Category: News
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Samsung exec calls Windows 8 ‘no better than’ Vista
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3 Teens Killed In Indiana Crash; 3 Others Injured
Traffic accidents are the number one killer of teens in the U.S. One small town in Indiana has experienced this unfortunate statistic one too many times.
The AP is reporting that three teenagers from the small town of Versailles, Indiana died this week after a collision involving two trucks at an intersection. The teenagers – 18-year-old Samantha Hanson, 17-year-old Timothy Bowman and 18-year-old Jacob Vogel – died at the scene. There were three other teens involved in the crash, and they’ve been taken to local hospitals.
The teens were at a day-long FFA event, but decided to head out at 9:30 a.m. Shortly after, the trucks collided after both reportedly ran a four-way stop. The police say the Dodge truck in the accident hit the Ford F-250 broadside thus causing the deadly crash.
Versailles has been no stranger to tragedy over the past few months as multiple teenagers have lost their lives on the roads. The report states that 18-year-old died while texting and driving, and a 15-year-old was killed in an ATV crash. The small town also lost a popular teacher in a plane crash.
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What Will Mobile Bring to Consumers and Marketers in 2013?
The mobile landscape is set to change in a big way in 2013, and though some of the coming changes can be predicted, others will provide big (and perhaps unwelcome) surprises for both consumers and advertisers.
As seen at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and Mobile World Congress, tech companies are focusing more than ever on smartphone and tablet devices. Companies such as Sony, LG, Asus, and even HP unveiled new devices that will enter a market already largely controlled by the likes of Apple, Samsung, and Amazon.
What mobile devices do you intend to acquire this year? Let us know in the comments.
What is somewhat surprising is that many of these companies might actually have a chance, considering how quickly the mobile industry is growing. On March 4, ABI research estimated that mobile users will download 14 billion tablet apps during 2013. Almost three-quarters of those apps will be running on a iPad device, but Android devices are now set to lead in the number of smartphone app downloads, which ABI predicts will reach 56 billion in 2013.
For consumers the proliferation of more devices with a wider variety of features could mean confusion and burnout. It also means that consumers have never had more choice, and more power, than they do now. The choices they make this year about the devices they purchase and the technologies they adopt will shape the technology landscape for years to come.
Apple stock has had a rough winter, in no small part to the Apple Maps debacle and the fact that the iPhone 5 failed to iterate significantly on the device’s past models. While Android devices are introducing larger smartphones, NFC technology, wireless charging, and features such as water resistance, Apple’s credibility as a innovator in the market segment it created is shrinking.
As Apple now begins to follow industry trends with the iPad mini and a less expensive version of the iPhone, Samsung is poised to become a market leader. The Korean company will unveil its latest flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S IV at an Apple-like announcement in New York on March 14. Samsung’s hefty manufacturing capabilities and willingness to mimic Apple have propelled it to the forefront of Android smartphones, but the company’s new marketing (another thing it has taken directly from Apple’s playbook) is also beginning to become part of the cultural zeitgeist.
The mobile market right now might be considered tablets and smartphones, but later this year Google will introduce a completely new type of mobile product with Google Glass. Though the device’s success is far from certain, it could introduce an entirely new mobile category, propelling the industry forward with even more constant connectivity. Glass’ ability to record on the fly also brings privacy concerns, meaning laws and social norms will be further tested by advancing technology.
With all of these changes coming to the mobile space, it’s worth considering how advertisers will adapt. While having consumers constantly connected and consuming content may seem preferable for advertisers, the abundance of that content can make it difficult for ad campaigns to target their audience. At the same time, the abundance of content and metrics can put consumers in control of much of the advertising they see.
As Susan Wojcicki, senior VP of advertising at Google, recently put it in a Google Plus post, “We are living in uncharted territory.”
Wojcicki argues that as always-connected devices continue to proliferate, advertising will quickly move into a “choice-based economy” where users will be able to control the content and ads that they see. She writes that “ads views will effectively become voluntary.”
