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BetaNews.Com (13 non lus)

Overdependence on one computer system grounds American Airlines

Publié: mai 2, 2013, 9:19pm CEST par Robert X. Cringely

This is not a big story, but I find it interesting. Last week American Airlines had its reservations computer system, called SABRE, go offline for most of a day leading to the cancellation of more than 700 flights. Details are still sketchy (here’s American’s video apology) but this is beginning to look like a classic example of a system that became too integrated and a company that was too dependent on a single technology.

To be clear, according to American the SABRE system did not itself fail, what failed was the airline’s access to its own system -- a networking problem. And for further clarification, American no longer owns SABRE, which was spun off several years ago as Sabre Holdings, but the airline is still the system’s largest customer. It’s interesting that Sabre Holdings has yet to say anything about this incident.

American built the first computerized airline reservation system back in the 1950s. It was so far ahead of its time that the airline not only had to write the software, it built the hardware, too. Over the years competing systems were developed at other airlines but some of those, TWA and United included, were splintered versions of SABRE. American has modernized and extended the same code base for over 50 years, which is long even by mainframe standards.

Today SABRE is probably the most intricate and complex system of its type on earth and Sabre Holdings sells SABRE technology to other industries like railroads and trucking companies. In many ways it is hard to dissociate the airline and the computer system, and that seems to be the problem last week.

The American SABRE system includes both a passenger reservation system and a flight operations system. Last week the passenger reservation system became inaccessible because of a networking issue. In addition to reservations, passenger check-in, and baggage tracking, the system also passes weight and location information over to the flight operations system which calculates flap settings and V speeds (target takeoff speeds based on aircraft weight and local weather) for each departure runway and flight combination. The lack of either system will cause flight delays or cancellations, not just because the calculations have to be done by hand, but because the company had become totally dependent on SABRE for running its business.

Without SABRE American literally didn’t know where its airplanes were.

Here’s an example. SABRE has backup computer systems, but all systems are dependent on a microswitch on the nose gear of every American airliner to tell when the plane has left the ground. That microswitch is the dreaded single point of failure. And while it may not be that switch that failed in this instance, it is still a second order failure because if you can’t communicate with the microswitch it may as well be busted.

That’s what happens with such inbred systems that no one person fully understands. But it’s easy to get complacent and American was used to having its systems up and running 24/7. The last significant computer outage at American, in fact, happened back in the 1980s.

That one was caused by a squirrel.

Reprinted with permission

Photo Credit: anderm/Shutterstock
Hotmail is dead, Outlook.com has 400 million users

Publié: mai 2, 2013, 8:15pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

Microsoft has been actively migrating customers from Hotmail to its Outlook.com service over the past six weeks. That migration ends today, as Microsoft announces completion of, not only the big move, but also that the company now has instant success from the latest web-based email offering.

"When Outlook.com came out of preview, it was already the fastest growing email service thanks to your support. The last two months have seen the release of a new, modern Outlook.com calendar, a refreshed Outlook.com app for Android devices, two-factor authentication for your account, new international domains for people around the world, and the release of a preview of Skype calling in Outlook.com" boasts Microsoft's Dick Craddock.

The company does not stop there, though. It also boasts that Outlook online now hosts more than 400 million users, though this is due, in part, to wayward Hotmail customers who had no choice in this matter. Give Microsoft credit though, as the company managed to pull off a migration of 150 petabytes of data in just a six week period.

With the migration complete, Craddock promises that attention turns to new features. Plans include the removal of the "on behalf of" that appeared when a customer sent a message using a switched account such as Gmail. Microsoft also plans deep SkyDrive integration, allowing users to directly inset files and images from the cloud storage service.

Microsoft launched Outlook.com using a brand name that has been long known to both consumers and business customers and, at the same time, killed off another major service. So far, the company seems to be pulling this off, but tomorrow is a new day.

