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• 

  Gmail for iPad gets a slick new look

  Publié: novembre 14, 2013, 10:52pm CET par Mark Wilson

  

  There's nothing stopping tablet owners from making use of mobile websites, but apps are where it is at. Gmail has a perfectly serviceable website, but the app does make many tasks easier to perform. Today, Google takes the lid off a completely redesigned version of its iPad app which has been designed to make it easier to do more, whether you choose to work in landscape or portrait mode.

  Despite the fact that this release is, based on version number at least, a small move forward -- this is version 2.7182 -- there are a lot of changes, some cosmetic, some functional. Landscape mode benefits from the addition of a new navigation bar that can be used to switch between accounts and categories. This is essentially an iPad friendly version of the tabbed inbox that has been introduced online.

  Just as with online tabs, each category has its own message count, but this is a feature you'll either love or hate. Switch to portrait mode and you'll see a full screen preview of messages. This is a clean, uncluttered look that still manages to provide access to frequently used features. Working in portrait view gives a larger message composition window.

  Google is also claiming "improvements to scrolling performance" and the announcement posted on the Gmail blog also touts "several iOS 7 visual updates on both iPad and iPhone". You can grab yourself a copy of the app from the App Store.

  
• 

  Google maps the world's growing deforestation

  Publié: novembre 14, 2013, 9:45pm CET par Alan Buckingham

  

  Google continues to push forward its mapping program, earlier today unveiling its Street View team's trip around the city of Venice, Italy. While that may be fun and display pretty scenery, the latest update the company announces takes a more serious note. Cataloging the systematic destruction of our planet's forests.

  "In a collaboration led by Dr. Matthew Hansen at the University of Maryland, we’ve built the first detailed maps of the world’s forests, from 2000-2012, documenting and quantifying forest landscape changes such as fires, tornadoes, disease and logging", says Rebecca Moore and Matt Hancher, of the Google Earth Engine team.

  The study reveals an increasingly growing rate of deforestation with a mind-boggling 1.5 million kilometers wiped out between 2000 and 2012. A rate that Google compares to equal the size of Alaska.

  Google says the key to the study’s success was the "collaboration between scientists at the University of Maryland, who developed the models to analyze Landsat satellite data, and computer scientists at Google, who then used Google Earth Engine technology to run these models on more than 650,000 Landsat images".

  The detailed study was published today in the journal Science. Google has posted additional information on its Research blog and also promises a live webcast on November 18th, featuring Hansen and colleagues from University of Maryland, Google, the US Geological Survey, NASA and the Moore Foundation.

  Image Credit: Kirill Livshitskiy / Shutterstock

  
• 

  Judge rules Google's scanning of books is not illegal

  Publié: novembre 14, 2013, 7:57pm CET par Mark Wilson

  There is nothing wrong with Google scanning millions of book and making that text available as snippets in search results. This is the ruling made today by a judge in New York, bringing to an end an eight year legal battle between Google and The Authors Guild in conjunction with several specific authors. Starting back in 2004, Google has scanned more than twenty million books -- and permission was not obtained from the copyright holder in many cases.

  A class action lawsuit was launched against Google back in 2005, but in New York, U.S. Circuit Judge Denny Chin has ruled that there is no copyright infringement and that Google's book scanning qualifies as fair use. Among the named writers were former New York Yankees pitcher Jim Bouton, The Trouble with Thirteen author Betty Miles, and legal author Joseph Goulden.

  All three, and others, complained that Google was making their work available without permission and without payment. The works were scanned as part of the Google Books program, although the majority of the books that were scanned were out of print. While it was, and indeed still is, possible to perform searches that reveal snippets of text from the books, entire books are never made available in this way.

  While performing different searches will reveal different snippets that can be used to piece together the bulk of a book, Judge Chin noted that searchers:

  "...would be able to obtain at best a patchwork of snippets that would be missing at least one snippet from every page and 10-percent of all pages..."

  The full ruling is available to view online, where it is possible to see Judge Chin's recognition that Google Books has become an important tool for libraries, librarians and cite-checkers. He likens the book snippets to the display of thumbnail previews of photographs, and says "in my view, Google Books provides significant public benefits". In short, the case against Google has been completely dismissed.

  How do you react to this ruling?

