Google Hangouts 2.0 for iOS redesigned with iPad tweaks, 10-second video messages
Google Hangouts just jumped a full version number on Apple hardware — the first major update since it added voice calls late last year — and 2.0 has more than just a new iOS 7-ready look. The new app is “fully optimized” for iPads, with a “two-pane” conversation view. On all devices, it’s ready for animated stickers — look out Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger — 10-second video messages for when your friends are offline, and can send a map of your current location with a few button presses. It’s rolling out on the App Store now, assuming you prefer the matchup of Google services and Apple devices.
Filed under: Internet, Software, Mobile, Apple, Google
Source: iTunes, Frank Petterson (Google+)
[New Game] Cloud Raiders Launched by Game Insight
Earlier in February we shared some details on an upcoming game from Game Insight called Cloud Raiders. The new title is a an action packed strategy game that takes place on floating fortresses in the sky.
In Cloud Raiders, players can fortify their bases with different types of defense equipment: from cannons and traps to magical artifacts. You must be ready to fight off massive monsters and legendary buccaneers wandering the skies in search of easy prey as well as be prepared for raiding parties sent by enemy players in search of loot! In order to keep your own holdings safe and conquer this brave new world, you should research and unlock new troop types, brew powerful potions to strengthen your forces, launch mighty cannon volleys to even the odds, and build ever-larger armies of axe-wielding marauders, grenade-lobbing bombardiers, and fire-breathing dragons to win the day!
It all sounds quite fanciful and should keep a person busy for a number of hours. The game is available in the Play Store and is free, but does offer in-app purchase. I know that might be a turn off for many. However, it is getting favorable reviews in the Play Store already. If you still want to take a look at it and see if it can entertain you then feel free to hit the Play Store image below and go pick it up.
Google Trends is now, finally, a screen saver
The flying toasters and infinite space your sleeping computer’s been living with are being retired. No, After Dark isn’t being resurrected and, well, does Windows even come with a screen saver built-in anymore? It’s Google, and specifically the Trends section of Google, that’s leading the bleeding edge of screen saver tech: Mac users can now download a Trends-driven screen saver that…yep, it culls trending Google topics and pushes them to your screensaver. It’s quite pretty! Head over here to grab it for yourself.
Filed under: Misc, Internet, Software, Google
Source: Google Trends Screen Saver, Google
Chrome’s hands-free voice search is coming to everyone, no add-on required
If you’ve wanted hands-free Google voice search (à la Android’s Now Launcher) on the desktop, you’ve so far had to install a Chrome extension. No more — the company has released a Chrome beta that builds the feature into the browser. Any time you visit the Google homepage or open a new tab, you can say “OK Google” to ask a question or perform a command, such as scheduling a reminder. Testers running Chrome in US English should see the feature go live sometime within the next few days, and a matching Chrome OS update is coming soon. Don’t worry if you’d rather not be an early adopter. Google typically releases finished versions of the software several weeks after the beta, so touchless voice search should be available to every Chrome user before long.
Filed under: Internet, Software, Google
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Google Chrome Blog
SugarSync for Android gets more offline features, full-resolution media uploads
Cloud storage service SugarSync has updated its Android app with quite a few nifty features. For starters, the application now allows any file to be saved to your device or SD card card — a feature that will come in handy when you don’t have a connection. You can also rename folders/files and export them to other apps, while some optimization on the tablet side will make SugarSync for Android look better on larger screens. Most importantly, perhaps, the new version uploads pictures and videos at their full resolution — and we know how meaningful this is for some of you.
Filed under: Internet, Software, Mobile
Via: Android Police
Source: Google Play
Rent a New York City apartment by the hour for… well, it’s up to you
Sometimes, New York City can be unbearable. Sometimes, you just need a break. Breather wants to offer you that break, in a variety of “beautiful, practical spaces” that are available by the hour. Think of it like a rentable, temporary office. Sound good? Head right here to check it out!
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Okay, are those folks gone? Now let’s get down to what this is really about: rentable sex spaces. That’s what we’re talking about here, right? Gothamist arrived at the same conclusion as us, and asked Breather’s City Manager Packy McCormick what gives. He claimed that, during a months-long beta period, there were no signs indicating Breather being used as such. “It just doesn’t happen,” he said. In fairness, the spaces aren’t exactly strewn with mood lighting and waterbeds; they have standard office fare (WiFi, desks, power outlets — unsexy stuff) and get cleaned after each use by Breather staff.
We got on the phone with CEO Julien Smith for more; he spoke with us from his mobile phone in San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood — no coincidence, as that’s where Breather is headed in the “next couple of months.” NYC service will also expand out from Manhattan into the outer boroughs in the same time frame, with plans for Boston and other major cities in the future.
Smith also offered details on how this potentially risky proposition works, and…it sounds surprisingly slick. Breather doesn’t own all the apartments it rents, but through “all kinds of different options” (revenue sharing, for instance, or renting) it’s cultivating a portfolio. Don’t think of it like AirBnB by the hour, as the service intends to be something very different. Smith contextualized it in light of Starbucks, which offers a meeting space/office for the price of a coffee:
“Some places are worth spending time in more than others, especially for the price. Starbucks is always the lowest option. We have to offer a higher value than that.”
At $25/hour and a free first hour, it does sound like a convenient option for, uh, whatever it is you’re doing in there. But it’s probably sex, right? Come on.
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds, Software
Source: Gothamist
Facebook discontinuing its Messenger for Windows app on March 3rd
It looks like Facebook is getting a jump on spring cleaning. Three days after shuttering its @facebook.com email service, the company said it’s killing off Messenger for Windows. Though the Windows desktop app won’t be discontinued until March 3rd, Facebook has already removed it from the downloads page. Meanwhile, current users have been receiving notifications letting them know the app won’t be supported after Monday. Incidentally, the move comes days after Facebook confirmed that Messenger is about to arrive on Windows Phone. We guess Zuckerberg & co. can only handle so many Windows-branded apps at a time?
Filed under: Internet, Software, Facebook
Via: SlashGear
Source: The Next Web, Facebook
Sorry, shredders: Tony Hawk’s new game is a mobile-only affair
After Tony Hawk’s massively popular Pro Skater game series faded into the sunset (and the Ride/Shred series lit that sunset ablaze with nuclear warheads), the world went a few lonesome years without a new Tony Hawk title. 2014 is apparently the year that all changes, as Tony Hawk’s back with a new game headed to mobile phones.
In a wide-ranging Bloomberg interview, Hawk said, “We are working on a game for mobile devices this year, and we’ve never gone exclusively that direction yet.” While the leaves the door open to a wide variety of genres (Tony Hawk first-person shooter? Tony Hawk match three?), we’re betting it’s of the skateboarding variety.
Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming, Handhelds, Software, HD, Mobile
Source: Bloomberg
Game makers can now start their own Steam sales, to your wallet’s chagrin
If you’re like many of the PC gamers we know, you wait eagerly for Valve’s Steam sales; they’re chances to stock up on games that were previously unaffordable. Thanks to a new Steamworks update, you won’t necessarily have to be so patient. Game makers can now start their own Steam sales, determining both the size of the discount and its duration. If they opt into one of Valve’s week-long campaigns, they can still determine the pricing. The move doesn’t address complaints that the game industry leans too heavily on price cuts for competition. However, it should prove a big boost for indie developers and players alike. Creators will have more opportunities to stand out in a crowded field, and customers may have more chances to splurge… even if their bank accounts suggest otherwise.
Source: Reddit
Skype now lets you sign up with a Microsoft account, updates its Windows Phone app
It’s been a long time coming, but Skype’s revealed that folks can finally sign up for service using a Microsoft account. Skype believes this feature is perfect for users who perhaps want the least amount of logins possible, and it also points to Microsoft’s two-step verification as a benefit for having such an account. Meanwhile, the Windows Phone app has been updated with a number of security improvements, plus an indicator which lets you know when the person on the other side is typing. As part of the integration with its parent company, Skype will now require a Microsoft account (like the one used to set up your WP device) when registering for a new account through the application. This new version is only available for Windows Phone 8, however — as you might recall, support for the app on earlier versions of the OS was cut off months ago.
Filed under: Internet, Software, Mobile, Microsoft
Via: The Next Web
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