Mozilla publishes name and shame list of slow Firefox add-ons, cracks down on tardy devs

Firefox slow-addons list
Mozilla, continuing its year-long crusade to speed up Firefox startup and shutdown times, has published a name and shame list of the Firefox's slowest add-ons.

The list is just one part of Mozilla's new efforts to highlight slow add-ons, and to help developers make their add-ons more efficient. Over the next two weeks, 'slow performance warnings' will be introduced in the add-on gallery so that users can see, before installation, which add-ons will slow down their browser. If that isn't enough to spur developers into cleaning up their add-ons, Mozilla has also begun reaching out to developers of slow add-ons with tips on how to improve add-on performance. Finally, add-on developers will soon have the ability to perform 'on-demand performance testing,' so that they can test their add-on before it's deployed publicly.

Mozilla reports that the average Firefox add-on slows down Firefox's start-up time by 10% -- which means, if you install 10 add-ons, you will double your start-up time. On fast desktop PCs that kind of slowdown might be negligible, but on older computers, laptops and smartphones, it could be the difference between a 5 and 10 second startup. Mozilla has obviously realized that while massive performance gains might've been made with Firefox 4, the addition of third-party add-ons can destroy any user-perceived improvements.

In other news, Mozilla says that a future build of Firefox will block the installation of add-ons (such as toolbars) by third-party software. Add-ons and toolbars that are bundled in this way will require explicit approval when you next open up Firefox. Hooray!

Mozilla publishes name and shame list of slow Firefox add-ons, cracks down on tardy devs originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 05:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/04/mozilla-publishes-name-and-shame-list-of-slow-firefox-add-ons/

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Toyota pulls Cydia theme and ads to appease Apple

Apple asks Toyota to remove jailbreak Cydia theme
In news that will no doubt shake the very bedrock of your belief system, Apple has asked Toyota to remove its Scion theme and its advertising from ModMyi, a Cydia repository. The Scion theme has been available for weeks, but after it received a ton of press in the last couple of days, Apple finally lashed out.

It's not like we should be surprised, considering Apple has claimed in the past that jailbreaking is illegal -- but at the same time, did the Cupertino cronies hear about the ruling that made circumventing DRM, and thus jailbreaking, legal? Anyway, whether Toyota was supporting illegal, legal, or deliciously gray and ambiguous, activity, it doesn't matter: Apple asked Toyota to remove the theme, and Toyota graciously bent over and capitulated.

This story raises a much more interesting topic, though: this is the first time a multinational company has publicly acknowledged and embraced the jailbreak community. Considering jailbreaking is technically legal, and Cydia's creator, Jay Freeman, estimates that up to 9% of OS devices are jailbroken, it simply makes good, commercial sense to target jailbreakers with ads. Toyota was simply trying to make some money, for shame!

As long as Apple continues to throw around its increasingly-expansive mass, the legality of jailbreaking will continue to be inconsequential. It will be interesting to see if another big company dares embrace the jailbreak community after this, too.

Toyota pulls Cydia theme and ads to appease Apple originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 05:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/06/toyota-pulls-ios-jailbreak-theme-and-ads-to-appease-apple/

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HTC DLX specs purportedly slip, stuff Snapdragon S4 Pro and 12MP camera into a 5-inch frame

HTC DLX specs purportedly slip, stuff Snapdragon S4 Pro and 12MP camera into a 5inch frame

Talk of HTC's rumored, giant DLX has veered between the plausible and not-so-plausible. We might just toss the newest tip into that former category. Football4PDA, who's developing a reputation for uncanny accuracy in leaks, has posted what's claimed to be the core specifications of HTC's first phablet. The DLX would mirror earlier expectations of a 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro and a 5-inch, 1080p display, but push past the OneX+ in more ways than just physical heft: the extra space might just help it afford 1.5GB of RAM, a 12-megapixel rear camera, a 2-megapixel front shooter and a larger-still (but non-removable) 2,500mAh battery. We're not as much of a fan of the threadbare 16GB of storage that's supposedly in the cards, though, even with a new Android 4.1.2 build in store. Provided that there's more to the story than just 136 characters, the real point of contention is the ship date -- having mostly cleared the decks between its September event and its One X+ introduction, HTC hasn't left much time for the possibly Verizon-bound flagship to show its face.

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HTC DLX specs purportedly slip, stuff Snapdragon S4 Pro and 12MP camera into a 5-inch frame originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Oct 2012 23:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/4ezNEQP8Tlk/

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Add a Windows 8 user tile to your Windows 7 taskbar

Now that Windows 8 images have begun leaking out, it's only a matter of time until developers start releasing mods for Windows 7 which mimic upcoming features. Over at Into Windows, they've spotted one such mod already.

