Microsoft stands by decision to ban IE9 from XP

Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) again lost ground to Apple's Safari and Google's Chrome last month, even as the company launched its newest browser, Web metrics data showed today.

But Microsoft stands behind its decision to limit IE9 to users running Windows Vista and Windows 7.

"It was a very deliberate decision," said Ryan Gavin, senior director of IE, talking about the move to exclude XP users from IE9. "You simply can't build on something that is 10 years ago."

Gavin said that Microsoft "has no second thoughts" about its decision.

According to California-based Net Applications, one of several companies that regularly publishes browser usage data, IE lost nine-tenths of a percentage point of share in March, falling to 55.9%, another record low.

IE9, which debuted more than two weeks ago, accounted for 1% of all browsers, a five-tenths of a point jump over February.

But older editions of IE dropped by more than what IE9 gained.

IE6, the browser Microsoft wants to kill, fell by four-tenths of a point to 11%, while IE7 slipped by two-tenths of a percentage point to 7.9%. And IE8, until last month Microsoft's current browser, dropped half a point to end March at 34.4%.

IE8's slip was the first for that browser since Net Applications began tracking it three years ago, a full year before it shipped in final form in March 2009.

Some rivals, meanwhile, continued to gain share at Microsoft's expense.

Google's Chrome grew its share by six-tenths of a point to account for 11.6% of all browsers used worldwide last month, a record. And Apple's Safari posted a gain of three-tenths of a point to end the month at 6.6%.

Even Mozilla's Firefox, which has lost share eight out of the last 12 months, managed a slight increase of one-tenth of a point, the first increase since December 2010, to account for 21.8% of all browsers.

The March 22 launch of Firefox 4 contributed to Mozilla's small turn-around. Net Applications' statistics show that Firefox 4 boosted its share to 1.7% last month, a 1.1-point increase over February.

Microsoft and Mozilla have each touted the number of downloads of their newest browsers, but the latter has clearly won that battle, claiming 7.1 million downloads on Firefox 4's first day of availability and a record 8.75 million the following day.

Gavin has argued that IE9's numbers should be calculated solely by its use on Vista and Windows 7, and its success or failure judged accordingly.

Net Applications put IE9's share of browsers running on Windows 7 at 3.6%, more than three times the overall average, a fact that Gavin stressed during an interview today. "That's about five times the rate of adoption in a comparable period for IE8," Gavin said.

But Net Applications' data also shows that the newest IE9 rivals -- Chrome 10 and Firefox 4 -- have significant chunks of the Windows 7 browser market. Chrome 10, which Google began pushing to current Chrome users via the browser's silent update mechanism almost a month ago, accounted for 10.2% of Windows 7 browsers in March. Firefox 4, on the other hand, lagged behind IE9 with a 2.8% share on Windows 7.

Ignore the numbers for now, Gavin said earlier this week when he blasted early comparisons as "premature at best, and misleading at worst" because of the differences in the upgrade mechanisms of IE, Chrome and Firefox.

Microsoft plans to add IE9 to Windows Update sometime this month -- today he declined to set a date -- from where it will be offered to Vista and Windows 7 users. Mozilla has yet to offer Firefox 4 to customers running older versions of its browser, but will do that soon, a spokeswoman said Thursday.

The roll-out of IE9 via Windows Update and its Automatics Updates option will wrap up by the end of June, Gavin said today.

While the numbers may not provide an unambiguous case for the success of any of the newest browsers, one thing is clear: Microsoft has bet on IE9 and won't back away from that bet.

"We could have continued down the path we were on," said Gavin, again defending the decision to drop XP from the list of operating systems able to run IE9. "We could have added more features to IE, change the UI, blah, blah, blah. We could have made it work across XP, but that's not what's going to push the Web forward.

"We might have been more cautious [by creating a version of IE9 for XP] but you don't get quantum breakthroughs that way," Gavin said.

Microsoft's taking a risk with this strategy, said Al Hilwa, an analyst with IDC who covers browsers for the research firm. (IDC is owned by IDG, the parent company of Computerworld.)

"[XP] users will have to begin to use other browsers to handle [HTML5 content], and that is a risk because they may elect to stay on the other browser and never come back," said Hilwa in an e-mail reply to questions. "It is basic business that when you open such an opportunity for competitors, it is much harder to win them back. This is particularly true in the kind of fast moving disruptive market we are in and the high quality of the competitive browsers."

Gavin was confident that Microsoft could woo back Windows XP users when they eventually upgraded to Windows 7 or its successor.

"This is a temporal problem," said Gavin, referring to the time it will take XP to disappear. "Either we build a better experience or we don't. Pushing the Web forward, that's the best way to keep users."

Hilwa said that Microsoft made a tough decision to leave Windows XP behind, and that it will take time before anyone, including Microsoft, knows whether that bet paid off.

"I understand the agony on this," said Hilwa. "Microsoft made a complex cost-benefit analysis for supporting XP, and placed their bet. We will have to see how it plays out."

