Microsoft will let users try a near-final version of Windows 8 starting the first week of June.
Apps & Software
Apple’s Phil Schiller: Instagram Snob
When Instagram arrived on Android a couple weeks ago, we all laughed at iPhone users who were disgusted with the Android riff-raff in their exclusive photo-sharing club. Turns out one of those snobbish iPhone users was Phil …
Augmented Reality Toys for iPhone and iPad: A Work in Progress
Can traditional toy makers capitalize on the rise of smartphones and tablets? Wowwee Toys thinks it can. Next week, the company behind Paper Jamz and Lite Sprites is releasing its first toys in the AppGear line, which combine …
Foursquare Sees Stars, Signs with Hollywood Talent Agency
In a rare move for a social media site, Foursquare has partnered with United Talent Agency to promote its presence in Hollywood.
The details of the arrangement are vague, but Variety notes that the move is probably geared …
Draw Something Now Lets You Save, Share and Comment On Drawings
When I tried Draw Something for the first time, my thoughts were, “Cool! Can I save this picture that I spent 20 minutes drawing?”
Sadly, the answer was no. Today, nearly a month after its $200 million acquisition by Zynga, it …
Wonderopolis Gets Smartphone Apps
Last year, we named a site called Wonderopolis to our list of the year’s fifty best sites. Created by the National Center for Family Literacy, it publishes a wonder each day for parents and kids to share — answers to burning …
Twitter’s Promise: Unexpected Sanity in the Patent Mess
Adam Messinger, Twitter’s top engineer, has blogged about a new concept that the company plans to implement and advocate for. It calls it the Innovator’s Patent Agreement:
The IPA is a new way to do patent assignment that keeps
…
Windows 8 Versions: The News Is Mostly Good
For years, it’s been fashionable to complain that Windows comes in too many versions, resulting in unneccesary complexity and confusion. Here’s a 2003 Cnet story by Joe Wilcox which reports on controversy over Windows XP’s …
New Windows 8 Apps Make a Stronger Case for Metro
The Windows 8 Consumer Preview might be worth another look thanks to a new round of Metro-style apps available now.
The new Windows 8 apps include a Facebook and Twitter client called FlipToast, the hover boat racing game …
A 5GB Google Drive Next Week? Almost Time to Leave Dropbox?
Google’s cloud storage tool/service/feature (you pick), dubbed Google Drive, is right around the corner, claims The Next Web. The site says it just received a draft release from a Google partner that teases specific details, like …
How to Try Windows 8 on Your iPad
With $25, an iPad and a bit of curiosity, you can try Windows 8 on a tablet right now.
Splashtop, a maker of remote desktop software, has released a $25 iPad app called Win8 Metro Testbed. If you’ve got Windows 8 Consumer …
‘Pebble’ Watch Touts E-Paper Screen, Bluetooth, Apps and High Demand
Holy moly is this Kickstarter project on fire. Every time I refresh the page, it seems to go up another five grand or so. It apparently met its $100,000 fundraising goal in two hours, too.
The project in question is a …