Leaked Android Music app images and hands-on review

This morning, an updated version of the stock Android Music app was leaked along with a new version of Android Market. The new Music app, which is labeled 'version 3', is similar to the leaked build from December, but it has received a ton of polish -- and indeed, it looks almost ready for prime time.

If you don't have Android 2.3 -- or don't want to root your phone to install the leaked Music app -- take a look through our gallery, and then read on for our initial hands-on impressions.

Gallery: Leaked Honeycombish Android Music app

Continue reading Leaked Android Music app images and hands-on review

Leaked Android Music app images and hands-on review originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/05/leaked-android-music-app-hands-on/

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Echofon Twitter client for Firefox redesigned and updated for Firefox 4

With the recent release of Firefox 4, Echofon has just put out a major update of its Twitter extension for Firefox, featuring a new design and takes full advantage of Mozilla's latest browser. Echofon can now be used as a Firefox sidebar or pulled out into a separate window, and it now includes inline photo viewing and an all-around nicer UI for your tweet stream.

Some cool Echofon desktop features have made their way into the Firefox extension this time around, too. It supports muting of users, hashtags, and even specific Twitter clients, as well as saved searches (with a handy new tabbed interface). The very useful conversation view has also been added, allowing you to keep up with @reply chatter more easily.

Echofon for Firefox plans to support real-time tweet streaming through Twitter's user streams API, but that's still pending approval from Twitter. This update is still in Beta, so it might have some issues, but the Firefox extension is now giving standalone Echofon desktop apps a run for their money.

Echofon Twitter client for Firefox redesigned and updated for Firefox 4 originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/05/echofon-twitter-client-for-firefox-redesigned-and-updated-for-fi/

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Google introduces new Twitter snippets in search results

Google has made some improvements to the way Twitter accounts show up in search results. Rather than just a link to the account, you'll now see improved snippets featuring the Twitter user's icon and most recent tweet.

It doesn't sound like a big deal, but the new enhanced snippets are particularly useful when you're trying to distinguish between two people with the same name, or when you're trying to click on the official Twitter account of a celebrity or website instead of just getting one of their fan feeds.

Google introduces new Twitter snippets in search results originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 07 Mar 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/07/google-introduces-new-twitter-snippets-in-search-results/

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Windows 8 now available to OEMs via Microsoft Connect

Select Microsoft Connect partners -- major players like HP -- have been given their first taste of Windows 8. According to various sources, the build string currently sits at 7971.0.110324-1900, which is the third milestone build of the successor to Windows 7.

So far, there haven't been many details revealed about Windows 8. An actual System Restore -- which is being referred to as History Vault -- has been reported, and the feature will allow users and administrators to completely roll back a system to a previous state. A factory reset option is also said to be included.

We've also seen Windows Live integration taking shape on the desktop. It's believed that you'll be able to log in to Windows 8 using your Windows Live credentials, not just a traditional offline Windows username and password.

All that's left now is for a leaked Windows 8 build to show up on a torrent site. Feel free to tip us if you see that happen.

Windows 8 now available to OEMs via Microsoft Connect originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/31/windows-8-now-available-to-oems-via-microsoft-connect/

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Natale 2010: prime idee regalo geek

Secondo le ultime sconcertanti notizie pubblicate da Wikileaks, oggi è cominciato il mese di dicembre. Fa freddo, qualcuno comincia ad andare in letargo e sì, molti di noi stanno già pensando a cosa regalare o farsi regalare a Natale. Potevamo mai scegliere giorno diverso per inaugurare il nostro Natale geek e proporvi qualche bella idea [...]

Source: http://www.geekissimo.com/2010/12/01/natale-2010-prime-idee-regalo-geek/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=natale-2010-prime-idee-regalo-geek

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New Firefox Nightly and Aurora logos unearthed, and how to enable channel switching

Later today, Firefox will undergo its biggest developmental upheaval ever. Mozilla-central, the source of nightly builds, will be renumbered to version 5 -- and at long last, after years of wallowing around version 1, Mozilla's rendering and layout engine, Gecko, will also have its version number updated to match Firefox.

Shortly thereafter, Firefox's new channel system will be implemented. Firefox 5a2 will be introduced as the first Aurora build, and we should also see a Firefox 6 Nightly build. While we we're not sure where they came from, one Sören Hentzschel seems to have unearthed the new Nightly and Aurora logos (see above), along with new About Firefox dialogs (after the break).

In other news, if you want to take a sneak peek at the new 'channel changing' technology that will be introduced in upcoming Firefox builds, head to about:config and create a new string called app.update.desiredChannel -- the value doesn't matter. Then open Help > About Firefox and you'll be able to switch channel, but it doesn't do anything just yet (image after the break). Here's hoping that Firefox channel switching is smoother than Chrome.

Continue reading New Firefox Nightly and Aurora logos unearthed, and how to enable channel switching

New Firefox Nightly and Aurora logos unearthed, and how to enable channel switching originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 07:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/11/new-firefox-nightly-and-aurora-logos-unearthed-and-how-to-enabl/

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iOS 5.0.1 Revision 2 Released: Fixes SIM-related errors

Not too long ago, we discussed about the “Invalid SIM” or “No SIM Card installed” problem reported for iPhone 4S. It now turns out that Apple has found a solution to deal with the issue with the new tweaked version of iOS 5.0.1 (Build 9A406) meant to fix SIM-related errors known to have been witnessed [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SimonBlog/~3/ACg86bckWss/

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Twitter for BlackBerry beta adds push notifications, threaded DM conversations

Twitter for BlackBerry has a new beta release that adds some very important features, including push notifications for @mentions, direct message threading, and geotagging support. Twitter for BlackBerry 1.1 beta is now available in the BlackBerry Beta Zone.

The new push @mentions feature notifies you with a pop-up when you get a new @reply, and you can set it to work with any @mention or cut down on spam by only pushing messages from people who follow you. For private messages, the new chat-style layout allows you to easily keep track of longer direct message conversations. There's also a #topic autocomplete feature that will automatically complete hashtags you've posted or searched for previously. On top of these new features, Twitter for BlackBerry also has an updated look that matches the new Twitter.com.

Sure, this a beta version, but the update looks like a must-have because of the pile of new features it introduces. At long last, the official Twitter client for BlackBerry is finally starting to catch up to the equivalent apps on other platforms!

Twitter for BlackBerry beta adds push notifications, threaded DM conversations originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 22 Feb 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/22/twitter-for-blackberry-beta-adds-push-notifications-threaded-dm/

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Microsoft trumpets Windows Phone 7 numbers on first birthday

Happy first birthday, Windows Phone 7! One year on, and the fledgling mobile operating system has 36,000 active developers in its AppHub community, 1.5 million downloads of its Developer Tools, and 11,500 apps in its Marketplace.

Microsoft is quick to take a couple shots at competitors' app stores, beating its chest about not re-counting tanslations of an app or "lite" apps, "increasing tonnage" by supporting apps from other mobile platforms, and not listing wallpapers as a category.

That's all fine and dandy, but we spend a lot of time sifting through WP7 app feeds -- and we're still not seeing a lot of awesome apps on the platform. We think a few marquee apps would've made a pretty nice first birthday present -- along with a much smoother update process for WP7 users.

Microsoft trumpets Windows Phone 7 numbers on first birthday originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/01/microsoft-trumpets-windows-phone-7-numbers-on-first-birthday/

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Seth’s most-used iPhone and iPad apps of 2011

These are Seth’s most used apps of 2011. Others have their own most used apps, but these are Seth’s. Tweetbot I’ve come to rely on Twitter for far...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/PsmdJZueRS4/story01.htm

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Chris’s most-used iPhone and iPad apps of 2011

I tend to go through phases where I can continually change the apps I have on my home page, and the apps I use the most. There are however five apps...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/du4iDUsxZb4/story01.htm

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Verizon keen on making major changes in January, it seems

It really doesn't seem that long ago, but with today's news that Verizon will be charging an extra $2 a month for some methods of bill payment starting Jan. 15, 2012, we got to thinking about some of the bigger changes we saw in 2011 -- and exactly 366 days before this latest move takes effect. To wit:

• We broke the news nearly two weeks early that Verizon was going to change its upgrade policy so that you'd have to wait through 20 months of a two-year contract before being eligible for a hardware update -- seven months longer than was the previous policy.
• And we also broke the news that return windows would shrink from 30 days to 14 days -- from a month to two weeks.

And both of those major changes came on Jan. 16. That's not really a great surprise -- start of the year and all. But does anyone want to do some doomcasting and predict what Verizon customers will lose come January 2012?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/ZYGQrHCIGlE/story01.htm

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Opera 11.10 includes improved power saving features

Just recently, the Opera 11.10 release candidate was made available for download. It brought a handful of important feature additions -- like HTML5 File API support and IMAP enhancements -- and loads of bugfixes. Nestled in amongst the other details in the Opera team's announcement is one more interesting tidbit: Opera 11.10 offers improved battery optimizations.

The timing here is certainly interesting, what with Microsoft's recent report on how much power the top five Web browsers consume. In its findings, Opera 11 was fairly low in the standings. While we've not seen any new benchmarks yet, we're curious to know whether the Opera 11.10 RC offers any significant gains.

If you're running Opera 11.10 on a laptop, let us know if you're seeing an improvement in your battery life while browsing!

Opera 11.10 includes improved power saving features originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/07/opera-11-10-includes-improved-power-saving-features/

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Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Review

One of the most dynamic PC games to hit the market has been the franchise of Grand Theft Auto. It has literally started the genre and lifted it in new heights that were unimaginable just a few years ago. Will the same feel result from the incarnation of this grand franchise in the iPad? Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown is the newest addition to one of the most popular PC games ever created. The question left to be answered is: Does [...]

Source: http://tabletbuzzblog.com/grand-theft-auto-chinatown-review/

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Line Grapefruit is a tricky Flash "path" game

Okay, see that snaking line coming in from the right on the screenshot? That's you. And see those large round circles? Those are supposedly grapefruits, only they won't sit still - they keep moving up and down and cutting across your path. And if you touch one, you die!

