Nothing like bringing your iMac to the Microsoft Store to troll everyone. First, Microsoft employees, trying to troubleshot whatever the hell is wrong with it. Then Apple fanboys, offended by the idea of their beloved OS X replaced by Windows 8. [Jai Definichon] More »
While most companies seem to use CES to unveil new products and hardware, some use the show to launch new software. Synology is one such company, bringing its DiskStation Manager up to version 4.2 beta during the show. DiskStation Manager, as pretty much every Synology user already knows, is the operating system the company has developed for its network attached servers.
The list of new features found in DiskStation Manager 4.2 beta is absolutely huge, so Synology users are definitely in for a treat. Some of the major highlights of this release include an expansion of QuickConnect to cover DS Photo+, DS File, and DS Audio. This upgrade should make it easier for new users to set these features up, which is always a plus.
iOS users now also have a DS Cloud app at their disposal, which seems to essentially be Synology’s in-house version of Dropbox. DSM’s Package Manager is also getting a pretty major overhaul with this release, and it adds a bunch of new ease-of-use features and new apps that users have specifically been asking for. If you’ve been bugging Synology for new apps and functionality in the Package Manager, there seems to be a pretty good chance that your wishes have been granted.
Jumping back to the Cloud-related features, Synology has done quite a bit with syncing in this latest release. For instance, Cloud Station is being brought up to version 2, and with this new version, the size limit for files is doubling – now users can sync files up to 10GB in size, rather than just 5GB. DiskStation Manager 4.2 beta is available for download right now from Synology’s website, with the full release following in another month or so. Be sure to check out our CES portal for all of our coverage from the show!
Synology DiskStation Manager makes jump to version 4.2 beta is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
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The world of mobile OSes is totally dominated by Android and iOS, but that hasn’t kept Ubuntu from trying to sneak in. And finding a way into already dominated markets is kind of Ubuntu’s strong suit. More »
Ready for your quarterly dose of Windows 8 sales figures? After hearing that some 40 million licenses had been sold through last November, the company’s CFO and CMO for Windows Tammi Reller announced here at CES that Microsoft has sold 60 million Windows 8 licenses to date. According to her, that number includes “sell in to OEMs for new PCs,” but she didn’t clarify whether or not it includes blockbuster deals like the $617 million one it recently landed with the US Army, Air Force and DISA. Reller also noted that the numbers are “roughly in line with where we would have been with Windows 7.” Moving 20 million of anything over a single holiday season is pretty impressive, and we’ll be keeping an ear out for more details should they emerge.
Update: Microsoft also announced that “since the opening of the Windows Store the number of apps has quadrupled and it passed the 100 million app download mark – just two months after general availability.”
Filed under: Software, Microsoft
Source: ZDNet, Windows Blog
Our first look at the upcoming Ubuntu phone OS left us excited but wanting for more details, and it seems that Canonical has now indicated when you’ll first be able to grab it. According to OMG Ubuntu, engineering manager Alan Pope said that a downloadable image of the upcoming system will be available in late February for the Galaxy Nexus handset. From what we’ve seen so far, if you’re brave enough to grab it you’ll be in for a reasonably fluid and hackable experience, although actually doing something with it might be another story, since there’s likely to be very few apps available. Still, for tinkerers with the handset who want to give Android a break, it’ll be exciting times when a full-fledged Linux distro finally goes small.
Filed under: Cellphones
Source: OMG Ubuntu
“So close, you can almost touch it.” The Ubuntu home page is currently dominated by a banner with that teaser, along with a clock counting down to 8AM ET on Wednesday, January 2nd. Our guess is that the pre-CES announcement may focus on mobile, with a touch-friendly interface possibly on the horizon. During a Slashdot Q&A in December, Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth clued readers in on the company’s plans to bring the OS to mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets, as part of a strategy to familiarize desktop users with the Linux-based operating system. While this week’s announcement may fall in line with that objective, it’s likely to be just one part of the equation, with 14.04 LTS not set to launch until April 2014 at the earliest. Either way, we have more than a day to go before Ubuntu’s mystery is unveiled, so tune your browser to the source link below to join in on the countdown fun.
