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BetaNews.Com (12 non lus)

Outlook 2013 will finally come to Windows RT

Publié: juin 5, 2013, 5:28pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

On Wednesday, Microsoft revealed that Outlook 2013 finally arrives on Windows RT later this year, alongside the free Windows 8.1 upgrade. The application, known for offering advanced contacts, calendar and email functionality, joins Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote, part of Office Home and Student 2013, on the tablet operating system.

"Windows on ARM is a core part of our strategy today and moving forward, and the addition of Outlook further enriches this world of new on-the-go opportunities for partners and customers", says Microsoft's Tami Reller. According to the software giant, Outlook is one of the most sought-after applications on Windows RT, being a "popular request from consumers and businesses alike".

Microsoft launched Windows RT on October 26, last year, and was criticized by a number of vocal users for not including Outlook 2013 from the get-go alongside Office Home and Student 2013. The popular application includes a number of enhancements and new features over its predecessor (Outlook 2010) for using commands, viewing and replying to messages.

Microsoft has yet to assert itself as an important player on the tablet market. With a low 7.5 percent share, the software giant's operating systems -- Windows 8 and Windows RT -- lag considerably behind the two leaders -- iOS and Android -- which dominate 91.6 percent of market. Outlook 2013 may not dramatically impact its standing, but it can help pave the way towards a more rewarding user experience.
Pandora launches improved big screen experience

Publié: juin 5, 2013, 4:30pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

Pandora, which has long been my music app of choice, is part of many set-top boxes and smart TV's -- it is even built into my DVR. Today the music service introduces an all new big screen experience, launching its official TV service -- another step towards making the radio app available virtually everywhere.

TV.Pandora.com hits the market aiming at Xbox 360, smart TVs, set-top boxes and more. According to Tom Conrad from Pandora, "The next generation of Pandora for the living room is an entirely new experience designed from the ground up for your television and remote control. This new initiative is standards-based and embraces next generation TV, game console, and set top box architectures that support open web standard".

The company tells us that the new Pandora will run in a browser on an XBox 360 or Playstation 3 and that the system will spread to other environments as more vendors move to bring standards-compliant TV’s and set top boxes to market in the coming months.

Conrad claims that "to date more than 10 million listeners have enjoyed Pandora on their internet-connected television". Impressive numbers, but Pandora is locked in a battle with other competitors, most recently Google Music All Access, which brings Pandora-like capability, but adds much more, making the playing field unlevel once again.
The BlackBerry Q10 is NOW available to pre-order at AT&T

Publié: juin 5, 2013, 3:38pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

One week after US mobile operator Verizon introduced the BlackBerry Q10 for pre-order, rival carrier AT&T has revealed that its subscribers can now also register their interest in the QWERTY smartphone before it officially goes on sale.

"Building on our strong BlackBerry heritage, we are excited to announce that beginning June 5 customers can pre-order the BlackBerry Q10", says AT&T's Jeff Bradley. At AT&T, the handset is available to pre-order for $199.99 alongside the usual two-year contract.

The US mobile operator also offers the BlackBerry Q10 with shorter agreements. With a one-year contract the smartphone runs for $449.99, and with a month-to-month plan it goes for $584.99.

The BlackBerry Q10 specifications include: 3.1-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 720 by 720 and a 330 ppi (pixels per inch density); 1.5 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor; 2 GB of RAM; 2,100 mAh battery; 8 MP camera on the back and 2 MP shooter on the front (1080p video recording with the former, 720p video capture with the latter); 16 GB of internal storage; microSD card slot (can accommodate 32 GB cards); 4G LTE connectivity; Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n; Bluetooth 4.0 and BlackBerry 10 operating system. The smartphone comes in at 4.7 x 2.62 x 0.4 inches and 4.9 ounces.

According to an IDC report, based on sales, in Q1 2013 BlackBerry barely managed to surpass Windows Phone in terms of market share (based on shipments, the hierarchy is reversed). The Canadian maker only has a three percent cut of the market with its smartphone operating system, a mere 0.1 percentage point higher compared to Windows Phone's 2.9 percent.

