Sound Lock evens audio so you won't disturb those sleeping or studying
It’s late at night, and you’d like to watch a movie on your PC, but there’s a problem: Set your system volume at a level where you can comfortably hear the dialog and quieter moments, and action scenes are often way too loud, annoying if you’re hoping not to disturb the neighbours.
You could try to adjust your volume down to some compromise level, of course, or perhaps keep altering it throughout the movie. But it might be easier just to install Sound Lock, which allows you to resolve this issue in a single step. The idea is that you first set your system volume to a level where you can hear even the quietest parts of your movie (or music, or game, or whatever else you’re playing).
Smartphones shipments soar in China, Android benefits
CEO Tim Cook describes China as Apple's second-most important region. For good reason. IDC predicts that smartphone shipments to the People's Republic of China will pass the United States this year. There's the question, which benefits more: Android or iPhone/iOS?
"The PRC smartphone market will continue to be lifted by the sub-US$200 Android segment", Wong Teck-Zhung, IDC senior market analyst, says. "Near-term prices in the low-end segment will come down to US$100 and below as competition for market share intensifies among smartphone vendors. Carrier-subsidized and customized handsets from domestic vendors will further support the migration to smartphones and boost shipments. Looking ahead to the later years in the forecast, the move to 4G networks will be another growth catalyst".
Kindle Fire is so successful, we aren't making any more
I've seen some desperate bone-headed, PR moves before, but Amazon's newest is one to long remember. When Apple announces a press event, the InterWebs erupt with speculation about what it can be. When product inventory is low in stores on some fruit-logo product, rumors explode about something new in the pipeline. Amazon has to work harder, issuing today a press release that Kindle Fire has sold out, ahead of next week's press event. Could the retailer be any less subtle, while revealing sales data that is absolutely nothing but meant to be something.
BetaNews founder Nate Mook nails exactly what's wrong with Amazon's gambit to drum up excitement ahead of the September 6 event. Earlier today he forwarded the Kindle-Fire sell-out email, writing: "It's SOOOO successful. So we're not making any more". That sums it up.
Opera 12.02 is an essential update
Norwegian browser developer Opera has updated its cross-platform browser. Opera 12.02 features minor security and stability updates, making it an essential update for all users.
The update comes less than 48 hours after Opera also released a new snapshot of its pre-release version of Opera NEXT 12.50 with a major core update, adding new features such as keyboard text selection and options for adding extensions to Opera’s context menus.
Samsung is such a copycat
Well, I must agree with the jury in the Apple-Samsung patent trial, after seeing the shocking look-a-likes the South Korean electronics giant announced yesterday during IFA Berlin. Have you seen these Apple rip-offs? Samsung simply is shameless in its copying.
For example, there's a new phone with large screen and stylus, as well as another with big zoom lens. The audacity of Samsung to take features from iPhone or iPad and offer them on its devices. The company just thumbs its nose -- or whatever gesture they use on the Asian peninsula -- at the American jury and US District Judge Lucy Koh.
Ubuntu provides magic that Windows 8 doesn't
Is it possible to still be an early adopter and only start using Linux full-time now?
Linux is the supreme software conquest for me, and one particular distribution has tormented my early adopter "lifestyle" -- Red Hat Linux. It's now long gone, abandoned by parent company Red Hat, though it was given a new lease on life through Fedora and Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
Despite Surface and Windows RT, Windows 8 Slate PCs get boost from Samsung
At IFA in Berlin, Germany yesterday, Samsung officially took the wraps off of its new Windows-powered slate PCs, the Series 5 and Series 7, which, like Samsung's Android tablets, incorporate a lot of modifications directly from the South Korean consumer electronics leader.
The Samsung Series 7 Slate is configured with an Intel Core i5 processor and 4 GB of RAM, with a 128GB SSD and has a suggested retail price of $1,199.
Amazon Appstore finally launches in Europe
Amazon Appstore, the retail giant's marketplace for Android applications, has finally opened for business in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, a whopping 17 months after it first launched in the US.
Jim Adkins, vice president of Amazon Appstore, says of the marketplace’s overseas expansion: "Customers in the US have purchased millions of apps, games, in-app items and subscriptions since the store launched last year, and we’ve received great feedback about discovery features like Free App of the Day. We evaluate and test games and apps before making them available in the Appstore so we ensure customers have a great experience with the games and apps they purchase. Amazon has spent years developing innovative features that help customers find and discover the products that are right for them and have applied that know-how to the Amazon Appstore. We’re delighted to extend that experience to our European customers".
