Tech Roundup: Dec 23/Dec 30, 2012
Instagram Policy Uproar:
Facebook recently announced its intention to monetize the photo-sharing service Instagram. Hardly a few days would have passed by which time Instagram announced a revised Terms of Service on December 17 much to the chagrin of its faithful users. The revised ToS allowed Instagram the right to sell users' photos to third parties without notification or compensation after January 16, 2013. Predictably the move was met with severe backlash from all quarters and many jumped ship to rivals such as Flickr, which coincidentally updated its iOS app with more features.
You agree that a business may pay Instagram to display your photos in connection with paid or sponsored content or promotions without any compensation to you. - Instagram's revised ToS
... you hereby agree that Instagram may place such advertising and promotions on the Service or on, about, or in conjunction with your Content. - Instagram's original terms
It even prompted National Geographic to suspend its Instagram account and in the end Kevin Systrom, the service's co-founder, clarified in a blog post by stating that the new terms have been misinterpreted and that it didn't have any intention of selling photos to advertisers. In actuality, the revised terms work in the same way like Facebook's Sponsored Stories wherein Instagram will let companies and brands pay them to promote their own photos in users' photo feed.
As of now, the terms have been reverted to the original version and as Nilay Patel of The Verge remarks, the reinstatement of the older policy (see above) is even more ambiguous and actually gives Instagram the power to use your photos in ads. While Instagram screwed up by being evasive about its future money making strategies in its convoluted legal phrasing, it also shows that none of us really bothered to read the old terms! Had it been given a serious scrutiny, all this fuss over nothing (including a class action lawsuit that has been filed against Instagram for its greediness) could have been avoided.
Its parent Facebook has gone down the same path numerous times before: come up with a revised policy, unleash a furore, and then backtrack a little from its stance. It's sad to see Instagram going the same way. People continue to use Facebook, despite a general lack of trust, due to its unparalleled popularity and reach but the same cannot be said about Instagram, which has earned a huge following because of what it is. Such confusions can only succeed in irking its user community, causing them to desert it for rival services. A lesson learnt the hard way no doubt!
Facebook's new privacy settings, Poke app and monetization strategies:
Social networking behemoth Facebook has begun its roll out of the new privacy settings to users. The new settings have:
Randi, aghast at her private photo becoming public, asked Schweitzer to delete the photo, who promptly obliged. She later took to Twitter to dole out a lesson on etiquette: "Digital etiquette: always ask permission before posting a friend's photo publicly. It's not about privacy settings, it's about human decency," tweeted Zuckerberg.
That's not all. Facebook has launched a new app called Poke to take on rivals such as Snapchat, a service that allows users to send salacious messages which can self-destruct within a specified time frame of 1, 3, 5 and 10 seconds. Seeing Snapchat's rising popularity amongst youngsters, Facebook was heavily rumoured to be acquiring the startup but later came up with its own offering in 12 days. Zuckerberg himself was said to be involved in coding the piece of software. Unsurprisingly, the app has been met with a unanimous thumbs down. Snapchat users termed it an obvious ripoff while many critics have questioned Facebook's move and its long-term vision. All this has only ended up boosting Snapchat's visibility (and for the good).
In its attempts to monetize user activities on the social network, Facebook is currently testing a new feature that lets one message a complete stranger (one who isn't your friend on FB) for a dollar. This ensures that the message you send doesn't land up on the stranger's 'Other' folder and ends up on his main 'Inbox'. While Facebook states that this move will discourage unwanted messages from being sent, it can definitely encourage spammers to take advantage of this feature to push out junk messages to your inbox. This will also perhaps let Facebook grab one crucial missing info about you - your credit card details.
There's still more to its annoying monetization attempts. It's purportedly also planning to bring in 15 second video ads, set to autoplay by default, to users' news feeds starting next year on its desktop site, smartphone and tablet apps. I get the feeling that Facebook is trying to milk every opportunity to make money out of its 1 billion user base. All making one remind of the fact that we, users, are the product.
Google to take on Apple iPhone and Samsung Galaxy with Motorola 'X Phone' and tablet:
Android owner Google has so far been launching its own smartphones and tablets in collaboration with other handset manufacturers which are part of the Android Open Handset Alliance, hence the name Nexus. Its recently launched Nexus 4 with LG, though well received, has been marred by poor supply issues and LG seems to be struggling to keep up with the demand. Google, while offering unconditional apology, has blamed the Korean manufacturer for the blip. Perhaps learning a lesson or two from these experiences, it has decided to take things under its own control. After all, its purchase of Motorola was more than just beefing up its patent portfolio.
