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Wednesday, March 07, 2012

Microsoft Office 15 revealed, simpler UI with touch-friendly features

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/06/microsoft-office-15-revealed-simpler-ui-with-touch-friendly-fea/

Microsoft started seeding its Office 15 technical preview to a select few partners earlier this year to get it ready for public consumption, and The Verge managed to get a sneak peek at some of the software's new features. As you would expect, the newest Office version got a dose of Metro style, and now has a cleaner interface and touch mode to make browsing documents and presentations as easy on a tablet as it is on a desktop PC. Word also received improvements, like double-click to zoom, smoother scrolling, video embeds and the ability to share documents online through a browser. Excel received some formatting controls and chart animations, among other improvements, while PowerPoint has made it easier to drop Excel charts into presentations without futzing with formatting. Outlook now has weather forecasts built in, in-line replies, and greater multiple email account support, and OneNote received improved tables support. So, it looks like the gang in Redmond is trying to stay a step ahead of its open-source competition, but we won't know for sure until Office 15 gets in the hands of the people this summer.

Microsoft Office 15 revealed, simpler UI with touch-friendly features originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Mar 2012 20:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Adobe Lightroom 4 is a 'substantial upgrade' with a 50-percent price drop

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/07/adobe-lightroom-4/

Still content with Lightroom 3.5? Check out Version 4, which has just emerged from public beta, and you may decide it's time for an upgrade. The revision brings a long list of new features, including improved highlight and shadow processing, better video support, geo-tagging and a Book Module for self-publishing photo books via the Blurb online service. Then there's the clement pricing: $79 as an upgrade or $149 new. Still not sure? DPReview has a detailed assessment at the link below, so don't be jumping to conclusions til you've read it.

Continue reading Adobe Lightroom 4 is a 'substantial upgrade' with a 50-percent price drop

Adobe Lightroom 4 is a 'substantial upgrade' with a 50-percent price drop originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Mar 2012 03:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Develop Android apps from within Android using AIDE (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/07/develop-android-using-aide-video/

Develop Android apps from within Android with AIDE

Replication is a necessary survival technique in nature, and now Android apps have joined the self-preservation fray with a new piece of software known as the Android Java IDE (AIDE). An integrated development environment for -- don't you know it -- Android, the package provides would-be coders with a complete set of development tools that include code completion, formatting, refactoring, real-time error checking and more. It's said to be fully compatible with Eclipse projects, and best of all, it's entirely free. So, if you can appreciate this bit of Zen and the Art of Android Development, be sure to check out AIDE today -- and get yourself a keyboard for your tablet while you're at it. Those who'd like a visual introduction will find a video after the break.

[Thanks, Matt]

Continue reading Develop Android apps from within Android using AIDE (video)

Develop Android apps from within Android using AIDE (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Mar 2012 06:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tuesday, March 06, 2012

Coffee Shop Buzz Is Good For Your Creativity [Working]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5890924/coffee-shop-buzz-is-good-for-your-creativity

Coffee Shop Buzz Is Good For Your Creativity Head over to your neighborhood coffee shop if you want to get that novel finished or make major headway on your project. A new study suggest the ambient background noise or buzz of conversation in public places can fuel creativity.

Many of us are more productive and focused at coffee shops because we're working in public. This new study published in the Journal of Consumer Research included several experiments and involved more than 300 people. It showed that those who had ambient noise in the background (70 decibels, the level that you'd hear in a bustling cafe) scored higher in objective word-association tests and their answers were rated more creative by other participants.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the study:

Adds to research suggesting that small doses of distraction - including hard-to-read fonts - prompt the mind to work at a more abstract level, which is also a more creative level. [...]There's a sweet spot between silence and din.

Do you feel more creative at the coffee shop or with conversations buzzing in the background?

A Creative Buzz | The Wall Street Journal via GigaOM

Photo by Kevin Harber

Zeiss Cinemizer OLED with head-tracking hands-on (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/06/zeiss-cinemizer-oled-head-tracking-hands-on/

The Carl Zeiss Cinemizer OLED has been a long time in the making -- we first heard about the video glasses at Macworld in 2008 -- but the company has yet to push the head-mounted display past the prototype phase. We stumbled upon Zeiss' booth here at CeBIT, where we found a version of the glasses that look mighty similar to the mock-up we saw in marketing materials from 2010, but are now equipped with a pair of head-tracking modules to expand the yet-to-be released marvel's practicality. With head-tracking now on board, the Cinemizer can theoretically appeal to gamers, architects, even educators, who can use the glasses in the classroom.

We took a look at an Inreal CAD app demo that lets the wearer navigate a yet-unbuilt house, walking through virtual rooms (a joystick is used for forward motion, so you won't be accidentally walking into physical walls) as you judge paint colors, furniture placement and try to convince your significant other that there really is room for a 65-inch HDTV. The tracking modules are located behind the ear rests on each side of the OLED glasses, which have seen a slight boost in resolution since we last heard about them, jumping from VGA to 870 x 500 pixels in each OLED panel. Tracking was responsive and accurate -- the experience of walking around a room felt almost lifelike. What's even more exciting than the device's performance is that we may finally see these hit stores in 2012, with a tentative summer ship date. And, while still a pricey addition to your display collection, the Cinemizer la! nds on t he inexpensive end of the Zeiss product scale, ringing up at €649 (about $850), plus another €100 for the tracking hardware. Jump past the break to see it in action.

Gallery: Zeiss Cinemizer OLED with head-tracking hands-on