(Credit: Rdio)

Music subscription service Rdio first gained attention back in June when Kazaa founders originally announced it as their latest foray into the digital music space. The service got official a couple months later with a Web service and apps for Android and iOS devices. Today, Rdio added one mobile OS to the mix: Windows Phone 7.

Much like Slacker for Windows Phone 7, Rdio is designed in deference to the operating system. As such, it, too, has a very Zune-like interface--I'm beginning to sense a theme here. As far as music apps are concerned, Rdio competes much more directly with the Zune Pass service. However, it may have a leg up in pricing: Rdio is $9.99 per month, whereas Zune Pass is still $14.99. The latter includes 10 MP3 download-to-own tracks each month, though, which does add value.

Other than that difference, Rdio and Zune Pass operate in much the same way. You can listen to all the music you want from a multimillion-song catalog, and download tracks and playlists directly to your device for offline playback. Both also offer social elements that serve to recommend new music. Zune Pass still might have a bit of an edge, though: it's native to Windows and offers a larger catalog as of press time.

Originally posted at Dialed In

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

Skype pushed out an update to Skype for Android today, its VoIP telephony app for Android smartphones.

Skype for Android 1.0.1 makes a number of changes based on its user feedback, which has been lukewarm overall. Among the bug fixes are support for 320x240-pixel (QVGA) and 240x400-pixel screen resolutions, support for the hardware "back" button, and behavior that exits Skype when you sign out.

In addition, Skype has made its installer smaller and has done some work to improve stability and decrease power consumption while idling.

However, some known issues remain. For instance, Skype.com links won't automatically open in the native browser for Android 2.0 and 2.1 phones and speakerphone issues for some phones in the Galaxy S series. The full list is here.

Originally posted at Android Atlas

(Credit: Slacker)

Slacker Radio, the intuitive online music player that lets you stream a variety of preprogrammed and custom-made radio stations, has been churning out apps for mobile devices for a while now, with the first one coming to Blackberry devices in early 2009. Of course, in the quickly evolving cell phone space, staying relevant means making sure you've got new apps for the latest and greatest mobile operating systems, and right now, the latest is Windows Phone 7.

We got a preview of Slacker for Windows Phone 7 back in October, but the app was officially launched for the OS today. The guts aren't very different from any of the other Slacker mobile apps: the service is free; the app displays album art, artist bios, and reviews along with standard track info; you get more than 130 crafted stations and as many customized stations as you care to make; and you can heart and ban tracks as well skip up to six tracks in an hour. There's also the option to upgrade to Plus, which gets rid of the skip limits and ads, provides complete song lyrics, and allows mobile-device caching for offline playback.

However, the actual look and feel of Slacker for Windows Phone 7 is quite a bit different than any of the other apps. It's very Zune-like, for lack of a better word. You can scroll through all the menus from left to right, and the featured music section looks much like the QuickPlay area of the Zune, with "pinned" album art. The image above does the interface more justice than any words can, really. All in all, it's smooth and easy to use, though the scrolling is a bit too swift for my tastes. Of course, that is probably due to the actual Windows 7 device and not the app.

Slacker is now available for free in the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace.

Originally posted at Dialed In

Taptu started off as a mobile search solution aimed at helping users filter appropriate content for small-screened devices. It first appeared several years ago as a simple search portal on Web-capable phones, and then as an app for the iOS just last year. The folks over at Taptu have always had touch screens in mind while developing the interface for their apps. Today, they aim to make that even more apparent with My Taptu, an entertainment-centric app updated for both Android and iOS devices.

My Taptu for Android.

(Credit: Taptu)

The main goal of My Taptu is to provide users with entertainment on-the-go while filtering out content that is not optimized for a mobile device. It accomplishes this by pulling in specific RSS feeds that are made for small screens, but if you search for something that doesn't have a mobile-optimized feed, the app will actually take full-size pages and compress them into a smaller format. The app is also designed to help you avoid information overload by letting you pick and choose exactly what info you want to pull in.

