Gregarius » BetaNews.Com » juin 20, 2012

BetaNews.Com (11 non lus)

Windows Phone 8 won't be available on anything out today, but that's okay, right?

Publié: juin 20, 2012, 11:23pm CEST par Tim Conneally

Microsoft revealed its plans for the next generation of Windows Phone on Wednesday, which includes broadening hardware support, revising the user interface, and adding a couple of new features that bring Windows Phone up to speed with the Android platform.

Unfortunately, though, no current Windows Phone devices will receive an upgrade to the new operating system. Instead, they will receive the graphical overhaul of the new Start screen in a sub-update called "Windows Phone 7.8."

Microsoft's Joe Belfiore said:

"Some of you have been wondering, 'Will we also get Windows Phone 8 as an update?' The answer, unfortunately, is no. Windows Phone 8 is a generation shift in technology, which means that it will not run on existing hardware. BUT we care deeply about our existing customers and want to keep their phones fresh, so we’re providing the new Start screen in this new update."

Some in the media have already called it "fragmentation,", and some have made cracks that the "smartphone beta test" is still going on, referring to Nokia's Lumia advertising campaign.

This clear line in the sand between generations should already be familiar to anyone who has followed Microsoft's transition from Windows Mobile to Windows Phone. Two years ago, when Windows Phone 7 debuted no Windows Mobile 6.5 devices were eligible for upgrade, effectively halting any incentive for consumers to purchase a Windows Mobile device when the next version was just around the corner.

But that was a different affair. Windows Mobile was an operating system that spanned more than just phones, and that is why the "Windows Phone" brand was created three years ago. When Microsoft changed its phones from Windows Mobile to Windows Phone, it was truly a shift in focus.

Windows Mobile 6.5 never went away, and still lives on today as Windows Embedded Handheld 6.5, an operating system for rugged terminals, handheld computers, and traditional tablet computers. Just yesterday, in fact, Juniper Systems announced its Mesa Rugged Notepad (pictured above) was upgrading to Windows Embedded Handheld 6.5.

It is unclear at this point whether the generational shift Belfiore mentioned today is about the next-gen hardware in Windows Phone 8 (multi-core processors, NFC chips, different screen resolutions), or if it's about the convergence of Windows Phone with Windows which will effect developers when the next SDK is released later this Summer.

Windows Phone 8 will have native C and C++ support, and support for gaming middleware like the Havok Vision Engine, Autodesk Scaleform, Audiokinetic Wwise, and Firelight FMOD, and also native DirectX-based game development. The Windows Phone 8 SDK, and the new Visual Studio 11-based development tools will unlock all of these capabilities.

Furthermore, Belfiore said the Windows Phone team is working to create a program for "registered enthusiasts," that will give them early access to the Windows Phone 8 update prior to broad availability, irrespective of carrier obligations. We reached out to Microsoft to find out more about this program, because we are as curious about that as you are, but company reps couldn't divulge anything further today.

We'll be on the lookout...
Microsoft Surface gets a positive response from this Windows developer

Publié: juin 20, 2012, 10:24pm CEST par Chris Boss

After seeing the latest information about Microsoft's new Surface tablet computers and also reading Joe Wilcox's latest article about them, I finally get Microsoft's mindset -- and I am impressed. So what does this Windows developer think of Surface? Need a tablet to appreciate what it is all about.

I don't have deep pockets, so I try to use my computers as long as possible, but after hearing about Windows 8, I knew I needed to get a tablet as soon as possible. Something big was afoot ! Fortunately Microsoft made is easier for me when the Microsoft Store had an amazing deal on an ExoPC Windows tablet for only $399. I jumped on that deal, and I think it was the right one.

When the Windows 8 Developers Preview was available, I quickly downloaded and installed it on a desktop and on my tablet. The tablet produced the better experience, and I appreciated Windows 8 from the start. The ExoPC has the requirements to fully support Windows 8, since unlike some other Windows tablets it has the minimum 1366 x 768 resolution required for the Snap functionality. The tablet also has a 64 gig SSD, so I could partition the drive and install Windows 8 side by side with Windows 7. This allowed me to easily compare the two.

Microsoft has long seen the value of mobile computing, but concepts like Tablet PC just never caught on. This did not mean the concept was wrong, but simply the necessary factors for success just weren't there yet. Apples iPad really got things rolling and now the hardware for Windows has finally caught up to Microsoft's vision.

Across the Surface

So far I am impressed with what Microsoft promises with their Surface tablets. A couple factors I believe make a difference. First, the built in stand, which appears to be very solid, is a great idea. Second is the unique keyboards. Making them dual-purpose, as a cover for the tablet and keyboard, is a very good idea. Offering two different keyboards, one thin and light-weight for those who don't need to do a lot of heavy typing and the other for those who really need the ability to type as well as they do on their laptop is smart thinking.

I can see how the Windows RT and the Windows 8 Pro versions will likely target different markets. I would imagine the RT version would be the less expensive of the two, so it likely will target consumers, while the Windows 8 Pro version will likely be for businesses.

Price is the Big Question

I am not interested in the Windows RT version, since I want a real Windows tablet capable of running current software. My biggest concern though is the price point for the Windows 8 Pro version. There is a lesson to be learned from the netbook, which grew in popularity as much because of price, if not more, than small size and former factor. Whether you are a consumer or a business user, price does make a difference. This can be seen by the success of the Amazon Kindle Fire. Price is the key to its success.

There are plenty of expensive alternatives for those who can afford them, but many people are simply looking for the best mobile experience that is most affordable. The Surface tablets are a great idea, but the price they sell for may be far more important than their specifications. Intel's StudyBook tablet, for example, is a great idea, but unless you can afford to buy them in bulk (like a large school) the price is also likely too high (for individuals). One company sells a version of the StudyBook for about $500, which is way too expensive for my tastes. Price is the main reason I purchased the ExoPC. The features were there, but the price was right.

Surface, Don't stop There

I also would like to see a 7-inch Surface tablet running Windows 8 (not just RT). But to make lower priced tablets a reality, some changes to Windows 8 could help. It is obvious to me as a developer that the Windows 8 Pro Surface tablet will be a bit on the expensive side, because it will have a quad-core CPU. More powerful CPUs not only cost more but they also consume more power.

One of the problems with Windows is how software is developed today. Suffice it to say, that a lot of software is bloated and slow. This is no reflection on the hardware, but how software is written. Herb Sutter in his talk, "Why C++?" discusses how software lacks performance today, and he suggests getting back to writing native code.

As a long-time native code developer myself, I can see the benefits of this. It is possible to write software for Windows that uses minimal resources and which executes very fast. To make lower-cost Surface tablets a reality, getting closer to the operating system makes a lot of sense, since it promotes a more "fast and fluid" experience, while allowing manufacturers to build tablets using less expensive parts.

Businesses want Tablets

Some have suggested that Microsoft is forgoing businesses in favor of consumers, with Windows 8. I have to believe that Microsoft is just as committed to its business customers, so the question arises, are businesses looking for ways to integrate tablets into their companies? Just look at the iPad, for example. There is little doubt that businesses are very interested in the iPad and some are finding ways to integrate them into their operations.

The Surface tablets have the potential for being successful in the workplace, but aside from features, price also may be critical. One of the problems with using any tablet in a business is the cost of developing software for them. If a company has to develop software separately for its desktop computers and its tablet computers, this produces added expense.

This is why the backward compatibility of Windows 8, with previous desktop versions of Windows, is so important. Building Metro apps exclusively may be more expensive, so some software needs to be developed for the desktop but with a more Metro-style so it blends well with Metro, while still being able to run on older computers running Windows Vista or Windows 7.

To be able to build an application that is intuitive, can run full screen and runs just as well on Windows Vista as Windows 8 is a great benefit for companies. This is one reason native coding has some advantages and should be promoted more, rather than less.

Now if businesses, especially the Enterprise, can buy affordable Windows 8 Surface tablets (and even from OEM partners their tablets) and be able to write intuitive software (which can tell whether touch is available) that runs well on legacy desktops, on current desktops and also runs well on a Windows 8 tablet with minimal hardware (so low cost), then Microsoft might see a significantly faster adoption of Windows tablets.

$200 Price Point

Of course many tablets will be in the $500 to $800 range, comparable to many laptops today, but the $200 price point is definitely worth working towards.

Imagine how businesses would jump to buy multitudes of $200 Windows 8 tablets. If a business could buy four $200 tablets instead of just one $800 tablet, likely they would adopt them more quickly. Of course there will also be a market for the more expensive tablets, but a low-cost alternative could make Surface a household name.

Many Form Factors

While I really like the idea of a small mobile computer, I don't think desktops will disappear anytime soon. Even a laptop keyboard can't compare to a quality desktop keyboard (I am still using a 20 year-old IBM Model M keyboard, one of the best ever built). A touchpad just can never replace a mouse for some applications. The ability to be able to easily upgrade a desktop with off-the-shelf parts is a big advantage, especially for a business.

Yet, tablets appear to be here to stay, so software developers need to find ways to be able to build software for both the desktop and tablet worlds. One thing is for sure. Windows has definitely been reimagined! New ways of computing are surfacing and likely more are to come. So far, Microsoft Surface gets a positive response from this Windows developer, but I am still waiting to see how they are priced.

Chris Boss is an advanced Windows API programmer and developer of 10 year-old EZGUI, which is now version 5. He owns The Computer Workshop, which opened for businesses in the late 1980s. He originally developed custom software for local businesses. Now he develops programming tools for use with the PowerBasic compiler.
QuickMove automatically puts files where you want them

Publié: juin 20, 2012, 9:09pm CEST par Mike Williams

Is your hard drive a little messy, cluttered with files that aren’t where you’d like them to be? You’re not alone, and a part of the problem is that Windows really doesn’t make it very easy to clear up. No matter how many times you drag and drop a ZIP file into your Archives folder, say, Explorer never learns that’s where they’re kept, and so you have to move them there manually. Every. Single. Time.

Don’t give up just yet, though – help is at hand in the shape of QuickMove, a simple free tool which aims to speed up your file management. Teach the program where you’d like to keep particular files or file types and you’ll be able to move them all to their destination, in just a couple of clicks.

To get started, just right-click a file you’d like to move (a JPEG image, say), click QuickMove, and a dialog will appear where you can create a new rule. At a minimum, you might choose to move all files with this extension to the Pictures folder, perhaps. Once that’s done, clearing a bunch of JPEGS from your desktop is as easy as selecting them, right-clicking and choosing the QuickMove option -- the program will then move them to your specified folder.

Now repeat the process with other file types: ZIP, RAR, ISO, whatever you like. You may not have a general Images folder for ISO files, say, but now you have a tool which can learn these rules it may be worth creating one. And so just having the program available encourages you to get your system organized.

Of course having only one destination folder is probably a little unrealistic, but fortunately the QuickMove developers have realised this. You can alternatively have the program display a list of target folders, then choose the best destination for each batch of files.

And if this doesn’t suit all your file management needs, that’s not a problem. QuickMove is an addition to Explorer’s usual options, not a replacement, so you can carry on manually copying and moving files just as you always have.

There is also a QuickMove Pro edition (yours for $4.99), which has a few advantages, the main one being that you’re able to use regular expressions to define which files match a particular rule. And that adds so much extra flexibility that you may find it worth the relatively small payment (especially as the authors say that’ll get you all future builds, too).

The free edition of QuickMove has more than enough power to be useful, though, and if you’d like to speed up the file moving process then you should definitely give it a try.

Photo Credit: Zadorozhnyi Viktor/Shutterstock
8 big features of Windows Phone 8

Publié: juin 20, 2012, 7:22pm CEST par Tim Conneally

At the Windows Phone Summit in San Francisco today, Microsoft provided the first look at its upcoming update to the Windows Phone mobile operating system, Windows Phone 8.

Microsoft has unveiled just a few of the banner features that will be included in the next versions of Windows Phone 8. Conveniently, there are eight major parts of the company's announcement today.

1) Windows Phone 8 will have a "shared core" with Windows 8 to facilitate cross-platform application development. Like Mac OS' evolution to be more like iOS, Windows and Windows Phone are on the same convergence path.

2) Windows Phone 8 will support multi-core processors. Windows Phone 7 was designed for single-core processors because dual-core processors and beyond suck up more electrical energy. Due to advancements in energy managment, Microsoft has broken that shackle, and opened the platform to multi-core processors.

3) Support for more screen resolutions. Originally, Windows Phone only supported HVGA and WVGA, but Windows 8 will support 480 x 320, 800x480, 1280x720 (16:9), and 1280x768 (5:3).

4) MicroSD support. Technically, Windows Phone always supported expandable SD memory, but devices were locked into the OEM's chosen SD cards to improve performance. Users were actually advised against removing and switching them. In Windows Phone 8, this will no longer be so.

5) Internet Explorer 10 will be the system's default browser. Microsoft's HTML5-compatible browser will come as the pack-in with Windows Phone 8. Current devices ship with IE9.

6) Native support for near field communications (NFC). All Windows 8 devices will ship with "Wallet" payment functionality, similar to the advances made by Google with Android 4.0.

7) Mobile Device Management functions for enterprise deployment. The enterprise space is a big deal, especially for Microsoft, so Windows Phone 8 will include Secure boot, the Office app, and on-device encryption.

8) New Live Tile homescreen design. Undoubtedly the most recognizable element of the Windows world today is its Metro UI "tile" design. In Windows Phone 8, tiles can be resized to include more or less information, and more colors are available for more user customizability.
Broadcom debuts gadget for streaming video from PC/Phone/Tablet to your TV

Publié: juin 20, 2012, 5:53pm CEST par Tim Conneally

In the race to connect our smartphones and tablets to our televisions, there is still no clear winner.

Apple has Airplay wireless video streaming with Apple TV, the MHL consortium has its wired solution for connecting mobile devices to HDMI, Intel has its own Wireless Display (WiDi) standard for connecting laptops wirelessly to televisions, and the Wi-Fi Alliance has Miracast for wirelessly connecting devices to displays on existing Wi-Fi networks.

Chipmaker Broadcom announced on Wednesday a device platform supporting the Wi-Fi Alliance Miracast standard that might push it out ahead of the rest and get everyone sharing their mobile screens with their televisions.

Broadcom's platform uses the HDMI dongle form factor that has recently been growing in popularity, and end users will simply plug the dongle into any open HDMI port on their TV, and it becomes an open channel for Miracast streaming.

The dongle has 2x2 MIMO antennas, and is built using Broadcom's BCM43236, and the video encode/decode is handled by the company's 2835 system on a chip. It's entirely self-contained, offers an extremely simple UI, and is really a complete end-to-end solution, as long as the source supports the Wi-Fi Display Miracast protocol. Broadcom is offering this as a turnkey solution to OEMs and service providers such as traditional telecom providers who want to add over-the-top content to their service packages.

"Without exaggeration, we have interest from every mobile player looking to provide this as a video sharing accessory," said Dino Bekis, Senior Director of the Wireless Connectivity Combos Group at Broadcom. "WiDi didn't really materialize because it was PC-only, and it just didn't align well. Miracast is a non-proprietary, standards-based approach. Any platform can take advantage of it."

At the end of May, the Wi-Fi Alliance announced it was finalizing its Miracast certification program, and it is expected to be ratified and complete by the end of the third quarter. At that point OEMs can get certified, and Broadcom's turnkey HDMI dongle design is likely to begin going into production.

Broadcom expects consumer products built on the platform to hit the market next year.

Photo: Sellingpix/Shutterstock
Samsung Galaxy S III HSPA+ hands-on review

Publié: juin 20, 2012, 5:48pm CEST par Ian Lewis

I got my shiny new Galaxy S III about ten days ago -- my first phone upgrade for quite a while. Although I’ve been watching smartphone developments with great interest, I used my Nokia N900 for nearly three years. Nothing out there really looked much better. But suddenly the flagship phones of this generation seem to be a significant improvement over their predecessors.

So was it worth the wait? Absolutely. There are plenty of reviews which give you all the numbers. This is a personal account of what it’s like to use the beast for real (with my contract committing me to it for two years).

Unpacking

The phone (mine is white, because that was what was available) arrives in a smartish white box, which would be perfect for a pet hamster’s coffin. Inside, the suave black lining will be familiar to anyone who’s ever unpacked anything from Apple. But, to be honest, this is a bit as if Samsung had heard about Apple’s packaging but never actually had seen it. Or as if they’re making a gesture they don’t really believe in. Still, we’re not buying a box.

Apart from the phone there’s a (black) USB cable for data and charging, and a matching charger built in to an electrical plug-top. (Even Amazon supplies white Kindle cables when they’re trying to be smart.) There’s also a battery, and a set of earphones (white).

Holding the Baby for the First Time

White would not have been my first choice, but I believe in buying what’s available now, rather than waiting for something that’s promised "real soon". In fact, because the screen is so large, there’s no big impression of whiteness -- you almost don’t notice. Editor's Note: Samsung delayed the blue model because of manufacturing problems.

The phone is large, but lightweight, and fits comfortably enough in my hands, which are not massive. It’s also very thin and weighs less than my old phone (130 grams instead of 180 grams). Partly because it’s so thin, the S3 slides quite easily into a pocket. Some reviewers complain Galaxy S III feels cheap and "plasticky". Well, without comparing side by side with the competition, it’s not the impression I have.

The phone feels perfectly solid and grown-up to me, and I’m used to the truly chunky N900. As you’ll have read elsewhere, there are three real hardware buttons: a rocker volume control, a power switch, and the "Home" button at the bottom of the front panel. The other Android "back" and "menu" buttons, on either side of the Home button, are touch-sensitive and light up when available, being otherwise pretty much invisible.

The touch buttons are very sensitive, and it’s unfortunately very easy to touch them by accident during normal handling of the phone -- with a variety of unintended consequences. It’s irritating, though I quickly get used to avoiding them most of the time. Still, if you’re incurably clumsy, you might want to try this in a store before you commit to buying it.

Inside the enclosure, the micro-SIM card appears as if you would be able to swap it without removing the battery, but in practice, the battery is just thick enough to stop you. The neighboring microSDHC slot is clear, and although you have to take the back cover off the phone, you can swap cards without pulling the battery or even switching the phone off. Samsung says the phone will take a card of up to 64GB, and the camera defaults to storing stills and video on the card if it finds one installed. It’s worth paying a little extra for faster cards (say Class 10) if you plan to use the camera a lot, or shoot HD movies, since the cheaper cards won’t be able to keep up with the data being chucked at them.

