Master Google Android: 40 Tips and Tricks

source: pcworld.comThe first time you use an Android phone, one thing becomes immediately clear: You're not in Cupertino anymore.

Android, as recent Verizon commercials remind us, is the antithesis of Apple's celebrated handset: It's open source, fully customizable, and free from unexplained app rejections. If the iPhone is Apple's inalterable masterpiece, the Android platform is Google's open canvas. The palette is in your hands; it's up to you to add color.

We've assembled 40 tips and tricks to help you make the most of your Android phone. Some are specific to Android 2.0 or later, but most apply to any Android-based device. And not one of these tricks requires you to jailbreak anything.

So grab your phone, and get started--it's time for you to become a certified Android master.

Optimize Your Home Screen

1. Make the most of your space by using widgets--dynamic programs that operate right on your home screen. Simply hold your finger on any open space, and then select Widgets from the pop-up menu. Widgets come in a huge variety of sizes and functions, so search the Android Market to find what works for you.

2. Prefer not to be bothered by a sound every time an e-mail arrives? Head into Gmail's Settings menu and set its ringtone to Silent. You'll still see new-message alerts in the notification panel at the top of your screen, and you can always pull the panel down to get detailed information. You can configure text messaging and other alert-generating apps the same way.

3. Set up one-touch dialing for the people you call the most. Hold your finger on an open space and select Shortcuts. Then, touch Direct dial and pick the person from your contact list. If one-touch texting is what you crave, use the Direct message option instead.

4. To drop your favorite Web pages onto your home screen, long-press on any site in your browser's bookmarks and then select the Add shortcut to home option.

5. Try using folders to keep your home screen organized. Long-press on a blank space and select Folders to create one. You can then drag and drop frequently used contacts, apps, or other shortcuts into it to cut down on clutter. To rename a folder, press and hold the folder's title bar while it's open.

Get Around Android

6. Make file management a snap with a utility such as Astro, which allows you to browse through your phone just as you would a computer, navigating directories and moving or deleting files at will.

7. Need to cut and paste text? Long-press on any text input area. If you're on a Web page, tap the Menu key and use the Select text option.

8. Use Android's hotkeys to do everything from zooming in to a Web page to opening a program. Check out our complete list of Android keyboard shortcuts to learn them all.

9. You can set your own hotkeys to open apps, too. Head into the main Settings menu, select Applications, and then choose Quick Launch to get started.

10. If the on-screen keyboard pops up when you don't want it, touch it and swipe downward to make it disappear.

11. You can see the current date at any time by touching your finger to the top-left corner of the screen.

Stay Connected

12. To load files onto your Android phone, plug the handset into your PC and pull down the notification panel. Tap the USB connected box, and then tap Mount when the confirmation dialog box appears. Your phone will appear as a hard drive on your PC, and you can then drag and drop files as you wish.

13. Manage your music--and even import your iTunes playlists--with DoubleTwist, a free PC-based utility. The program's intuitive interface makes Motorola's Media Link offering look like a bloated relic.

14. Sync your Outlook calendar with your phone without the hassle. Install Google Calendar Sync and let it do the work for you.

15. To sync your Outlook contacts without using an Exchange server, try GO Contact Sync, an open-source utility for your PC.

16. Stay up to speed with your feeds with the help of NewsRob, a handy app that syncs your phone with your Google Reader account.

17. Want to have your PC's browser bookmarks on your Android phone? Download MyBookmarks from the Market to import them.

18. Get extra calling power by integrating Google Voice into your phone. Once you've signed up for an account, download the official app and watch your options expand. Bonus tip: Add the Google Voice widget to your home screen for one-touch toggling of your outgoing-call preferences.

19. You can send text messages for free through Google Voice--everything you need is in the app. Just make sure you change the settings to refresh every 5 minutes so that incoming messages won't be delayed. If you want faster notifications, log in to the Google Voice Website and configure your account to send you e-mail alerts when a new text arrives.

20. Get unbilled talk time by using Fring, a free mobile chat client for Android. Fring lets you make calls over Google Talk, Skype, and any SIP calling service.

21. Cut down on calling headaches by using the free Dial Zero app to call the companies you do business with. It lets you bypass annoying phone trees and get right to human representatives.

22. Keep annoying callers away by routing them directly to your voicemail. First, open the offending person's profile in your contacts list. Then, press the Menu button, tap Options, and check the Incoming calls box.

23. The Incoming Calls screen also holds the option for setting custom ringtones for callers. Tap Ringtone and change each person's tune as you wish.

24. Want to use your own MP3 files as ringtones? No problem: Make a new folder on your memory card and name it ringtones. Copy your MP3s there, and they will automatically show up in your selection list. Folders called alarms or notifications will do the same thing for those respective functions.

25. Check out the free app RingDroid. With it, you can easily edit an MP3 file to grab a precise segment of a song for a ringtone or system sound.

26. Android lets you keep multiple browser windows open at the same time. Long-press any Web link to open it in a new window. Tap the Menu key while in the browser to toggle between windows.

27. Prefer seeing Web pages in landscape mode? You can tell Android to always display sites that way. Select the Landscape-only display checkbox in the browser's Settings menu.

28. Android's built-in browser isn't your only option. Try Dolphin Browser for cool features such as tabbed browsing, gesture-driven commands, and multitouch zooming (yes, even on the Droid).

Secure Your Smartphone

29. Android includes an option to use simple patterns to secure your phone; to unlock the handset, you swipe your finger across the screen in a specific pattern. Look for Screen Unlock Pattern under 'Location and Security' in the main System Settings menu.

