Apple to flip the switch on its own Content Delivery Network resulting in faster transfers

Apple has reportedly flipped the switch on its own CDN which means it can more quickly and efficiently deliver files to iOS and Mac users running Apple cloud services or accessing any of the conten from iTunes or the App Store.

Apple has historically relied on CDN's like Akamai but is now renting bandwith from various ISPs in order to speed up various transfers. This means Apple customers should experience faster downloads, software updates, backups and file transfers. This also bodes well for the upcoming iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite releases which will rely heavily on cloud transfers for their continuity features.

Source: Streamingmediablog

Google releases source code of its I/O 2014 app

Google is hoping to help developers create the best Android apps they can. The tech company just released the source code of its I/O 2014 app. They want it to serve as a template of sorts for any app development. According to Google, some of the features, design approaches, and APIs used in the app include “fragments, loaders, alarms, notifications, SQLite databases, Action Bar, Navigation Drawer, Google Cloud Messaging, Google Drive API, material design, etc.

They also rebuilt the app to work with JSON files instead of a specific API to allow it to be repurposed for other conferences. They also plan to release the technical articles related to the source code as well as update the app in the coming months.

Source: The Next Web

Microsoft adds more functionality to Office for iPad

Microsoft released another major update for its Office for iPad app to answer user requests and add more functionality to the productivity suite. All three apps now have the ability to export files as PDF. They also have new third-party fonts as well as the ability to crop to focus on images with new Picture Tools.

Excel gets better external keyboard support, additional print options, and a “Flick to Select” feature that allows you to, well, flick to select all data in a column or row. PowerPoint gets a new Presenter View to edit and view speaker notes; look at following slides; as well as jump to other slides while presenting. There are also new media features to let you play videos, sound effects, and background music while presenting. You can check out the new features for yourselves by downloading the apps. Here’s the link for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Source: MacRumors

Microsoft Devices launches the Nokia Lumia 635

More Windows Phone news coming down the pipe today as Microsoft Devices Group just announced the Canadian availability of the Nokia Lumia 635. The Lumia 635 brings the same capabilities as high-end Lumia smartphones at an affordable price, plus it is the first Lumia smartphone to be pre-loaded with Windows Phone 8.1 for the best Windows Phone experience, so Cortana is included. Also included is a 1.2GHz quad core Snapdragon 400 processor, a 5 MP rear camera, a 4.5-inch ClearBlack, IPS LCD with 854 x 480 pixel resolution.

The Lumia 635 is available at Rogers and Fido (free for two-year plans, $199 without contract) starting today and is coming to Telus in August. 

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