Catalog
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WhatsApp users can now shop for items by category using 'Collections'
WhatsApp has made it easier to buy products directly from a chat with the addition of Collections to its Catalog shopping feature.
NASA approves Blue Origin's New Glenn for future uncrewed missions
NASA has approved Blue Origin’s New Glenn heavy lift rocket for future unmanned scientific and exploration missions, even though the 310 foot reusable booster has yet to fly.
IKEA Taiwan recreates its iconic catalog using Animal Crossing
Ikea Taiwan has recreated parts of its catalog on Facebook using the iconic characters and in-game furnishings from Animal Crossing.
Scribd expands its subscription catalog with over 1,000 magazines
Scribd is expanding its magazine line-up.
WhatsApp will let you browse a company's products directly in the app
In some parts of the world, small businesses don't only use social media and messaging apps to promote their products -- they sell their goods through them. Now, WhatsApp is making it easier for those businesses' customers to buy their products. It has launched catalogs for its Business application, and entrepreneurs who don't have an official website can use the feature to build a mobile storefront that showcases their goods. In other words, it now has some sort of in-app shopping service that lets people buy products without having to visit a website.
Sears, the Amazon of its day, files for bankruptcy
Sears, which invented the strategy of selling anything to anyone with a mailing address long before Amazon did, has been mortally wounded by its spiritual successor. After nearly a decade of struggle, the US retailer announced that it has filed for bankruptcy. It entered voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings and plans to close as many as 150 stores in an effort to slash debt and at least make it through the holidays. Since 2013, Sears has shuttered over 1,000 stores and lost around $5.8 billion.
Amazon may send holiday toy catalogs in the mail
Toys 'R' Us is calling it quits in the US, but Amazon is apparently ready to pick up the slack. Bloomberg tipsters have asserted that Amazon is planning to mail a holiday toy catalog to "millions" of American homes and (naturally) distribute it at Whole Foods Market stores. There's no mention of how Amazon might spin the familiar formula, but you can presume there won't be any talks of retail locations.
Twitter makes every public tweet searchable
Remember your first tweet? Neither do I, but it was probably something along the lines of "first tweet," or an equally terrible first impression. Twitter has been working on a way to let you sift through every 140-character message sent publicly over its social network, and now the full backlog of short messages is ready for your queries. To make this possible, the company had to scale its tools -- like the real-time index -- during a multi-year project, accommodating not only the existing library, but properly sorting the billions added each week. Of course, this is a gold mine for businesses, sports teams and others who want to see what audiences were discussing at any given time. "We built a search service that efficiently indexes roughly half a trillion documents and serves queries with an average latency of under 100ms," Twitter's Yi Zhuang explains in a blog post. The ability to hunt through the massive index is rolling out to users over the next few days. Inside mobile apps and on the web, the "All" tab of search results will display that full gamut of tweets.
IKEA takes a jab at Apple in an ad for its latest catalog
The biggest target is typically the easiest to hit, and ahead of Apple's big event next week IKEA's taking a good-natured swing at Cupertino. To debut its new 2015 catalog, the Swedish furniture company crafted a video that bears more than a passing resemblance to a TV spot from the iPhone company. Among the highlights of the "bookbook" unveiling? Eternal battery life, no-lag page loads and multiuser support. It's all pretty well done if you ask us. Should you need help passing time until next Tuesday's conference, watching the clip (embedded below) will make the wait about two-and-a-half minutes shorter.
Steam's new user-tagging feature matches the best games to your tastes
The next time you get a specific urge to play a certain type of real-time strategy game, with a sci-fi theme, base-building and large quantities of blood for the blood god, Steam will have you covered. Instead of just browsing its catalog by genre, the Steam client now lets all users add their own tags to product pages -- tags which then become searchable by everyone else. The community seems to be embracing the feature quite quickly, with plenty of eclectic labels already visible (someone has already tagged CoD: Ghosts with the word "garbage," for example). As a result, the store should steadily become easier and more fun to navigate, especially with added features like automatic, tag-based game recommendations. Spess Mahreens, for the Emprah!
