Firefox 3.6 is Officially Ready for Download

Get ready for a newer, fresher Firefox.

After a number of beta and release candidates, Mozilla has finally let loose the latest version of Firefox, bringing the free browser up to version 3.6.

For Firefox users, the latest version has one obvious reason to upgrade – speed. Mozilla says that its newest browser is more than 20 percent faster than Firefox 3.5.

Other new things in Firefox 3.6 include:

• Personas: Personalize the look of your Firefox by selecting new themes called Personas in a single click and without a restart
• Plugin Updater: To keep you safe from potential security vulnerabilities, Firefox will now detect out of date plugins
• Stability improvements: Firefox 3.6 significantly decreased crashes caused by third party software – all without sacrificing our extensibility in any way
• Form Complete: When filling out an online form, Firefox suggests information for fields based on your common answers in similar field
• Performance: Improved JavaScript performance, overall browser responsiveness, and startup time
• Open Video and Audio: With the world’s best implementation of HTML 5 audio and video support, now video can be displayed full screen and supports poster frame

A router orbiting in space could lead to military and commercial Internet based in the heavens.

Internet in space moved one step closer to reality after a successful in-orbit test of Cisco Systems' radiation-proof router mounted on a commercial satellite. The test was part of Cisco's overall Internet Routing in Space (IRIS) project that will eventually route IP voice, video, and data traffic between satellites rather than through terrestrial networks.

"There is a very strong potential for IRIS to revolutionize communications satellite architecture," said Don Brown of Intelsat General. "IP changes everything." The company's Intelsat 14 communications satellite--which escorted the piggybacking router into space--launched on November 23, 2009.

Cisco's IRIS project manager Greg Pelton says that a space-based router can prioritize more important traffic by intelligently allocating bandwidth. This means that bandwidth no longer in use by one company can be switched over to another customer. Space-based routers will also allow telecommunications companies to offer high-bandwidth, on-demand services.

Now that the first router is active, Cisco will hand over the technology to the Department of Defense for its evaluation--this will be used for military purposes for around three months. Once that is completed, Cisco plans to work with the technology for the next year to determine its use in the private sector.

Rumor has it mini projectors will soon show up in HP notebooks

Digitimes cites Monty Wong, vice president and manager of personal computing systems group at HP Taiwan, who says the company has plans to launch both tablets and notebooks PCs with integrated mini projectors.

Miniature projectors placed prominently at CES in 2009 and in 2010 and it seems HP has finally figured out a way to market them to consumers. HP is said to be considering placing the projector on top of the notebook screen, where the webcam is normally located. While integrating a mini projector into a notebook might seem like the perfect way to sneak them into consumer's homes, Wong said the company first plans to launch several stand-alone mini-projector products as an introduction to the notebook-integrated designs.

According to Digitimes, the projector notebooks will be produced mainly by Quanta Computer.