Dear PropellerHeads: How do I get Firefox to stop bugging me about updates?

A: Boo hoo! My free web browser, which gives me instant access to the entirety of the world's information, keeps getting better and better so fast that I have to stop looking at cat pictures for two whole minutes every week so I can restart it to get the latest updates! What did I do to deserve this?

It's fortunate for civilization that the Firefox programmers - as well as Henry Ford, Jonas Salk, and Thomas Crapper - did not "take a break" while the general population got comfortable with their horse-drawn carriages, polio, and outhouses. We remember a time when the hot new browser feature was displaying images (http://bit.ly/15aq8KN).

So what are the programmers of Chrome (at Google), Firefox (at Mozilla), Internet Explorer (at Microsoft), Opera (at Opera), and Safari (at Apple) cooking up these days? Holographic profile pictures? Smell-o-vision for the web? Not quite, but give them a few years.

The latest advances in browsers have come on two fronts. First, they have been moving into the browser features that once required Flash or other plug-ins. Second, they have added mobile-specific features.

It was once the case that anything remotely cool on the web required a browser plug-in called "Flash," but that's changing. Apple blocked Flash from running on iPhones (read http://bit.ly/13xYK9Hfor Steve Jobs' reasoning), and Adobe (makers of Flash) cut back on their Android support in 2012. Because of this, Flash does not work on many tablets and newer phones. By adding built-in support for animation, audio/video playback, and full-screen viewing, browser makers are ensuring that future devices - ones that will not support Flash - will still sport these features.

Mozilla, Google, and the gang aren't stopping there. Their latest products cannot just play back audio files, but can even synthesize sounds and process audio data. Remember those trippy audio visualizations in WinAmp from the 90s? Visit http://bit.ly/13XRWW2in Firefox to re-live the good ol' days, or create your own instrument sounds in Chrome at tonehack.com.

Web Graphics Library ("WebGL") allows 3D graphical worlds to be created directly in a browser. Visit FindYourWayToOz.comfor game-quality graphics displayed in a page with no plug-ins. Some browsers now detect input from gamepad controllers, meaning we'll see more in-browser games soon (see html5games.com, html5games.net and atari.com/arcadefor a few now).

It's not all fun and games. WebRTC ("Real-Time Communications") makes it possible to join video conferences from directly within Chrome or Firefox - no additional downloads or software required. Among other things, this means that web page authors can now access your computer's microphone and webcam (but only if you give them permission, of course). Check out http://bit.ly/12XuyoWand webcamtoy.comfor some examples. Web programmers have even combined webcam access with motion detection to simulate Microsoft Kinect-style games.

Less flashy (pun intended) are the behind-the-scenes technologies that have been improved. Drag-and-drop support lets you attach documents to emails or upload photos more easily. Built-in databases, file access, and caching let you work with documents even when you're offline.

We PropellerHeads have access to improved tools for debugging, speeding up, and enhancing those sites we build for you when we're not "taking a break." Again, we are sooo sorry you have to restart your browser to get these improvements.

As for mobile, some browsers can now detect grubby fingers leaving grease trails across the screen. Device orientation ("turning your phone sideways") and other motion (shaking, waving, etc) is reported to web pages now. Mobile apps (but not web pages) could already detect all this. Programmers can now write more software to run in a browser without having to create separate versions for iPhones, Android phones, etc.

Standardization is still underway, meaning some browsers don't support these new features yet, but that will change soon. Opera, Chrome, and Safari are pushing mobile browsers forward. Firefox is a leader in standardization, and Microsoft has announced support for many of these technologies in Internet Explorer 11.

Until then, head over to ChromeExperiments.comin Chrome or http://mzl.la/15ASjBwin Firefox for demos.

And if you must, turn off automatic updates in Firefox under "Options > Advanced > Update." Then we won't bother you any more with our pesky march of progress.

When the PropellerHeads at Data Directions aren't busy with their IT projects, they love to answer questions on business or consumer technology. Email them to questions@askthepropellerheads.com or contact us at Data Directions Inc., 8510 Bell Creek Road, Mechanicsville, VA 23116. Visit our website at www.askthepropellerheads.com.