Google Android vs Apple iOS; Android L video

Google Android 'L': 10 things you need to know - Google gives us a look at the new android update called Android-L, we do not know what the L stands for yet but here are 10 things we do know (video above) source: The Telegraph

Where WWDC Hinted, Google IO Delivers... Something - Google Inc. - Seeking Alpha: ".... The fundamental takeaway for investors of any stripe is that Android just keeps improving and becoming more competitive with iOS and Windows Phone. The idea that iPhone is "crushing" its competition, which is mostly Android, is a fanboy fantasy rooted in an ignorance that investors in Google's mobile competitors can ill afford. When iPhone 6 arrives this fall, I believe it will still be superior to the wave of Android L phones it will compete with. The point I make repeatedly is that technological superiority does not guarantee market success. In "Why iPhone 6 Won't Reverse Apple's Market Share Decline" I predicted that iPhone's market share would subside to about 16% in calendar Q4 with iPhone y/y revenue growth declining to 7.8%, down from 15.6% in Q4 2013. The strengths of Android L may indicate that these numbers are optimistic."

Private Castles in the Cloud | MIT Technology Review: "On June 25, the Supreme Court handed down a landmark ruling on digital privacy. In U.S. v. Wurie and Riley v. California, the court unanimously held that police generally require a warrant to search information on cell phones seized from people who have been arrested. Writing for eight of the justices (Justice Samuel Alito issued his own concurring opinion), Chief Justice John Roberts acknowledged that the court understood how this ruling might pose issues for law enforcement but said, “Our answer to the question of what police must do before searching a cell phone seized incident to an arrest is accordingly simple—get a warrant.”..."

Google I/O 2014: 10 Big Developments
InformationWeek
Google unveiled everything from Android to wearable news at its annual developers show. Here are the developments that matter most. Previous.

Facebook has been experimenting on you
Chicago Tribune
This might be the reason Facebook doesn't have a dislike button. ... which explains how and why Facebook used nearly 700,000 news feeds and ...

Facebook: NYC prosecutors got data on 381 users
USA TODAY
NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors building a sweeping disabilities-benefit fraud case got a trove of data from the Facebook accounts of more than 380 ...

Google Powered Up A Semi-Functional Project Ara Prototype Device at I/O
Forbes
A plethora of news has come out of Google Google's I/O conference this week, most of it revolving around Android and the company's plan to use its ...

Facebook News Feed: 5 Changes
InformationWeek
Gone are the days when Facebook showed you every post from every friend. Here's a look at Facebook's latest News Feed algorithm changes and ...

Microsoft to shutter security notification service
Computerworld
Computerworld - Microsoft on Friday said it would shut down its email ... Gregg Keizer covers Microsoft, security issues, Apple, Web browsers and ...

Google's cardboard VR headset is no joke -- it's great for the Oculus Rift
CNET
Google Cardboard is the company's DIY method for turning your Android smartphone ... When Google announced a do-it-yourself virtual reality kit made of cardboard ... WasGoogle mocking VR and poking fun at Oculus, the VR goggle makers Facebook acquired for $2 billion? .... Microsoft Surface Pro 3.

Microsoft rumored to be planning to replace 'Surface' branding with 'Lumia'
ZDNet
But according to known leaker @evleaks, Microsoft may be doing just that. According to his unnamed sources, Microsoft may be moving toward ...

Google Shuts Down TalkBin, A Feedback Platform For Businesses It Acquired In 2011
TechCrunch
TalkBin, a customer feedback platform for businesses that was incubated at Y Combinator and then acquired by Google in 2011, is being shut down ...

Google execs visit Cuba for first time to promote open Internet
Reuters
Google is on an official two-day visit "to promote the virtues of a free and ... Neither Google nor the Cuban government made any official statement ...

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Cryptocurrency Technology, Multiple Uses

Bitcoin may or may not be over, but cyrptocurrency technology is definitely viable --

Bitcoin Itself May Live or Die, but Cryptocurrencies Will Live On | MIT Technology Review: "....Smith believes that cryptocurrencies will have wide application across business and culture, including both banking and online advertising. For banks, Bitcoin is “just a new source of money,” he suggests. “Banks are very hungry to advance their value through technology.” It’s easy to imagine, say, HSBCoin, or BarclaysBucks, giving investors who want choice in the currencies they use the services of a trusted financial brand...." (read more at link above)

Can Somebody, Anybody, do something about Mark Zuckerberg's Messiah Complex?
Messiah Complex defined here. (read article at link below)
Can Mark Zuckerberg Save Children's Lives? | MIT Technology Review: "At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last evening, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg offered news that his company was helping out with app engineering for a pilot project delivering educational materials in Rwanda. This is laudable. But he also suggested he was a serious player in expanding global Internet access. This is misleading. And he fluidly conflated Facebook’s efforts with the saving of children’s lives. This is offensive...."