When you first launch My Taptu, you're greeted with a single screen that has a variety of prepopulated streams, such as "Food & Drink" and "Tech & Gadgets." (There's also a MyTaptu section, which provides handy tips for using the app--this is a good place to start.) Under each heading is a row of cards displaying a condensed bit of information--an article headline and photo, for example. You can swipe up and down to scroll through rows, or left and right to scroll through cards. If you want to edit a row, there's an "Options" button that lets you delete, move, share, or update it. (Shaking your device will also update cards.)

Adding a new topic is as simple as tapping the plus symbol at the top of the screen. This takes you to the StreamStore where you can choose from a variety of popular feeds or search for a specific one via the search box at the top of the screen. The feeds come in two varieties: single, which pulls from a specific site (such as CNET), and mixed, which brings in content from a variety of sites under a particular topic (such as politics). Currently, the mixed streams are populated only by Taptu, but the service plans to add a feature where users can make their own mixes, kind of like a playlist for content. You will then be able to share these lists with other users as well.

Once you click on a card, the amount of info provided depends on the feed. Some have just a headline while others provide a photo and blurb as well. Every page has a link back to the Web site that allows you to read the full story. You can also flip through the cards from this page, as well as bookmark and share articles via Facebook, Twitter, and more. It's also worth mentioning that the cards are all automatically cached so that you can still access some content while offline.

My Taptu is currently available in iTunes and the Marketplace and is totally free. As of press time, it's not even ad-supported, so now is the perfect time to check it out.

Originally posted at Android Atlas

Google has begun work on a feature to let Chrome load pages before they're needed, the latest instance of the company's relentless focus on Web performance.

The work, described briefly in the Chrome issue tracker, said the project to "pre-load pages in background tabs for 'wicked fast' page loads" is scheduled to arrive in the browser's code base in February. The very early stages of work has begun: support for an eventual option to enable testing the feature through Chrome's "about:flags" interface.

With Chrome's tabbed browsing interface, multiple pages can be loaded into separate memory compartments simultaneously. A background tab, presumably, is one that's in use but hidden from the user interface. When a person clicks on a preloaded Web page, the browser could simply activate the page rather than load it.

One tricky part of the technology is of course deciding which pages, or fractions of pages, to preload and when to purge unread pages from memory. Some Web pages have dozens of links, and some browser users have dozens of active tabs open.

Another complication: artificial inflation of page-view statistics on the Web. Analytics tools will have to be able to distinguish between a "real" page view and a preload. A related analytics complication is registering when a preloaded page is activated. Apple Safari's 3D interface for showing a thumbnail array of recently used Web pages brought similar complications.

Through a process called DNS prefetching, Chrome already tackles some potentially slow networking chores before Web pages are clicked. And Google has many other fast-Web projects under way, including a technology called False Start to speed encrypted Web pages, rewiring Web server communications with the SPDY protocol, support for the WebP image format as an alternative to JPEG, and switching to the libjpeg-turbo library for when JPEG images need to be drawn.

Originally posted at Deep Tech

Arguably one of the best screen capture programs for Windows is now available on the Mac. TechSmith's Snagit has a long history with Windows fans as a highly flexible and feature-rich tool for quickly grabbing visual info on your screen. The software's main strength is that it offers a number of tools for adding graphics--like arrows, boxes, and thought and speech balloons--to call out specific areas on the screen. When you're finished with a capture, you can quickly add the project to a presentation, just about any document, or send the screen capture through e-mail. One of the first questions we often hear after someone makes the switch from Windows to Mac is, "What do you use for screen captures on the Mac that's like Snagit?" Until now, it was a difficult one to answer.

Choose between a basic screen capture or All-in-One for full-page or region capture options.

