Google Earth turns 10, celebrates with new Voyager and expanded Earth View features
Its been a decade long journey for the Google Earth! As Google Earth earth turns 10, the search giant decided to celebrate with two new features now available for all – Voyager and expanded Earth View.
Voyager View
Voyager will take users to some of the most interesting locations in the world. The first edition of Voyager will include five sections namely, Street View, Earth View, 3D cities, satellite imagery updates and highlight tour. You will see highlights fro Street View including the Taj Mahal and the Grand Canyon, striking landscapes across the globe as seen from space, cities will be seen in photorealistic 3D, and so on.
Earth View is a collection of the ‘most striking’ landscapes available in Google Earth that started as a 20 percent project last year by a few Googlers. The images soon made their way onto Android phones, Chromecast and Chromebooks in the form of wallpaper.
Earth View
“For Earth’s 10th birthday, we’re expanding the Earth View collection to 1,500 landscapes from every continent and ocean and making it accessible to even more people. The new imagery is available with an updated version of our Chrome extension and a new web gallery. Download high-resolution wallpapers for your mobile and desktop devices, or better yet, print them up for your walls,” Google writes in its official blog.
In its 10 year journey, Google Earth’s evolution began in 2005. In August of that year, Hurricane Katrina showed how useful mapping tools like Earth could be for crisis response efforts. Earth has also helped to discover new coral reefs, journey to the Moon and into deep space, the blog further adds.
Facebook User Base Has Now Climbed to 125 Million Users in India
Social networking giant Facebook has added 13 million users in six months to take its user base to 125 million in India, its second-biggest market globally.
The US-based firm, which had 112 million users in India as of December last year, also launched a 2G-friendly mobile app ‘Facebook Lite’ here to cater users with slow internet connectivity.
Globally, it has 1.44 billion monthly active users as of March 31, 2015 with the US as its biggest market.
“In India, Facebook has 125 million average users (MAU), while the number of mobile MAUs stands at 114 million. On a daily basis, 59 million users in India are accessing Facebook and 53 million are accessing us from their mobile phones,” Facebook head of Products (Facebook Lite) Vijay Shankar told PTI.
Talking about the Facebook Lite app, announced earlier this month, he said the product has been “built ground up for markets like India” where internet speeds are slow.
Facebook Lite will feature all core functions of the standard app like news feed, messaging, photos, links and notifications among others but does not show videos on the news feed.
It also allows users to select the quality of images they see on their news feed to optimize data consumption.
“In India, over 80% of the users are on 2G network. We have worked on improving the apps performance even on spotty connections and across devices from entry-level devices to high-end ones,” Shankar said.
Facebook Lite will be rolled out in other markets in coming weeks, he added.
Both Facebook Lite and the standard Facebook app will work on a single device at the same time.
Facebook, Twitter allow users to show support for marriage equality
Facebook has introduced a new feature that lets users show off their support for marriage equality by superimposing a rainbow over their profile picture.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg personally announced the Celebrate Pride tool on his personal page following the US Supreme Court’s ruling that same-sex couples have the constitutional right to marry,
Simply head to facebook.com/celebratepride and Facebook will allows you to superimpose a rainbow over their profile picture with a click of a button.
“Our country was founded on the promise that all people are created equal, and today we took another step towards achieving that promise. I’m so happy for all of my friends and everyone in our community who can finally celebrate their love and be recognized as equal couples under the law. We still have much more to do to achieve full equality for everyone in our community, but we are moving in the right direction,” Zuckerberg wrote on his wall.
Other IT bigwigs such as Apple, Google, Uber and Salesforce too have voiced their support for gay marriages on social media channels throughout the day.
On Twitter, you can automatically make a tiny rainbow heart appear in your tweet by including the #LoveWins hashtag.
Several renowned figures across the world have come out in support of the US Supreme Court’s ruling.
L=Life G=Gets B=Better T=Together I am not one of them but I think its better to see 2 men holding hands than 2 men holding guns #LoveWins
I would agree that cell phones are a great way to stay in touch anytime, anywhere. But is your child old enough to have one? It’s a tough call for many parents because it’s not just about age.
I being a tech enthusiast, would always look at the positive side of the Technology, Before I look any further, I'd like to tell you that I just read an article about it on the Rewardme site's Family Life section and thought to give my views on it.
I am participating in the ‘Ready For Rewards’ activity for Rewardme in association with BlogAdda.
