I know Read It Later as a very useful Firefox extension, similar to Instapaper, which allows users to save web content with just one click for later retrieval on smartphones, tablets, or the web. Previous to this, there were both free and pro versions of Read It Later available in the App Store, with the Pro version allowing for things like sharing content to social networks, and a fullscreen reading experience. All that's changed now, as well as the brand itself. Read It Later, TUAW has been told, is now being called Pocket, and the full service will be available for free on iOS, Android, and Kindle, as well as the web and all of its other platforms. Pocket has all of the features of Read It Later, which means it still plugs into all of the same places -- users will be able to save content from the web or over 300 apps out there (including apps like Flipboard and Zite), and then access that content again later. And of course the new Pocket app also features upgrades, including a new cleaner UI, a redesigned fullscreen mode, and the ability to favorite and even tag content in bulk, so it's easier to find and organize than before. It sounds like a great move for the app and its creator, Nate Weiner. The fact that all of the previously pro features are now free should give you a reason to try it, even if you haven't before. Pocket should be available either right now or very soon over on the App Store. Show full PR text More Than Just Reading - Top App "Read It Later's" Newest Version Becomes the Now Free "Pocket" to Easily Save Web Articles, Videos and More to View Later
New Pocket App Leads Content Shifting Category with a Beautiful New Design that Makes Viewing Later on Any Post-PC Device Easy
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, APRIL 17, 2012 - Four years ago, Read it Later was created to allow users to save their web content to view later on their own schedule. One year ago, Read It Later had 2.5 million users; now it has 4.5 million. This growth made it the number one paid news app for Android and Kindle Fire and a top app for iPhone and iPad. Today, the company announced a new version of their flagship app -- now free across all devices -- and a new name, Pocket.
Pocket is for when people discover an interesting article, video or web page, but don't have time to view it. Once saved to Pocket, the list of content is visible on any device -- phone, tablet or computer. It can be viewed while waiting in line, on the couch or during commutes or travel -- even offline. Pocket is available today for free in the App Store at getpocket.com/ios, on Google Play (formerly the Android Marketplace) at getpocket.com/android, and for Kindle Fire at getpocket.com/kindlefire.
"Nearly five items every second are saved to Pocket from the web and popular news apps, including videos, articles, recipes and more," said Nate Weiner, founder of Read it Later and creator of Pocket. "Pocket is the perfect name for our latest version as it expresses how simple it is to take any content users discover with them, no matter where they go."
Pocket is different than "bookmarking," apps, which organize links for long term storage. Instead, Pocket lets users save the content they discover on the web or inside any of over 300 leading apps--including Flipboard, Twitter, Pulse, and Zite--with a single tap and view it on any device.
Since its launch in 2007, over 200 million items have been saved, giving the company deep insight into how and when consumers save and view their web content. Key findings include:
o. 33 percent of saved items come from 3rd party apps including Twitter, Zite, Flipboard and Pulse.
o. 50 percent of items saved via Pocket are viewed on mobile screens (up from 34 percent in January).
o. Web consumption peaks in the early morning and declines through the day, as consumers dig through their inboxes and find what they want to view later. iPad use peaks at night, a read more..
Friday 27 April 2012
Kindle Fire-Web Content-Apps
Worldwide Developers Conference-Apple-Wwdc
Apple blundered badly in putting tickets for the Worldwide Developers Conference on sale when most of the developers in the Pacific time zone were still sound asleep. Philip Michaels thinks the company should go about things differently for future conferences. read more..
Federal Health Insurance-American Cancer Society-Healthy Lifestyle-Support Medicare
THURSDAY, April 26 (HealthDay News) -- A healthy lifestyle -- including eating right, exercising and maintaining normal weight -- can boost the odds of long-term cancer survival, especially for breast, colorectal or prostate cancer, according to new recommendations from the American Cancer Society. read more..
Americans Support Medicare Reform, But Not on Their Dime: Poll
THURSDAY, April 26 (HealthDay News) -- Medicare, the federal health insurance program for older and disabled Americans, may be hurtling toward the critical list, but most people don't want to pay for needed reforms from their own wallets, a new Harris Interactive/HealthDay poll finds. read more..
Susan G. Komen For The Cure-Breast Cancer Diagnosis-Gestational Surrogate-Giuliana Rancic
This week, TV personality Giuliana Rancic announced she is having a baby, via gestational surrogate. After years of trying to conceive through in vitro fertilization, a diagnosis of breast cancer almost removed all hopes of having a biological child. This raises the question -- is pregnancy safe after a breast cancer diagnosis? Susan G. Komen for the Cure posted the results of a study authored by H. Azim Jr and L. Emeye, titled "Pregnancy following estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer is safe -- results from a large multi-center case-control study. ... read more..
