Pandora intros redesigned iPad app, hopes you’ll skip that other big radio service

Pandora launches redesigned iPad app, hopes you'll ignore that other big radio service

There’s no doubt that Pandora is feeling the heat from iTunes Radio. The company isn’t letting its competitor’s launch go unanswered, however. It just unveiled a redesigned Pandora 5.0 app for iOS that gives iPad users several features that were previously iPhone-only, including deeper artist exploration, social music sharing and an option for more variety in stations. The release also makes better use of the big screen through a panel that helps listeners find related music without skipping a beat. Android tablets will get these perks later in the fall, Pandora says. The firm may still have a tough time luring iPad owners away from Apple’s streaming service, but the new Pandora app is free to use — it won’t hurt to tune in.

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Via: CNET

Source: App Store, Pandora Blog

iCloud website gets iOS 7 makeover, fresh app interfaces

DNP iCloud for iOS7

To prepare for iOS 7 bursting out of the developer bubble into public release, Apple has clothed the iCloud website in raiment that reflects the new platform’s looks. Next time you log into the website, you’ll be greeted not only with redesigned icons, but also with fresh app interfaces — Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Notes, Reminders and Find my iPhone got complete makeovers. The iWork for iCloud beta apps still retain their old UIs, but hey, at least they’re still free to use. As a nice bonus, Apple has also added quick menu access, which you can see in the image below the cut, when you click on the name of an open app. Head to the website to get taste of the new platform before iOS 7 comes out today.

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Via: 9to5mac

Source: iCloud

YouTube’s mobile apps will add true offline viewing in November

YouTube’s Android app added the ability to watch precached videos (while still online) last summer, but Google’s video streaming unit isn’t stopping there. A post tonight on its Partners & Creators informed video makers that viewing of stored videos with no internet connection is coming soon. According to the blog the feature is coming to its mobile apps — following up on the recent updates on Android and iOS — in November, and will let viewers store videos for disconnected viewing for a “short time.” We don’t know if that consists of minutes, hours or days at a time but we’ll keep an eye out for more details — perhaps this is what the team that used to work on video responses has been up to.

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Source: YouTube Creators Blog

Zoho Docs for desktop syncs files on your PC with the cloud, brings offline editing

DNP Zoho docs for desktop

You’ve likely been taking advantage of Zoho’s mobile apps and the service’s Google Drive integration if you use its office suite. Well, now the company has also released a Zoho Docs for desktop client that syncs files saved on its cloud with a Mac, Windows or Linux computer. It also works in reverse, so files saved on your PC will sync with the cloud — even documents edited offline, now that the feature’s been added, will sync once you connect to the internet. While you can cherry-pick folders to synchronize, it’s also possible to set up the client to update all your Zoho documents in all connected devices simultaneously. That includes workspaces you share with teammates, which instantly reflect the changes anyone in the group makes. We’re sure faithful Google Drive users won’t even bat an eyelash at this update, but those who still use Zoho Docs extensively can click the source link to download the client for free.

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Source: Zoho Blog, Zoho Support

Google’s AdID, an anonymous identifier for advertising, could replace the aging cookie

Google's AdID, an anonymous identifier for advertising, could replace the aging cookie

You know the drill: accept the cookie, delete the cookie, empty the cookie bin, and so on. Mostly, it’s an exercise used when attempting to get your mum’s PC to run a wee bit faster, but if you think about it, the cookie is one of the most archaic pieces of the world wide web that’s still in use today. Naturally, Google is swooping in in a bid to change the status quo, according to a new report from USA Today.

Essentially, the search giant is building an “anonymous identifier for advertising, or AdID, that would replace third-party cookies as the way advertisers track people’s internet browsing activity for marketing purposes.” Perhaps astoundingly, it sounds as if the project could benefit both consumers (by shielding true identities) and advertisers at the same time. Of course, pundits are concerned about the global leader in online advertising controlling the technology that tracks movements on the web, but to us, it sounds as if end users will get far more power over who sees what when compared to today’s cookies.

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Via: Slashgear

Source: USA Today

Google invites iOS users to experience data compression with Chrome

Google invites iOS users to experience data compression with Chrome

Like it or not, thinking about every megabyte is essential for smartphone owners hoping to keep their monthly usage from topping whatever tier they’ve purchased. The nasty, unbecoming world of data caps isn’t changing in the near-term, and Google knows it. Following in the footsteps of Opera, the outfit’s Chrome browser for iOS is evidently equipped with a data compression feature that’s engineered to save precious bytes when browsing via mobile. This technology has existed for some time, but it’s just now being rolled out en masse to those with an iPhone. We’re told that it “compresses and minimizes HTML, JavaScript and CSS resources, removing unnecessary whitespace, comments and other metadata not essential to rendering the pages,” which can reduce data usage by up to 50 percent on certain sites. So, Apple — thinking about tossing something similar under the hood of Mobile Safari?

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Source: TechCrunch

Google reportedly replacing third-party cookies with AdID to alleviate privacy concerns

Google is reportedly working on an alternative to third-party cookies called AdID, an anonymous identifier that would help mitigate privacy concerns that exist with current third-party tracking cookies. Such has not been made publicly known, but will reportedly be part of talks slated to happen with industry members and related parties “in the coming weeks.” […]

Firefox 24 arrives with WebRTC video chats on Android, quick-close tabs on desktop

Firefox 24 arrives with quickclose tabs, WebRTC on Android

Mozilla has just released Firefox 24, and this refresh lavishes most of its attention on the Android version. The updated mobile browser enables WebRTC support, letting Android users conduct web-based video chats without a plugin. These surfers can also share browser tabs between NFC-capable devices, launch a preferred sharing app from the main menu, read in Braille and enable a Night mode in Reader. Desktop users aren’t completely left out of the upgrade frenzy, however. Firefox 24 lets them quickly close all tabs to the right of a selected tab, drag out chat windows and use the stealthier scrollbars in OS X Lion and newer. If you’re intrigued by any of the new Firefox clients, you can grab the edition you need at one of the source links.

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Via: Mozilla Blog (1), (2)

Source: Firefox, Google Play

Brazil’s Wild Plan to Purge America From Its Internet

Brazil's Wild Plan to Purge America From Its Internet

Brazil is not very happy about all these NSA revelations. As home to Latin America’s biggest economy, the country understandably hates the idea that the United States is listening to its phone calls and reading its emails. In fact, Brazil hates it so much that it wants to disconnect itself from the U.S. internet altogether.

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Iranians’ glimpse of Facebook and Twitter freedom was due to a ‘technical failure’

Iran's taste of internet freedom was a shortlived 'technical failure'

Yesterday, for a brief spell, ordinary Iranian citizens were able to talk to each other via Twitter and Facebook — services that had been officially banned since 2009. Today, however, they awoke to discover that the government had fully restored its anti-social blockade, with one communications official dismissing the whole episode as a “technical failure” stemming from some ISPs. That’s not necessarily true, however, and another possible explanation is that yesterday’s events were the result of a tussle between emerging pro-internet moderates like Iran’s new president, Hassan Rouhani, and hard-liners elsewhere in the country’s power structure. Alternatively, some fear that the temporary lifting of the ban was a ploy to allow the authorities to trace would-be Facebook users. In any case, the communication official’s response to the glitch sounds ominous: “We will take action if there was a human flaw,” he’s quoted as saying. “We are probing it.”

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Source: USA Today