But now it's apparently confirmed: Google is working on a new smartphone, internally known as the 'X Phone', to take on its competition. "Seven months after being acquired by Google for $12.5 billion, Motorola is designing its marquee handset with cutting-edge features to stand apart from existing phones when it is released next year," reports the Wall Street Journal. It is also being said that a 'X Tablet' will closely follow once the work on X phone is complete. In addition to making an entry into hardware production, the search giant is also said to be planning a cheaper alternative to its popular Nexus 7 tablet which could be priced as low as $99, according a report from Digitimes. Time for iPad mini to face the heat!
Apple's plans for 2013:
The world's most valuable company is busy making its plans for the coming year. And all we have at the moment are rumours. While Apple TV has been long speculated, CEO Tim Cook's recent statement that they are 'an area of intense interest' has set the tongues wagging. According to a latest report, Foxconn is reportedly testing Apple TV's of up to 55 inches in size. Not only that, the company is also planning a refresh of its iPad family. Yes, you read it right! A new thinner and lighter iPad 5 and an iPad mini with Retina Display are being expected to be launched come March 2013. But what's new amidst all this is its plans to unveil a Bluetooth powered smart watch. The concept, which probably goes beyond the iPod Nano, can allow easy pairing with your iOS device via Bluetooth as per reports from TechCrunch. Scheduled for a launch next year, it remains to be seen if Apple can score a hit with this one.
HTC's obsession with flagship continues:
Taiwanese handset manufacturer, not content with announcing One X, One X+, Butterfly J and Droid DNA, is now planning to unveil yet another flagship device at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next year. Named the M7, the super-smartphone boasts of every high-end spec you can think of at the moment: 4.7-inch 1080p display, 13MP camera, 2GB RAM and Sense 5 to top all of it. Why can't the company streamline its products for God's sake!
In other news:
Google - Android:
Motorola could be fined by European Commission for its legal proceedings to ban sales of Microsoft's Xbox 360 by using its standard-essential patents.
Polaroid to follow the footsteps of Nikon and Samsung; to launch a Android-powered camera next year.
Malware exploit uncovered on Samsung Galaxy smartphones; Samsung working on a fix.
Google Maps for iOS hits 10 million downloads in the first 48 hours.
Sony rolls out Android Jelly Bean update to Xperia T; remaining 9 devices to taste the dessert starting February 2013.
HTC One S Jelly Bean update now available.
Sony to take on Galaxy Note II and HTC Droid DNA with a 5-incher Xperia Z; to debut at CES next month.
Samsung unveils 5-inch Galaxy Grand for the budget conscious; to be available next year.
Google launches YouTube Capture for iOS; allows easy sharing and uploading of videos.
Samsung rolling out Premium Suite Jelly Bean update for the original Galaxy Note.
Apple - iOS:
Apple pinch-to-zoom patent invalidated by US Patent Office; lands a blow to Apple in its case against Samsung.
Apple Maps expected to add Foursquare integration.
Apple's stock briefly goes below the $500 mark.
Brazilian company Gradiente SA begins sales of iPhone, a smartphone running on Android OS; Apple most likely to pay the firm to use the brand name in the country.
Apple iOS 6.2 update out for iPad mini and iPhone 5 with a Wi-Fi fix.
Microsoft - Windows Phone:
Microsoft says it's 'very surprised' by Google's move to drop support for Exchange ActiveSync.
Maps for Windows Phone 8 updated with more details and traffic info.
Windows Phone 8 Portico update now rolling out for Nokia Lumia 920 / 820 with Wi-Fi and camera fixes.
Nokia and HTC planning to unveil Windows 8 RT powered tablets next year.
Windows Phone store adds 75,000 apps in 2012.
Social Media:
Twitter has 200 million monthly active users.
Banker Morgan Stanley fined a record $5 million for trying to influence research analysts days before Facebook IPO.
Misc:
Popular news curating app Flipboard gets optimized for Android tablets.
Psy's Gangnam Style crosses 1 billion views on YouTube; becomes the most watched video ever.
Apple, Google, Microsoft, RIM, Facebook and Amazon buy Kodak's 1,100 imaging patents for $525 million.
HTML5 specification finalized three years after start, says Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C).
NASA's twin probes to Moon, Ebb and Flow, crash into a lunar mountain after a year long study of the Earth's satellite.
North Korea's recently launched rocket tumbling in space and is likely dead.
BlackBerry maker RIM strikes a patent-licensing deal with Nokia to use its WLAN patents at a initial cost of $65 million.
Central West Antarctica is found to be one of the fastest warming regions on earth; warming up three times faster than the global average.
Hawaiian islands reportedly dissolving from within due to erosion, a new study finds.
US current affairs magazine Newsweek ends its print run with a hashtagged cover titled '#LASTPRINTISSUE' as it embraces the digital era starting next year.
China's and world's longest high speed rail service begins operations between Beijing and Guangzhou; covers a distance of approximately 1,200 miles in 8 hours.
