Do you like to keep an eye on your Mac's system resources? Well the in built Activity Monitor may give you a load of information, however it does take up an amount of screen real estate. If you want to see your resources in the menu bar then there is a solution, check out Menu Meters.
Its a very customisable piece of software, you can choose the refresh rate and choose which metrics are displayed and there are even options for each metric. The order which they are displayed can be changed by holding down command and dragging each item.
Have you seen Minority Report? Well it features Tom Cruise using a pretty futuristic user interface on a curved glass transparent computer screen. This is often referred to as the future of computing technology, but what if the future was even cooler? What if you don't need to where a weird glove with two finger nodes and thumb node to control the PC? Well now you're talking.
Introducing Leap Motion, the most futuristic computer interface since voice recognition and Microsoft's Kinect. It's been showcased on their site for quite sometime, but the shipping date has now been publised as Early 2013, and with the new year just days away it's getting difficult not to pre-order this! It's priced at $69.99 plus shipping. The video speaks for it self, this looks like incredible technology and will no doubt inspire new applications dedicated to this interface.
Currently compatibility is with Mac and PC, so it should keep most users happy!
Incredibly Facebook now has over one billion active users each month! This huge success is often accredited to Facebook's constantly changing service, always adapting to include new features or keep up with (or purchase!) competition such as Instagram and Google+. Today they have launched yet another iOS application for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. It's simply called "Poke".
Poking a friend has been a decreasingly used feature amongst many users. Since poking became a feature of Facebook a lot has changed. Your profile's wall as become a timeline and the use of mobile or third applications has increased massively. Messages have become a defacto way to prompt a response from a Facebook friend. The new app brings more to poking your Facebook friends.
With the new Poke app you can poke your Facebook friends who also use Poke app too, and you can include a message, photo or video along with your poke. You can even control how long that the recipient can see your poke for, down to only 3 seconds! Poke allows you full control of who gets your poke, and you can select whole groups of users.
Will Poke be a success? Will it replace dropping a quick message to your mates or posting a pic on your timeline? Only time will tell. Many of the options are already built into Facebook, and this app isn't yet cross-platform. It may just be a flash-in-the-pan novelty, but at last it keeps Facebook's ever changing list of services fresh.
Let us know what you think by dropping a comment below.
Google Maps have released an iPhone app bringing Apple's mapping service back to millions of iOS 6 users who are discontent with Apple's in built maps. The upgrade to iOS 6 forced users to lose their Google maps but users gained turn-by-turn navigation and an incredible new 3D mapping system.
Google have been quick to release a similar 3D mapping service on Google Earth, fly over San Francisco on Google Earth to see for yourself.
Apple's maps have been built using vector images, and load quickly at all scales. Google previous maps used to load at each scale but have been redesigned to uses vector imagery as well. Google have also included turn-by-turn navigation to compete with Apple's maps and the many other navigation apps available, often for free on the iPhone platform.
Everyone loves a bargain, and if you are a PC Gamer here is a bargain deal for you. It's called Humble Bundle and has been set up to provide THQ some much needed funds because they are in financial trouble. You can donate what you like to get access to these great games. The donation you make can also be donated in part or full to a range of charities such as the Red Cross. Just donate over $5.63 (the average donation) to get Saints Row the Third and Titan Quest.
The Humble Bundle is a download only (Steam) deal on the following PC games:
Saints Row the Third
Titan Quest
Dawn of War - just added!
Red Faction
Darksiders
Metro 2033
Company of Heroes
Company of Heroes Opposing Fronts
Company of Heroes Tales of Valor
But hurry, the offer is for a limited time only!
So grab yourself a bargain because Saints Row the Third does not come this cheap normally!
Are you looking for an alternative to the various cloud storage solutions on offer with monthly subscriptions? This Kickstarter project is for a device, called a Transporter, which allows you to easily create your own personal cloud storage. All of your data will remain private and under your full control. If you have two Transporter devices, you can get specific folders on the Transporter to automatically synchronise over the internet, using SSL security.
This device allows you to install, and therefore upgrade your own hard disk. The hard disks used are 2.5" hard disks. There are no plans at the moment to support solid state drives.
Here's a link to the kickstarter project: click here
So you have taken the plunge and upgraded from Windows 7, Vista or XP to Windows 8...
I hope you are enjoying the fast boot up times and the new Metro UI. But are you missing quick access to Google Chrome? If so, sit back and enjoy this quick YouTube video from Google.
Today Apple have released the latest version of their music software and it's called iTunes 11. iTunes 10 has been around for a while, since 2010, and although it's undergone some progressive changes it was still very similar in terms of general layout to iTunes 7. New features like iTunes in the cloud often felt like they were added on.
In iTunes 11 the user interface has been completely redesigned. The interface makes better use of your screen real estate. The main view is all your albums represented by their album art and the album name and album artist just below. This is a great view for browsing through your library. If you fancy creating a playlist the interface is far better. You get much more room to see and organise all your playlists as the sidebar which they used to sit in has been hidden. If you miss the sidebar in iTunes 11 just click View > Sidebar, but it's really not needed anymore. If you drag any song/album/artist you can drop it into a playlist. The list of your playlist pops up whenever you drag anything. It's easy to drop onto your iPod, iPhone or iPad in this way too.
The new store lets you listen to 90 second previews whilst browsing around at your next potential purchase. A handy "recently previewed" list is great to keep on top of what you might like to purchase. Having used iTunes 11 for an hour or so I have to say that I'm impressed. The slick new interface makes listening music fun again, especially the "Up Next" feature which allows you to cue tracks to a now playing playlist on the fly, a bit like iTunes DJ in the previous version, but a lot better.
