Facebook Adds Voice Messages, Video Recording On iOS App

Updated to version 5.4.2 over the weekend the Facebook iOS app for iPhone and iPad now brings in more fun and solidarity to the things you can do within the app. Facebook iOS users can now use the app to send their friends recorded messages and photos right from within the app. The Facebook messenger users were already using the voice recording feature and now the app itself has it.

 The Android app was already updated a few days back with the voice recording and share feature. Apart from the voice recording you are also able to share video recordings right from within the app. The UI looks like what you see on the screen capture(from Facebook app itunes page) on the left. As you can see, the buttons are much visible on the screen and you can also decorate your messages with the emote-icons available on the footer part of the screen.

Some people have reported the voice recording has a strange way to be used. The record button needs to be pressed all the while you record the voice message. If that's true its a bit of a surprise and we are sure the users would rather prefer a more start and stop rather than the all the way pressing of the button. However, the current process is to hold the button and once you are done, just release. The release makes the message being sent to the contact as an automatic step in the process. In case you need to cancel the recording, just slide the finger off the recording button, that's it!

Facebook also has quietly updated the relevance of its Nearby tab in the app. As per the company the updates bring in more relevance so you are able to search what you actually are looking for. This also means the checkins gets a bit more accurate. Use the app and let us know how you find it.

 

Read More

Decline of Localized Networks ?

People are still getting used to it and there are still calls about it being a ghost town. But with the social network now getting out of its infancy and some real good updates on its web version and some fruitful, easy to navigate and user friendly updates on its mobile app; Google' social network has been reported to be world' no. 2 social network based on the active users report.

The report published by GlobalWebIndex is based on the data from Q4 2012 and shows an overall decrease in the usage of localized social networks. Facebook has risen from the so called 'Facebook fatigue' to be still the number one social networks with 693Mn active users, a 33% increment from the numbers around the same time in 2011. Twitter has had the best gain in terms of the percentage increments as far as the active usage was concerned. The micro-blogging site saw an increase of 40% to be at number 4. The major surprise(not to everybody though) came through YouTube which was spotted at number 3 as part of the social network gain. A good 21% of the internet population now uses the video upload and streaming site on a monthly basis. Facebook however attracts the major chunk of 51% of users.

Google plus' rise has been an overall rise more for the search giant than the social network that has been the favorite rival to Facebook. If anything this should silence the critics who claim the social network is no good. 

The Other Side
Is this only about Google or Facebook? The other side of this data report is more of a surprise. With the rise in the active usage on these global social networks, what has declined is the usage of localized networks. The data report published has quite a lot of local players, especially from China, but there has been a large decrease in the numbers against these social networks. As much as 57% decline has been observed for these networks.

Viadeo, the social network from France and the one which now operates under the APVO Corporation banner from San Francisco, USA; also figures in the list at number 22. Viadeo is a French player and has started to spread among the other parts of the world. So although it may be somewhere in between the local and global social networks, if anything it has seen an increase in number of active users if the data is compared for the Q2 and Q4 last year.
LinkedIn, the leader in professional networks is at number 5, considering the global players.

Do you think the localized networks are something people don't prefer? Is the trend shifting and is this a move from localized to global networks?

Read More

Google Dumping Passwords

Your laptop, a browsed website and a tap, possibly with your ring, is all that it will take for you to login to Gmail. And possibly to other websites, if the prototype currently being developed by Google comes comes to be a reality.

Google' security team is currently working on a prototype that will enable web users to be able to shun their passwords and instead use a physical key to login to websites. The research details are said to be publishing some time soon in the IEEE security and Privacy Magazine. The paper will contain details; provided by Google security' VP Eric Grosse and Engineer Mayank Upadhyay; on how web users will be able to forget passwords and use their cell phones or a USB and even their jewellery items to be able to login to their Google accounts and even other websites, once they start honoring the protocol and technology.

 According to Grosse and Upadhyay:
Along with many in the industry, we feel passwords and simple bearer tokens such as cookies are no longer sufficient to keep users safe... 

So how does this work? The guys at Google had to modify the browser to support the new unnamed protocol. The good news is that there won't be any software or add-ons to install in the browser. A Yubico type card; that could slid in your USB reader; will be able to login the user to their accounts. For a start though, you will need to register the physical key after you login to the site. But that's only once at the start. From then on, you will not be needing to remember any complex passwords and the browsers will be not needing any more cookies for the purpose too.

