The VideoLAN organization has released a new build of VLC Media Player for OS X. The version 1.1.0-rc of the player has been updated with numerous changes and fixes, including a major reworking of the VLCKit framework, CoreText-based text renderer for subtitles, and support for new codecs and enhanced features of current codecs.

More specifically, the new release includes the following new features:

1. GPU and DSP decoding, depending on the platform
2. Faster and more stable
3. New codecs and HD codecs enhancements
4. Webm and VP8 support
5. MKV, mp4 and avi improvements
6. Extensions
7. Important code cleanup and rewrite
8. Interface and playlist reworked

In brief testing, I played two H.264-encoded QuickTime movie files in both the previous version 1.0.5, and the current release candidate to see the CPU usage differences. For the smaller of the two files, version 1.0.5 of VLC used about 16.5% of the CPU to play the file, whereas the current version uses around 12.5%. For the larger movie, version 1.0.5 takes about 35-40% of the CPU, and version 1.1 takes around 26-30% at the same scenes.

This is a decent improvement in performance, so lets hope it scales to various codecs and more complex and enhanced encoding schemes as well.

The player is freely available for download from VLC's website (see the News section below the current 1.0.5 download link), and is highly recommended by us as one of several alternatives and enhancements to Apple's QuickTime (MPlayer OS X Extended and the QuickTime Plugin "Perian" being some others). Keep in mind that this is a release candidate, which means it has left the "Beta" status but is not yet an official release. As a result it may have one or two quirks, but the major issues with the development of this version have been tackled.

While the VideoLAN website will point you to the download for the 32-bit version of VLC by default, there is a 64-bit Intel and PowerPC version as well. These are available at the following download page: http://www.videolan.org/vlc/releases/1.1.0-RC.html

Recently there was news that the Mac development of VLC was basically dead, and that version 1.1 would be the last supported release on OS X. The problem was primarily the lack of interface developers for the program (though this version sports a slightly tweaked UI), so hopefully VideoLAN has been able to recruit a few Mac developers to continue this project. We would love to see VLC continue for the Mac well beyond version 1.1.

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Be sure to check us out on Twitter and the CNET Mac forums.

Originally posted at MacFixIt

Remember the fracas when Google launched Google Buzz this past February?

We described the desktop manifestation of Google's then-new social networking as a privacy nightmare that was aggravating to disable, and the mobile version of Google Buzz as a confusing service lacking in unity--though one that does have some use to social butterflies, especially those using Google Maps for mobile (video).

Since then, Google has changed some of its ways and continues to push Google Buzz as a social tool. On Thursday, Google announced a new version of Buzz online (buzz.google.com) that's written in XHTML and can be accessed in 37 languages from BlackBerry, Nokia Series 60, and Windows phones. You can also get to Buzz online from phones running version of Android earlier than 2.0. Previously, only Android 2.0+ and iPhone owners could update buzz online from their phones.

If you've got a BlackBerry, enabling location in the browser settings populates a geo-tagged list of the most recent Buzz posts nearby--though Google notes in its blog post that location may not work on all BlackBerry handsets.

Do you use Google Buzz? We've told you what we think; share your own two cents in the comments.

Android owners who use the IM and VoiP app Fring on their smartphones will now be able to place two-way video calls like their iPhone and Symbian S60 counterparts.

A Thursday update to Fring for Android 2.1 adds free video chatting as a method for reaching out. You'll recognize it by the blue icon of a camcorder now sitting alongside a chat bubble and telephone image when you tap a contact's name to initiate a conversation. As far as we know, this is a first for Android telephony.

Of course, there are a handful of caveats any time you're dealing with VoIP, mobile, and video. Fring's two-way mobile video calls work better on smartphones with high-performing CPUs. It will also only work when you're calling contacts through a service that already handles video chatting, and even then Fring is only as good as the service it taps into. Since Fring uses your phone's camera as the Webcam, you'll find the calling feature eminently more useful if you've got a phone with a front-facing camera, like Sprint's HTC Evo.

