Firefox gets a makeover and introduces user accounts

Mozilla has released a new stable version of its Firefox browser which adopts the Australis user interface.The friction within the Mozilla board did not alter the pace of development and the new Firefox is available for download .

Initially expected for Firefox 24, the Australis interface has now officially appeared on the browser. It is characterized by less angular tabs and better display.
 

Much like Chrome, we could now find the options menu to the right of the address bar. It provides access to preferences, extensions, options or full screen mode.

Firefox 29 also features a new synchronization module. More specifically, it will be easier to ensure the transfer of data by creating a user account rather than entering a security key. For each account, it will be possible to retrieve bookmarks, add- ons, passwords, browsing history or preferences and tabs.

For those of you who are nostalgic, it is possible to reload the old UI by downloading this extension: old-firefox

"The bird is back"

After the withdrawal of the application, many developers have tried to ride the success of Flappy Bird by creating clones. But the question we've all asked is: how can someone give up $ 50,000 a day like this? 

After all, it all might be a marketing strategy since the author announced its return on all smartphones and tablets on YouTube. There are no pictures of the game yet, just a dove and the famous pipes!


 

The author of the game no longer communicates on his Twitter account and there is no way to verify if he's the one who posted it.
So, for the moment, we can only assume that the withdrawal of the application was for marketing purposes. 

Spying on a computer keystrokes with an iPhone

Researches have shown that sensors found in our smartphones can sometimes be misused: as an example some researchers used the built-in iPhone 4 accelerometer to build an app that capture keystrokes.
  

The idea is simple: a smartphone is placed next to the keyboard and the accelerometer is capable of recording the vibrations each time you hit a key.  The app is then able to determine the position of each button according to the vibration.  

The program is not really able to detect every keystroke, it simply divides the keyboard into several areas: the accelerometer can actually detect roughly if the pressed key is on the top left, top right, bottom left or bottom right of the keyboard. Next, an analysis is performed in overlapping areas with a dictionary to try to reconstruct words.

When the keyboard type is known (QWERTY, AZERTY, etc..) and the language used is identified, the recognition rate of the text is quite high, with a success rate between 70 and 80% . Obviously there are some problems with recognition, especially when a one letter word is used, but the results are interesting.
 

The type of the used smartphone has also an influence: an iPhone 3GS, which uses a conventional accelerometer is unusable, while an iPhone 4 which couples the accelerometer to a gyroscope is effective. Overall, any modern smartphone used in an environment free from excessive vibration should succeed to do the same work.

Although this might sound innovative and fun, but the goals of the study were to show that the monitoring method are not always obvious to detect, and to raise awareness about using technology in a responsible and ethical way, while appreciating and embracing your privacy and respecting the others'.

Pebble Smart Watches : pre-orders exceeded 275,000 units

The pre-orders of Pebble smartwatch, had surpassed the 275,000 pre-orders, in addition to having received nearly 1 million app downloads to date. Of the 275,000 pre-orders, about 85,000 of them were received during its Kick starter campaign. Eric Migicovsky, CEO of Pebble said: "This is great news for users and for developers. More Pebble = a bigger market and more demand for Pebble watchapps. With the objective to see Pebbles appear on many wrists as possible, our team is constantly working to improve the quality of this product and to increase its capacity. Every day thousands of new Pebbles are produced. "  

A security vulnerability affecting 99% of Android devices

The security problem affecting 99% of Android devices has been fixed by Google. And now it's up to manufacturers to deploy the update.

Last week, the security editor Bluebox revealed a security flaw affecting 99% of Android devices and indeed relevant terminals in circulation for four years, since the 1.6 version of Android, or about 900 million devices. This flaw allows a malicious user to modify the installation file an application without changing the signature and insert malware.

"The company has not seen any evidence to support use of the fault on Google Play or other app stores through (their) security scanning tools."  
According to Google's communications manager Gina Scigliano.

Anyway Google confirmed that hey have corrected this vulnerability and sent the patch to its partners.On Samsung, for example, it would already be deployed. Other OEMs task provide a quick update, including the oldest terminals.

