Google can keep Keep, I will stick with Evernote
I don't really like to play the part of the curmudgeon. But, I am getting a bit tired of the Google "me too" way of doing business, despite the fact that I have to admit I have followed it to a large degree in the past. The company was not the first (obviously) with a web browser, but got me to switch from Firefox -- a move I have begun to regret, given recent problems. Google was not the first with cloud storage and, though I signed up for the free version, I pay for real storage on Amazon Cloud and use Crashplan for backup services.
I have used Google Docs, but I prefer Office. In fact, beyond Android, there is really not much being offered that I cannot live without. Don't get me wrong -- I am not being as bold as my colleague Wayne Williams and his total switch, but I have become a bit ambivalent to all of Google. I could switch to Bing. I could go back to Firefox. Neither would really cause me stress.
Google Keep -- for notes, memos and ideas best kept in the cloud
Confession: I've never used Evernote, much to the abash of colleague Alan Buckingham (or so he expressed in group chat a little while ago). But I would use Google Keep, which released today. Russell Holly calls Keep "the not-quite Evernote clone" -- for anyone making bold comparisons.
You tell me. Does this sound familiar, Evernote and OneNote users? "With Keep you can quickly jot ideas down when you think of them and even include checklists and photos to keep track of what’s important to you", Katherine Kuan, Google software engineer, says. "Your notes are safely stored in Google Drive and synced to all your devices so you can always have them at hand". She adds: "If it’s more convenient to speak than to type that’s fine -- Keep transcribes voice memos for you automatically. There’s super-fast search to find what you’re looking for and when you’re finished with a note you can archive or delete it".
'Send to Kindle', and read it later
Last night something strange caught my attention, nearly enough to post a late-day story. Then this morning I got a little email nudge from Amazon PR, and thought: "Yeah. Why not?" The timing and broader ecosystem implications are interesting for service "Send to Kindle". Just as Google whacks RSS -- pulling feed icons from its products and setting Reader's execution -- Amazon provides a mechanism for saving content you come across, say, browsing at work for reading at home on your ebook reader or tablet.
The concept is by no means new, not even for Amazon. There are several good cloud services dedicated to saving content for later reading or incorporating the capability. Instapaper comes to mind, and Feedly has an easy tap mechanism to save for later. What makes Send to Kindle different is device/app-specificity. Additionally, websites, including WordPress blogs, can place a button supporting the service.
It's not you, LinkedIn is down -- no up, down, up
When I signed onto group chat this morning, my colleagues bantered about problems accessing LinkedIn. They couldn't. I navigated to the site easily enough, but got this message when trying to log in: "An Error occurred during authorization, please try again later". The social network's Twitter feed confirms there are problems, but information is contradictory.
About two hours ago: "We're aware that the site is currently down, and our team is working on it right now. Stay tuned". An hour later: "The issues you may have experienced with our site earlier have been cleared. Thanks for your patience". But they weren't fixed. At 9:21 am EDT: "Our site is currently experiencing some issues. Our team is continuing their work on this. Stay tuned".
Redbox Instant by Verizon hits Xbox 360
Way back in the deep, dark early days of Rebox Instant by Verizon, I got the opportunity to take the streaming service for a test drive. We later learned that the service would be exclusive to the Xbox 360 -- at least as far as gaming consoles are concerned. That exclusivity begins today.
Larry Hryb, better known as Major Nelson to Xbox fans everywhere, announces that "the Redbox Instant by Verizon app is available on Xbox 360 now", though he asterisks this statement with some fine print to let consumers know that they will need that Xbox Live Gold subscription in order to take advantage of the new video-on-demand goodies.
Space invaders, save us from ourselves! Google adds animated-gif search
When I first started using the web full time 19 years ago, few pages had movement. Then browsers supported animated gifts, which on many sites were gaudy things. You could count on them to add a touch of crass, no class, to any webpage. MySpace anyone? My disdain, and I'm not alone in this, for animated gifs goes back nearly two decades.
Funny thing, the moving clips are in-style thanks to better authoring tools and social sharing. Many animated gifs are still gaudy, but who really minds getting one as a joke from friends. Now they're easier to find using the planet's most popular search engine.
Dropbox 2.0.2 and Microsoft SkyDrive 2013 stomp the bugs
Cloud storage providers Dropbox and Microsoft SkyDrive have both released minor maintenance updates for their desktop applications. Both Dropbox 2.0.2 and the Windows version of Microsoft SkyDrive 2013 v17.0.2006.0314 are minor maintenance releases with no new features.
Both updates are the first since major releases -- Dropbox 2.0introduced a new sharing-friendly user interface, while SkyDrive 17.0 allowed users to selectively sync folders and sub-folders to specific devices.
Try as it might, Google can't stop RSS
Many people use Really Simple Syndication without actually realizing it. Like SMTP in the background of email, RSS is the backbone of a number of things, including the podcasts you get from the iTunes store. Last week Google set off on an apparent challenge to kill RSS, or at least it seems that way to many of us.
