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ApplicationDevelopmentNews articles

  • Google Will Support Rust in Chromium

    Google Will Support Rust in Chromium

    Google expanding its use of the Rust programming language, adding support for it in its Chromium web browser.

    Rust has been gaining steam as a programming language, thank in large part to the memory features and security it provides. Rust has already begun making its way into the Linux kernel, and Google has seen benefits from its inclusion in Android. Similarly, even the NSA has been recommending the use of Rust, and other memory-safe languages.

    Google is now adding Rust support to Chromium, hoping to benefit in the same way it has with Android, as the company outlines in a blog post.

    Our goal in bringing Rust into Chromium is to provide a simpler (no IPC) and safer (less complex C++ overall, no memory safety bugs in a sandbox either) way to satisfy the rule of two, in order to speed up development (less code to write, less design docs, less security review) and improve the security (increasing the number of lines of code without memory safety bugs, decreasing the bug density of code) of Chrome. And we believe that we can use third-party Rust libraries to work toward this goal.

    Google makes the point that Rust was originally developed specifically for web browser development, making it fitting to use it in Chromium.

    Rust was developed by Mozilla specifically for use in writing a browser, so it’s very fitting that Chromium would finally begin to rely on this technology too. Thank you Mozilla for your huge contribution to the systems software industry. Rust has been an incredible proof that we should be able to expect a language to provide safety while also being performant.

    Users interested in the technical details of how Google plans to integrate Rust can read more here.

  • Microsoft Moving Teams Features Behind Teams Premium Subscription

    Microsoft Moving Teams Features Behind Teams Premium Subscription

    Microsoft is making a major change to Teams, moving some features behind its Teams Premium subscription service.

    Teams is the leading corporate messaging platform, eclipsing its main rival Slack by a wide margin. Microsoft has leveraged the popularity of its Microsoft 365 office suite and largely made Teams available for free.

    According to a note to its partners, however, some of Teams features — including some if its more popular ones — will now require a Teams Premium subscription. The following features are impacted:

    • Live caption translation
    • Intelligent recording markers to identify when individual joined or left
    • Organization meeting branding and organization Together mode
    • Virtual appointment text reminders
    • Virtual appointment dashboard for scheduling features, queues, and analytics

    Microsoft does offer a 30-day trial of Teams Premium to help organizations decide if the features are worth upgrading.

    Partners can start sharing the news with their customers to start enrolling tenants in the preview as a trial through the Microsoft 365 Admin Center by searching for Teams Premium in the catalog. Once enrolled and activated, tenant admins receive a limited number of 30-day trial licenses that they can assign to users in their organization.

  • Mobile App Development Team Structure Guide

    Mobile App Development Team Structure Guide

    Startups and businesses of all sizes increasingly rely on mobile apps to reach customers and engage them in meaningful ways. With the right team structure, you can save time and money while ensuring your mobile app development process is efficient and successful. A team is an essential component of any successful mobile development project and aid in delivering the desired product promptly. 

    Mobile app development is one of the most in-demand skills today. Android development team is essential to building apps that can reach billions of users. Yet, understanding the ins and outs of how an effective Android development team should be structured can seem daunting. However, a comprehensive Android Development Team Structure guide is here to help simplify this process. Let’s dive in. 

    Product Owner for Android Development

    Whether you’re looking to develop a new wellness app or an educational game, your android development team needs someone who can act as the product owner. An apparent product owner ensures that each team member is on the same page, from development sprints to client meetings. 

    Additionally, this leader should ensure that the vision and results meet customer expectations, providing frequent updates to key stakeholders as needed. A great product owner can be a driving force behind successful mobile application launches, ready to provide their unique abilities ensuring the best final product possible. For Android development, finding the right person for the job is essential for project success.

    Project Manager to Lead The Team

    The project manager on a mobile app development team is a crucial role that can’t be underestimated. With their keen business acumen, forward-thinking mindset, and natural leadership abilities, the project manager is responsible for driving the project’s success. It’s their job to coordinate the various efforts of team members, ensure that deadlines are met, and ensure everyone understands the overall mission. 

    The project manager is also a great resource to turn to with questions or clarification on tasks and requirements; they keep track of all the moving parts, so you don’t have to. An experienced and knowledgeable project manager helps keep things running smoothly while keeping productivity high.

    Business Analyst for Client Requirements

    The business analyst on a mobile app development team is often the unsung hero. They are tasked with identifying and understanding the customer’s requirements, a critical step in the development process for successful app and team performance. 

