Software & Apps - Page 98

uTorrent user? You'll soon be eye balling ads, as the creators of the torrent program have announced that the upcoming version of the popular torrent software will sport "in-client offers". In-client offers is just some fancy translation of ads.

uTorrent Plus users won't have to experience the ads, but you'll be coughing up USD $24.95 for the privilege. Considering that uTorrent features over 125 million active users each month, it shouldn't come as a surprise. uTorrent's parent company, BitTorrent Inc., has made some nice spare money from their optional tool bar, seeing between $15 to $20 million from the tool bar alone. The ad-supported client should make the wallets of uTorrent that little bit bigger.

What is changing with µTorrent offers?

TechPowerUp has updated GPU-Z to version 0.6.4 and with it brought some interesting changes. According to TechPowerUp, "version 0.6.4 adds/refines support for several upcoming NVIDIA GPUs, such as GeForce GTX 660 Ti, GeForce GTX 660, GeForce GTX/S 650, GeForce 610, and GeForce GTX 680M; Intel GMA 3600 (ROP count); AMD "Trinity" APUs (clock reading accuracy) and AMD FirePro 2270."

Usually software like this is updated shortly before the release of a new product, such as the NVIDIA GTX 660 Ti, rumored to be launching soon. Support for the NVIDIA 650 also shows that the September launch period is likely an accurate rumor. TechPowerUp also instituted several other changes in the newest version:

You can pick up the latest version of the software from TechPowerUp's website.

Are you the owner of a 7 series Gigabyte motherboard? Tired of all those hackers plugging flash drives into your computer and giving you viruses? If so, Gigabyte has the download for you! Today, Gigabyte has announced a new piece of software which will disable certain types of USB devices from connecting to the computer.

The software features an easy-to-use GUI that allows you to select what can and cannot be seen by the operating system when physically connected. The software will currently run on Intel Z77, H77, B75 and H61 based motherboards produced by Gigabyte. Gigabyte has provided some excellent use-case scenarios:

We all know Research in Motion (RIM) is in trouble, and one of, if not their only safe haven, is their forthcoming BlackBerry 10 OS. But now there's some new spark to rumors that the troubled company could be saved by Samsung.

This is all according to Jefferies analyst, Peter Misek, who believes that RIM's strategic review will end up with a decision to license the company's BlackBerry 10 OS, and that the company best suited to handle it, is Samsung. Misek wrote in a note to clients:

Valve, the company behind Steam, is keeping itself busy. Gabe Newell has publicly bashed Windows 8 and is working towards making Linux into a viable alternative for gamers. Valve is working on porting the Steam client and Left 4 Dead 2 to Linux and has achieved some great results. Now, Steam will be expanding into software other than games.

Starting September 5, software will begin to show up in the Steam store. Options will include creativity and productivity software and a majority will feature Steamworks integration. "Many of the launch titles will take advantage of popular Steamworks features, such as easy installation, automatic updating, and the ability to save your work to your personal Steam Cloud space so your files may travel with you."

Furthermore, Indie developers will be able to submit their software through Steam Greenlight. Steam has some competition in this market as Mac already has its own store and Windows 8 will be coming with a Windows store. "The 40 million gamers frequenting Steam are interested in more than playing games," said Mark Richardson at Valve. "They have told us they would like to have more of their software on Steam, so this expansion is in response to those customer requests."

So, Apple have cut YouTube out of iOS 6, and now they've added an extra row for icons. There just doesn't seem to be anything worth drooling over for the next-gen mobile OS from Apple. BGR reports from a 9to5Mac post that we could be looking at a fifth row of icons on iOS 6.

Using Apple's Xcode development application, BGR used a simple tweak to show what iOS 6 would look like when the resolution is bumped up to 640x1136, as shown above. 9to5Mac says that five rows of icons will fit on the screen instead of 4 on the current iPhone's, and that apps will scale accordingly to take advantage of the extra height.

