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BetaNews.Com (6 non lus)

Did Amazon leak the Xbox One release date?

Publié: juin 22, 2013, 9:14pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

If nothing else, Microsoft's forthcoming gaming console has received more than its fair share of attention, and plenty of it on the wrong side of what the company would hope for. There was controversy before the official announcement even came, there was double-talk at the announcement, and of course some major backtracking later.

Although we know a lot about the console now, the one thing Microsoft has so far failed to announce is an official release date. Despite a vague promise of "later this year", most of us likely expected the holiday shopping season. It turns out, if Amazon is correct, the device will only just make it in time for that.

According to Amazon's Xbox One pre-order page, "this item will be released on November 27, 2013" -- the day before Thanksgiving in the United States, which is the traditional kickoff to the hectic shopping season. Microsoft itself continues to use a vague "release date: November 2013" on its store.

Of course, this does not make it Microsoft-official, and I received no official comment, though likely because of the weekend, but I would think that with the shopping power behind Amazon, there is a fair amount of respect that can be given to the claim.

I will certainly find out, as I am one of those who pre-ordered, though my purchase was carried out through the Microsoft online store. Note to Microsoft -- this better arrive before Christmas morning!

Still, it means I have 5 months to figure a way to explain the $500 lightening of our checking account to my wife. The price of the Xbox One is certainly not cheap, but the device does come with Kinect, putting it close to a purchase of the PS4, if you add in Sony's similar technology, known as Eye.
Microsoft launches Network Speed Test for Windows Phone 8

Publié: juin 22, 2013, 12:11pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

Microsoft steps in once again to beef up the Windows Phone 8 ecosystem. The software giant just released Network Speed Test, an app which allows users of the tiled mobile operating system to verify cellular data and Wi-Fi connection speeds.

Network Speed Test is one of the most striking to look at apps available on Windows Phone 8. The app features an elegant and minimal design, using only a couple of colors throughout the interface. From a personal point of view, it portrays how other platform offerings should look. Let's go through the features.

In the main "Test" tab, the app displays two speedometers which indicate the download and upload speeds and, underneath, it also lists network delay and max jitter latency (in milliseconds) as well as packet loss (as a percentage of entire data traffic).

The "Network" tab displays information related to the current connection -- type, name, status and host name. In "History" users can view a list of all completed tests with network, date, delay, download and upload data.

With privacy being one of the most controversial topics these days, Microsoft also warns that Network Speed Test collects some user-related data. "When you test a network connection using the App, certain characteristics of your device and the network connection will be sent to Microsoft to help improve our understanding of network quality and availability", says the software giant. "If you consent, we may also collect information about your location at the time of the test. The data we collect is not associated with you, and will not be used to identify or contact you or for other purposes like targeted marketing".

Network Speed Test is available to download from Windows Phone Store.

Are Developers Affected?

Network Speed Test, however, raises an important question related to Microsoft's impact on the long-term success of the platform -- is the company's knight in shining armor act affecting third-party developers?

The software giant releases an app which adds unquestionable value but does not tie in with any of its popular services and even competes with Ookla's excellent Speedtest.net (one of the most popular and competent offerings in this segment). Microsoft's name also carries considerable weight for platform users and it might just be enough to sway plenty of folks from other offerings to the company's own.

Developers are already skeptical of entering the Windows Phone market and, with apps like Network Speed Test, Microsoft could (involuntarily or not) add another barrier which keeps the former at bay.
AOL takes the wraps off its own Google Reader replacement -- launches Monday

Publié: juin 22, 2013, 10:18am CEST par Wayne Williams

For years technology blogs have trumpeted the death of RSS, but it took Google shutting down Reader to reveal just how alive and well the platform truly is.

When my colleague Alan Buckingham expressed his dislike of Feedly, Google Reader’s heir apparent, he was bombarded with emails from other feed reading services requesting he give them a shot. Other firms, like Digg, are rolling out new services, and now AOL has announced its own Reader replacement.

I -- like most Google Reader users -- have tried several alternatives, but have yet to find one that really suits my tastes. I have high hopes for Digg’s project, but it’s AOL’s endeavour that has got me really excited -- and yes, I can’t believe I’m excited about AOL.

The new service is in private beta right now but it doesn’t matter because AOL Reader will be live from Monday so we’ll all soon be able to try it out for ourselves.

So what do we know about the service right now? Well you’ll be able to sign in with AOL, Facebook, Google, or Twitter credentials, and the service will offer a choice of views so you can view "your subscriptions as a simple list of headlines, a more visual grid of cards, an infinitely-scrolling page, or even like you would your email".

You’ll be able to import your feeds from Reader -- or another source -- and star and tag articles. The service will have its own API from the off too. There won’t be iOS or Android apps available immediately, but they are planned and will hopefully arrive soon.

Other planned features include sharing within AOL Reader and with other users, search (uh-oh -- that’s not implemented yet?) and notifications.

