Adobe Lightroom Beta Available to the Public see the link:
Adobe has announced the availability of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5 beta for Windows and Mac. Adobe Lightroom is a photography workflow application that allows photography enthusiasts and professionals to enhance, organize and share photos.
The Lightroom 5 beta offers a free, public preview of new features and tools that will be offered in the final release, expected later this year. Winston Hendrickson, vice president of digital imaging products, Adobe, says the Lightroom 5 beta offers photographers and enthusiasts many new features including:
° Advanced Healing Brush allows customers to heal imperfections and remove distracting elements;
° Upright tool analyzes an image to automatically level horizons and straighten objects like buildings to correct a keystone effect;
° Radial Gradient tool creates off-center or multiple vignette effects;
° Smart Previews allow customers to edit images without needing the original raw file;
° Video slideshow enables customers to combine still images, video clips and music in a creative HD slideshow;
° Upgrades to the Book module enhancing the ability to create, customize and order elegant photo books using a variety of tailored templates.
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5 beta is available immediately as a free download on both Mac and Windows at http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/lightroom5/ .
The Lightroom 5 beta offers a free, public preview of new features and tools that will be offered in the final release, expected later this year. Winston Hendrickson, vice president of digital imaging products, Adobe, says the Lightroom 5 beta offers photographers and enthusiasts many new features including:
° Advanced Healing Brush allows customers to heal imperfections and remove distracting elements;
° Upright tool analyzes an image to automatically level horizons and straighten objects like buildings to correct a keystone effect;
° Radial Gradient tool creates off-center or multiple vignette effects;
° Smart Previews allow customers to edit images without needing the original raw file;
° Video slideshow enables customers to combine still images, video clips and music in a creative HD slideshow;
° Upgrades to the Book module enhancing the ability to create, customize and order elegant photo books using a variety of tailored templates.
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5 beta is available immediately as a free download on both Mac and Windows at http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/lightroom5/ .
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Evernote Passwords Stolen So Reset Yours Fast.
On logging into Evernote you'll find that you have to reset your password. Why? Well according to a post on the official Evernote blog, they were hacked, and while no personal information was snatched, emails, usernames, and passwords were. Luckily, those passwords were encrypted, but better safe than sorry.
BlueStacks Strikes Distribution Deal With Lenovo To Bring 750K Android Apps To Its PCs
The good news keeps rolling in for BlueStacks, the startup best known for making technology that enables one and all to download and use Android applications on their desktop PCs — and more recently, their Macs. In anticipation of CES, the company announced today that it has secured a global distribution deal with Chinese PC maker, Lenovo.
Lenovo, which some say recently surpassed HP as the largest maker of PCs, now hawks ultrabooks, convertibles and desktops and has been aggressively integrating Windows 8 into its product lines and pushing touch technology upgrades into its laptops. With its new distribution agreement with BlueStacks, Lenovo will begin preloading BlueStacks’ software and service in its Idea-branded PCs — Lenovo’s consumer line, which represents about 40 million units.
The deal, which has been slowly formulated over the last six months, is the latest in a series of similar distribution agreements for BlueStacks, which now includes Asus, MSI and AMD. The most recent of which was its partnership with AMD, secured in September, which enabled the chipmaker to optimize Android apps for AMD-powered Windows 7 and Windows 8 PCs with the launch of its “AppZone.”
All told, BlueStacks’ agreements with Asus, MSI, AMD and Lenovo means that more than 100 million PCs will be preloaded with its App Player software in 2013. This helps give context to the startup’s recent announcement that it had exceeded five million organic installs from its website, something it was able to do in under eight months.
If it wasn’t clear in AMD, Qualcomm and Citrix’s collective investment in BlueStacks (the company has raised a total of $15 million in outside funding from these companies as well as Andreessen Horowitz and Ignition Ventures), some of the largest OEMs out there are clearly eager to tap into the enormous potential inherent to transforming Windows devices into a platform to run mobile apps.
When it comes to PCs, Windows represents a colossal market, but one that has (as of yet) has failed to offer the same access to native apps compared to Google and Apple. BlueStacks’ technology allows OEMs to offer Android apps to its PC users, while enabling developers to touch a whole new audience (of Windows users) without spending months creating a whole new Windows-facing product.
While the company isn’t disclosing the terms of the deal, it’s likely that OEMs are paying for the ability to put BlueStacks’ tech on their machines, seeing as that will give them access to another revenue stream via pay-per-install.
For Lenovo users, this means that they will be able to enjoy the same apps on the PC that they’re already using on their smartphone, with BlueStacks linking their smartphones to the PC via the cloud, enabling them to sync their apps, data and SMSes between their phones and their PCs. When they boot up an Idea PC for the first time, they’ll see Lenovo App Player first thing, along with other content like music and photos. At CES 2013, BlueStacks will be showcasing the latest version of the App Player designed and optimized for Windows 8 Ultrabooks, laptops and tablets.
BlueStacks will also be running all mobile apps on PCs for Lenovo, and the company is set to to launch a mobile app that Lenovo plans to preload onto its phones. This will connect Lenovo PCs to peoples’ Android devices, presumably incentivizing those who have a Lenovo PC to buy a Lenovo phone and sync their apps — and vice versa.
For BlueStacks, these partnerships are all about expanding its footprint and helping to bring Android apps to an enormous audience of Windows users. Of course, it’s not only about Windows users. The company is also in talks with several large TV and phone manufacturers, as it’s looking to integrate its App Player into these next-gen, connected systems.
“In two years, there will be no ‘mobile’ apps as opposed to ‘PC’ applications,” says BlueStacks CEO, Rosen Sharma. “We expect Apple will gel iOS and OSX this year, and we are working on the same for Google.”
Of course, that being said, BlueStacks isn’t leaving Mac users out of the equation. In late December, the startup launched its App Player for Mac in beta, offering those 750,000 Android apps on the market to Mac users. For BlueStacks, it seems clear that the domino effect is underway. Expect to see the connected TV makers signing on next.
Ubuntu Phone System looks extremely cool.
Thu, Jan 3 2013 02:55
| Linux, Software, Smartphones
What the video from around 5:30 and you'll be treated to a walk thru a very unique and innovative new smartphone system. We all know Android and Windows phone and IOS or iPhone, and they are good systems but I have to say this is the first phone system I have seen recently that looks innovative and really does things a little different. It really uses every once of the screens space and swipes have been really well thought out. You can swipe from all 4 edges, right from one side to the other or touch your normal tinny icons on the status bar across the top to access things. This is logical and very fast at accessing things in a logical manor.
So watch the video and skip to 5:30 to see just the Ubuntu smartphone section. I'm not a Ubuntu user but this sort of innovation certainly makes me very interested.
Instagram users leave by the thousands today due to Facebooks new terms of service
Instagram, or should we say Facebook, is out with a new Privacy Policy and Terms of Service agreement that all users must follow beginning Jan. 16, 2013. The Huffington Post was the first to dig through this. We warn you: there is absolutely nothing to love here and because of that there have been mass deletions of accounts today by thousands of very annoyed users.
Instagram can now make money on your photos
We already know that Instagram ads are coming. What you probably didn’t know is that your photos could popup in a future campaign.
Note: highlights are mine.
Some or all of the Service may be supported by advertising revenue. To help us deliver interesting paid or sponsored content or promotions, you agree that a business or other entity may pay us to display your username, likeness, photos (along with any associated metadata), and/or actions you take, in connection with paid or sponsored content or promotions, without any compensation to you.
What ads?
Not only are ads arriving soon on Instagram, but sometimes they won’t be marked as such.
You acknowledge that we may not always identify paid services, sponsored content, or commercial communications as such.
Again, Instagram can use your photos
Given the first point, this shouldn’t be surprising. Facebook isn’t claiming that they own our photos, just that they can use them to make money. Nice, huh?
Instagram does not claim ownership of any Content that you post on or through the Service. Instead, you hereby grant to Instagram a non-exclusive, fully paid and royalty-free, transferable, sub-licensable, worldwide license to use the Content that you post on or through the Service, except that you can control who can view certain of your Content and activities on the Service as described in the Service’s Privacy Policy, available here: http://instagram.com/legal/privacy/.
But you must still post responsibly
Okay, so nude photos are now okay?
You agree that Instagram is not responsible for, and does not endorse, Content posted within the Service. Instagram does not have any obligation to prescreen, monitor, edit, or remove any Content. If your Content violates these Terms of Use, you may bear legal responsibility for that Content.
Facebook won’t even backup your photos
So after Instagram uses our photos to make money, they can also lose them and not be held responsible? Facebook lawyers, aren’t they great?
Instagram is not a backup service and you agree that you will not rely on the Service for the purposes of Content backup or storage. Instagram will not be liable to you for any modification, suspension, or discontinuation of the Services, or the loss of any Content.
If you really want to read this gibberish in its entirety, click here. Otherwise, check out our Instagram alternatives.
Linux 3.7 arrives, ARM Support!!
The latest Linux, 3.7, comes with real improvements for ARM developers and network administrators.
Only months after the arrival of Linux 3.6, Linus Torvalds has released the next major Linux kernel update: 3.7. The time between releases wasn't long, but this new version includes major improvements for ARM developers and network administrators. The 3.7 source code is now available for downloading.
Programmers for ARM, the popular smartphone and tablet chip family, will be especially pleased with this release. ARM had been a problem child architecture for Linux. As Torvalds said in 2011, "Gaah. Guys, this whole ARM thing is a f**king pain in the ass." Torvalds continued, "You need to stop stepping on each others toes. There is no way that your changes to those crazy clock-data files should constantly result in those annoying conflicts, just because different people in different ARM trees do some masturbatory renaming of some random device. Seriously."
ARM got the message. Thanks to Olof Johansson, a Google Linux and ARM engineer, unified multi-platform ARM was ready to be included in Linux 3.7.
ARM's problem was that, unlike the x86 architecture, where one Linux kernel could run on almost any PC or server, almost every ARM system required its own customized Linux kernel. Now with 3.7, ARM architectures can use one single vanilla Linux kernel while keeping their special device sauce in device trees.
The end result is that ARM developers will be able to boot and run Linux on their devices and then worry about getting all the extras to work. This will save them, and the Linux kernel developers, a great deal of time and trouble.
Just as good for those ARM architects and programmers who are working on high-end, 64-bit ARM systems, Linux now supports 64-bit ARM processors. 64-bit ARM CPUs won't ship until in commercial quantities until 2013. When they do arrive though programmers eager to try 64-bit ARM processors on servers will have Linux ready for them.
Website and network administrators will also be happy with Linux 3.7. TCP Fast Open will now be supported on servers By eliminating a step in opening Internet TCP connections, TCP Fast Open can speed up Web page opening speeds from 10 to 40%.
Network managers who have Windows PCs on their networks will also be glad to know that Linux now supports Server Messenge Block (SMB2) protocol.. Microsoft introduced this file-sharing protocol in 2007 in Vista. While its predcessor, SMB, is still supported on Windows, SMB2 support will enable Linux file servers, and the many Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices that use Linux for their operating system, to deliver files faster to Windows PCs.
For those who are still using Network File System (NFS) to share files on their networks at long, long last Linux 3.7 now fully supports NFS 4.1. The main advantage of this is that it also means you can parallel NFS (pNFS). PNFS enables you to use clustered servers to provide extremely fast and scalable parallel file access.
If you want to know more about what's new and significant in Linux 3.7, check into th Kernel Newbies Linux 3.7 Website. The bottom line though is that if you're working with ARM or you're running a network, you're going to want Linux 3.7 in your Linux distribution as fast as possible. For you, Linux 3.7 is a game-changing release.
iTunes 11 is here and is really FAST.
It's FAST
iTunes is fast now. Which is crazy. iTunes hasn't been fast in years. But iTunes 11 feels legitimately lightweight and like something you wouldn't mind running all the time. That's a huge change. Search, scrolling, anything—in any view—is all lightning quick now.
Your Library Sidebar Is Gone
One of the biggest changes is how you get around in your Library. The old left-hand bar with Music, Movies, Podcasts, etc. is gone, replaced with a drop down in the top left of the app. The change frees up loads of screen space for more information, but also makes navigating to different forms of media slightly harder, so it's a trade-off. If you decide it's not worth the trade, you can get it back by clicking on View > Show Sidebar. You can get the status bar on the bottom back
Microsoft: Windows Phone 8 reboot fix. You'll have to wait till December.
Wed, Nov 28 2012 03:04
| Windows Phone, Software, Smartphones, Microsoft
Tired of your Windows Phone 8 doing random reboots? Microsoft is taking it's sweet time to fix the problem. According to a statement (below), an over-the-air fix is on the way sometime in December, reports All Things D. In the meantime, if you have a really bad case of the reboots, there isn’t much you can do other than bring your phone back to the store and try and arrange a swap. We’ll let you know as soon as we hear more.
Google Forgot About December
Mon, Nov 19 2012 03:07
| Software, Andriod, Smartphones, Google
SOFTWARE
By Richard Devine | Nov 18 2012 | 7:58 am | 16 COMMENTS
With new versions released of Android, there's bound to be a few little bugs hidden within. While Google will test, test and test again, there's always likely to be something that slips the net, many of which most users never come across. What we find in Android 4.2 however, definitely belongs on some kind of blooper reel. They forgot December.
Google Calendar is unaffected, so we're all good on that front. But, when adding events to profiles within your People application, there is no option to add dates in December. Loved ones birthdays, Christmas, New Years Eve, all don't exist, at least in this part of Android 4.2 anyway. If nothing else, it's pretty embarrassing. The issue has been reported to the Android bug tracker, and we can imagine that a fix will be rolled out in the not too distant future.
Microsoft DirectX 11.1 is Windows 8 Only!
We hope there weren't too many PC gamers clinging to Windows 7 for dear life, because Microsoft isn't about to rescue them with a near-term DirectX update. The company's Daniel Moth (and supporting documentation) states that DirectX 11.1 is exclusive "for all practical purposes" to Windows 8-based platforms, including Windows RT and Windows Server 2012 -- you can't leap forward in media support without a full-on OS switch. None of the changes are large enough to trigger any immediate envy outside of the occasional fan of 3D glasses, but they could pose problems for conservative gamers in the long run if games and other visually intensive titles start demanding 11.1 as a baseline. There's no known plans to port the code back or release a harmonizing version, either. We can at least take comfort in knowing that Windows 8 upgrades are cheap enough to be low-hanging fruit for all but the most Metrophobic.
Nokia "Here" Mapping System, it's cross platform.
Nokia plans an ambitious expansion of its mapping and location-based services platform beyond its own smartphones to competing devices running OSes other than Windows Phone 8, it said Tuesday.
The move is being backed with the acquisition by Nokia of Earthmine, a California-based provider of street-level 3D imaging data, and will see Nokia going head-to-head with Google, Apple, and dedicated mapping companies like TomTom.
"We want to give everyone with any type of device to ability to use this, the best location platform in the industry," said Stephen Elop, CEO of Nokia, speaking at an event in San Francisco.
Nokia will use the "Here" brand name across its location platform.
The company hopes that by expanding its platform beyond its own handsets, it will benefit from the greater scale of the service and in turn make its own service better.
Nokia's platform includes mapping and satellite data, 75 million searchable points of interest, car and foot navigation data, and public transport information.
Already mapping
Nokia has already taken some steps towards opening up its mapping database. It has worked with car navigation system makers and other IT companies including Amazon and Oracle to license its maps, said Elop.
"We will do much, much more of this," he said.
As a first step, Nokia will launch on Apple's iOS in the coming weeks, said Michael Halbherr, head of Nokia's location and commerce division. The iOS version will be based on HTML5 but will appear to users like a native application, he said. It will offer maps, navigation, live traffic, public transport information and more.
Nokia has already submitted it to Apple's App Store, where the company plans to offer it for free.
The iOS version will offer turn-by-turn navigation for pedestrians but not for car drivers.
"When we look at turn-by-turn, we look at it in a different way," said Thom Brenner, vice president of Nokia's location and commerce business, in an interview. "Safety is very important and we don't think HTML5 is good enough for what we want."
Brenner didn't say if Nokia was developing a native iOS app.
A Here SDK (software development kit) for Android will be available in the first quarter of 2013. That will allow developers to embed Here Maps and make use of Nokia's location information in their own applications.
However, while software makers will be able to develop Android apps that make use of the location services, the services will only be available on handsets from companies with which Nokia has a licensing agreement, said Brenner.
That means Nokia's platform will only expand to Android devices if other handset makers—the company's rivals in the competitive smartphone market—license the technology.
Nokia will also work with Mozilla to bring a Here Maps app to the Firefox OS.
"People today already own multiple connected devices, so to have a proper solution for the consumer we need to make sure it works everywhere," said Halbherr.
Nokia Here map creator
Internet users can check out Nokia's new platform by looking at here.com, a freshly launched website that offers maps, satellite images and data on landmarks and shops. In a demonstration, Nokia showed a map of San Francisco that included 3D buildings and allowed the user to zoom and rotate the map in a similar fashion to Google Earth.
A mobile version of the site is available for cellphones.
Nokia also said it will open up the augmented reality platform used in its Nokia City Lens software. Called LiveSight, the data and software engine allows cellphone users to hold up their phones to see a live view of the world around them through the phone's camera with locations marked and overlaid on the image.
Microsoft Office coming to Android and IOS Devices next year
Microsoft's Office for iPad, iPhone, and Android is a reality. Although Office Mobile has been rumored and reportedly spotted in the wild, Microsoft has remained persistently quiet about its plans for the product. The Verge has learned through several sources close to Microsoft's plans that the company will release Office versions for Android and iOS in early 2013.
Office Mobile will debut in the form of free apps that allow Android and iOS users to view Microsoft Office documents on the move. Like the existing SkyDrive and OneNote apps, Office Mobile will require a Microsoft account. On first launch, a Microsoft account will provide access to the basic viewing functionality in the apps. Word, PowerPoint, and Excel documents will all be supported, and edit functionality can be enabled with an Office 365 subscription.
Microsoft will allow iOS users to purchase an Office 365 subscription within the app, or let organizations distribute codes to enable Office Mobile editing for users. The apps will allow for basic editing, but we're told this won't go very far in attempting to replace regular full use of a desktop Office version.
A recent Microsoft press release from the company's Czech Republic subsidiary revealed that Office Mobile apps for Android and iOS would be made available from March 2013. We understand that Office Mobile for iOS will arrive first in late February or early March, with an Android version due in May.
We reached out to Microsoft for comment on this story and a company spokesperson says "Office will work across Windows Phone, iOS and Android."
Office Mobile will debut in the form of free apps that allow Android and iOS users to view Microsoft Office documents on the move. Like the existing SkyDrive and OneNote apps, Office Mobile will require a Microsoft account. On first launch, a Microsoft account will provide access to the basic viewing functionality in the apps. Word, PowerPoint, and Excel documents will all be supported, and edit functionality can be enabled with an Office 365 subscription.
Microsoft will allow iOS users to purchase an Office 365 subscription within the app, or let organizations distribute codes to enable Office Mobile editing for users. The apps will allow for basic editing, but we're told this won't go very far in attempting to replace regular full use of a desktop Office version.
A recent Microsoft press release from the company's Czech Republic subsidiary revealed that Office Mobile apps for Android and iOS would be made available from March 2013. We understand that Office Mobile for iOS will arrive first in late February or early March, with an Android version due in May.
We reached out to Microsoft for comment on this story and a company spokesperson says "Office will work across Windows Phone, iOS and Android."
Apple sneaks out significant update to Final Cut Pro X
Not content with the barrage of new goodies unleashed on the public at Tuesday’s media event, Apple has also released new updates to its professional suite of filmmaking applications: Final Cut Pro X, Motion, and Compressor.
Version 10.0.6 is Final Cut Pro X's most significant update yet: The program now supports the RED camera line, adding both native Redcode Raw editing and transcoding to Apple’s ProRes format. The update also adds new multichannel audio editing tools to the timeline, dual viewers (allowing editors to compare shots on the fly), support for MXF plug-ins, a unified import window for both file-based camera systems and folders, and support for chapter markers.
Additionally, the new version lets editors keep Connected Clips in place while slipping, sliding, or moving clips, add freeze-frames more easily, copy and paste attributes with a new Paste window, use new audio controls for Multicam clips, create multiple range selections for a single clip, and export projects and range selections more easily via a redesigned Share interface. FCP’s XML has also been updated to version 1.2, allowing editors to import and export metadata to third-party apps.
Compressor and Motion also get a few updates to call their own. Apple has improved the cluster setup for Compressor, along with eliminating the re-authentication process for additional encoding clusters and addressing an issue related to third-party QuickTime components. Motion receives improved anti-aliasing for text, the ability to open multiple projects simultaneously, and faster project loading times.
The updates are free for current users; new users can pick up the apps for $300 (Final Cut Pro X) and $50 each (Motion or Compressor).
Why Windows 8 Made me love Windows 7 more . Out the door, back in the door, and repeat.
Fri, Oct 5 2012 03:49
| Windows Phone, Software, Windows 8
www.tech-sanity.com
Over the years , and yes I mean years I have used just about every OS on the planet. From my first days running DR DOS on my 8mhz dual 5 1/4" flopped XT IBM computer, thru OS2 from IBM all sorts of Windows , Linux Distros and OSX. Have I tried them all? No, that would be pretty impossible. Though I have used some interesting things like GEO Works. Boy I wish I still had a copy of the and Windows 3.11. Anyway I digress:
I had been using Windows 8 (alongside OSX ) for the last few months and somethings I have liked and others … well, not so much. I was doing a few updates on my beast of a Hackintosh and found a VM image of Windows 7. So I though lets boot it up. I did and was I surprised. Hey this looks nice, very polished, runs smooth and easy to get around. After using it for half an hour it become blindingly obvious to me that what I was enjoying most over all after the pretty looks was the fact I didn't have to go out the door and back in all the time to do a lot of things. So what am I on about. Some people have obviously talked of this before but not using my analogy of the doors. Windows 8 is a lot schizophrenic. Seems like there is always another layer I have to go through to get something done. By layer I mean door.
The fact I have to go out the door of the desktop and outside almost to the start menu and then back in the door to the main menu all the time is a giant pain in the "Talk about inefficiency".
It's like being forced to run multiple despots at the same time and the only way to start sometime new is to go to the other desktop and fire it up and then back to the desktop again. So it's out the door grab the "thing" go back in the door. Then repeat. There always seems to be an extra layer to go through which is just not nice. As a big fan of a simple clean desktop, yes I love OSX though it isn't perfect, I found Windows 7 a lot cleaner and with less layers to get to something. I am not a fan of the apps either. Frankly they such on a desktop computer. Try looking at an app on a 46" screen! Just plain dumb. Trying to be all things to all men just isn't working. So do I hate windows 8? Not at all. It's got some major upsides. Not the least of all is its a speed demon. I hate its look, 2D and flat looks like a cheap toy to me.
So why did Microsoft go to all this trouble to make something great and others drive you plan nuts? I mean they spent a lot of time polishing up to Windows 7, taking some nice cues from OSX and people really loved it. They did a great job of Windows 7.
Windows 8 will be great on a touch screen type tablet. Thats really it. They had to get into this space. I makes sense but as I said trying to be all things to all men is not going to work well at this stage.
So what would we like them to do? Well just make the start screen less intrusive and maybe even be able to shrink it down on the desktop left corner almost like a start menu of windows 7. Yes they could modify it a bit. No problems there. Just don't make it take over the whole screen . The new start screen has one thing I really like . When you open it just start tiping a few letter of the app you want and bash the space bar and your away. Why do I like this? Well it reminds me a lit like spotlight on OSX. Hit the common plus space bar , type sat hit enter and bam safari is running. Only difference is it didn't force take over the whole screen and back again. Thats kind of an inefficient use of graphics/screen realist ate and cpu power. Totally not needed at all.
So, I'm back to Windows 7 for my Microsoft OS use. It feeeeeeeeeeeellllls sooooooo much nicer and smoother to me. I don't have to have these flashes of total screen changes all the time which is hard on the eyes after a while. Of course Microsofts really avenger her is to sell more stuff. The new surfaces they will release soon and other tablet type devices, and of course probably the main reason in my eyes, Windows phone 8. (No it's not Windows 8 Phone) all microsofts screens on all there devices will look the same. Yes the same. Oh look, a Windows Phone 8 device, I know how to use this its just the same as my windows desktop (which sucks) and my windows 8 tablet device.
Ok rant over. Back to Ableton Live on my Macbook Air to make some soothing music.
Over the years , and yes I mean years I have used just about every OS on the planet. From my first days running DR DOS on my 8mhz dual 5 1/4" flopped XT IBM computer, thru OS2 from IBM all sorts of Windows , Linux Distros and OSX. Have I tried them all? No, that would be pretty impossible. Though I have used some interesting things like GEO Works. Boy I wish I still had a copy of the and Windows 3.11. Anyway I digress:
I had been using Windows 8 (alongside OSX ) for the last few months and somethings I have liked and others … well, not so much. I was doing a few updates on my beast of a Hackintosh and found a VM image of Windows 7. So I though lets boot it up. I did and was I surprised. Hey this looks nice, very polished, runs smooth and easy to get around. After using it for half an hour it become blindingly obvious to me that what I was enjoying most over all after the pretty looks was the fact I didn't have to go out the door and back in all the time to do a lot of things. So what am I on about. Some people have obviously talked of this before but not using my analogy of the doors. Windows 8 is a lot schizophrenic. Seems like there is always another layer I have to go through to get something done. By layer I mean door.
The fact I have to go out the door of the desktop and outside almost to the start menu and then back in the door to the main menu all the time is a giant pain in the "Talk about inefficiency".
It's like being forced to run multiple despots at the same time and the only way to start sometime new is to go to the other desktop and fire it up and then back to the desktop again. So it's out the door grab the "thing" go back in the door. Then repeat. There always seems to be an extra layer to go through which is just not nice. As a big fan of a simple clean desktop, yes I love OSX though it isn't perfect, I found Windows 7 a lot cleaner and with less layers to get to something. I am not a fan of the apps either. Frankly they such on a desktop computer. Try looking at an app on a 46" screen! Just plain dumb. Trying to be all things to all men just isn't working. So do I hate windows 8? Not at all. It's got some major upsides. Not the least of all is its a speed demon. I hate its look, 2D and flat looks like a cheap toy to me.
So why did Microsoft go to all this trouble to make something great and others drive you plan nuts? I mean they spent a lot of time polishing up to Windows 7, taking some nice cues from OSX and people really loved it. They did a great job of Windows 7.
Windows 8 will be great on a touch screen type tablet. Thats really it. They had to get into this space. I makes sense but as I said trying to be all things to all men is not going to work well at this stage.
So what would we like them to do? Well just make the start screen less intrusive and maybe even be able to shrink it down on the desktop left corner almost like a start menu of windows 7. Yes they could modify it a bit. No problems there. Just don't make it take over the whole screen . The new start screen has one thing I really like . When you open it just start tiping a few letter of the app you want and bash the space bar and your away. Why do I like this? Well it reminds me a lit like spotlight on OSX. Hit the common plus space bar , type sat hit enter and bam safari is running. Only difference is it didn't force take over the whole screen and back again. Thats kind of an inefficient use of graphics/screen realist ate and cpu power. Totally not needed at all.
So, I'm back to Windows 7 for my Microsoft OS use. It feeeeeeeeeeeellllls sooooooo much nicer and smoother to me. I don't have to have these flashes of total screen changes all the time which is hard on the eyes after a while. Of course Microsofts really avenger her is to sell more stuff. The new surfaces they will release soon and other tablet type devices, and of course probably the main reason in my eyes, Windows phone 8. (No it's not Windows 8 Phone) all microsofts screens on all there devices will look the same. Yes the same. Oh look, a Windows Phone 8 device, I know how to use this its just the same as my windows desktop (which sucks) and my windows 8 tablet device.
Ok rant over. Back to Ableton Live on my Macbook Air to make some soothing music.
Google Street View available in your mobile browser
www.tech-sanity.com
Google’s popular Street View feature is set to arrive for the iPhone/iPod touch and iPad by way of the Web version of Google Maps, according to Walt Mossberg of AllThingsD.
The feature, which will be available at http://maps.google.com using a mobile Web browser, displays 360-degree photographic street views of selected locations, and interior views of certain businesses.
Mossberg also confirms that Google is working on a new Google Maps app for iOS, one that would “be offered as an optional download.” This version, which will support the iPhone and iPad, should arrive in the App Store by the end of the year.
This news comes less than a week after Apple CEO Tim Cook apologized for the iOS 6 version of Maps app. The often criticized version replaced the Google Maps-based app that came standard on iOS through version 5.
According to the report, Street View will arrive tomorrow, Thursday, Oct. 4.
Google’s popular Street View feature is set to arrive for the iPhone/iPod touch and iPad by way of the Web version of Google Maps, according to Walt Mossberg of AllThingsD.
The feature, which will be available at http://maps.google.com using a mobile Web browser, displays 360-degree photographic street views of selected locations, and interior views of certain businesses.
Mossberg also confirms that Google is working on a new Google Maps app for iOS, one that would “be offered as an optional download.” This version, which will support the iPhone and iPad, should arrive in the App Store by the end of the year.
This news comes less than a week after Apple CEO Tim Cook apologized for the iOS 6 version of Maps app. The often criticized version replaced the Google Maps-based app that came standard on iOS through version 5.
According to the report, Street View will arrive tomorrow, Thursday, Oct. 4.
Lightroom 4.2, Camera Raw 7.2 final releases are out.
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Adobe has announced the availability of final releases for both Lightroom 4.2 and Camera Raw 7.2 today. The new updates bring functionality improvements and added raw file and tethered capture support for a range of new cameras. A number of new devices from Canon, Fujifilm, Leaf, Leica, Nikon, Panasonic, Pentax, Samsung, and Sony are now supported.
The updates bring raw file support for the Canon EOS 650D/Rebel T4i, Canon EOS M, Fujifilm XF1, Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji FinePix F800EXR, Leaf Credo 40, Leaf Credo 60, Leica S, Leica D-LUX 6, Leica V-Lux 4, Nikon Coolpix P7700, Nikon 1 J2, Panasonic DMC-G5, Panasonic DMC-LX7, Panasonic DMC-FZ200, Pentax K-30, Samsung EX2F, Sony Alpha NEX-5R, Sony Alpha NEX-6, Sony Alpha SLT-A99V, and Sony DSC-RX100.
For tethered capture support, the newly supported devices include the Nikon D4, Nikon D800, Nikon D800e, Canon EOS Kiss X5, Canon EOS Kiss REBEL T3i, Canon EOS 1100D, Canon EOS 5D Mark III, and Canon EOS 1D X.
Additionally, the Lightroom 4.2 and Camera Raw 7.2 final releases correct issues that had been reported in their initial releases.
Lightroom 4.2 is available as a free download for Lightroom 4 customers, and the Camera Raw plug-in is available as a free download for customers that own Photoshop CS6. The updates, which can be downloaded at Adobe's site, are available for both Mac and Windows platforms.
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Adobe has announced the availability of final releases for both Lightroom 4.2 and Camera Raw 7.2 today. The new updates bring functionality improvements and added raw file and tethered capture support for a range of new cameras. A number of new devices from Canon, Fujifilm, Leaf, Leica, Nikon, Panasonic, Pentax, Samsung, and Sony are now supported.
The updates bring raw file support for the Canon EOS 650D/Rebel T4i, Canon EOS M, Fujifilm XF1, Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji FinePix F800EXR, Leaf Credo 40, Leaf Credo 60, Leica S, Leica D-LUX 6, Leica V-Lux 4, Nikon Coolpix P7700, Nikon 1 J2, Panasonic DMC-G5, Panasonic DMC-LX7, Panasonic DMC-FZ200, Pentax K-30, Samsung EX2F, Sony Alpha NEX-5R, Sony Alpha NEX-6, Sony Alpha SLT-A99V, and Sony DSC-RX100.
For tethered capture support, the newly supported devices include the Nikon D4, Nikon D800, Nikon D800e, Canon EOS Kiss X5, Canon EOS Kiss REBEL T3i, Canon EOS 1100D, Canon EOS 5D Mark III, and Canon EOS 1D X.
Additionally, the Lightroom 4.2 and Camera Raw 7.2 final releases correct issues that had been reported in their initial releases.
Lightroom 4.2 is available as a free download for Lightroom 4 customers, and the Camera Raw plug-in is available as a free download for customers that own Photoshop CS6. The updates, which can be downloaded at Adobe's site, are available for both Mac and Windows platforms.
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Big update for iPhoto for iOS 6.
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iPhoto for iPhone and iPad have been updated with support for iOS 6 and also includes a slew of new features including coaching tips, new ink effects, support for 36.5 megapixel photos, and more.
• Added support for iPod touch (4th generation and later)
• Coaching tips have been added to the Help system on the iPhone and iPod touch
• Effects now include six new Apple-designed ink effects such as Chalk and Palette Knife
• Images up to 36.5 megapixels are now supported*
• Full resolution photos can now be imported via iTunes File Sharing
• Tag albums can be created by adding custom tags to photos
• "Updating Library" alert appears less frequently
• Multiple photos can now be saved to the Camera Roll at one time
• Cropping presets now use detected faces to determine composition
• Tilt-shift and gradient effects can now be rotated
• Facebook sharing now supports single sign-on in Settings
• Comments can be added more easily when posting photos to Facebook
• Videos can be uploaded to Facebook
• Locations and friend tags can now be set when posting photos to Facebook
• Comments and locations can be set on individual photos when sharing a group of photos to Facebook
• Any photo previously posted to Facebook can be more easily replaced with a more current version
• A notification is now displayed when an upload to Facebook completes in the background
• Photos can now be shared directly to Cards, iMovie, and other supporting apps
• Journals now include new layout options
• Fonts and alignment of text in journal items can be modified
• New style and color options are available for Note and Memory items in journals
• Journal Note and Memory items can now be resized
• Dividers can be added to break journal pages into sections to control the reflow of layouts
• A new Swap mode makes it easier to change the placement of items in a journal layout
• You can now place a pin on a journal map when no location data is present
• Links to journals can now be shared directly to Facebook and Twitter, and via Messages
• Links to remote journals can now be shared even if the journal was created on another device
• A new Publish Changes button provides control over when to update your journal
• An overlay displaying month and year now appears when scrolling in Photos view
• Photos can now be sorted by date and can be filtered using new criteria
• Photos view now includes a Power Scroll strip for high-speed scrolling
• Grid of thumbnails can now be expanded to multiple rows in portrait orientation
iPhoto for iPhone and iPad have been updated with support for iOS 6 and also includes a slew of new features including coaching tips, new ink effects, support for 36.5 megapixel photos, and more.
• Added support for iPod touch (4th generation and later)
• Coaching tips have been added to the Help system on the iPhone and iPod touch
• Effects now include six new Apple-designed ink effects such as Chalk and Palette Knife
• Images up to 36.5 megapixels are now supported*
• Full resolution photos can now be imported via iTunes File Sharing
• Tag albums can be created by adding custom tags to photos
• "Updating Library" alert appears less frequently
• Multiple photos can now be saved to the Camera Roll at one time
• Cropping presets now use detected faces to determine composition
• Tilt-shift and gradient effects can now be rotated
• Facebook sharing now supports single sign-on in Settings
• Comments can be added more easily when posting photos to Facebook
• Videos can be uploaded to Facebook
• Locations and friend tags can now be set when posting photos to Facebook
• Comments and locations can be set on individual photos when sharing a group of photos to Facebook
• Any photo previously posted to Facebook can be more easily replaced with a more current version
• A notification is now displayed when an upload to Facebook completes in the background
• Photos can now be shared directly to Cards, iMovie, and other supporting apps
• Journals now include new layout options
• Fonts and alignment of text in journal items can be modified
• New style and color options are available for Note and Memory items in journals
• Journal Note and Memory items can now be resized
• Dividers can be added to break journal pages into sections to control the reflow of layouts
• A new Swap mode makes it easier to change the placement of items in a journal layout
• You can now place a pin on a journal map when no location data is present
• Links to journals can now be shared directly to Facebook and Twitter, and via Messages
• Links to remote journals can now be shared even if the journal was created on another device
• A new Publish Changes button provides control over when to update your journal
• An overlay displaying month and year now appears when scrolling in Photos view
• Photos can now be sorted by date and can be filtered using new criteria
• Photos view now includes a Power Scroll strip for high-speed scrolling
• Grid of thumbnails can now be expanded to multiple rows in portrait orientation
Apple Brings Facebook to Mountain Lion 10.82 Very Handy for FB users
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It’s tandem operating system updates for Apple today. After rolling out iOS 6 this morning, as promised, the company issued an update for OS X Mountain Lion, its desktop operating system.
OS X 10.8.2 is a major update to Mountain Lion, with some important new features — one in particular: Facebook integration. Also on board: Support for Passbook, Apple’s location-aware mobile wallet app, and some tweaks to iMessage and FaceTime that route messages and video chats to the Mac. Here’s the full change log:
This update is recommended for all OS X Mountain Lion users, and includes new features and fixes:
Facebook
- Single sign on for Facebook
- Adds Facebook as an option when sharing links and photos
- See Facebook friends’ contact information and profile pictures in Contacts
- Facebook notifications now appear in Notification Center
Game Center
- Share scores to Facebook, Twitter, Mail, or Messages
- Facebook friends are included in Game Center friend recommendations
- Added Facebook “Like” button for games
- Challenge friends to beat your score or achievement
Other new features
- Adds Power Nap support for MacBook Air (Late 2010)
- iMessages sent to your phone number now appear in Messages on your Mac
- You can now add passes to Passbook (on your iPhone or iPod touch) from Safari and Mail on your Mac
- FaceTime can now receive calls sent to your phone number
- New shared Reminders lists
- New sort options allow you to sort notes by title, the date you edited them, and when you created them
- Dictation now supports additional languages: Mandarin, Cantonese, Spanish, Korean, Canadian English, Canadian French, and Italian
- Dictionary app now includes a French definition dictionary
- Sina Weibo profile photos can now be added to Contacts
It’s tandem operating system updates for Apple today. After rolling out iOS 6 this morning, as promised, the company issued an update for OS X Mountain Lion, its desktop operating system.
