ICE CREAM SANDWICH SOURCE CODE RELEASED

If you're champing at the bit waiting to get your hands on a nice cool piece of Android 4.0, your wait may soon be over. Pending a final go-ahead from the Android Open Source Project, you'll be able to sync the now available Ice Cream Sandwich source code. Due to the "large push" (presumably because of all the changes), the roll out is going to take some time to complete -- project members will give the final word when things are good to go. If you try to sync prematurely, be forewarned that you'll get an incomplete copy that will be useless. The available flavor is 4.0.1 which will be the version to ship on the Galaxy Nexus, the first ICS device. This release also includes "the full history of the Android Code," signaling the first time Honeycomb source has seen daylight.

MICROSOFT WINDOWS 8 LAUNCHING TO DEVELOPERS THIS WEEK

Microsoft announced that it is releasing a developer preview of its upcoming next-generation operating system, currently named “Windows 8,” during its BUILD conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday. President of Windows and Windows Live Division Steve Sinofsky took the stage during BUILD’s opening keynote and discussed several of the operating system’s new features. “We reimagined Windows,” he said. “From the chipset to the user experience, Windows 8 brings a new range of capabilities without compromise.” As Microsoft has already revealed, Windows 8 will offer a new “Metro style” user interface that is built to take advantage of touch input but works just as well with a keyboard and mouse. Internet Explorer 10 will also offer full support for touch browsing, and Sinofsky hinted that even desktop-sized Windows 8 computers will largely take advantage of touchscreen monitors. Developers will be able to create Metro style applications that will fill the entire screen, too. Microsoft said the next-generation of Windows 8 hardware will turn on instantly and will be capable of running all day on a single charge. The OS is designed to run on devices ranging from a 10-inch tablet to a large desktop, and developers will have access to Windows 8 later this week.

Demo of Windows 8 by WinRumors:



Full Press Release:

Microsoft Reimagines Windows, Presents Windows 8 Developer Preview

BUILD conference attendees and developers get first access to new operating system.

LOS ANGELES — Sept. 13, 2011 — Today at its developer-focused BUILD conference, Microsoft Corp. showcased a detailed preview of the next major release of Windows, code-named “Windows 8.” The company also detailed new tools for developers to help write applications for more than 1 billion people around the world who use Windows every day.

“We reimagined Windows,” said Steven Sinofsky, president of the Windows and Windows Live Division at Microsoft, in his keynote address to the thousands of developers in attendance. “From the chipset to the user experience, Windows 8 brings a new range of capabilities without compromise.”

The company also highlighted a variety of new features in Windows 8, including the following:

Touch-First User Interface

• Metro style. Windows 8 introduces a new Metro style interface built for touch, which shows information important to you, embodies simplicity and gives you control. The Metro style UI is equally at home with a mouse and keyboard as well.
• Touch-first browsing, not just browsing on a touch device. Providing a fast and fluid touch-browsing experience, Internet Explorer 10 puts sites at the center on new Windows 8 devices.
More Ways to Engage With Powerful, Connected Apps

• Powered by apps. Metro style apps built for Windows 8 are the focal point of your experience, filling your entire screen so there are no distractions.
• Apps can work together. Apps communicate with each other in Windows 8. For example, you can easily select and email photos from different places, such as Facebook, Flickr or on your hard drive.
• Your experience syncs across your devices. Live roams all the content from the cloud services you use most — photos, email, calendar and contacts — keeping them up-to-date on your devices. With SkyDrive, you can access your files, photos and documents from virtually anywhere with any browser or with Metro style apps in Windows 8.
Enhanced Fundamentals

• The best of Windows 7, only better. Windows 8 is built on the rock-solid foundation of Windows 7, delivering improvements in performance, security, privacy and system reliability. Windows 8 reduces the memory footprint needed — even on the lowest-end hardware — leaving more room for your apps.
• Preserving power-user favorites and making them better. For those who push the limits of their PC, Windows 8 features an enhanced Task Manager and Windows Explorer and new, flexible options for multimonitor setups.
New Developer Opportunities

