Author: Alan Buckingham

When saying I have played Rovio’s Amazing Alex game on my Android phone for some time, I don’t mean a cheap shot at the app launching today on Windows Phone. To be truthful, it is more a challenge, and one that comes with sincere sympathy, because folks on the Microsoft mobile platform now have the opportunity to be just as baffled as me.

The physics-based puzzle game from the Finnish company debuted for Windows Phone 8. According to Microsoft’s Michael Stroh, “The game has more than 100 levels, 35 interactive objects, and four locations to keep things interesting. But one of my favorite features of Amazing Alex is this: the game lets you design and share your own levels — and download the best fan-created levels engineered by other players”.

Yes, that sounds about right — I would not honestly know since I became stuck on one level and have not moved since. Truth be told, I gave up trying, but am now inspired to go back and take a fresh look. Or perhaps I should simply hand the device to my son. Yes, make fun of me in the comments for my lack of gaming prowess.

Amazing Alex is not free, but $0.99 is not a steep price to pay for your hours of entertainment, or in cases such as mine, months of frustration. First Temple Run and now this — you folks are going to be getting rather unproductive.

Well, perhaps you may have heard something about this project, but it hasn’t exactly made mainstream news. However, the Digital Public Library of America is gearing up for its big launch day and the organization has lofty goals. The project has been in the works since 2010, when it was conceived by Harvard University’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society.

The primary objective is to bring together the holdings of America’s research libraries, archives, and museums all in one online location. Several state libraries, including most recently South Carolina, have pledged to add their historical collections to the archive. There has also been a pledge of more than 10,000 digital images from museums.

While the DPLA site is already online, the official launch date has been set for April 18th. According to Robert Darnton of the New York Review of Books, “Thanks to the Internet and a pervasive if imperfect system of education, we now can realize the dream of Jefferson and Franklin. We have the technological and economic resources to make all the collections of all our libraries accessible to all our fellow citizens — and to everyone everywhere with access to the World Wide Web”.

The National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Services have helped to finance the project, but so far it has been unable to bring the Library of Congress on board. The service will be free to use when it launches later this month and should provide a wealth of information for students and those who are simply curious.

Back in March, which was not so long ago, we learned that the Android feature that is all the rage would likely come to Chrome the browser and operating system. François Beaufort uncovered code that seemed to confirm the coming inclusion of Google Now, as Beaufort seems to uncover everything — to the point where the search ginat recently threw up its proverbial hands in frustration and finally hired the man.

That day has arrived…in a manner of speaking. The latest build of Chrome Canary, the developer channel version of the browser, has hit the streets and version 28 comes with the initial framework for Now integration.

The service is disabled by default, but you can remedy that by heading your browser to chrome://flags and scrolling all the way to the bottom of the page. Here you can flip the “enable” switch, but do not expect much. For the moment the service is more like “Not Now”. Google has not yet flipped the final switch to enable the server that will power it — or perhaps it has, but the URL is not yet known.

Either way, the service does not yet actually work, but now we have even more confirmation that it is actually on the way. Though, Canary has been known to take away services after initial testing in the past. However, this one seems rather important and I doubt Google would simply scrap the plan. As my colleague Joe Wilcox said in his initial post on this — it has the power to change everything.

Late yesterday and throughout this morning I have browsed my RSS feeds and continued to be amazed by the stories I see. This is not new — I am often amazed by what some sources will run with. However the latest “news” surrounding Windows “Blue”, which leaked out last week, has me completely perplexed.

Blue is, of course, very real. I am running it in a virtual machine and Microsoft has even confirmed that this update will be unveiled at the BUILD conference in June. The company has also told us that “Blue” is a code name, meaning it will likely not be the final moniker that the update is released under. All of this we know.

What we do not know is what that final name will be. However, I have seen one site after another running with a story saying the final name of Windows 8.1 is “confirmed”. Really? Confirmed by who? Microsoft has said nothing of the sort.

