Gregarius » BetaNews.Com » novembre 9, 2012

BetaNews.Com (16 non lus)

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean coming soon for Motorola Droid Razr M

Publié: novembre 9, 2012, 10:12pm CET par Mihaita Bamburic

Little more than two months ago Motorola introduced the Droid Razr M for Verizon Wireless running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. In October, a leaked ROM surfaced, but today the big red announced the real deal -- Jelly Bean is coming with all its bells and whistles to the Droid Razr M.

The significant software upgrade bears the "98.12.4.XT907.Verizon.en.US" moniker and it comes in at 254.1MB. Users should expect Android 4.1 Jelly Bean with the usual Motorola add-ons and Verizon-specific apps. Some of the most noteworthy changes include better voice search capability thanks to Google Now, revised notifications panel and improved responsiveness due to Project Butter. Users should also expect faster GPS lock-in times, more frequent Contacts sync and instantly-updating circle widget, among other improvements. There is also a new version of QuickOffice as well Isis Mobile Wallet support and new Video Calling Portal app.

Verizon does not provide an exact date when Motorola Droid Razr M users will receive Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, only that it's "coming soon". However as its parent company Google barely announced Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, it's fair to say that Motorola falls a bit short in delivering the latest and greatest.
Because of Sony, Android upgrades for all devices may arrive sooner

Publié: novembre 9, 2012, 8:49pm CET par Mihaita Bamburic

After Google dropped the Sony Xperia S from the Android Open Source Project, AOSP Technical Lead Jean-Baptiste Quéru announced that the Mountain View, Calif.-based corporation will improve the tools required for manufacturer AOSP contributions. The intended purpose is to help manufacturers upgrade to new Android versions faster, and facilitate their contributions to the AOSP tree.

The revised tools, in short, make it easier for manufacturers to organize device-specific files in the same manner that Google does.

Quéru said: "We're going to create scripts that allow manufacturers to create the basic device-specific configuration files that they can then customize with their own knowledge," with as little intervention as possible from his end. With contributions to the AOSP tree manufacturers do not have to maintain changes, leaving Google to do all the heavy-lifting on their behalf. One of the main benefits is a shorter time to release upgrades to new versions of Android. But there are other advantages as well.

Using the revised builds, manufacturers can also release stock Android builds for their devices, although that is a theoretical scenario at the moment.

"The goal isn't necessarily to release builds that are close to the AOSP tree (though they can do that,)" Quéru said. The additional costs that are involved will have to be supported by manufacturers, but if Sony can do it with the Xperia S, it's not impossible for others to follow suit.

The mechanism that will make manufacturer hardware usable with the AOSP master tree can also be used by the developer community to build upon and improve the software for the device.

The trigger for the changes that Quéru announced is the Xperia S experiment which he started in August.

"One underlying goal with Sony is to make it easier for them to contribute changes to AOSP: by being able to build AOSP for a Sony device, they can test their candidate contributions much more easily," Quéru said. "They did such a good job that they don't need my help any more, so I'm getting out of their way to let them make progress at full speed."

If OEM upgrades to new Android versions start coming out sooner than they have in the past, you have Jean-Baptiste Quéru and Sony to thank.
Nokia Lumia wireless charger page goes live

Publié: novembre 9, 2012, 8:26pm CET par Alan Buckingham

Can't wait for Windows Phone 8? Maybe you are hoping to score one of those recently-announced Nokia phones like the Lumia 920 and 820 on AT&T, or the Lumia 822 on Verizon? Are you waiting for that free wireless charger?

Well, we have some good news and some bad news.

Let's start with the good news. First, while it's not fully live yet, Nokia has launched a page for its free wireless chargers. The site will not actually be live until November 16th. On that day, customers can check in and request a free wireless charger for their sparkling new phone. Even better, if you are located in the United Kingdom and are planning to pick up the Lumia 920 or 820 then you don't need to feel left out because Phones4u will have this deal as well as AT&T.

Now for a bit of bad news.

First, Verizon is shut out, the Lumia 822 doesn't qualify. The deal in the United States will only be available for the Lumia 920, leaving the new lumia 820 or 822 out in the cold. If you are purchasing your new handset from Phones4U then you get a bit more love -- they will be supporting the free wireless charger deal for the Lumia 820 as well as the 920, but there is a catch:

"The Free Wireless Charging Plate offer only applies to customers who have purchased a qualifying Nokia Lumia 820 or Nokia Lumia 920 promotional handset available through any P4U store, online or call centre between 02/11/12 and 31/12/12."

