Even as alpha build, GTKRawGallery impresses
Most digital cameras will by default save photos as JPEG files, and it’s easy to see why: they’re small, can be saved and reloaded quickly, and are supported by just about every graphics package available.
Switching to your camera’s RAW format (if it has one) can be worthwhile, though: you’ll get minimally processed images containing all the data from your camera sensor, giving you much more precise control over how the final photo will look. RAW images are also huge, and can’t be opened by nearly as many tools, but there are still some great free options available -- and even though it’s only in alpha, the open sourceGTKRawGallery is already a promising contender.
Gmail gets better Google Calendar integration
If Google does not already rule your internet world, then it is still aiming to do so. Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs -- the company aims to offer you everything. Now it looks at integrating more of these features to make things a bit easier for customers, adding better Calendar options right into the email app.
"If you do a lot of scheduling over email, it's now a little bit easier to create events directly from your Gmail. Now available: dates and times within emails are lightly underlined: click them to schedule that conference call or lunch date without ever leaving Gmail" says Google product manager Boris Khvostichenko.
Overdependence on one computer system grounds American Airlines
This is not a big story, but I find it interesting. Last week American Airlines had its reservations computer system, called SABRE, go offline for most of a day leading to the cancellation of more than 700 flights. Details are still sketchy (here’s American’s video apology) but this is beginning to look like a classic example of a system that became too integrated and a company that was too dependent on a single technology.
To be clear, according to American the SABRE system did not itself fail, what failed was the airline’s access to its own system -- a networking problem. And for further clarification, American no longer owns SABRE, which was spun off several years ago as Sabre Holdings, but the airline is still the system’s largest customer. It’s interesting that Sabre Holdings has yet to say anything about this incident.
Hotmail is dead, Outlook.com has 400 million users
Microsoft has been actively migrating customers from Hotmail to its Outlook.com service over the past six weeks. That migration ends today, as Microsoft announces completion of, not only the big move, but also that the company now has instant success from the latest web-based email offering.
"When Outlook.com came out of preview, it was already the fastest growing email service thanks to your support. The last two months have seen the release of a new, modern Outlook.com calendar, a refreshed Outlook.com app for Android devices, two-factor authentication for your account, new international domains for people around the world, and the release of a preview of Skype calling in Outlook.com" boasts Microsoft's Dick Craddock.
Twitter updates Android and iOS apps
Twitter has released Twitter for iOS 5.6 and Twitter for Android 4.0.2, minor updates to its official apps for iPhone/iPad and Android mobile users. Both apps extend support for trend filtering by location to the mobile platform, the feature is already present in the web-based app.
Other changes to the iOS build include improved playback of Vine video, and the addition of an option to invite other people to join Twitter from within the app. Android users also gain enhancements to the menu button.
Grab your glass and toast Untappd on Windows Phone
"Hi, my name is Alan and I am..." okay, no, I'm not an alcoholic but I do love a good beer. I am especially a fan of dark brews -- stouts and porters. I have had the Untappd app on my Android phone for a while, and now those on Microsoft's mobile platform can partake in the fun.
Untappd launches today on Windows Phone, making drinking a social activity -- though perhaps it has always been that, except for George Thorogood. Untappd allows you to record all of the different brews you sample, discover new ones and even check-in as if it were Foursquare. The latter makes it easy to meet up with friends who are out imbibing.
Skype video messaging for Windows 8 out now
On April 30th, while announcing Skype video messaging for the desktop, Microsoft let it be known that the feature would be coming to the Windows 8 app soon, as well. The company did not lie -- soon arrives today. The communication app already had video calling, but Skype Video Messaging lets you record and send a video message, as opposed to making a live call. This enables getting your message across, even when the recipient is away from his or her PC or phone -- think SMS with video capability.
The new version of the Skype "Metro" app is officially 1.7 and available now from the Windows Store, although the feature is still considered a "preview".
LG Optimus G Pro comes to AT&T
US mobile operator AT&T has officially announced that starting tomorrow, May 3, the Optimus G Pro is available for pre-order from its online store. The smartphone, which was unveiled in mid-February, will go on sale a week after, from May 10, exclusively from AT&T.
The price of the Optimus G Pro falls in line with that of its fierce competition. On a two-year contract LG's Android smartphone flagship runs for $199.99, on par with Apple's iPhone 5, BlackBerry's Z10, HTC's One and Samsung's Galaxy S4. By contrast, the similarly-sized Galaxy Note II is available for $299.99 on a two-year contract.
