Latest news with #webbrowser
Gizmodo
2 days ago
- Gizmodo
Download Chromium (free) for Windows, macOS, Android, APK and Linux
While Chromium is not a standalone web browser, it offers a clean, open, and customizable base for creating and testing one, which makes it a perfect choice if you're a developer or researcher of modern web technologies. As an open-source project from Google, it's completely transparent, and you can check its code and all the details on the Chromium project repository. You can use it to build a customized browser that isn't linked to any corporation, so you have complete control over how it uses user data. Many browsers use Chromium as a base since it supports modern web standards, and you can be sure that it will be able to render even the most complex applications quickly and reliably. This browser project is powered by V8 JavaScript and Blink rendering engines that are known for their reliable performance. Since it doesn't include any proprietary modules, with Chromium, you have no background tracking, collection of telemetry data, or automatic synchronization with commercial services, for example, from Google. You can keep every piece of data that Chromium collects locally unless you explicitly integrate it into a different service. Because of these features, you can find Chromium as the basis for many privacy-focused web browsers that are not related to Google. You can download the Chromium codebase and compile it to run on various platforms like Windows, macOS, Linux, BSD, or mobile operating systems. It follows the industry standard of write once, deploy anywhere, and adjusting it to different systems will only require making minimal adjustments. Chromium also has a multi-process architecture, meaning that each tab you open is isolated into its own sandbox and process, improving the performance and stability of the browser you build. With Chromium, you don't get automatic updates in the background, which can be a major benefit if you need to work in a highly controlled or secure environment. You can review each update manually and then decide whether to apply it. Chromium also doesn't include a built-in sync for user accounts or bookmarks, support for Flash, media codecs, or DRM (Widevine), which enables streaming services like Netflix, so keep that in mind when working on your custom solution. It's a project more targeted at developers, as it gives you access to tools like page inspection, memory and network monitoring, JavaScript debugging, and performance profiling out of the box. All of those are crucial when you need to test a website, create a web app, or develop browser extensions and review them in real-world conditions.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
The Browser Company launches its AI-first browser, Dia, in beta
Traditional web tools are facing an existential crisis as AI products and tools increasingly eat up attention — and therefore market share and money — from a wide swathe of products that people have used for years to interact with the internet. At least, that's what The Browser Company seems to think is happening. The company last year decided to stop developing its popular web browser Arc, acknowledging that while Arc was popular among enthusiasts, it never hit scale as it presented too steep a learning curve to reach mass adoption. The startup has since been heads-down on developing a browser that bakes in AI at the heart of the browser. That browser, called Dia, is now available for use in beta, though you'll need an invite to try it out. The Browser Company's CEO Josh Miller has of late acknowledged how people have been using AI tools for all sorts of tasks, and Dia is a reflection of that. By giving users an AI interface within the browser itself, where a majority of work is done these days, the company is hoping to slide into the user flow and give people an easy way to use AI, cutting out the need to visit the sites for tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity and Claude. Up front, Dia presents a straightforward interface. The browser is based on Chromium, the open-source browser project backed by Google, so it has a familiar look and feel. The marquee feature here is the AI smarts, of course. Besides letting you type in website names and search terms, Dia's URL bar acts as the interface for its in-built AI chatbot. The bot can search the web for you, summarize files that you upload, and can automatically switch between chat and search functions. Users can also ask questions about all the tabs they have open, and the bot can even write up a draft based on the contents of those tabs. To set your preferences, all you have to do is talk to the chatbot to customize its tone of voice, style of writing, and settings for coding. Via an opt-in feature called History, you can allow the browser to use seven days of your browsing history as context to answer queries. Another feature called Skills lets you build small snippets of code that act as shortcuts to various settings. For example, you can ask the browser to build a layout for reading, and it'll code something up for you — think Siri shortcuts, but for your browser. Now, we have to note that chatbots in browsers are not a new feature at all. Several browser companies have integrated AI tools into their interfaces — for example, Opera Neon lets users use an AI agent to build mini-applications or complete tasks on their behalf, and Google is also adding AI-powered features to Chrome. The Browser Company says all existing Arc members will get access to Dia immediately, and existing Dia users will be able to send invites to other users. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Forbes
11-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Dia Browser Released — With AI That ‘Knows You Like A Friend'