Photo Credit: Fer Gregory/Shutterstock
Twitter updates Android and iOS apps

Publié: mai 2, 2013, 8:06pm CEST par Nick Peers

Twitter has released Twitter for iOS 5.6 and Twitter for Android 4.0.2, minor updates to its official apps for iPhone/iPad and Android mobile users. Both apps extend support for trend filtering by location to the mobile platform, the feature is already present in the web-based app.

Other changes to the iOS build include improved playback of Vine video, and the addition of an option to invite other people to join Twitter from within the app. Android users also gain enhancements to the menu button.

The option for switching between tailored and location-based trends is accessed from the Discover tab on the iPhone, iPod touch or Android phone -- tap Trends, scroll down and the new “Change location” option will appear at the bottom (Android users will also need to tap the menu button). Tapping this then allows users to first select a country and then a city or town. At the present time, only major cities are featured.

Version 5.6 for iOS also follows the recent Vine app update in improving the playback performance of Vine videos. It also changes the way replies to retweets are handled – now both the original tweeter and the person retweeting are included by default when replying. Finally, users can now invite other people to join Twitter from directly within the app itself.

Android users gain improvements to the menu button, tapping this now adds options for switching accounts and accessing the settings screen. Both mobile app updates are rounded off with the usual raft of non-specified bug fixes and performance improvements.

The new mobile apps follow hot on the heels of Twitter for Mac 2.2, a surprise update that added Retina display support, a new camera icon to the redesigned Tweet compose box for easy sharing of photos and support for 14 new languages, including French, Chinese, Spanish and German.

Twitter for iOS 5.6 is a free download for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.Twitter for Android 4.0.2 requires Android 2.1/2.2/2.3 or 4.1, and is also compatible with Kindle Fire and B&N Nooks. Twitter for Mac 2.2 requires OS 10.6.8 or later.
Grab your glass and toast Untappd on Windows Phone

Publié: mai 2, 2013, 6:19pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

"Hi, my name is Alan and I am..." okay, no, I'm not an alcoholic but I do love a good beer. I am especially a fan of dark brews -- stouts and porters. I have had the Untappd app on my Android phone for a while, and now those on Microsoft's mobile platform can partake in the fun.

Untappd launches today on Windows Phone, making drinking a social activity -- though perhaps it has always been that, except for George Thorogood. Untappd allows you to record all of the different brews you sample, discover new ones and even check-in as if it were Foursquare. The latter makes it easy to meet up with friends who are out imbibing.

The app gives users the ability to find nearby craft beers and micro-breweries, check out what brews are trending and see what their friends are drinking. Once you make your selection, you can rate it, post a photo of it and share it with friends or the world. Untappd will also share to Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare. It even has badges you can unlock based on location and the styles you try.

Untappd is a free app and arrives in the Windows Phone Store today, though for some strange reason the app is dated May 5. It is version 1.0 for the mobile platform, and if you enjoy a good beer, especially a craft brew, then you will want to check this one out.
Skype video messaging for Windows 8 out now

Publié: mai 2, 2013, 4:59pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

On April 30th, while announcing Skype video messaging for the desktop, Microsoft let it be known that the feature would be coming to the Windows 8 app soon, as well. The company did not lie -- soon arrives today. The communication app already had video calling, but Skype Video Messaging lets you record and send a video message, as opposed to making a live call. This enables getting your message across, even when the recipient is away from his or her PC or phone -- think SMS with video capability.

The new version of the Skype "Metro" app is officially 1.7 and available now from the Windows Store, although the feature is still considered a "preview".

Microsoft purchased Skype two years ago this month and has been slowly working the functionality into its software, such as Windows and Outlook.com. The company has also made Skype a feature of the Office 365 Home Premium subscription, by adding premium minutes into the package, along with expanded SkyDrive storage.

