Adblock Plus developer pokes holes in Mozilla's new add-on performance tests

Wladimir Palant, developer of the most popular add-on in the world, Adblock Plus, is also an active contributor to the Planet Mozilla blog community. Over the last few days, in response to Mozilla's new name and shame list of slow add-ons, Palant has been investigating whether Mozilla's testing methods are actually accurate.

Rather surprisingly, it turns out that Mozilla's numbers could be significantly wrong -- and if they're not wrong, the factors that Mozilla uses to tabulate an add-ons final score should definitely be made more transparent.

In the first set of tests, Palant shows that FlashGot's position in the top 10 is probably due to a fault in Mozilla's testing setup, and that add-ons can perform very differently depending on which operating system they're being tested on. In the second analysis, Palant uncovers an irregularity that doesn't seem to have an obvious cause -- but it could be due to an I/O bottleneck on Mozilla's test machines. Basically, even though performance testing of Read It Later is disabled because of a bug, it still (somehow!) manages to record a 14% slow-down on Windows 7.

Palant concludes both analyses by scolding Mozilla for going public with the performance data before its testing methods had been confirmed accurate. It definitely looks like Mozilla has been more than a little reckless, considering the importance of Firefox's add-on ecosystem.

Adblock Plus developer pokes holes in Mozilla's new add-on performance tests originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 05:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/08/adblock-plus-developer-pokes-holes-in-mozillas-new-add-on-perfo/

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Shot Shot Pirate is a fun, simple physics game

shotshotpirate
Shot Shot Pirate is very satisfying, because each level is short and to the point. You know what you have to do and you just do it.

As you may have gathered from the name, you're cast in the role of a pirate. Your goal is to shoot at a diamond and make it fall off a tower of bricks. The height of the tower changes as you progress through the levels. It's not enough to just make the diamond fall off the tower of bricks - it has to fall below a certain line (drawn on the screen) for the level to be completed.

There are also different kinds of bricks, with some heavier than others, and different kinds of ammo. You only get a certain amount of ammo for each level, and when it's gone, you lose. But don't worry! If you don't make it on the first try, it's very easy to restart the level and just give it another shot (or three).

All in all it's a cute game. I've seen similar games with better graphics and music, but the game delivers on its main promise - a few minutes of pure time wasting!

Shot Shot Pirate is a fun, simple physics game originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 24 Feb 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/24/shot-shot-pirate-is-a-fun-simple-physics-game/

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This Ionizing Range Hood Ditches Vents to Trap Cooking Smells [Kitchen]

Like a vacuum hanging over your stove, a range hood prevents cooking smells from filling your home, and stops vaporized grease from coating your cabinets. The hoods usually need to be vented, which can complicate installations. But the self-contained Greenhood can be suspended above a stove, vent-free. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/1Q3hQVFwKss/this-ionizing-range-hood-ditches-vents-to-trap-cooking-smells

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HTML5 MP3 player lets you listen to your music library inside your browser

html5 browser mp3 audio player
While this slick little HTML5 audio player might not pack all of the features of your favorite desktop media application, it's still a very cool demonstration of what a Web app can do with access to local resources -- like MP3 and OGG files.

Just fire up http://antimatter15.github.com/player/player.html in your HTML5-compatible browser and browse to the topmost folder in your music library. The app will quickly build an index of all your tunes and let you start listening right inside your Web browser. Click on the filter library text, and you can enter a search string -- results load as you type.

There's a volume control, shuffle mode, play/pause control, and you can click and drag to skip forward or rewind during playback. As OMG! Ubuntu points out, you can even save the app to your hard drive and run it offline, which is pretty darn cool.

Not all browsers are equal when it comes to HTML5 implementation, of course. We found that Chrome worked the best, and Firefox was OK. It's also worth noting that this music player comes from the same developer that created one of our favorite restartless Firefox 4 add-ons, drag2up.

