Apple Releases iOS 12.2 Beta

Apple’s imminent iOS 12.2 beta 3 update was released to everyone in its public beta software program on the 20th of February 2019.

iOS 12.2 comes with subtle but distinct changes. Some of these changes include:





Hardware device model name is now listed on the “about” screen, in settings app

Date is properly displayed on the lock screen

The apple behind “Apple News” is omitted. It’s now “News” instead

Remote tile made suitable for Apple TVs and HomeKit TVs

More buttons included in Wallet application details

Auto-play of music videos in full screen is no longer available

Group Facetime is re-activated

Display of charge indicator on the lock screen, due to a particular bug, has been repaired.


Diving Deeper

At last Apple includes an update to Siri up to the third iOS 12.2 Beta. The digital assistant will adapt to your phone usage habits by suggesting “Today at Apple” sessions, based on the data garnered from the apps you use and the sites you visit.

For example, Siri suggests an art session to an Iphone user who uses design apps, or a wellness session to those interested in health and fitness. However, you can adjust Siri’s behaviour through Settings > Siri & Search > Apple Store.

Updates from past iOS 12.2 betas were also included, and will most likely make it to the last release.

In addition to the afore-mentioned updates and changes, the new release has: four animoji characters (a boar, giraffe, owl, and shark), more security options in Safari, news support for Canada in two different languages– French and English, Airplay 2, and HomeKit support for smart TVs (third-party).

Downloading Procedures for iOS 12.2 Beta 3

Members of Apple’s beta software program can download the new iOS 12.2 Beta 3 on iOS devices as an over-the-air update with the required certificate. However, you have to be a registered member before you can test the latest release.

To join the program and access the new release, click here.

source: usa.inquirer.net

Windows 10 entices millions in first day

WASHINGTON—Some 14 million people installed the Windows 10 operating system in the first 24 hours following its release, Microsoft said, calling the response “overwhelmingly positive.”

The company said its new operating system aimed at computers, mobile devices and other gadgets got off to a strong start toward its goal of reaching one billion devices.

“We’re humbled and grateful to see the response to Windows 10,” corporate vice president Yusuf Mehdi said in a blog post late Thursday.

“We have seen unprecedented demand for Windows 10, with reviews and customer feedback overwhelmingly positive around the globe.”

The stakes are high for Microsoft as it pushes out the new operating system for both traditional computers and mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones.

The company is hoping the new system can help it gain traction in mobile, where it lags behind Google Android and Apple iOS, and in emerging technologies for computing.

Windows 10 — Microsoft skipped directly from Windows 8, which got a lackluster response — is being offered as a free upgrade for most devices, making it possible to be available quickly on billions of devices.

It will allow for voice, pen and gesture input, and in some cases biometric identification for improved security.

Mehdi said the company is rolling out the software in phases to make the transition easier.

“Our top priority has been ensuring that everyone has a great upgrade experience, so, we are carefully rolling out Windows 10 in phases, delivering Windows 10 first to our Windows Insiders,” he said.

“While we now have more than 14 million devices running Windows 10, we still have many more upgrades to go before we catch up to each of you that reserved your upgrade.”

In one sour note, the chief executive of Mozilla, which makes the Firefox Web browser, complained that Windows 10 imposes the new Edge browser as the default option, overriding choices made by users.

“The update experience appears to have been designed to throw away the choice your customers have made about the Internet experience they want, and replace it with the Internet experience Microsoft wants them to have,” Mozilla CEO Chris Beard said in an open letter to his Microsoft counterpart Satya Nadella.

Beard said the new operating system makes it more complicated to choose a competing browser such as Firefox.

“It now takes more than twice the number of mouse clicks, scrolling through content and some technical sophistication for people to reassert the choices they had previously made in earlier versions of Windows,” Beard said.

“It’s confusing, hard to navigate and easy to get lost.”

Beard urged Microsoft to “respect people’s right to choice and control of their online experience by making it easier, more obvious and intuitive for people to maintain the choices they have already made through the upgrade experience.”

source: technology.inquirer.net

Mozilla to launch a $25 Firefox OS phone in India

It was during this year’s Mobile World Congress when we saw Mozilla unveiling its low-cost reference design smartphone alongside few other devices. Now that affordable device is inching closer to launch with the company teaming up with Indian companies Intex and Spice to bring this baby to the second biggest nation.

The upcoming $25 Firefox OS smartphone will get its power from a Spreadtrum SC6821 processor, while boasting a 3.5-inch HVGA screen, Wi-Fi connectivity, Bluetooth, FM radio and some camera on the back.

It’s still unclear when this device will be officially announced but chances are this will be a short wait. And if Mozilla manages to get some traction, we may see it hitting other emerging markets, as well.

We do realize this is hardly a device our readers would consider buying, but in the world’s emerging markets, a $25 smartphone could be a real hit, helping Mozilla grow its market share along the way.

source: intomobile.com

Samsung makes quiet push for new mobile OS

SEOUL, South Korea—Most mobile phone users have never heard of Tizen. Neither have car owners or anyone with a fridge.

