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BetaNews.Com (6 non lus)

Camera360 maker goes audio for Android and iPhone

Publié: juin 20, 2013, 10:50pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

My favorite mobile camera app adds a new feature, but it has nothing to do with your actual image quality. This time around the company plans to head in a completely different direction, with a unique new addition to its popular Camera360 app.

The company claims that "Camera360 has been the focus of much success lately, including being named as the No.2 Best Startup at the 2013 Fortune Global Forum and achieving a user base of over 120 million people from across the globe". Now the app maker heads into the audio world.

With many of today's smartphones now containing audio capture technology, the Audio Camera tool will help add to all of the emotion, humor and drama that is captured using the Camera360 app.

The new feature enables users to record and collect the final five seconds of sound before a picture is taken and save it along with the image. To prevent additional audio files being saved alongside the actual photo, everything is compressed into one JPEG file, saving plenty of space and memory on your smartphone or tablet.

"With the launch of Audio Camera, Camera360 will help you truly restore the moment and emotion of precious occasions such as when your girlfriend says 'Yes, I do!' at that magic moment and also when your classmates say 'Cheese' when you graduate from university", say Camera360 president Hao Xu.

The app is free from both Google Play and the Apple App Store now. What will you use it for? And how much NSFW audio will be captured in the moments before a photo?
Instagram goes after Vine, introduces video-sharing

Publié: juin 20, 2013, 8:48pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

Instagrammers can now rest easier knowing that, earlier today, the popular social network introduced the ability to share filtered videos. The feature, called Video on Instagram, is available through the new Android and iOS apps.

"Over the past two and a half years, Instagram has become a community where you can capture and share the world's moments simply and beautifully. Some moments, however, need more than a static image to come to life", says Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom. "Today, we're thrilled to introduce Video on Instagram and bring you another way to share your stories".

Users can record short videos, of up to 15 seconds in length, by tapping the movie camera icon on the photo screen. As in Vine, you start recording by holding down the record button and stop by releasing it again. You can add filters to your clips -- Instagram added 13 new ones, specifically designed for videos -- and select a "favorite scene" to use as a cover image. Videos can then be shared in the usual ways.

Instagram is available to download from Apple App Store (on iOS) or Google Play (on Android).
Samsung Premiere 2013 -- Watch the event here

Publié: juin 20, 2013, 4:25pm CEST par Wayne Williams

Samsung is set to launch some new products at its Samsung Premiere 2013 event at London’s Earl's Court tonight.

While we’re not sure exactly what to expect, we do know the South Korean tech giant will be unveiling new Galaxy and ATIV devices, and is promising a "glimpse into the future", whatever that cryptic hint may mean.

A Samsung event is always unmissable but don’t worry if you’re not in London, or haven’t received an invite, as you can tune in live here and watch all the action as it unfolds.

The event kicks off at 7pm UK time, which translates into 11am PDT and 2pm EDT.
Comodo unveils new versions of Internet Security, Firewall and Antivirus

Publié: juin 20, 2013, 3:25pm CEST par Mike Williams

Comodo has announced the public availability of Comodo Internet Security 6.2, Firewall 6.2 and Antivirus 6.2. These are more than just maintenance releases, too -- there are some genuinely significant developments.

Right-click the Comodo icon and choose the new Advanced View, for instance, and the rather basic home screen is replaced with something much more detailed. You’ll be able to view details on your antivirus, update, auto-sandbox, HIPS and firewall status, as well as see which processes are using your network bandwidth, view recently detected threats and intrusions, and more.

This may sound and look more complicated, but on balance we found it worked well and saved us time. Most of the information provided in the Advanced View comes in the form of a link, so if you see that you have two sandboxed apps, for instance, you can just click the number "2" to find out more.

Elsewhere, direct support for "Fully Virtualized" auto-sandboxing allows you to run programs in a virtual environment where they’re completely isolated from your system files, further enhancing security.

In a notable usability improvement, many grids throughout the interface now support search and multi-selection.

GUI performance is now better when opening main dialogs, while improved touch screen support helps you navigate more easily.

And of course there are plenty of bug fixes. From what we can see, the most notable is that you’re now able to make files on network shares "trusted".

The news that Comodo has fixed "various compatibility issues related to virtualization" also sounds good, though, and in total the company says this release addresses more than 300 issues overall.

This looks like one essential update, then, and downloads for Comodo Internet Security 6.2, Firewall 6.2 and Antivirus 6.2 are available now.

Photo credit: Andrea Danti/Shutterstock
Nokia gives '41 million reasons' to care about its press event -- what do users really want to see?

Publié: juin 20, 2013, 3:17pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

Nokia must be quite confident in what will be unveiled at its upcoming press event, held in New York on July 11, because the Finnish maker just touted "41 million reasons to zoom in" on the webcast.

