Software News

TLC's reality series “Toddlers & Tiaras” must be one of its most controversial yet but, most of the time, it's members of the audience who are outraged by it and not the mothers who turn on it. Susanna Barrett is the exception.

Mrs. Barrett is mother to Isabella, who is featured on one of the many episodes of the show. On a recent appearance on The View on ABC, she lambasted TLC and the show for being “wrong.”

Video of the entire segment is here. Please note that it doesn't play if you're outside the US.

According to the mother, she and her daughter have suffered a lot since their episode on “Toddlers & Tiaras” aired and she now wants the world to know that the show is “wrong” for reasons she fails to name.

“Isabella does other things other than pageants. And any time we go to do something else, it's 'oh you're from Toddlers & Tiaras, oh, oh',” Barrett said on The View in what seemed like a clear case of buyer's remorse.

Barbara Walters, though, would not let her get away with such vague accusations, so she pressed her for more details.

“You were only on one episode, it's not as if you were the star. [TLC] said 'why make a public announcement, why not just leave, they said. Isn't this a way of keeping your daughter in the spotlight?'” she told her.

Barrett denied that, repeating only that the show was “wrong” and that viewers at home got to see a twisted image of who she and her daughter really were.

“Because the children are featured over and over, they have more footage of my daughter in upcoming episodes. I have taken the steps to make amends to everything that has happened to my family in the past year,” she said.

“I've got to be honest with you, there's a lot of things that Toddlers has done that is completely wrong,” Barrett added.

In response, TLC says Barrett is so desperate for another 15 minutes she's basically clinging at straws to get that time in the spotlight.

“We have a number of families who are featured in each episode of Toddlers & Tiaras. Susanna and her daughter Isabella were featured in one episode of the 93 episodes that have been taped to-date. There were no plans to do another taping with them, despite Susanna's repeated requests to be featured again,” the network says in the statement.

Greg Kroah-Hartman announced yesterday, June 17th, the immediate availability for download of the third maintenance release for the stable Linux 3.4 kernel series.

Linux kernel 3.4.3 contains the usual fixes and improvements that come with every maintenance release of Linux kernel, among which we can mention lots of updated drivers, and fixes to the PowerPC and x86 architectures, as well as improvements to the Btrfs and EXT4 filesystems.

"I'm announcing the release of the 3.4.3 kernel. All users of the 3.4 kernel series must upgrade.”

"The updated 3.4.y git tree can be found at: git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-stable.git linux-3.4.y and can be browsed at the normal kernel.org git web browser: http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-stable.git;a=summary" - said Greg KH in the email announcement.

The Linux kernel 3.4.3 is a must-grab update for all Linux users who use the Linux 3.4 kernel. Therefore, upgrade as soon as possible!

Download Linux kernel 3.4.3 right now from Softpedia.

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Regional carriers WIND Mobile and Mobilicity have just announced the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update is now available for HTC Amaze.

According to both carriers, the update is now being pushed OTA (over the air), so HTC Amaze owners should manually check for the Android 4.0 ICS upgrade by going to Settings / About phone / System software updates / Check now.

Apparently the latest update for HTC Amaze improves the overall performance of the smartphone, as well as battery life and faster UI and scrolling.

Keep in mind that due to overloaded servers it might take more than one hour to download the update, so we recommend trying the upgrade a bit later. Make sure the smartphone is connected to a fast and reliable Wi-Fi network, in order to save time and money.

Made official back in January at the Consumer Electronics Show 2012 trade fair, Motorola MOTOLUXE has been launched on the market two months later.

The mid-budget Android phone is currently available in most markets across the globe, but under different names. Motorola Mobility recently announced the immediate availability of the MOTOLUXE in Chile.

However, the smartphone is known as MOTOSMART PLUS and comes with the same features as the standard MOTOLUXE model.

No word on the price of the smartphone, but Motorola confirmed the MOTOSMART PLUS is now available for purchase through all major carriers in the country.

Aimed at trendsetters who are looking to buy their first Android smartphone, Motorola MOTOSMART PLUS sets itself apart from other devices in its price range thanks to the included lanyard slot that lights up when users miss a call, receive a text or an email.

The MOTOSMART PLUS is powered by Google's Android 2.3.7 Gingerbread operating system integrated with MotoSwitch UI 2.0. The latter provides users with quick access to the most frequently called contacts or used apps.

