Om Malik’s got a little embryo of a theory, and it revolves around Mozilla’s hosted services/browser sync service called Weave:

I sat around gabbing with Lilly and Jay Sullivan, Mozilla’s VP of Mobile, talking about Weave and the Awesome Bar, which is a way to get access to all your browsing history and bookmarks by just typing them in the URL bar on your browser. And while we were talking about Weave, I asked them if it was going to be part of this new, mysterious iPhone app. Lilly and Sullivan smiled and remained silent. Interestingly, they didn’t correct me.

It’s a telling anecdote, and nearly enough to assume that Weave will be some part of the app, and if the alternative is a browser—which Apple probably wouldn’t be too excited to approve—then is may be the whole app. But goddamnit, let’s indulge our modest fantasies anyway! Lifehacker flags a (cautious) thesis by Kevin Tofel at JKOnTheRun, who sees a Fennec hiding behind the smoke:

Apple did begin to approve third-party applications earlier this year, so a Mozilla browser does have a chance for approval. And that could open the door for the Weave service, as well. Apple’s Mobile Me service doesn’t sync bookmarks or web passwords over-the-air currently, although I suspect these functions could be added in the future. In light of that, I’m thinking we’re about to see Fennec on the iPhone.

So in conclusion, Mozilla: ^This.^ [GigaOm and JKOnTheRun via Lifehacker]

Microsoft has deemed the hole to be a “critical” security threat, as it gives webmasters the ability to quietly install software on your PC. Last May, Microsoft released an update that made it possible to uninstall the .NET framework. They also released a patch earlier this week that supposedly fixes the problem. The vulnerability can also be exploited on users running any version of Internet Explorer. Needless to say, Firefox and IE users should employ one of those solutions ASAP. [Computer World Image via rootshell.be]

No, it’s not Explorer. Microsoft wanted first to order browsers from left to right, in order of market share. That meant Explorer was going to go first, then Firefox, then Safari, Opera and Google’s Chrome. The EU objected, so Microsoft complied and offered the only possible option: Alphabetical order.

That puts Apple Safari in the number one position, followed by Google Chrome, Microsoft Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Opera. Looks good enough to me, but Jenny Boriss—a Firefox user experience designer—disagrees:

This ordering is about the worst option possible. Microsoft wrote in their proposal that ‘nothing in the design and implementation of the Ballot Screen and the presentation of competing web browsers will express a bias for a Microsoft web browser or any other web browser’, but this is exactly what the current design does. Windows users presented with the current design will tend to make only two choices: IE because they are familiar with it, or Safari because it is the first item.

“The disproportionate advantage to Safari is what really makes this design poor,” she said, citing several studies that claim first position in a ballot gives an advantage, in part because Western voters scan from upper left to lower right when they read.

She goes on and on and on about this, but her basic message is: If Firefox is not first, this design is BAD. She timidly proposes a random order every time the selection screen opens, but she argues that this is bad because it “unfortunately does not provide users with any information about what browsers are preferred”.

Then she shows her true colours, proposing the order according to market share—what Microsoft proposed—but excluding Explorer from that ordering and leaving it to the last position. Wouldn’t that be unfairly helping Firefox and putting Safari, Chrome and Opera in a bad position? And why discriminate Microsoft Explorer too?

Finally, she also proposes probability ordering by market share excluding Internet Explorer, which again gives Firefox the advantage over the rest 50 per cent of the time.

In other words, Microsoft and the EU should help Firefox to become the new monopolistic browser, no matter what. Jenny, please: Stop. Saying. Words. [Boriss' Blog via Computer World]

Apple and Lenovo generally include the sensors as data protection tools: using readings from an inbuilt accelerometer, a laptop can recognise when it’s in freefall, and spin down, or even cushion, its hard drive to try to minimise platter death. It works, sometimes! But on a hardware level, these accelerometers are just like the ones in your mobile phone, meaning they can track orientation finely enough to play simple physics games, which you’ll evidently be able to do in the next version of Firefox:

Originally built as something that we would include for our upcoming mobile browser release, we’ve made it available on desktop systems as well. Many modern Macbooks and Thinkpads contain devices and drivers that expose this information. We’ve added support for Linux, Macs and some Thinkpads where drivers and devices are available.

