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BetaNews.Com (11 non lus)

Linux Mint 17 'Qiana' Xfce is here -- breathe new life into an older PC

Publié: juin 26, 2014, 7:06pm CEST par Brian Fagioli
Linux is great for a litany of reasons, but one of the most important is refurbishing. You see, an operating system based on the open-source kernel can breathe new life into an older computer, and effectively turn it into a new machine. This is because the operating systems are typically less system intensive than Windows.

Unfortunately, not all Linux-based operating systems are equally lightweight. Some may require better specs than others, usually due to the environment. Something like Unity or KDE may require a more modern computer for an optimal experience, but what if your machine has really low specs? A great environment for an old and weak machine is Xfce. Though not the lightest, it feels modern, while lighter environments can feel archaic. Today, Linux Mint embraces the low-end, with version 17 of its operating system, now with Xfce as an option.

The Mint Team touts the following new features:
Xfce is functional and lightweight, so I do recommend it for older machines. However, if you have a more modern computer, you would be better off using Cinnamon or KDE instead. A satisfying computing experience is birthed from the quality of the environment and many users will be dissatisfied with the lack of bells and whistles of Xfce. I do not mean to say it is bad, quite the contrary, but if your computer can power an environment with better eye candy and features, why not do it?

If you have an old unused computer that you would like to refurbish for a child, friend or relative, Linux Mint 17 Xfce is a great idea. You can download it here. Tell me how you like it in the comments.
Ignorance of digital dangers puts consumers at risk

Publié: juin 26, 2014, 3:31pm CEST par Ian Barker

Technology users are putting themselves at risk by ignoring how their personal information is being stored and the potential security risks that go hand in hand with digital devices.

This is the conclusion of a round table panel of security experts put together by hosting company UKFast. According to the panel the buzz of social media and the ever-evolving digital scene has created an ignorant culture of technology consumers.

Panelist Hugh Boyes from the Institution of Engineering and Technology at the University of Warwick, believes consumers need to realize exactly what their device is capable of, and precisely what information it holds. "People don’t understand exactly what these devices can do. Take a fitness band, for example. The product isn't actually the wristband; it's the data that is inside it. Yet no one is aware of this. The internet is everywhere, and so in turn, we give our personal information out everywhere. Things like social media, loyalty cards and GPS tracking for instance -- these things all require our personal information. No one hesitates in giving it away if it means being able to use a particular app".

This giving away of information is driven by a culture of convenience says Robert Fuller, director of Innevate, "Because things often seem to happen seamlessly, it doesn't lend itself to people having to think about what processes are involved".

This is echoed by Lawrence Jones, CEO of UKFast, "People are obsessed with speed and usability -- the faster and easier they can achieve something, the better. Even if that means storing your card details, passwords and personal details in the same place or using the same password for everything. It may be more convenient but it's significantly less secure".

Zain Hyed, director of security at Hybrid believes if consumers understood the risks, they would take greater care when handing out their personal details, "After all the Heartbleed media coverage, only 4 in 10 people actually changed their passwords. You'd expect everyone to change their passwords just to make sure they were secure, but unfortunately that wasn't the case. It’s the culture we are living in today -- no one understands the dangers".

The panel offers a number of tips for consumers to ensure that they stay secure. These are:

* Make sure that you install all patch updates and keep your software up to date.
* Have different passwords for each account, then if hackers get old of one password they can’t access your other data.
* Use long passwords, numbers/symbols and full phrase passwords are most effective.
* Read the news -- find out if any services or companies you use been hacked and what you need to do about it.
* Find out where your data is stored and how safely before trusting an organization with your information.

Videos of this and previous round table discussions can be found on the UKFast.tv website.

Image Credit: JJ Studio / Shutterstock
Apple introduces a new 16GB iPod touch with iSight camera

Publié: juin 26, 2014, 3:14pm CEST par Wayne Williams

Last week Apple quietly introduced a new entry-level iMac. This week it’s added a new entry-level iPod touch to the Apple Store, and slashed the price of existing models.

The new iPod touch comes with 16GB of storage, a 5-megapixel, 1080p rear iSight camera and color-matched wrist strap loop. It’s priced at $199. The price of the 32 and 64GB models have been slashed to $249 and $299 from $299 and $399 respectively.

Apple previously offered a 16GB iPod touch, but it cost more and didn’t have the camera or strap.

The new device is available in the usual color choices -- black, space gray, pink, yellow, blue, and (Product)RED.

The new 16GB iPod touch is available to buy through the Apple Store now and comes with free shipping and engraving.
HTC vows to quickly offer Android L on all One (M7), (M8) models

Publié: juin 26, 2014, 2:43pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

Taiwanese maker HTC is now, undoubtedly, at the pinnacle of timely Android upgrades. It was among the first to announce and deliver KitKat, and now it is stepping up to the plate once again by revealing its Android "L" plans.

HTC says all of its One (M7) and One (M8) smartphones will receive Android L within 90 days of getting the final bits of code from Google. That means both unlocked and mobile operator-branded versions of its two most-recent flagships; One (M7) -- as the original One is referred to by HTC now -- arrived more than a year ago, while One (M8) was launched in late-March, 2014.

HTC promises to deliver timely Android upgrades as part of its HTC Advantage program, which is a no-cost option that adds a couple of major benefits to users. You can read more about it here.

HTC adds that other smartphones that are part of the One "family" will get Android L following the two One flagships, which means later than the first 90 days of availability. You can read more about the latest version of the open-source operating system here.

Now if other major Android manufacturers would follow in HTC's footsteps...
BusyBox crams 117 Unix tools into a tiny Windows executable

Publié: juin 26, 2014, 2:38pm CEST par Mike Williams

Unix is renowned for its powerful command line tools, and there are many ways you can try at least some of them on the PC. Installing Gnu on Windows gets you 100+ of the best known tools, recompiled to run under Windows, while favorites like grep have been ported individually.

But if you’re looking for simplicity and convenience, it’s hard to beat BusyBox, which crams tiny versions of 117 Unix utilities into a single 645 KB executable. There’s no bulk, no complex folder structure, just one package which provides everything you need.

You don’t need any Unix/ Linux knowledge to get at least something from the program, as many of its commands are very simple. Cal displays a text calendar (month or year); df and du summarize hard drive use; head displays the first 10 lines of a text file; sleep pauses your script for a defined time; unzip extracts files from archives, and so on.

If you’re comfortable at the Windows command line then you’ll appreciate BusyBox’s more advanced tools. Diff compares text files and displays their differences; ftpput and ftpget store and retrieve files via ftp; grep is a powerful search tool with regular expression support; hexdump displays files in various custom formats; and there are smarter ways to copy files, compare them, and generally take better control of your system.

Linux experts should keep in mind that BusyBox has been optimized for size, and its tools generally don’t have as many options as the originals. The program is more about convenience and portability than supporting every single optional switch.

For all that, most tools retain their core features, and BusyBox does support a lot of utilities:

[, [[, ar, ash, awk, base64, basename, bash, bbconfig, bunzip2, bzcat, bzip2, cal, cat, catv, chmod, cksum, clear, cmp, comm, cp, cpio, cut, date, dc, dd, df, diff, dirname, dos2unix, du, echo, ed, egrep, env, expand, expr, false, fgrep, find, fold, ftpget, ftpput, getopt, grep, gunzip, gzip, hd, head, hexdump, kill, killall, ls, lzcat, lzma, lzop, lzopcat, man, md5sum, mkdir, mktemp, mv, od, patch, pgrep, pidof, printenv, printf, ps, pwd, rev, rm, rmdir, sed, seq, sh, sha1sum, sha256sum, sha3sum, sha512sum, shuf, sleep, sort, split, stat, strings, sum, tac, tail, tar, tee, test, touch, tr, true, uname, uncompress, unexpand, uniq, unix2dos, unlzma, unlzop, unxz, unzip, usleep, uudecode, uuencode, vi, wc, wget, which, whoami, xargs, xz, xzcat, yes and zcat

