Gregarius » BetaNews.Com » mars 13, 2014

BetaNews.Com (18 non lus)

Hey, Google! Please be open and honest with your search ads

Publié: mars 13, 2014, 8:38pm CET par Mark Wilson

It may not be a new season, but it's time for a Google makeover nevertheless. This time around it is the search results page that has been given a lick of paint, although you might be forgiven for not quite being able to put your finger on what's changed. You'll almost certainly notice that things look a bit different, but the details may escape you. The changes were put in place yesterday, having been heralded on Google+ by Google search designer Jon Wiley who explains that the subtle changes are to bring the desktop look more in line with that used on mobile devices.

The size of search result titles has been boosted, and the underline that was present has now been removed. Wiley says that "we've […] evened out all the line heights [which] improves readability and creates an overall cleaner look". This all sounds great in principle. After all, as Wiley points out, it helps to make "the multi-device experience more consistent". But it also ushers in a few concerns.

For some people (I'm talking specifically about the people who have commented on Wiley's Google+ post), the absence of underlines is a little disconcerting. While it may seem like a very small change, it could take some getting used to. Some people have complained that search results are harder to pick out without the guide of an underline. You would think that the larger font would help here, but this is also not going down well with some searchers.

Others have noted that there are weird inconsistencies between web browsers, with the look in Firefox being described as having "horrible" typography. User Wood Whittler gives a simple review: "It looks crap. Pure and simple".

But perhaps the most worrying aspect of the redesign is that ads sort of blend in with search results. Yes, there's a little Ad label there but... yellow on a white background? Come on! You can try a bit harder than that! Many people were unhappy with ads being, er, added to search results, but it is more bearable when they are obvious. Sure, ads appear at the top of search results, but not every search causes ads to be displayed. It's not possible to just train yourself to mentally filter out the top couple of results, because sometimes these will be real results that you might want to click.

I would go so far as to describe the redesign as dishonest and misleading. Users are essentially being tricked into accidentally clicking on ads that are, all too frequently, virtually indistinguishable from regular results. It's sneaky and mean-spirited. Ads may not be disappearing any time soon -- this I can live with -- but Google should at least have the decency to make them obvious.

Photo Credit: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Shutterstock
Google Drive price cut gives a little and takes a lot

Publié: mars 13, 2014, 8:33pm CET par Joe Wilcox

This week, World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee calls for a "bill of rights" for the Internet. Much of the media coverage focuses on governments, but I see corporations as greater concerns. Who has more direct access to your stuff? Google is front and center, but by no means alone, profiting from your content.

Today's big Google Drive price cut -- $1.99 and $9.99 monthly down from $4.99 and $49.99 for 100GB and 1TB, respectively -- makes me wonder. The search and information giant offers more value for less money. The question: Who benefits more? Customers paying less, or Google getting their business? I have to wonder when, if not already, the company will use contextual data gathered from your Drive for targeted everything, from Now to ads and more.

Means to an End

Google's business is all about ad revenues placed around content and providing contextual information to advertisers and to direct consumers through services like Now and Search. During fourth quarter 2013, the company generated $15.62 billion revenue, excluding Motorola, which Lenovo is acquiring. Search and related advertising revenue is right at 90 percent. Google’s dependence on search-related revenue, derived from content someone else produces, cannot be understated.

Meanwhile Google extends tremendous Internet influence by way of search. For example, the company's U.S. search share was 67.6 percent during January, according to comScore. Global share is nearly identical, although Google’s dominance is considerably higher in some regions. For February 2014, NetMarketShare puts Google global search share at 71.81 percent on PCs and stunning 92.37 percent on phones and tablets.

Search is a means to an end, with the destination being your information and what the company can do with it. The benefit to you: Increased contextual services that make search more relevant; products like Google Now providing proactive information; and by way of connected services your information's improved overall usefulness to you, which includes synchronization across devices. The benefit to Google: As aforementioned, the company largely profits from content someone else produces. Google needs your data where its products and services are strongest -- in the cloud. For obvious reasons, storing your stuff there matters more than locally on PC or other device -- or other services! For the latter, pricing is compelling.

Compare to Microsoft OneDrive, which offers 7GB free -- or about half Google Drive's more generous amount -- and charges $25 annually for another 50GB. Meanwhile, 107GB is $50 or 207GB is $100 per annum. Respectively, that's $4.49, $7.49, and $11.49 monthly. By comparison, Dropbox charges $9.99 per month for 100GB storage.

Whose Rights?

Google's Privacy Policy and Terms of Service reveal much about what you give up for paying so little -- and not just Drive. The ToS states: "Google’s privacy policies explain how we treat your personal data and protect your privacy when you use our Services. By using our Services, you agree that Google can use such data in accordance with our privacy policies". Then goes:

When you upload or otherwise submit content to our Services, you give Google (and those we work with) a worldwide license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes we make so that your content works better with our Services), communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such content. The rights you grant in this license are for the limited purpose of operating, promoting, and improving our Services, and to develop new ones. This license continues even if you stop using our Services (for example, for a business listing you have added to Google Maps). Some Services may offer you ways to access and remove content that has been provided to that Service. Also, in some of our Services, there are terms or settings that narrow the scope of our use of the content submitted in those Services. Make sure you have the necessary rights to grant us this license for any content that you submit to our Services.