So it was an afterthought for Firefox proper, and you’ll have to code special games and sites for it, and it’ll only work on a few major laptop models. It’s not exactly The Future of Firefox, but it’s a cool trick nonetheless.

You can try the feature out yourself if you want; just download a nightly Firefox build from here, and try a few of these test pages. (Not safe for seasick types.) [Mozilla via DeepTech]

Seeing as laptop users have a browser open pretty much at all times, AnandTech ran exhaustive tests on Windows machines, Intel and AMD, netbook and notebook, to see if switching browsers made any difference in how long batteries hold out. And hey, it does! In some tests, there was a 30% advantage between the worst browser—always Safari—and the best—Internet Explorer 8. Seriously.

In fact, Microsoft’s browser came in front across the board, even inching out Firefox with Adblock by a few percent. It’s hard to say why IE8 is so power-thrifty, but the most processor-intensive operations a browser does, outside of running Flash content, are in rendering Javascript, which IE8 kind of sucks at. So, mystery solved, maybe! Firefox, Chrome and to a lesser extent Opera held up fine, but depending on what kind of laptop you’re running, and how willing you are to ditch your browser, there are quite a few sweet battery minutes up for grabs here. Full breakdown at [AnandTech]

English musician, Keith Richards, was spotted wearing some post-industrial ornamentation in and around the region where a douchier man might stick a Bluetooth earpiece. There’s just no way that’s what this is. If you look closely, you can see right through it. But it got me to thinking: Not only would Keef not have a Bluetooth earpiece, he probably doesn’t even have a phone. When you’re that awesome, people just take calls for you. [BluetoothDouchebag.com via CrunchGear]

People cruising through Yahoo on Firefox are being told to “Get the New Safer IE8″. Rather than naively assuming this to be the result of some kind of actual testing, TechCrunch points out that it could be part of Yahoo’s new coziness with Microsoft. The kicker: Last year, when a Yahoo under different management had a severe Microsoft allergy, it told IE users to switch to Firefox. [TechCrunch]

Kodak called its first Flip-class camera the Zi6, begging the question: Where are Zis 1 through 5? Now that it is being ripped for calling the follow-up Zi8 (hello, 7 shoulda been next), it is petitioning the world for help naming its products. If only other companies did this. Ever try to memorise Canon’s camcorder line? Or JVC’s for that matter? And what about Sony, who called its very first Walkman the TPS-L2 because “chicks dig alphanumerics”? [BBGadgets]

Gene Munster, the analyst known exclusively for Apple banter, says a new improved Apple TV is on its way, one that has an iTunes TV subscription service of $US30 to $US40 per month that lets the user see all the shows in the library. Quite possibly, this new device would receive a TV signal (perhaps through CableCard) and have DVR capability too. That first part is possible enough, but that latter half, the more interesting half, seems totally unlikely. DVR means a new UI and reliance on cable companies or OTA antennas, and I just
don’t see it. Certainly not in the middle of tablet fever.
But hey, I’m not an “analyst”. [Silicon Alley Insider]

Today, students were scheduled to gather in NYC to protest Nokia’s involvement in Iran’s cellular infrastructure, something that has apparently been the subject of a bunch of noise in Washington too. As others have pointed out, all governments require some form of tracking and wiretap access to wireless networks, and Nokia-Siemens is one of only a few companies in the world who build this gear. So yes, as problematic as it is that oppressive regimes (and even not so oppressive ones) snoop on their populace, Nokia’s role here seems to be the
same as a car company’s role in a drunk-driving
incident. [MobileCrunch and TG Daily]

Before we dive in, it’s worth talking about exactly what we’re going for here. What “theory of Chrome” are we planning to adhere to? Or perhaps more to the point, what the hell is Chrome? From Google:

“Google Chrome OS is an open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks” and “most of the user experience takes place on the web.” That is, it’s “Google Chrome running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel” with the web as the platform. It runs on x86 processors (like your standard Core 2 Duo) and ARM processors (like inside every mobile smartphone). Underneath lies security architecture that’s completely redesigned to be virus-resistant and easy to update.

