Gregarius » BetaNews.Com » avril 15, 2013

BetaNews.Com (9 non lus)

XtraFinder 0.16.1 cures your OS X woes

Publié: avril 15, 2013, 10:48pm CEST par Nick Peers

If you find Finder frustratingly limited, then you’ll be in the market for a replacement/enhancement tool. There are plenty of paid-for Finder enhancements out there, but over the past year or so they’ve been increasingly put to the shade by a fabulous, and rapidly developing, free tool called XtraFinder 0.16.1.

We’ve been checking back occasionally to see how XtraFinder is developing, and with version 0.16.1 now out, there have been a staggering 20 updates since we last looked at it back in September, so we thought it was the perfect time to bring you up to speed.

At its heart, XtraFinder adds two key tools to Finder windows to instantly make them more appealing: tabs and dual-panel windows. This makes it easy to browse multiple folders without opening a chaotic mess of separate windows, while dual-paned windows simplify the task of moving or copying files between two locations.

Since version 0.8.4 was released, the app has continued to add features and improve stability at a frightening pace – we use it daily on our Mac in preference to Finder itself, and have rarely run into problems with it. If you’ve held off installing XtraFinder since our last report, here are some of the new features that may tempt you to finally give it a whirl.

The tabs feature has improved significantly – not only is dragging the tab’s actual icon now supported, but you can also drop files on a tab to move them to its location. When in dual-panel mode, you can opt to show just one Sidebar to free up screen real-estate, plus middle-clicking on a Sidebar shortcut opens that location in its own tab. It’s also now possible to reopen closed tabs and even the Finder window itself.

You can also customise the tabs themselves: a new Opera option sits alongside the default Google Chrome look, while a narrow tabs option displays the tabs alongside the close/maximise/hide buttons rather than beneath them.

A number of new shortcuts have been added to the Finder menus: open a new Terminal (or iTerm/XTerm) window to the current location, hide the desktop and create a symbolic link. Another option allows users to customise the New File templates, while the Refresh option for refreshing a window’s contents can now be evoked from the context menu.

Other options include being able to have the Name column adjust automatically depending on contents, plus you can opt to add XtraFinder’s own functions to the toolbar and restore the colourful Sidebar icons to Lion and Mountain Lion. You can even customise the background and text colour of the Finder window itself.

Thankfully, despite the ever-increasing feature list, Trank Ny Am Software is sensible enough to make sure they’re all optional, so you can pick choose exactly which bits of XtraFinder you want, ensuring it works to your specifications and not the other way round.

XtraFinder 0.16.1 is available now as a freeware download for Macs running OS X 10.6 or later.

Photo Credit: Kachan Eduard/Shutterstock
Windows 8 is the new XP

Publié: avril 15, 2013, 10:19pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

Microsoft's newest and oldest supported PC operating systems share some strange similarities. Windows 8 and XP launched during times of tepid computer sales, forecasts of low adoption and initially weak sales. Neither lifted PC shipments during the launch quarter. Yet the older software went on to be such a workhorse, as much as 40 percent of the install base clings to the OS -- nearly 12 years after launch. That's the future I see. Windows 8 isn't the new Vista, as so many pundits proclaim, but the new XP.

I am quite vocal about the changing of computer eras, a position taken up before Apple started selling iPhone in early summer 2007. But the change is a process gradual at first that accelerates over time. In the case of Windows or the typical personal computer set against cloud-connected devices there can be redefinition, and, with it, renewed relevance. No one should underestimate Microsoft or ignore the past when evaluating present trends. The PC and Windows died before and resurrected.

Two Peas in a Pod

The PC market in 2001, when XP launched, bears stark similarities to 2012, when Windows 8 debuted. Among them:

1. PC shipments collapsed -- in 2001, falling 4.6 percent globally year over year and by 11.1 percent in the United States, according to Gartner, which called performance the worst since 1985. For 2012, shipments fell 3.5 percent worldwide. IDC says first quarter 2013 was the worst since 1994.

2. What analysts say is striking. "Economic conditions combined with saturation issues in developed markets continue to impact PC market growth rates", Gartner's Charles Smulders says -- in January 2002. That should sound familiar to the statements made this year by Gartner and IDC analysts, who fret saturation and slow weak global economies sap PC shipments.

Predictions are similar: "While there is a mood of optimism in the industry, having made it through the bloodbath that was 2001..we do not expect to see a significant upturn in growth until the fourth quarter of 2002" (Smulders, January 2002).