We gave video calls a test drive using Skype--whose Android app does not offer video calling--and found the experience to be variable. In our case, calls were better over 3G than Wi-Fi, and there were problems connecting and staying connected to our Skype contact, both when the recipient spoke from Fring for Android and from Skype on a laptop. Fring's Android app also didn't always broadcast our contact's Webcam, though it did trigger ours each time.

It's worth mentioning again that as with most VoIP apps, the many factors that go into an IP (Internet Protocol) call will make Fring's service better for some than for others, though that's no reason that Fring shouldn't strive for consistency, or for more clearly communicating tips and specs through the app.

We'll also note that the video capability in Fring 2.1 for Android makes it significantly weightier, jumping from 1.64MB to 3.02MB with the upgrade. Though Fring's video calls provide a unique service for Android users to get personal in their mobile calls, there's still room to grow, particularly when it comes to customizing video options (like resizing the windows, for instance) and managing chats while on a call.

Originally posted at Android Atlas

The latest version of Mozilla's e-mail client is just about ready for public use, as the software publisher releases the first release candidate for Thunderbird 3.1, codenamed Lanikai. Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux, Thunderbird 3.1 RC 1 makes few changes to from the previous Thunderbird beta. The new quick filter bar has added contact, tag, and attachment support, as well as the ability to pin a filter even as you switch folders. A far more minor tweak, folders with new messages are now highlighted by default in blue, instead of black.

The numerous bug-fixes include preventing specific, popular add-ons such as Gmail Conversation View from crashing the e-mail client, saving drafts when written in offline mode, and several critical stability fixes.

According to Mozilla's calendar, Lanikai remains on schedule for a June 1st release barring bugs discovered in the release candidate. The full change log for the release candidate can be read here.

Everything old is new again--or at least resurrected. This week's batch of new games includes an early arcade classic, the sequel to an early iPhone smash, and the martial-arts legend himself, Bruce Lee. Get your trigger fingers--er, screen thumbs--ready for all kinds of crazy action.

Bruce Lee Dragon Warrior 
This is a must-have for fans of fighting games, Bruce Lee brings incredibly fluid 3D motion capture to the experience. In other words, martial-arts smackdowns never looked so realistic. The game has five modes of play, including an interesting chapter-driven story mode. Alas, there's no multiplayer, at least for now, so you're stucking whooping AI butt. Price: $4.99.

Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 2 
The original Crash Bandicoot was among the first and most popular games for the iPhone. The sequel is more of the same kart-style racing on a dozen new tracks, but with one major improvement: multiplayer. Up to four players can compete online in three different race modes. That's a splendid addition, but is it worth $9.99? Come on, Activision, you know you'll end up dropping the price in a month or two anyway. Make this $4.99 and be done with it.

Karate Champ 
Karate Champ is one of my all-time favorite arcade games, this pixel-perfect recreation gets everything exactly right: the look, the sounds, and even the "upright arcade cabinet with dual joysticks." However, as with so many games, the controls can be frustrating. Sliding onscreen 'sticks is just no substitute for pounding the real deal. Plus, you can't resume a game from where you left off. Like the arcade version, if you walk away, you're done. On the plus side, there's local multiplayer! Price: $1.99.

Pillowfight Girls: Episode 1 
Bruce Lee and Karate Champ are so violent, aren't they? Must we glorify all that punching and kicking? That's why I prefer Pillowfight Girls, which is nothing but playful fun of the slumber-party variety. Deliver a "feathery beatdown" (my new favorite phrase of the entire English language) to one pillow-wielding challenger after another. Cheap thrills don't come much cheaper: the game's just 99 cents. Lingering question: "Episode 1"?!

Photo Shootout 
While we're on the subject of weird, borderline creepy games, Photo Shootout is a "pro photographer sim" in which you shoot three swimsuit models and then try to sell your photos at a profit, all so you can buy better gear. Actually, the game is as much about learning photography (aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and so on) as it is living the dream of being a model photographer. As a novice shutterbug, I'm actually learning a lot from Photo Shootout. It was a pleasant surprise. Price: $2.99.

