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At first glance, SpeakText for Office FREE seems like a redundant app. It uses text-to-speech technology to read what is onscreen, either in the original language or translated. Of course, the iPad and iPhone come with text-to- speech software, so what purpose does this app have beyond centralizing it into a single space? For the most part, the text-to-speech functions are efficient, but the restrictions with the free version and high cost of the upgrade lessen this app's usefulness.

The free version of SpeakText for Office has limitations on the number of sentences you can have spoken or translated. … Read more

The SpeakText line of apps is designed to provide a more robust suite of tools for text-to-speech integration on your iOS devices, including translation into over 30 languages. SpeakText for Me FREE combines the abilities of several SpeakText apps, but has quite a few shortcomings, not the least of which is a pretty hefty price tag if you opt to upgrade from the limited free version.

The interface for SpeakText for Me FREE is the most immediate issue. Messy, ad-supported, and sprawling, it lacks the clear direction and sharp design needed to recommend a paid upgrade. It actually proved fairly … Read more

Adding a shortcut to your favorite Web site is a convenient way to quickly access information while on the go. The ability to add home-screen shortcuts isn't a new feature by any means -- smartphones have had this capability for quite some time -- but it's still good to see it present in BlackBerry 10.

To add a shortcut to your favorite Web site on a BlackBerry 10 device, launch the browser and navigate to the Web site you'd like to add. Once the page has loaded, tap on the menu icon and select "Add to … Read more

Depending on the version of Chrome you're using, you may have noticed some changes to the black navigation bar along the top of the Google homepage. For some, the bar is still there, and for others, it has completely disappeared. One developer decided to make his own navigation menu, and luckily you can use it too.

Black Menu, by Carlos Jeurissen, is a Chrome extension that adds quick links to all of the popular Google services, like Gmail, Maps, Drive, YouTube, among others. Instead of waiting for Google to decide if the navigation bar will stay or go, … Read more

Intel has released its first version of Web-based programming tools to help developers make mobile apps for Android and iOS.

The free software, called Intel XDK, isn't brand new. It's a rebadged version of the AppMobi software that Intel acquired in February. XDK lets people create software that uses the so-called HTML5 foundation, a collection of standards designed to advance the Web beyond static documents toward dynamic applications, then convert those apps so they can be used on mobile devices.

Intel announced the XDK release at its Intel Developer Forum show in Beijing this week. The software is … Read more

Adobe Photoshop CS6 only strengthens the benchmark software's existing position as the unrivaled production suite and an indispensable tool for old and new generation creative minds: graphic designers, web developers, video editors, you name it.

Let's start with the interface: dark is good. Photoshop CS6 brings a darker, more focused default work environment, with menus and toolbars painted in dark grays and blacks. Of course, if you're itching for a brighter look, CS6 gives users lighter-colored interfaces, reminiscent of previous versions. Tools are more streamlined thanks to Adobe's continuing move towards collapsible menus, while leaving the … Read more

Sure, technology decisions often are the result of personal predilection, political scheming, and inter-company rivalries. But cold hard data still can win the day -- and that's the main reason why Mozilla is reconsidering its earlier decision not to support Google's WebP image format.

Specifically, new data shows that Google isn't just blowing smoke when it promised that using WebP lets Web site operators save precious bytes when it's sending Web-page data to browsers. Smaller file sizes mean that browsers can show Web pages faster, that Web site operators cut bandwidth usage, and that people with … Read more

Mozilla is taking a new look at the WebP image format it once rejected after some large Web sites encouraged the Firefox developer to take a fresh look and after Google released a freshly upgraded version.

WebP, which derived from the VP8 video compression technology in the WebM project Google launched three years ago, is part of the search giant's effort to speed up the Web. In WebP's case, that speedup comes through use of an image compression technology Google says produces more compact files than either JPEG or PNG.

WebP can be used where both JPEG and … Read more

CSS Variables, a handy technology to ease Web page programming, could be one casualty in Safari with Google moving its resources to its browser engine, Blink.

Google engineers wanted to "fork" the WebKit browser engine project that underlies both Safari and Chrome so they could accelerate the pace of Chrome development and adopt changes too extensive to fit into a single open-source project. Even though splitting Blink away from WebKit may make each browser engine more nimble, it also means it's harder to cooperate.

That's because common features must be developed and maintained by duplicate teams … Read more