Is Windows Phone 8 enough of a temptation to lure entrenched mobile users away from their Android and iPhone devices? Microsoft is banking on it, and I am certainly tempted given the sleek new interface and the slew of updates to the mobile operating system.

Microsoft and Nokia are making it awfully enticing to put aside my trusty Galaxy Nexus.
Apple's Samsung apology includes 'false material'

Publié: novembre 9, 2012, 7:49pm CET par Wayne Williams

As expected, Apple has come in for some blistering criticism from the UK courts over its refusal to publish a straightforward apology stating that Samsung did not copy the iPad.

The full ruling of the court of appeal hearing, published today, pulls no punches, describing Apple’s compliance with the newspaper advertisement order (in which it was instructed to publish an apology in several UK newspapers and magazines) as "lackadaisical at best". The recent statement published on its website was found to be even more serious as it contained "false material" and made out the case as about Samsung copying the iPad, when it wasn’t. (It was actually about whether Samsung had copied Apple’s registered design.)

Sir Robin Jacob, one of the three judges who presided over the case, notes in the ruling that instead of publishing the text as ordered, "Apple broke it up, interspersing it with text of its own devising", some of which was "false and misleading" and "clearly muddied the water and the message obviously intended to be conveyed by it".

Lies, Damn Lies

Apple inserted at the end of the apology:

However, in a case tried in Germany regarding the same patent, the court found that Samsung engaged in unfair competition by copying the iPad design. A U.S. jury also found Samsung guilty of infringing on Apple's design and utility patents, awarding over one billion U.S. dollars in damages to Apple Inc. So while the UK court did not find Samsung guilty of infringement, other courts have recognized that in the course of creating its Galaxy tablet, Samsung wilfully copied Apple's far more popular iPad.

Regarding the German case, the judge observes to be "false":

(a) "Regarding the same patent." No patent of any kind has been involved in Germany or here, still less "the same patent."

(b) As regards the Community Registered Design, the German Courts held that neither the Galaxy 10.1 nor the 8.9 infringed it. As to the 7.7 there was for a short while a German provisional order holding that it infringed. Whether there was a jurisdiction to make that order is very doubtful for the reasons given in my earlier judgment but in any event the order had been (or should have been) discharged by the time the Contested Notice was published.

(c) There is a finding and injunction, limited to Germany alone, that the 10.1 and 8.9 infringe German unfair competition law. But the statement is likely to be read as of more general application.

Regarding the US court case sentence:

That is misleading by omission. For the US jury specifically rejected Apple's claim that the US design patent corresponding to the Community Design in issue here was infringed. The average reader would think that the UK decision was at odds with that in the US. Far from that being so, it was in accordance with it.

With respect to the UK case:

This is calculated to produce huge confusion. The false innuendo is that the UK court came to a different conclusion about copying, which is not true for the UK court did not form any view about copying. There is a further false innuendo that the UK court's decision is at odds with decisions in other countries whereas that is simply not true.

Sir Jacob made clear what Apple has failed to in the published apologies: "The reality is that wherever Apple has sued on this registered design or its counterpart, it has ultimately failed".

Bad Script

As a result of all this disobedience the court ordered Apple to publish the correct statement, without any modifications or additions on its site, and awarded costs against the firm on an indemnity basis. This is higher than the normal, standard basis in order to show the "mark of the court's disapproval of a party's conduct".

When Apple published a new statement on the front page of its website at the end of last week, it added some JavaScript to essentially hide the message, forcing visitors to scroll below the apparent bottom of the page in order to see it. This coding was quietly removed today, although it’s not clear if it was done voluntarily, or at the court’s request. However, the statement is still largely invisible, as it can only be seen directly on a rather large display (it’s still completely out of sight on my 1920x1080 screen).

Is this the end of the matter now? Who knows. It depends whether the court feels Apple’s JavaScript stunt warrants a further order, and demands the notice be placed where it can actually be seen. Samsung will no doubt have issued a complaint, so don’t be surprised if this whole soap opera rumbles on for a while yet.
Reddit wants users to pay for Gold

Publié: novembre 9, 2012, 6:37pm CET par Mihaita Bamburic

Social news website Reddit announced that it will promote and expand its premium service Reddit Gold to aid with growing server costs. In October 2012 Reddit traffic surpassed more than 46 million unique visitors and 3.8 billion pageviews, and the company now wants users to swallow part of the cost.

