Hands-On With Google Stars for Chrome

If there’s one thing that’s completely awful about Google Chrome, that’s the bookmark managing system. Thankfully, the company has been working on a special tool for a while now, dubbed Google Stars.

News about this extension came a while back in the form of a leaked image presenting the introductory page to Stars, but not much has been unveiled since then. It looks like yesterday, Google uploaded the app to the Chrome Web Store and then had it pulled down. Unsurprisingly, someone caught it in time, and soon the web was full of the .CRX file. Since the file is not in the Chrome Web Store just yet, you’ll have to take the roundabout to install the tool on your chrome, by accessing the Settings area, clicking on the “Extensions” tab and using drag-and-drop to install the file on Chrome. This won’t exactly work if you’re using the latest Chrome beta version since the company has instated its new extension policy on that version. According to Google’s latest step against malware, the company is restricting the installation of Chrome extensions from third party sources. While it’s still possible to download and install them from outside the Web Store, the apps you add to Chrome still have to have a duplicate in the Store or they won’t work. This is Google’s way of fighting against mallware-ridden tools that don’t go through the company’s scan.

Google Stars explained

“Google Stars” will read and modify data on the websites you visit, read and modify bookmarks, access tabs and browsing activity and communicate with cooperating websites. Basically, it will completely replace the regular bookmarking system within Chrome, even changing the white star with gray border in the right side of the address bar with a white star within a greyed out box, which will turn yellow upon saving. The prompt for installing Google Stars. The basic functionality remains the same as the current favoriting system in Chrome, but it will come with an added visual bonus. When you bookmark a new page by using Stars, a small box will appear, which contains extra information.

You’ll see the page’s title, a short description which will likely be the first few words of the article within, the website it comes from and a way to add the bookmark to a certain folder. The box also contains a picture if one was attached to the article and you’ll be able to go through a few options by using the available arrows. Depending on which of these images you decide on, you should know it will appear in the bookmark’s box in the Google Stars page. Which leads us to the next feature of Google Stars – a managing page. 

Managing your bookmarks

You can access this by clicking on the “View all starred items” button that appears in the same box mentioned above. Here, you’ll see all the bookmarks you’ve made, or, as they’re called now – “starred” pages. In the main page, you’ll see the most recently added bookmarks arranged in a timeline, while on the left side you’ll notice a filtering system. The app automatically builds these by scanning the names of the pages. For instance, if you’ve saved a few pages with pretty cats, you’ll see those under “Cat.” The same can be said about other animals you may love, or any other topics. The folders you’ve already created will be present there as well. You’ll also be able to check out the pages based on content by using the drop-down filtering system near the search bar at the top of the interface, which enables you to look for videos, images or webpages.

The presence of the search bar is also particularly important since it will certainly come in handy whenever you try to go through dozens of bookmarks, something that is pretty difficult to do in the default Chrome system. If you click on any of the boxes representing the saved pages you’ll be redirected to that site. If you want to manage the bookmarks, instead, you’ll have to click on the top right corner of the same box to select it. You can select as many pages as you want and move them to a folder of your desire, which makes for an easy managing system. If you don’t want to keep them, you can always delete them in bulk with the help of the “Delete” button on the blue ribbon. Google Stars may not be available for everyone through the Web Store just yet, but it will certainly end up there soon. If you don’t want or don’t trust downloading it from other sites, you can always wait a few extra days. It’s not exactly uncommon for Google to change its mind and remove an extension right after it uploaded it, but up until now they all made it back into the store within a few days.

Google Stars
Image credits to Google

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Why the Intel and Rockchip Partnership Could Actually Be a Big Deal

This week Intel announced a new strategic partnership with low-budget chip manufacturer Rockchip, in a move that is bound to change the course of the chip industry.

The two companies will be working together on the production of Intel’s next-gen processors dubbed SoFIA which will be end up being implemented in budget Android tablets. Intel hopes to be able to sponge off Rockchip’s reputation in China, without having to start building relationships from scratch. But why would Intel abandon the strategy that ultimately set it apart from other chip manufacturers? For example, companies like Qualcomm or AMD design their chips but the manufacturing processes are handled by third-party partners like Samsung or GlobalFoundries. But that wasn’t what Intel set out to do. The company kept everything in-house, including designing, manufacturing and selling of these products. Now Intel is fundamentally changing the way it does business, by letting another company use its CPU cores. What that means basically is that Rockchip will the first company to make use of Intel’s technology in order to produce its own chip products with Intel processor cores.

