Google Plus is now open to everyone 13 and up

27 January, 2012 (18:32) | Bollywood Gossips, Songs and Music | By: Ali

Google Plus continues to get more open bit by bit, and just today made the service available to teens age 13 and up. Previously, Google Plus was restricted to people 18 and up. Along with the wave of new teenagers, Google Plus is also getting new privacy and security features--a fairly important thing if the service is to become something parents encourage their children to use.

Google is probably doing the slow rollout on purpose. This is their third or fourth wave of opening the service up. Each time it's followed by new statistics on membership, and this time will be no different. Millions of teens are going to sign up in the near future.

Google Plus Opens To Teens

Google Plus is now open to everyone 13 and up, and I'm guessing there will be plenty of takers.

This kind of news should be music to a video marketer's ears, because teenagers are among the most avid video consumers. They're also much more prone to social activity, with most of today's teenagers having grown up with mobile devices, Facebook, and Twitter.

The influx of teenagers 13 and up to Google Plus means the demographic will change almost overnight. It should also make Google Plus a more attractive social video marketing tool for brands and businesses--particularly those that create content known to appeal to teenagers: I'm thinking about action-oriented brands like Go Pro and Red Bull, music videos and music industry brands, movie trailers, etc.


You Might Also Like

Google+ invite windows begin opening up more often, for longer periods What's...
Best of Google Labs: A Retrospective Twitter, Facebook, Google+: Which Business Page Is Best? Google+ Invite Process Shut Down Amid ‘Insane Demand’ 20 Google...
Desperately seeking parking? There’s an Android app for that Looking...
Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) released to open source The Ice...
Ice Cream Sandwich on their phones, for example, can open an Easter egg there, too. The tricks,...
Grab This Widget
.

BlackBerry PlayBook The 32GB now costs £199, the 64GB tablet £249, down from £479 and £559, respectively.

27 January, 2012 (18:32) | Bollywood Gossips, Songs and Music | By: Ali

RIM has taken an axe to the prices it charges for its BlackBerry PlayBook tablets in the UK - again.

You can now pick up the 16GB version of just £169. It was priced at £399 at launch, and yesterday would have set you back £249. That's roughly a third off in 24 hours.

The 32GB now costs £199, the 64GB tablet £249, down from £479 and £559, respectively.

A variety of retailers, including Carphone Warehouse and Dixons, have just applied the new prices.

RIM knocked £150 off the original prices in October 2011 in a bid to boost demand for the 7in tablets. Punters have not taken to the machine.

It didn't do much good, and just as October's cut followed a big price reduction in the States, so this latest round of reductions comes after RIM discounted again over there.

You Might Also Like

Best Buy cuts BlackBerry PlayBook prices by as much as $150 Best Buy...
RIM recalls more than 900 of its new BlackBerry PlayBooks It certainly...
RIM’s PlayBook outsold by Windows tablets; Android begins taking market share from iPad It is...
RIM’s PlayBook outsold by Windows tablets; Android begins taking market share from iPad It is...
RIM launches the still unfinished BlackBerry Playbook RIM launched...
Grab This Widget
.

A look at exactly what Google is doing and how it affects you. Gallery

27 January, 2012 (18:31) | Bollywood Gossips, Songs and Music | By: Ali

Google announced sweeping changes to its privacy policy, analysts are weighing on who might be most affected by it. Cecilia Kang reports:

Google this week announced a shift in its privacy policies that will allow it to follow the activities of users as they move across the firm’s Web sites, including its highly popular YouTube, Gmail and main search engine. The company emphasized in interviews that the change would apply only to users who are signed on to their Google accounts.

0

The initiative could be of particular significance for consumers of Android devices, who are almost always signed on to their phones and tablets, experts said. Without signing up for an account, an Android smartphone owner would be limited in what he or she could do on the device, they said.

“I guess it’s theoretically possible to use an Android device without being logged on, but that wouldn’t be much of a smartphone,” said Kurt Opsahl, a senior staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a group that advocates for free speech and privacy online.

The company said users who activate Android phones without signing into a Google account can make phone calls, browse the Web and use pre-installed applications. But they couldn’t use their Gmail, chat functions or download Angry Birds, Pandora or other applications from the Android Marketplace.

