Sunday 30 September 2012

Facebook redesigns Photo Albums with cleaner look and new features

Once again Facebook changed the way we see photos on it and this time the change is pretty good. They have changed the theme of photos and its album. Now Facebook shows much bigger photo thumbnails with a cleaner design. Also there are some newly added features like featured photo, direct likes and comments e.t.c. Let's have a look at these newly added features.

Design:

A clean four column design for photos and three column for albums look way better than the previous one. You can also browse tagged, and recent photos/albums easily just with a single click. Check out the screenshots below:

Slideshow:

Now you can rollover your mouse cursor on an album to see slideshow of the pics in that album. It's definitely a useful and interesting feature.

Highlight your photo:

Love a particular picture? Now you can highlight a picture easily with a single click. Highlighting a pic will show a bigger thumbnail of that picture in photos.

highlighte facebook photo

Easily Add Location and Details:

Now you don't have to open every single picture to edit it or add a location. You can do it without opening it as well.

edit details facebook

Liking and Commenting:

Loved someone else's pic? Now you can like or comment on the thumbnail itself without opening it.

liking facebook pics

Facebook also started showing faces using face detection for tagging friends. Personally I love these features a lot mainly because it's not confusing and easy to use with a clean interface. Don't forget to share your views with us.

-- This Post Facebook redesigns Photo Albums with cleaner look and new features is Published on Devils Workshop .


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Friday 28 September 2012

Apple CEO Tim Cook Apologises Maps App: Recommends using Bing, Nokia and Google Maps

Apple CEO – Tim Cook

Apple has rolled out its own in-house Maps app on iOS6. The new maps app has come in for a great deal of criticism. The reason being it has simply turned out to be not much of an upgrade from previous Google Maps app which was the default on previous iOS versions.

Today, Apple's CEO Tim Cook has taken a the first step to carry out some damage control. In an open letter, he has admitted that the new Maps app fell short of expectations and apologized to users.

"With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this commitment. We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better."

- excerpt from Tim Cook's open letter

Towards the end of the letter, he has also promised to make the Maps experience a lot better but in a very un-Apple like manner recommended users competitor apps like Bing, MapQuest, Waze and also Google Maps and Nokia Maps from websites.

Why was Maps from Apple so heavily criticised?

Maps is still a new product and the data it has cannot be compared to competitors like Google Maps who have worked on their maps data for better part of the last decade. The criticism for Maps by Apple was huge for a couple of reasons.

First was that it was replacing a superior app with an inferior one. The other reason was maps is a one of the most important app for most smart-phone users.

It is in fact very refreshing to see Apple actually admitting they were not upto the mark. It is a sign of a company that still has its feet on the ground.

Do drop in your comments.

Link: Tim Cook's Open Letter

-- This Post Apple CEO Tim Cook Apologises Maps App: Recommends using Bing, Nokia and Google Maps is Published on Devils Workshop .


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Thursday 27 September 2012

Grab 25-cent Android apps and Games on Play Store

Google's Play store has lately hit 25 Billion app downloads with over 6,00,000 Android apps (as said by Google in I/0 2012). Apple's Appstore too has reached the same milestone this year.

play-store-25-billion-downloads

Now, as you'd expect, there's a nice promotion going on for discounted apps and games.

The offer lasts for 5 days and on each day, you get a set of paid Android apps at a price of 25 cents. Today is the second day of the promotion and you have apps like Sketchbook Mobile, Paper Camera and also games like Fifa 12 – all for 25 cents.

You'll also get discounts for collections like, 25 movies you must own, 25 top selling magazines, etc., but that's only for countries where Play store is fully available. For example, India is not in that list.

Just last year, Google had a similar promotional offer, selling 10-cent Android apps after the Android market has hit 10 billion downloads.

Also, many iOS apps like Instagram, Zite, Temple Run, Flipboard and many others got ported to Android. All this shows how fast the Play store is growing.

If you own an Android, head on to Play store and get most out of the offer!