But why the shift and what does this signify? An obvious answer would be that Intel needs to try out a new strategy in order to crack the surface of the tablet space, where it has offered strong products, so far. The problem is, these offerings haven’t been widely adopted. The new partnership with Rockchip will enable Intel to take advantage of Rockchip’s expertise and current market penetration in order to get Intel technology embedded into $100-$150 / €73-€110 Android offerings, which what is basically selling these days. So by the middle of 2015 Intel and Rockchp’s SoFIA SoC spawn will be launched on the market, with four Intel Atom cores and equipped with an Intel 3G modem.

It should also be noted Rockchip was in around 40 million tablets last year and that’s exactly the goal has set up for itself in 2014, so the partnership will open the doors to a decent TAM, too. Thus Rockchip will be able to license Intel x86CPU IP for use in the SoC that will be sold barring the Intel branding. Rockchip’s current products use ARM and Vivante GPU cores, so in the future we might end up seeing a SoC using Intel x86 cores with Mali graphics. The partnership surely marks a crucial transition in Intel history. Both companies will focus on selling the SoFIA chips to their respective customers and Rockchip will be able to continue selling ARM-based SoCs. Note also that Intel won’t be making any big investments in Rockchip. At the moment there’s only one product in the works, in the form of the quad-core Silvermont with integrated 3G, SoFIA, Intel highlighted this partnership is actually a “strategic” one.

This in turn signifies this is not a limited agreement an in time we’re going to see more engagement over time. If the first quad-core chips turn out to be a good deal, maybe Intel will be start deviating its mobile SoC design integration efforts to Rockchip. Time will tell.

Intel and Rockchip partner up to produce low-cost tablet chips
Image credits to TheDroidGuy

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Acer Liquid X1 Phablet with 5.7-Inch Display and Octa-Core CPU Goes Official

Acer has just unveiled its new flagship Android smartphone, the Liquid X1, during Computex 2014 trade fair. The device has been confirmed to arrive on the market in Q3 2014 for a price that will be disclosed closer to launch.

Unlike the previous mid-range smartphones that we reported on earlier today, Liquid E600 and E700, the X1 is aimed at the high-end segment of the market. Although the price of the smartphone has yet to be revealed, Acer Liquid X1 will surely be priced higher than the average. According to the official press release, the handset will be equipped with a powerful true octa-core MediaTek processor clocked at 1.7GHz, which is complemented by a quad-core graphics processing unit. According to Acer, the “Liquid X1 comes with a number of distinct features that make it much easier to control and operate. Among them is Acer Zoom Fit, which adjusts the user interface to just 4-inches when operating the device with one hand is required.” Another selling point of the device is the huge 5.7-inch capacitive touchscreen display that supports HD (720p) resolution. But this is not all, as the phablet has been confirmed to boast an impressive 13-megapixel main camera on the back, which features autofocus, LED flash and full HD (1080p) video recording.

The rear-facing camera offers f/1.8 aperture and 0.3 second ultra-fast focus capability, along with some innovative features such as Free Focus, which allows users to capture pictures without having to worry about focusing. With Motion Tracking, users will be able to capture moving objects without having to fear that their pictures will be blurred. Furthermore, Acer confirmed its high-end phablet “also comes built with the AcerRAPID design on the back which allows users to quickly launch the camera, pick up phone calls or their favorite apps with the touch of a finger. “With AcerFLOAT user interface, app windows can stay open, so users can multitask without having to back out of one app to work on another. The press of the multi-task key brings up the Float Apps where opened apps on a translucent screen float over the function being used.”

It is also worth mentioning that Acer’s smartphone packs 2GB of RAM, a secondary 2-megapixel front-facing camera, 16GB of internal memory, microSD card slot for memory expansion and a high-capacity 2700 mAh battery. Acer also announced the Liquid X1 would ship with Android 4.4 KitKat operating system out of the box when released next quarter.

Acer Liquid X1
Image credits to Acer

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Acer Introduces Liquid E600 and E700 Dual-SIM and Triple-SIM Android Smartphones

It looks like Acer doesn’t want to give up on Android, even though the company did not have any worthy-to-mention success with one or more of its smartphones. Acer tablets though seem to be preferred more among Android users than the phones.

However, that doesn’t seem to stop Acer from launching new Android smartphones to conquer emerging markets with. In this regard, two new Android handsets have just been unveiled by Acer during Computex, the Liquid E600 and E700. Both are part of the Liquid series, the smartphones are aimed at mid-range market. The major difference between the two, aside from design, is that Acer Liquid E600 is dual-SIM, while the Liquid E700 is triple SIM, which means users can fit in no less than three SIM cards. Talking about Acer Liquid E600, the smartphone is equipped with a 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, 1GB of RAM and 4GB of internal memory. Users will also be able to expand storage up to 32GB via microSD memory card. The Liquid E600 sports a 5-inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen display that supports FWVGA (854 x 480 pixels) resolution.

