Facebook to buy WhatsApp for $16 billion
The balance of power in the mobile messaging space is about to shift in a big way — Facebook has just announced plans to acquire WhatsApp for the equivalent of $16 billion in cash and stock. The deal will see WhatsApp run semi-independently, much like Instagram. The chat service will maintain its brand and existing offices, but it will take advantage of Facebook’s “expertise, resources and scale.” It’s safe to say that the combined entity will have a lot of clout should the deal close later this year. WhatsApp already has over 450 million active users every month; combine that with Facebook Messenger and competitors like Line suddenly appear tiny by comparison.
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile, Facebook
Source: SEC, Facebook Newsroom, WhatsApp Blog
Google’s Russian rival offers free alternative apps and services on Android
Android is famed for being an open-source operating system. Well, kind of. Anyone can cruise and caress Android’s code thanks to the AOSP, but if you want a package complete with Google’s services — like the Play store, Mail, Maps and better-than-basic apps for messaging, imaging, etc. — then you have to pay the piper. Yandex is to Russia as Google is to most other places, in that it’s the country’s most popular search engine, has its own browser and provides email and cloud storage services, among others. And now, with the launch of Yandex.Kit, it also has an alternative to the bits of Android only a licence’ll get you.
Available to those making devices for the Russian market, Yandex.Kit comprises 15 apps from browser, mapping, store and email clients to a launcher and dialer. (There’s a slimmed-down version of the firmware for outside Russia, too). Most importantly, it’s totally free, and has already attracted the likes of Huawei and local manufacturer Explay. Chinese firm Xiaomi forgoes Google’s wares in its Android-based MIUI OS due to censorship issues. Here, however, Yandex is intentionally wedging itself between Android and Google to erode any reliance on the latter’s ecosystem in Russia. The fact it allies you to Yandex instead being pure coincidence, of course.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Google
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Yandex
Ustream starts a nonprofit program to back citizen journalists
Livestreaming is increasingly crucial to journalism — in some cases, it’s the only way to get around government censorship of TV broadcasts. With that in mind, Ustream is launching Ustream for Change. The nonprofit program helps citizen journalists and educators by supplying no-cost access to ad-free streaming, promotional efforts and tech support. The initiative is already supporting Splino.tv and UkrStream.tv as they cover anti-government protests in the Ukraine; groups wanting to make an impact through live video can apply to join the program today.
Filed under: Internet
Via: GigaOM
Source: Ustream
LinkedIn opens its blog publishing platform to everyone
A handful of big-shot professionals have long had the freedom to express themselves through LinkedIn’s blogging platform, but most careerists have had to sit on the sidelines. Starting today, though, just about everyone can have their voices heard — LinkedIn is opening its publishing platform to all members. Users will soon have the chance to write long-form posts and attract followers from beyond their immediate networks. Only a fortunate 25,000 have access as of this writing, but the company plans to expand publishing privileges to the entire user base in the weeks ahead.
Filed under: Internet
Source: LinkedIn Official Blog
Researchers are working on a lie detector to sniff out false tweets
Sure, some less-than-true statements on Twitter are innocuous, but the social media network’s vast audience means it has huge potential to spread inaccurate, even dangerous, information. Citing examples like the 2011 London riots and accusations of vote-rigging during Kenyan elections, researchers at the University of Sheffield have introduced the concept of a lie detector to analyze information shared on Twitter and other sites.
The EU-funded project, dubbed Pheme, will sort online rumors into four categories: speculation, controversy, misinformation and disinformation. Additionally, Pheme will evaluate sources to determine their authority; tweets from the BBC would hold more weight than an unverified user’s, for example. The system will also search for sources to confirm or deny information in a tweet, following social media conversations about a given topic to eventually determine what’s true and what’s false. Hypothetically, users would be able to view info about a rumor’s accuracy via a virtual dashboard.
To test out of the project, scientists will be running trials with the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation and the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London. Clearly, Pheme’s goal is to verify news on a national and even international scale — so your Twitter fibs about amazing weekend plans are safe, for now.
Filed under: Internet
Via: Sky News
Source: The University of Sheffield
Opera Max Beta available publicly in North America, Europe
Opera Max Beta, initially released exclusively to US-based beta testers in December of 2013, is now open to the public. Specifically, it’s a waiting list private beta for those living in North America and Europe.
Well, it seems like many of you like it, and now we want more testers. Starting today, we’re rolling out pre-registration of a public beta version of Opera Max to Android users in the United States and Western Europe. Eastern Europe will not be able to beta test Opera Max, for now. But we’re working to include this region soon.
