Software : Download of the day: FileZilla |
- Download of the day: FileZilla
- Industry voice: The importance of a planned app strategy for your business
- Laptops set to give passwords the finger with TouchID-style tech
- IBM and Apple unveil first wave of co-developed business apps
- Have we reached the point of 'peak app'?
- Instagram adds verified profiles with a major milestone
- Nokia's Here Maps checks in to Google Play now, iOS in 2015
- Google's new Hangouts feature is neat, though kind of creepy
| Download of the day: FileZilla Posted:  FileZilla is a feature-packed FTP client that does much more than just upload files. Why you need itFTP can seem a little confusing to the novice, but not with FileZilla. This easy to use program utilises a drag and drop interface, making the uploading of files simplicity itself. You can pause and resume the transfer of large files over 4GB, and if the transfer gets aborted, FileZilla still manages to retain a useable link using its Keep Alive feature. The tabbed interface allows you to manage multiple sites at once, while you can search for and edit files remotely. It's cross platform, too, so you can use it to upload files on your work PC and then manage them on your home Mac. And to help even more, the bookmarks, filename filters and synchronised directory browsing all serve to take the pain out of FTP. It's got plenty of technical compatibility as well. FileZilla supports FTP, FTP over SSL/TLS (FTPS) and SSH File Transfer Protocol (SFTP), plus IPv6, HTTP/1.1, SOCKS5 and FTP-Proxy. Key features
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| Industry voice: The importance of a planned app strategy for your business Posted:  Given everything I have said in previous columns about bringing home technology to the workplace, there is a danger I'm about to contradict myself. Still, blame it on my family. In the Chadha household there's always things going on – last minute shopping, holidays to arrange, parents and grandparents to talk to. It's a bit like running a business and, like any successful organisation, communication is critical. For the kids, it's crucial they have 'own time' to talk to each other, or friends, without parental interference. But it's equally important the whole gang talks together so we all know what's going on. As a family, we're pretty tech-savvy and apps are a big deal for us. The downside is that every birthday I'm bombarded with best wishes via Facebook, Twitter, Google Hangouts, LinkedIn, SMS, email, phone calls and even a couple of cards through the letterbox (yes, people still send these). Whatsapp transformationBut one app in particular has transformed our family life – Whatsapp. We use it for everything from private conversations and family discussions (when one or more of us is away), to shopping lists and holiday planning. We also use the Apple Find Friends app, so we know where the kids are at any time. No, it's not spying – they can turn it off if they wish, but they appreciate the safety aspect without the "where are you?" phone calls. So how does this translate to the business world, given my previous gripes about CEOs expecting domestic apps to be appropriate for their organisations? Well, it's the principle of thinking creatively about the workforce and the way it communicates. There are still many companies that use intranets and extranets but, in a smartphone world, their roles are being restricted, accelerated by the cloud and the need for collaborative tools. Often intranet content is out of date or just plain dull and rarely interactive. I'm not suggesting Whatsapp as a business tool, but the principle is about making company communications engaging, exciting and relevant to the way people choose to work. Don't rush into thingsThere are a myriad of tools available, but before rushing out to download the latest plug-and-play app and making it compulsory across the business, find out what's already being used. There may be a couple of perfectly good candidates for company-wide adoption if they're appropriate, people like them and use them regularly. Questions to consider are: can they handle rich media, projects and workflow and is the info automatically captured – for example Google Docs' instant save facility. While some apps will emphasise real-time chat, and others workflow or project management, most of the big tools – such as Yammer, Huddle, Zoho, Podio and Google+ For Enterprise – have a bit of everything. The important thing is that all of these systems are real-time. In the same way as locating my children, organisations also are using mapping apps to monitor their grown-up field-based workforce, particularly for safety in conflict zones. But, as with my kids, it's essential that staff retain the right to switch off the app and that the expectation of 'always-on' is carefully managed. App tangleI recently worked with a rapidly growing client, with operations in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, which used 21 different systems including Skype and Yahoo, not to mention two separate email systems. Many of these were being used for the same tasks and often in parallel by the same department. The trick is to develop a strategy that examines all elements of functionality and sets these alongside business communication needs. Once a single, or small group of apps is identified, planning should focus on ensuring central control of groups, message boards and collaborative tools, but should also allow freedom for local communication – the corporate equivalent of 'own time'. For many larger organisations this model is becoming de facto. For example, in the US, LA Fitness uses Microsoft Lync, shopping centre giant Westfield cites Yammer, and O2 has bought into the Chatter plugin for CRM system Salesforce. To consolidate the 21 systems of our growing client, the DrPete team used a combination of the Zoho suite and Sharepoint (for the more static data). Careful planningWhatever app strategy is decided upon, it has to be carefully planned and integrated, requiring buy-in across the business. By making them indispensable, there is less likelihood of individuals running 'shadow' systems because they don't like the suggested app. Without entering this brave new world, commercial and communication failure is definitely an option and a dysfunctional business 'family' is highly likely.
