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Chrome OS update makes Google Cr-48 worthy cloud PC alternative

Publié: mars 4, 2011, 10:03pm CET par Joe Wilcox
By Joe Wilcox, Betanews

This week, I unexpectedly started using Google's Cr-48 notebook running Chrome OS as my production system. On Monday, my 11.6-inch MacBook Air fatally crashed, leaving no real alternative since a friend has my Windows laptop. So I fired up the Cr-48, which I reviewed in December in seven parts. It has been a great week that got better after installing yesterday's Chrome OS update -- "0.10.156.46 (Official Build caa798a8)."
I started using the Cr-48 full time a second time with sense of urgency. I couldn't fall back to MacBook Air. It was sink or swim. Treading water wouldn't be good enough. Swim I did: As a work replacement PC, the Cr-48 has proved its worthiness, with Chrome OS obviously being major reason; Google synchronization is another. This second week's use also has me reconsidering the merits of the browser as a user-interface motif.
Some quick background: In early December, Google launched a pilot program distributing 60,000 Cr-48 laptops, with 12.1-inch screen, 1.66GHz Intel Atom processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB SATA SSD, WiFi and Verizon 3G. Chrome browser is the user interface, and the computer requires a persistent Internet connection. My biggest usability gripe was the trackpad, which proved to be unresponsive and prone to clicking on the wrong place. There were other quirks, such as slow-connecting WiFi, which just didn't seem right for a PC requiring constant IP connection. Audio fidelity also was subpar, although I didn't understand how much until applying the newest update.
Sizing up Chrome OS Experiences
Chrome OS proved capable for my work needs this second week using Cr-48 full time. But Google's cloud most certainly isn't for everyone. My work doesn't require using Microsoft Office documents or specialized local applications. I've been doing all my writing in a browser for years. Also, I have a fast Internet connection. No connection would grind most work to a halt, if using the Cr-48. That said, how often does the corporate network or Internet connection go down (and for long periods)? Please feel free to answer about your company in comments.
However, personal productivity would be more challenging, as much now as three months ago. For example, I shoot photos in my digicam's RAW format. I have yet to find a reliable browser-based photo-editing service that would meet my RAW editing needs; there are plenty of online JPEG-editing options, however. Also, I would find audio or video editing difficult, whether for personal or professional purposes.
Using Cr-48 has not converted me to Google Docs, which I don't really need more than Microsoft Office (which I also don't need). But other Chrome OS pilot testers have different experience. A Betanews reader who goes by the handle bbq (would you people please use real names) writes in comments: "I'm on week 12 with the Cr-48, and I've grown my use of Google Docs exponentially. In any given week now I use it to collaborate with work colleagues on documentation, prepare lectures for a one-night-a-week class that I'm teaching, maintain student grades and most spreadsheets all on Google Docs. I've given several public presentations using the VGA output from the Cr-48, and it is all in the cloud."
I've been pondering switching completely over to the Cr-48 and selling the MacBook Air. Last night I delivered my MBA for repair. The Apple Genius who first inspected the laptop concluded that the flash memory had failed. That was something I would never have expected from sold-state storage. But, hey, motherboards fail and they've got no moving parts. My local Apple Store received the 128GB flash drive yesterday, and now sometime in the next few days some Genius will replace the defective part. This is the third Air I owned where the drive failed, which is one reason I'm thinking about selling. The satisfying week using the Cr-48 is another reason.
But as aforementioned, the cloud isn't good enough, yet, at least on Chrome OS. I would occasionally need to borrow my wife's MacBook Pro, a strategy that works for Betanews reader bbq: "What's really been a wake-up call for me is how effortlessly that choice lets me use the best machine for the purpose: if I need some fancy graphic from a massive Windows workstation app, I generate it there and add it to my document from that machine. If I'm out and about I use the Cr-48, and if I'm at home I'm starting to use it more too just because it's quieter than my overclocked Ubuntu box."
This week, one of Betanews' oldest registered users, who goes by handle Digital Sin, comments about using iPad and Cr-48:
