Microsoft announces Facebook Login support for Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8 apps
It took Microsoft a while to persuade Facebook to produce an official app for Windows 8, but having finally got the social network onboard, the software giant is looking to tighten the ties further still.
The newly announced Facebook Login APIs on Windows 8/8.1 and Windows Phone 8 will allow developers to create apps that can access a user’s Facebook profile, and make it possible to share content, and post comments in-app, and also find friends to play games with. Make no mistake, with more than one billion people using Facebook to connect and share, this is a hugely important development for Microsoft.
Ultimate Ears UE BOOM learns a new trick
When you buy a Bluetooth speaker, you do not expect it to evolve. In other words, you buy it from the store, it plays your music and there your relationship with the manufacturer ends, right? Wrong. Well, at least with Ultimate Ears. You see, the company announces a new firmware update that will teach the UE BOOM speaker new tricks.
"When we conceived of the UE BOOM and its updateable platform, our goal was twofold: introduce the world's first social music player and make sure it stays relevant with the ever-evolving world of music consumption. Social music enthusiasts have told us how much they love the 360-degree sound of the UE BOOM, its life resistant design and how it completely integrates into their lifestyle, and now we’re taking it to the next level, thanks to regular updates", says Rory Dooley, General Manager of Ultimate Ears.
Acer C720-2848 Chromebook -- less RAM, lower price
When it comes to new and affordable Chromebooks, there are two standouts -- the Acer C720-2800 and the HP Chromebook 11. Even before the HP model was plagued with a defective charger and pulled from the market, I preferred the Acer for its better processor and increased RAM. Not to mention, the Acer is $249, which is $30 less than the under-powered HP.
Today, Acer announces that it is expanding its offering of inexpensive Chromebooks with the C720-2848. This laptop is nearly identical to the existing C720 model except for two things -- it has half the RAM (2GB instead of 4GB) and is $50 cheaper. The question becomes, is the cost saving worth the reduced performance?
Google releases Android 4.4 KitKat factory images for Nexus 4 and 7
Nexus users love to fiddle with their smartphones and tablets by tearing off the stock software and experimenting with custom Android distributions, kernels, recoveries and whatever else is different from what is offered out-of-the-box. More often than not this all works fine, but it is not uncommon for something to break beyond easy repair. And, that is when Nexus modders turn to Google's factory images for help to return their devices to stock software.
After kicking off the roll-out of the KitKat upgrade, Google released the Android 4.4 factory images for the Nexus 4 and Nexus 7. The Nexus 5 received this treatment right after launch while the Nexus 10 is still waiting for the search giant's stamp of approval.
Double-Take Share makes handling multiple databases easier
It's quite common for large organizations to have multiple databases and that poses a problem when it comes to both operation and administration. Moving information between databases can be expensive and take a good deal of time, but the alternative is people needing to access multiple systems.
Disaster recovery and migration specialist Vision Solutions aims to make life easier with the latest release of its new Double-Take Share product.
BBM update adds support for Wi-Fi iPads and iPods
Canadian maker BlackBerry is expanding the reach of its BBM service through the latest update for the iOS app, that now includes support for non-cellular Apple-branded devices. As a result, Wi-Fi iPad and iPod users can also communicate with their BBM-using friends, as the app no longer limits access only to iPhones and 3G/4G iPads.
BlackBerry has yet to bestow non-cellular Android devices with the same ability, as BBM is still listed as being incompatible with tablets like the Wi-Fi 2013 Google Nexus 7 even in the latest version of the app that arrived yesterday. Now let's take a look at what (else) the Android and iOS updates for BBM add.
Cyber security insurance grows in popularity
It's possible to insure against most things these days, but cyber security insurance is a relatively new field and findings by NSS Labs show that it's becoming more popular. The report rounds up a number of recent surveys which put cyber insurance adoption at around one third of large US businesses.
NSS Labs cites a recent Ponemon Institute survey of US risk management professionals which show that respondents now see the need to guard against cyber security problems as comparable to other risks like fire and natural disasters. The same survey also looked at who makes the purchasing decisions on cyber insurance and found that it’s more likely to be risk management teams that influence the decision rather than IT security staff. When it comes to determining the required level of cover most respondents used formal risk assessments carried out by their insurer.
