Stylus maker Adonit releases its first iPad drawing app

theverge 

Adonit makes some of the best iPad styluses out there, and now it's starting to make an iPad drawing app to help you sketch with them. The app, called Forge, is being released today. It's specifically designed to work with Adonit's pressure-sensitive Jot Touch stylus, but it'll work with any generic stylus and even your finger, too.

Forge is set up to let you iterate on designs and ideas

Forge is a fairly straightforward drawing app with five tools, a quick color selector, and most of the screen left empty for you to sketch on. All of the tools work well and do a good job of translating your marks into smooth and stylish lines, especially when you're using the Jot Touch. Forge's interface has a minimal aesthetic that tries to streamline the process of getting you from opening the app to starting to draw — it should look really familiar to anyone who's used Adobe's Line and Sketch apps before. For the most part, it's as simple as you want it to be while still allowing you to quickly change brush sizes and adjust your color choices.

Microsoft kills off Google and Facebook chat for Outlook.com

sorce : theverge

Microsoft is revealing today that it plans to kill off Google and Facebook chat from its Outlook.com email service "within the next couple of weeks." In an email to Outlook.com customers, Microsoft says it’s removing Google Talk integration "due to Google’s decision to discontinue the chat protocol used by the Google Talk platform." Microsoft will also be discontinuing support for Facebook chat in Outlook.com, but the company has not revealed why it’s killing off the social network’s chat integration.

Facebook and Google services for Outlook.com also integrate with the people feature of the webmail service and keep contacts up-to-date, and Microsoft says this feature will be unaffected by the decision to discontinue the chat options. Microsoft’s Google Talk support in Outlook.com was a highly requested feature shortly before the software maker introduced it in May 2013. Microsoft is now pushing customers to use Skype in Outlook.com, in a move that feels similar to the retirement of the Windows Live Messenger service back in late 2012. Both Google and Facebook services will disappear from Outlook.com in the coming weeks.

Windows 10 for phones preview release tipped for 4 February

source:ibtimes

The preview version of Windows 10 for phones will reportedly be released in a couple of days.

Nokiapoweruser had earlier reported, via its sources, that the technical preview for phones will be released within 2-4 weeks from 21 January, which is opposed to Microsoft's given schedule for late February.

A new disclosure from an anonymous tipster, quoted by the site, now asserts that the first preview build of Windows 10 for phones will be out on the 4th of February. Considering this release timing is too early, take this information with a pinch of salt.

There is a good chance that Microsoft might release the preview build soon, as only a few days ago Microsoft had pushed out an update for the 'Phone Insider' app that will allow registered Insiders to receive pre-release OS updates on their phones.

The name of the app is now 'Windows Insider' which hints that Microsoft is planning to have the Windows name across all platforms of Windows 10.

The update for Windows Insider now offers users the option of logging in with their Microsoft account, after registering as a Windows Insider. If you have already registered for your Windows 10 desktop, you are ready to go.

The download link for the Windows Insider app is provided below. When you try installing the app, you will be greeted with a message that reads, "We were not able to find a preview build," and about the 'system requirements'. This, however, will not be an issue as the app will support all Windows Phone 8 and Windows Phone 8.1 devices, though you need to be running the latest build of Windows Phone 8.1.

Download link: Windows Insider app