When it comes to group video calls, one-time VoIP pioneer Skype plainly lags behind others. It's been fewer than two weeks since Skype added beta support on Windows PCs for a video conference call feature that competitors like ooVoo and VoxOx have long integrated to differentiate themselves.

However, Skype has the advantage of being a known entity among casual technologists who would be otherwise less inclined to sign up for new services once they've already settled on one. Such is the case with one of the toughest test groups I know to please--my family. Five of us switched on our Web cams and Skype 5.0 beta for Windows to see how well the program connected three speakers all over California with two family members in the UK.

We all had Web cams (some built into a laptop, some external) and fast Internet connections on PCs fewer than five years old. Skype's video conferencing got the job of communication done, and we all liked that Skype highlighted a person's video when they started speaking.

Yet our video call was plagued with performance hiccups. One of our party only heard audio, but wasn't heard for half the call. Another time, when one caller was dropped off the call, it took everyone else out, too. Web cam fidelity was also a problem, with the picture coming and going for some callers while voices stayed clear. Some callers also noticed that videos tended to freeze for a few seconds, but would eventually recover.

Meanwhile, Skype 5.0 beta's vocal fidelity was strong in our calls, apart from the strange incident of one-way audio earlier in the call. One UK caller noted that Skype's call quality indicator reported a higher result than the stable version of Skype. Although voices came across clearly, those with weaker microphones got lost when multiple people spoke at once.

In addition to performance trip-ups, Skype should pour some attention into creating a friendlier user interface. Callers got stuck in unintuitive, rather unimaginative navigation, particularly when it came to launching video calls with multiple callers, toggling between the video and other screens, showing and hiding the chat window, and reordering Web cam windows. The snapshot tool also didn't work as expected, taking individual pictures of each Web cam instead of capturing a screenshot of the entire spread.

Despite weak points in the beta feature, the presence of video conferencing in Skype's computer-to-computer communicator boosts the app's value, particularly for those already using Skype's services. All five participants would use Skype's video conference calling again to plan a family gathering, though if it becomes the best option on the market when Skype 5.0 emerges from beta remains to be seen.

The changes made to improve the default firewall in Windows 7 are impressive, but the newest version of the free ZoneAlarm Firewall argues that Microsoft still has a long way to go. ZoneAlarm 9.2 introduces multiple new features to one of the world's oldest computer security programs including quieter outbound protection, behavioral detection from the ZoneAlarm Internet security suite, automatic Wi-Fi security setting activation, antiphishing protection, an overhauled ZoneAlarm toolbar, and 2GB of online storage for free.

Installation

Program installation was largely a smooth experience, taking about 5 minutes. Users will have to reboot their computers after its done. Prior users of ZoneAlarm's paid security suites might encounter some odd behavior if the uninstallation process of one of those programs left remnants, but this should be the rare exception and not the rule.

Interface

ZoneAlarm has unified its security interfaces, so users familiar with one program won't see dramatic changes in another. The left side contains navigation links; the center window is where all the action happens. As noted in the review of ZoneAlarm Extreme Security, it's not a bad design but it doesn't pop visually. The text links can be hard to read because of font choice, and although the center buttons are big, the details within could be easier to read.

Features and support

Designed to be used in conjunction with an antivirus program, the strongest tool in ZoneAlarm's belt is the outbound firewall. Though Windows does offer some outbound protection, it's not activated by default. Most users tend to leave it off because they either don't know about it, or when they do turn it on it regularly interrupts their workflow with pop-up security warnings. Older versions of ZoneAlarm used to be noisy with pop-ups as well, but the new version has been set to be quieter without changing the level of protection. If you prefer, this can be changed in the program settings.

During a half-day of testing the default ZoneAlarm Firewall settings, the only pop-ups encountered were those blocking new software installations. The pop-ups for the three programs tested went away and allowed the installation to proceed with one click. More than just a low rate of interference, only encountering pop-ups for program installations is precisely the kind of warning that keeps you aware of what's occurring on your computer without distracting you simply for surfing the Web.

The benefits of an outbound firewall might not be readily apparent. An inbound firewall blocks threats coming in from the outside, but an outbound firewall does more than prevent your computer from spreading viruses and malware to others. If your computer has been compromised by a botnet, for example, outbound protection will stop it from sending your data back to its host servers. It can also stop program spoofing, which is when a malicious program pretends to be a good one, and IP spoofing, which is when harmful network transmissions dress up as safe ones.

This update includes DefenseNet, ZoneAlarm's behavioral detection system of anonymously contributed data that's used to verify and block threats. Previously, it had only been present in ZoneAlarm's antivirus programs. You can opt out from it when you install, but contributing doesn't negatively affect your system's performance.

