| Dropbox Automator Makes an Amazing Service Even Better Posted: 01 Jan 2012 05:16 PM PST  Dropbox is a fantastically useful cloud storage tool for anyone who has more than one device, be it PC, Mac, or mobile. Other services such as Microsoft's Skydrive offer more storage for free, but Dropbox's amazing API access has made it the third party storage solution of choice for power users and novices alike. These API's are normally used to tap into your account to dump files, however a recently founded software development firm by the name of Wappwolf is taking it to the next level. Releasing a new tool called "Dropbox Automator", Wappwolf has made it easy to create super folders that are configured to perform common tasks on any files you place there.
After granting Wappwolf access to your account, you can use their simple online configuration tool to setup rules for any existing folder in your Dropbox. Here is a run-down of the types of files it supports, and the type of automations it is capable of. Documents: Convert to PDF, Summarize, Translate, Convert PDF to TXT, Upload to Slideshare, Sign PDF Pictures: Upload to Facebook, Upload to Flickr, Downscale Resolution, Rotate Image, Write text on image, Photo Effect, Stamp Logo, Stamp Map, Stamp Dislike. Any File: Email, Zip, Save To Another Dropbox Folder, Rename, Upload to FTP, Encrypt, Decrypt. Send Info: Tweet, Set Facebook Status. I'm sure we can expect many more useful automations in the not so distance future, but so far they are off to a great start. Currently the only complaint I can see people having is in regards to the speed. Conversions for example seem to be the worst, with some seeming to take several minutes to follow through. It's likely however this is mostly a result of the service's instant popularity, and should improve over time as more servers come online. |
| Sony Cuts The Price of Tablet S Lineup By $100 Posted: 01 Jan 2012 04:26 PM PST  Assuming that the laws of modern day economics didn't completely change over with the New Year, we can only assume that Sony's decision to cut $100 off the price of its Tablet S is something of a bad sign for market demand. We just got word that the 16GB model can now be had for a mere $400, or you can step up to the 32GB edition for $500. Finding stock also doesn't seem to be an issue.
The price cut wasn't completely unexpected given intense competition in the "non iPad" tablet market these days, but it does make you wonder if Sony will find the segment profitable enough in the long run to justify further development of the lineup. $400 isn't much of a fire sale, but at the very least it puts some distance between Asus's new Transformer Prime, and of course Apple's 800-pound gorilla. |
| Internet Explorer Use on Windows 7 Continues to Grow at the Expense of Firefox Posted: 01 Jan 2012 01:27 PM PST  The Microsoft PR team in charge of Internet Explorer has a difficult job on its hands. Finding the upside of declining market share isn't exactly the easiest job in the world you know. As a result of the overall trend working against IE, the message this year has been mostly focused around browser share in Windows 7. When you limit the dataset to this one narrow focus, Microsoft appears to be making at least some progress at bouncing back, though mostly at the expense of Mozilla.
The raw data shows a year end market share bump for Internet Explorer 9 to 25.6 percent globally, and over 30 percent in the United States. This might not sound like much, but it's also coming quite close to overtaking IE 8, which when you combine the two adds up to a pretty impressive share of the Windows 7 market. The bigger story here isn't just that Internet Explorer 9 market share is growing, that's to be expected. No, the big news here is that Firefox use is plummeting fast on the second most popular version of Windows in the world. Microsoft's unwillingness to port IE9 to Windows XP is no doubt working in Mozilla's favor for the time being, but as Windows XP fades away Firefox is going to need a plan to attract Chrome and IE users alike in the years to come. |
| Coming Soon: Cedar Trail-based Acer Aspire One D270 Netbook Posted: 31 Dec 2011 10:35 PM PST  The once flourishing netbook market has been cannibalized by media tablets to the point that vendors have begun shying away from netbooks, with one of them eschewing the moniker and another exiting the segment altogether. Nevertheless, Intel recently went ahead with the launch of its third-generation Atom processor platform, codenamed Cedar Trail, for netbooks. Among the first wave of Cedar Trail-based netbooks will be a 10.1-incher from Acer, it has now emerged.
The Acer Aspire One D270, a 10.1-inch netbook powered by the 1.6GHz Atom N2600 processor, recently reared its head in a number of online listings first spotted by Notebook Italia. The D270 features 1GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive. It comes with Windows 7 Starter Edition pre-installed. In Europe, the price is 250 euros ($324 USD) for the 3-cell model and 269 euros ($348 USD) for the 6-cell SKU. However, a retailer in the U.S. has the 6-cell model listed for $279.99. The D270 is expected to begin shipping sometime during January. |
| Google Experimenting with Email Subscription Option in Search Ads Posted: 31 Dec 2011 10:20 PM PST As you would expect from a company that operates the world's most popular search engine, search ads constitute an important source of revenue for Google. Launched in 2000, Google Adwords has always stuck to the text-based, cost-per-click ad model it debuted with. However, the search engine giant is always searching for "innovative ways for advertisers to engage users on Google.com." To this end, it's now experimenting with a new ad format. This new ad format (pictured below) lets advertisers include an email subscription option in their ads. The first report of this new ad format surfaced a few weeks ago when the Emailblog reported about an experimental email subscription feature being tested by Google in partnership with Honda This is what Google had to say when asked about the new format by Techcrunch's Alexia Tsotsis: "We're currently running a small experiment of a new ad format that helps users sign up more easily for email subscriptions or other free newsletters. This new ad format contains a box within the ad that displays a user's Google email address (if logged in). If a user chooses to click 'Subscribe to newsletter' then the email address is sent to the advertiser directly, which is clearly disclosed within the ad itself." 
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| Samsung Ships 1 Million Galaxy Notes, Looks Ahead to U.S. Release in 2012 Posted: 31 Dec 2011 10:01 PM PST  Samsung's hugely successful Galaxy family of devices seems to have found another star performer. The Korean electronics giant has revealed that its 5.3-inch Galaxy Note smartphone-tablet hybrid, which began shipping a couple of months ago, has crossed 1 million global shipments. Oddly enough, the company chose photo-sharing site Flickr, of all places, to announce the milestone.
Before you jump to any conclusions, we feel that some perspective is in order. Samsung's Flickr statement clearly mentions shipments and not sales. Now as we all know, the former is not always the best way to gauge the popularity of something. Talking of sales, the company added that the device was selling pretty well across Europe and Asia, and had succeeded in "creating a new market for something between smartphone and tablet pc." It certainly isn't a "market creator" if only successful first-of-its-kind devices are eligible for the title. But if being a first-to-taste-success-in-a-new-category device is the minimum requirement, the company does have a point. Samsung now expects the Note to widen its market footprint on the back of its impending U.S. launch, which is scheduled to take place sometime next year. |
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