Google's "canary-in-the-mineshaft" version of its Chrome browser gained a new "labs" option for users to explore on Wednesday. Users of Chrome Canary, named to indicate that it's an even rougher version of Chrome than the developer's build, can now activate rougher, in-progress features by typing "about:labs" into the location bar. About:labs was first revealed last week.

The first feature to land in the lab is Side Tabs. To activate it, go to about:labs and click the Enable button under Side Tab. Restart Chrome Canary and when you right-click on any tab, choose the option at the bottom of the menu to Use Side Tabs. This will move your tabs into a vertical column on the left of the browser. To revert back to the tabs-on-top scheme, click on Use Side Tabs again.

The switch is perhaps useful for people with widescreen monitors who wish to see the dozens of their open tabs in a column form, exposing more of a Web site's title than would otherwise appear on the tab bar. However, the switch also forces an empty title bar at the top of the window; there's definitely room for more development in this particular lab experiment.

Depending on how Google implements it, one of the potential benefits of About:Labs could be to allow users to explore new features that would otherwise be available only through command line flags.

Mobile-browser builder Skyfire is striving to make good on its vow to get a solution for streaming Flash video onto the iPhone--without breaking any of Apple's restrictions against third-party browsers.

On Wednesday, Skyfire submitted Skyfire for iPhone to the App Store, albeit five months after it had promised to follow in Opera's footsteps.

Skyfire for iPhone is modeled after the Skyfire for Android app that debuted in late April. As with that version, Skyfire's iPhone app will contain a video playback button to stream Web video through Skyfire's servers.

In order to get the video playback through Apple's gauntlet, Skyfire will transcode the Flash video into HTML5 on the fly before pushing content down to your iPhone. What's more, the app will also compress video data by up to 75 percent.

These workarounds are technical and tricky. Will they be enough to gain Apple's coveted approval? Skyfire is confident that the answer is yes. The company has worked closely with Apple's guidelines for HTML5 on iOS, Skyfire said in a press release. Furthermore, Skyfire says it has reached out to Apple for feedback.

We'll get you a hands-on review of the app as soon as we can. In the meantime, you can get an idea of how Skyfire for iPhone may look and behave in the video below of Skyfire 2.0 beta for Android.

Originally posted at iPhone Atlas

Along with a refresh to most of its iPod line, Apple's annual digital media event included a refresh to iTunes. The music and video management software revved to version 10 and is supposed to be available today for both Windows and Mac users. I followed CNET's live coverage of the event as the announcement unfolded, including participating in a chat room loaded with Buzz Out Loud viewers, and the response to the refresh was a pretty much universal "meh."

I can't help but say that I agree with that general consensus. Version 10 of iTunes does not include a much-anticipated cloud music service, nor does it offer a subscription video service to go with the new Apple TV. Instead, Apple added the ability to rent TV shows a la carte--for 99 cents apiece. Call me a cheapskate, but this seems hideously expensive, especially considering the fact that iTunes has often offered specials in the past when you could purchase shows for 99 cents rather than $1.99. And I would be surprised if there's much interest in renting a 30-minute program (which are really more like 22 minutes in most cases) at that price. Even the studios aren't thrilled with the idea: only Fox and ABC have signed on for the initial launch.

The other big announcement for iTunes 10 is the introduction of Ping, a social feature that seems awfully familiar. Ping lets you select your favorite artists to follow, and then provides updated information on new music and concerts in your area (as well as a Twitter-like feed of comments from the artists). In addition, you can connect with your friends through iTunes by sending e-mail invites or by linking to your Facebook account. Ping is also built into the iTunes app, allowing users to access it on-the-go.

However, by far the most exciting new development from version 10 of the software is a brand-new iTunes logo. Gone is the old-school CD with a music note overlaid on top of it; now, you get the much more applike icon pictured at right. Now there's an improvement I can get on board with.

What about the rest of you? Are you utterly underwhelmed by the newest version of iTunes? Or is the social integration a long-awaited feature that's grossly underrated? And TV show rentals? Feel free to add your feedback to the comment section below.

Apple has released iTunes 10 for Windows and Mac, which brings a number of new features to the program including a new icon (finally!), a hybrid column view to prevent repetitive album listings, and a new social network for music called Ping.

The update is available through Software Update in OS X, but can also be downloaded from the iTunes Web site (Apple has updated their site to say iTunes 10 is "coming soon"); however, be sure to take a couple of precautions before installing it.

1. Let others test it

   We do not expect there will be major issues with the program, but being new software with new features there may be some initial bugs that will need to be addressed for a full and seamless experience. If you do not absolutely need the program, then allow others to experiment with it for a few weeks and read about potential problems here, in the Apple discussion forums, or other locations to ensure things are going smoothly.

