Basecamps shut down
A Glass Explorer, Spencer Kleyweg, reports that the Google Glass Basecamps in Los Angeles, San Francisco, London and New York are closing. The Basecamps served as a place for Glass users to get support for their devices, as well as for potential customers to see the device demonstrated in person. Google does not release a statement regarding the closing.
https://plus.google.com/111749081843589527939/posts/RKnokcy2XBz
Pokémon for iPad announced
YouTuber TheJWittz posts a tweet saying that the Pokémon Trading Card Game is coming to iPad. A Pokémon representative confirms it is true to Polygon but says they do not have a set release date.
It looks like Pokémon TCGO is in works for the iPad! Should be a huge way to expand the game. #PlayPokemon pic.twitter.com/SPlx3QZaTC
— Joshua (@TheJWittz) August 15, 2014
Update caues blue screen of death
The MS14-045 update to Windows 7 causes users to get a “blue screen of death” or “Stop 0x50” error on their computers. This error makes it so people cannot use their computers unless they do a system restore. Microsoft asks that users uninstall the update before they encounter the error if possible:
Microsoft is investigating behavior associated with the installation of this update and will update this bulletin when more information becomes available. Microsoft recommends that customers uninstall this update. As an added precaution, Microsoft has removed the download links to the 2982791 security update.
Palmer returns to the community
0 0 lesley lesley2014-08-18 01:39:272014-08-18 01:39:27Palmer returns to the communitySatire tag
Facebook adds a satire tag to help people distinguish between real news articles and satirical articles from sites like The Onion. A Facebook representative says they added it in response to user demand:
We are running a small test which shows the text ‘[Satire]’ in front of links to satirical articles in the related articles unit in News Feed. This is because we received feedback that people wanted a clearer way to distinguish satirical articles from others in these units.
Internet Explorer AMA
The Internet Explorer development team conducts an AMA (ask me anything) session on Reddit. They discuss technical aspects of creating a web browser, what it’s like to work at Microsoft, and the negative reputation Internet Explorer has in tech communities. They say they briefly considered changing Internet Explorer’s name to avoid the stigma against the browser:
It’s been suggested internally; I remember a particularly long email thread where numerous people were passionately debating it. Plenty of ideas get kicked around about how we can separate ourselves from negative perceptions that no longer reflect our product today.
Available in South Africa
The South African online store Takealot becomes the first retailer in Africa to sell Google Glass. The price is R26,999 ($2,560), about $1,000 more expensive than it is in the United States.
US warns against cryptocurrency
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issues a warning to consumers that says cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Dogecoin have significant risks because they are unregulated:
If you trust someone else to hold your virtual currencies and something goes wrong, that company may not offer you the kind of help you expect from a bank or debit or credit card provider.
Acquires Zofari
Yahoo acquires Zofari, an application that recommends places users might enjoy based on places they have already been. Yahoo:
Zofari and Yahoo share a common goal to make the world an easier place to explore for as many people as possible. We’re thrilled to welcome the team to Yahoo, where they will join our growing Search organization and continue to build amazing discovery experiences.
Promoted Video
Twitter announces the Promoted Video program, where advertisers can pay to have their videos appear in people’s Twitter stream. The videos do not play automatically, and advertisers are only charged when users view the video:
In the spirit of making campaign setup easier, we now offer advertisers the ability to run ads with a new Cost Per View (CPV) ad buying model. This means advertisers only get charged when a users starts playing the video. Additionally, advertisers using Promoted Video have access to robust video analytics, including completion percentage and a breakout of organic vs. paid video views.
10 million PS4 sales
Sony announces that PlayStation 4 sales have exceeded 10 million units, and that over 30 million games have been sold for the platform. The company thanks the players for helping them reach this milestone:
PlayStation Nation: Thank you! We just announced that the PlayStation 4 has sold through more than 10 million units worldwide –- and more than 30 million PS4 games have been sold –- since its launch less than nine months ago. It’s a remarkable milestone that reinforces PS4’s record-breaking pace and the movement it has created among players globally in defining next generation gaming.
