jAlbum 10 drops freeware license, adds features
Swedish web album creation tool jAlbum has reached a landmark release. jAlbum 10.0, which runs on Windows, Mac and Linux, sees a number of new features and expanded image format support alongside a change in licensing terms. Previous versions of the software were available as a freeware license; the new version switches to free for non-commercial use.
Commercial users, and those who wish to remove ads and jAlbum branding from their web albums, will now need to purchase the Pro version for $55. Anyone with a Premium or Power subscription to jAlbum’s online storage service will get a complementary Pro license while their sub lasts.
Amazon launches Kindle Library Lending program
Last April, Amazon announced the Kindle Library Lending program would let Kindle users borrow books from more than 11,000 U.S. libraries. Today, the program officially launched at all participating libraries.
Users can search their local library's website, and when they find a book, they can choose "Send to Kindle," which then redirects them through Amazon.com and syncs their book down to their e-reader or Kindle app for Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, BlackBerry or Windows Phone, or to the browser-based Kindle Cloud Reader.
Apple will unveil iPhone 5 on October 4?
Let the iPhone 5 rumors begin in earnest now. All Things Digital, which has a pretty good track record reporting rumors right, says that Apple will hold a big media event on October 4, presumably to announce iPhone 5. Uh-oh, AT&T's unexpected and unexplained Samsung Galaxy S II delay could get ugly now.
Predicting what the event means, assuming it's happening as rumored, is trickier than you might think. Apple has been holding October media events for years, usually to announce new Macs. This year is different. Apple didn't announced new iPods in September or iPhone in June, as is typical. So this event could be much bigger than iPhone 5 -- or not, if Apple chooses to announce iMacs and iPods as is seasonally typical -- and iPhone 5 later. Then there is Tim Cook's role as new CEO. This will be a big day for him, and, therefore, big for Apple.
WireframeSketcher: user interface mock-ups made fast and easy
The days of using a drawing board are not quite behind use, and when it comes to sketching out a quick idea for a website, or even a program interface, it is quite common to reach for a pen and paper rather than a computer. But this may change if WireframeSketcher has anything to do with it. This is a design application that makes it easy to create rough mockups for websites and applications.
Whether you are designing for the Internet, Windows, Mac or mobile platforms, WireframeSketcher can be used to quickly knock up an interface. The program can be used on solo projects, but there are also tools for collaborative work. There is an extensive library of page and interface elements that can be dragged and dropped onto your workspace to create an interface design in moments.
Enterprise cloud email and collaboration has reached the 'tipping point', or will in 2012, maybe 2014 -- well, someday
The new math that analysts use to make predictions is sometimes amazing to comprehend. Gartner predicts that so-called cloud email and collaboration services (CECS) have reached a "tipping point" based on projected 10 percent enterprise adoption by 2014. So it's not even 10 percent yet, but, hey, that's okay, enterprises are rushing to the cloud. Or are they?
I'm a big proponent of cloud computing, and have predicted the big push to cloud-connected devices for years. But even I have to gape in wonder at the concept of 10 percent in three years being a "tipping point".
Google+ opens to all
It's two days before Facebook's developer conference and one before Google Chairman Eric Schmidt gives his testimony on Capitol Hill. So it's good timing for a big Google+ announcement before there's competing big news. Yes, there's the new Hangout features that my colleague Tim Conneally wrote about earlier today. But this is better: Now most anyone can join Google+. Well, damn, there goes the neighborhood. :)
Google+ has moved from field trial to public beta, whatever the hell that means. It's a big change for a social network just three months old and already 20-million-plus subscribers strong. The real test of Google's infrastructure comes now -- then there's the question about how the service will demographically change. Looking at my Circles, they're all geek to me. I don't know if there's a normal person on the service. Here they come!
Mac OS X Lion passwords super easy to crack, says researcher
A two-year old security issue in Mac OS X has reared its ugly head once again in Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, allowing users of a computer to easily modify the passwords of other users.
Mac OS X stores encrypted passwords in what are called "shadow files." These files are placed in secure locations on the drive, which are intended to be only alterable by the user himself or the administrator, provided they authenticate themselves.
Kaspersky introduces ONE license for PC, smartphone & tablet security
Security company Kaspersky Lab on Tuesday announced a new program called Kaspersky ONE, where a single license covers the security software across all of a user's devices: desktop, notebook, smartphone, and tablet.
Having security on your PC should be a given. It's just a matter of personal preference which security suite you use. But when you own multiple PCs with vastly different hardware configurations, or multiple PCs and multiple mobile devices, comprehensive security is often not a priority. Kaspersky suggests that this is due to the hassle of multiple licenses for the different platforms we deal with.