Where does all of this confirmation come from? Well, as it turns out, it all comes from a leaked screenshot that depicts the “computer properties” screen of a Windows build labeled as 9375 and showing a version listed as Windows 8.1 Pro. The source for this? A post from a person going by the handle Kacper K. showing an image he posted to a Polish website known as winforum.eu. Well, heck, what is not to trust here? With sourcing like this is there anything left to doubt? It must be confirmed.

What makes me shake my head the most is that sources I personally respect have run with this story as if it was a cold hard fact.

Sure, the new Windows update, rumored to be coming in August and currently called Blue, may very well be called 8.1. It is a logical name, but so is 8.5, R2, Sp1 and probably many more.

You probably already know that Microsoft is bringing its BUILD conference to San Francisco this June. It’s not cheap, the tickets and airfare could set you back considerably depending on where you are coming from, but it may be worth the expense to make the trip. Microsoft has promised to unveil Windows Blue there — though you’re likely to have seen the early leaked version already.

Today is the time to get your credit card ready because registration goes live at 9 AM PT and while it will not be easy on your wallet, those who register early, as in within the first 500, will get a discounted rate and only have their bank accounts lightened by $1,595. If you do not make that “early bird” special then you can expect to pay $2,095 for the privilege of travelling to the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

Aside from the promised Blue unveiling, there is no real guarantee of what to expect. The official site teases all things Microsoft — Windows, Windows Phone, Azure, Xbox, Internet Explorer, Office 365 and even Visual Studio. Microsoft’s Frank Shaw has promised that “at BUILD, developers will see what’s next for Windows, Windows Server, Windows Azure, Visual Studio and more”.

You will pay more for BUILD than you would to attend Google I/O and you can likely expect less goodies, although Microsoft has been known to give out a few things, such as the Windows 8 tablet it handed out back in 2011. Still, for developers this is the big Microsoft event and will likely sell out rather quickly.

Pandora gets me through my days. As I am in an office of one person I need to create my own entertainment and the music streaming service on my Galaxy Nexus is one of my favorite options. This morning when I awoke and checked my phone I found that the app had just improved for me and every other customer.

Today Pandora rolls out several new updates to upgrade the streaming music service — providing you are running Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, or later. That is the level of the mobile operating system you will need to get the most important of the new features, which is lock screen controls. The control is simple — just play-pause and skip buttons, along with the artist and song title that show you what is currently playing.

If you are running an earlier version of Android, fear not, you get some of the updates as well. All versions now boast a faster boot up time, elapsed and remaining timestamps for the track progress indicator, and the usual assortment of bug fixes and minor enhancements.

As I frequently need to quickly pause my music when life — like wife or kids — intrude, the lock screen control addition is a huge advantage for Pandora and makes the bit of money I pay on a monthly basis even more worth the small automatic withdrawal that my bank account suffers.

Back in January I had the opportunity to test out BitTorrent Sync. I did not find the product to be completely ready for prime time, but I also did not find it to be terrible. I couldn’t call BitTorrent Sync ready to replace my dearly departed Live Mesh, but I saw some promise, just lacking a bit of polish around the edges.

The company steadily improved the service since those early days and now is ready to roll out a more public version of what is still considered Alpha software.

In an email sent out today, BitTorrent announces that “for those of you who are still on the wait list, keep an eye on your inbox. By mid-April we will send you a link to download the Alpha from a private server ahead of the public release”.

The SyncApp is moving forward more quickly with this latest release. The company goes on to promise “we will be opening the Alpha version of SyncApp for anyone to download by the end of April”.

For all of us dejected Live Mesh customers this has promise, but BitTorrent is not the only game in town. While Microsoft may have killed that arm of its Live suite, the company’s SyncToy app lives on and there are other oars in the water, such as SyncBack SE, which I have previously used and liked.

Still, BitTorrent has the most promise in this field and it has the technology to deliver on that promise. Over the coming weeks we will see if SyncApp can actually do exactly that, or if it is “pie in the sky”.

Photo Credit: RAJ CREATIONZS/Shutterstock

Every week Microsoft’s Office team does a webinar. That is not news, but this week the company is focusing on Office specifically within Windows 8. While perhaps many of you are not yet using the latest versions of Office and Windows, it is pretty much assured that eventually you will be — assimilation is inevitable.