• Windows Store. The Windows Store will allow developers to sell their apps anywhere Windows is sold worldwide, whether they’re creating new games or familiar productivity tools.
• Build using more languages. Windows 8 lets you leverage your existing skills and code assets to create great experiences using the programming language you prefer.
• Rich hardware integration leads to richer experiences — particularly for games. DirectX 11 gaming power underlies Windows 8, allowing the easy creation of full-screen games with smooth, flicker-free action.
New Generation of Hardware

• One Windows — many shapes and sizes. Support for ARM-based chipsets, x86 (as well as x32 and x64) devices, touch and sensors means Windows 8 works beautifully across a spectrum of devices, from 10-inch tablets and laptops to all-in-ones with 27-inch high-definition screens.
• Always connected. With Windows 8, new ultrathin PCs and tablets turn on instantly, run all day on a single charge and stay connected to the Internet so your PC is ready when you are. Next-generation system on a chip (SoC) support will also enable greatly extended standby and low-power states.
• Tap the full power of your PC. Windows 8 runs on PCs and is compatible with the devices and programs you use today on Windows 7, without compromise, to deliver the performance you expect of a PC.
Developers will be able to download the Windows Developer Preview via the new Windows Dev Center later this week. Webcasts of sessions will be posted on the BUILD site as well.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Some information relates to a prerelease product, which may be substantially modified before it’s commercially released. Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to the information provided here.

FIREFOX 6 NOW OFFICIALLY AVAILABLE

You may have caught wind of one sly fox unofficially popping up over the weekend. Well, as we reported, that fox, specifically Firefox 6, is now officially ready for your downloading pleasure. If you're a diehard Mozilla fan, or just an armchair browser expert, you're probably already hip to the new Firefox rapid refresh cycle that's seen three releases in the past five months.

If your browser has not updated, or to see which version you are using, click the Firefox button in the upper right and select Help and About Firefox.

FIREFOX 6 OFFICIALLY RELEASING ON TUESDAY AUGUST 16, AVAILABLE NOW

In typical Mozilla fashion, a complete build of Firefox 6 is now unofficially available for your downloading pleasure, three days ahead of schedule. If you're looking for a major facelift to the desktop edition, you won't find one here -- most of the new features aren't cosmetic. Perhaps most visibly, you'll find the domain name of the page you're parked on highlighted in the address bar. On the Android side, version 6 makes much bigger promises, like a "fresh visual style in Chrome Gingerbread," enhanced image scaling, and, perhaps most importantly, it's "faster and uses less memory." We've downloaded the desktop version of the browser ourselves, and we've found the release quite snappy. If you're not afraid of a little pre-release downloading, you can catch the (desktop) fox at the source links below.

Windows
Mac
Linux

SKYPE RELEASES iPAD APP....SKYPE PULLS iPAD APP

Yesterday Skype unexpectedly released an official app for the iPad. Just as quickly it was pulled from the Apple App Store. Skype says the app was released prematurely. “To ensure your best Skype experience, we’ve temporarily removed Skype for iPad which went live prematurely today,” the company said in a posting on its Twitter account. “We know you’ve been eagerly awaiting Skype for iPad and apologize for the inconvenience.”

According to a Skype spokesperson the app will be re-released in "short order", but declined further comment.

LEAK: PLAYSTATION VITA RELEASING OCTOBER 28TH IN UK

An “upcoming releases” flyer for the UK arm of retailer Blockbuster has seemingly confirmed the release date of the PlayStation Vita, Sony’s upcoming replacement to the PSP. The document, forwarded to IGN by an anonymous UK gamer, suggests that the Vita will drop on October 28 2011, in the UK at least, in both WiFi-only and 3G + WiFi forms.

All Sony will say is that the Vita is on course for a “phased global release” this holiday season, though has declined to be any more specific than that. It’s also unclear whether that means all regions will see the PS Vita on shelves in time for Christmas 2011, or if some will have to wait until early in the new year.

APPLE RELEASES iOS 4.3.4 TO FIX PDF VULNERABILITIES

Apple has just released iOS 4.3.4 for its iOS devices including the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 2, iPad and third and fourth-generation iPod touch devices. Apple also released a comparable update for Verizon Wireless’ CDMA iPhone 4, iOS 4.2.9. The new build includes a security update that addresses a vulnerability with PDF files. It also patches the extremely popular jailbreak.me jailbreak solution, so it will no longer function on devices that update. IOS 4.3.4 is available immediately via iTunes.