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

Snagit for Mac, available today, was built from the ground up for Mac OS X and it's easy to see that TechSmith has done its homework (largely through listening to users during a long beta testing period). An elegant and useful drawer-like interface element lets you mouse over a small tab on the side of your screen and quickly get to the screen capture tools you need. Before you capture your image, you get a few options for how you want the capture to look (an entire scrollable Web page or just a region of the screen, for example).

Once you have captured the information you want, you can switch to the main interface window, which offers tools for adding arrows to point out specific elements, inserting speech balloons, drawing shapes and lines, and highlighters. You can choose from a huge library of "Stamps," which are an assortment of small, stylized graphics that can give your screen captures more character and call out the action in a fun and visually pleasing way. When you want to add even more style to your finished product, you can use the Effects tab to give your image an interesting border or even create a 3D looking image using the perspective effect. Snagit also makes it easy to browse through past captures with a scrollable navigation area across the bottom of the interface.

Snagit for Mac (photos)

Many of us at Download.com use Snagit daily for product screenshots and full Web page captures to show specific elements on the screen. This version for Mac, though not as feature rich as the Windows version, finally gives Mac users an easy way to take and manage screen captures. We were hoping that the Mac version would come with screencast options like those of the Windows version, but it didn't. TechSmith says that feature is not far off and that we should look for it in upcoming releases. The new Mac version also will not have text capture, library tagging, capture profiles (for creating standardized captures), Flash Hotspots, and other minor features found in the Windows version, but all should become available in later updates.

From the editor you can easily add arrows and call out specific areas of the screen. Use stamps to make your project more lively.

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

Snagit for Mac is available today for $49.95, which gives you both the Mac and Windows versions of the software. According to TechSmith, many computer users have different computers at work and at home so offering both versions makes it easier to cover the widest swath of people. The company has set up this pricing model so that current Snagit 10 users on Windows get the Mac version for free, or if a Windows user has an earlier version of Snagit, they can upgrade and get both versions for an upgrade price of $24.95.

Also, for a limited time, TechSmith is holding a contest for those who get the word out about Snagit for Mac. Whether you "Like" it on Facebook, become a follower on Twitter, or any other action TechSmith has listed, you'll be entered to win prizes, which run from gift certificates all the way up to a MacBook Pro. Each action to get the word out about Snagit is a separate entry into the contest, so the more the better! Check out the "Snagit is my..." giveaway.

The new Opera Mobile Android beta isn't the same as Opera Mini for Android.

(Credit: Screenshot by Jessica Dolcourt/CNET)

Opera Software just unveiled Opera Mobile 10.1 beta for Android tonight, but we've had a chance to play around with a prerelease version for several days. Opera has already had a presence on Android phones in the form of Opera Mini, a Java-based proxy browser that delivers Web pages fed through Opera's servers. Opera Mobile, by contrast, is a standalone HTML browser that can request, render, and display Web content independently of Opera's servers.

On the front end, the two apps look identical, down to the log-in screen and license agreement you'll have to accept before you can begin browsing. Opera Mini 5 and Opera Mobile 10.1 beta both have tabbed browsing, and a signature nine-entry "speed dial" for storing favorite sites. There's also a password keeper, long-press context menus, and support for Opera Link, Opera's service for syncing bookmarks, favorites, notes, and browser history across Opera browsers.

Opera Mobile renders the heavy CNET.com Web site in desktop mode by default, but the beta won't support Adobe Flash.

(Credit: Screenshot by Jessica Dolcourt/CNET)

Mobile versus Mini
Despite the similarities, there are a couple of significant differences between the two Android browsers. Opera Mini is usually the faster of the two browsers, a move that hearkens back to Opera's days making browsers move quickly on feature phones with slow processors and slow data connections. As a result, Opera's servers compress Web page data; this assures that pages load in a timely manner, but it also reduces text and image resolution quality. Besides that, there's no Flash support.

Opera Mobile, on the other hand, renders images (using its Presto rendering engine) with more clarity. If the browser seems too sluggish for your tastes, you can engage Opera Turbo, Opera's compression engine, to essentially make Opera Mobile adopt Opera Mini's levels of compression and speed. Opera Mobile beta doesn't currently support Flash, although an Opera representative assured CNET that the release version will.