The websites being used will however need to support this. Google is aware of the other similar options that were tried in the near or distant past.
Others have tried similar approaches but achieved little success in the consumer world. Although we recognize that our initiative will likewise remain speculative until we’ve proven large scale acceptance, we’re eager to test it with other websites.

They further clarifies:
We’d like your smartphone or smartcard-embedded finger ring to authorize a new computer via a tap on the computer, even in situations in which your phone might be without cellular connectivity.

We know you are looking forward to it, so are we!!

Read More

Facebook Graph Search Takes On Google

So when was the last time you decided to search the web and went somewhere other than Google? For most of you the answer would be a quick no, unless of course the You in this case are people you prefer Bing or Yahoo search more than what the search giant has to offer. For those who almost always use Google' web search, there is yet another option getting out of that cracked egg. Facebook announced its search product today. The search lets you find your interests, your friends photos, places your friends been visiting and anything else that comes under the umbrella Facebook calls the Graph. And aptly the search is called Facebook Graph Search.

With more than a billion users putting in a whole lot of private data in their hands, they have all that is required to build a search engine. Facebook though says its not a web search as you know. So in a way counting on an impression that is different from that of Google' search. It anyway is a search that people on web will use and the very likely end result that Facebook wants is user' spending more time on the search, getting used to it, using more and more of it, staying on it and ... well we know where this leads to. Away from Google!

Facebook has said they will keep the privacy of the users as their main concern. But what more is there than searching say, "photos that my friends like"? May be the first impression is not much. But hey, do you know there are around 240 billion photos that Google may not be able to index? Does that change your answer about the previous question? Maybe Yes, ok it may not change your answer but will force you to keep an eye on something else than your Google search page. Lets face the fact that people like to be on Facebook, you can't have trillion connections otherwise. Yes we know there are Google fans reading this, and we know what they are thinking. Google plus is an answer to Facebook. Well we agree to an extent. But like Google search has the advantage of a start and being arguably the best place to search on web, we also agree that Facebook has the same advantage in terms of a social network. 

As I write this post someone just reminds me not to miss the Plus One Your World that the search giant introduced. The idea is same: building a personal web search that completes or fulfills user needs in its entirety. Weather of not Google has been able to take a lead on that is not an important question as of now. The competition has just began. In our minds, Google was winning it till now. Spanning the access to all of its products in the same way. Google plus came a little late but we all know Google learned from Buzz and Orkut. People like the feature. The social network itself has a lot of user' private data that they use in their Knowledge Graph. So while Facebook Graph Search will let you find out "who liked the posts that you liked", Google plus lets you search what people are interested in on the network.

Gmail on the other hand has been a complete separate product that collects a huge amount of data that Facebook like search still misses. Gmail now lets you search the private data that you need. Then there is YouTube that has may be as many videos as there are connections on Facebook(exaggeration is intended).

Facebook is taking help from Bing on the searches it can't find with its own data. So its essentially a 2 service competition with Google till now favored service. Google is a leader as of now but Facebook has signaled its arrival, finally. And, like we always say it finally turns out to be good news for users. Just watch out for the privacy concerns ;)

Read More

Viadeo Acquires Pealk

From the "#1 hunting app for LinkedIn" to a "#1 hunting app for Viadeo". Yes we know that isn't what the home page for Pealk says for now, but it may not be the case a few days from now. Viadeo, the French based PSN, announced today via a press release that the acquisition has been completed.  

Pealk has been a real favorite app for the recruiters, mostly for its ability to search through the user base on LinkedIn. But that was sometime back and the association with LinkedIn ended a few months back when LinkedIn cited some breaches in the terms of services between the two. That anyway is history and the future for Pealk is now in SF, right where Viadeo has an office and as told to TNW, that might be where Viadeo will be eying an opening to its innovation lab.

So while the acquisition and a near future opening of the Innovation lab sounds really some exciting news for both the world's second largest professional network as well as the only co founder coming on board Viadeo; the company also cited in the press release that the user base has now grown to 50Mn members worldwide. The focus on emerging markets still continue as far as the growth is concerned.

