AOL Working on Standalone Browser; Fate of Mac Version Unknown
555537
America Online, Inc. is reported to be developing a Web browser based on Microsoft Internet Explorer technology. It is not known when the browser will be released
92490
Half of the web just disappeared Another issue has cropped up with Apple's newly released beta of Safari for Windows.â¦
62627
(InfoWorld) - Some AIM users are angry about a recent alert message AOLÂ displays on their screens urging them to upgrade to the newest version of the instant messaging software. The alert, delivered in a rectangular box that appears on the screen's lower right hand corner, can't be turned off. If a user closes the box, the alert will pop back up minutes later. If left alone, the alert will periodically position itself as the primary active window, interrupting the user's current activity. AOL acknowledges that, unless users go through the upgrade process, there is no way to get rid of the alert. "Normally, upgrades are optional. However, in this case we are highly encouraging users to upgrade from 6.0 to 6.1 because of some security updates that are included in the new release," an AOL spokeswoman said via e-mail. The alert, titled "Active Update," reads: "The following update is ready to install. AIM Software - 6.1 GM Update: This version delivers new features and important security updates. Select 'Install Now' and upgrade today." The alert provides no information about the security updates. The AIM Web site doesn't appear to contain any information about the security fixes either. The AOL spokeswoman explained that the main security fix in version 6.1 addresses file sharing, which requires the sender and recipient to establish a direct PC-to-PC connection. "Essentially, if you used file sharing to send a folder -- as opposed to sending a single file -- there was the potential for a hacker to access your computer," she wrote. Beyond the security fixes, AIM 6.1 is the Vista-compatible client software and provides faster performance, she wrote. If users don't want to update to 6.1, they must either learn to live with the alert on their desktop or turn off AIM altogether. But some users want a middle ground: declining the update and getting rid of the alert. In this discussion forum thread, several users report being on the verge of abandoning the AIM service altogether if AOL doesn't stop the insistent alerts, which they find overly intrusive and, as one user wrote, "a royal pest." On May 29, AOL started beaming the alert to a small portion of users, and expanded the scope of recipients over the following two weeks. Since June 11, the alert has been hitting all AIM users who haven't upgraded, according to the spokeswoman. The situation highlights the often difficult balancing act vendors face when their software products need to get updated in order to address security issues, industry analysts said. "Vendors are trying to reach a compromise between improving the security of their software and making updates as unobtrusive as possible," said Michael D. Osterman, president of Osterman Research Inc. IM vendors in particular are becoming more aggressive with their security patches in response to increased activity from malicious hackers, Osterman said. "The IM vendors have realized they have to get serious about security and about getting users to upgrade their software. The downside is that it can be irritating to users, but, unfortunately, it's necessary," Osterman said. Last week, IM security vendor Akonix Systems Inc. reported tracking 36 malicious code attacks in IM networks during June, an 80 percent increase over May. Beyond the specific AIM situation, it's recommended that end users in general get into a habit of updating their PC software, said Chris Taschner, a vulnerability analyst at the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) Coordination Center of Carnegie Mellon University's Software Engineering Institute. Whenever possible, vendors should deliver the updates in the background , as transparently as possible to end users, Taschner said. "End users shouldn't have to be security experts to use software." If vendors will not update their software automatically in the background, they should make their policies for notifying end users about new versions very clear, he said. This way, end users will know how to distinguish between a legitimate and fraudulent security alert, Taschner said.
91169
Mike told me it would be okay to use Firefox 3 beta on the Mac. So I am. So far so good.  Firefox 2 was starting to hang every five minutes. But one of my critical plugins doesn't work in Firefox 3. Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh. Software sucks.&trade;
506013
Responding to the requests of its more advanced users, AOL has begun developing a new lightweight AIM client that includes just the basic instant messaging functionality without all the frills. Called AIM ET, the software is available from AOL's Greenhouse site that offers previews of new products.
453831
After a four year hiatus, AOL has restarted development of its client software, seemingly to appease those customers who have moved onto broadband, but are comfortable with the AOL interface. AOL 9.1 entered beta testing Tuesday, and is available for download.
743171
An insistent upgrade alert from AOL is annoying some users of its IM service.
744258
New builds of Mac OS X version 10.4 have been seeded to a select group of developers, according to a report by AppleInsider. The new operating system, code-named "Tiger," is currently being tested by Apple's elite and the development builds feature Jabber support in iChat, as well as extended RSS support in Safari 2.0. Many changes in development release have appeared since Tiger's debut at Apple's World Wide Developers Conference in June.
482929
Editor's note: This story was reprinted from Computerworld. For more of Computerworld's coverage of the Mac, visit its Mac Knowledge Center.
750785
There's one problem with Safari for Windows -- Safari sucks. Many Mac users wonât even run it on the Mac.
399598
The last planned alpha update to Firefox 3.0 is released.
305310
Don't bury AOL. It's not dead yet.
403071
Here's a screen shot of the HTML source.  Looks like it's trying to serve some kind of ActiveX control. Happy to be using a Mac.  PS: Scoble just showed up and TM works on his cell phone so there's something weird going on.
464481
According to sources familiar with testing, America Online is developing its own desktop search technology that will initially be added to the AOL Browser beta as early as the end of this week. AOL's entry into the space pits it directly against rival Microsoft, which has designs for a desktop search engine of its own.
677386
America Online Inc. on Thursday launched a version of its proprietary online service that includes additional security features. AOL 9.0 Security Edition is the first version of the service
234529
Mozilla is trying to weave a new web. Not sure if it matters yet.
18614
AOL (Quote, Chart) developers have rolled out a new version of its venerable Netscape browser, version 7.2.