The social networking giant is eyeing applications that will build on the voice message feature to its Messenger app to make it a player in the VOIP live-call category. It is already testing the project in Canada. But is it also planning to produce a physical phone to run them on?

Facebook is reportedly testing a voice message feature on its Messenger app.

Is Facebook about to enter the phone fracas?

The social networking giant is reportedly testing applications it would likely use in a mobile phone product and continues to add features to existing apps that would supplement the user experience if it created a phone.

Specifically, Facebook recently added a voice message feature to its Messenger app, so users can now send a recording to friends.

And in Canada, Facebook is testing live calls using VOIP (voice over internet protocol), a technology that allows people to make calls over the internet, ABC News reported.

The service allows users in Canada to make free calls over Facebook to other people on Facebook.

While the features could easily stand alone as attractive new options for users of the social network, they may also fit into a larger plan by the company to create some kind of phone product, to rival Apple’s successful iPhone franchise.

A Facebook representative did not immediately return a request for comment.

Rumors of a possible Facebook phone have made their rounds through the blogosphere for months. The chatter came to a fever pitch in May when The New York Times, citing anonymous sources, reported that the company was planning to release a phone in 2013.

But CEO Mark Zuckerberg denied the rumors in July, saying on a conference call with investors that the company had plans to release more mobile products and apps, but not a phone.

Source: http://is.gd/XZrxoc

Facebook has been rolling out many features for its users in order to make its services more user-friendly and advanced. Walking on the same path, the social network giant launched an update for its Messenger app for iOS users.

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The update allows users to speak to other users and send short voice messages. However, no video calling feature is added.

For now, the update is in beta stage and available only in Canada.

With the new version of the Messenger app, users will be able make a call by opening a conversation with the person they want to call, hitting the ‘i’ button in the top-right corner and selecting ‘Free Call.’ To send and receive calls, users will need to have the latest version of the app.

The Facebook Messenger app’s version 2.1 is available in the App Store for free. The app is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, and requires iOS 4.3 or later.

If the social network giant becomes successful with its experiment in Canada, the update will soon be rolled out to Android and iOS users in rest of the world.

Though only Canadian iOS users are benefitted with the real-time voice calling from Facebook, other users across the world have also got something to cheer about.

Facebook also released a minor update for iOS and Android users in other parts of the world allowing them to send short voice messages.

To use the feature, you just have to open the Messenger app and begin composing a message. Click the plus sign to the left of the text part and then click ‘Record Voice.’ Hold the red button to record your message, release it once you are done. The recorded clip will be dispatched immediately. Sliding your finger off the button will cancel the message.

The latest move from Facebook is to catch hold of more and more mobile users. However, it has to be very careful while launching the service for everybody keeping its history of technical glitches with new features like Poke, Timeline, and others.

Source:http://www.mobilenapps.com/articles/6160/20130104/facebook-starts-testing-voip-calling-voice-messaging.htm

Linux Mint 14, released in December and dubbed the "Nadia" version, is loaded with a horde of improvements to all four of its desktop environments. It is not usually necessary to grab every new release to a distro, but Nadia is a significant upgrade to an evolving Linux OS. This one is a keeper.

The Linux Mint distro became popular very quickly, It was introduced in 2006 and is now pegged as one of the more widely used Linux operating systems. Some download and usage reports place it ahead of Canonical’s Ubuntu distro.

This latest release has most of its improvements under the hood, so comfort zones are not threatened if you upgrade from earlier versions Mint 12 or Mint 13. And new Linux Mint users will find an easy transition away from Canonical’s Ubuntu Unity desktop and the straightforward Gnome desktop retained by other Linux distros.

You probably will not be aware of most changes to Linux Mint 14 until you use it for a short while. Then you will notice new software changes and performance increases, whether you install the Mint 14 Cinnamon Gnome 3 replacement desktop, the Mint 14 KDE environment, or the Mint 14 Xfce lightweight desktop edition. If you prefer a traditional desktop more reminiscent of Gnome 2, take Linux Mint 14 MATE for a spin.

I installed each of these new versions on my collection of gear running earlier versions of Linux Mint. I was pleased with the performance improvements in every case. What I found made me comfortable with my earlier decisions to relegate the latest Ubuntu upgrade — Version 12.10 — to that of a secondary OS in my work routine.