It just so happens that I received the Google Cr-48 laptop around the same time as my iPad, so it's interesting to see how they kind of compete with one another. The Cr-48 is so light and good on batteries that it just floats around the house from room to room depending on who had it last and what they needed it for. But so does iPad, though the Cr-48 feels a little less fragile since I didn't have to pay for it, so I'm a little more discerning about where iPad ends up, Usually when it's all said and done, the iPad is what gets used more since it has a little better design and is just friendlier and a bit more inviting (I don't hold that against the Cr-48 since it's just for testing).
The Browser is My Bond
I really enjoyed working in Chrome this week, much more so than during the seven days in December. Before yesterday's Chrome OS update, the Cr-48's trackpad performed horribly. I hadn't understood how badly the trackpad impaired my user experience until coming back and using a mouse. With a functional cursor, I truly experienced the browser UI and appreciated its benefits more fully. Now, post-update, with the trackpad working like it should, I don't really need the mouse anymore.
The browser motif helped me to see how exhausting is the more traditional desktop user interface, including elements Mac OS X's Dock or Windows' taskbar. Whether desktop, Dock or taskbar, the user moves the cursor across vast areas of screen, even when using keyboard shortcuts. These movements create distraction I now recognize disrupts concentration and workflow. I couldn't appreciate this before because of the Cr-48's irregular trackpad movements.
In Chrome OS, the browser fills the screen; there is no desktop. Most of the movement takes place across the top of screen, moving from browser tab to tab. Some readers will surely observe that the Windows taskbar can be placed along the top of the screen, as could be a browser toolbar. These actually add distraction. They're not as tidy or contained as the tabs. Anyone could mimic such behavior by running the Chrome browser full screen on a PC and using only cloud services and Web apps. Try for a week and see if you find it a less-distracting, less-time wasting way of working.
Working on MacBook Air, I would listen to music in iTunes, reduced to the mini player and floating above other applications. While writing this post, I used the MOG Web app open in a tab streaming music -- Brand New, Broken Bells and The Arcade Fire. I can still look up to the tab to see what's playing, without any distractions from the desktop.
Additionally, I found the browser UI to be responsive, and the fonts render beautifully. Video streaming still drops too many frames, but that's presumably an issue with Adobe Flash, as YouTube HTML5 streams are delicious by comparison.
Good is Now Lots Better
Yesterday's Chrome OS update offered up some mighty big fixes. According to Google's Chrome Releases blog:
- 3G modem activation fixes
- 3G connection to the carrier fixes
- Wi-Fi connectivity/Out of the Box fixes
- New trackpad and sensitivity setting adjusted
- Auto update engine and debugging improvements
- Power optimizations
- GTalk video/chat optimizations
- Audio CPU utilization improvements
- Improved on screen indicators: brightness, network status, update
I've already attested to the enormous difference in using the trackpad. Google should never have shipped Chrome OS on Cr-48 without adequately functioning trackpad. As I reported above, I have a much better reaction to the browser motif with functional cursor than I did in December. The audio improvement simply stunned. Audio is louder and there is noticeably better fidelity listening to streamed music as before -- as good as locally played tracks to my audiophile ears. WiFi now connects instantly when I lift the lid and near instantly when disabled and reenabled. The update is a helluva way to end another full week using Chrome OS and Cr-48 notebook.
I was feeling pretty good about the cloud PC earlier in the week, but even better now. For context, here's what I wrote in December:
1. "A week with Google's Chrome OS laptop, Day 1: Getting acquainted"
2. "A week with Google's Chrome OS laptop, Day 2: Becoming a cloud citizen"
3. "A week with Google's Chrome OS laptop, Day 3: Living with Flash"
4. "A week with Google's Chrome OS laptop, Day 4: Who is the cloud for?"
5. "A week with Google's Chrome OS laptop, Day 5: My life in the cloud"
6. "A week with Google's Chrome OS laptop, Day 6: Adopting a new lifestyle"
7. "A week with Google's Chrome OS laptop, Day 7: Settling in for the long haul"
If you've got the Cr-48, please share your user experience in comments. Better: email joewilcox at gmail dot com. Even better: email to discuss writing a review. Betanews loves reader submissions for their authenticity and closeness to the entire audience.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
Blindsided by iPad 2, Samsung reconsiders Galaxy Tab strategy

