Angeni blog

A Quick Tour of Google Chrome 9: Instant Search, 3D, and Apps

Google has launched version 9 of its , which features Chrome Instant search, a speed enhancer that loads Web pages as you type a URL. Other notable upgrades include WebGL support for hardware-accelerated 3D graphics, as well as access to Google's new .

Chrome users don't have to do anything to upgrade to version 9, which downloads and installs automatically. You'll see this message when the upgrade is complete, and Chrome needs to restart:

For most users, Chrome Instant will be the most noticeable change. It's turned off by default, however. To activate it, go to the Basics tab of Chrome's options and check the box in the Search section:

With Instant enabled, most Web pages will load as soon as you type a URL in the search box (or "omnibox" in Google's parlance). In the example below, the PCWorld site appeared as soon as I typed "pc" in the omnibox.

WebGL support brings hardware-accelerated 3D graphics to the browser--without the need for additional software. Google's , for instance, uses WebGL to employ a computer's GPU to speed up rendering of 3D graphics:

Lastly, Chrome users in the United States can now access the :

There's a link to the store on the New Tab page, plus two sample apps. If you ignore the sample apps, they'll eventually disappear.

Overall, Chrome 9 adds some compelling upgrades while retaining the speed and simplicity that makes Google's browser so compelling. Do check it out.

Contact Jeff Bertolucci via Twitter ) or at .

U.N.'s Ban calls for Egypt transition to start now

LONDON (Reuters) – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for restraint in Egypt Thursday and said the transition of power should start now.

"There have been calls for transition, very orderly, peaceful transition. If a transition needs to be taken, the sooner the better .. The transition should begin now," Ban told a news conference in London.

The leaders of France, Germany, Britain, Italy and Spain also called for a rapid transition of power after days of protests against the rule of President Hosni Mubarak. Six people have been killed and more than 800 wounded.

"I'm concerned about the growing violence. I have urged all sides to exercise restraint. Violent attacks against peaceful protesters are completely unacceptable," Ban said.

"We should not underestimate the danger of instability across the Middle East," he said, adding the U.N. stood ready to support bold reforms needed to meet people's aspirations.

Asked about reports of harassment of reporters, Ban said: "The freedom of speech, whether (of) peaceful demonstrators or journalists, should be fully guaranteed and protected. The government should listen very attentively to the wishes of the people."

Transition should be orderly and peaceful, he said.

"I have urged all parties to engage in such a process without delay, with full respect for human rights, in particular the freedom of speech, expression, association and information."

(Reporting by Adrian Croft, Jonathan Saul; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

Hansbrough leads No. 9 Notre Dame

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Ben Hansbrough scored 25 points and Carleton Scott had 12 points and 11 rebounds to lead No. 9 Notre Dame to its fifth straight win, 76-69 victory over Rutgers on Sunday.

The Irish (19-4, 8-3) reclaimed sole possession of second place in the Big East behind No. 4 Pittsburgh and will host No. 15 Louisville on Wednesday.

Scott Martin had 14 points for Notre Dame and Tim Abromaitis added 10.

Jonathan Mitchell scored 24 points for Rutgers (12-11, 3-8) while Dane Miller added 11.

Notre Dame was 27 of 34 from the free throw line and scored only two field goals over the last 8 minutes. Rutgers was 8 of 12 from the line.

Notre Dame pulled away from a 7-7 tie with a 17-6 run that included five straight points and a nice assist by Hansbrough. The Irish stretched the lead to 25-15 before a 3-pointer by the Scarlet Knights' James Beatty started a 7-0 run and got Rutgers within 25-22.

Notre Dame led 37-33 at halftime with Hansbrough scoring 10 points.

The teams battled evenly in the second half before two free throws by Martin started an 8-2 run that made it 51-43 with 12:36 to play. Consecutive 3-pointers by Rutgers made it a two-point game before a layup by Hansbrough sparked an 11-2 run that gave the Irish a 62-51 lead.

Super Bowl begins, Steelers receive opening kick

ARLINGTON, Texas – Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers have one first down and have punted twice on their first two possessions in the 2011 Super Bowl against the Green Bay Packers.

The Packers got 23-yard pass from Aaron Rodgers to Donald Driver on their first possession, but that was their only first down before punting.

The championship game puts the focus back on the field after a long, cold week in North Texas that included two wintry storms with snow and ice. There were no weather woes inside $1.2 billion Cowboys Stadium, and it wasn't bad outside either on game day.

The game comes 3 1/2 weeks before the current collective bargain agreement expires. If the NFL and the players' union can't reach a new labor pact, there could be a lockout.

Deion Sanders, one of seven former players elected to the Hall of Fame this weekend, tossed the coin. The Packers won the toss, and deferred their choice to the start of the second half.

