eStyleToday

Microsoft would like you to think that So.cl is for students, but don’t be fooled

Edward Thomas — Sun, 20 May 2012 20:17:12 +0000

During the hush of the weekend after Facebook’s IPO bonanza, and Mark Zuckerberg’s wedding, Microsoft unleashed its entry into the social vertical. The site, called So.cl, is positioned as a research tool for students.

The project comes out of Microsoft’s FUSE Labs, a division of the company that is working on other research tools that compliment social networking sites like Facebook. Microsoft definitely wants you to believe that the project was created with students in mind, so much so that the word “student” is mentioned six times in its FAQ page for the product. However, I’m not so sold on this educational mission.

The reason? Also in its FAQ is this gem:

We expect students to continue using products such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other existing social networks, as well as Bing, Google and other search tools

Even though I don’t believe that Google+ is a “social network”, it surely is a social layer worth mentioning. FUSE labs decided not to, so let the competition begin.

Describing the service as a great social tool for students is a brilliant move, as positioning a social product directly at colleges worked in the past. Just ask Facebook. Having said that, Microsoft has chosen this very weekend to make the product live for anyone and everyone, an obvious signal that this project isn’t all about students. It would have been easy to keep So.cl open to students-only, but it chose not to.

The So.cl mouthpiece for Bing

The product, pronounced “social”, lets you socialize your search results and mix and mash others results with what you find. In a way the product is similar to Wikipedia in that you can collaborate on building an interesting social search result for any person, place, or thing:

As a member of the site, you are urged to “riff” on people’s searches, meaning add more relevant pieces of information to the search result posted by So.cl’s users. Sounds like a great way for Bing to build search results, huh?

However, Microsoft wants you to know that So.cl is not a Bing product:

Is So.cl a part of Bing?
No, So.cl is a research project from FUSE Labs in Microsoft Research that is focused on learning more about social search. So.cl uses Bing for search data via the public API, but it is not a Bing product.

I can’t be the only one to read the above snipped (again for its FAQ page) and think that Microsoft is trying to slide this one past us as this altruistic research tool in such a way that makes it obvious that it’s not.

It’s not all research and search though, as So.cl has a feature called “video parties” that feel a lot like Chill’s product in that you can select a YouTube video, or series of videos, and watch them with your friends while chatting:

The nice part about this feature is that once you join the party, you can keep using the site and the sound will play in the background. This however, is not a “research tool” aimed at students like Microsoft would like you to believe.

It’s a trap!

In the same way that I believe Google+ to be the “social glue” to all of Google’s products, including search, So.cl appears to be the exact same play for Microsoft. It’s not a bad idea, but it’s clearly in response to Google’s success in pulling all of its products together with a “social spine”.

However, positioning the product as a research tool aimed at students is such an obvious way of saying “Hey, if this doesn’t work it doesn’t matter, it was a research experiment for students”, and it shows just how early on we are in the social spectrum of the Internet’s evolution.

With So.cl, Microsoft is going to attempt to fight off any of Facebook’s “ankle-biters”, and it’s not a bad idea since the company is so heavily invested in Facebook’s success. In addition, if Facebook ever does introduce a search product, it’s more than likely going to be a collaboration with Microsoft’s Bing.

At the end of the day, this is a smart idea to get people socializing with Bing search results. But don’t be fooled, this is a product for everyone. At least, Microsoft hopes.

➤ So.cl

The Next Web

Microsoft would like you to think that So.cl is for students, but don’t be fooled is a post from: eStyleToday

Kudo Tsunoda: ‘Waiting for the next big thing isn’t about waiting for the Kinect 2′

Edward Thomas — Sun, 20 May 2012 15:35:56 +0000

Last summer, try as we might, we couldn’t get too much out of Microsoft’s creative director for Kinect Games, Kudo Tsunoda, about what’s next from the interactive peripheral. More recently, in an interview with Venture Beat, Tsunoda was a little more verbose about what he thinks the next big thing in Kinect is — and it isn’t a Kinect 2. The good news is, he believes that no new hardware will be required, and the innovations will likely come from developers, as they better understand and utilize the capabilities. A combination of voice, tone and facial recognition along with motion detection will likely be the tools that push the experience into the next era — such as allowing users to participate in a game’s story like an actor. Hit the source if you want to read the full interview, but you can be sure we’ll be at E3 again this year to beat him, and others, with the question stick once more.

