The next update to Firefox will enable the browser to detect the orientation of any accelerometer-equipped device on which it is running. This way, the browser itself can actually actively adapt to the orientation being used and possibly offer a few advantages, among which are automatic rotation in order to match the current orientation and offer additional screen space. Notebooks such as Lenovo’s ThinkPads and Apple’s MacBooks come with accelerometers built-in to them, but I think it would be rather troublesome to have to lift your 2-kilo computer off the table just to see this feature in action. I immediately thought of netbooks, with their small footprint and relatively light weight. This will easily be my favorite Firefox feature once netbooks with built-in accelerometers are available. Then we can all view reading materials such as e-books and other documents more conveniently on our small, unassuming netbooks. Can’t wait for it either? Well, let’s hope the manufacturers are working on it.

Via Deep Tech

The guys at eeepc.it have been keen eyed and have spotted that Asus have updated their support site to include a new version of the Eee PC BIOS. The new BIOS can increase the memory usage of the on board graphics card from 128Mb to 224Mb boosting usage of video streaming and software that requires a higher graphic resource.

Models supported for the new BIOS version include the Eee PC 1000HA, 904HA, 900HA, 904HA, 1000H and the Eee PC 1000HE which can be found on the Asus support site.

Introduced in Alpha just before the end of January this year, the Linux-based Moblin 2 OS has just been updated to version 2 with several enhancements and bug fixes. Alas, it still has at least a couple of known issues, which are 3D performance problems and GMA500 graphics chipset incompatibility, but if you can somehow bypass those with your netbook (not all netbooks are powered by the Intel GMA500 chipset, for example), then you can go ahead and give Moblin 2 a spin. This has been tested to work on the Acer Aspire One, Asus Eee PC 901, and Dell Mini 9. Now, there’s added support for the MSI Wind. The Alpha release and pre-built images are available via the links below.

Repo via Moblin

Asus Eee PC 1000H owners, pay attention. Asus has just let out the latest BIOS version for your dear old 10-inch netbook, and it is now available for download from their support pages. To get the Asus Eee PC BIOS version for the Asus Eee PC 1000H (version 1305), you can go to the Asus support page and dig, or click on the following direct download links:

- dlcdnet.asus.com
- dlsvr04.asus.com

No details are given about what changes this brings, but if it’s provided by Asus, it should be good for something.

Via My Eee