Does this look like the Google Reader replacement you’ve been waiting for, or have you already found a new home for your RSS needs?
Malwarebytes unveils Anti-Exploit Beta

Publié: juin 22, 2013, 9:29am CEST par Mike Williams

Malwarebytes has released the first public beta of Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit, a rebranded and improved version of ZeroVulnerabilityLabs’ ExploitShield. And just as in its previous incarnation, Anti-Exploit is an extremely easy-to-use tool which protects popular applications from zero-day exploits, web-based vulnerability exploits and more.

The full list of shielded apps includes browsers (Firefox, Chrome, IE, Opera), Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Media Players (Windows Media Player, VLC, Winamp, QuickTime), PDF-related tools (Adobe Reader, Foxit Reader, Adobe Acrobat) and more (Java, Windows Script Host, Windows Help).

Perhaps best of all, though, is the program’s extreme simplicity. There’s no configuration involved, no setup, no signature updates or anything else: just install and launch it, and Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit immediately goes to work, shielding your system from exploits -- even undiscovered -- which might be used by malware to infect your PC.

If you need more control, though, right-clicking the Anti-Exploit system tray icon provides one or two options. A basic console tells you how many exploits have been blocked, for instance, and provides simple logs. Usefully, you can also turn protection off on demand, handy for troubleshooting if you find your system behaves oddly after installation.

Otherwise, though, Anti-Exploit just works, running in the background without you ever noticing anything at all.

How reliable is this? It’s hard to evaluate, but the fact that Malwarebytes has just bought the company, largely for this technology, must tell us something about its potential.

Even now, though, there’s a lot to like about Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit. It’s compact and lightweight (RAM usage rarely reached 3MB on our test PC), protects a lengthy list of major programs, and is most unlikely to conflict with your regular antivirus package. Take a look.
Facebook admits a year-long data breach exposed contact information for 6 million users

Publié: juin 22, 2013, 2:25am CEST par Brian Fagioli

Facebook is notoriously bad for privacy and security. While the social network has recently been implicated in Prism, its poor reputation precedes that scandal. Only five months ago, it was discovered that you can search for a person on Facebook with nothing but their phone number -- a stalker’s dream come true. Frequently changing and overly complicated privacy settings don't help the company's cause either.

Today, Facebook announces that it has blundered once again. The social media giant says "We recently received a report to our White Hat program regarding a bug that may have allowed some of a person’s contact information (email or phone number) to be accessed by people who either had some contact information about that person or some connection to them".

Facebook further says "if a person went to download an archive of their Facebook account through our Download Your Information (DYI) tool, they may have been provided with additional email addresses or telephone numbers for their contacts or people with whom they have some connection. This contact information was provided by other people on Facebook and was not necessarily accurate, but was inadvertently included with the contacts of the person using the DYI tool".

In other words, Facebook may have exposed your contact information.

The company states "approximately 6 million Facebook users had email addresses or telephone numbers shared" along with "other email addresses or telephone numbers... not connected to any Facebook users".

While Facebook claims it will email the affected parties, should a user just assume that no email means all is well? Further, while Facebook does say it is embarrassed by the data breech -- which continued undetected for a year -- and it values its users’ trust, there are two words absent from the company's statement -- "sorry" and "apologize".

Photo Credit: faysal/Shutterstock
An Android fan sets off down the Windows Phone 8 path

Publié: juin 22, 2013, 12:00am CEST par Alan Buckingham

...Or perhaps I should call it the road less traveled? In my previous life I used Windows Mobile for my job and, I must admit, I came away with nothing good to say. But, since Microsoft re-launched the platform as Windows Phone, I have been intrigued. After all, I am a tech junkie -- shiny and new always catches my attention.

A couple of days ago I elected to take the plunge -- the Nokia Lumia 928 arrived via FedEx and the SIM card from my Samsung Galaxy Nexus was immediately popped out and inserted into a brand new Windows Phone.

No two mobile devices are the same -- I moved from an Android handset with a top power-button to a side one last year -- a minor change, but a change, nonetheless. Everything takes some adjustment, but most devices today are fairly intuitive, and only take a bit of getting used to. The Lumia 928 is no different. It is a new device with an unfamiliar operating system.

First Take

I do not yet feel comfortable giving you a full opinion on everything, as I need to continue exploring. There is much to be discovered, but I will post regular updates as that process plays out.

If you hold a gun to my head and demand to know what I think of the device fresh out of the box then I would tell you this: both the hardware and software are gorgeous. Setup was seamless. My colleague Mihaita Bamburic, who made this move already, explained that I must add a server address to my Gmail setup (to take advantage of Exchange ActiveSync), but it seems this has been implemented in the firmware already, as mine appeared automatically. He also gave me a settings tip that, again, was already enabled.

Nokia is nailing issues down rather quickly, though that may be relative compared to the time the company has been producing devices on this platform.

Up Next

This is a big move -- I have much invested in the Android operating system, including app purchases. I must begin seeking the same, or similar, replacements. I must learn where particular settings can be tweaked. As I travel through this new and different journey I will keep updates coming. But I am excited by my start.