Once you update to iTunes 11 your library gets updated but this was painless enough. Some of the new features require you to share the album details of your library with Apple, but this was an easy decision to make as an iTunes Match subscriber. The new features include showing you galleries of artist's and links to related music.
For the full list of the new features click read more below.
A long time ago in a galaxy far far away there were birds whose eggs where stolen by Bad Piggies... or am I confusing Angry Birds with Star Wars?!?! One of the best mobile games, Angry Birds, has taken a fresh, sling-shoting, head only carton approach to the Star Wars universe in: Angry Birds Star Wars!
The epic game see the Star Wars characters you know and love do battle in an Angry Birds sling-shot style. The game features the epic Star Wars sound track, light sabres and the classic scenes that you will enjoy playing out on your phone/tablet. Reasonably priced at just 69p for iOS devices and available on Windows, iOS and Android. For links to download it in each format click here.
Microsoft are keen to promote the Xbox 360 as a one stop shop device for all your media needs, as well as it's core use as a games console. Over the last year we have seen on demand TV services added, Netflix support and a refreshed Zune store for downloading films to your device. The Xbox 360 interface has recently had a slight refresh, bringing it inline with the Windows 8 Metro menu system. The previous incarnation of the Xbox UI was so similar, they where probably using it as a way of introducing the live tiles interface we see in Windows 8 and Windows Phone. For Microsoft's next trick: Xbox SmartGlass.
Microsoft's new phone/tablet app: Xbox SmartGlass is compatible with almost all devices (Windows 8, Windows Phone, iOS & Android 4+) so what you have you can probably get connected. And theres no real set up to do, as everything is linked to your Microsoft (typically hotmail) account. This app replaces "My Xbox Live" on iOS.
The new apps as the remote control function of the My Xbox Live app, but much improved. No need to tap arrow keys anymore, just swipe left to go left, and tap anyway to press A. This makes using the remote much more intuitive. X, Y & B have all move to the extremities of the screen so you can actually use it whilst looking at the TV, and not your phone/tablet. This is an experience much more like using an Xbox controller, as you don't need to keeping looking down.
Once you have a game or film running on the Xbox the SmartGlass app displays additional information. A synopsis of the movie, or the map when you are playing Forza Horizon. Even an onscreen keyboard for browsing the internet with IE9 for Xbox 360, and especially handing when using your Xbox to update Facebook, send a tweet or chat using Windows Live Messenger.
The title says it all, Google have have updated the logo for the Chrome Web Store! It looks good in my opinion. It's always interesting to see how Google are confident about constantly reviewing and updating logos and brandings to keep up with (or ahead of) the competition.
For those of you who use Google's Custom Background feature it can be a great way to customise your web experience. You probably look at Google more often than your wallpaper anyway, since everything is so browser based these days.
Here's Google's notification:
Background images are going away on November 16, 2012
Thank you for using background images. As we build a more streamlined Google Search page for everyone, we’ll no longer be able to support customization with background images. So you will no longer be able to see your background pictures startingNovember 16, 2012.
Hopefully this means the Google will get a cool new UI in the coming weeks which just wouldn't work with custom backgrounds.
Chris Pirillo over at Lockergnome.com has filmed the key areas of performance on the new Microsoft Surface tablet running Windows RT. Windows RT is a version of Windows 8 which comes preloaded on devices which use ARM processors instead of the Intel-compatible processors found in laptops/desktops and even high end tablets. Windows RT is a slightly less capable OS to balance hardware power with what the software demands.
The Surface is a flagship product from Microsoft as they launch Windows 8. Many users will not read into the variants of Windows 8 vs RT so a laggy UI and any hanging will translate to slow sales for Windows 8 upgrades if Microsoft aren't careful.
With the release of Halo 4 only a week away it's time to build the anticipation! Check out these live action Halo videos on YouTube. There are 4 parts and they have been conveniently wrapped into a playlist for you below. You'll need to set aside a bit of time to watch all four parts, to fit in how epic the Halo series is this playlist is over an hour long. Check it out today!
More information about Halo 4 and Forward Unto Dawn: click here.
Have you tried graze? If you haven't heard of it graze is a snack delivery service. They can send you healthy snacks to your home or workplace in a handy letterbox shaped box which is posted to you. When it arrives it will be quite a talking point! The snacks on offer are natural and healthy, but what would make people or them when they are so used to buying food from a shop?
Well graze has reached craze levels in just 4 years (sorry that's an awful pun!), and I believe that it's for two reasons: Firstly they send you four quality and healthy snacks in each box, but its a surprise until you open the box (or get the 'your graze box is on it's way' email). And everybody loves a surprise. Secondly, and most importantly, they market this service with a fantastic website. It all starts with a simple but effective logo:
The graze website has a super easy sign up procedure so you can get straight into exploring their products. They will send you four products in each graze box but you can rate products to govern how often you get particular snacks. There are four levels to rate them and it's really intuitive and interactive. The website splits the products up into handy categories so it's really quick to find products you like and hit "love it"! The service is easy to use and flexible.
If you are on the move and want to access graze from your mobile, then you are in for a treat. Their mobile formatted site work's seamlessly on the iPhone. The page is correctly formatted for a small screen with buttons which are large enough to press comfortably. The clean and clear UI reflects the desktop site, is very responsive, and gives you all the same options. The mobile site is so good that I actually signed up on the mobile site, and started rating the snacks too.
So what's it like to get a graze box? Here's a quick picture of my first graze box:
To get your own FREE graze box head on over to www.graze.com and enter this code: R4L3QVX
Google's UK Advertising of Google Chrome highlights the internets ability to for ordinary people to become entrepreneur's, or popstars, or media broadcasters! Watch these adverts and get inspired today!
