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BetaNews.Com (9 non lus)

Would you pay Google $399 for unlocked, HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus?

Publié: avril 25, 2012, 9:36pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

Google has surreptitiously answered whether AT&T or T-Mobile would carry Galaxy Nexus, which is available from Sprint and Verizon here in the United States: No. Otherwise, why would Google sell the smartphone direct, which it started doing yesterday. It's a helluva price, too -- $399, unlocked, with no contractual commitment.

This is the HSPA+ model released internationally in November 2011. That means no LTE and only 16GB storage, rather than 32GB -- and it's not expandable. The phone sold for $729 or more from Amazon and handset resellers just a few months ago. Amazon lists the 16GB model for $438 today. But, hey, $399 is better. But is it low enough for you? You can get 64GB iPhone 4S from AT&T for same price -- granted locked, with 2-year contractual commitment. Both handsets are HSPA+, though, and AppleCare+, which offers cheap replacement for broken phones, is an extra $99. So I ask: Would you -- or will you -- buy Galaxy Nexus direct from Google?

"First available in the US, Galaxy Nexus costs $399 and arrives at your door unlocked, without a carrier commitment or contract", Android chief Andy Rubin says. "You can use it on the GSM network of your choice, including T-Mobile and AT&T. It also comes pre-installed with the Google Wallet app which lets you easily make purchases and redeem offers with a tap of your phone. Best of all, we'll give you a $10 credit to get you started with your new mobile wallet".

Galaxy Nexus is available from Google Play's new "devices" section. I purchased two Nexus One smartphones direct from Google in 2010. Process was simple and delivery fast. I expect similar customer service here.

Google's timing is strange, though. Samsung plans to debut Galaxy S II's successor during a London event next week. Galaxy Nexus may soon lose its crown as hottest Android handset, although "pure Google" -- meaning newest Android and no sneaky skins -- remains an important differentiator.

Google had the right idea when selling Nexus One direct starting in January 2010. Many bloggers, journalists and pundits got it wrong, presuming Google wanted to circumvent carriers. As I said then, Google rightly wanted to establish a reference design for Android smartphones and provide developers and enthusiasts with the most current OS version. Galaxy Nexus is similar, but more.

This time, Google is trying to get around carriers as well. Some partners have corrupted pure Google -- Verizon among them -- by disabling or muting some Galaxy Nexus/Ice Cream Sandwich features while holding back updates. Then there is the distribution problem, with AT&T and T-Mobile being glaring examples.

Neither carrier offered predecessor Nexus S, either. Best Buy sold the phones for Google, unlocked with or without carrier commitment -- but $529 no contract. By that measure, the considerably better Galaxy Nexus is a bargain at $399. Still, it's pricey compared to what Americans are used to paying with contractual commitment.

So what do you get? Galaxy Nexus sports 4.65-inch multitouch display with 1280 x 720 resolution (100,000:1 contrast ratio); 1.2GHz dual-core processor; 1GB RAM; 16GB storage; GSM/EDGE/GPRS (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), 3G (850, 1700, 1900, 2100 MHz), HSPA+ 21; 5MP rear-facing and 1.3MP front-facing cameras; LED flash; zero shutter-lag; 1080p video recording; accelerometer; ambient-light sensor; barometer; gyroscope; GPS; proximity sensor; digital compass; Near-Field Communication (NFC); Bluetooth; WiFi; Android 4. Measurements: 135.5 x 67.94 x 8.94 mm, 135 grams. The battery is 1750 mAh, which is less than the 1850 mAh available with Sprint and Verizon models.

I reviewed the Verizon Galaxy Nexus in December. I highly recommend the carrier's model, which gets big boost from LTE. I presume the HSPA+ model experience is comparable, but would want to test one, considering how much better I find cellular and data service from Verizon than AT&T.

So back to where we started: Would you buy unlocked, HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus from Google for $399. Comments await your response.
Facebook opens antivirus download shop to broaden security resources

Publié: avril 25, 2012, 7:21pm CEST par Tim Conneally

Popular social network Facebook has partnered with security vendors Symantec, McAfee, Microsoft, Sophos, and Trend Micro in a program to simultaneously improve Facebook's security and broaden the availability of the antivirus software from each of the partners.

Since 2008, Facebook has kept a URL blacklist, and any time a Facebook user posts a link to one of the blacklisted URL, Facebook pops up an interstitial warning page before the browser actually connects off to the suspicious destination. Facebook's parters in this effort included McAfee, Google, Web of Trust, and Websense.

With the partnerships announced today, Facebook's URL blacklist system will include the malicious URL databases of all of the security vendors.

