updates

Google Maps for iOS gets first big update

Google today pushed out its first update to its mapping software on Apple's iOS, adding a few new features.

Chief among them is integration with a user's Google contact list, a feature that will pull up any addresses you have stored with Google, and not just on your phone.

The update (iTunes) also adds a new option in the search menu that will quickly look for nearby points of interest, including restaurants, gas stations, movie theaters, and coffee shops. You could search for these things before, but the new menu means you don't actually have to type … Read more

Galaxy S4's awkward tween messenger

CNET Update can't keep a secret:

Soon we will know the secrets of the Samsung Galaxy S4. Until the smartphone is unveiled on March 14, the young Jeremy Maxwell must keep the secret smartphone safe. (Wait, what?) Samsung's odd teaser video for the Galaxy S4 might leave you asking, "What was Samsung thinking?"

Other stories mentioned in Monday's tech news roundup:

- An indie film premieres exclusively on Xbox Live

- YouTube's iOS app can send videos to your TV

- The Socialmatic Camera will be made in 2014, with support from Polariod

- … Read more

Q&A: MacFixIt Answers

MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which I answer Mac-related questions e-mailed in by our readers.

This week, readers wrote in with questions on how to best manage software updates for many computers on a network, the options for using the right-click in OS X, and concerns about the feasibility of corrupting a system through apparently normal use. I welcome views from readers, so if you have any suggestions or alternative approaches to these problems, please post them in the comments!

Question: Managing software updates for many computers on a network MacFixIt reader Beth asks:

I've read several articles … Read more

Facebook is changing the News Feed

CNET Update never did beat Battletoads:

Facebook will unveil a new look for the News Feed on March 7, but we may have a hint at what's to come judging by the new profiles being tested in New Zealand (via The Next Web). And Google is also testing a new look with a navigation grid icon.

Other headlines from Friday's tech news roundup:

- Groupon's CEO was fired, but you should read his farewell memo to staff. He compares the challenges leading Groupon to getting through the difficult Battletoads video game without dying. We hear ya, Andrew. … Read more

Pandora limits free mobile streaming

CNET Update teaches you how to say Ubuntu:

Thursday's tech news roundup has bad news for Pandora addicts. Free music streaming on Pandora apps is limited to 40 hours a month -- but there's no limit for desktop users. Pandora is bringing back limits just as Spotify evolves: it's making changes to be more social, just updated its iOS app, and is going to be available on Ford's Sync AppLink. Another streaming cousin, TuneIn, also updated its site and iPad app to offer live listening recommendations.

And as Mobile World Congress coverage wraps up, we're … Read more

Apple gives iTunes-in-the-cloud features to more of Europe

Nearly a dozen European countries now have access to a key iTunes feature that lets users re-download purchased video content.

iTunes users in 11 countries, including France, Sweden, and Belgium, can now view and re-download movies they bought from Apple. Previously, users in those countries would have needed to back up that file in the event that the device it was on was damaged or stolen.

The full list of countries in this latest batch (per The Next Web) includes Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. France was reportedly the only one to … Read more

Take a Leap in May with motion control

This is the CNET Update you're looking for:

Get ready to control your computer like a Jedi: Leap Motion's controllers are arriving mid-May for $80. Watch the video above to see how users can navigate programs with the wave of a hand or the wiggle of a finger. Developers like Corel and Disney Interactive are releasing apps that work with Leap.

But that's not the only company taking the "touch" out of touch screen. At Mobile World Congress, STMicroelectronics shows how to control a tablet without making contact.

Also in Wednesday's tech news roundup: … Read more

How the Copyright Alert System works

It's legal to share CNET Update:

If you use a peer-to-peer network like BitTorrent, then pay attention to today's Update video. I offer a quick explanation of what Internet service providers will be doing to discourage customers from sharing copyright-protected music, movies and television shows.

Also in Tuesday's tech roundup:

- Apps and websites are now letting users sign in with a Google+ account, as well as share activity with circles.

- Get ready to be annoyed by hundreds of new Internet domain extensions, like .cadillac, .vegas and .app.

- The Guardian reports that all games on … Read more

Countdown begins for Galaxy S4 reveal

Monday's CNET Update does it with stylus:

The mother of all mobile trade shows, Mobile World Congress, kicked off in Barcelona. Today's video roundup highlights the buzz over Samsung, WebOS and a new way to talk to your phone:

- Samsung will unveil the Galaxy S4 on March 14

- Visa's mobile payment program will be built into the Galaxy S4

- More on MasterCard's mobile payment plan, MasterPass

- First impressions of the Galaxy Note 8 tablet

- Samsung HomeSync to rival Apple TV

- WebOS lives in future LG smart TVs

- HP tries tablets again with the Slate 7 … Read more