YouTube offline: Vevo is categorically opposed

Last week, we learned, not without joy, that the YouTube application for Android mobile devices will soon allow watching videos offline. Once the video is loaded on your device, you'll be able to watch it as much as you want in a period of 48 hours.A new feature that can be useful when you are in a bad coverage area, when you carefully monitor your 3G consumption or simply if you intend to listen repeatedly to the same song over and over again.

Vevo: A party pooper!

  

Unfortunately , apart from our expectation about the eventual integration of offline mode on YouTube, Vevo sees this novelty as evil.

"We’re not going to allow viewing of our music videos or other programming in offline mode"
 
The ultimate promotion tool on the net of giants like Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment, Vevo account, aren't counting on  losing a dime generated by advertising, nor will consider the risk that they might be overshadowed by Youtube's own application. A choice that is anything but a wise on their part and should further encourage piracy.After all who want to wait four minutes loading whenever he wants play a song when you can just download it illegally to be available on the SD card as soon as you want? It is clear that only way to attract music consumers in making it accessible . But obviously, Vevo couldn't care less.

However, Vevo's decision should not compromise the integration of offline mode in the YouTube application, expected in November .

An artist got an RFID chip implanted under his skin

The worst has happened! An artist, Anthony Antonellis just got an RFID chip implanted in his skin. The RFID chip is the size of a grain of rice and can contain up to 1KB of data. All you need is to approach your smartphone to scan the hand and discover content. For now, Anthony Antonellis is using it to display his favorite GIFS.
     

              
This experience can be scary because we can easily imagine the marketing excesses that could result if everyone starts to implement this kind of chip in their skin. Some say that it could store vital data, which would be effective in an accident for example. Some would say it is just a new way to be more "controlled" than we already are ...

So, for or against?

What did Burger King get for its fiftieth birthday!

Burger King has revolutionized the world of hamburger with a handsfree kit called Hands Free Whopper.

Burger King should satisfy all those who do not have time to eat. With the kit, you can now enjoy your burger while continuing your activities on the Internet, in the office, on the subway ... proposed by the fast food concept is fairly simple, you put the hands-free around your neck. The burger fits in the slot provided for this purpose and the height is normally perfect. Your sandwich will be right in front of your mouth, so it is ready to be tasted. You can then perform a second activity while eating.

Burger King has decided to invent this product for its 50 years. The conflicting views on the Internet, some find this a stupid accessory, others are very interested and eager to try it. Users also noted that the company is trying by all means to create a buzz for the crowd in its facilities. For the famous hands-free kit, it will go to the island of Puerto Rico, Burger King will only sell this place the Hands Free Whopper.
 
McDonald's fries and-door

This is not the first time such a handsfree born. The rival of Burger King had proposed a fried-door car. It was distributed in Japan and is easily fixed on the dashboard. You could drive while eating, you can now do the same with a burger. It will be around your neck, it must pay attention to bad jokes. The sandwich could quickly be IN your face.

And finally, there is no better way to display my objection than this scene from "Modern Times" where the Tramp(Charlie Chaplin) tries out an automated lunch feeder, for which the owner of the factory reluctantly agrees to a demonstration, in hopes of cutting the costs of needless "break time".

Make every screen 3D-compatible with a simple plastic film

A team of researchers from Temasek Polytechnic and the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) has developed a new screen filter. It's not only a protector, but this filter allows you to view in 3D format without recourse to the famous glasses.

This plastic filter has been called revolutionary. Install it, simply to see with the naked eye 3D content on the screen of a phone. In fact, this screen protector is designed from the nanoimprint technology specially developed for this purpose. Boasting a thickness of less than 0.1 mm, this innovative accessory enables viewing in landscape and portrait mode. Meanwhile, the team is developing applications for iOS and Androidfor users to read 3D content. Even 2D images can be converted into 3D with a compatible application. Game developers will also have their share with the software development kit that transforms games into 3D.
 

The Free Web Vs DRM in HTML5

 "The W3C has a duty to send the DRM-peddlers packing, just as the US courts did in the case of digital TV. There is no market for DRM, no public purpose served by granting a veto to unaccountable, shortsighted media giants who dream of a world where your mouse rings a cash-register with every click and disruption is something that happens to other people, not them." -Cory Doctrow.

With the death of the owners plugins like Flash and Silverlight, media groups have a problem controlling their streaming flow. For example, they wont be able to restrict a video to certain countries, or to ensure that a film is not viewed simultaneously by two friends sharing a unique Netflix account.
To address their concerns, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) provides an integrated control system (digital rights management or DRM) directly in HTML5, this update of the language through which the Web is built.  
While the measure has not yet been adopted, 27 organizations, including the April and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, wrote a letter to the consortium. Their request: "Keep the digital handcuffs off web standards."

The arguments for
Rather surprisingly, the father of the World Wide Web and W3C Director Tim Berners-Lee, who usually defends a free and open network, supports this measure. According to him, DRM is not directly integrated into HTML5. In essence, he said that HTML5 would contain hooks, and that everyone would be free to lock or not to lock.
More generally, he argues that such a system is the only solution for media groups to adopt HTML5 and  not to return to Flash.  
Netflix, the streaming giant, recently said it was ready to move to HTML5 if the W3C incorporated the famous extensions for encrypted media (EME, the barbarous name of opening the door to DRM plugin). Microsoft and Google are also in this camp.
The arguments against
"This catastrophic proposal would change the HTML so it promotes the digital handcuffs (DRM). EME is sponsored by a handful of powerful companies that are members of the W3C, such as Microsoft and Netflix. These companies are promoting DRM, both for reasons of their own and for the close relationship they have with the most important media companies", the coalition wrote.
The founder of the website BoingBoing, Cory Doctorow, is comparing it to the DVD, wanting to control the media chronology with geographical areas, media conglomerates have indirectly led users to hack. According to him, DRM is not only against-productive, they also limit innovation because they restrict the changes that can be made to content or services. While the industry has moved away DRM on physical media, including music from the iTunes store, she sees the transition to paperless cloud the opportunity to return to the charge. A story that repeats itself, in fact.

Learn more about DRM and join: Voices Against EME

How to treat your visitors with respect?

Everyone of us work hard to make his website or blog appealing for the audience, whether by delivering the proper content, design or services. And to be able to always satisfy your visitors, you should gather some basic information about them(page views, country, browser, OS, traffic source).

Such information in my hands or any other website's, is most probably harmless and it is to serve a specific purpose.
These information become harmful when you hand them to big corporations with huge databases containing a tremendous amount of information, that eventually, by matching them, they could end up possessing some very intimate and personal information about your visitors.
And by big corporations I mean Google, Facebook, .... or in some countries, government.

Don't get me wrong here, I'm not trying by any means to generalize that big corporation are evil (Although it's not totally wrong) and other independent website are good. But there is a factor we can't ignore, these corporations have the power. Power that neither I nor any website have.

How is information gathered?
Well, simply put, an information is gathered whenever you Like something on Facebook, you +1 something on Google, you connect to iTunes or the scariest, when you send an email(check this post: Audacity).

Some other times, it is handed out to them by bloggers and website owners like us.

How? Well, in the process of working on our blogs and websites and making them more appealing, we need tools to help us, and some of these big corporations, as kind as they are, offer it to us for free (Check out this hostile post If you're not paying for it, you're the product). And it is needless to say, that the most powerful and popular tool is Google's web analytic.

How to treat your visitors with respect?
Whether you are a care free person who thinks that all this is delusional and worthless or whether you are some paranoid person who believes in conspiracy and spray over their webcams because you think you're under surveillance, whether you like this digital world or not, it is a fact that it is controlled in a way Hitler could've only dreamed of.

And once you have a website, you have a responsibility and whether you believe in privacy or not, it isn't up to you anymore. You have visitors, that have their own beliefs and you have to respect them. And in order to do that, you must not hand the information they trusted you with to anyone because by this you would be sabotaging your relationship and showing no respect to their privacy and freedom.

So, a first step would be keeping these information to yourself. And to do that, you must use tools developed by people who believe in freedom and personal privacy unlike Google. So what I am suggesting, is for us to stop using Google Analytic and start respecting our visitors. And by us, I mean myself too. So, join me!

What's the alternative?
If you've been coming to my blog (powered by Blogger-Google) for a long time, you would know that I won't leave you without an alternative, an excellent one:

http://piwik.org/ :a free software and by that I mean that it respects the freedom of computer users by putting the users first and granting them freedom and control. And it also happens that it costs 0$.

Facebook Home, is it really an innovation?

Facebook presented Thursday night, its innovations related to Android. As planned, a new smartphone, HTC First, with the default application, Facebook Home, were announced.
Which was anticipated in a previous post on the platform : Facebook mobile, how real is it?

The surprise has not been a great one, since expectations were much higher, but it was an opportunity to finally lift the suspense.  
At the premises of Facebook in Menlo Park, Mark Zuckerberg introduced the newest social network in mobility: Facebook Home, an Android application with the same principle of Nova Launcher, Go Launcher or Smart. In other words, it is an application that can replace the Home screen and application menu of android smartphone.

As we see the Facebook Home integration is between the OS and the apps menu.