OS X 10.8.2 is a major update to Mountain Lion, with some important new features — one in particular: Facebook integration. Also on board: Support for Passbook, Apple’s location-aware mobile wallet app, and some tweaks to iMessage and FaceTime that route messages and video chats to the Mac. Here’s the full change log:
This update is recommended for all OS X Mountain Lion users, and includes new features and fixes:
- Single sign on for Facebook
- Adds Facebook as an option when sharing links and photos
- See Facebook friends’ contact information and profile pictures in Contacts
- Facebook notifications now appear in Notification Center
Game Center
- Share scores to Facebook, Twitter, Mail, or Messages
- Facebook friends are included in Game Center friend recommendations
- Added Facebook “Like” button for games
- Challenge friends to beat your score or achievement
Other new features
- Adds Power Nap support for MacBook Air (Late 2010)
- iMessages sent to your phone number now appear in Messages on your Mac
- You can now add passes to Passbook (on your iPhone or iPod touch) from Safari and Mail on your Mac
- FaceTime can now receive calls sent to your phone number
- New shared Reminders lists
- New sort options allow you to sort notes by title, the date you edited them, and when you created them
- Dictation now supports additional languages: Mandarin, Cantonese, Spanish, Korean, Canadian English, Canadian French, and Italian
- Dictionary app now includes a French definition dictionary
- Sina Weibo profile photos can now be added to Contacts
How To Kill Metro Apps In Windows 8
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When Windows 8 Consumers Preview was released, reaction was somewhat mixed from users and tech pundits alike. Much has been changed from past Windows versions and the software giant wants to merge both tablets and desktop UI into one single package. Since its a hybrid OS, desktop users doesn’t seem to look any happy. Along with revamped UI, unified desktop/tablet usage, and other enhancements, there are many features that have been either reworked, or removed for good. One of these features that is reworked, is application handling. Unlike previous versions of Windows, Windows 8 handles running applications in a different way. As you know that Windows 8 is optimized for both PCs and tablets, and features metro style applications, which run in the Metro UI environment. The metro applications behave similar to that of Android/iOS apps (well, that’s the closest example i can think of). For instance, when you move to home screen (i.e. the Metro Start Screen) while using a metro app, the OS suspends the application to conserve CPU resources for other apps. Even though this reduces the load time of metro apps, suspended applications (apps running in the background) do consume memory resources, which can be serious problem if you don’t have enough memory at your disposal. In this post, we will show you a few ways to properly quit Metro apps.
There are 4 different ways to close/shutdown the Metro apps that Windows 8 provides you with. The first method involves the use of Switch List that contains all the running metro applications. Its fairly easy, to close an app from the Switch List, right click the app and select Close to shut down the app.
Next up, is using the task manager, you can easily quit the metro applications. It shows you all the currently running Metro apps in the Task Manager. Just Right click the running app and select End Task to close it.
The above mentioned methods let you close the Metro apps from outside the application interface. However, if you want to close the app without having to open Task Manager or access the Switch List, you can grab the App window from the top end and drag it all the way down to the bottom of the screen. This will immediately close the metro style application. You can also close any running metro style app using the Alt+F4 hotkey combination.
When Windows 8 Consumers Preview was released, reaction was somewhat mixed from users and tech pundits alike. Much has been changed from past Windows versions and the software giant wants to merge both tablets and desktop UI into one single package. Since its a hybrid OS, desktop users doesn’t seem to look any happy. Along with revamped UI, unified desktop/tablet usage, and other enhancements, there are many features that have been either reworked, or removed for good. One of these features that is reworked, is application handling. Unlike previous versions of Windows, Windows 8 handles running applications in a different way. As you know that Windows 8 is optimized for both PCs and tablets, and features metro style applications, which run in the Metro UI environment. The metro applications behave similar to that of Android/iOS apps (well, that’s the closest example i can think of). For instance, when you move to home screen (i.e. the Metro Start Screen) while using a metro app, the OS suspends the application to conserve CPU resources for other apps. Even though this reduces the load time of metro apps, suspended applications (apps running in the background) do consume memory resources, which can be serious problem if you don’t have enough memory at your disposal. In this post, we will show you a few ways to properly quit Metro apps.
There are 4 different ways to close/shutdown the Metro apps that Windows 8 provides you with. The first method involves the use of Switch List that contains all the running metro applications. Its fairly easy, to close an app from the Switch List, right click the app and select Close to shut down the app.
Next up, is using the task manager, you can easily quit the metro applications. It shows you all the currently running Metro apps in the Task Manager. Just Right click the running app and select End Task to close it.
The above mentioned methods let you close the Metro apps from outside the application interface. However, if you want to close the app without having to open Task Manager or access the Switch List, you can grab the App window from the top end and drag it all the way down to the bottom of the screen. This will immediately close the metro style application. You can also close any running metro style app using the Alt+F4 hotkey combination.
iOS 6 Will be Released on September 19th
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We've seen and heard about many of the new features coming to iOS 6 already, but with the announcement of the iPhone 5, we now know exactly when it's coming: September 19.
Little has been added in the way of functionality aside from what we saw at WWDC, but it will be compatible with devices all the way back to the iPhone 3GS (along with the iPhone 4 and 4S, and the iPad 2 and New iPad). Below is a rundown of the new features, and if you're unfamiliar with what's already been announced in iOS 6 there's a quick rundown of the other notable features.
iMessage: With the latest iOS 6 beta, Apple quietly introduced the ability to send, receive and sync iMessages between multiple devices, even if its sent to your phone number. Messaging on iOS is now a near seamless experience that allows you to pick up any of your Apple devices (or even Messages on Mountain Lion), and continue a previous conversation in stride
.
Wi-Fi + Cellular: A new secret little feature in iOS 6 is the ability to keep your cellular data alive if there's no internet available on a wi-fi network you might be connected to. Maybe you're on a network that's set up solely for AirPlay, or maybe you've setup an ad hoc connection with a wi-fi flash drive. Either way, it's nice not to lose mobile data entirely. Also expect this to play nice with AirPlay direct.
Siri: The search functionality of Siri has been greatly expanded to fetch sports scores, list movie times and book tables at restaurants. It's almost to the point where it serves some practical function in our lives.
Maps: Gone are Google Maps. In its place is Apple's own home-cooked Maps app, complete with data from TomTom. From what we've seen so far, it's not a finished product quite yet, but the addition of 3D maps and turn-by-turn navigation are welcome additions to be sure.
Passbook: Apple's answer to Google Wallet and Pay With Square is Passbook. It will store your credit card data, customer rewards cards, coupons and plane tickets. And either with the use of a QR code or bluetooth, merchants can collect your payment info and send you on your way.
Facebook: Like being able to Tweet from anywhere in iOS? You can do the same with Facebook now. And as an added bonus, you can update Facebook and Twitter straight from notification center. Just be careful with contact sync, as Facebook will overwrite your contacts primary info with its own.
Facetime over 3G: Like Facetiming on the go? If you do, you can now do it over 3G without needing a wi-fi connection. Just as long as you're not on AT&T.
iCloud Tabs: iCloud tabs is a nice little feature that will allow you to access open Safari tabs on other iCloud connected devices. Pages viewed on iPhones, iPads, MacBooks (running Mountain Lion) can all be accessed from any device. A bit overdue, perhaps, but a welcome feature nonetheless.
YouTube: Apple's baked-in YouTube app is no longer available in iOS. Be sure to download Google's standalone app if you don't want to view YouTube vids in Safari.
We've seen and heard about many of the new features coming to iOS 6 already, but with the announcement of the iPhone 5, we now know exactly when it's coming: September 19.
Little has been added in the way of functionality aside from what we saw at WWDC, but it will be compatible with devices all the way back to the iPhone 3GS (along with the iPhone 4 and 4S, and the iPad 2 and New iPad). Below is a rundown of the new features, and if you're unfamiliar with what's already been announced in iOS 6 there's a quick rundown of the other notable features.
iMessage: With the latest iOS 6 beta, Apple quietly introduced the ability to send, receive and sync iMessages between multiple devices, even if its sent to your phone number. Messaging on iOS is now a near seamless experience that allows you to pick up any of your Apple devices (or even Messages on Mountain Lion), and continue a previous conversation in stride
.
Wi-Fi + Cellular: A new secret little feature in iOS 6 is the ability to keep your cellular data alive if there's no internet available on a wi-fi network you might be connected to. Maybe you're on a network that's set up solely for AirPlay, or maybe you've setup an ad hoc connection with a wi-fi flash drive. Either way, it's nice not to lose mobile data entirely. Also expect this to play nice with AirPlay direct.
Siri: The search functionality of Siri has been greatly expanded to fetch sports scores, list movie times and book tables at restaurants. It's almost to the point where it serves some practical function in our lives.
Maps: Gone are Google Maps. In its place is Apple's own home-cooked Maps app, complete with data from TomTom. From what we've seen so far, it's not a finished product quite yet, but the addition of 3D maps and turn-by-turn navigation are welcome additions to be sure.
Passbook: Apple's answer to Google Wallet and Pay With Square is Passbook. It will store your credit card data, customer rewards cards, coupons and plane tickets. And either with the use of a QR code or bluetooth, merchants can collect your payment info and send you on your way.
Facebook: Like being able to Tweet from anywhere in iOS? You can do the same with Facebook now. And as an added bonus, you can update Facebook and Twitter straight from notification center. Just be careful with contact sync, as Facebook will overwrite your contacts primary info with its own.
Facetime over 3G: Like Facetiming on the go? If you do, you can now do it over 3G without needing a wi-fi connection. Just as long as you're not on AT&T.
iCloud Tabs: iCloud tabs is a nice little feature that will allow you to access open Safari tabs on other iCloud connected devices. Pages viewed on iPhones, iPads, MacBooks (running Mountain Lion) can all be accessed from any device. A bit overdue, perhaps, but a welcome feature nonetheless.
YouTube: Apple's baked-in YouTube app is no longer available in iOS. Be sure to download Google's standalone app if you don't want to view YouTube vids in Safari.
Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac Released
Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac has just been released today as an upgrade for current users, and available to the general public for purchase on Tuesday (9/4).
New and enhanced features of Parallels Desktop 8 make life even better for Mac lovers. Bringing together the newest versions of the world’s two most popular operating systems – OS X and Windows – opens up a world of opportunity by allowing users to choose how they want Mac and Windows to collaborate. Here is a quick breakdown of how Parallels Desktop 8 integrates the cutting edge features within Mountain Lion and Windows 8:
Vmware Fusion 5 Released And it Packs Over 70 New Features.
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VMware -- which specialises in virtualization and cloud infrastructure -- has announced VMware Fusion 5, which boasts over 70 new features for a "Windows on Mac" experience. In addition, VMware is introducing VMware Fusion 5 Professional with new capabilities designed to improve the way businesses and IT deliver applications to users on Macs and PCs.
"While the number of users adopting Macs continue to rise, the business environment is still dominated by Windows," says Jason Joel, director, personal products, VMware. "VMware Fusion 5 and Fusion 5 Professional build upon our award-winning platform, adding new capabilities that are in demand among both individual and professional users
Leveraging our experience with consumer and enterprise end-users, we believe this new version of the product is the best solution on the market for users who want to run Windows on Mac simultaneously."
The VMware Fusion 5 product family offers a way to run Windows on a Mac for individual or business use. VMware Fusion 5 has been revamped to take advantage of new technologies only available in Mountain Lion, Windows 8 and the latest Macs.
VMware -- which specialises in virtualization and cloud infrastructure -- has announced VMware Fusion 5, which boasts over 70 new features for a "Windows on Mac" experience. In addition, VMware is introducing VMware Fusion 5 Professional with new capabilities designed to improve the way businesses and IT deliver applications to users on Macs and PCs.
"While the number of users adopting Macs continue to rise, the business environment is still dominated by Windows," says Jason Joel, director, personal products, VMware. "VMware Fusion 5 and Fusion 5 Professional build upon our award-winning platform, adding new capabilities that are in demand among both individual and professional users
Leveraging our experience with consumer and enterprise end-users, we believe this new version of the product is the best solution on the market for users who want to run Windows on Mac simultaneously."
The VMware Fusion 5 product family offers a way to run Windows on a Mac for individual or business use. VMware Fusion 5 has been revamped to take advantage of new technologies only available in Mountain Lion, Windows 8 and the latest Macs.
Thrills!! Microsoft unveils its new logo.
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Well here it is. Thrills for Noddy.
It only took 25 years for them to come up with this! and no doubt, a few Bazillion dollars.
Yes Microsoft has just unveiled a new look and feel to its corporate logo. Following 25 years from its former iteration, this is the first major Microsoft logo change in the company's history. The new logo includes a multi colored symbol that's typically found on the company's Windows products — the first time the wordmark has been accompanied by an image. Speaking to The Seattle Times, Microsoft's Jeff Hansen reveals that the new logo is designed to "signal the heritage but also signal the future — a newness and freshness."
Microsoft is preparing to launch a range of products this holiday season, including its Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 operating systems and a new Surface tablet. The software giant's new logo reflects a change in the company's branding that has been triggered by the new look Windows 8 interface and branding. Microsoft's Office team has also adopted a similar interface and style, and Windows Phone 8 completes the trio of products for Microsoft's major rebrand this fall.
Well here it is. Thrills for Noddy.
It only took 25 years for them to come up with this! and no doubt, a few Bazillion dollars.
Yes Microsoft has just unveiled a new look and feel to its corporate logo. Following 25 years from its former iteration, this is the first major Microsoft logo change in the company's history. The new logo includes a multi colored symbol that's typically found on the company's Windows products — the first time the wordmark has been accompanied by an image. Speaking to The Seattle Times, Microsoft's Jeff Hansen reveals that the new logo is designed to "signal the heritage but also signal the future — a newness and freshness."
Microsoft is preparing to launch a range of products this holiday season, including its Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 operating systems and a new Surface tablet. The software giant's new logo reflects a change in the company's branding that has been triggered by the new look Windows 8 interface and branding. Microsoft's Office team has also adopted a similar interface and style, and Windows Phone 8 completes the trio of products for Microsoft's major rebrand this fall.
Oracle releases Java SE 7 bringing first-class support to OS X and Linux on ARM.
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Oracle announced on Tuesday that it will start offering direct downloads and auto-updates to Java on OS X beginning with the release of Java Standard Edition 7 Update 6. Users can download the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) directly from Oracle's java.com website "soon," according to Oracle, and will receive auto-updates at the same time as Windows, Linux, and Solaris platforms. The update also fully integrates the JavaFX 2.2 libraries, designed to make the development and deployment of desktop applications easier and faster, and adds OS X support for a new JavaFX user interface development tool.
Oracle is also expanding its support for Linux as well. Java SE 7 Update 6 adds support for Linux on ARM, "to address 'general purpose”' ARM systems, such as those used for the emerging micro-server ARM market, and for development platforms such as Raspberry Pi." JavaFX 2.2 also fully supports Linux on x86 and x64 platforms.
The latest release of Java SE 7 now makes OS X a fully supported platform. That includes the JRE, which end users install to run Java-based applications; the JDK, which developers use to develop Java applications; and the JavaFX "rich client platform," used to develop GUI desktop applications. Oracle is also releasing an OS X version of its new JavaFX Scene Builder, which allows developers to build user interfaces using drag-and-drop components (similar to Xcode or Visual Studio).
Apple's continuing inability to stay on top of updating Java resulted in the most widely exploited vulnerability in OS X to date: a quick-spreading trojan known as Flashback. The malware infected over half a million un-patched Macs at its pinnacle, though Apple quickly released patches and a removal tool after news of Flashback became public.
Apple has since effectively ceded responsibility for Java to Oracle, which had begun taking over support of Java on OS X with the release of Java SE 7 Update 4 in April. Apple has still distributed its own updates to Java, releasing critical security patches in concert with Oracle, though it appears end users will be getting updates from Oracle from now on.
"Oracle continues to expand our support for the Java platform, and now, for the first time, consumers and developers have access to the latest Java SE features and security updates across all major operating systems: Windows, Linux, Solaris, and Mac OS X," Hasan Rizvi, senior vice president of Oracle Fusion Middleware and Java Products, said in a statement. "We're also focused on improving the client Java experience with the release of JavaFX Scene Builder and bundling JavaFX with Java SE to provide better performance and improved usability for JavaFX applications, without having to install and maintain a separate product."
Oracle announced on Tuesday that it will start offering direct downloads and auto-updates to Java on OS X beginning with the release of Java Standard Edition 7 Update 6. Users can download the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) directly from Oracle's java.com website "soon," according to Oracle, and will receive auto-updates at the same time as Windows, Linux, and Solaris platforms. The update also fully integrates the JavaFX 2.2 libraries, designed to make the development and deployment of desktop applications easier and faster, and adds OS X support for a new JavaFX user interface development tool.
Oracle is also expanding its support for Linux as well. Java SE 7 Update 6 adds support for Linux on ARM, "to address 'general purpose”' ARM systems, such as those used for the emerging micro-server ARM market, and for development platforms such as Raspberry Pi." JavaFX 2.2 also fully supports Linux on x86 and x64 platforms.
The latest release of Java SE 7 now makes OS X a fully supported platform. That includes the JRE, which end users install to run Java-based applications; the JDK, which developers use to develop Java applications; and the JavaFX "rich client platform," used to develop GUI desktop applications. Oracle is also releasing an OS X version of its new JavaFX Scene Builder, which allows developers to build user interfaces using drag-and-drop components (similar to Xcode or Visual Studio).
Apple's continuing inability to stay on top of updating Java resulted in the most widely exploited vulnerability in OS X to date: a quick-spreading trojan known as Flashback. The malware infected over half a million un-patched Macs at its pinnacle, though Apple quickly released patches and a removal tool after news of Flashback became public.
Apple has since effectively ceded responsibility for Java to Oracle, which had begun taking over support of Java on OS X with the release of Java SE 7 Update 4 in April. Apple has still distributed its own updates to Java, releasing critical security patches in concert with Oracle, though it appears end users will be getting updates from Oracle from now on.
"Oracle continues to expand our support for the Java platform, and now, for the first time, consumers and developers have access to the latest Java SE features and security updates across all major operating systems: Windows, Linux, Solaris, and Mac OS X," Hasan Rizvi, senior vice president of Oracle Fusion Middleware and Java Products, said in a statement. "We're also focused on improving the client Java experience with the release of JavaFX Scene Builder and bundling JavaFX with Java SE to provide better performance and improved usability for JavaFX applications, without having to install and maintain a separate product."
Microsoft-No New Windows Phone apps after some refuse to install on older devices.
www.tech-sanity.com
Microsoft may face a few uncomfortable questions at Build this fall. A bug in digital signatures resulting from the Windows Phone Dev Center rollout is preventing a "small percentage" of apps in the Windows Phone Store, including not-so-insignificant titles like WhatsApp and Microsoft's own Translator, from installing on older phones that had to upgrade to Windows Phone 7.5 after the fact. While the company already has a fix in the works, it's performing some painful triage to keep the damage from spreading: it's putting the brakes on publishing any new apps until certificate signing is back under control. Microsoft doesn't yet know when it can open the taps once more, either. The momentary freeze won't stop downloads of already-published apps, but it's likely to leave a few customers jittery about resetting their phones -- and developers twiddling their thumbs.
Microsoft may face a few uncomfortable questions at Build this fall. A bug in digital signatures resulting from the Windows Phone Dev Center rollout is preventing a "small percentage" of apps in the Windows Phone Store, including not-so-insignificant titles like WhatsApp and Microsoft's own Translator, from installing on older phones that had to upgrade to Windows Phone 7.5 after the fact. While the company already has a fix in the works, it's performing some painful triage to keep the damage from spreading: it's putting the brakes on publishing any new apps until certificate signing is back under control. Microsoft doesn't yet know when it can open the taps once more, either. The momentary freeze won't stop downloads of already-published apps, but it's likely to leave a few customers jittery about resetting their phones -- and developers twiddling their thumbs.
Microsoft unveils SkyDrive.com redesign, and a new Android App.
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Microsoft has been planning to redesign its SkyDrive web interface this summer, and now the company has officially taken the wraps off a refined SkyDrive.com. Additionally, Microsoft also announced more efficient Windows and OS X SkyDrive integration as well as a new Android app that'll be available within the next few weeks.
As we saw late last month, SkyDrive.com now supports a new tile-based interface that visually matches the visual style Microsoft has been pushing since Windows Phone 7. There are also new "instant search" features that appear to function more like desktop-bases searches with results dynamically updating; other features include a contextual toolbar that holds the most commonly used actions, multiple select and drag and drop, and improved sorting options.
As for syncing with the Windows Desktop and OS X, efficiency has been improved in a few key areas based on user feedback: photo upload speeds have been improved, and the "looking for changes" state (when SkyDrive analyzes your files to see what needs to be synced) is also quite a bit faster than before. Microsoft says that users milage may vary, so unfortunately you can't assume you'll see any major improvements. The new apps should be rolling out this week.
Lastly, Microsoft announced that an Android SkyDrive app would be launching sometime in the next few weeks. There weren't a ton of details on the app itself, though Microsoft noted that it'll be "similar" to the existing Windows Phone and iOS options. Specifically, users will be able to browse, upload and share files, open SkyDrive files from other apps, and upload and save files from other apps to SkyDrive. Microsoft's service certainly has a lot of competition, but these new updates sound like they'll make it a more competitive offering.
Microsoft has been planning to redesign its SkyDrive web interface this summer, and now the company has officially taken the wraps off a refined SkyDrive.com. Additionally, Microsoft also announced more efficient Windows and OS X SkyDrive integration as well as a new Android app that'll be available within the next few weeks.
As we saw late last month, SkyDrive.com now supports a new tile-based interface that visually matches the visual style Microsoft has been pushing since Windows Phone 7. There are also new "instant search" features that appear to function more like desktop-bases searches with results dynamically updating; other features include a contextual toolbar that holds the most commonly used actions, multiple select and drag and drop, and improved sorting options.
As for syncing with the Windows Desktop and OS X, efficiency has been improved in a few key areas based on user feedback: photo upload speeds have been improved, and the "looking for changes" state (when SkyDrive analyzes your files to see what needs to be synced) is also quite a bit faster than before. Microsoft says that users milage may vary, so unfortunately you can't assume you'll see any major improvements. The new apps should be rolling out this week.
Lastly, Microsoft announced that an Android SkyDrive app would be launching sometime in the next few weeks. There weren't a ton of details on the app itself, though Microsoft noted that it'll be "similar" to the existing Windows Phone and iOS options. Specifically, users will be able to browse, upload and share files, open SkyDrive files from other apps, and upload and save files from other apps to SkyDrive. Microsoft's service certainly has a lot of competition, but these new updates sound like they'll make it a more competitive offering.
Facebook allegedly did nothing to verify security of apps it was paid to review.
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Facebook's app programme has been accused by the FTC of being 'deceptive'
Facebook has been accused of deceiving developers after it emerged that the social networking site did nothing to verify the security of applications it was paid tens of thousands of dollars to review, and which it assured users had been checked.
It is believed Facebook was paid up to $95,000 (£60,600) by developers whose applications were entered into its verified apps scheme.
The system gave a green tick of approval to apps that passed what Facebook described as its "test for trustworthy user experiences".
An investigation by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) revealed that Facebook took no steps to review the applications in its now-closed scheme. Facebook awarded the verified badge to 254 applications, according to the FTC.
Developers paid Facebook $375, or $175 for a student or non-profit organisation, to be given the green tick. Verified apps were given other benefits including prominence in its search results and a higher ranking on the directory of apps.
Facebook had said it would subject the apps to a "detailed review process", and then give the verified badge to apps that the social network decided were "secure, respectful and transparent".
However, the FTC described the programme as "deceptive" in a 19-page list of wider privacy charges against Facebook.
"Contrary to the statements set forth in paragraph 46, before it awarded the Verified Apps badge, Facebook took no steps to verify either the security of a verified application's website or the security the application provided for the user information it collected, beyond such steps as it may have taken regarding any other Platform Application," the FTC said.
Consumers could also have been deceived by the "verified" tickmarks, the FTC suggested, as the site said that the programme "is designed to offer extra assurances to help users identify applications they can trust… that are secure, respectful and transparent, and have demonstrated commitment to compliance with platform policies".
But instead, Facebook "took no steps to verify either the security of a verified application's website or the security the application provided for the user information it collected, beyond such steps as it may have taken regarding any other platform application," the FTC said.
Facebook accepted a settlement with the FTC on Friday. Under its terms Facebook must allow an independent watchdog to make regular privacy inspections for the next 20 years. It came just a day after Google was fined a record $22.5m (£14.4m) by the FTC for circumventing privacy protections on Apple's Safari web browser.
Facebook closed the verified apps program after just six months in December 2009, saying that it would extend "the idea of verification to apply to all of the applications on the Facebook platform". Facebook agreed to undergo privacy vetting for 20 years.
Facebook's app programme has been accused by the FTC of being 'deceptive'
Facebook has been accused of deceiving developers after it emerged that the social networking site did nothing to verify the security of applications it was paid tens of thousands of dollars to review, and which it assured users had been checked.
It is believed Facebook was paid up to $95,000 (£60,600) by developers whose applications were entered into its verified apps scheme.
The system gave a green tick of approval to apps that passed what Facebook described as its "test for trustworthy user experiences".
An investigation by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) revealed that Facebook took no steps to review the applications in its now-closed scheme. Facebook awarded the verified badge to 254 applications, according to the FTC.
Developers paid Facebook $375, or $175 for a student or non-profit organisation, to be given the green tick. Verified apps were given other benefits including prominence in its search results and a higher ranking on the directory of apps.
Facebook had said it would subject the apps to a "detailed review process", and then give the verified badge to apps that the social network decided were "secure, respectful and transparent".
However, the FTC described the programme as "deceptive" in a 19-page list of wider privacy charges against Facebook.
"Contrary to the statements set forth in paragraph 46, before it awarded the Verified Apps badge, Facebook took no steps to verify either the security of a verified application's website or the security the application provided for the user information it collected, beyond such steps as it may have taken regarding any other Platform Application," the FTC said.
Consumers could also have been deceived by the "verified" tickmarks, the FTC suggested, as the site said that the programme "is designed to offer extra assurances to help users identify applications they can trust… that are secure, respectful and transparent, and have demonstrated commitment to compliance with platform policies".
But instead, Facebook "took no steps to verify either the security of a verified application's website or the security the application provided for the user information it collected, beyond such steps as it may have taken regarding any other platform application," the FTC said.
Facebook accepted a settlement with the FTC on Friday. Under its terms Facebook must allow an independent watchdog to make regular privacy inspections for the next 20 years. It came just a day after Google was fined a record $22.5m (£14.4m) by the FTC for circumventing privacy protections on Apple's Safari web browser.
Facebook closed the verified apps program after just six months in December 2009, saying that it would extend "the idea of verification to apply to all of the applications on the Facebook platform". Facebook agreed to undergo privacy vetting for 20 years.
Chrome Browser Tightens Security With Flash Player
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Google’s latest version of the Chrome web browser offers an even more secure, tightly sandboxed version of the browser’s Flash Player plugin.
If you haven’t already updated you can download Chrome 21 from Google. Existing users may need to restart their browser for any updates to apply.
At the moment the Flash Player improvements are only available to Windows users, but the change does apply to the entire Windows spectrum, covering everything from Windows XP (where Chrome is the only option if you want to keep Flash sandboxed) to the coming Windows 8.
As Chrome Software Engineer Justin Schuh writes on the Chromium blog, “Windows Flash is now inside a sandbox that’s as strong as Chrome’s native sandbox, and dramatically more robust than anything else available.”
The Flash update sees Chrome dropping the older Netscape Plugin API — which browsers have long relied on for plugin security — in favor of Google’s own Pepper Plugin API (PPAPI). Since PPAPI has a tighter sandbox it makes it harder to exploit Flash, but Schuh says the new architecture will make Flash more stable as well. “By eliminating the complexity and legacy code associated with NPAPI, we’ve reduced Flash crashes by about 20%.”
There are also performance gains since the PPAPI offloads some of the display work to your PC’s GPU, which makes for faster rendering and smooth scrolling. The new Pepper API also means Flash will work in Windows 8′s don’t-call-it-Metro mode.
Google says that it’s working on bring the same Pepper-based sandboxing to Chrome for Mac OS X and hopes to “ship it soon” (Linux users have enjoyed PPAPI-based Flash Player since Chrome 20).
Google’s latest version of the Chrome web browser offers an even more secure, tightly sandboxed version of the browser’s Flash Player plugin.
If you haven’t already updated you can download Chrome 21 from Google. Existing users may need to restart their browser for any updates to apply.
At the moment the Flash Player improvements are only available to Windows users, but the change does apply to the entire Windows spectrum, covering everything from Windows XP (where Chrome is the only option if you want to keep Flash sandboxed) to the coming Windows 8.
As Chrome Software Engineer Justin Schuh writes on the Chromium blog, “Windows Flash is now inside a sandbox that’s as strong as Chrome’s native sandbox, and dramatically more robust than anything else available.”
The Flash update sees Chrome dropping the older Netscape Plugin API — which browsers have long relied on for plugin security — in favor of Google’s own Pepper Plugin API (PPAPI). Since PPAPI has a tighter sandbox it makes it harder to exploit Flash, but Schuh says the new architecture will make Flash more stable as well. “By eliminating the complexity and legacy code associated with NPAPI, we’ve reduced Flash crashes by about 20%.”
There are also performance gains since the PPAPI offloads some of the display work to your PC’s GPU, which makes for faster rendering and smooth scrolling. The new Pepper API also means Flash will work in Windows 8′s don’t-call-it-Metro mode.
Google says that it’s working on bring the same Pepper-based sandboxing to Chrome for Mac OS X and hopes to “ship it soon” (Linux users have enjoyed PPAPI-based Flash Player since Chrome 20).
Want Google Now, Now on your rooted devices?
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If you can't wait to subject Google Now to an epic interrogation of your own but don't have access to Android's Jelly Bean-flavored OS, then you may want to check out what's cooking over at the XDA Developers forums. If you've got a rooted ARMv7 device with Ice Cream Sandwich and ClockWorkMod Recovery, it's actually possible to start enjoying Google's take on the virtual personal assistant on your smartphone right now. As usual, you'll need to download the requisite file and partake in some good, old flashing action. Folks who appreciate having options can also take their pick between a fuller Google Now experience or a more stripped down version by hitting the source link below.
If you can't wait to subject Google Now to an epic interrogation of your own but don't have access to Android's Jelly Bean-flavored OS, then you may want to check out what's cooking over at the XDA Developers forums. If you've got a rooted ARMv7 device with Ice Cream Sandwich and ClockWorkMod Recovery, it's actually possible to start enjoying Google's take on the virtual personal assistant on your smartphone right now. As usual, you'll need to download the requisite file and partake in some good, old flashing action. Folks who appreciate having options can also take their pick between a fuller Google Now experience or a more stripped down version by hitting the source link below.
Microsoft's Office Store up and running with apps.
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Today Microsoft's Office Store has come online. This portal enables Office and SharePoint users to install apps. Users will need a Microsoft account and the preview version of Office, SharePoint or Exchange in order to start diving in. Naturally, Microsoft has built a pretty stout control system for administrators, and it has also crafted an internal distribution mechanism in SharePoint called the App Catalog -- a tool that "allows enterprises to build in-house apps or source them from partners and distribute them to employees within the organization." Looking to see what it's all around? Head over to the Store and click entirely too many of those "Try It" buttons.
Today Microsoft's Office Store has come online. This portal enables Office and SharePoint users to install apps. Users will need a Microsoft account and the preview version of Office, SharePoint or Exchange in order to start diving in. Naturally, Microsoft has built a pretty stout control system for administrators, and it has also crafted an internal distribution mechanism in SharePoint called the App Catalog -- a tool that "allows enterprises to build in-house apps or source them from partners and distribute them to employees within the organization." Looking to see what it's all around? Head over to the Store and click entirely too many of those "Try It" buttons.
Here Comes More Android Malware so be Aware.
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Googles Android OS is the mobile operating system most plagued by malware. It might not come as a surprise then that cyber criminals are taking advantage of the 2012 Summer Olympics as an opportunity and a cover-up for more malware.
Anti-malware and anti-virus solutions provider Webroot has issued a warning that because there are so many events happening at one time during the Olympics, it might be all the more tempting when viewers find an app available that focuses on one or just a few.
This goes hand-in-hand with some other cyber threats attached to the Olympic Games that can really affect even just the casual viewer. RSA recently published some tips on dealing with Olympic-themed phishing emails as well as social media alerts that are disguised in order to steal personal information.
Webroot researchers cited an app app called "London Olympics Widget," which is described as an app that displays aggregated Olympic news coverage.
In fact, it's really just harvesting the user's contact list and device ID while reading up on SMS messages too.
Webroot goes into the nitty gritty details about permissions hidden in the underlying code as well as the digital certificate, but the bigger lesson here is to be extremely careful when it comes to downloading apps.
Despite some disputes about this, Android is still an open source platform at heart, which is what makes the mobile OS quite vulnerable in the first place.
Furthermore, Google Play and the Amazon Appstore don't screen every app available in these digital app stores for malicious code until they are reported. You don't really want to become the test case.
Webroot advises that consumers should take a close look at the author of the app and then search the name to see if it is in fact a reputable company and/or developer, as seen in the photo above.
During a session at Google I/O in June, Android security engineers also stressed several tips for the developer side of things that could instore more confidence for consumers as well, including offering a transparent privacy policy.
Googles Android OS is the mobile operating system most plagued by malware. It might not come as a surprise then that cyber criminals are taking advantage of the 2012 Summer Olympics as an opportunity and a cover-up for more malware.
Anti-malware and anti-virus solutions provider Webroot has issued a warning that because there are so many events happening at one time during the Olympics, it might be all the more tempting when viewers find an app available that focuses on one or just a few.
This goes hand-in-hand with some other cyber threats attached to the Olympic Games that can really affect even just the casual viewer. RSA recently published some tips on dealing with Olympic-themed phishing emails as well as social media alerts that are disguised in order to steal personal information.
Webroot researchers cited an app app called "London Olympics Widget," which is described as an app that displays aggregated Olympic news coverage.
In fact, it's really just harvesting the user's contact list and device ID while reading up on SMS messages too.
Webroot goes into the nitty gritty details about permissions hidden in the underlying code as well as the digital certificate, but the bigger lesson here is to be extremely careful when it comes to downloading apps.
Despite some disputes about this, Android is still an open source platform at heart, which is what makes the mobile OS quite vulnerable in the first place.
Furthermore, Google Play and the Amazon Appstore don't screen every app available in these digital app stores for malicious code until they are reported. You don't really want to become the test case.
Webroot advises that consumers should take a close look at the author of the app and then search the name to see if it is in fact a reputable company and/or developer, as seen in the photo above.
During a session at Google I/O in June, Android security engineers also stressed several tips for the developer side of things that could instore more confidence for consumers as well, including offering a transparent privacy policy.
Gamers … Valve cranks up Linux gaming, and it's faster than Windows
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Valve's distaste for Windows 8 has led the company to take on an increasing interest in Linux, and the new Valve Linux blog shows that, with some work, the Source Engine actually runs faster on it than it does on Windows. The company used a testbed with an Intel i7 3930k, Nvidia GeForce GTX 680, and 32GB of RAM to pit Left 4 Dead 2 on Windows 7 against Ubuntu 12, and the results are rather interesting.
At first, Valve's Linux port of Left 4 Dead 2 ran at only 6 FPS on the i7 machine, but after tweaking the game to make effective use of the efficient characteristics of the Linux kernel and OpenGL, the Valve Linux team was able to eke out a much higher 315 FPS. Using the same machine running Windows 7 and Direct3D, the same game ran at 270.6 FPS, or roughly 14 percent slower.
After optimizing the Source Engine for the Linux platform, Valve wondered why OpenGL was outperforming Direct3D at a technical level. Their research found that, on the same hardware, there are "a few additional microseconds [of] overhead per batch in Direct3D which does not affect OpenGL," indicating that Direct3D may not be as efficient as Microsoft would like developers to believe. There are still challenges ahead for the Valve Linux team, however, as the state of Linux graphics card drivers is still a tumultuous affair. The team has yet to work with AMD and Nvidia, but collaboration with Intel's engineers took place just last month.
Valve's distaste for Windows 8 has led the company to take on an increasing interest in Linux, and the new Valve Linux blog shows that, with some work, the Source Engine actually runs faster on it than it does on Windows. The company used a testbed with an Intel i7 3930k, Nvidia GeForce GTX 680, and 32GB of RAM to pit Left 4 Dead 2 on Windows 7 against Ubuntu 12, and the results are rather interesting.
At first, Valve's Linux port of Left 4 Dead 2 ran at only 6 FPS on the i7 machine, but after tweaking the game to make effective use of the efficient characteristics of the Linux kernel and OpenGL, the Valve Linux team was able to eke out a much higher 315 FPS. Using the same machine running Windows 7 and Direct3D, the same game ran at 270.6 FPS, or roughly 14 percent slower.
After optimizing the Source Engine for the Linux platform, Valve wondered why OpenGL was outperforming Direct3D at a technical level. Their research found that, on the same hardware, there are "a few additional microseconds [of] overhead per batch in Direct3D which does not affect OpenGL," indicating that Direct3D may not be as efficient as Microsoft would like developers to believe. There are still challenges ahead for the Valve Linux team, however, as the state of Linux graphics card drivers is still a tumultuous affair. The team has yet to work with AMD and Nvidia, but collaboration with Intel's engineers took place just last month.
