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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Groupon’s Profit In 2011 Was Actually $22.6 Million Less Than They Previously Said

Daily deals site Groupon today issued a pretty significant revision of the financial results it previously reported for the fourth quarter and the full year of 2011. According to the company, it actually made $14.3 million less in revenue during the fourth quarter of 2011 than it previously reported -- $492.2 million, compared to the previously stated $506.5 million. It also spent more in operating expenses than it previously said it did -- resulting in its Q4 operating income and net income being $30 million and $22.6 million less, respectively, than the company initially said it was.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/q4enBVADVYE/

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The Privacy Pickle

"Is privacy only for those with something to hide?" is the title of an open ballot on TuxRadar that has kicked off quite a debate. TuxRadar points to the full-disk encryption option now offered by several Linux distributions -- along with potential law-enforcement implications -- but the topic is also particularly timely in light of Canonical's recent moves to step up Ubuntu's privacy protections.

Source: http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/74745.html

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Toyota pulls Cydia theme and ads to appease Apple

In news that will no doubt shake the very bedrock of your belief system, Apple has asked Toyota to remove its Scion theme and its advertising from ModMyi, a Cydia repository. The Scion theme has been available for weeks, but after it received a ton of press in the last couple of days, Apple finally lashed out.

It's not like we should be surprised, considering Apple has claimed in the past that jailbreaking is illegal -- but at the same time, did the Cupertino cronies hear about the ruling that made circumventing DRM, and thus jailbreaking, legal? Anyway, whether Toyota was supporting illegal, legal, or deliciously gray and ambiguous, activity, it doesn't matter: Apple asked Toyota to remove the theme, and Toyota graciously bent over and capitulated.

This story raises a much more interesting topic, though: this is the first time a multinational company has publicly acknowledged and embraced the jailbreak community. Considering jailbreaking is technically legal, and Cydia's creator, Jay Freeman, estimates that up to 9% of OS devices are jailbroken, it simply makes good, commercial sense to target jailbreakers with ads. Toyota was simply trying to make some money, for shame!

As long as Apple continues to throw around its increasingly-expansive mass, the legality of jailbreaking will continue to be inconsequential. It will be interesting to see if another big company dares embrace the jailbreak community after this, too.

Toyota pulls Cydia theme and ads to appease Apple originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 05:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/06/toyota-pulls-ios-jailbreak-theme-and-ads-to-appease-apple/

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Genetic Atlas Yields a Brainbow of Cognitive Information [Science]

Scientists have created the first genetic "atlas" of the human brain, and the result is a very pretty Skittles-esque map of the brain as a rainbow. A brainbow. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/0yMwI4hXnCA/genetic-atlas-yields-a-brainbow-of-cognitive-information

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The Perfect Gift: A Personalized iPad Case

It’s hard for consumers to find the right gift. Sometimes it’s takes a lot to really find something that will fit a person and their needs. A personalized iPad case may be exactly what is needed to provide the perfect gift solution. Apple has made a real impact on consumers with the birth of the iPad. They have been selling in record numbers. More than 70 million people now own one. That is why the personalized iPad case is such [...]

Source: http://tabletbuzzblog.com/the-perfect-gift-a-personalized-ipad-case/

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This Building's Balconies Are Actually Swimming Pools [Architecture]

Witness this architectural nightmare and deadly accident waiting to happen: a 37-story, twin tower apartment building that has apartments with swimming pools instead of balconies. Or balconies that are really swimming pools enclosed in glass. Or... whatever. No matter what you want to call this, I would call it crazy. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/o198PUDtooo/this-building-balconies-are-actually-swimming-pools

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Shooting Challenge: Spring [Shooting Challenge]

I know, not all of you have spring right now. Some live in different climates. Some of you just feel like spring happened a month ago. Regardless, for this week's Shooting Challenge, try to capture the feeling of spring, again. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Wnem7WXnwEg/shooting-challenge-spring

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Groupon’s Profit In 2011 Was Actually $22.6 Million Less Than They Previously Said

