Software : Updated: Facebook Home for Android: everything you need to know |
- Updated: Facebook Home for Android: everything you need to know
- Microsoft releases Office 365 histogram
- In Depth: Best free YouTube downloaders: 10 top tools to check out
- BlackBerry pulls the plug on BBM Music
- Google sticks a fork in WebKit, announces Blink rendering engine
- Vdio pay-per-view launches in UK and US, but only for Rdio subscribers
| Updated: Facebook Home for Android: everything you need to know Posted:  Facebook is unveiling an enhanced experience for Android in an event taking place at the moment. Facebook Home is a suite of apps which essentially acts like an overlay for Android phones. Among other things, it replaces the lock screen and the home screen of your Android phone with the Facebook 'Cover Feed'. Facebook Home is essentially a Facebook OS by stealth. Facebook Home release date and devicesAfter Facebook Home is launched on April 12, you'll be able to download it from the Google Play store. You can opt to just use it once or have it on your phone continuously. Facebook says that Home will have a new release every single month. Facebook Home will be available starting April 12 on the HTC One X, Samsung Galaxy S3, the Galaxy Note 2, and other future devices, including the Galaxy S4. And, naturally it will also be available on the brand new HTC First, which has Facebook Home preloaded.
Mark Zuckerberg opened the event by joking around the Facebook phone rumours before explaining the event was about "how you can turn your Android phone into a great social phone...we're not building a phone and we're not building an operating system, but we are building something that's a deeper experience than an app".
Zuckerberg said the reason for developing Home that people spend 20 per cent of their phone time on Facebook, a figure that rises when you consider Instagram - incredle when you think about it
This is essentially how the overlay works - a layer between apps and the Android OS.
Facebook Home will launch on tablets "within several months" - the company is working on it. Facebook Home Cover FeedThe cover feed is what you see when you turn on or open your phone, and it shows a continuous stream of your friends' Facebook updates. From the Facebook Home cover feed, a finger swipe accesses apps, phone calls and the other functions you expect from a phone.
Cover Feed is essentially a stream of stuff - status updates, new Instagram photos, event invites and more - all navigable with photos. If you see a photo you like, you can Like it or add a comment. Comments are all in-line. Cover Feed relies on simple gestures - "it's the content first" said the demo man.
As Facebook says, it "lets you stay up-to-date on your friends' latest activities in real-time, all the time.
Facebook Home Notifications and app launcherWhile Cover Feed aims to show you the most important things, Notifications still show you the crucial things. Facebook wants to shift focus away from apps and onto content, but it has also built an app launcher. Apps can be bookmarked or organised by alphabetical order. You can even post a status or check-in from here, too.
Notifications from apps and friends appear right on your home screen. It's easier to see when you have a missed call, calendar reminder or new message. Open a notification with a double tap or clear them away to see your Cover Feed. You can choose what's on your app launcher - press and hold an app then drag it anywhere. Facebook Home ChatheadsChatheads are a way to take away the dilemma of switching away from an app when a message comes in - you can pop right into the conversation over the app you're using or webpage you're browsing.
Previous Facebook Home rumoursVarious reports before the event suggested that Facebook Home might or might not debut alongside a handset built by HTC running a forked version of Android or more likely just a special version of its Sense UI that puts Facebook front and center. It looks like it may be called HTC First. Zuckerberg has previously said that Facebook wouldn't launch a phone itself, saying that a smartphone "really wouldn't make much sense for us to do." "We want not just to have apps that people use, but be as deeply integrated as possible, where other apps can build on top of Facebook," Zuckerberg said. HTC First would certainly fit into that category. A batch of images leaked of Facebook Home yesterday. The images show an all-color UI with an expected focus on photos. It seems almost like your photos take up the entire screen, with bubbles of info - missed calls, Instagram alerts and messages - floating above. Android Police previously got its hands on the below system dump for "the Facebook phone," and while the information may make you go "eh," it does give us details about what we might see later.
Is the HTC First the Facebook phone?We've been here before, of course. The concept of a Facebook phone isn't new, while HTC Myst is a name that's been rumoured for some time as a follow-up to the HTC ChaCha, which had a specific Facebook button. Myst could be a codename, though. On Tuesday, @evleaks posted the generic image of what was claimed to be the HTC First, though the rendering was suspiciously generic. Some analysis conducted by The Verge discovered that the HTC First logo was likely Photoshopped onto the image (you can also see a faint line bordering the words, as well) - not exactly a great sign of authenticity.
