Tag Archives: WebApp

Chrome OS update revamps app list and Google Drive saves, allows relentessly adorable wallpapers

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Chrome OS update revamps app list and Google Drive, allows relentessly adorable custom wallpapers

Aw, wouldn't you look at the cute little... wait. Right, there's a Chrome OS update. At its heart, the upgrade to Google's cloud-based platform introduces a streamlined app list that both occupies less space and carries an internet-wide search box. It's also possible to save files directly to Google Drive, and audio can now play through either HDMI or USB. Don't lie to yourself, however: the real reason you'll rush to update your Chromebook today is newly added support for custom wallpapers, which guarantees all-day, everyday viewing of your most favorite dog in the whole wide world. Or at least, a nice change of pace from Google's run-of-the-mill backdrops. Isn't it so sweet?

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Chrome OS update revamps app list and Google Drive saves, allows relentessly adorable wallpapers originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Aug 2012 20:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceGoogle Chrome Blog  | Email this | Comments

Office Web Apps integrate touch support on iPad and Windows 8, brace us for an Office 2013 world

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Office Web Apps introduce touch support on iPad and Windows 8, brace us for an Office 2013 world

Touch-friendliness is a centerpiece for the upcoming Office 2013, but don't fret if you prefer to live in the world of Office Web Apps ahead of time. As of new preview versions of both OWA and Office 365, those using at least an iPad or Windows 8 will see larger, more finger-ready controls by default. The switch also tweaks the text selection, contextual menus and numerous other elements to work properly with the fleshier input, even going so far as to support multi-touch gestures like pinching to zoom. Windows users get a Touch Mode toggle if they'd rather flip back to traditional control methods. While the web support is still experimental and doesn't have a completion date on the horizon, those willing to live ever so slightly on the edge can stay hooked on Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Word without having to use anything so archaic as a mouse and keyboard.

[Thanks, Suraj]

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Office Web Apps integrate touch support on iPad and Windows 8, brace us for an Office 2013 world originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Aug 2012 15:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Office Web Apps Blog  |  sourceOffice Web Apps Preview (SkyDrive), Office 365 Preview  | Email this | Comments

Kno textbooks arrive on Android with the Galaxy Note 10.1, take on a social side

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Kno textbooks arrive on Android with the Galaxy Note 101, take on a social side

Kno's post-hardware textbook platform has called the iPad its only tablet home for more than a year; it's about to spread its wings. Starting with a bundled presence on the Galaxy Note 10.1, Kno is an option for K-12 and college students who'd rather go the Android route. While all the 3D, note-taking and navigation features remain the same, there's an obvious selling point in supporting the S Pen (and hopefully other pens) to more directly put thoughts to virtual paper -- or, let's admit it, doodle in the margins. All of us, Android and otherwise, get a new Social Sharing component that lets us crib each other's notes before the big exam. We're still waiting on Kno for other Android devices as well as the already-promised Windows 7 support, but it's hard not to appreciate at least a little more variety in our digital learning.

Continue reading Kno textbooks arrive on Android with the Galaxy Note 10.1, take on a social side

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Kno textbooks arrive on Android with the Galaxy Note 10.1, take on a social side originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Aug 2012 00:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceKno, App Store  | Email this | Comments

Pulse Reader launches browser-based app, you’ll need IE10 for certain gestures

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DNP Pulse Reader launches browserbased application, app works in any browser but you'll need IE10 for certain touch gestures

Until now, if you've wanted to use the Pulse reader app for browsing Engadget your favorite blogs you had to own an Android or iOS device. Now, though, the startup is launching a browser-based version of the service, making it accessible on desktops and mobile platforms for which there's no standalone Pulse app. The site will run in any browser, including mobile ones, but there are certain gestures you'll only be able to pull off in IE10, like using two fingers to expose the reading pane. For that reason, Microsoft is promoting this announcement almost as enthusiastically as Pulse (see the source link below if you don't believe us). As for the new website, we could go on about the slick UI and brisk performance, but it's probably easier if you just check out the screenshots below and then peek the quickie demo video after the break.

Gallery: Pulse browser app

Continue reading Pulse Reader launches browser-based app, you'll need IE10 for certain gestures

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Pulse Reader launches browser-based app, you'll need IE10 for certain gestures originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Aug 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourcePulse, Microsoft  | Email this | Comments

Kno starts offering K-12 textbooks on tablets, scores industry-first deal with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

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Kno starts offering K12 textbooks on tablets, scores industryfirst deal with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Kno's tablet textbooks have only ever been available to the college crowd; the younger among us have typically had to get a comprehensive digital education from either the tablet maker's own solution, like Apple's iBooks 2, or less-than-integrated options. A new deal for K-12 books is giving the students, if not necessarily the teachers, a fresh alternative. Parents can now rent books for home studying at prices under $10 per title. They're not state-specific books, but their Common Core roots will keep learners on the same (virtual) page as classmates while adding Kno's usual 3D, links, notes and videos. Just to sweeten the pot further, Kno says its current catalog centers around a pact with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt -- a publisher that hasn't offered K-12 books on any tablet platform until now, according to Kno. The initial focus is on iPad, web and Windows 7 readers, although Android-loving parents looking for that at-home edge will have to wait until sometime "soon" to leap in.

