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BetaNews.Com (13 non lus)

It's about time! Microsoft's consumer cloud calendar gets a new Outlook

Publié: avril 2, 2013, 11:34pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

Windows Live Calendar (there's supposed to officially be "Hotmail" in there) is dead -- or soon will be. Today, Microsoft started rolling out the replacement for Outlook.com users. I've got the old one still, which is why the not-quite-lifeless-yet reference.

There's some kind of aspirational, Apple-like promotion going on here. "The Outlook.com calendar has been entirely redesigned with a modern, intuitive interface that puts you in control of your schedule", David Dennis, Microsoft's Outlook.com Calendar principal program manager lead, beams. Yeah, baby, put me in control. Gimme the mouse clicker.

But there's the disappointment of getting the old thing for some of us to contend with. "You can get started with any email address at Outlook.com Calendar as soon as your account is upgraded", Dennis explains. Hey, that's not me. You? This week, he promises everyone.

Seriously, if Dennis really wrote this whole post -- not PR Borg -- someone should promote him to writing all promotional copy for Office 365 and Outlook on the web. I count 29 uses of "you" and 21 of "your" in his blog post introduction. But it's more than numbers of "you" and "your" but how they're expressed to make, well, you feel empowered.

The subheads separating main text are great examples: "Across your modern smartphones and tablets"; "connected to what you care about"; and "you're in control of sharing with friends and family". The tone is clear: What the Outlook.com calendar will do for you. The best marketing convinces you that your life will be better for using product X, Y or Z.

Perhaps it will be -- as long as you aren't using an Android device. Dennis asserts that "connecting your calendar to your mobile device is easy". But is it satisfying?

Google and Microsoft are in this scuffle over ActiveSync, which the search giant dropped. So at Google's insistence, Microsoft agreed to adopt CalDAV, which Google then also dropped. As such, Android users wanting to sync Google and Outlook.com calendars are consigned to Hotmail Hell.

Outlook.com for Android is some popular app. Out of 5,659 reviews, 2,642 are one-star. PU. iPhone and Windows Phone users, you can stop laughing now.
Google Now for Chrome not now but very soon, latest browser build reveals

Publié: avril 2, 2013, 10:09pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

Back in March, which was not so long ago, we learned that the Android feature that is all the rage would likely come to Chrome the browser and operating system. François Beaufort uncovered code that seemed to confirm the coming inclusion of Google Now, as Beaufort seems to uncover everything -- to the point where the search ginat recently threw up its proverbial hands in frustration and finally hired the man.

That day has arrived...in a manner of speaking. The latest build of Chrome Canary, the developer channel version of the browser, has hit the streets and version 28 comes with the initial framework for Now integration.

The service is disabled by default, but you can remedy that by heading your browser to chrome://flags and scrolling all the way to the bottom of the page. Here you can flip the "enable" switch, but do not expect much. For the moment the service is more like "Not Now". Google has not yet flipped the final switch to enable the server that will power it -- or perhaps it has, but the URL is not yet known.

Either way, the service does not yet actually work, but now we have even more confirmation that it is actually on the way. Though, Canary has been known to take away services after initial testing in the past. However, this one seems rather important and I doubt Google would simply scrap the plan. As my colleague Joe Wilcox said in his initial post on this -- it has the power to change everything.
Will you buy Samsung Galaxy S4?

Publié: avril 2, 2013, 8:16pm CEST par Joe Wilcox
Now that some carriers have started taking preorders, time is to ask whether or not you will buy Samsung's new flagship smartphone. The South Korean consumer electronics giant will offer the handset from 327 carriers in 155 countries, later this month.

Ian Fogg, IHS Screen Digest principal analyst, predicts that Galaxy S4 will be huge -- extending Samsung's "market lead from 4 to 11 percentage points over the next largest handset maker. Globally, Samsung will ship 29 percent of all mobile phones in 2013".

He emphasizes: "Galaxy S4 will cement Samsung's existing position as the leading mobile handset maker globally. This flagship smartphone will act as a halo device that will boost Samsung's mobile brand and support sales of all of Samsung's handsets at all price points."

