I’m not here to beat on Microsoft or slate IE, there will be a bit of that but I will try to keep it balanced and fair. Let’s start with a compliment IE 9 is good maybe even great, I use for one very specific application in my work that’s all I use it for but it works perfectly and currently is faster than Chrome by a mile.

IE has almost gone a full circle it wasn’t always that slow, buggy browser in fact Internet Explorer pioneered many innovations that made the web what it is today, it was for all intents and purposes the first browser, or at least the first most of us ever used.

Back in 1997, IE was the first browser to implement CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). It also introduced many new features like Java applets and some bad (ActiveX controls). IE4 introduced a fast (comparatively for the time) rendering engine. This version also introduced Dynamic HTML, which allows web pages to dynamically change the page using JavaScript, and added Active Desktop integration. IE4 had reached a 60 percent market share it also ran on Mac.

In 99 we got IE5x which bought us Ajax.  The XMLHttpRequest feature in JavaScript, which forms the underlying technology behind every web application you’re using today. From IE3 until IE6, Microsoft used all their resources to innovate ahead of the competition, releasing new features and better browsers.

Then it went horribly wrong, it started when Microsoft integrated IE into Windows as a required component, and made it difficult to uninstall and use an alternate browser. Giving themselves a forced monopoly, we don’t like things being forced on us as a race so a lot of people started to view Microsoft in a bad light.

What generally happens when you have a forced monopoly, especially when it’s a 95 percent market share, you stop trying, they did nothing for five years even after Firefox was released, and nothing changed, so we started moving to Firefox.

Since Microsoft decided they didn’t need to try anymore, and they didn’t keep up with the competition from Firefox, bugs and security holes appear. They were slow to fix them if at all.

It took five years after IE6 for Microsoft to finally get around to releasing IE7, which added tabs and made the browser slightly more tolerable, but for web designers it was still a nightmare to deal with, and only complicated the issue since now you had to make pages render correctly in two lousy browsers instead of just one.

It took another 2.5 years for Microsoft to finally release Internet Explorer 8, which greatly improved CSS support for web developers, and added new features like Private browsing, tab isolation to prevent one bad page from taking down the whole browser, and phishing protection. By this point, most geeks had already moved on to Firefox, and then some of us to Google Chrome. The bad times were too ingrained for us to go back.

So a lot of us gave up, web developers stopped supporting IE, why make your website look worse in Chrome and Firefox just to make it look ok in IE.

Thankfully, it seems like Microsoft has finally learned IE11 is fast, mostly standards-compliant, and other than the outdated UI that really needs some love, are a solid choice for anybody. Windows 10 is bringing with it the Spartan browser which should build on this even further. The other benefit is when the web developers gave up on IE so did the hackers, scripters and coders. They started targeting the now slow bloated Chrome.

So it’s time we forgave them and considered the move back

Adobe has finally got onboard with Apple’s new Retina display by bringing an update (or fix if you like) to its Photoshop CS6 and Illustrator CS6 software that will now allow you to up the quality and work on a Retina display level of detail when editing images.

The updates have been released already and you can download them free of charge from here for the Photoshop CS6 update (13.0.2) and here for the Illustrator CS6 (16.0.3) update.

With this update customers can see more detail in images and text, and in the Illustrator user interface when working on high-resolution displays, including the new Retina display available on the MacBook Pro. The HiDPI feature in Illustrator is currently only available on Mac OS, although it is expected to be available in the future on additional operating systems.

The company is  setting up for an announcement at the Adobe Create Now event that it is being held today in the US.

Apple launched a 15-inch Retina Display MacBook Pro model six months ago and it’s taken this time for Adobe to catch up with the resolution and upgrade its software, but with the new update CS6 users will now be able to edit in full Retina display resolution.

In the Adobe update notes for the software it states:

” The Adobe Photoshop 13.0.2 update enables support for new HiDPI displays on the Macintosh platform for a dramatic improvement in image fidelity and resolution,”

With today’s Create Now Event fans of the Adobe package can also look forward to:

• Be one of the first to hear what’s next in Adobe® Creative Cloud™.
• See what’s next in Adobe Photoshop®.
• Explore ways to take your design skills from print to online and mobile.
• Learn how teams can work better together with Creative Cloud.

It will be interesting to see if Adobe has any more updates up their sleeves!

Let us know your thoughts on our comments below or via our @Gadget_Helpline Twitter page or Official Facebook group.

Source: Adobe

Canon has started things off at the 2012 Photokina event with a brand new DSLR; the EOS 6D.

Followers of the Canon brand of EOS cameras will know that if you want something with a full frame sensor, you’ll be stumping up a lot of money for a pro model, such as the 5D III. The new 6D model is set to become the company’s cheapest Full Frame DSLR, and it’s also their lightest and smallest too.

