Firefox Focus on Android launched by Mozilla

Source: Mozilla. Mozilla launches Firefox Focus for Android.

Mozilla, the champion for an open and freely accessible Internet, has launched Firefox Focus for Android users to meet the growing demand from users of mobile devices who want more privacy online.

Firefox Focus allows its users to browse the web without being followed by tracking ads, which are notoriously for slowing down the mobile experience. The announcement comes over six months after the successful launch of the Firefox Focus for iPhone and iPad users last November, and includes an ad tracker counter, tracker disabling and a notification reminder, among other features.

"While we knew that Focus provided a useful service for those times when you want to keep your web browsing to yourself, we were floored by your response – it’s the highest rated browser from a trusted brand for the iPhone and iPad, earning a 4.6 average rating on the App Store," said Barbara Bermes, Product Manager for Firefox Mobile at Mozilla, in a blog post.

The Android release of Firefox Focus includes:

· An ad tracker counter – the counter lists the number of ads blocked per site while using the app.

· Disable tracker blocker – For sites that are not loading correctly, the tracker blocker can be disabled.

· Notification reminder – When Focus is running in the background, Mozilla sends a notification so that users can erase their browsing histories.

"Since we support both custom tabs and the ability to disable the ad blocking as needed, it works great with apps like Facebook when you just want to read an article without being tracked," Bermes said.

Interested?

Download Firefox Focus on Google Play and in the App Store.

Opera browser includes a free, no-log VPN

Source: Opera.

A free, no-log, easy-to-use VPN is available directly in the Opera desktop browser. With this launch, Opera has become the first major browser to release a built-in VPN service.

"If people knew how the Internet truly works, I believe they all would use a VPN," says Krystian Kolondra, SVP of Opera browser for computers. "By making our browser VPN free and easy to use, we hope to make it an essential tool, just as the lock and key is to your house."

When turned on, Opera's VPN creates a secure connection to one of Opera's five server locations around the world. The VPN lets people choose where to appear on the Internet, giving their online privacy and security a boost while making content easier to access.

People can also let the Opera browser intelligently select the optimal server location based on factors such as network speed, latency, location and server capacity. When in automatic location mode, browsing through the VPN is always at the maximum available speed.

The VPN feature - powered by Opera subsidiary SurfEasy - utilises a secure 256-bit AES encrypted connection to the VPN virtual locations and is a no-log service, which means neither Opera nor SurfEasy will store any information about a user's browsing history.

"We know that people are concerned about their privacy online and that the interest for VPN is increasing," Kolondra said. "However, two major obstacles are blocking people from using it: VPNs are too complicated to use, and they require a monthly subscription. Opera resolves both issues by introducing its free and easy-to-use service right into the browser."

Interested?

Watch the video introducing the VPN feature in the Opera browser

The VPN feature can be enabled by going to Settings or Preferences in the software, then toggling the 'Privacy & Security' option on. An icon labeled "VPN" will appear in the browser to the left of the address field, from which users can activate the VPN and choose their preferred location. Download the Opera browser

Opera Coast wants to transform the browsing experience

Source: Opera Coast.

The team behind the Opera Coast web browsing app wants to transform the way we browse. The company says it removes distractions between users and their online content, treating websites like apps and tossing out 20 years of legacy features. 

“Great content is what drives the web, and it’s what should drive a great web browser. We want to take our commitment to content a step further in the latest edition of Opera Coast,” says Huib Kleinhout, Product Manager for Opera Coast at Opera Software. “Browsers of the future need to treat the web like a candy store, and re-imagine the best way to help users find, access, enjoy and share their favorite content. There’s more to the web than the sites you visit every day and the first page of search results.”

Opera Coast is based on touch gestures, with nearly no buttons. It puts content front and centre, keeping technology “under the hood” and giving websites the screen’s full real estate.

The new Opera Coast 4.0 for the iPhone, iPad and iPod includes features like the Discover news feed and Opera Turbo data compression. Discover helps users find latest and greatest stories from all over the Internet, bypassing a search engine to find content while Opera Turbo reduces webpages to a fraction of their original size for speedier browsing and lower data bills. 

A 'share' button allows faster and smoother posting to email, messenger and social networking apps. Opera Coast turns the link into a styled image, ready to caption and share, like sending a web postcard.

Apple's Handoff feature uses Bluetooth and iCloud to allow let users continue browsing on a Handoff-enabled browser like Opera for Mac on a nearby mobile, tablet or laptop.

Download the free Opera Coast 4.0 at the App Store here. View the associated videos here.

Browsers poised to increase business productivity with WebRTC

If you've visited websites on the Internet on your phone or your computer, you very likely have used a browser. Common ones include Internet Explorer, Google Chrome or Mozilla's Firefox, as well as Safari on the iPhone.

While they were built to visit websites, some companies believe that they can do a lot more, and simplify our lives in the process. According to Tata Communications, the right functionality added into browsers would allow any business to add new features that would help employees become more productive.

"Despite some welcome advances, the majority of us are still struggling with parallel and separate communication platforms. Most startling of all, integration with workflow internally - and especially externally - remains the exception rather than the rule," said Anthony Bartolo, Senior Vice President, Unified Communications & Collaboration, Tata Communications, listing instant messaging, telephony, video conferencing, voice-mail, email and text messaging as some of the platform examples.

New browser-based functionality such as WebRTC could provide a shortcut to creating communications features that will work on any device, allowing access to the shared information anywhere, said Bartolo. 

Made publicly available, or 'open sourced' by Google in May 2011, WebRTC is today an industry-wide effort to transform browsers into hubs for real-time* communication. WebRTC is already found in the latest versions of Chrome and Firefox. 

Businesses can make use of WebRTC to allow employees to call each other via video or voice, or conduct instant chats from within their browsers. There would be no need to source for, or install separate software as is required today, and employees would be able to collaborate in the way that works best for them.

"If enterprises want collaborations to succeed, they need to listen to their employees and understand their needs and to experiment persistently. Like a start-up, IT departments developing collaboration tools for the enterprise need to launch minimum viable products and watch to see what works and what doesn’t. Increasingly, the reduced costs associated with API-based development will allow enterprises to work this way," Bartolo predicted.

While WebRTC is still in its early stages, software developers are taking notice, Bartolo said. "I am confident that open, well supported, APIs are the missing link enduring developers to focus on what really matters: building collaborative tools."

To find out more about the world of communications – past and present – and how APIs are about to become the game-changer, download a white paper from Tata Communications here. 

*Responses to real-time communications occur immediately, similar to a face-to-face conversation, against relatively delayed communications such as email or postal mail, where responses will not be received until after the message is opened.