30. Want to back up your phone's data? Try MyBackup, which saves your apps, contacts, call logs, texts, and even settings to either your SD Card or a secure Internet server. You might also like SMS Backup, which periodically saves all of your texts into your Gmail account.

31. For even more protection, download Mobile Defense. The app allows you to use a PC to track your phone via GPS, remotely lock it, and then back up and wipe all of your data.

Add Essential Apps

32. If you handle a lot of Office files, Documents To Go may be just the thing for you. The free version gives you the ability to view Word and Excel files. The full paid version adds editing capabilities, along with PDF and PowerPoint viewing options.

33. Prefer working in the cloud? Get your hands on GDocs or ThinkFree Mobile Office, both of which make it a cinch to connect with your Google Docs documents.

34. If basic note-taking is all you need, download a PC-synced notepad such as GDocs Notepad With Sync. It saves documents directly into your Google Docs account for easy access.

35. For on-the-go photo editing, Adobe's Photoshop.com Mobile app is tough to beat--and it's free, too.

36. Jazz up your Android music experience with TuneWiki, which automatically finds and scrolls lyrics next to your songs as they play. Plus, it gives you access to Internet radio streaming and some cool community-sharing features.

Customize Your Phone Completely

37. Adjust how your phone acts by using Locale. The app lets you set custom profiles for practically any circumstance--having your ringer shift to silent when you're at work, for example, or making your screen glow brighter at night.

38. Take full advantage of your phone's LED by installing Missed Call, which configures your phone's light to flash specific colors when calls from certain people slip by.

39. Edit Android's custom dictionary to include your name and other proper nouns. That way, they'll pop up in the auto-complete list as you type. Look under Language and keyboard settings in System Settings to get started.

40. If you try an Android app and decide that you don't like it, return it. The Android Market will give you a full refund for up to 24 hours after any purchase, provided that you haven't tried to return the same app before.

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Flash vs. Silverlight: What Suits Your Needs Best?

With the release of Silverlight 1.0 and its subsequent versions, a debate started among designers and developers regarding choosing between Flash and Silverlight. Silverlight faces difficulties in capturing the market because of the maturity of Flash. However, Silverlight has managed to keep up by including certain features that designers and developers have always wanted to see in Flash, such as search engine optimization. In this article, we will discuss some of the technical differences between Flash and Silverlight to help you choose the technology that best suits your needs.

Animation

Flash uses the frame-based animation model. In frame-by-frame animation, we create an object for each frame to produce an animation sequence. For example, if you want to move something across the screen in 3 seconds, calculate how many frames 3 seconds will take, then calculate the matrices required for each frame along the way. Keep in mind that the player won’t actually maintain a frame rate unless you embed a blank audio track; otherwise, 3 seconds might turn out to be 2 or 6 or 5.

Silverlight is based on the WPF animation model, which is time-based instead of frame-based, so you define the start and end conditions, and it figures out how to do it. No need to deal with matrices like with Flash. Also, no need to calculate the positions of objects in various frames.

File Size

Flash uses a compressed format, and text and images are embedded in the movie, hence the file size of a Flash component is relatively small.

Silverlight uses XAML for its description language, and it is non-compressed, so the size of a Silverlight component is usually larger.

Scripting

ActionScript is used to program Flash objects. ActionScript is an object-oriented language with a full range of controls for designing user interfaces. And it can be integrated with back-end technologies that use other languages and frameworks, such as PHP, ASP and Ruby On Rails. It comes with a huge, powerful class library for developing online browser-hosted applications and stand-alone desktop applications.

For Silverlight scripting, you can choose from among a number of programming languages such as Visual C#.Net and Visual Basic.Net, including client-side scripting with JavaScript. C# and VB.NET can be used to write managed code that runs on and uses all of the enhancements and capabilities of Microsoft’s .NET framework.

Video And Audio

Flash supports multiple video formats. The latest codec is very high quality, and the bandwidth usage is nice. There is one problem, though: if you create a tool that outputs Flash content, the formats it supports aren’t really used by anyone else. The original video codec, Sorenson’s proprietary H.263 implementation, is a mutant version of H.263. The compression follows the spec fairly closely, but a bunch of features were left out, and you can’t exactly just go find complete specs on how to build your own encoder.

Silverlight implements the industry-standard VC-1 codec for video, and supports WMV and WMA. Just about everyone already has Windows Movie Maker, but if someone doesn’t, it’s not a big deal because Microsoft makes available a free SDK encoder for producing WMA and WMV. So, not only would you be using formats that people would more likely be able to encode themselves, but Microsoft provides your product with SDKs if you want to do the encoding yourself.

Sound Processing

ActionScript offers a set of sound classes that can be used to generate and control sound in a movie. You can add sounds from the library while the movie clip is playing and control those sounds. If you do not specify a target when you create a new sound object, there are methods to control sound for the whole movie.

Silverlight doesn’t have the low-level audio APIs you would need to write an audio application in the browser. It doesn’t even support playback of WAV files because .NET has very little audio playback support.

Accessibility

Flash provides rich accessibility features for those who have hearing and vision problems or who rely on keyboard shortcuts. Providing captions for video solves accessibility challenges for people who are deaf and hard of hearing, but people who are blind or have low vision or other physical disabilities need the video playback controls to be keyboard-accessible and to function properly with assistive technologies such as screen readers and screen magnifiers. Users who rely on keyboard access can use a variety of familiar shortcuts to control video. Buttons such as “Play/Pause,” “Stop,” “Rewind,” “Mute” and “Closed Captions” can be tabbed to and activated with the spacebar. Slider controls such as for volume and playhead position controls can be accessed via the arrow keys, and the “Home” and “End” keys can be used to skip directly to the beginning or end of a range. The volume slider also accepts numeric keys to set playback audio levels in one quick step.

