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10 July 2012

Android Jelly Bean Keyboard: ICS Port APK

Introduced at Google I/O 20112, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean features improved keyboard with predictive text features

Android Jelly Bean keyboard ported for Ice Cream Sandwich!

One of the more obscure features of Android 4.1 ('Jelly Bean') is a revised keyboard, said to offer better, faster text-prediction. The Day #1 Google I/O Keynote offers a very brief demo, revealing a striking similarity to the 3rd-party application called SwiftKey ...long considered by many the best Android replacement keyboard. Some users say it's better than Apple's IOS keyboard -- high praise, indeed.

Don't feel like waiting for Jelly Bean to reach your device? You're in luck; XDA vet appelflap has ported the original AOSP version for use with any Ice Cream Sandwich device...

03 July 2012

Google JellyBean Statue Loses His Head!

Google's brand new Android Jelly Bean lawn statue has lost his head, due to July heat at the company's Googleplex campus, in Mountain View, California.
Guess he heard about Apple's Galaxy Nexus injunction.
In a sure sign that things are heating up at the Googleplex, a proud new member of Team Android has very publicly blown his top.

According to Android engineer Dan Morrill, the new Google Android "Jelly Bean' lawn statue has suffered a meltdown. Apparently, a buildup of hot air inside the statue caused his dome-shaped, transparent head to warp and pop off. Adding insult to injury, Morrill suspects somebody made off with one of the statue's ersatz jelly beans before anxious Googlers could seal off the area.

Sadly, this isn't the first environmental disaster to hit the Android garden display ecosystem...

02 July 2012

Google JellyBean Sound Search 'Ears' APK

Fresh APK rip of Google Sound Search app from Android Jelly Bean. Install on any ICS device -- no root required. No waiting!
Forget the song. What's with all the names for this app?

Google Sound Search app for Ice Cream Sandwich, no root required!

If you've seen the Day #1 Keynote at Google I/O 2012, maybe you noticed one of the many new features in Android 4.1 ('Jelly Bean') was something called 'What's that song?' ...nicknamed 'Google Ears' by the Android team. We later learned this app's official name is Google Sound Search.

It installs as a widget and hooks right into Google Music, ready to provide one-click identification of the song you're playing, along with album art (in thumbnail form) and pricing info. Sound Search links directly to the Google Play Store, for easy one-click ordering of any song or album.

Ok, this is nothing new; Sound Search mimics popular 3rd-party apps like Shazam and SoundHound. But rumor has it that the final release version of Jelly Bean will install Sound Search as a native application, bringing both increased speed and closer ties with other Google services.

Of course, we won't know the final details until Jelly Bean's release, said to be scheduled for mid-July...

28 June 2012

APK Rip: Google Play Store 3.7.11

Fresh APK rip of new Google Play Store for Android Jelly Bean -- install it now, no waiting!
Why wait? Enjoy a taste of Jelly Bean, right now!
Here it is: Google Play Store 3.7.11

APK is freshly ripped from a Google I/O 2012 developer phone. This is the new Jelly Bean update to Google's Android Play Store, including features like magazine downloads (Google's partners in this are Hearst and Conde Nast) and a 'Buy Now' option for movies. Also, you can now enjoy selected television shows in addition to movies and music

06 June 2012

Offline 3D Maps Next for Android?

Google will add offline and 3D images to Google Maps for Android, by end of 2012.

Not to be outdone by recent rumors about Apple, Google now says Android will offer 3D map images and full offline navigation...'soon'.

The announcement came as part of today's The Next Dimension of Google Maps event, in San Francisco. Promoted as a "behind-the-scenes look at Google Maps", it was supposed by many to be a pre-emptive strike ahead of news that Apple would be dumping Google Maps for iPhone in favor of their own, in-house mapping solution.

04 June 2012

Instapaper for Android Now Available

Instapaper for Android: There goes the neighborhood.
Get ready for much tearing of hair and gnashing of teeth -- another iFan shibboleth has joined the dark side. And at a $2 discount.

Long-time iOS exclusive Instapaper is now available in Google's Android Play Store. As described by the designers, Instapaper is...
"A simple tool to save web pages for [...] later offline reading, optimized for readability on your tablet or phone's screen. Critically acclaimed by top blogs, newspapers, and magazines!"
We'll second the 'critically acclaimed' part, tho' we do have some issues worth mentioning...

30 May 2012

Verizon Galaxy Nexus, Meet Android ICS (Finally)

Verizon Wireless rolls out long overdue Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0.4) update for Samsung Galaxy Nexus.
Two scoops, please..
Long-suffering G-Nex owners on VZW, your prayers are answered!