That’s a lot to learn, but you can pick out the tools you need, and the program comes with its own basic help. Enter BusyBox at the command line to see the full list of utilities, or add a function name -- BusyBox grep -- for details on exactly what you can do.
Google I/O 2014 Day 1: What you need to know

Publié: juin 26, 2014, 1:28pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

Google I/O 2014 started yesterday and, thanks to a lengthy first-day keynote, the search giant has already made plenty of headlines one after another. And for good reason, as it unveiled new software, new hardware (albeit none of it was Nexus-branded) and a number of sweeping changes to its portfolio. Say what you will, but Google sure had plenty of interesting things to show without even announcing a new Nexus tablet (as we were used to in the past two years).

The amount of information from the conference is overwhelming, so here is the tl;dr version.

Android Version "L"

This year, Google decided not to officially launch a new version of Android, but to showcase the "L"-named preview instead. This will give developers more time to bring their apps up to speed before Android "L" is released.

What's new? Well, there are some design changes here and there (some minor, some more important, coming from Android 4.4 KitKat), the ART runtime is now set as default (bringing extra battery life and graphics performance), search is better, security is improved courtesy of Samsung's KNOX, tweaks to notifications are added, and developers get more APIs. Oh, and there is 64-bit support, so Android makers can soon tick that box too in the specs sheet (much like Apple has already done for about nine months).

Google also announced Android One, a program designed to help makers of low-end Android devices offer a consistent experience. How? Through guidelines, of course, which involve some minimum requirements.

Android now has one billion active users per month, who send 20 billion text messages, walk a combined 1.5 trillion steps and take 93 million selfies per day. Impressive. I wonder what "active" means, and how the data was collected.

Android Auto

My colleague Wayne Williams already discussed Android Auto here, but the gist is Android is making its way into cars using your smartphones and tablets. You will get information from Google Now, and it is supported by 28 auto makers like Audi, Volvo and Volkswagen (which are part of the Open Automotive Alliance). And, yes, it competes against Apple's CarPlay.

Android TV

Android TV is aimed at smart TVs, giving users access to live or streamed content, search (you did not expect this, did you?), the ability to play games and view stuff from their Android smartphone or tablet.

Android Wear

As the name suggests, Android Wear is designed for wearables. It works with touch-enabled devices, and was showcased on smartwatches. It offers Google Now with voice support and apps mirroring (install an app on your Android smartphone or tablet and a wearable companion app is automatically installed on Android Wear). You can already buy two smartwatches running Android Wear, from LG and Samsung, with Motorola's offering, Moto 360, coming a bit later.

Google Services

Google also introduced a number of updates for some of its services. Google Play Games gets profiles, progress save and quests (or, targets, if you will). Google Play Services adds wearables support, more tools for developers, extra security and a wallet feature. Google Drive gives enterprise users unlimited cloud storage for $10 per user per month -- my colleague Mark Wilson has already covered it here.

Speaking of Google Drive, QuickOffice is replaced by Google Docs, Google Sheets and Google Slides, the latter of which was just introduced. And support for Microsoft Office file editing and saving is finally available. The service now has 190 million users.

What Else?

Chromebooks can now run some Android apps, Chromecast get new features (including live screen mirroring and Google+ galleries), Google Fit is introduced (yes, an Apple HealthKit rival) to provide more fitness and health-related information, carrier billing can be enabled on tablets, and Google Cloud gets some new features and improvements. Oh, and Google Cardboard enables virtual reality through a piece of cardboard -- my colleague Brian Fagioli has already covered it here in detail.
Quickly download Instagram photos and videos with InstagramSaver

Publié: juin 26, 2014, 12:51pm CEST par Mike Williams

Browsing Instagram photos online is simple and straightforward, but if you’d prefer local copies then that’s also easy to arrange, with just a little help from the open source InstagramSaver.

