doc

Store music in Google Docs, play it on your iPhone

Google Docs is primarily designed to give you online access to Microsoft Office and other types of documents via a Web browser, but technically, you can store just about any type of file in the Docs database. A new iPhone app called Cloud Music, which debuted in the App Store on Monday, takes advantage of this flexibility to deliver a quick-and-dirty music locker service.

First, you have to register with Google and use your Web browser to upload some music files into Google Docs. The service offers up to 1GB of storage for free, with a maximum file size of … Read more

Big investors backing doctor-booking site ZocDoc

A New York-based start-up called ZocDoc aims to expand its service of online doctor and dentist appointment bookings with a $15 million Series B venture round led by the Founders Fund. Existing investor Khosla Ventures also contributed.

The money will be used primarily to help ZocDoc expand geographically. Currently operating in New York, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Chicago, the company is soliciting users to vote on what its fifth city should be (the options include Boston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Seattle). But expanding requires complicated groundwork: ZocDoc aggregates participating doctors; lets users search for them by availability, location, … Read more

On Facebook, don't panic!

In 2008, the Loaded crew took a road trip to interview Janis Wolak at the University of New Hampshire's Crimes against Children Research Center. Wolak, a UNH professor, co-authored a study about "Internet predators," which showed that they do not fit the stereotype of thuggish basement-dweller using force, abduction, or deception to lure young teens into sexual relationships.

On the contrary, research shows that Internet sex offenders coax teens into relationships slowly, gaining their trust over time. Once the relationships become obviously inappropriate, teens feel that they have been complicit and are therefore less likely to report … Read more

Google Docs delivers presentation basics

In last Wednesday's post pitting Microsoft's Office Web Apps against Google Docs, I said Google Docs doesn't support PowerPoint presentations. Wrong.

Google Docs wouldn't open my test PPTX file, but the service lets you create and edit presentations in the older PowerPoint PPT format, albeit without most of the desktop app's formatting options. You won't find much in the way of transitions, effects, and other advanced features in Google Docs, either. The best feature of Google's online presentation tool is its clean interface, which isn't a surprise considering the company behind the … Read more

Android Atlas Weekly 5: Adobe spills the beans on mobile Flash (podcast)

Adobe's Anup Murarka talks with us about mobile Flash, Android 2.2 begins rolling out to select phones, and the Kindle Android app is finally released. Plus, we review the cloud music service MSpot and share a timely tip on speeding up Flash sites on Froyo. Josh Lowensohn guest hosts.

InterviewAnup Murarka, director of technology strategy for the flash platform.

News stories

Google issues Android 2.2 to Nexus One phones

Developers Betting on Android for Long-Term Success, Says Survey Whoa! Google Android Activations Leap 60% In A Month Report says be aware of what your Android app does Google Activates Android "Kill Switch," Zaps Useless Apps News.com Story about the Kill Switch Rumor: Droid 2 will launch with Android 2.2 on August 23rd Google Docs viewer on Android, iPhone, iPad browser? Why, yes Kindle for Android now available… Read more

Google Docs viewer on Android, iPhone, iPad browser? Why, yes

As much as we'd like to say that we can do the same thing on a mobile phone as we can on a desktop, the truth of the matter is that unless you're toting a tablet like the iPad (and even then...), some tasks are just harder to do without some form of mobile-optimized view.

To that end, Google now optimizes its Google Docs Web site for iPhone, Android, and yes, the iPad. I speak from experience when calling the previous path to Google Docs from Android and iPhone arduous.

The new mobile version of the Google Docs … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1256: iPhone 4 debuts to a chorus of nerds (podcast)

Turns out the newborn iPhones 4 might have a touch of the old jaundice -- it's ok, it's pretty common, just try to lay them in direct sunlight for a few hours. (No, don't try that. Just call Apple.) Top story today, though: a victory for the Internet! That victory? YouTube wins against Viacom! (Viacom plans to appeal.) Also, Rafe was totally right about that antenna thing, he would like to you to know, and when it comes to Twitter and Facebook, well: it's war.

Office Web Apps, Google Docs go head-to-head

Microsoft's first true browser-based versions of the venerable Word, Excel, and PowerPoint applications won't make you abandon the programs' full-featured counterparts installed your hard drive. But if you splurge for Office 2010, you may find yourself spending a lot more time working in your browser.

You probably already do some word processing and spreadsheet work using Google Docs, Zoho, or another such service. (I described the Web's best desktop-app replacements in a post last month.)

These services have offered first-rate word processing and spreadsheet programs that run in a browser and let you create, open, and store … Read more

Google Docs makes it easier to share--or not

Google has rolled out out a few new tweaks to its Google Docs platform to give people greater control over how to share and collaborate on documents with their colleagues.

Google Docs users will now be able to set the visibility of each document in one of three ways to determine whether and how it's public or private. The "Public on the Web" option lets anyone on the Internet find and access your document. You can publish its URL on any public Web page, and the document itself is indexed by Google and other search engines.

The &… Read more

GoodReader for iPad gets even better

GoodReader? They should call it GreatReader! OK, pardon the lame joke, but what is arguably the best document viewer currently available for the iPad just got better.

The app already excels at bringing all kinds of files to your iPad: Office and iWork documents, PDFs, text files, HTML pages, photos, music, and videos.

It does this using any number of connectivity options. You can set up a temporary Wi-Fi connection to your PC, browse a Web site or specific URL, or pull files from just about any online source: mail and FTP servers, Box.net, Dropbox, Google Docs, iDisk, and … Read more