beta

Those of you interested in taking the current flavor of Windows 8 for a spin can now download and install the Developer Preview edition.

Being demoed at Microsoft's Build conference this week, the Developer Preview is a prebeta version showing off the operating system at its current stage. Though technically designed for developers, no registration is required, so anyone can download and install it.

Apple has released the newest beta seed of iTunes 10.5 as well as iWork for iOS 3 to developers for testing.

Developers can now download both releases from the Developer Center Web site. iTunes 10.5 beta 8 includes a number of security improvements and bug fixes, focusing on iTunes Match (currently in beta as well). Developers can also test the ability to back up to iCloud from inside iTunes.

Developers should be aware that while testing the backup feature, Apple may occasionally delete all information from iCloud, meaning developers should keep a backup of all their information locally. … Read more

Apple is ramping up development of OS X 10.7.2 and iCloud, which are both slated for release anytime this month. Today Apple issued yet another build of both the upcoming OS update and iCloud to developers for testing, just a little over a week since its last build release. The short time between builds suggests Apple is nearly ready to release the OS updates, implying iCloud may be available earlier in the month rather than later; however, we will wait and see.

Beside the new iCloud features, we are looking forward to these updates in hopes that they … Read more

One of the features announced when iOS 5 was revealed during Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference back in June was deep Twitter integration. What this meant to the end user was that any developer could easily implement Twitter into their app, allowing tweets, links, and pictures to be sent with ease.

There may be instances where a user doesn't want a particular app to have access to their Twitter account. In previous beta builds there was no way to prevent this--there is now. 

… Read more

Apple this afternoon released yet another beta version of its iOS 5 software to developers, the seventh time it's done so since offering a test version of the software in June.

As usual, Boy Genius Report has posted a full copy of the change log, which developers are not supposed to share as per Apple's non-disclosure agreement. From that list, the release looks to contain mainly bug fixes from previous versions of the software, as well as additions to Apple's Xcode and user interface building tools. In other words, the nitty-gritty things developers are likely to enjoy, … Read more

The cast of Buzz Out Loud has a message for HP that we hope they'll hear: guys. Seriously. Please stop talking. Don't tell the press you may or may not spin off your PC unit if you can figure out what that would mean for the company, and don't let the EVP of the PC business say HP might get back into tablets. I mean, how hard is that, really? Plus, Wikileaks springs a major leak, and Beyonce's baby pwns Twitter.

Apple this morning released yet another beta version of its iOS 5 software to developers, marking the sixth since offering a test version of the software in June.

Boy Genius Report has posted a full change log of the update, and it appears to be mostly bug fixes, short of some additions to interface builder, the tools that let developers put together their applications. As BGR also notes, unlike the last beta, this one is not requiring developers to do a clean wipe of their testing devices ahead of installing the software.

Apple has said it will release iOS 5 … Read more

Two days after Mozilla delivered Firefox 6 to its wide-release stable channel, Firefox 7 and its much-anticipated spate of better memory management and reduced load times got promoted from the developer's Aurora build to the Beta channel. You can download Firefox 7 Beta for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android.

The performance improvements are the first major performance changes for Firefox after a summer of complaints from a small yet vocal minority that was experiencing severe memory leaks and crashes. The company is anticipating around a 30 percent gain in performance that derives from changes to the JavaScript garbage collector, … Read more

Google has a new feature it hopes will keep Music Beta users tuned in.

The Web giant today launched Google Magnifier, a new feature to help users of its online music-storage service discover and obtain new music. In addition to free music tracks, the site has videos of live performances, artist interviews, and a chance to explore music genres.

The move is an effort by Google to distinguish its Music Beta service from competitors such as Amazon's Cloud Music and Apple's forthcoming iCloud service, which is expected to launch in the fall. Google's music-storage service, which launched … Read more