It’s not hard to imagine how advertisers will have to adapt in that type of ad economy. Choice-based ad models will have to cater to consumers at an individual level with adaptability and engage customers in nearly the same way that content itself does. Wojcicki suggests that future technologies will provide more “interactive and beautiful” ads, but that’s only the beginning of how mobile advertising will change in the coming years.
Accepting that consumers are no longer a captive audience for ads may be a terrifying prospect for both advertisers and content creators, but consumer choice is only continuing to increase. This could make solid advertising opportunities more expensive, but also means that brands will have to adapt their ad techniques to grow a fan base or to provide upfront value to consumers.
How do you think advertising should adapt to consumer choice? Tell us your ideas in the comments.
As the nature of mobile advertising changes, how advertisers measure the impact of their campaigns will have to change as well. Wojcicki puts it bluntly by stating advertisers will have to develop “standards beyond the click.” However, it’s hard to predict just how those measurements will be made in the future, particularly in light of the growing backlash from privacy advocates.
Wojcicki stated that Google is beginning to to roll out surveys to provide advertisers with a way to measure the performance of their display and video campaigns. Google’s skippable “TrueView” ads are also now integrated into mobile AdMob apps, allowing consumers to decide for themselves what ads they will view.
As the future of the mobile industry finally begins to take shape this year, consumers have never had more choices with regards to hardware, software, and services. However, the plethora of choices thrown at consumers can also create confusion, and will inevitably lead to a few trusted brands leading the way. While advertisers attempt to pare down consumers’ choices for them, future technologies, such as Google Glass, will continue to continue to change the way people interact with technology and their environment.
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Louis C.K.’s New HBO Special Gets an Awesome Promo
Best living comedian and creator of the brilliant show Louie, Louis C.K., has a new special debuting on HBO next month. HBO just released the first promo for it, and it’s dramatic as hell.
Oh My God premieres on April 13th at 10 pm EST.
So, make sure you tune in. Also pie:
HBO special airs April 13.Here’s a thing youtube.com/watch?v=KEtAfA…. Also new show in baltimore louisck.com Also pie.
— Louis C.K. (@louisck) March 8, 2013
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Look out Nike Fuel band, UnderArmour’s fitness strap measures WILLPower!
Even at this early stage of the wearable device market, companies are already trying to differentiate their products while also capitalizing on brand loyalty. For example, Nike’s Fuel band tracks activities and calories burned, turning those data points into “fuel” points. UnderArmour is joining the game with its own gadget called the Armour39 Fitness Strap, but it can’t measure fuel, since Nike already does. So instead, the Armour39 calculates your “WILLPower.”
The $149.99 chest strap is available now for pre-order with delivery this spring. A module in the strap tracks and stores up to 16 hours of heart rate and caloric information. The data can transfer to an optional $199.99 watch or to a mobile phone app on handsets that are Bluetooth Smart capable. The product page explains WILLPower as the combination of ”how long you workout, what you did, profile info like gender and weight, and key heart rate measures to give you a single score.”
If I don’t sound enamored by artificial scores for basic fitness data, it’s because I’m not. These numbers only hide the real data that people should know about: caloric expenditure, heart rate training zones, etc. I’m all for simplifying such information if it helps people work out with fewer complications, don’t misunderstand. But as each new health gadget comes to market, it appears as though the real difference is the fake scoring system that’s easiest to market. It just seems silly to me.
I don’t doubt you can get healthier with a Fuel band, Armour39 or other similar device. However, I’ll stick with the basics: A Bluetooth 4.0 heart monitor strap that works with basic apps and a smart watch or phone to actually tell me my heart rate and calories burned.
Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.- Analyzing the wearable computing market
- Connected world: the consumer technology revolution
- The future of mobile: a segment analysis by GigaOM Pro
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Creating Ladders of Opportunity for our Children
White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett talks with Geoffrey Canada, the President and Chief Executive Officer for Harlem Children’s Zone.
(by Harlem Children's Zone)
Ed. note: The full text of the op-ed by Senior Advisor to the President Valerie Jarrett is printed below. The piece is published today on TheGrio.com and can be found HERE.
