Friday, 31 December 2010

Ford launches Sync Destinations app for iPhone, Android

Ford has released a Sync Destinations app for iPhone and Android phones which allows access to live traffic updates and elements of its in-car navigational and entertainment system.

 

The free-to-download app works alongside Sync-equipped  2010 and 2011 Ford cars. The Sync service features the Travel Destination and Information interface that offers turn-by-turn navigation, live traffic updates, handsfree calling and media control.

 

The app will allow drivers to programme up to 25 destinations into their handsets and access live traffic information. So, for example, if you're on your way back to the car after work, you can check for delays along your route.

 

Any new routes or changes to your programmed routes will sync back to the car. It'll also offer up estimated travel times based on traffic.

 

The app will shut itself off when you return to your vehicle you begin travelling at over 5mph, and that's when the in-car system will take over. It's free on Android and iOS devices with a BlackBerry app scheduled for the New Year.

 

Link: SyncMyRide (via CNET)


Posted by Chris Smith


Source: T3.com News

Posted by Matt Collard at 04:00 0 comments

Thursday, 30 December 2010

Skype outage caused by bug in older Windows version

Skype has been transparent and open about the cause of the 24-hour long outage last week with a blog post outlining the reasons by its CIO.

The Windows version of Skype had a bug which caused the 24 hours crash on 22 and 23 December.


According to Lars Rabbe, the Chief Information Officer of Skype, the problem began on Wednesday when servers for offline instant messaging overloaded and Skype users began receiving delayed responses.

Users using Skype version 5.0.0152 for Windows were affected as these delayed responses kept piling up and caused the servers to crash. Older versions of Skype for Windows, and the latest version 5.0.0.156 were not affected.

However, 50% of global Skype users were on the older Windows version and eventually the rest of the network was overloaded, in spite of a quick reaction by Skype over the initial crash.

Rabbe summed up, "Regrettably, as a result of the confluence of events – server overload, a bug in Skype for Windows clients (version 5.0.0.152), and the decline in available supernodes – Skype’s functionality became unavailable to many of our users for approximately 24 hours."

He finally said, "We know how much you rely on Skype, and we know that we fell short in both fulfilling your expectations and communicating with you during this incident."

Remember to keep checking for updates folks!


Source: Skype

 

 


Posted by Devina Divecha


Source: T3.com News

Posted by Matt Collard at 16:15 0 comments

Channel Tunnel and Tube mobile coverage incoming

Along with London Underground wi-fi being tested in time for the 2012 London Olympics, the Channel Tunnel is also expected to see mobile coverage by then.


Four British telecom operators - Vodafone, 02, 3 and Everything Everywhere - are said to be collaborating with France's Orange, SFR and Bouygues, in order to give the 31.4 mile long tunnel mobile coverage by 2012.

They are expected to share the £20 million cost of this project, the mobile technology for which will be provided by Alcatel-Lucent, a French telecom equipment provider.

The British team is responsible for the Dover to Calais tunnel and the French team for the Calais to Dover tunnel. Ofcom, UK's telecom regulator, will be issuing licences for French and British telecom operators to share airwaves in the Channel Tunnel.

With mobile coverage on the London Underground and soon on the Channel Tunnel, London seems to be pulling out all the stops for the 2012 Olympics. We can't wait to see the result.


What else would you like to see in place for the 2012 London Olympics? Tell us over at our Twitter and Facebook feeds and stay tuned in for latest tech updates.


Via: ITProPortal

 

 


Posted by Devina Divecha


Source: T3.com News

Posted by Matt Collard at 04:02 0 comments

Wednesday, 29 December 2010

Mozilla accidentally publishes 44000 user account details

Mozilla accidentally published 44,000 user ID details.

Mozilla, the developers of browser Firefox, revealed that a database that contained usernames and password hashes of users of addons.mozilla.org had been made public inadvertently.


According to them, 44,000 user IDs and password hashes were made public and those who were potentially affected have already been contacted via email.

Passwords stored before 9 April 2009 were stored by a method that had weaknesses allowing experts to still access accounts. Since then, more secure methods have been used.

Mozilla has been forthcoming about the breach and shared information regarding it on their security blog.

