Google debuts DIY code tools for Android phones

BBC News - Google debuts DIY code tools for Android phones

This seems to be very interesting stuff... though at the outset it may seem a dampener for hard core techies who take joy in cracking tough nuts by themselves, I am sure these DIY code tools can certainly help the techies too to innovate and re-discover themselves in very new avatars... Need to check what exactly this has to offer. :)

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Screens go Google at the Digital Signage Expo

Posted by Vidya Nagarajan, Product Manager, Chrome for Work

Editors note: Chrome offers secure, customizable and easily manageable devices and apps for today’s business. Join us for Chrome Live, April 22-24, to learn how web-based solutions can help maximize your company’s productivity. Register here.

Since last year’s Digital Signage Expo and the introduction of Chrome’s single app kiosk mode, many customers and developers have built digital signage applications on Chromeboxes. Chromeboxes are secure, easy to manage and cost effective, making them ideal to display content and engage customers in any location. Chicos chose Chrome to manage and display content on over 5000 screens across more than 1500 stores.

We’ve done more with the Chrome platform to make signage even easier, adding new features that make it seamless to plan signage content and manage device health. Today, we’re announcing these capabilities:

• The Chrome Sign Builder helps you create intelligent digital signs that are easy to build, schedule and deploy. You can add and manage content for any number of screens, and schedule that content to run when needed, across many screens at different times of day. A great example of this in action: displaying breakfast, lunch and dinner menus at various restaurant locations across multiple time zones.

• The Chrome App Builder makes it easy to build third-party kiosk apps. You can set up applications to eliminate the “first-run” configuration process and rapidly deploy across multiple screens. We have several third party partners whove built solutions for signage including Stratos, Rise, Arreya, Wondersign, Four Winds Interactive, Scala, and Industry Weapon; and were adding more to this ecosystem.

• Ongoing reporting monitors the health of your kiosks and signage at all times. You’ll get alerts from Chrome device management if a screen goes down, and can remotely reboot the device to get it back online without dispatching a technician. You can also get live updates about system usage and capture screen grabs to see exactly what viewers see.

In addition, today AOPEN announced three new commercial Chrome OS devices that will add more durability to digital signage. By working with AOPEN, we can offer more rugged hardware equipped to handle harsh conditions — like a hot and greasy back-of-house line at a restaurant.

If you’d like to learn more about these new devices and management features, visit us at the Digital Signage Expo in booth 2218 to see them in action or online. You can also register now for Chrome Live, a digital conference we’re hosting April 22-24.

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Head of Nokia US PureView coming to Nokia Lumia phones

Another Nokia executive is teasing the addition of PureView technology to the Finnish companys Lumia line of phones and yet again there are no commitments when it comes to dates when such a device might get announced.

Chris Webber, President of Nokia USA and Head of Marketing for North America, talked about the future of Nokia and their plans to expand their market share. PureView is part of the plan and Nokia is working closely with Microsoft to make sure that the technologyworks exactly right (we approve as long as the phones dont look like this).

Webber once again points out its not about the 41MP that was arguably the biggest attention grabber, but its the oversampling technology instead. This lends some credence that there will be PureView cameras with a lower raw resolution (which would reduce the maximum lossless zoom, but the other advantages of the technology shouldnt be affected).

You can watch the 20+ minute interview with Webber here - he talks about PureView a little after 3 minutes in.



You might want to listen to the rest of the interview too, he talks about how the market has moved to a battle of ecosystems instead of battle of individual devices and how Windows 8, Xbox and otherMicrosoft properties are beneficial for Nokias Windows-centric strategy.

Source

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