Tag: Beta
Internet Explorer 8 release candidate now available
Internet Explorer’s been in beta for a while now – nearly six months – so it’s nice to see that it’s finally made its way into a release candidate form. If you’re bored of the Windows 7 beta already, then why not give it a spin?
Since we last reported on it, the ‘compatibility mode’ has become automatic – switching whenever the IE8 engine can’t render a page properly, rather than having to be triggered on demand. There’s also built-in clickjacking prevention, and Microsoft has updated the InPrivate (porn) mode and the filtering system.
Microsoft extends availability of Windows 7 beta
Did you have trouble picking up the Windows 7 beta over the weekend? I sure did. I didn’t manage to get my hands on it till last night, when I finally got it burnt to DVD and installed on a spare laptop.
In light of the massive demand, Microsoft has wisely decided to drop the 2.5 million downloads limit, and is instead letting you download it as many times as you want within the next two weeks – until the 24th January. Every time you download, you’ll be given a CD key.
As a result of not getting my hands on the OS till last night, I’m still formulating my first thoughts. So far, though, I like what I’ve seen very much. It’s very responsive, and usable. It seems to fix almost everything people didn’t like about Vista and improve a bunch of other features, too. Full thoughts later in the week.
Get Windows 7 (via Lifehacker)
Related posts: Windows 7 public beta available NOW | Windows 7 hits public beta on Friday – here’s how to give it a try
HOW-TO: Tweak Chrome to get the newest features early
Odds-are, if you’re reading this, then you’re the sort of person who likes to call themselves an ‘early adopter’. It’s highly possible, then, that you might be using Google’s super-fast Chrome browser, and if you are, then you might be interested in finding out how to subscribe to Google’s ‘Beta’ channel for Chrome updates, or perhaps even the highly-unstable ‘Developer’ channel.
Basically, there are three channels – a ‘Stable’ one, for the general public. A ‘Beta’ one for interested parties, and a ‘Developer’ one, for those of you who like to be on the bleeding edge. It’s very easy to switch – just download a little program (found here) and click the appropriate box. You don’t even seem to need to restart the browser.
I’ve just subscribed to the ‘Beta’ channel. So far, it hasn’t crashed. Give it a try and let us know your experiences in the comments below.
Chrome Dev Channel (via Chromium)
Related posts: Happy Birthday, Google Chrome – 1.0 today | OPINION: Still searching for reasons to switch to Google Chrome
CES 2009: Windows 7 hits public beta on Friday – here's how to give it a try
As of this Friday – the 9th January, Microsoft is going to release a beta version of its new operating system – Windows 7 – to the first 2.5 million people to download it. The new OS is eagerly anticipated, which Microsoft must be pleased about, given that Vista has been a PR disaster.
Windows 7 promises a tonne of improvements to Windows’ basic functionality. It’s quicker, less bloated and more secure than Windows Vista – which suffered from bloat and compatibility issues on release. Although it’s dramatically improved since, many users are refusing to upgrade from XP, and Microsoft continues to trickle users away to OS X.
Merry Christmas extremely bored men – Windows 7 beta hits the torrent sites
If you haven’t already had ENOUGH of BLOODY WINDOWS after having Vista forced down your throat and onto your hard drive, you may now start worrying about driver incompatibilities anew – Windows 7 has been leaked.
The Beta 1 build of the next MS OS, which has been reviewed very favourably by a man here and is scheduled for a much wider beta test early next year – has popped up on Bittorrent for downloading. A good 20,000 or so users are currently nicking Windows 7 off Mininova, with a similar number taking it just because it’s there and is a nice thing to have from The Bay.
Those links are for information purposes only, by the way…
Nokia expands Ovi beta – adds 12 languages, tweaks sign-ups and promises web mail portal
It’s pretty obvious to anyone who’s ever tried to set up a POP3 email account on a mobile phone that there’s a GAPING HOLE in the market for a simple, decent mobile email service that (a) works and (b) your dad can set up on his own without having to spend five hours on the phone to Nokia, Carphone Warehouse and, inevitably, you.
It’s a gap Nokia hopes its Mail on Ovi mobile service will ably fill. The Ovi mail beta has been expanded to include 12 languages, with the simple Series 40 app allowing mobile users from those 12 bits of the world to set up new Ovi email accounts directly on their handsets…
Happy Birthday, Google Chrome – 1.0 today
The browser the world didn’t demand has come out of beta today, with Google releasing a “1.0” version of its Chrome web toy for a largely disinterested world to not bother with once again.
You’re probably reading this in Firefox or Internet Explorer, so it won’t mean much, but the few Chrome users out there will be pleased to know that Google reckons Chrome is now less buggier, up to 1.5 times faster at loading Java…
Skype 4.0 beta 2 is out – five reasons why you should try it
Everyone’s favourite voice-over-IP application, Skype, released a beta version of its new application on Wednesday. It’s a near complete redesign from the ground up. It’s quite different, but I’ve been using it a few days, and I think it’s a very strong improvement on the previous version. Here’s why you should give it a shot…
Try out Photobox Super Photos exclusively on Tech Digest!
We covered Photobox’s cool new Facebook photo-syncing-and-printing application a couple of weeks ago, and promised you access to the beta as soon as it’s available. I’m happy to say that we’ve got that access for you right now, so you too can put Editor Dan’s grinning face onto a makeup bag…
Opera release 9.6 beta
Gosh, everyone’s going browser-mad lately. First IE8, then Chrome, now Opera are releasing a new version. Opera, of course, is the fourth largest browser out there, after IE, Firefox, Safari, and Safari. It has a small, but passionate, fanbase, which includes 2.6% of Tech Digest readers…
