Auslogics updates Disk Defrag 3 -- go Pro for 67% off
When it comes to keeping your hard drive defragged, Windows built-in tools do an okay job, but if you’re looking to push the performance envelope further you want a trusted, reliable third-party solution like Auslogics Disk Defrag Pro 4.
Also available as a cut-down free version, Auslogics Disk Defrag optimizes your hard drive in a myriad of different ways, and the great news is you can order a copy of the full Pro version for just $9.95, a saving of 67 percent on its retail price.
Developer interest in HTML5 soars, BlackBerry plummets
Market research firm IDC and mobile platform services company Appcelerator have released the results of a developer survey that examined the attitudes, ideas, and plans of mobile application developers in the first quarter of 2012.
Principal among the survey items was developer interest in platforms. Unsurprisingly, iOS remained the top platform for developers, followed by Android (phone). Third place, beating out Android tablets, and indeed all the remaining mobile platforms, was HTML5 Mobile Web.
When Windows Task Scheduler isn't enough, try Mayhem
The standard Windows solution for automating a PC function is Windows Task Scheduler. And that’s fine if, say, you just need to run some program once a week, but if you need to trigger a task by something other than the passage of time then life gets a little more complicated.
Mayhem has a different philosophy. Originally devised by Microsoft, and now open source, this interesting tool aims to take Task Scheduler to the next level, providing many more automation possibilities, while still being easy enough for absolutely anyone to use.
Will Windows 8 save Christmas?
PC shipments slogged along during 2011 and will continue to do so this year. IDC says growth was a paltry 1.8 percent last year and will be a tepid 5 percent in 2012 -- tepid considering the year-over-year comparison is weak. Bob O'Donnell, IDC's veep of Clients and Displays at IDC cites the oh-so obvious reason: "Many consumers are holding off making PC purchases at the moment because tablet devices like Apple's iPad are proving to be a powerful distraction".
But he qualifies: "End user surveys tell us that few people consider media tablets as replacements for their PCs, so later this year when there is a new Microsoft operating system, available in sleek new PC form factors, we believe consumer interest in PCs will begin to rebound". Do you believe him? Pardon my skepticism. I don't.
Woz defends the indefensible -- Mike Daisey
Disgraced playwright Mike Daisey has support from a somewhat unexpected source: Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak. In an interview with CNET on Monday, Wozniak says that he saw "The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs" last year and believes that Daisey is not anti-Apple. Woz also claims he said this to Steve Jobs before he passed away last October.
"A lot of performing arts...what actors do is to try to dramatize issues and events that are real", Woz says. "When you're watching Stephen Colbert and 'The Daily Show' not everything they say is factual but what they're presenting is real. It's a method of presentation that brings issues and ideas more to your awareness".
Xara Web Designer MX 8 preview
When you need to build a website quickly and easily, then there are plenty of tools that promise they can help. But their reality is often disappointment: low quality templates, inflexible layouts and a general lack of customization options can make it very difficult to build anything credible at all.
Xara Web Designer, fortunately, has always been very different.
Will you deploy Office 365 now?
We gave you the weekend to ponder the significance to your business. Now it's time to ask: Will you deploy Office 365 (or additional seats), following last week's price cuts? Are you now more likely to adopt cloud-based productivity apps?
Four days ago, Microsoft cut Office 365 prices by up to 20 percent, depending on the plan and number of seats. It's a hefty cut coming at a time of increased Google Apps acceptance among enterprises. Microsoft's calling card is familiarity -- cloud apps connecting to Office on the desktop while providing anytime, anywhere access.
Microsoft Dynamics looks to the cloud
Today, Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft reaffirmed its commitment to bring business process software to Azure. Kirill Tatarinov, president of the company's Business Solutions group, promises that Dynamics NAV 2013 and Dynamics GP 2013, which are separately set to be available in calendar fourth quarter, "will run on Windows Azure in an elastic Microsoft cloud". Dynamics AX 2012 R2 is on track for similar release.