A child’s zip code should never determine her destiny. But today, a child’s health, educational outcomes, and lifetime economic opportunities are often negatively impacted when she grows up in a high poverty community.
Harlem Children’s Zone is working to change that. This week, I visited this neighborhood nonprofit, with its President and CEO, Geoffrey Canada. I took a tour of the health clinic and library inside their new school building. While I was impressed by the facilities, I was even more impressed by the passionate commitment and energy of Geoffrey and his team in truly transforming Harlem into an environment that allows children to achieve their dreams.
Since 1990, Harlem Children’s Zone has provided free support for the community through new schools, parenting workshops, a pre-school program, after-school programs and child-oriented health programs for thousands of families.
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Comical Infographic showcases how Samsung can go toe-to-toe with Apple
Sure Apple may be gaining some serious momentum and taking a big bite of the smartphone market share out there, but it’s easy to forget that Samsung is still putting some serious pressure on the Cupertino giant. In fact– there are those that believe that Samsung and Apple are on an even playing field– perhaps even a slight advantage for Samsung. Thanks to a nice little infographic that was unveiled recently, we see that Samsung has a clear advantage when it comes to its R&D department, advertising spending and the sheer number of employees compared to Apple. Naturally Apple turns in a bigger profit with its iPhone sales, but Samsung gets the last laugh considering it ships more devices per capita.
Don’t take our word for it— hit the flip to get the amusing, yet noteworthy comic for yourself.
source: socialmedia today
Come comment on this article: Comical Infographic showcases how Samsung can go toe-to-toe with Apple
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Danica Patrick Hit By Rock At Dirt Track
Danica Patrick was hit by a rock on Thursday, but it wasn’t because somebody had any ill will towards the NASCAR driver. She just simply happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The AP is reporting that Patrick, while racing on a dirt track, was hit in the head by a stray rock. She reported feeling like she had a concussion, but on site medical teams released her with a clean bill of health.
The run in with a stray rock must have felt like nothing in comparison to her harrowing wreck last weekend in Phoenix. Patrick had about 100 laps to go in the race when she slammed into a wall. Fortunately, the wreck only left her with a stiff neck.
Patrick will be participating in Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 400 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
[image: Commonist/Wikimedia Commons]
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Where’s the Ticker in the New Facebook News Feed? Gone, Pretty Much
If you’re one of the lucky few that Facebook has chosen to give access to the new refresh of the news feed, you may notice that something’s missing.
Hey, where the hell is the ticker?
It’s gone. Pretty much. It’s not completely dead, but in the new news feed it’s been relegated to the bottom left-hand corner and some users don’t even have it at all.
Since Facebook’s news feed redesign is still in beta, the company is testing different versions of it with different users. This affects the Ticker in that some users have it and some users don’t. Even for the users who have it, the Ticker has been reduced down to a one-story-at-a-time blip at the bottom left under the chat list. If you have the new design and also have the ticker and don’t want it, you can disable it in your settings.
Here’s what Facebook has to say:
You can find ticker at the bottom of your sidebar. Ticker is sensitive to the amount of free space you have on your screen, so it only appears if there’s enough room for it. If you don’t see ticker, try using your browser in fullscreen mode or adjusting your screen size.
Whatever the case, there is one place that the Ticker is not anymore, and that’s on the right hand side of your homepage. And in its place are all the new content-specific news feeds that let you browse photos, music, and all friends with no pages and conversely all pages with no friends.
Facebook first launched the ticker back in September of 2011 to mixed but mostly negative reviews. The ticker, which allowed you to see all activity that was happening (likes, comments, open graph actions, etc.) was called “creepy,” “stalkerish,” and the “who gives a shit feed” by an unnamed writer.
[Image via Inside Facebook]
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The big question for Samsung: Will the Galaxy S IV press event top last year’s epic bombast?
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Miley Cyrus Split? Accusations Of Cheating Has Break Up Rumors Flying
Miley Cyrus split with her fiance? The couple’s time together is at an end if you believe the latest celebrity gossip, but things are not what they seem.
