Applications

Google+ Photos Get the Pinterest Touch
May 16, 2013

Continuing its revamp of the Google+ social network that began in March, Google announced on Wednesday the addition of 41 new features and a redesign of the service, which it claims has 190 million active users. The changes focus on three areas -- the Google+ stream, photos, and the Hangouts feature.

Google Tears Down the Storage Walls
May 14, 2013

Google has consolidated the storage allowances for its various products. It will now provide 15 GB of free storage space for use across Drive, Gmail and Google+ Photos. Before, Google gave users 10 GB for Gmail and 5 GB to be used for Drive and Google+ Photos. Google is also updating its Google Drive storage page with pie charts displaying how those 15 GB are being allocated.

Skype Rival Viber Joins the Desktop Phone, Video Chat Party
May 08, 2013

Viber, a proprietary cross-platform instant messaging VoIP app for smartphones, is now available for Windows and Mac OS X desktops, Viber Media announced on Tuesday. The mobile version of Viber runs on Android, iOS, Symbian and some versions of the BlackBerry and Windows Phone OSes.

Adobe Crowds Its Cloud, Says Buh-Bye to Boxed Software
May 07, 2013

Adobe announced major changes to its business model this week and revealed that from now on, it will sell its software via a monthly subscription plan and forgo boxed software and perpetual licenses. The maker of popular creative software such as Photoshop and InDesign unveiled the new policy at its MAX conference this week.

Digging Into Garden Planning Software
April 30, 2013

When Catherine Kasper Place in Fort Wayne, Ind., needed to help refugees plan garden plots for themselves and for the organization's community supported agriculture, it turned to GrowVeg.com's Garden Planner and its affiliated iPad app, Garden Plan Pro. "It's challenging just to manage one garden," said Holly Chaille, Catherine Kasper Place's director. "This is 36 different ones, with 36 different designs."

LinkedIn Bundles a Personal Assistant Into New Contacts App
April 26, 2013

LinkedIn unveiled a new contacts application for Web and mobile users this week with the goal of helping members manage the relationships they build on the professional social network. The company is billing LinkedIn Contacts as a digital personal assistant. It will pull information from user address books, calendars, emails and previous LinkedIn activity to create a single virtual Rolodex.

BitTorrent Sync Flies Around the Cloud
April 24, 2013

The peer-to-peer technology company BitTorrent this week introduced the alpha version of BitTorrent Sync, a service that will let people sync and transfer files between multiple devices. "There are no file size limits, and the speed of transfer is only limited by your Internet connection," said Brett Nishi, director of product management at BitTorrent.

Google Grooms Chrome for the Office
April 19, 2013

Google this week introduced two new features for its Chrome browser in a move to bolster demand in the corporate sector. "There is a massive concern surrounding Google and privacy that generally has corporations avoiding this browser officially in favor of Firefox or Internet Explorer," said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group.

OpenStack Gives the Open Source Cloud a Lift
April 09, 2013

Since its start in the summer of 2010, the OpenStack open source cloud computing project has been the subject of a lot of hype. Today, the technology, backers and users of OpenStack are giving substance to all of that sizzle, and skepticism is giving way to service provider and enterprise use cases across the globe. OpenStack is relatively immature and still requires a high degree of technical aptitude to deploy, but its community continues to grow.

Instant Heart Rate: A Cool Way to Track Your Ticker
April 01, 2013

Every now and then I'm surprised and delighted by the utter ingenuity I stumble upon in the iTunes App Store. I really like it when someone utilizes common technology for a unintended purpose -- in this case, using the camera on your iPhone to track the beat of your heart. Crazy, I know, but Instant Heart Rate - Heart Rate Monitor by Azumio does it in just a few seconds.

New Kid on the FOSS Block: OX Documents
March 25, 2013

There's been much ado about office suites over the past year or so, thanks in large part to the anticipation and then arrival of Microsoft's baffling Office 2013. We've seen the ascendance of LibreOffice, we've seen Redmond's wacky pricing plan, and we've even heard rumors -- as yet unsubstantiated -- of a launch that would blow more than a few minds. None of that could have prepared us for what came to light last week.

Google Keep May Not Be a Keeper
March 21, 2013

Google on Wednesday launched Google Keep, a mobile application designed to let users store notes and checklists in a way that could compete with popular productivity app Evernote. Keep allows users to tap out a note or checklist, or record a voice memo that Keep will transcribe and store.

Seoul: Use of China Server in Cyberattack Fits Pyongyang M.O.
March 21, 2013

North Korea is the suspected perpetrator of a hacking attack that knocked out a trio of South Korean broadcasters and two major banks on Wednesday. South Korean officials in the capital of Seoul traced the attack to a server in China, something that meshes with previous attacks by North Korea.

Dropbox Sends a Message to Google With Mailbox Buy
March 18, 2013

Dropbox announced Friday it has inked a deal to acquire Orchestra, owner of the popular Mailbox iOS email app that aims to help users with crowded in-boxes simplify their lives. The Mailbox app's 14-person team will join Dropbox, but will continue to develop separately as its own app.

How to Work Smart in Your New Rented Office 365
March 14, 2013

Microsoft's newest version of its Office product, Office 365 Home Premium, has a number of new features: You can install it on more than one computer; save documents online using tight integration with Microsoft SkyDrive; and store files offline as well as retain cross-device settings and themes via a new sign-in function.

Philips Wants Devs' Bright Ideas for Its Web-Connected Light Bulbs
March 11, 2013

Dutch electronics giant Philips, which launched its Hue Web-connected LED home lighting system in October, released a development kit Monday in the hopes of integrating official applications -- and more possible home uses -- for its technology. Developers can use the API as they choose, and can keep all their earnings from commercializing products.

Pandora Tunes In Good Q4 Despite Royalty, Mobile Challenges
March 08, 2013

Pandora exceeded Wall Street expectations with its quarterly earnings report Thursday, sending the company's stock soaring. The streaming music service still faces the inherent challenges in its sector, however -- namely rising royalty costs and how to monetize a mobile presence.

How to Move Into Your New Rented Office 365
March 07, 2013

Office 365 Home Premium, the 2013 Windows 8 version of Microsoft's latest version of its Office product, amusingly remains a suite of applications that run under the Windows desktop -- as in earlier, non-tiled versions of Windows. Although Office installs quick launch tiles, each core element, like Word or Excel, is an application, not a ballyhooed app. Go figure.

'Blender Master Class' Gets A+ in 3D Graphics Instruction
March 05, 2013

Blender Master Class is a must-have for anyone who uses or even plans to use the Blender graphics tool. It is a learn-by-doing guidebook that takes all the frustration and guessing out of the Blender equation. Author Ben Simonds is a professional 3D artist and co-director of Gecko Animation Ltd.

Hackers Clip Evernote, Forcing 50M Password Resets
March 04, 2013

Evernote, which makes software that lets users copy and store a variety of text and Web pages, announced over the weekend that it had been hacked, forcing the company to ask its 50 million users to reset their passwords. The company said hackers gained access to usernames, email addresses associated with Evernote accounts, and encrypted passwords.