Google grants itself rather generous rights with your content. But there are restrictions. For example, for some terms directly Drive-related, Google asserts: "We will not change a Private document into a Public one; we will not use a Private document for marketing or promotional campaigns". There is no such guarantee about Public documents or assurances about advertising targeted to you (something Gmail users should understand). Already, without opting out, Google Account users grant permission to have their photos and names used, essentially as uncompensated endorsements, in third-party advertising. Think about such permission when reading the Privacy Policy and ToS, asking: "What else?"

Compare to Dropbox, which Privacy Policy explicitly states about your data: "we won't sell it to advertisers or other third-parties". Terms of Service states:

Your Stuff is yours. These Terms don't give us any rights to Your Stuff except for the limited rights that enable us to offer the Services. We need your permission to do things like hosting Your Stuff, backing it up, and sharing it when you ask us to. Our Services also provide you with features like photo thumbnails, document previews, email organization, easy sorting, editing, sharing and searching. These and other features may require our systems to access, store and scan Your Stuff. You give us permission to do those things, and this permission extends to trusted third parties we work with.

In some respects, the policies aren't so different just the scope of application, although Dropbox more politely states them. The big difference: Google offers more services and interacts with more third parties, particularly around advertising. For example: "We may share aggregated, non-personally identifiable information publicly and with our partners -- like publishers, advertisers or connected sites".

New Google Drive pricing is a big carrot, but what about the stick? Read the Privacy Policy and ToS and answer for yourself. Then, thinking about a digital Magna Carta for the web, what rights would you demand of Google and other corporations using your data?

Photo Credit: Rrraum/Shutterstock
Microsoft announces Office 365 Personal -- renames 'Home Premium' to 'Home'

Publié: mars 13, 2014, 6:22pm CET par Brian Fagioli

Office 365 Home Premium is a great value product for families. For the Leave It To Beaver market, it is a great way to save money as it provides five licenses. Wally, Beaver, Mom and Dad can all have Microsoft Office for a paltry $99 per year. Hell, they can give Eddie Haskell the extra license.

However, what about the lonely bachelors and single ladies of the world that do not need five licenses? Maybe a person only owns one computer and only needs one license. It is a sin to pay for five licenses and have four go to waste. Today, Microsoft announces a new option for the Juan Pablo's of the world -- Office 365 Personal. It offers potential cost savings to individuals.

"Today I want to announce Office 365 Personal. Coming this Spring, Office 365 Personal is a new, great option for people interested in using Office 365. It's designed for an individual, allows for one PC or Mac and one tablet to be connected to the service and will be available for $69.99 USD per year or $6.99 USD per month. We recognize that there are households of all shapes and sizes and we’re committed to delivering the right Office for everyone -- whether that be one person or an entire household", says Chris Schneider, Microsoft.

Schneider further explains, "additionally, we'll continue to offer our Office 365 Home Premium subscription for households, but we'll be changing the name to Office 365 Home. You'll see this change when Office 365 Personal becomes available. Whichever Office 365 subscription you choose, you'll get all of the subscription benefits including 60 minutes of Skype calling per month, 20 GB of additional OneDrive storage and always be up to date with the most recent version of Office".

This is great news for individuals, as it allows them to save $30. Sure, the five license Home version is the better value, but only if you need it. A $99 five-license version for someone that owns only one computer would waste $30 and four licenses. Choice is good in this case and Microsoft should be applauded for making a smart move.

Which version will you choose, Personal or Home? Why? Tell me in the comments.

Image Credit: ostill/Shutterstock
Hey, Amazon, reward Kindle Fire owners with lower Prime pricing

Publié: mars 13, 2014, 5:41pm CET par Joe Wilcox

Catalog this post in the "Stories I meant to Write Dept." On February 1, when rumors circulated about Amazon price increases, I conveyed to colleague Alan Buckingham in chat: "If I were Amazon, Prime would stay same for Fire users but go up for everyone else. Reward customers and drive sales". Today's price increase announcement is reason to formally suggest what I should have six weeks ago.

Amazon tablet shipments dipped during fourth quarter -- from 5.9 million to 5.8 million units -- year over year, according to IDC. Global market share fell to 7.6 percent from 9.9 percent. The other top-5 manufacturers all posted healthy growth gains, although Apple also lost market share. Amazon should use lower Prime pricing to encourage new Kindle Fire sales and to reward existing owners. Keep the price $79 for these customers and hike the rest to $99. To be clear: Referring to Kindle Fire means all models, including HD and HDX.

Apple and Amazon are two peas in a pod, regarding tablets. The companies don't sell just hardware but digital lifestyle around apps, music, movies, and more. Amazon has more to sell, and so more to lose, from its tablets. Prime the pump, Amazon! Let the subscription do more for you and your tablet customers by charging them less, which is what they pay now. That $20 could lead to many more dollars in sales from people buying into the entire retail digital lifestyle.

