Jun 01

BlackBerry 7 gets an SDK, NFC, AR, other acronyms

Posted in: BlackBerry, nfc, RIM, sdk, Today's Chili
BlackBerry 7 SDK Beta

BlackBerry 7 OS is coming soon but, to take advantage of all those fancy features like NFC and the digital compass (ok, some of them aren’t that fancy), devs are going to need some new APIs — enter the BlackBerry 7 Java SDK. Creators of BlackBerry apps can go download the beta of the new software development kit at the source link and start whipping up augmented reality browsers and 3D games, thanks to support for OpenGL ES 2.0. There’s nothing mind-blowing about RIM’s latest update, but we’re glad to see the corporate stalwart start to catch up to other smartphone OSes, and it’s only a matter of time before Layar and Quake hit the BlackBerry Bold 9900.

BlackBerry 7 gets an SDK, NFC, AR, other acronyms originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 10:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 26

Yahoo upgrades its email for everyone, puts Facebook updates and tweets in your inbox

Posted in: Email, Gmail, now available, NowAvailable, release, Today's Chili, Yahoo

Yahoo is the latest in a line of would-be champions to try to topple king Gmail from its perch atop the email mountain. The company’s newest Mail Beta (no relation to Gmail Beta) was introduced last October, but now its overhauled UI and fresh features are available to all. With the change comes quicker load times, stronger spam filtration, and it lets you send and receive Facebook updates and tweets. It also automatically turns picture and video links into thumbnail previews and handles up to 100MB attachments. These fancy new features are certainly a step in the right direction (even if the purple paintjob isn’t), but time will tell if it’ll rule the webmail world.

Yahoo upgrades its email for everyone, puts Facebook updates and tweets in your inbox originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 May 2011 06:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 23

Firefox 5 beta for desktop and mobile now available

Posted in: Android, Mozilla, Today's Chili, web

Mozilla’s Firefox channel system is now complete, with the first Firefox 5 beta releases being pushed for both desktop and mobile users. There aren’t many recognizable differences from Firefox 4 at the moment, apart from the introduction of the channel changer mechanism and the relocation of Mozilla’s Do Not Track opt-in to the privacy tab […]

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May 22

Mac Office 2008 Download Leaked

Posted in: leaked, Mac, Pre-Release, Release Date, Reviews, Screenshots, Software, Today's Chili

This article was written on October 17, 2007 by CyberNet.

Microsoft’s Mac Office 2008 won’t be released until sometime in January, but those of you who are eager to get your hands on it don’t have to wait much longer. File sharing sites have already started to distribute a 465MB download of the Beta version to anyone that wants it, and accompanying the download is a working serial number.

What’s this mean for everyone that doesn’t want to download it illegally? In no time at all you’ll be able to find Office 2008 Reviews blanketing the web, and a well-written review has already been posted over at the InsanelyMac forum. A follow-up poster also added screenshots of the splash screens for each of the individual apps.

One of the things people have been the most excited about is the Entourage 2008 software, which is kind of like Outlook for Macs. Many were hoping that it would finally be the product that they all wanted, but the reviewer wasn’t too fond of it:

It does take a long time to open, it makes strange noises at random times(like when you turned off email notification and it is idle). With this Application, I think that Microsoft tried to pack too much into one Application. The UI itself is not very space efficient and it is slow to use.

In the end the reviewer gave Mac Office 2008 a 4 out of 5 after ignoring the issues that will probably get fixed by the time it ships in January. I can’t wait to read what everyone else thinks of it.

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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May 19

Yahoo Messenger 9 Beta Includes Flickr/YouTube Integration

Posted in: Features, Freeware, Pre-Release, Software, Today's Chili, Yahoo

This article was written on May 30, 2008 by CyberNet.

yahoo messenger 9.jpgarrow Windows Windows only arrow
Yahoo Messenger 9 Beta has been in production for months, and yesterday it received and update that provides even more improvements and features. One of the things that really caught my attention in their demonstration video was the Flickr and YouTube integration, which automatically converts hyperlinks into embedded media. That way you can share and watch YouTube videos without ever leaving the chat window.

There are a significant number of other features that they include in this release as well. You can, for example, import contacts from other services such as Gmail and AOL, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be able to chat with your friends on all of those other networks. Here’s a more detailed list of features provided by the Yahoo Messenger blog:

  • Games are back! – Checkers, pool, toki toki boom…you know the rest. Note that your friend needs to be on 8.1 or this latest release of 9.0 Beta to play games with you.
  • Status message improvements – The status message menu has been split into two parts – one where you can indicate your availability (busy, available) and the other for putting in a custom message or a link you want to share.
  • Yahoo! Updates – Yahoo! Messenger is one of the first products to showcase what your friends are doing on Yahoo!. When a friend buzzes a favorite news story or changes their Avatar, a Yahoo! Update is displayed next to that friend in your contact list (with more detail in their contact card).
  • Import Contacts – Select “Import Contacts” from the Contacts menu and you can add friends from address books you have on other sites like Gmail, Orkut, Yahoo! Address Book, Hotmail, AOL and many more. We’ll pull in your contacts and make it easy for you to start talking with them on Yahoo! Messenger.
  • Voice in chat rooms for Vista users & faster Captcha process – We added a fix to this latest version of Yahoo! Messenger 9.0 Beta that allows Windows Vista users on 9.0 to use voice in chat rooms (and conferences).
  • New IM notification toast – When a new message comes in to the background window, a small notification will pop up from the lower right corner of your screen with the beginning text of the IM your friend just sent.