The director of infrastructure security at Mozilla, Chris Lyon, said that they were made aware that the database was mistakenly left on a Mozilla public server. He added, "We were able to account for every download of the database. This issue posed minimal risk to users, however as a precaution we felt we should disclose this issue to people affected and err on the side of disclosure."

The database included 44,000 inactive accounts using older password hashes, and all the passwords have been deleted, rendering the accounts disabled.

However, if you've been contacted by Mozilla, perhaps it might be a good idea to change your password anyway. Just in case.


Post on T3's Twitter and Facebook feeds if you were one of the 44,000 people contacted, and follow us for the latest news in all things tech.


Via: TechRadar

 

 


Posted by Devina Divecha


Source: T3.com News

Posted by Matt Collard at 04:02 0 comments

Tuesday, 28 December 2010

Apple and app makers sued for 'user profiling'

Apple and the makers of top iPhone apps like personal radio service Pandora and Dictionary.com have been issued with a lawsuit after allegedly passing user data onto advertisers, allowing them to make secret profiles.

 

The suit, filed in North Carolina in the USA, accuses the app makers of giving up the user's location and device identity so that advertisers can target specific users within the app. The app makers do not ask for permission from the users to pass data onto third parties.

 

The lawsuit concerns the UDID (Unique Device Identification) number that Apple issues each iPhone with. If advertisers have that number then they are able to build a profile on the user and hit them with specific apps based on clicking history and location.

 

The lawsuit requests that the profiling be ceased and that monetary reparations be paid. Other top apps named in the suit include Toss It, Talking Tom Cat and The Weather Channel.

 

"Apple sued" headlines usually appear weekly, but it's usually over some petty patent squabble with a rival manufacturer, or some chancer claiming it weas actually him who invented the iPhone. This particular legal battle could have much greater ramifications as worries about smartphone and app privacy continue.

 

Link: Wired


Posted by Chris Smith


Source: T3.com News

Posted by Matt Collard at 16:02 0 comments

Kindle 3 is Amazon's best-selling product ever

T3 told you that the Amazon Kindle was the top selling item over the Christmas buying period. The latest is that the Amazon Kindle 3 is now the company's best-selling product of all time.


The Kindle 3 is priced at £109 and has overtaken the seventh Harry Potter book - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - as the top seller on Amazon.

Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com founder and CEO said, "We're seeing that many of the people who are buying Kindles also own an LCD tablet. Customers report using their LCD tablets for games, movies, and web browsing and their Kindles for reading sessions."

He also added that the price of the Kindle is a key factor: "It's low enough that people don't have to choose."

On Christmas Day, people purchased more Kindle books than on any other day in history, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was the most purchased Kindle book on that day.

Amazon also added that 13.7 million items were ordered worldwide on its peak day, November 29, which translates into 158 items per second.


Do you own a Kindle or an LCD tablet, or both? We'd like to know, so tell us on our Twitter and Facebook pages and follow us for your daily dose of tech news.

 

 


Posted by Devina Divecha


Source: T3.com News

Posted by Matt Collard at 04:00 0 comments

Monday, 27 December 2010

iPhone app prototype lets you listen to your heartrate

Fed up of those restrictive chest-bands that deliver the all-important bmps during your post-Christmas work-out? Well a new app for iPhone could allow you to ping that elastic strip away once and for all.

 

Swiss company CSEM has just put the finishing touches on an app called Pulsear, which monitors your heart rate, informs you through the headphones and allows you to compare data with your previous work-outs.

 

"Lots of people listen to music while they exercise and lots of people find the belts uncomfortable," said CSEM's Dr. Andrea Ridolfi, "so we thought it made sense to measure heart rate through the ear."

 

The current iteration of the prototype only measures heart-rate but CSEM say that future versions of the app will allow users to measure other vital stats like blood oxygen levels.

 

Pulsear is based on ideas used to create sonar technology for astronauts and researchers say the prototype could have commercial as well as uses for medical professionals. Price and release date are yet to be confirmed.

 

Link: Independent

 

 


Posted by Chris Smith


Source: T3.com News

Posted by Matt Collard at 16:00 0 comments

Call of Duty: Black Ops for £29.99 at Morrisons

Gamers, listen up: Call of Duty: Black Ops will be sold by Morrisons for £29.99 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms until 2 January.


The popular game can now be bought for this price, but it's only valid instore and doesn't apply to the PC version. However, the price of £29.99 comes with no strings attached.

