eStyleToday

How Googley Is Yandex Anyway?

Edward Thomas — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 02:14:26 +0000

The Russian search company has just announced a collaboration with Twitter. Here’s how they’re becoming more like Google–and also how they also zag with every Google zig.

Yandex and Twitter just announced a collaboration that would give the Russian search company access to Twitter’s fire hose of real-time updates, news, and events. In our MIC 2011 feature (Yandex came in at #26), Yandex was growing “Google-style,” sprouting add-ons and apps month on month. Yandex now has a video search service, a photo hosting site, and an advertising analysis tool. It runs primarily on advertising money. Recently it added an online payments system (Yandex.money). Sound like anyone we know?

But in the year since we last visited with Yandex, whose name derives from the phrase “Yet Another Indexer, has become anything but. It’s taking over turf that even the maker of an autonomous car hasn’t.

First for the familiar bits. In April last year, Yandex announced a program called Yandex.Factory, to invest in promising tech startups. “We are full of ideas, but it’s not always easy to do everything at once,” Ksenia Yolkina, Project Manager of Yandex.Factory said at the time. ”If we spot a young, talented team of like-minded people doing interesting and relevant things on the market, we are eager to support them in all possible ways, including financing.” An approach not unfamiliar to Google, which believes in investing in startups of all sorts through via Google Ventures.

Also in April, Yandex announced they’d gotten into mapping–perhaps you’ve heard of Google’s own mapping service. By June, though, Yandex released a planner application for routing trips via public transport. By August, they’d added a traffic monitoring service. But then it did something un-Googley and launched a taxi search service (also in app form!) to relay taxi hail requests to companies in Moscow, with plans to expand to other big cities.

Then there’s mobile devices, on which Yandex seems to be in direct competition with Google. In October last year, Yandex kicked off a partnership with Samsung to have its search engine installed as the default on all Samsung’s bada-powered smartphones in Russia–40% of Samsung’s total smartphone sales in the country. Yandex’s ever-growing list of apps also placed prominently in Samsung’s devices, offering up weather data, mail services, currency exchange rates, and more. It also inked deals with Nokia, HTC, and Microsoft to get installed on Lumia Windows Phones as the default search engine.

In addition to launching local spin-off search services, part of Yandex’s strategy seems to be to expand into non-English-speaking markets. In September, Yandex launched in Turkey for the first time, targeting an Internet-rich market that had a growing search need for local language content. “Rolling out this new product involved developing a number of new technologies, such as a technology for storing web documents in different languages and a document prioritization technology. We expect to make broader use of these technologies in the future,” Arkady Volozh, Yandex CEO said at the time. By the end of January this year, their Turkey base had grown to 100,000 daily users.

Then there’s the Twitter deal. Twitter’s own interest in languages will be of good use to Yandex on this front. But then, it will also strengthen Yandex’s core identity as a general search engine, allowing it to deliver results super fast, and super first.

Nidhi Subbaraman writes about technology and life. Follow on Twitter, Google+.

[Image: Flickr user Fiddle Oak]

Fast Company

How Googley Is Yandex Anyway? is a post from: eStyleToday

Bing’s two new ‘death to print, death to retail’ features get detailed

Edward Thomas — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 19:31:11 +0000

Ever felt like Bing wasn’t for retail stores or print journalism? The two latest Windows Phone updates won’t dispel that fantasy, sadly. Bing Vision been update so it can read Barcodes, CD, DVD and Book Covers so you can find out how much cheaper the item in your hand is if ordered online. Image Matching for Newspapers won’t arrive until March, but you’ll be able to snap a photo of an article you’ve seen in a local rag and, if its in Microsoft’s database, you’ll be linked directly to the original version of the article online. That’s brick and mortar retail and newspapers taken care of, we’ll be waiting around to see what’s next on Bing’s hit-list — orphanages, probably.

Bing’s two new ‘death to print, death to retail’ features get detailed originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Bing | Email this | Comments
Engadget

Bing’s two new ‘death to print, death to retail’ features get detailed is a post from: eStyleToday

Julie’s Witty & Whimsical ‘Artsy Nerd’ Home Tech Tour

Edward Thomas — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 20:16:22 +0000

Name: Julie Gomoll
Location: Austin, TX
Size/Room: ~3,000 sq. ft
Years lived in: 12

Julie has done it all — grew (and then sold) a business, travelled the world (literally), swum with sharks, and read a library’s worth of books. Someone this fun, adventurous, and creative is bound to have a unique home, right? Well, is her vintage Chamber’s stove red?