Overshadowed in all of our talk, gripes really, about the loss of Google Reader is removal its RSS extension from the Chrome store. The extension placed the, now familiar, orange square in the URL bar and allowed users to easily subscribe to feeds by clicking and sending them to Google Reader.
Google 'Peanut Gallery' is a brilliantly-conceived Web Speech API demo
If you want to get any more work done today, read no further! Google unveiled the "Peanut Gallery" a fun, silent-move-making tool showcasing the Web Speech API released with Chrome 25 last month. You could fritter away hours creating and sharing funny clips.
"We thought it would be fun to demonstrate this new technology by using an old one: silent film", Google's Aaron Koblin explains. "The Peanut Gallery lets you add intertitles to old black-and-white movie clips just by talking out loud while you watch them. Create a film and share it with friends, so they can bring out their inner screenwriters too".
Microsoft updates Windows Azure with Hadoop and Dropbox deployment support
Microsoft's ongoing process to improve the company's cloud platform, Windows Azure, has reached a new phase. The software giant has, yet again, introduced a number of new features for Windows Azure, including the HDInsight service for Hadoop clusters, support for Dropbox deployment and Mercurial repositories, as well as enhancements to Mobile Services.
Windows Azure Mobile Services can now be used as a backend by "pure" HTML5/JavaScript clients, Apache Cordova/PhoneGap apps and Windows Phone 7.5 clients. The feature complements the previously-introduced Android Client SDK (Software Development Kit) and support for iOS, Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8.
Gmail for Android gets a whole lot better
I'm no big fan of Gmail, which interface is overly-cluttered and uses arcane methods for managing messages. But I can tolerate the service on Android devices, where there are no annoying ads and more sensibly-presented core functions. Today, Google made Gmail for Android a little better, by way of the Notifications menu.
Small things often have big impact. Users can now reply or archive messages right from the Notifications bar -- fast and furiously. For people like me who happen to procrastinate email, perhaps there is a future with an empty inbox and all communications current. There's more.
Tales from a Google Reader refugee -- waiting in line to be fed
I will spare you all of the crying and griping about the whole Google Reader thing -- you have heard it all by now. Suffice it to say that I no longer plan to trust Google with much of what I do. Other companies axe products, as I learned when Microsoft killed my beloved Live Mesh last year, but Google is more regular and ruthless executioner, but I digress -- I promised no rant here.
My colleagues and I are discussing where we will all go after being chucked from Google lands into the jungle. There are a number of options, and Feedly is among the popular destinations. But I was not impressed in my, admittedly very short, look at the service. I also fired up Opera and imported my OPML file into its built-in RSS reader, but it's not cloud-based, and I was left with more than 10,000 "unread" stories. Granted it can be fixed, but do I want to?
Scale Mt. Everest without leaving your seat
You have no doubt heard the term "Monday Morning Quarterback", which refers to the person who always has the plan that would have won the game the day before. Now you can be an armchair mountaineer thanks to Google's latest update to its Maps program, that brings some of the biggest and baddest climbs to your computer screen.
The Maps teams has gone to a number of extremes and this time they are scaling the heights of some of the most feared peaks on the planet. The team visited Nepal, commonly thought of as the gateway to the Himalaya's, and captured images that must be seen to truly be appreciated.
You do NOT want Google Reader gone but embrace Feedly anyway
Dozens of alternative services have popped up to claim that future vacant lot to be cleared on July 1, the day Google Reader closes for good. Unsurprisingly, more than one hundred thousand stubborn users are unwilling to let go, unpersuaded by third-party promises, and still want their beloved RSS feeder to stay.
A basic "Google Reader" search on change.org now lists eight petitions related to the service that ask or demand the search giant keep the popular RSS feed aggregator alive. Most have less than 7,000 supporters, with one exception. The petition started by New Yorker Dan Lewis, "Google: Keep Google Reader Running", has more than 126,000 people behind it.
Samsung Galaxy S 4 is better than you think
I was wrong about the Galaxy S 4. Last week, I asserted that brand sentiments had changed enough here -- given Samsung's rising popularity, Apple's image problems and high-profile iPhone-to-Android switchers -- that the South Korean electronics giant could launch the S 4 in the United States. Nope. Reception among bloggers, journalists and the Technorati is largely ice cold. Most first-takes I see call the handset a S 3s and no better than iPhone 5. Idiots.
If Steve Jobs was still alive and introduced a Star Trek-like universal translator for iPhone, there would be cries: "Apple does it again". Tell me what's not innovative about translation from, say, English to Chinese or Japanese to French. In real time. On your phone. Or text-to-speech and speech-to-text translation capabilities? Imagine Jobs demonstrating the "Eraser" feature by taking a photo and jokingly removing marketing executive Phil Schiller from the photo. He could demonstrate dual-mode video by initiating a call with Schiller that includes members of the audience, which I promise would roar and clap.
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