Microsoft has opened its C++ AMP specification so it can also be used by non-Microsoft compilers to harness the power of GPUs (graphics processing units). "What we see is more and more people are looking to take advantage of the GPU in their applications," said Tony Goodhew, a Microsoft product manager for Visual Studio.

Adobe has released a beta version of Flash Player for Firefox, which has better protection against vulnerability exploits because of a new sandboxed architecture.

Digital Trends - Mozilla has set loose Firefox 10, the latest version of its open-source Web browser for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. New features in the release are largely limited to technologies aimed at Web developers, but there’s one important new feature that ought to appeal to anyone who has augmented their browser’s functionality: by default, most add-ons will be compatible with new versions of Firefox by default, and users will have an easier time managing and (if necessary) updating their add-ons to new versions of the browser.

AP - Utah classrooms may soon be making the switch to open-source online textbooks that can be cheaper and easier to update.

USA Today reviewer Edward C. Baig describes his experience using the first Multi-Touch digital textbooks published for the iBooks 2 for iPad app, noting that they are “engaging in ways that were simply not possible with the textbooks I grew up with.” Baig likes the portability, updatability, and low pricing of iBooks 2 digital textbooks and touts specific features like instant search, highlighting, bookmarking, and interactive graphics. Writes Baig, “It’s better to see an animated tour of the genome in E.O. Wilson’s Life on Earth than just to read about it. ”

Bloomberg’s Peter Burrows reports that Apple is making rapid headway selling into corporations — especially financial services and pharmaceutical firms. Burrows writes that Apple’s corporate sales are being driven chiefly by iPad, which “has become a standard business tool.” The article quotes Matt Wallach, co-founder of Veeva Systems, who says: “I’ve seen a lot of devices come and go over the years. Nothing touches the speed of adoption of the iPad.”