    The business analyst works to understand customer needs through interviews, focus groups, surveys, competitive analysis, industry research, and other techniques that require skillful research and evaluation. This position requires superior communication skills and the ability to interpret data into business objectives that developers, testers, and other support personnel can implement. 

    If your mobile app development team lacks a Business Analyst, consider adding one; they could be the difference between an ordinary product and an awesome one.

    UX/UI Designers to Improve User Experience

    For any mobile app development team, UX/UI designers are a must-have to ensure the success of their product. Not only do they produce visually stunning designs, but they are also incredibly knowledgeable regarding the user experience. 

    They strive to ensure the end-user has an enjoyable and intuitive experience when using the product by understanding various design elements such as layout, typography, images, and consistent color palettes. 

    With excellent knowledge of information architecture and navigation experience, UX/UI designers can create a cohesive pathway for users with both web and mobile platforms in mind. Investing in a great UX/UI design team will lead to greater customer satisfaction.

    Android Developers For Core App Development

    Without an experienced Android development team, you won’t be able to create a rock-solid mobile application. That’s why you must hire experts to make an app a success. Android developers make up the heart of any good mobile app development team. These professionals can deliver stunning results and create powerful user applications with a good structure. 

    A successful Android dev team must be comprised of experienced personnel well-versed in the different available SDKs and coders who know how to maximize their App’s abilities and battery life. 

    Additionally, they will know how to adjust an App’s operations between different screen sizes, orientations, and resolutions. It’s hard work creating premium apps, but without a doubt, Android Development teams are essential for producing exceptional user experiences.

    Backend Developers to Build The App’s Backend

    No team is complete without experienced and knowledgeable developers. These professionals are responsible for developing server-side components that support the mobile app, including databases, security measures, API integrations, and more. They understand how to write code quickly and efficiently with an eye toward scalability so that users can always access the application without issue. 

    Because of their pivotal role in mobile app development, they must be a part of the overall team and collaborate on projects with developers, designers, Project Managers, and other stakeholders. Without backend developers, mobile apps wouldn’t function properly, making them an invaluable asset to any mobile app development team. 

    QA Engineer to Ensure Quality of The Product

    Quality Assurance (QA) engineers are essential to any successful mobile app development team. Their expertise helps to ensure that the product, or mobile app, in this case, is functioning correctly and meets the expectations laid out by stakeholders. With their deep technical understanding, they can spot potential problems before release and prevent embarrassing bugs from making it into production versions. 

    On top of all this, having a QA engineer on your team who values quality and takes pride in their work gives your project a real feeling of assurance that no shortcuts will be taken so that you can trust the final product will be up to par with user demands.

  • Google Docs Adds Option to See Non-Printing Characters

    Google Docs Adds Option to See Non-Printing Characters

    Google Docs has added an important feature to help fine-tune the layout of documents with the option to view non-printing characters.

    In complex documents, non-printing characters are often important elements that help establish the layout and visual characteristics of a document. Line breaks, page breaks, tabs, and spaces are just a few such characters.

    In the latest update to Google Docs, users now have the option of seeing non-printing characters.

    “When viewing or editing a Google Doc, non-printing characters such as line breaks, section breaks, tabs, and spaces are not visible,” the company writes in a blog post. “Starting today, you can choose to display non-printing characters in order to see how a document is laid out.”

    “This feature provides a visual representation of what controls the formatting in a document, allowing you to make appropriate edits much easier,” the company adds.

  • Slack’s GitHub Repositories Were Stolen

    Slack’s GitHub Repositories Were Stolen

    Slack has revealed that some of its private code repositories were stolen, although the company says no customer data was impacted.

    Slack is one of the most popular messaging platforms. Like many companies, it relies on GitHub repositories to help manage its code base. GitHub notified the company of suspicious activity on an external repository, leading to the discovery of the breach.

    The company outlined the details in a blog post:

    On 29 December 2022, we were notified of suspicious activity on our GitHub account. Upon investigation, we discovered that a limited number of Slack employee tokens were stolen and misused to gain access to our externally hosted GitHub repository. Our investigation also revealed that the threat actor downloaded private code repositories on 27 December. No downloaded repositories contained customer data, means to access customer data or Slack’s primary codebase.

    The company reassures users that the issue is not an inherent vulnerability within Slack, and that no other information was accessed:

    When notified of the incident, we immediately invalidated the stolen tokens and began investigating potential impact to our customers. Our current findings show that the threat actor did not access other areas of Slack’s environment, including the production environment, and they did not access other Slack resources or customer data. There was no impact to our code or services, and we have also rotated all relevant credentials as a precaution.

