Mozilla chairman unfazed by Google Chrome

Things just got a lot more complicated for Mitchell Baker, the Mozilla Foundation’s chairman and “chief lizard wrangler.”

Gone are the days when Microsoft’s Internet Explorer was the sole rival for Mozilla’s Firefox. A new open-source browser, Google Chrome, has come to town, and it’s from the company that provided $66 million of the Mozilla Foundation’s $75 million in 2007 revenue.

There are other browser alternatives–Opera and Safari, for example–but Chrome is likely to catch on with the same techno-savvy, early-adopter, Google-proficient crowd that’s been so passionate about Firefox. Baker, though, isn’t worried.

For one thing, she argues, Mozilla gets its Google revenue from shared advertising revenue generated when people use Mozilla’s built-in Google search abilities. In other words, Mozilla is just another advertising partner–a status Google was willing to extend to a far greater competitor, Yahoo, though, of course, Google backed away from that deal when threatened with a Justice Department antitrust lawsuit.

For another, she doesn’t feel threatened by Chrome’s market share. That’s not to say she’s complacent about it, though. I asked her opinion about Google, Chrome, the new HTML version 5, the future of the Web, and other matters on Tuesday. Here’s an edited transcript of our chat.

Q: Mozilla pulled in $75 million in 2007. How significant is that figure?
Baker: It’s a significant number to us. It’s about what we expected. We’re happy with it. It’s an amount of money that allows us to be sustainable, plus has some savings. And it’s generated in way that allows us flexibility and freedom.

It’s only a 12 percent increase over Mozilla’s 2006 revenue, which had grown faster. Surely, there are more users doing more searches. Why is the growth rate tapering off?
Baker: As in many cases, there’s (effectively) a discount with bulk and volume. With volume, you often get paid less per unit. The revenue per search isn’t linear.

Mozilla gets paid by Google for the browser search box and the start page, both of which default to Google, correct?
Baker: That’s correct. But the one thing most people forget is, we have an arrangement not just with Google but also with Yahoo. The combination of Google’s market share and the default piece means the vast majority (of Mozilla revenue) comes from Google. We also get a small amount of revenue from Amazon.

Is the revenue based on Firefox downloads? Search queries?
Baker: It’s analogous to what you see on Web sites with Google AdSense (in which other sites show Google ads, and Google shares the resulting revenue when people click on those ads). It’s a mechanism for ad distribution.

So Mozilla is funded by ad revenue?
Baker: That’s right. It’s not the AdSense program, but it’s from ad revenue.

Are you concerned the revenue will dry up, now that Google has Chrome?
Baker: We’re careful, and we watch. But are we particularly worried? No. We expect Chrome to have some amount of market share, but we don’t expect it to balloon. Our market share continues to grow, and we expect it to be healthy. The relationship between Google and Mozilla is good, in a business sense, for both organizations.

What effect has Chrome had on Firefox development?
Baker: It hasn’t changed the way we work–our open-source and community way. Google is full of very smart people and more resources than the rest of us could imagine. We expect to see interesting and innovative things come out of Google and Chrome. We hope so. Good ideas move around in the browser world. New things showing in Chrome can benefit all of us. One thing about Mozilla is, we do not have the not-invented-here syndrome.

Has it changed your thinking? Google has touted Chrome’s JavaScript performance, for example. Has it lit a fire under your developers?
Baker: The JavaScript fire has been lit anyway. I’d say we’ve been increasing our focus on performance for some time. JavaScript performance…is equal or better than Chrome. We’ve seen an across-the-board change over the last six to eight months. That was in the works already.

There are some interesting things in Chrome. Everybody seems to have private-browsing features, so we will as well. We’re not as convinced that this is as helpful, but it’s certainly something that people are looking for.

Chrome has vanishing market share, compared to Internet Explorer. How do you view your competition with Microsoft?
Competition with Microsoft is a bit different. There’s no question (that Internet Explorer) as a product is improving. Thank goodness. If 70 (percent) of the world were still using IE 6, it would be much worse world for all of us.

