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Adobe’s Photoshop Express: update bug fixed

Adobe’s Photoshop Express is an impressive photo editing, display, cataloging and sorting software. The service is in beta and a recent update left Photoshop Express plagued with a bug, we are hearing that this bug has now been fixed. The latest release added support for storing multiple copies of document, the Flickr online photo-sharing service and also added an embedded player that lets you add cool slideshows that can be posted to sites like MySpace and Facebook.

Photoshop Express is built using Adobe Web 2.0 technology and that includes software like Flash and Flex, in the beta release you can store image files in your free online storage of 2GB. Although Express is in beta, its good to see Adobe being professional by delaying the update that was due on Wednesday, and saying it would not “send out an update that isn’t ready for prime time.”

Many of the new features were created from feedback that was left in the Photoshop Express beta community, so if there is any new features you would like, then you should leave feedback as they could be included in future updates. Photoshop Express beta is looking good and has some really cool features, but how are you finding it?

I personally like a desktop application more and although the online photo applications could become as good one day, I still do not see myself moving away from the desktop. Do you use online photo software?

Source: Read

Back To My Mac: control your Apple Mac OS X Leopard over the Internet

Working from home means that I have never really needed to have control of my home Apple Mac when traveling, but this has started to change of late with a few occasions happening that included the fact that I needed a file from home when I was away. This problem can now be solved with “Back To My Mac”, this software lets you control your Apple Mac OS X Leopard over the Internet, and this is ideal if you need anything from your main Mac. You just connect via .Mac; it will find your Apple Mac computer and then display it in the Leopard Finder.

Some people might feel this is a security risk, but Apple have said that the information will be for your eyes only, they said the software “uses advanced authentication and data encryption technologies to help prevent unauthorized access to your data and protect it”. Using Back to my Mac, you can browse your entire hard drive and simply drag and drop the file to your local Mac. If you want to control your remote Mac just like you are sitting next to it, then you can use the Screen Sharing feature and, move folders, launch applications, save and edit documents from anywhere in the world.

All you need to use Back to my Mac is two or more Mac OS X 10.5.1 Leopard-based Mac computers that are configured for use with the same .Mac account, and an AirPort Express, AirPort Extreme or third-party router. Be aware that the 3rd party router has to be compatible with UPnP or NAT-PMP.

Watch Back to my Mac in action, view demo video.

McAfee iVirusScan: Apple iPhone to get Antivirus Native scanner software

Have you ever heard of iVirusScan? No ok it is the new Antivirus Native scanner software from McAfee and has been developed for use with the Apple iPhone. The software is not yet ready for the public as it is a proof of concept, but what you have to remember is that this application was not built with Apple’s SDK.

It seems that we can’t take this news seriously as McAfee have not yet officially announced that they will release iVirusScan however; the internet security company has been overwhelmed with the reaction that this software has got. Although this is McAfee software you have to remember that leaked software has a tendency to have malware, so just be careful.

Many people are under the impression that antivirus software is not needed for the Apple iPhone however; this is not true as with the recent iPhone firmware 1.1.1, this was in fact jailbroken and could have contained malicious code. The problem is as technology moves on mobile phones are becoming more advanced and as a result we spend much longer checking out emails or surfing the net, sometimes doing work or just messing around downloading games ringtones and music and some of these files could have something nasty buried in them.

Source – Phones Review

Microsoft Office Word Users: DAISY Add-in makes life easier for the blind

DAISY XML is an Add-in that has been developed by Microsoft and will work with Office Word, this new piece of software will make things easier for blind and print-disabled individuals to create documents and content.

Microsoft Corp. today joined with industry and advocacy group leaders worldwide to launch new software that will make it easier for anyone to create documents and content that will be accessible for blind and print-disabled individuals. The new “Save as DAISY XML” add-in, designed for Microsoft Office Word 2007, Word 2003 and Word XP, will allow users to save Open XML-based text files into DAISY XML, the foundation of the globally accepted DAISY Standard for reading and publishing navigable multimedia content (http://www.daisy.org).

The “Save as DAISY XML” add-in was created through an open source project with Microsoft, Sonata Software Ltd. and the Digital Accessible Information SYstem (DAISY) Consortium and can be downloaded by Microsoft Office Word users for free at http://www.openxmlcommunity.org/daisy.