Daily deals site Groupon today issued a pretty significant revision of the financial results it previously reported for the fourth quarter and the full year of 2011. According to the company, it actually made $14.3 million less in revenue during the fourth quarter of 2011 than it previously reported -- $492.2 million, compared to the previously stated $506.5 million. It also spent more in operating expenses than it previously said it did -- resulting in its Q4 operating income and net income being $30 million and $22.6 million less, respectively, than the company initially said it was.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/q4enBVADVYE/

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TokyoFlash Kisai On Air Acetate Touchscreen LCD Watch

Sometimes watches from TokyoFlash can be a little “out there” and hard to read. The Kisai On Air Acetate touchscreen LCD watch however is a much simpler concept than normal.  We told you about the On Air with a stainless steel case and strap late last year.  Now they’ve introduced a version in acetate, which [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/03/30/tokyoflash-kisai-on-air-acetate-touchscreen-lcd-watch/

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Prince of Persia creator finds lost source code, cues delicate chip fanfare

No, we don't mean the modern interpretation and its moody sequels -- this is the 1989 original. Jordan Mechner created the first Prince of Persia game for the Apple II. However, the source code ended up lost in the sands of time -- until Mechner's dad discovered a box filled with 3.5-inch ProDOS disks. The creator's now attempting to transfer the code across to his MacBook Air and get it working on modern platforms. We just have to remember how to beat our evil reflection.

Continue reading Prince of Persia creator finds lost source code, cues delicate chip fanfare

Prince of Persia creator finds lost source code, cues delicate chip fanfare originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 09:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/qGyVl8aS0qo/

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Personal Activity Monitor tracks time you spend using desktop apps

Up until a couple of years ago, I used to turn to RescueTime to figure out how I spend my time online. Then it got too complex, and I stopped using it. Personal Activity Monitor is like a vastly dumbed-down version of RescueTime, and I mean that as a compliment. It's free and bare-bones -- all it does is track what applications you're using and for how long.

A big drawback at this point is that it doesn't integrate with Web browsers to help you analyze how you spend your time on the Web. Still, if your work doesn't require constant Web app use, knowing how long you've used a browser overall might be enough to help you manage your time.

This is far from the only application in this space -- alternatives such as Slife and Chrometa are full-featured and impressive -- but PAM is good option for those who want a nice, simple tracker.

Personal Activity Monitor tracks time you spend using desktop apps originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 05 Mar 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/05/personal-activity-monitor-lets-you-quickly-see-what-you-spend-ti/

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Google reCAPTCHAs now featuring Street View addresses, 221b Baker St. to get even more famous

If you've enjoyed decrypting the often frustratingly skewed (and occasionally humorously juxtaposed) reCAPTCHAs, you might be a bit sad to learn that Google is mixing things up with some rather more boring numerals. The combinations of two words are typically used as part of a registration form to ensure the registrant is, indeed, human. Google is now replacing one of the words in some of its reCAPTCHA forms with photos gleaned from Street View service. Google says it uses these numbers internally to improve the accuracy of Street View and that pulling them into reCAPTCHAs is part of an "experiment" to "determine if using imagery might also be an effective way to further refine our tools for fighting machine and bot-related abuse online."

In other words, Google's bots are already capable of decoding these numbers, which makes this all sound like a bit of a challenge to the rest of the OCR-loving coders in the world. Any takers?

[Image Credit: dirtbag]

Google reCAPTCHAs now featuring Street View addresses, 221b Baker St. to get even more famous originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 08:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/30/google-recaptchas-now-featuring-street-view-addresses-221b-bake/

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Bumperless iPhone 4 owners can now apply to get $15 from antennagate settlement

Last month, Apple finally concluded the class-action lawsuit surrounding the iPhone 4's reception issues, and today those affected can now start the process of cashing in.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/0YmOxxEUHZ0/story01.htm

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China Vice Premier pledges IP protection during Tim Cook visit

Apple CEO Tim Cook is visiting China, having recently toured Foxconn facilities, but so far his most interesting meeting has been with Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/MTKUN7PDoNs/story01.htm

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