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BetaNews.Com (10 non lus)

Plex Media Center promises big changes for Mac and Windows

Publié: novembre 1, 2011, 9:24pm CET par Nick Peers

Plex, Inc has announced the release of version 0.9.5 of its freeware cross-platform media browsing suite. Now split into two distinct programs, Plex Media Server and Plex Media Center, as well as a mobile app for Android and iOS, Plex 0.9.5 introduces a number of new features as well as major changes behind the scenes.

One key new feature -- the creation of a myPlex account -- aims to make accessing your media content remotely over the internet a simpler task, while PC users can now access their media collections via the first Windows build of Plex Media Center.

Plex 0.9.5, codenamed ‘Laika’ as a tribute to both the Plex mascot and the first dog in space, is the first to feature separate client and server packages for Mac. Previously, the Mac release doubled as both server and client, which made for a hefty 100MB download on every Mac, regardless of whether or not it was running a media server.

The new separate builds both fully integrate the new myPlex feature, which aims to simplify the task of prepping a Plex media server for access outside of a local network as well as allowing users to share and access shared content with other Plex media server libraries.

The client version can now either transcode or Direct Play remote media, including both Flash and Silverlight content. Browsing your media now reveals an “On Deck” area as well as “Recently Added”, giving the user quick access to relevant content in each section, such as the next episode in a TV series being watched.

The Windows client, built from scratch by a dedicated team, also features integration with Windows Media Center, which basically allows you to launch the Plex Media Center from within Windows Media Center itself.

The server has also been updated, but most of these changes are bug fixes, performance tweaks and small feature additions such as the ability to filter movies by country or browse music collections. Notable enhancements include improved transcoding to resolve A/V sync issues and DTS distortion, as well as delivered improved playback via 3G networks.

Also updated is the mobile application, which costs $4.99 and runs on Android and iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. myPlex support is built-in for easier connection to home servers and improvements include alphabetized indexing for speeding up content navigation as well as support for photos and faster, more reliable server connections (as well as better caching over both 3G and wireless networks).

Plex Media Server is available as a freeware download for Windows, Mac and Linux. Plex Media Center is available for Windows and Mac users and is also freeware, while Plex 2.0 has been released for iOS and Android, and costs $4.99.
Samsung plans to make flexible screens a reality in 2012

Publié: novembre 1, 2011, 9:12pm CET par Ed Oswald

After years of promises and demos both from Samsung and a host of other companies, the flexible screen is set to finally become a reality in 2012. Samsung confirmed plans during its quarterly conference call.

"The flexible display, we are looking to introduce sometime in 2012", company spokesperson Robert Yi says. The company aims to introduce the first flexible screen device in the early part of the year. He adds that it would "probably start from the handset side".

Following the debut of the technology in handsets, Yi says to expect the company to bring flexible handsets to other products over the rest of the year. The company has already shown concepts of an OLED screen that has technology embedded in the individual pixels allowing it to generate light.

That said, Samsung is not allowing those who have seen it to play with the screens: the screen is locked up in a case which keeps the screen bent. How far along Samsung really is in producing working production models of these screens is not really known.

If Samsung can meet its goals, it certainly would give the company a leg up on its competitors, including Apple which has proven to be its strongest -- both in the marketplace and in the courts.

Is Apple working on similar technologies? It is hard to tell given the company's secretive nature. Samsung is a parts vendor to Apple, so it is within the realm of possibility that Apple may purchase screens from the company. Apple is working on some flexible device technologies itself, however. Patent applications have surfaced showing that the Cupertino company might have plans to add a flexible display within its Magic Mouse.

Photo Credit: Brian Bilek
HP crams 2,800 servers into a single rack in 'Project Moonshot'

Publié: novembre 1, 2011, 8:59pm CET par Tim Conneally

Following last week's introduction of the 64-bit ARMv8 architecture, leading PC and IT systems company Hewlett-Packard on Tuesday officially announced its low-power, massive-scale datacenter initiative called "Project Moonshot" will initially utilize ARM processors exclusively.

HP's mission with Project Moonshot is to reduce data center size by 94 percent, energy consumption by 89 percent, and cost by 63 percent by using lower power servers in "hyperscale."

