Software : Microsoft in the dock following antitrust claims by Chinese government

Microsoft in the dock following antitrust claims by Chinese government
Instagram's Snapchat rival is very real, but its initial availability is very limited
Spotify for iPhone and iPad revives the boombox glory days with new equaliser
PCMark 8: everything you need to know
Windows Phone 8.1 update details reveal 7" devices, app folders and more
Windows Phone gets into shape with Fitbit, its first major wearables app

Microsoft in the dock following antitrust claims by Chinese government

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The Chinese State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) office has confirmed that it raided Microsoft's offices in China as part of an ongoing antitrust investigation.

A Google-translated press release reveals that the Chinese are interested in finding out about any potentially illegal tie-in between its Office productivity suite and its Windows operating system.

It appears that law enforcement officers took two computers, emails and other files including contract and financial statements as part of the anti-monopoly investigation.

Steamy Windows

Whether the current tug-of-war between the Chinese government and the Redmond-based company is linked with the recent ban on Windows 8 remains to be seen.

It is a mere coincidence but one can only wonder whether the Chinese are looking to pressure Microsoft into giving them better rates should they upgrade their computers from Windows XP.

A number of US companies - including Qualcomm and Apple - have recently been investigated by Chinese regulators either for so-called monopolistic behavior or suspected "back door" access.

Via Mercurynews

Maybe the Chinese government should read our "End of support for Windows XP: what are the options?" article.

Instagram's Snapchat rival is very real, but its initial availability is very limited

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It seemed inevitable that Instagram would eventually launch its own Snapchat competitor, and today the company proved the rumors true with the announcement of Instagram Bolt.

The new iOS and Android app lets users send photos and videos to their friends with a single tap.

Much like in Snapchat and other apps like Taptalk and Facebook Slingshot, the content then disappears as soon as it's viewed.

There's just one problem if you want to get your hands on Instagram Bolt right now: it's only available in three countries.

Promises

Instagram Bolt has launched in New Zealand, Singapore and South Africa, and an Instagram spokesperson told TechRadar that the company expects to release it elsewhere "soon."

"We decided to start small with Bolt, in just a handful of countries, to make sure we can scale while maintaining a great experience," the spokesperson said.

In additio, The Verge received a statement noting that 65% of Instagram users live outside the US, "so an international launch, while different, is actually not all that out of order with what we do."

"This isn't a side project," that spokesperson promised. "We are totally behind this thing."

How Bolt works

The Bolt app appeared first in a banner ad inside the Instagram app for Android on July 24, but now we get to see its features fleshed out.

Using the app is dead simple: tap on a friend's face to open the camera, shoot and send them a photo, or long-tap to send a video. You can add overlay text, or reply to content you've received. Content disappears once it's viewed and swiped away.

Instagram bolt

Despite Instagram being owned by Facebook, Bolt will only import friends from your phone contacts, not from your Facebook friends.

And users can set up to four favorites that will stay on the app's main page, though Bolt only lets users send content to one friend at a time.

It's a pretty app, but time will tell whether Instagram Bolt has what it needs to compete with the glut of other quick-and-dirty photo messaging apps popping up.

Grudge match: Facebook Slingshot vs Snapchat

Spotify for iPhone and iPad revives the boombox glory days with new equaliser

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Music streaming giant Spotify has updated its iOS app to include an equaliser that allows users to fine tune musical selections according their precise aural sensitivities.

The new equaliser gives users plenty of genre-based presets, such as Latin, Rock, Dance, etc., but the most useful may be the Small Speakers setting, to optimise the audio for users without headphones.

For true audiophiles, Spotify patrons can also manually alter the various bass, middle and treble frequencies by moving a finger up and down on a visual EQ graph.

The equaliser, which Spotify says is its most requested feature on iOS, can be accessed through Settings > Playback rather than the regular options on the Play screen.

iOS only for now

Elsewhere in the update, the Discover section has been moved within the Browse tab and iPad users will have redesigned artist pages to peruse.

Those pages will now include the latest release and the chance to snap up merchandise.

No word yet on if and when the update will land on Android (which already has a very basic equaliser), but we don't see why not.

We recently updated our Spotify review to see how the service is ageing.

PCMark 8: everything you need to know

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PCMark 8 is a benchmarking program for Windows PCs that includes a range of tests designed around common user scenarios. Each test gives a score, which you can use to compare different PCs, and detailed results to get a deeper understanding of system performance.

PCMark 8 Professional Edition is the only version licensed for business and commercial use. It offers additional Extended Storage tests, command line automation, the ability to export results as XML and PDF files, and priority customer support. PCMark 8 Professional Edition costs £1,005 (or $1495.00). Site license options are also available.

PCMark 8 Advanced Edition for home users includes all five tests, battery life testing, custom testing options, in-depth hardware monitoring graphs and the ability to save your results offline. It costs £29.99 (or $49.95).

PCMark 8 Basic Edition is free, but only includes the Home, Work and Creative tests. You can grab all three versions from here.

We spoke to Futuremark regarding its program and how PCMark 8 differs from other benchmark suites, and how benchmarks might evolve in the future.

TechRadar Pro: What are PCMark 8's components?

Futuremark: PCMark 8 includes five benchmark tests. The Home, Work and Creative benchmarks use workloads that reflect typical PC use in the home, the office, and for a selection of more demanding creative, entertainment and media tasks.

The Applications benchmark measures system performance using popular programs from the Adobe Creative Suite and Microsoft Office. The Storage benchmark is a dedicated test for measuring and comparing the performance of SSDs and HDDs. The tests are explained in detail in the PCMark 8 Technical Guide.