My Amazon Prime increase email begins: "We are writing to provide you advance notice that the price of your Prime membership will be increasing. The annual rate will be $99 when your membership renews on June 19, 2014". Imagine if the text read: "We are writing to let you know that Prime membership pricing will be increasing to $99 per year. But as a loyal Kindle Fire HDX owner, your membership will remain $79 when it renews on June 19, 2014".

Not that I might receive such an email. I am the primary Prime member, but Kindle Fire HDX is attached to my wife's Amazon account, which is connected to my Prime membership. We have some questions out to Amazon, trying to understand why some BetaNews writers received notices stating their price increases start next year. If by chance Amazon already rewards Kindle Fire owners -- and that explains the 2014 and 2015 discrepancies -- excellent! We think alike, Amazon. But first response suggests otherwise.

That said, as an early Prime member, I'm glad to see my colleagues who are latecomers get Prime for another year at $79 but disappointed to be excluded. Amazon launched Prime in February 2005, I signed up in May 2007, according to my account info. My memory says longer, but whatever. For new members, you have until March 20 to lock in $79 for the upcoming year.

When my renewal comes, if Amazon wants more money, I want more benefits. The online retailer generously lets members attach four accounts to one Prime. Great benefit, thank you. But only the main account can stream videos or borrow books. Extend that benefit to at least one other account holder. Doing so meshes with the idea of rewarding Kindle Fire owners. Give them more, Amazon.

During January's quarterly earnings call, Amazon hinted at price increase between $20 and $40. That tip-off is excellent example how companies float trial balloons and the news media distributes them. Rumors rapidly spread about $119 as being the number. Wall Street welcomed the amount, while letting Amazon gauge customer response to either. Rumor-crazed, page view-obsessed bloggers and journalists helped the company to spread the word -- to float the numbers.

That brings us to today and the relief some customers will feel about $99 not being as bad as $119. The comparison many people familiar with the higher number will make is $119 to $99, not $79 to $99. For example, I would have cancelled at $119 but might just keep Prime for $99 -- and you?
The BEST Start button and menu choices for Windows 8.1

Publié: mars 13, 2014, 5:29pm CET par Wayne Williams

Whatever your reasons for switching to Windows 8.1 -- be it finally upgrading from XP, or the arrival of a new PC at home or work -- you’ll find "New Windows" a slightly alien place at first. You can action various changes to make it more like the OS you’re used to (boot to desktop -- soon to be the default -- and switching to the All Apps view are great first moves), but if you want a proper Start button and menu, you’ll need third-party help. Fortunately there are plenty of great choices available, including some excellent free programs like Classic Shell and IObit StartMenu 8.

Seasoned Windows 8.x users might sneer at you for "going back to the old ways", but there’s no question that if you use a keyboard and mouse and have limited interest in the Modern UI, a "real" Start button and menu can do wonders for your productivity. Here are our top 14 recommendations -- free and paid.

Classic Shell (FREE)

Last updated in January to make the program more secure, and give users the ability to control settings through group policies, this fully Windows 8.1 compatible Start button and menu is the one recommended by most users, and rightly so. It offers a choice of three different menu styles -- Classic, Two Columns and Windows 7 -- which can be skinned to suit your tastes.

It is packed with options, including a dedicated shutdown button, the ability to pin programs directly from Explorer and an enhanced Windows Search function. In addition to the classic Start Menu there's a Classic Explorer and Classic IE, although you can choose which elements you want during installation.

IObit Start Menu 8 (FREE)

This free program offers a choice of Start menus. You can opt for the usual Windows 7 look, or go for the Windows 8 design which places the Start (or Apps) screen inside a window on the desktop. You can also change the style settings to make the latter view seem less odd. It offers a selection of different Start button choices too. As well as the standard Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 button designs, there are some weirder options including a love heart, an acorn, and a coffee cup.

The menu is fully customizable, as is the user interface.

Start8 ($4.99 -- trial available)

Stardock’s Start menu isn’t free, but it’s very affordable at just $4.99 and there’s a 30-day trial available so you can try before you buy. You get a Windows 7 style Start menu with Windows 8 enhancements that will let you pin desktop and Modern UI apps, and it supports Jump Lists too. The menu automatically matches the color of the taskbar, and the Start button is fully skinnable. Like IObit's Start Menu 8 it can display the Windows 8.x Start screen in a pop-up window from the desktop.

You can also optionally disable all of the Windows 8 desktop "hot spots".

StartIsBack ($2.99 -- trial available)

This is an authentic Windows 7 style Start button and menu. It costs just $2.99 (for use on one PC) and there is a 30-day trial available. When the trial expires it will continue to run but in a limited mode, and with the addition of nagging requests to upgrade. There are separate versions for Windows 8 and 8.1, but your license key will work with either.

8StartButton (FREE)

Totalidea offers free and paid versions of its Start button. The free edition is (naturally enough), lacking in features compared to the paid edition, but will suffice for most users' needs. 8StartButton doesn’t seek to revisit the past by perfectly replicating the Windows 7 Start button and menu, but instead offers a choice of new designs. You can customize the Start button with your own images, and choose what it should display when clicked -- the Start menu, Start screen or a cool, and very different radial menu.