Should I Really Buy my Child a Smartphone?
It’s a common question that many parents are wrestling with, especially this holiday season as the smartphone becomes one of the top most wanted gifts on the wish list among kids.
Smartphones, in particular, introduce all kinds of concerns for parents, such as their kid’s potential loss of sleep,cyber-bulling, not knowing who contacts their child, browsing the web too freely, distraction from school, access to too many games, cost of a lost phone...
Sexting has become a major case right now!
And the list goes on and on.....
But you can't beat the convenience. If your child has a cell phone, you can call or text to find out where they are or what they are up to. And in an emergency or something as simple as trying to pick up your child, a cell phone can be crucial if your child needs to reach you -- or vice versa.
The benefits outweigh the risks in most cases, and it’s why one of the fastest growing segments of smartphone usage is among kids. In fact, Nielsen(I had to Google the spelling!) data recently revealed that 70% of kids age 13-17 now have a smartphone, compared to two years ago when that figure was only 36%.
But we cannot forget the Health Considerations
Cell phones work by using radio waves. That's radiation (though it's not like what you'd get from an X-ray). Does that affect health, especially if children start using phones at a very young age when their brains are still developing?
So, the question for parents becomes when is the right time to give a child a cell phone. The answer is not entirely straightforward. It’s not just about age. It’s really about readiness on many different levels.
Once you cross over the hump and decide to give your child a smartphone, here’s a list of things to do to ensure your kids stay safe and act responsibly with their new device:
What signs do you think prove a child is ready for a cell phone?
Facebook teams up with Kaspersky Labs to rid malicious software
Facebook announced today it has been using a new security tool to help detect and remove malicious software for users of the world’s biggest social network.
Facebook said it was working with Kaspersky Lab, bolstering a program implemented with other online security firms including ESET, F-Secure and Trend Micro.
“Thanks to the collaboration with these companies, in the past three months we have helped clean up more than two million people’s computers that we detected were infected with malware when they connected to Facebook,” said Trevor Pottinger, a Facebook security engineer.
“In these cases, we present a cleanup tool that runs in the background while you continue using Facebook, and you get a notification when the scan is done to show you what it found.”
Pottinger said the program uses “a combination of signals to help find infections and get the malware off of your computer for good, even if the malware isn’t actively spreading spam or harmful links.”
“Thanks to the collaboration with these companies, in the past three months we have helped clean up more than 2 million people’s computers that we detected were infected with malware when they connected to Facebook. In these cases, we present a cleanup tool that runs in the background while you continue using Facebook, and you get a notification when the scan is done to show you what it found,” said the Facebook Security team post.
Kaspersky Lab’s Kate Kochetkova said in a separate blog post that Facebook users are often targeted in online fraud schemes such as “phishing,” which are faked emails designed to get recipients to download malware.
“Facebook is a major aim for phishers: one in five phishing scams targets Facebook notifications. So be vigilant when you receive emails appearing to be from Facebook: as they can be fake. There are lots of Trojans targeting Facebook users as well,” she said.
Fraudsters may also use Facebook, Kochetkova said, to “‘like’ weird things and promote questionable goods and services on your behalf.”
The Gud1: Gmail's 'Undo Send' option is now official
The undo send option has existed in Gmail's Labs for six years now, but has only just been made a part of Gmail officially.
Google’s ‘undo send’ option for Gmail is now officially available to all users, both enterprise and individuals. As the name suggests, it allows users to unsend an email that they’ve already sent to someone, by mistake or otherwise. The undo send link will appear at the top of the screen after you have sent an email accompanied by a 'view message' link. Users can pick a time period, which ranges between five and 30 seconds, for clicking on this link. In case you’re wondering, after clicking send, your email won’t actually be sent before this time period is over. Once you click undo, the email appears again in a 'Compose' box on your Gmail screen, and you can decide what to do with it.
There’s a good chance you’ve already been using this for a while. The undo send option was in Gmail's Labs tab for a long time, six years actually, and many have enabled this already. The option has now just been made public and brought into the main Gmail Settings tab. To activate the option, you have to click on the gear menu on the top right of your screen and choose Settings. Scroll down from here and find the Undo Send option. You can then enable it and choose the time period for the feature.
The undo send option though is unique to Gmail, and competing webmail services like Hotmail and Yahoo don’t have it yet. In fact, undo send isn’t even Google’s first attempt at preventing emails from being sent by mistake. In 2008, the company had tried out an option called Mail Goggles, which asked users to solve math problems before they could send an email. This was designed to prevent late night drunk emails but was discontinued in 2012.