Pealk was co-founded by Boris Golden and it seems he will be the one leading the innovation lab that Viadeo will set up in San Francisco, US. Pealk as a product will continue to be able to provide its users with a number f professional contacts on the social networks so people can connect to each other. That however will take some time as it seems the app will need a makeover as per the Viadeo platform, at least in its backend processes. So while the company which though is quite a distant challenger to LinkedIn with the later having amassed 200Mn members recently, makes such a good inroad and plans to further enhance the advantage they get with Pealk getting together, Dan Serfaty; co founder and CEO of Viadeo had this to say:
“A PSN’s value depends not only on the size of its member base, but on how members can use it to their advantage,” states Dan Serfaty, co-founder and CEO of Viadeo. “That makes Pealk the most innovative product we’ve released in the last five years, thanks to its ability to democratize social networking for business purposes.”

And it is just obvious that Boris Golden seems very excited on the new role he will be playing in the company from now on. Here is what he pens down:
“We’re very proud and pleased with this buyout, which we consider to be the happy ending to an exciting adventure,”
“It’s also the beginning of a new adventure for us, since there are plenty of applications just waiting to be invented that will give professionals more ways to unlock Viadeo’s full potential!”

Read More

200 Million Members Now Onboard LinkedIn

Not a surprise we are sure but it is a milestone nonetheless. And a rather impressive one at that. LinkedIn, the world's largest professional network site, recently announced via a blog post that the site now has 200Mn members onboard.

The site has presence in around 200 countries and territories and operates in 19 languages around the world, as declared by Deep Nishar; senior VP LinkedIn on his blog post. As far as the members in each country is concerned, US leads the way and by a big margin too, with 74Mn from the country using the services from LinkedIn. Here is a breakdown that we took from Deep' blog post.

It isn't a surprise that the network sees 1,72,800 registrations per day. Why not head over to Deep' blog post and checkout the Member' success stories for yourself.

Read More

Sound Search For Google Play Widget

Ever listened to a song while traveling in the train or a bus or in your car and wanted to download it once you gt time only to realize that you forgot what it was? Well, that happens to quite a few of us. And this isn't a surprise since through the day we go through so many things, forgetting the tune or words of a song is not a big deal. The Android team of Google seems to have a few members who face the same. And they have come up with a widget to solve the problem. Sound Search for Google Play Widget is here.

Now "you can start identifying music playing around you, directly from your Android device’s homescreen". And since the widget syncs up your music on all your devices, you can identify the music on the go on your Android handset and can later schedule a download on your Android tab.

For devices that are running on the latest version of Android Jelly Bean (# 4.2), you are able to add the widget directly to your device' lock-screen, making it easier to use the search feature without having to unlock your device and lose anytime n the process. Here is a list of features the widget provides you: 

• Identify songs, directly from your home-screen
• Purchase identified songs straight from Google Play, and add them to your Play Music library
• Keep a song identification history, synced across all of your Android devices, so you can purchase a song laterAdd the widget directly to your lock-screen, so you can recognize songs even faster (for devices running Android 4.2)

Read More

Ubuntu On SmartPhone. When, Where and How!

Good news for Linux fans. Or more in general the open source fans. If you are an open source fan, we are sure you love Linux as much. The good news is that you may soon see a smartphone in your favorite smartphone store or your bookmarked mobile shopping site, a mobile phone for sale that is not only smart but also runs on Ubuntu!

Ubuntu' commercial sponsor, Canonical, announced the news and its new smartphone interface on Tuesday. The company plans to show off the smartphone interface at CES this year. The company claims a less cluttered design for the seamless experince on a touch phone. This is what the guys at Ubuntu has to say on the smartphone interface they will be showcasing:
Your phone is more immersive, the screen is less cluttered, and you flow naturally from app to app with edge magic. The phone becomes a full PC and thin client when docked. Ubuntu delivers a magical phone that is faster to run, faster to use and fits perfectly into the Ubuntu family. 