Also released today is the newest version of the DAISY Pipeline, a free downloadable transformation suite that supports the seamless conversion of DAISY XML into DAISY Digital Talking Book (DTB) format. Together these technologies provide a comprehensive solution for converting text documents into accessible formats for people with print disabilities. Users can download the DAISY Pipeline from the DAISY Project page at http://www.daisy.org/projects/pipeline/. Information about other technologies that can convert DAISY XML into DAISY DTB format and other products that support the DAISY standard is available on the DAISY Web site at http://www.daisy.org/tools/index.shtml.

Groups such as the World Health Organization and the World Blind Union estimate that more than 160 million people throughout the world are either blind or have a significant impairment to their vision. This number does not even begin to address the additional hundreds of millions of people with physical, developmental, or learning disabilities who can benefit from the rich applications of DAISY.

Global access to the “Save as DAISY XML” add-in for Microsoft Office Word is an important step forward for people with print disabilities around the world, including those in developing countries, because it will support access to information contained within billions of Microsoft Office Word documents, helping them to lead more independent and productive lives.

“This new ‘Save as DAISY XML’ functionality for Microsoft Word has the potential to break down barriers for millions of visually impaired individuals around the world and enhance the experience for virtually anyone who loves to read,” said Chris Capossela, senior vice president of the Information Worker Product Management Group at Microsoft. “We are proud of our collaboration with the DAISY Consortium and Sonata Software to deliver valuable benefits for people with a visual impairment. This tool will make it easier for anyone — from a child writing to his or her grandparent, to a government agency providing vital information to its citizens — to create accessible content.”

“Microsoft’s initiative to put ‘Save as DAISY XML’ in Microsoft Word is the first step to bring fully accessible content to people who are blind or who have a print disability. We know that much of the information in documents today is created with Microsoft Word; this new add-in provides an unprecedented leap forward in the worldwide effort to make information available to all,” said George Kerscher, secretary general of the DAISY Consortium.

“As an advocate of technologies that help blind and low-vision individuals, and as chair of an organization managing a digital library based on DAISY XML formats, I can attest that this ‘Save as DAISY XML’ plug-in for Microsoft Office Word is a landmark development,” said Dominique Burger of BrailleNet. “The ability to generate DAISY XML content from within an application used by millions of people around the world is welcome news for all who have been pushing for such a broad-reaching solution.”

This new tool also presents the opportunity for organizations and independent software vendors to consider ways in which the technology may be employed to meet the needs of those not yet served by text-only or audio-only formats. Corporations such as insurance agencies, healthcare providers and companies that publish training manuals require a method to deliver fully accessible documents to their customers and employees with different needs. For these organizations, the “Save as DAISY XML” add-in is the breakthrough they have been waiting for.

“Because it’s part of a familiar tool, this plug-in for Microsoft Office Word significantly reduces the friction for content creators in producing accessible digital material,” said Andrew Savikas, director of publishing technology at O’Reilly Media Inc. “Support for DAISY, along with the emerging ePub standard, is an easy way for software makers to build accessibility into their products, and I hope to see others follow suit.”

“Technologies that address the specific challenges that universities and public institutions face in providing books and publications for those who cannot read standard print are in great demand,” said Sam Ogami, assistive technology expert for the California State University Office of the Chancellor. “Functionality like the new ‘Save as DAISY XML’ feature within Microsoft Office Word could greatly streamline the production — and reduce the expense — of delivering powerful and accessible content to those who need it.”

“Libraries today are often ill-equipped to provide content for people with print disabilities, and the methods they have at their disposal are antiquated,” said Helen Brazier, a member of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA). “But things are beginning to change, and state-of-the-art technology like the ‘Save as DAISY XML’ add-in and the new DAISY Pipeline are making it easy and cost-effective for libraries to essentially level the information playing field for people with disabilities and do things they never before could have imagined.”

The open source nature of the Open XML to DAISY XML translation project enables technologists to utilize the source code and other resources for their own applications. As Open XML adoption continues to expand across the software industry for use on various platforms, including Linux, Windows, Mac OS and the Palm OS, solution providers interested in creating their own Open XML to DAISY XML translators can reference information available through the SourceForge open source project site at http://sourceforge.net/projects/openxml-daisy.

