Microsoft reveals Windows 8 logo

By Nicole Kobie

Posted on 17 Feb 2012 at 17:56

Microsoft has revealed the logo for its next OS, confirming along the way that it will indeed be called Windows 8.

The basic blue design is the same one that was leaked earlier in the week, and was created to fit in with the Metro UI style.

"The Windows logo is a strong and widely recognised mark but when we stepped back and analysed it, we realised an evolution of our logo would better reflect our Metro style design principles and we also felt there was an opportunity to reconnect with some of the powerful characteristics of previous incarnations," said Sam Moreau, principal director of user experience for Windows, in a blog post.

According to Moreau, the logo's designer criticised the last Windows icon, asking: “Your name is Windows. Why are you a flag?”

"We did less of a re-design and more to return it to its original meaning and bringing Windows back to its roots – reimagining the Windows logo as just that – a window," he added.

Adobe confirms: no Flash for Chrome on Android

By Ryan Paul | Published about 2 hours ago

Google issued a beta release of Chrome for Android earlier today. The browser provides support for modern Web standards and includes a number of compelling features that aren't available in the Android's default browser. One noteworthy Chrome desktop feature that isn't included in the mobile port, however, is the integrated Flash runtime.

Adobe has issued a statement confirming that Chrome for Android does not support Flash content. The company also indicated that it does not plan to work with Google to add Flash support to the new mobile browser. Adobe will, however, continue supporting Flash in the current default Android browser.

"Today Google introduced Chrome for Android Beta. As we announced last November, Adobe is no longer developing Flash Player for mobile browsers, and thus Chrome for Android Beta does not support Flash content," wrote Adobe's Flash Platform product manager Bill Howard.

Adobe struggled for years to make the Flash player plugin viable on mobile devices. Though it was able to make Flash work reasonably well on Android phones, results were mixed on other systems. Due to Apple's unwillingness to allow the Flash plugin on iOS and the difficulty that Adobe faced bringing the Flash player to new devices, the plugin never achieved the same ubiquity on phones that it has historically enjoyed on the desktop.

These setbacks caused Adobe to abandon its mobile Flash player strategy last year. The company announced that it would phase out development of its mobile Flash player plugin and not support it on new platforms. Adobe instead focused its mobile Flash efforts on developing tools for deploying Flash content as native mobile applications. It also strengthened its commitment to native Web standards and acknowledged HTML5 as the way forward for building rich mobile Web experiences.

When Google eventually moves to replace the default Android browser with Chrome in future versions of the Android platform, devices that run the operating system will likely no longer be able to play Flash content in the browser.

Google (finally) brings Chrome to Android

By Ryan Paul | Published about 12 hours ago

Google is finally bringing Chrome to the Android platform. A beta release of the increasingly popular Web browser was published this morning in the Android Market and is available to users who are running Android 4. The port includes Chrome's advanced HTML rendering engine and many of the browser's popular features.

The Chrome beta is designed to run on both phones and tablets. The tablet version of the user interface is nearly a perfect match of Chrome on the desktop, including the distinctive slanted tab design. The phone version has a more compressed interface, suitable for smaller screens, and includes the standard Chrome features such as the Omnibar and application shortcut pane.

The gap between Chrome and the native Android Web browser has long been a source of confusion for users and pundits. Although both browsers are based on WebKit and use some of the same underlying components, such as the Skia vector graphics framework, they are separate implementations and originally had little else in common.

In fact, the Android Web browser didn't even use Google's unique V8 JavaScript runtime until the release of Android 2.2 in 2010. Prior to that, it used Apple's SquirrelFish engine, presumably because V8's ARM JIT (just in time) backend wasn't good enough yet. The Android Web browser also has relatively poor support for the latest Web standards compared to Chrome.

As we have pointed out in our reviews of the Android operating system, the platform's default browser tends to have difficulty handling the most intensive application-like Web experiences. Google announced last year that it would try to close the gap between the Android browser and Chrome, with the aim of eventually converging them around a shared code base. The release of Chrome on Android appears to be the fruit of that labor.

In a video posted this morning on the official Chromium blog, Google's engineers offered some technical insight into the port and what it has to offer on Android. They said that the new software has the same multiprocess architecture that Chrome uses on the desktop. It also offers support for modern Web features such as WebSockets, IndexedDB, and Web Workers.

Chrome scores 343 at HTML5Test.com. The default browser only scores 256.

