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BetaNews.Com (10 non lus)

Android Design tells the Ice Cream Sandwich story

Publié: janvier 12, 2012, 9:40pm CET par Joe Wilcox

If you're writing apps for Android, or even thinking about it, Google has a new site for you: Android Design. Well, I think it's new. A blog post popped into my RSS feeds late this afternoon, but dated yesterday. So I can't say whence came Android Design.

Christian Robertson, the guy behind the Roboto font family used in Ice Cream Sandwich -- you know, Android 4.0 -- calls the new site "the place to learn about principles, building blocks, and patterns for creating world-class Android user interfaces. Whether you’re a UI professional or a developer playing that role, these docs show you how to make good design decisions, big and small". Heck, even if you're just an Ice Cream Sandwich user (gimme Galaxy Nexus), Android Design is worth your time.

Why end users? Because the site goes into vivid detail about the design principles behind Ice Cream Sandwich. It's essentially the operating systems' story -- and that will grow with the number of devices. Until this week's Consumer Electronics Show, Android 4.0 was available just on Galaxy Nexus or to those Nexus S smartphones having received the update (I'm still waiting for it). But several mobile device manufacturers upped their commitment during CES. For example, ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime will get ICS imminently and new Huawei MediaPads will ship with Android 4.0 later in the quarter.

Ice Cream Sandwich is the future of Android, closing the fork between Gingerbread (for smartphones) and Honeycomb (for tablets). Whatever design principles Google applies here will carry forward to future versions. Perhaps there will be future integration, between Android and Chrome OS, down the road -- or Android could someday replace the browser-based operating system.

Perhaps because of my profession, I glommed on to writing guidelines for developers' apps, which could apply to day-to-day communications for anyone:

1. Keep it brief. Be concise, simple and precise. Start with a 30 character limit (including spaces), and don't use more unless absolutely necessary.

2. Keep it simple. Pretend you're speaking to someone who's smart and competent, but doesn't know technical jargon and may not speak English very well. Use short words, active verbs, and common nouns.

3. Be friendly. Use contractions. Talk directly to the reader using second person ("you"). If your text doesn't read the way you'd say it in casual conversation, it's probably not the way you should write it. Don't be abrupt or annoying and make the user feel safe, happy and energized.

4. Put the most important thing first. The first two words (around 11 characters, including spaces) should include at least a taste of the most important information in the string. If they don't, start over.

5. Describe only what's necessary, and no more. Don't try to explain subtle differences. They will be lost on most users.

6. Avoid repetition. If a significant term gets repeated within a screen or block of text, find a way to use it just once.

I agree with all but the last, for general writing (apps are different). In long-form writing, a little repetition helps to emphasize the point.

As for Android Design, Robertson promises: "The Android User Experience Team is committed to helping you design amazing apps that people love, and this is just the beginning. In the coming months, we’ll expand Android Design with more in-depth contents".
Microsoft search share tops Yahoo, and, whoa, that's not a good thing

Publié: janvier 12, 2012, 8:49pm CET par Joe Wilcox

I told you so. In summer 2009, I asserted that the Microsoft-Yahoo search deal was "Google's Christmas-in-July present". Reasoning: By Yahoo outsourcing search to Microsoft, Bing would cannibalize share from its partner rather than lead to the combined entity gaining against Google. Last month, Bing US search share nudged ahead of Yahoo, according to comScore. It's a setback for Microsoft.

Google remains the big winner in the search share wars with Microsoft. In June 2009, the month before the announced search outsourcing deal, Google share was 65 percent. Yahoo and Microsoft were 19.6 percent and 8.4 percent, respectively, or 28 percent combined. In December 2011, Google search share was 65.9 percent, Microsoft 15.1 percent and Yahoo 14.5 percent -- for combined 29.6 percent. That's lower than November when Microsoft-Yahoo share was 30.1 percent. The point: Little has changed since the search deal was announced, except that Microsoft has cannibalized share from Yahoo.

Well, something else changed. Yahoo gave up its crown jewels to Microsoft, only to end up worse for wear in market share. Microsoft gives hundreds of millions of dollars to Yahoo, for search share that could have been gained organically and probably was -- as the software giant improved Bing and unleashed compelling advertising. Microsoft is in process of making Bing more of a development platform with Windows 8, where developers can easily tap the service into their products -- a move that can grow share irrespective of Yahoo.

