Archive for: Software
Google may not be playing nicely with devs chomping at the bit to get the official Android 3.0 Honeycomb source code, but that doesn’t mean ASUS will follow the same path. Interested parties looking to get at least some partial Honeycomb goodness need look no farther than ASUS’ official Eee Pad Transformer page for the goods.
The release on ASUS’ site carriers the version of “V8.2.2.6″ and tips the scales at 97MB. While it’s not the full source code, it’s certainly better than nothing as it will allow devs to begin developing for Honeycomb right now as opposed to whenever Google feels like it. Get to it…
The recurring discussion behind a “Windows 8 App Store” were re-ignited this morning as claimed screenshots of said storefront were once again leaked. The overall presentation looks rather nice, if a bit plain. Of course, we won’t know for sure until the beta of said store (Microsoft “App Mall”) is released sometime this year if rumors are to be believed.
With apps the #1 ticket to success it seems, software and hardware companies alike are racing to capitalize on the current “fad”. At least in Microsoft’s case, they’re trying to build everything — Xbox, Windows Phone 7, and Windows OS — underneath one code umbrella and app store.
While the screenshot above cannot be confirmed as real or fake at this point, it paints an interesting picture for Windows 8 (rumored for release in late 2012) and possibly even Windows 7 as the App Mall could be released ahead of the next version of Windows.
You may or may not have seen an article earlier showing off a new Android 3.0.336 music player compliments of TechFrom10. Now you can have that very same version of said app all to yourselves. Besides the prettier face, WiFi streaming and a new Cover Flow-esque recently played tracks list among other things populate the new app.
Download the new Android 3.0.336 music player here. Just make sure you have at least Android 2.2 (Froyo).
The stock Android recent apps pane isn’t all that robust. If you’re a power user such as some of us here at GS, you’ve no doubt got at least double the 8 app maximum open at any given point. While there are already countless usable app launchers in the Android Market, new options are always exciting to explore. Dock4Droid (previously Taskie) is a revamped/new fast app switcher that allows you to quickly scroll through all of your open apps instead of a set list of most recently used ones. The free version of the app doesn’t allow you to change any of the default settings. But for a mere €0.69, such functionality can be yours. Go ahead and give it a shot and let us know what you think.
In a move that is similar to Google’s newfound controlling nature regarding Android, Mozilla is getting antsy watching their Firefox web browser constantly being brought to its knees because of rouge or just downright slow plugins. Getting the message across to end users and simultaneously protecting them comes in two steps. First, Mozilla will be launching a new initiative in two weeks that will see them slapping a warning on plug-ins that reduce Firefox performance by 25% or more. On top of that, Mozilla is now publishing a list of Firefox’s worst performing plugins that will be updated weekly.
For now, developers will have to wait “a few months” until Mozilla makes their testing tools available to self-test any and all of their work. Furthermore, it’s worth noting that this initial testing by Mozilla is measuring startup time and nothing else. Mozilla says new tests that will incorporate page loading time will come at a later date.
In our testing, Firefox 4 has proven to be Mozilla’s best yet with return to the speed they were once known for. While it hasn’t replaced Chrome as the GS favorite, it is now sitting in a comfortable #2 position. So we ask our readers: Any qualms with Firefox past or present?
Firefox 4 was important not only for the bevy of new features Mozilla baked in, but also for the most dramatic physical change in several years. While not everyone has warmed up to the new look, Mozilla is already hard at work tweaking the UI for Firefox 5. And if you recall, Mozilla has mentioned that moving forward from Firefox 4, updates will come much faster though contain less features and updates. This approach is similar to the one that Google now uses for Chrome — essentially version numbers are less important than they use to be.
If you’re curious about the upcoming changes, point your browser over to Areweprettyyet.com for a diagram complete with explanations on fixed and pending issues.
To every Mac user who hasn’t hacked their shiny new LTE modems to work on their OS X-equipped machines (or those waiting for more official options), your meal ticket is coming very soon. In an exchange of words with PhoneScoop, VZW mentioned a pending February update that would bring the highly sought after Mac support that many have been clamoring for. Of course, those who really wanted to get VZW’s LTE modems up and working on their non-Windows machines already have via various hacks easily found online. But for the masses, a more official approach is greatly appreciated and needed. For the record, this update is only for the LG VL600 modem at this time.
No official release date has been revealed as of writing.
This past Tuesday, Mozilla’s senior director of platform engineering, Damon Sicore, commented on the upcoming major release of Firefox 4 via a developer mailing list. The long coming update has been in the works for many months, and includes dramatic speed improvements thanks to the new JägerMonkey JavaScript engine, a more sandboxed design so that crashing plugins *cough…Flash* don’t take down the entire browser, and a revamped user interface among other things. Specifically, ~160 “hard blockers” (read: bugs) still exist. Once that number dips closer towards 100, we should see a release candidate pushed out. If everything goes according to plan, the Mozilla team plans to release Firefox by late February.
Who’s excited for the biggest release in Firefox’s history? (Or have you already moved over to Chrome?)
Well that was quick — The Mac App Store launched today. And today, we’re reporting that it appears to have been cracked. Apparently, copying a few resource files from a free app (in this instance, the new, free Twitter app was used as an example) into a paid app’s own resources folder will allow you to run the paid app at no cost. How this little trick slipped by Apple is beyond us. But now that the cat is out of the bag, we expect a fix to be released sooner rather than later.