If you’re still not convinced checkout the video below to see if the new Yahoo Messenger 9 Beta is what you’ve been longing for. Or if you’re using Vista be sure to try their uber sweet Vista Messenger.

Get Yahoo Messenger 9 Beta for Windows [via Webware]

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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May 11

Live from Google I/O 2011’s day 2 keynote!

Posted in: Android, Chrome, froyo, Google, GoogleAndroid, honeycomb, keynote, LiveBlog, nfc, slate, tablet, Today's Chili

No, you aren’t losing your mind. You’re really tuned in to the second Google keynote in as many days, and if we had to guess, we’d say Chrome and / or Chrome OS will take top billing. Things haven’t started just yet, but your patience (or impatience) is greatly appreciated. Have a look below to see when things get going!

06:30AM – Hawaii
09:30AM – Pacific
10:30AM – Mountain
11:30AM – Central
12:30PM – Eastern
05:30PM – London
06:30PM – Paris
08:30PM – Moscow / Dubai
12:30AM – Perth (May 12th)
12:30AM – Shenzhen (May 12th)
01:30AM – Tokyo (May 12th)
02:30AM – Sydney (May 12th)

Continue reading Live from Google I/O 2011’s day 2 keynote!

Live from Google I/O 2011’s day 2 keynote! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 May 2011 12:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 11

Google Music Beta walkthrough: what it is and how it works (video)

Posted in: audio, cloud, Google, impressions, preview, reviewed, Software, Today's Chili, video

We made a few predictions about Google’s (then-presumed) music service in our streaming roundup last week, and thanks to the inability of an undisclosed amount of labels to take a whiff of whatever El Goog was cooking, it looks as if we’ve been left with something less robust, but nevertheless intriguing. It’s worth taking a glance at our team editorial on Music Beta by Android to get a feel of what could’ve been, but the reality is this: what was launched today is what we’ve been dealt, and now it’s time to break things down and see how it actually functions in practice.

Care to have a look at a full installation walkthrough, problem reports and two more pennies on how the service stacks up? That, along with tips on fulfilling your hopes and dreams, are tucked away just after the break.

Gallery: Google Music Beta walkthrough on phone, tablet and PC

Continue reading Google Music Beta walkthrough: what it is and how it works (video)

Google Music Beta walkthrough: what it is and how it works (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 May 2011 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 06

Firefox 3 Performance Gets a Boost

Posted in: Firefox 3, Freeware, performance, Pre-Release, Software, Today's Chili

This article was written on February 25, 2008 by CyberNet.

fast firefox

Now that Firefox 3 is approaching the home stretch it is important that Mozilla starts to throw in performance improvements to really make the browser purr. Over in our forum xpgeek pointed out that a Profile-Guided Optimization (PGO) build of Firefox 3 had been created which greatly improved the performance of JavaScript in the browser. While PGO itself hasn’t yet landed in the nightly builds there have been some significant improvements to the JavaScript engine.

I’m sure what most of you care the most about are the facts, and so I’ve compiled the results of the SunSpider JavaScript Benchmark test for each of the different browsers. All of the tests below were performed on the same Windows machine, and the Firefox 3 nightly builds definitely came out on top. Here are the results sorted from best to worst (each one is hyperlinked to the full stats):

  1. Firefox 3 Nightly (PGO Optimized): 7263.8ms
  2. Firefox 3 Nightly (02/25/2008 build): 8219.4ms
  3. Opera 9.5.9807 Beta: 10824.0ms
  4. Firefox 3 Beta 3: 16080.6ms
  5. Safari 3.0.4 Beta: 18012.6ms
  6. Firefox 2.0.0.12: 29376.4ms
  7. Internet Explorer 7: 72375.0ms

It’s important to know that every time you run the SunSpider Benchmark it conducts each test five times, and the result is the average of the five tests. So it is a rather thorough test, and definitely shows off the speed improvements that Firefox 3 is going to be bringing to the table.

What does this all mean for you? Depending on what browser you typically use you may not notice a huge speed difference, but the change will be the most noticeable on sites that use JavaScript heavily. With the Web 2.0 era upon us all JavaScript speed enhancements are welcomed with open arms.

Firefox 3 Beta 4 is expected to be released in the next few weeks, and you can expect to see these (and many more) improvements shining through!

