A Chinese website, PCBeta.com, presents some screenshots of the latest Windows 8 build 8220. The build is a near copy of Windows 8 Consumer Preview which confirms the Start button removal and transparent Charms bar that offer same functionality and access to search, settings, share, devices and start screen.

Here are some screenshots taken from PCBeta.com:

Microsoft continues to develop mobile apps for its competition’s platform. After releasing mobile app of Kinectimals, SkyDrive, Lync and OneNote for Apple iOS, Microsoft announced today that they are bringing its customer relationship management (Dynamics CRM) software to iOS and Android platform in the next release.

“In today’s hyperconnected world, customers need to be able to access their business-critical data on the device of their choice from wherever they are,” Dynamics CRM General Manager, Dennis Michalis, said in a statement.

The new release of Dynamics CRM will support Apple iOS powered devices (iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch), Android, BlackBerry and of course its own Windows Phone operating system.

With the mobile handsets and tablets growing rapidly, and the trends that Microsoft porting its applications to mobile platforms I am really sure one day they will also bring the great Microsoft Office to iOS, Android and BlackBerry OS. [via]

The white variant of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus will land in the United Kingdom starting from February 13th next week. Though people call it white Galaxy Nexus, it isn’t totally white color in real. The white color is only for the back cover of the Nexus while the front color remains in black.

The white Galaxy Nexus is powered by 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and features HSPA+ / LTE 4G connectivity. With the white color in the back cover, it looks nicer and snowy, right?

Press Release

SAMSUNG LAUNCHES THE GALAXY NEXUS WHITE

Samsung’s latest Android device coming to UK shores 13th February

6th February 2012, London, UK – Samsung has today confirmed the availability of a white variant of the Galaxy Nexus in the UK. The first smartphone to feature Android™ 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, the Galaxy Nexus White can be bought in a range of stores across the country from 13th February.

Simon Stanford, UK & IRE Telecommunications & Networks Division said: “After much speculation, we are pleased to announce the availability of the Galaxy Nexus White which follows the great reception the phone has received since it was launched back in November. One of the things we at Samsung pride ourselves on is the choice we offer customers, and we’ve enjoyed huge success to date by introducing white variants of our most popular models to our product portfolio.”

The Galaxy Nexus™ White offers customers all the features found in the original Galaxy Nexus, from the 4.65” HD Super AMOLED display which boasts a market-leading resolution of 720p (1280×720), to the 5 megapixel camera and super-fast 1.2GHz dual core processor and HSPA+ connectivity so owners can connect to and browse the internet quickly and easily when they’re out and about.

As the first smartphone to run on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, the Galaxy Nexus White offers customers an entirely new look and feel, including a redesigned user interface with improved multi-tasking, notifications, Wi-Fi hotspot, NFC support and a full web browsing experience. In addition to a rounded slim design, the Galaxy Nexus White also introduces new innovations such as ‘Face Unlock’, which uses facial recognition to unlock the phone. Whilst integration with Google+™ means owners can easily stay in touch with friends and family and talk over Google+ Messenger.

Source: Engadget

We know that the Facebook’s video calling feature is powered by Skype. When you chat with your Facebook friends, there’s a video calling icon in the top of the chat area then if you press the icon will start the video calling feature. Skype powers this Facebook’s video calling feature.

Microsoft just recently added a new feature in the new version of Skype (version 5.8.0.154) which allows users to conduct a Facebook-to-Facebook video call directly from within the Skype client. At present this feature is only available on Windows version. The Mac version is coming soon.

To start a Facebook-to-Facebook call, you need to connect your Skype client and Facebook account so you can see your Facebook friends from within the Skype client. Select an online Facebook friend and hit the video call button to start video calling your friend.

A list of features available in Skype for Windows version 5.8.0.154:

• Full HD video-calling
• Support for Facebook audio and video-calling (beta)
• Group screen sharing
• Hide offline Facebook contacts
• Push to Talk
• Skype updater service
• Bing Bar integration

You can download the new version of Skype for Windows from Skype download page.

After being successful launch in Europe with more than 1 million devices sold, Nokia is preparing to launch the first Nokia Windows Phone – the Nokia Lumia 800 – in Australia starting from March. The handset will be sold in Australia through Optus, Telstra, Vodafone and all major retailers around the country.

