The Download Blog

This free IE add-on captures JPEG images of bookmarked sites in the event that the tagged site changes or disappears. InternetScrap introduces a toolbar to your Internet Explorer window that contains only two buttons--not a great use of space, but the feature is pretty neat.

The first button on the toolbar lets you manage bookmarked Web pages, which the plug-in calls "scraps." The settings menu lets you opt to scrap an entire Web page or just the visible area. A slide bar is available for manipulating the scrap resolution, or you can use one of the preset options. The second button is for scrapping the Web page. Click on the button to see a preview of the scrapped page, and then select a location to save it. A hot key combination is rolled in, and there's also the option to e-mail the bookmarked page. The program worked quickly, and makes the scraps accessible via your Favorites.

Users of all skill levels will find this program easy to use, and it's recommended as an alternative to bookmarking.

Visual search engine Searchme has a sexy new iPhone app that brings its signature Coverflow-like interface to the phone's 3.5-inch display. Search results come in the form of large thumbnails with short content summaries underneath. To browse through them you simply flick your finger across the screen, just like you would with album covers in the phone's iPod application.

The app also supports pinch gestures for zooming in on thumbnails. This lets you see the the details of a page before visiting it in Safari--something that can be done with a simple double tap on any result. This may seem like a trivial feature, but it can be immensely helpful, and in some cases even prevent you from having to visit the site at all. In my case I was able to pull up a restaurant's address just by zooming in, saving me some time and data.

Searchme knows when you've flipped it on its side and will display the search results in gorgeous Coveflow-style.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

The application makes use of the iPhone's accelerometer, and can tell when you've got it in landscape mode. When flipped, you get an additional two thumbnails on the screen, and it does away with the summaries entirely. It's also marvelously fun to zoom back and forth.

This app is definitely more than eye candy. Over a 3G connection it took just three seconds to bring up search results that I was able to flip through, and another 15 to stream in the thumbnails. During that loading time I was able to browse through the titles and summaries with zero lag which is really impressive.

Searchme is free and can be found in the app store (iTunes link).

Previous Searchme coverage:
Searchme tries music streaming to attract users
Search interfaces of tomorrow you can try today
Searchme nabs $31 million from Google backer, others

Things just got a lot more complicated for Mitchell Baker, the Mozilla Foundation's chairman and "chief lizard wrangler."

Gone are the days when Microsoft's Internet Explorer was the sole rival for Mozilla's Firefox. A new open-source browser, Google Chrome, has come to town, and it's from the company that provided $66 million of the Mozilla Foundation's $75 million in 2007 revenue.

Mozilla Foundation Chairman Mitchell Baker

(Credit: Mozilla)

There are other browser alternatives--Opera and Safari, for example--but Chrome is likely to catch on with the same techno-savvy, early-adopter, Google-proficient crowd that's been so passionate about Firefox. Baker, though, isn't worried.

For one thing, she argues, Mozilla gets its Google revenue from shared advertising revenue generated when people use Mozilla's built-in Google search abilities. In other words, Mozilla is just another advertising partner--a status Google was willing to extend to a far greater competitor, Yahoo, though, of course, Google backed away from that deal when threatened with a Justice Department antitrust lawsuit.

For another, she doesn't feel threatened by Chrome's market share. That's not to say she's complacent about it, though. I asked her opinion about Google, Chrome, the new HTML version 5, the future of the Web, and other matters on Tuesday. Here's an edited transcript of our chat.

Q: Mozilla pulled in $75 million in 2007. How significant is that figure?
Baker: It's a significant number to us. It's about what we expected. We're happy with it. It's an amount of money that allows us to be sustainable, plus has some savings. And it's generated in way that allows us flexibility and freedom.

It's only a 12 percent increase over Mozilla's 2006 revenue, which had grown faster. Surely, there are more users doing more searches. Why is the growth rate tapering off?
Baker: As in many cases, there's (effectively) a discount with bulk and volume. With volume, you often get paid less per unit. The revenue per search isn't linear.

Mozilla gets paid by Google for the browser search box and the start page, both of which default to Google, correct?
Baker: That's correct. But the one thing most people forget is, we have an arrangement not just with Google but also with Yahoo. The combination of Google's market share and the default piece means the vast majority (of Mozilla revenue) comes from Google. We also get a small amount of revenue from Amazon.

