The one thing for which the Google Play Store attracts a lot of criticism is the fact that various parts of the Play Store (Books, Movies, Music) are not available in many countries. Although Google has started spreading it's Stores outside the US, Asia has not been given much love. All this has changed, as from today Google has launched its digital bookshop (a.k.a Play Books) in India Today, making them available to a large Android population.
Google confirmed the addition via their official Play Store Twitter account, with the app and the web portion now live in the country. The prices of the books are reportedly similar to their dollar counterparts, with more than 50 free titles. The collection includes the expected mixture of Indian and International titles.
The Books expansion by Google may be the start of an overall strategy by Google for the Indian market. It may be an indication of better thinks to come. Source: Play Store, Twitter If you liked the article, please take 5 seconds to share!
Until now, the visual interface of Google's Project Glasshas basically been a well preserved secret. And since Glass was announced, there has been one, basic question everyone has been asking regarding the project: How does it work?
Well, today Google posted a video montage of Project Glass in action, complete with an apparently functional user interface, and it is amazing. I'm not going to spoil it for you - just watch the clip.
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It has been known for quite a long time that Windows was
planning a low cost annual upgrade cycle to the Windows and Windows Phone OS,
with the project supposedly having a code-name of Windows Blue. Now, we have the
first official mention of Windows Blue via a job posting on Microsoft’s careers
site.
What is Windows Blue?
With Windows 8 released just a couple of month’s back,
Microsoft is now preparing the next generation Windows client. Microsoft plans
to adopt a standardized approach across Windows and Windows Phone in an effort
to provide more regular updates to consumers. This project is known as Windows
Blue.
Originally uncovered by ZDNet, the update will bring changes
in the UI and alterations to the entire platform and pricing. Microsoft is trying
to make Windows Blue the next OS that everyone installs. The approach is a very
simplistic one, Microsoft will price its next Windows release at an extremely
low cost (maybe even free) to ensure users upgrade. Once Windows Blue is released,
the Windows SDK will be updated to support the new release and Microsoft will
stop accepting apps that are built specifically for Windows 8, pushing
developers to create apps for Blue. Windows 8 apps will continue to run on Blue
despite the planned SDK changes.
The Verge also goes on to say that a user will need a
genuine copy of Windows to upgrade to Windows Blue. Built-in apps and the
Windows Store will cease functioning if a copy is upgraded that is pirated.
Sources also point that Microsoft will be likely to keep the Windows 8 name for
the foreseeable future, despite the Windows Blue update. A big part of Windows
Blue is the push towards yearly updates for Microsoft’s OS. Microsoft will kick
off an annual upgrade cycle for Windows that is designed to make it more
competitive against rival platforms from Apple and Google.
The job posting is for a software development engineer who will
join the "Core Experience Team" to work on "most of what
customers touch and see in the OS." The first paragraph of the listing
reads -
We’re looking for an excellent, experienced SDET to join the Core
Experience team in Windows Sustained Engineering (WinSE). The Core Experience
features are the centerpiece of the new Windows UI, representing most of what
customers touch and see in the OS, including: the start screen; application
lifecycle; windowing; and personalization. Windows
Blue promises to build and improve upon these aspects of the OS, enhancing
ease of use and the overall user experience on devices and PCs worldwide.
By the sound of the description it looks like Windows Blue
will focus mainly on UI and how users interact with their computers rather than
under-the-hood changes. Windows Blue is expected to debut in mid-2013, so it is
only a matter of time before which we will find out how good the upgrade is at
smoothing out any of Windows 8 rough edges.
Apple has enjoyed great success in this annual upgrade arena,
gradually adding new features to Mac OS X every year, through its feline-themed
updates. Google too is having a good time with the annual Android upgrades,
bringing new desserts to the table. Will Microsoft have similar success with
Windows Blue? Only time will tell.
Update: The Microsoft Career's website no longer displays the job with a message - This Job is no Longer Available.
Last month, BitTorrent announced that it was working on a
file-sharing app, which is now available as a public beta with the service
being called SoShare. So, what makes SoShare different from the rest? SoShare
allows the user to send huge files up to 1TB for FREE in a single data
transfer!
