Google has added features to Drive and the Docs apps suite to make the products easier to use for people who are blind or have poor eyesight, an issue over which the company has been criticized. The improvements include smoother interaction with third-party screen readers for better text-to-speech performance and expanded keyboard navigation capabilities. The enhanced products include the Drive storage service, the Docs word processor, Slides presentation app, Sheets spreadsheet software, Drawings tool and Forms creator. For example, Docs now recognizes descriptive text in images, so that screen readers can verbalize those descriptions, and there are new keyboard commands for editing Sheets charts and pivot tables, Google
The Only four apps are available for now, but From the user's perspective, there's no clear indication that these are Android apps when downloading them from the Chrome Web Store or opening them from the app launcher. However, the apps themselves look exactly like their smartphone and tablet counterparts, and will work without an Internet connection. Google is also taking a page from Windows 8 by letting users snap portrait mode apps to one side, allowing another window to run maximized on the rest of the screen.
Bad news for some Xperia owners: Sony is cutting you out of KitKat. The company won't be updating the Xperia L (pictured), M, C, or SP beyond Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, according to the device Ironically, this comes just one day after Sony said The revelation is especially unfortunate given the devices are only about a year old. Other manufacturers, such as HTC, pledge to continue updates for up to two years.
HTC might not have killed its plans for a smartwatch, despite an earlier Unnamed sources now If anything, those are just challenges that HTC plans to address when it finally does release its first wearable. Details on the device are still unclear, but CNET says that HTC is working on a design and features that stand out from other devices on the market, while basing the watch off Google's Android Wear platform.
Apple is offering partial refunds to recent iCloud subscribers as it drops the price of its cloud storage plans. The refunds were first Apple's iCloud storage plans previously included 5 GB of free data and cost $20 per year for an extra 10 GB, $40 per year for 20 GB, and $100 per year for 50 GB.
The Nexus 9 may indeed be the next tablet from Google, with another clue manifesting Thursday. It appears in the most uninteresting of places— One of Nvidia's documents mentions the device by name, saying "the HTC Nexus 9, expected in the third quarter of 2014, is also expected to use the Tegra K1." The Tegra K1 powers the company's Nvidia Shield, a gaming-focused Android tablet that
Wednesday was another big day for Internet action as hundreds of thousands of Americans made their voices heard over the Federal Communication Commission's proposed During Internet Slowdown Day, more than 10,000 sites participated in the action by placing spinning "loading" symbols on their web pages, according to
If you fancy photographing Arctic wildlife, Ricoh Imaging has a new Wi-Fi action camera that works in frigid conditions and underwater. The palm-sized WG-M1, announced Thursday in Japan, brings a few handy features for outdoor photography in a rugged package. It’s waterproof to a depth of 10 meters, shock-resistant from heights of up to 2 meters and can withstand temperatures as low as minus 10 degrees Celsius. The 14-megapixel sensor and the wide-angle, 160-degree, F2.8 lens can capture full HD 1080p video or high-speed photos at up to 10 images per second. Images can be displayed on the camera’s 1.5-inch color LCD monitor. The unit also has Wi-Fi connectivity for smartphones and tablets. An associated app turns a linked mobile device into a remote control for the camera so photos can be taken from a distance.
You can do a lot with the Windows 7 Start menu. You can put your favorite programs front and center. You can replace big, easy-to-hit icons with smaller ones that take less real estate, and you can control the behavior of clicking on Documents or Music. Let's look at three separate areas where you can alter the Start menu.
Evidence continues to suggest that the next version of Windows will kill off the Windows Phone name completely. On Wednesday, Dumping the Nokia name in favor of the Lumia brand is no surprise. While Microsoft has been allowed to use the Nokia name after its $7 billion-plus purchase of the Finnish company's devices division, Nokia itself is still a separate company. Microsoft has clearly stated that it won't be using the Nokia name going forward.
Google Play already had a leg up on Apple's "All sales are final" App Store by letting you return paid Android apps within 15 minutes of purchase and get your money back. Now, Google is upping its game by extending the refund time limit for apps to two full hours. Rejoice!
