Tech Update: Firefox 10

Firefox has been upgraded to version 10 (now 10.0.1). Users set to the release channel will be updated automatically. Significant changes in this pass are notably subtle, focusing primarily on bug fixes, UI tweaks, and extension support. Among these are a couple points of interest:

Add-ons will now be compatible with newer versions of the browser by default, making regular upgrades a much smoother transition.

Full screen APIs in HTML5 will allow for the development of web applications that run full screen through the browser.

Read the comprehensive list of the changes here.

The latest version can be accessed here.

Chrome 17 released with prerendering and security features

Google has released version 17 of their Chrome web browser. Along with the usual list of bug fixes, Chrome has two major feature changes: prerendering pages and *.exe and *.msi file checking.

Prerendering pages, which the Google Chrome Blog likens to a sandwich shop you visit regularly knowing your order as soon as you walk in, works by loading the page you're navigating to in the address bar as soon as autocomplete detects an page you're likely to go to. According to the Chrome Blog this can significantly speed up loading pages, sometimes to the point of loading the page instantly as soon as you hit enter.

The other major feature update, *.exe and *.msi file checking, attempts to make browsing the web more secure by checking any *.exe and *.msi files you download against a list of known safe files. If the file isn't in the list Chrome will compare the metadata of the site against a list of known bad sites and warn the user that they may be downloading a malicious file. An older blog post from the Chrome Blog notes that while this is limited to executable files for the moment, Google plans to extend this feature to all resources on a page in the coming months.

Chrome should automatically update to the new version, or you can head over to the Chrome download page to pick it up if you haven't already.

Apple releases OS X 10.7.3 with Safari 5.1.3

Apple has released the 10.7.3 update for the OS X operating system. The update, which mainly involves bug fixes, "includes general operating system fixes that improve the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac," according to the OS X 10.7.3 release notes page.

The biggest new features include support for several new languages, including Catalan, Croatian, Greek, Hebrew, Romanian, Slovak, Thai, and Ukrainian, and better RAW image compatibility with more digital cameras.

While the update includes a new version of Apple's web browser Safari -- version 5.1.3, to be precise -- as of this writing Apple has yet to release a list of changes in the update for the browser and it is, as yet, unavailable for other OS versions, including OS X 10.7.2.

For instructions on how to update to 10.7.3 and the full release notes, head over the About the OS X Lion v10.7.3 Update page.

New Year, New Selenium: v2.17

Like many of today's browsers, the developers at Selenium have recently undertook a more regular update schedule. Since the new year, the team has released a pair of significant updates, bringing the version up to 2.17.

Recent Changes include:

• Improved native support for Firefox 9.
• Increased compatibility with FirefoxDriver and ChromeDriver environments.
• Extensive bug fixes within WebDriver and its sister platforms.

The full changelog can be accessed here.

Tech Update: Firefox 9 with faster Javascript released

Firefox 9, the newest iteration of Mozilla's popular browser, has been released. 

Along with the usual bug fixes, the biggest new feature this cycle is the inclusion of something called Type Inference, which Mozilla says improves benchmark performances in Javascript by 30 percent and can give "a large speed boost to many JS heavy websites."

The other big features include better integration into Mac OS X Lion and a Do Not Track status via Javascript. Click here for the full release notes, or head to the download page for the newest version of Firefox.

Testing the Future: Upcoming Trends for 2012

What does the near future hold for software testers? Tech Journal South has published an article espousing its predictions for testing technology and methodology in the new year.

The article lists six top picks for upcoming trends to impact the software testing market. The listed trends emphasize market progression such as soaring sales of smartphones and the proliferation of mobile application development, improvements in communications and security of test data, and procedural efficiency. Notably included are trends like Mobility Application Testing, Cross-Cloud Testing, and Crowd Sourced Testing.

The article closes with a statistic displaying solid growth in spending on testing services in the last year, as well as a forecast for steady growth in the years to come. This goes to show that while the rules may change, the game remains as healthy as ever.

You can access the full article here.

Chrome 16 released with sync, user profile features

Google pushed the last major update of the year to Chrome, now version 16, to users. Aside from a number of bug fixes, the new version of Chrome also comes with a couple related new features: syncing across platforms and multiple user accounts within the browser.

The Google Chrome blog explains the sync feature as allowing you to save bookmarks, apps, extensions, history and other settings to your Google account and then sync it back down to other devices with Chrome. To facilitate this, they've also added a feature allowing you to sign in to your Google account right in Chrome. This will also automatically sign you into anything linked to your Google account.

This leads us to the other new feature: adding user accounts within the browser. The idea here is to keep each user's preferences separate and to easily switch between synced profiles. The blog entry makes a note of the fact that this is a convenience feature and not a security feature.

The Google Chrome blog explains more about both features and even has a nifty video. If you want to see the list of bug fixes, head over to the Google Chrome Releases Blog.

Opera browser updated to 11.60

Opera 11.60 has been released by Opera Software for Windows, OS X and Unix. The major changes include a new, faster engine, an improved address bar and a major update to the browser's integrated mail client.

The new engine should offer "improved website compatibility, faster page loading, and a higher level of overall stability when browsing," while the new address bar features improved prediction and an ability to quickly bookmark pages using a star in the address bar. The mail clients update includes "a cleaner layout, message grouping, a more intuitive view in your inbox and easier navigation."

Check out the updated Opera at their download page, or hit the jump for the full, long list of changes.