Call of Duty: Black Ops can also be bought on Amazon.co.uk, where it was the third most popular item on their Christmas top 10 list. Activision has also announced that the sales of the game passed $1 billion.

In spite of the problems PS3 users are facing, Call of Duty: Black Ops seems to be one of the hottest games of the moment.


Do you already have the game or plan to avail of this offer? Head to T3's Twitter and Facebook pages to share and follow us for the latest news in gaming and tech.


Via: ITProPortal

 

 


Posted by Devina Divecha


Source: T3.com News

Posted by Matt Collard at 03:59 0 comments

Sunday, 26 December 2010

App Year: A look back at the best apps of 2010

APP NEWS:

PlayStation app to Android and iPhone
There's been plenty of word that the campfire that Sony is plotting a PlayStation Android phone, but in the meantime, we've been greeted with an official app for Android and iPhone. There's no gaming to be had hear, but you can keep track on your trophies and get the latest PS3 and PSP news direct from the source.

 

Angry Birds rules the roost
What a year for the guys at Rovio! After a hugely successful iPhone launch, it followed up with Android, iPad and Nokia to become the top paid app in the world, with over 50 million downloads. In 2011, there's talk of an animated movie and plush toys. Our favourite has to be the festively-themed Angry Birds Seasons which opened up a new level for each day of Advent.

Also check out the Angry Birds Peace Summit:
 

 

Google Maps Navigation wins big at T3 Awards
It wasn't the biggest surprise in the world, but the free Android turn-by-turn sat nav deservedly took the inaugural App of the Year gong at the T3 Gadget Awards in October, beating out Foursquare, Layar and Spotify

 

Falcon battle in your own backyard
Hands up who hasn't dreamed of shooting down TIE Fighters from the Millennium Falcon? Well now you can, with a little more reality than your average sim. Star Wars Arcade: Falcon Gunner uses the iPhone's camera lens to stage the battlefield meaning the skyline of your hometown or the comfort of your living room.
 

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Angry Birds HD
The iPhone game causing a stir around the world has gone big, gone HD, gone iPad.
T3 App Chart | Top 10 iPad Apps | Angry Birds HD Review
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T3 iPad Edition hits the App Store
The launch of the iPad Edition has been a huge event for us at T3, giving a whole new lease of life to your favourite gadget magazine, with a host of interactive features and videos, bringing your favourite tech to life like never before. Download the January issue from the App Store today.

 

APP REVIEWS FROM THE T3 APP CHART:

FIFA 11 scores on the iPhone
Once again EA's top sports franchise comes out with a winner on the iPhone. FIFA has once again asserted its dominance over the footy game scene on a new plaftform. Check out our FIFA 11 review for iPhone

 

Sonic 4 spins its way onto the iPhone
It has been a whopping 16 years in coming, but Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I has arrived on the Apple iPhone and we're happy to reveal that it's a must-have app for fans of the classic series. Read our Sonic 4 for iPhone review


Windows 7 arrives with Xbox Live games
Microsoft's new mobile OS has already delivered on its promise to bring a host of top games to the platform, via the Xbox Live portal. Earthworm Jim, old classic Monopoly and RPG The Harvest are all worth a download if you're handset is rocking the world's newest OS.

 

Google Translate lifts the Android Market
The Android Market has been steadily improving throughout the back end of 2010, but Google's own stable of apps remain the most impressive. None more so than Google Translate, which can translate text and speak it back through your handset. It means you'll no longer go to Spain, speaking slowly and expecting people to understand. Well worth our coveted five star award.

 

Angry Birds HD rules on iPad
One of the first five star games for the iPhone, and it comes in the form of those ill-tempered winged creatures. Angry Brds HD for iPad translates gloriously from the iPhone and looks beautiful on the iPad's 9.7-inch screen. Definitely worth a punt.

 

Link: T3 App Chart

 

 


Posted by Chris Smith


Source: T3.com News

Posted by Matt Collard at 16:00 0 comments

Saturday, 25 December 2010

Free apps: Win a HTC Desire HD today!

The free app craze that's sweeping the UK has come to T3.com with the launch of a brand new App Vent Calendar Android app giveaway. 

 

The soaring sales of Android handsets, driven by phones like the HTC Desire HD, has seen an increase in the quality and range of Android apps available to download from the Martketplace, leading many of the top developers to produce apps not just for the iPhone but also for the burgeoning Android community.

