Software & Apps News - Page 154

The latest and most important Software & Apps news - Page 154.

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Leaked images of BlackBerry 10 OS, looks swish

Anthony Garreffa | Feb 15, 2012 10:28 PM CST

Leaked images have floated onto the surface of the waves of the Internet in the past 24 or so hours of Research in Motion's next-generation BlackBerry 10 Operating System, and boy do they look nice. BlackBerry 10 OS will sport home screen "widgets" which will allow you to call up apps and mini-apps, video chat capability, improvements to the e-mail clients design, just to name a few.

CrackBerry.com are behind the images, where they've reported they received a 14-page presentation featuring BlackBerry 10-powered BlackBerry's from "a tipster". Of course, we have to question whether these images are indeed legit, but they do seem to be. BB 10 OS is shaping up to look quite swish, and it seems RIM have worked hard at this latest OS.

RIM aren't just dressing to impress, either, it seems they are baking in some useful features such as a clock icon that continues to show the time of the day, but also what time the alarm will go off. It is the detail in the little things that make it stand out. Another feature showed off in a screenshot is RIM's Universal Inbox, which is thanks to The Astonishing Tribe (TAT) which RIM acquired back in 2010.

Continue reading: Leaked images of BlackBerry 10 OS, looks swish (full post)

VLC 2.0 is here, sports new UI and Blu-ray support for OS X

Anthony Garreffa | Feb 14, 2012 3:17 AM CST

It was only a few weeks ago that a 'hack' was made available for VLC that allowed the program to have Blu-ray compatibility, where it could playback encrypted Blu-ray images. Now we have the first release candidate (RC) of VLC 2.0.

VLC 2.0 has some big changes, the biggest of which is the OS X version that sports a new user interface that does look quite swish indeed, as well as Blu-ray playback support. Windows doesn't get missed out, which now features a 64-bit version, as well as support for multiple video files found inside RAR archives.

Apple doesn't officially support Blu-ray, as they have no Blu-ray hardware in any form, and the software support is not that great, if applicable at all. Blu-ray discs are encrypted, so you can't just download a program and away you go. Because Apple don't support Blu-ray, Blu-ray on OS X has been barely existant, but there have still been work arounds. MKV files, as well as the ability to rip and encode video with the OS X version of MakeMKV.

Continue reading: VLC 2.0 is here, sports new UI and Blu-ray support for OS X (full post)

Google updates YouTube for Google TV, adds YouTube channel pages and more

Anthony Garreffa | Feb 12, 2012 7:45 PM CST

Google have just updated YouTube for Google TV, where they say it is "making it faster and easier to find great content". By doing so, they've added YouTube channel pages, which gives you more control of your experience.

The update is available on the Android Market, and after its updated, you should see some pretty big improvements. First up, the app works faster with smoother navigation, which goes toward that 'better experience' they want you to have. Secondly, Google have added a new feature called "Discover". Discover lets you browse YouTube channels by categories.

This means you could be looking for a comedy, cooking content, or the latest news, making it easier to search through categories versus running a search and hoping for the best. Google have also updated the YouTube app with new channel pages. Now you can navigate through playlists and videos in your favorite channels, as well as having the ability to subscribe to channels directly from the YouTube app with just a simple click.

Continue reading: Google updates YouTube for Google TV, adds YouTube channel pages and more (full post)

Google release Chrome 17, sports "instant" browsing, improved security

Anthony Garreffa | Feb 8, 2012 10:20 PM CST

Google have been hard at work, where they've released Google Chrome for Android Beta for Android 4.0-based devices, as well as a few other cool announcements, today brings the latest stable build of Chrome, Chrome 17.

Chrome 17 includes a serious speed bump, if it wasn't already fast enough. Google reckons you'll be surfing quicker than ever before with a new feature that lets pages start loading in the background before you've even finished typing a URL into the Omnibox. If the URL auto-completes to an address you'll most likely visit, Chrome will begin prerendering the page. Nifty, huh?

Security-wise, Chrome 17 includes a new security feature. Chrome 17 now runs executables through additional reputation checks that ensures that you're safe. This means that if you attempt to download a Windows installation file (EXE or MSI) that isn't on a whitelist, Google analyzes the file to determine its reputation and trustworthiness based on files previously seen from the same publisher, and site.

Continue reading: Google release Chrome 17, sports "instant" browsing, improved security (full post)

Google release Chrome for Android Beta, just for Android 4.0 devices for now

Anthony Garreffa | Feb 7, 2012 10:12 PM CST

Google have released Chrome for Android Beta, exclusive (for now) for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich devices. Exactly like the desktop-based Chrome, Chrome for Android Beta is focused on speed and simplicity, but also sports seamless sign-in and sync, so you can take your personalized web browsing experience anywhere you go.

Chrome for Android Beta is built for speed, so when searching, your top search results are loaded in the background as you type so that pages appear to load instantaneously. Chrome for Android is built from the ground up for mobile devices, where Google have reimagined tabs so they fit just as naturally on a small-screen smartphone, as they do on the larger-screen tablet.

Privacy is a big deal for Chrome, and Chrome with Android Beta is no different. Chrome for Android Beta includes the famous incognito mode for private browsing as well as fine-grained privacy options.