A customizable menu offers tabs that let you quickly switch between Start menu, Start tiles and Recent Documents, and there’s a "Search for programs and documents" box. The paid edition costs $17.99 (including tax) but there’s an offer code (8BND14) which will currently save you 10 percent when applied.

Start Menu Reviver (FREE)

If you don’t hate the look of the Modern UI, just the lack of traditional Start menu, this free program might well appeal. Instead of a Windows 7 style menu, it presents you with a tiled touchscreen-friendly version you can use to launch both desktop and Windows Store apps. You can turn websites and even documents into tiles.

ViStart (FREE)

A free Start menu from the developer who has previously created alternative menus for Windows Vista and Windows 7. It comes with three Start menus and four Start buttons pre installed, and a skin manager and control panel you can use to configure settings.

Start Menu X (FREE)

Fully compatible with Windows 8.1 this Start menu comes in free and professional editions. The latter costs $9.99 and adds extra features, such as one-click launch, and tabs.

StartW8 (FREE)

If you want a straightforward, no frills Start menu, then this should serve your needs perfectly. It’s a convincing facsimile of the Windows 7 menu, and fully compatible with Windows 8.1. The program is free, although a donation is appreciated.

Classic Start 8 (FREE)

Adds a traditional Windows 7 style menu to the tiled OS and gives users quick access to the search box, control panel, documents, and all programs.

Pokki for Windows 8 (FREE)

Although this is a Start button and menu, it’s not a Windows 7 copy. The program gives you a mobile like app experience with tons of free apps on offer.

Handy Start Menu (FREE)

A rather basic Start menu, but it does the job and lets you launch programs without having to leave the desktop. Applications are automatically sorted by groups.

StartForDesktop (FREE)

Offers a Start menu and “Classic” Start menu, and the ability to pin desktop programs, and launch Modern apps.

Power8 (FREE)

Not the most polished looking of Start menus, it lets you access frequently used applications and pin items, and doesn’t require installation, so you can try it out without risk and even use the Modern UI alongside it.
Can the Internet of Things live up to its hype?

Publié: mars 13, 2014, 5:23pm CET par Ian Barker

The Internet of Things has the potential to offer significant benefits to both businesses and consumers. Realizing those benefits though relies on identifying problems that the IoT can address.

Technology research specialist IDTechEx's event in Berlin at the beginning of April is set to explore the prospects offered by the IoT and look at how it can be used to make a difference in the real world.

At the heart of the IoT of course are devices that in the past wouldn't have needed connectivity. There is potential for this in consumer applications like home automation, driven by governments encouraging the roll-out of smart metering. However, consumer spending on automation devices remains sluggish owing to cost. The energy saving message means that people are comparing the price of devices with the potential saving and often choosing to keep their cash in their pockets.

Raghu Das, CEO of IDTechEx sees this changing as media companies in particular use the IoT to offer improved connectivity and targeted services. This may see a change in the pricing model, with consumers getting devices for free in exchange for seeing advertising or allowing data collection.

In the short term though he believes the IoT will only succeed if it addresses certain challenges. These include focusing on closed-system implementations that deliver a strong payback, then moving on to other areas where a problem can be solved with a cheaper, more effective solution.

Das suggests that existing hardware can be leveraged to perform more useful tasks. Using smartphones to connect to other hardware such as real-time location systems for example, as well as finding ways to connect islands of technology together.

The biggest opportunity according to Das is to, "Offer new services to consumers they do not yet know they want." But he adds that this is, "...challenging to do and involves creative new business models, probably where the service is 'free' but paid for in kind by consumer data".

The IDTechEx Internet of Things & WSN event takes place on April 1-2 in Berlin.

Image Credit: Black Jack / Shutterstock
VLC for Windows 8 Beta launches, early promise undermined by stability issues

Publié: mars 13, 2014, 3:56pm CET par Nick Peers

Windows RT/8 users rejoice: a Modern UI version of the fan-favorite VLC Media Player tool has just surfaced in the Windows App Store. VLC for Windows 8 Beta 0.2is currently available for Intel-based processors only, so users of WinRT tablets will need to wait until VideoLan is able to successfully compile an ARM version.

As the version number attests, VLC for Windows 8 is a very early public peek at running VLC on the Modern UI platform, and sadly it shows.

First, the good: VLC for Windows 8 can play just about any media file you throw at it, thanks to comprehensive built-in support for a wide array of formats and codecs.

We also like the integration of a library for browsing content -- your video and music libraries are included by default, and in theory the app should work with external storage and DLNA servers too.

However, while there’s definite promise -- select an artist and VLC will attempt to display biography information about them along with other suggested albums to try, for example -- the app is still a long way short of being ready for primetime, so don’t expect miracles when you first fire it up.

We found trying to browse libraries problematic, with frequent crashing. When we clicked on some media to play it, it was hit and miss as to whether the file would play (or VLC would again crash) too. Thankfully, there’s a button for manually opening media using the file system, which worked more often than not.

Part of these stability issues are caused by the need to make the app backwards-compatible with Windows 8.0, something that clearly frustrates developer Jean-Baptiste Kempf.

The beta release also opens with support for multiple audio track selection, embedded subtitles, and background audio playback (so you can listen to music while in another app). VideoLan’s immediate priority is to stabilize these features, but has hinted at the promise of implementing "longer term goals" in a future release.

