TechTalk: Exploring the Latest Technology News, Updates, Reviews, and Gossip

It's been about 8 months since Google Chrome was launched and Google has now increased their focus on speed and added some of the most-requested features. While some of the improvements made it into the Beta version that was released in March, Google is moving the Beta version to the stable channel for all users to enjoy. Some improvements are - - Improved New Tab Page: The most requested feature from users was the ability to remove thumbnails from the New Tab page. Now you can finally hide that embarrassing gossip blog from the Most Visited section. - Full Screen Mode: If you've ever given a presentation or watched a large video using Google Chrome, you might have wished you could use every last pixel on your screen for the content. Now you can hide the title bar and the rest of the browser window by hitting F11 or selecting the option in the Tools menu. - Form Autofill: Filling out your information in forms over and over again can be tedious. Form autofill helps by showing...

Muslim clerics are seeking ways to regulate online behavior in Indonesia, saying the exploding popularity of social networking sites like Facebook could encourage illicit sex. Around 700 clerics, or imams, gathering in the world's most populous Muslim nation on Thursday were considering guidelines forbidding their followers from going online to flirt or engage in practices they believe could encourage extramarital affairs. Inside Facebook, an independent Palo Alto, Calif.-based blog dedicated to tracking the site, says Indonesia, a nation of 235 million, was the fastest-growing country in Southeast Asia for the site in 2008, with a 645 percent increase to 831,000 users. It is already the most visited site in Indonesia, and with less than 0.5 percent of Indonesia's citizens wired, there is a huge potential for growth. "The clerics think it is necessary to set an edict on virtual networking, because this online relationship could lead to lust, which is forbidden in Islam,...

Google said Wednesday it will reshoot all photos in Japan for its Street View service after residents complained the 360-degree panoramic images provided a view over the fences around their homes. The Internet giant's service has triggered privacy complaints around the world, including most recently in Greece, where it was banned Tuesday. The photos currently on the Web site were taken by cameras mounted on a stick attached to a car roof. Google Japan said it would lower the cameras after many residents said they were high enough to look over fences around their homes, company product manager Keiichi Kawai said in a statement. Others have previously complained that images on the service recorded vehicle license plates and laundry hanging in backyards. Rights groups have also demanded Google suspend the service. Kawai said Google's decision to lower the cameras is designed to address concerns in Japan, where many neighborhoods are crowded and privacy is tightly guarded. Google a...

Google will allow developers to sell applications for its Android cell phone operating system beginning next week in the United States. The move is a further step by the search giant into the mobile phone market, where Apple Inc has encountered success with its iPhone. Developers such as Electronic Arts Inc have been anxious to expand sales of their mobile phone games to the Android Market, which has been limited to free applications until now. Google said in a statement on Friday that consumers will have to pay for the applications via its Google Checkout payment product. Google's Android Market will initially carry paid applications from developers in the United States and Britain, with plans to allow developers in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, France and Spain to participate later this quarter.

Performing two Google searches from a desktop computer can generate the same amount of harmful carbon dioxide as boiling an electric kettle for a cup of tea, according to new research quoted Sunday. A typical search generates about seven grammes of CO2 whereas an electric kettle generates about 15 gm, The Sunday Times quoted a Harvard University physicist as saying. "A Google search has a definite environmental impact," says Alex Wissner-Gross, whose research is due out soon. The newspaper said Google is "secretive" about its energy consumption and carbon footprint, and refuses to divulge the locations of its data centres. "However, with 200 million internet searches estimated globally daily, the electricity consumption and greenhouse gas emissions caused by computers and the internet is provoking concern," the newspaper said. A recent report by information technology analysts Gartner said the global IT industry generates as much greenhouse gas - which con...