It also comes with an 8-megapixel photo snapper on the back, which features autofocus, LED flash and video recording. It also offers 4G LTE support and a high-capacity 2500 mAh battery, which should provide up to 6 hours of talk time. Acer Liquid E600 will be available for purchase from Q3 in both single SIM and dual-SIM variants, but there are no details on price tags yet. Next in line, the Liquid E700 is a triple SIM smartphone that comes with an even bigger 3500 mAh battery, which is rated by Acer for up to 60 days of standby or up to 24 hours of talk time. It sports a 5-inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen display that supports HD (720p) resolution and features Zero Air Gap technology.

On the inside, the smartphone is armed with a 1.3GHz quad-core processor provided by MediaTek, 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal memory, which can be expanded up to 32GB via microSD card slot. Although it doesn’t mention what camera it packs in the back, Acer confirmed the Liquid E700 features a secondary front-facing camera with LED flash especially tailored to capture perfect selfies. Just like the Liquid E600, Acer Liquid E700 will be available on the market beginning Q3 for a price that will be disclosed closer to launch.

Acer Liquid E600

Acer Liquid E700
Images credits to Acer

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Microsoft Launches File Manager for Windows Phone 8.1, Download Now

With a market share of around 3.5%, Windows Phone is the third mobile operating system in the world. Microsoft's platform still has a lot to catch up if the Redmond-based company wishes to challenge the number two spot, Apple's iOS.

Unfortunately, there are lots of missing features from Windows Phone, which the competition has for quite some time now. One such features lacking in Windows Phone is a decent file manager. Since Microsoft launched Windows Phone 7, users have been asking the company to release a file manager that would make browsing through the phone's files much easier. Well, it looks like Microsoft has finally listened to its fans and a few year after the initial launch of the Windows Phone platform, the company releases the long-awaited file manager. “We all encounter a number of files in our daily lives across the various devices we use. And often times we need ways to manage these files and share them with others – even on our phones. We’ve heard your feedback loud and clear that managing files needs to be easier to do on your Windows Phone,” says Microsoft in a blog post. Dubbed Files, the file manager has been teased by Microsoft's Joe Belfiore during a Reddit AMA earlier this month. Files is the official file manager for Windows Phone devices, so users will be able to download it for free.

The bad news is Files is only compatible with Windows Phone 8.1, which is not yet available for download. However, those who installed the Developer Preview build on their smartphones should be able to install Files as well. The new file manager allows users to access all the stored on the smartphone. In addition, if the smartphone also packs an SD card, users can take advantage of Files' features access files on the SD card as well. Moreover, Microsoft also confirmed users can now browse through files and folders, open and search for files that are on the smartphone or on SD card storage, as well as create new folders and arrange files across those folders using move and copy functions.

You can rename and delete any files in the smartphone and developers also added the ability to share one or many files on the smartphone with friends, family or work colleagues. The application will probably reach more users the moment Microsoft decided to release Windows Phone 8.1 for general public. Until then only early adopters will be able to take advantage of its features. You can now download Files for Windows Phone for free via Windows Phone Store. Keep in mind that the application is only compatible with devices powered by Windows Phone 8.1 and up.

Files for Windows Phone 8.1 (screenshots)
Image credits to Microsoft

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Galaxy GeForce GTX 780 HOF 6GB with Huge Overclock Released

Normally, factory overclocks to graphics cards are of just a couple of dozen MHz or so, but occasionally, someone launches a product that goes a fair bit beyond that. Galaxy's latest Hall of Fame graphics adapter is an example of that.

The new video board is a version of NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 780, and is, obviously, called GTX 780 Hall of Fame, or HOF for short. You might know the GTX 780 from the time it was the second best video card. Now, though, it's just on the fourth spot in NVIDIA's lineup. Above it lie the GeForce GTX Titan Black, GeForce GTX 780 Ti and GeForce GTX Titan. And that's not counting the dual-GPU GTX Titan Z, or any other. The reference GeForce GTX 780 runs at 863 MHz on a normal day, but can jump to 928 MHz in a pinch. Those are the Base/Boost GPU frequencies as it were. The new one from Galaxy, however, has clocks of 1019 MHz and 1071 MHz, respectively. The better frequencies aren't the only advantage of the new adapter though. Having twice the regular amount of memory should definitely help as well.

