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Android Market sees changes before Gingerbread release

As we draw closer to the release of Gingerbread and the rumored enhancements, Google is currently working to make adjustments to the Android Market.

Improvements started last week with the addition of a "Recent changes" feature for applications. Essentially a dedicated change log for apps and games, it provides users with the details that go into each release of an application. With 325 characters of space to work with, this is the spot where developers can mention bug fixes, support for additional languages, new options, and more.

In addition, Android developers logging in to the dashboard console this week are being greeted with a trio of new options for their applications.… Read more

What we might expect from Gingerbread

Though some of the world already has passed into Friday, the rumor that Gingerbread will launch today still could turn out to be true. Expected to be listed as Android 2.3, details of the latest build of the Android OS have been a closely guarded secret thus far. Yet, we can piece together clues and quotes from the last few months to get an idea as to what we should expect.

Interface tweaks Early on, we learned that Gingerbread was going to focus mainly on aesthetics, providing a glossier, more consistent approach to the user interface. That makes sense … Read more

Rumor: Android 2.3 to arrive in 'next few days'

The wait for Android 2.3 could be over quite soon.

"Prepare your Nexus One (developer version) for Android over-the-air update 2.3 (Gingerbread) for the next few days," according to a translation of a tweet in Spanish sent yesterday by Alvaro Fuentes Vasquez.

It can't be immediately confirmed that Vasquez or his prediction is for real. However, Vasquez states on his LinkedIn page that he's been a member of the "leadership team and usability" for the Open Handset Alliance for the past two years. His blog seems to back up his credentials as … Read more

Rumor du Jour: Gingerbread comes out of the oven on November 11

IntoMobile is reporting today that the next release of Android--Gingerbread--is expected to debut November 11.

Likely to be marked as v2.3, Gingerbread is said to focus more on aesthetics as opposed to additional features. Other details include WebM support, better copy and paste functionality, and improved social-networking features.

Reading the tea leaves, it certainly appears that an SDK announcement is around the corner. A giant gingerbread man statue was dropped off at Google headquarters two weeks ago, where he now stands next to previous delicious builds of Android, including Froyo (2.1) and Eclair (2.0).

Typically, Google announces … Read more

Process servicer

Process Hacker from WJ32 is a free open-source utility that displays all the processes running on your PC in a compact, customizable view. It not only shows detailed information on each process but also gives you a range of control that greatly improves upon Windows' built-in capabilities. It offers performance graphs, thread listings, stacks, and much more. You can not only terminate individual processes but entire associated trees; suspend, reduce, restart, and debug processes; view detailed information on network processes and services from a unified listing; create dump files; and call up enhanced Properties Dialogs with as many as nine … Read more

EA: Xbox 360 can do 3D

Crysis 2 "will be the first major video game on multiple platforms to take full advantage of true stereoscopic 3D," according to an EA news release. Until now, we've assumed the PlayStation 3 is the only current-generation console capable of 3D gaming since it supports a newer HDMI specification.

If EA is correct, why didn't Microsoft announce such a thing at the company's news conference this morning? Sony has certainly been riding the 3D bandwagon, so a Microsoft counter-attack wouldn't be out of the question.

The original Crysis took advantage of the horsepower-demanding proprietary … Read more

Synology releases DiskStation Manager 2.3 NAS firmware

If you have owned an NAS server from Synology, such as the DiskStation DS710+, DS209+, or DS409slim, you probably know and appreciate the server's excellent Web interface. That interface is called DiskStation Manager, and it just got even better.

Synology announced Monday another major upgrade to all of its NAS servers via the latest revision of the DiskStation Manager, version 2.3. This new update adds a long list of new features and enhancements including:

Synology Hybrid RAID (SHR): Synology's proprietary RAID setup allows users to add new hard drives, or replace the existing ones. Synology claims that … Read more

Media multiplier

Windows Essentials Media Codec Pack provides a set of software codecs for viewing and listening to many forms of media in Windows Media Player. While this program merely enhances a media player, it does a fine job of accommodating many different and unusual types of videos and music.

The program's interface is simple to operate, since it maintains the classic media player layout. Its commands are easy to understand and navigate. This codec pack makes it a bit difficult to measure any improvements to Windows Media Player since it's not a player itself but rather a set of … Read more

Easy file lister

File List Builder is a simple program that allows users to create lists of files stored in a specific location. Neither the program nor its results are anything fancy, but it works well enough if you need a list of file names and you don't care what it looks like.

The program's interface is a bit cluttered at first glance, with all of its features contained on a single screen. For the most part, however, it's fairly intuitive, with helpful tooltips to describe icons that don't mean much on their own. Users simply select the directory … Read more