Category: Software

If you buy a license for Microsoft Office 2013, be warned: You may only be allowed to use it on one machine, no matter the circumstances. Both InfoWorld’s Woody Leonhard and The Age’s Adam Turner have done good jobs of combing through the details of Microsoft’s (MSFT) latest Office licensing terms and have found that Office users can get “a perpetual license for the Office 2013 programs” that only covers one computer. This means that if your PC breaks and you have to buy a new one, you may not be able to transfer your Office 2013 license to your new machine and may have to pay for it all over again.

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Score one for Verizon (VZ), which has come up with a clever new way to rate and recommend smartphone applications — by telling you how much mobile data and battery life they suck up. Verizon late last week announced that it was starting a new program to rate the 50 most popular Android apps each month based on “their effect on battery life, security, and data usage.” The carrier is also putting out a quarterly list of 20 “must-have” iOS and Android apps “that offer a ‘best in class’ experience and will help wireless users get the most out of their mobile device.” For any Verizon subscribers worried about running over their monthly LTE data limits, both lists are definitely worth checking out.

The most famous mobile app franchise in the world has generated more than 1 billion downloads over the past three years — yet it currently has no games in the United States top 50 revenue chart for either the iPhone or iPad. On Wednesday, Angry Birds Star Wars dropped to No. 66 on the App Annie iPhone app revenue chart. This happened just three months after the game launched with massive download volumes and an avalanche of media coverage. Angry Birds Star Wars spent just two months in the top 20 iPhone revenue chart despite generating 50 million downloads in just 35 days.

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One of the most appealing things about the direction Microsoft (MSFT) has been taking with Windows 8 is the prospect that applications downloaded on the PC platform could be transferred seamlessly to tablet and smartphone form factors. Or put another way, imagine how cool it would be to download a new Angry Birds game onto your smartphone and have it automatically downloaded onto your Windows-based tablet and PC as well. And according to a Microsoft job posting spotted by WMPoweruser, it seems that Microsoft is hard at work at making this sort of cross-platform unity a reality.

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Just to ease your fears or maybe tease you even more, Motorola has just updated their official Android update page and timeframes are thankfully getting a little more specific. Leading the way, of course, is the Droid which has completed its Android 2.1 update and the Milestone which is currently rolling out its own update in different parts of the world. Compared to the previous update, the Backflip now has Android 2.1 planned for Q3 and the Cliq and Cliq XT has 2.1 planned for Q2. Unfortunately the Devour’s upgrade is still "under evaluation". It’s very nice of Motorola to keep us updated on their Android 2.1 plans but we wonder if they’ve heard that Android 2.2 Froyo is out and about now.. [Motorola]

This is a post by Android Central. It is sponsored by the Android Central Accessories Store

Many of us are fed up with the bloat that ships with many of the multimedia suites. Yes, these are great for handling video and burning a DVD of a recent wedding reception, but less useful when you simply want to burn a few files to disc or, perhaps, create a simply audio CD for the car. With this in mind, you just want to choose your audio files, burn the disc and get away.

Sure there are plenty of freeware burning apps available, but there are few better commercial burning tools than Ashampoo Burning Studio. For this weekend only, we’re giving you the full version of Ashampoo Burning Studio 2010 Advanced, worth $49.95. If you have an earlier version of Burning Studio, including the standard Burning Studio 2010, the Advanced edition is worth an upgrade. You get a much improved burning module, updated user-interface and more.

Hurry as Ashampoo Burning Studio 2010 Advanced is available to download between Friday and midnight Sunday.

Ashampoo Burning Studio 2010 Advanced link.

It seems T-Mobile has once again made their updated HTC HD2 ROM available.  Version 2.13.531.1 of the software is seemingly the same as the one they pulled last week, at that time apparently due to issues with the ROM itself, but now simply blamed on bandwidth shortages at T-Mobile.

According to comments at T-MoNews, where the story hails from, the update has been something of a mixed bag, with some people reporting persistent problems, and others praising it for finally fixing their HTC HD2.

For those who want to play Russian Roulette with their smartphone, the update can be downloaded from T-Mobile here.

