Google cuts out the middleman, releases 'Save to Drive' feature for Chrome
The Google Drive team on Tuesday announced a new Chrome extension called "Save to Drive," which ties browser activity directly into the user's Google Drive cloud storage account and eliminates the need for third-party extensions to provide the functionality.
Prior to today's release, an extension from the prestigious MIT going by the name "save to drive" was available. Now, Google has borrowed the name and made it available in the Chrome Web Store. The search giant takes the concept a lot further though.
2012's Year on Twitter - the essence of what mattered most to users
On Tuesday, Twitter released a recap of the most important moments shared by users in less than 140 characters throughout the year. Titled "2012 Year On Twitter", it provides an insight into what matters most to users of the social network: from top tweets filled with meaning, to trends and new significant members, such as the Pope.
"Four more years" is what United States President Barack Obama tweeted after he was recently reelected. The three famous words received almost 300,000 favorites and more than 816,000 retweets since November 7, claiming the top spot in the 2012 Golden Tweets. It should be noted, however, that the social network exaggerated slightly when it comes to the number of favorites, which is less than the 300,000+ it claimed. Sure, the president will get there shortly, but why rush it?
Lenovo equips ThinkPad X1 Carbon ultrabook with touchscreen for Windows 8
Lenovo on Tuesday announced the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch, the Windows 8-optimized version of the X1 Carbon Ultrabook it debuted in August for the 20th anniversary of the ThinkPad.
The ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch has a 14-inch touch display, weighs 3.4 pounds, and has a thickness of 20.8mm. Like the non-touch version, it includes a Lync-optimized 720p face-tracking camera, fingerprint scanner, an eight-hour battery, and optional 3G mobile broadband.
Microsoft muscles further into your living room with new Xbox apps
It's no secret that Microsoft sees its Xbox platform as much more than just a gaming console. It wants the device to act as the digital hub of our living rooms, and today the company took another step in that direction, announcing more than 40 new entertainment apps.
Xbox Live's Larry Hryb, AKA Major Nelson, posted the news this morning that "more than 40 new global entertainment partners [are] coming to Xbox LIVE, including new apps launching this week."
One German city drops OpenOffice for MS Office: Why 'open source' still fails to impress
The original story was not very newsworthy at face value. An obscure, hard-to-pronounce city in Germany announced that its experiments with one time open source wonder OpenOffice had gone sour and they wanted their Microsoft Office back. Freiburg's city council released a draft resolution recently that covered numerous IT problems, but the one which raised more than a few eyebrows happened to be their frank disappointment with OpenOffice.
Among other things, the resolution had some pointed words about their OpenOffice experiences since 2007:
Maxthon 4 released and renamed: now 'Maxthon Cloud Browser'
It's tough to make an impact in the Windows browser market. And no-one knows that better than Maxthon; after almost ten years, the program is still struggling to reach one percent market share.
The developers are nothing if not persistent, though, and Maxthon’s latest incarnation, now renamed Maxthon Cloud Browser, has just been released. Will this deliver the long-awaited breakthrough? We’re not sure, but it’s definitely an interesting attempt.
Yahoo overhauls its mail service, adds new mobile apps
When Marissa Mayer took over the reins at Yahoo, it was largely expected that Yahoo Mail would be one of the first services to be revamped. Despite still being hugely popular, it lags behind Gmail in terms of features and has, for a long time, felt rather neglected.
Well, the good news if you’re a Yahoo Mail diehard, is the service has undergone some major changes. Improvements include a redesign made with speed in mind. An easier to navigate, more intuitive and less distracting inbox will apparently allow users to get through their emails much quicker. Recognising the importance of mobile devices, finally, Yahoo is also rolling out new Yahoo Mail apps for Windows 8, iPhone/iPod touch and Android.