[Thanks, Brian]
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Software, Mobile
Source: Ubuntu
There are hundreds of devices to choose from when you’re considering a new desktop computer, laptop or mobile device. We’re overwhelmed by all of the choices we have, but choice is good. When it comes to computing, as far as operating systems, there are three huge players: Microsoft, Apple and Google. Yes, Google.
A curious thing happened during Chrome’s rise to being the most-used browser – an operating system was born. Perhaps that was the plan all along, one can never truly know with Google. What I do know is that when you’re on the go, especially with a laptop, the primary piece of software that everyone uses is the web browser, so why not build an operating system on top of it?
That’s exactly what Chrome OS is and it’s starting to make its way to consumers. Google has announced strong partnerships with hardware manufacturers like Samsung and Acer to build affordable (not cheap) laptops built for a world that accesses information in the cloud. When I say the cloud, I mean, email, files, web surfing, chatting and social networking. These things are all done very well through the browser and not through an installed desktop application.
You’d be hard-pressed to find something that you can’t do through the browser, and need actual installed software for. For me, it was using Spotify to listen to music, but that’s being sorted out as we speak. I sat down with the Chrome OS team to discuss its evolution and current iteration and came away quite impressed.
Chrome OS is an open-source operating system built on many of the things that you might be using already with the Chrome browser. Everything is quite familiar, with the full integration of all of Google’s core products: Drive, Chrome, Gmail, Play, Plus, and of course Search. If you use Google products, then using Chrome OS will be an extremely natural experience for you.
Everything runs pretty quickly on the device that I’m using right now, the latest Samsung Chromebook. I find that I’m not looking to drag and drop things onto a desktop, because it gets messy. Instead, everything is held in an internal filesystem that can be dragged and dropped anywhere, including Google Drive. This makes for moving files between systems super simple. Since all of the things you would probably want to do are available via Chrome extensions, you’ll be able to evolve your environment as new things become available.
Speaking of super simple, I was able to open this laptop, log in with my Google credentials, and start using it as if it were my tablet or phone within three minutes. Since everything is synced, it doesn’t matter what device you’re using in a Google world. It just works. And more importantly, it’s easy to iterate on, on the fly.
Caesar Sengupta, Product Management Director on Chrome OS at Google, told me:
The story for Chrome OS starts way back. It starts with the browser, Chrome. Google’s a web company: We push the boundaries of the web; everything we do is largely on the web. One of the things we realized early on was the web wasn’t keeping up with the potential of what the web could be. We were building apps like Gmail and Google News – rich and vibrant. Browsers weren’t able to handle it. And the web is a platform that allows you to deploy globally without installation. You could pick up any machine login and work. In order to build fun and sexy stuff, you have to build on it.
The hardware itself, like I mentioned, the Samsung Chromebook, looks strikingly similar to the MacBook Air. Yes, start your complaining about copycatting now, that’s not the point. It’s light, runs quickly, and does exactly what you’d want to do. Especially if you rely on a web browser a lot.
Here are full details about what’s inside:
It’s pretty impressive, but who cares about all of that. It just works, and it works quite well.
Regarding its strategy in rolling out Chromebook hardware over the past year, Group Product Manager Ryan Tabone told me:
The point of the prototype was to develop the software. Samsung and Acer shipped devices last year – same form factor but based on Atom. We basically just offered these devices online. The people who were ready for it, came to it. We realized at Google this journey is going to take us some time. The world is moving into these ecosystems. For a web company to have hardware, it was an area we needed to have a strong offering in.
Price is one of those things that trips everyone up. We know what an iPhone costs, kind of. We know what an iPad and a Surface costs. Prices are expensive to some and cheap to others. This particular Samsung Chromebook is $249. You can call it cheap, or you can call it inexpensive. I’ll go with the latter.
