Microsoft trumpets next generation enterprise solutions
In a keynote speech to the TechEd Europe conference in Madrid, Microsoft's Server and Tools Corporate VP Brad Anderson has announced the availability of preview versions of Windows Server 2012 R2, System Center 2012 R2 and SQL Server 2014.
Writing on the company’s blog Anderson says, "These products are going to have a massive impact on companies around the world -- and IT pros are going to see the traditional boundaries between datacenters vanish and a true hybrid cloud emerge".
CyanogenMod 10.1 reaches stable status, builds rolling out now
Modders rejoice! CyanogenMod 10.1 is now available as a final release, nearly two months after the popular custom green droid distribution reached release candidate status. The latest iteration, which is based on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, carries over existing features from previous (monthly and nightly) builds.
"The list of devices will be in line with the devices that have received release candidates to-date", says the team of developers behind the project. CyanogenMod 10.1 builds are available for a significant number of smartphones and tablets, including the Google Galaxy Nexus (in all of its trims), Nexus 7, ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity and Samsung Galaxy S III (US and international variants) among others.
Microsoft and Oracle head into the cloud together
Microsoft has announced a tie up with Oracle that will allow customers to run Oracle software on Windows Server Hyper-V and in Windows Azure.
The partnership means that Oracle will certify and support its software -- including Java, Oracle Database and Oracle WebLogic Server -- on the Microsoft cloud platforms. The key elements of the deal are listed on Oracle's corporate blog.
HP Slate 21 -- Android invades Microsoft territory
Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in! Only days after selling my Nexus 7 and preparing for a life without tablets, HP pulls me back by announcing the Slate 21. The HP Slate 21 is a tablet masquerading as a desktop -- a 21.5-inch touchscreen tablet with kickstand, keyboard and mouse. This unique all-in-one form factor has me very intrigued. However, this is not the first time we have seen Android being used in an original way. Just last week, Samsung announced the convertible franken-tablet ATIV Q.
While the Samsung ATIV Q is designed to merge Android and Windows, the HP Slate 21 is designed to put a dagger into the back of Windows. Make no mistake, this is a huge blow for Microsoft. While this isn’t HP’s first Android device, the Slate 21 is its first to directly compete with Microsoft on the desktop. Since HP is a close Microsoft partner, it will be interesting to see how their relationship will be affected.
Microsoft would like you to build and share Xbox One games
Microsoft is looking for a handout it seems. They would like customers to build and share their own games for both Xbox One and Windows 8. With that, the company invites users to sign-up and test Project Spark, an invitation extended today and which you will need to sign up for and await an actual chance to use the service.
For now Microsoft offers a video demonstration of what to expect. The video shows off the "ease" with which games can be created and altered and promises you will be able to share them when the process is complete and you are satisfied with your finished product.
Google rolls out revamped Groups
Google announces it is giving Google Groups an overhaul, retiring the old version and replacing it with a modern update with improved options for managing your groups as well as new moderation tools, and a mobile site.
Groups also now lets you create an inbox for collaboratively sharing, distributing, and tracking responsibilities with others.
Has Microsoft made WebGL Secure? How?
Microsoft has dropped strong clues, without saying it explicitly, that Internet Explorer 11 in Windows 8.1 will support WebGL, a DirectX-like standard for fast gaming on the web. The biggest clue came in a video posted on Vine. Others have found direct evidence in leaked builds.
It's not hard to see why Microsoft would want to support WebGL. Everyone else does. However, the company spelled out the reasons it hadn’t so far in a Security, Research and Defense blog post two years ago.
Lync Online: A professional, cheap GoToMeeting and Webex alternative [review]
Online meetings have been synonymous for nearly the last decade with well known platforms like GoToMeeting and Webex. And rightfully so. Both cloud collaboration suites are fairly mature offerings, with expanded feature sets that replicate (nearly) every aspect of a face to face meeting. As an IT professional by day, I'm frequently involved in client meetings over both platforms and have helped countless others leverage these products for their own businesses.