Do you plan to activate “Undo Send” for your Gmail account? Let me know what you think of the feature in the comments section!
OnePlus One No Longer Amazon Exclusive in India; to Be Available via Flipkart From Monday
Amazon's exclusive deal for OnePlus One has finally ended, with the popular smartphone finally hitting Flipkart.
Flipkart is selling the 64GB variant of OnePlus One for Rs 19,998 on June 22 and 24, lower than its regular price tag of Rs 21,998. Starting June 24, the smartphone will be available at its standard price. Along with the ongoing Rs 2,000 discount, Flipkart is also running an exchange offer of up to Rs 10,000 for OnePlus One.
As rumoured, the OnePlus One will be no longer be exclusively available in India via Amazon, with rival Flipkart now also authorised to sell the 'flagship killer' smartphone. The 64GB Sandstone Black OnePlus One will be available as part of Flipkart's Big App Shopping Days at Rs. 19,998 from Monday to Wednesday (June 22 to 24) via the Flipkart website as well as the app.
Post the sale, the 64GB Sandstone Black OnePlus One will be available via Flipkart at Rs 21,999 and the 16GB Silk White variant will be available at Rs 18,999. At the time of filing this report, the 16GB OnePlus was available via Amazon at Rs. 18,998, though the 64GB variant was not available. It's noteworthy that the OnePlus had been an Amazon exclusive since its launch in India.
Announcing the move, the OnePlus team said via a blogpost, "The best of associations aren't dependent on a mere common goal but on a shared path of equality, desire and no small amount of passion. In saying this, we are incredibly excited in bringing the hottest smartphone to hit the country this past year, the OnePlus One to millions of Flipkart users and fans of our brand out there."
It's worth pointing out to our readers that the global launch of the OnePlus One successor, the OnePlus 2, is imminent.
"I have learned that there is more power in a good strong hug than in a thousand meaningful words." -Ann Hood
Its father's Day today.. And I found an essay I had written back in school. This essay made me cry on how I used to love my Dad back then.. Though I love him much more now, I can't express my love much. I used to hug my Dad on the smallest of joys and sorrows but now I don't even have much time to talk to him..
This father’s day, I am expressing my love towards my dad by participating in the #HugYourDad activity at BlogAdda in association with Vicks.
Here is the essay I had written back in school on my Dad.. Though I have made some changes to it..
My Dad, My Hero!
We all love super-heroes. We admire them. We idolize them. That is because they are paragons of honesty, bravery, self-less sacrifice and of course, loads of fun. Whenever someone is in trouble, they swoop in and save the day. They set an example for us to follow and inspire us to be better human beings. But before the comics, before the cartoons and before we even learnt to say the word “hero,” we all had someone in our lives who already had the traits I just mentioned.
Our Dads!
My Dad is my real hero because he is the most special person in my life. He is a very good athlete & an artist. He is a Businessman by profession. At weekends he loves to play with me the whole day. During weekdays he works hard & spends maximum time working at his office. He tries his best to keep our family happy.
He works hard to make money for our family. He loves me a lot & always tries to cheer me up whenever I am in a sad mood. He has always taught me good values & not spoiling me by buying me all the things that I wanted. But at the same time he has gifted me many things that I always wish to have. My Dad has always tried his level best to make me a good human being.
My Dad helps me in my studies too. Maths is a subject he love's the most. And Maths.. Uff.. How I hate Math's! But he is the person who make's all the math's problems appear like magic! Swish..!! Move the wand and its done! My Math's homework is complete without any headaches!
My Dad is the most precious gift of God to me. He is a loving father and the most gracious person I have ever seen in my life. He wants me to become a good human being like him. That is why he always teaches me to differentiate between wrong & right.
Every day he takes out little time for me in the night to acknowledge my day to day activities & problems if any. He is my best friend. I can discuss everything with him without any hesitation. Things that I fail to reveal out to my close friends, I can easily discuss them with my Dad. Whenever I need his help, he is always available for me. He is like a hero to me. He is a funny, cool, adventurous and smart human being.
He loves to travel and that is why we both always go to long distant places (sometimes abroad) on vacations. I love to travel too & that is why vacations are always awaited as far as its Dad’s company. I may have travelled almost the whole of India in just 17 years! He always says "explore India first its history is greater compared to the rest of world together"
Dad says that he started visiting the globe when he was a college student. According to him his experience has helped him to broaden his horizons. This is the reason he started me quite early. He wants me to experience the world because he believes that travelling is an education in itself.