All that @evleaks has to say about the phone is: "HTC first, 2013." According to the build.prop specs from Android Police and previous leaks from @evleaks, it seems the handset codenamed Myst is destined for U.S. wireless carrier AT&T. Its skin is the old Sense 4.5 and it runs Android 4.1.2. There's a 4.3-inch 320ppi display with 720p resolution, on which you can see the snaps you take with either the 5MP rear camera or 1.6MP front camera.
It looks as though the phone lacks an SD Card, though it has 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi. The processor is pegged as a dual-core 1.5Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 MSM8960. That's a mid-range handset if ever we've heard of one, but it's probably the level of specification we'd expect from a Facebook-orientated handset. Facebook Home details
Yesterday's images matche with the phone shown yesterday, so at least @evleaks gets points for consistency. There's little in the way of distinctive markings to say whether this is an HTC phone - or device made by any specific manufacturer - or simply a generic rendering. You may remember that before the Galaxy S4 was announced, an image supposedly of the phone popped up online (posted by @evleaks, no less) before it was found that it represented a false hope. We get a glimpse at what might be the app launcher, and while it looks like any Android app center, you'll notice the Status, Photo and Check In options along the top.
Another leaked image presumably shows a photo and the various share options users can hit to get their pic on their various social networks - Instagram, Messenger, Picasa, Google+, Twitter, Messaging and, of course, Facebook - as well as Gmail, texts or trash. We'll know if all the images - and all the leaks - are legit later today. Tune into TechRadar for the lowdown on Facebook Home, HTC First, or whatever it is Facebook has in store. |
| Microsoft releases Office 365 histogram Posted:  Microsoft has released its first visualisation app for Office 2013 and Office 365 in the form of a histogram function that can be used with Excel. The app has become available on the Microsoft Research website, and is the first in a series as the company experiments with visualisation types. The Microsoft Research Histogram shows the distribution of data, counting and categorising data points and creating a bar graph of their frequency. It's possible to view data by categories or continuous values. A web version of the app working on Excel is available on the site. |
| In Depth: Best free YouTube downloaders: 10 top tools to check out Posted:  It's very easy to browse for videos online, but downloading a local copy to view offline can be much more difficult. And that can be annoying, especially if it's a personal video uploaded by yourself, a friend or family member and you want to have a local back-up. Fortunately there are plenty of solutions around. If you want to download from your browser, for instance, just pasting the video URL into a website like KeepVid might be enough, while browser addons like Firefox's Easy YouTube Video Downloader are even easier to use. For real power, though, take a look at a stand-alone downloader. Most work with multiple video sites (not just YouTube); they often allow you to search for and preview the clips you need; and the best will both download and convert the video into a format you'll be able to play anywhere. Before you start downloading, though, a word about copyright. You should only use these tools to download copies of videos that are owned and uploaded by you or where you have permission from the copyright holder. As per YouTube's terms and conditions, content not owned by you, "may not be downloaded, copied, reproduced, distributed, transmitted, broadcast, displayed, sold, licensed, or otherwise exploited for any other purpose whatsoever without the prior written consent of YouTube or, where applicable, YouTube's licensors." 1. TubeBoxTubeBox has a great video search engine: enter your keywords and you can choose your preferred video site (YouTube is just one of many), filter to HD or 3D videos only and more. Click any of the search results and you can preview the clip, before downloading it with a click.
If you prefer to use a browser, though, that's possible too. Copy and paste links to the clipboard, TubeBox will automatically grab them, and again you can download (and optionally convert) them with a click. What you don't get is fine control over the resolution you download, but at least if you search for HD clips originally then you'll know you're getting the best YouTube has to offer. 2. EagleGetAlthough it's a powerful download accelerator which works with all sorts of files, EagleGet also includes a very easy-to-use YouTube downloader. Just hover your mouse cursor over whatever clip you're playing, and a download button appears: click this and you'll get a range of resolutions and file types to choose from, or you can just click "Download all" and figure it out later.