From our own Matt Buchanan:

If I had to guess, I’d say Chrome OS is somewhere in between an entirely browser-based OS and a generic Linux distro, though leaning toward the former.

In other words, Chrome, as we understand it and as Google describes it, is a Linux OS that lives on the web, depending almost entirely on Google’s suite of services, which are served through a special, Google-designed interface. We have no way of knowing what this mysterious window manager, menu system or desktop environment will look like, so we can’t replicate that. However, the web half of Chrome OS is already in place and ready for us to clumsily unify. So let’s make our own stripped-down operating system.

Get Yourself Some Linux
Before embarking on this goofy software project, we need a launch pad. Specifically, Linux. You could go with almost any distro and accomplish the same effect, but this guide will be focused on a distribution called Xubuntu. Why Xubuntu? Because it strikes a perfect balance between being extremely compatible and easy to install — on both counts, it really is — and since it’s essentially just a version of the uber-popular Ubuntu Linux distro with a stripped-down, super-fast desktop environment called XFCE, it’s quick and lightweight. Head over to the Xubuntu website and start downloading. (Go with 9.04 the latest stable version.)

There are a few ways to handle this. If you’re planning to install Xubuntu on a netbook — Chrome’s first and most natural target — you’re probably going to need to create a bootable flash drive. Ubuntu provides some fairly fantastic instructions for doing this on Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. If you’re trying to do this on a regular laptop or desktop, or you have an external optical drive, you’re going to want to burn your downloaded ISO to a CD and install from there. Alternatively, you can order a free install disc (plus shipping) from Xubuntu. Lastly, if you’re like me and you just want to test this out in a free virtual machine like VirtualBox, all you need to do is boot a new system from your downloaded ISO.
During the installation, you’ll be prompted with a number of options. Make sure you check the “Log In Automatically” radio box — it’ll make your boot-to-browser experience a little smoother later on.

Once you’ve finished the installation — this should take no more than a half hour — you’ll find yourself with a pretty, fresh, new Xubuntu desktop. It’s really nice! But now it’s time to start replacing it.

Choose Your Browser
Obviously, you’ll need a browser. This is the centre of the Chrome experience; the window through which you’ll access Google’s suite of services, and which you may never leave. It needs to have support for all the web’s various technologies, be it Google Gear (a plugin that lets Google services store data offline so they can load faster and function offline) or Flash, which makes the internet significantly less boring. Chrome OS will obviously ship with Google’s Chrome browser, but the Linux port is a little sickly right now. Gears, for example, doesn’t really work and Flash, though technically available, crashes constantly. But if you really want to stay as Googly as possible on this project, you can get Chrome for Linux (Chromium) by adding these lines to the “Sources” list in a program called Synaptic, which manages Linux applications through one, unified interface and is accessible in your System menu.

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/chromium-daily/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/chromium-daily/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main

You can find out how to enable Flash here. Pro tip: Don’t bother with this.

Counterintuitively, the best way to get the Google experience on Linux is with Firefox. Xubuntu comes with Firefox, but you’re going to need to spruce it up a little. OK, a lot.

Make That Browser Work
First, you’ll need Flash. Open Synaptic (mentioned above) from your Applications > System menu, and search for an item called “Flashplugin,” (it’s Flash Player 10) or navigate to the item as shown in the below screenshot.
Click “Apply” and let the installer run its course. Firefox should now support Flash-based sites like YouTube.