Microsoft's Yamin Khan tells us that "as we continue to test Video Messaging in its early release, we’d love to hear your feedback so we can continue to make improvements. Please let us know what you think of this feature by posting in the Skype Support Network". The company has proven to be much more responsive in recent times, so if you have a comment or suggestion then I recommend following Khan's advice.
LG Optimus G Pro comes to AT&T

Publié: mai 2, 2013, 2:54pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

US mobile operator AT&T has officially announced that starting tomorrow, May 3, the Optimus G Pro is available for pre-order from its online store. The smartphone, which was unveiled in mid-February, will go on sale a week after, from May 10, exclusively from AT&T.

The price of the Optimus G Pro falls in line with that of its fierce competition. On a two-year contract LG's Android smartphone flagship runs for $199.99, on par with Apple's iPhone 5, BlackBerry's Z10, HTC's One and Samsung's Galaxy S4. By contrast, the similarly-sized Galaxy Note II is available for $299.99 on a two-year contract.

Customers can also bring down the price of the Optimus G Pro to $99.99, alongside the same contract length, by trading-in a "recent model smartphone" to the US mobile operator. The device must be "no more than three years old and in good, working condition".

Some of the highlights of the Optimus G Pro include: 5.5-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1080 by 1920 and a 440 ppi (pixels per inch) density; 1.7 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor; 2 GB of RAM; 3,140 mAh battery; 32 GB of internal storage; microSD card slot; 13 MP back-facing camera with dual recording and support for 1080p video recording; 2.1 MP front shooter with dual recording and 1080p video recording support; Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean.
Is Jelly Bean more popular than Ice Cream Sandwich?

Publié: mai 2, 2013, 1:40pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

Last month Google altered the method of collecting data for its Android distribution charts, now measuring the popularity of the operating system iterations by visits to the app store instead of check-ins to the company's servers as before. The move significantly changed the results compared to the previous month, but is there a noticeable difference that is felt in the Android distribution charts for May?

Based on the number of devices visiting Google Play during the 14 days ending May 1, Jelly Bean now ranks as the most popular Android sweet, after Gingerbread. With a combined distribution level of 29.4 percent, for Android 4.1 and Android 4.2, Jelly Bean surpassed Ice Cream Sandwich, which now runs on 27.5 percent of all droids.

The Jelly Beans

Altogether, Jelly Bean has grown by 4.4 percentage points from 25 percent distribution level, which translates into a 17.6 percent increase compared to the previous data set from April. Android 4.1 rose to 2.3 percent from 2.0 percent -- 0.3 percentage points higher -- while Android 4.2 displayed a 3.1 percentage points rise to 26.1 percent in May from 23 percent distribution level in April.

Jelly Bean's growth, as shown in the charts, appears to be influenced more by the number of devices sold with (and upgraded to) Android 4.1 rather than smartphones and tablets running Android 4.2. Alongside the likes of the the Samsung Galaxy S4 -- which runs the second Jelly Bean iteration -- Android 4.2 is bound to get a boost in distribution level over the upcoming months. The first Jelly Bean iteration is likely to keep its popularity crown largely intact in the upcoming period due to sales of devices still running Android 4.1, like the HTC One.

Ice Cream Sandwich

Android 4.0, versions 4.0.3 and 4.0.4, reached a 27.5 percent distribution level in May, a number 1.8 percentage points lower compared to the 29.3 percent distribution level from April. This translates into a 6.14 percent decrease over the course of a single month.

Considering that new devices tend to run Android iterations from the Jelly Bean family, the fact that Android 4.0's popularity slowly decreases each month (bar last month when Google changed the data collection method) shouldn't come as a surprise.

The Older Sweets

Android 3.2 still runs on 0.1 percent of all droids, a number 0.1 percentage points lower compared to the data released in April. That's a 50 percent decrease over the course of a single month, but normal considering the scarce popularity that Honeycomb enjoyed after it was unveiled and the number of Android tablets swarming on the market which may have swayed fondleslab owners towards newer devices.

