Google Play: Google Cloud Print App

Google just released the Cloud Print app for Android.  Cloud Print has been around since April 2010 and was designed to connect your printers to the web. You can print over the web from anywhere to any printer. Third party apps are available but now you can experience the official Google app for Android. The app will allow you to do the following:

• Print from any compatible Android device to any Google Cloud Print connected printer
• Share a picture or a document from apps like Gallery directly to Cloud Print
• Track the status of your print jobs

Check out the official app in Google Play.

• New tabs in Finder- Your Finder now has tabs that can have their own location and view mode.
• Ability to tag individual files – You can tag your files such as Home, Work, and School. The tags will appear in your Finder sidebar and iCloud.
• Enhanced support for multiple displays – You can now access menus and docks separately on displays.

Read more about OS X Mavericks:
AppleInsider, Apple announces OS X Mavericks with Finder tabs, tags, and true multiple display support

Get live updates from the Worldwide Developers Conference 2013:
Gizmodo Live, WWDC 2013 Liveblog

Mashable.com – How to Create a Top Secret Facebook Group

Mashable.com published a slideshow with step-by-step instructions on creating a secret Facebook group. Since we found it to be quite useful, we couldn’t wait to share it with you! Learn how to create a Facebook Group that is private to only you and folks you invite… http://mashable.com/2013/05/26/how-to-secret-facebook-group/

Gmail’s new inbox is optional allowing you to keep your current inbox design type. Also, you can limit the tabs you want or not use any at all. Learn more at the Official Gmail Blog.

Official Gmail Blog, A new inbox that puts you back in control- http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/

Hunger Games, Pinterest Movie Pin

Pinterest fans have already begun using a recently unleashed new feature called Rich Pins. If you are not an enthusiast, a pin is a video or image you gather from a website or upload from your computer. The pin links back to the original source and can be repinned. The new Rich Pins feature includes the following category titles: Product, Recipe and Movie. You now receive more useful information on something you like. Product Pins tells you how much something costs and if it’s available. It also points you to the retail store selling the item (clothing, furniture, toys, and more).  Recipe Pins gives you the ingredients, total hands-on and cook time, and how many it serves. If you want more step-by-step instructions, you can click on the original source. Movie Pins gives you the movie’s rating, directors and actors. View its Rotten Tomatoes score or Netflix rating.

The Pin It button is now available for some mobile apps, such as TED and Brit+Co.

You will need to activate Rich Pins on your account since it has not been fully integrated. Click on the Click It Now button on the home page.

Catch-up or learn more by visiting Pinterest’s blog post, Introducing More Useful Pins

Read Google Glass Year in Review…

Gimp

Gimp is editing software that is very similar to Photoshop. It’s an open-source application for the MAC and PC. It provides tools for editing and retouching your images. It also provides layers, like Photoshop, and tools for painting and animation.

Screenshot from Gimp

Photoscape

Photoscape is an easy-to-use editing software. Some of the key features include the editor, batch editor, combine, and face search. The editor allows you to resize, adjust the brightness and color, add text, draw pictures, crop, add filters, use red eye removal, and more. The batch editor allows you to edit multiple photos at once. The combine feature will result in one large photo by combining photos vertically or horizontally.

Screenshot from Photoscape

Pixlr

Pixlr is a popular choice for editing photographs. Choose from three levels for editing your photos: Open Pixlr Editor (Advanced), Open Pixlr Express (Efficient), and Open Pixlr-o-matic (Playful). It’s quick and similar to Photoshop. You can crop, re-size, remove red-eye, and whiten teeth. Pixlr also offers mobile apps of the Pixlr Express and Pixlr-o-matic levels for iOS and Android. The new Pixlr Express Plus version for iOS allows you to add text and stickers! Try out the Pixlr Grabber extension for both Firefox and Chrome so you can grab and edit photos as you surf the web.

Screenshot from Pixlr

Lightroom 5

The New York Times talks about Photoshop’s temporary, free photography editing software, Lightroom 5. It is a beta testing version which will become unavailable once the upgrade version is released. It is easier to use than Photoshop and has some new exciting features. New York Times describes the Radial Gradient feature:

Adobe has also added a feature called Radial Gradient, which lets photographers draw a circular or oval area in which to apply effects. It can be used to create a vignette, where a picture darkens toward the edges, for instance. So you could circle someone’s face, and have the picture dim as it moves away from her, creating a spotlight to draw the eye.

Another feature is the Upright which corrects warped areas due to lens distortion.

Lighthouse 5 Upright Feature Screenshot from New York Times

Adobe Photoshop Express App

This free app is nice for on-the-go cropping and editing. It is available for both iOS and Android. Zoom in, Crop, straighten, rotate, flip, and remove red eye. Use slider controls to find the right color. Adjust the hue, brightness, and white balance of your photos. Then, share with your friends and family.

Photoshop Express Screenshot from Adobe

HeliosPaint

HeliosPaint is a paint program for editing photos and other images. Some of the tools and features include: pencil for editing pixels; adjustable paint brush and spray can with edge feathering; copy brush for copying an area to another area for retouching, healing, and blending; and shape tool for creating freehand, polygon, star, moon, and heart shapes. Heliospaint also allows printing with auto fit to page and allows you to export image to PDF file.

Screenshot from Heliospaint

Video Credit: Youtube, Hack College

2013 has been a year filled with hacks on big brands through social media. As we saw last week, the Associated Press’ Twitter account was hacked. But the real question is, what are the steps involved to recover from social media hacks? Thanks to PC World, this question can be solved in four simple steps. In 4 steps to reclaim your social media after a hack attack, PC World gives users an idea on what they must do to fully recover.

Posted below is a brief overview of the article. To read the full post be sure to visit PC World.

Regain control of your account

Change your password as soon as you notice that your social media account has been compromised. If you are unable to do this because your Twitter account was suspended, PC World suggests visiting support.twitter.com/forms/hacked. This form will help you reclaim your account.

Delete posts and tell your audience

It is important to delete all posts and tweets that were posted to your page. Afterwards, you should inform your friends and followers about the hack and let them know that everything has been taken care of. Eric Johnson was quoted by PC World stating,

“Time is of the essence. Be sure to rebroadcast the issue on every channel available to you,” he says. “Post a message on your website’s homepage, tweet it, post it on Facebook and other social media sites. This ensures they know about the problem and it reduces the damage.”

Review your social media process

For this step, PC World suggests that you review both the processs and people that control these accounts. From there, examine the procedures and look for areas to improve upon.

Preach and teach online safety

Teach and train others how to properly use social media. In addition, be sure to review processes to protect your brand or identity online.

Image Credit: Bit Social Media