We like the stock Android browser just fine, but it’s getting a little long in the tooth. While the rendering engine is always getting better, the feature set is feeling stagnant. There are rumors of a redesign in Ice Cream Sandwich, but what about today? Well, there are a number of great Android browsers in the Market, and we’re going to go over four of the best.

 

In addition to features, we’re going to look at real-life load times. For all these tests, we are on a Wi-Fi network and all cache has been cleared from the browsers. Page load times are the average of three separate runs. Read on to see what browser is the fastest and and which we think is the best. You may be surprised.

Miren Browser

 

The Miren browser is a relatively new arrival in the Android Market. This application is based on the mobile WebKit implementation in the Android browser, so it does work with Flash for Android. In practice, Miren feels very fast, and the UI has been completely redesigned.

This app seeks to maximize vertical space; an essential when you’re dealing with a small screen. Too many times these alternative browsers go a little crazy with big tabs at the top and end up taking up too much space. With Miren, we see that it defaults into a smart full-screen mode. The status bar is hidden, as is the address bar. If you want to see these, hit menu or scroll up to the top of the page.

As for the tabs themselves, they are fairly narrow with the current tab only displaying an ‘X’. We like this seeing as you probably know what site you’re on, and it’s easier to close tabs like this. There is a plus button in the upper right-hand corner to get a new tab. And we have to say, the new tab screen is brilliant.

The start page has a grid of eight configurable shortcuts and below that are links to items like history and bookmarks. The settings too are nicely robust, with options for user agent and various page rendering options.

As for speed, we’re very impressed with Miren. Overall smoothness is a clear win over the stock browser, which surprises us. Scrolling is fluid and even heavy pages with lots of Flash run well. Page loads are as good, or maybe a little better than stock. Tested loaded in 14 seconds in Miren, but 15 seconds in the stock browser. Maximum PC took 12 seconds in stock, but just 10 in Miren.

Firefox

 

Firefox has been a contentious browser since it appeared back in 2010. The early alphas and betas were unusably bad. But with the 4.0 release, we upgraded our verdict to ‘actually kind of good’. Currently, we stand by that, but it would be nice to see some more progress being made in a few areas.

For the unaware, Firefox uses a mobile version of the Gecko engine, so it is not compatible with Flash on Android. The different software base has allowed Mozilla to do some unique things with their Android browser. The first point in favor of making Firefox your spacial browser friend is support for extensions. Many of these are actually mobile versions of tried and true desktop add-ons like Ad-Block Plus and Personas. There is also slick bookmark and tab syncing from the desktop Firefox browser, but setup is a bit of a pain.

The browser itself has a solid user interface with slide out toolbars on the left and right sides that maximize vertical space. On the left is the tab list, complete with thumbnails, and on the right are extensions and settings. These slide out smoothly and are much nicer to use in the last few revs. When you open a new tab, the interface is good, but not quite as slick as the one in Miren. There are tabs with bookmarks, history, all pages, and desktop tabs. If you don't sync with your PC, much of this is wasted space.

Text rendering in Firefox is dependent on the capabilities of Gecko, and we have to say we don’t like it as much as WebKit. Things tend to be a little muddy at a distance, and it takes too long (still) to re-render after zooming. Text reflow is vaguely acceptable; it works, but page formatting is usually broken.

Scrolling and multitouch zooming is very good in Firefox. This is one of the improvements that has made this app usable. Everything here is good until you go too fast, and then you get that checkerboard pattern as the browser renders down-page content. Additionally, most pages drive Firefox memory usage way, way up. A device with 512MB of RAM will need to reload the app almost every time it is left.

As far as page load times, Firefox does well, but still has some work to do. Tested, which as a reminder is script-heavy, loads in Firefox in 20 seconds (remember stock averages 15 seconds). Maximum PC loaded in 10 seconds, which beats the stock browser’s 12 second time. So we suspect that the heavier scripts on Tested are trouble for the Gecko engine.

Overall, Firefox is great for users of desktop Firefox, and those with a lot of RAM. Other users should keep an eye on it.

Opera Mobile

Note the rendering issues

Somewhere along the line, Opera Mobile ended up becoming a really nice browser. It combines the full browser features we’re used to seeing, but adds in the option of compressing images to decrease load times a la Opera Mini. This is called Opera Turbo, and you'll find it in the settings. This is also one of the only non-WebKit browsers with Flash on Android. It’s actually quite snappy, too.

So Opera’s UI is a little good, and a little not so good. The good is the start page where you can place a grid of favorite sites for easy access. It’s not as useful as Miren, but still acceptible. We also really like tab management in Opera. Pressing the tab button at the bottom of the screen pulls up a sort of card interface not unlike webOS.