Source: ZDnet

Yelp allows you to avoid hipsters in your city

Do you find the sight of a hipster in her/his tight slims "fun"? Tired of seeing them everywhere you go? Yelp will help you avoid using a heat map!
 

First, let us return to what Yelp is. It is a service of research and popular opinion in the United States who bought Qype last year for 50 million dollars.

Today a new feature appeared taking the form of a world  heat map that reveals hot spots with the most popular terms used on Yelp in a selected city (including the term "hipster ", obviously). We can therefore find out where the largest concentration of bar or otherwise avoid tourist areas and hipsters.

More android apps

Test the Google Glasses.... on your phone!

You want to try saying "Ok Glass" and see what happens? It is possible thanks to DEV and Xenologer that developed some applications for it!

For this you just need to download the following applications:

     Home: http://zhuowei.github.io/Xenologer/glasshome-modded.apk
     Camera: http://zhuowei.github.io/Xenologer/glasscamera-modded.apk
     Maps: http://zhuowei.github.io/Xenologer/glassmaps-modded.apk
     Hangouts (only works with Android 4.2 devices) http://zhuowei.github.io/Xenologer/glasshangouts-modded.apk

The Home Glass works as a alternative launcher.

Even though, it is limited (just the camera and navigation), the application responds very well to the voice and we cannot but wonder why there are not more applications to trigger the device by voice ... Because it seems to works very well.

A smart ball for the next football season!

Technology in sport mainly revolves around one aspect, optimizing performance. Sometimes so obscure and sometimes in a rather simple way. Adidas is an excellent example with its miCoach device. They persist and sign with a new ultra-connected football.

The new Adidas smart ball comes with its own application and show you a myriad of information.The speed of the ball, the number of rotations, the distance, and  the direction, to name a few.

All these movements are examined under a microscope with a variety of sensors, the official specs have not yet been disclosed. But what we're sure of is, that it is able to transmit these information in real-time.

Adidas has been working on such products for a long time, and FIFA has selected one of these devices in 2014. Therefor, the amount of data at the next football season will be ridiculously large.



Source : Engadget.

BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) will be available on Android and iOS

Yesterday, at a conference held in Orlnado, BlackBerry has announced that its instant messaging, BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), would arrive soon on the Android and iOS smartphones.

Until now reserved for BlackBerry, BBM was one of the main strengths of the brand. It allowed to communicate between BlackBerry devices, receive acknowledgments and reading, sharing media files, start discussions or spend several videos. As complete as it is, the system has gradually been overtaken by other companies offering the same kind of service as iMessage on iPhone and most importantly, other services compatible with multiple operating systems like WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger.
 

From the Blackberry conference on Tuesday 15/05/2013 in Orlando

To revive its messaging service, the Canadian company has decided to make BBM available on Android to version 4.0 and higer and iOS to version 6 and higher. 
   
"Different applications should be available this summer on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. We'll begin with messaging and groups, and later we will bring voice, screen sharing and other services" - Thorsten Heins, CEO of BlackBerry.
 

Making the service available to many other platforms might sound like a good idea but it also presents some disadvantages. First, you might agree with me that this move is a bit late, after Whatsapp and Facebook messenger dominated the market and it would be hard for someone to choose the BBM service over any of those mentioned, and secondly, according to a poll on the Blackberry blog :What Do You Do on Your BlackBerry Smartphone? 30% of 8000 voters chose the instant messaging service and 20% went for social networking, and as well know some people buy Blackberry just to profit of it's famous BBM.
So we cannot but wonder: is making the BBM service available on other platforms going to give Blackberry users the push to finally quit using Blackberry devices and switch to Samsung, HTC or Apple?

Make every screen 3D-compatible with a simple plastic film

A team of researchers from Temasek Polytechnic and the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) has developed a new screen filter. It's not only a protector, but this filter allows you to view in 3D format without recourse to the famous glasses.

