Daily Bits

Software

VLC 1.1 Is Faster And Better

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Since its original release, VLC media player has gotten a lot of attention and has become one of the most used – if not the most used – media players today. This is due to many reasons, but for the most part it is due to ease of use and the functionalities that the software offers. I can’t say how many times seeing that striped cone icon has made me happy!

Last week, a new version of VLC was released – VLC 1.1.0 – and true to form, the software has received largely positive reviews. One big reason behind the enthusiasm of users for VLC 1.1.0 is the fact that it is ready for HD.

How so?

VLC 1.1.0’s hardware video acceleration makes it ready to process high resolution images and offers much smoother playback. With the trend pointing to the use of HD more and more, this is a welcome development for users. Another important update added to this version is the support for WebM, which is being touted as the new standard for video. Of course, there are countless other fixes and tweaks that have been made for this release.

On the flip side, SHOUTcast streaming has been removed – VLC 1.1.0 does not support this anymore. The reason behind this is that AOL was demanding that VLC bundle AOL software with the player. This included adware, mind you. It was either that or remove the SHOUTcast support. Guess what the guys behind VLC chose?

In any case, the removal of SHOUTcast, while it will be missed, is not that big of an issue. The software is still free and works perfectly. Download VLC 1.1.0 here.

No More Windows XP SP 2 Updates After July 13

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Mark the date on your calendars, people! After July 13 of this year, Microsoft will stop rolling out updates for the stable operating system Windows XP Service Pack 2. News reports have not stopped sprouting left and right about the decision of the software giant to stop offering extended support for this particular operating system; and by no means are they rumors – the cessation of the support is confirmed.

Foremost of those who are worried are corporate clients who use Microsoft XP SP2 for many of their business computers. What is to happen if they stop getting those updates?

Experts say that while the news might initially be alarming, there really is nothing to worry about. The fact of the matter is that Microsoft XP SP2 will continue to be stable and secure in spite of updates not being offered in the future. More so, it really is only the 32-bit version of XP SP2 that will be affected. Those who are using the 64-bit version will still continue receiving automatic updates – way until April 8, 2014 in fact.

Here’s an added perk: for companies using the 32-bit version, there is the option to upgrade to Service Pack 3 for FREE. Believe it or not, it really is free. So there really is NO problem at all.

Then why is Microsoft stopping the updates for XP SP2? Windows 7 is out, and you know how it is. Pretty soon, XP will not be commonly used at all. In the meantime, hold your horses and don’t press the panic button. There is time enough to enjoy XP (whether it’s SP2 or SP3) and to transition to Windows 7.

Kindle App for Android to Let You Buy Books In the App

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With Amazon Kindle apps already available to major platforms – PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad and BlackBerry, the only one left for now is an Android app.  Well, Android fans, your wait will soon be over as Amazon is launching its Kindle App for Android phones. In fact, it’s already slated for a summer release.

Guess what’s so different about the Kindle App for Android? Something which the iPhone, iPad and BlackBerry apps won’t let you do. Yes, you guess it right, the app will let you buy books directly right in the app itself. Other Kindle apps kicks you out of the app whenever you want to score an ebooks from the Kindle Bookstore.

This is of course, over and above all the other great features that you’d love from other Kindle apps including access to your Kindle books even if you don’t have your Kindle with you, automatic synchronization of the last page you read and annotations between devices through Amazon’s Whispersync, text size adjustment, bookmarks, portrait or landscape reading and tap to flick through ebook pages.

Amazon tells us:

“Kindle for Android is the perfect companion application for Kindle and Kindle DX owners, and is also a great way for customers to enjoy over 540,000 books in the Kindle Store even if they don’t yet have a Kindle,” said Jay Marine, director, Amazon Kindle. “We think customers are going to love the convenience and simplicity of having instant access to a massive selection of books from Amazon on their Droid, Nexus, Incredible and many more Android devices.”