  Image Credit: Feng Yu / Shutterstock

  
• 

  Amazon wants to put your picture on a Kindle case

  Publié: novembre 14, 2013, 7:24pm CET par Alan Buckingham

  

  The Kindle has been big news recently, with Amazon rolling out a new version of its Fire HD, as well as 7 and 8.9-inch versions of a brand new Kindle Fire HDX, the latest iteration of its Android tablet. Not stopping there, the retailer introduced a case known as the Origami, but now has taken it one step further, with a personalized version of your own choosing.

  "Customers can now design their own Amazon Origami covers and a variety of other covers and skins for Kindle by uploading photographs from their own library, choosing from a variety of Amazon designs made exclusively for Amazon Origami covers, or choosing from a library of hundreds of images, logos, designs and patterns—including popular comic, movie and television show graphics from Peanuts, National Geographic, Breaking Bad, Star Trek, and more", states Amazon.

  The Origami is a magnetic case which holds the tablet firmly in place, provides a flap cover that, when opened, automatically turns the device on, and also acts as a stand.

  The Origami case retails for $44.99, and Amazon will not charge any extra for the customization. "Designing your own Kindle accessories is easy -- simply find your Kindle below and click to select a cover, case, or skin to suit your needs", states the new design site.

  
• 

  DVDStyler extends slideshow support

  Publié: novembre 14, 2013, 6:58pm CET par Mike Williams

  Alex Thuring has released DVDStyler 2.6, the latest revision of his open-source video DVD authoring tool for Windows, Mac and Linux.

  Previous editions have been able to create video slideshows from your chosen images. DVDStyler improves on this by adding support for a few transitions -- fade in/ out, and four wipes -- as well as allowing you to loop your slideshow audio.

  FFmpeg improvements include support for audio filters, and an update to FFmpeg 2.0.1.

  The command line interface now includes the additional options "temp", "iso" and "device".

  The release is rounded off with a few bug fixes, which resolve issues covering Unicode file names in Windows, upmixing audio to 5.1, and calculating border sizes correctly to preserve the correct aspect ratio.

  DVDStyler 2.6 and DVDStyler Portable 2.6 are available for download now.

  
• 

  Twitter advertising opens its doors to businesses in UK, Ireland and Canada

  Publié: novembre 14, 2013, 6:55pm CET par Mark Wilson

  It's only been a week since its IPO, but Twitter's development is not going to end there. Previously only available to US businesses -- or those willing to grovel -- Twitter's ad platform is now being made available to small to medium sized business in the UK, Ireland and Canada.

  It's a simple idea: put some money up front and this will be used to fund Promoted tweets that will reach a wider audience or even target specific types of users.

  In a blog post, product manager Ravi Narasimhan says: "It takes a just few minutes to get started with Twitter Ads. If you can Tweet, you can advertise on Twitter -- all you need is a Twitter account and a credit card. You’re in control of your ads, the audience you want to reach, and of course your budget. Best of all, you will only be charged when people follow your Promoted Account or retweet, reply, favorite or click on your Promoted Tweets. You are never charged for your organic Twitter activity".

  Twitter does offer quite a unique platform for advertisers, making it possible for small businesses and individuals to manage their own ad campaigns without the need for help from third parties. This obviously keeps costs down, but also enables businesses to use knowledge of their target customer to spend money in a way that makes sense.

  As you would expect, there's a hashtag to follow -- #TwitterSurpriseEgg -- as well as dedicated Twitter accounts that can offer support: @TwitterSmallBiz and @TwitterUKI_SME.

  Will you be making use of Twitter's advertising platform to promote your business, or have you already had experience of it in the US?

  Photo Credit: bikeriderlondon/Shutterstock

  
• 

  Google to harvest the sun, in addition to your personal data

  Publié: novembre 14, 2013, 6:43pm CET par Brian Fagioli

  

  While the subject of global warming is divisive and controversial, it is hard to argue with treating the Earth nicely. Everyone should recycle when they can and make sure not to litter. Unfortunately, in today's world of constant device upgrades, the tech-community is filling landfills with obsolete hardware faster than ever.

  Today, Google announces that it is helping the environment by investing in solar energy. Hopefully, these solar panels are not at risk of overheating like the HP Chromebook 11 power adapters.

  "You’d think the thrill might wear off this whole renewable energy investing thing after a while. Nope -- we're still as into it as ever, which is why we're so pleased to announce our 14th investment: We're partnering with global investment firm KKR to invest in six utility-scale solar facilities in California and Arizona. Developed by leading solar developer Recurrent Energy, the projects have a combined capacity of 106MW and will generate enough electricity to power over 17,000 U.S. homes. Google will make an approximately $80 million investment into these facilities", says Kojo Ako-Asare, Head of Corporate Finance at Google.