MAC OS X LION COMING IN JULY

Apple announced that the next major update to Mac OS X, Lion 10.7, will be available for purchase and download exclusively through the Mac App Store in July for just $29. OS X 10.7 Lion features over 250 new updates to the OS including Mission Control, Launchpad, full-screen apps, Auto Save, Resume, and much more.

Press Release:

Mac OS X Lion With 250 New Features Available in July From Mac App Store

SAN FRANCISCO—June 6, 2011—Apple® today announced that Mac OS® X Lion, the eighth major release of the world’s most advanced operating system with more than 250 new features and 3,000 new developer APIs, will be available to customers in July as a download from the Mac® App Store™ for $29.99. Some of the amazing features in Lion include: new Multi-Touch® gestures; system-wide support for full screen apps; Mission Control, an innovative view of everything running on your Mac; the Mac App Store, the best place to find and explore great software, built right into the OS; Launchpad, a new home for all your apps; and a completely redesigned Mail app.

“The Mac has outpaced the PC industry every quarter for five years running and with OS X Lion we plan to keep extending our lead,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “The best version of OS X yet, Lion is packed with innovative features such as new Multi-Touch gestures, system-wide support for full screen apps, and Mission Control for instantly accessing everything running on your Mac.”

New Multi-Touch gestures and fluid animations built into Lion let you interact directly with content on the screen for a more intuitive way to use your Mac. New gestures include momentum scrolling, tapping or pinching your fingers to zoom in on a web page or image, and swiping left or right to turn a page or switch between full screen apps. All Mac notebooks ship with Multi-Touch trackpads and desktop Macs can use Apple’s Magic Trackpad.

Full screen apps take advantage of the entire display and are perfect for reading email, surfing the web or browsing photos, especially on a MacBook Air® or MacBook® Pro. With a single click your app fills the display and you can swipe from one window to another, between full screen apps, or back to your Desktop, Dashboard or Spaces® without ever leaving full screen. iWork® and iLife® apps, as well as Safari®, iTunes®, Mail, FaceTime® and others, all take advantage of Lion’s system-wide support for full screen apps.

Mission Control combines Exposé®, full screen apps, Dashboard and Spaces into one unified experience for a bird’s eye view of every app and window running on your Mac. With a simple swipe, your desktop zooms out to display your open windows grouped by app, thumbnails of your full screen apps and your Dashboard, and allows you to instantly navigate anywhere with a tap.

The Mac App Store is built into Lion and is the best place to discover great new Mac apps, buy them with your iTunes account, download and install them. Apps automatically install directly to Launchpad, and with Lion’s release, the Mac App Store will be able to deliver smaller “delta” app updates and new apps that can take advantage of features like In-App Purchase and Push Notifications.

Launchpad makes it easier than ever to find and launch any app. With a single Multi-Touch gesture, all your Mac apps are displayed in a stunning full screen layout. You can organize apps in any order or into folders and swipe through unlimited pages of apps to find the one you want.

Lion includes a completely redesigned Mail app with an elegant widescreen layout. The new Conversations feature groups related messages into an easily scrollable timeline, intelligently hiding repeated text so the conversation is easy to follow, and retaining graphics and attachments as they were originally sent. An incredibly powerful new search feature allows you to refine your search and suggests matches by person, subject and label as you type. Mail includes built-in support for Microsoft Exchange 2010.

Additional new features in Lion include:

Resume, which conveniently brings your apps back exactly how you left them when you restart your Mac or quit and relaunch an app;
Auto Save, which automatically and continuously saves your documents as you work;
Versions, which automatically records the history of your document as you create it, and gives you an easy way to browse, revert and even copy and paste from previous versions; and
AirDrop, which finds nearby Macs and automatically sets up a peer-to-peer wireless connection to make transferring files quick and easy.
Pricing & Availability Mac OS X Lion will be available in July as an upgrade to Mac OS X version 10.6 Snow Leopard® from the Mac App Store for $29.99 (US). Lion will be the easiest OS X upgrade and at about 4GB, it is the size of an HD movie from the iTunes Store®. Mac OS X Lion Server requires Lion and will be available in July from the Mac App Store for $49.99 (US).

