Hasta La Gadget!

We’re sure that there are many of you guys out there who love to check into locations via Facebook – I know because I am one of them. Well the good news is that Facebook is looking to capitalize on those check-ins, and we say good news because not only will this benefit Facebook, but it will benefit users as these check-ins will be “exchanged” for free WiFi. According to reports, it seems that Facebook is currently trialing some sort of pilot program in which they provide some businesses with “Facebook routers” which provide free WiFi hotspots to customers.

In exchange for the free WiFi, customers will just need to check into their location and they will then be directed to that business’s Facebook page, where depending on the business, deals and special offers could also be given to those that check-in. This is not only a win for the user who gets free WiFi, but also to the business that gains more exposure, but also for Facebook who will get the free data which helps create more specific ads. This doesn’t mean that those who refuse to check-in don’t get the free WiFi – in fact the WiFi will still be provided but will require a password that should be given by the establishment.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Facebook gets serious in educating its new users, The HTC Opera UL is rumored to be Facebook’s smartphone,

While other webmail services such as Yahoo and Hotmail are still being used, we guess to a certain extent it is almost expected that everyone has a Gmail email address. After all with Google offering users 1GB of storage when they first launched, there was a massive difference in storage space compared to Yahoo and Hotmail back then which we guess helped Google to gain some ground. Now thanks to a ComScore report, it seems that Gmail has proven to be the most popular webmail service in the world as it edged out its competitors, Hotmail and Yahoo with 287.9 million unique visitors in October, versus 286.2 million for Hotmail while Yahoo managed 281.7 million to claim third place. These are global figures although surprisingly in the US, it seems that Yahoo has an edge over Google with 76.7 million versus Gmail’s 69.1 million, while Hotmail only managed 35.5 million.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Facebook Email Coming?, Gmail dethrones Hotmail as the world’s largest email service,

True to its commitment of making Gmail faster and better for its users, Google is now adding another useful feature to its popular email client. Today, Google has announced that it has redesigned the compose and reply experience in Gmail by now allowing the compose section to pop up in a window within the platform, similar to opening the chat feature. This is definitely good news since this will make it easier for us to access other emails without having to save them in draft or to discard it.

“And because the compose window works the same way as chats, you can write multiple messages at once and minimize a message to finish it later,” said Phil Sharp, Product Manager for Gmail. Moreover, the new compose functionality now allows you to easily insert inline images, hide controls, view profile pictures of your contacts when adding recipients to your message, and drag and drop address chips. As for the reply experience, Phil Sharp says that we will also see the same changes each time we reply to a particular message. Google will be rolling out a preview of the new features starting today.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Gmail search gets a boost, Google warns users of potential Gmail attack,

Bogonil Shopov, a Bulgarian blogger, says that he has managed to purchase 1 million Facebook users for a mere $5 – a pittance for email marketers and spammers. The data was sold on a site called “Gigabucks”, and so far, the Facebook ID seemed legitimate, so the Facebook security team has promptly contacted Bogonil.

According to Bogonil, Facebook wanted to keep their conversation “a secret”, here’s an extract of the Facebook email he published on his blog: (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Facebook Partners With McAfee To Offer Security Software, Facebook announces dedicated email address to report phishing scams,

Microsoft has announced the release of the newest Office Web Apps, which are now available via SkyDrive. Until now, the Office 2013-ish apps have been in preview mode since July, with 750,000 testers giving it the run through. According to the announcement, the Office Web Apps were “fine-tuned” for Windows 8, IE10, and iOS 6.

The Office Web Apps include Word Web App, Excel Web App, PowerPoint Web App, and OneNote Web App. Documents render 30% faster than before, and Microsoft promises that Office Web Apps and standard Microsoft Office applications play well together and are fully compatible. Sadly, Office Web Apps includes mostly basic features, lacking a lot of the more advanced features you find in its desktop software counterpart.

The Word Web App includes new support for adding and viewing comments, and has new page layout and picture tools. PowerPoint Web Apps has gained video playback support, allowing users to view videos from tablets and smartphones, as well as new comment and co-authoring support. In OneNote, you’ll find the added ability to search either an entire page or just a section, as well as new ink viewing support. In Excel Web App, you can “now print right from your browser and rename or add sheets as you need.”

Office Web Apps were first launched in 2010, allowing users to utilize Office from their Web browsers. Updates include expanded support for touch-friendly editing, additional formatting controls, and “consistent co-authoring/collaboration support across web apps.” You can get the new Office Web Apps from Outlook.com and via SkyDrive.

[via Office]

New Office Web Apps now available on SkyDrive is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
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