Download, unzip and launch the program and you’re presented with a clear and simple interface. At a minimum, all you have to do is enter an Instagram user name, click Download, and watch as InstagramSaver grabs all the photos from that account.

By default the images are saved into a Documents\InstagramSaver folder, although this can be customized. Once a download is complete, InstagramSaver opens an Explorer folder at that location, ready for you to explore.

What you won’t find initially are any videos, as they’re ignored, presumably to avoid hogging too much bandwidth. But if you’d like those as well, click Settings and check "Download videos too".

The other plus point here is that InstagramSaver downloads files in parallel, by default opening up to eight simultaneous connections. This won’t work for everyone, but fortunately the figure can be tweaked in Settings: increasing it may improve performance, while cutting it should reduce InstagramSaver’s bandwidth use.

There are one or two other small but welcome touches. An update checker alerts you to new releases, for example, and a change log keeps you up-to-date on any changes.

For the most part, though, InstagramSaver just works as you’d expect, quickly downloading photos and videos whenever it’s asked. Go take a look.
Make one file appear in many folders with Link Shell Extension

Publié: juin 26, 2014, 8:54am CEST par Mike Williams

If you’re managing your hard drive, and need to have a group of files accessible from two or more folders, then the solution seems obvious: just make some copies. But while this is quick and easy, it wastes hard drive space, and if you forget about the copies (which you will) they could be cluttering your system for a very long time.

Hard links are an NTFS feature which could offer a better solution. A hard link is essentially an alternate name for a file on an NTFS drive, enabling you to make one or more files appear in as many locations as you need. And as all the references point to the same file, no extra disk space is required at all.

Windows can create hard links natively via the command line (check out fsutil.exe), but that’s not exactly convenient. Install Link Shell Extension (64-bit) and you’ll be able to use hard links -- and several other advanced NTFS features -- directly from the Explorer right-click menu, just as easily as a copy and paste.

To take a simple example, suppose we wanted Picture.jpg in folder A to also appear in folders B and C. We would start by right-clicking the file and selecting "Pick Link Source". Right-clicking folder B and selecting Drop As > Hard Link would create our first link, and we’d just repeat the process in folder C.

The end result is you’ll have what appears to be three copies of Picture.jpg. They’ll be previewed as normal, and you can open them from any application, but they’re all just referring to the same file. There’s no disk space cost.

It’ll be much the same in real-world use on your own system, except you can select and create links for multiple files in one operation. And you’ll need to keep in mind that hard links only work with files on the same volume; they can’t span drives.

Using hard links can create complications which you’ll need to keep in mind. If you forget a file is hard linked, for instance, you might open and edit it, thinking there are other copies around. But no, there’s just one, and if you change that, you change them all. (A red overlay is displayed over the icon for a hard linked file to remind you, but this is easy to miss.)

Be careful when deleting, too. In our example, if you deleted Picture.jpg in folder A you might think it’s gone forever. But again, no: the file will stick around until you’ve deleted all the other links.

Individual applications may also cause problems, if they don’t understand hard links. A backup program might decide to back up every hard link as a separate file, perhaps, cutting performance and wasting backup space.

If you’re new to this kind of NTFS trickery it’s probably best to stop here, then, at least until you’ve tested how this works on your own system. And even then, start slowly. Create links for just a few key files before you move on to your 500GB video folder.

But if you mastered this long ago, Link Shell Extension (64-bit) has plenty of other tools to explore. You can use the same copy/ paste approach to create symbolic links, junctions and volume mount points. Cloning copies a folder tree to a destination, but uses hard and symbolic links for all the new files. And there are copying and mirror functions, a backup mode to copy ACLs and encrypted files -- even if the current user doesn’t have access to them -- and a whole lot more. These can become very complex, and there’s a lot to learn, but the detailed documentation explains all.
Lenovo preparing a Google Glass rival

Publié: juin 26, 2014, 8:49am CEST par Barclay Ballard

Chinese electronics giant, Lenovo, looks set to enter the wearable technology market after filing a patent for an "Electronic Device and Sound Capturing Method".

