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.
Why Office 365 beats hosted Exchange for small business email
Nearly six months ago, I voiced in on the Google Apps vs Office 365 debate and let it be known that (at the time) I fully believed Google Apps was the better platform in many respects. Fast forward to February 27, and Microsoft unveiled why waiting until the second (or third) try on a given product is usually a good bet. In all honesty, I think Microsoft has been on the right track with Office 365 for four to five months now, introducing quality features and fixing stability issues that plagued its reputation in the past.
I'll go so far as to say that the Office 365 ecosystem has been nothing short of respectable lately. My technology consulting company FireLogic steadily has recommended the suite as reliable alternative to Google Apps for some months now, and the results are extremely positive. Heavy Microsoft shops moving away from their legacy on-premise Exchange servers are itching for a new home, and the company seems to have a cloud of its own that is living up to even my stringent expectations.
Best Windows 8 apps this week
Twentieth in a series. Windows Store has seen another strong week in terms of new apps that found their way into the store. The app count of the U.S. store is currently 32,552 apps in total, an increase of 1,104 apps over last week; 25,062 of those apps are free to download and install, an increase of 927 apps in the last seven days. Paid apps saw an increase by 177 apps this week to a total of 7,490 apps.
The Yahoo Mail app received a much needed update this week introducing support for new languages, the ability to add, edit and delete folders, and to search for words in emails in the account.
Bitrix24 launches free collaborative CRM with integrated project management
Bitrix24 offers social intranet for enterprises and small to medium businesses, but with a twist -- the firm’s cloud-based service is entirely free for organizations with 12 or fewer users and includes 5GB of online storage space and essential tools, such as CRM (Customer Relationship Management), project management, and instant messaging.
We’ve covered the firm’s service previously, but Bitrix24 has just rolled out a new version of its CRM platform that comes with project management fully integrated. Tasks, calendars and other similar tools are now available from within the CRM module and documents can be stored inside the CRM, attached to entries, and shared with employees (with different rights levels controlling access).
Digg, Feedly tramp on Reader's grave, announcing new RSS tools
Apparently there is some new Samsung phone being announced later today, but for the past 24 hours Google owned the news cycle for all of the wrong reasons. Yesterday the company tried to quietly announce its latest round of spring cleaning, but an app included in that list, Reader, got a bit more attention than the company likely wanted.
Now companies are stepping all over one another in a rush to fill a void that is apparently much larger than Google would have you believe. Feedly, perhaps the biggest competitor, already posted detailed instructions on how to get rid of Reader and move to its service. The company claims this move was "something we have been expecting for some time: We have been working on a project called Normandy which is a feedly clone of the Google Reader API – running on Google App Engine. When Google Reader shuts down, feedly will seamlessly transition to the Normandy back end. So if you are a Google Reader user and using feedly, you are covered: the transition will be seamless".
Skype 6.3 for OS X and Windows are available
Microsoft has released Skype for Windows 6.3 and Skype for Mac 6.3. Despite identical version numbers, both builds are independent of each other, and are released separately.
While the Windows version is a straight maintenance release, Mac users gain a couple of new features: an in-call DTMF dial pad and the ability to view a slideshow of other participants in a group call when the user is the current speaker.
What's up with Google's Spring cleaning?
I sometimes wonder if Larry Page is a neatness freak. After all, throwing out stuff defines his nearly two years back as chief executive. He has chucked more Google products than junk I discard from our apartment -- there's no hording around here. Nor at Google. But the last 24 hours is simply unprecedented for changes that broadly affect customers and partners. This Spring cleaning is something to behold.
Let's start with today. Jeff Huber is out as head of Google Mapping and Commerce. He explains: "Finishing up my first decade at Google, and excited to return to my startup roots and begin the next one at Google X! Let me know what you'd like to see Google X do next". The Wall Street Journal says there's more: Google Maps will split from Commerce and become part of Search and the other folds into Advertising.
Failed update to blame for outage of Microsoft cloud services
There are plenty of benefits of living in the cloud, but some major downsides too. Nearly five months ago an Amazon Cloud outage took down BetaNews' group chat service, alongside Heroku, Flipboard, Foursquare and Reddit among others. And, two days ago, Microsoft users went through a similar ordeal which mostly affected Hotmail, Outlook.com and SkyDrive -- three of Microsoft's more essential cloud services.
Microsoft's vice president, Arthur de Haan, has chimed in on the matter in a blog post which links the outage to the upgrade process from Hotmail to the new out-of-beta email service Outlook.com. Since 13:35 PM PDT on March 12 until 5:43 AM PDT on March 13, de Haan says that "a small part of the SkyDrive service, but primarily Hotmail.com and Outlook.com" suffered from a service interruption caused by a firmware update which failed "in an unexpected way".
Users rally against Google's plans to shut down Reader
Expressing his disappointment towards Google killing Reader from July 1, my colleague Alan Buckingham said in our newsroom, "I swear I am switching to Firefox, Bing and Outlook.com in protest!". Other users, however, have resorted to less extreme measures and instead chosen to show their non-acceptance through petitions.
Less than 24 hours since Google gave us the sad news, there are at least three petitions on change.org with more than 37,000 signatures combined demanding the search giant "Keep Google Reader Running" and "Do not remove Google Reader on July 1, 2013". One petitioner tried to appeal to Google's good side with "Please do not shut down Google Reader". The number of signatures may not appear to be high enough at the moment to reach the goal, but that will undoubtedly change in a matter of days, if not hours.
Google plans to execute Reader, among other apps
I can live with iGoogle going away -- I never use the service anymore. But this one really hurts, though perhaps more to those of us who write about technology than those who read about it. However, statistics show that many of you also use the RSS feed to easily track your favorite sites. That is why today's execution notice from Google hits below the belt.
Reader, along with several others, have been rounded up, tried and found guilty of not being productive enough to warrant continued life. Reader will die July 1. Other Google services have varying dates -- some sooner, while others get a stay.
Finally, Netflix U.S. gets social with Facebook sharing
Netflix, the popular DVD-by-mail and internet streaming service, today announced that it is bringing social sharing to your video experience with new Facebook integration -- a feature previously available elsewhere, but prevented here by U.S. law. Now you can no longer pretend to your friends that you really didn't watch that sappy love story last night.
Netflix's Cameron Johnson, director of product innovation, states that "Netflix members in the U.S. can share their favorite shows and movies on Netflix with friends by connecting to Facebook and agreeing to share".
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