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BetaNews.Com (9 non lus)

JavaScript Video is your density, I mean, Destiny

Publié: août 23, 2012, 7:47pm CEST par Robert X. Cringely

Second in a series. Three quarters of the bits being schlepped over the Internet today are video bits, so video standards are more important than ever. To accommodate this huge load of video data we’ve developed compression technologies, special protocols like the Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), we’ve pushed data to the edge of the network with Content Distribution Networks (originally Akamai but now many others).

All these Internet video technologies are in transition, too, with H.264 and HTML5 video in the ascendence while stalwarts like RealVideo and even Flash Video appear to be in decline. The latter is most significant because Adobe’s Flash has been -- thanks to YouTube -- the most ubiquitous video standard. Flash video was everywhere. But with Flash apparently leaving the ever-growing mobile space, will we ever see another truly ubiquitous web video standard? We already have and it is called ClipStream G2 JavaScript video.

JavaScript is everywhere on the World Wide Web. If you have a browser you have JavaScript. Have an iPhone without Flash? You still have JavaScript. Have a smartphone without Java? You still have JavaScript. Even HTML5, the supposed future of Internet video, isn’t available yet on all platforms, but JavaScript is.

The Web couldn’t function without JavaScript. So if you really need to deploy something everywhere on the web, doing it in JavaScript is a great idea. But JavaScript video is difficult since the scripting language was never developed with video in mind. But as processors get faster and devices have more memory, the idea of doing video in JavaScript became more feasible even though it feels to me a bit like drawing the screen in crayon.

Just 17 Years Old

This new patented technology, only 17 years in the making, was just released in beta yesterday morning. Here’s a sample video featuring someone you may know. It’s glitchy, but think of what an achievement this is. And think how much better it will play a month or a year from now.

ClipStream G2 comes from a Canadian company, Destiny Media Technologies, which has been around since 1991. They literally invented streaming audio, and launched Internet radio before Windows Media, Quicktime or Real Networks even existed. They eventually moved into Internet video only to be killed when Flash came out for a lot less money and then YouTube for free. More recently they’ve built a business for professional musicians, securely delivering pre-release music for all the record companies to radio stations.

First in this series: "Designing a better electric plane"

Now, with Flash abandoning mobile, Destiny sees an opportunity in video again.

"JavaScript powered video doesn’t sound like a big deal", explains Destiny co-founder Steve Vestergaard, "except Javascript performs like a slug. We went from C and assembly in 1995 to Java in 1999 (maybe 100 times slower) to Javascript now (maybe another ten times slower). We have less horsepower in 2012 than we had in 1995, but we play everywhere. Some of the big guys, including chip manufacturers, see an opportunity to improve our performance and keep the cross-platform aspect. Our seven patents are about how to do streaming video when there is no horsepower at all".

It's so Special

Here’s what makes JavaScript video significant. It not only works on all recent browsers, it requires no streaming servers. Stick the Destiny folder on your web server, embed their code in your web page and that’s it.

Not only is there no special server, there’s also no player since the video is rendered by the browser. There is nothing to download or maintain.

There is no transcoding required and Content Distribution Networks, like Akamai or LimeLight, aren’t needed, either.

JavaScript video is also more bandwidth efficient since it looks like regular old web content and can be buffered for reuse in proxy servers. The company estimates that streams are reused at least 10 times saving 90 percent on bandwidth and infrastructure not to mention $4.3 billion in annual transcoding and CDN costs if widely deployed.

It’s not perfect, but then beta code never is. I think this is a major step, though, toward Internet simplification.

Reprinted with permission

Photo Credit: Anna Omelchenko/Shutterstock
Shut down Windows 8 faster

Publié: août 23, 2012, 7:19pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic
Shutting down Windows 8 can be frustrating as it is no longer the intuitive process that Windows users are accustomed to in previous versions. Now in order to perform any power-related operation, the standard way is to invoke the Charms menu, which shows up on the right side of the screen. It might even seem unnatural now that the Start menu is gone.