Sadly (as I really wanted to see the complete list), Nokia only wrote about a paltry seven of them on its blog. Either the company has employed someone very bad at counting or it is not doing a very good job at being subtle. Somehow I doubt the former is true, so that (only) leaves the latter up for debate. Nokia followers chimed in, revealing their expectations for the upcoming press event.

There is a lot of hype surrounding a rumored Nokia handset -- a Lumia variant of the older 808 PureView -- and, naturally, many users have vowed their interest in the alleged new smartphone. Coincidentally (or not) the 808 PureView features a 41 MP camera (with 41 million pixels).

Milorad, one of the first followers to respond, says: "EOS comming [sic], 41mp camera, thanks for the hint". "Good luck Nokia, my 808 and I are keen to see EOS :-)", says David Dble D Kelly-Durrant. But Kevin claims to know more about the event: "I can't wait!! There is more coming than just simply slapping the 41mp 808 camera into a Lumia device here!"

Some users have also expressed their interest in more mundane features. Quad-core processor, microSD card slot and 2 GB of RAM are just a part of Laurence Smith's wishlist, while user supermitra concludes that "Nokia should really include an SD card slot in every device". dNs only wants "two things: the same sound recording quality as 808 and 120fps videorecording [sic] @480p".

What do you want to see?
Critics may have won the DRM battle, but Microsoft will win the Xbox One war

Publié: juin 20, 2013, 3:02pm CEST par Wayne Williams

Yesterday, when I first heard the rumors that Microsoft was going to be dumping the Xbox One’s DRM restrictions -- dropping the regular internet checks and making it easier to share and trade games -- I was skeptical. But then news sites began reporting the story, citing reliable sources, and Microsoft removed the Xbox One Q&A page from its website -- clear confirmation big changes were afoot.

Faced with a tide of anger from gamers, and overwhelming negativity towards certain aspects of its forthcoming entertainment console, Microsoft did something no one expected -- it reversed its stance on DRM and went back to the old ways. It was a surprising decision.

Microsoft could have easily ridden the wave of dissent, as it did with Windows 8, pushing its vision of the future, and trusting Xbox lovers would buy the console anyway. Gamers likely would have succumbed to the benefits offered by the new Xbox One, and the complaints as vociferous as they are now, would have died down considerably by the time the box actually went on sale.

Many people like to complain, and when presented with a cause, will happily jump on it. An offensive scene in a TV show might generate a handful of complaints from the viewing public, but if those complaints get picked up by the media, they will be amplified by the exposure, leading to more complaints, including plenty from people who never saw the show in question, but were outraged by the idea of it, or in some cases, outraged for the sake of being outraged.

Giving attention to a grievance is like adding oxygen to a flame, it will cause it to burn strongly and spread. Wait long enough though and that fire will burn itself out, leaving behind just ashes -- sooty remnants of rage.

If it had held its ground and waited, Microsoft would eventually have triumphed. Sure, it might have lost some early initial sales to Sony’s PS4, but ultimately by sticking to its guns, and selling the benefits of its forward thinking, in time I believe The Xbox One would have emerged on top.

Maybe Microsoft was feeling unnerved by the unending negativity directed towards Windows 8, maybe it realized that the "benefits" of the DRM restrictions in the Xbox One just weren’t worth the grief, or maybe (as it claims) it has started listening to its customers. It’s hard to know exactly the real reasoning for the U-turn. But yesterday Microsoft extinguished the fire that was raging around the Xbox One, by taking away the oxygen fuelling it.

That doesn’t mean it’s the end of the matter. Burning embers of resentment will remain. After all, the Kinect still has to be connected, and that will annoy some people, and yesterday’s changes kill the idea of sharing and reselling downloaded titles, which will sadden and maybe even anger certain gamers who were excited by the premise.

Last week I accused Microsoft of dropping the ball on Windows 8 and Xbox One by rushing into things and not listening to what its customers want (or think they want). Today that situation has changed. Microsoft has shown that it can respond and make major changes based on customer feedback to a product that has not yet launched.

That’s a good thing.

But hopefully it’s also not going to become too regular an occurrence. I would hate for Microsoft’s vision of the future to become too diluted by public comment. After all, as they say, a camel is a horse designed by committee.

Not that it's likely to happen of course. In its statement yesterday, Microsoft said:

We appreciate your passion, support and willingness to challenge the assumptions of digital licensing and connectivity. While we believe that the majority of people will play games online and access the cloud for both games and entertainment, we will give consumers the choice of both physical and digital content. We have listened and we have heard loud and clear from your feedback that you want the best of both worlds.

In other words, we bow down to your will this time, but we're still heading where we're heading, we're just going to take a slightly longer route.

So come on then, tell me what you think about Microsoft’s decision to remove the DRM restrictions -- did it simply lose its nerve and blink first, or was it a ballsy move designed to silence critics and give the Xbox One the best start possible? Comments below please.

Photo Credit: maraga/Shutterstock