Software

WebKit fracture puts a pinch on open-source browser efforts

The WebKit browser engine is becoming a less flexible foundation for open-source projects with the departure of Google from the project this week and Apple's consequent paring back of the project.

WebKit is a broad project that includes participation from many interested parties -- not just Apple and Google, but also BlackBerry, Samsung, Amazon, Oracle, Adobe Systems, and the programmers involved with the KDE and Gnome user interfaces for Linux. Indeed, the open-source project began as KDE's KHTML engine for the Konqueror browser before Apple got involved.

Google's Chrome team left WebKit this week, forking the open-source … Read more

Google's engineers aren't the highest paid (but make more than Apple's)

It's in the nature of humanity to keep up with the Jones family.

It's in the nature of capitalist humanity to get ahead of the Jones family so that the Jones family looks askance and defeated.

With this in mind, I have accidentally landed upon a survey which purports to reveal which software engineers are the highest paid.

I thank Business Insider for poring over the figures collated by Glassdoor, figures that might surprise some.

I had imagined, along with most of the world, that Google's engineers were the very best and therefore the highest paid.

These … Read more

Blink, Google's new Chrome browser engine, comes to life

Blink, Google's new fork of the WebKit browser engine, is alive.

Yesterday, Google announced the project, which splits its browser work from Apple's in the open-source WebKit project. Today, Blink is up and running.

The first updates -- including a new list of 36 Blink "owners" who have authority to approve changes -- are arriving.

"Chrome 28 will be the first blinking release," Chrome programmer Mike West said in a Hacker News comment. The current stable version of Chrome is version 26; new versions arrive about every six weeks.

"The repository seems to … Read more

Create disk images with Free ISO Creator

Unlike zipping files, creating compressed ISO archives isn't as easy as a simple right click. Free ISO Creator is a solid tool to help you turn multiple files into a writable ISO image file. The program does exactly what it says it will. However, it's not the easiest or most customizable creation software you'll ever use.

The program gains major points just for being free. There aren't many similar programs that can say the same. However, there are a good deal of things missing that might be available in a paid program. Free ISO Creator is … Read more

Googlers exultant over launch of Blink browser engine

Today, Google launched Blink, its fork of the WebKit browser engine, and members of Google's Chrome team clearly are excited about their liberation.

With the fork, Google will concentrate its core browser development efforts on Blink, which will gradually diverge from the WebKit project on which it's based. You can read more about the context and history leading to Blink in CNET's coverage, or read the official Blink blog post and Blink FAQ for the party line.

But to get a feel for the emotion involved, check the commentary from the Chrome team members themselves. They're … Read more

Google parts ways with Apple over WebKit, launches Blink

A years-long marriage of convenience that linked Google and Apple browser technologies is ending in divorce.

In a move that Google says will technologically liberate both Chrome and Safari, the company has begun its own offshoot of the WebKit browser engine project called Blink. Initially it uses the same software code base that all WebKit-based browsers share, but over time it will diverge into a totally separate project, Google announced today.

The move marks the end of years of direct WebKit programming cooperation between the two rivals. WebKit is an open-source project, meaning that anyone can use and modify the … Read more

Jawbone offers 2.0 software update for Big Jambox

In the past, Jawbone has provided firmware updates for its Jambox mini portable Bluetooth speaker to improve performance and add new features. Now its larger wireless speaker, the Big Jambox, gets its own 2.0 software update today.

The 2.0 update is a free download that's available on Jawbone's MyTalk platform (you have to register and install software on your computer to receive the update). According to Jawbone, here's an overview of the new features:

Better audio experience: New AAC support for iOS 6.1 delivers improved audio streaming with fewer dropouts and interruptions at greater … Read more

How you may have inadvertently participated in recent DDoS attacks

The risk that an Internet-connected computer is infected with malware will never be reducible to zero. It's just the nature of software that errors happen. Where there are software-design errors, there are people who will exploit those errors to their advantage.

The best PC users can hope for is to minimize the chances of an infection and to mitigate the damage a piece of malware can inflict -- whether it intends to steal a user's sensitive data or to commandeer the machine as part of a cyber attack on servers thousands of miles away.

Last week, Internet users … Read more

File electronically with TaxACT 2012 Free Federal Edition

TaxACT 2012 Free Federal Edition offers basic tax preparation for and electronic filing of your 2012 federal income tax return. It offers step-by-step guidance not only for filing your taxes but also for maximizing your deductions and refund, if applicable, plus free help from the TaxACT Answer Center and other resources. It's compatible with most versions of Windows, from XP to 8, and complies with the latest updates to the U.S. tax code.

TaxACT 2012 Free Edition starts with a user-friendly interface offering quick links to Basic Info, Dependents, Filing Status, and a range of related topics such … Read more

Most-viewed tech on CNET this month

We spend a lot of time evaluating tech around here, looking at both the hardware and the software sides, and telling you which products we think are worth your hard-earned dough and which are best avoided. Behind the scenes, we're always keeping an eye on what you're looking at, as well. Some gadgets are obviously going to draw a lot of attention, their appearance on the list of most viewed a given, but sometimes a product pops up that surprises us and gives a bit of insight into where consumer trends may be headed.

Without further ado, let'… Read more