Flipboard goes commercial with shopping catalogs curated by brands, celebrities and users
Plenty of companies have tried to digitize the shopping catalog experience, to varying degrees of success. But, if anybody has a chance at truly capturing the pleasure of flipping through glossy pages filled with the latest fashions and gadgets, it's gotta be Flipboard. The app has already brought some of the joy of paging through magazines to tablets and phones, now it's turned its eye towards commerce. Along with news, technology and sports, you'll also now find a shopping category. Inside are catalogs assembled by the likes of Banana Republic, which can even be divided into smaller sub sections such as fall flannels, complete with giant red buttons that allow you to buy the products you see. But, Flipboard isn't stopping with the traditional company catalog, it's also delivering curated shopping experiences, built by celebrities and regular users. It's a move that pushes it into much more direct competition with a service like Pinterest. An updated flip.it bookmarklet will let users clip products, complete with category and pricing details, and add them to a customized collection. At launch Flipboard won't allow users to earn cash through affiliate links, though, that may change in time. Instead, it's focusing on building out its shopping category at the moment by adding lists from public personalities and bringing in new retail partners. Though, it may be slow going at first since each catalog has to be hand formatted by the Flipboard team. You'll find the new shopping section in your Flipboard app today, nestled between sports and photo & design.
iOS-only Boxes app adds eBay support, private and public boxes, and barcode scanner
If you're a collector, there comes a time when you have to face the sad reality that part of collecting is keeping track of your collection, and selling off the excess. Boxes is an iOS-exclusive app that does just that, offering a powerful cataloging tool with photos that allows you to document and organize your collection. It even allows you to make wish lists so you can find things other users are selling. Now the app has been updated to include integration with eBay so you can quickly and easily sell your goods on one of the web's most popular marketplaces. It's a wise move for the cataloging tool. Imagine browsing through a list of your Beanie Baby collection one day only to realize you've got three of the legendary "Millenium" (sic) bears. Now with a simple swipe of your finger, that bear is a part of the marketplace, putting money back in your pocket. The updated app also introduces a new Private Info Area so users can keep track of important details about their collections like receipts, warranty information, place of purchase or any other detail that might come in handy. As someone who has kept track of where exactly he bought specific pieces in his vinyl collection, this sort of fine-tooth nitpicking is a welcome feature. In a move that's sure to end up being useful following a natural disaster or house fire, the app has introduced a barcode scanner that allows you to track each objects UPC code, serial number, model number, SKU, etc. Finally Version 1.2 adds Public Boxes, allowing you to explore what other Boxes users have in their collections. You can find the update in the App Store for free.
Ikea's 2014 Catalog app lets you arrange virtual furniture in your living room via augmented reality (video)
In 2013, Ikea took the plunge into the wide world of augmented retail reality, when it released a companion app to go with its catalog -- to give Swedish furniture fans access to bonus digital content related to products shown on its pages. A new version of the app is now upon us, and with it comes new AR functionality. Namely, users can now see what certain pieces of furniture (or at least a digital version of said furniture) will look like in a given room. For the feature to work, users simply need to scan one of the 90 AR-enabled product pages with the app, and toss the catalog on the floor where they want to see the digital version of the product appear. Then, the app superimposes a 3D model of that bit of decor on your mobile device's screen, allowing users to assure their would-be furniture will maintain perfect feng shui without, you know, having to actually move stuff around.