Let's talk about the "normal" way to shut down Windows 8. In order to "summon" the Charms menu, just press Windows Key + C and it will show up. If your preferred "weapon" of choice is the mouse, then simply move the cursor to either the upper or lower right corner of the screen and it will be displayed as well. From there one has to go through Settings -> Power and select either Sleep, Restart or Shutdown to perform any power operation. If you're old school you might remember that pressing ALT+F4 yields the same result. But there's an easier way to shutdown your Windows 8 PC, without going through any menus.
1. Go to Desktop either from the new UI by clicking the Desktop tile or by pressing Windows Key, which allows toggling between the two interfaces.
2. Right click on the Desktop, go to New and select Shortcut. A window will now appear.
3. Type "shutdown /s /t 30" which will allow 30 seconds for applications to close. If you want to speed up the process you can simply change "30" to a lower value or force the closing process altogether by using "shutdown /s /f".
4. Click Next and type "Shutdown" in the name field for easier identification.
5. Right click on the newly created "Shutdown" shortcut and select Properties. Click Change Icon and validate the warning. From this menu you can change the appearance of the shortcut for easier visual identification; the default shutdown icon is in the lower right corner of the Change Icon menu.
6. Right click on the Desktop "Shutdown" icon and select Pin to Start; now it shows up in the new Windows UI for easier access from both interfaces.
If you want to restart Windows 8 faster simply, follow the same steps and replace "shutdown /s /t 30" with "shutdown /r /t 30" in step No. 3.

Photo Credit: Sashkin/Shutterstock
Microsoft's new logo is branding fail

Publié: août 23, 2012, 6:22pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

Would someone please call the branding police and have them arrest Microsoft's entire executive team. The charge: Indecent logo.

Today the software giant introduced its first major corporate logo change in about a quarter century. I'm all for a brave new look, except there's little brave or memorable about this one. Apple should call a holiday and give out champagne to celebrate. This is one big branding frak up.

Gone, finally, is the sole us of Microsoft's name as brand identifier. The typeface is bolder -- not in posture, but quite literally -- and flatter (keeping with the 2D perspective oh-so prevalent in Windows 8). "The new Microsoft logo takes its inspiration from our product design principles while drawing upon the heritage of our brand values, fonts and colors", Jeff Hansen, GM for Microsoft brand strategy, says. "For the logotype, we are using the Segoe font which is the same font we use in our products as well as our marketing communications".

Microsoft marketers modestly redeem themselves by adding the oh-so recognizable four-color square alongside the name. "The symbol is important in a world of digital motion", Hansen says. "The symbol’s squares of color are intended to express the company’s diverse portfolio of products". That's where the branding story ends and really should begin: With the four-color logo standing alone, without "Microsoft".

The first consideration, and really only one in branding, is two-fold: Make it recognizable, keep it simple. Microsoft's new logo, like the old one, is neither. Generally speaking, company names spelled out make the worst logos. There are good reasons why businesses spend so much money developing graphic logos that identify them. People remember images better, and they are universal -- regardless of language.

Logos have a long legacy, too, going back to families' coats of arms. That picture has been a way of identifying an entity -- whether a family or business -- for a long time.

Apple does it Right

Apple is the classic example of logo done right and executed brilliantly. The logo is recognizable, easily placed on products and put on all the hardware. You know when someone uses Apple gear. That's a way of broadcasting the brand; essentially it's free marketing from the users.

Years ago, the Apple logo appeared upright when laptop lids were closed, which put them upside down to everyone else. Then some Apple brainiac reversed the logo, so that it's upright with the lid open, illuminated and visible to anyone passing by. That's sheer branding brilliance.

Microsoft passed up a big opportunity to redo its logo right. That four-color square is highly recognizable because of Windows' success. Why not take something familiar, let it stand alone and represent Microsoft?

I personally find the new logo visually appealing. But the issue here is branding and what people recognize. Names don't stand out.

What's in a Name?

Absolutely, there are successful companies without recognizable picture logos, using just company name. Google is great example this century. But Google also benefits from its name being a verb synonymous with search. Meanwhile, in the Android robot, Google has established an iconic subbrand, which stands alongside other recognizables like Google+ and YouTube logos.