If you’re willing to try this unfinished app -- note performance is likely to be poor thanks to a lack of support for hardware acceleration -- you can download VLC for Windows 8 Beta 0.2 now on your Windows 8 or 8.1 PC or tablet. Also available are VLC Media Player 32-bit and VLC Media Player 64-bit for Windows, Mac and Linux desktops.
Emsisoft releases Mobile Security for Android

Publié: mars 13, 2014, 3:06pm CET par Mike Williams

Emsisoft has announced the availability of Emsisoft Mobile Security 1.0, its lightweight commercial Android security solution.

Mobile Security offers a similar feature set to many competing products. A malware scanner checks your apps and files for threats; real-time protection detects and blocks malicious apps before they can be installed, while web protection prevents you accessing dangerous websites.

Elsewhere, a Privacy Audit highlights apps which require special permissions (they send or receive data over the internet, can access your personal details, or can cost you money by making calls or sending text messages).

And an Anti-Theft module is able to remotely lock or wipe your device if it’s stolen or lost, as well as remotely set the screen unlock password and assorted password rules.

All this is nicely presented in a clean and clear interface. Most options and settings are kept well out of sight, leaving the core features accessible in just a tap or two.

Emsisoft Mobile Security provides a 30-day trial, but after that you must purchase a license. A 1-year license will normally cost $19.95, but a special launch offer means it’s currently only $9.97. This deal is for a "limited time only", though, so if you might be interested, go grab a copy right now.
Amazon Prime officially gets a price increase, customers safe for now

Publié: mars 13, 2014, 3:02pm CET par Alan Buckingham

Rumors have abounded for weeks that Amazon would bump up the pricing of its Prime service -- the program that awards free two-day shipping on all purchases, provides a lending library to Kindle owners and a video streaming service that competes with Netflix.

Today, rumor becomes fact as existing customers awake to an email that gives the bad news. While cries of gloom over the price possibly doubling were, thankfully, not true, it is still an added fee to the annual subscription rate.

The email was simple and to the point, and I have pasted mine below for those who haven’t yet read the bad news, or are not subscribers.

We are writing to provide you advance notice that the price of your Prime membership will be increasing in 2015. Your 2014 annual renewal will remain at the original price of $79. On March 16, 2015, your membership will renew at $99/year.

Even as fuel and transportation costs have increased, the price of Prime has remained the same for nine years. Since 2005, the number of items eligible for unlimited free Two-Day Shipping has grown from one million to over 20 million. We also added unlimited access to over 40,000 movies and TV episodes with Prime Instant Video and a selection of over 500,000 books to borrow from the Kindle Owners' Lending Library.

The rise isn’t so bad -- Netflix charges $7.99 per month for streaming video alone, without other benefits -- roughly $95 per year. Hulu Plus is priced the same.

My colleague Wayne Williams, who resides in the UK, pointed out that his nation has already seen increased pricing for the service -- "The price of Prime went up in the UK by £30 (from £49 to £79) from 26 February. It was partially due to the inclusion of Amazon Prime Instant Video".

It’s certainly not the end of the world, and the service still offers more than enough benefit to cover the slight increase. It also serves as plenty of notice, as I don’t need to think about it until this time next year, while my colleague Brian Fagioli got the same email alerting him of an increase when he renews in August of 2015. It was, however, a rather rude way to be reminded that I am about to be billed in three days.

Update: My price hike, as seen in the above email, is due to my renewal being before the effective date. As for my colleague, Brian Fagioli, he apparently has existing credit on his account, though no good explanation for that was given. The official statement received from Amazon reads -- "For the first time since it was introduced nine years ago, the price of Prime is going up in the US. Starting March 20, new Prime members will pay $99 per year. Beginning April 17, existing Prime members will pay the new fee on their subsequent annual renewal date".
Google Street View paddles down the Colorado River

Publié: mars 13, 2014, 1:51pm CET par Alan Buckingham

Despite its name, which stems from the location of origin, the Colorado River is most famous for its winding path through the Grand Canyon in Arizona. From there, it makes its way on to Baja in Mexico and finally a terminus at the Gulf -- a 1,450 mile journey.

If you haven’t seen the river, or the canyon (and I highly recommend doing so) then Google Street View will now give you a sense of what it is like. The search giant teamed up with American Rivers to capture the images seen in this latest update.

"Now with Google Street View, you can ride the whitewater rapids, cruise the sleepy river bends, and discover the side canyons that make the Colorado River a treasured resource", states American Rivers' Chris Williams, who is the senior vice president of conservation.

The journey will not take you all the way from the Rockies to the Gulf of California, but focuses on the canyon that the river carved out over some six million years.

But while you enjoy the scenery, remember that there is a sobering note to all of this. Williams points out that "While you admire its grandeur, remember that the river is also at risk. One of the United States’ most important resources, the Colorado River provides drinking water for 36 million people from Denver to Los Angeles, supports a $26 billion recreation industry, and irrigates nearly 4 million acres of land that grow 15 percent of our nation’s crops. But it’s also one of the most endangered, dammed, diverted and plumbed rivers in the world, thanks to a century of management policies and practices that have promoted the use of Colorado River water at an unsustainable rate. By the time it reaches the Gulf of California in Mexico, the river is barely a trickle -- a ghost of its once magnificent self".