This doesn't always work smoothly. The "Download" button may not pop up first time, and it doesn't always display all the available resolutions. But EagleGet remains an easy-to-use tool which will simplify your YouTube life. 3. All Video DownloaderAll Video Downloader offers two ways to download your favourite clips. You can browse YouTube as normal. Copy any video URL to the clipboard, and the program will automatically spot this. Click the Download button and it'll download the clip, and convert it to an AVI (or other format) file as well.
But if this doesn't work, you can search YouTube, DailyMotion and more (no need for a browser), and download whatever files you need from a list. The free version is restricted to batch downloads of a maximum of five videos at a time, and doesn't give you any choice over the resolution or type of file you download, but All Video Downloader is still a very capable program. 4. Any Video ConverterThere's no flashy extra support for YouTube here, no browsing or search support - just a small box where you paste the URL of whatever clip you like (although this can be on many other supported sites). Any Video Converter still manages to do what many programs can't, though, detecting the various video formats and resolutions available, and allowing you to select the ones you need.
And if that's not enough, the program can also edit videos, burn them to DVD, or convert them into more than 60 common formats. 5. FSS Video DownloaderFSS Video Downloader is a no-frills tool which keeps everything just as simple as you could possibly expect. Paste in a URL, and the program displays the video thumbnail as a guide; if that's correct, choose the appropriate format and size from the "Formats" box; then just click "Download", and the clip will be saved using its original name.
There are no extras here, then, but the program has no annoying restrictions, either, it runs almost anywhere (Windows 2000-8) and is so simple you'll immediately understand how it works. 6. ZiggyTVZiggyTV gets off to a bad start, thanks to a website and installation process that comes packed with pop-up ads and toolbars.
If you can get past that, though, it works very well. You can search for all kinds of media; YouTube searches provide the usual titles, thumbnails, upload dates and so on; you can download clips as audio or video, in lower resolutions (720 HD and 1080 HD are reserved for the commercial version), and the program can then convert them to your file format of choice. 7. VDownloaderVDownloader isn't just another YouTube download tool - it's packed with thoughtful extras. It can search user names, playlists and your own videos, as well as the rest of YouTube, for instance. You can preview and play any video in a separate window, which conveniently stays on top of everything else.
The program can download individual videos or entire playlists (optionally merging them into a single video). And there's great control over the output format, from simple - "Video (highest quality)" - to more specific ("iPhone/ iPod", or "DVD PAL"). Pay attention during installation, though - it's packed with toolbars and other "extras", although you can avoid these if you're careful. 8. 4K Video Downloader4K Video Downloader is smaller and more basic than most of the competition, but there is one feature it gets just right. Paste a YouTube URL into the program and it gives you the full list of formats, resolutions and file sizes available (something that defeats many other tools) and lets you choose the one you want.
Alternatively, switch the program to "Smart Mode" and you can choose your preferred quality, format and so on, and 4K Video Downloader will use those settings automatically for future downloads - a definite time-saver. 9. YouTube MateYouTube Mate won't help you search for videos - you'll have to do that in your browser. Copy a YouTube URL to the clipboard, though, and it'll pop up.
You're able to choose exactly which file format and resolution you'd like to download. And in particular, you get to choose your required video format from a huge list of profiles: iPod, iPhone, iPad, game device, mobile phone, HD video and more. If video format conversion is high on your list of "must have" features then YouTube Mate definitely requires a closer look. 10. aTube CatcherAt first glance aTube Catcher seems much like many other tools. Paste in your YouTube URL, choose the appropriate format or resolution, then download it with a click. Explore further, though, and you'll find a video search tool (which includes options to check adult sites, so be careful if you need a child-friendly solution).