Is the revenue based on Firefox downloads? Search queries?
Baker: It's analogous to what you see on Web sites with Google AdSense (in which other sites show Google ads, and Google shares the resulting revenue when people click on those ads). It's a mechanism for ad distribution.

So Mozilla is funded by ad revenue?
Baker: That's right. It's not the AdSense program, but it's from ad revenue.

Are you concerned the revenue will dry up, now that Google has Chrome?
Baker: We're careful, and we watch. But are we particularly worried? No. We expect Chrome to have some amount of market share, but we don't expect it to balloon. Our market share continues to grow, and we expect it to be healthy. The relationship between Google and Mozilla is good, in a business sense, for both organizations.

What effect has Chrome had on Firefox development?
Baker: It hasn't changed the way we work--our open-source and community way. Google is full of very smart people and more resources than the rest of us could imagine. We expect to see interesting and innovative things come out of Google and Chrome. We hope so. Good ideas move around in the browser world. New things showing in Chrome can benefit all of us. One thing about Mozilla is, we do not have the not-invented-here syndrome.

Has it changed your thinking? Google has touted Chrome's JavaScript performance, for example. Has it lit a fire under your developers?
Baker: The JavaScript fire has been lit anyway. I'd say we've been increasing our focus on performance for some time. JavaScript performance...is equal or better than Chrome. We've seen an across-the-board change over the last six to eight months. That was in the works already.

There are some interesting things in Chrome. Everybody seems to have private-browsing features, so we will as well. We're not as convinced that this is as helpful, but it's certainly something that people are looking for.

Chrome has vanishing market share, compared to Internet Explorer. How do you view your competition with Microsoft?
Competition with Microsoft is a bit different. There's no question (that Internet Explorer) as a product is improving. Thank goodness. If 70 (percent) of the world were still using IE 6, it would be much worse world for all of us.

It still does not remotely approach Firefox as a product, and we don't expect IE to challenge Firefox supremacy as the technical innovator in the near-term time frame. We do hope to see IE standards compliance and its modern features improved. The single biggest problem now in moving the Web forward is having to deal with people using back versions of IE.

What are Mozilla's spending priorities in the future?
Baker: We have a few. The mobile space is one. Innovation is another--how to promote innovation that's not locked up in a single proprietary stack. We're not taking about giant amounts of money (but rather) experiments to find out what's important and interesting.

There are some educational and research initiatives on which we'll be increasing our focus in the next year. And there are some initiatives we're looking at in the (Mozilla) labs space. Synchronizing data, not just Foxmarks data (such as bookmarks and passwords) but other data as well. That could require investments. Also, there are technologies to move the Web forward. We're looking carefully at video.

Firefox 3.1 has support for the Ogg video format.
Baker: Exactly.

Is the time line to release Firefox 3.1 in early 2009?
Baker: Yes, that's our plan.

What comes after that?
Baker: We're looking at Fennec releases (a version of Firefox for mobile devices) and at some of the things coming out of Mozilla Labs, like synchronization of services. Will that end up as a project? Were not sure. We're also looking at Thunderbird (Mozilla's open-source e-mail software). Thunderbird 3 should be shipping in the first half of 2009, (bringing) add-ons and ecosystem opportunities there.

And, of course, there's more work on Firefox. The role of Firefox is to display the Web as the Web moves forward. We also think we're in the early stages of graphics and video, and what people do with it.

What do you think of HTML 5, the next version of the standard for displaying Web pages? Will it solve the world's problems?
Baker: We're eager to see it happen. It's certainly not the panacea miracle cure, but it's important. We've spent a lot of time trying to move beyond HTML 4. We have the same issues (as earlier HTML versions) of getting it implemented in browsers.

Because it's a large specification, it's likely that only portions will get implemented. What if some browser isn't going to implement something in HTML 5, what are we doing to do to move the Web forward?

What's better than jamming along to guitar rock on Guitar Hero Mobile? Smashing some drums and battling other players to climb the charts of mobile stardom on the latest in the mobile franchise, Guitar Hero World Tour Mobile (review).

The handheld version of Activision's Guitar Hero World Tour console game is making its way around the carriers; at the time of writing, it's already available on AT&T and Sprint (Verizon is expected on November 28.)

Before you subscribe or buy, check out our First Look video to see the new drumming gameplay, hear the better sound, and get the lowdown on multiplayer mode.