Apple iPhone Developer Program: acceptance letters being sent internationally

When I first got my Apple iPhone I knew that it was a first generation model and that I would want to upgrade when the next-gen version comes (3G iPhone), but as a gadget fan, I had to have it now. The other reason I knew that I would love the iPhone was Apple being a software and computer company, and not a phone company, I was sure to get great applications for the phone.

True to their nature, the support for apps is fantastic and now things are going to get much better and choice will grow even more. Today we are hearing that Apple has begun to send out acceptance letters to a few international developers. These letters inform them of acceptance into the iPhone Developer Program.

The cost for a UK developer to join the program is said to be £59, currently the same cost to a U.S. developer is $99. So it looks like the cost is slightly higher in the UK, but that’s the same for most products and services compared to the United States. When joint to the program, developers get access to some great information, tools and other stuff. This includes a digital certificate for identifying the company if they publish applications, ability to test code directly on either the iPod Touch or iPhone, access to beta builds of iPhone software and developers can even sell their software on the App Store.

There is no word on prices to join in other countries, but we will update you when we find out.

Source: Read

Yahoo Messenger Beat for Visa: now with voice and SMS support

It’s now been about three weeks since we learnt of the new Yahoo beta version of their instant messenger that is for Windows Vista users. This messenger client is not an update of an older version, this piece of software has been built from the ground up. This new software uses Vista-only features and Windows Presentation Foundation; this gives users an interface that is both beautiful and functional.

Yahoo Messenger beta version 1.2.0.1029 is focused on just a few things and a few of these are voice-features, which means that you can get free PC-to-PC calls as well as low cost PC-to-home phone calls. You can also send free SMS texts from your PC to a cell phone. However; that is not all as the new beta version also has voice visualizations, this uses WPF 3D features which helps to animate callers voices while talking in a conversation. Another great feature that has been asked by Yahoo Messenger for some time now is Yahoo! Mail alerts.

You will also notice that the overall speed of the software is much faster and stable than previous versions. This beta software has been in the making since the launch of Windows Vista, but we know that Vista is not the best operating system in the world and these things take time to get working perfectly. Yahoo are now working on their next update for this software which will add support for video chatting, and photo sharing as well as the addition of archiving and chat rooms.

Source - Ars Technica

X-OOM Software: Movies on your Apple iPod or iPhone from any location

X-OOM Software, a leading publisher of digital media software for mobile devices, has launched X-OOM Movies on iPod 2. This innovative software enables users to turn their iPod™ and iPhone™ into a mini mobile cinema to watch favourite films on the go.

Ideal for passing the time on long train journeys, commuting and flights, X-OOM Movies on iPod 2 means any non copy-protected films, TV programmes and video clips can be viewed anywhere. The software allows single or multiple files to be converted to an iPod compatible format. The high speed video encoder supports formats such as; DVD, SVCD, VCO, DivX, AVI, WMV, MPEG, and FLV, all which can be quickly converted.

X-OOM Movies on iPod 2 will record and transfer any web-TV shows onto an iPod™ or iPhone™, to avoid missing favourite programmes. The software searches through over 1000 sports, music, comedy and entertainment channels, as well as sites such as YouTube and MySpace, so programmes and clips can be downloaded to an iPod™ or iPhone™ in just a few clicks. There is also the option to regularly subscribe to the 1000 frequently updated video podcasts, to ensure favourite shows aren’t lost.

A new integrated media library provides a helpful solution for collectively viewing all video files stored on a computer. The library includes customisable pre-defined settings, to allow straightforward transfer and modification of video clips. X-OOM Movies on iPod 2 also includes the option to rip just the audio from a video file, so favourite music from films and TV programs can be saved and listened to when on the move.

Features include:
· Conversion of single or multiple files, such as movies, TV programmes and video clips to an iPod™ or iPhone™ specific file format for ease of viewing
· 5 file conversion settings to customise options such as file size, quality and compression, ensuring films can be effortlessly transferred
· High speed encoder to enable quick conversion of movies
· Subtitle support
· Expert mode to quickly and automatically complete video cutting and processing

X-OOM Movies on iPod 2 is priced at £19.99 and is available from X-OOM.com and amazon.