With that thought in mind, Microsoft’s Doug Thomas announces that “if you are working with Windows 8-or your business will be using Windows 8 soon-check out this week’s webinar. We will go over shortcuts and quick navigation for keyboard and mouse, plus answer your questions”.

If you are expecting an in-depth look at all of this then I recommend you tune down your expectations. Oh, and you will not need to bother bringing a cup of coffee along either, because the webinar is only 15 minutes long. It does promise the basics though, such as using Windows 8 with a mouse and keyboard, the Start screen, keyboard shortcuts and a bit more.

Still, it could provide a useful foundation for those who are new to these platforms. Thomas explains how one can join in — “if you are on Windows 7 or 8, you will join via the free Lync Web App. For other computers, you may need to call in for audio: 888-320-3585, Conference ID: 84172528”. You can head over to the Office site to view other upcoming Office web events.

Last night marked the debut of season three of “Game of Thrones”, the wildly popular HBO show based on the books by George R. R. Martin. The show generates major publicity and even bigger Internet piracy to go along with that. Thanks to a large, and Internet-savvy, fan base, the fantasy series is the single-most pirated TV show ever. Game of Thrones had one episode downloaded 4.3 million times.

Director David Petrarca already is on record saying he is not concerned by the piracy. But, now, in what feels almost like an April Fool’s joke that came a day early, HBO programming president Michael Lombardo stepped up to say he has no problem with the show’s status as the top download. Lombardo told Entertainment Weekly that “The demand is there, and it certainly didn’t negatively impact the DVD sales. [Piracy is] something that comes along with having a wildly successful show on a subscription network”.

In fact, Lombardo went on to say his biggest concern was about the quality of the downloaded versions available from the torrent sites — “The production values of this show are so incredible. So I’m hoping that in the purloined different generation of cuts that the show is holding up”.

Last week we heard that HBO GO was looking at ways to part with paid TV services and launch a subscription model. Now the company tacitly supports piracy of popular shows. Perhaps the media company is coming around to a new business model that is more inline with today’s digital world.

In what will surely be viewed as a controversial, yet likely politically correct decision, today the Google homepage is running with a Doodle portraying deceased labor leader Cesar Chavez, in honor of what would have been his 86th birthday. Chavez passed away back in 1993, but his work and memory have lived on. In 2011, President Barack Obama proclaimed March 31 as the official Cesar Chavez day.

While the Easter holiday is celebrated by Christians around the world, the holiday is just that — one religion only. On the other hand, I think we can all, no matter what your denomination, relate to an activist farm worker who stood up for the civil rights of humans of all backgrounds.

The decision by the search giant, which incidentally has not run an Easter-dedicated Doodle since 2000, will certainly be controversial and could lead to the religious wing arming up against the company. But that wing of society arms against many things.

Chavez, a Mexican-American born in Arizona in 1927, has been memorialized in such places as the National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC and been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, though it was sadly given posthumously.

I have no doubt that Google’s decision today will stir some controversy and rankle a few feathers. I also have absolutely no doubt that choosing to pay tribute to a man who stood up for humans everywhere, as opposed to honoring a holiday that was simply derived from Pagan traditions and incorporated into modern times is the right thing to do.

Are you sitting down? I know this will come as a shock, and I want to prepare you. Adobe Flash is the source of a new attack against PCs. Honestly, in this case it really is not Adobe’s fault (unlike some other past cases), but the software is still the vehicle used in this drive-by. Microsoft reports that Trojan:Win32/Preflayer is in the wild and changes the home page for Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Yandex.

“These sites appear to be a type of search engine, but there are pop-up advertisements displayed on the pages, and there was an instance where I was redirected to a different page not of my choosing”, Jonathan San Jose, Microsoft antivirus researcher, says.

The Trojan attacks in the guise of a fake Adobe Flash update that pops up on the user’s screen. According to the software giant’s threat report “to trick you into thinking that it’s a legitimate installer, it also downloads and runs the actual Flash Player installer”. That makes this a bit scarier than the average fake Flash updates that we have grown accustomed to encountering over the past few years.

The browser home page is changed to one of the following addresses:

• www.anasayfada.net
• www.heydex.com

Microsoft details how the Trojan works in its threat report, including the attacks on Chrome, Firefox, Yandex and, of course, Internet Explorer. Microsoft also outlines steps to remove the virus, but users should probably be clued in to not get it, given that the pop-up box for installation is written in Turkish.

Folks, Flash is dangerous. It also causes non-critical, but still annoying, browser problems. Many web sites have moved on to HTML5, but for those that have not, do yourself a favor — enable click-to-run in your web browser and pick and choose carefully where you make that click. By all means, do not trust pop-up ads. If you need to update, then visit the official Adobe site and do so manually. It really is a jungle out there.

Photo Credits: maraga/Shutterstock

The 2012 Kickstarter darling Ouya has been anticipated ever since it skyrocketed past its fund-raising goal and began pre-production. While Sony has released information on its next-generation PlayStation and many people have been talking up the new Xbox, Ouya may have outdone both larger companies in terms of publicity and expectation.

CEO Julie Uhrman announces that “Today we start shipping our early backers their OUYAs. And at our unveiling event this evening, the first of you will get to see OUYA in the flesh (or, metal, as it were)”.

Following the big announcement some details were revealed. For one, customers will be prompted to install an update upon first boot up, though the company promises that these updates will be done in the background in the future. You will also need to enter in your credit or debit card information to grab games, but every game will be free to try before you buy — “Your card will only be charged if you buy content you love”, Uhrman promises.

The device supports up to four controllers and also Bluetooth pairing with other devices — a list of those compatible hardware is being prepared.

For now, the box is shipping to early backers from Kickstarter. Early pre-orders will follow and then the console will debut at retail on June 4. Ouya promises it will continue to add features, refine the user interface, and keep building the software. I am awaiting my box, or at least confirmation it has shipped — stay tuned for a review.

I love Amazon Prime. If I had a Kindle I would probably love it even more, if that were possible. Over the past two weeks I have also come to love my new Google TV, which has taken over our living room, with control of the DirecTV DVR and apps thrown in to boot. One of those apps is Amazon and I use it quite often, keeping a string of movies and TV shows in my watch list.

Now the Google PrimeTime app for Google TV has been updated to version 1.4.3-43-79424. This innocuous little name actually comes with a huge feature update. Not only has Amazon Prime content been rolled into the service, but you can control it and Netflix and HBO GO subscriptions from within the app as well.

With this update, Google PrimeTime is now a truly one-stop shop for pretty much all of your content. With Netflix, HBO GO, Amazon Prime, YouTube, cable or satellite box shows and a bunch of other services.

Google also added an update to its Play movies and TV app that mimics Amazon’s X-Ray. Ben Serridge, the Product Manager for Google Play, says “when you’re watching a film on your tablet, simply press pause and cards will pop up with information about actors on screen. You can tap on an actor’s face to learn more about him, like his age, place of birth, his character in the movie, and his recent work, or scroll through the info cards to learn more about the movie or soundtrack. When you resume the movie, the cards will disappear”.

While that update is currently only for mobile it seems a logical next step is to add it to Google TV as well. Google’s foray into the living room started rather slowly as the Logitech Revue offering fell flat on its face, but remember that Android thing got off to a rather slow start as well.

Apple has gone to great trouble to craft its stores and reputation. The company refers to its employees as geniuses, for goodness sake! Taking your device in for repair is alluded to as a visit to the “genius bar”. It is an entire ecosystem designed to make the customer feel confident and comfortable when dealing with the company. It is also a setup that lends itself to comedy and U.K. hard cider maker Somersby saw that opportunity.

The company has produced a new one-minute TV spot that portrays the Apple Store as a bar that serves up its cider and the geniuses explain why it is so good. The ad does not so much make fun of Apple (that is what Samsung is for), but instead uses the tech company’s concept as a basis for some good tongue-in-cheek humor.

