Google tells Android devs to kick the menu button to the curb, seriously you guys

The Android developers blog was updated today with a friendly post reminding developers that in Google’s vision for Android’s future — there will be no menu buttons. Google has instead replace the menu button with this little guy (above), dubbed the “action bar.” Everything that ever was hiding inside the menu, will now be displayed in plain view on the app for all to see.

The menu button has lost its space among the elite conventions of Android UI design.

Google today explained in a blog post that the next version of Android, called Ice Cream Sandwich, is due very soon. In order to prepare application developers for its arrival, Google published a tutorial for developers on how to port their Honeycomb apps to Ice Cream Sandwich and vice versa. Google explained, "Although Honeycomb remains tablets-only, the upcoming Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) release will support big screens, small screens, and everything in between.

Google today made the source code of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich available to developers. This build of Android is the specific version that will ship on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the first Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone, and is numbered 4.0.1. Google said that the code contains the entire Android family tree, including 3.2 Honeycomb, but Google prefers that developers ignore Honeycomb and focus all efforts on Ice Cream Sandwich instead. The source code is free to download.

This week it appears that Google is nearly ready to start shipping out those Galaxy Nexus devices as the source for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich has been posted and is now available for download by anyone and everyone. The version that’s been posted is the same that we’ve seen sitting on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus when checking the device out in Hong Kong and London last month, and we expect it to be the same as what’s shipped with the Galaxy Nexus inside THIS month.

Posted on Windows 7 News & TipsAccording to numerous rumours, but not yet confirmed by Microsoft, the ubiquitous Start button will no longer be available in Windows 8 Consumer Preview, aka Windows 8 Beta.The useful and well-known Start button, with its Windows Flag, appeared 17 years ago. It’s one of the pillars for successful computing and why on earth has it been given the flick.

Appolicious - The next version of Google’s Android operating system, code named Ice Cream Sandwich, is expected to be available later this fall, and it’s going to have a big impact on Android as we know it.

Say goodbye to Android as you know it. Ice Cream Sandwich (otherwise known as Android 4.0) is coming, and it’s the biggest upgrade Android has seen to date.