Tech Roundup is a weekly recurring feature on the latest trends in Technology.
Facebook recently announced its intention to monetize the photo-sharing service Instagram. Hardly a few days would have passed by which time Instagram announced a revised Terms of Service on December 17 much to the chagrin of its faithful users. The revised ToS allowed Instagram the right to sell users' photos to third parties without notification or compensation after January 16, 2013. Predictably the move was met with severe backlash from all quarters and many jumped ship to rivals such as Flickr, which coincidentally updated its iOS app with more features.
You agree that a business may pay Instagram to display your photos in connection with paid or sponsored content or promotions without any compensation to you. - Instagram's revised ToS
... you hereby agree that Instagram may place such advertising and promotions on the Service or on, about, or in conjunction with your Content. - Instagram's original terms
 |
| Instagram ToS uproar |
As of now, the terms have been reverted to the original version and as Nilay Patel of The Verge remarks, the reinstatement of the older policy (see above) is even more ambiguous and actually gives Instagram the power to use your photos in ads. While Instagram screwed up by being evasive about its future money making strategies in its convoluted legal phrasing, it also shows that none of us really bothered to read the old terms! Had it been given a serious scrutiny, all this fuss over nothing (including a class action lawsuit that has been filed against Instagram for its greediness) could have been avoided.
Its parent Facebook has gone down the same path numerous times before: come up with a revised policy, unleash a furore, and then backtrack a little from its stance. It's sad to see Instagram going the same way. People continue to use Facebook, despite a general lack of trust, due to its unparalleled popularity and reach but the same cannot be said about Instagram, which has earned a huge following because of what it is. Such confusions can only succeed in irking its user community, causing them to desert it for rival services. A lesson learnt the hard way no doubt!
Facebook's new privacy settings, Poke app and monetization strategies:
Social networking behemoth Facebook has begun its roll out of the new privacy settings to users. The new settings have:
- A persistent privacy shortcut on the toolbar that asks three questions: who can see my stuff?, who can contact me?, and how do I stop someone from bothering me?
- A refreshed Activity log that lets users know how their information is spread across the site.
- A tool to let users untag themselves from photos or send a direct message to the person who tagged them asking them to do the same.
Randi, aghast at her private photo becoming public, asked Schweitzer to delete the photo, who promptly obliged. She later took to Twitter to dole out a lesson on etiquette: "Digital etiquette: always ask permission before posting a friend's photo publicly. It's not about privacy settings, it's about human decency," tweeted Zuckerberg.
That's not all. Facebook has launched a new app called Poke to take on rivals such as Snapchat, a service that allows users to send salacious messages which can self-destruct within a specified time frame of 1, 3, 5 and 10 seconds. Seeing Snapchat's rising popularity amongst youngsters, Facebook was heavily rumoured to be acquiring the startup but later came up with its own offering in 12 days. Zuckerberg himself was said to be involved in coding the piece of software. Unsurprisingly, the app has been met with a unanimous thumbs down. Snapchat users termed it an obvious ripoff while many critics have questioned Facebook's move and its long-term vision. All this has only ended up boosting Snapchat's visibility (and for the good).
In its attempts to monetize user activities on the social network, Facebook is currently testing a new feature that lets one message a complete stranger (one who isn't your friend on FB) for a dollar. This ensures that the message you send doesn't land up on the stranger's 'Other' folder and ends up on his main 'Inbox'. While Facebook states that this move will discourage unwanted messages from being sent, it can definitely encourage spammers to take advantage of this feature to push out junk messages to your inbox. This will also perhaps let Facebook grab one crucial missing info about you - your credit card details.
There's still more to its annoying monetization attempts. It's purportedly also planning to bring in 15 second video ads, set to autoplay by default, to users' news feeds starting next year on its desktop site, smartphone and tablet apps. I get the feeling that Facebook is trying to milk every opportunity to make money out of its 1 billion user base. All making one remind of the fact that we, users, are the product.
Google to take on Apple iPhone and Samsung Galaxy with Motorola 'X Phone' and tablet:
Android owner Google has so far been launching its own smartphones and tablets in collaboration with other handset manufacturers which are part of the Android Open Handset Alliance, hence the name Nexus. Its recently launched Nexus 4 with LG, though well received, has been marred by poor supply issues and LG seems to be struggling to keep up with the demand. Google, while offering unconditional apology, has blamed the Korean manufacturer for the blip. Perhaps learning a lesson or two from these experiences, it has decided to take things under its own control. After all, its purchase of Motorola was more than just beefing up its patent portfolio.