Microsoft Windows XP support not to end June 30

It seems that many people who still use Windows XP are getting a little nervous as the Operating System will not be available to buy in the stores soon and that means that there will no longer be anymore support. However; Microsoft has tried to calm people down by reminding people that Windows XP support will be available until 2014.

Jared Proudfoot one of the managers from Microsoft’s support lifecycle group has said “Recently, there have been a number of posts in the blogosphere about Windows XP and the upcoming end of direct OEM and retail license availability,” he also added “Some people are interpreting this as the end of support for Windows XP.”

So the mainstream support will go on until April 14, 2009 which will offer free fixes as well as security patches. The extended support lasting until April 8, 2014 will offer just security updates. This would mean that Windows XP will be 13 years old once the support comes to an end; this is not something that did not happen with previous Windows operating systems.

I am so thankful of this as it gives me just a little longer with XP, before I have to make the choice and switch over to Windows Vista.

Source - Computer World

VIA Linux Portal to offer drivers, documentation and open source code

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms, today announced the launch of a beta version of the VIA Linux Portal as part of an initiative designed to extend collaboration with the Open Source community.

The VIA Linux Portal will initially offer graphics drivers for the VIA CN896 digital media IGP chipset for the new Ubuntu 8.04 LTS distribution. Documentation and source code for these drivers will be released over the coming weeks, with official forums and bug tracking scheduled for implementation later this year. The VIA Linux Portal will also adhere to a regular release schedule that is aligned with kernel changes and the release of major Linux distributions.

Sponsored by Canonical Ltd., Ubuntu is released every six months, with Ubuntu 8.04 LTS the latest release in what has been consistently rated among the most popular of the many GNU/Linux distributions in the PC space.

“We welcome the steps being taken by VIA to improve its support to the Open Source community,” said Chris Kenyon, Director of Business Development at Canonical. “We look forward to working with VIA to ensure these drivers get built into Ubuntu by default and that Ubuntu developers and users enjoy a great experience when using VIA platforms.”

“VIA is excited to be taking a more active role within the open source ecosystem,” said Richard Brown, Vice President of Corporate Marketing, VIA Technologies, Inc. “Opening the VIA Linux Portal is an important step in our long term open source initiative and offering support for Ubuntu, one of the most widely known of the Linux distributions, is an ideal place to start.”

The beta version of the VIA Linux Portal is located at linux.via.com.tw and currently offers driver files for Ubuntu 8.04 LTS and SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 Service Pack 1 for the VIA CN896 chipset with two south bridge options.

Microsoft’s Live Mesh: an early technology preview

Yesterday Microsoft showed the world Live Mesh, this collaboration and synchronization platform/service will have around 10,000 testers and they will give the service a good going over starting this week thanks to the technology preview of Live Mesh that testers get.

You can see some images on this page of what Microsoft’s Live Mesh looks like and a little bit of information for each. Users of Live Mesh will see a cloud (see photo above) that lists all of the applications, files and devices that they are connected with.

Live Mesh’s Sign In dialog box prompts users for theier Windows Live IDs.

After installing the Live Mesh software, users will see a Live Mesh notifier icon in the their Windows taskbar. Hovering on the icon brings up the Live Mesh notifier, which provides updates on what’s going on in users’ meshes.

The Live Mesh Notifier provides a choice of three views of what’s in users’ meshes. The three are Folders view, Devices view and News-Feed view. This is what the Devices view looks like.

Users can choose how Live Mesh folders are synchronized across their meshes by specifying the devices on which they want the folders to be available and when to synchronize files.

Live Mesh allows users to monitor not just devices and folders, but also people who are selected to be part of a mesh. In the Live Mesh bar Members view, users can see who else has access to particular Live Folders and invite others to share folders.

The Remote Desktop will provide users with a way to access devices, folders and other data remotely. This feature is built on top of the Windows Remote Desktop Protocol.

Source: Read

Photo Book Software from Albelli: On Adobe Air Using Photobucket’s Open API

Today, Albelli launched their latest, powerful photo album software that is seamlessly integrated with Photobucket via their Open API, the new Albelli tool gives Photobucket’s nearly 40 million users a feature-rich tool with all of the benefits of a desktop application while maintaining the ease and speed of a web application.

