CRM News: Software

MenuTab Keeps Facebook Nicely Widgetized
May 15, 2012

Facebook's march toward its IPO has put a harsh spotlight on the social network's shortcomings, and one of the primary worries among prospective investors is that Facebook doesn't have very sharp mobile chops. There are a million things it could be doing in mobile to draw in more revenue, they say, but it's still an area in which the network moves painfully slowly.

SynchroCam Sorely Disappoints
May 14, 2012

I very much prefer to write reviews only of apps and products that I appreciate, that I find useful, interesting, or just plain awesome. This is not one of those reviews. And the app? It's not one of those apps, either. The makers of some products sometimes try hard to make them appear to be things they really are not.

iPad: Desperately Seeking Guest Mode
May 10, 2012

After you get over the worry that kids or grandmothers are going to drop your iPad and then accidentally trod on it or stab it with the leg of a walker, other problems quickly arise: For instance, what sort of iMessage or Reminder is going to pop up from your crass buddy and mortify your grandma? Which email from the friend who won't stop sending the joke emails is going show up in front of a kid?

AK-7 MIDI Keyboard Knows the Music but Mumbles the Words
May 08, 2012

Apple's Garage Band for Mac is loaded with an array of virtual instruments. The application is capable of imitating brass, strings, winds and percussion, as well as a whole stable of fully synthesized noises with names like "Synchro Nice" and "Future Flute."

Camping App a Powerful Cure for Cabin Fever
May 07, 2012

As winter finally releases its clammy grip around my house, I'm getting cabin fever something fierce. I've got an eclectic travel schedule, hitting hotels for business then heading off to some dive campground near an outdoor activity ... or planning a backpacking trip, which usually requires a base camp before you head off into the mountains.

Flight+: Planespotting Made Easy
May 01, 2012

I've been experiencing a good luck streak lately when it comes to air travel. There's been no lost luggage, no security incidents, only short delays and some pretty easy itineraries. I realize that I've jinxed it all to hell by writing this, but it was great while it lasted. Even when air travel goes smoothly, though, there are sometimes hectic moments.

Pocket Will Have You Grabbing Content by the Handful
April 30, 2012

I've been playing around with Pocket, a not-so-new app which may have undergone one of the smartest name changes in the history of the App Store -- previously Pocket was known as "Read It Later." The app basically lets you snag content that you find online and store it in a handy way for reading or viewing at some point in the future.

'Soulcaliber': A Beautiful Mashy-Slashy Mess
April 24, 2012

Action games can be tricky to pull off on iOS. Everything's done through a touchscreen, so you don't have as much tactile feedback -- there are no buttons under your fingertips to let you feel exactly where you need to touch at precisely the right moment, while your eyes are busy with the screen.

Schlepping Files Got You Down? Enter the DragonDrop
April 23, 2012

I'm a highly visual guy, and while there are all sorts of ways to work with files on my Mac, I still love cluttering up my desktop with folders, links, documents and photos. I treat my desktop like a table surface, and I have elaborate stacks and sections of folders and files.

Harmony Link Makes the iPad a Less-Than-Ideal Remote
April 17, 2012

There are several apps for iOS that can turn your iPad or iPhone into a remote control. Most of these are special-purpose apps -- they control just one device. Whether the app controls your DVR like Xfinity's application, your PC's cursor or iTunes, you're hooked up to a single device, usually through WiFi.

Printer Pro Gets Docs From iPad to Printer, Though It's Not Always a Direct Flight
April 16, 2012

I don't know why, but printing is still -- after all of these years -- rife with pain, agony and confusion. Usually, I like buying new electronic gadgets, but when it comes to printers, it's painful. There's the cost of ink to consider, all the byzantine methods of connecting to printers, setting them up, updating the drivers and trying to troubleshoot WiFi connectivity vs. direct USB.

CDC Launches Pivotal for iPad
April 16, 2012

CDC Software Corporation, an enterprise software provider of on-premises and cloud technologies, has just released Pivotal CRM for iPad, an application that enables users to access CRM information whenever and wherever they need it. "Today, CRM is going in two distinct directions," said Jason Rushforth, front office president for CDC Software.

'Arkham City Lockdown': The Bat Is Broken
April 10, 2012

Typically when I review an iOS or Mac application, I'll give it a rating somewhere between one and five stars. Star ratings tell you nothing about the concept behind the app, how well it's executed, or how practical it is. They're just shorthand for "good," "meh" and "digital sewage."

'Bike Baron' Is Massively Addictive Daredevil Dynamite
April 09, 2012

I'm far from a huge gamer on iOS, but occasionally a great game will catch my attention in a cosmic crash of serendipity. In this case, I stumbled upon actor Nathan Fillion's Twitter feed. He wrote: "My latest game addiction? Download 'Bike Baron.' Thank me later." I'm guessing the guy has some downtime on the set of the show.

Google Gazes Into the Looking Glass
April 07, 2012

A while back we started hearing rumors about some kind of secret project Google was working on involving eyeglasses -- smart eyeglasses. You'd wear them like a normal pair of specs, but they'd somehow be connected to the Web, possibly through the Android phone in your pocket. And the lenses would display all kinds of information -- text and images relating to whatever it is you're looking at.

Tapose Is a Good Idea Gone Bad
April 06, 2012

Tapose is a great idea for a tablet app that was pushed out the door too soon. After four months in the Apple review process, the journal software arrived at the App Store recently, but it still doesn't seem ready for prime time. On a first-generation iPad, it's often unresponsive, buggy and prone to frequent crashes.

Appinator Makes a Very Easy Task Ever So Slightly Easier
April 03, 2012

Recent Mac converts who've used Windows machines for years sometimes undergo a slight learning curve as they figure out how to accomplish certain tasks that were second nature on PCs. Often these Mac mysteries can be solved with a single well-put Google search, or perhaps a quick and inexpensive trip to the Mac App Store.

Study: Pound for Pound, Amazon Trounces Google in App Cash
April 02, 2012

Amazon is becoming a major challenger in the overall app marketplace, according to a new report from Flurry. Flurry looked at some of the top-ranked apps across three major app sources: Apple's App Store, Amazon's Appstore and Google Play. Together, the stores brought in 11 million daily active users.