    Based on currently available information, the unauthorised access did not result from a vulnerability inherent to Slack. We will continue to investigate and monitor for further exposure.

    Hopefully Slack’s initial investigation is correct and no further breaches are discovered.

  • CES 2023: Spotify Access Coming to the Android 13 Media Player

    CES 2023: Spotify Access Coming to the Android 13 Media Player

    Google and Spotify are working together to improve the Android audio experience, integrating the streaming service with Android’s media player.

    Spotify is the top streaming service, offering a wide array of content and features. Google clearly wants to tap into Spotify’s popularity and features, using it to improve the Android 13 media experience.

    “With Android 13, we introduced a refreshed media player on your Android phone’s lock screen and notification section that allows you to quickly select which compatible Bluetooth or Chromecast built-in devices to play your content on (currently available with YouTube and YouTube Music),” writes Sandeep Chivukula, Director of Product Management, Android. “This year, we’re working closely with Spotify to enable their users to easily switch playback between any Spotify Connect device from Android’s media player.”

    The integration will extend to better notifications that will help users easily transition from one device to another as they listen to their music.

    “We’re also developing a way for your audio content to move with you throughout your day,” adds Chivukula. “Through notifications on your devices, you’ll be able to tap to start listening to a podcast in the car, continue on your phone and headphones and finish on your TV at home. As you move your physical location, you’ll see these media notifications on your phone or other devices asking if you’d like to transfer the audio over to a nearby device. We are working with Spotify and YouTube Music to use these notifications to help users enjoy the content they are streaming, on the most optimal device available to them.””

  • WhatsApp Launches Worldwide Proxy Support

    WhatsApp Launches Worldwide Proxy Support

    WhatsApp is making it easier for users to stay connected despite disruptions, with worldwide proxy support.

    WhatsApp is the most used messaging platform globally, and is used as a primary means of communication for many. Because of this, as well as its end-to-end encryption support, WhatsApp is often a prime target for governments and oppressive regimes.

    “Our wish for 2023 is that these internet shutdowns never occur,” the company writes in a blog post. “Disruptions like we’ve seen in Iran for months on end deny people’s human rights and cut people off from receiving urgent help. Though in case these shutdowns continue, we hope this solution helps people wherever there is a need for secure and reliable communication.”

    The company’s “solution” to ensure users can stay connected is the launch of worldwide support for proxy connections.

    “Choosing a proxy enables you to connect to WhatsApp through servers set up by volunteers and organizations around the world dedicated to helping people communicate freely,” the blog continues. “If you have the ability to help others connect, you can learn how to set up a proxy here.”

    WhatsApp assures users that the service will still offer the same level of security and end-to-end encryption, even if users opt to connect via a proxy.

    “Connecting via proxy maintains the high level of privacy and security that WhatsApp provides,” the company adds. “Your personal messages will still be protected by end-to-end encryption — ensuring they stay between you and the person you’re communicating with and are not visible to anyone in between, not the proxy servers, WhatsApp, or Meta.”

    The announcement is good news for privacy advocates, journalists, and anyone else who needs to communicate under difficult circumstances or government oppression.

  • Epic CEO: Fortnite Is Returning to iOS in 2023

    Epic CEO: Fortnite Is Returning to iOS in 2023

    Fortnite fans may be in for a nice surprise, with Epic CEO Tim Sweeney saying the game may come back to iOS in 2023.

    Fortnite has been absent from the App Store since Epic and Apple’s legal squabbles. Epic decided to stop paying Apple’s App Store fees, resulting in Fortnite being banned from the App Store and sparking a legal fight between the two companies. After Apple largely won the legal battle, it appears Epic may finally be ready to make peace and try to get Fortnite back on Apple’s platform.

    Sweeney tweeted about the possibility on the last day of 2022:

  • Amazon Is Shutting Down the Consumer Version of Wickr

    Amazon Is Shutting Down the Consumer Version of Wickr

    Amazon has announced it is shutting down Wickr Me, the consumer version of its ultra-secure messaging app.

    Amazon acquired Wickr in June 2021. Wickr is a messaging app that offers end-to-end encryption and does not require a phone number or other identifying information to register. Its security and privacy make it a popular option among government agencies, such as US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), but also among criminals.