  Kojo further says, "these investments are all part of our drive toward a clean energy future -- where renewable energy is abundant, accessible and affordable. By continuing to invest in renewable energy projects, purchasing clean energy for our operations and working with our utility partners to create new options for ourselves and for other companies interest in buying renewable energy, we’re working hard to make that future a reality".

  This is not Google's first rodeo when it comes to investing in solar energy. In 2011, the company invested $94 million in solar facilities. In fact, the company has ultimately pledged $1 billion in renewable energy projects.

  While the search-giant sometimes comes under fire for harvesting user-data to make a profit, the company should be applauded for using some of that profit to help the Earth. The next time you watch an advertisement for Old Spice on YouTube while waiting for a video to load, please know that you are essentially hugging Mother Nature.

  Photo Credit: inxti/Shutterstock

  
• 

  Microsoft turns to crime (in a good way)

  Publié: novembre 14, 2013, 5:16pm CET par Ian Barker

  

  Don't panic, Redmond isn't after your credit card details -- well, no more than usual. Microsoft has announced the opening of a new Cybercrime Center to combine its legal and technical expertise with cutting-edge tools and technology in the fight against crime on the internet. The center will tackle a wide range of crimes including malware, botnets, intellectual property theft and online child exploitation.

  "The Microsoft Cybercrime Center is where our experts come together with customers and partners to focus on one thing: keeping people safe online," says David Finn, associate general counsel of the Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit. "By combining sophisticated tools and technology with the right skills and new perspectives, we can make the Internet safer for everyone".

  Located on Microsoft's Redmond campus, the center includes a separate and secure location for third-party partners allowing them to work alongside the company’s own experts. This will allow for improved partnerships across law enforcement, education and industry.

  The secure facility houses technologies that allow the team to visualize and identify global cyberthreats as they develop in real time. These include SitePrint, which allows the mapping of online organized crime networks; PhotoDNA, a leading anti-child-pornography technology; cyberforensics, a new investigative capability that detects global cybercrime, including online fraud and identity theft; and cyberthreat intelligence from Microsoft’s own botnet takedown operations.

  With around 100 people worldwide including lawyers, forensic analysts and technical experts the center is well-equipped to make online life safer.

  "In the fight against cybercrime the public sector significantly benefits from private sector expertise, such as provided by Microsoft," says Noboru Nakatani, executive director of the INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation. "The security community needs to build on its coordinated responses to keep pace with today’s cybercriminals. The Microsoft Cybercrime Center will be an important hub in accomplishing that task more effectively and proactively".

  Microsoft is encouraging customers to visit www.microsoft.com/security to learn more about threats and ensure that their systems are protected.

  
• 

  Surface vs iPad shows how little Microsoft and Apple have really changed

  Publié: novembre 14, 2013, 4:46pm CET par Wayne Williams

  I own an iPad, and despite not rushing to buy a Surface, I actually quite like Microsoft's slate. A couple of days a week I work on my iPad (mostly remote accessing my PC via Parallels Access) and it's not a great experience. I know I'd get a lot more done if I was using a Surface Pro 2 instead, but Apple's tablet is far better in other areas, so for me it wins on balance.

  Yesterday, on the Surface blog there was an article headed "What's new in Surface Pro 2". It was a detailed look at what Microsoft has done to improve the latest generation of its slate and I found it fascinating. Partly because it was an interesting read, but also because it was the sort of thing Apple would never do.

  In the post, the Surface team goes into detail regarding the changes that were made to improve the new tablet. Here are some examples:

  • We redesigned the motherboard's power delivery circuitry. We're using more efficient high-power switching voltage regulators with dual-mode low power leakage characteristics.
  • We worked with Intel to architect new Turbo control modes, so that the Intel Core i5 processor delivers higher performance at lower touch temperatures.
  • We improved the overall system efficiency when Surface Pro 2 drops to the Active Idle state, in between short Turbo bursts.
  • We worked with solid-state drive (SSD) vendors to optimize their embedded file system software for improved Active Idle power consumption.
  • We optimized and fine-tuned the drivers for optimal battery life, including the Wi-Fi and graphics drivers.

  The blog post also goes into other areas where the new device has been improved, but "we're using more efficient high-power switching voltage regulators with dual-mode low power leakage characteristics" was the line that made me smile.

