Software News

Actually the opposite is true. They let reliance on Google go on for too long, using it as a crutch that hurt day-to-day business for years.

Android had built-in turn by turn for years; not only could Apple not provide it in iOS, but developers could not write apps that provided turn-by-turn directions on top of the built in iOS mapping framework (it was against Google's TOS). So the whole platform was limited for years by Google restrictions on not just what Apple could do, but what any developer could do.

Now that Google is out of the picture iOS users have turn by turn directions. They have vector maps. iOS developers can do whatever they want with the built in mapping framework now, without arbitrary Google limitations like limits on reverse geocoding per day, or having to avoid covering up the Google logo on the map, or (as stated) being able to show turn by turn directions on a map.

Apple should have ditched Google maps much earlier before it got more painful for more users. But the fact is they had to do so, and at least now that it is done Apple can clean up the map data (the hardest part of mapping) and within a year should be essentially caught up for most areas. Already they have better satellite data in many areas than Google does, and they work better in China/Japan for native users (not as well for english users).

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Almost a week ago the team behind the popular distribution custom Android, CyanogenMod announced base 4.2 Android builds every night for the Google Nexus 10 was on the way. The developers kept their word and have now delivered the first official version of CyanogenMod for the 10-inch Tablet 10.1.

The CM10.1 builds for the Nexus 10 (code name 'Manta') are available with December 3 and December 4, a time stamp. Users should expect a number of features to miss due to the nature at the beginning of the development and the feature current porting process. However, quiet hours, the battery percentage indicator and trebuchet Launcher are all included. Steve Kondik, founder of the project, contains more good news for fans of CyanogenMod.

Yesterday he posted a teaser on its Google page + showing a version dated November 29, CyanogenMod 10.1 running on T-Mobile Galaxy S III and announced the team needs only a few extra days of work in order to deliver the first nightly builds for American variants of the Samsung unit.

Apparently "4.2 is super smooth" on Android phones popular, which is no small matter judge the performance of the second iteration of Jelly Bean.

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Social audio-sharing site SoundCloud announced on Tuesday that the beta of its redesign is complete and that "Next SoundCloud" is now welcoming users from the public.

The redesign was first rolled out in private beta last May, and SoundCloud says it has helped increase user engagement by as much as 30 percent over the previous version.

What does that mean? For musicians, podcasters, and audio creators, it means quite a bit, actually. When a user navigates to one of the redesigned SoundCloud sites, they listen to 30 percent more sound (music, audio, whatever) than they did on the classic sites. Generally speaking, it's an update to the aesthetic of the site that propels increased usage.

For the listener, the interface is simpler, the social aspects are less intrusive, and playback is continuous. For the sound creators, social updates are in real time, and deeper integration with Facebook lets users turn their Facebook "likes" into listens.

What's more, on Thursday of this week, SoundCloud will be rolling out the redesigned user experience to iOS and Android-based mobile devices as well.

The new SoundCloud is available to all users now, but the site appears to be under heavy load this morning, as pages frequently timed out in our tests.

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StrandVision Digital Signage today announced that it has enhanced its Basic Subscription Package by extending playback hours from 80 per week to unlimited 24/7 streaming from StrandVision’s Internet-based digital media player system. This is a valuable extension for retailers, restaurants and hotels – any business that has extended hours – for both business marketing and employee communication applications over their StrandVision electronic sign networks.

The Basic Package is a robust digital signage cloud-based environment that features:
24/7 playback of signage50 pages of contentCrawling information feeds5 user-created databasesAnimated U.S. weather maps33 licensed news channelsAbility to accept RSS feedsQuick Response (QR) code generationEmergency announcement signage override

In addition, Basic Package subscribers have full access to the StrandVision online Content Management System (CMS) portal, as well as online and telephone support. The digital signage system also provides administrators with digital signage monitoring, usage reports and other administrative tools.

“This is a tremendous value for existing and prospective customers,” commented Mike Strand, StrandVision founder and CEO. “It offers a fully-supported, commercial-grade digital signage network that exceeds the business marketing needs of most organizations. Now all companies, from local pizza shops to restaurant chains, retailers and hotels, as well as companies that want to reach employees on multiple shifts, have an inexpensive, easy-to-manage and reliable way to communicate.”

The StrandVision Basic Package subscription is available for $499.99/year. Subscribers can also opt for monthly or quarterly billing; discounted multi-year contracts are also available. In addition to the Basic Package, StrandVision also offers a free digital signage trial subscription, as well as higher-level packages that include additional pages, streaming video, animated PowerPoint presentations and proof of playback. All of StrandVision’s subscription packages are outlined at: strandvision.com/packages.html.

About StrandVision
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StrandVision LLC, based in Menomonie, Wisconsin, delivers low-cost, Web-based digital signage software through a patented Software as a Service (SaaS) approach that delivers content to subscribers' LCD flat panel screens, as well as computer screens and websites. StrandVision's service distributes text and graphics pages, video content and national and local weather and news. It is ideal for many large and small business marketing applications, including medical and dental offices (patient education); banks, retailers and industrial distributors (video merchandising); education (student communication, staff and visitor information); employee break rooms (employee communication of events and benefits); nonprofit and religious organizations (member and supporter communication).

StrandVision also offers PC-2-TV.net, a fully digital, high-definition (HD) video extender to connect a computer to a television over long distances for use with digital signage and many other applications. StrandVision Digital Signage services and PC-2-TV.net are available directly from StrandVision and through registered affiliates and system integrators. Additional information about StrandVision Digital Signage is available at StrandVision.com, 715-235-7446 or by email.

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Bitdefender has released 60-Second Virus Scanner, a cloud-based malware hunter which aims to provide an extra layer of security protection for your PC.

And at first glance this seems to work well. Installation is speedy; there were no conflicts with existing security software in our first tests; and the program really did complete its scan in only 60 seconds.

Unfortunately, as the program must send off its data to the cloud for analysis, the end of the scan doesn’t mean the end of your waiting. We sat looking at a “waiting for server” message for a very long time, and it actually took 281 seconds before a “no viruses found” message was displayed.

The program has only just been released, of course, so you could argue that maybe the servers are just getting more of a hammering than Bitdefender were expecting. But that doesn’t seem to be the whole story, either. Our report revealed that, for all its work, 60-Second Virus Scanner had only scanned 32 processes and 1,415 files: that’s basic, even for a quick scan (especially as this was a fast PC with an SSD).

Could the program play a part on your PC? There’s no doubt it’s easy to use, with a clean and simple interface. Resource use isn’t too bad -- the interface requires around 30MB RAM, but scans don’t noticeably affect the rest of your system – and, once installed, you could probably forget about it and just leave the program to do its job.

And the limitations of the 60-second scans aren’t necessarily a fatal problem, either, because by default the program is also set up to scan critical areas in real time. If that means 60-Second Virus Scanner will check new files as they appear then it could still offer a useful extra layer of malware protection.

Photo Credit: Jirsak/Shutterstock

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