TokBox is a web services that allows you to chat with another person using both mic and cam without the need to install anything. All you have to do is register, send a link to the other person (who don’t have to register) and start the conversation.

The service works like any other social network where you can add contacts and leave video messages. Think of your TokBox link as your phone number or email address - once you give it out to someone, they can call or email you at any time.

TokBox have also released their API which means that developers can integrate the system to their own websites. You can download the documentation at www.tokbox.com/view/developer.

YouTube announced in November that they would be testing out encoding videos at higher resolutions (and with higher-quality audio encoding). We’re not talking about HD quality but if you add &fmt=18 to the end of the URL you might get an MP4-encoded version, with better audio and a 480×360 resolution.

The new resolution isn’t set as standard as of yet, but by applying the simple parameter above, or by installing the Firefox add-on Better Youtube (all automatic), you will get the new higher-quality version (if the video’s been made available as MP4).

For registered users it’s even simpler. In the account settings there’s now a section where you can adjust the “Video Playback Quality”. Choose “I have a fast connection. Always play higher-quality video when it’s available” and you will get the MP4 version if available. It does however require that you have an account and are logged in.

However, the benefits of this upgrade strongly relies on the quality of the uploaded movie. Thus it’s the users that in the end determines the outcome of this. Maybe it would be better to have the videos shown in as high quality as the source allowed? Most users have blistering fast connections these days anyway, but I assume Youtube might be somewhat concerned about bandwidth…

What’s your take on this?

Prism is an open source cross-platform prototype of functionality that lets users split web applications out of the browser and run them directly on the desktop.

Prism is part of a series of Mozilla Labs experiments into bridging the divide in the user experience between web and desktop apps and exploring new usability models as the line between those kinds of apps continues to blur.

Firefox 3 is based on the Gecko 1.9 Web rendering platform, which has been under development for the past 31 months. Building on the previous release, Gecko 1.9 has more than 12,000 updates including some major re-architecting to provide improved performance, stability, rendering correctness, and code simplification and sustainability. Firefox 3 has been built on top of this new platform resulting in a more secure, easier to use, more personal product with a lot more under the hood to offer website and Firefox add-on developers.

What’s new in Beta 4?

Firefox 3 Beta 4 includes more than 900 enhancements from the previous beta, including drastic improvements to performance and memory usage, as well as fixes for stability, platform enhancements and user interface improvements. Many of these improvements were based on community feedback from the previous beta.

When may we expect the final release?

If you remember back from the time Firefox 2 came out it only took 2 months after the last Beta until the first official FF2 release. According to the project calendar it looks like there will be a Beta 5 shipping out later this month. If this is the last Beta we might get the first official release before June!

In my mind I think this is going to be the best browser so far and I keep my fingers crossed for an early summer release.

On March 3rd the Web Standards Project (WaSP) announced the release of Acid3, the latest in a line of tests designed to expose flaws in the implementation of mature Web standards in Web browsers. By making sure their software adheres to the test, the creators of these products can be more confident that their software will display and function with Web pages correctly both now and with Web pages of the future.

The Acid3 Test is designed to test specifications for Web 2.0, and exposes potential flaws in implementations of the public ECMAScript 262 and W3C Document Object Model 2 standards. Collectively known as DOM Scripting, it is these technologies that enable advanced page interactivity and power many advanced web applications such as web-based email and on-line office applications.

As a series of 100 mini-tests, Acid3 has already been found to expose flaws in all tested browsers, including Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, and Safari. WaSP hopes that Acid3 will prove useful to browser makers during the development of future versions of their products.