Key Benefits

Galaxy S4 is a big upgrade in some respects, small in others. The phone's screen jacks up to 5-inches and increases screen resolution to full HD. The physical design changes little from the S3, but software enhancements abound -- and they, working with the eight sensors, are designed to make the phone more responsive to you.

Among the software features:
- Air Gesture lets users wave over the phone to manipulate some controls, such as choosing music or scrolling web pages. Related: Air Wave allows people to hover their fingers to manipulate the screen.
- Dual Video Call permits use of both cameras simultaneously so that the caller on the other end can see other people, say, at a party.
- Eraser removes unwanted objects (or people) from photos. Who hasn't wanted to do that?
- Group Play lets S4 users share documents, music, games and more, even combining up to eight handsets to create a speaker system (using Share Music).
- S Health tracks some personal biological functions, such as calorie burn, heart rate and pulse and pulls them together into a mini report.
- S Translate is quite futuristic. Think Star Trek's universal translator. The feature can translate 9 languages, including speech-to-text and text-to-speech capabilities. While the service needs a network connection for optimal use, there is basic vocabulary on device for basic translation.
- S Voice Car is a voice-activated system for using Galaxy S IV hands-free.
Fogg warns that "many of the features of the S4 overshoot current consumer needs". Do they? That's a question for you.

Specs Compared

Samsung's smartphone should not be judged on features along but how they stack up to other tech-leading handsets. To help answer the question, I've prepared specs.

Galaxy S4: 5-inch Super AMOLED with 1920 x 1080 resolution and 441 pixels per inch; 1.9GHz quad-core or 1.6GHz dual quad-core processor; 2GB of RAM; 16GB, 32GB or 64GB storage (expandable up to 64GB with microSD card); 13-megapixel auto-focus rear-facing and 2MP front-facing cameras; 1080p video recording; 4G: LTE (Cat 3 100/50Mbps), HSPA＋ 42Mbps (850/900/1900/2100 MHz); 2.5G GSM/ GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz);WiFi N/AC; GPS + GLONASS; NFC; Bluetooth 4; IR LED; MHL 2; accelerometer; barometer; gyroscope; geomagnetic, gesture, proximity, RGB light and temperature & humidity sensors; 2600 mAh removable battery; and Android 4.2.2 with TouchWiz UI. Measures 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm and weighs 130 grams. Prices and configurations vary by carrier. In the United States, AT&T starts preorders April 16 -- $199.99 and $249.99 for 16GB and 32GB, respectively -- locked with 2-year commitment. T-Mobile: $99.99 upfront and $20/month for 24 months.

HTC One specs: 4.7-inch Super LCD3 display with 1920 x 1080 resolution and 468 ppi; 1.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 quad-core processor; 2GB RAM; 32GB or 64GB storage; 4MP front-facing and 2.1MP rear-facing cameras; 1080p video recording; 4G: LTE (Asia 1800/2600 Mhz), EU (800/1800/2600 MHz), AT&T (700/850/AWS/1900 MHz), Sprint (1900 Mhz), T-mobile USA (1900 Mhz); HSPA/WCDMA (850/900/1900/2100 MHz); GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz); WiFi N; GPS + GLONASS; Bluetooth 4; NFC (carrier chooses); DLNA; ambient-light and proximity sensors; accelerometer; digital compass; gyroscope; 2300 mAh battery; Android 4.1.2 with HTC Sense. Measures 137.4 x 68.2 x 9.3 mm and weighs 143 grams. In the United States, AT&T and Sprint start sales April 19 for $199.99 for the 32GB model with 2-year contract. AT&T sells the 64GB One for $299.99. T-Mobile: $99.99 upfront and (presumably) $20/month for 24 months.