  If Apple wrote a blog post headed "What's new in iPad Air" it would probably go something like this:

  • We made it faster
  • We made it thinner
  • We gave it a more efficient 64-bit chip for improved performance and battery life

  I'm exaggerating of course. The iPad Air page on the Apple site goes into more detail than that, but not a lot.

  This isn't a dig at Microsoft for providing such technical detail, or a pop at Apple for doing the opposite, it's just shows, for me, the difference between the two companies, and at the same time the difference between the tablets and the audiences they're aimed at.

  Both companies have evolved over the years, they've introduced new technology, and shaped our digital lives, but have they really changed all that much? Microsoft remains the geek, and Apple is still the cool kid as both were portrayed in Apple's famous Mac vs PC ads.

  I re-watched a bunch of those commercials the other day, and was struck by how true they remain today.

  In one ad Apple is talking about doing fun stuff, like music and movies, while the PC's idea of fun stuff is timesheets and spreadsheets. When Surface first came out Microsoft tried to sell it with dancers and clickable covers -- a more Apple approach -- and now it's back to pushing Office's inclusion on its tablet range, as well as Surface's ability to multi-task.

  When computers ruled the world Apple tried unsuccessfully to catchup with Microsoft. Now in the so-called post-PC era Microsoft is trying to catchup with Apple in the realms of smartphones and tablets, so far equally unsuccessfully.

  The two companies may operate in the same world, and offer similar products, but they couldn't be more different and I hope, for consumers' sake, that remains the case for a very long time to come.

  Photo Credit: Angela Waye/Shutterstock

  
• 

  AndreaMosaic transforms your photos into hi-res works of art

  Publié: novembre 14, 2013, 4:35pm CET par Mike Williams

  

  If you’d like to do something different with your digital photos then most image editors provide at least some artistic effects you can try. They’re not always that interesting, though, and after you’ve tried ten "Oil Painting" filters which don’t produce anything vaguely painting-like, it’s tempting to just give up. But wait: there is another option.

  AndreaMosaic is a free tool for creating photo mosaics, pictures which are themselves built up of other images (check the program samples page if you’ve not seen these before). The technique only takes a few minutes to master, but delivers pictures with an appealing, abstracted look, which look great on anything from a Facebook thumbnail to an A3 page (or even larger printed formats).

  We’ve linked to the portable version of the program, so it only takes a moment to get started; just launch and unpack it into a convenient folder, then run AndreaMosaic.exe. You’ll be presented with a cluttered dialog, absolutely crammed with configuration options, but don’t be put off. It’s simpler than it seems.

  The process begins by clicking the + icon top-left and choosing your source image, the photo you’d like to convert into a mosaic. Start with a picture containing plenty of detail and color variation, as this should deliver the best results.

  Next, click the Tile Images icon (the button to the right of the image name). Select "Add Folder" and point AndreaMosaic at one or more folders of pictures which you’d like to use within the mosaic. Alternatively, you can ask the program to extract and use frames from a source video. Either way, click "Save List" > OK when you’re done to return to the main window.

  You could now play around with the various mosaic configuration options: size, resolution, the number of tiles, their layout and more. Experimenting with a few Pattern options, say, will give you an idea of the different ways in which your mosaic can be created.

  Otherwise, though, just click the Create icon (the button labeled 3, to the right of Tile Images), and wait as the program creates your finished mosaic. Oddly it won’t display this immediately, instead just opening the destination folder, but double-click the JPG and you can take a look. (Be sure to zoom in on the image so you can see the tiny photos making it up.)

  This worked well for us, but if you have problems then there’s plenty you can try. Adding more tile images and increasing tile size will improve the quality of the final mosaic, for example. Increasing the "Color Change" figure also gives the program more leeway in adjusting tiles to fit. And of course you can just try different source images, which should help you find out what works, and what doesn’t.

  If we could change anything here it would be the interface. It doesn’t highlight what you have to do clearly enough, and the image list approach is far more complicated than it needs to be. You’ll still have the basics figured out in around five minutes, though, so it won’t be a big issue, and on balance AndreaMosaic is an excellent way to transform regular digital photos into real works of art.

  
• 

  Research shows... Oh, hey, look at that!

  Publié: novembre 14, 2013, 4:33pm CET par Ian Barker

  Millennials are more heavily distracted when watching video and as a result adverts need to work harder to get through to them. This is among the findings of research by YuMe, a digital brand advertising specialist, and IPG Media Lab.

