ExtraTorrent Blog

Mozilla announced this week that it is ramping up efforts to bring Internet and software platforms to cell phones, including a mobile version of Firefox.

Mozilla VP of engineering Mike Schroepfer wrote in his official company blog this week that Mozilla is expanding its mobile presence because the time and place are finally right.

“Up until very recently device limitations required writing new mobile browsers from the ground up. Being able to leverage all the investments in the Mozilla platform across both desktops and devices is the right approach,” he said.

Schroepfer announced that Mozilla is adding mobile devices to the tier 1 platform set for Mozilla2, meaning that cell phones and similar products will be treated as “first-class citizens” in future platform decisions.

The company has also planned to increase full-time staff positions in the mobile department.

Most interesting for consumers is the announcement of Mobile Firefox, which will be able to run extensions and other XUL-based applications that make it a much richer experience than traditional stripped mobile browsers of the past.

The Nokia N800 is currently acting as a test phone for Mozilla’s new mobile initiative, with a Mozilla browser available on that handset.

Other manufacturers and mobile operating system platforms are in the works, but Schroepfer says the company has not yet determined its target platforms for mobile applications.

Special thanks to TG Daily for this post  

   Microsoft WindowsXP!

Well this is fasinating, as I’m a Windows Vista Ultimate user I don’t really keep up-to-date with the Windows XP Scene however, we have been told that Microsoft are definatley releasing a Windows XP Service Pack upgrade.

This will take your current specification from Service Pack 2 upto the new version of Windows XP Service Pack 3.

This upgrade will be available from December 2007 from Microsoft’s own website

So if you feel threatend by the extinction of Windows XP, don’t Microsoft Corporation are still supporting this operating system.

As far as we know the corporation will stop supporting Windows XP next year, however personally I think they will extend this deadline, as Windows Vista hasn’t taken off as well as what the corporation had hoped, however Microsoft Windows Vista has a major competitor and it is Windows XP Service Pack 2

What I mean is, that Microsoft are wanting all users to eventually change to Vista, but they did such a cracking job with XP that users are comfortable with it, and see no need to change.

Personally I think users will change to Vista when Microsoft make it more stable and compatible with older computer systems.

We will keep you updated on this subject, I actually find it very interesting,

Here’s a big number: 20 percent of Microsoft Office’s U.S retail sales are the Mac version, according to NPD. Here’s another: Mac users account for 10 percent of retail Windows Vista Business and Ultimate sales.

Those startling statistics are yet another sign of the Mac’s resurgence and of the huge opportunity it creates for the largest Macintosh developer outside of Apple. Microsoft produced Mac versions of Excel and Word long before the products went to Windows. Apple’s resurgence is an opportunity for Microsoft to recall those early glory days.

But should Microsoft want to? After all, Macs compete with Windows PCs. Does Microsoft really want to be in the business of supporting a competitor?

“Twenty percent of all the versions of Microsoft Office sold at retail are the Mac version,” said Chris Swenson, NPD’s director of software industry analysis. “Office 2004 for the Mac is selling like hot cakes.” Swenson quoted numbers for U.S. online and in-store retail.

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Microsoft said that Halo 3 has become the “fastest-selling video game ever” and already has its place among the world’s most successful entertainment products, at least from a revenue perspective.

Microsoft did not say how many Halo 3 boxes were actually sold; estimates however put the game at about 4.5 to 5 million units within the first week.

In comparison, Halo 2, launched on November 9, 2004, sold about 6.4 million copies within its first two months of launch.

The company also said that more than 2.7 million gamers played Halo 3 on the Xbox Live network during the first week within launch, almost one third of the currently registered 7 million Xbox Live gamers.

More than 40 million hours of Halo 3 game play were logged on the Xbox Live server in the first week. And apparently, the Xbox console itself also got the boost Microsoft had hoped for.

“Initial reports from retailers worldwide show console sales have more than doubled compared with the weekly average before the launch of Halo 3,” the company said.

Halo 3 was released in 37 countries and 17 languages. To date, more than 20 million copies of the games in the Halo trilogy have been sold worldwide, Microsoft noted.

Special thanks to TGD for this post

Microsoft was busy covering up an almighty cock-up last night after forgetting to renew its hotmail.co.uk domain name. (December 1999 by the way not October 7th 2007)

Despite being warned that the domain for its popular Web mail service was up for renewal, it seems Microsoft – or whoever had the task of managing its hotmail.co.uk domain – overlooked this vital piece of administration.

Luckily, the domain was snapped up on the same day – October 23. The new owner – a good hearted soul – then proceeded immediately to contact Microsoft, inform the giant of its slip and arrange to hand back the domain.

However, Microsoft didn’t want to know. Despite phone calls and emails – and being fobbed off by Microsoft drones – our man behind this public-spirited deed was completely blanked by the software empire.

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