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Roku updates Android and iOS apps

Publié: avril 30, 2013, 12:56am CEST par Alan Buckingham

Today's set-top boxes do not all come from the cable or satellite provider and they frequently contain much more functionality than those that do come from the big providers. One is Roku, a company that has been innovating and upgrading at a rather quick pace recently, having only just released the Roku 3 with added functionality.

Now the company rolls out version 2.2 of its mobile apps for both the Android and iOS platforms. Roku promises that this latest update addresses feedback received from users.

Indeed, there are a number of additions in this latest release. Deep scanning is added to look for Roku players on your network using multiple methods. If the first scan does not succeed, just tap "Try again" and give the app another shot. Users can also enter the Roku player’s IP address to connect manually and automatically pair with a Roku when that device is the only player associated with a particular Roku user account.

According to Roku's Tom Markworth "version 2.2 adds the ability to play photos and music simultaneously in Play On Roku without pre-selecting music in slideshow settings. Simply start photos, then music. Or vice versa".

Roku is an excellent alternative to mainstream TV providers and this functionality only adds to the tiny device's ability to take over your living room. However, until the company integrates a browser, I will stick with Google TV. This is nothing personal -- I just need that functionality.

Microsoft wins first-time smartphone buyers

Publié: avril 29, 2013, 10:03pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

"Windows strength appears to be the ability to attract first time smartphone buyers, upgrading from a feature phone", Mary-Ann Parlato, Kantar Worldpanel ComTech analyst, says about the U.S. handset market for the three months ended in February. "Of those who changed their phone over the last year to a Windows smartphone, 52 percent had previously owned a feature phone".

End of story, or could be, if not for something else. Fifty-five percent of iOS buyers, and 51 percent for Android, are repeat smartphone purchasers. The two more popular platforms, while growing because of their larger bases, sell more to existing customers, which make up a more finite market. "With over half of the U.S. market still owning a feature phone, it’s likely that many will upgrade over the coming year, which will ultimately contribute to more growth for the Windows brand", Parlato emphasizes.

Right now, Android and iOS own the U.S. smartphone market, with 93 percent combined share. Windows Phone: 5.6 percent. There's small room for a third platform and potentially bigger space given the untapped feature phone segment. In a rapid-growth market, anything can happen -- as repeatedly mistaken analyst forecasts prove. Consider Windows Phone maker Nokia, which share in Q1 reached 4 percent. While seemingly small, that's up from 1 percent a year earlier. Small gains, big percentage growth.

Like Gartner, but using other metrics, Kantar Worldpanel data is for actual phone sales, which offer better view into the market than analyst firms counting shipments. The difference is handsets going to carriers and dealers that may or may not be sold versus those going to end-user buyers. The latter measure is more reliable. Kantar Worldpanel puts Android sales share ahead of iOS -- 49.3 percent to 43.7 percent.

Carrier share reveals a disturbing trend: T-Mobile smartphone sales share declined 3.2 points to 9.5 percent, the only one of the big four to suffer losses. The real measure of Pink's success will be the period ending in March, following first iPhone 5 sales and introduction of new unlimited talk, text and web plans. Additionally, T-Mobile's MetroPCS merger is official May 1, amid major LTE network expansion.

As for the others, their respective smartphone sales share: Verizon, 37.2 percent; AT&T, 27.9 percent; Sprint, 12.3 percent. By the way, three of the four largest carriers sell Windows Phone. But AT&T has exclusive U.S. distribution for Nokia flagship Lumia 920.

Photo Credit: Joe Wilcox

WinRAR 5.0 Beta 1 releases -- get it NOW!

Publié: avril 29, 2013, 9:43pm CEST par Mike Williams

The first public beta of WinRAR 5.0 is now available. And it’s an interesting release with quite a few new features, although most are based around the addition of a new archiving format -- RAR 5.0.

This first aims to improve compression performance by increasing the maximum and default dictionary sizes. Some older and less efficient compression algorithms have been ditched, while RAR 5.0 decompression can make use of multiple CPU cores.

A new Reed-Solomon-based recovery record improves your chances of reconstructing a corrupted archive.

Security enhancements see AES-256 encryption now used in CBC mode. A new file checksum scheme makes it harder for attackers to find file contents. And smart password verification means the program can usually detect a wrong password without first having to unpack the full archive.

RAR 5.0 also sees several smaller enhancements in various areas. File times are now always stored in UTC, for instance, simplifying archive exchange between different timezones. And NTFS symbolic and hard links can now be saved simply as links, without having to archive their contents.

More general improvements include a maximum path length of 2048 characters for regular RAR and ZIP archives, while there’s now extraction-only support for the XZ archive format.

And one or two features have been dropped, including support for file comments, although archive comments remain as before.

If you need the full details then they’re available on the WinRAR What’s new page. Otherwise, WinRAR 5.0 Beta 1 for Windows, OS X and Linux is available now.

Photo Credit: Arkady/Shutterstock

Lumia 920 Windows Phone commercial is the best tech ad in YEARS

Publié: avril 29, 2013, 7:05pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

Honestly, gadget marketing doesn't get much better than this. Brilliant isn't strong enough to describe how fabulous and memorable is the new spot for Nokia Lumia 920. I showed the commercial to my wife, twice, and she laughed to tears both times -- and giggled for half an hour later.

If you watch nothing else today, make this video the one and only. I'm a sucker for good marketing, and this commercial works well on so many levels -- wedding setting, fanboyism and brilliant physical comedy -- I dare not dissect them and ruin the fun.

Nokia deserves to sell more Lumias for this Microsoft commercial, which deserves lots of airtime. Let's see if this ditty goes viral on YouTube. Now I need to snuff out which advertising analysts track what commercials DVR users choose not to skip. Because this is one to watch. Over and over.

RainbowDrive finds the pot of gold in cloud storage

Publié: avril 29, 2013, 6:29pm CEST par Nick Peers

One way to gain loads of free online storage space is to mix and match storage providers, taking advantage of each to quickly build up tens of gigabytes of cloud-based storage for backup, sync and sharing purposes. The downside of such an approach is the fact you need to manage each provider using its own dedicated app.

Nowhere is this frustration more evident than when using a tablet or phone to access your data, as you have to switch between apps to try and locate where you’ve stored a particular file. But help may be hand in the form of an app for Windows 8, iPad and Android calledRainbowDrive 2.0.0 that attempts to bring multiple providers together under one roof.

The premise is simple: RainbowDrive aims to bring together all your SkyDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive and -- Windows 8 only at present -- Box.net storage accounts into a single, centralised app. Fire it up, log into your various accounts and you’re good to go.

RainbowDrive even supports multiple accounts from the same provider, although the free version of the iPad and Android versions both restrict you to just three accounts in total -- you can gain a fourth by sharing the app on Facebook via its Settings screen. No such limitation currently applies to the Windows 8 version.

One logged in, the app should quickly synchronise with each account in turn -- we say “should” because we found it took ages to sync with our 25GB SkyDrive account on the iPad, and then got stuck at 100 percent, although it worked fine in Windows 8.

Once synchronised, you can browse your data one of two ways: RainbowDrive defaults to a “by type” view, so all your data across all your accounts is amalgamated together, but you can also browse by individual storage account if you prefer.

From here, you can easily download and upload data to your accounts, play back media and open files in compatible apps. It’s also possible to share file links too -- by email and any other supported networks (such as Twitter or Facebook). You should also be able to search across all your cloud storage too.

As we’ve already said, there appear to be some glitches with the app, but it’s still worth investigating if you have accounts with the current list of cloud providers. We expect Box.net support to be rolled out to iPad and Android owners in due course, but whether wider provider support is on the way is not yet clear.

RainbowDrive 2.0.0 is available now as a free app for Windows 8, iPad and Android. Version 2.0.0 has just been released for Windows 8, adding support for Box.net accounts, promising faster loading of the file list and implementing French and German translations.

Photo Credit: Dan Collier/Shutterstock

Google Now invades iOS

Publié: avril 29, 2013, 5:44pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

During the 1980s and 90s, Microsoft embarked on what the U.S. Justice Department refers to as an "embrace, extend and extinguish" strategy. Google revises the approach for the new century, but out of necessity. Many of its products or services entered categories where others dominated, such as email, operating systems, productivity suites and web browsers. The company's business is long about co-opting other platforms, everything from desktop search app for Windows to Google Frame for Internet Explorer, and more.

But there's nothing quite like Google's recent invasion of iOS, where many of the apps are even better than Apple's. Today, a new search app brings one of Android's best features, Google Now, to iPad and iPhone. There's irony here, too. On Android, the feature is only available on Jelly Bean, which makes up about 25 percent of the install base. The majority of Apple mobile device users are on iOS 6, and the app supports version 5, too. In short order then, depending on installations, a greater percentage of iPads and iPhones than Androids may have Google Now.

The feature is phenomenal and in some ways frightening. Surely you at least suspect Google watches you online. Saturday, I searched YouTube for Journey song "Don't Stop Believin'", from Google TV. Yesterday morning, on my laptop, Google Music presented album "Escape", which contains the track, to buy -- just $6.99. That can't be coincidence. Google watches you. Now. Google Now is tacit admission of this behavior and brings all that monitoring together into a useful utility.

The search giant refers to the feature as a mobile personal assistant. There's something to that. Google Now presents information, proactively, in cards. Rather than search, relevant information comes to you, like drive-time to work or home, nearby events, flight status, package delivery, real estate listings (close to where you are now), movie showtimes, nearby attractions and much, much more.

Apple also calls Siri a personal assistant, which in my testing can't compete with Google Now coupled with voice search, which is a killer app combination. If using iOS, see for yourself by asking Siri and Google Search questions.

As for Google Now on iOS, I don't have iPad or iPhone in house right now. So I asked colleague Wayne Williams to do some quick testing. Functionality of Google Now, combined with voice search, seems comparable to Android, but I can't confirm full capabilities, such as using Notifications, for example.

Now joins Google Maps and Google+, among others, as exemplary iOS apps, sometimes getting new capabilities ahead of their Android counterparts. The search giant embraces iOS, extends utility with its own services and extinguishes competing ones, or tries to. Like Microsoft, Google leverages a monopoly product (search rather than Windows).

But there's a difference: Google tries to do better and doesn't appear to be trying to extinguish rival platforms so much as competing services on them. That's a departure from Microsoft's triple-E strategy during the height of monopoly influence.

If you use iOS, try out Google Now and offer reaction here in comments. I am especially interested in how you think Siri compares with Google Now and voice search.

Photo Credit: rudall30/Shutterstock

LG unveils the Optimus GK with a 5-inch 1080p display and Android 4.1

Publié: avril 29, 2013, 3:43pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

On Monday, South Korean manufacturer LG announced a new Android flagship smartphone called the Optimus GK. The handset shares its underpinnings with the previously-introduced Optimus G Pro that is designed for the Japanese market.

The Optimus GK comes with a 5-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1080 by 1920 and a 440 ppi (pixels per inch) density, similar to other devices like the Sony Xperia Z. There is a 1.7 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor inside, backed by 2GB of RAM and a large 3,100 mAh battery. So far, so good, but what about the rest of the specs?

The handset also sports 16 GB of internal storage, which is practically mundane these days, alongside a microSD card slot which can extend the storage capacity by a further 64 GB.

On the back there is a 13 MP camera, while on the front the Optimus GK comes with a 2.1 MP shooter. Although LG makes no mention of this, 1080p video recording is definitely possible using either of the two cameras.

In terms of connectivity the Optimus GK supports 4G LTE and HSPA+ cellular networks; Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n; NFC; USB 2.0; Bluetooth 4.0 and the traditional array of sensors.

The Optimus GK ships with Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, which is one software generation behind the latest green droid iteration. Considering that Google I/O is just around the corner and the software giant may release a new version of Android, it's not unreasonable to assume that the Optimus GK will remain even further behind, unless LG is quick to update the software.

The Optimus GK measures 139.1 x 69.9 x 9.9 mm and weighs 156 grams. Considering the sheer size of the display and the beefy battery that it packs, the smartphone is actually of a decent size. By contrast, the Samsung Galaxy S4 comes in at 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm and 130 grams, but sports a significantly smaller 2,600 mAh battery.

There is no word yet regarding the availability nor the price of the Optimus GK.

Microsoft releases updated Weather App for Windows 8

Publié: avril 29, 2013, 2:44pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

Little more than a month after the company released significant updates for three of its major Windows 8/RT apps, Microsoft unveiled a new set of features for the Weather app. The latest update is aimed at "meteorologists", but the enhancements are likely to be felt by casual users as well.

The weather app now introduces "interactive and dynamically" moving maps, a feature which shows cloud cover, precipitations, radar, satellite views and temperatures for the city or region in which the user resides. The functionality should be familiar to people watching the weather forecast on TV.

There is another new feature available in the updated app, this one aimed at skiers. Weather can now display the atmospheric conditions at ski resorts located in 31 countries worldwide, a feature that will likely come in handy for those heading to colder mountain climates.

Microsoft is on the right path of improving its core apps for Windows 8 and Windows RT. Even though we're not seeing many features thrown in at once, the incremental improvements are useful and appreciated.

The Weather app is available to download from Windows Store.

Photo Credit: Ovchynnikov Oleksii/Shutterstock

Calculatormatik is a feature-packed calculator and conversion tool

Publié: avril 29, 2013, 2:35pm CEST par Mike Williams

If you ever need to carry out a quick calculation or unit conversion then there are plenty of online resources which can help. And Google is a great place to start; just enter your calculation in the Search box and see what happens.

There’s still a place for calculator software, though, especially if it supports a wide range of functions. So we were particularly interested to find Calculatormatik, an extremely versatile tool which crams 100 conversion and calculator-type options into a mere 198KB download.

As you might expect for a program of this size, the interface is, well, a little basic -- just a resizable box with a list of the various calculators. These are arranged in alphabetical order, too, rather than grouped by types, and the names don’t always make it entirely clear what they do. But if you spend a while poking around, you’ll find some useful tools.

Take the "Area Calculator", for instance. Sounds simple, but it doesn’t just let you calculate the area of, say, a circle, or square. You can also select an ellipse, a kite, a triangle, trapezoid and more. And there are options to calculate the surface area of cones, cylinders, spheres, a torus and more.

The "Weight Converter" is similarly varied, with support for converting grams and milligrams, pounds and ounces, grains, stones, Newtons, carats and more.

There are assorted mathematical tools: a geometric progression calculator, along with quadratic and simultaneous equation solvers. Software-related options include a “Byte Converter” (convert between bits, bytes, kilobytes, megabytes and so on), a "Base64 to String" converter and "MD5 Hash" calculator. And specialist tools cover topics ranging from LED Resistance to Fishing Boat Speed. They’re all basic, and limited in various ways, but still have enough power to come in handy.

If you’re not the mathematical type, don’t worry, there are plenty of more general tools available. Enter your birth date in the Birthday Calculator to see your age in months, weeks, days, hours and minutes, for instance. Dieters may appreciate the Body Mass Index and Basal Metabolic Rate calculators. There are practical calculators to help you figure out mortgage and lease repayments, compound interest and fuel consumption. And you even get tools which really aren’t calculators at all, though they’re still useful: a simple stopwatch, say, or a random password generator.

Calculatormatik has definite room for improvement. The interface needs work; it doesn’t matter how far you resize the program window horizontally, for instance, the program will still only display two columns. The individual calculator interfaces generally look as though they’ve been thrown together in seconds. And some kind of program help would be welcome, too, even if only online.

Even now, though, this is still a fun program with some useful functionality. And there’s almost certainly plenty here for you, whether you’re mathematically-minded or not.

Photo Credit: kurhan/Shutterstock

I cannot recommend Nexus 4 Wireless Charger [review]

Publié: avril 29, 2013, 2:22pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

Gadget geeks love their toys, the more sci-fi the better. Several manufacturers offer wireless charging solutions, Google and LG among them -- for Nexus 4. The idea is simple: Rather than plug in the device, you rest it on something else connected to electricity. My question: If the phone lays down to charge anyway, why not just plug in and save, in this instance, $59.99 before tax and shipping?

I paid Google Play just that in a moment of weakness, and later regret. Don't bother, and that's really good advice. The Nexus 4 Wireless Charger is more than a wasteful, redundant accessory. The design is fundamentally flawed, where form goes before function to ruin. If you read no further, take away this: Save your money for something else.

Charge Me Up

Inductive charging is a fad that serves only one purpose: To con you to spend more money on needless accessories. You slap down the phone on a charger, which juices the battery in Stargate Universe-like fashion. What sets apart Nexus 4's add-on apart from others is the half-orb shape, utility and unwanted function as dust-mop.

Using the wireless charger is easy enough. You plug the USB cord into power brick and device, then set Nexus 4 on the half-orb's surface, which is Post-it note-like sticky. The adhesive is a huge problem, collecting particles like you wouldn't believe. Cleaning is difficult, since pieces of paper towel or cloth adhere to the surface. Suffice to say that the Nexus 4 Wireless Charger can look quite gross really fast, even when cared for.

Charging time is about 4 hours, just as the marketing material states. That's about twice the time my Nexus 4 takes plugged in directly. But I find the adhesive, while sticky enough for dust, isn't so good for the smartphone, which succumbs to gravity's pull. Just a little slippage is enough to stop charging. Strangely, in my environs, this problem typically occurs between 60 percent and 80 percent charge. So it's too common for me to check at 4 hours only to find partial charge and need to wait another hour or two after repositioning the phone.

For my purposes, and maybe yours, too, the USB cord is too short. I want to place Nexus 4 Wireless Charger high on my desk, but the cord won't reach the power strip.

Let Me Down

The half-orb nicely elevates the screen, so you can see notifications or easily answer calls with wired or wireless headphones. Two problems: Touching the phone can cause enough slippage to stop charging; the phone is otherwise inaccessible, because it can't be handled. When plugged into the wall, I can check Google+, respond to text messages or go through email -- all of which really needs me to pick up the phone. Voice activation is perhaps an alternative, but not something I tried for this review.

Bottom line: I see too many shortcomings and not enough benefits. The wireless charger's design -- too sticky for dust and not enough for Nexus 4 -- is a big problem, which could be remedied by using a flat surface and no adhesive. Then there is the inductive-charging concept. Connection to electricity is still required. You pass off the device to the wireless charger.

How wireless is it, really? Inductive charging requires contact -- surface to surface. Perhaps in the future there will be real wireless charging, and that has huge potential benefits. But that's not the tech LG and Google offer.

Longer charging time is another needless trade-off. Shouldn't you want to juice up as fast as possible?

I cannot recommend Nexus 4 Wireless Charger. I wasted $59.99, so you don't have to.

Photo Credits: Joe Wilcox

Submit your questions for the Internet Explorer team

Publié: avril 29, 2013, 2:02pm CEST par Wayne Williams

Usually when I do a Q&A session with tech firms like IBM, The Raspberry Pi Foundation, and Vonage, I come up with the questions myself, picking topics I think will be of most interest to our readers. However, for my forthcoming interview with the Internet Explorer team I want to shake things up a bit.

So instead of compiling the list of questions myself, I’d like your help and input. If you've a burning question you'd like the IE team to answer, post it in the comments below.

Questions can be about anything -- as long as they’re Internet Explorer related, obviously. If you want to know if the team has any plans to implement a currently missing feature, or are wondering about possible changes to the Modern UI version in Windows 8.1, ask away. The IE team can also answer marketing questions, such as who came up with The Browser You Love to Hate campaign, and how it’s doing.

I'll pick the best selection to put to the team, and share their answers in a future post. You can ask as many questions as you’d like.

Over to you.

Photo credit: Franck Boston/Shutterstock

AutoScreenShot helps you monitor PC use by taking regular screenshots

Publié: avril 29, 2013, 1:44pm CEST par Mike Williams

If you’d like to keep an eye on your kids’ PC activities then you could pay big money for a full-strength parental controls package, with comprehensive monitoring tools, detailed reports and a whole lot more.

If your needs are more basic, though, you could just download AutoScreenShot, a tiny free tool which will save regular screenshots which you can review later.

The program is easy to configure. Options start with choosing the capture interval, for instance (once every 120 seconds, by default), and the folder where your images will be stored.

You can tell the program to keep only the most recent images, too -- the last 200, say -- which helps to keep drive space requirements in check.

When you’re done, click the OK button, and that’s it -- the captures will begin. There’s no immediately obvious sign of the program’s presence, and it tied up only minimal resources (under 6MB of RAM on our test PC, even with the configuration dialog open). Add it to your startup folder and you’ll have a very simple monitoring system.

We say "simple" because AutoScreenShot isn’t exactly difficult to bypass. If anyone checks your startup programs, or Task Manager, they’ll find AutoScreenShot.exe, and browsing your screenshot folder will reveal exactly what it’s doing.

There are some technical irritations, too. If the program is running without a system tray icon, for instance, then you can’t access the Options dialog any more. To tweak any settings you have to manually edit its Options.ini file, or delete this and restart the process. This isn’t a critical issue -- there aren’t that many settings and you may never need to change any of them -- but it’s still annoying.

AutoScreenShot is also free and easy to use, though, and if you just want to monitor novice or non-technical users, or would like the screen grabs for some other reason, then the program may still be useful. Take a look.

ZoomBoard is a clever QWERTY keyboard for smartwatches

Publié: avril 29, 2013, 11:12am CEST par Wayne Williams

If the rumors are to be believed, every company in the tech world is currently working on a smartwatch. Apple was among the first to be linked to a wrist device, but since then we’ve heard similar development stories concerning Samsung, Microsoft, Google, and LG, to name just a few.

Assuming at least some of those rumored watches come to fruition, the developers are going to have to find a way around the issue of typing on a tiny smartwatch face, but researchers from Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, have come up with what they think is an ideal solution.

ZoomBoard is a tiny QWERTY-based keyboard that lets you zoom into the key you want with a single tap, making it easier to accurately select each letter. The number of zoom levels can be adjusted, depending on how large your fingers are. Spaces can be inserted by tapping on the space bar or by swiping right. Deletions are achieved by swiping left, while swiping upwards will reveal symbols.

The developers ran a text entry study on a 16 x 6mm keyboard (smaller than a US penny) and report that "after eight practice trials, users achieved an average of 9.3 words per minute, with accuracy comparable to a full-sized physical keyboard. This compares favorably to existing mobile text input methods".

You can watch a video of ZoomBoard in action here, or if you prefer a more hands-on approach, you can try it out for yourself. The simulation works fine on Chrome and Internet Explorer, but didn’t seem to function properly on Firefox, for some reason.

I found ZoomBoard makes typing pretty easy. Let me know what you think of it in the comments below.

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H-1B visa shouldn’t be granted when Americans lose jobs

Publié: avril 29, 2013, 9:09am CEST par Robert X. Cringely

There’s an old joke in which a man asks a woman if she’ll spend the night with him for $1 million? She will. Then he asks if she’ll spend the night with him for $10?

“Do you think I’m a prostitute?” she asks.

“We’ve already established that”, he replies. “This is just a price negotiation”.

Not a great joke, but it came to mind recently when a reader pointed me to a panel discussion last September at the Brookings Institution ironically about STEM education and the shortage of qualified IT workers. Watch the video if you can, especially the part where Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith offers to pay the government $10,000 each for up to 6,000 H-1B visas.

In the joke, this is analogous to the $10 offer. There’s a $1 million offer, too, which is another U.S. visa -- the EB-5 so-called immigrant investor visa, 15,000 of which are available each year and most go unclaimed. Why?

The EB-5 visa is better in many respects than the H-1B. The EB-5, for one thing, is a true immigrant visa leading to U.S. citizenship, where the H-1B, despite misleading arguments to the contrary, is by law a non-immigrant visa good for three or six years after which the worker has to go back to their native country. But the EB-5 requires the immigrant bring with him or her $1 million to be invested locally in an active business.

What’s wrong with that? Can’t Microsoft or any other big tech employer suffering from a severe lack of technical workers just set these immigrants up as little corporations capitalized at $1 million? It must be a better return on investment than the 1.52 percent Redmond made on its billions in cash in 2011. Yet they don’t do it. Why?

The answer is simple economics wrapped up in a huge stinking lie. First of all there is no critical shortage of technical workers. That’s the lie. Here’s a study released last week from the Economic Policy Institute that shows there is no shortage of native U.S. STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) workers. None at all.

You may recall this lack of a true labor shortage was confirmed empirically in another column of mine looking at tech hiring in Memphis, Tennessee.

If there was such a shortage, Microsoft and other companies would be utilizing EB-5 and other visa programs beyond H-1B. They’d do anything they could to get those desperately needed tech workers.

Some argue that these companies are using H-1Bs to force down local labor rates. Forcing them down how much is becoming clear, in this case thanks to Microsoft’s Brad Smith’s offer. If H-1Bs are each worth $10,000 to Microsoft, the average savings from using an H-1B has to be more than $10,000 plus the risk premium of cheating the system.

But the H-1B program wasn’t started to save money and money savings can’t even be considered as a reason for granting an H-1B according to regulations. Though companies have become pretty brazen about that one when they advertise for only H-1Bs for positions.

An interesting aspect of this story is that some readers have characterized Smith’s offer as a bribe. Maybe it isn’t. Maybe it’s just a gift or it’s intended to cover the true cost to the local and national economies of using an H-1B worker or, more importantly, not using a comparably trained U.S. citizen. But that can hardly be the case given the high unemployment rate among U.S. STEM workers.

What this kind of offer seems to be counting on are the typically terrible math skills of elected government officials; $10,000 ($3,333 per year) is not going to cover the lost income or true cost to society of a computer science graduate taking a lower-paying non-technical position.

What we need, I think, is a much simpler test for whether H-1Bs are actually warranted. The test I would impose is simple: if granting an H-1B results in the loss of a job for a U.S. citizen or green card holder, then that H-1B shouldn’t be granted.

Solving true technical labor shortages or being able to import uniquely skilled foreign workers are one thing, but this supposed H-1B crisis is something else altogether.

Reprinted with permission

Photo Credit: Cartoonresource/Shutterstock

XnSketch turns your photos into art

Publié: avril 29, 2013, 8:05am CEST par Mike Williams

Most photo editors have a few filters which can turn regular photos into instant works of art: an oil painting, say, or a pencil sketch. But if you’d like more -- or you just want the arty effects, without the photo editing overhead -- then XnSketch is a simple free tool which just might be able to help.

The program runs almost everywhere (Windows, OS X, Linux, iOS, Android), and is very easy to use. We tried the Windows build, and it came with no adware or other unwanted extras -- just unzip the download and you’re ready to go immediately.

The XnSketch interface is clean and simple. Open an image (there’s support for more than 50 file formats) and it’s displayed in a preview window. You can apply one of 22 effects -- pastels and sketches, cartoons, halftones, print and stamp options -- by clicking its thumbnail at the bottom of the screen. And as you select each one, the preview is updated to show you the results.

If you’re not quite happy with an effect then you can tune it by adjusting various settings. There are always sliders for brightness, contrast, gamma, exposure and saturation, but some effects provide additional options: edges, colours, opacity, blur and so on.

And when your masterpiece is complete, you can save the results as a JPG or PNG file, or share them via Facebook, TwitPic, Flickr, Picasa, email or a host of storage providers. Click File > Share > Imgur, for example, and XnSketch will upload your current image, then open a web page to display the online version, and all you have to do is share that URL with whoever you like.

There are a few issues here. Some of the effects are a little too minimal, for instance, and there’s not always any real way to tweak their strength. When applying an “Oil Painting” effect, say, we often found the results were too similar to the original image. Other programs will often allow you to amplify the effect, perhaps increasing the brush size, but XnSketch just doesn’t have that level of configurability.

Other effects do deliver excellent results, though, and there’s no doubt that the program is exceptionally easy to use. So while graphics experts will probably stick with photo editor filters, if you’re just looking to quickly apply a few fun effects, and share the results with the world, then XnSketch looks like a great choice.

Here is what I wrote about iTunes Music Store's opening 10 years ago

Publié: avril 29, 2013, 7:00am CEST par Joe Wilcox

A decade ago yesterday, Apple launched the iTunes Music Store and changed how we buy music. For those of you too young to remember or so old to have forgotten, Microsoft and Apple engaged in an epic struggle to dominate the fledgling legal digital music market -- all while trading in ripped files soared, despite Napster's closure. You remember it, right?

I was all too glad to pay for music, if only given the opportunity, as clearly were others. iTunes Music Store launched with 200,000 tracks -- a gigantic number at the time -- from five labels: BMG, EMI, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal and Warner. Singles priced at 99 cents, albums at $9.99, hit the sweet spot for what consumers would pay, while undercutting physical media prices. Of course, the real competition was free, pirated stuff.

Apple sold 1 million songs the first week, and that with limited distribution (see last paragraph for more on that), showing that at least some people would pay rather than steal. Nine more days (May 14, 2003) and the number was 2 million.

In commemorating the 10-year anniversary, I look back to the commentary posted to my personal blog the day before the grand opening. I corrected one spelling error, otherwise it's verbatim. My objective is to give a sense of how I saw the service as it launched and to provide some historical context.

I remember being in one of my moods when penning this ditty, in the evening during non-work hours (there's no such thing in this decade). So there's a bit more edge than even my more cutting posts for BetaNews. With that introduction, here is post "One Bad Apple" in its entirety:

Apple is expected to launch a new online music service on April 28, 2003, that will work with a new version of the company's iTunes digital music software. Rumors are buzzing louder than a ruptured hornet's nest about the service. Most people believe Apple will make the new service available for Macs only. But I can't imagine Apple CEO Steve Jobs is that dumb. If he's smart, he'll release an iTunes version for Windows and make a bold move into the digital media market.

No other company on the planet has executed a better digital media strategy than Apple. Doing digital media on a Mac is much easier and more satisfying than on a Windows XP PC. Apple's iLife digital media suite is the best thing going for working with digital photos, music, movies or DVD burning. Too bad you need a Mac to get it. But a music service available for both platforms through iTunes would extend Apple's reach and give AOL Time Warner and Microsoft executives catastrophic heart failure. How many ways can you say, "Pushing up daisies?"

The executives over at AOL Time Warner sneeze and the company loses $50 billion. (Show me any successful AOL Tme Warner digital media product? You can't!) Microsoft's idea of digital media marketing is getting every hardware manufacturer on the planet to support Windows Media formats. Most computers come with a floppy drive or cars a cigarette lighter, but that doesn't mean most people use the gear. Get real, Microsoft.

Mr. Jobs has the right Hollywood connections, he's successfully courted record labels for his new service and rumor has it his company is even negotiating deals directly with music artists. Apple has the right relationships, right strategy and right technology to pull off a successful music service. Don't forget that Apple's iPod music player is the retail market share leader as measured in revenue, according to NPDTechworld.

If Apple executes as well on the music service as it has on Macs, the service should turn out to offer great music selections, reasonable prices, unsurpassed ease of use, delivery through one of the best digital music software packages available and portability on a great music player. The combination would be great for Apple, its shareholders, consumers and, more importantly, competition.

That's because Microsoft's idea of digital media is controlling file formats the way it uses them in Office to dominate productivity suites. (You knew there had to be a reason why your waffle maker supports Windows Media formats, right?) In Microsoft parlance, competition is a market where all the products are made by Bill Gates & Co. (Hey, you can choose from six different versions of Windows XP. Woo Hoo!) Microsoft is trying to establish its digital media format as the defacto standard through the aforementioned hardware partnership and also by creating what arguably is great digital rights management technology. Too bad, but the DRM only works with Windows Media file formats, folks.

Microsoft has given music labels a free tool kit (What's $500 million in unrecovered research and development costs between friends?) so they can make CDs with some content protected by Microsoft's DRM. It's a good Windows Media format proliferation technique, but music labels haven't been biting. The labels, which are uncertain about how to deal with online music file trading, appear frightened of a devil's deal with Microsoft. At the same time, Microsoft hasn't had a lot of luck with music downloads of copy-protected Windows Media Audio files.

Apple would like nothing better than to steer digital media toward open standards, such as MPEG-4. The consumer electronics industry, Hollywood and music labels generally have favored that approach. Apple's music service could be instrumental in providing a viable and attractive alternative to making a Windows Media format devil's deal. That would also ensure that Microsoft could not in the future choke the Mac out of being able to access or use digital media, which is driving new computer sales.

As for AOL Time Warner: I'll be the first person to admit I could use to knock off about 40 pounds. But AOL Time Warner is really huge! That company can't get off its fat ass to compete with lettuce. Until AOL Time Warner trims down some, that company is just going to continue sitting there picking its teeth and talking about digital media and online entertainment. But the company never does anything but add more weight, as in buying more digital media technologies, and staying sitting down on its even fatter ass doing nothing.

Now comes along svelte Apple, Hollywood ties, great technology, legendary stylishness and ease of use in tow. Would you buy music from Microsoft? Hey, don't yell at me for asking! But Apple's cool, right? You might buy music from Apple rather than searching for it on file trading sites, right?

Maybe the next Apple Records won't be the Beatles' label. If not, than I was wrong, Mr. Jobs isn't as smart as I thought and there will be no iTunes for Windows. But I'm never wrong, am I?

Apple did not launch with a Windows Store as I surmised. Mac-only was the price Steve Jobs paid to secure licensing deals to sell any music at all. Windows users didn't wait long, though, just until October 2003. What a difference they made. Five weeks before the launch, iTunes sales reached 9 million. Three months later (Dec. 15, 2003): 25 million.

Photo Credit: Joe Wilcox

SpiderOak 5.0.1 improves cloud sync

Publié: avril 29, 2013, 6:00am CEST par Nick Peers

Cloud-based storage provider SpiderOak has released SpiderOak 5.0.1, a brand new version of its desktop client for Windows, Mac and Linux. The chief highlight of version 5 is a new feature called SpiderOak Hive, a new centralized folder for quick and easy sync between devices.

Version 5.0.1 also implements integration in Windows Explorer, support for passwords in ShareRooms and remote diagnostic tools to help SpiderOak’s support teams resolve issues with end users.

The new SpiderOak Hive feature is not innovative in itself -- it simply apes the centralized folder syncing implemented by rivals such as Dropbox and SkyDrive by placing a folder in a non-transferrable location: the user folder in OS X, the user’s Documents folder in Windows or the Home folder in Linux. This folder is a convenient one-stop shop for copying and retrieving data, but doesn’t supersede SpiderOak’s existing sync capabilities, whereby users can specify two or more folders on different devices for keeping in sync.

Version 5.0.1 also adds Windows Explorer integration, allowing users to right-click files and folders for backing up, sharing and, if stored online, for retrieving earlier versions of files. OS X and Linux implementation is promised in a future update.

Improvements have been made to the ShareRoom feature, whereby users can share content with others. It’s now possible to specify passwords for ShareRooms, adding a much-needed extra layer of security to the whole sharing process. The ShareRoom creation wizard has also been tweaked to make it easier to follow.

When troubleshooting problems with customer support, users are now able to switch on remote diagnostics, allowing customer support teams to view metadata about the user’s setup. This metadata does not contain sensitive information such as backup data, passwords or encryption information, and is disabled by default -- users must explicitly allow it by ticking “Allow Remote Diagnostics?” under the General tab under Preferences.

Another security tweak requires users to change their password upon setting up their first device when an automatic password was generated due to disabling JavaScript during the signup process.

A number of bug fixes have also been implemented: users are better able to recover from certain error conditions during LAN sync, for example, while a bug preventing downloads from automatically resuming after a network outage has also been fixed.

SpiderOak 5.0.1 is available now as a free download for Windows, Mac and Linux. Free 2GB user accounts are available, with paid-for plans starting from $10 per month for 100GB of storage.

Nexus 7 dock review

Publié: avril 28, 2013, 11:07pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

Accessories can make a portable device better. If you own the ASUS-manufactured, Google-branded Nexus 7 tablet, surely there is a case protecting it; sometimes, anyway. Some can prop the tablet, but there's another option. Can a dock improve the user experience and even extend the utility? That's what this quickie review seeks to answer.

The Nexus 7 dock is the official issue, made by ASUS, and sold from Google Play for $29.99. I ordered mine in late January, for $39.99, from B&H Photo, back when only third parties carried the accessory. Since then, the retailer dropped the price by five bucks. B&H took my order when the dock was out of stock, but shipped 8 days later. If you want this thing, don't be deterred by availability elsewhere but forget Google Play, which isn't taking orders as I write. Expect to spend more elsewhere. By the way, I would have waited and paid less, had I known better.

Unlike Nexus 10, Google's smaller tablet is meant to be used more-often in portrait mode (there's a reason why most product shots show the orientation). The dock flips things around, and as such should be seen as entertainment extension, particularly for music and videos -- even displaying photo slideshows. The accessory also makes placing Nexus 7 convenient in a kitchen area for, say, looking at recipes while cooking. There is potentially good utility here, depending on needs.

The dock feels fairly hefty, weighing 280 grams and measuring 220 x 65 x 30 mm. The thing is sturdy, quite solidly-built. There's quality here. The dock comes with standard audio jack and Micro-USB connector and supports the tablet's built-in speakers, which are functional but produce tinny sound. You'll want to plug in your own, which you could do directly without the dock. But, strangely, on my device, there is no through-sound unpowered, which surprises me. I have the Bose Companion 3, which only work when the dock is plugged into electricity.

The tablet snuggly fits horizontally into the dock, but there is too much movement otherwise. Extended lip supports Nexus 7 firmly in the back, but frontways is rocky. You could easily knock over the tablet onto the glass front. Additionally, I find that when touching music controls, the tablet's pins sometimes lose contact with the connectors on the dock. This can interrupt playback or, worse, if charging, stop the activity. I am surprised by how easily even slight jostling of the surface the dock sits on can break the connection and stop charging.

While I use the dock several ways, the most common is work-day companion. I set the peripheral and Nexus 7 behind my computer plugged into power and speakers to play music. I generally stream from my own library stored in the Google Music cloud. On the PC, Chrome sometimes closes down tabs, stopping playback. Nexus 7 is great alternative, providing continuous play, and there is a graphic equalizer.

But I don't need the dock to do this. I can just as easily lay down the tablet, or use a case with built-in prop, connected directly to the speakers. From this perspective, the add-on is more convenience than necessity.

Something else: Google I/O starts in mid-May, and there is massive speculation (and quite reasonable, I should say) across the InterWebs about a new model with higher-resolution display. If ASUS and Google modify the design, the current dock becomes obsolete for use with next-generation Nexus 7. Of course, the enclosure might stay the same, which is better for dock dalliers.

Bottom line: I/O is good reason to wait, and anything over $30 is too much (right, I overpaid). The accessory doesn't add enough value for the price. Nexus 7 already has headphone and power jacks. The case you might already own can prop the tablet.

Don't get me wrong. I personally like the dock and find it both functional and useful. But I don't need it and certainly wouldn't have spent $40 if knowing then what I do now. Nexus 7 dock is great kit, but in many ways redundant.

Photo Credit: Joe Wilcox

Enable Google Drive's new 'Offline' feature

Publié: avril 27, 2013, 6:11pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

While it did not grab a lot of attention, this week Google rolled out version 1.9 of its Drive app for both Windows and Mac users. The cloud storage service adds a number of new features that should improve the experience for its customers -- and that is anyone who has a Google account, because Drive and 5 GB of free storage come along with that account.

The latest version contains added-features in the right-click context menu available from within your file system explorer, including sharing and also the ability to view the file on drive.google.com.

Google Drive also claims faster access speeds. According to the Release Notes, the company claims that "downloads now take about 50 percent less time. For accounts with many small files, the speed improvement is even more pronounced". There is also the addition of smarter delete dialogs (originally introduced in version 1.8) and improvements to sync status overlay icons for Mac users.

The most intriguing new feature is the promise of offline access to your files. However, while Google is big on telling us of this new capability, it's short on details about how to actually access files in this way.

Fortunately the capability is not difficult to set up, but does require that you have the Chrome web browser installed. If you do, then fire it up and head over to drive.google.com and log into your account.

In the left column you will spot a dropdown menu labeled "More". Click this and then select "Offline". If you do not yet have the Chrome plugin for Google Drive installed then you will be prompted to do so. If you have it then you can proceed to step two, which is simply clicking the "Enable Offline" button.

You will now be able to access your most recent Google documents on drive.google.com, even when you are offline. Simply open any Google document from your local Google Drive folder and Chrome will display the file for you to edit. Any changes you make will be synced the next time you connect to the Internet.

If you have the need, then you can also return to "More", "Offline" and disable the feature as well. The offline mode works with all compatible Google Docs and Office file types, as well as images.

Will you buy HTC One?

Publié: avril 27, 2013, 1:49am CEST par Joe Wilcox

The question is long overdue, particularly since I asked about Samsung Galaxy S4, the other major 1080p smartphone freshly released. After some delays, the One can now be purchased -- well, if you can find the thing -- and HTC is advertising rather aggressively. I've seen commercials in prime time, sometimes two in a row, throughout the week.

This afternoon, I hauled off to one of the two San Diego T-Mobile stores selling HTC One. Both are stocked out, but there was a live phone I could play around with. I toyed with ordering the smartphone from T-Mobile online late last night. Opportunity lost. The One is "out of stock" today. AT&T and Sprint also sell the One. Supplies are limited.

Up close, I'm less impressed by HTC One than expected, because of software. Sense UI is still too obtrusive for my taste, and T-Mobile loads up lots of crapware, including the Lookout security app, which at first blush can be disabled but not removed. Yet there are some aspects of Sense, such as news and social feeds up close and personal on the homescreen, that conceptually appeal. I'd like to use them though to see if they're worth the trouble, something not easily done in the store.

Build quality and design really distinguish the One from every other phone I've handled, including iPhone 5, which is a beaut. The aluminum body begs to be touched, caressed and seen. If eye-pleasing is a priority, HTC's baby won't disappoint.

Regarding the display, I can only say wow. After spending just a few minutes with the One, I have to say Apple CEO Tim Cook's excuse for 3.5- or 4-inch iPhones is even more lame-ass than my first impression. During this week's earnings conference call, in response to an analyst question about smartphones with 5-inch displays (think Galaxy S4), Cook answers: "iPhone 5 has the absolute best display in the industry", which audacious claim. "Our competitors had made some significant trade-offs in many of these areas in order to ship a larger display, we would not ship a larger display iPhone while these trade-offs exist".

Well, hell, I sure am impressed by HTC's trade-offs. Apple should make some. The 4.7-inch One display is scary crisp. Oh, yeah, my Nexus 4, which has same-size screen, seems sooo much less now. But, hey.

The Right One

For anyone considering the phone, the major competitor is Galaxy S4, based on features and screen resolution, for starters. But you should consider all the major contenders. Spec-fest for your consideration:

HTC One: 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: $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 24 $20 monthly payments for 32 gigger.

Samsung 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: $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.

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: $99.99 upfront and $24 $20 monthly payments.

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 HTC One?

Early Reviews

If I ever get my hands on HTC One, expect a review. To help you better answer the question, here are some reviews from other tech sites:

"HTC One review", AnandTech
"HTC One review", BGR
"The gorgeous HTC One is a winner", CNET
"HTC One Review: The Beauty Is a Beast", Gizmodo
"HTC One review: an amazing screen but a baffling interface", The Guardian
"HTC One Is a Winner", Mashable
"HTC One review: Heating up the race for the perfect Android phone", The Verge
"The HTC One is the best smartphone I have ever used", ZDNet

So there remains one question. Will you buy HTC One? Please answer the poll above and explain in comments below.

Editor's Note: There deliberately is no "already purchased", to keep consistency with other polls. Please choose "as soon as available", if you bought HTC One already.

Best Windows 8 apps this week

Publié: avril 26, 2013, 8:36pm CEST par Martin Brinkmann

Twenty-sixth in a series. Windows Store app growth has slowed down a bit in the past two weeks. The overall increase dropped below 2,000 new apps in both periods. The overall app count increased by 1,877 this week to 44,355 apps in the US Windows Store. Free apps increased by 1,372 to a total of 34,802, and paid & trial apps by 505 to 9553 apps.

The Windows 8 news app received an update this week that added support for RSS feeds to it. To add an RSS feed click on the Add a source link after you have opened the news app and add the RSS URL at the top of the source field on the page that opens up. You should not expect "Google Reader"-like controls but if you follow a couple of sites, you can add them here to do so using the news app.

Audible is currently running a promotion for new users that register with the service through the Windows 8 app. A free book -- The Power Trip, American Sniper or The Great Gatsby -- can be added to the user's account free of charge and without having to enter a credit card or subscribing to the service.

App of the Week

The Long Climb

The Long Climb offers a mixture of articles and videos that offer troubleshooting advice, how-to guides and related information about Windows 8 and other Microsoft products. It is maintained by Mike Halsey, Microsoft MVP and book author, who is also running the Long Climb website. Mike is an expert for all things Windows and the app shines in that regard.

The Windows 8 How-To section explains core concepts of the new operating system, like adding network locations, using saved searches or using Bitlocker in the operating system. All guides are easy to understand and with media that help you follow what is being said easily throughout the guides.

Windows 8 is just one of the areas that Mike is proficient in. You find information about Windows 7 here as well as information and reviews of other Microsoft products.

Other Apps

Sushi Chop

You need to slice and chop fish in this game. You have three lives in the first game mode in which you need to slice fish that is thrown in the air in front of you so that you can put it on the rice that is in front of you on the tablet. Each chop is rated and perfect chops get you higher scores than sloppy ones. You also need to be careful as rotten fish is sometimes thrown into the mix. If you slice it, you will lose a life.

The second game mode is more stressful than the first. Here you are asked to chop specific fish only that is displayed to you before each wave. The game features a kids mode as well but you need to unlock it before it becomes available. A store is available that you can purchase upgrades in for coins that you earn while playing the game and that you can purchase with real money as well.

The Chive

This is not the official Chive app, just so you know. It brings funny photos and videos that are posted on The Chive to Windows 8. You can browse the latest photos using the application or one of the available categories. Not everything is safe for work, though, so better be careful when you open the application at work. If you like to browse funny photos and videos, then this app will keep you entertained for a long time.

Gwendolynn the Lionhearted

This jump-and-run game is all about collecting all the treasures -- games and gold -- that is scattered throughout the level. You control the warrior with the WASD keys exclusively. A and D move the character to the left and right, tap on W to jump and on S to slash out with the sword.

Timing is everything in the game to make it across chasms, spiked traps, and other obstacles that lie in your way. If you add monsters to the picture you have all hands full to make it to the end. It is a fun game, at least for a while. It comes without advertisement or in-game purchases.

Just Wink

Create personalized e-cards for specific events or just for fun. Events supported include Mother's Day, birthdays, weddings, anniversaries or simple thank you notes. To get started select one of the cards displayed on the frontpage of the app.

You can look at it in detail on the next page, and if you like what you see, click on personalize to add custom text and media to it. You can add a photo to cards and add one or multiple messages to them as well. Once you are finished click on the wink somebody link to email the card to someone or post it on Facebook.

Geico

The official Geico application is not the prettiest app on the block but that does not really matter that much as most of the functionality that you would expect from it is supported. You can take a look at your policy, bills and ID cards using the app, pay open bills or use the contacts page to contact the company via phone.

Information can be printed and emailed from within the app. The "switch to Geico" offer that you find in the app links to the Geico website. So, you can check your existing data using the application, something that you can also do on the web.

Remember Metro

A client app for the popular task management service Remember the Milk. You need to authorize Remember Metro on first start to use data from a Remember the Milk account. If you do not have one, you can create it right on the page.

Once you have authorized the account, you will see all your tasks in the apps' interface. From here it is possible to add new tasks, mark tasks as complete, or delete tasks. The data is automatically synced between the app and Remember the Milk.

Sofascore

If you like to follow live scores of sport events then SofaScore may be the app you have been looking for. Pick a sport from the available selection: Football, Basketball, Rugby, American Football or Baseball can all be selected here among other sports. The app loads a list of games that you can filter by country if you like.

Information about running and upcoming games are listed here. A click on a match opens the match details page that highlights the score, incidents, standings, as well as previous and upcoming matches of the clubs. What about you? Have you spotted a new application for Windows 8 this week that you really like? Let me know in the comments.

Android outdated? Blame Google, not cellular carriers

Publié: avril 26, 2013, 7:52pm CEST par J Marra

You can still buy phones running Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), even though Google released the last distribution, version 2.3.7, in September, 2011. In the meantime, numerous security flaws have been discovered in Gingerbread and users are vulnerable to them.

For this, the ACLU blames AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless. The logic in their plea to the FTC is so shoddy that I have to suspect an ulterior motive. In whose interests is the ACLU operating here?

I got in an argument with a bunch of lawyers about this on a mailing list, and you can see how so many want to believe the worst about the carriers. It's easy to bash the carriers and I don't like them either, but that doesn't make them at fault for this problem.

Once they start releasing a new major version of Android, Google stops updating the old ones. Note that the release date of 2.3.7 is September 11, 2011 and the release date for 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) is October 19, 2011. Version 3.x (Honeycomb) was a dead-end of sorts that started as Google's attempt to support tablets on Android, but was largely abandoned for 4.0. The next version for phones after 2.3.7 was 4.0.

And yet the hardware requirements for 4.0 are substantially greater than those for Gingerbread. See chapter 7 in both the Android 2.3 Compatibility Definition and the Android 4.0 Compatibility Definition: Just one of the differences is that the minimum RAM requirement went from 128MB to 340MB.

I'm sure Gingerbread devices typically have no more than 256MB, and no phones are upgradable for memory. The result is that it's impossible for the carriers to update the phones.

Who is to blame? If there's any to asses, I'll give it to Google for providing security patches only in a new major version of the operating system with elevated hardware requirements. Contrast this with, for example, Microsoft's continuing provision of security updates for Windows XP, even for pirated copies, 12 years after initial release.

Someone suggested to me that maybe this is true for Gingerbread, but what about Ice Cream Sandwich phones that aren't upgraded to Jelly Bean (Android 4.1 and 4.2)? I think it's worth pointing out that there are also hardware and software requirements changes in 4.1 that would take time for carriers to implement, and it's possible that handset makers didn't deem such task as possible or worth the trouble to provide the update.

Notice I didn't say "carrier" in that last paragraph, because it's not their job to write updates. They provide updated software given to them by handset makers and Google. Many of the handset makers only do what the carriers tell them to do, but obviously they're involved. The real blame, once again, is on Google for not providing patches for ICS after Jelly Bean became available.

The carriers are old and easy villains for the ACLU. They're bad big business. Google, Apple and the handset makers, on the other hand, are good big business. (Microsoft more resembles Google and Apple in this regard, but definitely bad big business. Why is left as an exercise to the reader in the comment section below.)

Now I'd like to think I'm not stupid and I recognize that Google's patching practices are arguably in the interests of the phone makers and carriers (who sell almost all the handsets) in that they increase the need to upgrade phones rapidly. Perhaps the whole system is wrong and everyone's hands are dirty.

Photo Credit: M. Dykstra/Shutterstock

As iPhone market share peaks, there's one direction to go

Publié: avril 26, 2013, 6:24pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

You will reads lots of dribble today about Samsung first quarter phone gains compared to Apple. Most will ignore something fundamental to the numbers: What they represent. IDC and Strategy Analytics separately put out data, for shipments, which mean handsets going to carriers, dealers and other sellers. That's very different from sales to businesses and consumers, Gartner's measure and the more accurate one (that data isn't ready yet).

For few quarters is the difference between shipments and sales likely to be so pronounced, actually even more so in Q2. Apple comes off its second full quarter of iPhone 5 sales and global distribution, and so shipments into the channel, nearly complete. Meanwhile, Samsung ramps up for Galaxy S4's launch, while achieving full global availability for the S III. Second quarter is the more likely bloodbath for Apple, but actual sales will foreshadow much. Still, shipments hint something now, and iPhone faces serious challenges.

By Strategy Analytics reckoning, Samsung shipped 106.6 million handsets during Q1, obtaining 28.6 percent global share. Apple ranked third, with 10 percent share from 37.4 million units. IDC puts Samsung shipments higher (115 million) but share lower (27.5 percent). Apple's number is same as Strategy Analytics but market share less: 8.9 percent.

"Apple’s global mobile phone market share is approaching a peak", Woody Oh, Strategy Analytics senior analyst, warns. "Apple will need to launch new models, or partner with additional major carriers like China Mobile, if it wants to expand significantly beyond its current ceiling of 10 percent global volume share".

But no new models are coming. Apple chooses not to compete with Samsung, by holding back new phones until autumn. During this week's Apple earnings conference call, in response to a question about when to expect new products, CEO Tim Cook answers: "We’ve got some really great stuff coming in the fall and across all of 2014". Don't expect anything sooner. So Galaxy S4 and other Androids, like HTC One, face no new competition from Apple.

Smartphone Story

Global phone shipments actually mask Apple's broader market situation. The data pits a smartphone against competitors selling handsets of various types. Three things:

Smartphone shipments exceeded feature phones in Q1 for the first time, reaching 51.6 percent share, according to IDC.
Apple smartphone share declined nearly 7 points, even as unit shipments nudged up.
iPhone growth fell way behind the market, reversing trend of exceeding it.

On a smartphone-to-smartphone basis, in the category now globally more important, Apple struggles for the first time. Meanwhile competitors -- Samsung significantly -- bring exciting new models to market while the fruit-logo company rests on iPhone 5's laurels.

Smartphone shipments grew by 41.6 percent during first quarter, according to IDC. Among the top-five, only Apple grew below the market, and considerably less -- just 6.6 percent. By comparison: LG (110.2 percent); Huawei (94.1 percent); Samsung (60.7 percent); ZTE (49.2 percent).

Top Five Smartphone Vendors Q1 2013 (Units in Millions)

Vendor	1Q13 Unit Shipments	1Q13 Market Share	1Q12 Unit Shipments	1Q12 Market Share	Year-over-year Change
Samsung	70.7	32.7%	44.0	28.8%	60.7%
Apple	37.4	17.3%	35.1	23.0%	6.6%
LG	10.3	4.8%	4.9	3.2%	110.2%
Huawei	9.9	4.6%	5.1	3.3%	94.1%
ZTE	9.1	4.2%	6.1	4.0%	49.2%
Others	78.8	36.4%	57.5	37.7%	37.0%
Total	216.2	100.0%	152.7	100.0%	41.6%

Source: IDC Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker, April 25, 2013

Clueless Cook

During this week's Apple earnings conference call, Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi put forth a 30 percent industry growth estimate (now known to be too low), observing iPhone to be much lower, and looking ahead: "Broadly incorporating your guidance for next quarter and thinking about fiscal Q1, it appears very unlikely that Apple will grow at that market rate of 30 percent or more".

Cook's deflection reveals much. He starts by discussing iPad shipments, rather than iPhone, presenting more positive perspective. Hey, that's what these execs are taught to do in media training. He continues: "On the phone side, the numbers that you talked about, the sell-in comparisons year over year, you really have to convert that to sell-through to look at the underlying demand". Cook is right about that, which is why I assert the Gartner numbers matter much more.

Then Cook concedes: "However, I take your point if the market did grow by 30 percent, we still, after that normalization, we grew less than that. And so I think the question or the -- this point is not lost and we do want to grow faster. We don’t view it, however, as the only measure of our health". He then goes on to customer satisfaction stats and how iPhone 4 and 4S pricing will woo first-time smartphone buyers.

The first-timers are more likely to purchase from Samsung or, across China and some other parts of Asia, from Huawei and ZTE. Chinese manufacturers "have made significant strides to capture new users with their respective Android smartphones", Ramon Llamas, IDC research manager, says.

Assessing Apple

So I see a few direct takeaways from the data currently available:

1. Apple's real world situation isn't likely as bad as some arm-chair pundits will suggest -- not this quarter, and certainly not based on unit shipments.

2. Gartner's numbers, for actual sales, are better measure of just how well iPhone is doing, and they're not available yet.

3. Second quarter is the one to watch for any Apple bloodbath, measured by either shipments or sales, but better the latter. Apple has nothing new to offer, while the hottest Androids of the year come to market.

4. China's rising stars, particularly Huawei, Lenovo and ZTE, will impede Apple's push into the world's largest smartphone market.

Apple is ripe for smartphone troubles. But it's too early to say how much, or how little.

Photo Credit: 1000 Words/Shutterstock

BlackBerry Q10 now available, gets Skype preview

Publié: avril 26, 2013, 3:06pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

Even though BlackBerry unveiled the BlackBerry Q10 smartphone in late-January, prospective customers around the world are still waiting to get their hands on the device. But if you live in the UK the handset is available today from Selfridges. The BlackBerry Q10 will also arrive next week, starting May 1, in Canada.

At Selfridges, the BlackBerry Q10 is available to purchase outright for GBP579.99 which is quite expensive for any smartphone, let alone one with a QWERTY keyboard. For the money you get a 3.1-inch display with a resolution of 720 by 720 and a 330 ppi (pixels per inch) density, 8 MP back-facing camera with 1080p video recording, 16 GB of internal storage and 4G LTE cellular connectivity as the main features.

For the BlackBerry Q10 the Canadian manufacturer quotes 14.4 hours of standby time and up to 13.5 hours of talk time, both using 3G connectivity. The endurance is decent by today's standards but not impressive considering the small screen.

If you do decide to get a BlackBerry Q10 you should be pleased to know that Skype is also available, in preview trim, at launch. The app features the usual suspects like voice and video calling, instant and text messaging support as well as calls to mobile phones and landlines around the globe.

The app, according to the announcement, is designed with the BlackBerry Q10's display in mind. That means the interface is optimized for the square look of the panel. Also, Skype contacts are automatically imported to the smartphone's contact list, which should make it easier to call people, and notifications are displayed under the BlackBerry Hub.

BlackBerry also has a blog post on Skype's arrival which reveals an interesting tidbit related to BlackBerry 10.1. "Skype runs on the 10.1 Operating System on the BlackBerry Q10. As this new version of the BlackBerry 10 operating system launches on the BlackBerry Z10 in the coming weeks, BlackBerry Z10 owners will have the ability to download Skype for BlackBerry from BlackBerry World", says the manufacturer.

Skype for the Q10 is available to download from BlackBerry World now.

Microsoft, Windows Phone 8 hardware must keep up with the times

Publié: avril 26, 2013, 3:00pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

This is a question that I never thought I'd ask -- Is the hardware leaving Windows Phone 8 behind its fierce competition? In September last year, I asserted that "Windows Phone 8 is the best idea Microsoft has had in phone tech" after analyzing the new hardware requirements imposed by the software giant for its smartphone operating system. But as we all know eight months is a long time in the tech world.

This is a tough question to answer. After all, in January, BlackBerry unveiled the BlackBerry Z10 with pretty much the same hardware that was available for Windows Phone 8 at launch. Apple's iPhone 5 is also not far away in terms of specifications. So should Microsoft rest on its laurels and send the engineers on vacation? Well, no. As a smart man once said, "You can never have enough power". And even Windows Phone needs better hardware, although some die-hard fanboys would beg to differ.

The Hardware Is Good...

I'll concede that Windows Phone 8 performs very well on compatible hardware. The dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processors are decently powerful even by today's standards, but a good processor alone does not make for a great nor popular smartphone today, as we all know.

My Lumia 920, bar the occasional hiccups likely associated with the branded firmware that I used to have (I now run a developer firmware on it), performs very well when navigating the interface or the installed apps. I have no major complaints concerning lag when scrolling, zooming, installing software or other such activities, but it's not perfect either.

... But Good Is Not Good Enough

I'm quite sure I've read that Windows Phone 8 is very fluid with no lag or stutter in a bunch of reviews. That's not entirely true. I sometimes encounter a slight stutter when navigating the interface or lag when resuming an app, both of which should be entirely eliminated by using beefier hardware.

When Windows Phone 8 can't handle the number of suspended apps -- because there's no true multitasking like on Windows -- it starts closing the most problematic or first-used ones. Likely due to the same reasons even Internet Explorer comes with a tab number limitation -- one can only have a maximum of six opened at the same time.

If the lag or stutter can be attributed to the processing power, the multitasking issue can be pinned on the amount of RAM. How can Microsoft take care of these problems? It's simple, just add support for the quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processors. Manufacturers could then use a mindbogglingly fast Snapdragon 600 or Snapdragon 800 inside their next Windows Phone handsets.

Look at Me!

Yes, I've got a gripe with the display as well. Windows Phone 8 devices are limited to having a panel with a maximum resolution of 768 by 1280 -- as the Lumia 920 has. But why is that? Well, you can also blame Microsoft's design principle here. Because when Windows Phone 8 came to market the software giant didn't give quad-core processors the stamp of approval so it would have been a mistake to allow manufacturers to use 1080p displays, for instance.

With a higher pixel count the smartphone would need more processing power at its disposal in order to deliver a similar user experience as it does now, otherwise it just bogs down. Basically one limitation creates another. It's obvious, but that proves Microsoft doesn't want to look beyond the near future. Shouldn't now be the time to learn from past mistakes?

And there's the other side of the coin -- manufacturers can't innovate or even follow market leaders. The perfect example for this is the phablet market. There, today's smartphones need 1080p displays in order to deliver the highest visual quality on a large screen. The higher the ppi (pixels per inch) density on a 5.5-inch panel (for example) the better. Windows Phone 8 can't compete for the phablet crown without a loss in clarity and customer satisfaction.

Constantly Behind the Curve

Windows Phone 7, Windows Phone 7.5 and Windows Phone 8 were all designed for the hardware available during the development process, which is a problem if Microsoft wants to release a major software iteration each year.

Windows Phone 7.5 devices ran on a single-core processor, 512 MB of RAM and a 480 by 800 display resolution at best. Not long afterwards beefier quad-core processors with 1 GB of RAM as well as 720p displays were available.

Guess what? Microsoft's operating system didn't support any of those specs. A similar story can be said about Windows Phone 8. It came with last year's hardware requirements when we now have quad-core processors with 2GB of RAM and 1080p displays. Of course, it doesn't support such hardware. So what should be done?

Microsoft should protect Microsoft from Microsoft. The company's thinking of limiting Windows Phone 8 to only support the hardware of its time is rendered obsolete by the fast-paced tech world. Develop today, but think of tomorrow as well.

The best scenario is to bear current hardware in mind but leave room for what's coming next. Or, if that leaves too much room for error, Microsoft could simply update its operating system more frequently to bump up the maximum supported hardware. It should have done so at launch, actually.

The Spec War

Microsoft shouldn't play the specifications war that is constantly underway in the Android world. But Microsoft can't ignore better hardware either. With better hardware the company can give Windows Phone manufacturers the opportunity to more clearly differentiate their products or give them a better fighting chance against the competition.

The company doesn't need to enforce a ton of stickers on the box touting the hardware that's inside, but when customers want to buy a smartphone they shouldn't be able to dismiss Windows Phone handsets based on inferior hardware specifications. Don't hate the player, hate the game.

By today's standards Windows Phone 8 devices are mid-range compared to their Android counterparts. People notice that. Why shoot yourself in the foot if you have the option not to do so? If Microsoft keeps up with similar limitations its smartphone operating system will always be one hardware generation behind. Has it helped so far? I'd say not.

The Options Matter

Truth be told, I find it silly that Microsoft can't provide users with the option to choose what they want. It is the same thinking that got the company into trouble with Windows 8, which even today gets a bad rep for not allowing users to use a simple Start menu on traditional computers. Why not show a sign of change, Microsoft?

As a Windows Phone 8 user I have to commit to using yesterday's hardware when I should be able get the best available today. Does it do the operating system any good? No. Does it do consumers any good? No. I just don't see the point, only excuses.

Photo Credit: AlexRoz/Shutterstock

Samsung unifies its PC line under the ATIV brand, rolls out two new Book models and SideSync software

Publié: avril 26, 2013, 11:41am CEST par Wayne Williams

Samsung has announced it will be expanding its ATIV brand name to cover all of its Windows PCs, not just its convertible PC devices. The aim is to create a single cohesive brand for all its Windows 8 products, in a similar way to how the Galaxy brand unifies all of its Android smartphones.

In addition to the rebranding, Samsung has rolled out two new ATIV Book models -- the ATIV Book 5 and ATIV Book 6.

Described as the "next generation of Samsung Ultrabook", the Book 5 comes with a 14-inch touchscreen with a resolution of 1366 by 768, Intel Core i5-3337U processor, Intel HD Graphics 4000 GPU, 4GB of RAM, 500GB of storage and 24GB of ExpressCache. It’s available for pre-order now, priced from $899.99. The Book 6 has a 15.6-inch touchscreen with a resolution of 1920 by 1080, Intel Core i7-3635QM processor, AMD Radeon HD 8770M GPU, 8GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. It will set you back from $1199.99.

As if that wasn’t enough, Samsung is also adding a new feature to bring the ATIV and Galaxy lines closer together. Called SideSync, it is designed to make it easier for customers to switch from working on a PC to their smartphone by connecting the two devices via a USB cable. According to the South Korean firm, when connected, users can "respond to a text on a mobile phone from their PC keyboard; view maps, photos and multimedia from their phone on their PC screen; make edits to files on their phone via their ATIV PC; and even drag and drop files from one unit to another".

SideSync will come pre-loaded as a desktop app on Windows 8 ATIV PCs and be compatible with all of Samsung’s Android-based devices.

"Samsung has been the fastest growing PC brand for the past three years, in part because of our commitment to developing solutions that meet and exceed the ever-evolving needs of our customers," Mike Abary, senior vice president of consumer IT product marketing at Samsung Electronics America explains. "Our expanded ATIV brand and the introduction of solutions like SideSync create the necessary synergy between our mobile and PC lines to create real ease of use for consumers. These synergies enable us to maintain our momentum and continue to offer our customers innovations that enhance the way they live and work".

Road warriors, Dell XPS 10 is now available with 4G LTE connectivity

Publié: avril 26, 2013, 11:02am CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

For road warriors looking to catch up on the latest events, reply to important business emails, or perform some crucial tasks while traveling, a cellular data connection is a must-have feature for a tablet. The best case scenario -- if Wi-Fi is not available or a safe option -- is to rely on a smartphone in order to tether, which drains its battery in a couple of hours (at best). Definitely not an option for a lot of people.

Luckily, Dell finally gets it. The American company introduces a new cellular data option for the XPS 10 which gives the Windows RT-based tablet the ability to connect to 4G LTE networks. Considering that the device was launched around the same time as Windows 8 and Windows RT, it took Dell quite some time to make cellular data a priority, at least for the XPS 10.

The XPS 10 with 4G LTE starts at $599.99 for the 64 GB version and runs for $749.99 when buying the tablet with the Dell keyboard dock. You're looking at pretty much the same hardware specifications as with the base device.

That means prospective buyers can get a 10.1-inch multitouch display with a resolution of 1366 by 768; 1.5 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor; one-year warranty; Windows RT; 1.4 lbs and 2.89 lbs for the XPS 10 without the keyboard and with the keyboard attached, respectively.

Sadly, the device is available with 4G LTE only in the US and only with AT&T. Tough luck for everyone else. And that is a very long list which includes about seven billion people.

Smartphones take the world stage, as BlackBerry and Nokia shipments collapse

Publié: avril 26, 2013, 8:43am CEST par Joe Wilcox

In February, I predicted that smartphone sales would surpass feature phones within a couple quarters. Looks like I am likely wrong, as shipments already have, according to IDC. Last month the analyst firm predicted such circumstance this year, which by Q1 is sooner than anyone anticipated.

Meanwhile, something more shocking occurred turn first quarter -- my, God, when will the milestones stop? Chinese manufacturers Huawei and ZTE pushed BlackBerry and Nokia out of the top five. Right Nokia -- the company that invented the smartphone and had, until last year, a 14 year-run as global handset leader. The worldwide phone market undergoes dramatic changes, and they're far from over.

"Phone users want computers in their pockets", Kevin Restivo, IDC senior research analyst, says. "The days where phones are used primarily to make phone calls and send text messages are quickly fading away. As a result, the balance of smartphone power has shifted to phone makers that are most dependent on smartphones". Nokia is too attached to feature phones, by the way.

Manufacturers shipped 418.6 million handsets in Q1, up 4 percent year over year, from 402.4 million. Smartphones captured 51.6 percent share -- that's 216.2 million, up 41.6 percent annually from 152.7 million.

Samsung widened its lead over Apple -- 70.7 million smartphones to 34.7 million, respectively. A year earlier, the South Korean company's lead was more modest over its American rival -- 44 million to 35.1 million. Samsung shipments rose a stunning 60.7 percent, compared to just 6.6 percent for Apple. Their respective market shares: 32.7 percent and 17.3 percent. The fruit-logo company lost nearly 7 points of share.

LG posted strongest growth (110.2 percent), but Huawei's gains weren't far behind (94.1 percent). The two vied for third place share, 4.8 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively. ZTE rounded out the top 5 with 4.2 percent share. Among handsets driving LG shipments: Google Nexus 4.

"A year ago, it was common to see previous market leaders Nokia, BlackBerry (then Research In Motion), and HTC among the top five", Ramon Llamas, IDC research manager, says. "While those companies have been in various stages of transformation since, Chinese vendors, including Huawei and ZTE as well as Coolpad and Lenovo, have made significant strides to capture new users with their respective Android smartphones".

Success of the homegrowns poses problems for Apple, which counts China as its second most important region, next to North America. China generated $8.2 billion revenue for Apple during calendar first quarter, largely from iPhone.

But Chinese manufacturers move West, and with success. Huawei shipments outside of Asia-Pacific nearly doubled, for example.

We'll know more when Gartner releases figures. The analyst firm measures actual sales rather than shipments.

Photo Credit: Massimo Cavallo/Shutterstock

If Congress passes Internet sales tax legislation, you lose

Publié: avril 26, 2013, 7:58am CEST par Derrick Wlodarz

It's almost as if some in Congress forget that we've been down this path before. Garbage legislation, now under the moniker of the Marketplace Fairness Act, has been discussed in various guises and masks over the last 20 years or so. Streamlined Sales Tax. Remote Sales Tax. Distant Sales Tax. They've been tried, debated and debunked each time before.

But it's funny how larger than ever state budget deficits perk up the ears of slimy congressmen on the umpteenth attempt at an Internet sales tax. While proponents like J Marra, writing for BetaNews this week, are in favor of this bill, I stand tall against it, without hesitation.

Speaking from Experience

As a small business owner myself, already reeling in yearly time wasted in wading red tape, I have full right to be fired up about this new effort. Even though my business only does taxable commerce in Illinois, I have numerous colleagues in the IT industry who would be affected by this legislation. Any time government tries to impose new taxes and says that it is merely filling in the gaps is cause for alarm.

Remember when big government lied to us and claimed that Obamacare would save money for everyone across the board? It's the same flawed thinking that leads some to estimate costs rising for individual plan claims up to 32 percent under the massive legislation. Rule of thumb: the more government gets involved, the worse off we generally are.

Just about 20 years ago, the Supreme Court made a landmark ruling in Quill v. North Dakota that set an important precedent in today's debates. In that case, the court said, rightfully so, that obligating businesses to collect taxes on behalf of jurisdictions which they have no presence was too burdensome to enforce and expect of them.

Yes, you can say that the case was pitted in the discussion surrounding mail order catalogs and their sales across state lines, but the basis for argument is the same. Should businesses large and small be held liable for collecting taxes on any number of items they may sell to any person online in the vast United States?

Small Business Nightmare

If this junk legislation passes, it means that businesses with online sales across state lines will be liable for tax collection across roughly 9,600 different jurisdictions in the country. As if small business owners didn't have enough paperwork and red tape to wade through already to keep their businesses legal.

Proponents of this smelly pile refute the tax liability mess by claiming simplified "tax calculation software" will be available to affected merchants in efforts to simplify tax liabilities. Reality to Congress: QuickBooks has been around for over 20 years now, and taxes have not gotten any easier for US small businesses. I'm not sure how another band aid to a broken, over-complicated tax system is going to make life any easier or the burden any less troublesome.

One of the bills sponsors, web giant Amazon, has come out in favor of the legislation. Not surprisingly, Amazon already has the vast, expensive technical infrastructure in place to handle such broad tax collections. So much so that it's even offering expertise in the form of tax compliance services to other businesses. The online retailer has got more to gain financially from this bill passing than just "leveling the playing field" as it claims publicly.