It still does not remotely approach Firefox as a product, and we don’t expect IE to challenge Firefox supremacy as the technical innovator in the near-term time frame. We do hope to see IE standards compliance and its modern features improved. The single biggest problem now in moving the Web forward is having to deal with people using back versions of IE.

What are Mozilla’s spending priorities in the future?
Baker: We have a few. The mobile space is one. Innovation is another–how to promote innovation that’s not locked up in a single proprietary stack. We’re not taking about giant amounts of money (but rather) experiments to find out what’s important and interesting.

There are some educational and research initiatives on which we’ll be increasing our focus in the next year. And there are some initiatives we’re looking at in the (Mozilla) labs space. Synchronizing data, not just Foxmarks data (such as bookmarks and passwords) but other data as well. That could require investments. Also, there are technologies to move the Web forward. We’re looking carefully at video.

Firefox 3.1 has support for the Ogg video format.
Baker: Exactly.

Is the time line to release Firefox 3.1 in early 2009?
Baker: Yes, that’s our plan.

What comes after that?
Baker: We’re looking at Fennec releases (a version of Firefox for mobile devices) and at some of the things coming out of Mozilla Labs, like synchronization of services. Will that end up as a project? Were not sure. We’re also looking at Thunderbird (Mozilla’s open-source e-mail software). Thunderbird 3 should be shipping in the first half of 2009, (bringing) add-ons and ecosystem opportunities there.

And, of course, there’s more work on Firefox. The role of Firefox is to display the Web as the Web moves forward. We also think we’re in the early stages of graphics and video, and what people do with it.

What do you think of HTML 5, the next version of the standard for displaying Web pages? Will it solve the world’s problems?
Baker: We’re eager to see it happen. It’s certainly not the panacea miracle cure, but it’s important. We’ve spent a lot of time trying to move beyond HTML 4. We have the same issues (as earlier HTML versions) of getting it implemented in browsers.

Because it’s a large specification, it’s likely that only portions will get implemented. What if some browser isn’t going to implement something in HTML 5, what are we doing to do to move the Web forward?

Source: Download

Internet needs £91bn to avoid ‘brownouts’

Internet demand could outpace capacity within the next two to four years, causing global slowdowns and ‘brownouts’, according to a new report.

Nemertes Research reckons that 2012 could be a crunch year for the web, as the exaflood – an exponential explosion of online content resulting from new applications and video – causes slower responses and time outs, ultimately triggering an ‘innovation slowdown’.

If left unaddressed, say Nemertes, the development of next generation applications will be stifled as users find Internet infrastructure incapable of delivering content.

Americans take more than their share of the web

“We project demand to exceed capacity at the access layer of the Internet by 2012, and the situation is slightly worse in North America,” says Dr Mike Jude, Senior Analyst at Nemertes.

He estimates the financial investment required to bridge the gap between demand and capacity is about £91 billion worldwide.

The report comes on the same day that the total number of broadband subscribers worldwide topped 400 million for the first time – that’s 7000 times the number of broadband connections that existed a decade ago.

Next-gen ultra-high-speed optical fibre connections currently account for about 45 million of those users.

Source: Techradar

Google made deal with Life mag: awesome pics

Google Inc. has opened an online photo gallery that will feature millions of images from Life magazine’s archives that have never been seen by the public before. The new service, available at images.google.com/hosted/life, debuted Tuesday with about 2 million photos. Eventually, Google plans to scan all 10 million photos from Life’s library so they can be viewed on any computer with an Internet connection. About 97 percent of Life’s archives have not been publicly seen, according to Life.

The photos can be printed out for free as long as they aren’t being used as part of an attempt to make money. Time Warner Inc., Life’s parent company, hopes to make money by selling high-resolution, framed prints. The orders will be processed through Qoop.com. Life’s archives include photos from the Civil War as well as some of the most memorable moments from the 20th century, including the Zapruder film capturing John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Go check it.

