Motorola Droid Gets Android Froyo

If you’re a “Fandroid” and an insomniac (or an early riser, for you East Coasters), you’re in luck. Verizon has started rolling out over-the-air updates for the Motorola Droid. Check your notifications bar from time to time, and have fun with Android 2.2, better known as Froyo!

On Monday, we told you that Froyo had made it to Sprint Evo devices; we speculated that Droid Froyo updates would be coming later this week.

We’re currently seeing upgrades rolling in on our own devices, and after downloads and double-checks, we can confirm that Froyo has indeed come to the Droid at long last.

Here are a few features you can expect from your new OS:

• Improved overall speed
• Great Flash 10.1 integration
• Improved security options
• Enhanced browser performance
• A better Android Market
• New tips, shortcuts and help from a home-screen widget
• The ability to stream music from any desktop library (including iTunes)
• Web and native apps
• Better video recording features, including LED flash and better YouTube uploading
• Automatic syncing between desktop and mobile applications

Sadly, some of Froyo’s features won’t be seen on your Droid, though. The ability to use your phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot was nixed by Verizon, saying the Droid doesn’t have the hardware to be a hotspot.

We’re hoping the Droid 2 will have the needed hardware; multi-device, wireless connectivity was one of the more exciting features of the latest version of the Android OS.

If you’ve got the OTA upgrade, download it and let us know what you think of your shiny, new operating system. We’ve been impressed with Froyo as a concept since Day One, calling it “a slap in Apple’s face” when we saw demos at Google I/O.

What do you like best about Froyo on the Droid? Is there anything you miss or would change? Tell us all about it in the comments.

Article: RSS via: Mashable

Tags: Android, Android 2.2, Droid, Froyo, Mashable, Motorola, Software Update, Verizon

Posted in Android, Motorola, Smartphones | No Comments »

The A-Team Has an iPhone App

NBC Universal has just released The A-Team Action Pack [iTunes link] for the iPhone and iPod touch. The app was created to coincide with the availability of the first season of The A-Team on iTunes.

In 1983, a television series hit the airwaves about a crack commando unit that was sent to prison for a crime they didn’t commit. These men promptly escaped to the Los Angeles underground, where they had a successful five-season run on NBC.

Today, still beloved by the public, they survive as the inspiration for a summer action movie and, more importantly, a brand new app for the iPhone. If you have a problem, if no one else can help — and if you can find them (and you have an iOS device) — maybe you can hire… The A-Team!

As an app, The A-Team Action Pack is pretty basic, but it’s still a lot of fun. It includes a sound board with clips from vehicles, music, character catchphrases and other sound effects. If you shake the phone, you can create the sound of a gun or grenade blasting off.

You can also watch the famous opening sequence. Check out the video below for more info on the app.

The app is free, so download it now, sucka! What do you think of the use of mobile apps to promote other digital releases? Let us know!

Article: RSS via: Mashable

Tags: Apple, Apps, iPhone, iTunes, Mashable, NBC Universal, The A-Team, Video

Posted in Apple, Apps, iPhone, Videos | No Comments »

Internet Explorer Gains Market Share at the Expense of Firefox

Microsoft Internet Explorer continues to make a comeback, gaining market share for the third month in a row, mostly to the detriment of Mozilla Firefox.

According to new statistics from Net Applications, Internet Explorer increased its share of the browser market in July by 0.42%, for a total share of 60.74%. Firefox, on the other hand, took the biggest hit: a loss of 0.9%. Google’s Chrome browser lost 0.08%, while Safari gained 0.24%.

IE’s gain continues a trend of reversal for the struggling web browser. While Microsoft’s browser is still the world’s most popular browser by large margins, it has steadily lost market share over the last few years.

However, Net Applications has spotted a trend of recovery for the browser since May. In addition to IE regaining some momentum, Chrome usage has also been soaring. At the short end of the stick though is Firefox, whose market share peaked in April at 24.59% and has steadily dropped since.

These stats fly in the face of the conventional wisdom that Internet Explorer is doomed to decline against the superior speed, extension capabilities and HTML5 support of Firefox and Chrome. And there’s an even bigger wrench that will soon be thrown into the mix: Internet Explorer 9, which boasts superior hardware-accelerated speed and strong support for open standards.

Do you think these trends will continue? Which browser is destined to dominate?

Article: RSS via: Mashable

Tags: Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Internet Explorer 9, Mashable, Microsoft, Mozilla, Safari

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Spotify in the U.S. Faces More Delays

We’ve been reading reports tonight that the popular European music service Spotify has hit yet another delay in making an entry in the U.S. market.

According to Billboard, Spotify’s negotiations with U.S. record labels have broken down and are “back to square one.” Apparently, the startup is still aiming for a 2010/early 2011 U.S. launch, but there’s no telling how long label negotiations could take or if they will be successful at all.