If design is one big part that a smartphone needs to be ahead in, Ubuntu we are sure must be aware of the competition it would be facing. iOS and Android are already in tussle, with the later winning it due to the penetration it has worldwide. Android has been the go to smartphone OS for people looking to buy budget phones. Apple already has its own fan following. We have of late seen Windows mobile trying to create a spot for themselves and who forgets the guys at Blackberry and Samsung Bada. Does Ubuntu really stand a chance for that popularity and penetration? Whatever we think about the mobile industry being ready to give a pace to Ubuntu, the guys at Ubuntu certainly thinks that way. Pretty eminent from what they say on this:
With all-native core apps and no Java overhead, Ubuntu runs well on entry-level smartphones – yet it uses the same drivers as Android. So now it’s easy to bring a better experience to customers all over the world.  

So when a smartphone launches with an open source OS, app developers always should have a chance to play around as well. Canonical and Ubuntu are ready for that as well:
Create gorgeous native apps or lightweight HTML5 apps easily with our SDK. Repurpose web apps fast, so they look and work like their native cousins. With one OS for all form factors, one app can have interfaces for phone and desktop – in just one upload to one store. 

Doesn't seem like the manufacturer and the carrier have been finalized for the launch which should happen somewhere early next year. The design looks impressive but you will find yourself comparing the features to either Android or iOS the moment you look at them. Here is a quick look at a few of the design features:

Available from the home screen or any application view is your favorite apps list. Just the swipe gesture from the left of the screen will reveal the list. Most of the features as with all

smartphones work with the swipe gestures. So the full swipe from left to right reveals all the open apps, while a swipe in opposite direction reveals your frequently used apps. You will notice the difference in swipe gestures while switching from one app to another that are open. So you won't need to go back to your home screen to switch apps, rather all you need to do is swipe from the right edge to go to the previous app form the current app you are on; another same swipe will let you go to the app you used before this one.

The swipe gestures are common feature but what Ubuntu makes a difference here is the edge features. For most part of navigating from one app to another(no need for home screen navigation). Ubuntu claims this is something no other smartphone offers you, plus it provides a more seamless experience where you focus more on content rather than on control. 

For the search options on the phone interface, any search for a person the phone will search your contacts, emails, Facebook contacts as well as Twitter followers. Similarly any search on the music will not only reveal results from your phone but also from online retailers. 

The home screen has been designed differently to be more than a sedate lock screen. The notification bar (as we say so in Android) lets you reply from then and there to messages.

The smartphone interface has been a thoughtful one, but will it receive the attention that the creators expect? Should the guys at Android and Apple worry about this? Let us know your thoughts and he by the way do you want to keep an eye on when the phone is out? Let the guys at Ubuntu themselves alert you on it :)

We will end this post with the video about the Ubuntu smartphone interface:

[Image Credits: From Ubuntu site] 

Read More

Successor to iPhone5 and iOS6 ?

The year has hardly begun and we already are hearing some news that may really qualify for the best leaked news of a year! The guys and TNW noticed some interesting things in the developer logs: References that may suggest Apple is testing a successor to its current version of both iPhone handset as well as the iOS. Sounds interesting, read on.

Who's Watching?

Although this is not the first case of Apple' pocket being searched(iOS6 was leaked in a very similar manner) without them noticing it, it sure leads to a more distant thought that despite the efforts something just seems to go wrong in between the patent fiasco going around with the smartphone king (ok we agree, "arguably" for some). An iOS developer who contacted 'The Next Web' showed traces in the developer logs that showed Apple testing iPhone6.1 and the requests came from a device running iOS7. The logs also showed that the IP from which the requests came from belonged to Apple's Cupertino campus.

The new version of the iPhone (6.1) is expected to be launched somewhere mid this year. The current iPhone available in the market are versioned at 5.1 and 5.2 based on the LTE model and the 4G band used with the connection. The requests (IP and other things the developers saw in the logs) could be faked, you thing this is the case here? Let us know in the comments.

Happy New Year to all our readers :)

Read More

No More Silent Chrome Extensions Installs

Lets start with a question upfront. Did you update your Chrome yet? In case you are wondering we are taking an update of your Chrome to version 25. If not your are doing a favor to neither you nor your Chrome browser. Nee to know what you are missing? Read on.

Ever wondered where that extension came from to your chrome? As mentioned on the Chrome Blog, "Until now, it has been possible to silently install extensions into Chrome on Windows using the Windows registry mechanism for extension deployment. This feature was originally intended to allow users to opt-in to adding a useful extension to Chrome as a part of the installation of another application." But as is obvious, the feature was used in a wrong sense by quite a few third party programs to be able to install some extensions without any intimations or permission from the user. But now with the version 25 update of the Chrome browser, the extensions installed via the external extension deployment options will be disabled by default.