Reality TV Magazine is reporting that Cyrus’ fiance Liam Hemsworth was caught cheating on the former Disney child star with January Jones last month. Rumors started flying that Cyrus had called off the wedding with Hemsworth over it. Cyrus took to Twitter to dispel the rumors:
I am so sick of La. And sick of the lies that come with it. I didn’t call off my wedding. Taking a break from social media. #draining
She also says that her latest album is now her priority, and won’t be discussing anything else over social media. Oh, her new music will apparently shut everyone up as well.
not discussing anything but my music from now on.
my new music is gonna shut everyone up.
A source close to Cyrus confirmed what she said over Twitter saying that the couple still planned on getting married. Hemsworth’s cheating notwithstanding, the couple reportedly has a “passionate relationship” and a “very strong physical attraction.”
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Facebook acquires Storylane, a story-telling platform
Facebook is buying Palo Alto, Calif.-based startup Storylane in what is a talent-oriented acquisition. Storylane wanted to become a new kind of story-telling platform much like Evan Williams’s Medium and Rebel Mouse. “We’re trying to build this library of human experience,” said founder Jonathan Gheller in an interview with my colleague Eliza Kern, when the service launched in October 2012.
It caught the eye of Internet giants and entered acquisitions talks with the likes of Yahoo and Facebook. Facebook clearly values the team and founder Gheller who is known for his ability to correlate data, identity and growth. The company had raised $2.8 million dollars from the likes of Balderton Capital, Sigma Partners, Ariel Poler, Mark Goines and bunch of other angel investors.
On his Storylane page, founder Gheller shared this note:
After a lot of discussions with Facebook about how our teams might work together to have even greater impact, we are announcing today that the Storylane team will be joining Facebook.
This is an exciting opportunity. Facebook’s mission of connecting the world has always been at the center of our work, and like our friends at Facebook, meaningful connections are what our team is most passionate about.
The beautiful stories you have decided to share with us are yours to keep and share in however way you want. We are building tools that will help you migrate the content to other services if you so desire. I will be in touch with you about those specific tools later, but I can confirm that Facebook is not acquiring any of your data; and we’re working to make sure you can migrate your content in a manageable way.
I want to thank our users. Your passion, sincerity and willingness to share, has made Storylane the incredible experience that exists today. We have learned so much from you. Your ideas and creativity will stay with us and inspire us on the next stage of our journey.
Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.- The state of cross-platform media measurement
- Social third-quarter 2012: analysis and outlook
- How social discovery is transforming entertainment
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Friday Funny: Pot of Gold at the End of the Cold Aisle?
Happy Friday! The weekend is nearly here, so it’s time for data center levity.
Each Friday, Data Center Knowledge features a cartoon drawn by Diane Alber, our favorite data center cartoonist, and our readers suggest funny captions. Please visit Diane’s website Kip and Gary for more of her data center humor.
The caption contest works like this: We provide the cartoon and you, our readers, submit the captions. We then choose finalists and the readers vote for their favorite funniest suggestion.
Congratulations to reader Steve Swanberg, who submitted the winning caption for last week’s “Shaking in the Data Center” cartoon: “Kip, I think you may have misunderstood when they told us to shake out the new tape management system . . . .”
This week Diane writes, “Since the last ‘gold’ comic was so much fun I thought because of the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day another one was in order.”
For the previous cartoons on DCK, see our Humor Channel.
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Irish QB To Transfer From Notre Dame
Irish QB Gunner Kiel is planning to transfer from Notre Dame according to a source speaking to EPSN. It wasn’t made apparent which school Kiel was planning on transferring to, and Notre Dame wouldn’t comment on the rumored transfer.
Kiel is considered an interesting case as people were highly critical of him during the recruitment process. He was originally going to play for LSU, but decided at the last minute to play for Notre Dame. This drew some ire from LSU coach Les Miles who said that Kiel “did not necessarily have the chest and the ability to lead a program.”
Since then, Kiel has been questioned about his decision, and Miles’ statement, many times. In an interview, the young player admitted that he was “dumb during the recruitment process,” but stated that he was doing “what was best for [him] at the time.”