Silverlight 3 is the first browser plug-in to provide access to all system colors, allowing people with partial vision to use familiar operating system controls to make changes, such as switching to high-contrast color schemes for ease of readability. These features are far fewer than those provided by Flash.

Platform Compatibility

Flash supports Windows Vista/XP/2000, Windows Server 2003/2008, Mac OS 10.1/10.5 (PowerPC), Mac OS 10.1/10.5 (Intel), Linux 5, openSUSE 11, Ubuntu 7.10 or later and Solaris 10.

Silverlight supports only Windows Vista/XP/2000, Windows Server 2003/2008, Windows Mobile 6, Mac OS 10.1/10.5 (PowerPC) and Mac OS 10.1/10.5 (Intel). Because Linux and Solaris support is missing, users of those operating systems won’t be able to experience Silverlight on their machines.

Text Representation/SEO

Flash stores fonts using shape definitions and the player doesn’t understand TTF, hence we cannot separate the text layer from the movie. Typically the text written on a flash component was not SEO friendly however Adobe has made the modifications to Flash so that it will be indexable, and the search engines have begun to index Flash.

Currently Google is the only search engine that is noticeably reading Flash files. They have worked closely with Adobe to develop the right toolset for the Googlebot in order to read the files for indexing. Yahoo is working on it and MSN is working with their own format, Silverlight, so they probably won’t be developing the toolset necessary to read Flash files.

To read more about how to make Flash SEO friendly, please read the following articles:

• How to SEO Flash
• Google learns to crawl Flash

In Silverlight applications, user interfaces are declared in XAML and programmed using a subset of the .NET Framework. XAML can be used for marking up the vector graphics and animations. Text is deployed on web server as separate entity and can be read and accessed separately. Textual content created with Silverlight is searchable and indexable by search engines as it is not compiled, but represented as text (XAML).

Supported Image Formats

Flash supports almost all image formats.

Silverlight supports only PNG and JPEG file formats. Some other file formats are supported by Silverlight but in a limited way. A full list can be found here.

Socket Programming

The XMLSocket object implements client sockets that allow computers running the Flash player to communicate with a server computer identified by an IP address or domain name.

To use the XMLSocket object, the server computer must run a daemon that understands the protocol used by the XMLSocket object. The protocol is as follows:

• XML messages are sent over a full-duplex TCP/IP stream socket connection.
• Each XML message is a complete XML document, terminated by a zero byte.
• An unlimited number of XML messages can be sent and received over a single XMLSocket connection.

Silverlight doesn’t support socket programming. Silverlight supports sockets programming through the System.Net.Sockets namespace. Silverlight supports asynchronously sending data back and forth across a socket over ports ranging from 4502 to 4534. Silverlight supports cross-domain socket communications between a Silverlight application and any server, provided that a special security policy file is in place on the server.

Webcam Support

Flash has webcam and microphone support for live video and audio transmission, and using them is really easy in Flash. It takes only a few lines of ActionScript code to invoke the camera object.

Camera.get	Returns a default or specified camera object, or null if the camera is not available.
Camera.setMode	Sets aspects of the camera capture mode, including height, width and frames per second.
Camera.setMotionLevel	Specifies how much motion is required to invoke Camera.onActivity(true) and how much time should elapse without motion before Camera.onActivity(false) is invoked.

Silverlight doesn’t support webcam or microphone.

Deployment

The Flash deployment package contains only a single Shockwave (SWF) file, and all images, text and animations are incorporated in this file. Because of the compressed nature of a Flash component, its images and text are not indexed by search engines, and thus not searchable.

The deployment process of Silverlight is far more complex; all individual components need to be deployed separately. The following components typically get sent to the client for each Web request of Silverlight:

• XML files,
• DLL files (if necessary),
• Silverlight.js file,
• Any other JavaScript file,
• Resources (images, audio, video).

Read the full documentation on Silverlight deployment.

Windows Application

A Flash movie can be compiled into a Windows application and run as a standalone EXE file. It can also be played on a desktop that has an appropriate Flash player.

Silverlight doesn’t support playing the movie as a Windows application.

Media Streaming

Flash provides no such service to host the content and application with them. Thus, building a video website with Flash is not as cost-effective as building one with Silverlight.

Microsoft Silverlight Streaming by Windows Live is a companion service for Silverlight that makes it easy for developers and designers to deliver rich media as part of their Silverlight applications. The service allows Web designers and developers to host and stream cross-browser media and interactive applications that run on both Windows and Mac. This service can be combined with Microsoft Expression Studio and other third-party tools to create and develop interactive contents.

Silverlight Streaming by Windows Live is currently in beta testing and offers 10 GB of free hosting for rich-media applications.

Conclusion

Selecting the right technology for rich Internet applications is often critical, and choosing between Flash and Silverlight depends entirely on your requirements. If you expect that some of your users will be on Linux or Solaris, then you should go with Flash. If you want your website to be indexed by search engines, then Silverlight may be better.

Besides, as Doug S. is points out in the comments, it’s worth noticing that a minority of web users actually have a Silverlight plugin installed on their machine, while most users do have Flash-support. The Flash Player 9 and higher support streaming of the H.264 video codec which means anyone with a video program that can output an MP4 can stream to Flash. There are literally hundreds of free apps on Mac, PC and Linux that can do this. It’s also important to mention that the latest version of Flash Player supports 3D rendering while Silverlight does not and that SWF, FLA, FLV, and AS are all open-standard formats, while Silverlight is 100% proprietary.

The following table summarizes the features discussed above. Rather than including arrows to indicate whether each platform has a particular feature, we’ve simply marked “better” to show the areas in which each technology beats out the other.