I beat my first opponent. Are you next?

P.S. For best results, play to the very end.

Google has released a new application for Mac users called "Vocito" that puts GrandCentral calling right on your desktop. It integrates with OS X's address book, Automater app, and third-party applications like Blacktree's QuickSilver to let you start a GrandCentral-powered call no matter what you're doing on your machine.

Similar to JaJah and Jaxtr, Vocito's system for setting up calls involves you first picking who you want to call, then choosing which one of your GrandCentral-connected phones you want it to be connected from. You then hit dial and GrandCentral does the rest. It's basically the same exact thing you've been able to do with GrandCentral's Web interface for years, but now you can have a deeper level of integration across your entire system.

This deeper integration centers around a slick and simple Mac taskbar drop-down application that's directly integrated with the Address Book app. It lets you start a call almost as fast as doing a Spotlight search. This is made a little easier if you're a Quicksilver user, since you can search for contacts and call them via Vocito with the included plug-in. In most cases, this worked for me with about six keyboard strokes, which I found faster than picking up my phone to dial a contact.

Vocito's simple taskbar application lets you hunt through your address book and make a call no matter what you're doing on your computer.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

If you don't have time for six keystrokes, the application lets you save a customized phone call preset as an AppleScript command. Clicking it begins the call immediately. You can leave these laying around your desktop, or put them into a folder to keep in a stack on your dock for handy "speed dialing" later on.

Vocito is free to use and will run on both PPC and Intel Macs. You will, however, need a GrandCentral account, which Google continues to keep in a highly limited beta--that is, unless you're homeless.

Updated 1:15 p.m. PST with Symantec comment.

For some security companies, Microsoft's decision to offer a free anti-malware product, code-named Morro, won't result in a dramatic change in how they do business.

Morro will be available in the second half of 2009 and will protect against viruses, spyware, rootkits, and Trojans, according to Microsoft.

Rowan Trollope, senior vice president of Symantec's consumer business, characterized the announcement as a "capitulation by Microsoft, and a reinforcement of the notion that it's simply not in Microsoft's DNA to provide high-quality, frequently updated security protection."

Here's the rest of his statement provided via e-mail: "Consumers have already rejected OneCare even though it entered the market at a lower price, because OneCare offered substandard protection and poor performance as evidenced by scores of third party reviews. The offering only gained modest market share and ultimately was deemed unsuccessful in the marketplace. Making a significantly scaled-back version of that same substandard security technology free won't change that equation. Simply put, innovation and protection matter. So even if it's free, the Microsoft "OneCare-light" offering will certainly fare worse than its predecessor, essentially putting consumers at increased risk without additional protection. Additionally, our research clearly indicates that, after effective protection, what consumers care most about in a security product is performance. OneCare is widely recognized as one of the most egregious offenders in hogging system resources.

On Tuesday, Amy Barzdukas, senior director of product management for the Online Services and Windows Division at Microsoft, had dismissed similar criticism from McAfee. "If the current approach isn't working... (as far as protecting consumers broadly) we need to go with a new approach," she said.

A representative for AVG Technologies, maker of AVG Antivirus, told CNET News on Wednesday, "We view this as a positive step for the AV (antivirus) landscape. AVG has believed in the right to free antivirus software for the past eight years."

The company said it will be "business as usual" and doesn't plan to make any changes to its own product offerings as a result. "Based on what Microsoft is planning to deliver, we don't feel the need to make any changes to our free product at this time," the company said.

Asked if AVG had any advice for Microsoft, the company said "consumers will use a free product if it's robust and it protects them. The product has to be easy to use, fast, unobtrusive, and be able to address the latest Web threats."

Alex Eckelberry, CEO of Sunbelt Software, maker of Vipre Antivirus + Antispyware, said the move to get out of a profitable business appears to a capitulation on Microsoft's part. "This gives them a chance to do something altruistic while getting out of an unattractive business," he said. He noted that Microsoft will still be selling Microsoft Forefront, a collection of business security products.

Eckelberry said there remain two questions: One, how exactly will Microsoft distribute the product (will it consider bundling it with Windows 7)? And two, will the company make the application available through enterprise group policy management?

In the end, AVG said the market still needs to be educated. "Microsoft will have to do more than simply make the product available," the AVG representative said.

(CNET News' Elinor Mills contributed to this.)

