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BetaNews.Com (9 non lus)

OneNote for iOS gets an update

Publié: septembre 6, 2013, 9:58pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

Microsoft is locked in a battle for your note-taking needs on mobile devices. Evernote is the perceived king of the field, but OneNote is certainly a strong competitor and today the software giant announces improvements to the iOS version of the Office app.

The latest update allows users to create notebooks on the iPad as well as create, delete and rename sections. Microsoft claims this was one of the most requested features from customers already using the previous version, but it is also not the only enhancement made to this build.

Avneesh Kohli, a Program Manager on the OneNote team, tells us that SkyDrive also plays a much larger role on the Apple mobile operating system -- "we're happy to announce that OneNote for iPad now has full support for creating new SkyDrive notebooks".

Other enhancements made to the OneNote app include typing improvements for Japanese-language customers, a download of less than half the size of the previous release, support for automatic list detection and the usual array of bug fixes that are a part of every software update these days.

Both the iPhone and iPad versions of OneNote are completely free for download. The service works fine as a stand-alone app, but being an office customer on the desktop adds another dimension to the experience.
Lexar announces JumpDrive M10 Secure USB 3.0 flash drive

Publié: septembre 6, 2013, 7:37pm CEST par Brian Fagioli
While consumer storage is trending towards the cloud, many people still prefer to store their data locally. Services like Dropbox are undeniably convenient and wonderful, but an internet connection is not always guaranteed. And so, a high quality flash drive is still a smart investment for any tech geek. However, a trip to Amazon or Newegg can leave your head spinning -- there are far too many choices.

Today, Lexar announces a flash drive that aims to grab attention in the crowded market. "The JumpDrive M10 Secure is designed for on-the-go executives, power business users, or anyone holding sensitive information who may want more data security than the average person", says Aaron Lee, director of product marketing, Lexar.

The company lists the following benefits:
- EncryptStick Lite software with 256-bit AES encryption to help protect essential files against corruption, loss, and deletion.
- Allows creation of a single password-protected vault that automatically encrypts data and includes a File Shredder feature that deletes files so they cannot be recovered.
- Offers read speeds up to 100MB/s on all capacities, with write speeds up to 20MB/s on 16GB drives, up to 30MB/s on 32GB drives, and up to 55MB/s on 64GB and 128GB drives.
- Includes an easy-to-read, always-on capacity meter to display available storage space.
What really grabs my attention about this drive is the LCD screen which tells the user the percentage of available storage space. Lexar has offered this feature on previous flash drives but it is often overlooked as novelty. I think it is a smart way to differentiate with actual function.

While the read and write speeds are not the fastest available, it is certainly much faster than USB 2.0 variants. Speaking of speed, USB 3.0 flash drives are particularly beneficial for Linux installations. Using a tool such as unetbootin, you can create a bootable drive and install a distribution like Ubuntu at blistering speed; you will never use a DVD again.

According to Lexar "the JumpDrive M10 Secure is available now with MSRPs of $34.99 (16GB), $57.99 (32GB), $99.99 (64GB), and $189.99 (128GB), and includes a three-year limited warranty. All Lexar JumpDrive designs are compatible with PC and Mac". Of course, the drive will also work on Linux despite the lack of reported compatibility (although the included encryption software may not).

I find the drive to be very attractive and intriguing. The 128GB version is officially on my Christmas wishlist -- come through Santa!
Taste the future -- try out a cloud-based quantum computer

Publié: septembre 6, 2013, 7:27pm CEST par Mark Wilson

A taste of the future of computing is available from the Physics department of the University of Bristol. The limits of traditional computers are being reached and new technology is needed if things are going to develop at any sort of reasonable pace in the coming years. Quantum computing could just be the way ahead, and the UK university has produced Qcloud, an online quantum computer that you can play with for free.

Mere binary is too limiting, but a quantum computer is not restricted to working with 1s and 0s. Rather than the two states associated with a regular bit, a quantum bit (or qubit -- not to be confused with the Brighton Rock character, Cubitt) is capable of being in multiple states simultaneously. Forget "on" and "off", each qubit can be used to hold multiple pieces of data at the same time.

It is likely that quantum computing will prove pivotal in the development of computing, and if you fancy the idea of trying out such a machine, you can do so with the online simulator. Before you get too excited, quantum computing is still very much in its infancy -- what's being done here is technically very impressive, but at the moment it's not going to enable you to play Grand Theft Auto.

The University of Bristol does have a real -- albeit relatively simple -- quantum computer, whose processor will be available for use from 20 September. But before you fire off your registration, it's a good idea to dabble with the simulator to get a feel for how things work.

It's a bit of a step up from coding Basic or tinkering with Powershell, but who knows where it might lead. With two weeks to go until the real processor is made available, try out the simulator first and get your head around the notion of working with qubits and measuring superposition and entanglement.