"This means that whenever you click a link on our site, you benefit not just from Facebook’s existing protections, but the ongoing vigilance of the world’s leading corporations involved in computer security. At the moment, less than 4% of content shared is spam (compared to nearly 90% of email) and we are looking forward to making even more progress in the future," a blog post from the Facebook Security Team said on Wednesday.

And what do the security companies get out of this? Prime exposure to Facebook's 900 million users, of course!

On Wednesday, Facebook launched its own Antivirus Marketplace, where users can download the various antivirus software packages from Microsoft, McAfee, Trend Micro, Sophos and Symantec under six-month free licenses. These companies will also be able to use the Facebook Security Blog to post their bulletins and information for its more than six million followers.
Apple's WWDC starts June 11, Mountain Lion and iOS 6 expected

Publié: avril 25, 2012, 6:55pm CEST par Ed Oswald

Apple's annual Worldwide Developer Conference will take place June 11-15 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, but forget about going. That's because tickets sold out in only two hours, the fastest in the conference's history. In 2010, this took 10 days to occur, and in 2011 eight hours.

Like last year, 2012's event is expected to focus on software. Mountain Lion should be released during the event, which brings more iOS-like features to the desktop. Conversely, iOS 6 is also expected to debut at WWDC, although we seem to know a lot less there.

The proof of what's to come at this year's event comes from the statements of marketing chief Philip Schiller. "We have a great WWDC planned this year and can’t wait to share the latest news about iOS and OS X Mountain Lion with developers", he says in a statement.

Apparently neither could the developers, if the fast sellout was any indication -- even though WWDC costs $1,600 per ticket, and the announcement was made during the middle of the night Silicon Valley time. Have no fear though: Apple says it will post videos of the more than 100 educational sessions in the developer section of its website.
Norton Identity Safe secures Android, iOS, OS X and Windows passwords

Publié: avril 25, 2012, 6:44pm CEST par Mark Wilson

You’ve no doubt noticed that a huge number of websites require you to log into an account before you can do anything useful. This could be your banking site, a forum, a social network, or almost anything else imaginable and in all likelihood you have a huge number of passwords to remember. Some people simply use the same password for everything, but this has obvious security implications. Norton Identity Safe is one possible solution that rivals tools such as KeePass and 1Password as it stores all of you log in details in a secure database.

The app is available for Windows as well as iOS and Android and, providing you make sure you download the software before 1 October 2012, it is completely free of charge. Although there is a regular program installation to run through, the app is really a browser plugin for users of Windows and OS X, and it is compatible with Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Opera. As all of your password are stored in one place, you will obviously need to create a strong password to keep everything secure, and there is a two-step approach to this.

Firstly, you need to sign into an existing Norton account, or create a new one if you do not already have one, and you then have to create a separate password for Identity Safe itself. It’s no good trying to cheat here as you are not allowed to use the same password as for your account, and you will be guided through the process of making a suitable strong password – not too short, a mixture of upper and lower case letter, and including numbers and symbols.

Once this has been done you can start storing your usernames and password, and Identity Safe will then automatically fill in login forms whenever you call on it to do so -- auto-form filling also extends to address, credit card details and the like. Because data is stored in the cloud it can be automatically synchronized between devices so you never have to remember passwords -- however many different machines you use. It’s somewhat disappointing to find that it is not possible to successfully import passwords that have already been saved in your web browser.

There are also mobile versions of the app available for Android and iOS and while these offer many of the same options as the desktop version, there are a few differences. Firstly, you need to have setup the desktop version in advance so the mobile app can pull in password information from the cloud. The iOS app is really a replacement for the built-in browser and it will enable you to access the passwords you have stored in your account and similar options are available to Android users. It is also possible to check the safety of web sites and any pages that are deemed unsafe will be automatically blocked.

You can find out more and download a free copy of the software by paying a visit to the review pages -- Norton Identity Safe, Norton Identity Safe for iOS and Norton Identity Safe for Android.

Photo Credit: bicubic/Shutterstock
CyberLink debuts Media Suite 10

Publié: avril 25, 2012, 6:10pm CEST par Mike Williams

Today, CyberLink released Media Suite 10, which combines eleven of the company’s most powerful applications into a hugely comprehensive multimedia bundle.

PowerDVD 12 is a very capable media player, for instance. Power2Go 8 caters for all your disc burning needs. MediaShow 6 is an excellent media management tool, and PowerDirector 10 is arguably the best consumer video editor available today.

