News Digest
Dear Software Informer users, welcome to our weekly column dedicated to the latest changes in the world of software. This week on Software Informer: gradual abandonment of Flash technology in favour of HTML5, the official launch of Google Music, on-going browser competition, the most desirable Christmas presents, some brand-new devices and recently released chapters of the most popular video games.
News Digest
In the last week's news digest we have already mentioned the metamorphoses in the world of web development connected with the decision to move away from Flash technology. iOS and Windows Phone have long withdrawn from supporting one of the basic Adobe's products. Now it seems Android is following the rivals in the matter. The happy owners of Samsung Galaxy Nexus, so far the only phone with Android 4.0, have discovered that the new platform doesn't have Flash Player pre-installed, as well as doesn't give the opportunity to buy it on the Android Market. Google has confirmed that the plugin is currently unavailable because Adobe hasn't supplied the Ice Cream Sandwich with an updated version of the software. The company says that's just a matter of time, but the latest decisions made in Adobe might put us on guard: who knows, what will happen tomorrow on the mobile software market.
This question may, however, finally be resolved in the near future. The present Internet industry represents a sphere standing on the edge of drastical changes. It would be obviously silly to let the chips fall where they may, and that is the fact recognized rightfully by Google. On the wave of universal Flash abandonment, they have introduced Swiffy, an extention for Adobe Flash Professional, that will allow converting Flash into HTML5, thus saving the designers and developers from the necessity to reproduce all their masterpieces from scratch.
Transform Flash into HTML5
Flash is not the only area where Google is trying to take the lead. You know, it seems, in fact, that Google is going to conquer the world and occupy every existing niche ranging from baking to space exploration. This time they announced the final version of Google Music, an Internet portal where people can share their music interests, buy the music they like and discuss each other's preferences. Another interesting feature of the website is that it allows young musicians to officially sell their creations without involving music companies into the process. To do so, they just have to create an account by paying $25 to Google, and start selling the music. For each sold song the company is going to charge only 30% of the price.
By the way, Google's business flourishes in almost all fields it operates. According to StatCounter, an analyst company, Google Chrome's market share, has risen to 25.45% in November, which is equal to the share of its main competitor, Mozilla Firefox. Judging by the fact that Chrome's proportion has been steadily increasing, whereas Firefox's - shrinking, we may suggest that the world fastest web browser by Google is likely to be steadily ranked second in the list.
Well, let's finally leave Google and move on to another often discussed corporation, Apple. A recently carried out poll has shown that American children from 6 to 12 years old do not want Santa Claus to bring them a bicycle or a doll anymore. Top 4 best Christmas presents looks as foolows: iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone, Computer (credit: Nielsen). Thumbs up, misters! You may take a look at the full list below:
The most desirable Christmas presents
I wonder why the world's spinning only around Apple. If we take a closer look at other devices, we will discover that there's a full load of stuff that can easily compete with the leader. Take, for example, the newcomers of late. Among them you'll find HP Folio 13, an ultra-thin powerful notebook which can easily dislodge MacBook Air as the leader of the branch. It's light (3.3 pounds) and thin (0.7 inch), and HP claims it will provide up to nine hours of battery life. If this proves to be true, it will outdo all the existing rivals on the market, not to mention it is cheaper then most of them: with a 128GB SSD the cutie will cost only $900. The machine will be available in stock at the beginning of December, so we will have a chance to check out, if it's so good, already very soon.
Now about what you will be able to do with the powerful new device. We have long heard about Diablo III beta test. Well, now we have some more specific information. To take part in it, the user will have to get a special key that can be obtained each Monday via Facebook. However, we don't know when the test is going to be launched, so this information might still be considered as useless, unless you're a really great fan of the series.
Another interesting release was performed by Electronic Arts. They finally started selling the new version of Need for Speed: The Run based on Frostbite 2 engine. The gameplay takes place in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver and Detroit. The project is rightly seen as the most magnific in the history of the sequel due to the size of the offered locations. At this moment, however, the game is rated only 67%, mostly because of the shortness of the single campaign, which can easily be completed within two hours.
That's all for the week. Thank you for staying with us. Be updated!