I have learnt a lot of things under my Dad’s guidance which education my have failed to teach me. The most important lesson that Dad has taught me is to be disciplined & hard working in life. These are the 2 key ingredients to achieve success in life.
Today I am just 17 years old & at this tender age Dad has taught me a lot of things that people at the age of 20 fail to understand. He has taught me what life is all about. He has showed me the way to achieve success. He has showed me the opportunities that exist in front of me. But at the same time he has left the decision up to me in terms of which path to choose. He is very confident that his efforts to make me a good human being will never go in vein.
Seeing his confidence in me some day I am going to make him proud.
So all of you do me a favor. After you’re done reading this, let go of any anger or resentment you might have towards your Dad.(If any!) Give him a call,(If he isn't around!) say hi, tell him you love him. And the very next time you see him, give him a hug. Because whether they say it or not…dads love hugs.(Believe me I tried it!)
Current wearables, especially smartwatches are smartphone extensions. More like a Bluetooth extensions with limited intelligence on the hardware itself. The Apple Watch 2 could change that.
According to a report in 9to5mac, Apple is considering “a 2016 release of a second-generation model. According to multiple sources familiar with Apple’s plans, the Apple Watch 2 is planned to gain a video camera, a new wireless system for greater iPhone independence, and new premium-priced models. Interestingly, it will also feature similar battery life to its predecessor.”
In reference to Apple Facetime coming to the Apple Watch, the report adds that, “Apple’s current considerations call for a video camera to be integrated into the top bezel of the Apple Watch 2, enabling users to make and receive FaceTime calls on the move via their wrists.”
The report adds, “Under an initiative internally called “tether-less,” Apple plans for the second-generation Watch to have more functionality when used independently from an iPhone.” Although Apple Watch would support payments, text messaging and email, these are still functions that depend on the iPhone. The way forward according to Apple is to offer more independence to the Apple Watch.
Ello, the ad-free social network which gained prominence last year with an invitation-only launch, announced Thursday it was opening to the public with an application for iPhone users.
The startup got attention with its “anti-Facebook” policy of promising to never use advertising or to sell customer data to third parties.
Last September, a surge in interest made Ello membership a hot ticket, with invitations selling on eBay at prices up to $500.
In announcing the public launch, Ello provided no details on numbers of members but said there were “millions” using the platform.
“The new app is beautiful with dozens of unique features,” said Ello co-founder and chief executive Paul Budnitz.
“With so much positivity on Ello, and with awareness of the negative effects of ads and data collection by other networks coming to the forefront of the news, the timing of our app release couldn’t be better.”
Ello has upgraded the service to include new ways to find friends, full search, real-time alerts, private messaging, private groups and “loves” instead of likes.
It received $5.5 million in funding last year as it changed its charter to back a promise to remain ad-free, becoming a “public benefit corporation.” While the services is free, Its future plans include premium features which would be paid.
Ello was launched by a group of artists and programmers led by Budnitz, whose previous experience includes designing bicycles and toys.
A Quick Review of The Official App by India's "responsive" Leader
I am referring to all app developer’s buzzword. Responsive is one that adapts itself across devices and screen sizes. It’s the latest buzzword in the technology space.
Indeed, Narendra Modi is present on screens across all form factors. However, the term responsive is associated with the way your site adapts itself to varying screen sizes. Yesterday, India’s PM Narendra Modi announced the ‘Narendra Modi App’ on Twitter:
Western governments have had a distinct set of rules for digital communications and ensure every website, microsite, webpage or digital app follows design philosophies laid down by the government.
India’s Prime Minister is now using mobile applications to engage with citizens, which is welcome. I downloaded the application and explored it. So here’s a review of the official Narendra Modi app.
Lets begin by downloading the app from the Google Play Store. Once you install the app, enter your phone number and date of birth. You can access the menu from the top right.
The date selector makes it easy to choose the date, month and year with a slider. Next, in the ‘News’ section, you can choose between ‘Recent’ or ‘Popular’ news items by setting the button on the top right.
You can receive updates, watch the Mann Ki Baat by the PM. You can also write to the Prime Minister and give ideas and suggestions to “be an active partner in nation building.”
The app also gives you a glimpse of all that is communicated across social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter, the PM’s blog, and his speeches.