2. Back up

   Before applying the update, be sure to have a full, bootable, and restorable backup of your system that you can use to revert any changes made when installing the program. In the past there have been issues with people losing their libraries, missing items, or having synchronization issues with various mobile devices.

3. Sync first

   If you use iTunes to sync your various devices, then be sure to fully sync them before updating so all the data is consistent. This should help reduce initial sync problems with the program after updating.

4. Deauthorize your system

   If you use iTunes to connect to the iTunes store, first deauthorize it, update, and then enter your account information again. This will help prevent the possibility of an error with the installation, resulting in the store thinking your computer is already authorized.

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Questions? Comments? Have a fix? Post them below or e-mail us!
Be sure to check us out on Twitter and the CNET Mac forums.

Originally posted at MacFixIt

Internet Explorer's growth slowed once again, and Chrome shook off its slump in August, new statistics show.

Although Microsoft made progress in its goal to exterminate IE6 in favor of IE8's more modern and secure design, Internet Explorer overall slipped from 60.7 percent to 60.4 percent of global usage, as measured by Net Applications.

Chrome had slipped for the first time in its history, sinking to 7.2 percent in July, but returned to growth with 7.5 percent of August usage, Net Applications said.

Mozilla's Firefox market share was essentially flat, with 22.9 percent usage. Apple's Safari rose from 5.1 percent to 5.2 percent, and Opera dipped from 2.5 percent to 2.4 percent.

After years in which IE's dominance led to a largely dormant browser market, the software has become highly competitive again, with new entrants and new uses. The Web is growing increasingly significant as a medium not just for browsing content but also for using applications; as Web technology evolves, so must browsers.

IE has been a laggard at this evolution, but Microsoft is trying to dramatically overhaul its browser with the upcoming IE9. It's released several Platform Preview versions in 2010 and plans to launch the first IE9 beta on September 15.

Microsoft's overall usage may have slipped for August, but the company is happy to see IE8 growing at the expense of IE6.

"For August, IE share worldwide decreased 0.34 [percentage points] to 60.40 percent worldwide, but in a world of customer choice, we are pleased that people are continuing to choose Internet Explorer 8 three times more often than other browsers when they make that move [away from IE6]," said Ryan Gavin, senior director of Internet Explorer Business and Marketing, in a blog post Wednesday. "While there is still a significant number of Internet Explorer 6 users who have not upgraded, most of these users are concentrated in developing or emerging markets, as well as enterprises with substantial application dependencies that take time to migrate."

Firefox, meanwhile, is racing to finish Firefox 4, in beta testing now but still 692 bugs and a few features away from final release. Google is set to release Chrome 6 soon, though with its behind-the-scenes automatic-update feature, few people know which version they're using.

Originally posted at Deep Tech

The official Google blog on Tuesday posted a link to an experimental music video for the Arcade Fire song "We Used To Wait" that shows off the capabilities of HTML5 with Google's Chrome browser.

I gave it a run earlier this afternoon. After I followed the instructions to close other applications and enter my home address, the video took about 15 seconds to start. My first impression was a flashback of visiting shady Web sites back in the days before pop-up blockers existed: a cascade of no fewer than eight browser windows opened, and trying to close any one of them displayed a message warning that I'd exit the application altogether.

But once I gave up trying to control my screen, the experience was pretty amazing. The application opens and closes browser windows in time with the music, and about halfway through, one of them displayed the exact view from the front door of my childhood home.

This freakishness is provided courtesy of Google Maps Street View and some clever manipulation of the images to keep them looking fluid, rather than a bunch of disconnected snapshots. Later, a window asked me to write a letter to my childhood self, and I was able to both type and draw letters that sprouted trippy tendrils of black while the music and other video windows played on.

In all, it was a pretty impressive display that ran well on my five-year-old Dell gaming laptop. Unfortunately, the only release-level browser it works with is Chrome. Firefox 3.x and IE8 don't have sufficient HTML5 support, though that's changing soon: IE9 and Firefox 4, both in initial beta-testing now, will offer dramatically improved support for the emerging Web standard. (I tested it on the beta of Firefox 4, and while it loaded more slowly and had a couple stutters, it worked. I'll hold off testing it on IE9 until Microsoft releases a full browser beta later in September--right now, the preview versions are only basic shells.)

The same video could probably have been programmed in Adobe Systems' Flash format and worked in any browser, but it might have placed a greater load on my PC, (That's open to debate, and it depends on how the app is written and the precise specs of the machine running it). Nonetheless, it's a pretty good advertisement for the promise of HTML5--and an even better advertisement for Google products and technologies. Which, of course, was the real point.

The song itself, "The Wilderness Downtown," was not bad, but it didn't grip me enough to want to run out and buy the album. That has been my reaction to most of the new Arcade Fire album so far, though I like the idea of a concept album about the suburbs and the fact they released it on vinyl.

Originally posted at Digital Noise: Music and Tech