Verizon Wireless is now rolling out the official Ice Cream Sandwich update for Samsung's Galaxy Nexus. Yes, your phone that was delayed at launch and received a botched ICS update only to then disappear into the black hole of Verizon Customer Service...you and your beleaguered device will finally receive your just desserts.

See what we did, there? ;-)

Twitter Website Faster on All Browsers

Now with more tweeting, less waiting.
You can thank Twitter's new 'Time to First Tweet' metric for what promises to be a better, faster Twitter.com.

As part of a long-term upgrades program, Twitter engineers are rolling out a series of back-end tweaks which should mean provide better front-end performance for us end-users. Changes include eliminating the 'hashbang' (#!) from all tweet permalinks and shifting most of the page-rendering  to their own servers.

So, once in place what kind of improvement can you expect?

29 May 2012

Cell Tower Workers Die for Your '4 Bars'

Did AT&T increase fatal accidents among cell tower workers by rushing to expand their 3G network. Climber deaths at AT&T job sites went up sharply, from 2006-2008..

Two days after PBS aired a Frontline report on high rates of fatal injuries among cell tower workers, one of AT&T's major construction management partners has halted tower work in several states to complete a review of safety practices.

Goodman Networks of Plano, Texas, notified workers of the mandatory stand-down on 24 May, eight days after technician Shad Lierley fell 100 feet from a tower near Austin, Texas. Reports say he was a subcontractor, hired by Goodman for an AT&T project on the site. Goodman confirmed the stoppage; AT&T refused comment.

Interestingly, AT&T had been a focus of that Frontline program, 'Cell Tower Deaths'.

27 May 2012

Can Local News Save US Newspapers? | Opinion

Waren Buffet, Stephen Colbert think local focus could save US newspapers from extinction.
Is local news the key to 21st-century newspaper success?
You needn't be a writer to know that newspapers are an endangered species.

Circulation's been in decline for years, with advertising revenue following close behind. Debate on what caused this could fill a library, with fingers pointed at everything from the publishers to Apple's iPad to Google and Craigslist. But what's clear is that even in large US cities, once-thriving publications must cut back or simply shut down.

Enter what may be the most unlikely of highly unlikely duos: the real-life Midwestern billionaire CEO Warren Buffet and make-believe Conservative Libertarian chat show host, Stephen Colbert...

26 May 2012

Google Adds Android App Subscriptions to Play Store

Google's Android Play Store adds comprehensive support for in-app subscription.

Back in April of last year, Apple introduced in-app subscriptions, via iTunes. Realizing they had to keep up, the folks at Google quickly responded by adding...basic support for in-app purchases. Well, we suppose you've got to start somewhere.

Working on the theory that it's never too late, here in May 2012 Mountain View finally catches up with their mobile sector rival. Google's Play Store now provides end-to-end subscription support for all Android applications sold there...

24 May 2012

Pres. Obama to US Govmt.: 'Go Mobile. Now!'

President Obama directs executive offices and federal agencies to optimize most-used services for mobile device access.
Operator, what number do I dial for GMail?
In a new directive, President Obama instructed the White House and all federal agencies to optimize their websites and services for mobile device access. He called for every agency to publish mobile apps for at least two of their public functions, within twelve months.

In a separate statement, Mr. Obama explained...

Nokia World: Smaller, Cheaper, Farther

Nokia World 2012 moved from London to Helsinki, reduced to series of smaller events.


First held in 2006, Nokia World is traditionally a grand affair playing host to thousands of attendees -- a diverse group that includes Nokia's retail partners, mobile analysts, developers and journalists of all nations -- in a space suited to industry trade shows.

Apparently, this year will be very different tho' the official explanation is a bit vague...

23 May 2012

FB Status: Scanning a Pint of Guinness

New Guinness 'QR cup': pint beer glass with etched QR code that's visible only after glass is filled with Guinness Black Stout Beer.
(Guinness reminds you to never scan and drive.)
Explanations, first: Yes, our lead photo (above) depicts a glass of a very dark liquid with a foamy head. And, yes, that pattern on the glass really is a QR code, the fancy computer-generated barcodes you're starting to see just about everywhere.

To be specific, the fluid is Guinness Irish stout beer, made by the world-famous Irish brewers Guinness & Co.; the unusual container is a Guinness 'QR cup' -- a beer glass with etched QR code -- and that's the creation of world-famous New York ad agency BBDO.

So, Ok -- tasty and clever. Got it? But the true genius is harder to see...

Buggy Windows XP .NET Patch Causes Loop

Windows Update causes loop failure for users running Windows XP with .NET framework.
Are you feeling lucky?
Small problem with Patch Tuesday, last: if you're running Windows XP and Microsoft's .NET framework, the update cycle never ends. You may be thinking, "Heh, you've got that right. With Windows, you'll be patching forever." But we're not being sarcastic -- due to an unknown bug, the update process could loop.

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