The Nutty Professor 2 (Anime) 2008 DVDRip

Jerry Lewis voices his legendary role of Julius Kelp — aka The Nutty Professor — in this animated sequel to the classic comedy. Kelp’s grandson, Harold (voiced by Drake Bell), finds Julius’s special elixir and releases an arrogant alter ego. Soon, his dual life becomes humorously chaotic, ultimately leading to a showdown when Harold’s cooler half tries to take over for good. Andrew Francis also lends his voice to the film.

Release Name: The.Nutty.Professor.2.2008.DVDRip.XviD-VoMiT
Size: 700MB
Quality: DVDrip – XviD | 640×352 – 834kbps | AC3 – 448kbps
Runtime: 76 minutes

Links: IMDB
Sample: Video Sample
NFO: Here
Torrent: NTi | TPB | NZB

NPPL Championship Paintball 2009 USA PS2DVD

I can’t recall of any video game focused on something as good as paintball, but group ZRY released a PlayStation 2 version of Activision’s NPPL Championship Paintball 2009 which should satisfy all fans of this great sport. I am pretty sure you won’t feel the adrenaline and blood rushing through your whole body as in the real battlefield, but it looks fairly decent and original, so you might have some fun playing it as well.

The intensity of first-person-shooters and extreme sports collide in NPPL’s Championship Paintball 2009. Feel the adrenaline of intense tournament and woodsball action like never before as you take your game to the next level with this release from the #1 publisher in paintball video games. With the most authentic and realistic paintball game to date, you’ll feel like you’re right in the action!

Game features:

• Over 35+ tournaments including official NPPL and Millennium layouts and field locations like Hunting Beach, Commanders Cup, Toulouse, Malaga and more
• Multiple modes of play, including Career, Quickplay, Multiplayer, Tutorial and Training modes
• Over 110+ pieces of officially licensed gear, including parts from JT Sports, Tippmann, Spyder, Smart Parts and many others
• Most technologically advanced paintball AI ever includes unique situational and position-based player attributes
• Players can use Breakout Planner to set their team’s breakout strategy and firing lanes
• Realistic ballistics and physics attributes applied to bunkers and paintball trajectories
• All-new field creator feature allows players to design their very own unique field layouts
• Up to 14-players can take their fields online and challenge their friends

Release name: NPPL_Championship_Paintball_2009_USA_PS2DVD-ZRY
Region: USA
Size: 1.06 GB
Links: gamespot, ign, nfo, torrent search

Canon US video and printer rebate glitch

Canon has asked US customers planning take advantage of its rebate program not to cash the checks they have received, following the company handling the rebates filing for bankruptcy protection. The problems relate to rebate checks for video and printer products dated prior to November 14th. Any customer yet to send-in rebate materials should also delay until further notice.

Canon made the following statement: “The third-party rebate processing company that implements Canon’s rebate program covering printer and camcorder products filed a Chapter 11 Bankruptcy petition on Friday, November 14. Any customer who has received a rebate check for these products dated prior to November 14, should not cash the check as it may bounce. Canon is diligently working on steps to ensure that eligible consumers receive valid rebate checks as soon as possible. More information will be available on our Web site by Friday, November 21.

“We understand this is an inconvenience to customers. We are working to resolve this issue as soon as possible. Consumers who have questions about our rebate programs should call Canon’s Customer Call Center 1-800-OK- CANON.”

Source: Dpreview

Start-up Meraki to sell solar-powered Wi-Fi gear

Mesh Wi-Fi provider Meraki is going green with a new solar-powered repeater.

The company, which builds low-cost and easy-to-manage Wi-Fi gear, said the Meraki Solar Wi-Fi repeater will ship starting December 4. The price of the solar repeater costs between $749 and $1,499.

Sanjit Biswas, co-founder and CEO of Meraki, said he expects customers in developing markets, where power infrastructure is not reliable or nonexistent, to be especially interested in the product. But he said that there has also been interest among customers here in the U.S. and other developed markets.