For Bing, the search share gains are impressive. One year earlier, December 2010, Microsoft share was 12 percent and Yahoo 16 percent, for combined 28 percent. Google was 66.6 percent. Oh? 666. Who says Google isn't evil? ;-)

Of course, Microsoft should gain as much search share as possible. But the gains need to come from Google, not Yahoo. Looking over the historical data, there have been ups and downs for all three parties but one constant: Microsoft taking share from Yahoo and not Google.
Hands-on: LG Viper 4G, Sprint's second LTE smartphone [video]

Publié: janvier 12, 2012, 8:26pm CET par Tim Conneally

Sprint's Network Vision upgrade to LTE won't be a top-down change, where only flagship devices will be able to hook up to the high speed network, among the carrier's first LTE devices will be the slightly cheaper, slightly less flashy LG Viper 4G.

The device is light and smallish (at least when compared to Sprint's flagship LTE phone, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus,) and its primary selling points are its high recyclability and low energy footprint. While these qualities rarely prove to be majorly attractive to consumers, it's still nice to have them checked off when looking at new devices.

The Viper 4G is powered by Android 2.3 and a 1.2GHz dual-core processor. It has a 5-megapixel camera and a VGA forward-facing chat camera, a 4-inch WVGA display, and multi-device hotspot capability.
Microsoft signs patent deal with LG over Android, boasts on Twitter

Publié: janvier 12, 2012, 8:20pm CET par Ed Oswald

Microsoft now has licensing agreements with Android manufacturers covering 70 percent of all phones on the market following an agreement with LG over Android and Chrome OS announced Thursday. The Redmond, Wash.-based company has long maintained that "Android isn't free", and aggressively pursues licensing deals with manufacturers.

For the most part it has been successful, and already has deals with HTC, Samsung, Suanta, Copal Electronics and Wistron. Motorola resists Microsoft's efforts, but an International Trade Commission ruling finds the company is infringing on at least one Microsoft-owned patent, making an eventual deal more likely.

"We are pleased to have built upon our longstanding relationship with LG to reach a mutually beneficial agreement", deputy general counsel for intellectual property Horacio Gutierrez says. "We are proud of the continued success of our program in resolving the IP issues surrounding Android and Chrome OS".

The licensing agreements give Microsoft a cut from each Android-powered device sold. In the case of HTC, it is $5 per, and it's too much of a stretch to believe that deals with other manufacturers aren't similar. It is believed that Microsoft is making hundreds of millions of dollars in just Android licensing deals alone.

Microsoft officials took to Twitter after the deal was announced to rub it in, using the hashtag #anotherandroidlicense. Corporate communications chief Frank Shaw used a reference to the Occupy movement to make his point.

"Hey Google -- we are the 70 percent", he chided. The comment did not go over so well on Twitter, with some calling it "classless".

Shaw wasn't the only one, as general counsel Brad Smith kept up the Occupy meme. "It's time to recognize that in #patent world, lawsuits are the 1 percent; license agreements are the 99 percent", he tweeted.

Now there's advice that Apple should perhaps take -- settle rather than sue.

Only Windows 8 can save the PC market now

Publié: janvier 12, 2012, 6:49pm CET par Joe Wilcox

Three days ago, near the end of his last Consumer Electronics Show keynote, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer boomed: "There's nothing more important at Microsoft than Windows". He better mean it, because the Windows PC is in big trouble. Fourth-quarter US personal computer sales were outright disastrous, while overall 2011 global growth was the worst since 2001. Recession that year devastated PC shipments, despite Windows XP's late-year launch.

There is no single reason for weak shipments during fourth quarter, when holiday sales typically give PCs a boost: Economic crisis in Europe, hard drive shortages following flooding in Thailand and weak demand among consumers, among others. There is a convergence of factors -- a cascading effect that disproportionately affects Windows PCs compared to Macs. On the Windows side, only Lenovo has proved immune. Apple meanwhile continues to sell Macs hand over fist, as they say, while Windows is at risk.