  Focusing on millennials (those born between the early 1980s and the turn of the century) the first phase of the study looked at the tablet video viewing experience compared to TV, PC and mobile. The second phase analyzed media consumption and multi-tasking habits in an attempt to understand which device is most effective at achieving brand recall within the demographic.

  "This study really did exceed our expectations, as it not only proved the power of tablet video consumption, but it dove deeper to showcase actual habits and consumption of millennials," says Kara Manatt, Vice President of Consumer Research Strategy at IPG Media Lab.

  Key findings are that millennials are more distracted when watching video, so ads have a harder time breaking through, however, when video ads do succeed they tend to have a more positive impact on the millennial generation. The results also reveal that smartphones are the most popular device for viewing videos amongst this age group and consequently when ads appear on smartphones they're more effective. Millennials are also more likely to multi-task with other connected devices. This represents, "...a clear opportunity to plan for duplication and exposure timing across devices for ad breakthrough," says Ed Haslam, SVP of Marketing at YuMe.

  More about the study and its results will be presented in a webinar on November 22nd at 11:30am PT. You can register for this by visiting https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/337165017. In the meantime you'll find an overview in infographic form below.

  

  
• 

  Google Street View takes a Venice vacation

  Publié: novembre 14, 2013, 4:24pm CET par Alan Buckingham

  

  Google continues to expand its Street View imagery to new areas, ranging from the Great Barrier Reef to the Grand Canyon and countless locations in between. This time, the intrepid team has invaded the canals of Venice, Italy. The romantic city can now be viewed by armchair travelers everywhere, no gondola required.

  The city presented a new challenge for the Google team -- "It was impossible for us to collect images of Venice with a Street View car or trike -- blame the picturesque canals and narrow cobbled walkways -- but our team of backpackers took to the streets to give Google Maps a truly Shakespearean backdrop", says Daniele Rizzetto, Street View Operations Manager.

  The company traveled a total of 265 miles on foot, and 114 miles by boat to grab the images from all around Venice. The search giant promises it captured "not only iconic landmarks but several hidden gems, such as the Synagogue of the first Jewish Ghetto, the Devil’s Bridge in Torcello island, a mask to scare the same Devil off the church of Santa Maria Formosa and the place where the typographer Manutius created the Italics font".

  Google has also given a view behind the scenes to show a glimpse of how exactly this trek was pulled off. You can check that out in the video below.

  
• 

  The Bat! gains Unicode, IDN support, 64-bit 'coming soon'

  Publié: novembre 14, 2013, 3:36pm CET par Mike Williams

  RITLabs has announced the release of The Bat! 6.0, a major update of its flagship email client. Top of the "New Features" list is full Unicode support, which means users should now be able to work with multiple languages simultaneously.

  The program now adds support for Internationalized Domain Names (IDN), allowing it to correctly recognize domain names containing Arabic, Chinese, Russian and other characters.

  Smaller but still useful tweaks include high DPI support, a Sorting Office option ("extract files by masks"), the ability to save messages as UTF-8, and assorted bug fixes.

  There will apparently be a 64-bit version, too, allowing users to access Exchange Server if Outlook x64 is installed. The release date isn’t yet clear, with RITLabs only saying it "will be released after November 21, 2013", but if you can’t wait then 32-bit editions of The Bat! Home Edition 6.0 and The Bat! Professional Edition 6.0 are ready and waiting.

  
• 

  DataStax releases a NoSQL database with automatic management

  Publié: novembre 14, 2013, 2:08pm CET par Ian Barker

  

  Because NoSQL databases are less restrictive than the more conventional relational model, offering simpler design and improved scaling, they're popular for handling big data and real-time web applications. However, this comes at the price of higher maintenance demands.

  The latest release of DataStax Enterprise (DSE) 3.2 addresses this with the addition of automated management services, allowing companies to concentrate on generating revenue rather than maintaining the database. This makes it the first NoSQL solution to have management taken care of by the database itself, bringing features that would previously only have been available in products like Oracle to the NoSQL market.

  Using new versions of DataStax's Apache Cassandra-based database software along with visual monitoring tools many database operations can be left to the system. A Capacity system collects key information and can warn admins when systems are stressed, making it easier to predict when extra capacity will be needed.

  A Repair service keeps data consistent across distributed clusters with minimal performance impact. In addition an OpsCenter provides an at-a-glance dashboard together with a point and click interface to allow bulk operations like starting and stopping multiple nodes.