Samsung Electronics Co. wants to change that.

The South Korean electronics giant is in a quiet push to make its Tizen operating system a part of the technology lexicon as familiar as Google’s Android or Apple’s iOS. Its ambition doesn’t stop there. Samsung sees the software in your car, fridge and television too.


The first developer conference in Asia for Tizen wrapped up Tuesday after a two-day run, bringing together app developers and Tizen backers from Samsung, Intel and mobile operators.

Samsung did not announce a Tizen phone, but it made a pitch for developers to create apps for the mobile operating system that is yet to be seen in the market. Samsung promised to give out $4 million cash to the creators of the best Tizen apps.

Samsung supplied about one third of the smartphones sold worldwide in the third quarter, nearly all of them running on Google’s Android. Its early bet on Google’s free-of-charge operating system served Samsung well and the company’s rise to top smartphone seller also helped Android become the most used mobile platform in the world. According to Localytics, 63 percent of all Android mobile devices in use are made by Samsung.

But while Samsung was wildly successful with selling its Galaxy phones and tablets, it had little success in locking Galaxy device users into music, messaging and other Samsung services. Google, however, benefited from more people using its search service, Google Play app and other Google mobile applications on Galaxy smartphones. Owners of Galaxy devices remain for the most part a slave to Google’s Android update schedule and its rules.

About nine in every 10 smartphone users are tied to either Google’s Android or Apple’s iPhone ecosystems, generating profit for Google and Apple every time they purchase a game or application on their smartphone.

That is partly why Samsung wants to expand its control beyond hardware to software, by building its own mobile operating system.

“With only hardware, its influence is limited,” said Kang Yeen-kyu, an associate research fellow at state-run Korea Information Society Development Institute. “Samsung’s goal is to establish an ecosystem centered on Samsung.”

The consolidation of global technology companies in the last few years reflects such trends. Apple has always made its own operating system for the iPhone. Google Inc. acquired Motorola Mobility in 2011 and Microsoft Corp. announced in September its plan to buy Nokia Corp., leaving Samsung the only major player in the smartphone market that does not make its own operating system.

Samsung executives told analysts last week that the company plans to beef up its software competitiveness through acquisitions and splashing cash on the development of mobile content and services.

But Tizen’s start appears bumpy. Samsung said earlier this year the first Tizen phone would hit the market this fall but it has not materialized. Samsung declined to comment on release schedules.

Even though Choi Jong-deok, Samsung’s executive vice president overseeing Tizen, said a launch of Tizen phone or televisions will happen “very shortly,” analysts said Samsung is unlikely to reveal the first Tizen device until February of next year, when the company said it will announce winners of its Tizen app contest.

During the developer conference, Samsung gave more clues about how its first Tizen device would look and revealed that it has recently launched a Tizen-based camera in South Korea.

Tizen would work across a vast range of consumer electronics made by Samsung, encompassing mobile devices, televisions, fridges as well as wearable devices. The mobile operating system will also work with automobiles. Samsung and Intel said Toyota Motor Corp. and Jaguar Land Rover are working together to bring Tizen OS to vehicles.

“You can build an application once and relatively easily move from device to device,” Mark Skarpness, director of systems engineering at Intel Corp., told the conference.

Samsung and Intel are also aiming to capture a bigger share of business in emerging markets where demand for cheaper smartphones is growing. Skarpness said future versions of Tizen will support lower-end phones, the same direction that Google is taking with its latest version of Android, KitKat.

“I got an impression that Tizen was benchmarking Android,” said Park Minhyung, a developer who attended the conference. “Speakers at the sessions said that they adopted strong features from Android. But with Android’s place well established in the market, I wonder how Tizen would undermine the front runner.”

source: technology.inquirer.net

HP's WebOS team heads for Google

The engineers behind a key component of Hewlett-Packard's WebOS platform will be leaving the company in favor of Internet giant Google Inc., a tech site reported last week.

A report on The Verge said Android, Google's platform for mobile devices, could be one option for the team behind Enyo, WebOS' HTML5-based app framework.

"What the Enyo team will do at Google is unknown at this point, but there are several logical landing spots. Android would obviously be an option — regardless of its commercial success (or lack thereof), few would argue that webOS is an innovative platform that Android could learn from, and Android's design chief Matias Duarte had previously led Palm's efforts in the run-up to the Pre launch," it said.

It cited sources close to HP who said that while not the entire team will move over to Google, Matt McNulty, who is in charge of the project, "will be among the departing crew."

Another option for the team would be Google's Chrome group, as web apps factor prominently in the Chrome story.

If the team is absorbed into the Chrome Group, The Verge said Enyo "would do well as part of a future Chrome Web Store developer framework."

On the other hand, The Verge said the implications of the departure for Open WebOS remain unclear at this time.

"Enyo and the developers supporting it are central to HP's open source strategy for the operating system going forward, and it's hard to say whether this move will have any effect on the planned late 2012 release for version 1.0," it said.

Meanwhile, The Verge quoted HP as saying it is pleased with the traction Enyo has gained to date and plan to continue its development along with the open source community.

