Home » Archives for July 8, 2011
Archive for July 8th, 2011
Earlier this week Facebook announced a tie-up with Skype that’s resulted in a video calling service, for full video chat, within the Facebook web interface. I haven’t tried this out yet but I’m looking forward to doing so.
However, since the announcement a raft of scams relating to the video chat service have plagued Facebook. These fake applications within Facebook are nothing to do with the official service but instead offer the promise of video chat but are, in fact, rogue ‘apps’ asking you for access to you personal information, permission to post on your wall and read your posts!
So just a word of warning, if you see a post on your wall or in your profile saying ‘Enable Video Calls’ or similar avoid it like the plague! If you’ve already succumbed to the temptation then head in to your settings and revoke privileged access to the naughty scammers!
Posted by: Matt
If you are a BlackBerry developer or it is something to are looking to pursue then the following news from RIM will be of interest.
RIM has announced the availability of the BlackBerry WebWorks SDK v 2.1 for BlackBerry Smartphones. This update comes shortly after the introduction of the BlackBerry® WebWorksT SDK v 2.1 for Tablet OS [http://devblog.blackberry.com/2011/06/blackberry-webworks-sdk-tablet-os-version-2-1/] and brings similar functionality and APIs to the BlackBerry® Smartphone OS.
The new capabilities that WebWorks developers can now leverage include NTML & BASIC Authentication support, Camera API, Top Banner Indicator API, Enhanced Push APIs and improved rendering speeds for some applications. The APIs enable web developers to deeply integrate with the BlackBerry Smartphone OS and thereby build feature rich apps that offer more immersive and interactive end user experiences. Other benefits developers can derive from the new application functionality and APIs are better app monetization, diversified development approaches, support for standardized security and better integration with the widely popular BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM) Social Platform.
Developers can learn more about the new APIs at http://devblog.blackberry.com/2011/07/blackberry-webworks-sdk-smartphones-v2-1 and can download the latest WebWorks SDK for BlackBerry Smartphones at http://us.blackberry.com/developers/browserdev/widgetsdk.jsp.
Posted by: James
Many of us are waiting for the official release of OS X Lion with bated breath and as yet there is no clear release date for it. However there are a number of sites speculating that the release will take place on the 14th July, Thursday of next week.
The guys at 9to5Mac claim to have evidence that this is going to happen as Apple have called for all retail stores to make overnight changes to signage which is expected to be all about Lion.
OS X Lion include over 250 enhancements over the current Snow Leopard version of the OS with some significant UI changes that some feel bring it closer to iOS. OS X Lion will be a App Store download via the Mac and will only cost a little over £20, something of a bargain.
It’s also likely that the 2011 version of the MacBook Air will be released within the next few weeks. The new version is expected to have the same Sandy Bridge chipset as the iMac and MacBook Pro and, therefore, to include the new high-speed Thunderbolt port.
Fingers crossed!
Posted by: Matt
Despite sales of BlackBerry Smartphones being on the decline in North America it is encouraging for us BlackBerry fans to see that in Europe, the Middle East and Africa things are going the other way. The below statement was tweeted by Research in Motion the other day and it looks like they are pretty proud of themselves.
“BlackBerry continues momentum across EMEA with 1 Million+ new subscribers added in less than 3 weeks,”
I am seeing negative articles daily across the web and this just goes to show that although our friends over in America are ditching BlackBerry for the likes of Android and iOS, RIM are still generating new customers. With 13.2 million BlackBerry Smartphones being shipped in the last quarter RIM are far from doomed. Don’t get me wrong, I do agree that the devices they are producing are lagging behind the competition and the sooner they can show us a Smartphone running QNX the better. Until then I shall still be carrying my trusty BlackBerry.
Posted by: James
Earlier this week Facebook announced a tie-up with Skype that’s resulted in a video calling service, for full video chat, within the Facebook web interface. I haven’t tried this out yet but I’m looking forward to doing so.
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