Oct 16

Windows Live Writer Beta 2: New Inline Spell Checking & Tables

Posted in: Apple, Freeware, Microsoft, Pre-Release, Screenshots, Software, Today's Chili

This article was written on May 30, 2007 by CyberNet.

Windows Live WriterThe Windows Live Writer team just posted the Beta 2 which is now available for you to download. It has a handsome list of new features, but nothing I hadn’t really seen in a blog editor before:

  • Inline spell checking
  • Table editing
  • Ability to add categories
  • Page authoring for WordPress and TypePad
  • Support for excerpts and extended entries
  • Improved hyperlinking and image insertion
  • Paste Special
  • Automatic synchronization of local and online edits
  • Integration with Windows Live Gallery
  • Support for Blogger Labels
  • New look and feel
  • Available in 6 languages
  • Improved accessibility and keyboard support

My first impression of the new Live Writer was…wow! It looks amazing, and if appearance counts for anything it blows the other blog editors out of the water. It is sharp, sophisticated, and most of all, usable.

Windows Live Writer
Click to Enlarge

The inline spell checking and table manager are awesome features that will surely come in handy. Unfortunately it still doesn’t appear to support the XHTML standards, but I’m sure many of the Live Writer users don’t know what that is.

I played with it a little more, and two things I thought you might like to see is the appearance of the right-click menu for the spell checker, and what you can actually do with the tables. Here are two screenshots that will sum that up well:

Windows Live Writer Windows Live Writer

When creating the table, it asks you for all of the basic information just as if you were creating it in a word processor:

Windows Live Writer

As you can see there are a lot of great things available with the new Live Writer, and you should consider giving it a shot. Personally, I’m a huge fan of Post2Blog which coincidentally turned to freeware the other day. It is a great application that has a ton of features, but I would have to say that Live Writer looks better and is a little simpler to use.

So what’s it missing? Despite Live Writer supporting plug-ins, I still think there are some things that should be built-in. Some of these things might be available via a plug-in, but this is what I would like to see Live Writer shipped with:

  • XHTML standards compliance
  • Table options (a.k.a. the stuff from the Table Menu) should open in the sidebar like they do when you click on an image.
  • Customize the order of the categories (I don’t know of any blogging software that does this though).
  • Enable Auto-saving by default. I don’t know who wouldn’t like the assurance that their documents are constantly being saved?
  • Align buttons! If I want to center some text, I shouldn’t be going to the Format -> Align menu. That takes way to long. There should be buttons to do this. Also, what about the shortcut keys for aligning things, such as Ctrl+E for centering?
  • I’m not sure about this one, but maybe make the sidebar expand/contract when you hover over it? That way it saves space and is still extremely easy to get to.
  • I would like to create snippets as well. That way some of the repetitive things aren’t so…well, repetitive. This is great for people who guest blog and always conclude each post with a short summary of who they are.

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

Related Posts:


No Comments | Tags: ,
Oct 16

Refresh Resource: week of October 10, 2011

Posted in: Android, Apple, att, firmware, firmware update, FirmwareUpdate, galaxy s ii, GalaxySIi, gingerbread, Google, honeycomb, ios, iPhone, iphone 4s, jailbreak, LG, minipost, motorola, ota, refresh, samsung, Software, software update, SoftwareUpdate, Sprint, streak, t-mobile, Today's Chili, touchpad, update, verizon, Verizon Wireless, VerizonWireless, vzw, xoom

Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging to get updated. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it’s easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don’t escape without notice, we’ve gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery from the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Official Android updates

  • Motorola Xoom owners who swapped in their devices for one with LTE capability may have found an OTA enhancement waiting for them when the tablet arrived. It included a few minor changes, such as updates to Android Market and some additional browser security measures. The full changelog can be found at the link. [AndroidCentral]
  • The update to the Motorola Droid 2 Global was pulled last month due to an Exchange encryption issue, but we’re hearing reports that it’s once again resuming the rollout with that concern resolved. [Droid-Life]
  • Motorola’s Photon 4G on Sprint is on the receiving end of a minor bug fix update, which includes video chat capability for Google Talk. [PhoneArena]
  • The good news for unlocked Dell Streak 7 users: the official update to Android 3.2 (Honeycomb) is now rolling out and you should see it over the course of the next couple weeks. the coming weeks. [Dell]
  • The bad news for T-Mobile Dell Streak 7 users: Honeycomb isn’t coming to your tablet, for unknown reasons. [Android Community]
  • According to a tweet from LG, there’s a small refresh in the works for the Optimus 7 which will finally enable WiFi tethering. [WPCentral]

