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Hewlett-Packard apparently plans to put its newly-developed WebOS on every PC it ships next year, its new chief executive, Leo Apotheker, said.
According to BusinessWeek, in 2012, "every one of the PCs shipped by HP will include the ability to run WebOS in addition to Microsoft Corp.'s Windows, Apotheker said."
It wasn't immediately clear whether HP meant that those PCs would have the horsepower to run WebOS, or whether they would all come bundled. HP representatives were not immediately available for comment.
HP has already announced WebOS for three devices: two new WebOS smartphones - the HP Veer and the Pre 3 - and its widely anticipated new tablet, the
But Apotheker said that the goal was to attract a "massive platform" of developers.
Click to continue reading HP 2012 PC lineup will all run webOS
Gallery: HP 2012 PC lineup will all run webOS
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Apple releases iTunes 10.2.1, iOS 4.3 next
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Music, Software,
Less than a week after Apple released iTunes 10.2 with iOS 4.3 sync support, an update has arrived that seems to lack any new features.
At Apple's iPad 2 reveal last week in San Francisco, CEO Steve Jobs said iOS 4.3 would be available on March 11, the same day the second-generation tablet will go on sale. In anticipation of the update to the mobile platform as well as the new tablet, Apple released iTunes 10.2 last Friday. Then on Tuesday, Apple handed out iTunes 10.2.1, which contained the exact same description as iTunes 10.2.
The update is seemingly identical to the 10.2 version of iTunes, which has an improved version of Home Sharing that lets users stream content from their iTunes library between computers and to an iPad, iPad 2, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 (GSM), or iPod touch (third and fourth generation), as long as the device running the iOS 4.3—which means users will have to wait until Friday to take advantage of beefed-up Home Sharing.
Click to continue reading Apple releases iTunes 10.2.1, iOS 4.3 next
Gallery: Apple releases iTunes 10.2.1, iOS 4.3 next
Despite a new pair of eyes, trimmer figure, and nimbler mind, the
First previewed at the MAX 2010 Developer Conference last October, Wallaby's launch today at FITC Amsterdam fulfills months of fomenting developer excitement. Built on Adobe Air, the application runs on Mac or Windows and enables developers to convert Flash Professional (.FLA) files into the building blocks of simple animations or online ads—folders comprised of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript—suitable for DreamWeaver.
"Adobe's goal is to support our customers with whatever tools they need to get their creative content onto any device," said Tom Barclay, senior product manager for Flash Professional at Adobe, when asked for a comment. "We look forward to the user feedback about the code they're generating with Wallaby and the use cases for which they end up using Wallaby. We believe Flash is the best long-term solution for things like games, video and RIAs where high levels of interactivity are required. And we believe HTML5 is just as imperative for things like banner ads, especially for devices such as iPad and iPhone."
Click to continue reading iPad 2 gets Flash with Adobe Wallaby
Gallery: iPad 2 gets Flash with Adobe Wallaby
Apple may release iOS 4.3 today
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Handhelds, Rumors, Software,
Get ready to sync your iPhones, iPads, and iPods. Apple's iOS 4.3 is will reportedly launch today, according to Boy Genius Report.
At Apple's iPad 2 reveal last week, CEO Steve Jobs said iOS 4.3 would be available for download on March 11, the same day the updated iPad goes on sale. But according to BGR, Apple will release the newest version of its mobile operating system at around 1 p.m. EST today.
The update brings a variety of new features, including enhanced Safari performance, iTunes home sharing, AirPlay improvements, slider switch rotation, and a personal hotspot for the iPhone 4. Apple iOS 4.3 will support all iPads, third- and fourth-generation iPod touch, iPhone 4, and iPhone 3GS.
Click to continue reading Apple may release iOS 4.3 today
Gallery: Apple may release iOS 4.3 today
Why the Twitter Quick Bar (DickBar) is a bad move
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Internet, Software,
Twitter users are up in arms over the Twitter Quick Bar, which pundit John Gruber termed the "Dickbar" after Twitter CEO Dick Costolo, a forced trending topics bar appearing at the top of the new iPhone Twitter client. To some extent, this is just whining—there are so many Twitter clients out there, it's easy to find one with the layout you prefer. But it also shows the bigger problem with Twitter's trending topics, which the service has managed very poorly since it became a mass medium.
Real estate is precious on small phone screens, and users demand that every pixel be spent on something relevant. People are willing to make an exception for ads on free apps; after all, developers need to pay the bills. But the trending topics tend to spotlight micro-communities that don't overlap much with each other. As an optional means of discovery, they're mildly interesting. Forced upon us, they bombard us with irrelevant data that breaks down our carefully constructed social-networking comfort zones.
Twitter started out, years ago, as a social service for a common techno-clique who all attended the South by Southwest music conference, so trending topics made sense. But since then, it's expanded and fragmented into a mass medium made up of non-overlapping micro-communities. Everybody uses Twitter differently, but almost everybody consciously or unconsciously cultivates their feed. The trending topics are like a loud stranger wandering into your invitation-only party.
