Saturday, March 23, 2013
Utilities: Google's Google problem | The Economist
GOOGLE is killing Google Reader. That may not matter much to many of you; use of Google Reader [a tool, by the way, for reading online content via RSS] was concentrated among a small group of relatively intense users. As it happens, that small group includes quite a lot of people who write for or as part of their living (it's the second tab I open most days, after Gmail). And so Google Reader has been mourned over, angrily at times, a bit more than the many other Google services that have come and gone with little ado.
It isn't that hard to imagine what Google was thinking when it made this decision. It's a big company, but even big companies have finite resources, and devoting those precious resources to something that isn't making money and isn't judged to have much in the way of development potential is not an attractive option. Dropping Reader isn't going to hurt the company's business, and Google may have calculated that it won't even be bad for users in the long run. Someone else will come along to provide the service and, if they give it their full attention, to improve it.
Utilities: Google's Google problem | The Economist
Friday, March 22, 2013
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Cheaper LED Bulbs Make It Easier to Switch Lights - NYTimes.com
Cheaper LED Bulbs Make It Easier to Switch Lights - NYTimes.com: "People sometimes have trouble making small sacrifices now that will reward them handsomely later. How often do we ignore the advice to make a few diet and exercise changes to live a longer, healthier life? Or to put some money aside to grow into a nest egg? Intellectually, we get it — but instant gratification is a powerful force. Enlarge This Image
(Via.)
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
How to get the most out of Feedly on your desktop | How To - CNET
Google Reader users are flocking to Feedly as a potential Reader replacement, now that Reader's expiration date has been announced. We've got some tips to help you get the most out of Feedly on your desktop.
How to get the most out of Feedly on your desktop | How To - CNET
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Cops: U.S. law should require logs of your text messages | Politics and Law - CNET News
Cops: U.S. law should require logs of your text messages | Politics and Law - CNET News: "Silicon Valley firms and privacy groups want Congress to update a 1986-era electronic privacy law. But if a law enforcement idea set to be presented today gets attached, support for the popular proposal would erode."
(Via.)
China's state media attack on Apple appears to have backfired
A report by the state-run China Central Television that intended to smear Apple as bad for consumers has instead harmed the network's remaining credibility after a local celebrity apparently flubbed his lines when posting phony outrage as a disgruntled "Apple fan."
According to a report by the Wall Street Journal "China Real Time Report" blog, the Communist Party's CCTV initially aired a "Consumer Rights Day" broadcast on March 15th that celebrated consumer power, complete with song and dance routines.
The broadcast mixed in accusations that Apple was "biased against Chinese consumers in its warranty and customer service policies," along with implications that Volkswagen was selling defective cars in China.
China's state media attack on Apple appears to have backfired
Monday, March 18, 2013
Goastse Hacker Who Hacked 110K AT&T iPad Customers Sentenced To 41 Months | Cult of Mac
Back in 2010, a team of hackers who went under the group handle Goatse Security exploited a hole in AT&T’s website to steal over a hundred thousand iPad subscribers’ email addresses.
The first of the pair, Daniel Spitlier, plead guilty to the attack back in 2011, bringing him a 12-18 month maximum sentence.
His partner, though, hasn’t gotten off nearly as easily: Andrew ‘weev’ Auernheimer has just been sentenced to forty-one months.
The sentencing follows Auernheimer being found guilty on one county of identity fraud and one count of conspiracy to access a computer without authorization back in November of last year.
Auernheimer apparently made quite a show of the sentencing:
Before his sentencing, Auernheimer held a press conference on the courthouse steps, where he read John Keats’ The Fall of Hyperion and told the assembled crowd, “I’m going to jail for doing arithmetic.” Just prior to the judge’s reading of the sentence, Auernheimer was cuffed by agents in a struggle over his tablet. Under the terms of his pre-sentence parole, Auernheimer was unable to use a computer with a keyboard. Asked for the device, Auernheimer tried to hand it to attorney Tor Ekeland, and was returned to the courtroom five minutes later in shackles.
Auernheimer was an outspoken character who has consistently tried to play the part of victim in this case, but his actions have always seemed more like standard anarchy raze-and-burn behavior than ethical hackery: for example, Auernheimer at the time of the hacks admitted he never even tried to alert AT&T to the vulnerability he had exploited before leaking customers’ details into the wild. Pretty shady.
Read more at http://www.cultofmac.com/220101/goastse-hacker-who-hacked-110k-att-ipad-customers-sentenced-to-41-months/#Igx2C4qKlJCWch71.99
Goastse Hacker Who Hacked 110K AT&T iPad Customers Sentenced To 41 Months | Cult of Mac
Google scraps Chrome's RSS extension along with Reader | Internet & Media - CNET News
Google's decision to kill its Google Reader service has caused some collateral damage: the end of a related Chrome extension that let the browser handle RSS feeds.
RSS and the similar Atom technology make it easier for people to subscribe to regular updates published on Web sites, and Google Reader was a popular way for people to read that content. Google announced that it's scrapping Google Reader on July 1, but it's already gone ahead and withdrawn the feed-finding Chrome extension.
