racoma.com.phJ. Angelo Racoma on technology, economics, writing, problogging, and getting things done

Cloud-based computing made news when Google released its Chromebooks through Samsung and Acer. While it’s certainly novel to run all your applications from the cloud, you won’t be able to do much work when you’re offline. But Google’s latest features will make Gmail, Google Docs and Calendar users happy, with offline Gmail, Docs and Calendar functionality.

With these, Chrome OS and Chrome browser users can access emails, schedules and documents even without a working connection. The free Chrome plugin works via HTML5 to enable both online and offline functionality. The app actually delivers a similar user experience as with  the tablet/iPad version of Gmail and Docs, so tablet users will find this familiar.

In other news today …

Search Becomes More Social With +1 Integration

Google has earlier included +1 support in Search. But the big change of late is that the search giant will actually start using +1 data in its ranking algorithm. This gives more value to Google+ shares and website +1 buttons.

Amazon is Getting Ready to Release Tablets

Amazon reportedly has Android-powered tablets in the works. The retail giant will start shipping 7-inch tablets this October, primarily meant as higher-end ebook readers. Meanwhile, OEMs in China will start production of the 10.1-inch Amazon Android tablet starting first quarter of 2012.

Microsoft Windows Will Get Ribbons

MS Office users may have balked at the Ribbon interface introduced in Office 2007 onwards. But Microsoft is implementing the Ribbon in Windows Explorer when Windows 8 is released. This is in the aim of providing a better interface for both mouse- and touch-based computing.

Create PDFs From Your iPhone

Adobe has released a 10 dollar app that lets users create PDF files straight from mobile phones. No need for stellar processing power, since all the conversion is done in the cloud.

Google Warns of Security Breach

Are you paranoid about your online identity and security? Watch out for man-in-the-middle attacks, Google warns. A Dutch SSL certificate issuer has recently been breached, and attackers might pretend to be Gmail or any other Google app.

Are Patents Good or Bad?

This is a pressing question in today’s tech business environment rife with lawsuits. Independent BlackBerry developers are getting lawsuits for inclusion of in-app payment systems in their software. Google and Apple are helping out their respective third-party developers. Will RIM stand up for its developers, too? And the bigger question is this — are patents good or bad? Do they encourage or stifle innovation?

Check out more of my recent articles at CMS Wire and TFTS.

Messaging is among the biggest applications in the mobile industry. Whether it involves SMS, emails or instant messages, smartphones and featurephones alike will need to support these features. With this, Samsung has announced plans to launch a cross-network and cross-platform messaging service called ChatON this week.

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Keeping your car relevant can be a difficult task, even in an Audi. Purchasers of luxury vehicles such as those in the Audi line tend to want cars that are new or like-new, with all of the technological conveniences they’re used to in the day-to-day.

If you’re either trying to resell your car to a top bidder, or simply want to bring your car into this new decade, there are a number of aftermarket automotive tech upgrades you’ll want to consider. Below, we provide a small guide on what may be of most use to you when adding new technology to your Audi vehicle.

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The big tech news this week involves HP announcing plans to exit the hardware business and focus instead on enterprise software. HP will be spinning off its PC business, and is dropping webOS altogether, possibly licensing it to another manufacturer.

Along with this announcement, HP dropped prices of its TouchPad tablet to $99 for the 16GB model and $149 for the 32GB model. The sale price sparked rush purchases across the US, UK and other parts of the world where the TouchPad was sold.

HP TouchPad to Run Android & Ubuntu Linux

Now the bigger piece of news here is that while the TouchPad is considered a dead platform in terms of webOS, developers are starting to tweak the hardware to run other operating systems, notably Android and Ubuntu Linux. So far, hackers have been successful at installing Ubuntu, and an Android Gingerbread port is underway. Will Android and Ubuntu Linux be the saving grace for the HP TouchPad? Has HP done its own TouchPad a favor in terms of sales and desirability by killing off webOS? People are calling it the best $99 tablet ever. With Android coming soon, it’s going to be even better.

In other news …

Facebook on a startup buying spree

Facebook is facing tough competition from newcomer Google+. The company is therefore on the lookout for more startups with interesting ideas, and is set to acquire 20 companies this year (double last year’s 10). These will include talent and products related to design, user interface and mobile services. Do you (or your app) have what it takes to be a Facebook acqusition?

Google Chrome OS Does Windows

Google’s Chromebooks are trying to attract enterprise markets by offering a leasing scheme, with Chromebooks for $28 per month. But the latest Chrome OS build supports Citrix Receiver, which gives virtualization access to users. This means Chromebook users can run Windows apps through an enterprise Citrix server. For people who are worrying about having to adjust to Linux (or the Chromebook interface), this might help with the decision to go full-on with the cloud.

Marketing professionals are targeting you via email

Marketers are increasingly targeting their campaigns through tailor-fit messages. And while social networks are becoming more and more popular, marketers still prefer sending out email messages, since these are more direct and evoke more action from the recipients. If you’re an online marketing pro, what have you been doing to improve the performance of your campaigns?

Google App Inventor Decommissioned

Meanwhile, back on the Android front, Google is reportedly deprecating App Inventor, which used to be an easy wasy to create applications through a GUI interface. Time to brush up on our programming skills?

As any business person knows, the key to success is using your time wisely. Productivity is one of the most important aspects of any highly demanding career. Individuals hoping to “make it” as professional bloggers, time management and consistent productivity are essential to becoming and remaining successful.

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