When we last heard from Spotify CEO Daniel Ek at SXSW 2010, he projected a Q3 U.S. launch and the unveiling of several new mobile applications. And while the service’s social and music features just keep getting better, the company is actually farther from a U.S. debut than they were this spring.

In Europe, Spotify operates under a freemium model. Users can get unlimited streaming music in an ad-supported interface. Users can also choose to pay for an ad-free experience that also includes mobile access. But elements of this model have been sources of contention for the major record labels stateside, notably Warner Music Group, according to Billboard’s sources.

In the meantime, Spotify competitors abound — Pandora in particular stands out as having been able to navigate political and record-label hurdles to keep itself operational and profitable. And Google and Apple are both rumored to be working on streaming music solutions, too.

Perhaps the larger question is whether American music lovers will still care about Spotify once it finally comes to our shores… if, indeed, it ever makes it here.

What do you think: Will Spotify’s leadership be able to play nicely with American record labels and launch their highly anticipated app in the U.S. this year? How about next year? Feel free to share your speculations in the comments.

Article: RSS via: Mashable

Tags: Cloud Music, Mashable, Music, Social Networks, Spotify, Streaming Music

Posted in Internet, Music | No Comments »

Shocking Video Scams Spread Virally on Facebook [WARNING]

Several new Facebook scams are making the rounds today, and although they follow the same pattern as many of the recent scams we’ve seen, some users are still falling for them.

The scams work as follows: First, you’ll see an interesting link in other users’ status updates, but when you follow the link, you’ll be asked to fill out a number of surveys, which are nothing more than ploys to extract your personal data.

Today, we’ve seen two very similar scams, both promising a “shocking video” to unsuspecting users. One message that appears in status updates reads: “I am shocked!!! I’m NEVER texting AGAIN since I found this out. Video here: http://bit.ly/c4SDyh – Worldwide scandal!”

If you click on the link in the message, it’ll lead you to a rogue Facebook application, which will ask you to fill in a couple of surveys before you can actually see the promised content.

Another message promises a shocking video of a teacher that nearly killed a boy; clicking on the link in the status update will, once again, only force you to jump through hoops and hand over your personal data in the process. Graham Cluley from Sophos does a great job explaining the attack in the video below.

Our advice, as always, is not to click on suspicious links if you’re not absolutely sure they’re safe. Do not give away your personal info. If you’ve fallen for these (or similar) scams, remove the offending app(s) from your Facebook, and remove the related status message from your newsfeed.

Article: RSS via: Mashable

Tags: Facebook, Mashable, Scam, Social Networks, Video

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Firefox 4 Beta 2 Adds More Languages and App Tabs

Firefox 4 beta 1 was released earlier this month, and today the next version has become available — this time with support for 23 more languages.

The latest Firefox 4 beta also features tabs on top for Mac OS X users (the last version was for Windows users only) and a new feature called App Tabs. App tabs can be created for your most accessed sites, and are designed to save space by only displaying the favicon (instead of the entire tab with its title description).

You can create an app tab for any site by right-clicking on the tab and selecting “create App Tab.” This is a really nice little feature and can certainly clean up overly full browser windows.

The latest Firefox 4 beta has also added more support for CSS3 features, including support for CSS3 transitions and animations. You can see the CSS3 demos in action here in Firefox 4 beta 2, although the transitions appeared to work in Safari and Chrome as well.

Firefox 4 is an important release for Mozilla, and it promises to be faster and more streamlined. Firefox is facing stiff competition, not just from Google Chrome — a WebKit-based browser that continues to grow at a breakneck pace — but also from the upcoming Internet Explorer 9.

However, with things like App Tabs and the even more ambitious Tab Candy in their wheelhouse, it’s clear that the Firefox team is entering this battle fully armed.

Check out this video to see a demonstration of how Tab Apps work.

You can download Firefox 4 beta 4 in your choice of language and OS here. What do you think of the latest Firefox 4 beta? Do you still love the phoenix or has another browser claimed your heart? Let us know!

Article: RSS via: Mashable

Tags: App Tabs, Beta, Firefox, Firefox 4, Mashable, Mozilla, Tab Candy, Video, Web Browser

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Google Apps Adds Government Edition

Google Apps has already landed a few big customers in the public sector — including the City of Los Angeles — and today the company forwarded its drive into the space by launching a new edition of its app suite: Google Apps for Government.

Google Apps for Government is, according to Google, the first cloud computing app suite to receive the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) certification. This will make it easier for agencies or groups to evaluate and adopt Google Apps.

Any product aimed at government employees needs more than just certification, which is why Google notes in its blog post that Gmail and Google Calendar data will be segregated into data centers marked exclusively for government users in the continental U.S.

