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If you're an iTunes user, it's time to upgrade once more, as Apple just released iTunes 10.1.1 into the wild. The update seems mostly aimed at fixing a few bugs, so don't expect anything fancy to show up, okay?
Gallery: iTunes 10.1.1 released, squashes bugs
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Last night Paul Buchheit, the former Google employee who created Gmail, tweeted his rather bold prediction that Chome OS was doomed:
"Prediction: ChromeOS will be killed next year (or "merged" with Android)"
He then added on the FriendFeed thread that Chrome OS has "no purpose that isn't better served by Android" and asking "is this too obvious to even state?" As Google started to ship CR-48 preview devices, with tech blogs reviewing them endlessly, people found themselves in front of a new type of system, one that provides much less than Android, or any other OS has provided before. Google is hoping that the web is all that many people need, and targeting Chrome OS at them. But as people started to plug in devices and finding that they don't work, being unable to do simple things like save photos from their digital cameras locally, or write a document without having to be online, it seems that the company still has a long way to go to convince people that Chrome OS is a good idea, for any market.
Read More 
| FriendFeed
Gallery: Gmail founder predicts Chrome OS is doomed
Add true retweet functionality to Tweetie for Mac with ReTweetie
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Internet, Software,
We know a ton of Mac users who use Tweetie for Mac as their desktop client of choice. However, since Twitter acquired Tweetie, they've kind of put the desktop client on the back burner. It still works and all, but newer features like lists and retweet are sorely missed. However, thanks to developer Nick Paulson, there's now a free SIMBL plugin that forces Tweetie to use Twitter's native retweeting functionality. We highly recommend it for all Tweetie users out there.
Read More | ReTweetie
Gallery: Add true retweet functionality to Tweetie for Mac with ReTweetie
Google Chrome now has over 8,500 extensions
Posted by Patrick Lambert Categories: Google, Internet, Software,
Last week, Google put up a blog post with some statistics on their Chrome browser. Of note, the browser now has over 8,500 extensions and 1,500 themes, which have been installed over 70 million times. They also describe some of the latest updates the browser has had such as the sync feature, better HTML5 support and new APIs for developers. Google also promises that they will not be slowing down the amount of new features. On the roadmap they say new APIs will be added for things like the omnibox and pinned tabs, as well as download management and network interception. With the release of the Chrome Web Store this week, Google is clearly positioning themselves as one of the top players in the browser market.
Read More | Google Chrome Blog
Gallery: Google Chrome now has over 8,500 extensions
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One common source of complaints from Android users is how the Market app can be somewhat tricky to use. I've always found the user experience to be not that great compared with the Apple App Store, for example. Thankfully, Android developers have been hard at work, and have launched a new version of the Market app. They are adding a new 'carousel' in the home screen which will make discoverability of apps easier. They are also adding some categories for Widgets and Live Wallpapers, and promising to add more in the weeks ahead for popular apps and games. The way information is shown about each app is also changed, with everything being shown on a single page. Finally, the refund window will drop from 24h to 15 minutes, since apparently people typically uninstall applications they don't like only minutes after installing them. The update will be rolled out over the next two weeks to devices running Android 1.6 or above.
Read More | Android Blog
Gallery: Android Market gets a facelift
Mac App Store to launch without Game Center, in-app purchases
Posted by Patrick Lambert Categories: Apple, Rumors, Software,
Back in October, Steve Jobs explained in length how the iOS successes that Apple is enjoying have convinced them to incorporate it back to the Mac platform, and the first piece of that is the an introduction of an App Store in OS X. Promising that the Mac App Store would be live within 90 days, this puts it at some point in January at the latest. Now, Apple is informing developers that some expected features will not be available for Mac OS apps. Namely, in-app purchases, and Game Center. This means that desktop applications will not have access to these features which have started to be common in iOS devices. Whether this is due to a delay on Apple's part, or they simply do not intend to provide these features on the Mac, is unknown as of yet.
Read More | 9 to 5 Mac
Gallery: Mac App Store to launch without Game Center, in-app purchases
MacBook Air EFI Firmware Update 2.0 released
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, PC / Laptop, Software,
If you picked up one of the new MacBook Air notebooks that Apple released recently, you'll wanna fire up Software Update to pull down the EFI Firmware Update 2.0. It fixes an issue where the Air boots or wakes to a black screen or becomes unresponsive. We're sure it's rare, but we think we speak for everyone when we say that we'd rather something like that not happen at all, so take care of that update, okay?
Gallery: MacBook Air EFI Firmware Update 2.0 released
Today Google had a presentation event all about Chrome and Chrome OS. After going through a history lesson of their web browser where they talked about how their update model and sandboxing gives them great security, all the new features they've introduced lately (like Google Instant,) as well as their speed improvements, they went to the meat of the day, and showed off the Chrome Web Store. This is essentially their app store for the web. Bringing executives from well known companies like Electronics Art, the New York Times, and Amazon, they went over several web apps that are now available, or will be available soon. Overall, these are all purely web apps, including several using Adobe Flash, so nothing that couldn't have been done on simple web sites in the first place. The selection will include everything from news apps, games, and everything that one could expect to find in another app store. Many of the apps will also include some offline features, such as being able to read a magazine online or offline, since it caches the information on your system, very similar to what Google Gears offered. Google is now rolling their new store out, starting today in the US, and spreading worldwide in the coming months.
Read More | Chrome Web Store
Gallery: Chrome Web Store now open
Windows Phone 7 jailbroken with ChevronWP7
Posted by Patrick Lambert Categories: Smartphones, Mods / Hacks, Software,
With the arrival of ChevronWP7, Windows Phone 7 now has it's own jailbreak software. This week, the first version of the WP7 unlocker was released, a tool which allows users to "unlock" their phones. The developers of ChevronWP7 claim that it was made to be an easy and painless thing to do, requiring just a USB cable and a few clicks. Of course, this may void your warranty, and cause other side effects, but it does allow one to go under the hood, and install apps from other sources than the official app marketplace. It should also be noted that this unlocks you from the clutches of the Windows Phone 7 app marketplace, and is not a carrier unlock tool.
Read More | ChevronWP7
Gallery: Windows Phone 7 jailbroken with ChevronWP7
Google talks about Chrome OS
Posted by Patrick Lambert Categories: Corporate News, Google, Software,
Google already has a browser, Chrome, and a touch-based operating system in Android. Yet, the company has been touting it's upcoming Chrome OS, a system to be run on low powered devices, which will be a complete cloud OS, with no local storage or apps. The New York Times talks with Sundar Pichai, Google's VP, about some of the ideas behind the new OS. The vision is a computer that starts in seconds, not minutes. The system basically runs a browser, and everything is accessed through the web. Whether it's email with Gmail, productivity with Google Docs, or any of the myriad of online products that the giant offers. While the OS will start with netbooks, Google now sees Chrome OS expanding to tablets, laptops and TVs.
It's worth remembering however that the cloud can fail, and that an OS that is completely web centric is of no use when the Internet connection goes down. With the two Google systems, Chrome OS and Android, likely to clash in the future, it's hard to see how compelling the cloud-only option will be.
Read More | New York Times