The alternative is an increased number of ads, which the company wants to avoid through Reddit Gold, even though advertisements will still account for part of the revenue. The premium service was introduced in 2010 but mostly lurked in the shadows, even though it provides access to exclusive features. For $3.99 per month or $29.99 for a one-year subscription, redditors can highlight unread comments, see up to 100 subreddits, view karma per subreddit, turn off the display of ads or have access to a special lounge that "may or may not exist".

New features for Reddit Gold are underway such as comment saving and filtering saves by subreddit, the ability to give gold to comments and upgrades for the special lounge. Members get first-access to new functionality, but if the community benefits Reddit says that they might be migrated to non-subscribing users as well.

Photo Credit: Reddit
Best Windows 8 apps this week

Publié: novembre 9, 2012, 6:10pm CET par Martin Brinkmann

Second in a series. Welcome to this week's installment of the new "best Windows 8 apps" series here on BetaNews. The first post went live on Sunday but we decided to move the series to Friday instead, which means that there are only five days between posts this time. All posts of this series will be posted on Friday from now on.

The links point to Microsoft's Windows Store, which offers detailed information about each app. To get an application, open the Windows Store on your computer and type the name as listed on the store front to find the program and install it on the system.

PRadio

This application brings Pandora Radio to the Windows start screen. It makes available all Pandora stations after you have signed in to your account. Note that Pandora Radio is only available in the United States. A search is available to create a new radio station based on an artist, song, album or genre just like you can on the Pandora website. The music continues to play in the background even if you switch screens to another Windows Store application or the traditional desktop. You can pin radio stations to the start screen to launch them with a single click or tap, and use your multimedia keyboard to control the playback of music on your system.

Bing my Lock screen

You can change the lock screen background of Windows 8 easily from the PC Settings menu. Bing my Lock screen may be of interest to you if you are looking for a way to switch wallpapers automatically so that you see a new image every day.

The program displays the eight latest images that Microsoft has used on its Bing search engine. You can select a new lock screen background manually with three clicks of the mouse, or configure the program to do that for you regularly once per day.

/r/etro (sorry no Store link yet)

A Reddit client for Windows 8 that displays streams on the start page. A click on a thread opens it next to the stream you clicked on, so that you can access both the actual article, e.g. a video, image or website, or the comments that Reddit users have posted about it on the site. A reply option is available that you can use after you have logged in to your Reddit account.

The most popular subreddits are displayed on the start page. You can right-click anywhere and select go to subreddit from the bottom toolbar to open a subforum that is not displayed here automatically.

Intel Software Adrenalin

This application brings news, articles and videos that you find on Intel's Software Adrenalin website to Windows 8, so that you can access the information without having to open the intel website to find out what's new.

This application offers Intel related news, information and marketing for developers, businesses and enthusiasts.

WD

The WD app for Windows 8 enables you to browse contents on your Western Digital drive right from within the application. It will automatically discover all media files on the drive so that you can browse and view photos, music and video contents when you open the application.

Note that the app is limited to Western Digital drives. It is most suited for users of Windows RT who want an easy way to access media contents on their drive.

Tasks

Tasks by Telerik is one of the most sophisticated task and to-do list managers available in the store right now. You can use it to create an unlimited number of one-time or recurring tasks that the application can remind you of in advance if you configure it that way.

The configuration leaves little to be desired: you can add categories and projects, select a priority for each task, define due date and time, add notes, pictures, email recipients, phone numbers, and if you pay for it, voice notes.

The application lacks a few features, including email notifications or the option to add non-image attachments to a task.

Epicurious

The application displays a list of recipes of the day when you start it. Photos highlight the dishes, and you get detailed instructions on the ingredients, preparation and additional information including dietary considerations and yield.

The front page lists recipe groups like thanksgiving taters, lunch kids love or weekend brunch which you can open to browse recipes. You can alternatively use the search to search a 30,000 recipe database. If there is one thing missing, it is nutrition information for each serving.

TSN

North American sports news app covering major leagues such as NHL, NFL and NBA (sorry no MLB), detailed team and player stats and bios, team schedules, injury and transaction news as well as a real-time score ticker that is keeping you up to date on running and upcoming matches.

Advanced English Dictionary

A dictionary application featuring more than 200,000 entries that you can use to look up word meanings, their phonetic spelling, hypernyms and antonyms. The application furthermore can pronounce the word using an US or UK accent which is especially useful for non-natives.

The application is integrated into Windows 8's Charms Bar so that you can use it to look up words quickly from any location you are currently in.