The Quick Bar is really about advertising, of course. Twitter is trying to make money off "promoted topics" for movies and consumer products. But I don't think that's the source of the real anger here. Most people see ads as a necessary evil so we can get free stuff. But we don't understand why our screens are full of jibber-jabber about Brazilian TV presenters.
Click to continue reading Why the Twitter Quick Bar (DickBar) is a bad move
Gallery: Why the Twitter Quick Bar (DickBar) is a bad move
Google releases tool to address Android fragmentation
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Google, Software,
Google on Thursday expanded its Fragments API to applications running older versions of Android, meaning apps that are compatible with Android 1.6 or higher can tap into Fragments to create apps that work on larger-screened devices like tablets.
Though Android has been growing in popularity recently among handset and tablet makers, the main complaint about the OS has been its fragmented nature. At this point, about 57.6 percent of Android devices are running version 2.2, followed by 2.1 at 31.4 percent. About 6.3 percent are still on Android 1.6, according to the Android Developers site.
To address this, Google introduced the Android Fragments API in early February as part of Android 3.0 Honeycomb.
"Android 3.0 further helps applications adjust their interfaces with a new class called Fragment," Dianne Hackborn, a Google software engineer, wrote in a February 3 blog post. "A Fragment is a self-contained component with its own UI and lifecycle; it can be-reused in different parts of an application's user interface depending on the desired UI flow for a particular device or screen."
Click to continue reading Google releases tool to address Android fragmentation
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Saab reveals IQon, the first Android infotainment system
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Software, Transportation,
Saab has announced the first Android-based, in-dash "infotainment" system for a car.
Called 'IQon,' the platform was demoed in a Saab Phoenix concept car at the 2011 Geneva motor show.
The Wi-Fi enabled, 8-inch touch screen lets drivers access thousands of Android apps. Apart from the usual productivity apps, like e-mail, navigation, entertainment, and music streaming, drivers can expect to see more auto-specific apps; for example, an app that controls your car's air-conditioner, one reviewer suggested. Furthermore the platform has built-in remote communication to and from Saab dealerships, which could be useful for carrying out diagnostics and uploading vehicle data.
Click to continue reading Saab reveals IQon, the first Android infotainment system
Gallery: Saab reveals IQon, the first Android infotainment system
Hands-on with the String Labs Augmented Reality Showcase iPhone app
Posted by Reza Malayeri Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Product Reviews, Software, Videos,
Take a look at the future of mobile virtual reality with the String Labs Augmented Reality Showcase app for the iPhone. This amazing new application is a tech demo from String Labs, celebrating the launch of their brand new augmented reality platform. Download the free app from the iTunes app store, and head over to the String Labs website to print out the five available image targets.
Choose from Pharaoh's Fury, Clayful, Scrawl, Proto, and Sneaker. When you launch the app, you can focus your rear camera on the image targets, and play with the games and utilities that show up in virtual reality. There are fun games, creative artistic drawings, and random virtual three eyed pets to play with. Check out our video, where we walk you through each one of the five image targets, and give you a taste of the technology. Take a look at the future of mobile virtual reality, and imagine all the possibilities.
What do you like about these new applications? Can you dream up an innovative way to use augmented reality? Share your idea's with us in the comments below.
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| String Labs
Gallery: Hands-on with the String Labs Augmented Reality Showcase iPhone app
Mac App Store pins silly 17+ rating on Opera browser
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Internet, Software,
Opera, the least popular of the full Web browsers, became the first non-native browser to be included in Apple's Mac App Store on Thursday. But as per Apple's tradition with rating browsers, it has been slapped with a 17+ rating.
To download Opera from the Mac App Store, users will be prompted to verify that he or she is at least 17 years old.
"I'm very concerned," Jan Standal, vice president of Desktop Products for Opera Software, joked in a statement. "Seventeen is very young, and I am not sure if, at that age, people are ready to use such an application. It's very fast, you know, and it has a lot of features. I think the download requirement should be at least 18."
When it comes to rating browsers, Apple treats the entire Internet as its content and thus always gives the highest rating to browsers, as apps in the App Store demonstrate.
Click to continue reading Mac App Store pins silly 17+ rating on Opera browser
Gallery: Mac App Store pins silly 17+ rating on Opera browser
iOS 4.3 GM seed now available to developers
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Handhelds, Software,
Apple has just made the final version of iOS 4.3 available to anyone with a developer account. You can grab the downloads for build 8F190 for iPhone 4 and 3GS, iPad, and iPod touch 3rd and 4th generation now. The iOS 4.3 SDK is also at GM status with build 10M2518, and you can grab that as well. All the rest of you, expect iOS 4.3 to launch alongside iPad 2 on March 11.
