Google Chrome 4.0 Includes Bookmark Sync

Posted by Dan Hughes Categories: Google, Internet, Software, Videos

Google announced Monday that its Chrome browser’s 4th version has gone Beta.  Most important feature in my eyes: Bookmark syncing.

Back when I was an Firefox fanboy, Delicious’ method of syncing bookmarks was magic to me, and was the epitome of the internet experience.  When Chrome was released, its speed sang to me, and I willingly sacrificed my bookmark sync to Chrome’s seductive quickload times.  Now, Google makes everything magical again as Google announced Monday that its Chrome browser’s 4th version has gone Beta, including with it Bookmark Sync.

According to the announcement, XMPP is used to keep your browser in touch with your Google Account, which will keep track and sync down your bookmarks.

In a side note: Google also claims to have increased performance by a brain-spanking 30%!

Read More | Google Chrome Blog

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Video: Google Maps Navigation feature walkthrough

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Google, GPS, Handhelds, Software

One of the nicest features in Android 2.0 is Google Maps Navigation. In a nutshell, it’s Google Maps with turn-by-turn GPS navigation, and voice guidance. Google has put together a video that introduces Google Maps Navigation, which we’ve embedded above, but there are some of the features that stand out to us:

• Live traffic: Since Google Maps can show you traffic info, it’s obviously built-in to Google Maps Navigation, at no extra cost.
• Routes always current: When you search for directions, Google Maps Navigation searches the cloud, and gives you the best current route based on the most recent data
• Layers: You can overlay different types on data over your maps, like restaurants, gas stations, and more.
• Live street view: This is just awesome. You can use the Google Street View feature to get a fantastic visual of your surroundings while driving
• FREE!: Google Maps Navigation is free. That includes the GPS, the live traffic data, and the always updated maps. That is a big deal.

The first handset to ship with Android 2.0, and thusly Google Maps Navigation, will be the Motorola Droid.

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Video: A look at Android 2.0

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Software, Videos

Google has released a video that shows off all the new Android 2.0 features. Of course, Android 2.0 is what powers the Motorola Droid. A few of the highlights:

• Android 2.0 can pull in contacts from multiple sources, and supports two-way syncing. There is a new feature called Quick Contact, that shows you just about every way you can possibly contact someone when you tap their user icon.
• Apps will now be able to turn on Bluetooth to set up connections with other devices
• Android 2.0 supports multiple screen resolutions. In the video, we see an application running at 800x480 and 854x480, as an example

Definitely some good stuff here. Color us excited.

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Windows 7 launch imminent! Order your copy now for delivery tomorrow

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Hot Deals, Microsoft, PC / Laptop, Software

It’s the eve of the Windows 7 launch, and if you haven’t heard, it’s pretty great. So great, in fact, that this is the first version of Windows that we are recommending people upgrade to on day one. We are that impressed. In a nutshell, Windows 7 is what Vista should have been back in 2007.

You can order Windows 7 today from Amazon, and they’ll have it on your doorstep tomorrow:

• Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade
• Windows 7 Professional Upgrade
• Windows 7 Ultimate Upgrade

You can purchase the upgrade version of WIndows 7 if you are currently running Windows XP or Windows Vista. Anything earlier, and you’ll need to buy the full version.

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Major Snow Leopard bug causing massive data loss

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: PC / Laptop, Software

All you Snow Leopard users, take heed: if you have the Guest account enabled, you’ll wanna remove it until Apple fixes the latest bug that’s been found, if you don’t want to lose your data. In a nutshell, what’s happening is that if you attempt to log into the Guest account, and the system hangs, it could lead to mass deletion of all user files on the primary account. That means everything. So you reboot to clear out the frozen system, log in to the main account, and files have vanished. Yeah, that’s pretty bad, and worse, Apple has yet to acknowledge it and issue any sort of statement to users on how to avoid this until they release a patch.

To be safe, we recommend simply disabling the Guest account on all your Macs that happen to be running Snow Leopard until a fix is released. Seriously, better safe than sorry.