The Browser Company has released Dia, arguably the first web browser to fully embrace AI. Dia is the successor to the short-lived Arc browser, which The Browser company has sidelined to focus on Dia. It's released in beta form today and will be made available to all Arc members, with others having to join a waitlist. While Arc made significant use of AI – building in features such as webpage summaries and previews of links before you've clicked them – Dia is described as an 'AI browser' with an almost exclusive focus on generative AI. Dia can answer questions on open browser tabs The Browser Company Dia's standout feature has similarities to the controversial Recall that is being built into Windows 11. The browser will remember your previous activity, allowing you to ask the AI to give you a summary of what you've been doing that week or even learn your writing style. 'With every tab that you open, it should feel like this AI model is getting more and more personalized to you, such that at the end of a week of browsing, a month of browsing, let alone a year, it's going to know you as well as your closest friends and colleagues," said Josh Miller, CEO of The Browser Company in a video introducing the browser. What's not immediately clear is how The Browser Company will secure that information. Microsoft's Recall became the subject of a security scandal when an early beta was found to be taking screenshots of personal information that could be accessed by hackers or malware. Microsoft fixed the problem before Recall was made available for general release. The Browser Company has released little detail about how it plans to secure the information stored by Dia, other than to say the feature is opt-in. Dia's AI assistant will also be able to read information open in any of your browser tabs. The company claims this solves one of the biggest problems of current AI assistants such as ChatGPT and Gemini, where you must constantly cut and paste information back and forth from the browser. Instead, you'll be able to get the AI to instantly summarize a page or, say, write a response to a Gmail directly in the browser, without having to switch focus. The AI can even scan information stored in multiple tabs. Say, for example, you're buying a new car and have several tabs open with different models you're shortlisting. You'll be able to ask the AI to compare the features of the various cars by asking it to look at all the relevant tabs. The browser is also shipping with what the company calls 'skills'. Default skills included with the browser include Write (which helps you draft passages of text in your own voice) and Code (for help with programming). Skills can also be created to run bespoke tasks. For example, if you didn't want any of the sidebars to show on Facebook, just the main feed, you could ask the AI to make them disappear (this is similar to a feature that was already included in Arc). Skills can also be used to fill web forms with your personal information, for example filling out a job application by pointing the AI to a CV that is published online. While Dia is absolutely betting the farm on AI, other browser makers are certainly embracing it too. Microsoft has built its Copilot assistant into the Edge browser, while Opera has integrated ChatGPT and its own Aria AI into its software. Others remain more skeptical of AI. Vivaldi, for example, has eschewed built-in AI in favor of user privacy, while Firefox maker Mozilla has spoken out against Google's plans to build Gemini into its Chrome browser, arguing that it could harm browser competition. The Browser Company will simply be hoping that the Dia browser makes more of an impact than Arc, which was well received by reviewers, but didn't come close to disrupting the big beasts of the browser business.
Android Authority
05-06-2025
- Business
- Android Authority
Perplexity's Google Chrome rival is coming to Android soon, Windows sooner
Ryan Haines / Android Authority TL;DR Perplexity's AI-driven web browser has received a soft launch date, thanks to a recent AMA with the company's CEO. The company is targeting an announcement of some type this Fall. The browser should also arrive on desktop platforms, including Windows and macOS. In February, Perplexity announced plans for an AI-powered web browser called Comet. This 'browser for agentic search' aims to establish the company as a gateway to the web for curious users. Although the announcement did not include a launch date, CEO Aravind Srinivas has indicated that Android users might not have to wait long. During a recent AMA on Reddit, Srinivas mentioned that Comet for Android is 'progressing quite well and fast,' and users can 'expect something in the Fall.' While still somewhat vague, it does mean that Android users could receive the new AI browser sooner rather than later. Notably, the company also confirmed that the browser's macOS and Windows versions will roll out simultaneously, with the beta version rolling out to the latter platform next week. Regarding features, Comet may offer some innovative options alongside its Perplexity-powered search experience. In response to a question about Perplexity games and AI-powered teaching tools, Srinivas stated that these features will be 'doable' within Comet. The company is also planning to integrate its productivity tool Labs within the AI browser. Perplexity has plenty of other services and products it could bolt on, including its content discovery smarts, finance tools, and collaborative tool Spaces. However, once Comet launches on Android, it will face competition from established browsers like Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox and newer entrants like Arc Search and The Browser Company's upcoming project, Dia. Thankfully, we don't have to wait too long to see how it'll fare. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
Wall Street Journal
08-05-2025
- Wall Street Journal
Google-Parent Alphabet Shares Decline as More People Use AI for Search
The threat of artificial intelligence just became more real for Google, after it was revealed that there was a drop in Google search traffic on the Safari web browser. WSJ's Dan Gallagher explains. Photo Illustration: Elise Dean