Is Jelly Bean more popular than Ice Cream Sandwich?
Last month Google altered the method of collecting data for its Android distribution charts, now measuring the popularity of the operating system iterations by visits to the app store instead of check-ins to the company's servers as before. The move significantly changed the results compared to the previous month, but is there a noticeable difference that is felt in the Android distribution charts for May?
Based on the number of devices visiting Google Play during the 14 days ending May 1, Jelly Bean now ranks as the most popular Android sweet, after Gingerbread. With a combined distribution level of 29.4 percent, for Android 4.1 and Android 4.2, Jelly Bean surpassed Ice Cream Sandwich, which now runs on 27.5 percent of all droids.
Google’s self-driving cars gather nearly 1GB of sensor data every second -- would you trust them?
While all the press attention is focused on Google Glass, there’s another even more life-changing invention continuing to be developed and refined at Google. The company’s self-driving cars have already driven more than 400,000 miles without an accident (there have been two crashes -- in the first the Google car was rear-ended at a stop light, and in the second it was being driven by a human).
Although they won’t likely become commonplace on our roads for another 15 to 20 years, make no mistake, driver-less cars are the future, and will have lots of benefits. Aside from reducing accidents, they’ll be able to travel much faster -- no need for speed limits -- and give passengers (and we’ll all be passengers) time to do other things. Forget working from home, you’ll be able to work from your car.
Mozilla takes on spyware maker
The Mozilla Foundation is accusing Gamma International, a UK-based software group, of making a false association between one of its products and the Firefox name.
Gamma International produces FinFisher, a program used by governments to obtain data in a covert way. FinFisher is often installed by disguising itself as an update to a well known program such as Firefox. Mozilla has now sent a cease and desist letter to Gamma claiming that its Firefox trademark is being violated and that the practice must end immediately.
eM Client 5.0 delivers email better
Email remains one of the most popular forms of communication in the world, currently fending off the unwanted attentions of Twitter, Facebook and Skype after effortlessly swatting away the threat of SMS and the printed letter. Yet we’re increasingly happy to entrust our email to the cloud, accessing through a web browser whenever we want to stay in touch.
Whether or not your email is with a cloud-based provider like Gmail or Hotmail, there’s always room for a decent email client. And if you want something that’s simple, elegant and feature-packed, we suggest you take a closer look at eM Client 5.0.
Nexus 7 lifts ASUS to third place
So much for Apple's tablet reign that analysts stoutly stood by even just months ago. Android kicks ass, crushing iOS shipments during first quarter, according to IDC. Among the top four, the fruit-logo company posted the lowest year-over-year growth (65.3 percent), and considerably less than the overall market (142.4 percent). Meanwhile, the company's market share fell by 18.5 points to 39.6 percent.
Among tablet manufacturers, Apple is market leader, with the question being for how much longer. Samsung share rose 282.6 percent -- ASUS even more (350 percent). Strong Nexus 7 shipments pushed ASUS past Amazon to take third place. ASUS' challenge and opportunity could be Google I/O, where the tablet launched last year and new model is rumored for the event starting May 15. Challenge is maintaining shipments during product transition; opportunity is capitalizing on new sales.
Malware Scene Investigator is your forensic savior
Your PC is behaving strangely. You think it might have been infected by something, but your regular antivirus tool hasn’t raised an alert. And so you decide to try and investigate the problem yourself.
Figuring out where to begin can be difficult, though. Which drivers should you investigate, which startup programs or processes? If you want to manually search for malware but aren’t sure where to start, then the free Malware Scene Investigator could prove very useful.
Google preps 'packaged apps' for Chrome stable channel
I/O starts two weeks from today, and Google wastes no time whetting developer interests. Yesterday, the search and information giant revealed new Google+ Sign-In benefits. Today there are changes regarding "packaged apps". Surely the big stuff will wait for the keynote, which takes place on a single day this year, but expect more like last two days beforehand.
"Starting today Chrome packaged apps will be available in the Chrome Web Store for anyone on Chrome's developer channel on Windows and Chrome OS", Amanda Bishop, Google product manager, says. "You will notice that the App category now contains only the new Chrome packaged apps. A new category, called Websites, contains all existing hosted apps and legacy packaged apps". She tempts me to change Chrome channels, but I'll wait. And you?
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