Samsung Galaxy Note II receives Android 4.1.2
Little more than three months ago, Samsung introduced the Galaxy Note II, running Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean. Shortly afterwards Google issued a minor update to its OS, Android 4.1.2, and starting today you can get it for Samsung’s popular green droid device.
On Nexus-branded hardware, Android 4.1.2 only delivered minor changes. For the Galaxy Note II, however, Samsung has apparently introduced more significant benefits. The most noteworthy features include a higher number of notification toggles, swipe gestures using the built-in keyboard, a new lockscreen effect and a customizable notification panel.
Disable the new Windows 8 interface for good with Ex7ForW8
Microsoft might want all users of Windows 8 to use its new tiled interface, but if you really don't like it, or it's the one thing that's preventing you from switching to the new OS full time, there's a clever hack which will disable it for good -- or until you want to switch back, at least.
Ex7ForW8, or "Explorer 7 for Windows 8", is a wrapper created by a developer named Tihiy which basically allows Windows 7's explorer.exe to run on the new OS. Once installed and activated it will take users straight to the Windows 7 desktop upon boot up, and when I say "straight to" I mean it. The new UI doesn't load at all. The wrapper doesn't modify any system files or system protected registry entries, and you can switch back to the Windows 8 UI at any time.
SkyDrive comes to Xbox 360
Microsoft has announced the availability of a SkyDrive app for Xbox 360 consoles, giving users the ability to display content stored in the cloud service on any connected TV or monitor.
The Xbox 360 is designed as a content consuming device, and the SkyDrive experience on the console reflects this. According to the software giant, the app focuses on photo and video sharing, as well as playing slide shows, with no mention of productivity. It's fair to assume that Microsoft plans to keep the content editing features for newer devices running Windows Phone or Windows 8/RT.
Twitter takes on Instagram, introduces photo filters
Just days after Instagram said it would no longer allow the micro-blogging site to display its photos, Twitter has responded by giving users the ability to apply colored filters to pictures they upload.
There are eight Aviary-powered filters to choose from -- Vignette, Black & White, Warm, Cool, Vintage, Cinematic, Happy, and Gritty. A grid view shows how each of the filters will affect your image, and you can tap any of the choices and then scroll left or right to view the alternatives.
New McAfee Mobile Security lets you lock down apps that don't demand logins
Intel-owned security software company McAfee on Monday released a major update to its McAfee Mobile Security product, featuring a new interface and a new app privacy feature called App Lock.
Though many mobile security suites focus on protecting private information from being stolen and misused, much of the information that is available within apps is left totally unprotected from prying eyes.
Zombie Shooter: blast the undead into a bloody mess with this free arcade-style game
The Walking Dead is now on its mid-season break, but if you’re missing the show already then you could turn to Zombie Shooter, a free game which provides all the opportunities for walker-slaughtering you’re ever likely to need.
Okay, it’s true, you won’t get quite the character development here that you do in the show (or, indeed, any at all). The game’s plot, such as it is, it rather more basic: essentially you’re just running around a secret research lab, slaughtering zombies, picking up weapons, ammo and health packs, and trying to figure out what’s going on.
Google slashes Chromebook price to $99 for public educators
Google on Monday announced it will offer the Samsung Series 5 Chromebook to educators for a special price of just $99 until December 21 through a partnership with public education nonprofit Donors Choose.
Full-time public educators can go to the DonorsChoose site, fill out a three-question questionnaire and project request for up to 30 Chromebooks, and then begin collecting donations to receive the computer hardware, management, and support. Typically, each Chromebook costs $249.
Track Santa from your Windows 8 device
NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, has been tracking Santa since 1955. In the old days, it was an AM radio broadcast that began on Christmas Eve and purported to track the jolly old fellow as he left the North Pole and began his flight around the world. With technology's advance, NORAD has also pushed into the future.
These days, you can keep up with Saint Nick's journey with more than just a transistor radio. There is a special website and even mobile apps for iOS and Android that allow parents and children to track Santa's flight.
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