The sensor itself is a 20.2-Megapixel CMOS that’s paired up with Canon’s own DIGIC 5+ image processor, which will provide 11-point autofocus and an ISO range of 100-25,600 (extendable to 50, 51200 and 102400).

At 690g, the new 6D is a good 20% lighter than the also-Full Frame EOS 5D Mark III, and is considerably cheaper as well. Despite being much lighter and smaller, Canon has crammed in Wi-Fi connectivity, which will allow the user to transfer images directly from the camera to a PC, smartphone or tablet without messy cables, or to control the camera wirelessly using Canon’s EOS Remote app for iOS and Android.

There’s also a GPS chip located inside which will allow the user to Geotag images, effectively adding GPS co-ordinates to an image so that the user can see later on where their images were taken.

The top mode dial hosts a number of different options, including a HDR function, which has become increasingly popular since smartphones such as the iPhone started to use it. This mode combines three different exposures from one shot and combines them to make “the perfect shot”.

Video capture is offered in Full HD 1080p quality, with options for 30, 24 and 25fps. If you want to do some slow-mo shooting, then 50 and 60fps options are available if you drop the quality to 720p HD. Exposure and audio levels can be tweaked manually while recording HD video as well.

The rear of the camera rocks a 3-inch 1,040k dot LCD display, a viewfinder and a button layout that will look and feel very familiar to Canon EOS users. The majority of the back and sides are finished in a cracked, rubbery material to get you the best grip on the camera.

The EOS 6D goes on sale in December with a US price tag of $2099 for the body only, or $2899 for the body and an EF 24-105mm zoom lens. UK prices to follow.

Let us know your thoughts on our comments below or via our @Gadget_Helpline Twitter page or Official Facebook group.

Sony has announced that the PlayStation 3 console will be receiving an update over the next 24 hours that will bring a brand new YouTube app built into the console’s menu system.

Back in December Microsoft launched a new update for its Xbox 360 consoles that offered a built in YouTube application to all users, and since then have seen great success with the services, so it was only a short while until Sony would respond.

After years of having browser support for the console and using the YouTube XL website version, Sony has finally taken the next video viewing step by integrating a YouTube app into their console’s menu system.

Sony says that the YouTube app is “designed for the big screen” and the PS3 app will come with a host of new features. Including:

• Search: Finding the videos you want is easier than ever, with search suggestions and instant video results while you type.
• Your subscribed channels: Sign in to find the latest videos from your YouTube subscriptions, which now also includes official music videos.
• Your phone as a remote: With a quick pairing process, you can control YouTube on PS3 with a smartphone. Find a video on your phone and with a button it’ll play on the big screen. While the video is playing you can control it from the phone, or keep browsing YouTube for the next one.

Sony announced the update on their Sony Blog and have stated that the app will be free to all users as an update, needs no subscription service and will be available to all users from now onwards.

Speaking of YouTube, you can check out our Gadget Helpline YouTube video channel for the latest video reviews and help.

Let us know your thoughts on our comments below or via our @Gadget_Helpline Twitter page or Official Facebook group.

Samsung is keen to make all of its gadgets smart, not just smartphones and tablets. You may not be aware, but the Korean manufacturer makes ‘Smart’ fridges, camcorders and cameras.

The latter is a fairly recent addition, with some of the features found in our smartphones making their way to some new compact digital cameras by Samsung. The latest models feature Wi-Fi connectivity and access to social networks, allowing you to point, shoot, and share online instantly. Unfortunately while these smart features are great, the quality of the images taken hasn’t been so good.

Samsung wants to change that, and it’s starting with a new model called the EX2F. While this new model is still technically a point and shoot camera, it’s borrowed some features from the compact system camera type – namely a full-sized hotshoe for connecting a viewfinder or flash module.

The lens itself is a marked improvement too, and is one of the key features of the EX2F. It’s a Schneider Kreuznach 24-79mm 3.3x lens with a low f stop rating of f/1.4. Coupled with a 12.4-megapixel CMOS sensor the camera can reach a top ISO setting of 12,800, which should make for good quality low light snaps if you don’t wish to use the pop-up flash. Surprisingly you’ll also be able to shoot images in a RAW format for after editing – something of a rarity on point and shoots.

Samsung’s expertise in small but high quality displays comes into play when you turn the camera around, with a flip-out and rotatable 3-inch AMOLED display. This will play back your snaps and Full HD 1080p video, as well as displaying menus and apps in a smartphone-style icon layout. Photos can be emailed, backed up to the cloud, shared socially or even beamed to a Samsung TV or laptop using the AllShare Play app.

The full-sized hotshoe can benefit from an accessory or two, and Samsung has already revealed an optical viewfinder, external microphone and a secondary flash. A price tag is yet to be slapped on the EX2F, but with a selection of features that no other rival has implemented on a point and shoot camera, we expect it won’t be too cheap.

Let us know your thoughts on our comments below or via our @Gadget_Helpline Twitter page or Official Facebook group.

Via: Engadget
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