Software & Apps News - Page 158

The latest and most important Software & Apps news - Page 158.

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GIGABYTE 3D Power hands-on with G1. Assassin 2 X79 motherboard

Cameron Wilmot | Nov 14, 2011 2:01 AM CST

We are really letting loose now with our Intel X79 Express content and next up is another GIGABYTE video related to said product and this time it's another software feature called 3D Power and it's included with GIGABYTE's full range of X79 motherboards that should be online at many places as of now.

3D is obviously a big theme with GIGABYTE's X79 range of products and while there is little "3D" as we know about GIGABYTE's new software utility, 3D Power, we do like the insane level of control it gives you over your brand spanking new motherboard.

3D Power gets its name for its 3-way digital engine which allows you to control digital CPU power as well as both digital memory power controllers. This is all made possible since GIGABYTE's full range of X79 motherboards use an all digital power system with added controllers which give you the ability to fine tune power related options and settings down to a level we've never really seen before.

Continue reading: GIGABYTE 3D Power hands-on with G1. Assassin 2 X79 motherboard (full post)

Sony opens registration for PlayStation Suite SDK beta, allows developers to build apps for Android and Vita

Anthony Garreffa | Nov 11, 2011 3:20 AM CST

Sony's PlayStation Suite SDK was shown off at the Tokyo Game Show in September, but Sony have just opened up the SDK application process for a closed beta test. This allows Windows XP and Windows 7 users in the US, UK and Japan to submit their credentials for early access.

For those who get approval from Sony will have the ability to develop apps for use on the PS Vista when it drops in February, 2012, along with the PS Suite - that "hardware-neutral" framework that will allow access from non-PlayStation branded products, including the Xperia Play, Tablet S and Tablet P, with the potential for third-party devices to come too.

The PlayStation Suite SDK uses the C# programming language, and doesn't require developers to have access to actual Sony hardware. You can apply to be a Sony developer by clicking the following link.

Continue reading: Sony opens registration for PlayStation Suite SDK beta, allows developers to build apps for Android and Vita (full post)

Opera Mini 6.5, Opera Mobile 11.5 released

Anthony Garreffa | Nov 3, 2011 12:19 AM CDT

Opera Software have just rolled out a small update to their mobile browsers which includes some new features as well as the usual optimizations such as improved network performance and lower memory usage. Opera Mini 6.5 and Opera Mobile 11.5 now sport enhanced bookmarking functionality with a small star in the address field that lets you quickly save those links you want to keep and add them to your Speed Dial.

Opera have also added in a built-in data counter, found in the "Help" menu, the counter lets you monitor your data consumption, which could be very useful for data conscious users. Tracking your data consumption on your mobile plan is usually hard, requiring that you sign into your providers website or use an app to monitor it, but having it built into Opera (which is where a majority of your browsing will be done) is very handy indeed.

On top of this, it will gel well with Opera Turbo. Opera Turbo compresses web data by up to 90-percent before sending it to your phone. This is great for those on low data plans, mixed in with the data counter, you could keep a tab on your consumption very easily.

Continue reading: Opera Mini 6.5, Opera Mobile 11.5 released (full post)

Google+ intros powerful photo editing suite, makes it free

Anthony Garreffa | Oct 30, 2011 8:52 PM CDT

Google+ has added Instagram-like controls to its photo section. The section has always had basic editing, because Google+ shares its photo albums with Picasa, so any edits made there would bounce back. But now they're stepped it up a few notches and built it directly in. The new controls only work in the desktop version, and can be accessed by clicking the edit button when you're in the fullscreen light-box view and selecting "Creative Kit".

From there, you're launched into an editor which is powered by PicNik (my niece Alisha will love that). From here, you can crop and tweak photos, but also included is an Instagram-like filter where you can perform some powerful edits. Included is a "Sunless Tan" tool, which can do exactly what it says... you use a brush to apply the tan and somehow it works out where the edges are and turns anyone into a reality TV star ready for the Jersey Shore, b*tch.

Right now there is a seasonal toolkit: Halloween. This allows you to add blood spatter, gravestones, "Dracula Dermis", and other fun stuff to your pictures. The Creative Kit is Flash-powered, so if you were thinking you might hit it up by signing into the non-mobile version of Google+ from an iPad, you're completely out of luck.

Continue reading: Google+ intros powerful photo editing suite, makes it free (full post)

AMD collaborating with BlueStacks, wants to bring Android apps to Windows

Anthony Garreffa | Oct 27, 2011 12:25 AM CDT

AMD have invested an undisclosed amount of money into BlueStacks, a "venture-back firm" whose software allows Android apps to run "fast and full-screen" on Windows 7. I posted about BlueStacks earlier this month, and now we have AMD helping them. AMD aren't just helping them financially, either:

AMD and BlueStacks are collaborating to optimize the BlueStacks App Player for Windows software for use with tablet and notebook PCs powered by AMD APUs with AMD VISION technology. With this combination of BlueStacks software and AMD technology, consumers will be able to access their favorite Android apps on virtually any AMD-powered Windows-based device, including more than 200,000 apps currently available in the Android Market.