Someone in Japan plays Mozart and you are there!

Smule has quickly become my favorite iPhone app developer.

It's not that their apps have been particularly useful, but they're the ones I get the most excited about. From Sonic Lighter to Sonic Boom and Sonic Vox, these guys are IMO currently the masters of fun, cool, quirky iPhone apps.

Now they're going completely bohemian with their latest release, Ocarina. According to Smule, this is the first true musical instrument for the iPhone with no precompiled riffs.

By simply blowing into your iPhone's mic you'll create sound, and by holding the "holes" on the screen you'll be able to create music. After some practice, that is.

You have the option of choosing between modes including Dorian, Lydian, or my personal favorite--Zeldarian. With Zeldarian, you'll be able to play the Zelda theme from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Smule's site teaches the basics, from how to hold your new instrument to how to lightly blow. It even has an online score generator that lets you translate music into Smule's Ocarina language by telling you the proper fingering to create the song you want.

By far my favorite feature, though, is the ability to listen to other people playing all over the world in real time. There's just something really cool about being able to hear a guy in Japan play Mozart from a world away.

Ocarina is available from the App Store for 99 cents.

This simple program will sound an alarm through your laptop's speakers when certain activities occur, helping to thwart laptop theft. Laptop Alarm's four-check-box interface takes seconds to set. An option pop-up is as easily set to control mouse sensitivity and set a program password.

Operating Laptop Alarm is a snap. Users merely run the executable and set the alarm to sound if the laptop loses power the system is shut down or logged off, if the USB mouse is unplugged, or if the mouse moved. Testers found the program accurate with no false alarms. There's no method to alter the alarm sound, and users aren't given the opportunity to enter the program password before the alarm goes off.

Laptop Alarm performs well and as expected, but it doesn't run in the background and must be reset each time you want to use it. Leaving your computer is not an action we'd recommend, but this freeware may at least hurt the ears of a potential laptop thief.

The popular Outlook extension Xobni (download) is getting hooks into additional data sources. The service, which to date has given users historial detail about the people they communicate with in e-mail, is now extending its lookup to more social networks and other data sources.

Now, when a user is viewing a person's record, in addition to showing the user the Outlook history, it will also look up communications with that person on Yahoo Mail, and let you connect with them on Skype.

More interesting, I think, is its expanding hooks into social networks: In addition to its previous LinkedIn support, it will now troll through Facebook and return information about a highlighted user, such as their recent status message and picture.

The product can also look up the company the contact is affiliated with on Hoovers, and display that info in your sidebar.

Although Xobni now grabs data from more sources, it is still only a tool for users of Outlook. I've heard that support for Web e-mail (Google and Yahoo) is coming.

Read previous Xobni coverage.

Xobni will now look up data on your contacts' employers.

It will also give you their e-mail history from Yahoo Mail as well as Outlook.

Updated on 11/20/08 to correct details about Qik's social uploads.

Last week I learned of mobile video-broadcasting application Bambuser. Since then, I've compared it side-by-side with its direct competitor, Qik. The similarities between the two are more than skin deep: both turn the cell phone's camera into a live recorder and stream the video online, both allow viewers to chat with the videographer by flashing the message on the screen, and both are currently in development mode. They also both let you integrate with Twitter, Pownce, and a variety of other social networks.

While Qik, in beta, comes out the clear winner in interface, features, privacy, and performance, Bambuser, in alpha, offers two reasons to keep paying attention: geotagging and support for Web cams.

Qik on BlackBerry.

(Credit: Qik)

Qik is more sophisticated application overall, but Bambuser can automatically geotag videos from Symbian phones or manually place you on a map online if you're using Windows Mobile.

In addition to harnessing the phone's camera, Bambuser can also configure your Web cam to stream your video live if your subject or stage is stationary--a litter of puppies, for instance, or your own face.

Qik has the better product and handset reach, but it could stand to learn from Bambuser's flexibility. They could both work on expanding their mobile applications to make it easier to publish videos to a variety of outside sources (like Facebook, the elephant in the room), and to add greater context both before and after streaming the video. I'm thinking of something along the lines of Juicecaster's rich photo- and video-sharing service, which wouldn't stray from the livecasting that makes these apps so ripe for generating instant newscasts and fly-on-the-wall videos.

Want to try Bambuser or Qik for yourself? Check your phone's compatibility here with Qik or Bambuser.