Software & Apps News - Page 148

AMD have finally released a new WHQL-certified driver, 12.6 WHQL. Not only that, but they've released the 12.7 beta, too. Catalyst 12.6 WHQL sports a bunch of stability optimizations, whereas 12.7 beta concentrates on performance optimizations, as well as the stability.

A list of changes and resolved issues with Catalyst 12.6 WHQL:

Performance highlights of Catalyst 12.7 beta:

If you want to try a signed copy of the official Android 4.1 Jelly Bean build, then now is your chance. It has just hit the Internet and seems to only be working on the 'takju' (GSM) GALAXY Nexus' given out at Google I/O 2012, reports Android Police.

You can download it for yourself here, coming in at 156MB. The dev community should smash into this pretty quickly and GALAXY Nexus owners should be munching on those delicious jelly beans shortly.

Please do let us know if you get it working, we'd love to hear from anyone running Jelly Bean.

Google I/O 2012: Ice Cream Sandwich has been out for around six months now, and Google have taken the stage at Google I/O to announce Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean". It was previously rumored Jelly Bean would be Android 5.0, but then rumors were flying in that version 4.1 would be Jelly Bean, it looks like the latter rumors were right.

The shift to Jelly Bean from ICS isn't as grand as the Gingerbread to ICS shift was, but this time its more of an evolution, and not a revolution. One of the best features is something Google call "Project Butter", which is an effort to improve performance and response time, Jelly Bean cranks along at 60fps. This should ensure a very, very smooth experience.

Jelly Bean's home screen has been modified, with Google adding some nice features such as the ability to dynamically resize widgets, which means you no longer have to place it, resize it, then move it where you want if there wasn't enough room. If the room is there, but your app icons are sitting in the way, the widget will now automatically push the apps to the side. Apps and widgets can also be removed by simply flicking them off your screen.

Music discovery and streaming service, Spotify, has a source close to them claiming that they are the second largest revenue generator for major music labels. Last month saw 23 million people use the service, and the only one to topple Spotify right now is Apple's iTunes, according to the Business Insider.

Business Insider estimates that iTunes paid around $3.2 billion to record labels last year, so with Spotify in second place we can only imagine the figure they're shelling out to record labels is much lower than the behemoth that is Apple, but being second place is nothing to scoff at, either. Considering that the service only launched in the US last year.

Sean Parker, founder of Napster and early investor in Spotify says that if the service continues to grow at the current rate, they should overtake iTunes with regards to contributions to artists in under two years. Spotify is currently in the process of raising $220 million based on a $4 billion valuation, which includes $100 million from Goldman Sachs.

Google have donned their magic fingers and made some changes to some of the most-requested features for their Gmail for iOS app. They've announced the changes today, which come in three new features.

First up we have full Notification Center support, the ability to send messages from your alternate e-mail addresses, and an improved login experience. Now Gmail is fully integrated with Notification Center and even supports banners, alerts and lock screen options. Plus, notifications are now 'incredibly fast', up to 5x faster than the previous version of the app.

The second update to the Gmail for iOS app is the ability to send e-mails from your alternate e-mail addresses. If you have this configured through alternate sender addresses in Gmail on your desktop under Settings -> Accounts -> Send mail as, you will see a From: option when composing new messages with the new app.

Windows 8 RTM is right around the corner if several sources are to be believed. Sources seem to agree that the announcement for Windows 8 RTM will come sometime in July, but they disagree about whether it will be in the build number 8500 or 8600 variety. This time frame lines up nicely for an October relase.

One source is reporting that the final build number for RTM will be 8500.0.120623-1707. However, a different source who agrees on the July time frame believes that the build number will be in the 8600 range. The announcement is supposedly coming at MGX, the event that runs from July 17 to the 20.

Windows 8 is one of Microsoft's biggest gambles yet. Some reviewers have been very upset over the lack of the start button and some of the other changes, but only time will tell if it will be successful. The ecosystem appears to be coming together with the new Surface tablets and upcoming Ultrabooks in time for the holidays.

Currently rocking an iPhone and want to switch over to that awesome new Samsung GALAXY S III but don't want to go through the hassle of manually re-entering all of your contacts, etc? Well, fear not, Samsung have released what they call 'Easy Phone Sync'.

Easy Phone Sync is an app that has been developed to make the transition between an iPhone and the GALAXY S III much easier. The app can run on both a Mac or a PC, and gives options to transfer music, videos, podcasts, pictures, contacts and even text messages. The process takes around five minutes to set up, and users can continue to rely on iTunes to manage their content after the transfer.

DRM-restricted content purchased from iTunes can't be transferred, the same goes for iOS apps.

I've been using Flipboard on my iPad when I'm laying in bed, or on the couch and it's a perfect app that I wish were on Android, and now it is. Flipboard officially launched on Android today after its short beta period and sports some new flashy super powers.

These new super powers include integration with YouTube as well as Google+ across platforms, as well as a pretty big distribution deal with Samsung. The Verge reports that the YouTube and Google+ integration works just like the Twitter and Facebook integration does in Flipboard. To add, you just tap the content guide ribbon, then select either service under 'Your Accounts', then head to 'Add an Account', easy.

YouTube on Flipboard looks great, as it pulls down all of your subscriptions allowing for simple browsing, as well as full commenting, liking, sharing, and subscriptions support built directly into Flipboard. Google+ is said to be pretty much the same, you can +1, share, and comment on posts, as well as browse circles, individual users, or pages. The updated Flipboard app is available from the iTunes App Store, Google Play Store, Barnes & Noble NOOK Store, Amazon's Appstore for Android and finally, Samsung Apps.

Now when viewing apps in the Google Play Store, users will be able to see developers' responses to user comments and reviews. It's something that should have been instituted from the very beginning and it's surprising that it took them this long to add it. It's a feature that can be seen in action on Newegg's review system and, quite frankly, it works great.

Google Play Project Manager Ellie Powers:

User reviews on Google Play are great for helping people discover quality apps and give feedback to developers and other potential app users. But what about when developers want to give feedback to their users? Sometimes a user just needs a helping hand, or perhaps a new feature has been added and the developer wants to share the good news.

Microsoft are on quite the roll this week, first up we had their Surface tablets, and now the announcement of Windows Phone 8. The next-generation mobile operating system will sport a redesigned home screen, now allowing every tile to be customized in one of three available sizes, and completely ditches the right-hand "rail" that help the link to the full app list.

Skype and VoiP functionality are built directly into Windows Phone 8. Microsoft are adding a background agent that handles incoming and outgoing calls, as well as messaging and integration with several of the Windows Phone 8 features. Skype takes full advantage of this, as well as any other VoiP-based application without favoring one over the other. Microsoft's Greg Sullivan says the integration is so good that he jokes that Apple should create its own FaceTime app on Windows Phone 8, and it would work better than it does on the iPhone.

Windows Phone 8 will include Internet Explorer 10, which will run on the same desktop code used in Windows 8. It will also offer four times faster JavaScript performance and full HTML5 support. Security-wise, it will offer increased security, such as a phishing filter and the SmartScreen URL reputation system.