The Somersby ad cleverly works in tech terms such as referring to sipping the cider as “downloading”, and manages to include “interface”, “wireless”, “16-pit and 32-pit” and more.

It’s very well done, right down to the line waiting outside before the “bar” opens. Only just released in the past couple of days, it is already racking up the views on YouTube and getting plenty of positive feedback.

My name is Alan and I am a Temple Run Addict. I play Temple Run 1, Temple Run 2, Temple Run Brave, Temple Run Oz…I have a problem and I am here to admit it. My wife should be my steadying force, but she has a Windows Phone 8, and now I fear she may fall victim to the same affliction.

As of today she can steal the idol from that cave and attempt to outrun the apes through the jungle in Temple Run. The game, long popular on Android and iOS, has landed on Windows Phone after a long wait from customers.

Temple Run will test your reflexes as you race through the jungle making sharp turns, jumping over some obstacles and sliding under others.  Oh, and don’t forget to avoid the poisonous snakes as well. And, did I mention that each section gets faster, making the game increasingly difficult with a growing frantic pace?

Yes, this is both good and bad news for customers of the Microsoft mobile operating system. Sure, the game is great fun, but do not miss the fact that the Windows Phone Store begins its description with “The addictive mega-hit Temple Run is now out for Windows Phone”. You just became less productive folks.

All kidding aside, if you have not played Temple Run then I recommend grabbing it. The game is free and it really is a lot of fun. If you played the old Pitfall on Atari when you were a kid, as I did, then this should make you feel right at home.

Oh, and Microsoft would prefer you simply ignore the fact that other mobile operating systems have had this game for two years…or that there are three newer versions of the game… Well, let Joe Belfiore and company have their fun with this announcement and their time in the sun. I will be playing Temple Run Oz while they bask in this glory.

¡Hola! Many of us use Google Translate, some on a daily basis. For instance, I follow a few blogs in Reader (a moment of silence please) that are published in languages that are foreign to me. For the most part it works well, but can also lead to some rather amusing results. Now you can get those same laughs from your Android phone, even when you are offline.

Today Google’s product manager Minqi Jiang announces that the search giant and mobile operating system developer is “launching offline language packages for Google Translate on Android (2.3 and above) with support for 50 languages, from French and Spanish to Chinese and Arabic”.

Obviously you need the Translate app installed. From there, the new update provides an “Offline Languages” option where you can download the packages available. A word of caution though — Jiang points out that “While the offline models are less comprehensive than their online equivalents, they are perfect for translating in a pinch when you are traveling abroad with poor reception or without mobile data access”.

To enable the offline translation between any two languages you will need to select them within that offline languages menu. Once the packages are downloaded then you can head off to Paris for that vacation you have been dreaming of.

Photo Credit: Igor Petrov/Shutterstock

Microsoft loves its special edition Xbox customizations. In the past we have seen such things as the Star Wars Xbox and the white Xbox to name only two. Now the game console maker is pushing out a new limited edition controller to make you feel more a part of your first-person shooter game: camouflage version of the wireless device.

Xbox Live chief Larry Hryb explains: “Today we are announcing the Xbox 360 Special Edition Camouflage Wireless Controller, which features a transforming D-pad and a unique camouflage design. The price will be $54.99 USD (ERP). In the U.S., the controller will be available exclusively at Walmart beginning in May. Outside the U.S., the controller will be available in select regions worldwide, also from May”.

You have to hand it to Microsoft — the company has come up with an almost endless way to continue to profit from a gaming console that launched way back in the dark ages of 2005. With a continuous parade of new games and custom, limited-edition consoles and controllers, Xbox is still a cash cow eight years later. And this, given that we are all pretty sure that Microsoft is just about to unveil the next version of its living room stealth takeover device.

Google news, at least for some of us, recently is grim (Reader goes bye-bye). In fact, I no longer trust the search company will keep anything, while my colleague Wayne Williams dumps Google for Microsoft. Trust is essential and Google has lost it for me. Microsoft, on the other hand, is on a roll, of sorts, with its Windows Blue “leak” and now another cloud win for its Office platform.