  "By automating repair and capacity planning functions, DataStax Enterprise 3.2 allows developers to focus on their revenue-generating applications instead of their underlying database technology," says Robin Schumacher, vice president, products at DataStax. "With DataStax Management Services, DSE 3.2 delivers an easy to use and reliable out-of-the-box experience for companies who want to reap the scalability and availability benefits of Cassandra without the operational overhead of open source software".

  

  DataStax Enterprise 3.2 and OpsCenter 4.0 are available now from the company’s website.

  The company is also offering free self-paced online training to help users get to grips with the product via its DataStax Ac*ademy.

  
• 

  How to upgrade Nexus 7 and 10 to Android 4.4 KitKat

  Publié: novembre 14, 2013, 1:36pm CET par Mihaita Bamburic

  

  As expected, Google has started to roll out Android 4.4 KitKat to its Nexus tablet lineup. At the moment, the software upgrade is only heading to the Wi-Fi versions of the Nexus 7 and the Nexus 10, but is slated to reach the cellular models of the smaller tablet too in the upcoming period, as well as the Nexus 4.

  The upgrade may be rolling out to compatible tablets as we speak but it will take some time to reach all Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 devices. Luckily, you do not have to wait for the notification to install Android 4.4, as you can get KitKat up and running right now without losing any of your apps and settings or resorting to the modding trickery of loading a custom ROM.

  The files that you will be using to upgrade the Nexus 7 and/or Nexus 10 to Android 4.4 KitKat come directly from Google. As a result, this guide only discusses the Wi-Fi models specifically. Why? Because, as I have mentioned in the first paragraph, these are the sole models that have received the search giant's blessing at the moment.

  You can, however, use this guide to upgrade all compatible Nexus devices (including the Nexus 4 and 3G/4G LTE Nexus 7) to Android 4.4 KitKat once the corresponding OTA files are available, by following the same steps.

  Requirements

  To upgrade to Android 4.4 KitKat you will need the following files:

  1. The Android SDK Tools, that you can download from Google Developers.
  2. The OTA upgrade file for your device. Select the corresponding file below for your Nexus device.

  • 2012 Wi-Fi Nexus 7 OTA file;
  • 2013 Wi-Fi Nexus 7 OTA file;
  • 2012 Nexus 10 OTA file.

  To keep things as simple as possible, store the corresponding OTA file in a folder that is easy to access from the command line (more on that later). I will use a folder named Root on the C:\ drive in Windows. The path of this folder is C:\Root.

  Preparing For the Upgrade

  Before you are able to perform the upgrade, you will need to have the necessary tools and drivers downloaded on your PC. To do this, install the Android SDK Tools, then open the Android SDK Manager and select the following items for download:

  • Android SDK Platform-tools -- it contains the required tools for the upgrade process
  • Google USB Driver -- it contains the necessary drivers for the Nexus device

  From the folder where Android SDK Platform-tools is installed (in my case it is C:\Program Files (x86)\Android\android-sdk\platform-tools) copy the following files to the previously created Root folder:

  • adb.exe
  • AdbWinApi.dll
  • AdbWinUsbApi.dll

  If you have followed all the steps so far, in the Root folder you will have the following files:

  • adb.exe;
  • AdbWinApi.dll;
  • AdbWinUsbApi.dll;
  • The OTA file (the picture below shows the 2013 Wi-Fi Nexus 7 version).

  

  For convenience, you can change the lengthy name of the OTA file to something shorter, like OTA.zip. For the purpose of this guide, this is the name that I will use where necessary.

  You will now have to install the correct drivers, so the PC can communicate with your Nexus device. To do so, follow the next steps:

  1. After connecting the device to the PC, power your Nexus off.
  2. Turn on your device in fastboot mode; the exact button combination for your Nexus is listed here. If you do not know the product name, please look for my explanation in the comments section.
  3. From Device Manager (Computer -> Properties -> Device Manager) identify your device (it will show up with a question mark on the icon).
  4. Right click on it, select Update Driver Software and then select Browse my computer for driver software.
  5. Select Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer.
  6. From Have Disk... option manually install the android_winusb.inf driver (in my case, its location is C:\Program Files (x86)\Android\android-sdk\extras\google\usb_driver). Accept any prompts you may receive.
  7. Select the Android ADB Interface option when presented. Accept any prompts you may receive.

