Software / Web Services

Over at Gizmodo John Herrman is singing the praises of Internet Explorer 9, just announced today. The next version of Microsoft’s venerable browser is full of sound and fury, but is it worth getting excited over? There’s a key bit in Herrman’s analysis that pinpoints the answer:

“…while IE9 might not outpace the fastest browsers out there, it’s at least close. And hilariously faster than IE8. Again, they’re at least trying, and when you’ve got the market share (and history of ignoring standards) that Microsoft does, this is, again, worth a lot.”

It sure is.

You can now upload any digital file to Google Docs, but does this new feature cause the application to one-up its competitors?

Remember the chatter about Google’s rumored “G-Drive”, the company’s supposed push into the online backup space? The G-Drive itself hasn’t materialized, but Google has made the first steps in that direction with an update to Google Docs & Spreadsheets (docs.google.com) that allows users to upload files of all types (music, photos, video), not only office files. It’s free, offers cheap storage upgrade options, and  is easy to use, but the absence of a file syncing feature keeps it from competing with the big boys.

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I’ll admit, I don’t fully understand Foursquare or why those who use it love it, but someone out there must because they’ve made it through their first year with some fairly impressive stats.

• Over 500,000 users
• Over 1,000,000 badges have been awarded
• Over 1.4 million venues with 1200 offering specials
• Over 15.5 million checkins

It’s good to see a nerdy idea take fruition and last beyond the first baby steps. And hey, you know you’ve arrived when other social networks try to copy your ideas. (Yes, I am talking about you, Yelp. I’ll stop being snarky when Check-Ins come to the Android app!)

Here’s to another year of friends flooding Twitter and Facebook with half-hourly check-ins and exultations on becoming the “Mayor” of a place. Oh wait…

No seriously: congrats, guys.

Music on the go just got a little better (and more expensive) with Slacker Radio 2.0 for Android and Slacker Radio 3.0 for BlackBerry. The free apps allow music lovers with a $3.99 Slacker Radio Plus subscription to wirelessly cache their favorite stations, which is great for times when you’re not connected–or if want to save some juice. Slacker says that playing back cached songs provides up to five times longer battery life than wireless streaming.

Wait a minute. Didn’t Slacker 2.0 for BlackBerry do caching for free? Yes, and you can still use the older app, although it won’t be seeing any feature upgrades.

The big benefit of Slacker Radio 3.0 is the new Auto Station Refresh feature, which updates cache stations overnight via 3G or Wi-Fi. It literally wakes up your device to deliver an updated batch of tunes. Before you had to tether your BlackBerry to your notebook via USB. And Slacker has never offered caching on Android at all. You also get unlimited song skipping, no ads, and complete song lyrics.

Slacker Radio 3.0 for BlackBerry is compatible with models 8500 and higher, including the BlackBerry Bold, BlackBerry Storm ($339.99), and BlackBerry Curve ($264.99) series smart phones. Slacker 2.0 for Android should work with all existing devices.

Time will tell if Slacker users will be willing to pay the premium for wireless caching. But to give users a taste of the benefits the company will offer 14 days of caching for free. And you can always stream the old fashioned way without paying a dime, at least for now.

Do you have a mobile workforce  that you’d like to train, but don’t want to fork over the travel-related costs? Citrix has the answer for companies looking to send workers to employee boot camp with its new GoToTraining.

The Mac and PC-compatible GoToTraining enables companies to save time and reduce travel costs by moving their training curriculum online and delivering sessions to trainees in multiple locations. Some of the features include:

• Full-service registration makes it easy to schedule, track and manage cancellations. Trainers can limit class size to optimize interaction during sessions and an online course catalog lets participants self-register for training sessions.

• Content library and material distribution lets trainers organize, store and reuse course materials such as tests, surveys and recordings, and eliminates the need to email materials to attendees.

• Real-time curriculum management features allow trainers to instantly adjust programming based on real-time feedback. Trainers can update polls, tests and materials on-the-fly in session.

• Testing options allow trainers to measure attendee knowledge prior to sessions and gauge retention of course material both during and after sessions conclude.

• Integrated audio conferencing gives organizers the option to offer phone conferencing, VoIP, or both to attendees.

Pricing is determined by the number of attendees present. If you’re expecting a maximum of 25 seats, GoToTraining costs $140 per month, or $1,428 annually; a maximum of 200 attendees will drive the cost up to $349 per month, or $3,348 annually. Even better, when you purchase GoToTraining, GoToMeeting is included at no extra cost.

Big things are happening in the world of RIM. During Mobile World Conference 2010, the company unveiled several new applications that are designed to improve the usability of its BlackBerry smart phones.

