view all services

 

Firefox 3.5 benchmarked: Twice as fast as Firefox 3

2009 is the year of the Web browser. We've had the best version of Opera in history, the most impressive version of Safari, the beginnings of Google's Chrome on the Mac, and now a brand-new version of Firefox -- version 3.5, as we discussed this morning.

Three release candidates were released before the final version went public this week, and we've been using them for a couple of months. New features, all of which we've been testing, include an enormous speed boost, a private-browsing function to help keep sensitive data from prying eyes, and a feature that lets Firefox know where you're working from. But we'll come to those shortly, because we're going to talk about JavaScript first.

Canon Legria FS200 review

The Canon Legria FS200 is an attractive standard-def camcorder that packs a 37x optical zoom into an extremely compact body. It's simple to operate, films good-quality video and is a solid choice for those shooting movies for sharing on the Web or who just don't want or need HD video

Facebook embarks on major privacy cleanup

The social network is gearing up for a major revamp of its privacy settings, which had become so sprawling and unmanageable that many users ignored them

Ghost Pigeon hides your secret identity

During the day, we're mild-mannered tech bloggers, wearing glasses and looking moody in our vast, yet innocuous, Crave penthouse. But at night, we fight crime. We take on the persona of a creature of the night, black, terrible, shadowy -- we become the Ghost Pigeon.

To protect our loved ones, we have to keep our secret identity super-duper seekrit. That means hiding our calls and texts to the police commissioner, especially when we send him MMS messages with videos of us collaring a miscreant.

Luckily, just for people like us there's Ghost Pigeon software, a secret-phone-within-a-phone, which will hide your texts, MMS messages and calls.

Ghost Pigeon is invisible on the phone -- there's no icon in the menu. Instead, you launch the application by typing in a password. We installed Ghost Pigeon on our Nokia N95 8GB, and although it's visible in the list of installed apps, its name is well disguised.

UPDATE 3-Tesco survives investor protest over share options
* Union resolution on migrants' treatment easily defeated

LG 50PS6000: Rumours of plasma's death greatly exaggerated

Here are some things that aren't dead: Jeff Goldblum and plasma TVs. Of course, if you're reading this in 2050 there's a good chance that Jeff Goldblum is now dead, but if it's 2050, why on Earth are you reading about a plasma from 41 years ago? That's like us reading about a black and white TV in a little wooden cabinet. Anyway, how is the future? Are there hoverboards yet? Is 3D TV still a dismal waste of time? Please, do tell us all about your exciting futuristic lives via the comments section -- it's been fitted with a flux capacitor which should enable your thoughts to transcend the usual rules of linear time. So, as we were saying, plasma isn't dead, despite rumours to the contrary, and LG's 50PS6000 should help persuade you of this unassailable fact.

UPDATE 2-Taco Bell replaces McDonald's as NBA sponsor-source
CHICAGO, July 2 (Reuters) - Taco Bell has replaced McDonald's Corp as the National Basketball Association's official fast-food sponsor, the company said on Thursday.

Photos: Archos 3 Vision hands-on

At a press conference here in broiling London, Archos showed off its new line-up of MP3 players for the autumn, including the first sub-£100 model we actually like

Asus UX50V review

The thin and light, 15.6-inch UX50V is an absolutely gorgeous-looking machine, with a stunning screen and excellent keyboard. Your mind won't be blown by this laptop's processing power, but its battery life is impressive and it will definitely inspire jealousy among your friends

Nike Aero Sport Headphones review

Intended for use by fitness fanatics, the Aero Sport Headphones offer a secure fit and sleek, sweatproof design. They're also extremely easy to clean. Sound quality isn't their forte, so they're not the best headphones for day-to-day use, but they're a decent option for gym goers nonetheless

Sagem DTR 67500T: Never miss another paternity punch-up

On its various digital channels, ITV shows three hours of Jeremy Kyle every day. That means there are 15 hours worth of glorious chav-baiting each week that we can't watch because we're busy writing terrific stories here. So what we need is some sort of device that can store massive amounts of non-ironic velour tracksuits and chunky gold identity bracelets. Luckily, Sagem has come to the rescue with a 500GB, twin-tuner Freeview+ PVR.

The ability to record the very scrapings of society's barrel is just the start. Sagem claims the 67500T is also eco-friendly, which means we'll still have a planet for people to argue on in 100 years.

Drawbot makes better art than useless fleshbag humans

If you're sick of looking at that boring pre-Raphaelite masterpiece on your living room wall, get yourself a Drawbot -- everyone knows robots keep things interesting

EU: no probe of German state aid for Opel for now
BRUSSELS, July 3 (Reuters) - The European Commission is not investigating for now German state aid to ailing car maker Opel, a spokesman said on Friday. "German authorities have not yet clarified what they want to do ... So no in-depth investigation on Opel on our side for the moment," Jonathan Todd told a daily news briefing. (Writing by Marcin Grajewski)