So enjoy the views, but keep the problems in mind as you do so. We'd all like our grandkids to get to see this as well.
APUSB 47 restores USB drive autorun to Windows 7 and 8

Publié: mars 13, 2014, 12:38pm CET par Mike Williams

At first, Windows AutoRun seemed like a very good idea. Just connect a removable drive, and as long as it’s configured correctly, a program is automatically launched to help process your files (or whatever else you want to do).

But then, of course, malware authors realized that this was a great way to infect PCs without anyone ever noticing. Individual users could turn AutoRun off, but eventually Microsoft decided this wasn’t enough, and the feature was disabled for all but optical media in Windows 7.

While this does improve PC security, there may occasionally be times when you’d like to have AutoRun back, for example if you’re just transporting files between your own PCs (or any others you trust 100 percent). And that’s where APUSB 47 comes in.

The program applies plenty of tricks during setup to try and install various browser add-ons. You can bypass all of these, but it’s more difficult than usual, so read each screen carefully before you click on anything.

Once installation is complete, everything else is much more straightforward. Run the program and it monitors your system, waiting for devices to be connected. Plug in a USB drive and it opens any AutoRun.inf file, then executes it for you.

If you need to close APUSB then you can do so with a right-click on its system tray icon.

The program isn’t always as helpful as it could be. A basic AutoRun.inf file might look like this, for example.

[AutoRun]
OPEN=ProgramName.exe

However, if you forget to include the [AutoRun] line then APUSB won’t tell you, instead displaying a misleading error message that the program name is "invalid".

APUSB 47 seems to work very well for valid AutoRun.inf files, though, and on balance it’s a simple and effective way to restore USB AutoRun for Windows 7 and 8. Just be very sure you understand the security implications before you install it.
Nikon beefs up its mirrorless range with new 1 V3 camera

Publié: mars 13, 2014, 12:22pm CET par Mihaita Bamburic

Smartphones may be the most popular devices for taking pictures nowadays, but there is still a place for dedicated cameras, which continue to offer superior image quality. For this reason, I, like many other photography enthusiasts, have a DSLR. It may not be small, but it is a pleasure to shoot photos with. But, mirrorless cameras are slowly catching up and may soon prove to be as good as or better than their bigger siblings, with their more pocketable design playing a key part in this.

Nikon's new 1 V3 mirrorless camera, that the Japanese manufacturer unveiled today, is one of the most attractive offerings in its 1 range. Like other, similar bodies, it is quite light, coming in at just 324 grams. And it brings impressive specifications to the table, like a 171 focus point system and 20 FPS shooting rate.

Unlike more expensive Nikon DSLRs, the 1 V3 comes with Wi-Fi connectivity out-of-the-box. The former require an optional accessory to achieve similar results, which is not convenient to use, as it is not a built-in feature, or lug around.

Here are the big specs: 18.4 MP CMOS 13.2 x 8.8 mm sensor with no low-pass filter, Expeed 4A processor, 160 to 12800 ISO range, 1080p video recording at 60 FPS (30 FPS is available as well), 720p video recording at 120 FPS, microSD card slot (supports microSDHD microSDXC cards) and a tilting touchscreen panel on the back.

To give you an idea of how fast 20 FPS is for a dedicated camera, Nikon's also new D4s, which is a $6,449.95 professional DSLR, only does 11 FPS, or about half as much. The 1 V3 achieves that high rate with the electronic shutter; using the mechanical one the frame rate drops to 6 FPS, which is still quite fast. As a result, it touts the "world's shortest shooting time lag", for a digital camera with interchangeable lenses,

The 1 V3, however, costs $1,199.95 with the optically-stabilized 1 NIKKOR VR 10-30mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens (in full-frame terms, it is equivalent to the view angle of a 27-81 lens, which would be significantly bigger). That is not cheap, far from it, but it is roughly on par with what other similar mirrorless cameras cost. The lens is also touted to be "the world's lightest interchangeable lens equipped with a power-drive zoom function, and also the world's first interchangeable lens equipped with power-drive zoom to utilize an electrically controlled lens cover". Of course, there are a couple of asterisks there.

In the kit package, among other accessories, Nikon also includes an electronic viewfinder (that can be attached on top of the camera, taking advantage of the shoe, but eliminates the possibility of using a large flash at the same time) with 2.359 million pixels and a grip, which allows for a more comfortable shooting experience and holding of the camera.
AVI ReComp supports custom target file sizes

Publié: mars 13, 2014, 11:47am CET par Mike Williams

It’s been almost two years since the last release, but the excellent AVI compression tool AVI ReComp has finally been updated to version 1.5.6.

There’s only one significant addition in this build, but it’s a good one. When choosing a target size for the output video, you’re no longer restricted to the default choices. Click "Custom sizes", add whatever new sizes you like, and in future they’ll appear along with the standard options.