Microsoft completes Windows 8 development, announces RTM
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Microsoft has announced that Windows 8 development is now complete. The final Release to Manufacturing (RTM) code will now be delivered to the company's hardware partners within the next few days to ready PCs and tablets with the new operating system in time for general availability on October 26th. Microsoft's final milestone concludes almost two years of development for its new Metro inspired Windows 8 software and marks the beginning of the release phase.
The final build is 9200.16384.win8_rtm.120725-1247 and Microsoft says MSDN and TechNet customers will be able to download it from August 15th. Microsoft Software Assurance customers will get the RTM bits on August 16th, and Volume License customers without Software Assurance will be able to purchase Windows 8 through Microsoft Volume License Resellers on September 1st. Steven Sinofsky, Microsoft's head of Windows, says the company "will continue to monitor and act on your real world experiences with Windows 8," despite the RTM milestone.
The finalization of WIndows 8 also means that the Windows Store will go live on August 15th. Developers will be able to access the final tools and submission process for Metro style apps at the Windows Dev Center later this month. PCs and tablets, including Microsoft's own Surface, will ship with Windows 8 on October 26th.
Microsoft has announced that Windows 8 development is now complete. The final Release to Manufacturing (RTM) code will now be delivered to the company's hardware partners within the next few days to ready PCs and tablets with the new operating system in time for general availability on October 26th. Microsoft's final milestone concludes almost two years of development for its new Metro inspired Windows 8 software and marks the beginning of the release phase.
The final build is 9200.16384.win8_rtm.120725-1247 and Microsoft says MSDN and TechNet customers will be able to download it from August 15th. Microsoft Software Assurance customers will get the RTM bits on August 16th, and Volume License customers without Software Assurance will be able to purchase Windows 8 through Microsoft Volume License Resellers on September 1st. Steven Sinofsky, Microsoft's head of Windows, says the company "will continue to monitor and act on your real world experiences with Windows 8," despite the RTM milestone.
The finalization of WIndows 8 also means that the Windows Store will go live on August 15th. Developers will be able to access the final tools and submission process for Metro style apps at the Windows Dev Center later this month. PCs and tablets, including Microsoft's own Surface, will ship with Windows 8 on October 26th.
Microsoft Has Redone Hotmail Now Outlook Mail and It's Getting Very Positive Feedback.
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It's looking good … finally!
Say goodbye to Hotmail. Now it's Outlook.
The New Hotmail looks fantastic, , it might be the handsomest webmail in the land. Really. Simple, clear, clean.
Outlook is as pretty as you want email to be—appealing short of cloying. It perfectly matches the superflat rainbow modernism of Windows 8. Colors are stark and few, complementing the rest of the Metro palette. Inbox items are spaced just about perfectly, packing in a manageably dense list of messages—unlike Gmail's recent fatso formatting. Microsoft is beaming at how many extra pixels it gives you to gawk at your mail compared to Google, and it's absolutely true: with Outlook, the top of the screen is appreciably slimmer than Gmail.
It's looking good … finally!
Say goodbye to Hotmail. Now it's Outlook.
The New Hotmail looks fantastic, , it might be the handsomest webmail in the land. Really. Simple, clear, clean.
Outlook is as pretty as you want email to be—appealing short of cloying. It perfectly matches the superflat rainbow modernism of Windows 8. Colors are stark and few, complementing the rest of the Metro palette. Inbox items are spaced just about perfectly, packing in a manageably dense list of messages—unlike Gmail's recent fatso formatting. Microsoft is beaming at how many extra pixels it gives you to gawk at your mail compared to Google, and it's absolutely true: with Outlook, the top of the screen is appreciably slimmer than Gmail.
Microsoft Has Confirmed It's Surface Will Ship on October 26th, (Same As Windows 8)
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Microsoft has confirmed that the Surface is due to start shipping on October 26th, with Windows 8.
It has been revealed that a Microsoft filed with the US Security and Exchange quietly reveals that the tablet will start shipping to customers on October 26th.The same day as Windows 8 is set to land, as we reported earlier in July.
The filing reads:
"The next version of our operating system, Windows 8, will be generally available on October 26, 2012... At that time, we will begin selling the Surface, a series of Microsoft-designed and manufactured hardware devices."
Since launch we've known that Intel-based Surface Pro will take longer to launch, so this October 26th launch date corresponds to the availability of the ARM-powered tablet.
There's still one big questions surrounding the Surface, though, and that's price. That really will be an announcement worth looking out for. [Win SuperSite]
Microsoft has confirmed that the Surface is due to start shipping on October 26th, with Windows 8.
It has been revealed that a Microsoft filed with the US Security and Exchange quietly reveals that the tablet will start shipping to customers on October 26th.The same day as Windows 8 is set to land, as we reported earlier in July.
The filing reads:
"The next version of our operating system, Windows 8, will be generally available on October 26, 2012... At that time, we will begin selling the Surface, a series of Microsoft-designed and manufactured hardware devices."
Since launch we've known that Intel-based Surface Pro will take longer to launch, so this October 26th launch date corresponds to the availability of the ARM-powered tablet.
There's still one big questions surrounding the Surface, though, and that's price. That really will be an announcement worth looking out for. [Win SuperSite]
Commandline Junkies new tools in Mountain Lion.
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Terminal junkies, Mountain Lion has brought some new command-line utilities. Perhaps the most notable is fdesetup, which Apple explains briefly: "fdesetup allows third-party management tools to enable FileVault, determine encryption status, capture and manage recovery keys, and add users to a FileVault-encrypted system as well as synchronize directory-based user authentication credentials with the local credentials for FileVault access."
Apple provides a 'man' page for fdsetup, but if you want more information about it, Rich Trouton at Der Flounder has a very thorough walk-through with a bunch of screenshots and excellent explanations. I'm definitely keeping this one in Pinboard for the inevitable day when I want or need to use fdsetup. I'm also glad to have a more low-level tool for working with FileVault.
I had written previously about the "hoops" which were necessary to disable certain users from being able to unlock the computer with FileVault. That process is now a lot easier.
But wait, there's more!
Patrix over at the Ask Different blog discovered several other new command-line utilities. Some of them are generic Unix utilities (pgrep and pkill) but there are also some OS X specific ones, including:
◦ caffeinate – prevent the system from sleeping on behalf of a utility
◦ serverinfo – determine server status (is this OS X Server, and, if so, are these things enabled)
◦ sharing – create share points for AFP, FTP and SMB services
◦ tccutil – manage the privacy database
See the original article for more details. Of these, caffeinate seems like the most interesting. I have used Caffeine, the free app from Lighthead Software, to keep my Mac awake at times, but being able to do it in shell scripts could definitely come in handy.
Still missing your favorite Unix utility?
If Mountain Lion still doesn't have your favorite utility, don't forget you have other options. I have used Rudix when I wanted precompiled binaries, and Homebrew when I want to make my own. Mostly these days I stick with Homebrew, which is regularly updated by a bunch of people, versus Rudix which has a smaller library and seems to be mostly the labor of love of one developer.
Others may prefer Fink or MacPorts; I have used both in the past but haven't kept up with them recently. Both of them appear to have been updated for Mountain Lion.
Terminal junkies, Mountain Lion has brought some new command-line utilities. Perhaps the most notable is fdesetup, which Apple explains briefly: "fdesetup allows third-party management tools to enable FileVault, determine encryption status, capture and manage recovery keys, and add users to a FileVault-encrypted system as well as synchronize directory-based user authentication credentials with the local credentials for FileVault access."
Apple provides a 'man' page for fdsetup, but if you want more information about it, Rich Trouton at Der Flounder has a very thorough walk-through with a bunch of screenshots and excellent explanations. I'm definitely keeping this one in Pinboard for the inevitable day when I want or need to use fdsetup. I'm also glad to have a more low-level tool for working with FileVault.
I had written previously about the "hoops" which were necessary to disable certain users from being able to unlock the computer with FileVault. That process is now a lot easier.
But wait, there's more!
Patrix over at the Ask Different blog discovered several other new command-line utilities. Some of them are generic Unix utilities (pgrep and pkill) but there are also some OS X specific ones, including:
◦ caffeinate – prevent the system from sleeping on behalf of a utility
◦ serverinfo – determine server status (is this OS X Server, and, if so, are these things enabled)
◦ sharing – create share points for AFP, FTP and SMB services
◦ tccutil – manage the privacy database
See the original article for more details. Of these, caffeinate seems like the most interesting. I have used Caffeine, the free app from Lighthead Software, to keep my Mac awake at times, but being able to do it in shell scripts could definitely come in handy.
Still missing your favorite Unix utility?
If Mountain Lion still doesn't have your favorite utility, don't forget you have other options. I have used Rudix when I wanted precompiled binaries, and Homebrew when I want to make my own. Mostly these days I stick with Homebrew, which is regularly updated by a bunch of people, versus Rudix which has a smaller library and seems to be mostly the labor of love of one developer.
Others may prefer Fink or MacPorts; I have used both in the past but haven't kept up with them recently. Both of them appear to have been updated for Mountain Lion.
Mountain Lion’s New File System by oliver reichenstein
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Here is a very interesting article on the "new" file system in Mountain Lion. It's a bit of a brain bender but if you read right through it you'll get the idea.
It's not forcing you to work a new way at all as I first though but the in App structure, like IOS, is quite an interesting idea. Just read on and you'll see what Oliver has discovered. Make sure you read it right through to the end to really get it and how theres some interesting logic here.
Apple has been working on its file system and with iOS it had almost killed the concept of folders — before reintroducing them with a peculiar restriction: only one level! With Mountain Lion it brings its one folder level logic to OSX (no again this is not forced). What could be the reason for such a restrictive measure?
Classic folder systems don’t perform too well. One reason is that organizing folders is engaging in the tiring discipline of information architecture. Information architecture is hard brain work. Just like a chess problem, it seems obvious once done, but takes considerable mental energy to figure out a clear and simple information architecture. And mainly, you just don’t want to do it all the time. Tying folders (sort of) to an app and reducing them to one level could solve a lot of these problems.
Folders-in-folders don’t work
The folder system paradigm is a geeky concept. Geeks built it because geeks need it. Geeks organize files all day long. Geeks don’t know and don’t really care how much their systems suck for other people. Geeks do not realize that for most people organizing documents within an operating system next to System files and applications feels like a complicated and maybe even dangerous business. Remember that autoexec.bat file?
Here is a very interesting article on the "new" file system in Mountain Lion. It's a bit of a brain bender but if you read right through it you'll get the idea.
It's not forcing you to work a new way at all as I first though but the in App structure, like IOS, is quite an interesting idea. Just read on and you'll see what Oliver has discovered. Make sure you read it right through to the end to really get it and how theres some interesting logic here.
Apple has been working on its file system and with iOS it had almost killed the concept of folders — before reintroducing them with a peculiar restriction: only one level! With Mountain Lion it brings its one folder level logic to OSX (no again this is not forced). What could be the reason for such a restrictive measure?
Classic folder systems don’t perform too well. One reason is that organizing folders is engaging in the tiring discipline of information architecture. Information architecture is hard brain work. Just like a chess problem, it seems obvious once done, but takes considerable mental energy to figure out a clear and simple information architecture. And mainly, you just don’t want to do it all the time. Tying folders (sort of) to an app and reducing them to one level could solve a lot of these problems.
Folders-in-folders don’t work
The folder system paradigm is a geeky concept. Geeks built it because geeks need it. Geeks organize files all day long. Geeks don’t know and don’t really care how much their systems suck for other people. Geeks do not realize that for most people organizing documents within an operating system next to System files and applications feels like a complicated and maybe even dangerous business. Remember that autoexec.bat file?
Mountain Lion Tweaks, Niggles and a few adjustments to help
www.tech-sanity.com
I now have Mountain Lion successfully installed on 2 systems (I haven't tackled my Hackintosh yet and probably won't for a while)
Things have gone well, theres been the odd head scratch and then realisations of whats going on. Most things are great but there are a few niggles and one I haven't quite figured out yet. Ill start with it.
I now have Mountain Lion successfully installed on 2 systems (I haven't tackled my Hackintosh yet and probably won't for a while)
Things have gone well, theres been the odd head scratch and then realisations of whats going on. Most things are great but there are a few niggles and one I haven't quite figured out yet. Ill start with it.
Mountain Lion's Notification Center And How To Get It Working Your Way.
www.tech-sanity.com
Notifications can be tweaked on Mountain Lion to suit most any workflow.
Getting Mountain Lion's new system-wide notifications to work best for your own needs may take a little adjusting. Notification Center gives developers an (official) standardized way to send notifications to the user, but also a way to consolidate and control those notifications. We show you how to make the most of what this first desktop incarnation of Notification Center offers.
Apple provides system-wide notification APIs to developers, but it is up to them to support it. Apple has naturally included support in its own apps, such as Mail, Messages, and Reminders; Safari also supports notifications sent from webpages using the Web Notifications API. Some Twitter clients, such as the Tweetbot alpha, support notifications, but alas, the languishing official Twitter client does not. Other applications, such as Outlook 2011, still rely on their own notification system. Plenty of others rely on Growl, a popular third-party OS X notification system that thankfully can still run on Mountain Lion.
Taking control
Notifications can be tweaked on Mountain Lion to suit most any workflow.
Getting Mountain Lion's new system-wide notifications to work best for your own needs may take a little adjusting. Notification Center gives developers an (official) standardized way to send notifications to the user, but also a way to consolidate and control those notifications. We show you how to make the most of what this first desktop incarnation of Notification Center offers.
Apple provides system-wide notification APIs to developers, but it is up to them to support it. Apple has naturally included support in its own apps, such as Mail, Messages, and Reminders; Safari also supports notifications sent from webpages using the Web Notifications API. Some Twitter clients, such as the Tweetbot alpha, support notifications, but alas, the languishing official Twitter client does not. Other applications, such as Outlook 2011, still rely on their own notification system. Plenty of others rely on Growl, a popular third-party OS X notification system that thankfully can still run on Mountain Lion.
Taking control
Apple releases Power Nap-enabling firmware updates for recent MacBooks
www.tech-sanity.com
With Mountain Lion, Apple includes a Power Nap feature that allows recent SSD-equipped MacBooks to perform certain jobs while asleep, including backing up to Time Machine, checking for email messages, and performing some iCloud synchronization tasks. But owners of some MacBook Airs (2011 or newer) and retina display MacBook Pro models found Power Nap conspicuous in its absence when Mountain Lion was first released.
Late Wednesday afternoon, Apple made a firmware update for these Macs—called MacBook Air SMC Firmware Update 1.5 for the MacBook Air models—available via Software Update. Once you download the update, you just double-click it to run it. You’ll be prompted to restart your Mac and then the update will be applied. On a 2012 13-inch MacBook Air that process took a couple of seconds.
To make sure the update was applied correctly, launch System Preferences, select the Energy preference, and look for the Enable Power Nap option in the resulting window.
With Mountain Lion, Apple includes a Power Nap feature that allows recent SSD-equipped MacBooks to perform certain jobs while asleep, including backing up to Time Machine, checking for email messages, and performing some iCloud synchronization tasks. But owners of some MacBook Airs (2011 or newer) and retina display MacBook Pro models found Power Nap conspicuous in its absence when Mountain Lion was first released.
Late Wednesday afternoon, Apple made a firmware update for these Macs—called MacBook Air SMC Firmware Update 1.5 for the MacBook Air models—available via Software Update. Once you download the update, you just double-click it to run it. You’ll be prompted to restart your Mac and then the update will be applied. On a 2012 13-inch MacBook Air that process took a couple of seconds.
To make sure the update was applied correctly, launch System Preferences, select the Energy preference, and look for the Enable Power Nap option in the resulting window.
Warning: New Android malware tricks users with real Opera Mini
www.tech-sanity.com
A new piece of malware is trying to take advantage of Opera's popularity as a mobile browser alternative on Android smartphones.
read on ……
A new piece of malware is trying to take advantage of Opera's popularity as a mobile browser alternative on Android smartphones.
read on ……
Apple Releases Mountain Lion review and details.
www.tech-sanity.com
Apple Released Mountain Lion OS X 10.8 today. It's the the Little Details that can make a big difference and here are some of them
A lot goes into a major update to an operating system. Rather than write yet another comprehensive review we want to touch on features and shortcuts that you might not easily encounter on your own — or that we think are so cool they deserve mention.
Apple Released Mountain Lion OS X 10.8 today. It's the the Little Details that can make a big difference and here are some of them
A lot goes into a major update to an operating system. Rather than write yet another comprehensive review we want to touch on features and shortcuts that you might not easily encounter on your own — or that we think are so cool they deserve mention.
Apple to ship Mountain Lion on 25th July (US)
www.tech-sanity.com
Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company would ship Mountain Lion, the latest version of its OS X operating system, starting Wednesday.
COMPLETE COVERAGE
OS X Mountain Lion (10.8)
Mountain Lion features you may have missed … Read on ….
Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company would ship Mountain Lion, the latest version of its OS X operating system, starting Wednesday.
COMPLETE COVERAGE
OS X Mountain Lion (10.8)
Mountain Lion features you may have missed … Read on ….
Good news Windows 8 Store Will Offer Free Seven Day Trials for Paid Apps.
www.tech-sanity.com
Now this has got to be good news for users. Microsoft has released the details on how they plan to run the apps released through the new App Store coming with Windows 8. We have known about the store for a long time, but this is the first time we've heard about the inner workings of the apps, like the cut Microsoft plans to take.
First and foremost, all paid apps will cost at least $1.49 as opposed to the $0.99 other platforms allow. And most importantly for consumers, Microsoft plans to implement a 7-day "try before you buy" setup with apps that will let you opt-out of the full purchase if you don't like it.
Microsoft seems to also want to provide app developers with an incentive to churn out apps for its platform. Although they are sticking with the same 30% royalty cut that Apple takes, Microsoft's new store will only take 20% once your app earns $25,000 in sales.
Now this has got to be good news for users. Microsoft has released the details on how they plan to run the apps released through the new App Store coming with Windows 8. We have known about the store for a long time, but this is the first time we've heard about the inner workings of the apps, like the cut Microsoft plans to take.
First and foremost, all paid apps will cost at least $1.49 as opposed to the $0.99 other platforms allow. And most importantly for consumers, Microsoft plans to implement a 7-day "try before you buy" setup with apps that will let you opt-out of the full purchase if you don't like it.
Microsoft seems to also want to provide app developers with an incentive to churn out apps for its platform. Although they are sticking with the same 30% royalty cut that Apple takes, Microsoft's new store will only take 20% once your app earns $25,000 in sales.
Microsoft backtracks on Macs and Office 365
www.tech-sanity.com
Microsoft Office for Mac will be offered 'at no additional cost' to subscribers of Office 365 pay-as-you-go plans
Computerworld - Saying that a spokeswoman "misunderstood" questions from Computerworld, Microsoft today backtracked and confirmed that Mac owners who subscribe to the upcoming Office 365 Home Premium will be able to acquire Office for Mac 2011 as part of their subscription plan.
Previously, the company had said that Mac owners would have to purchase Office for Mac 2011 separately -- at list prices starting at $120 -- but could link a copy of the suite to their Office 365 subscription plan for some basic file sharing functionality. Read on …………….
Microsoft Office for Mac will be offered 'at no additional cost' to subscribers of Office 365 pay-as-you-go plans
Computerworld - Saying that a spokeswoman "misunderstood" questions from Computerworld, Microsoft today backtracked and confirmed that Mac owners who subscribe to the upcoming Office 365 Home Premium will be able to acquire Office for Mac 2011 as part of their subscription plan.
Previously, the company had said that Mac owners would have to purchase Office for Mac 2011 separately -- at list prices starting at $120 -- but could link a copy of the suite to their Office 365 subscription plan for some basic file sharing functionality. Read on …………….
Using Microsoft Office Web apps on an iPad and possibly Android Tablets too
www.tech-sanity.com
Editor’s Note: The following article is reprinted from the Today @ PC World blog at PCWorld.com.
Microsoft’s combination of SkyDrive and Office Web Apps is great for working online...as long as youre using a traditional mouse-and-keyboard PC. But if youre using a tablet such as an iPad or one of the many Android slates, you must use app-based options such as Apple’s Pages for iPad to edit your SkyDrive docs...or do you?
Even though Microsoft does not yet officially support the iPad with its Office Web Apps, you can still access the online productivity suite on Safari or Google Chrome It’s not a perfect solution, but if you need to get some editing done in a pinch itll work. Read on ……………
Editor’s Note: The following article is reprinted from the Today @ PC World blog at PCWorld.com.
Microsoft’s combination of SkyDrive and Office Web Apps is great for working online...as long as youre using a traditional mouse-and-keyboard PC. But if youre using a tablet such as an iPad or one of the many Android slates, you must use app-based options such as Apple’s Pages for iPad to edit your SkyDrive docs...or do you?
Even though Microsoft does not yet officially support the iPad with its Office Web Apps, you can still access the online productivity suite on Safari or Google Chrome It’s not a perfect solution, but if you need to get some editing done in a pinch itll work. Read on ……………
Jordan Ruddess Keyboard Wizard shows off his new project "Spacewiz"
www.tech-sanity.com
Thanks Keyboard Mag this is a great video of Jordan Ruddess with his new gear.
This generative music app uses an animated solar system, whose orbiting planets have realistic physics and gravitational pulls upon one another, as real-time music creation objects. This is the first ever look at this app, which should be in the App Store soon. It's truly stunning on the latest iPad's Retina display, and as for what it does musically, well ... once you pick it up, it's hard to put it down.
Thanks Keyboard Mag this is a great video of Jordan Ruddess with his new gear.
This generative music app uses an animated solar system, whose orbiting planets have realistic physics and gravitational pulls upon one another, as real-time music creation objects. This is the first ever look at this app, which should be in the App Store soon. It's truly stunning on the latest iPad's Retina display, and as for what it does musically, well ... once you pick it up, it's hard to put it down.
EC investigating Microsoft's lack of compliance with browser choice commitment
www.tech-sanity.com
The European Commission revealed today that it plans to open proceedings against Microsoft to investigate whether the software giant has failed to comply with a 2009 browser choice commitment. Browser makers have complained at the lack of Metro browser choice in the company's upcoming Windows 8 software. If Microsoft is found guilty of breaching its legally binding commitments, it may be fined up to 10 percent of its total annual turnover. Microsoft was forced to implement a browser ballot box in its Windows operating system to ensure users were presented with a choice of web browsers. The ruling followed the result of a European Union competition case that found Microsoft had abused its dominance in the market with Internet Explorer.
The Commission believes Microsoft may have failed to implement the browser choice screen correctly with Windows 7 Service Pack 1, released in February 2011. "We take compliance with our decisions very seriously," says Joaquín Almunia, a member of the European Commission. "I trusted the company's reports were accurate. But it seems that was not the case, so we have immediately taken action. If following our investigation, the infringement is confirmed, Microsoft should expect sanctions."
The European Commission revealed today that it plans to open proceedings against Microsoft to investigate whether the software giant has failed to comply with a 2009 browser choice commitment. Browser makers have complained at the lack of Metro browser choice in the company's upcoming Windows 8 software. If Microsoft is found guilty of breaching its legally binding commitments, it may be fined up to 10 percent of its total annual turnover. Microsoft was forced to implement a browser ballot box in its Windows operating system to ensure users were presented with a choice of web browsers. The ruling followed the result of a European Union competition case that found Microsoft had abused its dominance in the market with Internet Explorer.
The Commission believes Microsoft may have failed to implement the browser choice screen correctly with Windows 7 Service Pack 1, released in February 2011. "We take compliance with our decisions very seriously," says Joaquín Almunia, a member of the European Commission. "I trusted the company's reports were accurate. But it seems that was not the case, so we have immediately taken action. If following our investigation, the infringement is confirmed, Microsoft should expect sanctions."
Start8 from Stardock updated so you can bypass Metro screen
Stardock are known for there Windows tweaks and now their "Bringing back the Windows® “Start” menu" Start8 product which is free.
They just added some new features which include
- Automatically load your Windows desktop on login
(vs the start screen)
- Adds a start button back to your taskbar
- Adds control over the "Start" menu size on the Explorer desktop
- Adds option for the "WinKey" to show fullscreen "Metro" desktop - Adds Run... option via right-click menu
- Adds Shutdown... option via right-click menu
- Choose a custom Start button image
Security flaws signal early death of Windows Gadgets
www.tech-sanity.comMicrosoft is speeding up plans to kill off the Windows Gadget platform after receiving word that serious security vulnerabilities will be disclosed at the upcoming Black Hat security conference.According to a brief abstract from the Black Hat site, researchers Mickey Shkatov and Toby Kohlenberg plan to discuss weaknesses associated with Windows Sidebar and Gadgets and demonstrate
WIndows 8 Reports your I7 processor not compatible! Heres a work around
www.tech-sanity.com
So my Brother inlaws Acer Aspire Core i7 with 8gbs ram is reported as CPU not compatible with Windows 8 which is totally wrong and nuts.
I found this article/blog with details of why and what to try so I hope it helps some of you.
Error when installing Windows 8 Release Preview: “Your PC’s CPU isn’t compatible with Windows 8.”
Whenever I try to install Windows 8 Release Preview, I get the following error:
Your PC’s CPU isn’t compatible with Windows 8
Answer
Steven. S replied on June 1, 2012
Forum Moderator Community Star
To install Windows 8 Release Candidate on your PC, the processor (CPU) must support the following features: Physical Address Extension (PAE), NX, and SSE2. Most CPUs have support for these features, so if you receive this error, it is likely because the NX feature is not enabled on your system.
To resolve this error, follow manufacturer guidelines to enable NX (“No eXecute bit”), or the equivalent XD (“eXecute Disabled”), feature within the BIOS settings. This feature is typically found in the Advanced or Security tabs within the BIOS settings, and can be referred to by a variety of names, including but not limited to:
· No Execute Memory Protect
· Execute Disabled Memory Protection
· EDB (Execute Disabled Bit)
· EVP (Enhanced Virus Protection)
If the BIOS setting for the NX (XD, EDB, or EVP) support option is not available on your system, you may need to contact the manufacturer to update the BIOS. Note that some very old processors may not contain these features and will be incompatible with Windows 8 Release Candidate.
A whitepaper has been published with further details about the PAE/NX/SSE2 requirement for Windows 8, error cases and scenarios that customers encounter when machines fail to meet the requirement, and what to do to install Windows 8 on their PC’s. You can download the whitepaper athttp://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/hardware/hh975398.aspx.
If you are using a virtualization product to install a Windows 8 Release Candidate virtual machine (VM) and receive this error (or error 0xC0000260), you must enable PAE (or PAE/NX) in the virtualization product’s settings or configuration manager when setting up the Windows 8 virtual environment.
Note that if you tried to install Windows 8 on the VM hosted on a system running a previous version of Windows with NX disabled, you will need to enable NX on the system before PAE/NX can be enabled for the VM. Please follow the instructions described in the whitepaper under “How Do I know if My System Supports NX or SSE2?” and “If NX Is Supported on My System, How Do I Turn on NX?” to enable NX on the system.
*Updated 6/11/2012*
Answer
BillFill replied on June 2, 2012
Microsoft Forum Moderator Community Star
Thank you all for reporting issues with the upgrade detection logic and the precise statement of system requirements. There are three points to make and then a potential workaround.
First of all, our apologies to anyone inconvenienced by this issue, and thank you very much for trying out the Windows 8 Release Preview.
Second of all, there may be a bug here. We may contact a few of you if we need further information to track down the problem and make sure it is fixed before RTM completes.
Third, I want to describe what precisely has changed since the Windows 8 Consumer Preview (CP) and what has been done to date to make sure this works correctly. Some of this will not help people experiencing the problem (please see one and two above and then one again). It is important to note that the answer on this thread is correct in terms of the CPU requirements for Windows 8.
We did make changes in the upgrade detection logic since the CP. The changes revolve around the default installer and how it checks for precise CPU features before continuing. Windows 8 requires the NX capabilities of modern CPUs. This is done for security reasons to ensure that malware defense features work reliably. This is important as we want to ensure that people can feel safe using lots of different software including desktop apps and apps from the Windows Store. This means some very old CPUs will not work with Windows 8. In the CP we did not block the installer for the NX feature. Based on CP telemetry we felt adding the block to setup was warranted to respect people’s time. It is better to get it over with quickly, even if it is disappointing. We also used the telemetry to get some handle on how many CPUs would fail the NX requirement so we could be sure enforcing NX presence was responsible in the ecosystem. We learned that less than 1% of CPUs did not have NX capability available and configured correctly and out of those 0.1% did not have the NX capability at all. Based on this we feel that enforcing NX presence is a good thing to do since it results in better malware defenses. Thus we now enforce NX presence in the kernel boot sequence.
It is interesting to look at the case where NX is available but not configured correctly. It is possible on “most CPUs” in this state to override the BIOS setting in software. Because the “opposite of most CPUs” case means a code 5D bluescreen later on, it saves time to get it out up front and ask the user to fix the BIOS setting during setup. However, the “most CPUs” case does mean there is a potential workaround, which I’ll describe in a moment.
We didn’t make any change related to PAE detection, but it is good to note that PAE is a pre-requisite for NX on 32 bit processors due to how NX is implemented in memory manager page tables.
We did change SSE2 instruction set detection based on telemetry from the CP and Windows 7. SSE2 became standard on CPUs a long time ago, but Windows did not rely on those instructions. It turns out though, that an increasing number of 3 party applications and drivers have started using those instructions, and not checking for them before use. We get to see this in our telemetry, as application crashes and in- the- driver case bluescreens. Taking into account that the rate of these differences in 3 party programming is increasing -- and that SSE2 has been present on all CPUs since 2003 and most since 2001-- we decided to check for SSE2 in setup. The result for users at large is their PC is more reliable. We do not check for SSE2 in the kernel boot sequence,;however, if your CPU has NX it also almost certainly has SSE2.
Before I provide the potential workaround, if you can, please properly configure NX in your BIOS.
Here is the potential workaround: Download the ISO and burn it to a DVD or create a bootable USB flash drive. Boot from the media that you created. If your CPU does not support NX you will see a code 5D bluescreen before setup starts. This is rare, but if it happens we won’t be able to help you run Windows 8.
This workaround may succeed because Windows contains two installers: the end user installer (setup.exe at the root of the Windows DVD) and the commercial installer (setup.exe found in the \sources directory of the Windows DVD). The commercial installer runs when the PC is booted from DVD/USB media and does not perform the NX/SSE2 checks and attempts to enable NX/SSE2 on supported systems.
Thank you for reading all this way. Again, we apologize for any inconvenience caused to people who have encountered this problem.
Answer
Steven. S replied on June 1, 2012
Forum Moderator Community Star
To install Windows 8 Release Candidate on your PC, the processor (CPU) must support the following features: Physical Address Extension (PAE), NX, and SSE2. Most CPUs have support for these features, so if you receive this error, it is likely because the NX feature is not enabled on your system.
To resolve this error, follow manufacturer guidelines to enable NX (“No eXecute bit”), or the equivalent XD (“eXecute Disabled”), feature within the BIOS settings. This feature is typically found in the Advanced or Security tabs within the BIOS settings, and can be referred to by a variety of names, including but not limited to:
· No Execute Memory Protect
· Execute Disabled Memory Protection
· EDB (Execute Disabled Bit)
· EVP (Enhanced Virus Protection)
If the BIOS setting for the NX (XD, EDB, or EVP) support option is not available on your system, you may need to contact the manufacturer to update the BIOS. Note that some very old processors may not contain these features and will be incompatible with Windows 8 Release Candidate.
A whitepaper has been published with further details about the PAE/NX/SSE2 requirement for Windows 8, error cases and scenarios that customers encounter when machines fail to meet the requirement, and what to do to install Windows 8 on their PC’s. You can download the whitepaper at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/hardware/hh975398.aspx.
If you are using a virtualization product to install a Windows 8 Release Candidate virtual machine (VM) and receive this error (or error 0xC0000260), you must enable PAE (or PAE/NX) in the virtualization product’s settings or configuration manager when setting up the Windows 8 virtual environment.
Note that if you tried to install Windows 8 on the VM hosted on a system running a previous version of Windows with NX disabled, you will need to enable NX on the system before PAE/NX can be enabled for the VM. Please follow the instructions described in thewhitepaper under “How Do I know if My System Supports NX or SSE2?” and “If NX Is Supported on My System, How Do I Turn on NX?” to enable NX on the system.
*Updated 6/11/2012*
So my Brother inlaws Acer Aspire Core i7 with 8gbs ram is reported as CPU not compatible with Windows 8 which is totally wrong and nuts.
I found this article/blog with details of why and what to try so I hope it helps some of you.
Error when installing Windows 8 Release Preview: “Your PC’s CPU isn’t compatible with Windows 8.”
Whenever I try to install Windows 8 Release Preview, I get the following error:
Your PC’s CPU isn’t compatible with Windows 8
Answer
Steven. S replied on June 1, 2012
Forum Moderator Community Star
To install Windows 8 Release Candidate on your PC, the processor (CPU) must support the following features: Physical Address Extension (PAE), NX, and SSE2. Most CPUs have support for these features, so if you receive this error, it is likely because the NX feature is not enabled on your system.
To resolve this error, follow manufacturer guidelines to enable NX (“No eXecute bit”), or the equivalent XD (“eXecute Disabled”), feature within the BIOS settings. This feature is typically found in the Advanced or Security tabs within the BIOS settings, and can be referred to by a variety of names, including but not limited to:
· No Execute Memory Protect
· Execute Disabled Memory Protection
· EDB (Execute Disabled Bit)
· EVP (Enhanced Virus Protection)
If the BIOS setting for the NX (XD, EDB, or EVP) support option is not available on your system, you may need to contact the manufacturer to update the BIOS. Note that some very old processors may not contain these features and will be incompatible with Windows 8 Release Candidate.
A whitepaper has been published with further details about the PAE/NX/SSE2 requirement for Windows 8, error cases and scenarios that customers encounter when machines fail to meet the requirement, and what to do to install Windows 8 on their PC’s. You can download the whitepaper athttp://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/hardware/hh975398.aspx.
If you are using a virtualization product to install a Windows 8 Release Candidate virtual machine (VM) and receive this error (or error 0xC0000260), you must enable PAE (or PAE/NX) in the virtualization product’s settings or configuration manager when setting up the Windows 8 virtual environment.
Note that if you tried to install Windows 8 on the VM hosted on a system running a previous version of Windows with NX disabled, you will need to enable NX on the system before PAE/NX can be enabled for the VM. Please follow the instructions described in the whitepaper under “How Do I know if My System Supports NX or SSE2?” and “If NX Is Supported on My System, How Do I Turn on NX?” to enable NX on the system.
*Updated 6/11/2012*
Answer
BillFill replied on June 2, 2012
Microsoft Forum Moderator Community Star
Thank you all for reporting issues with the upgrade detection logic and the precise statement of system requirements. There are three points to make and then a potential workaround.
First of all, our apologies to anyone inconvenienced by this issue, and thank you very much for trying out the Windows 8 Release Preview.
Second of all, there may be a bug here. We may contact a few of you if we need further information to track down the problem and make sure it is fixed before RTM completes.
Third, I want to describe what precisely has changed since the Windows 8 Consumer Preview (CP) and what has been done to date to make sure this works correctly. Some of this will not help people experiencing the problem (please see one and two above and then one again). It is important to note that the answer on this thread is correct in terms of the CPU requirements for Windows 8.
We did make changes in the upgrade detection logic since the CP. The changes revolve around the default installer and how it checks for precise CPU features before continuing. Windows 8 requires the NX capabilities of modern CPUs. This is done for security reasons to ensure that malware defense features work reliably. This is important as we want to ensure that people can feel safe using lots of different software including desktop apps and apps from the Windows Store. This means some very old CPUs will not work with Windows 8. In the CP we did not block the installer for the NX feature. Based on CP telemetry we felt adding the block to setup was warranted to respect people’s time. It is better to get it over with quickly, even if it is disappointing. We also used the telemetry to get some handle on how many CPUs would fail the NX requirement so we could be sure enforcing NX presence was responsible in the ecosystem. We learned that less than 1% of CPUs did not have NX capability available and configured correctly and out of those 0.1% did not have the NX capability at all. Based on this we feel that enforcing NX presence is a good thing to do since it results in better malware defenses. Thus we now enforce NX presence in the kernel boot sequence.
It is interesting to look at the case where NX is available but not configured correctly. It is possible on “most CPUs” in this state to override the BIOS setting in software. Because the “opposite of most CPUs” case means a code 5D bluescreen later on, it saves time to get it out up front and ask the user to fix the BIOS setting during setup. However, the “most CPUs” case does mean there is a potential workaround, which I’ll describe in a moment.
We didn’t make any change related to PAE detection, but it is good to note that PAE is a pre-requisite for NX on 32 bit processors due to how NX is implemented in memory manager page tables.
We did change SSE2 instruction set detection based on telemetry from the CP and Windows 7. SSE2 became standard on CPUs a long time ago, but Windows did not rely on those instructions. It turns out though, that an increasing number of 3 party applications and drivers have started using those instructions, and not checking for them before use. We get to see this in our telemetry, as application crashes and in- the- driver case bluescreens. Taking into account that the rate of these differences in 3 party programming is increasing -- and that SSE2 has been present on all CPUs since 2003 and most since 2001-- we decided to check for SSE2 in setup. The result for users at large is their PC is more reliable. We do not check for SSE2 in the kernel boot sequence,;however, if your CPU has NX it also almost certainly has SSE2.
Before I provide the potential workaround, if you can, please properly configure NX in your BIOS.
Here is the potential workaround: Download the ISO and burn it to a DVD or create a bootable USB flash drive. Boot from the media that you created. If your CPU does not support NX you will see a code 5D bluescreen before setup starts. This is rare, but if it happens we won’t be able to help you run Windows 8.
This workaround may succeed because Windows contains two installers: the end user installer (setup.exe at the root of the Windows DVD) and the commercial installer (setup.exe found in the \sources directory of the Windows DVD). The commercial installer runs when the PC is booted from DVD/USB media and does not perform the NX/SSE2 checks and attempts to enable NX/SSE2 on supported systems.