This plastic filter has been called revolutionary. Install it, simply to see with the naked eye 3D content on the screen of a phone. In fact, this screen protector is designed from the nanoimprint technology specially developed for this purpose. Boasting a thickness of less than 0.1 mm, this innovative accessory enables viewing in landscape and portrait mode. Meanwhile, the team is developing applications for iOS and Androidfor users to read 3D content. Even 2D images can be converted into 3D with a compatible application. Game developers will also have their share with the software development kit that transforms games into 3D.
 

5 privacy issues you probably didn't know about

1. Apple's IPhone is secretly tracking your movements and storing your data, and there is nothing you can do to stop it. Learn more..
2. Facebook's app automatically tries to activate your GPS whenever it is launched. There's no setting or option to disable this.
3. Gmail reads your email. Google never said that it  reads our mail, however, it publicly acknowledges that it "processes personal information" via cookies and on its servers, so it can provide "our products and services to users," as well as to keep its service running well. Learn more..
4. Facebook Home: Facebook latest "innovation", is trying to be the gateway to your virtual world. It's a layer between the OS and the apps, it is the gateway to any data exchange. Which means, that Facebook will possess every bit of data passing through. The problem is that Facebook is going to use all this data not to improve our lives but to target better marketing and advertising messages at us.
5. Over than 24% of online time is spent on social networks. And a major social network site, according to Neilsen, will experience one major breach, which will expose a terrific amount of personal data.

10 Free Android apps

To keep up with the description of this blog that imply that it covers news, tutorials and "apps", I thought of sharing ten Android applications I use or I have used.

Wheres My Droid. A find-your-phone app, it can make the phone ring so you can find it in the house. Or you can check Google Maps for its exact coordinates.

PhotoWonder. This app lets you edit photos on your mobile device.

Speedtest.net. Test Internet speeds with one easy tap to connect and test.

Flipboard. Create your own personalized news magazine. Select topics you are interested in, and Flipboard displays a beautiful news magazine for your phone or tablet featuring only those topics.

EverNote. Remember anything you need to remember across all devices. Store and organize reminders from all over the web.

Astro File Manager/Browser. This app keeps you connected with all the things you use in the cloud. Features include file management, cloud storage, Android file browser, file and/or app backup, image and text viewers, networking, Bluetooth, SFTP, Zip/ Tar, downloader, thumbnails, search files, application manager, task manager, attachments and more.

SmartActions. This intuitive app learns how you use your phone depending on where you are, and it automatically changes the phone to fit your environment and needs while there.

Poynt. Dinner? Movies? Friends? Shopping? Get Poynt and get there. The tiled dashboard allows you to easily tap what you need so the app can then point you to where you want to be.

Kakao Talk. Make free calls and send free messages, including group calls and group chats

Captain Oil Altough I found their Super Ninjas a bit uncreative, this new Puzzle/Adventure is a major time killer. It challenges the user to find the right angle and speed to shoot his ball and free the trapped Oileys. 


P.S: The fact that the title of this post doesn't include the words "top", "amazing", "best", and "great" doesn't make the apps above any less cooler.

Facebook Home, is it really an innovation?

Facebook presented Thursday night, its innovations related to Android. As planned, a new smartphone, HTC First, with the default application, Facebook Home, were announced.
Which was anticipated in a previous post on the platform : Facebook mobile, how real is it?

The surprise has not been a great one, since expectations were much higher, but it was an opportunity to finally lift the suspense.  
At the premises of Facebook in Menlo Park, Mark Zuckerberg introduced the newest social network in mobility: Facebook Home, an Android application with the same principle of Nova Launcher, Go Launcher or Smart. In other words, it is an application that can replace the Home screen and application menu of android smartphone.

As we see the Facebook Home integration is between the OS and the apps menu.

 

The new home screen, Coverflow, can only have access to Facebook friends publications.You can easily comment or like one of these publications using the buttons provided. Moreover, thanks to Facebook Home, Facebook Messenger application and received SMS messages will now appear superimposed on the screen with the profile picture of the contact that we wrote. Finally, notifications are displayed directly superimposed over Coverflow.

However, these innovations will not bypass the classic features of Android. Other applications remain accessible by sliding your finger from the screen bottom to the top. It will only be possible to add widgets or shortcuts on the home screen reserved for publications.  

