plug-ins

Browser add-on Xmarks has introduced a major new synchronization feature over the past few weeks for its multiple browser plug-ins that lets users sync open tabs across multiple browsers and computers. The new feature (download Xmarks for Firefox | Chrome | Internet Explorer | Safari) offers far better control over tab opening than merely forcing all your tabs to appear on all your computers and browsers. Instead, Xmarks politely tells you which tabs are synced under which browsers and lets you open them individually.

Once the add-on is installed, you'll be asked to create an account if you don't have one. … Read more

SAN DIEGO--Toyota will put a small test fleet of its first plug-in hybrids into the hands of U.S. drivers starting in June.

The 150 Prius plug-ins will go to individuals, businesses, and government agencies as part of a global demonstration before the vehicle goes on sale in 2012.

The test fleet will allow Toyota to assess its first lithium ion battery, introduce consumers to its plug-ins, and monitor how drivers use the vehicles.

"We want to know if people pay attention to their energy use," Jaycee Chitwood, manager of advanced technologies for Toyota Motor Sales U.S.… Read more

The stable build of Google Chrome has updated, introducing seven security patches to the browser. Version 4.1.249.1059 for Windows incorporates four high-priority security fixes and three medium-priority ones.

The high-priority fixes, introduced Tuesday, correct type confusion errors with forums, memory corruption in the V8 JavaScript engine bindings, cross-site scripting vulnerabilities on the Chrome downloads page, and HTTP request errors. The first two corrections earned user "kuzzcc" $500 each in Google Chrome's vulnerability discovery rewards program.

The medium-priority errors involved local file reference through developer tools, cross-site scripting in chrome://net-internals, and the discovery that … Read more

Think will begin selling its all-electric City cars in the New York metropolitan area within the coming months, the company said Thursday.

Think's City model is a highway-legal electric vehicle that runs solely on a lithium ion battery system and gives off zero emissions. The car, which has a top speed of 60 mph, can be charged from either a standard U.S. 110-volt household outlet, or a fast-charging 220-volt station that can be installed for home use. The small two-door car, clearly intended for city driving and parking, has a battery system with a range of about 112 … Read more

Apple might be taking a principled stand against Adobe Systems' Flash Player plug-in, but Google opted for pragmatism by choosing to build the plug-in into its Chrome browser.

Google announced its Flash embrace Tuesday on its Chromium blog, but the company has been agitating for months on a related project to improve the security of browser plug-ins. Google wants the Web to be the foundation for applications, but it doesn't want the security and crash problems plug-ins can bring.

Specifically, Google said it will distribute Flash with Chrome, update it automatically, and eventually put Flash in Chrome's sandbox … Read more

Palm is hoping its new developer's kit can lead to better games and richer apps for its smartphone users.

Palm announced on Tuesday that a public beta version of its new WebOS Plug-in Development Kit (PDK) is ready for developers to download via the company's Developer Center Web site. The PDK lets programmers create plug-ins using C or C++ to enhance existing WebOS applications.

The WebOS is the software platform for Palm's Pre and Pixi smartphones.

Unveiled at this week's Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco, the PDK is being targeted to designers who want … Read more

BOSTON--If the green-tech industry had its equivalent of the iPhone, it would be the electric car, a product that has cachet with consumers. But it's still unclear what will drive sales of plug-ins: will it be consumers willing to pay more for a greener ride or government mandates for fuel efficiency?

Speakers on a panel about electric vehicles on Saturday at the MIT Energy Conference said that both consumers and government policies will drive electric and plug-in hybrid car adoption. But they also expect electric cars will be premium products desired both because they are cleaner than gasoline-only cars … Read more

TOKYO--The Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in hybrid could hit Japan's shores as early as next year and go head-to-head with the country's hybrid and electric vehicles.

Sumito Ishii, managing director of GM Asia Pacific Japan, told reporters that General Motors is studying a Japan launch for the Volt in 2011 or 2012.

The car, which is powered by an electric motor and has a small gasoline engine to recharge the battery, goes on sale in the United States late this year. Ishii said last month that Japan was not part of the Volt's initial global rollout plan, but … Read more

I don't know about you, but most of my product searches start with Google. And most of my online purchases end with me doing some last minute searching for coupon codes.

Billeo Offer Assistant is a Firefox extension that serves up deals and discounts right in your Bing, Google, and Yahoo search results. It's not perfect, but it can definitely save you time--and help you find deals you might otherwise have missed.

After installing the plug-in and restarting Firefox, just search for a product as you normally would. Then look for the Billeo icon next to any of … Read more