BlackBerry Z10: 4.2-inch touch display with 1280 x 768 resolution and 356 pp1; 1.5GHz dual-core processor; 2GB RAM; 16GB storage (expandable to 64GB with microSD card); 8MP auto-focus rearing-facing and 2MP fixed-focus front-facing cameras; 1080p video recording (rear camera), 720p (front); 4G: Quadband LTE 2, 5, 4, 17 (700/850/1700/1900 MHz), Triband HSPA+ 1, 2, 5/6 (850/1900/2100 MHz), Quadband HSPA+ 1, 2, 4, 5/6, (850/1700/1900/2100 MHz); Quadband EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz, Verizon 4G: LTE Band-13 (700 MHz), CDMA Cell-band and PCS-band (800/1900 MHz), WCDMA Band-1 and Band-8 (2100/900 MHz); GSM/EDGE Quadbands (850/900/1800/1900 MHz); WiFi N; GPS; 4G mobile hotspot; Bluetooth 4; NFC; micro-HDMI; accelerometer; ambient light sensor; gyroscope; magnetometer; proximity sensor; 1850 mAh fixed battery; and blackBerry 10. Measures 130 x 65.6 x 9 mm and weighs 137.5 grams. T-Mobile sells off-contract for $99.99 upfront and $18/month for 24 months. AT&T and Verizon: $199.99.

Apple iPhone 5: 4-inch display with 1136 x 640 resolution, 326 ppi; Apple A6 dual-core processor; 1GB RAM; 16GB, 32GB or 64GB storage (depending on model); 8MP rear-facing and 1.2MP front-facing cameras; UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz), GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), LTE (bands vary by carrier model and region); accelerometer; ambient-light sensor; gyroscope; GPS; proximity sensor; digital compass; Bluetooth; WiFi N; 1440 mAh fixed battery; carrier locked; iOS 6. Measures 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 mm and weighs 112 grams. With 2-year contract sells for: $199 (16GB), $299 (32GB), $399 (64GB). Carrier locked, but in United States not Verizon model. T-Mobile, starting April 12: $99.99 upfront and $20/month for 24 months.

Google Nexus 4: 4.7-inch display with 1280 x 768 pixel resolution, 320 ppi; Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor; 2GB RAM; 8GB or 16GB storage (depending on model); 8-megapixel rear-facing and 1.3MP front-facing cameras; GSM/EDGE/GPRS (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), 3G (850, 900, 1700, 1900, 2100 MHz), HSPA+ 21; WiFi N; wireless charging; Bluetooth; NFC; SlimPort HDMI; accelerometer; ambient-light sensor; barometer; compass; GPS; Gyroscope; microphone; 2100 mAh fixed battery; unlocked; Android 4.2. Measures 133.9 x 68.7 x 9.1 mm and weighs 139 grams. Sells unlocked and without contract commitment for $299 (8GB) or $349 (16GB), direct from Google.

Nokia Lumia 920: 4.5-inch display with 1280 by 768 resolution with 332 pixels per inch; 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 dual-core processor; HSPA+ and LTE (no T-Mobile USA HSPA support); 1GB RAM; 32GB storage (and 7GB SkyDrive free); 8.7MP rear-facing camera (F/2 aperture, 26mm focal length and Carl Zeiss Tessar lens) with LED flash; front-facing camera; 1080p video at 30fps (back camera), 720p (front); NFC; Bluetooth 3.1; Assisted-GPS; WiFi N; WiFi Direct; WiFi Channel bonding; DLNA compatible; magnetometer; ambient-light, proximity and orientation sensors; 2,000 mAh fixed battery; and Windows Phone 8. Dimensions: 130.3 mm high by 70.8 mm wide by 10.7 mm thick; weighs 185 grams. Sells locked for $99.99 with 2-year contract from AT&T.

Will you buy Samsung Galaxy S4?

Early Reader Reaction

Some of you already have expressed strong sentiments about Galaxy S4 in previous BetaNews stories. Xuanlong: "Regardless of what people think of the Galaxy S IV, there's no doubt that Samsung has pushed the envelope on both hardware and software. That's a lot more than Apple can say these days".

"This phone reminds me of the PC market", Mark Bryant opines. "You get a lot of crapware on it which you usually delete first thing. Only you probably won't be able to do with this phone". He's right.