Features	Flash	Silverlight
Animation		better
File size	better
Scripting		better
Video/Audio		better
Sound processing	better
Accessibility	better
Platform compatibility	better
Text representation/SEO		better
Supported image formats	better
Socket programming	better
Webcam support	better
Deployment	better
Windows application	better
Media streaming		better

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MyFord Touch proves that the shape of things to come is awesome

source: autoblog.com
Ford has updated its Sync technology and made it the basis for a new driver interface and dashboard design called myFord Touch that it is rolling out at this week's Consumer Electronics Show.

MyFord Touch – Click above for high-res image gallery

Ford began its MyFord Touch presentation with a simple question: "People line up for iPhones – why not cars?" What is it about certain pieces of technology that makes them a "must have"? And since the iPhone is really just a merger of two things we already have (a cell phone and PC), is it possible to blend something into a car that will get 'em lining up around the block? Quite obviously, Ford's hoping the answer is yes.

MyFord Touch – and if you buy a Lincoln, MyLincoln Touch – is a piece of driver connect technology like SYNC, only much more advanced. In fact, you can think of MyFord as SYNC 2.0. Or, you could, if not for the fact that there already is a SYNC 2.0. Regardless, in-car technology can do myriad of things these days, and Ford thinks it's found a way to group and display all of a vehicle's functionality in a logical, intuitive and useful way. Sadly, Ford is internally calling this "simplexity," as in making the complex simple. Or, as we wrote in our notes, "barf." Thankfully, the public will know it as MyFord Touch.

Ford wants you to think of MyFord Touch as an electronic Swiss Army knife. Physically speaking, here's what you get: A large, eight-inch touchscreen display in the center stack, two 4.2-inch LCD screens to the right and left of an analog speedometer (the exact same screens you'll find in the Fusion Hybrid) and two steering wheel-mounted five-way button controls. Using Ford's award-winning HMI (human-machine interface) setup, MyFord Touch seeks to allow a driver to control in-car technology through either voice, touch or the wheel-mounted controllers. As Ford termed it, VUI (voice user interface), TUI (touch user interface) and GUI (graphic user interface).

While that might sounds a touch (no pun) complex, it isn't. How's that possible? Grouping. Ford has gone ahead and broken down all of the possible non-driving-related tasks into four groups: Phone, Climate, Navigation and Entertainment. Is Ford 100 percent accurate with their groupings? Like in submarine warfare, close enough. Not only are there the four groups, but Ford also chose a color for each group. That last part is more important than it might first seem and here's why...

As far as the large, eight-inch touchscreen goes, its four corners each contain a button for one of the four groupings. Phone is brown, Navigation is green, Entertainment is purple and Climate is blue. We haven't had a chance to play with MyFord Touch yet, but we understand that the system is quite customizable. Don't like that shade green? Think Climate should be red and not blue? Not a problem.

Returning to the two 4.2-inch LCD screens, the one to the left contains all your usual mileage and fuel information: trip computer, radar cruise control distance indicator, vehicle information and even a tachometer, if you like. In other words, information directly related to operating the car. The screen on the right however, displays information from the four MyFord Touch groupings. The idea is that after a little practice, you will be able to know which group you're looking at simply based on color – you won't have to read anything – and your eyes will spend more time on the road. A noble goal, for certain.

Going with that mantra and/or old Doors song, the five-way thumb controls (up, down, left, right, click) keep your hands on the wheel. The left controller is for the left screen, and (shockingly) the right is for the right one. Of course, even better than using a touchscreen or working wheel buttons is using your own voice. Ford assured us that the voice recognition system shipping with MyFord Touch is much more conversational than the VR system currently shipping with SYNC. Instead of talking your way through a series of menus (SYNC asks you what source you want, for example iPod, then asks you what track or artist), MyFord Touch should just require you say, "Play 'John the Fisherman' by Primus" and be done with it. Emphasis on should.

Here's a couple nifty details, and please keep in mind that we didn't get to play with MyFord Touch – yet (expect a video coming soon from CES). Users will be able to take all of their MyFord Touch settings with them from vehicle to vehicle – just plug in an SD card or flash drive and you're good to go drive another MyFord Touch-equipped car. Your color scheme, your radio presets, your music tags, your seat position – whatever – all go with you. It will even welcome you by name, no matter the car. With the music tags, MyFord and MyLincoln Touch are the first systems that allow you to tag songs on the fly. Ford didn't go into great details on this, but we imagine you could would be able to hear something on the radio, tag it, and then let MyFord Touch search for it. This could be especially cool with the SYNC app that let's you listen to internet radio.

The first vehicle this new system will be available on is the 2011 Lincoln MKX, which will debut at next week's Detroit Auto Show. As such, we'll be looking at MyLincoln Touch as opposed to MyFord. Differences? Not really, but the two come standard with different colors (MyLincoln's are yellow for Communication/Phone, green for Navigation, red for Entertainment and blue for Climate). Shouldn't the colors be identical? Probably, but they are customizable and portable, so it doesn't really matter. After the MKX, look for this technology in the refreshed 2011 Ford Edge and then the all-new 2011 Ford Focus. Eventually, 80 percent of all Fords will be available with MyFord or MyLincoln Touch. Just speculating here, but we wonder if the 20 percent not getting the good stuff is Mercury...

Besides all the little details, the big picture we took away from the MyFord Touch is Ford is seriousness. These people knew going halfway wouldn't be good enough. The screens are beautiful. Before seeing MyFord Touch, we already thought that Ford had the best navigation/entertainment stuff in the industry (SYNC is really, really good – especially with Sirius Travel Link). MyFord Touch brings Ford a generation (or two) beyond the competition. In other words, no one could even compete with Ford's old stuff. How on earth will they manage against MyFord Touch?

