Internet & Media

Firefox for Android gets new 'awesomescreen' interface

Firefox years ago helped unlock the potential of the browser address bar with its "awesomebar," and now its developers hope to do the same thing for mobile browsing by revamping the "awesomescreen" in Firefox for Android.

Mozilla has accepted a new awesomescreen design into its early-stage "nightly" builds, user interface engineer Lucas Rocha said in a blog post Wednesday. Features in nightly builds typically make their way to beta and final releases after weeks of testing, debugging, and refinement, so it'll be awhile before ordinary users see the feature.

The new approach effectively … Read more

Google Now beefs up its travel and entertainment skills

Google's rival to Apple's Siri, Google Now, is steadily accumulating more features to make it a worthwhile companion when you're on the road.

The assistant has a wide range of features, including tracking public transportation, sports, travel information and breaking news. In the latest update, Google Now predicts what users might need to research on their mobile device daily, increasing functionality as a result.

In a blog post, Google explains the latest card additions now part of Google Now. A car rentals card allows you to quickly access reservation details and directions to rental centers, which is … Read more

Xbox One now served under glass at Microsoft Stores

Microsoft is teasing its Xbox One with a "look but don't touch" approach.

The gaming console is popping up at Microsoft Stores for potential buyers to ogle. But ogling is about all you can do since the gadget is locked up in a glass case like a museum piece. Even though you can't get your hands on the console, you can at least check out its various components in person.

The next-generation Xbox One will debut in November for $499. On Tuesday, Microsoft announced 23 launch titles for the new console, including Call of Duty: Ghosts … Read more

Apple iCloud services offline for a few million users

Apple iCloud users have been hit by yet another outage, though this one seems to have affected a relatively small percentage of users.

As of Thursday 4 a.m. PT, Apple's status page reveals issues with iMessage, Photo Stream, Documents in the Cloud, Backup and Restore, and iPhoto Journals. Apple's description of the problem reports that people may be unable to use those services and unable to send or download attachments in iMessage.

The page says that less than 1 percent of users are affected. Just how many people does that include? In April, Apple said that its … Read more

Mark Zuckerberg: Internet missionary, Facebook colonizer

Mark Zuckerberg, not yet 30 but already the conquistador of 1.115 billion Facebook users, has a seemingly unquenchable imperial urge to engulf everyone on Earth via the Internet.

His accomplishments so far are impressive. Facebook, the 9-year-old company he co-founded and now leads as CEO, has more than 5,000 employees and a market cap of about $93 billion. In June, those billion-plus Facebook members collectively spent more than 20 billion minutes each day engaging on the social network. His personal net worth is around $16 billion.

Few figures in history have led such an enormous and successful conquest … Read more

Uber battles D.C. regulators over the size of its cars

Just as Uber got its UberX taxi service up and running in Washington, D.C., it's now being shut down. Why? Because its cars are too small.

UberX is the car-sharing app's answer to taxicabs. The service is low cost and charges by the minute or mile, like a taxi, but doesn't use a meter. The cars UberX uses are also smaller, such as the Prius and Toyota Camry -- and that's where the rub is.

The D.C. Taxi Commission (DCTC) passed new regulations this week that only allow for the use of larger sedans … Read more

Yelp takes its reviews to Rio

Yelp made its South American debut on Wednesday with the launch of Yelp Brazil, the 23rd country in which the service has launched.

The local business reviews site's efforts in Brazil will initially focus on Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, the largest city in Brazil, Miriam Warren, Yelp's vice president of new markets, said in a statement.

"We're excited to welcome this population of 200 million people into the Yelp fold. With such a diversity of cultures, tastes and ideas from every corner of the world, Brazil seems like a perfect fit for the Yelp … Read more

Google's blue moonlit doodle celebrates Debussy

In a world of despair, betrayal, and terrible covers of famous songs, you need soothing.

Often, there's no one there to do it. Sometimes, though, Google has this sweet habit of trying to do it for you.

So August 22 will be a day when, whatever bad comes to pass, you can take a moonlit stroll down a riverside, with Achille-Claude Debussy's "Clair De Lune" as your background music.

Debussy was born 151 years ago Thursday. And, as is Google's desire sometimes, its doodlers don't care which birthday it is. They just believe it'… Read more

ESPN in talks to score Internet TV programming deal

ESPN has held preliminary discussions about possibly offering its programming on an Internet-based TV service like those reportedly under development by Apple, Google, and Intel.

John Skipper, president of the Disney-owned sports network, told Bloomberg on Wednesday that it is looking to sell online TV providers on a package of its more popular channels already offered to pay-TV subscribers, such as its namesake flagship channel, ESPN2, and ESPN News.

Online services would be required to buy "the whole suite of products," Skipper said. "We're not going to offer one-offs." Skipper declined to say which companies … Read more