Latest Technology News

Big news came from Google on Tuesday as the company released the very first beta version of its Chrome web browser for Android. Like the mobile versions of Opera and Firefox for Android, browser tabs and favorites from the user's desktop version are synced to the mobile browser, providing a unified experience across platforms.

The beta version is currently only available on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich in the US, Canada, Mexico, UK, France, Germany, Spain, Australia, Japan, Korea, Argentina, and Brazil, so if you don't have ICS at your disposal right now or you're in a country not listed, we'll follow up with some first impressions to let you know how it fares against all the other Android browsers.

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As a software developer I can appreciate how important it is to have good ideas. The challenge is making them reality. Also it is not enough just to be taught a skill, one needs to be able to put it to work doing something valuable to others. Some of the best ideas come from people who aren't just trying to make a buck, but who love what they are doing and see the real value in it.

Sadly many a good idea never makes it beyond the drawing board. But some people don't give up so easily and with a little Kickstarter amazing things can happen. Recently, I discovered two unique examples of very good ideas turned into reality by taking advantage of this unique website.

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Yesterday, with the announcement of Microsoft's Dynamics CRM Mobile, I touched on the big developments taking place in mobile sales, marketing, and support. The ever-increasing power of smartphones is shifting the way businesses and customers interact in nearly all forms of commerce (B2C, C2C, B2B, and so forth) because both ends rely on their mobile devices as the primary method of communication.

An important component in this customer relationship model is automated communications, and Microsoft on Tuesday announced it has formed a long-term equity partnership with 24/7 Inc. that focuses on that aspect. Microsoft and 24/7 Inc. have joined up to develop a next-gen automated customer service platform that pairs big data analytics with touch, speech, and gesture interfaces for a more mobile-friendly self-service customer experience.

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When it comes to operating systems, 64-bit is becoming increasingly popular. The ability to access additional, and ever-more-important, memory is a big draw, as is the added security and stability. But despite a general move to 64-bits for OSes, there is still relatively little 64-bit software that has been written to take advantage of them -- well, Windows. This is also true in the browser arena, but it is something that is being addressed by Waterfox 10, a 64-bit version of Firefox.

While it is true that there are already 64-bit versions of Firefox available, this is only the case in the less stable Nightly and Aurora channels, and this is not something that everyone will be comfortable using.  It is also worth noting the existence of Pale Moon, which is another Firefox-based web browser that also has a 64-bit version available. Waterfox is fully 64-bit and is based on the latest Firefox code -- this means that the two browsers are all but identical, save for the color and labeling of the Firefox/Waterfox menu button.

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The advent of big-screen HD TVs has made it easier than ever to watch video on your computer through your television. The only downside is physically hooking up your computer to your TV, followed by having to get up from your comfortable seat to take control. Why go to all that hassle when you can configure your mobile or tablet to act as a wireless remote control, mouse and keyboard with the help of a tool called Mobile Mouse?

Mobile Mouse comes in two parts: Mobile Mouse Server for your PC or Mac, and then the mobile app for iPhone/iPod touch, iPad or Android.

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Amazon on Tuesday reduced the price of its Simple Storage Service (S3) cloud-based storage platform by between 12 and 13.5 percent for U.S. customers. With the reduction, the retailer-turned-cloud-services-provider is attempting to draw the attention of businesses utilizing on-premises storage solutions with a more affordable and scalable cloud platform.

As a bonus, current customers also get a nice reduction in their monthly bill. It applies to both private enterprise and users of AWS GovCloud.

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Lavasoft has today released one final beta of Ad-Aware 10, the latest incarnation of its flagship anti-malware package. The program will soon be available in three versions -- Ad-Aware Free Antivirus+, Ad-Aware Personal Security ($12 per year) and Ad-Aware Pro Security ($36 per year) -- but, unusually, it’s the free release this time around that sees the most significant change.

Many technologies previously reserved for the commercial editions only are now available in the free build, for instance. So real-time process protection will detect and block malware before it can launch; Registry protection looks out for potentially risky Registry changes, and real-time network protection blocks connections to blacklisted IP addresses. Ad-Aware 10 Free gains advanced rootkit protection, too, and the new (to this edition) Game Mode means the program can maintain all this without hassling you with extra alerts.