The ZoneAlarm toolbar has also been given more than a simple spit-shine. You can opt out of installing it when you run the main installer, and install it later if you wish, but ZoneAlarm was quick to point out that it without it key security features are not activated. Hiding the toolbar after it's been installed won't disable its protections, which include the aforementioned signature and heuristic-based antiphishing protections.

It also adds a site check option that can be used to reveal the date founded and physical location of the site and has customizable safe site buttons for launching regularly visited sites such as Facebook or your banking site. The e-mail checker built into the toolbar is compatible with Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo, RR, Univision, and POP3 accounts. Unfortunately, there's no IMAP support. Finally, the toolbar links to ZoneAlarm's free 2GB of online backup space, courtesy IDrive, and six months free identity theft protection from IdentityGuard.

One of the more annoying limitations of the toolbar is that it only works with Firefox and Internet Explorer, even though Chrome has supported extensions for a year. Given the instability that toolbars contribute to IE, and the clutter that they add to the browser interface, ZoneAlarm would probably get more mileage out of the feature if it was reduced to a single button that opened a new window or expanded a set of buttons.

The Help link in the bottom left of the interface only links to the program's Help file. The only in-program access to the online help Web site, in the form of the free knowledge base and forums or paid telephone support during business hours, comes as a link under the Product Info sub-option under Overview on the left nav.

Performance

ZoneAlarm's performance was notable simply for how unnoticeable it was. Shutdown time did not appear to be affected at all, and neither did starting up cold nor rebooting. Changing the antivirus program that it was partnered with didn't affect the firewall's behavior, either. These are big changes from previous versions of ZoneAlarm, and obviously, they're welcome ones, too.

Conclusion

This update of ZoneAlarm Firewall Free should make people do a double-take because of the features and low interference level from the program. It also should do wonders for ZoneAlarm's reputation, but that has more to do with whether years of substandard updates can be erased by a firewall that is the strong, silent type that users need.

Amid the flurry of Android news as part of Google's annual I/O Conference last week, a news item that slipped through the cracks was that Adobe released a native PDF reading app for Android phones.

The software, which went up in the Android Marketplace Friday, lets users quickly open up PDFs they download from a browser, or that they've received in e-mail attachments. It packs multitouch gestures for zooming, landscape orientation, and a tool that will resize the text on wide documents to fit your phone's narrow screen.

After a quick spin with the software on a Nexus One, I found it to work quite well, even on large files. A 12MB, picture-rich PDF file I had downloaded in Android's stock browser opened up in just four seconds and zipped around like butter on a hot pan. Part of the reason for that is that the software only renders around four pages of a long document at a time, and will load in the rest when you stop. It's kind of a bummer when you imagine trying to use this to pinpoint a specific part of a document by sight, but for most other reading tasks it's no biggie.

The real downer is the lag that occurs when zooming, as it takes the software a second or two to re-render the text and images. This may not seem like a big deal, but it can be annoying when trying to peruse a large document that requires a lot of zooming around; media-rich PDFs seemed to aggravate this.

The app weighs in at 4.3MB, which is a bit heavy for a PDF reader. By comparison, the free version of QuickOffice's PDF reader that comes pre-installed on the Nexus One is just 36KB. Adobe's app also requires Android 2.1 or higher, which means users without a Droid, Nexus One, Eris, or the other handful of 2.1 devices will be left in the dust. This may come as bad news to those of you with what Google's Android chief Andy Rubin is calling "legacy" handsets.

(via Technologizer)

Originally posted at Web Crawler

Think about some of the best movie trailers you've ever seen; the ones that made you sit up and say, "I gotta see that!" (For my money, they don't get any better than the trailer for Cloverfield.)

A good game trailer can have the same impact. For example, I just got my first look at Daredevil Dave: Motorcycle Stuntman! Immediate reaction? I gotta play that! Watch the trailer for yourself (the whole thing) and see if you don't agree:

Funny, right? I mean, the developer had me from the get-go: the opening lines immediately made me think of Super Dave Osborne. (If that name means nothing, shame on you for being so much younger than me.)

Then, at around the 40-second mark, the trailer went from amusing to hilarious, and I knew this was the game for me. Egomaniacal stuntman + insane motorcycle jumps + extended ragdoll death scenes = here's my money.

If anything, the trailer almost gives away too much (just like nearly every movie trailer--hey, Pixar, you don't have to show half of "Toy Story 3" to get me to come see it!). But that's splitting hairs. The bottom line is that a funny, smartly edited game trailer can be far more effective than a handful of static screenshots. Something to keep in mind, game developers.

