The TechBlogger

RIM has announced the availability of the BlackBerry App World 3.1, which supports features such as Request a Gift, Wi-Fi only support, Content Rating based on the CTIA Wireless Association’s, and support for new languages.

According to information that came into my mailbox, some highlights of BlackBerry App World 3.1 include:

• Request a Gift: BlackBerry users can send their BBM friends a request to buy an app, theme, or game from the BlackBerry App World catalog
• Wi-Fi only Support: BlackBerry App World has always worked over Wi-Fi – but required a cellular connection to be present. With BlackBerry App World 3.1, no cellular connection is required!
• Content Rating and Filtering: BlackBerry users are now presented with a content rating to alert them to the content contained in an application
• New Language Support: BlackBerry App World is now available in additional languages including Dutch, Indonesian, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese.

BlackBerry App World 3.1 is free and can be downloaded from BlackBerry.com/appworld/

Note: You should see the option to upgrade if you already have an earlier version of App World installed

It takes far less time to perform a format and re-installation of Windows these days.  Instead, I’ve found that re-doing the list of the software tools that I currently have installed and then getting them setup actually takes up the the bulk of my time.  To ease things along, I’ve decided to make a list of the current software that I am actively using – loosely categorized into Applications, Internet, Media, Antimalware and Utilities.

Those listed with an (*) are paid/commercial software; the rest are freeware or open-source software.  Also, note that while the client software listed under “Utilities (Cloud)” are all free, I do pay a recurring fee for the associated cloud services.

Applications

• Microsoft Office 2010* (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook)
• BlackBerry Desktop Software - Software to manage my BlackBerry smartphone
• Dragon Naturallyspeaking 11.5* – The top voice-recognition software on Windows
• FeedDemon – Windows RSS reader that syncs with Google Reader
• Foxit Reader 5.0 – One of the fastest PDF readers
• Notepad++ – A very powerful text editor
• SmartDraw VP* – Visual processor for quick and easy visuals
• Snagit 10* – Premiere screen-capture software for the Windows platform
• IrfanView – Lighting-fast and lightweight image viewer
• SOTI Pocket Controller-Pro for BlackBerry* – Lets me access my BlackBerry smartphone from the desktop
• XNote Stopwatch* – Professional countdown/timer/stopwatch/clock software
• 7-Zip - A powerful file archiver
• Kindle for PC

• Google Chrome - Web browser software
• Internet Explorer 9 - Web browser software
• Mozilla Firefox - Web browser software
• FileZilla - FTP client software
• Trillian* - Multi-IM client

• iTunes - Enough said
• Windows Media Player - Enough said
• Media Player Classic - Free audio and video player for Windows
• Handbrake - Multiplatform video transcoder
• Creative Smart Recorder – Very useful sound recording software that came with my Sound Blaster X-Fi

Antimalware (Security software)

• Microsoft Security Essentials - Free antivirus scanner by Microsoft
• Faronics Anti-Executable (Standard)* – Whitelisting software

Utilities (Cloud)

• SugarSync Manager - Keeps my documents in for real-time backup protection
• ResophNotes - A simplenotes client to share text notes with my iPhone, iPad
• RescueTime - Software to automatically monitor how you spend your time
• MobileNoter Sync Client - To sync OneNote notebooks to iOS

Utilities (Runs in background)

• Unofficial Apple Wireless Keyboard Support – Helps your Apple Wireless Keyboard work better on Windows
• Synology Assistant – Free utility to help print from the Synology 1511+ NAS
• MaxiVista* - Lets you tap monitors on a spare PC as an extended screen for your Primary PC
• Matrox PowerDesk – Comes free with Matrox TripleHead2Go to manage multiple monitors
• SlySoft Virtual CloneDrive - Software to mount CD/DVD images
• SlySoft AnyDVD* – Removes copy protection from DVDs

iOS 4.2 for iPad has been released, and is a substantial update that brings a number of important and long-awaited capabilities to the tablet. Ranking in the top three for me personally would be the ability to multi-task, folder and enhancements to AirPlay.

In short, a “must do” upgrade.

For those new to upgrading, you will need to first upgrade iTunes to version 10.1 before installing iOS 4.2.  Simply select “Check for Upgrades” under the “Help” menu in iTunes to update your iTunes if you’ve not done so yet.  To install iOS 4.2 on your iPad, first connect it via USB to your computer.  Then  ”Check for Upgrades” under the “Help” menu in iTunes.  The installation procedure will take over to automatically backup, upgrade, and restore your iPad accordingly.