Read More | Neowin

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iPhone OS 3.1.2 now available

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Cell Phones, Handhelds, Software

Apple has just released iPhone OS 3.1.2. According to Apple, the update contains bug fixes and improvements, including:

• Resolves sporadic issue that may cause an iPhone to not wake from sleep
• Fixes an issue that may interrupt cell network services until the phone is hard-rebooted
• Fixes a big that would cause an occasional crash during video streaming

If you’ve got an iPhone, iPhone 3G, or iPhone 3GS, go ahead and update. Of course, if you are jailbroken, you’ll want to wait until a jailbreak tool for 3.1.2 is available.

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Palm webOS 1.2 now available

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Handhelds, Software

Hey, all you Palm Pre owners out there, it’s update time, as webOS 1.2 has just been released. What’s new in the software? Quite a bit, according to Palm:

For starters, we’ve beefed up Palm Synergy to include LinkedIn contact syncing. Info from LinkedIn profiles (like job titles) will now appear in your Palm Pre contacts. The new update also facilitates links across more different flavors of IM contacts. Business-oriented webOS 1.2 customers will also appreciate support for heterogeneous EAS policies (for workplaces with a mix of end-users in which some accounts support EAS policies and others don’t).

And we heard your feedback on a number of topics loud and clear:

• We know you love email—and you’ll really love the ability to filter the emails in the current folder just by typing a search term.
• You asked for the ability to download files in the browser—and now you’ve got it.
• Music fans will be glad to hear that the Amazon MP3 Store can now download songs from either WiFi or WAN.
• You can now tap a phone number in a calendar note to dial it (so you can get to the joy of music-on-hold for your conference calls even faster!).
• Pause a podcast and, by default, you’ll pick up where you left off when you unpause.
• Web pages and emails are now cut-and-paste-able.

You can download the webOS 1.2.0 update right now. Let us know how it goes!

[Photo credit]

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iTunes 9.0.1 now available, much more stable

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Music, Software

Apple released iTunes 9.0.1 yesterday, and normally, they squash some bugs that some people experience. Here is a look at the changes in the latest release, which comes just a couple of weeks after the iTunes 9 release:

• Resolves issues browsing the iTunes Store.
• Addresses a performance issue where iTunes may become unresponsive.
• Fixes a problem where iTunes may unexpectedly quit.
• Fixes a problem syncing Podcasts in playlists to iPod or iPhone.
• Fixes a problem sorting albums with multiple discs.
• Addresses an issue with the Zoom button not switching to Mini Player.
• Improves application syncing for iPod touch and iPhone.
• Genius is now automatically updated to show Genius Mixes.

We must say, iTunes 9 feels more responsive, and works more “as it should,” or as expected. Hit up Software Update to grab it.

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Zune 4.0 software now live - go get it!

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Microsoft, Music, Software

It is now September 15th, and that means that you are now able to go and grab the Zune 4.0 update. Go ahead and do it, if you love music. The Zune.net site is still undergoing maintenance, but if you have the old version of the Zune player, just launch it and have it check for updates, and you’re golden.

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Zune.net now streams entire Zune music catalog in the browser (even on Macs!)

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Internet, Microsoft, Music, Software

One of the main gripes we’ve had with Microsoft as it pertains to the Zune platform is that they have stubbornly decided to keep it to a PC-only experience, leaving those of us who live in OS X out in the cold. Well, starting today, that changes. Kind of.

You see, the Zune Marketplace is now a part of Zune.net. Aside from having the largest audio and video podcast streaming directory, Zune now allows you to log in and listen to music from the Marketplace in any browser that supports Silverlight 3. Technically, Microsoft says that this experience is officially supported in Internet Explorer and Firefox, but we will have to give it a shot in Safari. Anyhow, the caveat here is that you can log in as a Zune Pass subscriber and stream music. This doesn’t solve the problem that those on a Mac have where they can’t sync their Zune hardware or download music. Still, though, it’s a step in the right direction, and a nice bonus for Zune Pass subscribers to be able to access and stream music, including Smart DJ playlists, on the fly. This basically turns any computer running IE or Firefox into a terminal for you to log in and crank those Zune tunes, and we like it.

For those wondering, any activities you do with Zune.net stream will also be reflected in your Zune account and Zune Card. How cool is that?

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