It is basically Modi everywhere! From interviews given by the PM, to government data, you’ll get access to it all.
In an hour since installing the application, I’ve already received 3 notifications. One, a greeting for Ramadaan, the other greeting the people of Seychelles on their National Day and of course the announcement of the app being launched.
And yes, you get points for interacting with the application. On a lighter note, I wonder if these points would result in gratification for the end user.
I really hope the data captured by the app isn’t hacked in the future and it remains secure. The collaborative approach taken by PM Narendra Modi in building mobile applications for the PMO is a good step indeed.Lets wait and see how the app takes off on the Play Store, and compare it to some of the popular political apps out there!
Microsoft and Snapdeal band together to launch online store
Microsoft has launched a branded online store with ecommerce major Snapdeal, which will include the full range of US-based company’s products, including phones, tablets, PCs and software.
“We are pleased to be partnering with Microsoft in opening their online store on Snapdeal. This unique, self-contained store built by Snapdeal will allow users accessibility of Microsoft’s unified portfolio of phones, tablets, PCs and software,” Snapdeal Senior Vice President, Electronics and Home Tony Navin said in a statement.
The store has been customised to offer an integrated Windows customer experience, the statement added.
The store enables Microsoft to manage product selection, promotions and launches as per need and basis the analytics shared by Snapdeal, it added.
“Increasingly consumers are going online to shop…mobiles, devices, software and accessories. We therefore see tremendous opportunity in delivering Microsoft products and services through our online store…,” Microsoft India Group OEM Director Sharlin Thayil said.
Amazon is developing a mobile application that would pay ordinary people, rather than courier companies, to deliver packages en route to other destinations, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
Amazon would enlist brick-and-mortar retailers in urban areas to store the packages, likely renting space from them or paying a per-package fee, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The company’s timing for the service, known internally as “On My Way”, could not be learned, the Journal reported.
The service could give Amazon more control over the shopping experience and help limit shipping costs, the report added.
Shipping costs at the Seattle-based e-commerce giant rose 31 percent in 2014, outpacing sales growth of 19.5 percent.
Amazon could not immediately be reached for comment.
The world’s biggest social network seems to think that people aren’t sharing enough pictures and so has created a new app that helps users to find even more images to post.
With a phone at everyone’s fingertips, the moments in our lives are captured by a new kind of photographer: our friends. It’s hard to get the photos your friends have taken of you, and everyone always insists on taking that same group shot with multiple phones to ensure they get a copy. Even if you do end up getting some of your friends’ photos, it’s difficult to keep them all organized in one place on your phone.
To help make it easier as Facebook claims, it has launched an app.
Called Moments, once installed it will work through a smartphone’s entire camera roll and, using Facebook’s facial recognition software, grab anything that features what it recognises as an image featuring Facebook friends.
The app’s default setting is to create a private album that can be used for sharing the discovered image or images simply with those pictured in them.
The idea is that the privately shared album grows organically as both people continue to share new photos through it.
Moments also keeps all of your synced photos organized and even lets you search them to find the ones that you or specific friends are in.
Moments is a Creative Labs app. It is launching today, (i.e. 16th June 2015) in the US on iOS and Android, and will be rolling out to more countries over time. You can download Moments from the App Store or Google Play.
State-run BSNL will set up 40,000 wi-fi hotspots across the country, entailing an investment of about Rs 6,000 crore. The tender for the project is likely to be floated by July and it will be completed by 2018.
“BSNL will set up 40,000 wi-fi hot spots across the country and the project is likely to be completed by 2018,” Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said while launching wi-fi facility at Taj Mahal.
The minister added that estimated investment by BSNL for this would be around Rs 6,000 crore.
The company also inaugurated wi-fi facility at Taj Mahal as part of the government’s plan to put such services at major tourist places.
This year BSNL will set up another 2,500 wi-fi hot spots at 250 locations at the cost of Rs 500 crore. BSNL CMD Anupam Srivastava said that of these 200 hot spots have already been set up.
BSNL will be providing free wi-fi services for 30 minutes per 24 hrs (three times in a month) which visitors can utilise in multiple sessions.
After free usage limit of 30 minutes is exhausted, one can continue using the service on paid basis for which subscription plans are available in the denomination of Rs 20, Rs 30, Rs 50 and Rs 70 for validity of 30 min, 60 min, 120 min and one day, respectively.