Kudo Tsunoda: ‘Waiting for the next big thing isn’t about waiting for the Kinect 2′ originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 20 May 2012 10:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink GamesIndustry | Venture Beat | Email this | Comments
Engadget

Kudo Tsunoda: ‘Waiting for the next big thing isn’t about waiting for the Kinect 2′ is a post from: eStyleToday

10 realtime and reliable photo search engines

Edward Thomas — Sat, 19 May 2012 14:22:30 +0000

Thanks to services like Twitter and Instagram, and the global ‘smartphone saturation’ phenomenon, live reporting from big events has never been easier.

No longer do we have to rely on professionals to deliver content and images from these events, we have our extended social networks doing this for us. And, because so many of these updates get fired into the ‘public’ timeline, virtually any update from anywhere can be found and shared in a matter of seconds.

But, with all of this content creation happening, who is making sense of it, giving it some order and structure? You, of course. But, while we’ve taken to ‘leisurely’ content curation on platforms like Pinterest, ‘real-time content curation’ hasn’t been embraced with the same passion.

With the London Olympics on our doorstep, expect to see ‘real-time photo curation’ explode into popularity and we’ve got some tools to help you be at the forefront of this revolution.

10 ‘real-time’ photo search engines

1. NachoPhoto.com - If you conduct your own search for ‘real-time photo search engines’ this is likely to appear pretty high, even though it doesn’t appear to be promoted as heavily as it was about 12 months ago. Take a look at the example ‘LeBron’ (LeBron James) search as an example of the results you get back. NachoPhoto combines ‘professional’ potography with ‘user-generated’ results better than anyone else out there.

2. Skylin.es – This service takes most of its results from the public Twitter timeline and allows you to pick and choose the best user-generated photos being published in real-time. It also gives you the ability to narrow these results down by location. Boom!

3. Twitcaps.com – If you are after the best of Twitter and Instagram, then Twitcaps is the service for you. While the interface is a little rough around the edges, it delivers a true real-time photo discovery experience.

4. PicFog.com - The unique element of PicFog is its minute-by-minute time-stamping functionality, letting you know exactly when each image was uploaded. This can give you and your curation efforts a big competitive advantage.

5. Twicsy.com - One of the best Twitter pics search engines, Twicsy offers a handy ‘in the last hour’ search filter which can help hugely in your real-time curation efforts. You can even get your hands on pre-set widgets which will serve up images from specific user accounts in real-time.

Best of the rest

Here are five other options we recommend checking out:

6. Topsy Image Search - The image-specific section of the popular Twitter search engine.

7. Hashalbum.com - Real-time discovery of ‘hashtagged’ images.

8. TwiPho.net - Aggregates images from the major real-time networks in an easy-to-navigate manner.

9. Flickr Latest Photos Search - A ‘hidden’ search option but one worth bookmarking for Flickr image searches.

10. Social Mention Photo Search - SocialMention.com is one of the world’s most popular general social media search tools but not many people are aware of its real-time image search function. Simply head to the homepage, search in ‘images’ only and then sort by ‘last hour’ uploads and voila!

gualtiero boffi via shutterstock

The Next Web

10 realtime and reliable photo search engines is a post from: eStyleToday

iRig Mix ships to iDevice-carrying DJs, Android app compatibility looks unlikely

Edward Thomas — Fri, 18 May 2012 11:31:41 +0000

If virtual DJs aren’t your thing, you might be pleased to hear that the iRig Mix mobile music mixer is now shipping. You can forgo hefty price tags and still mix your own tunes for $ 99.99 with up to two iDevices at a time, audio from guitars, MP3 players, CD players and the like. In addition to physical controls for volume, gain, treble and bass, the mixer is accompanied by a roster of free apps to help with production, performing and recording. For Android fans wondering where their own version of these apps are, IK Multimedia thinks the Android audio engine has too much latency (check the comments section) to handle its real-time processing, but consoles you with the fact that the hardware is compatible with most devices. Hit the jump for the press release. Wiki wiki, y’all.

