Well, it had a good run. On Friday, Google announced that it would discontinue the popular Picasa photo management tool in order to put all its efforts toward its newer Google Photos service. “After much thought and consideration, we’ve decided to retire Picasa over the coming months in order to focus entirely on a single photo service in Google Photos,” Anil Sabharwal, the head of the Google Photos team,
Augmented and virtual reality headsets That's the problem Eyefluence aims to solve with a technology that tracks the movement of your eyes. Eyefluence isn’t developing its own VR and AR headsets; it's leaving that to other companies and hopes to put eye tracking inside their devices. The company is led by CEO Jim Marggraff, an entrepreneur best known as the mind behind the
Snag the week's most enticing new Android apps and games.
In Episode 3 of the PCWorld Show, Jon, Melissa, and Gordon discuss whether the Surface proved itself during the Super Bowl; tell you why Intel just bclock-blocked cheap Skylake CPUs; and ponder the implications of a computer being deemed the "driver" of a car. Plus, are you over physical media, or do you want a 4K UltraHD Blu-ray player? Watch Gordon do his best Cam Newton imitation in HD quality above, or listen to the audio stream of the PCWorld Show below.
This week was “Everyone holds earnings calls” week in the games industry, meaning games were announced, confirmed, and re-confirmed. Like a new Also in the news this week: No The last time a Not this time! We’ve had to wait an extra four months for the PC release of last year’s
Google has prevailed in a court case, filed by U.K. online mapping company Streetmap, accusing the search giant of anticompetitive behavior. The case, which dates back to 2013, charged Google with abusing its dominant search position to promote Google Maps at the expense of Streetmap's service. Google abused its position by placing a Google Maps clickable image at the top of its search results page and relegating Streetmap to a link lower down on the page, Streetmap contended. Streetmap had operated for several years by the time Google Maps arrived in the U.K.
Facebook may bring SMS conversations back to its Messenger app. Some Android users have noticed the option to use Messenger for this purpose has popped up inside of their app After some Android users spotted it, Facebook confirmed the testing in a To see if you’re in on the test, go to the Facebook app settings and see if you have
A new laptop targeted toward classrooms is perhaps among the toughest Chromebooks out there. CTL claims its NL6x Extra-Rugged Chromebook for Education won't break if a 365-pound (165 kilogram) person stands on it. It can also withstand drops of 70 centimeters, more than 2 feet. That makes the US$269 laptop ideal for classrooms, where clumsy children can drop and rough up laptops. The device has the look of a small briefcase, with a retractable handle on the top to carry it. The laptop has been reinforced to ensure it doesn't break. At the top is a protective cover that can double as a whiteboard. The lower layer has a shock absorber in case of drops. The hinges and open ports are also reinforced.
After last summer’s DevShare was a revenue-sharing scheme that allowed developers to bundle other applications with their downloads. It was introduced to SourceForge in 2013 by the site’s previous owners. “We want to restore our reputation as a trusted home for open source software, and this was a clear first step towards that,” said Logan Abbott, SourceForge’s new president, in a
Two years ago, UberX passengers began noticing a strange $1 charge tacked on to their ride receipts. It was called a “Safe Rides Fee,” and the car-hailing company said it was to help Uber now has to pay $28.5 million to some 25 million Uber riders in the States to settle a class-action lawsuit that accused the company of being dishonest about how intense its driver background checks are.
The Pwn2Own hacking contest will return in March, pitting researchers against the most popular browsers and operating systems. The novelty: Contestants can win a $75,00 prize for escaping a VMware virtual machine. Contestants will be able to exploit Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome on fully patched versions of 64-bit Windows 10 and Apple Safari on OS X El Capitan. System or root-level privilege escalation pays extra, as does escaping from the virtual machine. Every year, Pwn2Own, at the CanSecWest security conference, has slightly modified rules, and
Foursquare is all about discovering new places to visit, but for those times you don't feel like venturing out, the app can now help bring takeout, booze, and groceries to you. The “location intelligence” company recently announced a new partnership with Delivery.com and mobile commerce platform Button. Users living in or visiting the 36 cities where Delivery.com is available will soon see the site’s icon within the Foursquare app. Tap the icon next to a location that uses the service, and you will move from Foursquare to the Delivery.com app (or be encouraged to install it). That means you’ll have to sign-up for Delivery.com’s service to use the new integration.
Intel’s solid-state drives could be poised for a big jump in capacity and speed with new 3D flash chips coming from Micron. Micron, which makes the flash in Intel’s SSDs, has started volume shipments of its 3D NAND flash chips. The chips could lead to SSDs the size of a pack of gum with more than 3.5TB of storage and standard 2.5-inch SSDs with capacities greater than 10TB. SSDs have been advancing in capacity and durability. Fixstars last month
Haptic technology company Immersion has accused Apple and carrier AT&T of infringement of three of its patents in the latest iPhone models and Apple watches. Immersion, which claims over 2,100 issued or pending patents worldwide covering various aspects and commercial applications of haptic or touch feedback technology, has asked the U.S. International Trade Commission to ban the import of the specified iPhone and Apple Watch models in the U.S., besides suing for damages in a Delaware federal court, company CEO Victor Viegas said in a conference call Thursday. Under the rules, it will take the ITC 30 days to decide on instituting an investigation, and the subsequent proceedings could take another 16 months, making an appeal to the ITC the most effective and quick way for redress, Viegas said.
We can also recommend several other movies that have a sense of reality all their own.