HTML5 MP3 player lets you listen to your music library inside your browser originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 30 Mar 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/30/html5-mp3-player-lets-you-listen-to-your-music-library-inside-yo/

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Nikkei: Nintendo Wii U to sell for around 30,000 yen, or just under $400

We'll still have to wait a bit longer for some official word from Nintendo, but Japan's Nikkei news agency is reporting today that Nintendo's Wii U console is expected to sell for "around" 30,000 yen when it makes its debut later this year. That translates to roughly $380 US dollars, although chances are the official US price will be something other than a direct yen-to-dollar conversion. What's more, Nikkei is also reporting that Nintendo will show off a number of new non-gaming features for the console at E3 this week, including e-books and karaoke (complete with a 10,000 song library), and even the ability to use the Wii U as a car navigation device (just the controller, presumably). Needless to say, we'll be covering tomorrow's keynote live to bring you any of those details as they're announced.

Nikkei: Nintendo Wii U to sell for around 30,000 yen, or just under $400 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jun 2012 18:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/BV78Bl3JflE/

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Zen Coding high-speed HTML shorthand plug-in updated

zencoding
Zen Coding made quite a splash when we first covered it almost a year ago. For those who aren't familiar, Zen is a fantastic form of shorthand for quickly hand-coding HTML. And today, a new version is out!

Here are some of the goodies version 0.7 brings to the party:

  • Text nodes: Writing something like a[href=/]{Click here} now works, and puts "Click here" within the link.
  • New actions added: Increment/decrement number under cursor, evaluate math expressions, and more.
  • Wrap with Abbreviation was upgraded.
There are several other improvements but they're all rather technical. If you use Zen Coding (or are intrigued by the concept) go ahead and read the release notes for this new version.

Zen Coding has official implementations for a ton of editors, including TextMate, Apatana, Coda, E2, Komodo, Notepad++, PSPad, and more. It also has unofficial builds for Vim, UltraEdit, Visual Studio and more.

If you want to play with Zen Coding without installing it, you can use the online demo to see some of its magic in action.

Zen Coding high-speed HTML shorthand plug-in updated originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 15 Mar 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/15/zen-coding-high-speed-html-shorthand-plug-in-updated/

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Reware Juice Bag Keeps Your Gadgets Charged While You Relax

I’ve seen several bags that incorporate gadget chargers, but the Juice Bag Solar Beach Tote from Reware is probably the first one I’ve seen that’s not a laptop bag.  This solar bag fits right in with Reware’s line of eco-friendly bags and power solutions.  The Solar Beach Tote is made of biodegradable canvas, and it [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/06/03/reware-juice-bag-keeps-your-gadgets-charged-while-you-relax/

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Join the Engadget HD Podcast live on Ustream at 5:30PM ET

It's Monday, which means it is time for you to listen into the recording booth when the Engadget HD podcast goes to mp3 at 5:30PM. Please be a part of it by reviewing the list of topics after the break, then participating in the live chat too.

Continue reading Join the Engadget HD Podcast live on Ustream at 5:30PM ET

Join the Engadget HD Podcast live on Ustream at 5:30PM ET originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jun 2012 16:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/04/join-the-engadget-hd-podcast-live-on-ustream-at-5-30pm-et/

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Apple reportedly readying numerous Retina display MacBooks and multiple accessories for WWDC

Apple reportedly readying numerous Retina display MacBooks for WWDC, multiple accessories

New MacBook Pros are practically a given for WWDC (or, let's just say tears will be shed if they elude us), but now, 9to5Mac is stepping up the expectations in a major way. The outlet is now reporting that we could see two different versions of a revised 15-incher, not to mention Retina display-equipped editions of the 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air. Less certain (but certainly believable) is an iMac refresh, which would again get served with a Retina display, and a fourth major Mac update is apt to see the practically forgotten Mac Pro or the Mac mini updated with bolstered internals.

For those following Apple, you'd know that updating so many products at one event isn't a typical move for the company, but Tim Cook's been doing things slightly differently of late -- and honestly, there's no better way to enforce the importance of Retina than to blow it out across the portfolios. Finally, a whole host of new accessories are said to be on tap, with "refreshed keyboards, mice, trackpads and AirPorts" on the list. Hit the source link for the down and dirty, and go ahead and wipe your calendar for June 9th; we'll be liveblogging every last announcement direct from Moscone.

Apple reportedly readying numerous Retina display MacBooks and multiple accessories for WWDC originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jun 2012 18:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/04/apple-wwdc-macbook-air-macbook-pro-rumors-retina-display/

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