The 3,007 counties of the USA, as shown above, are just a sliver of the jurisdictions that small businesses would be liable in collecting taxes if this legislation passed. All because they survive by selling across state lines. Whatever politicians calls the legislation, it's the same tax increase that has failed time and time again in congress. (Image courtesy of: mapsfordesign.com)

It's also interesting to note that this bill has zero language addressing how States would force brick and mortars to collect taxes for purchases made in person by out-of-town residents. After all, the name of this bill is the Marketplace Fairness Act, and in the interest of fairness, shouldn't brick and mortars be held to the same legislation that is burdening their out-of-state competitors?

Five states do not collect any form of state sales tax, including Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon. So if I were a Washington resident I could make the short trek into Oregon and get away without paying any sales taxes. Yet sitting back in my recliner, ordering from the same vendor in the comfort of my home, would yield a fully taxable purchase. That's fairness? Depends on who you ask, I guess.

Bill sponsors claim that the reason brick and mortars cannot be held to the same standard is because, presumably, it would be too difficult to impose questions upon each buyer about what state and county they come from. But hypocritically, they agree, that imposing the same burden on online retailers is justifiable because they can wrangle in some legal language providing cost-effective tax calculation software that will make the process seamless.

No Silver Bullet

If there's one thing I know as a small business owner, it's that nothing surrounding government legislation is as easy as it's portrayed. I don't care how much software you toss my way.

Here's a suggestion to a Congress hell-bent on raising taxes: how about focusing efforts on cleaning up our broken tax code instead? It's already been proven that Americans as a whole waste 6.1 billion hours annually merely complying with federal tax laws. That's the equivalent labor time of 2.1 million full time workers! Talk about waste to the nth degree.

While there has been no silver bullet plan as of yet, the attention Herman Cain received for his (flawed, but commendable) 9-9-9 flat tax plan was a step in the right direction, at least as food for thought. If Congress was discussing ways to reduce tax loopholes and administrative overhead/complexity, we wouldn't have talk about ways to raise taxes on Americans to fill budget deficits.

While the Senate tries its best to ram through the Marketplace Fairness Act as fast as possible, I urge all commonsense Americans to not only sign the public eBay petition against this grimy monstrosity, but also reach out to their representatives and tell them why you are opposed to any new tax increases of this nature.

Legislation supporters claim this is out of fairness to the mom and pops losing money due to online retailers, yet the very ones that will be hurt most are the small-timers selling on the web who will be burdened with more red tape, overhead, and administrative waste.

Fix the glaring mess we already have, Congress -- then perhaps we can discuss just cause for more taxation.

Photo Credit: Jane0606/Shutterstock

CCleaner 4.01 freshens up your browser

Publié: avril 26, 2013, 6:08am CEST par Nick Peers

Piriform has released CCleaner 4.01 and CCleaner Portable 4.01, a minor update to its popular Windows freeware system cleaning tool. Version 4.01 is the first release since version 4.0 split users into free and paid-for camps by restricting product features to Pro license holders only.

Most of version 4.01’s tweaks are available to both free and paid-for users, and revolve around improving existing tools and adding cleaning support to several new applications.

Improvements in CCleaner 4.01 revolve around better support for existing browsers: there’s improved cleaning for Google Chrome’s History along with better compatibility with Internet Explorer 10 and later builds of Firefox (version 19 and upward).

Windows 8 users should benefit from improved Registry cleaning thanks to an optimized cleaning algorithm, while both new tools introduced in version 4.0 – the Duplicate File Finder and Pro-only System and Browser Monitoring feature -- also gain unspecified enhancements and optimizations.

Application-specific cleaning has been further developed too: added in version 4.01 are support for Adobe Acrobat XI, VSO Blu-ray and DVD Converter Ultimate, Oxygen XML Editor 1.4 and Connectify Hotspot, while two tools already supported -- Mailwasher Pro and Google Earth -- both gain improved cleaning.

The update is rounded off with the usual minor tweaks and bug fixes. CCleaner 4.01.4093 and CCleaner Portable 4.01.4093 are both available as free-for-personal-use downloads for PCs running Windows XP or later. Pro licenses are currently available for $24.95, a saving of $8 on the MSRP.

Photo Credit: Liv friis-larsen/Shutterstock

Government demands to remove content reaches new highs, Google claims

Publié: avril 25, 2013, 11:18pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

For the past three years Google has released transparency reports, which loosely translate to tattling on the government and other entities that attempt to extract information from the search giant. None are likely happy with this reporting, but it is all public record and fair game.

"Today, for the seventh time, we’re releasing new numbers showing requests from governments to remove content from our services", states Google's legal director Susan Infantino.

In fact, despite the public outing, the onslaught has not abated. Indeed, it gains momentum. The latest report claims "from July to December 2012, we received 2,285 government requests to remove 24,179 pieces of content—an increase from the 1,811 requests to remove 18,070 pieces of content that we received during the first half of 2012".

This is not just the United States seeking data on you. Other governments are involved as well. Google says it has seen a sharp increase in requests from Brazil -- 697 requests to remove content from its platforms, to be exact. But it was not just the South American nation that ramped up its submissions to the search giant. Another is Russia; "In the first half of 2012, we received six requests, the most we had ever received in any given six-month period from Russia. But in the second half of the year, we received 114 requests to remove content", Infantino says.

Google also received inquiries from 20 countries regarding YouTube videos containing clips of the movie "Innocence of Muslims". While the videos were considered within the guidelines, Google restricted videos from view in several countries in accordance with local law after receiving formal complaints. It also temporarily restricted videos from view in Egypt and Libya due to what it considered particularly difficult circumstances there.

The company also made some changes to the way this information is reported. Infantino tells us "we’re now breaking down government requests about YouTube videos to clarify whether we removed videos in response to government requests for violating Community Guidelines, or whether we restricted videos from view due to local laws".

It is not that we didn't already know that Big Brother is watching us. However, the extent of the surveillance has grown since the last time we checked in with him.

Photo Credit: AR Images/Shutterstock

Nintendo circles the wagons as smartphone savages attack

Publié: avril 25, 2013, 11:08pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

The E3 game expo is just six weeks away and where Nintendo should have big visibility. Instead, today, the company president shares plans about greatly scaled-back presence, less than 24 hours after IDC warned that paying smartphone and tablet gamers will exceed their handheld counterparts this year.

For Microsoft and Sony, which have new consoles coming this year, E3 2013 will be big happenings. But not Nintendo. "We decided not to host a large-scale presentation targeted at everyone in the international audience where we announce new information as we did in the past", president Satoru Iwata says. "Instead, at the E3 show this year, we are planning to host a few smaller events that are specifically focused on our software lineup for the U.S. market".

The scaleback comes as Nintendo acknowledges weaker than expected sales for Wii U, a hybrid handheld and console gaming system. During first calendar quarter Nintendo sold 3.45 million units, rather than the projected 4 million.

"The release intervals of first-party key titles have been so much longer than we expected..that we have not successfully maintained the momentum of the platform", Iwata explains during his earnings presentation. "In addition, we have not been able to solidly communicate the product value of Wii U to our consumers yet, which has been a grand challenge for us".

So Nintendo's problems are two: Consumers don't understand what Wii U is, and the games aren't there. Competition may be a big reason for the latter. Android and iOS app stores satisfy consumers and pull away developers, and smartphones, particularly, are more likely carried than gaming handhelds or even tablets.

"In order for Nintendo's and Sony's gaming-optimized handhelds to remain ahead of smartphones and tablets on key metrics...these companies and their game card developer and publisher partners will have to redouble their efforts in a number of respects", Lewis Ward, IDC research manager, says. "Digital distribution has reached an inflection point in mobile and portable gaming, and future success will largely boil down to finding a unique balance of freemium business model excellence and that ability to deliver compelling social experiences".

Nintendo's decision to pull back from E3 potentially cedes mindshare and product awareness at a time when Microsoft and Sony step up conole competition and Apple and Google platforms encroach further into handheld gaming. That puts Wii U between the console rock and smartphone hard place.

However, Iwata is convinced that new software titles will lift sales during second half of the year. For all fiscal 2014, which started April 1, Nintendo forecasts sales of 9 million Wii Us and 18 million DSes. Software for both platforms, respectively: 38 million and 80 million.

Ubuntu 13.04 'Raring Ringtail' gives some, takes some

Publié: avril 25, 2013, 9:57pm CEST par Mike Williams

It’s no secret that Ubuntu is heading for desktop/ mobile convergence, with a runs-everywhere build expected within a year. But while 13.04 (“Raring Ringtail”) shows some signs of movement in that direction, the new release isn’t exactly packed with new features: in fact, it’s taken one or two away.

Of course there’s no harm in consolidating your code base occasionally, and Canonical appear to have done that to good effect. They claim that it’s the fastest Ubuntu experience to date, with an updated kernel delivering “dramatic graphical performance enhancements”, reduced RAM requirements and more. And while this might be aimed at helping the system run on mobile devices, it’s also very welcome for regular desktop users.

And it’s a similar story with other smaller, more subtle tweaks. Like the new “fuzzy search”, for instance: if you make a typo when entering an application then that may not be an issue, as Raring Ringtail will try to figure out what you mean. This may be targeted at users with tiny on-screen keyboards, but everyone will benefit from it occasionally.

More generally, improved social networking support means you can choose which applications integrate with Facebook, Twitter and more, directly from the Online Accounts pane. You can then search photos across all your enabled accounts via a new Unity Dash Photo lens (if you turn on the “Show online results” feature, anyway).

And new task management options make it easier to switch between multiple windows; just hover over an icon in the dock and use your scroll wheel to select the folder you need.

What you won’t get this time is Gwibber, which has been removed as the developer is working on its successor. Similarly, Wubi -- the Window dual-boot tool -- has been left out of the release due to “various bugs”, while there’s no longer any option to install the Gnome classic shell.

And some much-anticipated features are also absent. In particular, Smart Scopes, which promised to extend Unity Dash with some very powerful web search capabilities, was reportedly too unstable to make the final cut.

Raring Ringtail is something of a transitional release, then; there are worthwhile improvements here, but nothing revolutionary, and the missing tools and options will annoy some. Still, it’s a step in the right direction, if only a small one, and most Ubuntu users will benefit from the new release.

Google welcomes Office to Chrome

Publié: avril 25, 2013, 9:04pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

Irony can strike in the strangest of places. Just this morning I was discussing Office with my colleague Joe Wilcox, who pointed out an article he had written back in 2010 titled "Microsoft Office is obsolete, or soon will be". I argue the opposite, telling him that students and businesses are nowhere close to abandoning the Microsoft suite.

While I doubt Google is caving to my point of view, the company perhaps helps support it today. Jelte Liebrand, a Google Software Engineer, announces that "if you’re running Chrome Beta on Windows or Mac and install the Chrome Office Viewer (Beta) extension, you’ll be able to click a link to an Office file and open it directly in Chrome".

In fact, in the continued battle between the two tech goliaths, Google used this minor concession as an opportunity to also take a shot at Microsoft and the proliferation of Office viruses that continuously float around the Internet.

"In addition to saving you time, the Chrome Office Viewer also protects you from malware delivered via Office files. Just like with web pages and PDFs, we’ve added a specialized sandbox to impede attackers who use compromised Office files to try to steal private information or monitor your activities", Liebrand writes. Leave it to Google to dig at Microsoft while simultaneously supporting the software.

As previously stated, you will need the latest beta version of the web browser to use this feature. I reiterate my argument -- Office is not going anywhere. Like Windows, it will be around for years to come.

Photo Credit: Thomas Christoph/Shutterstock

'Next chapter of the Lumia story' comes May 14

Publié: avril 25, 2013, 8:22pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

Well, I didn't receive an invite, but based on the many reports from people who did, Nokia will host a new Lumia-outing event May 14 in London. Oh my, that's the day before Google I/O, where rumored new Nexus smartphone(s) arrive (don't believe everything you read on the Internet).

Nokia unveiled flagship phone Lumia 920 in September, and May would be pretty good time to announce a followup. Assuming the typical manufacturing and various country certification (think Federal Communications Commission) delays, a new splashy Lumia would get some breathing room post-launches for HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4, while getting ahead of the next iPhone. During this week's earnings conference call, Apple CEO Tim Cook said not to expect any new products until autumn.

What the geeks all wait for is true PureView, Nokia's exciting camera tech currently available in the now obsolete (because Symbian is) 808. But that's anyone's guess. (Note on the photo, don't expect a car. I grabbed the image for the Nokia name/logo).

While we all wait for "the next chapter of the Lumia story", as the invite states, Nokia is Mr. Busybody with more modest handsets.

Yesterday, the Finnish handset maker unveiled feature phone Asha 210. Today, Nokia announced the Lumia 521 for T-Mobile, which debuts on HSN.com and HSN mobile this weekend for $149.95 (price includes car charger and screen protector). Microsoft and select T-Mobile retailers start selling the smartphone on May 11.

Features include: 1GHz Qualcomm 82270 dual-core processor; 4-inch screen (800 by 400 resolution); 512MB RAM; 8GB storage, expandable to 64GB with microSD card; 5-megapixel rear-facing camera; 720p video recording (30 frames per second); HSPA+; WiFi N/E; GPS; and Windows Phone 8.

Photo Credit: Joe Wilcox

ModernMix 1.05 brings even more Windows 8 fix

Publié: avril 25, 2013, 7:13pm CEST par Nick Peers

Stardock Software has released ModernMix 1.05, the first major update to its paid-for Windows 8 tool for running full-screen apps in their own window within the confines of the Windows 8 desktop.

Version 1.05 adds background sound support for apps such as Netflix that don’t explicitly support it, meaning users don’t need to focus on the window in order to hear that app’s audio output. The new feature is joined by a preference that allows this support to be switched off if it’s not wanted.

Other changes include making it easier to configure individual app behavior via ModernMix’s own configuration screen. Users can now double-click or right-click an app’s entry under App settings to configure its default behaviour, from whether it opens full-screen (a new setting in version 1.05), minimised or windowed to creating a convenient shortcut to the app on the desktop itself.

Version 1.05 now initiates a “force create” action to ensure the desktop shortcut is created, even if the app has never previously been run. Sadly, on our test machine the desktop shortcuts failed to work, launching the ModernMix configuration screen rather than the app itself -- however, apps worked flawlessly using the App shortcuts found on our favoured Start button replacement tool, Classic Shell.

In addition, the App settings page now lists all installed Modern apps, while ModernMix now alerts users when first running the program to the top-right corner overlay, which allows users to switch between full-screen and windowed mode.

Bug fixes for version 1.05 include one that ignored ModernMix’s “Return to the Windows 8 menu” setting when apps were dragged to close them. Another resolution ensures all apps, not those that have been run at least once, are named up correctly in the App settings screen too.

A fix has also been implemented for Netflix playback when the windows is inactive on a secondary display, while the main code has been tweaked to detect if the app launch has been made from the Windows 8 menu or elsewhere to ensure ModernMix correctly implements whatever user-defined options have been set.

ModernMix 1.05 is available now as a free 30-day trial download for PCs running Windows 8 (an email address is required for activating the trial). The full version can be purchased for $4.99.

Google changes search labels following EU investigation

Publié: avril 25, 2013, 5:16pm CEST par Ian Barker

Following an investigation by the European Commission into whether Google unfairly promoted its own services, the search giant has agreed to make some changes to the way results are displayed.

Google will more clearly label search results that link to YouTube, Google Maps and its other sites. The Commission has proposed that these changes run for a month whilst it collects public feedback. The EC will then decide whether to make them legally binding for five years, in which case an independent monitor would be appointed to oversee proper implementation.

The agreement requires Google to clearly separate promoted links from general search results. The company will also need to show links to three rival specialized search providers in a location that’s clearly visible to users.

In addition Google will need to offer websites the ability to opt out of specialized search results -- such as news and shopping -- whilst not affecting their ranking in a general search. This includes the ability to allow newspaper websites to control, on a page-by-page basis, the parts of their content that shows up in Google News searches.

Google will no longer be able to include in its agreements with publishers any obligation that they source online search adverts exclusively from Google. Nor will it be able to restrict advertisers from running a campaign across rival platforms.

Whilst these changes will only apply to Europe, regulators in other countries will no doubt closely monitor the effects and deciding whether to impose similar restrictions of their own.

It's NFL Draft day! You can watch online and on mobile

Publié: avril 25, 2013, 3:14pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

Today is the biggest day of the off-season for NFL fans. We all wait to see who our favorite team selects when the pick rolls around. We wonder if the player will be boon or bust. After all, the Draft is little more than a crap shoot -- ask the San Diego Chargers how that Ryan Leaf kid worked out. On the other hand, there are late round gems to be found -- Terrell Davis was a sixth round pick and Davone Bess went undrafted.

Either way, the whole show, live from Radio City in New York, will go down beginning tonight at 8pm ET and the spectacle can be watched on the NFL Network.

What if you are not near a TV or simply do not get the channel in your subscription package? The league wants you to be able to watch the Draft anyway, and of course, the ads as well.

The show, in its entirety, can be seen live on the NFL Draft website. If you are out and about then you can catch the action on your mobile device via the NFL app, but if you want to actually see the streaming video then you'd better be a Verizon customer because the league has an exclusive deal with the mobile carrier. Alternatively, you can follow the NFL on Twitter to keep up on the happenings.

The Kansas City Chiefs are now on the clock. Will it be Luke Joeckel or Eric Fisher? What will your team do? All of these questions are about to be answered.

Vacation time is approaching -- Gogobot teams up with HomeAway to help you plan your trip

Publié: avril 25, 2013, 3:00pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

The weather is warming up and our thoughts are turning towards vacation time. Where are you heading on that big summer trip? Regardless of the destination you decide on, Gogobot in conjunction with HomeAway can make sure you get the most from your time away with its new social-based guides covering many popular destinations.

Insider Guides is a new social sharing service which allows individual vacation rental owners to create customizable guidebooks for their guests, packed with local tips and recommendations covering favorite restaurants, attractions and activities. The guidebooks combine the property owners’ local expertise with Gogobot’s destination content, photos, reviews and social functionality. The service boasts over 2.5 million contributing members.

This is not Frommer's, but more of a real-world type of guide such as this example for Austin, Texas or this one for Tuscany. The information is incorporated into Gogobot’s overall content.

“At its core, Gogobot is about connecting people with trusted information to help them plan their next trip,” says Gogobot Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Travis Katz.

The new partnership launches today, so now you have a bit more information for planning the big family getaway. Both Gogobot and its newly integrated guides are free to use. The guides can also be synced with Gogobot's iOS and Android apps so you can take them along on the trip as a reference.

Photo credit: Wayne Williams

Pay $180,000 for coffee with Tim Cook or buy a new house?

Publié: avril 25, 2013, 2:35pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

If you don't mind overpaying for a cup of coffee then you must read this story. Charitybuzz lists an auction which gives the highest bidder the opportunity to have coffee with Apple CEO Tim Cook at the fruit-logo company's headquarters in Cuppertino, California. The proceeds of the auction will be donated by the man himself to the RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights.

The only thing that's stopping you from grabbing that cup of coffee with one of the most influential men in tech history is, at least at the moment, a $180,000 bid. Truth be told you have to pay at least $185,000, according to Charitybuzz, in order to outbid the current leader. That's a lot by most people's standards (well, unless you're a billionaire who has a thing for charity). Well at least the terms of the auction are in your favor.

To simply earn $180,000 one would have to work for a whole year, 22 days per month, eight hours per day and make a tad over $85 per hour. That without paying any tax or spending even a cent on living costs.

You still have to pay a processing and handling charge after winning the auction -- that runs for a minimum of $9.95 according to Charitybuzz -- which is kinda amusing considering that the initial estimated winning bid was $50,000. Nonetheless, the auction is valid for two people (and cannot be resold) and you can schedule that coffee meeting with Tim Cook, "at a mutually agreed upon date", up to one year after the auction closes.

Charitybuzz also says: "Travel and accommodations are not included. Winning bidder and guest(s) subject to security screening. We expect all winning bidders and their guests to conduct themselves appropriately when attending an experience won at Charitybuzz. Polite manners and respect for the generous donor and adherence to any rules or parameters are a must".

So asking why Apple is no longer the innovation leader that it once was is out of the question.

Truth be told if I had $180,000 I'd get something else. I'm a big car fan and for the money (if I had it) I could get a brand new Porsche 911 GT3 which costs $130,400, slap on a couple of options and still have some spare change left to pay for running costs. Or I could buy a pretty nice vacation house somewhere sunny. The possibilities are not endless, but with a bit of imagination I'm sure I could get plenty, like each and every device Apple sells right now and still have something left.

But what would you do? If money wasn't really an issue, would you bid or would you buy something else?

What would you ask Tim Cook if you could win the auction?

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‘Child of the 90s’ ad watched 28 million times, but has it changed people’s views on Internet Explorer?

Publié: avril 25, 2013, 2:23pm CEST par Wayne Williams

Microsoft gets a lot of press coverage for its Scroogled campaign, but little of it positive. Fortunately, the software giant has other advertising strategies that people do like, one of the better ones being The Browser You Love to Hate for Internet Explorer 10.

As part of that campaign, Column Five, a creative agency in Newport Beach, California was tasked with coming up with an internet commercial and the result was a nostalgic romp through 1990s that hit 28 million views in just three months and earned it a Webby nomination (voting for that ends today).

To celebrate racking up an impressive number of views in such a short time span, Column Five has posted a behind the scenes look at the creation of its Child of the 90s video which explains the strategy, how it was put into practice, and why it worked.

To sum up, the agency wanted to come up with an ad that was appealing, newsworthy and share-worthy -- which it certainly is.

Explaining how it helped the brand, Column Five says:

If all we cared about was getting content noticed, we would film cats roaming around the office all day and slap a logo at the end of the video. But this wouldn’t help Microsoft -- and our goal is always to be impactful for the brand. With Internet Explorer, we wanted to change how Gen Y felt about the browser. We wanted the video to be a walk down memory lane, to feel conversational and familiar. We wanted the audience to think, "Maybe Internet Explorer can relate to me better than I thought; the new browser could exceed my expectations".

We certainly wanted to drive viewers to the site to rediscover Internet Explorer. But even if they didn’t, by sharing the video, they were sharing the story -- a story inextricably connected to Internet Explorer, a story that might not lead everyone to switch browsers that day, but that would linger and grow in a generation’s mind. That story has been told more than 27 million times to date, and that’s the impact we wanted more than anything: a reframing of IE’s relationship with Gen Y.

Sadly the video has the comments disabled on YouTube. It would have been good to read viewers' nostalgic recollections, but seeing as any online commercial for Microsoft and/or Internet Explorer usually brings out the trolls -- and not the crazy-haired plastic variety featured in the video either -- it’s easy to understand why the IE team made that decision.

I personally have something of a love/hate relationship with nostalgia -- I created Retro Gamer magazine in the UK, but also co-authored The Crap Old Days -- and although I loved the video, it didn’t make me want to try out Internet Explorer (even though, ironically, I ended up doing so anyway).

What did you think of the ad? Did it make you think "Maybe Internet Explorer can relate to me better than I thought; the new browser could exceed my expectations"?

Nokia Chat for Windows Phone available in Beta Labs

Publié: avril 25, 2013, 1:06pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

Today, through its Beta Labs blog, Finnish maker Nokia announces a new experimental app for the Lumia Windows Phone lineup. Available only in a select number of markets, Nokia Chat for Windows Phone is designed to connect Lumia users with "friends who use Lumia, Asha, S40, and Symbian devices, and those using Yahoo! Messenger on other mobile devices and platforms".

Nokia Chat for Windows Phone is available to Lumia users in Australia, Canada, India, Nigeria, South Africa, New Zealand, United Kingdom and United States. The Finnish manufacturer promises to expand availability "to more countries in the near future". So what does Nokia Chat for Windows Phone bring to the table for us Lumia users?

With no official Yahoo! Messenger app available on Windows Phone so far, Nokia Chat for Windows Phone allows users of the still popular instant messaging service to connect by using a Nokia account. The app scans your contact list for Yahoo! Messenger handles and you can also manually add them.

Nokia Chat for Windows Phone supports push notifications, which inform you of incoming messages, live tiles, the ability to share a certain place, such as restaurants or shops, and can also share your location.

For Windows Phone 8 users, the app can also take advantage of voice dictation, voice commands -- example "Chat with Michael Jordan" -- as well as lockscreen notifications. The last feature displays a counter informing you of the number of unread messages.

Nokia Chat for Windows Phone joins other experimental apps designed for Microsoft's smartphone operating system, such as Lumia Storage Check, Nokia Conference, Place Tag and Play To for WP8. I've detailed the four in a previous article dubbed "Empower your Lumia Windows Phone with experimental apps from Nokia Beta Labs".

Nokia Chat for Windows Phone is available to download through Nokia Beta Labs.

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Symantec: Majority of businesses believe BYOD is ‘worth the risks’

Publié: avril 25, 2013, 12:16pm CEST par Wayne Williams

Not every business embraces BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). The reasons for rejecting it are usually down to security concerns -- firms are understandably worried about their data falling into the wrong hands if the device gets lost or stolen once it leaves the building.

Security specialist Symantec surveyed 236 attendees at this year’s Symantec Vision, its annual user and technical conference held at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, to find out how companies were handling BYOD, and despite the small sample size the results were interesting:

59 percent of respondents report that while their employers encourage BYOD, they don’t allow them to run the same productivity apps used on corporate-owned devices.

42 percent of employees use a personally owned mobile device for business, regardless of company policy.

83 percent of organizations still allow employees to use personally owned devices (such as mobile phones) for business use.

While 80 percent of organizations enforce their policies, only 68 percent use technology to do so and 11 percent rely on Human Resources, using an honor system or information supplied by other employees.

The majority of organizations reported at least one security incident within the past 12 months, including:

Lost or stolen devices (60 percent)
Spam (60 percent)
Malware infections (43 percent)
Phishing attacks (40 percent)
Exposure of confidential information (19 percent)

Despite this, Symantec says 70 percent of organizations felt that the benefits of mobility remain "equal to or greater than the risks and challenges associated with having mobile devices".

Photo Credit: olly/Shutterstock

Get started with BitTorrent Sync

Publié: avril 25, 2013, 12:04pm CEST par Nick Peers

One of the big advantages of cloud storage is that most services make it easy to use themselves as a tool for effortless syncing of data between computers. Update a file on one device, and it quickly becomes available to everyone else.

The problem with syncing via the cloud is that you usually have to pay for any meaningful amount of storage space, and that’s before you consider the potential implications of having a copy of your sensitive data stored in the cloud. However tight your cloud provider’s security is, there is always the nagging doubt that your files could be accessed by someone else.

If you love the idea of syncing – particularly when it comes to huge amounts of data – but want to restrict your files and folders to your own hard drives only, then BitTorrent Sync is shaping up to be the perfect choice. Currently in alpha, it makes the task of sharing or syncing data across multiple computers (including Linux-based NAS drives) as simple, fast and secure as it can be.

The service is capable of syncing locally using your own personal network, or utilising the internet to sync data remotely, with the data only in the cloud long enough to travel from A to B (or back again). The major drawback, of course, is that your computers need to be switched on and connected for any syncing to take place -- with the cloud as an intermediary, this isn’t an issue for the likes of SkyDrive or SugarSync.

Getting started is easy: with the client installed, create your first shared folder, making a note of the “secret” 32-character code required to sync with that folder from other devices. This is copied to your other devices, pasted into the BitTorrent Sync client there and then the sync connection is made. It’s also possible to generate read-only codes as well as those that expire after a set period for granting others -- friends, family or colleagues for instance -- limited access to folders.

You can share as many folders as you like, and sync with as many other devices or people as you like too. Make sure you tweak the client’s preferences should your internet connection grind to a halt -- thankfully, like BitTorrent itself, you can put a cap on download and upload transfer speeds.

One immediate weakness with this first public build is the lack of differential sync -- that means if a file is changed on one machine, the entire copy rather than just its changes are synced, which makes the process less efficient than it could be. Nevertheless, BitTorrent hopes to implement differential sync in a future build, which could prove to be the game changer in its favour.

BitTorrent Sync 1.0.116 is available now as a freeware, but alpha, download for Windows, Mac and Linux. We recommend making separate copies of any files or folders you plan to sync with others in case of possible data loss while the program remains in alpha.

Photo Credit: olly/Shutterstock

T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S4 arrives in 'select stores' from May 8

Publié: avril 25, 2013, 12:02pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

Yesterday we informed you that T-Mobile had announced a change of plan concerning its Samsung Galaxy S4 online availability. Due to an "unexpected delay with inventory deliveries", the US mobile operator revealed that the smartphone will be available online starting Monday, April 29, instead of yesterday, April 24, as was previously planned.

Because of the delay in inventory deliveries it looks as if T-Mobile customers will also have to wait a tad longer to actually purchase the Galaxy S4 from the mobile operator's brick and mortar stores.

Today, on its Twitter account, T-Mobile announced that Samsung's Android flagship will be available in "select stores" starting May 8 and in "all stores" from May 15. T-Mobile replied to a question asked by a Twitter user concerning the store availability and the full-price of the Galaxy S4.

For the Galaxy S4, T-Mobile charges $629.99 -- customers can pay $149.99 upfront and the rest in 24 $20 monthly payments -- which is a bit steep compared to what the mobile operator charges for other high-end smartphones like Apple's iPhone 5 or HTC's One. Both the iPhone 5 and the One run for $579.99 at full-price, which is $50 less compared to the Galaxy S4.

Does Microsoft have a developer crisis?

Publié: avril 25, 2013, 7:41am CEST par Robert Johnson

The web is now the next great application development platform. Webkit is by far the most popular development “platform” among the web development community. Many are calling for Microsoft to ditch Trident (the rendering engine in Internet Explorer) and replace it with Webkit. I personally think that would be a huge mistake and apparently Google feels the same way or it wouldn’t be forking Webkit as the basis of its own rendering engine.

Nevertheless, the web development community is uber focused on non-Microsoft technologies for development. This presents a big problem for Microsoft and ability to hold on to its development community. I believe Microsoft can overcome this threat if by making a few key moves.

1. Increase involvement in the open-source web development community. Microsoft is already doing a lot of work in this area. But the company can really begin to change negative impressions by contributing tools to make development easier on projects like SASS and Compass, for example. There are many projects Microsoft contributes to. I merely suggest the company thinks about specific tools to make development faster.

2. Be more aggressive at getting Internet Explorer ahead of the competition in standards compliancy. It’s pretty amazing how at version 10 Internet Explorer still lags the competition. Microsoft needs to move a lot quicker to get the browser to at least match the competition. But matching the competition is not enough. I believe the company needs to move ahead of the competition in supporting key features of HTML5/CSS3. Internet Explorer should become the model of standards-compliant browsers.

3. Make HTML5/JS a first-class programming citizen. I think one of the best moves Microsoft made last year is to allow apps on Windows 8 to be developed using HTML/JS. This is a big deal because Microsoft needs to hold on to as many developers as possible and make it very easy for new developers to transition to its platforms. The ability to use languages that are in widespread use today is a major plus for Microsoft.

4. Write once, deploy everywhere. The ability to write an app one time and deploy it across any platform is the nirvana of app development. We seem to be a long ways off from this. I’d love the ability to write an application in HTML/JS one time and have it automatically adjust itself for the desktop, laptop, tablet, phone and TV screen. Some believe this to be a pipe dream. Perhaps so. However, the closer we can get to it, the better.

Those are my top-four picks for what I think Microsoft can do to hold on its developers. What do you think? Is Microsoft in a crisis with developers or is everything easy peasy and the company has nothing to worry about?

Photo Credit: Piotr Marcinski/Shutterstock

Live! from! Yahoo! it's! Saturday! Night!

Publié: avril 25, 2013, 6:22am CEST par Joe Wilcox

So, is Yahoo trying to become a media company again? It's question to ask as former Googler and current CEO Marissa Mayer snags an exclusive distribution deal for Saturday Night Live. Late last night, Mayer announced the agreement, with Broadway Video, which starts September 1.

"The partnership gives Yahoo users exclusive access to the entire 38-year archive of SNL content as well as clips from the current season", Mayer says. However, current season, which will be 2013-14 when the deal begins, will be "non-exclusive".

Mayer is Yahoo's eighth CEO, and she bears the burden of trying to reinvent one of the oldest and iconic dot-coms. During the Noughties, Terry Semel turned the Internet services giant into a media company, direction a string of successors tried to change. Carol Bartz, who was unceremoniously fired by phone in September 2009, took a hatchet to Yahoo, cutting services, pulling back media emphasis and creating an identity crisis inside and outside the company. Despite Bartz's heavy hand, Yahoo's brand remained surprisingly resilient, though tarnished.

Mayer stepped into the executive office in July 2012. Google employee #20 promised to be the CEO who would when so many others couldn't. In her short time at the helm, Yahoo is more focused, its brand reviving and the stock price rising. Since August 31 through market close yesterday, Yahoo's share price is up 69 percent.

Yahoo is on a buying spree, this year acquiring Alike, Snip.it and Summly. In December, photo-sharing site Flickr, which had long languished, got a major makeover.

T-Mobile USA struts out HTC One

Publié: avril 24, 2013, 10:34pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

HTC One gets no respect, and that's not right. We've written stories up the river and down to the sea about Samsung Galaxy S4, and little about its rival. My colleague Mihaita Bamburic posts about the smartphone's arrival on T-Mobile USA next week, for example. But HTC One is available there today. We shouldn't mention the one and ignore the other.

HTC One is available in Glacial Silver color for $99.99 upfront, plus 24 $20 monthly payments, or $579.99 outright. For a limited time, buyers get a free car dock with their purchase. AT&T's upfront price is $199.99, or $599.99 outright. Sprint charges the same upfront, or $99.99 for those bringing a number from another carrier. Otherwise: $549.99.

Last month, T-Mobile switched to no-contract plans where buyers pay full price for phones rather than subsidized and locked, with 2-year commitment and hefty data fees. The carrier passes savings to customers in cost for data plans and charges less upfront. I cut my family's monthly bill by nearly a third switching from AT&T.

HTC One's big competitor is the S4. They're both mighty Androids with 1080p screens. T-Mobile sells the 32GB phone, while AT&T also offers the 64GB model.

HTC One specs: 4.7-inch Super LCD3 display with 1920 x 1080 resolution and 468 pixels per inch; 1.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 quad-core processor; 2GB RAM; 32GB storage; 4-megapixel front-facing and 2.1MP rear-facing cameras; 1080p video recording; 4G: LTE; HSPA+ 42Mbps; WiFi N; GPS + GLONASS; Bluetooth 4; NFC; 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.

Galaxy S4: 5-inch Super AMOLED with 1920 x 1080 resolution and 441 pixels per inch; 1.9GHz quad-core; 2GB of RAM; 16GB storage (expandable up to 64GB with microSD card); 13MP auto-focus rear-facing and 2MP front-facing cameras; 1080p video recording; 4G: LTE HSPA＋ 42Mbps (850/900/1900/2100 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.

The One comes with a slightly higher pixel density and twice the storage as the S4, which storage can be increased with microSD card and battery swapped. Aesthetically, I prefer HTC's phone. What would matter to me, and might not to you, are the cameras. Samsung packs in 13 megapixels to HTC's 4MP. But don't be fooled. Sensor and intelligent software and controls matter more. I expect the One to be the better shooter, but the S4 to offer cooler tricks (like removing your spouse's mother from the photo).

Other features include HD Voice, which T-Mobile also offers for iPhone 5. BlinkFeed is HTC's feature for consolidating social feeds -- get them all on one screen. There are also front-facing speakers.

I'll probably haul down to my local T-Mobile store today for a looksee. And you?

Alert the kids! Ice Age arrives on Windows Phone 8

Publié: avril 24, 2013, 10:01pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

I find that having children is an excellent excuse for watching movies like Ice Age, Up, Cars and more. After all, I would feel a bit silly watching those flicks on my own, as I do with scary movies like Paranormal Activity, thanks to a wife and kids who would not sleep for a week if they joined me in front of the screen.

Now Ice Age, and all of its classic characters, like Sid, Manny, Ellie, and Diego, are coming to your phone -- providing that you are using a Windows Phone 8 handset.

Today Microsoft's Michael Stroh announces that Ice Age Village is arriving on the mobile platform. The game focuses on the characters attempt to build a new village for their friends. "Multiplayer options, side missions, and mini-games featuring Scrat, the nutter saber-toothed squirrel, keep things interesting" says Stroh.

If you are installing this for your kids (okay to admit it is for you) then you will need to be aware that the game allows for multi-player mode and is not subject to Xbox Live parental settings. With that said, the game is free from the Windows Phone Store. Install it. We will believe the game is for your kids who just happen to love sabertooth squirrels.

Microsoft can't wait until E3 to show off the next Xbox

Publié: avril 24, 2013, 8:20pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

During the Consumer Electronics Show in January, Microsoft set up a countdown clock to the E3 game show in Los Angeles. Major Nelson (aka Larry Hryb) posted the timer, and, being Mr. Xbox, led to lots of speculation that's when the next-gen console would be announced. Apparently not.

Today, the software giant invites you, me and everyone else to a special shindig on May 21. Select press get invites (I'm not among them) for onsite, while the rest of us can watch online or, in the United States, Spike TV. "On that day, we’ll share our vision for Xbox, and give you a real taste of the future", Hryb says.

"Then, 19-days later at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, we’ll continue the conversation and showcase our full lineup of blockbuster games", he continues.

Microsoft promotes hashtag #XboxReveal, which already is busy churning Twitter tweats.

My question: What do you expect from the next Xbox, and what would you like from it?

What is Bing's China problem?

Publié: avril 24, 2013, 7:43pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

A few weeks ago, while doing a bit of research for a story, I had occasion to visit the Bing search page. More importantly to this article, it was the Chinese version of Bing. Over the following days I forgot about this brief foray into Asia, but my web browser remembered.

When I return to Bing several days later I am defaulted to the China site -- it still says I am on www.bing.com, but all information is displayed in Chinese characters, which Chrome helpfully translates on the fly. I close the tab, re-open and try again with the same results. I close Chrome and try again -- still nothing.

After a few days (I do not use Bing often, though I do like it) I recall my trip to Bing.cn. I then check the cookies in my browser and find the site has set several of them -- c.bing.com, Bing.com.cn and dict.bing.com.cn. Interesting. I delete all of them and Bing returns to normal. Then, perhaps because I am both adventurous and stupid, I recreate the steps and the same results occur. I try both Firefox and Internet Explorer and again the same thing.

More interesting to this sordid little tale is that search results using Bing.cn are only somewhat different. I say "interesting" because I expected "somewhat" to actually be "radically". I delete the Firefox cookies and begin comparing the same terms side-by-side. For instance, a search for Tianenman Square on Bing.cn results in two travel sites being ranked at the top, with a Wikipedia article about the protests at number three. Bing.com ranks the Wikipedia story at the top of the page.

Other searches also result in similar outcomes, with rankings in different orders -- Dalai Lama, Nepal (which completely strips out a U.S. Department of State travel advisory), Democracy and Freedom. The latter results in a Baidu article that begins "Freedom which is the name of Akon's latest solo album" at the top, versus a link to a web site offering debt consolidation (Bing fails in both cases on this).

I also check "safe search" settings. The short story of which is that it does not exist. Or, more to the point, it does and it cannot be turned off. I find only the following message (translated):

"This setting will filter out adult content. If you are viewing adult material, please let us know so that we can in the future to filter out. For more information about your country / region safe search requirements".

The results, while re-ordered and somewhat stripped down, are not as devoid of real information as I had expected. Perhaps this is due to my actual location, which is not going through a filter -- well, maybe but that is another story.

If setting these cookies is the price of doing business behind the Great Firewall then I could give Microsoft's search engine a pass, but a visit to Google.cn does not result in this settings change. This leaves me to wonder why the Redmond, Wash.-based company feels the need to track this information and, more importantly, what it is doing with those databases. Support for Chinese censorship?

Windows tablets make big share gains

Publié: avril 24, 2013, 7:24pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

Back in December, I explained: "Surface RT sales are quite good, you just don't know about it". The Internet Idiocracy called the tablet a failure, while based on sales per store I saw success. Surface Pro shipped the following month. Now there are real numbers, and they're quite good -- for all Windows tablets -- validating touch-focused Modern UI.

During first quarter, Windows captured 7.5 percent global branded tablet market share, according to Strategy Analytics. That's up from zero a year earlier. Unit shipments: 3 million. Right now, Microsoft is the major seller of branded Windows tablets. Granted there are others, like Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP and Samsung.

Actually, Strategy Analytics notes that limited distribution, apps selection and market confusion -- not Android or iOS competition -- hold back Windows tablets. If Microsoft and partners get their ducks in a row, the tablet market could look dramatically different in a year. The point: The software giant may prove to be right after all; many buyers want to run a real operating system, one proven to handle the tasks of robust applications, rather than one migrated up from smartphones.

In February, Microsoft extended Surface RT distribution to more than a dozen new countries and yesterday announced Pro expansion, too. That's sign of changing times.

The ecosystem around Windows 8, and RT, is far from mature, which is the barrier to bigger sales success. There, despite all the controversy about Modern UI, Microsoft made the right choice -- that is if Windows tablet share gains continue.

"We built Windows 8 with touch and mobility at the center of the experience, which positions us well in this new era", Microsoft CFO Peter Klein tells financial analysts last week. "However, the transition is complicated, given the size of our hardware and software ecosystem. We still have an immense amount of work to do, yet we feel good about the foundation we have laid and are optimistic about the long term success of Windows".

Something else: Windows 8/RT will come to smaller devices this year, which, according to NPD DisplaySearch is where the tablet market is headed. Microsoft is "working closely with OEMs on a new suite of small touch devices powered by Windows. These devices will have competitive price points, partly enabled by our latest OEM offerings designed specifically for these smaller devices, and will be available in the coming months", Klein says.

Strategy Analytics data shows there is demand for Windows tablets and validates Microsoft's emphasis on touch. Klein is right: "Consumers and businesses are increasingly shifting their focus to touch and mobility". I love Surface Pro, which experience is so good, I came to really like Windows again.

As Microsoft ramps up Surface distribution and partners bring more touch-Windows devices to market, greater share gains are attainable. How much depends on other factors. My expectation is with autumn release of Windows 8.1 nearly certain, Microsoft and partners will invade the market with many touch devices for Christmas.

Global Tablet Operating System Shipments and Market Share


Global Branded Tablet OS Shipments (Millions of Units)	Q1 '12	Q1 '13
Apple iOS	11.8	19.5
Android	6.4	17.6
Windows	0.0	3.0
Others	0.5	0.4
Total	18.7	40.6

Global Branded Tablet OS Marketshare %	Q1 '12	Q1 '13
Apple iOS	63.1%	48.2%
Android	34.2%	43.4%
Windows	0.0%	7.5%
Others	2.7%	1.0%
Total	100%	100%

Growth Year-over-Year %	146%	117%

Challenges are ahead. During first quarter, iPad captured 48.2 percent tablet market share, according to Strategy Analytics, while Androids took 43.4 percent. However, when including unbranded, white-box devices, Android tablets lead with 52 percent share to iPad's 41 percent. Windows slates face an uphill road, and yet seen another way downhill.

The discreet tablet market isn't the only measure of success. Most analysts agree that tablets are a major reason for about 10 quarters of PC shipment declines, with Q1 being the worst since IDC started tabulating numbers in 1994. Given that the majority of PCs sold or in-market run Windows and the majority of tablets do not, Android and iOS gains take away from Microsoft's platform. So the measure of that 7.5 percent market share, and any gains to follow, is an iceberg. The number is bigger than it appears. Sales below the surface represent people going from Windows to Windows rather than Windows to something else.

Photo Credit: Joe Wilcox

BurnAware 6.2 gives more control of what's backed up when

Publié: avril 24, 2013, 4:09pm CEST par Nick Peers

Burnaware Technologies has released BurnAware 6.2 Free and BurnAware 6.2 Premium, the latest builds of its free and paid-for disc burning products for Windows.

BurnAware 6.2 adds two new features to its roster: the first allows users to set individual priorities for any file or folder in the Compilation window -- simply right-click the item in question and select Properties. The default setting is Very Low, but can be cranked incrementally all the way up to Very High via the Priority dropdown menu.

The second new feature is the inclusion of a new dual-paned file manager into the main window, simplifying the task of browsing for and adding new content to the disc compilation.

Improvements include non-specified enhancements to the burning and copying process -- presumably linked in with the new priority setting. By default, the original date and time of files is preserved during the import process too -- users can change this setting to the compilation date or a custom file date via the Dates tab of the File > Options screen.

The method for adding and processing data has been modified, again with no specific details provided, while “Browse for Folder” dialog boxes have also been updated along with tweaks to the user interface and language translations.

A number of specific bugs have been fixed with this release too: the program should no longer lock while erasing rewritable discs, and compatibility issues with emulation software including Daemon Tools have also been resolved. The sector size of ISO files should also be correctly detected from version 6.2, and fixes for the incorrect timestamp of UDF compilation directories and problems detecting the source drive while direct copying have also been implemented.

BurnAware 6.2 Free is a freeware download for PCs running Windows XP or later. It supports disc burning, image creation and burning plus disc copying to images. Users wanting direct disc-to-disc copying, audio track extraction and file recovery capabilities should look at BurnAware 6.2 Premiuminstead, which costs $29.95. Also available is BurnAware 6.2 Professional, which costs $39.95 and also offers multi-burn support from ISO images.

Photo Credit: Anneka/Shutterstock

Switching from Google to Microsoft, part 4 -- In with the Bing

Publié: avril 24, 2013, 3:45pm CEST par Wayne Williams

Fourth in a series. Before I switched to using Bing full time my view of Microsoft’s search service was that it was a slightly less reliable alternative to Google, but with some smart touches. I’ve been using it for over a month now and -- spoiler alert -- I actually really like it. Although it’s far from perfect.

As a Brit I do have a gripe with Bing though, and that’s it presents me with two choices. I can set my country to UK and get results that relate more to my life, or I can set it to the United States and get an all-round better search experience. Seriously, what’s THAT all about, Bing?

To give you some examples -- the American version of Bing has a rewards program. Join up, perform some searches and you can win an Xbox 360 prize pack. UK users have no such incentive. US searchers can connect Facebook to "tap into the wisdom of friends and experts across major social networks like Facebook, Twitter, foursquare, Quora, Klout, Google+ and more". UK users? Nope.

The Popular Now bar at the bottom of the screen on the US version has a variety of stories with images. The UK version -- three or four plain text links. Although we do also get a link relating to the image of the day, and a link about something to do with Britain. So yesterday, on St George’s Day (the Patron Saint of England) there was a link about him. While Google UK had a St George’s Day doodle, Bing’s image was a cool interactive shot of Antelope Canyon, Arizona.

There are other benefits to using the US version of the site too -- the US results page is full of images, useful information and links on the right. The UK version just shows text ads and related searches. So for most of my time on Bing I’ve had my country set to the United States. Although, here’s an interesting thing -- the number of results you get varies wildly depending on which country you’re set to. Run a search for "Google" for example, and Bing US claims around 75,800,000 results. Bing UK 2,110,000,000, or 1,650,000,000 if you choose English Only as the language. Very strange. I didn’t check all the results to find the reason for the difference.

When I perform a search on Google it’s usually through my browser’s search box. I only go to Google itself when there’s a doodle worth seeing (like the cool St George’s Day one). I’ve been using Bing in the same way, but I’ve been going to the home page a lot more -- partly to see the photo of the day (I’m a sucker for a great image, some of which can be downloaded and used as wallpaper) and partly to see what’s popular now. It also gives me quick access to previous searches I've performed (you can turn this off if you don't want your searches logged).

For the most part, in my day to day use, I no longer even think about the fact I’m searching with Bing, not Google. The results pages look similar, and the results are as you’d expect them to be. Occasionally Bing’s top result will be a slightly odd choice (it’s almost as if the site does this to check if you’re paying attention), but all the results you’re likely to need will appear on the front page, so the "correct" top choice (which Google pretty much always nails) is never far away.

In comparing Bing’s results with Google I’ve found the two sites often deliver the same results, just in a slightly different order. Bing has some great touches I really like. Search for an artist, like "will.i.am" for example, and Bing will provide quick links to his Twitter account and Facebook page and Klout score. You can also listen to his songs via the MySpace player.

A feature I use all the time on Google is the ability to sort results by time -- any time, past hour, past 24 hours, past week, past month, past year or custom range. Bing added a similar feature last month that lets you order results by past 24 hours, past week or past month. Needless to say this is only available on the US site (the UK site lets you sort the results by language or region).

Beyond Search

As for Bing’s other sections -- Images is, for the most part, very good and offers a selection of choices to filter your search as well as a strip showing related topics. However, if you search for something less well known, such as Zombies Run Google’s results are far more accurate, and show a much deeper understanding of what you are likely to be searching for. Some of the connections Google makes are scarily well chosen. Some of the images Bing presents you with seem almost selected at random. Although, that said, sometimes Bing will come up with excellent images that Google doesn’t find. And if you’re a Pinterest user, Bing lets you pin images you find directly from the photo detail’s page.

Video search is good, and you can sort results by length, resolution and source. Bing Maps is decent, but can’t quite compete with Google Maps. Its Streetside feature -- while good -- only covers a fraction of the places Street View does. Bing News (US) is on a par with Google News (naturally the UK version of Bing News is not as good) and other Bing services, like Shopping and Translator will suit most people’s needs perfectly. As you’d expect, the US site offers lots more additional elements -- like Weather, Events, and Friends’ Photos.

Summing Up

So what’s my overall view of Bing? If you live in the US, it’s a very, very good search engine and you could easily use it as your primary choice for most things. If you live outside of the US, as I do, it’s sadly not as good and means compromising on your location.

Is it better than Google? No. Is it as good as Google? No -- at least not when it comes to results. It does, however, do a lot of things as well, and it does do some things better. The gap between Bing and Google has definitely closed since I last used it, and because Microsoft isn’t trying to force users to a specific social portal (as Google is with Google+) the integration with services that most people use -- such as Twitter, and Facebook, gives Bing an edge I like.

Would I recommend you switch to Bing? It depends on where you live and what you want from a search engine really. If it’s just straightforward, bang on the money results, stick with Google. If you don’t mind occasionally having to hunt a little harder, you use Windows 8 (optional) and appreciate deep integration with all the popular social networks, Bing could well be for you.

Nokia unveils the inexpensive Asha 210

Publié: avril 24, 2013, 3:31pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

If you were expecting Nokia to unveil a mighty new smartphone today then you will certainly be disappointed. Two days after the company released a teaser which showcased bits of a new device, the Finnish maker simply unveiled another phone in its Asha series, dubbed Asha 210.

The highlights of the Asha 210 include a QWERTY keyboard, a 2 MP back-facing camera with a dedicated physical button, WhatsApp button, support for Facebook, Twitter and email accounts, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, as well as support for dual-SIM in one of its two variants.

"The Nokia Asha 210 really stands out giving super-social consumers new ways to express their personalities through design, colour and innovations like the world's first WhatsApp button", says Nokia's Timo Toikkanen. "It has been designed to allow people to easily update their social networks, stay in touch with friends and share user created content".

"We are focused on delivering the best WhatsApp experience to as many people as possible", says WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton. "We are very excited about our partnership with Nokia Asha complementing our strategy of giving people around the world an easy experience when keeping in touch with their friends".

The device also comes with Nokia's Xpress Browser which is designed to reduce cellular data usage by optimizing the content's size on a website. Nokia says that the Asha 210 offers up to 46 days of standby in the single-SIM model and up to 24 days of standby in the dual-SIM model.

Nokia says that the Asha 210 is "designed to offer consumers more social experiences at an affordable price". The company estimates that the handset will be available for roughly $72, once it ships in Q2 2013. Available color choices include black, cyan, magenta, white and yellow.

Forget QWERTY it's time for KALQ

Publié: avril 24, 2013, 2:38pm CEST par Ian Barker

Typing on touchscreen devices is very different from using a conventional keyboard and the traditional layout doesn’t help much. Researchers at the University of St Andrews, the Max Planck Institute for Informatics and Montana Tech have come up with a new layout that claims to allow tablet users to thumb type 34 percent faster.

Named KALQ after the order that the characters appear, it's been developed to provide optimal character positions when typing on a tablet. By spreading the characters used in commonly typed words such as "on", "see", "you" and "read" which on a QWERTY keyboard would all need to be typed with one thumb, KALQ speeds up typing and minimizes strain.

Dr. Antti Oulasvirta, Senior Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics in Germany, says:

The key to optimizing a keyboard for two thumbs is to minimize long typing sequences that only involve a single thumb. It is also important to place frequently used letter keys centrally close to each other.

Experienced typists move their thumbs simultaneously: while one thumb is selecting a particular key, the other thumb is approaching its next target. From these insights we derived a predictive behavioral model we could use to optimize the keyboard.

KALQ also has built in error correction that takes into account thumb movements and a statistical analysis of the text being typed. This enables uses to reach a speed of 37 words per minute as opposed to 20 on a QWERTY layout.

The researchers will present their work at the CHI 2013 conference in Paris on 1st May and KALQ will be available as a free download for Android-based devices.

Popular keyboard Swype lands on Google Play

Publié: avril 24, 2013, 1:17pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

Swype is one of the most appealing and competent third-party keyboards that you can get on Android today, touting more than 250 million users worldwide. The app practically made swipe input popular, a feature which has since been adopted by SwiftKey and even the green droid itself in the second Jelly Bean iteration.

And today, citing user demand, Nuance Communications -- the company behind the third-party keyboard -- brought Swype to Google Play. The app is available for practically any device running Android 2.2 Froyo and higher and comes in at 15 MB.

Swype is available both in free -- trial version -- as well as paid trim. Users must purchase the app -- which runs for $0.99 or the equivalent in other currencies -- in order to use Swype after the 30-day trial period runs out. So what do you get?

Swype input is just one of Swype's many attractive traits. The third-party keyboard sports "crowd-sources" and delivers updates for the dictionaries containing "the latest trending words". That should make you a hip fella on social networks. There's even support for "an additional dialect supplement for your preferred language".

Next word predictions shouldn't really come as a surprise in this day and age. But, based on typing patterns, Swype tries to learn how you write and guess what you might want to type next. The third-party keyboard can "predict words in commonly used long phrases like 'Best of the Best', 'Nail on the head', 'Girl with the Dragon Tattoo', and 'Dancing with the Stars'".

Users can upload their dictionaries onto the cloud in order to take advantage of the accumulated data across all of their devices or simply perform a backup. Swype also comes with a voice-dictation feature and a "smart editor" which "analyzes an entire sentence, flagging potential errors for a quick fix, and includes suggestions for the most likely alternatives".

Other features such as themes and support for both tablet and smartphone keyboard formats are also available. At the moment, Swype supports 60 languages and 20 dialects.

Swype is available to download from Google Play.

Samsung Galaxy S4 available at T-Mobile next week

Publié: avril 24, 2013, 12:59pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

If you are a T-Mobile customer waiting to receive the Samsung Galaxy S4 then we have some bad news for you. The US mobile operator has announced that the smartphone's availability is delayed until next week.

The Galaxy S4 was supposed to be available starting today, April 24, on T-Mobile's website. However, according to the carrier, due to "unexpected delay with inventory deliveries" the smartphone's official sales date is now pushed to next week. "Online availability is expected to begin on Monday, April 29", says T-Mobile.

Trying to reassure impatient customers that Monday will likely be the big day, T-Mobile says: "We apologize for any inconvenience and are working with Samsung to deliver the device to T-Mobile customers as soon as possible".

The statement, however, indicates that the Galaxy S4 might not be available even on Monday. Hopefully if you have ordered the smartphone you will receive it as soon as possible. We will keep you updated on the progress.

Photo Commander 11 adds auto backups, 3D support, new effects

Publié: avril 24, 2013, 12:52pm CEST par Mike Williams

Ashampoo has announced the release of Photo Commander 11, its all-in-one tool for organizing, editing and sharing digital images.

New features this time start with the program’s automatic backups. Images are preserved as you work, and with a click you can restore a previous copy, or return to the original file.

Elsewhere, a new Effect Centre gives easy access to effects, with real-time previews. There are many new effects on offer, including a Tilt-Shift, Motion Blur, Zoom Blur, Glass and Video. And an Effect Pen enables you to "draw" any effect directly into the image, for the maximum possible control.

Improved compatibility means new support for Adobe XMP metadata, more RAW files and 3D (MPO and JPS formats). The ability to display 3D images as animations helps you to view them on 2D displays, while a new wizard converts 3D images to regular 2D.

Of course there’s the usual range of small interface improvements, performance optimizations and other tweaks you’d expect from an upgrade.

And this builds on what was already a very large feature set, including a very configurable browser; a host of image editing, repair and annotation tools; and the ability to share your pictures by creating slideshows, web albums, calendars, greetings cards and more, or just uploading them directly to Facebook, Picasa or YouTube.

If there’s an issue with all of this, it comes in trying to get started: there are so many features to explore that it can take a while to find your way around. But persevere and you’ll find Ashampoo Photo Commander 11 is an excellent graphics tool with the power to handle all your photo workflow needs.

It will set you back $49.99 (Windows).

At last! BBC iPlayer Radio app finally available on Android

Publié: avril 24, 2013, 12:38pm CEST par Wayne Williams

The BBC tends to favor iOS when it comes to mobile apps. The broadcaster isn’t ignoring Android, it just takes a while to roll out apps for Google’s mobile operating system, and often those apps, when they do arrive, aren’t as slick or don’t have all the features found in the iOS versions.

Case in point -- the Beeb debuted the iPlayer Radio app for iOS seven months ago, but it’s taken until now for the Android version to appear on Google Play (it will also be available on Amazon’s app store "very soon").

If you’re not familiar with the app, it lets UK users tune into BBC radio stations live and catch up on radio broadcasts from the past seven days. It works over both Wi-Fi and mobile networks.

So finally, Android owners get to enjoy iPlayer Radio. As long as they don’t have a Samsung Galaxy S III that is, because according to the BBC:

Some Samsung Galaxy S III users may find that audio playback does not work for them for live or on-demand programmes. This is due to a problem with a specific recent firmware version for this device. Devices purchased independently of your network operator should not be impacted. A firmware fix has been deployed by Samsung but may take some time to be rolled out across all networks. Podcast and video playback should not be affected.

Oh, and of course because the BBC only had an additional seven months to work on the Android app, on-demand and catch-up from local and regional stations is "not yet available".

The Android app does offer some improvements over the iOS version however. James Simcock, executive producer for mobile in BBC Radio, explains:

On iOS some content is tucked beneath the ‘currently-playing content’ area on the screen, revealed by swiping upwards to show a ‘carousel’. However, on Android simply swiping horizontally will take you through all the content from the currently selected station.

Other differences between the Android and iOS versions of the app include the use of the notifications panel which appears at the top of the screen when you are elsewhere on your phone, making it easy to get back to the app.

There is also an alarm clock which works regardless of whether the app is active. Sharing programmes and tracks is also more ‘open’, using the extensive sharing functions of the Android platform to make programme URLs or artist and track names available to any application you have installed which can make use of such links.

Having tried it out myself, I can confirm the app is really good, very slick with a stylish radio tuner dial, and I’ve found the quality of the sound to be excellent so far. If you live in the UK, have an Android phone, and love music, you should download the app now.

Why less is more in the Windows 8 Modern UI

Publié: avril 24, 2013, 11:56am CEST par Ian Barker

My Why I love Windows 8 piece last week generated a lot of comments and a good balance of pro and anti opinion. Thanks for taking the time to air your views. I received one particular comment concerning choice and that got me thinking that it was a subject which deserved a closer look.

In the past Windows has imposed relatively few restrictions on its users. You want to launch a program? You can click the desktop icon, select it from the start menu, select an icon from the task bar, use a gadget or track down the folder where it's stored and run it from there. You can even call up a command line if you want. It's your choice. As is installing a third-party menu system or an Apple-style widget bar, the permutations are endless.

The same goes for developers too. If you're building a program you can make it look how you want. You don't have to use the ribbon toolbar format, there’s no restriction on the size, shape or position of the buttons, the menu items don’t have to be in a particular order.

Contrast this with other systems. Visit the developer site for Apple, or even for Android, and you'll find there’s a whole raft of guidelines and recommendations all aimed at giving a consistent look and feel to programs and apps.

Which brings us back to Windows 8. With the launch of the much discussed Modern UI we have for the first time in Windows an interface that requires developers to conform to a strict template. It also requires users to launch and control all their apps in the same way.

Is this a good thing? Windows has always been about choice whereas other systems have imposed their developer's vision more forcefully on the user. But if you give people too much choice don’t they just get confused? Isn't it better to always have context menus and navigation controls in the same places? To have a one-stop location on the charms bar for settings and searches across all apps?

If all programs are launched from the same place and can be navigated in broadly the same way then you have a huge step towards making a more user-friendly system. Ask yourself this, if you'd never seen Windows before wouldn't the Modern UI approach seem much more logical than the old five ways to achieve the same end model?

The problem of course is that people have seen and used and adapted to older versions of Windows and are resistant to change. As a result there's been a lot of heated debate about the Modern UI way of doing things. This isn't helped by the fact that the desktop has changed little and is still lurking just a click away allowing people to slip back into a comfort zone.

Microsoft has made a bold move with Windows 8. It has provided an opportunity to re-evaluate how all Windows programs look and work. If that leads to improved usability at the expense of stricter development standards then in the long run it must be a good thing. It would be a shame if having come this far Microsoft were now to listen to the shrill voices and take a step back from the Modern UI approach.

Photo Credit: Thomas Pajot/Shutterstock

CW comes to Xbox, no cable subscription required

Publié: avril 24, 2013, 1:38am CEST par Alan Buckingham

If TV shows and Xbox are your things, today is your lucky day. Xbox Live has been busy adding content to its Gold offering in an effort to beef up its entertainment features and bring in the non-gaming audience by positioning the console as a living room entertainment hub.

Today, Xbox Live chief Larry Hryb announces that the latest outlet to come on board is the CW network. This is also a unique offering in that, unlike channels such as HBO and ESPN, the CW will not require customers to verify a paid TV service subscription from a cable or satellite provider. The new app will offer shows ranging from "full episodes to previews and interviews, and is unique in that it will offer next-day episodes free with your Xbox LIVE Gold subscription" according to Hryb.

The new CW offering also utilizes Xbox Smartglass for some of its most popular content, such as The Vampire Diaries. "As viewers tune into The CW app on Xbox this Friday for the latest episode titled 'The Originals', they can access an exclusive Xbox SmartGlass experience that will provide exciting new content via their smartphone or tablet not available to any other viewers" Hryb explains.

Microsoft also plans a giveaway that will be conducted via Facebook and feature custom "Vampire Diaries" and "Supernatural" Xbox 360 consoles. Details of how to enter were not included in the announcement.

Like other Xbox entertainment options, CW does require a Gold subscription, but with no paid TV subscription required, this offering seems geared towards cord-cutters, and with HBO contemplating a similar offering for its GO service, this could spell trouble for the providers. That is really the most intriguing part of this latest offering.

Photo Credit: Major Nelson

Taxing Internet sales is the right thing to do

Publié: avril 24, 2013, 1:29am CEST par J Marra

The fight to keep brick and mortar commerce subsidizing e-commerce is in a crucial stage today.

You never heard of that fight? It also goes under the guise of fighting "Internet sales taxes". A bill (the "Marketplace Fairness Act") is moving along in the Senate that requires merchants with $1 million or more in revenue to collect any sales taxes due in the state of the buyer.

The buyer is already responsible for such taxes, called "use taxes" when paid by the buyer. Real businesses actually pay these taxes, but only a small proportion of consumers, sometimes known as "suckers", pay them. It's rare for anyone to get in trouble (although I did once in 1986).

I am, by inclination, a small-government type, a quasi-libertarian. A new way to tax people for engaging in commerce is not what I'm usually looking for. That's not the issue here: sales taxes are applied at stores with physical presence in the state but not those selling remotely. This is inherently unfair to the brick-and-mortar businesses. I'm probably all for cutting sales tax rates to "starve the beast" but I'm not for taxing commerce sold one way and not the other.

Would online sales taxes help or hurt small business? Some would be helped, some would be hurt. Small businesses operating in the venue of big businesses like eBay would be hurt because the auctioneer clearly does more than $1 million in revenue. For this reason, eBay has started a "spam your congressman" campaign to oppose the legislation. Amazon.com, on the other hand, actually supports the new law. Amazon and its local affiliates have been the target of states for not collecting such taxes from out-of-state customers and perhaps company execs think that they're well-positioned to benefit from an environment where everyone has to collect them.

The main complaint about such taxes used to be based on the legal reason why, back before e-commerce, courts found that out-of-state merchants were not obligated to collect them: It was too great a burden. There's no credible case left for the substantial burden argument. Software and Internet services are very capable of determining sales taxes owed based on an address.

Now the complaint is the burden to small business. Well, if you're doing your own e-commerce collections and have under $1 million in revenue it's not a problem for you. The $1 million ceiling for the exemption is likely to create some perverse incentives for companies near that number, perhaps to split into multiple businesses so as to stay under the limit. Personally, I wouldn't even support the limit. Everyone who does e-commerce above the level of emailing "send me a check and I'll mail it you" uses outside services which are, or should be, perfectly capable of collecting such revenues.

I've seen some really lame complaints about this: "Local businesses use the local services that the taxes pay for; a business out of state doesn't". True, but sales taxes are consumption taxes. The buyer pays, not the merchant. That's why the buyer has to come up with the money. And the buyer is in the state where the taxes are due.

Lame complaint #2: "Internet buyers are already paying for shipping, why should they also have to pay taxes?" They should pay for shipping because they are getting the item shipped. Taxes have nothing to do with this. And there are lots of circumstances, more and more lately, where shipping costs are not directly charged. I'm an Amazon Prime customer and one of the things I get is 2-day shipping included on most of the items I buy.

I would respect the arguments of businesses and Republicans organizing against sales taxes for remote Internet sales if they showed some concern for the injustice that the system creates for local businesses. Is there a better solution? I'm willing to listen.

Photo Credit: 3Dstock/Shutterstock

Audible offers free book to Windows 8, Windows Phone users

Publié: avril 24, 2013, 1:01am CEST par Alan Buckingham

Audible, a leading choice in the audio book market and a company that was purchased by Amazon back in 2008, is now working with Microsoft to drum up new business for both entities with offers to both the PC and mobile platform. The Amazon subsidiary has long offered free book deals in a number of forms, including the many podcasts sponsored with its advertising.

Today Microsoft announces that customers of both Windows 8 and Windows Phone can grab a free audio book with no subscription or credit card required. "Audible has apps for Windows 8 and Windows Phone that let you download and listen to books on the go. With over 135,000 titles from classics to New York Times bestsellers, you can enjoy endless hours of entertainment" says Microsoft's Kristina Libby.

Of course, there is a catch -- there always is. In this case it is not a huge one, but important none-the-less. The fact is, you only have three books to choose from.

The Power Trip by Jackie Collins.
American Sniper by Chris Kyle or the classic by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
The Great Gatsby, narrated by Jake Gyllenhaal.

The offer is also only good for a limited time, and while promotional supplies last, though I am unsure how digital supplies run out. I suppose Microsoft has struck a deal to cover the cost of a certain number of books. However, if you are interested in any of the titles, then this is the time to act.

Photo Credit: Mmaxer/Shutterstock

Apple Q2 2013 by the numbers: $43.6B revenue, $10.06 EPS

Publié: avril 23, 2013, 10:40pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

Today's closing bell brings answer to a question oft-asked over the past two weeks: "Will Apple profits fall for the first time in about a decade?" Not since 2003, when the fruit-logo company recovered from economic woes that sapped global PC shipments everywhere, has profit receded. Now we know.

For fiscal Q2, Apple reported $43.6 billion revenue and net profits of $9.5 billion, or $10.06 a share. Gross margin: 37.5 percent. A year earlier, the company reported revenue of $39.2 billion and $11.6 billion net quarterly profit, or $12.30 per share.

Analyst consensus for the quarter was $42.49 billion, up 8.4 percent year over year, and EPS of $10.07. Revenue estimates ranged from $41.06 billion to $44.18 billion and $9.23 to $12 earnings per share.

Apple shipped 3.9 million Macs, 19.5 million iPads and 37.4 million iPhones during the quarter. Analyst consensus was around 4 million, 18 million and 36 million, respectively.

Apple ended the quarter with $144.7 billion in cash, up from 137.1 billion the previous quarter; $102 billion is offshore.

For fiscal third quarter, Apple expects revenue to be between $33.5 billion and $35.5 billion and operating margins between 36 percent and 37 percent.

In an unusual turn, Apple CEO Tim Cook began today's earnings conference call. He observes that during the first half of fiscal 2013, Apple generated $98 billion in revenue and $22 billion in profits. The company shipped 85 million iPhones and 42 million iPads during same time period.

"We know they didn't everyone's meet expectations", Cook says of the quarter. He acknowledges that Apple's growth is slowing and margins declining. But 2012 was a hugely successful year, and "That's making comparisons very difficult this year".

Profits and Profits

Apple is partly responsible for the recent profit furor, by changing forecast guidance metrics. Three months ago, the company told Wall Street to expect between $41 billion and $43 billion in revenue for fiscal 2013 second quarter, with gross margin between 37.5 percent and 38.5 percent. But in a radical departure, Apple didn't provide EPS guidance.

Apple's super secrecy and past practice of massaging news for most favorable public perception easily fed conspiracy theories about profits in decline. Otherwise, why would the company suddenly stop giving guidance? Then there are analyst numbers showing tablets, mainly iPad, sapping personal computer shipments, including Macs, and Apple's smaller mini also taking sales from the larger one. Gross margins were 47.4 percent in the year ago quarter. In context of Apple's guidance, and analyst data about PCs and tablets, Wall Street rightly worried about falling profits.

But how low really is too low. Apple is a massive money machine. For fiscal 2012, which closed end-of-September, Apple revenue reached $156.51 billion, up 140 percent from fiscal 2010. During the same time period, Apple's net income rose to $41.733 billion from $14.01 billion. No tech company comes close. Google and Microsoft combined generated less revenue for calendar Q1 (same as Apple fiscal second quarter) -- $34.46 billion.

Perception is the problem. Apple's stock price is in state of collapse. At market close today, shares were down about 42 percent from September's $705.07 all-time high. Today, Cook says that the recent stock decline "has been very frustrating to all of us".

The sell-off comes in part because of misguided perceptions that because the company hasn't recently released something dramatically new CEO Tim Cook somehow isn't as competent a leader as cofounder Steve Jobs. For irrational reasons that make no sense to me, analysts and investors are hung up on the something new, while ignoring key fundamentals. First: Apple's real, spectacular performance. Second: How the company historically launches products. The latter is crucial.

Apple typically announces category-creating or reinventing products then takes them to maturity over many years. Examples are everywhere. Among them:

OS X (January 2001-present), there's still no OS XI
Apple Store (May 2001-present)
iPod (October 2001-present)
iTunes Store (April 2003-present)
iPhone (June 2007-present)
App Store (July 2008-present)
iPad (April 2010-present)

Few companies create more than one industry-changing product. None as many as Apple. So the market's expectations are unrealistic and ignore the fundamental stewardship inherited by current leadership.

Right now, Cook's charge is managing two relatively new product lines, which make up the bulk of profits. During fiscal Q1, iOS devices represented close to three-quarters of all revenue. His first responsibility is to manage these maturing businesses before committing Apple to some new or redefining category. But investors want the feel-good thing that creates allusions, perhaps illusions, about Apple as sitting-at-the-right-hand-of-God innovator. Some people may think that's a position where Jobs is today. Perhaps they should lower such esteem about him and raise that of Cook, whose task is harder, for how much bigger is the Apple crop today than three years ago.

Results by Category

As a journalist, I dislike how Apple releases results. Google and Microsoft report minutes after the market closes. The fruit-logo company waits, and particularly long time today. Now for the numbers breakdown.

iPhone. Increased demand for lower-cost models -- iPhone 4 (free), 4S ($99) -- is a concern. Average selling price declined about $20 sequentially -- "driven primarily by mix", mainly iPhone 4, Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer says.