I wonder why Microsoft chose its name way back when, and how much is about the early days. Microsoft inherited the computing mantle from IBM, which is solely identified by name. But IBM stands for International Business Machines. Someone at the computing giant had the sense to turn the abbreviation IBM into a logo, by assigning each letter a color -- red for I, green for B and blue for M. It was a brilliant maneuver, which made the abbreviation a recognizable logo.

"We’re excited about the new logo, but more importantly about this new era in which we’re reimagining how our products can help people and businesses throughout the world realize their full potential", Hansen says. I sure would like to share his enthusiasm, but acknowledge the new logo is better than the old one. If that's Microsoft's idea of reimagining, well...

Perhaps with the four-color square standing alongside the name, Microsoft will someday transition to just the graphic logo. There's sense to that, and the only long-term good that can come of today's branding change.
View Chrome, Firefox, IE and Safari histories all in a single table

Publié: août 23, 2012, 4:34pm CEST par Mike Williams

When you’re trying to remember that important URL you visited yesterday then viewing your browser’s history will probably provide the details you need. But if you’ve more than one browser installed then it could still take quite some time to trawl through your previous online sessions.

Fortunately there’s now a simpler option in the shape of BrowsingHistoryView, the latest NirSoft release, which presents your Firefox, IE, Chrome and Safari histories all in a single table.

And so in a click you can view a report of your online activities, detailing each URL, page title, the time visited and number of visits. The report can be sorted by any of these attributes, too, so clicking the column header for “Visit Time”, say, will quickly reveal the sites you’ve visited last.

The nature of browser histories means that this list may not be as straightforward as you like. There’s not always just a single line for a web page visited, for instance: there may be other entries relating to authentication, ads, scripts, favicons, downloaded files, and the list goes on.

The program’s Find tool can help you track down what you need, though. If you remember that the URL you’re looking for was on Microsoft’s site, say, then searching for “Microsoft” will pull up all matching addresses.

And you can also filter the report by excluding particular browsers, selecting a time period you’d like to examine – 7:00am to 10:30am yesterday, for instance – or defining the Windows user profile which you’d like BrowsingHistoryView to examine (the current user, All Users, a specified profile and more).

There’s clearly scope for some improvement here. Opera support would be great, for example. Support for portable browsers would be useful, too. And we’d also like a few filters to help remove the junk from the report. The ability to display only http: or https: entries, say, would be very helpful.

BrowsingHistoryView is already a very useful, tool, though, compact (<350KB), portable, and able to run on anything from Windows 2000 through to 8. And, of course, it’s only the first version – we’ve no doubt that Nir Sofer will enhance and improve the program in the future.

Photo Credit: nmedia/Shutterstock
5 features I wish were in Windows 8 but are not

Publié: août 23, 2012, 4:28pm CEST par Martin Brinkmann

When you first heard about Windows 8, what were your expectations of the operating system? I always have a set of features in mind that I hope will make their way into Microsoft's next operating system, some dating back as far as Windows 95.

Windows 8 is special to a certain degree as it is the first Windows operating system that brings touch to the center of focus. The reason for that is the lucrative tablet market currently dominated by iPad and to a lesser degree Android. Windows 8 will be Microsoft's entry into the market, not only as a maker of operating systems, but also tablets like the Microsoft Surface. Some say that Microsoft sacrifices the experience of desktop users for that, and while I would not go as far, it is noteworthy that the company promotes more touch and tablet related features of the operating system than features improved or added to the desktop part of it.

In fact, if you ask users about changes to the desktop, it is likely that the missing Start menu is top of the list, followed by Explorer's new ribbon interface (minimized by default), and maybe the new file copying dialog. There is also the new SmartScreen Filter, the option to mount ISO images, the modified Task Manager or better support for multi-monitor systems.

Windows Features

The following list of features is what I would have liked to see Microsoft integrate into the Windows 8 operating system.