There’s a micro-USB socket for charging and data transfer, and a headphone/microphone socket. The supplied headset has a four-pole 3.5mm jack that includes the microphone, but you can plug a normal stereo headset in and listen to your music in stereo. The supplied charger is a 1 Amp charger. I tried various other chargers including a Nokia, a USB socket on a power board, and the PC, and they all seemed to work quite happily -- though I guess charging will take longer from lower-powered chargers.

The screen

Indoors the screen is beautiful -- good contrast, convincing color and bright enough to hurt your eyes on a blank web page. There are also a number of pre-set "looks" that adjust contrast, saturation, and gamma -- "Dynamic", "Standard", "Neutral", or "Movie" -- choose the one you like best. I found the automatic brightness setting was nearly always too dim, but that 90 percent of the time I’m comfortable with manually setting the brightness to about 35 percent.

Outdoors is a different story. Even with the screen at full brightness, in common with most backlit screens, bright sunlight makes this pretty hard to use except for big button work like the phone and the camera. Shaded, or in shadow it’s fine, and you’ll have no trouble reading messages or maps and using the phone, but it’s definitely a more comfortable experience indoors.

Smoothness

The most wonderful thing about Galaxy S III is that its performance is so wonderfully smooth. There’s no hesitation about swiping, scrolling or switching screens (there are seven home screens). It’s the way it should be. And it’s the way all devices will be in a year or so, but haven’t quite been until now. At last the hardware -- and software -- has grown to the stage where it can handle everything we want our phones to do. (Please don’t say iPhone to me. What I mean is that all phones will be this good, because it’s the way it’s supposed to be -- what we’ve all been waiting for.)

Connectivity

Samsung provides a freely downloadable program called Kies to sync the phone with your PC or Mac. Personally, having tried it out, I prefer to go without. Connecting the phone via USB loads the necessary drivers in Windows (without Kies) and the phone appears in Explorer as a music device -- but you can still explore the phone and the SD card and move files about as you can with any drive.

You can sync contacts and calendar through Google or Activesync. You can also connect to your desktop using Bluetooth, or the built-in "direct wireless" connection, and there’s something called S Beam that lets Samsung devices talk to each other.

The phone also has NFC, so you can empty your bank account without feeling a thing, and will share files via DLNA. Tethering is available through WiFi or Bluetooth, and is dead easy: simply select the appropriate tick-box in the phone settings. I used the phone as a wireless hotspot and connected my Asus Transformer Android tablet in less than a minute; no need to root or hunt through Google Play store for weird apps. I know this is part of Ice Cream Sandwich, but manufacturers have to play along for it to work properly.

S Voice and Smart Stay

Two little refinements that Samsung makes a fuss about in their publicity: Smart Stay will keep the screen lit if the front camera sees you are still looking at it; and S Voice is Samsung’s answer to Apple's Siri. Well, I can only speak for myself, but if these are your reasons for buying the Galaxy, you might like to try them out first.

Smart Stay never seems to recognize that I have a face, and S Voice -- even if it correctly understood me -- produces some very strange results. I ask for pubs in Farnham, England (where I live). S Voice correctly shows the question on the screen and gives me an excellent list of bars in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Voice search on Google is much more impressive, but I’ll stick with typing for now.

I certainly don’t feel like trusting S Voice with voice-controlled dialling and texting. But inevitably this will suit some people better than others, and you may have the perfect voice and intonation for it. If you really need voice control, it’s certainly worth trying it out to see for yourself. Editor asks: Could it be your accent, Ian?

Camera

The Galaxy S III camera is impressive. It’s probably the first phone or compact camera I’ve encountered that does not overexpose everything, so, especially on the S3 screen, pictures look detailed and the colors rich, though not over-saturated. However, the 8-megapixel shot is compressed to a very squeezed 3MB on the SD card, and there doesn’t seem to be a way to change that -- so a lot of detail is being thrown away, and this shows when you zoom in on details at 200 percent or more on a big screen. It’s an excellent casual camera, but don’t throw away your digital SLR quite yet.

Photo taken with Samsung Galaxy S III

Usefully, you also have burst and HDR modes, so the camera can automatically take a sequence of shots from which you can choose the best; and in HDR mode will take a number of different exposures and combine them to give you a High Dynamic Range result. All this is excellent and useful stuff for the kind of rapid, ad-hoc use that this camera is likely to encounter.

Movies

You can also film mp4 movies in full HD (1920x1080). The results are impressive, even in high contrast scenes, but, again, you have to be realistic about what you’re getting. Movies on the S3 take about 150MB of storage space per minute. (This might sound like a lot, but consider that, compressed with a professional Digital Intermediate format such as ProRes or Cineform, HD footage uses 1GB for each minute, and uncompressed HD needs 8GB to 10GB per minute.)

Movie playback on the screen is excellent, and, since you can squeeze a whole movie at watchable quality into around 1GB to 1.5GB of your storage card, you no longer have to worry what the airlines are offering on that long flight -- as long as your eyes are good enough.

Audio

Music playback quality with the supplied headphones is perfectly acceptable, and a lot better than many supplied headsets I’ve heard. I found it a little bright-sounding, but that’s a good thing from a phone point of view, since voice frequencies are emphasised. Overall I’ll be quite happy using this as my main music player when I’m travelling, possibly using my slightly more expensive AKG headphones, but the Samsung ones are usable.

I listen with Sennheiser HD600s, which are really quite expensive, to judge the sound of the device rather than the headset. It won’t blow your socks off or threaten any HiFi manufacturers, but the overall experience is enjoyable enough for what it is.

Phone

You’re not actually going to make phone calls with this are you? It’s a good phone. Voice quality is good. Signal sensitivity seems average to good. You can set the hardware buttons to accept and end calls if you’d rather not wait for the screen to light up, but the lag is minimal on using the software buttons. Interaction with contacts, rapid availability of the keypad in the middle of a call, the speakerphone -- all these are better and snappier than I’ve often experienced. Text messaging, too, has no surprises and works well.