Apple shipped 37.4 million iPhones worldwide during fiscal first quarter, up from 35.07 million a year earlier. That's a 7 percent increase, year over year. However, shipments fell 22 percent sequentially.

Revenue reached $22.96 billion, up 3 percent year over year from $22.3 billion. Sales slumped 25 percent from third quarter.

During today's conference call, Oppenheimer says 30,000 businesses are developing iOS apps.

Apple ended the quarter with 4-to-6 weeks of iPhone inventory, which is typical level.

With competitors shipping smartphones with larger displays, it's unsurprising someone asks what Apple will do. Cook claims that the smaller screen offers better everything, such as viewability and longevity, for example, while competitors make sacrifices. "We would not ship a larger display iPhone while these trade-offs exist", Cook says.

iPad. Apple tablets are cause for consternation coming to today's earnings report. Last month, NPD DisplaySearch followed up a January tablet forecast that shifts the market from 9.7-inch and 10.1-inch display models to those with 7-7.9 inches this year. Small tabs are predicted to make up 45 percent of shipments, while iPad's size drops to 17 percent. The change potentially means a big shift downward in Apple tablet margins.

"Apple had planned to sell 40 million iPad minis (7.9 inches) and 60 million iPads (9.7 inches) in 2013", David Hsieh, NPD vice president, says. "However, the reality seems to be the reverse, as the iPad mini has been more popular than the iPad. We now understand that Apple may be planning to sell 55 million iPad minis and 33 million iPads in 2013". DisplaySearch predicts global tablet shipments will reach 240 million this year. Assuming Apple does 88 million, that's 36.7 percent. But most of the growth is iPad mini.

Apple shipped 19.5 million iPads globally during the quarter, that's up from 11.8 million -- a 65 percent increase -- a year earlier. Revenue rose 40 percent to $8.75 billion. Sequentially, units fell by 15 percent and sales by 18 percent.

Oppenheimer says that all the growth came from iPad mini. He acknowledges that tablets contributed to margins coming in at the "low end of the range". However, the margin pull wasn't disastrous. ASP was $449, down from $467 a quarter earlier.

Apple ended the quarter with 4-to-6 weeks of inventory.

Macs. Computers is a category closely watched coming into today's results -- that's because globally shipments collapsed during calendar first quarter to historical lows. IDC says the decline, 13.9 percent, is the worst ever. Gartner: Down 11.2 percent. For the United States, respectively: -12.7 percent and -9.6 percent.

The analysts couldn't agree on Macs. IDC reports U.S. shipments falling 7.5 percent year over year, while Gartner sees them increasing by 7.4 percent. As such, market share estimates don't jive either -- 11.6 percent (Gartner) and 10 percent (IDC). Fifteen points separate growth estimates, which is huge.

Apple shipped 3.95 million Macs, down 2 percent from 4 million a year earlier. However revenue climbed 7 percent to $5.07 billion.

"The market for PCs is incredibly weak", Cook says. "Some of those iPads cannibalized some of those Macs". He believes the PC market "has a lot of life left in it". Ultimately, the chief executive sees iPad benefitting Mac sales, and at expense of Windows machines.

There were 4-to-5 weeks of inventory at end of the quarter.

iPod. Apple shipped 5.6 million iPods during fiscal second quarter, down from 7.7 million a year earlier, or 27 percent. Revenue fell 20 percent, from $1.21 billion to $962 million.

Software/Services. Music, apps and services revenue exceeded $4 billion, up 30 percent year over year. About $2.4 billion came from iTunes.

Around the world, there are now 155 Apple App Stores and 110 iTunes Stores. Payments to developers for their apps now runs $1 billion per quarter.

Retail. Revenue from Apple Store rose 19 percent year over year to $5.2 billion, from $4.4 billion, with an average 401 stores open. Average revenue per store was $13.1 million, up from $12.2 million a year earlier. Number of visitors rose to 91 million from 85 million, annually, or 17,500 per store.

There are now 402 stores, 151 outside the United States.

Geographies. Greater China revenue rose 8 percent year over year to $8.2 billion. iPad grew by 137 percent, in the country. Revenues from the Americas climbed less, 7 percent, to $14.05 billion. Europe; $9.8 billion, up 11 percent. Japan: $3.14 billion, up 19 percent. Sales for the rest of Asia rose 26 percent, to $3.16 billion.

Photo Credit: Lucia Pitter/Shutterstock

Tumblr comes to Windows Phone 8

Publié: avril 23, 2013, 7:01pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

The measure of a platform's success is applications -- and, contrary to Apple marketing, not how many but which ones. Windows Phone 8 gets a lift today with the addition of Tumblr, natively developed rather than homegrown like Facebook.

I don't have Windows Phone to test the app, but based on information Microsoft provides, all the basics are there -- posting photos from the camera, for example. There is voice recognition for dictating posts and support for animated GIFs.

Social is key to any smartphone platform's success, and Tumblr is one Windows Phone needs. The service hosts more than 104 million blogs, has received 48.7 billion posts to date and in February had more than 26 million unique visitors, just behind Pinterest (26.97 million) and WordPress.com (27.96 million), according to comScore.

Full feature highlights, from Tumblr staff blog:

Find and follow the things you love

Share photos, gifs, video, quotes, chats, links, and text

Jump between your dashboard and Explore with just one swipe

Display the latest images from your dashboard on your lock screen and live tile

GIFs play as you scroll

Still, huge social holes remain, like Instagram. Given Microsoft's investment in and partnership with Facebook, an official app for the social network and photo-sharing service shouldn't be that hard to do -- and yet they're MIA. SnapChat, anyone? Not on Windows Phone.

Surface Pro coming to the 'rest of the world' from next month

Publié: avril 23, 2013, 6:59pm CEST par Wayne Williams

If you live outside of the US and Canada, you might have been wondering when -- or indeed if -- Microsoft's flagship Surface Pro tablet was going to appear in your part of the world.

It’s been all quiet on the Surface front for a while. Microsoft announced back in February that it would be broadening the availability of the RT version of its tablet, introducing it into 13 more European countries, but since then we haven’t had any other real news. That’s all about to change though, as Microsoft has finally delivered an update regarding worldwide availability for its Windows 8 Pro powered device.

According to the technology giant, Surface Pro will be available from May in the following territories: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

Korea, Malaysia, Russia, Singapore, and Thailand will get the tablet a month later. It’s already available to buy in the US, Canada, and China.

There’s no word yet on little things like retail availability (if it will just be available online or in actual shops) or pricing for that matter, but Microsoft says it will reveal all in due course closer to the actual launches. Which suggests it’s still ironing out the details. Don't be too surprised if you can only buy it online in your part of the world though, as RT is only available from brick-and-mortar stores in very few countries.

The RT version of the tablet is also getting expanded distribution and will launch in Malaysia on April 25th, in Mexico by the end of May, and in Korea and Thailand at some point in June.

Announcing the news, Brian Hall, General Manager Microsoft Surface says:

The enthusiasm for Surface has been fantastic, and we love hearing the stories of people who are making it the one device they use to work and play. This is what Surface was designed to do -- simplify your life while letting you do more! In fact, one of our biggest challenges has been keeping our 128GB Surface Pro in stock. We’ve worked hard to increase availability, and most retail partners in the US and Canada as well as the Microsoft Store now have the 128 GB product consistently in stock.

To those of you who have pressed for information -- please understand that before making these announcements we make sure that we have the volume of devices in place and alignment with our retail partners to do each launch well. We value every Surface customer. We’re passionate about the products we’ve built, and we appreciate your passion for getting Surface in your market.

So what do you think of the news? If you live outside of the US and Canada (and China for that matter) will you be snapping up a Surface Pro when it becomes available?

BitTorrent Sync goes public, brings new features along

Publié: avril 23, 2013, 5:00pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

Back in January, I was fortunate enough to get an invitation to test the alpha version of the new BitTorrent Sync app -- an opportunity that excited me, given that I had recently learned my beloved Live Mesh would go away, thanks to Microsoft's own version of "Spring Cleaning". This left me in the market for a replacement.

Now BitTorrent announces that private testing is done and, while the app is still alpha, the company is ready to unleash it on the public. "We’re really excited about opening up this Alpha. The feedback has been universally positive. Those in the closed Alpha have already synced more than 200TB since we started the program on January 24", says BiTorrent's Christian Averill.

With the public release comes some updated features as well. There is one-way synchronization that allows you to sync to a read-only file. This allows for your team, or family, to receive updates from you without them having the ability to edit or accidentally delete the source material.

The new update also adds "One Time Secrets", which is a security feature for instances when you do not want a master key and need a use-once solution. The secret code expires after 24 hours.

Third, there is the option to exclude certain files or folders from Sync. This is handy if you, like me, want to sync your entire My Documents folder between computers, but have a file you wish to exclude for a particular reason.

Finally, there is also the usual update inclusion of bug fixes and the promise of more stable code, advanced preferences configuration, support of Intel-based Synology devices and an improved Linux WebUI.

The app, along with all of these updates, is now available to the public. As I stated, it is still considered alpha, and BitTorrent is promising many more updates are in the pipeline. The app is compatible with Windows Mac and Linux.

Photo Credit: sheelamohanachandran2010/Shutterstock

Microsoft Store begins major online makeover

Publié: avril 23, 2013, 4:54pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

If you live in the United States, Microsoft Store online is newly redesigned and celebrates with big savings on the Acer Aspire S7, up to $350 off. The ultra-thin Windows PC is clearly a MacBook Air competitor. The 11-inch model is now available for as little as $899. Lest memory fails me, I saw the same deal inside the physical San Diego Store on Friday night.

The makeover marks the first of many. Microsoft plans to overhaul the online shop in all 228 markets. The new home page is more spacious, with lots more white space and prominently links to three subshops -- Student, Small Business and Developer.

Microsoft opened the online store concurrently with its retail shops, the first of which in October 2009. The store here in San Diego opened in June 2010. The company now runs more than 65 shops in Canada and the United States. So, for most potential buyers anywhere, online is the only option buying direct from Microsoft.

Among benefits buying direct rather than retailer or reseller: No crapware, free shipping and free returns.

Circling back to the S7, it's a hellva bargain compared to MacBook Air. The laptops are similar size and weight. With Microsoft's discount, the entry-level S7 and MBA have 1.7GHz Intel Core i5 processors, same amount of memory (4GB) and similar size-screens (11.6 inches); otherwise, differences are pronounced. The S7 has twice the solid-state storage (128GB versus 64GB) and higher screen resolution (1920 by 1080 versus 1366 by 768), for $100 less ($899 vs $999). Screen resolution alone is huge benefit for the Windows 8 laptop.

Regarding the 13-inch entry-level models, Apple's has slight processor edge -- 1.8GHz versus 1.7GHz processor and same amount of memory and storage. But Microsoft's deal puts the S7 two-hundred bucks less, $999, again with higher screen resolution (1920 by 1080 versus 1440 by 900).

Sony releases AOSP project for Xperia Z on GitHub

Publié: avril 23, 2013, 3:36pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

It is refreshing to see a big Android manufacturer give something back to the enthusiast and developer community that supports its devices. After the Xperia S AOSP (Android Open Source Project) experiment, which came to life in August last year, Sony announces that the recently-introduced Xperia Z will also get an AOSP makeover through an open-source project available on GitHub.

"This is a way for us to continue our commitment to support the open Android community. It is also a tool for us to facilitate and verify contributions to AOSP on the MSM8064 Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro platform", says Sony. "The software will be open for you as a developer to use and contribute to".

As Google's AOSP Technical Lead Jean-Baptiste Quéru told me in mid-November, the Xperia S experiment had some deeper implications which lead the search giant to improve the tools required for Android Open Source Project contributions. It is safe to assume that the same can be said about the Xperia Z AOSP experiment, which can further contribute to paving the way for faster Android updates.

The AOSP project for the Xperia Z is maintained by the same two senior software engineers who handled the Xperia S experiment -- Sony's Johan Redestig and Björn Andersson. The bits of open-source code are available on the Japanese manufacturer's GitHub. Proprietary binaries can also be downloaded, only after accepting the EULA (End-User License Agreement) which details "how the files can be used and what limitations that exist".

As you might imagine, the software is not ready for prime time at this point and therefore should not be treated as such. Sony's distribution is able to boot and delivers "at least partially" working microSD card, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, LED and sensors. Also, "it does not include some apps and services that are part of standard phone software".

Sony says that the camera and modem also work, but only internally as the company cannot release the proprietary binaries which are required to make both modules operational. The Japanese manufacturer will also release binaries for NFC (Near Field Communication) in the upcoming period, as well as "replace some of the binaries provided [...] with source code".

Photo credit: Marc Bruxelle/Shutterstock

Empower your Lumia Windows Phone with experimental apps from Nokia Beta Labs

Publié: avril 23, 2013, 3:22pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

If you own a Lumia Windows Phone and don't mind fiddling with experimental software then Nokia may have something available for you in the app store, kept away from prying eyes. Through the Beta Labs website, the Finnish manufacturer gives users the ability to grab and test software that is currently under development and not yet available inside Nokia's exclusive app collection on Windows Phone.

Beta Labs is not new -- in fact it was launched last decade -- but it is frequently updated by Nokia with new software iterations and apps designed for its devices. Some of you may have even spotted news stories discussing various experimental apps for Windows Phone, so let's take a look at what you can (and should) get on your Lumia today to enrich your user experience.

At the moment there are four major apps available: Lumia Storage Check, Nokia Conference, Place Tag and Play To for WP8. All four are designed with Windows Phone 8 in mind and can be downloaded, after logging in with a Nokia account or registering for a new one, straight on your Lumia smartphone by scanning the adjacent QR code. The QR code contains a link which opens up the app store on the device and allows you to grab the respective app from a trusted source -- the Windows Phone app store. Let's take them one by one.

Lumia Storage Check, which has now reached the second beta milestone, is a new iteration of the app that currently ships on Lumia smartphones (and sports the same name). Compared to the stable version, the Lumia Storage Check in beta trim also provides users with the ability to remove offline maps stored on the device (which can also be done through the settings of the Maps app) and even move the offline maps onto the microSD card to free some internal storage space.

Even though, based on my own experience, most beta apps are quite stable, the current experimental version of Lumia Storage Check may crash after five to 10 seconds upon launching it, according to Nokia. That was not however the case when I last used the app a couple of days ago. If a new beta is released, you can upgrade and will receive a counter under the Store live tile.

Nokia Conference is designed to make conference calls a breeze for Lumia users. The app forgoes "switching to the calendar app, remembering the ID/PIN codes, getting the right access number, switching to the phone app, making the call, and entering all the codes". All that users need to do is tap on a single button or dictate a voice command -- "conference join" -- in order to join a conference call.

The company says that Nokia Conference automatically knows which meeting will start or is currently underway, then asks users for confirmation to join and connect them. The app supports conference calls for multiple companies. Users can also manually enter the settings.

Place Tag is a pretty cool app which is meant to enrich the photography experience on Lumia devices. The app, which can also be used as a camera lens, determines your location and displays nearby POIs (Point of Interest) on the screen, similar to HERE City Lens. Unlike the latter, Place Tag is designed to also shoot pictures and store the POIs from within the camera's range in the photo, for which users can get a short description straight from the image.

Play To for WP8 has been released for Lumia users who own DLNA-compatible devices. The app can be used to share multimedia content, such as music, pictures and videos, from a Lumia smartphone via the Wi-Fi network to "that new big screen TV you have or maybe just your Windows laptop and/or desktop or XBox".

The app was first seen on Lumia smartphones running Windows Phone 7, and now Nokia wants to bring it to its Windows Phone 8 device lineup as well. According to the Finnish company, both versions share the same functionality so don't expect any new features just yet.

Google Street View hits 50 country milestone

Publié: avril 23, 2013, 2:16pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

Google Street View, which started with a few major cities in the United States back in 2007, has now expanded to 50 nations. Ulf Spitzer, Program Manager for Google Street View, announces today the latest round of updates which brings the service to two more countries, rounding up the new total to half a century.

The latest additions are Hungary and Lesotho. Spitzer also tells us that, in addition to the new countries, the mapping service is also expanding coverage in other locations. "We’re also refreshing and expanding existing Street View coverage in France, Italy, Poland, Romania, Russia, Singapore and Thailand. And, we’ve added new special collections of a host of picturesque spots -- using our Street View Trike technology -- that include Portugal’s Pena National Palace, or the Sha Tin Che Kung Temple in Hong Kong or the Kilkenny Castle in Ireland," Spitzer says.

This is the largest single update of Street View imagery that Google has ever pushed, and it includes new and updated views for nearly 350,000 miles of roads across 14 different countries.

The company has gone to such far-flung locations as the Great Barrier Reef, Mount Everest and Antarctica. Users can now navigate more than 5 million miles of the world, without ever leaving their computers.

Nokia to announce 'something new' on Wednesday

Publié: avril 22, 2013, 1:07pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

Teasers are an effective way to get us all worked up over little or no specific details. "Is that a new design?" and "Who is this for?", accompanied by the obligatory "What is this?", are the sort of questions we ask ourselves when dealing with them.

One's thing's for certain -- no matter the product, from just a picture the company behind it sure gets a huge marketing boost among tech-savvy folks. And today Nokia tries to grab our attention with a teaser of its own. Spoiler alert -- it doesn't appear to be a high-end Lumia smartphone.

On its blog, the Finnish manufacturer posted a picture which shows a new handset sporting physical keys. Likely the device runs the company's low-end smartphone operating system aimed at emerging markets -- Nokia Belle -- and not Windows Phone 8. Microsoft is not keen on physical keyboard if current smartphones are of any indication.

"On Wednesday morning at 7 AM GMT we will be announcing something new, followed by a Q&A session with Neil Broadley from our Mobile Phones team and a special guest", says the Finnish manufacturer.

From what I can tell, the device features a minimal design with rounded corners. Other than the yellow trim nothing screams outlandish here. Speculation is fun, but as Nokia says "you won’t have to wait long to find out" the details on the new handset.

Microsoft is concerned about your privacy -- and wants you to be too

Publié: avril 22, 2013, 1:00pm CEST par Wayne Williams

Your privacy is Microsoft’s priority. At least that’s what the software giant is saying. According to Ryan Gavin, General Manager, Windows, the company takes its responsibilities for protecting your privacy very seriously.

To prove this, Microsoft is launching a new consumer awareness campaign focused on online privacy. There’s a special information and tools page at www.Microsoft.com/YourPrivacy (which is so private it doesn’t currently exist), and an ad campaign to "kick start awareness and conversation".

You can also check how good you are at protecting your privacy by taking an online quiz at Your Privacy Type. This asks you questions such as where you access the internet from, which social networks you use and how regularly, how often you check them, who you’re connected to, the sort of information you post, and so on. At the end you’ll be shown your privacy type (I’m "Moderate" apparently) and present tips for improving things.

As Ryan Gavin says:

Very few of us believe that sharing some personal data online is a bad thing. It’s part of our everyday routines to fill out profiles, login to sites, and oftentimes provide personal information like our credit card or phone numbers in order to take advantage of all the web has to offer. In fact, the more personal and relevant the web gets, the better it can get.

Yet, at some point, we all draw a line where we are uncomfortable sharing more. And when we think we’re being tracked, particularly by those we may not have a direct relationship with, our tolerance drops. And while tracking isn’t bad per se, we typically reach our information-sharing breaking point with very personal data, like items related to our kids or our health. That said, everyone is unique when it comes to what we feel comfortable sharing with whom.

Providing customers with the tools and technology that allow you to have more choice and control is something Microsoft has been doing for quite some time, and today’s products like Internet Explorer, Windows, Xbox, and Outlook.com make it easier to manage and control your privacy.

So what do you think of Microsoft’s new initiative?

Why I love Nokia Lumia 920

Publié: avril 22, 2013, 12:00pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

I'll admit it -- Nokia was a company I couldn't care less about a couple of years ago. I disliked the design, the high price and the bulkiness of its high-end smartphones, which then ran Symbian. At the time the Finnish manufacturer had the accelerator pedal mashed to the floor and was heading straight on a highway to oblivion, seemingly unwilling to steer the ship in the right direction. Android and iOS were the future and Symbian was the past. Then Nokia jumped ship to Windows Phone.

And that made a difference. As I embraced Windows Phone as my smartphone operating system of choice something happened. Nokia became interesting and appealing to me, so much so that I even bought a Lumia 920 little more than a month ago. And, to be honest, I'd never thought that one day I would own and love a Nokia smartphone. There's something about the Lumia 920 which feels right and makes the Finnish manufacturer fit perfectly into the Windows Phone picture.

No review could actually tell me that I'd end up loving the Lumia 920, mostly because no review actually tells me that I'd love any device. I have to experience the Lumia 920 to fully understand it and hold the smartphone in order to bond with it. I want my smartphones to be special, I want to connect with them and feel the emptiness left once they're not with me. The Lumia 920 ticks all those boxes.

Some say that it's too big and too bulky for a smartphone released in 2012 and especially so for one competing with flagships from 2013. At 10.7 mm in thickness and 185 grams the Lumia 920 certainly is not a featherweight, but more like a heavyweight boxer. It's big, powerful and has a punch that will knock you out. Just like the Lumia 920, the heavyweight boxer has character and as we well know having character also means having a couple of flaws. I just happen not to find them impeding in using the handset.

I've said this before and I will say it again -- Nokia really does bring something worthwhile to the Windows Phone table. The Lumia 920 runs Windows Phone 8 and, on top of the operating system and adjacent apps, comes with a very appealing list of exclusive apps. Nokia's HERE suite, comprised of HERE City Lens, HERE Drive+ Beta, HERE Maps and HERE Transit, is highly attractive when on the road and the other apps such as Nokia Music, Cinemagraph, Panorama and Smart Shoot, among others, make for a very rewarding user experience.

In a weekend getaway I tested the augmented reality (HERE City Lens), maps (HERE Maps) and navigation (HERE Drive+ Beta) apps to find my way around a new town. It resulted in a very pleasant experience, certainly not one far off from what Google provides on Android or iOS. Dare I say, the HERE suite is even more compelling overall than the search giant's offerings. I also made great use of the Smart Shoot lens which allows me to take a couple of pictures and select the best one. Sort of like burst shot mode, only with less possible results to choose from.

Happy Snapper

I continue to be impressed by the photo and video cameras. The former takes outstanding pictures in low-light conditions and excellent ones outdoors. Sure, there's room for improvement like delivering more consistent results and better autofocus for outdoor shots (shooting a cityscape troubles the autofocus) but I'm genuinely impressed by what Nokia delivers in its first PureView iteration on Windows Phone. The video camera makes great use of OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) when walking down trails in the woods, producing quality content that doesn't suffer from the effects of Parkinson's syndrome.

Before the Lumia 920 I dismissed wireless charging as being a tad (well, overly) gimmicky. I couldn't grasp how it can be better than plugging in the USB cable down the bottom of the smartphone, but now I wouldn't charge the Lumia 920 any other way. It's very pleasant not to have any sort of cable to look out for when handling the device at night or even searching for one under the desk (I have a very small desk, so I can't afford to have too much wires hanging around on it).

I also take great comfort in knowing that it just works -- lay the Lumia 920 on top and it charges. It's a comfort thing and one that I've grown to love and appreciate. On the other hand I have yet to appreciate the very sensitive display. I know that the ability to handle the Lumia 920 using gloves is a nice selling point for folks living in very cold climates, but based on my own experience that's not a feature that is as straightforward in practice as it is in theory.

The Lumia 920 is a slippery phone, even in the black matte finish that mine has. Using gloves would only add to the concern of dropping it, a fear which I constantly have to live with every day. I love it and I don't want to witness my smartphone's sudden death at my own clumsy hands. But hey, if it can at least potentially be used with gloves who am I to complain about having the option to do so? I'm sure some folks will make use of the feature come colder temperatures (again).

The true measure of any sort of device is the feeling that you get after it is no longer with you. For a couple of days I used a Lumia 820 review unit as my sole smartphone and, to be honest, I longed for the moment I could hold the Lumia 920 again and have it in my pants' pockets. I missed the feeling of sliding my fingers across its screen. That, I define as a love story.

Google Apps users can now get interactive in-app training

Publié: avril 22, 2013, 10:43am CEST par Wayne Williams

Over five million businesses currently use Google Apps -- a number that is growing all the time -- and while getting to grips with the cloud-based productivity suite is fairly easy, there will always be some staff members who struggle.

Toronto-based Synergyse, a startup comprised of former Google employees, hopes to make it easy for everyone to get the most out of Google’s suite by providing training directly inside each application.

The new, interactive, measurable and scalable training system is aimed at consumers, businesses and schools looking to get more out of Google Apps. Powered by Google’s cloud platform it currently covers Gmail, Calendar and Drive.

Co-founder Varun Malhotra says: "Google Apps is a robust solution, but a majority of people are not aware of all the features it has. We focused on making training that was easy to use and in-application in order to help the world learn Google Apps".

The training is priced at $10 a year for individuals or per employee (enterprises with over 5,000 employees can contact Synergyse for a quote).

Synergyse is currently offering businesses and educational institutions a chance to win a lifetime license. All you have to do is visit www.synergyse.com and say how Google Apps has helped your school or business.

Photo Credit: auremar

IObit Advanced SystemCare Free 6.2 improves Windows 8 compatiblity

Publié: avril 22, 2013, 8:17am CEST par Nick Peers

IObit has released Advanced SystemCare Free 6.2.0, a minor update to its freeware system optimization and maintenance tool. The program, which can be upgraded to a Pro version with enhanced malware protection, deeper cleansing and automatic optimization, offers PC users a wide range of tools for maintaining, cleaning, optimizing and securing their computer.

Version 6.2 is a minor maintenance release that promises improvements across many of the program’s individual components. It also promises better compatibility with Windows 8.

Version 6.2 offers better protection from online threats through improved Malware Removal and Surfing Protection tools. Also improved is the Pro-only Internet Boost tool, which can accelerate downloading, surfing, online gaming and video by up to 300 percent.

The Registry Fix and Toolbox tools have also been worked on with the promise of better stability as well as performance. Similarly improved is the AutoClean tool, which now promises smarter cleaning.

The final improvement is to the IObit Uninstaller component, which IObit claims is no more effective at removing unwanted components from the user’s PC, particularly browser toolbars.

The update builds on more radical changes introduced in version 6.1, which added the Action Center to alert users to specific issues, plus extended the cleaning tools to new versions of popular applications.

Advanced SystemCare Free 6.2.0.254 is available now as a freeware download for PCs running Windows XP or later, although not all available tools are Windows 8-compatible. Users can upgrade from the Free version to IObit Advanced SystemCare Pro by purchasing a license key. This single-PC, one-year license real-time malware protection, deeper cleansing and automatic optimization tools, and can be picked up for the bargain price of just $9,95 from the DownloadCrew Software Store, a saving of 50 percent on its MSRP.

Photo Credit: Alberto Zornetta/Shutterstock

Why is there no Android app for Amazon Instant Video?

Publié: avril 22, 2013, 7:14am CEST par J Marra

Consumers have a rich selection of services for TV and movie content: iTunes, Netflix, Hulu, and I'm sure there are more I'm forgetting. Some of these are tied to hardware (like iTunes) and others try to be agnostic in this regard.

My service of choice is Amazon Prime Instant Video. Amazon Prime is a $79 annual membership that gives you 2-day shipping on most items you buy from the retailer, allows you "to stream thousands of movies and TV shows" and access to the Kindle Lending Library with thousands of books.

When I first joined Amazon Prime I was thinking mostly of the 2-day shipping, but my whole family quickly fell in love with the video. I watch the service on desktop PC and Mac, on our iPad, even on the Wii U. And then there's the Google Nexus 7 tablet I have. No-go for Amazon Prime Instant Video there.

Go to the Google Play store and there's no app for Amazon Prime Instant Video. Go in the browser to the website and it doesn't work, at least not on Android 4.0+, because the web version requires Adobe Flash, and there is no Flash for Android client anymore. Developers typically deal with this problem by writing their Flash software as an application/app using Adobe Air, which embeds a Flash runtime in the app.

Amazon has chosen not to do this. If you want to view Amazon Prime Instant Video on Android, your only option is Kindle Fire, Amazon's Android fork.

Is it possible that Amazon shuts out other Android devices in order to protect Kindle? There's a crude kind of logic to this, but it doesn't withstand much scrutiny. For one thing, there's the fact that the retailers supports most every other platform. Amazon doesn't seem to have anything specific against Google since there's a Google TV app for Amazon Instant Video. But more importantly, Kindle doesn't exist so much to make money on its own, but to sell content. Amazon can't be making a whole lot of money on Kindle with the prices they charge for it.

So if the point is to sell content, why lock Android users out of the market for Amazon Prime Instant Video? I'd criticize it as a bad business decision, but I'm not really sure there's even a bad decision behind it. I can't fathom a reasonable argument for Amazon's strategy. Can you?

I've asked Amazon about this, both publicly (tweeting @AmazonVideo) and by leaving voice mail and e-mail for Amazon press relations. I haven't received a response.

DiffView reveals what's really going on with your PC

Publié: avril 22, 2013, 6:05am CEST par Mike Williams

Even when they appear idle, PCs are forever buzzing with background activity, as Windows and application processes save data to log files, tweak Registry keys and carry out assorted other updates. Normally this can be safely ignored, but sometimes -- if you think you’ve just installed malware, say, and would like to check what it’s done -- then you might wonder what’s changed on your system in the past few minutes.

And that’s where DiffView comes in. If you want to find out more about recent activities on your PC, then you’ll first need to tell DiffView where you’d like it to scan. Clicking the Files tab reveals an Explorer-type view where you can select particular folders – \Windows, say, or \Program Files – while the Registry tab allows you to select a particular area of the Registry.

Next, you’ll have to define how “recent” these changes might have been. Enter “5″ in the “Diff time” box, say, and the program will only look for items which have been created or modified in the last 5 minutes. (You can enter much higher figures here, but remember that there are legitimate background changes going on all the time, and the further back you go, the more these will clutter your finished report.)

With the configuration done, all you have to do is click “Scan files” or “Scan reg”, depending what you’re doing, and wait for the results. This can take a while if you’re scanning the entire Registry -- so you might want to tag an extra 5 minutes onto your “Diff time” figure to make up for that -- but be patient, it will finish eventually.

Once the process is complete, DiffView displays a tree view report of your system, instantly highlighting any recent additions changes in the areas you’ve specified.

And a Report button (scroll down in the “Common” box if you don’t see it) can even create a text report for reference later.

DiffView has its limitations. In particular, the program will only highlight new or modified files and Registry keys; it can’t warn you if something is deleted. And so if you want comprehensive real-time system monitoring, then you’ll still need to use something like Sysinternals Process Monitor.

DiffView can be very useful when you just need a quick ad-hoc check, though. And it’s also free, no adware annoyances, and a ridiculously small 71KB download, which works for us. On balance, the program will make an excellent addition to anyone’s troubleshooting toolkit, and you should go grab a copy immediately.

Photo Credit: Lighthunter/Shutterstock

Does Apple Store discourage T-Mobile iPhone 5 sales?

Publié: avril 21, 2013, 11:13pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

Last night, I rushed off to the local mall intent on seeing movie "Oblivion", but the 6:45 p.m. show was sold out. So I walked around and spent time inside Apple and Microsoft retail shops. At Apple Store, I had two objectives: finding out the cost of replacing a shattered iPhone 5 screen (not available, refurb phone is $229 option) and observing how the company sells T-Mobile models alongside those from AT&T, Sprint and Verizon. Pink's unlocked phone costs less upfront compared to Blue, Red and Yellow and is financed for 24 months. Apple presents T-Mobile iPhone 5 as costing considerably more.

Apple Store provides product information on iPads, which is a subtle way of promoting the devices. The marketing page presents 16GB iPhone 5 as selling "from $199" for AT&T, Sprint and Verizon and "from $649" for T-Mobile, which is technically true but also misleading. The $199 represents the big three's upfront price. T-Mobile asks about half as much, $99.99, upfront. But Apple lists T-Mobile's price as $450 more. Who wants to pay $649 when the others charge $199?

By not showing consumers the real upfront price, Apple presents T-Mobile pricing unfairly by the metric most consumers care about -- what does the thing cost me now. The big three's pricing requires 2-year contract, T-Mobile's 24 $20 monthly payments.

The time period of consumer commitment, whether contract or monthly payments, is effectively the same to the consumer. For example, AT&T charges a $325 early termination fee, which amount goes down monthly (ETF divided by 24). T-Mobile interest-free financing is similar, in that the amount owed on the phone decreases every month of payment.

By the way, Apple's no-contract price is more than what T-Mobile charges ($579.99, whether all at once or over 24 months). Apple offers financing, too, through Barclaycard with approved credit. So purchasing option for "from $99.99" is available from Apple, but there's no distinction made in the in-store marketing material most buyers casually see.

The question to ask: Why doesn't Apple present T-Mobile's upfront price in the same manner as the other carriers? It's easy to put: "iPhone from $99.99", which is as accurate as "iPhone from $649". Today, an Apple Store employee told me that the presentation is what T-Mobile wants because of financing and that Pink prefers to sell the phones directly, something I can't independently confirm on a Sunday. Apple's financing option isn't interest-free, unlike T-Mobile's, which could explain why the carrier might prefer to sell direct.

Certainly, T-Mobile's no-contract approach is mitigating factor. Last month, the carrier adopted new plan pricing that is considerably less than Blue, Red and Yellow. Additionally, T-Mobile started selling phones without subsidies, which is where the lower upfront pricing with monthly payments comes in.

Subsidies are hugely lucrative for Apple and hide devices' real cost to buyers. That $199 Jane Consumer pays for 16GB iPhone 5 isn't the phone's real cost, which is $649 to the carriers. They recover the subsidy by locking buyers into 2-year contracts and making data plans required. For example, 20 bucks a month on AT&T for puny 300MB. How funny. Apple marketing uses the unsubsidized pricing to whack-a-mole T-Mobile.

Apple has no obligation to help T-Mobile sell phones, and no incentive either if Pink pays for inventory up front (which is logical presumption). If the one store clerk is correct, then Apple merely follows T-Mobile's wishes.

Bottom line: Regardless of why the presentation, there is direct benefit to the big three carriers, which are more important customers to Apple than T-Mobile. They move more volume and surely wouldn't want Pink "from $99.99" alongside their "from $199" pricing. Upfront does matter to many potential buyers. If T-Mobile holds on to more customers and churns more from competitors, other carriers lose money. "From $649" puts Pink in the negative, rather than the positive.

Perhaps T-Mobile really wants Apple to sell iPhone 5 this way in its stores. I can't yet say. But I know this: As a buyer comparing prices inside Apple Store, T-Mobile's iPhone 5 appears to cost considerably more than what Blue, Red or Yellow charge.

Photo Credit: Joe Wilcox

Hey, Gmail users, Mailbox for iOS is now available, without reservation or waitlist

Publié: avril 21, 2013, 4:37pm CEST par Mark Wilson

Gmail shows little sign of becoming any less popular, but any iOS user will find that dealing with a Gmail account on an Apple device is not the most pleasant experience. Mailbox was released to help address this fact and proved so popular that newcomers were greeted by a lengthy waiting list before they could get started. The app has now been updated in a number of key areas and, perhaps most importantly, anyone is free to jump right in and get started without the need to wait on a reservation list.

This is obviously great news for people who have been waiting to try out the app, but there is also plenty for existing users to take advantage of. One of the major standout features of the app from its inception was the way in which emails could be dealt with using little more than a swipe; swipe one way to delete or mark as read, and the other way to snooze.

The snooze feature has been enhanced in this latest release. Just as before it is possible to hide emails that you do not want to deal with immediately, but you are now able to deal with multiple messages simultaneously. The actual snoozing process has also been improved so that the options you are provided with are appropriate to the time of day and the day of the week.

Another noteworthy change means that when in the neat conversation view, you can view email addressed by double tapping a message bubble. The latest update includes all of the big fixes and performance improvements you would expect. Check out Mailbox and see if its unique snoozing option can help you to achieve inbox zero and better manage your messages.

You can find out more and download a copy of this free app from the Mailbox review page.

Windows 8 Build 9374 brings 'Kiosk' mode, confirms 8.1 name

Publié: avril 21, 2013, 4:27pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

Microsoft continues to build and leak Windows Blue at a solid rate. Last month we toured build 9364, and now 9374 is out. There are plenty of rumors about where "Blue" is headed, including even, oh the horrors, bringing back the Start menu and adding a boot-to-Desktop option. With 9374 now out on the web (BN can not tell you where to find it, but I am sure you will stumble upon it if you look), I decided to see what changed.

Before we go any further, just for the record, this installation is 32-bit only and you will need to choose "Custom" when running setup -- an upgrade does not work. I installed in Virtual Box, and I recommend you use some sort of virtualization software as well. This leak is certainly not ready for prime time just yet.

What is New?

First and foremost, you will notice that the version is now, indeed, listed as 8.1 Pro Preview. Honestly, you cannot miss this because the name is on the Desktop in the lower right corner and listed within the computer properties screen.

Despite recent rumors, there is not, at least yet, any Start menu or a boot-to-Desktop option, though those may perhaps still be in the works. Personally, I do not miss those things and could care less if they are added or not, but many users will no doubt want them.

The biggest addition to this latest build is the new Kiosk mode, which can be accessed from the PC Settings found in the Charms menu. The option is listed under the User setting. Kiosk mode allows you to lock down user accounts to certain functionalities that you choose and also makes it possible to set an app to launch upon Startup -- possibly a reason for HTPC fans to finally move on from Windows 7, as 8 previously had no option for starting Windows Media Center upon boot (though some hacks existed to make it possible). Kiosk mode looks incomplete at this point. The feature is tailor-made for parental controls and also for computers located in retail locations that wish to have a dedicated store app.

The Search option also is changed slightly, and no longer displays the app list behind it, but only the actual Search column on the right of the screen. This also looks incomplete -- I could only access from the Start page, while the Desktop brought up only an empty column -- no search box in it.

Conclusion

There is not really much to see here. Only the Kiosk mode and Search screen are really new, and neither feels complete at this point. Given that 9374 is a leaked build this is not a big surprise, and bugs are to be expected, too. The OS is certainly not ready for anything close to production use and should only be run on a test system or in virtual mode.

Apple sells unlocked T-Mobile iPhones

Publié: avril 20, 2013, 10:22pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

Eight days ago, iPhone 5 debuted at T-Mobile. I should have watched more carefully. The carrier also has iPhone 4 and 4S, and that surprises me. I wondered if Apple Store would carry Pink's variants, too, given the comparatively low starting price. Yes is the answer, and cleverly.

From AT&T, Sprint and Verizon, the 16GB iPhone 5 is $199 upfront with 2-year contractual commitment. T-Mobile's handset sells for $99.99 down plus 24 $20-month payments, no contract required. Surely, the three big carriers would gripe if Apple listed their phones alongside T-Mobile's for twice the upfront price. Solution: The fruit-logo company sells Pink unlocked for full price and T-Mobile SIM. But typical of Apple, expect no bargain. T-Mobile sells the phone for $579.99. Apple asks $640.

Price for unlocked 16GB iPhone 4S from the manufacturer is $450, 99 cents more from the carrier. The phone is $99 with 2-year commitment from the big three. Pink is $69.99 upfront plus 24 $20 payments. iPhone 4 is $549.99 from T-Mobile, Apple is 99 cents less. On contract, the big three charge nothing upfront. T-Mobile takes $18 plus 24 $18 payments. Hell, I'd pay $30 more for iPhone 5 and two bucks extra per month instead.

Here's reason to check with T-Mobile first. According to the company's website, neither iPhone 4 or 4S is available for my area (San Diego), but Apple Store will sell me either handset. That's no assurance the network supports them.

Perhaps this is all old news to you, but it's not to me, which is why I punched out the quickie post. Surely someone else would want to know, too.

Bing answers malware critics

Publié: avril 20, 2013, 12:24am CEST par Alan Buckingham

Earlier this week word hit the web that Bing search results display more malware than Google. Naturally, Microsoft disagrees. "AV-TEST’s study doesn’t represent the true experience or risk to customers. In other words, the conclusions many have drawn from the study are wrong", David Felstead, Bing senior program manager, says. Okay, why?

Felstead elaborates: "By using the API instead of the user interface, AV-TEST bypassed our warning system designed to keep customers from being harmed by malware. Bing actually does prevent customers from clicking on malware infected sites by disabling the link on the results page and showing the...message to stop people from going to the site".

He goes on to explain that Bing displays links from infected sites because most are legitimate sites that normally don’t host malware but have been hacked. It is a plausible, but not fully satisfactory, answer. "We warn our customers rather than suppressing the result for both completeness and educational reasons", Felstead states.

Then, in true Scroogled fashion, he points out a search term that can be entered into Google that results in malicious results.

In fairness, Felstead also points out that Microsoft is "still waiting on answers to many of our questions" on the methodology of these tests. In other words, this is a "he said, she said" matter that we will likely never have real answers on. In the end it boils down to which engine you prefer and the good sense to not click on results that claim to provide the moon to you.

Microsoft confirms smaller Windows 8 devices coming soon

Publié: avril 20, 2013, 12:06am CEST par Joe Wilcox

During yesterday's earnings conference call, departing CFO Peter Klein says that Microsoft is "working closely with OEMs on a new suite of small touch devices powered by Windows. These devices will have competitive price points, partly enabled by our latest OEM offerings designed specifically for these smaller devices, and will be available in the coming months".

The rumors are true, and, presumably, because of the context Klein makes the statement, these devices will run Windows 8 -- rather than RT or Embedded. For example, he refers to support for new Intel processors, Haswell and Bay Trail Atom. The former is expected to ship with back-to-school ultrabooks and convertibles. The latter is designed for smaller touch devices, including tablets. During Intel's earnings call this week, CEO Paul Otellini predicted that for touch-screen notebooks running the new Atom processor, "prices are going to be down to as low as $200". Merry Christmas!

Plan A Underway

The point: Don't count out Microsoft or its PC partners just yet. Windows 8 is a work in progress, and that's by design, while OEMs have yet to step up with the right devices. There is no Plan B, because A is still underway and will be until new hardware reaches the market for the two key selling seasons of the year, back to school and Christmas. I want to restate: There is no Plan B, contrary to what writers Adrian Kingsley-Hughes and Jay Greene, among others, say is necessary.

Many Plan B advocates presume Windows 8 is a failure because PC shipments reached record lows during Q1, following a disappointing fourth quarter. But this trend, spending on smartphones and tablets displacing PCs, started long before Windows 8 shipped, and Microsoft prepared.

"Consumers and businesses are increasingly shifting their focus to touch and mobility, and as a result, they want touch-enabled computing devices that are ultrathin, lightweight, and have long battery life", Klein says. But the duh statement is obvious but oft overlooked. "While Windows revenue has been impacted by the transition from the traditional PC to a new era of computing devices, the overall addressable markets are growing, and we are excited by the opportunities ahead of us".

The market for PCs, tablets and ultramobiles will grow 79 percent from 2012 to 2017 -- 467.2 million to 836 million units -- according to Gartner. Android and iOS are largely confined to tablets, while Windows dominates personal computers and the fledgling ultramobiles. Gartner's data, which puts Android way ahead of Windows, and Apple platforms just slightly behind, misleads by including smartphones. When doing actual apples to apples comparisons, the PC market (including ultramobiles) rises from 351.1 million last year to 368 million in 2017. Tablets go from 197.2 million to 468 million during the same time frame.

The point: The addressable market for Microsoft grows, as Windows gains tablet share. Certainly Apple won't snag share going the other way, certainly not with OS X, based on recent market share trends. Microsoft's Plan A objectives are the same: Get a touch-oriented OS out the door and enable OEM partners to bring different size and form-factor designs to market.

Downsizing Windows

Right now, there are two dramatic shifts underway: Falling tablet prices and consumer shift to 7-7.9-inch models; both are intertwined. NPD DisplaySearch predicts that tablets in that size category will account for 45 percent of shipments this year. That's where Microsoft sees partners headed, but running a desktop operating system.

The process is arduous. "We built Windows 8 with touch and mobility at the center of the experience, which positions us well in this new era", Klein says. "However, the transition is complicated, given the size of our hardware and software ecosystem. We still have an immense amount of work to do, yet we feel good about the foundation we have laid and are optimistic about the long term success of Windows".

Windows 8's focus on touch is a hot topic of debate. Today, colleague Wayne Williams asks "Do you users really want touchscreen PCs (Because I don't)", while in December developer Robert Johnson asserts "Touchscreens on laptops make complete sense".

I love Surface Pro. Touch and Windows 8 deliver great user experience. But there aren't yet enough touchscreen choices available at prices that woo buyers from tablets. Wayne's problem isn't the touchscreen but how little he can do with tablets. Give him an affordable touch convertible or slate running Windows 8, and his opinion might change. Even yours.

This discussion would be moot, if not for a fundamental shift in Microsoft product development that I explained last month.

"With Windows 8, we are setting a new, accelerated pace for updates and innovations, as we focus on making the Windows experience richer and better", Klein says. "Since launch we have delivered several important updates to improve our mail, storage, search, music, and video services".

Photo Credit: Federico Rostagno/Shutterstock

Family Tree Builder 7.0 syncs with MyHeritage.com

Publié: avril 19, 2013, 8:33pm CEST par Nick Peers

MyHeritage Ltd has released Family Tree Builder 7.0, a major new version of its free Windows app for recording, managing and sharing a family tree. Version 7’s major new features tighten its links with the MyHeritage.com website by introducing two-way sync and providing access to the billions of historic records held at the website, some free, but most requiring a subscription.

Version 7.0 also implements full Unicode support, tweaks the user interface and extends language support to four additional countries in the Mid and Far East.

Family Tree Builder 7.0’s headline new feature is the implementation of two-way sync. Previously users could upload their tree to the MyHeritage.com servers -- free account holders are limited to 250 individuals in their tree -- but version 7.0 now makes it possible to download trees and tree changes back to the program, allowing users to update their tree using a combination of the website, Windows app and iOS app. All changes are then shared across the different builds when the user next performs a sync.

Practically all information is synced from the app, with the notable exceptions being DNA markers, SSN fields and any fields specifically marked as “private”.

Version 7.0 also replaces the existing Smart Research and WorldVitalRecords Search tools with Record Matching and SuperSearch tools. Both are linked to MyHeritage.com’s growing list of records, numbered in the billions, with the Record Matching tool performing background smart searches based on the information held in the user’s tree. A clickable button next to individuals alerts users to the existence of potential matches.

The new build has also been rewritten to support Unicode, which ensures that data can be entered in any language, allowing for a mix and match between languages in the program. This has led to a new file extension, UZED, being implemented to reflect Unicode projects.

Other changes include a minor facelift of the program interface, plus support for Chinese (both Traditional and Simplified), Japanese, Korean and Farsi languages. Replacing existing personal photos in the tree has been simplified, while support for BCE dates and options to display the husband/father’s first name or initial in his children’s or wife’s name have also been added. The update is rounded off with the usual non-specified bug fixes.

Family Tree Builder 7.0 is available now as a free download for PCs running Windows XP or later. Users will need to sign up with MyHeritage.com to use the program -- free accounts are available, with paid-for premium versions extending the program’s functionality as well as providing more storage space online.

Best Windows 8 apps this week

Publié: avril 19, 2013, 6:53pm CEST par Martin Brinkmann

Twenty-fifth in a series. The increase of new apps slowed down a little bit, falling under the 2,000 apps per week mark that was passed in the last three weeks. A total of 1,928 new apps found their way into the store this week. The total number of apps in the U.S. store is now 42,478, made up of 33,430 free apps and 9,048 paid ones. Free apps increased by 1,447 this week and paid ones by 481.

The core Bing apps received updates a couple of days ago. I won't rehash all that we previously reporting, only this much: Bing News supports custom RSS feeds now that you can add to the app so that you can add your own news sources to it. News also supports keyword-based news that you can add easily to the application.

The location and real-time features of the Maps app are improved as well, which helps you find local stores, restaurants and other services in a faster fashion. Maps users benefit from the integration of walking and transit information as well for select locations.

The Travel app features new contents from popular sources such as Lonely Planet and Fodors. It offers a new local feature as well that you can make use of to find local attractions and points of interest near your current location.

The Finance app features a couple of new tools that may help you calculate mortgages, plan your retirement or convert currencies.

The Sports app, last but not least, received new local contents including football (that is soccer for you in the United States) league data and information from Europe and South America as well as information about football World Cup Qualifiers.

In other news: the popular app YouTube RT is currently available free of charge instead of the €2.49 that you pay for it regularly. The promotion runs until April 24 so make sure you download and install it before then if you are interested in its functionality.

App of the week

None this week. None stuck out.

Other apps

Sim Trader ($2.99, trial available)

If you are interested in the stock market but do not really want to invest your money, you can use Sim Trader to invest using virtual money. The app, or game, gives you $10,000 in starting cash that you can invest in the stock market. It uses real quotes from Yahoo Finance and news from finance related websites to make the experience as realistic as it can be.

The front page lists a custom selection of stocks that you can use as a monitoring tool and to purchase or sell shares. On the right are news that may help you make decisions, information about your portfolio, and a chat where users of the application can chat anonymously.

The app has more to offer than that though. You earn achievements for certain completed tasks, like "supporting the OS giant" when you buy 100 or more Microsoft shares, take automatically part in the leaderboard that is sorted by the amount of money in cash and in assets, and can read tutorials to understand how the stock market and trading works.

Deezer (not available in the United States)

The music app launched in several countries this week (but not in the United States). It provides you with an experience that is similar to Spotify or Nokia Music. Unregistered users get access to the whole music database but songs are automatically limited to 30 seconds.

A Deezer account is required for the full listening experience. A free account provides users with 12 months of unlimited listening, after which it gets reduced to 2 hours per month. Premium and Premium+ accounts are available for €4.99 and €9.99 per month, which remove the advertisement that is sometimes played and offer a better listening experience.

On a side note: if you want to check out the offerings of a different Windows Store, you need to change the home location in the Windows Control Panel to do that.

Film Closet

The movie application for Windows 8 serves two purposes. It displays information about current and upcoming movies, including information about the cast, plot, release date and trailers (linking to YouTube exclusive using the default system browser and not the app itself).

You can furthermore point it to any local folder with movies to add your movie collection to the app as well. Local movies are identified by their file name and folder structure, so that you may need to alter the names to have them identified correctly by the application. There is however no need to add local movies to the app if you only want to use it to retrieve movie information and watch trailers.

WeTube

The app may look like any other YouTube viewing app for Windows 8 on first glance, but it is packed with a couple of interesting capabilities. The feature that sets is apart is the one-click download option that it adds to any page on YouTube.

The application displays a list of downloadable videos on the right that you just need to click on to download to the local system. Basically, all videos found on the page - the main video that can be played and the list of related videos on the right, are displayed on the right sidebar.

Onboard

Onboard is a job search application for Windows 8. You can enter a keyword that you are interested in and make a couple of modifications before you hit the search button. This includes limiting results to a state or city, industry, as well as experience and education.

You can furthermore limit the search by occupation, e.g. management, legal or computer & mathematical to only get results based on your selection. The application is limited to the US, with no option to search for jobs in other countries.

Filmwave

The movie app displays current and upcoming movies in the interface. Each movie is depicted with a cover, name and rating, and a click opens a page with lots of details about the selected movie.

Here you can access general information about the movie, like the synopsis, information about the cast and crew, reviews, chatter on social media about the film and a list of similar or related movies that may be of interest to you. Trailers are available but link once again to YouTube where they can be watched. You can add your reviews to movies and also mark them as watched.

VGBC8

This emulator enables you to run Gameboy and Gameboy Color games, apps and demos on Windows 8. The emulator supports all kinds of ROMs including homebrew roms, and ships with a basic version of Pong that you can load right into the app after installation to test out its functionality.

If you have a XBOX 360 controller you can connect it to the PC, laptop or tablet to use it to play games or control apps on the screen. The emulator supports touch input and keyboard / mouse input as well. Note that it does not emulate GBA or Nintendo DS devices.

Meople

The basic idea behind Meople is to combine information and data from all social networking sites that you are a member of in one interface. So, instead of having to visit Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Tumblr or Instagram regularly to find out what is new, you can do all of that from a single app.

The app seems a 1:1 copy of the website of the service. You need to log in to at least one of the 12 social networking sites the service supports right now to get started. Each social networking site is represented by its own coloumn that you can check out individually but on the same page at the same time.

The app ships with several features that make life easier, like highlighting unread threads or messages, options to invite users to contact you or send messages or options to post a message or update to all networks you are currently signed in to.

Amazon Prime releases 14 original series

Publié: avril 19, 2013, 6:24pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

Up front I should confess that I love Amazon Prime. The service is a bit cheaper than Netflix for streaming movies and TV shows but brings along other perks such as free second-day shipping and a lending library for Kindle users. The retailer continues to add features and work with studios in an effort to provide more content to viewers.

Today Amazon releases pilot episodes for 14 new, original shows. We have known these were coming for some time, but the service waited until all pilots were ready and pushes them now as one giant release.

Among the pilots are six childrens' shows and eight original comedies, including the much anticipated Zombieland, which is based on the 2009 cult classic movie.

Now the ball is in your court. Not all of these shows will make it, the company wants feedback to make that determination. Amazon solicits reviews and provides ability to take a survey. Customers will determine which pilots get the green light to begin production as complete series.

Songs from the shows are also available for free download from AmazonMP3, and other information on each show is available from IMDb. Now you have a plan for your weekend and, if you are like me, then it involves zombies.

Photo Credit: FotoYakov/Shutterstock

Microsoft Windows sales are so good, they're scary

Publié: avril 19, 2013, 5:38pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

The "Microsoft's dead" meme is one of the most popular among tech bloggers and arm-chair pundit commenters. Posts are everywhere the last 30 days or so, fed this month by reports of record-weak PC shipments. After market close yesterday, with fiscal Q3 results, Microsoft proved critics wrong and showed just how much strength remains in the Windows franchise. More significantly, a dramatic change is underway, regarding which buyers generate more revenues.

IDC says that PC shipments fell 13.9 percent during calendar first quarter (Microsoft's fiscal third), and there was reasonable expectation Windows license sales would see similar fall off. Instead, when removing a one-time $1.085 billion deferral, Windows & Windows Live division revenue was flat ($4.62 billion) year over year. Given the sorry state of the PC market, flat isn't just good but great.

Typically, license sales to PC manufacturers account for 75 percent to 80 percent of Windows revenue. During fiscal third quarter there was dramatic shift, with non-OEM sales, largely from commercial licenses and Surface tablets, representing 40 percent of revenue. If this turns into a trend, within a year Windows & Windows Live could look more like Business and Server & Tools divisions, where, respectively, 60 percent and 50 percent of revenues come from multi-year license sales to businesses.

The dynamic smooths out revenue for the other divisions and insulates them from economic downturns or changes in PC sales. The Windows group moves in the same direction. The reason, however, will surprise many.

Two-thirds of enterprises now use Windows 7, according to Microsoft, and three-quarters of Enterprise Agreements include Windows licenses. Meanwhile, overall volume-licensing revenue grows in the double-digits. However, in my experience talking to IT managers, large businesses often buy licenses to exercise downgrade rights rather than to upgrade -- that's to standardize on one platform. There still is in process a massive move away from XP, which by analyst estimates accounts for 40 percent of the Windows install base.

The rise in uptake could easily reflect resistance to Windows 8 rather than demand for it -- large businesses choosing annuity contracts so they can downgrade rights and install Windows 7. That said, once businesses move to annuity contracts, they are more likely to stick with them, based on historical Microsoft corporate customer buying trends. Additionally, the business downgrading today can upgrade in the future.

Microsoft offers many multi-year license plans. Enterprise Agreement, generally the most flexible, is the more popular among larger businesses. To the other plans, buyers can attach -- and Microsoft encourages them to do so -- Software Assurance, which provides lower-cost upgrades. Businesses make annual payments for EA or SA, the latter 29 percent per year of desktop software's price. That's where Microsoft gets assured revenue, regardless of economic downturns or declines in PC sales.

So there are two lessons coming from fiscal Q3 results: Windows license sales are surprisingly healthy, particularly considering PC market ills. Windows revenue shifts from PC OEMs to other segments, particularly multi-year license sales to businesses. There remains Windows success, or failure, on future computing devices -- a topic I tackle in my next post.

Photo Credit: abeadev/Shutterstock

Set up two-step authentication for your Microsoft account on Windows Phone

Publié: avril 19, 2013, 2:49pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

Following the lead of a number of high-profile companies like Apple, Dropbox and Google, Microsoft has finally embraced two-step authentication. Two days ago, the company unveiled the feature which, in order to "help keep your account more secure", enables using security codes or application-specific passwords when accessing Microsoft services. Sadly, for Android and iOS users, Microsoft only offers a Windows Phone app, at this point, to generate security codes.

The app is called Authenticator and works with both Windows Phone 8 as well as Windows Phone 7.5 (ironically, it was the app that revealed Microsoft's plans to offer the security feature in the first place). This guide will show you how to enable two-step authentication for your Microsoft account and use Authenticator to generate security codes on your Windows Phone smartphone.

Install Authenticator

Before getting down to business, you have to install Authenticator. To do so, head over to the Windows Phone app store on your handset (which is known as Store inside the app list) or use the link provided above in order to find and install the app.

Set Up Two-Step Authentication

It is worth noting that after Microsoft enabled two-step authentication for my Outlook.com account, a verify button appeared next to my phone number and alternate email addresses. I have verified my contact information and you should do so as well. Microsoft will send you a security code, on your phone and alternate email addresses, which you must enter when requested in order to verify the contact information.

After you have completed the aforementioned task, head over to the Security info control panel on your Microsoft account and follow the next steps:

Under Two-step verification, click on "Set up two-step verification",
Press Next and, finally, click on Done to complete the process.

Depending on the app or service that you wish to access, you may be required to set up application-specific passwords. This is because security codes are not generally supported. One scenario where you may be required to use an application-specific password is with an email application like Apple's Mail on iOS.

You can create application-specific passwords through the App passwords panel inside Security Info.

Also worth mentioning is that Microsoft doesn't ask for a security code when using a trusted device. If you wish, you can remove all trusted devices by using the "Remove all the trusted devices associated with my account" option from under Trusted devices in the Security info control panel.

Configure Authenticator

Now that you have two-step authentication enabled for your Microsoft account you should use Authenticator to generate security codes. To do so, head over to the same Security info control panel and follow the next steps:

Under Authenticator app inside Security info, click on "Set up",
Open Authenticator on your Windows Phone smartphone,
Tap on the "+" icon, then tap on the camera pictogram (both are found on the bottom menu bar),
Hold your device as to recognize the QR code displayed in the browser,
Head over to the browser and enter the security code, that is provided by Authenticator, inside the box,
Click on Pair to finish the process.

Two-factor authentication is now enabled for your Microsoft account and you can use Authenticator to generate security codes on your Windows Phone smartphone.

Microsoft says that you can generate security codes for two-step authentication using third-party dedicated apps available on Android, iOS and possibly BlackBerry. Similar steps should be carried out in such cases.

credit: marekuliasz/Shutterstock

Get Xbox Live Gold free this weekend

Publié: avril 19, 2013, 2:32pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

This may seem a bit ironic, given that Xbox Live spent much of last Saturday down, but this weekend Microsoft aims to make up for that little mishap with a free weekend of, well...possible service. Xbox Live Gold adds many of the features that the console has become known for, such as ESPN, YouTube, iHeartRadio and much more.

Xbox Live chief Larry Hryb, better known as Major Nelson, announces "if you’ve always wanted to check out the latest entertainment experiences on Xbox 360, now is your chance". The service will go free beginning at 10am ET today (Friday April 19) and remain that way though 1pm ET on Monday April 22.

This is not only valid in the United States, but also Canada, Latin America and Japan. "All Xbox owners in these regions, regardless of their current Xbox LIVE subscription status, will have access to online multiplayer gaming, Video Kinect, and our entire catalog of entertainment apps" Hryb explains.

This coincides with the debut tonight of the new Netflix (a Live Gold service) original series Hemlock Grove. The weekend also brings a special preview of Borderlands 2, for which Hryb provided a key -- KTW3T-ZXXS5-JBSJF-5FJT3-6TB9X.

Both the U.K. and Europe had a free weekend back in March, so this timing is seemingly coincidental and unrelated to last weekend's crash of the service -- in other words, it does not appear to be a Microsoft apology.

Photo Credit: Aaron Amat/Shutterstock

Do consumers really want touchscreen PCs? (Because I don't)

Publié: avril 19, 2013, 12:35pm CEST par Wayne Williams

I own an iPad, which I love dearly. I use it for lots of things -- games, email, browsing the web, social networking, writing, viewing photos and video, and remote accessing my PC. The iPad, like all tablets, is a true jack of all trades and a master of some too.

But, try as I might, I can’t use it for "real" tasks. While it’s fine for writing small-ish articles on, I could never write a novel on it -- and I’ve tried. For some reason, I just can’t connect with typing on a touchscreen in the same way I do when typing on a proper full-size keyboard. And I could never imagine attempting detailed Photoshop work on a touchscreen either (well, not without a fine stylus at least).

Maybe it’s just because I’ve been using a keyboard and mouse combo for so long that the old control method has become part of who I am when working. I sit down in front of my PC and the mouse and keyboard are there, in my hands without my ever really having to think about what I’m doing.

Touch is more deliberate. Of course I can zip around the iPad, switching apps, firing off emails and zooming in and out without thinking about it. It’s intuitive, but it’s not as fast or as comfortable. And when you put your fingers on the screen, you’re obscuring the view in a way a diminutive mouse cursor doesn’t.

When I’m working I’m at least twice as quick on my PC as I am on my iPad, and I’m usually doing lots more tasks at the same time too.

My point is while I love touch for lots of things, I can’t imagine it ever being the primary method of interacting with all the tech in my life and I really don't see the purpose of touchscreen PCs.

Is It Just Me?

The problem I have is I just don't think there's a need for touchscreen on PCs. It adds a third control method that's not required. And an awkward third control method at that. I know touch is useful for swiping through open apps in Windows 8, and performing other tasks in the OS (and admittedly it can be a little easier than using a trackpad at times), but I want to look at a screen directly ahead of me and interact with what it's showing me without stretching my arms out to it.

I asked around in our newsroom and my colleague Mihaita Bamburic agrees (so it’s not just me!), saying: "I share the same view. Touch is confusing because you have to reach out and then retract your arms in order to fully use it. I think we find it most convenient when the movement of our arms is done on the same level most of the time. Think about it, we move our left or right arm to the side to reach for the mouse and one stays on the keyboard at all times. It's natural to do so, it's habit. Now, with touchscreen PCs, we have to raise the left or right arm to do stuff, which I find tiresome in the long run".

Dire PC sales suggest -- to my mind at least -- that people don’t want to buy new computers with touchscreens and the touch-friendly Windows 8, because, well, they don’t need touchscreens. Touch is essential on tablets and mobile phones, but on PCs, where the issue of gorilla arm remains a problem, it’s not necessary, and it adds a lot of extra cost for no real gain.

As Isabelle Durand, Gartner principal research analyst, says: "The majority of consumers remain unwilling to pay the price premium for touchscreen capabilities on PCs at this stage".

Frankenstein Hybrids

Microsoft bet the farm on touch. It came up with an OS that works brilliantly on touch devices and not as well on bog-standard PCs (it’s not bad on them -- far from it -- but it’s not as good).

There are rumors that Microsoft is considering allowing users to skip the Start screen and restore the Start menu in the next version of Windows 8, which a lot of mice and keyboard users will appreciate, and which is clearly a good idea, but PC manufacturers aren’t going to stop pushing touchscreens on us. It’s the future, you see. Isabelle Durand again: "Touchscreens and Windows 8 will represent key opportunities for PC manufacturers in the second half of 2013".

According to the latest Touch Panel Market Analysis Report from NPD DisplaySearch, which was released a couple of days ago, manufacturers believe the penetration of touchscreens in notebook PCs is going to grow from under 3 percent last year to over 12 percent this year. Growth triggered, naturally enough, by Windows 8.

To drive this growth many manufactures are coming up with new types of PCs, such as flip and convertible models that can be both PCs and tablets. Great, except isn't that a bit like saying cars are great, and motorbikes are great, so here’s a car made up of two motorbikes stuck together. It can be an uncomfortable car, or it can be two slightly rubbish motorbikes.

Er, can’t I just have a great car AND a great motorbike?

Another analogy: touch is like 3D in the cinema. A few great movies came out which made excellent use of the third dimension -- well, Avatar -- and suddenly every film was 3D, including plenty which just didn’t work with an added dimension. Movie studios like 3D because they can charge more for people to see it, but consumers are less keen (a friend of mine runs a cinema and says 2D versions of movies are much more popular than their 3D counterparts, most of the time). 3D is a fad that’s now slowly dying out and hopefully touch -- on devices where it really doesn’t serve any great purpose -- will be too. But somehow I doubt it.

So my question for you is this: am I just swimming pointlessly against the tide here? Should I be forcing myself to fully embrace touch and accept it's here to stay -- on all devices -- or do you feel the same? Comments below please.

Samsung Galaxy S4 coming soon to Verizon

Publié: avril 19, 2013, 12:03pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

Unveiled in mid-March, the Samsung Galaxy S4 is one of the most eagerly awaited smartphones to be sold this year. Major mobile operators across the world have already announced pre-order offers, but one big player has yet to reveal any details concerning the Galaxy S4.

Verizon, one of the largest mobile operators worldwide and second-largest in the US, is expected to sell the Galaxy S4 in the upcoming period but, until Friday, the big red did not disclose any details concerning the date of availability.

In a Twitter post, Verizon has finally announced that the Galaxy S4 is headed to its network and arrives in May. As you might expect, the smartphone ships with 4G LTE cellular connectivity out-of-the-box and is big red-branded.

The US mobile operator has also posted a picture of the Galaxy S4 in white trim, which shows the smartphone carrying the Verizon and 4G LTE logos on the back. There appears to be no other branding other than on the back of the device

Verizon has also said that it will "soon" reveal more details, likely about pre-orders and the official sales date.

Eliminate adware with the Junkware Removal Tool

Publié: avril 19, 2013, 11:32am CEST par Mike Williams

If you regularly try out freeware tools then you’ll know many come bundled with annoying adware. This can use all kinds of dubious tactics to install itself on your PC, and getting rid of these irritations later can be a problem (even if you remove the core code, remnants usually remain to clutter your system).

Fortunately there are plenty of tools around to help clean up your PC -- and Junkware Removal Tool is just about the simplest we’ve ever seen.

The program arrives as a tiny (538KB) executable, no installation required, so it’s ready to go immediately. On launch it opens in a console window -- there’s no GUI here, no options or settings to consider -- and with the tap of a key it’ll start scanning your system.

This isn’t a particularly quick process, but then Junkware Removal Tool does do quite a thorough job, checking running processes, loaded modules, browsers, the Registry and more.

And it supports removing a reasonable number of products, too, at least for a product managed by a single developer. The Junkware Removal Tool names the following, as examples: Ask Toolbar; Babylon; Browser Manager; Claro / iSearch; Conduit; Coupon Printer for Windows; Crossrider; DealPly; Facemoods / Funmoods; iLivid; Iminent; IncrediBar; MyWebSearch; Searchqu; Web Assistant. (The program change log reveals support for several others, too.)

One issue we noticed is that the scanning process is rather more intrusive than you might expect from this kind of tool. It will close any open Explorer or browser windows, for instance, which can be annoying: to avoid problems, it’s best if you close these yourself before launching a scan.

You also get precisely no control at all over its final actions. Forget ideas of reviewing a final report, deciding to keep this, or remove that: Junkware Removal Tool simply deletes any remnants of its target products, and displays a text file showing you precisely what actions it’s taken.

This does make the program exceptionally easy to use, though. Just tap a single key to launch its scan, and there’s nothing else to do.

And in our tests Junkware Removal Tool also proved very effective, safely removing active adware from one system, and cleaning up the remnants still remaining on another.

The program still wouldn’t be our first choice for an adware remover; it just doesn’t support enough products, and we like to have more control over the removal process. But it’s capable enough that you should probably keep a copy around, just in case your first line tools fail and you need a little extra assistance.

Photo Credit: Stephen Finn/Shutterstock

Apple loses out to premium Android tablets

Publié: avril 19, 2013, 11:20am CEST par Ian Barker

UK polling company YouGov has released the results of its latest Quarterly Tablet Tracker for the first three months of 2013. It shows that consumers now see Android tablets as equal in quality to the iPad and as a result their makers are eating into Apple's share of the premium market.

Although it still has the largest slice of the UK's tablet market, Apple has seen its share drop by 10 percent in the past 12 months. Despite the launch of the iPad Mini and 4th generation iPad, Apple now has 63 percent of the market compared to 73 percent this time last year.

The main reason for the drop seems to be the emergence of strong new competitors which have taken sales not just from Apple but from the obscure budget brands too. Google's Nexus 7 has grabbed 8 percent of the market in under a year, while the Kindle Fire has taken 5 percent. Since the beginning of 2012 Samsung has also more than doubled its share from 4 percent to 10 percent.

There is some good news for Apple with the iPad Mini taking 4 percent of the market and generating the highest customer satisfaction scores.

Looking at the overall picture, the Quarterly Tablet Tracker shows that 18 percent of the UK adult population (more than 8 million people) now own a tablet. This is an increase of 5 percent over the last quarter of 2012, no doubt fueled by the Christmas period.

Of course Apple still has a huge share of the tablet market largely thanks to its head start. But that dominant position is only likely to slip further as the big-name Android makers raise their game.

Photo Credit: Adam Radosavljevic /Shutterstock

Defraggler 2.14 checks multiple drives

Publié: avril 19, 2013, 8:49am CEST par Nick Peers

Piriform has released Defraggler 2.14.705 and Defraggler Portable 2.14.705, a minor, but noteworthy, update of its freeware defragging tool that allows users to both defrag entire drives and individual files.

Version 2.14 adds support for UDF file systems, plus allows users to defrag their drive’s free space on a schedule while also improving its search tools and navigation.

Users can now schedule the Defraggler 2.14 to defrag a drive’s free space at set intervals: simply select Settings > Schedule, then enable a schedule for the selected drive and choose Freespace or Freespace (allow fragmentation) from the ‘Defrag type:’ dropdown menu.

Multiple drives can now be analysed with a single click too: simply select the drives from the top pane using the [Ctrl] or [Shift] keys, then click the Analyze button to perform an analysis on each drive in turn. The results for each drive can then browsed as normal by clicking the drive’s entry.

Defraggler 2.14 extends its file-system support to UDF, which is commonly found on rewritable CDs and DVDs – this complements existing support for FAT/FAT32, NTFS and exFAT file systems.

Defraggler’s Search tool allows users to target specific files for defragmenting -- the tool now implements better searching using wildcards. 64-bit Windows users should also find the shell extension options are improved too.

The GUI has been tweaked to provide better navigation, while a minor bug has been fixed in the monthly scheduler along with other non-specified minor improvements and bug fixes. Defraggler 2.14.705 and Defraggler Portable 2.14.705 are both available as freeware downloads for PCs running Windows XP or later.

Photo Credit: Sergey Mironov/Shutterstock

G Data releases 2014 security software

Publié: avril 19, 2013, 7:48am CEST par Mike Williams

G Data has announced the availability of its new consumer product line, including G Data Antivirus 2014, G Data InternetSecurity 2014, and the high end G Data TotalProtection 2014.

And the company is particularly highlighting its new CloseGap technology, which apparently “provides fast, effective protection against computer malware, based on a balanced combination of reactive and proactive malware detection techniques”.

What does that actually mean? We’re not entirely sure. But if you’re looking for something more specific, the entire range now includes an Autostart Manager, a tool to help accelerate your boot times. Essentially it’s an integrated startup delayer-type program, delaying certain autostart program to help your desktop load more quickly.

G Data TotalProtection 2014 also adds a device control option, which allows you to define which external storage drives can be used to read or write data. You can create a rule which allows your own USB drive to back up data, for instance, but other drives won’t be allowed access.