Lion requires an Intel-based Mac with a Core 2 Duo, i3, i5, i7 or Xeon processor and 2GB of RAM. The Lion upgrade can be installed on all your authorized personal Macs.

The Mac OS X Lion Up-To-Date upgrade is available at no additional charge via the Mac App Store to all customers who purchased a qualifying new Mac system from Apple or an Apple Authorized Reseller on or after June 6, 2011. Users must request their Up-To-Date upgrade within 30 days of purchase of their Mac computer. Customers who purchase a qualifying Mac between June 6, 2011 and the date when Lion is available in the Mac App Store will have 30 days from Lion’s official release date to make a request.

LEAK: EVO 4G GETTING GINGERBREAD FRIDAY JUNE 6TH

After Sprint's website snafu outing its Android 2.3 intentions for the EVO 4G, sources uncovered evidence that points to June 6th as its release date. Better yet, if you're willing to manually check for its availability, you might even find a happy surprise this Friday.

In addition to Gingerbread, users will find SMS and Gmail fixes, along with a tweak to the phone's power management software. Hopefully you've got WiMAX, because this update is coming over-the-air.

BALLMER'S WINDOWS 8 RELEASE DATE INCORRECT SAYS MICROSOFT

During a press event in Japan recently, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said that Windows 8 would would launch sometime next year. His firm says otherwise. “It appears there was a misstatement,” a Microsoft spokesperson recently said in a statement. “We are eagerly awaiting the next generation of Windows 7 hardware that will be available in the coming fiscal year. To date, we have yet to formally announce any timing or naming for the next version of Windows.”

Despite Microsoft’s statement, we could still hear more about Windows 8 much sooner — even if it doesn’t actually launch in the coming fiscal year. “As we progress through the year, you ought to expect to hear a lot about Windows 8,” Ballmer said in his speech. “Windows 8 slates, tablets, PCs, a variety of different form factors.’ According to ZDNet, we could see an early build of the operating system as soon as the D9 conference, which begins on June 31st.

SONY'S PRESS CONFERENCE ABOUT THE PLAYSTATION NETWORK AND QRIOCITY OUTAGES/HACKS

Sony made quite a few promises this morning about how it intends to deal with the fallout from the PlayStation Network outage and breach when it wasn't profusely and solemnly apologizing, including improved security measures and a few token handouts of 30-day free subscriptions to PlayStation Plus and Qriocity and possibly some free software. Perhaps more importantly for you gamers, Kaz Hirai told reporters that services will resume "soon," and by the end of the week we should see some functionality return. Of course, it made those promises in Japanese, but if you want an English copy you won't have to look far, as the official PlayStation.Blog got hold of a press release with them all spelled out. Find the full document below.

SOME PLAYSTATION®NETWORK AND QRIOCITY™ SERVICES TO BE AVAILABLE THIS WEEK
Phased Global Rollout of Services to Begin Regionally; System Security Enhanced to Provide Greater Protection of Personal Information

Tokyo, May 1, 2011 – Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) and Sony Network Entertainment International (SNEI, the company) announced they will shortly begin a phased restoration by region of PlayStation®Network and Qriocity™ services, beginning with gaming, music and video services to be turned on. The company also announced both a series of immediate steps to enhance security across the network and a new customer appreciation program to thank its customers for their patience and loyalty.

Following a criminal cyber-attack on the company's data-center located in San Diego, California, U.S.A., SNEI quickly turned off the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services, engaged multiple expert information security firms over the course of several days and conducted an extensive audit of the system. Since then, the company has implemented a variety of new security measures to provide greater protection of personal information. SNEI and its third-party experts have conducted extensive tests to verify the security strength of the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services. With these measures in place, SCE and SNEI plan to start a phased rollout by region of the services shortly. The initial phase of the rollout will include, but is not limited to, the following:

Restoration of Online game-play across the PlayStation®3 (PS3) and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) systems
-This includes titles requiring online verification and downloaded games
Access to Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity for PS3/PSP for existing subscribers
Access to account management and password reset
Access to download un-expired Movie Rentals on PS3, PSP and MediaGo
PlayStation®Home
Friends List
Chat Functionality