The PCMark 8 Home, Work, Creative, and Application benchmarks can also be used to test the battery life of laptops, notebooks and tablets.

TRP: How does it differ from other benchmark programs on the market?

FM: PCMark 8 benchmarks show the real-world differences between systems by measuring performance for common home and office tasks. Futuremark believes this approach is more useful to end users than synthetic component tests whose results may only be of practical use to engineers and other industry insiders.

TRP: What does Futuremark consider to be best practice when it comes to the benchmarking process?

FM: To get accurate and consistent benchmark results you should test clean systems without third party software installed. If this is not possible, you should close as many background tasks as possible, especially automatic updates or tasks that feature pop-up alerts such as email and messaging programs.

1. Install all critical updates to ensure your operating system is up to date.

2. Install the latest WHQL approved drivers for your hardware.

3. Restart the computer or device.

4. Wait 2 minutes for start up to complete.

5. Exit all other programs, especially those that run in the background or task bar.

6. Wait for 15 minutes.

7. Run the benchmark.

8. Repeat from step 3 at least three times to verify your results.

TRP: What are the challenges facing the benchmarking industry?

FM: Without a doubt, the biggest challenge for benchmarking is the change driven by mobile devices. It can be hard to create benchmark tests that scale from smartphones and tablets to desktop PCs and dedicated workstations.

A test that highlights differences between smartphones may not be relevant when comparing desktops. A test for desktops may be too heavy for a tablet. The challenge is to create useful benchmarks that help people compare performance, not only across all the different form factors, but across operating systems too.

The other significant challenge is that measuring performance alone is no longer enough. Battery life, power efficiency and thermal management are important considerations when choosing a new mobile device. Benchmarks must now do more than test the speed of the processor. They must measure the complete experience.

TRP: How do you see benchmarks evolving over the next few years?

FM: Over the next few years the quality and usefulness of mobile benchmarks will increase significantly. The standard will be raised by developers like Futuremark who have the expertise, wide industry connections, and open processes required to create high quality benchmark tests that are accurate, relevant and impartial.

Unfortunately, many of the mobile benchmark apps used today are created by single developers, or small teams, who lack the experience and industry connections needed to design fair and neutral tests. And even well-intentioned benchmarks can fail to present meaningful measures of performance, instead providing synthetic results that are difficult to relate to the differences seen when using real apps.

Windows Phone 8.1 update details reveal 7" devices, app folders and more

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Exciting updates to Windows Phone 8.1 are just around the corner as Microsoft inadvertently spilled the beans on some of the biggest changes coming soon to its mobile OS.

Microsoft accidentally revealed its release notes for Windows Phone 8.1 GDR1, otherwise known as Update 1, on its Developer Center. Among the upcoming changes is the addition of app folders. It's a little sad this long-held iOS and Android feature has taken so long to come to Windows Phone, but we suppose it's better late than never when it comes to better app tile organization.

The update also adds a Cortana entry into the phonebook, allowing users to trigger speech controls through a car's navigation system. This could be useful for activating speech on handsets in cars that don't support the feature via Bluetooth.

Yet another big updates users will be able to take advantage of is the added support for voice over a Wi-Fi connection, a great service for those who don't have a lot of mobile minutes to spare.

Big screens, interactive covers

The premature spill also reveals Microsoft is preparing Windows Phone 8.1 for some of its biggest devices yet. The update adds support for screens 6.01- to 7-inches in size with 1280 x 768 WXGA resolutions.

Once the update takes, Windows Phone 8.1 devices with 1280 x 800 WXGA resolution screens will also become a possibility.

Windows Phone 8.1 GDR1 also introduces the possibility of interactive case accessories. Like the covers made for the HTC One M8 and LG G3, these will allow Microsoft's mobile devices to display information on a phone screen even when a case is in use.

While there aren't any interactive covers nor 7-inch Windows Phone devices yet, the update indicates they could be here before long.

Touchy touchy

Although the gift-bearing update isn't yet upon us, Microsoft did release some new interactive lock screens to the current version of Windows Phone 8.1.

The Live Lock Screen beta brings the newfangled lock screens first debuted at Build 2014. They replace boring swipeable pictures with rotating image locks and text that slips off the screen's edge as users unlock their device.

Currently there are six themes Windows Phone 8.1 users can access upon installing the app. However, users might be better off sticking with the lock screens they already have as PC World reports many of the new ones are buggy.

Supposedly the experience lags quite often while other users have reported the Live Lock screens cause their devices to crash repeatedly.

Microsoft is going in a different direction under Satya Nadella

Windows Phone gets into shape with Fitbit, its first major wearables app

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Windows Phone users hoping to accessorise their activities with a trendy fitness wristband can now do so thanks to the launch of the Fitbit app for Microsoft's mobile operating system.

As promised last month, Fitbit launched its companion app for Windows Phone today, finally allowing users to wirelessly sync data with wearables like the Fitbit Flex and Fitbit One.

The Fitbit app, already available on iOS and Android, allows users to view real time and historical activity data, while also logging their food intake from a possible 350,000 items.

As great as this sounds for Windows Phone users, it's not entirely universal. Smartphone owners will need Windows Phone 8.1 as well as the new Lumia Cyan update to make use of the FitBit app.

Ending the wearable duopoly

The launch is the first time a major fitness tracker manufacturer has embraced Windows Phone.

The likes of Jawbone, Nike, LG, Samsung and Garmin have all eschewed the third-placed platform thus far, making Fitbit the de facto choice for fitness-focused Windows Phone users.

In depth: How Big Data is keeping us fit and entertained

Yahuui Blog

Wednesday, July 30, 2014