BlackBerry moved 6.2 million units, a number which includes BlackBerry Z10 sales, but that figure was mostly achieved through older devices. Expanded availability and carrier support for the BlackBerry Q10 can beef up both its market share and sales in the coming quarters.
PlexConnect brings Plex goodness to the Apple TV crowd

Publié: juin 5, 2013, 2:24pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

Have media files and looking for a better way to stream them? Good news then. Plex, the amazing little server/client that helps users send media to all sorts of devices (and which originally forked from XBMC) just got better for Apple TV customers.

Plex's developer announces a new PlexConnect app built on its API. The same API which is used to port the service to the web, Roku, Samsung TV, Google TV and more.

This latest app adds full functionality where it never was before -- "there’s one little box in the living room which hasn’t been as fully compatible with Plex as we’ve liked, and that’s the Apple TV", says Plex.

PlexConnect is essentially a hack which allows a fully-functional Plex client on un-jailbroken Apple TV2 and Apple TV3 devices. The company explains the process as "you run a program on your computer which masquerades as the Trailer app. Next, change one setting on the ATV". Not exactly detailed instructions! Fortunately there is a Wiki to fill the void.

PlexConnect supports the new transcoder (with Sub-titles), iTunes DRM video files and AC3 5.1, with myPlex support on the way. To grab this new app, you will need to head over to Github.

Plex's Elan cautions that "these are early days still, you’ll need to know your way around a Terminal, but I expect a more polished installer isn’t far off. Check out their wiki for more information".

If Plex for Apple TV works half as well as it does for Google TV, then customers are certainly in for a treat. The Media Server and Media Client team together to make one of the smoothest services I have used.
Pipe exits beta and lets Facebook users swap files up to 1GB in size

Publié: juin 5, 2013, 2:13pm CEST par Mark Wilson

Facebook is great for sharing thoughts, links, complaints and pictures with your friends, family and colleagues but, until now, there has been no easy way to share files through the social network. Pipe is a Facebook app that has undergone private testing for some time, but is at last available for everyone to use. Once installed, Pipe will let you send files of up to 1GB in size to your Facebook friends.

The app works by setting up a P2P connection between you and anyone you decide to share a file with. Ordinarily, file transfers are carried out in real-time, but if you want to send a file to a friend who is not currently online, it will be securely stored until they are available. This reduces the size limit right down to 100MB but it is possible to send an unlimited number of files in this way.

Any type of file can be sent through Pipe and users are not restricted to sharing files with friends who are already using the service. You can share a file with anyone you like and they will be prompted to install the app before they will be able to download the item.

This app is well worth checking out even if it's just for the sake of nostalgia -- there's an 8-bit Mario vibe to the website and Facebook page -- and the promo video also features some delightfully retro music.
Samsung unveils the rugged Galaxy S4 Active

Publié: juin 5, 2013, 1:34pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

Following the Galaxy S4 Mini, on Wednesday, South Korean manufacturer Samsung introduced a new smartphone in its high-end Android lineup. Called the Galaxy S4 Active, the handset sports similar hardware specifications to the company's current green droid flagship -- the Galaxy S4 -- but in a more rugged packaging.

"The Galaxy S4 Active is the newest addition to the Galaxy series and is purposefully designed for active users who love the outdoors", says Samsung CEO JK Shin. "Samsung has taken the innovative features of the Galaxy S4 and added breakthrough protective design elements to create a device that thrives in an active environment and is built for a lifestyle of travel and exploration".

The latest member of the upscale Android lineup, unlike the mundane Galaxy S4 Mini, does not skimp on high-end hardware. The Galaxy S4 Active features a 5-inch LCD display with a resolution of 1080 by 1920 and a 443 ppi (pixels per inch) density. The screen can be operated using gloves, similar to other high-end smartphones like the Nokia Lumia 920.