Worst Year Since 2001

On Tuesday, Tami Reller, chief financial officer for Windows and Windows Live, warned that the division's fourth-quarter results could fall below analysts' estimates (That's her above from the Microsoft CES keynote). She largely blamed the natural disaster in Thailand and estimated that PC shipments fell about 1 percent year over year.

Late yesterday afternoon, Gartner and IDC both released preliminary fourth quarter and full 2011 PC shipment data. Reller's statement indicated something unexpected, because of the stated reason. However, Gartner and IDC say the declines they observed -- 1.4 percent and 0.2 percent globally, respectively -- were in line with their forecasts. US declines were substantially greater, 5.9 percent by Gartner's reckoning and 6.71 percent by IDC's. The full year wasn't much better, with IDC calling 2011 the "second worst year in history" for US PC shipments.

The hard drive shortage is a mitigating factor that obviously cannot be ignored, but Microsoft is wrong to principally lay blame there. It's not like retailers sold out of PCs during the holidays because they couldn't get enough stock on the shelves. Shipments into the channel were down, but sales to businesses or consumers weren't necessarily up -- that is for most vendors. Gartner calls the hard drive shortage's fourth-quarter impact "limited". The full force is still ahead, and it comes during a quarter of lower sales anyway. IDC says that first quarter is when "the full impact of the HDD shortage is felt". Gartner is a bit more dismal, warning "first half" of 2012.

That, by the way, isn't necessarily bad for Microsoft and likely could have unforeseen benefits. The Redmond, Wash.-based company plans to release Windows 8 public beta in late February, which, based on past releases, likely will slow down current version license sales ahead of the new version's launch. Better there be a hard drive shortage now than in autumn, when, presumably, Windows 8 ships.

Top 5 Vendors, Worldwide PC Shipments, Fourth Quarter 2011 (Preliminary) (Units Shipments are in thousands)

Rank	Vendor	4Q11 Shipments	Market Share	4Q10 Shipments	Market Share	4Q11/4Q10 Growth

1	HP	15,123	16.31%	17,989	19.37%	-15.93%
2	Lenovo	13,012	14.04%	9,514	10.25%	36.77%
3	Dell	11,970	12.91%	11,156	12.01%	7.30%
4	Acer Group	9,790	10.56%	10,643	11.46%	-8.02%
5	ASUS	6,243	6.73%	4,944	5.32%	26.29%

	Others	36,564	39.44%	38,615	41.58%	-5.31%

	All Vendor	92,702	100.00%	92,861	100.00%	-0.17%

Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker, January 11, 2012

Focus on Fundamentals

No one should let Microsoft, or even analysts, distract from fundamentals beyond short-term shortages of a key component. Simply put: Consumers aren't buying Windows PCs like they used to. Their spending goes to other stuff, with tablets -- and that really means iPad -- ripping away sales. We just finished the holiday quarter, one of the two seasons of typically strong sales (back to school is the other).

"Continuously low consumer PC demand resulted in weak holiday PC shipments", Mikako Kitagawa, Gartner principal analyst, says. Not hard drive shortages, but weak consumer demand. "While economic uncertainty in Western Europe had an effect on consumer PC shipments, expectations of a healthier economic outlook in North America could not stimulate consumer PC demand in that region. The healthy professional PC market as well as growth in emerging markets could not compensate for the weaknesses in mature markets, with overall growth still negative".

How negative? In the United States, fourth-quarter PC shipments fell for every vendor but Apple, according to Gartner. HP shipments plummeted by more than 26 percent, while Apple's grew by 20.7 percent. IDC put HP's decline at 25.3 percent and Apple's gain at 18 percent. The Mac maker solidified its No. 3 ranking, with market share rising to 11.6 percent from 9 percent year over year according to Gartner and to 10.92 percent from 8.63 percent by IDC's reckoning.

