Kindle for Mac

Ever wanted to read your Kindle books on your Mac? There is now an app for that! And it's available now - free - in over 100 countries. Amazon announced the new application last week.

Currently, the Kindle Store (which can be found at Amazon.com/KindleStore) has over 450,000 books, which includes many new releases, most of the New York Times Bestsellers, and other popular books you can't find in digital form anywhere else. Kindle books can already be read on Kindle, Kindle DX, iPhone, iPod touch, Blackberry, PC, and now Mac. Kindle for iPad is coming soon.

In a statement, Jay Marine, the director of Amazon Kindle said of the new app, "Kindle for Mac is the perfect companion application for customers who own a Kindle or Kindle DX. For those customers around the world who don’t yet have a Kindle, Kindle for Mac is a great way to instantly access and read the most popular new releases as well as their old favorites."

The new app utilizes Amazon's Whipersync technology that allows you to save and synchronize your bookmarks, no matter what device you're using to access your book. You can switch from Kindle to your Mac to your iPhone and never lose your place!

So what all can you do with your Kindle for Mac app? For starters, you can purchase, download, and read the books available in the Kindle store, and access any books you've purchased previously and stored on Amazon's servers. You can read in ten different font sizes and adjust the words on each line. View any notes or highlights you made in the book on any other gadgets and read books in full color, which is great if you read children's books, travel books, and textbooks.

According to the press release, Kindle for Mac will have more features added to it in the future, such as full text search, and the ability to create or edit notes and highlights. To download the free app, visit amazon.com/kindleformac.

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Professionals Prefer Phones to... Everything

Smartphones are everywhere these days, iPhones, Blackberries, Androids and others, and apparently their owners are quite attached to them. At least that's what a new survey from RingCentral, a cloud computing business phone system provider says.

"This survey demonstrates the critical role smartphones play in business. The passion business professionals have for these devices reflects a major shift in the way we work, and the new reality is that businesses do not have to choose between mobility and professionalism," said the CEO of RingCentral, Vlad Shmunis.

So what exactly did the survey find? Well, only about 17% of professional smartphone users admit they'd never give up their morning cup of coffee for their phone and 40% of smartphone users said their phones, tied with intimate relationships, is the one thing they can't live without. Yes, that means some professionals see their phone as being just important as their significant others and would have a hard time deciding between the two. Just 3% said they couldn't live without checking social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.

About 79% of those surveyed said they use their smartphone to conduct business more often than their home or office phones and 34% say they use their phones more often than their computer for business purposes. About 7% even say they leave their laptops at home when they travel if they can take their phones.

While some have wondered whether or not people would ever give up their computers for their computers all together, this survey certainly seems to lean in that direction. At least the two compliment each other well. When your phone allows you to browse the web, check email, and post on Twitter or Facebook, it can work in place of your laptop when traveling, especially since it might fit in your pocket and not require extra security effort at the airport. Of course, if you plan to do any heavy work, you'll probably need your laptop. And with the release of the iPad and what's sure to be a new fad in technology, business professionals have a new option all together.

Another Great Article:

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New SketchBook Pro iPad App

Another day, another iPad app. There will probably be many new ones in the days and weeks to come. But this one, from Autodesk looks pretty interesting: the new SketchBook Pro. SketchBook Pro is a painting and drawing software that allows both professional and non-professionals alike to use their iPad like a sketchbook. The app is now available at the App Store and is specifically for the iPad.

SketchBook Pro features high-quality digital pens, pencils, markers, and airbrushes with a Multi-touch gesture-based interface. Users can take advantage of this technology to create a simple sketch or high quality artwork, making it ideal for the casual artist or the professional illustrator. The app uses the same paint engine as the SketchBook Pro mobile and computer applications.

In a press release, Vice President of Digital Concept at Autodesk, Samir Hanna, said of the app, "The launch of the iPad brings both creative professionals and consumers unparalleled sketching capabilities on a mobile device. The SketchBook Pro App for iPad provides a fun drawing and painting environment that also applies widely to professional artists and designers from all industries."

The new app features a full-screen, 1024 x 768 workspace with support for any device orientation, as well as the Multi-touch interface that is said to deliver a "immersive and streamlined experience." It comes with 75 brushes with customizable settings, including synthetic pressure sensitivity and brush modes that allow you to take part in free sketching and creating straight lines, ellipses and rectangles. Six full-resolution layers per sketch offer users complete control over layer order, opacity, and visibility. And a live news page even alerts users to upcoming events, as well as highlighting featured artists and their SketchBook creations.

As mentioned, the app is currently available through the Apple App Store for $7.99. There, you an also get the mobile version of the app for your iPhone and iPod touch.

Related Posts: Do You Really Need An Apple Tablet?

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Cisco's New WebEx iPad App

With the weekend release of the iPad, as expected, a lot of apps are being released and many of them are business-minded. In a press release issued last week, Cisco announced that it was creating a Cisco WebEx Meeting Center app for the iPad that is available now through the Apple App Store. The app will allow iPad users to participate in online web and audio meetings like never before.

With just a "few taps on the screen," users can join a meeting via the URL found in the email or calendar invitation, so long as they have WiFi access.

So what all does the WebEx app have to offer? It uses animation, special visual effects, user movements, and touch to make the user experience easier than ever. Participants can view shared presentations, applications, and desktops, as well as view the meeting participant list, see who's talking and chat privately with attendees using the chat window. Those using the app can also take full advantage of Cisco WebEx VolP audio directly from their iPad or request a call-back on a phone.

In the press release for the app, Debra Chrapaty, the Senior Vice President and General Manager of Cisco Collaboration Software Group said, "This latest innovation continues to showcase Cisco's ongoing commitment to bringing the value of collaboration. When a powerful collaboration solution like Cisco WebEx Meeting Center for the iPad is combined with an intuitive and WiFi enabled user experience, businesses and users both win."

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