Tabs, speed dial, faster browsing and a slick UI make Opera Mini 5 the best BlackBerry browser we have ever used. You have to try it.

Chrome 4 vs. Opera 10 vs. Firefox 3.5. FINISH HIM.

The goal was to have a single video codec present in every major browser. This would allow web developers to include <video> elements without worrying about plugins or browser compatability. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like that will happen, with browser makers split between H.264 and Ogg Theora.

The quick version: Apple won’t use Ogg Theora because of hardware comparability and patent exposure, Opera won’t use H.264 because of cost, and Mozilla won’t use H.264 because of licensing restrictions. Microsoft won’t use H.264 for the same reason as Mozilla, but also hasn’t commented on supporting <video> at all. Google will support both Theora and H.264 in Chrome, but Chromium won’t have the latter because of licensing. Also, Theora isn’t up to snuff for YouTube’s volume.

Ian Hickson, reasonably, says that forcing Theora into the HTML5 spec won’t convince Apple to get on board, and all the others will do it anyway. Therefore, no codec will be officially specified in HTML5. The hope is that over time, one of the two formats will become the de facto standard.

Sigh.

Ford picks Opera for in-dash browsing. Finally, something more dangerous while driving than texting.

NetApplications is reporting that IE’s market share has dipped below 70% for the first time since they started tracking usage in 1999.

The decline is largely attributed to the Mozilla Foundation’s Firefox browser which now commands nearly 21% of the market. NetApplications explains some motivations for this November/December spike in Firefox popularity:

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With Firefox 3.0.4 and Opera 9.62 leading the pack of losers, today’s top browsers all failed more than 66% of tests designed to evaluate password security.

The extensive battery tested more than 20 different vectors that could be exploited to steal passwords from users through direct or phishing attacks. Tests include the “method checked on retrieval” test which verifies the uniformity of HTTP password delivery, a test that only Chrome passed.

To pass this test, the PM must never deliver a password using an HTTP method other than the one by which the password was delivered when it was saved. For example, if a password is saved on a form that uses POST, and then automatically filled in another form that uses GET to deliver the password, then the PM has failed this test.

Other tests check how the password manager handles passwords for domains, specific form fields, addresses with certain matching elements, and more.