Articles about Messaging and Collaboration

I'll be honest, if I'm ever faced with an emergency such as my house catching alight, my first thought won't be to tweet about it. Neither will I be sending emails or texting anyone. I’ll be phoning the emergency services and speaking to someone. At least that way I’ll know the message has got through. But times change, and maybe using social media will soon become another accepted way to alert the authorities to non-life threatening situations.

The London Fire Brigade currently warns users not to rely on social media when reporting emergencies, as it doesn’t monitor its Twitter feed round the clock. However, that could soon change as the service is looking into new, smartphone-friendly ways for the public to communicate with it.

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Seventh in a series. Welcome to another episode of what's hot and new in Windows Store. This week we have seen the release of a couple of official apps, Adobe Reader and Yahoo! Mail for instance, that made an appearance in store.

Other companies like Google or Facebook are monitoring the development of Windows 8 before they commit resources to building apps for the operating system. It is likely, however, that we will see additional official app releases for Microsoft's operating system in the weeks to come.

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If you're a heavy Google user, every day is like Christmas -- well, in 2012. Not a day goes by that the company doesn't release something new. Updates are relentless, with products in continual states of improvement. Today's touted 18 24 Google+ enhancements are examples. Editor's note: Hours after we posted, Google changed the number from 18 to 24. The approach is philosophical and corporate cultural and defies traditional software development cycles Apple, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle and others adopted long ago. The relentless releases is for stuff Google mostly gives away for free. Now why is that?

Years ago, I wrote several seething stories about perpetual Google betas (Gmail was 5 years, right?) and Microsoft somewhat mimicking the approach. (I can't find the stories this morning. If you can, please link in comments.) The search giant's work was never done, while competitors rolled major enhancements together made available all at once on long lead cycles (Hey, three years separate Windows 7 and 8 launches). Microsoft chooses the big blockbuster movie approach, which predicates a work largely done -- a story completely told. Google is the serialist, telling an ongoing story in a quick succession of releases. Which works better? You tell me.

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Sign up for an account with a website and you’ll usually see them promising not to share your details with others. “We hate spam as much as you do”, they might claim, although none of this seems to prevent the endless torrent of junk which pours into our inboxes on a daily basis.

It could be a better idea to simply never give out your main email address in the first place, then. And MaskMe is an excellent Chrome extension that can help.

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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.

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On Monday, Research In Motion unveiled the stable version of the company's messaging app for BlackBerryOS, simply titled BlackBerry Messenger 7. Among the newly introduced features, the most noteworthy addition is the ability to perform calls via Wi-Fi.

Wi-Fi calling works in parallel with existing functionality and as a result it can be used, for instance, while sending messages. To enable the feature users have to select the corresponding icon in the chat/messaging window. BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) 7 also implements an upgrade notification functionality, which is designed to inform users of available updates that can be downloaded straight from the app.

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At face value, Podio is a very tough product to describe. Parent company, Citrix, describes it as an "online work platform", which tends to be fairly accurate, but is a definite understatement. Podio has the social likeness of Google+ or Facebook, but don't think Yammer here (Podio politely offers sociability -- it doesn't force it down your throat.) Podio leverages a powerful cloud-based CRM platform that is highly customizable, a la Salesforce. Yet it also happens to integrate useful tabular functionality and spreadsheet importing/exporting to and from Excel. So what the heck exactly is Podio?

After one month of living personally and professionally on Podio, one thing I can say is I know what it isn't. It's not a platform for those looking for a simple cookie cutter solution to a single problem. The product is targeted towards companies small and large willing to invest a little time to get a lot in return. That return, more specifically, is functionality and flexibility. Podio tosses out the "800 pound gorilla" approach to software and instead offers a different perspective: you build it, and they will come.

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Google unveiled two major iOS app updates with the release of Gmail -- email from Google 2.0 and YouTube for iOS 1.1.0. Gmail 2.0 is completely rebuilt from the ground up, debuting a brand new look and feel, the promise of better performance and a number of major new features.

YouTube for iOS adds native support for both iPhone 5 and iPad, plus the capability of streaming videos via Apple’s AirPlay wireless technology.