Fresh Install Required

Upgrading to any new version of Linux Mint is not without some inconvenience. Linux Mint’s founder and mentor, Clement Lefebvre, is not a fan of in-place upgrades using the software center to replace an older version’s repository with the latest release’s software repository. He bemoans the potential for file corruption and remaining package clutter.

His solution is to install the new version in either a new hard drive partition or in an existing partition after deleting its current contents. However, that process adds manual work for the user. Sure, you can use Linux Mint’s backup apps to archive and restore existing data files and installed application lists, but restoring is not always a smooth process.

Requiring a fresh installation of Linux Mint caused me yet another expected problem. Nearly all of my computers have dual-boot configurations. I run several different Linux and Windows OSs for work and software-testing needs. The installation tools Linux Mint uses — though standard Linux apps — can only recognize the presence of multiple partitions and their contents. However, these tools can not fully automate the process of isntalling the new version of Linux Mint in the same location as the earlier version it is replacing.

The installation routine gives three choices: install alongside existing; erase disk and install on entire disk; and Something Else, which lets you create or resize partitions or choose multiple partitions for Linux Mint. So users have to know which partition or volume contains the earlier operating system version they are targeting.

Not Perfect

Despite my enthusiastic reception for the Linux Mint distro, this latest upgrade has two major flaws involving its repositories. I had significant installation hassles with Software Update and the process of switching the Cinnamon and the KDE environments. Both of these flaws are well documented in the Mint user forums.

Because of this problem, you really need to decide which user interface you want and then install that from the live DVD. Mint 14 has a serious incompatibility issue in that it cannot load another interface shell after adding it from the repository. Normally, you can do this by logging out of one and then selecting another from the log-in screen.

The other problem is with the KDE packaging repository. Being a derivative of Ubuntu Linux distro, Mint KDE updates reference Ubuntu Nadia when they should list Quantal in the software sources registry. You must manually change that reference in Mint 14 KDE. That issue does not exist with the Cinnamon installation.

So Much Mint

The four standard editions of Linux Mint 14 are derivatives of the Ubuntu distro. Ubuntu-based applications are generally compatible with Linux Mint. A fifth edition of Linux Mint, however, is not based on Ubuntu. Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE) is a rolling distribution based on Debian Testing.

I did not test the LMDE edition. Except for this section, comments about Linux Mint do not refer to the LMDE edition. LMDE is available in both 32 and 64-bit versions as a live DVD just as its four distant cousins are. But the LMDE edition features only Gnome and Xfce desktop version. It is compatible with the Debian Linux distro, which is not compatible with Ubuntu.

Mint LMDE is faster and more responsive than Ubuntu-based counterparts, but it is less stable than the other distro editions because it is updated automatically through a rolling process that often change LMDE’s characteristics. It is the only Linux Mint distro version that uses rolling updates.

Surface Changes

Linux Mint 14 contains some well-needed facelifts. For example, the Mint Display Manager, or MDM, used for the login screen is refreshingly improved. MDM now supports legacy GDM 2 (Gnome Display Manager) themes with some 30 themes installed by default and about 2,000 more available for download. Even better, the format is so easy to apply for making themes that you can quickly add your own personalization to make your login screen look your way.

In addition, MDM now lets you replace typing user names with user lists and user faces. This means you can select a theme with a user list and simply select the user. A nice touch is the ability to add a user’s face picture in the list.

Another change is the ability to switch users from the lock screen. Do this by selecting Menu / System tools / New Login. Or use the additional method of locking the screen and clicking the "Switch user" button.

Managerial Upgrade

Say goodbye to freezes and crashes when you load the Software Manager. It no longer uses aptdaemon, the apparent crash culprit. Replacing it are Debconf support and apt client. The result is better navigation within the software management application.

The new Software Manager runs as root. This eliminates the need to enter your password to authorize the changes every time. Also, when the selected package is installed, the application page automatically reloads.

Searching for software is now a lot less annoying. You can configure or disable "Search while typing" as an option.

A Pretty Face

Artwork improvements are a big plus as well. Linux Mint 14 features a collection of colorful background photographs from Al Butler, Nicolas Goulet and Steve Allen.

The artwork library plays better with Mint-X and GTK3.6. This shows GTK3 applications more naturally and integrates better with the rest of the desktop array.