Other features that will appeal to Web developers include hardware-accelerated rendering for the HTML5 Canvas element and a built-in remote debugging tool that works over USB. The latter will allow developers to attach the WebKit Inspector in a desktop version of Chrome to an instance of Chrome running on a device.

The Chrome port, which can be downloaded from the Android Market on Android 4 devices, currently installs side-by-side with the default Android browser. Users can make it the default handler for URLs, but it doesn't replace the standard browser.

That also means that the advanced features in the HTML rendering engine won't be available to third-party applications that integrate an embedded WebView control. (It's possible that Chrome will be fully integrated in future versions of the Android operating system.)

The availability of Chrome for Android is a big step forward for Web browsing on mobile devices powered by Google's operating system. It should deliver a significantly better user experience on the Web and make Android a better environment for running next-generation mobile Web applications.

Image courtesy of Google

Microsoft to remove Start button from Windows 8

A screenshot from the upcoming build of Windows 8 has been leaked and although it seems similar to the developer preview available right now, conspicuous by its absence is our long time friend, the Windows Start button.

The Windows Start button, which took the form of an orb since Vista, has been around since the days of Windows 95, so it would feel a bit strange for any long time Windows user to not find it in its usual place in the corner of your display when he or she upgrades to Windows 8. However, even if Microsoft may have done away with the actual button, some of its functionality will still be available to the user.

According to The Verge, instead of pressing the Start button, the user will now have to hover over the corner to bring forth a new menu. It’s not entirely clear what sorts of functions you will be able to access from this new menu but it’s safe to assume it won’t be exactly like the current Start menu. Meanwhile, the taskbar or the Superbar as Microsoft likes to call it, will continue to behave the way it does in Windows 7.

While we’re still talking about the consumer preview that is going to be released soon, chances are the new changes will be carried over to the final build.

Source

iOS apps crash more often than Android apps, study shows

In this episode of smartphone myth busters, we'll investigate the claim that Android apps are often released to the market unstable, whereas iOS apps are always bug-free and buttery smooth.

According to a study by Crittercism, quoted by Forbes, both platforms have their share of apps that crash and, if anything, the iOS ones do so more often. The company which specializes in providing real-time crash reports for mobile apps evaluated reports over a period of one month and found that iOS apps crash quite a lot more than their Android counterparts.

In the first of the three quartiles we got data for, iOS apps crashed after 0.51% of all launches, whereas Android apps only crashed in 0.15%. In the second quartile the picture is similar with iOS apps crashing in 1.47% of the cases, whereas Android apps did so 0.73% of the time. Things are much closer in the third quartile - 2.97% crashes for Android vs 3.66% for iOS.

Crittercism even gave us a detailed breakdown of the most problematic releases by OS. As it turns out, iOS 5.0.1 generates more than a third of all iOS crashes - 33.93%, while iOS 4.3.5 is the second most problematic with 10.62%. That sounds quite believable as these two software versions are the two latest releases of iOS4 and iOS5.

On Android, it's the two Gingerbread releases that generated most of the trouble - 2.3.3 with 24.76% and 2.3.4 with 23.38%.

Of course, those are the most popular releases of each platform, so it's only logical that they will generate the most crashes.

Study data shows apps crash more often on iOS than on Android

Still, the study warns against making hasty conclusions - despite what the data might show at the moment, iOS isn't a worse system for making more apps crash. It's just that Apple introduced iOS 5 relatively soon, made it available to a lot of devices simultaneously and is still working to fix its issues on all of them. The scales might tip the other way once Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich updates start hitting more devices.

What the study was bound to show is that every OS has its more stable and its buggier releases and there's a good portion of apps everywhere that don't behave as they should. Now can we put that debate to sleep, please?

