Tablets are getting a new Firefox for Android look.

A plethora of changes land in Firefox for Android 15 beta, as its desktop counterpart moves its memory management improvements up a notch.

Firefox 15 beta for Windows (download), Mac (download), and Linux (download), brings the memory management improvements developed in Mozilla's MemShrink project one step closer to the stable version of the browser, this time focusing on long browser sessions and how add-ons affect Firefox. Nicholas Nethercote, a developer at Mozilla, wrote on his blog that Firefox 15 beta is likely to be "drastically" faster than Firefox 14, in some cases.

The changes in the beta focus on memory leaks, which Nethercote describes as occurring when a program allocates some of your computer's memory to use, but then fails to release it when finished with its task. He wrote back in January 2012 that memory leaks in add-ons, from the most popular Firefox add-ons to the simplest one... [Read more]

When you're taking a vacation or just picking up mom at the airport, a flight tracking app can be an invaluable tool. Indeed, I've downloaded more than my share with Mobiata's FlightTrack Pro holding its place one of my top picks. Recently, though, I discovered a more comprehensive app called Flight+. Developed by International Airport Flight Track Technologies, Flight+ combines flight tracking with a trip diary and an airline/airport information hub. It's complete, slickly designed, and for an airline geek, almost perfect.

Track your flights and more with Flight+ for iOS (pictures)

• ... [Read more]

If you've grown bored with Instagram and are looking for a new photo-sharing app, Tiny Post might fit the bill. This free iPhone app lets you add three lines of text to photos, creating one of those hilarious or poignant images you undoubtedly see daily in your Facebook News Feed or elsewhere on the Internet.

Tiny Post boasts a slick interface and a number of sharing options. After signing in via Facebook, Twitter, or e-mail, you can find other Tiny Post users to follow by tapping the people button in the upper-right corner. Tap the camera button in the lower-left corner to snap a photo (or load one from your Camera Roll). After snapping your shot, you can add up to three lines of text before uploading it to your feed. Tiny Post does not offer any photo filters, and you can't change the font or font size, nor can you reposition the text outside of a creative use of the space bar.

Sharing options include Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and e-mail. The app also has a grayed-out Pinterest button, but such functionality is coming soon (Tiny Post awaits access to Pinterest's API). Instagram integration is also listed as coming soon on Tiny Post's page in the App... [Read more]

Need some new games to while away your flight, train ride, car trip, or time in line at the post office with?

In terms of bang for the buck, it's hard to beat a bundle. Like this one: the Indie Gala Mobile 2 bundle lets you set your own price for three (or more) popular Android games -- and support some worthy causes in the process.

Like previous Indie Gala bundles, this one has a minimum buy-in of $1 -- though you can pay more than that if you wish (see below). That gets you Battle Group, Ichi, and The Lost Souls. Purchased separately, this threesome would run you about $4.

If you pay more than the current average purchase price ($5.29 as of this writing), you'll get three additional Android games: the top-rated Little Stars for Little Wars 2, the top-rated Xelorians, and the medium-rated ... [Read more]

Firefox is a powerful Web browser, in part, because of its support for plug-ins. Unfortunately, some of those plug-ins can cause problems with security and stability, especially if you have a lot of them. In Firefox 14, you can now configure plug-ins to load only when clicked. Seth Rosenblatt first reported on the feature with Firefox 14 Aurora. Now that the stable version of 14 (technically 14.01) is finally out, here's how to enable and use opt-in plug-ins in Firefox:

Enable opt-in plug-ins in Firefox

Step 1: In the address bar, type "about:config." When you get the warning prompt, click the "I'll be careful, I promise" button.

Step 2: Search for the "plugins.click_to_play" preference, then double-click on the entry so the value reads "true."

Opt-in/opt-out of plug-ins for individual sites

Step 1: After restarting your browser, go to one of your favorite Web sites. If your plug-ins are supported on that site, you'll see a plug-in block icon in the address bar.

Step 2: Click on the plug-in block icon, then click the "Activate plugins" button to allow them to run on the site during you... [Read more]

Bitdefender's Clueful privacy tracking app is no longer for sale on the App Store.

Bitdefender's iOS app that let users see what information installed applications had access to, has been removed from the App Store after being approved nearly two months ago.

In a statement, Bitdefender said Apple alerted the company to the removal of the Clueful app -- which was first released in late May -- "after initial approval and sale." A Bitdefender spokesperson elaborated on that, saying it was actually removed on June 29.

The software made use of a proprietary database, which told users whether a particular application gathered analytics or accessed things like unique identification numbers and other personal information. If an installed application was not in that database, users could ask the company to analyze it.

Apple declined to comment on the removal. One possibility is that the app violated a section of the company's App Review Guidelines covering "incorrect diagnostic or other inaccurate device data."

Ahead of the removal, Bitdefender say... [Read more]

Word 2013 Preview start screen

Still running XP or Vista and eyeing Office 2013? Sorry, you're out of luck.

Unveiled Monday, the upcoming new Office suite won't support Windows XP or Vista, meaning users who need or want Office 2013 will have to upgrade to Windows 7 or Windows 8.

Microsoft confirmed the tighter requirements on its Office 2013 Preview Technet page. Only Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Server 2008 R2, and Windows Server 2012 will be able to run the new suite.

Users will also need a PC with at least a 1GHz processor, 1GB of RAM for the 32-bit version (2GB for the 64-bit version), at least 3GB of free hard disk space, and a graphics card that can provide at least 1,024-by-576 resolution.

The PC specs shouldn't be a challenge for most users. But the OS requirement may prove problematic.

Vista users have been dropping like flies, most of them likely upgrading to Windows 7 by this point. Recent stats from Net Applications showed ... [Read more]

Word 2013 Preview start screen

Microsoft is aiming Office 2013 at touch-screen devices as well as PCs. So the company is starting to pull out the stops to convince tablet users that the new Office is just right for them.

In a blog post yesterday, Clint Covington, a lead program manager for Microsoft's User Experience team, explained how touch works in the new suite. Products such as OneNote and Lync have been redesigned from the ground up to fully support touch. The other applications in Office have been "touch-enabled," which means they support certain touch features but remain true to their roots as desktop applications.

Designing apps to respond to a finger instead of a mouse can be challenging, so Microsoft had to enlarge certain elements in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. Users will find fixed parts of the interface larger, such as the Quick Access toolbar, the ribbon, the status bar, and folders in Outlook. Certain menus will also appear larger.

But the size only increases when touch mode is enabled. You can turn touch mode on and off, depending on what type of device you're using, and the interface adapts. The onscreen keyboard also provides a fuller view of your document by automatically minimizing the ribbon and giving you more room to work... [Read more]