Split/Second 
Released hot on the heels of the blazing-hot console game of the same name, Disney's Burnout-style racer offers a cool twist on the aging blast-your-way-to-the-finish formula: remote-control explosions that let you take out other drivers and open shortcuts. You earn these triggered takedowns as you drift, draft, and jump through each course. Icing on the cake: multiplayer, both local and online. Split/Second is $6.99.

What games are you playing this week? Personally, I'm still trying to break my Angry Birds addiction.

Originally posted at iPhone Atlas

Plenty of people like to demonize Microsoft, but the company is capable of doing the right thing, too, even if that might not help its bottom line. A case in point: giving away the keys that had locked up customers' own Outlook records.

Microsoft has been gradually opening up the PST file format that stores personal data such as e-mails, contacts, and calendar entries. The latest move, on Monday, was the release of two open-source tools to see the contents of PST files; Microsoft also has shared PST documentation and put the PST data under the Open Specification Promise, under which Microsoft won't sue a party using the information for patent infringement.

Sun Microsystems co-founder Scott McNealy was fond of harping on the "barriers to exit"--the difficulties a person or customer could have in extricating data or processes from a particular technology. He often raised the issue as a defense for why potential customers weren't flocking to Sun's products, but his idea has more than self-serving merit. Outlook is a great example.

Outlook can archive data in PST files automatically or export data on demand with the format, but until relatively recently, Outlook was the only tool that could read a PST file thus stored. That was a significant disincentive for the large number of people and corporations using Outlook and its associated Exchange Server software that might be considering moving their e-mail system elsewhere.

If there's any doubt what's at stake here for Microsoft abiding by its interoperability principles, here are two data points that arrived Wednesday.

First, Google announced a tool to let individuals move PST file contents to Gmail, though it's only available to those whose e-mail is run by Google Apps Premier or Education Edition. Previously, only administrators could initiate that PST data transfer.

Second, David Ascher, chief executive of Mozilla Messaging, showed his interest in "anyone experimenting with using this code in an add-on to make the process of importing all one's data from Outlook into Thunderbird."

So yes, Microsoft stands to lose if rivals can slurp up Outlook e-mail archives. So why give away the keys? Here's how Microsoft explained it in a statement:

"The industry as a whole benefits from tools and information that enhance interoperability with our most popular products. The .pst documentation makes it easier for products from other vendors to interoperate with Outlook data," said William Kennedy, corporate vice president, Office Communications and Forms, at Microsoft. "Customers are telling us they need greater interoperability, and we believe that welcoming competition and choice will create more opportunities for customers, partners and developers."

So apparently customers don't enjoy Microsoft keeping control over PST file data. That really good reason for Microsoft to open up the format.

Locking in customers is a recipe for ill will that has the potential to last for a long time. It's far healthier for a technology business to keep its customers with technology they want to use, rather than with technology it's artificially expensive to leave behind.

Originally posted at Deep Tech

Photoshop users like to expand what the software can do by downloading new brushes, gradients, and color swatches, but the ability to make those additions also turns out to have been a potential avenue for attack.

Adobe Systems on Wednesday released a Photoshop 11.0.2 security update to its earlier CS4 version of Photoshop for both Windows and Mac OS X versions to close off that avenue.

"Critical vulnerabilities have been identified in Photoshop CS4 11.0.1 and earlier for Windows and Macintosh that could allow an attacker who successfully exploits these vulnerabilities to take control of the affected system. A malicious .ASL, .ABR, or .GRD file must be opened in Photoshop CS4 by the user for an attacker to be able to exploit these vulnerabilities," Adobe said in an advisory. ASL, ABR, and GRD files refer to swatches, brushes, and gradients, respectively.

The newly released Photoshop CS5 is not vulnerable, Adobe added.

Originally posted at Deep Tech

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