"IDC expects the second half of 2013 to regain some marginal momentum partly as a rubber band effect from 2012, and largely thanks to the outcome of industry restructuring, better channel involvement, and potentially greater acceptance of Windows 8" (Rajani Singh, March 2013).

3. Windows XP and 8 launched during holiday quarters, with high sales expectations. Terrorist attacks and recession muted XP, while cloud-connected device competition and global economic woes hurt Windows 8.

4. Neither operating system lifted slumped PC shipments. Reasons differ and overlap, and many armchair pundits today fail to recognize the now hugely popular XP had a tough start, just like Windows 8.

5. Analysts predicted slow sales for both platforms. Concurrent with XP's October 2001 launch, Gartner predicted sales would not exceed older operating systems for two years.

Last week, Bob O'Donnell, IDC vice president, made startling proclamation: "At this point, unfortunately, it seems clear that the Windows 8 launch not only failed to provide a positive boost to the PC market, but appears to have slowed the market".

Into the Crystal Ball

Windows XP and 8 are, in their respective release frames, major upgrades. XP brought the NT kernel and true 32-bit computing to Microsoft consumer operating systems along with changes to the user interface. The change caused compatibility problems with many existing apps, with games top of list. Meanwhile, at a time of falling PC prices, XP system requirements demanded costlier computers at a time when many businesses and consumers couldn't or wouldn't pay more.

Fast-forward to 2012-13, Windows 8 brings a new touch-oriented user interface that requires costlier PCs that manufacturers are reluctant to ship and consumers are cagey about buying. For example, touchscreen notebooks accounted for just 3 percent of all models last year, according to NPD DisplaySearch.

"The majority of consumers remain unwilling to pay the price premium for touchscreen capabilities on PCs at this stage", Isabelle Durand, Gartner principal research analyst, says. "But, even so, touchscreens and Windows 8 will represent key opportunities for PC manufacturers in the second half of 2013".

Something else: "Touch-screen and PC manufacturers are looking carefully at how successful these initial Windows 8 touch-screen notebook models are in the market, as the touch-screen module requirements for Windows 8 increase module costs, and those requirements are difficult to meet in high volume production", Calvin Hsieh, NPD DisplaySearch research director, says. So, even if consumers would pay, logistical roadblocks prevent rapid rollouts.

As such, the analyst firm sees just 12 percent penetration for touchscreen PCs this year -- remember that's the sweet spot for truly maximizing Windows 8 benefits. Meanwhile, touch panels have 100 percent penetration on tablets, the majority of which sell for less than PCs with similar capability. That makes Windows 8's real sales success a 2014 story, like 2003 was for XP.

But the older operating system's sales surge came in 2004, after Microsoft released a major service pack that should have been designated a new OS version for all the changes. The software giant isn't waiting three years to make changes that matter. Windows 8.1 is expected to ship before holiday 2013.

When I look at XP and Windows 8, I see so many similarities about the state of the PC market, predictions about its future and what pundits say about either platform's failures. Then there is global economic uncertainty, PC saturation and shifting buying habits -- money going during 2001-03 to music players like iPod and big-screen TVs rather than new computers. Consumers displace PC spending for smartphones and tablets today. The devices are different, but the trend is the same.

Judging these market similarities and just how good is the new OS, my guess is that Windows 8, like XP, will become Microsoft's workhorse operating system -- even more than version 7 looks like today. Critics called Windows XP and Vista failures, but only the latter flopped. Windows 8 is the new XP, and that's a good place to be.

Photo Credit: Joe Wilcox
Amazon's over-50 store makes me puke

Publié: avril 15, 2013, 7:07pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

Back in the 1990s, I coined the phrase "cusper" -- or thought I did -- to refer to people like me who were born at the end of the Baby Boom era but didn't share the generation's values. In January 2001, I registered the .com, .net and .org variants of cusper and cuspers. For a reason. I am a Cusper. But I never properly used the domains (someday! someday!) and later let the .org variants go. This year I re-acquired cusper.org for $3.99 domain registration. Some nutcase wants $3,000 at auction for cuspers.org. Good luck.

So much aimed at Boomers doesn't apply to me, or others of my tweener generation. Amazon's new "50+ Active & Healthy Living", which opens today, is another affront. If being over 50 is a lifestyle that Boomers boast, or Amazon wants to sell them, let me out of here. I want no part of it. I don't read their kind of books or listen to their style of music or swallow vitamins like they popped pills of a more illicit type in their youth.

