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Microsoft starts letting Windows Phone developers respond to app reviews

Apr17
by on April 17, 2014 at 6:13 pm
Posted In: Apps, Around the Web, Design & Dev, Mobile

Screen Shot 2014-04-02 at 16.37.56
Microsoft today announced the launch of a pilot program that lets Windows Phone developers respond to app reviews. The company says the roll-out will begin this week with a small group of developers who have been pre-selected to participate, though it didn’t say based on what criteria. Developers will be able to respond to reviews posted from Windows Phone 8 and Windows Phone 8.1 devices, in the US only for now. Once a developer posts a response, users will receive the comment via an email from Microsoft. They can then choose to a) ignore the email b) respond to the…

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How to retain mental and creative focus

Apr17
by on April 17, 2014 at 6:09 pm
Posted In: Analysis and Opinion, Around the Web, Entrepreneur, How-To's, LifeHacks

shutter focus
David Hassell is the CEO of 15Five. This post originally appeared on the 15five blog. Have you ever wondered why, when you leave a two-hour meeting you usually have very little retention of what was said? An onslaught of stimuli and information comes our way every day. Why do our minds label some of it as important, and the rest becomes no more memorable than this morning’s Starbucks experience? Lack of focus is not due to too much TV as a child, it’s a function of our Reticular Activating System (also called the extrathalamic control modulatory system, but let’s just call it…

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Dropbox acquires document collaboration service Hackpad

Apr17
by on April 17, 2014 at 5:42 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider

Following Dropbox’s acquisition of Loom, collaborative document editing service Hackpad has announced that it is joining the company. Unlike Loom, however, Hackpad will continue to support its product, which enables users to work together on a document in real-time on the Web and an iOS app. ➤ Hackpad is teaming up with Dropbox Image credit: Dropbox in 30 minutes / Flickr

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Facebook launches optional Nearby Friends feature for Android and iOS

Apr17
by on April 17, 2014 at 5:00 pm
Posted In: Apps, Around the Web, Mobile

A view of Facebook's logo May 10, 2012 i
Facebook today launched Nearby Friends, a new option in the company’s main app for Android and iOS rolling out “over the coming weeks” in the US. The feature lets you see which friends are close to you, assuming that both you and the other party have enabled the functionality first. Before we dig in, it’s important to note where in the Facebook app you can access Nearby Friends. You’ll have to tap the “More” icon in the bottom-right corner, and hit “Nearby Friends” located just above “Nearby Places.” If you have already turned the feature on, you can also access…

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Dropbox acquires photo storage startup Loom, service to shut down on May 16

Apr17
by on April 17, 2014 at 4:56 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider

Screen Shot 2014-04-17 at 10.10.31 AM
Cloud photo storage service Loom announced today that it has been acquired by Dropbox. Loom is no longer accepting new users, and existing customers can keep using Loom until May 16. The firm will offer an option to export data over to Dropbox. Dropbox announced Carousel, its own photo storage app that was similar to Loom, last week. Loom users that switch to Carousel will receive the an equivalent allotment of data from Dropbox, with paid users receiving free upgraded storage for a year. If you’d rather not have your Loom data head over to Dropbox (because, you know, reasons),…

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