Working closely with several outside security firms, the company has implemented significant security measures to further detect unauthorized activity and provide consumers with greater protection of their personal information. The company is also creating the position of Chief Information Security Officer, directly reporting to Shinji Hasejima, Chief Information Officer of Sony Corporation, to add a new position of expertise in and accountability for customer data protection and supplement existing information security personnel. The new security measures implemented include, but are not limited to, the following:
Added automated software monitoring and configuration management to help defend against new attacks
Enhanced levels of data protection and encryption
Enhanced ability to detect software intrusions within the network, unauthorized access and unusual activity patterns
Implementation of additional firewalls
The company also expedited an already planned move of the system to a new data center in a different location that has been under construction and development for several months. In addition, PS3 will have a forced system software update that will require all registered PlayStation Network users to change their account passwords before being able to sign into the service. As an added layer of security, that password can only be changed on the same PS3 in which that account was activated, or through validated email confirmation, a critical step to help further protect customer data.

The company is conducting a thorough and on-going investigation and working with law enforcement to track down and prosecute those responsible for the illegal intrusion.

"This criminal act against our network had a significant impact not only on our consumers, but our entire industry. These illegal attacks obviously highlight the widespread problem with cyber-security. We take the security of our consumers' information very seriously and are committed to helping our consumers protect their personal data. In addition, the organization has worked around the clock to bring these services back online, and are doing so only after we had verified increased levels of security across our networks," said Kazuo Hirai, Executive Deputy President, Sony Corporation. "Our global audience of PlayStation Network and Qriocity consumers was disrupted. We have learned lessons along the way about the valued relationship with our consumers, and to that end, we will be launching a customer appreciation program for registered consumers as a way of expressing our gratitude for their loyalty during this network downtime, as we work even harder to restore and regain their trust in us and our services."

Complimentary Offering and "Welcome Back" Appreciation Program

While there is no evidence at this time that credit card data was taken, the company is committed to helping its customers protect their personal data and will provide a complimentary offering to assist users in enrolling in identity theft protection services and/or similar programs. The implementation will be at a local level and further details will be made available shortly in each region.

The company will also rollout the PlayStation Network and Qriocity "Welcome Back" program, to be offered worldwide, which will be tailored to specific markets to provide our consumers with a selection of service options and premium content as an expression of the company's appreciation for their patience, support and continued loyalty.

Central components of the "Welcome Back" program will include:

Each territory will be offering selected PlayStation entertainment content for free download.Specific details of this content will be announced in each region soon.

All existing PlayStation Network customers will be provided with 30 days free membership in the PlayStation Plus premium service. Current members of PlayStation Plus will receive 30 days free service.

Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity subscribers (in countries where the service is available) will receive 30 days free service.

Additional "Welcome Back" entertainment and service offerings will be rolled out over the coming weeks as the company returns the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services to the quality standard users have grown to enjoy and strive to exceed those exceptions.

SNEI will continue to reinforce and verify security for transactions before resuming the PlayStation®Store and other Qriocity operations, scheduled for this month.

For more information about the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services intrusion and restoration, please visit http://blog.us.playstation.com. or http://blog.eu.playstation.com/

MOZILLA LAUNCHING FIREFOX 5 JUNE 21

According to an update at the Mozilla releases page, Firefox 5 looks like it’s headed for a release on June 21, less than two months away. We haven’t heard anything about what new features the next version of Firefox will have, but when Mozilla said that Firefox 4 would be the last time they waited months between major releases, they meant it.

Mozilla is taking the same approach that Google is taking with Chrome; faster updates, more releases, and no waiting to bundle major features together into a bigger update that takes longer to assemble. It’s no surprised that they want to make sure the next version of Firefox is right on the heels of the release of Firefox 4.

To contrast, Google steadily and regularly releases updates for Chrome, silently downloading them and installing them in the background when a user closes and then re-opens the app. To date, each major revision of Firefox has been lauded with a laundry list of features and highlighted release dates. Mozilla developers are hoping to keep up with its browser competitors by slipstreaming bug fixes and minor updates more regularly, and introduce major updates as they’re available instead of waiting.