The interface has been completely re-engineered to make it easier to use. We’ve heard that particular claim many times before, but at a first glance the new build does seem to offer real improvements.

And, more generally, G Data says both its BankGuard technology (which protects your online banking and shopping technologies) and behavioural monitoring has been enhanced.

As an upgrade, this isn’t exactly exciting. The device control option is the most interesting addition, but that’s only available if you opt for the top of the range version.

G Data’s antivirus engine remains one of the best, though, coming top of the list (again) in the most recent A V Comparatives File Detection tests. And so if it’s accuracy you’re after, then you might want to sample the new range. 30-day trial editions of G Data Antivirus 2014, G Data InternetSecurity 2014, and G Data TotalProtection 2014. are available now.

Photo Credit: kentoh/Shutterstock

Jolicloud update brings search, new services and more

Publié: avril 19, 2013, 3:07am CEST par Alan Buckingham

Jolicloud may perhaps be the coolest cloud service you have not yet discovered. Created back in 2009, the company derived from Joli OS into a platform to access your cloud-based online life. It brings together everything you have stored on all of the various cloud services and, if you are like me, then that can be a wide net to cast.

The service finally adds search -- a feature long sought after by users. The company announces that it has "made it very easy to search anything you have in your Jolidrive: music, photos, documents, videos in your online storages but search can also help you find great content in all your favorite social services like Instagram, Tumblr, SoundCloud, Youtube and more".

This encompasses all of the cloud services compatible with Jolicloud, including Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, SkyDrive, Facebook and more.

The news does not stop there though. The company goes on to point out new cloud services that are available within the platform. These include Exfm, Ubuntu One, Cloud App, Google Plus, Vimeo and Tumblr.

Finally, the service releases a brand new "explore" feature. "Combined with search we have created a powerful discovery feature letting you hop from users to locations or keywords. It’s a great way to discover new music, photos and videos that you can like and share with your friends" the Jolicloud team claims.

The service has remained a hidden gem of sorts on the internet, but the continued innovation and updates may finally change all of that as it moves closer to the mainstream.

Google Q1 2013 by the numbers: $13.97B revenue, $9.94 EPS

Publié: avril 18, 2013, 10:16pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

Google may be a company of many personalities -- browser and operating system developer, connected-device manufacturer, fiber-optic Internet servicer, search giant and social network, among many others. But the core business is still about one thing: Advertising, as calendar first quarter results, delivered today after the closing bell, show.

Revenue rose 31 percent to $$13.97 billion, year over year; operating income, excluding Traffic Acquisition Costs, was $3.48 billion, up from $3.39 billion. Net income climbed to 3.35 billion up from $2.89 billion. That's $9.94 earnings per share, including costs associated with discontinued operations.

Average analyst consensus was $14.04 billion revenue and $10.69 earnings per share, for the quarter. Revenue estimates ranged from $9.81 billion to $15.12 billion, with estimated year-over-year growth of 72.5 percent.

"We had a really strong start to 2013, with Q1 revenue up 31 per cent year-on-year to $14 billion", CEO Larry Page says. The statement, like the others below, came during Google's conference call today.

Turn the Page

First quarter marks just a few days short Larry Page's second anniversary returning as CEO (April 4). Google's master had a busy quarter. The company:

That's just a short, short list of the many strategic actions or adjustments made in just one quarter.

There is clear consolidation underway as the CEO brings trusted executives -- those with whom he resonates or who share his vision -- closer to the inner circle. Meanwhile, a different Google emerges as Page's vision, and that of his lieutenants, propagates -- one that: cross-integrates more products and services, releases updates at faster pace and is much, much, much more aggressive in the market place. The Google you thought you knew is something else.

Page hints at that:

As CEO it’s also super important to keep focused on the future. Companies tend to get comfortable doing what they have always done, with a few minor tweaks. It's only natural to want to work on things you know. But incremental improvement is guaranteed to be obsolete over time -- especially in technology, where history has shown that there’s a lot of revolutionary change. So a big part of my job is to get people focused on things that are not just incremental.

He also tips off some things coming from the Motorola division by observing device battery life needs to greatly improve; "if your kid spills their drink on your tablet, the screen shouldn’t die"; and dropping a phone shouldn't shatter the glass.

"Having seen Motorola’s upcoming products myself, I am really excited about the potential there", he says. "In just under a year they’ve accomplished a lot and have impressive velocity and execution".

Financial Highlights

TAC. Google's financials include Traffic Acquisition Costs -- that's revenue shared with partners. For Q1: $2.96 billion, compared to $2.51 billion a year earlier. TAC was one-quarter of revenue in both quarters.

Paid Clicks increased 20 percent year over year and 3 percent sequentially.

Cost-Per-Click rose 4 percent yearly and quarterly.

International: $7.5 billion outside the United States, accounting for 55 percent of revenues -- that's up 1 percent by year and quarter.

Motorola Mobile revenues reached $1.02 billion, or 7 percent for consolidated Google results.

Google revenue (excluding Motorola) was $12.95 billion -- that's up from 22 percent from $10.65 billion a year earlier.

Google-owned sites: $8.64 billion, up 18 percent from $7.31 billion.

Google Network (e.g., partner sites): $3.26 billion, up 12 percent from $2.91 billion.

Other: $1.05 billion, up 150 percent from $420 million.

Photo Credit: meneame comunicacions, sl

Microsoft Q3 2013 by the numbers: $20.49B revenue, 72 cents EPS

Publié: avril 18, 2013, 10:06pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

Today, after the closing bell, Microsoft revealed what might be the closest-watched quarterly results in 11 years. Fiscal third quarter, like the one in 2002, marks a time of record-low PC shipments, with blame falling on the newest operating system. In recent weeks, every idiot arm-chair pundit imaginable has taken to the web to proclaim Windows 8 a failure and prophesying Microsoft's doom. Not so fast. This company is still a money machine.

For fiscal Q3, ended March 31, Microsoft revenue reached $20.49 billion. Operating income: $7.61 billion and net income was $6.06 billion, or 72 cents a share.

Average analyst consensus was $20.56 billion revenue and 68 cents earnings per share, for the quarter. Revenue estimates ranged from $19.57 billion to $21.65 billion, with estimated year-over-year growth of 18.1 percent. Microsoft missed revenue consensus but exceed EPS forecast.

Several factors mitigated results: Office and Windows pre-sale and upgrade offers and European Commission fine. Windows revenue rose 23 percent year over year, lifted by deferrals, but was flat otherwise -- and, as such, showed stronger growth than the overall PC market.

"The bold bets we made on cloud services are paying off as people increasingly choose Microsoft services including Office 365, Windows Azure, Xbox Live, and Skype" CEO Steve Ballmer, says. "While there is still work to do, we are optimistic that the bets we’ve made on Windows devices position us well for the long-term".

Today, Microsoft announced that CFO Peter Klein will leave at the end of the fiscal year, which closes June 30. A successor is yet to be named.

"It has been a pleasure to work with Peter as CFO", Ballmer says. "He’s been a key member of my leadership team and a strategic advisor to me, and I wish him the very best". Klein is an 11-year Microsoft employee, four years as CFO.

At 5:37 pm EDT, during Microsoft's earnings conference call, shares were up 2.29 percent, to $29.45, in after-hours trading. As the call closed, shares were still up, nearly 3 percent.

Windows 8 Dog and Pony Show

Microsoft's big problem is declining PC shipments -- during calendar first quarter (same as fiscal Q3) bad enough to rank as weakest since IDC started tabulating numbers in 1994. Many analysts and computer market watchers anticipated that Windows 8 would lift sagging shipments, which five months later are worse.

"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", Bob O'Donnell, IDC vice president, claims. O'Donnell joins a chorus of Windows 8 blamers, offering a simply unfair and inaccurate assessment. Like today, PC shipments collapsed ahead of Windows XP's release in 2001 and stayed slow for at least another year. As I explained three days ago, the market similarities are surprisingly close, including global economic malaise.

Many pundits look at smartphones and tablets as the PC's demise, and Windows with it. Consumers shift spending away from personal computers to these devices, which is the evidence. In 2001-02, the phenomenon was similar, but the devices different -- big-screen TVs and MP3 players. I wouldn't write off the PC just yet.

Something else: Apple, which had been immune to Windows PC sales ills, is afflicted, too. According to IDC, U.S. Mac shipments fell 7.5 percent in calendar first quarter. If Windows 8 is to blame, why is Apple down, too? The point: The market dynamics are complex. The economy. Sales shifting to smartphones and tablets. PC saturation. Suffice to say that Windows 8 didn't revive PC shipments, which according to IDC fell for 10 consecutive quarters but one -- calendar Q3 2011. That's quite different from being the cause.

Microsoft bet big on touch to compete with these other devices. Demand for traditional PCs is weak, which makes sense given it's a mature product category. Touchscreen models, whether true tablet or hybrids, offer something different, but not necessarily more enough. They compete with media tablets like Apple's iPad that offer similar top-line functionality for hundreds of dollars less. For many consumers, iPad, or even smaller tablets, is good enough. So on a touchscreen-to-touchscreen comparison, media slates win, and that phenomenon has little to do with Windows 8.

"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". The personal computer will be radically different, and even unrecognizable, in three years, I predict.

Looking at the global numbers, IDC puts calendar first quarter shipments down 13.9 percent, while Gartner is a bit more optimistic (-11.2 percent). IDC and Gartner estimate U.S. PC shipment declines of 12.7 percent and 9.6 percent, respectively.

Something else lost in all the punditry: Microsoft actually encouraged existing Windows customers not to buy new PCs. Promotional pricing make the new version lower than any of its predecessors, as I explained answering in January question "Why are Windows 8 sales so good when PC shipments are so bad?" So the real measure of Windows 8's success or failure is actual license sales, not PC shipments.

Division Highlights

Microsoft reports revenue and earnings results for five divisions: Windows & Windows Live, Server & Tools, Business, Online Services and Entertainment & Devices.

Windows & Windows Live. Revenue rose 23 percent year over year, mainly because of a $1.1 billion referral related to upgrade offers. Growth was flat, otherwise, which when looked at in context of collapsed PC shipments is remarkably good. That's perspective for the 40 percent increase in non-OEM revenue, mainly from Surface and commercial sales of Windows.

Two-thirds of enterprises now use Windows 7. Other signs of strong business uptake: Three-quarters of Enterprise Agreements include Windows licenses, while overall volume-licensing revenue grew in the double-digits. However, large businesses often buy licenses to exercise downgrade rights. So the rise in uptake could easily reflect resistance to Windows 8 rather than demand for it.

Looking ahead to fiscal fourth quarter, Microsoft expects Surface and commercial sales to drive revenue, while sluggish PC shipments hold it back.

Server & Tools. The division is insulated against economic maladies, because about 50 percent of revenues come from contractual volume-licensing agreements. Microsoft hopes to achieve similar level for Windows, for similar reasons. Multi-year licenses grew by 20 percent year over year.

Product revenue rose by 11 percent, or $396 million, fueled by SQL Server, System Center, and Windows Server. System Center revenue grew by 22 percent and SQL Server by 16 percent. Enterprise Services revenue also grew by 11 percent, or $112 million.

Products account for 80 percent of division revenue, and services the rest. Looking ahead to fiscal Q4, Microsoft anticipates double-digit growth for both.

Business. Revenue for the Office division grew by 10 percent, or $477 million, to $6.32 billion. Annuity licensing continued to lift sales, an ongoing trend, up 16 percent. About 60 percent of the division's revenues come from volume-licensing contracts. Lync revenue rose by 30 percent and Dynamics by 13 percent.

Looking ahead to fiscal fourth quarter, the division will recognize $780 million in deferred revenue. Microsoft expects annuity license growth in the double digits.

Online Services. Revenue rose by 18 percent, while the operating loss decreased by 45 percent. Search and display ads drove up online advertising revenue by 22 percent, or $145 million, to $784 million.

For fiscal Q4, Microsoft anticipates double-digit revenue growth.

Entertainment & Devices. Xbox 360 platform revenue rose 55 percent, or $641 million, lifted a $380 million video game deferral.

Microsoft shipped 1.3 million Xboxes during the quarter, down 9 percent year over year. Xbox Live memberships rose 18 percent, or by 46 million. There were 161 billion minutes of Skype calls -- up 55 percent year over year.

Microsoft expects growth in the mid-teens for fiscal Q4.

Yahoo forecasts weather app for iOS

Publié: avril 18, 2013, 7:21pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

Marissa Meyer is bringing big changes to Yahoo and one of them is apparently getting the old search site back into the public focus with new mobile apps. That process begins today in the world of both Apple and meteorology -- fitting since tornado and thunderstorm season is getting underway and hurricanes are on the horizon.

Today the company announces a sleek new weather app that is compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch -- uninspiringly named "Yahoo! Weather App". Marco Wirasinghe claims the new app will "bring together beautiful images from our Flickr community to show you current local conditions, with all the details you want to know about the forecast".

While this is a weather app at heart, it really is about the photos. You can simply tilt your device to scroll through images of weather in locations that you choose. However, you can still get details of current conditions and a forecast to let you know how to dress today and if you should bring along an umbrella.

Wirasinghe elaborates on the photos: "Our goal is to have amazing photos for every weather condition that cover the globe -- morning, afternoon, and night -- across every city in the world, and we want your help. Whether you’re simply a daydreamer or an avid photographer, submit photos of your favorite places to our Flickr Group and your image can be seen by tens of millions in Yahoo! Weather for iPhone".

Yahoo! Weather is now in the iTunes App Store. The app is free and available in English, Bokmål, Norwegian, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Malay, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, and Vietnames languages.

My next-gen Xbox wishlist

Publié: avril 18, 2013, 7:12pm CEST par Robert Johnson

Xbox is due for a refresh this year and it's a good time to write my wishlist. I’ve been accused of being a Windows fanboy, which I’m not. I’ve also been accused of being a Windows Phone fanboy. No again. But I’ve never been accused of being an Xbox fanboy, which I absolutely am.

With the Xbox, Microsoft has a stellar platform on its hands. The console has gone from a third place alsoran to a major player in the console wars: a strategy Microsoft desperately needs to adapt to Windows Phone, but that’s a different article. As the world of computing shifts to mobile, so is gaming, allowing companies like Apple to get into the business. What do vendors that build consoles need to do to adjust their strategy? I can’t say much for Sony or Nintendo because I don’t use those platforms anymore. For Microsoft, here’s my wish list for the next Xbox platform update that I think will allow it to remain a major gaming industry player despite the shift to mobile computing.

Fix Xbox Music/Video

This has to be my single biggest disappointment from the Xbox team. As a fan, I have never felt more let down then when this turd released. Zune worked very well, despite some key features like cloud music, or playlist syncing between devices. Xbox Music as it stands right now is almost useless and for those of whom were former Zune users, Microsoft owes an apology. Music match barely works. Playlist syncing issues/complaints/support requests go unanswered by Microsoft.

Xbox Music should be the service that takes down all the other players in this space. My wish is for a social component that lets me see what my friends are listening to and be able to share playlists with them. But here’s the problem with that. There aren’t that many people out there who actually use Xbox for music. None of my friends do. Almost all of them are on Spotify. So how do they get around this? Perhaps, hook into the Spotify service (assuming the API is open and will allow this) and expose what my friends are listening to or perhaps do it through Facebook for those friends who publicize their listening habits through that service.

Also, I wish for Microsoft to release a cloud music locker that allows me to stream my music to whatever device I am using. Fix playlist syncing because right now it doesn’t work. If I create a playlist on my PC it should automatically sync to my phone, Xbox or tablet.

For Xbox video, please release a service that allows videos I purchase on one device to be playable on others. Enable more SmartGlass capable content and make them easily discoverable, and if you need to charge a dollar more for it, that’s fine, but please add more content.

Can we get a subscription service for video? I realize Hollywood content producers are the major barrier here so I understand if this is a pipe dream that will never happen. But something has to be done to differentiate Xbox Video from all the other services out there.

Microsoft has officially announced that it is moving into producing their own content for Xbox. Hopefully this means the console will gain more TV-like services such as the ability to record live TV like a DVR. I would wholeheartedly welcome this. Netflix nailed it with House of Cards and producing content is the future for platforms that want to be taken seriously in the video space.

Make Skype Available

I don’t understand why there is no Skype app on the current console. Hopefully this is coming in 2013. But I don’t just want to be able to call my friends on their consoles, phones and other devices. I want you to take it up a notch and call another Xbox/PC/tablet in my own home. This would be awesome for a parent who needs to get in touch with a kid in another room to come eat dinner.

Let Xbox "See" More

Here’s what I mean. The console currently works very nicely as a PlayTo and SmartGlass enabled device. But for the content that I don’t necessarily have uploaded to SkyDrive, Xbox should be able to see and play all my content in the My Music and My Videos and My Pictures folders on all my PCs/Devices. I know I can currently on Windows 8 use PlayTo and shoot this content to my Xbox. But I don’t think the PlayTo interface in the desktop is the easiest interface to use.

Release a Smarter Xbox

The natural user interface in the current Xbox platform enabled by Kinect is a great feature that I actually use on a regular basis. Do I use it every day? No. There’s no way I would sit in front of my TV gesturing to it. As much as I use my Xbox, this would get really tiring. However, when I need it, the feature is there and ready to work. And it works quite well for me. This is what makes technologies like Kinect so "natural". When I lose my remote, as I often do, I usually just end up talking to the console.

However, I understand this is not exactly ideal when you find yourself in a situation where you can’t find your remote but your room is so loud, there’s no way Xbox will accurately hear you. While gesturing is available, if you need to get to an app or a TV, the arms can tire quickly. A smarter Xbox will allow me to use my phone or other mobile device as a microphone to talk to my Xbox. This would reduce interference from other sources and allow the Xbox to clearly understand my commands.

A smarter Xbox will also allow me to control other wifi enabled devices in my home. Perhaps devs can write apps that hook into such devices.

Wouldn’t it be great if the console understood my usage behavior and adjusted the interface accordingly? Let me explain. Let’s say every day after I get home around 4:30pm the first thing I do is turn on my Xbox and open the HBO GO app, because I’m watching Game of Thrones Season 2. A smarter Xbox would observe this pattern and ask if I wanted this automatically done for me, so that when I get home it’s already cued up to the next episode or the spot where I left off. But what if for some reason, I’m working late one day. I wouldn’t want the console turned on and sucking up unnecessary electricity. To get around this, the console could enable the ability to log into my Xbox account online and turn off or reprogram it for another time.

Expand Kinect

Kinect should pushed to other platforms like Windows (Bill Gates has said this is coming) but my point in this article is about the console. If the Xbox team decides to release other devices (more on that next) these devices should include Kinect capabilities whether they be in gaming related scenarios or navigating the interface or both.

Not only should Kinect expand to other platforms, it should be improved for natural language scenarios. It’s time for Microsoft to put all that speech data it’s been collecting since the release of Kinect to work. It’s 2013 and computing devices like Xbox (or any other Xbox-enabled device) should be able to understand natural language. This capability should be made available to app developers as well.

Bring out More Devices

A 7-inch gaming/media consumption device should come from the Xbox team. It should be the ultimate smart device and should allow me to control my console and vice versa. This device should permit me to play games with others who are on the console (more on this later). It should have access to all the Xbox media apps, including apps from the Windows Phone and Windows stores. This device should cost no more than $200 and could potentially be sold in a bundle with the new Xbox.

Besides a 7-inch tablet device, the console needs a small TV streaming media only device with integrated Kinect. I love my console, and I have one in every room, but $300 is a lot to spend for a media device. Release a $99 (or less) media device that has access to all the media apps available on the console and also includes Skype and the ability to push/pull content from all Windows devices (phones, pc’s, tablets).

Open the App Platform

Apple is a serious threat. I know many people don’t think so but here’s why guys like Gabe Newell are correct about Apple in the living room. Apple already has a massive platform in iOS and the app catalog as far as gaming goes is tremendous. If all the company did in 2013 was open up Apple TV to developers and their app gaming catalog, that’s enough to do some serious damage to Microsoft’s living room strategy.

Xbox should get out ahead of this and open the app platform up to all developers for a nominal registration fee. This should not just be for gaming but for media apps as well. Xbox should be able to run on a new apps platform that gets as close to write-once-run-anywhere as humanly possible. A company like HBO should be able to write one app and have it be able to run on any sized screen from a phone all the way up to a TV screen.

This would require the Xbox having the same core as other Windows devices (phones/PC/tablet) but the rumor is that this is most likely going to happen (or why else would you move the NT guy to the Xbox team?) and I cannot help but think that one of the benefits of this is a more unified app development platform.

Create a Real-time Multi-player Multi-device Gaming Platform

I saved this for last because even if Microsoft does not come through on any of my other wishes, this is the one that I think will set the Xbox platform apart from any platform available today. Microsoft has already demoed the ability of a Windows Phone to interact with the console. Remember the YouTube video of the person sitting on the couch with a Windows Phone interacting with the Kinect dodge ball game while a guy in the same room played the game from the console?

What we have so far is pause/resume across devices. Skull of the Shogun is the best example of this. This game can be purchased on Windows Phone, Windows 8 (PC/tablet) and the XBOX. Users can play on one device, pause and continue play on another. While this is great, what is really needed is a way for users in games like Halo or Call of Duty can play multiplayer in real-time regardless of device. There are definitely challenges to this when you are on a screen the size of a phone, but that doesn’t mean those players have to be left out of the game. Perhaps players on the phone can operate in support roles.

There are other games that are great for this scenario: racing games. We already play them on phones and they would be perfect for a new platform like this. Can you imagine Forza on Windows Phone? Microsoft already is seriously lacking in its attempts to push the Xbox platform to Windows Phone. I think it’s absolutely embarrassing that they have not successfully turned Windows Phone into a stellar gaming platform. You have the most successful game platform in the United States and you cannot leverage that onto your struggling mobile platform? Unacceptable.

Conclusion

So there you have it. My Xbox wish list for this year. I intentionally left off this list is specific games and media apps (like Spotify and Amazon Music) as I am sure Microsoft will come up with some pretty amazing solutions in this area. I’m sure there’s something you can add to this to make it even better. What do you think should be added to this list?

Update: As I was writing this article, GameLoft released a racing game for Windows Phone 8 called Asphalt 7. This game includes real-time multiplayer with other phone devices. This is a great start! Hopefully Microsoft plans more releases like this that are expanded to other devices as well.

Photo Credit: Joe Wilcox

Can Microsoft admit its Windows 8 mistake?

Publié: avril 18, 2013, 5:57pm CEST par J Marra

What were they thinking?

It made sense when Microsoft decided to update Windows to be an operating system not just for PCs, but for tablets. In fact, it was a rather clever strategy: Declare tablets to be PCs, and then show that Windows tablets do more than Android or iOS, including running all those existing Windows programs. So far, makes sense.

Then Microsoft went further, too far: Not only did the company create the touch-oriented Windows Modern UI, formerly known as Metro, but forced users to use it, even on conventional desktop PCs and notebooks with no touch. And then the the company went even further by making the Desktop Mode less usable.

The idea must have been to force quick growth of the Modern UI ecosystem, but we don't have to wait any longer to know that this was a mistake. Microsoft didn't need to disadvantage desktop users in order to promote the Modern UI. No wonder large institutional buyers are turned off to Windows 8. Maybe they're buying lots of tablets for tablet tasks, but they still buy PCs for PC tasks.

The good news for Microsoft is that this problem is easily remedied. At least the technical part is easy. It does, however, require an act of profound public contrition: Microsoft admits miscalculation with the initial design of Windows 8. Here's what the fixed version needs, and all of these things are fairly easy to do, whether in Windows Blue or some other update:

Windows 7-like mode of operation, called the Old-Fashioned Mode if you want. Let users or administrators set the system to boot into this mode.
Antique Mode should be able to launch Modern UI apps just like desktop apps. Running apps should appear in the taskbar.
Modern UI home screen needs an obvious, fixed thing to click on to go to desktop mode.
Modern UI also needs a fixed date/time display.

There are more-sophisticated, less urgent ideas related to these that would work well. I can see it preferring the Modern UI in some ways if the system is operating purely as a tablet, but desktop mode when a keyboard and mouse are connected.

Yes, the Modern UI has its own issues. Lots of people don't like it, but that's another matter and a less important one in the short term. The important thing for right now for Microsoft is to stop undermining the message that Windows 8 is a PC operating system.

The message that Windows 8 works with both tablets and PCs, and that tablets are just another kind of PC, is a good one and can still succeed. Personally, I think there is nobody as credible as he who freely admits his mistakes.

Photo Credit: JStaley401/Shutterstock

TomTom announces smartwatch for athletes

Publié: avril 18, 2013, 4:01pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

I have previously gone on record as wanting a smartwatch. Yes, I still wear a watch because I am a runner and we are fastidious about time and distance and having a timepiece that prevents the need for driving a route to get the measurement is a major time and gas saver. Previously I looked at Pebble, with its built-in RunKeeper, but today TomTom changes that.

The company announces the TomTom GPS Sport Watches, built specifically for the athlete -- a new range of GPS watches designed to deliver "at-a-glance" performance information for runners, cyclists and swimmers.

"We know that most GPS watches on the market are too bulky and complicated to use while training", Corinne Vigreux, managing director for TomTom Consumer, says.

There is a lot here to like for those on the go -- an extra-large, high-resolution and high-contrast display, a graphical training partner, one button control, indoor tracker, waterproof design and Bluetooth connectivity. You can sync, analyze and share your data via TomTom’s new MySports (not yet available) website, as well as MapMyFitness, RunKeeper, TrainingPeaks and MyFitnessPal platforms.

The training partner is especially interesting, as it includes the ability to race against both your PR (personal record) or last run, set a distance, time or calorie goal and see progress toward that goal with full-screen graphics and alerts, even set a target for pace or heart-rate.

The watch will not be available until sometime this summer and no pricing has been announced, but if you would like a preview, then it is on display already. Finally, someone has made a smartwatch with real-world functionality. I do not need to see my email on my wrist, but I do want data on my workout.

Twitter #music arrives first on iOS, then the web

Publié: avril 18, 2013, 3:56pm CEST par Wayne Williams

There’s been a lot of talk and rumors flying about Twitter’s new music discovery service, but today the social network revealed the details and launched the first app for it.

Based partly on the social site’s recent acquisition of the music startup We Are Hunted, Twitter #music is described as a "new service that will change the way people find music".

It uses activity on Twitter (such as tweets and general engagement) to identify the most popular tracks and emerging artists and lets you listen to previews from iTunes. If you have a Rdio or Spotify account, you can log in to those and enjoy the full tracks.

Twitter says it plans to add additional music sources in due course.

The Twitter #music app, which is available for iOS now, offers four main tabs -- Popular (new music trending on Twitter), Emerging (hidden talent found in tweets), Suggested (artists you might like), and #NowPlaying (music that’s been tweeted by artists and people you follow). You can join in on the recommendations by using the #nowplaying" hashtag to tell people what you’re listening to.

When you discover new music you want to share with others, you just tap the spinning disc in the lower left corner to open the player and access the Compose button.

The service is initially available in the US, UK and Ireland, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, with more countries being added over time. Although the app is only for iOS right now, Twitter says it will be bringing its service to Android. No word on any plans to introduce it to Windows Phone or BlackBerry, however.

The web application will be open for everyone later today and can be accessed at music.twitter.com.

According to Twitter's official announcement, "Twitter and music go great together. People share and discover new songs and albums every day. Many of the most-followed accounts on Twitter are musicians, and half of all users follow at least one musician. This is why artists turn to Twitter first to connect with their fans -- and why we wanted to find a way to surface songs people are tweeting about. We offered music artists an early look at the service. You can see some of their reactions below. We hope you like it, too".

Disqus is down

Publié: avril 18, 2013, 3:30pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

If you are unable to comment on BetaNews stories, our apologies, comment service Disqus suffers service problems this morning. A reader alerted me about 30 minutes ago. When I couldn't comment on any story, I had headed over to Disqus only to get an "unavailable" message.

"Disqus has been intermittently unavailable for the past few minutes, and we are working on a solution. We apologize for the disruption and appreciate your patience", according to the Status site, which I got to from a Tweet. BetaNews is one of many sites that relies on the service for comments.

Coming sideways to the main site, I see this message:

Hello! Disqus is currently in maintenance mode. You can still navigate the website and access your content, however many actions such as moderation and settings are temporarily disabled. This shouldn't take too long, and we're sorry for the inconvenience. In the meantime, there will be some quirkiness as we make some improvements.

We'll keep you updated.

Disqus is back after a 29-minute outage: "Disqus is now running normally again. We again apologize for the hassle and are monitoring the situation closely to ensure there are no further issues".

No reason is given for the outage.

Photo Credit: Ollyy/Shutterstock

Give your Android smartphone a new lease of life with these free apps

Publié: avril 18, 2013, 2:32pm CEST par Wayne Williams

If you don’t look after your computer, it will start to slow down and misbehave. Smartphones too can get clogged up and begin to lag as the amount of storage space and available memory starts to diminish with use.

There are lots of good, free apps available that you can use to make sure your Android (or iOS) device is running at peak performance. Here are some of the more recent.

IObit, which is best known for its excellent Advanced SystemCare suite for Windows, has a useful all-in-one Android security and performance optimization app called Advanced Mobile Care.

This performs real-time virus scans and offers a range of handy tools including Anti-theft, Battery Saver, Game Speeder, App Manager, Task Killer, Privacy Locker, Privacy Advisor and Cloud Backup. It works with most devices running Android 2.2 and up.

I generally have to charge my smartphone pretty much every day, which can get annoying. Battery Doctor, available for both Android 2.2+ and iOS 4.3 and later, can help prolong battery life. There’s a one-tap power saving option which will automatically optimize battery usage, and the app can tell you exactly how many more minutes of battery life you have left. You can also use it to turn off power draining features to give you an extra boost.

Iolo, the developer responsible for System Mechanic, has an Android app called Auto Memory Manager. As you can guess from the name, this lets you customize the out-of-memory manager settings on Android phones and tablets so you don’t have to do it yourself with task killers. The new release shows how much memory has been freed, and how many times it has killed off troublesome apps. It should work on any device running Android 1.6 onwards.

Clean Master, which I covered previously, does a good job of freeing up space and resources on your Android device. It can clean the cache, remove unused files, clear the search history, uninstall unused apps and free up RAM by killing running tasks. It requires Android 2.1 and up.

Piriform also has an Android version of CCleaner in development which should be available soon.

Those of course are just some of the many system cleaning apps available for Android. Do you have any favorites that you use? Share your recommendations in the comments below.

Photo Credit: Kirill__M/Shutterstock

Is Windows tracking every folder you open?

Publié: avril 18, 2013, 2:28pm CEST par Mike Williams

Every time you create, modify or access a folder on your PC, Windows records these details in the Registry. There’s nothing shady about this -- the action is a key part of recording your folder view settings, and maintaining a list of your favorite folders -- but it does introduce a privacy risk, as snoopers can use the data to track some of your PC activities.

Exactly how much information is exposed here will vary, but if you’re not already familiar with the issue then it makes sense to check your PC with the free ShellBag AnalyZer & Cleaner. There’s no adware, no installation required, just download and launch the program and in a few seconds you’ll have the full picture.

The initial report presents you with a simple table, listing each opened folder, its name, path, and last visit date. You can click any column header to sort by that field, too, so for instance clicking "Last visit" will show you the folders you’ve browsed in time order.

It’s surprising how much data can be available here. On one test PC, ShellBag AnalyZer & Cleaner found traces of over 5,000 folders opened, stretching back for years (although you can filter the report in various ways if you’d like to make it more manageable).

What’s more, this list also includes deleted folders. And so while you might think you’ve removed any trace of something sensitive by deleting the folder where it was stored, that’s not necessarily the case: dates and times when you opened that folder may still be visible here.

If you’re worried about any of this, though, clicking Clean will provide some possible solutions. The program can delete references to particular folder types, scramble dates and times, even securely overwriting this information so there’s no way it can be recovered later. (Which seems like overkill to us, but it’s good to have the option.)

It’s important to be careful about the options you select, however. If you delete the references to folders which still exist then you’ll lose their Explorer view settings, for instance -- perhaps not what you want. And ShellBag AnalyZer & Cleaner can also delete references to system folders, but says that’s "not recommended".

Neither of these options is selected by default, so don’t let that put you off using the program -- just be sure to pay attention when you’re exploring what it can do.

Photo Credit: Brian A Jackson

Bring Serenity to Google TV

Publié: avril 17, 2013, 5:12pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

No, I am not talking of the nerdtastic movie from Joss Whedon, but of an app. I have written twice now of my move from an HTPC to Google TV in the living room, with my most recent post surrounding ways to get both live TV and home media to the tiny set top box. For serving up home media I opted for Plex, which seemed the best solution.

Plex is both a server and app and both are free. Simply install the server software on an always-on computer and control it from a web browser dashboard. From there you can direct it to all of your media -- movies, TV shows, music and photos. It is dead simple to set up and maintain.

After publishing that last article I received a message from a developer who wished to alert me that Plex had alternative Google TV interfaces, one of which was named Serenity.

Beauty Pagent

There is no delicate way to say this -- if the Plex app is Windows Media Center then Serenity is XBMC with its beautiful skin. The difference here is night and day. Plex is functional and you will have no problem using it, but it has the basic look of the Windows software I was replacing.

Serenity is the XBMC in this horse race, with skin that is soft and smooth. The menu glides across the screen with new images for each media type. While it still runs (pulls its data) off of the Plex media server you set up, it adds a whole new, and much improved interface to the whole thing. Everything is still there, you lose none of your media capability, you just get a much nicer view of all of those files.

Serenity is not a skin for the Plex app, but a standalone app that simply is based on the Plex server, so you will need to scroll to it in your app drawer on Google TV.

Behind the Scenes

When Serenity is first launched it may throw you a bit, as it did me. Despite the fact that you have your Plex server up and running, it will still tell you that no server was found -- do not panic. Just hit the "OK" button to enter "Settings". From here, you can click "discover servers", though it may remain grayed out for a bit. If you are in a rush then, then simply choose the option to enter the IP address of the server, which is the route I chose.

Once that IP is entered then everything populates very quickly. If you have any problems you can consult the Wiki or head over to Google Plus to get community help.

The Verdict

While Plex for Google TV is free, Serenity is not, though $1.99 is not a steep price for a good app. The code is also available over at GitHub.

The app is also available for tablets, though the developer warns that "on a tablet it is recommended to use an external player like MX Player to provide support for codecs that aren't native to the device". No external player is required on Google TV, though you can use one -- just enable it from the Settings page.

Don't get me wrong, Plex will work just fine on your set top box, but Serenity makes it look much nicer, which, on a big screen in your living room, can make all of the difference in the world.

Traditional authentication is outdated, but what do consumers really want to replace it with?

Publié: avril 17, 2013, 4:13pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

Let's face it -- secure online authentication is a chore. Except for a couple of people who enjoy using very complex passwords and/or a password manager, most of us find it difficult to use a secure combination of characters for each and every website where we have an account. Two-factor authentication is also not all that comfortable to manage, requiring use of a secondary means of generating a secure code. Often that's a token given by the bank, a text message sent by the service provider, or an app.

Is that modern? Well, it depends on your definition of the word modern. I consider the online authentication today to merely be just a slight evolution from the methods which we have used in the last decade. That's not to say that is a bad thing, but certainly not where visionary pictures, videos or predictions from not too long ago would have us today. We're not using flying cars, that's for sure, nor some wonder authentication method for that matter.

According to a study carried out by the Ponemon Institute, which surveyed 1,924 consumers in Germany, United Kingdom and United States, two thirds of the respondents would consider using a "multi-purpose identity credential" that is issued and managed by a trustworthy organization in order to authenticate various services.

The highest number of respondents, 32 percent that is, answered that they would prefer using "information contained inside a mobile device". A biometric system and an ID card with an RFID chip follow, both favored by 23 percent of the respondents. The least popular method is, wait for it, a chip implanted in one's body. Unsurprisingly, the last one got a mere 1 percent of the respondents behind it.

Judging by the other data provided by the study, the answers above shouldn't come as a big surprise. Only five percent of the respondents haven't experienced authentication failures during online transactions, while 26 percent, 29 percent and 34 percent of respondents from the US, UK and Germany, respectively have experienced this issue frequently.

Furthermore, 54 percent, 53 percent and 47 percent of the respondents from the US, UK and Germany, respectively, have said that it takes too long to reset a username or password. The same numbers, and higher, also apply to forgetting too complex or too long passwords and getting locked out of websites due to authentication failures.

What is interesting though is that consumers don't want the easy way out either. According to the study, 46 percent, 45 percent and 65 percent of the respondents from the US, UK and Germany have trouble trusting systems or websites that rely on passwords as the sole means of authentication.

Slightly lower numbers, 38 percent, 37 percent and 46 percent for folks surveyed display a similar distrust towards systems or websites that do not ask the user to change the password on a frequent basis.

After all is said and done, security is still a very serious problem with potential risks that shouldn't be taken lightly. From a personal point of view I find it rather difficult to believe that enough consumers are actively searching for various ways in which they can protect their online accounts or other important ones.

It's in our nature, as tech-oriented folks, to be aware of the dangers lurking at every corner but for the most part I think the number of people who do something about it, where it matters, is quite low overall. For this reason I believe that new means of authentication and new devices designed to keep our online endeavors safe will not be adopted easily.

Infographic Credit: Nok Nok Labs

Microsoft Research adds new functionality to Outlook

Publié: avril 17, 2013, 2:16pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

Most of the focus these days seems to be around Outlook.com, as Microsoft anxiously endeavours to move its apps online and turn software into a service. But, while the latest version of Microsoft's productivity suite -- Office 365 Home Premium -- includes the ability to access the apps on the web, ultimately it is still a software suite on your computer.

Now Microsoft Research wants to bring new functionality to the desktop version of Outlook and is announcing the release of Mañana Mail to do just that.

Mañana, Spanish for "tomorrow", lives up to its name by allowing users to schedule an email to be sent at midnight. Outlook does not need to be running in order for the message to go out, and you can still edit or cancel the message up until midnight. The new Outlook plugin also adds a feature that has been available in Gmail for sometime -- Undo Send. This means that every message is held for 15 seconds before being sent, during which time you can click "undo" to get it back.

Many users, especially in business, still prefer their email to be desktop-based so it's good to see that Microsoft is still paying attention to this, as opposed to focusing completely on the web version of the email app.

credit: Gina Sanders/Shutterstock

Windows Blue leaks (again) -- build 9369 arrives with new features

Publié: avril 17, 2013, 1:11pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

Little over three weeks after the first Windows Blue leak, another build makes its way onto the interwebs. Windows Blue build 9369 is now available (we will not tell you where, but you can easily find it). But are you really surprised? Every time there's a new version of Windows in development a leaked build somehow surfaces in the darker corners of the Internet. We can almost say that it's tradition and just a matter of time before the next one arrives.

Unlike the previous leak, Windows Blue build 9369 is only available in a 64 bit trim as far as I can tell and, depending on who is behind the leak, comes in at around 3.2 GB or 3.6 GB. There are also no telltale signs that Microsoft will name Windows Blue as Windows 8.1 further down the road, as was previously rumored. What we know, based on actual sources, is that the final name is not Windows Blue.

The folks over at WinBeta have posted a video of Windows Blue build 9369 on YouTube, which clearly shows that Microsoft has yet to tweak the name. The operating system lists itself as Windows 8 Pro.

Some of the apparent changes include: an app list button, so that users can go straight to the list of installed software using the mouse, the ability to sort apps based on name, installation date and most used, displaying the search query inside the Charms menu instead of redirecting to a new screen and a Company apps menu inside the System settings window, similar at a first glance to the identically named feature already available on Windows Phone 8.

The Company apps feature, on Windows Phone 8, is designed to allow businesses to manage Windows Phone 8 smartphones and offer apps, certificates and policies, among others. It is, therefore, safe to assume that Microsoft plans to offer a similar functionality to Windows Blue users as well and narrow the gap between its two operating systems.

In order to make it easier and smoother for users to manage files, Microsoft also added a file explorer feature, which is available in SkyDrive when using the Modern UI (User Interface). This also means that the software giant plans to further drive folks away from using the desktop and move them onto the Modern UI.

There are also new options inside Change PC settings, meant to provide a more seamless operation for users sporting a touch-based device such as laptop or tablet.

The latest Windows Blue build shows the direction Microsoft is heading in. Judging by what we have seen so far, that direction involves making the next operating system more user-friendly for both PC as well as tablet users and further push the Modern UI as the sole and go-to interface for basic use and productivity purposes.

Photo Credit: Ahturner/Shutterstock

Facebook for iOS 6.0 adds floating chat heads

Publié: avril 17, 2013, 1:01pm CEST par Nick Peers

Facebook has released Facebook for iOS 6.0, a major update for its iPhone and iPad app. The major new feature in version 6 is the introduction of "chat heads", which allow users to chat from anywhere in the app -- this feature isn’t yet universally available, but should be rolled out to all users "soon", according to Facebook.

Chat heads are small circular icons representing both individual chatters and Facebook Messages. The chat head appears automatically when receiving a message, or can be manually set up by tapping the contact’s name in the contacts list.

The chat heads float on top of the main Facebook window: users can continue to use other parts of Facebook such as the news feed, then resume chatting by tapping the appropriate chat head icon. Icons can be dragged into new positions on-screen, while users can temporarily close the chat window by tapping away from it. The chat head icon can be removed simply by tapping and dragging the chat head down on to the close button at the bottom of the screen.

The new feature is accompanied on the iPhone with the addition of support for inserting stickers -- large smiley icons -- into messages. Tap the smiley button to select one of 32 pre-included smiley faces, while more icons can be downloaded via the Sticker Store, which is accessible by tapping the blue basked icon. At the present time seven additional stickers are available -- all free.

iPhone users also gain support for customizing their feed, with support for browsing new feeds like Music, Photos and Games.

While iPad users don’t gain stickers with this build, they will find the main screen has been redesigned to bring photos and other pictorial elements front and center. This mirrors developments made to the main Facebook.com news feed last month, a feature that Facebook claims populates the feed with "brighter, more beautiful stories".

Facebook for iOS 6.0 is available now as a free download for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

LinkedIn for Windows Phone 8 introduces significant new features

Publié: avril 17, 2013, 12:11pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

If you are an avid LinkedIn user on Windows Phone 8 then you will certainly appreciate the latest update. The app has introduced significant improvements over its predecessor, ranging from a new live tile size, to speech recognition and expanded language support.

New versions of LinkedIn for Windows Phone 8 don't come often so any major update is likely to be the only one users will see in a while (a minor update for it appeared earlier this week, but without any noticeable new features or changes from the previous version other than, most likely, a couple of bug fixes and general performance enhancements). So what delights does LinkedIn 1.5 have to offer us? Let's take a look at the changes.

For the first time LinkedIn users can now take advantage of all three Windows Phone 8 live tile options. Users can resize the tile in wide, medium and small format, with the same support for displaying counters and connection status updates or last messages.

Windows Phone 8 users are also able to use LinkedIn for lockscreen information. The app displays pictures for LinkedIn today in a decently-sized rectangle. Sadly, no interaction is possible other than to go straight to the story on the business-oriented social network, after tapping on the picture.

Windows Phone 8's speech recognition allows apps to take advantage of the feature, using voice commands to perform certain actions or open the app itself. LinkedIn has tapped into this functionality with commands like "LinkedIn: Inbox" and "LinkedIn: New status". The names are self-explanatory.

The final new feature introduced by LinkedIn 1.5, and certainly one that non-native English speakers will appreciate, is support for four more languages including Chinese, French, German and Spanish.

Overall LinkedIn has added some great new features to its Windows Phone 8 app. The latest update also shows that, even though the app may sport a competent functionality, tapping into the Windows Phone 8 feature set can improve the overall experience for users. Certainly, the extra live tile size, lockscreen, speech recognition and extra languages support are very welcome indeed.

LinkedIn 1.5 is available to download from the Windows Phone Store.

Photo Credit: Netfalls - Remy Musser/Shutterstock

Amazon expands its Android Appstore to nearly 200 countries

Publié: avril 17, 2013, 11:53am CEST par Wayne Williams

Amazon is a truly global company but until now its Android Appstore was only available in seven countries -- the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Japan.

That’s about to change though as Amazon has today announced plans to introduce its Appstore to close to 200 countries, inviting developers to submit their apps with the promise that they’ll be able to reach millions more active Amazon customers by doing so.

The additional countries include Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, India, South Africa, and South Korea, as well as less obvious territories like Papua New Guinea, and Vatican City.

Developers who are interested in making use of this increased international distribution will have their apps made available for download automatically, unless they state otherwise.

"Amazon’s platform is a complete end-to-end solution for developers wanting to build, market and monetize their apps and games on Kindle Fire and Android devices," Mike George, Vice President of Apps and Games at Amazon said. "Allowing developers to target distribution of their apps and games in even more international countries is yet another important milestone as we strive to serve consumers and developers globally. Many of our existing developers have localized their apps and games for international consumers, and we look forward to working with new developers that have been waiting to bring their apps to more Amazon customers across the globe".

The roll out of the new store fronts is expected to take several months to complete.

Photo Credit: karen roach/Shutterstock

Microsoft announces general availability of IaaS support for Windows Azure

Publié: avril 17, 2013, 10:56am CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

Microsoft has announced the general availability of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) support for Windows Azure. The software giant also unveiled a couple of new features for IaaS meant to beef up the company's cloud platform. Timing is interesting --Amazon's AWS (Amazon Web Services) Summit kicks off in New York tomorrow.

Windows Azure's IaaS support introduces the Virtual Machine and Virtual Network features, and "is now live in production, backed by an enterprise SLA, supported by Microsoft Support, and is ready to use for production apps", according to Microsoft's Scott Guthrie.

After officially unveiling IaaS support for the cloud platform, Bill Hilf, Microsoft's general manager of Windows Azure Product Marketing, says that users don't have to compromise any more. "Customers don’t want to rip and replace their current infrastructure to benefit from the cloud; they want the strengths of their on-premises investments and the flexibility of the cloud. It’s not only about Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) or Platform as a Service (PaaS), it’s about Infrastructure Services and Platform Services and hybrid scenarios".

Virtual Machine and Virtual Networks

Virtual Machine for Windows Azure is designed to give users the ability to deploy and run VMs (Virtual Machines) using Microsoft's cloud platform, either by creating them from the image gallery (includes templates) or uploading already existent VMs.

Windows Azure's image gallery features templates for a couple of Microsoft products, including Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2008 R2 and SQL Server among others, and Linux-based ones such as CentOS, SUSE Linux and Ubuntu. The virtualization service used in Windows Azure is, unsurprisingly, Hyper-V which is also available as a built-in feature in Windows Server 2012.

With Virtual Networks for Windows Azure, the cloud platform's users can take advantage of a couple of features. Users can create a VPN (Virtual Private Network) with support for stable IP addresses "even across hardware failures", extend on-premises network to Windows Azure and treat VMs as part of the organization (supported hardware only includes Cisco and Juniper), configure custom DNS servers and deploy VMs into a virtual network.

Other Changes

Guthrie also revealed that Windows Azure now supports two new VM size options, atop of the currently available five. The first one is a four-core with 28 GB of RAM configuration (dubbed "A6") and the second is an eight-core with 56 GB of RAM setup (dubbed "A7"), both of which can be selected from the configuration menu for VMs.

Other enhancements include an increased default OS partition size (127 GB from the previous 30 GB), the option to modify the name of the Administrator account and the enabling of PowerShell out-of-the-box.

New Pricing Strategy

Citing customer request for "low price and good performance", Hilf touted Microsoft's commitment to match Amazon's AWS in price "for commodity services such as compute, storage and bandwidth". On price reductions, Hilf also says that Virtual Machines and Cloud Services now run for 21 percent to 33 percent less than before, with general availability.

The 21 percent decrease in price is for Windows Azure Virtual Machines (IaaS) and the 33 percent decrease is for "solutions deployed using our Windows Azure Cloud Services (PaaS) model". According to Guthrie, the new prices match those of "Amazon's on-demand VM pricing for both Windows and Linux VMs".

Hourly rates for the A7 setup, detailed above, come in at $2.04 per hour for a Windows VM and $1.64 per hour for a Linux VM. For the A6 configuration, prices go down to $1.02 per hour for the Windows VM and $0.82 per hour for the Linux VM. By contrast, the cheapest setup, dubbed ExtraSmall, features a shared number of cores and 768 MB of RAM and runs for $0.02 per hour for both Windows VMs and Linux VMs.

"We previously quoted prices of 11.5 cents per hour for single core systems (and similar for other core configurations) and then discounted those for the preview (the discounted price was 8 cents for both Windows and Linux). With today's announcements we are dropping the price on Windows from 11.5 to 9 cents -- and the Linux price to 6 cents", says Guthrie.

Guthrie also says that users can "take advantage of our 6 Month and 12 Month commitment plans to obtain significant discounts on the standard pay as you go rates. With a commitment plan you commit to spend a certain amount of money each month and in return we give you a discount on any Windows Azure resource you use that money on (and the more money you commit to use the bigger the discount we give)".

Photo Credit: Novelo/Shutterstock

SpeedyPainter is clean, simple and straightforward

Publié: avril 17, 2013, 10:05am CEST par Mike Williams

If you’ve spent some time exploring the world of free PC paint programs, then you’ll know that most of them look much like any other application. There are menus here, ribbons there, toolbars, flyouts -- it’s all very familiar, if not particularly likely to inspire your creativity.

The OpenGL-based SpeedyPainter, though, takes a different approach. It strips the interface down to the basics, reducing all the usual distractions to the absolute minimum, and instead concentrates on delivering a clean, simple and straightforward painting experience.

At first glance this may look just too limited. The program arrives in the form of a 1.87 MB download, for instance, so you probably won’t be expecting the longest of feature lists. And the opening interface doesn’t exactly look polished; it’s just a few buttons, sliders and other controls, scattered around the edge of the painting area.

Get started, though, and you’ll find SpeedyPainter offers far more capabilities than you might expect. Wacom tablet support means you can vary stroke size and opacity with your pen pressure, for instance. A versatile color picker can pop up at your cursor position for quick and easy access. There are rotate, flip and crop tools; you get layer support and a selection tool; there’s even a perspective grid overlay to help you produce more realistic images.

These tools have plenty of functionality, too. So you could just draw a crop rectangle and apply it, just as you’d expect. But you can also rotate it, or pan the image underneath, to help you select the exact area you need. (And just wait until you see what you can do with the Perspective Grid…)

But this is rarely, if ever confusing, because as you choose individual options, so the program will display simple on-screen prompts to explain what you can do. While more detailed help on the various hotkeys is only ever a click away.

And once your masterpiece is complete, SpeedyPainter won’t just save the image. It also captures each stroke as you work, and can export the results as an AVI file (480p, 720p, 1080p), a great way to see how the picture was produced. Don’t take our word for it: browse the official gallery and see for yourself.

Photo Credit: Galushko Sergey/Shutterstock

Foxit Reader 6.0 gets Office 2013 ribbon

Publié: avril 17, 2013, 8:22am CEST par Nick Peers

Foxit Corporation has unveiled a dramatically updated version of its free PDF reader. Foxit Reader 6.0.2 adds PDF creation tools to the freeware software’s roster for the first time, plus unveils a revamped ribbon-based toolbar modelled on Microsoft Office 2013.

Also added to version 6.0 are PDF sign -- support for handwritten signatures, the ability to create and insert stamps, read and search PDF Portfolios and integration with Evernote. The features see Foxit Reader 6.0 square up to pioneering freeware tool Nitro Reader 3.5.

The most radical new feature in Foxit Reader 6.0 is its comprehensive set of PDF creation tools. Users can now create PDFs directly from Word, PowerPoint and Excel via an add-on that appears in the Office ribbon. The new build is also capable of converting documents from hundreds of file types into PDF directly, plus bundles a virtual PDF printer driver for creating PDFs from any application, including unsupported ones.

Foxit Reader 6.0 is also capable of scanning documents directly into editable PDFs, whiles users can even generate new PDFs through content stored on the Windows clipboard.

The new build also sports a radically revamped look, designed to mimic the stripped back appearance of Microsoft Office 2013. This has led to a major reorganisation of existing ribbon tabs, with the addition of a new dedicated Share tab where users can easily share PDF documents via email, Facebook/Twitter and -- new to version 6.0 -- Evernote, for example.

Also added to version 6.0 is an additional way of signing documents, allowing users to bypass the existing DocuSign feature. A new PDF Sign feature allows users to create a handwritten signature, either from a previously scanned image file, the clipboard or by scribbling on-screen. Multiple signatures are supported.

Users can now also “stamp” documents with a number of pre-defined designs split into three categories: standard, “sign here” and dynamic. Users can view these via the Comments tab or open a new dedicated Stamps palette window. New stamps can also be created from scratch using existing image files.

The new version is joined by Foxit PhantomPDF Standard 6.0.2, which introduces paragraph editing, PDF form creation, the ability to edit scanned documents, drag-and-drop pages between documents, bundled desktop PDF index, improved file compression and PDF A, E and X Creation and Validation. PhantomPDF also gains the PDF Sign, support for reading and searching PDF portfolios and radical redesign found in Foxit Reader 6.0.

Foxit Reader 6.0.2 is available as a freeware download for PCs running Windows XP SP3 or later.Foxit PhantomPDF Standard 6.0.2 is available as a free trial download. PhantomPDF is available in two editions (the entry level PhantomPDF Express product has been dropped now its core functionality is incorporated into Foxit Reader), with the Standard edition costing $89, and the Business edition retailing for $129.

Java must be improving -- only 42 security holes patched this round

Publié: avril 17, 2013, 7:00am CEST par Alan Buckingham

Allow me to begin with an emphatic statement: if you have Java on your computer then get it off now! Oracle released its latest round of security patches for the incredibly buggy, and surprisingly still popular, platform, with numerous new holes waiting to either be patched or exploited.

When word came down of the latest fixes and I mentioned it in the BetaNews newsroom, our president Scott Alperin could utter only "seems like time to put PC-side Java out of its misery". Indeed.

According to the Oracle announcement "this Critical Patch Update contains 42 new security fixes across Java SE products of which 2 are applicable to server deployments of Java". The company continues to explain "39 of these vulnerabilities may be remotely exploitable without authentication". 42, that is all. Thankfully it is not 43, or 50. Perhaps next month.

For the record, this is Java 7 update 21. The update introduces some new security warnings and message prompts as well as patches. Apps that present a lower risk will display a simple informational message. This includes an option to prevent showing similar messages for apps that come from the same publisher in the future.

The latest round of updates covers Java versions 5, 6 and 7, though I recommend you run the latest...ahh...actually I recommend you run none at all. Java has even managed to get the bastion of Apple hacked, and if it can do that then imagine the horrors which can be unleashed. Check Flash. Your move.

Photo Credit: Ronald Sumners/Shutterstock

Netflix says 'goodbye Silverlight', 'hello, HTML5'

Publié: avril 16, 2013, 11:14pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

With what I can only presume is wry sense of humor, Netflix's Anthony Park and Mark Watson post: "Since Microsoft announced the end of life of Silverlight 5 in 2021, we need to find a replacement some time within the next 8 years". Well, hell, that ought to be enough time. "We'd like to share some progress we've made towards our goal of moving to HTML5 video".

Last month, Netflix finally brought video streaming to the Samsung ARM Chromebook. I wondered if that might be the future for everything. Sure enough, Netflix confirms.

HTML5 streaming support for the Chromebook is a work in progress. Netflix pursues three W3C-sanctioned specifications: Media Source Extensions, Encrypted Media Extensions and Web Cryptography API.

The Netflixers explain about early implementation:

Our player on this Chromebook device uses the Media Source Extensions and Encrypted Media Extensions to adaptively stream protected content. WebCrypto hasn't been implemented in Chrome yet, so we're using a Netflix-developed PPAPI (Pepper Plugin API) plugin which provides these cryptographic operations for now. We will remove this last remaining browser plugin as soon as WebCrypto is available directly in the Chrome browser. At that point, we can begin testing our new HTML5 video player on Windows and OS X.

So Netflix has years to get this right. What scares me is if the joke is on me and they're serious about the timeframe. ;-)

Synei Utilities gets your PC into shape

Publié: avril 16, 2013, 10:31pm CEST par Mike Williams

The PC world is packed with supposed performance-boosting suites, most of which are almost exactly the same. You’ll have a program to list your Startup programs, another one to delete your temporary internet files, a few system tweaking options – all very predictable (and, usually, not even that effective).

The news that Synei are introducing a very similar range of free tools -- a disk cleaner, services optimiser, startup manager and more -- probably won’t fill you with excitement, then. But wait: while the tools are far from perfect, there’s more than enough functionality here to make them very interesting.

Take Synei Service Manager, for instance. Optimizing your PC services is a complex business, and even the most experienced user will need a little help occasionally. Just launch Synei Service Manager and the program will quickly recommend which services you should tweak, either to improve performance or restore your default settings.

And it’s a similar story with Synei’s Startup Manager. The program doesn’t just list your startup programs and leave you to decide what to do next; it can compare them with a database of 16,000 items, immediately highlighting anything it believes is unnecessary.

The Disk Cleaner is even better, helping you scan your hard drive for all the usual leftovers (browser histories, redundant system and application files). We’ve seen this many times before, but Disk Cleaner is unusual in that it actually freed up more space than CCleaner on our test system. And that’s before we ran its Deep Cleaner, an extra tool which searches for leftover files by extension (*.TMP, *.OLD and so on).

And Synei System Utilities makes each of these tools available from a single interface, as well as adding some extras (a simple backup module, a documentation-free Windows tweaker, and graphical front ends for Windows defrag and chkdsk). It’s nothing too special, but the program does include a scheduler which allows you to run any of its tools unattended, and that could be useful.

Synei’s tools do have a few problems. The startup program and service suggestions they make aren’t always good, for instance, and that means the utilities really aren’t for beginners. You’ll need to review the recommendations they make very carefully before accepting any changes.

If you just take any advice as a starting point, though, tools like Service Manager and Startup Manager could be very helpful. The Disk Cleaner is a particular highlight. And, best of all, Synei’s programs are particularly convenient to use: they’re tiny (the entire suite is under 5MB in size), adware free, portable, and run happily on anything from Windows XP through to 8.

We would still treat the programs with extreme caution. They’re new, and will have bugs -- don’t run them anywhere that doesn’t have a full system backup to hand.

But, if you’re looking for some small and simple maintenance tools then Synei’s collection shows promise, and we’ll be interested to see where the company takes them next.

Photo Credit: Denis Davydov/Shutterstock

Microsoft updates Outlook.com for Android

Publié: avril 16, 2013, 8:07pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

Microsoft's relentless push for Outlook.com brings an app update to the enemy camp, today -- big move given that Android now represents a large portion of today's mobile market. Two weeks ago, Microsoft unleashed a major calendaring service overhaul.

The interface has been completely revamped and new features come along for the ride. As you may know, Google has pulled support for Exchange ActiveSync, but Microsoft now works around that.

According to Steven Kafka, who works on Outlook.com program management: "We believe that the best mobile experience is enabled through Exchange ActiveSync-- which provides a rich, powerful, network-optimized experience for Windows Phone, iOS and other mobile devices. However, native support for Exchange ActiveSync on Android devices varies significantly and so we build a separate app to ensure as many people as possible can have a great Outlook.com experience across all their devices".

The new mobile app not only provides the same look as its web counterpart, but also adds new features including conversation threading, filters for unread and flagged mail, and also the ability to mark messages as spam.

While the updates are welcome and should benefit many customers, it seems this also partially is a shot in the escalating war between Google and Microsoft that has resulted in the above mentioned Exchange ActiveSync cutoff and the whacky Scroogled campaign. The result, in this case at least, is good for consumers.

Photo Credit: 2jenn/Shutterstock

Chrome co-ops rival browsers

Publié: avril 16, 2013, 7:43pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

Now here's a head-scratcher for your coffee break. Today, Google released a new tool that allows businesses to make Chrome their default while launching legacy browsers (e.g., Internet Explorer) for apps that need them. Strange thing: Chrome is outdated every 12 weeks.

As a marketing ploy to move IT organizations that have applications demanding some version of IE, Google exacts brilliance. But the Legacy Browser Support add-on defies one of the major reasons many businesses prefer Internet Explorer: Stable releases for long periods.

In June 2011, Google came out all high and mighty with a startling lifecycle change, starting August 1 that year: Support for the two current browser versions only. Given that new stable Chrome builds arrive about every six weeks, the change was unprecedented, particularly for businesses used to adopting one Internet Explorer version for years.

"Why does Microsoft have such incredibly long support cycles?" my former colleague (but still one helluva guy) Larry Seltzer asked two years ago. "Because enterprises demand them. They want stability and predictability so that they can plan. It's the exact opposite of the strategy chosen by Google".

Cyrus Mistry, Google senior product manager, explains the loft-sided benefits: "When companies use browsers that are two or more versions old, employees and developers are unable to benefit from the incredible web innovations of the past four, or even ten years. Deploying a modern browser can help IT bolster security, reduce support costs, and improve browser speed and usability for employees".

Right, but Chrome 24, which released in January, already is outdated. Meanwhile, the oldest-supported IE version released in 2009. Perhaps that's a circumstance lost on Google, which sees opportunity getting these businesses on Chrome now while providing them lifeline to IE-dependent apps. Well, they best be running Google's browser now, since current version 26 could be outdated by the time they test and deploy it.

Regarding the benefits, "with Legacy Browser Support, employees on Chrome are automatically switched to a legacy browser when they begin using an older app", Mistry explains. "IT managers simply define which sites should launch from Chrome into an alternate browser, and then set this Chrome policy for all employees. And while Chrome Frame helps developers build apps for older browsers, Legacy Browser Support lets IT admins of organizations embrace the modern web".

Well that does seem simple enough.

Besides the new legacy-browser-app-supporting extension, Google also released a tool to help business and educational users better define workspaces. One of the contextual cloud computing era's big benefits is access to personal or professional data and content anytime, anywhere and on anything. But the practice also encourages people to commingle behavior, data user experience. Google has a solution. Mistry explains:

We’re also introducing cloud-based management of Chrome for Google Apps for Business and Education customers. Now, whether employees are working from the company’s desktop or their personal laptop, they will be able to access default applications, custom themes, or a curated app web store when they sign-in to Chrome with their work account. With cloud-based management, IT administrators can customize more than 100 Chrome policies and preferences for their employees from the Google Admin panel.

Both new IT tools are contextual, just in different ways. Back to legacy browser support, perhaps Google defines up-to-date, presuming Chrome always is, differently than I do or many IT organizations. Your definition?

Wishing Windows well in its new role

Publié: avril 16, 2013, 6:36pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

"The era of PC dominance with Windows as the single platform will be replaced with a post-PC era where Windows is one of a variety of environments that IT will need to support", Van Baker, Gartner research vice president, says. The days of Windows as the applications and device hub are over.

The implications are huge for businesses, which must adapt to something else, too. While native mobile apps are all the rage today, their future is uncertain. Gartner forecasts that by 2016, more than half of those deployed will be hybrid, and that's good for any platform favoring HTML5, including Windows.

Post-PC is a Lie

Baker and I disagree on one important point, however. There is no post-PC era. It's a fiction perpetrated by Apple cofounder Steve Jobs, who when alive wanted to sell more devices, and for analysts like Baker who want clients to buy more reports and services. We have entered the contextual cloud computing era, where context and not device or location determines tech's usage.

Context isn't new in business computing, but accelerates because of cloud benefits. BlackBerries, laptops and PDAs -- going back into the last century -- were contextual devices around which employees commingled behavior and data. The trend simply accelerates, as consumers purchase more devices and bring them to work. Employees have more choices, not just Windows PCs, and for tech all the more personal.

In this rapidly evolving future, where the cloud makes content and data available anywhere, anytime and on anything, context is king. There is no post-PC, rather the personal computer changes roles, being one of many platforms. During the transition, platform creators and developers emphasized apps, like they did for the PC -- and many are native. But that's not a sustainable approach because of contextual demands -- your professional or personal stuff available on anything. Developers make do by creating apps for each platform, which isn't a sustainably sound strategic approach going forward. There is too much investment in too many places.

As businesses support more devices, they should add them to existing applications and platforms, rather than supporting them separately, Gartner recommends. That's actually good for Windows' longevity, being the incumbent and because of development priorities Microsoft made for the current desktop and server platforms. Windows 8's Modern UI is all about active content, and developers using HTML5, JavaScript and native code to write apps and to support connected services.

BYOD Jungle

"The BYOD trend and the increased pressure on organizations to deploy mobile applications to accommodate mobile work styles of employees will lead businesses to manage a portfolio of mobile application architectures", Baker says, "and hybrid architectures will be especially well-suited to business-to-employee applications".

HTML5's role cannot be understated. "While hybrid apps will be the majority of enterprise mobile apps, web technologies like HTML5 will make up the most commonly used languages for building mobile applications by 2015", David Mitchell Smith, Gartner vice president, predicts.

That's good for cross-platform development, which is more sensible when supporting so many devices -- everything from legacy Windows to mobile operating systems like Android, BlackBerry, iOS or Windows Phone.

Where Windows sits on the enterprise will greatly affect many IT developers' choices about what to invest in and where. Those decisions aren't easy because adoption of other devices is an accelerating trend.

As I explained three years ago: "Mobile device-to-cloud competition's shifting relevance bears striking similarities to the move from mainframes to PCs, and it is a long, ongoing trend. Microsoft's newer problem is sudden and unexpected: Competing operating systems moving up from smartphones to PCs or PC-like devices".

Out with the Old

Looking at past historical trends, the pace is slow at first reaching a crescendo, where there is a dramatic shift to the new from the old occurring within a short time span. Some older technologies continue for a time and disappear, while many others remain but in new niches. Some recent, and not-too-hard-to-grasp, examples:

Cottage industries and factories
Horse drawn carriages and trains
Trains and automobiles
Telegraphs and telephones
Mainframes and PCs
Digital music downloads and CDs

We're at the accelerating end now, where much changes fast in a short time. For example, between October and March surveys, Twitter usage dramatically shifted, according to Strategy Analytics. On laptops, the number dropped to 64 percent from 77 percent, while on smartphones and tablets rose to 71 percent from 65 percent.

"The immediacy of Twitter communications requires devices which are close to hand at every waking moment," David Mercer, Strategy Analytics vice president, says. "By definition this suggests mobile phones and tablets should be preferred devices for Tweeting and the survey evidence points clearly in this direction".

Twitter, like many other cloud apps and services, is highly contextual and personal. Business mobile apps will be increasingly so as organizations establish sound policies about devices used for home and work purposes and maximize their benefits.

Again, the trend accelerates. Signs are everywhere. Many IT organizations may find their businesses on the short end of the curve and using BYOD as means of making do while catching up. But decisions they make in process, about Windows' role and supporting and managing new platforms, matter now. It's one reason to anticipate hybrid mobile apps, at least in the short term.

As for Windows, it's changing role is inevitable now. The question to be answered: What will be Windows new role in a one-of-many world?

Photo Credit: Digital Storm/Shutterstock

BitTorrent releases Surf browser plugin beta

Publié: avril 16, 2013, 4:28pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

The glory days of Torch, a Chrome-based web browser known for its built-in Torrent capabilities, may be short-lived because similar functionality is headed your way right in the web browser you are probably using right now. Surf, the plugin announced back in January, rolls into full beta release today.

The company announces that "BitTorrent Surf started out as a little Chrome experiment: a way to make BitTorrent simpler. Basically, Surf transforms your browser into a BitTorrent client; with discovery and downloading built in". The experiment apparently went well because the browser plugin hits beta mode for not only Chrome, but also Firefox as well.

Of course, like all official BitTorrent products, Surf is designed with legal purposes in mind. The company envisions users being able to find content from the many artists who use the file-sharing network to distribute their work. The new plugin has a built-in recommendation engine so that customers searching for one artist will also discover work from other, similar musicians. "Recommendation and prioritization can help drive visibility for BitTorrent partner artists – solving for the exposure barrier that every creator is confronted with" the announcement tells us.

Like all things BitTorrent, this will likely strike fear into organizations such as the MPAA and RIAA and those users who choose so, will find 'other uses' for the new plugin. However, for the many users and artist who use BitTorrent for genuine reasons, this could prove a boon.

Zombies, Run! 2 arrives on iOS and Android

Publié: avril 16, 2013, 3:49pm CEST par Wayne Williams

My favorite exercise companion, Zombies, Run!, has just received its promised free upgrade and is available now on both iOS and Android (I’m such a fan I’ve downloaded both).

The immersive app, which basically turns a real-world run into a fear-filled journey through the zombie apocalypse, is ideal for anyone who struggles with motivation and is a bit like a radio play that takes place through your headphones as you run, with the gripping story -- and the occasional zombie chase -- unfolding in between tracks from your playlist.

The upgraded version comes with seven free new missions to get you started (four main ones and three side-quests), with new missions released weekly starting from 29 April. The new missions, of which there are over 60, pick up from where the original Zombies, Run! missions left off, but I won’t say more than that because I don’t want to spoil the experience for anyone starting from scratch. There will be three missions released every week -- two main ones advancing the story, and one side mission.

You can purchase the missions separately or buy a season pass. You have a choice of purchase options. If you're in the US, a Season Pass (all 40 story missions) will cost you $1.99, a Season Pass Plus (with the 20 sidequests included) is $4.99 and if you just want the sidequests themselves, that’ll set you back $2.99. If you're in the UK, a Season Pass is £1.49 on iOS and £1.59 on Android, a Season Pass Plus is £2.99 on iOS but £3.99 on Android, and the sidequests are £1.99 on iOS and £2.39 on Android.

The difference in price is because iTunes and Google handle VAT in slightly different ways and the Apple app prices are actually artificially low because they were set back when the pound was much stronger.

The prices are around 50 percent cheaper at the moment to celebrate the launch of the app, so if you’re thinking of buying a pass now is the time to do it.

In the app itself you can flick between Season 1 (23 main missions) and 2, and also access any race missions. There’s no Radio Mode option at the moment, but that’s coming back soon.

In addition to the new missions, the upgraded app comes with a Base Builder that lets you create your own vision of Able Township (where the game is based), by adding new buildings, upgrading or demolishing existing ones and so on. The more you run, the more supplies you collect (on average you’ll pick up 30 supplies an hour) and the more you can build. You start with the farmhouse, defense tower and an armory, and can add housing, hospitals and recreation areas. Bonus items will be unlocked as you progress in the game.

Zombies, Run! 2 is a free upgrade to the original. If you don’t already have the app installed, you can buy it on the App Store or Google Play for $3.99/£2.79 which, like the season passes, is currently 50 percent cheaper than it would be normally.

Microsoft updates Skype for Windows Phone 8, strips away preview label

Publié: avril 16, 2013, 1:39pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

Microsoft has updated Skype for Windows Phone 8, dropping the preview label associated with the app. Among the most noteworthy improvements, the stable version of the popular voice, video and text chatting application brings a change in message notifications and a number of bug fixes meant to improve the stability and overall functionality.

Skype for Windows Phone 8, which is now at version 2.5, introduces a new default setting for message notifications. After Microsoft announced that Messenger will be dropped and replaced with Skype, message notifications for Messenger friends are now enabled straight off the bat, likely to ensure a smooth transition to the new service.

The latest version of Skype for Windows Phone 8 also fixes a number of bugs related to calling, notifications, stability and video chatting. The app now enables the video call button right after accepting a contact request and message notifications should display contact names correctly at all times.

Skype is also stable upon starting and signing in using a Microsoft account and received video calls and local video previews are displayed correctly.

There is also a known issue related to the HTC Windows Phone 8X. The microphone is muted during voice calls for users who have yet to update their smartphone to the latest available software.

Skype 2.5 is available to download from the Windows Phone Store.

BlackBerry Q10 now available to pre-order on Vodafone

Publié: avril 16, 2013, 1:21pm CEST par Wayne Williams

UK dwellers keen to get their hands on BlackBerry’s new Q10 smartphone will have to wait until the end of the month when it goes on sale officially, but they can start pre-ordering it from today.

