Firefox's getUserMedia test page.

As the browser becomes the driving engine behind several operating systems, extensive hardware controls are landing as built-in HTML5. The latest developer's build of Firefox Aurora can now record by default video from your camera and audio from your microphone.

Firefox 20 Aurora (download for Windows, for Mac, for Linux, and for Android) has the new hardware API getUserMedia enabled by default, which means that you won't have to use a plugin to record directly from your local camera or mic. In her blog post announcing the update, Maire Reavy, Firefox's product lead on media, provided an example of how to use the gUM API.

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DeleteMe Mobile

Sometimes, there is truth in advertising. Today's case-in-point: Abine's DeleteMe Mobile, which, as the name suggests, vigorously petitions Internet data brokers to remove personally identifying information from their databases.

Previously only available as a Web service, the app debuts on iOS with an Android version in the works. As CNET reported last year, DeleteMe is a partially human-powered service where Abine employees take on the onerous duty of contacting data brokers on your behalf. That's an important step because many of them have been known to add your data again, just months after removing it, according to Abine's in-house online privacy analyst, Sarah Downey.

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BlackBerry App World.

Research In Motion's BlackBerry 10 application marketplace will have thousands of more programs, thanks to two events the company ran over the weekend.

The events saw RIM net 15,000 app submissions for BlackBerry 10 within a period of 37.5 hours, according to Alec Saunders, vice president of developer relations. The events were called Portathons, with one focusing on the BlackBerry 10 Community and the other on Android developers. In both cases, developers were urged to port their previously developed applications to BlackBerry 10.

RIM has held similar events in the past. The company does so to get developers working with other platforms -- especially Android -- to bring their programs to its upcoming operating system. To get more developers to participate, RIM offers them $100 per approved app. Those who get several apps approved will receive the cash prize and a BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha device.

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LAS VEGAS--While the presence of software and apps at CES has certainly grown over the past few years, the fact remains that downloads still sit in the shadows of home theater components, gaming equipment, mobile devices, and other hardware at the annual show. At this point, we're beginning to think that software may never take center stage at CES. From an economic standpoint, it might not make much sense for a company to double down on an expensive booth to showcase a straightforward, downloadable app when the show continues to gravitate toward colorful plastics and shiny metals.

Rather, we think the role of apps at the week-long electronics show is more likely to evolve. For instance, this year, we noticed a lot of growth in apps that are developed solely to control and power hardware and peripherals. Take Flower Power, for instance, a BlueTooth gadget that takes care of your plants. The only way to interface with the device is, you guessed it, through a mobile app. Similarly, we saw Chevy MyLink, an in-dash interface slated for release with the new Chevy Impala that gives you a customizable smartphone-like layout and lets you program each icon to do common ac... [Read more]