Be sure to notice the icon theme improvements. These now reflect most of the enhancements from upstream Faenza and some of its derivatives. The quality is much better than previous Mint editions. Also, there are many more icon themes available.

Mint Cinnamon Basics

I am a big fan of virtual workspaces. Earlier versions of the Cinnamon desktop made using them cumbersome, but still much easier than the Gnome 3 shell handles virtual desktops. I am happy to see a better workspace performance in this latest Cinnamon 1.6 release. For example, the Workspace OSD (On-screen Display) is persistent in Cinnamon.

I can create a workspace whenever I desire by moving the mouse pointer to the upper corner hot zone and clicking the plus button. I can remove a workspace the same way, only pressing the minus button. The number of workspaces remains that way until I change them, even if I log off or reboot. I now can even name each one.

Workspaces are easier to use thanks to the Window Quick-List. This is a new applet that lists open windows across all workspaces. The Workspace panel applet makes changing workspaces as convenient as clicking the desired workspace button.

More Cinnamon Flavorings

Cinnamon 1.6 brings more than 800 changes. Many of them reflect configuration settings already available in the KDE desktop. This new Cinnamon functionality covers many areas involving settings, usability and bug fixes galore.

Two related new applets for the panel are Scale and Expo. These are options for viewing screen and workspaces at a glance without moving the mouse pointer to a hot zone. I can use it to either augment or replace the window quick-list and workplace applets on the panel.

I also like the change in default file managers. Nemo replaces Nautilus browser. This is the first in an ongoing series of plans to have Cinnamon handle all visible layers of the Gnome desktop and provide a fuller user experience in both window and workspace management as well as file browsing, configuration and desktop presentation.

New KDE on the Mint Block

The Linux Mint 14 KDE version integrates the latest KDE 4.9 features. This desktop option is much more configurable than the Cinnamon desktop. It is also more complex to set up as a result of all the options. I like the power user boost in the new Cinnamon desktop. But KDE picks up where Cinnamon leaves off in everything from eye candy to application performance and options.

These new KDE features include numerous quality and performance improvements. For instance, there is better search support, new functionality in the Dolphin file browser and more integration of Activities functions throughout the Workspaces. I especially like the eye-appeal of raising windows during window switching.

Key to much of the improved workability in KDE is the new Plasma data engine. KDE Plasma is a general term that refers to all of the graphical components and their visualization counterparts.

Mint 14 Xfce

The latest Xfce version (4.10) is a fast, lightweight desktop environment that uses less system resources than the other shell environments. It succeeds in bringing all of the Mint 14 feature upgrades and still maintains Xfce’s reputation for easy usability and visual niceties.

One of the first things you notice about the Xfce interface is the absence of a search window as part of the Mint Menu. If you are used to typing in a partial file or program name rather than folding through menus, you will have to learn to compute without this feature.

Like the other three desktop options, Xfce provides a very functional panel. It provides two innovative features: multiple rows and a deskbar mode.

Another treat is the completely revamped application finder. It combines the functionality of the old appfinder and xfrun4. It now allows creating custom actions based on matching a prefix or a regex pattern.

If you pack numerous plug-ins onto the panel, the multiple-row feature better accommodates larger buttons. The deskbar mode aligns vertically but keeps the plugins positioned horizontally. With multiple rows, this allows creating wide vertical panels that are better suited for wide-screen setups.

Software Surge

Perhaps the most improvement in the Mint 14 Xfce environment is the default software. It includes some of the same popular applications packaged in other Linux Mint editions. This gives you Firefox, Thunderbird, LibreOffice, GIMP, Banshee, Pidgin and Xchat.

The Mint 14 XFCE edition balances these heavyweight apps with more traditional lightweight Xfce alternatives. For example, it bundles Thunar for file browsing, Xfce Terminal for issuing terminal commands, Xfburn for CD/DVD burning, Ristretto for viewing images, Blueman for Bluetooth support and Xfce4-notifyd for the notification daemon, which is both themeable and configurable.

All things considered, this provides a handy application mix that does not compromise on the best of the new improvements to the Linux Mint OS. Xfce has enough eye glitter to make using it not seem outdated or cheated.

Bottom Line

Using Linux Mint 14 comes down to personal preferences to the max. All four desktop environments have significant performance and usability improvements. And each one is built on top of the major upgrade to the core components of the Linux Mint engine.

