Month: January 2013

BitTorrent testing Sync app that will keep your files synchronized across devices

bittorrent logoBitTorrent has yet another experimental app out for users to test. A couple of weeks ago, BitTorrent released its Surf extension for Google Chrome and now they’re giving users a sneak peak at Sync. There are few details about BitTorrent Sync at the moment, but we do know it will “manage personal files between multiple computers.” In the screenshot of the program, there is an icon labeled “Device,” which hints at a desktop and mobile syncing solution.

This is an interesting development and definitely something will compete with cloud services like Google Drive, Box, Dropbox, and SkyDrive. There is a fundamental difference between BitTorrent Sync and its cloud competitors in that BitTorrent isn’t a file hosting company. BitTorrent will not store your files on their service, but likely rely on peer-to-peer connections. BitTorrent has told GigaOm that files will be protected with 256 bit AES encryption.

bittorrent sync

It’ll be interesting to see if BitTorrent will release this as a separate app or bake it into its uTorrent application.

You can sign up to test BitTorrent Sync here.

Source: BitTorrent and GigaOm

Elder Scrolls Online open for beta testing

Could this be the online MMORPG to rival World of Warcraft? The Elder Scrolls Online is now open for beta registration. The Developer Zenimax Online has also released a spectacular trailer in anticipation of the launch and it will certainly get hearts pumping in the online gaming world.

Demand is sure to be high so after filling in details about yourself and your gaming habits, you have to give a valid reason why you should be selected for beta testing. Once you’ve filled in the form and clicked send, you’ll be given prediction of your chances of making the final cut.

The Elder Scrolls Online is open to both Windows and Mac users and there’s a full Elder Scrolls Online FAQ to answer any questions.

Facebook stops friend finding on Twitter’s new Vine

Less than 24 hours after its release, the social video app Vine has been denied access to Facebook friend lists.
It’s a trend which is on the rise. Until recently, almost any new app would give you the opportunity to find your friends on Twitter, Facebook or Google. That made it really easy to see if anyone you knew was using a new app or service.

But since Facebook bought Instagram, and Twitter decided to stop showing Instagram pictures or allowing access to their API, companies have started to lock each other out.

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Electronic Arts’ Origin platform comes to Mac

EA origin iconValve’s Steam game distribution platform will face some competition on the Mac as Electronic Arts just announced that Origin is coming soon. Origin for Mac is currently in an open alpha for users in North America and the United Kingdom. Alpha testers will automatically receive a free copy of PopCap’s Bookworm game.

Origin will feature many of the same features that Steam already has, including game save sync, automatic patching, and friends list. EA plans to bring Twitch.tv live streaming support to the Mac client as well, but it’s not included in the alpha. This is one area where Origin bests Steam.

EA is keeping its user experience consistent across platforms by making the Mac application as identical to the PC version as possible. Of course, this doesn’t mean that game selection will be identical on the different platforms. EA is leaving it up to the developers to see if they want to port a game to Mac, meaning the games library for Origin on Mac could be significantly smaller than the PC version.

EA Origin for Mac

If you have a Mac running OS X 10.6.8 or later with at least a Core 2 Duo processor, you can help EA test Origin for Mac by clicking here.

Source: Origin

Google Image Search to get a redesign and speed bump

google iconIf you think Google Image Search is looking a bit dated, you’re not alone. Google is revamping Google Images to provide a less jarring experience and a performance increase. The biggest update is to the interface of Google Images when browsing tons of images. There are now keyboard shortcuts to make browsing much simpler.

Image details will now expand below the thumbnail instead of taking you to a separate page. This makes browsing Google Images much less jarring. With the old Google Image Search, users were taken to a different page to view a full sized image. That meant going back to Google Images required the page to load again and finding your place was a hit or miss.

Additional changes include easier to read metadata information to quickly browse images of specific sizes and domain names. The update will be rolling out to users over the next several days.

google image search update

Source: Google Webmaster Central Blog

Twitter launches Vine video sharing service for iOS

twitter vine iconVine, a video sharing service acquired by Twitter, allows users to share short, looped videos. It’s almost like creating a gif but with audio and actual video. At launch, Vine is only available as an iOS application for the iPhone and iPod touch. iPad users can put down their tablets and stop looking ridiculous trying to record video.