  Upgrading to Android 4.4 KitKat

  To kick off the process you have to open a command prompt window (press Windows Key + R, type cmd in the box and press the enter key) and go to the Root folder. To do this, type the cd C:\Root command. The command prompt window will show the current folder as C:\Root>, if you have followed these instructions as presented.

  With the Nexus powered on in fastboot mode and connected to the PC, use the volume keys to select Recovery Mode on the device and press the power key to enter it. Afterwards, press the power button and immediately after the volume up key. The Nexus will now show you a menu with a number of options, including apply update from ADB. Select it by using the volume keys; press the power button afterwards.

  

  Now verify if the setup is working as it should. In the command prompt window, type adb devices. Your device should be listed and you can continue; if it is not shown then you have the drivers installed incorrectly (or the wrong option selected while installing them). The image below shows both cases.

  

  Finally, to upgrade to Android 4.4 KitKat, you simply have to type the adb sideload OTA.zip command and your Nexus device will take things over from there. In a couple of minutes, the latest version of the popular mobile OS will be up and running. Here's a screenshot showing Android 4.4 KitKat running on my Nexus 7, after upgrading using the OTA file.

  

  Update: This post was updated to include more information in the section that describes how to install the correct USB (ADB) drivers. Further information is available in the comments section, as said in the article.

  Photo Credit: Mihaita Bamburic

  
• 

  Samsung now selling over two and a half times as many smartphones as Apple

  Publié: novembre 14, 2013, 1:00pm CET par Wayne Williams

  Two days ago IDC released its latest Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker report, showing growth for both Android and Windows Phone and drops for iOS and BlackBerry.

  Today Gartner provides details on worldwide mobile phone sales to end users, with the big news being that smartphones accounted for 55 percent of all mobile phone sales in the third quarter of 2013.

  Worldwide mobile phone sales to end users totaled 455.6 million units in the quarter, a 5.7 percent increase from the same period last year, with 250.2 million of those devices being smartphones -- up a whopping 45.8 percent from the third quarter of 2012. The biggest growth in both smartphone and feature phones took place in Asia/Pacific.

  "Sales of feature phones continued to decline and the decrease was more pronounced in markets where the average selling price (ASP) for feature phones was much closer to the ASP affordable smartphones", says Anshul Gupta, principal research analyst at Gartner. "In markets such as China and Latin America, demand for feature phones fell significantly as users rushed to replace their old models with smartphones".

  Worldwide Smartphone Sales to End Users by Vendor in 3Q13 (Thousands of Units)

  Company	3Q13 Units	3Q13 Market Share (%)	3Q12 Units	3Q12 Market Share (%)
  Samsung	80,356.8	32.1	55,054.2	32.1
  Apple	30,330.0	12.1	24,620.3	14.3
  Lenovo	12,882.0	5.1	6,981.0	4.1
  LG Electronics	12,055.4	4.8	6,986.1	4.1
  Huawei	11665.7	4.7	7,804.3	4.5
  Others	102941.8	41.1	70206.8	40.9
  Total	250,231.7	100.0	171,652.7	100.0

  Source: Gartner (November 2013)

  Samsung remains comfortably at the head of the pack with a 32.1 percent share of the smartphone market. It saw zero growth compared with this time last year, but did sell significantly more devices and its lead over second place grew as Apple’s market share dropped from 14.3 percent in 3Q12 to 12.1 percent in 3Q13. Apple shipped its new phones late in the quarter, which would have had an impact, and Gartner feels the price difference between the iPhone 5c and 5s is not enough in mature markets, and the 5c is priced too highly for emerging markets.

  Lenovo’s smartphone sales increased by 84.5 percent year on year, catapulting it into third place on the league table with a 5.1 percent share. It’s in 7th place in the global mobile phone market.

  Nokia is bundled into the "others" category in the smartphone sales table, but an expanded line up of Lumia phones lifted the Finnish firm into 8th place. It remains the second largest supplier of mobile phones, despite dropping 5.3 percent year on year.

  Gartner’s breakdown of the operating system market sees the same level of growth for Android and Windows Phone, and the same drops for iOS and BlackBerry as reported by IDC, albeit with some slight variations in the figures.