Official Press Release
FORD INTRODUCES SIGNATURE INTERIOR EXPERIENCE: MYFORD TOUCH DRIVER CONNECT TECHNOLOGY

• New MyFord™ driver connect technology blends Ford signature in-vehicle features into a cohesive experience, featuring intuitive controls, more voice activation and interface personalization
• MyFord Touch™ interface includes dual 4.2-inch LCD screens with corresponding five-way button steering wheel controls and an 8-inch touch screen all controlled by simplified SYNC® voice commands
• Intuitive driver connect technology provides access to ever-expanding in-vehicle functionality while minimizing driver distraction and improving interior aesthetics
• MyFord driver connect technology launches this year on 2011 Ford Edge and goes global with availability on 2012 Ford Focus. MyLincoln Touch will be standard equipment on new Lincolns beginning with 2011 Lincoln MKX

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 7, 2010 – Ford introduced a smarter, safer, simpler system to connect drivers with in-car technologies and their digital lives today at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES).

Building on its leadership with the award-winning SYNC device connectivity system, Ford has combined a variety of technologies into one powerful, intuitive connected driver experience called MyFord, which will begin rolling out on vehicles this year.

"MyFord delivers a premium interior experience that will help consumers fall in love with their vehicles again," said Derrick Kuzak, Ford group vice president, Global Product Development. "It integrates all our signature features so customers will know exactly what they're going to get in any Ford vehicle they may find themselves driving, no matter where they are in the world."

This new in-vehicle connectivity experience replaces many of the traditional vehicle buttons, knobs and gauges. With more voice commands, clear, crisp LCD screens that can be customized and five-way buttons like those on cell phones and MP3 players, drivers can choose which information is front and center through a button click, voice command or touch-screen tap.

Driven by trends
Ford decided to undertake a sweeping and ambitious redesign of the automotive interface after studying consumer electronics trends and the many new ways in which drivers were using technology inside their Ford vehicles.

Recent years have seen a massive expansion in the variety of in-car communications, navigation and infotainment technologies consumers regularly use. The expectations of average drivers have outgrown the traditional "button/knob/gauge" interface used in cars for the past 100 years, as most consumer and household electronics have moved to colorful digital displays and multi-function touch-sensitive buttons.

Consumers are insisting on simpler interfaces even as they're demanding more in-car connectivity, more options and more information – a dilemma known as "simplexity." Plus, the pace of advancement is expected to continue unabated, posing a new opportunity for drivers and engineers alike.

"As we began developing MyFord's capability, we saw this groundswell of new technology, new functionality and incredible capability opening up to consumers," said Mark Fields, Ford's president of The Americas. "It was readily apparent that unless we devised an intuitive interface to help drivers manage these capabilities, they could detract – and possibly distract – from the driving experience."
For example, prior to SYNC, drivers often were required to either leave behind their communications, digital information and favorite music while on the road or split their attention between driving and selecting songs, making phone calls or using the navigation system.

Influenced – and powered – by SYNC
When launched, Ford SYNC, developed with Microsoft, helped provide a seamless transition – and seamless flow of information and entertainment – from the moment drivers entered their vehicles to the moment they got out. As Ford began to develop additional SYNC capabilities and add other signature content, the company realized it was redefining the interior environment and ownership experience.

"With MyFord driver connect technology, we realized we weren't necessarily competing with other automakers, but we were really redefining how customers interacted with their cars," said Jim Buczkowski, Ford director of Electronics and Electrical Systems Engineering. "We had to look very closely at the evolution of hand-held devices in terms of user interface, connectivity, productivity and entertainment applications. Our goal is to set the benchmark for the automotive user interface, just as we've done for device connectivity with SYNC."

Accommodating all types of drivers, all types of vehicles
In the initial planning stages of redesigning the interior experience, Ford collaborated with IDEO, a world leader in helping consumers connect with technology. As a result, the company identified four key attributes of successful interfaces:
Be attentive: Use controls, screens and other interfaces with which most users already are comfortable and familiar.
Be approachable: Create an attractive environment with rich graphics, vibrant colors and buttons/screens that are appealing to the eye and the touch, and consistent with what consumers expect from certain functions.
Be clear: Rather than an imposing cluster of buttons, switches and dials, create a clean-looking interface, with controls that fall readily to hand and displays that are exactly where users expect to find them. Provide maximum control without the driver's hands ever leaving the steering wheel.

Be connected: For technophiles? Let drivers display all the information they want in the way they want it. For technophobes? Make sure basic controls, like radio and HVAC settings, still are accessible via familiar stack-mounted controls, so users don't have to learn a host of new commands to operate the vehicle.

"The driving experience is not just about getting from A to B," explained J Mays, Ford group vice president of Design. "It's about the approach to the car, how it responds to you when you get in, and how it responds to you while you drive. It's the anticipation, the welcome and the continuing conversation. Keeping these principles in mind helped us ensure we made decisions for the right reasons."

A global future for MyFord driver connect technology
As a signature offering, and one with the potential to help reduce driver distraction, Ford knew widely offering MyFord driver connect technology was a priority from the start.

"Democratization of technology is a key aspect of our product plan," Kuzak said. "With MyFord, we didn't want to create an upscale electronics package and just put it on our highest-end vehicles. This technology will be available across our full range of vehicles: From our affordable small cars to the ultimate Lincoln, we're going to make a premium, appealing and intuitive experience available to everyone."