You Might Also Like

Google+ demand ‘insane;’ Google shuts down invites If you're...
EPIC Files Google Buzz Privacy Complaint With FTC Many have...
Google+ posts and Picasa photos into users’ search results ...
Android Market update allows users to opt-out of targeted in-app ads Google...
Google denies any work on a mobile facial recognition app It was...
Grab This Widget
.

Apple CEO Tim Cook responds to NYT expose on harsh conditions in supply chain

27 January, 2012 (18:13) | Songs and Music, Technology News | By: Technology Expert

Apple CEO Tim Cook has responded to a New York Times expose that explained in great detail the harsh conditions faced by workers at Foxconn, one of Apple's key manufacturers. In response, Cook sent out a long email to Apple employees refuting that report.

The email, obtained by 9to5Mac, flatly denies --- in the opening paragraph --- the assertions made in the New York Times article. Cook said:

"As a company and as individuals, we are defined by our values. Unfortunately some people are questioning Apple's values today, and I'd like to address this with you directly. We care about every worker in our worldwide supply chain. Any accident is deeply troubling, and any issue with working conditions is cause for concern. Any suggestion that we don't care is patently false and offensive to us. As you know better than anyone, accusations like these are contrary to our values. It's not who we are."

We're not Apple fanboys, but we're not fans, in general, of corporations, period. These sound like good words, but does anyone --- anyone with common sense --- doubt that corporations, which want to make a lot of money for their shareholders and executives, cut corners as much as they can get away with?

Particularly troubling were the words from a former Apple executive, who said,

“We’re trying really hard to make things better. But most people would still be really disturbed if they saw where their iPhone comes from.”

Casting at least part of the blame on consumers who want the newest device at the cheapest price was a current --- not former -- Apple executive, who said,

"You can either manufacture in comfortable, worker-friendly factories, or you can reinvent the product every year, and make it better and faster and cheaper, which requires factories that seem harsh by American standards. And right now, customers care more about a new iPhone than working conditions in China."

Cook seemed to set the email up as something that "should" or "would" be leaked to the press. He concluded with a paragraph that points to Apple's Supplier Responsibility Report. He said,

"We will continue to dig deeper, and we will undoubtedly find more issues. What we will not do – and never have done – is stand still or turn a blind eye to problems in our supply chain. On this you have my word. You can follow our progress at apple.com/supplierresponsibility."

You Might Also Like

Apple CEO Tim Cook is not netting a near-$400m annual salary ...
1 million shares of Apple stock ensures newly minted CEO Tim Cook stays around If you...
I miss my brother Harsh terribly: Sonam Kapoor Contrary...
David Cook Participated Race for Hope in DC David...
Kareena Kapoor Hot Thigh Show Stills CLICK...
Grab This Widget
.

Amazon Appstore’s Free App of the Day, 1/27/2012: Router

27 January, 2012 (14:04) | Songs and Music, Technology News | By: Technology Expert

Amazon.com has promised to make a paid app free every day in the Amazon Appstore, and today's app is Router.

Barnes & Noble
Router is priced at $1.59 in the Android Market. It is normally priced at $0.99 in the Amazon Appstore. As we've noted previously, prices sometimes differ between the two marketplaces.





Router is described as follows:
Test your mental might with Router, a circuit puzzle game that's fun for the whole family. Your goal is to connect identically colored points with continuous lines without any of the lines overlapping each other. Game controls are easy to master, but some of the puzzles will have you quite perplexed until you find the right solution to connect the dots. With multiple challenging chapters to solve and engaging game-play features, Router is a winner for puzzle lovers.

Nine Challenging Chapters

Router features nine different chapters, each full of more than a dozen puzzles that increase in difficulty as you progress. In each puzzle, you will connect the similarly colored dots with continuous lines by tracing your finger on the screen. More advanced levels will present you with more dots in new and unique positions. You will earn more points for making shorter connections. An undo button is provided if you make a mistake.

As you would expect, Chapter 1 starts off easy enough, but the difficulty soon picks up. Each subsequent chapter will require increased intellectual dexterity. Once you hit Chapter 3, you will be required to earn enough points in prior chapters to unlock more.

