Tech Roundup: Microsoft vs. Google, Apple Event & More

[A recurring feature on the latest trends in Science & Technology.]

Users SCROOGLED as Google once again blocks YouTube on Windows Phone:
Well this is getting rather childish and borderline ridiculous! To give you a bit of background, Microsoft, seeing that YouTube experience on Windows Phone was nothing short of a mess, updated the app back in May to deliver a "high-quality YouTube app" only to be later forcefully removed from the Marketplace after it was found to be in violation with YouTube API's terms and conditions. The two companies then buried the hatchet and said they'd work together on a new YouTube app (again). And so when this app was re-released last week, it seemed to be an end to the whole drama. But unfortunately things have taken an ugly turn as Google has once again blocked the app from using its API's thereby rendering it useless. The reasons it's quoting this time makes one sit up and wonder whether Google is trying to use its dominance to deliberately stifle competition. And while Google and Microsoft squabble over like children, it's ultimately the users who are getting Scroogled!

Apple planning a September 10 iPhone event:
Apple is planning a special event on September 10 to unveil its next iPhone, according to reports from AllThingsD. The event comes at a crucial juncture for the tech giant, which is under immense pressure to deliver amidst increasing competition from Android and its rival Samsung. With the redesigned iOS 7 gaining mixed reactions so far, all eyes will be on the company's launches - a refreshed iPhone 5S and possibly a cheaper variant (dubbed iPhone 5C) - to see if it can fend off competition this time around.

Google suffers outage; Internet traffic plunges!
In a rare event, Google went dark for a whole 5 minutes. The outage, which seemed to have affected many of the search giant's services including Search, Gmail and YouTube amongst others (gasp!), occurred early Saturday morning (as per IST) taking down Internet traffic by a whopping 40 percent and costing the company some $545,000. This just goes on to show how intertwined Google has become with our day-to-day online activities!

In other news:
  • Ecuador to start oil drilling in Amazon rainforest preserve after plans to raise funds from rich countries to stave off drilling fails to achieve its objective.
  • US scientists discover a new mammal species olinguito living in the rainforests of Colombia and Ecuador; said to be the first species identified in the western hemisphere in 35 years.
  • NASA retires Kepler telescope from planet hunting; so far responsible for discovery of 135 exoplanets.
  • Smartphone sales overtake feature phones (or dumbphones) for the first time worldwide.
  • Popular RSS service Feedly now offers premium features for $5 per month.
  • Struggling handset maker BlackBerry exploring several 'strategic alternatives' such as going private and sell-off.
  • Nokia Lumia Amber update rolling out for Windows Phone 8 devices; adds a whole bunch of exclusive features.
  • Google+ update for Android and iOS removes Google+ Messenger; adds another useless shortcut to G+ Photos (well, that's my opinion).
  • Microsoft confirms Windows 8.1 for October 17 release.
  • Google finally announces Android Device Manager to track and remote wipe your Android device.
  • HTC One dual-SIM model launched in India.
  • Samsung caught tampering with Galaxy S4 benchmark results; says it's to "provide optimal user experience"!

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