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Apr 23

Internet Explorer 8 Download (IE8 Beta 1)

Posted in: Features, Internet Explorer, Software, Today's Chili, Windows

This article was written on March 05, 2008 by CyberNet.

So far all that we’ve known about Internet Explorer 8 was that they finally decided to push for web standards, and for that I’m extremely grateful. Microsoft has, however, posted an IE 8 Readiness Toolkit likely in preparation for MIX08 which starts today and runs until March 7th. In the toolkit they have download links (which we’ve posted at the end of this article) as well as a feature guide.

UPDATE: The downloads are now available.

We’ve taken the liberty of outlining all of the features below, but you won’t be able to get your hands on the browser quite yet. While the links to the IE8 Beta 1 downloads are available they have yet to be activated… you’ll get an error page if you try to download it at this time. Be patient though because I would expect them to be available shortly.

Okay, lets move on to the good stuff…

–Internet Explorer 8 Features–

As part of the readiness toolkit Microsoft has assembled a new features page which outlines what appears to be the big new things in Internet Explorer 8. I have to admit that some of them are actually really nice additions.

  • Activities – Activities typically involve two types of scenarios: “look up” information within a webpage or “send” web content to a web application. For example, a user is interested in a restaurant and wants to see the location of it. This is the form of a “look up” Activity where the user selects the address and views an in-place view of the map using his favorite map service. [Learn how to develop Activities]
    ie8 activities
  • WebSlices – WebSlices is a new feature for websites to connect to their users by subscribing to content directly within a webpage. WebSlices behave just like feeds where clients can subscribe to get updates and notify the user of changes. These sound a lot like Firefox’s Microsummaries, except IE’s are way better in my opinion. [Learn how to develop WebSlices]
    ie8 webslices
  • Favorites Bar – The Links bar has undergone a complete makeover for Internet Explorer 8. It has been renamed the Favorites bar to enable users to associate this bar as a place to put and easily access all their favorite web content such as links, feeds, WebSlices and even Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents.
    ie8 favorites bar
  • Automatic Crash Recovery – Automatic Crash Recovery (ACR) is a feature of Windows Internet Explorer 8 that can help to prevent the loss of work and productivity in the unlikely event of the browser crashing or hanging. The ACR feature takes advantage of the Loosely-Coupled Internet Explorer feature to provide new crash recovery capabilities, such as tab recovery, which will minimize interruptions to users’ browsing sessions.
    ie8 recovered tabs
  • Improved Phishing Filter – The Safety Filter continues to block known Phishing sites and now blocks sites known to contain malicious software that could harm users’ computer or steal their information. Beyond this improved protection, the Safety Filter operates more quickly than ever before to ensure that users can browse both safely and quickly.
    ie8 safety filter

 

–Download Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 (IE8 Beta 1)–

Here are the links you need to download Internet Explorer 8:

[via ActiveWin]
Thanks a ton to Oliver for the tip!

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Apr 19

White iPhone 4 used to demo new multitasking, Spotlight search in ‘test version’ of iOS? (video)

Posted in: Apple, ios, ios 5, Ios5, iPhone, leak, rumor, speculation, Today's Chili, update, upgrade, video

We’ve just laid eyes on a video from the prolific leaksters over at Tinhte, who claim they not only have a white iPhone 4 from Apple, but it’s one with a “test version” of iOS that nobody else has yet seen. It’s difficult to ascertain how legitimate this software is — it could just be a neatly done jailbreak mod — but that site has a track record of getting its hands on Apple gear ahead of the pack. With that said, the multitasking menu shown here substitutes the current use of apps’ icons to represent them with a visual of each app’s open window. You can tap on a window to expand it (replete with animation) to fill the screen or long-press on it to bring up the familiar “x” button for shutting it down. This is all accompanied by a new “Search iPhone” dialog at the very top, which sends you into Spotlight search that looks very much the way it currently does (though it seems to no longer be accessible with a left swipe from the first homescreen as on previous versions of iOS). Jump past the break for the video.

Update: A second video has been uncovered, this one showing that we’re looking at a prototype unit and taking us on a tour around its body. A visit to the Settings menu shows a 64GB storage capacity, while app folder creation is also handled a little differently from iOS 4. The presence of the Touch Fighter app on this phone, which Apple built to show off the capabilities of earlier versions of the handset, and other internal-looking software seems to point to this indeed being some form of iOS beta build. Of course, it might not be iOS 5 at all, but simply a never-released version of iOS 4. All we know for sure is that the video’s after the break.

Update 2: All indications are that this is indeed an early, unreleased version of iOS 4. Interesting, but probably not something to get your hopes up about.

Continue reading White iPhone 4 used to demo new multitasking, Spotlight search in ‘test version’ of iOS? (video)

White iPhone 4 used to demo new multitasking, Spotlight search in ‘test version’ of iOS? (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 09:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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