Microsoft announces eight more government offices have adopted its Office 365 platform, further rubbing salt into the Google Docs wound. At today’s CIO Summit, the company welcomes aboard: metros Kansas City and Seattle; counties Dupage and King; colleges California State University Sacramento, University of Colorado Springs and University of Miami; and San Diego County Regional Airport Authority.

“The rapidly increasing public sector adoption rates for Microsoft Office 365 are directly tied to current budget realities and the fact that our customers need to be more productive at a lower cost”, Curt Kolcun, vice president of Microsoft U.S. Public Sector, says.

These latest moves join a number of other high-profile adopters that include the city of Chicago, among others. And, with Office 365 recently receiving a major overhaul with the Office 2013 release, it has become a tempting proposition for individuals and business alike. Now the ball is in Google’s court awaiting a big update to Docs and Apps to counter this move.

Photo Credit: Dudarev Mikhail/Shutterstock

Over weekend Microsoft’s next version of Windows, known by code name “Blue” leaked out to the world via BiTorrent. Over the past two days we dissected the operating system in every way possible from first look to screenshot images to ways to install the still buggy operating system.

Now that the initial euphoria has passed, we can settle down and get a good look at what exactly will change in the operating system later this year when Windows Blue is rumored to be released.

One of the big changes is SkyDrive integration. Yes, the cloud app was part of Windows 8 from the release back in October of 2012, but Blue brings even tighter combination between the cloud and desktop by adding the app to the Modern UI version of the Control Panel, which is actually the “Personalize” feature of the Windows 8 Start screen. Yes, Microsoft, this is confusing.

At any rate, confusion aside, the new SkyDrive feature makes things a bit simpler for customers. It is accessed from the Charms menu, which you can get to by clicking the Windows-C buttons or moving your finger or mouse pointer to the top or bottom right of the screen. To get to the Metro-style Control Panel, click Settings and then “Change PC Settings”.

There are three simple options in the left column — Storage Use, Device Backups and Files. Like all things in Windows Blue, do not get your hopes up just yet. The “B” is not just for Blue, but also for Buggy. Storage use has not worked for me, despite numerous tries.

Device Backup is not much better — it only provides a message that states “Sorry, we couldn\x2019t connect to SkyDrive. Please try again later or try visiting SkyDrive on the internet”. For the record, the link provided also does not work.

Files are better — it provides options for automatic photo and video uploads and the options seem to work well. I tested it with a picture and everything went as it should. You can change the settings based on image quality as well.

Windows Blue is a leaked build and clearly not ready for public consumption, but it is fun to play around with in a virtual environment and it gives a sense of where the operating system is headed, both later this year, and into the future with Windows 9.

Photo Credit: T. L. Furrer/Shutterstock

Zombieland, the 2009 cult classic movie, about four unlikely people who come together to fight their way across an undead-filled America, is making a comeback of sorts — rising from the dead, as it were. Amazon Studios has picked up on the surprisingly popular movie and the not so surprising Zombie fetish we have and announced its latest offering.

Zombieland the series will be produced as a pilot and make its way into your living room via Amazon Prime. It is the seventh comedy pilot announced by the online TV studio and it joins six children’s show pilots also under production.

“Zombieland is a fan favorite and we can’t wait to see where this story line goes in a serialized format”, Roy Price, Amazon Studios director, says. “We’ve been announcing a lot of exciting exclusive content for Prime Instant Video, like Downton Abbey, Under the Dome, and Justified, and we think adding original shows to that lineup is going to make Prime even more enticing for customers”.

Creator Paul Wernick says “Zombieland will strive to break the rules—action, adventure, thrills, chills and laughs and all packed into a half hour format”. These are lofty expectations here, so the show had better deliver now.

Production has not yet started, so there is no release date yet announced, but in the meantime Prime customers have a quickly growing number of choices from the movie and TV show library. Amazon is in a race with Netflix, which is also now producing original content.