Manju Hegde, corporate vice president of AMD's Fusion Experience Program says:

Continue reading: AMD collaborating with BlueStacks, wants to bring Android apps to Windows (full post)

Windows XP turns 10 today, kicks feet up and begins retirement with a glass of scotch

Anthony Garreffa | Oct 26, 2011 2:35 AM CDT

My, my, how time has flown by. I still remember triple-booting my PC with Windows 98SE, Windows 2K and Windows XP, how has ten years gone by? Microsoft include the infographic below, which is not only cool, but it shows just how long ago 2001 was with all of the old technology (or lack thereof).

For example, in 2001 we have in-person meetings, now we have video conferencing. Working at the office, can now be done anywhere (such as me posting this news out to the world, I can do so in my boxer shorts and you wouldn't even know it - begin dreams, now). Chat rooms have been swapped for social networking, dial-up for broadband/Wi-Fi, and hard drives for "the cloud".

Microsoft also try to get people to upgrade by saying that batteries in smoke detectors, oil in your car, tires on your car, toothbrushes, and cell phones all require replacing at some point. I guess this is a push to "why haven't you upgraded to Windows 7 yet?". Going back to 2001, or Windows XP feels like a step into a time machine. Isn't it funny that at the time, it was so "magic" and "revolutionary", and now it feels like a bad hair-do, or those really embarrassing clothes that you wouldn't want to be caught dead in*.

Continue reading: Windows XP turns 10 today, kicks feet up and begins retirement with a glass of scotch (full post)

Linux kernel hits 3.1, now supports NFC, Wiimotes

Anthony Garreffa | Oct 24, 2011 11:19 PM CDT

Linux Kernel version 3.1 has popped its head up and offers support for a range of technologies such as Intel's Ivy Bridge and Cedar Trail chips, NFC and drivers for Wiimotes. It also has improved power management. It's available to download right now, but of course you may want to wait for the distro of your choice for an official update or release.

Its own summary sums it up quite well:

Support for the OpenRISC opensource CPU, performance improvements to the writeback throttling, some speedups in the slab allocator, a new iSCSI implementation, support for Near-Field Communication chips used to enable mobile payments, bad block management in the generic software RAID layer, a new "cpupowerutils" userspace utility for power management, filesystem barriers enabled by default in Ext3, Wii Controller support and new drivers and many small improvements.

Continue reading: Linux kernel hits 3.1, now supports NFC, Wiimotes (full post)

Android Market sees 500k success submissions

Anthony Garreffa | Oct 22, 2011 10:48 AM CDT

The Android Market has been maintaining exponential growth lately, but still lags behind Apple's App Store. In Q3, 2011 the number of active mobile applications in the Android Market was 319,161. Not bad, but considering Apple have 459,589 in the App Store, that's quite the stab in the chest.

But, looking deeper, research2guidance have said that Android developers are much more productive when compared to Apple's. They noticed that the averageAndroid-based publisher has placed more than 6 applications in the Market since launch, compared to just 4 apps on average for the iOS-based developers.

The actual total number of applications published on the Android Market was over 500,000 in September 2011. Where as Apple saw just over 600,000 successful submissions to their App Store: just 20-percent more. The problem here is that 37-percent of the applications published were later removed from the Android Market for various reasons; where Apple's App Store removed only 24-percent of published apps.

Continue reading: Android Market sees 500k success submissions (full post)

Razer Synapse 2.0 - peripheral settings float into the cloud

Anthony Garreffa | Oct 22, 2011 2:19 AM CDT

Razer introed Synapse five years ago now, which let gamers store macros, key binds, and profiles directly into their Razer devices' onboard memory. Today, they've taken this one step further by introducing Razer Synapse 2.0, which allows your personalised peripheral settings to sit in the cloud.

While this won't help everyone, it will be a great thing for users such as tournament gamers, or those who use more than one computer for gaming. The problem is with this, is that people still have to take around their mouse and keyboard, with Razer hardware storing it inside the peripheral itself, cloud-based peripheral settings don't really have a need, but as I said, there are still uses for it.

Synapse 2.0 does however make the process that much easier, saving time on re-binding keys, etc and takes it all down to a simple login and sync process. The software will also automatically download drivers, game add-ons, and firmware updates to ensure your Razer hardware is always up-to-date.

Continue reading: Razer Synapse 2.0 - peripheral settings float into the cloud (full post)

Microsoft Windows 8 Start Menu search function blogged

Steve Dougherty | Oct 19, 2011 10:41 AM CDT

In a new posting on Microsoft's MSDN Blog pages we can get a better idea of how the search function available in the start menu will work, and it is indeed quite different to what we're used to with the likes of Windows 7.

While the start search in Windows 8 takes up a lot more space, it is a lot easier (and quicker) to make use of when it comes to looking for a program, file(s), or settings windows. As there will inevitably be a ton of apps included with Windows 8, which would only grow a lot more once all the 3rd party stuff starts getting installed, Microsoft has made the decision to split the search feature into three sections.

One section will focus solely on all the apps and programs installed; another will be dedicated to listing settings and Control Panel items, while the third will display files and gives a range of filters to trim down the search.

Continue reading: Microsoft Windows 8 Start Menu search function blogged (full post)