Black Entertainment Television launches BET NOW mobile app for Android and iOS
When it comes to mobile media apps, there is no shortage of available content. It is simply overwhelming to choose between the various music and video services, such as Netflix, Beats Music, and Hulu Plus, to name a few. However, more choice is always a good thing, as it can cause a competition that ultimately helps consumers with lower prices.
One network that has been lacking a representation in the mobile app landscape is BET -- Black Entertainment Television. While the network self-proclaims to focus on African-American audiences, people of any color or nationality can enjoy it. Today, the network launches the BET NOW app for iOS and Android.
Best Windows 8 apps this week
Seventy-four in a series. Several Windows 8 applications have received important updates this week that increase their functionality significantly.
The official Music application by Microsoft for instance filters out music automatically that you cannot play when you are not connected to the Internet.
UK set to make ripping your CDs and DVDs legal
Although you weren't ever likely to be the subject of a dawn raid from the Sweeney for doing it, until now it has been illegal under UK copyright law to make copies of digital media.
From this summer though the government is changing the current legislation so that you'll be able to transfer music to your MP3 player or make backup copies of your movies without any risk of getting your collar felt.
Beware of third-party Google-branded Windows Phone apps
The official launch of major Google apps on Windows Phone would qualify as the biggest news of the week, next to the release of Office for iPads. Such an event seems highly unlikely, as the search giant is focusing its mobile development efforts on the more popular platforms, namely Android and iOS.
Imagine my surprise when, only moments earlier, in group chat my colleague Alan Buckingham mentions these five Google apps, that seem legit at first glance: Hangouts, Voice, Maps, Search and Google+. They are now available in the US Windows Phone Store. Did the search giant just have a change of heart? The answer appears to be negative, as, first-off, Google does not sell such apps for $1.99 a pop, it makes them available for free. But, what is so special about them anyway? It is not like these are the only third-party Google apps in Store.
Best iOS apps this week
Twelfth in a series. Microsoft rolled out Office for iPad this week, and it's excellent. Like Apple iWork, it's not a single app but rather three individual apps for Word, Excel and PowerPoint (an updated OneNote is available too). You need an Office 365 subscription to get the most out of it, as without one you can only view documents.
Other featured apps this week include a modern remake of Little Big Adventure (a classic game from the nineties), a touch typing tutor, a drawing app for children, a sweeping and rather too addictive Game of Thrones RPG, a Captain America tie-in, and a group text messaging app.
HTML to PDF Tools: a different kind of PDF converter
There are lots of HTML to PDF conversion tools around, and most work in the same way: they’ll process the HTML code, convert it into an image, and save this as a series of JPEGs in the finished PDF.
This works, but the results are basic, image quality will be lost, and there can be various other problems (you might have to install a virtual printer driver, there could be dependencies on other software).
Office Mobile free on Android, iPhone is a clever bait
Microsoft made Office Mobile available for free since launch, on both Android and iOS. But, in order to take advantage of its features, users had to tie the app to an Office 365 subscription. So it was free, but not void of additional costs.
Yesterday, Microsoft launched Office for iPad and announced a subscription is now no longer necessary to get the best out of Office Mobile, which was just updated on both platforms to reflect this decision. While this only applies to home users -- which means a subscription is still needed for non-personal (commercial) use -- it is certainly a welcome change. But, it also means Windows Phone just lost one of its most important advantages over its main rivals.
Mark Zuckerberg details Facebook’s plans to deliver internet to everyone
Internet is a basic human right, or so the United Nations tells us. To that end, companies like Google are testing such solutions as balloons to bring access to remote locations, while others are using alternative measures, such as satellites.
Facebook is going a bit further, apparently. An announcement from Mark Zuckerberg made me check my calendar to be double sure it wasn’t April 1st. The CEO details the experimental work being done by the company’s Connectivity Lab. "Today, we're sharing some details of the work Facebook's Connectivity Lab is doing to build drones, satellites and lasers to deliver the internet to everyone", Zuckerberg states in a Facebook post.
Maintaining IT security is getting harder -- and it's your fault
Keeping systems secure is more difficult than it was a year ago and this is partly down to human error. So says a new study by security awareness company KnowBe4.
The rise of ransomware, the adoption of BYOD, and rapid changes in technology all make it harder for enterprises to guard against threats both inside and outside the organization.
Anvi Smart Defender sees a major revamp
Anvisoft has announced the availability of Anvi Smart Defender 2.0, a major reworking of its lightweight security tool.
A completely redesigned interface sees the old cluttered screens replaced by a simpler, cleaner look. Key functions are accessed via large, flat buttons, surplus options are stripped away, and the end result does feel notably easier to use.
Linux distro Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr Final Beta available now
There are so many Linux distributions nowadays, that it can be overwhelming for a new user to choose. However, a safe bet for a Linux newcomer is Ubuntu. It is popular, easy to install and well supported by a large community. Hell, it looks rather sexy too -- modern and classy.
Unfortunately, while Canonical releases new versions twice a year, a Long Term Support (LTS) version only comes every two years. If you aren't familiar, an LTS version gets longer support than a normal release -- 5 years rather than 9 months. This is quite the considerable difference. Today, Ubuntu 14.04, which will be an LTS version, reaches Final Beta status.
I gave up the Ghost
I spent time with the Ghost blogging platform today. I am intrigued by the visuals and promised simplicity. But I don't see the latter. At this stage, I just see complexity. Yet the whole premise is stripping back to basic blogging, rather than managing content as WordPress increasingly demands.
This month I put up a website for my personal independent publishing brand, and there are few posts, making it a good test case for migration. I easily used the WordPress plugin for exporting posts in Ghost format and imported them just fine. But I see too much trouble adapting themes, most of which look fabulous, BTW, or prepping other basic features.
Microsoft launches Office for iPad
It’s taken a very long time, but today, finally, Microsoft unveiled Office for iPad. Despite the name, Office for iPad is three separate apps -- Word, Excel and PowerPoint -- which are individually available in the App store.
The apps have a familiar interface, with the same Ribbon interface and layout. But at the same time, they’re not just a port of the regular desktop version. Menus have been optimized for touch; objects can similarly be dragged, rotated or resized with a swipe; Excel has a special formula keyboard to help you enter data quickly, and everything scales properly in both portrait and landscape mode.
Amazon announces April 2nd event featuring an update on video
Invitations have been hitting email inboxes today for an Amazon event, even as Microsoft was busy holding its own show. The invitation hints at what is coming, though it does not come right out and say exactly what to expect.
For now we know only one thing, the subject – "Please join us for an update on our video business". The company frequently updates its Prime video library, partnering with an increasing number of studios. These can be a big deal, depending on the movies and TV shows that come along for the ride, but the announcements have always warranted nothing more than a blog post. In other words, this is something bigger.
DiskAid speeds up device cloning, improves backup and restore options
DigiDNA has released DiskAid 6.6, a new build of its tool for converting spare storage on an iOS device into an external hard drive for wireless or USB access from a Windows or Mac computer.
Version 6.6 speeds up cloning one device to others, improves support for restoring device backups and allows users to manually add or remove contacts on the iPhone via USB.
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