These low-power servers will be built on the Redstone Server Development platform, a test server design which utilizes a large number of tiny servers running Calxeda EnergyCore ARM Cortex processors. According to HP, a single Redstone rack will use 2,800 servers, but will reduce complexity in cabling, switching, and peripherals by as much as 97 percent.

This project will also see new hyperscale test centers called "HP Discovery Labs" opening across North America, Europe, and Asia. The first one will open in January in Houston, Texas, and will let clients work either remotely or on-site to test, experiment, and benchmark applications on this new microdistributed architecture.

The third important piece of this project is the HP Pathfinder Program, in which HP's partners will assist Moonshot clients with hardware, software, and support. The first partners will be ARM, AMD, Calxeda, Canonical, and Red Hat, and more partners will be announced later.

Intel is noticeably absent from this list, but HP says Atom processor support will be added to the Redstone server architecture at a later date, so the current server leader is sure to be pledging its support soon.
Protect passwords with Secure Login for Firefox

Publié: novembre 1, 2011, 8:42pm CET par Joe Cassels

One of the curses of modern day life is remembering, storing and managing passwords. Whether you use a password manager, store passwords in your browser or try to remember the lot, there are always challenges. Storing in your browser is the easiest option, but how can you be sure that they’re safe? Secure Login for Firefox is a very handy extra layer of security.

Like Opera’s magic wand, Secure Login helps you to log into sites where you’ve already saved your username and password in Firefox. If you have an account stored, when you rest the mouse pointer over the key icon to the left of the address bar, you’ll see if it's available to login. Just click this button to securely authenticate yourself on this site.

Firefox already has a basic password manager built in, but it’s not as convenient to use to log into stored sites as Secure Login. For example, if you have several usernames stored for one site, you still have to begin logging in manually. Secure Login enables you to choose which of your accounts that you want to use.

More importantly, Secure Login helps to protect your account information. When you visit a site with a stored password in Firefox alone, it automatically provides the login details, making your username apparent to anyone with access to the browser. Secure Login enables you to authenticate without entering information manually. It also prevents disclosing any confidential information without your say so.

Once installed Secure Login turns the option to prefill forms without interaction off. This prevents malicious javascript on the site from harvesting your user details and prevents cross site scripting problems. For the best security, it’s a good idea to also set a strong master password so that anyone with access to your PC can’t immediately get into all your secure sites. You can do this in Firefox’s security options.

Secure Login 0.9.9 is a free extension for Windows, Mac and Linux versions of Firefox.
Still early in the 20nm era, ARM acquires circuit design company Prolific

Publié: novembre 1, 2011, 7:23pm CET par Tim Conneally

ARM, the UK-based company behind the reduced instruction set processor architecture of the same name, announced on Tuesday that it had acquired long-running chip design partner Prolific Inc.. The amount of money ARM put toward the acquisition was not disclosed.

Consumers won't directly see the fruits of this acquisition for several years, but the intent is clear: ARM is strengthening its talent pool and intellectual property for circuits 20nm process and smaller.

In late October, ARM partners Cadence Design Systems and TSMC announced they had completed the first 20nm Cortex A15 tape-out (the final "artwork" for the design to be printed on an integrated circuit) after 18 months of work on the project.

With Prolific's IC design and automated layout optimization tools, ARM will be able to speed up the design process at these small node sizes.

"Prolific has a long history of improving the efficiency of complex physical design process flows," said Paul de Dood, President and Founder of Prolific, Inc. "The ARM partnership will benefit from faster time to market for advanced node solutions through the addition of Prolific’s leading-edge optimization tools, which enable optimum power, performance and area with accelerated development timelines.”

Photo: James Steidl/Shutterstock
Internet Explorer hemorrhages browser usage share

Publié: novembre 1, 2011, 7:01pm CET par Joe Wilcox
Do I have your attention now?

Google Chrome's assault on Internet Explorer continued a pace in October, according to browser usage share data that Net Applications released today. Chrome gained share for the 12th consecutive month. Since November 2010, IE share fell 7.72 points, while Chrome gained 8.05. Want to guess from where Google's browser is taking usage share? Hint: It's not Firefox.