Vodafone, which describes the new handset as a "classic in the making" has opened its pre-order page so you can choose a tariff and place your order.

The handset is available in any color -- so long as it’s black or white -- and as always there’s a choice of plans to pick from. If you don’t want to shell out anything upfront, you can sign up for a 24-month Vodafone Red contract which will cost you £37 a month and give you unlimited texts and calls, as well as 1GB of data.

While the phone’s stable mate, the Z10, comes with a 4.2-inch touchscreen display, the BlackBerry Q10 has a 3.1-inch touchscreen and the traditional BlackBerry physical keyboard.

Specs-wise, the Q10 rocks a 1.5GHz dual-core processor with 2GB of RAM, and a rear-facing 8-Megapixel camera.

SugarSync gets a big redesign for iOS

Publié: avril 16, 2013, 1:21pm CEST par Nick Peers

SugarSync, Inc has released SugarSync for iOS 4.0, a major new release for iPad and iPhone owners wishing access to their SugarSync cloud storage on the move. Version 4.0 features a major redesign designed to simplify syncing and sharing, plus integrates with other apps through the "Open in" feature.

The update also adds support for Device Filtering, a feature recently introduced in the SugarSync 2.0.9 desktop app for Windows and Mac, along with Cloud Search, and promises future support for folder labels.

The redesign in SugarSync 4.0 mirrors that found in the desktop and Android apps that were released in February. The aim is to streamline the app’s look and make it easier to navigate. In particular, the design is geared towards simplifying access to recently synced content from other devices, plus makes it easier to both share and view shared content from others thanks to new Shared by Me and Shared with Me tabs.

The iOS app also introduces support for the recently implemented Device Filter, which allows users to sync only specific folders to the cloud from their devices. This feature allows users to view all synced folders or restrict browsing to those shared with a specific computer or mobile.

The new feature has also inspired the Cloud Search tool, which makes it possible for users to search across their entire online storage, not just those folders synced with the iPad or iPhone. From here users can then choose to sync, share or view individual files.

SugarSync now fully supports the iOS "Open in" feature, which allows users to save content to their SugarSync storage from other apps such as Mail or Pages, plus open documents already stored on SugarSync’s servers in compatible apps on the iPad or iPhone.

The desktop update introduced folder labels, and support for this feature is promised in a future version. SugarSync for iOS 4.0.0 is available now as a free download, as are SugarSync 2.0.9 for Windows and Mac, and SugarSync for Android 4.0.1. SugarSync offers a free 5GB storage plan, as well as paid-for plans, with prices starting from $7.49 a month ($74.99 a year) for 60GB.

Google reveals Glass specs and releases companion app

Publié: avril 16, 2013, 1:13pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

Google has changed many aspects of our mundane digital lives including how we search online, use an email service, communicate with folks around the world, and interact with our mobile devices. Now the company even wants to change how we talk about glasses.

Who could have imagined that in 2013 we would be discussing the hardware specifications of a pair of spectacles? Before Google Glass this was unimaginable, but as the search giant has just released the specs of its specs, things just got real. So what is the search giant's forthcoming device packing?

Let's talk about the display first. Google Glass comes with a high resolution panel which the company says is the "equivalent of a 25 inch high definition screen from eight feet away".

The device features a 5 MP camera that is capable of 720p video recording and sports adjustable nosepads and a durable frame that is designed to fit "any face". There are also "extra nosepads in two sizes".

Google Glass comes with 16 GB of internal storage, 12 GB of which are user-accessible and "synced with Google cloud storage". Presumably that means owners can access and upload files from the cloud using their smart glasses.

In terms of audio, Google Glass features a "bone conduction transducer", which basically means that sound is conducted to the inner ear through the bones of the skull. This is certainly not your run of the mill pair of glasses, that's for certain.

On the connectivity front, Google Glass packs Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g and Bluetooth. It is worth noting that the former implies speeds of up to 54 Mbps, nowhere near as fast as the chipset inside a modern day smartphone, tablet or laptop, for instance.

The battery should last around an entire day with typical usage, but Google says that using Hangouts or recording video might sip more power and make the battery life significantly shorter. To top things off, Google Glass comes with a microUSB cable and adjacent charger.

On the subject of charging Google Glass, the company says: "While there are thousands of Micro USB chargers out there, Glass is designed and tested with the included charger in mind. Use it and preserve long and prosperous Glass use".

You might imagine a smart device like this needs some sort of app to control it. And it does. The companion app is called MyGlass and is available to download from Google Play now.

MyGlass allows users to "configure and manage your Glass device" through a Google Now-like UI (User Interface). Judging by the provided screenshots, the app works with Google+ and Gmail, as well as other Google services.

Google is testing its sense of humor with the description of MyGlass. The company says: "If you don't have Glass, then downloading this will be a waste of time. Sorry about that. But if you swipe the screenshots to the right you'll see there's a picture of a puppy in pajamas. So not a total waste of time after all".

Why I love Windows 8

Publié: avril 16, 2013, 12:26pm CEST par Ian Barker

Fourth in a series. It seems to be fashionable at the moment to be negative about Windows 8. People like to whine about how the Modern UI gets in the way and how the rest of it is just Windows 7 with some of the furniture rearranged. Some analysts are even blaming Windows 8 for poor PC sales.

Well, I’m sorry Windows 8 deniers, you’re wrong. I’ve used every major version of Windows since 3.1, I’ve been using Windows 8 since the Developer Preview versions and I think it’s Microsoft’s best effort yet.

If you move beyond the culture shock of its different look, there are just so many things that Windows 8 does well. The first is how quickly it manages to boot up your PC. When I initially loaded the Developer Preview on the humble Intel Atom-powered machine I use as a test box I was startled to find it booted in less than half the time taken by my Windows 7 laptop with Pentium power and 50 percent more RAM. Okay, so this is down to a little conjuring trick which saves the system state on shutdown and allows the system to reload without starting core components one by one, but it’s still impressive.

Another feature that makes me a fan of Windows 8 is its reliability. When your day job involves the constant round of installs and uninstalls that comes with reviewing software and hardware you become no stranger to the blue screen of death. Not in Windows 8, in almost a year of use I haven’t seen the BSOD once. This is due to Windows 8’s ability to allow individual programs to crash without taking down the whole OS.

Some people bemoan the lack of a desktop Start button, but the Charms bar combined with the powerful search function more than compensates. I’m now reaching the point where using an older version of Windows feels quite alien and I automatically go to the bottom right corner of the screen expecting something to happen.

Which brings us to the controversial Modern UI. Yes it’s designed for touch screens and it works best with one. But it’s still perfectly usable on an old-fashioned mouse and keyboard setup. The apps look good, they work well and if you want a conventional desktop it’s only a click away. Honestly, I don’t understand why people have a problem with it.

I could go on about improved multi-monitor support, easy syncing of settings between machines, the quality of the built-in security, the ability to reset the system and more. There are many reasons why I love Windows 8, so let me end with an appeal. Don’t take my word for it, set aside your prejudices, curb your Luddite tendencies and take a fresh look, this really is a good operating system.

Samsung Galaxy S4 available at AT&T for pre-order, ships April 30

Publié: avril 16, 2013, 11:40am CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

Little under three weeks ago, AT&T revealed that it would be offering the Galaxy S4 for pre-order starting April 16. And today Samsung's latest Android flagship is indeed available at the US mobile operator for those who wish to purchase the smartphone before the official sales start.

What's the damage? Similar to its predecessor, on a two-year contract with "qualifying voice and data plans", the Galaxy S4 in 16 GB storage trim can be pre-ordered for $199.99. Should you choose to go with AT&T's one-year contract, the same smartphone runs for $449.99, again with "qualifying voice and data plans".

AT&T also offers the 16GB Galaxy S4 on a "month to month" plan for $639.99. Available color options, for all plans, include White Frost and Black Mist. AT&T says that the smartphone ships on April 30, presumably the date when sales officially start.

At the time of writing this article the 32GB Galaxy S4 is not yet available for pre-order. AT&T said this model runs for $249.99 on a two-year contract, $50 more than the 16GB version.

According to the results of the BetaNews poll, 20.77 percent of respondents say they will pre-order the Galaxy S4. A whopping 56.37 percent of the voters in the poll answered that they will also purchase the smartphone after it is available, a number not including those who will pre-order the Galaxy S4.

By contrast, only 14.7 percent of respondents answered that they will not purchase the Galaxy S4 and even fewer, 8.15 percent, are on the fence concerning the acquisition.

Adobe releases Photoshop Lightroom 5 Beta

Publié: avril 16, 2013, 9:53am CEST par Mike Williams

Adobe has announced the first public beta of Photoshop Lightroom 5. And while a first look suggests this isn’t the most major of upgrades, there are still some worthwhile improvements to be found.

A new one-click Upright tool can analyse your images and detect tilted lines, for instance. You can choose a correction method, but otherwise the program will straighten images all on its own.

Lightroom 5 gains some more Photoshop-like technology with its enhanced healing brush, which can heal or clone with brush strokes.

A new radial filter allows you to apply your preferred Lightroom image adjustments to a circular mask, which can then be resized or feathered to produce a more natural effect.

A Smart Preview option helps you work remotely from your original images. Lightroom 5 can create smaller versions of these files, called Smart Previews; if you’re disconnected from the source images then you can work on the Smart Previews, instead; and when you reconnect, the program is able to reapply all your edits to the original pictures.

Elsewhere, more capable photo book creation includes book templates which you can customise to suit your needs.

And it’s now possible to combine video clips, images and music to produce your very own HD video slideshow.

While there’s no single killer feature here, the automatic perspective correction and enhanced healing brush are going to be very useful. And if you’d like to try them out, the beta of Photoshop Lightroom 5 is available now. (No need to worry if you have an earlier version; Adobe says it can be installed alongside an existing copy of Lightroom installation without overwriting anything.)

Symantec highlights 58 percent increase in mobile attacks

Publié: avril 16, 2013, 9:04am CEST par Ian Barker

Security giant Symantec’s 18th annual Internet Security Threat Report is out today and reveals that cyber criminals are increasingly scouring the Web for personal details in order to target their attacks. Armed with your information they can exploit security gaps in social networks and other sites to infect your system or steal your details.

It’s not just your PC that’s at risk either; the report shows an alarming 58 percent increase in attacks on mobile devices with just under a third of these aimed at stealing data without the user’s knowledge. Android is the most targeted mobile platform as its open source nature makes it easier to hide malware in apps. The securer-than-thou smugness of Apple users receives a blow too as the report notes more than 600,000 Mac systems were infected by a single attack last April.

When it comes to types of threat, the growth of ransomware continues with infections becoming more aggressive and harder to undo. Another scary statistic is that 61 percent of malicious sites are actually legitimate websites that have been compromised so you may be at risk even if you think you’re practising safe surfing.

Symantec also highlights some common myths about security and you can read these as a handy infographic and access the full ISTR report here.

Norton’s security expert Richard Clooke said, "The report results have shown that it is still crucial for Norton to continue to educate consumers on how they can help protect themselves from acts of cybercrime. Ransomware, for example, a scam which disables victims’ computers until they pay a ransom, continues to be a key theme and is now becoming more sophisticated than ever..."

Of course all of this is aimed at boosting sales of Symantec’s security products, but it does underline that the threat landscape is an ever changing one and that we all need to be careful out there.

Photo Credits: Slavoljub Pantelic/Shutterstock

Better Bing blesses Windows 8

Publié: avril 16, 2013, 8:46am CEST par Joe Wilcox

In case you missed the update, because I nearly did, Microsoft brings better Bing apps to Windows 8. They dropped yesterday, but I'm just getting round to them today. I love `em. The search engine is hugely underrated compared to Google, and the core services look so damn good and feel even better from a touchscreen.

In a self-aggrandizing post, the Bing team describes core apps Finance, Maps, News, Sports, Travel and Weather as "immersive vertical experiences". I so totally agree. Modern UI offers the most immersive experience on tablets, for fully-supporting apps. Microsoft claims that they "were designed from the ground up to embrace speed and touch providing you with a fast, fluid and consistent way to delve into your interests and get things done".

As a user, three of the updates are most useful -- News, Maps and Weather. I don't invest, have limited sports interest and don't travel enough.

News. Bloggers and some news sites obsess over Google News, using every trick imaginable to get placement, hoping for surge that can deliver tens of thousands of pageviews in minutes. Hell, I never look at the thing. Google News is a drug habit. I won't be addicted.

But Bing News is fanciful for increasing utility. Just as Google dumps RSS and sends Reader to the executioner, Microsoft supports feeds, and offline reading. Yeah, I'll give Bing News a look hard looksee.. Oh yeah, there's support for alerts, something else getting the big Google boot.

Maps. Google is hard to beat in this area, but Bing is no slouch, either. Microsoft adds more real-time information, which makes getting around lots better -- well, I say from first-blush look. I need to get out on the road to say for certain.

Weather. Microsoft's app is my favorite from anybody. Weather information is well-presented -- and lots of it. The thing is so damn immersive, I get sucked in looking for stuff everytime I open it. The new dynamically roaming weather maps are chock full of useful information.

Nokia Lumia 820 review

Publié: avril 16, 2013, 7:27am CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

If you are in the market for a mid-range Windows Phone 8 device then the Nokia Lumia 820 should definitely make your shortlist. The smartphone is affordable, fast, responsive, looks nice and comes with the Finnish manufacturer's exclusive collection of enticing apps. Users can even personalize the appearance of the Lumia 820 by switching between different back covers of attractive colors.

In a number of ways, the Lumia 820 is closer to high-end rather than mid-range Windows Phone 8 devices. The smartphone comes with the same processor as the Lumia 920 (which explains the speed part), features support for wireless charging through optional back plates and sports an AMOLED display where black is really black and not a shade of gray. But, the Lumia 820 is not a scaled down version of the bigger Lumia 920 or any other high-end Windows Phone 8 handset.

The Specs

The Lumia 820 comes with a 4.3-inch AMOLED display with ClearBlack technology, resolution of 480 by 800 and 217 pixels per inch density. A 1.5 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, 1GB of RAM and a 1650 mAh battery power the smartphone.

Other specs include 8GB of internal storage; microSD card slot; 8.7 MP back-facing camera with 1080p video recording; 0.3 MP front-facing camera with 480p video recording; USB 2.0; Bluetooth 3.0; Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n; NFC; 4G LTE; magnetometer and A-GPS as the most noteworthy.

The Lumia 820 comes in at 123.8 x 68.5 x 9.9 mm and 160 grams.

Build Quality and Handling

Similar to other Windows Phone 8 handsets in Nokia's lineup, the Lumia 820 comes with an all-glass front panel and polycarbonate backside. Like I previously mentioned the back panel is interchangeable, and comes in seven different colors: cyan, purple, red, white and yellow as glossy and gray and black as matte finishes.

Needless to say, there's a back panel for (almost) everyone's taste. If you still aren't happy enough, Nokia even provides a 3D printing development kit for the Lumia 820, which delivers complete customization albeit at a cost.

The Lumia 820 that I received for this review comes with the glossy yellow cover. The good part is that the color and the finish mask any imperfections very well, and there is the possibility of replacing the back panel to get rid of all the wear should it occur. Also, the yellow cover really makes the Lumia 820 stand out in a crowd.

The downside with having a glossy finish on the back, and this holds true for every handset that I have tested, is that the smartphone can get very slippery and is more prone to drops. A matte finish partially solves the problem, albeit Nokia's respective coatings are still somewhat slippery.

The back panel on the Lumia 820 flexes under pressure, something that is not immediately noticeable unless a higher pressure is applied. That said, the Lumia 820 is well built and gives the impression that it can withstand a fair amount of abuse. And, being quite small, the Lumia 820 is also easy to handle and use with one hand.

The weight is not as substantial as the Lumia 920 for instance, although after using Nokia's flagship for a while nothing really is heavy anymore. At 160 grams, though, the 820 is far from being the lightest smartphone around, which is something to consider for some folks.

Generally speaking the Lumia 820 does well in the design department. It's a fairly standard approach with rounded corners, non-tapered edges and significant thickness. But phone lags behind its larger brother, the Lumia 920, or the HTC Windows Phone 8X in this regard.

The Display

As I mentioned in the specs, the Lumia 820 comes with a 4.3-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 480 by 800 and a 217 ppi density. There are two notable downsides here: the resolution and, therefore, the pixel density.

If you are used to looking at a display with a 720p resolution (720 by 1280) or higher, the panel on the Lumia 820 will look underwhelming by comparison. Text is not as sharp as it should be, easy to spot when looking through the app list or the Settings menu. A similar impression is given when viewing web pages in Internet Explorer.

But there are good parts to the Lumia 820's display. Colors pop and appear vibrant, something which is highly noticeable when holding the handset next to the Lumia 920. That is in part due to the AMOLED technology and the software calibration performed by Nokia. All in all, except the low resolution, the display on the Lumia 820 is decent.

Performance and Battery Life

Due to the 1.5 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and the 1GB of RAM, the Lumia 820 comes with plenty of power. Performance is good across the board, although I have noticed a couple of hiccups here and there likely due to some software glitches.

Windows Phone 8 is very responsive, fast and fluid, a trait that is common among similar devices. Browsing speeds are also good and double tap to zoom performs great with almost instant text refresh. If you care about such things, the Lumia 820 got a score of 910.9 ms in SunSpider, version 0.9.1. That's one of the highest scores attainable on a smartphone today.

What about battery life? During my testing, with brightness set on auto, two email accounts, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter syncing in the background, mobile data and Wi-Fi always enabled, some calls and texts and an overall medium use, the battery on the Lumia 820 got me through the day and even into the next one. With light usage, I saw around 30 hours of battery life but I'm certain your experience may vary with a different usage pattern.

Hardware Extras

Just like the Lumia 920, the Lumia 820 features support for wireless charging and comes with a display that can be operated using gloves. While the former may require purchasing a new part (the back panel in this case), the latter is available out-of-the-box. You'll still need gloves, obviously.

I have doubts when it comes to the benefits of the ultra-sensitive display. Sure it's nice to be able to use the smartphone with gloves, but you'd have to wear thinner and grippier gloves to operate the display well enough and, obviously, hold the smartphone. To me, that's just a nice feature that I'll likely never use as it's quite difficult to take out the smartphone from inside my pants' pockets using gloves.

The wireless charging feature is more useful more of the time. I have a Nokia wireless charging pillow, Fatboy-branded, which I use to top the battery on my Lumia 920. Sadly, I couldn't test this feature on the Lumia 820 as the back panel doesn't support wireless charging. That said, it should work just as on any other compatible smartphone -- just place it on top and it charges.

It is worth noting that the 8GB of internal storage runs out pretty quickly when shooting video, snapping pics or installing apps. A microSD card is supported and should be acquired. The Lumia 820 can house microSD cards up to 64GB in size, which should cover even the most demanding users' needs.

The Cameras

The Lumia 820 comes with an 8.7 MP back-facing camera, similar in count to the one on the Lumia 920, but without the Nokia PureView branding. That means no tricked out OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) or impressive low-light performance.

Pictures are of decent quality, although they do not impress overall. The shots feature a decent level of detail, though not up to par with photos shot with the Lumia 920, for instance. Also, under low-light, the camera makes too much use of flash, which makes pictures look overexposed in the focus area, but underexposed otherwise.

The video camera also captures decent videos, but like previously mentioned without OIS. That means videos appear slightly shaky when you move. By contrast the Lumia 920 fares better in this regard. The camera also adapts slower than it should to light changes (the Lumia 920 again fares better). Sound is decent overall, but is high-pitched. By contrast the Lumia 920 delivers a more muffled sound.

For a mid-range device, generally speaking both the photos and videos produced with the Lumia 820 are decent. If you are not a photography enthusiast this smartphone's back-facing camera should suffice most of the time. About the 0.3 MP front-facing camera, let's just say that it's there and leave it at that. The low quality of the latter is to be expected considering the megapixel count.

It is worth noting that the Lumia 820 review unit that I have comes with Windows Phone version 8.0.10211.204 and firmware version 1232.5957.1308.0001, both latest available at the time of writing this article. Nokia may tweak the camera software in future releases, so your experience can vary depending on the firmware.

Software Features

In the software department, the Lumia 820 offers pretty much the same apps and features as the 920. The only apparent difference, and this may boil down to this particular software version, is the more restrictive screen time-out intervals -- the Lumia 820 tops at five minutes, while the 920's display can be kept on until the battery runs out. Otherwise, you're looking at the same level of software equipment.

You can read my comparison between the Windows Phone 8X and the Lumia 920 as well as my Lumia 920 first-impressions review for the scoop on some of the most important Nokia-branded apps.

Needless to say you will not be disappointed by the Nokia collection inside Windows Phone's app store. There are plenty of useful apps ranging from maps, navigation, photo editing, games, weather, sports, shopping to social networking (Nokia's Foursquare app for instance).

Price

This one is a tough nut to crack.

In Europe, the Lumia 820 is available at roughly the same price as the Windows Phone 8X, when purchased off-contract. The latter, however, is HTC's Windows Phone flagship and features better hardware specifications, albeit lesser software prowess. You'll have to choose which one really matters to you: hardware or software. If the latter is the case then the Lumia 820 is best, otherwise go for the Windows Phone 8X.

In the United States, for instance, the Lumia 820 can be had with no upfront cost upon signing a two-year contract with AT&T. Verizon, which sells the Lumia 822 -- a branded version of the Lumia 820 -- also offers the smartphone for free. At this price-point the Lumia 820 and its Lumia 822 sibling offer unbeatable value for the money in the Windows Phone realm.

But, if you're on AT&T and plan on staying there for another two years I advise you to pony up for the Lumia 920. It runs for $99.99 on a two-year contract and offers more bang for the buck: bigger and higher resolution screen, better cameras, better build quality and, dare I say, better looks (I know that is subjective).

The Bottom Line

Nokia really improves the Windows Phone 8 experience with the Lumia lineup. The added apps bring real value to the mix, something that other manufacturers should pay attention to even in mid-range to low-end market. The Lumia 820 also never once felt underpowered or out of its element. I appreciate the extra dose of excitement brought by the yellow trim and the other colorful back plates, which almost makes me regret getting a Lumia 920 in boring black.

The Lumia 820 is likely the best mid-range Windows Phone device currently available. The only things that really let it down are the average back-facing camera and low-resolution display, the latter of which is easily noticeable more of the time than the former. If you are willing to put up with these two shortcomings, the Lumia 820 can pretty much do everything that the Lumia 920 does only at a lower price-point.

Photo Credits: Mihaita Bamburic

Accidental Empires, Part 21 -- Future Computing (Chapter 15)

Publié: avril 16, 2013, 6:14am CEST par Robert X. Cringely

Twenty-first in a series. The final chapter to the first edition, circa 1991, of Robert X. Cringely's Accidental Empires concludes with some predictions prophetic and others, well...

Remember Pogo? Pogo was Doonesbury in a swamp, the first political cartoon good enough to make it off the editorial page and into the high-rent district next to the horoscope. Pogo was a ‘possum who looked as if he was dressed for a Harvard class reunion and who acted as the moral conscience for the first generation of Americans who knew how to read but had decided not to.

The Pogo strip remembered by everyone who knows what the heck I am even talking about is the one in which the little ‘possum says, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” But today’s sermon is based on the line that follows in the next panel of that strip -- a line that hardly anyone remembers. He said, “We are surrounded by insurmountable opportunity.”

We are surrounded by insurmountable opportunity.

Fifteen years ago, a few clever young people invented a type of computer that was so small you could put it on a desk and so useful and cheap to own that America found places for more than 60 million of them. These same young people also invented games to play on those computers and business applications that were so powerful and so useful that we nearly all became computer literate, whether we wanted to or not.

Remember computer literacy? We were all supposed to become computer literate, or something terrible was going to happen to America. Computer literacy meant knowing how to program a computer, but that was before we really had an idea what personal computers could be used for. Once people had a reason for using computers other than to learn how to use computers, we stopped worrying about computer literacy and got on with our spreadsheets.

And that’s where we pretty much stopped.

There is no real difference between an Apple II running VisiCalc and an IBM PS/2 Model 70 running Lotus 1-2-3 version 3.0. Sure, the IBM has 100 times the speed and 1,000 times the storage of the Apple, but they are both just spreadsheet machines. Put the same formulas in the same cells, and both machines will give the same answer.

In 1984, marketing folks at Lotus tried to contact the people who bought the first ten copies of VisiCalc in 1979. Two users could not be reached, two were no longer using computers at all, three were using Lotus 1-2-3, and three were still using VisiCalc on their old Apple IIs. Those last three people were still having their needs met by a five-year-old product.

Marketing is the stimulation of long-term demand by solving customer problems. In the personal computer business, we’ve been solving more or less the same problem for at least 10 years. Hardware is faster and software is more sophisticated, but the only real technical advances in software in the last ten years have been the Lisa’s multitasking operating system and graphical user interface, Adobe’s PostScript printing technology, and the ability to link users together in local area networks.

Ken Okin, who was in charge of hardware engineering for the Lisa and now heads the group designing Sun Microsystems’ newest workstations, keeps a Lisa in his office at Sun just to help his people put their work in perspective. “We still have a multitasking operating system with a graphical user interface and bit-mapped screen, but back then we did it with half a mip [one mip equals one million computer instructions per second] in 1 megabyte of RAM,” he said. “Today on my desk I have basically the same system, but this time I have 16 mips and an editor that doesn’t seem to run in anything less than 20 megabytes of RAM. It runs faster, sure, but what will it do that is different from the Lisa? It can do round windows; that’s all I can find that’s new. Round windows,great!”

There hasn’t been much progress in software for two reasons. The bigger reason is that companies like Microsoft and Lotus have been making plenty of money introducing more and more people to essentially the same old software, so they saw little reason to take risks on radical new technologies. The second reason is that radical new software technologies seem to require equally radical increases in hardware performance, something that is only now starting to take place as 80386- and 68030-based computers become the norm.

Fortunately for users and unfortunately for many companies in the PC business, we are about to break out of the doldrums of personal computing. There is a major shift happening right now that is forcing change on the business. Four major trends are about to shift PC users into warpspeed: standards-based computing, RISC processors, advanced semiconductors, and the death of the mainframe. Hold on!

In the early days of railroading in America, there was no rule that said how far apart the rails were supposed to be, so at first every railroad set its rails a different distance apart, with the result that while a load of grain could be sent from one part of the country to another, the car it was loaded in couldn’t be. It took about thirty years for the railroad industry to standardize on just a couple of gauges of track. As happens in this business, one type of track, called standard gauge, took about 85 percent of the market.

A standard gauge is coming to computing, because no one company -- even IBM -- is powerful enough to impose its way of doing things on all the other companies. From now on, successful computers and software will come from companies that build them from scratch with the idea of working with computers and software made by their competitors. This heretical idea was foisted on us all by a company called Sun Microsystems, which invented the whole concept of open systems computing and has grown into a $4 billion company literally by giving software away.

Like nearly every other venture in this business, Sun got its start because of a Xerox mistake. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency wanted to buy Alto workstations, but the Special Programs Group at Xerox, seeing a chance to stick the feds for the entire Alto development budget, marked up the price too high even for DARPA. So DARPA went down the street to Stanford University, where they found a generic workstation based on the Motorola 68000 processor. Designed originally to run on the Stanford University Network, it was called the S.U.N. workstation.

Andy Bechtolscheim, a Stanford graduate student from Germany, had designed the S.U.N. workstation, and since Stanford was not in the business of building computers for sale any more than Xerox was, he tried to interest established computer companies in filling the DARPA order. Bob Metcalfe at 3Com had a chance to build the S.U.N. workstation but turned it down. Bechtolscheim even approached IBM, borrowing a tuxedo from the Stanford drama department to wear for his presentation because his friends told him Big Blue was a very formal operation.

He appeared at IBM wearing the tux, along with a tastefully contrasting pair of white tennis shoes. For some reason, IBM decided not to build the S.U.N. workstation either.

Since all the real computer companies were uninterested in building S.U.N. workstations, Bechtolscheim started his own company, Sun Microsystems. His partners were Vinod Khosla and Scott McNealy, also Stanford grad students, and Bill Joy, who came from Berkeley. The Stanford contingent came up with the hardware design and a business plan, while Joy, who had played a major role in writing a version of the Unix operating system at Berkeley, was Mr. Software.

Sun couldn’t afford to develop proprietary technology, so it didn’t develop any. The workstation design itself was so bland that Stanford University couldn’t find any basis for demanding royalties from the start-up. For networking they embraced Bob Metcalfe’s Ethernet, and for storage they used off-the-shelf hard disk drives built around the Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) specification. For software, they used Bill Joy’s Berkeley Unix. Berkeley Unix worked well on a VAX, so Bechtolscheim and friends just threw away the VAX and replaced it with cheaper hardware. The languages, operating system, networking, and windowing systems were all standard.

Sun learned to establish de facto standards by giving source code away. It was a novel idea, born of the Berkeley Unix community, and rather in keeping with the idea that for some boys, a girl’s attractiveness is directly proportional to her availability. For example, Sun virtually gave away licenses for its Network Filing System networking scheme, which had lots of bugs and some severe security problems, but it was free and so became a de facto standard virtually overnight. Even IBM licensed NFS. This giving away of source code allowed Sun to succeed, first by being the standard setter and then following up with the first hardware to support that standard.

By 1985, Sun had defined a new category of computer, the engineering workstation, but competitors were starting to catch on and catch up to Sun. The way to remain ahead of the industry, they decided, was to increase performance steadily, which they could do by using a RISC processor -- except that there weren’t any RISC processors for sale in 1985.

RISC is an old IBM idea called Reduced Instruction Set Computing. RISC processors were incredibly fast devices that gained their speed from a simple internal architecture that implements only a few computer instructions. Where a Complex Instruction Set Computer (CISC) might have a special “walk across the room but don’t step on the dog” instruction, RISC processors can usually get faster performance by using several simpler instructions: walk-walk-step over-walk-walk.

RISC processors are cheaper to build because they are smaller and more can be fit on one piece of silicon. And because they have fewer transistors (often under 100,000), yields are higher too. It’s easier to increase the clock speed of RISC chips, making them faster. It’s easier to move RISC designs from one semiconductor technology to a faster one. And because RISC forces both hardware and software designers to keep it simple, stupid, they tend to be more robust.

Sun couldn’t interest Intel or Motorola in doing one. Neither company wanted to endanger its lucrative CISC processor business. So Bill Joy and Dave Patterson designed a processor of their own in 1985, called SPARC. By this time, both Intel and Motorola had stopped allowing other semiconductor companies to license their processor designs, thus keeping all the high-margin sales in Santa Clara and Schaumberg, Illinois. This, of course, pissed off the traditional second source manufacturers, so Sun signed up those companies to do SPARC.

Since Sun designed the SPARC processor, it could buy them more cheaply than any other computer maker. Sun engineers knew, too, when higher-performance versions of the SPARC were going to be introduced. These facts of life have allowed Sun to dominate the engineering workstation market, as well as making important inroads into other markets formerly dominated by IBM and DEC.

Sun scares hardware and software competitors alike. The company practically gives away system software, which scares companies like Microsoft and Adobe that prefer to sell it. The industry is abuzz with software consortia set up with the intention to do better standards-based software than Sun does but to sell it, not give it away.

Sun also scares entrenched hardware competitors like DEC and IBM by actually encouraging cloning of its hardware architecture, relying on a balls-to-the-wall attitude that says Sun will stay in the high-margin leading edge of the product wave simply by bringing newer, more powerful SPARC systems to market sooner than any of its competitors can.

DEC has tried, and so far failed, to compete with Sun, using a RISC processor built by MIPS Computer Systems. Figuring if you can’t beat them, join them, HP has actually allied with Sun to do software. IBM reacted to Sun by building a RISC processor of its own too. Big Blue spent more on developing its Sun killer, the RS/6000, than it would have cost to buy Sun Microsystems outright. The RS/6000, too, is a relative failure.

Why did Bill Gates, in his fourth consecutive hour of sitting in a hotel bar in Boston, sinking ever deeper into his chair, tell the marketing kids from Lotus Development that IBM would be out of business in seven years? What does Bill Gates know that we don’t know?

Bill Gates knows that the future of computing will unfold on desktops, not in mainframe computer rooms. He knows that IBM has not had a very good handle on the desktop software market. He thinks that without the assistance of Microsoft, IBM will eventually forfeit what advantage it currently has in personal computers.

Bill Gates is a smart guy.

But you and I can go even further. We can predict the date by which the old IBM -- IBM the mainframe computing giant -- will be dead. We can predict the very day that the mainframe computer era will end.

Mainframe computing will die with the coming of the millennium. On December 31,1999, right at midnight, when the big ball drops and people are kissing in New York’s Times Square, the era of mainframe computing will be over.

Mainframe computing will end that night because a lot of people a long time ago made a simple mistake. Beginning in the 1950s, they wrote inventory programs and payroll programs for mainframe computers, programs that process income tax returns and send out welfare checks—programs that today run most of this country. In many ways those programs have become our country. And sometime during those thirty-odd years of being moved from one mainframe computer to another, larger mainframe computer, the original program listings, the source code for thousands of mainframe applications, were just thrown away. We have the object code—the part of the program that machines can read—which is enough to move the software from one type of computer to another. But the source code—the original program listing that people can read, that has details of how these programs actually work—is often long gone, fallen through a paper shredder back in 1967. There is mainframe software in this country that cost at least $50 billion to develop for which no source code exists today.

This lack of commented source code would be no big deal if more of those original programmers had expected their programs to outlive them. But hardly any programmer in 1959 expected his payroll application to be still cutting checks in 1999, so nobody thought to teach many of these computer programs what to do when the calendar finally says it’s the year 2000. Any program that prints a date on a check or an invoice, and that doesn’t have an algorithm for dealing with a change from the twentieth to the twenty-first century, is going to stop working. I know this doesn’t sound like a big problem, but it is. It’s a very big problem.

Looking for a growth industry in which to invest? Between now and the end of the decade, every large company in America either will have to find a way to update its mainframe software or will have to write new software from scratch. New firms will appear dedicated to the digital archaeology needed to update old software. Smart corporations will trash their old software altogether and start over. Either solution is going to cost lots more than it did to write the software in the first place. And all this new mainframe software will have one thing in common: it won’t run on a mainframe. Mainframe computers are artifacts of the 1960s and 1970s. They are kept around mainly to run old software and to gladden the hearts of MIS directors who like to think of themselves as mainframe gods. Get rid of the old software, and there is no good reason to own a mainframe computer. The new software will run faster, more reliably, and at one-tenth the cost on a desktop workstation, which is why the old IBM is doomed.

“But workstations will never run as reliably as mainframes,” argue the old-line corporate computer types, who don’t know what they are talking about. Workstations today can have as much computing power and as much data storage as mainframes. Ten years from now, they’ll have even more. And by storing copies of the same corporate data on duplicated machines in separate cities or countries and connecting them by high-speed networks, banks, airlines, and all the other other big transaction processors that still think they’d die without their mainframe computers will find their data are safer than they are now, trapped inside one or several mainframes, sitting in the same refrigerated room in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Mainframes are old news, and the $40 billion that IBM brings in each year for selling, leasing, and servicing mainframes will be old news too by the end of the decade.

There is going to be a new IBM, I suppose, but it probably won’t be the company we think of today. The new IBM should be a quarter the size of the current model, but I doubt that current management has the guts to make those cuts in time. The new IBM is already at a disadvantage, and it may not survive, with or without Bill Gates.

So much for mainframes. What about personal computers? PCs, at least as we know them today, are doomed too. That’s because the chips are coming.

While you and I were investing decades alternately destroying brain cells and then regretting their loss, Moore’s Law was enforcing itself up and down Silicon Valley, relentlessly demanding that the number of transistors on a piece of silicon double every eighteen months, while the price stayed the same. Thirty-five years of doubling and redoubling, thrown together with what the lady at the bank described to me as “the miracle of compound interest,” means that semiconductor performance gains are starting to take off. Get ready for yet another paradigm shift in computing.

Intel’s current top-of-the-line 80486 processor has 1.2 million transistors, and the 80586, coming in 1992, will have 3 million transistors. Moore’s Law has never let us down, and my sources in the chip business can think of no technical reason why it should be repealed before the end of the decade, so that means we can expect to see processors with the equivalent of 96 million transistors by the year 2000. Alternately, we’ll be able to buy a dowdy old 80486 processor for $11.

No single processor that can be imagined today needs 96 million transistors. The reality of the millennium processor is that it will be a lot smaller than the processors of today, and smaller means faster, since electrical signals don’t have to travel as far inside the chip. In keeping with the semiconductor makers’ need to add value continually to keep the unit price constant, lots of extra circuits will be included in the millennium processor— circuits that have previously been on separate plug-in cards. Floppy disk controllers, hard disk controllers, Ethernet adapters, and video adapters are already leaving their separate circuit cards and moving as individual chips onto PC motherboards. Soon they will leave the motherboard and move directly into the microprocessor chip itself.

Hard disk drives will be replaced by memory chips, and then those chips too will be incorporated in the processor. And there will still be space and transistors left over—space enough eventually to gang dozens of processors together on a single chip.

Apple’s Macintosh, which used to have more than seventy separate computer chips, is now down to fewer than thirty. In two years, a Macintosh will have seven chips. Two years after that, the Mac will be two chips, and Apple won’t be a computer company anymore. By then Apple will be a software company that sells operating systems and applications for single-chip computers made by Motorola. The MacMotorola chips themselves may be installed in desktops, in notebooks, in television sets, in cars, in the wiring of houses, even in wristwatches. Getting the PC out of its box will fuel the next stage of growth in computing. Your 1998 Macintosh may be built by Nissan and parked in the driveway, or maybe it will be a Swatch.

Forget about keyboards and mice and video displays, too, for the smallest computers, because they’ll talk to you. Real-time, speaker-independent voice recognition takes a processor that can perform 100 million computer instructions per second. That kind of performance, which was impossible at any cost in 1980, will be on your desktop in 1992 and on your wrist in 1999, when the hardware will cost $625. That’s for the Casio version; the Rolex will cost considerably more.

That’s the good news. The bad news comes for companies that today build PC clones. When the chip literally becomes the computer, there will be no role left for computer manufacturers who by then would be slapping a chip or two inside a box with a battery and a couple of connectors. Today’s hardware companies will be squeezed out long before then, unable to compete with the economics of scale enjoyed by the semiconductor makers. Microcomputer companies will survive only by becoming resellers, which means accepting lower profit margins and lower expectations, or by going into the software business.

On Thursday night, April 12, 1991, eight top technical people from IBM had a secret meeting in Cupertino, California, with John Sculley, chairman of Apple Computer. Sculley showed them an IBM PS/2 Model 70 computer running what appeared to be Apple’s System 7.0 software. What the computer was actually running was yet another Apple operating system code-named Pink, intended to be run on a number of different types of microprocessors. The eight techies were there to help decide whether to hitch IBM’s future to Apple’s software.

Sculley explained to the IBMers that he had realized Apple could never succeed as a hardware company. Following the model of Novell, the network operating system company, Apple would have to live or die by its software. And living, to a software company, means getting as many hardware companies as possible to use your operating system. IBM is a very big hardware company.

Pink wasn’t really finished yet, so the demo was crude, the software was slow, the graphics were especially bad, but it worked. The IBM experts reported back to Boca Raton that Apple was onto something.

The talks with Apple resumed several weeks later, taking place sometimes on the East Coast and sometimes on the West. Even the Apple negotiators scooted around the country on IBM jets and registered in hotels under assumed names so the talks could remain completely secret.

Pink turned out to be more than an operating system. It was also an object-oriented development environment that had been in the works at Apple for three years, staffed with a hundred programmers. Object orientation was a concept invented in Norway but perfected at Xerox PARC to allow large programs to be built as chunks of code called objects that could be mixed and matched to create many different types of applications. Pink would allow the same objects to be used on a PC or a mainframe, creating programs that could be scaled up or down as needed. Combining objects would take no time at all either, allowing applications to be written faster than ever. Writing Pink programs could be as easy as using a mouse to move object icons around on a video screen and then linking them together with lines and arrows.

IBM had already started its own project in partnership with Metaphor Computer Systems to create an object-oriented development environment called Patriot. Patriot, which was barely begun when Apple revealed the existence of Pink to IBM, was expected to take 500 man-years to write. What IBM would be buying in Pink, then, was a 300 man-year head start.

In late June, the two sides reached an impasse, and talks broke down. Jim Cannavino, head of IBM’s PC operation, reported to IBM chairman John Akers that Apple was asking for too many concessions. “Get back in there, and do whatever it takes to make a deal,” Akers ordered, sounding unlike any previous chairman of IBM. Akers knew that the long-term survival of IBM was at stake.

On July 3, the two companies signed a letter of intent to form a jointly owned software company that would continue development of Pink for computers of all sizes. To make the deal appear as if it went two ways, Apple also agreed to license the RISC processor from IBM’s RS/6000 workstation, which would be shrunk from five chips down to two by Motorola, Apple’s longtime supplier of microprocessors. Within three years, Apple and IBM would be building computers using the same processor and running the same software—software that would look like Apple’s Macintosh, without even a hint of IBM’s Common User Access interface or its Systems Application Architecture programming guidelines. Those sacred standards of IBM were effectively dead because Apple rightly refused to be bound by them. Even IBM had come to realize that market share makes standards; companies don’t. The only way to succeed in the future will be by working seamlessly with all types of computers, even if they are made by competitors.

This deal with Apple wasn’t the first time that IBM had tried to make a quantum leap in system software. In 1988, Akers had met Steve Jobs at a birthday party for Katherine Graham, owner of Newsweek and the Washington Post. Jobs took a chance and offered Akers a demo of NeXTStep, the object-oriented interface development system used in his NeXT Computer System. Blown away by the demo, Akers cut the deal with NeXT himself and paid $10 million for a NeXTStep license.

Nothing ever came of NeXTStep at IBM because it could produce only graphical user interfaces, not entire applications, and because the programmers at IBM couldn’t figure how to fit it into their raison d’etre—SAA. But even more important, the technical people of IBM were offended that Akers had imposed outside technology on them from above. They resented NeXTStep and made little effort to use it. Bill Gates, too, had argued against NeXTStep because it threatened Microsoft. (When InfoWorld’s Peggy Watt asked Gates if Microsoft would develop applications for the NeXT computer, he said, “Develop for it? I’ll piss on it.”)

Alas, I’m not giving very good odds that Steve Jobs will be the leader of the next generation of personal computing.

The Pink deal was different for IBM, though, in part because NeXTStep had failed and the technical people at IBM realized they’d thrown away a three-year head start. By 1991, too, IBM was a battered company, suffering from depressed earnings and looking at its first decline in sales since 1946. A string of homegrown software fiascos had IBM so unsure of what direction to move in that the company had sunk to licensing nearly every type of software and literally throwing it at customers, who could mix and match as they liked. “Want an imaging model? Well, we’ve got PostScript, GPI, and X-Windows—take your pick.” Microsoft and Bill Gates were out of the picture, too, and IBM was desperate for new software partnerships.

IBM has 33,000 programmers on its payroll but is so far from leading the software business (and knows it) that it is betting the company on the work of 100 Apple programmers wearing T-shirts in Mountain View, California.

Apple and IBM, caught between the end of the mainframe and the ultimate victory of the semiconductor makers, had little choice but to work together. Apple would become a software company, while IBM would become a software and high-performance semiconductor company. Neither company was willing to risk on its own the full cost of bringing to market the next-generation computing environment ($5 billion, according to Cringely’s Second Law). Besides, there weren’t any other available allies, since nearly every other computer company of note had already joined either the ACE or SPARC alliances that were Apple and IBM’s competitors for domination of future computing.

ACE, the Advanced Computing Environment consortium, is Microsoft’s effort to control the future of computing and Compaq’s effort to have a future in computing. Like Apple-IBM, ACE is a hardware-software development project based on linking Microsoft’s NT (New Technology) operating system to a RISC processor, primarily the R-4000, from MIPS Computer Systems. In fact, ACE was invented as a response to IBM’s Patriot project before Apple became involved with IBM.

ACE has the usual bunch of thirty to forty Microsoft licensees signed up, though only time will tell how many of these companies will actually offer products that work with the MIPS/ Microsoft combination.

But remember that there is only room for two standards; one of these efforts is bound to fail.

In early 1970, my brother and I were reluctant participants in the first draft lottery. I was hitchhiking in Europe at the time and can remember checking nearly every day in the International Herald Tribune for word of whether I was going to Vietnam. I finally had to call home for the news. My brother and I are three years apart in age, but we were in the same lottery because it was the first one, meant to make Richard Nixon look like an okay guy. For that year only, every man from 18 to 26 years old had his birthday thrown in the same hopper. The next year, and every year after, only the 18-year-olds would have their numbers chosen. My number was 308. My brother’s number was 6.

Something very similar to what happened to my brother and me with the draft also happened to nearly everyone in the personal computer business during the late 1970s. Then, there were thousands of engineers and programmers and would-be entrepreneurs who had just been waiting for something like the personal computer to come along. They quit their jobs, quit their schools, and started new hardware and software companies all over the place. Their exuberance, sheer numbers, and willingness to die in human wave technology attacks built the PC business, making it what it is today.

But today, everyone who wants to be in the PC business is already in it. Except for a new batch of kids who appear out of school each year, the only new blood in this business is due to immigration. And the old blood is getting tired—tired of failing in some cases or just tired of working so hard and now ready to enjoy life. The business is slowing down, and this loss of energy is the greatest threat to our computing future as a nation. Forget about the Japanese; their threat is nothing compared to this loss of intellectual vigor.

Look at Ken Okin. Ken Okin is a great hardware engineer. He worked at DEC for five years, at Apple for four years, and has been at Sun for the last five years. Ken Okin is the best-qualified computer hardware designer in the world, but Ken Okin is typical of his generation. Ken Okin is tired.

“I can remember working fifteen years ago at DEC,” Okin said. “I was just out of school, it was 1:00 in the morning, and there we were, testing the hardware with all these logic analyzers and scopes, having a ball. ‘Can you believe they are paying for us to play?’ we asked each other. Now it’s different. If I were vested now, I don’t know if I would go or stay. But I’m not vested—that will take another four years—and I want my fuck you money.”

Staying in this business for fuck you money is staying for the wrong reason.

Soon, all that is going to remain of the American computer industry will be high-performance semiconductors and software, but I’ve just predicted that we won’t even have the energy to stay ahead in software. Bummer. I guess this means it’s finally my turn to add some value and come up with a way out of this impending mess.

The answer is an increase in efficiency. The era of start-ups built this business, but we don’t have the excess manpower or brainpower anymore to allow nineteen out of twenty companies to fail. We have to find a new business model that will provide the same level of reward without the old level of risk, a model that can produce blockbuster new applications without having to create hundreds or thousands of tiny technical bureaucracies run by unhappy and clumsy administrators as we have now. We have to find a model that will allow entrepreneurs to cash out without having to take their companies public and pretend that they ever meant more than working hard for five years and then retiring. We started out, years ago, with Dan Fylstra’s adaptation of the author-publisher model, but that is not a flexible or rich enough model to support the complex software projects of the next decade. Fortunately, there is already a business model that has been perfected and fine-tuned over the past seventy years, a business model that will serve us just fine. Welcome to Hollywood.

The world eats dinner to U.S. television. The world watches U.S. movies. It’s all just software, and what works in Hollywood will work in Silicon Valley too. Call it the software studio.

Today’s major software companies are like movie studios of the 1930s. They finance, produce, and distribute their own products. Unfortunately, it’s hard to do all those things well, which is why Microsoft reminds me of Disney from around the time of The Love Bug. But the movie studio of the 1990s is different; it is just a place where directors, producers, and talent come and go—only the infrastructure stays. In the computer business, too, we’ve held to the idea that every product is going to live forever. We should be like the movies and only do sequels of hits. And you don’t have to keep the original team together to do a sequel. All you have to do is make sure that the new version can read all the old product files and that it feels familiar.

The software studio acknowledges that these start-up guys don’t really want to have to create a large organization. What happens is that they reinvent the wheel and end up functioning in roles they think they are supposed to like, but most of them really don’t. And because they are performing these roles -- pretending to be CEOs -- they aren’t getting any programming done. Instead, let’s follow a movie studio model, where there is central finance, administration, manufacturing, and distribution, but nearly everything else is done under contract. Nearly everyone -- the authors, the directors, the producers -- works under contract. And most of them take a piece of the action and a small advance.

There are many advantages to the software studio. Like a movie studio, there are established relationships with certain crafts. This makes it very easy to get a contract programmer, writer, marketer, etc. Not all smart people work at Apple or Sun or Microsoft. In fact, most smart people don’t work at any of those companies. The software studio would allow program managers to find the very best person for a particular job. A lot of the scrounging is eliminated. The programmers can program. The would-be moguls can either start a studio of their own or package ideas and talent together just like independent movie producers do today. They can become minimoguls and make a lot of money, but be responsible for at most a few dozen people. They can be Steven Spielberg or George Lucas to Microsoft’s MGM or Lotus’s Paramount.

We’re facing a paradigm shift in computing, which can be viewed either as a catastrophe or an opportunity. Mainframes are due to die, and PCs and workstations are colliding. Processing power is about to go off the scale, though we don’t seem to know what to do with it. The hardware business is about to go to hell, and the people who made all this possible are fading in the stretch.

What a wonderful time to make money!

Here’s my prescription for future computing happiness. The United States is losing ground in nearly every area of computer technology except software and microprocessors. And guess what? About the only computer technologies that are likely to show substantial growth in the next decade are -- software and microprocessors! The rest of the computer industry is destined to shrink.

Japan has no advantage in software, and nothing short of a total change of national character on their part is going to change that significantly. One really remarkable thing about Japan is the achievement of its craftsmen, who are really artists, trying to produce perfect goods without concern for time or expense. This effect shows, too, in many large-scale Japanese computer programming projects, like their work on fifth-generation knowledge processing. The team becomes so involved in the grandeur of their concept that they never finish the program. That’s why Japanese companies buy American movie studios: they can’t build competitive operations of their own. And Americans sell their movie studios because the real wealth stays right here, with the creative people who invent the software.

The hardware business is dying. Let it. The Japanese and Koreans are so eager to take over the PC hardware business that they are literally trying to buy the future. But they’re only buying the past.

Reprinted with permission

Photo Credit: Anneka/Shutterstock

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.

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.

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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.

VLC Media Player 2.0.6 is full of tweaks

Publié: avril 14, 2013, 9:40pm CEST par Nick Peers

Popular cross-platform, open-source VLC Media Player 2.0.6 has been released, focussing on fixing a number of regressions introduced in previous builds since its initial 2.0 release. The update also adds support for Matroska v4 files, tweaks the user interface on the OS X build and implements a new compiler for the Windows version.

VLC Media Player offers support for all major video and audio formats, and also supports playback from DVDs and unencrypted Blu-ray discs, making it an excellent choice for systems, including Windows XP and 8, where native support for video disc playback is missing.

The Matroska v4 (.MKV) file container is an open-source alternative to proprietary containers such as MP4 (Apple) and WMV (Microsoft), and version four, which was launched in September 2012, introduced new elements to improve time-coding and seek-positioning while retaining backward compatibility with previous versions of the file.

In addition to extending support to Matroska v4, VLC 2.06 also introduces a large number of important fixes for other formats, including MKV, Ogg, WMV, HTTPS and subtitle support where crashing may have occurred.

Other notable fixes included GPU decoding on Intel HD 2000/3000 graphic chipsets in Windows, a fix for HTTPS certificate rejections, ALAC decoding, FLAC 6.1/7.1 channel order and the vimeo parser.

The update also includes small unspecified tweaks and improvements to the OS X interface to build on those made in the previous release, numerous D-Bus and MPRIS2 improvements and a new Welsh translation to go with numerous other translation updates.

There’s also a new compiler for the Windows builder, taken from the MinGW-w64 project, which is probably in readiness for VLC releasing its first stable Windows 64-bit build from the current experimental editions being developed.

VLC Media Player 2.0.6 is available now as a free, open-source download for Windows, Mac and Linux. Also available is VLC for Android Beta.

Photo Credit: Leigh Prather/Shutterstock

There are many reasons for the recent PC sales slump

Publié: avril 14, 2013, 9:33pm CEST par Chris Boss

Windows 8 is not the direct cause for poor PC sales, and to suggest this is simply sensationalism. True, the operating system received cool reception from some people, but most don't realize that Microsoft had little choice to do what it did. The company distributed the first Preview during the BUILD developer conference in autumn 2011, and I immediately recognized what was going on. Windows 8 is all about touch and mobile. Mobile touch devices are replacing computers among many consumers. Microsoft likely saw this and had to do something. That something is Windows 8. I discuss this consumerization of the PC market in my late-March BetaNews story.

What some people fail to appreciate is that a PC is more than a consumer device. Windows is more than a mobile operating system. It is very complex, designed for heavy-duty work. Microsoft had one of two choices: Create a totally new operating system for mobile and leave Windows as is; merge a mobile operating system into Windows so it is a hybrid. That the company chose the latter is ingenious, but risky. Likely we won't know until years from now whether or not Microsoft wisely, but it is a noble undertaking nonetheless.

But I think one should differentiate between the problems Windows 8 faces and the problems the PC market is facing. They are two different things, which simply overlap.

The fallout of the PC market is long overdue and should have been expected. Why?

PCs haven't changed much over the last 10 years. Yes, they may have slightly better CPUs, a bit more RAM and bigger hard drives, but they really don't offer all that much more for users. This is likely why many businesses still use Windows XP. Face it, nearly 40 percent of business PC's still run XP and that is three OS generations back. Current PCs don't offer all that much more than XP computers and with the right software a XP computer could last another 10 years. While consumers will throw away perfectly good electronics for the latest fad, businesses can ill-afford this. Consumers are moving towards mobile, so Microsoft has little choice but to push mobile and touch.

Windows Mobile Devices face some Problems

The next problem has to do with the switch from desktops to mobile. Mobile devices are more expensive. Most low-cost Android devices (less than $100) are very, very limited. The better mobile devices start at the price level of a cheap PC. But PCs offer more and require more, so adding touch to PC's has challenges. Modern laptops can be upgraded with new memory, hard drives and batteries, but most mobile devices (tablets) cannot be, not even memory or batteries. Look at the iPad. It has the worse rating for repair or upgrading. It is a throw away device and it costs $500!

The Windows world is different. Moving to mobile is not easy and has many challenges and this first generation of Windows 8 devices is simply testing the waters to see what sticks and what doesn't. So what is sticking and what is not?

Two issues come to the fore. First, x86 backward compatibility. This is critical and must be taken into consideration. Why? Because the business market demands it. Consumers may tolerate the lack of backward compatibility, but businesses won't. So time will tell how well Windows RT does and it may well succeed with consumers, but the second problem I believe has been more critical and that is Price.

This may be why Lenovo is doing so well, while other PC makers are not. Lenovo caters to lower price brackets quite well. I recently bought a Windows 8 laptop and the ones with touch were just too expensive, so deciding to opt for one without touch I simply tried to buy something that gave me more for my money. I ended up with a Lenovo laptop, 15.6-inch screen with decent specs and only for $299 at Best Buy online. I am a software developer and even to me, price matters.

The non-Microsoft mobile market is being broken up into two sectors. The high end (iPad, Google Nexus, etc.) and the low-end (Android devices in the $100 or less range). For Windows devices, the ones that make Windows 8 shine are all high-end products and with a poor economy, they just aren't selling well. I purchased a Windows 7 tablet (and upgraded to Windows 8) , but only because it was on sale for $300 off (originally $699, but on sale for $399), which was my ExoPC.

The shakeout in the PC market may have more to do with a saturated market and prices. Lenovo may be one of the few PC makers who see this. Acer and Asus saw this in the Netbook hay-day, but Netbooks fell out of favor. Rather than lowering prices, they kept trying to find ways to raise the prices on Netbooks. But one thing was for sure. Price mattered then and still does.

Windows 8 isn't to Blame

To blame the PC sales woes all on Windows 8 is wrong and not fair. The entire industry has to take some share of the blame and with the economy problems, doesn't anyone just simply ask the question, why not help people save money if possible. That is what I did for my customers when I use to do consulting and custom programming. I tried to find ways to extend the life of their computers and ways to use less expensive equipment. I have seen some of my customers continue to use DOS applications I developed for them for as long as possible, far beyond what most would have expected.

The price for touch needs to come down. Just look at the prices for touch-enabled monitors. I found a great deal on a 22-inch touch-enabled monitor that supports two touch points only and uses an optical system, rather than capacitive. I got the monitor for $249 and it works great with Windows 7 and touch. Most touch monitors for use with Windows 8 cost $500 or more. Way too expensive.

Many manufacturers or retailers push HD displays and 10-point touch on Windows mobile devices and you can't touch (pardon the pun) one of these for less than $500 and some are in the $800 or more range. No matter what anyone thinks, price matters. This may be why Apple came out with the iPad mini (not only smaller size, but also price) and they also sell the previous generations of iPad for a discount. Some buyers just want a fair deal, especially businesses.

The PC Market is Changing

Computers will likely continue to decrease in sales and will gravitate more towards business users. That's where PCs really got their start, as business tools.The desktop PC is not going anywhere, it is just they may find their nitch with business users rather than consumers. Sales likely will continue to drop, but this should be expected. That is not Microsoft's fault, nor Windows 8. Consumers want ease of use, smaller devices, portable devices so new markets will result for non-PC devices, whether it be tablets, bigger smart phones or streaming media devices.

Tablets are the rage right now, but here price is what will really matter in the long run. Windows OE's need to target the $200 price point for a 7-inch tablet running real Windows 8 (not RT). That is the sweet spot for Windows tablets. They don't need to be high definition or state of the art, but just sound mobile devices. Some business users will demand more powerful tablets, but many could do a lot with less. Simply put, price matters even with tablets.

The Windows 8 x86 Advantage

Backward compatibility is one of Windows biggest strengths and needs to be brought to the fore.I understand the reasons for Windows RT and ARM devices, but Windows x86 has something far more valuable and that is backward compatibility.

One company I would watch carefully is Intel. Do not underestimate the mighty chipmaker. Intel is on the right track. The Atom SOC (system on a chip) line continues to get better and better with each new generation, with more power and better battery life. While a bit expensive, Intel's StudyBook concept is on the mark. The company even has its own app store (for low-resolution devices like Netbooks) called AppUp, which also targets the current market needs, encouraging developers too.

Software developers are partly to blame for the state we are in. Windows has had touch for some time now and Windows 7 is nearly as powerful with touch as is Windows 8, but few developers target touch in Desktop apps. Now give me a low-cost Windows 8 (or 7) seven-inch tablet and I would be able to start writing apps for it immediately -- and they can run on Windows XP as well, but taking advantage of touch when it is there.

Software needs to be better, more dynamic. It is possible to write software that dynamically adjusts to the system it runs on. Call it "smart" software if you will and Windows is well-suited to doing this. Software for Windows needs to be designed for multiple versions of Windows from XP to Windows 8, dynamically changing itself based on the version. Software needs to tap into the core WIN32 APIs so it can perform better with less hardware, with a smaller footprint. Don't think this is possible? I work with a development system that can do this, and the entire development system is only about 20MB in size.

The Windows operating system has some amazing core features that allow software to be truly dynamic. For example, one can actually poll the operating system DLLs to see what features and APIs are available and use different APIs on different versions of Windows as needed. Yes, Windows software can be written to be dynamic, smart if you will.

I see Windows 8 as a positive step forward, but I still appreciate the value of backward compatibility. It is cost-effective. I am still excited about Windows 8, but want to push the Desktop side to its limits, which has not seen its full potential yet. While the Modern UI side of Windows 8 may appeal to consumers, the Desktop side of Windows 8 is still alive and has yet to be fully tapped by developers. The possibilities for the Desktop side for business and education are endless.

Windows 8 is only in Its Infancy, give It Time

Windows 8 is a bold new step for Microsoft, and it will take time to mature. Windows RT will likely find its own nitch, possibly with consumers only, but the Desktop will continue to be the workhorse for business. It should not be a matter of saying whether Windows 8 is a success or failure. Windows 8 is new, different, but at the same time the old and familiar is still there (the Desktop). Currently backward compatibility is very good on the Desktop side. In time, even Microsoft may realize how valuable this side of Windows really is.

The Desktop in Windows is a diamond in the rough that simply needs to be fine-tuned even more, not abandoned. The potential for both sides of Windows 8 is staggering. The range of devices that Windows 8 could run is also quite staggering. Hardware manufacturers simply need to be more practical and creative. New form factors may yet appear, but price still matters.

Computer hardware can ill-afford to be viewed as throw away anymore. Rather it too needs to be just as dynamic as the software needs to be. Mobile devices need to be upgradeable and repairable too. Windows has a long heritage it can leverage and it should be prepared for the long haul, maturing as needed.

Photo Credit: Mopic/Shutterstock

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

Facebook TV commercial is a Home run

Publié: avril 14, 2013, 8:20pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

Perhaps Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg are geeks of similar kind. Gates, along with buddy (and chief executive) Steve Ballmer, is known by us old-timers for a series of self-effacing videos spanning more than a decade -- many distributed internally or shown publicly at tech trade shows. Zuck is ignored -- gasp, is there a metaphor here -- in the first commercial for Facebook Home. The app is now available on Google Play.

While Zuckerberg introduces Home to Facebook employees, he is ignored by one using the Android skin. The video, which is posted to YouTube, had about 7,000 views when I peaked yesterday; the number is nearly a quarter-million today. The commercial spot is fun, festive and does what many of us wish we could do in a room: Ignore Zuck. Something so self-effacing makes him more human, too, less the geek or the privacy-invader critics call him. Put the CEO in more videos, I say.

I had planned to test Facebook Home -- actually use it as my the default experience on my Android for a week and write about it. Officially the software supports HTC One, One X and One X+ and Galaxy S III, S4 and Note II. None of my devices are supported. Hehe. So much for the benefits of stock Android. My wife and I both have Nexus 4 and my daughter iPhone 5.

There's common theme here. Google services are increasingly siloed, not as readily available as they once were, nor are stock Android devices as inviting. Consider the nearly absent Google-provided apps for Amazon Android, BlackBerry 10 or Windows Phone 8, for example.

Is Google blocking the way Home, or did Facebook simply decide not to go there? Either, or both, is sensible. Considering Nexus device owners are presumably Google enthusiasts, Facebook might not want to invest in them first. The search giant has reasons to keep Zuckerberg and Company off its turf.

Increasingly, Google prognostications about openness is more a closed door among rivals. Facebook Home so completely takes over the user experience -- homescreen, notifications and messaging -- there is little room left for Google+. The search and information giant has big ambitions for its rival social network. Must I buy a HTC or Samsung device to go Home?

So you pre-ordered an Ouya -- here is when to expect it

Publié: avril 14, 2013, 5:38pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

Back on March 28th Ouya president Julie Uhram announced the tiny Android-based gaming console started shipping, but only to backers of the Kickstarter project. Additional details were added such as a software update which would be run upon first boot up and that the device would officially hit retail stores on June 4th.

As we have seen around the web, some have already received their boxes, but what if you did not get in on the Kickstarter ground floor, but instead placed a pre-order when those went live back in August of 2012? I happen to fall in that category and so I inquired about the timeframe and received a response from Ouya's Carmelo Martinez.

"We are now shipping Kickstarter orders (placed before Aug. 8). If you ordered between then and Feb. 4, your order should be shipped in late April. Orders placed after that time will be shipped in June. You will receive an email confirmation with tracking number once yours is on its way".

Seeing as I ordered on August 10th I suppose I should receive my confirmation at any moment. I say this with great hope since I paid for the console, along with two controllers, via PayPal back in August.

Fotor fixes photos fast

Publié: avril 13, 2013, 12:19am CEST par Mike Williams

Already well known for its easy-to-use iOS and Android photo editing apps, Fotor has just entered the desktop market with the release of the free Fotor 1.0.0 for Desktop and Mac.

And while the program is relatively simple, oriented more to quick optimizations rather than complex edits, it’s also very easy to use, and has more than enough functionality to justify a download.

If a picture has lighting issues, for instance, you don’t have to start playing around with brightness, contrast, colors or anything else. Just choose the conditions which applied when the photo was taken -- “Backlit”, “Cloudy”, “Sunset” and so on -- and the program will automatically optimise the image for you.

If the lighting is fine, but you’d just like it to look a little more interesting, then Fotor has 60+ colour and lighting effects which could help. Again, it’s all very easy. Choose a category from the list (“Classic”, “Lomo”, B&W”, “Vignette”, “Art”), and thumbnails will show you how the current picture will look for every available effect. And if you see something you like, simply click it for a closer look.

It’s just as easy to add a border to your image (and there are 30 available).

A very configurable Tilt-Shift effect allows you to fully customise the strength and position of the blur.

If you prefer more practical options, then there are also tools to rotate or straighten your image; sharpen or blur it; tweak exposure, brightness, contrast, saturation, temperature and tint; crop your photo, and view its EXIF data.

And when you’re ready, there are tools to quickly share your images on Flickr, Facebook and Twitter.

If there’s a small problem here, it’s that the Fotor interface still feels more like an app than a Windows application. You can’t open multiple images at once, for instance. There’s no edit menu here, no right-click options. There are no single letter shortcuts for menu items (you can’t press Alt+F, O to open a file, say), and other standard hotkeys -- like F1, for instance -- aren’t supported at all.

Still, once you’ve got used to this, Fotor does prove to be very quick and easy to use. Some of its tools are very capable (there’s an excellent Crop function, for instance), and on balance it’s a simple but effective way to optimise and share your latest photos.

Botnet herders attack WordPress sites

Publié: avril 13, 2013, 12:07am CEST par Joe Wilcox

Say, do you use WordPress? Button down the hatches and check your patches. A new brute-force attack is underway across the Internet. We know from first-hand experience. BetaNews took some heavy fire earlier today. Hackers use a botnet to hit blogs with fast-fire log-in attempts, seeking to snag passwords. The initial objective is to add more numbers to the botnet.

Brute-force attempts aren't all that uncommon, but this one is generating a fair bit of attention, with some reports that the core botnet is 90,000 computers and growing and an escalating number of attempted logins, too. It's all a guessing game really. Attempt enough logins and some will succeed, revealing passwords.

Daniel Cid, Sucuri CTO, took a look at his company's server logs to assess if reports of increased brute-force attacks might be true. He explains:

We were seeing 30 to 40 thousand attacks per day the last few months. In April 2013, it increased to 77,000 per day on average, reaching more than 100,000 attempts per day in the last few days. That means that the number of brute force attempts more than tripled. This sharp increase would lead us to believe that there is some reality to these reports.

Sucuri secures and also cleans up websites, including those running WordPress.

CloudFlare CEO Matthew Price observes: "One of the concerns of an attack like this is that the attacker is using a relatively weak botnet of home PCs in order to build a much larger botnet of beefy servers in preparation for a future attack. These larger machines can cause much more damage in DDoS attacks because the servers have large network connections and are capable of generating significant amounts of traffic".

CloudFlare offers services for improving a website's performance, reach and security, and like Sucuri, is in a unique front-line position to observe the brute-force attacks.

Hostgator's Sean Valant says that 90,000 PCs make up the botnet attacking WordPress sites. "Symptoms of this attack are a very slow backend on your WordPress site, or an inability to login. In some instances your site could even intermittently go down for short periods".

Default account "Admin" is the target, and Valant rightly advises to "change the password to something that meets the security requirements specified on the WordPress website".

The Webhost for my personal domains has posted no support docs about the log-in attempts. But we have first-hand experience here at BetaNews.

Eric Steil, BetaNews server administrator, describes what happened today:

Around 5:30 AM (ET) this morning, I got the nagios alert that one of the servers wasn't responding to HTTP. I logged in to the server and saw that although the load was really high, there wasn't actually much odd about the open connections or database (as usually is the case when something stops responding to HTTP).

I checked out the access logs and saw a large number of POST requests to wp-login.php from numerous IPs, without a corresponding GET requests (you normally GET the form the POST it when it submits). On a hunch, I blocked access to the file and system load went down and Apache started responding again, so I went back to sleep.

This morning I did some searches and saw it was a widespread problem, not just localized to our servers. We still have it blocked, and the bots still poke it occasionally to see if it's back.

The attempts failed here. You might not be so lucky. At the least, change your passwords.

Now.

Photo Credit: Gunnar Assmy/Shutterstock

Facebook Home hits Google Play, HTC First up for order

Publié: avril 12, 2013, 9:38pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

Facebook Home, which CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on April 4, and leaked as three APK files shortly after, today officially hit the Google Play store and the HTC First, announced at the same event, can officially be ordered through AT&T. The social network today pushes out a new launch page designed to make a splash with its live background of endless video.

The Google Play app describes itself as "the mobile experience that puts your friends at the heart of your phone". It essentially functions in the same way as any other launcher app for Android, bringing Facebook front and center on your homepage. From the moment you unlock your device you will be bombarded with a steady stream of photos, posts from friends and notifications of all sorts -- it's like a full-screen Windows 8 Live Tile totally dedicated to Facebook.

The company describes the app thus: "With Home, everything on your phone gets friendlier. From the moment you turn it on, you see a steady stream of friends’ posts and photos. Upfront notifications and quick access to your essentials mean you’ll never miss a moment. And you can keep chatting with friends, even when you’re using other apps".

The HTC First can now also be ordered through AT&T for $99 with free shipping. That price, of course, includes a two-year contract, but if you wish to go month-to-month then you can lay out the full $449 for the 4.3-inch handset.

A word of caution about the links provided above -- while all worked for me, some were inaccessible by others here at BetaNews. Perhaps the rollout is not totally complete as of this writing. Of course I would also warn anyone who wishes to turn their phone into a Facebook platform to think twice, but that is only personal opinion and not advice.

Chromebook Pixel LTE arrives today

Publié: avril 12, 2013, 9:06pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

Yesterday, Google posted a public notice that "folks who ordered the Chromebook Pixel LTE from Google Play will start receiving them as early as Friday, April 12th". If that's you, I'd like to hear about it.

Jay Munsterman got his LTE model a day early and "it is sweet! For anyone else that prefers a Dvorak or non-qwerty keyboard: the keys pry off and reattach easily. And if you have both an ARM Chromebook and a Pixel you do end up with 1.1TB of Drive space". So much for today then. The Pixel comes with 1TB free Google Drive storage for three years.

Google started selling the WiFi-only Chromebook Pixel on February 21, with shipping times of six to seven weeks for the LTE model, which is just about right. Both models are pricey -- $1,299 and $1,449, respectively -- particularly compared to other Chromebooks. Judging by reaction from commenters here and posts across the Web, including Google's own social network, many people question the value of such a pricey computer that runs a browser and web apps.

But some of the bloggers and journalists who actually reviewed Chromebook Pixel went on to buy one. Writing for GigaOM, Kevin Tofel opines "Naysayers be damned: Why I bought a Chromebook Pixel. Nearly every Chromebook Pixel review says you shouldn’t buy one. But as someone who took a 60-day web-only challenge in 2008, I’m ready for exactly what the Pixel offers".

In his review for CNN, Zach Cumer explains: "Google loaned me a Pixel for this review, and I liked it so much that after I returned the review model I purchased my own. I've been using it for more than a month, but it only takes turning the computer on once to realize how different it is from anything else out there".

When reviewers buy their own -- and something so outside mainstream computing -- that's helluva endorsement. I am breaking up my review into several parts -- one and two -- with a third coming sometime soon.

I won't make a decision on keeping Chromebook until after finishing my review process. I'm leaning that way, but applications matter to me. I'd like to see some more in critical productivity areas, and applications will be critical focus of my next review post.

BetaNews readers give a sharply-pointed thumbs down. To our buying poll, 77.5 percent of respondents say they won't purchase Chromebook Pixel -- that's highest "no" response ever for the question asked about any product here. Yet, looking at blogs and social network posts, those people plunking down the bucks are extremely satisfied with Chromebook Pixel.

Ryan Gibson's "Pixel arrived" April 9. "I'm astonished with the build quality, heck even the box just oozes with quality and thought". He chose the "Wi-Fi version, LTE isn't available within the UK and then there is the differing frequency bands between countries".