“Some people might want to set up a Wi-Fi on their roof or somewhere else they don’t have power,” he said. “And then they realize how much it will cost them to get an electrician to wire that area.”

For this reason, Biswas said that the Meraki Solar repeater is ideal for installations in places like city parks. Even the higher initial cost of the solar equipment will still be cheaper than running power to bay stations and radios throughout a large area like Central Park in New York, he said.

Meraki had announced its solar-powered product last year. But the product was delayed when the company decided to change battery types after receiving feedback that the batteries ran out of power too quickly. The company now uses lithium iron-phosphate, which gives it greater capacity. Biswas says the new battery can store enough energy to power the Wi-Fi radios 24 hours a day seven days a week even during times of limited sunlight.

In addition to its solar-powered repeater, Meraki introduced a new Wi-Fi radio wall plug, which features a hole to screw the unit to an outlet. The design is part of Meraki’s push to sell its gear to apartment buildings and complexes. The company has been experimenting with product designs and ideas for better coverage in multiple dwelling units as part of the free network it offers to San Francisco.

Earlier this year, Meraki announced it would help the city provide free Internet access to low-income housing projects as part of its plan to unwire every neighborhood in San Francisco. Meraki, which is based in the Bay Area, sees the San Francisco Wi-Fi network as an important test bed for its products and services.

Source: Cnet

HP Pavilion tx2z Multi-Touch Tablet PC Launched

Hewlett-Packard announced today the HP Pavilion tx2z (TouchSmart tx2), the company’s first Tablet PC with a multi-touch display.

The 12.1-inch Pavilion tx2z recognizes simultaneous input from more than one finger using “capacitive multi-touch technology”. It enables the use of gestures such as pinch, rotate, arc, flick, press and drag, and single and double tap. In addition, the tx2z supports digital pen input.

HP’s new convertible notebook is configurable with AMD’s Turion X2 or Turion X2 Ultra dual-core mobile processors, up to 8GB of DDR2 system memory, up to 400GB of hard drive space, and a DVD burner. The display uses LED backlight and has a resolution of 1280×800 pixels. It is managed by the ATI Radeon HD 3200 integrated graphics.

The tx2 also includes a built-in web camera, optional fingerprint reader, stereo speakers, wireless G or N card, optional Bluetooth, an Ethernet LAN port, 56K modem, three USB ports, an ExpressCard slot, and 5-in-1 media card reader.

According to the product specifications, the Tablet PC weighs around 4.65 pounds with a standard 6-cell battery and a weight saver instead of the optical drive.

The HP Pavilion tx2z starts at 1,149.99 and is available now at the company’s online store.

MSI Wind U120 gets spotted, examined in the wild

We’ve already seen a few shots of MSI’s forthcoming Wind U120 netbook, but our pals at Engadget Chinese have now taken in one of its first public appearances and, naturally, they’ve provided plenty of pics for folks to dive into.

That includes some close-up shots of the netbook’s slightly revised port situation, some comparison shots with the non-two tone U100, and even another glimpse of that 9-cell battery we’ve already seen floating about. MSI also had it’s full-fledged Bravo EX620 laptop on display, though it’s a pretty safe bet that we won’t be seeing it ’round these parts anytime soon.

Source: Engadget

PSP 3000 now fully hackable with Datel’s Lite Blue Tool

The PSP 3000 is now (well, in a few weeks) fully hackable. Datel’s Lite Blue Tool battery is able to put the system into service mode, and from then on you’re able to flash it with custom firmware. You know, for “homebrew.”

Till now, the PSP 3000 was unhackable, precluding gamers from hopping on Usenet, downloading the latest PSP ISO and loading it on their memory stick. Wait, no, I mean homebrew. Sorry. Wink. Nudge. Et cetera.

The Lite Blue Tool comes out on November 28 for $30.

Source: Crunchgear