Apple have fixed the problem with Time Machine in their latest supplementary updates! This will make Time Machine users who updated to Mac OS X Lion 10.7.5 or OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.2 very happy indeed! Thank you Apple for solving this issue quickly!
Details of the supplementary update which is available through Apple > Software Update:
The Mac OS X v10.7.5 Supplemental Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Lion v10.7.5 and includes the following fixes:
Resolves an issue that may cause Time Machine backups to take a very long time to complete
Addresses an issue that prevents certain applications signed with a Developer ID from launching
Have you ever sat down and thought about Google Earth? Well it's rather ambitious, even for one of the largest technology companies in the world, to map the whole world. And yeah, they are trying to map the whole world, with detailed maps, satellite images, street view, local businesses and turn-by-turn navigation. And then to offer it to anyone with internet access... for free. Google has changed the way millions of us use maps.
This video from Google explains where the Google Maps/Google Earth service is going and a bit about the history of the service. Google's mapping service during the Katrina Hurricane disaster is just one way that digital maps have changed the world.
Up to iOS 5 YouTube has been installed as part of the iOS preinstalled applications, which cannot be deleted. Many iPhone and iPad users have become very familiar with the YouTube app. It has good functionality, no bugs or major glitches, the only gripe is the strange old fashioned TV app logo. Hardly representative of the doorway to a modern video sharing service. Still as of the release of iOS 6, the pre-installed YouTube app is no more.
It seems Apple's use of Google products is no longer the default. Maps has moved from a Google mapping service to an Apple one (with its own new features!).
But what if you love watching YouTube on your iDevice? Google has created a YouTube app available in the App Store. This app also let's you sign in but it also features an up to date look and feel to the new UI. This can be downloaded from the App Store. And great news: the logo of the App is YouTube's branded logo.
Apple's online cloud service, iCloud, allows you to seamlessly transfer data such as calendars and contacts between iOS devices. You can now access more of this information on iCloud.com. With their updated site. Inline with OS X Mountain Lion desktop apps you can now access web versions of Notes and Reminders.
The UI has had a few updates too, notably in the Find My iPhone app and Calender notifications also appear in the iOS and OS X typical red circle style. To use the new apps on iCloud.com just log in and they will appear, complete with the data from your Mac, iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch if you have iCloud syncing on for Notes and Reminders.
iCloud is a free service from Apple for iOS devices using iOS 5 or later and Mac OS X Lion or later.
If you use Google's extensive range of free services how long is it till you ask the question, should I get an Android device? If you are reading this on an Android device then I suggest you are convinced, but for iPhone users, or even non-smartphone users, an Android phone can be increasingly tempting.
Once Google is your main source of email it makes sense to move your master contacts list to GMail. With the ease of access through the website, mobile apps or browser extensions before long it's a convenient place to store almost everything, calendar, notes, and documents. All accessible on any computer through a browser and on your smartphone via apps. With an Android device all of these services are smoothly integrated into the system and sync so that you are always up to date.
The big question for non-Android users is, 'how many Google apps do I have to use before I switch to Android?'
The below survey should provide some insight into whether or not people are shifting from the iPhone and the Blackerry to Android powered smartphones.
This video from Wicked4u2c on YouTube runs through a lot of the new iOS 6 features which will be coming to Apple's iPhone in the Autumn. A lot of these features where met with rapturous applause at Apple's WWDC conference earlier this year, but how many are already included in Android's Ice Cream Sandwich operating system?
Halo LED Belt is a Kickstarter project from a San Francisco based company. They have received their required funding, in fact at time of righting they have received 968% of the funding they asked for! So there is plenty of backing behind this product.
The belt uses LED's and the prototype is available in difference four colours to suit your style. It will make travelling around safer as it's crucial to be seen by other road users when you are as vulnerable as cyclists. It's also a pretty cool alternative to glow sticks on a night out!
Here's a quick promo video as featured on kickstarter, but for more detailed info head over to halobelt.com. Hopefully this will be available to buy in time for the winter in the UK and the US!
As the Olympic's approach London's infrastructure will be tested. One area which will be particularly busy will be the London Underground. But at least you'll be able to spend that time emailing photos of the Olympics to friends and family using the stations free Wi-Fi from Virgin Media. The Wi-Fi is only going to be available during the Olympics so catch it quick.
The Google IO Accessory Developer Kit was given to selected developers at Google's recent developer conference, Google IO. It looks like a pretty cool device and the Engadget team got their hands on one and made this video to show what it is and how it will help the development of cool hardware that can interact with Android devices in the future.
With Jelly Bean (the latest version of Android) users can access Google Now. Google Now gathers all of the information from your device, such as appointments, current location etc. and displays exactly what you need to know.
At the start of your day it'll show the weather forecast at your current location. Say you were away travelling it'll give you a currency converter from the local currency back to your home currency, very useful. So you have an appointment in an hours time, Google Now will tell you to leave in a minute, the usually 45 minute journey is going to take longer due to the current traffic conditions.
You arrive at your business meeting and decide to get a spot of lunch, Google Now can suggest local places to eat and direct you there with Google Maps.
For more details see Google Now or the video below.
The BBC will be broadcasting the London 2012 Olympic games in a way that has never been achieved before. For a starters the coverage will all be filmed in high definition. And the Olympics will be broadcast live on 24 dedicated digital channels - this is too cope with the maximum number of simultaneous live events during the games. ALL 24 channels are coming to your Sky HD Planner very soon!