Ariel Ruff: "There has been a lot of talk about why Google’s new Chromebook Pixel is 'the best laptop you’ll never buy'. After proving this notion wrong by actually purchasing one, I’m going to go one step further and give you a look at what the Chromebook Pixel is all about and how it shakes out as a laptop PC solution". He writes a brief review I highly recommend.

He wraps up: "Google’s first laptop is quite a shocker. And while owners might be early beta testers, what an awesome beta they get to be part of. We won’t truly know what the future of the Pixel might hold until Google tells us at their upcoming Google I/O event. But one thing’s certain, limited software selection aside, the Pixel definitely lives in the top 3 section of the best laptops out there chart".

The "limited software selection", whether enough or not, will partly determine Pixel's future in my digital lifestyle and how I ultimately recommend it to others. Price is a barrier there, which directly relates to touchscreen utility. I've used a Chromebook as my primary PC since May, with the exception of February spent with Surface Pro. Touch is natural on the Microsoft tablet, but I rarely find use on the Google laptop. I don't yet see the value of touch for the price.

But the passion of early buyers, my own generally great experience and Who's Who list of early adopters -- including Uglydoll creator David Horvath, Don MacAskill, SmugMug CEO, and Linux creator Linus Torvalds -- may sway me yet.

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Everything.me launcher dynamically adapts to what you’re doing right now

Publié: avril 12, 2013, 7:43pm CEST par Mark Wilson

Unlike iOS, Android devices can be very easily customized without the need to jailbreak or root them. This means that there is an ever-growing market in third-party launchers that enable phone and tablet users to try out a variety of new ways to access the apps they have installed on their device. While cosmetically different and packed out with a range of extra features, most launcher are generally fairly similar, but this same cannot be said of Everything.me which adapts itself according to what you are doing and where you are.

The idea is simple. Launching apps and accessing information is now seen as being the same thing. Looking for a recipe you have stored in an app you use? Type ‘recipe’ and a list of corresponding apps will show up. In addition to this, you’ll also be shown a list of related websites so you can check out other recipes online. Breaking down, or at least blurring, the barriers between local apps and online services is an interesting approach.

There’s also scope for tailoring search results to your current location. Look for restaurants and you’ll be able to find out what is nearby. As well as ensuring that you have easy access to the information you’re looking for, Everything.me also changes the appearance of your phone according to what you’re doing. Perform a search for ‘football’ and your background will change to the NFL logo.

A launcher that dynamically adapts to what you’re doing can take a little getting used to; it feel strangely unintuitive to start with, but it doesn’t take long to become second nature. It’s really just a matter of retraining that memory muscle.

But there is another option available in the form of smart folders, and these act as a sort of hallway house between dynamic homescreens and a more traditional folder-based launcher. Select a category -- such as a shopping -- and any apps that you have that fall into this category will be automatically added to the folder along with a list of associated online resources. Create a ‘social’ folder and you’ll find that Fourquare, Twitter, Facebook etc are all automatically grouped together for you.

Everything.me is currently in beta but can still be downloaded from Google Play.

VirtualBox 4.2.12 kills bugs dead

Publié: avril 12, 2013, 7:20pm CEST par Nick Peers

Oracle has released VirtualBox 4.2.12, a maintenance update for its cross-platform, open-source virtualisation tool. A large number of fixes and updates have been applied, including dynamic support for multi-monitor setups via the Windows Additions.

There are also a notable number of GUI fixes concentrating on improving multi-screen support, including one that stops a crash when changing visual mode, and another that ensures OS X hosts display the correct menu bar in each machine window.

Further multi-screen related fixes ensure better handling of host/guest screen plugging and unplugging in different visual modes, plus fix a bug when empty seamless screens were represented by full-screen windows.

The VM Manager’s GUI has also been improved, with vertical scrollbars automatically updated when the content or window is resized. An event crash on changing the machine state has also been fixed, while warnings about the state (enabled or disabled) of mouse integration will no longer appear after VMs are restored from a saved state.

Other notable bug fixes should prevent disk size changes occurring when using snapshots thanks to incorrect alignment of VDI images. Linux hosts suffering from broken audio with ALSA or PulseAudio should also find this issue resolved.

The VBoxManage tool has also been tweaked for better stability, and Linux Additions now handle a fall-back to the standard VESA driver on RedHat-based guests if vboxvideo can’t be loaded. There are also compile fixes for RHEL/OEL/CentOS 6.4 and Debian Linux kernel 3.2.0-4.

VirtualBox 4.2.12 is available now as a free, open-source download for Windows, Mac and Linux. Also available is VirtualBox Extension Pack 4.2.12, a free-for-personal-use download that adds support for USB 2.0, VirtualBox Remote Desktop Protocol and more.

Photo Credit: ARENA Creative/Shutterstock

Best Windows 8 apps this week

Publié: avril 12, 2013, 6:42pm CEST par Martin Brinkmann

Twenty-fourth in a series. Welcome to another greatest Windows 8 apps of the week. I'd like to use the introduction this week to address Windows Store issues that are getting out of hand. First, an increasing number of unofficial apps for popular services get released to Windows Store. You find Gmail, IMDB or Wikipedia apps that look and feel like official apps. The issue here is not trademark violations, at least not for end users, but potential security and privacy issues associated with those apps.

One of the apps, Gmail Touch, is no longer listed in the store. It is not clear if Microsoft, Google or another party is responsible for the removal of the app or why.

Second, some developers have started to game the system by increasing the reviews and votes for their apps artificially. Microsoft highlights new popular apps in the store, which is enough incentive for some companies and developers to game the system to increase the visibility of their apps.

The weekly app store output has doubled in the past two weeks and there is no indicator that it will slow down again in the near future. This week's total app count crossed the 40,000 apps mark, to 40,440 apps in total in the U.S. Windows Store; 31,983 of those are free to install, an increase of 2,143 apps, while the remaining 8,567 apps are listed as paid or trial apps.

The trend is clearly going in the right direction for Microsoft. While still miles away from the growth of Apple's or Google's app store, the change highlights an upwards trend in regards to app releases.

Microsoft is currently running a promotion in Windows Store offering three Xbox games for a limited time for free. The games Gravity Guy, iStunt 2 and Monster Island are listed under the games category in the store.

App of the week

Yahoo Finance

The official Yahoo Finance app for Windows 8 released this week. Yahoo Finance users can sign in to their account to view existing portfolios that they have created on the Yahoo website or in another application right away. Signed-in users can create new portfolios or manage existing ones using the application. The remaining functionality is available to all users, even those not signed in to a Yahoo account.

Search, supporting auto-complete to help you find what you are looking for, loads the selected company or symbol on its own profile page. Here you see the stock chart of the last day, related information about it including the day's and 52 week's range, as well as related news that provide you with background information.

The front page displays top stories, all of your portfolios, a watch list with some of the most important stocks and stock markets, a list of market movers sorted by most-active, top-gainers and top-losers, and market data including information about commodities, currencies, bonds and etfs. The watch list is editable even if you are not logged in to an account as well so that you can use it to monitor custom stock market information.

Other Apps

Sokoban Challenge 2

Sokoban is a puzzle game in which the player moves around crates to assigned storage locations. The challenge of the game is to move all crates into designated storage locations. Since you can only push but not pull, you often have to consider every move carefully before you start pushing boxes around on the screen.

Sokoban Challenge 2 offers 50 challenging levels of Sokoban for Windows 8. You move the player character around with the arrow keys on the keyboard or by touch. An undo option is available to take back a single move, and there is also an option to restart the map from the very beginning.

Office Webinar

The application makes available a list of Office Webinars that Microsoft has produced. Featured and recent videos are listed on the start page with their title and a thumbnail. A click on a video opens it in full screen mode on the screen. The problem here is that the videos are only available in standard definition, which makes them look blurry if your screen is full HD or larger.

While it is still possible to recognize everything that is displayed on the screen, it would have been better if the developers of the app would have added a smaller viewing mode to the app.

What's the Pic?

What's the Pic? is a challenging puzzle game in which you have to guess the word depicted on a picture. The picture is hidden and separated into blocks that you can reveal up to a point. The game aids you by displaying letters at the bottom that you need to use to build the word.

You earn a virtual currency for each successful level, which you can spend on getting extra reveals, the removal of letters or letter hints. More than 200 words are made available by the game with the difficulty level increasing gradually throughout it.

Monkey Flight

The game looks as if it is using the same concept as the popular Angry Birds series. While both games certainly have similarities, you will soon find out that their concepts are not identical.

You fire a monkey from a palm tree to collect all sorts of fruit floating around in midair on the screen. Your task is to collect enough fruit to make it to the next challenge, or, if you are playing one of the score modes, to score as many points as possible.

The game is controlled with the left mouse button -- to fire the monkey and to use some extra momentum while bouncing around on the map -- or touch input on touch enabled devices.

KVADPhoto+

The photo editor ships with a solid amount of features included. You can resize photos, apply filters and other effects to it, crop it, rotate it, or change the pictures color settings.

Some features are only available as paid add-ons while the majority of features are free to use. If you open filters for example, you will notice a lock next to some filters indicating that these filters are not available unless purchased.

Word Battle

A word recognition game featuring a single- and multi-player mode. You can play against the time in single player or against friends in online or local multiplayer. You need to create words by combining adjacent letters on the game board. Each letter has a score associated with it that you get when you build a known word.

You can use touch input to select characters to form a word or the left mouse button to do so. The game is available in English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Dutch and Portuguese. To switch the language of the game open its preferences on the Charms Bar.

BlackBerry fights back!

Publié: avril 12, 2013, 5:46pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

As a journalist, I see lots of rumor stories and so-called analyses that send shivers down my spin. I just know that someone looks to benefit from information that moves some company's stock price. I'm not an investor, knowing that any of my legitimate news stories can affect a public company's shares; it's ethical protocol, too, not to invest in companies you write about. Often manipulation is obvious, but hard to prove. So with great interest I watch BlackBerry's aggressive response to stock shattering news unleashed by an analyst firm yesterday. I make no accusations of wrongdoing. BlackBerry already has.

Shares of the Canadian smartphone and tablet maker plunged about 8 percent yesterday after reports of high BlackBerry Z10 returns. "In several cases, returns are now exceeding sales, a phenomenon we have never seen before", Detwiler Fenton claims. BlackBerry's response is swift and shows just how dramatically different is the leadership under CEO Thorsten Heins. The company asks the Securities and Exchange Commission and Ontario Securities Commission to investigate the "false and misleading report".

Brazen Response

The report, whether or not true, hurts BlackBerry. The once great smartphone maker is a fallen star looking to rise, and Z10 is the engine. Word of high returns can hurt sales, if people or partners considering the Z10 lose confidence in BlackBerry and question whether the company will even be in business a year from now. The implications of high returns is much bigger than the share price. As I repeatedly assert: In business perception is everything.

Heins takes control with a no-nonsense denial that sets a different perception:

Sales of the BlackBerry Z10 are meeting expectations and the data we have collected from our retail and carrier partners demonstrates that customers are satisfied with their devices. Return rate statistics show that we are at or below our forecasts and right in line with the industry. To suggest otherwise is either a gross misreading of the data or a willful manipulation. Such a conclusion is absolutely without basis and BlackBerry will not leave it unchallenged.

I'm used to company non-denial denials that are meant to do PR damage control but don't answer the accusation at hand. Heins stands out for clarity that suggests something isn't right with the high-returns report. "Right in line with the industry" and "gross misreading of the data or a willful manipulation" are unambiguous statements and the latter likely to come back to BlackBerry if libelous. You don't publicly suggest or outright accuse a financial analyst firm of "willful manipulation" unless you're a fool or confident you're right.

"These materially false and misleading comments about device return rates in the United States harm BlackBerry and our shareholders, and we call upon the appropriate authorities in Canada and the United States to conduct an immediate investigation", Steve Zipperstein, BlackBerry chief legal officer, says. "Everyone is entitled to their opinion about the merits of the many competing products in the smartphone industry, but when false statements of material fact are deliberately purveyed for the purpose of influencing the markets a red line has been crossed".

Verizon sides with BlackBerry refuting high return rates.

Hidden Conflicts

One of my big gripes with financial or trade analysts is outright conflict of interest -- the kind journalists are ethically bound to avoid. Many analyst reports read as neutral assessments, but the companies in question also often are clients. In the case of Wall Streeters, the flipside could be true, where clients are competitors of companies they report about or investors in rivals. Some analysts publicly disclose corporate client lists, but most do not -- and no investment firm would expose its list of individual investors and where they place their money.

But that's a somewhat unfair assessment. BlackBerry has huge vested interest in disputing reports of high Z10 returns, so there's a different kind of conflict of interest. Sadly, trust no one, is a good journalist's motto.

Whenever there is any analyst report, rumor or leak about public company, my first question always is: "Who benefits?" That's absolutely the measure here. Who benefits from Detwiler Fenton's report. That's a question a formal SEC or OSC investigation could answer. How BlackBerry benefits from the aggressive response is obvious.

There are many reasons why BetaNews runs so few rumor stories or why I often qualify those that rely on analyst data. As journalists, we have a responsibility to not only report as accurately as possible but to be mindful the impact any story can have on publicly-traded companies like BlackBerry. We don't make editorial decisions based on whether or not X or Y story might hurt or help some company, but, rather, knowing such might be the case make extra diligence to be as accurate as possible based on what we know to be true at the time of writing. We have a responsibility to our readers and to those entities about which we write.

They make me Puke

I'm bloody sick of the "post first, get the facts right later" attitude that is so common across blogs and some news sites. The practice enables people that spread rumors or write false reports for the purpose of manipulating some company's share price. BlackBerry's gripe is with one analyst report, which may or may not prove to be true. But the dispute spotlights a much larger problem of stock manipulation that bloggers, journalists and other writers enable.

Just because so-and-so says something is true doesn't mean it is. Or worse that many people say something is true -- the latter is the echo chamber of falsehood so many blogs, news sites and social networks foster. The practice is worst when Blog A reports rumor B and sites C through Z re-report without ever confirming the veracity via independent sources.

Someone here lies. BlackBerry and Detwiler Fenton both can't be right about Z10 return rates. But that's another story.

Photo Credit: tankist276/Shutterstock

Does Patch Tuesday make your Windows 7 computer endlessly reboot?

Publié: avril 12, 2013, 4:45pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

For the most part Microsoft's Windows updates, known as Patch Tuesday, aim to fix problems as opposed to causing them. That is not always the case, and the most recent update, which took place this week, is a shining example of what happens when good intentions go bad.

On April 9th Microsoft released two "critical" security updates and seven others rated as "important" for both Windows and Internet Explorer as part of its latest round of updates, collectively covering 14 issues. However one of those fixes, labeled KB2823324 and aimed at the Windows 7 file system kernel-mode driver, went badly for some customers. The result was reports of blue screens of death (BSOD) and also infinite reboots.

The company has pulled the update and released KB2839011 to fix the problem -- providing you can boot up and actually get to the fix. "Microsoft is investigating behavior where systems may not recover from a restart, or applications cannot load, after security update 2823324 is applied. We recommend that customers uninstall this update. As an added precaution, Microsoft has removed the download links to the 2823324 update while we investigate", the latest patch claims.

If you are stuck in a reboot loop then you will need to insert your Windows disc and boot to the Repair Windows option then follow the instructions from there.

The issue affects only Windows 7 computers and only some users of those systems. Those of us on Windows 8 havw no known problems with the most recent round of updates, but there is always next month.

Photo Credit: Roger Jegg - Fotodesign-Jegg.de/Shutterstock

iPhone 5 goes on sale at T-Mobile

Publié: avril 12, 2013, 2:26pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

Little over two weeks ago, with much fanfare, T-Mobile announced that the iPhone 5 officially arrives in its smartphone portfolio. And, today, after a week of pre-orders, the Apple-branded handset finally goes on sale at the fourth-largest US mobile operator.

T-Mobile is the last of the four major mobile networks in the US to get the iPhone 5, after AT&T, Verizon and Sprint. Also, the iPhone 5 is the first fruit-branded smartphone to officially reach the "un-carrier" -- as T-Mobile likes to call itself -- little short of six years after the first iteration came to market.

This is a big moment for the mobile operator and Apple, but more so for T-Mobile which has announced that the iPhone 5, in both color choices -- white and black -- is available for the lowest upfront cost at any of the four major carriers in the US. Furthermore, unlike other major players, T-Mobile automatically lowers the total monthly fees after the smartphone is paid for, subtracting the cost of the installments.

When purchased alongside the Simple Choice Plan, the 16 GB iPhone 5 runs prospective customers $99.99 upfront and $20 per month over the course of two years. For the 32 GB and 64 GB versions of the iPhone 5, customers have to shell out $100 and $200 more, respectively, upfront with the monthly fees remaining unchanged.

T-Mobile also provides a trade-in offer, which eliminates the upfront cost for the iPhone 5 if customers hand over an iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S. They can also get up to $120 in credit, depending on the condition of the device that is traded-in.

Prospective buyers can purchase the iPhone 5 outright at $579.99, $679.99 and $779.99 for the 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB versions, respectively. T-Mobile's pricing is $70 lower than Apple charges for the iPhone 5, off-contract, in each of the three storage trims.

T-Mobile also offers the iPhone 4, in white and black, with 8 GB of internal storage for $18 upfront and 18 per month over the course of two years or $450 outright. The iPhone 4S is available as well, in the same traditional color trims, with 16 GB of internal storage for $69 upfront and $20 per month for two years or $549.99 outright.

ServicePower lets firms manage their workforces in the cloud [Q&A]

Publié: avril 12, 2013, 1:02pm CEST par Wayne Williams

ServicePower -- a mobile workforce management software provider -- is seeing more and more companies turning to a workforce model that relies on a mix of full-time employees, third-party contractors, and independent technicians being brought together and managed seamlessly in one place using the power of the cloud.

I chatted with Mark Duffin, CEO and president of ServicePower, about the changes he’s seen recently, the data his firm collects, and why cloud deployment has become so important to his company and its clients.

BN: For the benefit of any readers not familiar with ServicePower, can you tell me about the platform and what it does?

MD: ServicePower Technologies provides a mobile field management software platform that enables clients to mix labor resources -- utilizing full-time employees, contractors, and third-party resources while easily controlling, monitoring and analyzing scheduling and operations.

Our clients use the platform to manage customers, inventory and finances. It enables them to schedule, optimize and dispatch jobs to field resources, while collecting real time job status information, and asset location data. Our platform manages time cards for employees, payments to contractors, and also provides the end-to-end business intelligence to manage the whole process with an eye towards cost control, increased profit margin, increased productivity and utilization, cycle time control and enhanced customer satisfaction.

BN: If you’re dealing with scheduling and delivery, is this a tool that could be used by Amazon, for example?

MD: Any organization that needs field resources to perform service, installation, delivery, inspections, etc., can use our field management platform to ensure that they have resources with the correct skills, in the right geography to execute against its customer commitments.

Our platform enables retailers and e-tailers, for instance, to focus on selling product, rather than manually determining the best route for a series of deliveries. Our software platform will determine the best field resource from amongst employee, third party contractor and on demand technician labor pools. It will communicate the schedule of jobs as well as the real time status of the event, via our mobile application, which can be used from any handheld device capable of browsing the web. It also will pay contractors for work performed, and generate business intelligence that can then feed the field management process.

So, companies like Walmart, or Amazon, for instance, can use the ServicePower platform as an extension of product sales, enabling them to drive incremental services sales, as well as build customer ‘stickiness’ since they can offer the product, as well as delivery, initial installation and service in the future.

BN: ServicePower started life as a scheduling tool, but now it also manages operations, inventory, digital assets and tracks data in all of them. Was it always the plan to support so many services and to enter the world of big data?

MD: ServicePower’s vision evolved over the last five years to a complete end-to-end solution, rather than independent products that address organizations with a single labor resource pool.

We’ve learned that in order for our clients to become best-in-class field service organizations, they must be able to seamlessly tap into multiple labor resource pools, enabling them to achieve metrics around cost and margin control, demand seasonality, productivity and utilization, cycle time, and customer satisfaction.

Our goal has always been to provide the best field management tools. The completed platform now enables clients to get all functionality they need from a single source vendor.

All field service organizations are operating in a big data environment, due to the increase in the collection of data, through sources like mobile devices, software logs, and wireless networks.

Our field management platform gives them the tools they need to use that data to plan, execute and analyze.

BN: What type of data do you collect and how do you use it?

MD: Our platform collects:

Field resource skills
Field resource geography, including a the level of knowledge of an area for employed or dedicated field resources
Field resource efficiency (how well they can execute what they’re scheduled to do related to job length)
Travel times from location to location
Mileage costs, fuel utilization
Driving behavior
Cost of overtime
Cost of a particularly routed set of jobs, versus the cost of a differently routed job set
Total job cost
Shift adherence
SLA adherence
Schedule adherence
Centralized dispatch management throughput improvements
Decreased rework/truck rolls
Productivity
Utilization
Capacity
Labor rates
Parts usage
Quality scores
Part failure rates
Cycle time
Job status
GPS location

The data is used to drive not only the scheduling behavior of the platform, in terms of who is scheduled for which jobs, but also uses the data to drive planning and forecasting, and continuous execution improvements.

BN: You’ve recorded job complete times across multiple industries? Any trends?

MD: The trend is that job times differ greatly around different industries but travel times by and large do not. Nor should job times differ by training for an employee. Interestingly, we have found that in urban areas, travel times often reduce when utilizing our solution. The real importance with job times isn’t that each industry is different but that we’ve seen common best practices which improve job times and ultimately customer satisfaction. Those standards are to accurately status jobs, report accurate travel times, compare performance of the workforce based on seniority and training, and optimize frequently by more than just travel time. By doing so, the organization can increase capacity, plan for emergency work and meet customer SLA’s (service-level agreements).

BN: What makes ServicePower worth paying for as an IT solution?

MD: ServicePower embraced cloud technologies long before the rest of the market did. We recognized that cloud based deployment drove aggregation of jobs within the third-party contractor markets, while increasing adoption of technology due to low cost of entry for independent, often cash-strapped contractors.

By offering our entire platform as a cloud solution, we’ve also driven cost out of organizations that would have historically paid for the infrastructure to support on premise deployments. We’re managing the hardware and software, within the cloud, with the appropriate redundancy and failover safeguards, to provide our clients with the best tools, at the lowest costs.

ServicePower provides clients with the ability to forecast, execute and analyze its operation, while mixing field labor resources to achieve its most desirable field service metrics, yielding a best-in-class field service operation.

BN: Why is cloud-based technology so important to ServicePower?

MD: As stated above, cloud technology is very important to today’s field service organization. Cloud deployment, if implemented with rigid redundancy and failover capabilities, enables organizations to utilize cutting edge technology at the lowest cost possible, while still able to realize improvements in productivity and utilization, margin and customer satisfaction.

Cloud deployment drives aggregation and adoption in the contractor markets, while also providing them with cost savings. The addition of our new HTML5 mobile application and S2 Suite business management software, both cloud-based technologies, further enhance our ability to provide our clients with the best possible, least costly mixture of field labor resources to achieve their business metrics.

BN: When choosing a hybrid/HTML5 mobile solution, what factors did you take into account?

MD: ServicePower has been in the mobile application space for many years. With the proliferation of devices and operating systems, it became apparent that our clients, as well as and perhaps most importantly, our third-party contractor networks, required a solution that supports evolving mobile strategies.

So many clients are moving away from outfitting their own technicians with a single device, instead implementing a BYOD (Bring-Your-Own-Device) strategy. That trend, plus the need to secure the same level of real-time job status information from third-party contractors required technology that would work on just about any device a technician may already have in hand.

Working in conjunction with the largest device manufacturers in the world, particularly Apple, ServicePower’s team of developers created a browser product that takes advantage of elements found in native apps, to ensure a consistent, OS centric user experience called ServiceMobility. Apple users interact with what looks and works like an iTunes app. Android users interact with an app that looks and feels like a Google Play app.

The ServiceMobility product suite supports key enterprise requirements such as disconnected data, signature capture and barcode scanning, across the product set, and is structured to support our wide range of client needs.

BN: What is one industry that is not currently using your platform, but could benefit greatly from it?

MD: ServicePower has just scratched the surface of the telecom industry. The supply chain is so extensive, with companies ranging from VARs (value-added resellers) to telecom carriers, yet each link in the chain utilizes field resources to execute.

But, ServicePower is uniquely positioned to provide a multi-labor channel solution that is relevant and necessary for telecom supply chain members to execute, whether they provide equipment installation or repairs, infrastructure or consumer based voice and data services.

Our solution enables the telecom industry to optimize their own employed field resources, but also utilize third-party contractors to address geography, skill, and capacity or catastrophe events.

Photo Credit: everything possible/Shutterstock

Bing searches throw up more malware sites than Google

Publié: avril 12, 2013, 12:32pm CEST par Ian Barker

We all know that search engine results can sometimes serve up malware, but if you’re using Bing you’re five times more likely to get malicious links than if you’re using Google.

In an 18-month study, independent German lab AV-Test discovered that all search engines sometimes serve up Trojans and other malware amongst their results despite the search providers' best efforts to prevent it.

AV-Test found 5,000 malware links across 40 million websites, so toxic search results are perhaps rarer than you’d think. However, it seems that developers are putting their efforts into SEO techniques so that their results appear higher up the rankings where users are most vulnerable to clicking without thinking.

Google and Bing proved to be the safest search engines in the study, but of the two it’s Bing that’s more likely to give you a nasty surprise when clicking on a link, delivering 1,285 malicious results to Google’s 272. If it’s any consolation you can feel sorry for the Russians as their search giant Yandex delivered more than ten times as many infected sites as Google.

Most of the infected sites exploit existing vulnerabilities so you can keep yourself safe by ensuring that your browser and security software are always up to date.

Photo Credits: maraga/Shutterstock

Twitter expands Trends in 160 more locations

Publié: avril 12, 2013, 11:53am CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

If something really matters on Twitter then it's on Trends. The little card displayed to the left of the tweets feed in the browser (or inside a tab in the mobile app) shows ten topics that have managed to come out on top as most relevant to worldwide users.

In order to get even more spooky, Twitter even offers something called "tailored Trends" which delivers a more personal list "based on who you follow and your location". But if you don't want to use the feature, you can get trends only for a specific location, an option which Twitter has expanded to include 160 more places worldwide.

Twitter users are now able to also choose Belgium, Greece, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Ukraine, as well as in excess of 130 new cities worldwide, in countries that are already supported in Trends, to get their dose of trending topics for a certain location.

Just head over to the Trends card, click on "Change" and choose your preferred location to get started. If you don't like it, you can always click on "Get tailored Trends" to go back to the standard way of viewing the Trends.

Photo Credit: Julien Tromeur/Shutterstock

Le Dimmer helps you avoid distractions and stay focused on your PC work

Publié: avril 12, 2013, 11:50am CEST par Mike Williams

If you’re working on some important PC task and want to avoid distractions, then maximizing your program window is usually a good place to start. But if you need to monitor several programs -- or the window just can’t be maximized -- then Le Dimmer may offer a more interesting approach.

The program is tiny, portable, and has just a single task: after launching, it dims everything on your desktop apart from the current window.

The effect can be quite restful on the eyes, depending on your applications, with all the usual brightness reduced by a considerable degree. (Although if you run a program with a white background then the contrast becomes greater, so it won’t work for everyone.)

It all runs entirely automatically, too. There’s nothing to do, no complex interface to navigate, the program just works. All you have to remember is to right-click the system tray and select "Quit" if you decide you don’t need the effect any more, and want to resume normal operations.

If you do need more control, though, there is a useful command line switch available. Pass the program a number between 0 and 255 ("LeDimmer.exe 150") and you’re setting the "Dim factor". 150 is the default; increasing this will darken the dimmed part of the screen even further, while reducing the value will brighten it. (Check the program’s ReadMe.txt for details.)

Le Dimmer isn’t quite bullet-proof. We changed our screen resolution while running the program, and not only did it not notice, but after a few clicks it also managed to crash Explorer. Oops.

Still, no data was lost, even with this extreme test. The rest of the time, Le Dimmer worked just fine. And if you’re looking for a way to focus your attention on one task, while not entirely losing track of some others, then the program could prove very useful.

Photo Credit: kentoh/Shutterstock

O2 Refresh uncouples phone and airtime tariffs in the UK for easier upgrades

Publié: avril 12, 2013, 11:39am CEST par Wayne Williams

When you get a new mobile phone and set up a new contract, you’re tied into it for a set period of time. If you want to upgrade to a new phone partway through your contract you’ll need to pay off at least some -- if not all -- of the remaining fees, which can prove very costly.

O2 has come up with a new mobile phone price plan designed to appeal to people who like to always have the latest smartphone.

Available from O2 stores from Tuesday 16 April, O2 Refresh is actually two separate contracts -- one covering airtime (your talktime, texts, data and so on) and another covering the cost of the phone itself.

Customers firstly choose the airtime plan they want. There are a choice of three price points on offer -- £12 a month (600 minutes, unlimited texts and 750MB of data), £17 a month (unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and 1GB of data) and £22 a month (unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and 2GB of data). Buyers then add on the plan for the phone (the HTC One, for example, costs £49.99 up front and £20 per month for two years). When a new model comes out, they only have to pay off whatever’s remaining on the phone plan. The airtime plan can be ended at the same time with no termination fee.

"Mobile phone technology continues to advance at a rapid pace, yet the way phones are sold has remained largely static," Feilim Mackle, Sales and Service Director at Telefónica UK explains. "Increasingly our customers are telling us that they don’t want to be tied to the same phone for two years and, with 4G coming to O2 this summer, we want to make it easier for our customers to benefit from the latest technology. For the first time in the UK, O2 Refresh will make it possible to get a new phone part way through a pay monthly contract, at any time -- quickly, easily and cost-effectively".

The list of phones available on the O2 Refresh plan include HTC One, Sony Xperia Z, Blackberry Z10, Samsung Galaxy S3 and Apple iPhone 5. The Blackberry Q10 and Samsung Galaxy S4 will be added when they become available.

Accidental Empires, Part 20 -- Counter-Reformation (Chapter 14)

Publié: avril 12, 2013, 7:28am CEST par Robert X. Cringely

Twentieth in a series. "Market research firms tend to serve the same function for the PC industry that a lamppost does for a drunk", writes Robert X. Cringely in this installment of 1991 classic Accidental Empires. Context is universal forecast that OS/2 would overtake MS-DOS. Analysts were wrong then, much as they are today making predictions about smartphones, tablets and PCs. The insightful chapter also explains vaporware and product leak tactics IBM pioneered, Microsoft refined and Apple later adopted.

In Prudhoe Bay, in the oilfields of Alaska’s North Slope, the sun goes down sometime in late November and doesn’t appear again until January, and even then the days are so short that you can celebrate sunrise, high noon, and sunset all with the same cup of coffee. The whole day looks like that sliver of white at the base of your thumbnail.

It’s cold in Prudhoe Bay in the wintertime, colder than I can say or you would believe -- so cold that the folks who work for the oil companies start their cars around October and leave them running twenty-four hours a day clear through to April just so they won’t freeze up.

Idling in the seemingly endless dark is not good for a car. Spark plugs foul and carburetors gum up. Gas mileage goes completely to hell, but that’s okay; they’ve got the oil. Keeping those cars and trucks running night and pseudoday means that there are a lot of crummy, gas-guzzling, smoke-spewing vehicles in Prudhoe Bay in the winter, but at least they work.

Nobody ever lost his job for leaving a car running overnight during a winter in Prudhoe Bay.

And it used to be that nobody ever lost his job for buying computers from IBM.

But springtime eventually comes to Alaska. The tundra begins to melt, the days get longer than you can keep your eyes open, and the mosquitoes are suddenly thick as grass. It’s time for an oil change and to give that car a rest. When the danger’s gone -- when the environment has improved to a point where any car can be counted on to make it through the night, when any tool could do the job -- then efficiency and economy suddenly do become factors. At the end of June in Prudhoe Bay, you just might get in trouble for leaving a car running overnight, if there was a night, which there isn’t.

IBM built its mainframe computer business on reliable service, not on computing performance or low prices. Whether it was in Prudhoe Bay or Houston, when the System 370/168 in accounting went down, IBM people were there right now to fix it and get the company back up and running. IBM customer hand holding built the most profitable corporation in the world. But when we’re talking about a personal computer rather than a mainframe, and it’s just one computer out of a dozen, or a hundred, or a thousand in the building, then having that guy in the white IBM coveralls standing by eventually stops being worth 30 percent or 50 percent more.

That’s when it’s springtime for IBM.

IBM’s success in the personal computer business was a fluke. A company that was physically unable to invent anything in less than three years somehow produced a personal computer system and matching operating system in one year. Eighteen months later, IBM introduced the PC-XT, a marginally improved machine with a marginally improved operating system. Eighteen months after that, IBM introduced its real second-generation product, the PC-AT, with five times the performance of the XT.

From 1981 to 1984, IBM set the standard for personal computing and gave corporate America permission to take PCs seriously, literally creating the industry we know today. But after 1984, IBM lost control of the business.

Reality caught up with IBM’s Entry Systems Division with the development of the PC-AT. From the AT on, it took IBM three years or better to produce each new line of computers. By mainframe standards, three years wasn’t bad, but remember that mainframes are computers, while PCs are just piles of integrated circuits. PCs follow the price/performance curve for semiconductors, which says that performance has to double every eighteen months. IBM couldn’t do that anymore. It should have been ready with a new line of industry-leading machines by 1986, but it wasn’t. It was another company’s turn.

Compaq Computer cloned the 8088-based IBM PC in a year and cloned the 80286-based PC-AT in six months. By 1986, IBM should have been introducing its 80386-based machine, but it didn’t have one. Compaq couldn’t wait for Big Blue and so went ahead and introduced its DeskPro 386. The 386s that soon followed from other clone makers were clones of the Compaq machine, not clones of IBM. Big Blue had fallen behind the performance curve and would never catch up. Let me say that a little louder: ibm will never catch up.

IBM had defined MS-DOS as the operating system of choice. It set a 16-bit bus standard for the PC-AT that determined how circuit cards from many vendors could be used in the same machine. These were benevolent standards from a market leader that needed the help of other hardware and software companies to increase its market penetration. That was all it took. Once IBM could no longer stay ahead of the performance curve, the IBM standards still acted as guidelines, so clone makers could take the lead from there, and they did. IBM saw its market share slowly start to fall.

But IBM was still the biggest player in the PC business, still had the the greatest potential for wreaking technical havoc, and knew better than any other company how to slow the game down to a more comfortable pace. Here are some market control techniques refined by Big Blue over the years.

Technique No. 1. Announce a direction, not a product. This is my favorite IBM technique because it is the most efficient one from Big Blue’s perspective. Say the whole computer industry is waiting for IBM to come out with its next-generation machines, but instead the company makes a surprise announcement: “Sorry, no new computers this year, but that’s because we are committing the company to move toward a family of computers based on gallium arsenide technology [or Josephson junctions, or optical computing, or even vegetable computing -- it doesn't really matter]. Look for these powerful new computers in two years.”

“Damn, I knew they were working on something big,” say all of IBM’s competitors as they scrap the computers they had been planning to compete with the derivative machines expected from IBM.

Whether IBM’s rutabaga-based PC ever appears or not, all IBM competitors have to change their research and development focus, looking into broccoli and parsnip computing, just in case IBM is actually onto something. By stating a bold change of direction, IBM looks as if it’s grasping the technical lead, when in fact all it’s really doing is throwing competitors for a loop, burning up their R&D budgets, and ultimately making them wait up to two years for a new line of computers that may or may not ever appear. (IBM has been known, after all, to say later, “Oops, that just didn’t work out,” as they did with Josephson junction research.) And even when the direction is for real, the sheer market presence of IBM makes most other companies wait for Big Blue’s machines to appear to see how they can make their own product lines fit with IBM’s.

Whenever IBM makes one of these statements of direction, it’s like the yellow flag coming out during an auto race. Everyone continues to drive, but nobody is allowed to pass.

IBM’s Systems Application Architecture (SAA) announcement of 1987, which was supposed to bring a unified programming environment, user interface, and applications to most of its mainframe, minicomputer, and personal computer lines by 1989, was an example of such a statement of direction. SAA was for real, but major parts of it were still not ready in 1991.

Technique No. 2. Announce a real product, but do so long before you actually expect to deliver, disrupting the market for competitive products that are already shipping.

This is a twist on Technique No. 1 though aimed at computer buyers rather than computer builders. Because performance is always going up and prices are always going down, PC buyers love to delay purchases, waiting for something better. A major player like IBM can take advantage of this trend, using it to compete even when IBM doesn’t yet have a product of its own to offer.

In the 1983-1985 time period, for example, Apple had the Lisa and the Macintosh, VisiCorp had VisiOn, its graphical computing environment for IBM PCs, Microsoft had shipped the first version of Windows, Digital Research produced GEM, and a little company in Santa Monica called Quarterdeck Office Systems came out with a product called DesQ. All of these products -- even Windows, which came from Microsoft, IBM’s PC software partner -- were perceived as threats by IBM, which had no equivalent graphical product. To compete with these graphical environments that were already available, IBM announced its own software that would put pop-up windows on a PC screen and offer easy switching from application to application and data transfer from one program to another. The announcement came in the summer of 1984 at the same time the PC-AT was introduced. They called the new software TopView and said it would be available in about a year.

DesQ had been the hit of Comdex, the computer dealers’ convention held in Atlanta in the spring of 1984. Just after the show, Quarterdeck raised $5.5 million in second-round venture funding, moved into new quarters just a block from the beach, and was happily shipping 2,000 copies of DesQ per month. DesQ had the advantage over most of the other windowing systems that it worked with existing MS-DOS applications. DesQ could run more than one application at a time, too -- something none of the other systems (except Apple’s Lisa) offered. Then IBM announced TopView. DesQ sales dropped to practically nothing, and the venture capitalists asked Quarterdeck for their money back.

All the potential DesQ buyers in the world decided in a single moment to wait for the truly incredible software IBM promised. They forgot, of course, that IBM was not particularly noted for incredible software -- in fact, IBM had never developed PC software entirely on its own before. TopView was true Blue -- written with no help from Microsoft.

The idea of TopView hurt all the other windowing systems and contributed to the death of Vision and DesQ. Quarterdeck dropped from fifty employees down to thirteen. Terry Myers, co-founder of Quarterdeck and one of the few women to run a PC software company, borrowed $20,000 from her mother to keep the company afloat while her programmers madly rewrote DesQ to be compatible with the yet-to-be-delivered TopView. They called the new program DesqView.

When TopView finally appeared in 1985, it was a failure. The product was slow and awkward to use, and it lived up to none of the promises IBM made. You can still buy TopView from IBM, but nobody does; it remains on the IBM product list strictly because removing it would require writing off all development expenses, which would hurt IBM’s bottom line.

Technique No. 3. Don’t announce a product, but do leak a few strategic hints, even if they aren’t true.

IBM should have introduced a follow-on to the PC-AT in 1986 but it didn’t. There were lots of rumors, sure, about a system generally referred to as the PC-2, but IBM staunchly refused to comment. Still, the PC-2 rumors continued, accompanied by sparse technical details of a machine that all the clone makers expected would include an Intel 80386 processor. And maybe, the rumors continued, the PC-2 would have a 32-bit bus, which would mean yet another technical standard for add-in circuit cards.

It would have been suicide for a clone maker to come out with a 386 machine with its own 32-bit bus in early 1986 if IBM was going to announce a similar product a month or three later, so the clone makers didn’t introduce their new machines. They waited and waited for IBM to announce a new family of computers that never came. And during the time that Compaq and Dell, and AST, and the others were waiting for IBM to make its move, millions of PC-ATs were flowing into Fortune 1000 corporations, still bringing in the big bucks at a time when they shouldn’t have still been viewed as top-of-the-line machines.

When Compaq Computer finally got tired of waiting and introduced its own DeskPro 386, it was careful to make its new machine use the 16-bit circuit cards intended for the PC-AT. Not even Compaq thought it could push a proprietary 32-bit bus standard in competition with IBM. The only 32-bit connections in the Compaq machine were between the processor and main memory; in every other respect, it was just like a 286.

Technique No. 4. Don’t support anybody else’s standards; make your own.

The original IBM Personal Computer used the PC-DOS operating system at a time when most other microcomputers used in business ran CP/M. The original IBM PC had a completely new bus standard, while nearly all of those CP/M machines used something called the S-100 bus. Pushing a new operating system and a new bus should have put IBM at a disadvantage, since there were thousands of CP/M applications and hundreds of S-100 circuit cards, and hardly any PC-DOS applications and less than half a dozen PC circuit cards available in 1981. But this was not just any computer start-up; this was IBM, and so what would normally have been a disadvantage became IBM’s advantage. The IBM PC killed CP/M and the S-100 bus and gave Big Blue a full year with no PC-compatible competitors.

When the rest of the world did its computer networking with Ethernet, IBM invented another technology, called Token Ring. When the rest of the world thought that a multitasking workstation operating system meant Unix, IBM insisted on OS/2, counting on its influence and broad shoulders either to make the IBM standard a de facto standard or at least to interrupt the momentum of competitors.

Technique No. 5. Announce a product; then say you don’t really mean it.

IBM has always had a problem with the idea of linking its personal computers together. PCs were cheaper than 3270 terminals, so IBM didn’t want to make it too easy to connect PCs to its mainframes and risk hurting its computer terminal business. And linked PCs could, by sharing data, eventually compete with minicomputer or mainframe time-sharing systems, which were IBM’s traditional bread and butter. Proposing an IBM standard for networking PCs or embracing someone else’s networking standard was viewed in Armonk as a risky proposition. By the mid-1980s, though, other companies were already moving forward with plans to network IBM PCs, and Big Blue just couldn’t stand the idea of all that money going into another company’s pocket.

In 1985, then, IBM announced its first networking hardware and software for personal computers. The software was called the PC Network (later the PC LAN Program). The hardware was a circuit card that fit in each PC and linked them together over a coaxial cable, transferring data at up to 2 million bits per second. IBM sold $200 million worth of these circuit cards over the next couple of years. But that wasn’t good enough (or bad enough) for IBM, which announced that the network cards, while they are a product, weren’t part of an IBM direction. IBM’s true networking direction was toward another hardware technology called Token Ring, which would be available, as I’m sure you can predict by now, in a couple of years.

Customers couldn’t decide whether to buy the hardware that IBM was already selling or to wait for Token Ring, which would have higher performance. Customers who waited for Token Ring were punished for their loyalty, since IBM, which had the most advanced semiconductor plants in the world, somehow couldn’t make enough Token Ring adapters to meet demand until well into 1990. The result was that IBM lost control of the PC networking business.

The company that absolutely controls the PC networking business is headquartered at the foot of a mountain range in Provo, Utah, just down the street from Brigham Young University. Novell Inc. runs the networking business today as completely as IBM ran the PC business in 1983. A lot of Novell’s success has to do with the technical skills of those programmers who come to work straight out of BYU and who have no idea how much money they could be making in Silicon Valley. And a certain amount of its success can be traced directly to the company’s darkest moment, when it was lucky enough to nearly go out of business in 1981.

Novell Data Systems, as it was called then, was a struggling maker of not very good CP/M computers. The failing company threw the last of its money behind a scheme to link its computers together so they could share a single hard disk drive. Hard disks were expensive then, and a California company, Corvus Systems, had already made a fortune linking Apple IIs together in a similar fashion. Novell hoped to do for CP/M computers what Corvus had done for the Apple II.

In September 1981, Novell hired three contract programmers to devise the new network hardware and software. Drew Major, Dale Neibaur, and Kyle Powell were techies who liked to work together and hired out as a unit under the name Superset. Superset -- three guys who weren’t even Novell employees -- invented Novell’s networking technology and still direct its development today. They still aren’t Novell employees.

Companies like Ashton-Tate and Lotus Development ran into serious difficulties when they lost their architects. Novell and Microsoft, which have retained their technical leaders for over a decade, have avoided such problems.

In 1981, networking meant sharing a hard disk drive but not sharing data between microcomputers. Sure, your Apple II and my Apple II could be linked to the same Corvus 10-megabyte hard drive, but your data would be invisible to my computer. This was a safety feature, because the microcomputer operating systems of the time couldn’t handle the concept of shared data.

Let’s say I am reading the text file that contains your gothic romance just when you decide to add a juicy new scene to chapter 24. I am reading the file, adding occasional rude comments, when you grab the file and start to add text. Later, we both store the file, but which version gets stored: the one with my comments, or the one where Captain Phillips finally does the nasty with Lady Margaret? Who knows?

What CP/M lacked was a facility for directory locking, which would allow only one user at a time to change a file. I could read your romance, but if you were already adding text to it, directory locking would keep me from adding any comments. Directory locking could be used to make some data read only, and could make some data readable only by certain users. These were already important features in multiuser or networked systems but not needed in CP/M, which was written strictly for a single user.

The guys from Superset added directory locking to CP/M, they improved CP/M’s mechanism for searching the disk directory, and they moved all of these functions from the networked microcomputer up to a specialized processor that was at the hard disk drive. By November 1981, they’d turned what was supposed to have been a disk server like Corvus’s into a file server where users could share data. Novell’s Data Management Computer could support twelve simultaneous users at the same performance level as a single-user CP/M system.

Superset, not Novell, decided to network the new IBM PC. The three hackers bought one of the first PCs in Utah and built the first PC network card. They did it all on their own and against the wishes of Novell, which just then finally ran out of money.

The venture capitalists whose money it was that Novell had used up came to Utah looking for salvageable technology and found only Superset’s work worth continuing. While Novell was dismantled around them, the three contractors kept working and kept getting paid. They worked in isolation for two years, developing whole generations of product that were never sold to anyone.

The early versions of most software are so bad that good programmers usually want to throw them away but can’t because ship dates have to be met. But Novell wasn’t shipping anything in 1982-1983, so early versions of its network software were thrown away and started over again. Novell was able take the time needed to come up with the correct architecture, a rare luxury for a start-up, and subsequently the company’s greatest advantage. Going broke turned out to have been very good for Novell.

Novell hardware was so bad that the company concentrated almost completely on software after it started back in business in 1983. All the other networking companies were trying to sell hardware. Corvus was trying to sell hard disks. Televideo was trying to sell CP/M boxes. 3Com was trying to sell Ethernet network adapter cards. None of these companies saw any advantage to selling its software to go with another company’s hard disk, computer, or adapter card. They saw all the value in the hardware, while Novell, which had lousy hardware and knew it, decided to concentrate on networking software that would work with every hard drive, every PC, and every network card.

By this time Novell had a new leader in Ray Noorda, who’d bumped through a number of engineering, then later marketing and sales, jobs in the minicomputer business. Noorda saw that Novell’s value lay in its software. By making wiring a nonissue, with Novell’s software—now called Netware—able to run on any type of networking scheme, Noorda figured it would be possible to stimulate the next stage of growth. “Growing the market” became Noorda’s motto, and toward that end he got Novell back in the hardware business but sold workstations and network cards literally at cost just to make it cheaper and easier for companies to decide to network their offices. Ray Noorda was not a popular man in Silicon Valley.

In 1983, when Noorda was taking charge of Novell, IBM asked Microsoft to write some PC networking software. Microsoft knew very little about networking in 1983, but Bill Gates was not about to send his major customer away, so Microsoft got into the networking business.

“Our networking effort wasn’t serious until we hired Darryl Rubin, our network architect,” admitted Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer in 1991.

Wait a minute, Steve, did anyone tell IBM back in 1983 that Microsoft wasn’t really serious about this networking stuff? Of course not.

Like most of Microsoft’s other stabs at new technology, PC networking began as a preemptive strike rather than an actual product. The point of Gates’s agreeing to do IBM’s network software was to keep IBM as a customer, not to do a good product. In fact, Microsoft’s entry into most new technologies follows this same plan, with the first effort being a preemptive strike, the second effort being market research to see what customers really want in a product, and the third try is the real product. It happened that way with Microsoft’s efforts at networking, word processing, and Windows, and will continue in the company’s current efforts in multimedia and pen-based computing. It’s too bad, of course, that hundreds of thousands of customers spend millions and millions of dollars on those early efforts—the ones that aren’t real products. But heck, that’s their problem, right?

Microsoft decided to build its network technology on top of DOS because that was the company franchise. All new technologies were conceived as extensions to DOS, keeping the old technology competitive—or at least looking so—in an increasingly complex market. But DOS wasn’t a very good system on which to build a network operating system. DOS was limited to 640K of memory. DOS had an awkward file structure that got slower and slower as the number of files increased, which could become a major problem on a server with thousands of files. In contrast, Novell’s Netware could use megabytes of memory and had a lightning-fast file system. After all, Netware was built from scratch to be a network operating system, while Microsoft’s product wasn’t.

MS-Net appeared in 1985. It was licensed to more than thirty different hardware companies in the same way that MS-DOS was licensed to makers of PC clones. Only three versions of MS-Net actually appeared, including IBM’s PC LAN program, a dog.

The final nail in Microsoft’s networking coffin was also driven in 1985 when Novell introduced Netware 2.0, which ran on the 80286 processor in IBM’s PC-AT. You could run MS-Net on an AT also but only in the mode that emulated an 8086 processor and was limited to addressing 640K. But Netware on an AT took full advantage of the 80286 and could address up to 16 megabytes of RAM, making Novell’s software vastly more powerful than Microsoft’s.

This business of taking software written for the 8086 processor and porting it to the 80286 normally required completely rewriting the software by hand, often taking years of painstaking effort. It wasn’t just a matter of recompiling the software, of having a machine do the translation, because Microsoft staunchly maintained that there was no way to recompile 8086 code to run on an 80286. Bill Gates swore that such a recompile was impossible. But Drew Major of Superset didn’t know what Bill Gates knew, and so he figured out a way to recompile 8086 code to run on an 80286. What should have taken months or years of labor was finished in a week, and Novell had won the networking war. Six years and more than $100 million later, Microsoft finally admitted defeat.

Meanwhile, back in Boca Raton, IBM was still struggling to produce a follow-on to the PC-AT. The reason that it began taking IBM so long to produce new PC products was the difference between strategy and tactics. Building the original IBM PC was a tactical exercise designed to test a potential new market by getting a product out as quickly as possible. But when the new market turned out to be ten times larger than anyone at IBM had realized and began to affect the sales of other divisions of the company, PCs suddenly became a strategic issue. And strategy takes time to develop, especially at IBM.

Remember that there is nobody working at IBM today who recalls those sun-filled company picnics in Endicott, New York, back when the company was still small, the entire R&D department could participate in one three-legged race, and inertia was not yet a virtue. The folks who work at IBM today generally like the fact that it is big, slow moving, and safe. IBM has built an empire by moving deliberately and hiring third-wave people. Even Don Estridge, who led the tactical PC effort up through the PC-AT, wasn’t welcome in a strategic personal computer operation; Estridge was a second-wave guy at heart and so couldn’t be trusted. That’s why Estridge was promoted into obscurity, and Bill Lowe, who’d proved that he was a company man, a true third waver with only occasional second-wave leanings that could, and were, beaten out of him over time, was brought back to run the PC operations.

As an enormous corporation that had finally decided personal computers were part of its strategic plan, IBM laboriously reexamined the whole operation and started funding backup ventures to keep the company from being too dependent on any single PC product development effort. Several families of new computers were designed and considered, as were at least a couple of new operating systems. All of this development and deliberation takes time.

Even the vital relationship with Bill Gates was reconsidered in 1985, when IBM thought of dropping Microsoft and DOS altogether in favor of a completely new operating system. The idea was to port to the Intel 286 processor operating system software from a California company called Metaphor Computer Systems. The Metaphor software was yet another outgrowth of work done at Xerox PARC and ran then strictly on IBM mainframes, offering an advanced office automation system with a graphical user interface. The big corporate users who were daring enough to try Metaphor loved it, and IBM dreamed that converting the software to run on PCs would draw personal computers seamlessly into the mainframe world in a way that wouldn’t be so directly competitive with its other product lines. Porting Metaphor software would also have brought IBM a major role in application software for its PCs—an area where the company had so far failed.

Since Microsoft wasn’t even supposed to know that this Metaphor experiment was happening, IBM chose Lotus Development to port the software. The programmers at Lotus had never written an operating system, but they knew plenty about Intel processor architecture, since the high performance of Lotus 1-2-3 came mainly from writing directly to the processor, avoiding MS-DOS as much as possible.

Nothing ever came of the Lotus/Metaphor operating system, which turned out to be an IBM fantasy. Technically, it was asking too much of the 80286 processor. The 80386 might have handled the job, but for other strategic reasons, IBM was reluctant to move up to the 386.

IBM has had a lot of such fantasies and done a lot of negotiating and investigating whacko joint ventures with many different potential software partners. It’s a way of life at the largest computer company in the world, where keeping on top of the industry is accomplished through just this sort of diplomacy. Think of dogs sniffing each other.

IBM couldn’t go forever without replacing the PC-AT, and eventually it introduced a whole new family of microcomputers in April 1987. These were the Personal System/2s and came in four flavors: Models 30, 50, 60, and 80. The Model 30 used an 8086 processor, the Models 50 and 60 used an 80286, and the Model 80 was IBM’s first attempt at an 80386-based PC. The 286 and 386 machines used a new bus standard called the Micro Channel, and all of the PS/2s had 3.5-inch floppy disk drives. By changing hardware designs, IBM was again trying to have the market all to itself.

A new bus standard meant that circuit cards built for the IBM PC, XT, or AT models wouldn’t work in the PS/2s, but the new bus, which was 32 bits wide, was supposed to offer so much higher performance that a little more cost and inconvenience would be well worthwhile. The Micro Channel was designed by an iconoclastic (by IBM standards) engineer named Chet Heath and was reputed to beat the shit out of the old 16-bit AT bus. It was promoted as the next generation of personal computing, and IBM expected the world to switch to its Micro Channel in just the way it had switched to the AT bus in 1984.

But when we tested the PS/2s at InfoWorld, the performance wasn’t there. The new machines weren’t even as fast as many AT clones. The problem wasn’t the Micro Channel; it was IBM. Trying to come up with a clever work-around for the problem of generating a new product line every eighteen months when your organization inherently takes three years to do the job, product planners in IBM’s Entry Systems Division simply decided that the first PS/2s would use only half of the features of the Micro Channel bus. The company deliberately shipped hobbled products so that, eighteen months later, it could discover all sorts of neat additional Micro Channel horsepower, which would be presented in a whole new family of machines using what would then be called Micro Channel 2.

IBM screwed up in its approach to the Micro Channel. Had it introduced the whole product in 1987, doubling the performance of competitive hardware, buyers would have followed IBM to the new standard as they had before. They could have led the industry to a new 32-bit bus standard—one where IBM again would have had a technical advantage for a while. But instead, Big Blue held back features and then tried to scare away clone makers by threatening legal action and talking about granting licenses for the new bus only if licensees paid 5 percent royalties on both their new Micro Channel clones and on every PC, XT, or AT clone they had ever built. The only result of this new hardball attitude was that an industry that had had little success defining a new bus standard by itself was suddenly solidified against IBM. Compaq Computer led a group of nine clone makers that defined their own 32-bit bus standard in competition with the Micro Channel. Compaq led the new group, but IBM made it happen.

From IBM’s perspective, though, its approach to the Micro Channel and the PS/2s was perfectly correct since it acted to protect Big Blue’s core mainframe and minicomputer products. Until very recently, IBM concentrated more on the threat that PCs posed to its larger computers than on the opportunities to sell ever more millions of PCs. Into the late 1980s, IBM still saw itself primarily as a maker of large computers.

Along with new PS/2 hardware, IBM announced in 1987 a new operating system called OS/2, which had been under development at Microsoft when IBM was talking with Metaphor and Lotus. The good part about OS/2 was that it was a true multitasking operating system that allowed several programs to run at the same time on one computer. The bad part about OS/2 was that it was designed by IBM.

When Bill Lowe sent his lieutenants to Microsoft looking for an operating system for the IBM PC, they didn’t carry a list of specifications for the system software. They were looking for something that was ready—software they could just slap on the new machine and run. And that’s what Microsoft gave IBM in PC-DOS: an off-the-shelf operating system that would run on the new hardware. Microsoft, not IBM, decided what DOS would look like and act like. DOS was a Microsoft product, not an IBM product, and subsequent versions, though they appeared each time in the company of new IBM hardware, continued to be 100 percent Microsoft code.

OS/2 was different. OS/2 was strategic, which meant that it was too important to be left to the design whims of Microsoft alone. OS/2 would be designed by IBM and just coded by Microsoft. Big mistake.

OS/2 1.0 was designed to run on the 80286 processor. Bill Gates urged IBM to go straight for the 80386 processor as the target for OS/2, but IBM was afraid that the 386 would offer performance too close to that of its minicomputers. Why buy an AS/400 minicomputer for $200,000, when half a dozen networked PS/2 Model 80s running OS/2-386 could give twice the performance for one third the price? The only reason IBM even developed the 386-based Model 80, in fact, was that Compaq was already selling thousands of its DeskPro 386s. Over the objections of Microsoft, then, OS/2 was aimed at the 286, a chip that Gates correctly called “brain damaged.”

OS/2 had both a large address space and virtual memory. It had more graphics options than either Windows or the Macintosh, as well as being multithreaded and multitasking. OS/2 looked terrific on paper. But what the paper didn’t show was what Gates called “poor code, poor design, poor process, and other overhead” thrust on Microsoft by IBM.

While Microsoft retained the right to sell OS/2 to other computer makers, this time around IBM had its own special version of OS/2, Extended Edition, which included a database called the Data Manager, and an interface to IBM mainframes called the Communication Manager. These special extras were intended to tie OS/2 and the PS/2s into their true function as very smart mainframe terminals. IBM had much more than competing with Compaq in mind when it designed the PS/2s. IBM was aiming toward a true counterreformation in personal computing, leading millions of loyal corporate users back toward the holy mother church—the mainframe.

IBM’s dream for the PS/2s, and for OS/2, was to play a role in leading American business away from the desktop and back to big expensive computers. This was the objective of SAA—IBM’s plan to integrate its personal computers and mainframes—and of what they hoped would be SAA’s compelling application, called OfficeVision.

On May 16, 1989, I sat in an auditorium on the ground floor of the IBM building at 540 Madison Avenue. It was a rainy Tuesday morning in New York, and the room, which was filled with bright television lights as well as people, soon took on the distinctive smell of wet wool. At the front of the room stood a podium and a long table, behind which sat the usual IBM suspects—a dozen conservatively dressed, overweight, middle-aged white men.

George Conrades, IBM’s head of U.S. marketing, appeared behind the podium. Conrades, 43, was on the fast career track at IBM. He was younger than nearly all the other men of IBM who sat at the long table behind him, waiting to play their supporting roles. Behind the television camera lens, 25,000 IBM employees, suppliers, and key customers spread across the world watched the presentation by satellite.

The object of all this attention was a computer software product from IBM called OfficeVision, the result of 4,000 man-years of effort at a cost of more than a billion dollars.

To hear Conrades and the others describe it through their carefully scripted performances, OfficeVision would revolutionize American business. Its “programmable terminals” (PCs) with their immense memory and processing power would gather data from mainframe computers across the building or across the planet, seeking out data without users’ having even to know where the data were stored and then compiling them into colorful and easy-to-understand displays. OfficeVision would bring top executives for the first time into intimate -- even casual -- contact with the vital data stored in their corporate computers. Beyond the executive suite, it would offer access to data, sophisticated communication tools, and intuitive ways of viewing and using information throughout the organization. OfficeVision would even make it easier for typists to type and for file clerks to file.

In the glowing words of Conrades, OfficeVision would make American business more competitive and more profitable. If the experts were right that computing would determine the future success or failure of American business, then OfficeVision simply was that future. It would make that success.

“And all for an average of $7,600 per desk,” Conrades said, “not including the IBM mainframe computers, of course.”

The truth behind this exercise in worsted wool and public relations is that OfficeVision was not at all the future of computing but rather its past, spruced up, given a new coat of paint, and trotted out as an all-new model when, in fact, it was not new at all. In the eyes of IBM executives and their strategic partners, though, OfficeVision had the appearance of being new, which was even better. To IBM and the world of mainframe computers, danger lies in things that are truly new.

With its PS/2s and OS/2 and OfficeVision, IBM was trying to get a jump on a new wave of computing that everyone knew was on its way. The first wave of computing was the mainframe. The second wave was the minicomputer. The third wave was the PC.

Now the fourth wave -- generally called network computing -- seemed imminent, and IBM’s big-bucks commitment to SAA and to OfficeVision was its effort to make the fourth wave look as much as possible like the first three. Mainframes would do the work in big companies, minicomputers in medium-sized companies, and PCs would serve small business as well as acting as “programmable terminals” for the big boys with their OfficeVision setups.

Sadly for IBM, by 1991, OfficeVision still hadn’t appeared, having tripped over mountains of bad code, missed delivery schedules, and facing the fact of life that corporate America is only willing to invest less than 10 percent of each worker’s total compensation in computing resources for that worker. That’s why secretaries get $3,000 PCs and design engineers get $10,000 workstations. OfficeVision would have cost at least double that amount per desk, had it worked at all, so today IBM is talking about a new, slimmed-down OfficeVision 2.0, which will probably fail too.

When OS/2 1.0 finally shipped months after the PS/2 introduction, every big shot in the PC industry asked his or her market research analysts when OS/2 unit sales would surpass sales of MS-DOS. The general consensus of analysts was that the crossover would take place in the early 1990s, perhaps as soon as 1991. It didn’t happen.

Time to talk about the realities of market research in the PC industry. Market research firms make surveys of buyers and sellers, trying to predict the future. They gather and sift through millions of bytes of data and then apply their S-shaped demand curves, predicting what will and won’t be a hit. Most of what they do is voodoo. And like voodoo, whether their work is successful depends on the state of mind of their victim/customer.

Market research customers are hardware and software companies paying thousands -- sometimes hundreds of thousands -- of dollars, primarily to have their own hunches confirmed. Remember that the question on everyone’s mind was when unit sales of OS/2 would exceed those of DOS. Forget that OS/2 1.0 was late. Forget that there was no compelling application for OS/2. Forget that the operating system, when it did finally appear, was buggy as hell and probably shouldn’t have been released at all. Forget all that, and think only of the question, which was: When will unit sales of OS/2 exceed those of DOS? The assumption (and the flaw) built into this exercise is that OS/2, because it was being pushed by IBM, was destined to overtake DOS, which it hasn’t. But given that the paying customers wanted OS/2 to succeed and that the research question itself suggested that OS/2 would succeed, market research companies like Dataquest, InfoCorp, and International Data Corporation dutifully crazy-glued their usual demand curves on a chart and predicted that OS/2 would be a big hit. There were no dissenting voices. Not a single market research report that I read or read about at that time predicted that OS/2 would be a failure.

Market research firms tend to serve the same function for the PC industry that a lamppost does for a drunk.

OS/2 1.0 was a dismal failure. Sales were pitiful. Performance was pitiful, too, at least in that first version. Users didn’t need OS/2 since they could already multitask their existing DOS applications using products like Quarterdeck’s DesqView. Independent software vendors, who were attracted to OS/2 by the lure of IBM, soon stopped their OS/2 development efforts as the operating system’s failure became obvious. But the failure of OS/2 wasn’t all IBM’s fault. Half of the blame has to go on the computer memory crisis of the late 1980s.

OS/2 made it possible for PCs to access far more memory than the pitiful 640K available under MS-DOS. On a 286 machine, OS/2 could use up to 16 megabytes of memory and in fact seemed to require at least 4 megabytes to perform acceptably. Alas, this sudden need for six times the memory came at a time when American manufacturers had just abandoned the dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) business to the Japanese.

In 1975, Japan’s Ministry for International Trade and Industry had organized Japan’s leading chip makers into two groups -- NEC-Toshiba and Fujitsu-Hitachi-Mitsubishi -- to challenge the United States for the 64K DRAM business. They won. By 1985, these two groups had 90 percent of the U.S. market for DRAMs. American companies like Intel, which had started out in the DRAM business, quit making the chips because they weren’t profitable, cutting world DRAM production capacity as they retired. Then, to make matters worse, the United States Department of Commerce accused the Asian DRAM makers of dumping -- selling their memory chips in America at less than what it cost to produce them. The Japanese companies cut a deal with the United States government that restricted their DRAM distribution in America -- at a time when we had no other reliable DRAM sources. Big mistake. Memory supplies dropped just as memory demand rose, and the classic supply-demand effect was an increase in DRAM prices, which more than doubled in a few months. Toshiba, which was nearly the only company making 1 megabit DRAM chips for a while, earned more than $1 billion in profits on its DRAM business in 1989, in large part because of the United States government.

Doubled prices are a problem in any industry, but in an industry based on the idea of prices continually dropping, such an increase can lead to panic, as it did in the case of OS/2. The DRAM price bubble was just that—a bubble—but it looked for a while like the end of the world. Software developers who were already working on OS/2 projects began to wonder how many users would be willing to invest the $1,000 that it was suddenly costing to add enough memory to their systems to run OS/2. Just as raising prices killed demand for Apple’s Macintosh in the fall of 1988 (Apple’s primary reason for raising prices was the high cost of DRAM), rising memory prices killed both the supply and demand for OS/2 software.

Then Bill Gates went into seclusion for a week and came out with the sudden understanding that DOS was good for Microsoft, while OS/2 was probably bad. Annual reading weeks, when Gates stays home and reads technical reports for seven days straight and then emerges to reposition the company, are a tradition at Microsoft. Nothing is allowed to get in the way of planned reading for Chairman Bill. During one business trip to South America, for example, the head of Microsoft’s Brazilian operation tried to impress the boss by taking Gates and several women yachting for the weekend. But this particular weekend had been scheduled for reading, so Bill, who is normally very much on the make, stayed below deck reading the whole time.

Microsoft had loyally followed IBM in the direction of OS/2. But there must have been an idea nagging in the back of Bill Gates’s mind. By taking this quantum leap to OS/2, IBM was telling the world that DOS was dead. If Microsoft followed IBM too closely in this OS/2 campaign, it was risking the more than $100 million in profits generated each year by DOS -- profits that mostly didn’t come from IBM. During one of his reading weeks. Gates began to think about what he called “DOS as an asset” and in the process set Microsoft on a collision course with IBM.

Up to 1989, Microsoft followed IBM’s lead, dedicating itself publicly to OS/2 and promising versions of all its major applications that would run under the new operating system. On the surface, all was well between Microsoft and IBM. Under the surface, there were major problems with the relationship. A feisty (for IBM) band of graphics programmers at IBM’s lab in Hursley, England, first forced Microsoft to use an inferior and difficult-to-implement graphics imaging model in Presentation Manager and then later committed all the SAA operating systems, including OS/2, to using PostScript, from the hated house of Warnock— Adobe Systems.

Although by early 1990, OS/2 was up to version 1.2, which included a new file system and other improvements, more than 200 copies of DOS were still being sold for every copy of OS/2. Gates again proposed to IBM that they abandon the 286-based OS/2 product entirely in favor of a 386-based version 2.0. Instead, IBM’s Austin, Texas, lab whipped up its own OS/2 version 1.3, generally referred to as OS/2 Lite. Outwardly, OS/2 1.3 tasted great and was less filling; it ran much faster than OS/2 1.2 and required only 2 megabytes of memory. But OS/2 1.3 sacrificed subsystem performance to improve the speed of its user interface, which meant that it was not really as good a product as it appeared to be. Thrilled finally to produce some software that was well received by reviewers, IBM started talking about basing all its OS/2 products on 1.3 -- even its networking and database software, which didn’t even have user interfaces that needed optimizing. To Microsoft, which was well along on OS/2 2.0, the move seemed brain damaged, and this time they said so.

Microsoft began moving away from OS/2 in 1989 when it became clear that DOS wasn’t going away, nor was it in Microsoft’s interest for it to go away. The best solution for Microsoft would be to put a new face on DOS, and that new face would be yet another version of Windows. Windows 3.0 would include all that Microsoft had learned about graphical user interfaces from seven years of working on Macintosh applications. Windows 3.0 would also be aimed at more powerful PCs using 386 processors -- the PCs that Bill Gates expected to dominate business desktops for most of the 1990s. Windows would preserve DOS’s asset value for Microsoft and would give users 90 percent of the features of OS/2, which Gates began to see more and more as an operating system for network file servers, database servers, and other back-end network applications that were practically invisible to users.

IBM wanted to take from Microsoft the job of defining to the world what a PC operating system was. Big Blue wanted to abandon DOS in favor of OS/2 1.3, which it thought could be tied more directly into IBM hardware and applications, cutting out the clone makers in the process. Gates thought this was a bad idea that was bound to fail. He recognized, even if IBM didn’t, that the market had grown to the point where no one company could define and defend an operating system standard by itself. Without Microsoft’s help, Gates thought IBM would fail. With IBM’shelp, which Gates viewed more as meddling than assistance, Microsoft might fail. Time for a divorce.

Microsoft programmers deliberately slowed their work on OS/2 and especially on Presentation Manager, its graphical user interface. “What incentive does Microsoft have to get [OS/2-PM] out the door before Windows 3?” Gates asked two marketers from Lotus over dinner following the 1990 Computer Bowl trivia match in April 1990. “Besides, six months after Windows 3 ships it will have greater market share than PM will ever have. OS/2 applications won’t have a chance.”

Later that night over drinks, Gates speculated that IBM would “fold” in seven years, though it could last as long as ten or twelve years if it did everything right. Inevitably, though, IBM would die, and Bill Gates was determined that Microsoft would not go down too.

The loyal Lotus marketers prepared a seven-page memo about their inebriated evening with Chairman Bill, giving copies of it to their top management. Somehow I got a copy of the memo, too. And a copy eventually landed on the desk of IBM’s Jim Cannavino, who had taken over Big Blue’s PC operations from Bill Lowe. The end was near for IBM’s special relationship with Microsoft.

Over the course of several months in 1990, IBM and Microsoft negotiated an agreement leaving DOS and Windows with Microsoft and OS/2 1.3 and 2.0 with IBM. Microsoft’s only connection to OS/2 was the right to develop version 3.0, which would run on non-Intel processors and might not even share all the features of earlier versions of OS/2.

The Presentation Manager programmers in Redmond, who had been having Nerfball fights with their Windows counterparts every night for months, suddenly found themselves melded into the Windows operation. A cross-licensing agreement between the two companies remained in force, allowing IBM to offer subsequent versions of DOS to its customers and Microsoft the right to sell versions of OS/2, but the emphasis in Redmond was clearly on DOS and Windows, not OS/2.

“Our strategy for the 90′s is Windows -- one evolving architecture, a couple of implementations,” Bill Gates wrote. “Everything we do should focus on making Windows more successful.”

Windows 3.0 was introduced in May 1990 and sold more than 3 million copies in its first year. Like many other Microsoft products, this third try was finally the real thing. And since it had a head start over its competitors in developing applications that could take full advantage of Windows 3.0, Microsoft was more firmly entrenched than ever as the number one PC software company, while IBM struggled for a new identity. All those other software developers, the ones who had believed three years of Microsoft and IBM predictions that OS/2′s Presentation Manager was the way to go, quickly shifted their OS/2 programmers over to writing Windows applications.

Reprinted with permission

Photo Credit: HomeArt/Shutterstock

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Digg survey: Two in 10 'check Google Reader many times a day'

Publié: avril 12, 2013, 1:40am CEST par Alan Buckingham

The furor over Google Reader's eminent demise, while quieter, is by no means over. Today, Digg pours gasoline on the fire, by publishing results from a survey about subscription habits. Late last month, the social news site announced intentions to build its own RSS solution. The company made the task the number one priority and immediately began asking for feedback. Among the 17,000 people who signed up to help shape the product, 8,000 returned surveys.

Keep in mind this is a self-selected group of people most likely to use RSS and doesn't really represent the habits of most Internet users. Results show that "80 percent of respondents check Google Reader many times a day, and 40 percent follow more than 100 feeds". In addition, more than 75 percent of the respondents say they use Google Reader for both work and play and the the most popular response to question "If there’s one thing you could remove from Google Reader what would it be"? is "nothing".