Publié: mars 4, 2011, 10:00pm CET par Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

Wednesday's announcement of the iPad 2 has seemingly caught Apple's biggest competitor off guard, and Samsung is apparently reevaluating its next moves. In comments to Korea-based Yonhap News Agency, Samsung's mobile head Lee Don-joo said that the next iPad's sleek new design and competitive price are challenges.
The Korean electronics manufacturer's Galaxy Tab tablet is widely considered the biggest threat to the iPad's dominance in the sector. About two million have sold since its debut last September, making it the best selling tablet next to the iPad.
However like most tablets, it still has not been able to compete very well with Apple in terms of price.
Unsubsidized the Galaxy Tab can cost as much as $750, although subsidies have brought down the price to $300 with a two-year contract with a wireless carrier. Regardless, this requires users commit to a data plan for a set period of time, which also adds to the overall cost of ownership.
The Tab comes with a seven inch screen versus the larger 10.1-inch screen of the iPad. Samsung recently debuted a 10.1-inch model to compete with Apple on this front, but has not announced pricing as of yet. Lee said that the larger screened device was to be more expensive than its smaller cousin.
"We will have to think that over," he said.
Lee also says Apple's ability to produce a new model with advanced functionality at the same price as before has produced a challenge for Samsung. "We will have to improve the parts that are inadequate," he mused.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
Report: Apple negotiating for unlimited music downloads

Publié: mars 4, 2011, 7:58pm CET par Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

MobileMe's expected refresh was notably absent from Apple's event Wednesday announcing the debut of the iPad 2, however Cupertino may be working behind the scenes to make a revamp of the cloud service part of a larger push towards streaming content.
Sources have told Bloomberg that Apple is currently in negotiations with several record labels including Universal, Sony, Warner, and EMI with hopes that an agreement could be reached by midyear. Apple wants the labels to allow unlimited access to their content across multiple devices.
It's not exactly clear what Apple may be angling for: on one hand, unlimited access could portend the creation of the long-rumored subscription service. Yet on the other hand, Apple may simply be looking for the right to allow streaming of already purchased music to other devices.
Bloomberg says its sources believe Apple is looking for something much simpler: anytime access to purchased music if a track is lost or damaged. In the same token, the deal would also allow for downloads to multiple devices. This may not be entirely accurate, however: users are already permitted to sync tracks with up to five devices through iTunes already.
The company could also be looking at making whatever offering it plans with unlimited access to iTunes content as part of its MobileMe refresh. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Apple was looking into making the cloud service free, and turn it into a locker for digital content accessible from a range of devices.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
After a decade, It's time to say goodbye to Internet Explorer 6 (again)

Publié: mars 4, 2011, 6:39pm CET par Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Internet Explorer 6 was released a decade ago, and as of February 2011, 12% of the world accessing the Web still used it. On Friday, Microsoft officially stated that it wants that fragment of the population to just let it go already.
It did this by launching an official "death clock" for IE6 at ie6countdown.com. The website is dedicated to watching IE6 usage drop down to less than 1% worldwide. Microsoft is not kidding around this time, saying it wants website developers to stop supporting Internet Explorer 6. The company is giving site developers the option to embed a banner in their site that lets users know they're using a browser that lacks support for modern web standards.
This movement is hopefully the last push Microsoft is going to have to make. Back in 2009, a similar attempt was made with IE6 No More campaign to get developers to abandon the elderly browser. At the time, Microsoft and NetApplications estimated that the total population still using IE6 was around 27%.