Unofficial Android updates, custom ROMs and misc. hackery

  • A new piece of firmware for the AT&T Galaxy S II was leaked via RootzWiki, and includes a few bug fixes. Sadly, it adds some bugs as well. [Android Community]
  • Samsung’s officially released the kernel source for the Stratosphere, Transfix and Galaxy Y Pro. [Android Community]
  • And now for the best news for TouchPad owners: after several weeks of progress, it appears that CM7 is now ready to roll on the HP TouchPad. As always, download and install at your own risk — we have a feeling this may be a bit more involved than your typical Android custom ROM. [Redmond Pie]

Other platforms

  • Redsn0w 0.9.9b5 is here, giving you the go-ahead to jailbreak iOS5. Up for the task? Head to the link for all of the details on how to make it so. [Redmond Pie]
  • Some Windows Phone users have noticed a few bugs popping into their updated devices ever since they received Mango. The main concerns seem to be found in the keyboard and live tiles, though the reported issues are much more numerous. Have you experienced any of these on the list at the link? [WMPowerUser]

Refreshes we covered this week

Refresh Resource: week of October 10, 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 16 Oct 2011 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Oct 16

Colorware spills its inks on your iPhone 4S, charges dearly for it

Posted in: Apple, ios, iPhone, iphone 4s, mobilepostcross, mod, mods, phone, Today's Chili
You didn’t think the latest iPhone would be saved from Colorware’s paint-dipped hands, did you?
Lo and behold, the company’s swatches are currently ready for application on the 4S. Similar to its iPhone 4 treatments, you’ll be able to spice up your device — and its earbuds — with a mixture of glossy, metallic and soft-touch coatings (excluding mainly the front face, which remains stock black or white). Colorware’ll gladly sell you a fresh 16 or 64GB model for a whopping $1,500 or $1,700, respectively, or you can mail yours in to get a Benetton-esque makeover for just $250.

Colorware spills its inks on your iPhone 4S, charges dearly for it originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 16 Oct 2011 05:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceColorware  | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: ,
Oct 15

Siri gets lost internationally, promises to do better next year

Posted in: Apple, ios, ios 5, Ios5, iPhone, iphone 4s, Today's Chili
Siri gets lost internationally, promises to do better next year

The iPhone 4S’ Siri integration may be a potential game changer, but she’s not quite the world traveler some of us would like her to be. In fact, it seems she’s as lost outside of US borders as any unprepared tourist. Looking for a pub in London? Better find a traditional map. Need to know the time of day in Canada? Siri admits she has no idea, go buy a watch. Business search (via Yelp), directions, and traffic data search all appear to be US-only features for now, and Wolfram Alpha only works in English-speaking countries. The automated assistant’s international failings aren’t too big of a surprise, however — Apple’s own Siri page outs the service as a beta, noting that some features may vary by area. Stuck with sub-par international support? Sit tight, it’s coming: Apple’s Siri FAQ states that additional language support (including Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Italian and Spanish), maps and local search content are set to go international in 2012.

Update: Wolfram Alpha works outside the US in English speaking countries, thanks to everyone in the comments for the clarification.

Siri gets lost internationally, promises to do better next year originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 15 Oct 2011 20:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TUAW  |  sourceApple, MacStories, reneritchie (Twitter)  | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags:
Oct 15

Apple’s WebKit Scores 100/100 on Acid3, too

Posted in: Apple, Pre-Release, Software, Today's Chili

This article was written on March 27, 2008 by CyberNet.

webkit acid3

I definitely wasn’t expecting to see this today, but it looks as though the WebKit team has pushed hard to get a public nightly build of the Safari browser out that gets a perfect score on the Acid3 test. This is hot on the heals of Opera’s announcement yesterday that they currently have an internal build of their own browser that is successfully passing the test.

I downloaded and got the latest Windows nightly build running so that I could try it out for myself, and as you can see in the screenshot above it scores a perfect 100/100 on the test. One thing that I’m still trying to figure out is why the Lego-like block with the question mark appears next to the upper-left corner of the neon green box. It could have something to do with this problem that the WebKit team talked about:

We have a slight glitch in the text rendering that is likely to be fixed soon (patch in progress). Also, the animation is required to be smooth. On typical machines, if you look really closely, you can see a small glitch in the animation on test 26 because 26 is designed to be a performance test. However, we think we are faster than all other browsers on test 26. What constitutes a smooth animation is somewhat subjective.

So Apple is the first one to have a public build of their browser that achieves a perfect score on the Acid 3 test. Now the question is what will be the first released browser that fully supports it? Maybe hell will freeze over and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer will take the cake?

WebKit Blog Announcement
Thanks Nate for the tip!