Student hacks into Facebook, gets eight months in prison, twelve likes

Edward Thomas — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 15:31:28 +0000

The next time you get caught hijacking your friend’s Facebook, remember it could be worse. On Friday, British Student Glenn Mangham was sentenced to eight months in not-so-social jail, for hacking deep into Facebook’s servers. Apparently no user details were taken, with Mangham heading straight for “invaluable” intellectual property instead. Facebook alerted the authorities after it discovered the breach last May, the FBI then followed the digital thread back to the Briton’s UK address. It’s believed Mangham gained access to the inner sanctum after hacking into a Facebook employee’s account, though it’s not known if the comedy status update and embarrassing profile picture were also part of the attack.

Student hacks into Facebook, gets eight months in prison, twelve likes originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Feb 2012 09:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Huffington Post | Press Association | Email this | Comments
Engadget

Student hacks into Facebook, gets eight months in prison, twelve likes is a post from: eStyleToday

This Week’s Top Downloads [Download Roundup]

Edward Thomas — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 14:17:09 +0000

Software Data Cable Connects and Transfers Data to Your Android Phone, No Cables Required (Android) If you’ve ever forgotten a USB cable and need a way to transfer data to your Android phone from your PC (or vice versa), Software Data Cable is a free app for Android that turns your phone into a networked storage device you can browse from your computer, no cables attached.
PaperKarma Stops Junk Mail with a Snap of a Photo (iOS/Android/WP7) Nobody likes junk mail, but if you’re too lazy to go through and unsubscribe to everything individually, PaperKarma is a new app that only requires you to take a picture of the offending mail to remove yourself from the junk mail database.
Fitness Buddy Is a Comprehensive Exercise Planner, Tracker, and Instructor for Your Smartphone (Android/iPhone) We’ve looked at how to turn your Android or iPhone into a personal trainer, but Fitness Buddy is an app that covers most of your basis in one sweep. It not only provides instructions for over 1700 exercises, but also plans and tracks your workouts, weight and body metrics, and blood pressure.
ElectroDroid Is a Reference for All of Your DIY Electronics and Circuit Building Projects (Android) Last week, we discussed Circuit Playground for iOS, a comprehensive electronics reference manual. Android users can get in on the action with ElectroDroid, a collection of electronic reference information and tools available now in the Android App Market.
Clear Is a Colorful, Clutter-Free Way to Manage Your To-Dos on the iPhone (iOS) Clear is a minimalist to-do list app with an engaging touch interface: Swipe, pull, and pinch to work with your tasks. Tasks are color-coded in a heat map so you know which are the most pressing.
KeyboardClean Tool Locks Your Mac Keyboard While Cleaning Spills and Crumbs (Mac) I find that the moments I want to clean my keyboard (or just spilled coffee on it) are not premeditated times when my computer is actually off. Usually I decide to clean my keyboard when I have 12 open tabs, a half written blog post, etc. and don’t want to power down just to do a 30 second keyboard cleaning. Enter KeyboardClean Tool.
gExplore Manages Your Google Docs from the Desktop (Windows) If you’re looking for a way to manage your Google Docs without the need to sign in via your web browser, gExplore can help you out. It allows you to upload and download files in your Google Docs account directly from Windows, and even send PDFs to your Amazon Kindle.
Files 2 Folders Creates New Folders, Pre-Populated with Your Selected Files (Windows) One feature I miss from my Mac when I move to my Windows PC is the ability to highlight a group of files, right-click them, and select “New Folder with Selection” to create a folder and automatically fill it with the items I’ve selected. Files 2 Folder is a free Windows shell extension that does just that-and it even asks you what you’d like to name the folder when it’s completed.
Feed Notifier Monitors RSS Feeds in Real Time on Your Desktop (Windows) If you want to keep up with breaking news from a few sites Feed Notifier might be right up your alley. Instead of logging in and reading all feed updates as with Google Reader, Feed Notifier gives popups directly from your system tray as soon as a feed receives an update.
StartNinja Silences Your Mac’s Startup Sound with the Flip of a Switch (Mac) We’ve discussed how to make your Mac boot up silently before, but it’s a long, drawn out process. Free app StartNinja will silence your startup chime with just one click. embarrassing

Lifehacker

This Week’s Top Downloads [Download Roundup] is a post from: eStyleToday

The Homies Are Coming! The Homies 2012

Edward Thomas — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 08:17:43 +0000