Net Applications calculates browser usage share with data obtained from the 160 million unique visitors who browse the 40,000 Web sites the company monitors for its clients. Its March browser statistics can be found on the Net Applications site.

Source: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9215430/Microsoft_stands_by_decision_to_ban_IE9_from_XP?taxonomyId=211&pageNumber=1

China blocking Google

China appears to have blocked access to the popular search engine, Google.
The site was repeatedly inaccessible when tested by BBC News Online using a system developed by researchers at the Harvard Law School.

Google has become popular among users in China because of its simplicity and ability to run searches in the Chinese language.

China maintains tight controls on the internet, blocking several foreign news sites and frequently forcing domestic sites to remove controversial material.

Keeping control

Analysts say this is the first time Beijing has blocked access to an internet search engine.

It comes ahead of a Communist Party congress in November which is expected to see sweeping changes to the country's leadership.

Google is a very important tool for me and many other Chinese people - Chinese webmaster

Internet use in China is growing fast. Last month, the Chinese Government said that 45.8 million people were online.

Google is becoming a top choice for searching Chinese sites, say experts.

"It's a very, very popular tool and there's a major hassle factor," said Duncan Clark, head of Beijing-based technology consultancy BDA China.

"But ultimately, in the run up to something like the Party congress, it's batten down the hatches," he said.

The ban is being widely debated on the web. On an online forum, a Chinese webmaster wrote: "Google is a very important tool for me and many other Chinese people."

"Please tell the world, that we need Google, or Yahoo or something else that's useful to do the research. We don't care about politics, but please help us to reach Google."

Another contributor to a web forum said he used Google for research, not politics.

"I'm currently in China right now on a project, and coding without Google is not easy," he said, "especially since there isn't any English bookstore I can run over to while I'm here to pick up a tech manual."

Traffic monitoring

Beijing is determined to keep strict controls on the flow of information to its own citizens.

Human rights activists say more than 30,000 people are employed to keep an eye on websites, chat rooms and private e-mail messages.

Some 150,000 unlicensed internet cafes nationwide have been closed in recent months and those remaining have had to install software that prevents access to up to 500,000 banned sites.

There has been no official announcement from Beijing and Google officials in California could not be reached for comment.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2231101.stm

For women, Facebook can turn friends into frenemies

Think that spending time on Facebook is a good way to relax? Well, think again -- especially if you're a woman.

Actually, even though 79% of women say they use Facebook to keep their friends updated about their lives, a whopping 85% of women say their Facebook friends annoy them, according to a survey by Eversave , a Groupon-like company that offers users local deals.

In other words, Facebook friends can easily become Facebook frenemies.

Eversave interviewed more than 400 women in a study about how social networking influences shopping and the use of deals. However, the survey uncovered some surprising information about the relationship women have with their online friends.

And the fact that women are finding their Facebook friends so annoying is ironic since last summer a study showed that most women who use social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter say they're addicted to them.

More than half (57%) of the women polled said they communicate with people more online than they do face to face, and 39% called themselves Facebook addicts, according to a report from The Oxygen Media Insights Group, which is part of a company that focuses on television channels and Web sites for women.

That dovetails with another report that came out in October showing social networks make people feel more connected.

So, what do women find so annoying? The biggest complaint is about complaining. Eversave reported that 63% of those surveyed said they get sick of their friends going online to complain all the time.

Update your status with your every move? Well, that irks 65% of women on Facebook. And overly proud mothers are making some frenemies since 57% of women say they're sick of their friends bragging about how smart or cute their kids are.

Another 42% said they're irked by friends sharing unsolicited political views, and 32% are annoyed by friends who use Facebook to brag about their lives.

"The survey validated our thinking on Facebook's growing influence on daily deals, but we were surprised by responses that show the love/hate relationship women have with Facebook," said Jere Doyle, CEO of Prospectiv, which owns Eversave.

Source: http://www.itnews.com/internet/30539/women-facebook-can-turn-friends-frenemies

Five Ways to Speed Up Your Home Network

Maybe you're tired of paying the cable company and want to get your movies and other entertainment from the Web. Naturally you'll want to watch those shows on your TV with the aid of a Roku box or similar device. More and more people are doing that, and if you want to join the crowd, you've got to be sure you're home Internet network is up to the challenge.

Connected TVs are an utter drag without a fast network. Squeezing the most out performance out of your network is called optimizing, and it isn't very hard, and it doesn't have to be all that expensive.

Here are five things that will make your home network so good you'll be able to say farewell to your cable company.

But first, let me warn you about one thing: Your wireless network simply can't run any faster than your Internet connection. If you have reason to think your network isn't running as fast as it used to -- or as fast as it should, given your hardware -- go to http://www.speedtest.net/ and check your download and upload speeds and compare them to what your provider says you're getting. Obviously you want to check the speed on a wired connection first to rule out (or identify) your ISP as the culprit.