Monday 23 April 2012
Childhood Vaccinations-Informed Consent-Immunizations
For Jennifer Stella, it's a question of informed consent. Her son had a seizure after getting childhood vaccinations and her daughter suffered a "head-to-toe" eczema outbreak; she says parents should research the risks and benefits of immunizations and decide which ones are appropriate. read more..
Debut Solo Album-Intimate Gigs-New York Tech-Jack White-Rapid Pace
Jack White just announced a series of intimate gigs for next week and is headlining Outside Lands in San Francisco in August. Get ready for his live shows by listening to his debut solo album for free on iTunes on your computer or iPad. http://facebook.itunes.com/MEf read more..
NY Tech Day: “Justify Your Startup’s Existence In 20 Seconds”
The tech scene in NY is growing at such a rapid pace it kind of blows my mind. New York Tech Day was a glowing example of that growth, with 160 startups pitching and over 3,500 attendees.We couldn't help but attend ourselves, and what we saw was more than exciting. read more..
Routine Vaccinations-Physical Comfort-Acetaminophen-Babies
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Some physical comfort and a soothing voice may make routine vaccinations a little easier on babies without resorting to painkillers like acetaminophen, a new study suggests. It's no secret that vaccine jabs create distress, for infants and parents alike. The usual routine in pediatricians' offices is to get the shots done quickly and then pass the baby into mom's arms for some comfort. But in the new study, researchers tested the so-called "5 S's" approach -- a method of soothing a fussy baby popularized by pediatrician Dr. ... read more..
Health Authorities-Skin Infection-Skin Disease-Vietnam
HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam's health authorities will seek foreign assistance to deal with a resurgence of a mystery skin infection that has already killed 19 people in the central region and terrified villagers, state-run media reported on Saturday. The disease was first reported between April and December last year, with doctors unable to identify the cause and it has re-emerged in a mountainous district of Quang Ngai province. One village was reported to be in a state of terror over the death of a resident, and altogether 171 people reported infections on palms and the soles of their feet. ... read more..
Wednesday 18 April 2012
Ms Queen Victoria-Queen Elizabeth-Cunard Line-Apple Store
TUAW readers who are setting sail aboard the MS Queen Victoria will enjoy the fact that the cruise ship is now outfitted with the iStudy featuring 18 iMacs running Mac OS X and (cough) Microsoft Windows 7. The iStudy is used for various educational courses on the ship, and also serves as the QV's internet lounge. WIth the addition of the iStudy program to the Queen Victoria, there are now iMacs on all three of the Cunard "Queens", which include the huge Queen Mary 2 and the Queen Elizabeth. The latter ship also has iRange, which is a seagoing Apple Store for those who want to pick up a Mac, iPad, or iPod while cruising.iMacs Ahoy! Cunard Line opens Apple iStudy on board the MS Queen Victoria originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments read more..
Bounty
MunkyFun is the group of developers behind first-person shooter Archetype for the iPhone, so they know already how to put a console-style shooter on Apple's mobile devices. Archetype was published by Villian, but MunkyFun's latest title is self-published. It's called Bounty Bots, and it's available for free on the App Store right now. Hopefully, at the word "free," you already went to go and download the game to see what it's like. But in case not, I'll tell you that it's a shooter where your main goal is to run around collecting coins as quickly as possible, and then to deliver those coins into banks (but without getting killed by other players). Coins delivered get banked, but you still get XP for picking up coins, so even if you're terrible, you can progress through the game. Progression gets you various parts to customize your bot with, and the game is finely tuned for both casual and hardcore players, so those ready for a real challenge can buy special parts that make things tougher but can also come with rewards as well. The game's freemium bent can be frustrating at times (if you ever lose all your coins, you're locked in a jail that you can then pay your way out of, which seems targeted right at guaranteeing those all-important in-app purchases). But there's enough action here that it's worth the free download, and if you get hooked, well, all the better. And MunkyFun is already updating the title as well, so there's more content on the way. Bounty Bots is a fun use of the company's expertise so far, and I'm sure it will lead to even better things in their future.Daily iPad App: Bounty Bots is full of cartoony shooter action originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 17 Apr 2012 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments read more..