NeoFinder powerfully catalogs and indexes your photos, music and much more
NeoFinder is a fast and efficient cataloger (digital asset manager) for all your data. TUAW's not previously discussed NeoFinder, but with high recommendations and praise, it's recently come to our attention in the TUAW head office, so we though we'd give it a mention. From documents to photos and folders, NeoFinder will keep track of all your files and folders -- wherever they may be stored -- and make them easily searchable and accessible with a full inventory, including preview thumbnails for supported photos, documents audio and video. In a nutshell, NeoFinder is like a supercharged Finder with very specific search parameters. Even with powerful built-in Mac OS X features like Spotlight and QuickLook, it can be so frustrating when you can't find exactly what you're looking for because you can't remember exactly where you put it. If you work with large quantities of photos, audio files, video or documents, but have found yourself struggling to find that file -- it could be in any number of offline hard drives, discs or backups -- then NeoFinder if probably what you need. First released some 16 years ago, NeoFinder (formerly CDFinder) has moved with the times, continuously being developed and updated into its current 6.0.1 iteration, which now supports Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion. Other stand out features include geotagging, cross-platform network with abeMeda for Windows and the ability to look inside archived files like ZIP, TAR, RAR and Stuffit files. I downloaded the free trial of NeoFinder and used it for some time. Though this is not a full review, I found it to be intuitive, fast and accurate. It certainly handled everything I could throw at it. But where NeoFinder shines, I expect, will be with large amounts of data. The NeoFinder websites touts users like NASA and the BBC. I can only imagine the amounts of data those guys will catalog and store. NeoFinder is available to download as a trial (with up to 10 catalogs) or purchase the activation code for US$39.99 for a private license, which removes the catalog restriction. Do you use NeoFinder or other cataloging/indexing software? How does it work for you and your demands? Let us know about it in the comments below.
Cut the barcode scanning cord with CLZ Barry for iPhone
Did you have a New Year's resolution to organize your book collection (again)? It's definitely on the list in our household, but it's a daunting job; we have thousands of books (literally and literarily) scattered across many shelves, basement boxes and a home office, plus another whole library at my wife's office in desperate need of some database love. A bit of luck, though: bibliophiles have a leg up on most other varieties of packrat, as almost all modern books have an ISBN, a number that purports to uniquely identify them. Capturing that ISBN may be a manual process for older titles, but for anything published in the last few decades there's almost certainly a UPC or EAN barcode on the cover with the ISBN encoded in it. Getting serious about cataloging might prompt you to consider a Bluetooth hardware barcode scanner like the US$149 Intelliscanner mini, which can be used with its own bundled media database or with powerful software tools like Readerware, Book Collector or Bookpedia. One well-known Mac app lets you scan UPC barcodes with your Mac's iSight camera alone. But you've already got a powerful camera attached to your touch and voice-activated pocket computer. Why not scan barcodes with your iPhone, and use them to populate your desktop catalog app? That's where the special talents of CLZ Barry ($7.99 for iPhone, also for Android) come into play. CLZ Barry, made by the same folks behind the Collectorz.com Book Collector and other media database apps, is a barcode scanning app with a twist. The core functionality for scanning codes in Barry is built atop the RedLaser SDK, so it scans quickly and accurately. You can keep a running list of codes locally in Barry, and share them out via email, text message or iTunes download. The magic is in the fourth sharing mode for scans: Barry cleverly pairs with a buddy application running on your Mac or PC. If both the iPhone and the computer are on the same WiFi network, your scans from Buddy instantly appear in the active text field of the foreground app, just as if you had typed the ISBN on the keyboard. Assuming your catalog app has a quick entry or multiple entry mode (all the ones listed above do), you can blithely scan away as you climb the ladders/dig in the boxes/roam the stacks, and have all the cataloging done by the time you get back to your desk. (Bruji's $3.99 Pocketpedia can do a similar trick, but only with the company's own desktop apps.) This sounds a bit Rube Goldberg, but in practice it works extremely well. The iPhone's camera is plenty accurate for scanning, and the Barry app supports older hardware down to the iPhone 3GS and the fourth-gen iPod touch. You get clear audible and visual feedback on a successful scan, so you don't have to glance at your computer to see if the code made it over. I've tested Barry with both Bookpedia and Delicious Library, and it works great; a trifle slower than a dedicated USB handheld scanner, but more than adequate for the task. Now, you could manage your entire book collection on your iPhone, but the biggest source of book catalog information won't necessarily be available. Back in 2009, Amazon began enforcing a restrictive clause in its API agreement that forbade licensees from using "Product Advertising Content" -- book images and descriptions -- on any mobile device app. This immediately put an end to popular iPhone apps like the iOS version of Delicious Library and Bruji's original Pocketpedia. Pocketpedia 2 actually made it back to the store for about two months before Amazon sank it again; it was more than two years before Pocketpedia 3 arrived (with a new model for Amazon search that skirts the earlier issues), and it's coming up on its first anniversary this April.
