JavaScript Decoder Lets MP3s Play in Firefox Without Flash

by: admin - June 18th, 2011   Filed under: Music, Tech News Add Comment

The introduction of HTML5 and super-fast JavaScript engines to the latest web browsers has brought with it a wealth of new functionality. The focus seems to have been put on the ability to play video in a browser without Flash, or making games. But a project born out of a Music Hackday in Berlin is just as exciting.

It’s called jsmad and is a pure JavaScript decoder that allows you to play MP3s in a browser without Flash. So, for example, a music artist could create a website and upload songs for visitors to listen to without need of any plug-ins. Alternatively, why not have an MP3 jukebox that can play songs off your hard drive or Dropbox folder just by loading a website?

Read on…

VN:F [1.9.17_1161]
Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)
Download article as PDF
Tags: , , , , , ,

IBM is Moving to Firefox as its Default Browser

by: admin - July 6th, 2010   Filed under: Tech News Add Comment

I talk a lot about software in this blog but most of the discussion is at the personal level: I tried this, I experimented with that. I hardly ever talk about what I use for doing my IBM business and more rarely still do I talk about IBM’s internal policies about software use. This entry is different, and gives you a bit of a view inside the company.

Like many individuals and members of organizations, IBMers use their browsers a lot for conducting business. Our desktop and laptop software environments have some common applications but also software specific to do our various jobs. And these jobs are varied, as there are about 400,000 IBM employees around the world.

Some of the software we all use shouldn’t surprise you since we make it, such as Lotus Notes, Lotus Sametime, and Lotus Symphony.

We’re officially adding a new piece of software to the list of default common applications we expect employees to use, and that’s the Mozilla Firefox browser.

Read on…

VN:F [1.9.17_1161]
Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)
Download article as PDF
Tags: ,

Researchers Develop 3D Graphics Capability for Firefox

by: admin - March 4th, 2010   Filed under: Tech News Add Comment

A group of researchers plans to release a version of the Firefox browser that includes the built-in ability to view 3D graphics, a capability that could open the door for more interactive Web pages from developers.

Some gaming companies have created plug-ins that allow 3D graphics to be viewed, but the latest method does not require one, which potentially would allow the capability to be used by more people, said Philipp Slusallek, a professor at Saarland University, at the Cebit trade show on Wednesday.

They’ve integrated that real-time ray tracing technology, called RT Fact, into Firefox and Webkit, the rendering engine for browsers such as Safari and Chrome, Slusallek said. The images are then described using XML3D, part of the HTML Web programming language, and the browser can natively render the 3D scene.

Read on…

VN:F [1.9.17_1161]
Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)
Download article as PDF
Tags: , , , , ,

VLC Media Player To Get Extensions Starting With Version 1.1

by: admin - February 1st, 2010   Filed under: Tech News Add Comment

Starting with version 1.1, VideoLan Media Player (VLC) will get extensions support, and anyone will be able to write their own – like it is with Firefox extensions.

Jean-Philippe André, one of the VLC developers explains on it’s blog:

The difference with other VLC modules consists in the language used to write these Extensions: Lua, a simple a lightweight scripting language, embedded inside VLC media player.

Read on…

VN:F [1.9.17_1161]
Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)
Download article as PDF
Tags: , ,

After 5 Years, Firefox Faces New Challenges

by: admin - November 11th, 2009   Filed under: Tech News Add Comment

Five years ago, Mozilla made it clear that the browser wars weren’t over after all.

In the 1990s, Netscape had lost its dominance in the browser market to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, and the Netscape-spawned open-source project called Mozilla had sunk into obscurity. Even a federal antitrust suit accusing Microsoft of anti-competitive practices with its browser and Windows was not enough to turn the tide.

But on November 9, 2004, Firefox 1.0 emerged to fight back again.

The project, originally named Phoenix to symbolize rebirth from Netscape’s ashes, has now clawed its way back to account for nearly a quarter of the browser usage today. Microsoft may not be on the run, but it’s on the defensive, gradually building its browser development effort back up into fighting form.

Read on…

VN:F [1.9.17_1161]
Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)
Download article as PDF
Tags: , , , , , ,