Black Friday? How about ‘update your parents' browser day’?

The Thanksgiving holiday, for many, is about digging into a turkey and sides with friends and family, celebrating and honoring what we have in this world we each have to be thankful for.

The day after, Black Friday, for another subset of us, is all about shopping (unless you're like me and you avoid the craziness at retail stores for the weekend).

But Alexis Madrigal, an editor and writer at The Atlantic magazine, has a fantastic idea that is catching on with the blogosphere -- "Update your parents' browser day."

Madrigal, in an article on The Atlantic's website, describes Thanksgiving as a "time when families gather together to share food, extend gratitude, and marvel at how Dad still uses Internet Explorer 6. No, seriously, Dad, how can you be using a browser developed during the Clinton administration? That was like 10 presidents ago."

To alleviate this problem and get the folks up to date with the latest in Web browsing technology, Madrigal suggests updating browsers in top secret, covert-ops style.

"If a parent catches you, don't tell them that you're changing their Web browser," he suggests. "Say instead that you're checking for viruses or installing new drivers or that you're 'freeing up space on their hard drive,' which parents always seem to worry about. (And though you're lying, if they do have viruses or are running out of hard drive space or need new drivers for some reason, be a good boy and do that stuff too.)"

While I'm wholly behind the world leaving outdated Web browsers behind, I'm going to have to advocate for being on the up-and-up about the move. Let your parents, or your grand pappy, your tio and tia, your girlfriend or whoever is behind the times know what you're doing and why -- security, speed, better websites, graphics, video and all that.

The website LifeHacker took Madrigal's idea and suggested even more shady activity, namely, if your parents use Microsoft's Internet Explorer, that you should replace it with Mozilla's Firefox or Google's Chrome (Opera is a good option too). The site even suggested going as far as changing the icon on the desktop to look like IE and downloading themes that will make other browsers look like the Microsoft app.

Of course, Microsoft doesn't advocate abandoning Internet Explorer. In fact, the tech giant suggested (unsurprisingly) to update your family to the latest version of IE -- in two separate company blog posts.

Regardless of your browser preference, many blogs and tech websites (such as Gizmodo, ReadWriteWeb, ArsTechnica, Computerworld, Neowin and TechCrunch) seem to agree that "Update your parents' browser day" is an idea we can all get behind.

"No more excuses," Madrigal wrote. "These browsers must be upgraded. Do it for the Web developers. Do it for the designers. Do it for your parents. On Friday, Nov. 25, every old Web browser must go."

Join Madrigal's call to action, won't you? I might even update the browsers of a co-worker or two Friday if I can.

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-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

Twitter.com/nateog

Photo: A Dell computer from 1999, surfing the Web. Credit: Dell/Reuters

Mozilla and Microsoft launch 'Firefox with Bing' browser

Mozilla has teamed with Microsoft to bring more Bing to Firefox.

On Wednesday the Mozilla Foundation, the nonprofit group that builds the Firefox Web browser, released Firefox with Bing, a customized version of the browser that makes Bing.com the default homepage and sets Bing as the default search engine.

Of course, any user of Firefox can go into the browser's settings and make those changes themselves if they want, and there is even a "Bing Search for Firefox" add-on that will do the same. But many users don't mess with their settings too much, which is why Google (the usual default for Firefox) is the most widely used search engine among Firefox users.

Google competes with Bing on the search side and Google's Chrome browser competes with Firefox. Microsoft, of course, makes a Firefox rival in Internet Explorer.

Mozilla, in a blog post, said that "nearly 20 customized versions of Firefox" are available from its partners, including Bing, Yahoo (which now uses Bing to power its search as well), Twitter and Yandex.

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Image: A screen shot of Firefox with Bing's download website. Credit: Microsoft and Mozilla

Internet Explorer IQ study was a hoax

A study that suggested Internet Explorer users were not as smart as those using other Web browsers is apparently a fake, according to the person that initially distributed it.

In a statement on its website, Aptiquant said it "was set up in late July 2011 by comparison shopping website AtCheap.com in order to launch a fake ‘study’.... The main purpose behind this hoax was to create awareness about the incompatibilities of IE6, and not to insult or hurt anyone.”

The company, Aptiquant, doesn't exist, according to a separate statement on its website.

A man identifying himself as the owner of Atcheap.com said he was behind the hoax. "It was just a joke, and I didn’t really mean to insult anybody," he said.