Looking more recently, Chrome gained 1.42 points, while Internet Explorer lost 1.76 points September to October. Firefox actually edged up 0.03 points, ending four months of consecutive losses. Apple's Safari eeked up 0.41 points. Usage share for each in October:
- Internet Explorer: 52.63 percent
- Firefox: 22.51 percent
- Chrome: 17.62 percent
- Safari: 5.43 percent
- Opera: 1.56 percent
Internet Explorer usage share fell from 60.35 percent in November 2010; Firefox fell from 23.52 percent; and Chrome rose from 9.57 percent.

Last month, after viewing the startling results of a BetaNews poll, I asked: "My God, does ANYONE use Internet Explorer?" The poll is still open, but out of date, since new Chrome and Firefox versions has since shipped. Among the 4,470 respondents, 40.16 say they use some version of Chrome as their primary web browser. By comparison, 20.88 percent some version of IE, which is less than Firefox (30.18 percent). The poll is unqualified -- meaning we don't know who respondents are -- but we assume more tech-savvy folks based on readership.

BetaNews site browser stats tell a different story, and one that is perhaps more perplexing. Firefox was the top browser used to view the site in October (29.68 percent) followed by Internet Explorer (24.07 percent) and Chrome (23.58 percent). What's surprising is how evenly they are spaced. Safari was 13.57 percent, by the way.

Based on the poll, 70.34 percent of respondents use Chrome or Firefox as their primary web browser. BetaNews browser stats show 53.26 percent of visitors use one of the browsers. Does that invalidate the poll then? Site stats corroborate it, since usage share isn't finite market share. Most people use more than one browser, a tendency supported by BetaNews commenters on this topic and other analyst data.

Judging IE9 Strategy

Browser versions reveal a startling trend that shows the risks Microsoft took with its Internet Explorer 9 strategy. By version, IE8 had highest usage share in October (29 percent), followed by Chrome 14 (13.65 percent) and Firefox 7 (10.18 percent). For most of October, Chrome 14 and Firefox 7 were current versions of both browsers. The data shows how quickly their users are moving to the newest version compared to lag-behind Internet Explorer.

IE9, which had 9.79 percent browser usage share in October, isn't available for Windows XP. Chrome and Firefox are. Microsoft took a look-forward strategy that may pay off as the Windows 7 install base increases, but there's short-term pain today. According to NetApps, Windows XP is still the leading PC operating system, with 48.03 percent share in October. Windows 7: 34.62 percent.

Caveat: According to NetApps, there are 2 billion Internet users, and 93 percent of them use PC browsers. By that reckoning, because not every PC may connect to the Net, the data may not be fully representative of operating system share.

Roger Capriotti, Microsoft Internet Explorer marketing director, presents the data differently. He observes that IE9's usage share on Windows 7 is 34.9 percent, followed by Chrome at 14.3 percent and Firefox at 11.8 percent. "IE9 is growing nicely and is on path to be the leading modern browser on Windows 7 behind IE8 as early as next month".

From security and usability perspectives, Microsoft deserves praise for not making IE9 available for Windows XP. The question now: How quickly can Windows 7 deployments pull forward IE9 usage with it? Can there be enough to overcome Chrome gains? IE usage share was well above 90 percent when Firefox 1.0 shipped 7 years ago next month. Looked at the way, Internet Explorer hemorrhages browser usage share, at a time when Windows 7 adoption should give it more lift. My unsolicited advice: Microsoft must evangelize IE9 and Windows 7 benefits more, and it's high time for some fresh, aggressive marketing.
Google wants you to mobilize your site

Publié: novembre 1, 2011, 6:12pm CET par Ed Oswald

Let's face it: these days, a lot of us are accessing the Internet via smartphones, tablets, and other portable devices. It makes good sense that website owners respond to this trend, and ensure their sites play nice with mobile browsers.

Google knows this, and is launching a new initiative called "Go Mo", aimed at assisting developers in optimizing their content for mobile devices. The Mountain View, Calif. company has included site testing tools, best practices for creating mobile sites, and information to assist companies in locating qualified mobile web site designers.

"Millions more people are using mobile devices to get online every day", the front page of the site reads. "Does your business have a mobile-friendly site? If not—or if you're not sure—you've come to the right place to get started".

