Software : Blip: Seizure-inducing The Wolverine trailer hits Vine

Blip: Seizure-inducing The Wolverine trailer hits Vine
W8 upgrade to deliver Mail, Calendar and People updates on March 26
Google+ for iPhone and Android follows the crowd with photo filters
Is Windows Blue Microsoft's next step in killing the desktop?
Digg's 'simple' Google Reader replacement ready in a few months
BBC iPlayer boss tags out to join Shazam

Blip: Seizure-inducing The Wolverine trailer hits Vine

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You have to love it when marketing teams embrace the latest social media trends.

20th Century Fox is counting down to the release of The Wolverine in July, and planning to release a new trailer online this week. To tease the teaser (a trailer for the trailer, if you will) Fox has posted a 6-second version of the trailer to the newly launched Vine service.

To maximise the amount of information conveyed, the Vine "tweaser" contains 18 shots, by our count, or 3 shots per second. The result is a little bit of everything and a whole lot of nothing. If we had to summarise the clip, it would read, "fighting, yelling, Japan, wincing, yelling, falling, explosion". Which, funnily enough, is also the description of the best night out ever.

If you haven't come across Vine before, it's a new photo-sharing service from Twitter that creates short video clips from still photos and collects them all in an Instagram-like community. It's very iOS-centric at this time, though hopefully Twitter plan to open it up to more platforms soon.

Still, it is attention grabbing, and yes, it has made us aware that there is a trailer to watch this week. Bravo Fox, we feel nauseous, but we'll be sure to watch your movie.

Blips are TechRadar's new news nuggets that you'll find percolating through the homepage - or you can see them all by hitting the blip keyword below.

W8 upgrade to deliver Mail, Calendar and People updates on March 26

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Good news for Windows 8 and Windows RT users: updates for the Mail, Calendar and People apps are being released on March 26, Microsoft announced today on its official Windows blog.

"The features that are part of this update are designed to align with the different habits people have for staying on top of their email and schedule and staying organized," wrote Microsoft Communications Manager Brandon LeBlanc.

Specifically, the March 26 Windows upgrade for Mail will enable users to filter messages so that only unread emails show up, and to create and delete folders directly within the app.

For even more Mail organization, it'll also be possible to select all items within a folder and either move or delete them in one fell swoop.

Composing email will get easier with tomorrow's update thanks to Microsoft improving the "To" field, which includes a contacts drop-down the company calls "smart contact suggestions."

Windows Mail vs Gmail

All of these Windows Mail changes are on par with what Gmail already does - except for one convenient tweak.

Drafts will automatically sit at the top of the Mail app's inbox, ensuring that the drafts folder isn't filled with half-finished, long-forgotten messages.

That's great news for everyone except tricksters like former CIA Director David Petraeus and his mistress Paula Broadwell, who allegedly used the "Save as Draft" trick to skirt watchful eyes.

Maybe they can star in a future Google-made ad for the Microsoft version of getting Scroolged.

Windows Calendar, People updates

Changes to the Calendar and People are less plentiful, with the Calendar update offering some cosmetic alterations to make the app easier to read.

"Gone are the solid blocks of colors - instead, those colors are reflected in a small bar on the left of each appointment," wrote LeBlanc.

Functionality-wise, "work week" view returns to this version of Calendar, and Microsoft added the scheduling assistant feature for business accounts that use Microsoft Exchange.

Windows Calendar users stuck in a lot of meetings will be happy to know that it'll be possible to forward meeting invitations, send email to all attendees, choose more recurrence options, and set end dates for events.

The People app, meanwhile, will mostly improve upon navigation with things like app commands and new filters for social media networks.

Xbox Music, Bing AppEx updates too?

Mail, Calendar, and People is the focus of the March 26 Windows app update, but Microsoft may also be readying other Windows 8 and Windows RT apps.

Xbox Music and the Bing AppEx applications were also scheduled to be refreshed this month, according to an unnamed source who spoke to ZDNet.

However, with just six days left in the month, these updates may have to wait until April, even though the publication's tipster said the Xbox Entertainment app team is "almost done."

Either way, expect to be pinged to update Windows Mail, Calendar, and People via the Microsoft Store within the next 24 hours.

Google+ for iPhone and Android follows the crowd with photo filters

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Google+ has announced a raft of improvements for its iPhone and Android mobile apps, with the addition of photo edits and filters taking centre stage.

The social network joins the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Flickr, all of which have recently added the option to infuse photos with a retro flavour, in response to the overwhelming popularity of Instagram.