It is worth noting that, with the rugged smartphone, Samsung opts for an LCD panel instead of an AMOLED unit, like on the Galaxy S4. Based on my experience, the company's decision is most likely influenced by the poor outdoor visibility which plagues the AMOLED display on the Galaxy S4. Samsung also uses physical buttons, instead of capacitive ones, due to their ability to work in harsh conditions.

The Galaxy S4 Active is powered by a 1.9 GHz quad-core processor, 2 GB of RAM and a 2,600 mAh battery. This configuration is similar to the one found in the Galaxy S4, suggesting that the South Korean manufacturer uses the same processor -- the Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 -- in the former model as well.

Where the two smartphones also differ is in the camera department. The Galaxy S4 Active comes with an 8 MP back-facing shooter, compared to the Galaxy S4's 13 MP unit, which can take stills and record videos underwater. Both devices feature a 2 MP camera on the front.

The rugged smartphone can also be used to listen to music underwater (with a set of earbuds or headphones) due to its water-resistant headphone jack. According to Samsung, the Galaxy S4 Active is IP67-certified for dust and waterproofing and can be submerged for up to 30 minutes underwater at a shallow depth of one meter.

Other specifications include: 4G LTE and HSPA+ cellular connectivity; Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac; Infrared; Bluetooth 4.0; NFC (Near Field Communication); USB 2.0 and the standard array of sensors.

The Galaxy S4 Active comes with 16 GB of internal storage and a microSD card slot (which can accommodate memory cards up to 64 GB in size). Interestingly enough, Samsung specifically mentions the internal user-accessible capacity -- 11.25 GB -- likely to clear the air before the smartphone officially goes on sale. By contrast, the Galaxy S4 arrives with roughly 9.2 GB of free storage out-of-the-box.

The smartphone runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean and features the usual Samsung-branded apps including ChatOn, Hub, Group Play, S Health, Story Album and WatchON among others.

The Galaxy S4 Active comes in at 139.7 x 71.3 x 9.1 mm and 151 grams. By comparison, the Galaxy S4 is slightly shorter, narrower, thinner and lighter, measuring 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm and weighing in at 130 grams.

Available color options include Urban Grey, Dive Blue and Orange Flare. The Galaxy S4 Active will be available starting this summer, with the US and Sweden receiving the smartphone first.
Mistakes cost millions says data breach report

Publié: juin 5, 2013, 1:00pm CEST par Ian Barker

Symantec in conjunction with the Ponemon Institute has released a new study into the cost of data breaches. What it reveals is that whilst most of us worry about malware and hackers, it’s actually mistakes and system errors that cause the majority of breaches.

According to the survey, glitches and negligence between them accounted for 64 percent of last year’s data breaches. This includes employees leaking or mishandling information, violation of regulations, accidental data dumps and stolen or lost laptops.

What’s worrying is that many employees don’t realise they're doing anything wrong. Around 62 percent of employees think it’s acceptable to transfer corporate data on to personal devices and a majority of those don’t delete it afterwards, leaving the data vulnerable to leaks.

Whilst the cost of a data breach varies around the world, it's estimated at $159 per record in the United States. That puts the total cost per breach last year at $5.4 million, though the good news is it marks a decline from 2010’s peak of $7.24 million.

If you're worried about how much this might cost your company Symantec has produced a handy Data Breach Calculator to help you work it out. Once you've scared your boss with that you can look at practical steps to reduce the risk including improved training, use of encryption and identifying the most vulnerable data.

You can read more and access the full report on Symantec’s Connect blog.
Microsoft invites you to take a first look at Windows 8.1 in action

Publié: juin 5, 2013, 10:30am CEST par Wayne Williams

We've written a lot about Windows 8.1 lately. We covered what to expect, and reported on the return of the Start button, the official Windows 8.1 announcement from Microsoft, and most recently the changes the software giant has made to woo the enterprise. But unless you downloaded and played around with one of the early leaked builds, you won’t yet have seen the Windows 8 refresh in action.

Well, Microsoft has just released a "First look at Windows 8.1" video which provides a preview showing just some of the highlights to look forward to (or to absolutely despise, depending on your perspective).

