Hasta La Gadget!

Back in 2012, Google acquired Nik Software, the developer behind the popular iOS photo editing app Snapseed. Google reassured Snapseed users that they would not be killing off the software, and released a version for Android as well. Now it looks like Google’s acquisition has started to creep into other Google products as well, and the latest is Google+ where users of the social network will be able to upload their photos as per normal, but will also be able to tweak and edit them using Snapseed’s photo editing features.

For Google+ users, you can check this out by hitting the “Edit” button over your image and you will be presented with photo editing options as pictured in the screenshot above. If you have ever used Snapseed before, the interface and the features should not be foreign to you, but for those using it for the first time, it is pretty straightforward and simple to use. It has been reported that the feature is gradually rolling out to users on Google+, so you might not have access to it yet, but presumably it won’t be too long before you are able to try it out. What do you guys think? Is this a great idea, and should Facebook be thinking about something similar as well?

Google+ Gets Snapseed Photo Editing Features original content from Ubergizmo.

Just the other day a more flatter version of the Google logo was revealed in the Chrome Beta for Android app. However it was not a new logo that Google plans to use as its main logo, but rather a slightly redesigned logo that would be used in situations where a flatter design might be better, as opposed to the current logo which features some beveling on it. At the same time it looks like Google has also decided to debut a new logo for its Google Play website, which as you can see in the screenshot above is different from its predecessor.

The previous logo was read as “Google Play”, with the font being a lighter shade of grey, and with the “play” logo positioned on the left. The new logo sees the “play” logo positioned on the right, and the “play” from the text has been dropped, with the Google wording featuring a darker shade of grey. We’re not sure what this is supposed to signify, but it does look a lot simpler, not to mention the play logo already symbolizes “play”, so we guess there really is no need for the “play” wording. What do you guys think? Like this new logo?

Google Play Website Gets A New Logo original content from Ubergizmo.

Arcade Fire already knows how to immerse its fans in a web music video. For its new “Just a Reflektor” video, though, it’s also bringing smartphones into the action. The band’s Chrome-based project links a PC to a mobile device through a webcam, turning the handheld into a visual effects controller — halos, reflections and wireframes in the video adapt to every movement. As the experiment is open source, viewers can even tinker with the web code (primarily JavaScript and WebGL) to build their own masterworks. Whether or not you’re a fan of Arcade Fire’s indie rock, you’ll likely want to give “Reflektor” a look for curiosity’s sake; just don’t be surprised when the video looks back.

Filed under: Internet, Alt, Google

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Source: Just a Reflektor, Google Chrome Blog

Google+ has received two new features today, embedded posts is one of them. Google says that they’ve added this feature to expand user’s audience across the web. Public Google+ posts can now be added to websites. Posts with all kinds of content, like pictures, text and other media, are supported. The embedded posts are fully active, so visitors can comment and +1 and even follow the post’s owner inline, straight from the embed box. To embed a Google+ post, one needs to find a public post and select Embed post from the drop down menu. A code is automatically generated which only needs to be copied and pasted on to a website.

The other feature is the expansion of author attribution in Google Search. Google’s authorship program links an author’s work which shows up in search results to their Google+ page. The feature offers greater attribution for authors across the web. Authors who use WordPress will see their picture and profile next to links to their posts in search results if they sign in using Google+. This feature is actually being piloted with WordPress and Typepad, Google says that it is also working with a number of other websites such as WikiHow and About.com.

Google+ Posts Can Now Be Embedded original content from Ubergizmo.

Bing News has received a “modern” makeover. The new layout is built for touch, it puts trending topics from Twitter, Facebook and Bing in the spotlight. Since today’s news is propelled by “likes and tweets,” according to Bing, they’ve refreshed Bing News so that users can stay on top of stuff that they care about. The design is adaptive, meaning that Bing News will automatically adapt to fit the browser of the device being used to access it, be it a tablet, phone or PC. The news carousel at the top showcases latest headlines from categories including U.S., world, local, sports, entertainment, politics and more.

Recent news headlines about a particular personality generating buzz will also be placed in the carousel if a query related to that person is made. The right side of Bing News displays news that is trending on Facebook and Twitter, popularity is judged by the number of likes and tweets they receive. Bing announced the expansion to its Satori technology earlier this year which allows people to view answers at a glance for certain things, places and people. The technology is harnessed in the refreshed Bing News to identify people with trending news, thus allowing users to view people and places related to trending headlines without having to open a new page.

Bing News Gets A Makeover original content from Ubergizmo.