Thank you for reading all this way. Again, we apologize for any inconvenience caused to people who have encountered this problem.
Answer
Steven. S replied on June 1, 2012
Forum Moderator Community Star
To install Windows 8 Release Candidate on your PC, the processor (CPU) must support the following features: Physical Address Extension (PAE), NX, and SSE2. Most CPUs have support for these features, so if you receive this error, it is likely because the NX feature is not enabled on your system.
To resolve this error, follow manufacturer guidelines to enable NX (“No eXecute bit”), or the equivalent XD (“eXecute Disabled”), feature within the BIOS settings. This feature is typically found in the Advanced or Security tabs within the BIOS settings, and can be referred to by a variety of names, including but not limited to:
· No Execute Memory Protect
· Execute Disabled Memory Protection
· EDB (Execute Disabled Bit)
· EVP (Enhanced Virus Protection)
If the BIOS setting for the NX (XD, EDB, or EVP) support option is not available on your system, you may need to contact the manufacturer to update the BIOS. Note that some very old processors may not contain these features and will be incompatible with Windows 8 Release Candidate.
A whitepaper has been published with further details about the PAE/NX/SSE2 requirement for Windows 8, error cases and scenarios that customers encounter when machines fail to meet the requirement, and what to do to install Windows 8 on their PC’s. You can download the whitepaper at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/hardware/hh975398.aspx.
If you are using a virtualization product to install a Windows 8 Release Candidate virtual machine (VM) and receive this error (or error 0xC0000260), you must enable PAE (or PAE/NX) in the virtualization product’s settings or configuration manager when setting up the Windows 8 virtual environment.
Note that if you tried to install Windows 8 on the VM hosted on a system running a previous version of Windows with NX disabled, you will need to enable NX on the system before PAE/NX can be enabled for the VM. Please follow the instructions described in thewhitepaper under “How Do I know if My System Supports NX or SSE2?” and “If NX Is Supported on My System, How Do I Turn on NX?” to enable NX on the system.
*Updated 6/11/2012*
Full detailed Installation guides for Windows 8 Consumer Preview
www.tech-sanity.com
Reproduced Care Of The Verge a very full explanation of all the methods of Windows 8 Installations.
Had enough of our Windows 8 Consumer Preview coverage, and want to boldly install the downloadable public beta for yourself? Believe it or not, it's a pretty easy thing to do. You don't need to look up an arcane command to access your BIOS, you don't need to partition a drive, and you don't need a blank DVD, a second PC or even a USB thumbdrive... unless that's how you roll. With just an internet connection, you can perform the entire operation on any existing Windows 7 machine without any outside help, just so long as it fulfills the minimum requirements.
Here's how:
SETUP TOOL
We've installed the new Windows 8 Consumer Preview on just about every type of machine and in every possible combination, and we agree with Microsoft that the best way to go about getting the beta onto your computer is to use the setup tool. The tool will hold your hand while it downloads the necessary files, checks the integrity of those files, and formats your install media. Here's some step-by-step instructions (with pictures):
1. Go to Microsoft's site and click "Download Windows 8 Consumer Preview." A small EXE file will be saved to your downloads folder.
2. Open the downloaded file, and the setup tool will begin.
3. The tool will start by checking to see that software on your computer is compatible with the Consumer Preview. It will take a few minutes for the check to complete.
4. Once it's completed, the tool will tell you if it expects any software issues. If you're installing on a new partition, it won't matter if there are any incompatibilities, so long as you meet the minimum hardware requirements, but if you're going to do an in-place upgrade, you might want to take note. Click next.
5. The tool will say that it's ready to download Windows, and it will grab a product key. Be sure to write it down somewhere just in case you need it later. Click next.
6. The Consumer Preview will now be downloaded to your computer. On our speedy office connection, the download took us less than ten minutes to complete. You can also click the pause bottom in the bottom right corner if you want to take a break from downloading.
7. You're just about ready to install. Before we continue, it's time to make a difficult decision. Skip down to "Upgrade, replace, or dual boot?" below.
ISO
If you're more comfortable with disk images than a dedicated install tool, Microsoft's got you covered there, too: you'll find 32-bit and 64-bit ISOs in five different languages right here, though you'll need to set aside roughly 3.3GB (for 64-bit) or 2.5GB (for 32-bit) for the ISO file before you burn it to a DVD or USB thumbdrive.
1. Download your ISO of choice from this link.
2. Find a 4GB (or greater) USB thumbdrive, or a DVD burner and blank DVD disc.
3. Burn — don't copy — the ISO to your media of choice. Go to step 4 for USB, or skip to step 5 for the optical drive.
4. For USB, since you won't have Microsoft's handy setup tool, you'll need an app that can create bootable thumbdrives. Microsoft's got a tool that should do the trick for you, and you can download it right here.
5. For DVD, if you're running Windows 7, it's as easy as using the built-in Disk Image Burner. Just right-click on the ISO and select "Burn disc image." Third-party ISO burning software should also do the trick.
6. Pull your freshly burned media out of your machine, and pop it back in.
UPGRADE, REPLACE, OR DUAL-BOOT?
Once you run the installer, you've got an important decision to make. Will you format your drive, dual-boot from a new partition, or install Windows 8 as an upgrade over the existing OS? As long as you're not risking your daily driver, the last choice is actually pretty painless, and is by far the easiest way to get Windows 8 up and running.
Upgrade
If you're using the Setup Tool, simply choose Install Now and follow the prompts. If you're installing from ISO, just run the setup.exe file on the disk you burned from within your existing Windows OS. Choose to keep "Windows settings, personal files, and apps" when prompted if you want to retain most of your Windows 7 settings.
After a whole host of reboots and a few simple pages of setting sliders that let you determine just how much control you want to let Microsoft have over your privacy and Windows experience, you'll be booted into an operating system that (underneath the funky new Metro UI) looks much like the one you left behind. You're done!
You'll have a fairly hefty Windows.old directory taking up gigabytes of storage in your system (you can remove it from the Disk Cleanup utility) but don't be fooled: you won't be able to downgrade back to your previous OS without a full reinstall.
WINDOWS 8 CONSUMER PREVIEW INSTALL GUIDE: FROM ISO TO IN-PLACE UPGRADE (SCREENSHOTS)
Next
Partition
Here's where things get tricky, but also quite useful: if you partition your drive, you can have both Windows 7 and Windows 8 installed on the same disk, and pick which one you want to use every time you boot up the system. Of course, you'll want to be careful not to erase existing partitions.
From the Setup Tool:
1. Select "Install on another partition," and click next.
2. Now you'll need to chose if you want to install using a 3GB or greater USB flash drive or a DVD. We're going to use a flash drive, so select that option, plug in your drive, and click next.
3. Now you'll get to choose which flash drive you want to use. Make sure you've backed up anything on your flash drive that you need (everything will be deleted during the installation process), select which one you'd like to use, click next, and confirm that you want to continue by clicking "yes".
4. The setup tool will now format your USB flash drive. It'll take a few minutes to complete, and once it's done, click "finish," and the setup will close.
5. Now we need to make a new partition on your computer's hard drive to install Windows 8 to. Press the Start button and search for "partition." Click the "Create and format hard disk partitions" option, and Windows' built-in disk management tool will open.
6. This interface will show you all available drives and partitions on your computer. Usually you want to make a partition from your C drive if you're on a laptop and only have one drive. Right click the C drive and click "shrink volume."
7. It will take a minute to scan your drive, and then you'll be able to choose how much you want to shink the partition. However much space you shrink is how much we're going to be using for Windows 8, so we'd recommend quite a bit, but particularly if you want to store any files on your Windows 8 partition. The size is read out in MB, so if you want to make a 150GB partition, enter 150000 in the box. Once you've done that, click shrink.
8. Once that's finished, you'll see that your C drive is now smaller in size, and that you now have "unallocated" space on your drive. Right click the unallocated part, and click "new simple volume."
9. A new setup tool will open to help you format the new partition. Click next, and then choose how large you want the partition to be (typically you'd leave this at default, the entire size of the unallocated space), and then click next.
10. Now you'll assign a drive letter (again, you'd usually leave this unchanged), and then click next. At the next screen are some formatting options. The only thing you want to change here — unless you know what you're doing — is the volume label. Rename it something that you'll recognize, like "win8." Once you do that, click next.
11. The formatting wizard will ask you to confirm your changes, and then you'll see that you now have two large formatted partitions on your drive. Now that we're finished partitioning the drive, we're ready to install Windows 8.
12. Shut down your computer, turn it back on, and see what key it tells you to press to enter the BIOS or choose startup options. On our HP it told us to press the escape key, which we did, and then we selected "boot device options." From there we chose to boot from our USB flash drive. It's different on every PC, but the options should be similarly named.
13. The Windows 8 setup will load (it takes just a minute) and ask you to select your language, time, and keyboard language options. Click next.
14. Click "Install Now."
15. Remember that product key you wrote down earlier? Grab that scrap of paper and punch in the numbers and letters. Then click next.
16. Now you'll be asked to accept the license terms. Do so, and click next.
17. The setup will now ask you what kind of installation we want. We're going to install Windows 8 on a new partition, so click "Custom."
18. You'll be asked where you'd like to install Windows. You want to find the partition that we made earlier and select it. Click next.
19. Finally, Windows 8 will start installing on your computer. The system will restart several times during this process — you'll notice when it does that a new boot screen shows up that lets you choose between your Windows 7 and Windows 8 partitions. Don't click anything for now — just let the installation run its course. Once we've got the OS set up, you'll be presented with this option every time you restart your computer: stable and boring Windows 7 or cutting-edge Windows 8 beta?
20. You'll know you're finished when your computer waits at a screen called "Personalize." It'll ask you to choose your background color and give your PC a name. From here it's all smooth sailing — you'll connect to a wireless network, change some sharing, customization, and update settings, and you'll sign in with a Microsoft account (the new name for Windows Live accounts). Eventually you'll see the new Metro start screen, and you're ready to start enjoying the Consumer Preview.
Next
From the ISO:
1. Since you've already got a ready-made install disc, all you need to do is partition the drive, so follow steps 5-20 above with one minor deviation:
2. When you get to the CD-key prompt in step 15, simply use this pre-approved Microsoft one: NF32V-Q9P3W-7DR7Y-JGWRW-JFCK8
3. Enjoy a first-hand look at Windows 8!
Reproduced Care Of The Verge a very full explanation of all the methods of Windows 8 Installations.
Had enough of our Windows 8 Consumer Preview coverage, and want to boldly install the downloadable public beta for yourself? Believe it or not, it's a pretty easy thing to do. You don't need to look up an arcane command to access your BIOS, you don't need to partition a drive, and you don't need a blank DVD, a second PC or even a USB thumbdrive... unless that's how you roll. With just an internet connection, you can perform the entire operation on any existing Windows 7 machine without any outside help, just so long as it fulfills the minimum requirements.
Here's how:
SETUP TOOL
We've installed the new Windows 8 Consumer Preview on just about every type of machine and in every possible combination, and we agree with Microsoft that the best way to go about getting the beta onto your computer is to use the setup tool. The tool will hold your hand while it downloads the necessary files, checks the integrity of those files, and formats your install media. Here's some step-by-step instructions (with pictures):
1. Go to Microsoft's site and click "Download Windows 8 Consumer Preview." A small EXE file will be saved to your downloads folder.
2. Open the downloaded file, and the setup tool will begin.
3. The tool will start by checking to see that software on your computer is compatible with the Consumer Preview. It will take a few minutes for the check to complete.
4. Once it's completed, the tool will tell you if it expects any software issues. If you're installing on a new partition, it won't matter if there are any incompatibilities, so long as you meet the minimum hardware requirements, but if you're going to do an in-place upgrade, you might want to take note. Click next.
5. The tool will say that it's ready to download Windows, and it will grab a product key. Be sure to write it down somewhere just in case you need it later. Click next.
6. The Consumer Preview will now be downloaded to your computer. On our speedy office connection, the download took us less than ten minutes to complete. You can also click the pause bottom in the bottom right corner if you want to take a break from downloading.
7. You're just about ready to install. Before we continue, it's time to make a difficult decision. Skip down to "Upgrade, replace, or dual boot?" below.
ISO
If you're more comfortable with disk images than a dedicated install tool, Microsoft's got you covered there, too: you'll find 32-bit and 64-bit ISOs in five different languages right here, though you'll need to set aside roughly 3.3GB (for 64-bit) or 2.5GB (for 32-bit) for the ISO file before you burn it to a DVD or USB thumbdrive.
1. Download your ISO of choice from this link.
2. Find a 4GB (or greater) USB thumbdrive, or a DVD burner and blank DVD disc.
3. Burn — don't copy — the ISO to your media of choice. Go to step 4 for USB, or skip to step 5 for the optical drive.
4. For USB, since you won't have Microsoft's handy setup tool, you'll need an app that can create bootable thumbdrives. Microsoft's got a tool that should do the trick for you, and you can download it right here.
5. For DVD, if you're running Windows 7, it's as easy as using the built-in Disk Image Burner. Just right-click on the ISO and select "Burn disc image." Third-party ISO burning software should also do the trick.
6. Pull your freshly burned media out of your machine, and pop it back in.
UPGRADE, REPLACE, OR DUAL-BOOT?
Once you run the installer, you've got an important decision to make. Will you format your drive, dual-boot from a new partition, or install Windows 8 as an upgrade over the existing OS? As long as you're not risking your daily driver, the last choice is actually pretty painless, and is by far the easiest way to get Windows 8 up and running.
Upgrade
If you're using the Setup Tool, simply choose Install Now and follow the prompts. If you're installing from ISO, just run the setup.exe file on the disk you burned from within your existing Windows OS. Choose to keep "Windows settings, personal files, and apps" when prompted if you want to retain most of your Windows 7 settings.
After a whole host of reboots and a few simple pages of setting sliders that let you determine just how much control you want to let Microsoft have over your privacy and Windows experience, you'll be booted into an operating system that (underneath the funky new Metro UI) looks much like the one you left behind. You're done!
You'll have a fairly hefty Windows.old directory taking up gigabytes of storage in your system (you can remove it from the Disk Cleanup utility) but don't be fooled: you won't be able to downgrade back to your previous OS without a full reinstall.
WINDOWS 8 CONSUMER PREVIEW INSTALL GUIDE: FROM ISO TO IN-PLACE UPGRADE (SCREENSHOTS)
Next
Partition
Here's where things get tricky, but also quite useful: if you partition your drive, you can have both Windows 7 and Windows 8 installed on the same disk, and pick which one you want to use every time you boot up the system. Of course, you'll want to be careful not to erase existing partitions.
From the Setup Tool:
1. Select "Install on another partition," and click next.
2. Now you'll need to chose if you want to install using a 3GB or greater USB flash drive or a DVD. We're going to use a flash drive, so select that option, plug in your drive, and click next.
3. Now you'll get to choose which flash drive you want to use. Make sure you've backed up anything on your flash drive that you need (everything will be deleted during the installation process), select which one you'd like to use, click next, and confirm that you want to continue by clicking "yes".
4. The setup tool will now format your USB flash drive. It'll take a few minutes to complete, and once it's done, click "finish," and the setup will close.
5. Now we need to make a new partition on your computer's hard drive to install Windows 8 to. Press the Start button and search for "partition." Click the "Create and format hard disk partitions" option, and Windows' built-in disk management tool will open.
6. This interface will show you all available drives and partitions on your computer. Usually you want to make a partition from your C drive if you're on a laptop and only have one drive. Right click the C drive and click "shrink volume."
7. It will take a minute to scan your drive, and then you'll be able to choose how much you want to shink the partition. However much space you shrink is how much we're going to be using for Windows 8, so we'd recommend quite a bit, but particularly if you want to store any files on your Windows 8 partition. The size is read out in MB, so if you want to make a 150GB partition, enter 150000 in the box. Once you've done that, click shrink.
8. Once that's finished, you'll see that your C drive is now smaller in size, and that you now have "unallocated" space on your drive. Right click the unallocated part, and click "new simple volume."
9. A new setup tool will open to help you format the new partition. Click next, and then choose how large you want the partition to be (typically you'd leave this at default, the entire size of the unallocated space), and then click next.
10. Now you'll assign a drive letter (again, you'd usually leave this unchanged), and then click next. At the next screen are some formatting options. The only thing you want to change here — unless you know what you're doing — is the volume label. Rename it something that you'll recognize, like "win8." Once you do that, click next.
11. The formatting wizard will ask you to confirm your changes, and then you'll see that you now have two large formatted partitions on your drive. Now that we're finished partitioning the drive, we're ready to install Windows 8.
12. Shut down your computer, turn it back on, and see what key it tells you to press to enter the BIOS or choose startup options. On our HP it told us to press the escape key, which we did, and then we selected "boot device options." From there we chose to boot from our USB flash drive. It's different on every PC, but the options should be similarly named.
13. The Windows 8 setup will load (it takes just a minute) and ask you to select your language, time, and keyboard language options. Click next.
14. Click "Install Now."
15. Remember that product key you wrote down earlier? Grab that scrap of paper and punch in the numbers and letters. Then click next.
16. Now you'll be asked to accept the license terms. Do so, and click next.
17. The setup will now ask you what kind of installation we want. We're going to install Windows 8 on a new partition, so click "Custom."
18. You'll be asked where you'd like to install Windows. You want to find the partition that we made earlier and select it. Click next.
19. Finally, Windows 8 will start installing on your computer. The system will restart several times during this process — you'll notice when it does that a new boot screen shows up that lets you choose between your Windows 7 and Windows 8 partitions. Don't click anything for now — just let the installation run its course. Once we've got the OS set up, you'll be presented with this option every time you restart your computer: stable and boring Windows 7 or cutting-edge Windows 8 beta?
20. You'll know you're finished when your computer waits at a screen called "Personalize." It'll ask you to choose your background color and give your PC a name. From here it's all smooth sailing — you'll connect to a wireless network, change some sharing, customization, and update settings, and you'll sign in with a Microsoft account (the new name for Windows Live accounts). Eventually you'll see the new Metro start screen, and you're ready to start enjoying the Consumer Preview.
Next
From the ISO:
1. Since you've already got a ready-made install disc, all you need to do is partition the drive, so follow steps 5-20 above with one minor deviation:
2. When you get to the CD-key prompt in step 15, simply use this pre-approved Microsoft one: NF32V-Q9P3W-7DR7Y-JGWRW-JFCK8
3. Enjoy a first-hand look at Windows 8!
Mountain Lion Info: to ship in July for $20 USD
www.tech-sanity.com
In Monday’s keynote address at its Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple revealed several new tidbits about Mountain Lion—including its ship-date.
Apple’s vice president of software engineering, Craig Federighi, took the stage to announce that Apple’s newest OS X release will be ready for consumers to download in July. He also chose eight new features to highlight during the keynote, including some—such as Dictation on the Mac and Power Nap—that weren't included in the Mountain Lion preview we saw in February.
iCloud
OS X Lion already integrates with Apple’s iCloud service, but Mountain Lion is taking that integration a step further with Documents in the Cloud. The February demo briefly touched on this feature, showing off integration in Preview; at the keynote, Federighi announced that the cloud data service will now be integrated with other Apple apps (including the iWork suite).
Developers will be able to enable iCloud integration in their own programs (though presumably only those that have been sandboxed) by using a software development kit. Federighi also briefly demonstrated iCloud syncing for Reminders, Notes, and Messages.
Notification Center
Borrowing a card from iOS’s deck, Mountain Lion sports its own Notification Center for apps and alerts. At the keynote, Federighi showed off a new icon for the service along with a Do Not Disturb option and auto-disabling when your Mac is connected to a projector.
Dictation comes to the Mac
No, Mountain Lion users won’t get Siri just yet, but Apple is bringing forth system-wide dictation. It reputedly works anywhere on your Mac that you can type, including third-party apps—even, as Federighi joked, in "Microsoft Word!"—and websites.
Sharing
Mountain Lion’s extended sharing features have been pretty well-documented, and Federighi gave a brief rundown of those during the keynote, mentioning built-in support for Twitter and Flickr sharing anywhere that you can Quick Look a file. Developers will also be able to add a standard Share button to their apps. It also appears that Mountain Lion will finally introduce the long-rumored integration with Facebook to OS X.
Safari
We’ve previously covered Safari’s new unified search bar and faster JavaScript rendering engine in Mountain Lion. At the keynote, however, Federighi unveiled iCloud Tabs, which uses Apple’s sync service to let you quick access any tabs open on your other iCloud-enabled devices.
Power Nap
A new Mountain Lion feature exclusive to SSD-equipped Mac laptops, Power Nap works behind the scenes to keep your Mac up to date while it’s sleeping or you aren’t using it. With Power Nap enabled, your Mac can automatically sync email, calendar appointments, notes, and reminders; update Photo Stream; download app and OS updates; and back up to a Time Machine drive.
AirPlay Mirroring
Good news, streamers: You’ll be able to mirror your Mac's screen to your Apple TV (at resolutions up to pixel-for-pixel 1080p) using the Mac’s new AirPlay menu-bar control. You'll also be able to use AirPlay to stream any audio from your Mac to AirPlay-enabled audio systems.
Game Center
In another move to unify accounts across iOS and OS X, you’ll be able to use your iOS Game Center login to keep track of your Mac games and achievements in Game Center. You can also challenge your friends to turn-based or head-to-head games, either Mac-to-Mac or iOS-to-Mac (assuming the game has App Store options for both iOS and Mac users).
Aside from those major features, Federighi also mentioned VIPs in Mail, Launchpad search, Gatekeeper, offline reading for your Safari Reader list, and new features for Chinese users.
Developers also have a lot to look forward to with SDKs for iCloud and Game Center along with more than 1700 new APIs for sharing, Notification Center, high-resolution graphics, gestures, and more.
Mountain Lion is set to ship sometime in July via the Mac App Store. Anyone who purchases one of Apple’s new laptops is eligible for a free upgrade; otherwise, you can upgrade for just $20 if you’re running OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard or later.
In Monday’s keynote address at its Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple revealed several new tidbits about Mountain Lion—including its ship-date.
Apple’s vice president of software engineering, Craig Federighi, took the stage to announce that Apple’s newest OS X release will be ready for consumers to download in July. He also chose eight new features to highlight during the keynote, including some—such as Dictation on the Mac and Power Nap—that weren't included in the Mountain Lion preview we saw in February.
iCloud
OS X Lion already integrates with Apple’s iCloud service, but Mountain Lion is taking that integration a step further with Documents in the Cloud. The February demo briefly touched on this feature, showing off integration in Preview; at the keynote, Federighi announced that the cloud data service will now be integrated with other Apple apps (including the iWork suite).
Developers will be able to enable iCloud integration in their own programs (though presumably only those that have been sandboxed) by using a software development kit. Federighi also briefly demonstrated iCloud syncing for Reminders, Notes, and Messages.
Notification Center
Borrowing a card from iOS’s deck, Mountain Lion sports its own Notification Center for apps and alerts. At the keynote, Federighi showed off a new icon for the service along with a Do Not Disturb option and auto-disabling when your Mac is connected to a projector.
Dictation comes to the Mac
No, Mountain Lion users won’t get Siri just yet, but Apple is bringing forth system-wide dictation. It reputedly works anywhere on your Mac that you can type, including third-party apps—even, as Federighi joked, in "Microsoft Word!"—and websites.
Sharing
Mountain Lion’s extended sharing features have been pretty well-documented, and Federighi gave a brief rundown of those during the keynote, mentioning built-in support for Twitter and Flickr sharing anywhere that you can Quick Look a file. Developers will also be able to add a standard Share button to their apps. It also appears that Mountain Lion will finally introduce the long-rumored integration with Facebook to OS X.
Safari
We’ve previously covered Safari’s new unified search bar and faster JavaScript rendering engine in Mountain Lion. At the keynote, however, Federighi unveiled iCloud Tabs, which uses Apple’s sync service to let you quick access any tabs open on your other iCloud-enabled devices.
Power Nap
A new Mountain Lion feature exclusive to SSD-equipped Mac laptops, Power Nap works behind the scenes to keep your Mac up to date while it’s sleeping or you aren’t using it. With Power Nap enabled, your Mac can automatically sync email, calendar appointments, notes, and reminders; update Photo Stream; download app and OS updates; and back up to a Time Machine drive.
AirPlay Mirroring
Good news, streamers: You’ll be able to mirror your Mac's screen to your Apple TV (at resolutions up to pixel-for-pixel 1080p) using the Mac’s new AirPlay menu-bar control. You'll also be able to use AirPlay to stream any audio from your Mac to AirPlay-enabled audio systems.
Game Center
In another move to unify accounts across iOS and OS X, you’ll be able to use your iOS Game Center login to keep track of your Mac games and achievements in Game Center. You can also challenge your friends to turn-based or head-to-head games, either Mac-to-Mac or iOS-to-Mac (assuming the game has App Store options for both iOS and Mac users).
Aside from those major features, Federighi also mentioned VIPs in Mail, Launchpad search, Gatekeeper, offline reading for your Safari Reader list, and new features for Chinese users.
Developers also have a lot to look forward to with SDKs for iCloud and Game Center along with more than 1700 new APIs for sharing, Notification Center, high-resolution graphics, gestures, and more.
Mountain Lion is set to ship sometime in July via the Mac App Store. Anyone who purchases one of Apple’s new laptops is eligible for a free upgrade; otherwise, you can upgrade for just $20 if you’re running OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard or later.
Microsoft Xbox SmartGlass?
www.tech-sanity.com
As expected, Microsoft just announced something called SmartGlass at E3. Less expected? Just how awesome SmartGlass turned out to be. What could have been just an Apple AirPlay imitation, is something more ambitious. Something that could change television forever. But what is it, exactly?
It's the lifeline that'll make your dumb TV smart.
SmartGlass is an app...
SmartGlass is a new app that turns your phone or tablet into another screen for your TV, another controller for a game, a companion feature for a show, a remote control for the Internet and more. More importantly, it'll work with iOS, Android and Windows, so you won't need to buy new hardware to fit into its ecosystem.
...that connects your phone, tablet or computer with your Xbox 360...
SmartGlass does more than just push video and audio around. It turns the Xbox 360 into the beating heart of a multi-screen media experience in your living room. A tablet, phone or computer running SmartGlass essentially becomes a second and third screen for your TV.
A concrete example: As Game of Thrones was being shown on the TV via Xbox 360, a SmartGlass-enabled tablet displayed a map of Westeros and other relevant information about the show. Content can either be pushed from the tablet/phone/computer to the 360, or from the 360 directly to the TV. SmartGlass connects all of those devices to make content engrossing on multiple levels. Your individual devices don't have to ignore each other, they'll work together to entertain you more.
...and works with games, movies, TV shows and the Internet..
But SmartGlass can be used with more than just movies and TV shows. Microsoft also showed how a gamer could use a tablet as a separate playbook while playing Madden on the Xbox. Even further, Microsoft will finally bring Internet Explorer to the Xbox, with SmartGlass turning your phone into mouse. Sure, it's silly to surf the web on your television with an old and gray keyboard and mouse setup—unless the keyboard and mouse are your phone and tablet.
...to make your living room a lot smarter...
Microsoft very clearly wants to make the Xbox 360 the center of your living room transformation. It's the hub that powers everything. But if the Xbox 360 is the heart and the brain, SmartGlass gives users the limbs needed for a full functional, self-sufficient media beast. Combined with the Xbox's growing dominance as a top-flight streaming box, and you've got yourself a potentially very powerful monster.
...and it's all because of the Xbox.
If you think about it, Microsoft's vision of the living room of the future is a throwback to what the company has already known and mastered: the PC. It's smartening up the living room by using the Xbox as the PC, the TV as the monitor, the phone and tablet as the keyboard and mouse, Kinect as its futureproof wild card technology. SmartGlass, then, plays the role of Windows, seamlessly connecting everything.
But the real key to SmartGlass is its openness. Bring your own tools, Microsoft is saying. It doesn't matter. Because however you control it, all that really matters is the Xbox. And that's all Microsoft.
As expected, Microsoft just announced something called SmartGlass at E3. Less expected? Just how awesome SmartGlass turned out to be. What could have been just an Apple AirPlay imitation, is something more ambitious. Something that could change television forever. But what is it, exactly?
It's the lifeline that'll make your dumb TV smart.
SmartGlass is an app...
SmartGlass is a new app that turns your phone or tablet into another screen for your TV, another controller for a game, a companion feature for a show, a remote control for the Internet and more. More importantly, it'll work with iOS, Android and Windows, so you won't need to buy new hardware to fit into its ecosystem.
...that connects your phone, tablet or computer with your Xbox 360...
SmartGlass does more than just push video and audio around. It turns the Xbox 360 into the beating heart of a multi-screen media experience in your living room. A tablet, phone or computer running SmartGlass essentially becomes a second and third screen for your TV.
A concrete example: As Game of Thrones was being shown on the TV via Xbox 360, a SmartGlass-enabled tablet displayed a map of Westeros and other relevant information about the show. Content can either be pushed from the tablet/phone/computer to the 360, or from the 360 directly to the TV. SmartGlass connects all of those devices to make content engrossing on multiple levels. Your individual devices don't have to ignore each other, they'll work together to entertain you more.
...and works with games, movies, TV shows and the Internet..
But SmartGlass can be used with more than just movies and TV shows. Microsoft also showed how a gamer could use a tablet as a separate playbook while playing Madden on the Xbox. Even further, Microsoft will finally bring Internet Explorer to the Xbox, with SmartGlass turning your phone into mouse. Sure, it's silly to surf the web on your television with an old and gray keyboard and mouse setup—unless the keyboard and mouse are your phone and tablet.
...to make your living room a lot smarter...
Microsoft very clearly wants to make the Xbox 360 the center of your living room transformation. It's the hub that powers everything. But if the Xbox 360 is the heart and the brain, SmartGlass gives users the limbs needed for a full functional, self-sufficient media beast. Combined with the Xbox's growing dominance as a top-flight streaming box, and you've got yourself a potentially very powerful monster.
...and it's all because of the Xbox.
If you think about it, Microsoft's vision of the living room of the future is a throwback to what the company has already known and mastered: the PC. It's smartening up the living room by using the Xbox as the PC, the TV as the monitor, the phone and tablet as the keyboard and mouse, Kinect as its futureproof wild card technology. SmartGlass, then, plays the role of Windows, seamlessly connecting everything.
But the real key to SmartGlass is its openness. Bring your own tools, Microsoft is saying. It doesn't matter. Because however you control it, all that really matters is the Xbox. And that's all Microsoft.
Windows 8 Release Preview
www.tech-sanity.com
This is a large Multipage, in-depth article
Windows 8 Release Preview has been released to the public and it's actually starting to look a lot better all round.
I've had the Developer Preview installed since it was first released last September and was not that excited at all. The Consumer Preview was an improvement but again can't say I was really feeling the love at all. Now we have the new Windows 8 Release in our hot little hands I have to say it's finally getting it's act together. Things are generally more refined and the whole thing is feeling really fast. I'm definitely impressed with the overall speed of the system.
This release fills in many of the missing pieces and offers a much more nuanced picture of what the final release will look like.
A lot of people consider the Metro-izing of Windows is a strategic blunder, a franchise killer that deserves a place alongside epic failures like New Coke and Star Wars: Episode 1. But if you’ve managed to retain an open mind about Windows 8, the Release Preview goes a long way toward making sense of Windows 8’s controversial design decisions.
If Windows 8 were being developed like its predecessors, the pace of change would be decelerating rapidly at this point, and reviewers would be focusing on the minutiae of system-level tasks. Instead, Microsoft has quickened the development tempo dramatically. To understand why, you have to look at what makes Windows 8 so fundamentally different from its predecessors.
The built-in apps in the Windows 8 Release Preview are way better than those previously released. They actually work !
Here’s a quick summary but it's worth reading the rest of this large article.
• The basic Windows 8 interface is essentially unchanged from what we’ve already seen in the Consumer Preview. It’s more polished and subtly refined, with a number of usability tweaks that have already been documented on the Building Windows 8 blog. Anyone who was expecting Microsoft to bring back the Start button will be disappointed.
• The Windows Store won’t open for business until the Release Preview bits are publicly available, so I wasn’t able to install or use any third-party Metro style apps in my early testing. During the demo, however, I did see a selection of new Metro style apps that included two slick Twitter clients, a much-improved Amazon Kindle Reader, and a smart-looking Wikipedia app. I also saw numerous examples of apps that use the built-in contracts that are part of the Metro development framework—enabling apps to share data without any custom code.
• Microsoft’s new apps make extensive use of Metro features, including live tiles and snapped views, and many individual items can be pinned to the desktop. That makes the Metro style desktop in the Release Preview much less of a collection of brightly colored tiles and more of a continually updated dashboard. That trend is likely to continue with third-party apps.
• The Metro style digital media apps—Music, Photos, and Video—are significantly improved from the versions in the Consumer Preview. Windows Media Center has officially been yanked from this release.though we have found it is able to be enabled. See the next page.
• The single biggest surprise in the Release Preview is that the Metro style version of Internet Explorer will include support for Microsoft-approved sites that use Adobe Flash. The Flash Player isn’t installed as a plugin but is instead a fully integrated part of the browser, managed and updated by Microsoft.
Windows Media Center is not preinstalled in Windows 8 Release Preview. If you want to use Windows Media Center, you need to add it by following these steps:
1. Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, and then tap Search.
(If you’re using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner of the screen, and then click Search.)
2. Enter add features in the search box, and then tap or click Add features to Windows 8.
3. Tap or click I already have a product key.
4. Enter this product key: MBFBV-W3DP2-2MVKN-PJCQD-KKTF7 and then click Next.
5. Select the checkbox to accept the license terms and then click Add features.
Your PC will restart and Windows Media Center will now be on your PC and the tile will be pinned to the Start screen.
Most of what’s new in the traditional operating system part of Windows 8 is simply polish and refinement of what we’ve seen already. The Consumer Preview was already impressively fast to start, shut down, and switch between apps. This release feels even zippier, although I can’t confirm that with a formal benchmark.
You’ll find more color choices in the colors for the Start screen, along with some new default images for the lock screen.
A few usability tweaks to the way hot corners work should deal with grumbling about how those new navigation features work. The Windows 8 design team has added Labels to thumbnails in the Windows key+tab app switcher (as shown here). The Start screen thumbnail in the lower left corner is smaller than in the Consumer Preview, making it less likely that you’ll confuse it with a clickable icon.
The behavior of the corners on the right side of the display has changed subtly so that revealing the Charms menu feels less like a task where you have to unlock an achievement. And there are some very big changes to the way multi-monitor setups work, including the ability to view and snap Metro style apps on either screen. (I didn’t have a mini-HDMI adapter so couldn’t test this capability on my review PC.)
I was literally delighted by how well one Windows 8 feature worked. I’ve been using the Consumer Preview full time since February, linked to my Microsoft (nee Windows Live) account. As soon as I signed in to the new device with that username and password, all of my settings, including web favorites, background images, and saved passwords were immediately available.
My SkyDrive files—documents and photos—were available from the Metro style SkyDrive app immediately, although I had to install the desktop SkyDrive app to sync those files with the local hard disk. Installing that app unlocked a very useful new feature that allowed me to fetch photos directly from another synced device.
The Windows desktop showed no major differences. In the interest of eking out a few minutes of additional battery life, especially on underpowered GPUs, Microsoft has removed the glass effects from Aero. Transparency options are still there, but the Vista-style reflections on buttons and other controls are gone. It’s the sort of change you’re unlikely to notice unless you’re looking for it.
Other tiny changes are noticeable if you dig very deep. In the Consumer Preview, for example, every Windows Explorer folder included two tiny buttons in the lower right corner to switch between Details and Large Icons view. Those buttons are gone. (Update: Nope, they’re not gone. My account settings, which were synced to the review unit, had the Windows Explorer status bar hidden. When I changed that setting back to show the status bar, the two small icons reappeared.) Similarly, the button in the lower right corner of the Start screen that allows you to zoom out has changed from a magnifying glass icon to a simple minus sign.
Internet Explorer 10 maintains its dual personality. Several web sites that had given me compatibility fits in the Consumer Preview displayed properly using the updated IE code in the Release preview.
The most intriguing new feature in IE10 is support for some Flash-enabled sites in the Metro style Internet Explorer 10. As Adobe’s Flash Player diagnostic page confirms, this version of IE10 includes the most recent version of Flash Player 11.3 and correctly reports its windows version.
That doesn’t mean you can go to any Flash-powered site and expect it to work. Microsoft is carefully curating the whitelist of apps that can use Flash Player in the Metro style browser and applying it via its own compatibility settings. The most obvious addition is YouTube, which failed on the Consumer Preview but plays properly here. Right-clicking a video clip confirms that it’s using the new Flash Player code.
In this release of IE10, the Do Not Track capability is enabled by default. It’s unclear whether websites will voluntarily agree to stop tracking, however.
The Samsung Series 9 notebook on which I tested this release doesn’t have a touch screen. It does, however, incorporate a new trackpad design. In combination with some admittedly early (and buggy) drivers, the new hardware design recognizes the swipe gestures that work on a touchscreen—swipe in from the right to expose the Charms menu, swipe from the left to switch between running apps, use multi-touch gestures to scroll up down, and side to side. The new gestures can’t be retrofitted to existing trackpads, unfortunately, because those existing devices don’t have subtle enough edge detection.
But the real star of this release, as I mentioned up front, is the greatly improved selection of Metro style apps that are bundled with the Release Preview.
In the Developer Preview released last fall, the only Metro style apps were crude prototypes built by summer interns. With the Consumer Preview, Microsoft tossed those apps and included a new collection of more robust “app previews.”
In this release, the bundled apps are still called previews, but the difference in quality is striking. I’ve focused extensively on the new apps in the companion screenshot gallery for this post. Here’s a brief overview of what you can expect.
