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LINUX PICKS AND PANS

NoteCase Is Back in Pro Form – but There’s a Hitch

NoteCase Pro is a note-taking and outliner application with a hefty list of features if you venture beyond the free version and buy into the shareware license. Even if you settle for the unregistered lite version, NoteCase Pro is an impressive tool for cataloging your notes and collected information...

Jolla Keeps the MeeGo Dream Alive

MeeGo, the ill-fated Nokia mobile operating system project that had the plug pulled on it earlier this year, is being revived. JollaMobile, a company consisting of former Nokia executives and techies, has announced that it will release a new MeeGo smartphone later this year. That goal is reachable, ...

Spark Tablet Coming for the FOSS Crowd

The recently announced Spark tablet might prove to be the first Linux-running open source tablet fully capable of being modded by users. It has an open Linux stack on unlocked hardware, and it will come with an open content and services market. The Spark will come under the GNU General Public Licens...

PRODUCT REVIEW

Galaxy Nexus: A Dazzling Phone With an Enormous Appetite

OK, Greenpeace, arrest me now as an eco-criminal. I must have single-handedly deforested a good tract of the Amazon rain forest over the last few days. In mitigation, I plead that this was because of the requirements of my job. I was testing the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. The device is sleek and sexy, ha...

OPINION

Tizen Could Be a Giant Step Back for Mobile Linux

Amid continued traction for Android, there have been a number of other developments for mobile operating systems based on Linux. Given my support for and belief in Linux and open source software, you might expect me to be bullish on the prospects for all of this mobile and device Linux. However, bas...

MeeGo Loses Its Last Friend as Intel Turns to Tizen

Months after losing support from handset maker Nokia, the MeeGo mobile OS lost another major backer when Intel announced Wednesday it wouldn't continue with the Linux-based operating system. Instead, Intel will partner with Samsung to develop Tizen, a new open source Linux build. Intel launched MeeG...

ANDROID APP REVIEW

Orb Live for Android: An Interesting, but Unsuccessful, Experiment

Orb Network's media server software has been around for years; in fact, Orb and TVersity are the grandparents of current media-everywhere apps. However, this is the first time Orb has officially been available in an app for Android phones. Orb functions by grabbing indexed media content from your ...

Google and Moto: The Best- and Worst-Case Scenarios

Google's recent plan to buy Motorola Mobility has the potential for reshaping the entire Android landscape. If it wins regulatory approval for the purchase, Google may only have a short time span to connect its marketing strategy. When and if this happens, it could further fracture the open source A...

The Future of Android, Part 2: Security Snafus

The number of attacks on Android devices has been rising over the past few months. The malware has exotic names such as "Zitmo," "DroidDreamLight," "Hong Tou Tou," "DroidKungFu," "YZHCSMS," "Geinimi" and "Plankton." In January 2010, Google removed more than 50 fake banking apps from the Android mark...

LINUX PICKS AND PANS

Arista Transcoder: Media Conversions Without the Technical Inquisition

Converting media files can be a huge chore. The lack of standardization results in competing audio and video file standards. The file conversion fiasco is further compounded by a lack of choices that do not require a computer degree to use. Frustration mounts in using various media players and conve...

MeeGo and Symbian: How Long Will the Bodies Stay Warm?

When Nokia and Microsoft announced a partnership last month, many systems and app developers interpreted the deal to mean Nokia was beginning to turn away QT Symbian and MeeGo platforms. In essence, Nokia would be dialing into Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 technology in the near future -- and, it was ...

MeeGo After Nokia: ‘I Will Survive’ or ‘Where Did Our Love Go’?

Now that Nokia has moved away from MeeGo, its mobile OS love child with Intel, will the development of this you operating system be stunted, or will it be able to carry on? MeeGo was formed by combining Nokia's Maemo and Intel's Moblin platforms in February of 2010, and Nokia's announcement last wee...

LINUX PICKS AND PANS

FBReader Has Encyclopedic Knowledge of E-Book Formats

The concept of reading literature -- except for technical documentation -- on a computer screen has come a long way in the last few years. No doubt the growing popularity of EBRs, or electronic-book readers such as the Amazon Kindle and the Barnes & Noble Nook are having a big impact on our read...

The Tablet OS Wars: There Will Be Blood

In terms of tablet market share, Android tablets will be running a close second to the iPad within two years, according to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster. While the iPad will have 44 percent of the market, Android tablets will have 39 percent, Munster reportedly predicted. More Android tablets w...

LG B Could Make the iPhone Look Fat and Dull

Hot on the heels of its announcement of the Optimus 2X smartphone this week, LG is reported to be working on yet another Android mobile phone. The new, ulta-thin phone will be known as the "B," according to Phandroid. LG itself has been somewhat coy regarding the smartphone. After Phandroid's story ...

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