Software & Apps - Page 100

Samsung are quickly out of the gate by announcing that they will be providing upgrades for Jelly Bean "eligible" devices. This is good news, especially considering that Samsung only released their GALAXY S III a few weeks ago.

But, the question remains, what does Samsung consider "eligible", and how many would be eligible for Jelly Bean upgrades? Samsung's flagship GALAXY S III will most likely be the first to receive the Jelly Bean goodness, followed by the S II, Nexus and so forth.

Considering that the GALAXY S II just received its Ice Cream Sandwich update, it might be a little while before we can expect Jelly Bean on the S II. The Note II is coming soon, too, so that might just ship with Jelly Bean out of the box. This is the direct quote from Samsung's announcement:

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:

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.

Google seems pretty committed to strengthening its developer ecosystem around Android. So much so that they are now offering live support during office hours with a new program called "Developers Live." The new program allows developers to talk directly to Googlers who are the ones creating the APIs the developer is currently working with.

Louis Gray from the Developer Relations team:

HTC's One X looks to be soon receiving an update that should include the latest build of Ice Cream Sandwich, Android 4.0.4. This should definitely close that nasty gap between HTC's One X and Samsung's GALAXY S III.

As usual in this world of Internet craziness we have, ROM developer and XDA member 'Football' has received the leaked ROM and has stirred up a ROM based on the firmware. The new update will be 2.05.401.2, and should be a noticeable update over the current 1.29.401.11.

Android version number gets an update up to Android 4.0.4, which includes some default stability improvements, also baked in are updated kernels, radios and software drivers, too. Early adopters of the new ROM have been happy, with some reporting a better web browsing experience, tweaked auto brightness settings, a smoother user interface and faster unlock speeds - can't complain at that!

The My Xbox LIVE for iPhone app has been updated, which lets you find, learn more about, and control your favorite content from popular entertainment services on Xbox 360. But, it gets better: you can control the content on your console with play, pause, fast forward and rewind controls directly from the confort of your iPhone, on your lounge, bed or bean bag!

The good news doesn't stop there, My Xbox LIVE for iPad has also been updated. The new app sports Retina Display support, as well as improved authentication making connecting your iPad with your Xbox LIVE account easier than it has ever previously been. And for the first time on Android, the free My Xbox LIVE app lets you read and send messages to friends, manage your friends list and invite new friends, read and edit your full LIVE profile (name, bio, motto), change your avatar features and items with the avatar closet, and view and compare your achievement progress with friends.

Some of the updates coming for the iOS version are:

Earlier this morning, Microsoft announced that they are rolling out a new advertising product to Skype for Windows. The new ad product is designed to monetize the free users of Skype, but will need to hit the right people. As such, Microsoft needs to know a little bit more about its users so that the ads can hit the right people.

This is why the stats released by Microsoft today make sense. They aren't just showing off, but instead they are releasing relevant information that can be used for advertising purposes. The ads that Microsoft are adding are silent, non-expanding ads and will only be shown to users who don't have subscriptions or Skype Credits and are using Skype for Windows.

Now, onto the statistics:

Computex 2012 - Patriot had Wildfire Pro back on display at Computex 2012. This time we saw a working model, unlike at CES where a mock up was on display. Wildfire Pro brings back 28% over provisioning, just like many very expensive SandForce based enterprise SSDs. The catch is, Wildfire Pro isn't going to cost more than a standard Wildfire with 7% over provisioning.

Over the last year, we've read several reports and white papers about data centers using consumer SSDs since they offer very good performance and the pricing is very attractive. The Wildfire Pro is a good fit for those already entertaining the idea of low cost, high performance solid-state drives in their critical environments.

The 28% over provisioning will give the enterprise a consumer product that is closer to the specs of the enterprise class SandForce 2500 based drives.

Computex 2012 - Wow, we didn't expect to see this, but here it is. 3DMark for Windows 8, as it's called at this stage of development. The test was running at a screen resolution of 1280 x 720 with an AA sample count of 1. What you are seeing here is by no means a finished product at all.

As we walked around the Nangang Computex hall yesterday we managed to get some very exclusive eyes-on time with 3DMark for Windows 8 running on an MSI system. The system to be exact is an Intel Core i7-3960K, Big Bang-XPower II motherboard and two MSI GTX 680 Lightning video cards in SLI.

We told some of our friends last night and some questioned the relevance of a new 3DMark for Windows 8 considering at least at this stage that the new Microsoft OS will ship with DirectX 11. We don't know much more about the next 3DMark than you do based on what we can see in the video above, but it's very cool to see none the less.

Apparently I am not the only one who thinks that Windows 8 is going to be terrible. A Wall Street Journal writer by the name of John Dvorak shares some of the same concerns as me and even went as far as to say "Windows 8 looks to me to be an unmitigated disaster that could decidedly hurt the company and its future."

I'm not sure I would go quite that far, but some of his concerns are echoed by journalists around the web. His major problem seems to lie in the new Metro desktop interface that appears to be designed for tablets. He had some hope when it appeared that he could still use the old style desktop, but with the latest release candidate, that is no longer an option.

Dvorak says:

Apple's next-generation mobile operating system, iOS 6, is expected sometime in the coming months, but BGR is reporting about their Maps app which will support 3D mapping. Apple aren't using Google's mapping data this time around.

BGR has sourced some exclusive information, and photos, of Apple's new Mapps app, with the app featuring an updated user interface as well as a brand new navigation bar. This bar is said to be silver instead of blue. The current Maps app follows the normal blue iOS color scheme, but it looks like Apple could move toward a silver theme for iOS 6, like the iPad.

The iPhone Maps app has a floating 'locate me' button in the bottom left corner. In order to access 3D mode, you'll have to peel back the lower right corner of Maps. Once 3D has been enabled, you can switch in and out of 3D mode by tapping a 3D icon in the lower left hand corner. Apple's acquisition of C3 Technologies has helped them back 3D mapping into their Maps app, which should be a great feature in the new iPhone and iOS.

Windows 8 Release Preview is out a little early, and whilst it's just a Chinese version, it's been said that users have been able to install an English language pack through Windows Update. The leaked ISO has been confirmed and tested by a few websites such as PCBeta (Chinese) and WinUnleaked (English) and is available right now various torrent sites. Personally, I'll be waiting for the official version of the OS, which is expected sometime next week, right in the middle of Computex.

Build 8400 does include some goodies, such as improved multi-monitor support, a new boot screen, as well as updated wallpapers and cursors. The final version of Windows 8 is expected to not include the translucent Aero Glass, but is present in the current build of Windows 8, including build 8400.

Build 8400 improves upon Metro, where we see News, Travel and Sports apps have been added. Also, DigiTimes is reporting that sources have told them Microsoft may increase the price of OEM versions of Windows 8, which could make it harder on system builders to keep their prices sharp, especially on the Ultrabooks.