Radio Soma

A radio app that is bringing all popular SOMA radio stations to Windows 8. Simply click on one of the stations to start listening to it. The radio continues to play in the background when you leave the application, so that you can listen to the music when you are running other apps or programs on the desktop.

Missed an application that you discovered this week in the store? Let us know about it in the comments please.
We wish Firefox a happy 8th birthday!

Publié: novembre 9, 2012, 5:39pm CET par Alan Buckingham

The kids grow up so fast, don't they?

It seems like only yesterday I began using Firefox, but Mozilla has reminded us that today is the eighth birthday of its Firefox browser. Those eight years, while seeming to have flown by, have had their smooth parts as well as their bumpy. The story of the "little browser that could" all began on November 9th 2004.

"The Mozilla Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving choice and promoting innovation on the Internet, today announced the worldwide availability of the Mozilla Firefox 1.0 web browser." wrote Mozilla on this day in 2004.

BetaNews readers, of course, had their own opinions about the Firefox 1.0 release. Here's our favorite:

"An unconvincing effort at best, and its own developers admit its replete with bugs. Yet it still garbles many pages and that folks, is just unacceptable. I'm sticking with NetCaptor."

Early on, Firefox was popular among the tech crowd exploring alternatives to market leader Internet Explorer, and I was one of the ones who bought into it. It eventually began to gain usage share as it filtered out to a wider audience. In recent times, however, Mozilla has seen a slight drop off in its appeal, but it is still one of the strongest competitors in the browser market.

Firefox is credited with many of the innovations we now see available in most browsers today, such as Tabs and Add-ons, both of which came right away in version 1.0. Some time later, the browser became more customizable, introducing what Mozilla referred to as "Personas", which is a fancy name for adding images to the menu bar area. That was just one more thing I loved about this piece of software.

More recently, possibly feeling threatened by the growth of Google's Chrome browser, Mozilla moved Firefox to a "rapid release" schedule to provide more upgrades, fixes, and security enhancements while still offering vetted stable releases.

Today we stand at Firefox version 16.0.2, and users can grab newer versions from the beta and aurora channels. If you are feeling particularly daring, you can even try a nightly build, but be warned that those can be unstable. In addition to the different forms of Firefox, Mozilla is even working on a mobile operating environment to compete with Android, iOS, and Windows Phone. It remains to be seen how well that will be received.

In any event, Happy Birthday Firefox! I still love you after all of these years.

Photo: Sarah Newton/Shutterstock
Google drops Sony Xperia S from the Android Open Source Project [Update]

Publié: novembre 9, 2012, 4:33pm CET par Mihaita Bamburic

Just over two months ago Sony announced that it would back-up the efforts of Android Open Source Project (AOSP) Technical Lead Jean-Baptiste Quéru (JBQ) in porting stock Android to the Xperia S tablet. Those efforts have changed somewhat, as the Japanese manufacturer has announced its intentions to take the lead on the project starting with Jelly Bean MR1.

Sony says that Quéru is pleased with the outcome of the Xperia S AOSP experiment, but in order to keep things running, the company has moved the project to a Sony git on GitHub. The problem apparently is on Google's end, as it cannot maintain non-Nexus devices in the long run, likely due to limited resources. As it is, the Xperia S boots stock Android with reduced functionality including SD card, sensors and Wi-Fi.

"I learned from that experiment (which was only possible with Sony's cooperation), and I will try to take myself out of the loop entirely so that manufacturers don't need my help at all to get started," Quéru told BetaNews on Friday.

"We've identified two aspects that we're going to work on. We're going to improve the tools so that it's easier to combine device-specific files from various locations with the central AOSP tree. We're going to create scripts that allow manufacturers to create the basic device-specific configuration files that they can then customize with their own knowledge."

Within Sony's efforts, both DSP and modem are functional, but developers still do not have access to proprietary audio and modem binaries, which Sony cannot publish at the moment.

However, as it moves to Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, the Xperia S AOSP experiment will trade previous binaries with source code. The idea is to make it work as a development platform as well as increase the number of open source modules.

"The goal isn't necessarily to release builds that are close to the AOSP tree (though they can do that). One underlying goal with Sony is to make it easier for them to contribute changes to AOSP: by being able to build AOSP for a Sony device, they can test their candidate contributions much more easily," Quéru said.
If Windows 8 Modern UI isn't your thing, try StartOnDesktop

Publié: novembre 9, 2012, 4:01pm CET par Mike Williams

Launch Windows 8 and the first change you’ll notice is that it boots to the new Start screen, rather than the desktop. And, perhaps more annoyingly if you prefer the more traditional environment, there’s no standard option to change this.