But that’s just the start. PowerProducer 5.5 provides speedy template-based disc authoring; MediaEspresso 6.5 converts media files to more mobile-friendly formats; other bundled tools include PowerBackup 2.6, PowerDVD Copy 1.5, LabelPrint 2.6 and InstantBurn 5, and the helpful PowerStarter provides a front-end menu which makes it easy to find and access the particular function or feature you need.

As previously, CyberLink makes Media Suite available in two flavors.

Media Suite 10 Pro ($99.95) is the budget build. It includes all the applications we’ve listed, and adds many new features since the last release, including YouTube/ Facebook/ Flickr integration; DLNA support; MKV/ FLV import; faster video rendering; and the ability to import and browse 3D and many RAW image formats, amongst others.

Media Suite 10 Ultra ($129.95), though, can also play back Blu-ray movies. Strong 3D support sees the package able to play Blu-ray 3D movies, 3D videos and photos. It can edit 3D videos, too (there are even new 3D effects), and there are a few other high-end extras on offer (such as support for playing back Dolby True-HD/ DTS-HD).

Both suites do at first seem very much cheaper than buying the packages individually. As we write, for instance, PowerDirector 10 Deluxe is $69.95, and PowerDVD 12 Standard is $49.95, so buying Media Suite instead looks like it will save you $19.95 on those two apps alone and get you everything else for free.

However, the math is actually a little more complicated than that, because Media Suite 10 uses special and slightly cut-down versions of its various applications. The Media Suite 10 Ultra, for instance, doesn’t include PowerDirector Ultra, but instead comes with PowerDirector HE3D, which has a simpler workspace and assorted minor omissions (you can’t export to MPEG-2 with Dolby Digital 5.1, for instance).

If you think you might be interested, then, it’s absolutely essential that you try before you buy. And, fortunately, trial builds of Media Suite 10 Ultra and Pro are available. The only problem: all this functionality makes for monster downloads, each over 1.5GB in size, so patience may be required before you can try the packages out for yourself.

Photo Credit: cybrain/Shutterstock
Apple is better off without Steve Jobs

Publié: avril 25, 2012, 6:03pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

For all practical purposes, Tim Cook has run Apple since cofounder, and then CEO, Steve Jobs' January 2009 medical leave. Sure Jobs returned six months later and continued his micromanaging ways, but Cook, as COO, continued responsibility for day-to-day operations. He already had distinguished himself as a logistics genius, at Compaq and for a decade at Apple, before assuming Jobs' daily role -- and becoming CEO in August 2011. Cook's influence on the current state of Apple cannot be understated.

As I write Apple shares are up, following yesterday's stunning fiscal 2012 second quarter earnings results; net income rose a stunning 94 percent year over year. The stock closed down 2 percent yesterday, but shot up more than 7 percent in after-hours trading. Apple closed at $560.28 yesterday and opened at $615.99 today. But the measure of Cook's success, and why he is the better man to run Apple, is much more than rising share price. It's really about performance.

Dollars and Sense

During fiscal first quarter 2012 (synchronous with calendar Q4 2011) Apple generated more revenue ($46.33 billion) than all fiscal 2009 ($42.9 billion). During the first half of fiscal 2012, Apple generated more revenue ($85.83 billion) than all fiscal 2010 ($65.23 billion). If Apple meets or surpasses targets for fiscal third quarter, revenue for the first nine months will top all of fiscal 2011 ($108.25 billion).

Looked at differently, Apple's net income for the first fiscal half of 2012 ($24.12 billion) exceeds that of fiscal 2009 and 2010 combined ($22.25 billion) and is surprisingly close to all of fiscal 2011 ($25.9 billion). This all happened effectively on Cook's watch and is measure of his influence and performance long before officially becoming Apple CEO last summer.

Finally, under Cook, Apple delivers performance that meets Jobs' hype and the reality distortion field that long kept interest in the company, its products and stock. Effectively, Apple has traded reality distortion for reality -- and unequivocally Cook deserves more credit than Jobs. It's one thing to design pretty products and something altogether different to sell them. There Cook's manufacturing and distribution genius has proved greater than Apple cofounder's.

These numbers speak for themselves, as do milestones like: May 2010, Apple market capitalization tops Microsoft, to become world's most valuable tech company; August 2011, Apple's market capitalization passed Exxon to become world's most valuable company.

The Devices' Story

Then there are the hard device numbers. Jobs may have had the vision with iPhone, which launched in June 2007, but Cook executed on it, particularly in 2010 and 2011, with launches of iPad and iPad 2 and iPhone 4 and 4S.