BSNL has also plans to expand the coverage of the wi-fi facility to other tourist and religious locations such as Khajuraho and Jagannath, amomg others by March.
Prasad added that BSNL has plans to invest more than Rs 1,200 crores in UP (West) circle during 2015-16.
Out of this, about Rs 200 crores will be invested in upgrading and expanding mobile network.
Sony has announced the launch of its selfie-focused camera phone, the Xperia C4 (which it calls a PROSelfie smartphone) at a price of Rs 29,490. It comes with a 13MP rear camera and 5MP front-facing camera.
Well, honestly C4 reminded me of the bomb... So there might be some reference won't it? So be careful while buying it.. You may get caught.. !! Sorry a bad one!!
But Actually it is a bomb in the smartphone industry, It challenges the existing Selfie-Phone market dealers. Well, all that will depend the phone's capability, Will it be able to destroy its competitors or just diffuse off at the last minute? That's all on you!
Available with a single or dual SIM card slots, the Android handset has a fast 64-bit octa-core processor and full HD 5.5-inch display but it’s the imaging capabilities that the company is hoping will appeal most to consumers.
The Xperia C4 boasts a front-facing 5-megapixel camera with a wide-angle lens for group selfies and a huge 13-megapixel rear-facing camera with auto focus and automatic support for HDR — High Dynamic Range. Both the cameras come with an Exmor R sensor and the front camera will also come with its own dedicated flash unit. You can give voice commands to click selfies, add animations while clicking selfies and more.
There are features such as Style Portraits with styles including ‘vampire’ and ‘mystery’ to add some fun element to your selfies. Another feature called AR Mask incorporates themes that let you easily give your selfie a twist by place a different face on your own face.
The Xperia C4 houses a Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2 and houses an octa-core processor, 5.5-inch full HD display, Android 5.0 Lollipop with Sony Xperia skin atop it, will be 4G capable and more. The Xperia C4 will come with a 2,600mAh battery as well.
Fair trade watchdog CCI has rejected allegations that computer maker Dell India Pvt Ltd indulged in anti-competitive practices with respect to the business of a particular server.
It was alleged that the company engaged in unfair business ways by creating entry barriers in the market for x86 server.
After finding that there was no prima facie evidence of competition norms’ violations, the regulator decided to close the matter.
Competition Commission of India (CCI) keeps a tab on unfair business practices across sectors.
In this case, the Commission considered the market of x86 server in India as the relevant one.
“…even though the opposite party (Dell India) and its distributors are vertically placed, the alleged conduct does not give rise to appreciable adverse effect on competition in the relevant market, considering the fact that x86 server of other companies are available in the market,” the Commission said in its order dated June 10.
With regard to alleged abuse of dominance, the watchdog said the company is not in a dominant position in the relevant market.
“Since, the opposite party does not appear to be in a dominant position in the relevant market, the question of abusing its dominant position, in terms of section 4 of the (Competition) Act, does not arise,” it added.
Backup aplikasi merupakan salah satu hal yang cukup penting dilakukan untuk menyelamatkan aplikasi dari segala keadaan tidak terduga, kalo diPc/laptop bentuk backup aplikasi biasanya dibuat dalam bentuk aplikasi portable, sedangkan pada Android backup aplikasi yang dilakukan adalah dalam format APK (Android Package). Nah kali ini saya akan berbagi kepada anda semua bagaimana backup aplikasi yang
Google announced yesterday i.e. on Friday that it was launching a live streaming gaming service to compete with Amazon's Twitch service.
This service will be available in the form of app as well as a website, And will focus exclusively on gamers and gaming.
More than 25,000 games will each have their own page on the site, bringing videos and live streams about various titles together in a single space, Google has said.
Users will be able to add games to their collection for quick access, subscribe to channels, and receive recommendations on new games based on the games and channels they follow.
“When you want something specific, you can search with confidence, knowing that typing “call” will show you “Call of Duty” and not “Call Me Maybe,” Google said in a blog post.
Amazon bought Twitch Interactive last year for $970 million, beating a rival bid from Google.
“We welcome new entrants into the growing list of competitors since gaming video is obviously a huge market that others have their eye on,” said Matthew DiPietro, Twitch’s vice president of marketing.
Twitch also tweeted a welcome message to its rival, saying, “@YouTubeGaming Welcome Player 2. Add me on Google +. #kappa”
“Kappa” is an emoticon used mostly by Twitch users to convey sarcasm.
