Facebook 5.0 for Windows Phone released.

The Facebook app for Windows Phone is finally out of beta. The final and major upgrade has been published to the store and reaches version 5.0. This new version lets "you can post status updates, receive Live Tile updates, check your news feed, review upcoming events, check in to places, manage your inbox, upload photos, publish notes, accept friend requests, pin Places and Messages as Tiles, and look at your friends’ photos, walls and info."

Download: Windows Phone Store

Source: Windows Phone Blog

Liquid Daffodil brings unified notification center to Windows Phone 8 for free.

At long last Windows phone gets a notification center that will put an end to complaints of the lack thereof from foes and fans alike. The tiles are really great in providing apps update but it is a completely different story when it comes toasts notifications which appear briefly and can easily be missed if you're not looking at the screen at that time. Unless you stare continuously at your screen, it was impossible to track notifications on Windows Phone. All that changes now thanks to the cool folks from Liquid Daffodil with their Unification app. 

Unification gets its name from the fact that it was designed to bring together notifications not only from apps on your phone, but also from any devices powered by Windows Phone 7 and 8, Windows 8 and Windows Desktop. The app "is a secure, encrypted, single-source, cross-device notification platform" that is hosted in Windows Azure cloud service.

Currently, apps from Liquid Daffodil takes full advantage of Unification and developers can also join in. Users will need to "opt-in", that is to sign-in with their Microsoft Account. I haven't got the chance to see Unification in action yet. So I'll update this post when it comes into action.

Unification is a free app in Windows Phone Store.

Checkout apps from Liquid Daffodil here.

Microsoft has a security fix in the works for Windows Phone 7.

First, it is important to point out that this fix will be issued by Microsoft for a mistake made by a third party Certification Authority called Comodo. According to The Unwired, the latter “issued fraudulent digital certificates on behalf of a third party without sufficiently validating its identity. These certificates may be used to spoof content, perform phishing attacks or perform man-in-the-middle attacks against all web browsers including Internet Explorer on Windows Phone 7.”

The update is currently being tested by Microsoft and its partners. The fix is expected to be released early May.

At least one feature that won't work for me on Windows Phone 7.

I was reading an article over at Techflash about the availability of the Zune service in some countries in Europe, South America, Australia and New Zealand. Obviously, Microsoft has been hard at work to get deals in those countries before the launch of the new Windows Phone next month. But that had me wondering if Microsoft will make the service available worldwide, including State islands like Mauritius. For one thing, Windows Phone 7 will reach Mauritian shores by year end. Thus far, Microsoft and Google seem to have diligently ignored the non-U.S, European customers – much to the benefit of Nokia. By now, if you’re reading this, you are probably asking yourself what I’m talking about.

So let’s get to the point with a hands-on, no matter if you have a Windows Phone (version 6.1 or later) or an Android phone. Launch Marketplace and Market, select any paid application and start the process to buy it.

Marketplace is smart enough to display both paid and free apps. But it’s also frustrating because you can’t actually buy those apps in Mauritius. Android Market lets you see only free apps. If you try looking for a paid application, the result is an annoying message saying that the app does not exist.

Why is it that I cannot access paid applications on both these platforms? Is my money not smart enough? You get the same frustrating experience on your PC with Windows Media Center which lists a bunch of great shows for you to watch, only that they are not available in your region. WHY?

I understand that each country has its own modus operandi, tax hungry governments and that companies like Microsoft have first to comply with local laws. Isn’t that the very reason why Microsoft has a bureau in Mauritius? To help, among other things, be in compliance and to strike deals with local business partners, policy makers.

Windows Phone 7 has everything it needs to get Microsoft win back market shares. It’s likely that we’ll see a dazzling lineup of Windows Phones next month on the market that will move Microsoft current ranking north. But that will only happen in the U.S. and Europe. Other markets will remain deprived of paid apps, Zune service and probably Xbox live. Limited to Nokia's offerings and not enjoy the full potential of the Windows Phone.

These features won't work for me on the new Windows Phone.

Windows Phone Ads appear on YouTube.

Microsoft is getting ready for the Windows Phone release with these two adverts that appeared on YouTube. While I have never seen the one before because it was shown at an event in London during the last weekend, I am sure the second video is not new. If my memory serves me well, it's been out there since Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer, officially announced Windows Phone 7 at MWC in Barcelona earlier this year. Anyway, sit back and enjoy.





Source: Geek in Disguise