Panasonic announces new headphones for iOS -- Palm and Blackberry along for the ride
Panasonic has introduced its new lineup of headphones, including four over-ear, or monitor styles, and two in-ear, or earbud, models. In-ear has become quite popular after the success of the iPod and now many smartphones even come with an included pair, albeit generally of questionable quality.
My Galaxy Nexus included a set that has proven to be quite a bit better than average, even featuring a remote button on the cord that allows for play and pause -- well, most of the time anyway.
The most popular stories on BetaNews this past week -- September 8-14
Big news came from Apple and Microsoft this week. Microsoft seemingly had a change of heart; having previously said that Windows 8.1 RTM would not be made available before its official launch date, the company announced that it would be released to people with TechNet and MSDN subscriptions.
The same group of people also gained access to the pre-release version of Skype. Microsoft was clearly in a very giving mood this week as the company also announced that it was giving free copies of Office 365 to non-profit organizations.
Restore lost files from your Windows shadow copies with Z-VSSCopy
In principle, the Windows Volume Shadow Copy service (VSS) was a great idea: a fully automatic system which would transparently back up your files at regular intervals, maintain multiple file versions as required, and allow you to restore them with the minimum of hassle.
VSS wasn’t exactly easy to configure, though. Restoration options used to be hidden away in the File > Properties > Previous Versions dialog, and in Windows 8 even that’s disappeared. So if you want to take control of your shadow copies, then you’ll need some third-party assistance from the free-for-personal-use Z-VSSCopy.
Apple opens iPhone pre-orders, Microsoft goes on short lived attack
Earlier today Apple opened up pre-orders for one of its latest devices -- the iPhone 5c. Right on queue the attacks began, though several comedic videos beat the product even to this early stage. But, in honor of this day, rival Microsoft is chiming in with a series of videos of its own, taking time away from the usual modus operandi -- attacking Google.
The series of seven videos plays off of the old "fly on the wall" saying, though this fly is deep within the bowels of the fruit-logo company's Cupertino, Calif.-based headquarters.
Best Windows 8 apps this week
Forty-sixth in a series. The app growth this week fell under the 500 new apps mark when you look at the numbers. That is however only half of the story, as Microsoft seems to have removed quite a few applications from its store. The games category for instance lists 250 apps less than a week before.
The company must have removed more apps than this though, as new apps found their way into the games category this week as well.
Pale Moon update promises significant performance improvements
Moonchild Productions has released a major new version of its Firefox browser variant for Windows. As the version number implies, Pale Moon 24.0 and Pale Moon x64 24.0 are based on the same Mozilla code base as the latest stable build of Firefox, and come with the promise of significant performance improvements on top of a host of other changes and tweaks.
The performance improvements come from major changes and updates to Pale Moon’s rendering, scripting and parsing back-end, and should be visible in day-to-day use as well as via benchmarks.
Review: TuneUp Utilities 2014
Has your PC slowed down recently, become more unstable? You might be able to solve these problems manually, but it’s not always easy, and there are so many possible causes that it could take you quite some time.
TuneUp Utilities 2014 claims to offer a far simpler solution. Install the program, and not only will it detect and fix any existing issues, but it’ll also automatically monitor and maintain your system from that point onwards, keeping it running more smoothly in future.
Facebook to increase your mobile data usage with automatic video playback
A new feature is rolling to Facebook mobile, a feature that has been designed to provide "an easier way to watch video". "How could a video possibly be made easier to watch?", you may well ask. "All it takes is a quick tap to start playback!" The new feature will play videos as soon as you see them in your news feed -- no need for a tap.
Videos start playing silently and if you're not interested in watching you can just keep scrolling by. But if a video does take your fancy, how do you think you view it with sound and in full screen mode? That's right… you tap on it. Just like you do at the moment. The feature is not yet available to everyone, but if you don’t see it in your account on your mobile handset, you can check out a video of what it looks like in action.
Twitter explains why you and your friends may see different site features
When you use Facebook and Twitter, everyone's looking at the same website and has access to the same set of tools, right? Wrong. In the case of Twitter, users who have verified accounts have access to different tools and options and the same is true for different levels of users on other sites and social networks. But it seems that even two average Twitter users could find that they have a different experience from each other on the site.
In a blog post entitled "Experiments @ Twitter", Twitter's Vice President of Engineering, Alex Roetter, says that experimenting with new features and options may mean that two people see different versions of Twitter. Roetter explains "it’s rare for a day to go by when we’re not releasing at least one experiment", referring to both the website and mobile clients.
Apple's new iPhones will come to T-Mobile
Shortly after Apple unveiled its iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C, the company's online store displayed the on-contract pricing for the two smartphones at three US mobile operators: AT&T, Sprint and Verizon. The cost when opting for T-Mobile, which is one the four largest carriers in the country, was yet to be revealed.
Today, T-Mobile decided to shed some light on the matter and announced that it will officially offer the new iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C under its "Un-carrier" financing deals, with sales to kick off on September 20 (same day as at other local mobile operators).
Why the haters are plain wrong about the beautiful new iPhone 5c
As I write this, the ultra-new iPhone 5c has just become available to pre-order from the Apple Store, as well as from AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, and T-Mobile.
So I figured it was a good time to address the problem(s) a lot of people seem to have with Apple’s new polycarbonate plastic-bodied iPhone, and explain -- in simple terms -- why the haters are way off the mark, and why the 5c is actually a great device, and a clever move for Apple.
Wrike aims to make online work easier and more productive
California-based project management software provider Wrike has launched a new version of its software with a simplified interface and -- no prizes for guessing -- online collaboration features.
The "Graphite" version of Wrike has a redesigned user interface along with innovative task scheduling and time management. Andrew Filev, Wrike's CEO and founder says, "Simple, clean, and lucid -- these were the key topics of our design discussions while we were working our magic on Wrike Graphite. We wanted to find the perfect balance between our users' habits and a new level of efficiency in day-to-day work, which we tried to implement in every element of the new UI".
What if Marissa Mayer went to jail?
Wednesday at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer presented her company’s side of fighting the National Security Agency over requests to have a look-see at the data of Yahoo users. It’s a tough fight, said Mayer, and one that takes place necessarily in private. Mayer was asked why tech companies had not simply decided to tell the public more about what the US surveillance industry was up to. "Releasing classified information is treason and you are incarcerated," she said.
Go directly to jail? No.
F-Secure’s 2014 lineup adds new banking, Facebook tools
F-Secure has today launched its revamped range of security products, including F-Secure Anti-Virus 2014 and F-Secure Internet Security 2014.
Top of the new Internet Security features list is probably the extended Banking Protection feature. This automatically kicks in at online banking and payment sites, and, the company says, "elevates security settings" so that "consumers can be sure that their banking transactions are safe and private".
Amazon once again gets exclusive streaming rights for Under the Dome
Many of novelist Stephen King's books and short stories have found their way to the screen either through a movie or mini-series. Some, like The Shining, have become classics in the eyes of fans, while others...well... This season a King novel has returned the author to prominence on the small screen -- Under the Dome has been the most watched show of the summer season.
Now Amazon and CBS announce that the streaming deal that was in place for season one has been renewed. "Prime Instant Video will remain the exclusive online subscription home for Under the Dome. Amazon Prime members will have unlimited streaming of all the series' episodes four days after their initial broadcast on CBS and will be able to enjoy them on hundreds of compatible Amazon Instant Video devices including Kindle Fire HD, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Roku, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and the Wii U gaming console" reads a joint statement issued by the two parties.
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