Google Drive detailed: 5 GB for free, launching next week for Mac, Windows, Android and iOS

Sometimes we get lucky, and today is one of those days. I got a draft release from a partner of Google’s upcoming Google Drive service and it gives away a wealth of information about how Google plans to take on the incumbent Dropbox. The short story? 5 GB of storage, and it launches next week, likely on Tuesday at http://drive.google.com

Now let’s talk details. It’s no surprise that it will roll out for free. What’s interesting though is that Google is planning to start everyone with 5 GB of storage. Of course you can buy more, but that trumps Dropbox’s 2 GB that is included with every account. Dropbox does make it easy to get more space, including 23 GB of potential upgrades for HTC users.

What’s also interesting is the wording related to how the system will work. It’s been long-thought that Windows integration will come easy, but that getting the Google Drive icon into the Mac a la Dropbox would be a bit harder. From what we’re reading, Google Drive will work “in desktop folders” on both Mac and Windows machines, which still leaves the operation question unanswered.

But there is one very solid piece of news – Google Drive is expected to launch in the middle of next week. Given how big companies such as Apple, Google and the rest operate, I’m placing my bets on Tuesday, but Wednesday is also a popular day for Google updates. In fact, TechCrunch seems to have gotten their hands onto the app itself.

Now as for the reliability of the information? It’s not at all uncommon for big companies to launch with partners for new features. When that happens, the partners will often-times have a heads up to integration and specifics, and that’s exactly what appears to have happened here as it did with the Lucidchart leak from last week. We’ll have to wait and see exactly how it all works out, but let’s just say that our earlier prediction of in-app document editing is pretty solid as well, given the nature of the release that was sent to us today.

But the question remains – Can Google Drive hold a candle to Dropbox?

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Mainstream Support of Windows Vista has ended

As expected, Microsoft ended the first support phase, also known as "Mainstream Support" phase, of Windows Vista yesterday (10 April 2012), five years after Vista was first released. This marks the beginning of the second phase, called "Extended Support".

In the "Extended Support" phase, Microsoft will not be releasing free-of-charge enhancements to Vista; from now on, the company will only be releasing security-related patches free of charge to close holes. Future patches will require Vista Service Pack 2; installations that are based on an previous service packs will no longer be supported.

Contrary to the original schedule, the Extended Support period will not only cover Vista Business and Enterprise, but also all other versions from Starter to Ultimate, and it will end on 11 April 2017. All versions of XP and Windows 7 are also have five-year "Extended Support" periods. For XP, this period is due to end on 8 April 2014 while Windows 7's period, which has yet to enter the second phase, will end on 14 January 2020.

Source : h-online

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How To Add Widgets And Dynamic Backgrounds To Your Windows Phone Lock Screen

The general consensus is that the Windows Phone 7.x operating system is a winner with the beautiful Metro styling, but that doesn’t mean that it is going to keep everyone happy all of the time. One thing we know for sure is that mobile smartphone users have unique tastes, meaning that one mans trash is most definitely another mans treasure.

The main home screen of any smartphone tends to be the area that users pay the most attention to, mainly because this is where the app icons or tiles live are and this is where the user spends most of his/her time flicking between screens and browsing installed apps. Users of smartphones that are powered by Windows Phone 7 could be forgiven for thinking that the whole lock screen experience is extremely bland, with Microsoft opting to carry the Metro minimalistic tiled look over to the device’s locked area.

If Windows Phone 7 was the only OS around, this wouldn’t be to much of an issue, but considering the Android operating system allows for adaptive, content-rich lock screen setups, Windows Phone users are right to be a little bit envious of their Android counterparts. As you might expect for a smartphone, the lock screen on WP7 does allow for the display of the standard notifications and missed called alerts, but it certainly doesn’t offer the same experience as some of the other mobile OSs around.

If you are one of the many Windows Phone 7 users who love the Metro styling and experience that it brings, but hate the simplistic lock screen offering, then the work being undertaken by developer jaxbot should provide some comfort to you going forward. The release of his Lock Widgets app does exactly as the name suggests by allowing users to slap a number of widgets onto the lock screen that bring differing functionality such as RSS feeds, weather information and how much RAM is available at that point. The widgets can also be tweaked further to automatically update themselves every thirty minutes, ensuring that they are accurate and dynamic.

One of other pieces of work also includes the ability to set dynamic backgrounds on the Windows Phone device using the Dynamic Background app. Backgrounds such as the Bing background of the day or a custom slideshow can be set which will then automatically alter themselves offering a fantastic dynamic experience. The two apps offer a great experience for WP7 users who may be tired of their bland lock screen experience, but it does come with a few pre-requisites such as needing the phone to be unlocked as well as being rooted via WP7 Root Tools 0.9.

Once you have the root access on your device, either by installing a custom ROM, WP7 Root Tools , or by any other way, then simply head over to Windows Phone Hacker site to download and deploy the required .xap files (Lock Widgets, Dynamic Background) on your device.

Source :  redmondpie

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Windows 8 Single Language Sku Spotted

The reliable Windows 8 news site Winunleaked.tk has been slowly revealing more information about a recent build of Windows 8 it claims it has obtained from an unnamed source. Previous reports from the site have said it has discovered some interesting ports in this build, including a "ProWMC" (Windows Media Center) SKU and a Windows 8 China SKU.


Now the site has posted up some more screenshots from this leaked build and this time it claims to have found yet another SKU variation, Windows 8 Single Language. The port is also known as Core Single Language. The article points out that unlike the Windows 8 China SKU, this new port can be installed with any localized build.

Other than the fact that this SKU build doesn't seem to have Windows Media Center, this seems to be a fairly basic version of Windows 8. However, it's important to point out that Microsoft has yet to confirm any of its final Windows 8 SKU release plans and could change them prior to the launch of the OS.

WinUnleaked.tk has already claimed that Microsoft is targeting a late May-early June time frame for a release candidate version of Windows 8, with a final version due to ship sometime in October. Microsoft has said that it plans to launch Windows 8 sometime by the end of the year but has been quiet about giving any specific release dates.

Image via WinUnleaked.tk

Source : neowin

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Windows 8 Consumer Preview secrets revealed

The Windows 8 Consumer Preview build has been out in the open for over a month now but there are still quite a few features that have gone unnoticed or undocumented since its release. ZDNet.com posted up some hidden features a few days after the Consumer Preview was released and now they have discovered quite a few more while playing with Windows 8.

One of them relates to Windows 8 accounts. While you can still sign onto Windows 8 with a local account just like previous versions of Windows, Windows 8 also has a second Microsoft Account option. Using that account lets the Windows 8 owner sign in to a secure service. It also lets users sync up their settings for more than one PC. You can switch between the local account and the Microsoft account in the Settings under the Users tab shown above.

If you hate the fact that a lot of Windows programs insist on putting themselves in your Start folder, the article states that Windows 8 makes it easy to manage those programs. The Windows 8 version of the Task Manager lets folks disable those pesky programs from showing up in the Start menu, which speeds up the PC's boot time in the process. Just select any program on the Task Manager and then click on the Disable button at the bottom of the Task Manager box.

Yet another useful but somewhat hidden feature is the new Events tab in Windows 8's Device Manager. This feature lets people check on the actual history of the drivers that have been installed for each device, which can be very helpful in case something goes wrong. There's also a View All Events button that brings up another selection where all the events in a Windows 8 device's life can be seen. These are just a few of the nifty little secrets the article has for Windows 8 power users.

Source : neowin

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