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Long-time iPhone users, take note. If you have unlimited data, you want to read this: the company will throttle you for more than 2GB of usage in any given month. Do you feel better now about the thousands you've handed over to AT&T for the past several years?

Users are alerted to the throttling via text message. "Your data usage is among the top 5 percent of users. Data speeds for the rest of your bill cycle may be reduced", it reads.

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Today, Microsoft Store started taking pre-orders for the Lumia 900, Nokia's flagship Windows Phone. There's a $25 reservere for the handset, which, according to my local shop will be available some time in March. Microsoft Store had no official launch date to give.

My question: Will you buy the Lumia 900? Nobody is saying how much the smartphone will cost. That $25 is blind faith the final price will be reasonable enough. Who knows? Given Microsoft's and its partners' marketing commitment, the faithful might see a serious discount for their leap to pre-order. Will you be among them? You can answer the question(s) and give your reasons why or why not in comments below and answer the poll below. Lumia 900 will be available in the United States on AT&T.

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All those analysts predicting Windows Phone as No. 2 smartphone OS in 2015, lifted by Nokia magic, need a reality check. Put away the crystal balls and peer into the present. Today, IDC released fourth-quarter smartphone shipment data, whoa, is the data chart scary.

Shocker is Nokia's smartphone death spiral, which no Windows Phone has yet lifted. The once mighty Finnish handset maker ended the quarter with 12.4 percent market share, down from 27.6 percent, and plunging from first place a year earlier to fourth at end of 2011. This is the same quarter Nokia launched its first Windows Phones, the Lumia 710 and 800. Right now, looks like Windows Phone can't save Nokia, which cuts the other way, too: Nokia can't save Windows Phone.

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Well, it took long enough. Google waited until passing 100 million G+ users before opening a platform developer page. What? You think only Facebook has a social network platform agenda? Google has ambitions, too.

Perhaps the big thing will be the weekly Hangouts, where Google+ developers can get the lowdown. It's nothing on the scale of Microsoft's Channel 9 (Say didn't Vic Gundotra have a hand in both Nine and G+?). Channel 9 is more about broadcasting developer information, while Hangouts are live and more interactive.

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Coinstar-owned DVD rental kiosk company Redbox was one of the biggest reasons Blockbuster video went bankrupt. Monday, Coinstar announced it has begun a joint venture with communications service provider Verizon to build a subscription streaming video service.

It is a move nearly identical to the one Netflix took three-and-a-half years ago, when it branched out from being a DVD-by-mail service to also being a streaming video provider through a partnership with Starz.

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If you occasionally need to format a text document in advanced ways, perhaps adding line numbers or sorting its lines alphabetically, then your first thought might be to find and install a programmer’s editor. But these can be expensive, and complex, leaving you with a whole new editing interface to learn.

A better idea might be to install Dolphin Text Editor Menu. The program runs in the background, ready to work with virtually any application where you can enter text: Notepad, Wordpad, Word, Excel, Visual Studio, browsers and more. So you can use your preferred application as normal, then when you need some advanced option, just select the text you’d like to format, press Dolphin’s hotkey (Ctrl+Num Pad 0 by default) and the program’s menu will pop up.

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Donationcoder.com has announced the release of Screenshot Captor 3 for Windows PCs. The donation-ware screen capture utility adds three major new features to this landmark release, including splicing effects, a scrolling screen capture function and a number of watermarking options for marking screenshots.

Version 3.0 also includes other recently introduced features, such as full TWAIN and WIA scanner support, automatic upload to supported image hosting services and support for partial Windows 7 transparency effects.

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In fourth quarter, that would be iPhone 4S, 4 and 3GS, in order from one to three, according to NPD. But before the Apple Fanclub does high-fives, Android share among first-time buyers outpaced iPhone, as measured by smartphone operating system, contradicting some other analyst data.

"iPhone 4S outsold the iPhone 4 by 75 percent, and outsold the iPhone 3GS, available for free on AT&T, five to one", Ross Rubin, NPD executive director, says. Well, so much for my theory older, discounted iPhones was a brilliant Apple strategy. Which again raises questions about the power of brand, considering iPhone isn't LTE, while AT&T and Verizon offer real 4G smartphones -- all Androids.

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