Business Insider: Google Maps Is Back On The iPhone And Reviewers Like Pogue Are Going Completely Nuts For It

Leído en Business Insider 

Google put Google Maps back on the iPhone last night.

You can get the app here.

App-reviewers worldwide are going completely nuts for it.

New York Times gadget reviewer David Pogue already has his review out, and his verdict is clear: He loves this sucker.

"It’s free, fast and fantastic."

Here's what he likes:

• The underlying data. "When I type “200 W 79, NYC,” Google Maps drops a pin right where it belongs: on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Apple’s Maps app, on the other hand, acts positively drunk. It asks me to clarify: “Did you mean 200 Durham Road, Madison, CT? Or 200 Madison Road, Durham, CT?”
• The "must-have" features are all there: "Spoken driving directions, color-coded real-time traffic conditions, vector-based maps (smooth at any size)"
• Google brings as much quality to walking and public transit directions as driving.
• Google shows useful information for particular venues. "If you look up a restaurant, you can read the Zagat write-up, read customer reviews, read the menu or even book reservations, right there on the info screen."
• Google Earth is baked-in.
• The design is "slick, simple and coherent."

His only minor disappointments:

• There's no Siri-integration like there is in Apple Maps.
• You can't download maps like you can in the Android-version of Google Maps.
• There aren't indoor maps like there are in the Android-version.
• The iPad version is just a blown-up iPhone app.

Noticia original aquí

Google: Changes to Google Apps for businesses

Al hilo de la entrada que publiqué el pasado día referente a que google apps dejará de ser gratuito para empresas voy a poneros el comunicado de google . La anterior entrada la podéis leer aquí

Noticia obtenida originalmente del aquí

Google Apps started with the simple idea that Gmail could help businesses and schools work better together without the hassles of managing software and servers. As we grew from a handful of customers to a few hundred, we expanded to offer a premium business version of Google Apps. Fast forward to today and Google Apps is used by millions of businesses. We’ve also added versions for governments, universities and schools. 

When we launched the premium business version we kept our free, basic version as well. Both businesses and individuals signed up for this version, but time has shown that in practice, the experience isn't quite right for either group. Businesses quickly outgrow the basic version and want things like 24/7 customer support and larger inboxes. Similarly, consumers often have to wait to get new features while we make them business-ready. 

With this in mind, we’ve decided to make things very straightforward. Starting today for all new customers:

• Individuals wishing to use Google’s web apps like Gmail and Google Drive should create a free personal Google Account, which provides a seamless experience across all of our web services on any device.
• For Businesses, instead of two versions, there will be one. Companies of all sizes will sign up for our premium version, Google Apps for Business, which includes 24/7 phone support for any issue, a 25GB inbox, and a 99.9% uptime guarantee with no scheduled downtime. Pricing is still $50 per user, per year.

Please note this change has no impact on our existing customers, including those using the free version. And as before, Google Apps for Education will be available as a free service for schools and universities. Also, as the first cloud productivity suite with FISMA certification, we’ll continue to offer Google Apps for Government for $50 per user, per year. With focus we’ll be able to do even more for our business customers. We’re excited about the opportunity to push Google Apps further so our customers can do what matters most to them–whether that’s scooping ice cream, changing the face of healthcare or contributing tolifelong learning. 

Baquia: Google Apps dejará de ser gratis para pymes

Noticia leída en baquia

Google empezará a cobrar a las pequeñas empresas por utilizar su paquete de productividad Google Apps, que incluye correo, procesador de textos, hoja de cálculo, presentaciones y almacenamiento, terminando con la gratuidad del servicio.

Las empresas de diez o menos empleados pagarán ahora 50 dólares al año, la misma cuota que pagan las empresas más grandes. Según explica Google en un post, esta decisión ayudará a mejorar la calidad del servicio para las compañías.

"Cuando lanzamos la versión premium para empresas mantuvimos también la versión básica gratuita", explica Clay Bavor, Director de Producto de Google Apps.""Tanto empresas como particulares se suscribieron a esa versión, pero el tiempo ha demostrado que la experiencia no es la bastante buena para ninguno de los dos grupos".

Google cree que las empresas demandan versiones más eficaces, soporte 24/7 y más espacio en sus buzones de correo. Y los particulares tienen que esperar a veces mucho hasta que las nuevas funciones están listas para aplicarlas a la empresa.

Así que a partir de ahora, los particulares que usen el servicio podrán hacerlo gratis después de abrir una cuenta personal en Google Account. Y para las empresas sólo habrá una tarifa, que incluirá soporte telefónico 24/7 y cuentas de correo con 25 GBs de espacio.

Por otra parte, Google Apps for Education, el paquete de herramientas para universidades y centros académicos, continuará siendo gratuito.

Noticia original aquí

TheNextWeb.com: Google launches ‘Jam with Chrome’, an experimental Web app to play virtual instruments with friends

Se puede tocar instrumentos virtuales con Chrome

Aquí tenéis la noticia en la lengua de Shakespeare:

"Straight out of Google’s Creative Lab comes Jam with Chrome, an experimental, interactive Web app that lets friends jam together from different locations…directly from their (Chrome) browser.

Tapping the latest Web tech, including HTML5-based features such as the Web Audio API, Websockets, Canvas and CSS3, Jam with Chrome lets you select nineteen different instruments, including guitars, drums and keyboards. You can switch between them at will.

The app defaults to ‘Easy’ mode, and there are four different auto-play functions that puts the instruments in the hands of the machines, while pro mode lets you control any of the musical tools with your keyboard. You can invite up to three other friends to participate in your Jam.

This release actually falls two days after the Internet giant rolled out Chrome version 23.0.1271.64, which included support for the Do Not Track (DNT) protocol. It also included track support for HTML5 video, which provides a standard way to add subtitles, captions, descriptions, chapters, and metadata to videos.

The HTML5 browser wars have started to take shape this year, with Mozilla’s Firefox launching an HTML5 3D first-person shooter demo back in August, and Microsoft going all-in with a series of HTML5-based browser games aimed at Internet Explorer.

As for Jam with Chrome, this is evidently an experimental toy of sorts for Google, demonstrating the latent potential of HTML5 and Web-based applications. We’ve had a little play around with it, and it is kinda neat. Check out the official promo video below."

Podéis leer la noticia aquí