Following in Microsoft's footsteps, Apple is giving OS X 10.9 Mavericks away for free
Starting today, Mac users are able to officially upgrade to OS X 10.9 Mavericks. However, instead of charging its customers for the newest Mac operating system, like the company did before, Apple is giving it away for free. If that sounds familiar, it's because it is. Microsoft is doing the same thing with Windows 8.1, which is also available as a free upgrade to all Windows 8 users.
"Mavericks is an incredible release, which introduces significant new apps and features, while also improving the performance and battery life of your Mac", says Apple senior vice president of Software Engineering Craig Federighi. "We want every Mac user to experience the latest features, the most advanced technologies, and the strongest security. We believe the best way to do this is to begin a new era of personal computing software where OS upgrades are free". Therefore, it should not come as a surprise if Apple chooses to adopt the same strategy for the next release of OS X, which will likely arrive next year.
BBM launches for Android and iOS -- again
BlackBerry has relaunched BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) for Android and iOS, almost a month after its previous attempt was derailed by a leaked edition.
This time the company appears to be keeping more control over events, in particular by making some users wait for an official notification email before they can use the app.
Google adds handwriting to Gmail, Docs
The jury is out on stylus input on mobile devices, though many people likely are happy if the option is there, even if it goes unused. Drawing or writing on a screen may not be for everyone, but it has its place in the market, and today Google adds support for your handwriting to both Gmail and Google Docs.
"Whether you’re a student trying to include a foreign phrase in your paper or an international consultant hoping to begin your message with a friendly local greeting, now you’ll be able to use your own handwriting to input words directly into Gmail and Google Docs with your mouse or trackpad", states Google Product Manage Xiangye Xiao.
Live Blog: Apple Special Event -- iPad 5, iPad Mini and more
It's only a matter of weeks since the last big Apple event at which the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c were announced. Today we have another event to look forward to and while we're not absolutely certain of what's going to be unveiled, the clever money is on the iPad 5, a new iPad mini, new Mac and release details for Mavericks.
Who knows… maybe there'll even be "one more thing"!
PaaSLane cloud migration tool enters public beta phase
Migrating existing applications to the cloud can be a major headache for companies. Extensive testing is needed to ensure everything works as it should and without it the process becomes something of a leap in the dark. In a bid to help with this Boston based Cloud Technology Partners has produced its PaaSLane product, released today as a free public beta.
The idea behind PaaSLane is a simple one, automatically analyzing the code of an application before migration in order to cut down the amount of manual effort required. Out of the box the software is tuned generically to work with all cloud platforms, so it's compatible with Azure, Google and Amazon Web Services. However, users can define their own rule sets to take account of special requirements or non-public clouds.
Mobile ad spend set to hit $40 billion a year by 2018
A new study by Juniper Research finds that a combination of increased use of analytics along with new advertising formats and buying mechanisms will push mobile ad spending close to $40 billion by 2018.
Targeted in-app advertising is seen as offering a major opportunity and the report notes the way Facebook has used ads in its native apps over the past year as an example of the technique's success. Mobile now makes up 41 percent of Facebook's overall advertising revenue and the company recently announced it's to start rolling out video ads in a bid to boost performance with more media-rich content.
Where to watch the live stream for Apple’s iPad event -- and what to expect [updated]
When a big tech company live streams a launch event, we usually embed it here for readers to sit back and enjoy. Apple likes to make things difficult though. At last month’s iPhone event it didn’t bother providing a live stream, and you can only watch today’s iPad event if you’re one of the Apple faithful.
To be fair, the restrictions on today’s live stream should surprise no one. It’s exactly the same deal as the iPad reveal last year -- you need to be watching on Apple TV or using Safari 4 on Mac OS X 10.6 or later, or iOS 4.3 or later.
ROCCAT Power-Grid enters public beta -- control your PC with a smartphone
In a bad economy, using a product for more than one thing is a necessity. In bad times, women have been known to reuse pantyhose as coffee filters. Today, my family reuses plastic Chinese-food containers as refrigerator food storage. Sadly, this is not always the case with technology -- electronics have become disposable due to low prices and a culture of always wanting the newest thing.