That's a pretty massive amount of data to be sharing over
the internet, more than many users' hard drives, but BitTorrent says that
SoShare's focus will be on creative professionals and others who deal with
transferring huge files on a daily basis.
As soon as I heard about this beta, I decided to give it a
try and found SoShare to be quite good at keeping things simple. Everything
goes through the web browser - after installing a small plug-in, users choose
the files they want to share, add the email addresses of the intended
recipients, a subject, and a quick message, and start the upload process. Thanks
to the plug-in, uploads continue even after closing the browser window, and
SoShare notifies you once your recipients have received the file and whether or
not they've downloaded it, as well. Files live for 30 days, though you can cut
off access at any time, and you can also grab links to share your uploads
publicly. Recipients don't need to be SoShare users, either, which speeds
things up for those who don't want to sign up for yet another service.
Right now SoShare looks to be a solid, useful file sharing
option with a huge 1TB limit size. Although it remains to be seen, how SoShare
will battle against the kings of cloud based file sharing services like
Dropbox, Box, SkyDrive, Google Drive, etc. Regardless of the competition,
SoShare is a solid option for those who occasionally need to share a huge
amount of data.
Hit the source link to sign up for the beta if you're
interested in trying it yourself.
BlueStacks, the startup bringing Android applications to PCs
and Macs, is releasing a version of its App Player for Windows 8 today, with
special optimization for Surface Pro.
This release comes at an important time for Microsoft whose
Surface device have had a lackluster start to their sale. With other Windows 8
tablets also struggling to break into the market. With BlueStacks, customers
can run over 750,000 Android Applications on their Windows 8 computer, which is
much greater than the 35,000 apps available on the Windows 8 app store.
BlueStacks has made this app special optimized for the
Surface Pro. “The Surface Pro is an innovative device, but it has none of the
top apps,” says BlueStacks CEO, Rosen Sharma. “This fixes that and adds a lot
of value for buyers.”
BlueStacks now offers the ability to launch the Player from
a tile pinned to the Windows 8 Start screen, and it includes a true full-screen
mode. In earlier Windows 7 releases, that was not the case, as the software had
left room for the BlueStacks control strip at the bottom of the screen. There’s
also a new “Charms” menu, available on the right side of the screen, where the
Back, Menu, Settings and Home buttons (for Android) are provided.
Bluestacks has now passed 5 million downloads of its mobile
software across both Mac and PC, based on numbers from BlueStacks.com’s
homepage. More recently it has done tie-ups with Asus, MSI and Lenovo which will
see BlueStacks’ software preloaded onto the PCs in 2013, with similar deals
expected with Dell and HP.
CEO Rosen Sharma also touted the release as a way for
developers to bypass Microsoft's "onerous" submission process to get
Android apps onto the x86 Surface Pro, and you can't argue with the price --
it's free, and available for download now.
Anthony Vilgiate has started a new kickstarter project,
requesting funds for his high capacity mobile chargers project. If you
constantly find yourself running out of battery power on your smartphone while
on the move, this project could definitely help you overcome the problem.
Mobile charging packs are nothing new, and have been in the
market for quite some time, but this project stands out from the rest of the
pack with a capacity of 11,200 mAh! Creator Anthony Vilgiate aims to raise a
minimum of $25,000 through crowd funding to bring three different models into
the market.
The three models on offer are:
1. The Adventurer: A 6600 mAh version which can
charge an iPhone or a similar device upto 4 times, or an iPad from 20% to full
charge one time. One has to give a backing of $30 or more to receive this
version (add $20 for shipping outside the US), with expected deliveries in May
2013.
2. The Destination: A 10,000 mAh version which can
charge an iPhone or a similar device 6-8 times, or an iPad from zero to full
charge 1.5x times. . The device comes in a sleek brushed aluminum case that the
creator says would help in heat dissipation, as well as look nice alongside a
device like a MacBook Pro. This device is slightly costly given its aluminum
chasis, and one has to give a backing of $65 or more to receive this version (add
$20 for shipping outside the US), with expected deliveries in May 2013.
