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BetaNews.Com (6 non lus)

Linux distro Mageia hits version 4 -- download it now

Publié: février 1, 2014, 8:57pm CET par Brian Fagioli
When the discussion of popular Linux distributions comes up, typically, you will hear about Ubuntu, Mint and Fedora. However, there has been a semi-newcomer making waves in the Linux community -- Mageia Linux (started in 2010). Originally a fork of Mandriva, it has grown to be so much more. In fact, it is currently ranked as number four on the Distrowatch page-hit ranking. While that ranking should be taken with a grain of salt, it is typically an accurate portrayal of popularity.

Today, Mageia announces that the fourth version of the operating system is ready for download. While the logic of making such an announcement on Super Bowl weekend is questionable, it is nonetheless exciting.

"Right on time, and just in time for the first day of FOSDEM 2014, we have the great pleasure of announcing Mageia 4. We're still having a grand time doing this together, and we hope you enjoy this release as much as we’ve enjoyed making it. And if you're at FOSDEM, come and help us celebrate", says Mageia.

The company touts the following major new features:
- RPM 4.11.1 and urpmi 7.31
- Kernel 3.12
- systemd 208
- GRUB is the default bootloader; GRUB2 is also available.
- KDE 4.11
- GNOME 3.10
- Xfce 4.10, Mate 1.6 and Cinnamon 2.0
- Libreoffice 4.1.3.2
- Experimental UEFI Support
- FullHD+ resolution support
- Oh, and the neat new Mageia Welcome!
The new Mageia Welcome screen is designed with newcomers in mind. It will be displayed on the first boot, with tips and information. Luckily, it will display regardless of the environment the user selects.

Speaking of environments, there is a smörgåsbord of them available -- KDE, GNOME, Xfce, Mate and Cinnamon. Choice is always great and this ensures that the user can find the absolute best one for their usage. You can make your choice and download the .iso. Personally, I am partial to Gnome, so I will be installing that later today.

So, will you be giving Mageia 4 a try? If you do, which environment will you select? Tell me in the comments.

Image Credit: Jaroslav Machacek / Shutterstock
How to enable the hidden, experimental, center-aligned version of YouTube

Publié: février 1, 2014, 5:49pm CET par Mark Wilson
YouTube, like many other websites, undergoes changes, and it has taken on a number of guises over the years. Some looks have lasted for a long time, while others have been shorter lived. There are also experimental looks, not all of which end up being released, but even when a redesign is rolled out, it can take a while to make its way around the world. Currently in the experimental stage is a center-aligned layout which includes a cleaned up interface a new menu and a few other tweaks.

In the new design, a top navigation bar is now locked to the top of the screen, remaining in place while the rest of the page scrolls. There is a customizable carousel and a new Upload button encourages visitors into sharing. It's not yet clear quite when this new interface will be officially released to a waiting world, but it's something you can enable now; all it takes is a quick cookie tweak.

You'll need to fire up YouTube and then access your web browser's dev console and the method varies slightly from one browser to another.
- In Chrome, press Ctrl + Shift + J
- In Opera, press Ctrl + Shift + J
- In Internet Explorer, press F12 and move to the Console section
- In Firefox, press Ctrl + Shift + K
Select and copy the code below before pasting it into the console.

document.cookie="VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE=LlWIQlLwL_Y; path=/; domain=.youtube.com";window.location.reload();

Hit the Enter key and then close the console. You should find that the page automatically reloads with the new, cleaner interface in place.

Should you change your mind and decide you prefer the old look, return to the console and enter the following code to reverse the change.

document.cookie="VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE=; path=/; domain=.youtube.com";window.location.reload();

Do you like the new look, or are you sticking with the old interface?
Delete any locked or protected files with PowerTool

Publié: février 1, 2014, 4:20pm CET par Mike Williams

The Low-level PC monitoring utility PowerTool has been updated to version 1.6. This release has significantly enhanced the "force delete" option, allowing it to remove just about anything. Whether a file is locked by something, protected by Windows, malware, even antivirus software, it doesn’t seem to matter -- click File, right-click your file, select "Force Delete" and it'll disappear.

Whether it's really a good idea to delete protected or locked files is another matter, of course. Forcibly deleted files don't go to the Recycle Bin, either, so treat this option with extreme care.

Elsewhere, improved file management means you're now able to rename files or delete directory trees from the File tab.

PC experts may appreciate the new option to remove filter drivers, although everyone else should really leave this alone -- it's the kind of low-level tweakery which, if used incorrectly, could instantly crash your PC.

Most conveniently, the Online Update function is back. Click the Update link at the bottom of the program window, and it'll let you know if a new PowerTool version is available
Forget Spotify -- discover never-before-heard music on Forgotify

Publié: février 1, 2014, 2:51pm CET par Mark Wilson

Like the internet itself, Spotify is a fantastic resource, but it is one which remains somewhat unexplored. There are darker reaches that are yet to be visited by anyone, and who knows what sort of gems might be lurking there waiting to be discovered? You could spend endless hours trawling the length and breadth of what's available online in the hope of stumbling across something new and exciting. You could do that, or you could get someone else to do the hard work for you.