Communications
The Mail, Calendar, Messaging, and People apps in the Consumer Preview were frankly underwhelming. So it’s remarkable to see how much progress they’ve made in the Release Preview, only 90 days later.
All four apps are tied tightly together. You can connect Hotmail, Google, and Exchange accounts, and their contents appear in separate modules (you can selectively exclude items—if you want your Gmail messages to appear in the Mail app but don’t want Google contacts in the People app, that’s your choice).
In addition, you can connect Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other services. When you do, those contacts appear in the People app, which functions as a global address book for Mail and Messaging. Updates from any contact appear in the People app as well, and you can pin any contact to the Start screen, where their updates appear on the live tile.
The Mail app sports a traditional three-pane view and is far more versatile than the Consumer Preview version. Using options in the Settings pane, you can configure whether you want an account to be selectively synchronized (just the most recent two weeks’ worth of messages) or fully synched. That distinction neatly reflects the range of devices on which Windows 8 is likely to run, from tablets with limited storage to full PCs with ample hard disks or SSDs.
The effect is very similar to what Microsoft has done with the Windows Phone platform. Hopefully between now and the final release the designers of this app family will borrow more features from that platform, including the ability to manually link contacts from different sources.
News, Sports, and Travel
Three new showcase apps in the Release preview are tied directly to Microsoft’s Bing search platform. All of them are aggregators, with common designs and navigation features. (They join the Bing-powered Weather and Finance apps, which were in the Consumer Preview.
News aggregates stories from nearly 200 sources in 10 categories as well as regional sources. The home page follows the Metro design principles, with a single large image for the cover story and individual stories in rectangular blocks, grouped by category. You can drill down into one of the predefined categories (World News, Technology, Entertainment, and so on). You can also build your own collection of custom topics and let the app gather stories using the search terms you define.
The Sports app follows a nearly identical model, with a different set of sources and an organization by leagues (the exact selection varies by your geography.
You can personalize the Sports app to include your favorite teams and then pin those tiles to the Start screen, giving you access to live scores and news (updated every 30 seconds), standings, player rosters, and so on.
The Travel app is the most aggressively commercial (and least newsy) of the the three newcomers. It aggregates information from Frommer’s, Fodor’s, and other travel sites to provide a complete overview of travel destinations, complete with some stunning visual panoramas of popular tourist spots. At any point, you can use links to book flights, hotel rooms, and other transactions where, presumably, Microsoft gets a cut.
Digital Media
If you dig into Windows Explorer, you’ll find that these Metro style apps are still called Zune Music and Zune Video in the Packages folder. But they’re branded as Xbox in the apps themselves.
The Music app is promising, although navigating it takes some getting used to. I found it was was able to quickly gather albums and artists from my collection, from both local and network sources, and then play them efficiently. If you have a Zune Pass, as I do, you can search for and play any album that’s available in the 10 million or so in the Zune marketplace.
With the new Music app, there’s no way to separate your collection from the marketplace, and the graphics that play in the background while an album is playing can be incongruous. I wasn’t exactly thrilled to see Justin Bieber and Kelly Clarkson flashing across the screen as I listened to Doc Watson and Wilco.
The Photos app brings together pictures from local storage and from online services like SkyDrive and Flickr. I was disappointed to find that in this build the Photos library still doesn’t recognize network locations.
And just to confirm what you already suspected: This build does not include Windows Media Center. My review unit didn’t include a DVD drive, but if it had I suspect that it would have been unable to play DVD movies without extra software. Update: Microsoft’s Windows 8 Release Preview FAQ is worth reading. It includes instructions for downloading and enabling Media Center:
The Remote Desktop and Xbox Companion apps from the Consumer Preview are MIA in this release. Presumably they’ll be available from the Windows Store at some point.
All in all, this is an impressive and surprisingly rich release, largely thanks to the diverse collection of apps it includes.
Originally, I thought the choice of name—Release Preview, rather than Release Candidate—was mere semantics. But after seeing this release up close and personal, the name makes perfect sense. This code isn’t finished yet—it will be a few months, no doubt, before it’s released to manufacturing, and then a few months after that before Windows 8 is ready for retail sales.
Between now and then, the collection of Metro style apps from third parties should grow substantially, and Microsoft’s own apps should continue to evolve. What you see here is, literally, still just a preview of what’s to come.
This is a large Multipage, in-depth article
Windows 8 Release Preview has been released to the public and it's actually starting to look a lot better all round.
I've had the Developer Preview installed since it was first released last September and was not that excited at all. The Consumer Preview was an improvement but again can't say I was really feeling the love at all. Now we have the new Windows 8 Release in our hot little hands I have to say it's finally getting it's act together. Things are generally more refined and the whole thing is feeling really fast. I'm definitely impressed with the overall speed of the system.
This release fills in many of the missing pieces and offers a much more nuanced picture of what the final release will look like.
A lot of people consider the Metro-izing of Windows is a strategic blunder, a franchise killer that deserves a place alongside epic failures like New Coke and Star Wars: Episode 1. But if you’ve managed to retain an open mind about Windows 8, the Release Preview goes a long way toward making sense of Windows 8’s controversial design decisions.
If Windows 8 were being developed like its predecessors, the pace of change would be decelerating rapidly at this point, and reviewers would be focusing on the minutiae of system-level tasks. Instead, Microsoft has quickened the development tempo dramatically. To understand why, you have to look at what makes Windows 8 so fundamentally different from its predecessors.
The built-in apps in the Windows 8 Release Preview are way better than those previously released. They actually work !
Here’s a quick summary but it's worth reading the rest of this large article.
• The basic Windows 8 interface is essentially unchanged from what we’ve already seen in the Consumer Preview. It’s more polished and subtly refined, with a number of usability tweaks that have already been documented on the Building Windows 8 blog. Anyone who was expecting Microsoft to bring back the Start button will be disappointed.
• The Windows Store won’t open for business until the Release Preview bits are publicly available, so I wasn’t able to install or use any third-party Metro style apps in my early testing. During the demo, however, I did see a selection of new Metro style apps that included two slick Twitter clients, a much-improved Amazon Kindle Reader, and a smart-looking Wikipedia app. I also saw numerous examples of apps that use the built-in contracts that are part of the Metro development framework—enabling apps to share data without any custom code.
• Microsoft’s new apps make extensive use of Metro features, including live tiles and snapped views, and many individual items can be pinned to the desktop. That makes the Metro style desktop in the Release Preview much less of a collection of brightly colored tiles and more of a continually updated dashboard. That trend is likely to continue with third-party apps.
• The Metro style digital media apps—Music, Photos, and Video—are significantly improved from the versions in the Consumer Preview. Windows Media Center has officially been yanked from this release.though we have found it is able to be enabled. See the next page.
• The single biggest surprise in the Release Preview is that the Metro style version of Internet Explorer will include support for Microsoft-approved sites that use Adobe Flash. The Flash Player isn’t installed as a plugin but is instead a fully integrated part of the browser, managed and updated by Microsoft.
Windows Media Center is not preinstalled in Windows 8 Release Preview. If you want to use Windows Media Center, you need to add it by following these steps:
1. Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, and then tap Search.
(If you’re using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner of the screen, and then click Search.)
2. Enter add features in the search box, and then tap or click Add features to Windows 8.
3. Tap or click I already have a product key.
4. Enter this product key: MBFBV-W3DP2-2MVKN-PJCQD-KKTF7 and then click Next.
5. Select the checkbox to accept the license terms and then click Add features.
Your PC will restart and Windows Media Center will now be on your PC and the tile will be pinned to the Start screen.
Most of what’s new in the traditional operating system part of Windows 8 is simply polish and refinement of what we’ve seen already. The Consumer Preview was already impressively fast to start, shut down, and switch between apps. This release feels even zippier, although I can’t confirm that with a formal benchmark.
You’ll find more color choices in the colors for the Start screen, along with some new default images for the lock screen.
A few usability tweaks to the way hot corners work should deal with grumbling about how those new navigation features work. The Windows 8 design team has added Labels to thumbnails in the Windows key+tab app switcher (as shown here). The Start screen thumbnail in the lower left corner is smaller than in the Consumer Preview, making it less likely that you’ll confuse it with a clickable icon.
The behavior of the corners on the right side of the display has changed subtly so that revealing the Charms menu feels less like a task where you have to unlock an achievement. And there are some very big changes to the way multi-monitor setups work, including the ability to view and snap Metro style apps on either screen. (I didn’t have a mini-HDMI adapter so couldn’t test this capability on my review PC.)
I was literally delighted by how well one Windows 8 feature worked. I’ve been using the Consumer Preview full time since February, linked to my Microsoft (nee Windows Live) account. As soon as I signed in to the new device with that username and password, all of my settings, including web favorites, background images, and saved passwords were immediately available.
My SkyDrive files—documents and photos—were available from the Metro style SkyDrive app immediately, although I had to install the desktop SkyDrive app to sync those files with the local hard disk. Installing that app unlocked a very useful new feature that allowed me to fetch photos directly from another synced device.
The Windows desktop showed no major differences. In the interest of eking out a few minutes of additional battery life, especially on underpowered GPUs, Microsoft has removed the glass effects from Aero. Transparency options are still there, but the Vista-style reflections on buttons and other controls are gone. It’s the sort of change you’re unlikely to notice unless you’re looking for it.
Other tiny changes are noticeable if you dig very deep. In the Consumer Preview, for example, every Windows Explorer folder included two tiny buttons in the lower right corner to switch between Details and Large Icons view. Those buttons are gone. (Update: Nope, they’re not gone. My account settings, which were synced to the review unit, had the Windows Explorer status bar hidden. When I changed that setting back to show the status bar, the two small icons reappeared.) Similarly, the button in the lower right corner of the Start screen that allows you to zoom out has changed from a magnifying glass icon to a simple minus sign.
Internet Explorer 10 maintains its dual personality. Several web sites that had given me compatibility fits in the Consumer Preview displayed properly using the updated IE code in the Release preview.
The most intriguing new feature in IE10 is support for some Flash-enabled sites in the Metro style Internet Explorer 10. As Adobe’s Flash Player diagnostic page confirms, this version of IE10 includes the most recent version of Flash Player 11.3 and correctly reports its windows version.
That doesn’t mean you can go to any Flash-powered site and expect it to work. Microsoft is carefully curating the whitelist of apps that can use Flash Player in the Metro style browser and applying it via its own compatibility settings. The most obvious addition is YouTube, which failed on the Consumer Preview but plays properly here. Right-clicking a video clip confirms that it’s using the new Flash Player code.
In this release of IE10, the Do Not Track capability is enabled by default. It’s unclear whether websites will voluntarily agree to stop tracking, however.
The Samsung Series 9 notebook on which I tested this release doesn’t have a touch screen. It does, however, incorporate a new trackpad design. In combination with some admittedly early (and buggy) drivers, the new hardware design recognizes the swipe gestures that work on a touchscreen—swipe in from the right to expose the Charms menu, swipe from the left to switch between running apps, use multi-touch gestures to scroll up down, and side to side. The new gestures can’t be retrofitted to existing trackpads, unfortunately, because those existing devices don’t have subtle enough edge detection.
But the real star of this release, as I mentioned up front, is the greatly improved selection of Metro style apps that are bundled with the Release Preview.
In the Developer Preview released last fall, the only Metro style apps were crude prototypes built by summer interns. With the Consumer Preview, Microsoft tossed those apps and included a new collection of more robust “app previews.”
In this release, the bundled apps are still called previews, but the difference in quality is striking. I’ve focused extensively on the new apps in the companion screenshot gallery for this post. Here’s a brief overview of what you can expect.
Communications
The Mail, Calendar, Messaging, and People apps in the Consumer Preview were frankly underwhelming. So it’s remarkable to see how much progress they’ve made in the Release Preview, only 90 days later.
All four apps are tied tightly together. You can connect Hotmail, Google, and Exchange accounts, and their contents appear in separate modules (you can selectively exclude items—if you want your Gmail messages to appear in the Mail app but don’t want Google contacts in the People app, that’s your choice).
In addition, you can connect Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other services. When you do, those contacts appear in the People app, which functions as a global address book for Mail and Messaging. Updates from any contact appear in the People app as well, and you can pin any contact to the Start screen, where their updates appear on the live tile.
The Mail app sports a traditional three-pane view and is far more versatile than the Consumer Preview version. Using options in the Settings pane, you can configure whether you want an account to be selectively synchronized (just the most recent two weeks’ worth of messages) or fully synched. That distinction neatly reflects the range of devices on which Windows 8 is likely to run, from tablets with limited storage to full PCs with ample hard disks or SSDs.
The effect is very similar to what Microsoft has done with the Windows Phone platform. Hopefully between now and the final release the designers of this app family will borrow more features from that platform, including the ability to manually link contacts from different sources.
News, Sports, and Travel
Three new showcase apps in the Release preview are tied directly to Microsoft’s Bing search platform. All of them are aggregators, with common designs and navigation features. (They join the Bing-powered Weather and Finance apps, which were in the Consumer Preview.
News aggregates stories from nearly 200 sources in 10 categories as well as regional sources. The home page follows the Metro design principles, with a single large image for the cover story and individual stories in rectangular blocks, grouped by category. You can drill down into one of the predefined categories (World News, Technology, Entertainment, and so on). You can also build your own collection of custom topics and let the app gather stories using the search terms you define.
The Sports app follows a nearly identical model, with a different set of sources and an organization by leagues (the exact selection varies by your geography.
You can personalize the Sports app to include your favorite teams and then pin those tiles to the Start screen, giving you access to live scores and news (updated every 30 seconds), standings, player rosters, and so on.
The Travel app is the most aggressively commercial (and least newsy) of the the three newcomers. It aggregates information from Frommer’s, Fodor’s, and other travel sites to provide a complete overview of travel destinations, complete with some stunning visual panoramas of popular tourist spots. At any point, you can use links to book flights, hotel rooms, and other transactions where, presumably, Microsoft gets a cut.
Digital Media
If you dig into Windows Explorer, you’ll find that these Metro style apps are still called Zune Music and Zune Video in the Packages folder. But they’re branded as Xbox in the apps themselves.
The Music app is promising, although navigating it takes some getting used to. I found it was was able to quickly gather albums and artists from my collection, from both local and network sources, and then play them efficiently. If you have a Zune Pass, as I do, you can search for and play any album that’s available in the 10 million or so in the Zune marketplace.
With the new Music app, there’s no way to separate your collection from the marketplace, and the graphics that play in the background while an album is playing can be incongruous. I wasn’t exactly thrilled to see Justin Bieber and Kelly Clarkson flashing across the screen as I listened to Doc Watson and Wilco.
The Photos app brings together pictures from local storage and from online services like SkyDrive and Flickr. I was disappointed to find that in this build the Photos library still doesn’t recognize network locations.
And just to confirm what you already suspected: This build does not include Windows Media Center. My review unit didn’t include a DVD drive, but if it had I suspect that it would have been unable to play DVD movies without extra software. Update: Microsoft’s Windows 8 Release Preview FAQ is worth reading. It includes instructions for downloading and enabling Media Center:
The Remote Desktop and Xbox Companion apps from the Consumer Preview are MIA in this release. Presumably they’ll be available from the Windows Store at some point.
All in all, this is an impressive and surprisingly rich release, largely thanks to the diverse collection of apps it includes.
Originally, I thought the choice of name—Release Preview, rather than Release Candidate—was mere semantics. But after seeing this release up close and personal, the name makes perfect sense. This code isn’t finished yet—it will be a few months, no doubt, before it’s released to manufacturing, and then a few months after that before Windows 8 is ready for retail sales.
Between now and then, the collection of Metro style apps from third parties should grow substantially, and Microsoft’s own apps should continue to evolve. What you see here is, literally, still just a preview of what’s to come.
Microsoft patches 23 Windows flaws, warns of risk of code execution attacks
www.tech-sanity.com
Microsoft released more security patches today to fix multiple dangerous security flaws that expose billions of Windows users to remote code execution attacks.
The Patch Tuesday batch for May 2012 23 documented vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office, Microsoft Windows, the Microsoft .NET Framework and Microsoft Silverlight.
The company is urging Windows users to pay special attention to MS12-034, a “critical” bulletin that patches 10 distinct security holes. Three of these vulnerabilities have already been publicly disclosed and Microsoft expects to see working exploit code released within 30 days.
The vulnerable code in the MS12-034 bulletin is linked to the Duqu malware that was used to spy on high-profile targets in Iran.
Microsoft released more security patches today to fix multiple dangerous security flaws that expose billions of Windows users to remote code execution attacks.
The Patch Tuesday batch for May 2012 23 documented vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office, Microsoft Windows, the Microsoft .NET Framework and Microsoft Silverlight.
The company is urging Windows users to pay special attention to MS12-034, a “critical” bulletin that patches 10 distinct security holes. Three of these vulnerabilities have already been publicly disclosed and Microsoft expects to see working exploit code released within 30 days.
The vulnerable code in the MS12-034 bulletin is linked to the Duqu malware that was used to spy on high-profile targets in Iran.
Nokia Drive and Nokia Transport apps revealed
Sun, May 6 2012 09:07
| Software, Smartphones
www.tech-sanity.com
It's been just a month and a half since Nokia dropped updates to the Drive navigation and Transport public transit apps it created for Lumia Windows Phones, but the company is apparently hard at work on the next versions. WP7forum claims to have new details on the apps and screenshots to back them up. Nokia Drive 3.0 is reported to be able to "learn" your preferred routes as you drive, provide live tiles with live traffic information, manually adjust routes, and change the color scheme based on the time of day. Transport 2.0, meanwhile, is said to support 87 countries, add local search, search history, and performance optimizations. No word on when either update will arrive, but we'll be sure to let you know when we hear more.
Flash exploit fix for all platforms released by Adobe; Windows users grab it especially.
www.tech-sanity.com
Adobe has released a security update for all versions of Flash Player, addressing a security exploit that it says is already being used in the wild. According to a security bulletin posted Friday, the vulnerability could cause Flash to crash, and in the process allow an attacker to take control of a user's system. The company notes that it has received reports that the exploit is already being taken advantage of by attackers via email; clicking on a malicious file attachment initiates the attack on a vulnerable system. The cited attack is currently targeted only at Internet Explorer users on Windows, but the vulnerability itself is present in Flash Player for Windows, OS X, Linux, and Android.
Computer users are urged to update to Flash Player version 11.2.202.235 by visiting Adobe's website; Android users can update via the Google Play Store (version 11.1.115.8 for Ice Cream Sandwich and 11.1.111.9 for devices running Android 3.0 or earlier). Google Chrome users should already be safe, as the browser's built-in implementation of Flash updates automatically — though of course if you have Flash installed on your overall system as well you'll need to address that update directly. You can visit the Flash "about" page to determine what version of the software your machine is currently running.
Adobe has released a security update for all versions of Flash Player, addressing a security exploit that it says is already being used in the wild. According to a security bulletin posted Friday, the vulnerability could cause Flash to crash, and in the process allow an attacker to take control of a user's system. The company notes that it has received reports that the exploit is already being taken advantage of by attackers via email; clicking on a malicious file attachment initiates the attack on a vulnerable system. The cited attack is currently targeted only at Internet Explorer users on Windows, but the vulnerability itself is present in Flash Player for Windows, OS X, Linux, and Android.
Computer users are urged to update to Flash Player version 11.2.202.235 by visiting Adobe's website; Android users can update via the Google Play Store (version 11.1.115.8 for Ice Cream Sandwich and 11.1.111.9 for devices running Android 3.0 or earlier). Google Chrome users should already be safe, as the browser's built-in implementation of Flash updates automatically — though of course if you have Flash installed on your overall system as well you'll need to address that update directly. You can visit the Flash "about" page to determine what version of the software your machine is currently running.
Adobe CS6 is here. Also a subscription-based Creative Cloud service (video)
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Adobe is introducing Creative Suite 6. It comes complete with 14 applications. Photoshop CS6 which which is an update that'll provide "near instant results" thanks to the Mercury Graphics Engine -- while Content-Aware Patch and Content-Aware Move are sure to please artists suffering from the "Surely you can fix this in post!" clientele backlash. Adobe Muse is happily entering the scene for the first time, described as a "radical tool that'll enables designers to create and publish HTML5 web sites without writing code." (We're still waiting for Flash to comment.)
In related news, those who aren't up for paying $1,299 (and up) for one of the new suites can try something a bit different: monthly installments. That's coming courtesy of Creative Cloud, an quasi-new initiative designed to harness the power of cloud-based app distribution and streaming in a way that'll make CS6 more accessible than any of the packs that came before. You can tap into CS6's amenities over your broadband connection for $74.99 per month, while those who agree to an annual subscription can get in for $49.99 per month. To be clear, that provides unbridled access to any CS6 tool: Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Premiere Pro and AfterEffects, and the rest of the gang. If you're jonesing for Photoshop alone, that one will be available for $29.99 per month month (no contract) or $19.99 per month (annual agreement). There's no set release date just yet, but we're told to expect the new goods "within 30 days," and pre-orders seem to be a go. Head on down to the source links for more details on each individual aspect, and catch a promo video for the cloud-based subscription offering just after the break.
Adobe is introducing Creative Suite 6. It comes complete with 14 applications. Photoshop CS6 which which is an update that'll provide "near instant results" thanks to the Mercury Graphics Engine -- while Content-Aware Patch and Content-Aware Move are sure to please artists suffering from the "Surely you can fix this in post!" clientele backlash. Adobe Muse is happily entering the scene for the first time, described as a "radical tool that'll enables designers to create and publish HTML5 web sites without writing code." (We're still waiting for Flash to comment.)
In related news, those who aren't up for paying $1,299 (and up) for one of the new suites can try something a bit different: monthly installments. That's coming courtesy of Creative Cloud, an quasi-new initiative designed to harness the power of cloud-based app distribution and streaming in a way that'll make CS6 more accessible than any of the packs that came before. You can tap into CS6's amenities over your broadband connection for $74.99 per month, while those who agree to an annual subscription can get in for $49.99 per month. To be clear, that provides unbridled access to any CS6 tool: Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Premiere Pro and AfterEffects, and the rest of the gang. If you're jonesing for Photoshop alone, that one will be available for $29.99 per month month (no contract) or $19.99 per month (annual agreement). There's no set release date just yet, but we're told to expect the new goods "within 30 days," and pre-orders seem to be a go. Head on down to the source links for more details on each individual aspect, and catch a promo video for the cloud-based subscription offering just after the break.
Microsoft Announces Windows 8 versions including an ARM version.
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Microsoft has just announced its full suite of Windows 8 editions, and the major news is that Windows on ARM processors will be officially called "Windows RT." It'll join Windows 8 and the newly-announced Windows 8 Pro and Windows 8 Enterprise, which add features like virtualization and encryption to Windows 8. As previously rumored, Windows Media Center will be a separate add-on to Windows 8 Pro. The split in names is notable: "Windows 8" is for x86 machines, while Windows RT will signify ARM processors and a distinctly different experience for consumers.
“WINDOWS RT IS A WHOLE NEW APPROACH FOR MICROSOFT
”
Specifically, Windows RT will not be sold separately, but only available pre-installed on new machines with ARM processors. That's a major change in the way Microsoft has traditionally sold Windows, and it underscores a more integrated approach to ARM-powered devices like tablets. Windows RT will also include the Office suite as we previously reported, but no other desktop apps can be installed on ARM machines — the focus instead will be on Metro apps built using the new WinRT development environment. Windows RT will also lack the traditional Windows Media Player and most of the enterprise features found in Windows 8 Pro and Enterprise.
It's an interesting move for Microsoft — the company is insistent that "all editions of Windows 8 offer a no-compromise experience," but by segmenting ARM devices off into Windows RT, it's able to dramatically limit the functionality of the desktop and restrict the final feature list. That's a major change in strategy and messaging from the past few months, but we'll have to see if Microsoft's plan is to build Windows RT into something that's more closely like Windows 8 — or something else entirely.
Microsoft has just announced its full suite of Windows 8 editions, and the major news is that Windows on ARM processors will be officially called "Windows RT." It'll join Windows 8 and the newly-announced Windows 8 Pro and Windows 8 Enterprise, which add features like virtualization and encryption to Windows 8. As previously rumored, Windows Media Center will be a separate add-on to Windows 8 Pro. The split in names is notable: "Windows 8" is for x86 machines, while Windows RT will signify ARM processors and a distinctly different experience for consumers.“WINDOWS RT IS A WHOLE NEW APPROACH FOR MICROSOFT
”
Specifically, Windows RT will not be sold separately, but only available pre-installed on new machines with ARM processors. That's a major change in the way Microsoft has traditionally sold Windows, and it underscores a more integrated approach to ARM-powered devices like tablets. Windows RT will also include the Office suite as we previously reported, but no other desktop apps can be installed on ARM machines — the focus instead will be on Metro apps built using the new WinRT development environment. Windows RT will also lack the traditional Windows Media Player and most of the enterprise features found in Windows 8 Pro and Enterprise.
It's an interesting move for Microsoft — the company is insistent that "all editions of Windows 8 offer a no-compromise experience," but by segmenting ARM devices off into Windows RT, it's able to dramatically limit the functionality of the desktop and restrict the final feature list. That's a major change in strategy and messaging from the past few months, but we'll have to see if Microsoft's plan is to build Windows RT into something that's more closely like Windows 8 — or something else entirely.
Apple asking for ID security questions to increase security in IOS
www.tech-sanity.com
Apple is now prompting iOS users to create three security questions to improve account security in IOS. The additional measure is now a standard practice, and further protect your credit card information which is associated with your iTunes account We got asked for them yesterday when setting up a new account in iTunes desktop, and The Next Web has seen them pop-up on the iPhone as well.
Apple is now prompting iOS users to create three security questions to improve account security in IOS. The additional measure is now a standard practice, and further protect your credit card information which is associated with your iTunes account We got asked for them yesterday when setting up a new account in iTunes desktop, and The Next Web has seen them pop-up on the iPhone as well.
Apple updates OS X Java to remove Flashback malware
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Apple has issued an update to Java for OS X that removes the Flashback malware which infected some 600,000 Macs worldwide. The number of Macs infected with the Flashback malware has plummeted in the last few days, antivirus vendor Symantec said today. As of Wednesday, Symantec estimated that approximately 270,000 Macs were infected with Flashback, down from a peak of more than 600,000 systems on April 6 and with this release from Apple no doubt this will be all but dead in a few days. Apple's recommending that OS X 10.6 users turn off Java in browsers entirely if they don't need it, but it's a little smarter in Lion: the update turns off support for automatically executing Java applets in Safari by default, and is pretty aggressive about it — if you turn automatic execution back on and don't use any applets for an "extended" period of time, the system will turn the permissions back off again. The update is available now in Software Update .
Apple has issued an update to Java for OS X that removes the Flashback malware which infected some 600,000 Macs worldwide. The number of Macs infected with the Flashback malware has plummeted in the last few days, antivirus vendor Symantec said today. As of Wednesday, Symantec estimated that approximately 270,000 Macs were infected with Flashback, down from a peak of more than 600,000 systems on April 6 and with this release from Apple no doubt this will be all but dead in a few days. Apple's recommending that OS X 10.6 users turn off Java in browsers entirely if they don't need it, but it's a little smarter in Lion: the update turns off support for automatically executing Java applets in Safari by default, and is pretty aggressive about it — if you turn automatic execution back on and don't use any applets for an "extended" period of time, the system will turn the permissions back off again. The update is available now in Software Update .
Mac Flux Web Design Software Updated to version 4.
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Grab a demo copy from http://www.theescapers.com/ and have a play. There are screencast to check out too.
Grab the quick start PDF its easy to follow and steps you through building a whole website.
Great news if your into web design, the highly successful Flux WYSIWYG web design software just got a major update to version 4
theescapers just released version 4 today with some great new features.
Flux is an advanced HTML5 Web Design application, capable of creating stunning sites from scratch. Flux isn't a template based solution, though it does have a few templates, it's a creative design environment. Flux has comprehensive support for HTML and CSS, including Image Maps, CSS Gradients, custom fonts, and almost everything else. What makes Flux stand out for me is the WYSIWYG interface which is unlike anything else I've seen. You don't need to know code at all but at the same time the code is all there for you to use if you want. You can import existing sites and it immediately shows in Flux as a beautiful WYSIWYG interface.
Heres whats new in version 4.
New in Version 4
Embedded Inspector
FreeCode
All New FTP
Gradients
Image Maps
AutoComplete
What You See Is What You Get
Flux has an amazing WYSIWYG rendering engine, which means you can drag, stretch, and move objects like a you can in a DTP application, and your webpages will look exactly how you intended.*Flux will generate all the code for you, with no unneccesary tags.
Size, position, even margins and padding can be altered with handles on the elements themselves. If the properties are stored in external CSS stylesheets, these are automaticaly updated.
*On standards compliant web browsers
Code
If you’d rather type your code, you can do that too. The objects you create in the Code Editor will appear on the page as soon as you stop typing, they can then be edited using the WYSIWYG display.
Flux doesn’t make a distinction between typed code, or objects created by Flux, you can create anyway you like, and Flux will understand.
The Flux Code Editor has syntax highlighting for HTML and CSS, auto-completion and line numbering.
FreeCode allows you to type any code you want, yet Flux still understands and allows you to use WYSIWYG controls or handcoding.
Grab a demo copy from http://www.theescapers.com/ and have a play. There are screencast to check out too.
Grab the quick start PDF its easy to follow and steps you through building a whole website.
Grab a demo copy from http://www.theescapers.com/ and have a play. There are screencast to check out too.
Grab the quick start PDF its easy to follow and steps you through building a whole website.
Great news if your into web design, the highly successful Flux WYSIWYG web design software just got a major update to version 4
theescapers just released version 4 today with some great new features.
Flux is an advanced HTML5 Web Design application, capable of creating stunning sites from scratch. Flux isn't a template based solution, though it does have a few templates, it's a creative design environment. Flux has comprehensive support for HTML and CSS, including Image Maps, CSS Gradients, custom fonts, and almost everything else. What makes Flux stand out for me is the WYSIWYG interface which is unlike anything else I've seen. You don't need to know code at all but at the same time the code is all there for you to use if you want. You can import existing sites and it immediately shows in Flux as a beautiful WYSIWYG interface.
Heres whats new in version 4.
New in Version 4
Embedded Inspector| Do everything from a single window. |
FreeCode| FreeCode allows you to code however you want, but still allows you to make changes visually. |
All New FTP| FTP and SFTP completely re-written, rock solid and dependable. |
Gradients| A graphical CSS gradient editor makes this complex area simple, and you can easily export the gradients as images for backwards compatibility. |
Image Maps| Full support for MAP and AREA tags, complex polygons can be easily manipulated. |
AutoComplete| AutoComplete knows your code, completing tags, colors, even image paths. |
Flux has an amazing WYSIWYG rendering engine, which means you can drag, stretch, and move objects like a you can in a DTP application, and your webpages will look exactly how you intended.*Flux will generate all the code for you, with no unneccesary tags.
Size, position, even margins and padding can be altered with handles on the elements themselves. If the properties are stored in external CSS stylesheets, these are automaticaly updated.
*On standards compliant web browsers
Code
If you’d rather type your code, you can do that too. The objects you create in the Code Editor will appear on the page as soon as you stop typing, they can then be edited using the WYSIWYG display.
Flux doesn’t make a distinction between typed code, or objects created by Flux, you can create anyway you like, and Flux will understand.
The Flux Code Editor has syntax highlighting for HTML and CSS, auto-completion and line numbering.
FreeCode allows you to type any code you want, yet Flux still understands and allows you to use WYSIWYG controls or handcoding.
Grab a demo copy from http://www.theescapers.com/ and have a play. There are screencast to check out too.
Grab the quick start PDF its easy to follow and steps you through building a whole website.
Microsoft ends XP patches in 2014
www.tech-sanity.com
Five years after its release, the largely forgotten Windows Vista is moving out of the "mainstream" support period. Starting today, consumers will still get security updates for free, but everyone without a commercial support contract will need to pay for bug fixes or other patches. In April 2017, this "extended" support will also end, and both consumer and commercial users will be on their own, without security or other updates (although security fixes may be offered in special cases.)
That final cutoff date is approaching rather sooner for Windows XP users, who now have two years to upgrade to a new OS before extended support cuts off. XP stayed in mainstream support for several years longer than Vista, which got only the minimum five years. That's only indirectly because of XP's popularity, though: Microsoft tailors its support period based on how long it's been since the latest version of Windows was released, and there was a significant gap between XP and Vista. Microsoft has more information on its lifecycle page.
Five years after its release, the largely forgotten Windows Vista is moving out of the "mainstream" support period. Starting today, consumers will still get security updates for free, but everyone without a commercial support contract will need to pay for bug fixes or other patches. In April 2017, this "extended" support will also end, and both consumer and commercial users will be on their own, without security or other updates (although security fixes may be offered in special cases.)
That final cutoff date is approaching rather sooner for Windows XP users, who now have two years to upgrade to a new OS before extended support cuts off. XP stayed in mainstream support for several years longer than Vista, which got only the minimum five years. That's only indirectly because of XP's popularity, though: Microsoft tailors its support period based on how long it's been since the latest version of Windows was released, and there was a significant gap between XP and Vista. Microsoft has more information on its lifecycle page.
Time Warner to bring live video to Android 4 ICS users finally.
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A product manager for Time Warner cable has announced that the company expects to finally bring a live video app to Android before Memorial Day, but the app will be limited to Android 4.x (Ice Cream Sandwich, or ICS) due to it being "the only version of the Android OS that allows us the security and stability necessary to distribute video over our private network." The cable giant created a live video app for iOS early last year.
Saying that developing a live video product for Android is like "tweezing one's eyebrows while using a disco ball as a mirror," author Jeff Simmermon admitted that the challenge of coding the product for a wide range of devices did not compare favorably to iOS saying it was "much easier" to develop a live video app on Apple's platform. He pointed out the advantage that iOS is made by the same company that manufactures the hardware, making it easy to make the experience consistent across devices.
The post expresses some frustration with the fragmentation aspects of Android, cautioning users that "it's up to the device manufacturer or sometimes the data carrier when or if ICS will be deployed" to their devices. He gave an example that a Motorola device user on Verizon might get an update at one point, while a Samsung owner on AT&T may get the ICS upgrade in a very different timeframe. "We're going to get there," Simmermon said, "but it's going to happen one facet at a time."
Android 4.0 is thus far only on just under three percent of all Android devices, and while some devices are still awaiting updates, the majority -- particularly those running on the 2.x version of Android -- will likely never be updated, as carriers and manufacturers have a strong incentive to keep newer updates for newer devices, both to ensure the best experience as well as providing an inducement for users to keep upgrading hardware.
Simmermon's reference to "security and stability" likely refers to the digital rights management that makes live streaming possible on mobile devices, suggesting that earlier versions of Android will not be considered for future expansion of any video apps. Users whose devices came with or have been upgraded to Ice Cream Sandwich will, however, be able to watch live video over a Wi-Fi and perhaps an LTE connection (the company didn't specify) with "no problem at all" when the app is released, sometime in the coming month or two.
Time Warner has an existing, free TWC TV app for Android that doesn't handle live video but does offer a program guide, DVR management, set-top box tuning and program searching.
A product manager for Time Warner cable has announced that the company expects to finally bring a live video app to Android before Memorial Day, but the app will be limited to Android 4.x (Ice Cream Sandwich, or ICS) due to it being "the only version of the Android OS that allows us the security and stability necessary to distribute video over our private network." The cable giant created a live video app for iOS early last year.
Saying that developing a live video product for Android is like "tweezing one's eyebrows while using a disco ball as a mirror," author Jeff Simmermon admitted that the challenge of coding the product for a wide range of devices did not compare favorably to iOS saying it was "much easier" to develop a live video app on Apple's platform. He pointed out the advantage that iOS is made by the same company that manufactures the hardware, making it easy to make the experience consistent across devices.
The post expresses some frustration with the fragmentation aspects of Android, cautioning users that "it's up to the device manufacturer or sometimes the data carrier when or if ICS will be deployed" to their devices. He gave an example that a Motorola device user on Verizon might get an update at one point, while a Samsung owner on AT&T may get the ICS upgrade in a very different timeframe. "We're going to get there," Simmermon said, "but it's going to happen one facet at a time."
Android 4.0 is thus far only on just under three percent of all Android devices, and while some devices are still awaiting updates, the majority -- particularly those running on the 2.x version of Android -- will likely never be updated, as carriers and manufacturers have a strong incentive to keep newer updates for newer devices, both to ensure the best experience as well as providing an inducement for users to keep upgrading hardware.
Simmermon's reference to "security and stability" likely refers to the digital rights management that makes live streaming possible on mobile devices, suggesting that earlier versions of Android will not be considered for future expansion of any video apps. Users whose devices came with or have been upgraded to Ice Cream Sandwich will, however, be able to watch live video over a Wi-Fi and perhaps an LTE connection (the company didn't specify) with "no problem at all" when the app is released, sometime in the coming month or two.
Time Warner has an existing, free TWC TV app for Android that doesn't handle live video but does offer a program guide, DVR management, set-top box tuning and program searching.
Microsoft Plans to Speed Up the Web
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Microsoft wants in on the drive to speed up the web. The company plans to submit its proposal for a faster internet protocol to the standards body charged with creating HTTP 2.0.
Not coincidentally, that standards body, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), is meeting this week to discuss the future of the venerable Hypertext Transfer Protocol, better known as HTTP. On the agenda is creating HTTP 2.0, a faster, modern approach to internet communication.
One candidate for HTTP 2.0 is Google's SPDY protocol. Pronounced "speedy," Google's proposal would replace the HTTP protocol - the language currently used when your browser talks to a web server. When you request a webpage or a file from a server, chances are your browser sends that request using HTTP. The server answers using HTTP, too. This is why "http" appears at the beginning of most web addresses.