 

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How to enter to win free apps:

- Visit the AppVent Calendar: Win free android apps

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With Android apps at their most desirable since the arrival of the operating system, T3.com is giving away over £3,000 worth of the best Android apps. From the 1 Dec you'll be able to enter to win top paid apps like Spotify, CoPilot, LogMeIn and We7.

 

The AppVent Calendar, sister site to the ever-growing App Chart, will run for the 25 days of Advent. Twenty five of the best and most exciting Android developers have joined us to give away a taste of Android love for the festive period. An amazing 800+ apps, valued at more than £3,000 will be given away for nothing, gratis, free.

 

Each day you’ll all be able to enter a twitter draw to win the day’s app – just follow T3, then hit the button. Re-tweet as many times as you like – winners will be drawn at random at the end of each day.

 

Additionally, our friends at Three have provided three brand new HTC Desire HD Android phones. These are hidden within the calendar, and a separate draw will chose the lucky winner on these days.

 

Simply stay tuned, like us on Facebook/t3mag, or follow #t3appvent on Twitter/t3dotcom to take part – good luck, and a very happy Xmas to you from all at T3!


Posted by James Ranson


Source: T3.com News

Posted by Matt Collard at 15:59 0 comments

Friday, 24 December 2010

News@8pm: Mac App Store pictures and Galaxy S sales

Apple Mac App Store details have emerged giving us a taste of what we can expect from the desktop app store which is tipped to open its doors on January 6th. Incidentally, that is the same day that CES 2011 kicks off and today LG has unveiled 3D blu ray and speakers ahead of the Vegas tech showcase. Remember you can get news, reviews, video and live blogging from CES 2011 here.

 


Google and Samsung have two reasons to celebrate with news that the Galaxy S has topped 9.3 million sales, at the same time the Nexus S is successfully shot into outer space with many of the Android 2.3 smartphone features still in working order. It's not such good news on the Google TV front with Logitech Revue production having been halted until the next Google TV software update has been finalised.

 

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App of the Day | WAMO Camera
The award-winning bada app serves up plenty of features to make the most of your snaps
T3 App Chart | Top 10 Samsung Bada apps | WAMO Camera Review I Best apps of 2010
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Apps continue to play a big part in our tech lives so we've taken a look back at the year in apps including our pick of some of the stand out T3 App Chart entries over the past 12 months. Android phone owners will be glad to hear that EA has followed its festive iPhone games sale with an Android sale equivalent as an early Christmas present. If you are interested in free Android apps of course, you can still win the Gentle Alarm app with T3's AppVent calendar.

 

A giant iPhone was used to launch Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light game, which is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the weirdest tech news of 2011 which we've rounded up for your viewing pleasure.
 

 

MORE: Google ousts Facebook on mobile says Opera | Virgin Media 3D content given hefty pre-Christmas boost


Posted by Michael Sawh


Source: T3.com News

Posted by Matt Collard at 16:01 0 comments

Google ousts Facebook on mobile web says Opera

The monthly State of the Mobile web report has been released by Opera Software, according to which Google has toppled Facebook to become the most frequented website in November.


According to the report, users browsed 340 billion pages in the first 11 months of 2010, 80.0 million people used Opera Mini in November, 44.6 billion pages were served, and 6.3 petabytes of operator data were compressed for Opera Mini users. On a global basis, Twitter and Zedge rose significantly.

In the United Kingdom, Amazon was back on the list of most visited websites after 10 months of absence. Google tops Facebook in the UK and the Apple iPhone was the top handset for November 2010 in the UK.

Global trends showed that Google was the most visited website on Opera Mini, followed by Facebook.

Jon von Tetzchner the Co-founder of Opera Software said, "This month, the report reflects on a year of growth for Opera, but more importantly, growth for the mobile Internet. Passing milestone after milestone over the year, our users took the full Web experience to their hearts and browsed an incredible 340 billion pages in the first 11 months of 2010 (compared to 129 billion pages in the first 11 months of 2009)."


What browser do you use on your mobile phone? Tell us on T3's Twitter and Facebook pages and follow us fort he latest tech news.

 

 


Posted by Devina Divecha


Source: T3.com News

Posted by Matt Collard at 04:00 0 comments
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