Iain Simpson, commenting about the launch event: "Blah blah blah, same crap with a bunch of stolen shit included. Not impressed at all with Samsung". Reader ladylust responds: "Wow talk about denial. Who did they steal from space aliens? If your referring to Apple -- this phone makes the iPhone 5 look like a flip phone. Your kidding me right?"

ToeKneeC67 raises a good point:

Incredible specs for a mobile device, a smartphone. Most sites agree that it's overkill, but specs sell. However, I ask, did we just hit the end? Just like the PC market, you hit a point of 'good enough'. I think with these specs, anything put out next year won't make much difference. When means the smartphone hardware race is dead, it's all about software now. Which I also find funny, Apple calls their stuff i-AppName and now Samsung calls their stuff s-AppName. Still going to keep my Nexus 4. Really holding off until Windows Phone 9 ships.

Reader theboyr shares similar sentiments: "What I think we've all learned -- the magic of smartphone advances has really hit a ceiling. There's not much higher Android or iPhones can go in the platform alone for a phone...They can add software, but most of the software here is gimmicky and will be used by little amounts of people".

Only one question remains: Will you buy Samsung Galaxy S4? Please take the poll above and expand in comments below.

Photo Credit: Samsung
Wait, what? The next Windows is 'confirmed' to be 8.1?

Publié: avril 2, 2013, 6:22pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

Late yesterday and throughout this morning I have browsed my RSS feeds and continued to be amazed by the stories I see. This is not new -- I am often amazed by what some sources will run with. However the latest "news" surrounding Windows "Blue", which leaked out last week, has me completely perplexed.

Blue is, of course, very real. I am running it in a virtual machine and Microsoft has even confirmed that this update will be unveiled at the BUILD conference in June. The company has also told us that "Blue" is a code name, meaning it will likely not be the final moniker that the update is released under. All of this we know.

What we do not know is what that final name will be. However, I have seen one site after another running with a story saying the final name of Windows 8.1 is "confirmed". Really? Confirmed by who? Microsoft has said nothing of the sort.

Where does all of this confirmation come from? Well, as it turns out, it all comes from a leaked screenshot that depicts the "computer properties" screen of a Windows build labeled as 9375 and showing a version listed as Windows 8.1 Pro. The source for this? A post from a person going by the handle Kacper K. showing an image he posted to a Polish website known as winforum.eu. Well, heck, what is not to trust here? With sourcing like this is there anything left to doubt? It must be confirmed.

What makes me shake my head the most is that sources I personally respect have run with this story as if it was a cold hard fact.

Sure, the new Windows update, rumored to be coming in August and currently called Blue, may very well be called 8.1. It is a logical name, but so is 8.5, R2, Sp1 and probably many more.
HTC One comes to AT&T and Sprint

Publié: avril 2, 2013, 5:54pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

On Tuesday, U.S. mobile operators AT&T and Sprint revealed important details concerning the availability of the HTC One. Starting Thursday, April 4, the device is offered for pre-order on AT&T, while Sprint subscribers have to wait another day. At both carriers sales start April 19.

Pricing is conservative, as on a two-year contract the HTC One in 32GB trim runs for $199.99 at both AT&T and Sprint, similar to the BlackBerry Z10 (on AT&T) or the 16GB Apple iPhone 5 -- both of which come with half the storage capacity. Available colors for the HTC One include black and silver. On AT&T, customers that pre-order the device also get an HTC Media Link HD wireless HDMI adaptor for free.

Users looking for even more storage have the option of purchasing the 64GB HTC One, which goes for $299.99 and is an AT&T exclusive model in the United States. For the money, AT&T customers can also purchase a Galaxy Note II or 32GB iPhone 5, neither of which comes with the same storage capacity.

AT&T's announcement comes little under a week after the mobile operator revealed that the Samsung Galaxy S4 will be available for pre-order starting April 16, 12 days after the HTC One. Interestingly enough, the Galaxy S4 will be available for $50 more compared to the One, although the carrier did not specify which storage trim will be initially offered (presumably 16GB or 32GB).