MyFord also will be expanded across world markets. As new and refreshed models continue to arrive, nearly all Ford passenger vehicles will be outfitted with MyFord driver connect technology. There will be minor variations across car lines, but the interface will be instantly recognizable in Ford vehicles around the globe.

MyFord will arrive later this year on the redesigned 2011 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX crossovers, before appearing on the all-new 2012 Ford Focus for global markets. By 2015, approximately 80 percent of Ford's North American models are expected to have MyFord driver connect technology, with similar percentages predicted for the world market.

"We've developed an environment that will make every Ford vehicle feel like a Ford," said Kuzak. "Across the country, across the globe, all of our products will have the same type of feel, making them instantly comfortable to the drivers who know and love them, and MyFord will become a key part of the joy of owning and driving a Ford product."

About Microsoft Auto 4.1

Enriching the in-vehicle experience with an industry-leading platform for communication, entertainment, navigation, and connected services.

Microsoft® Auto 4.1 is the newest generation of embedded operating system from Microsoft designed specifically for developing state-of-the-art in-vehicle infotainment systems. Microsoft Auto is a standardized, industry proven platform for developing communication, entertainment, and service enabled location based solutions. This release includes a large set of integrated, fully tested, and flexible middleware components, as well as hundreds of components available with the latest version of Windows® Embedded CE 6.0 R3, allowing Microsoft Auto based systems to scale across a broad range of automotive makes and models. Leveraging the rich tools and broad Microsoft® partner ecosystem, suppliers can reduce their development costs and speed their time to market.

Highlights of Microsoft Auto 4.1

Microsoft Auto 4.1 builds on the industry-proven 4.0 platform. This release extends Bluetooth wireless technology support and media player functionality. It includes a large set of integrated, tested, and flexible middleware components, as well as hundreds of components available with Windows Embedded CE 6.0 R3, enabling Microsoft Auto–based systems to scale across a broad range of automotive makes and models. Capitalizing on these tools and on the broad Microsoft partner ecosystem, manufacturers and suppliers can reduce development costs and speed time to market while extending customers’ lifestyles into the vehicles they drive.

Microsoft Auto is based on a vision to: “enrich the in-vehicle experience for drivers and passengers by bringing an industry leading platform software and services for communication, entertainment, navigation and information services to the mass market”. Some of the new features in Microsoft Auto 4.1 include:

• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR

• Secure Simple Pairing Support

• Calendar download from mobile phone

• Technology Preview of upcoming support for DLNA media device integration

• Multi-application access to media index

• iPhone/iPod Touch Firmware 3.x support

• Message Access Profile (MAP) 1.0
  

Please take a look at the technical datasheet to find out more about Microsoft Auto 4.1.

Enrich the in-vehicle experience for drivers and passengers

The technology in Microsoft Auto is designed to enable easy to use, appropriate and relevant experiences for the front and rear seat, facing drivers and passengers alike. To stay relevant, the platform provides update capabilities to ensure state of the art support with modern consumer electronic devices through device updates, service content, and improving the time to market for automakers.

An industry leading platform and services

Microsoft Auto is a robust, extensible software platform to help deliver more reliable and cost effective in-car infotainment systems. Our goal is to reduce the cost, risk, and time to market of Telematics and infotainment solution development, by providing a platform with integrated communication, entertainment, and navigation service features, and the tools capable of creating unique solutions that help automakers and suppliers set them apart from the competition.

For Communication, Entertainment, Navigation and Information

The integrated components in Microsoft Auto help carmakers and Tier 1 suppliers connect drivers with a wide range of devices, services and technology, including hands-free Bluetooth phone communication, media and mobile device integration, rich content through connected services and state-of-the-art graphical capabilities and high-fidelity digital entertainment. What’s more, these technologies are not delivered in silos, separated from each other as individual components, but rather integrated to provide a seamless experience for customers. However, Microsoft Auto does not define or require a specific human-machine interface (HMI) or HMI technology. The end result is a complete, state of the art infotainment system that matches the look and feel of your target customer.

To the mass market

Our platform enables suppliers to create devices at a lower per-device cost, as well as lower design and engineering cost. It provides the ability to get to market faster through the use of standardized components and partners. Combined, these allow automakers to bring features once found only in luxury vehicles to consumers of any vehicle across all model lines.

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Chevrolet Volt on Your Hand

When the Chevy Volt goes on sale late this year, General Motors intends to leverage its popular OnStar technology to help drivers maximize their electric driving time and minimize their use of liquid fuel. To do that, GM created an OnStar/EV lab last year at its Detroit headquarters. Engineers there have been working on how they can utilize available communications technology to save fuel, and the first public result is a new mobile phone application that is being announced at this year's Consumer Electronics Show.


When the production version of the Volt was unveiled in 2008, many called the interior very Apple-like because of its smooth white plastic center stack with capacitive touch controls. Thankfully, for those of us who have not fallen prey to the allure of the iPhone, the new mobile phone app is being developed to work on other touch screen phones including the Motorola Droid and Blackberry Storm. Read on after the jump to learn more about what OnStar has created.







The OnStar EV lab located deep within the bowels of GM's Renaissance Center headquarters is where engineers and programmers have been working on new applications that will first appear later this year with the launch of the Chevy Volt. This new mobile phone application is the first and uses the OnStar communications infrastructure to let drivers monitor and manage the condition of their car's battery pack.

The mobile app has a user interface that looks visually similar to the instrument cluster in the Volt itself, including the battery state of charge gauge. It works by contacting the OnStar servers, which then contact your car. All new GM vehicles have a built in cellular connection that provides communications with OnStar for emergency services, turn-by-turn directions (even without a navigation system), remote unlock and vehicle health reports. Normally drivers have to either press the OnStar button in their car or use another phone to call OnStar to access these services.

