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.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

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

XILINX WESTERN DIGITAL

Sneaky Tax Tactics Save Apple Billions of Dollars [Apple]

The NY Times is reporting that by routing huge amounts of income through low-tax places like Nevada, Ireland, Luxembourg, and the British Virgin Islands, Apple probably avoided paying $2.4 billion dollars in U.S. taxes last year alone. That's billion, with a B. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/feAlrSspT50/sneaky-tax-tactics-save-apple-billions-of-dollars

AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING AVNET BHARTI AIRTEL BT GROUP

You can now rent Adobe Photoshop for $35 per month, CS 5.5 available soon

Rejoice! No longer will you have to fork over $700 for a Photoshop CS5 license! Adobe has unveiled a new subscription scheme where you can rent the entire Creative Suite, or individual packages, by the month, or for an entire year.

Adobe Photoshop can be yours for $35 per month if you agree to rent it for 12 months, or $49 per month if you require its services for a shorter period. Dreamweaver can be had for even cheaper, at just $19 per month. The entire Master Collection is still rather expensive, though, at $125 per month.

Today, Adobe also ushered in the release of Creative Suite 5.5, and simultaneously upped its release cycle from 18 months to 24 months. This means, if you rent Photoshop for two years, it's actually the same cost as buying it outright. There's no rent-to-own option, though -- so you wouldn't have access to the cheaper upgrade price once Creative Suite 6 rolls around next year. Still, if you need access to Photoshop, After Effects or Premiere for a one-time project, the new rental scheme could be exactly what you're looking for.

In other news, Adobe has announced that it will be launching three rather exciting iPad apps that work in conjunction with Photoshop: Eazel, Nav, and Color Lava. Eazel lets you five-finger paint on your iPad, and export the result into Photoshop; Nav acts as some kind of workspace, brush and menu extension, and the hopefully named Color Lava is a paint mixing palette. The apps are expected to appear in the App Store in the next 30 days.

You can now rent Adobe Photoshop for $35 per month, CS 5.5 available soon originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/11/you-can-now-rent-adobe-photoshop-for-29-per-month/

RESEARCH IN MOTION ROGERS COMMUNICATIONS SAIC SATYAM COMPUTER SERVICES

ZTE Optik review (Sprint)

The ZTE Optik is a nice little surprise from Sprint. It's an unassuming but well-built and well-running 7-inch Honeycomb tablet that runs on Sprint's 3G network, and it is probably one of the better devices nobody has heard much about. With no gimmicks like a digital stylus or a foldable keyboard dock, it's easy to forget about the Optik. Hit the break to see why you shouldn't.

 

---

The Optik is really nicely built, the fit and finish on our unit was darn near perfect, and the parts used had a quality feel. It's also very nice to hold, partially because of the rubber grips. The screen is top-notch and better than most other 7-inch devices	It has to be said -- there is no 4G on the Optik. It's also another new device already one major Android version behind, with no clear upgrade path. The battery life wasn't as good as expected.
Easily the best value for the price, the Optik is actually a nice 3G tablet. The screen is very nice, and it's a great consumption device. If you're not expecting any type of 4G service in your area, and in the market for a tablet with a data plan, it's definitely worth a look.

Inside this review	More info
Video walkthrough Hardware review Software review Camera tests	ZTE Optik news Android tablet forums

read more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/8NgBLfZiWD8/story01.htm

FIRST SOLAR FINISAR FEI COMPANY FAIRCHILD SEMICONDUCTOR INTERNATIONAL

Mac OS X Lion Preview 2 released, introduces mega exciting leather bound iCal skin

This is one of those posts that could probably be condensed into a tweet: Apple has released the second Preview of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion. If you're running Preview 1, it looks like you'll first receive a small update via Software Update, and then you can download Preview 2 from the Mac App Store.

There has been some speculation that Apple is getting close to a release or Golden Master build, but judging by 9to5 Mac's initial findings there's definitely some way to go. The Golden Master will probably appear at, or just before, the Apple WWDC in June.

So far, it's looking like the only changes in Preview 2 are the leather bound iCal skin that you can see above, and the main iChat window now combines your AIM, Bonjour and Jabber contacts, like Adium. We're sure that more details will emerge throughout the day, though, and there's bound to be lots of invisible changes, too. We'll update this post when we find out more.

