If you’ve been following the goings-on in the mobile phone industry you will know that the Next Big Thing is likely to be Google and its Android operating system. Android is Open Source software and Google gunning hard for the big boys, namely Microsoft, Nokia and Apple, and actively encouraging users to contribute to its development, hence the Android Software Developer’s Kit (SDK), which you can now download and try for yourself.
Of course, it’s mostly aimed at programmers and developers, but there’s something for everyone and it contains a full Android Emulator, which basically means you can simulate the workings of an Android phone on your Windows Mac or Linux PC. Read the rest of this entry »
Free fonts are amongst the most popular downloads for entry level and professional graphic designers and typographers. They can provide a way for designers to express themselves uniquely without having to create a new font themselves or spend a lot of money purchasing a high priced professionally designed font for use only once or twice.
Aside from downloadable free fonts, there are numerous fonts that are available by default on all modern computers. Microsoft bundles a set of commonly used fonts with their Windows operating systems, as does Apple with OS X and many of the purveyors of Linux distros.
However, for more unique fonts, downloadable is the only way to go. Some of the most popular sites for free downloadable fonts include the following: Read the rest of this entry »
It’s been a while since we featured a media player but it’s been worth the wait. Hot out of the box is Kataris a free Open Source player based on a past favourite, VLC, but all you really need to know is that it can play just about any type of multimedia file, Here’s the highlights: AAC, AC3, AVI, FLAC, MID, MIDI, MP2, MP3, MPEG, MGEG-AVC, WMV, MOV, MKV, OGG, QuickTime, Matroska, DIVX, XVID, H264, MP3, WAV WMA and many, many more. There’s also integration with Apple Movie Trailers and Last FM, plus some really freaky visualisations.
Microsoft continues to hammer away at its Zune digital media player and the services built around the device, but the evolution is largely a case of going where Apple has already taken the iPod and iTunes. On May 5, 2008, Microsoft introduced the latest update to Zune, not only adding new features and enhancements to the device itself but also evolving the Zune software, Zune Social and the Zune Marketplace. The focus of the update is to build on top of what the company started with “Zune Social” in November 2007, namely to extend the social networking community created around the device.
“Zune owners are pretty passionate, and they had a lot of great ideas for making the community more valuable to music fans. And I definitely fall into that category myself - the main reason we’re all here is we love the music,” stated Brian Seitz, a Group Marketing Manager for Zune. Zune Social offers users the possibility to interact in terms of music discovery, comments, playlist browsing, with the update bringing to the table additional capabilities including the ability to send messages to friends, explore their music collections and even drag-and-drop Zune Cards. Read the rest of this entry »
If your PC or laptop has a Bluetooth adaptor, and your cellphone is similarly equipped, then here’s something that might interest you. It’s a free utility called BtProx, and the idea is you can lock your PC, so no-one else can use it, unless you, and your cellphone are in the immediate vicinity. As I’m sure Apple Mac fans will remind me, it’s not exactly a new idea, but no matter, its a simple and effective way to protect your computer, though, just make sure your phone battery doesn’t run out, or you will be in trouble…
If you’ve been following the goings-on in the mobile phone industry you will know that the Next Big Thing is likely to be Google and its Android operating system. Android is Open Source software and Google gunning hard for the big boys, namely Microsoft, Nokia and Apple, and actively encouraging users to contribute to its development, hence the Android Software Developer’s Kit (SDK), which you can now download and try for yourself.
