In the course of writing about different tools, I often make a point of asking about them on various social networking sites. The responses I get sometimes include comments about how much much users absolutely loathe particular tools that they have to work with. Read more »
Increasingly, the information we use to manage our companies is moving to the cloud, and human resources is no exception. Here are several solutions that provide simple and affordable online employee management and tracking to save you time, money and effort. Read more »
The smart grid industry’s focus is now shifting to the true purpose of the smart grid movement: applications that will improve the efficiency, reliability and versatility of the electric grid. This report analyzes six key smart grid application trends that will help shape the industry landscape in the years to come: distribution automation, data analytics, demand response, carbon management, home energy management and electric vehicles. The applications that prevail in this new arena will define the smart grid experience for industrial, commercial and residential customers. Along the way, new business opportunities that arise from these applications will become available for the providers of software, systems, devices and services, and enhance customer awareness and control of energy consumption. Companies mentioned in this report include Echelon, Google, EnerNOC, ZigBee and Microsoft. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
I’ve noticed an irritating trend in the startup world: After adding my email to a launch page, I get asked to submit a few of my friends’ email addresses in exchange for a higher place in line or earlier access. It’s annoying, but it apparently works. Read more »
For anyone trying to understand why bloggers would give their content for free to a site like The Huffington Post — which is being sued by contributors for as much as $100 million — here’s a related question: Why do some programmers choose to create open-source software? Read more »
Kno Inc. scrapped its plans to make a signature tablet device and announced a new, singular focus as an educational software company. Although Kno CEO Osman Rashid told me he’s “extremely excited” about the new direction, he was pretty mum on the details. Read more »
There are common patterns in API programs that succeed – in planning, management, and organization. Programs that fail have commonalities too. Here’s a nine-box model for API program management that helps track how both strategy and execution must come together to build a successful API effort. Read more »
The Mac App Store may offer some great deals on software for OS X, but the bundle is probably the best value for your money. There’s a new MacUpdate Bundle out today that offers a few great apps for the price of one. Read more »
A few days ago, Charles pointed out the great FusionAds Holiday Bundle deal on software for your Mac. If web design isn’t your bag, here are a few other Mac software bundles available right now that you may be interested in checking out. Read more »
Last year, MacGraPhoto offered seven Mac graphics app for cheap. This year, MacGraPhoto 2 is offering nine apps for the price of one. It may be one of the last times bundles like this appear, with the imminent arrival of the Mac App Store. Read more »
Word 2008 quickly fell out of favor with me. It consistently crashed on exit. It was horribly slow, and struggled to keep up with itself. If Word 2011 just felt faster and didn’t crash, I’d consider it money well spent. But Microsoft went beyond that. Read more »
It took BlackBerry a long, long time to release a proper media sync app for Mac. It took less than a month for Microsoft to release Windows Phone 7 Connector for Mac, which allows you to sync media from iTunes to your Windows Phone 7 device. Read more »
You’re not alone if you’ve ever wondered when the convenience of the App Store would be unleashed on your Mac. Apple’s “Back to the Mac” event this morning revealed that the wait will soon be over. Developers could have the most to cheer about, though. Read more »
Rypple, which wants to free the enterprise world from “HR software that sucks,” has closed a $7-million funding round from Bridgescale Partners that the two-year-old startup says it plans to use to expand its new San Francisco office and ramp up its word-of-mouth marketing. Read more »
I would like to get the opinions of the corporate web workers in the WWD readership about the tools that you use. How do you find the equipment and software that are issued to you by your employer? Are they hindering your productivity? Read more »
I would like to get the opinions of the corporate web workers in the WWD readership about the tools that you use. How do you find the equipment and software that are issued to you by your employer? Are they hindering your productivity? Read more »
DataSphere Technologies, which has developed a hyper-local news and advertising software platform for content publishers, today announced that it has closed a $10-million Series C financing round led by OVP Venture Partners and will be using the funds to expand its operations into more local communities. Read more »
Are you the kind of person who has to have the latest versions of hardware and software? If so, don’t bother to read on; for the rest of us, it’s worth considering if and when to move to a new version. Read more »
ZumoDrive for iPhone, Android and webOS all get an upgrade today. New features make it easier to share files and media with friends directly from a handset and the music streaming appears faster too. Read more »