The addition of photo effects like Drama and Retrolux within the G+ app comes courtesy of the excellent and full-featured Snapseed photo editing application, which Google acquired in September last year.

As well as filters, users will be able to perform simple crops and rotations, while also adjusting saturation, brightness and contrast through the Snapseed app's unique in-image sliding tool.

We want two states

Windows 8 and Windows RT are both divided into two separate interfaces: the tile-laden, mobile-style UI, and the more familiar-looking desktop.

But in Windows RT, the version present on the first batch of Microsoft's Surface tablets and other devices, the traditional desktop serves practically no purpose.

The desktop in full version of Windows 8 does function like you'd expect, but even there Microsoft seems to be making every effort to make the tile interface more prominent.

Now, according to Thurrott, Windows Blue is going to exacerbate that trend by giving the touch-friendly half of the OS more of the functionality that was previously reserved only for the desktop. But what does it mean?

High noon for the Windows desktop

With the Windows desktop becoming less and less prominent with every iteration of the OS, all signs point to future versions of Windows doing away with it entirely.

With the whole world going mobile, Microsoft may hope that a touch-based UI will be more intuitive to a wider range of users, and many probably won't mind giving up some control in exchange for greater ease of use.

No doubt other users will balk at the idea of giving up folders and file-level control over their Windows experiences, but they may be drowned out. At least we'll always have Linux (knock on wood).

There's no guarantee that Microsoft will kill the desktop by Windows 9, but it no longer seems as far-fetched as it would have several years ago.

And Microsoft will likely build in some functionality into the new Windows that would allow legacy applications to be at least somewhat easily installed.

As Computer World pointed out today, it wouldn't be the first time it had done so.

Check out the latest Windows Blue leak for more on the upcoming update.

Digg's 'simple' Google Reader replacement ready in a few months

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Google's Reader may be on the way out this July, but there are already other savvy internet companies looking to fill its upcoming void.

Digg revealed its intentions to create a new RSS feed compiler earlier this month, and at the time asked many of its current users what they would like to see in a new Reader-like service.

The aggregate site already said it would include compatibility with Twitter, Facebook, Reddit and Tumblr, and feature a Reader-esque API for longtime users of Google's service.

Now that Digg feels it has enough of a feel for what people want, the site is ready to begin development of its spiritual successor.

Can you Digg it?

Over on the Digg blog, the site discussed the features identified by users as integral for not just the success of a new RSS reader, but also on how to improve Google's departing system.

Chief among the 800 responses was to keep the Digg RSS reader simple, which the site replied it hoped to do by keeping the interface clean, flexible and easy to understand.

Speed was another hallmark feature respondents claimed would be key, as was the ability to synchronize the feed across multiple devices.

Holdouts from the soon-to-be-expired Google Reader also intimated they were looking for a way to easily import existing accounts and subscriptions to the new Digg service.

"We want to experiment with and add value to the sources of information that are increasingly important," Digg related.

"We likely won't get everything we want into v1, but we believe it's worth exploring."

Digg hopes to have its RSS reader ready in a few months, which could mean an easy transition from the end of Google's app in July.

BBC iPlayer boss tags out to join Shazam

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Daniel Danker, one of the people most responsible for the success of the BBC iPlayer, is leaving the corporation to take on a new role with the popular Shazam mobile app.

Danker, who has served as the Beeb's General Manager of Programmes and On Demand since 2010, will become Shazam's Chief Product Officer, which is a role newly-created for his arrival.

Shazam made its name by helping users identify the names of songs by listening and consulting a vast database, but recently branched out into TV shows and this is where Danker's expertise will come in.

Users of the app in the US can tag any show at any time, listen to songs from the soundtrack, read tweets from the cast, quickly consult IMDb or Wikipedia and even buy t-shirts.

Big loss for the Beeb

Danker, who worked at Microsoft before the BBC, will be responsible for developing the TV side of the business, with more-and-more companies currently producing Shazam-enabled TV commercials.

He'll also be in charge of the continuing development of the mobile apps on multiple platforms, as well as the company's relationship with major social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

In a statement he said: "Producing one of the most-downloaded apps of all time, Shazam has built its reputation on providing people with a discovery experience for music and television that sets the standard. I look forward to using my experience at Microsoft and the BBC to help Shazam create engaging products that delight."

Danker's loss is likely to be felt at the BBC, where he was also in charge of the Red Button and iPlayer Radio services.

Yahuui Blog

Tuesday, March 26, 2013