My first reaction to the new Amazon store: Why would anyone want to shop someplace that makes them feel old? I may be over 50 but identify more with younger folks or those of my generation, like President Barack Obama, who still evoke vitality and youth (surely his daughters' energy helps there). I don't obsess about vitamins, don't want to shop anywhere prominently promoting adult diapers or see model images of the elderly. Hell, describing the store makes me feel old. Yuck. It's why I would never move to an old folks community or retirement state like Florida. What? To be old?

Adult Diapers R Us

"We’re excited to offer customers in the 50+ age range a place to easily discover hundreds of thousands of items that promote active and healthy living", Amazon's Chance Wales says. "This is a destination where a customer can purchase anything from vitamins and blood pressure monitors to skin care items and books on traveling the world".

The sagging balls this company has. I'm quite shocked that among the benefits touted in the official announcement is category "incontinence". What's aspirational about getting old and wearing diapers? Oh, yeah, I so aspire to live that lifestyle.

Yet, there's something sadly appropriate about Amazon's 50+ store, which by generation for now really appeals more to Baby Boomers. The retailer is welcome to them.

Aren’t Boomers supposed to be the love, peace and protest generation that refused to conform to the stuffy suits of their parents’ generation? Now look at them. They're geriatric and more like their parents every day.

Boomers are a huge economic force, and it's not surprising that Amazon wants to tap the well. But there is another. The generation coming of age now -- Millennials/Next-Geners -- are about as large a group. They come to adulthood at a time when technology takes knowledge long the propriety of the old and gives it to the young. I watch fascinated as these two cultures clash.

Boomers Busted

Baby Boomers, are in my book, the self-centered generation. The freedom their generation craved -- to have lots of sex with anyone anywhere, to trip on drugs whenever and wherever and to protest war so they wouldn't have to serve in it -- is all about self. Mottos like "make love, not war" boasted higher ideals but were really about saving themselves first before anyone else. Their do-good persona is undeserved.

I entered college just as punk rock, and the rebellious lifestyle with it, swept from the United Kingdom across the globe. Cuspers didn't protest the generation separating their parents but the cultural gulf with their Boomer siblings. Cuspers shook off disco music and polyester clothes for spiked hair, piercings and tattoos -- what today is lifestyle for some was rebellion in my teens.

In my youth, Generation Xers were called Baby Busters, which is hilarious and somewhat appropriate. I claim no affinity with either group, having been born between them. I certainly don’t share those touchy-feely, let’s-not-be-responsible-to-anybody values of the Boomers. However, I share some of their idealism. Likewise, I shine to some of the realistic, work-hard-and-be-successful values of Xers.

Since I started referring to "cuspers" in the 1990s, and after acquiring the domains in 2001, others caught on -- or perhaps had similar ideas around the same time. There are several books and guides available that refer to "cuspers" as a subcategory of Baby Boomers, but there's some dispute about who belongs in it. Typical range is 1960-65 or 1954-65. Most of the academic literature focuses on the workplace and employee management, but more recently there is increased emphasis on marketing.

Perhaps Amazon's over-50 store reflects some of that marketing research. Go back to the books, Jeff Bezos. I won't shop there.

Photo Credit: lineartestpilot/Shutterstock
Clover 3 adds tabs and additional navigation features to Explorer

Publié: avril 15, 2013, 2:02pm CEST par Mark Wilson

What’s the one thing that is missing from Windows Explorer? Actually, there’s probably more than just one thing missing, but what is the most obvious? Tabs. They are now so ubiquitous in web browsers that it’s unlikely you give them a second thought; they’re just there and you use them. Why should your file browser be any different? This is an anomaly that the developers of Clover felt had to be put right with the latest release.

Aside from the addition of tabs to Explorer -- which means that it is possible to deal with multiple folders in a single window -- there are a number of other changes in this latest released. For anyone concerned with aesthetics, support for themes means that the look of the program can be completely changed.

But there are more important changes that are worth noting. To allow for easier navigation of files, new methods of interaction have been added. The folder bookmarking system has been updated so that by middle-clicking on a bookmark it is possible to load a folder in a foreground tab, and bookmarks can now be exported and imported.

This is a handy option to have available if you use Clover on more than one machine, but it also serves as a useful backup mechanism.