You see, the GeForce GTX 780 usually makes do with 3 GB of GDDR5 VRAM, but the Galaxy GTX 780 Hall of Fame (HOF) has six. The frequency of the memory was left alone though, at 6 GHz, unlike that of the Kepler GK110 GPU. Speaking of which, the GPU has 2,304 CUDA cores, 192 TMUs (texture mapping units), 48 ROPs (raster operating units), and a 384-bit wide memory interface. Finally, the new video board benefits from a 10-phase VRM (voltage regulating module), dual-BIOS (a toggle switch at the I/O bracket lets you revert settings) and, of course, a custom cooler (dual 90mm fans, silver-grey shroud, direct-contact heat pipes and vapor chamber plate). The Galaxy GeForce GTX 780 Hall of Fame 6 GB video controller can connect to one or more monitors/TVs via dual-link DVI (two ports), DisplayPort and HDMI.

Unfortunately, the newcomer has not been given a price, but with the normal GTX 780 costing $500 - $600 / €500-€600, we can safely assume that the newcomer has a tag of around $700-$800 / €700-€800. Galaxy hasn't posted the product page for the newcomer yet, but for all the technical details, you can just drop by the GTX 780 HOF 3GB page, because the new one is identical save for double the memory amount.

Galaxy GeForce GTX 780 HOF 6GB
Image credits to Galaxy

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iPhone 6 Back Cover with Apple Logo Cutout Leaked

With perhaps only days to go before we catch our first glimpse of the iPhone 6, a new photo is making the rounds showing what appears to be the first leaked rear shell featuring an actual Apple logo cutout. Other design particularities that stand out from this image include the radio windows and the circular LED Flash hole.

The launch date of the iPhone 6 is anybody’s guess. Some have argued that it should roll out sooner than in previous years so that people will stop calling it a sloth in the innovation department. Others are more conservative, saying that Tim Cook & Co. will stick to the traditional fall refresh cycle. “Unidentified supply-chain sources” cited by Reuters said August was the launch date. But one thing is almost fully confirmed: the design. Featuring a much slimmer profile, rounded corners, tapered edges and a bigger form factor to accommodate a larger screen, the iPhone 6 will look like a cross between iPod touch and iPhone 5. According to this photo leaked by MacFixit, Apple is sticking with the antenna windows on the back (the top and bottom stripes), and the LED flash will return to a circular design. The iPhone 5s part has a pill-shaped cutout for what is called a TrueTone Flash. It seems it hasn’t worked as intended and Apple may be going back to a regular LED Flash.

Probably the most notable aspect about this leak is the Apple logo cutout, a first for all iPhone 6 cases leaked so far. In all fairness, this could well be the final design of the iPhone 6. The case seems to be made from metal and covered with a thin plastic film for protection. Strangely, the case seems to be damaged. A defect is visible in the lower part of the case. Those are either puncture holes created by a sharp object that ran through the part, or impurities caught under plastic film as it was strapped over the case. This is reportedly the shell for the 4.7-inch iPhone 6. Later this year, an even bigger model is said to be rolling out, featuring a 5.5-inch display.

According to one rumor, Apple will charge an extra $100/€100 for this year’s model, as the bill of materials for the iPhone 6 is much higher than that of its predecessor. However, this rumor is unfounded and quite unlikely to materialize.

iPhone 6 back cover
Image credits to MacFixit

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Japan Display Introduces 7-Inch WQXGA “WhiteMagic” Tablet Display

Japan Display is a name most of us are familiar with, as the company is famous for putting out mobile displays that pack impressive pixel densities and offer high resolution.

Their latest effort is targeted at the tablet space, as the panel maker has just pulled the veil off a new HD tablet display. The screens will rely on the “WhiteMagic” technology that has been designed to provide improved outdoor visibility and lower power consumption when one is using the device indoors, reports TechBlog. WhiteMagic is not exactly a newcomer to the world of tech. Back in 2012, Sony introduced the Xperia P smartphone, which arrived with a 4-inch screen that featured WhiteMagic. Now Japan Display is aiming for the larger display category, by offering the 7-inch prototype aimed for implementation into tablet products. The new display is a 7-incher that arrives with 2560 x 1600 pixel resolution and an impressive 431 ppi and 160 degree viewing angles.

The WhiteMagic technology makes use of red, green, blue and white subpixels, as opposed to the usual RGB which uses only red, green and blue. Compared to traditional displays, using this particular technique will provide the same level of brightness, but it will end up consuming lower amounts of energy. Furthermore, it allows the screen to be twice as bright in outdoor environments. Japan Display goes on to mention, the new screen is capable of better controlling the backlight than earlier iterations of the technology. According to them, WhiteMagic will provide up to 20% improvements in the power consumption department. For those curios to see how this new baby behaves in real life, Japan Display will be putting the new screen on display at the SID Display Week, an event scheduled to kickstart on June 1.

