Mobile software

Did you ever want to leave a message for a Skype buddy who just wasn't there? Skype's new video-messaging feature, now in a beta of sorts, is the interactive way to do it.

Available today for users in the U.S., U.K., and other select countries (Skype isn't listing them all,) video messaging sends a recording to friends who may be offline or on another call.

Android, iOS, and Mac users don't have to do anything to play around with the prerelease feature, except to make sure they've got the most recent software update (… Read more

A lot of apps are designed by boys.

Because a lot of boys are quite linear, they design largely with boys in mind.

Boys then buy these apps, which are often based on relatively puerile forms of humor and behavior, for which boys are quite renowned.

However, occasionally boys design with girls in mind. And therein lies disaster.

One such disaster has affected Chubby Checker's pants. For he has them in a twist about an app that's called, well, Chubby Checker. (Must I explain the derivation?)… Read more

Vimeo has brought aboard a new app (and new people) that can transform your videos into animations.

The company announced today that it now owns Echograph, an app that lets iPhone and iPad users create animations by blending together different parts of a video clip.

Purchased from Clear-Media, the Echograph app previously cost $3 but is now available free.

As described in a promotional video (see embedded clip below), an Echograph is a photograph that contains small slices of animation. You start off by selecting a video and then trimming it to 5 seconds. You then pick a single still frame from the clip. From there, you actually paint over an area of that still frame with a moving element from the video, creating an image with touches of animation.… Read more

An ex is like a scar you once got after a seventh Cabernet in a bar with 12 steps.

Some days, you look at it and are proud. At other times, you wonder how you could have done it to yourself.

The lies, the hurt, the occasional odor of indifference and the underarm spray that was at least two years old -- they all serve as jogs and jags to the memory.

Sadly, many people still hold material relics of disappointed love all over the most important part of their lives -- yes, their Facebook timelines.

In the bowels of … Read more

If you didn't get caught in Cupid's spray this year, we have some pretty good ideas for how to spend your free day. Take a day off and spend it with the classiest person you know: that special guy/gal in the mirror. Of course there's nothing stopping you from using this list to get started on the best date ever, if you're lucky enough to feel the sweet warm embrace of requited love.

Go on an urban adventure The world is a big and terrifying place, and it will remind you of that fact every … Read more

It was a good day for the WebKit browser engine yesterday when Opera Software adopted it in place of its in-house Presto. But yesterday's developments also became an opportunity for a high-profile JavaScript programmer to lodge criticisms about WebKit.

"Each release of Chrome or Safari generates excitement about new bleeding-edge features; nobody seems to worry about the stuff that's already (still!) broken," complained Dave Methvin, president of the jQuery foundation and a member of the core programming team that builds the widely used Web programming tool, in a blog post.

"jQuery Core has more lines … Read more

It might have been a smart strategic move for Opera Software to move to the WebKit browser engine and scrap its own Presto, but some think it's a step backward for the development of the Web overall.

"A switch to Webkit might benefit Opera. It's just not going to benefit the open Web," Mozilla's Robert O'Callahan said today in comments on his blog about Opera's Presto change-o. "This will strengthen the WebKit mobile monoculture and make it even harder for us to promote Web standards over 'coding to Webkit.'"

Browser engines … Read more

Apple iPhone owners can now stream full episodes of popular A&E shows.

The network updated its iOS application this week, allowing iPhone owners to watch everything from "Duck Dynasty" to "Storage Wars" to "The First 48." A&E's other networks, Lifetime and The History Channel, have also received updates supporting the iPhone.

A&E initially launched its app in December for the iPad. The company allows viewers to watch full episodes of the current season of shows for free. As with the iPad application, only Comcast customers will have … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--At an invite-only press event in San Francisco, popular streaming music service Slacker Radio last night unveiled a completely revamped brand. The company's name remains, but Slacker's look and feel have been significantly simplified.

Of course, with the rebrand, Slacker's Web site and product designs have been updated with cleaner, more modern looks as well. Gone are the dark tones, textures, and gradients that crowded Slacker's interfaces in the past. Now, Slacker's multiplatform face is made up of brighter colors, clean lines, and lots of white space, which bring it more in line with … Read more