The extension would detect Web sites' feeds then let people use a variety of RSS reader services to subscribe to those feeds.
Google scraps Chrome's RSS extension along with Reader | Internet & Media - CNET News
Feedly - A Google Reeder Alternative and Possible Replacement | BestAppSite
Feedly Announced that They are Picking up the Slack
Feedly was already an alternative reader that sync’d with your Google Reader account. They already have mobile Apps and even a slick Chrome plug-in. However, on the day that Google announced the end of Reader, they posted this blog post stating that they were already working on cloning the Google Reader API. They also posted this post to help you start the migration NOW.
I downloaded their Universal iOS App to get started. I also installed their Chrome plug-in/extension (yes they have one for Safari and other browsers). Setup at this point is pretty easy. Just log in with your existing Google Reader account and your feeds will all be there. That’s it! I’m sure that more has to go on on the backend so that your feeds get pulled in from Feedly instead of Google by July 1, but there really isn’t anything else for you to do at this point.
Feedly - A Google Reeder Alternative and Possible Replacement | BestAppSite
How many operating systems can Google handle? Three? | Cult of Android
Google reassigned former Android chief Andy Rubin and put the head of the Chrome group, Sundar Pichai, in charge of Android.
A lot of people think this means Android and the Chrome OS will be merged into a single operating system.
I think that’s crazy talk.Google has demonstrated an unprecedented comfort level with running multiple, competing product lines.
Although they’ve launched many services that you might call “social networks” at present they manage two social networks: Google+ and Orkut.
How many operating systems can Google handle? Three? | Cult of Android
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Opinion: Why I won’t be buying the Samsung Galaxy S 4 | Electronista
Opinion: Why I won’t be buying the Samsung Galaxy S 4 | Electronista: "The Galaxy S 4 is a technical marvel, but I won't be switching from the iPhone 5
So the Samsung Galaxy S 4 has finally launched with nearly all the major leaks and rumors about the device proving true. There can be no question that Samsung has put everything it could possibly fit into its extra-large ‘Galaxy S IIIS’ as some are referring to it, because it looks much the same as the Galaxy S III. However, as much tech as Samsung has packed into its new flagship, it simply doesn’t tempt me to switch from my iPhone 5. The Samsung Galaxy S 4 has the iPhone 5, its biggest competitor, beaten in just about every piece of the hardware department. Yet, despite its hardware advantages, Apple will continue to sell tens of millions of its iPhone 5. If buying a smartphone is all about the hardware, Samsung should have Apple dead in the water. But it doesn’t, and it won’t. Not today, not tomorrow and not in the foreseeable future."
(Via.)
RSS Inventor Couldn't Care Less About Google Reader's Death
RSS Inventor Couldn't Care Less About Google Reader's Death: "The impending death of Google Reader has sparked much wailing and gnashing of teeth, petition-signing, alternative-seeking, and rending of garments. But what about the people who made RSS? Dave Winer, one of the fathers of the both RSS and the blog, couldn't give less of a shit.
He posts on his blog:
I won't miss it. Never used the damn thing. Didn't trust the idea of a big company like Google's interests being so aligned with mine that I could trust them to get all my news.
And besides, I didn't think the mailbox approach to news was right. Who cares how many unread items there are. I like the river of news approach and I have a very fine set of rivers that keep me well supplied with news and podcasts.
...Next time, please pay a fair price for the services you depend on. Those have a better chance of surviving the bubbles.
Interestingly enough, he shrugs off the value of unread counts, the lack of which is why many users claim Twitter is an unworthy replacement."
(Via.)
Cyberattacks a Topic in Obama Call With New Chinese President - NYTimes.com
Cyberattacks a Topic in Obama Call With New Chinese President - NYTimes.com: "Cyberthreats featured prominently in President Obama’s congratulatory call to the new Chinese president, Xi Jinping, on Thursday.
The president used the occasion to discuss the loss of United States intellectual property from cyberattacks. The mere mention of cyberthreats is a step forward for an administration that has been reluctant to confront Beijing on Chinese military attacks even as billions of dollars’ worth of trade secrets have been stolen."
(Via.)
Five Best Google Reader Alternatives
We're all seriously bummed about Google Reader shutting down, but it's not the end of the world, and there are a number of great news reading apps and services out there stepping up to replace it with syncing features and easy import tools to keep you organized. This week we're going to look at five of the best, based on your nominations.
Five Best Google Reader Alternatives
Apple Takes Laptop Magazine’s Top Rating
Apple Takes Laptop Magazine’s Top Rating: "Laptop Magazine has awarded Apple the top prize in its Best Brands feature for the fourth year in a row, placing first in five of the eight categories it measures. In addition, the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display took honors as the magazine’s top notebook of 2012, with editors praising the screen, performance, battery life, and design. Software and tech support were also highlighted. ‘Apple continues to epitomize the best of the best,’ say the magazine’s editors."
(Via Apple Hot News.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)