Here's your options for watching the BBC Coverage:
On TV Olympics coverage will be available on the BBC channels BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Three, BBC One HD and BBC HD as well as through the Red Button digital streams for digital Freeview viewers.
Sky will be launching 48 new channels dedicated to the BBC's Olympic coverage. 24 will be standard definition and 24 high definition. The channels are free-to-air and available to any Sky home, including Freesat from Sky homes. The HD channels are available on any Sky+HD box and do not require a subscription, but do require an HD ready TV. Customers will require a Sky subscription in order to use Sky+. These channels will be availble from the 24th July 2012. More Info from Sky.
Online at the BBC Sport Website through the BBC's new interactive video player which will provide standard definition and high definition video streams, separated into chapters. You can watch a live event or previous events throughout the day, and overlay detailed information about the athletes and events to help guide you through each sport.
On the new BBC Sport App which provides the 24 live streams too, where ever you are. If you want to catch highlights from events which have already happened, or check the statistics such as the medal table, it's all on the app.
BBC coverage of the 2012 Olympics can also be enjoyed on mobile phones via the mobile browser version of the BBC Sport website.
A 24-hour digital radio station, Radio 5 live Olympic Extra, will complement BBC Radio 5 live and BBC Radio 5 live Sports Extra for the duration of the Games.
So between the coverage online, on TV, and on mobile devices everyone should be able to get access to watch their favourite sports during the Olympics. The Opening Ceremony will be live on BBC One and BBC One HD on Friday 27th July at 7pm (Ceremony starts at 9pm).
Get yourself ready for the games with the UK version of the BBC Olympic app for smartphones and tablets that can be downloaded now for these platforms:
Microsoft has created an Android app (yeah, an Android app, not Windows Phone 7). This app and the companion website can be used for automation and programming of your Android device. Once you have the app installed and you log into the website, which is achieved using Facebook authentication, you can start to create Rules for your device.
To get you started their are some Recipes for basic Rules which you can apply to your phone. These are logical processes based on input data from the state of your phone/tablet. For example:
Text my wife: "I'm on my way" when I leave work.
Launch the Calendar when I arrive at work.
Text my wife "my phone's battery is dying" when my phone's battery goes below 15%
As you can see the input can be a location (using geo-fencing by monitoring the phones 3G cell, WiFi hotspots and GPS location). Or the input can be a time, or device state, such as low battery. The on{X} team have created an API which can assign a state to the phone based on the accelerometer movements and the GPS location. It's called Mode of Transport and is used to determine whether you are still, walking, running or driving. You can use this data to automatically open the music app when you start walking, or remember where you parked when you go from driving to walking.
To fully use this app to your own design you need to use some code. But if you aren't a coder and don't feel the need to learn there are loads of prebuilt recipes from the community for you to try.
For more details and to start creating your own Rules head to www.onx.ms. If you have any suggestions of rules feel free to leave a comment below or on the Facebook Page.
In the Gmail iOS app there is an option in the new email compose page to draw a free hand 'scribble' and attach it to your new email as a picture. This is also available using the Gmail web access on an iPhone or iPad. The options include various colours, a variety of pen thicknesses and either s pen or a spray can. This could be a useful way of quickly adding an idea to your email.
As an example here is something I created earlier...
Google Chrome on the desktop is super fast to start-up and super fast for browsing and it's easy to use user interface keep users come back time after time, despite new versions of Internet Explorer and Firefox competing. It's non-intrusive auto-update keeps it primed and ready to make the best of new technologies such as HTML5 and ward off security threats which try to take advantage of the browser.
For more advanced users it allows you to sync your bookmarks (favourites), Chrome Web Store App's and other settings across various platforms and devices. This is great for syncing Chrome over Windows and Mac computers. Google Chrome is featured on the Android Ice Cream Sandwich smartphones and tablets and will also be included in Android Jelly Bean devices too. But what about iPhone and iPad users?
Google Chrome is now available for iOS! It's finally here after months, if not years, of anticipation. Chrome for iOS brings a simple User Interface, which is a touch ready version of the desktop application. It also features unlimited tabs, which is better than the iOS default browser, Safari, which is limited to 8.
Sync - this is the killer feature. Safari will be improving browser synchronisation in iOS 6 due in the Autumn and Mountain Lion due in July, but with Google Chrome and Google Chrome for iOS you can experience a unified browsing experience today. Tabs that are open on one device are synced so you can see them on the other. Like a webpage but don't have time to read it? Send it to your iOS device where it is stored so you can read it later, even offline (requires the Chrome to Mobile Web Store App for Chrome). Unified web history, if you've been there before it will help you save on typing by suggesting autocomplete options. Haven't been there before? Google search results appear after each character to help you find what you are looking for.
So does Chrome for iOS look any different? Short answer is no:
Chrome for iOS
Safari for iOS
To download it from the App Store:
Google have created a short video about syncing Google Chrome across multiple devices, include Android 4.0+ and iOS devices too! It's called Your Chrome, Everywhere.
The My Xbox Live App was reviewed on Web Warp Blog last year, but Microsoft have added a new feature in the current version of the free iOS app - Xbox Control.
Exclusively from the iOS app users can remotely control their Xbox over the internet. In practice this enables you to launch apps such as Netflix or BBC iPlayer from your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch and choose to watch a movie/TV programme, without having to use your Xbox controller. When you are in these Xbox Live Applications you can navigate through the on screen menus in the normal fashion because the app displays virtual Xbox controller buttons for you, as shown in the screen capture below.