If you were hoping for Gingerbread to be finally surpassed by a newer sweet, you are going to be disappointed. Android 2.3 -- versions 2.3 to 2.3.2. and 2.3.3 to 2.3.7 -- reached a combined distribution level of 38.5 percent. 0.1 percent for the former version and 38.4 percent for the latter.

That's 1.3 percentage points lower from 39.8 percent in the month before, which implies a 3.26 percent decrease since April. Gingerbread's popularity, as expected, will go down further in the upcoming months.

Froyo, Eclair and Donut -- the only Android iterations from the charts older than Gingerbread -- reached a combined distribution level of 5.5 percent, 0.3 percentage points lower than the 5.8 percent in the month before. The 5.17 percent decrease is influenced by droid users switching to a newer device.

What Comes Next?

Google used to provide a historical dataset, but the search giant removed it when the new data collection method was implemented last month. Although we don't have a solid enough basis for comparison purposes, it's fair to assume that the trend depicted in May will continue over the upcoming months at least until Google releases a new Android iteration (it's bound to happen sometime).
Google’s self-driving cars gather nearly 1GB of sensor data every second -- would you trust them?

Publié: mai 2, 2013, 12:46pm CEST par Wayne Williams

While all the press attention is focused on Google Glass, there’s another even more life-changing invention continuing to be developed and refined at Google. The company’s self-driving cars have already driven more than 400,000 miles without an accident (there have been two crashes -- in the first the Google car was rear-ended at a stop light, and in the second it was being driven by a human).

Although they won’t likely become commonplace on our roads for another 15 to 20 years, make no mistake, driver-less cars are the future, and will have lots of benefits. Aside from reducing accidents, they’ll be able to travel much faster -- no need for speed limits -- and give passengers (and we’ll all be passengers) time to do other things. Forget working from home, you’ll be able to work from your car.

Eventually it will also mean driving under the influence will be a thing of the past, as will road traffic cops.

Of course it all depends on how well, and how quickly, our governments embrace the idea. Will we see secondary super-fast roads just for driverless cars? Will self-driving vehicles be allowed to drive on regular roads alongside human drivers (certainly that’s the goal)? And will human drivers eventually be outlawed?

It still seems very much like a science fiction story, but it’s very real, and at the weekend Google dropped an interesting snippet of information. In order to intelligently make decisions, its self-driving cars gather some 750MB of sensor data every second.

In a LinkedIn post today, Bill Gross, founder and CEO of Idealab shared an image of what Google’s self-driving car "sees" while it is about to make a left turn. He says:

It is capturing every single thing that it sees moving -- cars, trucks, birds, rolling balls, dropped cigarette butts, and fusing all that together to make its decisions while driving. If it sees a cigarette butt, it knows a person might be creeping out from between cars. If it sees a rolling ball it knows a child might run out from a driveway. I am truly stunned by how impressive an achievement this is. I believe that this is an UNDER-hyped revolution in the making.

He also posted another image from the same set.

There’s no question Bill Gross is right. This is an under-hyped revolution in the making, but is it one that drivers will embrace? Maybe in 15-20 years we’ll be so plugged in that we won’t think twice about handing over the keys to a computer chauffeur. But at the moment I think certainly outside of the real gridlocked cities, people like to drive and trust in their own abilities behind the wheel.

If you’re in a car, and you suddenly see an accident up ahead, would you trust a computer -- with all its high-tech data gathering sensors -- to make the right choice to avoid it, or would you prefer to be the one taking action?

I’d love to know your thoughts on this subject, so leave your comments below.
Mozilla takes on spyware maker

Publié: mai 2, 2013, 12:00pm CEST par Ian Barker

The Mozilla Foundation is accusing Gamma International, a UK-based software group, of making a false association between one of its products and the Firefox name.