Battery Life

Battery life is the thing that seems to raise the most complaints with most smartphones, and in other reviews and comments the Galaxy S III doesn’t escape. If you have everything on -- WiFi, 3G, Bluetooth, GPS -- turn the screen brightness up and play games solidly, then don’t be surprised if you’re running for a charger after half a day. However, I do an experiment: with the screen turned to 35 percent as mentioned above, Bluetooth and GPS off, WiFi and/or cellular data on only when required --- collecting email regularly, web surfing, installing programs, getting maps -- and switched off when I no longer need it.

I also read books with the Kindle software for maybe three hours, listen to music for an hour, take a few photographs, and make about 45 minutes worth of calls. After 48 hours, the battery is still at 30 percent -- and I leave the phone in standby overnight. So it can be done. It seems to me that expecting to charge a device like this every night and needing to do it every couple of days is very little sacrifice for the truly astonishing amount of power that it contains.

Prices

SIM-free in the UK, the phone is selling for around £500/$750 including taxes. With a two-year contract including call and data package the Galaxy S III is generally on offer at £31 to £35 a month (say $45-$53). Except for one offer on T-mobile through mobiles.co.uk where I found mine for £26/$39 a month. So that was pleasing. These rates are more or less the same for the S3 as for the HTC One X, and I agonized over the choice for a couple of weeks.

Galaxy S III: 4.8-inch Super AMOLED display (306 ppi) with 1280 x 720 resolution; 1.4GHz quad-core processor; 1GB RAM; 16GB, 32GB or 64GB storage, expandable with microSD card; HSPA+ 21Mbps (850/900/1900/2100); 8-megapixel rear-facing and 1.9MP front-facing cameras; LED flash; zero shutter-lag; 1080p video recording; accelerometer; ambient-light sensor; gyroscope; GPS; proximity sensor; digital compass; NFC, Bluetooth 4.0; WiFi N; 2100 mAh battery; Android 4.0 and TouchWiz "nature" UI. Measurements: 136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6 mm, 133 grams. US models have dual-core processor and 4G LTE.

From everything I’ve read, and the limited hands-on experience I had with the One X, I don’t think anyone will be disappointed whichever choice they make. Why did I go for the Galaxy S III? I did prefer the changeable battery and the ability to add storage capacity (though I’ve never run out of space on my N900, with 32GB built in, and the original battery is still fine).

Otherwise, it was purely an indefinable feeling of preference. I still have no reason to recommend one over the other for anyone else.

Editor's Note: This is the second of two reviews this week, as the first Galaxy S IIIs go on sale here in the United States. However, these reviews cover the international models, which offer faster processors but no LTE. Our American readers interested in reviewing the US model should email joe at betanews dot com.

Photo Credits: Ian Lewis

Ian Lewis is a writer and filmmaker based near London, England. He has relied on personal computing in his professional life since the Commodore 64 was cutting edge. He has just finished work on the latest edition of coolcucumber.tv
Microsoft's Windows Phone Summit Liveblog: Introducing Windows Phone 8

Publié: juin 20, 2012, 4:23pm CEST par Ed Oswald

Microsoft sure is busy this week! Join BetaNews starting at 12 pm EDT for our liveblog of the Windows Phone Developer Summit in San Francisco. We're expecting the debut here of Windows Phone 8, the next version of Microsoft's mobile operating system.

Windows Phone 8 is expected to have a host of new features, including Near Field Communications, support for multicore processors, new screen resolution support, improved Skype application (although still seperate), and the replacement of the Zune PC client with something that's closer to ActiveSync, Mary Jo Foley reports.

Of course, Microsoft seems to have a penchant lately to surprise, so who knows -- we might see a few things we don't expect. What we're most interested in hearing here at BetaNews is whether or not the rumors that current Windows Phone devices are indeed not upgradable to WP8. May not be said here but we could get the first indications of Microsoft's plans.

So thanks for joining us again for another liveblog, and we'll see you soon. Until then, what's your hopes for Windows Phone 8? Better yet to those not on the platform, what would it take to make you switch? We want to hear your thoughts.

[Updates are in chronological order (in EDT), newest first]

1:20pm: The in-depth developer talk begins now, so we're going to stop the liveblog here. Thanks for joining us today. What do you think of what you've heard?

1:19pm: Video time showing Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 shared core functionalities and how they'd work together. If your expecting huge news here, it's not going to happen. This is a developer-centric event, remember.

1:09pm: Wallet now being shown, with a early preview of a Chase app that is due later this year.

1:05pm: NFC being shown in game play to create a peer-to-peer network on the fly. Devices were tapped together to start the game.

12:59pm: Developer geekiness here. Marble Maze, a game that's been in the DirectX SDK for a long time, ported to WP8 with "incredibly small" code changes. Works with the phones accelerometer.

12:54pm: Demo of the anti-phishing technology from IE that is being brought into WP8.

12:52pm: He just pointed out a Windows Phone 7.5 app that is running in this new UI. There's your background compatibility.

12:51pm: Belfiore is demoing how easy it is to customize and move things around. As an iPhone guy, there is something that appeals to me about this. The UI just works for me. Now I'd argue that the tile idea doesn't transfer well to the desktop, but here on mobile, I'm a fan.

12:46pm: Full customization. Tiles are no longer one single size. It's up to the user which tiles are bigger and smaller. "Windows Phone is even more personal that it was in the past". You'd think this looks busy, but it is pretty nice looking.

12:44pm: Windows Phone 8 looks like changes the start screen. We're getting a demo.

12:43pm: WP8 includes device management and other features to ease deployment in enterprise. Secure boot, office app, encryption.

12:39pm: Nokia's mapping technology will be built in.

12:38pm: Every WP8 phone will ship with Wallet. Orange will be the first carrier to launch with Secure SIMs that work with the Wallet in Europe. In US, Microsoft is working with Isis, but it will not be available at launch.

12:39pm: WP8 will support NFC natively. This is also coming to laptops well that run with Windows 8. Microsoft is including a Wallet Hub within WP8. Belfiore makes mention to the wallet feature within iOS 6, calling WP8's implementation "similar".

