Firefox is about to work a lot more like Chrome

Mozilla is beginning to make a series of changes to Firefox that'll make certain aspects of the browser operate a lot more like Chrome. The changes are broadly designed to make Firefox more secure and stable, but they also have the downside of making it less customizable and potentially more of a resource hog.

"DEVELOPERS WHO ALREADY SUPPORT CHROME EXTENSIONS WILL BENEFIT."

There are a few key changes that Mozilla is making to get there. The first is that it's changing how extensions (which Firefox calls "add-ons") connect to the browser. Mozilla is beginning to require that they use a new method that's very similar to what's used by Chrome and Opera. While that means Firefox extensions may need to be rebuilt, it'll mean that Chrome and Opera extensions should be able to add Firefox support with minimal changes. "Developers who already support Chrome extensions will benefit since they will have one codebase to support instead of two," Mozilla writes in a blog post.

Would you like your new SSD in leather, wood, or steel?

When I was a kid, I'd have been happy to just have more than one gadget, but kids these days are a bit more demanding. Their electronic devices have to be portable, versatile, and they have to look amazing too. Call it the Moto X syndrome. Sating that same desire for ever-more-exotic materials in the storage space is a German company by the name of Brinell. It's already collected a Red Dot award (to be fair, almost everyone has one of those by now) for its earlier designs and it's gracing IFA in Berlin this year with a new set of updated solid state drives.The soft nappa leather, available in a choice of black, brown, or white, is joined by a stainless steel option, a faux-carbon look, and a slightly more expensive Makassar ebony variant that also comes with its own leather pouch. Inside those fancied-up exteriors resides a Samsung EVO SSD capable of 420MBps transfers over a USB 3.0 connection. Prices start at €199 ($220) for the 250GB model and escalate up to €599 for a full terabyte of beautifully encased storage. The wooden case adds a €20 surcharge, so the most expensive drive Brinell has to offer will set you back €619 ($685). And if you're still questioning why you might want to wrap your electronics in leather, allow me to direct you to this Droid-Life demonstration of how well some leather ages. The leather Moto X is one of those rare pieces of technology that actually looks better with age.

Huawei's Honor 7i puts the fingerprint sensor on the side and the camera on a swivel

Huawei is a big believer in selfies — so much so that it sought to trademark the term "groufie" last year — and so its latest smartphone naturally endeavors to provide the best selfie camera possible. In order to not compromise or duplicate the photo-taking functionality, the Chinese company has just decided to put the camera on its new Honor 7i on a pivot, so that it can sit on the back and shoot photos as usual or flip over and provide the same quality up front. Beneath the sapphire-protected lens, there's a 13-megapixel sensor with an f/2.0 aperture. The camera's flash is attached to the same pivoting module, so that can also be ready at a moment's notice.

The quirky camera arrangement is intriguing, but others have done similar twisty cameras before with little success. What's more unique about the Honor 7i is that it appears to be the first smartphone with a fingerprint sensor positioned on its side. Otherwise, it's a relatively conventional Android smartphone, running a Snapdragon 616 processor with LTE on a 5.2-inch, 1080p screen, and offering a choice between 2GB of RAM plus 16GB of storage or 3GB of RAM with 32GB of onboard storage. The Huawei Honor 7i is available right away, but only in China, with prices starting at around $250.

Microsoft's Surface Pro 4, Band 2, and new Lumias set for October launch event

Microsoft is planning to hold a massive hardware launch event in October. Sources familiar with Microsoft's plans tell The Verge that the software giant will use the event to unveil two new Lumia handsets, the Surface Pro 4, and a Microsoft Band 2. Chinese site WPDang first reported details of Microsoft's plans, and we can confirm there will be an event to launch multiple new hardware devices.

Microsoft is also planning one or two hardware surprises for the event, we're told. WPDang claims there may be a slimmer Xbox One, but a lack of rumors around Microsoft's console plans suggest this is unlikely. However, Microsoft could use the event to launch more Surface hardware outside of the anticipated Surface Pro 4. A Surface Mini had been planned for an unveiling alongside the Surface Pro 3 last year, but the device was scrapped just weeks before the launch. As we approach Microsoft's October event, we've heard whispers of additional Surface hardware but nothing solid on what form factors will ultimately arrive.

iPhone users can now finally use WhatsApp on the web

Almost eight months after WhatsApp launched its web client for Android users, WhatApp Web finally arrives for iPhone users. WhatsApp for Web will now work with Safari on the Mac.

To use this service, one will have to simply head to the WhatsApp Web website and scan the QR code seen on the desktop via the mobile app. However, this feature has not been rolled out to all the users and will be available in phases. Recently, the service introduced many new features for iPhone users such as the option to mute an individual chat, mark a conversation as read or unread, backup videos and location sharing. In addition, features such as auto loading of older messages was added along with better support for VoiceOver.

Windows 10 release date, features, devices and free upgrade: Everything you need to know about Microsoft's new OS

Mozilla chief slams Microsoft's choice of Edge as default web browser

Windows 10 at-a-glance

Windows 10 was launched globally in 190 countries on 29 July 2015, and Windows Insiders have started to receive their upgrade to the full OS, with Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 users who registered for a free upgrade expecting to see the new OS roll out to them shortly. Here's our round-up of everything you need to know about Windows 10.

·         Windows 10 started rolling out on 29 July 2015 as a phased release

·         Read our full review of Windows 10 

·         Enterprise users can manage company-wide rollouts for Windows 10 updates

·         Microsoft Edge replaces Internet Explorer as Windows 10's default browser

·         Windows 10 is available as a free upgrade during the first year after launch for Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1 consumer edition users, who can reserve their copy right now

·         If they don't upgrade within the year, consumers will be charged from £100

·         Android and iOS apps will run on the new OS

Windows 10 latest news

03/08/15: Mozilla's chief executive Chris Beard has criticised Microsoft because it chose to use its own Edge browser as the default internet software on Windows 10.

Beard explained in a letter to Microsoft's CEO, Satya Nadella, that he is disappointed by the decision, and claimed Microsoft won't let customers choose the browser they want to use, instead forcing them to take up Microsoft's newest browser as the standard choice.

"These changes aren’t unsettling to us because we’re the organisation that makes Firefox. They are unsettling because there are millions of users who love Windows and who are having their choices ignored, and because of the increased complexity put into everyone’s way," Beard said.

"We strongly urge you to reconsider your business tactic here and again respect people’s right to choice and control of their online experience."