Our annual Link Love party begins Friday, February 24th. Get ready to nominate your favorite home blogs and send mad props around the web. Past winners are below the fold. More

NHTSA issues “distraction guidelines” proposal for in-vehicle electronics, MyFord Touch frets

Edward Thomas — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 11:31:45 +0000

With companies like Tesla and Ford replacing tactile, in-dash systems with touchscreens and gizmos, the National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration wants to set “distraction guidelines” for how automakers implement factory-installed in-car electronics. Nearly a year after discussing the possibility of bringing restrictions to in-car information, US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood unveiled phase one of a (potential) three-part, “first-ever federal proposal” loaded with suggestions for keeping driver’s eyes and attention on the road. Notably, these voluntary guidelines take aim at “communications, entertainment, information gathering and navigation devices or functions that are not required to safely operate the vehicle.” According to Reuters, though, the Alliance of Auto Manufacturers claims that “elements” of the guidelines have been in practice for nearly ten years.

The ideas range from ensuring that one hand is always left free for steering and restricting the entry of text, such as an address, unless the your car is in park, to limiting in-dash text prompts to “no more than 30 characters of text unrelated to the driving task” so that your eyes can’t wander off of the road for too long. Vehicles under 10,000 pounds are said to be the primary focus, with the NHTSA noting that electronic warning systems will not be under the radar as they intend to help drivers, well, drive. Before the proposal spins into action, beginning in March it will be up for public comment for 60 days L.A., Washington D.C. and Chicago. Depending on how the phase one guidelines pan out, phase two will focus on devices brought into vehicles, like cellphones, while phase three would set its sights on voice controls. If you’re curious about all of the specifics, you’ll find more info in the press release after the break and the full proposal draft at the source link below.

Continue reading NHTSA issues “distraction guidelines” proposal for in-vehicle electronics, MyFord Touch frets

NHTSA issues “distraction guidelines” proposal for in-vehicle electronics, MyFord Touch frets originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Feb 2012 06:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Reuters | US Department of Transportation (1), (2, PDF) | Email this | Comments
Engadget

NHTSA issues “distraction guidelines” proposal for in-vehicle electronics, MyFord Touch frets is a post from: eStyleToday

How to Get Rid of Facebook Timeline, Bring Back a Simpler Profile View [Video]

Edward Thomas — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 02:18:10 +0000

Facebook’s new Timeline feature is rolling out to all users, and while we think it’s pretty awesome—not to mention ripe for customization—there are a lot of people who aren’t big fans. If you don’t really like the Timeline view, here’s how to get rid of it. More »

Lifehacker

How to Get Rid of Facebook Timeline, Bring Back a Simpler Profile View [Video] is a post from: eStyleToday

Before & After: Jenny’s Creole Balcony

Edward Thomas — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:15:07 +0000

What is a garden designer without a dirt level garden to do? Well of course, make the most of the available 150 sq ft balcony. Jenny Peterson, who lives and works in Austin, Texas transformed her ‘L’ shaped balcony from a mish-mash of outdoor ‘stuff’ to a cohesive and relaxing southern inspired place for her to enjoy the outdoors. More

Kinect for Media Center released, why not wave and shout at your HTPC?

Edward Thomas — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 07:36:02 +0000

Kinect hacks previously brought gesture and voice control to Boxee and XBMC, and now that the Kinect for Windows hardware has been released we’ve got a solution for Windows Media Center. The aptly named Kinect for Media Center brings all the normal playback controls (for WMC and add-ins like Netflix) to your fingertips and lips, at the cost of $ 6.99. While its control scheme seems to be fully featured there are unfortunately some limitations — it doesn’t work with the Xbox 360 Kinect due to Microsoft’s restrictions, and it also doesn’t work with WMC extenders. What is included are filters to keep your content from accidentally triggering the voice controls (something some of us have had problems with on the Xbox 360), and configurable settings for right or left hand dominance or sensitivity. You can check out a video demo of the beta version (compare to a demo we saw last year from the makers of the Amulet voice control remotes) embedded after the break, or head directly to the site to try it out yourself if you’re sure that finding the remote has simply become to much of a hassle.

Continue reading Kinect for Media Center released, why not wave and shout at your HTPC?

Kinect for Media Center released, why not wave and shout at your HTPC? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Feb 2012 01:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Digital Lifestyle | Kinect for Media Center, The Media Center Project (Facebook) | Email this | Comments
Engadget

Kinect for Media Center released, why not wave and shout at your HTPC? is a post from: eStyleToday