Hackintosh -- a meager man finally gets his Mac
I’ve never owned a Mac before, but I’ve secretly wanted one since the release of OS X. The first time I tried the operating system was at CompUSA where I was a salesman. I regularly sold iMacs, iBooks, PowerBooks, Mac Minis and eMacs. The people that came to the Apple section of the store always seemed very odd -- they dressed weird and were loyal to Macintosh as if it were a religion. However, as odd as the people were, they were also very computer literate -- the same could not be said for the average eMachines or Compaq buyer.
Sadly, like many people, Apple hardware has always been too expensive for me -- I live meagerly. And so, I had to settle for Windows. There was nothing bad about Windows per se, but it lacked the cool-factor that the Apple computers had. Plus, I like to build computers and upgrade them. Something like a Mac Mini was affordable but not upgradeable -- a major turnoff.
Got yourself a new Nexus 7? Now you can download factory images and binaries
For anyone looking to tinker with their Android, access to factory images is essential. After something of a delay, Google is making available factory images and binaries for the recently released Nexus 7. Listed under the product name Razor, the images and binaries are freely available for all to download.
Anyone who is a fan of trying out custom ROMs needs access to an image so things can be restored to their factory fresh state should something go wrong. The image download is based on build JSS15J and weighs in at 360MB.
The Pirate Bay celebrates tenth anniversary with censorship busting PirateBrowser
Reaching double figures is a big landmark in anyone's life, and it's no different for the Pirate Bay. The website that the authorities love to hate, and ISPs are forced to block, is celebrating its tenth anniversary. Rather than munching on cake, washed down with a few sodas, the torrent site is marking the occasion by releasing its own web browser -- imaginatively named PirateBrowser.
Announced via Twitter, the browser is essentially a customized Firefox installation and it will come as little surprise that it has been tweaked to bypass restrictions that prevent people from accessing the site. The browser is currently available for Windows -- although Linux and Mac versions are in the pipeline -- and it comes complete with a bundled Tor client and proxy tools.
Trim Enabler for OS X boasts redesigned interface, adds Pro-only features
Oskar Groth has released Trim Enabler 3.0, his tool for enabling Trim on non-Apple SSD drives in OS X. The latest build continues to offer this core functionality, plus redesigns the user interface and adds some minor tweaks, for free, but also incorporates a new Pro version with extra functionality including benchmarking and advanced SMART monitor that can be unlocked for $10.
The most notable change in version 3.0 is the redesigned user interface, which takes its design cues from the forthcoming iOS 7. The app also adds menu bar support, allowing it to be accessed directly from the menu bar or "torn off" and placed in a standalone window.
Apple wins patent case that could lead to a ban on certain Samsung products
The Apple and Samsung battle continues to rumble, and less than a week after a proposed ban on the sale of iPhones and iPads was overturned, another ruling has -- at least for the time being -- gone Apple's way. The US ITC has upheld a previous ruling dating back to 2011 that found Samsung has infringed various Apple patents, potentially leading to a US ban on various devices from the South Korean company.
The ruling found that Samsung had violated two patents relating to Apple's iPhone. The first patent (often referred to as the "Steve Jobs patent") relates to the use of a touchscreen interface as means of interacting with a device using one or more fingers. The second patent relates to the design of an audio socket that can determine the type of microphone or headset that has been plugged into it.
Microsoft details how Xbox One game-sharing will work
With the lead-up to Xbox One, there was initial controversy, mostly surrounding the "always-on" feature, or potential for it. After the official announcement detailing the console, the company did an about-face, resulting in the "Xbox 180" nickname. The problem was, this not only took away potential DRM concerns, but also some rather cool features that many were looking forward to.
Today Major Nelson laid out the plans to fix this for the many customers who wish to have this service. Thanks to the vocal few, the features will now come at a price.
Quick! Grab your Google Latitude data before it's too late!
The latest horse to be sent out to pasture from Google's stables is Latitude. Little notice was given when the service's retirement was revealed -- albeit quite quietly -- back in July. In a blog post about the latest version of Maps, Google mentioned in passing that "Latitude and check-ins will be retired. These features will no longer be a part of the new Google Maps app, and will stop functioning in older versions by August 9".
Pay a visit to the About Latitude page and you will indeed see confirmation that Google will close "Google Latitude, Latitude for iPhone, the Latitude API, the public badge, the iGoogle Gadget, and the Latitude website on August 9". Well the date is now upon us. The end is nigh.
Best Windows 8 apps this week
Forty-first in a series. Microsoft has finally added an option to search for apps in your web browser. Up until now, you had to use the official Store app on Windows 8 for that or a third party service. While there is still no option to browse apps by category or filter by price, it is a step in the right direction. It makes my life a lot easier for example as I can now grab links right from the search interface and do not have to use search engines for that anymore.
