The democratization of app building has created a new paradigm
It wasn’t that long ago that web-savvy marketers were touting the advances in technology that allowed anyone to build a website, publish a blog, or embark on a social media campaign. The advent of mobile platforms has rendered all of those tools passé. We are now a mobile society and the proliferation of smartphones and tablets has given rise to a new paradigm in digital marketing: the mobile app.
With the rapid global penetration of smartphones and tablets and the increased data speed of 4G networks, mobile applications are riding a wave of explosive growth. Leading companies are focusing on the development and distribution of dynamic mobile apps, reaching consumers and potential consumers on the one device that is never far from reach. What about small businesses?
A digital bill of rights is essential to the future of democracy
If there was ever anyone more qualified to talk about the web than Tim Berners-Lee, I would like to meet them. The man responsible for inventing the World Wide Web (a heavy burden for anyone to carry, I'm sure) joins us today in celebrating the 25th anniversary of the web.
But the big news isn't that Berners-Lee has been able to watch his baby grow up, go through a difficult teenage stage and flourish into adulthood, bringing us up to the quarter century the web has been with us. The real news is the inventor of the web calling for a "digital bill of rights".
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PBS wants you to get off the couch and take your kids outside
Perhaps many of us spend more time in front of screens than we should, between TV and computer monitors, even smaller ones like smartphones and tablets. While these things have become a major force in today's society, they simply are not all of what life is about. And now PBSKids, ironically a TV network, is telling you enough is enough.
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) has teamed up with the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) in an effort to get you and your kids outside, at least for the month of April. This is the "Explore the Outdoors" campaign, and it's not the first year the two have come together for this.
View, edit and batch process your photos with Photoimp
If you’ve tried a few free photo managers then you’ll know that the vast majority are, well, disappointing. Most have absolutely no original ideas. And some don’t even match up to the basic functionality you get with Explorer, all on its own.
We didn’t expect very much from the image viewer Photoimp, then -- but it turned out to be a real surprise.
Fiverr launches new Android app
If you have a talent -- be it singing, computer programming, or crafting -- you can make a little extra cash from it by advertising your service on Fiverr. As the name of the site suggests, most offers are priced at $5, although top-rated sellers can offer single orders upwards of $8,000. Examples of available services include recording voiceovers, providing SEO reports on websites, offering business and legal advice, and creating illustrations. I’ve used the service in the past with great results.
Fiverr already has an IOS app available, and now the marketplace is rolling out a free Android app too.
Simpler and more powerful web UI testing from Ravello
Web user interface testing needs a lot of time and resources if it's to produce worthwhile results.
Manual testing eats into developer time and even using established testing frameworks like Selenium requires significant computing resource. Cloud specialist Ravello Systems has introduced blueprints for Selenium Grid to its SaaS test offering to bring cloud capacity to bear on automated testing. It allows developers to run their applications on a public cloud and offers a scalable, customizable and cost-effective testing environment.
Google adds new monetization options for Chrome apps, extensions, and themes
Google has announced new monetization options for Chrome Web Store apps, extensions, and themes, giving developers a better chance of generating decent revenue from their offerings. The search giant has also introduced new tools and services that are meant to make it easier to automate the publishing process.
The new available monetization options depend on the type of Chrome software. In the case of themes, developers can only list them as paid. Meanwhile, extensions can also get a free trial, subscription and in-app payments. On top of upfront payments and subscriptions, packaged apps now offer a free trial and in-app payments, in the latest change to the Chrome Web Store.
How PSTN voice in Lync Online will bring unified VoIP to the masses
Let's be honest with ourselves: in its current app-driven iterations, VoIP is nothing more than a value added novelty. Sure, we Skype with grandma and Lync with our coworkers, but the extent of VoIP penetration into our daily lives starts and stops in bite sized chunks. As much as every me-too VoIP provider would love for us to conduct our lives according to the functionality of their limited purpose apps, the average person usually doesn't have the same feelings about VoIP as IT pros do.