Furthermore, the smartphone is equipped with a 800 MHz Qualcomm MSM7227A-0 processor, which is complemented by an Adreno 200 GPU, 1GB of ROM, 512MB of RAM, as well as microSD card slot for memory expansion (up to 32GB).

It is also worth mentioning the MOTOSMART PLUS comes with a free 8GB memory card in the sales package. The device sports a large 4.0-inch capacitive touchscreen display that supports 480 x 854 pixels resolution.

On the back, the handset boasts an impressive 8-megapixel rear photo snapper, which features autofocus, LED flash and video recording. There's also a secondary VGA front-facing camera for video calls.

“With the new MOTOSMART PLUS, we remain firm in our goal to approach smartphones and Android to the users, as this device combines an stylish design, the last multimedia features at an affordable price,” said Fernando Sanchez, general manager for Mobile Devices, Motorola Mobility Chile.

WebIssues is a versatile project and bugs management system, written in PHP and developed for web-based environments.

Can be used for managing bugs, feature requests, issues and any problems that need to be fixed in a project.

All of this is done using a password-protected user admin panel and a nicely crafted interface.

For multi-user installations, WebIssues can control access rights based on the user rank, preventing un-authorized access of users in restricted sections.

All recorded data can also be viewed in periodical reports and exported to be used in other applications.

Besides the web version, WebIssues is also available for desktop environments, including Windows, Linux and Mac. A portable version is also available.

An online demo of WebIssues is available here. Development is handled via its SourceForge page.

Download WebIssues for web servers via Softpedia here.
Download WebIssues for Windows via Softpedia here.
Download WebIssues (Portable Edition) for Windows via Softpedia here.
Download WebIssues for Linux  via Softpedia here.
Download WebIssues for Mac via Softpedia here.

Crusader Kings II is a Paradox Interactive made grand strategy title which deals with the power struggles of the early Middle Ages, with a focus on family dealings, betrayal, diplomacy and interactions between characters with their own agendas and personalities.

The world of A Song of Ice and Fire tells a complex story with a number of factions, rich characters, long term feuds and a lot of diplomacy, betrayal, with a bit of the supernatural sprinkled on top.

Given the similarities between the book (which also spawned a television series and a number of other video games) and the game it was pretty much inevitable that a Game of Thrones mod would be launched for Crusader Kings II.

This first version of the mod allows gamers to control almost any noble involved in the rebellion during which the allied forces of Stark and Baratheon defeated the mad Targaryen king.

The map is beautifully simulated and manages to capture the look of Westeros very well and, although I am not the biggest lore master for the series, the various landmarks, families and holdings are well located.

The team also put a lot of work into simulating the complex liege-vassal structure of the world of Game of Thrones and for the important characters the traits used reflect their personalities as they emerge from the R.R. Martin books.

It makes sense to pick a less known House to play as initially and try to gather as much power before the rebellion really kicks into gear.

The one weakness for the Game of Thrones mod is that the combat mechanics of Crusader Kings II tend to lead to powerstack battles that aren’t well suited to the Westeros world and tactics.

Worth a full Softpedia review? We have one for the core Crusader Kings II game, the mod is a work in progress.

Although HTC One S was originally slated for a June 8 release in India, the smartphone made it on the market this weekend.

Android fans living in India can purchase the HTC One S for as low as Rs 33,000 (595 USD or 470 EUR) outright. The smartphone is available via leading retailers across the country.

Keep in mind that the Indian version of HTC One S comes with slightly different specs than the original model announced back in February at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

For example, the Indian variant is equipped with a 1.7 GHz dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 processor, whereas the European and North American versions are powered by a 1.5 GHz dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 CPU.

The latter SoC also offers LTE support, which is why HTC decided to go for this chipset. This seems to be the only difference between the two models.

Unfortunately, HTC One S is a bot overpriced in India, especially that it is powered by a processor considered inferior to Snapdragon S4.

Software-wise, the One S runs Google's latest Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system integrated with HTC Sense 4.0 UI.

Furthermore, the smartphone packs 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal memory, but no microSD card slot for memory expansion.

In addition, HTC One S boasts an enhanced 8-megapixel main camera, which features the company's ImageSense technology, autofocus, LED flash and full HD (1080p) video recording. There's also a secondary VGA front facing camera for video calls.

The One S sports a 4.3-inch qHD Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen display that supports 540 x 960 pixels, and features Corning Gorilla Glass coating for extra protection. Last but not least, HTC One S is powered by a 1650 mAh Li-Ion battery, which has yet to be rated by the manufacturer.

Via