That's what you have to deal with in Line Grapefruit. But that's not all - you're also on a time limit. In fact, you have a very limited amount of time to make it through the "path" (for lack of a better word). You need to snake your way through the winding trail without touching anything. The good news is that a grapefruit only kills you if it touches the end of the line - once you've made it past the grapefruit, nothing happens if it crosses the path you've made.

This is not an easy game, but it's quite unique - I can't recall seeing another game quite like it.

Line Grapefruit is a tricky Flash "path" game originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/01/line-grapefruit-is-a-tricky-flash-path-game/

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Verizon keen on making major changes in January, it seems

It really doesn't seem that long ago, but with today's news that Verizon will be charging an extra $2 a month for some methods of bill payment starting Jan. 15, 2012, we got to thinking about some of the bigger changes we saw in 2011 -- and exactly 366 days before this latest move takes effect. To wit:

• We broke the news nearly two weeks early that Verizon was going to change its upgrade policy so that you'd have to wait through 20 months of a two-year contract before being eligible for a hardware update -- seven months longer than was the previous policy.
• And we also broke the news that return windows would shrink from 30 days to 14 days -- from a month to two weeks.

And both of those major changes came on Jan. 16. That's not really a great surprise -- start of the year and all. But does anyone want to do some doomcasting and predict what Verizon customers will lose come January 2012?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/ZYGQrHCIGlE/story01.htm

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PSX games now available in the Android Market, if you own an Xperia Play

If you're lucky enough to own an Xperia Play -- Sony Ericsson's new Gingerbread-powered smartphone-cum-gamepad -- you can now buy PlayStation (PSX) titles from the Android Market.

There are five titles currently available, all priced at £3.99: Syphon Filter, MediEvil, Cool Boarders 2, Destruction Derby, and Jumping Flash. They don't have an American price yet, but that will surely change once the Xperia Play launches in the States.

Two important questions remain unanswered: How big are these games? The Market descriptions say the games are only 5MB, but that sounds incredibly unlikely -- and more importantly, will it be possible to 'spoof' the Xperia Play and download PSX games onto other Gingerbread-powered phones, like the Nexus S?

In other news, the PlayStation emulator PSX4droid was recently removed from the Android Market. This obviously has nothing to do with today's release of first-party PlayStation games.

PSX games now available in the Android Market, if you own an Xperia Play originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 04:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/01/psx-games-now-available-in-the-android-market/

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Chris's most-used apps of 2011

While I spend a lot of time checking apps out so that I may share them with you all, friends and family and just generally know what I'm talking about it, fact is -- I rarely stray away from my main ones. I'm a creature of habit, and once I find something I like I find it hard to move on to something else. My main apps of choice may interest you though, and if that is the case -- jump on past the break to see what I use most often.

read more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/Hjwg1fpChlM/story01.htm

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Pastebin updated to V3, releases Windows app

Pastebin is a very popular website aimed at coders and other nerdy types, which allows them (or should I say, us) to paste and share snippets of code with lovely syntax highlighting.

It has recently undergone a major overhaul which includes the release of a brand new Windows client. The new client lets you create new "pastes" and manage your existing ones. It joins a host of other tools from Pastebin, such as the Google and Chrome extensions, OS X widget and the mobile apps.

If you're currently using Pastebin, the new client is a great addition. And if you haven't tried it before, next time you have a piece of code you want to share or get some feedback on, you could do worse than try out Pastebin.

[Thanks, Jeroen!]

Pastebin updated to V3, releases Windows app originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 04 Mar 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/04/pastebin-updated-to-v3-releases-windows-app/

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Amazon Cloud Player review: functional, not mind blowing, and still US-only

It's hard to believe: our world-spanning network, our Internet, which is the cornerstone of free speech and free society -- which, on a good day, is capable of causing populist revolutions -- is still crippled by banal geolocation restrictions. We are, of course, talking about Amazon's two latest offerings, both of which are only available in the United States. Last week it was the excellent Android Appstore for Android, and today it's the Amazon Cloud Player for Web and Android.

Along with Cloud Player, Amazon also launched Cloud Drive, which is basically just like any other cloud storage digital locker. It's not particularly feature rich, and there's no real reason to use it over something like SugarSync or SkyDrive -- it does work outside the US, however.

Its primary purpose, as far as we're concerned, is that it stores your your Cloud Player music in a subdirectory. You get 5GB of Cloud Drive storage for free, and then it's $1 per gigabyte per year if you need more space.

The Amazon Cloud Player itself will not, to put it bluntly, blow your mind. It works, but it's very much an early, and possibly rushed, release. Let's dive in to the Web and Android players for a closer look.

Gallery: Amazon Cloud Player and Cloud Drive: on Web and Android

Continue reading Amazon Cloud Player review: functional, not mind blowing, and still US-only

Amazon Cloud Player review: functional, not mind blowing, and still US-only originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 29 Mar 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/29/amazon-cloud-player-hands-on-review-functional-not-mind-blowin/

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