Now on the install of such silent extensions, your chrome menu will be badged. The menu will have options to take you through a click process where by you will be able to choose either to remove or disable the extension.

But as we know with Chrome developers, the intent is not only to prevent the future problems but also fix the ones that existed previously. So apart from the information on future installs of the silent extensions, this version update also has the feature that will disable all such extensions that may have been installed silently by any third party programs. There will be a one time notification for the users so they may take any actions ini case they want to.

Chrome just got better and more user friendly :). Agree ?

Read More

Mentions in Blogger Posts

Remember sometime back when Google gave you an option to start using your Google+ profile on your blogger account. What that essentially meant was a way to promote your Google plus profile so gets linked with your blogger account and you could use it to display in the author' block widget on Blogger. But there was more to it that met the eye. How did we come to know about it? We saw this when we landed on our Blogger a couple days before:

We have been talking about Google' product merge policy. This, for whatever a small reason, can again fall in to that list. Now that you use your Google plus profile on your Blogger account, you could make mentions of people that are on Google plus in your posts. Not only people but pages too. The mentions can be done even if you are not in contact with the person or page being mentioned. And based on that account' notification settings, a notification will be sent to them once the post is published. And once you mention them, the post will be shared with them as you share the post on Google plus (this is if you have the share auto settings enabled).

As for how to, we are sure you don't need guidance on that. But still here is what Google has to say:
"To use this feature, just type "+" or "@" followed by the name or page. As you’re typing, you'll see a list of names appear below. You can click to select the person or page that you'd like to mention."

Read More

ApnaCircle Search and New Recruiter Space

Besides the Facebook and Google taking their war to another level and the Twitter Instagram tussle, the Indian PSN ApnaCircle has advanced in producing some little but effective changes as far as the Members are concerned. There has been some good news for the recruiter's on the network with the new Recruiter's tool introduced on the site by the company. We take a quick look on the changes.

The search pages on the site have seen a makeover. They now display the search results in a more short profile view that is now characteristic all over the site. The page now also has a default quick view as well as the detailed view. Both of the views are shown in the below screen captures. Take a special note that the search pages now also return company page for the keyword matches, as is the case in our search in these screen captures.

Search (Quick View) : Default view

And here is the detailed view, as shown in the top right corner of the capture:

Search (Detailed View)

As you see this view has a bit more information on the Member' cards. You choose your view!!

Before we move on to the recruiter tool, there is a small change that we noticed on the profiles page in the skills area. It seems you are now able to suggest your contacts some skills that they should consider adding to their profiles. Look at the bottom section of the below screen capture:

OK, so as we said.. good news for all recruiters on +ApnaCircle . The company has released a new version of the recruiters tool that allows easy management of the talent available and as well as the contact response flow.
Create Projects and Watch Your Job Offers

Post, Search and Find. As Easy As This!!

Smooth Searching and Easy Access To Cart

One Click Access To The Talent Pool

Impressed? You will be more once you try the new tool. Got enough details? Now go ahead and get a start on the ApnaCircle Recruiter Tool.
And by the way, don't forget to have a look at the important links on the footer. Just to mention that the footer on this tool is different from the rest of the site.

And before we end the post, it seems the company has some goodies planned for its Members via a New Year Contest that seems to be up soon on the Facebook page. So you guys better keep an eye on that page and here is the official announcement from them:

Let us know what you think of the new features and more importantly on the new Recruiter's Tool. Merry Christmas to all of you !
[Recruiter section Image Courtesy: ApnaCircle Recruiter's Tool]

Read More

Facebook Tests $1 Non-Contact Messages

Where does this one comes from? We are sure you will find this message ringing in quite a few ears who by now know about this new Facebook feature. We are more sure you will be thinking about this more n more once you know the feature. Facebook has started testing a feature that lets anyone message you for as low as $1. If you think that's ok, read carefully. When we say "anyone", it means people who are not in your contact list. Getting jitters now?