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"Merry Christmas". Those were the two words that Neil Papworth, an engineer in the United Kingdom, sent to Vodafone's Richard Jarvis. The world has come a long way since that very first text message sent on December 3, 1992. With that simple holiday greeting the world changed and a generation of kids began to cause headaches for their parents in a whole new way.

There are lots of numbers and statistics out there surrounding the amount of messages sent, the data costs of SMS, and every other subject under the sun. I won't waste your time with a bunch of boring numbers though. What's much more interesting is the many creative uses that texting has been put to, and the funny and memorable stories that surround the technology.

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Less than a month after it debuted the public beta, German developer TeamViewer GBMH has released the first stable version of its cross-platform, free-for-personal-use remote support, presentation and file-sharing tool, TeamViewer 8.0.16447 FINAL.

The latest release combines new features -- including multi-touch gestures, Mac Retina displays and the ability to record both sound and video during a remote session -- with “visibly improved” performance improvements.

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Google announced a major update to cloud storage app Drive, which can now be used to manage spreadsheets straight from mobile devices. The search giant first touted the update on the Android Blog, but the new feature made its way to iOS as well.

With the latest Google Drive version, the Mountain View, Calif.-based corporation brings its mobile cloud storage app closer to the web version. Users can now create, perform alternations and even collaborate on spreadsheets. On the Android front the updated app comes with the ability to edit contents of tables and single tap to edit in the Docs editor, better formatting, shortcuts to files and folders on the homescreen. The revised Send Link can now be used to copy to clipboard.

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According to Microsoft, one-third of new Outlook.com sign-ups are from active Gmail users. While a good portion of those are likely just signing up to get an account to use with Windows 8 (I’m a Gmail devotee but use my Outlook.com address to log into the OS as it offers clear benefits), Microsoft presumes that these new users must dislike Google’s service and want to switch. To this end, the company hired a research firm to say what it wanted to hear.

"Hundreds" of Gmail users were recruited and asked to give Outlook.com a try. These test subjects moved their emails over and used the service for a brief while before being grilled on their experience. The researchers found that the group largely preferred Outlook.com’s clean design (it's possible), and the fact that the service makes sharing photos and Office documents easy (fair enough). But here’s the claim that I can’t quite believe: Apparently the users found Outlook.com "does a better job of blocking spam" than Gmail. Sorry? The only reason you could possibly think that is if you never get any spam in the first place (which would be the case with brand new Outlook.com sign ups).

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Almost four months ago Microsoft relaunched Hotmail as Outlook, as the company's response to Google's Gmail. In the meantime the new service reached more than 25 million active users, a number which has steadily grown since its introduction. To expand reach into Android territory, Microsoft even launched a new app for green droid devices.

The Redmond, Wash.-based corporation says that because of conversation threading, keyboard shortcuts, quick access to search operators and tab/send the transition towards the new Outlook email service is easier. Taking the fight over to its main competitor, the company also "finds" that four out of five (that's 80 percent in pie chart talk) Gmail users would switch to Outlook after just five days of use. That's a rather bold claim, and it seems a bit far fetched. But why?

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Fourth in a series. A month has passed since the release of Windows 8 and in that time, Windows Store has grown significantly.  Wes Miller, an independent analyst, recently reported that the worldwide app count broke the 20,000 mark, and that about 500 new apps are added to the store each day.

While that is still far from the numbers that Google Play or Apple's Apple Store get, it is an indicator of a healthy store ecosystem. On we go with this week's best apps for Windows 8.

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This may have been planned or it may be just a hasty way to put yesterday's security woes behind, but today Skype announced one month of free unlimited worldwide calling. Regardless of the motivation behind this offer, it's a nice gesture for those users not already paying for an account and also, perhaps, a way for Microsoft to entice future paying customers to the VOIP service.

Skype already does a lot for free account holders simply by allowing no-charge Skype-to-Skype calls, but calling a landline or wireless phone means upgrading to a paid account. Now the company offers one month of Skype-to-landline and Skype-to-wireless calls free of charge. The equivalent plan would normally set you back $13.99.

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