Last Thursday we wrote about Firefox’s launch of its newest version, 3.6.4. This version separated the browser itself from the plug-ins that ride it. So if a plug-in were lagging, or otherwise going haywire, it wouldn’t crash the whole screen. These improvements are restricted to Linux and Windows until Version 4.0, which will include Mac. Today, Mozilla has announced a further upgrade , to version 3.6.6. Sponsor With 3.6.6, the time-out has been increased, according to Mozilla’s Mike Beltzner. ‘Following the release of Firefox 3.6.4 we heard from some users, mainly those using older computers, that they sometimes expect longer periods of non-responsiveness from plug-ins, especially with games. For these users the default timeout of 10 seconds was too short. To address this, we increased the amount of time Firefox waits for a plug-in to respond before terminating it from 10 to 45 seconds.” This update is automatic and does not require a second upload. Discuss

Click here to read more

Salesforce.com , the world’s leading SaaS vendor, is suing Microsoft for patent infringement, Business Week reported today. As we’ve reported , Microsoft filed suit against Salesforce.com for patent infringement last month. Salesforce.com has hired David Boies who represented the U.S. Department of Justice in its antitrust case against Microsoft. Sponsor TechCrunch reports the patents Salesforce.com is alleging Microsoft infringed are: Patent No. 6,813,633, Dynamic multi-level cache manager. Patent No. 6,918,059, Method and system for handling errors in a distributed computer system. Patent No. 7,024,454, Work sharing and communicating in a Web site system. Patent No. 7,209,929, Java object cache server for databases. Patent No. 7,305,454, Apparatus and methods for provisioning services. In April, Salesforce.com chairman and CEO Marc Benioff said about Microsoft: “The reality is that these patent trolls are unfortunately just part of doing business in technology these days. They’re basically the alley thugs. Every thriving economy has alley thugs.” Bringing on Boies is a clear sign Salesforce.com is taking Microsoft’s legal threats seriously. During his career, Boies defended IBM during the Justice Department’s antitrust case against the company, represented New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner in a suit against Major League Baseball, represented Vice President Al Gore in Gore’s dispute over the 2000 election, represented SCO Group in its controversial Linux patent disputes, and several other high profile intellectual property cases. Horacio Gutierrez, Microsoft’s deputy general counsel for intellectual property told Business Week that, “We remain confident in our position and will continue to press ahead with the complaint.” Microsoft claims Salesforce.com infringed the following patents: Method and system for mapping between logical data and physical data System and method for providing and displaying a web page having an embedded menu Method and system for stacking toolbars in a computer display Automated web site creation using template driven generation of active server page applications Aggregation of system settings into objects Timing and velocity control for displaying graphical information Timing and velocity control for displaying graphical information Method and system for identifying and obtaining computer software from a remote computer System and method for controlling access to data entities in a computer network Discuss

Click here to read more

Earlier this morning, Google released a new stable version of Chrome, the company’s increasingly popular browser. This new release for Windows, Mac and Linux is the first stable version of Chrome to be distributed with a built-in version of Adobe’s widely used Flash Player. Just two days ago, Google enabled the built-in version of Flash in the beta channel versions of Chrome, where it had already been available earlier this year, though Google then disabled this feature after a while. Sponsor Even though Google is a strong backer of the open HTML5 and CSS3 standard, which can replicate a lot of Flash features, the company is also acutely aware that a lot of users and web developers still rely on Flash. When we talked to Bran Rakowski, Google’s product manager and director for Chrome, last month, he noted that Google thinks that by coupling Flash to the browser, Google can ensure that users will run a very recent and secure version of Flash. Don’t Like Flash in Chrome? Just Disable It. If you don’t want to use Flash in Chrome, you can just type ” about:plugins ” in the address bar in Chrome and disable the plugin. Google’s update mechanism ensures that the browser stays up to date, without any intervention from the user. In addition to this, Google can also test the specific version of Flash it distributes with the browser and ensure that it is stable. With its new crash protection feature in Firefox, Mozilla is also working hard to ensure that crashing Flash content can’t take the whole browser down and Apple and Opera offer a similar feature in their browsers. As CNET’s Stephen Shankland rightly notes , Adobe is also working hard to keep Flash relevant and with the latest version of the Flash Player (10.1), Adobe is also trying to gain a foothold on mobile devices. Google’s own Android operating system is one of the first to support mobile Flash. Discuss