Facebook, we are sure didn't mean to create wrong flows. What they actually mean to do is this:
"If you want to send a message to someone you heard speak at an event but are not friends with, or if you want to message someone about a job opportunity, you can use this feature to reach their Inbox,"
"For the receiver, this test allows them to hear from people who have an important message to send them."

Obviously the intent is good. How well is this grasped is a different story altogether but is something that Facebook may suffer from. I mean yes people occasionally would like to receive messages from that pleasant someone they met at the party the other day, but then since when there have been restrictions on the web users. We are not pointing fingers but you get the point right? People may get on the receiving end and as of now we are not sure what Facebook plans to protect them. What we are putting here already seems to be in Facebook minds though and this is what they think about it:

"Several commentators and researchers have noted that imposing a financial cost on the sender may be the most effective way to discourage unwanted messages and facilitate delivery of messages that are relevant and useful."

Besides they think a limit is good way as well, so they decided this:
"This message routing feature is only for personal messages between individuals in the U.S. In this test, the number of messages a person can have routed from their Other folder to their Inbox will be limited to a maximum of one per week."

The test will evolve as per the company statements so we will keep an eye on what they do and how?

Read More

Track Santa Through Maps and Apps

When it comes to creativity and surprises with benefits, Google leaves no stone unturned. This time the festival time of the year when kids and bigs are waiting for a call and present from Santa, the company has started a track Santa theme around the things. Starting from just 10 min from now (at the time of writing that is), which will be 2:am PST time, you can start tracking Santa' route; courtesy a tracker and some apps developed by the guys at Google.

Previously since 2004, the company was tracking Santa' route via Google Earth. This year however you will be able to track him as he travels across cities and boundaries on possibly the fastest airborne vehicle (his sleigh), both on Google Earth as well as Google Maps. How? Just visit google.com/santatracker. You will be able to see his position and stats right from 2:00am PST on Christmas Eve.

Apart from this, you could use the Chrome Extension or download the Android App especially built for the purpose. All this so you can keep up with wherever Santa may be right from your Smartphone's and tablets. And if you wish to keep an update on his route via any page streams or wall updates, here are the links you would want to keep an eye on:
Circle him on Google+
Like him on Facebook
Follow him on Twitter

And as a special gift you could always as Santa to call a dear friend and deliver your messages. Merry Christmas to all our Readers :)

Read More

Viadeo Mobile App Marketing

In today's era when more and more people have gone smart with the hand held devices and prefer to be in contact with their network even while on the move, it becomes a compulsion that apart from the web version of their site the webmasters also focus on how they make the services available on these smartphones or the hand held devices in general. Not a surprise that Viadeo has been quite up to the mark (although they are still a bit slow on getting off the mark in a few mobile areas). Today we discuss their updates that are being released in the respective areas of the respective smartphones and a surprise on their website and video marketing.

The mobile detail section on their website has been updated in the recent time. The pages now give a more professional designed feel to the users. Besides the pages now have enough details and in a nice layout. Viadeo has an app for all major smartphones. Go to play store for the Viadeo Android App, or Apple app store for the Viadeo iOS app and Windows phone users have the Viadeo app for Windows as well as the Samsung Bada version is there too. And so the Blackberry users don't feel left out, here is the Viadeo Blackberry app.

If you want to get more details on each of the smartphone app, click on the 'Find out more' links that sit on the right side of the page in the first screen capture above(just below the QR
code on right top) or see the footer, where you will find the mobile section as you see on the screen capture on your left. The Android app has seen another update today on the play store and now sits on version 2.2.0 and as far as the app is concerned, it seems users are happy with the new layout on the news section and the fact that you can now store your Viadeo contacts to your phone address book. Any Russian users out there? Be happy as the app now supports your native language as well

And here is the surprise that we saw today on the Viadeo dashboard.

Looks nice? We agree!! The ad that you see on both sides of the screen relates to a YouTube promotional/marketing video. But we were sad to see that t disappeared once we refreshed the page. Here is a look to the good marketing and promotional video:

It's quite evident that the guys at Viadeo have been taking the mobile apps a bit too seriously. Good for the user but it also seems like they are missing a line of action. We hope you remember that Viadeo is also the parent of Indian based PSN ApnaCircle. So while the work related to the mobile apps have been great on one hand, there have been some points that have been missed which should have been easy to have been taken care of on the first hand. We compiled a list of what we found and think represent a lazy look on part of the brands.