Sunday 15 April 2012
Microsoft Support-Microsoft Office-Service Pack 2
If you are using Office for Mac 2011 listen up, because Microsoft has an update for you, taking the suite of tools to version 14.2. Microsoft says the update provides the "latest fixes to Office for Mac 2011. Additionally, this update contains stability and reliability improvements." More specifically, the update improves connectivity for SkyDrive, provides upload functionality improvements for SharePoint, and has some language fixes in German and Italian. There are also fixes for Exchange, printing fixes for Word and Powerpoint gets full screen views. The fixes require that you be running OS X 10.5.8 or later. Office should alert you to the update when you run any software that is part of the suite, if not there is a link on the Microsoft support page, as well as more details on what is fixed.Microsoft Office for Mac Service Pack 2 now live originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 12 Apr 2012 18:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments read more..
Thursday 12 April 2012
Blood Pressure Monitor-Smart Baby Monitor-Baby Monitors
In early March, TUAW's intrepid Dave Caolo reported on the U.S. release of the Withings Smart Baby Monitor, a US$299 device that works with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to let you keep an eye on your baby, aging parents or grandparents, or even your pets. As you'll see later in this review, it does more than your average cheap Wi-Fi baby monitor, even providing a level of two-way interaction.
Design
I am a huge fan of Withings products, all of which are incredibly well-designed and very functional. I've used a Withings Wi-Fi Body Scale for almost two years and keep my health in check with their iOS-connected blood pressure monitor, and both devices work flawlessly month after month. As I'd expect, the Smart Baby Monitor is another Withings product that balances great design and functionality with easy integration to your favorite iOS device. The monitor is a small 3.6" x 3.6" x 2.5" (92mm x 92 mm x 63 mm), .65 lb. (293 gms) white box that flips open like a jewel box to reveal the camera and many controls. It's actually quite attractive, looking more like something that Jony Ive would design for Apple than your run-of-the-mill webcam. The monitor has a 3 megapixel HD camera at 2048 x 1536 pixels -- that's identical to the resolution of the new iPad. The Smart Baby Monitor also has a large speaker through which your voice or lullabies can be transmitted to baby, a multicolor nightlight, audio sensors, humidity and temperature sensors, and tactile command buttons. There's also a support stand for attaching the monitor to a crib, although it can be set on almost any flat surface and has a surprisingly wide-angle lens. Gallery: Withings Smart Baby Monitor For nighttime use, the monitor has infrared LEDs that "light up" the area up to about 15 feet (5 meters) away. Those LEDs automatically power up or down based on the amount of ambient light in the room. There's even a carry bag included if you wish to take the Smart Baby Monitor with you on a trip. To connect to the Internet, you'll need to have either a Wi-Fi network (up to 802.11n) or Ethernet connection. The monitor also requires a nearby power plug, although it can run off of an internal Lithium-ion battery for use when you're not near a plug. A handy red LED flashes near the power socket on the monitor to tell you when you need to recharge the battery.Setup and Functionality
As with the other Withings products I've used, the Smart Baby Monitor is a piece of cake to get set up and running. Once the device is plugged in and powered up, you make a Bluetooth connection to the monitor through the iOS settings app on your favorite device. As soon as a connection is established (no pairing code required), you're asked if you wish to install an app from the app store -- that's the WithBaby app (free). With three taps and your iTunes password, the app is installed, and you can launch it. You're asked if you wish to accept push notifications. With this capability, you can receive alerts from the monitor on sound, movement, temperature or humidity. You'll need to set up a free account, which requires only an email address and a password. You can have up to three different accounts connect to the monitor simultaneously. One nice feature is that by default, the iOS app is set up to monitor sound even when the WithBaby app isn't running. There's a place to set up a baby profile. When I added one, there was a Next button at the bottom of the profile page that didn't seem to work -- I had to kill the app, then start it up again and go through the process a second time in order to get it to finish. Once that was complete, I had access to a high-resolution image of the room the camera was pointed to. Double-tapping or reverse-pinching the screen allowed me to zoom in on details. In bright lighting conditions, the image is in color; when the infrared illumination is turned on the image is grayscale. Unlike many web cameras with the ability to read more..Thursday 5 April 2012
Study: Geolocation Apps-Masters Golf Tournament-Tournament Organizers-Security Management
A survey by a nonprofit group that focuses on risk and security management found that nearly 60 percent of smartphone users employ apps that access their location data despite having concerns about risks to their privacy and even personal safety. read more..
iPhone gains even more regional carriers for April 20 launch
Wednesday appears to be a banner day for regional carriers and the iPhone: This morning, Macworld noted that both Virginia-based nTelos and Alaskan Communications would carry the iPhone 4S starting on April 20. They aren't the only recipients of Apple's phone -- you can add another Alaskan carrier, one from Kentucky, and one from Wisconsin to the mix. read more..
