Google Testing Huge Gmail Redesign

• BY DAVID MURPHY

Google is allegedly testing out some big UI changes for Gmail — the desktop browser-based version — and there's nothing subtle or slight about Google's modifications.

The goal, we presume, is twofold: To more closely unify Gmail (desktop) with proposed UI changes to Google's mobile version of Gmail, and to make Gmail work friendlier with an expanded array of desktop sizes and resolutions without losing any functionality in the process.

Easy enough, right?

According to the report from Geek.com, which we can only presume has fancy access to Google's Gmail test, a brand-new menu system that flies in and out of the browser window replaces Google's otherwise static sidebar of links — Inbox, Starred, Sent Mail, and all those.

Also gone: Google's tabbed email system, which has now been transformed into a "grouped in the inbox" section that automatically sorts your email by topic: Travel, Purchases, Finance, Social, Updates, Forums, and Promos. It's unclear if you can add to or modify these categories; we assumed they are locked.

Google Hangouts is integrated into the new Gmail interface; we believe that you need merely hit the chat-bubble-like icon in the design refresh's upper-right corner in order to pop out a sidebar, similar to the aforementioned fly-out menu, that allows one to chit-chat and make video calls. A big "+" icon in Gmail's lower-right corner presents a new pop-up menu for composing new messages and adding new reminders into Gmail.

A new "pinning" system, replacing Gmail's older "Stars" system, will allow users to select important messages that they'd like to otherwise stick to the top of their Gmail inbox. A sorting button at the top of the Inbox will allow users to sort their messages and pull these pinned items to the top or, if they prefer, they can revert back to the more traditional chronological style of message display.

"There's no expected release date for any of these features, or even a guarantee that Google will implement them in the way we see them in these images, but after spending a few minutes in this interface it is clear that Google is eager to shake things up in Gmail. With any luck most of these features will make the cut and we'll see an all new Gmail any day now," writes Geek's Russell Holly.

How to Make Your Android 4.2 Phone a Wi-Fi Hotspot

Locate the menu button. They look different depending on the phone. Some are little squares in a vertical line; others are a circle with little squares inside. Some are physical buttons on the phone, and some are part of the screen. It’s the main button that takes you to a list of applications.

1. Once you push the menu button, search through the buttons until you find the “Settings” button.
2. After you push the “Settings” button, click the button under the first section, “Wireless & Networks”, that says “More…”
3. You should then see 4 options: “Airplane Mode”, “VPN”, “Tethering & Portable Hotspot” and “Mobile Networks”. Click “Tethering & Portable Hotspot”
4. Your device is now a Wi-Fi hotspot, and all you need to do is take your 2nd device that you are trying to tether and do the following:
   • a. Open up the settings.
   • b. Find and select the “Wi-Fi” button.
   • c. Inside the Wi-Fi menu find the network name for your phone.
     • i. Note: If you cannot recognize your phone’s Wi-Fi network name, try looking at the “Tethering & Portable Hotspot” settings. The 2nd button from the top should say “Set up Wi-Fi hotspot”. Click that, and at the top it will display your phone’s network name and password.
     • ii. If you cannot see the password, click “show password” and it should appear. Note that you can change the password and network name at your discretion.

Here’s an awesome Google Maps trick that every Android and iOS user needs to know

By Chris Smith

Google has just rolled out a major Google Maps update for mobile devices, available to both iOS and Android users, which brings several interesting features, including the ability to save maps offline in order to access them later without needing an Internet connection. PhoneArena has put together a quick guide on how to save offline maps onAndroid devices, although the same procedure is available to iOS users as well.

To get started, users have to tap the profile button found in the right corner, scroll all the way down and tap the “Offline maps” mode and then select the map they want to save. Regions as big as the Paris metro area can be saved, which is quite useful, and users can save up to six offline maps according to Google – the Paris map only needs 6MB according to PhoneArena.

When the area chosen is too large, Google Maps will advise users to zoom in and save again. Once the maps are saved, users can enjoy many Google Maps features in offline mode without an Internet connection, as long as the device’s GPS is enabled. The feature is particularly useful when travelling to a different country, in order to avoid costly roaming charges.

Typing “OK Maps” in the search box when looking at a map will also let you save that map for offline use.

Some features, including satellite, terrain, indoor maps and 3D buildings will not be available offline. Directions and Navigation won’t be available offline either.

A set of images showing the steps required to save a map in Google Maps follows below.

View the full Here’s an awesome Google Maps trick that every Android and iOS user needs to know gallery

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MORE AT: https://bgr.com/2014/05/08/how-to-save-google-maps-offline/

Using Microsoft Is Cheaper Than Free Software Says Government Chief Information Officer

It is hard competing with the world’s largest software company, but it can seem virtually impossible when even giving away your products is deemed too expensive. That is the point made by UK government Chief Information Officer for Hampshire Jos Creese and it throws a spotlight on the huge challenge faced by any company trying to compete with a giant likeMicrosoft MSFT +0.53% or Apple AAPL -0.73%.

“We use Microsoft [and] each time we’ve looked at open source for desktop and costed it out, Microsoft has proved cheaper,” said Creese in an interview with Computing. “Microsoft has been flexible and helpful in the way we apply their products to improve the operation of our frontline services, and this helps to de-risk ongoing cost. The point is that the true cost is in the total cost of ownership and exploitation, not just the licence cost.”