Source | Via | Image source

The 100 Best Android Apps

The 100 Best Android Apps

	JuiceDefender Tweaks device settings for maximum battery life. Download		Llama – Location Profiles A handy automation utility, less versatile than Tasker, but free. Download		Sanity Filters calls, announces callers via audio, records calls, and can even automatically answer calls. Download
	Silent Time Pro Silences the phone according to a weekly schedule, in case you find Tasker too complex. $1.99 Download		Tasker The ultimate automation utility — some people buy an Android device just to use it. UK£3.99 Download

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	chompSMS An alternative SMS application with its own optional SMS service for cheaper rates Download		GMail Label Notifier Lets you know when any one of your labels receives new email. Customize notifications per-label. UK£0.50 Download		Go SMS Pro A fancy replacement for the built-in SMS utility, with theme support. Download
	imo.im An IM client for Skype, Facebook, Google Talk, MSN, ICQ/AIM, Yahoo, Jabber, Myspace. Woah. Download		Skype It’s bloated, it’s quirky, but it’s Skype. Absolutely essential for long-distance calls. Download		SMS Popup If you don’t use Go SMS Pro, install SMS Popup to instantly see new SMSes. Download

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	AnkiDroid flashcards Memorize information efficiently while on the go with Anki’s smart algorithm. Download		Kindle A fantastic reading experience. Stays in sync with your “real” Kindle. Download		Kobo If Kindle isn’t your cup of tea, try this alternative reader. Download
	TED Air Provides a way to watch TED talks on your device. Get smarter on the go. Download		Wapedia Wikipedia’s mobile website is good. Wapedia is better. Also supports other wikis. Download		WolframAlpha Amaze your friends with crazy facts and figures. How much sodium is in a banana? $1.99 Download

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	Beautiful Widgets Check out the weather or the time in style with these huge, gorgeous widgets. €1.99 Download		Embiggen Display short messages in huge, full-screen text that can be clearly read from meters away. Download		Pattern Wallpapers A collection of beautiful, soothing pattern wallpapers. They say there are over a million of them. Download
	WeatherBug Check out the weather everywhere in the world in excruciating detail, synoptic maps and all. Download		WP Clock A huge, in-your-face, live wallpaper with the time, date, battery and Wi-Fi network. €0.77 Download

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	Alchemy Drag and drop elements to create surprising combinations. Hunter + mouse = cat. Download		Angry Birds Needs no introduction. All levels for free. Get Angry Birds Rio too, teach those pigs a lesson. Download		Bubble Break Pop those bubbles! Supports multiple color schemes, has color-blind mode. Download
	Chalk Ball Lite Draw chalk lines to keep the ball from falling off the screen and bounce it onto other balls. Download		Flood-It A color-based puzzle/strategy game that’s color-blind friendly, too. Download		Fruit Ninja An arcade game with fancy graphics and lots of juice splashing on the screen. AU$1.19 Download
	Game Dev Story Grow your game company into an empire. Kept me fascinated for over a week. ¥230 (about $2.85) Download		Jet Car Stunts Lite A brilliant use of Spartan graphics to create an action-packed racer. Download		Kongregate Arcade Access Kongregate’s addictive casual games on your Android device. Download
	Roll It A brain-twisting puzzle in three dimensions. Download		Wordfeud Free A minimalistic take on Scrabble. Supports random boards, too. Download		Words with Friends Free Play Scrabble with your iOS-toting friends. Has its quirks, but has improved immensely. Download

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	Endomondo Social sports training. Compete against your friends, get real-time feedback. Download		Gentle Alarm The best alarm clock money can buy, at least for Android. €1.99 Download		Libra – Weight Manager Log your weight. An essential part of my morning routine. Syncs with DailyBurn and Withings. Download
	My Tracks Uses the GPS to plot your whereabouts on a map. Great for jogging and hiking. Download		Petometer Track your walks with your dog — time, distance, pace, and route. Download		RunKeeper Fantastic guided fitness training, with a powerful website. Not just for running. Download

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	ADWLauncher EX One of Android’s classic launchers, with hundreds of themes. A must-try. €2.30 Download		Gesture Search Draw letters on the screen, and it finds the app you want to launch. By Google. Download		GO Launcher EX Launcher of choice. Feature-packed, yet still lean. Download
	LauncherPro Another must-try launcher, lean yet popular. Download		SwipePad Launch your favorite apps in a flash, from any app. Transformed my Android experience — a must-have. Download		Wave Launcher Similar to SwipePad but with a different look. Supports fewer apps. $1.99 Download

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	doubleTwist Player Sync your Android device with iTunes. Requires free Windows/Mac companion app. Download		PlayerPro A powerful, skinnable audio player with advanced filtering capabilities. Pricey. €3.49 Download		Shazam Competes with SoundHound. Tries to figure out what music is playing in the background. Download
	Slacker Radio Unlimited, free, customizable radio. US-only. Download		SoundHound Identify any song playing in the background. A direct competitor to Shazam. Download		Winamp The classic audio player for llama lovers comes to Android. Free and awesome. Download

