Q&A with Next Matters, maker of popular Nextgen Reader for Windows Phone and Windows 8/RT
If you are a Windows Phone and/or Windows 8/RT user who loves RSS feed reader apps then I am sure the name Nextgen Reader rings a bell. It is one of the best-rated and most popular pieces of software currently available on Microsoft's latest consumer operating systems, and probably one of the best built mobile apps that smartphone and tablet users can get today.
To learn more about Nextgen Reader and Windows Phone and Windows 8/RT development, I chatted with the person responsible for all the code behind the app, Gaurav Kalra. The man, alongside his brother Sorabh, is the co-founder of Next Matters, the company that develops Nextgen Reader.
Reflet adds rippling lake reflection effects to your photos
If you need to bring extra life to a photo then you’ll probably start by applying a few conventional adjustments and effects. Play around with the contrast, maybe adjust the colors, add a lens flare, whatever it might be.
Reflet (from the creator of PhotoFiltre) takes a more drastic approach, animating your image with a rippling reflection effect. It’s not exactly subtle -- we’re reminded of those taste-free 1990′s home pages, packed with animated GIFs -- but can work well in some cases, and only takes a moment to try.
A quarter of businesses to lose competitiveness due to digital incompetence
Digital business incompetence will cause a quarter of firms to lose competitive ranking by 2017, according to research group Gartner. The results of a survey of 151 business decision makers in the second quarter of 2013 show that 90 percent of respondents think that competition for talent will contribute to digital success or failure.
"The next decade will move beyond the notion of using technology to automate businesses and toward positioning technology as revenue builder, market maker and customer finder," says Diane Morello, managing vice president at Gartner. "When companies have those targets in mind, digital business becomes real. The impact of digital business will be undeniable: It will introduce new business models, cause industries to be 'digitally remastered' and change the way that businesses put great minds to work".
New Windows 8.1 ad shows off return of the Start button
We asked and Microsoft delivered. The removal of the Start button from Windows 8 was seen by many as a huge mistake on Microsoft's part. We've known for some time that this familiar component of the operating system is to make a comeback, and now Microsoft is showing it off in a new commercial. The latest ads also highlight the ease of switching between desktop and Modern UI modes and the unified experience Microsoft is looking to create across devices.
More than the absence of the Start button perhaps, being thrown in to Modern UI (or Metro as it was at the time) was something that put a lot of people off Windows 8. In the "Windows 8.1 Everywhere" ad, Microsoft tries to get across the idea of choice. Now rather than being a portal to your apps, the Start button is described as the means by which users switch between modes.
Review: Kaspersky Internet Security 2014
Kaspersky Internet Security 2014 makes big claims about its malware-blocking technology. But how would the suite perform in real life? We decided to find out.
Installation proved straightforward enough, if a little slow; the suite doesn’t exactly leap into action. We liked the fact that it doesn’t demand you remove any competing products, though -- that’s a decision which really needs to be left up to the user -- and after waiting for a minute or two, setup was complete and the program finally appeared.
How I Refresh my memory
My friend Paul Tyma (ex-Google, creator of Mailinator, occasional stand-up comic) released a mobile product this week and one thing I find interesting is the difference between how he describes it and how I describe it.
Paul: "Let’s say you had an important meeting with someone you really want to impress. A smart person would probably spend a non-trivial amount of time scouring the Internet for information about that person. What are they tweeting about? If you’re LinkedIn to them, then go check out their LinkedIn profile. If you were really interested you might go look up their house on Zillow. Or see how their company’s stock price faired today on Yahoo Finance".
Facebook isn't getting rid of ads, but will make them more relevant to you
Facebook wants to show you more relevant ads. Advertisements are the price we pay for free online content and services, and there are no signs of it vanishing any time soon. Even though this is something internet users have accepted for some time, there are often complaints about the unsuitability of ads. Far fewer people have a problem with seeing adverts for products and services they might genuinely be interested in than those that have no relevance to their lives.
In a blog post Engineering Manager for News Feed Ads, Hong Ge explains that Facebook would like to ensure that the ads that make it into your timeline are more relevant. If you're anything like me, you've probably built up something of a mental filter for "pointless" ads, and maybe even those that might be of interest, but Facebook is keen that you see more ads and that you respond to them positively.
Microsoft reveals 37,000 data requests from law enforcement agencies
Just about every company with an online presence is getting into the sharing game. It's something we’ve already seen from other companies. Facebook has already shared information about the data requests it has received from governments, and LinkedIn, Microsoft and Google all want to be able to tell us more. Now Microsoft is sharing what it can about the requests for information it has received from law enforcement agencies around the world.