This is similar to Apple's Remote App for Apple TV but it's missing one vital feature. When you go to search for content on an Apple TV using the the Remote app the iOS on screen keyboard appears for quick and easy searching. Trying a Bing search using the My Xbox Live app and you still have to navigate using the left, right and A buttons. Not really making best use of the iPhone's capabilities, and almost rendering the app little more than just a really neat way to launch a game (assuming the right disk is in the Xbox).
My Xbox Live is now also available for Android devices via Google Play, but doesn't include the ability to control the Xbox remotely - yet.
One of the least publicised features of Twitter is Twitter Lists. Using lists you can customise your Twitter experience by organising the stream of tweets into subject specific lists. Using lists you can tune your twitter experience for specific occasions, or to just make reading twitter more manageable. Typical list subjects include sports, celebrities, actual friends etc. You can make as many lists as you like. You can even subscribe to other twitter users lists. To find the lists option on twitter.com you need to visit your own profile page and choose lists, as shown below.
For an example of a twitter list click here. Do you use twitter lists to keep your social media a little more organised? Drop us a tweet @webwarpblog!
Microsoft have unveiled their new tablet computer called Surface. This tablet will run the latest version of windows, called Window's 8, which has been optimised to run on tablets as well as desktops and laptops. Windows 8 tablet's will also be manufactured by other companies including Dell.
Keen readers of Web Warp Blog will remember that in 2009 there were two article's featuring Microsoft Surface (click here to remind yourself), but this is a brand new tablet? It seems Microsoft felt that Surface name was not too well known for it's touch computing table's, called Surface, and reused the name. The technology behind the tablet is the same as for a table, just on a smaller scale. The surface table also featured a completely new UI where as the tablet will be running Windows 8.
So whats the spec like? Well at the launch there were no details on pricing, CPU speed etc. all we know is that the largest capacity disk space will be 128 GB solid state. One interesting feature is a cover which contains a keyboard, this should help laptop users adapt to a tablet. They will also come in an array of funky colours too.
The Apple World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) earlier today included the announcement of iOS 6. iOS 6 is the sixth major version of the Apple mobile operating system which rus the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. There are hundreds of new features but some of the major new features are listed below.
Maps - All new Apple Maps including Turn-by-Turn Navigation and Siri integration.
Facebook integration throughout the OS
FaceTime over a cellular connection
Improved Safari including better iCloud integration
New options for controlling alerts, including "Do Not Disturb" mode
Shared Photostreams
Passbook - for a paperless ticketing system
iOS 6 will be coming to iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod Touch 4th Gen, iPad 2 and the New iPad this Autumn.
Apple have unveiled their new model of the popular MacBook Pro range of notebook (laptop) computers. The MacBook display is classed by Apple as a Retina Display. This was widely anticipated as it has been achieved on the iPad, which isn't much smaller screen dimensions than a MacBook Pro. The screen is reported to look "stunning" and "gorgeous". I'm sure that anyone who has seen the latest iPad's retina display, or an iPhone 4 or 4S will agree too. Apple's display technology has produced some incredibly small pixels and their sharp UI looks great optimised for these high resolutions.
The MacBook Pro will support 2880 x 1880 pixels (5,184,000 pixels). This far exceeds the 1920 x 1080 pixels of a Full HD TV, which are often 40+ inches across. The Apple applications included in Mountain Lion and the Pro Apple apps on the Mac App Store are ready to support this new resolution, which improved UI's for Final Cut Pro and Aperture too.
More details are being announced live from WWDC 2012.
As the Apple World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) 2012 gets under way in America, it's seems theres just a few tweet's flying around on the Twittersphere!
Sky have updated their set top box set's software with a new glass effect look, which looks fantastic on HD displays. The new software includes more than just a facelift though, there is a new structure for the on demand internet download content. This is crucial for Sky's continued success in the TV market with the increasing popularity of both internet connected TV's and set top boxes such as games consoles, Boxee, Apple TV and TiVo. The update brings content to the user by channel, much like these other services, particularly the Xbox and PlayStation interfaces. Sky allows you to search for program's across all services, which isn't always possible in Sky's rival boxes/TV's, with the main exception being Google TV, where search as a certain significance!
The update is accompanied by news that the BBC's online content, BBC iPlayer will be available through Internet connected Sky boxes from the Autumn. This is one of the last platforms to recurve BBC iPlayer which can be viewed on most devices including the Virgin Media set top box and BT Vision too. Sky continues to add to its vast library of online content available through Sky Anytime (their on demand Internet service), including hundreds of films. Even more is available from Sky Store too.
Google's data centres rank among the most energy efficient in the world, with very low PUE factors. A PUE is the Power Usage Effectiveness, and is similar to efficiency. The lower values use less power for the same useful output. By promoting publicly Google's efforts to become more green they can both build a positive brand as an environmentally friendly company and encourage people to look at their own energy consumption.
Here's a quick video from Google about how their servers cope with emails in the most energy efficient way possible.
The internet uses the IPv4 system of IP addresses to uniquely identify devices connected to the internet. The format is a series of 4 sets of up to 3 numbers, for example 192.168.0.1. These are comparable to phone numbers, so it's good have a unique number. The trouble is there's ony around 4 billion IPv4 addresses, and we are running out. There wouldn't be enough numbers for each person to have a number each and many people use numerous devices which have IPv4 addresses everyday, PC's, laptops, smartphones, IP TV's etc.