1. Unified interface. Windows 8 has no unified interface. You have the Start page and then the traditional desktop environment. While you can easily switch between the two with the Windows key or the Charms bar, it feels as if you are working with two different interfaces. And that feeling is not going away, even though workflows have changed that much, or at all. You can still hit the Windows-key to start a search, only that you are now redirected to the Start page in Windows 8 where you can start typing right away.

I would have preferred a unified interface, one in which you do not have to switch to access part of the operating system's functionality. Concepts as to how this could have looked like have been posted on sites like The Verge or Neowin.

2. Windows Explorer with two file panes. Third-party file managers like Total Commander have supported multiple file panes for years. When you want to move or copy files in Windows Explorer, you often have to place two Explorer windows side by side to do so. While you could use one and navigate between folders for every operation, it is not really a practicable thing to do.

With two file panes next to each other file operations such as moving or copying would take less time and window handling to complete. Other operations, like comparing two folders with each other, or synchronizing folders, would also become possible.

3. Application sandboxing. I have been using the excellent Sandboxie for a number of years now to run applications in a sandbox on the system. This basically protects the rest of the system from what is happening inside. If you run a web browser in a sandbox, you will notice for instance that cookies, temporary Internet files and other browsing related data is not leaked to the underlying operating system. When you kill the sandbox, all of the data gets dropped as well. Malware, too, can't break out of the sandbox, so your system is safe even if you accidentally click on a mail attachment or execute a program that you have downloaded from a P2P network.

4. Integration of EMET. Microsoft's Exploit Mitigation Tool (EMET) has been designed to add extra protection against vulnerability exploits for applications you specify. EMET tries to block the exploits from being executed successfully on a system, even if the exploited vulnerability has not been patched on it. While it won't protect you from all attacks, it certainly can block popular exploits from being executed successfully on the system.

The program is currently offered standalone, which you need to install and configure on your own. The release contains XML files that you can import to protect popular Microsoft programs such as Office apps or Internet Explorer.

It is possible that this app will eventually be integrated into the Windows operating system.

5. Hardware notifications. You need to check the Event Log or use third-party software for most hardware related events. I'd like to see hardware notifications added to the operating system's Action Center or a new tool that notifies users when hard drives are about to fail, when temperature levels reach critical values, or when voltage levels are not within limits.

Monitoring S.M.A.R.T values and temperatures, and using the information for notifications when they reach critical values, could prevent data loss or hardware failures from happening.

Now You

Are there features that you'd like to see integrated into the Windows operating system? Please list them in the comment section below.
New Android app eliminates driving distractions

Publié: août 23, 2012, 4:13pm CEST par Wayne Williams

Did you know that updating Facebook while driving can cause lane veering by up to one meter, or that texting adds 8.5m to the overall stopping distance when travelling at 70mph? Well, it’s true according to a new study by Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) on behalf of insurance company esure. The report also says that 1 in 5 drivers took their eyes off the road for 7 seconds when they heard a ringing phone. Check out the fancy PDF infographic if you want to find out more.

To help remove these distractions (and reduce the number of claims it has to process, presumably), esure has produced a free Android app which eliminates mobile phone distractions. The DriveOFF app, available through Google Play, uses GPS to detect when your car is in motion and travelling above 10mph and automatically turns off all other apps and blocks incoming calls and texts.

Stuart Vann, Chief Executive Officer at esure, says: “This study’s results speak for themselves. Distraction is a killer -- something that we’re all too aware of as a leading insurer. We would urge all motorists to download it and help remove any temptations of checking or answering a mobile whilst behind the wheel.”

An iOS version of the app has been developed but has yet to be approved by Apple.

Photo Credit: Poulsons Photography/Shutterstock
YouTube brings TrueView mobile ads

Publié: août 23, 2012, 3:31pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

To monetize the ever increasing mobile traffic from smartphones and tablets, YouTube has announced the launch of TrueView in-stream video ads for mobile devices. YouTube content creators can now increase their revenues based on the video sharing website's mobile visits, which means that YouTube does away with an ad-free mobile viewing experience. It was bound to happen at one point or another.

