nightlybuilds
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CyanogenMod 10.2 nightlies arrive, offer an unofficial taste of Android 4.3
Official Android 4.3 upgrades are currently few and far between, but you won't have to wait for one if you're willing to experiment -- the first CyanogenMod 10.2 nightly builds have arrived. As of this writing, those with Samsung's Captivate, Galaxy S Relay 4G or AT&T Galaxy S III can install the unofficial firmware to take advantage of 4.3's new features. Just be aware that you're taking more risks than usually exist with such firmware; this is an early release of unsanctioned code, after all. If that's no deterrent, the first releases of CyanogenMod 10.2 await at the source link.
Firefox Retina display support almost here
TechCrunch is reporting that Firefox has inserted support for Apple's Retina display into its nightly builds, which means the official release will be in the public's hands very soon. Unfortunately, "very soon" in this case may mean "not soon enough" for many users -- while the Aurora release of this build should be out next week, the stable release might not be until January 2013. That may be too long for some users, especially since Safari supported the Retina display on day one (because it's made by Apple, of course), and Chrome released support for Retina earlier this year. If you'd rather stick with Firefox and can't wait, though, you can get access to the "nightly build" releases (which still include features currently being tested) on Firefox's website. It's too bad we've had to wait so long for this, but diehard Firefox users will probably be happy to hear full support is on its way.
CyanogenMod 10 now available in 'M-Series' monthly builds
If keeping up with those CyanogenMod 10 nightly builds was hard work, or just a little too bleeding-edge, then you might be interested to hear about the introduction of "M-Series" releases for CM10. Once a month, the team will release a more stable version for your downloading pleasure, though they are also keen to point out they will be available under the experimental tag. The list of handsets that will get the new builds includes variants of the Galaxy Nexus, Galaxy S, Galaxy SIII, Nexus S, Nexus 7, Galaxy Note and Sony Xperia S. Support for more phones is promised, but for now, head over to the official site for the comprehensive list and a link to the downloads.
XBMC for Android available in nightly builds for that risky media fix
We only just learned in earnest that XBMC was coming to Android last month, and yet we're already looking at workable builds. Kermonine96 at the XDA-Developers forum has started offering his own, unofficial nightly versions of the media center front end, both for regularly supported devices with Neon processor code (most often HTC and Samsung devices) as well as Neon-free hardware, like phones and tablets carrying Tegra 2 chips. Needless to say, the alpha-grade code shouldn't be used as the heart of a mobile media center: hardware decoding isn't functional, battery life is low and even a stable picture isn't guaranteed. That said, anyone who's willing to risk a skip-heavy movie or miss out on plugins now doesn't have to receive the XBMC crew's blessing to get a preview of its Android efforts.
CyanogenMod nightlies reach Samsung Galaxy S III, Nature UX critics unite
Let's say you're a fan of the quad-core processor and giant screen of the international Galaxy S III, but Samsung's Nature UX just leaves you feeling cold. Thankfully, the first CyanogenMod 9 nightly builds have arrived to warm you up. They both bring the OS closer to the official Android Open Source Project version while adding the extras that we've seen before, such as theme support, an audio equalizer and gesture shortcuts on the lock screen. Nightlies are well away from becoming polished releases, so don't be surprised if your Galaxy S III goes awry -- the team is already advising starting from a completely blank slate. But if that desire to get more control over the OS is still strong enough to throw at least a slight amount of caution to the wind, the source will provide all the downloads and details needed to give Samsung's interface the boot.
XBMC audio engine gets big rewrite, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio hit your media hub
Fans of XBMC who've wanted their HTPCs to replace the higher-end components of a home theater setup, like Blu-ray players and higher-end receivers, are having their wishes fulfilled through a completely reworked sound system. AudioEngine, as it's called, can processevery stage of audio encoding and decoding, even with 7.1-channel formats like Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. As the code uses more precise floating point math, the improvements can bolster heavily compressed audio and allow for upmixing from stereo to a native surround format. Sound should sync more closely to video and avoid any jarring interruptions from system sounds, too. The AudioEngine update is still limited to experimental nightly builds of XBMC, so don't be surprised if something goes awry, but it's slated as part of the main development track and should be a boon for just about any XBMC media junkie before long.