The game itself is just as much silly fun as you'd expect--and you get to "jump the shark" on the very second level! Daredevil Dave is well worth 99 cents (the current sale price). The trailer: priceless.

What game trailers made you click "Buy" within moments of watching them? Personally, I'm still waiting for the opportunity to play Frogman. (Sometimes a trailer can dispense with funny if it's totally bad-ass.)

Originally posted at iPhone Atlas

Algoriddim's Djay is a $49.95 Mac application that lets you spin your iTunes library in a virtual two-turntable setup.

Djay's interface stays fairly faithful to the old-school turntablist tradition, with a crossfader, cue points (which let you mark a record at specific spots so you can move the stylus to the desired part of a song), and virtual "scratching," enabled by dragging your cursor across the vinyl on the screen. At the same time, Djay offers digital conveniences such as automatic beat matching and tempo synchronization. In addition, its Automix feature creates a mix on the fly from your playlists.

Djay isn't new--version 3.1 was released in February. But in March, Algoriddim launched an iPhone app that lets you control Djay remotely from your iPhone or iPod Touch. I tested the first update to Djay Remote, which was released last week and offers better network performance than the original version, and it's a pretty straightforward experience, if you're familiar with the desktop app.

To use Djay Remote, you have to make sure your iPhone or iPod Touch is connected to the same Wi-Fi network as your Mac, then accept the prompt on the Mac app to let Djay Remote take over. Once you're connected, the iPhone app lets you pick songs from the Mac's iTunes library (not the iTunes library on the phone, which is off-limits to apps), and gives you control over both turntables. You can also match tempos, create simple loops, and add various effects.

The performance of the app was outstanding over my 802.11g network. I entered commands on the phone, and the Mac responded immediately, even when I was on a completely different level of my house. My only complaint about the iPhone app is the price--$4.99 is a bit expensive for a fairly simple remote-control app, especially if you've already plunked down fifty bucks for the full Mac application.

Originally posted at Digital Noise: Music and Tech

Microsoft announced on Monday two open-source projects that let developers view data from Outlook without the need for the e-mail and calendar program itself.

One is a software development kit for reading the .pst files that Outlook uses to save personal files; the other is a graphical tool for viewing the internal data structure of the .pst files.

"Combined, the documentation and tools advance interoperability with data stored in .pst files, reflecting customer requests for greater access to data stored and shared in digital formats generated by Microsoft Outlook and for enhanced data portability," Microsoft said on its interoperability Web site.

Both tools are posted under an Apache 2.0 license on the CodePlex site.

The move builds on Microsoft's announcement last October to open up Outlook's .pst file format.. The documentation itself was posted in February. Microsoft said the new graphical tool released Monday will offer a better understanding of the documentation released in October.

Originally posted at Beyond Binary

Google has released the source code for an an Android phone GPS program called My Tracks, which lets people record where they've been, log journeys in Google Docs, and post their trip maps online.

"You can expect My Tracks to become better than ever with the contributions we hope it will receive from other developers, and also that many applications which work side-by-side with My Tracks will be written," Google engineer Rodrigo Damazio said in an e-mail list posting Friday. "For instance, one could easily build an application for tracking fitness activities, geocaching, aviation, and so on."

The move means also means enthusiasts can help with translation and programmers can create spin-offs for which they can charge money if they desire, he added. The software is governed under Google's preferred open-source license, the Apache License 2.0.

My Tracks lets people track their location on a map; the software shows a variety of details including speed, average speed, elevation gain, and distance traveled. Trips can be shown on Google Maps, publicly or privately, and each trip's statistics can be added to a Google Docs spreadsheet.

When software is open source, anyone may see, modify, and distribute its underlying programming instructions. Google uses a lot of open-source software originally created by others--the Linux operating system, MySQL database, and WebKit browser engine, for example.

But it also releases some of its own software as open source, including its Android operating system, Chrome Web browser, Chrome OS browser-based operating system, and, planned for the summer of 2011, the software for the new Google TV project, which was announced last week at the Google I/O conference.

Also at the conference, Google open-sourced 18 fonts for use on Web pages. And, more significantly given the technical and legal obstacles, Google released royalty-free, open-source software for Web video called WebM.

Releasing open-source software can significantly undermine the value of a company's asset, making it harder to license to others for a fee and letting potential competitors use that software. But the move also can make strategic sense, for example when an open-source project helps to broadly advance a market a company is interested in or when it undermines a rival's proprietary software.

Originally posted at Deep Tech