Microsoft cannot be happy with the current app growth rate in Windows Store, and this is probably one of the core reasons why it launched the App Builder Rewards program for Windows Phone and Windows 8. It is currently only open for developers in the US though but will provide developers with options to earn points that they can exchange for rewards.
Linux gets hit by a trojan -- it's time to sudo apt-get scared!
When evangelists pontificate the benefits of Linux, the topic of security always comes up. A big selling point of Linux-based operating systems are that they are generally immune to viruses, trojans and malware. However, this is a falsehood -- no OS is 100 percent safe when it comes to these things. According to security company RSA, a team of Russian cyber-criminals have developed a trojan, named "Hand of Thief", which targets Linux.
The security company explains that the trojan is "designed to steal information from machines running the Linux OS. This malware is currently offered for sale in closed cybercrime communities for $2,000 USD (€1,500 EUR) with free updates. The current functionality includes form grabbers and backdoor capabilities, however, it's expected that the Trojan will have a new suite of web injections and graduate to become full-blown banking malware in the very near future. At that point, the price is expected to rise to $3,000 USD (€2,250 EUR), plus a hefty $550 per major version release".
Back up, sync and share your photos with Picturelife
There are many ways to back up or share your photos online. You’ll probably have some at Facebook, for instance. Perhaps more at Flickr. Or maybe just a folder at Dropbox or some other cloud storage site, where you can access them from any convenient browser.
Checking out yet another photo management service probably isn’t a task which ranks high on your list of priorities, then. But with Picturelife, at least, it could be worth the effort, because this isn’t just some "me too" site: it’s packed with genuine photo management power.
Paragon Partition Manager 2013 Free debuts new interface, adds Windows 8 support
Paragon Software has released a major new version of its free partitioning tool for Windows with the launch of Paragon Partition Manager 2013 Free. The new build introduces full support for Windows 8, a new user-friendly ribbon-based interface and removes the requirement for free registration.
The 2013 build also adds two new features -- including non-destructive partition conversion from NTFS -- but remains a cut-down version of the company’s more fully functional Paragon Hard Disk Manager 12.
Keep tabs of your charges with Battery Performance for Windows Phone 8
When it comes to battery life, you can call me a glass half-empty kind of person. I like to know precisely how long my smartphone can run on a single charge and, at any given time, the number of hours that I can use it before finally laying it atop of the wireless charger. For this reason, and I am sure that I am not alone in saying this, I wholeheartedly dislike basic battery icons, as they provide no exact piece of information.
Some Android iterations offer various indicators (on the status bar and on the lockscreen, aside from an in-depth consumption break-down), but Windows Phone 8 only provides basic information, tucked away in the settings menu. As a Nokia Lumia 920 user I am forced to resort to third-party apps, just to see the battery percentage, with one of the best offerings currently available being Battery Performance.
Mobile ads find their way to Google Maps for iOS and Android
Ads are prevalent and all but unavoidable online these days, and in a bid to keep software free and fund development, in-app advertisements are increasingly common.
The latest kid to the party is Google Maps for iOS and Android. Perform a search for a restaurant, coffee shop, or other establishment, and you may well find that the bottom of your mobile is adorned with an ad for a related business.
Nokia adds call and SMS blocking to part of its Lumia Windows Phone 8 lineup
Even with all the technological advancement in smartphone operating systems, minor features like call blocking are still absent on some modern-day devices. My Nokia Lumia 920 Windows Phone offers no such functionality, which would definitely come in handy when pranksters are calling in the middle of the night.
The reason for this oversight, in the case of the Lumia 920, is that Microsoft has not baked in a call-blocking feature in Windows Phone 8. But, thankfully, Finnish maker Nokia took matters into its own hands and just released an update for its exclusive extras+info app, which brings the basic yet important functionality, alongside SMS blocking, to part of its Windows Phone 8 lineup.
Microsoft’s new tablet ads -- comparing apples with lemons
This week Microsoft rolled out two new video adverts -- one pitting Surface RT against the iPad, and the other putting the Acer Iconia W3 next to the iPad mini. The adverts follow the same format as previously with a side by side look at the features on offer.
Of course the comparisons aren’t fair. Microsoft picks areas where its tablet/operating system is strongest, and avoids the areas where it’s weakest -- apps and popularity, for example. It’s a lot like comparing apples with oranges (or, yes, lemons in the case of poorly selling Windows devices) and then pointing out that it’s easy to peel an orange, but you need to buy a separate peeler to accomplish the same task on an apple.
© 1998-2024 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy.