Gmail takes on a new dual-pane look for the iPad with a list of messages on the left and the conversation thread appearing to the right. Gmail for iPad still has features such as offline access and caching for faster response.
Given the overwhelming evidence that texting while driving is just as bad if not worse than driving under the influence, it’s a wonder that more speech-to-text apps have not appeared sooner.
Well at least here’s one, although only for the iPhone – ShoutOUT by Promptu. It takes your dictation via the mic and converts it into text. You can use it for your SMS messages, Facebook and Twitter updates, etc.
The app itself is free, and the first 25 voice messages are free. After that, you pay fees as follows:
50 for $1.99
150 for $3.99
250 for $4.99
Buy now!
More info from the manufacturer
Price: free (for the app)
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)
Microsoft is going to release Office 2010 this summer, but if you purchase Office 2007 between now and Sep 30, you can download a copy of version 2010 for free when it becomes available (or get a disc in the mail for a small fee). Just click the banner for more info.
Get your Apple Max OS X system patched ASAP. Apple just released patches for 92 vulnerabilities for Leopard and Snow Leopard versions of Max OS X.
Google is pushing to get Android into other hardware, such as set-top boxes, and in turn to get their ads into more markets and in front of more eyeballs. To that ends, they have teamed up with Sony and Intel to develop something called, naturally, Google TV.
Google TV is pretty much a re-imagining of the ill-fated WebTV, where a set-top box brings the Web to your TV screen. Of course, today, there are many different set-top boxes vying for your dollars and space in your AV shelf, including but not limited to media centers, DVRs, place-shifting boxes (like the Slingbox) and much more.
Who knows? Perhaps this version could fare better (think Palm vs the Newton). Of course, the Internet’s pervasiveness is exponentially greater than when WebTV first appeared.
One additional difference will be that the Google Android platform will allow for the software to be embedded in more devices than just the set-top box.
Here’s a good piece of news for those of you running Windows 7 or worried about migrating to it. Microsoft has just put out a patch so you can run apps in Win7 Pro’s XP Mode without specialized hardware.
Prior to this patch, Win7’s XP mode needed a PC with hardware-assisted virtualization.
Of course, most XP applications will run just fine under Windows 7, but there are still others that require this mode.
This is welcome news, as most Windows know the pain of having to migrate to a new OS and leave your favorite apps behind. Heck, I’m still running great apps from Win95 and Win2k days.
Well, well, well. There is now a Kindle reader application for the Mac. This has trailed its brethren on other platforms by a long mile. Even the iPhone app has been available for some time now. Well better late than never.
The Line2 iPhone app from Toktumi is a VoIP calling application that lets you use Wi-Fi and 3G networks to make or receive calls with your same telephone number. Line2 may be particularly interesting to international travelers, as they can make calls back home without incurring international fees. On the flip side, making international calls starts at $0.02.
Line2 is so named because you actually get a second line on your iPhone replete with voicemail, caller ID, etc. Line2 costs $0.99, but monthly service runs $14.95/mo with unlimited US & Canada calling.
Buy now!
More info from the manufacturer
Price: $0.99 for app; $14.95/mo for service
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)
Communication in today’s computer networked world comes in different forms and most of us have use more than one: e-mail, Facebook, IM, RSS feeds, etc. Many times, we have multiple accounts. I know I do! Checking them all can be daunting or at least near impossible as more of them gain more real-time streams.
Startup Threadsy aims to consolidate this comm into a single web-based client. I had a chance to test out Threadsy and found a slick app, that unfortunately was pretty ‘busy’ due to the number of streams that it tried to consolidate. But that’s no fault of Threadsy.
I set it up to check 1 e-mail account, Facebook and Twitter. Threadsy does what we all do – prioritize. In their case, they prioritization translates directly to screen real estate. Email takes up more space than my Twitter feed, although Twitter direct messages come through in my larger consolidated feed, which I like.
You can reply to messages directly from the Threadsy interface, although I did notice there was no way to mark an e-mail as spam.
Threadsy is great for people who want to simplify, but I’m not about to give up the power I have with Gmail, or Facebook’s interface. I already (at least subconsciously) prioritize my different communication streams, and like the separation I have. In time, if an app (or perhaps Threadsy) can incorporate that power and ‘learn’ from my usage how I prioritize streams, then perhaps I’ll switch.
I’ve got 10 invites that I can send out, and am posting them to my Twitter account. First come, first serve.
PCmover by Laplink is a software migration utility that helps you move your programs, files and settings from your old PC to your new PC, and your old PC can be a WinXP box and your new PC can be a Windows 7 machine.
By now if you’re in the market for a new Windows PC, you should be thinking Windows 7, because Windows XP is nearing end-of-life, and you don’t want to be running a computer that never gets security updates.
There are multiple editions of PCmover, including the in-place PCmover Upgrade Assistant which will upgrade your 1 machine. To migrate data from 1 PC to another, you will need PCmover Home at a minimum. There is also an edition geared for netbooks.
More info from the manufacturer
Price: PCmover Upgrade Assistant: $9.99
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)