A single click on the Desktop tile is all it takes to switch manually, of course, so this isn’t the biggest of hassles. But if you’d rather set up your system precisely as you like, and boot directly to the desktop, then StartOnDesktop is perhaps the quickest and easiest solution around.

The program is tiny 37KB download, for instance. There’s no adware here, no installation required, no hassles of any kind: just unzip it and launch the single executable.

The interface couldn’t be much more straightforward, either. Clicking “Enable” tweaks a Registry setting and ensures your system will boot to the desktop; clicking “Disable” restores normal booting to the Start screen; and that’s about it.

Does it work? It did on our test system, and better than some competing ideas. We didn’t see the Start screen appear first, for example, not even for a fraction of a second. Our PC simply jumped straight to the desktop.

And if you want to get back to the Start screen for some reason, then pressing the Windows key as normal will do the trick.

The program doesn’t tamper with any files on your system, add any new tasks or do anything else similarly intrusive, so it seems to us that StartOnDesktop is probably one of the safer ways to bypass the Start screen.

There are no 100 percent guarantees, though, so we’d recommend caution. Don’t use the program unless you’re happy that you could recover your setup if for some reason it does cause boot problems.
uTorrent 3.2.2 supports Windows 8

Publié: novembre 9, 2012, 3:33pm CET par Nick Peers

File-sharing pioneer BitTorrent Inc has just released uTorrent 3.2.2, the latest build of its free, lightweight Windows-only BitTorrent client. Version 3.2.2’s most notable change is the addition of Windows 8 compatibility.

The latest build also introduces a new built-in advertising platform, Facebook and Twitter icons, tweaked Add Torrent dialog and a number of major and minor bug fixes.

The headline new feature in uTorrent 3.2.2 is undoubtedly official compatibility with Windows 8, which was released two weeks ago. After announcing its intention to include built-in advertising to help fund development of the free version, uTorrent 3.2.2 debuts the new "offers" platform, with a thin rectangular pane at the top of the main uTorrent window now devoted to listing a featured torrent, both from BitTorrent and commercial partners.

Version 3.2.2 also sees the Add Torrent dialog revamped slightly, to display magnet link data. The layout has also been tweaked to display more files on-screen at once, and also includes a minor fix that resolves a discrepancy between single and multi-file torrent save directories. On a related note, the OK/Cancel button has been moved to the bottom right-hand corner of the Add Torrent dialog.

The new version also sees small tweaks to improve magnet link handling, plus debuts Twitter and Facebook icons. Clicking either button takes the user to uTorrent’s respective social networking page and then disappears.

The new build also offers numerous bug fixes -- a definitive list can be found here -- which include one that resolves issues with Peer ID causing disconnects, and another that caused the program to crash in the Add Torrent dialog.

uTorrent 3.2.2 is available as a free download for PCs running Windows XP or later.

Photo Credit: mojito.mak[dog]gmail[dot]com/Shutterstock
Folder2Iso turns folder trees into ISOs

Publié: novembre 9, 2012, 12:43pm CET par Mike Williams

ISO images are a popular way to distribute software, and Windows has become much better at handling them in recent years. Windows 7 added the ability to burn ISO images to disc, for instance, while Windows 8 is able to mount them as virtual drives.

Creating ISO images in the first place remains a little more challenging, of course, but if that’s something you need to do (even only occasionally) then there are some very simple solutions around. And few are quite as straightforward as Folder2Iso.

The program is an ultra-compact 1.45MB download, for instance. And portable, so unzip the single executable file (no adware, DLLs or other extras here) and it’s ready to go immediately.

The process of creating an image is extremely simple, too, and works more or less exactly as you’d expect. So you’ll choose the root folder which you’d like to be converted, select the output name and location of your finished image, and that’s just about it.

There are a couple of “extras” – you can give the image a name, and choose an appropriate character set, but otherwise it’s just a matter of clicking “Generate ISO” -- and waiting a moment for the ISO file to be created.

One small annoyance here is that the program displays the size of your folder (and any subfolders) in bytes, without any formatting. That can make for lengthy numbers in some situations, not easy to read at a glance, and presenting the combined file size in MB or GB might be clearer.

And it would also be useful if users had the option to exclude subfolders from the finished image.

Otherwise, though, if you ever need to create ISO images than Folder2Iso is a quick, easy and convenient way to get the job done.

