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Google Slides adds Chromecast support for your next presentation (update: AirPlay too)
Fancy Google Slides over PowerPoint for your super exciting presentations? Well, if you've been using a cord to get your work on the big screen in the office, that task is about to get a whole lot easier. The folks over at Android Police discovered that with a forthcoming update, Slides will allow you to beam your info for all to see to a Chromecast from an Android device. On the desktop, you can already leverage Google's diminutive dongle for presentations thanks to the Google Cast Chrome extension.
Piictu survives Google's Photovine, launches out of public beta
There's been a fair amount of news on the Photovine front recently -- none of it particularly flattering for Google, or its now shuttered Slide branch. But users of the mobile app-based photo service can now continue sharing their pics using Piictu -- a slightly different, yet remarkably similar service that launched well before its Google counterpart. What initially began as a fun side project for co-founder Jon Slimak, Piictu has apparently gained quite a following, prompting its creators to add some polish to the service and push it out of beta. We're not quite sure what to expect for its future, but Google's involvement with its Piictu competitor appears to have helped the original service gain some traction, despite its indy status. Jump past the break for the announcement from Piictu, or hit up our source link to download the iOS app.
Photovine grows out of private beta, begins sprouting on iPhones everywhere
It popped up in private beta earlier this summer, but Slide's Photovine is now open to the public, available as a free download on Apple's iOS App Store. Surprisingly there's no Android app yet -- a curious move considering Google (Slide's parent company) isn't known to exclude its own mobile platform with new product rollouts. Huff Post went hands-on with the app, summing it up as "Instagram meets Piictu," also noting the bizarre exclusion of an option to add your Gmail contacts -- though you can import your friends from Twitter and Facebook. It's probably safe to say that an Android app will be coming soon -- or perhaps some other indication that Google and Slide do in fact share the same roof -- but for now, iPhone owners can slide on down to the source link to get their photo sharing fix.
Did Google's Photovine sprout from Piictu?
"Plant a photo, watch it grow." Photovine's tagline is just as catchy as the concept behind its launch -- a mobile app-based picture sharing service that groups images together using common photo-driven themes. These groupings, called vines, let you connect with strangers while sharing photos of everyday items that you wouldn't otherwise have any interest in photographing. You can have a vine focused on Swingline staplers, or magazine covers, or bottle caps. But as clever as this concept may seem, it's difficult to ignore Piictu, which budded several months before the Google app. It's certainly not uncommon for duplicate services to sprout, all based on the same underlying concept. But Photovine doesn't stop there -- the app's design is also remarkably similar to Piictu, down to page layouts and even main category tabs. For Piictu's "Following" tab, Photovine has "Watching." Piictu's "Latest" section is matched with "Fresh," and Photovine didn't even bother searching for a synonym for "Popular," which you'll find in both apps. Jump past the break for a deeper look, along with statements from the makers of both apps.
Google's Photovine sprouts official teaser, begins rollout later this month (video)
Were you all jazzed up and ready to plant your first Photovine, only to have those gardening dreams crushed by a barren three page teaser? El Goog's Slide team isn't quite ready for you to grab that spade, but it is willing to transcribe your digits for the service's soft launch later this month. Judging by the brief demo, vines begin like a game of photo-sharing telephone: what starts as an innocent photograph of a "warm and fuzzy" pup, can easily transcend into friends sharing an equally snug and furry man. Sound like a party? See for yourself beyond the fold, and don't forget to hit the source link to join the queue.
Google teases Photovine, slides back into image sharing
Remember when Google acquired Slide way back in 2010? A year after coasting smoothly down the chute into Mountain View, the social gaming company has finally begun to make a splash, launching Prizes (beta) last week, and now teasing Photovine, a social networking app that lets you connect with people through photo-driven themes. You could participate in a vine about your crazy weekend at the lake, join other users in a thread of kitten shots, or share unboxing pics of a new gadget while comparing regional discrepancies with users from around the world. For now, Photovine is little more than an amateurish three-page website with a brief FAQ and a somewhat-hidden reference to Slide and Google, but the service's objective seems to be on-point, and it has potential to attract a diverse group of users. We look forward to watching the vine bud and grow after its yet-to-be-announced public launch, but head over to the source link for a more detailed look in the meantime. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
