Websites can now save directly to your Google Drive

If I want to save a web hosted file on Google drive, I have to download it to my PC then upload it to Google Drive. Google has now released a simple code snippet developers can add to their sites which will allow users to download files directly to their Google Drive (called "Save to Drive").
<script src="https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js"></script>
<div class="g-savetodrive"
 data-filename="My Statement.pdf"
 data-sitename="My Company Name"
 src="/path/to/myfile.pdf">
</div>
Read the Google blog post here.

Boston switches from Microsoft to Google services

Google has been on the offensive trying to convince customers to move from Microsoft to it's cloud services. Over the year, we have heard many high profile switches and now the city of Boston is jumping ship (and taking its 20,000 users with it).
The city estimates that switching from Exchange to Google Gmail will save it $280,000 per year
It’s not just the gee whiz factor: It’s also a matter of money. It will cost Boston around $800,000 to move over to Gmail, Google Docs for word processing, and Google’s cloud service for storing documents. But by dropping some Microsoft products, the city government will save at least $280,000 a year.
Obviously Microsoft argues that Google isn't a solid competitor and that companies moving to Google may find the cloud environment limiting.
Report by the Boston Globe here.

FocusTwist is a Lytro alternative for the iPhone

FocusTwist from Arqspin on Vimeo.

FocusTwist is a fresh app that simulates the Light Field Technology intriduced by Lytro (only it costs $2 instead of $400). The app takes several pictures at different focus settings and then creates a Lytro style interactive picture that can be "re-focused" after the fact.
It works best with subjects that don't move in well lit conditions. 
You can see sample picture taken by existing users and shared on twitter here. 

Apple TV ad: Every day, more photos are taken with the iPhone than any other camera

KLYPAPP for iPhone review - take pictures by clapping (free app)

My go to camera app on the iPhone is Camera+ but I thought some of you may find this useful so I am sharing it. Klypapp is a new app by Manfrotto, the kingpin of photo accessories and enables you to take pictures by simply clapping your hands (great for group shots you want to be in).
  • It has a basic settings menu where you can set timer, delay, number of photos per activation, etc.
  • There is a night mode that increases the camera's sensitivity (clearer shot in darker situations but a hige increase in noise).
  • Ability to perform basic editing (crop, basic filters, color correction, etc).
  • Ability to share photos quickly via Facebook and Twitter.

This app is FREE so why not try it now. Link to appstore here.

 

Best video recording app for the iPhone

For most iPhone owners, the built-in camera and video app is more than enough. For the rest of us, there is FiLMiC Pro. 
  • Best App Ever Awards: video nominee 2011, 2012
  • Best App Ever finalist, Tap! Magazine
  • Gizmodo Essential App 2011, 2012
  • Best Video App of 2011 - TUAW, Editors Pick
  • 5 Stars, Editors Review, cnet.com
  • App of the Week, Time.com/Techland
  • Editorʼs Choice - Wired, Film Riot, Macworld
During the Zacuto "Revenge of the Great Camera Shoot Out", Filmic Pro was used with an iPhone 4s and put against some major competitors (one costing $5,000  and the other $13,000) and won out during a blind "taste test" shootout.
Why is Filmic Pro so good? It offers amazing quality and personalization options. Truth is, you won't need any other video apps. First important difference (compared to the stock Apple app), you can lock exposure, focus and color. This means your video will look consistent throughout. 
It supports extremely slow motion video all the way to super speed recording (and everything in between). Most of the time, you'll set it and forget it but there are times when the slow motion feature comes in handy. As an example I slowmo recorded my daughter on a roller coaster. It was a wonderful way to enjoy the moment (at normal speed, I would have missed her facial expressions and the moment would have been over in a fraction of a second).
Using the app can be as simple as point and shoot but it offers many features professional expect such as an audio meter (stereo capable if you have an external input), aspect ratio overlays, ability to choose frame rate, audio quality and super simple upload and sharing options.
I have tried dozens of video apps in the last 12 months and none come close to the power and quality of Filmic Pro

Samsung pushing OTA update for Canadian Galaxy S4 devices

SamMobile is reporting that Samsung is pushing an update (I337MVLUAMDJ) to its Kies servers. This is typically the first step of the general availability of an Over The Air update. Based on their analysis, it seems to be a bug fix release improving performance and stability.

Typically the update should become available in the next week or so.

 

Facebook may be interested in WAZE GPS

Mark Zuckerberg is clearly taking mobile very seriously and want premium placement on your smartphone. We all heard of the Instagram acquisition last year and the release of Facebook home [for select Android phones]. Israeli newspaper Calcalilst is now reporting that Facebook may be interested in snapping up Waze. 
Acquiring Waze and mapping users to their Facebook accounts would provider incredibly valuable signals to the social goliath it can use to further target ads.  It will be interesting to see if this $1 billion deal actually materializes and if it does, how Waze's existing users will react.
Original article can be found here.

Paper cup and stir stick in one

Yanko design has created a simple paper cup, called the +4.5 paper cup, that has a built in stiff stir stick. 
Simple, cheap and ingenius. 
Yanko webpage here.

#OPUSA Looks like some Saudi anonymous groups have joined in

Site hacked : http://2flirt.us

 

#OPUSA 5000 Facebook accounts hacked

http://pastebin.com/NRvmnYFe

 

#OPUSA 608 hacked websites

This link shows a list of all hacked websites

http://pastebin.com/evHAziX7

 

When you go to one of the hacked sites in this list, you see

#OPUSA is scheduled today

#OpUSA is an Anonymous attack on targetted USA websites scheduled for today (May 7 2013)

So far we have seen the following:

Defacement Embassy of Cape Verde in the US

http://www.minsaude.gov.cv/x.html

 

DB User Table Leaked - Blood Bank of USA

http://bloodbanker.com/

Info sumped here : http://pastebin.com/fUmPjPDt

I blurred part of the screenshot

 

Defacement - firstcommunitybank.us

Site has been cleaned up and all traces of the defacement are gone.


30 person inflatable seating

 

The Beach 7 AirLounge is an quick to setup 30 person inflatable seat (and table). When your event is over, you can deflate the kit and storage it easily. 

Inflation takes 10-15 minutes (with the included pump). How much does all this goodness cost? Only $US7,000. 

Microsoft SkyDrive celebrates 250 million users

Since the launch of Windows 8, Microsoft has been under attack about forcing users to a less usable Operating System. That is why its doubly nice to see Microsoft having cause to celebrate. Microsoft is celebrating 250 million SkyDrive users. 
Microsoft is forcing Windows 8 on consumers buying a new PC and SkyDrive is intimately tied into windows 8 so it is logical that the giant's online cloud storage service got a bump in usage. It is a decent competitor to Google Drive, Box and Sugarsync but falls short of Dropbox.
Microsoft blog article.

IOS 7 to debut at WWDC 2013

Many IOS users are anxiously waiting to see how the Jonathan Ive lead IOS 7 will look and perform. Every rumor I have read indicates that the new look will be very flat (like Windows phone 8). The rumor mill is saying Apple is "late" but like Rene Ritchie (from iMore.com) said, they can't be late for a product they haven't announced.
Many trusted sources have confirmed that developers have been pulled from other groups to help speed up IOS 7 development. The current rumored timeline is that it will be demoed at WWDC and then it will ship with the iPhone 5s in September.
IOS 7 has to be a major redesign otherwise I will jump ship to an Android device later this year when my FIDO contract expires.

Apple AppStore almost at 50 billion downloads

As the app download race continues, Apple may be the first to the 50 billionth download. Apple will be awarding a $US10,000 gift certificate to the person that makes that magical download. The next 50 people will be given $US500 gift cards.

As I write this, the count is at:

 

Link to countdown timer.

Samsung Galaxy S4 available in Canada

The much anticipated Samsung Galaxy S4 is now available to all Canadians wanting to use Samsung's "Life Companion". Most carriers are showing limited quantity warnings but delivery is 1-2 weeks (which is very good).
We know pre-orders are strong in the US and Canada is usually fairly similar.
Here are the provideer pages:

Google's self-driving cars see 750MB of data per second

Google's self driving cars are an amazing achievement and likely will herald the future of personal transportation. We now learn that 750MB per second.

Bill Gross snapped (supposedly) the above image at an XPrize event. He says on his  blog :

"If it sees a cigarette butt, it knows a person might be creeping out from between cars. If it sees a rolling ball it knows a child might run out from a driveway. I am truly stunned by how impressive an achievement this is," 

The cars have logged over 300,000 miles and haven't had any accidents (while under computer control). 

 

LG designing a new Nexus phone

Putting aside all the supply issues related to the Nexus 4, this device really put LG back on the smartphone map. Now Korea Time is reporting that LG is already hard at work designing the next version of the Google branded uber-phone. 
Considering when the Nexus 4 was released, I doubt we'll see the Nexus 5 during this month's Google IO but we'll have to wait and see.