Earn Bonus Points; Get Hints

If your mental acuity is up to the task, you'll be able to solve each puzzle with a perfect five-star score. For your efforts, you will be rewarded with a Star Point, which you can spend to gain Hints if you find yourself stuck in subsequent puzzles. With a worldwide leaderboard, you can see how your scores stack up with other players from around the globe.

Electrifying Graphics and Smooth Controls

Router brings you hours of brain-teasing fun along with smooth touch controls, which makes for a completely satisfying puzzling experience. Depending on your device, you can adjust the quality of the graphics as well as the sound volume and other game settings to ensure it suits your preferences.

What are you waiting for? Get puzzling!
Router has a rating of 4.7 stars in the Android Market and 4.0 stars in the Amazon Appstore.

JibJab.com
It's not often that the Amazon Appstore ratings outnumber the Android Market ratings, but that's the case in this example. The Amazon Appstore rating is almost always lower, so based on history it would seem that 4+ is a valid rating for this game, which translates into "buy" this game while it is free.

New Apparel for the 2010-2011 NHL Season
Those who are considering "buying" a Free Amazon Appstore app might want to consider what it means to developers.

Amazon.com opened up the Appstore despite a lawsuit by Apple, which has previously trademarked the term "App Store." Microsoft has filed an appeal against that trademark, saying the term is too generic. Amazon.com has responded to the lawsuit in the same manner.

You Might Also Like

Devs get zero, not 20% as Amazon.com originally promised on their ‘Free App Days’ You might...
Amazon Appstore’s free app of the day, 5/5/2011: Spanish Translator Pro Amazon.com...
Amazon Appstore’s free app of the day for April 3, 2011: Talking Tom Cat Amazon.com...
Amazon Appstore’s free app of the day, 3/29/2011: Angry Birds Seasons Amazon.com...
Amazon Appstore’s free app of the day, May 28, 2011: Yoo Ninja! (Ad-Free) Amazon.com...
Grab This Widget
.

Android tablets rise to 39.1 percent market share on the back of the Kindle Fire

27 January, 2012 (08:07) | Songs and Music, Technology News | By: Technology Expert

Is it coming to tablets, meaning Android's inexorable reach? Market research firm Strategy Analytics on Thursday morning said that Android is making an impact in tablets, grabbing a record 39 percent tablet OS market share in Q4 2011.

Apple -- and its iPad --- maintains the top position with 57.6 percent market share in Q4 2011. However, that is down from 68.2 percent in Q4 of 2010.

However, the report from Strategy Analytics research director Peter King said that these were "sell-in" not "sell-through" numbers, an important difference, as that represents the number of devices sold into the channel, not reaching the hot little hands of consumers.

Still, sell-in reached a record high of 26.8 million Android tablet units in Q4 2011, which was a 150 percent rise from 10.7 million in Q4 2010. Android market share jumped from 29 percent to 39.1 percent.

It should be noted that S.A.'s report includes a tablet that isn't running a tablet-optimized version of Android, and in fact is running a highly customized version, the Kindle Fire. It's also true that Android is taking the same approach it did on smartphones: a huge number of differing devices across multiple form factors, vs. Apple's single model approach with the iPad (although when the iPad 3 is released, it's believed the iPad 2 will continue to be sold).

Strategy analytics executive director Neil Mawston said, in a statement,

"Dozens of Android models distributed across multiple countries by numerous brands such as Amazon, Samsung, Asus and others have been driving volumes. Android is so far proving relatively popular with tablet manufacturers despite nagging concerns about fragmentation of Android's operating system, user-interface and app store ecosystem."

Barnes & Noble
As far as Microsoft goes, the firm had a dismal 1.5 percent market share in Q4 2011, but that's a positive when compared with its 0.0 percent share in Q4 2010. S.A. said,

“The upcoming release of Windows 8 this year cannot come quickly enough for Microsoft, so its hardware partners can start competing more effectively in the tablet space."

You Might Also Like

RIM’s PlayBook outsold by Windows tablets; Android begins taking market share from iPad It is...
RIM’s PlayBook outsold by Windows tablets; Android begins taking market share from iPad It is...
Android tablets rise to 39.1 percent market share on the back of the Kindle Fire Is it...
Android tablets make move on the iPad; market share rises nearly 10-fold Despite...
NOOK color tops the Kindle for the first time in Q1: IDC Those...
Grab This Widget
.