While the patent is careful to not use the word "wearable", perhaps to avoid any lawsuits with competitors, the images show a device that certainly bears a resemblance to Google Glass.

The device consists of an audio and video recorder and light-pump VOD displays from Lumus Labs, a company working on augmented reality glasses. In practice, the device would incorporate a wearable heads-up display and wireless communication through bone conduction microphones.

The product, which appeared on the United States Patent and Trademark Office website this week, is described as a recording device and it remains to be seen how it will match up against more established products in the wearable tech market.

The patent is also a bold move for the company which has yet to conquer the mobile space and is largely known through its ThinkPad range of products.

As with any patent, it does not necessarily follow that the pictured device will ever be made, but the fact that Lenovo seems willing to enter the field demonstrates the growing interest in wearable technology.

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.
Google Cardboard is a real thing -- strap a smartphone to your face

Publié: juin 26, 2014, 5:39am CEST par Brian Fagioli
Google is a cool company. Regardless of what you think about its services or products, you cannot deny the cool-factor that it has. However, can a person or company be too cool? What I mean is, can the cool actions become tiring and possibly even annoying? Remember when Fonzie jumped over a shark on Happy Days?

I'm not saying Google "jumped the shark", but today, the search-giant may have crossed the line into being a parody of itself with a new project called Cardboard. The name is quite literal -- Google wants users to fold cardboard in the shape of a face mask that will ultimately turn the user's smartphone into a makeshift virtual-reality mask. Yes, Google is asking us to strap a smartphone to our faces. Umm, cool?

Google lists the following components of the build:
1. Cardboard Corrugated cardboard sheet, preferably E Flute (corrugated cardboard comes in a variety of thicknesses called "flutes"), available at many art supply stores and online . For best results, you should look for strong, thin cardboard (sturdy shoe box rather than moving box). Minimum size: 8.75in (22cm) by 22in (56cm), and 0.06in (1.5mm) thickness. Online sources here and here
2. Lenses This is the trickiest component. Lenses that have a 40mm focal distance should work. Biconvex lenses work best because they prevent distortion around the edges. We used the Durovis OpenDive Lens Kit available here (US) and here (EU).
3. Magnets One neodymium ring magnet - like this or this - and one ceramic disk magnet - like this or this. Approximate size: 0.75in (19mm) diameter and 0.12in (3mm) thickness.
4. Velcro Two strips of regular strength adhesive-backed velcro. Approximate size: 0.75in (20mm) by 1.25in (30mm).
5. Rubber band One rubber band, to prevent the phone from sliding out. Minimum length of 3.2in (8cm).
6. NFC tag (optional) One sticker NFC tag. Program it with the URL cardboard://v1.0.0
Once you complete the build of this face mask, you must install the associated app on your Android smartphone. Then, with the app opened, you drop it into the cardboard housing and strap it to your head. You should look really cool at this point.

While the cardboard housing looks low-tech, the app is anything but -- it is quite impressive. I ran it on my phone and pretended I had it in a housing and put it up to my face. After about 20 minutes of focusing my eyes, I ended up with a massive headache -- those lenses are a must if you build it. Still, the app is fluid and intuitive and I understand where Google is going with this project.

Sadly, it seems Google missed one crucial demographic with this project -- the sweaty. Yes, I and many others are very sweaty people; I almost always have beads of perspiration on my forehead. With the cardboard making direct contact with my face, it will likely become smelly, soggy and gross very quickly. Quite frankly, I foresee people getting rashes, so I urge Google to research any health risks.

