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Latest Windows 8.1 beta silently updates Windows Store apps

Latest Windows 8.1 beta silently updates Windows Store apps
  • Posted May 6, 2013, 1:45 PM by Rick Burgess | Filed in Microsoft, Mobile Computing
  • Users of Microsoft's latest Windows 8.1 beta (build 9385) have reported that Windows Store apps now silently update themselves without need for user intervention. If you value up-to-dateness but couldn't care less about developer release notes, then this upcoming change…

AMD Catalyst 13.4 (WHQL), 13.5 (Beta) ready for download

AMD Catalyst 13.4 (WHQL), 13.5 (Beta) ready for download
  • Posted April 25, 2013, 12:30 PM by Rick Burgess | Filed in Gaming, Hardware
  • AMD has released two new sets of drivers for Radeon graphics card owners, namely Catalyst 13.4 and 13.5b2. The former driver bundle is WHQL-certified while the latter remains in beta; however, both offer the usual crop of bug fixes and…

Latest Mac OS X beta indicates upcoming 802.11ac Wi-Fi support

Latest Mac OS X beta indicates upcoming 802.11ac Wi-Fi support
  • Posted April 10, 2013, 12:30 PM by Rick Burgess | Filed in Apple, Industry News
  • The latest beta of Mac OS X 10.8.4 includes the string “802.11ac channel” within the bowels of its code, a report by 9to5Mac claims. This discovery suggests the Apple’s next generation of Macs may feature 802.11ac hardware, corroborating previous rumors. Additionally,…

Google's Maps Engine Lite beta lets anyone build custom maps

Google
  • Posted March 28, 2013, 4:00 PM by Shawn Knight | Filed in The Web
  • Google has launched a product called Google Maps Engine Lite (Beta) designed to help mapping enthusiasts create and share custom maps much like enterprise users have been able to do with the non-Lite version for quite some time now.

Redbox Instant launches nationwide starting at $8 per month

Redbox Instant launches nationwide starting at $8 per month
  • Posted March 14, 2013, 5:30 PM by Shawn Knight | Filed in Industry News
  • Redbox Instant has completed its beta run and is now open to the general public. The service from Verizon combines streaming movies and DVD rentals via Redbox in a convenient bundle starting at just $8 per month ($9 monthly if…

Opera releases first beta of new WebKit-powered Android browser

Opera releases first beta of new WebKit-powered Android browser
  • Posted March 6, 2013, 8:30 AM by Jose Vilches | Filed in Software, Mobile Computing With Video
  • Moving ahead with its plan to drop its own Presto rendering engine in favor of WebKit -- the same used by Apple's Safari and Google's Chrome -- Opera Software has released the first public version of its revamped mobile browser…

GeForce 314.14 beta optimized for Tomb Raider, SimCity, more

GeForce 314.14 beta optimized for Tomb Raider, SimCity, more
  • Posted March 4, 2013, 4:00 PM by Matthew DeCarlo | Filed in Gaming, Software
  • Gearing up for this month's hottest games, Nvidia has unleashed a new beta driver to help ensure that you have a smooth experience. The GeForce 314.14 beta brings better performance and compatibility across no less than four upcoming releases including…

Chrome 26 beta released with improved spell checking, dev tweaks

Chrome 26 beta released with improved spell checking, dev tweaks
  • Posted February 26, 2013, 6:00 PM by Matthew DeCarlo | Filed in Software, The Web With Video
  • The stable version of Chrome 25 hasn't even been out for a week and Google has already promoted the next build to its beta channel and plans to roll out a completed version for Windows, Linux and Chrome OS "in the coming weeks" with Mac to follow soon after. Along with...

New Nvidia beta driver boosts Crysis 3 performance by up to 65%

New Nvidia beta driver boosts Crysis 3 performance by up to 65%
  • Posted January 28, 2013, 11:17 AM by Shawn Knight | Filed in Gaming
  • Nvidia recently released a new beta driver that is said to provide a performance boost in nearly a dozen popular titles. GeForce 313.95 beta arrives just one day ahead of a planned Crysis 3 multiplayer beta to give fans a…

Electronic Arts to host closed SimCity beta starting next week

Electronic Arts to host closed SimCity beta starting next week
  • Posted January 18, 2013, 12:30 PM by Shawn Knight | Filed in Gaming With Video
  • Electronic Arts and Maxis have announced plans to host a closed beta for the new SimCity reboot. The news was revealed on the official SimCity Twitter account earlier today and was accompanied by a link to a registration page.

Facebook goes into search, Graph Search debuts in beta

Facebook goes into search, Graph Search debuts in beta
  • Posted January 15, 2013, 3:30 PM by Julio Franco | Filed in The Web Breaking News With Video
  • Facebook being Facebook, it's no surprise we hear a variety of rumors regarding the company's future plans, especially more so since it became a public company last year. Two in particular: Facebook competing directly against Google in search and the…

Firefox 18 beta adds JavaScript improvements, Retina Display support

Firefox 18 beta adds JavaScript improvements, Retina Display support
  • Posted November 27, 2012, 12:30 PM by Shawn Knight | Filed in Software
  • Mozilla has released a new beta version of Firefox for Windows, Mac and Linux that adds a number of new features to the popular web browser. Firefox 18 beta includes, among other things, improvements to make JavaScript web apps and…