After the Street View privacy fiasco, this sort of segmentation is going to be a necessary feature for any sort of widespread adoption. After all, while cloud-based applications can be very attractive to government users — especially as departmental budgets get tighter — there are simply some considerations that separate a government user from the average business.

Government agencies or departments need to not only follow security protocols, which Google is addressing in part by getting FISMA certification, but many of these departments also need to have specific reporting, collecting and archiving measures in place. This is one reason that Microsoft has its own government-only cloud facility for its products aimed at federal users.

This announcement and product is a big step for Google and having a formal government offering will certainly make the company more visible in the space. Google’s competitors haven’t been sitting idle. While Google can often undercut its competitors on price, security and reliability are two factors that matter more to many government users.

If you’re interested in seeing what a government migration to Google Apps looks like, check out the video about the City of Los Angeles transition below.

How do you feel about government agencies running on the cloud?

Article: RSS via: Mashable

Tags: Google, Google Apps, Google Apps for Government, Mashable, Video

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YouTube Launches New HTML5-Friendly Embed Code

The YouTube blog has just posted about a new video embed style that uses <iframe> and will eventually provide a more robust experience for users across browsers and devices.

The big advantage of this new embed style is that it can serve content to users using either Flash or HTML5, depending on where the video is being viewed and the preferences of the user. The new embed code is still being tweaked, but developers are encouraged to use it and give YouTube their feedback.

Back in January, YouTube rolled out its HTML5 player, and support for HTML5 has since continued to expand and evolve. However, not all video is viewable in HTML5 in all browsers, and sometimes content needs to use the Flash player.

That’s why the new embed code has so much potential. Right now, the HTML5 player only works on the YouTube site itself. The standard embed code doesn’t display the HTML5 video unless you are on a mobile device that is able to either play in-line or take you to a separate player.

With the new embed, however, it is possible to view video using the HTML5 player, provided you have signed up for the beta version and are in an HTML5-compatible browser. If the embedded video has elements that aren’t compatible with HTML5, the Flash browser will be used instead.

If you want to try out the new player, this is the embed code you want to use. It replaces the VIDEO_ID text with the code from your video (the string after v= in the standard YouTube address):

<iframe type="text/html" width="640" height="385" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VIDEO_ID" frameborder="0">

Eventually these embeds will make viewing on mobile devices much easier in in-line situations. Right now, some videos will play in-line on an iOS or Android device, but more often than not the video is played in its own player.

As a test, I loaded the announcement page on my iPhone 4. Initially, I was shown a black screen instead of the video content. After enabling HTML5, however, the following appeared:

In essence, I was still unable to get the video to play. It looks like all of the bugs haven’t yet been resolved on the mobile side, but I did at least get one step closer.

What do you think of the new embed system and its potential?

Article: RSS via: Mashable

Tags: Flash, Google, HTML5, Mashable, Video, YouTube

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Apple Automatically Refunding iPhone 4 Bumper Purchases

Have you purchased an iPhone 4 bumper case? It’s time to get your money back, as Apple has started automatically processing refunds for customers who bought the bumper cases via online Apple Store.

Faced with a huge backlash over iPhone 4 reception issues, Apple recently announced that all iPhone 4 customers who bought a bumper case are eligible for a refund, and new iPhone 4 customers get a bumper case for free — at least until September 30, when Apple will reevaluate its bumper case policy.

We knew this was coming, but it’s still a strangely gratifying experience for iPhone 4 customers; for once, Apple is giving you money instead of the opposite.

Article: RSS via: Mashable

Tags: Apple, Bumper Case, iPhone 4, iPhone Bumpers, Mashable, Refunds

Posted in Accessories, Apple, iPhone | No Comments »

Microsoft Sells 175 Million Copies of Windows 7 in Nine Months

Microsoft wiped away any doubts about its fiscal outlook with a record-breaking Q4 earnings report, primarily driven by sales of Windows 7 and Office 2010. In fact, Microsoft is reporting that more than 175 million copies of Windows 7 were sold in just nine months, making it the fastest-selling OS in the company’s history.

Windowsv7 was released to consumers on October 22, 2009, exactly nine months ago. Right after launch, its sales outperformed Vista by 234% and carved out a 10% share of the market by February. Just a month ago, the company announced that it had already sold 150 million units, or seven copies of Windows 7 per second.

The sale of 175 million copies in just nine months is nothing short of impressive. On average, that’s nearly 20 million copies sold per month. If you do the math, it means that Windows 7 sales increased in volume from June to July.

With these kind of sale numbers, it’s easy to see why Microsoft posted its best fiscal year yet. The desktop isn’t going away anytime soon.

Article: RSS via: Mashable

Tags: Mashable, Microsoft, Windows 7, Windows OS

Posted in Microsoft, Windows 7 | No Comments »