Some key features of the Albelli Photo Book software include customization possibilities like varied backgrounds, effects and text options. Albelli is seamlessly integrated with Photobucket, so users can simply drag and drop high-resolution images from both their Photobucket account and desktop computer. Albelli is feature rich, with the ability to upload images while you work, auto recovery, smart page layout, rich text and image editing and a very powerful preview.

Built using Adobe Flex (version 3.0) and running in Adobe Air, Albelli enables swift installation and cross-platform compatibility (Mac, PC and soon Linux). Specifically designed to take images from both online galleries and the user’s hard drive, Albelli offers a superior experience over traditional photo book tools that require either a long time to upload images to an online tool or a long time to download images already posted online for use in an offline tool. Albelli is short for album bellissimo (beautiful photo book) and it’s the premier consumer brand from Amsterdam-based Albumprinter B.V., a leading photo book manufacturer worldwide.

You can try the application out on albelli.com

Crysis Test: ATI Catalyst 8.4 on Microsoft Windows XP & Vista

With AMD just releasing their new Catalyst driver for Radeon graphics cards, its interesting to see how it performance looks in Microsoft Windows XP and Vista. Tweak Town have gave the ATI Catalyst 8.4 a full review and in the Crysis test they found that the HD 3870 manages to have a small drop in performance while the HD 3650 and X2 remain relatively unchanged. You can see the results in the image below.

They summed up the ATI Catalyst 8.4 driver review by saying “It’s good to see that the performance that we lost in Windows XP with the HD 3870 X2 is back, but apart from that the Catalyst 8.4 driver on a whole isn’t that exciting. The HD 3870 manages to lose a bit of performance in a number of applications while the HD 3650 saw some gains under Vista in our OpenGL based benchmarks.

X2 Windows XP users might take the chance to upgrade the drivers since they missed the last lot, and HD 3650 users may as well take the upgrade since performance under OpenGL has gone up a little without any drops elsewhere.

HD 3870 users might choose to skip the driver with a slight performance decrease in a number of applications. The only reason that you probably want to update to the latest Catalyst driver is if one of the bug fixes are important to you.”

Read the full 13-page review.

Windows XP SP3 operating system update: release date April 21

Well if the rumors are true then people who still run their computers on Windows XP will finally be able to get their hands on XP SP3. A release date for this service pack update will start on April 21; however that is for OEMs as well as subscribers to TechNet and Microsoft’s MSDN.

However everyday users like me and you, yes I still run and prefer XP will have to wait a week later to get our hands on this update. So going by this information the general release date for Windows XP SP3 will be April 29, these next two-weeks can’t come quick enough it seems as if Microsoft are giving me a Birthday present as it is my birthday the day before. Thanks Guys.

Some people have already been treated to a preview of this service pack update, however this was just a nearly final beta version that Windows released to only a handful of people just to get their opinion. Well they must have given it the thumbs up because Windows XP SP3 is almost upon us.

When I first purchased my laptop it came with Windows XP, however a couple of months later I did receive a free upgrade to Windows Vista. Well I have to say what a mistake that was, Vista in my opinion is inferior to XP, and as a result I formatted my laptop and went back to Vista. So you can imagine my joy to hear that Microsoft is improving my favorite Operating System.

Source - Information Week

Apple TV Firmware 2.0.2 just released: But what does it do?

Apple have just recently released the v2.0.2 update for Apple TV which has left us stumped, we want to know what it does, do you know what it does?

What we do know is via our source is that it can take around 9 minutes to download but yet still no one knows what it actually does, what we do know is that is adds a sort of genre button to the movies section and that a Flickr update allows you too see galleries of favourite tagged photos by your friends.

So with Jason O’Grady from The Apple Core sitting their for nine minutes waiting for the completion of the Apple TV Firmware 2.0.2 update this tells us that it is very big in size.

We want to know what the hell the new Apple TV Firmware 2.0.2 just released does.

Source - The Apple Core

Microsoft Listen: 111,543 Signatures for Save XP Web Petition

I have heard of many petitions and not many get the results they want, but the “Save XP Web Petition” has had over 111,543 Signatures on its last count (April 9). Microsoft needs to listen to that, the people are speaking and they want to keep Windows XP available indefinitely.