The nice part about machines at that pricepoint is that you can get them into the hands of kids. In fact, Google is seeing pretty good traction in schools that are picking up Chromebooks for entire classrooms. They’re easy to administer from a high level and low-priced enough if they were to get broken, stolen or lost.
Also, I tend to break things or drop them in toilets. Don’t ask. In that case, running out and picking up another laptop that I can be up and running on in a matter of minutes in my exact previous state is pretty priceless. So let’s call this thing inexpensive, shall we?
Sengupta had this to say on the price:
There was a core group of people who were using these as additional computers, for other people in the family, like my wife. She does a lot but does it all online.
Tabone had a good point:
When have you ever thought of giving someone a computer as a gift?
Never.
Computing doesn’t have to be difficult, it should be fun and efficient at the same time. You can do both, and Google does a wonderful job of facilitating that with its current suite of products and services. Even if you’re not an Android phone user, which I’m not, you can still find value in Chrome OS.
From a usability, price, and compatibility perspective, it’s difficult to find another operating system on hardware that runs this well, and without so little effort to actually make it work. Basically, you won’t be getting tons of calls from mom and dad on how to use it. That’s good for us, but for them too. It’s empowering. You should use technology, it shouldn’t use you. And the best technology finds itself getting completely out of the way.
If you use the Chrome browser, you’ve already been testing it, you just didn’t know it. Chrome OS won’t change the way that you compute, it’ll just make it easier.
Microsoft seems to be working on a new low-cost operating system that can be upgradeable annually. According to The Verge, Microsoft is developing a Windows software that will work across Windows and Windows Phone devices. Sources say that the new OS is code-named ”Windows Blue” and that the update will include several changes on Microsoft’s current UI for its Windows OS. Microsoft will also reportedly offer annual software updates for the so-called Windows Blue.
Sources added that Windows Blue will be released next year at a low cost or possibly even free. Citing sources, The Verge writes, “Once Windows Blue is released, the Windows SDK will be updated to support the new release and Microsoft will stop accepting apps that are built specifically for Windows 8, pushing developers to create apps for Blue. Windows 8 apps will continue to run on Blue despite the planned SDK changes.” Microsoft denied to comment on the report, which makes it even more interesting. The Redmond-based Internet/ technology giant seems to be borrowing from Apple’s playbook here, given, of course, that the rumor is true.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Asus Taichi Shipments Delayed, The Lazerwood Keys adds some design warmth to your Apple keyboard,
Microsoft is prepping a remedy for Windows Phone 8 which will squash a bug that’s caused some devices loaded with the OS to reboot without notice. According to a statement issued by Ballmer and Co., Redmond and its partners have identified the cause of the restart woes and are working on pushing out an over-the-air update in December. However, Microsoft is remaining coy regarding what’s behind the mishap. Sure, a randomly restarting handset is cause for agitation, but remembering that the latest release of Windows Phone has accounted for the month of December might be a small consolation.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Microsoft
Source: AllThingsD
As promised, Jolla has shown off its newly launched Sailfish OS today, and said that UI will be all about speed and multitasking, while also cutting down on the finger dancing required to use it. The experience will start from the homescreen, where users will be able to control music playback or end a call using a “pulley” menu system without needing to open the respective apps. The Finnish startup also said that “many” Android apps would run on Sailfish handsets without modification, though a simple port would be required for best operation. Jolla foresees the software running not only smartphones from hardware players like new partner ST-Ericsson, but also tablets, smart TVs and in-car systems, for instance. To see it for yourself, check out the official video after the break.
[Image credit: MTV3 Finland]
Gallery: Jolla UI presentation
Continue reading Jolla shows off Sailfish mobile OS in official video, pushes speed, multitasking
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile
Via: Taskumuro
Source: MTV3 Finland, Jolla (YouTube)
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