Some of the highlights of the HTC One include a 4.7-inch display with a resolution of 1080 by 1920; 1.7 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor; 2GB of RAM; 2,300 mAh non-removable battery; Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac; NFC; Bluetooth 4.0; DLNA and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean as the operating system of choice.
Don't wait -- BUILD registration opens today!

Publié: avril 2, 2013, 4:32pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

You probably already know that Microsoft is bringing its BUILD conference to San Francisco this June. It's not cheap, the tickets and airfare could set you back considerably depending on where you are coming from, but it may be worth the expense to make the trip. Microsoft has promised to unveil Windows Blue there -- though you're likely to have seen the early leaked version already.

Today is the time to get your credit card ready because registration goes live at 9 AM PT and while it will not be easy on your wallet, those who register early, as in within the first 500, will get a discounted rate and only have their bank accounts lightened by $1,595. If you do not make that "early bird" special then you can expect to pay $2,095 for the privilege of travelling to the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

Aside from the promised Blue unveiling, there is no real guarantee of what to expect. The official site teases all things Microsoft -- Windows, Windows Phone, Azure, Xbox, Internet Explorer, Office 365 and even Visual Studio. Microsoft's Frank Shaw has promised that "at BUILD, developers will see what’s next for Windows, Windows Server, Windows Azure, Visual Studio and more".

You will pay more for BUILD than you would to attend Google I/O and you can likely expect less goodies, although Microsoft has been known to give out a few things, such as the Windows 8 tablet it handed out back in 2011. Still, for developers this is the big Microsoft event and will likely sell out rather quickly.
Funny or Die releases a teaser trailer for iSteve, its Apple movie

Publié: avril 2, 2013, 3:09pm CEST par Wayne Williams

If I was casting a film about Steve Jobs’s life, a comic actor probably wouldn’t be my first choice for the title role. But clearly I know nothing about such things. Because first we had Two and a Half Men’s Ashton Kutcher playing the Machiavellian Apple co-founder in Jobs, and now we have the boyish Justin Long as the titular iSteve in Funny or Die’s forthcoming full length feature film.

The teaser trailer for iSteve, which was released just now, doesn’t give much away, as it mostly consists of lines from the movie, but we do get a very brief look at Justin Long in the role at the very end.

Does Justin look like Steve Jobs to you? No, but then he didn’t look much like a Mac during his time playing one in the long running Mac Vs. PC ad campaign either.

The movie is described as a comedy, although there’s no sense of that in the trailer.

iSteve is due to debut on 15 April on Funny or Die. What do you think about it? Are you looking forward to it, or is it something to avoid? Comments below.

iSteve Exclusive Teaser Trailer from iSteve
What should you do when two-step authentication is not available for your Apple ID?

Publié: avril 2, 2013, 2:36pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

When Apple introduced two-step authentication for Apple ID my first thought was "Finally, the fruit company takes security seriously". But, as I've come to learn, that's not entirely accurate for everyone as the new feature is only available for users living in Australia, Ireland, New Zeeland, United Kingdom and United States. What if you're living in Canada or Germany? Well, tough luck, you can't use it. But what can you do?

Wired's Mat Honan is probably the best known Apple user to have fallen prey to Apple ID account hacks. Honan tells an alarming story, about habit and comfort (dare I say oversight) leading to having one's virtual identity shred into pieces. But two-step authentication cannot be forcefully enabled, so what can you do while waiting for Apple to support your region and mobile operator? You can still take some precautions that will secure your Apple ID account.

First thing you should do is sign in to My Apple ID using your credentials (Apple ID and password). Then let's tackle a couple of security steps one by one.

Use a Dedicated Email Address

This may seem like a no-brainer, but one of the most important steps that you can take to beef up the security of your Apple ID account is to use a dedicated email address. This can be achieved from the "Name, ID and Email Addresses" menu.

Preferably, the email address that links to your Apple ID account should have two-step authentication enabled (like Gmail currently allows) and must not be used to sign in to Facebook, Twitter or other cloud services. You should also add an alternate and rescue email address, as a precautionary measure.