Another navigation option allows a double click to be used to skip up a directory level. Forget seeking out the Up button, now you can simply double click in an area of white space to jump to the parent of the current folder.

Clover stands apart from many of the tools that are used to enhance Explorer in that it does not try to go too far. It focuses on doing a small number of things and doing them well.

You can find out more and download the latest version at the Clover review page.

Photo Credit: Milena_Bo/Shutterstock
Reduce oversized PDFs with ORPALIS PDF Reducer Free

Publié: avril 15, 2013, 1:52pm CEST par Mike Williams

Saving a document as a PDF generally produces a very small file, which is one reason the format is such a popular way to share information.

This isn’t always the case, though. And so if it’s important your documents are as compact as they can possibly be, then you might like to try shrinking them even further, with a little help from the free (for personal and non-commercial use) ORPALIS PDF Reducer Free.

The process starts by specifying your source file, and its destination folder. Sounds straightforward enough, right? But you need to be careful.

The issue here is that ORPALIS PDF Reducer allows you to specify the same folder for your source and destination, but it doesn’t support overwriting the source file. So if you try this, you’ll find the program makes you wait for the entire compression process (that’s anything up to 50 minutes in our tests), before failing with a "can’t overwrite the document" error message. Which is just a little annoying.

Once you understand the problem, though, ORPALIS PDF Reducer is straightforward enough to use, if rather slow in processing our files. And while we found a few documents weren’t cut in size at all, others shrank by anything up to a spectacular 80% (although that kind of higher level did usually involve some level of quality loss).

The technology behind this isn’t too complicated: essentially it involves recompressing document images with a new quality and DPI setting, while removing form fields, annotations, bookmarks, embedded files and more. Although if you have issues with any of this, the Settings dialog allows you to define exactly what you’d like the program to do.

What’s more, the Settings dialog also apparently includes an option to allow for batch processing (General > Input Mode > Folder Selection). This didn’t work consistently for us, though -- sometimes the files were compressed correctly, on other occasions the program seemed to be using the wrong folder path -- so if you enable this, test the program carefully to make sure it’s working as you expect.

Should you try ORPALIS PDF Reducer Free, then? There is definitely some sloppy programming here, and PDF Compressor, which we looked at last year, seems far more professional (and faster, too).

Still, if you test ORPALIS PDF Reducer Free with a few small files, first, then you’ll soon learn how it works.The program provides a good level of control over how your PDFs will be compressed, and the end result is often a significant reduction in file sizes. Give it a try, see how it works for you.

Photo Credit: Arkady/Shutterstock
Internet Explorer 'Catching Fire' with The Hunger Games

Publié: avril 15, 2013, 1:46pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

Later this year, November 22nd to be exact, part two of The Hunger Games, titled The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, will hit the big screen. Microsoft's Internet Explorer team has partnered with Lionsgate to set up a new IE-optimized website for the sequel to the blockbuster movie with the hope of not only getting you excited about the film but also about the "browser you loved to hate".

The Hunger Games Explorer launches on the heels of the MTV Movie Awards which premiered the trailer. Microsoft's Roger Capriotti says "with the global launch of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire trailer, fans can now visit The Hunger Games Explorer to be immersed in this world, track every development of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, including tweets, exclusive images and videos, and then share their thoughts and excitement with others around the world creating a global conversation".

Meanwhile, Lionsgate's Danielle De Palma claims "The Hunger Games Explorer is not only a place for fans to spark the conversation around Catching Fire, it is also a destination for us to continue to provide fans with new content, experiences and unprecedented behind the scenes access".

When fans enter The Hunger Games Explorer they can manipulate the website to customize Catching Fire info to the exact way they want it. You can tailor and filter content in and out of the stream, pull in fan blogs and tweets in addition to messages from the Capitol, and interact with other fans across the globe.

While the site is optimized for Internet Explorer, it works with every other web browser, and probably just as well. Still, it was created by the IE team, along with Lionsgate's RED Interactive Agency and, given the anticipation for the movie, it is still a win for Microsoft.
gMaps for Windows Phone features updates to Driver Mode, Latitude and Street View

Publié: avril 15, 2013, 12:43pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

Even though Google has yet to release an official Google Maps app for Windows Phone, third party developers already offer a number of competent alternatives. One of the most popular ones, and my personal favorite, is gMaps which comes with a comprehensive feature set and, bar its name, could even pass as the real deal.

Today, DreamTeam Mobile, the team of developers behind gMaps, announced a new update to the popular Google Maps client. The app now touts further improvements for Driver Mode, Latitude and Street View. Let's go through each, one by one, and see what changed.

Driver Mode

The gMaps app, which is now at version 2.1, allows users to enable or disable Driver Mode simply by tapping on the location. When the functionality is active gMaps displays a small black car and when it is disabled the app shows a red arrow.

When enabled, Driver Mode now also positions the location of the user towards the bottom of the screen as to display more of the map ahead. There are also a couple of bug fixes related to this functionality, including clipped objects/route and "proper rotation of the map pushpins and other objects".

Latitude

By contrast, Latitude in gMaps has undergone less noticeable improvements. According to the team of developers, the only change relates to a decrease in mobile data sent by the app to the Latitude backend. This will likely be felt by users when roaming or outside of Wi-Fi coverage.

Street View

gMaps now comes with support for "full 360-degree panoramic Street View" and the ability to move around when using the feature, with the help of navigational arrows. The app also provides the option to enable high quality (HQ) tiles, which "makes panoramas just great" according to the developers.

gMaps is available to download from the Windows Phone Store. The app is free and ad-supported. There is also a paid version which runs for $2.49, but forgoes ads.
YouTube adds a VHS simulator to select videos

Publié: avril 15, 2013, 10:51am CEST par Wayne Williams

The VHS is about to celebrate its 57th birthday, and in honor of that milestone, Google has added a new tape mode to some of the videos on YouTube.

Although it’s not widely available at the moment, a few clips have a tape icon under them which, when clicked, makes the videos look as if they are playing on a VHS recorder.

In addition to the distortion, screen noise, and occasional screen roll, YouTube has faithfully captured the wobbling pause effect beautifully.

In a Google+ update discussing the new addition, YouTube says: "Not too long ago, the video tape was the media of choice for living rooms around the world. In celebration of the 57th birthday of the first commercial video cassette recorder, check out a fun VHS mode for the YouTube player to relive the magic feel of vintage video tapes".

To see it in action, try this video.
So is Windows 8 Microsoft's ‘biggest failure ever’?

Publié: avril 15, 2013, 10:04am CEST par Wayne Williams

There are lots of questions concerning Windows 8 -- does Microsoft need to make changes to it? Is the OS responsible for the death of the PC? How many copies has it actually sold? And last Friday financial-services company The Motley Fool asked the question in my headline, which I know a lot of people have been pondering too -- is Windows 8 Microsoft's biggest failure ever?

Like all tech firms, the software giant has had its fair share of hits and misses. Microsoft isn’t the greatest risk taker out there, but it does make gambles occasionally that don’t pay off and it has experienced some major flops over the years. People talk about Vista, but there have been plenty of other past disasters, including Windows Me, Microsoft Bob, Zune, Kin… But is Windows 8 its worst catastrophe to date?

As always, it’s a matter of opinion. There’s no question that Windows 8 hasn’t been a success on any real level. Sure Microsoft made money from it, selling those 60 million licenses early on, but Windows 8 is an incredibly important operating system for Microsoft. It’s what ties the company’s entire future together -- computers, tablets, smartphones -- and if it doesn’t work, the whole company strategy will inevitably start to crumble.

In this video, Andrew Tonner, a tech/telecom analyst at The Motley Fool discusses whether Microsoft is a good tech investment (spoiler alert -- he recommends steering well clear), and he certainly doesn’t pull any punches in his analysis. He discusses the shrinking PC market, touching on the IDC and Gartner reports, and admits that a weak economy and factors like slowing growth in emerging markets are partially to blame, before laying into Windows 8 for its role in the decline. He states that "people simply don’t seem to like the platform very much", talks about how precarious Microsoft’s position is, and then delivers his killer line:

There’s a reason this company basically has generated zero returns for investors over the last ten years, and that’s because they [Microsoft] simply don’t get where technology is going any more.

Ouch.

Personally I think that’s more than a tad harsh. Windows 8 was inspired because Microsoft saw where technology was going and wanted to get there fast. It just may not have chosen the best route in its scramble to embrace tablets and touch.

BetaNews readers love a great debate, especially on the topic of Windows 8, and Andrew Tonner has raised two interesting topics I’d love to get your views on. Do you think Windows 8 is Microsoft’s biggest failure, or is it just a slow burner? And do you agree with him that the firm doesn’t get where technology is going any more, or is he just plain wrong? As always, leave your comments below.