Mihăiță Bamburic

Mozilla is the nonprofit organization that gave the world the first true rival to Microsoft Internet Explorer. Firefox is the second-most used web browser in the world today and because of it the way we surf the Internet has changed dramatically.

Their success was in part based on the lack of competitors. Firefox started gaining share when there was no one else around. Opera didn’t capitalize on this, but Firefox did. Their goal to penetrate the most difficult market has been achieved and it’s their desire to enter the mobile operating system world as well. Is this going to be tougher than the browser market? Considering that they haven’t yet released Firefox OS the answer is a very loud and clear: yes!

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Credit and debit cards haven’t evolved much since their introduction. The principle behind any payment card is the same now as it was 50 years ago. You pay with a plastic card, which is the opposite of technology evolution. It’s something that’s a given in our lives: we can’t live without one. But can we?

The residents of the old Continent, Europe, are still reluctant to let go of cash, as 57 percent of all purchases are still paid the old fashioned way. Credit cards can’t change that, and it looks like nothing can that’s already on the market. The solution to this problem? An entirely new technology, near field communications.

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Fifth in a series. To commemorate iPhone's fifth-anniversary, we present several stories looking at its debut and colorful history -- so far.

I remember my first smartphone -- Sony Ericsson W950i. It had no camera, but a touchscreen (you probably don't know how horrible touchscreens were before the iPhone) and ran Symbian 9.1. I got all this and a 2.6-inch display. It sounded great at the time, but wasn't enough. Before iPhone, I didn't think much of smartphones. They didn't feel special, with the OS being a big reason why. I didn't much like Symbian, and Windows Mobile was a miniaturized Windows, which didn't do it any favors.

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Apple's ridiculous patent assault against Samsung finally hits Google, which suddenly looks genius for choosing Asus to manufacture the Nexus 7 tablet. On Friday, US District Judge Lucy Koh issued a preliminary injunction against Galaxy Nexus, which is Google's flagship, stock Android smartphone. Days earlier she barred Galaxy Tab 10.1. For the preliminary injunction to go into effect, Apple must first put up $96 million.

What timing. To preview Android 4.1 Jellybean, the company gave one to each of more than 5,000 developers during Google I/O earlier this week. The new OS releases to Motorola XOOM tablets and Galaxy Nexus in mid-July, making the smartphone the first to get the important upgrade. The preliminary injunction would somewhat stymie Jellybean distribution ahead of iO6, which Apple is months from releasing. New features include voice response, that in BetaNews testing smoke Apple's Siri. If you're thinking about buying Galaxy Nexus, don't wait!

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By now, we've all seen the Nexus 7 tablet, Google's first attempt to penetrate the tablet market directly. For $199, the Nexus 7 will be a huge hit among tablet fans worldwide. It will be directly supported by Google, which means updates will actually be released on time. That is a major advantage over any other Android tablet currently on the market, and will remain an advantage over future ones as well. Google is known to deliver a consistent "stock" Android experience, which is what most cutting-edge tech fans love.

But what about the next Google Nexus phone? It’s totally overshadowed by the tablet right now, so it's a perfect time to think about what's next for the Nexus brand.

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What does security software even mean now? It’s such a vast concept that it can cover everything from file scanning to parental controls and everything in between. It pretty much covers everything except someone telling us, "Don’t do that, you’re going to regret it!"

It is the most quickly evolving type of software that we run on our computers, but it hardly gets noticed.

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Facebook has really made waves among its users by changing the contact email address information in personal profiles.

In a move meant to popularize Facebook's own email service, users have been given an @facebook.com email address with the same address as the one in their personal URL. For instance, now you have idontcareaboutfacebook@facebook.com if you had the URL www.facebook.com/idontcareaboutfacebook. I believe that is the best news Facebook could have given to those 800 million users, and I think it’s the best thing they’ve done so far.

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In light of the recent news that Google finished the acquisition of Motorola Mobility, one has to wonder which direction Motorola is heading.

Google claims it has not acquired Motorola just for the patents (though that is a great bonus if I’m being honest), but rather that Motorola's technical know-how and experience will be a great card up Google’s sleeve.

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Apple is one of the single software companies that hasn't really faced the problem of viruses, for years claiming their operating system is the most secure among all. Seemingly every Mac user claims that his or her computer is the safest and greatest -- they’re invincible!

But those claims collapse as Apple products grow in popularity. Back in April 2012, Flashback infected 670,000 Macs worldwide. The Mac maker responded so well it needed to do the job twice, as the first security patch wasn’t so good. In light of all this one has to wonder whether Apple needs to call it quits and just admit defeat.

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Just ahead of Google I/O 2012, The Street claims that "Android users don't know enough to matter". Interesting story, especially considering the timing, and one that’s bound to stir lots of criticism just because it puts down all Android fans in the world.

There are plenty of references, but they sustain a flawed point of view.

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People can't stop talking about Microsoft Surface. It’s a very hot and disputed topic. Some critics say that the tablets (there are two) will fail, while others are enthusiastic. There's heated discussion about price, too.

For me and many others like me, Surface is the only tablet that can be used for more than common tasks -- certainly not Apple's iPad. Windows is a very powerful platform, and most professionals need it for work. I want to tell you why you need Surface.

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In a recent interview Linus Torvalds, the mastermind behind the Linux kernel, said that the operating system is not as popular as Windows on consumer PCs because it doesn’t come preinstalled. Manufacturers sell the computers they make with an operating system on board, which most of the time is Windows. Why can’t it be Linux instead?

According to Net Applications, in 2011, sales estimates have Linux at roughly 1.5 percent usage share on desktop and laptop computers. Windows on the other hand was evaluated at 92 percent in the same estimate.  The discrepancy in sales points out few of the issues that Linux has to overcome in order to reach a broader market adoption, but it can also provide a solution.

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Editor's Note: This is the first of two reviews we will run over the next day, as the first Galaxy S IIIs go on sale here in the United States. However, these reviews cover the international models, which offer faster processors but no LTE.

Starting at the end of May, Samsung is in the process of launching worldwide its new flagship smartphone, Galaxy S III, or i9300 as it's designated internationally. Customers in Europe get the HSPA+ (21Mbps download, 5.76Mbps upload) model, while those in the United States and Canada will get the LTE variant. So what’s it like to live with a Samsung Galaxy S III? Just awesome. I know that's a spoiler, but you must have expected it.

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