Top 5 Vendors, United States PC Shipments, Fourth Quarter 2011 (Preliminary) (Units Shipments are in thousands)

Rank	Vendor	4Q11 Shipments	Market Share	4Q10 Shipments	Market Share	4Q11/4Q10 Growth

1	HP	4,274	23.02%	5,721	28.74%	-25.30%
2	Dell	4,166	22.44%	4,372	21.96%	-4.70%
3	Apple	2,028	10.92%	1,718	8.63%	18.00%
4	Toshiba	1,925	10.37%	1,968	9.89%	-2.20%
5	Acer Group	1,511	8.14%	1,765	8.87%	-14.37%

	Others	4,666	25.13%	4,361	21.91%	6.98%

	All Vendors	18,569	100.00%	19,906	100.00%	-6.71%

Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker, January 11, 2012

The Mac is big windfall benefactor of the PC shipment/sales crisis, because:

Apple's brand is sizzling hot right now.
Most people use Windows, which is old to them if upgrading, while the Mac is fresh.
iPad cannibalize Windows PC sales, as businesses and consumers buy the tablet as upgrade companion or even replacement.
Apple is more insulated from the hard drive shortage, in part because of how it sources components compared to most other computer makers.

"The industry still needs to work through some key hurdles in 2012, including recovery of HDD supply, the launch of Windows 8, and successful evolution of PC design to become still more mobile", Loren Loverde, IDC vice president, says. He's optimistic long-term. "Despite the challenges, the industry appears to be on the right path, and will be poised for substantial double-digit growth after working through these issues in 2012".

I've heard those predictions before, such as Gartner and IDC gangbuster forecasts for 2000 and 2001 or 2008 and 2009, before economic crisis crippled PC markets. Both analyst firms downgraded PC shipment projections throughout 2011, so don't bank on Loverde's enthusiasm. There remains lots of uncertainty and risk, as:

Economic uncertainty (particularly in Europe) remains
Major PC vendors place big bets on ultrabooks
Media tablets suck away PC sales
Windows 8 launches

Product Refreshes to the Rescue?

"In the United States, market saturation and the economic environment continue to weigh considerably on consumer demand. However, the market is awaiting new products and technologies, promising a new refresh cycle starting in 3Q12 and beyond with a return to positive growth in the mid-term", said David Daoud, IDC research director, says.

Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 4Q11 (Units)

Company	4Q11 Shipments	4Q11 Market Share (%)	4Q10 Shipments	4Q10 Market Share (%)	4Q11-4Q10 Growth (%)
HP	14,712,266	16.0	17,554,181	18.8	-16.2
Lenovo	12,931,136	14.0	10,516,772	11.3	23.0
Dell	11,633,880	12.6	10,796,317	11.6	7.8
Acer Group	9,823,214	10.7	12,043,606	12.9	-18.4
Asus	6,243,118	6.8	5,180,913	5.5	20.5
Others	36,827,666	40.0	37,358,786	40.0	-1.4
Total	92,171,280	100.0	93,450,575	100.0	-1.4

Source: Gartner (January 2012)

Ultrabook and Windows 8 are the two technologies that will matter most, but the former is off to a shaky start. "Ultrabooks were quietly introduced into the market during the 4Q11 holiday season", Kitagawa osbserves. "Ultrabooks didn’t seem to draw consumers' attention. Consumers had very little understanding and awareness of ultrabooks, and only a small group of consumers was willing to pay the price premium for such models. However, as has been seen this week at the International Consumer Electronics Show...2012 is a big debut stage for ultrabooks".

Getting on stage is one thing. Finishing the performance, rather than being booed off, is another. Windows 8 will give ultrabooks their biggest appeal -- and a rash of forthcoming tablets, too. It's major reason Microsoft must get out Windows 8 public beta fast and build up interest among businesses and, more importantly consumers. Windows 8's Metro UI is fresh -- different from past versions and also Mac OS. New is good in markets like the United States, where most everyone likely to buy a Windows PC already has at least one.