Transferring may be what’s best for Kiel at this time as Notre Dame freshman Everett Golson played quarterback last year, and Notre Dame recently snagged a new Freshman quarterback in Malik Zaire. A transfer may be just what he needs to ensure that he actually gets some extensive playtime in.
[image: Yahoo Sports]
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Facebook Adds 9 New Open Graph Actions for Lifestyle Apps
Today, Facebook is announced nine new Open Graph actions for lifestyle (fitness, books, movies & TV) app.
Starting now, developers can start incorporating “run,” “walk,” and “bike” for fitness apps, “read,” “rate,” “quote,” and “want to read” for books apps, and “rate,” and “want to watch” for movies and TV apps.
Many popular apps in these categories have already added these Open Graph actions. They include Cyclemeter, Endomondo, Jawbone UP, Log Your Run, MapMyRun, Nike, Runkeeper, Runmeter, Runtastic, SPLIT Multisport GPS, Walkmeter, Bookshout!, GoodReads, Kobo, Random House Inc.’s BookScout, Rotten Tomatoes, Hulu, Flixster, Fandango, and Crackle.
“This improves developers’ ability to publish the types of activities that people want to share,” they say.
On Thursday, Facebook unveiled its huge news feed redesign that puts more emphasis on visuals and highlights big, bold stories inside the feed. Facebook says that they’ve created “beautiful” news feed stories to highlight these new actions.
As always, Facebook will check to make sure any new apps using these actions. Facebook has also released some tips for developers on how to make the most of the new news feed.
“All apps that use these new actions will be reviewed to ensure they meet our quality criteria. Any apps that previously used custom actions to represent this type of sharing will need to move to these new actions by July 10, 2013,” says Dan Giambalvo in a Developer blog post.
Last month, Facebook initiated a huge cleanup on Open Graph actions in order to make the user experience more uniform and a little less spammy. In this cleanup, Facebook got rid of the ability for custom actions to automatically publish back to Facebook as people consume content. Now, Facebook only allows apps that use built-in actions (like, follow, listen, read, and watch) to automatically publish.
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World’s Cheapest 1080p Smartphone Costs $145, Launches ‘Soon’
Full HD displays have made quite a splash on Android smartphones and Chinese company Neo has developed the world’s cheapest 1080p smartphone. Costing just 899 yuan or $145, the Neo N003 will feature a 5-inch 1920×1080 display, MediaTek MT6589 quad-core processor, 13 megapixel camera, and 3,000 mAh battery. There is no official release date yet other than “soon” and it will only go on sale in China.
Source: Gizchina
Come comment on this article: World’s Cheapest 1080p Smartphone Costs $145, Launches ‘Soon’
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MakerBot Announces Its First Easy-To-Use Desktop 3D Scanner, The Digitizer
Bre Pettis, founder of 3D-printer manufacturer MakerBot, announced their first desktop 3D scanner, the Digitizer, at a SXSWi keynote today. Pettis was coy about availability or final design but instead was focused on making a splash at the event.
“We’re excited to put ourselves out there with the announcement. I have a tradition of announcing things at SXSW. I don’t think there are many actual physical products announced at SXSW, so it’s special,” he said.
Officially called the MakerBot Digitizer Desktop 3D Scanner, the device will work in concert with the MakerBot printer to complete the constellation of services MakerBot offers. For example, you will be able to scan an object and print it immediately on a MakerBot printer.
According to today’s release, the design shown at SXSW is a prototype and there is no launch date slated although Pettis said it would be available “this Fall.”
Pettis, for one, is excited.
“It’s a natural progression for us to create a product that makes 3D printing even easier. With the MakerBot Digitizer, now everyone will be able to scan a physical item, digitize it, and print it in 3D – with little or no design experience.”
“It’s going to be another pathway for people to make 3D models,” he said.
UPDATE – I’ll be posting live photos from the event. The scanner uses two lasers to map small, breadbox-sized objects and a webcam to create a digital model of any object.