Change the Password

Even though security experts recommend changing the password for every account on a frequent basis, few users really do it. The reasons why may range from being lazy to not caring, but as some have come to learn the damage can be irreparable.

So head over to "Password and Security", input the answers to the two security questions and change your password. Preferably you should use a complex one containing both capital and small letters, numbers and special characters, like "P4$$w0rd" instead of "Password" or "8374N3w$" instead of "BetaNews" (but please choose more difficult words or combinations to break).

Alternate Security Questions and Answers

Apple has a thing for security questions. The company wants users to add them when setting up a new account or for existing ones, and for good reason. Security questions are, at least in theory, a safety net against hackers. The only problem is that people tend to use obvious answers and not change or alternate the security questions over time.

Use "Password and Security" to add answers to security questions that only you would know how to respond to. And alternate the security questions and answers at least once a month. It may take a couple of minutes (maybe 15 minutes tops) but you will have a more secure Apple ID account afterwards.

Other Security Measures

Make sure all your contact information is accurate. This includes name, primary and shipping addresses and phone numbers (daytime, evening phone and mobile phone). You should also have it written somewhere else, hidden from prying eyes, in case of emergency (your Apple ID account got hacked for example) in case you can't remember everything.

Also, use your Apple ID to only sign in to secure sites such as My Apple ID or to only authenticate yourself on Apple-branded devices such as iPad or iPhone. It's best to compartmentalize rather than regret the mistake later on.

Photo Credit: The To/Shutterstock
Pandora gets lock screen controls for Android

Publié: avril 2, 2013, 2:14pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

Pandora gets me through my days. As I am in an office of one person I need to create my own entertainment and the music streaming service on my Galaxy Nexus is one of my favorite options. This morning when I awoke and checked my phone I found that the app had just improved for me and every other customer.

Today Pandora rolls out several new updates to upgrade the streaming music service -- providing you are running Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, or later. That is the level of the mobile operating system you will need to get the most important of the new features, which is lock screen controls. The control is simple -- just play-pause and skip buttons, along with the artist and song title that show you what is currently playing.

If you are running an earlier version of Android, fear not, you get some of the updates as well. All versions now boast a faster boot up time, elapsed and remaining timestamps for the track progress indicator, and the usual assortment of bug fixes and minor enhancements.

As I frequently need to quickly pause my music when life -- like wife or kids -- intrude, the lock screen control addition is a huge advantage for Pandora and makes the bit of money I pay on a monthly basis even more worth the small automatic withdrawal that my bank account suffers.
HERE Drive Beta reappears in the Nokia Collection on Windows Phone

Publié: avril 2, 2013, 12:42pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

Late last week, HERE Drive Beta disappeared from Nokia's exclusive app collection for Lumia smartphones, leaving many users stranded in the process. The issue affected new devices, as well as older phones which had been factory reset, with the Store returning a 805a0194 error when users tried to update from Nokia Drive or install HERE Drive Beta.

But lo and behold, Nokia's navigation app for Windows Phone is available to download and install from the Store once more. Users will get an updated counter in the app store tile informing them of an upgrade to HERE Drive Beta from Nokia Drive, a service which comes preinstalled on compatible Lumia devices.

Impatient users who have yet to be informed of the update can head over to the Store, tap on Nokia Collection, scroll down to HERE Drive Beta and select the app. From there on just press the "Update" button to take advantage of the new navigation software. Or simply open this link for HERE Drive Beta on Lumia smartphones.

Via Twitter, Nokia Care has said the following regarding the app's availability: "Good to hear that you can see Drive+ Beta from Store, unfortunately we don't have the info why it happened".

I have reached out to Microsoft and Nokia for an official statement as to what was causing the HERE Drive Beta mishap. Neither company has responded at the time of writing this article.
Firefox 20 arrives -- adds new features and improvements

Publié: avril 2, 2013, 12:07pm CEST par Nick Peers

Mozilla has released Firefox 20 FINAL for Windows, Mac and Linux, and version 20 promises to be something of a landmark new release with a number of notable new features migrating across from the beta version.