The 45th Super Bowl, the NFL's signature event, pitted two of its storied franchises and capped a season that saw the league reach new heights of popularity despite a string of off-field incidents and that potential lockout with the current CBA expiring next month.

The Steelers came in looking for their seventh Vince Lombardi Trophy. Green Bay has three, taking the first two Super Bowls under Lombardi's guidance and winning another in 1997.

The Packers also won six NFL championship games before there was a Super Bowl. In an age of tweeting players and 24/7 Super Bowl week coverage, these teams would probably look familiar to the Steelers and Packers of 1933, the first year both franchises were in the league.

Each has a dynamic defense led by the top two vote-getters for Defensive Player of the Year, Steelers safety Troy Polamalu and Packers linebacker Clay Matthews, the runner-up. Both have playmaking quarterbacks who have risen to elite status, Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger and Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers.

Pittsburgh won the AFC North, earning the second seed, while the Packers got into the playoffs as a wild-card and beat three division champions on the road to reach the Super Bowl.

If it comes down to the quarterbacks, each team will be fine with that. Rodgers has been unstoppable in the last five games, all must wins. Roethlisberger was hoping to join Tom Brady and Troy Aikman with three Super Bowl rings, and he's only in his seventh pro season.

Even as Super Bowl events came off on schedule, the wintery weather this week disrupted travel and celebrations all week. Falling ice injured several people outside Cowboys Stadium two days before the game.

There were hassles on game day. A section of temporary seats high up in the western end of cavernous Cowboys Stadium were not ready in time and the NFL said anyone not "accommodated with seats inside the stadium" will receive three times face value of the ticket.

Thai and Cambodian troops in deadly clash near temple

BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thai and Cambodian soldiers exchanged fire in a two-hour border clash on Friday that killed two Cambodian soldiers and a Thai villager, the latest in an ancient feud over land surrounding a 900-year-old Hindu temple.

The fatalities were the first in the militarized border area since a Thai soldier was shot dead a year ago and could rekindle diplomatic tensions between the Southeast Asian neighbors over the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple.

Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said Cambodia would file a complaint with the U.N. Security Council, accusing Thailand of invading Cambodian territory.

Both sides accused each other of firing first in the 4.6-sq-km (two-sq-mile) disputed area around Preah Vihear, a jungle-clad escarpment claimed by both countries and scene of deadly, sporadic clashes in recent years.

Several Thai soldiers were also wounded and four Thai villages were evacuated, Thai media reported. Five Thai soldiers were captured, said army spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd.

"It seems to have been a result of a misunderstanding," Thai army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha told reporters. "There is no point in fighting because it could escalate and damage relations... We don't want that."

The Cambodian government accused the Thai army of targeting Cambodian villagers and said the fighting erupted when Thai soldiers illegally entered Cambodia territory.

"We said to them 'don't come in the area' and they still came. We fired into the air and they began to shoot at us," said Cambodian government spokesman Khieu Kanharith.

The U.S. State Department said it was closely monitoring events on the Thai-Cambodian border.

"The United States urges both sides to exercise maximum restraint and take all necessary steps to reduce tensions and avoid further conflict," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said.

CLASH MAY SPUR THAI NATIONALIST PROTEST

The clash comes three days after a Cambodian court handed down jail terms of six and eight years to two Thai nationalists found guilty of trespassing and spying in the border region, a verdict that has angered some in Thailand.

Shelling began at about 3 p.m. (0800 GMT) and continued into early evening. Artillery shells landed at several villages on the Thai side, setting at least four houses on fire, witnesses said.

A Thai police colonel, Chatchawan Kaewchandee, said at least one villager was killed during the shelling. "We found one body of a male villager and there might be more," he said.

The fighting could give a boost to a small but prolonged protest by Thailand's "yellow shirt" activists demanding Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva take a tougher line against Cambodia.

Chamlong Srimuang, a yellow shirt leader, said his group would step up pressure on the government, saying the fighting showed that Abhisit was weak in handling border tensions.

"We have warned about this sort of thing for a long time. We didn't call for a clash just for the government to show our military strength precisely to prevent any clash from taking place," he told reporters.

The temple, known as Preah Vihear in Cambodia and Khao Phra Viharn in Thailand, sits on land that forms a natural border and has been a source of tension for generations.

The International Court of Justice awarded it to Cambodia in 1962 but the ruling did not determine the ownership of the scrub next to the ruins, leaving considerable scope for disagreement.

The fighting coincided with meetings in Cambodia between Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya and his Cambodian counterpart aimed at reducing tensions.

(Additional reporting by Prak Chan Thul in Phnom Penh; Writing by Jason Szep; Editing by Nick Macfie and Paul Simao)