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Games for the weekend: Mini Ninjas
Games for the Weekend is a weekly feature aimed at helping you avoid doing something constructive with your downtime. Each Friday we’ll be recommending a game for Mac, iPhone or iPad that we think is awesome. Here is one cool enough to keep you busy during this weekend.
Mini Ninjas ($0.99 Universal) is a side-scrolling runner where you play a jumping fighting ninja with a mission to free his friends from captivity. Don’t be fooled by the cuteness of this game, it is only a disguise: there is some serious gameplay hidden under its shinobi shōzoku.As with all endless running, side-scrolling action games, you do not need to control your forward movement. You do however need to control both your jumps and your attacks. Tap on the left side of the screen to jump and on the right side of the screen to attack. There is also the ninja skill to run along walls. This one is a little harder to master, and is accomplished by jumping with the left control, then pressing and holding the left control as you run along the wall. Once you release, you fall from the wall back onto the ground. You are not able to scale every wall, but the ones you can run across end up being the only means of avoiding the obstacle in front of you.
The backdrop for each trail is set in different seasons which you are placed in by the magic of a flying dragon. As you run there are different obstacles you must either destroy or avoid. Along the way you will be challenged by warriors of varying skills and abilities. Fortunately for you they each have a distinctive color and costume that distinguishes them from one another. Some warriors jump, some fly, and others just run, but they all will eventually attack you. When each warrior is defeated, an animal appears in its place and follows you on your journey.
As you run, you also collect gold “koins.” These koins are more than just pocket change as they can be used for one of two purposes. The first is to buy yourself a second life when you stumble on an obstacle or get killed. All you need to do is surrender some of your koins and you will be brought back to life, running once again right where you left off. The second use of the koins is to buy various outfits, equipment upgrades, potions and spells from the village Dojo. While the outfits and equipment upgrades appear to be more cosmetic, the potions and spells have a real effect on game play. One such potion, Death Banisher, will extend your run by bringing you back to life when you die.
Throughout the game there are various missions that you must complete: land on top of three rocks, craft three potions, or even defeat three captains of the guard. Once you have achieved a certain number of missions, your ninja will level up and be granted a new title. You soon find that your friends are trapped in cages and strung up in trees. You must break open their cage in order to free them. Once free, you will run as the friend instead of the ninja and use their unique abilities for a while. This is also a way of gaining extra life with each run, as you will continue to run as your friend until you stumble upon an obstacle or are defeated by an opposing warrior. At which time you will be transformed back into the mini ninja and continue with the endless running.
While there is a Mini Ninjas game for OS X ($19.99, Mac), the two games are not alike. The characters artwork and storyline of both games are identical, but the Mac game plays more like a 3D character adventure game, not a side-scrolling runner. The Mac version of the game is fun to play and very well done, but there is more than enough here on the iOS version to keep you busy this weekend.
Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.- How do developers ride the Siri wave?
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Senate Must Return to the Prompt Consideration of Judicial Nominations
In October 2011, President Obama nominated Magistrate Judge Patty Shwartz to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Judge Shwartz is widely respected, having earned the highest possible rating from the American Bar Association – “unanimous well qualified” — and has bipartisan support, including from Governor Chris Christie, who has praised her as “hard working, bright, articulate, great with people and conversant in the law.” And yet, today marks the one year anniversary since Judge Shwartz has been waiting for a floor vote in the United States Senate.
Unfortunately, the delay for Judge Shwartz is not unique. Last week, my colleague wrote about Judge Robert Bacharach, who was recommended to the White House by one of his Republican home state Senators, but waited 263 days for a floor vote before being confirmed 93-0. And on Monday – after 347 days of delay — the Senate will consider the nomination of Richard Taranto to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Overall, President Obama’s judicial nominees wait an average of 117 days on the Senate floor for a vote — more than three times longer than President Bush’s judicial nominees, who waited an average of only 34 days. The Senate must promote the administration of justice by returning to the prompt consideration of judicial nominations. It should consider Judge Shwartz’s nomination without further delay, as well as the fifteen district court nominees awaiting votes. Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved five district court nominees. There is no reason they – and the others approved before them – should not be confirmed within 34 days.