Continue reading: Google release Chrome for Android Beta, just for Android 4.0 devices for now (full post)

Microsoft says "What do you want to kill today?", replies with "the Start button in Windows 8"

Anthony Garreffa | Feb 7, 2012 5:26 AM CST

Microsoft launched one of the most recognisable components of computing, the Start button. It was launched 17 years ago, with a huge advertising campaign, where its hard for people to not know the Start button now.

When it comes to Windows 8, Microsoft are changing it up, not just a bit, but considerably. The removal of the Start button marks a serious change, where the Start button is replaced by the "hot corner." Instead of clicking the Start button to show the full-screen Metro-style Start Screen, you just flick your mouse to the bottom left corner of the screen, or touch it with your finger, and voila - Metro-style Start Screen.

Why would Microsoft do such a thing? Well, they save some on-screen pixels by removing it. That's it. Imagine long-time Windows users, booting up for the first time, not aware of this news and virtually unprepared for there to not be a Start button. They would think the OS is faulty, or a non-legit version. New users, would be OK, but how would they know to push to the bottom left of the screen to display the Metro interface?

Continue reading: Microsoft says "What do you want to kill today?", replies with "the Start button in Windows 8" (full post)

Firefox 10.0 is now available, includes full screen apps

Anthony Garreffa | Jan 31, 2012 7:46 PM CST

Mozilla have just pushed out Firefox 10 to the masses, with some new features, HTML5-based features, as well as some nifty Developer tools and the usual fixes and improvements. First up, the forward button is gone, well, kinda, it does not show up until you've clicked back - then the forward navigation button will show itself.

Mozilla have said that most add-ons are now compatible with new versions of Firefox by default, anti-aliasing for WebGL has been implemented into Firefox 10.0 as well as CSS3 3D-Transforms now being supported. HTML5-wise, we have the new element for bi-directional text isolation as well as supporting CSS properties. Not only that, but Full Screen APIs now allow you to build a web application that runs in full screen.

Developers get some lovin', with Mozilla adding IndexedDB APIs that more closely match the specification, as well as an "Inspect tool" with content highlighting, and also a new CSS Style Inspector. Some of the problems fixed include a Mac OS X-only problem, where after installing the latest Java release from Apple, Firefox used to crash when closing a tab with a Java applet installed, this is now fixed. Also another problem where some users experienced a crash when moving bookmarks, has been fixed.

Continue reading: Firefox 10.0 is now available, includes full screen apps (full post)

Microsoft begins Technical Preview of Office 15

Anthony Garreffa | Jan 30, 2012 11:26 PM CST

Microsoft reached a development milestone this morning, the beginning of the "Office 15" Technical Preview Program. Office 15 is the codename for the upcoming next-generation version of the Microsoft Office products and services, and the Technical Preview is the first time that Microsoft share their work with a select group of customers under non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).

Because Microsoft are only at the early stages of Office 15, they can't share too much about what's included, or being worked on in the new Office suite of software. Of course, there is a tease. CVP of Development, Microsoft Office Division, PJ Hough, said in the Office Blogs:

At this early point in our development cycle, I'm not able to share too much about Office 15, but I can tell you Office 15 is the most ambitious undertaking yet for the Office Division. With Office 15, for the first time ever, we will simultaneously update our cloud services, servers, and mobile and PC clients for Office, Office 365, Exchange, SharePoint, Lync, Project, and Visio. Quite simply, Office 15 will help people work, collaborate, and communicate smarter and faster than ever before. 

Continue reading: Microsoft begins Technical Preview of Office 15 (full post)

VLC gets encrypted Blu-ray playback capabilities thanks to a 'hack'

Anthony Garreffa | Jan 25, 2012 11:14 PM CST

VLC was one of the first open source media players to be capable of playing back encrypted DVD's, and it has now become the first to bring Blu-ray playback capability, too.

But wait, playback of unencrypted Blu-ray ISOs and folder structures has been possible without menus since the version 1.2 release of VLC. The biggest change are the AACS keys database, and how to get it integrated with the VLC installation.

The AACS keys will never be an official releases of VLC, as it enables copy protection circumvention. But, this is definitely a great move for not just VLC, but Blu-ray.

Continue reading: VLC gets encrypted Blu-ray playback capabilities thanks to a 'hack' (full post)

Windows 8 will include simplified wireless connectivity configuration

Anthony Garreffa | Jan 24, 2012 12:28 AM CST

Windows 8 is set to make it easier than ever for users to manage their Wi-Fi and mobile connections, with group program manager on Microsoft's devices and networking team, Billy Anders, publishing a post on Microsoft's Building Windows 8 blog, that outlines steps taken to improve the wireless connectivity experience.

Mobile broadband is being integrated alongside standard Wi-Fi in Windows 8. In Windows 7, it was included, but there were several steps required to be taken before the mobile device could connect, such as installing third-party drivers and software. Microsoft are removing that annoying step, by working with mobile broadband hardware partners to develop a universal driver that will work with all mobile devices and eliminate the need for additional drivers or software.

Windows 8 will include a new networks settings menu that allows you to turn off individual radios (Bluetooth, mobile broadband, Wi-Fi) or disable them all at once with the new airplane mode. This native radio management is said to eliminate conflicts and confusion that is often introduced when third-party manufacturers add their own connection software.

Continue reading: Windows 8 will include simplified wireless connectivity configuration (full post)