So it's taken two years to reduce that number by more than half.
According to Microsoft and NetApplications' latest tallies, the countries with the largest percentage of IE6 users are China (34%), South Korea (24.8%), India (12.3%), Taiwan (10.7%), Saudi Arabia (10.7%), and Vietnam (10%). The only countries with less than one percent usage --a "passing grade"-- are Finland and Norway.
What was so great about IE6 anyway? Well, just about a decade ago, we wrote the following about Microsoft's browser update:
"IE6 will feature few drastic changes over its predecessor, most notably adding integrated media playback, automatic picture resizing and increased privacy with the adoption of P3P. The software giant has extended the browser's standards support, touting additional DOM and CSS functionality. IE6 will also support new specifications such as SMIL 2.0, used in interactive media presentations."
In reality, though, it just became so deeply entrenched in the enterprise sector, that companies were (and still are) hanging onto it to simply maintain the status quo of compatibility. If you see a banner contained within this article, you're one of the users Microsoft is targeting.
The chances are good that you won't be seeing it. According to our traffic analytics for Betanews.com, 5.6% of users browsing our site with Internet Explorer are doing so with v6. The total browser share for all versions of Internet Explorer is 26.4%, so that means only 1.475% of all of Betanews' traffic comes from IE6, while slightly more (2.8%) goes to FileForum.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
I don't see the value in cybersecurity treaties

Publié: mars 4, 2011, 5:24pm CET

By Larry Seltzer

Bruce Schneier and other very respectable experts think we should be talking treaties with China and others about cyberattacks, even if the treaties are unenforceable. But they're not just unenforceable, they're unverifiable.
Go watch the excellent interview on searchsecurity.com with Bruce Schneier. It's less than 7 minutes. Schneier is a top guy in cryptography and has broader interests and expertise. In his blog he often takes on the real world security measures we all deal with, like surveillance cameras and ID card standards.
Most of the interview has to do with "cybersecurity" -- a term I despise but that we're stuck with -- which has come to mean national computer infrastructure security. It can refer to the security of the major networks (Verizon, AT&T, etc.), the security of military and other government networks, the security of the electrical grid or even the security of banks.
I'm not sure there's public proof out there of it, but it's reasonable to assume that the Chinese government is involved in attacks and planning for attacks on US infrastructure (In early 2010, Google documented cyberespionage attacks against Gmail originating from China). Perhaps most of it so far has been reconnaissance and experimentation. It gets no press at all here, but I'm sure, or at least I hope, that we're doing the same thing to them. Schneier makes the same assumption.
Schneier is concerned about a cyberweapons arms race. Analogizing the situation to the cold war, he then goes on to suggest that the real problem was one of information: even when we had a hotline, we didn't know everything the Russians were doing so we assumed the worst, and vice-versa.
Treaties controlling the deployment and use of such weapons could be helpful in keeping the problem under control, he suggests, and notes that former US counter-terrorism official Richard Clarke has made the same suggestion. Schneier accepts that such treaties might not be enforceable, but says they can still be worthwhile.
I don't buy it. The big problem with these weapons, as I see it, is not that we're not communicating with our adversaries. It's that nothing about their use is verifiable. If an attack on a US installation is traced to some consumer or university computers in China or Taiwan or wherever, was it the Chinese or some non-state actor? We don't know and, absent forensic examinations we won't likely be able to perform, can't know.
What's the point of an agreement that neither side can verify? Let's do a little war-gaming: You're the United States and I'm China. How do I know that you haven't placed untraceable logic bombs in my systems or ready-to-launch attacks against me in outside botnets? I can't, so I have to protect myself by having them too.
It doesn't matter if we agreed not to do such things because any such agreement would be based entirely on trust, not verification. Getting back to cold war analogies, I'm one who believes that arms treaties didn't accomplish much worth accomplishing until Reagan's START treaties agreed to actually reduce the numbers of weapons with verification procedures included. ICBMs are pretty easy to count. Logic bombs in complex software systems aren't.
Don't look to me for a better idea; I don't have one. On the other hand, I don't worry so much about these attacks because the short list of actors who might be able to pull them off don't have an interest in doing so; quite the contrary. Schneier is right again when he says the real fear is of accidental use.
In this regard, he may have a reasonable point about the chain of command and use of such weapons. He wants them used only with authorization by the President or someone very close to him. Maybe this is worth discussing in some agreement, but it too is unverifiable.
My advice: Dig a logic bomb shelter for you and your family. Stock it with provisions like lots of memory and extra CPU cores. Make sure to use strong encryption to keep your neighbors out when the Chinese drop the big one.
[Editor also recommends other recent stories by Larry Seltzer: "I'll believe Mac malware is a problem when I see it"; "Why Microsoft has to open Windows Update to third-party developers"; "Can IE9 stop Microsoft's steady browser decline?"]
This commentary was first posted on March 4, 2011 at 11:24 a.m. ET.
Larry Seltzer is a freelance writer and consultant, dealing mostly with security matters. He has written recently for Infoworld, eWEEK, Dr. Dobb's Journal, and is a Contibuting Editor at PC Magazine and author of their Security Watch blog. He has also written for Symantec Authentication (formerly VeriSign) and Lumension's Intelligent Whitelisting site.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
Review: Avast! Free Antivirus 6.0 delivers robust protection

