As reported on TechCrunch. By Jeff Blagdon Lots of devices are trying to combine the portability of a tablet with the full-featured experience of a laptop. Today at SXSW, Dell’s showing off a new computer that’s taking things one step further — the XPS 18 All-In-One is an 18-inch Windows 8 tablet / desktop hybrid that weighs in under five pounds. AT LESS THAN HALF THE WEIGHT OF THE TAP 20, THE XPS 18 IS…
As reported on The Verge. By Tom Warren From concept to reality: how Redmond’s iPad competitor came to be Microsoft made a bold bet to build its own hardware, competing directly with Apple’s iPad, but it was never an easy task to create something new and unique. Microsoft’s own tablet is the result of it facing a “big challenge”relying on its hardware partners to create a high quality physical device that could go up against Apple. Project…
As reported on TechCrunch. by MATT BURNS Geeks rejoice! Hot off exciting news from SXSW, Google just confirmed via the Google Glass G+ page that Glass will, of course, work with prescription lenses — that is, in future models. The design is still in the works. Apparently the Explorer Edition is not compatible with custom lenses, but Google says to expect the new design this year. As noted in the posting, the Google Glass design is modular, allowing for…
As reported on TechCrunch. by FREDERIC LARDINOIS No site is fully immune to getting hacked, but there are some obvious things every site owner can do to make it a bit harder for hackers to break into a web server and add rogue links or take over a site completely. Today, Googlelaunched its new “Help for Hacked Sites” series to teach webmasters how to avoid getting hacked in the first place – and how to recover their sites if…
As reported on TechCrunch. by RYAN LAWLER People spend a ton of money on their cars every year, from car payments to insurance to gas to maintenance. But for such expensive assets, most people normally don’t know a whole lot about what’s happening under the hood, or how they can drive or maintain their cars better over time. The folks at Automatic want to change all that, with a smart combination of hardware and mobile apps to keep…
As reported on TechCrunch. by SARAH PEREZ The mobile app ecosystem isn’t poised to decline any time soon, according to a new study from Compuware, which finds that the majority of smartphone users (85 percent) still prefer mobile apps to mobile websites. Users believe apps to be more convenient (55 percent), faster (48 percent) and easier to browse (40 percent). That data isn’t shocking, of course – native experiences do tend to work better, after all –…
As reported on Engadget. By Jon Fingas 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…
As reported on Engadget. By Jon Fingas Who knew that smartphone owners were suddenly such temperate drinkers? Just days after Alcohoot unveiled its take on a phone-friendly breathalyzer, Breathometer is here with its own way to watch our tipsiness. The namesake, FDA-approved gadget will plug into the headphone jack of an Android or iOS device and warn if our blood is too alcohol-rich, all while staying small enough to fit on a keychain. Plans are underway to eventually let soused…