12:32pm: Native Code developers, WP8 is for you. "We're expecting some fricking killer games". Hah.

12:29pm: IE10 included in WP8.

12:27pm: Multicore support is in. As is screen resolutions. 800x460, 1280x768, 1280x720 (720p). MicroSD support is a core part of the platform now.

12:24pm: 8 Platform Announcments today. "We're not disclosing today all the end user features".

12:24pm: For consumers, it means more hardware and new experiences. More apps due to the fact W8 apps will run easily on WP8. Hardware partners experience faster time to market because the drivers and core is similar to that of a PCs.

12:22pm: Yes, WP8 shares a core with Windows 8. "It changes what the platform is about".

12:20pm: Platform Preview today. Joe Belfiore on stage.

12:19pm: Seven of the top nine phones on Amazon by rating are Windows Phones.

12:17pm: Three principles guided WP development: Windows Phone needs to be a more personal experience, needs to be more relevant to the user, wanted to deliver the most connected experience.

12:16pm: Terry Myerson is on stage. Your typical welcome. "This year Microsoft has reimagined Windows." We're here to promote the next chapter .. Windows Phone 8.

12:11pm: Just a note Microsoft, your electronic music selections are seriously dated. Come on now.

12:07pm: Announcement that we're beginning in five minutes. Sit tight.

12:03pm: We're still waiting. Hopefully not as long as we waited for Surface!

10:30am: We'll start our coverage around 11:45am ET, with some early thoughts. See you then!
Camtasia Studio 8 for Windows and for Mac 2.2 add ease and power

Publié: juin 20, 2012, 3:48pm CEST par Mike Williams

TechSmith Corporation has released new editions of its flagship screen recording and video editing software, Camtasia Studio 8 for Windows ($299), and Camtasia for Mac 2.2 ($99). And this is no minor upgrade: the latest versions include some very substantial new features.

Flash and HTML5 support mean it’s now possible to add many new interactive elements to a video for instance. This could be as simple as providing a hotspot link to web content, but it’s also possible to ask the viewer questions in a variety of types (multiple choice, true/ false, “fill in the blank”, and more). TechSmith’s servers compile the answers and you’re emailed detailed reports on the results.

The new TechSmith Smart Player is provided to support all this, and also provides an additional benefit: you’ll no longer have to create the same video for multiple screen sizes, as the Player will deliver the best possible results on everything from a smartphone to a desktop.

Elsewhere, the new multi-track timeline ensures it’s now quicker and easier to create your videos in the first place. And if your project is looking a little plain, then the new Asset Library means you can add music, callouts, animations and more with just a drag and drop.

And TechSmith claim that the redesigned video engine ensures that Camtasia Studio 8 is now optimized for high definition video capture, with a new default recording rate of 30 frames per second (double the previous edition) delivering notably smoother playback.

While the features we’ve listed so far relate to Camtasia Studio 8, Camtasia for Mac 2.2 also now supports in-video hotlinks to web content, enhanced video sharing (your content will play on most devices), spotlight and mask video effects (an easy way to make viewers focus on a particular area), and more. Sounds good to us, but if you’d like to find out more for yourself, then trial versions are available now.

Photo Credit: Leigh Prather/Shutterstock
Save big on these June software deals

Publié: juin 20, 2012, 3:01pm CEST par Mark Wilson

We’ve made it to June -- the year just seems to be flying by! -- and with each passing month there are more and more great offers in the Downloadcrew Software Store. In fact, there are so many great offers to be found that we thought that we had better collect together some of the highlights to make things a little easier for you.

Starting things off are two disc burning tools from Roxio.Roxio Creator 2011 is available for just $19.99 (a saving of 80 percent off the MSRP) while its big brother Roxio Creator 2011 Pro could be yours for just $24.99, instead of $105. These immensely powerful media suites include everything you need to create CDS, DVDS and Blu-rays containing video, audio and data.

There are a number of security products to be found on sale in the store, including Kaspersky Internet Security 2012 [5-PC, 1-Year]. This security suite costs just $39.95 (a saving of 64 percent) and can be installed on five computers, while Webroot Internet Security Essentials 2011 [3-PC] includes a firewall, antivirus tool and spyware detection for just $4.95 (saving you a massive 92 percent) as well as a free upgrade to SecureAnywhere Essentials 2012.

The same upgrade offer is available if you buy Webroot Internet Security Complete 2011 [3-PC] which could be your for just $9.95 instead of the usual price of $79.95. From the same company is Webroot AntiVirus with SpySweeper 2011. This great security tool costs just $4.95, a saving of 88% off the MSRP, and includes a free upgrade to SecureAnywhere Antivirus 2012! There are also deep discounts from the Bitdefender range of security software.

If you feel like getting creative with your music, photos and videos, look no further than the special offers on CyberLink products. You can save 30 percent off the regular price of CyberLink PowerDirector 10 Ultra when you buy it for just $69.95 and this immensely powerful suite includes everything you need to create your own stunning videos. In addition to saving $30, you will also receive $89 worth of complementary software (CyberLink MediaEspresso 6.5 and Travel Pack 2).

The previous version of PowerDirector, PowerDirector 9 Ultra64 is still available and can be snapped up for the bargain price of just $29.95 -- saving your 70 percent off the MSRP of $99.95.If you buy CyberLink Media Suite 10 Ultra at a 23 percent saving for just $99.99, you’ll also a free copy of PowerDirector 10 Ultra worth $99.95 in this Downloadcrew store, world exclusive CyberLink-approved offer.

We’ve already mentioned some security tools that can be found in the store, and there a several special offers that you can take advantage of if you’re looking for products from AVG. AVG Internet Security 2012 Plus Bundle is available at an 80 percent discount for just $29.95, while AVG Premium Security Complete Bundle could be yours for 77 percent off the MSRP -- just $29.95. AVG is most famous for its antivirus software, and if you have spent your time up until now working with the free version of the program, there has never been a better time to upgrade to a paid-for version. AVG Anti-Virus 2012 [1-PC, 1-Year] has been massively reduced to just $4.95 – a saving of 88 percent off the MSRP of $39.99 -- giving you a great and cheap way to keep your computer protected. Just to show that AVG is not only concerned with security, AVG PC Tuneup 2012 [3-PC, 1-Year] costs just $16.00 instead of $33 and could help to boost the performance of up to three computers.