It’s the location of that, and other buttons that is one thing we’re not liking. There is a persistent toolbar at the bottom that takes up valuable screen real estate. We’d prefer to see these options stashed elsewhere. The address bar does fall off the top of the page when you scroll, but there is a separate search bar up there. It seems like another waste of space to us.

Pages usually render well in Opera, but we’ve noticed a few sites that just don’t look right; it’s mostly due to column and text alignment issues. Multitouch zooming is very smooth and we like that Opera re-flows text by default. Even better, it does so quickly and without screwing up the page formatting (assuming it was correct before). Scrolling is also very good in Opera Mobile.

In the case of page loads, Opera is a good performer. Tested loaded in 17 seconds, and Maximum PC came up in just 10 seconds. That’s a little worse and better than the stock browser, respectively.

Dolphin HD

 

Dolphin is one of the most storied alternative browsers in the history of Android. It’s been around for a long time, and has gone through a lot of revisions. Dolphin HD is based on the WebKit rendering engine, so Flash will work just like the stock browser. Dolphin is a feature-packed experience that some users might find a bit cluttered, but others will be right at home in.

The basic look of Dolphin HD is that of a tiny version of Chrome. The address bar and tabs are very similar to Google’s desktop browser. The tabs are wide, but if you don’t have enough space at the top, the entire tab list is scrollable. There is a toolbar that you can swipe out on the right, and a bookmarks bar on the left. In addition, in the toolbar there is a handy preview button that shows thumbnails of all your open tabs.

New tabs open up with a familiar grid of configurable links, which is fine by us. If this screen and the bookmark bar aren’t enough for you, Dolphin HD has gestures. Just tap the gesture icon in the corner and draw a sign for your favorite site. This works well, but we don’t think it’s a big time saver. The other special feature of Dolphin is the add-on support. There are a lot of good choices like LastPass, Read It Later, and Last FM.

We would rate the overall smoothness of Dolphin HD about the same as the stock browser. Multitouch is good, scrolling is snappy most of the time, and text re-flow behaves just like stock (or maybe a little faster). Having more than a few tabs open seems to really drag the browser down, though.

In our page load tests, Dolphin was a little off from where we expected it to be. Tested loaded in 22 seconds, whereas the stock experience pulled up the site in 15 seconds. Maximum PC loaded in Dolphin HD in 12 seconds, the same as stock. Overall, not a bad performance, but not great either.

So which is best?

So what browser is the best for you? Well, that depends on what you want. If it’s all about having the most features, an option like Dolphin HD is a good choice. Firefox is also in that category, but the performance still isn’t as good as WebKit and there’s no Flash. If you want some extra features, but also a really snappy browser, check out Miren. Opera is also nicely responsive, but load times are a little slower, and the page rendering is sometimes a problem.

If you’re just happy with a simple browser with a clean UI, consider sticking with the browser that ships with your phone. More often than not, it’s got some of the best page load times to be had. If you’re dead set on switching, we think most users should take a long look at Miren. It’s much better than we expected, and that smart full-screen mode is excellent. What’s your browser of choice?

Obama bumped Chinese President Hu Jintao from the No. 1 spot on the magazine's annual rankings.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel remained the most powerful woman at No. 4 on the list, as Europe's largest economy continued to wield its influence over the troubled European Union.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who is running again for president, was No. 2 and Hu came third as he gradually manages the transition of power to others in China.

"The U.S. remains, indisputably, the most powerful nation in the world, with the largest, most innovative economy and the deadliest military," Forbes wrote.

Obama's approval ratings have fallen at home as he struggles with stubbornly high unemployment and a tepid economy, but his fortunes on the world stage have been quite different.

Under orders from Obama, bin Laden, who helped orchestrate the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, was tracked down in Pakistan and killed in May after 10 years in hiding.

The United States joined the NATO-led intervention in Libya, which began with air strikes in March and led eventually to Gaddafi's death in October.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates at No. 5 was the first corporate executive on the list, thanks to a malaria vaccine backed by his charitable foundation that recently passed a key clinical trial.

"Gates' goal is to eliminate infectious disease as a major cause of death in his lifetime. He may succeed," Forbes wrote.

Mark Zuckerberg, the 27-year-old head of social networking site Facebook, shot into ninth position from No. 40 in last year's vote, sandwiched between U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke (No. 8), who overseas monetary policy for the world's biggest economy, and British Prime Minister David Cameron at No. 10.