The changes include the ability to turn the lockscreen into a cloud powered photo frame, new tile sizes, improved Apps screen, better Start screen personalization options, SkyDrive integration, multi-tasking, and a new search feature.

The video’s presenter, Jensen Harris from the Windows User Experience Team, doesn’t mention the return of the Start button, or show it, but that’s to be expected.

To go with the launch of the 4.31 minute clip, Microsoft has released a new blog post discussing the Windows 8.1 updates shared at Computex.

After watching the video, I have to say Windows 8.1 is looking pretty good. But what do you think? Are you excited to get your hands on the preview build when it arrives on June 26? As always, leave your comments below.
Is your anti-malware software doing its job? AMTSO launches tools that may reveal all

Publié: juin 5, 2013, 9:55am CEST par Mark Wilson

The importance of having virus and malware protection installed is something that is drummed into every computer user. There are countless security tools to choose from these days, and numerous reviews to help you to decide between them. But how can you be sure that the software you have opted to use is doing its job properly?

AMTSO (the Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization) has a series of tools that can help you to find out whether your computer really is protected. Does the fact that your system seems to be free from malware mean that your security software is offering suitable protection, or that you have just been lucky so far?

If you want to check the state of your defences, the AMTSO website is home to a series of testing tools. These are relatively simple affairs which will check to see whether your browser, operating system and other software are configured to block malicious and drive-by downloads, phishing attacks and more.

In the past, AMTSO has come under fire for having a membership that appeared to be comprised mainly of anti-virus companies. Over the last year the organization has tried to improve its reputation.

But the online tools seem simplistic at best and little advice is given about what to do if your computer fails any of the tests. A positive result could be reassuring, or a placebo -- there's little way of knowing. Take a look for yourself and see what you think. Do you view the tests as cynically as me?

Photo Credit: Svinkin/Shutterstock
Lenovo Reaches for the clouds

Publié: juin 5, 2013, 9:46am CEST par Brian Fagioli

As the cloud computing gold rush continues, more and more companies are trying to lay their claim. Like it or not, the future of computing is the cloud. Make no mistake -- whoever controls the cloud will control the web and computing overall. With that said, major computer manufacturer, Lenovo, has decided to get into the ring with its newly announced cloud platform named Reach. It will work on both Lenovo and non-Lenovo computers.

The company says that Reach "…allows users to access social networks, favorite applications, as well as help them find files, photos and other digital media across your online storage accounts, no matter where users put them".

While Lenovo commands respect in the business market (and to a lesser extent the consumer market), it is a surprise player in the cloud computing sector which is a business dominated by Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft SkyDrive and many others. There may not be room for Lenovo in this space, almost all of the pieces of pie have been claimed and eaten.

Lenovo is offering 5GB of storage -- enough for most users but not that competitive by current standards. By comparison, SkyDrive offers 7GB while Google supplies 15GB (shared between Gmail, Google+ and Google Drive). Dropbox starts at a very small 2GB but does offer promotions for users to increase the storage, such as referrals.

Lenovo claims that Reach will be available on all major operating systems. However, it later clarifies the availability to Windows (7 and 8), Android and iOS. Sadly, Lenovo does not seem to think of Linux or Mac OSX as major operating systems -- both are excluded. While this may be enough for most users, it is also not competitive. For example, Skydrive adds Mac OSX support and Dropbox adds support for both Mac OSX and Linux.

Also, while accessing the user’s favorite applications sounds like an amazing feature, it appears to be nothing more than shortcuts to web-apps. While a welcome and appreciated addition, it is really nothing more than glorified bookmark-synching.

Lenovo Reach will be available in limited beta testing, in North America, on June 22. The service will launch globally, later in 2013. You can sign-up for the beta test at the sign-up site.

While the service is not yet live, the download links apparently are -- Windows and Android users can download the .exe or .apk files at the Reach support site.