Intel’s holiday buyer’s guide rounds up the best Windows 8.1 devices
If you’re looking for a new tablet, laptop, 2-in-1 device or all-in-one system you might want to take a look at Intel’s new Holiday Buying Guide. The chipmaker has put together a 20-page PDF brochure featuring products from the likes of ASUS, Dell, Lenovo, Sony, HP, and Samsung.
Divided into sections, starting with 2-in-1 Devices, the guide tells you a bit about that particular type of system, and then presents a selection of shiny new hardware vying for your attention (and hard earned cash) this holiday season.
Flipboard finally comes to Windows 8.1
There is a ton of valuable news and information on the internet. Unfortunately, this information is scattered across the web, which makes for a frustrating experience. Sure, you can utilize an RSS service such as Feedly to aggregate your news in one place, but that is not a visually attractive option. The solution to this dilemma for many is an app called Flipboard.
If you aren't familiar, Flipboard is a news and social media aggregation app which formats your desired information in a magazine-like format. This makes it ideal for use on a tablet. It is widely popular on Android and iOS. Sadly, to the dismay of many, this app was not available for Windows 8.1 -- until today.
Gmail for iPad gets a slick new look
There's nothing stopping tablet owners from making use of mobile websites, but apps are where it is at. Gmail has a perfectly serviceable website, but the app does make many tasks easier to perform. Today, Google takes the lid off a completely redesigned version of its iPad app which has been designed to make it easier to do more, whether you choose to work in landscape or portrait mode.
Despite the fact that this release is, based on version number at least, a small move forward -- this is version 2.7182 -- there are a lot of changes, some cosmetic, some functional. Landscape mode benefits from the addition of a new navigation bar that can be used to switch between accounts and categories. This is essentially an iPad friendly version of the tabbed inbox that has been introduced online.
Google maps the world's growing deforestation
Google continues to push forward its mapping program, earlier today unveiling its Street View team's trip around the city of Venice, Italy. While that may be fun and display pretty scenery, the latest update the company announces takes a more serious note. Cataloging the systematic destruction of our planet's forests.
"In a collaboration led by Dr. Matthew Hansen at the University of Maryland, we’ve built the first detailed maps of the world’s forests, from 2000-2012, documenting and quantifying forest landscape changes such as fires, tornadoes, disease and logging", says Rebecca Moore and Matt Hancher, of the Google Earth Engine team.
Judge rules Google's scanning of books is not illegal
There is nothing wrong with Google scanning millions of book and making that text available as snippets in search results. This is the ruling made today by a judge in New York, bringing to an end an eight year legal battle between Google and The Authors Guild in conjunction with several specific authors. Starting back in 2004, Google has scanned more than twenty million books -- and permission was not obtained from the copyright holder in many cases.
A class action lawsuit was launched against Google back in 2005, but in New York, U.S. Circuit Judge Denny Chin has ruled that there is no copyright infringement and that Google's book scanning qualifies as fair use. Among the named writers were former New York Yankees pitcher Jim Bouton, The Trouble with Thirteen author Betty Miles, and legal author Joseph Goulden.
Amazon wants to put your picture on a Kindle case
The Kindle has been big news recently, with Amazon rolling out a new version of its Fire HD, as well as 7 and 8.9-inch versions of a brand new Kindle Fire HDX, the latest iteration of its Android tablet. Not stopping there, the retailer introduced a case known as the Origami, but now has taken it one step further, with a personalized version of your own choosing.
"Customers can now design their own Amazon Origami covers and a variety of other covers and skins for Kindle by uploading photographs from their own library, choosing from a variety of Amazon designs made exclusively for Amazon Origami covers, or choosing from a library of hundreds of images, logos, designs and patterns—including popular comic, movie and television show graphics from Peanuts, National Geographic, Breaking Bad, Star Trek, and more", states Amazon.
DVDStyler extends slideshow support
Alex Thuring has released DVDStyler 2.6, the latest revision of his open-source video DVD authoring tool for Windows, Mac and Linux.
Previous editions have been able to create video slideshows from your chosen images. DVDStyler improves on this by adding support for a few transitions -- fade in/ out, and four wipes -- as well as allowing you to loop your slideshow audio.
Twitter advertising opens its doors to businesses in UK, Ireland and Canada
It's only been a week since its IPO, but Twitter's development is not going to end there. Previously only available to US businesses -- or those willing to grovel -- Twitter's ad platform is now being made available to small to medium sized business in the UK, Ireland and Canada.
It's a simple idea: put some money up front and this will be used to fund Promoted tweets that will reach a wider audience or even target specific types of users.
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