So, if Apple are using more icons, are we going to see widgets like Android uses? Will we see portrait use on the home screen, like Android? It seems Apple are falling further and further behind in the mobile OS department. Don't get me wrong, I love me some iOS on my third-gen iPad, but for a smartphone, iOS feels just so claustrophobic. What do you think? Are Apple finding it hard to evolve iOS, but not copy Android?

Windows 8 is bringing a lot of new changes to the Windows operating system. Beyond a completely new Start/desktop interface, Microsoft has fully integrated Windows and Xbox as shown by the new "Xbox Windows" branded games. These games will live separately from the Games for Windows Live service.

The games that fall under this banner will provide in-game achievements which award Gamerscore to players. This way you can boost your Gamerscore while killing time at work. As of right now, the games that fall under this title give up to 50 Gamerscore and are Microsoft productions: Minesweeper, Solitaire, and Majong.

Minesweeper provides the most chance to increase your Gamerscore with a possible 50 spread out over 4 achievements. You get 5 Gamerscore just for being blown up by your first mine. Solitaire provides up to 40 Gamerscore with 10 being awarded for just flipping over your first card. Majong has 25 Gamerscore with 5 being awarded for changing the game's theme.

The Verge has been the first out of the gate with exclusive pictures of the retail packaging of Microsoft's upcoming, and already leaked OS, Windows 8. Packaging has been shown off for Windows 8, and Windows 8 Pro, which will be the only boxed versions of the OS to hit retail shelves.

Microsoft have opted to show off their Windows 8-style UI on the boxes, which looks quite delicious, if I may say so myself. Windows 8 sports a brighter styled package in white, with the Professional version shown off in black. Both are looking very nice indeed.

Windows 8, Windows 8 Pro and Windows RT will be available either on new PCs, and tablets from October 26. Upgrade versions will hit stores, or as a download on the same day. What do you think of the newly-styled Windows 8 boxes?

If you were looking forward to booting directly to the desktop in Windows 8, you're going to be sorry, because Microsoft won't be allowing this. This means that users will be totally forced to look at that "Windows 8-style UI", aka Metro, before you can hit that usual desktop screen you're used to.

We don't know if this will effect all users, but right now it looks like it is a possibility. If the move is concrete, we can see just how serious Microsoft are at pushing their new Windows 8-style UI, or Metro, and how its going to effect Microsoft going forward. The Windows 8 Start Screen isn't just a feature that can be ignored, but will be a component of every single system that sports the OS. Maybe it sounds annoying now, but when we're used to it, we could have tiles for temperatures, e-mail, and the like, and we'll totally get over it.

But, Microsoft have also been talking about this type of move since BUILD, with it looking like it's going to be a staple feature of the OS now. The more I think about it, the more it doesn't directly effect me, as I don't fully turn off my PC all that often anyway.

Apple seems to be on an anti-Google rampage with iOS 6. The obvious change is the lack of Google Maps in the upcoming mobile operating system, but now Apple has said that the YouTube app will also be removed. It would seem that the reason for this change is due to the licensing agreement between Apple and Google has run out.

Don't fret, however, as Apple has confirmed that YouTube will work in Safari. They also said that Google is working on a standalone version of the app which will be available through the App Store. It's not clear whether Apple wanted to free the iOS experience of Google or if they got tired of paying Google's licensing fees.

It's likely that this change will be good for consumers. The stock YouTube app hasn't seen any major changes or improvements for years, however, now that Google has its own app, it can change and update it as much as it would like. A YouTube spokesperson said that "we are working with Apple to ensure we have the best possible YouTube experience for iOS users."

There's no denying that piracy is a huge problem for Microsoft. Just two days after Windows 8 was released to OEMs, the operating system showed up on file sharing sites for download. Microsoft has declined to comment on the leak, but there's little reason to think it was someone other than an employee at an OEM.

