BBC 'Digital' Olympics

With the Olympics gearing up in London the BBC has jumped on the digital band-wagon big style. Releasing an app for ios and android, along with a new website specifically for the olympics.

First off, the app. This has the usual features of information about all the events and scores/points etc updating as events progress. Now the interesting bit; they are due to give live streaming within the app (watch your data usage!) along with highlight videos. Very nice! Not only that, the live streaming is due to cover 24 live streams. Bonza!

The website replicates this, with a whole olympic theme surrounding it. Live streaming, sports updates, highlights yada yada. Pretty much the app but souped up, as I'd imagine streaming over 3g on your phone could be rather cumbersome. Will give a quick review once the app is actually out...watch this space.

NEWS feed - 13/0712

This week, let's have a look at some news! NEWS!

In the wake of somewhat, and I use this in a very loose sense, catastrophic events over at RBS and NatWest a few weeks back, there is increased demand for the internal security systems of banks to be better regulated – or so say eScope Solutions. No one’s of a particular mind to return to the grim, murky past where cash machines offer no money and banks must open on Sundays to placate mobs of angry villagers. We should hope we’ve evolved as a society, as a civilisation even, to the point where we can check for software glitches before installing a massive update.

Perhaps I’m just a dreamer, perhaps it’s all nothing but optimistic drivel, but I believe engineers should probably run a few basic checks first. Still, I’m going to keep my pitchfork and flaming torch handy.



Let’s play a game, it’s called “what have Apple been up to this week”? Here are the possible answers:

• Move into the world of trading cards, creating Apple brand Pokemon.
• Become involved in yet more legal difficulties over its IP, patents and property.
• Form its own island nation and supplant Cuba as the world's finest suppliers of cigars.

It should be fairly obvious that both a) and c) are plans in development, not quite ready for showing yet, so our answer is inevitably b). Apple have started demanding certain hosting sites take down test versions of iOS6 (due to be released later this year) as the version is for developers only, the OS being still in beta. Without early access, developers would be unable to create apps for launch, but some sneaky devils have been selling the pass codes that Apple charge $10 for.

We’re not at all for these sorts of shady shenanigans and here’s hoping this doesn’t impact developers getting their hands on test versions and having the time to develop astounding apps before launch. I'm not a terribly big fan of Apple, their products, the business or its user base but the popularity of Apple means others are willing to offer competition in the market - without Apple there'd be no Android as we know it.



I read this little story and was not too far from actually ROFLcoptering.

ROFLcopter, to, v. to become so animated with ones movements whist laughing as to actually take off.

It seem Android has a botnet – a BOT-net…on Android! Because they’re both robot names…pfft, whatever – it is funny. Anyway, it seems this little blighter is sending malicious emails from users, claiming to be a legitimate account (i.e.Yahoo etc.). You could pick up some nasty viruses from these emails, so keep an eye out if you’re on Droid, and avoid getting apps from anywhere that’s not the Play Store – they tend to have a fair number of bugs crawling around in them.

Note 2

Artist Impression. 

Fresh off the press! Hear hear! The Samsung Note 2 has had some specs released, and this Phablet has only gone and blurred the line even more between phones and tablets.

Rumours are suggesting that the 5.3inch 'phone' will jump up to 5.5inches, which isn't far off the Nexus 7 (definitely a tablet) at 7inches. Joining this dubious screen size will be a 12 or 13 MP camera and a quad-core processor. No word on whether it will sport the latest (and greatest) version of Android 4.1, but we're due to find out at the IFA conference next month.

8, bait, weight, hesitate...I'm out.

Actual box art

Hip-hip and a hooray! Windows 8 is coming October this year. What does this mean? Well, in october Windows 8 is arriving - don't be dense.

For those who haven't read our spectacular article on 8, shame on you. It really is most tremendous and you must check it out. Back...? Good.


It's confirmed the new OS will include features above and beyond copy/paste improvements though these are still on the cards too (read this with heavy sarcasm - if you can't bloody tell [this too]).

I'm super stoked for the whole thing, getting to grips with it, not understanding what's happening, complaining and relying on my trusty old Vista. Ah Vista, you never let me down and always let me run my games at insane speeds.

Anyway boys and girls, mind to at least get something with the new OS onboard - don't want to be left in the dust do you? Because dust turns to mud when it rains, which it does here, a lot.

App of the week

This is going to sound childish, but one of my favourite games on my tablet/phone ever is made by Disney. There, I said it, it's out in the open.