Facebook Home will be available as an application on 12 April, downloadable directly from the Google Play Store. Not all smartphones are compatible yet, but as promised Facebook application will be updated each month, particularly to support more devices. For the tablet version of the application, it will need to wait "a few months".

HTC First, the first smartphone integrating Facebook Facebook Home by default works simpler by choosing to use the default Home rather than the typical desktop by pressing the home button, Facebook is also working with manufacturers to integrate Home by default in smartphones. If Samsung and Sony already have projects, the Taiwanese HTC which will launch on April 12 with the First HTC which will be marketed in the U.S. operator AT & T. It will be compatible with AT & T's 4G LTE and is available in cyan, red, black or white, will sport a 4.3-inch screen, run on Android 4.1 and is equipped with a Snapdragon processor double heart 400.

Finally, all I can say that the Facebook Home is nothing but another disappointment, for it's leak of creativity and innovation. And sadly, confirms the fact that big companies are so comfortable, they have no more interest into presenting more creative gadgets to the brainwashed mass. And after so many disappointments this year, I think we should all be less excited about the Motorola X phone.

Twitter unveils new interactions within your tweets

An event took place yesterday in the Twitter HQ in San Francisco, where the press was simply not invited. Twitter seeking to hold a "head to head" with developers had unveiled their new interactions with which they were able to stay up to the game.  

The first announcement will interest mobile application developers. In fact, you may have heard of Twitter Cards (or extended tweets), which is the feature that will show an image, a photo, a video or an article summary directly from the Twitter.com interface. Its use could become widespread in the near future with names like Flickr, Path, Foursquare and Etsy who had the privilege to incorporate a little early. Simply put, if a person shares a Flickr photo on Twitter, you will be able to view the photo directly following the updates on your mobile application.  
If you have Flickr app on your phone, a link at the bottom offers you to see the photo in the application, and if you don't, you will be prompted to go and download it.  
Twitter could so quickly become a new download source for application developers. 

New Cards Twitter adds some new options for cards with the full list here:
Summary Card: information for sites that wish to put the title of an article, the lead-in, a small image and logo of the media.Photo Card: to include one photograph in a tweet.
Card Gallery:  to include up to 4 photos in one tweetApp Card: to transform iTunes links and Google Play in descriptive card applicationCard Player: to include a video in a tweetProduct Card: To add a product to an online e-commerce site(as with the example Etsy)
The Twitter Cards are good news for Twitter, which will make it more complete flow and therefore more interesting AND good news for developers who are going to benefit from it to increase their traffic, download applications, or sell products.

A new Facebook smartphone?

"Come and see our new home on Android". The news came yesterday, Facebook has invited the press to an event on April 4 to find out about the new home of Facebook on Android. A theme somewhat mysterious but simulates the famous rumors of a Facebook smartphone. 

Last year already, there has been talks of  Facebook developing its own smartphone, an idea that has always been rejected by the most popular social network in the world. Some HTC smartphones had a previous collaboration experience with Facebook, like ChaCha and Salsa, who tried take advantage of a better integration by dedicating a new button.



HTC and a revamped OS menu! 
The Taiwanese manufacturer has once again in the highlights (and I know this because it isn't very often that the latest five posts on your blog are labeled HTC) and should take care of the hardware part. UnwiredView evoked early this March a smartphone with a dual-core processor at 1.5 GHz, a 4.3-inch 720p screen, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of non-expandable, a 5 Megapixel camera on the back and 1 , 6 megapixels for the front. 
The software is Android Jelly Bean 4.1.2  but according to TechCrunch, the latter embark an "overlay" in the image of "Sense" on the HTC smartphones running under Android.
Finally, if one believes 9to5google a Facebook / HTC ad campaign is ready in California.  
A modified version which would put the social network in advance, propose its own App Center and has every interest to capitalize on any mobile at any time since the social network is longer available on smartphone than on PC.