Via WindowsPhoneThoughts.com

Its not a full-blown mobile client, but at least Google has gone to the effort to make their HTML5-based Google Buzz app a bit more dumbed down for Pocket Internet Explorer.

The XHTML website is suitable for Android pre-2.0, Blackberry, Nokia S60, and Windows Mobile browsers and can be accessed by visiting buzz.google.com in your phone’s browser.

Now all we need is a reason to run another twitter clone …

Via MSMobiles.com

There’s a new beta application entitled bitbop. It’s available for your BlackBerry and it’s similar to hulu. There’s a variety of shows available and many are free right now. I’m sure it will become a subscription, but I’ve had a chance to try it out and this is what I’ve come to find so far.

What is BitBop?

Bitbop brings premium TV and movies to your smartphone in a unique, graceful application that creates a mobile viewing experience like never before. Subscribe to the Bitbop TV Plan for only $9.99 per month and watch unlimited, full-length, network TV shows with no commercial interruptions. Rent movies to watch in high quality video on demand. Watch free clips, trailers and a variety of videos, all on our free Bitbop Application. Create a free account and start adding videos to your Queue.

It currently only works with the following BlackBerry Devices: Curve 8900, Bold 9000, Tour 9630, and the Bold 9700.

What is a free account and a free beta account?

Anyone can sign up for a free account with Bitbop – either through the website or the Bitbop App.  A free account allows you to browse the site, start to build a queue and watch free clips.  Only people with phones that are supported can sign up for a free beta account.  In this instance you will be able to view the full range of content available on Bitbop via your phone.

There is a TV subscription and these are the details:

You will automatically be billed $9.99 every month using the payment method you provided, unless you cancel your subscription. You are billed every 30 days from the day you subscribed to the Bitbop…

Currently some of the shows are free, you can see TV shows and Movies, and move them into the queue to watch from your BlackBerry.

I signed up for the beta and the free account. I downloaded the BitBop app to my BlackBerry Tour 9630, 5.0. At first I had trouble getting it to work on my BlackBerry. I went into chat on the pc with BitBop support and they were extremely helpful, so I have to give their customer service a five star rating. I deleted and reinstalled the app, with flawless issues. I did find however that streaming clips worked, but free tv shows did not work as well to stream. I had to download the show to watch. The 22 minute show was separated into six chapters to watch but it is commercial free. Downloading the show took about 8 minutes or so.

When you download the app, you have New shows, Queue, Browse, Search, and Account. In the Account you can choose how you Download and Stream, Account Information, Communications, Payment Methods, Subscriptions, Follow Preferences, FAQ, Sign out, and retrieve your Forgotten Password, and the Version.

I wanted to save some screenshots, but while I had the application open, it wouldn’t allow me to take screenshots.

All in all, it’s nice to be able to download your shows and watch them. For $10 a month, you could actually have the ability to watch tv and movies. There’s several different shows and I’m sure there’ll be more. I usually just put my movies on my microsd card, but it would be nice to have the ability to stream shows to my BlackBerry.

Some of the shows available are: Bones, NCIS, CIS, National Geographic Explorer, Futurama, The Office, 24, Family Guy, and 30ROCK, and Glee amongst others.

I would recommend this to you if you were looking for a way to watch your shows wherever you are. Don’t miss those fun ones you’d love to keep. I’m not sure how long the Beta will last, but try it out and let us know what you think.

Read more about Bitbop here

Download the beta Bitbop application to your phone here

You’re reading a story which originated at BlackBerrySync.com, Where you find BlackBerry News You Can Sync With…

This story is sponsored by the new BlackBerry Sync Mobile App Store. Grab your free copy today at www.GetAppStore.com from your BlackBerry.

Bitbop By Fox Mobile: Streaming TV Shows And Movies To Your 3G BlackBerry

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YouMail updated it’s BlackBerry application to v2.0.0.4 and it’s a great update. YouMail is visual voicemail that is free and gives you an easier way to view, organize, and listen to your voicemails. YouMail has been listed as the #1 productivity app in the BlackBerry App World. What’s new? I’ve got the newest features and some screenshots.

What’s new? According to the press release it’s the following new features:

Streamlined User Interface

Enhanced Organization Tools

• Users can access any folder directly from the App, not just the Inbox, including standard Saved, Spam and Trash folders, as well as user-created folders.
• Users can turn their voicemail box into a “To Do” list by easily flagging messages for follow-up directly in the App.

Improved Transcription Experience

• The play screen now shows more of the transcribed message text, lessening the need to scroll.
• Users can copy and paste directly from the transcription, allowing them to easily insert message text into searches or responses.

Faster Voicemail Follow Up

• The YouMail App is now integrated with the phone’s default SMS client, enabling users to easily reply to voice messages using TXT messages.
• Simpler menus allow users to easily forward and reply to voicemail while including the original voicemail as a MP3 or WAV file.

YouMail originally has the following features:

• YouMail unlocks your mobile voicemail
• Scroll through and play your voice messages in any order.
• Forward them, save them forever, even organize them in folders.
• Block unwanted voicemails.
• Access your voicemail through e-mail or any computer.
• Even set up personal greetings that are heard only by specific family, friends, or co-workers.

I’ve used YouMail and I really like the customization it has. You can choose different types of answering messages, have fun with them, and keep your voicemail on your phone. It’s so easy to use and it’s free. It works with several carriers as well. You can download the app from BlackBerry App World or from YouMail itself. And if you’d like transcription, it is available for a small subscription fee.

Here’s what I love about the YouMail after the update (some was available prior to). There are pictures associated with the voicemails. You can see who it’s from, the phone number, time and date. You can click you options button and access Check Messages, Forward, Reply, Delete, and Move To. You can Mark New, Flag, and Copy URL. You can select a folder. Also, you have About, Help, Settings, and the YouMail Store.

In Settings you can pick General, Account, Alerts, Audio, Connection, Greetings, Contacts, Storage, Setup, Activate/Deactivate. You can set the types of voicemail for what or when. You set up how you want to be alerted. You set up the Greetings, upload your contacts. So if you want voicemail your way, this is what you’re looking for.

Download your free copy of YouMail from BlackBerry App World here

Download your free copy of YouMail from YouMail itself here

You’re reading a story which originated at BlackBerrySync.com, Where you find BlackBerry News You Can Sync With…

This story is sponsored by the new BlackBerry Sync Mobile App Store. Grab your free copy today at www.GetAppStore.com from your BlackBerry.

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Erin Kutz wrote:

Life sciences news in the past week has run the gamut, from stealthy companies emerging with funding to big name drug makers scoring FDA approval and successful drug trial results, not to mention a few headlines of partnerships and acquisitions.

—Logical Therapeutics, a Waltham, MA-based developer of anti-inflammatory drugs designed to be safer on the stomach, closed a $16.9 million Series C round, led by SV Life Sciences. We broke the news last Friday that the company had pulled in the first $10 million of the financing, based on an SEC filing. Burrill & Co., Novo A/S, and Novitas Capital also participated in the funding round.

—NormOxys, which is making drugs that incite red blood cells to release a controlled amount of oxygen to deprived tissues, raised $17.5 million. The funding, which was led by Care Capital and included Index Ventures, will go to testing the Wellesley, MA-based company’s drugs in patients with chronic heart failure and cancer.

—PatientKeeper, the Newton, MA-based maker of software that assists doctors in tasks such as viewing patient data, ordering prescriptions or lab tests, and recording service charges, has made its applications available on Apple’s iPad. Originally founded as Virtmed in 1996, PatientKeeper’s technology differs from traditional electronic healthcare software in that it specifically targets physicians, a group that has been slower in adopting healthcare IT products, Ryan wrote.

—Cambridge, MA-based T2 Biosystems raised $15 million, led by Physic Ventures, to continue developing its portable diagnostic technology, which aims to identify proteins, molecules, viruses, and DNA using a handheld instrument. A slew of new and existing investors participated in the most recent financing for T2, which says its machine beats traditional diagnostic devices when it comes to speed, price, and the range of biological substances it can detect.