Now you’ll need Google Gears. This is a simple Firefox extension which you can download here. This’ll help make living online feel a little less like, you know, living online — think offline archived email. Most of Google services can use Gears, so you’ll want to go through each site’s settings page to enable as many “Gears” or “Offline Access” options as possible. Docs and Mail are where you’ll see the biggest differences; Gears turns them from web services into fully-fledged offline apps, transparently. Pretty amazing stuff.

Next, you’ll need the Google Toolbar. This, in absence of whatever interface voodoo Google is sitting on, will serve as a sort of constant dashboard for Google services in the meantime. Along with providing shortcuts and notifiers for services like Gmail and Google Calendar, it’s got a few little tricks that’ll make your browser feel more like a proper OS. For example, in the Google Toolbar preferences, you can check options that enable both automatic Gmail-ing or Mailto: links, and automatic opening of many document formats in Google Docs. You’ll want to enable these since we’re trying to create the illusion that the rest of the OS doesn’t exist, which an errant OpenOffice window or email client could shatter, God forbid.

Lastly, grab yourself a copy of an extension called Speed Dial, which will give you a grid-based homepage of favourites which you can populate with all the core Google Services you’re going to need: Gmail, Reader, Google Docs, Google News, etc. It’ll be the first thing you see when you open your browser, and eventually, your OS. Set the initial configuration as I have on the left.

And if you’re really into this idea for some reason, you can download a Firefox skin that looks like Google Chrome here.

Getting Rid of Everything Else
Now that you’ve got everything you need to live wholly within Google’s ecosystem a la Chrome OS, you need to remove everything else — that means excess browser clutter, system menus, and pretty much anything else that stands between you and your Google suite.

The first step will be to strip out your Firefox interface, which is probably looking a bit bloated by now. I’ve posted my small-screened solution below, which you can replicate by dragging and dropping icons however you please in Firefox’s View > Toolbars > Customise menu. The above configuration lets you totally remove the Bookmarks and Navigation bars, which saves a good deal of space. Feel free to play with this for a while — you might find that you don’t need one input box or the other, or that you can get away with much less of an interface than I have.

After grinding down Firefox’s interface to an acceptable size, you’ll need to go to work on your desktop. Before you can kill all the menu bars and shortcuts you don’t need, make sure Firefox automatically loads at startup, so you’re basically booting into the browser. You can do this by navigating to Applications > Settings > Session and Startup, and adding a new startup item with the values seen below. (The last one is the only one you can’t change &mdash ;it’s the one that launches Firefox).

Now it’s time to murder everything else. Right-click on either the top or bottom system panels (the Start Menu-like things on the top and bottom of your desktop) and click “Customise Panel.” From here, you can remove the top panel and set the bottom panel to “autohide.” Once you’re done, restart. Upon boot-up, this is about all you should see:
Welcome to Chrome! Kind of!

See What You Think
As I said before, what you’ve just slapped together here is not Chrome. Google’s final product will probably look nothing like this, superficially. But this little web-savvy Frankenstein OS does, I think, capture something of Google’s long-term vision in which everything we store, use and experience on our computer is based online — preferably on their servers — and native applications are nothing more than a small, necessary evil. This experiment is less about guessing the specifics of Chrome OSes interface, under-the-hood workings or usage model (three things which I’m fairly sure this fails at) than it is about deciding whether or not the the idea of Chrome OS suits you and how you use your computer. That, at least, you can get a taste of. So how do you like it?

So that’s about it! Please add your experiences in the comments and good luck with your OS impersonation.

As with any marketing statement, I’d encourage people to be somewhat sceptical about large number claims. It’s an interesting number and I have not seen the math [but] how many internet connected users are there? 1.1 billion, 1.5 billion, something in that area.

She described the number as “interesting math,” even while that one billion figure includes every download and update since Firefox launched since 2004. Repeated downloads too. And people having multiple computers.

Knowing that, it doesn’t seem that crazy to me. What do you think about Amy’s claims? And about Firefox’s figure? [The Guardian]