    With mounting criticism over how Wickr is used, Amazon has decided to suspend new signups for Wickr Me and ultimately shut the service down altogether:

    At Wickr, we’ve served a diverse set of customers that range from the boardroom to the battlefield. Since AWS acquired Wickr in 2021, we’ve listened closely to our customers to better understand their requirements for end-to-end encryption. After careful consideration, we will be concentrating Wickr’s focus on securing our business and public sector customers’ data and communications with AWS Wickr and Wickr Enterprise, and have decided to discontinue our consumer product, Wickr Me. As a result, we will not accept user registrations for Wickr Me after December 31, 2022, and will discontinue Wickr Me on December 31, 2023.

  • Dark Sky Weather App Is Officially Dead

    Dark Sky Weather App Is Officially Dead

    The highly-rated Dark Sky weather has reached the end of its life, with January 1, 2023 marking the end of its path.

    Apple purchased the Dark Sky weather app in early 2020. The app gained popularity by offering hyperlocal weather information. Apple purchased the app to incorporate its features into the iOS Weather app.

    Fans of the app can still access the website for a couple more months, according to the company blog:

    As previously announced, the Dark Sky iOS app will no longer be available beginning on December 31st, 2022 and, as of this date, already purchased versions of the app will no longer provide weather data. The Dark Sky API and website will continue to function until March 31st, 2023.

  • Microsoft Excel Finally Gets Formula Suggestions

    Microsoft Excel Finally Gets Formula Suggestions

    Microsoft Excel is getting a major new feature, one that Google Sheets has had for some time, namely Formula Suggestions.

    Formula Suggestions are an important feature, especially for new users, helping them gain an understanding of how formulas work. Google Sheets has had the feature since last year, but Microsoft Excel is finally catching up.

    The company made the announcement as part of their December 2022 update:

    Welcome to the December 2022 update. We are excited to announce the release of Formula Suggestions and Formula by Example for Excel web users – a couple exciting capabilities designed to help save you time and learn more about Excel formulas as you use them. Also for web users are suggested links, IMAGE function, and a new search bar in the queries pane. For Windows users, a new keyboard shortcut is available to open the Power Query editor, and Insiders users on Windows can now get data from dynamic arrays and create nested Power Query data types to better organize your data.

  • Windows Notepad Is Getting Tab Support

    Windows Notepad Is Getting Tab Support

    Windows 11 Notepad is getting a major upgrade, with the app poised to receive tab support.

    Tabs are commonplace in web browsers and continue to make their way into other applications. Windows 11 File Explorer added tabs earlier this year, and Microsoft appears poised to add tabs to Notepad as well.

    According to Windows Central, a Microsoft employee tweeted a screenshot of the feature before deleting it.

    Windows 11 Notepad Tabs – Credit Windows Central

    The feature will be a welcome improvement to Notepad.

  • Jack Dorsey Commits $1 Million per Year to Fund Signal

    Jack Dorsey Commits $1 Million per Year to Fund Signal

    Tech icon Jack Dorsey has committed $1 million per year to help fund encrypted messaging app Signal.

    Signal is a popular encrypted messaging app that competes with WhatsApp, iMessage, and Telegram, although it is widely considered to be far more secure than any of them. The app is developed by the Signal Technology Foundation, a nonprofit charity.

    Writing in a blog post, Dorsey announced his intentions:

    To accelerate open internet and protocol work, I’m going to open a new category of #startsmall grants: “open internet development.” It will start with a focus of giving cash and equity grants to engineering teams working on social media and private communication protocols, bitcoin, and a web-only mobile OS. I’ll make some grants next week, starting with $1mm/yr to Signal. Please let me know other great candidates for this money.

    Signal is used around the world by journalists, activists, politicians, military units, business leaders, and individuals. Donations and grants like Dorsey’s go a long way toward helping the foundation continue developing the app and maintaining the security so many rely on.

  • Adobe/Microsoft Collaboration Brings Full PDF Support to Teams

    Adobe/Microsoft Collaboration Brings Full PDF Support to Teams

    Adobe and Microsoft are collaborating to bring full PDF viewing and editing support to Microsoft Teams.

    Microsoft Teams is the leading corporate messaging platform. Until now, working with PDFs was a weak point, one that has been solved by close collaboration between Microsoft and Adobe. Collaboration between the two companies allows Adobe Acrobat to be the default PDF handler for Team, providing full viewing and editing support.

