Ubuntu for Phones

Ubuntu is the most popular linux distribution and is seen by many as a real alternative to Microsoft's Windows and Apple's OS X operating systems. In 2013 Ubuntu comes to smart phones to join the competitive mobile operating system market. Their promo video (below) looks really impressive and they are inviting developers to make their apps compatible with a mobile linux OS.

Ubuntu has grand aims, they are hoping to produce a single OS which can run desktop computers, TV's and smartphones, creating a truly unified experience. Ubuntu offer a lot to desktop users, including access to cloud based storage which is fully integrated into apps within the OS. And have I mentioned that the desktop version is essentially free! There is now a suggested donation but it is certainly cheaper the Windows or OS X.

The Ubuntu phone features interesting usability traits. The 'lock' screen does not require 'unlocking' as such, just swiping in various areas of the screens edge to access specific content on your device. The OS allows you to go full screen and enjoy the most of your photos, videos or web browsing experience. Would you consider trying a new mobile operating system? If it works well this may encourage increasing numbers of users to try this linux distribution on the desktop too.

More information Ubuntu's website www.ubuntu.com

Is Android ahead of iOS 6?

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?

 

Comments welcome!

Windows 8 Consumer Preview

Microsoft have released Windows 8 Consumer Preview for developers, enthusiasts and curious consumers to try. The next version of Windows build's on both the popular and stable Windows 7 and the Windows 8 Developer Preview released a couple on months ago.

The differences from Windows 7 to Windows 8 are around a new user interface called Metro. The Metro display replaces the traditional "start" menu. Many apps are then optimised for the Metro UI which brings larger buttons and more intuitive menu options to reduce clutter. This is far better for touch operated devices such as touch screen laptops and tablet devices. The classic desktop and windows explorer UI are still there for desktop users.

Is this release of Windows trying to be all things to all devices? Perhaps Android will be a better OS for tablets as it's optimised to touch screen operation from day one. To decide yourself you can download the developer preview to run on and old machine, or as a virtual machine.

Mac OS X Lion hands on

Apple released Mac OS X Lion yesterday to thousands of fans eagerly queuing outside their... well, own Mac's! Unlike previous operating system updates from Apple, Lion is a download from the (relatively) new Mac App Store.

Initial thoughts:
Great new log in screen, which also connects to known wifi networks immediately.
Lion feels like a new product, it has a very slick GUI (graphical user interface). Many design queues come from iOS on the iPhone and iPad as well as previous OS X advancements. All the dialogue windows have followed iTunes and iLife '11 in losing colour icons within the app. This means that your content (files, music, photos) become the visual focus.
New features work well and no major problems installing. One hiccup was that my two fingered scroll setting was inverted, but it is easily resolved in the System Prefences menu.

Let us know your thoughts on Mac OS X Lion below.

Mac OS X Update 10.6.8

Apple have updated their Operating System, Mac OS X Snow Leopard to 10.6.8. This update is a requirement for updating to OS X Lion. Here is the briefing from Apple:

"The 10.6.8 update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Snow Leopard and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac, including fixes that:
• Enhance the Mac App Store to get your Mac ready to upgrade to Mac OS X Lion
• Resolve an issue that may cause Preview to unexpectedly quit
• Improve support for IPv6
• Improve VPN reliability
• Identify and remove known variants of Mac Defender

For detailed information on this update, please visit this website: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4561.
For information on the security content of this update, please visit: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222."

iPhone Caps Lock

The iOS operating system for iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch features a great touch keyboard. It predicts what you are typing on the fly, enabling quick auto-completion with the space bar, auto-capitalisation of the first word and built in spell checker. However, entering in capitals has always been a bit of a hassle. "Shift" "E" "Shift" "X" etc just to type EXAMPLE.

There is another way! The little known feature that you can enable a "Caps lock" option from the Keyboards settings. When typing you just double tap shift, it glows blue, and all your text IS TYPED IN CAPITALS.

To enable caps lock go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Enable Caps Lock.

Enable Caps Lock Option

Shift highlighted blue to show caps lock 

Apple News Roundup

Ok, today is very exciting as their are 3 (yes 3!) big Apple announcements! This blogpost gives you a brief overview and points you in the right direction for more info. In the next few days a more detailed analysis and opinion will be posted.

1. iOS 5
iOS is Apple's mobile operating system for the iPhone, iPod Touch and the iPad. iOS 4 is the current version for the latest devices. iOS 5 will bring over 200 new features including an upgraded camera control, better management of notifications and even sync over Wi-Fi. With Wi-Fi Sync you never have to plug your iPhone in to sync with iTunes again.