So the future of the internet depends on the availability of unique addresses, and the answer is IPv6. With IPv6 there are about 340 trillion trillion trillion address. Today is World IPv6 Launch day and from now on companies will begin the transition from IPv4 to IPv6. To test if your connection is IPv6 Google have created a website that can check for you: http://ipv6test.google.com/
Google's Chromebook's work just like the Chrome web browser, fast, safe and always update. This automatic update feature is the opposite of what many people are used to with updates from Microsoft. These are more often than not security updates and always seem to require a restart of your PC, just when you need to finish what you are working on! Google's Chrome browser updates in the background and launches as the new version next time you open the browser. So without even realising it, and without user intervention, everyone keeps up to date.
Chrome OS works in the same way, keeping your Chromebook up to date. Chrome OS's "desktop" inspired UI tweak, which was reported on in April 2012, has arrived. This update features some UI styling which can be found on Chrome for Android (Ice Cream Sandwich) and the reported on desktop style UI.
With increasingly quick machines being launched running Chrome OS task's such as multiple tab browsing, YouTube video playback and online games are running smoother than ever. And with the recent release of Google Drive it is even easier to manage your documents and files accross Chromebook's and PC's, Mac's and Linux distro's.
For a guided tour of the improved Chrome experience see the YouTube video below. And for more details check out Google's Chromebook webpage.
Do you use a Chromebook? How do you find it being always "on the cloud"? Send us your thoughts by commenting below or getting in touch on Google+.
So your on the internet. Where are you? Home, work, basically anywhere you can get a Wi-Fi connection, right? What if you didn't have to always pop to that cafe because they have free Wi-Fi, or limit the use of your Wi-Fi only iPad to your lounge?
You can now take a Wi-Fi connection with you,where ever you go*. And I'm not talking about home broadband packages which include access to hotspots around the country, such as BT and Sky (Sky's new tie up with The Cloud was covered on the blog: http://webwarpblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/sky-wifi.html). This blogpost is about the brilliance of MiFi Mobile Broadband. MiFi is a 3G internet connected Wi-Fi router which fits in the palm of your hand. You can connect multiple devices to it so they can all share the single 3G data connection.
The Google+ iOS App has been updated to include a new high resolution user interface. The new retina display ready interface looks great and is a world away from the previous Facebook style application. The Google+ app features a smooth autoloading of the next item in your circles news feeds. The full bleed images and fine fonts look incredible. For more information about the update see the Google blogpost or see the Google video below!
Apple have released an update for iOS devices (iPhones, iPad's & iPod Touches). This new update, 5.1.1, is ready to be downloaded and installed right on the device by browsing to Settings > General > Software Update. The update fixes various bugs including an issue with warnings about successful purchases from the App Store, which actually succeeded once a suitable Wi-Fi network has been connected too.
The update is reasonably sized at just over 50MB and takes advantage of iOS 5's feature to update software in smaller packages downloaded directly to the device, negating the previous requirement to download over 700MB's to iTunes and then connect the iOS device to the computer to install the update.
A blogpost about the mobile Internet, no news, just a general discussion. Feel free to add comments below.
In the UK there are 5 main network providers: Orange, T-Mobile, Vodafone, O2 & 3. Other networks such as Virgin Mobile, Tesco Mobile and Giff Gaff "piggy back" on these networks systems. And Orange and T-Mobile are now actually "Everything Everywhere", though the customer will still see the two independent brands.
These networks provide traditional connectivity for phone calls, SMS text messaging and GPRS. They also provide 3G internet connectivity (subject to network coverage). With the advent of 3G technology, and the ever increasing market share occupied by smartphones, the mobile Internet has truly arrived. With a strong 3G connection you don't need to be tied to your desk to pick up emails, or hop from wifi hotspot to hotspot (although there are huge number around these days) to watch the latest funny clip on YouTube.
Train journeys, dentist waiting rooms, even sat on the loo you can stay connected with your friends news feed on Facebook. You could even be reading Web Warp Blog out and about on your smartphone or tablet over 3G.
You can get a huge variety of service though from 3G network providers. Some networks seem to provide much faster speeds than others in different areas of the country. A strong signal is required for good download speed, and your hardware needs to be quick too.
Video calling has been around for a long time. Microsoft's MSN Messenger supported video calling from a long time ago, although during Messenger's hay day a lot of people still ran off dial-up internet connections. Skype has been around for many years, and even had the backing of internet auction giant eBay for a time. It has a large user base of people video calling across towns and even continents. The trouble for Skype is that people only seem to use their free video calling service, and aren't so keen to VoIP a call from their computer to a real phone, at real cost. Other video messaging services have their own users too, however most of these platforms focus on either one to one conversations, or small groups of around four participants.
Google+ is different and allows a load of people to join a 'hangout' (video call). They can then share there own webcam stream to everyone, share their screen, work on Google Doc's together. Even group watch a YouTube video. All the while sharing text with one another. A Google+ hangout is almost like being sat around the same table/computer monitor as your fellow participants.
There are video's demonstrated Google+ Hangout's in the Read More section.
Samsung have announced their new flagship smartphone - the Samsung Galaxy SIII. The official smartphone of the London 2012 olympics will run Google's Android 4.0 operating system. Hardware wise it will feature an 8 megapixel camera, increased battery capacity on the SII and NFC. Coming soon will be a version with 4G LTE. This isn't too much of a problem in the UK, as there are no 4G networks yet... (come on OFCOM!).
The phone will include a Siri style voice assistant called S Voice, and an enhanced version of Android 4's beam function called S Beam. The Android OS itself brings features such as face recognition unlock to the device. The screen looks incredible in the announcement, a 4.8" AMOLED screen. The phone's bevel is smaller than that of the previous model the SII so as not to increase the overall dimensions too much.
The phone's capable of auto tagging photos of your friends and family once it has learned each of their faces. These can be uploaded directly to social media platforms, namely Facebook.