• The mobile pages on the Viadeo site seems not to have been created for ApnaCircle. The moment you go to the ApnaCircle mobile pages, you see a mix of Viadeo and ApnaCircle. In fact the page title itself reads "Viadeo | Mobile".
• As far as we are aware, there are no mobile apps for ApnaCircle apart from iPhone and Blackberry. But the mobile pages detailed in above point and as well as in the footer, the site shows the site has a mobile app for Android, Bada etc and worse they lead to Viadeo apps for respective smartphones.
• Try opening www.apnacircle.com on your Android phone and you are redirected to the Android mobile page for the site that asks you to install the Android app fr ApnaCircle and tells you the features available. Click on the download link and it takes you to the Viadeo app on the play store. You got the point, right?

Hope someone from the company is listening to us on these questions and also that the fices are on their way soon. Users obviously won't like getting stuck on the line.

Read More

YouTube Rewind : 2012 Trending Vids

2012 comes to an end and there is some nostalgia in the air as far as YouTube is concerned. YouTube yesterday launched YouTube Rewind, a channel devoted to the top trending videos that you have viewed on the video site for the year 2012.

As per YouTube this year online users have viewed around 4 billion hours of videos in a single month. They have said what percentage was owned by the smartphone users but still considering the number is so huge, it isn't a surprise there were trends across multiple categories. Kevin Allocca, YouTube trends manager said on the site' official blog that people have been using the platform quite creatively. The innovation has been extensive and the passions and interests have taken the culture to a different level. The same could be seen in the this year's trending videos showcased on the channel. 

Here are the top trends from India. And here is a tribute YouTube prepared for the top trending videos, and is this a surprise that Gangnam style was the top trending video with nearly 1 billion views.

This is what Kevin Allocca had to say on the blog post:

This year, Korean Pop music transcended boundaries and took the world by storm. Cover songs, parodies, and "do-it-yourself" music videos from all genres entertained us in countries near and far. And you participated in conversations at a global scale, uploading videos to share ideas on everything from nonprofit campaigns, to political satire, to new and surprising voices and talents. Plus, all over the world, you tuned in for the most up-to-date news footage of presidential elections, natural disasters and more.

Read More

Google Maps for iPhone

Nearly 3 months after the embedded app for Google maps was given a farewell by Apple, Google decided it was time they gave the iOS users (only iPhone and not iPad) an early Christmas present. So if you own an iPhone and are planning a trip somewhere you haven't been and you feel a little edgy using the iPhone' version of map especially after what happened to motorists in Mildura; cheer up. The Santa Google is here with a native app of their Google maps version for the iPhone users. iPad version still no where in sight and no news as of now.

Before we move on if you are really excited about getting the app. We won't keep you waited, you can come back here after you get your Google maps app for the iPhone on iTunes. While it's been the news doing rounds since the iOS6 went without Google maps support, the point of main concern that is the voice navigation part which seemed like was the highlight point of why Apple thought to do away with search giant version of the maps and instead choose their own in house developed version has been included in this version of Google maps for iPhone. Head straight o iTunes page for more details on what the app brings for all the iPhone users. The app has been released yesterday for all users to use and is already sitting pretty with impressive and sigh-of-relief reviews on Apple store.

There are a few things that misses out on this version and we are surprised on their exclusion just as you would be. The list include; offline mode, biking directions and indoor maps. According to Daniel Graf, director of Google Maps for mobile, the team has built it from scratch and you could see it from the wonderful UI that greets you right from the word go. The Android version of the app was far better than the one we saw before iOS6 launch. Now it seems with this app the gap has been bridged and Apple users will have a chance to experience nearly all the features they would otherwise see on the web version of Google maps. This includes a vector based version of the maps with the 3D view of them. The turn by turn voice guided navigation has just provided the things that missed from the earlier versions and we are sure the users will love it.

Looking at the app it isn't a surprise Apple' CEO Tim Cook made a mention in his apology, telling the users to refer to Google maps web version on the browser till Apple is fixing the issues with the Apple maps. And Google isn't done yet, with the app they also released the Google Maps SDK for iOS so now iOS app developers can use it while developing their app for iPhone(s) and iPad(s). If the timing was right or it's just a coincident that the app comes just at a time when Apple is finding it tough with their version of maps, the giants will only know!!

Read More

Instagram Pulls Twitter Support

At first when the support for Twitter cards was pulled off users might have had a hard a time figuring out what is happening with their Instagram shared photos. But then it became clear what the main step was behind this pull. As Twitter mentioned on their status update about the Instagram photo rendering issues; the support for displaying the photos from Instagram in a tweet has been pulled off by the Facebook owned company, suggesting the Facebook buyout is now getting hotter on the two services.

Twitter card is the support when you expand a tweet to see the details about the pics attached or some other type of information that may be accompanied with the tweet. Earlier when Instagram users shared their pics on Twitter, the photos showed up in the tweets through the Twitter card integration. This support went limited when photos were "being displayed using a pre-cards experience". The result was that the photos appeared cropped form the original part shared. No sooner than users started noticing the limitation, Instagram decided and it was then the time to disable the shared photo display.

So, now when users will share an image from Instagram, they will not see the Image within the tweet but rather some white space instead of the photo place. The shared photo will only be seen from the link that comes as part of the tweet. The link will take you to the Instagram' native site where you will have the original photo displayed. Instagram vs Twitter speculations have been the point to talk about since Facebook acquired Instagram so these kind of restrictions and pull of support were always on the cards.
[Image Credit: Twitter Blog]

Read More

Google Plus Introduces Communities

Remember the groups that you created while you were still attending your academic sessions? Well if you do (and we are certain that almost everyone does), you remember how easy they made the discussions with your friends. Not long ago (although it feels like a century), people started introducing the concept of Groups/Forums to the online world where you could discuss the new chick in town and what not. Forums evolved and so did Groups and now we see another version of these that may more relate to the actual society we live in, a collection of like minded people on one familiar and common topic: Communities.

Google had groups, so did a few other leader in the business. The flaw was that these were never integrated that well in to the original product that they were supposed to support initially. The product that was the birth idea if these groups, was left stranded without much interaction. Google has now introduced Communities. A place on the social network (Google plus) which is for like minded people to discuss the common topics. The best part, unlike Google Groups; Google Communities are a part of Google plus and well integrated.

So while creating a particular circle for your daily soap chit chats may be a good idea but adding people to it is restricted to only your contacts. You now have option to create a Google Community for the same and people will find it on their own, join them and be part of your network. The posts within the communities stay protected and visible to only the members of the community. If you need to interact, you need to join. Simple.

You could search for an existing community or create a new one as per your interest. We joined an existing community for Bloggers: WeBloggers. So if you are a blogger, you are most welcome :)

Read More

Apple Map Sends Motorist To Bush

No no, not the Bush you first thought. If that would have been the case Tim Cook, Apple' CEO should have been required to send an apology letter after what the in house maps app did to some motorists who were merely looking for a town location on the Maps that Apple created in house and used with the latest version of their smart-phone OS, iOS6.

After the deal broke with Google on the maps app that Goggle previously provided Apple with, the iPhone maker decided it was time to introduce a new app for maps that would serve the purpose instead of the Google maps that were shipped with Apple devices earlier. Little did they know things will take some nasty turns. It's being reported that Austrian police has warned people to not rely on the maps app served by their iPhone devices and rather use some other ways to look for the directions and routes. The warning was issued after it was found that Apple maps showed the Australian city of Mildura to be 40 miles away from the actual place that it is in the country. Referring the map quite a few motorists were left stranded in a place without water and food, some even for 24hrs. Several motorists had to be rescued by Mildura Police.

The police has been calling the issue as a "potentially-life-threatening" issue as the map showed the city which has a population of around 30K people to be in the middle of the Murray-Sunset National Park. Considering that the place had no water supply and the temperature could reach to a level of 46 degrees Celsius, it indeed is a serious issue. This is what the Mildura Police had to say on this:
"Some of the motorists located by police have been stranded for up to 24 hours without food or water and have walked long distances through dangerous terrain to get phone reception.
Police have contacted Apple in relation to the issue and hope the matter is rectified promptly to ensure the safety of motorists traveling to Mildura.
Anyone traveling to Mildura or other locations within Victoria should rely on other forms of mapping until this matter is rectified."

So What will it be for you; Google Maps or Apple' version ??

Read More