Paranoid? Enough to place your privacy in the hands of John McAfee?
Remember McAfee? You know, the company whose AV software you couldn't remove from your computer fast enough after picking up an off-the-shelf model? The firm was founded by the now infamous John McAfee, although he has not actually been associated with it in anything other than name for quite some time now. In fact he has become better known for a series of bizarre incidents that saw him accused of manufacturing drugs, mentioned in association with a murder and becoming a fugitive who was concerned that the police were going to kill him.
Sounds like the sort of person you'd like to make an app for your phone? Well, the man is back and this time he, or at least his company Future Tense, has come up with Chadder -- yet another messaging app. But this is a messaging app with a difference. The focus is, allegedly, on privacy, security and encryption. The company's motto is "Say what you want! ⋇⊮ ≩⋉⊱∪≀ ⋘≫≯⋌∹∦ ≎⋡⋔∪≙∼≉{] (We can’t see it anyway!)". My, those symbols really do trip off the tongue.
Need to know: Answers to the questions that every first-time app developer asks
Apps are increasingly becoming a vital part of how businesses deliver services and goods to consumers, in fact Gartner predicts that by 2017 apps will generate more than $77 billion in revenue and be downloaded more than 268 billion times. For anyone that wants to capitalize on this massive growth market, where do you begin, what resources do you need? Is there a DIY solution or must you spend exorbitant amounts of your resources on creating a professional app?
Whether you’re an entrepreneur, small business owner, or you just have an idea for an app, your first course of action should be to determine whether or not there is market demand for your app, and you can do this through your own primary research with little to no cost incurred save for the effort you devote to educating yourself. Speak with your customers and trusted associates, visit online marketplaces and determine if there is an existing app that is similar to what you have in mind; how many downloads does it have, how are people using the app, what are they saying about in the comments, are there pitfalls or gaps that can be exploited? You can take all of these cues and more in determining whether or not you or your business should pursue the development of your app.
VLC Mobile Remote for Windows Phone: Controlling the media player on Windows, OS X, Linux
Using a Windows Phone with a Mac is not an ideal combination in cases when I want to use the smartphone to remotely control the computer. That is because the type of apps I want to use -- like PC Remote, which offers dedicated buttons to automate certain tasks -- only work with Windows-based devices.
The compatible Windows Phone Store app selection is comprised of tools that require gestures to move the mouse cursor to, for instance, stop media playback. So when I want to pause a movie playing in VLC, I have to swipe my finger across the screen of my Windows Phone. At night, it seems easier to get out of bed. This is where VLC Mobile Remote comes in handy.
Google launches standalone Google Docs and Google Sheets app for Android, offers offline access as carrot
Google has released standalone apps for viewing and editing text documents and spreadsheets through its Google Drive service. Both Google Docs 1.3 and Google Sheets 1.3 offers users lightweight alternatives to the main Google Drive app.
The key difference marking out these standalone versions from the more comprehensive Google Drive app is support for offline editing of files.
Best Windows 8 apps this week
Seventy-nine in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best Windows apps and games that were published in the last seven days to Windows Store.
As always, we begin with an overview of important application updates.
Microsoft's Movie Moments, Windows Reading List available on Windows Phone 8.1
Movie Moments and Windows Reading List are two of Microsoft's apps for Windows 8.1. The former is part of the software giant's optional creative suite while the latter is the read-it-later tool bundled with the tiled operating system.
Following the introduction of shared apps, Microsoft is now taking advantage of this feature to make Movie Moments and Reading List available to Windows Phone 8.1 users as well. For those who are not familiar with shared apps, the feature allows developers to make their titles available across both app stores, much like Android and iOS developers can. It is effectively meant to increase the likelihood of having Windows Phone apps also available on Windows 8.1 and vice-versa.
Microsoft's Office for iPad now lets you print documents
Microsoft’s new Office for iPad apps are very good, and hugely popular. A month after release and Word is still the number one free app in the App Store, with Excel sitting at number 8, and PowerPoint at number 16. If you own an iPad, and are an Office 365 subscriber, they’re pretty much essential downloads.
At launch we were promised additional features were on their way, and today Microsoft introduces the most requested one –- the ability to print Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, and PowerPoint presentations.
Best Windows 8 apps this week
Seventy-eight in a series. Welcome to this week's new Windows 8 apps overview. Several popular first-party and third-party apps were updated this week.
Microsoft's One Note application received an update that added support for additional languages, inking and rule line improvements, performance improvements, as well as an option to go to the location of the page from the recent notes view.