A "stream catcher" records videos as you're watching them. You can ask the program to download HD videos when available; there's the option to download all the videos from a particular YouTube user; and you get a screen recorder, a video conversion tool, a CD, DVD and Blu-ray converter, and more. |
| BlackBerry pulls the plug on BBM Music Posted:  Though it feels like the service has barely had time to breathe, Blackberry has announced that it's calling it a day on its monthly music subscription app. Anyone currently subscribed to BBM Music will be billed for April and then it all starts to come crumbling down. After that, you can tearfully delete the redundant app from the home screen. You will, however, get a free 30 day trial of Rdio premium as a sort of breaking-up gift from BlackBerry. We hardly knew yeThe idea of BBM Music was kind of cool. Users could have up to 50 offline tracks a month, but connecting with friends allowed you to access more songs for your playlists. It was truly gunning for the "social" side of music. But theory and practice are often too different and it seems that the service just wasn't popular enough to take on the likes of Spotify and other music streaming contemporaries. "BBM Music service will be discontinued as of June 2, 2013," reads the email sent by BlackBerry. "In May, as your BBM contacts stop using the service, songs in your playlists will begin to turn grey and will no longer be available" However, BlackBerry advises users to begin transitioning from the service starting now, with dates subject to change. Time for one last blast of that "guilty pleasures" playlist? |
| Google sticks a fork in WebKit, announces Blink rendering engine Posted:  Google is kissing WebKit goodbye, announcing it will fork the widely used layout engine that renders web pages for its Chrome browser. and instead develop a new rendering engine, Blink. "Today, we are introducing Blink, a new open source rendering engine based on WebKit," wrote Google software engineer Adam Barth in an official Chromium blog post. Calling the move "not an easy decision," Barth said that the new Blink rendering engine can have significant implications for the web. "We believe that having multiple rendering engines - similar to having multiple browsers - will spur innovation and over time improve the health of the entire open web ecosystem." A slight to Apple?WebKit was first developed by Apple as a fork of KHTML in 2001 and was open-sourced four years later to further development by the open source community. Google took advantage of this, using WebKit to render pages for its Chrome browser, which is now the most popular browser in the world. Powering both Apple's Safari browser and Google's Chrome browser with shared technology, the WebKit layout rendering engine accounts for 40 percent of browser usage. Those not on board include FireFox, which uses a rendering engine called Gecko, and Internet Explorer, which uses the Trident layout engine. Google's split with the Apple-developed rendering engine will certainly loosen the market share held by WebKit over time. Changes won't be in the Blink of an eyeWebKit remains the most popular layout rendering engine for browsers, and that won't change right away, as Google's Webkit-to-Blink transition is just now getting under way. "In the short term, Blink will bring little change for web developers," wrote Barth. "The bulk of the initial work will focus on internal architectural improvements and a simplification of the codebase." "For example, we anticipate that we'll be able to remove 7 build systems and delete more than 7,000 files - comprising more than 4.5 million lines - right off the bat." The goal of Blink over time is to create a healthier codebase that leads to more stability and fewer bugs. |
| Vdio pay-per-view launches in UK and US, but only for Rdio subscribers Posted:  The Rdio streaming music service that launched in 2010 has been joined by a related pay-per-video video service known appropriately as Vdio. Unlike Rdio, though, Vdio has more in common with iTunes' video on demand model than it does with Netflix; Vdio is pay-as-you-watch, allowing users to "rent" movies and TV shows from major studios. Rdio, on the other hand, is a subscription-based service (like Spotify). The new VOD service is currently available in the U.S. and U.K., but there's a catch: only paying Rdio Unlimited subscribers can access it. Say what?Currently Vdio is only available to customers who are already paying for Rdio subscriptions. Those subscribers get $25 of Vdio credit to promote the launch of the new service. Anyone else is currently out of luck, though Rdio Vice President of Product Malthe Sigurdsson told GigaOM that that will change this summer. Sigurdsson also reportedly revealed plans to expand to Canada "in the coming months." What sets Vdio apart?Vdio has a few unique features to differentiate itself from competing streaming video services. Chief among those are Vdio's social features, which are closely tied to Rdio and allow users to follow their friends and see recommendations based on their tastes. Sigurdsson stressed to GigaOM that basing the service on users' personal networks "rather than a marketing department" is a major plus. Content from major studios and networks including Disney, Fox, Warner Bros., Universal, NBC, CBS, ABC, Comedy Central, Showtime, and the BBC can be streamed over the web and an iPad app (though unfortunately you can't purchase anything through the app itself). Rdio is already available on a number of platforms, though, and Vdio could hypothetically expand outward to Android, Roku and other connected devices too. Sigurdsson also teased that Vdio subscriptions could be added in the future, according to the report. |
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