Continue reading iRig Mix ships to iDevice-carrying DJs, Android app compatibility looks unlikely

iRig Mix ships to iDevice-carrying DJs, Android app compatibility looks unlikely originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 May 2012 07:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | IK Multimedia | Email this | Comments
Engadget

iRig Mix ships to iDevice-carrying DJs, Android app compatibility looks unlikely is a post from: eStyleToday

Michael Moeller’s Bachelor Pad Project in the Sky House Tour

Edward Thomas — Fri, 18 May 2012 08:21:22 +0000

Name: Michael Moeller Design
Location: West Village, New York City
Size: 1,241 square feet
Years lived in: 1.5 years

Michael Moeller first caught our attention as an incredibly talented finalist on Season 5 of HGTV’s Design Star. He later co-hosted his own show on the Style Network with fellow design star Nina Ferrer. Michael currently continues to design extraordinary bachelor pads and other spaces all over New York. Today, we’re sharing one of his most recent bachelor pad projects at the Archives Building in New York City’s West Village.

Apple Rumor Patrol: Screen Mania, Skinny MacBook Pros, And iCloudy Delights

Edward Thomas — Thu, 17 May 2012 02:15:01 +0000

The iPhone’s 4-Incher

We’ve often suspected that the Wall Street Journal is an “official” leak source used by Apple to seed the media with slightly more directed rumors about its upcoming products. And now the WSJ has chimed in on the four-inch iPhone screen rumor and said yes, that it’s indeed true … Apple’s buying screens in large numbers from suppliers and these are for an “at least” a four-inch display, with the phone going into production in June.

So far, so promising. But Reuters has since chimed in and said its sources have agreed with the WSJ and that a 4-inch iPhone is on its way. Why so much excitement about such a seemingly secondary feature of a smartphone? Because it marks a design departure for Apple and sets the scene for Apple’s rivals–some of whom have already been pressing for bigger and bigger displays as a unique selling point for their Android phones. A bigger screen will also make the iPhone better as an e-reader (threatening Amazon’s market somewhat) and as a glossy display for mobile app magazines…potentially giving a boost to this industry as well.

iMacs, MacBook Pros, and Even Airs To Get Retina Screens

The iPhone 4 brought the “retina” screen to the world’s attention–a display with pixels so dense that you actually can’t resolve the individual pixels with your weak, fleshy human eyeball, thus making displayed text look like printed quality and photos and images even more astonishing. The iPad 3 carries a similarly massive number of pixels and is probably better than every computer screen you’ve ever used. And that’s why Apple’s now said to be bringing retina displays to a revamped line of MacBook Pros, iMacs, and even its svelte MacBook Air, according to 9to5Mac.

The processing power to run these displays fits easily into the bigger chassis of the iMacs and MacBooks, but fitting it into the super-skinny Airs will take a little longer and may require Apple to use its proprietary battery power tech so that the ultra-portable machines still deliver long battery life. For this reason, we might not see them revealed at the same time as the bigger machines and they may not get much of an external design overhaul.