Photo Credit: agsandrew/Shutterstock
Corel launches PaintShop Pro X6 with 64-bit support, new selection tools

Publié: septembre 6, 2013, 7:20pm CEST par Nick Peers

Corel has added 64-bit support to the brand new release of Corel PaintShop Pro X6, which should deliver major performance improvements on large-memory PCs running 64-bit versions of Windows. The new build also comes with a number of new selection tools, while the Ultimate build gains two new plug-ins.

The new 64-bit build comes with the promise of superior performance, with Corel claiming a 78 per cent performance increase when cataloguing JPEG files over the previous version. PaintShop Pro X6 also gains improved memory manage across both 32-bit and 64-bit builds, with the promise of accelerated file operations and effects application.

Other performance gains include being able to load a greater number of images -- as well as larger images -- much more quickly than before, with the promise of faster batch processing, multi-layer compositing and HDR processing as a beneficial side-effect.

The move to 64-bit architecture also sees PaintShop Pro X6 gain support for 64-bit Adobe Photoshop plug-ins in addition to support for the Photoshop image and brush formats.

PaintShop Pro X6 also bundles two new selection tools designed to speed up the process of selecting parts of an image for editing. A new Smart Selection Brush makes it possible to select objects simply by "painting" over them, while an Auto Selection tool attempts to automatically select the edges of objects after they’ve been roughly selected using a rectangular tool.

The Ultimate edition of the software also gains two new plug-ins: Perfectly Clear, which offers one-click image corrections, and FaceFilter 3 Standard, which provides photo retouching and "beautifying" tools.

Corel PaintShop Pro X6 is available now as a free fully functional 30-day trial download for PCs running Windows XP or later. A multi-core processor and 4GB RAM are recommended. The full version has a MRSP of $79.99, while the Ultimate version costs $99.99.
Best Windows 8 apps this week

Publié: septembre 6, 2013, 7:20pm CEST par Martin Brinkmann

Forty-fifth in a series. The application growth stayed below the 1,000 apps mark for the fifth week in a row. A total of 924 new apps were published in the Windows Store this week, with the majority of them in the Lifestyle and Books & Reference category.

Many of the apps published in those two categories are audiobooks that you can purchase or copies of the same app published over and over again in the store.

Free apps increased by 569 apps in total in the US Windows Store this week to a total of 62,467 apps, while paid apps increased by 355 to 19,062.

The overall application count in the US Windows Store is 81,529 at the time of writing.

Big news this week was Microsoft's acquisition of Nokia's Devices & Services division which does not affect the Windows 8 platform directly at the time of writing. It may still impact the platform, for instance when it comes to apps that Nokia produces for it.

If you are looking forward to the Windows 8 refresh Windows 8.1 you may want to read up on Wayne's Why I love Windows 8.1 article and Derrick's 27 Windows 8.1 features for the office.

As always, if you found a new app this week that is not mentioned in the article, let me know about it in the comment section below.

App of the week

NFL.com Fantasy Football 2013

The official NFL Fantasy Football application for Windows 8 helps you track and manage your fantasy football teams and leagues available via the NFL.com website.

You need an NFL.com account to get started. If you do not have one, you are redirected to the official website in the default system browser to create one.

Once that is out of the way you can access all league information right in the application. Here you can join or create leagues, follow live scoring, watch video highlights, and set your lineup.

The application provides you with player news so that you know about injuries and other developments as soon as they are made public.

Much of the information that the app provides you with -- news or expert analysis for example -- are only made available as excerpts in the application. If you click on them, you are taken to the official NFL website in the default browser and can read the whole story or analysis there.

That's a problem on small screens as you will flip between the app and the official website a lot. You can overcome this on larger screens by splitting the screen so that the app and the web browser share the space.

Other apps

adobe.revel

Adobe Revel, which was previously known as Carousel, is a mobile photo service that provides users of the service with photo syncing and basic image editing capabilities.

The Windows 8 application provides you with access to those features, including options to import local photos to Revel, photo organization, synchronization of images across devices, and sharing features.

Revel is free for the first month. Users can continue to use the free version, but are limited to 50 photo imports every month from that moment on. Revel Premium is available for $3.99 per month.

All Blacks

The official app of New Zealand's All Blacks Rugby team. Access the latest news, photos, fixtures and team information directly from within the application.

You can check out player profiles and past results from within the application. A link to buy tickets for upcoming games is also included, but that opens a web page in the default system browser instead. If you like Rugby or the All Blacks, this application is for you.

Mooviz

Mooviz provides you with information about films and options to manage your movie collection. It displays information about current and upcoming flicks, as well as options to browse movies based on genre.

Individual film pages of the app provide information about the plot, actors, and similar movies you may be interested in.