Share 1-minute clips with Klip Video
If you have an iOS device, be it an iPhone, iPod or iPad, you are equipped with everything you need to not only watch, but also record video footage. Just like photos, half of the fun of shooting videos is sharing the content with other people and for many people this will mean turning to YouTube. But having test driven Klip Video for iOS, this may soon change.
The app can be used to record with the front or rear camera of your device and the integrated video editor can be used to trim the footage down to a clip that is one minute in length. While there is no limit on the number of files you can upload, the length of one minute cannot be exceeded, and this helps to keep Klip Video fresh and lively.
Video Hangouts in Google+ get massive feature upgrade
One of the most forward-thinking features of Google's three-month old social network Google+ is its ability to set up multi-person live video chatrooms called "hangouts," here, users with webcams can convene over a youtube video, set up impromptu performances or instructional sessions, or just hang out.
Tuesday, Google announced four new feature upgrades to Hangouts in Google Plus.
O&O Defrag 15 boasts 40% performance gains
Hard drive utility specialist O&O Software has released the latest edition of its flagship defrag tool, Defrag 15. And the emphasis this time is on performance, with the company claiming improvements to the program’s algorithms have cut defrag times by anything up to 40 percent.
Exactly what sort of speeds you might see is difficult to say, as every situation is different. We took a lightly fragmented drive, though, typical of how a system might be after a few days of work, and tested how long it took to optimise. The built-in Windows 7 defrag tool needed almost four minutes; Defrag 15′s fastest optimisation method required only 12 seconds.
HTC Rhyme makes a fashion statement
The true measure of any carry-around product category's mass-market success is when manufacturers put form before function -- when it becomes jewelry or other accoutrement. There's little other way to look at the new HTC Rhyme smartphone introduced today and going on sale September 29 from Verizon Wireless here in the United States.
From the Clearwater, Hourglass and Plum colors to the accessories -- my God, there's a light-emitting "Charm" to dangle from handbags -- Rhyme is as much about fashion as function. The fashion phone, with 3.7-inch display, 5-megapixel camera and running Android 2.3.4, will sell for $199. Form clearly exceeds function, as some specs are underwhelming for smartphones in the same price range -- for example, the 1GHz single-core Snapdragon processor, 4GB storage and 768 MB RAM.
Comcast launches $10 Internet access for poor families
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and District of Columbia Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson and Comcast Executive Vice President David L. Cohen this morning announced the official nationwide launch of "Internet Essentials," the program that will provide low-cost Internet services, affordable computers, and digital literacy training to families with children who are eligible for the National School Lunch Program.
"Broadband is our central platform in this 21st century for economic growth, innovation, and information. Broadband can be the great equalizer – giving every American with an Internet connection access to a world of new opportunities that might previously have been beyond their reach," FCC Chairman Genachowski said on Tuesday. "But roughly 100 million Americans are being bypassed by the broadband revolution. That's 68% of Americans who aren't connected at home. Compare that to South Korea and Singapore where adoption rates top 90%. Low-income Americans and minorities disproportionately find themselves on the wrong-side of this digital divide."
Video gamers crack code on AIDS-causing monkey virus
A protein causing AIDS in rhesus monkeys that hadn't been solved for 15 years was resolved by players of an online science puzzle video game called Foldit, which challenges groups of players to "unfold" chains of amino acids.
It took competing teams of gamers just three weeks to generate three-dimensional models of the enzyme, which is called M-PMV (Mason-Pfizer Monkey virus) retroviral protease.
DigiNotar goes bust
Digital certificate authorities everywhere be warned: Hackers can destroy you. Today parent company VASCO Data Security announced that DigiNotar has been declared bankrupt. The action comes after weeks of controversy, following an intrusion that allowed a hacker to distribute more than 500 rogue digital certificates. Browser makers like Google and Microsoft responded by blocking DigiNotar certificates, thus cutting off the company's lifeline. The question now: Who's next?
DigiNotar's problems started in late August, when the first rogue certificates appeared. After Google and Microsoft suspended -- that is "untrusted" -- DigiNotar, the CA suspended issuing certificates. Two weeks ago, a hacker using the handle COMODOHACKER took responsibility for the security breach, claiming to have distributed 531 rogue certificates and to have breached five other certificate authorities. Now that he (or she) has essentially destroyed DigiNotar, will COMODOHACKER move on to the others? Or perhaps other CAs have tightened security since the DigiNotar breach.
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