Google says that by 2013, more people will use mobile devices than PCs in order to get online. By 2015, there will be one mobile device for every person on earth -- all 7 billion plus of us. The search giant cites its own research claiming 95 percent of smartphone users have searched on their devices for local information, with 61 percent of those calling the business, and 59 percent visiting that business.

The 'GoMoMeter' allows the website owner to enter his or her site to be analyzed for mobile compatibility. We attempted to load BetaNews, however it didn't work. That could be due to the fact that the GoMo Initiative hasn't been officially announced yet and the site may not be fully operational.

Google even goes further and provides advertising agencies with a best practices guide to sell the idea of mobile to their clients. Called the GoMo Playbook, the document guides agencies in answering their client's questions about mobile as well as how to build an effective mobile site itself.
AMD launches new entry-level workstation graphics card: FirePro V4900

Publié: novembre 1, 2011, 5:31pm CET par Tim Conneally

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) on Tuesday launched its latest professional graphics card in retail, the FirePro V4900, which targets the entry level of professional graphics workstations.

WIth a pricetag of just $189, AMD's FirePro V4900 has 1GB of 128-bit GDDR5 RAM that drives memory bandwidth of 64 GB/s. It's not the most powerful of AMD's FirePro units, but it is priced to move, and will come as the default graphics card in certain Dell, HP, and Fujitsu workstations.

Here are the specs…

Stream Processors: 480
Memory Interface: 128-bit
Memory Size/Type: 1GB GDDR5
Bandwidth: 64.0 GB/s
DisplayPort: 2 Standard
Dual-link DVI: 1
Max Resolution: 2560x1600 @ 60Hz
Max Power: Slots: 1
Form Factor: Full Height / Half Length
Bus Interface: PCI Express 2.1 x16
Supports DirectX 11.0, OpenGL, OpenCL3, AMD Eyefinity
Shader Model: 5.0
OS Support: Microsoft Windows 7, XP, Vista, Linux (32-bit or 64-bit)

In AMD's most recent earnings call last week, President and CEO Rory P. Read cited the consistent business coming from the company's graphics division.

"AMD's graphics segment continued to be a solid business for us," Read said. "Segment revenue was up 10% quarter-over-quarter and up 4% year-over-year. This growth was driven largely by strong seasonal revenue increases in the AIB channel. Our AMD Radeon HD GPU was also recognized as the world's fastest mobile product in the most recent quarter. This continues to show outstanding graphics innovation from AMD. We also publicly demonstrated our next-generation 28 nanometer GPU product during the third quarter, and we look forward to building on our performance leadership position in the graphics area throughout 2012 and the years ahead."
Tell us your Xbox Kinect story

Publié: novembre 1, 2011, 4:07pm CET par Joe Wilcox

November 4 is the one-year anniversary of Kinect, which rapidly is evolving into more than a game controller and a huge present and future success for Microsoft. The technology also represents the company's profound push into natural user interfaces. Apple's Siri has buzz now, but it's from Redmond, Wash., not Cupertino, Calif., that the most inventive NUIs are coming -- and most likely will dramatically affect your life and anyone within your sphere of six degrees of separation.

But that's a future I'll expand on in a few paragraphs. For now, the present. Do you Kinect? If so, I'd like your story, whether it's about the technology for gaming or something else. Please share your story here or send email to joe at betanews dot com. I'll collect some stories here and post others separately, depending on writers' preferences.

In January, reader Robert Johnson asked: "Could Kinect be Microsoft's iPod?" He gave a developer's perspective on the technology two months after launch and long before Microsoft released the Kinect SDK for Windows. His story is a good starting point.

One of the reasons I'm so recently bullish about Microsoft -- and why you should be, too -- is recent investments in NUIs like Kinect. As I explained in February, Apple's success today traces back to four investments made in 2001 during a recession that sapped sales. Economic crisis seemingly is time to pull back, but historically companies that invest often reap rewards later. Here there's some irony. Apple's fortune soared during the current economic downturn from investments made during the last one. I see Microsoft NUI investments made over the last couple years in same ilk.

During his Consumer Electronics Show 2009 keynote, at the height of the econolypse, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer professd: "I believe that companies and industries that continue to pursue innovation during tough economic times will achieve a significant competitive advantage positioning themselves for growth far more effectively than companies that hold back." He's absolutely right. Microsoft's investments in cloud infrastructure and purchases of companies like Skype, for example, are sure to pay off in the future. But Kinect, and other NUI technogies, stand apart for their potential to dramatically change how we all interface with high-tech. The most natural user interface is you.

