Firefox 4 Beta 1 Now Available for Download

Mozilla has announced that Firefox 4 Beta 1 is now ready for download and at the same time revealed some details about the newest iteration of the popular browser.

Windows users will notice a big change in interface design, which, among other things, has tabs located along the top by default. There's also a new Add-Ons Manager, which affords more space to managing add-ons, themes and plugins. Firefox 4 Beta 1 brings support for HTML5 and WebM, improvements to privacy, crash protection, and a boost in performance when it comes to start-up and page-load times.

Features expected in the future include the ability to sync your settings, passwords, bookmarks, history, open tabs and other customizations across multiple devices; better privacy controls; yet more improvements to performance; and the same themes for OS X and Linux.

Mozilla's Mike Beltzner warns that not everything in this release will make the final cut but, as always, the best way to ensure your favorite features are included is to get in on the Beta and provide feedback to that effect. FF4B1 even includes a Feedback add-on to make it easier to send in your likes and dislikes.

Download Firefox 4 Beta 1 for Linux, Windows or OSX here and let us know what you think are the biggest and most important improvements.

Windows 7 Saves 43 Hours, or $1,400 Per PC

A good case for business to jump to the newest Windows.

We know from personal experience that Windows 7 is a faster, smoother, smarter and more capable operating system than it predecessors. But now businesses are finding that there may be a worthwhile investment in stepping up to a more modern operating system.

Microsoft blogged about findings published in an IDC whitepaper (sponsored by Microsoft, mind you) that showed that for businesses that use Windows 7, each user saves an average of about 43 hours, or $1,400 total benefit per PC, annually.

Furthermore, researchers at IDC found the payback to companies started just after seven months and a return on investment of 375 percent.

While such lovely and optimistic numbers were well accepted by Microsoft, the main savings thanks to Windows 7 are due to features that we've experienced as well in our enthusiast purposes. Such features include faster reboots, shorter start-up times and other under-the-hood performance upgrades. IT managers also cited fewer software failures as another time and money-saving feature.

Microsoft Announces InstaLoad Battery Technology

ometimes the smallest technological developments make a big difference.

It's not a big deal, but it is annoying. You check the little positive and negative markings on the battery cover (if they're there at all) and then you put them in the wrong way around anyway. Sure, taking them out and switching them around isn't going to make you late for your lunch date, but it's something you'd like to avoid if at all possible.

Thanks to Microsoft, it is. Microsoft recently debuted a new technology called InstaLoad, which involves doubling the number of contacts in the battery compartment. By including a set of positive and negative contacts at both ends of the compartment (instead of a single positive contact at one end and a single negative contact at the other end), Microsoft has enabled users to cram batteries in any way they like. This should come in particularly handy when changing batteries in the dark.

Microsoft is licensing the technology out to any and all third-party device suppliers and already counts Duracell on its list of licensees. If companies want to license the technology for accessibility products aimed at people with vision or learning disabilities, Microsoft is willing to license the technology royalty-free.

App Store and iTunes Accounts Hacked

Over the weekend a number of publications received tips from readers about their iTunes account being hacked. According to Engadget and The Next Web, some users saw hundreds of dollars spent on Vietnamese ebooks.

The hacking is said to be the result of one developer trying to 'game the system' to bring his applications to more prominent positions in the App Store. Engadget yesterday afternoon reported that 42 of the top 50 books by revenue are from the seller Thuat Nguyen, whose company website ("mycompany") leads to parked site www.home.com. A lot of the books were released in April and have no customer ratings or reviews.

The books have since disappeared from the App Store suggesting Apple smelled a rat and moved quickly to remove the offending applications.

The Next Web claims these hackings are more widespread than one developer. TNW reports that countless iTunes users have had their accounts compromised and the apps purchased were not exclusive to Thuat Nguyen.

First Phones with Intel Chips to Hit in 2011

Cell phones these days are based on some pretty powerful CPUs. Indeed, if a phone doesn't have a 1GHz processor, it's considered out of date before it even launches. It's also an increasingly competitive market and it's one Intel is about to enter.

Intel's Moorestown platform has long been talked about for MIDs and tablets, however, the company is hoping the CPU will also represent a successful foray into the smartphone market. Intel has talked about Moorestown for smartphones on mulitple occasions and although we can expect to see many Moorestown devices this year, it seems we won't see any smartphones packing the chip until 2011.

While speaking to Wired.com about Moorestown-based tablets, Intel CTO Justin Rattner fingered the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas next January or the Mobile World Congress conference in February as 'windows of opportunity' for showing Moorestown phones.

Though it will likely be 2011 before Intel can put a cell phone into the hands of the consumer, ntel CEO Paul Otellini gave us a peek at an Intel smartphone at CES 2010. He didn't mention specifics about the device's release, but we do know the LG-manufactured GW990 features a 5-inch screen with 720p HD video playback, two cameras, 16GB of built-in flash memory, 512MB of RAM and Intel's Linux-based Moblin OS.