While I can remember when XP first released and people were moaning about it, its funny now how computer users are now fighting to keep it. Microsoft is planning to end most sales of Windows XP on June 30 and they want people to move to Vista (even if many businesses and individuals do not).

You can help save Windows XP by signing the Save XP Web Petition

AlertThingy: the Adobe AIR desktop application for FriendFeed

If you use FriendFeed then you may want the new AlertThingy application that has just launched, it will let you search FriendFeed and see what the people you follow are up too. This is the one of the first apps built on the new API from FriendFeed.

Tech Crunch said “The application allows users to see the data stream from people they follow on FriendFeed, and post new messages directly to the service. Users can also comment on posted items, and bookmark them. And possibly the best feature: it includes FriendFeed search”.

Find out more about Alert Thingy on their website, if you give it a go remember to come back and leave a comment on how you found it.

Hands-on: CyberLink PowerDVD 8 movie playback software

CyberLink has had one of the most popular movie playback software programs for years, and with PowerDVD 7 having a few incompatibilities with Blu-ray ROM drive discs will make some users look forward to upgrading to the new CyberLink PowerDVD 8. Tweak Town have gave this software a good going over to see how good the new version really is.

They found “Overall, PowerDVD, even with the teething problems in this new build, and the new lack of HD-DVD support, is still the best DVD playback software on the market, at least in my opinion. The new features, especially Movie Live, have yet to truly prove themselves, but the future is potentially quite exciting for this feature. It just needs to get a good community behind it, and then it should thrive. Its core feature; DVD playback, is as good as ever and with the improvements made in Blu-ray playback, PowerDVD is now well placed to become the ultimate Blu-ray playback software, which will ensure the programs relevance for some time to come.

Addendum: Just as the review was about to go live, I receive another e-mail from CyberLink. Not even a week after the release of PowerDVD 8, a new build has been released (version 3730a ), featuring two main features; the addition of BD Profile 2.0, otherwise referred to as BD Live, and fixes to BD Java titles. Unfortunately I don’t have a BD Live title as of yet, but I was eager to check if Across the Universe worked now, and unfortunately it still does not. As CyberLink release updates to PowerDVD 8, I will keep you guys in the loop” Overall they rated it 83%.

Read the full review.

Google App Engine Analysis: in depth look

So the Google App Engine is finally here, and the first thing that you will need to know is that it is solely aimed at Amazon Web Services. As Google are better at these kinds of things, it will not be long before Amazon users will jump ship and go over to using the Google App Engine.

What gives this new application an advantage? well Ars Technica aims to give you that answer with their in depth review.

They found that Google’s API has access to the storage capacity and processing power of Google’s servers and this is very clever as when Google developed this software, they gave developers the ability to create web page applications which have been programmed with Python code, and you can then upload it and run it on Google’s servers.

It’s not all good, Ars Technica said “The downsides to this program are fairly apparent. First, developers must write all of their code in Python. While Python is a great dynamic language with a robust standard library, and over 15 years of active development, there will be some prospective users who would rather deploy their code in a different language.” Check out their full review here

The Google App Engine really is a great application; why not give it a try and tell us what you think just visit Google

Google takes down HuddleChat

Google had launched HuddleChat, this is a real-time application which was designed to show off their Google App Engine platform. However a few bloggers have noticed that the app is in fact a rip off of Camfire, this is a product made by 37Signals.

Many believe that this reaction from bloggers is stupid, however Google have said that it is a fight that they do not wish to get involved in, so decided to take HudleChat down.

However, it seems as if Michael Arrington from Tech Crunch is outraged by this and would like for Google to bring back HuddleChat.

Apple MacBook Air gets new EFI Firmware Update 1.0

Apple have finally released the EFI Firmware Update 1.0 for the MacBook Air, it is not a big download just 2.1MB and is available from software update. Apple states that this EFI Firmware Update 1.0 fixes a number of issues which will help to improve the stability of the MacBook Air.

However the update is also available for the MacBook and the MacBook Pro. Once you have downloaded this update you will have to run the Firmware Updater. While running the update just make sure that your power cord is plugged in at all times.

For full details on this update please visit: ZD Net