Photo Credit: Liv friis-larsen/Shutterstock
Skype in the workspace caters to small business

Publié: novembre 9, 2012, 7:59am CET par Alan Buckingham

Many people were aghast when Microsoft forked over a hefty $8.5 billion in May of 2011 to purchase Skype. The software giant took awhile to get going with its new toy, but now we are starting to see the results. Microsoft announced a brand new platform set to improve communications for small business.

Skype in the workspace connects these companies to customers, partners and suppliers all around the world. The best part may be the price -- "It's a free-to-use online platform for small businesses and entrepreneurs" states Skype's Ural Cebeci. So far, so good.

Microsoft provides experts and consultants to help a small business get up and running and even promote its new page via social media. Still good...

Microsoft also purports that the new service will work well for more established places that don't require all of the promotion of a startup. Additionally, there are already hundreds of new business relationships that can be made, and even some promotional tools, to help you further that business, be it new or established. Better...

The company asserts that an individual user with an existing Skype account can build on that to add all of the tools he or she needs to grow regardless of location or industry. Subscribers can then get started inviting customers for feedback, as well as showing off products and services to potential partners and even place orders with distributors. Great!

All cool stuff huh? So what could possibly go wrong?

Sure, the service could save a young business a lot of money on communications costs with something like a PBX system. It also has the potential to make phone companies a bit nervous. But the service is new and untested in the target market. Still, it's promising. I'm hopeful.

Photo Credit: Dudarev Mikhail/Shutterstock
Customize the Windows 8 Start screen with Stardock's Decor8

Publié: novembre 9, 2012, 6:07am CET par Martin Brinkmann

The Start screen is without doubt one of the major new features of Windows 8. It may come as a surprise that the Start screen's customization options are not as extensive as those made available on the desktop. There are, for instance, only 20 designs that you can select for the Start screen's background, opposed to an unlimited amount of custom wallpapers or desktop backgrounds that you can add to the Windows desktop. The color scheme too is limited to 25 different pre-configured schemes, while you are not limited to fixed color schemes on the desktop.

Stardock, the creators of Start8, a popular Windows 8 Start menu program, have created Decor8 to tackle the issue. Decor8 introduces options to change the appearance of the operating system's Start screen in a way that goes beyond what Microsoft has envisioned for it.

The program ships with two major features, the ability to pick any picture as the Start screen background and the option to select a custom color scheme, and several minor features that let you change various aspects related to the start screen.

Customizing Windows 8's Start Screen Background

Decor8 displays a set of background images by default, including the start screen and desktop background images that Windows 8 ships with, and also a set of wallpapers that Stardock ships with the application.

You can add folders to the program to use your photos or images as wallpapers on Windows 8's Start screen. To do that, simply click on the select folders button, add the folder to the list the program scans for background images, and wait for the new images to appear as thumbnails in the program window.

To select a folder, simply click on it. You will see a preview of how the start screen will look immediately at the top of the application. Here you can also select how the program should handle images that are too large or small, with the usual fit, fill, tile or center options available for selection.

You can select multiple images on the configuration screen, by holding down CTRL while clicking, to change the Start screen wallpaper automatically in intervals. The changes take effect immediately; there is no save button that needs to be clicked or tapped on to submit them first.

Custom Color Schemes

The Color menu displays the 25 different color schemes that Microsoft has created for the Start screen. You can switch to a custom color scheme instead, which enables you to select the background color, standard tile color, accent color and text color individually from the full-color palette giving you control over all colors of the start screen and the Charms Bar.

You can save color schemes, for instance one for the day and one for the night, and switch between them from the menu.

Minor Options

The options menu displays three minor options to customize the start screen further. The first displays a slider that you can use to change the number of rows on the start screen. While it does not enable you to go beyond the hard coded limit, you may use it to increase the number of rows on the start screen to fit more apps on the screen at the same time.

The second option stops or reduces the parallax scrolling effect of the start screen. The background is moved at a slower pace than the foreground when you scroll, and the preference here either disables the effect completely or reduces it.

The last option applies the selected color scheme to the Charms Bar as well as the start screen.

Closing Words

Decor8 is not the first program that enables you to customize the start screen of the Windows 8 system. A Deviant Art user published a similar program several weeks ago, but it is not as easy to use as Decor8, as it requires you to create a custom png image for use as a background.

Decor8 on top of that introduces automatic wallpaper changing and custom color schemes which make it a well rounded application because of this.