Let us know what you think, are you impressed with the Galaxy SIII, send us your comments below.
The Google experience used to be a fast, reliable search of the whole internet on google.com.
Then they added loads of services. Now they are all integrated with Google+, to bring your contacts with you, and Google Drive to store, share and collaborate on your content.
Wether is family holidays, business idea's or university projects, there's one easy way to collaborate. And the reason it's so universal? It's in the web browser. All of it. You don't need expensive software, or worry about file types / versions / compatibility. It's just in the browser, all from that same old google.com.
And for a speedy browser experience, the way to go in Google Chrome.
Google Doc's is fast becoming the best online word processing service with its continual evolution and improvements. The latest offerings to the Google Doc's user is 60 new templates for documents and a raft of 450 new fonts.
The online web browser began with only small number of standard fonts, which did little to rival the customisation and fonts on desktop applications such as Microsoft Word, Open Office and Apple's Pages. But with latest changes, including Google Drive integration, Google Doc's is in prime position to be a valuable rival to the office staple: the word processor.
Other advantages include the ease of collaboration. Not only can you share access to other Google users, but they can edit the document live, in real time while you are still in the document. No waiting to email each other different versions. The collaboration works great in a team situation too, there is even a text chat box right within the document editing user interface.
All this comes from a website, through your web browser. No cost, no software download, just online collaboration through the browser. It's compatible with almost any computer with an Internet connection too.
Does Microsoft Office Live, the Microsoft online office suite, stand a chance? The advantage is limited to the user familiarity with the desktop application. But they may have shot themselves in the foot because many users still aren't over keen on the ribbon UI.
To try Google Docs head to http://docs.google.com
Let us know what you think of Google Doc's by commenting below!
Samsung will be showcasing their replacement for the Galaxy S2 smartphone at an event in London tomorrow. Engadget will be blogging live from the event for all the latest news. The highly anticipated handset release event even has it's own epic teaser trailer, just to build up the hype. The video is below.
The Advertising Standard's Authority are investigating Apple surrounding the advertisement of the new iPad, the BBC reports. The new hardware is capable of connecting to a multitude of wireless connections, Wi-Fi, 3G and 4G LTE. The most impressive of this list is the 4G technology. Apple distinguish their two versions of the iPad's connectivity options as:
iPad (Wi-Fi)
iPad (Wi-Fi + 4G)
However in the UK there are currently no 4G network providers, this is covered by a small note at the bottom of the page which lists networks operating a 4G service, and states which countries these operators are providing coverage to (USA and Canada).
See the Apple store page yourself and feel free to comment below.
With Sky's new Wifi access you can take your home broadband connection with you to thousands of UK hotspots. You can get unlimited access from hotspots run by The Cloud. This is a service similar to BT Broadband, which also grant's you access to BT Openzone and BT Fon hotspots in the UK.
The qualify you need Sky's unlimited or fibre packages, and the one of the mobile apps for your device. The apps are available for iOS and Android. Once downloaded just sign in with a valid SkyiD to get started.
For more information and to downlod mobile apps check out the Sky Wifi webpage.
So here's a quick round up of each of these cloud services so you can get the most for your money (or free!).
Google Drive
Drive is Google's new product and brings the cloud storage of Google Doc's to all file types and sync's with your desktop using applications. Google is a late entrant into the cloud file storage market, but have been a leader for other cloud services, such as web mail, for a long time. Their Google Doc's is also pretty handy as you can edit documents from within a browser, with no need to download, edit and then upload. It just cuts out the hassle.
Dropbox
Dropbox is the most popular cloud storage system with 45 million users according to lockergnome.com. The service allows you to access your files through the slick web based UI or apps for computers and mobile devices. You can increase your free allocation of the storage space by simply completing the tutorial and then spreading the word with your friends, family and colleagues. Each sign up gets you both an extra 500MB of space!
SkyDrive
Microsoft's offering is fully integrated with their Office Web Apps system, which is like Google Doc's but actually Word, Excel etc. The system also features the app's for syncing and viewing content on various platforms. It also works with the Hotmail web mail service to help users transfer large files with attaching them to emails.
Comparison
The file storage options are compared below.
Google Drive is here... yes really! Google admit on their blogpost that Google Drive is about as rumoured as the Loch Ness monster, but it is finally here! With 5GB free storage, and up to 16GB with subscriptions, Google Drive is everything it was rumoured to be. It is fully integrated into Google Docs and works cross platform on all your devices.
Until now Microsoft's SkyDrive, Dropbox and Box.net have had the home and business markets covered for cloud storage, with many other companies offering increasing amounts of storage at various costs. The integration with existing accounts make it easy to apply for, although it's not quite available for everyone just yet. Google Drive will work with GMail in a similar way to SkyDrive and Hotmail.
Microsoft are advertising their web browser Internet Explorer 9 on television. This bring's the web browser battle to Google, who have been advertising on TV over the last year. The IE9 ad highlights some of it's features which windows users may not already use, such as adding a website link to the start bar. The ad also shows off the graphical capabilities by demonstrating the browser version of the popular smart phone game Cut the Rope.
The music in this commercial is "Too Close" by Alex Clare.
Do you use Internet Explorer 9? Feel free to post your comments below.
Apple's latest iPhone advert features Samuel L Jackson. Apple are really pushing Siri in a lot of different advertising campaigns at the moment, they obviously see Siri as one of their key unique selling points.
Share you thought's about Siri in the comments area below, or send a tweet to @webwarpblog.
NASA's lasts space shuttle, Discovery, has been transported in a historic final flight. The flight included a fly past Washington on it's journey to a museum. The shuttle program came to a close last year following the withdrawal of funding.