Link: Google Play

-- This Post Grab 25-cent Android apps and Games on Play Store is Published on Devils Workshop .


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WordCamp to be held in Mumbai, India – Oct 20-21, 2012

Last year, the WordPress conference called WordCamp was held in Jabalpur, India. Despite Jabalpur being a smaller town compared to the big metros in India, it was a well attended and a successful WordCamp.

This year, WordCamp is taking place in Mumbai on October 20-21, 2012.

WordCamp Mumbai 2012

What will happen at WordCamp Mumbai?

The event mainly spread over two days. Many WordPress geeks, bloggers will be attending to discuss and share ideas about the WordPress platform. The event will also feature many speakers who have confirmed participations.

The list of speakers includes Philip Arthur Moor, a WordPress Theme Wrangler with Automattic Inc (the company at the core of development for WordPress)

Registration for WordCamp Mumbai

You can register for WordCamp Mumbai online. There are two types of tickets "Developer's Track" and "User Track".

Both the tickets cost INR 1500/- but you can avail of a discount coupon for INR 500.

Visit the registration page for WordCamp Mumbai 2012 and use the discount code "Devilsworkshop".

The discount code will work for both "Developer's track" and "User Track" tickets.

On a personal note, I have already registered for WordCamp – Mumbai and if you too are attending it, drop in a comment and I will make sure to catch up with you at the event.

Links: WordCamp Mumbai

-- This Post WordCamp to be held in Mumbai, India – Oct 20-21, 2012 is Published on Devils Workshop .


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Wednesday 26 September 2012

Getting most out of your Macbook’s speakers while playing YouTube videos

Speakers are probably the most annoying thing in Macbooks, they're just too low in sound, even if you set the volume to maximum. This happens mainly when you play YouTube videos in browser, but fortunately, there's a simple solution for this.

Firstly, if you can afford to spend a few dollars, you can get Boom – an app that'll increase the volume level of your Macbook drastically and that works system wide, not just for YouTube videos.

You can also solve this without spending any bucks, follow the below tutorial.

  • Get MplayerX for Mac, this is a native video player for OS X.
  • Install and open it.
  • In the menu bar, hit File > Open URL. Paste the URL of the YouTube video you want to play.
  • Now you can set the volume for the video (in the app) to a higher level than what Mac actually provides.

Apparently, VLC had this option since a long time, but after the recent update this feature seems to be broken. So I gave MplayerX a try and was pretty satisfied with the results.

Link: MplayerX

-- This Post Getting most out of your Macbook's speakers while playing YouTube videos is Published on Devils Workshop .


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Tuesday 25 September 2012

Myspace gets a complete overhaul and plans for a comeback

While there are too many social networking/social media websites right now, Myspace doesn't seem to care about this and plans for big changes including a relaunch.

Apparently, it must be years since you've logged into your Myspace account, but still there's a chance you'll like the new Myspace.

The new Myspace is just too beautiful

Unlike what you'd expect, the new Myspace is really neat in design – be it the typography or minimal style. Though, it looks more like designed for tablets, with vertical scrolling and large fonts.

They have also released a teaser, watch it.

There's a navigation bar at the bottom, which Myspace calls as 'deck'. This will have the music player allowing you to stream and share music. This is probably the only feature which can drive users to switch to the new Myspace, because Music is something Facebook didn't put right.

Posting in the new Myspace

It also seems like you'll be able to cross post to Facebook and Twitter, it'll be interesting to see how Twitter's new API restrictions can affect this. You also have the option to add a song, probably from Myspace's music library.

Business pages in Myspace

Business pages in new Myspace seem to be a lot fan focused, showcasing top fans of week.

Is this enough to drive users to make a switch?

The website is still not rolled out and one can't make a firm comment on it. But most probably, this won't make it. You see what happened to Google+, it's not a fail, but not a big hit too. It's like Bing of social networks i.e. few people do use it.

Features like music integration can bring the Myspace lovers back to their home, but except that I don't think this will make big ripples.

You can sign up for an invite at the website. Do you have the patience for another social network? Do comment.