I do not usually install each incremental upgrade to Linux Mint on all of my computers. Instead, I usually put the latest upgrade on the computer running the oldest version. But Linux Mint 14 is such a noteworthy upgrade that it is time to upgrade my strategy.

Source: http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/Linux-Mint-14-Is-a-Breath-of-Fresh-Air-76989.html

Bangalore: Analysts forecast the Global Software Testing Services market to grow at a CAGR of 5.16 percent over the period 2011-2015. One of the key factors contributing to this market growth is the reduction in operational time and cost. The Global Software Testing Services market has also been witnessing a shifting focus towards cloud-based testing. Moreover, the shortage of skilled labor could pose a challenge to the growth of this market.

The Global Software Testing Services Market 2011-2015, has been prepared based on an in-depth analysis of the market with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the Americas, and the EMEA and APAC regions; it also covers the Global Software Testing Services market landscape and its growth prospects in the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.

Key vendors dominating this market space include Accenture plc, Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp., IBM Corp., and Wipro Ltd.

Other vendors mentioned in the report: Cap Gemini SA, HP Co., Infosys Ltd., TCS Ltd., Micro Focus International plc., HCL Technologies Ltd., AppLabs Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Logica plc., Software Quality Systems AG, Thinksoft Global Services Ltd., Tech Mahindra Ltd., and Hexaware Technologies Ltd.

Key questions answered in the report include:
1.What will the market size be in 2015 and at what rate will it grow?
2.What key trends is this market subject to?
3.What is driving this market?
4.What are the challenges to market growth?
5.Who are the key vendors in this market space?
6.What are the opportunities and threats faced by each of these key vendors?
7.What are the strengths and weaknesses of each of these key vendors?

Source: http://qa.siliconindia.com/news/Global-Software-Testing-Market-2011–2015-to-Grow-at-516-CAGR-nid-138008.html

If there was one big software testing trend this year, it was this: Testers took on the role of business partner, shedding their image as "bug fixers" once and for all. In 2012, test professionals helped business stakeholders make better decisions about where to spend their development and test resources. And as they gained stature in their organizations, QA pros also broadened their skill sets, writing test automation scripts, doing exploratory testing and conducting basic security testing.

The tester’s role is about helping business people figure out the right things to deliver, said SearchSoftwareQuality.com expert Lisa Crispin. "The truth is that business stakeholders may be wrong about what features [an application needs]." Testers must take a leadership role in figuring that out, she said.

The image of the tester as a bug fixer — or the person who simply tests requirements to make sure they work as specified — became a thing of the past in 2012, Crispin said. "Does the code meet requirements? It does? Good. Release it, forget about it and start working on the next project," she said, describing the now outdated mindset.

The QA role doesn’t end when software is released, said Crispin, a tester at software consultancy Pivotal Labs, in Colo. "We have to start measuring whether the features we’ve already released to production are delivering the expected value." Testers need to keep asking whether the software they deliver is still serving the business.

In fact, business alignment with testing organizations is a hallmark of all successful software projects, added Ken Vane, IT change and configuration manager at Navy Federal Credit Union, in Va. Testers represent the interests of business stakeholders, he said. "Testers are surrogates for the business."

A little bit of code

2012 was the year all testers "had to learn to write a little bit of code," said Johanna Rothman, of Rothman Consulting Group, in Mass. That’s the result of two things: The Agile practice of test-driven development, in which tests are developed before code is written, and the increasing automation of software testing, which requires QA pros to script the tests that they want the tools to execute.

"Agile environments are morphing the roles of tester and developer. Testers are being asked to review code, do some scripting, write some automation tests, and developers are being asked to do more testing," said Yvette Francino, QA/QC Manager at McKesson, a health care services company in Colo. Testers today are required to have good scripting skills, added Jeffery Payne, CEO of security consultancy Coveros, in Va. "You see that reflected in job listings."

If testers without programming skills are going to survive, they will need to articulate their value to a new, skeptical generation of managers, said Matthew Heusser, principal consultant at Excelon Development, which provides services to improve software delivery. "That’s a good thing."

He noted that this trend is not new: Testers have been told for decades that they need programming skills. What’s interesting, he said, is why the idea that testers must be able to code took on such intensity in 2012.