Naturally, we tried out Opera Mobile 10.1 beta and Opera Mini 5 side by side on Android phones. In addition to rendering more clearly, Opera Mobile displays the desktop version of CNET.com, whereas Opera Mini opts for the faster-loading mobile-optimized site, which is also lighter in content and imagery.

Opera Mini loaded m.cnet.com, CNET's mobile-optimized site, in about 4 seconds over 3G on the Samsung Transform for Sprint. It took Opera Mobile about 10 seconds to load the full version of CNET.com on the HTC Incredible using Verizon's 3G service. The difference in visual quality is apparent.

One internal test we always perform is how well a mobile browser identifies CNET's public Wi-Fi hot spot and processes its authentication page for use. Opera Mini, being a proxy browser, doesn't pass the test by definition of being something other than a standalone browser. Opera Mobile beta for Android identified an error but didn't give us a chance to accept the hot spot's terms, which means we had to use the stock Android browser to jump this hurdle before we could browse on Opera Mobile using local Wi-Fi. Hopefully this is something Opera will improve so users can surf on hot spots that require authentication, as do many in airports, cafes, and hotels.

Opera Mobile coming to Android (photos)

Why both browsers for Android?
Making Opera Mobile available alongside Opera Mini is interesting for a variety of reasons, especially in light of the confusing differences between the two, as far as most Android owners could be concerned. In the end, Opera's decision to offer both comes down to practicality. Opera could quickly port a version of its lighter Opera Mini proxy browser for use on Android while the company worked on the fuller Opera Mobile. Opera has not shared its future plans for keeping Opera Mobile versus Opera Mini in the Android Market, but it's possible that "Mobile" could one day replace "Mini."

Generally, Opera Mobile's rich interface makes it a comely option on any mobile platform; however, with such a deep bench of alternative Android browsers--like Dolphin Browser HD and now Firefox for Android beta with its browser add-ons--Opera is really going to have to offer something extra to get noticed. Interface design is always one point of personal preference, but Opera's speed and rendering crispness will also play a huge role as the app solidifies.

So will its ability to engage power Android users. Opera has a history of making its overhauled browser compatible with a mobile operating system, but without programming to the OS strengths. For instance, the Android Menu button does nothing on Opera Mobile, although pinch-to-zoom is now enabled.

Android 1.6 users and above can download the free Opera Mobile 10.1 beta for Android from the Android Market or http://m.opera.com/next. It's available in 18 languages: Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish. If you try it out, let us know what you think of the beta software at this stage in its development.

Related story: Browser underdog Opera fights for survival

Article updated 11/19/10 at 10:30am PT with more analysis.

Microsoft Security Essentials is being offered as a free download via the Microsoft Update service.

(Credit: Microsoft)

Two security software makers are complaining about Microsoft using its update service to deliver its free antivirus software to Windows users who don't have such protection on their computers.

No, it's not 1998. And we're talking about allowing customers to choose whether they want the software, rather than bundling a particular browser--say Internet Explorer--on Windows.

Microsoft began making its Security Essentials software available to customers through its Microsoft Update service as an optional download on November 1 for U.S. customers and October 19 for U.K. customers. It offers the download only to customers who do not have an antivirus solution that is detectable by Microsoft's Action Center.

"Despite the broad availability of anti-malware software, we still find that many consumer and small business PCs remain unprotected," the company said in a statement to CNET on Monday. By offering the free antivirus download, "we make it easy for those who want and know they need protection, but for whatever reason have not gotten around to installing it. Now they can download the software when they perform their other system updates without having to search the Web or make a special trip to the store."

Who can argue with a company offering people a free download of security software if they want it? Trend Micro and Panda Security, that's who. Executives from both companies claim the move is anticompetitive because Microsoft is leveraging its update service that downloads software to millions of Windows computers to plant its own antivirus software on systems.