To help with the testing process, Mozilla devs have introduced dev and pre-release channels of Firefox in addition to the stable release build that most people have running. The dev channel will be the most unstable, with new changes and features added and removed on almost a daily basis, much like the current nightly builds. The pre-release channel, called Aurora, will include features and bug fixes that developers plan to include in the stable build, but want to test with a broad audience.

All of that aside, we still don’t know what Firefox 5′s features will be. Mozilla has said they want at least four major releases of Firefox in 2011, but the product roadmap doesn’t list major features aside from things like “anything that improves responsiveness and is ready” and “anything that improves stability and is ready,” among others.

RUMOR: APPLE TO START iPHONE 5 PRODUCTION IN SEPTEMBER

Blog Business Insider has filed a report that states Apple will begin production of its next generation iPhone — oft referred to as the iPhone 5 — beginning this September. Citing a note published by Avian Securities, the iPhone-report du jour states that a “key component supplier” has indicated that the Cupertino company will schedule production in preparation for a “very late 2011 or more likely a 2012″ launch event. The same supplier also notes that a “lower-spec/lower-priced iPhone” is in Apple’s device road map — another popular rumor amongst technology sites. Analysts continue to postulate on the release date of Apple’s next smartphone product, with June of 2011 and January of 2012 being the two most popular guesses.

MOZILLA'S FIREFOX 4 TO RELEASE ON MARCH 22ND

Mozilla has confirmed that the newest version of their Firefox browser, 4.0, will launch on March 22nd. Firefox 4 has had one of the longest development cycles out of all the Firefox versions, having gone through 12 betas before reaching the release candidate version last week and now readying for the stable release next week.

“Firefox 4 RC1 has received a very warm welcome; it’s time to make a decision to ship,” said Mozilla’s Damon Sicore. “As of now, there are no known issues that would stop us from shipping RC1 as final.

Mozilla has stated earlier that version 4 would be the last long evolution update and they would be going to smaller updates that take shorter development and testing times moving forward. This is being done to help shore up the encroachment on Firefox's market share by Google's Chrome browser which previously had a much shorter update cycle.

INTERNET EXPLORER OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED LAST NIGHT

Microsoft officially brought Internet Explorer out of beta and RC last night. You can download the browser at Microsoft's website. IE9 will only run on any flavor of Vista or Win7, so you XP'ers are out of luck and stuck with IE8.

Microsoft has put a lot of work into their latest browser. Gone is the cluttered toolbars of IE8 and replaced with a simple layout. Some of the nicest features include Pinned Sites, which allows users to drag the tab out of IE9 and pin it directly to the Windows taskbar. When pinned it pulls the favicon so it looks like it's actually a separate program. Some sites will also support jump lists, which is the list of shortcuts that appears when you right click the icons (pictured above). For instance, when Twitter is pinned, you can could jump straight to Direct Mentions, Mentions, etc.

The address bar has also been improved and is more like the Google address bar. Now called the One Box, it doubles as a search engine, but you can actually view results in line. The default search engine is still Bing, but you can install Google, Wikipedia, Amazon, Facebook and lots of others through the Add-On page.

Beyond those cool tricks and nice UI tweaks, the big change with IE9 is speed. The browser feels faster than IE8 and is very close to Chrome.

APPLE'S OS X LION FEATURES UNCOVERED

The next iteration of Apple's desktop OS X, Lion, is scheduled for release sometime this summer. A just released developers preview gives a good idea of what Apple has been working on for this version.

On Apple's website, the company detailed Lion's improved support for multi-touch gestures using a trackpad. In addition to more ways to swipe, pinch, zoom, and more, one notable change is that scrolling now works as it does on iOS devices—drag down on the trackpad to scroll down, drag up to scroll up—complete with "rubber-band" effects at the end of scrollable areas. This is in contrast to all previous versions of Mac OS X, where dragging down scrolls up and vice versa.

Apple also previously mentioned auto-save and auto-resume features last fall, but didn't go into much detail about them. Now we know that apps updated for Lion will gain the ability to autosave all documents as changes are made. Documents can be locked to prevent inadvertent changes, and Apple said that documents will be "auto-locked" after two weeks. Lion also includes automatic file versioning, saving the state of a document every hour it is open and allowing you to step back to any previous state in a graphical Time Machine-like experience. You can go back through previous versions to revert to a previous state or copy and paste data from an older version into the current one.

