Internet Explorer spellchecker Speckie adds support for IE11, improves touch
Versoworks has released Speckie 6.0, a major new version of its real-time spellchecking tool for Internet Explorer. The software, available free for personal use as well as in commercial form with additional features, adds support for the forthcoming Internet Explorer 11 with this new release.
Version 6.0 also comes with the promise of improved support for Rich Editors, and has updated the Settings user interface to be more amenable to touch-screen interfaces, despite the fact it doesn’t yet support 64-bit versions of Windows 8 or Windows 8.1.
Vet unsafe websites with WOT 2.0, out now for Chrome, Safari and Firefox
These days most browsers offer some form of basic protection against clicking a fake link and visiting phishing websites (facsimiles of genuine sites that attempt to trick users into giving up sensitive personal information like passwords and credit-card details). But they don’t offer much else protection against other dangerous sites.
This is where Web of Trust (WOT) comes in: it maintains a database of websites, rating them for safety, privacy and security and giving you a second opinion about whether or not a particular site is safe to shop at, share personal details with or even simply visit.
Best Windows 8 apps this week
Forty-eight in a series. Things do not look as grim any more in regards to the overall Windows Store application growth. 964 new apps found their way into the US Windows Store this week.
While still nowhere near the performance of previous months, it seems that things have picked up slightly again.
Nokia lightning strikes Windows Phone
I am a big fan of thunder and lightning storms. There is nothing else in nature that is simultaneously fun, romantic and scary (depending on the situation and company). However, there is a very serious side to these storms -- death or injury by lightning. Yes, an electrical storm can end your life if you aren't careful.
Nokia does not seem too concerned though, as it announces it has charged a Windows Phone with the power of lightning. The company says, "wireless charging, in and of itself, is pretty darn cool. But imagine if you could charge your phone using lightning! Nokia has been working with the University of Southampton to do just that, and the results are nothing short of brilliant".
BlackBerry reports almost $1 billion loss in Q2 fiscal results
As expected, BlackBerry is reporting a quarterly loss of nearly $1 billion as the struggling firm releases its fiscal results for the second quarter. The company managed to ship 3.7 million handsets, giving a revenue of $1.6 billion. This is a drop of 49 percent from the first quarter ($3.1 billion) and 45 percent down on the same period last year ($2.9 billion). Overall, there are operating losses amounting to $965 million.
A large proportion of the units shipped were BlackBerry 10 handsets sent out to wholesalers and mobile firms, and profits from these will not be counted until sold to customers. In Q2, 5.9 million smartphones were placed in customers' hands, and this includes handset shipments from previous quarters. The poor results had been widely predicted, and BlackBerry cancelled its scheduled conference call.
Touch on laptops is a bonus, not a key feature
Every once in a while the BetaNews writers have differing opinions when it comes to certain topics. Case in point: my colleague Joe Wilcox just wrote a story which may lead you to believe that touch is an essential feature for Windows laptops. That could not be further from the truth. As a long-time Windows (and Windows 8 user) there wasn't a single moment when I felt the need to poke the screen. And I'm sure that many fellow users would agree.
Joe cites NPD's Stephen Baker in saying that "Touch appears to be coming into its own as a core feature in the Windows ecosystem". That's a bit like saying "Stickers appear to be coming into their own as a core feature on laptops' palm rests". Touch doesn't have to be included (nor do the stickers), and here is why.
Xbox One plans to kick you into shape with new fitness videos, Kinect monitoring
The countdown to the Xbox One release is on, and we are receiving regular updates regarding what to expect, from game releases to entertainment options. Now Microsoft is adding another dimension to the platform, this time aiming to boost your physical fitness level.
Today, the console maker announces the latest device will come with Xbox Fitness -- providing you obtain an Xbox Live Gold membership, of course.
AirCover Security promises all-in-one protection for your Android device [Review]
All of the major antivirus firms -- big names like Symantec, McAfee, AVG and Kaspersky -- offer mobile security apps for Android which can help protect against malware and theft. There are offerings from lesser known companies available too.
BlueSprig is a newcomer in this field, but its AirCover Security Android app is a comprehensive offering which can protect against malware and theft, help boost your privacy, block unwanted calls and SMS messages, and safeguard you on the web, as well as optimize your system.
