Ice Cream Sandwich ROM comes to HTC Sensation. Rooting unavoidable.

Want a taste of Android latest dessert Ice-Cream Sandwich on your HTC Sensation, here it is in the form of a custom ROM. The ROM comes skinned with the ever-so-popular Sense UI at its latest release Sense 3.5 which somewhat covers up all the visual candies ICS has for us. Face Unlock is among the many new features working in this ROM. Since this is still in its beta stage, don't expect things to be sunshine and roses while using this ROM. You may download the ROM and other required files at the XDA thread. Head on past the break for some screen shots.

Leaked Windows 8 builds reveal Windows Store and its logo

Microsoft is working on something along those lines to deliver in Windows 8. In fact, some of the bits are already in place in the leaked Windows 8 builds which have been shared on private FTP servers and torrent sites around the Web.

As spotted by some Russian enthusiasts who were digging around in the system folders in the Windows 8 Milestone 3 build, a handful of folders exist which confirm the early stages of the Windows Store. On your Windows desktop, the store will be comprised of several components, including a runtime module, service, and licensing client — each of which is called out in a folder name.

The Windows Store logo is also hiding within the Windows 8 files, though it’s just a 24 by 24 pixel .PNG. The above is a photoshop image. It’s fairly consistent with Microsoft’s other logos, with its multiple stacked squares and rounded corners. Two .HTML pages are also nestled away amongst the files, and based on the font used on the error page it’s safe to assume that the Metro design language will once again be front and center in the Windows Store.


SOURCE  Geek.com

LG's MeeGo smartphone and tablet prototypes to be demonstrated next month

You may have written off MeeGo handsets after Nokia all but abandoned the OS -- LG hasn't. While the company doesn't have any "definitive plans" to release a MeeGo smartphone commercially yet, LG is willing to show off some ports of MeeGo on multiple prototypes, including tablets and smartphones, at next month's MeeGo conference in San Francisco. With any luck, LG will use the spotlight to announce its intentions, proper like, and make a MeeGo handset running Intel silicon a retail reality in 2011 .


VIA  Engadget
SOURCE  Meego Experts

Ubuntu 11.04 'Natty Narwhal' brings new Unity UI, controversy to the desktop

It's April, the fourth month of the year, and that means it's time for a new Ubuntu release. (This also true of the tenth month of the year -- those Canonical folks like to keep busy.) Ubuntu 11.04, or Natty Narwhal as the kids are calling it, is here and packing some significant changes from earlier editions of the Linux distro. The most obvious being the arrival of the Unity desktop environment, which was previously relegated to netbooks. It's got integrated search, a combination launcher and taskbar, and app menus that have been moved to the top of the screen à la OS X -- basically it's harvested the best ideas from Apple and Microsoft and splashed a pretty coat of aubergine paint on it. The new UI is not without its detractors and reportedly has some stability issues, but you can always choose "Ubuntu Classic" to stick with Gnome. The update also makes Firefox 4 the default browser and replaces the Rhythmbox music manager with the sleeker and more functional Banshee. Hit up the source link to download the 700MB ISO -- it's free and you can try it without installing, so what's there to lose?


VIA  Engadget
SOURCE  Ubuntu

Photoshop Touch apps and SDK extend desktop functionality to iPad and other tablets

Any discussion about Adobe and the iPad seems to always devolve into a Flash vs. HTML5 debate. For today at least, Adobe's hoping to temporarily refocus the conversation on a trio of new tools that extend desktop Photoshop functionality to the iPad via native iOS apps. First up is Adobe Eazel, an iPad drawing app that lets you create a five-fingered painting on the iPad before transferring it back over WiFi to the Photoshop application running on your Mac or PC. Adobe Nav turns the iPad into a Photoshop companion device by extending live controls and menu bars from the Photoshop workspace to the iPad's display. Finally, there's Adobe Color Lava which turns the iPad into a hi-tech color mixing palette. Of course, these are just the first in what Adobe hopes to be a full range of Photoshop extensions hitting app stores just as soon as devs get their talents around Adobe's Photoshop Touch programming tools (consisting of a Photoshop scripting engine and enhanced SDK) for Android, BlackBerry, and iOS devices (available for Mac and Windows platforms today). Expect to see the Eazel, Color Lava, and Nav Photoshop Touch apps arrive next month -- alongside the 5.5 update to Adobe's Creative Suite (and free Photoshop update for CS owners) expected on May 3rd -- with prices ranging from $1.99 to $4.99. Until then, why not feast your eyes on a video preview posted after the break?

Samsung to release two Bada 2.0 handsets with NFC in Q4, software update in July?

Some of you Samsungers are probably anticipating the snazzy Wave 578 due out in May or June outside the US, but the sad news is it won't be shipped with the upcoming Bada 2.0 OS. Fret not, though, as Russian blog Bada World claims to have obtained some juicy details that'll cheer up Bada fanatics. The above slide -- apparently sourced from a Samsung France conference from a few days ago -- lists a pair of new but unnamed handsets that'll pack the new software, along with 7.2Mbps HSDPA, Bluetooth 3.0, and the seemingly trendsetting NFC. The difference between these two phones? One of them appears to be the flagship Bada 2.0 model, which expects a September launch with a 3.65-inch HVGA display, a 5 megapixel main camera, plus a VGA secondary camera. The second device will follow a month later, sporting a smaller 3.14-inch QVGA screen and just a 3 megapixel imager.

In related news, TNW India reports that Bada 2.0 will be "first experienced in India" around July, though no hardware is mentioned here. This could imply that existing Bada users in India -- where Samsung's R&D develops 30 percent of Bada applications -- may be one of the first to obtain the 2.0 update, and it shouldn't be long before the rest of the world get their share of this piping hot pie. Anyhow, be rest assured that we'll keep our eyes peeled open for more Bada 2.0 news -- it'll be interesting to see where Samsung's next big push will take us.


VIA  Engadget
SOURCE  Bada World, TNW India