This is a useful extra feature, especially as the default sizes never seemed particularly well chosen to us. Our first quick tests suggested the program hits its new targets very well. This will vary depending on the source material and the target size you choose, but the extra control is still going to be welcome.

Other tweaks in this release are rather less interesting, with the official AVI ReComp changelog reporting "slight UI changes and improvements", updates to "some of the external libraries" and a general "Help file update".

And of course the program continues to provide a host of other video adjustments: as well as compressing a movie, it can resize or crop the source, add subtitles and watermarks, convert audio streams and tweak low-level encoding parameters to deliver the results you need.

AVI ReComp 1.5.6 is available now.
Fitbit Force recall affects 'about' 1M units

Publié: mars 13, 2014, 10:45am CET par Mihaita Bamburic

Activity trackers, also known as fitness bands, are popular wearable devices that are designed, among other purposes, to give users insights into their sleeping habits, the option to track the time and distance they walk and the number of steps they make. In the case of the Fitbit Force, however, activity trackers are also giving users rashes.

Fitbit has officially revealed 1.7 percent of Force users have reported skin irritations, which has led the company to announce a voluntary recall and issue a public apology. In two filings, with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Healthy Canadians agency, the wearables company reveals the extent of the recall -- roughly one million units in US and "about" 28,000 north of the border, in Canada, sold between October 2013 and February 2014.

"Users can develop allergic reactions to the stainless steel casing, materials used in the strap, or adhesives used to assemble the product, resulting in redness, rashes or blistering where the skin has been in contact with the tracker", says the US filing.

In US, Fitbit says it has received roughly 9,900 reports of skin irritations and 250 reports of blistering. In Canada the number of reported irritations is lower, only 50, most likely the significant difference is due to the number of units sold to local consumers.

The model numbers that fall under the recall are FB402BK, FB402BKS, FB402SL and FB402SLS in US, and FB402BK-CAN, FB402BKS-CAN, FB402SL-CAN, FB402SLS-CAN in Canada (UPC numbers 898628002885, 898628002892, 898628002960 and 898628002977).

Fitbit Force buyers are advised to contact the company for a full refund, and obviously put the activity tracker aside immediately if they have not done so already. Fitbit has set up this page to help those who are affected to return the product and receive the refund.

Photo Credit: Aleksandar Mijatovic/Shutterstock
Windows XP, 2001 called and it wants you back

Publié: mars 13, 2014, 8:48am CET par Mihaita Bamburic

I admit to being utterly, utterly puzzled why some people and businesses choose to keep using Windows XP in 2014. Maybe they have not received the memo it is nearly 13 years old, and terribly outdated. If the operating system was a living being, it would be called a dinosaur. And we are not seeing those alive and kicking in living rooms, offices and ATMs, are we?

I am not going to pull out the security card and trump it as a reason to upgrade. We all know this argument does not resonate with Windows XP users. Instead, they should be looking at the real benefits an upgrade, to let's say Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, will do for them and at what could happen if they choose not to abandon the sinking ship. This is a strategy Microsoft has adopted in a new please-upgrade-from-XP-we-really-want-you-to infographic, aimed at the UK Government.

"It’s almost time to say goodbye to Windows XP -- the longest-supported operating system in Microsoft history", says Microsoft contractor Jesse Stanchak. (I would say the time to wave goodbye has long passed.) "It’s never easy to say goodbye to an old friend -- and XP now more than 12 years old. But the world has changed since 2001 and today’s IT environment is filled with challenges that no one could have foreseen back when XP development began in the late 1990s".

For software, 13 years is a very, very long time. Microsoft has released four new consumer OSes since, and the software giant is recommending to upgrade to Windows 7 or Windows 8, as there are quite a few noticeable benefits to be had, some of which I am mentioning below.

According to the company, newer versions of the OS have been optimized for more recent hardware, providing performance improvements and lower booting and resume times. Who would not want their device to at least feel faster? There are also new features designed to make BYOD easier, increase usability (the brilliant window snap springs to mind) or beef up security (BitLocker is a useful one).

Compatibility with the latest software is one benefit quite a few users are not paying much attention to (and Microsoft is not specifically mentioning either), but, as more and more developers decide to focus their efforts on Windows 7 and later releases, Windows XP will be out of the picture.

Microsoft rightfully points out that, "Without support, some businesses such as those in the financial or public sector, may struggle to remain compliant if they continue to use Windows XP". Might I add, businesses, especially banking institutions, should be very concerned of what happens if (when, actually) someone hacks critical devices, like ATMs. The negative publicity, which ensues in such an event, can be more damaging, both financially and to their credibility, than the upgrade.

"A Custom Support Agreement for an End of Life OS can become very expensive", points out Microsoft. Quoting IDC, the infographic says "Organizations that continue to retain a Windows XP environment not only are leaving themselves exposed to security risks and support challenges but also are wasting budget dollars that would be better used in modernizing their IT investments". Would you want to be the client of a business that does not care about such things? I certainly would not.

Those who wish to upgrade from Windows XP can turn to Microsoft Services for support, according to the infographic. We already have extensive coverage on the topic, presenting advice on what to upgrade to and even how to make the best out of a bad situation (yeah, how to keep staying alive while using Windows XP). It is up to you to decide whether it is still worth living in 2001.

