Hasta La Gadget!

We’ve already gotten a glimpse at MeeGo’s prerelease stock UI for handsets, but just like Symbian, there’s no guarantee that the experience is going to be consistent across manufacturers — and a new video apparently captured from an online survey makes it seem like Nokia might be looking to go in a slightly different direction. The one minute, twenty-nine seconds of footage walks us through five parts — starting up, the “powerful multitasking UI,” getting connected, the Ovi Store experience, and the music player — and as you might imagine, it’s the Ovi Store portion that has us feeling like this is a thoroughly Nokia-customized experience (not to mention the copyright in the lower left). It generally looks richer and more functional than what we’ve seen before, and parts — like the webOS-esque multitasking — remind us of Maemo 5’s thumbnails, which makes perfect sense considering MeeGo’s roots. Follow the break for the full video.

[Thanks, MTA]

Continue reading Nokia’s treatment of MeeGo smartphone UI revealed?

Nokia’s treatment of MeeGo smartphone UI revealed? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Aug 2010 14:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Copy protection has always been a concern in the Android Market, primarily because applications can be sideloaded onto phones without a root or other modification from the end user. In a brief announcement made today, Eric Chu has made clear that a new method for protecting the work of paid app creators will be implemented long-term, with the plan being to “replace the current Android Market copy-protection mechanism over the next few months.” This new “licensing service” is available now for those that want in, providing developers with a secure mechanism that can ping a Market License Server upon launch in order to see if a particular app was indeed purchased legitimately. It’s hard to say how exactly this will affect usability (specifically in offline scenarios), but it’s certainly an interesting twist to the whole situation. Expect to hear lots of growling on both sides as more and more apps opt to take advantage.

[Thanks, Jonathan]

New ‘licensing service’ replacing existing copy protection method in Android Market originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The lesser of ASUS’ two Eee Pad tablets announced at Computex this year, the EP101TC, is getting itself a software rejig ahead of its planned early 2011 launch. Originally slated to run on Microsoft’s Windows Embedded Compact 7 — a wordy OS, if nothing else — the Pad will now entrust its operational infrastructure to Google’s Android. ASUS is currently working on prototypes with Froyo on board, but Gingerbread (or Android 3.0) has not been ruled out as a possible final OS choice. We’re told to expect the first public demos at CES 2011, with retail units likely following on from there at a relatively brisk pace.

ASUS Eee Pad EP101TC opts for Android, dumps Windows Embedded Compact 7 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Jul 2010 06:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re always skeptical when it comes to underground operating systems whipped up for one specific purpose, but Jolicloud has managed to continually impress us with each passing build. Now, at long last, the netbook-centric OS has arrived at the magical 1.0, and our comrades over at Netbook News have managed to score an early copy. Better still, they’re showcasing it on Acer’s just-released Aspire One 533, and if the bootup speed is any indication, we’d say the two are a match made in heaven. The 1.0 version sure looks grown-up compared to those earlier builds, and while we suspect it would take a bit of getting used to before we really found ourselves comfortable in an app-driven desktop OS, we definitely like the looks of it. Feel free to hop on past the break for a lengthy video demonstration of the refaced system, and if you’re currently using an earlier version, the company has informed the world that upgrades will start slipping out as early as this week.

Continue reading Jolicloud 1.0 demonstrated on Acer Aspire One 533, coming to your netbook soon

Jolicloud 1.0 demonstrated on Acer Aspire One 533, coming to your netbook soon originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Jul 2010 20:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The latest Microsoft operating system may be selling seven copies a second, but it’s no match for the behemoth Windows XP, still the most popular OS in the world despite recent nefarious attempts (we kid) to invoke spontaneous shutdowns, slow hard drives and trigger blue screens. In fact, a Microsoft exec admitted today that practically three-quarters of business computers still run the nine-year-old OS on hardware averaging 4.4 years old, and Computerworld‘s now reporting Microsoft will extend XP’s lifespan through 2020 as a result. “Going forward, businesses can continue to purchase new PCs and utilize end user downgrade rights to Windows XP or Windows Vista until they are ready to use Windows 7,” an official Windows blog post reads. We’ve heard the reluctance to upgrade is due to a reliance on older software and the cost of additional IT, but it probably doesn’t hurt that Microsoft doggedly keeps distributing the OS despite the other choices on offer. Perhaps the futuristic Windows 8 will finally win the workplace over, but it seems Redmond’s hedging its bets on this one. Look on the bright side: this way, when intelligent robots battle for control of the moon, at least the wrathful victors will still be vulnerable to the blue screen of doom.

Update: So it seems as if that 2020 date is incorrect, according to Microsoft’s PR team. We’re presently waiting for an official update of some sort, and will let you know if / when we get it. Don’t worry about the robots — we’ve got top men working on Plan B.

Microsoft says 74 percent of work PCs still use Windows XP, extends downgrade rights (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Jul 2010 22:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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