Courtesy of Apple

2. iCloud
iCloud replaces MobileMe for mail, contacts and calendars (you keep the same email address) but it brings with it so much more. With iCloud you can store all your documents, photos and music online and then access them from any of your iDevices or computer.


3. Mac OS X Lion
Lion will be the next version of Mac OS X and you will need the App Store (included in Snow Leopard) to download it. In the US it will cost $29.99 - which is a bargain. The new OS will include support for full screen apps (it's about time) and an Auto save function which is similar to Time Machine.

More details and analysis coming soon! For more information on any of these announcements, check out www.apple.com.

iOS 4.3

Apple have released iOS 4.3 for the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPod Touch (3rd & 4th generation), iPad & iPad 2. Note that iPhone 3G has been dropped from the updates now, this leaves iPhone 3G owners a bit put out as their software seems increasingly slow and buggy since updating to iOS 4. The new update includes better AirPlay options, iTunes Home Sharing and Personal Hotspot.

iTunes Home Sharing lets you listen to content from your iTunes library anywhere around the house through the Wi-Fi connection on your device, similar to streaming on an Apple TV.

Personal Hotpost is similar to the existing Internet Tethering option only it allows the sharing to happen over Wi-Fi and to up to 5 devices in total (3 through the Wi-Fi connection).

iOS 4.3 also offers a significant boost in speed for javascript handling on these mobile devices.

For more information: http://www.apple.com/ios/

Testing Chromium OS

Google's Operating System is highly anticipated by the computing industry. The integration with your Google Account, 'instant on' internet access and 'no-fuss' computing promises a new age for netbooks. The OS is actually a product of the Chromium Project, the open source project behind Google's web browser Google Chrome. Once complete Google reckon boot time will be around 7 seconds. Chromium OS is completely different to the existing main stream operating systems, it stores no information locally and is entirely based on a webbrowser (Google Chrome to be precise).

Although it isn't officially out yet as a completed operating system it's source code is available (for free) to download. To then create a working distribution requires skill, time and effort. Fortunately there are several ways to download distributions of Chrome in it's current state of development. The easiest (and the method I used) is to run Parallels on an Intel powered Mac. From the File menu choose 'Download Chome OS' and your ready to start using it! I was very impressed with the automatic download and installation.

You can also download a build of Chrome OS called Flow from Hexxeh. You can install it using Parallels or VM Ware Fusion 3 on a Mac or with VirtualBox on Windows, Mac or Linux. I would imagine that you could also install this using Microsoft Virtual PC, but I've not tried it out.

Let me know your experiences testing Chromium OS using virtual machines on Twitter: @webwarpblog.

iPhone 3G & iOS4 Problems

Any iPhone 3G user who has updated to iOS4 has had to spend ages waiting for their phone to update it's firmware and in many cases leaving the user without app data such as contacts or Angry Birds levels. Thankfully these are retrieved with restore from latest backup. For iPhone 3GS users the process was fast, painless and made an improvement to their phones. With iOS 4 the 3GS is more snappy than before, although more susceptible to minor freezes. The extra functionality is great and brings the iPhone 3GS up to date with multitasking.

It seems now that Apple are aware of the problems on the iPhone 3G and iOS4. They are working to improve this in the next update. Until then 3G users will have to struggle with lagging text entry and painfully slow app opening when their phones worked perfectly before! Many websites advise that iPhone 3G users stick with iOS 3.

It's widely rumoured that iOS 4.1 will address these issues on the iPhone 3G so lets hope it's out soon. Many iPhone 3G users feel like they have been forced to upgrade to the 3GS or iPhone 4 from this operating software update.

iOS 4 Available

Apple iOS 4 is now available to download from iTunes. It updates the Operating system on iPhones, iPod Touches and the iPad. The Apple website will take you through which features suit your device. As a quick review all I can say is "wow!".

I love the new features. Apple have added functionality where required, it is just a little better everywhere. It's the little things which make the difference everytime you pick up your phone. For example there is now a spellchecker inbuilt into the keyboard. And speaking of keyboards... my favourite feature has to be the support for Bluetooth keyboards!