Again, Google is a cool company and this is a cool project, but it is frustratingly geeky and witty and for some reason that just comes off as annoying. Still, I expect it to be a popular project for geeks to do and I anticipate user-mods to the plans and third-parties selling pre-made kits as well.

If you want to build your own Cardboard VR mask, you can get the files here. Tell me how it works out for you in the comments.
NETGEAR goes hardcore -- announces Nighthawk X6 AC3200 Tri-Band WiFi Router

Publié: juin 26, 2014, 2:14am CEST par Brian Fagioli
There are many ways to save money nowadays, such as only brushing your teeth every other day to save toothpaste or filling up your ketchup bottle with packets from McDonalds -- just kidding, guys. However, there are some things you should never do to save money. A good example is shoes -- something that are on your feet all day. In other words, buying uncomfortable shoes to save a buck is hardly a bargain.

This is also true with wireless routers and trust me, I've learned the hard way. Buying bargain-priced routers results in poor performance and dropped connections. Nothing sucks as much as having to unplug your router to reset it each week. And so, when it comes to routers, I try to get the best. Currently, I am using the newest Apple Airport Extreme AC router. It has proven to be extremely reliable and very fast. Today however, NETGEAR releases a router that makes me consider upgrading -- the Nighthawk X6 AC3200 Tri-Band WiFi Router.

"The new Nighthawk X6 AC3200 Tri-Band WiFi Router (R8000) is the first tri-band WiFi router available for purchase incorporating the powerful new Broadcom 5G WiFi XStream platform. With six high-performance antennas and three network bands, one 2.4GHz and two 5GHz, the Nighthawk X6 delivers the industry's fastest combined WiFi speed, up to 3.2 Gbps (1300+1300+600 Mbps). It balances the network load to ensure the best WiFi performance for each device and deliver the maximum wireless range available today", says NETGEAR.

The company further explains, "powered by a 1GHz dual core processor with three additional offload processors, Nighthawk X6 soars above the competition so you'll enjoy a blazing-fast WiFi experience using the latest 802.11ac wireless technology, such as the innovative 5G WiFi XStream technology from Broadcom. By optimizing speeds for all your WiFi devices, you'll be able to game on, stream away, and download mega-sized files without network lag from inside and outside your house, garage and yard".

The company touts the following features:
- AC3200 WiFi technology enables the fastest combined WiFi speeds currently available -- up to 3.2 Gbps.
- Tri-band WiFi intelligently connects devices to the fastest WiFi band possible and increases overall network speed.
- 6 high-performance external antennas and powerful amplifiers deliver maximum range around your home and yard.
- 1 GHz dual core processor with three offload processors supports blazing-fast WiFi, wired and USB storage performance.
- Beamforming+ improves range reliability by focusing and locking on 2.4 and 5 GHz device signals as you move.
- Smart Connect intelligently selects the fastest WiFi for every device which helps your 802.11n and 802.11ac devices choose the appropriate 5GHz band for the best performance.
- VPN support ensures secure remote access to your home network.
- Five Gigabit Ethernet ports (one WAN and four LAN) offer fast wired connections.
- SuperSpeed USB 3.0 port offers high-speed, storage-ready access up to 10 times faster than USB 2.0.
- ReadySHARE Vault, a free software application, automatically backs up Windows-based PCs to a USB hard drive connected to Nighthawk X6.
- NETGEAR MyMedia enables you to find and play your stored media from anywhere on your network to your DLNA-ready TVs and music system.
- iTunes server support enables you to play music on AirPlay-compatible devices using iTunes or Apple Remote.
- NETGEAR genie is a personal dashboard that makes it easy to install, monitor, control and repair your home network from PCs, Mac OS X, and iOS and Android smartphones and tablets.
As you can see, the Nighthawk X6 AC3200 is fully loaded with tons of great features, which should make it useful for many years. Of course, with great power comes a great price tag -- $299.99. It will be available starting July 11, but you can pre-order it at Amazon today.

Will you buy it? Tell me in the comments.