Opera 11 Alpha featuring extensions now available to download for PC, Mac and Linux

Opera has always been a fantastic browser with a loyal following, mostly due to the browser's many forward-thinking features… but one area in which they have lagged badly behind the competition is in extension support. Almost every other browser out there supports
extensions - Firefox, Chrome and even Safari - but Opera's add-on functionality has been remedial up till now.

Today's release of the Opera 11 alpha changes all of that. Available for Windows, Mac and Linux, Opera 11 brings support for Opera
Extensions to the browser. It's true that Opera did allow for add-ons
before with the Opera Widgets and Opera Unite systems, but those add-ons were functionally limited. Opera Extensions, on the other hand, allows developers to create new functionality using open standards like JavaScript, HTML5 or CSS, as well as supported APIs. These new features plug directly into the browser.

Extensions aren't the only new thing in Opera 11. The update also comes with a new version of Opera 's layout engine, enhancing support for web standards, improving performance and fixing hundreds of bugs.

Xbox.com got a major facelift this morning

Most of Microsoft's attention these days is leveraged firmly at the launch of Windows Phone 7, but the Xbox 360 is still one of their
major and most successful products, and so it's good to hear courtesy of Major Nelson that
Xbox.com went through a "massive
facelift" this morning. Xbox.com was mostly just a portal for information about the Xbox 360. If you 're registered, you can sign into your Xbox Live account, buy Xbox Live Arcade titles, send messages, etc. What Microsoft wanted to bring to the table now is Windows Phone 7 integration to the site, as well as make the Xbox.com experience more like the dashboard.

Starting today, you'll be able to edit your avatar right through the Xbox.com interface. You'll also be able to play games on the site with your Xbox Live friends, whether you're using the web portal proper or a Windows Phone 7 handset: either way, you 'll rack up achievements and GamerScore. Other new features include a new messaging interface.

Windows 8 leak shows why Microsoft is no Apple

The leak of details about Windows 8 reveals more than information about Microsoft's next operating system - it also shows that Microsoft is no Apple, and never will be. And that's both a good and a bad thing.

Details about Windows 8 were recently leaked, and show a variety of plans for the new version of the operating system, including an apps store, faster startup, and improved energy efficiency. Even more interesting, though, is how the slide deck shows important ways in which Microsoft is unlike Apple, and never will be like Apple.

T3 Magazine (UK) talk about a launch of Windows 8 in July 2011.

Windows Phone Marketplace will have 2000 apps at launch of Windows Phone 7

Today is the official launch of Microsoft's latest mobile operating system, Windows Phone 7, and that means the rest of the day is liable to be chalk full of news, opinions and commentary about the software and hardware that will make up the backbone of a make-or-break effort on Microsoft 's part to regain any semblance of credibility in the mobile market. That's not to say there isn't still navel-gazing and rumor-mongering to do, though.

According to a tipster writing to Engadget, one good piece of news when it comes to Windows Phone 7 is that when it launches, there will already be 2,000 applications waiting to be bought and downloaded from the Windows Phone Marketplace. Okay, that's just a drop compared to the overflowing ocean of content provided by Apple's App Store, but given how important apps are to a smartphone's success these days, Microsoft at least is trying to make a strong showing out of the gate. Ultimately, though, what will matter isn't whether Microsoft launches with a small but respectable app library … it'll be whether or not developers continue to make new content for
the marketplace. Until Windows 7 Phone handsets actually start shipping, that will continue to be the big unknown … and no matter what Microsoft announces today, only time is going to tell.

Windows XP no more

Two weeks left before Microsoft ends Windows XP sales. Windows XP no more. It's been delayed more
than once but now finally Microsoft is pulling the plug on Windows XP.

From October 22, PC users will no longer be able to buy a PC with
Windows XP pre-installed. Instead they will have to buy a Windows 7 version. It's the final call for what has been one of Microsoft's most
popular operating systems.