Google Chrome 14 Beta Released

Chris Rogers, A Google software engineer reported the new beta build on the official Google Chrome Blog. The latest version of Chrome, identified as 14, is aimed to bring the browser closer to a full operating system as well as another attempt by Google to define web standards.

One of the features packaged within 14 is the "Native Client", allowing developers to run their C or C++ programs within the browser. The Native Client will use Google's Pepper API (plugin feature), allowing for access to the browsers HTML 5 capabilities.

Chrome 14 is largely emphasising on HTML 5 features, such as improved support for the HTML 5 web audio API, enabling developers to create more realistic sound effects.

MAC users will also receive some Google love, as Chrome will include OS X Lion styled scroll bars as well as full screen and print preview modes.

Rogers says that Chrome 14 will "bring big improvements to Chrome’s web platform capabilities, enabling developers to build more powerful and more immersive apps and games for the web."

In the past Google Chrome has always played second fiddle to Mozilla's Firefox amongst developers, Its clear with the new features listed, Google is after an even greater piece of the web browser pie.

Google+ App Now Available for iPhone

Today Apple have approved the free Google+ app for iPhone and have listed it on their app store. It has been suggested that the app was submitted to Apple two weeks ago and has been waiting for approval since. This is an unusually long time, as Apple CEO, Steve Jobs has previously said "95% of the apps submitted are approved within 7 days".

The features listed within the Google+ app are the Circles; allowing for selective sharing, Stream; similar to Facebook's News Feed and Huddle; a collection of Circles. The compatibility requirements for this app are indexed for the iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, and iPhone 4 & requires iOS 4.0 or later.

As of this moment the app is available only for iPhone, it is unclear however whether a similar app will be provided for the iPad in the future. Though it is noted that iPhone apps can be used on the iPad through emulation.

How Safe is the New Google+Facebook App?

Since the launch of the latest Google social network site a few weeks ago, Google+, the techheads amongst us have been rushing to find or create the latest addons for the site.

Crossrider, an Israeli company have claimed to have developed an extension that will allow Facebook to be streamed within the Google+ site. Crossrider's co-founder, Koby Menachemi claims that the app, labelled Google+Facebook has already received over 100,000 downloads within the last week.

However, today i came across a highly rated post on reddit, attempting to unmask the potential risks after installation of the service.

The user behind the reddit post, RogueDarkJedi (RDJ), lists the problems with the app's coding and how it could be open to manipulation. RDJ highlights the specific areas in which there could be potential security, privacy or malware risks from the app.

Ironically similar warnings can be found below the applications download page on the Crossrider site's Facebook stream.

It is normal for applications of this nature to require access to a large amount of your facebook account in order to emulate the data on their desired platform. Though now with the case put forward by RDJ, it may be wise to avoid this extension.

Cloud Based Microsoft Office 365 Launched

Today at a New York City event Microsoft marked the official launch of the cloud based, Office 365. Microsoft have taken this move to compete with the likes of the Google Documents and iCloud services, where industry experts estimate by 2015, may be worth £45bn.

As the suite is cloud based, it is primarily aimed at small to medium sized businesses. Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer said "to compete, small and medium-sized businesses do need an edge, an edge that doesn’t require huge upfront capital investment or complex IT systems to manage and maintain." Microsoft has hinted that Office 365 will be attractive to businesses with little in house IT resources and expertise.

Price packages range from as little as $2 a month for basic services and up to $36 for the full works. The four cloud hosted components are: Exchange, SharePoint, Lync, and Office Web Apps.

Many of the target market small businesses customers have trialed the Office 365 beta and have noted the potential scale for savings in time and money and the ability to be able to focus resources elsewhere.

Its clear that Microsoft have realised the shift towards cloud computing, not one to be left behind, it has sought to gain a share of another rapidly growing market. It remains to be seen how Microsoft's paid services will match alongside the likes of Google's free offerings.

Airbus 2050 Plane Concept

Airbus have released a vision of what air travel may look like in the year 2050. The concept is based around tech integration into nearly every function of the aircraft. This the latest installment in a project labelled 'The Future by Airbus'.

Some of the interesting ideas are shaping the fuselage bird bone shaped allowing for a transparent shell, auto morphing, energy harvesting seats as well as a passenger recognition system. Airbus Chief Engineer, Charles Champion notes that "body warmth could be used to power the plane", does this mean that flight carriers will be aiming to fly ill passengers with a high body temperature, on the less popular flights?

Also Airbus point out they want to remove the traditional class system and replace them with zones, these are; interaction, revitalise & smart zones. These will include, smart seats, pop-up pods, holographic walls and body motion sensors.

Video: Airbus Chief Engineer, Charles Champion explains the concept.

Even though as futuristic as this concept may seem, look back at the differences between now and 40 years ago, not much has changed. It remains to be seen whether this may come to fruition, my guess is you wont be flying to the Costa Brava through Ryanair using this method anytime soon.

Duke Nukem Forever Hits Number 1 in the UK Charts

14 years since the announced development, Duke Nukem Forever has topped the UK games sales charts. Originally planned to be released in the late 1990s, Duke Nukem Forever is the sequel to the 1996 game Duke Nukem 3D.

The success of the latest release is somewhat further appealing as critics had expected it to flop. IGN scored Duke Nukem Forever at 5.5 out of 10, Joystiq 2 out of 5 stars and Eurogamer 3 out of 10. Most of the criticism is directed at the games clunky controls, shooting mechanics and overall aging design. With Eurogamer pointing out that "your time and money would be better spent reliving Duke Nukem's iconic past than bearing witness to this gruesomely mangled resurrection."



Video: Duke Nukem Forever Trailer

The surge in UK success, suggests that the long wait for another Duke Nukem installment have drawn the original fans back to the name over the content.

Is Windows 8 too Bold for the Business Market?

Today at the D9 conference, Microsoft unveiled a sneak peak look in the early stage of development of the code-named Windows 8. The initial design looks very clean, minimal, sharp and crisp a world away from Microsofts OS's of old. Will business customers be deterred?

The new look OS has generally received mixed reviews, its shows Microsoft is willing to take bold steps remain at the forefront of the market. The mosaic tiled menu screens seem to be very intuitive and a lot clearer, with Mac style drag navigation across the platform.  The tiles are favoured over the traditional icons as they are able to show an "apps personality" says Jensen Harris, Director of Windows User Experience.

Windows still dominate over 90 percent of the PC market, though how fast businesses will be willing to embrace Windows 8 will be another issue. The bold design of Windows 8 may deter businesses due to the extra spent time it could take to adjust to the new features. Typically businesses operate to rules and conventions and are not motivated towards change. Businesses may see this as a 'change for the sake of change' with the downtime outweighing the updates, it remains to be seen.

I personally feel off the bat that Windows 8 is a step in the right direction, but will businesses see this as a step or a leap?

 

Video: Jensen Harris demonstrates the new Windows 8 features.