CRM News: Reviews

Whatever You Want, Miro Finds It, Gets It, Plays It
May 16, 2012

The Internet is a hub for acquiring music, video and a just about any other form of content. Miro is one of the most capable player apps that I have seen for all of this media. Keeping up with the various forms of content the Web has to offer can be a daunting task.

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.

Google Drive for Android: Just About as Good as the Rest
May 11, 2012

Keep Everything. Share Anything. When a company like Google uses a tagline that includes the words "share anything" for a Dropbox-like cloud file storage system, my immediate reaction is "with whom?" Google, after-all, is a company that's made its money delivering ads based on what it learns about our habits. There's been debate about this very question since Drive launched.

Precise Pangolin: Ubuntu Grows Up
May 09, 2012

The latest edition of Canonical's Ubuntu 12.04 desktop operating system shows considerable maturity. Precise Pangolin is built around the default Unity interface with an optional Heads Up Display designed to keep hands on the keys rather than constantly interrupting the work flow by grabbing the mouse.

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.

Shazam Encore Pretty Much Nails 'Name That Tune'
May 04, 2012

I think I may have asked Shazam Encore to do the impossible. I had downloaded the app just before a planned lunch that included a sojourn to my neighborhood car wash -- which conveniently features a simple Mexican eatery. Sitting on the bench in the shade after the nosh, I detected the faint yet unmistakable tinkling sound of elevator music above the roar of the blowing drier. "Aha," I thought, wits about me, "Shazam reckons it can identify songs instantly?"

LMMS Is a Fearsome Music-Making Machine
May 02, 2012

Music lovers have numerous strong choices for organizing and playing their collections of songs on the Linux desktop. But music creators have far fewer professional-strength options among Linux applications. With Linux MultiMedia Studio, or LMMS, though, one option may be all you really need. LMMS does it all and does it all well.

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.

Instagram: Fun but No Threat to the Art World
April 27, 2012

Instagram, the popular photography and social networking app for the iPhone, with a whopping 27 million iOS users, recently became available for Android. Around 5 million Android users reportedly signed up for the app in the first few days of the Android release. Then social network Facebook offered $1 billion for the company. What's going on?

Advanced Easy Editor Goes Bare Bones, Then Breaks Out the Sandpaper
April 25, 2012

Sometimes too much of a good thing in free software can create bad impressions. For instance, some of the free stuff so easily available in Linux distro package managers is so archaic that newcomers to the OS might understandably shriek in horror. Don't get me wrong. I absolutely am a big fan of FOSS applications.

'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.

Linux Admin Manual Is a Great Reference Tool That's Not for Dummies
April 24, 2012

Linux Administration: A Beginner's Guide by Wale Soyinka is a hands-on manual for IT staffers who must dance with Windows and Linux. It is a practical guide for network admins who deploy and maintain Linux and other free and open source software. In this Sixth Edition opus, Soyinka provides an extensive update on the latest Linux distros.

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.

Look Before You Make the Leap to Hulu Plus for Android
April 20, 2012

The 5-year-old subscription streaming video service known as "Hulu Plus" has doubled its subscriber numbers in the last seven months to more than 2 million, according to numbers bandied about by the company. Hulu is a joint venture between investors and television operators: Comcast's NBCUniversal, Fox Entertainment and the Walt Disney Company. Competitors include Netflix and cable providers like Time Warner Cable.

Xournal Makes Short Work Out of Longhand
April 18, 2012

Regardless of how good they are, some Linux applications have very little appeal to all but users with specialized needs. That is not the case with Xournal. Even if you do not use a tablet for inputing notes, this app still lets you create with style. If you are looking for a very handy note-taking application, check out Xournal.