"I suspect it has something to do with the last generation of software development management all suddenly retiring," said Heusser. Coding wasn’t that important to that generation because many of those managers were subject matter experts, not programmers. "For this new generation, coding skills are important."

Taking on security testing

Coveros’ Payne noted another software testing trend: 2012 was the year test organizations began to embrace security testing, understanding it as a key part of their jobs. They took on responsibility for tasks like dynamic testing, and moved beyond simply conducting functional testing.

"In addition to figuring out what applications should do, testers also need to determine what it should not do," said Payne. "A user shouldn’t be able to try forever" when attempting to log in to a system, he added.

Voke analyst Theresa Lanowitz agreed that security testing is key skill for QA today. "Security is one of the pillars of what test organizations should do," she said. Neither she nor Payne suggested that test organizations do code review, a process that remains the responsibility of developers or security team members.

No more hiding under the desk
Another software testing trend that occurred in 2012 is that testers became generalists and asked to expand their skill sets said Peter Varhol, an evangelist for test tool maker Seapine Software in Ohio. "You’ve got to be able and willing to do exploratory testing, run manual tests, write test scripts and … quickly learn and pick up the slack in any phase of a project and testing effort."

Testers can no longer specialize in any particular phase of testing or in any one tool set or testing discipline, he said. "Increasingly, testing is not a field where you can expect to hide under the desk and do a given set of tasks."

A drawback to lack of specialization among testers is a potential decline in true expertise, said Varhol. "But testing and product development in general are such dynamic processes that you can rightly question whether expertise in a particular area will even be relevant in the near future," he added.

What’s important for testers is knowing where to go to get the answers, Varhol said. "Testers are required to have better communications skills than ever before."

Testers as change agents
Communication skills are essential to the testers’ new role of interacting with business stakeholders, said Voke’s Lanowitz. "QA pros play an advocacy role for the [business] customer," she said. "They are change agents."

That’s a huge shift from 2009, when many QA professionals Lanowitz met at trade shows told her they felt their jobs were at risk, in part because of the way the Agile movement had combined the developer and QA roles. "They knew they had to prove their value to the business."

In the last couple of years they have been able to do that, she said. "Their jobs are not about functional testing, or writing test automation scripts. Their jobs are about having a relationship with the line of business."

Source:  http://is.gd/H9e9bz

Bangalore: With applications becoming more complex, the software testing industry is now an important component in the software development lifecycle. Cloud computing, test automation and other technologies are changing the face of software testing at a very fast rate.  According to a forecast by TechNavio, over the period of 2011 to 2015, the Global Software Testing market will grow at a CAGR of 5.16 percent.

Express computer online highlighted some of the major trends in the software testing industry.

1.    Automated testing
For many of the testers, manual testing is tedious and time consuming when compared to automated testing. Testers involved in automation testing usually run the best in the evening and return in the morning to analyze the results.

The automation of tools as well selecting the right tool is imperative for the success of automation. According to Ashok Saxena from Kronos, testers while selecting the tool should consider maintenance of the automated scripts, learning as well as skill availability. 

Unlike manual testing, automated testing emphasize on the quality of the product right from the beginning and it helps in reducing the time spend for repetitive tasks.  “With properly designed automated frameworks, tests written once can be run for the lifetime of project with little maintenance,” commented Manish Kumar, Testing Practices Lead, Thoughtworks.

2.    Moving towards Cloud
Cloud is now a buzz word in most of the IT industries. TechNavio had also forecasted a shifting focus towards cloud – based testing. Cloud has greatly helped many mobile applications testing firms to reduce the cost involved in testing. Sumanth Tarigopula, Director, Global Delivery-India, HP Enterprise Services said, “Being aware of the way the testing spend goes on various services, progressive customers are now able to redirect their money towards high-value areas such as automation and structurally reduce the spend on operational costs, namely the test execution where the spend used to be significant in the earlier models.”

3.    The need for Mobile Application Testing
As many business organizations adopt the mobile technology, there is a need for organizations to ensure that the applications are secured apart from providing a smooth experience. “Quality testing of applications across operating systems, device platforms, and networks is a necessary but daunting task to ensure long-term success in a highly fragmented and competitive global market,” commented Kalyanasundaram from Cognizant.

Source: http://qa.siliconindia.com/news/3-Major-Trends-in-the-Software-Testing-Industry-nid-135735.html