The headline new feature has to be the long-awaited panel-based download manager, but Firefox 20 also debuts per-window Private Browsing, plus new developer features including an option to view Developer tools in a separate window to Firefox itself.

The new download manager is represented by a dedicated down arrow button that appears to the right of the Search bar. Clicking this or initiating a new download reveals the new panel-based manager, listing all current downloads with progress bars for those not yet complete. Right-clicking reveals additional options: pause/resume, cancel, go to download page and open downloads folder.

Clicking Show All Downloads opens the new Downloads Manager, which is integrated in the Library window alongside History, Tags and Bookmarks. The same options are displayed here as in the pop-up window, allowing users to manage downloads in the same way.

Also new in Firefox 20 is the ability to open individual windows in Private Browsing mode via the New Private Window option on the Firefox or File menu. This allows users to mix and match public and private browsing in the same session; a first for Firefox.

Another notable new feature allows Firefox to close hanging plugins without crashing the whole browser. Should a plugin hang, Firefox will wait 11 seconds by default before displaying a dialog box allowing the user to exit the plugin, allowing Firefox to function normally again.

Mozilla has also implemented the getUserMedia HTML5 control, which allows websites -- with user permission -- to access their camera and microphone. To see the new functionality in action, check out ShinyDemos.com’s Photo Booth.

Developer updates
Developers also enjoy a number of major new features in Firefox 20: the Developer menu has been reorganized to group the burgeoning number of developer tools more logically, with a Toggle Tools option added for quick access to the new, redesigned toolbar.

Clicking this reveals the Web Console, the new default view for developers. Firefox 20 adds a new Window button that allows the tool to be viewed in its own separate window, freeing up screen real-estate for the current web page and supporting multiple displays, allowing developers to pin them to a second monitor for convenience.

The only disappointment for developers in Firefox 20 is that the new Javascript Profiler tool for tracking the responsiveness of Javascript code is missing, stuck in beta.

Other changes include the usual evolutionary performance improvements around common browser tasks -- including page loading, downloads, and shutdown of the browser, improved HTML5 support, and the usual round of minor bug fixes and security tweaks.

Firefox 20 FINAL is available now as a free, open-source download for Windows, Mac and Linux. Expect the Beta and Aurora channels to be updated in the next few days.
CrystalDiskInfo 5.5.0 keeps your hard drive healthy

Publié: avril 2, 2013, 2:32am CEST par Nick Peers

Data loss can take many forms, but one of the most devastating is through physical drive failure. There’s no knowing how long your hard drives will last -- one drive might last well beyond its projected five-year lifespan while another identical model fails within six months. But it’s not just bad luck that can shorten a drive’s life -- it’s the physical environment it operates in (hotter hard drives die sooner) and how well it’s maintained (a fragmented hard disk works a lot harder, and the physical stress again shortens its life).

Windows can provide some built-in tools for monitoring hard drives, but you’ll need a good third-party program to check on its physical status. The good news is, keeping an eye on your hard drive doesn’t have to cost a cent, thanks to the freeware tool CrystalDisk Info 5.5.0.

CrystalDiskInfo, also available as a portable build, allows you to monitor the health of all the physical hard disks attached to your PC -- internal and many external USB drives -- using their own built-in SMART tools plus any temperature-monitoring tools that may be present in the computer or hard drive.

Each physical disk is clearly marked with a rating of Good, Caution or Bad, color-coded accordingly. Also displayed is the drive’s current temperature, allowing you to see just how hot your drives are running (anything over 50 degrees C in a desktop should be considered bad for your drive’s long-term health).

Click on a drive’s entry and you’ll see plenty more information about the drive -- its key statistics such as firmware, serial number and interface, plus its supported features. Also displayed are two useful figures: power-on count (the number of times the drive has been booted up) and power-on hours. These help monitor how long the drive has been in operation, which in turn can give you an idea of whether or not a replacement may be in order sooner rather than later.

