Comic-Con 2012: Android Collectibles artist Andrew Bell [video]
Android has one of the cutest and most-easily recognized mascots/brand figures around. But there's more to it than just being green. Dead Zebra produces a series of popular Android figure collectibles. Artist Andrew Bell started the company a dozen years ago and, sanctioned by Google, released the first Android designs in 2010. Bell and Co. created a special Comic-Con set, just 1,000 of them, for the event.
Dumbrella is one of my favorite Comic-Con booths. I stopped by on Day 1 to look at Android collectibles only to find myself behind four people each holding the Comic-Con set purchased at the other end of the hall. Bell worked the booth, and they wanted autographs. What luck, I bought the $25 two-Android set earlier in the afternoon. He signed mine, too, and agreed to an interview.
Comic-Con 2012: Kingdom of Loathing [video]
Today, Comic-Con ends here in San Diego. I'm headed downtown for my fourth day in a couple of hours. I've chronicled the show on Google+ and really should have posted here, too. To rectify this terrible oversight, I picked three video interviews most likely to appeal to BetaNews readers. First up: Zach Johnson, creator of online multiplayer game Kingdom of Loathing.
Johnson can't quite finish KoL, which has been in beta for nine years. He signed autographs for an hour on Day 2 of the Con, and I could barely approach the booth. The fan base is hugely devoted, such that KoL is, as I understand, profitable based just on donations. There's more to come. A new game launched, coincidently, as the event opened. Johnson promises this one won't stay in beta as long.
Grab 34 exciting software downloads released this week
The second week of releases for July is a little different from other weeks in that there has been a greater number of Mac releases than usual. TRIM Enabler 2.2 is a great free tool that helps to improve the life of SSDs, and the latest version of the app includes support for a wider range of drives. Lion is proving to be the most popular version of OS X yet, and Lion Tweaks 2.0.1 is a free tweaking tool that can be used to customize the operating system and eliminate irritations, while CrystalClear Interface 2.7.4 enables you to completely change the appearance of OS X through the use of skins. If you want to be sure of a secure web connection whether you are at home or out and about with a laptop, Hotspot Shield 2.61 is a free proxy tool that protects your privacy and enables access to blocked web sites.
No week would be complete without its fair share of browser updates, and this week is no different in that respect. Chrome 21.1.1180.41 Beta is an interesting peak into the future of Google’s browser, and there is also a portable version of the software available in the form of Google Chrome Portable 21.1.1180.15 Beta. If you're keen to see what the future holds for Chrome, there is also Chrome 22.0.1201.0 Dev and again there is a portable version available -- Chrome Portable 22.0.1201.0 Dev.
Apple threatens retailers: Stop selling Samsung Galaxy devices now or else
It's bad enough that Apple uses patents to bully competitors. Now the company threatens retail partners, demanding they remove two Samsung devices from store shelves. Apparently, court orders aren't good enough for Apple, which also ignores one of them.
Apple, through its army of lawyers, has sent a letter to an unknown number of retailers and carriers selling the Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet and Galaxy Nexus smartphone. Last month a US court issued temporary injunctions against both devices, but temporarily lifted the one against Galaxy Nexus.
Android tops the smartphone market once again
If you’re a U.S. resident and want to buy a phone today, there’s a one-in-two chance you’ll get a smartphone.
According to a recent report from Nielsen, 54.9 percent of U.S. phone subscribers owned a smartphone as of June 2012. By comparison, in February 2012, smartphone adoption was at 49.7 percent, which can only mean one thing: feature phones are slowly going away and smartphones are here to stay.
Microsoft should follow Apple's lead and ditch the disc in Windows 8
Microsoft plans to simplify Windows 8 sales by eliminating the full version of the operating system and focusing on upgrade and "system builder" editions. The change likely means that Windows 8 will be cheaper by and large to obtain the most consumers.
Pundits Paul Thurrott and Mary Jo Foley spoke of the move, citing sources on their weekly Internet radio show "Windows Weekly". The move follows another from April where the company announced Windows 8 would only be available in standard and Pro editions, aimed at making the purchasing process much easier.
Apple flip-flops on EPEAT, says it will work hard to meet new IEEE green standards
Earlier this week, consumer electronics superstar Apple announced none of its products would be included in the EPEAT federal registry of green computer products.
Friday, Apple reversed its decision and instead said it would work to meet the soon-to-be-changed IEEE 1680.1 standard that is the basis for EPEAT's ratings.