To finish off the selection of special office this month, you’ll find a number of programs that have been designed to help improve the performance of your system. TuneUp Utilities 2012 is great value for money as not only can it be installed on three computers, it also features a lifetime non-expiring license – all for the bargain price of $16.99. For just a little more, TuneUp Utilities 2012 + avast! Pro Antivirus 7 could be yours. For just $19.95, a huge 78% off the MSRP, you can secure and boost your computer.

The final two products for the month both some from Auslogics. Auslogics Disk Defrag Pro 4 is on sale at half the usual price at just $14.95, and Auslogics BoostSpeed 5 is another great deal which sees you saving 70% off the MSRP when you buy this great performance and maintenance tool for just $14.95.

Of course, this is just a selection of some of the great offers you can find in the store. To take a look at the full range of what’s available, head on over to the Downloadcrew Software Store.

Photo Credit: iQoncept/Shutterstock
BabelPad opens unicode files in 60 character sets

Publié: juin 20, 2012, 2:10pm CEST par Mike Williams

At first glance text files may seem very easy to edit and display. After all, even Windows Notepad can handle the key basics. If you’ve ever tried to view or edit a Unicode file, though, one which uses a different character set to your own, then you’ll know it can be surprisingly difficult -- unless you turn to a specialist tool, like BabelPad.

As you’d expect, the program offers support for opening files in more than 60 encodings: Arabic, Cyrillic, Greek, Hebrew, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and more, they’re all here. So if you’re just looking for a way to display a file as the author intended, BabelPad will do the trick.

There are also some powerful features on offer, though. Like BabelPad’s ability to assign different fonts to individual scripts, helping you to more easily work with multi-script files.

Elsewhere, the program also provides input methods which allow you to enter a variety of scripts: Tibetan, Manchu, Mongolian, Uyghur and Yi (Nuosu), as well as the ability to manually enter Unicode characters by entering their hexadecimal values. You can switch between left-to-right and right-to-left page layouts in a couple of clicks, and the use of Microsoft’s Uniscribe rendering engine ensures everything looks as it should.

And whether you’re working on an important contract in Vietnamese, or just writing a shopping list in English, BabelPad has plenty of editing features to help you out: there’s optional auto-indent, powerful find and replace, drag-and-drop support (select some text and you can drag and drop it anywhere else in the document), multi-level undo and redo, and more.

Even if you only very occasionally need to work on Unicode files, then, there may be other reasons to keep BabelPad around. Especially as it’s free, and comes in the form of a single executable file. Give the program a try, or if you’re really living on the edge, check out the beta version which supports Unicode 6.2 (final release expected in September or October).

Photo Credit: Dmitriy Shironosov/Shutterstock
Google stands against government spying and censorship

Publié: juin 20, 2012, 2:27am CEST par Patrick Roanhouse
Google's fifth "Transparency Report" shows that the emperors of the world wear no clothes. The search and information giant started releasing the data two years ago, offering a small peek into the bombardment of user information requests that world governments make -- everything from non-copyrighted YouTube video take-downs, to search result link removals, to, most alarmingly, private citizen emails and information.

But what is most alarming about these requests? Many are not even for serious matters of national security. Most are down right requests to silence, censor, track, and or monitor dissident internal political groups and political opponents. In some, it is the outright censorship of non-violent organizations, ideas, or even the requested silence of whistle-blowers pointing out corruption. Google's own policy analyst, Dorothy Chou, sees a disturbing trending rise, particularly from "Western democracies not typically associated with censorship".

Google, Take Down This Post

Google states at the top of its 'Content Removal' by country government chart just some of the basic reasons for the content take downs by governments:

Content removals are requested due to allegations of defamation, while others are due to allegations that the content violates local laws prohibiting hate speech or pornography. Laws surrounding these issues vary by country, and the requests reflect the legal context of a given jurisdiction

An example of local country law violations that lead to reasonable requests for removal is that of Germany, ranked second in the list. German courts had 60 requests for 1304 items, while the German government had 43 requests for 418 items. Google's self-reported compliance with the requests was at 80 percent for the court orders and 72 percent for the direct government requests.

The majority of these requests were brought by the Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons (BPjM - Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien), a federal government youth protection agency in Germany. The requests were for the removal of some 70 videos on YouTube and lists of urls that have content that violates the German youth protection law which blocks content touting Nazi memorabilia, extreme violence or explicit pornography material that children can easily access. Google responded by removing the urls from Google.de and limited the videos playback from inside of Germany. Google uses its own discretion in requests, not entirely removing possible valid items from the entire search index.

Another example of local country rules is Thailand. All of the requests came from the Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology -- to remove 149 YouTube videos for allegedly insulting the monarchy in violation of Thailand's lèse-majesté law. There was 100-percent Google compliance reporting for four requests. Google responded with the discretion by restricting 70 percent of these videos from viewing in Thailand.

But as a US citizen I find it most shocking that the United States collective State & Federal governments ranked No.1 in the top 10 for 'Content Removal' requests by both court order and by government agency request. Under court orders the US Government requested 117 times to remove 3851 items and under Government agency requests; ranging from Executive branch down to local police, there were 70 requests for 2341 items. In the court-ordered take-down requests, Google's self-reported compliance level was 40 percent. In the government agency requests that was slightly higher at 44 percent removal compliance. But the real question is what kind of data is the US requesting to take down?

Google's own summery states:

We received a request from a local law enforcement agency to remove a blog because of a post that allegedly defamed a law enforcement official in a personal capacity. We did not comply with this request, which we have categorized in this report as a defamation request.

We received a request from a local law enforcement agency to remove 1,400 YouTube videos for alleged harassment. We did not comply with this request. Separately, we received a request from a different local law enforcement agency to remove five user accounts that allegedly contained threatening and/or harassing content. We terminated four of the accounts, which resulted in the removal of approximately 300 videos, but did not remove the remaining account with 54 videos.

We received a court order to remove 218 search results that linked to allegedly defamatory websites. We removed 25 percent of the results cited in the request.

Mr. Googler, Papers Please?