Publié: mars 4, 2011, 4:53pm CET

By Mike Williams

Updates to stand-alone antivirus tools generally aren't anything to get excited about. The interface might have changed color, or maybe relocated a few buttons, and of course you'll get the standard promises about improved accuracy, or better performance, but otherwise it's often business as usual.
Avast! Free Antivirus 6.0 is an exception, though, thanks to a host of interesting and highly visible new features: automatic sandboxing, website reputation reporting, improved real-time protection, and many more. And so the end result is a package that looks rather more like a security suite than a simple antivirus engine. But is the new functionality really as effective as it looks? We put the program through some real-life tests in an effort to find out.
First impressions
Installation was reasonably straightforward, with no complex options to worry about. All the new features mean there's a greater than usual chance that Avast will conflict with some other tool you've installed, of course. But if, say, you already have the Web of Trust add-on installed, and don't want Avast's similar offering, then a click on the Custom Install option will allow you to disable it, and any other features you may not require.
Avast doesn't force you to reboot after the installation, and instead launches a "Quick Scan" to hunt for malware. It wasn't actually that quick on our test PC, though, taking some 25 minutes to complete. And for some reason our system remained largely unresponsive for all of that time, so for instance we would try to launch a program and it wouldn't appear for some 90 seconds: very odd.
Fortunately this was only a temporary issue, and once we left the scan to run to completion, and rebooted, the problem went away entirely. Future scans required little in the way of system resources -- maybe 5-percent CPU utilization or less, around 28MB RAM (private working set) -- and we were able to freely use other programs as the scans were running, without seeing any performance degradation.
New features
One of the headline new features in Avast 6 is the AutoSandbox, which automatically runs anything Avast finds suspicious inside a virtual environment. Any changes the program might then make will apply only to the sandbox, not your PC, so keeping you safe from many malware types.
Does it work? Sandboxing is a complex technology, and it takes a great deal of work to figure out how thorough a particular implementation might be, but our first impressions are positive. Avast didn't sandbox any of our regular, trusted programs, but when we tried a couple of malware samples it jumped in to protect us from both: a very good start. (Although it's a pity that you can't decide to launch a program in the sandbox yourself -- only Avast gets to make that decision.)
Another new addition is WebRep, a browser plug-in that displays reputation ratings for the site you're currently viewing, and your web search results. This is based in part on voting by other Avast users, which, as the feature is very new, probably explains why it's not too informative so far (we found most sites got "good" scores or no ratings at all).
Avast is a popular package with more than 120 million active users, though, so if only some of them decide to get involved then WebRep could quickly become a more useful feature. To Internet Explorer and Firefox users, anyway: there's no support for other browsers yet, although apparently a Chrome extension is coming soon.
Elsewhere, Avast provides real-time protection through eight shields. These check the files you access; your incoming and outgoing emails; your web browsing (http), P2P and instant messaging traffic, and network activity. The Behavior Shield alerts you to programs engaged in malware-like activities, while the Script Shield (previously only available in the paid version) checks the scripts you execute for signs of infection. Taken together these provide good all-round protection out of the box, but most shields also have many tweaks and configuration options available to customize them further, if that's necessary for your system.
And the package is completed with a host of smaller but still worthwhile improvements everywhere you look, from a new desktop gadget that displays your security status, to better control over boot-time scans, and a "restore factory defaults" option that assists troubleshooting by restoring your initial settings.
Verdict: We're not sure how valuable WebRep will be, but otherwise Avast! Free Antivirus 6.0 is a positive step forward, adding plenty of useful features yet still consuming very few system resources. If you're currently in the market for a stand-alone antivirus tool then Avast remains one of the best and most versatile options around.
We Like: Clean interface, effective sandbox, lightweight, lots of real-time protection features, very configurable.
We Don't Like: Scanning speeds a little below average, WebRep currently not too useful and only works with IE/ Firefox.
Manufacturer: AVAST Software
MSRP: Free
Platforms: Windows XP SP2/ Windows Vista (32/ 64-bit)/ Windows 7 (32/ 64-bit)
Requirements: 300MB free hard drive space
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
MAGIX releases free Photo Designer 7 and Photo Manager 10

