Tech Roundup: Aug 10, 2012

Want to see the websites that attract the most traffic? If so, there is a handy website for that too. Internet Map depicts each website as a circle, its size determined by the amount of traffic – the higher the traffic, the bigger the circle. Complete with zoom controls, you can even search for a website using the Find feature.

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Windows Phone 8 is about to be out next month, but according to recent reports Nokia is planning to announce two WP8 based devices around the same time. Nokia, as we all know, ditched its Symbian platform in favor of Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS. Nokia’s WP7 based phones themselves had little to offer in terms of differentiation from those of Samsung and HTC except for some exclusive Nokia Lumia apps. But this time around, the struggling Finnish company clearly wants to have jumpstart ahead of its Windows Phone peers (Samsung, HTC and Huawei). Now it also means we could get a taste of WP8 phones even before the next iPhone. In addition, HTC too is rumored to be working on three Windows Phone 8 devices set for launch the third week of next month.

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Microsoft is on a rebranding spree, and the latest to go under the hammer is its Windows Phone Marketplace. According to reports from The Verge, the app store will be renamed to Windows Phone Store, akin to Windows 8 Store for its desktop OS. Also the ‘Metro’ user interface has been informally re-branded as ‘Windows 8 UI’ though the company has confusingly referenced it as ‘Modern UI’ in several upcoming Microsoft product listings.

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Facebook, oh my! Are you looking for an excuse to join or abandon the social network? Here’s one: real-money gambling. UK developer Gamesys has launched the first real-money gambling app ‘Bingo Friendzy’, a bingo and slots game that allows users to pay cash upfront rather than through Facebook’s Credits. Currently the game is restricted to above 18 people in the UK.

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Back in June, Apple’s WWDC saw the company severing its ties with Google by no longer having Google Maps as the default mapping solution. But the long available default YouTube app will also be amiss, according to 9to5Mac, which noticed its absence in the latest beta version of iOS6. The reason seems to be the expiry of its license to include YouTube in iOS. Though the app may be conspicuous by absence in iOS6, iOS5 devices will still continue to sport the app. Google, in the meantime, is said to be working on a standalone app that will pushed to the iTunes App Store. This arrangement is in a way good for Google as it can update the app to its liking and one day, who knows, we might as well see ads there too!

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Google had recently taken up semantic search as a means to transform the way it shows its search results. Dubbed ‘Knowledge Graph’, it is a database of more than 500 million entities (people, places and things) with more than 3.5 billion attributes and connections among them. At an event in San Francisco, it showed off a redesigned Knowledge Graph experience where in it appears as a top bar above the search-results in addition to rolling out this feature worldwide. To quote an example from its blog, thanks to Knowledge Graph, Google now has the intelligence to discern the difference between Rio – the place – and Rio – the 2011 animated film.

Moreover, to increase activity in its search results page, it recently added a box of information (from Wikipedia) and photos to the right side and now it has plans to integrate your Gmail inbox itself to its basic search. Currently available as a trial feature, it allows you to read mails from your inbox that are relevant to your search query. Lastly, it’s updated its Google Search iOS app that will bring Siri-like capabilities, somewhat akin to its Google Now feature on Jelly Bean. Read the complete blog post here.

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Elegance and simplicity comes with a hefty price tag. You get what I am talking about? Yes, the Apple products. Though very popular, they are considered to be premium and priced way beyond the reach of many, at least in several nations including India and China. But that doesn’t stop a guy from owning one right? A student in China, who sold his kidney to buy an iPad and iPhone last April, is one such example. The case has gone on trial for illegal organ trading and intentional injury. He Wei, who arranged for the illegal transplant on the 17-year-old boy and also one of the key defendants, has denied the charges, stating the teenager had been willing to undergo the operation. The incident came to light after his mother questioned him on how he got the money to buy his new gadgets.

“According to Xinhua, the boy is from Anhui, one of China's poorest provinces, making the iPhone, which starts at 3,988 Yuan ($633) and the iPad, which retails for 2,988 Yuan ($474), nearly impossible for him to afford on his own,” reports CNET. Wei and group is said to have received about $35,000, while the student was given $3,000 which he used to buy the iPad and iPhone.

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Most of us have liked something or the other on Facebook. But does liking a page really amount to supporting them or is it just a mere interest? In a bizarre turn of events, when Daniel Ray Carter, a deputy sheriff in Virginia, liked the Facebook page of his boss’s opponent in an upcoming county election in 2009, little did he realize that this would cost him his job after his superior won the race.

Carter who sued for wrongful termination lost the battle the first time when the presiding judge ruled that likes are not actual statements. But, to great relief, Facebook has come to Carter’s aid stating liking on Facebook is core speech, and “is a statement that will be viewed by a small group of Facebook Friends or by a vast community of online users.” From becoming the new age resumes to projecting your likes, social networks like Facebook have really come a long way ahead!

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Canadian phone manufacturer Research in Motion (RIM) has its BlackBerry 10 OS lined up for early next year. But CEO Thorsten Heins has revealed to The Telegraph that RIM had at one point seriously considered Android as an option. However, the company decided to scrap the idea to avoid being labeled as ‘me-too’, similar to what Nokia had echoed when it decided to opt for Windows Phone OS.

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Amidst great fanfare, Google announced a ball shaped media streamer Nexus Q back in June 27 along with its Nexus 7 tablet. But five weeks later, the Mountain View based company’s first attempt at building its own hardware has crash-landed even before takeoff. According to latest reports, shipments of the Nexus Q streamer have been indefinitely postponed based on user feedback that the device had far less features for its price tag ($299). But if you are one of those who have pre-ordered, you are one among the lucky few who will receive the gadget for free!

Google / Android:
Websites with high volume of copyright infringements to be downgraded in Google search results.
Google Chrome for Windows update ports Flash plug-in to the browser’s sandboxing platform; reduces crashes by 20%.
Samsung sells more Android devices in the last quarter than the next seven manufacturers combined, boosts Android share in the market to a whopping 68.1%; Apple iOS’s share drops to 16.9% from the previous 23%.
Sony Xperia Tablet leaked in pictures, sports a curved design like its predecessor Tablet S.
HTC to be working on a 5-inch phone with full HD display, set for launch this September.
Samsung officially announces Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet; to be on sale this month.

Apple / iOS:
Apple awarded patent for location-aware shopping lists.
iOS6 on iPhone 5 supports fifth row of apps on the home screen app tray, reports 9to5Mac.

Microsoft / Windows / WP8:
PC maker Lenovo announces its first Windows 8 Pro tablet ThinkPad Tablet 2; supports pen input and boasts of a 10-hr battery life.
Outlook.com to have IMAP support down the line.
‘Do Not Track’ made a default option in Internet Explorer 10.
In-app purchasing to be supported only on Windows Phone 8 devices.

Other:
Wikipedia goes down briefly, blamed on server outage.
Samsung promises to send a team of inspectors to look into an irregularity alleging Huizhou Electronics – one of its suppliers’ – of employing underage workers in its factories.

Tech Roundup is a weekly recurring feature on the latest trends in Technology.