A new aspect of data center energy use is getting increasing attention lately: software. If the code running on all the servers in a data center was inherently more energy-efficient and governed by its own energy-aware logic, IT managers could have another, less costly option to ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Mint for Android officially lands today and I’ve been using it for a few days on my Google Nexus One. It was worth the wait, because it’s not a watered-down, first effort on a new platform. It’s just as functional and effective as its iPhone counterpart. Read more »
I finally took the plunge and flashed a Sense UI ROM on my Google Nexus One. My first impressions are overwhelmingly positive — if those don’t get you excited about running Sense, then the screenshots of HTC’s interface surely will. Read more »
Timed perfectly with the Boston Marathon is today’s launch of RunKeeper for Android. I use this app to track my workouts and have them automatically mapped online for a training history. There’s even a live broadcast feature so friends and family can “watch” you move. Read more »
Evernote is an example of the way the cloud can be leveraged to best advantage. Users of the Evernote premium service have gotten an upgrade that adds two improvements — note history (versioning) and larger note limits. Rolling back to earlier versions is now possible. Read more »
The BlackBerry Bold 9700 finally gains support for SlingPlayer Mobile software, allowing you to watch live television on your handset. Unlike some versions of the software, this edition isn’t limited to Wi-Fi usage — you can enjoy streaming video over 3G too. Read more »
If you manage a small to medium sized non-profit, chances are that you’ve never considered Macs for your organization, or that if you have, you’ve been turned off when you see that the cost starts at around $1000 per machine. Let’s face it, operations budgets at non-profits are usually the tightest. Read more »
Apple’s famous word processing application Pages has seen its first update of 2010, delivered as a touch-enabled little brother for the new iPad. But how does this version stack up to its OS X counterpart? After testing the app for almost a week, here are my thoughts. Read more »
Folks looking to edit Google Docs on the iPad appear to be out of luck. Or are they? This $7.99 app actually does support document editing in the cloud from an iPad. What can it do and more importantly, should you buy it? Read more »
When it comes to mobile music subscription options, there’s already quite a few — Pandora, Slacker, and Thumbplay all come to mind. And now, Rhapsody joins the club on Google Android handsets with a new beta client available in the Android Marketplace. Read more »
Windows 7 is easily the best version of Windows but even so, it can be even better with the proper utilities. There are many utilities to choose from, however, so to help in the search here are my top five. Read more »
Apple’s iPad offers a huge new Calendar interface, but if you want multiple Google Calendars using Google Sync, you’re out of luck — only one is supported. Here’s an easy workaround to sync several calendars to your iPad over the air with Google Sync. Read more »
In February, Intel and Nokia melded their respective mobile operating systems. Moblin and Maemo have joined forces to become MeeGo, and the first build of the new open-source platform is now available for download. Read more »
DoubleTwist continues to challenge iTunes as a media sync platform. The lastest version for Mac adds fantastic features like a revamped media player, podcast searching and a killer function — seamless integration with the Android Market that’s better than using the market on my Nexus One. Read more »
Tired of looking at the bland, stock Music application on Android? Cubed can jazz up the experience with a 3D interface that easy to use and nice to look admire. It’s a beta app, but offers solid base features plus a few advanced ones too. Read more »
Google’s Mobile App lands on the BlackBerry Storm and Storm2 today. The voice query supports three languages and searches the web, contacts and emails. But even with apps like these, the BlackBerry platform isn’t really driving the mobile web. Read more »
Losing your phone is never fun. iTag debuts a new service to locate and secure a lost Android handset — you can ring the phone, lock it or even shoot your location to anyone else. Testing shows it’s not quite perfect, but it’s a solid start. Read more »
Verizon and Skype shared details of their partnership: an exclusive Skype mobile client for BlackBerry and Android handsets arrives this week. Skype-to-Skype calls won’t count against data or voice limits although all Skype calls will be routed over Verizon’s traditional voice circuits. Read more »
It’s raining cloud applications on mobile devices these days. Dropbox has long offered an iPhone client but the Android version is coming soon. The initial screen shots look useful as does the integration to share files and photos with the press of a button. Read more »
MobileNoter for the iPhone is a simple note-taking app for the iPhone that syncs with OneNote on the desktop. It’s possible to take notes on the iPhone and have them appear in OneNote. OneNote notebooks can be synced to the iPhone for reference on the go. Read more »
Mozilla is ceasing all work on Firefox for Windows Mobile and Windows Phone 7 devices, as Microsoft doesn’t offer an NDK. That doesn’t leave many mobile platform choices for the Mozilla team. What does this say about open source in the mobile marketplace? Read more »