This isn't the first example of piracy for Microsoft. Almost every previous product they have released has been pirated to some extent. While they won't be able to get the problem completely stamped out with the changes they are making, it should at least close some loopholes and make it harder for pirates to do what they do best.

The changes relate to how OEMs active Windows on pre-built machines. Windows is activated at the factory so that consumers don't have to take any additional steps when they purchase a computer. Prior activation schemes saw OEMs using a single activation key on all machines so that they could use the same image across them all.

It's about time one of the big manufacturers jumped into making benchmark software for Android phones and tablets, and with today's announcement, that's just what Futuremark has done. Futuremark has joined forces with hardware manufacturers Acer, Intel, Qualcomm, and SingTel-Optus in order to produce the best, most accurate benchmark possible for Android.

Jukka Mäkinen, Futuremark CEO said, "For more than ten years we have worked with the world's leading PC hardware manufacturers to create 3DMark and PCMark. As a result, Futuremark benchmarks are the industry standard for PC performance measurement used by hundreds of press publications and millions of end-users. As we bring 3DMark to Android, we are excited to expand our cooperation to include Acer, Intel, Qualcomm and SingTel-Optus, technology leaders who will bring unparalleled insight, experience and vision to the development of 3DMark for Android."

We will see the new benchmark later this year. It's certainly something that is craved by reviewers and journalists around the web. Even better, the results will be able to be directly compared to those of the new Windows version also coming out later this year. Here's what some of Futuremark's partners have to say about the new benchmark:

Well, Microsoft is having quite the week, aren't they? First they hit the Release to Manufacturing state for Windows 8, meaning that is is finished and shipped off for mass duplication. Then, just hours ago, we reported that an 'N' version of Windows 8 RTM had hit file sharing sites, and now the company is having to fight off rumors of a possible trademark infringement for the use of the word "Metro" for their user interface in Windows 8, according to a piece over at Ars Technica.

I stumbled over it, and first thought it was a joke, but realised that I was fooling myself. Sources have told Ars that Metro is now dead after the company's Legal and Corporate Affairs team sent out a memo banning the word "Metro". LCA's memo reportedly said that Microsoft had been threatened with legal action for infringing on "Metro" trademarks that are held by German retailer Metro AG.

This means that from here on out, Microsoft is using a new terminology they're calling "Windows 8-style UI" when talking about Windows 8 applications, and "New User Interface" when talking about the company's full product line-up. Ars asked Microsoft for a comment, which they replied with:

As another feather in Android's cap, Ice Cream Sandwich has been ported to the pint-sized Raspberry Pi. Where the two foods mix nicely, the actual hardware isn't quite as nice. While Android allows Raspberry Pi to act like a smartphone or tablet, the single 700MHz core and 256MB of RAM aren't quite up to the same snuff as most smartphones or tablets.

As such, there is a bit of lag in some places. However, it is still quite the achievement as they have gotten hardware accelerated video and graphics working as expected. The next step in the process is to get audio on the system working. As of right now, the port is not publicly available, although they plan to release it as soon as two kernels merge.

The video above shows Ice Cream Sandwich on Raspberry Pi. As delicious as that may sound, we're talking about hardware. Considering Raspberry Pi is only $25, the versatility it offers is rather impressive!

So it looks like its not just Valve's Gabe Newell, or Blizzard who are against Microsoft's Windows 8, which just hit RTM, by the way. Minecraft developer Notch is cautious of the shift to the Windows Store, and third-party outlets.

Notch sees any further lockdown of Windows 8 as potentially "very very bad" for indie game developers, and overall competition in the gaming business. It was all during an interview on Reddit, where the Minecraft dev predicted a bright future for indie game developers, as long as there are "open and free" platforms to support their work. Notch says:

Windows 8 is getting closer and closer to be released and today sees another major milestone for the latest operating system. Today, Microsoft has announced that Windows 8 testing and production has been completed and that the new operating system has been released to manufacturing. This means that OEMs now have access to the OS and can start building PCs with it.