Preliminary United States PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 4Q11 (Units)

Company	4Q11 Shipments	4Q11 Market Share (%)	4Q10 Shipments	4Q10 Market Share (%)	4Q11-4Q10 Growth (%)
HP	4,137,833	23.1	5,598,619	29.4	-26.1
Dell	4,020,549	22.4	4,210,000	22.1	-4.5
Apple	2,074,800	11.6	1,718,400	9.0	20.7
Toshiba	1,925,100	10.7	1,968,091	10.3	-2.2
Acer Group	1,756,838	9.8	1,982,477	10.4	-11.4
Others	4,014,644	22.4	3,583,418	18.8	12.0
Total	17,929,764	100.0	19,061,005	100.0	-5.9

Source: Gartner (January 2012)

Execution is the key, and Microsoft has challenges ahead -- starting with holiday quarter results. Apple is expected to report record Mac shipments (again) during a quarter when Windows stumbled. The Apple Fanclub of bloggers and journalists will go ape over the differences and gloat for months. Public releations-wise, Microsoft has at least a rough month ahead -- until Windows 8 beta releases and hopefully churns up buzz.

Meanwhile, major PC vendors must contend with their own cockeyed planning. The majority chose to announce ultrabooks after the holidays. Who's buying PCs now? Yesterday, I picked on Dell for announcing its sexy XPS 13 ultrabook at CES but not shipping until the end of February. Perhaps I was unfair or short-sighted. End of February, around the same time as Windows 8 public beta, is actually brilliant timing.

Sync files to USB drives with O&O AutoBackup -- download free for January

Publié: janvier 12, 2012, 4:19pm CET par Mark Wilson

O&O AutoBackup is a (temporarily) free backup and synchronization tool that can be used to safeguard your valuable data by creating a copy on a removable USB or Firewire drive. Unlike many backup tools, this particular offering from O&O Software benefits from being incredibly easy to get up and running, in addition to its free availability.

You can choose to backup an entire drive, a selection of folder or use wildcards to specify particular types of file that should be included, and there are numbers of options when it comes to choosing how your files should be handled. You can opt to simply copy files from one location to the other or you can choose to copy only new and changed files. The third option is to go down the synchronization route so any files that have already been removed from the source drive will also be deleted from the removable drive.

When it comes to run the backup or synchronization job, you can opt to run it on a manual basis, or you may prefer to use the automatic option so you backup is updated every time you connect the USB drive you are working with. That’s really all there is to it -- backing up data is kept as simple as it possibly can be.

For the month of January, O&O AutoBackup is available completely free of charge, but you will need to apply for a free registration code in order to unlock the software. To do so, pay a visit to the registration page, enter your email address and click the ‘Request free license’ button. A serial number will be emailed out to you and you will be given the opportunity to enter this during the installation of the program. Take advantageof this offer while you can – from 1 February, this will revert to being a paid-for product.

You can find out more and download a free copy of the program by paying a visit to the O&O AutoBackup 1.0.106 (32-bit) review page (http://www.downloadcrew.com/article/26596-oo_autobackup_32-bit). There is also a 64-bit version of the software available which you can download from the O&O AutoBackup 1.0.106 (64-bit) review page.

Photo Credit: Brian A Jackson/shutterstock
Audit your network PCs with Lansweeper

Publié: janvier 12, 2012, 3:20pm CET par Mike Williams

Network auditing software can be a great way to monitor what’s happening across your LAN. In just a click or two you can browse connected systems, look at key hardware details and check installed applications, without ever having to leave your own PC: very useful.

Unfortunately, the best tools also tend to be very expensive, as they're much in demand. But if you’d like a quality networking audit tool without the corporate price tag, then one option may be to install Lansweeper. It’s an industrial-strength product that comes packed with high-end features, all of which you can use for the 20-day trial period. But when this is up you’ll still be able to run the free version, which provides detailed hardware and software scanning with more than 200 reports across an unlimited number of clients.

The setup process for all this can take a while, depending on your current system. Lansweeper uses SQL Server to manage its database, for instance, so if this isn’t available then it must grab a copy of the free Express Edition (a 100MB download), install and configure it. And the program is accessed via your browser, so it’ll probably need to add a web server, too. The setup program handles all this entirely automatically, but it’s a lengthy process, and you’ll have to be patient.

Once this is complete, though, scanning is relatively straightforward, and you’ll soon be viewing all kinds of details about your networked systems: operating system, CPU, video card, sound card, RAM, hard drives (including free space details), network shares, running services, installed applications and more.

The Config section enables you to drill down through all of this to uncover your target system’s IE extensions, network details, installed Windows updates, and much more.