The company's second Law Enforcement Requests Report covers the first six months of 2013 and reveals the requests received for data about users of all of Microsoft's online services. There is no particularly detailed breakdown of the figures, but they do include requests made for information about Skype. Despite collating figures for all Microsoft services, it looks as though the number of requests is in line with the figures from last year. In the first six months of 2013, Microsoft received a total of 37,196 requests relating to 66,539 accounts. This compares to 75,378 requests impacting 137,424 accounts throughout the whole of 2012.
Dropbox adds screen capture sharing
Dropbox 2.4 is now available for Windows and Mac, and the release includes some interesting new features.
The highlight is Screenshot Sharing, which makes it easier to get a screen grab into your Dropbox folder. Press PrtSc, or the appropriate Mac Command key combination, and you’ll be asked if you want to use the new feature; click "Save Screenshots to Dropbox" and they’ll be saved there in future.
Microsoft showing off Surface 2 with in-store shows
This past Monday Microsoft held a Surface event in New York City, unveiling the next-generation of its flagship tablet, which hits the market in late October, just after the Windows 8.1 launch. Now the software giant wants to get customers familiar with the upcoming product by holding a series of in-store shows.
"The team had so much fun showing off the new gear, they decided to hit the road to give you a chance to get hands on and meet some of the people behind the scenes of Surface", the team announces.
The most popular stories on BetaNews this past week -- September 22-28
Microsoft held an event in NYC to launch the Surface 2 and Brian was live-blogging. The full video of the launch is available to view online as are advertisements that show off the tablets' versatility. Microsoft is pinning a lot on the updated product after the first generation suffered from poor sales. There were no great new features, but there is a redesigned kickstand, a healthy speed boost, new dock and updated covers -- Brian was particularly impressed by the Blades.
Anyone buying a Surface 2 or Surface Pro 2 earns themselves a SkyDrive upgrade. Purchase a new device and your online storage gets upgraded to 200GB, but the same amount of space is available for $100 per year. Moving away from Surface-related news, Microsoft turned its guns on Google Docs, highlighting user complaints to demonstrate the superiority of Office 365.
Steam Controller -- a potential PlayStation 4 and Xbox One competitor
The video game controller has evolved over the years. However, from the iconic NES and going all the way to the soon-to-be-released PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, they are basically the same; directional pad on the left and buttons on the right. Sure, the number of buttons has increased, and there are now analog thumb-sticks, but overall, the concept hasn't changed -- until now.
Today, Valve announces that it is revolutionizing the game controller with its innovative Steam Controller. This controller is designed to accompany its new Steam Machine hardware and SteamOS Linux distro. Clearly, the company has its sights set not only on your living room, but competing with Sony and Microsoft. Yes, the company is using Linux and a custom-designed controller to compete with PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Microsoft to allow apps to be installed on up to 81 devices
Microsoft announces that it is dramatically increasing the number of devices users are able to install apps on. At the moment there is a limit of five devices, enabling customers to install the apps they have bought on multiple devices with the same user account. While you might think that five devices is enough for most people, some developers and customers wanted more. Microsoft listened and has increased the app roaming limit. Massively.
Five devices just not enough? How does 81 sound? Yep… 81 devices. Microsoft says it is responding to the demands made of it -- "since we launched Windows 8, we heard growing feedback from many developers and from our most enthusiastic customers that the limit of 5 was not enough for their needs. Developers asked for more flexibility in implementing their business models, and customers wanted to run those apps on the variety of tablets, laptops and desktops they owned".
Microsoft teams with Crackle for exclusive TV show
Microsoft continues the push to make its latest platforms more appealing to a rather skeptical audience, this time teaming with Crackle, the streaming video service launched by Sony. Exclusive shows are fast becoming a hallmark of these video services, with Amazon and Netflix already in on the act, and now Crackle is taking its first shot.
Cleaners, the service's new exclusive show, will premiere on October 3rd, but customers with Windows 8, Windows Phone 8 and Xbox 360 can all get a sneak peek. "Starting today and running through to October 2nd in advance of the world premiere on October 3rd – you can watch all 6 episodes of Crackle’s new series 'Cleaners' on Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, and Xbox 360", says Microsoft's Brandon LeBlanc.
Microsoft highlights Reading List ahead of Windows 8.1 launch
There are only three weeks to go until the release of Windows 8.1 and Microsoft is laying the groundwork by highlighting some of the new features and apps that are to be found in the update. The latest app to be picked out is Reading List -- Microsoft's answer to the list of Pocket and ReadItLater. The app has been designed to make it easier to save online articles to read at a later time without the need to bookmark it.
Reading List differs from RSS readers such as Feedly in that articles are stored on an individual basis. And while it is well suited to "bookmarking" articles you find on websites that you would like to return to, it can also be used to bookmark content from other apps. Just like other "read it later" tools, the real advantage comes from the fact that content is synchronized between devices.
Most Commented Stories
© 1998-2024 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy.