Prepare yourself Microsoft software lovers, as it seems that potential changes are afoot over at the Redmond headquarters. It seems that well-placed sources are suggesting that Microsoft is taking a very serious look at introducing a fully functioning and official version of the Office productivity suite in 2014 for the Linux platform. We aren't suggesting that a release of Office for Linux would instantly make desktop Linux a more appealing proposition to every computer user in the world, but it would certainly act as encouragement for those who have been dicing with the idea of introducing Linux into their lives.
The roller-coaster ride surrounding the introduction of the Evasi0n jailbreak has certainly managed to provide its fair share of thrills and spills. The interest in the latest jailbreak has hit unprecedented levels, with more than 100,00 individuals downloading the package in the first ten minutes of availability and Jay Freeman's Cydia servers getting bombarded more than 14,000 times per second at the peak of the traffic spike. Concerned iOS users have been fearing that the liberation could be over before it has really began with the introduction of the iOS 6.1.1 beta 1 by Apple last night, but that fear has been squashed by Pod2g, if only for the time being.
Apple's iTunes Music Store has just passed a significant milestone, having sold its 25 billionth song, once again entrenching its reputation as the world's most frequented online music hub. As is always the case when Apple reaches a milestone, the downloader of track #25,000,000,000 - Phillip Lüpke from Germany - has received a very neat prize - in this case, a €10,000 iTunes Gift Card.
Apple has just seeded iOS 6.1.1 beta 1 for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. It is available for download now for developers registered on the iOS Dev Center.
Unless you have been in a dark cave for the last few months, you are likely aware that Samsung is gearing up to release a massive upgrade to its flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S IV. While vague details have been making their way onto the Internet, we now have concrete information on when it might be announced and hit shelves.
The Evad3rs team finally gave jailbreakers the moment they’d been waiting for by releasing the Evasi0n jailbreak on Monday, and while the general response has been positive, some users have born the brunt of one or two teething issues. Soon after the almost to-the-second countdown release of the untethered jailbreak, it emerged that some - namely those jailbreaking their iPhone - were experiencing problems with the stock Weather app, but thankfully, the Evad3rs team has come through with a swift fix via Cydia.
We live in a world where things invariably go wrong from time-to-time, especially when injecting complicated jailbreaks onto our iOS hardware that is made up of various different exploits being forced to work together. Not everyone seems to be affected by the Weather app crashing on the iPhone after running the Evasi0n untethered jailbreak, but if you are one of the affected ones, then we have an interim fix for those who want it rectified before an official installation solution is offered through Cydia.
The Evasi0n jailbreak, arrived in a hail of glory yesterday, and although the wait was tantalizing for those accustomed to Cydia and its treasure trove or tweaks, everything - bar the predictable unpredictability of the Weather (app) - went as planned for the team of Evad3rs. Saurik, also known as Jay Freeman, is the mastermind behind Cydia, and, following a manic first 24 hours, has shared some interesting stats with regards to the jailbreak, notably that its reach is already approaching the two million mark.
As the features of our mobile devices have continued to advance and improve over the past few years, the performance levels of the batteries therein have certainly dwindled. Gone are the times when one could use a phone for days on end without consulting a charging dock or cable, and although the ability to tweet, Instagram, e-mail and game on-the-fly is something we all enjoy to varying degrees, battery retention levels have forgone as a result. For those who cannot live with the ~24 hour battery life of the smartphone, help is at hand from a variety of sources, and one company - Mophie - has come through with a slick, light and elegant battery pack for the iPhone 5.
2013 seems to be a year of high-end Android smartphones with rather-insanely-large screens. The trend started with Samsung’s Galaxy Note series last year (if you don’t want to consider Dell Streak, that is), and a lot of manufacturers seem to have caught up on the idea. Considering that Note II is a very popular phablet, we’ve then seen HTC Droid DNA enter the arena, and even Chinese manufacturers like Oppo, with their Find 5, seem to be jumping the bandwagon.