In the earliest Windows 8 images, we saw Windows Live integration on the taskbar. In the far right corner, there's a user tile displayed. If you'd like to do the same on Windows 7, download Taskbar User Tile from DeviantArt user AngelWZR.

Once installed, your current picture will appear on the taskbar. Click it, and a menu appears which allows you to log off, switch users, and access the control panel. Right now, the mod only works if your taskbar is displayed on the bottom of your Windows desktop.

Add a Windows 8 user tile to your Windows 7 taskbar originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/06/add-a-windows-8-user-tile-to-your-windows-7-taskbar/

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NetZero Still Exists, Wants You to Buy Friends With Data [Netzero]

NetZero, a brand left over from from the dialup days that refuses to die, has a trick up its sleeve to encourage you to buy one of its WiMAX data hotspot devices: it gives you 1GB of data every month to give away through Facebook, so you can buy friends with downloads. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/aN1jHpPqkW0/netzero-still-exists-wants-you-to-buy-friends-with-data

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PSX games now available in the Android Market, if you own an Xperia Play

PlayStation One games on the Android Market
If you're lucky enough to own an Xperia Play -- Sony Ericsson's new Gingerbread-powered smartphone-cum-gamepad -- you can now buy PlayStation (PSX) titles from the Android Market.

There are five titles currently available, all priced at £3.99: Syphon Filter, MediEvil, Cool Boarders 2, Destruction Derby, and Jumping Flash. They don't have an American price yet, but that will surely change once the Xperia Play launches in the States.

Two important questions remain unanswered: How big are these games? The Market descriptions say the games are only 5MB, but that sounds incredibly unlikely -- and more importantly, will it be possible to 'spoof' the Xperia Play and download PSX games onto other Gingerbread-powered phones, like the Nexus S?

In other news, the PlayStation emulator PSX4droid was recently removed from the Android Market. This obviously has nothing to do with today's release of first-party PlayStation games.

PSX games now available in the Android Market, if you own an Xperia Play originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 04:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/01/psx-games-now-available-in-the-android-market/

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Bing begins roll out of HTML5-enhanced search interface

Bing transitions
Bing's new HTML5-and-CSS3-enhanced search interface, which was first demonstrated back in September 2010 to showcase the power of IE9, has started to roll out.

The most notable addition to the new interface is is smooth page transitions -- the fade in and out -- and navigation tabs (maps, images, videos, etc.) now persistently float at the top of the page. WinRumors is also reporting that a feature reminiscent of Google Instant search is being added to Bing, with page elements smoothly transitioning in and out as you type in your search query.

If you want to try out the new Bing UI, your best bet is to set your locale to United States - English and pray that you're part of the initial roll out. Alternatively, just wait a few days until MIX 2011, Microsoft's Web developer conference, which is when the new Bing UI should be officially launched.

Bing begins roll out of HTML5-enhanced search interface originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 06:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/08/bing-begins-roll-out-of-html5-enhanced-search-interface/

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Math Has Never Looked as Pretty as This [Image Cache]

When you were at high school, math was probably an uninspiring string of algebra you had to crunch through. Get to the cutting edge of computational fluid dynamics, though, and it all starts to look a hell of a lot more pretty. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Mqa1C2GZqrw/math-has-never-looked-as-pretty-as-this

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This week's sidebar poll: Which OEM do you want to see make the next Nexus?

Nexus Phones

It's the time of year where all Android fans start to think about the next Nexus device. We're Android fans first and foremost around these parts, so we're right there with you all thinking and making a wishlist about what we want to see from Google. Maybe the most discussed thing is who is going to make the darn thing.

There's four "sensible" players in this race -- Samsung, HTC, Motorola, and LG. Without being privy to the entire bidding process for the job (if there even is one) we have to put all four of these companies as equally able to build a phone for Google. We can't instantly dismiss smaller players like ZTE, but they aren't going to be able to compete with these four when trying to get a contract.

There's all sorts of rumors flying around about the upcoming Nexus phone -- some we believe, some that make us skeptical -- but toss all those aside. This is what you want to see. Vote in the poll, and tell everyone in the comments why you feel the way you do. The poll is after the break, or you can find it in the sidebar to the right.

Before we go, a look at last week's results:

Are Android smartphone cameras good enough?

  • Yes -- 45.88-percent
  • No -- 33.83-percent
  • Who cares. It's a cellphone camera -- 20.28-percent

While none of us will complain when manufacturers give us better cameras, it looks like most of us are dealing with what we have just fine. I wonder how this one would have went over two years ago ...

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/lR07J7RHwGI/story01.htm

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