Masters golf tournament gets into the swing of things on iOS
The Masters is one of the most tradition-bound sporting events in the U.S. So it's fascinating to see how tournament organizers have embraced mobile with the latest iPhone and iPad apps that let you follow the four-day golf tournament. read more..
Musician Wade Hayes-Hectic Lifestyle-Colon Cancer
Country musician Wade Hayes ignored his symptoms because he felt he was healthy, young and fit. But the fatigue, bleeding and pain were not, as he had assumed, caused by a hectic lifestyle and strenuous weight lifting. They were indications of what he was diagnosed with in the fall: stage IV colon cancer. read more..
Consumer Reports-Respondents-Ipad
ChangeWave Research today released the results of a survey addressing users' experiences with the new iPad, finding that 98% of the professional and early-adopter consumer audience targeted by the firm rate themselves as either "very satisfied" (82%) or "somewhat satisfied" (16%) with the device. The number compares favorably to the already-strong 95% satisfaction rating (74% very/23% somewhat) for the iPad 2 in the weeks leading up to the new iPad's introduction.
Among the key features of the new iPad is obviously the Retina display, with 75% of respondents citing it as one of their favorite features. Other top features such as long battery life, LTE capability, and device speed registered in the 20-22% range. On the negative side, price was the biggest issue, with 26% of respondents noting device cost and 23% of respondents citing wireless data costs as their key dislikes. Other mentioned drawbacks such as size/weight and storage capacity all registered with under 10% of the surveyed customers.
Interestingly, ChangeWave also surveyed customers about any issues with heat on the new iPad, and was able to compare those results with ones obtained back in June 2010 regarding much-publicized antenna issues on the iPhone 4. The new survey found that 89% of users experienced no problems with heat on the new iPad, with none of the respondents who even experienced the problem citing it as a major one. This contrasts with the iPhone 4 antenna issue, where 35% of respondents reported at least some issues with antenna performance and 7% calling the issue a "very big" one.
ChangeWave's survey was conducted March 22-28 and included 200 owners of the new iPad. The sample size is a relatively small one, but the results should show at least a general perspective on how customers are viewing the device.
Meanwhile, influential ratings and reviews magazine Consumer Reports has released its new tablet ratings, giving the new iPad a "recommended" label and placing it atop the rankings among 9-12 inch models. The recommendation comes after the magazine noted some issues with heat on the new device, but ultimately feels that it "didn't find the temperatures to be cause for concern".
Notably, the Retina display on the new iPad has resulted in Consumer Reports recalibrating its expectations for tablet displays, with the new iPad garnering the only "excellent" rating among tablet displays, while other displays have in many cases been shifted downward to make room at the top.As a result of the standout performance of the new iPad's screen, we have recalibrated our standard of excellence for tablet screens. The iPad alone now receives an excellent overall score for display quality. A number of current models, including the iPad 2 (which remains on sale and is a fine performer), that received excellent scores under the past standard will now be adjusted to receive very good scores overall. Likewise, some models that received good scores may also be adjusted downward, and some overall scores have changed slightly.Perhaps the only "negative" of the new iPad cited by Consumer Reports is the observation that the Retina display can "magnify imperfections" in low-resolution web content, with the magazine suggesting that in some cases such content appears worse on the new iPad than on the lower-resolution iPad 2. read more..
Sunday 1 April 2012
Design Simplicity-Angel Investing-S Paul English-Job Postings
In part II of his Founder Stories interview with host Chris Dixon, Kayak.com’s co-founder Paul English discusses why job applicants will be hard pressed to find job postings on Kayak.com, relays the lessons he learned from Kayak’s mobile app and tells Dixon the traits founding teams need to possess in order to impress him as an angel investor. read more..
Initial Concerns-Food For Thought-Healthday News-Bird Flu Virus
SATURDAY, March 31 (HealthDay News) -- Research on a mutated, more contagious form of the bird flu virus can be published in full, U.S. government biosecurity advisers said Friday, despite initial concerns that bioterrorists could use the information to start a pandemic. read more..
Study Weighs In on Diets for Kids
FRIDAY, March 30 (HealthDay News) -- If you're trying to get your child to drop a few pounds, here's some food for thought: A new study finds that among three types of diets, kids preferred the one emphasizing foods that don't cause blood-sugar imbalances. read more..
Medications-Asthma
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Kids with asthma end up in the hospital slightly more often when co-pays for their medications are higher, suggests a new report. In the study of close to 9,000 kids, families with higher out-of-pocket costs also filled fewer prescriptions for asthma control medications for school-aged children -- a difference that worked out to five fewer days with drugs per year. The findings suggest that the cost-saving strategy of shifting more drug expenses on to patients might have some downsides when it comes to young patients' health. ... read more..