Laplink PCmover Free is worth the price
Laplink Software has released PCmover Free, a cut-down version its migration tool for transferring applications, settings and data from one PC to another.
And if you’ve used a commercial build of PCmover before, then this new release will seem very familiar. It’s essentially a simple wizard that walks you through every bit of the migration process, from choosing what you’d like to transfer, to collecting and packaging that data, to moving it to the new system.
Samsung unveils Windows Phone 8 ATIV
Samsung made a string of new product announcements at IFA in Berlin, including of course the much anticipated Galaxy Note II. But just when we thought we knew everything the South Korean company had in store for us, it surprised the gathered watchers by unveiling the ATIV S, the first handset to run Microsoft’s new mobile operating system.
The ATIV (VITA - "Life" in Latin - backwards) is the first in a whole range of Samsung products based on Microsoft’s software, and boasts a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor and 4.8in (121.9mm) HD Super AMOLED display. It also has an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and 1.9MP-megapixel front-facing camera, making it competitive, but not ground-breaking. The smartphone will be for sale at some point between October and November, in time for Christmas.
Snaps gives you more control over photo metadata
If your digital photo collection is something of a mess then there are thousands of programs that promise they can restore order. And so, like us, you probably don’t see an urgent need for any more.
Snaps is a genuinely interesting photo manager and viewer, though, that offers a little more than some of the more identikit competition. And while the program has some problems, in part because it’s still very young (it’s currently at version 0.3.9), there’s already enough functionality to be useful and it shows plenty of promise for the future.
Why we love Steve Jobs
In about six weeks, the InterWebs will flood with posts commemorating a tech visionary's passing. Steve Jobs died on Oct. 5, 2011. A year ago last week, he stepped down as Apple's CEO. Jobs is a colorful, iconic, flawed figure, who stands before us something more than mere mortal. That's because his public life has a literary quality that cuts to the core of our humanity.
I got to thinking more about this today following a discussion with colleague Tim Conneally and questions answered for a CNN reporter about Microsoft (apologies to him, I removed those sentences and use them here). I asked Tim today: "Why is Steve Jobs so endearing? Redemption. What's that term in fiction about the hero's journey? Steve Jobs followed the path in real life". There's something Shakespearean, too -- the fatal flaw that humbles greatness. Mixed together, his story should be a great fictional work. But it's better and haunting being real life.
Samsung debuts the Galaxy Note's even bigger little brother
If you loved the original Galaxy Note, you're going to love this even more -- Samsung's new Galaxy Note II, which was announced at IFA in Germany today. It is packing even more processing power than the mighty Samsung Galaxy S III and it brings some beans along with it...
The Samsung Galaxy Note II will ship with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and Samsung's TouchWiz UX out of the box. A 5.5-inch 720p Super AMOLED display sporting a 1280x720 resolution dominates the front of the new smartphone. It is packing a 1.6 GHz quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM. It comes with a 1.9 megapixel front-facing camera while on the back there is an 8 megapixel camera with LED flash. Bluetooth 4.0, USB 2.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, MHL and NFC take care of connectivity with A-GPS and Glonass support added as well. The usual array of sensors including an accelerometer and digital compass are included along with a 3,100mAh battery that powers the device. It comes in 16/32/64GB versions while a microSD card slot will accommodate up to 64GB of additional storage.
Sony applies Xperia brand to Android Tablet S, adds Windows-like customizations
At IFA in Berlin, Germany on Wednesday, Sony Mobile Communications debuted its second generation Android-powered Tablet S, which Sony has now merged with its Xperia smartphone brand.
Sony's first generation of Android-based tablets offered extremely different designs from the whole crowd of first generation Android tablets, yet despite their unique appearance, they entered the market with a "thud" rather than a "boom." The wedge-shaped Tablet S was introduced at the same time as the much more interesting Tablet P, but the two devices entered the US market six months apart.
How to install Ubuntu on VMware Workstation
Gone are the days when setting up and using Linux was a cumbersome experience, and what better way to see than trying Ubuntu -- one of the most popular and easiest-to-use distributions available. Ubuntu has tempted many Windows users to make the switch to open-source, free-to use-software.
One of the easiest methods to test Ubuntu is to install it on VMware Workstation. You get all the benefits of having Ubuntu installed but none of the hassles attributed to the process, because it's all happening in a safe virtual environment.
Most Commented Stories
© 1998-2024 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy.