davidnield.blogspot.com

The iPad 3 rumour mill

2012-02-14T13:26:00.000Z

Looks like the iPad 3 will be launching sometime next month, if Apple's previous form is to believed. Of course, the launch of an iPad is big news, though there won't be much warning -- as a result, we get dozens of rumour round up pieces. Have a look how similar this Guardian article is to what I wrote last year.

Update: to be fair to the Guardian, they saw the funny side and even linked to this blog.

Inside Instagram

2012-02-07T17:22:00.002Z

Gizmodo has a worthwhile article on the brains behind Instagram, the phenomenally successfully iOS-only photo sharing service. It's interesting because Instagram doesn't immediately stand out as doing anything new or particularly innovative, but what it does, it does very well and very simply.

Those who use and love Instagram are locked to their iPhones in far tighter fashion than any contract could ever manage. Just ask someone whose Instagrams show up regularly in your Facebook or Twitter feed; they'll tell you they're incapable of using a phone that doesn't have the service. Yes, Instagram is where your friends drop photos of their lunch. But it's more than that: It's a real-time window that peers out into the wide world. It's where millions post photos of revolutions, riots, the ugly, the beautiful, and the banal. Abandon the iPhone and that window slams shut. And that's a powerful incentive to stay put.

Who does Google think you are?

2012-02-07T16:28:00.000Z

Here's a fun game, depending on your definition of fun: point your browser towards http://google.com/ads/preferences to see what Google has surmised about you, based on your recent browsing history (assuming you've been signed in, of course).

It will have a stab at your age, your gender, and the sorts of topics you're interested in.

eReader format wars

2012-02-06T18:13:00.000Z

Buying an eReader? If you're picking up a Kindle, you need to be aware of the formats it does (and doesn't) support. The problem with protected formats, like those the Kindle favours, are that if you decide to switch to a different manufacturer then you could render your library redundant. See also: movies and TV shows from iTunes.

The situation is something of a mess at the moment, but Matt Stephens attempts to cut through the clutter at The Register. Follow the link to learn about the latest state of play and what you need to be aware of.

We're all critics now

2012-02-03T16:56:00.000Z

In case you hadn't noticed, the Internet is changing everything. At first glance, 'user reviews' seem to be A Good Thing -- find out what that hotel in Liverpool is really like. Discover if the Nikon camera you've got your eye on really has the battery life the manufacturer claims it has. Find out what barry_g_99 thinks of your favourite book on Amazon. But where does it leave the professional critic? Suzanne Moore in The Guardian has a few ideas:

Trust is the issue here. Why do I listen to certain people telling me about a film or an exhibition? Because I know they know much more than me. I respect their experience, no matter how much marketing may seek to critic-proof some duff product. So yes, we are all critics now but some are more equal than others. A quick trip to TripAdvisor soon demonstrates that not everyone tells you the things you actually want to know. In this never-ending review of everything, credibility is still hard to fake.

Do you believe Mark Kermode, or an average score on the IMDB?

TV: to tweet or not to tweet

2012-02-03T13:47:00.000Z

Have you noticed people tweeting during TV shows? Often using the relevant hashtag. I always spot it when Question Time or Doctor Who is on, probably because I never watch them so am more likely to be checking Twitter instead. Is this a fun and stimulating way of engaging with fellow viewers? Or an unwelcome distraction from the main event itself? According to The Telegraph, the BBC's John Tate says:

Interactivity has its place but you don't want to overdo it – shows like Sherlock and Frozen Planet on the BBC are very intense for the viewer and need people not to be distracted.

I agree. Watch first, tweet later.

Check-ins: what's the point?

2012-02-03T11:32:00.000Z

Why are you 'checking in' on your service of choice: Facebook, Foursquare, Latitude? Gowalla has fallen by the wayside, and Paul Lloyd has something to say about that:

I remember visiting nearby cities in the hope that I could add new stamps to my passport or find items missing from my collection. Yet a recurring question would be asked every time me and my colleagues checked into the same spots at lunchtime: "Why are we actually doing this?". Having checked in once, there was little incentive to do so again. Foursquare's approach was very different. Here, you earned points not stamps, so the aim of the game was abundantly clear; earn more points than your friends. Therefore it made sense to check-in to the same spot — especially if you wanted to snatch a coveted mayorship! I found this approach rather crass, but it proved to have popular appeal.

The idea of earning points, mayorships or virtual stamps doesn't really appeal to me. In my mind the only advantages of checking in to places on Facebook or Google Latitude (easy and automatic if you have an Android phone) is to:

keep a sort of online diary/travel log
let your friends know where you are (no need to text "are you there yet?" or indeed "where's this place?")
for Latitude, get recommendations based on places I've already rated

While it may seem like geeky oversharing to some, I'm a fan of the check-in. As long as you can carefully control who can see what and when -- as Google Latitude enables you to do -- it has its uses. If you can check in automatically without even looking at your phone -- as Google Latitude enables you to do -- all the better.

Remote access made easy with TeamViewer

2012-02-01T13:34:00.000Z

Not too long ago, accessing one PC from another over the Web was a complex task involving a seemingly endless tangle of advanced network settings and firewall workarounds. Thankfully, the situation has improved beyond recognition -- my favourite tool for the job is TeamViewer, which is easy, fast, and free.

Install the client software on your computer and you'll be able to access it from a Web browser anywhere else in the world with nothing more than a username and a password. It's probably a little too basic for advanced users, but it includes everything that I need.

Apple buy Hollywood? That's a terrible idea

2012-01-31T20:58:00.000Z

Some well-expressed thoughts from Jordan Kurzweil on why Apple shouldn't buy a stake in Hollywood, and how content companies differ from tech ones (for the time being):

In contrast to the Hollywood marketing machine, tech companies devalue content. Some would say they do this by making movies, TV shows, music and apps ubiquitously available for low cost, or, for OMG free! But really, tech companies devalue media by jamming it into impenetrable noisy troves, stacks and databases filled with other content of equal, better or worse quality making it completely undiscoverable. Look at iTunes, NetFlix, Amazon and YouTube – tell me, where's the good stuff at?

"Noisy troves" exactly describes iTunes, Amazon and YouTube.

Boost your Wi-Fi signal

2012-01-30T18:42:00.000Z

Sure, you could just clear out Internet Explorer's cache and hope for the best, or you could build your own repeater and get Wi-Fi in the nearby park... here's an interesting tutorial on how it was done.

Unfriend everyone

2012-01-23T20:41:00.000Z

Some useful advice at Gizmodo about cutting down your Facebook and Twitter friends lists. Including:

If it's a friend of a friend of a friend, or a date who went nowhere, you'll probably never see them again. And if you'll probably never see them again, why should they be on any list at all? Dump 'em.

Getting started with Pinterest

2012-01-23T13:28:00.000Z

Pinterest is the latest fast-growing instant-sharing social-network-microblog site to be gaining attention in the tech press. Create a Pinterest page for yourself, and you can divide it into separate boards based around topics -- photos of your garden, book recommendations, cute pictures of puppies and so on.

You can follow other boards, and be followed in turn, and it feels a lot like Tumblr. 'Repin' replaces 'reblog', and at first glance a Pinterest page looks very much like a Tumblr blog with a grid-style theme applied. The emphasis is on quickly sharing interesting content you find on the Web, and you can send out updates via Twitter and Facebook whenever you find something new.

It's not quite as flexible as Tumblr, perhaps in an attempt to be easier to use, and it's difficult to share something that isn't a picture or a video. There are no layout options for your board, and few ways to customise your page, and it can be difficult to make sense of the stream of stuff coming in -- links to posh coats mingle with shots of celebrities and recipe ideas. If you want to give it a try, get in touch via @davidnield for an invite.

Fujitsu shows off combined laptop-tablet-camera-phone

2012-01-20T20:51:00.000Z

Put your credit card away -- it's just a concept at the moment -- but this is Fujitsu's idea for combining a laptop, tablet, camera and phone into one handy device, pooling storage and processing power. More details over at Cnet.

Netflix vs Lovefilm

2012-01-20T13:18:00.000Z

A handy cut-out-and-keep guide at Pocket Lint about the differences between the two big players in UK streaming. My own not-very-well-researched take: Lovefilm has the better film selection, but Netflix has more interesting TV choices (especially in terms of US series). If you're unable to decide, you can get a month's free trial of both services.

SOPA, PIPA and Internet culture

2012-01-20T01:48:00.000Z

The recent hullabaloo over the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) gave us another example of the 'Twitter mob' in action -- thousands and millions of users instantly up in arms, without really being sure what they were up in arms about. Wikipedia went dark, and many other major sites displayed a protest of their own, while most ordinary users were simply confused. Was the Internet about to be shut down?

Instant social media tools like Twitter and Facebook mean that anyone can comment on anything at any time, lending their voice to a cause in nanoseconds. At the Guardian, Suzanne Moore writes:

Lately [the Internet at large] is fairly delusional and this culture of outrage denies rather than extends civil liberties. Do not mistake it for a real argument about free speech when it functions as the diametric opposite. You have, you see, every right to offend me. But not to censor me. And vice versa. That difference, often lost in cyberspace, is the one worth defending.

She is talking about taking offence, and the rather disproportionate reactions that followed comments from, for example, Jeremy Clarkson (strikers) and Diane Abbott (racism). The same reflexes were seen in the shouting match over SOPA and PIPA, as reasoned and balanced dialogue was abandoned in favour of a flurry of panic, hashtags and forwarded links that were probably never even clicked on, let alone read. Matt Asay, at the Register:

You or I may disagree, but it would be useful if we were to do so through thoughtful conversation, rather than 140-character bursts of indignation, self-censorship of websites, etc... Victory isn't victory when a bill is killed simply because it's been shouted down, but rather when there is a meeting of the minds over the essential facts around a problem, and real solutions are broached and agreed upon. It's a discussion we need to have out in the open, without all the name-calling and sloganeering. Ironically, this sort of nuanced communication would likely encourage the rest of the tech industry -- the Ciscos and IBMs and Oracles of the world -- to join the conversation. To date, they've largely stayed on the sidelines, as they have interests on both sides of the debate.

In a world where we are producing digital goods as well as physical ones, the rights of the content creators need to be protected -- it's simply not acceptable for a music album or movie to be distributed for free against the wishes of those who created it. At the same time, animated GIFs of Sherlock episodes and music mash-ups are what help make the Internet such a vibrant and creative place.

The answer -- as always -- is to find a balance, a balance between the rights of the content creators and common sense. Unfortunately, the Web at large is looking less and less like the sort of environment where you can have a well thought out, informed argument. The Oatmeal sums up the central issues rather well, and its worth having a look at its anti-SOPA page:

As someone who creates content for the Web, earns a living from it, and has had his content pirated, I do feel that we need better legislation against online piracy. I do not, however, think that SOPA or PIPA are the legislation we need.

Journalism's answer to The Apprentice

2012-01-18T13:35:00.000Z

From the Press Gazette:

ITV has teamed up with magazine publisher Bauer Media for a new show billed as journalism's answer to The Apprentice.

The Exclusives, which will be screened on ITV2 later this year, is a seven-part series that will culminate in one wannabe reporter landing a 12-month contract with Bauer.

Six trainees will get to work closely with the teams behind some of the UK's biggest magazines including Heat, FHM, Closer, More!, Kerrang! and Empire.

Billed by whom?

What is Tumblr?

2012-01-12T10:32:00.000Z

Luv & Hat sums it up rather well:

Actually, it's a blogging platform. But it's not like BORING blogging platforms like Wordpress (for squares) or Blogger (all right GRANDDAD). Tumblr gets us. It knows we're social - that's why it lets us follow people. And it knows we're busy. We have eyeliner to apply. We have fingernails to paint individual colours. We have motherfucking badges to pin to our hoodies and skate shoes to painstakingly scuff and unlace. We don't have time to sit down, log in, then use words to describe how alienated we feel or how niche we are. I mean seriously. Words. What is this, Vietnam?

Choosing the right gadget

2012-01-11T13:52:00.000Z

There are a plethora of gadget and electronics reviews on the Web, but it's not always easy sorting the wheat from the chaff. The Wirecutter is simple, straightforward and useful -- the projector section includes A Great Projector, A Good Projector and The Best Projector Under $1000, for example. Good to see the Galaxy Nexus listed as the best Android phone as well...

(via Daring Fireball)

Netflix launches in the UK

2012-01-11T13:16:00.000Z

Good news for movie and TV streaming enthusiasts -- Netflix has launched in the UK, and is offering users a one month free trial when signing up at the website. Once the trial has expired, the service costs £5.99 a month for as many movies and shows as you can handle.

As it probably already knows, Netflix is going to sink or swim depending on its content library. Here are a few TV searches I ran to try and eek the most out of my free trial period:

Dexter - first two series
Family Guy - nothing
Twin Peaks - both series
The Simpsons - nothing
Cracker - all three series
The Wire - nothing
Inspector Morse - all eight series
Prime Suspect - all seven series
Prison Break - all four series
24 - all eight series
Poirot - series 8-12
Sherlock Homes - nothing
Miss Marple - nothing
Breaking Bad - first two series
True Blood - nothing
Peep Show - all seven series

Netflix's deal with ITV shining through there, though it's surprising that the Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes series isn't included. Despite some omissions, it's encouraging to see plenty of US television available (Dexter, 24, Prison Break), though the emphasis is on older content. On to the movies, where I searched for some of my favourites:

Empire Of The Sun - no
Dead Poets Society - yes
The Royal Tenenbaums - no
Magnolia - no
Requiem For A Dream - yes
Withnail & I - no

Patchy performance as far as films are concerned. I didn't bother with more recent releases, as I assume deals for these are already tied up with Lovefilm, Sky Movies and the like. Streaming packages from companies such as Netflix, Lovefilm and others are the way forward, but such is the muddle of TV and film rights deals that it's going to be very difficult for any one of them to be distinctive -- while a single one-stop streaming service that offers anything any time is very attractive for consumers, there are too many interested parties wanting a slice of the revenue for it to happen.

Remove old versions of Chrome

2012-01-11T11:52:00.001Z

According to Lifehacker, in some cases Google Chrome keeps an archive of older versions on your hard drive. It doesn't happen on every system, so far as they can tell, but if you want to check for and remove these out-dated installations, a free app is available.

Create a personalised notebook with your tweets

2012-01-05T19:26:00.000Z

TweetNotebook, anyone? Create a notebook personalised with one of your tweets on every page... would suit some Twitterers more than others.

Get a Windows 8 start page

2012-01-05T13:22:00.003Z

Eight is a nifty Windows 8-style start page for your Web browser. Visit the site for the download and instructions on how to set it up.

Windows 8 will use 'refresh' instead of 'reinstall'

2012-01-05T11:18:00.000Z

Welcome news for anyone who has lost an afternoon trying to reinstall Windows and get their applications and folders back in place afterwards: Windows 8 will include a 'refresh' facility that removes most of this hassle. From the developer blog:

Refresh functionality is fundamentally still a reinstall of Windows, just like resetting your PC as described above, but your data, settings, and Metro style apps are preserved. We have a solution to help you with your desktop apps, too, which I'll talk about a little later. The coolest part about Refresh is there's no need to first back up your data to an external hard drive and restore them afterwards.

This is a great idea, as reinstalling Windows is sometimes the only way to remove stubborn problems and regain performance. There's more on the new feature at The Next Web.

Why not offer the first episode of every TV series for free?

2012-01-04T19:33:00.000Z

A good idea by Peter Sciretta:

I purchase and watch a lot of streaming content, TV shows and movies, be it on Netflix, AppleTV and iPad (which I use at the gym and while traveling). This week, ABC launched a promotion allowing users to download all 9-episodes of Pan-Am for free. The move is a desperate last chance attempt to drive interest in the series, which is on the edge of cancellation. Will it work? I'm not sure — it could be too late. But it is a smart move and it got me thinking. Why don't networks offer the first episode of every television series for free?

With the arrival of Spotify and catch-up TV consumers are less and less inclined to part with their money unless they know they like something, and this would be a great way of encouraging people to check out older shows or series that they missed.

Dropbox Automator automates Dropbox

2012-01-04T13:44:00.000Z

Dropbox Automator is a cloud-based app that will perform certain actions -- such as sending a photo to Facebook, or converting a Word file to PDF -- whenever a file of a specific format appears in your Dropbox. While there are some kinks, it's in the early stages of development, and shows a lot of promise.

Fireplace screensaver

2012-01-03T18:37:00.000Z

Ted Martens has made a fun Fireplace screensaver that displays a pixellated roaring fire on your screen -- you can interact with it by dropping on extra logs, burning paper or toasting a marshmallow. Download it for Windows or Mac from here.

The evolution of digital music

2012-01-03T13:54:00.000Z

When MP3s and Winamp arrived on the scene, it completely changed the way I listened to music. No longer did I listen to one CD, then get up and replace it with another from the shelf; now I could queue up the complete works of R.E.M. in one go, or shuffle between thousands of songs with a single click. Smart playlists made life even easier, enabling me to listen to my favourite songs more often, pick out tracks I hadn't listened to in a while, and produce random mixes for taking on the move.

With the arrival of Spotify and other such streaming services, the way I listen to music has changed again. Now I'm much more likely to listen to new music, and far less likely to pay for MP3s or CDs. Thanks to Spotify the idea of paying money for an album that I haven't already listened to dozens of times seems absurd. While the app doesn't yet support smart playlists (back to manually queueing songs), it lets you listen to (almost) anything you like for one flat fee -- the freedom that the digital music revolution offered has now become something of a problem, because there is so much to listen to.

A couple of years ago, I would never have spent £7.99 or whatever the price is to buy the Dragon Tattoo soundtrack; today, I can listen to it as part of my Spotify subscription (£9.99 a month). I doubt very much I'll listen to it more than a few times, but it's interesting and worth checking out. So this morning I'm listening to the soundtrack instead of cycling back through my iTunes library -- a better or a worse scenario? Well, it depends how attached you are to your older songs and albums.

The answer, as it is to most questions, is to find a balance -- there's no point in either endlessly cycling through older albums or ploughing through new material without pausing for breath. While Spotify currently offers the best option for combining existing MP3s with new music, the smart playlists and album views sported by iTunes are much more appealing for managing a large collection. These are the features Spotify should be working on, and an album's worth of MP3 downloads for an extra £2 a month wouldn't go amiss either.

Missing apps on the Android Market

2012-01-03T13:02:00.000Z

The Android Market app has built-in filters that will block apps that aren't compatible with your device or available in your country -- as a result, something that appears in a Web search at https://market.android.com won't appear when you search for it on your phone or tablet.

Yahoo's new IntoNow app is one example. It's possible to find it on the Android Market in a Web browser, but once you've signed in with a UK-based Google Account, the option to install it will be greyed out. If you live in the UK, you won't be able to find it when searching from a tablet or phone.

The policy has the benefit of preventing you from installing apps that are incompatible with your device. The only downside is that you can't see apps that may be available for your country or device in the near future without switching to a Web browser.

Lovefilm, Netflix and streaming TV in the UK

2011-12-21T18:26:00.000Z

Amazon-owned DVD-rental-and-part-time-streaming service Lovefilm has announced a deal with Sony to show its films and TV shows, reports TNW:

The multi-year content deal will give LoveFilm members exclusive streaming access to new and upcoming Sony Pictures titles during the second subscription pay TV window, as well as catalogue titles and TV series. The deal will kick-in from June 2012.

Those of you who are following this will know that Netflix is at long last arriving in the UK next year, and has signed a collection of deals itself, with the likes of Miramax, MGM and Lionsgate. With the TV channels' own streaming and catch-up services to add to the mix, it's going to be a confusing year for any Brits wanting to watch their favourite shows over the Web. MG Siegler is American, but he isn't happy either:

If you could remove your lips from the cable company teet for a minute, you'd find hundreds of thousands — and likely millions — of customers happy to pay a premium for access to HBO Go without the cable requirement right now. That number is only going to grow. And fast.

Watching over the Web is the future of TV, but at the moment the TV, satellite and cable companies are dragging their feet in much the same way as the music industry did pre-iTunes and Spotify. If I had my way, I'd make everyone put all of their content up on YouTube to access any time, anywhere, supported by adverts -- a little bit like Channel 4 does.

Google+ and PicasaWeb Albums

2011-12-21T13:34:00.000Z

Google+ gives a lot of prominence to photos and photo features -- it's one of the five navigation buttons at the top of the screen, and users can upload an unlimited number of pictures. If you have the Google+ app installed on your Android device, you can automatically upload photos and videos to the service, as well as through the browser.

Google already has a Web-based photo-sharing service, however -- PicasaWeb Albums. At the moment, there's an uneasy integration between the two. Tagging and sharing now works across both of these platforms in virtually the same way, but it's important to note that any photos uploaded through Google+ will be resized if they are larger than 2048 x 2048 pixels. If you have paid for extra Google storage, and want to keep the original resolutions, upload your pictures through PicasaWeb Albums instead. Read more on the official help page here: PicasaWeb Albums and Google+

Nexus tablet on the way

2011-12-20T15:35:00.001Z

Not content with putting out highly specced, pure Android phones under the Nexus banner, Google has its sights on the tablet market too, if comments by chairman Eric Schmidt are to be believed. It makes sense, really. More here: Eric Schmidt says improved Google tablet coming within six months

Back up SMS and MMS messages and calls on Android

2011-12-19T15:01:00.000Z

For those of you searching for a simple app to archive all of your SMS and MMS messages and call logs to Gmail, my recommendation is SMS Backup+. It uses IMAP and a handful of customised labels to mirror your texts to your Gmail account, which means you have a handy reference to browse or search through.

Social networks

2011-12-19T11:48:00.001Z

Louie Mantia offers an honest and insightful appraisal of the social network landscape:

What does Facebook have to offer today that's unique? For some people, it's a connection with their loved ones: their extended family. It's easier than email. It's not easy however, to convince your family to use Twitter or another social network. Not everyone spends the amount of time connected to the Internet as some of us. Most of my extended family rarely checks their email or can't remember their email password to begin with. It’s not easy to get someone started on "another thing".

More here: Social networks

An iPhone Lover’s Take On The Galaxy Nexus

2011-12-16T13:38:00.000Z

Tech blogging heavyweight and Apple fan MG Siegler has been sharing his thoughts on the Galaxy Nexus over at TechCrunch. One paragraph in particular has been gathering a lot of attention:

Unfortunately, the system still lacks much of the fine polish that iOS users enjoy. The majority of Android users will probably think such criticism is bullshit, but that has always been the case. I imagine it's probably hard for a Mercedes owner to describe to a Honda owner how attention to detail makes their driving experience better when both machines get them from point A to point B. As a Honda owner myself, I'm not sure I would buy it — I'd have to experience it to understand it, I imagine. And most Android lovers are not going to spend enough time with iOS to fully appreciate the differences.

I used to have an iPhone back in the days before everyone had them, and I enjoyed using it. It's true that iOS is generally more polished than Android, though the car comparison doesn't really work. The reasons I stuck with Android when the Galaxy Nexus came out rather than, say, getting the iPhone 4S include: better Google integration (the Android Gmail app is definitely Mercedes-level), a more customisable interface, and because I really don't like the iOS interface very much.

Whenever I look at someone else's iPhone now it just looks grey, white and drab. The same style in all the apps and on all the pop-ups. Of course Android has its own level of uniformity too, up to a point, but to my eyes it's more striking and more appealing, and definitely more flexible. Android apps have their own style and a home screen that can be populated with widgets and shortcut bars isn't something I'd want to lose. MG Siegler's article is here: An iPhone Lover's Take On The Galaxy Nexus

The demise of quality content on the Web

2011-12-14T16:01:00.000Z

Rian van der Merwe at Elezea:

I remember exactly when I decided to stop reading Mashable. I saw the headline Facebook Users Beware: Facebook's New Feature Could Embarrass You on Twitter, clicked through, hunted for the words of the article among the sea of ads and social sharing icons, and then closed the tab after realising it's just another rehash of Facebook frictionless sharing (albeit in a tantalising way). I went back to my Twitter feed and unfollowed them.

Unfortunately, very accurate. More here: The demise of quality content on the Web

Is Facebook making us miserable?

2011-12-13T13:41:00.000Z

Daniel Gulati certainly thinks so... plenty of 'Likes' for his recent article on how Facebook is changing the way we interact with each other and even affecting our happiness. Gulati says there are three key factors to consider:

First, it's creating a den of comparison... comparing ourselves to others is a key driver of unhappiness.

Don't forget people only share good news or photos that show them in a positive light, so your friends aren't living such a blissful fulfilled life as their profile pages might suggest.

Second, it's fragmenting our time. Not surprisingly, Facebook's "horizontal" strategy encourages users to log in more frequently from different devices.

Absolutely true. I may try limiting the amount of time I check Facebook... don't want to miss anything, though.

Last, there's a decline of close relationships... each time a Facebook interaction replaces a richer form of communication -- such as an in-person meeting, a long phone call, or even a date at a restaurant -- people miss opportunities to interact more deeply than Facebook could ever accommodate.

As far as I'm concerned, Facebook doesn't replace real-life interactions -- it just makes them easier to arrange and gives you something to talk about when you get there. It also lets you keep in touch with people you would never see anyway.

Most of Gulati's article is well thought-out and interesting to read: Facebook Is Making Us Miserable

Syncing contacts in Ice Cream Sandwich

2011-12-13T13:22:00.000Z

Ice Cream Sandwich, the latest version of Android, offers more contact syncing options than ever before, though as yet the Facebook integration found in Gingerbread is still lacking. Unlike some people on my contacts list, Tim is actually a real-life genuine friend, and I've added him on Facebook, Twitter, Last.fm and Google+. Ice Cream Sandwich pulls all of this information together in the People app, provided you have these third-party apps installed, but at the moment the process is still a little rough around the edges. The high-resolution contact image that takes precedence over everything else is the one in Google+, not the one being used in Google Contacts. It seems Google is keen to have individuals update their own profile pictures and contact details -- it recently announced that addresses and such like stored in Google+ could be automatically pushed to Google Contacts.

Swipe to the right and you can read the last updates from Twitter, Last.fm and Google+. Presumably Facebook integration is on the way, though there has been no official word yet from either party -- since the launch of Google+ the rivalry between the two companies is stronger than ever, but it would make no sense to leave Facebook integration out of Android for either Mark Zuckerberg or Larry Page. There are still minor bugs that Google needs to iron out to fully integrate the People app with Google Contacts, Google+ and the other third-party services. In the app, tap Accounts in the menu to see which services you can sync -- this list will vary depending on the other apps installed and set up on your device. Facebook appears under the Add Account option, but selecting it has no effect for the time being.

How Google is using Gmail, YouTube and Android to pull you into Google+

2011-12-09T13:50:00.000Z

After the initial fanfare, Google+ began to look like the extra social network that no one really needed. It's obvious that users aren't going to switch en masse from Facebook over a couple of days, so Google is quietly and confidently integrating bits of Google+ into everything else it does.

The company has had its fair share of failures, but it has had some phenomenal success stories, besides search -- Gmail, YouTube, Android and Chrome. If Google+ is tied closely enough to these products, you might not even notice you're using the social network at all.

Ice Cream Sandwich now makes extensive use of Google+ when syncing contacts, YouTube recently underwent a revamp with Google+ shares displayed prominently, and Gmail is the latest service to be given a Google+ shot in the arm. Gmail could well prove to be Google+'s secret weapon, if it keeps all of your contacts sorted and updated. Facebook has also tried to move the other way, into email and messaging, but I find it too limiting and too closed off to use regularly. While Google may be trying to build a walled garden of its own, it's much easier to manage and get out of.

How to get the most out of Google

2011-12-08T13:12:00.000Z

There's a handy infographic over at HackCollege that covers some of Google's hidden features, which you may not know about. The guide covers searching by site, finding related terms, restricting searches by date, looking for particular file types, making quick calculations, and more besides. More here: Get More Out Of Google

Google Authenticator, Ice Cream Sandwich, and 2-step verification

2011-12-06T23:57:00.000Z

I ran into something of a problem yesterday when my browser asked for a verification code in order to let me into my Google Account -- if you've switched on 2-step verification for your account (and you should) this is a standard prompt that appears every 30 days, asking for a verification code as well as your Google password in order to prove you are who you say you are.

As normal, I fired up the Google Authenticator app on my Android phone, but this was the first time I'd used it on my new Ice Cream Sandwich-powered Galaxy Nexus. For whatever reason, the codes weren't working, so I couldn't get into my Google Account. Nor could I get a new pass key for my phone, as I couldn't get into my account.

This is why it's important that you have configured alternative methods for getting in. As well as using the Authenticator app, Google also lets you send a code to a backup phone number, or use one of the backup codes generated when you turn 2-step verification on. Thankfully, I had these codes to hand and was able to log in. If you've lost these codes, or not set up a phone number, you might be out of luck.

As for the Authenticator app, it seems that changing phones or resetting phones messes with the codes that are generated. Once I was into my Google Account, I turned off 2-step verification for the Android phone, re-enabled it, generated a new pass key and then added my account from scratch in the Authenticator app. This is a Google-sanctioned troubleshooting method which you can find here.

If you have set up 2-step verification on your Google Account, make sure you've configured alternative ways of getting in, and keep your backup codes in a very safe place.

My 10 years of blogging

2011-12-05T22:46:00.000Z

Om Malik has some reflections on being a tech blogger:

Be regular. And show up to blog every day. After all you are as fresh as your last blog post.

More here: My 10 years of blogging

Can the Smurfs help UltraViolet kill off the DVD?

2011-12-05T19:05:00.000Z

CNET's Greg Sandoval reports on UltraViolet, the digital locker system designed to replace DVDs and Blu-rays:

One of the major problems with online film distribution is that movies are available in different formats or with different digital rights management and that means a movie purchased from online store A often won't play on device from electronics maker B. UV is supposed to end all that.

A cloud-based movie service that works across different stores and retailers and devices? Sounds too good to be true. More here: Can the Smurfs help UltraViolet kill off the DVD?

"Sometimes a police state is a good thing"

2011-12-05T14:03:00.001Z

Patrick Hayes at Spiked looks at the case of the tram lady exposed on Twitter and other networks:

Welcome to a twenty-first-century Twitch Hunt. That term, coined in 2009 by spiked editor Brendan O'Neill, sums up this Orwellian modern phenomenon, where a mob of illiberal liberals on Twitter work with the authorities to silence those who dare to utter words that offend their sensibilities.

Cases such as the tram lady and the recent furore over Jeremy Clarkson's comments on striking workers demonstrate how the breakneck pace of social networks and the Web can inflame situations. Everyone rushes to get an opinion out (particularly when there is condemning to be done), and no one knows the context. Everything must be bite-sized and black-and-white.

More here: "Sometimes a police state is a good thing"

A scenario where smartphones take down the PC

2011-12-05T13:57:00.001Z

Patrick Moorhead at Tech.pinions:

If posed with the question, "if you had to choose between your phone or the PC, which one would you pick?" Sure, most want both, but making them choose makes them prioritise, and most would pick the phone.

An interesting look at how phones and tablets are changing the computing landscape. More here: A scenario where smartphones take down the PC

Chrome OS part 62

2011-12-01T22:44:00.000Z

Clint Boulton has been writing about Chrome OS and Chromebooks over at eWeek.

I picked up the Cr-48 this time last year and a Series 5 this past summer. I enjoy them, but not so much that I'd rather use them than this Dell Latitude Windows 7 notebook I typed this on, or even my Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 to do Web surfing or blogging.

Personally I'd prefer using a Chromebook for all of those tasks. If you don't need anything other than a Web browser, why boot up your Windows laptop? To download the latest security updates? As for tablets, I can't get excited about them at all. I'd rather watch movies on a big screen. If I'm just checking Facebook or Twitter quickly I'd rather use my phone.

More here: Should Chrome OS Stay or Go Now?

The new Last.fm app on Spotify

2011-12-01T18:42:00.000Z

Yesterday's news was that Spotify now has built-in apps - to see them, you need to upgrade to the preview build of the client, which you can download here. Among the first apps to see the light of day are ones from The Guardian, Pitchfork, and Last.fm, which I'm looking at here. The thinking is that you can read music reviews, lyrics and get recommendations from inside the client itself.

Welcome to the Last.fm app! Here's the good news: you can start playing your recommended music straight away (or add it to an existing playlist), the focus is on albums rather than individual tracks, and you can instantly see information about the band you're listening to.

The bad news: you can't access your recommended radio, individual song shout boxes, or detailed history information from within the app. As these are three of my favourite Last.fm features, I think I'll be spending most of my time on the Last.fm website, as I do now.

As for the move to apps in general, I'm not sure how useful it's going to be. I'd love to see Last.fm fully integrated with Spotify, so my recommended radio appears as a playlist, for example. I tried out The Guardian's app, which lets you listen to the relevant music while you read the review, but I'd rather have this as an option on the Guardian website.

The reaction on the Web has been less than enthusiastic. Brad McCarty at The Next Web writes:

It's the same problem that we've seen with AOL, Facebook and the like – a walled garden, lacking in outside benefit to both developers and users.

More here: Apps are Spotify's answer to all the wrong questions

Flavors.me: less About.me, more Tumblr.com

2011-12-01T13:09:00.000Z

Flavors.me acts like an online business card - once you've signed up for a username and URL, you can display a short bit of biographical information together with links to all of your content and accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Last.fm, Blogger, Tumblr, and so on). It's always been put in the same bracket as About.me, which does more or less the same thing.

Now Flavors.me looks to be getting into the content creation game - in other words, you'll be able to post updates and photos from within the service rather than linking to other sites, and it will be possible to follow other users and be followed in return. A lot like you can at Tumblr. Sarah Perez at TechCrunch reports:

Flavors.me wants to expand into more of a personal publishing platform. "We started out with the Flavors.me profile, then added the streams," explains CEO Jonathan Marcus, referring to the new social features, "so the next step is to create content on Flavors.me itself." That content wouldn’t necessarily have to be a blog post, he says. It could also be static content, like your resume, for example. Users will also be able to favorite and reblog others' posts further down the road.

More here: Flavors.me Heads Into Tumblr Territory With "Follow" Buttons & Plans To Support Content Creation

The specs race is run

2011-11-30T23:31:00.000Z

We've gone from a situation where bigger and better PCs were needed for bigger and better tasks, to a world where even budget computers can do almost everything. By next year, mobile phones will be able to do almost everything. Paul Thurrott neatly sums up the end of the specs war by pointing out that there's really no need to 'upgrade' any more, at least not in the traditional sense:

The emerging trend is to make PCs less like PCs and more like devices. They'll come in fun, multi-touch form factors, like the iPad copying slates that we'll be swimming in a year from now, and a new category of laptops called Ultrabooks. We'll focus less on specs, because specs will matter less - as they already do - and more on utility. Battery life will be king for mobile devices of all kinds, not processing power. These devices might ultimately do less than the beefy computers of today. And that, too, is by design. Even Windows is actually moving backward in some ways. Released two years ago, Windows 7 has the same hardware requirements as Windows Vista, which shipped back in 2005. And Windows 8, due in 2012, actually has lower hardware requirements. In fact, Microsoft has quietly detuned the Aero UI in Windows 8 to be less sophisticated than that in Windows 7. On purpose.

More here: Upgrade Your PC - Or Not

Reporting on 'rumours'

2011-11-30T23:04:00.000Z

Spend any amount of time in the world of technology reporting and you'll find it's a mad dash to write up the latest news and rumours as quickly as possible. Rather than reporting on actual events, the big players report on rumours instead, making extensive use of 'quotes' to point out that nothing is actually confirmed yet. From the Telegraph today:

Spotify 'to launch app store' - well, maybe
Apple’s iPhone 5 'coming in March' - well, perhaps

Also keep an eye out for the articles headed with a speculative question, the answer to which is invariably "it's too early to tell". Namely:

Will Facebook privacy crackdown stifle Zuckerberg's grand plan? (Telegraph)
Is this the end of money? (Guardian)
Retail gimmicks or the future of shopping? (BBC)

The technology press, then, reporting what hasn't happened yet just as eagerly as proper news.

Video on demand in the UK

2011-11-30T22:00:00.000Z

In between amassing nearly 20,000 Twitter followers, Tim Bradshaw has been looking at the video on demand market in the UK, which will be more crowded than ever by next year:

Netflix and Amazon-backed rival Lovefilm are vying with British Sky Broadcasting for rights to the newest movies, while at the same time pay-per-view services such as HMV's new On Demand site, which launched this week, and Tesco's Blinkbox, acquired this year, are trying to lure eyeballs from movie services attached to hardware such as Apple's iPhone and iPad, Sony's PlayStation3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360.

With any luck we might finally catch up to the USA in terms of quality on-demand movie and TV content. More here: Online movie services gear up for UK turf war

The history of search in six minutes

2011-11-30T13:48:00.000Z

An interesting look at the evolution of search from Google - probably more interesting if you were around to see the changes for yourself. Google's improvements reflected the way the Web itself was growing - when the search engine first came to prominence, it simply displayed the best webpage for "New York". As time went on, it had to adapt to also show the latest news, the best pictures, and so on. It's also worth remembering that when Google appeared on the scene at the beginning, searching for "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" would not display Wikipedia, IMDB or an official site (none of which existed) but some well put together fan site or archive.

What to expect from Spotify's 'new direction' event

2011-11-30T13:11:00.000Z

There are a rash of articles appearing today in the build-up to Spotify's latest announcement. To save you the trouble of clicking around, here's what 95% of them contain:

one or two half-baked rumours culled from other sites
a smattering of background information about Spotify
a link to the most recent news story on Spotify (probably something to do with royalties or Coldplay)
a link to our LIVE BLOG

The event itself kicks off at 4.30pm British time and I'm hoping for a Web-based player in the cloud that can work from anywhere.

Email vs social media

2011-11-29T21:26:00.000Z

How do you keep in touch with people? Is it via email, or the more modern methods of Facebook and Twitter? The BBC's Fiona Graham spends a long time coming to the conclusion that, well, it's horses for courses, but that's no reason not to include one of those open-ended never-answered woolly questions so prevalent in technology articles:

So just how likely is it that the creaking inboxes that haunt many of us will soon be replaced?

"Not that likely." More here: Clash of the titans: Email v social media

Little Printer

2011-11-29T19:52:00.000Z

The Little Printer, set for launch in 2012, is a nice quirky little bit of kit - it can print out to do lists, agendas, news headlines, social media updates and the like whenever you ask it to. The only question is why you would want this information on a little slip of paper instead of your mobile phone. More here: Little Printer.

Let's all just get along

2011-11-29T13:49:00.001Z

So says Joe Minihane on Electricpig today:

Why should tech fans have to choose a brand and stick with it across every genre of device? I choose to use the gadgets and services I love because they excite me personally. And I see no need to aim personal broadsides at those who choose to do different.

Take note, Android and iPhone fanatics. More here: It's time we all stopped taking tech so seriously

How to take a screenshot on the Galaxy Nexus in Ice Cream Sandwich

2011-11-28T12:04:00.001Z

Press the volume down and power buttons simultaneously for a moment.
That's it.

Twitter's new Activity tab apes Facebook's news feed

2011-11-24T20:30:00.000Z

Remember when Facebook tried to be a bit more Twitter-esque by introducing a real-time ticker in the top right-hand corner of the screen? Not to be outdone in the copycat stakes, Twitter has rolled out a new Activity tab on its Web interface that works a lot like Facebook's own news feed. It's sparser, because users can't do as much on Twitter, but it lets you see the favourites and followers being added by your contacts. Ultimately the two services may merge together in an unwieldly mess, but I think Google+ already got there first.

Stamped is the new Liked

2011-11-23T22:17:00.000Z

Just an iOS app at the moment, but already gaining a lot of attention, Stamped is a new, very simple recommendation tool.

Stamped is a new way to recommend only what you like best — restaurants, books, movies, music and more.No noise, no strangers, just the things you and your friends love.

More here: Stamped

Streaming versus downloading, part 469

2011-11-23T21:33:00.000Z

There has been much online debate in recent weeks over the amount of money artists can expect to make from streaming services as opposed to digital download markets like iTunes or Amazon. As Devin Coldewey points out at TechCrunch, the comparison is a difficult one:

Comparisons between income from album sales and income from streaming just don't make sense. In a way, people are paying for nothing, because at the end of the month, if their subscription lapses, they have nothing to show for it. The labels and Spotify have something to show for it, though, and haven't in fact given anything away. And people pay again and again for the same content. If I listen to a song this month and then again next month, I've paid twice, haven't I? Or have I?

It's renting vs owning. The streaming model puts the power back into the hands of the labels, giving them control over which songs can be played and on which devices and in which countries, and once users stop their subscriptions they own nothing. They have simply paid for the privilege of listening in for a while.

For the time being, the positive aspects of Spotify - the ability to listen to anything you like, and a host of new and classic music, without paying anything extra - outweigh the downsides, namely the fact that you never own the music and can't stick it on a USB drive. Now that I've been using Spotify for some time, the thought of buying an album of MP3s without having listened to it a dozen times seems ludicrous. If the streaming services start to become more restrictive, the balance could shift.

More here: Streaming Music Companies: If The Artists Are Starving, Look To The Labels

Pay a blogger day next week

2011-11-23T18:28:00.000Z

Get your chequebooks out:

A Web start-up, Flattr, is launching the first ever 'pay a blogger day' next week, in a bid to encourage people to pay for content they love reading for free online.

The full story is at The Telegraph: 'Pay a blogger day' launches next week

Chromebook sales set to grow

2011-11-23T13:23:00.000Z

That's according to Dixons' Mark Slater, who told my old pal Matt Warman:

We see computing evolving as we go into next year with the emergence of Chrome as an operating system and the ease of use of cloud storage making it a credible alternative to the established world of Microsoft and Apple.

Chromebooks are incredibly easy to use - going back to the Windows world of pop-up updates, sluggish loading times and a labyrinth of files and folders feels like stepping back in time. If they're to succeed, though, they need better offline support, more intuitive cloud-based apps, and improved marketing.

The full story is in The Telegraph: Google Chromebooks: one in 10 computer sales in a year's time

Street View hits the slopes

2011-11-22T18:30:00.000Z

Google Street View is stretching out further and further, into shops, up railway lines, across parks and now down mountain slopes -- check out the Ski Resorts and Slopes section of its Google Maps portal to see some well-known runs from the USA and Canada. Hopefully European routes are on the way, enabling you to get a feel for that tricky black run before you get on the plane.

Ice Cream Sandwich, Google+, Twitter and Facebook

2011-11-22T09:44:00.001Z

As a proud owner of a new Galaxy Nexus phone I've been playing around with the new People app that has replaced Contacts. As before, you can sync matching contacts with Twitter accounts, though the Facebook functionality doesn't seem to be quite there yet (presumably an app update is in the works).

New to the equation is automatic Google+ syncing, which would be handy if there were more than a dozen of my friends on it. The profile picture from a Google+ profile takes precedence over everything else in the People app, even if you've assigned the individual a picture in Google Contacts.

The ability to sync social networking accounts with contacts is a welcome one -- ultimately it allows your contacts to update their own details for you -- but at this early stage it's a complete mess. Facebook is rumoured to be bringing out a modified Android phone of its own, which will muddy the waters further. There are currently too many networks to deal with, as well as a lack of cross-compatibility, and not enough control over the syncing process.

Google Music in the UK

2011-11-17T09:07:00.001Z

Not available yet, of course - but if you're in the USA you can read the official announcement here. File under Google Voice, Netflix, Hulu, Rdio, iTunes Match, the Kindle Fire...

iTunes vs Spotify, again

2011-11-16T13:52:00.001Z

iTunes Match is out for US customers, finding what's on your hard drive and matching it to cloud-based copies that you can access from anywhere, assuming you're using an Apple-approved device. Eliot Van Buskirk has been writing about it, and sums up the differences between iTunes (the old digital music revolution) and Spotify (the new digital music revolution):

Want to discover the joy of vintage Jamaican rock steady all of a sudden? With a subscription, you can start right away. With iTunes, it's time to spend hundreds of dollars on stuff you might not even want to listen to next month - either that, or fire up your bit torrent client and start downloading stuff for free. The word for this phenomenon is "friction". iTunes still has it; subscription services do not.

Both approaches have their pros and cons, which is why I've still got iTunes and Spotify installed alongside each other.

Chromebooks, tablets, phones and laptops

2011-11-15T22:46:00.001Z

Having spent several weeks using all kinds of tablets at work (the best ones are the Galaxy Tab and, yes, the iPad), I've found them to be great for browsing around the Web and checking on Facebook, Twitter, and the like. However, typing is laborious - contact forms, emails, login screens, forum posts, blog entries, status updates, Web addresses and the like all become a chore. So much so that I'd rather be using my phone.

Even with all of these tablets lying around I was still preferring the trusty Chromebook for most Web browsing, social networking and emailing tasks. Typing is much more fluid and straightforward, and, like tablets, Chromebooks are fast, simple and very portable. For me they bring together the best features of a tablet without the limitations and the best features of a laptop without the bloat. Unfortunately it doesn't look like many other people agree - it would seem the lack of a desktop OS and the need to be always online is a step too far for most.

Keep a film diary with Letterboxd

2011-11-11T13:30:00.000Z

The excellent Last.fm has been a great way for me to keep track of what I've been listening to across different apps, different computers, different platforms and different mobile devices since April 2006, but unfortunately no service has quite hit the mark as far as film goes. GetGlue is one company trying to fill the void, but although I've tried it out once or twice I'm finding myself still unhooked.

Letterboxd is the latest film-diary-type-service I've come across, and it's currently running in private beta. It scores points for a slick, appealing interface and the ease with which you can add films that you've watched. Ratings and/or reviews can be added if you're so inclined. At the moment there's no way of automatically checking in to what you're watching or recording your activity on a mobile app, but it's a promising start.

YouTube's built-in video editors

2011-10-26T13:16:00.000+01:00

YouTube has slowly and quietly amassed a range of built-in video editing tools that you can run through your browser -- you can see a full list at www.youtube.com/create.

One of the most comprehensive is the WeVideo option, which enables you to combine graphics, audio and clips via a straightforward timeline interface that you'll recognise from the likes of Windows Movie Maker. It's particularly helpful if you're running a low-powered computer that can't chew through gigabytes' worth of video, or, of course, a Chromebook.

It's programs such as this that show off how powerful Web apps are likely to get within the next couple of years. Once Google has integrated the Google Docs file system with all of these tools, there will be few compelling reasons to stick with iTunes, Photoshop or desktop operating systems for the majority of users.

Is tech too distracting?

2011-10-24T20:53:00.000+01:00

Lance Ulanoff thinks so.

I'm a bad man. I simply do not pay attention the way I used to. I do so many things that I promised myself I would never do: work on the computer when I'm supposed to be listening to someone on the phone. Watch my tweets flow by on my laptop while someone is standing right in front of me, talking to me. And worst of all, I sometimes tweet or text while walking on New York City's crowded streets and avenues.

More here: Is Tech Too Distracting?

Google Reader revamped

2011-10-24T13:50:00.000+01:00

Despite the arrival of young upstart Twitter, RSS remains the best way of staying up to date with new content on the Web, whether it's Facebook notifications, podcasts, or news articles. Google Reader is the Web app I'm on the most, not counting Gmail, and it's about to get a Google+ style revamp --

In the next week, we'll be making some highly requested changes to Google Reader. First, we're going to introduce a brand new design (like many of Google’s other products) that we hope you love. Second, we're going to bring Reader and Google+ closer together, so you can share the best of your feeds with just the right circles.

It makes sense to improve Reader, as the social aspects were the worst parts of it. Hopefully Google+ will soon make it as easy to share links as something like Twitter. There's more here: Upcoming changes to Reader.

Chrome Remote Desktop

2011-10-11T16:45:00.000+01:00

Google has released a beta extension for Chrome that lets you remote desktop your way right into another Chrome browser on another Mac, Windows, Linux or Chrome OS machine. Sharing is handled with a simple passkey that proves your credentials. I tested the extension on a Chromebook and it works fine for simple tasks, and it's speedy as well.

Download the extension here: Chrome Remote Desktop BETA

Dealing with social media information overload

2011-10-07T13:30:00.000+01:00

If you have a job writing about Facebook, Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn and all the rest you need to be on these networks. Once you are, keeping up with them can take up every hour in the day -- get friendly with enough people and you can have a Twitter stream and Facebook news ticker that is never dormant. And then there are the RSS feeds...

Over on Google Watch, Clint Boulton has posted about how Google+ can beat Facebook by sifting through all this information more usefully. The full article is here: Google Can Challenge Facebook By Separating Signal from Noise.

It got me thinking about the sort of content I'm really interested in. So for the benefit of the developers at Twitter, Google and Facebook working on these algorithms, here it is. Please adjust your underlying code accordingly.

What I'm Interested In

A limited amount of daily trivia (if I know you very well)
Significant updates (if I sort of know you)
Photos (if I was there and/or I know you very well)
Music/TV/movie recommendations (from anyone)
Where you are (if I know you very well)
Links and articles of note (from anyone)
Breaking news (from anyone, but not repeated hundreds of times)

Everything else, no thanks. As you can see, how well I know someone has a big impact on what I want to hear from him or her, which to be fair is something both Facebook and Google+ have started to address. There's still lots of room for improvement.

No one uses the Start menu any more

2011-10-06T17:13:00.000+01:00

When Microsoft unleashed Windows 95 on the world, it came with the all-new Start menu -- an innovative and fresh way of accessing programs and folders. Nowadays it seems no one uses it any more. The company has posted usage figures on its Windows 8 developer blog to explain why they have begun the process of stripping it down. Overall usage is down 11% from Vista to Windows 7, with some sections such as the Pictures link used 61% less.

If you're interested in Windows architecture there's plenty more on the developer blog at Evolving the Start menu:

The Start menu is one of the most visible parts of Windows, and so we don't take any changes we make to it lightly. The environment around Windows has changed immensely since we first introduced the Start menu, and we want to make sure we’re still delivering an experience that is both relevant and tuned to the dynamic computing world we live in today.

iPhone 4S vs Nexus Prime

2011-10-05T17:05:00.001+01:00

Apple announced the brand new iPhone 4S yesterday, which packs better specs inside the same chassis and comes with a voice control feature that I can't see very many people using. In contrast, the Samsung Nexus Prime, set to be announced next week, looks to have a very different design:

Thanks to a Google/Samsung YouTube promo for that grab. If the rumours are to be believed it's going to have a very big screen running at a very high resolution, but you'll need to wait until the 11th of October to find out if the third flagship Android Nexus phone is going to steal any of the iPhone 4S's thunder (which is actually more like a distant rumbling at the moment).

For a collection of comment on the iPhone 4S, try iPhone 4S: the experts' opinions on the 5th generation handset.

How to take Android tablet screenshots using the SDK

2011-10-04T09:16:00.002+01:00

If you find yourself in a scenario where you need a screenshot from an Android tablet, it's not immediately obvious how to do it. Some tablets (such as the Asus Transformer and Galaxy Tab) have a hardware shortcut built in, but many don't, and almost all of the screenshot apps on the Android Market need a rooted device to work.

One method which works with the majority of tablets is to use the Software Development Kit. You'll need to download it from here; you will probably need a Java platform from here too. You may also need a USB driver (see here) depending on the tablet you're using.

With all of the above installed, plug your tablet in and activate USB debugging mode (this option is available in the Applications/ Development menu on the Settings screen if it isn't automatically enabled). Run the ddms.bat file in the Program Files/ Android/ android-sdk/ tools folder and if everything is working correctly the tablet should be identified and listed on screen. From here simply select the tablet and choose Device/ Screen capture.

Chrome heading for number 2 spot in the browser market

2011-09-30T14:54:00.005+01:00

From Slashdot:

Google's Chrome is on the brink of replacing Firefox as the second-most-popular browser, says the Web statistics firm StatCounter, which shows that Chrome will pass Firefox to take the No. 2 spot behind Microsoft's IE no later than December.

John Gruber on the new Amazon hardware

2011-09-29T13:36:00.003+01:00

If you want to make a real-life living out of technology blogging, you need to be as consistently good at it as John Gruber. While his pro-Apple bias is occasionally annoying his thoughts are usually spot on. If you only read one article about Amazon's new tablet and Kindles, read his:

It's all about the content, though. That's the difference that other tablet makers missed. Motorola, Samsung, RIM — they seem to be chasing the iPad on specs, building the best tablet they can manage at the same starting price of around $500. But they have no clear message telling people what you can do with them.

The full posting is here.

Facebook turns us into celebrities

2011-09-20T13:44:00.000+01:00

Benjamin Cohen has some thoughts about Facebook here. He's going to use it less. Maybe his opinion will change once the social network introduces real-time music and movie feeds? There are some interesting points about how we use Facebook:

I guess it's because actually, it is a little like being on television. Because being on Facebook (and other social media) is a bit like being a celebrity. Spotted (or tagged) at places you have been; photographed at parties in various states of intoxication; your future plans (events) publicised in advance and your innermost thoughts known to people who barely or don’t know you. It’s a bit like 'The Truman Show', except in my case, it's 'The Benjamin Cohen Show'.

Google's GDrive is finally on the way

2011-09-09T17:21:00.000+01:00

If you've spent any length of time in tech journalism you'll be well aware of the excited buzz that went around the Internet when Google seemed about to launch a hard drive in the cloud for its ordinary users. The plans for the original GDrive were eventually shelved, because the company wanted to move away from the concept of 'files'.

In fact, the GDrive idea never went away -- Google Docs has slowly been evolving from a lightweight editor to a more fully fledged file manager. If you've had your ear to the ground, you'll know that they opened up the service to any file type (most of which can be viewed online without any extra software), and they recently relaxed the 1GB file limit which means you can upload your full-length movies (and play them in the browser, from anywhere). There have also been numerous interface tweaks in recent months. At the moment, however, you need to pay if you want any kind of significant storage space online.

TechCrunch has confirmed that the GDrive is back on the agenda:

Google updated Google Docs in early 2010 to make it a bit more like a "Google Drive" by allowing users to upload any file. But the concept has never taken off because it's clunky. My thinking is that Google is re-working this idea (probably using the exact same backend functionality — hence, the Google Docs message) to be a product more in line with the popular Dropbox or Box.net. And if that's the case, I also assume that Android and Chrome (and especially Chrome OS) integration are key.

I agree with celebrity tech blogger MG Siegler in that TechCrunch post. The only thing Google has left to implement is some kind of desktop and mobile syncing software and the concept is ready to go -- they already have a basic music sync tool for the Google Music Beta service. And of course, this makes a lot of sense for Chrome OS, because you'll have everything you need in the cloud. Don't be surprised if Google Docs suddenly increases its free offering to 25GB, just like Microsoft's SkyDrive.

If This Then That

2011-09-09T13:13:00.000+01:00

If This Then That is a new-ish service that incorporates a whole load of 'channels' (such as Facebook, Twitter and Last.fm) and enables you to use one as a trigger for another. If a photo of you is tagged on Facebook, you can send it to Dropbox. If you share something on Google Reader, you can send it to Twitter. Email and SMS services are included too.

There were some tasks it couldn't cope with -- it can't create a master RSS feed of all your channels, for example -- but it's simple to use and will appeal to many techy types. It's good to see services such as Last.fm and Tumblr included, and the Tumblr features are actually quite advanced.

[Link]

The Samsung Series 5 Chromebook

2011-08-31T22:44:00.000+01:00

Having had chance to use a Chromebook for a few days, here's a review of sorts: it's very good for sitting at home (or in the office) and using Gmail, Google Docs, Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook. If websites and Web apps take up most of your time, then you'll like this - the design is good, the battery life is excellent, and it starts up almost instantly.

Many reviewers have noted that a netbook or cheap laptop costing the same price can do everything a Chromebook can and more. The appeal of a Chromebook, though, is that less is more -- no software to install, no waiting an age for dozens of icons to appear in the system tray, no pop-up alerts asking for updates, and performance that improves over time. System updates are handled just as easily as Chrome browser updates on Windows.

It won't suit everyone, particularly those who depend on the likes of iTunes and Photoshop. What's more, it's not really suitable for on-the-road use until offline support for Gmail and Google Docs is fully implemented. And there are some memory-hungry websites (hello Tumblr's gallery of 1000+ themes) that crash it completely. But it's appealing in the same way that a tablet is for browsing the Web and checking email, and unlike a tablet it has a proper keyboard that you can do some work on. As Chrome OS improves and the hardware gets more powerful, Chromebooks deserve to have a bright future, if they can win enough people over.

Get free space on Dropbox

2011-08-11T17:27:00.000+01:00

If you're a Dropbox user, you probably know that you can earn yourself some more space by referring friends to sign up for the service. There's an easier way to get your hands on some more room though - visit dropbox.com/free and you can get additional megabytes for linking your Twitter and Facebook accounts, following Dropbox on Twitter, and sending the development team some feedback.

Can The Internet And Nostalgia Get Along?

2011-07-18T13:33:00.002+01:00

Philip Berne looks at the way our possessions and memories are becoming digital at SlashGear:

Undoubtedly, there are things that feel better in the hand than on the screen, and there are ways of storing valuable memories digitally that are more reliable than their physical versions. But I also wonder if this transition, from physical to digital memory, won't also teach us that there are certain memories we should simply give up for good.

