Dev Tips & Technobuzz

Start Button is back  Start icon is fixed to the lower left corner of the screen Unfortunately, can't disable it :( Modern Start Screen, not a old fly-out menu Additional options for personalizing start menu The big change is the addition of so-called Motion Accents -- live backgrounds that move as you scroll through tiles. Lock Screen Customization In addition to these slide show on lock screen with photos coming from local drive and Sky drive. Access to camera directly on lock screen. Accepting calls from Skype video and voice calls from lock screen Additional Start Tile size Windowing and multitasking  Snapping of windows depends on screen resolution New look of Search with effective results An Awesome on screen keyboard word suggestions easy shortcuts word highlight Function pop up for special symbols Sky Drive Integration Updated store apps, XBOX, music and radio Tools for photo viewer panorama capture feature for

 Google Inc( GOOG.O ) has launched a small network of balloons over the Southern Hemisphere in an experiment it hopes could bring reliable Internet access to the world's most remote regions, the company said late Friday. The pilot program, Project Loon, took off this month from New Zealand's South Island, using solar-powered, high-altitude balloons that ride the wind about 12.5 miles (20 kilometers) - twice as high as airplanes - above the ground, Google said. Like the Internet search engine for which Google is best known, Project Loon uses algorithms to determine where the balloons need to go, then moves them into winds blowing in the desired direction, the company said. By moving with the wind, the balloons form a network of airborne hot spots that can deliver Internet access over a broad area at speeds comparable to 3G using open radio frequency bands, Google said. To connect to the balloon network, a special Internet antenna is attached to building

Researchers have created a Google Glass-like device on a contact lens. According to Technology Review, the team developed a "transparent, highly conductive, and stretchy mix of graphene and silver nanowires" that it then attached to an off-the-shelf soft contact lens to give it Google Glass-like features, Fox News reported. The lenses were tested on rabbits because of similarities with the human eye and were found to be fully functional. The researchers noted that the rabbits didn't attempt to rub their eyes nor did they grow bloodshot after five hours of testing. "Our goal is to make a wearable contact lens display that can do all the things Google Glass can do," research leader Jang-Ung Park, a chemical engineer at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, said. True smart contacts with heads-up displays are still quite a few years out, however - the "display" on the tested lens was only one pixel.

Apple has unveiled iOS 7, the latest version of its mobile operating system that powers popular devices like iPhones, iPads and iPod touch. The latest version of the software brings a host of new features to the table, including wireless data transfer, iTunes Radio, new camera and photo filters etc. Check out if your igadget is compaitable with these features: iTunes Radio iTunes Radio is the new music streaming service by Apple that will be added to the company’s iTunes suite.  Devices that will get iTunes Radio: iPhone 5, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPad 4, iPad 3, iPad 2, iPad mini, fifth-gen iPod touch. All handheld devices after iPad 2 and iPhone 4 will get this feature . AirDrop Apple’s answer to NFC, AirDrop is the new feature that allows users to send photos, videos, contacts etc with others over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. Devices that will get AirDrop: iPhone 5, iPad 4, iPad mini, fifth-gen iPod touch. Devices that will not get AirDrop: iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPad 2, iPad 3

Facebook fueled fresh talk about its own mobile phone after the leading social network scheduled a press announcement for next week. Shortly after the Facebook invitation went out for the April 4 event, the technology news siteTechCrunch reported the announcement would be a modified version of the Google  Androidoperating system with "deep native Facebook functionality." Another report on "9 to 5 Google" said Facebook designing the software for the new smartphone, which would be made by Taiwan's HTC. Facebook's invitation said only "Come See Our New Home On Android." The reports, if accurate, could explain the long speculation about a "Facebook phone" to help the social network better monetize its mobile platform by featuring Facebook prominently on the phone. Facebook has long held firm it has no intention of building its own smartphone, saying instead it would rather weave access to the social network into software run

Microsoft has envisioned a new form of 3D display that lets you feel objects on the screen by allowing you to push the screen itself to create a sense of resistance. At a demo of the very early prototype for Pocket-lint at the company's headquarters in Seattle, we were told the concept had been created to allow users to feel different properties like wood or concrete on screen through the use of haptic feedback. Haptic feedback is mostly commonly used in phones to create a sense of physical contact with something where there doesn't need to be - like when your phone buzzes when you press a key on the virtual keyboard - and the same technology is used here, but to more interesting effect, like pushing a block or feeling the contours of a ball. "This project combines the two disciplines into a 3D display experience that adds the sense of touch. The standard display monitor has been retrofitted with resistance transducers that sense the amount of pressure a

Windows Blue leaks online, includes smaller Live Tiles, new side-by-side Snap Views, and IE 11 An early build of Windows Blue, the next version of Windows, has leaked online on the same day that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer celebrates his 57th birthday. Build 9364, a partner version that was originally compiled on March 15th, has been made available on file sharing sites and includes some of the new changes that Microsoft is building into its significant Windows 8 update. Leaked screenshots posted at  Winforum  show that the company is bringing smaller tile arrangements and even a larger desktop one to its Start Screen, along with greater control over the color personalization options, and a whole lot more. ADDITIONAL SNAP VIEW TO PLACE APPS SIDE-BY-SIDE Microsoft is building in additional Snap Views into Windows Blue, allowing users to place apps side-by-side in the Windows 8 view. The new 50 / 50 view is similar to the desktop mode snapping, but Microsoft also supports