Microsoft is getting much better at user interfaces and user experience -- that is UX -- and Bill Buxton is one of the key influencers. Buxton, principal researcher at Microsoft Research, is one of the best hires of the Steve Ballmer decade. I encourage you to review the Buxton Collection for a sense of what he sees as delivering good UX and sense for where Microsoft is going with NUIs.

Science Fiction

Technology like Kinect is the stuff of science fiction. But that's not the only tale being told.

Microsoft's biggest competitive problem is fiction -- what competitor's might do. There are now rumors that Apple will add Siri to Apple TV and that it will be better than Kinect. It's really laughable, since they do different things (granted there is voice command overlap). But the rumors -- and don't take them too seriously -- are having impact.

Yesterday, Ali Muzaffar commented:

I do love the Kinect but it's days are numbered if all the Android and Apple powered smart tv's are really coming. MS needs to do something drastic here, the Xbox is already a great media hub, they really need to extend the abilities of the Xbox and Kinect interface to allow you to do more. Perhaps make the Kinect sensor smaller in the process.

Microsoft is doing more, as the "Kinect Effect" campaign and Windows SDK indicate.

Yesterday morning, Microsoft watcher Paul Thurrott picked up on the rumors spread by The New York Times Bits blog about Siri coming to Apple TV. (Who needs misinformed blog posts when the Grey Lady so effectively spreads rumors?) He writes: "Science fiction? I guess that's true if you ignore what Microsoft shipped a year ago".

I posted to Google+: "Apple doesn't copy, eh?" -- and the comments are worth a look. Fellow journalist Ian Betteridge makes the most important point:

Umm... you're all suggesting a feature which doesn't exist, on a product which doesn't exist, is a copy of something? Remember, these rumours originate with the same bunch of fantasists who insisted that Apple was going to be unveils a teardrop-shaped iPhone 5 with NFC and blah blah blah.

That's right, the science fiction here is Siri for Apple TV. But already Microsoft is competing against this amorphous thing. Surely, Apple rumors will be the ruin of us all!

Circling back, please share your Kinect story here in comments or by emailing joe at betanews dot com.
PC Tools unveils 2012 security software

Publié: novembre 1, 2011, 12:11am CET par Mike Williams

Security vendor PC Tools has revealed its new-look website and 2012 products. And the company is focusing very much on ease of use, with the claim that all the new releases provide “powerfully simple protection”.

There are four major programs available.

PC Tools Spyware Doctor and AntiVirus offers good all-round antivirus protection, with built-in browsing and antiphishing protection. New features include Scam Alerts, which "protect against the latest cybercrime schemes like "get rich quick" offers and fake antivirus "scareware" that trick people into divulging confidential information. And the new Malicious Site Monitoring "guards against exploits that cybercriminals often target like the latest movie trailers and breaking news headlines". There’s also a more basic PC Tools Spyware Doctor, which omits the anti-virus module, plus the completely free PC Tools AntiVirus Free, which does not include the Behavior Guard, the Site Guard or Browser Guard modules, found in the commercial edition.

PC Tools Internet Security adds a firewall, and a spam filter. It also supports the new Scam Alerts and Malicious Site Monitoring, and adds many improvements all across the package: more accurate scanning, better browsing protection, enhanced real-time guards, better behaviour monitoring, and more.

PC Tools Registry Mechanic cleans your Registry, deletes system clutter, optimizes Windows, and maintains your privacy, while an interface revamp makes it easier to use and clearly view all the program’s optimisations.

And the PC Tools Performance Toolkit includes everything in Registry Mechanic, and adds plenty more. So it can optimise your file layout for better performance; recover accidentally deleted files; improve your startup and shutdown times; analyze and repair hard drives; and, new this time, a Duplicate File Finder helps you free up drive space by deleting duplicate files.

Trial versions of each package are available now, however keep in mind that one thing which hasn’t changed is PC Tools’ less-than-generous policy on evaluations. So the programs can scan for malware and Registry errors, but won’t remove them until you’ve purchased a license.