With Forgotify, the idea is simple. It's a streaming music site, but not quite like the others you may have tried. Any music you find through Forgotify is guaranteed not to have been listened to by anyone else on Spotify. Spend a little time playing random tracks and you could find something truly amazing -- of course, you will undoubtedly have to endure a load of absolute drivel, but there will be some utterly delightful tracks in every genre as well.

Getting started could hardly be easier. Just head over to the site and click the Start Listening button -- you will need to log into your Spotify account to hear anything. You can share the tracks you like (or want to publicly ridicule!) or just skip to the next track whenever you're ready. On about my tenth listen, Carroll Baker's "Wichita" from the album "I'd Go Through It All Again" -- sadly nothing to do with Glen Campbell's "Wichita Lineman" -- started, and a few clicks later I was listening to "Termite One One" by Lol Coxhill.

Set aside a little time for this site as it quickly becomes addictive. Gems I found include Louise Huebner's "The Self Fascination Ritual For Increased Power" from the album "Louise Huebner's Seduction Through Witchcraft". She is, in case you are unaware of her, the only "officially appointed official witch in the entire cosmos". That's the sort of stuff you can expect to enjoy!

Give it a try and let us know if you come across anything weird, wonderful or brilliant!
The most popular stories on BetaNews this past week: January 26 -- February 1

Publié: février 1, 2014, 2:44pm CET par Mark Wilson

Phew! Well it seems that 2014 is finally in full swing -- the past seven days have been the busiest in a while. It was a busy week for security. A piece of malware came to light that was using Windows computers as a means of infecting the Android devices connected to them. Yet another security breach meant that the credit card details of Michaels customers were compromised.

While the computing world worries about whether or not the NSA is reading their email or recording their phone calls, school children in Britain learned that their computing activities are being monitored in the classroom. There was celebration as companies such as Microsoft and Google won a lawsuit that means they are now able to reveal more information about US Government data requests.

Online, Wikipedia's new voice archive got underway, and the policing of Twitter came under the spotlight as Courtney Love won her case after a lawyer claimed to have been libeled by the singer on the microblogging site. On the subject of the law, there was an outbreak of hatchet burying. Samsung and Google came to an agreement about the use of patents, and Samsung also made arrangements with Ericsson. After upsetting British broadcaster Sky over the naming of SkyDrive, Microsoft reveal the new name for its cloud storage service -- OneDrive.

Google decided to rid itself of Motorla but managed to hang on to a lot of patents. Tablet sales slowed and Windows Phone sales remain low. The State of the Union address was covered by Fox News and in conjunction with Bing it was possible to gauge live reaction to what was being said. Bing has also been used to see if there is a link between location and search traffic for the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks.

In the BetaNews newsroom, there was a lot of talk about switching operating systems. Mihaita completed his transition from Windows to Mac and loved it. Brian thought that anyone looking to migrate away from Windows XP should consider moving to Linux, but I wasn't so sure that this was a good idea. For anyone concerned about moving to Windows 8.1, Microsoft helpful collected together some tips to help wary users avoid the Start screen.

In the world of entertainment, Beats Music extended its free trial period, but there was a slight delay for the Windows Phone app. Yamaha and Spotify joined forces so that Spotify Connect will work with a wider range of devices. Ever wondered if you might be spending too much time on Facebook? A new tool from TIME magazine helps you to find out for sure. You may have noticed an increasing need for instant gratification, it turns out that you can put the blame at technology's door.

I need a lie down after all that! More of the same over the next seven days, I'm sure. If you need something fun to unwind, take a look at Build with Chrome -- a great new tool from Google that lets you play with LEGO online.

Image Credit: vinz89 / Shutterstock
Explore more than 3,500 puzzles with Jigsaw Puzzles Free

Publié: février 1, 2014, 2:31pm CET par Mike Williams

Jigsaw Puzzles Free looks at first much like any other jigsaw game. It presents you with a selection of images; these can be split into 9, 25 or 64 pieces; and you solve the puzzle by dragging and dropping matching pieces next to each other. No surprises there.

Look a little closer, though, and you’ll find the program has some notable extra features to help it stand out from the crowd.

The puzzle images are stored online, for instance. This means you’re able to access more than 3,500, without the program itself getting too bulky. But conveniently, any pictures you select are also saved locally, so it’s possible to play offline as well.

New puzzle pictures are always being added by other Jigsaw Puzzles Free users, too, and if you sign up for a Binary Fortress Account then you’re able to submit images of your own. You gain "reputation points" for doing this, rating other people’s images, adding comments to them, solving puzzles and more, and a "Top Members" chart shows how you’re doing compared to other program users.

Jigsaw Puzzles Free is available on many platforms -- Windows, OS X, Linux, Android, iOS, BlackBerry, Amazon, Windows Phone 8 and more -- and you can even play it in your browser (if you have the Unity 3D plugin, anyway).

We had one or two problems while trying the Jigsaw Puzzles Free Windows client. Individual pieces became noticeably darker when we dropped them into the correct place, for example, a problem when you’re trying to match very similar colors. One puzzle stopped responding to our mouse, too, forcing us to reset it and start again.

Jigsaw Puzzles Free generally worked well, though. It has some ads, but they’re not too intrusive. And if you need more, a paid-for Jigsaw Puzzles+ version includes an extra "Hard Difficulty Mode", can offer hints if you get stuck, and of course gets rid of the ads entirely. It’s yours for $1.99.