The program is available for $4.99. It is currently listed as a beta version that anyone can download as a 30 day trial version after submitting an email address on the Decor8 download page.
Claim your @icloud.com address

Publié: novembre 9, 2012, 3:25am CET par Joe Wilcox
Tonight, my wife received a routine email from Apple. Hey, I didn't get one. But since I declared independence from Apple in July, I really don't care. But you might.

Apple is in process of migrating existing email addresses from @mac.com and @me.com, all of which reflect different iterations of cloud services. I've had mac.com since 2000, or thereabouts. Then four years ago, Apple moved everyone to MobileMe, adding a second domain. Now there's a third supporting iCloud, which debuted about a year ago. This means some Apple users will soon have three different email addresses -- and all of them functional. Confused yet?

The email she received (with identity removed):

All new iCloud Mail accounts now come with an @icloud.com email address. As an existing user, we'd like to offer you this new address as well. We have reserved xxxxxxx@icloud.com for you, and you can now use this address with your iOS devices and computers by following these simple instructions.

If you prefer, you can continue to use your current email address just as you always have.

No matter which address you use, you'll continue to receive all your mail, whether it's sent to your @me.com, @mac.com, or @icloud.com address.

I presume that someday Apple will do away with @mac.com and @me.com. The sensible thing is move everyone eventually to @icloud.com but redirect messages sent to the others. Hypothetically, shouldn't ibreakforspammers@icloud.com be enough?

Changing email addresses can be a nightmare for users, so Apple does right by allowing customers to choose new or old and keep messages flowing regardless of choice. Also, switching is pretty easy. Basically:
You can send email from your @icloud.com address by following these instructions:
1. Begin composing a new email on the device of your choice.
2. Select the From: field in your message.
3. Choose your @icloud.com address from the list of addresses.
4. Compose your message and send it.
There are additional specific, but simple, instructions for making the @icloud.com address default for iOS, OS X and webmail.

Photo Credit: Archipoch/Shutterstock
DARPA adopts Android-based battlefield helmet cameras

Publié: novembre 9, 2012, 2:48am CET par Alan Buckingham

DARPA, or the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency as it is technically known, has a history of turning seemingly crazy ideas into reality. Now this branch of the Defense Department pursues a new camera/sensor system designed to aid soldiers' vision on the battlefield.

The agency describes it this way: "As missions shift, however, and warfighters are required to work in smaller teams and access more remote locations, it is technology that must adapt if it is to remain useful. Desirable features for many new man-portable systems include small size, light weight, minimal power consumption, low cost, ease of use, multi-functionality and, to the extent possible, network friendliness".

While all of that sounds very cool, how DARPA plans to pull this off is the even more fascinating part of this whole story. Would you believe Android phones and relatively cheap, by military standards anyway, products?

First, DARPA created the "Pixel Network for Dynamic Visualization", or PIXNET. Now it plans to use that network for powering clip-on and helmet-mounted cameras and sensors. Before you wonder "why not just buy GoPro?" let me explain. You see, GoPro, and its brethren on the market, aren't exactly capable of relaying information in real-time. Those devices simply film what's going on. These special cameras will combine "visible, near infrared, and infrared sensors" to alert soldiers to threats around them when they are in the field. Much of the existing technologies to make this happen already exist, but the DOD wants to bring all of these disparate sources together into one multi-band product using their new PIXNET. That's all very cool, but it gets even better.

DARPA plans to use Android phones to satisfy this merging of technologies. The approach will allow the system mounted on each soldier to network and come together as one cohesive unit. According to one report, "Each camera also will be wirelessly linked to an Android smart phone that can serve as an additional platform for multi-band image fusion, relevant data processing and image display, thus reducing the data load and power budget of the camera".

DARPA encourages the development of individual Android apps to help all of this actually work -- certainly not what you would normally see on Google Play. The Defense Depatment even plans to make the entire package in a much more affordable manner than popular convention about government and military spending. The agency proposes building up to 10,000 units per month at a projected cost of $3,000 per unit.

All of this technology sounds very cool and much cheaper to build than you would probably expect. Perhaps that's why many, especially among the geek community, tend to think of DARPA as one of, if not the only, really cool branch of the United States government.
Here's what I wrote about Android on its big day four years ago

Publié: novembre 9, 2012, 12:50am CET par Joe Wilcox

Searching through my old Microsoft Watch posts for one thing, I found another -- my Sept. 23, 2008 news analysis "How Android hurts Microsoft". I wanted to find some of my past posts about contextual computing, and you can read more about that soon. For today, this story uses the lens of the past to look at the present.