The SPDY protocol handles all the same tasks as HTTP, but SPDY can do it all about 50 percent faster. Chrome and Firefox both support SPDY and several large sites, including Google and Twitter, are already serving pages over SPDY where possible.
Part of the IETF's agenda this week is to discuss the SPDY proposal, and the possibility of turning it into a standard.
But now Microsoft is submitting another proposal for the IETF to consider.
Microsoft's new HTTP Speed+Mobility lacks a catchy name, but otherwise appears to cover much of the same territory SPDY has staked out. Though details on exactly what HTTP Speed+Mobility entails are thin, judging by the blog post announcing it, HTTP Speed+Mobility builds on SPDY but also includes improvements drawn from work on the HTML5 WebSockets API. The emphasis is on not just the web and web browsers, but mobile apps.
"We think that apps - not just browsers - should get faster," writes Microsoft's Jean Paoli, General Manager of Interoperability Strategy.
To do that, Microsoft's HTTP Speed+Mobility "starts from both the Google SPDY protocol and the work the industry has done around WebSockets." What's unclear from the initial post is exactly where HTTP Speed+Mobility goes from that hybrid starting point.
But clearly Microsoft isn't opposed to SPDY. "SPDY has done a great job raising awareness of web performance and taking a ‘clean slate' approach to improving HTTP," writes Paoli. "The main departures from SPDY are to address the needs of mobile devices and applications."
SPDY co-inventor Mike Belshe writes on Google+ that he welcomes Microsoft's efforts and looks forward to "real-world performance metrics and open source implementations so that we can all evaluate them."
Belshe also notes that Microsoft's implication that SPDY is not optimized for mobile "is not true." Belshe says that the available evidence suggests that developers are generally happy using SPDY in mobile apps, "but it could always be better, of course."
The process of creating a faster HTTP replacement will not mean simply picking any one vendor's protocol and standardizing it. Hopefully the IETF will take the best ideas from all sides and combine them into a single protocol that can speed up the web. The exact details - and any potential speed gains - from Microsoft's HTTP Speed+Mobility contribution remain to be seen, but the more input the IETF gets the better HTTP 2.0 will likely be.
Microsoft wants in on the drive to speed up the web. The company plans to submit its proposal for a faster internet protocol to the standards body charged with creating HTTP 2.0.
Not coincidentally, that standards body, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), is meeting this week to discuss the future of the venerable Hypertext Transfer Protocol, better known as HTTP. On the agenda is creating HTTP 2.0, a faster, modern approach to internet communication.
One candidate for HTTP 2.0 is Google's SPDY protocol. Pronounced "speedy," Google's proposal would replace the HTTP protocol - the language currently used when your browser talks to a web server. When you request a webpage or a file from a server, chances are your browser sends that request using HTTP. The server answers using HTTP, too. This is why "http" appears at the beginning of most web addresses.
The SPDY protocol handles all the same tasks as HTTP, but SPDY can do it all about 50 percent faster. Chrome and Firefox both support SPDY and several large sites, including Google and Twitter, are already serving pages over SPDY where possible.
Part of the IETF's agenda this week is to discuss the SPDY proposal, and the possibility of turning it into a standard.
But now Microsoft is submitting another proposal for the IETF to consider.
Microsoft's new HTTP Speed+Mobility lacks a catchy name, but otherwise appears to cover much of the same territory SPDY has staked out. Though details on exactly what HTTP Speed+Mobility entails are thin, judging by the blog post announcing it, HTTP Speed+Mobility builds on SPDY but also includes improvements drawn from work on the HTML5 WebSockets API. The emphasis is on not just the web and web browsers, but mobile apps.
"We think that apps - not just browsers - should get faster," writes Microsoft's Jean Paoli, General Manager of Interoperability Strategy.
To do that, Microsoft's HTTP Speed+Mobility "starts from both the Google SPDY protocol and the work the industry has done around WebSockets." What's unclear from the initial post is exactly where HTTP Speed+Mobility goes from that hybrid starting point.
But clearly Microsoft isn't opposed to SPDY. "SPDY has done a great job raising awareness of web performance and taking a ‘clean slate' approach to improving HTTP," writes Paoli. "The main departures from SPDY are to address the needs of mobile devices and applications."
SPDY co-inventor Mike Belshe writes on Google+ that he welcomes Microsoft's efforts and looks forward to "real-world performance metrics and open source implementations so that we can all evaluate them."
Belshe also notes that Microsoft's implication that SPDY is not optimized for mobile "is not true." Belshe says that the available evidence suggests that developers are generally happy using SPDY in mobile apps, "but it could always be better, of course."
The process of creating a faster HTTP replacement will not mean simply picking any one vendor's protocol and standardizing it. Hopefully the IETF will take the best ideas from all sides and combine them into a single protocol that can speed up the web. The exact details - and any potential speed gains - from Microsoft's HTTP Speed+Mobility contribution remain to be seen, but the more input the IETF gets the better HTTP 2.0 will likely be.
Apple Updates Logic Pro and Express, May Be Fast-Tracking iPhoto Patch
www.tech-sanity.com
Apple’s pro audio users were blessed with a couple of software updates on Tuesday, while a “highly reliable source” claims that Cupertino is hard at work putting a new iPhoto 9.2.3 patch on the fast track to address stability issues with this month’s update.
AppleInsider is reporting on a trio of software updates for Apple’s creative applications. On Tuesday afternoon, Cupertino pushed out updates for the company’s pro audio applications Logic Pro and its stripped-down sibling, Logic Express, bringing both apps to version 9.1.7.
The 195.66MB Logic Pro 9.1.7 update “improves overall stability and addresses some minor issues” which include:
- Resolves several issues related to the download and installation of content
- Updates compatibility with GarageBand for iOS projects
- Fixes a problem that produced an error message when editing fades on numerous regions
Meanwhile, the prosumer-focused Logic Express 9.1.7 weighs in at 139.92MB and also offers improved stability while patching a few different issues:
- Updates compatibility with GarageBand for iOS projects
- Fixes a problem that produced an error message when editing fades on numerous regions
- This update is recommended for all users of Logic Express 9
Finally, AppleInsider has also received insider information from “a highly reliable source” who claims iPhoto 9.2.3 may be just around the corner. In addition to the usual “overall stability” patches, the update also promises to address “an issue that could cause iPhoto to quit unexpectedly on systems with multiple user accounts.” A pre-release version of the update is packed into a 256.9MB download, although there’s no word on when it might actually land in your Software Update window.
Apple’s pro audio users were blessed with a couple of software updates on Tuesday, while a “highly reliable source” claims that Cupertino is hard at work putting a new iPhoto 9.2.3 patch on the fast track to address stability issues with this month’s update.
AppleInsider is reporting on a trio of software updates for Apple’s creative applications. On Tuesday afternoon, Cupertino pushed out updates for the company’s pro audio applications Logic Pro and its stripped-down sibling, Logic Express, bringing both apps to version 9.1.7.
The 195.66MB Logic Pro 9.1.7 update “improves overall stability and addresses some minor issues” which include:
- Resolves several issues related to the download and installation of content
- Updates compatibility with GarageBand for iOS projects
- Fixes a problem that produced an error message when editing fades on numerous regions
Meanwhile, the prosumer-focused Logic Express 9.1.7 weighs in at 139.92MB and also offers improved stability while patching a few different issues:
- Updates compatibility with GarageBand for iOS projects
- Fixes a problem that produced an error message when editing fades on numerous regions
- This update is recommended for all users of Logic Express 9
Finally, AppleInsider has also received insider information from “a highly reliable source” who claims iPhoto 9.2.3 may be just around the corner. In addition to the usual “overall stability” patches, the update also promises to address “an issue that could cause iPhoto to quit unexpectedly on systems with multiple user accounts.” A pre-release version of the update is packed into a 256.9MB download, although there’s no word on when it might actually land in your Software Update window.
XBMC 11.0 - Eden released
www.tech-sanity.com
It's been over a year in development so it's great news that the latest major release of XBMC (11.0) is finally ready and available for download. You can find XBMC 11.0 here.
XBMC 11.0 Milestones include Addon Rollbacks, vast improvements in Confluence (the default skin), massive speed increases via features like Dirty-region rendering and the new JPEG decoder, a simpler, better library, movie set scraping, additional protocol handling, better networking support, better handling of unencrypted BluRay content and structures, adjustable display refresh rate in OSX (to match the already available feature in Windows and Linux), AirPlay support, an upgraded weather service with geoip lookup, and much, much more. Check out the highlights in the summarized changelog.
It's been over a year in development so it's great news that the latest major release of XBMC (11.0) is finally ready and available for download. You can find XBMC 11.0 here.
XBMC 11.0 Milestones include Addon Rollbacks, vast improvements in Confluence (the default skin), massive speed increases via features like Dirty-region rendering and the new JPEG decoder, a simpler, better library, movie set scraping, additional protocol handling, better networking support, better handling of unencrypted BluRay content and structures, adjustable display refresh rate in OSX (to match the already available feature in Windows and Linux), AirPlay support, an upgraded weather service with geoip lookup, and much, much more. Check out the highlights in the summarized changelog.
The new Confluence
In addition to our many software improvements, we’ve increased our reach in the realm of hardware support since Dharma was released. Eden marks the first in-sync stable release for the Apple TV2, iPad, and other iOS devices. We’ve vastly improved the method by which we handle input, including heavily upgrading JSON-RPC support, making remote control support much, MUCH simpler in Windows, and enabling unique methods of device communication with hardware. And now even AMD devices are supported for GPU video decoding in Linux to some extent, thanks to the inclusion of VAAPI.
Beyond XBMC 11 for Windows, Linux, OSX, and iOS, we are also happy to announce XBMCbuntu Final.
XBMCbuntu is very similar to past versions of XBMC Live. By default, the user boots directly into XBMC, and if he/she chooses, he or she will never see the underlying OS. However, unlike Live, XBMCbuntu is now built upon a full LXDE desktop environment, which has a web browser (Chromium) with a fully updated (and updatable) version of Flash built-in and a GUI package manager ready to install and update all of the normal Ubuntu programs a typical Linux user might use. The user may now toggle between XBMC, which auto-starts, and a normal desktop if he or she chooses. And, perhaps most exciting for many users, XBMC will now be upgradeable, both from command line and from the GUI package manager, without fear of crashing the XBMC experience.
Naturally, those users who do not want to see the desktop will never need to. When you boot your computer, you will be booted directly into the XBMC homescreen, just as you are right now. The only clear difference is the new power underneath the hood. Those users who have already installed the Beta version of XBMCbuntu can upgrade to final using the apt-get upgrade commands.
There are truly an incredible number of updates and improvements between Dharma and Eden. But don’t take our word for it. Download XBMC 11.0 Eden now.
New Google Voice update brings folders and dialer integration for ICS
www.tech-sanity.com
If you're a Google Voice user there's quite the update waiting for you in the Google Play store this afternoon. The newest version (0.4.2.54) features tight integration with the Ice Cream Sandwich dialer, a new voicemail option, and the inclusion of labels (think folders) for your inbox. Here's the not-so-fun part -- unless you have a phone with Ice Cream Sandwich, you won't get to see most of it.
All phones will get the inbox labels, which is one thing many folks, myself included, have been waiting for. If you use your Google Voice inbox as a catch-all storage and never delete anything you can now attempt to keep things organized and access it all from your phone. This is the best change for me, but the others are nice as well.
Voicemails are now able to be played through the native Ice Cream Sandwich dialer, just like carrier voicemail. You can adjust the speed to play them faster or slower (handy when skipping to the good part). You enable this in the Google Voice settings, and it's a great way to manage two numbers if that's how you roll. That is how I roll, and it's really handy. Too bad it's ICS only. Hit the break for a couple screenshots of all this, and the download link if you need it.
If you're a Google Voice user there's quite the update waiting for you in the Google Play store this afternoon. The newest version (0.4.2.54) features tight integration with the Ice Cream Sandwich dialer, a new voicemail option, and the inclusion of labels (think folders) for your inbox. Here's the not-so-fun part -- unless you have a phone with Ice Cream Sandwich, you won't get to see most of it.
All phones will get the inbox labels, which is one thing many folks, myself included, have been waiting for. If you use your Google Voice inbox as a catch-all storage and never delete anything you can now attempt to keep things organized and access it all from your phone. This is the best change for me, but the others are nice as well.
Voicemails are now able to be played through the native Ice Cream Sandwich dialer, just like carrier voicemail. You can adjust the speed to play them faster or slower (handy when skipping to the good part). You enable this in the Google Voice settings, and it's a great way to manage two numbers if that's how you roll. That is how I roll, and it's really handy. Too bad it's ICS only. Hit the break for a couple screenshots of all this, and the download link if you need it.
Adobe Photoshop CS6 hands-on preview
www.tech-sanity.com
Update! here is the link to the free beta from Adobe
First Look: Photoshop CS6 Beta is dark, swift, and content aware
Beta release reveals advances under the hood for boosting speed, intelligent operations, and 3D functionality
Adobe has announced, for the second time in its history, a free public beta of Photoshop. Photoshop CS6 will be available to try for the next few months as Adobe readies its Creative Suite of applications for launch alongside the brand new Creative Cloud online hub, targeted to creative pros. The Photoshop beta is available now on Adobe Labs. The new Photoshop version works only on 64-bit Mac systems, and no longer in 32-bit mode.
Various under-the-hood improvements promise to make life easier and protect long hours of labor intensive operations. The highest profile of these include Background Save and Auto Recovery, Preset Migration and Sharing, and the new Mercury Graphics Engine.
Simply selecting some program preferences lets Photoshop automatically save and recover your work in the event of a power interruption. When you upgraded from previous versions of Photoshop, you often lost painstakingly applied presets that automated many repetitive tasks. The new version lets you apply your presets, tools, and workspaces to the new upgrade. While the Mercury engine is familiar to users of Premiere Pro, Photoshop's new Mercury Graphics Engine is mostly a software-based implementation of multicore functionality.
The dark side
The changes in the new version of Photoshop are immediately apparent. The program has gone over to the dark side by default, opening to a sophisticated-looking dark gray interface. This is intended to complement themes of some of Adobe's other creative programs—specifically Lightroom 4, Premiere Pro, and After Effects.
Additional default themes in medium gray, light gray, and black are also included. However, you can set the interface colors to whatever you want, and they change immediately. The same holds true for Photoshop’s companion asset management application, the now 64-bit Bridge. The dark, Aperture-like theme looks attractive, but as with all light type on a dark background, menu items can be difficult to read.
And speaking of interface updates, Adobe has also redesigned and streamlined the program’s menu icons, though they’re still familiar and easily recognizeable. Panels are now labeled in upper- and lowercase type instead of in all caps, enhancing legibility. A new Properties panel now combines Adjustment layer and Mask settings into a single panel. Attention to such details keeps the Photoshop looking fresh.
Photoshop CS6 defaults to a dark interface with light type. But you can change it to whatever you want at any time.
Content awareness
In past versions of Photoshop, Adobe introduced the concept of content-aware image technology, in which edits can take into account the relationship between objects and elements in an image. This lets you edit in an intuitive way with more realistic looking results. Adobe now has added to the content-aware features of previous versions the new Content Aware Move and Content Aware Patch functions. The Content Aware Move tool lets you pick up an object and relocate it to another part of the image while the program performs a content-aware fill operation in the background. The Patch tool's new Content Aware option, a more refined cloning operation, lets you choose the pixels used to fill a designated area in an image, as opposed to letting the program decide. Thus, Photoshop performs a little extra blending to make lines and patterns match.
The new content-aware tools are grouped with the Healing Brush in the toolbar.
The Content Aware Move tool lets you relocate objects within an image. The horse at the right was moved closer to his companions—note the selected new location.
Layer improvements
Over the years, Photoshop's layers feature has received much attention and many improvements. Photoshop CS6 adds a Layer Search function and the use of vector layers to apply—for the first time—strokes, dashed lines, and gradients to vector objects. Other tweaks include the ability to simultaneously change the blend mode of and to duplicate multiple layers. You can also now see opacity, fill, and blend modes of hidden layers. And you can now simultaneously change layer styles and effects for all layers in a group.
Adaptive Wide Angle filter
Photoshop CS6 offers a new way to achieve lens corrections. The Adaptive Wide Angle adjustment filter lets you quickly straighten objects that appear curved in photos shot with wide-angle or fish-eye lenses, or panoramas created with Photomerge. Using Adobe’s CS5 lens correction system, which fixes lens-based geometric distortion, chromatic aberration, and vignetting, the new filter reads lens metadata and lets you click and drag new on-canvas tools to straighten and align objects vertically or horizontally in the scene.
Using the new interactive Constraint tool, you can click to directly adjust an angled element in your image.
Crop tool
Photoshop CS6’s GPU-enabled, nondestructive Crop tool sports new composition controls. Whereas CS5 included a basic grid and Rule of Thirds overlay, CS6 lets you preview Golden Ratio, Diagonal, Triangle, and Golden Spiral overlays. You can also use the new Perspective Crop tool to straighten images. The new Crop tool is designed to help you change the aspect ratio (shape) of your image more easily, without accidentally changing resolution and thus the image quality.
A reconfigured Crop tool in Photoshop CS6 offers additional cropping overlays such as Golden Spiral (shown here) and Triangle. There’s a new Perspective Crop tool for straightening.
Blur Gallery
Added to Photoshop CS5’s 11 Blur plug-ins is a new Blur Gallery consisting of Field Blur, Iris Blur, and Tilt-Shift. These on-image controls add blurs to any image without requiring selections, layers, or depth maps. Iris Blur creates a shallow depth of field and lets you control the blur’s area and intensity. Field Blur lets you pinpoint (with a virtual pushpin) the parts of an image you want blurred and control blur intensity. The Tilt-Shift blur applies blurs along one or more planes, letting you adjust both location and intensity, like the popular Lensbaby tilt-shift lens. You can also apply and adjust a bokeh (background blur) effect with any of the three new Blur tools. The Blur Gallery offers a full-screen preview with collapsible panels, allowing you to see your results at a respectable size.
The new Blur gallery adds three different adjustable blurs that you can also use with the bokeh effect. This is the Iris blur, which lets you use interactive, on-canvas controls with a full preview.
Camera Raw 7
You can edit an image in the Camera Raw interface whether or not it was shot in Raw format. Adobe has rewritten the Camera Raw Basic panel and its controls for easier use. All sliders start at zero, so it’s easy to see how to fix even low-resolution shots. Two new controls, Highlights and Shadows (derived from Lightroom 4’s processing engine) help pull more detail from images than previous Raw plug-ins. Overall, the Camera Raw 7 plug-in offers more image controls that can be applied with the Adjustment Brush, including Temperature, Tint, Highlights, Shadows, Noise Reduction, and Moiré Reduction.
Unlike past versions, all sliders start at zero so the corrections are more intuitive.
The interface for Camera Raw 7 is easier to use than past versions and offers new Shadows and Highlights sliders.
Painting and Drawing
Photoshop would not be Photoshop without fresh tools and streamlined methods of painting and drawing. New erodible brush tips are designed to wear down naturally. You can also use erodible tips with the Brush tool, Pencil tool, Mixer Brush tool, and Eraser tool. A new Airbrush tip features a real physics engine to make airbrushing more realistic. That’s in addition to improved brush rotation, painting presets, and more. A new Oil Paint filter lets you instantly turn a photo into an oil painting.
Sometimes, a routine image just looks better as an oil painting. With the new Oil Paint filter, you won't have to wait around for the results.
Video
Photoshop CS6’s new video functionality—designed as a starting point for video creation—features a new Timeline panel in addition to Photoshop's familiar Animation panel. The workflow, targeted to photographers, includes letting you create, edit, splice, and add audio track and transitions to your clips in a drag-and-drop interface. Having all Photoshop's editing tools at your disposal offers manifold artistic options. You can then export and render video in a number of formats.
It's easy to select and drop video clips and stills into the timeline. Add titles and transitions via drag and drop.
Output your video to a large number of formats.
Improved Auto Correction
Photoshop always let you automatically correct images with various controls under the Image menu. Photoshop CS6 approaches auto corrections in a different and more intelligent way. Auto options are available in Curves, Levels, and—for the first time—Brightness/Contrast controls. The interface is the same, but the underlying algorithms driving them have changed. The Auto button derives its results from a database of thousands of hand-edited images. An Enhance Brightness and Contrast algorithm—developed with reference to thousands of manually corrected examples—bases calculations on image data.
Not all auto corrections are the same, and a new algorithm bases auto corrections on a database of hand-corrected images.
3D
Adobe has revamped its 3D engine for CS6 to make it easier and faster to create and manipulate 3D objects. A new in-context and on-canvas editing interface is designed to enhance usability. Right-clicking on a 3D object shows contextual pop-up panels with content of the panel related to the area clicked.
Adobe has scrapped CS5’s large Reposé dialog box and subsumed the 3D technology into the interface. Now, a Properties panel and widgets enable 3D extrusion and the manipulation of 3D objects in real time. The program also supports draggable shadows and ground plane reflections. The Picture In Picture window shows an alternate view of the 3D object. With it, you can switch camera views, pan, zoom, and swap this view with the main document window.
For combining 2D and 3D functions, you can add 3D objects to a photo and have the object align with the Vanishing Point of the image.
The new 3D interface emphasizes responsiveness and ease of use with in-context and on-canvas controls.
Skin tone aware selections and masking
Photoshop CS6 introduces more controls for preserving skin tones in images where you either want to change or adjust the skin color, or preserve skin tones as you change other parts of the picture. The Color Range dialog box, under the Select menu, offers both a Skin Tones option and a Detect Faces checkbox. Used in concert, they can help you create an accurate mask.
Choose Color Range from the Select pull-down menu, and then choose Skin Tones and Detect Faces to preserve accurate flesh tones.
There's lots more
These are only a few highlights of the new Photoshop CS6 upgrade, now available in beta on Adobe Labs, and due out by summer. There's a lot more to look at in the beta, including Character and Paragraph styles, and a lorem ipsum generator for creating placeholder text and Rich cursors, a handy informational overlay that appears whenever you use the Move, Crop, Free Transform, and similar tools. It shows size information, rotation angle, and x/y coordinates. The new version of Photoshop welcomes Contact Sheet II and PDF Presentation back into the package, as well as a redesigned, streamlined print dialog box. New Bicubic Automatic image resampling (handy for enlargements) lets Photoshop pick the best interpolation method. It's also used with the Crop tool and Free Transform tools.
Update! here is the link to the free beta from Adobe
First Look: Photoshop CS6 Beta is dark, swift, and content aware
Beta release reveals advances under the hood for boosting speed, intelligent operations, and 3D functionality
Adobe has announced, for the second time in its history, a free public beta of Photoshop. Photoshop CS6 will be available to try for the next few months as Adobe readies its Creative Suite of applications for launch alongside the brand new Creative Cloud online hub, targeted to creative pros. The Photoshop beta is available now on Adobe Labs. The new Photoshop version works only on 64-bit Mac systems, and no longer in 32-bit mode.
Various under-the-hood improvements promise to make life easier and protect long hours of labor intensive operations. The highest profile of these include Background Save and Auto Recovery, Preset Migration and Sharing, and the new Mercury Graphics Engine.
Simply selecting some program preferences lets Photoshop automatically save and recover your work in the event of a power interruption. When you upgraded from previous versions of Photoshop, you often lost painstakingly applied presets that automated many repetitive tasks. The new version lets you apply your presets, tools, and workspaces to the new upgrade. While the Mercury engine is familiar to users of Premiere Pro, Photoshop's new Mercury Graphics Engine is mostly a software-based implementation of multicore functionality.
The dark side
The changes in the new version of Photoshop are immediately apparent. The program has gone over to the dark side by default, opening to a sophisticated-looking dark gray interface. This is intended to complement themes of some of Adobe's other creative programs—specifically Lightroom 4, Premiere Pro, and After Effects.
Additional default themes in medium gray, light gray, and black are also included. However, you can set the interface colors to whatever you want, and they change immediately. The same holds true for Photoshop’s companion asset management application, the now 64-bit Bridge. The dark, Aperture-like theme looks attractive, but as with all light type on a dark background, menu items can be difficult to read.
And speaking of interface updates, Adobe has also redesigned and streamlined the program’s menu icons, though they’re still familiar and easily recognizeable. Panels are now labeled in upper- and lowercase type instead of in all caps, enhancing legibility. A new Properties panel now combines Adjustment layer and Mask settings into a single panel. Attention to such details keeps the Photoshop looking fresh.
Photoshop CS6 defaults to a dark interface with light type. But you can change it to whatever you want at any time.
Content awareness
In past versions of Photoshop, Adobe introduced the concept of content-aware image technology, in which edits can take into account the relationship between objects and elements in an image. This lets you edit in an intuitive way with more realistic looking results. Adobe now has added to the content-aware features of previous versions the new Content Aware Move and Content Aware Patch functions. The Content Aware Move tool lets you pick up an object and relocate it to another part of the image while the program performs a content-aware fill operation in the background. The Patch tool's new Content Aware option, a more refined cloning operation, lets you choose the pixels used to fill a designated area in an image, as opposed to letting the program decide. Thus, Photoshop performs a little extra blending to make lines and patterns match.
The new content-aware tools are grouped with the Healing Brush in the toolbar.
The Content Aware Move tool lets you relocate objects within an image. The horse at the right was moved closer to his companions—note the selected new location.
Layer improvements
Over the years, Photoshop's layers feature has received much attention and many improvements. Photoshop CS6 adds a Layer Search function and the use of vector layers to apply—for the first time—strokes, dashed lines, and gradients to vector objects. Other tweaks include the ability to simultaneously change the blend mode of and to duplicate multiple layers. You can also now see opacity, fill, and blend modes of hidden layers. And you can now simultaneously change layer styles and effects for all layers in a group.
Adaptive Wide Angle filter
Photoshop CS6 offers a new way to achieve lens corrections. The Adaptive Wide Angle adjustment filter lets you quickly straighten objects that appear curved in photos shot with wide-angle or fish-eye lenses, or panoramas created with Photomerge. Using Adobe’s CS5 lens correction system, which fixes lens-based geometric distortion, chromatic aberration, and vignetting, the new filter reads lens metadata and lets you click and drag new on-canvas tools to straighten and align objects vertically or horizontally in the scene.
Using the new interactive Constraint tool, you can click to directly adjust an angled element in your image.
Crop tool
Photoshop CS6’s GPU-enabled, nondestructive Crop tool sports new composition controls. Whereas CS5 included a basic grid and Rule of Thirds overlay, CS6 lets you preview Golden Ratio, Diagonal, Triangle, and Golden Spiral overlays. You can also use the new Perspective Crop tool to straighten images. The new Crop tool is designed to help you change the aspect ratio (shape) of your image more easily, without accidentally changing resolution and thus the image quality.
A reconfigured Crop tool in Photoshop CS6 offers additional cropping overlays such as Golden Spiral (shown here) and Triangle. There’s a new Perspective Crop tool for straightening.
Blur Gallery
Added to Photoshop CS5’s 11 Blur plug-ins is a new Blur Gallery consisting of Field Blur, Iris Blur, and Tilt-Shift. These on-image controls add blurs to any image without requiring selections, layers, or depth maps. Iris Blur creates a shallow depth of field and lets you control the blur’s area and intensity. Field Blur lets you pinpoint (with a virtual pushpin) the parts of an image you want blurred and control blur intensity. The Tilt-Shift blur applies blurs along one or more planes, letting you adjust both location and intensity, like the popular Lensbaby tilt-shift lens. You can also apply and adjust a bokeh (background blur) effect with any of the three new Blur tools. The Blur Gallery offers a full-screen preview with collapsible panels, allowing you to see your results at a respectable size.
The new Blur gallery adds three different adjustable blurs that you can also use with the bokeh effect. This is the Iris blur, which lets you use interactive, on-canvas controls with a full preview.
Camera Raw 7
You can edit an image in the Camera Raw interface whether or not it was shot in Raw format. Adobe has rewritten the Camera Raw Basic panel and its controls for easier use. All sliders start at zero, so it’s easy to see how to fix even low-resolution shots. Two new controls, Highlights and Shadows (derived from Lightroom 4’s processing engine) help pull more detail from images than previous Raw plug-ins. Overall, the Camera Raw 7 plug-in offers more image controls that can be applied with the Adjustment Brush, including Temperature, Tint, Highlights, Shadows, Noise Reduction, and Moiré Reduction.
Unlike past versions, all sliders start at zero so the corrections are more intuitive.
The interface for Camera Raw 7 is easier to use than past versions and offers new Shadows and Highlights sliders.
Painting and Drawing
Photoshop would not be Photoshop without fresh tools and streamlined methods of painting and drawing. New erodible brush tips are designed to wear down naturally. You can also use erodible tips with the Brush tool, Pencil tool, Mixer Brush tool, and Eraser tool. A new Airbrush tip features a real physics engine to make airbrushing more realistic. That’s in addition to improved brush rotation, painting presets, and more. A new Oil Paint filter lets you instantly turn a photo into an oil painting.
Sometimes, a routine image just looks better as an oil painting. With the new Oil Paint filter, you won't have to wait around for the results.
Video
Photoshop CS6’s new video functionality—designed as a starting point for video creation—features a new Timeline panel in addition to Photoshop's familiar Animation panel. The workflow, targeted to photographers, includes letting you create, edit, splice, and add audio track and transitions to your clips in a drag-and-drop interface. Having all Photoshop's editing tools at your disposal offers manifold artistic options. You can then export and render video in a number of formats.
It's easy to select and drop video clips and stills into the timeline. Add titles and transitions via drag and drop.
Output your video to a large number of formats.
Improved Auto Correction
Photoshop always let you automatically correct images with various controls under the Image menu. Photoshop CS6 approaches auto corrections in a different and more intelligent way. Auto options are available in Curves, Levels, and—for the first time—Brightness/Contrast controls. The interface is the same, but the underlying algorithms driving them have changed. The Auto button derives its results from a database of thousands of hand-edited images. An Enhance Brightness and Contrast algorithm—developed with reference to thousands of manually corrected examples—bases calculations on image data.
Not all auto corrections are the same, and a new algorithm bases auto corrections on a database of hand-corrected images.
3D
Adobe has revamped its 3D engine for CS6 to make it easier and faster to create and manipulate 3D objects. A new in-context and on-canvas editing interface is designed to enhance usability. Right-clicking on a 3D object shows contextual pop-up panels with content of the panel related to the area clicked.
Adobe has scrapped CS5’s large Reposé dialog box and subsumed the 3D technology into the interface. Now, a Properties panel and widgets enable 3D extrusion and the manipulation of 3D objects in real time. The program also supports draggable shadows and ground plane reflections. The Picture In Picture window shows an alternate view of the 3D object. With it, you can switch camera views, pan, zoom, and swap this view with the main document window.
For combining 2D and 3D functions, you can add 3D objects to a photo and have the object align with the Vanishing Point of the image.
The new 3D interface emphasizes responsiveness and ease of use with in-context and on-canvas controls.
Skin tone aware selections and masking
Photoshop CS6 introduces more controls for preserving skin tones in images where you either want to change or adjust the skin color, or preserve skin tones as you change other parts of the picture. The Color Range dialog box, under the Select menu, offers both a Skin Tones option and a Detect Faces checkbox. Used in concert, they can help you create an accurate mask.
Choose Color Range from the Select pull-down menu, and then choose Skin Tones and Detect Faces to preserve accurate flesh tones.
There's lots more
These are only a few highlights of the new Photoshop CS6 upgrade, now available in beta on Adobe Labs, and due out by summer. There's a lot more to look at in the beta, including Character and Paragraph styles, and a lorem ipsum generator for creating placeholder text and Rich cursors, a handy informational overlay that appears whenever you use the Move, Crop, Free Transform, and similar tools. It shows size information, rotation angle, and x/y coordinates. The new version of Photoshop welcomes Contact Sheet II and PDF Presentation back into the package, as well as a redesigned, streamlined print dialog box. New Bicubic Automatic image resampling (handy for enlargements) lets Photoshop pick the best interpolation method. It's also used with the Crop tool and Free Transform tools.
ICS for the Samsun Galaxy Note will come in Q2, with 'premium suite' apps
www.tech-sanity.com
Samsung mobile has issued a press release all about the Galaxy Note and it's upcoming "Premium Suite" software upgrade. Sometime in Q2 of this year, Samsung expects to update the 5.3-inch Note to their version of Ice Cream Sandwich and bring better application support for the S pen as well as unnamed extra multimedia features.
The three applications mentioned specifically are S Note, a tool that combines notes or drawings with other digital content as well as using "Shape Match and Formula Match applications that help correct and digitize geometric shapes and even solve numeric formulas hand-drawn with S Pen"; My Story, which appears to be an application that helps you design e-cards and notes with multimedia content; and of course Angry Birds Space -- the newest iteration of the Angry Birds franchise from Rovio. In addition, Angry Birds Space will be available (sans the extra-special Galaxy Note level) for all Galaxy Series devices.
Of course the biggest draw for most of us will be the update to Android 4.0, which Samsung teased Note users about on Facebook earlier today. The version for the Note is said to include the features we've come to expect from ICS, including Android Beam and Face Unlock, as well as an "entirely new look and feel" to the Android operating system. The Q2 timeframe is coming up shortly, and International Galaxy note users are ready and waiting. Hopefully, the AT&T version follows quickly. Hit the break for the full press release.
Samsung mobile has issued a press release all about the Galaxy Note and it's upcoming "Premium Suite" software upgrade. Sometime in Q2 of this year, Samsung expects to update the 5.3-inch Note to their version of Ice Cream Sandwich and bring better application support for the S pen as well as unnamed extra multimedia features.
The three applications mentioned specifically are S Note, a tool that combines notes or drawings with other digital content as well as using "Shape Match and Formula Match applications that help correct and digitize geometric shapes and even solve numeric formulas hand-drawn with S Pen"; My Story, which appears to be an application that helps you design e-cards and notes with multimedia content; and of course Angry Birds Space -- the newest iteration of the Angry Birds franchise from Rovio. In addition, Angry Birds Space will be available (sans the extra-special Galaxy Note level) for all Galaxy Series devices.
Of course the biggest draw for most of us will be the update to Android 4.0, which Samsung teased Note users about on Facebook earlier today. The version for the Note is said to include the features we've come to expect from ICS, including Android Beam and Face Unlock, as well as an "entirely new look and feel" to the Android operating system. The Q2 timeframe is coming up shortly, and International Galaxy note users are ready and waiting. Hopefully, the AT&T version follows quickly. Hit the break for the full press release.
More: Samsung's Angry Birds site
Samsung offers Premium Suite software upgrade for GALAXY Note users
March 22, 2012
Software package offers exclusive S Pen applications, enhanced multimedia features, and an Android 4.0 upgrade
SEOUL, Korea – March 22, 2012 – Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, today announced it will be offering a Premium Suite upgrade for GALAXY Note users worldwide from Q2. It includes extra multimedia features and a range of new S Pen optimized applications in addition to an OS upgrade to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.
The Premium Suite offers new features and applications exclusive to GALAXY Note and its innovative S Pen, which includes S Note, a unique tool that lets you combine your notes or sketches with other digital content, giving you a new way to create your own stories. S Note comes in various ready-to-use templates for a range of tasks including meeting minutes, diary and others.
S Note also includes the innovative Shape Match and Formula Match applications that help correct and digitize geometric shapes and even solve numeric formulas hand-drawn with S Pen, increasing your on-the-go efficiency and productivity. You can draw tables and grids which are instantly digitized, saving time and effort. Moreover, by using the S Note’s integrated knowledge search engines, users can quickly search, and obtain information.
For a touch of self-expression, the Premium Suite also includes My Story, another S Pen optimized application that allows you to create personalized digital cards for friends or family using any type of content including notes, video content, photos, text or voice.
In celebration of the Premium Suite upgrade announcement, Samsung will provide special offers to all GALAXY users as an official launch partner of Angry Birds Space, the newest Angry Birds game from Rovio Entertainment. For all Samsung GALAXY users, an exclusive GALAXY Note level will be provided for extra fun. Moreover, a special package of 30 challenging levels – ‘Danger Zone’ – will be available for free if unpacked within the three-month period. Visit http://samsung.angrybirds.com/galaxynote for more information.
“GALAXY Note continues to delight customers all over the world with its incredible versatility and unique user experience. With the Premium Suite upgrade, we wanted to add features that enrich users’ Note experience even more, including the great advantages of Android 4.0 and innovative applications for S Pen,” said JK Shin, President of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics. “We are committed to providing extraordinary experiences for consumers, and we will continue to provide new features and upgrades to enrich our offering.”
The Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade brings an entirely new look and feel to Android on GALAXY Note, with a more intuitive user interface that includes a redesigned App menu for easier multi-tasking. The upgrade also introduces innovations such as Face Unlock, Snapshot, Android Beam and others.
The availability and scheduling of the software upgrade will vary by market and wireless carriers’ requirements.
Mountain Lion 2nd release reveals Twitter notices, contacts protection
www.tech-sanity.com
The second developers release of OSX Mountain Lion has been released to developers and a few new things have shown up. More to come no doubt.
New iCloud service may sync open tabs as well
Among the small but significant changes are automatic Twitter notification options, a new iCloud button in Safari that will let users sync tabs across devices, and more explicit permission in OS X when an app wants to access personal information stores such as the Address Book.
The latter change reflects a move already made in iOS 5.1 to better protect users' contacts after it was discovered that a number of apps were circumventing Apple guidelines and uploading personal information without explicit user permission. Mountain Lion will also feature a new "Privacy" panel in System Preferences where users can manage what apps can access in terms of personal data, MacRumors reports.
Mark Gurman notes that users of Mountain Lion DP2 can also opt to have Twitter for Mac notifications turned on, which lets replies and direct messages be shown on the desktop in the Growl-like Notification Center that is set to be another new feature in Mountain Lion. Also noted is a new optional "iCloud" button that offers to sync open tabs between devices, letting a user start web surfing on one device and continue on another. The syncing may also preserve the previous state of the tabs (a feature found in Lion already) so that all tabs can be re-opened on a new launch.