You can add any film to a list of favorites or a watchlist, or mark it as watched. One of the coolest features of Mooviz is the photo section which displays high definition photos of the movie. You can save those photos to the system or use them as your lock screen's background wallpaper immediately.

Another interesting feature is the option to watch movie trailers in full screen. The link to do so is somewhat hidden in the interface, as you need to click on the small video icon next to the movie title.

Movies Online

You can use the application to watch full movies.While you may not find the latest blockbusters here, the selection on offer may surprise you nevertheless.

The action category for instance lists movies such as 3000 Miles to Graceland, Big Stan, Conan the Barbarian, and Crimson Tide, and you'll also find classics such as Cocktail, While You Were Sleeping and My Big Fat Greek Weeding in the Romance category.

The quality of the movies not that good to be honest, but should be sufficient.

Picture Resizer & Windows8 Icon Generator ($1.99, no free trial)

While it is possible to use Microsoft Paint for some basic image resizing and editing, the default application falls short when it comes to other image editing or resizing tasks. Windows 8 users can install desktop applications like Paint.NET or Adobe Photoshop for that, while Windows RT users are left with online services or Windows 8 apps.

As far as apps are concerned, Picture Resizer & Windows 8 Icon Generator is one of the better choices. It supports the resizing of images to custom or predefined sizes, options to crop images, or generate app icons, and the conversion into nine different image formats.

The user interface displays the source and destination images next to each other on the screen, which improves the usability of the program significantly.

The Game of Go

Go is a strategic board game for two players that, despite its simple rule set, is very challenging. The basic idea of the game is to surround the other player's stones on the board with your own to capture them. Capturing stones earns you points which you need to win the game.

Stones are captured if they are surrounded on all orthogonally-adjacent points on the board.

The application offers three board sizes and ten different difficulty levels from novice to hard.
Judge bars Apple from price-fixing deals with ebook publisher

Publié: septembre 6, 2013, 6:10pm CEST par Mark Wilson

Apple says it will appeal against a court ruling that bans the company from entering into deals with publishers that could allow ebook prices to be fixed or inflated. The case was raised by the Department of Justice and judge Denise Cote's decision is very much in line with what they were seeking. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company is banned from entering into agreements with five named publishers in ways that might restrict ebook prices.

Having been found to have conspired with publishers to prevent retailers (rather than publishers or Apple) from setting ebook prices, Apple fell foul of antitrust legislation. The company is required to wipe out a controversial 'most favoured nation' clause in its contracts that effectively ensure that Apple's ebook prices would always match the lowest price available online. Restrictions are in place for different lengths of time for various publishers, ranging from two years in the case of Hachette, to four years for Macmillan.

Apple is also banned from retaliating against or punishing any publisher for refusing to enter in an ebook agreement. Deals and agreements have not been banned with any publisher, but there are important restrictions now in place. In addition to all of this, Apple will spend the next two years under the supervision of a third party monitoring committee.

The judge's ruling will remain in place for five years, but there is potential for this to be extended if deemed necessary. It is hoped that it will ultimately lead to lower prices for consumers, although it's not clear how long it might take the price drops to trickle down and be noticeable.

The ruling can be read in full on the website of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Photo Credit: koya979/Shutterstock
Xbox One hits the airwaves with new TV ad

Publié: septembre 6, 2013, 4:21pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

Microsoft's partnership with the National Football League has entered the spotlight recently, thanks to the software giant releasing details explaining what the marriage of technology and gridiron means, as well as a confirmed release date for the Xbox One. Now with the season officially underway (apologies to Ravens fans) the software maker launches a commercial to promote both the console and the deal.

A new 30-second ad for Xbox One features the football experience of using the console -- no, not Madden 25, though you can get that, but the real games, as well as the fantasy ones.

With a TV and a group of friends gathered around, the next-generation console displays the big game using the HDMI pass-thru capability, with fantasy football stats for your team displayed to the side of the screen, updating in real time.

Interestingly the new ad focuses on the console's entertainment prowess and makes no allusions to the gaming capabilities of the Xbox One. In fact, the commercial even touches on Skype with a quick mention at the end.

Microsoft is focusing on the true plan for its next Xbox, which is not so much about gaming, though it certainly will be capable of that, but about becoming the one device for your living room, with live TV, apps, voice control and even communications, as Skype is bundled in. Will the strategy be successful?
Is touch contributing to the death of the PC?

Publié: septembre 6, 2013, 3:26pm CEST par Wayne Williams

HP yesterday revealed two reclining touchscreen PCs and in the accompanying press release Mike Nash, vice president, Product Management, Consumer PCs and Consumer Solutions, HP said: "Customers have told us that they want touch on their PCs", but do they? Really? Because the list of bestselling PCs on Amazon tells a different story. That suggests customers don’t want touch on their PCs.