At the end of calendar 2011, Apple had 315 million cumulative iOS device sales. The 55 million iPads sold to then accounted for 17 percent of the total and iPhone, with 175 million sold, 56 percent.

But 2011 was the break-out year for iOS devices -- 156 million, according to Asymco's calculations. So Apple sold 49.5 percent of all iOS devices in a single year, which indicates considerable accelerated momentum.

According to company financial filings, for calendar 2011, Apple sold 92.95 million iPhones and 40.45 million iPads -- generating $61 billion and $24.95 billion revenue, respectively. For all calendar 2011, all Apple generated $127.84 billion revenue. The two products accounted for 67 percent of the company's sales for the year (again referring to calendar and not Apple's fiscal year).

Three months later, end of first calendar quarter 2012 (and Apple's fiscal second) and cumulative iOS device sales are 365 million, as stated during yesterday's earnings call. Apple sold 50 million iOS devices in the quarter, generating $29.8 billion revenue, or 76 percent of the total.

Measuring the Men

I proposed this story to my BetaNews colleagues more than a month ago and planned on writing it since mid-February. But I kept holding back and decided to wait until Apple announced fiscal Q2 earnings. That was wise, considering how strongly the first two quarters compare to everything else and demonstrate the wisdom of decisions Cook made years ago, which Jobs obviously supported. Recent results derive from plans in motion long before Cook took the chief executive's chair.

There's something else, which must be stated but unfortunately will draw fire from the Apple faithful: Jobs' ego hindered Cook's genius. For years before Job's 2009 medical leave, the company made asinine distribution decisions that courted to his need for attention. Apple kept products secret, so that showman Jobs could bask before the attention of "one more thing" unveilings.

Practically, such approach is manufacturing and distribution lunacy. Rather than have products in channel to sell, Apple had to hold back -- sometimes even production -- leading to delayed distribution and shortages. The strategy also cut into margins, as Apple had to assume heavier costs ramping up production and rapidly shipping to customers.

Something's different now: I preordered iPhone 4 in 2010 and it shipped FedEx from China. This year, my family preordered the new iPad and it shipped from California, which suggests, as rumored, that Apple prepped the channel -- something that would have been harder under Jobs' leadership.

Perhaps Apple gross margins reflects some of the sanity returning to manufacturing distribution. In fiscal second quarter, they rose 6 points year over year to 47.4 percent.

I've been writing about Apple product shortages for more than a decade. What differentiates now and then is reality distortion vs. reality. In the early 2000s, Apple suffered from supply-side problems. More recently, shortages are all about overwhelming demand.

Cook understands this newer supply problem is all about distribution logistics, that's why he repeatedly turned to the topic during yesterday's earnings call. For example, going on at length about China:

We have expanded point of sales. On a year-over-year basis Mac is up 70 percent, but still only 1,800 [outlets] for all of greater China. Obviously there is a lot more opportunity there. iPhone we're up over 11,000, which is up 138 percent. But 11,000 is a much smaller than the number we have in the US. Obviously China in the next few years will be a bigger opportunity. iPad is only in 2,500 points of sale. Yes, we've expanded, expanded a lot. However, there is a lot of headroom here in our view.

During the quarter, Asia-Pacific region passed Europe to become second largest in revenue. If the trend continues China may exceed all of Europe in a couple quarters. During fiscal Q2, China generated $7.9 billion compared to $8.8 billion for Europe. Distribution is the key, something Cook understands. He visited China this month. Would Jobs have?

Cook has done for Apple, what Jobs couldn't. Make reality distortion a reality. Make Apple the most successful technology company on the planet.

Vision is one thing. Execution is another.
CCleaner 3.18 supports Chrome 20 and Firefox 12

Publié: avril 25, 2012, 5:30pm CEST par Nick Peers

Piriform Inc has updated its freeware Windows cleaning tool with added support for the latest versions of Firefox and Chrome. CCleaner 3.18 also adds a multi-select tool to the detailed results view, providing users with more control over choosing which items to clean from their computer.

Version 3.18, which is also available as a standalone portable tool, also adds cleaning tools for a handful of new applications, plus a number of feature and interface improvements, and minor bug fixes. Version 3.18 adds three specific new features: support for the recently released Firefox 12 and Google Chrome 20, currently available as an alpha Dev build.

It also introduces a new multi-select tool: after scanning the computer and providing a results summary, users can double-click an entry to view its details up close. The multi-select tool comes into play here, allowing the user to [Ctrl]-click any entries they wish, then right-click to access more options, such as excluding those items from being cleaned.