It took about an hour for me (most of the time was spent backing up my data), though your mileage might vary.

Below is an exhaustive list of the updates according to the installation page:

• Multitasking support for third-party apps
- Multitasking user interface to quickly move between apps, adjust screen brightness, control playback, lock screen-rotation, and manage print jobs
- Support for audio apps to play in the background
- VoIP apps can receive and maintain calls in the background or when device is asleep
- Apps can monitor location and take action while running in the background
- Alerts and messages can be pushed to apps using push and local notifications
- Apps can complete tasks in the background
• Folders to better organize and access apps
• Mail improvements
- Unified inbox to view emails from all accounts in one place
- Fast inbox switching to quickly switch between different email accounts
- Threaded messages to view multiple emails from the same conversation
- Import .ics files into Calendar
- Open attachments with compatible third-party apps
- File or delete search results
- Option to select size of photo attachments
- Messages in the Outbox can be edited or deleted
• Game Center
- Send and receive friend requests
- Invite friends to multi-player games over the Internet
- Play multi-player games by auto-matching with other players
- View Leaderboards and Achievements
- Discover new games from friends
• AirPrint
- Print mail, photos, web pages, and more directly to AirPrint compatible printers on a local wireless network
• AirPlay
- Wirelessly stream videos, music, and photos to Apple TV
- Wirelessly stream music to AirPlay-enabled speakers or receivers, including AirPort Express
• Find text on web pages in Safari
• Use Spotlight to search the web and Wikipedia
• Suggestions and recent searches appear during a web search
• Support for TV show rentals using iTunes
• Create and edit iTunes playlists on device
• Support for iTunes gifting of apps
• Send and accept calendar invitations wirelessly with supported CalDAV servers
• Support for MobileMe calendar sharing
• Enhanced location privacy
- A Location Services icon appears in the status bar to indicate when Location Services are being used
- Location Services can be enabled and disabled per app
- Indication of apps that have requested your location within the last 24 hours
• Additional Parental Controls
- Prevent adding friends in Game Center and deletion of apps
- Restrict changes to Accounts and Location Services settings
• New languages, dictionaries and keyboards
• New fonts available in Notes
• Wirelessly sync notes using IMAP-based mail accounts
• Automatic spellcheck
• Silence background sounds using the Silent switch on the side of iPad
• Improved support for Bluetooth AVRCP
• Persistent WiFi connection to receive push notifications
• Support for Bluetooth braille displays and International braille tables, control VoiceOver using an external keyboard, and other accessibility enhancements
• Wireless delivery of carrier settings updates for iPad WiFi + 3G
• Improved enterprise support
- Support for third-party Mobile Device Management solutions
- Enables wireless distribution of enterprise applications
- Exchange Server 2010 compatibility
- Support for multiple Exchange ActiveSync accounts
- Support for Juniper Junos Pulse and Cisco AnyConnect SSL VPN apps (available from the App Store)
• More than 1,500 new developer APIs
• Bug fixes

Products compatible with this software update:
• iPad
• iPad WiFi + 3G

You can also read the official press release from Apple here.

Ever experienced instances where your workstation starts to chug along very slowly?  Or more specifically, have your web browser ever become unresponsive, or crash without any warning?  Well, this has happened to me more times than I care to count.  If you were browsing the Internet, chances are that the problem can be traced to Flash running amok – 9 out of 10 times.

Below is a screenshots of Flash misbehaving.  Note the memory and CPU utilization.

This screenshot shows the updated situation after I killed off the offending Shockwave Flash process.  Notice the clear dip in processor utilization.

This issue outlined here is particularly disruptive if you’re working at a cafe without any accessible power outlet.  If not detected and rectified immediately, the laptop’s runtime can get dramatically reduced by the excessive processor utilization, cutting short your stay there.

Now, can you imagine your iPhone (or iPad) running Flash?  Essentially, the juice in your device or smartphone could well be drained within a few hours.  No wonder Apple wasn’t keen to support Flash on the iPhone. Having said that, I’m not sure how this would work out for tablet devices like the JooJoo, which supports Flash.  When I interviewed him, founder and CEO Chandra did tell me that the Internet tablet gives “5 hours of continuous operation.”  I’ll report back on that once I get the final production unit for review.

Ironically, having Flash crash my browser one time too many was the factor that made me switch from Firefox to Chrome.  The Chrome browser offers superior process management (every tab runs as a separate process), which allows me to selectively shut-down errant tabs.  The overhead is slightly higher, but I think its a fair price for grater browser stability.  Unlike Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox, a misbehaving instance (or tab) won’t be able to bring down the entire browser.