Office of Fair Trading says games should not encourage in-app purchases by children
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is calling on the games industry to avoid pressuring children into making in-app purchases in games and potentially running up large bills. Back in April, an investigation began into the ways in which children are pressured into making in-app purchases. 38 web and app-based games thought to appeal to children were looked at, and the results of the investigation are available in the Children's Online Games report.
The OFT aimed to determine whether the way in-app purchases were presented could be considered "misleading, aggressive or otherwise unfair". As a result of the investigation, the OFT has drawn up a set of eight proposed principles that apps and games should follow. The principles include clearly and prominently informing app users about the potential for costs to be incurred through the app. It is suggested that users should be able to fully understand the current and future costs associated with any app they download.
Fairfax's BlackBerry bid: questions still remain
Earlier this week, the Prem Watsa-led Fairfax group announced that it was making a $4.7 billion bid to take BlackBerry private. This followed BlackBerry's pre-announcement of disastrous Q2 results that showed smartphone shipments crashing to 3.7 million units and total revenue collapsing to $1.6 billion.
The company also took an inventory charge of roughly $1 billion because of unsold BlackBerry 10 devices. However, since the funding for the deal has not yet been secured, it may also have been a pre-announcement to halt the company's stock decline.
Bitrix24 delivers powerful collaboration to smaller enterprises for free
Enterprise social network and collaboration specialist Bitrix24 has released a new version of its free software for smaller businesses. The new product allows users to create, edit and collaborate on documents online, without having MS Office installed on their PCs.
Bitrix 24 has its own instant messenger for video and group chats, in addition users now have access to video conferencing and screen sharing capabilities. Email connectors allow it to work with MS Exchange, Outlook, Gmail, AOL, Yahoo!, iCloud and other popular mail services.
Evernote brings Post-it Notes to iOS 7
Some habits are hard to kick. Even though the world is trending towards a digital lifestyle, many business users still use Post-it Notes. I am guilty of using these low-tech pieces of paper daily. Sometimes, I need to quickly jot-down a note or phone number; a piece of paper can be faster than unlocking my smartphone or workstation. However, at the end of the day, I find my desk littered with these things. I have often wished for an easy way to transfer them to my computer.
Apparently, I am not alone as today, Evernote announces a partnership with Post-it which aims at organizing these notes. The company says, "for us at Evernote, Post-it Notes are a Hero Product. We strive for the sort of flexible, instantly-understandable usefulness that draws hundreds of millions of people to purchase Post-it brand products. There is one drawback. As ubiquitous as they are, they’re also, well, attached to stuff. That’s where Evernote comes in. Evernote is giving Post-it Notes a digital life and whole new set of tricks".
Netflix touts new Super HD image quality for (almost) all
Netflix is locked in a heated battle for your streaming dollars. Rivals Amazon Prime and Redbox Instant, to name just two, are on a mission to knock the king off the hill. Today the video giant announces a new weapon in its arsenal -- better HD coming to subscribers everywhere.
"The great TV shows and movies on Netflix will look even better on HD screens with a higher bit rate stream, Super HD, that applies less compression to the 1080p image", says Joris Evers, director of corporate communications at Netflix.
More than half of tech professionals would take a pay cut to work from home
Working from home is something of a luxury, but it's also not easy -- this is something I know from personal experience. I've been a home worker for around a decade now, but it does take some getting used to. Tell people that you work from home and there's usually a look of jealousy in the eyes the ones who have to stay behind at the office each evening. Home working means being able to pick your own hours, not having to deal with the daily commute, and not having to do the coffee round, but would you be happy to pay for the privilege?
We already know that most people would rather work from home than have to trudge to the office every day, but a new report from GetVoIP reveals that taking a pay cut would be an acceptable compromise for most tech professionals. A survey of 501 workers shows that 53 percent would be willing to earn a smaller pay check each month if it meant they could work from the comfort of their own home.
Sighthound claims to add people detection and better search to home security
I am a long time customer of a home security system, and it has been a wild ride through much of its history, but not one I will detail here -- suffice it to say, the alarm can scare you to death for no reason at times. Adding a camera can intensify this problem, by opening up the motion detection to every creature that wonders into the field of view -- a lot as I live in a rural area.
Now, Sighthound wishes to fix that problem with new technology that can distinguish images and filter out the false alarms. "Sighthound Video has been trained to simulate the human brain’s recognition abilities. The software not only detects motion, it detects people. The software’s ability to detect and differentiate humans from animals or other objects greatly reduces the number of false positives and unnecessary alerts sent to users, which can make even the most modern security cameras unusable", the company claims.
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