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‘software’ Stories

Mozilla takes on Apple, Android with Open Web apps

Chris Davies, Feb 13th 2012 Discuss [0]

Firefox creator Mozilla has revealed its plans to take on the closed ecosystems of Apple, Google and others, challenging developers to consider the entire web as their potential marketplace, not just the App Store or Android Market. Outlined in the non-profit foundation's 2012 roadmap, Mozilla aims to "enable web apps that rival native [code]"; "The Web must be made easier to develop for than proprietary platforms" the organization insists, as well as revealing plans to broaden the existing Mozilla Marketplace to a range of devices. Read The Full Story

WolframAlpha Pro exits beta

Shane McGlaun, Feb 10th 2012 Discuss [0]

If you're a big fan of WolframAlpha, a new version has been unveiled this week called WolframAlpha Pro. We got a glimpse at the new Pro version earlier this week when a screenshot turned up. The Pro version has officially launched and according to WolframAlpha this is the biggest single step in the development since it was originally launched. Read The Full Story

Apple picking iPad 3 showcase apps in final launch prep

Chris Davies, Feb 10th 2012 Discuss [0]

Apple is reportedly in "crunch mode" as it completes last-minute preparations for the iPad 3 launch rumored to take place in the first week of March, lining up showcase apps to demonstrate on-stage and in subsequent advertising. That process has been accelerated, according to The Next Web's sources, with Apple apparently focusing on apps that demonstrate the third-gen tablet's graphics prowess. Read The Full Story

Microsoft confirms Windows 8 ARM desktop support, previews Metro-styled Office 15

Rue Liu, Feb 9th 2012 Discuss [0]

Microsoft has confirmed that Windows 8 for ARM-based devices will support full desktop applications following concerns that only Metro apps would be supported. Via the Buildings Windows 8 blog, Microsoft's Steven Sinofsky further detailed Windows 8 for ARM and previewed a Metro-styled Office 15. Read The Full Story

iOS 5.1 rumored for a March 9th public release

Michael Crider, Feb 9th 2012 Discuss [0]

Developers and other beta testers have had their hands on the first major update for iOS 5 for months now, but according to YourDailyMac, the public release could be coming exactly one month from today. A tipster found operator strings in the latest iOS 5.1 builds pointing towards a March 9th release, which incidentally falls pretty closely to those iPad 3 rumors. Take that for what it's worth. Operator profiles for mobile carriers in Japan, France, Greece, Finland, and Sweden were discovered, pertaining to the iPhone 4s, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, the third and fourth generations of the iPod Touch and both current iPads. Read The Full Story

Siri may get Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, and Russian language support in March

Rue Liu, Feb 8th 2012 Discuss [0]

According to a report by Chinese technology website DoNews, Apple is preparing its Siri intelligent voice-controlled assistant feature to support Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, and Russian. The update is expected to arrive for the iPhone 4S sometime next month. Read The Full Story

Path privacy blunder could fall foul of Euro data penalties

Chris Davies, Feb 8th 2012 Discuss [0]

Social network Path has found itself at the eye of a privacy storm, with the revelation that the iPhone and Android apps have been automatically uploading users' entire address books to the company's servers. First spotted by Arun Thampi, and subsequently confirmed by Path itself - the CEO of which claims it is intended as a beneficial feature, though Path has retroactively been adding opt-in preferences - the data protection blip could see Path face significant penalties under European privacy laws. Read The Full Story

Microsoft OneNote for Android takes on Evernote

Chris Davies, Feb 8th 2012 Discuss [0]

Microsoft has brought its OneNote digital notetaking app to Android, the latest cross-platform push from the Windows company as its software teams spread their wares beyond their own PC, gaming and mobility devices. A free download from the Android Market, OneNote allows you to create text and image notes and sync them across to the full Office 2010 version as well as the web-based viewer using SkyDrive storage. Read The Full Story

Siri accounts for 25% of Wolfram Alpha queries

Rue Liu, Feb 7th 2012 Discuss [0]

The Apple iPhone 4S exclusive Siri intelligent virtual assistant feature is now responsible for 25% of searches performed on Wolfram Alpha, a computational knowledge engine developed by Wolfram Research. Siri taps Wolfram Alpha's extensive database for various functions, such as computing basic calculations and answering factual queries. Read The Full Story

Apple OS X to ARM port progress revealed

Chris Davies, Feb 7th 2012 Discuss [0]

Apple's work on porting OS X to ARM processors has been revealed by an academic paper the company initially insisted on keeping secret, potentially paving the way to the much-rumored ARM-based MacBook Air. The handiwork of former intern turned CoreOS engineer Tristan Schaap, the project - "Porting Darwin to the MV88F6281" - detailed how the underlying part of OS X was coaxed into running on a Marvell ARM chipset. Read The Full Story

Apple updates iBooks Author EULA terms to address content ownership concerns

Rue Liu, Feb 3rd 2012 Discuss [0]

Apple today updated its new e-book publishing app, iBooks Author, to version 1.0.1, but the only change was in the End User License Agreement. The update clarifies a controversial portion of the EULA that suggested any content created by the app could only be sold and distributed through Apple's iBookstore if it were to be sold at all. Read The Full Story