Mountain Lion is expected to be released this summer.
The second developers release of OSX Mountain Lion has been released to developers and a few new things have shown up. More to come no doubt.
New iCloud service may sync open tabs as well
Among the small but significant changes are automatic Twitter notification options, a new iCloud button in Safari that will let users sync tabs across devices, and more explicit permission in OS X when an app wants to access personal information stores such as the Address Book.
The latter change reflects a move already made in iOS 5.1 to better protect users' contacts after it was discovered that a number of apps were circumventing Apple guidelines and uploading personal information without explicit user permission. Mountain Lion will also feature a new "Privacy" panel in System Preferences where users can manage what apps can access in terms of personal data, MacRumors reports.
Mark Gurman notes that users of Mountain Lion DP2 can also opt to have Twitter for Mac notifications turned on, which lets replies and direct messages be shown on the desktop in the Growl-like Notification Center that is set to be another new feature in Mountain Lion. Also noted is a new optional "iCloud" button that offers to sync open tabs between devices, letting a user start web surfing on one device and continue on another. The syncing may also preserve the previous state of the tabs (a feature found in Lion already) so that all tabs can be re-opened on a new launch.
Mountain Lion is expected to be released this summer.
Microsoft: What's new in IE10 in the Windows 8 Consumer Preview
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In a March 13 post on the “Building Windows 8″ blog, company officials detailed some of these new features, focusing exclusively on those in the Metro-style IE10 variant.
A quick refresher: Microsoft will offer two IE10 flavors in Windows 8 on x86/x64 devices: A Metro-Style, touch-centric IE10 and a non-Metro-Style Desktop IE10. If you need to run plug-ins, you’ll need the Desktop version, since Microsoft has decided not to allow plug-ins in the IE10 Metro-Style browser. On Windows 8 on ARM (WOA) devices, Microsoft is not allowing plug-ins at all with IE10, so there won’t be but there still will be an IE Desktop version.
Microsoft execs are attempting to make the case, as this latest blog post makes clear, that the Metro-style version of IE10 has value even if you aren’t using it on a touch-enabled PC or tablet.
Here’s Microsoft list of some of the IE10 features that changed between the Developer Preview and the Consumer Preview:
Microsoft published a white paper in late February designed to help third-party vendors wade through the particulars of developing browsers for Windows 8. In that paper, entitled, “Developing a Metro style enabled desktop browser,” Microsoft officials explain how browsers are subject to different Microsoft rules and regulations than other kinds of Windows 8 apps.
Speaking of Internet Explorer, Microsoft already is thinking about and even talking about IE11, as noted by Microsoft Group Policy Most Valuable Professional Alan Burchill. Burchill’s post is all about using Group Policy to default to IE10 Desktop mode, by the way….
In a March 13 post on the “Building Windows 8″ blog, company officials detailed some of these new features, focusing exclusively on those in the Metro-style IE10 variant.
A quick refresher: Microsoft will offer two IE10 flavors in Windows 8 on x86/x64 devices: A Metro-Style, touch-centric IE10 and a non-Metro-Style Desktop IE10. If you need to run plug-ins, you’ll need the Desktop version, since Microsoft has decided not to allow plug-ins in the IE10 Metro-Style browser. On Windows 8 on ARM (WOA) devices, Microsoft is not allowing plug-ins at all with IE10, so there won’t be but there still will be an IE Desktop version.
Microsoft execs are attempting to make the case, as this latest blog post makes clear, that the Metro-style version of IE10 has value even if you aren’t using it on a touch-enabled PC or tablet.
Here’s Microsoft list of some of the IE10 features that changed between the Developer Preview and the Consumer Preview:
- Full, independent composition enables responsive, fast and fluid behavior on real websites (including pages with fixed elements, nested scrolling regions, animations, and video)
- Back and forward swipe navigation with preview
- Double-tap to zoom in on content
- Fast back and forward navigation controls for mouse
- Mouse (CTRL+scroll wheel) and keyboard methods for quickly zooming in and out to mirror touch interactions
- Automatic domain suggestions for faster navigation and less typing
- Share charm support for URLs, snippets, images and selection with Mail and other apps
- Search charm with visual search suggestions
- Devices charm for printing, projecting, and playing video to external devices like TVs
- Plug-in free support: notifications for sites requiring activeX
- Background notifications for pinned sites and other tile improvements
- Jumplists for pinned sites
- InPrivate tabs that are easier to open
- Clean up tabs command, which quickly closes all but current tab
Microsoft published a white paper in late February designed to help third-party vendors wade through the particulars of developing browsers for Windows 8. In that paper, entitled, “Developing a Metro style enabled desktop browser,” Microsoft officials explain how browsers are subject to different Microsoft rules and regulations than other kinds of Windows 8 apps.
Speaking of Internet Explorer, Microsoft already is thinking about and even talking about IE11, as noted by Microsoft Group Policy Most Valuable Professional Alan Burchill. Burchill’s post is all about using Group Policy to default to IE10 Desktop mode, by the way….
Firefox to Get a ‘Metro’ Makeover for Windows 8
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Mozilla is breaking ground on a new effort to update the Firefox web browser for Microsoft’s coming Windows 8.
Firefox for Windows 8 was announced earlier this year and will support both the traditional desktop Windows environment and the new Metro interface designed for tablets and other touchscreen devices.
While Apple’s App Store rules don’t allow Firefox to run on iOS devices, Mozilla has already created a tablet-friendly version of Firefox for Android and is now hoping to do the same for Windows 8.
According to the team already at work on Firefox for Windows 8, Firefox will take a hybrid approach to Windows 8′s dual desktop and Metro modes. The desktop and Metro options aren’t the only way to develop for Windows 8; there is in fact a third path — “Metro style enabled desktop browsers.” These hybrid apps can be run as desktop applications or as Metro apps. The hybrid approach means that Firefox will work as it always has for those that choose to ignore Metro, but will also fit in with Metro for those that prefer it.
There’s another reason for choosing the hybrid route — Metro style enabled desktop browsers have the ability to run outside of the Metro sandbox. Metro style enabled desktop browsers have access to most of the Win32 API and the entire new WinRT API.
As Mozilla developer Brian Bondy writes in a recent blog post, taking the hybrid approach will give Firefox more power: “We can build a powerful browser which gives an experience equal to that of a classic Desktop browser.”
That doesn’t mean that everything with Firefox 8 for Windows will be smooth sailing though. For example, the current rules for the Metro environment allow for only one browser in Metro mode. That means that if you don’t set Firefox to be the default browser then it can’t be used in Metro mode. Given how few users change the default settings, most may never even realize that Firefox can run in Metro mode.
Bondy also points out that it remains to be seen whether or not Microsoft will let a hybrid Firefox in the coming Windows Store since it won’t technically be a Metro application. Other unknowns include whether or not Firefox for Windows 8 will work with the ARM-based version of Windows 8 or whether that will require another port.
Mozilla is breaking ground on a new effort to update the Firefox web browser for Microsoft’s coming Windows 8.
Firefox for Windows 8 was announced earlier this year and will support both the traditional desktop Windows environment and the new Metro interface designed for tablets and other touchscreen devices.
While Apple’s App Store rules don’t allow Firefox to run on iOS devices, Mozilla has already created a tablet-friendly version of Firefox for Android and is now hoping to do the same for Windows 8.
According to the team already at work on Firefox for Windows 8, Firefox will take a hybrid approach to Windows 8′s dual desktop and Metro modes. The desktop and Metro options aren’t the only way to develop for Windows 8; there is in fact a third path — “Metro style enabled desktop browsers.” These hybrid apps can be run as desktop applications or as Metro apps. The hybrid approach means that Firefox will work as it always has for those that choose to ignore Metro, but will also fit in with Metro for those that prefer it.
There’s another reason for choosing the hybrid route — Metro style enabled desktop browsers have the ability to run outside of the Metro sandbox. Metro style enabled desktop browsers have access to most of the Win32 API and the entire new WinRT API.
As Mozilla developer Brian Bondy writes in a recent blog post, taking the hybrid approach will give Firefox more power: “We can build a powerful browser which gives an experience equal to that of a classic Desktop browser.”
That doesn’t mean that everything with Firefox 8 for Windows will be smooth sailing though. For example, the current rules for the Metro environment allow for only one browser in Metro mode. That means that if you don’t set Firefox to be the default browser then it can’t be used in Metro mode. Given how few users change the default settings, most may never even realize that Firefox can run in Metro mode.
Bondy also points out that it remains to be seen whether or not Microsoft will let a hybrid Firefox in the coming Windows Store since it won’t technically be a Metro application. Other unknowns include whether or not Firefox for Windows 8 will work with the ARM-based version of Windows 8 or whether that will require another port.
Google Chrome Browser compromised almost immediately at Pwn2Own.
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CanSecWest's organizers confirmed that Chrome had been hacked during the Pwn2Own contest almost immediately. Team Vupen exploited a security hole in the browser within five minutes of the contest's start. The group will be getting at least a $60,000 prize. Funded partly by Google itself, as well as 32 points in the still-ongoing contest; it had already found two more vulnerabilities in software at the conference in intervening hours.
Exact details of the hole weren't detailed, but it was a zero-day exploit that successfully escaped Google's sandboxing and ran code.
The hack was prepared in advance and was likely helped by Google's own willingness to add significantly to the prize pool to test Chrome. It nonetheless undermines Google's insistence that Chrome is safe and shows it to not necessarily be safer in the real world than previous Pwn2Own targets like Safari. Google was one of the first to implement sandboxing, where any breach in a given browser tab or plugin is supposed to be blocked from compromising other parts, but it's now proven that the practice isn't a guarantee against exploits.
Most other browsers now have at least some form of sandboxing, whether for plugins or browser tabs.
CanSecWest's organizers confirmed that Chrome had been hacked during the Pwn2Own contest almost immediately. Team Vupen exploited a security hole in the browser within five minutes of the contest's start. The group will be getting at least a $60,000 prize. Funded partly by Google itself, as well as 32 points in the still-ongoing contest; it had already found two more vulnerabilities in software at the conference in intervening hours.
Exact details of the hole weren't detailed, but it was a zero-day exploit that successfully escaped Google's sandboxing and ran code.
The hack was prepared in advance and was likely helped by Google's own willingness to add significantly to the prize pool to test Chrome. It nonetheless undermines Google's insistence that Chrome is safe and shows it to not necessarily be safer in the real world than previous Pwn2Own targets like Safari. Google was one of the first to implement sandboxing, where any breach in a given browser tab or plugin is supposed to be blocked from compromising other parts, but it's now proven that the practice isn't a guarantee against exploits.
Most other browsers now have at least some form of sandboxing, whether for plugins or browser tabs.
Apple announces iPhoto for iPhone, iPad: powerful editing, scrapbook creation, available today for $4.99
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At Apple's event today in San Francisco, after announcing the new iPad, the company also debuted a version of iPhoto for iOS, filling out the iLife section of the App Store a bit more. The new app is a much more powerful way to manage your photos on your iPad, and includes some serious editing functionality. It has a shelves-style look for managing your photos, and lets you quickly add effects, do some retouching, and even beam pictures from device to device. The $4.99 universal app is available today, though you'll need at least an iPad 2 or iPhone 4 to use it.
It's a multitouch-heavy app, letting you edit and manipulate images up to 19 megapixels — the app can automatically detect and correct horizon lines, and you can quickly edit shadows, exposure and the like all using multitouch. You can also compare your edited photo to the original quickly, a feature we love in the OS X version of the app. Changing white balance is as simple as dragging your finger around the screen, and any edit you make can be done specifically to one tiny section of the photo, or the entire picture. There are a bunch of effects in iPhoto for iPad, too, non-destructive tweaks to your photos. Most are just simple color tweaks — Black & White, Aura, Vintage, and a few others — but all seem to work well and smoothly.
Once you're done, you can share your photos to a variety of sites, from iCloud and Flickr to Twitter and Facebook. The Facebook sharing is particularly interesting, since that's not something we've seen much of from Apple's other iOS apps — though it is available in the desktop version of iPhoto. You can also create Journals of your photos, lay them out into photo books with some cool styling that's reminiscent of Flipboard's layout. You can add maps, sticky notes, and more — Apple's trying to create a full-fledged digital scrapbook, complete with all the extras you'd want to add. The Journals can be shared via iCloud, and are viewable in any browser.
At Apple's event today in San Francisco, after announcing the new iPad, the company also debuted a version of iPhoto for iOS, filling out the iLife section of the App Store a bit more. The new app is a much more powerful way to manage your photos on your iPad, and includes some serious editing functionality. It has a shelves-style look for managing your photos, and lets you quickly add effects, do some retouching, and even beam pictures from device to device. The $4.99 universal app is available today, though you'll need at least an iPad 2 or iPhone 4 to use it.
It's a multitouch-heavy app, letting you edit and manipulate images up to 19 megapixels — the app can automatically detect and correct horizon lines, and you can quickly edit shadows, exposure and the like all using multitouch. You can also compare your edited photo to the original quickly, a feature we love in the OS X version of the app. Changing white balance is as simple as dragging your finger around the screen, and any edit you make can be done specifically to one tiny section of the photo, or the entire picture. There are a bunch of effects in iPhoto for iPad, too, non-destructive tweaks to your photos. Most are just simple color tweaks — Black & White, Aura, Vintage, and a few others — but all seem to work well and smoothly.
Once you're done, you can share your photos to a variety of sites, from iCloud and Flickr to Twitter and Facebook. The Facebook sharing is particularly interesting, since that's not something we've seen much of from Apple's other iOS apps — though it is available in the desktop version of iPhoto. You can also create Journals of your photos, lay them out into photo books with some cool styling that's reminiscent of Flipboard's layout. You can add maps, sticky notes, and more — Apple's trying to create a full-fledged digital scrapbook, complete with all the extras you'd want to add. The Journals can be shared via iCloud, and are viewable in any browser.
Apple releases updated iWork for iOS, available today for iOS 5.1 users
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Apple's showing off lots of software that's now optimized for the new iPad's Retina display, and an updated version of iWork is among them. Pages, Numbers, and Keynote for iOS have all been updated, still cost $9.99 each, and are free updates for previous purchasers. Apple says these new updates are coming out today, but the old versions are still on the app store as of the moment. Phil Schiller went into minimal details on what changes besides Retina display support were made, and from the looks of Apple's iWork for iOS pages on its site, it seems like there aren't any major consumer-facing features aside from support for the higher-resolution display.
Update: Version 1.6 of Pages, Keynote, and Numbers for iOS 5.1 are now available in the App store. In addition to Retina display compatibility, each app now supports "stunning" 3D bar, line, pie, and area charts. Keynote has a number of other changes, including nine new builds and transitions, as well as animations for the previously mentioned new chart types. Pages now supports the landscape keyboard for iPhone and iPod touch, but otherwise it and Numbers don't have any more new features.
GarageBand for iPad updated with new features, Retina Display support
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Apple has released new updates for GarageBand to along with the new iPad. Priced the same as the previous generation at $4.99, it has support for the Retina Display and some new features as well. The new features include "Smart Strings" for playing instruments, iCloud support, a note editor, and a cool feature called "Jam Session." Jam Session allows up to four iOS devices to work together over WiFi or Bluetooth to create music in real time. Apple played a brief video demonstrating the feature during its keynote as as you'd expect, it looked like it worked quite well.
True DJs and musicians might be most excited about some of the new sharing features. In addition to iCloud sync, music can be uploaded directly to YouTube or SoundCloud — the latter of which is a killer feature for indie artists.
It's available right now in the iTunes store. Here's what Apple has to say about the new features:
With the new Jam Session feature in GarageBand, you can invite up to three of your friends to get together and wirelessly connect your iOS devices to play and record as a group. Jam Session automatically synchronizes the tempo, key and chords of your Touch Instruments so everyone sounds great. After jamming, everyone’s tracks are automatically collected on your iOS device for you to edit and mix. GarageBand also introduces Smart Strings, a new Touch Instrument that allows you to play an entire string orchestra with just one finger, and the new Note Editor allows you to fine tune a Touch Instrument recording instead of replaying it from scratch. Integration with iCloud keeps your GarageBand songs up to date across your iOS devices, and you can share your finished songs directly to Facebook, YouTube and SoundCloud.
Apple updates iMovie with advanced editing and planning tools
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COMMENTS
Apple has just announced a refresh to the iLife suite, including iMovie. The update adds more advanced editing and planning tools. You can now cut fancy trailers as you're recording video, and iMovie will include nine stylized genre templates, which also include custom soundtracks from famous composers like Hans Zimmer. Movies can be shared in 1080p resolution to the Apple TV using AirStream, and also shared to YouTube, Facebook, and Vimeo.
COMMENTS
Apple has just announced a refresh to the iLife suite, including iMovie. The update adds more advanced editing and planning tools. You can now cut fancy trailers as you're recording video, and iMovie will include nine stylized genre templates, which also include custom soundtracks from famous composers like Hans Zimmer. Movies can be shared in 1080p resolution to the Apple TV using AirStream, and also shared to YouTube, Facebook, and Vimeo.
iTunes 10.6 adds 1080p support
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On Wednesday, Apple released an updated version of iTunes to add support for 1080p video and address several issues with iTunes Match.
iTunes 10.6 adds the ability to play 1080p HD movies and TV shows from the iTunes Store, a new offering from Apple that goes along with the new Apple TV unveiled on Wednesday. iTunes could play 1080p content in the past, however, such as movies shot using an iPhone 4S.
More exciting to many iTunes Match subscribers are improvements to the music matching and storage service. Apple says iTunes 10.6 provides for improved song matching; improved album artwork handling, downloading, and display; and fixes an issue where songs may skip when playing from iCloud.
The update is currently available via Software Update, or via Apple’s iTunes download page.
On Wednesday, Apple released an updated version of iTunes to add support for 1080p video and address several issues with iTunes Match.
iTunes 10.6 adds the ability to play 1080p HD movies and TV shows from the iTunes Store, a new offering from Apple that goes along with the new Apple TV unveiled on Wednesday. iTunes could play 1080p content in the past, however, such as movies shot using an iPhone 4S.
More exciting to many iTunes Match subscribers are improvements to the music matching and storage service. Apple says iTunes 10.6 provides for improved song matching; improved album artwork handling, downloading, and display; and fixes an issue where songs may skip when playing from iCloud.
The update is currently available via Software Update, or via Apple’s iTunes download page.
Apple updates iPad App Store with faster UI ahead of iPad 3 launch
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Apple's revamped user interface of the iPad "Top Charts" section on its iOS App Store could possibly be in preparation of a third generation tablet expected to be announced on Wednesday.
The iPad App Store facelift saw minor tweaks in how top selling apps are displayed and a new horizontal scrolling UI, among other small updates.
The changes could be a prelude to the much rumored debut of Apple's next-generation iPad that scheduled to take place tomorrow at a special event in San Francisco.
While the majority of changes are superficial, the new top-selling paid and free app layout allows for greatly reduced load times. Instead of displaying the top 25 apps for each category, the new store only lists six apps at a time, which could explain why the "display more" option is so quick.
The move could be related to the resolution of the next-generation iPad's display, which is rumored to be twice that of Apple's current tablet lineup. If image assets within the App Store are not scaled, a doubling in pixel density would result in a perceived decrease in icon size. The change in size wouldn't be a problem with a Retina Display-equipped product like the iPhone 4S, however visibility issues could occur when using a device like an iPad that is normally held farther away from the face.
A developer recently weighed in on how scaling would affect image quality in a Retina Display iPad. "Food Run" app maker Kevin Ng noted that upscaling his game to the resolution expected from the upcoming iPad's screen would result in favorable image quality due to vector-based graphics, though icons would have to be be submitted separately.
Currently, developers are required to submit 512x512 pixel icons with their apps, and the new interface will most likely take advantage of the resolution bump if and when a Retina Display iPad is released.
In early February, Apple sent out a note to third-party developers asking for screenshot upgrades that would better support the Retina Displays in the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S and iPod touch. The app makers were informed that any future updates of their software would not be approved unless a 960x640 pixel screenshot was submitted.
Apple's newest tablet is widely thought to include a 9.7-inch 2,048x1,536 pixel display with a perceived resolution nearing that of the company's 3.5-inch 960x640 pixel Retina Display.
Apple's revamped user interface of the iPad "Top Charts" section on its iOS App Store could possibly be in preparation of a third generation tablet expected to be announced on Wednesday.
The iPad App Store facelift saw minor tweaks in how top selling apps are displayed and a new horizontal scrolling UI, among other small updates.
The changes could be a prelude to the much rumored debut of Apple's next-generation iPad that scheduled to take place tomorrow at a special event in San Francisco.
While the majority of changes are superficial, the new top-selling paid and free app layout allows for greatly reduced load times. Instead of displaying the top 25 apps for each category, the new store only lists six apps at a time, which could explain why the "display more" option is so quick.
The move could be related to the resolution of the next-generation iPad's display, which is rumored to be twice that of Apple's current tablet lineup. If image assets within the App Store are not scaled, a doubling in pixel density would result in a perceived decrease in icon size. The change in size wouldn't be a problem with a Retina Display-equipped product like the iPhone 4S, however visibility issues could occur when using a device like an iPad that is normally held farther away from the face.
A developer recently weighed in on how scaling would affect image quality in a Retina Display iPad. "Food Run" app maker Kevin Ng noted that upscaling his game to the resolution expected from the upcoming iPad's screen would result in favorable image quality due to vector-based graphics, though icons would have to be be submitted separately.
Currently, developers are required to submit 512x512 pixel icons with their apps, and the new interface will most likely take advantage of the resolution bump if and when a Retina Display iPad is released.
In early February, Apple sent out a note to third-party developers asking for screenshot upgrades that would better support the Retina Displays in the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S and iPod touch. The app makers were informed that any future updates of their software would not be approved unless a 960x640 pixel screenshot was submitted.
Apple's newest tablet is widely thought to include a 9.7-inch 2,048x1,536 pixel display with a perceived resolution nearing that of the company's 3.5-inch 960x640 pixel Retina Display.
Apple updates iPad App Store with faster UI ahead of iPad 3 launch
www.tech-sanity.com
Apple's revamped user interface of the iPad "Top Charts" section on its iOS App Store could possibly be in preparation of a third generation tablet expected to be announced on Wednesday.
The iPad App Store facelift saw minor tweaks in how top selling apps are displayed and a new horizontal scrolling UI, among other small updates.
The changes could be a prelude to the much rumored debut of Apple's next-generation iPad that scheduled to take place tomorrow at a special event in San Francisco.
While the majority of changes are superficial, the new top-selling paid and free app layout allows for greatly reduced load times. Instead of displaying the top 25 apps for each category, the new store only lists six apps at a time, which could explain why the "display more" option is so quick.
The move could be related to the resolution of the next-generation iPad's display, which is rumored to be twice that of Apple's current tablet lineup. If image assets within the App Store are not scaled, a doubling in pixel density would result in a perceived decrease in icon size. The change in size wouldn't be a problem with a Retina Display-equipped product like the iPhone 4S, however visibility issues could occur when using a device like an iPad that is normally held farther away from the face.
A developer recently weighed in on how scaling would affect image quality in a Retina Display iPad. "Food Run" app maker Kevin Ng noted that upscaling his game to the resolution expected from the upcoming iPad's screen would result in favorable image quality due to vector-based graphics, though icons would have to be be submitted separately.
Currently, developers are required to submit 512x512 pixel icons with their apps, and the new interface will most likely take advantage of the resolution bump if and when a Retina Display iPad is released.
In early February, Apple sent out a note to third-party developers asking for screenshot upgrades that would better support the Retina Displays in the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S and iPod touch. The app makers were informed that any future updates of their software would not be approved unless a 960x640 pixel screenshot was submitted.
Apple's newest tablet is widely thought to include a 9.7-inch 2,048x1,536 pixel display with a perceived resolution nearing that of the company's 3.5-inch 960x640 pixel Retina Display.
Apple's revamped user interface of the iPad "Top Charts" section on its iOS App Store could possibly be in preparation of a third generation tablet expected to be announced on Wednesday.
The iPad App Store facelift saw minor tweaks in how top selling apps are displayed and a new horizontal scrolling UI, among other small updates.
The changes could be a prelude to the much rumored debut of Apple's next-generation iPad that scheduled to take place tomorrow at a special event in San Francisco.
While the majority of changes are superficial, the new top-selling paid and free app layout allows for greatly reduced load times. Instead of displaying the top 25 apps for each category, the new store only lists six apps at a time, which could explain why the "display more" option is so quick.
The move could be related to the resolution of the next-generation iPad's display, which is rumored to be twice that of Apple's current tablet lineup. If image assets within the App Store are not scaled, a doubling in pixel density would result in a perceived decrease in icon size. The change in size wouldn't be a problem with a Retina Display-equipped product like the iPhone 4S, however visibility issues could occur when using a device like an iPad that is normally held farther away from the face.
A developer recently weighed in on how scaling would affect image quality in a Retina Display iPad. "Food Run" app maker Kevin Ng noted that upscaling his game to the resolution expected from the upcoming iPad's screen would result in favorable image quality due to vector-based graphics, though icons would have to be be submitted separately.
Currently, developers are required to submit 512x512 pixel icons with their apps, and the new interface will most likely take advantage of the resolution bump if and when a Retina Display iPad is released.
In early February, Apple sent out a note to third-party developers asking for screenshot upgrades that would better support the Retina Displays in the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S and iPod touch. The app makers were informed that any future updates of their software would not be approved unless a 960x640 pixel screenshot was submitted.
Apple's newest tablet is widely thought to include a 9.7-inch 2,048x1,536 pixel display with a perceived resolution nearing that of the company's 3.5-inch 960x640 pixel Retina Display.
Adobe ships Photoshop Lightroom 4 and cuts price in half
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Adobe has released version 4 of Photoshop Lightroom, its professional photo management application, following a beta period of about two months. But perhaps the biggest news is that Adobe has permanently cut the price of Lightroom in half. Version 4 is priced at $149, as opposed to the $299 shipping price of version 3. The upgrade price is now $79, as opposed to the previous upgrade price of $99. "Lowering the price makes Lightroom more accessible to a broader range of photographers—from pros to amateurs,” said Tom Hogarty, Lightroom's principal product manager.
Adobe has released version 4 of Photoshop Lightroom, its professional photo management application, following a beta period of about two months. But perhaps the biggest news is that Adobe has permanently cut the price of Lightroom in half. Version 4 is priced at $149, as opposed to the $299 shipping price of version 3. The upgrade price is now $79, as opposed to the previous upgrade price of $99. "Lowering the price makes Lightroom more accessible to a broader range of photographers—from pros to amateurs,” said Tom Hogarty, Lightroom's principal product manager.
Parallels Desktop Update Supports Windows 8 Preview, Mountain Lion
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Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac has been updated to provide experimental support for Windows 8 Consumer Preview, including simple download and automatic installation of Windows 8 via the Parallels New Virtual Machine Wizard.
The update also adds experimental support for OS X Mountain Lion Developer Preview as both a host and guest. Now Mac enthusiasts and developers alike can safely try Windows 8 Consumer Preview and OS X Mountain Lion in Parallels Desktop 7 virtual machines to protect their Mac from potential mishaps or corruption of important files that can occur with preview versions of software, says Parallels CEO Birger Steen.
Additionally, Parallels Mobile users can remotely access and control their Mac as well as its Windows 8 and OS X Mountain Lion virtual machines, applications and files, via their iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. A free trial of the No. 1-selling Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac software is available for download at http://www.parallels.com/desktop. Current Parallels Desktop 7 users can get the update by selecting the Parallels Desktop menu and clicking Check for Updates.
Parallels allows you to get and automatically install the free Windows 8 Consumer Preview by going to the Parallels Desktop menu and selecting File, New and Windows 8 Consumer Preview in the Parallels New Virtual Machine Wizard. In just a few clicks, Parallels Desktop 7 automatically downloads and installs Windows 8 Consumer Preview (English, German, French, Japanese or Chinese simplified) in a new virtual machine so you can discover and play with the dramatically redesigned Windows operating system and use your Mac OS X applications and files at the same time – without rebooting.
Microsoft recommends that users don’t install Windows 8 Consumer Preview on their primary machine, given that is not a final version and could crash, causing the loss or corruption of important files. If Windows 8 crashes or corrupts files when it is running in a Parallels Desktop 7, you can simply delete the Windows 8 virtual machine and start over without any damage to your Mac.
Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac has been updated to provide experimental support for Windows 8 Consumer Preview, including simple download and automatic installation of Windows 8 via the Parallels New Virtual Machine Wizard.
The update also adds experimental support for OS X Mountain Lion Developer Preview as both a host and guest. Now Mac enthusiasts and developers alike can safely try Windows 8 Consumer Preview and OS X Mountain Lion in Parallels Desktop 7 virtual machines to protect their Mac from potential mishaps or corruption of important files that can occur with preview versions of software, says Parallels CEO Birger Steen.
Additionally, Parallels Mobile users can remotely access and control their Mac as well as its Windows 8 and OS X Mountain Lion virtual machines, applications and files, via their iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. A free trial of the No. 1-selling Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac software is available for download at http://www.parallels.com/desktop. Current Parallels Desktop 7 users can get the update by selecting the Parallels Desktop menu and clicking Check for Updates.
Parallels allows you to get and automatically install the free Windows 8 Consumer Preview by going to the Parallels Desktop menu and selecting File, New and Windows 8 Consumer Preview in the Parallels New Virtual Machine Wizard. In just a few clicks, Parallels Desktop 7 automatically downloads and installs Windows 8 Consumer Preview (English, German, French, Japanese or Chinese simplified) in a new virtual machine so you can discover and play with the dramatically redesigned Windows operating system and use your Mac OS X applications and files at the same time – without rebooting.
Microsoft recommends that users don’t install Windows 8 Consumer Preview on their primary machine, given that is not a final version and could crash, causing the loss or corruption of important files. If Windows 8 crashes or corrupts files when it is running in a Parallels Desktop 7, you can simply delete the Windows 8 virtual machine and start over without any damage to your Mac.
Microsoft Windows 8 Consumer Preview detailed impressions
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From Engadget
The early days of Windows were inauspicious ones. Sitting on top of DOS, it was hardly a revolution in personal computing -- instead it felt like a disjointed platform perched uncomfortably atop a command prompt, ready to come crashing down at any moment. That's what it was, and often that's what it did. The early days of Windows required constant jumps from GUI to shell as users ran a wide assortment of apps, only some of which played nice inside a window.
It was over a decade later, after Windows 95, that the operating system would truly ditch its DOS underpinnings and feel like a totally integrated system. Why are we reminiscing? Because we're reaching that same point again. With the Windows 8 Consumer Preview, Microsoft is showing off the most complete version of the company's most modern operating system, yet in many ways it feels like 1985 all over again -- like there are two separate systems here struggling to co-exist. How well do they get along? Click Read More below to see the lot!
From Engadget
The early days of Windows were inauspicious ones. Sitting on top of DOS, it was hardly a revolution in personal computing -- instead it felt like a disjointed platform perched uncomfortably atop a command prompt, ready to come crashing down at any moment. That's what it was, and often that's what it did. The early days of Windows required constant jumps from GUI to shell as users ran a wide assortment of apps, only some of which played nice inside a window.
It was over a decade later, after Windows 95, that the operating system would truly ditch its DOS underpinnings and feel like a totally integrated system. Why are we reminiscing? Because we're reaching that same point again. With the Windows 8 Consumer Preview, Microsoft is showing off the most complete version of the company's most modern operating system, yet in many ways it feels like 1985 all over again -- like there are two separate systems here struggling to co-exist. How well do they get along? Click Read More below to see the lot!
Apple Acquires Chomp to Recreate App Store Search and Discovery
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Apple is acquiring three-year old startup Chomp and plans to use the company's technology and expertise to improve the App Store's search and app discovery technology, according to a report from TechCrunch.
We first covered Chomp in November 2009 to announce their seed funding. Since then, they’ve grown their scope to include not only iPhone apps, but Android apps as well. In fact, Chomp currently has a deal with Verizon to power all of their Android-based app searches. That relationship, obviously, is going to get a bit awkward with this acquisition.
My understanding is that such deals will remain intact for now but are likely to end once the Chomp team and product transitions over to Apple. The same is likely true for Chomp’s stand-alone products.
The terms of the deal haven't been disclosed, but TechCrunch reports that the deal isn't merely about talent -- Apple wants Chomp's technology as well. Chomp has raised more than $2.5 million in funding and apparently all investors are very pleased with the outcome. Chomp's 20 or so employees are reportedly all headed for Apple.
Apple generally prefers to make small to medium size acquisitions of talent and technology, rather than spending huge sums of its $100 billion cash hoard. Earlier this year, Apple paid some $390 million to acquire Israeli flash memory firm Anobit.
Apple is acquiring three-year old startup Chomp and plans to use the company's technology and expertise to improve the App Store's search and app discovery technology, according to a report from TechCrunch.
We first covered Chomp in November 2009 to announce their seed funding. Since then, they’ve grown their scope to include not only iPhone apps, but Android apps as well. In fact, Chomp currently has a deal with Verizon to power all of their Android-based app searches. That relationship, obviously, is going to get a bit awkward with this acquisition.
My understanding is that such deals will remain intact for now but are likely to end once the Chomp team and product transitions over to Apple. The same is likely true for Chomp’s stand-alone products.
The terms of the deal haven't been disclosed, but TechCrunch reports that the deal isn't merely about talent -- Apple wants Chomp's technology as well. Chomp has raised more than $2.5 million in funding and apparently all investors are very pleased with the outcome. Chomp's 20 or so employees are reportedly all headed for Apple.
Apple generally prefers to make small to medium size acquisitions of talent and technology, rather than spending huge sums of its $100 billion cash hoard. Earlier this year, Apple paid some $390 million to acquire Israeli flash memory firm Anobit.
Microsoft readies final Windows 8 Consumer Preview build 8250
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Microsoft is on the verge of signing off the final version of its Windows 8 Consumer Preview. That is the word from a number of sources who tell us that the company has stopped compiling beta builds of Windows 8. The final build will be signed off officially on Friday and is expected to be numbered 8250.
Microsoft will unveil its Windows 8 Consumer Preview work during a special event at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona next Wednesday. We are told that the company will release the preview to the public at the beginning of the event, which kicks off at 3PM CET (9AM ET). Build 8250 includes a number of preinstalled games and applications, as well as the new Windows 8 logo. Microsoft has also removed the traditional Start button orb in build 8250, replacing it with the new logo on the charms bar. We will be reporting live from Microsoft's MWC event, so stay tuned for the full details on Windows 8 Consumer Preview.
HP x86 Windows 8 PCs will be available by the holidays.
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On HP's earnings call today CEO Meg Whitman told reporters that the company "will be well positioned on Windows 8 x86 by the holidays" — confirming that the world's largest PC maker will release a product that runs the new operating system by years' end. With HP's less-than-stellar quarter, the CEO noted the company's dependance on Windows, saying that the better Windows 8 is, the better the computer manufacturer will do. While Windows 8 availability isn't yet known, it's expected to be released around October of this year. Meg Whitman hopes Microsoft sticks to that schedule, saying that "we're rooting for a fantastic Windows 8 product that's out on time for holiday." The CEO only mentioned x86 systems, so it's not known if the company has any plans to join Microsoft in support oflow-powered ARM chips in Windows 8.
On HP's earnings call today CEO Meg Whitman told reporters that the company "will be well positioned on Windows 8 x86 by the holidays" — confirming that the world's largest PC maker will release a product that runs the new operating system by years' end. With HP's less-than-stellar quarter, the CEO noted the company's dependance on Windows, saying that the better Windows 8 is, the better the computer manufacturer will do. While Windows 8 availability isn't yet known, it's expected to be released around October of this year. Meg Whitman hopes Microsoft sticks to that schedule, saying that "we're rooting for a fantastic Windows 8 product that's out on time for holiday." The CEO only mentioned x86 systems, so it's not known if the company has any plans to join Microsoft in support oflow-powered ARM chips in Windows 8.
Microsoft reveals Windows 8's new logo: 'It's a window... not a flag'
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Microsoft is making plenty of big changes with its Windows 8 operating system, and that has now also extended to a new logo. As explained by Microsoft's Sam Moreau in a post on the official Windows blog, the logo was created with the help of the design agency Pentagram, which posed a simple question when it began on the project: "your name is Windows. Why are you a flag?" That discussion eventually led to the four-paned window you see above, which not only looks more like a window than the previous logos, but clearly echoes the company's new Metro design language. Microsoft also notes that the logo is "authentically digital," and says it will welcome you with a slight tilt and change color based on your desktop. You can see a bigger version after the break, and read the full story of its creation (along with a look back at past logos) at the source link below.
Microsoft is making plenty of big changes with its Windows 8 operating system, and that has now also extended to a new logo. As explained by Microsoft's Sam Moreau in a post on the official Windows blog, the logo was created with the help of the design agency Pentagram, which posed a simple question when it began on the project: "your name is Windows. Why are you a flag?" That discussion eventually led to the four-paned window you see above, which not only looks more like a window than the previous logos, but clearly echoes the company's new Metro design language. Microsoft also notes that the logo is "authentically digital," and says it will welcome you with a slight tilt and change color based on your desktop. You can see a bigger version after the break, and read the full story of its creation (along with a look back at past logos) at the source link below.
Software Update to Move Inside Mac App Store in OS X Mountain Lion
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Apple's Software Update has long been the primary method for users updating their systems, with the tool accessible through the Apple icon in the menu bar offering automatic weekly checks for new software updates from Apple. But as shown byiClarified, Apple is doing away with the standalone Software Update tool in OS X Mountain Lion and integrating it directly into the Mac App Store.
Pocket-lint has more on Apple's decision:
Currently Apple's Software Update system in Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, and Mac OS X 10.7 Lion force users to use a dedicated update procedure that constantly checks to see if updates are available. Apple now feels, it seems, that this way of doing things might be slightly confusing to users coming from an iPhone or iPad who are used to seeing updates for apps appear in the App Store rather than buried elsewhere.