On Wednesday, BBC reported that images of the company’s staff were copied from another website: “Thumbnail images of the firm's staff on the website also matched those on the site of French research company Central Test, although many of the names had been changed,” the BBC said.

The BBC said readers raised questions regarding the study, and the news organization had a security consultant inspect source material after questions arose. "It's obviously very easy to create a bogus site like this -- as all phishers know it's easy to rip off someone else's web pages and pictures," Graham Cluley, a senior security consultant at Sophos, told BBC.

The study was widely reported by numerous media outlets, including this one.

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Photo: Sixteen aerialists perform as a live human billboard for Microsoft's logo. Credit: Keith Bedford/EPA

Do Internet Explorer users have the lowest IQs on the Web? [Updated]

[Updated 3:15 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2011: The study has been discredited as a hoax.

In response to media inquiries, the owner of the study's website acknowledged that he had fabricated the survey as "a joke."]

Don't call Internet Explorer fans dumb -- don't even suggest it.

AptiQuant, the consulting firm behind a new study that appears to insult the intelligence of Microsoft Internet Explorer users, is finding itself engulfed in a whirl of furry.

Internet Explorer loyalists have threatened legal action and have sent hate mail to the company since its study on the smarts of IE devotees was released last week, the Vancouver, Canada-based AptiQuant Psychometric Consulting Co. said in a recent blog post on its website.

The company compiled more than 100,000 IQ tests it conducted and arranged the findings based on what Internet browser the test-takers used. The results "support the hypothesis that the IQ score and the choice of web browser are related," the study said.

Internet Explorer users on average fared worse than aficionados of other browsers such as Mozilla's Firefox, Google's Chrome and Apple's Safari.

"From the test results, it is a clear indication that individuals on the lower side of the IQ scale tend to resist a change/upgrade of their browsers," the study said. "It is common knowledge that Internet Explorer Versions to 6.0 to 8.0 are highly incompatible with modern web standards."

Microsoft declined to comment on the study.

The blowback caused AptiQuant's chief executive to clarify the results.

"I just want to make it clear that the report released by my company did not suggest that if you use IE that means you have a low IQ, but what it really says is that if you have a low IQ then there are high chances that you use Internet Explorer," Leonard Howard said in a company blog post.

But Howard didn't back down in the face of threatened legal action, confidant that the evidence was on his side, according to the blog post.

"A win in a court would only give a stamp of approval and more credibility to our report," he said.

While you shouldn't expect a switch in software to increase your learning ability, just in case you want to emulate the geniuses among us: maybe download Opera, Camino or the Chrome Frame add-on for Internet Explorer. Users of that software scored, on average, highest on the IQ tests, the study said.

And for the record, this reporter used Internet Explorer to access and read the study.

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Microsoft previews Windows 8 for tablets and PCs

Microsoft offered up a preview of its next operating system, which is being given the code name Windows 8 for now, and which is set to run on both tablets and PCs.

One operating system for tablets, laptops and desktops; one operating system that will work by means of a touch interface, or with the traditional mouse and keyboard.

At first glance, Windows 8 looks a lot like the Windows Phone 7 operating system, which has its roots in the OS found on Microsoft's iPod challenger that never caught on as hoped -- the Zune.

"Windows 8 is a reimagining of Windows, from the chip to the interface," said Julie Larson-Green, Microsoft's corporate vice president of Windows experience, in a blog post. "A Windows 8-based PC is really a new kind of device, one that scales from touch-only small screens through to large screens, with or without a keyboard and mouse."

Larson-Green, alongside Windows unit President Steven Sinofsky, showed off the under-development Windows 8 at the All Things Digital Conference conference on Wednesday, on a tablet.

The new user interface uses a "start screen" which offers up a series of live tiles for applications that show up-to-date information -- much like Windows Phone 7's OS. Tapping on any of the live tiles takes a user into that app, while a swipe from the sides (right, left, top or bottom) will bring up various menu options (somewhat similar to the tactic Research In Motion uses on its BlackBerry PlayBook tablet).

The apps from the live tiles that Microsoft showed off launched in full-screen modes, much like a tablet or smartphone and less like a PC. And Microsoft also touted a system they had to easily switch between open apps, all running at the same time, simply with swipe gestures and with no need to return to the start screen.

Two apps can even run in the same window view -- a feature that other tablet operating systems have yet to offer.

The touch-centric apps shown off, Larson-Green said, run on HTML5 and JavaScript (running on Internet Explorer 10 behind the scenes), allowing developers to use the same tools to build apps for Windows 8 as they use to build websites. These apps are "Web-connected and Web-powered apps" that still have access to the full PC -- a sort of hybrid between a Web-based app and a native desktop app.

