Hasta La Gadget!

Whether you see Windows Vista and Windows 7 Gadgets as handy tools or a blight upon a pristine desktop, you might want to shut them off for safety’s sake. Mickey Shkatov and Toby Kohlenberg have found that the desktop widgets’ web-based code have flaws that would allow malicious Gadgets, or even hijacked legitimate Gadgets, to compromise a PC without having to go through the usual avenues of attack. Microsoft’s short-term answer to the vulnerability is a drastic one, though: a stopgap patch disables Gadgets entirely, leaving just a barren desktop in its wake. There’s no word on a Gadget-friendly solution arriving before Kohlenberg and Shkatov present at the Black Hat Conference on July 26th, but we suspect Microsoft’s ultimate answer is to move everyone to Windows 8, where Gadgets aren’t even an option. We understand the importance of preventing breaches, of course — we’re just disappointed that we’ll have to forgo miniature stock tickers and weather forecasts a little sooner than expected.

Filed under: Software

Microsoft advises nuking Windows Gadgets after security hole discovery, we mourn our stock widgets originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Jul 2012 14:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Seemingly anyone who’s used an iPhone (and often the iPad) knows Tweetbot — it’s often the go-to Twitter app for those who prefer not to go the official route. It’s to those users’ delight, then, that Tapbots just posted a free alpha version of Tweetbot for Mac. As you’d anticipate, it’s an attempt to bring much of the app’s power user mojo to the desktop world: you can check just retweets of your content, mute overly chatty people or hashtags, and otherwise get more control than just watching your stream drift by. It’s even (mostly) Retina-ready for that new MacBook Pro. Alpha does mean that there will be a fair amount of things missing; it won’t tap into iCloud or Mountain Lion’s Notification Center until it’s official, for example. But if you’re willing to deal with that and a few potential bugs, it may be time to brush other apps aside — just note that you’ll need Mountain Lion or newer when the app is ready to face the Mac App Store, even though it works with Lion today.

We’ve had a quick spin with the app, and it largely does what it says on the tin: it’s Tweetbot, on the Mac. The primary differences are changes that make sense when a mouse pointer and a larger screen area are available. You can reply, retweet, or view whole conversations from buttons that appear as you hover, rather than using the myriad taps and swipes of the iOS apps. It’s a wonderfully minimalist app, if that’s your thing, and you can open multiple windows (currently through a keyboard shortcut) to get some of that TweetDeck-style power user layout. Our main gripe? Tweetbot on the Mac always updates in a live stream, and there’s no option for intervals; if you follow a lot of people, there’s a chance you might miss something. Still, for an alpha, it’s a decidedly polished and useful effort that doesn’t leave us wanting like a few clients, including Twitter’s own.

Filed under: Internet, Software

Tweetbot for Mac arrives as free alpha, we give a quick hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Jul 2012 13:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jelly Bean(s) for everyone — essentially, that’s just what Google’s done for the tech savvy underground with 4.1.1’s release in AOSP. Not two days after that source code was made available, has a developer by the name of Hashcode worked to get an early build up and running on Amazon’s Kindle Fire. If you’ll remember, that Bezos-backed slate runs a heavily customized UX with Gingerbread buried deep at its core and official plans for a software update beyond its 2.3 underpinnings have not been announced. So, for adventurous owners that are sick of living in the software-past, but aren’t quite ready to part ways with 200 bills for that very now Nexus 7, a beta ROM is at the ready. Naturally, you’ll need to have your device rooted and loaded with a custom recovery to get things going but, take note, this work-in-progress is far from complete: hardware video acceleration isn’t yet supported and WiFi is somewhat unstable. Fixes are assuredly on the way, so the less carefree might want to abstain from flashing at the moment. For everyone else, you can find the necessary downloads at the source below and, while you’re at it, check out the video tour after the break.

Update: Looks like the crew got Google’s apps (Play Store, Gmail, etc.) working as well as WiFi. Check out the updated tour video here.

Continue reading Jelly Bean spreads the butter to Amazon’s Kindle Fire in unofficial beta build (video)

Filed under: Tablet PCs, Software

Jelly Bean spreads the butter to Amazon’s Kindle Fire in unofficial beta build (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Jul 2012 12:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pedaling your way through the streets of London Town and eager to avoid giant hills or dangerous traffic? Well, Google Maps is about to become your new best friend. The (still kinda-sorta) search company partnered with Sustrans to bring cycling directions to UK users of its mapping app. Now, alongside your typical driving, walking and public transit options you’ll see an adorable little biking icon. Really, there’s not much more to say, it’s a feature we in the US have been enjoying for quite some time and we’re happy that our friend across the pond are finally joining the party. There’s a celebratory video and some PR after the break, if that sort of thing intrigues you.

Continue reading Google and Sustrans join forces, bring bike navigation to UK Maps

Filed under: Software

Google and Sustrans join forces, bring bike navigation to UK Maps originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Jul 2012 10:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Americans have enjoyed the freedom to choose between Starbucks apps on both iOS and Android for over a year, and now the Google-flavored iteration is now finally going abroad, launching in both the UK and Canada today. The launch coincides with an app update for all users on the North American continent and across the pond. You’ll now be able to connect your phone to your Starbucks Card payment account, seek out nearby caffeine outlets and gleefully obsess over rewards and balances. The refresh also adds a widget for your presumably otherwise bare homescreen. This first global rollout now totals over 14,000 locations to use your Starbucks Card to pay, with PayPal functionality also rolled into both the US and Canadian iterations. Hit up the PR after the break for the nitty-gritty.

Continue reading Starbucks Android app gets caffeinated update, also launches in UK and Canada

Filed under: Cellphones, Software

Starbucks Android app gets caffeinated update, also launches in UK and Canada originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Jul 2012 08:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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