According to Managing Director of Nokia Australia, Chris Carr, he said:

Nokia Lumia will change the way people think about Nokia.  It signifies a new beginning for the company, bringing together the very best of Nokia’s handset design and services with the latest Windows Phone software. Interest locally for Nokia Lumia, our first range of Nokia with Windows Phone devices, has been extremely positive, with a significant appetite from operators and retailers looking to offer consumers a real smartphone alternative. With uptake from all Australian operators and major retailers, the launch of the Nokia Lumia 800 signals our intent to regain leadership in smartphone design and usability.

If you are an Australian who is waiting for the Lumia 800 to be available in your country, you must be happy to hear this news. [via]

I guess that you are using Firefox 9 (precisely 9.0.1) right now since it is the latest table version of Firefox browser.

Browser competition has become harder with Google Chrome rapidly growing and the statisticians earlier this month announced that Chrome was now the world’s second most popular browser in the world after Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Firefox was in number 3.

To gain more users or to fight with Chrome browser, Mozilla just silently released the upcoming Firefox 10. According to the change log, the latest version brings some extension management improvements, anti-aliasing for WebGL, hidden forward button until you navigate back, full screen APIs to build a full screen web application, and CSS3 3D-Transforms support.

The Firefox 10 also introduces new version of Firefox Extended Support Release (ESR) which is for use by enterprise, universities, public institutions, and other organizations. The release of ESR will occur once a year, providing these kind of organizations with a version of Firefox that receives security updates but doesn’t make changes to the Web.

Download Firefox 10: For Windows (.exe) | For Mac (.dmg)

If you own an HP / Compaq notebook or laptop with a built-in camera, you need a software to capture a photo of you directly using the built-in camera.

The HP MediaSmart Webcam software is the best choice for you. It enables you to get the most out of your laptop’s built-in camera, with useful functions like photo editing, photo uploading and sharing via YouTube or other social networks.

The version 4.2.3303 of this HP MediaSmart Webcam fixes an issue where the HP MediaSmart Webcam Software stops responding when uploading photos to Snapfish. It also fixes an issue where the HP MediaSmart Webcam Software stops responding (crashes) when uploading photos to Snapfish using the “Create a new album” function.

This software is designed for Windows 7 32-bit / Windows 7 64-bit. To get the software you can download it directly from HP’s FTP server below.

Direct download link: HP MediaSmart Webcam 4.2.3303

The immediate update of PHP 5.3.9 had been officially released. The new release focuses on improving stability of the PHP 5.3.x branch which fixed more than 90 bugs. Some of them are security related bug fixes. All users are strongly encouraged to upgrade to PHP 5.3.9.

According to the release announcement, here are the list key features and enhancements available in the PHP 5.3.9:

• Added max_input_vars directive to prevent attacks based on hash collisions. (CVE-2011-4885)
• Fixed bug #60150 (Integer overflow during the parsing of invalid exif header). (CVE-2011-4566)
• Fixed bug #55475 (is_a() triggers autoloader, new optional 3rd argument to is_a and is_subclass_of).
• Fixed bug #55609 (mysqlnd cannot be built shared)
• Many changes to the FPM SAPI module

For more details about the changes can be found in the Changelog. You can download the source file from the PHP download page.

Nokia just recently unveiled the Lumia 900, the most anticipated and the first Nokia’s LTE capable phone in International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2012 event held in Las Vegas, United States. AT&T will distribute the device around the country.

Check out the Nokia Lumia 900 first looks and hands-on after the break!

Chanse Arrington, Nokia North America

Nokia CES press conference: Stephen Elop, the Nokia CEO, unveiled the Nokia Lumia 900

First Look: Nokia Lumia 900 at 2012 CES

I think Nokia Lumia 900 is a great OS on an awesome device bringing it to be a superphone.

Just got a notification in my BlackBerry Curve 9300 that a new update of BlackBerry Messenger is now available for download. It’s updated to version 6.1.0.49.

The new update adds several new cool features as follows:

• Support for Animated Avatars – display pictures can now be animated!
• Enjoy a new selection of Emoticons
• Double the space to update your Personal Messages
• Customize the color of chat bubbles for your contacts
• Simpler display picture update from the camera app – snap a picture and display it on BBM right away

This BBM update should be automatically delivered to your device. If not, you can check it manually.

NOTE: It is better to BACK UP your contact list before updating to the new version to avoid losing your contact though I didn’t experience any problems while updating.

You can download the update directly from your device or via App World.