3. The Expedition: The biggest capacity version,
has a whooping 11,200 mAh Lithium Ion battery, ehich is capable of charging an
iPhone or a similar device almost 10 times from zero to full! An additional
benefit of LI-Ion is only a 4-6 hour charge from empty to full on a USB
connection! One has to give a backing of $50 or more to receive this version (add $20 for shipping outside the US), with expected deliveries in May 2013.
These charge estimates are based on real-world tests. Of
course, your mileage may vary depending on device and ambient conditions (you
can do the math yourself). The devices come with a power indicator similar to
those found on MacBook Pro/Dell XPS 15z batteries. Press a button and LEDs
light up to show you the approximate charge level. All packs come with
universal adaptors that work with several brands and models, but you would most
likely need just a USB to microUSB cable for most of your Android charging
needs. Good luck if you have the iPhone 5, iPad 4 or iPad Mini, because the
universal adaptor package does not come with a Lightning adaptor (yet).
I definitely think this is a worthy Kickstarter project to
invest in, $50 seems a good price to pay for peace of mind (at least in terms
of power availability) while traveling. Check out the Kickstarter project page
from the source link to make a contribution.
The US government may have refused to build a Death Star,
but that doesn't mean the project is dead and forgotten about. One among the
millions of Star Wars fans around the globe has taken to Kickstarter to seek
funding for a crowd-sourced planet-destroyer. And despite the description on
the page making it clear to the world that it's a joke, he's raised more than
£50,000 in just over a day! Though that is still a bit short of its goal of
£54,300,000,000,000,000 to actually start the construction work.
To bring down the overall cost of the machine/satellite/destroyer
all the hardware and software used in the project will be from open source
projects.
Seeing as the US has turned down the opportunity to get
involved, we'd join calls to have the Death Star manufactured in the project
founder's native Leicestershire (conveniently also home to the National Space
Centre). Well the Death Star was populated mostly by British character actors
in the films.
The page also goes on to state that chipping in £1 gets you
thanks and "the knowledge that we're one step towards a safer
planet". Pledge £10 or more and you can have "your name etched onto
the underneath of one of the MSE-6-series repair droids used on the finished
station". At time of writing, 460 backers have pledged an average of £125
each to make a total of over £57,000!
Its hard to believe that the largest social networking site in
the world has not even been around for a decade. Facebook, with well over 1
billion users turned 9 today. The website which had humble beginning for a
closed user group within Harvard has grown manifolds in these years.
Facebook started of as Facemash, a website where Harvard
students could rate each other on hotness quotient based on the uploaded
photographs. Later Mark Zuckerberg relaunched Facemash as TheFacebook.com. In
2005, the site allowed users to upload their own photos. Till date, Facebook has
seen more than 220 billion photos being uploaded. In 2006, Facebook expanded
and allowed anyone over 13 to join the site and also introduced the News Feed.
The Facebook like button was introduced much later in 2009 and according to the
latest company figures, it has seen 1.13
trillion 'likes' since its introduction.
How Mark Zuckerberg took Facebook from an invite only Ivy
League college website to this level is no secret, with popular culture
featuring the story in movies and books like 'The Social Network' and
'Accidental Billionares'.
One thing that has remained constant over the nine years is
change. Zuckerberg and Co. have made sure that great feature are added to the
website on a regular basis. Be it the business pages or the relationship status
or the social networking games or everything else in between.
Now, Facebook has taken to spreading its supremacy even on
the mobile platforms. With the number of smartphone users growing everyday, the
social networking giant is trying to make its mobile applications at par with
its website. Shifting from HTML5 to building native apps from the scratch on
both iOS and Android was a great move for the company.
Last year was a big one for the website as it became the
first social networking site to go public with an IPO. Although, Facebook's
shares have fluctuated heavily, Zuckerberg and Co. have managed to salvage the
situation every single time. The company also went to buy the photo editing app
Instagram.
Of course, controversies have played a huge part in this 8
year long journey. Nevertheless, the future looks bright for the birthday
website. Facebook has taken 2013 head on with the introduction of Graph Search.
It's small features such as these that make it different from the rest. Knowing
Zuckerberg's penchant towards treading unknown paths, we're looking forward to
Facebook surprising us with new features for many years to come.
Mark Zuckerberg Introducing Graph Search
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