CCleaner 3.18 also includes a number of improvements, including better support for 64-bit IE add-ons, an improved folder detection algorithm for cleaning items, interface tweaks (including scrolling interface for including and excluding dialogue boxes) and better compatibility with Windows 7’s [Alt] + [Tab] functionality.

The Driver Wiper tool benefits from a better interface, while version 3.18 adds support for cleaning GIMP 2.8, Corel VideoStudio Pro X5 and MS Security Client, while beefing up its support for OpenOffice 3 and AIMP 3. The update is rounded off with a number of unspecified minor user-interface tweaks and bug fixes.

CCleaner 3.18 and CCleaner 3.18 Portable are available now as a freeware download for PCs running Windows 2000 or later. A separate OS X build, CCleaner for Mac 1.02, is also available.

Photo Credit: Goydenko Tatiana/Shutterstock
Microsoft releases Security Essentials 4

Publié: avril 25, 2012, 5:08pm CEST par Mike Williams

Microsoft has released Security Essentials 4.0, the latest version of its lightweight, straightforward antivirus package.

The bulk of the changes this time are under the hood. MSE’s “Automatic Remediation” now does a better job of quarantining threats on its own, for instance, no user intervention required. And Microsoft claims scanning performance and malware detection rates have both improved on the previous build.

The program can now also use the Microsoft Active Protection Service (the new name for SpyNet) to automatically report malware to Microsoft, helping the company to create new definitions and more quickly respond to new outbreaks. (Although, of course, if you’d rather the program didn’t “phone home” at all then you can turn this off entirely.)

And there’s the obligatory minor interface tweak or two, all of which help make Microsoft Security Essentials 4.0 just a little easier to use.

In theory, at least, the program should be automatically made available to existing users via Microsoft Update. In which case clicking About Security Essentials (from the Additional Help Options menu) should reveal a Security Essentials and Antimalware Client version of 4.0.1526.0 or greater.

Some people are reporting this hasn’t worked for them, though, and if you’re one of them -- or you just want to try out the program for the first time -- then Microsoft Security Essentials 4.0 32-bit and 64-bitdownloads are available now.
Apple had an 'incredible quarter in China'

Publié: avril 25, 2012, 1:13am CEST par Joe Wilcox

Today after the closing bell, Apple announced fiscal 2012 second quarter results, with earnings up a staggering 94 percent year over year. But one region -- and within it a single country -- stood out for performance and closed on the United States as Apple's most important market as measured by sales.

Apple revenue to Asia-Pacific rose a staggering 114 percent to $10.15 billion. That data excludes Japan, where sales soared 91 percent. By comparison, Americas revenue topped $13.2 billion, up 41 percent year over year. During the quarter, Asia-Pacific pushed past Europe to be Apple's second most important region, as measured by revenue. In that region, China rises above all other countries.

"It was an incredible quarter in China", says Apple CEO Tim Cook, speaking during today's earnings conference call. "Revenue was a record at $7.9 billion in greater China, which is up over three times year over year and brings the first half revenue for greater China to $12.4 billion. That compares to a full year of last year of $13.3 billion".

Stated differently, China accounted for 78 percent of Asia-Pacific region revenues fiscal second quarter.

"Part of this was the pent-up demand for iPhone 4S", he explains. "As you know we launched in mainland China in January. China was not able to get into the Q1 period, so all of that is in Q2".

Demand was so great for iPhone 4S, Apple postponed the launch to protect store employees and customers. Crowds nearly rioted.

"We also have very strong demand for iPad 2", Cook says. "We have not shipped in China yet the new iPad, although we are shipping in Hong Kong".

Apple's iPad and iPhone sales success has other benefits. "It's a combination of these things and the halo that both of these products has produced for the Mac is also incredible", Cook explains. "Mac was up over 60 percent year over year, and that compares to a market rate of growth of about 6 percent".

What China lacks, particularly compared to North America, is distribution. "We have expanded point of sales", Cook says. "On a year-over-year basis Mac is up 70 percent, but still only 1,800 [outlets] for all of greater China. Obviously there is a lot more opportunity there. iPhone we're up over 11,000, which is up 138 percent. But 11,000 is a much smaller than the number we have in the US. Obviously China in the next few years will be a bigger opportunity. iPad is only in 2,500 points of sale. Yes, we've expanded, expanded a lot. However, there is a lot of headroom here in our view".

China's broader importance to Apple cannot be understated, particularly in a country where many Internet users will first use smartphone, or even tablet, as first connected device -- rather than a PC. It's a market all cloud-connected device makers covet.

"It is mindbggling that we could do this well", Cook exclaims.

Photo Credit: Elizabeth Phung