YouTube Gaming will available on the web, mobiles and tablets on both Android and iOS operating systems, according to a tweet from its official account.
The service will launch this summer, starting in the United States and UK
Several Facebook users in India are irked by a malicious porn malware that went on spamming their timelines with porn images and videos. The malicious software is present in a link to a video that is being shared on users’ timelines. The headline of the video reads, ‘Watch urgent, because it is your video’. Once users click on the link, their timeline and inbox would be spammed with porn messages.
Mobile users were redirected to pages containing various offers while desktop users were asked to download a file from a folder. “The malware stealthily installs an extension on the Chrome web browser. The message contains a link to a malicious website that allegedly shows up as an Amazon Web Services page,” points out The Hindustan Times.
Now, this isn’t something new. The Agra cybercrime cell that claims to be the first to spot the malware told The Times of India that ‘the issue was triggered by a virus from the Kilim malware family, which has caused such incidents elsewhere across the globe’.
Earlier in January, the same malware had reportedly affected around 110,000 users across the world. Disguised as a porn link, it prompt users to download a Flash update. Once a user is infected, the malware would start posting porn links on the person’s Facebook page and also tags friends.
The porn malware has left many users embarrased, who instantly took to calling friends, family and colleagues, explaining the issue and asking them not to click on the link.
In order to not become a victim to such malware, one should avoid clicking on shortened link or any alluring link. Those infected should delete the file/folder and instantly change all their passwords.
It is said innovation pays. But sometimes, the emphasis can be detrimental. Dick Costolo quit Twitter. And Twitter is popular. It was popular before Dick Costolo quit, though. Why then, did he have to quit? It is the dream of every entrepreneur to be as successful as Twitter. When global brands and popular personalities across the globe are obsessed by their Twitter follower count, then it’s a definite call that Twitter is successful. Twitter sentiment is an important metric in brand studies. Why then, did Dick Costolo really move on? And why isn’t it surprising?
Facebook IPO
Silicon Valley-based social media network Facebook had risen to popularity after being a premium college network in its early days. Soon it was a rage across the globe.
On May 18, 2012, Facebook held its initial public offering. It was the biggest in technology. With a peak market capitalisation of $104 billion. Despite initial scepticism, Facebook had reaped success. Investors who were looking for an exit had reaped more than they could contain. At least figuratively.
As is the case in weddings, where the next bachelor or spinster is questioned on their plans for marriage, Wall Street and the rest of the world were looking at Twitter. When was Twitter planning its IPO?
Investor
Silicon Valley venture investor Chris Sacca, who also is an investor in Twitter and Uber, wrote a popular piece on how Twitter can and will be huge. Other than the occasional sponsored trend, sponsored tweet, or recommended follow and targeted advertising there hasn’t been a vast range of opportunities for brands to spend on Twitter, and in effect drive revenue for Twitter. The subsequent slump increased the pressure on Dick Costolo to increase revenue streams.
Investor Chris Sacca wrote the long post on why he believes Twitter can be successful.
Earnings
As per investor announcements from Twitter, average monthly active users increased 18 percent year-on-year. Turns out that wasn’t good enough. Investors were growing impatient with Dick Costolo’s for not being able to turn Twitter services and offerings into revenue streams. The emphasis on revenue caused many investors to hound Twitter.
Former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo
Dick Costolo was getting weary of it. Facebook had ramped up its advertising offerings to include sponsored likes, sponsored posts, targeted likes, the ability to boost posts and other avenues that granted brands the opportunity to scale up in their social media activities.
Twitter instead opted to keep Sponsored Tweets to a minimal. In fact, the strategy with Twitter has been to be minimally intruding. Most of the content comes across as those you follow.
Twitter IPO
Twitter launched its IPO in November 2013. Shortly thereafter, the initial offer price of Twitter stock shot from $26 to $44.90 after peaking at $50. Subsequently, the stock price reached $73 and then stumbled. Largely regarded a failed IPO, this only further increased the call for Dick Costolo to step down.
The Twitter stock marked in blue sharply plunged in late April 2015 raising concerns of future earnings. Image: Google Finance
Comments
While Wall Street may have been the single most prominent reason for Dick Costolo to step down, what Twitter has accomplished during the past couple of years has been phenomenal in terms of adoption. Earnings may have been a significant reason for Costolo to leave, but innovation is far more important for the ecosystem to grow. We only hope this is not a story of an innovative idea buckled under pressure to earn some more (hordes of) bucks.