Digg is working furiously to use this data to build the new app, but warns that "we’ll need to make sure we have some serious infrastructure in place to support that kind of usage for launch". However, the social service also cautions that every capability may not be in place at the time of the beta launch, though it gives no timeframe for that introduction.

Digg isn't alone filling the void Reader's imminent demise will leave. Feedly received 500,000 new users in the days following Google's death notice, while other services, like The Old Reader, have simply come close to unusable in the wake.

Google has simply shot itself in the foot with this move -- the market was there, but the company foolishly thinks that the elimination of Reader will somehow force more users to the Google+ social network in order to scan news. However, the services are not related and Google has only alienated customers and created a feeling of distrust among its once-faithful base.

Photo Credit: NinaMalyna/Shutterstock

Microsoft is nowhere near death's door

Publié: avril 6, 2013, 5:42pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

I am both a Microsoft fanboy and hater, depending on which day I read comments from our BetaNews faithful. The truth be known, I consider myself neither. I would say it this way: I am a fanboy of what works and is useful to me and hater of everything on the opposite side of that line. I use products from many manufacturers, but yes, Microsoft powers all of my home computers, save the server, which is FreeBSD. Google is also a big part of my daily life, as is Adobe and many lesser-knowns.

For two days now, debate rages across the Internet about an analyst's content that Microsoft could be irrelevant within four years. I could do nothing but laugh when I read this. This revelation derives from Gartner report that states: "While there will be some individuals who retain both a personal PC and a tablet, especially those who use either or both for work and play, most will be satisfied with the experience they get from a tablet as their main computing device". Some individuals? By that, do you mean those who have jobs?

Getting Down to Business

Little more than a year ago, I worked in an IT department for a major U.S. bank. I will spare you the details of downsizing that led me here. What I can point out is that the company, with more than 5,000 employees, was not exactly heading into the tablet era. When I left, the financial institution was only just "testing" Windows 7 for an upcoming upgrade from the current XP workstations, which were upgraded from NT. Tablets were not on the horizon. For the record, Windows 8 was already available via Developer Preview at this point. Heck, we had only just moved from Internet Explorer 6 to IE 7 the previous year.

My point: Business is going nowhere away from Microsoft any time soon, let alone within the next four years. No serious corporation is going to give its employees tablet to do a job in customer service or most any other position.

For the record, this is strike one against Microsoft's irrelevance.

Going Home

Tablets and smartphones are great devices to have. They are useful sitting on a nightstand or from the sofa while watching television. Let me know when you can use them for real word processing or for software like genealogy, photo and video editing, file conversion or any of those other processor-intensive apps many families use frequently.

I doubt many homes plan to be without a computer anytime in the near future. Laptop or desktop, it has a place. My kids may want tablets, but they do not want them when they have a school paper to write or research to do.

Strike two.

Out in the Real World

Perhaps the analysts forget how much of their "bubble" world is actually powered by the Redmond, Wash.-based company. Let me take this opportunity to remind them.

I am sure several drive Ford cars, powered by Microsoft Sync. I am sure all use ATM machines powered by Windows embedded, as are the registers in the stores they shop at. In fact, Home Depot just recently announced it would be moving registers and other devices to Windows Embedded 8 -- a real shame since Microsoft is going away.

Strike three.

Rumors of Microsoft's Demise Have Been Greatly Exagerated

Microsoft may decline in the future, but lower PC sales simply indicate the robustness of today's hardware. Tablets and smartphone have become the throw-away devices for which we frequently buy replacements. The PC is not going anywhere anytime soon and neither Apple operating systems nor Linux will power the device in the majority of homes.

Microsoft is not perfect. Lord knows I have my share of problems with its products and the sometimes boneheaded decisions it makes. But folks, get real -- ninety-percent market share does not vanish overnight, or even in four years. Forget the tablets and phones, computers simply are nowhere near death's door, as some would have you believe. Nor is Microsoft.

'Slightly closed Android ecosystem could be reality by the end of 2015'

Publié: avril 5, 2013, 11:40pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

That's the prediction Aapo Markkanen, ABI senior analyst, makes today. It's the right call, as Larry Page starts his third year returning as Google CEO. Page resumed duties on April 4, 2011, and the company's direction took a hard turn. Business is more aggressive, altruistic goals less and so-called openness a waning thing. As I asserted a year ago, "Google has lost control of Android". That Page and Company would try to wrestle back control is no surprise.

Facebook Home is good reason. The user interface debuting April 12 takes over the more app-centric Android homescreen, putting the social network first before anything else, including Google+. Facebook's OEM program could put Home on many more devices. HTC already is on board with the First smartphone. Then there is Samsung, which during fourth quarter accounted for 42.5 percent of all Android handset sales, according to Gartner. TouchWiz, which gets a big update with forthcoming Galaxy S4, is the user experience -- not that determined by stock Android. These are but two examples of many.

The OEM Problem

Amazon Android for Kindle tablets is another example. But the most disturbing, perhaps, comes out of China, now the world's largest smartphone market, according to IDC. Markkanen observes that Chinese phone maker Yandex "appears to be keen to use Android UI tweaks -- combined with an app storefront -- for the benefit of its own vertical integration. The firm’s 'Shell' is available as a downloadable overlay, and it’s also available to potential OEM and carrier partners. If Yandex is successful it could quickly weaken Google’s foothold in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and even Turkey".

Facebook Home and Yandex Shell are distributed to end users via Play store, something Google could easily block. But OEM distribution is another matter, which, like Samsung TouchWiz, would require intervention from Open Handset Alliance. The more OEMs that preinstall alternative homescreen UIs and the more successful sales, the more control Google loses of Android.

Changes are already afoot. "With hindsight, Google's decision to not certify Acer’s Aliyun devices as Android was one of the most significant strategic developments in the OS space in 2012", Markkanen asserts. "Google made it clear that it’s ready to play hardball if it concludes that an OHA member (in this case Acer) is about to cross a line, and did so in a deliberately vague manner, leaving a lot of scope for further, case-by-case interventions".

Remember, Android is fundamentally Google's gateway to mobile -- the hub around which the company's cloud services are consumed. China balks at the situation. In a paper posted one month ago, the country's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology condemns: "Our country's mobile operating system research and development is too dependent on Android...While the Android system is open source, the core technology and technology roadmap is strictly controlled by Google". I can't speak to the first part, but the latter absolutely is true.

How strange that Apple apologized to Chinese customers this week, but not Google.

Close the Door!

It's not a question of if Google exerts more control over Android but when. Nexus devices released in 2012 are carrots. But sticks surely will come. Google's corporate character is changing under Page. There is more accountability, less tolerance for frivolous projects, more focus on business and revenue goals, broader cross-integration of products and services, increased market aggressiveness, and tighter control of projects. The latter is about resetting priorities benefiting Google first, which in part means stepping back from some of the perceived openness that defined the company for a decade.

Simply stated: Google acts more like a monopoly by the day, and I'm struck by similarities seen about Microsoft in the last decade.

I've never been quite satisfied with the reasons -- lack of them, really -- for Andy Rubin stepping down as Android chief. The operating system was his baby after all, and in context of all the other changes taking place under Page's leadership, I have long suspected a rift between the men regarding the operating system's future. There is speculation far and wide that Google plans to bring together Android and Chrome OS. I disagree.

The philosophical winds are changing direction. Openness allowed Android to spread far and wide -- 750 million cumulative devices, according to Google -- but it's a knife that cuts both ways. Mixing metaphors, Google finds that you can't have your cake and eat it, too.

Markkanen expects "muscle flexing" that will be "gradual" but the timeframe depends "on how successfully Amazon, Facebook, Alibaba and others manage to exploit Android for their own purposes. Either way, a slightly closed Android ecosystem could be reality by the end of 2015. If Google finds that its lunch is being eaten it will have no problems acting even faster than that, despite of all the openness rhetoric we’ve got used to".

I see Rubin's exit as the canary in the coalmine. Google has too much invested in Android to let openness get in the way of broader business objectives.

Best Windows 8 apps this week

Publié: avril 5, 2013, 9:04pm CEST par Martin Brinkmann

Twenty-third in a series. The app count in Windows Store made a huge jump this week from 35,631 apps last week to 38,113 apps, an increase of 2,482 apps in total. The majority of new apps fall once again in the free category, with 2,044 new ones released this week for a total of 29,840. Paid apps increased by 439 this week to 8,273 in total. It appears as if Windows Store is picking up pace in regards to apps releases. The chart above highlights the progression in the last five weeks.

As far as updates go: the Skype app for Windows 8 bumped up to version 1.6, adding better options to block contacts in the communication app.

Microsoft released the first security patch for a bundled operating system app, after announcing last month that it would start to publish app security updates. Windows Modern Mail received a security update rated as moderate that fixed a spoofing vulnerability in the application.

App of the week

Samurai vs. Zombie Defense

The game made a big impact this week when it received more than 250 reviews and 850 ratings only days after release. The game is free to play but ships with an in-game store where gems, one of the game's currencies, can be purchased. The app itself is a side-scrolling tower defense game.

You take the role of a samurai who has to defeat the sacred gate against hordes of undead. Game mechanics may look strange at first sight, as you can control the Samurai's movement but not the attacks he performs. Both sword and bow attacks are automatic. That does not leave you without options though as you can use two special attacks from time to time, and summon allies to your side that help you defend the gate. You need leadership to summon allies, which you can automatically right from the beginning. Leadership can be spend on summoning allies right away, or on increasing the leadership output itself.

You earn gold that you can spend on upgrades that include a more powerful bow and sword, more hitpoints, and to upgrade the units that you can summon to make them more powerful. Some upgrades need to be purchased with gems, which free players can't really do as they do not get many of them through the course of the game. You can ignore the gems for the most part of the game and can even earn some playing Pachinko. The game itself is however a lot harder without you spending money to get gems and as a result better equipment and defenses.

Other apps

Nokia Music

Just fresh in is the official Nokia Music app for Windows 8. The application is free to use but limits the music to 30 second samples until you begin a free trial, sign in to an existing account or subscribe to a paid account.

Subscribing will provide you with the full music experience, high quality audio, unlimited song skips, unlimited offline mixes, lyric sync where available, and options to listen on the web browser, app, tablets or smartphones that are supported. It is not really usable without an account, so keep that in mind.

MLB.tv

The official Major League Baseball app for Windows 8 provides you with the latest scores and options to watch the games in HD quality either lie or from the video archive that is included. To do so, a subscription is needed that starts at $19.99 per month or $109.99 per year.

A free game of the day is provided free of charge by the app, and from the looks of it, country-restrictions do not apply. That's great for baseball fans from abroad for instance as it enables them to watch games as well. The quality of the broadcast is excellent, and there is an option to go play the game fullscreen. Captions are another interesting feature as they seem to be included for all games that you can watch.

Channel 9

The Channel 9 application for Windows 8 provides you with options to browse and view developer and consumer-orientated videos right from the operating system's Start screen. Favorite shows can be pinned to the start screen for faster access, and videos can be streamed directly to the system or downloaded instead.

Two streaming options, progressive or smooth streaming are available. Progressive is the traditional way of streaming media to PCs while smooth streaming uses a faster loading algorithm with less buffering that may result in lower quality videos. You can switch between both streaming formats in the options. Videos can also be snapped to the site so that you can continue watching a stream while you do other things on your system.

Chess Masters

Chess Master brings chess players from all over the world together. It is a chess game and community, and the first thing you need to do after installation is to create an account as you can't really do anything without one. You can create your own games from that moment on or join games that are currently playing as a guest to watch the two players battling it out on the chessboard.

You can play games against your friends or random opponents who see that you have created a game in the lobby. There are not many players available currently, but if you have a friend who likes to play chess as well, it should not bother you. There is unfortunately no option to test your skills against a computer player or by other means which means that random matches are often too easy or too hard depending on the opponent.

Yelp Explorer

Yelp is a popular online community where users from all over the world review businesses, restaurants, pubs or shops. The app provides you with a similar experience as the website. You can search for businesses directly and narrow them down by location, or search for a type of business instead that can be really handy if you are on holiday or on a trip and want to find a place to eat, stay or do something else.

All users can write reviews, view events in their area, find recommendations or add photos taken in businesses or restaurants they visited. Members can sign in to their Yelp account, use the app to find new and old friends, and use all other features that Yelp provides you with. It is basically the Yelp website in form of an app.

Drift Mania Championship 2 Lite

This is the sequel to the popular racing game Drift Mania. The lite version ships with ads, less tracks and achievements and no multiplayer option. The two versions apart from that are identical. The paid version is available for $2.99 in Windows Store. The game is all about drifting and you are introduced to the game concept in a tutorial course. You use the up and down arrow keys to accelerate and brake, left and right to steer the car, and the space bar to use the handbrake.

If you have a Xbox controller, you can use it as well. Drift Mania Championship features a career mode that you can play through starting with little cash and not so great cars, or race in a tournament. You can buy various cars and put a lot of upgrades in to them provided you have enough cash to do so. All in all a good looking game for Windows 8.

Best Buy

The official Best Buy app for Windows 8. It features a daily deals section, a list of weekly and all deals, and a product browser that you can use to browse a specific product category right from the apps' interface. The app uses Windows 8's built-in search that you need to open from the Charms Bar which is not the most elegant way of doing so.

The application on top of that features a store location that enables you to find the next Best Buy store, options to check your order status and viewing history, enter gift card details or trade-in your used computer games. Each product is listed with a description, a feature list, customer reviews and ratings, and options to have the product delivered or to pick it up in one of the stores instead.

Wikipedia Touch

This is not an official app. It is a touch optimized version of Wikipedia that supports many of the new features that Microsoft introduced in to the operating system. This includes support for the operating system's search and sharing functionality next to tab support.

Pages can be pinned to the start screen, and from what I can tell, the full Wikipedia website in all of its languages is being made available here.

Shuffle Party

Shuffle Party is a collection of Shuffleboard games that you can play after installing the app. Games in question include bowling, league bowling and shuffleboard, as well as a challenge mode and a Shuffleboard variant. You can play the game in hot seat mode against friends or alone in a single player mode.

It is a basic game comparable to the collection of games that Nintendo ships with its Wii gaming system. Still, if a friend is around you will certainly have some fun playing it.

T-Mobile starts taking iPhone 5 preorders

Publié: avril 5, 2013, 8:06pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

One week from today, Apple's smartphone goes on sale from the nation's fourth-largest carrier. But you can order now. The 16GB iPhone 5 is available with T-Mobile USA's new Simple Choice, no-contract plan. The device is $99.99 upfront, plus tax, and $20 per month for 24 months -- or $579.99 outright. Full price elsewhere: $649. The 32GB is $199.99 and the 64 gigger $299.99 upfront and 24 monthly payments, or $679.99 and $779.99 outright, respectively. Full price elsewhere: $749 and $849.

By several measures, T-Mobile offers the most-affordable iPhone 5 around, but it's the odd duck of the flock. Apple only sells devices for AT&T, Sprint and Verizon from its online and retail stores, which is advantageous sales placement. Perhaps T-Mobile's status will change after official sales start, but I suspect the carrier will join regionals selling iPhone in the backwater. C`mon, none of the big three would want T-Mobile's model listed alongside theirs for about $100 less.

Money down is another odd thing. Upfront pricing from the big three for 16GB, 32GB and 64GB iPhone 5 is $199, $299 and $399, with 2-year contract. T-Mobile not only asks for less at time of purchase, but there are no contracts, and no financing charges to pay off the phone. So when full price is reached, the bill goes down by $20 a month. With, say, AT&T, your bill stays the same after the contract commitment is complete.

Contract-free is another way this odd duck stands apart from larger rivals. They sell you iPhone at a lower subsidized price, with contract commitment. My soon-to-be old carrier, AT&T, charges considerably more, particularly for data, and plan is required for smartphones. Minimum: $20 for 300MB per month (cough, cough).

AT&T's cheapest family plan starts at $59.99 per month for 550 minutes. For two lines, with minimum 300MB data for both phones ($40) and unlimited family messaging ($30) monthly bill is $129.99 for iPhone 5 (two). T-Mobile is $80 ($50 for first line and $30 for the second) and comes with unlimited talk and text and 500MB high-speed data and unlimited slower speed through end of the monthly bill cycle. Adding monthly fee for two iPhones, brings T-Mobile to $120, but for more of everything.

AT&T's Mobile Share plan, with unlimited talk and text would be $130 ($40 for plan and $45 for each phone). T-Mobile's bill would go up $20 a month ($10 for each line) for 2.5GB data and tethering or $140 for unlimited data. That 2.5GB is for each line versus 1GB shared from AT&T. Going up to the 4GB shared plan raises AT&T's monthly commitment to $150 ($70 for the plan and $40 for each phone). Remember, if you bring your own phone, then T-Mobile is $40 less per month -- that's $100 for 2.5GB data for each of two lines or $120 for unlimited.

I ordered one black and one white 16GB iPhone 5 this morning, setting me back nearly $293, thanks to California's outrageously high sales tax (yeah, I know it's a pittance to many Europeans). The handsets are for my college-age daughter and 91 year-old father-in-law. I already moved over three lines. My total bill, even paying $40 a month for two iPhones, should be about one-third less with T-Mobile compared to AT&T.

One more odd thing: T-Mobile's iPhone 5 includes the 1700MHz, which along with 2100MHz, supports the carrier's HSPA+ network. Am I confused. No 1700MHz is the reason other iPhones unlocked and brought to T-Mobile can't use the high-speed data network. If Apple can add the radio now, why not years ago? There is also 4G LTE, but coverage is limited to a handful of cities, for now.

Hide your Bitcoins from Skype!

Publié: avril 5, 2013, 7:53pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

Another day, another threat to your computer. Kaspersky Labs is reporting that your faithful communication app may in fact be looking to steal your virtual money right out of your virtual pocket. The attack is underway in many locations around the world, and this is not the first malware to target Skype, just the latest and potentially most costly for users.

Kaspersky's Dmitry Bestuzhev reports that the latest curse on Skype "turns the infected machine to a slave of the bitcoin generator". The attack affects users in Russia, Poland, Costa Rica, Spain, Germany, Ukraine, Italy and is spreading to other locations, but the initial dropper is downloaded from a server located in India and the malware connects to its C2 server located in Germany.

Once the malware is on a victim's computer, it begins usurping the PC's processing power in the service of mining Bitcoins. The Bitcoin network is reliant on a rather complex system that creates each Bitcoin and verifies that it is valid and is being spent by the owner of the Bitcoins. The process requires a lot of processing power, and that is exactly what the attackers behind this malware are after. This news follows closely on the heels of a DDoS attack of Bitcoin Exchange service Mt. Gox.

The biggest clue is if your machine begins ramping up CPU usage. You need to look into why it is doing that, though that is something you should always do, virus fear or not. According to Bestuzhev "as I said the campaign is quite active. If you see your machine is working hard, using all available CPU resources, you may be infected". As of this writing, a single Bitcoin is worth $115.

Photo Credit: Seleznev Oleg/Shutterstock

Microsoft's clueless response to 'always on' Xbox

Publié: avril 5, 2013, 3:35pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

I should first clarify that the "clueless" response is not an official Microsoft comment, but comes from one employee who took it upon himself to cause the entire company trouble. We have been hearing a lot of rumors regarding the next Xbox that is expected to be announced at the upcoming E3 gaming conference, which kicks off June 5. Much of what has been floating around the internet surrounds anticipation of the "720" being an "always-connected" device. In other words, customers would not be able to game without an internet connection.

The furor around "always on" is mostly about DRM and the used-game market, but it also means that no game would play if your connection happened to go down. Microsoft has never confirmed this to be the case, though it also has not refuted the possibility.

Now Adam Orth, the Creative Director at Microsoft Studios, has decided to take to his Twitter account and tackle the rumors and, in the process, insult pretty much everyone who followed him. Part of the exchange that took place is what follows.

Adam_Orth - Sorry I don't get the drama around having an "always on" console. Every device now is "always on". That's the world we live in. #dealwithit

Manveerheir - Did you learn nothing from Diablo III or SimCity? You know some people's internet goes out right? Deal with it is Sh***y response.

Adam_Orth - Electricity goes out too.

Manveerheir - You've live in LA, SF, Seattle...very connected places. Try living in Janesville, WI or Blacksburg, VA.

Adam_Oth - Why on earth would I live there?

Soon after this happened, Orth's Twitter account was changed to private, meaning nobody who is not following him can read the exchange and all followers must be approved.

As I previously stated, we really have no idea if the next Xbox will actually ship with this "feature", though Orth seemed to indicate that it could. In my opinion, it would result in a huge backlash against Microsoft, as if Orth has not already caused the company enough trouble.

Update: Microsoft issued an official response via Major Nelson: "We apologize for the inappropriate comments made by an employee on Twitter yesterday. This person is not a spokesperson for Microsoft, and his personal views do not reflect the customer centric approach we take to our products or how we would communicate directly with our loyal consumers. We are very sorry if this offended anyone, however we have not made any announcements about our product roadmap, and have no further comment on this matter".

Photo Credit: Denis Belyaevskiy/Shutterstock

Switching from Google to Microsoft, part 3 -- A positive Outlook.com

Publié: avril 5, 2013, 1:36pm CEST par Wayne Williams

As someone who switched from Hotmail to Gmail in 2004 and then never looked back, moving to Outlook.com has been quite a weird experience (setting it up was fun in its own right). Some people hate Gmail’s interface, but if you’re used to it, using anything else seems odd.

That said, I’ve adapted to Outlook.com pretty quickly. It feels a bit like going back in time, using an interface similar to the ones I used in the past, but it doesn’t feel dated -- quite the opposite actually -- and I’ve grown to really like it in the short period of time I’ve been using it as my email service.

There are some elements I miss about Gmail. Message previews for example. When a message arrives in Gmail, I can instantly tell if it’s worth opening or not because I can see the first lines of text. Some messages just say "OK" for example and I can get everything I need from the preview.

I’m a big Labs user, so I make good use of features like Undo Send which lets me cancel sending when I realize I’ve made a mistake -- failed to attach something or missed off a CC -- but equally there are some elements of Outlook.com I really appreciate.

The Quick Views in particular are really handy. I like that I can quickly view emails that have documents or photos attached, that I can see just view unread messages (as I can in Gmail) and that I can trawl through newsletters. Adding additional emails/senders to categories takes seconds via a drop down menu.

I’ve got used to the message pane in Outlook.com. I couldn’t decide initially if I wanted to turn it on or not, but now it’s active I find it very handy. I can have the pane at the bottom or on the right -- and as I have dual widescreen monitors, it makes sense to use the spare real estate and go for the latter option.

In Gmail I can send exceptionally large files through Google Drive. Outlook.com lets me do the same using SkyDrive.

The lack of IMAP support in Outlook.com is an annoyance, but there are ways around this and I rarely delete emails anyway (which is why my primary Gmail account is 82 percent full). Outlook.com offers unlimited space, which is great.

Spam, Spam, Spam

So far, so good. But now we get to the problem I have with Outlook.com, and it’s a problem I’ve had since I signed up for an account -- spam. I get a lot of junk mail. In Gmail I never see it. It goes straight into my Spam folder and I never have to worry about it. Occasionally, and it’s very, very occasionally, some spam slips into my inbox, but it’s quickly dispatched and I never see it again. Sometimes, even less occasionally, real messages make it through into spam. I often miss these because Gmail is so good at filtering junk I rarely bother to look in my Spam folder.

Despite the fact that Gmail removes any spam before forwarding on clean messages to Microsoft’s webmail service, I continue to get spam in my Outlook.com inbox that’s linked to either my Outlook.com address or the Hotmail account I had previously.

I use the Sweep option to delete and block all future messages from the spam senders, but while this has had a huge impact on the amount of junk mail I receive, it hasn’t stopped it entirely. I know I can switch to the Exclusive junk email filter and optionally block content from unknown senders, but that all seems a bit extreme to me.

On a related note, I went into my Junk folder after having previously just ignored it, as I do with Gmail, and found 20 or so messages -- blatantly not spam -- sitting there. Messages that Gmail knew were clean, but which Outlook.com had tagged as undesirable.

It’s become clear in the couple of weeks that I’ve been using Outlook.com that I can’t trust the service to just handle spam, as I do with Gmail. I have to get much more hands on (managing safe and blocked senders myself, for example). It’s not a problem -- and over time I think the issue will diminish to the point that I no longer even think about it -- but at the moment it’s still slightly annoying to me.

But I like how easy managing messages is in Outlook.com. The bar at the top makes it easy to do everything I need to with an email. I prefer the way Gmail lets me search for messages but that might be partially down to conditioning.

On the mobile side of things, accessing Outlook.com through iOS is fine, the mobile version of the site is decent, and there’s a passable Android app too, so I’m fairly well covered. I have niggles about all of them, but I have niggles about Gmail on mobile too.

The question I’ve asked myself a lot, and which I’ve yet to fully answer, is whether at the end of my trial period if I’m going to stick with Outlook.com or switch back to Gmail. I’ve settled into Outlook.com nicely and I don’t actually miss anything major about Gmail, with the exception of the message previews (I hadn’t realized how much I used to them to visually locate messages I was looking for until the preview lines were no longer available to me). Right now at least, I’m leaning towards making my switch to Outlook.com permanent…

Provided I can just stop that last annoying bit of spam reaching my inbox.

Anyone else here made the switch from Gmail to Outlook.com and what was your reason for doing so?

Photo Credit: 3Dstock/Shutterstock

Microsoft releases Advance Security Bulletin for April

Publié: avril 5, 2013, 1:31pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

Patch Tuesday is almost upon us yet again. As is its custom, Microsoft has released a monthly Advance Security Bulletin to let customers know what to expect next week. There are nine bulletins headed our way on April 9, with two of them being considered critical.

Per standard procedures, Microsoft does not release details of the patches until the updates are actually live. This is done in an effort to prevent the bad guys from knowing the vulnerabilities and attempting to take advantage of them between now and the update release. There is, however, nothing to protect those users who fail to install Windows updates in a timely fashion.

This time around fixes are coming for all versions of Internet Explorer going back to IE 6 (please tell me you are not still running that). The updates will also cover Infopath 2010, Sharepoint Server 2010, Sharepoint Server 2013, Sharepoint Foundation 2010, Office Web Apps, Windows Defender, Windows operating system versions XP, 7, 8 and RT and Windows Server 2003, 2008 and 2012.

This pretty much covers everything except Windows Home Server, so all of you can expect an update and reboot to be coming your way next week.

Photo Credit: zimmytws/Shutterstock

With its new video calling feature can Vonage Mobile really take on Skype? [Q&A]

Publié: avril 5, 2013, 10:18am CEST par Wayne Williams

On Tuesday, Vonage introduced free video calling into its mobile app for iPhone and Android, rounding out a suite which already offers features like free app-to-app calls, texts, photo and location sharing, as well as international calling.

I chatted to Nick Lazzaro, Vonage’s SVP Product Development, Information Technology and Managing Director Mobile Services, about the new addition, the company’s plans for the future, and what he thinks is next for the mobile industry.

BN: Tell me more about the new video capability in Vonage Mobile.

NL: We’ve launched Vonage Mobile with video calling as part of the ongoing expansion of our mobile platform. Vonage Mobile lets users make video calls to other app users with terrific image quality and high-definition voice. Video is available now for Android and iPhone devices and allows users to make free video calls over Wi-Fi and 3G/4G. The Vonage Mobile app is a free download from Google Play and the iTunes app store, and it’s easy to register, invite friends and start making free video calls immediately. To use the feature, users simply tap the "Video" button from within the app to connect their video call to another app user. If the person being called is not available, the caller is able to send a free text message letting them know they were trying to call.

BN: Why add video calling to Vonage Mobile now?

NL: Our goal is to continue to make Vonage Mobile the most comprehensive communication solution for voice, messaging and now video -- and improve upon the user experiences already provided by other apps. Our first order of business was to deliver free app-to-app calling and messaging and, true to Vonage’s heritage, ultra-low international long-distance calling. With this foundation, video was our most logical next goal.

BN: What are the features of video calling with Vonage Mobile?

NL: We’ve worked to make Vonage Mobile video calling as seamless and flexible as possible, so while making video calls on 3G/4G or Wi-Fi, users can toggle between front and back cameras, switch between voice and video mid-call, mute the line and use the app with Bluetooth.

BN: Skype has similar offerings. What are the difference between Vonage Mobile and Skype?

There are several significant features that differentiate Vonage Mobile. First, Vonage Mobile allows you to access your existing contacts to build a global personal free calling and texting network. Users can invite multiple contacts via SMS to join their free calling and texting community, and for each friend who downloads and registers for Vonage Mobile, users will earn $1 of credit (up to $10) as part of the app’s Referral Program. The app also mirrors your mobile phone experience -- and uses your existing mobile identity -- to make a phone call or send a text message. Vonage Mobile also offers international long distance calling with per-minute rates that are, on average, 30 percent less than Skype and 70 percent less than major carriers.

BN: Vonage became well known for home phone service via VoIP. What motivated the addition of mobile, and what are the company’s plans for the future?

NL: Our Vonage home service continues to be very popular -- especially with the unlimited international long distance calling offered by our flagship Vonage World plan. But with the explosion of mobile, our customers were asking for greater mobility and we’ve delivered that through Vonage Extensions and Vonage Mobile.

Vonage Extensions lets our subscriber customers extend their home plan for free to a second phone line, including a mobile phone. Our Vonage Extensions app for iPhone and Android enables one-touch international calling anytime, anywhere over 3G/4G or Wi-Fi. Today, 28 percent of our customers have signed up for Vonage Extensions and one out of four Vonage international long-distance calls is originated from a mobile.

Vonage Mobile gives any Android or iOS user the opportunity to tap Vonage’s global network to make ultra-low cost international calls, plus make free app-to-app voice calls, texts and now video calls. Our plan is to continue to deliver new innovations that solve today’s consumer calling problems -- whether those are mobility, convenience, cost, flexibility or network.

BN: This would seem to transform how Vonage defines itself to consumers, right?

NL: We’ve been defined as a telco company or a VoIP provider, but we see ourselves today as a technology company. We apply our innovations in technology and software to solving communications problems for consumers, and that’s where we believe we provide the greatest value for consumers and the business marketplace as the communications world continues to converge and compress across the globe.

BN: With the number of OTT (Over-The-Top) apps on the market, do you believe major carriers are beginning to see a need to integrate more OTT communications apps to stay competitive?

NL: We’ve seen an increasing innovation in communications and it’s creating a compression in the pricing and a migration of communications to the lowest-cost networks. It’s great for consumers and I think carriers are taking notice of this trend. Some are developing their own OTT apps and many may look to partner with OTT providers who can help them more quickly participate in this growing global communications trend.

BN: It seems the mobile industry is constantly evolving and pushing for the next best thing. What do you think is next for mobile? Where do you see the industry headed?

NL: There is a great convergence in communications as more communications networks and devices proliferate in the consumer marketplace. Simplifying this experience for consumers and helping them manage their communications and their growing social graphs is going to drive a certain amount of innovation.

There is also a great compression in international communications pricing for voice, messaging and roaming, which is fostering the migration of communications and data traffic to the lowest cost solutions.

Consumers will play a role by demanding solutions that have superior user experiences and are easy to access and incorporate into their everyday lives.

Companies like Vonage will continue to develop new innovations and solutions that simplify user experiences and facilitate the migration of traffic to cost-savings channels -- for our subscriber customers and any consumer looking for easy, low cost solutions to communications. We believe communication should be like email -- wherever and whenever you want it -- and in a way that is easy, convenient and affordable.

Understanding these key trends and how they play in mobility and the way people interact with mobile technology will continue to drive innovation in the industry.

Photo Credit: Bevan Goldswain/Shutterstock

Jam with Google Play Music Manager

Publié: avril 5, 2013, 2:29am CEST par Mark Wilson

The cloud is now used for many things, from simply storing documents, to create and editing files online. Google Play, in addition to many other things, offers a place to store up to 20,000 tracks that can then be listened to online or with a range of mobile devices. This number relates only to songs from your "personal collection" and is in addition to any purchases you make. Google Play Music Manager is the tool you need to get everything up and running.

Install and launch the app, sign into your Google account and you’ll be asked where you current music collection is stored. There is support for iTunes and Windows Media Player, but there’s also the option of just opting to work with files stored in My Music, or any other folder for that matter. If you have your music scattered across multiple folders, you can add them all to your Google library.

Once your library has been created, you can opt to have any new files that you add to these folders automatically uploaded. This ensures that you always have access to all of your most recently ripped CDs and other music acquisitions without the need to remember to manually sync anything.

Even if you have a relatively small music collection of just a few hundred tracks or so, you’re possibly envisioning a very lengthy wait while all of your music is uploaded for you. Well, unless you have particularly eclectic tastes, you should find that things happen much faster than you might expect -- if Google already has a copy of a track you own available online, there’s no need for it to be uploaded.

In practice, however, just how long it takes for your collection to be made available online will depend on its size, the types of music you like, whether your music files are ripped or purchased as well as the speed of your internet connection. The web interface for the music player is comparable to an online version of iTunes. It is a little limited, but it gets the job done.

You can create playlists, listen to albums in their entirety or pick out individual tracks. In addition to the usual browse by album option, a large library can also be searched or you can filter tracks by artist, genre or alphabetize them.

Google Play Music Manager is available free of charge for Windows, OS X and Linux.

Photo Credit: CREATISTA/Shutterstock

What Facebook Home means to Apple and Google

Publié: avril 5, 2013, 2:19am CEST par Joe Wilcox

How important is Facebook really? The answer may come soon after April 12, when the social network releases Home to Google Play. The Android add-on usurps the homescreen, putting interactions/people first and pushes apps to the background. This, ah, Home invasion means potential trouble for Apple and Google, but in vastly different ways. Apps anchor both their platforms, curated content and the digital lifestyles users adopt. Facebook bets that between the choice of both ways, human relationships matter more.

For either the fruit-logo company or search and information giant, another question is perhaps more significant: Is Facebook's mobile experience already good enough? Related: Do most users want to be enmeshed in a constant stream of social updates and interactions most of the time? Affirmative answer to either, or both, spells trouble for the platform developers but most worrisome for Apple, for which Facebook Home affronts and condemns the entire business model.

Apple is a Has-Been

Do you remember Apple's not-long retired marketing tagline "there's an app for that". iPhone, and later iPad and mini, are built around the value of apps and supporting curated content. That's fine for PCs, but not mobile devices. "Computers have been designed around apps and tasks for more than 30 years", Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says, today. "Even though the devices that we're using are a lot nicer now, the UI model is actually largely the same".

He contends that people matter more to people, and that apps are in the way for devices that are so personal and so tuned to interpersonal communications as mobiles. "Why do we need to go into those apps in the first place to see what's going on with the people that we care about?" Zuckerberg asks. "That's because today our phones are designed around apps and not people. We want to flip that around. We want to bring all this content to the front".

But "many people" doesn't mean Apple phones or tablets. Facebook Home isn't available for iOS and probably never will be, because Apple so tightly controls the app-centric user experience. Android gets the big makeover, because Google enables it.

"The great thing about Android is that it's so open", Zuckerberg praises. "It was designed carefully so that you can improve almost any part of the system" -- everything from the keyboard to the camera to the homescreen. "You don't need to fork Android to do this -- you don't even need to modify the operating system, really. Android was designed from the ground up to support these kinds of deep integrations".

By insinuation -- and sometimes the unsaid is more poignant and potent -- iOS does not. Zuckerberg slaps Apple without ever naming the company: "Because of Google's commitment to openness, you can have experiences on Android that you can't have on most other platforms". He's absolutely right. Look how Amazon, HTC and Samsung, among others, have modified Android to create unique experiences and, around them, branded digital lifestyles.

Zuckerberg's statements today, given during the Facebook Home launch event, are as much as anything a statement of purpose and affirmation about the company's core philosophy -- to "give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected...these two concepts are a lot about what makes us human".

Facebook's CEO is right. Apps are a tired model that makes little sense on phones. Relationships and tasks matter more -- and context. Apple is cut-off from Facebook's invention. How much or little that's a problem depends much on how satisfied iOS users are with the Facebook status quo -- the app and partial integration into the operating system. If that's good enough for most users or they really do put apps first, Apple needn't worry much. If.

Trojan Horse invades Google

Google is a different matter. While Zuckerberg praises the company and Android, both are means to an end. Android's openness enables Facebook's larger objectives, while allowing the social network to usurp core UI. Facebook Home is a Trojan Horse that takes control of the Android user experience but far more aggressively and freely than other custom UIs. For example, HTC sense or Samsung TouchWiz are designed for the manufacturers' devices. By contrast, Home will be available from Google Play store to anyone with a supported device.

"We want to bring this experience to as many people as possible", Zuckerberg says -- and that's a major reason the company chose not to build a phone or develop an operating system. Facebook is "building something a whole deeper than just an ordinary app".

I find it interesting that among the high-end devices Facebook Home supports -- HTC One, One X and One X+ and Galaxy S III, S4 and Note II -- none are stock Android Nexus devices that Google directly sells. You have to wonder why? I sure do. Perhaps they can run Home and it's unstated. Or perhaps openness is a closed door among rivals. Facebook Home so completely takes over the user experience -- homescreen, notifications and messaging -- there is little room left for Google+. The search and information giant has big ambitions for its rival social network.

But the Trojan Horse is more insidious. Facebook has launched a Home program for phone manufacturers. HTC is first OEM in line with the appropriately-named First smartphone. AT&T starts selling the device on April 12, but preorders began today. Facebook Home and Instagram are preinstalled, displacing HTC's own Sense UI.

Google has trouble enough dictating the Android experience now. What if more OEMs load Home and make it the default user experience? Zuckerberg promises monthly updates, which means more features and revenue-generating tie-ins, such as search and advertising that directly compete with Google on mobile. Should enough people really want Facebook to be the first -- and major -- user experience, should enough Android OEMs preload Home and should Zuckerberg and Company do search, advertising and context right, collision course with Google is inevitable.

Stock Android Jelly Bean already is less-app focused than older versions, but nothing like Home. Google+ integration is tighter with every release and includes supporting apps like Hangouts and Talk. But apps, not people, rule. Google could do something similar, likely better, than Home supporting G+ -- on stock Android. That Trojan Horse could go anywhere else, and even Nexus devices if allowed.

If Facebook fails, it won't be for not trying. If Home succeeds...

Microsoft releases half-ready Windows Phone app sale site

Publié: avril 4, 2013, 10:22pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

I suppose I could be charitable and say Microsoft's heart is in the right place with its latest Windows Phone announcement. The fact is rivals like Amazon and Google needed some good competition from new kid on the mobile block. The Amazon Android App Store offers a paid app for free everyday and Google Play regularly has sales for various causes for celebration that the company cooks up. Microsoft has reason to come up with a bit of competition against those things, and today does just that.

The company announces its new "Red Stripe Deals" site and, no, it has nothing to do with Jamaican beer. The new site is a collection of apps and games that have been discounted for Windows Phone customers. The concept is a great idea and is sure to be a hit for the mobile audience.

So why do I complain of the launch? Not because of the concept, but because the company chose to announce before it was actually ready. When Microsoft's Michael Stroh told us of the site it had exactly one app -- RunKeeper. As of this writing, the sale site has progressed to the three apps that Stroh promises, all of them at $0.99.

Red Stripe Deals is certainly a good concept and I have no doubt that Microsoft will continue to update with what it calls "weekly bargains on stellar apps and games". However, if the company truly wishes to compete with Android and iOS then it may wish to consider giving the site a bit more variety, especially given that Amazon offers seven paid apps for free every week.

HTC First phones Home

Publié: avril 4, 2013, 9:40pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

Well, the rumors were false. Facebook didn't release a phone today, not that I'm surprised. There are reasons why we write so few rumor stories here at BetaNews -- they often are false. "We're not building a phone. We're not building an operating system", CEO Mark Zuckerberg said early this afternoon. But the social network has launched an OEM program for the new Facebook Home, which displaces the default Android start screen. HTC is first partner. Aptly named then, the smartphone is called HTC First.

Preorders start today, and the device will be available exclusively from AT&T, in four colors (black, pale blue, red and white), on April 12. Facebook Home, which also will be downloadable same day for HTC One X and One X+ and Samsung Galaxy S III and Note II, is First's default experience. Essentially, the social network becomes primary user interface on top of Android.

First sells for $99.99 with 2-year contractual commitment. By the specs, the smartphone is no screamer. Modest feature set includes 4.3-inch display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 dual-core processor, 4G LTE and Android 4.1. The preorder page is, as I write, a dead link. (How can you not laugh at that?)

HTC First: 4.3-inch display with 1280 x 720 resolution. 1.4GHz Qualcomm 8930AA dual-core processor; 1GB RAM; 16GB storage; 5-megapixel front- and 1.6MP rear-facing cameras; 1080p video recording; 4G: LTE (850/1900 MHz), UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+ (850/900/1900/2100 MHz); GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz); Wi-Fi N; ambient-light and proximity sensors; digital compass; GPS + GLONASS; gyroscope; tri-axis accelerometer; 2000 mAh embedded battery; Facebook Home; and Android 4.1.

Ralph de la Vega, AT&T Mobility president, claims that the "best device for Facebook Home is the HTC First". I look at the other supported smartphones, which include HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4 when available, and wonder: "Who is he kidding?"

HTC's listed specs are much better, and I wonder if AT&T can't get them right or the "exclusive" is less than what other carriers will eventually get. Those specs, as HTC presents them: 5-inch 1080p display. 1.4GHz Qualcomm 8930AA dual-core processor; 1GB RAM; 16GB storage; 5-megapixel front- and 1.6MP rear-facing cameras; 1080p video recording; 4G: LTE (850/1900 MHz), UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+ (850/900/1900/2100 MHz); GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz); Wi-Fi N; ambient-light and proximity sensors; digital compass; GPS + GLONASS; gyroscope; tri-axis accelerometer; 2000 mAh embedded battery; Facebook Home; Instagram; and Android 4.1.

Those specs look pretty good for a $100 phone with or without Facebook as primary UI. I'll update when there is clarification that AT&T's model is less or the PR people are just incapable of getting specs right.

Update: The preorder page is now live and gives the 4.3-inch screen, and HTC lists both. Strike-outs and changes are reflected above. Features are modest compared to other smartphones capable of running Facebook Home.

As for the Facebook experience, Home runs atop of Android. Zuckerberg observes that the three-decade-old current computing puts apps first, which, he claims doesn't make sense for personal devices like smartphones and tablets. What if they were "designed around people not apps?" he asks. "It would feel very different".

Home presents Facebookers with Cover Feed, a bleeding edge-to-edge view into the latest posts. Users can view or interact, including tap to Like. There's a real personal publication feel to the presentation. Cover Feed works in conjunction with Notifications.

For communications, Home features Chat Heads, which is real-time messaging available from anywhere within the UI. Not to completely dismiss apps, there also is a launcher for accessing them.

"With Home available right out of the box, you're getting the best quality experience for connecting with your friends", Zuckerberg asserts. But out of the box doesn't mean out of luck everywhere else. Users of the above-mentioned other supported smartphones can download Facebook Home from Google Play starting April 12.

There's a thriving malware market, and you're the commodity

Publié: avril 4, 2013, 8:20pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

If you listen to security companies then you may come to believe that the Internet is one big dark alley. Of course the industry has a vested interest in having you believe that you are in more or less perpetual danger. Now Dr. Web, the antivirus company, has released its monthly threat report, and the danger is almost as bad as the industry wants you to think.

The most "popular" threat during the month of March was Trojan.hosts programs: "Hosts file containing DNS server IP addresses has been compromised 186,496 times, which constitutes over 10 percent of the detected threat total". The threat is commonly spread through malicious or compromised web sites. In early 2013 the files were being detected at a rate of over 9,500 infections per day.

The security firm also reports that the botnet known as "Win32.Rmnet.12" is growing at a rather alarming rate. "As of December 2012, the total number of infected machines was 6.5 million, and by March 27, 2013, it reached 8,593,330, an increase of two million over the first three months of 2013", the company says. The news of this growth is bad enough, but the explantation of what it is is even worse.

The file infector Win32.Rmnet.12 can perform backdoor tasks at the command of a remote server and also steal passwords stored by popular FTP clients. That stolen information can then be used to mount network attacks or infect sites. The virus can also embed content into loaded web pages, redirect a browser to a site specified by criminals and send user information to remote hosts. Oh, and it can also self-replicate.

And then there is the malware that has been awarded the "threat of the month" medal. This, Dr. Web's report claims, goes to Trojan.ArchiveLock.20. This little beauty can place all of your important files in password-protected WinRAR archives. Then all you have to do is pay the hacker for the privilege of getting back your own documents.

This one is also spreading according to the report: "Earlier the Trojan targeted only Russian users, but in March multiple incidents involving the program were registered in European countries such as France and Spain. In the short period from March 23 to 26, 150 Italian users whose systems were compromised by the malware contacted Doctor Web's technical support and that number is rising".

The company also touched on Trojan.Yontoo.1, the Mac virus we previously covered and names a new piece of Android malware that goes by the moniker of "Android.BiggBoss".

In short, despite most platforms and users gaining better security in recent times, the attackers continue to innovate just as fast as any software maker, and sometimes much more quickly. Add that to the number of innocent users who remain clueless about much of this and you have the perfect recipe for a thriving malware market.

Photo Credit: Oxlock/Shutterstock

What is Facebook's new Home on Android?

Publié: avril 4, 2013, 7:02pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

It's the question many people have asked since the social network announced its April 4 event one week ago. This live blog answers the question.

Today's "new Home on Android" follows by nearly a month, a massive user interface redesign, as Facebook unifies the look and feel across devices and puts more emphasis on mobile. Obviously Android is part of that. Paragraphs are reverse order, with newest up top. All times EDT.

1:45 pm. Finished. That was quick.

1:44 pm. Given how many people around the globe still don't have the Internet or PCs, the definition of a computer isn't set for anyone, or even most everyone. "A lot of that definition will be about people first".

1:42 pm. Zuckerberg is back, saying that in one sense Home is just an evolution of the Android app. But it's more, flipping around the PC paradigm of apps first to people first, which makes more sense today.

1:41 pm. HTC First sales start April 12 for $99.99. AT&T preorders begin today.

1:38 pm. Facebook Home is preloaded and optimized for HTC First, which is available in four colors.

1:37 pm. AT&T and HTC execs on stage. HTC First is the Facebook Home phone.

1:36 pm. Wow. It's an OEM program for Facebook.

1:35 pm. "We've created the 'Facebook Home Program'", Zuckerberg says. AT&T and HTC have built the first phones with the experience.

1:33 pm. Facebook Home initially will be available April 12 for HTC One and One X and Samsung Galaxy S III, S4 and Note II. Well, so much for my Nexus 4.

1:31 pm. Zuckerberg is back. "We think this is the best version of Facebook there is".

1:30 pm. Facebook will update Home monthly.

1:28 pm. Home will be available from Google Play. The Facebook skin will be available for phones first and tablets within a few months.

1:27 pm. "You can manage multiple conversations with a single tap".

1:26 pm. Texts and Facebook messages "share the same Chat head design".

1:25 pm. "You can quickly pop into these conversations" -- over the app currently being used.

1:24 pm. "With Chat Heads, you can talk to whoever, wherever you are in your phone.

1:23 pm. Joey Flynn takes the stage to discuss the new messaging experience. "You should be able to talk to your friends wherever you are in your phone".

1:21 pm. Apps are still important, so there is a launcher to reach them.

1:21 pm. Next up is Notifications. Idea is to shift focus away from apps to people, Mosseri says.

1:20 pm. Mosseri calls Cover Feed the foundation "for what we've done". The screen is beautiful, bleeding edge everything.

1:18 pm. Adam Mosseri is on stage. Cover Feed anchors Home, when the phone is turned on.

1:15 pm. He's talking about something called Chat Heads. "Messaging is treated just like another app. We all want to talk to people not apps". Chat Heads is available anywhere from Home.

1:13 pm. "With Home you see your world through people, not apps".

1:12 pm. Facebook is introducing a new homescreen called "Home". It's a skin, but much more.

1:11 pm. Zuckerberg spends some time praising Android for its openness and how that allows Facebook to extend from the core platform.

1:10 pm. "We're not building a phone. We're not building an operating system".

1:08 pm. Facebook doesn't want to build a phone that only a few people will use. "We want to build the best experience...on every phone".

1:08 pm. "We want to flip that around" -- and bring people forward before apps.

1:07 pm. "We have our phones with us all the time", Zuckerberg says. "That's being human", he says referring to how we use phones to connect and communicate.

1:06 pm. Zuckerberg asks what if phones were "designed around people not apps? It would feel very different". He explains that the priority has been apps first, which no longer makes sense.

1:05 pm. Twenty percent of time spent on phones is in Facebook, 25 percent when adding Instagram, Zuckerberg says. "We spend our lives sharing and connecting".

1:04 pm. CEO Mark Zuckerberg is on stage, talking about the new thing.

1:03 pm. We're late. I have audio music only so far.

Get notified about Windows 8 updates

Publié: avril 4, 2013, 6:27pm CEST par Mike Williams

It’s no secret that Windows 8 has seen some controversial changes, in particular the removal of the Start menu. But with all the focus on these larger issues, you might have missed some smaller, but also significant design decisions. Like, for example, that there’s no longer any desktop alert when Windows updates are available.

There is a new alert on the logon screen, of course. And you can always set up Windows to install updates automatically. But, if you don’t reboot often (or you bypass the logon screen), and you want to keep tighter control over your updates, then you’ll need to look elsewhere for a little extra assistance. And Windows Update Notifier is the perfect candidate.

The program is very lightweight, for instance, arriving in the form of a 90KB download.

And it keeps any hassles to a minimum. So on first launch, you won’t see a splash screen, or a wizard, or a settings dialog, or anything at all. The program will just take a few seconds to scan for updates; a desktop alert then lets you know if you’re missing something, and clicking this opens the regular Windows Update window, ready for installation.

Windows Update Notifier is so unobtrusive, in fact, that it won’t even set itself up to run when Windows starts. If you’d like to change this, call up the program’s settings box (right-click its system tray icon, select “Settings”) and check the relevant box.

The options dialog also allows you to decide how often the program will check for updates. By default this is every 60 minutes, but the process isn’t always quick, so you might want to increase the interval a little.

And if you’re using Windows Defender then the program also has an option to install Defender updates automatically. You’ll have to set up Windows Update Notifier to run as an administrator for this to work, but there are instructions on how to set everything up, if you need them.

On balance, dropping the alert seems like another Windows 8 oddity. Changing default behaviour is one thing, but why remove the option entirely? Still, if you care about the issue then Windows Update Notifier does at least make it easy to resolve. Just grab a copy and normal service will be restored within seconds.

Gartner says the PC has no future

Publié: avril 4, 2013, 6:20pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

Today, Gartner offers grim prognostications for the PC's future, which is not surprising. That the analyst firm took so long disturbs and reveals much about how all these consultants seek to preserve client contracts before anything else. I've warned for years that connected-devices would diminish the personal computer's relevance, much like the mainframe's decline three decades ago. The PC era is over, as I asserted here 26 months ago. On Halloween 2008, I asked in a Microsoft Watch post: "Will your next PC be a smartphone?" What took Gartner so long? The "new device religion" analysis still misses the mark, too.

Following IDC's lead, Gartner now combines PCs, smartphones and tablets into a single forecast. By that measure, in 2012, Android worldwide device shipments (497 million) exceeded Windows (346.5 million) and will more than double (to 1.07 billion) by 2014. Analysts warn the operating system that defined the PC era will struggle with Apple iOS and OS X to be the second dominant platform. By many measures, the circumstance looks grim for Microsoft and Windows, and that's already the popular sentiment today among blog posts and news stories about Gartner's forecast. Don't believe them.

Two Trends

"While there will be some individuals who retain both a personal PC and a tablet, especially those who use either or both for work and play, most will be satisfied with the experience they get from a tablet as their main computing device", Carolina Milanesi, Gartner research vice president, asserts. "As consumers shift their time away from their PC to tablets and smartphones, they will no longer see their PC as a device that they need to replace on a regular basis". Tell us something new.

Larger businesses hold onto PCs longer, rather than upgrading, because they can; what they've got is good enough. Meanwhile, they allow more employees to bring their own devices to work but don't pay for them. Weak global economies are major factors driving both trends.

According to "Good Technology’s 2nd Annual State of BYOD Report", 76 percent of enterprises with more than 2,000 employees have programs in place, and the total is expected to reach 88 percent this year. However, in half the companies with BYOD programs, employees pay for devices and supporting services, such as cellular data for cell phones, tablets and some laptops. You want a new laptop, or to use a smartphone or tablet -- "bring your own" is the new trend. The devices are cheaper to manage than to buy.

There's nothing new in this trend. Analysts suddenly shift their "tablets won't replace PCs positions" because of something else they can no longer deny to clients. PC shipments in emerging markets erode faster than many analysts previously predicted. "In emerging markets, consumer spending typically starts with mobile phones and, in many cases, moves to tablets before PCs", Megha Saini, IDC research analyst, says. "The pressure on the PC market is significantly increasing and we can see longer replacement cycles coming into effect very soon and that, too, will put downward pressure on PC sales".

Ranjit Atwal, Gartner research director, agrees: "Growth in the tablet segment will not be limited to mature markets alone. Users in emerging markets who are looking for a companion to their mobile phone will increasingly choose a tablet as their first computing device and not a PC". This isn't a new trend, just one accelerating -- as often is the case when one thing replaces or displaces something else. Gartner, IDC and other analyst firms are just too slow making public prognostications.

Worldwide Devices Shipments by Segment (Thousands of Units)

Device Type	2012	2013	2014	2017
PC (Desk-Based and Notebook)	341,263	315,229	302,315	271,612
Ultramobile	9,822	23,592	38,687	96,350
Tablet	116,113	197,202	265,731	467,951
Mobile Phone	1,746,176	1,875,774	1,949,722	2,128,871
Total	2,213,373	2,411,796	2,556,455	2,964,783

Problem is this: Most analyst firms count things, which data they can sell clients and around which they offer consulting services (I know having worked in the industry). But numbers deceive, and as we've seen from repeatedly revised forecasts, the major consultants do a piss-poor job counting smartphone and tablet shipments. Look how many times IDC revised tablet forecasts, for example. The numbers aren't trustworthy, and they mislead about future trends.

Context is King

What matters more: How all these devices are used, and there Gartner and IDC combining counts could someday shed something meaningful. For now, counting is insufficient, because the so-called post-PC era is a fiction, as I explained here in November. We've entered the contextual cloud computing era. The companies that succeed will transcend platforms, because all devices connecting to cloud services are relevant. During the PC era, the personal computer acted as the hub connecting devices. Its role shifts to one of many with cloud services as the hub.

The early inference being taken by some people writing about Gartner's data is that the PC, Microsoft and Windows are doomed. The analyst firm feeds this by calling out new category, ultramobile, into which Surface Pro is placed. The PC isn't dead, nor will Android be the platform sweeping developers away from Windows, as is the interference emerging among some bloggers and couch-chair analysts today. History and current events tell a different story.

Worldwide Devices Shipments by Operating System (Millions of Units)

Operating System	2012	2013	2014	2017
Android	497,082	860,937	1,069,503	1,468,619
Windows	346,457	354,410	397,533	570,937
iOS/MacOS	212,899	293,428	359,483	504,147
RIM	34,722	31,253	27,150	24,121
Others	1,122,213	871,718	702,786	396,959
Total	2,213,373	2,411,796	2,556,455	2,964,783

In the 1980s computing and informational relevance shifted from the mainframe to the personal computer in part because of lower costs and greater availability. PCs cost much less than mainframes and made information more available, essentially more mobile, to more people. Similar transition is happening today, as cloud-connected mobile devices make more information available to more people in more places than do PCs. Computing and informational relevance shifts once again. The mainframe didn't go away because of the PC era, the mainframe's relevancy simply declined. The PC won't go away, but its relevance is declining.

Cheaper tablets accelerate the trend. "Lower prices, form factor variety, cloud update and consumers' addiction to apps will be the key drivers in the tablet market", Atwal asserts. But, again, that statement ignores context and how businesses and consumers will use different devices in many ways depending on where and when and what for.

As early as tomorrow, I'll follow up with an analysis explaining why Microsoft can maintain computing relevance in the next computing era, even while IBM couldn't with mainframes.

Photo Credit: Fer Gregory/Shutterstock

Backupify launches additional cloud-to-cloud backup tools for Google Apps

Publié: avril 4, 2013, 3:05pm CEST par Wayne Williams

Backupify is introducing an enhanced set of backup and recovery features designed to support its core offering for enterprise-level organizations on Google Apps. The "Spring Release for Google Apps" includes tools built to offer more efficient ways for administrators and end-users to manage their backups within larger organizations.

The update, which builds on the Winter Release launched last December, adds the following advanced data recovery and admin controls:

Full Domain Export
Configurable Data Retention
Batch Import of Users
Restore and Export Folder Hierarchy
Google Sites Restore

Backupify has also introduced unlimited storage to both its Professional and Enterprise plans.

"Our updated Google Apps solution highlights Backupify’s focus and commitment to enterprise organizations in need of a complete backup solution that prevents loss of important business information stored on the cloud," Rob May, CEO of Backupify explains. "Features like configurable data retention, advanced admin access control and domain export capabilities -- functionality that’s critical for large companies -- were all built as a result of listening to our customers’ ongoing needs".

Photo Credit: Andreas Weitzmann/Shutterstock

LG's Optimus G Pro lands in Japan at NTT DOCOMO

Publié: avril 4, 2013, 2:32pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

On Thursday, LG announced that the Optimus G Pro, the company's Android flagship smartphone, is now available at Japanese carrier NTT DOCOMO. In mid-January, NTT DOCOMO was the first to reveal the handset, a number of important specifications and its release date -- April 2013.

Unlike its international sibling which sports a 5.5-inch panel, the NTT DOCOMO variant of the Optimus G Pro comes with a smaller 5.0-inch IPS display. The resolution is the same -- 1080 by 1920 but the density is higher -- 440 ppi (pixels per inch). NTT DOCOMO originally revealed that the Optimus G Pro will ship with a 1.7 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, but today LG said that in fact the newer and faster, still Qualcomm-made, 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragn 600 processor is used instead.

The same processor is used in the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S4, albeit with a higher clock frequency for the latter. The Galaxy S4 will also be available with a Samsung-made Exynos 5 Octa processor.

Other specs for the Optimus G Pro include 2GB of RAM; 13 MP back-facing camera; 2.1 MP front-facing camera; 32GB of internal storage; microSD card slot and a 3,000 mAh non-removable battery. The Optimus G Pro ships with Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. Dimensions come in at 139 x 70 x 9.9 mm.

URL Snooper lets you download streaming media files

Publié: avril 4, 2013, 2:27pm CEST par Mike Williams

If you’d like to download a YouTube video then there are plenty of options available, from web services like KeepVid to dedicated tools like Free YouTube Download.

Capturing streaming videos from other sites can be a challenge, though, as their URLs are often concealed by scripts and similar tricks. Examining the page source will sometimes give you clues, but URL Snooper could be a simpler option: the program just watches your internet activity, and displays a list of any streaming URLs it finds.

Getting started with URL Snooper is surprisingly easy. It’s a small (3MB) download, and portable, so there’s no installation required. And while the program uses WinPcap to capture your network traffic, there’s no need to install that, either -- simply launch the program and you’re ready to go.

URL Snooper will first present a very simple interface, just an empty table. But to see it in action, open a site which streams video (not YouTube, it’s not compatible), play a clip, and any URLs detected by the program will be displayed right away.

Does it work? Our results were a little mixed. We had no luck with Facebook, for instance, but the program detected rtmp:// URLs at Metacafe, and found addresses from simpler sites -- Apple Trailers, say -- without any problems at all.

If you’re not successful immediately, though, URL Snooper does have some extra options which can help. Click File > Advanced and you’re able to filter detected URLs by protocol or keyword, for instance.

And in particular, if you select "Show All" in the Protocol Filter box then the program displays every URL it’s detected, whether it’s related to streaming media or not (images, icons, ad servers -- it even detected and displayed the URL of our antivirus tool’s streaming update file). This makes URL Snooper useful in many more situations, so we’d recommend you keep a copy to hand, just in case you ever need a better understanding of how your internet connection is being used.

Photo Credit: Yuriy Boyko/Shutterstock

Malwarebytes Secure Backup saves to the cloud

Publié: avril 4, 2013, 9:46am CEST par Mike Williams

Malwarebytes has unveiled its new Secure Backup product, an online service created in conjunction with SOS Online Backup, which automatically scans your files before they’re uploaded to the cloud. This ensures that, if you’re ever hit by a virus, you’ll know you can restore a backup without any danger of reinfection. And if you want to share a file with others, then, again, you can all be confident that it’s clean.

The current Secure Backup download is a beta offering 5GB of online storage, which will expire after 14 days. If you like the idea and decide to upgrade, though, there are 100GB ($59.95 per year), 200GB ($119.95) or 500GB ($299.95) packages available.

The backup client is simple and easy to use. It automatically scans for documents, pictures, music or videos on your system, and can upload those in a click or two. But if you need more control, there’s also an option to select whatever individual files and folders you’d like to protect.

Backups may then be scheduled to run at intervals of anything from an hour to a month, with an option to receive email reports whenever a backup job ends.

A Secure Backup console provides some useful configuration settings, including include and exclude settings. (No option to limit bandwidth use, though, which we always like to see in online backup tools.)

And there’s also a web portal which allows you to access and restore your files from anywhere, as well as share particular files or folders with others.

How useful might this service be? In an ideal world your PC would be set up to detect malware as soon as it arrived, not just before you’re despatching it elsewhere.

In practice, though, it’s not uncommon common for people to reinfect their systems via backups, so having this second layer of protection certainly isn’t a bad thing.

And if you regularly share files with others, then using Secure Backup should reassure everyone that their downloads are clean.

We’ll need to run more intensive tests to see how Malwarebytes Secure Backup performs as a backup tool, then, but in principle this could be a useful service. If you’d like to try it for yourself then a 14-day trial version is available now, but keep in mind that it is still flagged as a beta: don’t rely on it as your sole backup program just yet.

Photo Credit: Sergey150770/Shutterstock

NetConnectChoose lives up to its name

Publié: avril 4, 2013, 7:26am CEST par Mike Williams

NirSoft’s prolific Nir Sofer has announced his latest release,NetConnectChoose. And it’s a tiny tool which displays all your active internet connections, and allows you to choose one that Windows should use by default.

But if that doesn’t sound relevant to you, don’t worry: despite the program being as compact as ever (a 60.6KB download, including the Help file), Softer has still managed to cram in some useful extra functionality, and NetConnectChoose will also display a host of statistics on every connection it finds.

Browse the table and you’ll find your network adaptor’s MAC address, for instance. The length of time the connection has been running. Its current send and receive data speeds; the number of bytes and packets sent and received; your IP address, default gateway, name servers and DHCP server; your MTU setting, interface speed and more.

This information isn’t just static text, either. Leave the program open while you start a download, say, and you can watch as the “received data speed” (and other figures) update in real time.

Unusually for NirSoft tools, NetConnectChoose can be accessed from a system tray icon, allowing you to view this data -- or change your default internet connection – in a couple of clicks.

And if you need to refer to the connection details later, they can be saved as a report in various formats (TXT, CSV, HTML and more).

Sofer reports that NetConnectChoose does have one significant issue. If you use it to change the default internet connection on a Windows XP system, then all existing TCP connections will stop working. That’s obviously going to be a little annoying, if, say, you’re half way through some bulky download, so use the program with care.

NetConnectChoose doesn’t have the same problem on Windows Vista, 7 or 8, though, where it works very well. The connection statistics it displays can be useful, too, and on balance it probably deserves a place in your troubleshooting toolkit.

Photo Credit: Sergej Khakimullin/Shutterstock

One year later, nearly half of Instagrammers use Android

Publié: avril 3, 2013, 10:24pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

Kids. They grow up so fast. It seems like just yesterday that my Android phone finally became a member of the Instagram generation, only just "slightly" behind all of those iPhones out there. Now the social photo sharing service is celebrating its one year anniversary on the Google-based mobile operating system.

Philip McAllister, of the Instagram Android team, announces that "One year ago today we launched Instagram for Android. In less than a day, over a million people downloaded the app, and now nearly half of all Instagrammers use the Android app to share photos with friends, family and the world".

Since then the service has been used around the world to capture images ranging from spectacular photography to natural disasters and epic world events. McAllister explains that "Major events such as Brazil’s Círio de Nazaré festival, the 85th birthday of Thailand’s King Bhumibol, and a streak of severe thunderstorms throughout Malaysia have been captured by Android Instagrammers".

While I use the app less often than I should, it has been handy for capturing and sharing many pictures in the time I have had it, including one image that I even used right here on BetaNews last holiday season when the service saw a record 226 images uploaded per second on Thanksgiving day. With the financial backing of Facebook now behind it, there is no telling how far Instagram can go.

SkyDrive app is Microsoft's 'new normal'

Publié: avril 3, 2013, 9:01pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

Microsoft continues to match development pace with Google, releasing today yet another app update. SkyDrive 3.0 for iOS follows many other recent releases, including Outlook.com Calendar (this week), Windows 8/RT Mail, Calendar and People apps (last week) and SkyDrive (mid-March), among others.

In my news analysis about the new Windows 8/RT core apps, I asserted: "It's a new Microsoft", explaining how the company has greatly picked up the pace of new product development -- something also seen in Windows Blue, which I expect to ship less than a year after the great 8. A day following my analysis, Frank Shaw, Microsoft corporate communications chief, said that "continuous development cycle is the new normal across Microsoft", which is consistent with reinvention as the "devices and services" company that CEO Steve Ballmer described last year.

The new SkyDrive for iOS version is one more part of a process every Microsoft customer should get used to. Expect more-frequent updates and stronger support for more platforms -- yes, Android and iOS. Mike Torres, Microsoft group product manager ticks through the improvements:

Support for iPhone 5 and iPad Mini

Updated app icons and user experience

Works better with your photos:

Download full resolution photos to your iPhone or iPad

Control the size of photos you upload and download

Photo metadata is retained when you upload to SkyDrive

Opening and saving files to SkyDrive works better with other apps on your iOS devices

Many other small changes, bug fixes and performance improvements

SkyDrive 3.0 requires iOS 5 or later and supports iPhone and iPad. Expect ongoing updates to truly be Microsoft's "new normal" -- and too long coming.

Photo Credit: Krivosheev Vitaly/Shutterstock

Windows Phone users can now be puzzled by Amazing Alex

Publié: avril 3, 2013, 8:33pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

When saying I have played Rovio's Amazing Alex game on my Android phone for some time, I don't mean a cheap shot at the app launching today on Windows Phone. To be truthful, it is more a challenge, and one that comes with sincere sympathy, because folks on the Microsoft mobile platform now have the opportunity to be just as baffled as me.

The physics-based puzzle game from the Finnish company debuted for Windows Phone 8. According to Microsoft's Michael Stroh, "The game has more than 100 levels, 35 interactive objects, and four locations to keep things interesting. But one of my favorite features of Amazing Alex is this: the game lets you design and share your own levels -- and download the best fan-created levels engineered by other players".

Yes, that sounds about right -- I would not honestly know since I became stuck on one level and have not moved since. Truth be told, I gave up trying, but am now inspired to go back and take a fresh look. Or perhaps I should simply hand the device to my son. Yes, make fun of me in the comments for my lack of gaming prowess.

Amazing Alex is not free, but $0.99 is not a steep price to pay for your hours of entertainment, or in cases such as mine, months of frustration. First Temple Run and now this -- you folks are going to be getting rather unproductive.

Mozilla and Samsung team up to kill Chrome mobile

Publié: avril 3, 2013, 7:11pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

Say, Google, do you feel a sharp burning sensation in your back? That's the knife Samsung just plunged in. Ouch! The twisting motion must really hurt.

Mozilla and Samsung are collaborating on a new mobile web browsing engine, Servo, which success would offer huge benefits to both companies. Apple and Google dominate mobile devices with their respective WebKit browsers, largely shutting out Firefox from the most important device category since the PC. Incumbency is an advantage, with browsers preinstalled on Android and iOS. Users must download rival products, and many don't. Meanwhile the South Korean electronics giant accounted for nearly 43 percent of all Android smarthphone sales in fourth quarter, according to Gartner. The company controls the broader user experience via TouchWiz UI, but Google controls the browser.

"Servo is an attempt to rebuild the Web browser from the ground up on modern hardware, rethinking old assumptions along the way", Mozilla CTO Brendan Eich says. "Servo is written in Rust, a new, safe systems language developed by Mozilla along with a growing community of enthusiasts. We are now pleased to announce with Samsung that together we are bringing both the Rust programming language and Servo, the experimental web browser engine, to Android and ARM".

Eich describes the release as "an exciting step in the evolution of both projects that will allow us to start deeper research with Servo on mobile. Samsung has already contributed an ARM backend to Rust and the build infrastructure necessary to cross-compile to Android, along with many other improvements. You can try this now by downloading the code from Github, but it’s just the beginning".

Why Collaborate

The collaboration is smart business and a win-win for both companies, depending how far the electronics giant takes Servo:

Samsung develops ARM processors. If Mozilla really wants to create a new browsing engine, Samsung should want to make sure its Exynos chips are supported at the least. Participating in the development process could give some competitive advantages over ARM rivals.

Google controls too much. Cumulative Android activations exceed 750 million, according to Google, since the OS launched in late 2008 -- that's 250 million more than iOS. Android browser or Chrome came preinstalled on all of them. That's a huge barrier for Firefox, while making Samsung too beholden to Google technology, even as the South Korean company extends the user experience with TouchWiz UI.

Digital lifestyle is key. Samsung could achieve with Servo what Amazon has with Silk, a fully integrated stack of curated products and services. The electronics giant already offers digital content via different "hubs" and sells a digital lifestyle around smartphones and tablets in conjunction with other gear -- everything from digicams to refrigerators to televisions. What Samsung should want to do is unify and curate the experience, much as Amazon does on Android or Apple around its devices and services.

Imagine Servo as default browser, and engine supporting TouchWiz UI, Samsung apps and those developed by third parties. Not just on smartphones and tablets, but on any device where Samsung puts a display and connects to the Internet. Going forward, Chrome is an impedance to a unified, curated Samsung digital lifestyle -- something Amazon already remedies on Kindle Fire HD 7- and 8.9-inch tablets.

Android isn't secure enough. It's not a matter of if but when a major malware attack sweeps the green robot ecosystem. The larger number of users and (presumably) low number using security software is reason enough to expect big trouble. Security is one of Servo's design goals.

"This means addressing the causes of security vulnerabilities while designing a platform that can fully utilize the performance of tomorrow’s massively parallel hardware to enable new and richer experiences on the Web", Eich says.

With the Samsung brand on more than 40 percent of smartphones sold, reliance on Google is a fool's errand. The electronics giant should take charge by providing a safer browser.

Who needs Whom?

Mozilla needs Servo's success much more than Samsung. There is the aforementioned barrier to entry, which is severe. According to Net Applications March data, Apple and Google browsers have 86 percent combined usage share on mobile phones and tablets. Firefox's presence is too statistically small to measure. Reasons are more than just incumbency, however. Stability and speed criticisms dog Firefox mobile. So the Samsung collaboration is much bigger then.

"In the coming year, we are racing to complete the first major revision of Rust -- cleaning up, expanding and documenting the libraries, building out our tools to improve the user experience, and beefing up performance", Eich says. "At the same time, we will be putting more resources into Servo, trying to prove that we can build a fast web browser with pervasive parallelism, and in a safe, fun language. We, along with our friends at Samsung will be increasingly looking at opportunities on mobile platforms".

For Google, Servo's success -- and nothing's assured -- could be devastating, because Samsung sells so many more Android devices than any other company -- 7 times its closest rival in Q4, according to Gartner. Imagine if, as part of a TouchWiz update, Samsung installed Servo on all its devices. Wham. Just like that.

