Technology related Tips,Tricks,Software Solutions,Codes,Notes,MG University

Monday 9 December 2013

GOODBYE TO THESE 10 PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

7:21:00 am by Unknown

Google Reader

In March 2013, Google announced that it was killing off Google Reader, the most popular RSS reader and sync service in the world.

Although Google cited "lack of general interest" in keeping Google Reader around, the death of the product opened up a market of sorts for Google Reader alternatives.

HTC First (a.k.a. the Facebook Phone)

In April 2013, Facebook decided to expand its efforts in mobile with its new Android app launcher, Facebook Home. Although Facebook Home works on other Android devices, it debuted alongside the HTC First, a mid-level smartphone aimed at the average smartphone users.

Unfortunately for Facebook, both Facebook Home and the HTC First landed with a resounding thud. Although Facebook Home still exists, HTC axed the HTC First just months after its release, giving it the shortest smartphone life cycle since the failed Microsoft Kin.

Apple iPhone 5

In September 2013, Apple released not one but TWO new iPhone devices: The iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C.

Aside from its colorful casing, the iPhone 5C is essentially an iPhone 5 with a better front-facing camera. As a result, Apple removed the iPhone 5 from its lineup. Interestingly, the iPhone 4S is still around.

Winamp

Before iTunes, there was Winamp, the original modern digital music player app. For those of us in the Napster generation, Winamp was our first computer jukebox, thanks to its ability to play back CDs, MP3 files and the ability to customize its interface with skins.

AltaVista

In July 2013, Yahoo officially shut down AltaVista.com.

A classic web portal/search engine from the glory days of web 1.0, AltaVista was purchased by Yahoo in 2003.

The fact that Yahoo kept the site around for a decade after launch says a lot about how Yahoo was run over the last 10 years. Danny Sullivan wrote a great eulogyfor AltaVista, sharing the history of the once-great service.

Blockbuster Video

O.K., so maybe Blockbuster Video isn't a "traditional" gadget or tech service, but it's one indelibly attached to the psyches of Mashable readers (and employees) everywhere.

Dish, the company that now owns Blockbuster, announced that it was shuttering the remaining 300 Blockbuster stores by Jan. 2014 and shutting down the DVD-by-mail service.

MySpace Classic

In June 2013, MySpace unveiled its flashy relaunch. The new MySpace has a big focus on music (and Justin Timberlake) and looks almost nothing like the social network most of us actively used in the mid-2000s.

Lavabit and Silent Circle

When Edward Snowden needed to use encrypted email to communicate with Glen Greenwald and others, he allegedly used the encrypted and secure email service Lavabit.

Turntable.fm

In the summer of 2011, Turntable.fm launched as a way for users to share music with one another by taking turns at virtual turntables and spinning tracks for a virtual audience.

Friday 6 December 2013

SAMSUNG GALAXY ROUND

2:43:00 am by Unknown

Big on ergonomics, small on gimmick

At first glance, the Galaxy Round appears similar to the Galaxy Note 3 phone, which also has a big display measuring 5.7 inches diagonally. I could see the Round's left and right edges were raised slightly only when viewed from the top or from the bottom.

After handling the device for about 20 minutes, it became clear why Samsung shied away from putting a more dramatic curve in the display.

Reading news articles and Twitter messages made me feel light-headed after just a few minutes, especially with the phone in an upright position. Sentences weren't level and looked skewed, hampering my reading experience.

It's less of a problem, but still one, with the phone placed horizontally.

Perhaps this is an optical distortion that I'd get used to after a while. But given that computer screens, laptops and smartphones are mostly flat, I wouldn't want to constantly switch my eyes back and forth between a curved display and flat screens everywhere else.

Aside from the price tag of more than $1,000, the mobile reading experience was the chief problem I found during my brief hands-on. When watching videos or browsing pictures on the Round, I noticed little difference compared with flat displays.

According to Samsung, curved displays are a step toward mobile devices that are foldable like a map, which explains why the Round generated excitement in tech circles.

It says inflexible curved displays have benefits for users. None of them, however, seem transformative.

Samsung's promotions for the Round say the curve makes it easier to grip the giant phone. But when answering calls, I could barely notice a difference from a flat screen.

Two new features make use of the display's curve only when the Round in screen-off mode is placed on a flat surface, allowing it to be rocked like a cradle. Tilting the device to one side displays its battery status, time, missed calls and unread emails. But to check emails, I had to unlock the Round and go to the home screen.

The second feature is music playback. You can skip to the next song or go back one by tapping the right or left corners of the display. This feature is useless when listening to music on the move.

All this points to the Galaxy Round being an experiment for Samsung and not a product meant to be sold widely.

Like the first generation of the Galaxy Gear, the wristwatch released last month that works in conjunction with some Samsung smartphones to display emails and other information, the Galaxy Round appears built to test its potential.

Samsung can afford to do this because the roaring success of its smartphones has endowed it with cash to burn.

Besides being the world's largest seller of smartphones, Samsung has a business designing and making display screens. It has its own manufacturing plants and engineering staff. It doesn't need to pay another company or hire experts to turn a concept into a product.

For a company that wants to be seen as an innovator rather than a copycat, as Apple Inc. has alleged in multiple lawsuits over phone designs, the Round also sends a message that Samsung is trying to rethink how phones look and feel.

For consumers, there is little reason to pay 1.09 million won ($1,027) for the Galaxy Round. It's available only in South Korea through SK Telecom. The company gives a discounted monthly service rate when the Round is bought along with a two-year contract but it is still the most expensive smartphone in the market.

In South Korea, the same money can buy a Galaxy Note 3, which has similar features and a stylus for note taking on the screen. The Note 3 is just a hair thicker and a tad heavier than the Round, but it also has more battery life.

Samsung said the Round's overseas release schedule is still up in the air.

Courtsey : NDTV GADGETS