Android device tracker Cerberus goes free for one day
Keeping track of where your Android device is may not be something that you need to do every day, but when it is stolen or misplaced having a dedicated tool goes a long way toward finding it. There are many options to choose from, but one of the most feature-rich, and my personal favorite, is Cerberus.
Cerberus is one of the first tools of its kind for Android, which can even take advantage of root permissions in order to give you access to extra tracking and protection features (GPS auto-enable and uninstall protection). The app just reached version 2.5 and, as it celebrates its third birthday today, Cerberus is now free, but only for one day.
Android Bitcoin mining malware found on Google Play
Using a mobile device to mine for Bitcoin is hugely impractical. A recent experiment involving 600 quadcore servers managed to create just 0.4 Bitcoins over the course of a year, which makes mining with a mobile a lot like digging in a mostly-spent goldmine with a spoon.
But, in theory, if you could harness the power of enough mobile devices -- hundreds of thousands, or maybe millions -- you might be able to start generating Bitcoins. BadLepricon, a new piece of malware, takes that view and uses your phone’s processing power to mine for new coins. It’s disguised as a harmless wallpaper app, and several instances of it have already been found on Google Play.
Analyze your network from an Android or iOS device with Fing
Once upon a time, you knew exactly what was connected to your home network: your desktop, a laptop maybe and perhaps even your mobile phone. These days, keeping track of networked devices -- from printers to smart TVs -- can be a painful task.
If you’re wondering what’s currently connected to your home network -- perhaps you’re worried about security, or surprised at how slow your internet speeds are -- then you need help. And if you’ve got an Android, iPhone or iPad, help is delivered in the form of Fing -- Network Scanner.
Improve your fitness with RockMyRun
I enjoy running, but require motivation to get started and keep going. Thankfully there are plenty of apps which can help here. I’m a big fan of Zombies, Run! and the similar BattleSuit Runner, both of which offer episodic stories that unfold in between tracks from your playlist as you run.
Occasionally though I just like to put on some running music, and for that I have a new favorite app -- RockMyRun. This is essentially a large collection of mixes from various DJs, covering a wide range of genres -- 80s, 90s, Rock, House, Pop, Hip-Hop, Dubstep, Christian Rock, Oldies, and so on -- that have been designed specifically for listening to when running (the last 15 minutes are higher energy, to encourage you to keep going). Mixes can be streamed on 3G/4G, or downloaded to your device via Wi-Fi.
Microsoft Remote Desktop now available on Windows Phone 8.1
Following in the footsteps of most developers, in mid-October of last year Microsoft chose to release Remote Desktop apps on Android and iOS only, leaving its loyal Windows Phone users waiting. Considering the software giant is behind the tiled smartphone operating system, that was a strange call. After all, why would Microsoft not want Windows Phone to be a first-class citizen in the case of its own software?
Today that changes as Microsoft finally launches Remote Desktop in Windows Phone Store. The first publicly available build sees the app labeled as a "Preview", which means there is still work to be done until the client can be considered ready for prime time. Casting more doubt over Microsoft's Windows Phone strategy, Remote Desktop is solely compatible with Windows Phone 8.1, which was barely announced and has yet to officially make its way to compatible smartphones.
NirSoft releases Wifi Collector -- for Android?
NirSoft has announced the release of Wifi Collector, its first Android app.
Yes: Android. NirSoft’s Nir Sofer may be best known as a prolific developer of Windows utilities, but he’s now decided to branch out into the mobile world.
The most popular stories on BetaNews this past week: April 13 -- April 19
It's nearly a week since Microsoft ended support for Windows XP, but there are still around a quarter of Avast customers who plan on sticking with the old dog a little longer. What is perhaps more shocking is the revelation that over one fifth of those surveyed had no idea that support was coming to an end! For those living more on the cutting edge, good news came for Chrome users who found that their browser of choice gained support for Office Online. Microsoft may be leaving users of Windows XP out in the cold, but this is to be expected after so long. Users of Windows 8.1 who have opted to forego the pleasures of installing the recently released Update will find that their operating system is also not supported, as no further security updates will be made available until the confusingly named Update is used to update Windows 8.1 to Windows 8.1 Update. Got it? Good! Some business users who had trouble grabbing the download have been granted slightly longer.
Post Build, following Microsoft's announcements about universal apps for Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone, app prices are changing -- but consistency seems to be an issue. The hotly anticipated Windows Phone 8.1 was released to developers, but Mihaita was on hand with a guide that allows anyone to grab themselves a copy of the latest update. If you're on the lookout for a new Android handset, Joe puts forward a compelling argument in favor of the HTC One M8.
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