"This will end up in action taken, especially in Europe," Panda Chief Executive Juan Santana told CNET in an interview on Friday afternoon. He stopped short of saying that Panda would lodge an official complaint. "We will monitor the situation," he said.

"Commercializing Windows Update to distribute other software applications raises significant questions about unfair competition," Carol Carpenter, general manager of the consumer and small business group at Trend Micro, told Computerworld late last week. "Windows Update is a de facto extension of Windows, so to begin delivering software tied to updates has us concerned," she said. "Windows Update is not a choice for users, and we believe it should not be used this way."

Reached for comment today, Trend Micro spokesman Alan Wallace told CNET that the company had no further comment beyond what was already reported.

Beyond the anticompetition concerns, Panda Security has other gripes. For instance, Pedro Bustamante, a senior research adviser at Panda, said Microsoft Security Essentials is insufficient protection compared with other free antivirus products that offer multiple layers of security such as Web filtering and behavior blocking. And from a global overall security perspective, Microsoft's plan is flawed because it will only get installed on computers with a valid license to run Windows and will thus leave millions of unlicensed computers unprotected, he wrote in a blog post today.

In addition, the move will create a "monoculture" with millions of computers running the same antivirus software. That means malicious hackers can infect all those machines if they are able to bypass only one antivirus program instead of having to get past multiple programs, Bustamante said.

"In summary, while it's commendable that Microsoft is trying to protect users, offering only 'their' basic MSE antivirus provides neither sufficient protection against today's threats nor does it solve the malware problem of millions upon millions of pirated PCs who will continue spreading viruses. In fact, it can easily achieve the contrary by making it easier for hackers to infect users," Bustamante wrote. "Microsoft should offer the complete portfolio of more advanced and secure alternatives of free antivirus products and time-limited versions of paid security suites, allowing users to choose any of them from the Optional Windows/Microsoft Update."

Several analysts dismissed Bustamante's arguments, as well as the antitrust concerns and said Microsoft's plan was a good thing for Internet security overall and offering any security protection was better than offering none at all.

"I think the vendors are simply complaining because Microsoft is the dominant vendor on PCs in the world," said Don Retallack, research vice president for systems management and security at Directions on Microsoft. "Other security vendors do offer a wider range of tools that go far beyond what Security Essentials provides...so I think there is still a place for other vendors and they're not being squeezed out."

"Microsoft is not bundling (its antivirus software) with the operating system. That's where the line typically is drawn with antitrust issues," said Neil MacDonald, a vice president and fellow at Gartner market research firm. "You could make an argument that it's in the best interest of consumers and the rest of the world to have more people protecting their machines. That's a good thing."

However, a colleague of his had a different take on the matter. Given Microsoft's history fighting antitrust claims, the company would be wise to avoid leveraging its Windows dominance to increase the market share for its other software or avoid even the mere appearance of doing so, said Gartner analyst John Pescatore.

"There is still sensitivity to that issue in Europe even if there isn't in the U.S. If it looks like they're using that solution to bundle in essentially a security program that competes with other players, then there are concerns," he said in an interview. "They still have huge competitive advantage."

Pescatore suggested that Microsoft add other antivirus software to its list of options for its update service. "They would be better off making sure they are helping people install any security software that's out there," he said. "I'm sure Panda and Trend Micro would be happy to participate."

A Microsoft spokeswoman did not immediately have comment to that suggestion or to the antitrust concerns.

Update Nov. 9 at 11:02 a.m. PST: Trend Micro provided an e-mail statement. "In principal, we welcome Microsoft or anyone else entering into the security market to provide more choice for customers -- even if it's just baseline protection. As we mentioned previously, our concern is about any mechanism or tactic that may obscure that choice for consumers. While techies may recognize the difference between "Microsoft Update and "Windows Update," many consumers may not be familiar with this distinction or see any difference between optional and recommended updates from Microsoft."

Originally posted at InSecurity Complex