"Where's my water?" is a great little puzzle game for passing a few minutes or whiling away a few hours. The aim of the game is to create paths for water to get to a little crocodile so that he can have a bath. The first few levels are ridiculously easy, but trust me, it gets tough! There are various taps, explosives, acid and obstacles that get in the way. With over 350 levels, the 62p is costs to download is easily worth it! A second version has also just been released called "Where's my perry?" which seems more of an extension than a new game itself, but is welcome none-the-less. Take a look at the video below for a demo of the game, available online (although it's a little clunky, but free), ios and android.

Chrome..on ios?!

Google is being a bit cheeky this week. Having Chrome on android is not enough, they're now muscling in on Safari for ios.

Chrome was released for iPad and iPhone this week and for a change, is the carbon copy of the android app, but ported onto ios. Many people lurve the Chrome browser, but how does it stack up compared to Safari?

Well, first off, it's been noted that it is slower than Safari. This isn't Google's fault, but Apple who only let their native browser have full access to the fancy algorithms in the background that run browsers. Aside from that though, Chrome looks better in almost every way.

The interface is nice and simple to use with 'card' like windows for each tab. An overview shows you all tabs open and you can swipe away the ones you want to close. All very fancy! the kicker has to be the integration with the web version though. Log into the browser (using your Google account) and it will sync periodically with other sessions you are logged into on computers. For example, if I have facebook, BBC and Sky sports all open on my computer, the phone version will list these with the option to open them quickly (screenshot below).

All in all, this is a very shexy alternative to Safari, with all the features above available on Android devices too (ICS and above) it's a definite for there, but is it worth the drop in speed for ios? Give us a shout if you've been using it and notice that much of a difference on your iPhone/iPad, would be interesting to know how much it is really affected!

App of the week

Another game for you, New Star Soccer. Even if you don't like football, this is a cracking little game and very addictive. The gameplay is simple, yet rewarding. You choose the power/direction to kick the ball and whether to pass to a team-mate or shoot. That's it pretty much. The rest is upgrading your stats/boots to transfer to better teams and eventually lead your country to glory; there's even a mini-casino game to win money to spend in-game! Maybe I'm not selling it right, but believe me - it's worth a shot! Confusingly, this is free for ios but a couple of quid on android. I feel it's worth it though! If you want a flavour of the gameplay before putting down your dosh, you can also play it online here  where it's exactly the same game.

Jelly Bean

Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich..I'm hungry already and that's before we reach the latest iteration, Jelly Bean. For those of you not sure what I'm jabbering on about, I'm not on a sugary high, these are the various versions of Google's Android operating system through the years.

Jelly Bean has just been released and although it looks very nice, has perhaps not brought the most groundbreaking advancements people were hoping for. Here's our round-up of the top 8 features;

1. Chrome - This is now the default browser installed for Jelly Bean. A welcome addition as this delightful browser syncs between your computer and phone perfectly. It is also lighting quick and easy to use. 
2. Offline voice - This allows you to dictate to your phone without the need for an internet connection. 
3. Google Now - Has big potential; Swipe up from the bottom of the screen and you get some 'tiles'. These give you information based on what you search for/is in your calendar/where you are. Say you've got a flight, it'll keep you updated on the status of the flight and traffic to the airport, nudging you when you need to leave. Or if you're waiting on a train, it'll let you know when it's due. Watch this space. 
4. Speed boost - Apparently the system now works at 60 frames per second. I hear that's good, so good that at times Google staff called this 'Project Butter'. 
5. Better notifications - Another step further, notifications give more detail such as the subject line of your email. This can be expanded using a two-finger gesture (presumably not a rude one). 
6. Widgets - The placement of widgets has had an overhaul making it easier to piece together your home screen. 
7. App updates - This is a clever one; instead of downloading the entire app again when updating, your phone will just download the updated code saving you bandwith and making downloads faster. 
8. Improved search - Similar to Siri, your phone will now give you answers to questions (typed or asked) rather than a list of results. Of course, if you still want your long list a simple swipe to the left and your results pop-up. Handy. 

When will you get it then? Well the trio of Google phones/tablets (Nexus S, Nexus 7, Xoom) will get updated around the middle of July. Fingers crossed for more info for the rest of Android devices. I'd expect the S3, One X etc. to not be far behind. And after Jelly Bean? Well we know it's alphabetical, so something beginning with K? Odds on are Key Lime Pie (KLP), but I'd like something a little more adventurous, perhaps Kiwi Mousse Cake? Kit Kat Bonanza?