 

The new home screen, Coverflow, can only have access to Facebook friends publications.You can easily comment or like one of these publications using the buttons provided. Moreover, thanks to Facebook Home, Facebook Messenger application and received SMS messages will now appear superimposed on the screen with the profile picture of the contact that we wrote. Finally, notifications are displayed directly superimposed over Coverflow.

However, these innovations will not bypass the classic features of Android. Other applications remain accessible by sliding your finger from the screen bottom to the top. It will only be possible to add widgets or shortcuts on the home screen reserved for publications.  

Facebook Home will be available as an application on 12 April, downloadable directly from the Google Play Store. Not all smartphones are compatible yet, but as promised Facebook application will be updated each month, particularly to support more devices. For the tablet version of the application, it will need to wait "a few months".

HTC First, the first smartphone integrating Facebook Facebook Home by default works simpler by choosing to use the default Home rather than the typical desktop by pressing the home button, Facebook is also working with manufacturers to integrate Home by default in smartphones. If Samsung and Sony already have projects, the Taiwanese HTC which will launch on April 12 with the First HTC which will be marketed in the U.S. operator AT & T. It will be compatible with AT & T's 4G LTE and is available in cyan, red, black or white, will sport a 4.3-inch screen, run on Android 4.1 and is equipped with a Snapdragon processor double heart 400.

Finally, all I can say that the Facebook Home is nothing but another disappointment, for it's leak of creativity and innovation. And sadly, confirms the fact that big companies are so comfortable, they have no more interest into presenting more creative gadgets to the brainwashed mass. And after so many disappointments this year, I think we should all be less excited about the Motorola X phone.

Twitter unveils new interactions within your tweets

An event took place yesterday in the Twitter HQ in San Francisco, where the press was simply not invited. Twitter seeking to hold a "head to head" with developers had unveiled their new interactions with which they were able to stay up to the game.  

The first announcement will interest mobile application developers. In fact, you may have heard of Twitter Cards (or extended tweets), which is the feature that will show an image, a photo, a video or an article summary directly from the Twitter.com interface. Its use could become widespread in the near future with names like Flickr, Path, Foursquare and Etsy who had the privilege to incorporate a little early. Simply put, if a person shares a Flickr photo on Twitter, you will be able to view the photo directly following the updates on your mobile application.  
If you have Flickr app on your phone, a link at the bottom offers you to see the photo in the application, and if you don't, you will be prompted to go and download it.  
Twitter could so quickly become a new download source for application developers. 

New Cards Twitter adds some new options for cards with the full list here:
Summary Card: information for sites that wish to put the title of an article, the lead-in, a small image and logo of the media.Photo Card: to include one photograph in a tweet.
Card Gallery:  to include up to 4 photos in one tweetApp Card: to transform iTunes links and Google Play in descriptive card applicationCard Player: to include a video in a tweetProduct Card: To add a product to an online e-commerce site(as with the example Etsy)
The Twitter Cards are good news for Twitter, which will make it more complete flow and therefore more interesting AND good news for developers who are going to benefit from it to increase their traffic, download applications, or sell products.

HTC One Crash Test

Once a smartphone is released, there is always someone on the internet testing its resistance using a drop test or stress test. Torture Day for HTC One has come and the executor is Android Authority.

This drop test is violent, trying to simulate real life situations to check the strength of the HTC phone. It is compared to the iPhone 5 in the drop test, simply because both products have an aluminum unibodies. 
Three tests are performed, a fall in from the pocket lever, another from shoulder height and finally,  head height. Three falls that could actually happen in life everyday.

At first glance, the HTC One fared better than its competitor, which is more likely to fall on the screen. But HTC One would suffer the same damage if it falls on its face. Both products are of equiv-fragile according to Android Authority.

A brilliant app and an awesome android smartphone..

First let's take a look at this awesome and free app that lets you wirelessly manage your Android from your favorite browser.

It's called AirDroid:

Not only this app is capable of many functions that could be achieved with additional third-party apps, but it also looks extremely slick.

 And once you succesfully connect, it will take a few seconds to show you the beautiful “desktop” where you can see your phone’s memory and free space, manage your phone’s files, share URLs and more.

The application is very secure and it is completely free. You can get it from google play store.

Would you give up your private life for a pair of glasses?

Demonstrations of the latest Glass Google did not fail to glamorize the latest gadget from Google. If the promised opportunities seem interesting, some are already worried about the impact of these devices on our lives, and talk about "the end of privacy."

It is difficult not to address the issue of privacy when wearing glasses connected, equipped with a camera capable of shooting constantly everything seen by the wearer. 
Cory Bernardi, an australian Senator raises the question of how these privacy issues will be managed by Google: "Google Glass has the ability to record video and audio of everything that happens during your day. No need to enter your iPhone and click to capture the moment. (...) This can go if you are a user, but what if you are the unwitting victim of this type of recording?"