First up is a new browser that RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis touted as being capable of accelerated browsing over carriers’ networks and rendering Web pages more efficiently. Unfortunately, a formal name and release date weren’t revealed.

Also in the works are what RIM dubs “Super Apps”, contextual applications that will be integrated into a BlackBerry’s core functions. Lazaridis demonstrated how BlackBerry users can send and read Twitter updates from their inboxes.

RIM also took the lid off another new product, BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express, which is free server software that wirelessly syncs BlackBerry handsets with Microsoft Exchange (2010, 2007, 2003) as well as Microsoft Windows Small Business Server (2008, 2003). Available in March, BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express is for small and medium-sized business customers and companies that want to let employees use their own phones for corporate email, contacts, calendar, tasks, and other business related tasks.

Check out the YouTube clip below (which lacks audio) to see the browser in action.

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Today at Opera’s booth at Mobile World Congress, I got a double dose of alternative browsers. First up was Opera Mobile 10 Beta for Android, which isn’t available to the public yet. (Spoiler alert: I like it way better than the current Editors’ Choice winning browser for Android).

Then, I got to see a preview of Opera Mini for iPhone, which Opera announced last week but has yet to submit to the App store for approval (for that reason, I wasn’t allowed to film video, although the screenshot at right is revealing ). Read on to see our hands-on video and find out why both are worth switching to (even if the iPhone version never sees the light of day).

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Too busy getting things done to be concerned about Valentine’s Day? Well that might be okay for you, but we both know that a certain someone isn’t going to stand for that excuse. If you’re not careful, you’ll be staring down the barrel of the wrong kind of V-Day, one that’s distinctively less harmonious than the fleet-footed couple pictured to the right.

Typically, making Valentine’s plans is all about hunting down the remaining restaurants with open reservations, setting up flower deliveries, ordering big pink bears or glimmering jewelry, all of which takes time. But only a few days left till the holiday, you can’t waste a second.

If you’ve got a smartphone that connects to an app store (looking at you BlackBerry, Palm, Android, and iPhone owners) you might be able to swing some last-minute plans for Sunday night. Godiva Chocolatier’s app can have chocolates sent to a doorstep near you (or someone else) faster than you can visit a Barnes & Noble, and a good sommelier app can help you pare a wine with your dinner whether it’s out at a restaurant or cooked in the hearth.

For more apps to help with Valentine’s Day, click below.

• Introduction
• Web OS
• BlackBerry
• Android
• iPhone

Today, Google announced Buzz, a service that will let users post Twitter-esque updates from within Gmail, as well as from select mobile platforms. The service is free, and will roll out over the next few days.

In his opening remarks, VP of product marketing Bradley Horowitz described the glut of information we currently receive in our social networks: endless updates from potentially thousands of “friends.” This is “a large scale problem,” he said. “A relevance problem. The kind of problem we’re good at.” He likened Buzz to the convenience of being able to chat within the Gmail interface, a single browser window.

First and foremost, Buzz is available as a feature within Gmail. When you first launch it, Buzz will automatically follow your most frequent Gmail contacts. Users can post textual updates, as on Twitter, as well as rich media, such as Picasa albums and YouTube videos.

In order to post updates yourself, you’ll need a Google profile. Every time you post, you can choose to make those updates public or private. To buzz publicly means that your updates will appear in your Google Profile. It’s not unlike having a public Twitter, although Twitter doesn’t let you make individual tweets private.

Personally, the idea of having my updates indexed in my Google Profile is oddly scary to me, even though my tweets are all public as well. I think the difference, for me, is that someone has to be on Twitter, seeing my tweets in their timeline, to become aware of me. My Google Profile appears every time someone searches for me on Google.

On the desktop side, Buzz borrows elements from Facebook and Twitter. If you type “@” plus a Gmail contact’s name or e-mail address, their name will Autocomplete, as if you were adding recipients to an e-mail. That reply will then go straight to that person’s inbox. Meanwhile, users can comment on updates, just as Facebook users can on pretty much anything in their feed.

Then there’s mobile devices…

Let’s be frank: the idea of switchable graphics has always been appealing, but the implementation thus far has been a huge downer. If you wanted to switch your notebook’s active GPU from integrated to discrete, you had to either to log out or reboot the computer.  The process was typically accompanied by a not-too-comforting flickering black screen, which would probably lead the laymen into thinking that a problem had occurred.

But not anymore. With the arrival of Nvidia’s Optimus technology, the switchable graphics experience has become what users (and reviewers) always thought it should be: seamless and simple.

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