a leap as Firefox 4 was over its predecessor. Firefox 5 features improved HTML5, sync and developer support, as well as new Do Not Track privacy features … Continue Reading

Google Chome 13 beta is out, adds Instant Pages and print preview

Google on Friday released its Google Chrome 13 beta, a version of the browser that includes the newly introduced Instant Pages feature and the long-awaited print preview function.

Both Instant Pages, which preloads your most likely search result, and print preview are important additions to Chrome, which is arguably the most innovative browser on the market. As a still young browser, Chrome’s market share worldwide has had remarkable growth. As of May, Chrome has an … Continue Reading