Google's next developer conference is all about modular smartphones | VentureBeat | Gadgets | by Devindra Hardawar: "Google announced today that it will host three developer conferences this year for its Project Ara modular smartphone concept, with the first set for April 14 and 15 in Mountain View, Calif."

The internet is f  ked | The Verge: " . . . . an uncomfortable pattern: FCC commissioners are drawn from the ranks of industry lobbyists, while industry lobbyists are drawn from the ranks of FCC commissioners. Current Chairman Wheeler has served as president and CEO of both the NCTA cable lobby and the CTIA wireless lobby; former Chairman Powell is now the current president and CEO of the NCTA; former Commissioner Meredith Baker, who voted in favor of the Comcast / NBCUniversal merger, is now the head of Comcast’s DC lobbying office.... "Somehow when they’re pushing through unpopular things that a few big companies want, the FCC can do it," says Aaron ... But not all hope is lost. "The FCC is scared of one thing: actual people," says Wu. "When they sense that something is a popular issue suddenly the FCC is terrified."..." (read more at link above)

What’s Up with WhatsApp’s High Price? | MIT Technology Review: " . . . Dividing a company’s active users by its market capitalization or fund-raising valuation, we find that Facebook deemed each WhatsApp user to be worth around $42. Not only is that very similar to the implied value of Instagram’s 22 million active users at the time Facebook announced that $1 billion acquisition last year, it’s much less than the value associated with each user of Snapchat, Twitter, or Pinterest. Each of the 1.1 billion active users of Facebook (which was left off the chart so that the others could be better visualized) is essentially being valued at about $150...."

Google, Microsoft agree: Cloud is now safe enough to use
CNET
At the annual RSA Conference held at the Moscone Center here on Wednesday, Microsoft Chief Information Security Officer Bret Arsenault and Google Director of Security for Google Apps Eran Feigenbaum explained their stances on cloud security at a panel ...

Google ordered to take down YouTube anti-Muslim video
San Jose Mercury News
Google must take down a controversial anti-Muslim video on YouTube that sparked protests across the Muslim world because keeping it on the website violates the rights of an actress who sued after she was duped into appearing in the film, a divided ...

Apple Asks Appeals Court to Toss Antitrust Ruling
Wall Street Journal (blog)
“The district court's own findings show that Apple offered a retail business model to the publishers that was in Apple's independent business interests and was attractive to the publishers, who were frustrated with Amazon.” A Justice Department ...

Apple ends security updates for Snow Leopard
CNNMoney
Apple has since released three new iterations of its Mac operating system, including Lion, Mountain Lion and Mavericks. The good news for Snow Leopard users is that upgrading to the latest operating system is relatively easy -- and free. Most Snow ...

Google hopes to deliver $50 customizable modular phones by early 2015
Los Angeles Times
In a report in Time magazine, Google said it is continuing to work on Project Ara, an effort to create phones that users can easily modify by switching their parts as though they are Lego blocks. Project Ara began in late 2012 under subsidiary Motorola ...

Microsoft ships Office 2013 SP1 the old-fashioned way
Computerworld
Computerworld - Microsoft delivered the first service pack for Office 2013 on Tuesday, making good on a promise last year to ship the update in early 2014 and synchronizing its release with prior editions' initial service packs. Office 2013 Service ...

Apple Updates Enterprise Tools for Large iOS Device Deployments ...
By Jordan Golson
Apple has updated the software used by large companies and educational institutions to deploy thousands of iPads and iPhones to employees and students. The changes toApple's Device Enrollment Program, its Volume Purchase Program, ...
MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors...

Google Launches Maps Gallery To Make Public Data Maps More ...
By Frederic Lardinois
Google today launched the Google Maps Gallery, an extension of the Google Maps Public Data Program it announced last October. The new gallery is meant to..
TechCrunch

Google Debuts Education Tool Oppia for Teaching Others
By Emil Protalinski
Google today launched a new online education tool called Oppia, currently an open source project with the goal of making it easy for anyone to create online interactive activities that others can learn from. Called explorations, these activities ...
The Next Web

Oppia: a tool for interactive learning | Google Open Source Blog
By Mary Radomile
Lots of online education is delivered using video and text. However, opportunities for learners to do things and get feedback on their work are also important — after all, one does not learn to play the piano by watching videos of many virtuoso ...
Google Open Source Blog

Google Wants Its Modular Ara Phone to Cost $50 - Gizmodo
By Jamie Condliffe
Google is taking its Ara modular smartphone platform increasingly seriously, and now in interviews with Time it has revealed that it aims to sell a simple version of the phone for as little as $50. Time has taken a deep dive into Google's modular ...