Do you think there is room for Lenovo, or is the company arriving too late? Tell me in the comments.
Kingsoft Office 2013 Free revamps interface, improves support for new Office formats

Publié: juin 5, 2013, 9:28am CEST par Nick Peers

Hong Kong-based developer Kingsoft Software has released KingSoft Office Suite Free 2013, a brand new version of its sleek free alternative to Microsoft Office. Version 9.1.0.4056 makes its bow with a redesigned user interface with choice of three skins, plus improves support for the latest Office formats. There’s better support for foreign characters as well as date and number formats too, while users can now undo changes even after saving documents.

The suite consists of three tools -- Writer, Spreadsheets and Presentation -- all of which gain specific new features and improvements. All three sport a ribbon-based user interface with one key advantage over Office’s own: the ability to view and switch between multiple documents in a single tabbed window.

The 2013 build opens with a choice of two new interface styles, both based on the ribbon UI introduced in Kingsoft Office 2012 and sporting a look designed to appeal to fans of Windows 8′s new Modern UI. Users can now easily switch between these two styles -- 2013 Elegant Black and 2013 Water Blue -- as well as a traditional Classic interface that eschews the ribbon in favor of traditional menus and toolbars -- from within the main program itself. Note users can access the menu via the [Alt] key when using either of the 2013 skins.

Other suite-wide new features include widened support for date and number formats across Europe, the US, UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, along with the ability to now insert both Euro and British pound (sterling) symbols directly using the keyboard. Foreign characters can now also be directly entered using the keyboard thanks to added support for the [Alt Gr] key.

Users now also benefit from being able to undo actions even after saving documents, plus can now create new documents from other templates. All three apps also gain a number of optimizations, chief of which are improved support for the newer PowerPoint and Excel (.pptx, .xlsx) formats.

Kingsoft Writer gains support for the line numbers function as well as showing footnote/endnote separator functions. Users are now also able to specify when choosing to embed TrueType fonts in documents that only specific characters used in the actual document are embedded in order to keep the file size down. Also added is an option for remembering the dimensions of new tables.

Kingsoft Spreadsheets expands its maximum worksheet size to 1,048,576 rows by 16,384 columns, plus adds support for the goal seek function as well as 37 other new functions, including financial and statistical. Multiple filter support has also been enabled, while users can now locate visible cells via the [Alt] + [;] keyboard shortcut. Options for quickly switching view have also been added to the status bar, while users can now create new sheets and change the font size from within a worksheet tab.

Kingsoft Presentation now supports the creation and deletion of comments within a presentation, plus extends the organization chart function within the new 2013 user interfaces. Users can now save the background picture within slides, replace fonts and package files to folders along with compressing files to save space. Finally, the show/hide notes feature can now be toggled from the status bar.

Kingsoft Office Suite Free 2013 is available now as a free-for-personal use download. Also available for $69.95 is Kingsoft Office Suite Pro 2013, offering additional functionality including VBA macro support as well as a commercial-friendly license.
Halo rings the heads of Windows 8, Windows Phone 8 and Surface

Publié: juin 5, 2013, 12:28am CEST par Alan Buckingham

Halo, the popular gaming series released back in 2001 by Bungie, is a big success for Microsoft. So much so that the company wishes to expand on the platform and port it over to other devices, both mobile and PC-based. The franchise has become a mainstay of Xbox, but the new version promises a refresh.

Halo: Spartan Assualt comes with new gameplay spanning 25 missions, an original story set between the events of "Halo 3" and "Halo 4", touch controls (in addition to keyboard and mouse), new achievements, integration with Halo 4 and more.

According to the company's Brandon LeBlanc, the game is available only on Windows 8 PC's and tablets, as well as Windows Phone 8 devices.

Meanwhile, Bryson Gordon of Surface chimes in, "what makes this great for Surface? It’s a touch based experience, but you could also click in your Touch or Type Cover to have the flexibility of keyboard and mouse action as well".

It all sounds good right? Here is the catch: Microsoft is using the popular Halo franchise as one of its new crutches for Windows 8. Between Windows 8.1 (Blue) and this, the company hopes to pull things back together. It remains to be seen if that will happen. However, if you care to bite, the game will be released in July with an expected price tag of $6.99.