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Firefox 12 released, adds silent updates

Mozilla has updated Firefox to version 12, bundling in a special bonus for Windows users: silent updates. Future releases for the browser will no longer require a confirmation from Windows' User Account Control panel (UAC), which could allow the browser to pick up the pace with software updates, since the user won't need to acknowledge them.


The Windows UAC is designed to alert the user when a new application is trying to make changes — Firefox's rapid update schedule can make this annoying (Firefox 11 was released just last month). Firefox 12 installs a service that runs in the background; give it permission once, and it'll serve up browser updates as they become available.


It's a simple tweak, but a useful one: many users might be tempted to click through UAC notifications (or turn the dialog box off altogether) after repeated, annoying announcements. If you'd prefer to retain control over your updates (handy, if you're worried about extensions breaking) you can still opt to be notified with every new update. You can grab the update from Firefox's website.

Google Drive vs. Dropbox, SkyDrive, SugarSync, and others: a cloud sync storage face-off

Google's very own "Loch Ness monster," also known as Google Drive, has finally launched. It's the new face of Google Documents, and it's also Google's oft-rumored Dropbox-killer. It enters a scene crowded with competitors besides Dropbox that let you sync multiple folders, collaborate with friends, and stream data to your mobile device — so how does Drive fare?

We'll take a look at the top apps that let you sync files between all of your devices automatically, share files using password protection, pick which folders you want to sync, and do anything else you might want to do with a syncing app. While our evaluations of each app aren't full-on reviews, they are encapsulations of where each app excels and what makes each unique. Refer to the chart at the bottom of the page for full breakdowns of each application.

The Internet Now Has Its Own Hall of Fame

THe official Internet Halol of Fame is now open for business, featuring Vint Cerf, Leonard Kleinrock and even Al Gore.

The Internet is getting its own Hall of Fame, and the first inductees will unsurprisingly be the fathers of the internet, and surprisingly one former U.S. Vice President among many others. A dedicated website is now live featuring inductee photographs and biographies, news, interviews, polls and more. A Q&A will also be conducted each month, the first of which features Internet Hall of Fame Pioneer Vint Cerf.


The names of the inaugural Internet Hall of Fame inductees were announced on Monday at the Internet Society’s Global INET 2012 conference in Geneva, Switzerland. The Internet Hall of Fame is an annual awards program that has been established by the Internet Society to publicly recognize a distinguished and select group of leaders and luminaries who have made significant contributions to the development and advancement of the global Internet.

"This historic assembly of Internet visionaries, innovators, and leaders represents an extraordinary breadth of vision and work," said Internet Society President and CEO Lynn St.Amour. "While the inductees have extremely diverse backgrounds and represent many different countries, each individual has an incredible passion for their work. We all benefit from their outstanding contributions to a global Internet, making it one of the greatest catalysts of economic and societal development of all time."

Google Drive is Now Live

Google Drive is finally here!



After much rumor, speculation, and an accidental announcement post that launched this morning on the French official Google blog (that was subsequently deleted), Google has finally made Google Drive official.

Google Drive will offer 5 GB of storage for free, 24 GB for $2.49/month, 100 GB for $4.99/month, and 1 whopping TB of storage for $49.99/month. While the 1 TB of storage doesn’t come cheap, forking over $2.49 or $4.99 a month is pocket change. You can definitely part with your morning coffee for one day to pay for that amount of cloud storage.


Google Docs will now be integrated into Google Drive and it’ll function as it previously had. You’ll still be able to edit projects in real-time with others and share projects as you see fit. You’ll also be able to comment on any type of project, be it a Word document, PDF, or image, and receive notifications for new comments.


Google Drive also features a new search function, which will allow you to not only search by filename or file type, but also by text in scanned documents. Image recognition searches will also be allowed, although Google warns that it “is still in its early stages, and we [Google] expect it to get better over time.”


In celebration of Google Drive’s launch, Gmail’s expanded every user’s free storage from 7.5 GB to 10 GB. For those that opt to use Google Drive’s paid service, their Gmail storage will automatically be bumped up to 25 GB.

Google Drive is currently available for Mac, Windows, and Android, although Google promises that iOS support is coming soon.

Windows 8 Release Preview Dated For June

The new public release of Windows 8 is slated for early June before it officially lands on store shelves in October.

Steven Sinofsky, president of Microsoft’s Windows Division in Japan, said on Tuesday at a Windows developer event in Tokyo that the company plans to release its Windows 8 Release Preview to the public in early June. This near-finished version will be the last public release of the boxy new Windows installment until it goes retail later this year.


Microsoft's release schedule for Windows 8 is similar to the one seen with Windows 7 even though officials have claimed that the newer OS isn't following the same timeline. Back in July 2009, Microsoft released the Windows 7 Beta and then reached the Release Candidate status in May. The RTM version was ready by July, leading up to the official Windows 7 retail launch in October 2009.


So far Windows 8 is following in the same footsteps. The public Windows 8 beta (Consumer Preview) was released in February 2012, and now Microsoft plans to follow up with the Windows 8 Release Candidate (Release Preview) in early June. The new touchy Metro-themed OS is expected to go RTM in July or August, and land on store shelves this October. Naturally the last two dates are mere speculation.


Just last week Microsoft revealed that Windows 8 will come in only four flavors after much speculation about the eventual SKUs: Windows 8, Windows 8 Pro, Windows RT for ARM-based SoCs, and Windows Server 2012 for businesses and enterprises.


A chart provided by Microsoft here shows the difference between the three consumer versions, revealing that Windows RT -- formerly Windows on ARM -- lacks the ability to install x86/64 and desktop software, but provides device encryption. Yet it's extremely similar in features when compared to the standard Windows 8 although it won't support Storage Spaces and Windows Media Player.


Unfortunately, Sinofsky didn't go into details regarding the upcoming Release Preview or anything taking place thereafter. However the company previously said that it plans to share much more information about Windows 8 in the coming months, "including details on pricing and limited-time programs and promotions that we will make available to customers."

Last week during its earnings report, Microsoft said that it delivered a strong third quarter thanks to its enterprise software. The company reported earnings of $5.11 billion on revenue of $17.41 billion, or rather 60 cents a share. Wall Street was actually expecting Microsoft to report of earning 57 cents a share on revenue of $17.18 billion.

Harvard advisory council promotes open access publishing, says journals are too expensive

Harvard Library's faculty advisory council says that the annual cost for journals from publishers is prohibitively high, but instead of asking for more funding, it recommends that faculty support open access — an effort to provide unrestricted access to peer-reviewed journal articles. According to the advisory council's memorandum, Harvard's library spends nearly $3.75 million on journals each year, and prices for online content from two of its providers has increased by 145 percent over six years, "which far exceeds not only the consumer price index, but also the higher education and the library price indices." The advisory council says that the "situation is exacerbated by efforts of certain publishers (called 'providers') to acquire, bundle and increase the pricing on journals." It may sound strange that Harvard, which possesses the largest endowment in higher education, would complain about journal prices — but if it leads the way with open access, individuals and smaller schools and organizations could benefit.


To solve the situation, the advisory council suggests that faculty should publish their own papers with open access policies, and consider submitting their articles to open access journals or those with sustainable subscription costs — to "move prestige to open access." The council also recommends that faculty who are on the editorial board of a journal should consider resigning if they determine the journal can't be published as open access content, and for faculty to raise the issue of open access with professional organizations and peers. It's not clear what the future of peer review would look like in an open access world, and Harvard's faculty will actually have to accept the advisory council's recommendation for it to have any impact, but it's nonetheless a positive development for those who prefer broad access to knowledge.