Click here to read more

For many years, unified chat clients like Digsby or Adium have provided users with a single app with which to manage several chat protocols at once. Whether your friends are on AIM , Yahoo Messenger , ICQ , or Facebook Chat , chances are there’s an app that will aggregate your various buddy lists into one tidy window. Skype , however, has remained on its own outside of these clients, but thanks to the forthcoming SkypeKit SDK , the popular voice and video chat app will soon be integrated into other applications. Sponsor This morning, Skype announced a beta program for use of its brand new SkypeKit SDK which will allow developers and manufacturers to incorporate Skype into both desktop applications and consumer electronics devices. The SDK will be initially invite only, launching on Linux for devices tomorrow, and on Mac and Windows for desktop apps in a few weeks. “Think of SkypeKit as a ‘headless’ version of Skype – that is, a Skype client with no user interface that runs invisibly, not only on PCs, but also TVs, notebooks, and other connected devices.” – Skype Previously, Skype’s API allowed accessories like headsets and webcams to communicate better with Skype, but those applications required Skype to run in the background. With this new SDK, apps can be built that run independently of Skype, much like the popular multi-platform chat clients available today. “Think of SkypeKit as a ‘headless’ version of Skype – that is, a Skype client with no user interface that runs invisibly, not only on PCs, but also TVs, notebooks, and other connected devices,” the company said in a blog Tuesday morning. “Developers communicate with SkypeKit through the SkypeKit API, surfacing Skype calls through their own applications.” What About Mobile? What About the Web? The new SDK is only open for desktop app development and for integration by consumer hardware manufacturers. Skype says they are aware of demand for an SDK for Web developers, but has “nothing to announce at this time.” As far as mobile goes, smartphone users can already download official Skype apps, but mobile chat clients may be left out of the development fun until the SDK is expanded. It seems likely that Skype will make its SDK available on Web and mobile platforms eventually, since the company’s idea is “that every connected device can become a communications device, with the addition of SkypeKit.” For now, desktop developers and hardware manufacturers have the chance to create some interesting Skype integrations with the new SDK. Discuss

Click here to read more

The open source project TurnKey Linux has launched a private beta of the TurnKey Hub , a service that makes it easy to launch and manage the project’s Ubuntu-based virtual appliances in the Amazon EC2 cloud. Sponsor There are currently about 40 software bundles in Turkey Linux’s virtual library, including Joomla , Wordpress , and Moodle . According to TurnKey Linux, these virtual appliances are optimized for easy deployment and maintenance. And as the name implies, launching an instance with one of the virtual appliances is very simple. Custom passwords and authentication, as well as automatic setup for EBS devices and Elastic IPs, are part of the setup process. According to their website, “Packaging a solution as a virtual appliance can be incredibly useful because it allows you to leverage guru integration skills to build ready to use systems (i.e., turn key solutions) that just work out of the box with little to no setup. Unlike with traditional software, you don’t have to worry about complex OS compatibility issues, library dependencies or undesirable interactions with other applications because a virtual appliance is a self contained unit that runs directly on top of hardware or inside a virtual machine.” Currently, the TurnKey Hub launches on an instance volume in the EC2 Cloud. But according to the developers, support for additional cloud platforms, as well as automatic backup and migration functionality, is in the works. TurnKey Linux is a project started by Alon Swartz and Lirax Siri. While there are other turnkey cloud offerings, including Dell’s , but TurnKey Linux is firmly grounded in the open source community and not only strives to make the move to the cloud easier, but contends that a well-integrated and thoroughly tested virtual appliance can help facilitate open source adoption. Discuss

Click here to read more