For now, Google did not comment on the management of privacy for users of Google Glass or their surroundings. But it seems clear that the issue will eventually face the Mountain View company and that it will respond. 

Last August, the CNIL had again pinned on Google Street View imagery and Wi-Fi data collected by its cars.

Google to make more money from Youtube.

YouTube the streaming giant, issued the following statement: "While we don't comment on rumor or speculation, there are some content creators that think they would benefit from a subscription revenue stream in addition to ads, so we're looking at that."

Now the rumor is, that Google is to launch a subscription music service of their own, with suggestions of going live later this year.  It is believed that the service will be heavily linked with the Android mobile operating system, thus syncing with Google Play, where people can upload music to play anywhere. You know, something like "Spotify".

While the YouTube service is to be largely free, users can upgrade to unlock more features, such as ad-free access, for instance. And regarding the scale of YouTube it's impossible not to see the record companies jumping onboard any new venture, since streaming represents a sizeable portion of online revenues at the major labels.

The only question is whether it should be ad-supported or subscription based.

So would you be interested to pay for some extra youtube features?

Happy New Year 2013 from Marakana

The Marakana Crew performs "Auld Lang Syne" on Nexus 7 tablets running a custom built Android app.

Who knew it? Google has a sense of humor

Behind many applications , great applications such as google chrome, Gmail, google maps,adsense etc... and some other not so great applications like picasa and gtalk , and some miserable applications like google videos, google web accelerator (WTF!!!) , google checkout , google desktop(2004-2011) that imposed some serious security issues etc.. Behind all this wrapped in millions of terms policies and conditions, it turned out that google has a sense of humor.

Starting from the oldest here's an article that shows some of google's best gags:

• Google Gulp:A line of "smart drinks" designed to maximize your surfing efficiency by making you more intelligent, and less thirsty.
   
• PigeonRank™ : Google reveal its darkest secrets. April's fool 2002
  
• Google Autocompleters: The unknown Soldiers

 

• The Youtube Collection : Offering you to deliver all  youtube videos to your home

• The jargon: Help people navigate through complicated business speak with Jargon-Bot
  
  
  
  
• Google Maps for for 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment
  
  
  
  
• Gmail Tap: A better way to type, a better way to multitask
  
  
  
  
• Google Analytics in Real life campaign: there was a series of video released, here's a sample
  
  

  
  

Google Maps App Comes To iOS 6.

written by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, Contributor forbes.com

Good news for all of you who have been waiting for Google Maps to come to iOS 6.
There are a lot of nice features to explore. For example, the vector-based maps load quickly and allow for smooth tilting and rotating of 2D and 3D views.

The search box at the top of the screen lets you search for a place or a business, and the expanding information pane at the bottom of the screen shows relevant information, such as address, opening hours, ratings and reviews, images, directions and other information.
You can also access Street View imagery, so you can see where you’re going before you arrive.
The app is also fast, and very smooth, and gives me the information I need when I’m out and about.
Without a doubt, the Google Maps app blows Apple‘s Maps app out of the water.
The new Google Maps app is available for the iPhone and iPod Touch (4th gen) iOS 5.1 and higher, in more than 40 countries and 29 languages, including Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish.
Want to grab the app? Here’s the link. It’s free.

A camera that can shoot around corners

The prototype uses an ultra-short high-intensity burst of laser light to illuminate a scene.
The device constructs a basic image of its surroundings - including objects hidden around the corner - by collecting the tiny amounts of light that bounce around the scene.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology team believe it has uses in search and rescue and robot vision.
"It's like having X-ray vision without the X-rays," said Professor Ramesh Raskar, head of the Camera Culture group at the MIT Media Lab and one of the team behind the system.
"But we're going around the problem rather than going through it."
Professor Shree Nayar of Columbia University, an expert in light scattering and computer vision, was very complimentary about the work and said it was a new and "very interesting research direction".
"What is not entirely clear is what complexities of invisible scenes are computable at this point," he told BBC News.
"They have not yet shown recovery of an entire [real-world] scene, for instance."

                                                 Ramesh Raskar explains how the camera can shoot
                                                 around corners.

If you have an android you must see this video.

Some real amazing app in there.

Popcorn Maker : change the way the world tells stories on the web

Today, a powerful new Popcorn Maker demo makes its debut on TED.com, showcasing Popcorn’s potential to change the way the world tells stories on the web.
Mozilla Chief Operating Officer, Ryan Merkley, presented Popcorn Maker with a live demo at TED Global in Edinburgh on June 29. The online tool, developed as part of Mozilla’s Webmaker program, makes it easy for anyone to add live content to any video — photos, maps, social media feeds and more.


ENJOY!

Full story: https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2012/10/19/ted_popcorn/