The worst thing though is that the United States leads in the request of personal user data. The rise between 2009 and 2011 is astounding:
- In Google's 2009 July to December dataset, the United states made 3,580 requests for an undisclosed number of US citizens' user data.
- In 2010 January to July that jumped to another 4,287 requests for an undisclosed number of US Citizens' data.
- In 2010 July to December it was another 4,601 requests for an undisclosed number users' data but with Google reporting the percentage of data requests fully or partially complied for the requests to be 94 percent.
- 2011 January to June marks the first time we get a number of users accounts specified, with the United States making 5,950 requests for 11,057 individual users/accounts private information with a 93 percent full/partial fulfillment by Google.
- This last dataset for 2011 July to December now sees United States hit a high score of 6,321 requests for 12,243 accounts with Google agreeing fully or only partially to 98 percent.
To put this into context of all the other recorded countries on the list. The United States has been No. 1 since Google started the transparency reports. No country is even close to competing with the number of private user data requests. In the combined datasets of 2011 the United States requested access to a total of 23,300 individual accounts. That more than beats the second highest requester of India, which requested access to only 5,866 individual user accounts in the combined 2011 datasets. Brazil was third with only 4,044 individual users' private data requests.

The US government also has the dubious record of largest growth of their requests. The United States has shown an astounding 66.2 percent increase since the start of Google's Transparency Report. Google cannot even state the reason for these partial or full data requests they provide. Is it terrorism threats? Are these criminal accounts? Are they possible connections to internal attacks or the banking collapse? The stage curtain has been opened to unveil only another curtain in this play of possible privacy invasion and spying on US citizens.

We Are No Longer In Kansas, Dorothy

Chou is the one who crafted the official blog post announcing the latest six month datasets for the Transparency Report findings. Chou explains how at first the report started out just showing basic info of the requests but now shows far more information. Such examples include graphs showing traffic patterns and disruptions to Google services from different countries. The most recent new feature is a section showing the requests Google gets from copyright holders to remove search results. What most of you have seen when google searches end in this iconic statement:

In response to a legal request submitted to Google, we have removed 1 result(s) from this page. If you wish, you may read more about the request at ChillingEffects.org.

But what Chou hammers on in this short blog post is what you should be made very much aware of:

Unfortunately, what we’ve seen over the past couple years has been troubling, and today is no different...We noticed that government agencies from different countries would sometimes ask us to remove political content that our users had posted on our services. We hoped this was an aberration. But now we know it’s not.

Chou warns that the most disturbing of these government offenders are Western democracies with requests that tantamount to censorship. What I like to call "Political Character Cleanup" or "Internet Personal Image Sanitizing" is on the rise. Chou spotlighted Spanish regulators and Poland public institutions:

Spanish regulators asked us to remove 270 search results that linked to blogs and articles in newspapers referencing individuals and public figures, including mayors and public prosecutors. In Poland, we received a request from a public institution to remove links to a site that criticized it. We didn’t comply with either of these requests.

Chou goes on to say that this last dataset had the largest amount of "interesting fact annotations" yet, as to reasons for requests. You can read more of on the transparency report annotation page.

Brave New Digital World: A Writer's Closing Opinion

The digital world has changed the face of how the people are heard by the world, and by their governments. The Arab Spring was born following the self-immolation suicide protest of Tunisian Mohamed Bouazizi. He protested corruption, high unemployment, food inflation, lack of freedom of speech and poor living conditions; he was memorialized on Facebook and twitter. His death lead to Internet-connected protest organization across seventeen Arab and African countries, toppling four autocratic governments and getting massive changes in seven others governments, hopefully for the better.

Google's YouTube showed us the 2009 Iran Green Revolution protests that questioned the Religious police and disputed the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The galvanizing video that will be remembered is of the Assassination of Iranian Neda Agha-Soltan. Her death became the "voice", as her name in Persian actually meant, for citizens to rise up. They recorded everything and posted it to YouTube in any way possible.

But in all this change for the good there is a scary back peddle in developed countries. Even those we thought were the strongest free-speech democracies are taking cues from authoritarian and autocratic regimes in denying freedom of speech and the ability to whistle-blow wrongdoing of corrupt leaders or systems. America is no innocent bystander in this. On a state by state level recordings of police misconduct and assaults have been met with retaliatory prosecutorial action. Prime examples being the Maryland state case of Anthony Graber. He was brought up on charges for wiretapping. All for posting a video to YouTube that his helmet camera recorded as a plain clothes off duty officer pulled him over at gunpoint for speeding on interstate 95 in the baltimore county area. Garber had just come home from his last tour of duty with the Maryland National Guard duty, serving in Afghanistan.

Police violence to protestors at the Occupy protests have been famously documented using YouTube from New York City to Oakland Calif. with police even singling out journalists to delete footage and photos that caught them in acts of grievous violence from cameras. But it keeps happening to such a point where protestors are now livestreaming every protests and every action they take to make sure people have it documented. Even if police raid the live streaming broadcast centers to try to shut them down. I don't even think I need to go on to the lack of protection to whistle-blowing in America now. The creation of whistle-blower sites has created tidal waves of posts.

When a country is based on freedom of speech and the right to address grievances to government those rights should be supported universally on any platform. If we have learned anything with last year's domino effect fall of several autocratic dictators, no matter how much governments try to censor information, or try to downright turn off the pipes to the internet, the signal cannot be stopped. The right to say something, no matter how vile to our ears -- unless it supports acts of unjust violence, mass panic, hate speech, bigotry, or harassment -- is the universal right of every man, woman, child, and sentient being on this planet. To try to secretly reign that in behind closed doors on the behest of corrupt politicians, campaign donating corporations, and embarrassed military and police is a sad state of affairs. In America we are supposed to be a shining example in personal freedom and in the experiment of a democracy. It is what we are suppose to support in the American experience we represent.

I'm glad to see Google believes in these ideals to a greater extent than most companies I have seen in the past. The company might have to do the bidding of some corrupt governments to do business but discloses what in the transparency reports. I for one applaud Google's civic and community responsibility in supporting and publishing so much in real time. I just wish more companies did reports like this, especially when we status update minute-to-minute with our latest inane thoughts, feelings, or regrettable emotional outbursts.

Photo Credit: Andrea Danti/Shutterstock