It makes sense that Twitter would impose a 6 second time restriction for its videos as the service has a 140 character limit for its tweets. This forces users to be more creative with the limited time they have. Twitter states that Vine will give users a “windows into the people, settings, ideas and objects that make up your life.”

To get started, Vine lets you log in with your Twitter account, though it’s not required. You can create a separate login if you wish.

Twitter’s updated embedded tweets will also be able to display video loops from Vine. Videos animate automatically but sound is disabled by default. You can click the speaker icon on the bottom right to turn sound on.

You can download Vine for iOS here.

Source: Twitter

Nokia says a final goodbye to Symbian

Nokia released it’s ‘Corporation Q4 and full year 2012 Interim Report’ this afternoon, and amongst all the results was this sentence:

The Nokia 808 PureView, a device which showcases our imaging capabilities and which came to market in mid-
2012, was the last Symbian device from Nokia.

So that’s it for the aged mobile OS. The phone mentioned, with it’s eye opening 38 mega-pixel camera, always looked more like a technical showcase rather than an intention to continue developing Symbian.

The operating system will be supported until 2016, but it’s not being developed further, and Nokia has outsourced support to Accenture. The latest version, S^3, was Symbian’s second attempt at developing a response to iOS and Android. While it had its fans, S^3 never really took off.

Will you miss Symbian?

[Sources: Wikipedia, Nokia]

All items in Tribes: Ascend now require only half the XP to unlock

Tribes: Ascend is one of the best examples of ‘free to play’, and now all items in the game cost only half XP (experience points).
Tribes is an online multiplayer first person shooter. It’s incredibly fast and exhilarating: as as well as guns, you come equipped with skis and a jet-pack. This makes for a fantastically fluid game once you’ve grasped how to combine the jet-pack and skis, and makes all other FPS’s seem snail-like in comparison.

The only real criticism of Tribes was how long it took to get the XP necessary to upgrade your equipment. Making items expensive is typical in free to play games, and it’s great to see Hi-Rez studios responding to users feelings. New players will now be able to upgrade quicker, it should make the game more accessible.

I gave the game 9/10 last year, after being blown away by the fantastic kinetic energy of the gameplay. Much cheaper items and upgrades can only make it more attractive. Strap on your skis and jet-packs, and jump in.

VideoLAN is developing VLC for iOS, again

vlc for ios iconBack in 2011, VideoLAN released VLC for iOS, which garnered tons of interest immediately. Unfortunately the app was quickly pulled, not because of a breach of Apple’s App Store rules but because of licensing issues as applying Digital Rights Management (DRM) to open source software is in violation of the GNU General Public License (GPL) of which VLC is protected by.

Development for the app ceased until today when VideoLAN announced on Twitter that it was working on an iOS app again. There are no specific details about when the app will come out but VideoLAN claims it will be “way faster” than the previous version and that it would be coming “soonish.”

VLC is one of the most popular media players for PC and Mac and having mobile apps only makes sense. Users are no doubt clamoring for VLC on mobile devices for its great file type support. Windows RT users are also excited to bring the video player their operating system, but the VideoLAN team needs a KickStarter fund to begin development.

In the mean time, you can download VLC for PC and Mac.

Sources: Twitter and TUAW

Customize Android with different launchers and homescreens

One of the nice aspects of Android is that you can customize the homescreens right out of the box. You can add widgets or folders full of the apps you use the most as well as in the quick launch bar at the bottom of the screen. But depending on your Android device, the included launcher may begin feeling stale or doesn’t offer enough options.

Google’s “clean” or stock version of Android is always the most current because Google pushes updates directly to these devices. Third party devices like the popular Samsung Galaxy SIII are stuck depending on either Samsung or carriers to push an update. Another issue with third party device makers is that they want to create a customized look and feel by adding an interface overlay to the device. While it’s still Android at the core, manufacturers will likely include apps that you don’t need.

An easy option to fix this is to install one of the many launchers available in the Google Play Store to manually customize your homescreen.

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