Yet there are numerous things which irk me about the status quo from these two offerings. The biggest happens to be the substantial cost attached to each. It's hard to believe that two platforms with such maturity have not been able to bring their price levels down considerably with as much engineering and prevalent, cost-effective cloud technology as exists today.
GIMP update introduces multiple fixes, improves single-window mode
Open-source image editor GIMP 2.8.6 FINAL has been released for Windows and Linux. This popular -- and powerful -- image manipulation tool, which is also available for Mac, is primarily a maintenance release, but does include some interesting feature tweaks, many of which improve the program’s single-window mode that was introduced in version 2.8.
Chief among these changes is the increase in the supported maximum size of clipboard brushes and patterns to 1,024×1,024 pixels. Also improved is how users switch focus back to the canvas screen in single-window mode, with the [Escape] key now used for that task.
Earth Alerts lets you track extreme weather all over the world
While there are plenty of weather monitoring apps around, most of them are, well, just a little dull. They’ll tell you it might be windy later, and that there’s a chance of rain tomorrow, but that’s about as exciting as it gets.
Earth Alerts is different. It can give you details on the locations you define -- current conditions, maps, forecasts and so on -- but what it’s really about is tracking more severe events. Earthquakes alerts, tsunami warnings, forest fires, landslides, cyclones, they’re all detailed here.
Nextgen Reader for Windows Phone 8 gets Feedly-fied
There's more to the rapidly-approaching Google Reader shutdown than the demise of a popular RSS feed aggregator. The service is used by numerous mobile apps on all major platforms, which will soon be unable to deliver the latest news to insatiable users unless developers embrace an alternative (that, hopefully, will not burst into flames due to a growing following).
For Nextgen Reader -- one of the most popular RSS feed delivery apps on Windows Phone 8, Windows 8 and Windows RT -- the alternative is Feedly. Its maker, Next Matters, announced the move in early-June, and, yesterday, launched an update that adds support for the service in the Windows Phone 8 app.
Do Not Track standards do not coalesce
The advertising industry is in a huff over Mozilla’s plans to support "The Cookie Clearinghouse" at the Center for Internet and Society (CIS) at Stanford Law School. The Cookie Clearinghouse starts with some browser behavior changes and adds what Mozilla’s Brendan Eich describes as both block and allow-lists of sites and a mechanism for managing exceptions to them. What would be blocked? Third-party tracking cookies.
The advertising industry is displeased, as it has been in the past when its abilities to track users are impeded.
UK government launches cyber security awareness campaign
As part of its National Cyber Security Programme the UK government has announced the first stage in a new £4 million awareness campaign. The campaign due to be launched in the autumn draws on expertise from various government departments and is led by the Home Office.
Bids are currently being invited from media, PR and creative agencies to produce a communications strategy to educate consumers and small businesses on the risks presented by cyber crime.
PeaZip extends file type support, cleans up interface
Giorgio Tani has revealed PeaZip 5.0, the latest version of his popular and powerful file archive tool, which he says "brings a major code and design cleanup".
In practical terms this means a stack of interface enhancements, making the program even easier to use. A new History menu lists recently used paths and archives, for instance; the Bookmarks section now opens maximized by default, with useful system locations helping you get started right away; and the Settings dialog has been completely reorganized and simplified.
I sold my Nexus 7 and I don't miss it
Over the weekend, I sold my beloved Nexus 7. As BetaNews readers may be aware, the tablet has given me some trouble over the last year. I had complaints with the pre-order process and the tablet's performance. However, despite these complaints, I enjoyed the tablet very much. I definitely got my use out of it -- I used it to watch TV, read magazines and access social media like Twitter and Google+.
However, while I loved the Nexus 7, I heard rumors that a next-generation Nexus 7 was soon to be announced. And so, I sold my cherished tablet on Craigslist while it still had value -- there will likely be a fire sale once the successor is announced. I expected to take the money from the sale and put it towards a new tablet. I really wanted a Galaxy Note 8.0 but decided to wait for Google’s next Nexus tablet announcement. Waiting proved to be the right choice.
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