    “The Acrobat app in Teams allows for viewing, editing, exporting, organizing, combining, converting, compressing, protecting, accessing PDFs from Teams chats, channels, OneDrive or SharePoint,” writes Tulika Gupta, Adobe Senior Product Marketing Manager, Strategic Partnerships & Integrations. “You can use Acrobat for Microsoft Teams as a Personal Tab, Bot, Tab, Message Action, or Message Extension. We had also added Single Sign-On (SSO) and introduced the personal tab — a home page for curating all your recent documents, tools, and collaboration into one view.”

    The improved integration should go a long way toward streamlining workflows.

    “Given Teams is where you’re already having the conversation with your colleagues, there is no longer the additional burden of providing context (say goodbye to those emails),” Gupta adds. “You can also get notified when comments are added to PDFs directly in Teams. All comments get recorded on a single version of the PDF stored in SharePoint or OneDrive (by default) as the ‘single source of the truth.’”

    The integration of Acrobat and Teams demonstrates what is possible when companies work together to make their products and services interoperable.

  • Picture-in-Picture Call Support Coming to iOS WhatsApp

    Picture-in-Picture Call Support Coming to iOS WhatsApp

    WhatsApp on iOS is finally getting Picture-in-Picture (PiP) support for video calls, with the company confirming the new feature.

    PiP allows a person to continue watching a video while multitasking and using their other apps. The feature is common among media apps, but is equally useful for video calling apps.

    WhatsApp announced the new feature in a blog post:

    Picture in Picture on iOS: Now in beta testing and rolling out in 2023, easily multitask while on a call thanks to a minimized in-call video screen.

    The new feature will be a welcome quality-of-life improvement for the messaging platform.

  • WhatsApp’s ‘View Once’ May Come to Text Messages

    WhatsApp’s ‘View Once’ May Come to Text Messages

    WhatsApp’s “View Once” feature may expand beyond photos and videos, with the company reportedly looking to bring it to text messages.

    WhatsApp has had the ability to send View Once pictures and videos for some time, but the feature has been noticeably absent from text messages. According to WeBetaInfo, an unreleased beta shows the company may finally be unveiling the feature.

    WeBetaInfo describes the feature below:

    As you can see in this screenshot, there is a new special button placed next to the chat bar. If you look at the send button carefully, you can notice there is a lock symbol within the button: it means you’re sending a view once text. But what’s a view once text? As you can imagine, the view once text will disappear from the conversation when the recipient opens it so it is not possible to read the view once text again. Note that, since this feature is under development, the layout of the view once text bubble and the send button may change before the release.

    This is very useful when you share very important information and you want to immediately delete them from the recipient’s phone for added privacy so you don’t even need to delete the view once text for everyone since it will be automatically deleted. As happens with view once images and videos, it is not possible to forward and copy view once text messages. About screenshots, they should also be blocked but we will give you a confirmation when a future update is out.

    WhatsApp View Once – Credit WeBetaInfo

    If WeBetaInfo is correct, this new feature would be a major addition to WhatsApp, giving people even more privacy options.

  • YouTube App Is Causing Some Apple TVs to Lock Up

    YouTube App Is Causing Some Apple TVs to Lock Up

    Apple TV users are experiencing problems with YouTube, with the app causing some Apple TVs to lock up.

    Apple TV is a popular streaming device that offers a variety of apps and services, including YouTube. Unfortunately, users are reporting an issue when trying to exit the app.

    First noticed by MacRumors, users have been taking to Twitter and Reddit to discuss the issue. It appears to happen when users try to press the Back button on their remote to exit the app, prompting a confirmation dialogue. Once confirmed, the Apple TV appears to lock up, with the TV screen going black. The only way to recover is to force-quit the app, or unplug the replug the Apple TV.

    YouTube’s response on Twitter has not been especially helpful, or shed much light on the matter:

    sorry for the trouble! if you haven’t yet try restarting your device. deleting the app + reinstalling its latest version can also help

    TeamYouTube (@TeamYouTube), December 11, 2022

    Hopefully YouTube will roll out an update soon that will fix the issue permanently.

  • Apple Music Sing Brings Karaoke to Apple Music

    Karaoke fans are in for a treat, thanks to a new feature Apple is introducing called Apple Music Sing.

    Apple Music has had lyrics support for some time, but Apple Music Sing will take it to the next level with adjustable vocals, real-time lyrics, background vocals, and duet view.

    “Apple Music’s lyrics experience is consistently one of the most popular features on our service,” said Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president of Apple Music and Beats. “We already know our users all over the world love to follow along to their favorite songs, so we wanted to evolve this offering even further to enable even more engagement around music through singing. It’s really a lot of fun, our customers are going to love it.”

    The feature will debut later in December and can be used on the iPhone, iPad, and the latest Apple TV 4K.

  • Sunbird Promises to Bring iMessage to Android

    Sunbird Promises to Bring iMessage to Android

    Sunbird is a promising Android messaging app that plans to bring iMessage to Android phones, ending the green vs blue bubble debate.

    Messaging is one of the biggest compatibility issue between Android and iOS. Apple’s devices use iMessage, which provides a wealth of features, such as group administration, read receipts, file sharing, encryption, and more. Unfortunately, when iOS users text Android users, Apple’s devices fall back to plain SMS text messages instead of the newer RCS messages that duplicate iMessage’s features.

    Sunbird aims to address the issue with a new app that will allow Android users to send and receive iMessages as if they were on an iPhone. The solution is much simpler than competing options that require a Mac server to act as an intermediary.

    In addition to bridging the green vs blue bubble divide, Sunbird plans to add full support for traditional SMS, as well as other popular messaging services and apps, such as Signal, Telegram, and WhatsApp. This will make Sunbird a one-stop-shop for all messaging on Android.

    Google has long been a proponent of Apple adopting RCS as its fallback protocol, making the argument that it would have no impact on communication between Apple devices. It would only be used when an Apple user texts an Android users, and would offer the same safety features iMessage provides.

    Despite the common sense sanity of Google’s argument, Apple CEO Tim Cook has indicated the company has no intention of supporting RCS, telling people who ask to ‘get an iPhone.’ Hopefully, Sunbird can solve the issue once and for all.

    In the meantime, users who want to sign up can use this link:

    https://sunbirdapp.com/?r=jestl

    Disclaimer: This link will give the author referrals, bumping his position in the waitlist with a view to gain earlier access for review purposes.

  • Mozilla Acquires Pulse Team for Machine Learning Projects

    Mozilla Acquires Pulse Team for Machine Learning Projects

    Mozilla has acquired the Pulse team, a group of developers behind a popular Slack status update tool of the same name.

    It’s fairly rare for Mozilla to make an acquisition. As a result, when the organization does it’s worth taking note. Pulse was a powerful status updating tool that could automatically update individuals’ status based on calendar appointments and more.

    Despite Pulse closing shop, Mozilla clearly sees potential in what the Pulse team accomplished, specifically in the realm of machine learning.

    “I’m proud to announce that we have acquired Pulse, an incredible team that has developed some truly novel machine learning approaches to help streamline the digital workplace,” wrote chief product officer Steve Teixeira. “The products that Raj, Jag, Rolf, and team have built are a great demonstration of their creativity and skill, and we’re incredibly excited to bring their expertise into our organization. They will spearhead our efforts in applied ethical machine learning, as we invest to make Mozilla products more personal, starting with Pocket. “

    Teixeira says the two companies had similar goals and vision of what is needed when building products for consumers.

    “Which explains why we were so excited when we began talking to the Pulse team,” Teixeira. “It became immediately obvious that we both fundamentally agree that the world needs a model where automated systems are built from day one with individual people as the primary beneficiary. Mozilla, with an almost 25 year history of building products with people and privacy at their core, is the right organization to do that. And with Pulse as part of our team, we can move even more quickly to set a new example for the industry.”

    Teixeira says the team’s work will eventually make its way into Mozilla’s entire portfolio of products.

  • Mozilla Releases Firefox Translation, a Local, Non-Cloud Extension

    Mozilla Releases Firefox Translation, a Local, Non-Cloud Extension

    Mozilla has released a local, non-cloud translation extension, Firefox Translation, providing a private and secure alternative.

    Translation extensions are among the most popular add-ons available for Firefox, but Mozilla has created a new one that focuses on privacy. The vast majority of translation extensions rely on cloud-based services, uploading text to complete the translation. Needless to say, this poses a privacy and security risk, especially for sensitive content.

    According to Mozilla, this new add-on “was developed with The Bergamot Project Consortium, coordinated by the University of Edinburgh with partners Charles University in Prague, the University of Sheffield, University of Tartu, and Mozilla.”

    The Firefox Translation extension is designed to do all translation locally, on the user’s computer, without uploading anything to the cloud.

    Mozilla notes the following requirement:

    A CPU that supports SSE4.1 extensions is required for this addon to function properly. If it doesn’t, an error will be displayed when the translation is being started.

    Users can find out more and download the extension here.