Link: Myspace

-- This Post Myspace gets a complete overhaul and plans for a comeback is Published on Devils Workshop .


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Monday 24 September 2012

Samsung Galaxy S3 starts getting Android Jelly Bean updates

Samsung Galaxy S3 has been one of hottest selling Android based smartphone in the world. The phone initially ran on Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). According to XDA Developer Forum, Galaxy S3 users are getting the option to upgrade to Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean).

For Samsung, it's Galaxy S3 phone has been a big success story. The phone actually stands out as a different phone and not like its predecessors which often looked too similar to the iPhone.

Considering Apple's iPhone 5 sales are breaking records, this update being offered by Samsung is just in time.

List of Samsung Devices to get Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean)

Android has really come off age as a OS in the past year or so. One of its major weakness have been the getting phone updated to the latest versions. Samsung has revealed a list of 10 phones (excluding S3) and tablets that will get the Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) in the near future.

Mobile Phones:

  1. Galaxy S II
  2. Galaxy Note
  3. Galaxy S Advance
  4. Galaxy S II LTE
  5. Galaxy Chat
  6. Galaxy Ace 2
  7. Galaxy Beam
  8. Galaxy Ace Plus
  9. Galaxy Mini 2
  10. Galaxy S Duos

Tablets:

  1. Galaxy Tab 2 7.0
  2. Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus
  3. Galaxy Tab 2 10.1
  4. Galaxy Note 10.1

The Android 4.1 Jelly Beans was released towards the end of June. That means the update for Samsung has taken almost 3 months. Most people who buy phones would not like to wait for a 3 month period for OS upgrades.

-- This Post Samsung Galaxy S3 starts getting Android Jelly Bean updates is Published on Devils Workshop .


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Sunday 23 September 2012

BetterTouchTool brings custom gestures and Aerosnap to Mac

Macbooks are always known for their great button-less trackpads, but if you're someone who likes to customise stuff,  it can put you off. There are only a handful of things you can do to customise from the System Preferences app.

BetterTouchTool allows you to create system-wide or even app-wide gestures, for example – you can make Chrome to zoom in a webpage by doing a pinch-in gesture (Chrome doesn't support this by default).

It's also not all about gestures, you can also assign custom keyboard shortcuts too.

better-touch-tool

To add a custom gesture to any app, hit the + button in the side bar, select the .app file, go to 'Trackpads & Tablets' section. Here you can assign a gesture from the drop-down list or even create a new gesture. Then you can assign the keyboard shortcut or just select a predefined action from the menu.

All the settings are applied to the apps instantly, even if they're being used simultaneously.

The app is not only compatible with Magic Mouse, Mac Trackpads, keyboards, but also with normal mice.

This app gives a nice bonus feature, which mimics the Aerosnap feature of Windows 7 – resizing windows by moving them to edges of screen.

There are many apps on Mac which can get you Aerosnap, but most of them are paid and are very costly. BetterTouchTool is free and is a must have if you want make most out of your mice/trackpads.

Link: BetterTouchTool

-- This Post BetterTouchTool brings custom gestures and Aerosnap to Mac is Published on Devils Workshop .


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Saturday 22 September 2012

iPhone 5 is selling 10 times faster than iPhone 4S!

When the iPhone 5 was unveiled almost two weeks ago, I predicted it would probably be breaking sales records that previous iPhone models have set.

iPhone 4S was a great success for Apple and SIRI did drive sales upwards. The new phone model was highly anticipated too, but according to CNET, the phone was matched 4S sales numbers for a whole month in the span of just 3 days.

That basically means iPhone 5 is selling 10 times faster than iPhone 4S.

Why is iPhone 5 such a big hit?

  • In my experience, most iPhone users I know ended up skipping iPhone 4S. Also in US markets, the contract is usually 24 months long when they purchase a iPhone. That meant potentially million of iPhone 4 users are waiting to get their hands on iPhone 5.
  • The total number of people buying smartphones is also rising through out the world. That will not just drive sales for iPhone but all its competitors. I guess RIM and Nokia will be feeling a lot of pain, considering how far behind they have fallen in the smartphone market.

