Posted: 17 Jan 2010 03:52 AM PST

Mozilla has dumped Firefox 3.7 from the release schedule, replacing it with regular features updates for version 3.6 of the browser.As per the plans which was scheduled Mozilla would release Firefox 3.6 and 3.7 over the course of 2009, each bringing small improvements to the browser but a steady stream of setbacks to Firefox 3.6 has rendered this goal unobtainable, forcing Mozilla to rethink its release. As a result, Firefox 3.7 has been dropped and will be replaced with feature updates for Firefox 3.6 that will be rolled out with security updates. This should free up the team to work on the next major release, Firefox 4, slated for the last quarter of 2010, which is expected to follow the same development process.

The first of the updates for Firefox 3.6 will be the separation of plug-in processes – such as Adobe’s Flash – from the browser, which the foundation has been working on as part of its Electrolysis project. A similar technology is used in Google’s Chrome, and prevents a single site from crashing the entire browser.While the strategy of pushing out smaller Firefox releases over the course of the year may have failed, the company maintains that it was an experiment worth trying.

I’m proud of how we challenged ourselves. We learned an awful lot about what slows down our schedule, and that will help us plan future releases, said Mike Beltzner, director of Firefox, in an interview Thursday.There is also talk of another RC after the 3.6 rc 1 due to bugs the developers are looking into. Beltzner declined naming a release date at this time.

HP starts shipping USB 3.0 enabled laptops

Posted: 17 Jan 2010 03:38 AM PST

In my previous post i had mentioned about Super talent releasing the first USB enabled flash drive in America, seeing this HP has also joined the USB 3.0 arena by shipping the new Envy 15 laptops which come with a USB 3.0 ports which would give 10x time faster with speeds upto 5 gbps from 480 mbps of USB 2.0.

The good part is that USB 3.0 is backward compatible with USB 2.0. What this means is that you can still use the device on a USB 2.0 port and achieve typical USB 2.0 performance.Though its 10x times faster, it still consumes one-third the power of USB 2.0.One more best thing is it can also supply enough power to run external 3.5″ HDD"s so we can have those huge 1-2 TB External HDD's running without external power & atspeeds which can match eSATA.

Expect better performance from RAIDed hard drives or fast solid-state drives (SSDs) than from, say, a standalone single drive connected to the computer via USB 3.0.USB 3.0's crucial advantage lies for high-def video, music, and digital applications.So how many buying the USB 3.0 enabled laptops.

HP starts shipping USB 3.0 enabled laptops

First USB 3.0 Pen drives announced in America

Posted: 16 Jan 2010 07:51 AM PST

An american company by the name Super Talent Technology which is a manufacture of Flash storage solutions and ram modules have just announced the new SuperSpeed USB 3.0 RAIDDrive, which supports transfer speeds up to ten times faster than USB 2.0 drives. The new drive, in 32GB, 64GB and 128GB capacities, is fully backward compatible with USB 2.0 ports, but operates at slower speeds.

usb 3.0 drive 250x187 First USB 3.0 Pen drives announced in America

Let me give you a insight on how USB 3.0 works.This would give 10x time faster with speeds upto 5 gbps from 480 mbps of USB 2.0.In order to get USB 3.0, you would need to have a new motherboard that supports it or Alternatively, a new cable with a new host adapter.Motherboards with next-gen chipsets should feature the SATA 3 ports and the USB 3.0 ports on them. Many manufacturers did showcase some of the samples during the recently concluded CES2010. These may hit the markets by the end of the Q2 2010 and would become mainstream by the year-end or so.

The good part is that USB 3.0 is backward compatible with USB 2.0. What this means is that you can still use the device on a USB 2.0 port and achieve typical USB 2.0 performance.Though its 10x times faster, it still consumes one-third the power of USB 2.0.One more best thing is it can also supply enough power to run external 3.5″ HDD”s so we can have those huge 1-2 TB External HDD’s running without external power & at speeds which can match eSATA.

However, the actual speed increase may be totally dependent on the peripherals you connect e.g. external storage device should be capable of running at a speed higher than practical speed of USB 2.0 to see improvements. A Normal SATA drive will not give any improvements. Expect better performance from RAIDed hard drives or fast solid-state drives (SSDs) than from, say, a standalone single drive connected to the computer via USB 3.0.USB 3.0's crucial advantage lies for high-def video, music, and digital applications.

Whenever you buy USB 3.0 drives point must be taken into consideration that is has certified SuperSpeed USB 3.0 logo. This presence of the certification logo will give you some peace of mind that the product you're buying truly does live up to the USB 3.0 spec.As far as Notebooks go, HP (EliteBook)and Fujitsu have announced limited USB 3.0 support and MSI is already marked for 2010 Q3. In this year, the only announced peripherals remain storage devices. However, at CES 2011 we would see more specific consumer electronics devices such as digital cameras and camcorders and video cameras moving to USB 3.0.

So as far this Pen drive is in question, this USB 3.0 RAIDDrive uses patented "multiple pairs of differential serial data lines technology" for optimal NAND flash performance. "This product underscores Super Talent's continued leadership in USB drives." said Super Talent COO, C.H. Lee. "We've developed the world's first mobile USB 3.0 flash drive. It delivers phenomenal performance and it incorporates our own patented technology".

supertalent usb 3.0 250x156 First USB 3.0 Pen drives announced in America

Measures 95 x 37 x13 mm, Like most USB drives, it requires no separate cable. It plugs directly into any USB port. Although this drive will work in USB 2.0, it delivers transfer speeds up to 200MB/sec only in USB 3.0 ports. Using a separate UAS Protocol driver with a USB 3.0 port this SuperSpeed drive can reach up to 320MB/sec transfer speeds.

This product will be available in December from Super Talent resellers worldwide.It's just possible though, that by the time it would reach here there might be quite a few other companies that will have developed 3.0 drives as well.

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