Nevertheless, even if we will get to see screen prototypes displayed into the wild, it will still be some time before tablet products bundling WhiteMagic tech will arrive on the market. Japan Display is made up of Sony, Toshiba and Hitachi, so we can expect to see the first 7-inch high-res devices with bright displays be rolled out under one of their banners. In related news, back in April, Japan Display announced it had developed a 10.1-inch LCD prototype for tablets, capable of supporting 2,840 x 2,160 pixels (4K2K). Like with the 7-inch screen outlined above, Japan Display makes an emphasis on low power consumption. The 4K display takes advantage of low-temperature poly silicone technology, so the slate can consume the lowest amounts of energy.

Japan Display launches WhiteMagic tablet display
Image credits to TechBlog

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BBM for Android 2.2 Now Available for Download

BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) was launched on both Android and iOS platforms last year, but the instant messaging application did no come with all the features available in the corresponding client for BlackBerry operating system.

In the last couple of months, BlackBerry released several updates for BBM for Android/iOS, which added some of the missing features, as well as small improvements and bug fixes. Today, the Canadian company has announced that a new version of BBM should hit Android and iOS smartphones in the next couple of days. As a matter of fact, we have just captured the update, which means that the rollout is definitely happening faster than expected. If you expect the update to bring major features, like video calls, then you will be disappointed. However, we strongly suggest Android and iOS users who already have BBM installed on their devices to update to the latest version in order to benefit from all the improvements and bug fixes included. But first things first. According to BlackBerry, the latest update adds a much simpler sign up procedure for new BBM users: “One of the ways that we’ve done this is by simplifying the sign up process for BBM. 

We’ve cut down the number of fields it takes to get signed up, so you can start chatting and sharing even faster. Name. Email. Password. That’s all you need to get started on BBM! For those of you already on BBM today, this change won’t impact you at all,” explains BlackBerry’s Jeff Gadway in a blog post. Developers have also made it easier for BBM users to add new contacts through email. Basically, you will only need to click the link inside the BBM invitation received by email and it will be added to your contacts. There’s no need to send a PIN invite back anymore. BlackBerry has also confirmed that it has renamed the “Updates” tab “Feeds” and it has added 16 new emoticons, including a hotdog, maracas, hacker and hot lips.

Last but not least, lots of bug fixes and under the hood performance improvements have been added to the update as well for a much smoother BBM experience. The Canadian company has also confirmed that it will release a major update for BBM for BlackBerry in a couple of weeks, which will contain “many of the things we’ve talked about here…and a few special things added for good measure.” You can now download BBM for Android 2.2 for free via Google Play Store. The application should be fully compatible with all devices powered by Android 2.3.3 and up.

BBM for Android 2.2 (screenshots)
Image credits to BlackBerry

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Z97 GAMING 9 AC Custom-Designed Motherboard by MSI for the Public

Once upon a time, “professional gamer” would have been a nonsensical phrase, but when there are actual game tournaments with lots of cash at stake, you can't really scoff in skepticism anymore. And you don't get to glance oddly at high-end motherboards either.

On that note, MSI has introduced the Z97 GAMING 9 AC “custom-designed motherboard.” The company didn't actually say what it means by “custom-designed,” but we suspect it has to do with the various surveys that IT companies periodically conduct via social networking websites. Anyway, you'd think that MSI would take the time to gush about the expansion capabilities, memory or networking features. What really happened in the press release was different. The company spent time lauding the Dragon Armor (smooth, cooling covers for the important PCB parts), the Wi-Fi AC & Bluetooth 4.0 with Intel WiDi support and, last but not least, the Xtreme Audio DAC. In fact, the audio technology saw the most attention. MSI made sure that no one would miss the relevance of the premium onboard sound card whose capabilities are on par with the best add-in audio cards.

We're looking at 120dB Signal-to-Noise-Ratio (SNR) 192kHz / 32-Bit, C-Media HD Audio Processor, Wolfson WM8741 DAC and Texas Instruments TPA6120A2 amplifier, plus a pair of TI OPA1652 amplifiers, 1 per channel. Professional headphones of up to 600 Ohms will be put through their paces (high-end headphones can have 250 Ohms or less, so that's impressive). You can fine all the info on the new, mighty motherboard on MSI's Z97 Gaming motherboard website. Only the price is still unknown.

Z97 GAMING 9 AC
Image credits to MSI

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