RockMelt is a Chromium based web browser that features integration with your social networks. Chromium is the open source project that aims to create "a safer, faster, and more stable way for all Internet users to experience the web". As Google Chrome is built on the same base code, the look of RockMelt is immediately familiar to Google Chrome users (which is well over a third of all internet traffic now).
RockMelt's selling point (it's free by the way) is that it supports integration with all the big social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube... the list goes on, and on... and on. The Facebook integration is impressive as it includes your news feed, friend requests, messages and Facebook chat, all in the browser window. The layout is shown below in the picture from their website:
To try RockMelt head over to www.rockmelt.com or for a more detailed review see below.
Google+ has had a facelift. This new design for Google+ seems inspired by Facebook's timeline user interface with posts appearing in chronological order on your page. These posts even live update while you are reading a post, pushing all other posts down (annoying?). Design notes from Facebook also include a new profile page redesign which features a larger cover photo and a small profile picture, just like Facebook. For design cue's from Twitter look no further than the "trending on Google+" area, which is very similar.
The page is generally a lot easier to navigate and feels more like a finished product than the first Google+ website. Integration with hangout and photos are easier to find because there is a new menu bar running down the left hand side of the website.
The fan pages/brand pages is largely the same, although these receive a cover photo too. The video below from Google shows the new website in action, or try it yourself by adding Web Warp Blog to your circles. Let us know your thoughts by commenting below or on Google+.
With Halo 4 still at least 6 months from it's release date of Holiday 2012 you wouldn't expect too much information about the game, but here's a quick round of what we know so far.
Halo 4 will be the first game in a new trilogy, set in the aftermath of Halo 3. It is rumoured to feature a new foe that will justify a new story line. You will be playing as the Master Chief himself and the game will feature that hugely popular multiplayer mode. There will also be a new multiplayer mode called Spartan-Ops, similar to Call of Duty's Spec-Ops, co-operative missions. These will be independent of the campaign story.
Halo 4 sports a new soundtrack composed by Neil Davidge. The games makers, 343 Industries, insist that they will keep Halo 4 true to the Halo series, but make it better in every way. New weapons, re-imagined old weapons and even a new ability, will all make for new and exciting game play for hardcore Halo fans and newbie's alike.
Feel free to comment below, and share your excitment for Halo 4! Web Warp Blog will keep you up to date with all the latest news, you can follow on Twitter, Facebook and Google+, so you never miss a post.
Chrome OS is famed for it's simplicity. It's just your Chrome web browser, on a dedicated computer. (plus a few extra's like wifi connectivity, battery life indicator, but it's still just Chrome). And then they added virtual desktops, so you could have your work and personal browsing on two separate full screen desktops. But wouldn't it be great if you could have smaller Chrome windows, like on a Windows PC or an Apple Mac? That wouldn't be very Chrome OS.... or would it?
The new version of Chrome OS is to include a.... wait for it... desktop environment, and a UI which allows for multiple Chrome windows to sized and positioned in the tradition Windows/Mac/Linux fashion. The screen shots online show some design cue's which will be very familiar to Windows 7 and Mac OS X Lion users! The below image shows apps arranged in the iOS style called Launchpad on Mac OS X Lion. The application shortcuts in the bottom left and the notification/clock area in the bottom right look very similar to Windows 7.
Apple have a long history of supporting the education system. Their latest project aims to revolutionise the textbook. All students, from starting school to gaining a PhD, use text books. These textbooks haven't changed for a long time... until now.
The iPad is changing the way student's conduct their studies. With the iPad you can carry around as many books as you need, without any increase in the weight of your bag. The Amazon Kindle store and Apple's iBook store both stock thousands of books. But these are just digital versions of paper books. With the hardware in the iPad the humble book is suddenly capable of so much more. This is why Apple have created a new standard for digital Textbooks, and it's built into iBooks 2, which is free on the App Store:
In these new text books you there are embedded 3D images, embedded photo gallery's and video content. They also give feedback on the multiple choice questions you get at the end of a chapter. For a preview of these features click here.
To create text books for the iPad Apple have created a new software package: iBooks Author.
It's a very cool iPhone mod, but quite expensive at $159! Perhaps this will make it as a standard feature for Apple's next generation iPhone and iPad models? It's a little flashy on a mobile device though, even for Apple. Check out the video below from iphoneforums.net. Other video's show that this is linked to the screen brightness settings, just like a MacBook.
Do you like this iPhone mod? Feel free to leave us your comments below.
Project Glass is a Google nod to the future, where glasses are the new mobile phone!
When mobile devices became location aware with support for GPS, compasses, accelerometer's and gyroscopes the app developers created Augmented Reality app's. These include directions, weather details and simply 'whats around me?'. Some of the more specific applications include details of the next hole in your golf round, distance, direction etc. or a virtual star map to help you identify stars in the nights sky.
Imagine this technology embedding in glasses! The future is coming....
It's April the 1st so don't trust anything in the news! This year Google have added a Quest Mode to Google Maps. This turns the world into an 8 bit quest, even street view is 8 bit! It's an easy Easter Egg to under cover, just head over to maps.google.com and click the Quest button in the top right hand side of the map.
8 Bit Quest version on Central Park, New York
The regular Google Maps view of Central Park, New York
Poking a friend has been a decreasingly used feature amongst many users. Since poking became a feature of Facebook a lot has changed. Your profile's wall as become a timeline and the use of mobile or third applications has increased massively. Messages have become a defacto way to prompt a response from a Facebook friend. The new app brings more to poking your Facebook friends.