And if you’re in a hurry then you can simply view Lansweeper’s dashboard, which will highlight key issues that you really need to address: systems without antivirus software, drives which are filling up, critical services such as Windows Update which aren’t running, everything you need to know.

If there’s a problem here it comes in the sheer volume of information; it’s a lot to handle in a browser-based application. But if you’d like to take a look at how it all works, then there’s a demo version on the Lansweeper site which will give you an idea, or you can just jump straight in with the trial/ freeware version: it’s a powerful package, and we don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Photo Credit: Vladru/shutterstock
'Hardwipe' Windows PC data

Publié: janvier 12, 2012, 2:58pm CET par Mark Wilson

When it comes to your computer, security takes a number of forms. There is the threat of viruses and spyware to consider, the importance of securing accounts with strong passwords and there is also the security of your files to bear in mind. You might think that when you delete the files you no longer need they are gone forever, but there are a variety of tools can techniques that can be used to recover data that has been ‘removed’. Hardwipe is a free tool that can be used to boost your security by overwriting files multiple times to dramatically reduce, or even eliminate, the ability to recover files.

The program can be used in a couple of ways, either to wipe a drive in its entirety or delete selections of files. When it comes to wiping a drive, you must use the main program interface to select the drive you are interested in as well as selecting the options that should be used, but when it comes to deleting individual files and folders, Windows’ right click menu provides access to the wiping option.

Files can be overwritten anything from once to 35 time depending on the sensitivity of your data or your level of paranoia, but you should expect most of the multi-wipe options to take quite some time -- although it is possible to adjust the priority at which the program runs. Whether you are wiping a drive completely or just deleting a large number of files, you can opt to have Windows automatically shut down so you do not need to sit at your computer waiting for the process to finish.

Another handy option is the ability to wipe free space that has already been created by deleting files in the usual way or using other software. This option to clean up the potential security risks from the past is a nice touch, as is the feature that makes it possible to wipe data that has been stored in Windows’ swap file.

Hardwipe is not the only secure deletion tool that is available – in fact there are quite a few to choose from – but it benefits greatly from the fact that it is not only free of charge but also incredibly easy to use. If you want to protect your privacy if you are passing on hardware to another owner, this is a great way to keep your data secure.

You can find out more and download a free copy of the app by paying a visit to the Hardwipe review page.

Photo Credit: megainarmy/shutterstock
Up Close: Solowheel, the 'E-Unicycle?' the 'Pocket Segway?' [video]

Publié: janvier 12, 2012, 2:01pm CET par Tim Conneally

Transportation is not something we generally cover here on BetaNews, but sometimes a product will slip through our defenses and end up on the front page because it is interesting, novel, broadly applicable, or simply charming.

Now, Inventec deals in some hokey re-inventions of user-propelled transportation devices: scooters, skates, hydrofoils, and such. Solowheel is a re-invention of the Segway, which is itself a very hokey vehicle, but built on compelling gyroscopic balancing technology and eco-friendly energy consumption.

It shrinks the Segway concept down to a smaller and more affordable profile. Its single wheel is small enough to fit in an airport locker, and costs a little less than half of the retail price of a new Segway. A single charge lets the rider travel 15 to 20 miles at 10 miles per hour, and the Lithium-Ion battery can be fully recharged in 2 hours using standard AC current.

That's not bad when considering a Segway can travel about 24 miles at 12.5 mph, and a full recharge takes 8 to 10 hours.
Hands-on: Android-powered Smart Camera from Polaroid [video]

Publié: janvier 12, 2012, 1:38am CET par Tim Conneally

Like Kodak, film company Polaroid was wrecked by the gradual takeover of digital cameras and demolished by the smartphone taking over the role of the casual/disposable point and shoot.

So Polaroid has embraced Android, and released what is effectively a super high megapixel smartphone without all that pesky communications gear.

The Polaroid SC1630 Smart Camera has a 16 megapixel image sensor, 3x optical zoom, Wi-Fi, GPS, GSM/CDMA network connectivity, up to 32GB of memory via microSD, and a touchscreen interface powered by Android.

Polaroid says the SC1630 will be available in 2012, but did not announce a price, release date, or global availability.