The Volt application, however, will allow direct control of the car. Besides checking the current state of charge, the driver can set up several automatic notifications. For example, you can create a reminder for any given time to plug in your car if you haven't already done so. Since the car can sense if it is plugged in, it won't send an alert if you already hooked plugged it in when you returned home. However, if you neglected to plug in, you would get a message via your phone or an email to go plug it in at the appointed time. If your car becomes unplugged or loses power for whatever reason, you could also get a notification.

There is also a switch to set charging for "grid-friendly mode." In this mode, you can plug in the car but it won't actually start charging the battery until your utility switches over to off-peak rates, saving you money. You can also use the app to pre-condition the climate control system, turning on either the heat or air conditioning while the car is still plugged in so it uses the grid instead of battery power to achieve the desired temperature. It takes a lot more energy to bring the temperature up or down than it does to maintain a steady state, so this greatly reduces the load on the battery and preserves electric range. You can even use the app to take care of more mundane tasks like locking or unlocking the car remotely.

Pre-conditioning the battery is one of the keys to what GM hopes will be a 10 year/150,000 mile life for the Volt pack. By using the mobile phone app, drivers will be able to more easily let the car know when they plan to leave and have the car get itself ready. The app will initially be available for the Apple iPhone, Motorola Droid and Blackberry Storm. OnStar plans to expand availability to other Android phones as well later on. For now, if you have a Motorola Droid or supported Blackberry you can download a demo version of the app to check out the functionality and interface at OnStarMobileDemo.com. A demo of the iPhone version should be available tomorrow.

The OnStar Mobile App for the Chevrolet Volt


The Chevrolet Volt: Technology Beyond the Battery

Official Press Release:

Chevrolet and OnStar Give Volt Owners 24/7 Connection and Control via Wireless Smartphone Application

• Chevrolet Volt First Electric Vehicle to Demonstrate Wireless Smartphone Application
• Volt showcases technology beyond the battery with OnStar Mobile Application
• OnStar created a mobile application for Volt that provides drivers custom services and added control
• Charging Volt is easy, convenient and efficient with OnStar Mobile Application technology

LAS VEGAS – Chevrolet and OnStar unveiled the auto industry's first working smartphone application that will allow Chevrolet Volt owners 24/7 connection and control of vehicle functions and OnStar features remotely.





OnStar's Mobile Application allows drivers to communicate with their Volt from Droid by Motorola, Apple iPhone and Blackberry Storm smartphones. It uses a real-time data connection to perform tasks from setting the charge time to unlocking the doors.

The Chevrolet Volt OnStar smartphone application is designed to enhance the overall Volt ownership experience with interaction and control never offered before on any electric vehicle. The application:

• displays charge status – plugged in or not, and voltage (120V or 240V)
• provides flexibility to "Charge Now" or schedule charge timing
• displays percentage of battery charge level, electric and total ranges
• allows owner to manually set grid-friendly charge mode for off-peak times when electricity rates are lowest
• sends text or email notifications for charge reminders, interruptions and full charge
• displays miles per gallon, electric only miles, and odometer readings
• shows miles per gallon, EV miles and miles driven for last trip and lifetime
• remotely start the vehicle to pre-condition the interior temperature

"The Chevrolet Volt ushers in a new era of automotive technology and calls for a new level of connectivity and control," said Walt Dorfstatter, president, OnStar. "Nearly 6 million vehicles on the road today use OnStar to stay connected, and our new smartphone app will make that even easier for Volt drivers."

OnStar's real-time data connection also helps drivers maximize the environmental benefits of owning a Volt, even when not in the vehicle. The application's intuitive Charge Status feature simplifies setting the charge time. Rather than using battery power, the application allows owners to start the Volt remotely to pre-condition the interior temperature using power from the grid. This preserves the battery charge for driving without gasoline.

When a charge command is activated, the Volt owner will receive a confirmation message on the application alerting the owner that a command has been successfully sent to the vehicle. If in view of the Volt, a green LED charge light on the dash will indicate the charge state.

Traditional OnStar features such as door lock, unlock and remote horn and lights – which have typically been accessible only through a call into the OnStar call center – will now be available via the application.

OnStar Mobile was developed from the ground-up by engineers in the OnStar EV Lab. In addition to this work, the team is leveraging OnStar's connectivity to the vehicle to gather real-time data about development models of the Volt as they are tested. OnStar engineers then share this real-time data with the Volt engineering team to speed the development process and help ensure quality at the start of production.

Demonstration applications for the Motorola Droid and Blackberry Storm will be available at OnStarMobileDemo.com beginning 10 p.m., EST, January 5. The demonstration application for the Apple iPhone will be available on the iTunes store on January 6.

Volt's OnStar mobile application will also be available on a mobile browser for other internet-capable phones. Volt drivers can also view and manage vehicle systems and commands from the vehicle, the internet or through a monthly OnStar Vehicle Diagnostics e-mail.

Volt owners can opt-in to receive a monthly OnStar Vehicle Diagnostics e-mail report with diagnostics on the unique characteristics of an electric vehicle with extended range, as well as the maintenance information current OnStar subscribers receive. OnStar will also provide the connection for the Volt owner website, which will allow many of the same capabilities as the mobile application along with more in depth information on the vehicle's history.

The OnStar subscription for the Chevrolet Volt will also include the safety, security and peace of mind services currently available to OnStar's subscribers including Automatic Crash Response, Turn-by-Turn Navigation, Hands-Free Calling and Stolen Vehicle Assistance. The Volt is an electric vehicle with extended-range capability. It is designed to drive up to 40 miles on electricity without using gasoline or producing tailpipe emissions. When the Volt's lithium-ion battery is depleted of energy, an engine/generator seamlessly operates to extend the total driving range to about 300 miles before refueling or stopping to recharge the battery.