Google Catalogs makes web-based catalog browsing a reality
For folks who prefer to get their retail therapy in digital form, Google Catalogs is a godsend. In case you forgot, it's an aggregation portal with digital catalogs from myriad merchants that lets you browse retailer wares without killing trees and now it's available on the web. When Catalogs first debuted, it was only available as a tablet app for iPad or Android. The new web-based catalog browser, however, lets users peruse wares from over 300 merchants -- including Crate&Barrel, Brookstone and even Fredrick's of Hollywood -- on any device with an internet connection. The holiday season's approaching folks, so head on down to the source and get your shopping out of the way early -- or, at least flesh out your personal wish list.
Microsoft teams up with shopping search engine for HTML5 digital catalogs
Dead tree product catalogs -- dated. Fortunate, then, at least for Mother Earth, that Microsoft's unveiled the results of its team-up with retail-focused search engine TheFind, several web-based Glimpse catalogs, offering the visual pizazz of a retail magazine without the carbon hangover. Injecting Redmond's HTML5 know-how into the shopping hub's catalog and social apps, it distills those functions into the single site. Stores including Brooks Brothers and Lands' End have already offered up their collections in the web store, but Techcrunch reckons the venture needs a little more work. The images appear to be little too compressed and blurred in the new format, while the detail view directs users to social network sharing rather than a product's description. But with Microsoft already offering the HTML5 juice that powers the online app for free, someone else might improve on the company's groundwork.
Ikea beefs up 2013 catalog with companion AR app, doesn't translate Swedish furniture names (video)
While many might reckon the days of paper-based catalogs passed with the advent of the web, Ikea's clinging onto its tome for yet another year, but will dust its latest issue with augmented reality. It looks like its 2013 catalog app will arrive with some new camera-centric features on both phones and tablets -- the brief preview video shows a pair of devices that look decidedly iPhone and iPad-esque. The app uses image recognition software from Metaio (avoiding the jarring monotones of QR codes) to identify specific pages and throw in some lightweight extra content, from cutaway views of furniture to "inspirational" video shorts. The agency behind the app has much loftier ideas for the future, including streaming live cooking shows or concerts into Ikea's imaginary rooms. Take a preview tour after the break, but sorry, no meatballs (or hotdogs) at the end.
Browse John Peel's legendary record collection, travel back in time
The Peel Sessions -- those are three blissful words to any music enthusiast. John Peel's BBC radio show was the stuff of legends. It launched entire careers and created a legacy of eclectic and intimate musical snapshots by our favorite artists. Can you imagine exploring his record collection? Well, now you can. The Space has created a wonderful site that lets you browse the late DJ's record archive one virtual shelf and album cover at a time -- complete with links to iTunes and Spotify. It looks and feels like the real thing, and provides a fantastic journey back in time. Only the letter A's been cataloged so far -- additional letters will be added (one each week) over the coming months. This is your chance to discover music curated by a man with impeccable musical taste over a period of four decades. Just follow the source links below.
With beta trial completed, Time Warner Cable launches HBO Go, Max Go
Well, that didn't take very long. Just four days after launching a beta trial, Time Warner Cable has decided to bring HBO Go and Max Go to its HBO and Cinemax subscribers, fulfilling its promise to launch the services this month. With today's announcement, TWC customers will have instant streaming access to a chunk of the two channels' back catalogs, including 1,400 titles from HBO, and 400 from Cinemax. Both services, of course, will be available at no additional cost. Stream past the break for more details in the full PR.
