Tag Archives: WebApps

Google Cloud Playground lets you dip your toes in the Cloud Platform waters

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Google Cloud Playground lets you dip your toes in the Cloud Platform waters

Google's Cloud Platform holds a certain amount of appeal for developers looking to quickly build robust web apps. Of course, getting started is a bit involved. You'll first need to download and install several tools and an SDK on your local machine. Cloud Playground offers the chance to dip your toes in the water and experiment with services like App Engine, Cloud Storage and Cloud SQL sans the lengthy installation process. The browser-based tool is designed for testing out sample code, evaluating APIs and even sharing code snippets without the hassle of building a complete development environment. This isn't a proper solution to web-based development, however. For now you're limited to Python 2.7 App Engine apps, and the code editor and mimic development server have a rather basic feature set. Still, for those who are tempted by Cloud Platform, but not quite ready to dive in head first, the Playground is a welcome treat.

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Via: TechCrunch

Source: Google Cloud Platform Blog

TweetDeck for Chrome and web gets drag-and-drop columns

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TweetDeck for Chrome and web gets grabby with drag-and-drop columns

Twitter isn't quite done refining TweetDeck's interface following recent web and desktop overhauls -- there's still a little tweaking left in store. The company has just updated the Chrome and web versions of its social app with grab handles that let users drag and drop columns at will. It's also easier to jump back to the top of a column when there are unread tweets, and a selected column now snaps to the sidebar when there are fewer than three total columns on the screen. While the fresh interface is web-only for now, those who prefer the native Mac and Windows apps should get matching upgrades in the near future.

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Source: Twitter

Microsoft demos real-time co-authoring for Office Web Apps

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Microsoft demos real-time co-authoring for Office Web Apps

With Microsoft's Build developer conference kicking off in just a week, we're frankly surprised the company is choosing to release any news ahead of time. Today, though, the firm posted a video showing some changes to Office Web apps. In particular, the preview indicates that these various apps will now support real-time co-authoring, with multiple users making changes at once (yep, just like Google Docs). That's a nice, long-awaited improvement over the current setup, in which multiple users can make changes, but not alongside one another. According to Microsoft, this set of features will roll out over "the next several months." For now, we've got the video preview embedded after the break. And don't be put off by the 14-minute length; the demo doesn't actually begin until five and a half minutes in.

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Source: Microsoft

Microsoft Office Web Apps to receive real-time collaboration, Android support

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Microsoft Office Web Apps to receive real-time collaboration, Android support

Ballmer and Co. have just laid out what changes Office Web Apps will see over the next year and beyond, and it's honing in on social features and more. Sure, the productivity suite already has collaborative document editing, but Microsoft is vowing to include real-time collaboration á la Google Drive, where users can see who's currently working on a document while changes appear on the fly. The PowerPoint Web App is already packing the revamped experience, and the Office team promises that the real-time co-authoring will become faster as time goes on.

The OS titan also says it'll incorporate a range of other improvements, including simplified file management, shortening launch times and even a find and replace feature for the Word Web App. In addition to the tweaks, Microsoft revealed that Android tablets will finally be able to access its online suite of tools, as it'll begin supporting the mobile Chrome browser. The firm's given itself the loose timetable of "over the next year and beyond" for the feature rollout, so avid users should sit tight for now.

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Source: Office 365 Blog (Microsoft)

Packaged Chrome apps now searchable in dev channels for Chrome OS and Windows

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Packaged Chrome apps now available on Dev Channels for Chrome OS and Windows

While Google opened the door to packaged Chrome apps back in February, it's been a largely one-way affair ever since -- developers could upload the native-style apps, but they couldn't find anything without a direct link. As of a dev channel update, the relationship is a little more two-directional. Both Chrome OS and Windows-based Chrome testers can at last search for packaged apps in the Chrome Web Store alongside the usual releases. Google is mostly holding back on wider access to give developers more time to polish their work. Us non-coders will have to be patient, then, but truly offline-friendly apps just came one step closer.

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Via: Chromium Blog

Source: Chromium Projects

Packaged Chrome apps now searchable in dev channels for Chrome OS and Windows

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Packaged Chrome apps now available on Dev Channels for Chrome OS and Windows

While Google opened the door to packaged Chrome apps back in February, it's been a largely one-way affair ever since -- developers could upload the native-style apps, but they couldn't find anything without a direct link. As of a dev channel update, the relationship is a little more two-directional. Both Chrome OS and Windows-based Chrome testers can at last search for packaged apps in the Chrome Web Store alongside the usual releases. Google is mostly holding back on wider access to give developers more time to polish their work. Us non-coders will have to be patient, then, but truly offline-friendly apps just came one step closer.

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Via: Chromium Blog

Source: Chromium Projects

Draft cloud editor saves writing in stages, imports from just about anywhere

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Draft cloud editor saves work in stages, imports from just about anywhere

Although web-based editors like Google Docs are wonderful for writers who don't have a save shortcut hardwired in their muscle memory, they're lousy for anyone who's interested in seeing major revisions on the road to a final copy. Nathan Kontny's new Draft web app might be far more helpful for those creators who work step by step. It lets writers declare given document versions as mid-progress drafts, and offers editing side-by-side with older versions to see just what's new in the current session. The app also avoids some of the lock-in that comes with cloud services by allowing imports and syncing with Box, Dropbox, Evernote and Google Drive. There's no easy way to directly publish online as this stage, but if you're only concerned with producing a masterwork in the cloud from start to draft to finish, Kontny's web tool is waiting at the source link.

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Via: TechCrunch

Source: Draft

Google brings iOS Gmail app’s interface to the mobile web and Gmail Offline

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Google brings iOS Gmail app's interface to the mobile web and Gmail Offline

Google had a very warm reception to the improved search and overall sleeker UI in Gmail 2.0 for iOS -- warm enough, in fact, that it's spreading the redesign work to its web apps. Both the mobile web app and Gmail Offline now share the same basic look as the iOS port as well as its search and Google Calendar integration. There's no sign of the interface reaching Android's native client, but those who eschew native apps on Android, BlackBerry, Chrome and iOS can get a taste of what they've been missing in the past few months.

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Via: The Next Web

Source: Gmail (Google+)

Office Web Apps update brings web image pasting, PowerPoint slide editing and more

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Office Web Apps update lets you copy paste web pictures and more

Microsoft's Office Web Apps are great for those with a SkyDrive account and any device with an IE, Firefox, Chrome or Safari browser who don't want to lug the full Office 365 suite around. Since functionality can be a tad limited, however, Redmond's just added more features with the latest update. For starters, you can now copy and paste pictures from the web into Word, PowerPoint and OneNote Web Apps. Other new functions include cursor-following tools in all the programs, the ability to rearrange slides in PowerPoint Web App along with comment viewing, touch-based chart resizing and more in Excel Web App. Microsoft's posted some sample files that work without a SkyDrive account, so if you want to give it a whirl, hit the source.

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Source: Office Web Apps

Chrome browser gains Web Speech API support in latest stable build

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Good news, everyone: a safer and more robust version of Google Chrome has just been tipped for the masses. Like we've previously seen in the beta release, the stable version of Chrome 25 brings support for the Web Speech API. With this update, you'll find the ability to create dictations and issue voice commands within any web app that taps into the feature. Also of significance, silent extension installs are now a thing of the past for Windows users in Chrome 25. While you'll now need to consent to each add-on before it's installed, we're sure you'll agree that the added security is worth the extra trouble. As you've come to expect, the update to Google Chrome will be rolled out to users via the browser's auto-update feature, which means it won't be long before you have a shiny new version number.

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Source: Google Chrome Blog