Gamma International produces FinFisher, a program used by governments to obtain data in a covert way. FinFisher is often installed by disguising itself as an update to a well known program such as Firefox. Mozilla has now sent a cease and desist letter to Gamma claiming that its Firefox trademark is being violated and that the practice must end immediately.

Alex Fowler in charge of privacy and public policy at Mozilla says on his blog,

As an open source project trusted by hundreds of millions of people around the world, defending Mozilla’s trademarks from this type of abuse is vital to our brand, our users and the continued success of our mission. Mozilla has a longstanding history of protecting users online and was named the Most Trusted Internet Company for Privacy in 2012 by the Ponemon Institute. We cannot abide a software company using our name to disguise online surveillance tools that can be -- and in several cases actually have been -- used by Gamma’s customers to violate citizens’ human rights and online privacy.

Mozilla has acted following a report from the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab on digital spying. The report compares a legitimate install of Firefox with what the report’s authors claim is a FinFisher install. This, they say, comes labeled with version numbers, copyright details and descriptions from a legitimate Firefox version.

Photo credit: olly/Shutterstock
eM Client 5.0 delivers email better

Publié: mai 2, 2013, 8:58am CEST par Nick Peers

Email remains one of the most popular forms of communication in the world, currently fending off the unwanted attentions of Twitter, Facebook and Skype after effortlessly swatting away the threat of SMS and the printed letter. Yet we’re increasingly happy to entrust our email to the cloud, accessing through a web browser whenever we want to stay in touch.

Whether or not your email is with a cloud-based provider like Gmail or Hotmail, there’s always room for a decent email client. And if you want something that’s simple, elegant and feature-packed, we suggest you take a closer look at eM Client 5.0.

From the moment installation finishes, you see how helpful and simple eM Client wants to be. From offering you a choice of three minimalist skins to detecting existing programs and importing messages, contacts and other online information (including calendars and chat histories), the program bends over backwards to make migration as simple a process as possible.

Before you know it, you’re up and running, contacts paired and messages synchronising in the background. Everything you expect from a fully formed email client is here, from support for encrypted messages to signatures and templates, email rules and both global and search folders. We especially like the right-hand sidebar, where extra information about a selected email’s sender is displayed, including all past messages from that person.

But eM Client is more than just a client for email -- it handles contacts, calendars, tasks and even chat, with support for Facebook, Skype, ICQ, Yahoo! And Google support. Throw in customizable and RSS widgets, and you’re looking at one fully featured mail client. You can even back up and restore your accounts and messages from within the program.

There is one downside to all this functionality: the Free version is limited to non-commercial use and two email accounts. If you need more, then you’ll have to upgrade to the Pro version for the princely sum of $49.95. But you get 30 days to decide which is for you before choosing which license to go for.

eM Client 5.0 is available now as a free download for PCs running Windows XP or later.

Photo Credit: 2jenn/Shutterstock

Nexus 7 lifts ASUS to third place

Publié: mai 2, 2013, 7:21am CEST par Joe Wilcox

So much for Apple's tablet reign that analysts stoutly stood by even just months ago. Android kicks ass, crushing iOS shipments during first quarter, according to IDC. Among the top four, the fruit-logo company posted the lowest year-over-year growth (65.3 percent), and considerably less than the overall market (142.4 percent). Meanwhile, the company's market share fell by 18.5 points to 39.6 percent.

Among tablet manufacturers, Apple is market leader, with the question being for how much longer. Samsung share rose 282.6 percent -- ASUS even more (350 percent). Strong Nexus 7 shipments pushed ASUS past Amazon to take third place. ASUS' challenge and opportunity could be Google I/O, where the tablet launched last year and new model is rumored for the event starting May 15. Challenge is maintaining shipments during product transition; opportunity is capitalizing on new sales.

Measured by operating system, Android soared 247.5 percent year over year, with market share rising to 56.5 percent from 39.4 percent. iOS was near mirror opposite, falling from 58.1 percent to 39.6 percent.