—Waltham-based Avila Therapeutics will get as much as $209 million from Clovis Oncology in a partnership deal for developing drugs for certain types of lung tumors. Clovis is using Avila’s drug technology, which is designed to form irreversible covalent bonds with their targets, as a way to fight lung cancer that has proven resistant to other treatments.

—Cambridge-based Genzyme (NASDAQ: GENZ) nabbed FDA approval to sell its drug for treating the genetic disorder Pompe disease in patients who are at least 8 years old. The drug, alglucosidase alpha (Lumizyme), is made in Genzyme’s Geel, Belgium-based plant, and functions by replacing the enzyme that Pompe patients are lacking, which breaks down sugars that build up and enlarge heart and muscle tissues. Its absence can …Next Page »

Microsoft has commissioned Singaporean Touch Dimensions to create 20 casual Windows Mobile games. The games range from a digital sketchpad to a Whack-A-Mole-type game that lets you smack mosquitoes to oblivion.

One of them, Autumn Dynasty (in the video above), a war-based strategy game where you draw the attack paths for your armies with brush strokes, won the best student game award at last year’s Game Developers Conference in Shanghai, and was also one of the Microsoft Code 7 contest winners at last year’s Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles. The game has already garnered 48,000 downloads.

Touch Dimensions develops games centred around "natural user interfaces".

"We’re looking at things that are more natural to play with, such as touchscreens and sensors that let you turn and rotate the device," Touch Dimension’s Ho told TodayOnline. "This allows people to play with games in more intuitive ways."

The games will be available for free on Marketplace.

Read more about the developers and their games at TodayOnline here.

You wait a whole day for a bus to arrive, then 3 come along at the same time. Such also seems to be the case with Dropbox, which has recently received its first Windows Mobile client, and has not just been blessed with a second, this time a free effort by d1k_is from XDA-Developers.com.

While not as polished as Cloudfiles, this app has many interesting features, such as allowing one to take a picture and then automatically upload it to your Dropbox.

The full list of features (current and future) are below.

Features (Currently)

• Login (of course)
• Browse Dropbox files and folders
• Download Files
• Download then email
• Upload files
• Take photo and upload
• Delete Dropbox Files

Features (Future)

• Copy/move files around dropbox
• Sync Folders
• Record audio and upload
• Create new Folder
• Display account usage
• Track application (self) usage

Read more in this XDA-Developers thread, and download the cab directly from here.

Via Pocketnow.com

ACCESS CO. today announced NetFront™ IP-Phone, a full scale VoIP solution with 3G and Wi-Fi air interfaces designed to support all three major smartphone operating systems: iPhone, Android™ and Windows Mobile®. Jointly developed by ACCESS and OAT, NetFront IP-Phone is designed for commercial use by operators, Internet Service Providers (ISPs?and Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs). The solution will be available from ACCESS worldwide as of June 2010.

NetFront IP-Phone, which supports air interfaces for 3G and wireless LAN (Wi-Fi) connections and major global standards, provides a standard middleware application as well as an implementation solution service. NetFront IP-Phone is able to communicate with a variety of IP telephony servers, making it possible for ISPs and MVNOs to offer high-quality VoIP services to smartphone users while substantially reducing development time and costs.

The NetFront IP-Phone interface is compliant with 3GPP?Third Generation Partnership Project?, OMA?Open Mobile Alliance? and IETF?Internet Engineering Task Force? industry standards. NetFront IP-Phone is not bundled with specific services, so ISPs and MVNOs can customize it to offer differentiated IP telephony services.

NetFront IP-Phone was developed based on a single design concept for all three major smartphone operating systems (iPhone, Android and Windows Mobile). The high quality VoIP environment was made possible thanks to two key technologies: NetFront™ IMS Client, which supports a base IMS framework, and a standard user interface developed by ACCESS that delivers a rich user experience. The IMS framework deploys eSound™, high-quality VoIP technology developed by OKI, that enables voice communication over IP networks with realistic voice tones that are far superior to conventional phone quality.

NetFront IP-Phone is designed with a flexible modular architecture, enabling providers to implement unique VoIP applications and combine VoIP services with other applications. Applications are also available as APIs, allowing operators to customize their own UI.

