Tag: software
How to: Fix your parents' PC remotely with TeamViewer
Teamviewer did a fantastic job this morning when I used to it to help my Dad troubleshoot a network issue. Despite him living in a remote village in eastern France, I was able to quickly and securely view his desktop. If I’d wanted to, I’d have been able to conduct a presentation, transfer a file, or join a VPN.
All he needed to do was install a small program, and give me a userID and password. Seriously – if my Dad could manage it, then it can’t have been tricky. It’s free for non-commercial use, and very functional. I can’t recommend it enough.
Now all you need to know is how to actually fix the damn thing. For that, I recommend this guide from Lifehacker. Good luck, and don’t forget to set their homepage to Tech Digest when you’re done.
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Skype 4 for Windows now available
Skype has just announced “the most distinctive new release” of its communications software for Windows.
Version four claims to offer far better full screen video calling as well as optimising itself depending upon your PCs specifications. Those with at least a dual core processor, fast broadband connection and Skype-certified video webcam can get up to 30fps high quality video.
More importantly for many will be improved audio quality. Thanks to a new codec, there’s wideband audio quality but using 50% less bandwidth than in previous versions. There’s even super wideband audio for those with compatible headsets and fast broadband…
Fennec, aka Firefox Mobile, hits phones next week
There’s a lot of people out there, particularly users of Windows Mobile devices, waiting patiently for Firefox Mobile. As Microsoft continues to alienate its users by refusing to allow them to upgrade mobile IE without buying a new phone, a free, open source alternative’s going to look very attractive.
Well, if you’re in that camp, then you don’t have too long to wait. Internal Mozilla documentation suggests that Fennec should see an outing next week, initially on the HTC Touch Pro. There’s touchscreen and non-touchscreen versions, and it’s expected to appear on other Windows Mobile devices over the forthcoming months. I’m looking forward to an S60 version.
Fennec (via ShinyShiny)
Related posts: Mobile Internet Explorer 6 not available as an upgrade | Mozilla releases first alpha of Firefox for mobiles aka Fennec
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.
Video surfaces of the Android-based Dream G2
The good news is that the G2 seems to exist. I suppose someone could have installed Android on a random phone and added a Google logo to the back, but it seems like quite a lot of effort for a hoax. Unfortunately it matches the previous rumours in that it has no physical keyboard, relying instead on a stylus for input (eww).
Back on the bright side, though, Google Reader, Notebook, and Docs are all present. I’d kill for a decent RSS reader that syncs with a desktop or web-based reader on a mobile phone. Lastly, at about 0:48, check out the awesome green android charger! Omg, how cute is that!
(via AndroidGuys)
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Introducing the virus that farts at you, fool
Programming computer viruses must be a fairly mundane job at times, which is why I’m not surprised that some have decided to inject a bit of humour into their work.
According to customer calls to Panda Security, there are some new bits of infectious code becoming installed on PCs that either hurl insults — repeatedly calling the owner a fool — or else make squelching or farting noises.
One customer, who clearly has an extensive knowledge of what it sounds like when body parts are removed from foodstuffs, said that the noise was similar to “taking a foot out of jelly”…
CES 2009: Palm's new Web OS in detail
Previously known as “Nova”, Palm has just rechristened and launched its new OS “Web OS”. It’s an amazingly dreary name for a concept that could reshape how we use our mobile mobiles. The bottom line is that Palm is bending head-over-heels to make their platform easy for developers – so easy that they reckon anyone who knows HTML, CSS and XML will be able to write an app.
The UI is very iPhone-like. You flick the display to scroll around, and there’s various gestures that you can use, too. Everything’s managed with a ‘cards’ metaphor, where you see a deck that can be rotated with a finger and shuffled. The biggest feature, though, is something called “Synergy”.
iPhone 3G software SIM unlock demonstrated
Another step has been made towards unlocking the iPhone 3G so that you can use any SIM card in it. The “iPhone Dev Team” has developed a software tool that’ll unlock the device for you. They’re calling it “YellowSn0w”. The video above shows it in action – turning a locked phone into an unlocked one that accepts a T-Mobile SIM.
The tool’s due for release on Dec 31, so I advise you to spend the time between now and then desperately trying to get hold of an iPhone without signing up for a two-year O2 contract. Good luck with that.
Demo Video (via Gadget Lab)
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Skyfire is a very capable little mobile internet browser
Those among you who access the web on your mobile device will know the value of a good internet browsing application. Most standard phone browsers (iPhone excepted) are rubbish at rendering the web on a tiny screen. I’m secretly quite a fan of the bog-standard N95 browser, but if I wasn’t, then I’d try Skyfire, which launched today.
It’s simple enough – just an application which you download and install on your S60 phone, but then it offers a very ‘full’ browsing experience, which renders pages like they would on a PC and lets you zoom in and out of them. It’s powerful, though – it’ll happily render Flash, Silverlight, Ajax and Java.
Songbird hits version 1.0
Plenty of GOOD NEWS this morning in the world of digital music. First Amazon MP3 launches in the UK, and now awesome media player Songbird hits version 1.0.
Songbird, as I’ve said before, is one of my favourite music clients. Although it’s currently being neglected in favour of Spotify, it remains my player of choice for actual MP3 files. Why? Because it’s so wonderfully intuitive and feature-packed, as well as being open-source.
The new version brings massive performance improvements, loads of UI tweaks, better search and sorting, and better ability to cope with big libraries (full of completely legally-acquired MP3s, I’m sure). If you’re still using iTunes to play music, then I strongly recommend you give this a try. You won’t be disappointed.
Related posts: 5 good reasons to try Songbird | Try Spotify, too