According to the latest figures from NetMarketShare, just under eight percent of PC users are on Windows 8. What percentage of those use touch? I don’t know, but I could hazard a guess of no more than around 30 percent.

The HP ENVY Recline systems are essentially touchscreen PCs that you can reconfigure so the screen lies nearly flat and can be used like a tablet. Without actually having the benefits of a tablet -- the lightweight portability for example. They can hang off your desk and dangle near your lap too.

I read the press release, I looked at the pictures, and I failed utterly to understand who would want one. It’s like HP realized that sticking touch on a standard desktop PC has limited appeal to the average consumer -- occasionally swiping your screen is fine, doing it all the time is just uncomfortable -- so set out to solve the problem. A problem it had created by adding touch in the first place. And its solution was to let users lie the screen down.

Lenovo’s Yoga PCs are clever, and approach touch by providing consumers with multiple ways of using the devices. I personally haven’t used one for any length of time, but I’ve played around with one in a store, and I liked it. I can see its appeal.

But adding touch to a desktop computer, and then trying to make the inclusion attractive with some weird gimmick? No, no, no.

I’ve compared touch on computers with 3D in movies before and I still view it that way. Avatar was a great 3D movie, but many of the 3D films that followed it -- which were essentially 2D movies with depth bolted on so the cinemas could charge more -- were bloody awful. It’s the same thing with touchscreen. Touch on tablets is essential. Touch on laptops can be useful. Touch on desktops is usually nothing more than a silly gimmick.

I’m not anti-touch -- far from it. The technology definitely has its place, particularly if you’re an app-aholic Windows 8 user. But touch increases the cost of PCs by a significant amount. So suddenly shiny new fast computers which would be pretty affordable, are now beyond the budget of a lot of people. Plus you’ve got the additional costs caused by manufacturers trying to make those touchscreens more comfortable to use. A rectangular box full of PC parts will always be much cheaper than an oddly shaped system designed around a reclining monitor.

In a quest to get people to go and see films at the cinema, movie studios put out 3D films and charged more. But people preferred to go see the 2D versions. In a similar quest to get people to buy new PCs, manufacturers are adding touch where it’s not needed, and pricing those products way beyond what people want to pay.

Asking people to pay an inflated price for a feature they don’t actually want? Well, that’s not going to stop the decline of the PC now is it?

Photo Credit: Deklofenak/Shutterstock
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 available for pre-order at AT&T, coming soon to T-Mobile and Verizon

Publié: septembre 6, 2013, 11:51am CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

Shortly after South Korean maker Samsung revealed the Galaxy Note 3, US mobile operators AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon have announced important details related to the availability of the new smartphone in their respective portfolios.

The Galaxy Note 3 will first reach AT&T, where the smartphone is now available to pre-order, in Classic White and Jet Black color trims, for $299.99, alongside a two-year contract. The orders are expected to ship starting October 1. Alternatively, subscribers can also get the handset for $35 per month, through the AT&T Next program (it allows folks to switch to a new smartphone every year, instead of waiting the usual 24 months, by trading in the old one).

AT&T subscribers can also pick up the Galaxy Note 3 with a one-year contract, for which the cost of the device goes up to $549.99, and with a month-to-month plan for $724.99.

Verizon has revealed that Galaxy Note 3 pre-orders kick off today, at 9 AM EST. There is no pricing information nor official date of availability, at the time of writing this article.

T-Mobile subscribers looking to get the new Galaxy Note 3 will have to wait a tad longer. The US mobile operator has announced that it will officially launch the smartphone on October 2. At T-Mobile, the Galaxy Note 3 will be available for $199.99 down coupled with $21 monthly payments spread over the course of two years.

Both US mobile operators have also revealed information related to the Galaxy Gear, Samsung's smartwatch. At AT&T, the gadget will be available "in the coming weeks", while at Verizon it will be available to pre-order later today. T-Mobile provided more concrete data, saying that the Galaxy Gear will be offered in its stores starting October 2, for $299.99.

The highlights of the Galaxy Note 3 include: 5.7-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1080 by 1920; 2.3 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor; 3 GB of RAM; 3,200 mAh battery; 32 (AT&T model) or 64 GB of internal storage coupled with a microSD card slot (supports up to 64 GB memory cards); 13 MP back-facing camera with 4K (UHD) video recording; 2 MP front-facing shooter; Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac; GPS with Glonass support; NFC (Near Field Communication); Bluetooth 4.0 LE (Low Energy); Infrared; Android 4.3 Jelly Bean coupled with Samsung-branded apps and features. The smartphone comes in at 151.2 x 79.2 x 8.3 mm and 168 grams.

Update: this story was updated to reflect Galaxy Note 3 pre-order availability at Verizon.