Kindle for App would certainly be a good addition to Android phones’ stable of useful apps. With the high-resolution display  and large screens of most Android phones, ebook reading would certainly be a pleasure plus of course the convenience of buying ebooks you fancy right away.

Five Useful BlackBerry Apps for Moms on Mother’s Day

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Thinking of giving your mom a bouquet of flowers on Mother’s Day?  Forget it. Your mom is not going to use it and will most probably just let it  wither away, especially if your mom is a BlackBerry user. Come to think of it, why not just give her some useful apps that she can enjoy using on her BlackBerry device.

We’ve scoured the BlackBerry App World in search of the most useful app that moms who use BlackBerry will appreciate and enjoy and we’ve found these five apps.

1. Viigo


This BlackBerry app will help your Mom keep tabs of what her family is into and what she is into herself.   This app will provide your Mom with every information that every member of the family is interested into. Be it sports, fashion, recipes and more, all she has to do is tell Viigo and the app will deliver up-to-date information whenever, wherever. (Download link) [Read more…] about Five Useful BlackBerry Apps for Moms on Mother’s Day

Apple Approves Opera Mini for iPhone

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Opera continues its trip across various platforms as its Opera Mini browser app has just been approved by Apple. Expect the Opera Mini app to make its appearance in the Apps Store anytime now. Depending on your iTunes, setting the Opera Mini app will be available for free download within 24 hours.

It comes as a surprise that Apple approves the Opera Mini browser since it will definitely compete with Apple’s very own Safari browser on the iPhone and iPod Touch. But it just shows how open Apple is when it comes to competition, although I’m pretty sure that the Opera Mini is not the first approved app which directly competes with an Apple service.

So what does the Opera Mini app brings to the iPhone/iPod Touch table? A couple of good features actually topped by its fast mobile web browsing capability. Credit should be attributed of course to Opera Mini’s compression of web data by up to 90% before sending them to the iPhone/iPod Touch. This results to faster page loading.

Opera Mini will be most useful if your iPhone is running on slower networks such as 2G EDGE. It works great with iPhone 3G and 3GS models and would save you some precious data charges when browsing the web using your iPhone due to data compression.

“We are delighted to offer iPhone and iPod touch users a great browsing experience with the Opera Mini App,” said Lars Boilesen, CEO, Opera Software. “This app is another step toward Opera’s goal of bringing the Web to more people in more places.”

Alright, I know that you’re probably grown tired of using the iPhone/iPod Touch’s Safari browser. Time for a cool change. Check out Opera Mini for iPhone/iPod Touch now.  You may also want to watch a short video demonstrating the features of the Opera Mini browser on iPhone (check out the video after the jump). [Read more…] about Apple Approves Opera Mini for iPhone

Google Adds Street View to Google Map Marker Edit Option

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As if the edit features recently introduced by Google which lets you modify a marker for specifica places that you happen to know was entered incorrectly is not enough, Google is adding a new feature which will make things easier. Starting today, Street View is now part of the handy reference that you can use when editing place markers on Google Maps.

This means that if you see a place marker which was incorrectly placed on Google Maps and you want to edit it, you can now use Street View to take a closer look at a particular place. Of course this will lead you into mark a specific spot better and more accurate since you are actually marking the exact spot as displayed by  Street View.

By introducing this feature, Google is encouraging Google Maps users to mark places at the entrance of the place and as much as possible avoid marking in the center of a street block. This can now be easily done through the Street View. But this is applicable only for places with available Street View. As you all know not all the known places mapped by Google maps would have corresponding Street View. In this cases, the marker can still be placed at the center of a block.

So, in case you find a specifically marked spot on Google Maps which you believe is incorrect you can edit this by clicking on the marker to display the infowindow. Click on the “more” link and then click the “Move marker” link in the drop down menu. Then you can drag the marker to the right spot on Google maps.

Pretty cool, right? So, have you used Google Maps before? Do you find the place markers useful or utterly useless?