Photo Credit: Everett Collection/Shutterstock
Bitcoin is down but not out

Publié: mars 13, 2014, 8:41am CET par Robert X. Cringely

Regular readers will know that I’ve had my doubts about Bitcoin. Recent events in the Bitcoin world, especially the failure of Mt. Gox, the biggest Bitcoin exchange, have caused further problems for the crypto currency. But I’m oddly cheered by these events and am beginning to think Bitcoin may actually have a chance of surviving as a currency.

Willy Sutton, who made his career robbing banks, once explained that he robbed them "because that’s where the money is". Well recent bad news in the world of Bitcoin follows a similar theme: yes there have been thefts, corruption, and a suicide, but all this is based not on Bitcoin’s failure but on its success. The wonder isn’t that Mt. Gox lost $460 million in Bitcoins but that it had $460 million in Bitcoins to lose.

These events are growing pains, nothing else, and the fact that Bitcoin values have staggered each time and then quickly recovered shows that the market also believes this to be true.

All the recent breaches (if they are breaches -- there’s some question now in the case of Mt. Gox) have been based on bad security at these sites. Mt.Gox was run by a Magic the Gathering site. Big money attracts sophisticated teams of hackers, which is why real banks hire sophisticated people to protect them. Dudes running Magic the Gathering sites aren’t that. They don’t have a chance. So look for more Bitcoin exchanges to fall until security standards rise enough to make such thefts less attractive.

Bitcoin itself has remained secure so far. Owning your Bitcoin yourself (encrypted, on your own machine with backups) is still quite safe. The issue is that if a machine with Bitcoins on it can be compromised, the Bitcoins can be sent away anonymously. They are ridiculously easy to fence.

The bottom line is there appears to be a real niche for pseudonymous currency, even if mainly for the subversive world. Also, it opens new doors for electronic payments.

Famed economist Nouriel Roubini -- Dr. Doom from New York University -- claims Bitcoin is a Ponzi scheme which makes me like the currency more and more. It makes sense he’d see it that way but then the Argentinian peso feels pretty Ponzilike today, too. Only time will tell but if the value endures then it’s not a scheme. It’s weird, but not a scheme.

So if Bitcoin gets killed it will probably be because of something that replaces it.
ARM-based robot will try to break Rubik's Cube Guinness World Record with Galaxy S4

Publié: mars 13, 2014, 3:50am CET par Brian Fagioli

Games do not have to be mindless. You can learn and develop skills, while having fun and playing too. Some good examples are Simon and Rubik's Cube. The latter is quite hard -- you must make each side of a cube a solid color, by rotating parts of the toy. Trust me, it is harder than it sounds.

Believe it or not, there is a way to make the Rubik's Cube even better -- robots. Yes, they can be designed to solve a Rubik's Cube faster than any human. Today, ARM announces that it has built one with components that include Lego bricks and a Galaxy S4, with the intention of breaking the Rubik's Cube speed record.

"The CUBESTORMER 3 robot which uses ARM processor technology has started final testing before attempting to break the Guinness World Records title for solving a Rubik's Cube at the Big Bang Fair being held at the NEC in Birmingham, UK, on Saturday (March 15). The current record of 5.27 seconds was set just over two years ago by its predecessor CubeStormer II", says ARM.

The company further explains, "we are very confident the robot will break the record. The new robot can think three times faster than its older brother. The older robot was using intelligence from a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 based Samsung Electronics' Exynos 4 Dual application processor in a Samsung Galaxy S2 smartphone. CUBESTORMER 3 will use a Galaxy S4 equipped with an Exynos 5 Octa application processor with an eight-core ARM big.LITTLE implementation featuring four Cortex-A15 and four Cortex-A7 processors".

By using an Android-based phone, which utilizes Linux, and pairing it with robotics to solve a Rubik's cube, this is the ultimate nerd project. Sure, it won't change the world, but sometimes science can just be fun for the hell of it.

Check out the video below and tell me what you think in the comments.

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Microsoft Zune will be back, at least in new Schwarzenegger video

Publié: mars 13, 2014, 12:42am CET par Alan Buckingham

"I'll be back". The line has become a classic in popular culture as the muscular movie hero so frequently uttered it, almost as if it was his calling card. Arnold Schwarzenegger has done a lot since those days, some he would be proud of, and also a bit that he likely isn't, but regardless, he made good on his promise. He's back.

A new video from the action star features a tank and lots of objects being crushed. In fact, the video is called "will it crush", perhaps playing off the popular "will it blend" series. Spoiler alert -- most objects in the path of a tank will, in fact, crush.

However, the last item in the two minute clip will be of interest to techies. The final product to meet those rolling steel treads is a Microsoft Zune, the discontinued MP3 player that the company promoted as the answer to Apple's iPod. The device hit the market too late, and the desktop software could be a bit wonky at times. The product never caught on and was discontinued by Microsoft, to the point where now even the name is gone.

The final insult is when the "Terminator" utters "I don't even know that that is" in reaction to a Zune being thrown beneath his rolling military vehicle.

It's all in good fun and proceeds from the contest, details of which are in the video, will go to charity. You can check it all out below.

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