Opera Max is designed to save data across your mobile apps. It functions by compressing videos, photos and text on most apps on your phones, allowing the file sizes to be smaller when downloaded. Opera has partnered with Skyfire for it’s ability to compress videos. Apps such as Google Drive, Instagram, Vine, and others will benefit from the compressed data.
Due to lack of space on Opera’s servers, the beta will only be available until the servers reach their capacity. What ware you waiting for? Download it now and get in line for the release!
The post Opera Max Beta available publicly in North America, Europe appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Google I/O being held June 25 to 26, new registration system coming
Those looking to try to nab a ticket to the 7th annual Google I/O won’t need to scramble the second registration opens this year.
Sundar Pichai, Google’s senior vice president of Chrome, Apps, and Android, just announced that Google I/O 2014 will be taking place in just 126 days from June 25 to 26 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, and this year the company is switching up its registration system.
In the past, it was a mad dash and some luck to get your registration purchase to go through, and more than likely resulted in the system saying a ticket couldn’t be found or it couldn’t complete your purchase with so many people hammering the servers.
Pichai said Google will be implementing a new system, “where you can submit your interest to attend Google I/O 2014″ then “successful applicants will then be randomly selected and notified shortly thereafter.”
More details will be available soon over at +GoogleDevelopers.
If you’re still unsuccessful in registering this year, you can still join in the fun remotely via a live stream and through I/O Extended community events around the world.
In the meantime, check out some highlights from last year and get ready for some big Android news. Maybe, in just 126, we will finally see that infamous Nexus 10 or even a Nexus 8, along with a new version of Android.
via +SundarPichai
The post Google I/O being held June 25 to 26, new registration system coming appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Asus Padfone Infinity Lite gets Detailed
Yesterday we picked up on a story that ASUS could be bringing a new Padfone Infinity to market. It simply had a ”Lite” at the end of the title. I had hoped for something similar to the current Padfone Infinity, but mixed with a smaller tablet size dock. Sadly it didn’t pan out that way. German site MobileGeeks.de has picked up on what the new Asus Padfone Infinity Lite is all about.
The Lite variant of the device will be fairly similar to the current Padfone Infinity. However, it will only sport a 1.7 GHz Snapdragon 600 vs the 2.3 GHz Snapdragon 800. The phone aspect will be a 5-inch 1920 x 1080 display, house 2GB of RAM, 32GB of storage and pack in a 2400 mAh battery. On the tablet side of things it will have a 10.1-inch display at 1920 x 1200 and sport an additional 5000 mAh battery.
For those that aren’t all that familiar with the Padfone devices, essentially your tablets brain is your phone. You dock your phone into the rear of the tablet and you get the image on the screen and gain extra battery life.
The Asus Padfone Infinity Lite is available in Taiwan right now. No idea or word yet if it will make any other appearances in other regions or markets.
Source: MobileGeeks via Liliputing
GBA4iOS Debuts 2.0 Update for Game Boy Emulator With iPad Support, Easy Installation
GBA4iOS today introduced a 2.0 update for its popular Game Boy emulator for iOS, introducing a full iOS 7 redesign, iPad optimization, support for original and Game Boy Color games, and a built-in web browser for downloading ROMs.
More importantly, the software is now much easier to install, requiring neither a jailbroken device nor a work around to set the device clock to 2012. Prior to the 2.0 update, installing GBA4iOS without jailbreaking required an iPhone’s date to be set to 2012. Though it doesn’t require an initial date change, GBA4iOS 2.0 does carry a warning that the device clock may need to be set back to 2/19/14 if the app fails to open.
With GBA4iOS 2.0, gamers can play Game Boy Advanced, Game Boy Color, and original Gameboy ROMs directly on their iPads and iPhones. There are dozens of popular games available, including many varieties of Pokemon, Zelda, Final Fantasy, and more.
Downloading games for GBA4iOS previously required navigating outside of the app to find ROMs, but the newest version includes an in-app web browser that can be used to download games from any ROM website. GBA4iOS 2.0 also includes full support for cheats, accepting five different code formats covering everything from Game Genie to Action Replay.
The GBA4iOS update includes an array of controller skins for Game Boy Advance and Game Boy Color games and it supports third party controller skins. It also offers full iOS 7 controller support, Dropbox integration, and “Event Distribution” to allow GBA4iOS unlock and distribute features that are not normally included within games.
While several emulators have snuck into the App Store via shell apps, they are always short-lived as Apple pulls the apps within hours or days of release. GBA4iOS is able to overcome Apple’s restrictions as it is not installed via the App Store. Instead, GBA4iOS can be installed directly on an iOS device from the website, by tapping the download link on an iPad or iPhone.
     |
AIVAnet 