A VoIP trial server for NetFront IP-Phone is available for providers to evaluate the performance of the service, resulting in reduced cost and evaluation time.

"Thanks to the combination of world-class mobile software from ACCESS, high-quality audio technology from Oki Electric Industry and IMS technologies from OKI ACCESS, we have produced full scale VoIP solution for smartphones," said Tomihisa Kamada, president, CEO and co-founder of ACCESS. "We will continue to partner with OKI ACCESS and Oki Electric Industry to create new multimedia communications business opportunities."

"Since the foundation of our company, OKI ACCESS Technologies has focused on developing advanced IMS solutions that create value-added services by integrating OKI’s industry-leading information technologies and ACCESS’ mobile software technologies. We are confident that NetFront IP-Phone will contribute to the growth of mobile VoIP markets," said Osamu Nakazawa, president of OKI ACCESS Technologies.

"OKI has been driving the innovation of global information and communication technologies that enrich people’s lives. We are honored that our VoIP technology has contributed to the development of NetFront IP-Phone. We will continue to pursue our vision of developing advanced technologies that promote the ubiquitous society," said Hidetoshi Saigou, executive officer and general manager of Telecom Systems Business Division at OKI.

ACCESS and OKI ACCESS Technologies plan to launch future versions of NetFront IP-Phone to support additional platforms for smartphones and connected home appliances.

Read more at Access here.

The hit tower defence game is now available on Windows Mobile.  Defend your turf by strategically constructing towers that combat wave after wave of enemy attacks.

The Fieldrunners will be relentless as they swarm you with soldiers, military vehicles, and helicopters. Construct your towers strategically to maximize the impact of your defences against countless land and air attacks. Upgrade your existing towers. Preserve your cash to buy more powerful weapons.

Do you have what it takes to stop the Fieldrunners?

Buy Fieldrunners for only £4 from Handmark here.

You might have heard us (erm, OK, me) gush on occasion about certain aspects of Palm’s webOS user interface. Now let us (erm, me again) gush a little about Matia Duarte, who has left Palm and is now User Experience Director for Android. And he’s a friendly face among the Android leadership, having worked on the Sidekick with Andy Rubin when they were both still with Danger.

Some of you prefer the stock Android UI; others prefer Sense or (gasp!) Motoblur and TouchWiz. But we’d love to see the stock Android UI revamped.

In fact, we’ll even go so far as to throw out this completely unsupported opinion: Now that Android’s getting things together under the hood in Android 2.2 (and we’re still expecting more before the end of the year), perhaps this move will bring a fresh UI to Android sometime next year. Stay tuned, folks. [All Thigns D, Engadget; via PreCentral]

This is a post by Android Central. It is sponsored by the Android Central Accessories Store

With Apple passing Microsoft in market cap yesterday, it seems the company has finally developed cottoned on to the fact the market is moving incredibly fast, and the time for 5 year plans have passed.

While not predicting any change in direction or strategy (which for all we know may be comprehensive) he did finally admit the company should increase its pace.

“We’ll have to accelerate plans,” told reported in New Delhi, where he is currently touring.

He did however feel Microsoft has already made the appropriate investments, and are currently just awaiting the returns.

“We are executing very well, that’s going to lead to great products and great success,” Mr. Ballmer said at a press conference.

Another sign of the increased sense of urgency is likely the removal of Robbie Bach, President of the Entertainment and Devices Division, and bringing the now key department directly under the control of Steve Ballmer.

Mr. Ballmer expressed optimism about the launch of the Windows Phone 7 series by the end of this year, saying “We have to deliver devices with our partners this Christmas.”

He however emphasised that while Microsoft has been exceeded in market cap, this was merely symbolic and the company did not suddenly become bankrupt.

“I will make more profits and certainly there is no technology company in the planet which is as profitable as we are,” he said. “Stock markets will take care of the rest,” he added.

“It is a long game. We have good competitors … we too are very good competitors,” Ballmer said.

Is Microsoft on track, or have they lost the plot? Let us know your opinion below.

Via WallStreetJournal.com