Firefox deems favicons risky, banishes them from address bar
Who'd have thought those tiny reminders of the site you're browsing could bite your backside? Apparently Mozilla did, and with its latest nightly Firefox build it has expunged favicons from their eternal perch just left of the URL. The problem is that instead something friendly -- like Google's famous "g" -- nefarious sites can use a padlock or similar image, making you think you're on a secure SSL page. So, starting from mid-July you'll see a generic globe for standard websites, green padlocks for SSL sites with validation, and gray padlocks for SSL sites without it. Take note that (so far) tabs will keep their favicons, so those of us with 43 sites open at the same time will still know where in the web we are.
Hexxeh adds a splash of lime to Chromium OS, brings extra hardware and plugin support
The open source version of Google's Chrome OS just got a zesty refresh. Capable of being housed in a mere USB stick, the latest image improves on Hexxeh's Vanilla release with hardware support for more WiFi models and NVIDIA 6 series GPUs and above. It will still benefit from regular updates to the latest Chromium build, while this Lime flavor arrives with full Java support and the promise of more plugins soon. The maker is also willing to accept suggestions for future device support. Chromium obsessives with hardware compatibility woes can try getting in touch at the source below.
Firefox for Honeycomb nightly builds now available for the brave beta testing few
"Boot to Gecko" this is not, but it's still a tasty morsel for the beta testing hordes. Mozilla's mobile group, which has been hard at working translating its popular browser to Android slates, appears ready to dole out the first downloads of its UI-in-progress. The team's begun reaching out to its user community, offering up nightly builds of the tablet-based Fennec and soliciting feedback testing. If you're the type to get your hands dirty coding, you can even sign-up to help the crew debug the early stage browser and speed up its official release. Feel like taking a crack at Firefox for Honeycomb? Then hit up the source below to preview the in-development goods.
Thanks to Hexxeh, you're just a few clicks away from trying out the latest Chromium build
Chromium is the fully open source flavor of Google's Chrome OS, which has the potential to do for netbooks what Android has done for smartphones. Or, it could be yet another little operating system that generates some buzz before zipping off into the sunset. If you'd like to make up your own mind on the subject before it sees full release to the masses it's a lot easier thanks to Hexxeh. We've already sampled the wares of intrepid image meister, but now he's automated the process on his end, meaning the latest builds of Chromium magically turn themselves into images for your enjoyment. He calls it the ChromiumOS Vanilla Nightly Builds page and, after a quick download and an extraction to a spare thumb drive, you too could be rocking the freshest version of this little OS.
ADC on using nightly WebKit builds
Last year we blogged about the availability of nightly WebKit builds (WebKit being the HTML rendering engine that Apple uses in OS X and has made available to the Open Source community). The Apple Developer Connection has an article up explaining what nightly builds are and why you might want to use them. The long and the short of it being that if you are a developer using WebKit to power your app (or widget) nightly builds give you a chance to see the changes in WebKit before they become part of the OS.[via Surfin' Safari]
NightShift
Now that you have cleared up some room on your hard drive, why not clutter it up with some nightly WebKit builds? What's WebKit? Why, it is the HTML engine that makes Safari work, and that is baked into OS X. It has an active developer community that issues nightly builds, for those that want to be on the cutting edge.I know what you're thinking, 'But I don't want to have to go to the WebKit site and FTP a new build every night.' That's where NightShift comes it. This little application will automatically download the latest build of WebKit and place it in your Applications folder (or wherever you want it to place it).NightShift is donationware, so chip in a few bucks if you find yourself using it all the time.