Despite share losses and slower growth, "sustained demand for the iPad mini and increasingly strong commercial shipments led to a better-than expected first quarter for Apple", Tom Mainelli, IDC research director, says. "In addition, by moving the iPad launch to the fourth quarter of 2012, Apple seems to have avoided the typical first-quarter slowdown that traditionally occurred when consumers held off buying in January and February in anticipation of a new product launch in March".

So there's the silver lining. For the previous three years, new iPads launched in March or April. Apple launched a second iPad in late 2012 concurrent with the mini's introduction, changing the release cycle.

Microsoft is the quarter's biggest surprise, with tablet shipments soaring 700 percent, arguably from smaller base. IDC puts Surface shipments at 900,000 for the quarter, majority the Pro model. A week ago, Strategy Analytics also tallied stronger-than-expected Q1 Surface shipments.

NPD DisplaySearch predicts that 7-7.9-inch tablets will account for nearly half of tablet shipments this year, a big shift downward in screen size. Microsoft is headed there, too.

Top Five Tablet Vendors, Shipments, and Market Share, First Quarter 2013 (Shipments in millions)

Vendor	1Q13 Unit Shipments	1Q13 Market Share	1Q12 Unit Shipments	1Q12 Market Share	Year-over-Year Growth
1. Apple	19.5	39.6%	11.8	58.1%	65.3%
2. Samsung	8.8	17.9%	2.3	11.3%	282.6%
3. ASUS	2.7	5.5%	0.6	3.1%	350.0%
4. Amazon.com Inc.	1.8	3.7%	0.7	3.6%	157.1%
5. Microsoft	0.9	1.8%	0.0	N/A	N/A
Others	15.5	31.5%	4.9	24.1%	216.3%
Total	49.2	100.0%	20.3	100.0%	142.4%

Source: IDC Worldwide Tablet Tracker, May 1, 2013

Last month, CFO Peter Klein said 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".

Ryan Reith, IDC program manager, sees little promise in "smaller screen Windows RT and Windows 8 tablets hitting the market. He emphasizes: "The notion that this will be the saving grace is flawed. Clearly the market is moving toward smart 7-8 inch devices, but Microsoft's larger challenges center around consumer messaging and lower cost competition".

Top Tablet Operating Systems, Shipments, and Market Share, 2013 Q1 (Shipments in Millions)

Vendor	1Q13 Unit Shipments	1Q13 Market Share	1Q12 Unit Shipments	1Q12 Market Share	Year-over-Year Growth
Android	27.8	56.5%	8.0	39.4%	247.5%
iOS	19.5	39.6%	11.8	58.1%	65.3%
Windows	1.6	3.3%	0.2	1.0%	700.0%
Windows RT	0.2	0.4%	0.0	N/A	N/A
Others	0.1	0.2%	0.2	1.0%	-50.0%
Total	49.2	100.0%	20.3	100.0%	142.4%

Source: IDC Worldwide Tablet Tracker, May 1, 2013

Execution will be everything. "If these challenges are addressed, along with the desired screen size variations, then we could see Microsoft make even further headway in 2013 and beyond", Reith emphasizes.

Unlike smartphones, where Apple and Samsung, Android and iOS, dominate the market, tablets are increasingly uncertain, particularly in context of iPad's share losses (even as shipments rise). Where Windows Phone unlikely will gain much share, plenty of opportunity remains for Windows 8/RT. Shipments through fourth quarter will answer how much.

Malware Scene Investigator is your forensic savior

Publié: mai 2, 2013, 6:19am CEST par Mike Williams

Your PC is behaving strangely. You think it might have been infected by something, but your regular antivirus tool hasn’t raised an alert. And so you decide to try and investigate the problem yourself.

Figuring out where to begin can be difficult, though. Which drivers should you investigate, which startup programs or processes? If you want to manually search for malware but aren’t sure where to start, then the free Malware Scene Investigator could prove very useful.