Publié: mars 4, 2011, 3:46pm CET

By Mike Williams

German multimedia specialist MAGIX has released two free photo management and editing packages, each designed to help you get more from your digital images.
MAGIX Photo Manager 10 lets you navigate your photo collection with its thumbnail browser. Automated tools allow you to quickly organise your images into categories, while a "find similar photos" option can search your entire hard drive to locate shots from the same photo session.
The program also supports face tagging; it's not the most accurate we've seen, but if you have a huge collection of photos then it's probably good enough to save you plenty of time. You can also manually organize your photos into albums, and there are options to share them online, or to create video-based slideshows of your favorite shots. (The latter requires you to download another component, but it's easy to do, and also free.)
MAGIX Photo Designer 7 is on hand to take care of your editing needs, and at first glance this looks like a host of other image editors. There are simple photo manipulation tools (flip, rotate), a few basic fixes (optimize color, remove red-eye), the standard list of effects, and that's about it.
Take the time to explore further, though, and Photo Designer quickly reveals some real depth. If you apply the "Painting" filter to an image, say, you don't have to live with the author's pre-programmed settings. If the results aren't to your tastes then you can choose a different brush (there are 29 in total), then tweak its density, relief, placement, size, direction and color, as well as paper and transparency settings, amongst many others.
Other effects on offer here are almost as configurable. And Photo Designer includes several other interesting bonus features, including the ability to automatically create panorama shots from multiple images, and a powerful batch processing tool which allows you to automatically resize, rotate, convert format, and apply just about any Photo Designer effect to a folder full of images in one operation.
Photo Manager and Photo Designer have their problems, then, but they also include many useful features, any one of which might justify their place on your PC. Both programs are entirely free, and they're available for download now.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
Freemake Video Downloader 2.1 released

Publié: mars 4, 2011, 3:43pm CET

By Nick Peers

Freemake has released version 2.1 of its freeware video downloading tool. Freemake Video Downloader 2.1 contains a number of major new features, including a brand new one-click download mode, simplified link processing and an option to block downloading from adult sites by implementing a parental control password.
Version 2.1 also introduces the option for pausing and resuming downloads, plus boasts various interface improvements, including better responsiveness. It also includes a selection of bug fixes.
The major standout feature in version 2.1 is the new one-click download option. When switched on from the program's main user interface, Freemake Video Downloader will automatically download the selected video using user-defined settings for input video quality, output format and destination folder. The new parental controls can be found on the Options button.
The program comes with built-in plug-ins for Firefox and Chrome users that allows them to extract video from the currently selected page with a single click in the browser toolbar; other browser users must copy and paste the website link into Freemake Video Converter.
Freemake Video Converter 2.1 is freeware, and runs on Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7. It works with over 40 video-hosting sites, including YouTube and Facebook. By logging in to either with your user account you can also download privately hosted video too. Other supported sites include Vevo, MTV, Dailymotion, Megavideo, Vimeo, and Photobucket.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
Yawn, Android beats iPhone and BlackBerry again