Dynamics NAV and GP are designed for small-to-midsize organizations. SMBs looking for an early taste of NAV 2013 will get their chance when a beta becomes available in May, says Tatarinov, during Microsoft Convergence 2012. The next AX version, which looks to be v2014, will evolve into an enterprise cloud service.
Microsoft snags longtime Verizon Wireless marketing guru for Windows Phone
Some new executive talent has been added to Microsoft in its big marketing push behind Windows Phone, former McCann Erickson New York president Thom Gruhler.
For eight years, Gruhler led the Verizon Wireless account for McCann, which at $1.9 billion was the agency's biggest U.S. account. Because of his role in that account, Gruhler was named president of the flagship New York office in 2009.
AirCover protects your phone and files via the cloud
Protection software is something that most people will most readily associate with desktop and laptop computers, but even owners of mobile devices such as cell phones and tablets have to take care. It is not just viruses, something that can affect Android users, that mobile device owners have to worry about. It is the risk of losing a device or having it stolen.
Besides the value of the device itself, there is also the data it contains to consider. If you have concerns in any of these areas, AirCover is a free tool for iOS and Android that could help to give you peace of mind.
Mike Daisey's lies cheapen the whole issue of working conditions in China
Taking artistic license on such a serious subject like Foxconn's working conditions disgusts me.
When National Public Radio aired a segment of Mike Daisey's popular stage show "The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs" during its current events program "This American Life", little did NPR know the implications of its piece. The show set off a firestorm of criticism, putting Apple in even a worse light than it already is.
If new iPad sales are so good, where are the numbers?
During today's conference call announcing Apple's cash dividend and stock repurchase plans, CEO Tim Cook said about new iPad's launch: "We had a record weekend, and we're thrilled with it". Later, in a one-sentence press release issued by the nation's second-largest carrier: "On Friday, March 16, AT&T set a new single-day record for its iPad sales and activations". Apple and AT&T today talked record sales without giving actual numbers.
So how many is "record"? Hell if I know. That's the point. "Record" means nothing without real numbers behind it. Did Apple and AT&T sell 45 iPads? That would be a record if sales were 44 during iPad 2's launch. Perhaps the number is 1 million, which would certainly be sales to boast about -- in just 10 countries. (Please jump to the exciting update below.)
Bing Maps is lost on the Internet
Is Microsoft's Bing having a meltdown? One of my colleagues just alerted me to troubles accessing Bing Maps. He gets an error message, as do two other BetaNews staffers. We're located in different parts of the country using various cable or DSL services. This is not a localized problem.
The outage appears to be broader than Bing Maps. I also can't get to Bing News, while someone else couldn't get Search, which works for me. Colleague Tim Conneally pinged Bing Maps while I wrote the first paragraph and got repeated timeouts. Are you having Bing troubles today?
NetZero transforms the Internet once again
When NetZero burst onto the scene with the promise of free Internet for all in 1998, it was a transformative moment. No longer was the Internet a playground for the privileged: all you needed was a computer and a phone line, and you were online. The company is about to do the same for mobile data.
Starting today, NetZero is offering 200 megabytes of data free to anyone who purchases a dongle or hotspot from them. The dongle retails for $49.95, while the hotspot sells for $99.95. The service is provided through a partnership with Clear. With the purchase, NetZero's free plan will remain in effect for a period of one year.
Seagate promises quantum leap in storage: 2TB laptop drives
Seagate, the world's number two hard drive maker by market share, announced on Monday that it had achieved the 1 terabit per square inch data density milestone, with a demonstration unit utilizing heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR.) Still very early in its development, Seagate said this technology will not be utilized in commercial storage solutions until some time "later in this decade."
Current HDDs utilize the technology known as Perpendicular Magnetic Recording (PMR,) which was first introduced in late 2005 as a replacement for the original longitudinal recording method that had been in use since the advent of spinning hard drives. Toshiba was the first HDD maker to release its PMR drives, with Seagate and Hitachi following suit.
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