Don't get me wrong in any way. I absolutely love what VoIP has enabled my business and clients to do. We're leveraging Lync on a daily basis with our staff in the field and main office. My clients are using a variety of VoIP endpoints like RingCentral or 8x8 desk phones, soft phone apps, Skype -- even GoToMeeting can be considered VoIP for the voice and video capabilities it provides.
Talari makes network performance data more accessible
Keeping a business network running smoothly relies on having information so that admins can respond quickly to problems.
California-based Talari Networks has launched a new product called APN (Adaptive Private Networking) Aware, that aims to give IT teams an overview of the status and history of each link on a WAN.
Happy 25th Birthday to the World Wide Web -- inventor wants to keep it free and open
You are reading this article thanks to the World Wide Web ("the web"). Also responsible is the Internet. No, the Internet and the web are not the same thing. In basic terms, the Internet is the entire network of servers and computers -- the infrastructure. The web is a way of accessing those networks -- by using a web browser.
Both are equally important, but today marks the 25th birthday of the web. Yes, this means we are all getting old. To celebrate the occasion, the inventor of the web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, has shared a blog post with Google.
Google improves Docs and Sheets with add-ons
For many, Microsoft Office is the best office suite. It is chock full of features that makes it ideal for power-users. A major corporation cannot realistically depend on anything else. Sure, a small business or student can get by with Libreoffice or Google's web apps, but a Fortune 500 company would be foolish to do so -- at least today.
Not everyone is a power-user though -- having too many features can ultimately become noise. This is where Google's Docs and Sheets shine -- they are simple and meet basic needs. However, that does not mean the software cannot evolve. Quite frankly, Google is a company that is a leader in evolution and forward thinking, so its software is always gaining new features. Today, the search-giant announces an evolution in Docs and Sheets with the ability to utilize add-ons.
Qplay is the Devil in my living room
So I received Qplay last week, but only set up the thing today. Definitely I won't ever spend cash on preview programs again. Mother of God. Sweet Jesus. Someone save me from the choppy performance controlling the streaming box from iPad Air.
Did these guys grow up before multitasking? If I'm watching a video and want to scan the thumbnail strip for something else, Holy Moly, the vid stops and waits for me to tap the next thing.
Majority of mobile devices will be 64-bit by 2018 -- is Apple to thank?
Apple is revolutionary through evolution. The company did not invent the tablet, but the iPad sparked the modern trend. It did not invent the touchscreen smartphone, yet the iPhone revolutionized portable computing.
Speaking of the iPhone, last year, Apple introduced the iPhone 5s with a 64-bit processor. The fruit-logo company certainly did not invent 64-bit computing, however, competitors are now playing "me too" and trying to catch-up in the mobile sector. According to a new study, the majority of mobile devices will be 64-bit by 2018. Do we have Apple to thank?
Who's driving your car? AVG warns about connected vehicles
The 2014 South by Southwest festival is in full swing. It's a combination of tech, music and film rolled into one Texas-sized good time. While it all sounds like a fun-house, there is a serious note to some of the discussions. AVG was part of a forum on connected cars, taking a look at the data collected and what happens to it.
It's not all doom and gloom -- nobody showed a hack that will let the perpetrator literally take over your car. But who controls the data being collected by said vehicle is certainly a security concern. The security company's Judith Bitterli spoke during the meeting and then put her thoughts together in a quick post.
Stop your crying, Windows 8.1 Update is awesome, you babies
Windows 8.x has become an easy target for Microsoft haters. While the disdain for the operating system is not limited to fanboys of Apple, Google and Linux, they are definitely among the loudest -- and rightfully so. After all, Microsoft has dominated the home computing landscape for decades and people have been waiting for a misstep.
In reality, Windows 8.x is the first true Windows stumble. Sure, Vista wasn't great but history has been more unkind to that OS than it truly deserved. It wasn't so bad if you had decent hardware. While I like Windows 8.x, it is problematic -- on a desktop. Well, at least it was. You see, Windows 8.1 Update is an amazing update that dramatically improves the experience for mouse and keyboard users. My colleague Mark Wilson calls it the final nail in the coffin -- I call it the first move towards greatness. It is time for Windows users to stop crying like babies.