1. Move the Router

With that out of the way, let's start with the very simplest technique to optimize your wireless network. I know this sounds simpleminded, but trust me: Think about moving your router to a more central location, or to a room that doesn't have thick walls or a lot of other equipment that might cause interference. The router broadcasts a signal that spreads in a sphere, so if it's centered on the back of the house, or in the basement, the signal might not make it to all the rooms where you'd like to connect a device to the Internet.

2. Consider Your Cordless Phone

Cordless phones can cause interference since some of them broadcast on the same channel that your router does. If you think it's an issue for you, try changing channels on the phone and see if that cleans up your connection.

3. Buy an Extender

Let's say your biggest issue is extending the range of your network, and moving the router is simply not practical. One way to go is to buy a range extender. There are a number on the market for under $100. However, you'll pay a performance penalty since extenders degrade the strength of the signal. That might not matter if you're just surfing the Web, but if you're a serious online gamer, they're not. Nor are they a good way to hook up the new generation of televisions and boxes (like the Roku) that stream movies and video into your TV.

4. Think Powerline

If that's the case, here's a better solution: Take advantage of the wiring in your home to move the signal close to your TV. You do that by buying a product that complies with standards set by the Homeplug Powerline Alliance. There are more than 120 companies that sell Powerline gear, but in general, they all work about the same way.

Rather than broadcast a Wi-Fi signal, Powerline products move the signal over existing wiring in your home or office. Generally what you'll do is connect one Powerline adapter to your broadband modem or router, and then connect it to a wall socket (not a surge protector or power strip). Plug a second adapter into a socket in the room where the device you want to connect to the Internet is located, and connect the device to the adapter with an Ethernet cable. That's it. You're done. And you've probably spent about $125 for the networking gear. Be sure that any adapter kit you buy comes with at least two adapters -- the minimum for creating a network.

Older wiring can be a concern. There's no rule of thumb that I can think of, but some homes have older wiring that simply won't support Powerline networking because it isn't "clean" enough. That is, there's interference on the line. Protect yourself by being sure you can return the networking kit if it doesn't work in your home.

Just because you're using Powerline technology in one room, doesn't mean you can't use Wi-Fi in another. Combining the two technologies could give you a fast network over a large area without too much hassle.

5. Change Your Networking Hardware

Finally, if you want to speed up your existing Wi-Fi network and you've tried moving the router around without much improvement it might be time to upgrade your networking hardware. A few things to keep in mind:

The slowest part of your network will set the pace for the rest of it.

Wi-Fi standards have changed and speed up over the years. The really old ones, like 802.11b and 802.11n are hopeless antiquated. The latest standard, 802.11n is where where you want to be.

If your laptop is fairly new, it most likely has "n" built in. If that's the case, check your router and extenders if you're using them. It's cheaper and easier to upgrade a router -- in this case, upgrade really means replace -- than to upgrade the networking hardware inside your laptop.

Switching routers is simple, except when it's not. I've installed many routers over the years, and I've had to make many calls to company help centers. As I mentioned last year, Cisco's Valet home router is surprisingly easy to set up, and while it lacks some advanced features, it is just fine for most home networks.

Source: http://www.itnews.com/networking/27610/five-ways-speed-your-home-network?page=0,1

Google gets more social with its search engine

Google is diving deeper into social networking.

The company hasn't released a long-rumored but unconfirmed social networking platform , but it has made its search engine more social.

Google announced Wednesday that it is enabling users to give and get recommendations on search results. Called +1, the new service lets people share their recommendations with friends, as well as strangers.

"Say, for example, you're planning a winter trip to Tahoe, Calif.," wrote Rob Spiro, a Google product manager, in a blog post . "When you do a search, you may now see a +1 from your slalom-skiing aunt next to the result for a lodge in the area. Or if you're looking for a new pasta recipe, we'll show you +1's from your culinary genius college roommate.

"And even if none of your friends are baristas or caffeine addicts, we may still show you how many people across the web have +1'd your local coffee shop," he added.

So how does Google search know who your friends are?

According to Spiro, the search service checks to see who your Google chat buddies are and who is in your list of connections for Gmail. He added that in the future, Google might be able to check and see who your connections are on social sites like Twitter .

To know whom they're connected to, users can check Google Dashboard

For months, Google executives have said they plan on making Google services, like search, more social. They're making good on that promise with +1, said Brad Shimmin, an analyst with Current Analysis.

"This is like when fuel injection came out and car makers said, 'Hey, that's a better way to put gas into an engine,' " Shimmin said. "It didn't' revolutionize autombiles but it made them better automobiles. This +1 acts in the same way. It's not revolutionizing Google but it makes search a better version of itself."

Dan Olds, an analyst with The Gabriel Consulting Group, said this is another sign that Google is taking the burgeoning world of social networking seriously. With companies like Facebook increasingly becoming a competitor for users' attention, as well as ad dollars, Google needs to have a strong social presence.

Source: http://www.itnews.com/e-commerce/30497/google-gets-more-social-its-search-engine?page=0,1