Minibyte »

• What is Apple planning?

  May 31, 2011 @ 2:34 pm | by Ciara O'Brien

  In a rare display of pre-conference openness, Apple has revealed that it will showcase Mac OS X Lion, iOS 5 and – most importantly – its upcoming cloud service iCloud.

  And yes, Steve Jobs will be there, and although his exact role hasn’t been defined, he usually gives the keynote.

  This sudden rush to tell us exactly what they’re doing makes a change from previous events, where we would have to make a calculated guess (via some major hints from Apple).

  Which, of course, leads me to wonder exactly what they’re not saying. Could it be possible that we’ll see the next generation of iPhone at the conference? Maybe a few new iPods? We’ll have to wait and see.

  Monday is D-Day.

• Tech tools: HTC Desire S

  May 30, 2011 @ 9:00 am | by Ciara O'Brien

  As Android phones go, HTC has really thrown itself into adopting Google’s operating system. The Desire S is one of the newer generation of Android handsets.

  

  (more…)

• Tech tools: Contigo Autoseal Kangaroo Bottle

  May 27, 2011 @ 1:44 pm | by Ciara O'Brien

  As one of life’s… let’s just say less coordinated people, the Contigo Autoseal Kangaroo Bottle is, for two reasons, possibly the best invention. Ever.

  

  (more…)

• Windows Phone gets update

  May 24, 2011 @ 5:20 pm | by Ciara O'Brien

  Windows Phone users – your time has come. Microsoft has announced the first major update to its mobile software since its launch about eight months ago.

  Integrated Twitter and LinkedIn applications are among the 500 new features that Windows Phone users will get with the 7.5 update, known as Mango.

  The update also allows the system to organise information around the person or group, rather than the app, that you interact with. Face detection has been included, along with automatic Facebook checkins (not so keen on this) and the ability to group contacts into personalized Live Tiles.

  You’re also getting better multitasking and Internet Explorer 9 for browsing.

  It’s coming to new handsets from autumn, although existing users are expected to get the update sooner than that. No timetable has yet been announced for rolling out the update, however.

  So for now, you’ll have to sit and wait patiently.

• Playstation Network partially restored

  May 15, 2011 @ 12:59 am | by Ciara O'Brien

  It’s the news PSN users have been waiting for: Sony is to restore some of its services from today. And luckily, that limited service includes the restoration of online gameplay for both the PS3 and PSP.

  It’s been more than three weeks since Sony took the service offline, following an attack on it’s systems that could have compromised the details of millions of users.

  Sony is rolling out the restored services on a country by country basis starting with the Americas, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Middle East.

  Also on the restoration list is the ability to reset passwords, playback of rented video content, access to services such as Hulu and Netflix, Qriocity music playback, PS3 “friends” services such as chat and trophy comparison, and Playstation Home.

  Sony is also promising some beefed up security, so hopefully, this won’t happen again.

• The Angry Birds come to Chrome

  May 12, 2011 @ 5:19 pm | by Ciara O'Brien

  Yes, you read correctly. Not content with taking over iPhones, Android phones and even your console, Rovio has just given you Angry Birds on your computer. More specifically, on Chrome.

  If you use Google’s browser, you can get the game at Chrome’s web store, and commence destruction of the pigs’ hideouts.

  Expect productivity to dip drastically at offices everywhere.