Publié: mars 4, 2011, 5:11am CET par Joe Wilcox

By Joe Wilcox, Betanews

I know that yesterday Apple CEO Steve Jobs proudly proclaimed 100 million iPhone shipments, which is a darn big number. But iPhone isn't winning the smartphone wars, a story that's getting tired to write (Apple could still win the mobile platform wars). Today, ComScore and Nielsen separately released new US smartphone data that puts Android ahead of Research in Motion's BlackBerry and Apple's iPhone. It's quickly becoming an old story.
In January, Android handsets accounted for 31.2 percent of the US smartphone market, up from 7.1 percent a year earlier, according to ComScore. BlackBerry held the second position, after a devastating, steady decline -- 30.4 percent down from about 44 percent in January 2010. Meanwhile iPhone share remained flat, in the 25 percent range, for all of last year. US market share was 24.7 percent in January 2011.
Nielsen measured smartphone operating system market share from November 2010 to January 2011 -- Android 29 percent and BlackBerry and iOS tied at 27 percent. Thirty-two days ago, Nielsen called a three-way tie -- iOS 28 percent and Android and BlackBerry 27 percent each. When the data is cut by device and operating system that 27 percent tie puts Apple and RIM way ahead of competitors (HTC follows with 12 percent share).
The Apple fan club of bloggers and journalists keep writing like the smartphone war is over and iPhone won. Here's some sobering perspective, which someone will refute as meaningless in comments: Apple took 3.9 years to ship 100 million smartphones. According to Gartner, Nokia sold more smartphones (100.3 million) just in 2010. Since January 3, I've written this Android shipments are soaring story 10 times:
1. "Stunning Android growth visualized in new video"; February 24
2. "Gartner: Android smartphone sales surged 888.8% in 2010"; February 9
3. "[This is getting boring -- iPhone US smartphone share remains flat while Android soars]"; February 7
4. "It's a photo finish: Android, BlackBerry and iOS are tied in US smartphone share"; February 1
5. "Canalys: Android tops Symbian in smartphone shipments -- twice as many units as iPhone"; January 31
6. "IDC: Developer interest in Android nearly equals iOS"; January 25
7. "ComScore: Verizon iPhone is likely bad for AT&T, probably not for Android"; January 14
8. "Canalys: Verizon iPhone won't slow Android growth even the slightest"; January 14
9. "[Can you feel the noose, Apple? Android gains against flat US iPhone market share]"; January 7
10. "[41% of new smartphone buyers choose Android]"; January 3
There are two others worth calling out, in context of Jobs' 100-million boasting: "Verizon's iPhone 4 public relations damage control says it all" and "Say, whatever happened to that 1 million Verizon iPhones sold announcement?" Apple and Verizon have yet to announce iPhone 4 sales, since last month's launch. If they were good, surely Apple would boast; like Jobs did about the 100 million number, which is a nice distraction -- using cumulative data as opposed to sales that are more immediate and people have asked about. Last week, Apple 2.0 blogger Philip Elmer-DeWitt quoted Jobs, from 2009 sniping about Amazon not releasing Kindle sales: "Usually, if they sell a lot of something, you want to tell everybody." That's right. If Verizon had sold a lot of iPhones -- at least a million -- "you want to tell everybody."
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
SuperSync merges, shares multiple iTunes libraries

Publié: mars 4, 2011, 12:00am CET

By Mark Wilson

Owning an iOS device is meant to make it easy to access the music you have stored on your computer -- plug in and synchronize the latest tracks ready for listening to on the move. However, in practice, many of us regularly work with more than one computer, be it an office and home computer, or a laptop and desktop machine. Each of these computers may have a different selection of music on the hard drive. There is a simpler way. SuperSync can be used to centralize your collection and ensure that everything you want is available by providing you with a single, constantly updated music library.
Using the app you can easily compare two iTunes libraries and decide which tracks need to be copied between them -- synchronization is a breeze and beats having to manually transfer tracks individually. This in itself is a useful feature, but SuperSync also provides an all-important backup option.
Your iTunes library is likely to be one of the largest collections of files on your computer, and also one of the most important, and the application provides you with a quick and easy way to create a duplicate copy to safeguard your valuable music.
The software also makes it possible to access your entire music collection over the internet, so you can access your favorite tracks online when you are on holiday or visiting a friend. As well as making it much easier to work with music libraries stored on multiple computers, SuperSync will also come in very useful when you decide to buy a new computer. Whether you are upgrading an aging machine, or making the switch from Windows to Mac, the app can be used to quickly and easily backup and transfer your music collection so nothing is lost.
You will need to purchase a license for each computer you intend to install SuperSync on. Prices start as $25 for two licenses, but if you intend to work with more computers, five and 10 licenses are available for $30 and $39 respectively. Find out more by visiting the SuperSync review page.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010