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

Related Posts:


No Comments | Tags: ,
Oct 15

Google Voice pulled from App Store following iOS 5 crash

Posted in: Apple, AppleIphone, AppStore, Google, ios, iPhone, iphone 4s, issue, mobilepostcross, Today's Chili

What once was there now is gone. Earlier today, Google Voice was just two clicks away in the iOS App Store. Now, all that remains is a page cache (at the source link below) and versions of the app that were already installed on iPhones and iPod touches. Vincent Paquet, Senior Product Manager for Google Voice confirmed that the app had been pulled, explaining “our last update of this week had a bug that caused the app to crash at sign in. We removed it so it did not affect additional users until the fix gets published.” We’ve been using the most recent version — 1.3.0.1771 — on an iPhone 4 running iOS 5 without issue, but recent reviews cite the reported crashing, so it’s definitely affecting at least some users. We don’t have an ETA for when you can expect the app to return, so if you don’t already have it installed, you’ll need to hang tight for the time being. The service should function normally otherwise, assuming your phone number has already been registered, though you won’t be able to begin new text threads or make outgoing calls using your Google Voice number.

Google Voice pulled from App Store following iOS 5 crash originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 15 Oct 2011 18:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceGoogle Voice (cache)  | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: , , , , , , ,
Oct 15

iPhone 4S lacks “Enable 3G” switch

Posted in: Apple, AppleIphone, iPhone, iphone 4s, mobilepostcross, network, Today's Chili

If you’re among the teeming masses holding a brand new iPhone 4S in your hands, you may be surprised (as we were) to find there’s something conspicuously absent from the Network Settings menu on your new device: specifically the ability to manually shut off 3G data. After receiving word, and a screenshot, from a helpful tipster, rocking a 4S on Vodafone’s network, we found the same option missing from our own AT&T iteration. Of course this isn’t the sort of thing that’s likely to have an impact on most users, but if you’re the type that likes to squeeze every last bit of juice out of that Apple, the omission could cause some frustration. We gave Apple support a call to see what they had to say, and were told AppleCare has no official response on the matter. If you’re lamenting the loss of the 3G flip-switch sound off in the comments below.

Update: A few of our readers are reporting that the original Verizon iPhone 4 also lacked the 3G switch, which means the absence is most likely on a carrier-by-carrier basis.

[Thanks, Chris and Charlie]

iPhone 4S lacks “Enable 3G” switch originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 15 Oct 2011 14:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: , , ,
Oct 15

Apple Error Reveals 8-core Mac Pro

Posted in: Apple, Microsoft, Screenshots, Today's Chili

This article was written on March 13, 2007 by CyberNet.

A nice surprise recently appeared on the online UK Apple Store that confirms what people have been saying all along. Late last night and early today while searching for “Mac Pro,” the first result displayed an option that said “Now quad-core or 8–core processing power.”The image below is a screenshot of the listing from Tuaw.com who managed to get there before it was taken down.

Applequad

Not too long after the buzz started to get around the Web, the entire UK store went down which tells us this wasn’t intentional, and when it came back up the listing was gone. When Intel announced their quad core processor, it was clear that at some point someone would make the move and introduce computers with 8–core processing power.

Apple is probably really close to releasing the 8–core as expected. It was just last month that MacScoop reported that along with the black 24–inch iMac, there would also be the 8–core Mac Pro coming in March sometime.

People have been waiting for this option for months, and soon they’ll be able to get all 8 cores.

Just for fun I decided to configure the most expensive Mac Pro possible, and it turned out one seriously loaded computer at a grand total of $18,125.00. Once the 8–core is available, I wonder if we can push it over $20,000? :) (Specs below)

  • Two 3.0GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon
  • (4) 750GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s hard drives
  • 16GB (8 x 2GB) of memory
  • NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 512MB, Stereo 3D (2 x dual-link DVI)
  • (2) Apple Cinema HD Display (30″ flat panel)
  • Plus general accessories that they offer like keyboard/wireless mighty mouse

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

Related Posts:


No Comments | Tags: , , ,
Oct 15

WrapUp: Thunderbird Returning to Mozilla, Windows Explorer Getting a Ribbon in Windows 8, and More

Posted in: amazon, Apple, Gmail, Mozilla, Today's Chili, windows 8, WrapUp, YouTube

This article was written on April 11, 2011 by CyberNet.

Welcome to the WrapUp by CyberNet. This is a collection of news stories, downloads, and tips that we have collected over the last few days, but never got around to writing about. Don’t forget to send in your own tips, or just leave a comment on this page if you think you’ve got something we should include.

–News–

Youtube liveYouTube Launches Live Streaming Service
YouTube has been testing a live streaming service over the last few months, and now they are officially rolling it out. At this time only certain content makers, such as Revision3, are available, but they plan on making it more widely available later on.

 

Windows aero auto colorWindows 8 Can Adjust Aero Color Based on Wallpaper
A cool new feature discovered in a leaked Windows 8 build demonstrates how you will be able to have the color of the Aero transparency automatically change based on the main color used in your desktop wallpaper. This will be pretty awesome if you have a rotating set of background images.