But now it's apparently confirmed: Google is working on a new smartphone, internally known as the 'X Phone', to take on its competition. "Seven months after being acquired by Google for $12.5 billion, Motorola is designing its marquee handset with cutting-edge features to stand apart from existing phones when it is released next year," reports the Wall Street Journal. It is also being said that a 'X Tablet' will closely follow once the work on X phone is complete. In addition to making an entry into hardware production, the search giant is also said to be planning a cheaper alternative to its popular Nexus 7 tablet which could be priced as low as $99, according a report from Digitimes. Time for iPad mini to face the heat!
Apple's plans for 2013:
The world's most valuable company is busy making its plans for the coming year. And all we have at the moment are rumours. While Apple TV has been long speculated, CEO Tim Cook's recent statement that they are 'an area of intense interest' has set the tongues wagging. According to a latest report, Foxconn is reportedly testing Apple TV's of up to 55 inches in size. Not only that, the company is also planning a refresh of its iPad family. Yes, you read it right! A new thinner and lighter iPad 5 and an iPad mini with Retina Display are being expected to be launched come March 2013. But what's new amidst all this is its plans to unveil a Bluetooth powered smart watch. The concept, which probably goes beyond the iPod Nano, can allow easy pairing with your iOS device via Bluetooth as per reports from TechCrunch. Scheduled for a launch next year, it remains to be seen if Apple can score a hit with this one.
HTC's obsession with flagship continues:
Taiwanese handset manufacturer, not content with announcing One X, One X+, Butterfly J and Droid DNA, is now planning to unveil yet another flagship device at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next year. Named the M7, the super-smartphone boasts of every high-end spec you can think of at the moment: 4.7-inch 1080p display, 13MP camera, 2GB RAM and Sense 5 to top all of it. Why can't the company streamline its products for God's sake!
In other news:
Google - Android:
Motorola could be fined by European Commission for its legal proceedings to ban sales of Microsoft's Xbox 360 by using its standard-essential patents.
Polaroid to follow the footsteps of Nikon and Samsung; to launch a Android-powered camera next year.
Malware exploit uncovered on Samsung Galaxy smartphones; Samsung working on a fix.
Google Maps for iOS hits 10 million downloads in the first 48 hours.
Sony rolls out Android Jelly Bean update to Xperia T; remaining 9 devices to taste the dessert starting February 2013.
HTC One S Jelly Bean update now available.
Sony to take on Galaxy Note II and HTC Droid DNA with a 5-incher Xperia Z; to debut at CES next month.
Samsung unveils 5-inch Galaxy Grand for the budget conscious; to be available next year.
Google launches YouTube Capture for iOS; allows easy sharing and uploading of videos.
Samsung rolling out Premium Suite Jelly Bean update for the original Galaxy Note.
Apple - iOS:
Apple pinch-to-zoom patent invalidated by US Patent Office; lands a blow to Apple in its case against Samsung.
Apple Maps expected to add Foursquare integration.
Apple's stock briefly goes below the $500 mark.
Brazilian company Gradiente SA begins sales of iPhone, a smartphone running on Android OS; Apple most likely to pay the firm to use the brand name in the country.
Apple iOS 6.2 update out for iPad mini and iPhone 5 with a Wi-Fi fix.
Microsoft - Windows Phone:
Microsoft says it's 'very surprised' by Google's move to drop support for Exchange ActiveSync.
Maps for Windows Phone 8 updated with more details and traffic info.
Windows Phone 8 Portico update now rolling out for Nokia Lumia 920 / 820 with Wi-Fi and camera fixes.
Nokia and HTC planning to unveil Windows 8 RT powered tablets next year.
Windows Phone store adds 75,000 apps in 2012.
Social Media:
Twitter has 200 million monthly active users.
Banker Morgan Stanley fined a record $5 million for trying to influence research analysts days before Facebook IPO.
Misc:
Popular news curating app Flipboard gets optimized for Android tablets.
Psy's Gangnam Style crosses 1 billion views on YouTube; becomes the most watched video ever.
Apple, Google, Microsoft, RIM, Facebook and Amazon buy Kodak's 1,100 imaging patents for $525 million.
HTML5 specification finalized three years after start, says Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C).
NASA's twin probes to Moon, Ebb and Flow, crash into a lunar mountain after a year long study of the Earth's satellite.
North Korea's recently launched rocket tumbling in space and is likely dead.
BlackBerry maker RIM strikes a patent-licensing deal with Nokia to use its WLAN patents at a initial cost of $65 million.
Central West Antarctica is found to be one of the fastest warming regions on earth; warming up three times faster than the global average.
Hawaiian islands reportedly dissolving from within due to erosion, a new study finds.
US current affairs magazine Newsweek ends its print run with a hashtagged cover titled '#LASTPRINTISSUE' as it embraces the digital era starting next year.
China's and world's longest high speed rail service begins operations between Beijing and Guangzhou; covers a distance of approximately 1,200 miles in 8 hours.
Tech Roundup is a weekly recurring feature on the latest trends in Technology.
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