Diversity report: Mostly white, male
Apple releases a diversity report which shows that most of the highest earning employees are white and male. CEO Tim Cook says he is not happy with that fact and plans to take steps to make the Apple workforce more inclusive:
As CEO, I’m not satisfied with the numbers on this page. They’re not new to us, and we’ve been working hard for quite some time to improve them. We are making progress, and we’re committed to being as innovative in advancing diversity as we are in developing our products.
Study: Twitter causes ‘psychotic symptoms’
A case-study published in the Journal of Nervous And Mental Disease says that Twitter may have been the cause of psychotic symptoms in a woman called “Mrs. C.” The article says she showed no signs of mental illness until she became obsessed with Twitter and developed delusions of hidden messages behind people’s tweets. The researchers say Twitter could aggravate psychosis in at-risk populations:
The amount of symbolic language (caused by the limitation of 140 characters per Twitter message), the automated spam responses with seemingly related content, and the general interactive features of Twitter might combine several aspects that could induce or further aggravate psychosis
$25 smartphone: Nokia 130
Microsoft announces the Nokia 130, which retails for $25 or 19 euros. The phone will only be available in select countries in Asia and Africa. It is intended to be a reliable, basic phone that includes features like video playback, a FM radio and a battery that can last 36 days on standby or 13 hours of talk time:
The Nokia 130 is an ideal handset for first-time mobile phone buyers, or for people seeking a reliable backup phone to complement their existing smartphones. It’s built to last, with a 1.8-inch color display and outstanding battery life of up to 36 days’ standby for the single-SIM variant and 26 days’ standby for the dual-SIM device. In design and quality, the Nokia 130 stands out among devices priced below $35.
FASTER underwater cable
Google invests $300,000,000 in FASTER, an underwater cable that will connect Japan and the United States in order to make internet connections faster in Asia.
At Google we want our products to be fast and reliable, and that requires a great network infrastructure, whether it’s for the more than a billion Android users or developers building products on Google Cloud Platform. And sometimes the fastest path requires going through an ocean.
14 nanometer chip
Intel announces a processor that is only 14 nanometers long, called the Intel® Core™ M. They say this small chip will be useful in a variety of devices including servers and personal computers:
Intel’s 14nm technology will be used to manufacture a wide range of high-performance to low-power products including servers, personal computing devices and Internet of Things.
Dubai public transport navigation
Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) uses Glass’s Step by Step feature to allow people to navigate the public transport system easily. Glass users can also access route maps and departure times. A spokesperson for the RTA says that this feature is aimed mainly at tourists:
Google Glass is not officially launched in UAE but there are people who are using it and there a lot of tourists who bringit from their countries where it is available. Our idea is to stay ahead in terms of technology and provide the services required through all the tech channels available. We are the first city in the region to provide transport-related information through Google Glass.
NASA: Glass not optimal for space
After conducting a series of underwater tests, NASA concludes that Glass is not a useful tool for astronauts in its current state due to its limited battery and difficulty of use:
Google Glass is a promising technology but needs to overcome battery life, display viewing and scrolling issues in order to be an operational useful tool.
General Motors tests Glass
A representative of General Motors says they are testing three pairs of Glass to see what uses it has in their manufacturing process. He says about a dozen employees have used Glass on the factory floor and they may expand the project in the future:
We’ve barely touched the frontier of what this type of technology can provide to manufacturing.
HTTPS ranked higher on search
Google announces that sites that use HTTPS encryption will rank higher on search results than sites that use HTTP. This is done in an effort to make the internet more secure. They say the initial boost in search rank is small, but they hope to increase it in the future:
We’re starting to use HTTPS as a ranking signal. For now it’s only a very lightweight signal—affecting fewer than 1% of global queries, and carrying less weight than other signals such as high-quality content—while we give webmasters time to switch to HTTPS. But over time, we may decide to strengthen it, because we’d like to encourage all website owners to switch from HTTP to HTTPS to keep everyone safe on the web.