With a project called Portable Native Client now making its way into Chrome and potentially onto the Web itself, Google is violating its own principles for its Blink browser engine, a Mozilla programmer said Friday.

Portable Native Client, or PNaCl, is a Google technology to let Web apps run specially created software at nearly the speed of the native apps that run on operating systems like Windows or iOS. It plugs into the browser with an interface called Pepper.

Mozilla representatives have been frosty toward Native Client for years, but one programmer, Robert O'Callahan issued a new criticism Friday, arguing that the Blink programming team's admirable Web standards principles take a back seat to Google's priorities with Chrome overall.

"Unfortunately it appears Blink's principles only apply to Blink, not Chrome as a whole," O'Callahan said in a blog post. "I'm sad, because this seriously undermines the value of the Blink team's good intentions; a Google team that doesn't want to be a good Web citizen can probably find a way to be "not Blink" and run roughshod over the Bl... [Read more]

(Credit: Screenshot by Nicole Cozma/CNET)

In the past I've written about Babbel for mobile and Rosetta Course (mobile version of Rosetta Stone) for language learning when you have spare time. Now another contender enters the ring, and has a lot of promise.

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Duolingo turns learning a language into a game, more so than the other apps. You are given a few hearts (representing your health pool) that you don't want to lose during the learning levels. Hearts are lost by answering questions incorrectly. Once you finish a lesson with hearts remaining, you'll earn an achievement to track your progress in the app.

(Credit: Screenshot by Nicole Cozma/CNET)

To get starte... [Read more]

If a profile like Christian Rudder's turned up in an OKCupid user's search results, it would certainly merit a deeper look. As a Harvard graduate, who's helped launch and sell two successful companies (SparkNotes, in 1999, which sold to Barnes & Noble; OKCupid, in 2004, which sold to Match.com) and an indie musician who's appeared in the romcom, "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist," he'd be a catch by most standards.

Download.com caught up with Rudder, who's also OKCupid's General Manager and Editorial Director, to discuss his company's app, competing hookup apps, and his favorite app for wiling away the hours on a long flight. As a bonus, this online dating expert even doled out some advice for new users.

OKCupid co-founder Christian Rudder

So what's so special about the OKCupid app? The specialness is that it's a gateway from the OKCupid site to your phone and OKCupid is by far the best dating site; it's free, we have the best people, and it's truly a very special key to unlock a fascinating experience.

Talk to us about some of its best features. We have location-based stuff that you can only do on your phone as opposed to the desktop. We have a way to meet the most attractive people nearby. Compared to other dating apps, we have deeper prof... [Read more]

(Credit: Screenshot by Nicole Cozma/CNET)

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SO.HO by Inq Mobile wants to be the first thing you see when picking up your Android smartphone by replacing your launcher -- TouchWiz, HTC Sense, stock, and so on. Instead of only offering access to Facebook updates from your connections, SO.HO lets you see updates from Twitter and Instagram as well.

(Credit: Screenshot by Nicole Cozma/CNET)

To get started, you'll need to install the most recent version of SO.HO on your Android. Then, connect the social-media accounts you want to see updates from. Once finished, you can easily switch social-media accounts from the top left-hand corner menu.

(Credit: Screenshot by Nicole Cozma/CNET)

The formatting for social feeds is easy on... [Read more]

Tetris creator Alexey Pajitnov has launched a new game designed exclusively for mobile devices.

Dubbed Marbly, the title is available for both Apple's iPhone and iPad. The game's description in Apple's App Store says that it's an "easy to get, but tricky to master real puzzle game" It comes with over 180 puzzles that users must work their way through.

Pajitnov has been developing games for decades, but he's best known for creating Tetris -- the massive hit for Nintendo's Game Boy.

Marbly is available now as a free download in Apple's App Store. It's not clear whether the title will come to Android.

(Via Pocket-lint)