OnStar Mobile Application will be available for Volt owners at launch. Production for the Volt is scheduled to begin in late 2010. Pricing has not been announced.

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Adobe Shuts Down Operations for a Week

Adobe shuts down for the week, blames the recession

source: dailytech

Adobe announced it has shut down its entire North American operations for one business week to help cut costs as the global economy continues to hurt the American tech company.

The week-long shutdown started on June 29, with business expected to return to normal starting Monday, July 6, though the company has already carried out several cash-cutting moves in the past. For example, spending on travel and bonuses have both been slashed according to CFO Mark Garrett, with further cost-cutting in the works.

Adobe officials didn't announce how many of its employees will be affected by the shutdown this week – also, no one disclosed how much money the company expects to save from the week off.

Last December, the company announced it would lay off around 600 employees; however, it has re-hired 260 employees outside of the United States.

Adobe has already done this once before, and has one more scheduled week of shut down scheduled before the end of the year. Furthermore, the company traditionally shuts down for a week between Christmas and New Year's Day, which will also take place like normal.

Adobe is still profitable, but it has seen sales dip due to the economy.

"In the second quarter of fiscal 2009, Adobe achieved revenue of $704.7 million, compared to $886.9 million reported for the second quarter of fiscal 2008 and $786.4 million reported in the first quarter of fiscal 2009."

Adobe has Flash, Acrobat, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Photoshop, and several other popular pieces of software, but must find ways to attract new consumers at a time when many developers and consumers are cutting back on spending.
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Opera 10 Hits Beta, Heats Up Next-Gen Browser War

source: dailytech.com
A test drive of Opera 10 shows it to be shaping up to be a very impressive release

Though still young in the development cycle, Opera 10, which hit the web today in beta 1 form, is shaping up to be a potentially must-have release for Windows, OS X, and Linux users alike. The smoking fast browser packs some great innovations and puts older competitors, like Firefox 3 on notice.

First of all, the new browser uses advanced compression technology to deliver better performance on low bandwidth connections like public Wi-Fi, dial-up, or throttled connections. Secondly, the browser is compatible with the highest current web standards. Built on the Opera Presto 2.2 engine, it scores a perfect 100/100 on the Acid3 compatibility test. The new engine adds Web Fonts support, RGBA/HSLA color, SVG improvements, and more.

Where the browser truly shines is its speed. It loads pages extremely fast. DailyTech took it for a spin on a Fedora 10 desktop installation, to try some page loads. DailyTech.com loaded in 1.2 seconds in Opera 10 beta 1, versus approximately 2.2 seconds in Firefox 3.0.10. Likewise, SportsIllustrated.com (via CNN) had first and second load speeds of 4 seconds and 1 seconds in Opera, versus 11 seconds and 9 seconds in Firefox. It may not sound like much, but like Internet Explorer 8, the difference over Firefox's latest build is noticeable -- and Opera 10 even appears to surpass IE 8 in load speeds.

One improved feature of the release is Speed Dial, an exclusive Opera feature which allows you to see and pick from your favorite sites when opening a new tab. Refined, it now supports up to 25 favorites, and the ability to set custom backgrounds. Opera 10 also adds nicer integration with web mail clients like Gmail.

Another highlight-reel addition is the ability to resize your tabs. By dragging a bar beneath the tabs downwards, the tabs become tiny thumbnail screenshots of the page. While primarily a graphical effect, it certainly adds "wow" factor to the browser, and gives it a decidedly next generation feel. The effect resembles the "Windows Peek" feature in the upcoming Windows 7.

Other additions include an impressive inline spell checker. Also, if you want a lightweight email client, akin to Microsoft Outlook or Mozilla Thunderbird, Opera sports a refined version of Opera Mail. And for developers, the new browser packs a new and improved version of Opera Dragonfly. The new version includes tools to edit the DOM and inspect HTTP headers of pages you're debugging.

The only real disappointment here is security/ad-blocking. While popup blocking is a breeze, it'd be nice to see a bit more selective JavaScript and Flash blocking, along the lines of NoScript. Currently it’s easy to block scripts on a site, but blocking via the menus is an all or nothing affair, making it impractical for sights that use JavaScript for content you actually want.

While the official release of Opera 10 may be some time away, the browser is already shaping up impressively. Ultra-fast and packing a great set of features, the browser definitely will lure away some Firefox users, and maybe even a few Safari or IE 8 users. It’s definitely worth a download, if only to take it for a quick test ride.

Update 1:
There is a good way to block ads after-all, that's actually been around since Opera 9. To access it, right click anywhere on a page that doesn't have linked content. Then select "Block Content" then proceed to click on all content you want block (ads) and finally click "Done" on the top of the page. White space will appear for a bit, but reloads will fix this. Also you can use .ini filters to further block ad content.

Also, Mozilla currently is beta testing Firefox 3.5, which is expected to deliver substantial speed improvements. Expect an upcoming article to look at speed between all the browsers' latest betas or releases.

Opera 10 beta 1, released today, has expandable tabs -- drag a bar beneath the tabs and they become thumbnails. The browser is also much faster, easily beating Firefox 3.0.10 in speed, and giving Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8 a run for its money. (Source: DailyTech)

The browser's only glaring weakness is its handling of Javascript/Flash blocking. Unlike Firefox's NoScript, blocking Javascript in Opera 10 remains an all or nothing affair. If you block Javascript, you block ads often, but you'll also block content, as seen here on SportsIllustrated.com. (Source: DailyTech)

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