Gallery: Kno K-12 textbooks

Continue reading Kno starts offering K-12 textbooks on tablets, scores industry-first deal with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

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Kno starts offering K-12 textbooks on tablets, scores industry-first deal with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Aug 2012 00:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceKno  | Email this | Comments

Amazon launches its own game studio, goes social with Living Classics on Facebook

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Amazon launches its own game studio, goes social with Living Classics on Facebook

Amazon is committing itself to gaming much more seriously than providing a storefront: it just launched its own game development house. The simply titled Amazon Game Studios is starting out gently by producing a Facebook hidden object game, Living Classics, that lets the socially inclined dig around through scenes from well-known literature -- what else would you expect from the Kindle's creator? While the free, me-too game isn't going to give Microsoft or Sony any frights just yet, the company has the ambition of making "innovative, fun and well-crafted" titles. Amazon is actively recruiting more help for the studio as we write, so we'd expect more grandiose work before too long.

Continue reading Amazon launches its own game studio, goes social with Living Classics on Facebook

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Amazon launches its own game studio, goes social with Living Classics on Facebook originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Aug 2012 18:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Joystiq  |  sourceLiving Classics (Facebook), Amazon Game Studios  | Email this | Comments

Verizon adds Office 365 to Small Business Essentials, gives small businesses more mobile productivity tools

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Verizon adds Office 365 to Small Business Essentials, gives small businesses access to Microsoft's mobile productivity tools

Fresh off unveiling Office 365's cloud app model last month, Microsoft has teamed up with Verizon to add the productivity suite to Big Red's Small Business Essentials service. Similar to the Governmental version of Office 365, small businesses can gain access to Office web apps, SharePoint website design tools, Exchange email and calendar service, plus Lync messaging. Best part is, it's just six bucks a month per user, and most all enterprise customers are taken care of: the tools are available on Android, BlackBerry, iOS and Windows Phone. Want to know more? PR awaits after the break.

Continue reading Verizon adds Office 365 to Small Business Essentials, gives small businesses more mobile productivity tools

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Verizon adds Office 365 to Small Business Essentials, gives small businesses more mobile productivity tools originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Aug 2012 14:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceVerizon Wireless  | Email this | Comments

Mavizon Mavia tracker reaches pre-order at last, makes best friends of cars and iPhones

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Mavizon Mavia reaches preorder at last, tracks cars by desktop and iPhone

Remember Mavizon's plans for its Mavia car tracking device (formerly the AutoBot) from almost two years ago? The company promised availability sometime in 2012, and we're here in earnest with the car companion ready for pre-order. The business model has changed significantly since 2010, however. It's a cheaper $169 up front for the Bluetooth cellular OBD-II peripheral -- $99 for the first hundred through the gates, or $299 for a two-pack -- but the full tracking service will cost $5 a month, or $49 every year. Those who do make the leap can get a look at their car's vital signs as well as set up geofenced notifications, track long-term performance and receive impromptu driving directions to a friend's coffee shop check-in. The first batch of Mavia units should arrive within several weeks, we're told, and should have both browser- as well as iPhone-based apps waiting in the wings.

Continue reading Mavizon Mavia tracker reaches pre-order at last, makes best friends of cars and iPhones

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Mavizon Mavia tracker reaches pre-order at last, makes best friends of cars and iPhones originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Aug 2012 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceMavizon  | Email this | Comments

US Census Bureau posts its first API, allows smartphone apps for the stat-obsessed

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US Census Bureau posts its first API, allows smartphone apps for the statobsessed

As much as the US Census Bureau has worked to embrace the digital space, its sea of data has been largely locked away from developers not keen on doing much of the heavy lifting. As of late last week, however, there's now a public app programming interface (API) for quickly putting all of that knowledge to work. Both mobile and web apps can hook into either the complete 2010 census or the 2006-2010 American Community Survey, bringing in basic demographics as well as more complicated subjects such as commuting habits and education. The Bureau sees the API leading to not just a more informed public, but to smarter government as well -- imagine a state government that knows the income levels by county through a custom smartphone app. Budding statistics hounds can request a key for API use right away, but if you'd rather just see what public access will mean in practice, you can check out an app gallery at the second source link below.

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US Census Bureau posts its first API, allows smartphone apps for the stat-obsessed originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Jul 2012 15:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Verge  |  sourceUS Census Bureau (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments

Vizify offers free infographics all about you, makes you feel like a big shot

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Vizify offers free infographics all about you, makes you feel like a big shot

Infographics. The stuff of high turnover websites and news channels, right? Well, yes, but now you can bring the same white space and pastel shades to your own internet footprint, courtesy of free infographic web app Vizify. It's still in its trial period for now, which means you'll have to wait for an entry code to tap into the breezy visualization generator, but we managed to plug in as many social networks as we could to see how it all works. The service is definitely centered around those that are very connected to the internet. Vizify will draw information from Facebook, Twitter, FourSquare, LinkedIn and also connect through work-based websites you add yourself. It will then populate a clickable front page with circles including images, quotes and links to your profile elsewhere. The service, which is geared at recruitment, crafts a convenient short link to offer up on resumes or job emails. Edit options include a choice of color palettes, and the ability to tweak the layout of the information circles [seen above] and the larger pages that follow it, bringing either more career-centric (or interesting) content to the forefront. Sign up for an access code at the source to give it a try for yourself, or take a stalker-esque trip down an Engadget editor's social network tracks at the second link below.

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Vizify offers free infographics all about you, makes you feel like a big shot originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Jul 2012 13:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Mashable  |  sourceVizify (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments