Tech News – Page 13

Adobe Makes Lightroom Available for Android

“This is not just a way to get photos from place to place. It lets you maintain your workflow on the mobile device. It can be a tremendous time saver and productivity tool for making edits on the go.”

-Shared Mangalick, senior product manager for photography at Adobe

According to TechNewsWorld, Adobe is expanding their market by now offering a mobile version of Lightroom for Android devices. Last year they released the app for iOS mobile devices. It does not provide the full functionality of the desktop version; however, it allows users to save changes to their photos and sync them back to their desktop.

For more information Lightroom for mobile devices, visit Adobe’s website.

Tech Day 2014

Tech Day is free for SMU Faculty, Staff and Students. Topics range from Adobe to LinkedIn with subject matter experts from various departments at SMU as well as special guest speakers from Adobe and Apple. As there are a limited number of seats, all sessions will be on a first come first served basis. We look forward to seeing you there!

For the full schedule, please visit our webpage.

The First 48: iOS 8

by Moez Janmohammad

iOS 8 was announced Monday, and the beta for developers went out that day. I’ve had it now for about 48 hours, and I’m pleased to say that it’s a pretty solid update, especially for the first beta seed. It’s robust, surprisingly stable, and very fast. iOS 7 was plagued with crashes and glitches in its beta stages, iOS 8 is a different animal. Of course, there are a few issues, but again, it’s the first beta and those will be ironed out.

Users who feared a complete UI overhaul like the transition from iOS 6 to iOS 7 need not worry. iOS 8 looks and feels exactly like its predecessor, albeit with a few functional changes. It was more of an “adding features” update as opposed to a “let’s make everything new” update.

Here’s a rundown of some of the biggest updates:

Quick Reply: You can now reply to text messages directly from the lock screen, or even in the notifications drawer. Just slide to the left, hit “Reply” and type away! Note that if your screen locks while you’re idly staring at the message you typed, iOS will not save a draft of it, although I’m sure that may be added in a future beta update.

The Keyboard: Since 2007, the iOS keyboard has remained largely unchanged. In iOS 7, it was given a different skin, but the same software laid underneath. Now, you get a “Quick type” bar at the top of your keyboard. It guesses, based on context, your next word and learns as you use it. It understands that the formal way you talk to your boss is different from the informal slang you may use with your friends, and suggests words depending on who you’re texting, and any previous messages you may have sent to that contact. Also, support for 3rd party keyboards is now available. Once companies like Swype and Swiftkey build their iOS version, you’ll be able to use those too.

Spotlight: Until now, Spotlight search was just a way to search documents, music, contacts, and other local files. Now, Spotlight has been revamped to include internet searches, restaurants near you, apps in the App Store, Wikipedia snippets, movie showtimes and even location based data in your own photos.

All in all, iOS 8 seems to be a fantastic step in the right direction for Apple, but the big test will come when all of the paired features in OS X Yosemite start working. Continuity, phone calls on your Mac, and Airdrop from OS X to iOS will push both platforms to the next level.

As with any upgrade, we strongly suggest when iOS8 becomes available in the fall that you delay upgrading for a short time. This allows OIT time to navigate any bugs that may conflict with SMU applications or services. We’ll make sure to give you the green light when our testing is complete.

The Next Big (or Small) Thing: The Best of CES

Last week, the Consumer Electronics Show, or CES, took place in Las Vegas. CES is the center of what’s new and upcoming in the world of gadgets, and this year was no exception. Each year seems to showcase yet another new trend, and this year was certainly the year of wearable tech.

The term “smartwatch” may have been the most spoken word at this year’s convention. Companies big and small displayed their latest devices/fashion statements. One of the most talked about came from Pebble, a fairly new company that rolled out their new, much more watch-looking Pebble Steel smartwatch at this year’s CES.

The Pebble is capable of synching wirelessly with your iPhone or Android smartphone to provide you with notifications, basic information, as well as data connectivity for apps written specifically for the watch that can do everything from tracking sports scores, to tracking your workouts, to playing your music. Other wearables unveiled last week include the LG Life Band, Razr Nabu, and the Sony Smartband.

Outside of the gaggle of wearables this year were the usual swarm of entertainment gadgets. One of the more interesting innovations was the Clearview Clio, a completely transparent glass speaker. A strange yet promising new type of television also made it’s way to the show this year. Both LG and Samsung have introduced UDTVs (yes, we have already surpassed HDTV) with curved screens. Both companies claim that a curved screen will improve viewing angles which in turn provide better picture.

This improved experience doesn’t come without a steep price tag, however. The largest models have a suggested retail price of around $70,000, with the budget models topping $10,000.

From smartwatches to virtual reality, there was something for everyone at this year’s CES. Who knows, maybe this time next year we will finally get a cell phone that does the dishes.

The DVD that Lasts 1000 Years

By John Blank

Did you know that most burned DVDs and CDs don’t last long? Have you ever placed a 5-year-old DVD in the drive only to find out it was no longer readable? This would be tragic if the DVD was your wedding video, pictures of a vacation or other keep sake. There were DVDs that you could obtain that would last longer, but they were expensive and hard to find. Now there is a new technology that is changing all of this. The Millenniata M-Disc is a 4.7GB DVD with a data layer made out of stone-like metals and metalloids. Burned CDs and DVDs have a very soft recording/data layer that isn’t very resistant to heat, humidity and light. However, the M-Disc on the other hand has a much tougher data layer that last for 1000 years. Unfortunately, M-Discs can’t be burned with your current DVD burner. It takes a laser that’s five times stronger than normal to melt stone. On the other hand, M-Discs are backwards compatible and can be read by normal DVD drives. When you replace your CD/DVD burner make sure it is M-Disc compatible.