Apps updated for Lion also gain the ability to automatically save state whenever they quit. When reopened, the application appears as it did when quit, including any open documents and windows. Lion can also automatically resume any open applications whenever you need to log out or reboot. This is especially useful for getting back up and running after performing an OS update, for instance, lessening the pain of lost productivity and increasing the likelihood that important updates get installed instead of ignored.

Apple also disclosed three major new feature additions for Lion on Thursday. One is that Lion will include a new version of Mail that uses a vertical list of e-mails on the left and a full message view on the right, à la iPad. Apple says this new layout works better for widescreen displays and many users of plug-ins for previous versions of Mail that re-arrange the panes in this way would likely agree.

Lion will also include a new file-sharing feature called "AirDrop." AirDrop allows you to view a list of logged-in users of compatible Macs connected to the same network. To transfer a file to any user, you can just drag-and-drop a file to their name in the list, transferring it directly to that user's Downloads folder. If a logged in user is in your address book, you'll see their contact photo, making it easier to identify the right target on a crowded network.

However, the most surprising revelation from Apple is that Mac OS X Server will no longer be a separate product. Mac OS X Lion will include all the necessary serversbits and easy configuration to set up any Mac as a server. It includes all the usual server services, such as user and group management, push notifications, file sharing, calendaring, mail, contacts, chat, Time Machine, VPN, web, and wiki services. A new "Profile Manager" will enable easier set up and management of Mac OS X and iOS devices, integrating with existing directory services. Lion's WebDAV services will automatically allow iPad users to share files remotely, and Lion will also include an updated version of Wiki Server.

MOZILLA'S 2011 ROADMAP TOO AMBITIOUS?

Mozilla has published an updated roadmap in which it lays out its plans for 2011. The organization hopes to significantly shorten its release cycle and deliver a total of four major releases during 2011, cranking the browser up to version 7 by the end of the year.

Some of Mozilla's key technical priorities include improving responsiveness, integrating social sharing, refining the user interface, supporting 64-bit Windows and Android tablet form factors, finally delivering process isolation for tabs, and supporting emerging standards like CSS 3D transforms and WebSockets. In terms of features, Mozilla's 2011 roadmap is compelling and achievable. There is room for skepticism, however, about the organization's new release management strategy. Instead of aiming to roll all of this functionality out in a major release next year, Mozilla intends to push it out to users incrementally, using a series of three releases after the upcoming launch of Firefox 4.

The ambitious plan will require Mozilla to completely reinvent its development, testing, and release management practices. The organization currently averages one significant release a year and typically spends months on beta testing and quality assurance before officially issuing a new stable version. Mozilla will face major technical and operational challenges as it attempts to transition to shorter release cycles.

TWITTER 2.0 FOR ANDROID RELEASED; NEW INTERFACE

Today via a blog post, social networking site Twitter announced an update to its Android client to version 2.0. The new code offers a modified interface along with a handful of feature improvements and additions, including:

•Use without having to sign-in
•Single window layout
•@mentions are now included in the replies tab
•Autocompletion of usernames
•Universal search
The update is sitting in the Android Market, waiting for you to download it.

RUMOR: iOS 4.3 RELEASING ON VALENTINE'S DAY

MacStoriesreports that Apple is set to issue iOS 4.3 at 10am PST on February 14th, Valentine’s Day.

Other unconfirmed reports have suggested that the new OS build would be made available before February 10th, when Verizon Wireless’ iPhone 4 is set to launch. Among the new features expected to be introduced in iOS 4.3 are AirPlay support for third-party native apps and Web apps, a new option to configure the iPad’s slide switch as mute or rotation lock, and of course Apple’s Personal Hotspot function, which turns the iPhone into a portable wireless modem.

APPLE RELEASES NEW VERSION OF SNOW LEOPARD TO DEVS

Apple released a new beta of is Snow Leopard operating system to developers on Thursday. OS X 10.6.6 beta 2 comes almost a month after the first beta release of the OS, and it is listed as a Gold Master edition for developers accessing it through the Mac App Store developer program. In addition, “developer support for fetching and renewing App Store receipts,” is among the listed changes. This could mean that a public release of OS X 10.6.6 and the Mac App Store are imminent. [BGR]