More here: Can The Internet And Nostalgia Get Along?

Google+ arrives to replace Google Buzz

2011-07-07T13:31:00.002+01:00

If you've missed the news, Google has launched its social networking service: Google+. Still in invite-only beta mode, it's a lot more ambitious than I was expecting, though I got some predictions right (your Google Profile is your Facebook page, for example).

I expected Google Buzz to tie in with any new network, but it seems like it will be phased out completely. Google+ already covers most of the same ground, and - like Buzz did - enables you to share links, videos and videos with one or more groups from your contacts (now known as Circles). The new Google Maps for Android app checks your Latitude status into Google+ rather than Google Buzz, and other bits and pieces (such as the ability to import RSS feeds and add connected services such as Twitter) look set to be moved over soon.

It goes to show that Google Buzz did a lot right once you got beyond the privacy issues.

More here: Introducing the Google+ project: Real-life sharing, rethought for the web

Google code secrets

2011-06-28T18:10:00.001+01:00

I recently came across an interesting blog by Florian Rohrweck, which, among other things, looks at snippets of code embedded in Google products. There's evidence of live streaming on Google Profiles, the icons for the upcoming Google Circles, and more.

More here: Stilbruch

A report summing up 'something other reports have said'

2011-06-22T19:19:00.001+01:00

"Something might be happening", according to website articles and rumours we've read.

There are suggestions that a particular feature may or may not be included. If it is, this means everything will be faster. If it isn't, then everything will be faster anyway.

According to the report, this is true, this is happening, and you can almost certainly guarantee this.

We'll know for sure when the official announcement is made. Until then, keep clicking our links.

Spotify On The Web

2011-06-21T18:47:00.000+01:00

In case you missed it, Spotify was briefly available as a Web app thanks to the efforts of an engineering student, before the company told him to take it down. Hopefully it will reappear in an official capacity in the future - Chrome OS users will certainly be interested. Read more about the project here.

Access Facebook at work

2011-06-21T13:43:00.002+01:00

Good news for those who like a sneaky peek at their news feeds whilst in the office - Diesel has developed an app that wraps up the social networking site in a spreadsheet-style interface. Handy for when the boss walks past.

More here: New app lets you Facebook at work in an Excel spreadsheet

Chromification of the Operating System

2011-06-21T13:20:00.001+01:00

Alex Chitu runs the excellent Google Operating System blog and suggests that people may switch from Windows to Chrome OS for the same reasons that people switched from Firefox and Internet Explorer to the Chrome Web browser:

For some, Chrome OS may seem pointless. Why buy a notebook that can only run a single program, when you can install Chrome on your existing computer? But why switch from Firefox to a browser that doesn't support advanced extensions? After all, Firefox is a lot more customizable than Chrome since any extension can dramatically alter the interface and integrate with the browser. It turns out that Firefox extensions can sometimes slow down the browser, some use a lot of resources, they're difficult to update and every new major release can break them. Chrome's extensions are less powerful, but they don't slow down the browser, they're easier to develop and to maintain and major new releases rarely break them.

It sums up the argument for a Chromebook as a laptop that does less, not more.

More here: Chromification of the Operating System

Google's Chromebook is an iPad competitor

2011-06-20T18:30:00.001+01:00

Seems to me that Google's Chromebook is going to appeal to people who want a secondary, lightweight computer rather than something to replace their main PC - in other words, it's an iPad competitor, with a keyboard. Greg Sterling is thinking the same thing:

As with an iPad it would be challenging to write this post on a Chromebook (because of the screenshots primarily). But Chromebook is great for most things you do online, though it can't run Netflix right now. And if you don't expect it to totally replace your primary laptop your satisfaction levels will be quite high. The "instant on" capability is great.

More here: Is Chromebook Google's True iPad Competitor?

Could you quit the Internet?

2011-06-20T13:20:00.003+01:00

And would you even want to? Matt Brian at The Next Web points out the pros and cons.

"Quitting" the Internet might a little drastic, perhaps it is a case of learning to use it to your advantage.

More here: Could You Quit The Internet?

RSS isn't dead after all

2011-06-17T13:55:00.002+01:00

When people say "RSS is dead", what they really mean is that only a minority of people use RSS readers. The idea of real-time feeds is in fact everywhere on the Web, and developers are still trying to work out the best way of enabling us to sort through them. Brent Simmons has written a useful article on the various facets of RSS, which ones are dead and which ones are just getting going:

Then use a mix of recommendation, discovery, and relevance to bring people the articles and media they want. Social media play a giant role here, as does more formal curation and technologies like latent semantic mapping.

Beauty and fun and efficiency and discovery and relevance add up to delight.

Do-able? Sure thing. You bet. Five years ago it was very difficult. Today it’s do-able.

More here: What we talk about when we talk about RSS

It's all software

2011-06-15T19:30:00.001+01:00

Google's cloud vs Apple's cloud, by John Gruber.

UK record labels screw up Apple’s iTunes Match for iPhone and iPad in the UK

2011-06-10T13:20:00.003+01:00

Craig Grannell does a very neat job of despairing at the record labels' reluctance to embrace the future (iTunes in the iCloud may not reach the UK until next year):

In other words, iTunes Match will make the record labels more money through people using the service and more money through people buying more downloads. It's therefore only logical that the labels will do everything they can to stop the service escaping from the US, because, as we've seen, record labels are run by total idiots.

More here: UK record labels screw up Apple's iTunes Match for iPhone and iPad in the UK

Apple WWDC round up

2011-06-07T22:00:00.002+01:00

Apple announced plenty of new iOS and iCloud features at its developers conference yesterday - The Register's Tony Smith takes a look at the potential hits and misses.

iTunes in the iCloud sounds interesting, but the reason I and millions like me stick with Spotify is because you can listen to as much new music as you like for the same price.

More here: Apple iOS 5 and iCloud examined

Ten Online Services Worth Paying For

2011-06-07T20:00:00.002+01:00

Lifehacker's Melanie Pinola has a handy run-down of ten Web services that are worth paying for, as suggested by readers - I can definitely recommend Dropbox, Flickr and Google Storage.

More here: Ten Online Services Worth Paying For

How to send some - but not all - of your Tumblr posts to Facebook

2011-06-07T13:35:00.001+01:00

Tumblr comes complete with its own little Facebook app that automatically posts everything from your blog on the world's biggest social network. If you're looking for a little more control you can take advantage of the fact that Tumblr provides an RSS feed for every tag on your blog:

mygreatblog.tumblr.com/tagged/thisisthetag/rss

Plug this into an RSS Facebook app (such as RSS Graffiti) and only those posts with the relevant tag will come up.

Google Map Maker

2011-05-31T13:40:00.001+01:00

Google has launched a Wikipeda-style editor for its maps. The tool is designed to improve coverage and map quality in remote areas.

Map Maker is the brainchild of Lalitesh Katragadda and Manik Gupta, two Indian Googlers who noticed that many of Google's maps in India were severely lacking in information. With some digging, they realised that this was a common problem in many of the less-mapped countries Google operated in.

More here: The story behind Google's Map Maker editing app

Freeware: WebReader

2011-05-24T13:55:00.001+01:00

WebReader syncs your Google Reader feeds to the desktop via the power of Adobe AIR. Everything from the Web interface is here, including recommended items and starred articles.

More here: WebReader

An ever-burning fire of our memories

2011-05-18T13:50:00.006+01:00

While you're taking a break from tagging your friends in your latest Facebook photo album, read Jason Scott's take on the social networking site, which is largely accurate:

I use Facebook every single day... but the fact that anyone would put anything of any unique nature on there, that matters to them, is beyond insanity – it's identity suicide. It's like you are intentionally driving down the road of life, ripping pages of your journal and photo albums, and tossing them out the window. Good luck finding anything again. Good luck knowing in six months, a year, something will even be findable. Try and communicate with anyone using their designed-by-a-second-trimester-fetus "message" system with any of the features from the last 30 years. Go back and try and negotiate it for search and topic control and usefulness. No. Not happening. Everything on Facebook is Now. Nothing, and I mean nothing on Facebook is Then. Or even last month.

Be careful with what you put on there - you might not be able to get it back.

More here: FaceFacts