  Worldwide Smartphone Sales to End Users by Operating System in 3Q13 (Thousands of Units)

  Operating System	3Q13  Units	3Q13 Market Share (%)	3Q12  Units	3Q12 Market Share (%)
  Android	205,022.7	81.9	124,552.3	72.6
  iOS	30,330.0	12.1	24,620.3	14.3
  Microsoft	8,912.3	3.6	3,993.6	2.3
  BlackBerry	4,400.7	1.8	8,946.8	5.2
  Bada	633.3	0.3	4,454.7	2.6
  Symbian	457.5	0.2	4,401.3	2.6
  Others	475.2	0.2	683.7	0.4
  Total	250,231.7	100.0	171,652.7	100.0

  Source: Gartner (November 2013)

  Photo Credit: Tanjala Gica/Shutterstock

  
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  IObit Uninstaller 3 adds browser plug-in removal and file shredding tools

  Publié: novembre 14, 2013, 12:52pm CET par Nick Peers

  

  IObit has released IObit Uninstaller 3.0, a major, redesigned update of its application uninstall utility. Application uninstallers have never had much of a reputation for thoroughly cleaning up after the programs they’re supposed to remove, which is where the likes of IObit Uninstaller come into their own, hunting down leftover files and Registry entries to offer a more complete removal.

  Version 3.0 debuts a redesigned and simplified user interface, adds full support for Windows 8/8.1 and now incorporates browser plug-in removal functionality too alongside a number of more minor tweaks.

  IObit Uninstaller 3.0 opens after installation to a completely redesigned interface, which follows the new user interface found in companion product IObit Advanced SystemCare Free and is aimed at making the program simpler to use and navigate.

  Version 3.0 also adds a new browser plug-in removal tool, which supports Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox and Opera. Accessible from its own tab, users can filter the list by browser and then choose which plugins to remove. Plugins are rated for safety, while users can add their own reviews or manually "distrust" plugins to mark them for removal later.

  In addition to the new browser plug-in management tool, users can now also restore a browser’s default settings with a single click, and rate each plugin for other users’ reference.

  IObit Uninstaller 3.0 also debuts a new file-shredding tool for securely wiping data from the user’s hard drive -- this is accessible via the program’s menu button. It also now includes an option for manually checking for updates to the program.

  In addition to providing new features, IObit Uninstaller 3.0 also tweaks its existing program removal tools for easier operation. Users can now set the "Powerful Scan" feature, which searches for leftover files and Registry entries after a standard uninstall is finished, to run automatically via the program’s Settings dialog.

  It also adds a couple of shortcuts to other parts of Windows. These allow users to access the program by either right-clicking a program shortcut or selecting a program in the Programs and Features Control Panel, then choosing the Powerful Uninstall option. Should the program be subsequently packaged as a portable installation, expect this particular functionality to be removed from that version.

  The new version is rounded off with an improved user experience during the uninstall process, plus comes with the promise of improved reliability and security when using the Powerful Scan tool.

  IObit Uninstaller 3.0 is available now as a freeware download for PCs running Windows XP3 or later.

  
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  Lack of backup puts SMBs at risk of significant data loss

  Publié: novembre 14, 2013, 12:48pm CET par Ian Barker

  Backing up data can often seem like a chore and is something which isn't always top of the agenda, especially for smaller businesses. New research commissioned by cloud backup and disaster recovery company Intronis shows that a high percentage of small and medium businesses are at risk of major data loss that could put them out of business.

  The results show that most SMBs go to managed services providers (MSPs) -- 83 percent of which are SMBs themselves with less than 99 employees -- for their IT services. More worrying is that they often don't buy backup and data recovery until after suffering a detrimental loss of data.

  The 2013 State of Cloud Backup study carried out in September 2013 surveyed 350 IT service providers -- including MSPs, system integrators, and IT solution providers -- to find out about their sales of cloud backup services as well as the type of demand they were seeing from their SMB customers.

  "Data losses come in all forms, from hardware failures to user error and natural disasters, and it's never a good time," says Neal Bradbury, co-founder and vice president of channel development for Intronis. "SMBs and IT service providers should think of cloud BDR services as insurance for the company’s data -- no business should be without it".

  On a positive note, of those companies that are working with a service provider to protect their data, more than 50 percent are using cloud technology, showing an increased confidence in the cloud’s reliability and ability to safeguard data. The results also reveal that cloud backup offers a strong opportunity for service providers to grow their business, with 56 percent of the providers polled saying that backup and recovery is a top selling product.

  The full survey and can be found on the Intronis website at www.intronis.com/cloudstudy2013. Additional key findings will be released via the Intronis blog over the coming weeks.

  Photo Credit: Lisa S./Shutterstock