I take lots of flake from commenters, whether directly on posts or blogged by others elsewhere, about my stories. Many accuse me of idiot perspective and being clueless. But often my seemingly brash analyses at the time, peering into future implications, are generally right. If you look at the totality of my writing, there is consistency of thinking that rightly anticipates trends. Abrasive writing style, provocative headlines and forceful argument puts off some people, especially those who don't like change or embracing new ideas. Occasionally I write seemingly contradictory perspectives, trying to look a things dimensionally rather than flatly. The Microsoft Watch post is one example of many that demonstrates what I mean.

Four years ago in September, Google, HTC and T-Mobile USA announced the first commercially available Android smartphone, the G1. I had watched the space carefully from the perspective of Microsoft, being editor of a blog covering the company. I had previously written much about the importance of synchronization, particularly as devices like smartphones took on larger roles alongside PCs, and in some ways displacing them. I wrote in part:

Think "baby seals" with regards to the clubbing Google gave Microsoft today.

"'Whack, whack, whack' was the sound coming out of New York, where Google, HTC and T-Mobile launched the Android-based G1. The mobile phone goes on sale Oct. 22.

Google clubbed Apple, too, but Microsoft will be the more seriously injured. Today, Google officially launched its alternative platform to the Windows PC. Microsoft is frakked.

The Android-based G1 is Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's worst fears bundled together in a tidy package: Google, Web applications, open source and a platform alternative to Windows. Worse: easy access to Google's plethora of online services—including Calendar, Contacts, Gmail, Google Talk, Maps Street View and YouTube—via single sign-on. There is a single point of connection and synchronization to Google's goodie bag. Get this: No PC is required. Google syncs from the Web to the phone. Microsoft has got nothing like it, but should.

As I've blogged before, sync is the killer application for the connected world. In 2007 I warned: "If Google gets synchronization right before Microsoft, it's game over". Something else I warned: "If Google and its partners can bring to mobile devices what they have to the desktop, I predict it will be game over for Microsoft. Windows' relevance will diminish before the Web platform".

I can't blog this enough times: The PC era is waning. The cell phone is more personal than the PC, and it has great Web 2.0 platform affinity. The cell phone's destiny is inevitable. Mobiles will replace PCs as the most widely used personal devices... Some people may want to carry a PC everywhere. But it's the cell phone most likely to be carried and connected. Microsoft better get there, or it will be nowhere..

Fast-forward to 2012, and where is Microsoft on smartphones? Or post-PC devices like tablets? Nowhere. Android was nowhere the day Google unveiled the G1, which went on sale Oct. 22, 2008. Today the operating system ships on three out of every four smartphones shipped globally, according to IDC. Windows Phone's share is less than two percent (most analysts combine with Windows Mobile, which lifts the number).

In the analysis four years ago, I explained some ways Google could leverage existing services to improve Android smartphones' appeal:

Google's business is about wrapping search keywords and contextual search advertising around information that people want. Where do they want that information most? Where they need it, like on a Los Angeles street when looking for a good place to eat. The cell phone, that device nearly always carried, is the place to get it. Google can provide the information, and with a little extra bling-bling for advertisers.

One scenario: Minnie Martin types in a search, but instead of a search page she gets a Google Map with pushpins for a dozen Thai restaurants within 10 miles. I haven't seen the G1, so I don't know how deep the services integration is. But that's how Google should do it, with preference given to eateries that paid for placement or bought search keywords.

There wasn't much local service four years ago. What seems commonplace now was hardly anyplace then. But the scenarios above exactly are what Google delivers today. For years I have repeatedly asserted that sync is the killer app for the connected-device era. But there is another, as cloud-connected devices proliferate -- and Google Now gets it right: presence and assistance. Behind both is context, something I'll rail on about in a day or so, also referring back to content posted years ago. We live in the era of contextual computing.

The cloud is all about context. Content follows users everywhere, independent of device. Your music is available anytime, anywhere on anything. You watch a movie in one context, sitting in man chair at the mall on a smartphone and resume on the big-screen TV at home. Content is the same, but context and device change. But that's more topic for the weekend.

For today, I want to say this: Take a look at the comments to that old Microsoft Watch post and compare them to the naysayer responses to my BetaNews stories. They aren't that different. There is similar denial and disbelief. One from the MW post: "This is article is nothing but inflammatory and irresponsible". But, honestly, I tend to be right more often than not. When not, I say so, such as "I was wrong about Apple iPad".

By the way, another "I was wrong" confession is coming. Look for it in a couple days.

Photo Credit: Joe Wilcox