Apple has introduced its own Maps app instead of Google Maps on iOS6. Even though the current Maps app by Apple is considered inferior, it might take a few weeks of data to see, if Apple own mapping service is causing issues with iPhone 5 sales.

Do drop in your view about iPhone 5? Will you be buying one?

Related: Who exactly should by an iPhone 5?

-- This Post iPhone 5 is selling 10 times faster than iPhone 4S! is Published on Devils Workshop .


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Friday 21 September 2012

Get Lowest Price of a Book in India with Android App – LowPrice

I love reading books and end up buying many from online stores. I often use MySmartPrice – a price comparison website to look up lowest price of a particular book. But today, a lot of my online browsing takes place on a mobile phone and so I have started using LowPrice Android App which helps you get the lowest price of a book in India.

LowPrice's Android App Features

LowPrice Android App - Lowest Prices Books in India

  • The app allows users to search for books by its name, author's name and publisher's name.
  • The app works usually great with any barcode scanner app (except Google Googles because of API issues).
  • The app also prompts users to install a default barcode scanner app if your phone does not have one.
  • Using the barcode scanners, users can scan the book details at a library and get its cheapest price online.
  • There is also an option to select books into a wish list.

The online book stores the prices are compared to are Flipkart, Infibeam, HomeShop18 and more. If you are ordering a lot of books online, then this app is a very handy one.

Give it a try and drop in your comments.

Link: LowPrice Lowest book price (Android)

-- This Post Get Lowest Price of a Book in India with Android App – LowPrice is Published on Devils Workshop .


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Thursday 20 September 2012

Facebook Allows Users to Promote their Personal Posts

Facebook has seen decent success with promoted posts or Ads. It was a great way for Facebook Page owners to get their brands better visibility and to reach a bigger audience.

Facebook now allows you to promote personal posts.

Quick Tips on Promoting personal posts

  • When you update your Facebook account with a post, an option to promote it shows up.
  • Just note that the promotion option is available only for 6 hours after the post was originally posted.
  • The payment options are Paypal, Credit Cards, Mobile phones, Western Union Quickpay.
  • A promoted post shows up as a "Sponsored Story" to friends. The way Facebook ensures it gets enough publicity is by bumping it up in your friend's news feed.

The Pricing Model for promoted posts

The price set for promoted posts seems to vary between regions. As this post in Knowledge Hub suggests that the price might vary on the geographic location the user promoting the post is from.

That seems a markedly different approach from other advertising platforms which charge based on the geographic location and size of the targeted audience.

I am not sure how popular this service will be, as I think usually people do not like promoting their personal posts.

What are your views on promoting you personal posts on Facebook? Do drop in your comments.

-- This Post Facebook Allows Users to Promote their Personal Posts is Published on Devils Workshop .





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Apple releases updates for iOS and OS X Mountain Lion

As said by Apple in the iPhone 5 event, iOS  6 and OS X 10.8.2 has been released yesterday. iOS 6 kicks out both YouTube as well as Google Maps from the default apps list, though you can download them from the Appstore as always (Google Maps should be available soon on iOS).

facebook-integration-osx

Both iOS 6 and OSX 10.8.2 have deep Facebook integration, just like the Twitter integration introduced in the last iteration of iOS. Apart from that, iOS 6 sports a better Siri, Facetime over 3G, Safari tab sync, Panaroma and lot more.

The update is available for iPhone 3GS, 4, 4S and iPod Touch 4G, also for iPad 2 and 3. Apparently, older models like iPhone 3GS doesn't get all the features – Turn by turn navigation for example. But still it's getting the update, which is a lot better than the situation of Android phones.

Coming to OS X, Apple finally seems to fix the battery life issue with 10.8.2. I personally saw a drop of 80 minutes of battery when I upgraded to Mountain Lion from Lion. There are also updates for Gamecenter, iMessage and support for Passbook has been added.