The application also keeps Messenger to enrich new coming today compete SMS and calls with VoIP. Finally remember this tweet from Bloomberg from the summer of 2012, that mid-2013 will output a Facebook smartphone in partnership with HTC. 


Hard to believe today, it is a mere rumor!

Whatsapp and Skype to be blocked in KSA?

Online communications services such as Skype and WhatsApp may be blocked in Saudi Arabia if they do not provide the means to monitor their content, declared today, sources in the telecommunications industry.

"Telecommunications companies were asked by the authorities to come up with the operators of these platforms applications to an agreement to monitor the content," said a source regulator in the Saudi Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC).

 


"The CITC has been given a one-week period, which ends on Saturday, to the telecommunications companies to get a response regarding content monitoring" an official of the Saudi Telecommunication Co . (STC), one of the three operators of the country, stated.

After this time, the CITC may block the popular WhatsApp and Skype applications for smartphones and internet telephony, he continued.

In addition to STC, Saudi Arabia has two other operators, Mobily and Zain and according to an industry source, these are companies that have asked the CITC to take action against these online communication services under the claim of unfair competing.

We have to mention that in the United Arab Emirates,most applications like Skype are blocked by the regulator of the country, apparently to protect the commercial interests of the two local operators Etisalat and Du.

Turn any website into a 3D Maze with Google

The new Chrome "Maze" from Google is just amazing. It literally turns any website into a 3D maze, whose handle is none other than your smartphone.
To start the game and drop your productivity at the lowest level, here's how:

• Make sure you have a PC or Mac with the Chrome browser available.Take your smartphone (Android 4.0 or iPhone with Chrome) in hand.
• Login to chrome.com / maze on your computer.
• Click "start" (then "skip intro" if you're in a hurry).
• Make sure the website address is 6 digits at the end (as chrome.com/maze/123456).
• Enter the address in your Chrome browser on mobile/ connect with tab sync/ scan a QR bar code.
• Choose a site as your playground.
•  Play with your smartphone or with the keyboard (it's easier) and don't forget to eat your dinner.
  
  

 

And voila! WebGL offers a new game canon.

Galaxy S4 vs. HTC One

Two great Android smartphones were presented recently this year, the HTC One and the Galaxy S4 which was featured on this blog by a full review.
 
Waiting for their release , we can already engage in a face to face comparison. Technology, material, design and features, what are their strengths, their weaknesses and which stands out most competition?
Galaxy S4 or HTC One.

2013 technique looks like a turning point in the world of mobile telephony. Galaxy S4 was highly anticipated and proved technically on the same level as its competitors. While each of the smartphones we compare today is one of the best, none is really more powerful than his competitor. There are a few small differences, but it is mainly at the level of functionality or technology that the differences become significant.

Design 

It's no secret that the first thing to attract you to a phone was and still is its look and design. Even before turning on a phone to discover its features or even his screen, it always starts with look and a touch. And HTC has showed that they made a real effort to appeal to users.
 
The HTC One presents an all-aluminum design with a slight bend on its back. You can feel an impression of quality with its pleasant finishes and its well studied grip. On the other hand, they might be regretting that this design has condemned battery access as well as a possible port of memory card. Two black dots for the HTC that could seriously handicap them if they did not give a good internal memory (up to 64 GB).

S4 Galaxy don't have such problem. Its look has not evolved since the previous model which was not recognized as the most beautiful of the smartphones. But then, it is the lightest, the finest, and most compact, but it is also the most "cheap". Its polycarbonate shell is not as strong as Samsung wanted us to believe. Fortunately, its slab glass Gorilla Glass 3 catches a little things by ensuring a good degree of robustness.

Ranking

Galaxy S4 before the HTC One under GeekBench 2 

 
 

Galaxy S4 behind the HTC One under AnTuTu 

So as we have seen, Geekbench 2 benchmark puts the S4 Galaxy in first position before the HTC One (3163 points against 2687), whereas AnTuTu showed the opposite. So yes, the HTC One earned a short head only (22446 points against 22678), but still in the first position. Briefly, it's difficult to disentangle the two smartphones, although it would seem logical that with a higher frequency for a same processor, the S4 Galaxy takes the first place. 
But let's keep away from any hasty conclusions, and wait until both smartphones are in action.
 
  

Picture and new technologies?

2013 will be the year of picture resolution, manufacturers are clear about it. Nokia with its technology Pure View and HTC with its Ultra Pixel are perfect examples.

Comparison of the size of the Ultra Pixel sensor and its competitors
 
Well Yes, it is here that HTC defeat the competitors. With a larger sensor and a lower pixel density, it captures more light and can therefore be more effective in the Dark environments. By most, thanks to its opening to f/2.0 (50% larger than that of the iPhone 5, 90% higher than the Galaxy S3, resulting in 300% brighter than the majority of smartphones) it is sensitive enough to overcome digital noise that taints many devices as soon as the light comes out. Finally and this is the icing on the cake, it has ultra responsive optical stabilizer which allows it to avoid blurred pictures in many situations. Indicatively there are stabilizers optical on the NPA and some Bridges.

For the photo part, HTC One takes thus advantage, through its Zoe application and its Ultra Pixel technology. We keep in mind that in terms of image definition remains less efficient than the S4 Galaxy.

 

Screens, precision and high definition

War of the screens has been a turf war between TV manufacturers for many years. It is therefore quickly spread to related devices such as smartphones and tablets. Thus, the 2013 trend was 5 inches and more slabs and the increase of pixel density. 
This round also goes to  HTC that tops the S4 Galaxy with a pixel density greater than that of the S4 Galaxy .
 
However, these feature is not enough to say that a screen is better than another. It should also consider the energy consumption, the display quality, contrast ratio and brightness. The victory is therefore not yet acquired.

At the moment, pending for the release both mobiles, I can only base my comparison on a general observation, the S4 Galaxy AMOled screens are known for their intensity of black but are less efficient in terms of brightness. Finally, coming to color level' s fidelity, it is known that Samsung has regular problems and Galaxy S4 is no exception. As we have seen recently, many critics have already prompted the manufacturer to correct this defect via a calibration free. It is possible that competitors take advantage of this point. But still the S4 is the only smartphone with AMOLED display for customizable calibration.

Battery life

at the time, it is impossible to answer the question of the autonomy of the HTC One and the S4 Galaxy. Galaxy S4 is the device with the larger battery (2600 mAh against approximately 2300 mAh for the other phone) and it has the same OS as the HTC One, only a bit faster. 
Difficult to say more, but  HTC One should worry a lot more than the S4 Galaxy  when it comes to battery life and performance.

In general nowadays, a smartphone's battery should last for 14 hours, a trend against which Google seeks to fight and which could distinguish it from others in the future Motorola XPhone.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is clear to you that designating a winner is not really possible because both smartphones have their strengths and its weaknesses. 
  
HTC One suffers from some hardware deficiencies such as lack of memory card and a non-removable battery, but makes up for it on the features with some surprising picture.

Equally, the Galaxy S4 is also very dense in terms of functionality and won also the neck through his many innovations such as Smart Pause, Gesture or even S Voice Air. However it is blamed for its aging and cheap design that suggest a limited robustness.

So it is a bit hard to say which is going to be more popular. Please, share with me your opinion and let me know which one you would choose?

How to download torrents from your workplace

If during your work hours, you skim the net looking for cool torrents, but you can not download from your workplace, here's a little trick.

The solution is very simple. All you have to do is to install the Phrozen Dropbox Torrent on your computer at home, then drag and drop it into your Dropbox folder (or any cloud storage service: Skydrive, Owncloud, FTP ... etc.,).

Phrozen DropBox Torrent detect new torrents from a remote location ( let's say the next day at work) and automatically start to download the associated content. And if you have good internet at work, hopefully, once you get home, your downloads will be completed.

Note that uTorrent also offers the option. And I'm sure there is a lot of other clients that might have the same option. On the other hand, you can find some web applications such as Transmission that also allow your remotely download torrents.

So you get it. There's a million way to get the same result, you just have to pick the application that suites you the most.
And I wish you the best of luck exploiting your employer's internet connection.