Vdio enters private beta, won't mimic Rdio's streaming model

Vdio enters private beta, won
  • Posted November 21, 2012, 2:00 PM by Jose Vilches | Filed in Industry News, The Web
  • It’s been over a year since we last heard about Vdio, an upcoming online video service founded by Janus Friis, the same guy who co-created KaZaA, Skype, Rdio and Joost. But according to a report by GigaOm, things are moving…

Nvidia releases beta GeForce drivers for holiday PC games

Nvidia releases beta GeForce drivers for holiday PC games
  • Posted November 20, 2012, 6:00 PM by Matthew DeCarlo | Filed in Gaming, Hardware
  • GeForce owners hoping to get the most out of new PC games may want to grab the latest drivers from Nvidia. Posted today, the 310.61 beta is deemed a minor update over last week's 310.54 beta release, but it improves…

Web-based version of Spotify in beta testing now, coming next year

Web-based version of Spotify in beta testing now, coming next year
  • Posted November 15, 2012, 10:58 AM by Shawn Knight | Filed in The Web
  • Streaming music outfit Spotify offers members a couple of different listening options including a standalone desktop application and mobile apps for Android and iOS, both supporting offline play (with a premium membership). But the one thing that’s been glaringly missing…

Valve opens Steam for Linux limited beta registration

Valve opens Steam for Linux limited beta registration
  • Posted October 29, 2012, 10:43 AM by Jose Vilches | Filed in Gaming, Software
  • As promised, Valve has entered the next phase in its effort to port the Steam digital distribution platform to Linux.  Starting this week the company is taking submissions from Ubuntu users eager to try out the service. There are only…

GeForce 310.33 beta boosts speed by up to 15%, adds profiles

GeForce 310.33 beta boosts speed by up to 15%, adds profiles
  • Posted October 23, 2012, 5:00 PM by Matthew DeCarlo | Filed in Gaming, Software
  • Not to be outdone by AMD, Nvidia has published a fresh beta driver of its own, offering up to 15% more performance on certain hardware and software setups as well as new and updated profiles. Compared to the GeForce 306.89 WHQL released earlier this month, the new 310.33 beta...

FreedomPop beta goes live with 500MB of free WiMAX

FreedomPop beta goes live with 500MB of free WiMAX
  • Posted October 1, 2012, 1:30 PM by Jose Vilches | Filed in Industry News, Mobile Computing
  • FreedomPop, a year-old startup backed by Skype founder Niklas Zennstrom, has officially flipped the switch on its much-anticipated wireless data service that will give 500MB of free 4G wireless data each month to anyone willing to fork over a deposit…

Steam for Linux limited beta launching in October

Steam for Linux limited beta launching in October
  • Posted September 27, 2012, 4:00 PM by Jose Vilches | Filed in Gaming, Software
  • Valve's efforts to port Steam over to Linux is still a work in progress, but apparently it’s far along enough that the company is ready to start beta testing its digital distribution platform on the open-source operating system. According to…

Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm closed beta is under way

Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm closed beta is under way
  • Posted September 7, 2012, 7:30 AM by Shawn Knight | Filed in Gaming
  • Blizzard has announced that Starcraft II expansion pack Heart of the Swarm has now entered close beta status. The developer says the first round of lucky participants will include pro gamers, members of the press, shoutcasters and Arcade contest winners…

Workaround lets you upgrade from Windows 8 betas to the RTM

Workaround lets you upgrade from Windows 8 betas to the RTM
  • Posted August 22, 2012, 3:30 PM by Matthew DeCarlo | Filed in Software, Microsoft
  • Microsoft made it easy to jump from an older version of its operating system to one of the Windows 8 previews, but the company has been upfront about one inherent drawback: folks running beta builds won't be able to experience the final version of Windows 8 without a fresh install...

Steam's 'big picture' mode beta launching in early September

Steam
  • Posted August 20, 2012, 11:00 AM by Jose Vilches | Filed in Gaming, Software
  • Steam’s Big Picture mode, a new full-screen option for the PC client aimed at bringing your game library to the living room, is set to launch in beta next month. Speaking on last Thursday’s episode of GameTrailers TV, Valve designer…

iOS 6 beta augments spotty Wi-Fi with 3G, adds Bluetooth sharing

iOS 6 beta augments spotty Wi-Fi with 3G, adds Bluetooth sharing
  • Posted August 10, 2012, 2:00 PM by Rick Burgess | Filed in Apple, Mobile Computing
  • In the latest beta of iOS 6, Apple has included a feature coined Wi-Fi Plus Cellular. The surprisingly blandly-named feature allows apps having troubles with Wi-Fi to switch over to cellular data on the fly. This addition aims to smooth out…

Evidence supporting 4-inch iPhone with 9-pin dock found in iOS 6

Evidence supporting 4-inch iPhone with 9-pin dock found in iOS 6
  • Posted August 8, 2012, 2:00 PM by Rick Burgess | Filed in Apple, Mobile Computing
  • After following a tip from one of their industry insiders, 9toMac has confirmed that iOS 6 adjusts to five rows (instead of four) on devices equipped with displays which are exactly 640x1136. Developers had to modify the Apple's iOS simulator…

Republic Wireless re-opens beta signups, adds new handset

Republic Wireless re-opens beta signups, adds new handset
  • Posted July 31, 2012, 10:00 AM by Jose Vilches | Filed in Industry News
  • Several months after shipping handsets to its first batch of testers, Republic Wireless has announced it is re-opening signups for its beta program and offering customers a new smartphone option. The Wi-Fi-centric mobile operator, which offers ‘unlimited’ talk, text, and…

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