There is also another update for mid-2012 Macbooks which fixes a OS hanging issue. The update is just 4MB in size.

Have you updated your iPhones or Macs? Make sure you do, because it's free. ;)

-- This Post Apple releases updates for iOS and OS X Mountain Lion is Published on Devils Workshop .


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Tuesday 18 September 2012

Who exactly should buy an iPhone 5?

Now that the excitement over the new iPhone 5 has probably settled, it is time to wonder about the most important question. Should you get yourself an iPhone 5?

Smartphones often get a new incremental model every year, but not everyone buys a new phone every year. I personally average one every 2.5 years. I spoke to some iPhone fans and critics alike and came up with a short analysis on who should actually go ahead and buy one.

Who should Buy the iPhone 5:

Current iPhone owners

iPhone 5 has a bigger screen and a much faster processor. The specs are great but it is not exactly a path breaking update from its previous version iPhone 4S.

  • If you have an iPhone 4 or its previous versions, then upgrading to an iPhone 5 is a great idea. The phone will be a big improvement from your current phone model.
  • If you are a iPhone fanatic and never miss an upgrade, then you should go right ahead and get a iPhone 5. Chances are you have already pre-ordered it.

Non iPhone owners

This one is a bit tricky, as a lot of Android phones have really caught up with iPhones. Android's Jelly Bean (4.1) OS version is often cited as more advanced that iOS 6 from Apple.

  • Though Android 4.1 is as good as iOS 6 if not better, there is a big issue with fragmentation. If you own a Android phone and are sick of waiting for the latest OS versions being made available for your phone(usually they are at least 4-6 months late), then opting for a iPhone 5 will be a great idea.
  • If you are a BlackBerry or Nokia user but want to move towards touch phone with a great app market. Then chances are you will like upgrading to iPhone 5.

Who should Not Buy the iPhone 5:

Current iPhone owners

  • If you have an iPhone 4S, then chances are you might not exactly find upgrading to iPhone 5 very exciting. The new iOS6 version along with improvements to SIRI are already available for the 4S version.
  • The iPhone 5 is an expensive device. In India, it will should cost about INR 44,000. Most popular smartphones from other companies are usually atleast 10% to 15% cheaper.

Non iPhone Owners

  • Android users who are really into customizing things on their phones, using their phone as a temporary disk drive will be better advised to not get a iPhone 5 which runs on a very closed system.
  • If you are big fans of the Android, BlackBerry or Nokia ecosystem, then it is better to avoid the iPhone 5.

I personally thought that the magic is missing from iPhone 5, compared to its previous versions. I found iPhone 5 a great phone but not exactly a compelling device. So you will have to decide for yourself and see if you find the phone and its apps ecosystem very compelling. Buying a smartphone takes a lot of money, so make sure you buy something that you do not regret later.

Disclaimer: I am an Android phone owner and have never owned an iPhone.

-- This Post Who exactly should buy an iPhone 5? is Published on Devils Workshop .


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Twitter releases a rich look for Profile pages

While Facebook's Timeline interface got a lot of criticism, the cover photo feature was pretty cool and Google+ grabbed it with the new design. Now, after Google+, here comes Twitter mimicking the feature.

twitter-new-design

Twitter calls it as 'header photo', to get yourself one, go to the Design tab of Twitter settings, scroll down to header section and you'll be allowed to upload an image with a maximum resolution of 1252 X 626 px.

Apparently, there's some default styling added to the image to increase readability of text on it.

You'll also notice a 'Me' tab in the navigation bar on Twitter web.

You can still add a custom background and header photos are visible everywhere even on official Twitter clients for Android/iOS.

Twitter for Android and iPhone/iPad got updated today with a bunch of features (along with support for header photos) – On Mobile, your Twitter photo stream will be shown below your tweets.

On a whole, this update for Twitter makes it for a richer experience, both on Mobile and desktop.

The updates must be rolling out for everyone soon.

Link: Twitter for iPhone/iPad | Twitter for Android

-- This Post Twitter releases a rich look for Profile pages is Published on Devils Workshop .


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