"What the CIA failed to do in 60 years, Zuck (Zuckerberg) has done in 7: knowing what 800 million people think, read and listen to," Forbes wrote.

The king of the world's largest oil producer Saudi Arabia, Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al Saud, came in at No. 6 and Pope Benedict XVI was No. 7.

For a full list of the world's most powerful people go to www.forbes.com/power.

If creating a website for your business is on the horizon, you may be wondering which content management system (CMS) is the best choice for you. Here’s a look at three of the most widely-used ones. All three are open-source software, each developed and maintained by a community of thousands. Not only are all three free to download and use, but the open-source format means that the platform is continuously being improved to support new Internet technologies. With all of these systems, basic functions can be enhanced ad infinitum with an ever-expanding array of add-ons, contributed from their respective communities.

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution here; it depends on your goals, technical expertise, budget and what you need your site to do. For a simple blog or brochure-type site, WordPress could be the best choice (while very friendly for non-developers, it’s a flexible platform also capable of very complex sites). For a complex, highly customized site requiring scalability and complex content organization, Drupal might be the best choice. For something in between that has an easier learning curve, Joomla may be the answer.

When you have questions or need help, will you be able to find it easily? With all of these systems, the answer is yes. Each has passionate, dedicated developer and user communities, making it easy to find free support directly through their websites or through other online forums or even books. In addition, paid support is readily available from third-party sources, such as consultants, developers and designers. Each of these systems shows long-term sustainability and longevity; support for them will continue to be readily available for the foreseeable future. The more time and effort you are willing and able to invest into learning a system, the more it will be able to do for you. With both WordPress and Joomla, you can order a wide range of services and options off the menu to suit your needs; with Drupal, you’ll be in the kitchen cooking up what you want for yourself, with all of the privileges of customization that entails.

See the comparison chart below for more insight into the differences in these top content management systems. Still not sure? Download each of the free platforms and do a trial run to help you decide.

Which is better, WordPress or Drupal? What do you prefer ?

Yahoo Calendar vs Google Calendar ? what to choose

Features of yahoo calendar

One of the largest online calendar providers, serving millions of users, Yahoo! Calendar is a Web-based calendar service from Yahoo!. It can read calendar feeds and events syndicated from sites that make use of the published Yahoo! calendar programming interfaces. While users are not required to have a Yahoo! Mail account, they are required to have a free Yahoo! ID in order to use the software.

Yahoo! Calendar has the following features:

 

• 100 year calendar
• various alarm features which allow you to send messages to numerous sources including:
  • email
  • mobile devices
  • Yahoo! Messenger
• the ability to sync your calendar with those of Palm devices and Microsoft Office Outlook and some SyncML enabled cellphones
• sharing of schedules between users. The mechanism allows several different methods of sharing including publicly sharing your calendar, sharing your calendar with a specific Yahoo! Group, and sharing your calendar with a particular Yahoo! user.
• automatically read, integrate, and republish public and personal events syndicated from Eventful, Upcoming, Evite, and other sites.

 

Events are stored online, so in the case of a user's hard drive failure, no data is lost. Calendar sharing is also available.

Features of Google Calendar

Google Calendar, previously code-named "CL2", is a contact- and time-management web application offered by Google. It allows users to synchronize their Gmail contacts with a web-based calendar. It became available on April 13, 2006 and is currently in beta stages. While users are not required to have a Gmail account, they are required to have a free Google Account in order to use the software.

The interface of Google Calendar is similar to desktop calendar applications such as Microsoft Outlook or iCal on Mac OS X.

The Ajax-driven interface enables users to view, add and even drag-and-drop events from one date to another without reloading the page. It sports a variety of view modes, such as the weekly, monthly and agenda views

Users can "quick add" calendar events by typing standard English phrases, such as "Dinner with Michael 7pm tomorrow". Users can also set the number of days to show in their custom view mode. All events in a Google Calendar can be commented on by its users.

Events are stored online, meaning that the calendar can be viewed from many locations. In the case of a user experiencing a hard drive failure, it also means that no data is lost.

The application can import Microsoft Outlook calendar files (.csv) and iCalendar files (.ics, the de facto open calendaring file format), although at this stage only when the fields are all in U.S. format.

Multiple calendars can be added and shared, allowing various levels of permissions for the users. This enables collaboration and sharing of schedules between groups or families. There are also general calendars available for importing into one's account which contain national holidays of various countries.
Google Calendar is integrated with various other Google services:

* Gmail, Google's webmail service. When an e-mail that contains trigger words (such as "meeting", or dates and times) arrives, an "add to calendar" button is automatically displayed alongside it. This feature is not yet available to all Gmail users.
* iGoogle, the user-designed Google homepage, where you can choose and organize content in the form of "gadgets". The calendar is shown as a module on your homepage. This "gadget" offers options to edit how the time is displayed, which day the week starts on, and a link to "Add Event".[1]
* Google Desktop, Google's desktop search software for Windows Vista, Windows XP and Windows 2000 SP3+ PC or Mac OS X. The mini-calendar gadget allows you view your agenda without having to open your browser. You can place it on your desktop or leave it docked in the sidebar.

Google vs. Yahoo Calendar

An online calendar user that plans to utilize the invitation functionality, would obviously benefit most from sticking with the same service used for email. For example, someone using Yahoo! mail and hoping to begin using an online calendar would find it easy to share their calendar with their contacts already set up in their Yahoo! mail account. Likewise, a Gmail user will find it easier to invite others to calendar events because name feilds autopopulate with people from their Gmail account. In short, it is a good idea to stick with the same service being used for email if a user plans to share their calendar with others.

Though there are many solutions choosing the appropriate calendar solution to ones need is very important

"So what's new?" said Jobs, who appeared at the event to a standing ovation. "It's an all-new design."

He said the new tablet will be "dramatically faster" than its predecessor.

Apple got a huge head start in the touchscreen tablet race with its iPad, but in recent months, rivals have begun catching up.

Now Apple is hoping to widen its lead again.

• The new version of the device which launches on March 11, will be thinner and lighter than its predecessor, down to 1.3 pounds from 1.5.

• It will have front and rear-facing cameras designed for video chatting. Apple is adding its FaceTime chat app — as well as a Photo Booth program that does exactly what its name implies — to take advantage of the cameras.

• Unlike Apple's popular iPhone 4, it will be available in white as well as black. Also unlike the new iPhone, the iPad 2 won't have a high-resolution screen, which Apple calls a Retina Display.

• It will have the same battery life as the current iPad, 10 hours.

• With an HDMI accessory, the iPad can be connected to a television and mirror what's on the tablet's screen.

"Teachers want to hook iPads up to their flatscreens in the classrooms," Jobs said. "And you can even charge the iPad while you're using it."

• Like the iPhone, the iPad 2 will include a gyroscope, a feature that will enhance gaming options. Changes to the processor that powers the device could also dramatically propel the iPad as a game-playing device.

• A new operating system, iOS 4.3, will roll out the same day as the iPad 2. Jobs said the system will let iPhone 4 users create Wi-Fi hotspots to share wireless internet with other gadgets.

Jobs, the iconic company leader, had been facing renewed speculation about his health.

"We've been working on this project for a while and I didn't want to miss this," he said. Several CNN staffers at the event described Jobs as looking thin, as usual, but energetic and happy.

The iPad 2 will ship on March 11 in the United States and March 25 in at least 26 other countries.

In an announcement that could rock the "tablet wars," Jobs said the new iPad will have the same price structure as the current one — ranging from $499 to $829.

Jobs also spent a good deal of time talking about a new cover available for the device.

The Smart Cover is a thin sheet that attaches to the iPad with magnets. When not being used, it can fold back and act as a stand for the tablet.

It's available for $39 in polyurethane — "which is used to make spacesuits," Jobs said — and $69 in leather.

The launch of a next-generation iPad comes as a new wave of competing gadgets threatens Apple's dominance in the tablet market. Motorola Mobility's Xoom went on sale last month and was greeted with rave reviews for its fast, feature-rich hardware and attractive Android software from Google.

Samsung unveiled its Galaxy Tab late last year, and BlackBerry is expected to launch a tablet, the Playbook, this spring. One consulting firm counts a whopping 102 tablets that are either on sale or in progress from 64 different manufacturers.

The first iPad was introduced in January 2010 and debuted in April, with Wi-Fi models that cost as little as $499. (The 3G-enabled Xoom costs $600 and requires a two-year contract with Verizon Wireless.)

Apple's tablet surprised some analysts by becoming a runaway hit. The company sold 14.8 million iPads worldwide in the first nine months the device was available. Analysts forecast Apple will sell about 30 million tablets this year.

"People laughed at us for using the word magical," Jobs said Wednesday. "But you know what? It's turned out to be magical."

• All-New, High-Contrast E Ink Screen – 50% better contrast with latest E Ink Pearl technology
• Read in Bright Sunlight – No glare
• New and Improved Fonts – New crisper, darker fonts
• New Sleek Design – 21% smaller body while keeping the same 6" size reading area
• 17% Lighter – Only 8.5 ounces, weighs less than a paperback
• Battery Life of Up to One Month – A single charge lasts up to one month with wireless off
• Double the Storage – Up to 3,500 books
• Built-In Wi-Fi – Shop and download books in less than 60 seconds
• 20% Faster Page Turns – Seamless reading
• Enhanced PDF Reader – With dictionary lookup, notes, and highlights
• New WebKit-Based Browser – Browse the web over Wi-Fi (experimental)

Kindle at a Glance

Whether you're just getting started or you're already extremely successful, you can always be MORE successful with an Internet marketing specialist to guide you.

An Internet marketing specialist can give you fresh perspective on your marketing angles… open your eyes to exciting new product ideas and revenue streams you could be pursuing… and use their experience to help you avoid costly mistakes.

Click picture to enlarge

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• Get honest, informed advice — An Internet marketing specialist has the advantage of years of experience and tens of thousands of dollars in research and testing behind them.

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Finding an Internet marketing specialist can be challenging, since the majority of people selling themselves as Internet marketing specialists are people who have failed – often repeatedly – at their previous business ventures. They figure it is easier to “teach” success than actually achieve it themselves!

So before you agree to work with an Internet marketing specialist, check their credentials! Learn about their background, and ask hard questions. After all, this is the person you'll be entrusting your future success to.

Click picture to enlarge

The Internet Marketing Center offers a unique "Advanced Mentoring" program, in which POS1.org experts work one-on-one with clients to help them build businesses that are custom-tailored to fit them perfectly. Our job is to make YOU more confident, more effective, and ultimately more profitable than your competitors.

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The company, founded in 2004 by a Harvard sophomore, Mark Zuckerberg, began life catering first to Harvard students and then to all high school and college students. It has since evolved into a broadly popular online destination used by both teenagers and adults of all ages. In country after country, Facebook is cementing itself as the leader and often displacing other social networks, much as it outflanked MySpace in the United States.

A movie about the tumultuous origins of Facebook, "The Social Network," offers up what A.O. Scott called "a creation story for the digital age and something of a morality tale, one driven by desire, marked by triumph, tainted by betrayal and inspired by the new gospel: the geek shall inherit the earth."

Facebook has strenuously, and Mr. Zuckerberg more quietly, asserted that the portrayal of the company's founding is fiction. And Mr. Zuckerberg disputed the characterization of him in the film, though in a New Yorker magazine profile, he acknowledged having indulged in a bit of sophomoric arrogance.

Facebook's rise has been marked by strings of controversies. Three other Harvard students maintain that they came up with the original idea and that Mr. Zuckerberg, whom they had hired to write code for the site, stole the idea to create Facebook. Facebook has denied the allegations. A long-running lawsuit is pending. Another Harvard classmate, Aaron Greenspan, claims that he created the underlying architecture for both companies, but has declined to enter the legal battle.

But it has also come to be seen as one of the new titans of the Internet, challenging even Google with a vision of a web tied together through personal relationships and recommendations, rather than by search algorithms. In a major expansion, Facebook has been trying to spread itself across other websites by offering members the chance to "Like'' something — share it with their network — without leaving the web page they're on.

Like other social networks, the site allows its users to create a profile page and forge online links with friends and acquaintances. It has distinguished itself from rivals, partly by imposing a spartan design ethos and limiting how users can change the appearance of their profile pages. That has cut down on visual clutter and threats like spam, which plague rivals.

In May 2007, Facebook unveiled an initiative called Facebook Platform, inviting third-party software makers to create programs for the service and to make money on advertising alongside them. The announcement stimulated the creation of hundreds of new features or "social applications" on Facebook, from games to new music and photo sharing tools, which had the effect of further turbo-charging activity on the site.

Facebook is increasingly finding itself at the center of a tense discussion over privacy and how personal data is used by the Web sites that collect it. Facebook users, privacy advocates and government officials in many countries have lobbed vociferous complaints that some new features or settings were privacy violations. 

Facebook has pushed its users to share more information about themselves. But Facebook users have pushed back, increasingly lobbing vociferous complaints that some new features or settings are privacy violations. The back and forth between Facebook and its users over privacy is gaining importance as the company's growth continues unabated. Facebook's policies, more than those of any other company, are helping to define standards for privacy in the Internet age.

Bowing to pressure over privacy concerns, the company in May 2010 unveiled a set of controls that he said would help people understand what they were sharing online, and with whom.

Facebook's biggest mistake, Mr. Zuckerman said, was failing to notice that as Facebook added new features and its privacy controls grew increasingly complicated, those controls became effectively unusable for many people.