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| Laptops set to give passwords the finger with TouchID-style tech Posted:  The FIDO Alliance has launched a new standard that will soon let you log into a laptop and pay for goods and services using a finger. Called Fido 1.0, it has been designed to boost online and device security while putting an end to remembering lengthy password combinations. US-based Synaptics has unveiled one of the first solutions based on the standard called SecurePad, a 4mm by 10mm fingerprint scanner that can be embedded into laptop touchpads. The company reckons it'll work with any FIDO-supported online service, meaning that in addition to logging into a machine, it could also be used for anything from paying for goods to visiting websites or streaming media. The alliance has the backing of payments companies including PayPal, Mastercard and Visa, in addition to device makers Microsoft, Lenovo and BlackBerry. Crossing overBusiness laptops such as the Fujitsu Lifebook U904 and Lenovo T440s already come with fingerprint scanners built in. By integrating it into the touchpad, Synaptics reckons that notebook makers can offer the secure authentication method at a cheaper cost as it removes the need to duplicate hardware components. Consumer interest around fingerprint ID technology is on the rise following the launch of Apple's TouchID and Apple Pay solutions, which allow apps and services to be bought by pressing a digit on the home buttons of its recent iPhone and iPad devices. Via Engadget |
| IBM and Apple unveil first wave of co-developed business apps Posted:  Apple and IBM have lifted the lid on the first wave of business apps co-developed by the two companies. The tech giants set tongues wagging back in July by announcing plans to combine the iPhone maker's hardware with IBM's software and services experitse. The new IBM MobileFirst for iOS apps have been tailored for iPad and iPhone users and are available to enterprise customers in a number of industries - from banking and retail to insurance, financial services and telecommunications - in addition to governments and airlines. There are 10 apps in the new portfolio covering a range of industries - from travel to finance and retail. According to Apple, they can be easily deployed, managed and upgraded via the cloud and data is secured at the back end and on the device. Clients using the two apps include Citi Air Canada, Sprint and Barnote. Ready for actionAmong the new apps detailed are:
In November, Apple and IBM announced plans to offer a new support service as part of the enterprise app development partnership. Called AppleCare for Enterprise, the service offers 24/7 IT support for all Apple hardware and operating systems. |
| Have we reached the point of 'peak app'? Posted:  Introduction and paid appsThe smartphone app has been a phenomenon like no other in the digital economy, but are its days of runaway growth finally on the wane? One hundred billion apps had been downloaded by July 2013 and by now there are well over two million apps available – big numbers indeed – but barely 10% of smartphone users in the UK actually pay to download apps. That's according to research from Deloitte earlier this year, which also revealed that almost a third of UK-based smartphone users no longer download new apps in a typical month – a figure that's up from 20% in 2013. Deloitte's report, entitled 'The rise of App-athy', also revealed that 14% of smartphone users have never downloaded an app. The concept of an app might not be dead, but are app developers now operating in a market that's past its peak?
How we use apps is changingThe number of apps we download continues to fall. This is partly to do with demographics – people now getting their first smartphone tend to be older, with 31% of over 55s never downloading apps. Meanwhile, those of us who've had smartphones for years generally have the apps we need, and are happy to use mobile websites for occasionally-used services. However, there are new apps appearing all the time for completing tasks that previously weren't possible. Checking bank balances with a smartphone has seen a sharp increase in usage according to Deloitte – 40% of respondents did this in 2014, 10% more than in 2013. "Like our underwear we're going to rotate our apps," says Marcos Sanchez, VP of Global Corporate Communications at app analytics firm App Annie, which tracks the performance of 4.2 million apps for clients including Facebook, Yahoo and Google. "Apps can only do so much, but that doesn't limit the apps market – there are plenty of ways that app developers will continue to innovate."
Are paid apps dead?The demand for paid apps in the UK is even lower than for free apps, with a miserly 5% of smartphone users spending more than £5 per month on apps and games. While once it dominated, the concept of paying money to download an app to a smartphone or tablet is now a niche market, at best. The freemium model is the dominant business model by a long way, and it's not going away anytime soon. "Paid apps are a small margin of the money being made, so it's not that important to think about them," observes Sanchez. There are four types of apps: paid, free, paid-ium (you pay for the app and have paid-for upgrades within the app) and freemium (free app, paid-for upgrades). The huge majority of apps are games, almost all of which follow the freemium model – together they account for well over 90% of revenue in the Google Play store, with similar dominance in Apple's App Store.
Can non-games apps ever be a real business again?Despite the dominance of games apps, Sanchez thinks that paid-for, non-games apps will mature and stage a comeback. It's largely about the step-up in smartphone hardware. "I now use now my smartphone to make modifications to documents, largely because it has a bigger, HD quality screen and the processor is faster, and the network plans are faster and cheaper," he says. "You can now do a lot more interesting things with non-games apps, and I suspect over time that non-games apps will start to monetise." At the high-end, better cameras, microphones and high-resolution screens mean new apps are possible, but by far the more lucrative end of the market is in emerging economies, and new smartphone users. Emerging markets and wearablesHow important are cheap phones in emerging economies?Both are crucial to the apps market's future growth. Google's $100 (around £64, AU$120) Android One smartphone has a cheaper screen, a slower processor and a poorer build quality than the kind of smartphones popular in Europe and the US. However, at that price – and likely subsidised to zero in some markets – it's going to change the app market completely simply by massively expanding the potential customer base. "Smartphones are going to grow in a way that laptops were never able to, and tablets, too, because they're a lot more expensive," says Sanchez, who thinks that there is still a lot of growth to happen in places like Brazil, Turkey and India that are beginning to see a rise in smartphone usage. "Smartphones have advanced enough for them to become the computers of the world – there are millions of people who would never have been able to afford a laptop or a desktop computer who can now have a smartphone," he adds. "The apps market is nowhere near its peak."