The tool also displays detailed SMART information about the drives -- it’s these figures which are used to generate the drive’s overall health rating, and those marked yellow or red will be responsible for potential problems. It’s worth Googling attribute names before panicking too much however, and with issues marked with Caution, simply keep an eye on the Current and Worst figures over a period of time to determine if the potential problem is stable or rapidly deteriorating, suggesting the drive will need replacing (after backing up).

Version 5.5.0 has just been released with improved support for Intel and OCZ support, better support for Internet Explorer 10 and improved drive letter mapping.

Both CrystalDisk Info 5.5.0 and CrystalDiskInfo Portable 5.5.0 are available as freeware downloads for PCs running Windows XP or later.

Photo Credit: vision001/Shutterstock
Samsung and Sprint dim iPhone 5's launch-sales glow

Publié: avril 2, 2013, 2:22am CEST par Joe Wilcox

Only T-Mobile can save iPhone now. Apple's U.S. market share, as measured by smartphone operating system, retreated in February, according to data Kantar Worldpanel ComTech released today. With the iPhone 5 initial release sales glow gone, and a rapidly saturating market for a product feature set now three models old, share isn't sustainable. Meanwhile, Android gains -- as does Windows Phone.

iPhone share, based on sales, fell to 43.5 percent for the three months ended in February. That's down from 45.9 percent in January and from 47 percent a year earlier. By comparison Android is up -- to 51.2 percent from 49.4 percent sequentially and 45.4 percent annually. By the same reckoning, Windows Phone rose to 4.1 percent from 3.2 percent and 2.7 percent share.

But there is more than cooling iPhone 5 sales at work here. "Last month we saw that Android’s increases were thanks to a large increase in Samsung sales within Sprint", Mary-Ann Parlato, Kantar Worldpanel ComTech analyst, says. "This month, while the increases for Samsung are less pronounced, we’re still seeing an increase in uptake of the brand, which is now impacting on Sprint’s overall share in smartphone sales".

Read that paragraph again. iPhone was supposed to save Sprint, as T-Mobile USA also hopes. With Samsung sales lift, Sprint's U.S. smartphone sale share rose to 15 percent from 12.9 percent year over year. T-Mobile nicked up, to 9.8 percent from 9.1 percent. By comparison, AT&T smartphone sales share fell 3.7 points to 26.7 percent and Verizon by 1.1 points to 35 percent.

For AT&T, which is most dependent on iPhone, share dipped to 67.9 percent from 68.4 percent, while Android dramatically jumped -- from 20.8 percent to 26.5 percent.

Sales data for all the carriers suggests some ebbing loyalty among existing iPhone users. Meanwhile, Samsung loyalty increases, however, largely at the expense of other Android phone makers rather than Apple.

"Of those who changed their phone over the last year to a Samsung smartphone, 19 per ent had previously owned a Samsung featurephone, 15 percent owned a HTC smartphone, 14 percent owned an LG featurephone, 10 percent owned a Samsung smartphone and 9 percent owned a BlackBerry", Parlato says. "It’s apparent that Samsung is successful at capturing users from across the competitor set and not just gaining from their own loyalists".

The data foreshadows much ahead. T-Mobile begins selling iPhone for the first time on April 12, which presumably will unleash unprecedented demand among existing customers. Meanwhile, new, compelling data plans offer iPhone users another carrier option. I just moved three lines to T-Mobile from AT&T for a monthly bill of $120 -- unlimited text, talk and web. I downgraded the remaining two AT&T lines. For 550 minutes calling, unlimited texting and 3GB data for one line and 300MB data for the other, cost is pennies less than T-Mobile. The point: iPhone could get some sales lift during April and May.

Then there is Galaxy S4, which goes on sale later this month. AT&T starts taking preorders in 15 days. For the three months ended in February, Galaxy S III accounted for 52 percent of Samsung sales, followed by 21 percent for its predecessor and 5 percent for Galaxy Note II. The breakdown hints what to expect from the S4 but not whether there will perceptible increase in overall Samsung smartphone sales.