Mac OS X Lion Preview 2 released, introduces mega exciting leather bound iCal skin originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 05:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/31/mac-os-x-lion-preview-2-released-introduces-mega-exciting-leath/

MISCROSOFT OFFICE MICROSOFT MICROSEMI MICROS SYSTEMS

New iPad available in India, South Africa and seven more countries from today

Apple will roll out the new iPad to nine more countries starting from today. This is the third phase of new iPad launches and will see it now available in a total of forty six countries.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/io4DJVmxSGw/story01.htm

SES SHAW COMMUNICATIONS

Windows 8 welcome screen revealed, looks very Metro

It's not really a secret the Microsoft had planned on bringing bits of Windows Phone 7's Metro UI to Windows 8, but we haven't seen a lot of really telling evidence. However, with the Windows 8 milestone 3 build now available to Microsoft Connect partners, it was really just a matter of time before we started to get a peek.

Thanks to Rafael Rivera and Paul Thurrott, we've now had a glimpse at what the Windows 8 welcome screen will look like. As you can see, the typography is very Metro indeed. Within Windows also mentions that the background image is customizable, and we're wondering if it might not pull from your current Windows 8 theme. This particular shot shows the CTRL + ALT + DELETE login option, but we imagine you'll still be able to log in by clicking your account picture tile as well.

Rivera and Thurrott also mention that the tablet version of the welcome screen will allow you to log in by swiping a pattern on the screen -- as you can on current Android devices.

Windows 8 welcome screen revealed, looks very Metro originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/01/windows-8-welcome-screen-revealed-looks-very-metro/

IOMEGA INTUIT INTERSECTIONS INTERNATIONAL RECTIFIER

Android Central Podcast - Live!

It's Android Central! It's a podcast! It's the Android Central Podcast! And it's happening live, right this very second! 

Watch the Android Central Podcast!

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

RED HAT RADISYS RACKABLE SYSTEMS QUEST SOFTWARE

iSites overhauled, now lets you publish cloud-based HTML5 iPhone apps in minutes

iSites -- a zero-code cloud-based 'app creator' -- can now generate HTML5 apps that work on iOS devices. With this new feature, dubbed 'InstantApp', you can now design a single app in your browser and publish it natively on Android and iOS, and as an HTML5 iPhone app.

We haven't looked at iSites before, but it shot to fame last year when it launched with native iOS and Android support. Self-publishing Android apps wasn't a problem because Google does very little moderation of the Market, but iSites ran into trouble with its iOS apps. Thousands of people signed up for the service after it was featured on Mashable and TechCrunch, and you can imagine Apple's chagrin as thousands of cookie cutter apps flooded its approval queue.

Genwi, the developer behind iSites, realized something had to be done -- it had to circumvent the App Store approval process. Genwi, of course, turned to HTML5 Web apps -- which can be pinned to the iPhone home screen and which can be shoehorned into almost behaving like native apps.

Read on for our experiences with iSites' new InstantApp HTML5 iOS app creator.

Gallery: iSites InstantApp HTML5 iPhone app creation

Continue reading iSites overhauled, now lets you publish cloud-based HTML5 iPhone apps in minutes

iSites overhauled, now lets you publish cloud-based HTML5 iPhone apps in minutes originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 30 Mar 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/30/isites-overhauled-now-lets-you-publish-cloud-based-html5-iphone/

QUANTUM QLOGIC PROGRESS SOFTWARE PLANAR SYSTEMS

Not Much Hyperventilating Over Hacker's Hypervisor Code Theft

A hacker with the handle "Hardcore Charlie" has stolen source code for VMware's ESX hypervisor and posted it on the Internet. A hypervisor provides a virtualization layer between operating systems and the underlying hardware, creating a virtual machine. This lets users run multiple virtual machines on one processor.

Source: http://ectnews.com.feedsportal.com/c/34520/f/632000/s/1ec6c86b/l/0L0Stechnewsworld0N0Crsstory0C749670Bhtml/story01.htm

INTERSECTIONS INTERNATIONAL RECTIFIER INTERNATIONAL GAME TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES (IBM)

This Company Builds Some Of the Greatest Playgrounds On Earth [Image Cache]

Besides providing a safe place for kids to tire themselves out so they sleep through the night, playgrounds are one of the best places for young ones to foster their imaginations. And Denmark-based Monstrum builds playgrounds that are veritable wonderlands for make-believe. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/FPCuC6J0nCA/

NINTENDO NOKIA