What kinds of apps will be aimed at emerging economies?We may live in a global market, but app developers can't just take an existing app and throw it at a billion new customers. "It's about cultural adaptation, which can take the form of changing a storyline within an app or a game or changing the types of images or the dollar amounts for in-app purchases," says Sanchez, who believes that new ways of in-app advertising will dominate. "In-app advertising is going to be a more important way of monetising because whereas in a place like Japan people might drop a hundred dollars a month on apps, that's not going to happen in India, but India has a huge economy and many companies want to get in front of those eyeballs via a smartphone." Will iBeacon bring new kinds of apps?A good example of how new hardware and software can cause a spike in new app development is Apple's iBeacon technology, which should produce apps with a wider role in terms of increasing revenue for high street businesses. "I walk by Starbucks every day at 8am, there's a beacon on the storefront and it sees my phone, and it notices that on Thursdays I don't buy anything at Starbucks," says Sanchez. "So maybe it throws up an offer that says 'Visit Starbucks and we'll give you 30% off a latte'." He adds that this kind of in-app monetisation could get really complicated depending on how much geo-location and demographic information is used.
Will wearables drive new growth?As well as smarter smartphones giving apps a fillip, there are new devices coming, most notably wearables and smartwatches. "I suspect that the likes of Fitbit are what will probably usher smartwatches into the mainstream," says Sanchez. "When people are comfortable with a wearable on their person, that will be extended into smartwatches, which have a lot more diverse functions." For example, it's possible to get navigation directions via new smartwatches like the Moto 360 watch, with drivers getting a haptic buzz when it's time to turn a corner, and where a map is only a glance at a wrist away. Wireless music in the home, too, is increasingly controlled by apps on a smartphone, which in turn gives a nearby smartwatch another cool function. Could the rise of wearables and the birth of the Internet of Things (IoT) mean app usage growing over the next decade? "The IoT is closer than people think," says Sanchez. "Conceptually, the smartphone is becoming a 'remote control for your life' as Google and Apple both make it central whether you're playing a game, listening to music, or driving." Gartner forecasts that 26 billion connected devices will be installed globally by 2020; each one of them is going to need an app or three. The way we consume apps might be changing, but with new connected devices and a billion new users incoming, the app concept isn't going to go away anytime soon. |
| Instagram adds verified profiles with a major milestone Posted:  You'll soon finally be able to make certain sure you're following the right Katy Perry on Instagram thanks to the impending addition of verified accounts. Instagram announced the overdue feature simultaneously with a major milestone for the photo-sharing social app: it's reached a mind-blowing 300 million monthly active users. This news comes less than a year since Facebook-owned Instagram reached 200 million users in March, showing the service has seen astounding growth. Instagram's verified profiles will be available for public figures and companies, just like Twitter's identical existing feature. Instagram's announcement today also included some specifics on its users, including the facts that more than 70% of active users are outside the US, and an average of 70 million photos are shared per day with 2.5 billion average "likes," for a total of 30 billion photos to date. |
| Nokia's Here Maps checks in to Google Play now, iOS in 2015 Posted:  Nokia's Here Maps app has been in beta on Android for some time, and it's now available in the Google Play store. The new maps app is still in beta, but now it's more widely available on Google's platform. Nokia said in a blog post that more than a million users have tried Here Maps on Android, with the most so far concentrated in the US and Germany. The transition for users who currently have the beta version on their Android devices should be simple, since as Nokia points out downloading apps from Google Play is easier than sideloading them. And users' existing maps and voices should remain even with the new app. The new Here Maps app also adds support for 18 new countries, plus bug fixes and performance improvements. Meanwhile Nokia's Here Maps iOS app will launch in early 2015, the company promises. |
| Google's new Hangouts feature is neat, though kind of creepy Posted:  Google has updated Hangouts for Android with a helpful new feature for those who don't mind the app actively listening in on their conversations. By paying attention to what you're saying, Hangouts can offer what Google calls "smart suggestions." For example if a friend asks where you are, the app can prompt you to share your location with them directly. Google Hangouts engineer Rhett Robinson described this feature on Google Plus as "the start of something new," though for now it's unclear what else it can do. This Hangouts update also adds 16 new sticker packs, video filters and time stamps that let you know when your contacts were last online, plus "a few other surprises," according to Robinson. The time stamp feature will actually roll out over the next few weeks, though, while an equivalent update for the iOS Hangouts app will take a bit longer to arrive. |
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