It quoted HP as saying the Open webOS project "is on schedule and we remain committed to the roadmap announced in January."

Enyo: majority of team remaining

But Enyo, in a blog post, maintained the majority of the engineering and leadership team remains.

"We want to reassure you that we’re thrilled with the traction Enyo has gained to date and are redoubling our efforts to continue development, working closely with the community," it said.

It added the core of Enyo 2 is solid, and that it is hearing "great things from developers about the performance improvements in the last release."

Enyo said another release is on the way, after which it will focus on expanding the Onyx widget set.

"That’s right, we’re growing. As we said earlier this month, we’re hiring — not just to replace the engineers who have left, but to increase the size of the team going forward," it added. — TJD, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

You Can Now Pre-Order a Linux Computer That is the Size of a Thumb Drive

If you’ve always wanted a Linux computer so you can finally try Linux, but never quite had the space for the box and never really wanted to dual boot your main computer, FXI is here to make your oddly specific dream come true. You can now pre-order their Linux computer that is the size of a thumb drive, dubbed Cotton Candy. The little guy runs either Android 4.0 or Ubuntu, so you can switch operating systems if you become overwhelmed and start freaking out that you’ve made a terrible purchasing decision. The Cotton Candy’s guttyworks contains 1 GB of RAM, a dual-core 1.2 GHz ARM Cortex-A9 CPU, and Mali 400 MP GPU.

Along with the totally respectable specs, the Cotton Candy has a USB plug used to power the system, an HDMI cable for display output, built-in Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth for device connectivity. On top of being able to be a computer by its lonesome without any type of support (aside from needing to be plugged into a display), the Cotton Candy can be plugged into another computer so users can boot from it.

Now available for pre-order, the Cotton Candy will retail for $199, plus tax and shipping. Head on over to FXI’s store if you want a serviceable, tiny Linux computer.

source: http://www.geekosystem.com/linux-thumb-drive-computer-cotton-candy/

Why your computer is becoming more like your phone

(CNN) -- Apple released Mountain Lion to developers last week, a new operating system that will make your desktop computer work more like your phone than ever before.

The trend is clear: The desktop operating system will merge with the mobile OS in the coming years. The question is: Why?

Let's start with the trend itself. First off, Apple is integrating cloud services much more deeply in Mountain Lion than any previous operating system. That means your music, photos, calendars, contacts, emails and more can now stay in sync across your phone, tablet and Mac.

Apple has also unified your messages across your devices: The Message app (formerly iMessages) will replace iChat on the Mac.



That's not all: Mountain Lion also gets a notification center that works just like the notifications you receive on your phone. Games Center is coming to the Mac as well, allowing you to play games against your friends who own iPhones and iPads.

Apps like Reminders, Notes and Contacts are also all getting desktop versions -- and of course these sync with your mobile devices so your data is always up to date.

Most notable of all: Apple is now pushing software updates through the Mac App Store, hinting that the App Store may become the only way to get software on your Mac in the future.

So what are the advantages of your desktop computer merging with your phone's functionality? And are there any downsides?

Simplicity

The main reason Apple wants to make Macs work like the iPhone and iPad is simple. Or rather, simplicity.

Despite decades of innovation and the invention of the graphical user interface, computers remain too confusing and complex for the majority of people.

While more powerful software with complex functionality will continue to exist for highly technical users, most consumers want a device that's easy to use and intuitive.

The rise of the iPad and iPhone prove that there's huge demand for such simplicity, and that desktops too will need to become more streamlined.

The downside of simplicity? Simple systems are often less "open" and provide less freedom to try new things: Tasks are either easy to complete (because the developers thought of that use case) or not possible at all.

Security

Mobile operating systems could potentially be more secure than their desktop counterparts. In particular, if Apple makes the App Store the only way to download apps to your Mac, it would become more difficult for users to install malware (since Apple manually approves every app in the store).

What's more, mobile features like tracking the location of your devices or wiping them remotely will make consumer desktops more secure.

There are downsides to app stores, however.

Not only would devices become less open -- the makers of operating systems become gatekeepers -- but you could argue that Apple and its rivals simply want to force the use of app stores so that they make more money for themselves.

Syncing

Perhaps the most obvious benefit of making desktops work more like phones is unity between all your devices.

With a similar (or single) operating system on all your gadgets, syncing apps, contacts and calendars between them all becomes effortless.

There's a downside for users, however: Competing operating systems tend not to work well together, and using one operating system across all devices means uses are "locked in" more than ever before.

So there you have it: Your desktop computer is becoming more and more like your phone -- and in fact the line between the two will one day disappear.

If you think it's just Apple's devices that are headed toward a simpler operating system, however, you'd be mistaken -- Apple is merely in the news because Mountain Lion became available to developers last week.

In fact, Microsoft's Windows 8 takes its cues from Windows Phone, meaning that the two major desktop operating systems will mimic your mobile devices very soon.


article source: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/02/21/tech/mobile/cashmore-computer-like-phone/index.html