Software : Download of the day: Free Studio

Download of the day: Free Studio
Blackphone sheds light on world's first privacy-focused app store
Facebook Graph Search can now help find posts you've forgotten

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Free Studio is a great solution if you want to work with video in pretty much any way, whether that's downloading, converting, recording, editing or uploading. And did I mention it's free?

Why you need it

Normally with our Download of the Day you get one program, but not today – not by a long shot. Instead, Free Studio offers a huge suite of programs that help you download, upload, convert, record and edit video, all packaged in one convenient bundle. It's fair to say that if you need to work with video in pretty much any way, Free Studio has a solution for you.

So if you want to download a YouTube video then convert it to an audio podcast that's compatible with your iPad, Free Studio has your back. You can record gameplay, Skype calls or simply your desktop interactions using Free Studio, and then manage a batch upload to YouTube when you're done.

Free Studio is there for every stage of the video creation journey, from recording and editing to uploading. If you just want to enjoy videos from a host of websites on your devices, then Free Studio is there for you too.

Key features

Works on: PC
Versions: Free
Download: Free Studio can download files from some of the world's most popular video sites, such as YouTube, Daily Motion and Instagram
Convert: Whether you need to convert your video ready your device, your phone, for any computer or into an audio file, this program can do it
Edit: Perform basic video and audio editing
Upload: When you're done, Free Studio can streamline and automate the upload of single or multiple videos

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Blackphone sheds light on world's first privacy-focused app store

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Blackphone is giving privacy-focused apps their first home thanks to the January launch of its own app store for the company's off-the-record smartphone.

It's officially known as the Blackphone app store, and while the name may be unoriginal, the concept is unique: this is the first in the world to solely focus on privacy applications.

Mail clients, messaging services and other applications are said to be on the way, all with the extra security layers via Blackphone's trusted VPN.

Blackphone CEO Toby Weir-Jones told TechRadar that his company is going to curate these apps. Backdoors that sometimes exist in Android apps aren't going to be a part of this store.

PrivatOS 1.1 update

The Blackphone app store is only half of the company's announcement today. It's also adding a new feature called "Silent Spaces" within PrivatOS version 1.1.

These are self-contained spaces for apps, data and accounts, all on one device. Blackphone is determined to rid privacy-concerned users of the need to carry two smartphones.

It sounds a whole lot easier than juggling a pair of phones, too. Switching between two Silent Space happens in the pull-down notification menu of the Android KitKat-based PrivatOS.

Weir-Jones describes the transition between Silent Spaces as instantaneous and completely separate. Games can live on one space while while sensitive work files are house in another.

Sandboxing Samsung Knox

What's unique is that PrivatOS 1.1's Silent Spaces feature makes both environments secure. That's unlike the app sandboxing method of something like Samsung Knox.

Blackphone doesn't just separate sensitive data from normal everyday apps, leaving you data vulnerable without you even knowing it. It promises a complete privacy solution.

Of course, this means that, unlike Samsung's devices, the Google Play Store isn't available to this almost spy-proof smartphone that features a forked Android operating system.

Instead, Blackphone's privacy-focused app store is to become the star of this locked-down phone in the new year with its trusty sidekick, sideloading apps from places like the Amazon app store.

We'll have more on Blackphone's future care of our discussion with CEO Toby Weir-Jones. Stay tuned for tomorrow's update.

Facebook Graph Search can now help find posts you've forgotten

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Facebook hinted that Graph Search would arrive on mobile almost a full year ago, in January 2014, and now it finally has - at least on iOS.

The feature is also gaining some new functionality: the ability to search for specific posts.

Facebook Graph Search is a relatively complex tool for searching Facebook that was introduced in 2013. It lets users enter specific search terms like "my friends who live in San Francisco" or "photos of my family."

Until this update, however, Facebook Graph Search could not search through the text of individual posts.

Tip of the tongue

Now when you type in someone's name Graph Search presents you with suggestions that relate to past posts, like "Jessica wedding" or "Rousseau graduation dance."

Facebook Search Product Manager Rousseau Kazi told The Verge that "stronger, better, faster mobile search" is "a company priority."

You can still only search posts that are available to you to begin with - like your own posts and those of your friends - so privacy settings remain even while older posts become more accessible.

The new Facebook Graph Search rolls out to desktop and Facebook's iOS app this week, and Android and other platforms - like Facebook's mobile web app - will follow at a later date.

Face it: Facebook is becoming Google, and here's why

Yahuui Blog

Tuesday, December 9, 2014