If a user prefers the less touch-centric user interface, the old task bar along the bottom of the screen and the traditional Windows start button in the lower left corner of that bar can still be used as an alternative, Larson-Green and Sinofsky said at the conference.

And indeed, the old Windows does appear to be there, likely making Windows 8 not a completely new OS from the ground up, but rather a new user interface put on top of Windows as consumers already know it.

When Larson-Green tapped to open Microsoft Excel at the conference, it was still usable with touch input, but the familiar task bar and start button popped up, looking just like a Windows 7 desktop.

And with a swipe, it was back to Windows 8's live tiles and other full-screen apps.

Windows 8, while it will run on tablets and PCs, will give users more options when it comes to attaching peripherals to devices, such as external hard drives, printers and scanners, and it will also give users more access to the files they have by still using a viewable file system like Windows and not keeping files confined in apps themselves in the way that iOS and Android do, Sinofsky said at the conference.

While Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's chief executive, said recently that Windows 8 would arrive in 2012 on PCs and tablets (all claims that Microsoft later retracted, before saying Windows 8 would run on tablets and PCs Wednesday), Sinofsky and Larson-Green declined to offer a specific date or year when Windows 8 would arrive.

"Right now we're focused on getting the release done and the next milestone for us is the developer conference in September," Sinofsky said at the conference. "Every two to three years is a good release."

Which, with Windows 7 having been released in 2009, could peg Windows 8 for 2012.

Below is a video demo of Windows 8 posted by Microsoft on YouTube on Wednesday.

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Images: Screenshots from a Microsoft demo video of Windows 8. Credit: Microsoft

Microsoft to launch IE9, with tracking protection, at SXSW on March 14

Microsoft will launch its newest version of the Internet Explorer browser, IE9, at the South by Southwest festival March 14, the company said in a blog post Wednesday.

From the Texas site of SXSW, as the event is known, the tech giant plans to create “a more beautiful Web” starting at 9 that night.

Among the more interesting features is tracking protection, a privacy feature that will let users select which websites to block from gathering information.

IE9 will be available to those with Windows Vista and Windows 7, though not XP.

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Microsoft urges Internet Explorer 6 users to 'say goodbye' to the venerable browser, stat

Microsoft Corp. has posted a new Web page urging the millions around the world who still use its 10-year-old Internet Explorer 6 browser to just stop.

"It's time to say goodbye," the page says.

"The web has changed significantly over the past 10 years," it continues. "The browser has evolved to adapt to new web technologies, and the latest versions of Internet Explorer help protect you from new attacks and threats."

Indeed, the page is largely a promotion by Microsoft to get people to upgrade to the much newer Internet Explorer 9, which is debuting now. The new browser has a cleaner look and snappier feel, more like its leaner competitors Firefox and Google Chrome.

Microsoft says only about 12% of global Internet users still use IE6, a 9% drop from last year. The goal is to get that down to less than 1 percent, the company says. 

Counting all of its versions, Internet Explorer is still the most popular browser worldwide, now used by more than 50% of Web surfers internationally, according to StatCounter. Firefox is second, with 31.3% of the market, followed by Chrome with about 10%.

The lion's share of users still employing the decade-old product are in China, where about half of the remaining 12% are using the browser. The U.S. is in a distant second, with about 0.7%, followed by South Korea and India.

Newer versions of Internet Explorer, as well as those of any other browser, are free and relatively easy to download and install. If you're not sure which version of a browser you have, look for a menu option that says "About Internet Explorer," or "About Firefox," somtimes under the "Help" menu.

-- David Sarno

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Image: Microsoft's IE6 countdown meter on ie6countdown.com. Credit: Microsoft

'Do Not Track Me Online' privacy bill introduced by California Rep. Jackie Speier

The first "do not track" legislation was introduced in Congress on Friday, raising the possibility that Web users will be able to prevent advertisers from recording their online behavior for marketing purposes, similar to the Do Not Call Registry created in 2003.

The bill, called the "Do Not Track Me Online Act of 2011," would give the Federal Trade Commission the right to create regulations that would force online marketers to respect the wishes of users who did not want to be tracked.

"Failure to do so would be considered an unfair or deceptive act punishable by law," noted a statement from the office of Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), who is sponsoring the bill.

Speier also introduced a second bill that would enable consumers to better control financial information collected about them by banks and other institutions. That bill includes a provision that would prevent companies from sharing consumer financial information without explicit pre-approval from the consumer, a process known as opting in.

“These two bills send a clear message — privacy over profit,” Speier said in a statement. “Consumers have a right to determine what if any of their information is shared with big corporations, and the federal government must have the authority and tools to enforce reasonable protections.”

In recent weeks, several browser-makers have said they will add mechanisms that make it more difficult for advertisers to track user behavior.

Google’s Chrome, Firefox and Microsoft’s newer Internet Explorer 9 will have some protections built in, but critics say those features are not always easy for the average user to operate, nor do they block every type of tracking.

In December, the FTC released a report urging for stronger online privacy controls, including a Do Not Track mechanism. The Commerce Department also recommended stronger controls, but stopped short of recommending legislation.

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Photo credit: Anemoneprojectors / Flickr

Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox announce tools to block Web tracking by advertisers

Google's Chrome and Mozilla's Firefox Web browsers are each gaining new features that will block advertisers from tracking Web surfing habits.

Firefox's feature, announced Sunday, will be called Do Not Track and is under development. Chrome's utility, announced Monday, is called Keep My Opt-Outs and available now.

The two tools to help protect user privacy follow a December Federal Trade Commission recommendation that all Web browsers add do not track features.

Shortly after the FTC recommendation, Microsoft said its upcoming Internet Explorer 9 will have a feature that will enable users to create lists of websites they do or do not want tracking them.

Alex Fowler, Mozilla's technology and privacy officer, said in a blog post that Firefox's upcoming Do Not Track feature will be the nonprofit group's first step toward improving user privacy.

"When the feature is enabled and users turn it on, web sites will be told by Firefox that a user would like to opt-out of OBA [online behavioral advertising]," Fowler wrote. "We believe the header-based approach has the potential to be better for the web in the long run because it is a clearer and more universal opt-out mechanism than cookies or blacklists."

Google too announced its blocking tool in a blog post.

Sean Harvey and Rajas Moonka, two Google product managers, wrote that Keep My Opt-Outs will allow users to opt out of tracking from advertisers by way of a downloadable browser extension that will allow users to defer from personalized ads "from all participating ad networks only once and store that setting permanently."

Both Google and Mozilla's tracking blocking tools do, however, have a caveat.

The tools only apply to advertising companies that offer opt-out options. So far, advertisers have been slow to add such options themselves, though Google noted that the advertisers that are members of the Network Advertising Initiative offer such options, as do some Web advertising trade associations. 

Web advertisers track which websites consumers visit online in large part to offer Web ads that would appeal to a user based on the user's surfing habits.

Google said once its Keep My Opt-Outs feature could lead to users seeing repeat ads or ads that are less relevant to their interests. Google, a major seller of Web advertising, also offers the option of users tailoring ads they see in Chrome by telling the Mountain View-based company what types of ads they'd like to see.

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Image: A screenshot of the downloadable webpage for the Google Chrome extension Keep My Opt-Outs. Credit: Google

HTML5 logo unveiled by the World Wide Web Consortium, with help from Microsoft

The World Wide Web Consortium -- also known as the W3C -- released its logo for HTML5 on Tuesday, with the help of Microsoft.

The World Wide Web Consortium is a collaboration of sorts in which corporations including Apple, Google, Microsoft and Opera and nonprofits such as Mozilla contribute to international Internet standards. In all, the W3C has 322 member organizations.

The W3C's HTML5 logo, the group hopes, will be placed on websites built using HTML5, the programming language and technologies that are still in development but becoming an increasingly popular standard for the Web.

The logo, an angular orange shield, was designed by the W3C with input from Microsoft. And Microsoft is already helping to promote the logo's use.

Jean Paoli, Microsoft's general manager of interoperability, wrote in a blog post that "the logo links back to W3C, the place for authoritative information on HTML5, including specs and test cases. It's time to tell the world that HTML5 is ready to be adopted."

The logo can be downloaded and used or tweaked by anyone as he or she sees fit, under a Creative Commons license.

The W3C is giving away HTML5 logo stickers and selling logo t-shirts that read, "I've seen the future. It's in my browser."

"It stands strong and true, resilient and universal as the markup you write," the W3C wrote in introducing the logo. "It shines as bright and as bold as the forward-thinking, dedicated web developers you are. It's the standard's standard, a pennant for progress. And it certainly doesn't use tables for layout."

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Images: HTML5 logo and HTML5 logo T-shirts. Credit: World Wide Web Consortium