Lion Tweaks 2.01 reclaims Snow Leopard features you love but miss
Fredrik Wiker has updated his Mac freeware utility, Lion Tweaks to version 2.01. Version 2 added support for Mountain Lion and Gatekeeper, while version 2.01 makes some more minor changes, including marking system default settings in bold for easier identification.
Lion Tweaks allows Lion (and now Mountain Lion) users to “correct” certain features changed from older builds, providing them with a way to restore favourite settings from Snow Leopard. It also includes several additional tools, including a TRIM-support enabler for SSD drives. This offers an alternative method of switching on TRIM to standalone tool TRIM Enabler 2.2, recently updated to include SMART support for a wider range of SSDs.
Only Microsoft Surface can compete with iPad on price
It’s an addiction. For nearly three decades, the PC industry has gorged itself on profit margins. Whether it’s a “premium” line of notebooks or the latest uber-gaming rig, vendors have always managed to squeeze enough margin out of their product offerings to line their respective silk purses. And who rides shotgun to this PC profit gravy train like some deranged, hypodermic-carrying monkey? Microsoft.
The Redmond, Wash.-based behemoth injected itself into the basic PC equation a generation ago, and it has milked the OEM license revenue stream ever since. Fortunately for them, average selling prices across the spectrum of PC categories helped offset this Microsoft addiction “surtax”. After all, what’s $70, $80 or $100 when the system in question retails somewhere just north or south of the $1,000 mark?
Microsoft learns from Apple -- hardware creates innovation, software doesn't
Earlier this week, Microsoft bought Perceptive Pixel, a touchscreen development company. Many people see this as Microsoft's commitment to the Surface tablet, the Windows 8 operating system and idea that touchscreen technology will play a much bigger role in the near future.
Currently, Perceptive Pixel has three different models featuring 27-inch, 55-inch and 82-inch touchscreens, and while that certainly is a long way from the 7-inch Surface tablet, it could very well mean that part of the company's technology finds its way into a second-generation tablet or a refresh of the first. The acquisition could have an even larger effect than that. Big changes are afoot.
I won’t boycott Apple
My colleague Joe Wilcox certainly created a storm when he declared his independence from Apple on July 4th. Annoyed by what he saw as the fruit company’s aggressive patent bullying, which he believes "thwarts competition and takes away consumer choice", he sold his remaining Apple devices, and now refuses to touch anything the company makes.
He’s not alone. The #boycottapple hashtag has gained a fair amount of traction on Google+, Reddit and Twitter and many, many words have been written on the subject. Read Joe’s articles if you need more background.
Soft2Base 2.0b keeps 61 major Windows apps up to date
Package managers are one of the best features of Linux, (mostly) straightforward tools that make it easy to install and update your preferred applications. Nothing gets even close to this on Windows, but several tools do at least enough to be useful, and the free-for-personal-use Soft2Base 2.0b is one new release that could save you some time.
The program is extremely lightweight. There’s no installer, not even a ZIP file of supporting files: everything you need is in a single 880KB executable, just download it and go.
SkyDrive's big, new feature is a Windows 8-style logo
Almost every software update that gets released, particularly those that involve only minor version number increases, addresses bugs that have been found and performance issues. This is the case with the latest release of Microsoft’s cloud storage app SkyDrive but there is also a little more to be found in this seemingly minor update (16.4.6003). Perhaps the most immediately obvious change is the new logo which is very much in keeping with the look and feel of Windows 8.
The imminent release of Windows 8 means that improve support for this new operating system was to be expected. The new logo mimics the look of the Windows 8 logo -- albeit in a more rounded form -- and the update is due to roll out to other platforms in the coming weeks to give a more uniform look to the service. But there is more to the latest release than a new logo.
Photo editor Raw Therapee is different
If you’re looking to enhance the quality of your digital photos then there’s not exactly a shortage of free tools offering to help. But most are rather basic, oriented firmly at beginners, and if you’re an old hand at image processing then they’ll probably leave you wanting more.
Raw Therapee is different. There’s no text tool here, no paint options, no “special effects”; instead it’s all about image processing, providing ways to correct, adjust and enhance your photos. But if that’s what you’re after then it’s very good indeed (and, conveniently, it has versions for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux).
Imagine what Metro could have been...
Fundamentally, the Metro user interface is not bad. It’s a good idea to change the interface of an operating system from time to time. Microsoft did the right thing with Aero back when Windows Vista was introduced. It was definitely a step forward and made Windows XP look old and ugly by comparison.
The fact that Windows Vista had so many problems that some considered it the worst operating system to come from Redmond is another story. Comparisons with Windows Me didn’t help either.
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