Chrome is quite vulnerable, with just 2.43 percent mobile usage share in March, according to NetApps. Android Browser is 9 times greater but no longer Google's development priority. All new versions of Android ship with Chrome.

Can Mozilla and Samsung succeed? You tell me.

Photo Credit: Margaret M Stewart/Shutterstock

Microsoft releases SkyDrive 3 for iOS

Publié: avril 3, 2013, 7:01pm CEST par Mark Wilson

There’s certainly no shortage of cloud storage services to choose from these days and Microsoft’s SkyDrive provides a fairly generous 7GB of space free of charge. The latest version of the iOS app sees compatibility extending to include not only the iPhone 5, but also the iPad Mini, and there are also a few new features to explore.

The latest release comes after Apple blocked updates to the app following Microsoft’s launch of a subscription model. This could be one of the reasons that it is now not possible to sign up for a SkyDrive account from within the SkyDrive app -- if you have an account already you’ll be able to sign in straight away, but if you need to create one, you will have to head over to the website to do so.

Perhaps the most obvious change, although by no means the largest, is the new icon sported by the app. This new look continues through the UI, with a darker, cleaner feel now replacing the slightly dated look of the previous version.

There have been improvements made throughout the SkyDrive app which mean that there is now better support for not only opening the files you have stored online in different apps you may have installed, but also better support for saving files from apps to SkyDrive.

Other changes mean that full resolution photos can be downloaded and there is the usual selection of bug fixes.

If you have an iPhone or an iPad, you can download a free copy of the SkyDrive app and take advantage of Microsoft’s cloud storage service.

The most useful website you haven't heard of is about to launch

Publié: avril 3, 2013, 5:05pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

Well, perhaps you may have heard something about this project, but it hasn't exactly made mainstream news. However, the Digital Public Library of America is gearing up for its big launch day and the organization has lofty goals. The project has been in the works since 2010, when it was conceived by Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet & Society.

The primary objective is to bring together the holdings of America’s research libraries, archives, and museums all in one online location. Several state libraries, including most recently South Carolina, have pledged to add their historical collections to the archive. There has also been a pledge of more than 10,000 digital images from museums.

While the DPLA site is already online, the official launch date has been set for April 18th. According to Robert Darnton of the New York Review of Books, "Thanks to the Internet and a pervasive if imperfect system of education, we now can realize the dream of Jefferson and Franklin. We have the technological and economic resources to make all the collections of all our libraries accessible to all our fellow citizens -- and to everyone everywhere with access to the World Wide Web".

The National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Services have helped to finance the project, but so far it has been unable to bring the Library of Congress on board. The service will be free to use when it launches later this month and should provide a wealth of information for students and those who are simply curious.

Amazon AutoRip now gives users free MP3 versions of past vinyl purchases

Publié: avril 3, 2013, 4:11pm CEST par Wayne Williams

Although it sounds like a slightly late April Fool’s joke, Amazon has today announced it will be giving customers who have purchased vinyl records from Amazon dating back to 1998, free copies in MP3 format.

It forms part of the AutoRip service which automatically adds MP3s of past and present CD purchases to the shopper’s Cloud Player libraries.

It’s actually a pretty good idea in my opinion, and Amazon says that "thousands of records, including titles from every major record label, are available for AutoRip", with more titles being added all the time.

What’s particularly great about the service is you don’t have to do anything. If you’ve purchased records which are AutoRip compatible, Amazon will rip them and make them available to you in 256Kbps quality. You’ll get an email alerting you once they've been added to your cloud library.

According to Steve Boom, Vice President of Digital Music for Amazon, "AutoRip has been wildly popular with customers since it launched earlier this year. It’s a fun experience to suddenly find CDs you purchased just today -- or 15 years ago -- added automatically and free of charge to your digital library. We’re thrilled to extend this experience to vinyl records. Many of our music customers are vinyl fans and it’s traditionally been very difficult to make digital versions of vinyl records -- now customers can enjoy the albums they buy wherever they are, not just when they have access to a record player".

So what’s next for the AutoRip service? I think it’s a safe bet we’ll be seeing cassettes added at some point before the year’s out.

Photo Credit: Yuganov Konstantin/Shutterstock

Microsoft releases Cumulative Update 1 for Exchange Server 2013

Publié: avril 3, 2013, 3:21pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

Microsoft announced the first major update for Exchange Server 2013, the software giant's server for calendars, contacts and email. Called Cumulative Update 1, it brings along a number of new features and improvements as well as a couple of bug fixes.

Cumulative Update 1, build number 15.0.620.29, touts improvements for monitoring and high availability, as one of the most noteworthy changes. The update introduces support for auto-reseed for disks encrypted with Bitlocker and Exchange Server 2013 Management Pack for Systems Center Operations Manager (also known as SCOM), Best Copy Selection algorithm compatibility with MaximumActiveDatabases, a streamlined Get-HealthReport cmdlet and refreshed probes, monitors and respondents.

Microsoft also included an Address book Policy Routing Agent alongside Cumulative Update 1 and the ability to access favorited Public Folders hosted on Exchange Server 2013 from either Outlook or the Outlook Web app.

Cumulative Update 1 also improves groups support, with groups now being able to own groups, and Exchange Admin Center (also known as EAC), which includes management for Unified Messaging, enhancements for the migration UI (User Interface) and general improvements for the overall user experience.

Cumulative Update 1 for Exchange Server 2013 is available to download from Microsoft's Download Center.

Papa Sangre gets a sound engine upgrade, The Nightjar coming to the US soon

Publié: avril 3, 2013, 1:47pm CEST par Wayne Williams

If neither Papa Sangre nor The Nightjar mean anything to you, you’re missing out on some real iOS gaming greatness. Both are audio-only adventures for iOS from British developer Somethin’ Else. You don’t need any major gaming prowess to play them -- just a good pair of headphones and the ability to listen (which a lot of women will say rules out most men then).

The two very immersive games follow a similar style. You use the iPhone, iPod touch or iPad’s screen to walk forward, and swipe to turn left or right, listening for sound clues to ensure you’re headed in the correct direction -- towards something to collect or an exit, or away from some form of nasty scurrying around in the darkness.

Late last week Papa Sangre received a sound engine upgrade to make the 3D sound more effective, and a similarly updated version of The Nightjar will be rolling out shortly. The New Papa Engine, which uses binaural HRTF (Head Related Transfer Function) audio signal processing algorithms to be able to convincingly play mono sounds anywhere in a 3D space, is now available for developers to create their own apps too, so we can expect more similar audio games in the future, no doubt.

The Nightjar is my favorite of the two games and stars the voice of Benedict Cumberbatch (BBC’s Sherlock, Smaug in The Hobbit, and John Harrison in Star Trek Into Darkness). It’s only ever been available in the UK, but Something’ Else will finally be making it available everywhere from the 23 April.

And if you’re a fan of Papa Sangre, you’ll be pleased to hear that Somethin’ Else is going into full production on the follow up -- called Papa Sangre 2 -- next week, with a view to releasing it sometime this summer. There’s no real details about it yet, except that it’ll be shorter than the original, but longer than The Nightjar, and feature a new "Gyro Mode".

Recuva now lets you directly scan folders for deleted data

Publié: avril 3, 2013, 1:45pm CEST par Nick Peers

Piriform has released Recuva 1.46 and Recuva Portable 1.46, brand new versions of its free data recovery tool for Windows PCs. Recuva can restore both lost and deleted files from a wide variety of devices attached to the user’s PC, including hard drives, camera memory cards and MP3 players.

Version 1.46 contains one notable new feature -- an option to scan folders for deleted items via the Windows Explorer context menu. It also promises better scanning of exFAT and FAT32 drives along with other minor tweaks and improvements.

The new folder scan feature is only available in the main Recuva build -- it’s not accessible via the portable version. The option is added to the program installer and selected by default -- if left in place, users gain the ability to browse to a folder in Explorer, then right-click it and choose "Scan this folder for deleted files". Recuva will then perform a quick scan and display the results of its search, allowing users to quickly recover files from known locations.

Recuva 1.46 also promised an improved deep scan tool for exFAT and FAT-formatted drives. It also adds new file extensions to the available filters (pictures, music, video, documents, compressed and emails).

The latest build also promises improved scan statistic accuracy, better usability of the folder browser and improved uninstallation of menu items when the program is removed. A minor bug in the secure overwrite tool for exFAT file systems has been fixed, and the update is rounded off by subtle tweaks to the recovery wizard and user interface.

Recuva 1.46 and Recuva Portable 1.46 are both available as a freeware downloads for PCs running Windows 2000 or later. Professional and Business editions are also available.

Photo Credit: Amy Walters /Shutterstock

Jelly Bean closes in on Ice Cream Sandwich

Publié: avril 3, 2013, 1:38pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

Jelly Bean may be the newest sweet in the family, but it is steadily gaining ground against its older brothers. Combined, Android 4.1 and Android 4.2 reached a 25 percent distribution level in the green droid realm, based on the number of devices accessing Google Play during the 14 days ending April 2.

Starting this month, Google has decided to alter how the data is collected. Google says: "Beginning in April, 2013, these charts are now built using data collected from each device when the user visits the Google Play Store. Previously, the data was collected when the device simply checked-in to Google servers". Why? Because the company considers the new collection method to be more accurate and that it best represents "users who are most engaged in the Android and Google Play ecosystem".

The change also has another implication. We simply cannot compare the data set provided by Google in March with the numbers released in April, as there is no longer a direct correlation between the two sets which determines the actual growth or decrease in usage of a certain green droid distribution.

In April, nearly five months after its release, Android 4.2 reached a 2.0 percent distribution level. The number is mostly influenced by sales of Google-branded devices -- Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 7, Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 -- and will likely grow once newer smartphones and tablets such as the Samsung Galaxy S4 are released.

Android 4.1, the first Jelly Bean iteration, runs on 23.0 percent of all green droid devices, nine months after Google released the operating system. It is worth noting that Android 4.1 Jelly Bean will likely grow in the distribution charts over the coming months as older devices receive a software upgrade and newer ones, such as the HTC One, are released.

Ice Cream Sandwich, version 4.0.3 to 4.0.4, reached a 29.3 percent distribution level in April. The operating system will likely lose ground against its younger siblings, as sales of new devices and even software upgrades skip over Android 4.0 altogether.

The tablet-only Honeycomb still runs on 0.2 percent of all green droid devices, a number which is practically insignificant per the overall scheme of things. Android 3.2 will likely maintain its distribution level for a couple of months down the road.

Gingerbread is still the green droid ruler with a combined distribution level of 39.8 percent, for version 2.3 to 2.3.2 and version 2.3.3 to 2.3.7. The former version runs on 0.1 percent of all green droid devices, while the latter takes up the number one spot in the charts with a 39.7 percent distribution level.

Android distributions older than Gingerbread, Froyo, Eclair and Donut, run on 5.8 percent of all green droid devices. It's fair to assume that for each of the three sweets the distribution level will decrease over time, more for Froyo and Eclair rather than Donut.

Judging by the numbers associated with each distribution, the new data collection policy appears to skew the results in the favor of newer sweets. Over the past months Android 4.0 slowly lost ground, something that simply does not reflect anymore in the distribution level for April. The newest distribution level also makes Gingerbread less popular than before and Jelly Bean more popular. The apparent difference is very significant and, from my point of view, unrealistic had Google kept the previous data collection policy in April.

Genie Timeline Professional 2013 review

Publié: avril 3, 2013, 10:01am CEST par Mike Williams

If you like to keep your backups simple then image-based solutions have an obvious attraction. There’s no need to spend an age figuring out what to protect, and then change your settings regularly to suit some new application: you just back up everything, and so can always be sure you’re fully protected.

Don’t rule out file-based backups just yet, though. Genie Timeline Professional 2013 can be set up in just a few clicks; runs regularly to protect even your most recent files; keeps multiple versions of a document, allowing you to restore whatever you need; and that’s just the start.

Launch the program and the focus on ease of use is immediately apparent. There’s no need to browse to, or create a folder to hold your backups, for instance – just choose a drive (internal, external or network), and Timeline Professional 2013 will take care of everything else.

Deciding what to back up doesn’t have to be any more difficult. The program provides 13 tiles representing different types of files -- “Pictures”, “Office Files”, “Email”, “Music” and so on -- and all you have to do is check a box for each category you’d like to protect. (You may not even have to do that, as the most common options are checked by default.)

You don’t even have to schedule your backups, as the program will by default select different backup intervals for your files, depending on their type and size. And even the “advanced” options, encryption and compression, can be enabled with just a click.

This doesn’t always work quite as smoothly as you might hope. Checking a tile like “Pictures”, for instance, won’t necessarily protect all your images – only the formats the program recognises (bmp; jpg; jpeg; jpe; gif; tif; tiff; png; raw; dng; nef; cr2). You could edit this list to, say, add support for PSD files, but then you’ll have to know all the formats you might use, and suddenly the program isn’t quite so beginner-friendly any more.

Other backup categories have their limitations, too. The Email option only supports Microsoft tools, for instance (Outlook, Outlook Express, Windows Mail, Windows Live Mail), while you can save the bookmarks for the top browsers, but nothing more (the ability to save profiles would be very useful).

Still, if you want more control then clicking the “My Computer” tab displays a familiar Explorer-type screen, where you can manually select whatever files and folders you’d like to protect.

And there’s a new “Filter my selections” option which allows you to define file types which you’d like to include or exclude from the backup. So if you want to add support for, say, PSD, OGG and TS files (none of which are covered by the default selections) then filters allow you to do it in one place.

Arguably, having to do this at all makes Genie Timeline Professional 2013 much like any other backup tool. Still, at least you only have to set it up once, then you can sit back and leave the program to do its work, while you get on with more important things. (And we do mean “leave”: install the iPhone or iPad app and you can monitor your backup status wherever you are.)

Recovery

Disaster has struck, and you need to recover some files? There are several ways to go about it.

If the file still exists but you’d like to recover an earlier version, right-clicking it in Explorer and selecting “Show Versions” will display your options, and you can restore an older copy with a click.

The program also adds a Timeline Explorer view to Explorer. Choose a backup time and you’re able to browse everything it contains, restoring individual files as required. (These Explorer integrations can be disabled if you don’t want other users to have access to them.)

Genie Timeline Professional 2013 has an “Advanced Restore” option with even more powers. Again, choose a backup time and you can browse everything included in that job. There are sometimes so many files that it’s hard to find what you need, but this version now includes a filter where you can choose to see only deleted or new files, for instance, making your browsing a little more manageable.

“Advanced Restore” is further improved this time with the addition of a search box. If you’re looking for a specific file there’s no need to browse for it, just enter a part of the name and you’ll be presented with all available matches (including previous versions) and again you can restore individual files with a click.

Another option is simply to manually switch to your backup drive, where your files are available in their original folder structure (our fourth backup job stored test desktop files at D:\_Genie Timeline(4)\C\Users\Mike\Desktop, for instance).

And if you’d enabled Disaster Recovery, and prepared by burning a disaster recovery disc (available as a separate download for Genie Timeline Professional 2013 owners), then this may be able to help you get a broken PC working again by restoring your system folders. Boot from the recovery disc and a simple wizard walks you through the process.

There are some problems here. If you’ve chosen to encrypt your backups, for instance, you may not be pleased to find that all your file and folder names are still visible to anyone with access to the destination folder.

And restoration isn’t always as straightforward as you might like. If you’re at the Timeline Explorer, say, you can right-click and restore individual files, but not several files or folders in a single operation. And the new Search option locates files, not folders, and again only allows you to restore one at a time. (Recovering folders and multiple files is available via Advanced Restore, but that’s not always as convenient to use.)

For the most part, though, the process works very well. There are plenty of recovery methods, and once you understand how the program works, the most common situations -- restoring an individual file or one or more folders -- can be completed quickly and easily.

Settings and Options

As we’ve seen, Genie Timeline Professional 2013 is fine for simple applications, but what if you need a little more power?

One issue is the program’s inability to maintain more than one backup job. In an ideal world you might want one job to back up your documents every few minutes, say, while another saves your emails every day, and a third protects your downloads every week. But here there’s just one backup job, and if you want to do something differently then you’ll have to change its settings. Every single time.

Scheduling is at least reasonably flexible, though. If you don’t want to allow the program to decide, you can have backups run at regular intervals from 3 minutes to 24 hours, or on a weekly schedule.

Disaster Recovery backups provide even more control, as you can run them at anything from one day to six monthly intervals.

You can keep control of your backup size, both by setting an overall limit, and telling the program to delete files once they’re older than a defined number of days.

And although the program is extremely lightweight and didn’t noticeably affect other applications at all, there are some useful performance-related settings.

A “Game Mode” disables backups when you’re running full-screen applications, for instance.

You can prevent backups from starting as soon as your system boots, when they’re most likely to clash with other programs.

And if you just want to get a backup finished as soon as possible, Genie Timeline Professional 2013 finally allows you to turn on the high-speed Turbo Mode manually, a small but worthwhile improvement.

The program is easy to set up, then. Backups run smoothly, if a little slowly; restoration is straightforward, and there are some useful configuration options. The new features are conveniences, more than must-haves, and the inability to run multiple backup jobs will annoy many, but if your needs are simple then Genie Timeline Professional 2013 could still be a very good backup choice.

The software lists for $59.95 and is available for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8.

Verdict: It's lacking a few advanced features, but Genie Timeline Professional 2013 remains very easy to set up and use, and if you're only looking for the backup basics then we'd give it a try.

We Like: Easy to set up and use, won't slow down your PC, keeps multiple file versions, several restore methods, disaster recovery disc.

We Don't Like: Can only run one backup job, slow backup speeds, encryption doesn't conceal file and folder names, gets notably more complex as you move from the default.

Photo Credit: Balazs Justin/Shutterstock

BBC updates its news app

Publié: avril 3, 2013, 9:45am CEST par Wayne Williams

The BBC News app for iOS is pretty good but it’s always been rather buggy. The BBC debuted version 2.0 of the app late last night, and as well as bug fixes and improved response times, there have been a few other welcome changes.

Among the tweaks, the app now lets users copy story links to the clipboard, Twitter and Facebook integration has been improved, so it’s easier to share stories of interest, and pulling down on the screen refreshes the content.

There are bigger images on the iPhone home screen, and much improved integration with VoiceOver.

For iPad users, the portrait layout has been tweaked to show more headlines, and the BBC has added an extra font size to make for better viewing on the iPad mini.

Although the changes are all fairly minor, the end result is a much more polished app that -- so far at least -- hasn’t crashed on me once.

You can download the app from iTunes now.

Choose the right password manager to protect your accounts

Publié: avril 3, 2013, 9:03am CEST par Nick Peers

Here’s the contradiction: you need secure, unique and hard-to-remember passwords to protect your online (and offline) accounts from being hacked. However, remembering those secure, unique and hard-to-remember passwords is another matter entirely. Thankfully there is a solution, and it’s called a password manager.

There are dozens of password managers to choose from, but in this guide we’ll showcase four of the better ones, ensuring that you set safe, secure passwords without having to worry about remembering them.

Most password managers work like this: you set up an encrypted file, or vault, into which all of your unique passwords are stored. This vault is “locked” with a master password, so as long as you can remember that, you’ll always be able to access your other passwords.

Of course, a master password can be guessed, so the better password managers go further. Open-source favorite KeePass allows you to create special key files, which need to be provided with the password when unlocking the vault. You can also lock files to the current Windows user account and even use a special USB drive called a YubiKey to provide another level of authentication.

Speaking of providing secondary hardware devices to provide extra protection for your passwords, Sticky Password Free allows you to add any USB or Bluetooth device as a secondary form of authentication, thus increasing your vault’s security that little bit further.

Sticky Password also ships with browser plug-ins, so it can automatically fill web login pages as you visit them (KeePass requires you to drag-and-drop or use hotkey triggers). But the Free version is limited to just 15 passwords -- for full functionality you have to pay $29.99 for the full version.

One worry with offline password managers is what happens if your encrypted vault is corrupt? Obviously you can manually backup your files, but 1Password for Windows and 1Password for Macboth let you sync your encrypted database to Dropbox for protection against data loss. Note both are trial versions only -- the full version costs $49.99 per license.

Another way to avoid this potential calamity is to entrust your passwords (encrypted, of course) to the cloud, and if you’re happy to do so then take a look at cross-platform beauty LastPass, which works seamlessly across most major browsers, and also allows you to store other confidential information online too. It’s free, although you’ll need to purchase a Premium subscription if you’d like to be able to sync passwords with your mobile devices. or add support for YubiKey authentication.

LastPass can also detect when you’re signing up for a new site and offer to quickly generate a secure password for you – something the other tools also offer, but LastPass makes the process effortless.

LastPass also offers to review your existing passwords, alerting you to any insecure ones you can then quickly make secure with its help.

Ultimately which password manager you go for depends on your individual needs: Sticky Password offers the best blend of features and security for both online and offline use, but there’s a price tag attached. If you’re happy to store your passwords in the cloud, then LastPass wins for its ease of use, but for a portable, offline solution that won’t cost you a bean, KeePass is well worth considering.

KeePass 2.21 and KeePass Portable 2.21 are both available as free, open-source downloads for Windows (other platforms are also available). Sticky Password Free 6.0.9.439 is available as a function-limited free download for Windows, while LastPass 2.0.20 is available as a freeware download for Windows, Mac and Linux. Also available are LastPass for Windows 8, LastPass for Android and LastPass Tab Browser for iOS.

Photo Credit: marekuliasz/Shutterstock

CyberLink releases PowerDVD 13

Publié: avril 3, 2013, 8:04am CEST par Mike Williams

CyberLink has unveiled PowerDVD 13, the latest edition of its popular media player. And it’s an interesting upgrade with new features wherever you look.

New support for APE and AVCHD 2.0 1080p/3D extends your playback support, for instance, while everyone will benefit from a new focus on performance. The media player has been optimized to deliver an “instant start”, while new BD-Live Bypass technology means Blu-ray playback is 58 percent faster than PowerDVD 12.

A new Movie Library organises your MKV and MP4 files, DVD and Blu-ray discs in a single folder, with cover art, and links to more information on the movie. New conveniences include the ability to resume watching a movie just where you left off, and you can add comments and connect with friends via social media.

The playback interface has been revamped. There are more straightforward controls, which can instantly be hidden; it’s easier to find movie scenes; you can jump backwards and forwards through a video via the keyboard, and a new speed navigator helps you set fast or slow motion playback. (And if you’re still not happy, new configuration options allow you to customise the interface, change hotkeys, mouse wheel actions and more.)

PowerDVD 2013′s TrueTheater technology is now even available for Full HD video, automatically sharpening the picture, optimising colours and lighting for the best possible image quality.

And there’s also a new mini Music Player; an all-new subtitle engine with dual subtitle support; and various Windows 8 additions, including touch optimisation, and a Windows 8 edition of PowerDVD’s Mobile app.

As usual, PowerDVD 2013 comes in three edition. Deluxe ($54.95) is the base, with core media and DVD playback issues; Pro ($79.95) adds Blu-ray support, while Ultra ($99.95) includes 3D support, smart device syncing, full DLNA support, 7.1 audio and more.

Not exactly cheap, then, but PowerDVD 2013 does at least have some worthwhile new features to help justify the cost. The performance and interface enhancements are particularly welcome, and if you need a high-end media player then PowerDVD 13 is still worth a look.

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.

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.

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.

BitTorrent Sync to leave private beta

Publié: avril 1, 2013, 8:56pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

Back in January I had the opportunity to test out BitTorrent Sync. I did not find the product to be completely ready for prime time, but I also did not find it to be terrible. I couldn't call BitTorrent Sync ready to replace my dearly departed Live Mesh, but I saw some promise, just lacking a bit of polish around the edges.

The company steadily improved the service since those early days and now is ready to roll out a more public version of what is still considered Alpha software.

In an email sent out today, BitTorrent announces that "for those of you who are still on the wait list, keep an eye on your inbox. By mid-April we will send you a link to download the Alpha from a private server ahead of the public release".

The SyncApp is moving forward more quickly with this latest release. The company goes on to promise "we will be opening the Alpha version of SyncApp for anyone to download by the end of April".

For all of us dejected Live Mesh customers this has promise, but BitTorrent is not the only game in town. While Microsoft may have killed that arm of its Live suite, the company's SyncToy app lives on and there are other oars in the water, such as SyncBack SE, which I have previously used and liked.

Still, BitTorrent has the most promise in this field and it has the technology to deliver on that promise. Over the coming weeks we will see if SyncApp can actually do exactly that, or if it is "pie in the sky".

Photo Credit: RAJ CREATIONZS/Shutterstock

The potential success or calamity of Facebook phone

Publié: avril 1, 2013, 8:46pm CEST par Jeremy Liu

The notion of a Facebook phone has certainly lingered for a few years now -- the concept reached a point of half-hearted fruition in the HTC ChaCha and Salsa in 2011, but neither really embodied the true potential of a Facebook phone. They were much more of "throw and see what sticks" devices -- with the only tangible evidence of deeper Facebook integration being the Facebook button on the devices’ fronts.

Much has changed in nearly two years: Facebook’s Open Graph, the acquisition of Instagram and the introduction of Facebook Camera and Messenger applications, among others. Perhaps the most strident progression Mark Zuckerberg’s social network has made in the past two years is reaching 1 billion active users. And counting. That’s approximately one in seven people in the world, and an even larger proportion if accounting for the developed world alone.

It’s a number that CEO Zuckerberg wouldn’t have dared to dream in his Harvard dorm room almost 10 years ago, and a level of pervasiveness that I personally find astounding and perhaps even intimidating -- intimidating that one corporation could occupy so much global mindshare in an industry so inherently personal. You would think that a corporation with so much social leverage would be able to make some inroads in the smartphone industry.

Collecting User Data

The question: how deep can you integrate Facebook into the smartphone experience before it becomes downright intrusive, and is portrayed obviously as an overbearing corporate ploy. This is the dangerous balancing act that Facebook has to play, to integrate deeply enough to be an inescapable aspect of our smartphones and by extension our daily lives, without integrating so much as to reveal those intentions.

For Facebook, the benefits of a phone OS developed in-house are obvious. The social network is primarily an ad business and much like Google its money-making capabilities lie almost exclusively in understanding users. The more is understood about them, the more ads can be targeted at the right people. A simple mobile app that is the depth of Facebook’s current mobile strategy on most platforms provides extremely limited scope is terms of user data aggregation -- there are so many aspects of mobile usage that Facebook can’t tap into with a simple app.

If the social network built a phone to service its business motives, the device could integrate, say, Facebook places into the default mapping application and give clearer idea from where users search. The company could tap into the music and video players to ascertain the entertainment tastes of individuals. And of course Facebook could put forward a compelling case to replace SMS and calls with Facebook Messenger and free calling to other Facebook users --- augmenting subscriber reliance on the Facebook ecosystem and strengthening the ‘walled garden’.

Of course not all of these approaches may be feasible, and such invasive behavior will likely come under close scrutiny from privacy watchdogs, but the potential is certainly there. As society begins to get more comfortable with sharing more information online and as the power of ubiquity continues to grow for Facebook, now is as good a time as any for the social network to pounce with an aggressive mobile strategy.

Hamsters One and All

But how well could Zuckerberg and Company sell such a device? The HTC ChaCha and Salsa failed to really make a splash, or provide any indication that a Facebook Phone can be a hit device.

Many of us are hopelessly reliant on Facebook, and we tend to know that. We know that Facebook is among the most used apps on our phone and we check it impulsively. We scroll our News Feeds rain or shine, interesting or boring and we keep doing it even when we get nothing form the behavior. There’s a natural inclination to check the social network persistently, so would a phone built around a Facebook backbone be useful? Perhaps. Is this a selling point? Doubt it.

As much as we’ve allowed Facebook to become an ingrained aspect of our lives, we’re ashamed to admit it -- there’s a stigma attached to a Facebook reliance that we’d all love to, but wouldn’t ever shake. Facebook isn’t something people think of when buying a phone because we’re accustomed and satisfied with the accessibility of the social network on smartphones that we have now -- through an app. A Facebook phone is the answer to a question nobody has asked, which is where the real challenge lies.

To have Facebook on our smartphones left, right and center, as the very spinal core of our smartphones will inevitably increase its accessibility, efficiency and ultimately usability, but I’d vouch that there would be significant consumer trepidation about going down this route. We don’t want to get too intimate with something that is beginning to become dangerously addictive. A Facebook Phone, that is marketed as such would lack appeal for this reason alone. Facebook does not increase a phone’s marketability, we’ve learned that. Such a device would be a flop bar for one that is so exquisitely designed and offered at a bargain basement price.

But Facebook’s "Home on Android" project mightn’t be anything like this. It might not be a "Facebook Phone" in the same way that the Kindle Fire is Amazon’s tablet -- built entirely in-house with an exclusive and heavily-modified version of Android running on Amazon devices only. Such a strategy would be the anti-thesis of Facebook’s trajectory; after all, social networking is an industry which hinges entirely on pervasiveness, not exclusivity. On Thursday, Facebook will show us a modified version of Android with Facebook running through its vein in a most exquisite and beautiful manner. The company show it on a phone, of course, but not selling one. If big boy Zuckerberg unveils and intends to market a phone coupled with the Facebook-ified OS as a complete entity, then he has taken a wrong step.

Facebook has no interest in being in the hardware business, but should continue to have interest in being part of everyone else’s software -- ubiquity after all, is the key.

Photo Credit: percom/Shutterstock

Using Office in Windows 8? Microsoft wants to help

Publié: avril 1, 2013, 7:56pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

Every week Microsoft's Office team does a webinar. That is not news, but this week the company is focusing on Office specifically within Windows 8. While perhaps many of you are not yet using the latest versions of Office and Windows, it is pretty much assured that eventually you will be -- assimilation is inevitable.

With that thought in mind, Microsoft's Doug Thomas announces that "if you are working with Windows 8-or your business will be using Windows 8 soon-check out this week's webinar. We will go over shortcuts and quick navigation for keyboard and mouse, plus answer your questions".

If you are expecting an in-depth look at all of this then I recommend you tune down your expectations. Oh, and you will not need to bother bringing a cup of coffee along either, because the webinar is only 15 minutes long. It does promise the basics though, such as using Windows 8 with a mouse and keyboard, the Start screen, keyboard shortcuts and a bit more.

Still, it could provide a useful foundation for those who are new to these platforms. Thomas explains how one can join in -- "if you are on Windows 7 or 8, you will join via the free Lync Web App. For other computers, you may need to call in for audio: 888-320-3585, Conference ID: 84172528". You can head over to the Office site to view other upcoming Office web events.

It's no joke! $249 Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 4G LTE from AT&T

Publié: avril 1, 2013, 6:15pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

Starting April 5, AT&T will carry one model of Amazon's tablet in stores, with $150 discount for those customers making a two-year contractual commitment. Just as T-Mobile tries to free Americans from subsidies, the nation's second-largest carrier reels them back in. The 32GB Kindle Fire 8.9" 4G LTE will sell for $399 without commitment -- $249 with one. The higher of the two prices reflects Amazon's recent $100 reduction, just 18 days ago.

Subsidized pricing makes Amazon's tablet one of the most-affordable mid-size models available. For example, Apple's 7.9-inch iPad mini starts at $329 and $459 with LTE. However, for comparable storage (32GB), iPad mini is $559 with LTE. Those prices require no contract. Something else to consider: Unless Amazon and AT&T have some special agreement that I don't know about, that $249 or $399 includes advertisements -- "special offers" -- that buyers must pay an extra $15 to remove. Still, $249 out the door makes Kindle Fire HD 8.9" the lowest-priced tablet for sale with super high-resolution display.

Whether or not choosing to pay more or take the discount, AT&T customers with Mobile Share plan have the best pricing option -- adding the tablet for just $10 per month. Buyers choosing to pay $399 can add data at will. Those taking the deal must make some commitment. Plans start at $14.99 for those customers without Mobile Share.

Kindle Fire HD 8.9" specs: 8.9-inch display (1920 x 1200 display, 254 pixels per inch); 1.5GHz OMAP4470 dual-core processor; 1GB RAM; 32GB storage; front-facing camera; 4G LTE; Bluetooth; WiFi A/N; accelerometer; gyroscope; microphone; and Android. Measures 240 x 164 x 8.8 mm and weighs 575 grams.

Amazon announced the tablet in September and started selling in November, offering, with cooperation of AT&T, cheap data option. For $49.99 per year, subscribers get 250MB usage per month, 20GB extra Cloud Drive storage and $10 Amazon Appstore credit.

The most pirated TV show is back, and HBO doesn't mind

Publié: avril 1, 2013, 5:30pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

Last night marked the debut of season three of "Game of Thrones", the wildly popular HBO show based on the books by George R. R. Martin. The show generates major publicity and even bigger Internet piracy to go along with that. Thanks to a large, and Internet-savvy, fan base, the fantasy series is the single-most pirated TV show ever. Game of Thrones had one episode downloaded 4.3 million times.

Director David Petrarca already is on record saying he is not concerned by the piracy. But, now, in what feels almost like an April Fool's joke that came a day early, HBO programming president Michael Lombardo stepped up to say he has no problem with the show's status as the top download. Lombardo told Entertainment Weekly that "The demand is there, and it certainly didn’t negatively impact the DVD sales. [Piracy is] something that comes along with having a wildly successful show on a subscription network".

In fact, Lombardo went on to say his biggest concern was about the quality of the downloaded versions available from the torrent sites -- "The production values of this show are so incredible. So I’m hoping that in the purloined different generation of cuts that the show is holding up".

Last week we heard that HBO GO was looking at ways to part with paid TV services and launch a subscription model. Now the company tacitly supports piracy of popular shows. Perhaps the media company is coming around to a new business model that is more inline with today's digital world.

Facebook's 'new home on Android' is a smartwatch

Publié: avril 1, 2013, 3:30pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

BetaNews has learned that Facebook's "new home on Android" is not a phone, as widely rumored, but -- get this -- a smartwatch. A source with knowledge of the social network's April 4 event contacted me after reading colleague Mihaita Bamburic's Saturday post: "I'm a gadget lover who doesn't love smartwatches".

I simply couldn't believe that, so I contacted a truly trusted source, who acknowledged -- after lots of coaxing -- that the watch tip is genuine. I still didn't believe and contacted another source, who wasn't immediately available because of Easter celebrations. Like Mihaita, I think smartwatches are a dumb idea. About an hour ago, he (or it she) confirmed the Android timepiece will be Facebook's show-stopping announcement.

If you listen to the Internet rumor rabble, everyone from Apple to Google to Samsung is developing a smartwatch, but Facebook could have the distinction of getting to market first. My last source shared a few nuggets of information -- he had been drinking (who does that to celebrate Easter). The watch is huge, but he wouldn't say how much other than to ask: "Have you seen those big Russian watches? Like them but thicker".

The Facebook watch uses voice dictation and response. For example, using a Bluetooth earpiece, you can command the timepiece to read back Wall posts, dictate comments or "Like" something by simply saying the word.

Sorry, Mr. Zuckerberg, but the design concept makes no sense. Simpler and sounder approach: Develop a way for consumers to easily use a Bluetooth earpiece to control Facebook on a smartphone and let a voice-response system read back while they walk or work, instead of lifting the wrist to see or hear.

Something else: People aren't used to recharging their watches every few days. Unless Facebook provides solar charging, it's hard to see how battery life wouldn't be a problem, particularly when adding Bluetooth -- and a cellular radio.

One of my sources gave a kind of "wink, wink" response regarding PC connectivity. She strongly insinuated that Facebook's watch wouldn't need to sync to a computer, which must mean over-the-air. That suggests 2G radio at least. The only other way I see is FM, which Microsoft used for its partners' line of smartwatches in the last decade.

Facebook has completed final technical, but not cosmetic, designs. The company plans to give out prototypes to news media attending this week's event and launch a preview program similar to Google's CR-48 Chromebook back in December 2010. The search and information giant gave out 60,000 computers during a broad beta test before Acer and Samsung released the first commercial models about six months later.

None of my sources would say when Facebook's smartwatch would be available to purchase, but one hinted long before the holidays. Assuming 6 months from public prototypes to commercial products, like Google and Chromebooks, that works out to September release, if not sooner.

I'm dubious about Facebook's plans -- or smartwatches from anyone. Microsoft brought a brilliantly-conceived smartwatch strategy to market in the mid-Noughties along with well-known watchmakers like Fossil, Suunto and Swatch -- and still the project fissiled. Using FM radio to keep constant connection assured users could get news, weather and other info anytime and anywhere.

But recharging was the deal breaker. Then there was behavior. Look how many people no longer carry watches because they get time from phones they regularly check? This was true during the dumb phone era, when Microsoft and partners released high-tech timepieces. The company failed in this market long before mobiles -- where "smart" makes more sense -- offer as much information as they do today.

April Fools! If Facebook really releases a smartwatch, then the joke's on me.

Aye me hearties, Google now lets you search for treasure!

Publié: avril 1, 2013, 10:10am CEST par Wayne Williams

Google really embraces 1 April and some of its fools are excellent. This year’s highlight, for me, is a new Treasure Hunting mode in Google Maps (I’m currently using Bing for all my mapping needs, but I had to switch back to Google just to try this).

According to the search giant, "Treasure Maps is our Beta Maps technology and has certain system requirements. Your system may not be able to display at higher resolutions than paper print. Take care when unfolding the map to avoid ripping it".

Once activated, the view switches to a hand drawn map on parchment that features rivers, trees, cactus, and major landmarks. There are also treasure chests hidden around for you find. I've come across one so far (I tried searching for "treasure" in the search box, but to no avail), but I've also found a giant rabbit, a skull and crossbones, Psy doing Gangnam Style in Seoul, and other goodies.

In place of the usual Street View, there’s an amusing sepia "Telescope View" to peer through.

Google has also created an amusing YouTube video to explain the reason for the new mapping mode.

Something this good really needs to be kept for longer than one day. At the very least it should make a reappearance for International Talk Like A Pirate Day (19 Sept).

Have you found anything good?

Accidental Empires, Part 17 -- Font Wars (Chapter 11)

Publié: avril 1, 2013, 9:00am CEST par Robert X. Cringely

Seventeenth in a series. Love triangles were commonplace during the early days of the PC. Adobe, Apple and Microsoft engaged in such a relationship during the 1980s, and allegiances shifted -- oh did they. This installment of Robert X. Cringely's 1991 classic Accidental Empires shows how important is controlling a standard and getting others to adopt it.

Of the 5 billion people in the world, there are only four who I’m pretty sure have stayed consistently on the good side of Steve Jobs. Three of them -- Bill Atkinson, Rich Page, and Bud Tribble -- all worked with Jobs at Apple Computer. Atkinson and Tribble are code gods, and Page is a hardware god. Page and Tribble left Apple with Jobs in 1985 to found NeXT Inc., their follow-on computer company, where they remain in charge of hardware and software development, respectively.

So how did Atkinson, Page, and Tribble get off so easily when the rest of us have to suffer through the rhythmic pattern of being ignored, then seduced, then scourged by Jobs? Simple; among the three, they have the total brainpower of a typical Third World country, which is more than enough to make even Steve Jobs realize that he is, in comparison, a single-celled, carbon-based life form. Atkinson, Page, and Tribble have answers to questions that Jobs doesn’t even know he should ask.

The fourth person who has remained a Steve Jobs favorite is John Warnock, founder of Adobe Systems. Warnock is the father that Steve Jobs always wished for. He’s also the man who made possible the Apple LaserWriter printer and desktop publishing. He’s the man who saved the Macintosh.

Warnock, one of the world’s great programmers, has the technical ability that Jobs lacks. He has the tweedy, professorial style of a Robert Young, clearly contrasting with the blue-collar vibes of Paul Jobs, Steve’s adoptive father. Warnock has a passion, too, about just the sort of style issues that are so important to Jobs. Warnock is passionate about the way words and pictures look on a computer screen or on a printed page, and Jobs respects that passion.

Both men are similar, too, in their unwillingness to compromise. They share a disdain for customers based on their conviction that the customer can’t even imagine what they (Steve and John) know. The customer is so primitive that he or she is not even qualified to say what they need.

Welcome to the Adobe Zone.

John Warnock’s rise to programming stardom is the computer science equivalent of Lana Turner’s being discovered sitting in Schwab’s Drugstore in Hollywood. He was a star overnight.

A programmer’s life is spent implementing algorithms, which are just specific ways of getting things done in a computer program. Like chess, where you may have a Finkelstein opening or a Blumberg entrapment, most of what a programmer does is fitting other people’s algorithms to the local situation. But every good programmer has an algorithm or two that is all his or hers, and most programmers dream of that moment when they’ll see more clearly than they ever have before the answer to some incredibly complex programming problem, and their particular solution will be added to the algorithmic lore of programming. During their fifteen minutes of techno-fame, everyone who is anyone in the programming world will talk about the Clingenpeel shuffle or the Malcolm X sort.

Most programmers don’t ever get that kind of instant glory, of course, but John Warnock did. Warnock’s chance came when he was a graduate student in mathematics, working at the University of Utah computer center, writing a mainframe program to automate class registration. It was a big, dumb program, and Warnock, who like every other man in Utah had a wife and kids to support, was doing it strictly for the money.

Then Warnock’s mindless toil at the computer center was interrupted by a student who was working on a much more challenging problem. He was trying to write a graphics program to present on a video monitor an image of New York harbor as seen from the bridge of a ship. The program was supposed to run in real time, which meant that the video ship would be moving in the harbor, with the view slowly shifting as the ship changed position.

The student was stumped by the problem of how to handle the view when one object moved in front of another. Say the video ship was sailing past the Statue of Liberty, and behind the statue was the New York skyline. As the ship moved forward, the buildings on the skyline should appear to shift behind the statue, and the program would have to decide which parts of the buildings were blocked by the statue and find a way to turn off just those parts of the image, shaping the region of turned-off image to fit along the irregular profile of the statue. Put together dozens of objects at varying distances, all shifting in front of or behind each other, and just the calculation of what could and couldn’t be visible was bringing the computer to its knees.

“Why not do it this way?” Warnock asked, looking up from his class registration code and describing a way of solving the problem that had never been thought of before, a way so simple that it should have been obvious but had somehow gone unthought of by the brightest programming minds at the university. No big deal.

Except that it was a big deal. Dumbfounded by Warnock’s casual brilliance, the student told his professor, who told the department chairman, who told the university president, who must have told God (this is Utah, remember), because the next thing he knew, Warnock was giving talks all over the country, describing how he solved the hidden surface problem. The class registration program was forever forgotten.

Warnock switched his Ph.D. studies from mathematics to computer science, where the action was, and was soon one of the world’s experts on computer graphics.

Computer graphics, the drawing of pictures on-screen and on-page, is very difficult stuff. It’s no accident that more than 80 percent of each human brain is devoted to processing visual data. Looking at a picture and deciding what it portrays is a major effort for humans, and often an impossible one for computers.

Jump back to that image of New York harbor, which was to be part of a ship’s pilot training simulator ordered by the U.S. Maritime Academy. How do you store a three-dimensional picture of New York harbor inside a computer? One way would be to put a video camera in each window of a real ship and then sail that ship everywhere in the harbor to capture a video record of every vista. This would take months, of course, and it wouldn’t take into account changing weather or other ships moving around the harbor, but it would be a start. All the video images could then be digitized and stored in the computer. Deciding what view to display through each video window on the simulator would be just a matter of determining where the ship was supposed to be in the harbor and what direction it was facing, and then finding the appropriate video scene and displaying it. Easy, eh? But how much data storage would it require?

Taking the low-buck route, we’ll require that the view only be in typical PC resolution of 640-by-400 picture elements (pixels), which means that each stored screen will hold 256,000 pixels.

Since this is 8-bit color (8 bits per pixel), that means we’ll need 256,000 bytes of storage (8 bits make 1 byte) for each screen image. Accepting a certain jerkiness of apparent motion, we’ll need to capture images for the video database every ten feet, and at each of those points we’ll have to take a picture in at least eight different directions. That means that for every point in the harbor, we’ll need 2,048,000 bytes of storage. Still not too bad, but how many such picture points are there in New York harbor if we space them every ten feet? The harbor covers about 100 square miles, which works out to 27,878,400 points. So we’ll need just over 57 billion bytes of storage to represent New York harbor in this manner. Twenty years ago, when this exercise was going on in Utah, there was no computer storage system that could hold 57 billion bytes of data or even 5.7 billion bytes. It was impossible. And the system would have been terrifically limited in other ways, too. What would the view be like from the top of the Statue of Liberty? Don’t know. With all the data gathered at sea level, there is no way of knowing how the view would look from a higher altitude.

The problem with this type of computer graphics system is that all we are doing is storing and calling up bits of data rather than twiddling them, as we should do. Computers are best used for processing data, not just retrieving them. That’s how Warnock and his buddies in Utah solved the data storage problem in their model of New York harbor. Rather than take pictures of the whole harbor, they described it to the computer.

Most of New York harbor is empty water. Water is generally flat with a few small waves, it’s blue, and it lives its life at sea level. There I just described most of New York harbor in eighteen words, saving us at least 50 billion bytes of storage. What we’re building here is an imaging model, and it assumes that the default appearance of New York harbor is wet. Where it’s not wet—where there are piers or buildings or islands—I can describe those, too, by telling the computer what the object looks like and where it is positioned in space. What I’m actually doing is telling the computer how to draw a picture of the object, specifying characteristics like size, shape, and color. And if I’ve already described a tugboat, for example, and there are dozens of tugboats in the harbor that look alike, the next time I need to describe one I can just refer back to the earlier description, saying to draw another tugboat and another and another, with no additional storage required.

This is the stuff that John Warnock thought about in Utah and later at Xerox PARC, where he and Martin Newell wrote a language they called JaM, for John and Martin. JaM provided a vocabulary for describing objects and positioning them in a three-dimensional database. JaM evolved into another language called Interpress, which was used to describe words and pictures to Xerox laser printers. When Warnock was on his own, after leaving Xerox, Interpress evolved into a language called PostScript. JaM, Interpress, and PostScript are really the same language, in fact, but for reasons having to do with copyrights and millions of dollars, we pretend that they are different.

In PostScript, the language we’ll be talking about from now on, there is no difference between a tugboat or the letter E. That is, PostScript can be used to draw pictures of tugboats and pictures of the letter E, and to the PostScript language each is just a picture. There is no cultural or linguistic symbolism attached to the letter, which is, after all, just a group of straight and curved lines filled in with color.

PostScript describes letters and numbers as mathematical formulas rather than as bit maps, which are just patterns of tiny dots on a page or screen. PostScript popularized the outline font, where a description of each letter is stored as a formula for lines and bezier curves and recipes for which parts of the character are to be filled with color and which parts are not. Outline fonts, because they are based on mathematical descriptions of each letter, are resolution independent; they can be scaled up or down in size and printed in as fine detail as the printer or typesetter is capable of producing. And like the image of a tugboat, which increases in detail as it sails closer, PostScript outline fonts contain “hints” that control how much detail is given up as type sizes get smaller, making smaller type sizes more readable than they otherwise would be.

Before outline fonts can be printed, they have to be rasterized, which means that a description of which bits to print where on the page has to be generated. Before there were outline fonts, bit-mapped fonts were all there were, and they were generated in a few specific sizes by people called fontographers, not computers. But with PostScript and outline fonts, it’s as easy to generate a 10.5-point letter as the usual 10-, 12-, or 14-point versions.

Warnock and his boss at Xerox, Chuck Geschke, tried for two years to get Xerox to turn Interpress into a commercial product. Then they decided to start their own company with the idea of building the most powerful printer in history, to which people would bring their work to be beautifully printed. Just as Big Blue imagined there was a market for only fifty IBM 650 mainframes, the two ex-Xerox guys thought the world needed only a few PostScript printers.

Warnock and Geschke soon learned that venture capitalists don’t like to fund service businesses, so they next looked into creating a computer workstation with custom document preparation software that could be hooked into laser printers and typesetters, to be sold to typesetting firms and the printing departments of major corporations. Three months into that business, they discovered at least four competitors were already underway with similar plans and more money. They changed course yet again and became sellers of graphics systems software to computer companies, designers of printer controllers featuring their PostScript language, and the first seller of PostScript fonts.

Adobe Systems was named after the creek that ran past Warnock’s garden in Los Altos, California. The new company defined the PostScript language and then began designing printer controllers that could interpret PostScript commands, rasterize the image, and direct a laser engine to print it on page. That’s about the time that Steve Jobs came along.

The usual rule is that hardware has to exist before programmers will write software to run on it. There are a few exceptions to this rule, and one of these is PostScript, which is very advanced, very complex software that still doesn’t run very fast on today’s personal computers. PostScript was an order of magnitude more complex than most personal computer software of the mid-1980s. Tim Paterson’s Quick and Dirty Operating System was written in less than six months. Jonathan Sachs did 1-2-3 in a year. Paul Allen and Bill Gates pulled together Microsoft BASIC in six weeks. Even Andy Hertzfeld put less than two years into writing the system software for Macintosh. But PostScript took twenty man-years to perfect. It was the most advanced software ever to run on a personal computer, and few microcomputers were up to the task.

The mainframe world, with its greater computing horsepower, might logically have embraced PostScript printers, so the fact that the personal computer was where PostScript made its mark is amazing, and is yet another testament to Steve Jobs’s will.

The 128K Macintosh was a failure. It was an amazing design exercise that sat on a desk and did next to nothing, so not many people bought early Macs. The mood in Cupertino back in 1984 was gloomy. The Apple III, the Lisa, and now the Macintosh were all failures. The Apple II division was being ignored, the Lisa division was deliberately destroyed in a fit of Jobsian pique, and the Macintosh division was exhausted and depressed.

Apple had $250 million sunk in the ground before it started making money on the Macintosh. Not even the enthusiasm of Steve Jobs could make the world see a 128K Mac with a floppy disk drive, two applications, and a dot-matrix printer as a viable business computer system.

Apple employees may drink poisoned Kool-Aid, but Apple customers don’t.

It was soon evident, even to Jobs, that the Macintosh needed a memory boost and a compelling application if it was going to succeed. The memory boost was easy, since Apple engineers had secretly included the ability to expand memory from 128K to 512K, in direct defiance of orders from Jobs. Coming up with the compelling application was harder; it demanded patience, which was never seen as a virtue at Apple.

The application so useful that it compels people to buy a specific computer doesn’t have to be a spreadsheet, though that’s what it turned out to be for the Apple II and the IBM PC. Jobs and Sculley thought it would be a spreadsheet, too, that would spur sales of the Mac. They had high hopes for Lotus Jazz, which turned up too late and too slow to be a major factor in the market. There was, as always, a version of Microsoft’s Multiplan for the Mac, but that didn’t take off in the market either, primarily because the Mac, with its small screen and relatively high price, didn’t offer a superior environment for spreadsheet users. For running spreadsheets, at least, PCs were cheaper and had bigger screens, which was all that really mattered.

For the Lisa, Apple had developed its own applications, figuring that the public would latch onto one of the seven as the compelling application. But while the Macintosh came with two bundled applications of its own -- MacWrite and MacPaint -- Jobs wanted to do things in as un-Lisa-like manner as possible, which meant that the compelling application would have to come from outside Apple.

Mike Boich was put in charge of what became Apple’s Macintosh evangelism program. Evangelists like Alain Rossmann and Guy Kawasaki were sent out to bring the word of Macintosh to independent software developers, giving them free computers and technical support. They hoped that these efforts would produce the critical mass of applications needed for the Mac to survive and at least one compelling application that was needed for the Mac to succeed.

There are lots of different personal computers in the world, and they all need software. But little software companies, which describes about 90 percent of the personal computer software companies around, can’t afford to make too many mistakes by developing applications for computers that fail in the marketplace. At Electronic Arts, Trip Hawkins claims to have been approached to develop software for sixty different computer types over six or seven years. Hawkins took a chance on eighteen of those systems, while most companies pick only one or two.

When considering whether to develop for a different computer platform, software companies are swayed by an installed base -- the number of computers of a given type that are already working in the world -- by money, and by fear of being left behind technically. Boich, Rossmann, and Kawasaki had no installed base of Macintoshes to point to. They couldn’t claim that there were a million or 10 million Macintoshes in the world, with owners eager to buy new and innovative applications. And they didn’t have money to pay developers to do Mac applications -- something that Hewlett-Packard and IBM had done in the past.

The pitch that worked for the Apple evangelists was to cultivate the developers’ fear of falling behind technically. “Graphical user interfaces are the future of computing,” they’d say, “and this is the best graphical user interface on the market right now. If you aren’t developing for the Macintosh, five years from now your company won’t be in business, no matter what graphical platform is dominant then.”

The argument worked, and 350 Macintosh applications were soon under development. But Apple still needed new technology that would set the Mac apart from its graphical competitors. The Lisa and the Xerox Star had not been ignored by Apple’s competitors, and a number of other graphical computing environments were announced in 1983, even before the Macintosh shipped.

VisiCorp was betting (and losing) its corporate existence on a proprietary graphical user interface and software for IBM PCs and clones called VisiOn. VisiOn appeared in November 1983, more than a year after it was announced. With VisiOn, you got a mouse, a special circuit card that was installed inside the PC, and software including three applications -- word processing, spreadsheet, and graphics. VisiOn offered no color, no icons, and it was slow -- all for a list price of $1,795. The shipping version was supposed to have been twelve times faster than the demo; it wasn’t. Developers hated VisiOn because they had, to pay a big up-front fee to get the information needed to write programs (literally anti-evangelism) and then had to buy time on a Prime minicomputer, the only computer environment in which applications could be developed. VisiOn was a dud, but until it was actually out, failing in the world, it had a lot of people scared.

One person who was definitely scared by VisiOn was Bill Gates of Microsoft, who stood transfixed through three complete VisiOn demonstrations at the Comdex computer trade show in 1982. Gates had Charles Simonyi fly down from Seattle just to see the VisiOn demo, then Gates immediately went back to Bellevue and started his own project to throw a graphical user interface on top of DOS. This was the Interface Manager, later called Microsoft Windows, which was announced in 1983 and shipped in 1985. Windows was slow, too, and there weren’t very many applications that supported the environment, but it fulfilled Gates’ goal, which was not to be the best graphical environment around, but simply to defend the DOS franchise. If the world wanted a graphical user interface, Gates would add one to DOS. If they want a pen-based interface, he’ll add one to DOS (it’s called Windows for Pen Computing). If the world wants voice recognition, or multimedia, or fingerpainting input, Gates will add it to DOS, because DOS, and the regular income it provides, year after year, funds everything else at Microsoft. DOS is Microsoft.

Gates did Windows as a preemptive strike against VisiOn, and he developed Microsoft applications for the Macintosh, because it was clear that Windows would not be good enough to stop the Mac from becoming a success. Since he couldn’t beat the Macintosh, Gates supported it, and in turn gained knowledge of graphical environments. He also made an agreement with Apple allowing him to use certain Macintosh features in Windows, an agreement that later landed both companies in court.

Finally, there was GEM, another graphical environment for the IBM PC, which appeared from Gary Kildall’s Digital Research, also in 1983. GEM is still out there, in fact, but the only GEM application of note is Ventura Publisher, a popular desktop publishing package for the IBM world, ironically sold by Xerox. Most Ventura users don’t even know they are using GEM.

Apple needed an edge against all these would-be competitors, and that edge was the laser printer. Hewlett-Packard introduced its LaserJet printer in 1984, setting a new standard for PC printing, but Steve Jobs wanted something much, much better, and when he saw the work that Warnock and Geschke were doing at Adobe, he knew they could give him the sort of printer he wanted. HP’s LaserJet output looked as if it came from a typewriter, while Jobs was determined that his LaserWriter output would look like it came from a typesetter.

Jobs used $2.5 million to buy 15 percent of Adobe, an extravagant move that was wildly unpopular among Apple’s top management, who generally gave up the money for lost and moved to keep Jobs from making other such investments in the future. Apple’s investment in Adobe was far from lost though. It eventually generated more than $10 billion in sales for Apple, and the stock was sold six years later for $89 million. Still, in 1984, conventional wisdom said the Adobe investment looked like a bad move.

The Apple LaserWriter used the same laser print mechanism that HP’s LaserJet did. It also used a special controller card that placed inside the printer what was then Apple’s most powerful computer; the printer itself was a computer. Adobe designed a printer controller for the LaserWriter, and Apple designed one too. Jobs arrogantly claimed that nobody—not even Adobe—could engineer as well as Apple, so he chose to use the Apple-designed controller. For many years, this was the only non-Adobe-designed PostScript controller on the market. The first generation of competitive PostScript printers from other companies all used the rejected Adobe controller and were substantially faster as a result.

The LaserWriter cost $7,000, too much for a printer that would be available to only a single microcomputer. Jobs, who still didn’t think that workers needed umbilical cords to their companies, saw the logic in at least having an umbilical cord to the LaserWriter, and so AppleTalk was born. AppleTalk was clever software that worked with the Zilog chip that controlled the Macintosh serial port, turning it into a medium-speed network connection. AppleTalk allowed up to thirty-two Macs to share a single LaserWriter.

At the same time that he was ordering AppleTalk, Jobs still didn’t understand the need to link computers together to share information. This antinetwork bias, which was based on his concept of the lone computist -- a digital Clint Eastwood character who, like Jobs, thought he needed nobody else -- persisted even years later when the NeXT computer system was introduced in 1988. Though the NeXT had built-in Ethernet networking, Jobs was still insisting that the proper use of his computer was to transfer data on a removable disk. He felt so strongly about this that for the first year, he refused orders for NeXT computers that were specifically configured to store data for other computers on the network. That would have been an impure use of his machine.

Adobe Systems rode fonts and printer software to more than $100 million in annual sales. By the time they reach that sales level, most software companies are being run by marketers rather than by programmers. The only two exceptions to this rule that I know of are Microsoft and Adobe -- companies that are more alike than their founders would like to believe.

Both Microsoft and Adobe think they are following the organizational model devised by Bob Taylor at Xerox PARC. But where Microsoft has a balkanized version of the Taylor model, got second-hand through Charles Simonyi, Warnock and Geschke got their inspiration directly from the master himself. Adobe is the closest a commercial software company can come to following Taylor’s organizational model and still make a profit.

The problem, of course, is that Bob Taylor’s model isn’t a very good one for making products or profits -- it was never intended to be -- and Adobe has been able to do both only through extraordinary acts of will.

As it was at PARC, what matters at Adobe is technology, not marketing. The people who matter are programmers, not marketers. Ideologically correct technology is more important than making money—a philosophy that clearly differentiates Adobe from Microsoft, where making money is the prime directive.

John Warnock looks at Microsoft and sees only shoddy technology. Bill Gates looks at Adobe and sees PostScript monks who are ignoring the real world -- the world controlled by Bill Gates. And it’s true; the people of Adobe see PostScript as a religion and hate Gates because he doesn’t buy into that religion.

There is a part of John Warnock that would like to have the same fatherly relationship with Bill Gates that he already has with Steve Jobs. But their values are too far apart, and, unlike Steve, Bill already has a father.

Being technologically correct is more important to Adobe than pleasing customers. In fact, pleasing customers is relatively unimportant. Early in 1985, for example, representatives from Apple came to ask Adobe’s help in making the Macintosh’s bitmapped fonts print faster. These were programmers from Adobe’s largest customer who had swallowed their pride to ask for help. Adobe said, “No.”

“They wanted to dump screens [to the printer] faster, and they wanted Apple-specific features added to the printer,” Warnock explained to me years later. “Apple came to me and said, ‘We want you to extend PostScript in a way that is proprietary to Apple.’ I had to say no. What they asked would have destroyed the value of the PostScript standard in the long term.”

If a customer that represented 75 percent of my income asked me to walk his dog, wash her car, teach their kids to read, or to help find a faster way to print bit-mapped fonts, I’d do it, even if it meant adding a couple proprietary features to PostScript, which already had lots of proprietary features -- proprietary to Adobe.

The scene with Apple was quickly forgotten, because putting bad experiences out of mind is the Adobe way. Adobe is like a family that pretends grandpa isn’t an alcoholic. Unlike Microsoft, with its screaming and willingness to occasionally ship schlock code, all that matters at Adobe is great technology and the appearance of calm.

A Stanford M.B.A. was hired to work as Adobe’s first evangelist, trying to get independent software developers to write PostScript applications. Technical evangelism usually means going on the road -- making contacts, distributing information, pushing the product. Adobe’s evangelist went more than a year without leaving the building on business. He spent his days up in the lab, playing with the programmers. His definition of evangelism was waiting for potential developers to call him, if they knew he existed at all. What’s amazing about this story is that this nonevangelist came under no criticism for his behavior. Nobody said a thing.

Nobody said anything, too, when a technical support worker occasionally appeared at work wearing a skirt. Nobody said, “Interesting skirt, Glenn.” Nobody said anything.

Some folks from Adobe came to visit InfoWorld one afternoon, and I asked about Display PostScript, a product that had been developed to bring PostScript fonts and graphics to Macintosh screens. Display PostScript had been licensed to Aldus for a new version of its PageMaker desktop publishing program called PageMaker Pro. But at the last minute, after the product was finished and the deal with Aldus was signed, Adobe decided that it didn’t want to do Display PostScript for the Macintosh after all. They took the product back, and scrambled hard to get Aldus to cancel PageMaker Pro, too. I wanted to know why they withdrew the product.

The product marketing manager for PostScript, the person whose sole function was to think about how to get people to buy more PostScript, claimed to have never heard of Display PostScript for the Mac or of PageMaker Pro. He looked bewildered.

“That was before you joined the company,” explained Steve MacDonald, an Adobe vice-president who was leading the group. ”You don’t tell new marketing people the history of their own products?” I asked, incredulous. “Or is it just the mistakes you don’t tell them about?”

MacDonald shrugged.

For all its apparent disdain for money, Adobe has an incredible ability to wring the stuff out of customers. In 1989, for example, every Adobe programmer, marketing executive, receptionist, and shipping clerk represented $357,000 in sales and $142,000 in profit. Adobe has the highest profit margins and the greatest sales per employee of any major computer hardware or software company, but such performance comes at a cost. Under the continual prodding of the company’s first chairman, a venture capitalist named Q. T. Wiles, Adobe worked hard to maximize earnings per share, which boosted the stock price. Warnock and Geschke, who didn’t know any better, did as Q. T. told them to.

Q. T. is gone now, his Adobe shares sold, but the company is trapped by its own profitability. Earnings per share are supposed to only rise at successful companies. If you earned a dollar per share last year, you had better earn $1.20 per share this year. But Adobe, where 400 people are responsible for more than $150 million in sales, was stretched thin from the start. The only way that the company could keep its earnings going ever upward was to get more work out of the same employees, which means that the couple of dozen programmers who work most of the technical miracles are under terrific pressure to produce.

This pressure to produce first became a problem when Warnock decided to do Adobe Illustrator, a PostScript drawing program for the Macintosh. Adobe’s customers to that point were companies like Apple and IBM, but Illustrator was meant to be sold to you and me, which meant that Adobe suddenly needed distributors, dealers, printers for manuals, duplicators for floppy disks—things that weren’t at all necessary when serving customers meant sending a reel of computer tape over to Cupertino in exchange for a few million dollars, thank you. But John Warnock wanted the world to have a PostScript drawing tool, and so the world would have a PostScript drawing tool. A brilliant programmer named Mike Schuster was pulled away from the company’s system software business to write the application as Warnock envisioned it.

In the retail software business, you introduce a product and then immediately start doing revisions to stay current with technology and fix bugs. John Warnock didn’t know this. Adobe Illustrator appeared in 1986, and Schuster was sent to work on other things. They should have kept someone working on Illustrator, improving it and fixing bugs, but there just wasn’t enough spare programmer power to allow that. A version of Illustrator for the IBM PC followed that was so bad it came to be called the “landfill version” inside the company. PC Illustrator should have been revised instantly, but wasn’t.

When Adobe finally got around to sprucing up the Macintosh version of Illustrator, they cleverly called the new version Illustrator 88, because it appeared in 1988. You could still buy Illustrator 88 in 1989, though. And in 1990. And even into 1991, when it was finally replaced by Illustrator 3.0. Adobe is not a marketing company.

In 1988, Bill Gates asked John Warnock for PostScript code and fonts to be included with the next version of Windows. With Adobe’s help users would be able to see the same beautiful printing on-screen that they could print on a PostScript printer. Gates, who never pays for anything if he can avoid it, wanted the code for free. He argued that giving PostScript code to Microsoft would lead to a dramatic increase in Adobe’s business selling fonts, and Adobe would benefit overall. Warnock said, “No.”

In September 1989, Apple Computer and Microsoft announced a strategic alliance against Adobe. As far as both companies were concerned, John Warnock had said “No” twice too often. Apple was giving Microsoft its software for building fonts in exchange for use of a PostScript clone that Microsoft had bought from a developer named Cal Bauer.

Forty million Apple dollars were going to Adobe each year, and clever Apple programmers, who still remembered being rejected by Adobe in 1985, were arguing that it would be cheaper to roll their own printing technology than to continue buying Adobe’s.

In mid-April, news had reached Adobe that Apple would soon announce the phasing out of PostScript in favor of its own code, to be included in the upcoming release of new Macintosh control software called System 7.0. A way had to be found fast to counter Apple’s strategy or change it.

Only a few weeks after learning Apple’s decision -- and before anything had been announced by Apple or Microsoft -- Adobe Type Manager, or ATM, was announced -- software that would bring Adobe fonts directly to Macintosh screens without the assistance of Apple since it would be sold directly to users. ATM, which would work only with fonts -- with words rather than pictures -- was replacing Display PostScript, which Adobe had already tried (and failed) to sell to Apple. ATM had the advantage over Apple’s System 7.0 software that it would work with older Macintoshes. Adobe’s underlying hope was that quick market acceptance of ATM would dissuade Apple from even setting out on its separate course.

But Apple made its announcement anyway, sold all its Adobe shares, and joined forces with Microsoft to destroy its former ally. Adobe’s threat to both Apple and Microsoft was so great that the two companies conveniently ignored their own yearlong court battle over the vestiges of an earlier agreement allowing Microsoft to use the look and feel of Apple’s Macintosh computer in Microsoft Windows.

Apple-Microsoft and Apple-Adobe are examples of strategic alliances as they are conducted in the personal computer industry. Like bears mating or teenage romances, strategic alliances are important but fleeting.

Apple chose to be associated with Adobe only as long as the relationship worked to Apple’s advantage. No sticking with old friends through thick and thin here.

For Microsoft, fonts and printing technology had been of little interest, since Gates saw as important what happened inside the box, not inside the printer. Then IBM decided it wanted the same fonts in both its computers and printers, only to discover that Microsoft, its traditional software development partner, had no font technology to offer. So IBM began working with Adobe and listening to the ideas of John Warnock.

If IBM is God in the PC universe then Bill Gates is the pope. Warnock, now talking directly with IBM, was both a heretic and a threat to Gates. Warnock claimed that Gates was not a good servant of God, that Microsoft’s technology was inferior. Worse, Warnock was correct, and Gates knew it. Control of the universe in the box was at stake.

Warnock and Adobe had to die, Gates decided, and if it took an unholy alliance with Apple and a temporary putting aside of legal conflicts between Microsoft and Apple to kill Adobe, then so be it.

This passion play of Adobe, Apple, and Microsoft could have taken place between companies in many industries, but what sets the personal computer industry apart is that the products in question -- Adobe Type Manager and Apple’s System 7.0 -- did not even exist.

Battles of midsized cars or two-ply toilet tissue take place on showroom floors and supermarket shelves, but in the personal computer industry, deals are cut and share prices fluctuate on the supposed attributes of products that have yet to be written or even fully designed. Apple’s offensive against Adobe was based on revealing the ongoing development of software that users could not expect to purchase for at least a year (two years, it turned out); Adobe’s response was a program that would take months to develop.

ATM was announced, then developed, essentially by a single programmer who used to joke with the Adobe marketing manager about whether the product or its introduction would be done first.

Both companies were dueling with intentions, backed up by the conviction of some computer hacker that given enough time and junk food, he could eventually write software that looked pretty much like what had just been announced with such fanfare.

As I said, computer graphics software is very hard to do well. By the middle of 1991, Apple and Adobe had made friends again, in part because Microsoft had not been able to fulfill its part of the deal with Apple. “Our entry into the printer software business has not succeeded,” Bill Gates wrote in a memo to his top managers. “Offering a cheap PostScript clone turned out to not only be very hard but completely irrelevant to helping our other problems. We overestimated the threat of Adobe as a competitor and ended up making them an ‘enemy,’ while we hurt our relationship with Hewlett-Packard …”

Overestimated the threat of Adobe as a competitor? In a way it’s true, because the computer world is moving on to other issues, leaving Adobe behind. Adobe makes more money than ever in its PostScript backwater, but is not wresting the operating system business from Microsoft, as both companies had expected.

With its reliance on only a few very good programmers. Adobe was forced to defend its existing businesses at the cost of its future. John Warnock is still a better programmer than Bill Gates, but he’ll never be as savvy.

Reprinted with permission

Photo Credit: NinaMalyna/Shutterstock

New Trump reality TV show would have CEOs swap jobs for a day

Publié: avril 1, 2013, 8:00am CEST par Joe Wilcox

Donald Trump is in negotiations with Fox and NBC to bring a new reality show to television, featuring corporate CEOs swapping roles. The concept is in advanced planning stages, with a mock-up pilot already shot and the two networks vying to add the series to their 2013-14 season. Normally, we don't bother with entertainment news at BetaNews, but two of the confirmed chief executives will interest our readership -- Apple's Tim Cook and Steve Ballmer of Microsoft.

Trump and NBC already have a working relationship on a number of projects from the original "The Apprentice" and its spin-offs. But Fox fiercely is negotiating rights, which aren't bound by Trump's existing contractual commitments with the Peacock network. News of the deal leaked Sunday night in an email accidentally -- or accidentally on purpose -- sent to several trade publications, including Variety. Leaks like this are often deliberate and designed to foil negotiations or to increase pressure on one of the parties.

The Ballmer and Cook connection is a fascinating subplot. While nowhere as reclusive as Steve Jobs, his successor has given only a few, select public interviews. So Cook's participation is at first surprising. But according to one of the documents attached to the leaked email, Trump put forth what I'll call a crazy plan to boost ratings: Bring back Jobs from the dead, using a spiritualist to channel him from the afterlife. Cook agreed to participate on the condition Trump abandons the Jobs-psychic thing and threatened to pull Apple advertising from any network airing the channeling segment.

But it's that aspect which has Fox executives chomping for the reality show. Apparently, the network is so intrigued by the spiritualist thing that executives approached Trump about doing a dead celebrity channeling series. Ha! I can't resist, please forgive me. The concept brings whole new meaning to channel surfing.

But that's a digression, while fascinating enough. The original concept is different. CEOs swap jobs for X time period. Producers want a week but only believe chief executives and their boards of directors will agree to 24 hours, according to one of two proposals attached to the leaked email.

There are other problems, such as disclosure of trade secrets. How can one CEO realistically step into another's role without learning something confidential about the other company? That goes for people filming the reality show, too. However, based on the proposals, Trump's interest is the shock value of, say, Ballmer's reaction to day-to-day operations at Apple and vice versa for Cook. The idea is to immerse the CEOs in their rival's corporate culture, without participating in meetings or going places that would jeopardize proprietary information.

In typical Trump "You're Fired!" fashion, shock is the goal. The concept greatly appeals to Fox, according to the leaked email. But privately, in one series of attached memos, producers raised concerns that the reality show would embarrass chief executives and damage their reputations. For this reason, the Trump organization proposes shooting a complete set of 13 episodes before airing any of them -- to prevent CEOs from dropping out of future filming after seeing the first segments. If either network accepts the proposal, the series, which is yet unnamed, wouldn't air until January 2014.

Trump or his producers have approached other CEOs about participating, some of which seem almost desperate for the publicity. Arianna Huffington, Marissa Mayer and Mark Zuckerberg are among some of the other chief executives on the shortlist. Each episode would focus on just two of them swapping jobs. A second proposal has execs from totally different businesses making the switch.

April Fools!

Photo Credit: Zaptik/Shutterstock

Gregarius » BetaNews.Com » avril 2013

Canaux

BetaNews.Com (226 non lus)

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