The program is a tiny download (500KB), portable and extremely easy to use. Close any running programs, launch Malware Scene Investigator, click Start Scan, and a tabbed interface then displays the results in two forms. Clicking Report provides a quick summary, while the Detailed Log tab gives you a more in-depth view.

The program may be small, but Malware Scene Investigator isn’t short on ambition. The program aims to highlight HOSTS file manipulation, unknown drivers, and dubious proxy settings. It looks for unusual disk partitions, Registry modifications or startup programs. You’ll be warned of executable files in your temporary folders (a common route for malware), and the report includes general information about your PC’s state (open network connections, running processes, scheduled tasks, recently created \Windows\System32 files, and more).

We tested this out on a test PC, and the program generally did very well. It highlighted some active third-party drivers, for instance; picked out an unusual Windows service setting; even warned us about a suspicious startup entry which we had already become concerned about separately. This turned out to be entirely innocent, but it was impressive that, while we had spent some time in identifying this file, Malware Scene Investigator managed to highlight the same executable in around two seconds.

Checking for outdated software was less successful, though, at least in our case. The program claimed that we had an outdated version of Flash installed, but this wasn’t true: it just hadn’t identified our installed Flash version correctly.

Malware Scene Investigator isn’t for novices, then. And you can’t rely 100% on everything it says: the program can only give you pointers as to what you should investigate next.

But, if you are worried a PC has been infected by malware, or just want a general security check, then the program is worth a try, and it certainly deserves a place in your security toolkit.

Photo Credit: Johan Swanepoel/Shutterstock
Google preps 'packaged apps' for Chrome stable channel

Publié: mai 2, 2013, 1:32am CEST par Joe Wilcox

I/O starts two weeks from today, and Google wastes no time whetting developer interests. Yesterday, the search and information giant revealed new Google+ Sign-In benefits. Today there are changes regarding "packaged apps". Surely the big stuff will wait for the keynote, which takes place on a single day this year, but expect more like last two days beforehand.

"Starting today Chrome packaged apps will be available in the Chrome Web Store for anyone on Chrome's developer channel on Windows and Chrome OS", Amanda Bishop, Google product manager, says. "You will notice that the App category now contains only the new Chrome packaged apps. A new category, called Websites, contains all existing hosted apps and legacy packaged apps". She tempts me to change Chrome channels, but I'll wait. And you?

Packaged apps are what make Chrome a viable platform alternative, whether usurping operating systems like Windows or running on Google's browser-based Linux. Unlike other Web apps, packaged ones are capable of running just fine offline. Third-party packaged app 500px, designed with Chromebook Pixel in mind, is good example of what can be accomplished. Weather Bug is another.

In May 2011, I called Google's browser and operating system the ghost of Netscape that haunts Microsoft: "Enter Chrome or Chrome OS as platform for web apps connected to Google cloud product/services like Apps, Calendar and Gmail". Like Netscape, Google seeks to make the browser, running on whatever OS, its own development platform. Web apps are start. Packaged apps are better, running in Chrome on or offline.

Google still has a long way to go. For April, Net Applications puts Chrome global browser usage share at 16.35 percent -- that's four months of consecutive declines and down from 19.58 percent in May 2012. Internet Explorer: 55.81 percent. To clarify, contrary to NetApps statements, its numbers measure usage share, not market share. The difference is significant because people may use multiple browsers.

"If you’ve written a packaged app, or are working on one, now is a great time to get some early feedback and polish your app before Chrome packaged apps become more broadly available", Bishop says.

They won't stay in the developer channel forever. Chrome 26 is stable, 27 beta and 28 developer. Someone correct me if I'm mistaken, but if you move up channel you can't easily go back until the next stable release. Conceptually then, packaged apps are just two versions from public release. Chrome 27 could drop any day, based on recent releases, unless Google holds back for its developer conference.

There are currently three packaged app sessions planned for Google I/O 2013, one the first day and two on the third.