Of course those PCs built won't go on sale quite yet. They will hit the market with the general release of Windows 8, which comes on October 26. Upgrades will be offered for $39.99, or if you have recently purchased a Windows 7 PC, the upgrade will only cost you $14.99. Various audiences will get access to Windows 8 RTM before the rest of us:

The Windows 8 release preview is still available for users to check out and can be downloaded from Microsoft. As of August 15, developers will have access to the final build of Visual Studio 2012, which will include resources they need to design, build, and sell apps in the Windows Store. We're just under 3 months away from seeing the final version of Microsoft's latest OS.

GNU founder and PC-rights campaigner, Richard Stallman, has stepped forward and said that Valve's decision to sell DRM-based games on Linux is "unethical". Valve's digital distribution service, Steam, was announced it was making its way to Ubuntu 12.04 LTS, with the first game out of the Linux-branded gate being Left 4 Dead 2.

The move has been seen much more positively from the Linux community, which is mostly ignored by major commercial software developers. Most people see the move as a turning point toward making Linux more popular, but Stallman disagrees and says that closed source games are "unethical because they deny freedom to its users". Stallman added:

Hot on the heels of Valve's founder, Gabe Newell, and his comments on Windows 8 being a "catastrophe", we have Blizzard's Executive Vice President of Game Design, Rob Pardo, sharing a similar feeling on the upcoming OS from Microsoft.

Pardo took to Twitter to call Windows 8 "not awesome for Blizzard either", but this is another PC-centric game developer who doesn't seem to like Windows 8. Both Newell and Pardo haven't gone into detail of what exactly they don't like about the OS, but maybe its the new direction Microsoft are taking? Could it be that the company is trying to compete with Apple, and not really push the OS design, or introduce any new ground-breaking features?

PC gaming has been on the decline, as for technological improvements and jumps, for years. Consoles have pushed this nail into the coffin slowly, and yes, PC gaming isn't dying, but there's not much of a need for 3- or 4-way GPU setups, and the like. Not that these companies respective games really push technological boundaries, but Windows 8 is a future OS, for the next three or so years. Valve could be looking to release a next-gen game or five, hoping for a leap in features from the OS, the same goes for Blizzard.

Security firm BT are claiming that more than one-third of all Android apps have malware baked inside of them. BT bases their statement on tests that the firm itself has conducted, where they examined more than 1,000 Android apps.

According to the company, the fact that malware is in that many devices means that those devices are compromised in some way or another. The company said this during a panel discussion at NetEvents Americas conference. The panel moderator pointed out that he had found malware in an application whilst reviewing Samsung's latest Galaxy S III, with BT's representatives detailing the company's findings.

One thing that BT hasn't revealed is whether the malware they found was found in apps coming from Google's Play Store. With Google's Android-based devices being capable of downloading apps from more than one place, it may be possible that BT's numbers are a bit explosive, and aren't really a representation of people who download apps directly from the Play Store, and nowhere else.

During videogame conference Casual Connect in Seattle, Valve boss Gabe Newell branded Windows 8 as "a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space". He added that in the fallout from Windows 8 "we'll lose some of the top-tier PC/OEMs, who will exit the market. I think margins will be destroyed for a bunch of people."

Newell adds that one of the last remaining things keeping people from trying Linux was the lack of games, but with the company bringing both Steam, and Left 4 Dead 2 to the platform, it could be the start of a new direction for the PC. Newell describes it as "a hedging strategy" and if his predictions of Windows 8 are correct, he says "it will be good to have alternatives to hedge against that eventuality".

But, you've got to remember, Valve makes money from every sale on their digital distribution platform, Steam. Windows 8 sports a built-in Windows Store, which would challenge Valve's revenue source, maybe not in a direct way, but it will still be competition. But, Microsoft's Windows Store is more closed, and controlled, compared to Valve's Steam platform.