In 2011 mobile traffic accounted for 20 percent of global YouTube views and its growth has been "phenomenal", according to Phil Farhi, YouTube group product manager. More than a trillion views marked 2011 for YouTube, meaning in excess of 200 billion mobile views were not monetized coming from the then 350 million mobile devices. According to YouTube, TrueView in-stream video ads are preferred to the standard video advertisements, since increased revenue can be generated from it. Responding to the announcement on YouTube one user stated that 1.3 million visits each month, accounting for 72.8 percent of his views, come from mobile devices, which is "lost" revenue.
VMware releases Workstation 9, Fusion 5 and Player 5

Publié: août 23, 2012, 1:46pm CEST par Nick Peers

Leading virtualization developer VMware has announced three major new releases across its range of consumer products.VMware Workstation 9.0, VMware Fusion 5.0 for Mac and free cut-down VMware Player 5.0 (Windows only) have all been launched, boasting a number of major new features, improvements and the all-important raft of bug fixes.

Changes include support for the latest versions of Windows and OS X where applicable, plus redesigned user interfaces, virtual hardware improvements and a large number of minor tweaks, improvements and new features.

VMware Workstation 9.0 has been designed to run on Windows 8 as well as utilize Windows 8 virtual machines, with support for multi-touch and USB 3.0. It also includes a number of notable graphics improvements, including the ability to render 3D in Windows 8 without hardware acceleration and behind-the-scenes changes designed to improve performance and allow for more advanced features at a later date.

Workstation 9 also introduces OpenGL for Linux Guests, restricted virtual machine support and WSX, a new web interface for accessing shared virtual machines via a tablet or smartphone web browser using HTML5. For a complete list of the changes in VMware Workstation 9, click here.

VMware Player 5.0 is VMware’s free-for-personal-use product, and allows users to create virtual machines for a number of purposes, including testing and sandboxing. Version 5.0 promises improvements to the user interface, which now conforms to Windows standards, plus enjoys all the virtual hardware improvements found in VMware Workstation 9.

Mac users should choose VMware Fusion 5.0, which benefits from a simplified installation routine – just double-click VMware Fusion.app to install or upgrade VMware Fusion. It’s also been designed for Mountain Lion users, enabling them to run Windows applications with a more Mac-like experience.

The user interface has also been refined with a new virtual machine library, the ability to organize virtual machines into folders and tweaks to snapshot management among others.

VMware Fusion also comes with Windows 8 optimisations, adds support for the latest Mac technologies including Retina Display and takes advantage of hardware improvements such as faster memory and SSD drives.

Virtual hardware changes include support for 3D Linux desktops, OS X Mountain Lion, Windows 8, better support for running multiple VMs on Macs with 16GB or more RAM and support for running restricted virtual machines. Full release notes can be found here.

VMware Workstation 9.0 is available as a free trial download for PCs running Linux or Windows (XP or later). VMware Player 5.0 is a free-for-personal-use download for Windows PCs only, whileVMware Fusion 5.0 is a free trial download for Mac users running OS X 10.6.7 or later.
Chrome for iOS adds Facebook, Google+ sharing

Publié: août 23, 2012, 12:29pm CEST par Mark Wilson

Just like Firefox, Chrome rockets through version numbers as though it is going out of fashion. Although Google’s foray into the world of web browsers for iPhone and iPad is fairly recent, Chrome for iOS already is version 21. The latest release is a relatively minor one, but there is still one feature that brings the browser in line with other more socially aware apps.

The big news in this release: addition of new sharing options. Found a website that you think your friends will love? There is no need to copy and paste the URL into an email as there are now new sharing options built directly into the app. A new popup menu lets you share pages through Google+, Facebook, Twitter or via email.

While this may seem like a fairly inconsequential addition to the app, it makes sharing much quicker and easier. Other changes sees problems with blank pages appearing in Incognito mode addressed and other issues that have been reported by users have also been fixed.

Other changes that have been made to the app are mostly bug fixes and performance improvements. Problems with sync sign in are now accompanied by ‘more actionable’ error messages and problems with language detection during the welcome tour have also been addressed.

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