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Google sells Motorola but keeps Project Ara, Advanced Technology group

Analysis: Sale of Motorola to Lenovo: a smart play by both Google and Lenovo. Lenovo gains market share and credibility as global smartphone maker, just as they did with computers in the 1990s when they bought IBM's computer division. Google unloads Motorola (with terms and conditions), retains patents and the advanced technology group. Moto X and Moto G are big success stories which Lenovo can leverage. Google can concentrate on Android and its Google services for smartphones. Expect the phase-out of Nexus devices and many more "Google Play" devices from multiple OEMs, each offering the pure Google Android experience. "Google Android" is the new "Microsoft Windows" of computing. Contrast the Google-Lenovo deal with the money losing strategy of Microsoft buying Nokia. Smartphones are being commoditized. Prices will continue to decline, which is good for the consumer, but expect pricing pressure to prove difficult for both Microsoft Nokia and Apple iPhone in the long-term. Without scale and ability to manufacture on thin margins, only a few companies (principally Asian) will emerge with the bulk of marketshare. Xioami and Lenovo both seem poised to expand globally. Within 3 years, Samsung, Lenovo, and Xioami look to be the dominant players.  Apple, Nokia and the others will be under severe pricing pressure from this point forward. In the meantime, Google will accelerate innovation of the Android operating system (which it gives away for free), and all Google services for smartphones.

Google to keep Motorola's Advanced Technology group, including Project Ara modular phone | The Verge: "The best part of Motorola is moving to the Android team - Google's blockbuster $2.9 billion sale of Motorola Mobility to Lenovo won't include the Advanced Technology and Projects group led by former DARPA director Regina Dugan. The news was confirmed today on a conference call with Lenovo, and sources familiar with the matter say the group will be integrated with Google's Android team, where Dugan will report to Sundar Pichai but maintain a more independent role. Dugan, who was named to The Verge 50 earlier this year, manages a team of just under 100 people, all of whom will be moving from their current offices in Sunnyvale to Google's Mountain View office..."

Google Keeps ‘Vast Majority’ Of Motorola Mobility Patents In Sale To Lenovo | TechCrunch: "Motorola Mobility is being sold to Lenovo, in a deal worth $2.91B. Google is divesting itself of the handset division it purchased for $12.5B in 2011, but it will keep some of the assets — including patents..."

Official Google Blog: Lenovo to acquire Motorola Mobility: "... Lenovo has the expertise and track record to scale Motorola into a major player within the Android ecosystem. They have a lot of experience in hardware, and they have global reach. In addition, Lenovo intends to keep Motorola’s distinct brand identity—just as they did when they acquired ThinkPad from IBM in 2005. Google will retain the vast majority of Motorola’s patents, which we will continue to use to defend the entire Android ecosystem. The deal has yet to be approved in the U.S. or China, and this usually takes time. So until then, it’s business as usual. I’m phenomenally impressed with everything the Motorola team has achieved and confident that with Lenovo as a partner, Motorola will build more and more great products for people everywhere."

Microsoft's Open Compute Move: Just Good PR?
InformationWeek
Microsoft surprised the tech industry Tuesday when it joined the open-source hardware movement, announcing at the Open Compute Summit in San Jose that it would offer the Open Compute Project (OCP) specifications used in Microsoft datacenters as well ...

Amazon to Offer Kindle Checkout System to Physical Retailers
Wall Street Journal
To accelerate the project, Amazon last year bought certain technology and hired some engineers from GoPago Inc., a San Francisco startup that offered checkout systems linked to a smartphone app, the people said. GoPago is now a unit of DoubleBeam Inc.

Microsoft is about to take Windows XP off life support
CNN
After April 8, Windows XP computers will be more susceptible to malware and viruses beginning, since Microsoft will no longer address major holes in the software. Although antivirus software will continue to fend off some malicious attacks, Microsoft's ...

Exclusive: Google close to settling EU antitrust probe - sources
Reuters
EU regulators will not seek feedback from the 125 rivals, including Microsoft and third parties, who commented on Google's previous proposals as they have a clear idea of their thinking after the last two market tests, the official said. RIVALS READY ...

5 Apple Patents Hint At Surprises
InformationWeek
If such a device comes to market, a 2011 Apple patent that describes an iPad keyboard accessory is sure to generate attention. The patent describes a flexible Smart Cover that doubles as a keyboard, broadly like Microsoft's Type Cover for its Surface line.
“Honey Encryption” Could Trick Criminals with Spoof Data | MIT Technology Review: "...Juels and Ristenpart will present a paper on Honey Encryption at the Eurocryptcryptography conference later this year. Juels is also working on building a system based on it to protect the data stored by password manager services such as LastPass and Dashlane. These services store all of a person’s different passwords in an encrypted form, protected by a single master password, so that software can automatically enter them into websites...."

MEXICO CITY: Monarch butterflies drop, migration may disappear - Technology - MiamiHerald.com: "The stunning and little-understood annual migration of millions of Monarch butterflies to spend the winter in Mexico is in danger of disappearing, experts said Wednesday, after numbers dropped to their lowest level since record-keeping began in 1993. Their report blamed the displacement of the milkweed the species feeds on by genetically modified crops and urban sprawl in the United States, extreme weather trends and the dramatic reduction of the butterflies' habitat in Mexico due to illegal logging of the trees they depend on for shelter."

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