Today, accessory manufacturer ROCCAT bucks that trend and announces a public beta of its Power-Grid technology. This software allows a user to control games and other programs on their Windows PC with an iOS or Android device. In other words, it allows consumers to reuse existing technology for new purposes. Awesome.
Privacy is dead and here’s how
My friend Dave Taht, who battles bufferbloat for us all, pointed me today to a document from the Wireless Internet Service Provider Association. It’s the WISPA CALEA Compliance Guide, which details most of the rules that wireless ISPs are required to follow by CALEA -- the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act of 1994. These rules, variants of which apply to all telcos and to ISPs of all kinds (not just wireless), say what those companies are required to do to comply with the law. More directly, it specifies how they can be required to intercept customer communications and relay that content to law enforcement agencies.
Read it if you have a moment. The document, which is chilling, explains a lot both in what it says and what it doesn’t say.
Windows Phone 8 finally gets Instagram, new apps and games
Alongside the new Lumia 1520 and Lumia 1320 Windows Phone 8 phablets and the Lumia 2520 Windows RT 8.1 slate, Nokia also announces a number of popular apps and games that are set to launch on Microsoft's tiled smartphone operating system.
Undoubtedly, the most popular new title to grace Windows Phone Store is Instagram. The photo-sharing social network will finally launch its offering "in the coming weeks", roughly a year after Microsoft introduced its latest smartphone operating system.
Torrent site isoHunt closes early to foil backup plan
In a bid to foil plans to create a backup of the site, isoHunt closes its doors ahead of its planned shutdown. On 16 October, isoHunt founder Gary Fung struck a deal with the MPAA, bringing to an end a series of court battles that have waged for several years.
Fung agreed to pay damages of $110 million and to shut down isoHunt -- along with TorrentBox, www.podtropolis.com and www.ed2k-it.com -- within seven days.
Nokia bets on Windows RT 8.1 with its new Lumia 2520 tablet
As Microsoft's hardware partners are moving away from Windows RT, Nokia is now embracing the controversial tablet operating system. The Finnish maker has officially unveiled the Lumia 2520, which runs Windows RT 8.1, alongside two new Windows Phone 8 phablets, the Lumia 1520 and Lumia 1320. It is a rather bold bet seeing as the tablet OS has never been popular with slate buyers, with vendors only shifting 200,000 units in Q2 2013.
Let us take a look at what the Lumia 2520 offers. The Windows RT 8.1-based tablet comes with a 10.1-inch AH-IPS display with a resolution of 1080 by 1920, 665 nits of brightness and Gorilla Glass 2 on top. Like the Lumia 1520, it is powered by a 2.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor and 2 GB of RAM. Inside there is a large 8,000 mAh battery which, according to Nokia, helps deliver up to 11 hours of video playback.
System Mechanic 12 [Review]
If your PC seems slow or unstable, then you might first try to diagnose and resolve the problem yourself. But this often requires considerable time and expertise. And, even if that’s not a problem, you’ll have to start all over again whenever a new issue pops up.
System Mechanic 12 offers another approach. If you’re not a PC maintenance expert -- or just don’t have the time -- then you can have the program clean up and optimize your system entirely automatically, while you get on with more important tasks.
Meet Nokia's largest Windows Phones yet -- the Lumia 1520 and 1320
Finnish mobile maker Nokia has taken the wraps off its latest, and largest, Windows Phone 8 devices, called the Lumia 1520 and Lumia 1320. The smartphones represent the company's entry in the phablet market, which so far has been dominated by Android handsets from Samsung's Galaxy Note series.
Nokia has built the Lumia 1520 and Lumia 1320 around Windows Phone 8 Update 3, that ships with support for 1080p displays and quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processors. Both hardware features have been available on Android smartphones but were missing from devices running Microsoft's tiled OS which only supported up to 720p displays and older Snapdragon S4 processors.
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware makes its Android debut
Malwarebytes products have been protecting PCs since 2008, but the company has now decided to broaden its horizons with the release of an Android app.
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Mobile still has plenty in common with its PC cousin, of course. The app is effective, free, and very easy to use: just launch it, click Scan and watch as your apps are checked for malicious code (we found this generally takes less than two minutes).
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