Google Chrome OS Video

Just a quick video for you to share with your friends and family about Google Chrome OS. It's coming, and when it gets here it will be a big player in the computer market. Netbooks with Google Chrome OS will be able to get you online as quickly as your smart phone does today. With Google Chrome OS ALL your information is web based, so anything you do on Google Chrome OS can be retrieved, edited and added to from any other computer connected to the internet.

iPhone OS 4

Apple iPhone OS 4 has been announced in Apples headquarters in California. Currently iPhone users are running OS 3 which included enhancements such as multimedia messaging (MMS) and cut, copy, paste facilities. The new software will bring over 100 new features. Some small changes which will only affect certain types of users, such as multiple Microsoft Exchange Account support and other features will affect all users. The OS 4 upgrade will be available for the iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch 3^rdGen. For iPhone 3G users the upgrade is available but will not include multitasking.

The main features are going to be:

Multitasking

Folder’s for Apps

Bluetooth Keyboard support

iBooks app

Gaming Centre (Xbox Live style multiplayer)

The update will be available in Summer 2010 for the iPhone and Autumn 2010 for iPad. 

iPhone running Windows 95

Jailbroken iPhones with access to Cydia can actually install and run Windows 95! This technological feat is shown in many YouTube videos but many of them could be VNC's? This one looks genuine with Windows 95 running in both the iPhone Simulator on a MacBook and an iPhone.

Apple Mac OS X Snow Leopard

Apple Mac OS X Snow Leopard is out this Friday 28th August 2009. It costs $29 or £25 in the UK. You can also get a family pack for up to 5 Mac's. The whole operating system has under gone a subtle redesign with improvements in all areas to make for a quicker, slicker and more productive computing experience. Even simple things like start up and shut down have been improved to reduce waiting times. MacBook and MacBook Pro trackpads that allow two finger gesturing will now allow up to four finger gestures. Snow Leopard also gives you up to 7GB of space back due to it's smaller footprint than it's predecessor Leopard. Leopard gave us over 300 new features, but Snow Leopard improves them to iron out problems and increase productivity. For more information see Apple.

Picture credit: www.apple.com

Symbian open beta to rival Apple's App Store

"Horizon" will be an app store rival from Symbian (The OS of choice for most Nokia smartphones)according to the BBC News website. Developers can sign up now to work on their mobile apps. Developers can sign up here.

Google Announce Chrome Operating System

Google have announced on their blog (Click Here) that they are developing an OS dubbed Google Chrome OS. It isn't the first time Google have ventured into the world of the operating system. Google Android is an OS for smart phones. Currently available in the UK with the T-Mobile G1. But this new Chrome OS will be designed to run on netbooks at first and later PC's. The mantra is for a simple, safe and secure OS that is easy to use and won't be hassled by viruses targeted at Microsoft Windows PC's. This is an ambitious project as Microsoft are huge players in producing Operating Systems such as the soon coming Windows 7 and they have 96% market share of the Netbook market which is the first for Chrome OS to tackle (According to BBC News). This OS is being built on the success of Google Chrome the web browser which is currently used by 30 million people according to Google. Even Internet Explorer users often install the Google Toolbar to make their browser better for searching, despite the inclusion of a Safari style search bar in later versions of IE (7 & 8). For more in depth details of the project check out Googles blogpost here.

Windows 7 Versions

Microsoft have published on their website a list of the Windows 7 versions and what each of them contain ahead of it's launch later this year. Unlike Windows Vista, Windows 7 releases build on the feature set of the version below. This will be a great relief to users who may want a combination of 'business' and 'home' features without forking out for the Ultimate version. Here is a link to the versions page

Windows 7 starter will also be available for netbooks and underpowered notebooks/laptops.

Microsoft's new set of 3 versions of Windows 7 (Home Premium, Business & Ultimate) and Windows 7 Starter are yet to rival the simplicity of selecting an appropriate OS for a Mac as there is only Mac OS X Leopard (coming later this year Mac OS X Snow Leopard).

Apple announce OS X Snow Leopard & iPhone 3GS

Apple have announced that the next version of their operating system, OS X, will be released in September as OS X Snow Leopard. It's basically better in every way from OS X Leopard. In the US you will be able to upgrade from $29!

Apple also unveiled new hardware for the iPhone: iPhone 3GS. The S has a better camera, although no flash, and 2x quicker hardware. The new iPhone OS 3.0 will be available from June 17th.

For more information see www.apple.com

WWDC09 Kicks off

WWDC09 - Apple's World Wide Developer Connection Conference 2009 starts today and runs until Friday. Mac rumour sites suggest iPhone hardware updates. From the developer special event a few months ago we know that iPhone OS 3.0 will be unveiled complete with new apps that utilise it's new features. We will keep you update with ground breaking annoucments here at www.webwarp.co.uk.
For information click here for the WWDC09 website.