blogging

WordPress releases major app refresh for iPhone, iPad

The new version of WordPress for iOS, which includes an updated user interface and dozens of additional features, is now available on the App Store.

Version 3.1 of the app, dubbed its "biggest update ever," was released on Wednesday.

The new app has 180 new features and fixes in total, according to the WordPress blog.

Among them are sliding sidebar panels, which have become a common feature in many iOS applications such as Facebook and Twitter, to take advantage of the larger iPad screen. Post formats, which allow the user to set the format and theme of … Read more

HipGeo makes documenting your travels easy on iOS

HipGeo Travel Blog and Trip Journal (free) lets you tell the story of your vacation with images, videos, text, tags, and more all tied to your geolocation. You start by signing up through Facebook or Twitter, then you can choose people to share your travels with. If you just want to see the app in action before you take your trip (and see best practices from other users) you can use an explore button to check out blogs of popular or featured users, or look at posts from near your location.… Read more

Google sued for not removing ugly photo of Miami Heat owner

In this blogging, social-networking, open-information age, unflattering photos of people pop up left and right. But would you sue someone for posting such an image? Or even more, sue Google for refusing to take it down?

That's exactly what minority owner of the Miami Heat NBA Team Ranaan Katz has decided to do. According to paidContent, Katz has based his argument on copyright infringement but also wrote in the complaint that the photo is "partially distorted due to its unflattering nature."

The photo in question shows Katz standing courtside during a basketball game with his eyebrows raised, … Read more

Flipboard is more than just a news reader

If you're not familiar with Flipboard, it's a magazine-style news reader that has been wildly popular on iOS for quite some time. What gives it extra cool points is its ability to handle social media. See, Flipboard can integrate your social accounts into its feed, and present tweets or other status updates just as it would news stories or blog posts (complete with images and video thumbnails). Couple this with Flipboard's gorgeous tiled interface, and it's easy to see why the app is such a fan favorite.

With its clean design, vibrant display of photographic tiles, … Read more

Tumblr gives its iPhone app a brand-new look

Tumblr (free), the popular blogging platform, just released a revamped version of its app for iOS. In the major update to Tumblr 3.0, the layout has been completely redesigned (bringing it more in line with the Android version, covered in April by Jaymar Cabebe), giving you many of the tools found on the Web site and intuitive swipe controls for posting.

Several tweaks to the interface make the app both easy on the eyes and easier to use. The revamped Dashboard supports high-res images; you can now post and listen to audio links that stream directly from Spotify; and … Read more

U.K. school lunch blogger, age 9, wins food fight

A 9-year-old schoolgirl in the U.K. was forced to close down her popular blog due to a local council's intervention -- though public attention quickly got that action reversed.

The student from West Scotland, Martha Payne, aka "VEG", ran a blog that documented her school meals with a commentary in May this year. The blog, titled "Never Seconds", quickly became a popular hot spot for debate and review of the school's food and what is on offer for schoolchildren in general.

Racing past the 2 million page view mark, what probably started as … Read more

China's government takes on microblogs, blogs, online forums

Last month it was blog users, this month it's blog owners. The Chinese government announced today that it will tighten restrictions on all Internet service providers for blogs, microblogs, and online forums -- forcing them to act as Web police, according to the Associated Press.

This is just the latest in a long list of restrictions that the government is enforcing on its citizens. According to the Associated Press, China began requiring real-name registration on all microblogs in December. However, people still seem to be sneaking under the radar.

The new restrictions entail making the Internet providers act as … Read more

Google Maps 'next dimension' event (live blog)

Editor's note: This live blog has already taken place. You can replay it in the embedded component below, or read our related coverage on what Google announced: " Google unveils offline mode for Google Maps"; " Google unveils full 3D Google Earth feature"; and " Google Maps heading to new directions (pictures)."

Google is taking the wraps off some new mapping technology today, and CNET will be there to bring you the news live.

The Google Maps event kicks off at 9:30 a.m. PT. You can go here to find out where that is in your time zone, … Read more

Save lengthy articles for later with Instapaper

Instapaper is a tool that lets you quickly and easily save articles for reading later, even when you're not connected to the Web. So, if you don't have time to dive into that lengthy blog post or interview, you can easily pull it up when you're ready, with just a few taps.

The way it works is simple. While you're doing your reading in another app, simply go to Android's Share menu and hit Instapaper. From there, Instapaper, will quickly download just the main content of that article, so you can access it later. In … Read more

9-year-old's blog shames school into changing food

When it comes to heart attack rates, Scotland appears very high in the charts.

However, sometimes it takes awhile for a nation's diet to begin to counter its habits.

At one Scottish school, indeed, it took a 9-year-old girl to write a blog describing, among other things, how some dishes at her school occasionally included hair.

Martha Payne's blog, Never Seconds, is a litany of well, solicitude.

For each school meal, she offers a Food-o-meter rating (how much she likes it), a mouthful count, a healthy rating and a number for how many pieces of hair were in … Read more