Creese isn’t alone. While OpenSource.com gives an example of the adoption of open source software within the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) it admits the US government does not actively champion open source over proprietary Mac and PC solutions. This despite a government report that said tests prove Ubuntu 12.04 is more secure than both Windows and Mac OS. The US and UK governments have also publicly advised users switch from Internet Explorer after a security flaw blew holes in all versions of Windows which forced Microsoft to issue a dedicated patch to save XP after its support cut-off date in April.

Meanwhile hypocrisy abounds as both the US and UK governments have also agreed ‘survival deals’ with Microsoft to continue support for their PCs running Windows XP.

Hoping to change attitudes is UK cabinet office minister Francis Maude (pictured below), who is championing the adoption of open source software in government. Maude claims the UK could save “tens of millions” of pounds per year by ditching proprietary software and said roughly £200m ($340m) has been spent on Microsoft Office alone since 2010.

“The software we use in government is still supplied by just a few large companies. A tiny oligopoly dominates the marketplace,” argues Maude. “I want to see a greater range of software used, so civil servants have access to the information they need and can get their work done without having to buy a particular brand of software… We weren’t just missing out on innovation, we were paying top dollar for yesterday’s technology.”

Maude says some progress is being made: “One great example of the potential from small businesses was when we re-tendered a hosting contract. The incumbent big supplier bid £4m; a UK-based small business offered to do it for £60,000. We saved taxpayers a whopping 98.5%.”

Francis Maude (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Creese though defends his position saying “I don’t have a dogma about open source over Microsoft, but proprietary solutions – from Microsoft, SAP toOracle ORCL -0.46% and others – need to justify themselves and to work doubly hard to have flexible business models to help us further our aims.”

Creese also warns that using smaller companies isn’t always practical. “There’s a huge dependency for a large organisation using a small organisation. [You need] to be mindful of the risk that they can’t handle the scale and complexity or that the product may need adaptation to work with our infrastructure… A niche application is sensible in some areas, but you need to plan your exit strategy. If you go for a small supplier because you want to support SMEs and you’re not mindful of the risks, you may end up with difficulties later. If we are the larger clients of a small company and it gets into difficulty, what happens if they can’t sustain a system that schools are depending on?”

It is a valid claim, but coupled with the fact Microsoft also recently cut the price of Windows 8.1 by 70% to low cost computers and made Windows Phone 8 free on all sub 9-inch devices it shows the price war ahead. Of course it isn’t just Microsoft. Google GOOGL +0.35% – arguably Microsoft’s biggest rival – has long given away much of its software and services in exchange for access to aspects of user data.

“The point here is that you can have some policy objectives around how you’d like to see technology change in the public sector, wanting to make sure small suppliers don’t get squeezed out, and not having dependency on proprietary software where open source can do the same at lower cost,” concludes Creese. “But you need to do what’s best for the taxpayer, and sometimes that means a space can only be fuelled by a large supplier.”

Needless to say this is a debate which isn’t getting settled any time soon, but it would certainly help if government policies were more consistent and less hypocritical.

More On Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2014/05/08/using-microsoft-is-cheaper-than-free-software-says-government-chief-information-officer/

William Shatner Interviews GDI Co-Founders

William Shatner Interviews GDI Co-Founders

Android Still Growing Market Share By Winning First Time Smartphone Users

Android is continuing its onward march. The latest market figures from analyst ABI Research peg the platform at 80% marketshare of smartphone OSes, with just under 300 million smartphones running Android — or an Android fork — shipped in the quarter.

The analyst notes that basic mobile phone operating systems lost 5% share in the quarter — with Android hovering up most of those users as they upgrade to smartphones.

That suggests Google’s mobile platform is set to be the biggest winner as the “billions” of remaining mobile subscribers upgrade to smartphones — helping to keep what is already the dominant smartphone platform ahead of the competition.

“Android looks set to completely dominate the high growth developing markets and increase its market share still further,” noted Nick Spencer, senior practice director, mobile devices, in a statement.

That’s bad news for Microsoft — which now owns Nokia’s mobile making business, and will be hoping to on-ramp users of basic Nokia mobile phones to its Windows Phone-based Lumia smartphones. Currently, Android continues to exert more pulling power for first time smartphone buyers.

Taking the mobile market as a whole — so looking collectively at both smartphones and basic mobiles – Android took a 44% share of the market in Q1 (up 24% year-on-year), according to ABI’s data, with the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) — which companies including Amazon and Nokia have used to fork Android — taking 13%.

ABI’s figures suggest usage of ASOP is growing, albeit at a slower rate than Android proper.

Microsoft’s Windows Phone also grew its share of the market in Q1, with 16% sequential growth and a 3% share overall — but the platform remains very much the underdog vs the dominance of Android.

Still, Microsoft can console itself that it’s the top underdog in mobile. The analyst described Windows Phone as “the only viable third ecosystem” — noting the complete collapse of BlackBerry’s OSes, and adding that low-cost Firefox OS remains a potential challenger but has yet to make any significant dent.

Apple’s iOS grew 17% year on year but ABI said its growth is “undoubtedly flattening”, noting that the iPhone 5c has done little to boost sales volumes.

Apple’s decision to limit itself to selling premium devices continues to constrain its marketshare — and as the lower-end portion of the smartphone market continues to expand, fueled by users of basic mobiles upgrading to their first smartphone, that share will inevitably be diluted further.

MORE AT: http://techcrunch.com/2014/05/06/android-still-growing-market-share-by-winning-first-time-smartphone-users/