 

ThunderbirdThunderbird Returning to Mozilla
In 2007 Mozilla separated Thunderbird into its own organization called Mozilla Messaging, and they announced last week that it will be brought back to Mozilla under the Mozilla Labs umbrella.

 

Hard drivesApple Purchases 12 Petabytes of Storage
A report suggests that Apple just purchased 12 petabytes (12.5 million gigabytes) of storage, and that it will likely be used for an online iTunes locker and MobileMe in their North Carolina data center.

 

GroovesharkGrooveshark Pulled from Android Market
Grooveshark didn’t last very long in Apple’s App Store, and now it looks like it has been slapped with the same legal fate in Google’s Android Market.

 

Motorola xoomMotorola Xoom Estimated to Have Sold 100k Units
Many reports are saying that the Motorola Xoom isn’t doing very well since it has “only” sold 100,000 units in the first month and a half. It may not be selling as fast as the iPad, but that is still an incredible number.

 

Apple patent bezelApple Patents a Smart Bezel
This isn’t the first time that we’ve seen a touch-sensitive bezel on a device, but the patent filed by Apple shows how they might make use of the technology in a future product.

 

Firefox slow extensionsMozilla Shames Add-on Developers with List of Slow Extensions
Mozilla has assembled a list of extensions they’ve tested and they go on to highlight the ones they’ve found to slow down the browser the most. As a Firefox extension developer myself I think this is good information to have, but wish they would have contacted the developers first before calling them out in an un-professional way like this.

 

Windows 8 explorerWindows Explorer Ribbon Found in Windows 8
This article has some screenshots taken of the Windows Explorer Ribbon that will appear in Windows 8. There is still plenty to be done on it since there are barely any icons on the Ribbon, but this will give you an idea of how it will work.

 

–Tips, Tutorials, and Reviews–

Mac tabsAdd Tabs to the Mac Mail Application
This is a plugin for the Mac Mail App that will add a tabbed interface for composing messages, replying to emails, and more.

 

Google docs notifierGoogle Docs Notifier Displays Recent Changes
Windows users can grab this Google Docs notifier if you’d like to be alerted anytime there are changes to documents in your account. Of course if you never do any collaboration this probably wouldn’t be very useful since the only thing showing up in the list will be the changes you made.

 

Online ocrFree Online OCR Service
If you have some PDFs or images that you’d like converted to text then this free online OCR service may be exactly what you’re looking for. The downside is that you are constrained to 20MB uploads.

 

QuicksyncSimple Folder Synchronization with QuickSync
This free Windows tool isn’t packed with features, but that’s kinda the point. It is a barebones app for synchronizing two directories.

 

Gmail auto add contactsDisable Auto-Adding of Contacts in Gmail
Google rolled out some new settings last week that target some of the finer annoyances people had with Gmail. One of them is the ability to stop Gmail from automatically adding contacts that you email to your contacts list.

 

Amazon cloud driveMake Amazon Cloud Drive Appear in Windows Explorer
Using a program called Gladinet you can drag and drop files into Windows Explorer that you want to upload to your Amazon Cloud Drive account.

 

–Downloads–

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

Related Posts:


No Comments | Tags: ,
Oct 14

Siri ported to an iPhone 4, old phone learns a new trick (Update: Better performance!)

Posted in: Apple, hack, hacking, Hacks, iPhone, iphone 4s, mobilepostcross, Today's Chili, video

Apple’s iPhone 4 may not have the fancy dual core CPU of its successor, but thanks to the efforts of developer Steven Troughton-Smith and the folks at 9to5 Mac, it may soon have Siri. The port of the sultry voice assistant was accomplished by using the 4S Siri and Springboard files, and some serious elbow grease, no doubt. As you can see in the video below, it’s far from perfect, but it can recognize spoken commands without issue. Currently, the hack is missing an iPhone 4 GPU driver that keeps things running buttery smooth on the elder phone, and Cupertino won’t authenticate Siri’s commands coming from it either. So, it isn’t quite ready for primetime, but it should only be a matter of time before all you iPhone 4 owners can tell Siri what to do, too.

Update: And in the space of just a few hours, Mr. Troughton-Smith has already managed to improve performance of the app on the iPhone 4 significantly, although Apple’s servers are still unreachable. Check out a newer YouTube video showing off some seriously smooth scrolling action after the break. [Thanks, Ramzi]

Continue reading Siri ported to an iPhone 4, old phone learns a new trick (Update: Better performance!)

Siri ported to an iPhone 4, old phone learns a new trick (Update: Better performance!) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 15 Oct 2011 01:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Jailbreak Story  |  source9to5 Mac, @stroughtonsmith, YouTube  | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: , ,