Explaining to Pocket-lint in a behind-closed-doors briefing for the new developer preview of Mac OS X Mountain Lion, Apple has told us that the new method will offer updates to the OS and Apple applications in a similar way to how it does on iOS via the App Store, but in this case via the Mac App Store.
The report notes that the move appears to require that users sign up for an Apple ID if they have not done so already in order to access the updates, and also encourages them to keep the Mac App Store within easy access in their Docks so that they will notice badges informing them of available updates.
Apple's Software Update has long been the primary method for users updating their systems, with the tool accessible through the Apple icon in the menu bar offering automatic weekly checks for new software updates from Apple. But as shown byiClarified, Apple is doing away with the standalone Software Update tool in OS X Mountain Lion and integrating it directly into the Mac App Store.
Pocket-lint has more on Apple's decision:
Currently Apple's Software Update system in Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, and Mac OS X 10.7 Lion force users to use a dedicated update procedure that constantly checks to see if updates are available. Apple now feels, it seems, that this way of doing things might be slightly confusing to users coming from an iPhone or iPad who are used to seeing updates for apps appear in the App Store rather than buried elsewhere.
Explaining to Pocket-lint in a behind-closed-doors briefing for the new developer preview of Mac OS X Mountain Lion, Apple has told us that the new method will offer updates to the OS and Apple applications in a similar way to how it does on iOS via the App Store, but in this case via the Mac App Store.
The report notes that the move appears to require that users sign up for an Apple ID if they have not done so already in order to access the updates, and also encourages them to keep the Mac App Store within easy access in their Docks so that they will notice badges informing them of available updates.
Apple Officially Drops 'Mac' Name from OS X Mountain Lio
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With the launch of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion in the middle of last year, Apple was clearly trending towards dropping the 'Mac' From 'Mac OS X', which has been the name of the Macintosh operating system for more than 10 years.
Though it still used the 'Mac OS X' naming scheme in press releases, Apple called the new system 'OS X Lion' on both the main product webpage and the Mac App Store product page [Direct Link].
As The Verge points out, Apple has completed the transition to 'OS X' across both the Mountain Lion product pages, and the press release announcing the developer preview.
We confirmed the official name change with Apple, who told us that the preferred full name is "OS X Mountain Lion".
The Macintosh (as Tim Cook prefers to call it) brand is still alive and well, though Apple seems to be focusing that term on hardware, instead of software.
Lion was the beginning of a unification of sorts between the Mac OS and iOS. It was, as Steve Jobs put it, what would happen if a MacBook Air and an iPad "hooked up". iOS is based on Mac OS X and, at a fundamental level, there are more similarities than differences between the two operating systems. Dropping 'Mac' completely from the name of the OS solidifies the subtle, but important, distinction between hardware and software.
OS X Mountain Lion is expected to be released later this year.
With the launch of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion in the middle of last year, Apple was clearly trending towards dropping the 'Mac' From 'Mac OS X', which has been the name of the Macintosh operating system for more than 10 years.
Though it still used the 'Mac OS X' naming scheme in press releases, Apple called the new system 'OS X Lion' on both the main product webpage and the Mac App Store product page [Direct Link].
As The Verge points out, Apple has completed the transition to 'OS X' across both the Mountain Lion product pages, and the press release announcing the developer preview.
We confirmed the official name change with Apple, who told us that the preferred full name is "OS X Mountain Lion".
The Macintosh (as Tim Cook prefers to call it) brand is still alive and well, though Apple seems to be focusing that term on hardware, instead of software.
Lion was the beginning of a unification of sorts between the Mac OS and iOS. It was, as Steve Jobs put it, what would happen if a MacBook Air and an iPad "hooked up". iOS is based on Mac OS X and, at a fundamental level, there are more similarities than differences between the two operating systems. Dropping 'Mac' completely from the name of the OS solidifies the subtle, but important, distinction between hardware and software.
OS X Mountain Lion is expected to be released later this year.
Apple's new Messages app for OS X is available to download now
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A beta version of Apple's new Messages app, which will be part of Mac OS X Mountain Lion, is available to download now from Apple's website. If you're interested in giving it a shot, you'll need to have upgraded to 10.7.3 Here is the link http://www.apple.com/macosx/mountain-lion/messages-beta/
Of course, the big new feature (aside from the redesigned interface) is the integration of Apple's iMessage service. This previously was an iOS-only affair, but now you can send messages seamlessly between your Mac and iOS devices using your iCloud account. In a quick test, Messages on Lion seems to work much like it does when running on Mountain Lion. The install process was a little less elegant that we've come to expect from Apple and required a reboot, but was pretty straightforward in the end. Upon launching the app, you're prompted to enter your Apple ID (or create one if necessary); you can then choose whether you want to turn on read receipts and add additional email addresses you can be reached at.
Messages imports all your account settings from iChat, so if you've set up AIM, Gtalk, or other messaging accounts they'll be ready for you to use. Unfortunately iMessages don't sync between your phone, iPad, and computer out of the box by default. If your friends are sending messages to your phone number (using iMessage as a replacement for SMS), they won't also automatically sync to the Messages app on your Mac — you'll need people to start sending messages to your Apple ID email instead. To make that easier, you can set your Caller ID to your Apple ID in the Messages app preferences on iOS. Once that's done, the service works beautifully, but it might be a bit of a pain to tell your friends to stop messaging you at your phone number.
Aside from these quirks (which already existed when trying to sync messages across an iPad and iPhone), Messages appears to run quite smoothly on Lion. If Apple can resolve the phone number / Apple ID issue between now and Mountain Lion's launch, we'll really have something useful on our hands.
A beta version of Apple's new Messages app, which will be part of Mac OS X Mountain Lion, is available to download now from Apple's website. If you're interested in giving it a shot, you'll need to have upgraded to 10.7.3 Here is the link http://www.apple.com/macosx/mountain-lion/messages-beta/
Of course, the big new feature (aside from the redesigned interface) is the integration of Apple's iMessage service. This previously was an iOS-only affair, but now you can send messages seamlessly between your Mac and iOS devices using your iCloud account. In a quick test, Messages on Lion seems to work much like it does when running on Mountain Lion. The install process was a little less elegant that we've come to expect from Apple and required a reboot, but was pretty straightforward in the end. Upon launching the app, you're prompted to enter your Apple ID (or create one if necessary); you can then choose whether you want to turn on read receipts and add additional email addresses you can be reached at.
Messages imports all your account settings from iChat, so if you've set up AIM, Gtalk, or other messaging accounts they'll be ready for you to use. Unfortunately iMessages don't sync between your phone, iPad, and computer out of the box by default. If your friends are sending messages to your phone number (using iMessage as a replacement for SMS), they won't also automatically sync to the Messages app on your Mac — you'll need people to start sending messages to your Apple ID email instead. To make that easier, you can set your Caller ID to your Apple ID in the Messages app preferences on iOS. Once that's done, the service works beautifully, but it might be a bit of a pain to tell your friends to stop messaging you at your phone number.
Aside from these quirks (which already existed when trying to sync messages across an iPad and iPhone), Messages appears to run quite smoothly on Lion. If Apple can resolve the phone number / Apple ID issue between now and Mountain Lion's launch, we'll really have something useful on our hands.
Apple's new OS X: Mountain Lion. Lots of new features 2012 release
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Apple updates its iOS mobile operating system once a year. But why should the iPhone and iPad have all the fun? On Thursday Apple announced that it will release a new version of OS X—Mountain Lion—this summer, just a year after the release of OS X Lion.
Like Lion, Mountain Lion offers numerous feature additions that will be familiar to iOS users. This OS X release continues Apple’s philosophy of bringing iOS features “back to the Mac,” and includes iMessage, Reminders, Notes, Notification Center, Twitter integration, Game Center, and AirPlay Mirroring.
Mountain Lion offers new features such as (left to right) Notes, Reminders, Messages, and Notification Center.
As the first OS X release post-iCloud, there’s also much more thorough integration with Apple’s data-syncing service. Mountain Lion also brings options to limit which kinds of apps users can install. And although there are no actual mountain lions in China, OS X Mountain Lion does add a raft of features to speak to users in the country that’s Apple’s biggest growth opportunity.
Mountain Lion will be a paid upgrade to OS X; like Lion, it will be available only via a Mac App Store download. Apple hasn’t yet set a price or a release date more specific than “summer.” Mac developers will be able to download a developer release of Mountain Lion on Thursday, giving them several months to update their apps to take advantage of the new features in the release.
I’ve had a few days to use an early development version of Mountain Lion. Here’s a look at what’s new so far, keeping in mind that Apple may add and change features over the next few months as we get closer to the planned release.
iOS apps come to the Mac
The new Notes app looks quite familiar.
Mountain Lion comes with several new apps that will seem quite familiar to iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch users. Reminders, Notes, and Game Center have all made the move to the Mac.
Reminders and Notes look very much like they do on iOS. And thanks to iCloud syncing, they’ll display the same data that shows up on your mobile devices. These are still quite simple apps—the goal seems to have been to provide parity with their iOS analogs. The Notes app does support rich text, so you can choose different fonts, insert photos and attachments, create bulleted lists, and drag in URLs to create hyperlinks.
Game Center was introduced to users with iOS 4.1 in September 2010, and expanded in iOS 5. Now it comes to the Mac, letting Mac gamers find friends and compare their gaming prowess, as well as play against each other. Mac game developers get access to a centralized system for network play, opponent matching, in-game voice chat, and more. And yes, Game Center can work across platforms, so games that run on both Mac and iOS can interoperate.
iChat becomes Messages
There’s never been a version of iChat for iOS—instead, Apple handles text messages using the Messages app. That app started life as the Text app, which was used just for SMS messaging on the iPhone, but when Apple introduced the new iMessage communication system, it renamed the app Messages.
With Mountain Lion, the same thing’s happening to Lion. All the features of iChat are still there, but the app’s been renamed Messages and it now supports iMessage (and is now integrated with FaceTime). You can use Messages to send text or images to anyone on a device capable of using iMessage—namely, devices running iOS 5, and Macs running Messages. Unlike SMS text messages, the iMessage system transfers data via the Internet, so there are no text charges.
Like Messages on the iPhone, Messages for Mac lets you hold multi-person chats and can optionally let people know when you’ve received and read their messages and when you’re typing a reply. An integrated video-chat button allows you to kick off a video chat with capable devices, either over AIM (as iChat has always done) or by launching the FaceTime app.
For iOS 5 users who have been waiting for iChat to support iMessage, this is great news—but having to wait until Mountain Lion’s release this summer would be an exercise in frustration. There’s good news on that front: Apple says that Lion users will be able to download a beta version of Messages starting Thursday. The final version will be available in Mountain Lion.
For more in-depth information on Messages, check out our Messages beta hands-on.
Enter Notification Center
A Notification Center alert.
Sometimes one of your apps needs to get your attention. For years, many Mac app developers have built their own (think reminder pop-ups in iCal or Microsoft Office). The open-source project Growl has for years attempted to create a more general notification system supported by lots of apps.
With Mountain Lion, Mac OS X gains a system-level notification system accessible to every developer, with features much like those already found in iOS. Alerts appear in the top right corner of the screen in a small bubble. Notifications remain there for five seconds, and then slide off screen to the right. Alerts, on the other hand, remain on-screen until you click on the Show or Close (or in the case of some alerts, Snooze) buttons.
The Notifications preference pane.
In iOS 5, you see all your recent notifications by pulling down from the top of the screen to reveal Notification Center. In Mountain Lion, the Notification Center list is a narrow band that lives just to off the right side of your screen. You can reveal it either by clicking on the new Notification Center icon at the far right of the menu bar, or by swiping with two fingers starting at the far right edge of the trackpad. Either way, your Mac’s entire screen will slide to the left, revealing a list of what’s been trying to get your attention recently.
There’s also a new Notifications pane in the System Preferences app, analogous to the Notifications submenu in iOS’s Settings app. From here you can choose which apps appear within Notification Center and how their alert bubbles behave.
Gatekeeper blocks apps… the first time
You'll be warned if you try to turn off Gatekeeper.
When Apple introduced the Mac App Store, the rumblings started: A lot of people wondered if the Mac was headed for an iOS-like future, one in which only Apple-approved apps could run on the Mac.
But with Lion and now Mountain Lion, those fears haven’t become reality. You can still run third-party apps to your heart’s content. However, with Mountain Lion, Apple is introducing a new feature called Gatekeeper that allows users to choose for themselves what kinds of apps can be installed on their Macs.
Right now, OS X checks an app the first time it launches, and displays a warning. It’s an attempt to prevent malware apps from launching when you never intended them to. In Mountain Lion, that feature has been extended and tied into a new setting in the Security & Privacy pane of System Preferences.
By default, Mountain Lion will only let Mac App Store apps and Apps from “identified developers” launch for the first time. To become an “identified developer,” Mac developers have to register with Apple and get a personalized certificate, which they then use to cryptographically sign their apps. Apple doesn’t do any sort of background check on the developer, and it doesn’t see any of the software.
Apple says that although these apps aren’t as safe as Mac App Store apps, they’re safer for a couple of reasons. First, a signed app can’t be modified (to add in some spyware, for example) without breaking the signature. By default, Mountain Lion will refuse to launch an app modified in that way. Second, if it turns out that an app from a particular developer is actually malware, Apple has the ability to revoke that developer’s license—at which point no future Mac users will be able to install software from that developer.
The user can set Mountain Lion to be broader or narrower with the list of apps it’s willing to launch. There’s an option to allow only Mac App Store software to run, and an option to allow any app to run. The latter option is the equivalent of what’s been the case in all previous versions of OS X.
For a more in-depth look at Gatekeeper, read our Hands on with Gatekeeper story.
Sharing and Twitter
A Share Sheet in Safari on Mountain Lion.
Mountain Lion introduces an interface element inspired by iOS—Share Sheets. They’re a pop-up menu that appears when you click on the Share icon in an app. Apple has implemented Share Sheets in several Mountain Lion apps, including Safari, Preview, and Notes, and developers can add them to their apps as well.
A Share Sheet provides a quick way to share whatever you’re working on—a photo in iPhoto, a webpage in Safari, a document in Notes—with other services. If you share a webpage from Safari, you can choose to insert it (or just its URL) in a new Mail message, or insert a link in a new message in Messages, or even compose a tweet containing the URL. From Preview, you can choose to email the document you’re viewing, send it via Messages, tweet it via Twitter, upload it to Flickr, or transfer it locally via AirDrop.
Sharing a webpage to Twitter from within Safari.
Most of these aren’t really new functions. What’s different is that Apple has centralized them and given developers access to this element, which presumably will lead to a more consistent sharing interface in future Mac apps. If that sounds familiar, it is: This is once again an example of the Mac taking a page from iOS, in this case from the Share button that’s found commonly throughout iOS.
In most contexts, Share Sheets will include a Twitter option. That’s because Mountain Lion is joining iOS 5 in adding system-level support for the popular communication service. You can add your Twitter account information in the Mail, Contacts & Calendars system preference (which is just dying to be renamed to Accounts). Once that’s done, it becomes easy to quickly share items from just about anywhere via a Share Sheet. Select Twitter and a small floating composition window appears, allowing you to write and send a tweet quickly, without leaving the app you’re working in.
Twitter integration doesn’t stop there. You can also use Twitter to populate the avatars of friends in your Contacts list with their Twitter profile pictures. (Yes, Address Book has been re-named Contacts in Mountain Lion to match its counterpart app in iOS.) Tweet notifications can also optionally appear automatically in Notification Center.
The new Twitter preferences in the Mail, Contacts, and Calendars preference pane.
iCloud integration
Lion and iCloud were developed in parallel. As a result, while the current version of Mac OS X supports Apple’s suite of online services, it doesn’t truly embrace it. One of Apple’s goals in Mountain Lion is to truly integrate iCloud throughout the system.
It starts at setup: In Setup Assistant, the system will ask you for your Apple ID and will sync your existing accounts, settings, and personal data. It might not be quite as thorough as restoring an iOS backup from iCloud, but the idea is that your iCloud account will unlock a whole bunch of Mac data so you don’t have to keep re-entering it on every new system you use.
Mountain Lion also brings a new Documents in the Cloud view to the traditional Open and Save dialog boxes. Any apps that support Documents in the Cloud will open to an iCloud view that displays documents available via iCloud, with most recent items first. You can organize this view by dragging one document on top of another and creating a folder, iOS-style. (There’s also an On My Mac button that will display a more standard file-picking interface, if you want to open something that’s on your hard drive.)
AirPlay mirroring
Mirroring a Mac screen to an HDTV is easy in Mountain Lion.
iOS 5 introduced the concept of AirPlay mirroring, in which an iPad 2 or iPhone 4S can display the contents of its screen on any HDTV that’s connected to a second-generation Apple TV.
The Mac joins the party with Mountain Lion, which will send a 720p video stream of what’s on your Mac’s screen to the Apple TV. When a Mac running Mountain Lion senses the presence of an Apple TV on the local network, an AirPlay icon appears in the menu bar. Click and select an Apple TV, and you’re mirroring.
In other words, an Apple TV will soon also be a wireless display adapter for the Mac, letting you display webpages, YouTube videos, iTunes rentals, Keynote presentations, or anything else you can think of onto an HDTV without any added wires. (Apple says that only Macs with second-generation Intel Core processors can use this feature.)
Safari tweaks
Safari's URL bar now features integrated search.
Apple isn’t making a big deal about changes to the Safari Web browser in Mountain Lion, but I noticed a few new additions. There’s a Share Sheet in the toolbar, with options to add a page to Reading List, add a Bookmark, email the page, send the page to Messages, or share it via a Tweet. The Safari Reader button has gotten large and now sits just to the right of the address bar, turning blue when a page is eligible for reader.
Gone from next to the address bar is the search box. Instead, at long last, Apple has unified the address bar and the search box. Now if you type “fourth doctor” into that box, you’ll get a bunch of links about Tom Baker instead of an error message telling you that Safari can’t find the website “http://fourth%20doctor/.” The address bar also now omits the http:// prefix on URLs, and while the main part of the site is displayed in black text, the rest of the URL displays in gray.
The new Safari toolbar emphasizes the domain name of the page you're browsing and has a more prominent Reader button.
And although I couldn’t find this feature in the version I tested, Apple says that Mountain Lion will bring the ability to sync Safari tabs to iCloud, so your open browser tabs can sync between Macs.
tacts, and Calendar syncing will be supported to Chinese service providers QQ, 126, and 163.
Just the beginning
Of course, this is only the first disclosure by Apple about what’s in Mountain Lion. There are undoubtedly dozens, if not hundreds, of minor tweaks and small new features being added. And there might even be big ones as yet undisclosed—after all, we’re four to seven months away from Mountain Lion’s arrival.
If you’re a Mac user, the best news about Mountain Lion is this: Apple doesn’t seem to be reducing OS X’s development cycle and putting it in maintenance mode. Instead, OS X releases seem to be accelerating, perhaps so that the annual release cycles of iOS and Mac OS X can feed off one another.
It’s also clear that with both Lion releases, Apple is dead serious about making Mac OS X and iOS as synced up as they possibly can be, both in terms of interface and—thanks to iCloud—data. Mac users who aren’t fans of iOS might complain, but these days Apple sells many times more iOS devices than Macs in any given quarter. Having all of Apple’s products bear a family resemblance to one another can only help.
Apple updates its iOS mobile operating system once a year. But why should the iPhone and iPad have all the fun? On Thursday Apple announced that it will release a new version of OS X—Mountain Lion—this summer, just a year after the release of OS X Lion.
Like Lion, Mountain Lion offers numerous feature additions that will be familiar to iOS users. This OS X release continues Apple’s philosophy of bringing iOS features “back to the Mac,” and includes iMessage, Reminders, Notes, Notification Center, Twitter integration, Game Center, and AirPlay Mirroring.
Mountain Lion offers new features such as (left to right) Notes, Reminders, Messages, and Notification Center.
As the first OS X release post-iCloud, there’s also much more thorough integration with Apple’s data-syncing service. Mountain Lion also brings options to limit which kinds of apps users can install. And although there are no actual mountain lions in China, OS X Mountain Lion does add a raft of features to speak to users in the country that’s Apple’s biggest growth opportunity.
Mountain Lion will be a paid upgrade to OS X; like Lion, it will be available only via a Mac App Store download. Apple hasn’t yet set a price or a release date more specific than “summer.” Mac developers will be able to download a developer release of Mountain Lion on Thursday, giving them several months to update their apps to take advantage of the new features in the release.
I’ve had a few days to use an early development version of Mountain Lion. Here’s a look at what’s new so far, keeping in mind that Apple may add and change features over the next few months as we get closer to the planned release.
iOS apps come to the Mac
The new Notes app looks quite familiar.
Mountain Lion comes with several new apps that will seem quite familiar to iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch users. Reminders, Notes, and Game Center have all made the move to the Mac.
Reminders and Notes look very much like they do on iOS. And thanks to iCloud syncing, they’ll display the same data that shows up on your mobile devices. These are still quite simple apps—the goal seems to have been to provide parity with their iOS analogs. The Notes app does support rich text, so you can choose different fonts, insert photos and attachments, create bulleted lists, and drag in URLs to create hyperlinks.
Game Center was introduced to users with iOS 4.1 in September 2010, and expanded in iOS 5. Now it comes to the Mac, letting Mac gamers find friends and compare their gaming prowess, as well as play against each other. Mac game developers get access to a centralized system for network play, opponent matching, in-game voice chat, and more. And yes, Game Center can work across platforms, so games that run on both Mac and iOS can interoperate.
iChat becomes Messages
There’s never been a version of iChat for iOS—instead, Apple handles text messages using the Messages app. That app started life as the Text app, which was used just for SMS messaging on the iPhone, but when Apple introduced the new iMessage communication system, it renamed the app Messages.
With Mountain Lion, the same thing’s happening to Lion. All the features of iChat are still there, but the app’s been renamed Messages and it now supports iMessage (and is now integrated with FaceTime). You can use Messages to send text or images to anyone on a device capable of using iMessage—namely, devices running iOS 5, and Macs running Messages. Unlike SMS text messages, the iMessage system transfers data via the Internet, so there are no text charges.
Like Messages on the iPhone, Messages for Mac lets you hold multi-person chats and can optionally let people know when you’ve received and read their messages and when you’re typing a reply. An integrated video-chat button allows you to kick off a video chat with capable devices, either over AIM (as iChat has always done) or by launching the FaceTime app.
For iOS 5 users who have been waiting for iChat to support iMessage, this is great news—but having to wait until Mountain Lion’s release this summer would be an exercise in frustration. There’s good news on that front: Apple says that Lion users will be able to download a beta version of Messages starting Thursday. The final version will be available in Mountain Lion.
For more in-depth information on Messages, check out our Messages beta hands-on.
Enter Notification Center
A Notification Center alert.
Sometimes one of your apps needs to get your attention. For years, many Mac app developers have built their own (think reminder pop-ups in iCal or Microsoft Office). The open-source project Growl has for years attempted to create a more general notification system supported by lots of apps.
With Mountain Lion, Mac OS X gains a system-level notification system accessible to every developer, with features much like those already found in iOS. Alerts appear in the top right corner of the screen in a small bubble. Notifications remain there for five seconds, and then slide off screen to the right. Alerts, on the other hand, remain on-screen until you click on the Show or Close (or in the case of some alerts, Snooze) buttons.
The Notifications preference pane.
In iOS 5, you see all your recent notifications by pulling down from the top of the screen to reveal Notification Center. In Mountain Lion, the Notification Center list is a narrow band that lives just to off the right side of your screen. You can reveal it either by clicking on the new Notification Center icon at the far right of the menu bar, or by swiping with two fingers starting at the far right edge of the trackpad. Either way, your Mac’s entire screen will slide to the left, revealing a list of what’s been trying to get your attention recently.
There’s also a new Notifications pane in the System Preferences app, analogous to the Notifications submenu in iOS’s Settings app. From here you can choose which apps appear within Notification Center and how their alert bubbles behave.
Gatekeeper blocks apps… the first time
You'll be warned if you try to turn off Gatekeeper.
When Apple introduced the Mac App Store, the rumblings started: A lot of people wondered if the Mac was headed for an iOS-like future, one in which only Apple-approved apps could run on the Mac.
But with Lion and now Mountain Lion, those fears haven’t become reality. You can still run third-party apps to your heart’s content. However, with Mountain Lion, Apple is introducing a new feature called Gatekeeper that allows users to choose for themselves what kinds of apps can be installed on their Macs.
Right now, OS X checks an app the first time it launches, and displays a warning. It’s an attempt to prevent malware apps from launching when you never intended them to. In Mountain Lion, that feature has been extended and tied into a new setting in the Security & Privacy pane of System Preferences.
By default, Mountain Lion will only let Mac App Store apps and Apps from “identified developers” launch for the first time. To become an “identified developer,” Mac developers have to register with Apple and get a personalized certificate, which they then use to cryptographically sign their apps. Apple doesn’t do any sort of background check on the developer, and it doesn’t see any of the software.
Apple says that although these apps aren’t as safe as Mac App Store apps, they’re safer for a couple of reasons. First, a signed app can’t be modified (to add in some spyware, for example) without breaking the signature. By default, Mountain Lion will refuse to launch an app modified in that way. Second, if it turns out that an app from a particular developer is actually malware, Apple has the ability to revoke that developer’s license—at which point no future Mac users will be able to install software from that developer.
The user can set Mountain Lion to be broader or narrower with the list of apps it’s willing to launch. There’s an option to allow only Mac App Store software to run, and an option to allow any app to run. The latter option is the equivalent of what’s been the case in all previous versions of OS X.
For a more in-depth look at Gatekeeper, read our Hands on with Gatekeeper story.
Sharing and Twitter
A Share Sheet in Safari on Mountain Lion.
Mountain Lion introduces an interface element inspired by iOS—Share Sheets. They’re a pop-up menu that appears when you click on the Share icon in an app. Apple has implemented Share Sheets in several Mountain Lion apps, including Safari, Preview, and Notes, and developers can add them to their apps as well.
A Share Sheet provides a quick way to share whatever you’re working on—a photo in iPhoto, a webpage in Safari, a document in Notes—with other services. If you share a webpage from Safari, you can choose to insert it (or just its URL) in a new Mail message, or insert a link in a new message in Messages, or even compose a tweet containing the URL. From Preview, you can choose to email the document you’re viewing, send it via Messages, tweet it via Twitter, upload it to Flickr, or transfer it locally via AirDrop.
Sharing a webpage to Twitter from within Safari.
Most of these aren’t really new functions. What’s different is that Apple has centralized them and given developers access to this element, which presumably will lead to a more consistent sharing interface in future Mac apps. If that sounds familiar, it is: This is once again an example of the Mac taking a page from iOS, in this case from the Share button that’s found commonly throughout iOS.
In most contexts, Share Sheets will include a Twitter option. That’s because Mountain Lion is joining iOS 5 in adding system-level support for the popular communication service. You can add your Twitter account information in the Mail, Contacts & Calendars system preference (which is just dying to be renamed to Accounts). Once that’s done, it becomes easy to quickly share items from just about anywhere via a Share Sheet. Select Twitter and a small floating composition window appears, allowing you to write and send a tweet quickly, without leaving the app you’re working in.
Twitter integration doesn’t stop there. You can also use Twitter to populate the avatars of friends in your Contacts list with their Twitter profile pictures. (Yes, Address Book has been re-named Contacts in Mountain Lion to match its counterpart app in iOS.) Tweet notifications can also optionally appear automatically in Notification Center.
The new Twitter preferences in the Mail, Contacts, and Calendars preference pane.
iCloud integration
Lion and iCloud were developed in parallel. As a result, while the current version of Mac OS X supports Apple’s suite of online services, it doesn’t truly embrace it. One of Apple’s goals in Mountain Lion is to truly integrate iCloud throughout the system.
It starts at setup: In Setup Assistant, the system will ask you for your Apple ID and will sync your existing accounts, settings, and personal data. It might not be quite as thorough as restoring an iOS backup from iCloud, but the idea is that your iCloud account will unlock a whole bunch of Mac data so you don’t have to keep re-entering it on every new system you use.
Mountain Lion also brings a new Documents in the Cloud view to the traditional Open and Save dialog boxes. Any apps that support Documents in the Cloud will open to an iCloud view that displays documents available via iCloud, with most recent items first. You can organize this view by dragging one document on top of another and creating a folder, iOS-style. (There’s also an On My Mac button that will display a more standard file-picking interface, if you want to open something that’s on your hard drive.)
AirPlay mirroring
Mirroring a Mac screen to an HDTV is easy in Mountain Lion.
iOS 5 introduced the concept of AirPlay mirroring, in which an iPad 2 or iPhone 4S can display the contents of its screen on any HDTV that’s connected to a second-generation Apple TV.
The Mac joins the party with Mountain Lion, which will send a 720p video stream of what’s on your Mac’s screen to the Apple TV. When a Mac running Mountain Lion senses the presence of an Apple TV on the local network, an AirPlay icon appears in the menu bar. Click and select an Apple TV, and you’re mirroring.
In other words, an Apple TV will soon also be a wireless display adapter for the Mac, letting you display webpages, YouTube videos, iTunes rentals, Keynote presentations, or anything else you can think of onto an HDTV without any added wires. (Apple says that only Macs with second-generation Intel Core processors can use this feature.)
Safari tweaks
Safari's URL bar now features integrated search.
Apple isn’t making a big deal about changes to the Safari Web browser in Mountain Lion, but I noticed a few new additions. There’s a Share Sheet in the toolbar, with options to add a page to Reading List, add a Bookmark, email the page, send the page to Messages, or share it via a Tweet. The Safari Reader button has gotten large and now sits just to the right of the address bar, turning blue when a page is eligible for reader.
Gone from next to the address bar is the search box. Instead, at long last, Apple has unified the address bar and the search box. Now if you type “fourth doctor” into that box, you’ll get a bunch of links about Tom Baker instead of an error message telling you that Safari can’t find the website “http://fourth%20doctor/.” The address bar also now omits the http:// prefix on URLs, and while the main part of the site is displayed in black text, the rest of the URL displays in gray.
The new Safari toolbar emphasizes the domain name of the page you're browsing and has a more prominent Reader button.
And although I couldn’t find this feature in the version I tested, Apple says that Mountain Lion will bring the ability to sync Safari tabs to iCloud, so your open browser tabs can sync between Macs.
tacts, and Calendar syncing will be supported to Chinese service providers QQ, 126, and 163.
Just the beginning
Of course, this is only the first disclosure by Apple about what’s in Mountain Lion. There are undoubtedly dozens, if not hundreds, of minor tweaks and small new features being added. And there might even be big ones as yet undisclosed—after all, we’re four to seven months away from Mountain Lion’s arrival.
If you’re a Mac user, the best news about Mountain Lion is this: Apple doesn’t seem to be reducing OS X’s development cycle and putting it in maintenance mode. Instead, OS X releases seem to be accelerating, perhaps so that the annual release cycles of iOS and Mac OS X can feed off one another.
It’s also clear that with both Lion releases, Apple is dead serious about making Mac OS X and iOS as synced up as they possibly can be, both in terms of interface and—thanks to iCloud—data. Mac users who aren’t fans of iOS might complain, but these days Apple sells many times more iOS devices than Macs in any given quarter. Having all of Apple’s products bear a family resemblance to one another can only help.
Microsoft warns of dangerous IE browser vulnerabilities
Microsoft is warning all users of its Internet Explorer web browser to immediately apply the latest security patch as a precaution against malicious hacker attacks.
As part of its Patch Tuesday releases, the company shipped a high-priority IE update (MS12-010) which covers four documented vulnerabilities that could be used in drive-by downloads with minimal user action.
The Pirate Bay Says Goodbye to (Most) Torrents on February 29
www.tech-sanity.com
The Pirate Bay has confirmed that all torrent files being shared by more than 10 people will be deleted on February 29. The decision is causing a small panic among the site’s users, but in reality little will change as all files will remain available through magnet links. The Pirate Bay crew told TorrentFreak that this is merely a “step forward in technology” and confirmed that the site is here to stay.
For half a decade The Pirate Bay has been the leading BitTorrent site, but soon its users will no longer be able to download .torrent files.
The first step in this direction will be taken on February 29, the Pirate Bay announced today.
For half a decade The Pirate Bay has been the leading BitTorrent site, but soon its users will no longer be able to download .torrent files.
The first step in this direction will be taken on February 29, the Pirate Bay announced today.
Microsoft unveils Office 15 Metro design look and feel
Microsoft currently testing its own smartphone, says WSJBy Sam Byford on November 2, 2012 12:51 am Email @345triangle98COMMENTS34LikeTweet140This page has been shared 140 times. View these Tweets.85inShareMicrosoft surprised the world earlier this year when it moved into producing its own computer hardware with the Surface, but the company's plans may not stop there. According to the Wall Street
Final Cut Pro X 10.3 wins PC Magazine's 'Editor's Choice'
www.tech-sanity.com
Third free update fulfills program's promiseFinal Cut Pro X, a radical re-thinking of professional video editing that initially sparked more a revolt than the revolution Apple intended, has gone on to win PC Magazine's "Editor's Choice" award after a review of the program and the features restored and improved by its third free update. The latest version, released at the very end of January, restored multi-cam editing, broadcast monitoring and richer XML support to the suite, enabling Final Cut Pro 7 projects and third-party plug-ins. In doing so, it has begun to silence its critics.
While users completely new to pro-level non-linear editing and those used to Apple's similarly-revamped iMovie have tended to appreciate Final Cut Pro X's style, the initial reception was highly hostile from FCP 7 users, with complaints of a severe lack of features compared to the previous version, a bewildering all-new workflow, incompatibility with older projects (and the removal of Final Cut Studio from the store, a move Apple was forced to backtrack on) and more. The complaints even surfaced into parody on late-night TV as industry professionals grumbled of having the run pulled out from under them. About the only thing Apple's existing Final Cut base liked about the new version was the price -- $300 for the full suite compared to a previous price of $1,000.
Third free update fulfills program's promiseFinal Cut Pro X, a radical re-thinking of professional video editing that initially sparked more a revolt than the revolution Apple intended, has gone on to win PC Magazine's "Editor's Choice" award after a review of the program and the features restored and improved by its third free update. The latest version, released at the very end of January, restored multi-cam editing, broadcast monitoring and richer XML support to the suite, enabling Final Cut Pro 7 projects and third-party plug-ins. In doing so, it has begun to silence its critics.
While users completely new to pro-level non-linear editing and those used to Apple's similarly-revamped iMovie have tended to appreciate Final Cut Pro X's style, the initial reception was highly hostile from FCP 7 users, with complaints of a severe lack of features compared to the previous version, a bewildering all-new workflow, incompatibility with older projects (and the removal of Final Cut Studio from the store, a move Apple was forced to backtrack on) and more. The complaints even surfaced into parody on late-night TV as industry professionals grumbled of having the run pulled out from under them. About the only thing Apple's existing Final Cut base liked about the new version was the price -- $300 for the full suite compared to a previous price of $1,000.
Secret project worked to port Mac OS X to iPad-style ARM processors
Microsoft currently testing its own smartphone, says WSJBy Sam Byford on November 2, 2012 12:51 am Email @345triangle98COMMENTS34LikeTweet140This page has been shared 140 times. View these Tweets.85inShareMicrosoft surprised the world earlier this year when it moved into producing its own computer hardware with the Surface, but the company's plans may not stop there. According to the Wall Street
Native Instruments Launches Studio Drummer Special Offer
Microsoft currently testing its own smartphone, says WSJBy Sam Byford on November 2, 2012 12:51 am Email @345triangle98COMMENTS34LikeTweet140This page has been shared 140 times. View these Tweets.85inShareMicrosoft surprised the world earlier this year when it moved into producing its own computer hardware with the Surface, but the company's plans may not stop there. According to the Wall Street
Piratebay of to jail
Microsoft currently testing its own smartphone, says WSJBy Sam Byford on November 2, 2012 12:51 am Email @345triangle98COMMENTS34LikeTweet140This page has been shared 140 times. View these Tweets.85inShareMicrosoft surprised the world earlier this year when it moved into producing its own computer hardware with the Surface, but the company's plans may not stop there. According to the Wall Street
Convert Finalcut 7 to FCX with 7toX
Microsoft currently testing its own smartphone, says WSJBy Sam Byford on November 2, 2012 12:51 am Email @345triangle98COMMENTS34LikeTweet140This page has been shared 140 times. View these Tweets.85inShareMicrosoft surprised the world earlier this year when it moved into producing its own computer hardware with the Surface, but the company's plans may not stop there. According to the Wall Street
Finalcut X 10.3 Major update
Microsoft currently testing its own smartphone, says WSJBy Sam Byford on November 2, 2012 12:51 am Email @345triangle98COMMENTS34LikeTweet140This page has been shared 140 times. View these Tweets.85inShareMicrosoft surprised the world earlier this year when it moved into producing its own computer hardware with the Surface, but the company's plans may not stop there. According to the Wall Street
Firefox 10 Released
Wed, Feb 1 2012 03:12
| Software
Microsoft currently testing its own smartphone, says WSJBy Sam Byford on November 2, 2012 12:51 am Email @345triangle98COMMENTS34LikeTweet140This page has been shared 140 times. View these Tweets.85inShareMicrosoft surprised the world earlier this year when it moved into producing its own computer hardware with the Surface, but the company's plans may not stop there. According to the Wall Street
Windows 8 file management.
Microsoft currently testing its own smartphone, says WSJBy Sam Byford on November 2, 2012 12:51 am Email @345triangle98COMMENTS34LikeTweet140This page has been shared 140 times. View these Tweets.85inShareMicrosoft surprised the world earlier this year when it moved into producing its own computer hardware with the Surface, but the company's plans may not stop there. According to the Wall Street