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	Camera360 A very powerful camera app with built-in effects. Download		Little Photo Add funky effects to your photographs. Insanely popular and free. Download		FxCamera A free (ad-supported) camera application with several effects. Download
	picplz Take photos, apply effects, share them online. Download		Retro Camera Emulates several old cameras, funky graphics and all. Download

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	Astrid Task A to-do list manager that syncs with Google Tasks and Producteev.com. Download		Barcode Scanner Makes sense of those square squiggles everybody’s pointing their phones at. Download		Call Log Calendar Free Saves calls and SMSes on to Google Calendar, optionally with location info. Great for billing clients. Download
	Catch Notes A fast notes application for text, voice, images and locations. Syncs with catch.com. Download		Dropbox The official app. Doesn’t support continuous sync, but allows access to your files when you need it. Download		DropSpace Uploads files from SD onto Dropbox whenever they change. Backup to the cloud. Download
	Epistle A minimalistic notes app that instantly syncs with Dropbox. Download		Evernote The do-it-all notes application. If you use Evernote on Windows/Mac, this is a must-have. Download		Flick Note A full-featured notes app with real-time Simplenote sync, tags, and more. Download
	Google Docs The official client from Google. Edit your Docs on the go. Download		ShopSavvy Barcode Scanner Scan barcodes on store products and compare prices on the go. Download		Springpad Gives Evernote a run for its money. Has a Web-based client too. Download
	Taskos A powerful to-do list manager with Google Tasks sync, customized categories, repeating tasks, and more. Download		Waze A crowd-sourced GPS app, aware of traffic conditions. For drivers only (not pedestrians). Download

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	App Protector Pro Selectively block access to certain applications. Can toggle locking as needed. $1.99 Download		Cirrus Manager Locate, manage and wipe your device if it’s ever stolen. Monthly subscription. Download		KeePassDroid If you use KeePass on the PC, this is a must-have. Manage your passwords with absolute security. Download
	Lookout Mobile Security Scan for malware and manage your device remotely. Download		No Lock The simplest way to toggle your device’s lock-screen. Widget included. Download		SeekDroid Find your device if it’s ever stolen. $0.99 Download

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	GetGlue A social recommendation engine for books, movies, and more. Available on the Web too. Download		HootSuite A single app for Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare. The mobile companion for HootSuite.com Download		Seesmic Supports multiple Twitter accounts, as well as Facebook and Buzz. Features fast shortcuts. Download
	TweetDeck Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, Buzz in one intense social feed. Download		Twidroyd A fast Twitter client with a live preview mode for links. Download		Plume A Twitter client with a multi-column mode for tablets and extra-shiny graphics. Download
	WhatsApp Messenger A messenger application, like SMS but without SMSes. Download		Twicca A beautiful, minimalistic Twitter client. Multiple accounts are “experimental”. Download

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	Amazon Appstore An alternative Market; US-only, sadly. Download		AppBrain App Market An alternative Market with a smart recommendation engine. Download		Elixir Outputs every conceivable bit of information about your device hardware. Download
	File Expert A powerful file manager with a built-in FTP/HTTP server, SMB client and more. Download		ROM Manager Download ROMs and flash your device seamlessly. Requires root access. Download		SlideIT Soft Keyboard A fantastic sliding keyboard, supports Colemak, Hebrew, and many other layouts. Download
	Stats Free Monitors and saves SMS, call and data usage so you don’t exceed your plan. Download		Swype A sexy sliding keyboard. Currently still in beta. Download		Titanium Backup The must-have backup utility. Saved me numerous times. Rooted devices only. Download
	Widgetsoid2.x A powerful widget engine for creating beautiful, useful toggle widgets. Download

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	Andricious (Delicious) Manage your Delicious bookmarks on the go. Supports Yahoo! And Delicious accounts. Download		Dolphin Browser HD An alternative browser with a dedicated following. Download		Miren Browser A fast, effective browser. Lean and quick to load. Download
	Pulse News A beautiful news reader, can sync with Google reader. A joy to use. Download		Read It Later Free Mark things to read later on the PC, read them with this app while on the go. Download

 

Disclaimer: All applications listed were thoroughly reviewed. MakeUseOf is not responsible for any damage and/or data loss
that might result from use of any of the above mentioned applications.

Source: The 100 Best Android Apps

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