Skinny MacBook Pros

This is now looking like a dead cert: Apple’s prepping its Air-inspired new MacBook Pros for a reveal at the upcoming WWDC event. They’ll be ultra-thin, may come with a bias toward solid-state hard drives, and may not contain a DVD drive inside. They will be powered by Intel’s new chips, Ivy Bridge, and they may also sport ultra-fast USB 3.0 tech alongside the Intel-Apple Thunderbolt port.

iOS 6 And iCloud

iOS 6 is the next revamp of Apple’s mobile operating system, and it looks like Apple’s in advanced testing phases of the software because it’s starting to show up in online analytics, as Apple’s staff put it through its paces.

iOS 6 may well arrive alongside a revamped iCloud, which will include all sorts of new features like notifications on the website and more sophisticated web apps in general. It’s also now thought that iCloud will get a video streaming feature so video clips can be shared around a household the way photos are in PhotoStream and that Apple will boost its photo-sharing system with the ability to comment and to share photos to other iCloud users. That sounds an awful lot like a photo-centric social network, and could explain why Apple ws rumored to be interested in buying Instagram.

Siri

Alongside the iOS 6 and iCloud update, Apple’s also said to be revamping Siri, its cloud-service voice recognizing personal assistant. Siri has inspired many rivals and comes in for a lot of criticism, despite the fact that Nuance–the firm behind its voice-recognition tech–says it set a new high bar for understanding the human voice. With an update, Apple may lay many criticisms to rest because it’s said to be coming to the iPad too and also, according to Daring Fireball to include an API so that other apps can interact with Siri, and be controlled by it. That means you may be able to get GPS navigation instructions, send a tweet, and maybe even launch and play games or other apps by voice control alone.

[Image: Flickr user bgarciagil ]

Chat about this news with Kit Eaton on Twitter and Fast Company too.

Fast Company

Apple Rumor Patrol: Screen Mania, Skinny MacBook Pros, And iCloudy Delights is a post from: eStyleToday

ESPN Radio app gets a refresh, now properly outfitted for the iPad

Edward Thomas — Wed, 16 May 2012 07:43:55 +0000

If you’re needing to keep Mike & Mike an arm’s length away at all times, ESPN has refreshed its Radio app to help with just that. Now optimized to the iPad in addition to the iPhone and iPod touch, the software allows you to sort your listening habits by sports, teams and athletes that you follow. The free version offers access to podcasts, the 20-minute SportCenter cycle, and offline listening for on-demand content. Currently, the premium version of the app is free as well — touting custom stations / playlists, live audio pause / rewind, myESPN personalization, alerts / push notifications and a few more gems to keep you well informed on the latest Red Sox debacle. After a “limited time,” though, you’ll have to shell out $ 4.99 for the premium app and its 35 ESPN radio stations. What about Android and WP7 devices, you ask? The folks in Bristol claim that apps for those platforms will arrive later this summer.

Continue reading ESPN Radio app gets a refresh, now properly outfitted for the iPad

ESPN Radio app gets a refresh, now properly outfitted for the iPad originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 03:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | ESPN, iTunes | Email this | Comments
Engadget

ESPN Radio app gets a refresh, now properly outfitted for the iPad is a post from: eStyleToday

Eco Friendly Outdoor: Fresh Air Furniture Collection From Loll Designs

Edward Thomas — Tue, 15 May 2012 20:20:34 +0000

Just in time for summer entertaining, Loll Designs has debuted an eco-friendly new line of outdoor furniture called the Fresh Air Collection. More

Inhabitat’s Week in Green: self-driving cars, solar parasols and the ultimate DIY Iron Man suit

Edward Thomas — Mon, 14 May 2012 03:33:08 +0000

Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week’s most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us — it’s the Week in Green.

What seems more futuristic: flying cars or self-driving cars? They both sound a bit like science fiction, but they’re both getting closer to becoming a reality. In the latest chapter of Google’s efforts to develop a car that uses video cameras, radar sensors and lasers to navigate through traffic, the state of Nevada just granted Google the world’s first license for a computer-controlled, driverless Toyota Prius. Meanwhile, this week we also checked in on the PAL-V (which stands for “Personal Air and Land Vehicle”), a two-seat hybrid car and gyroplane that runs on gas, biodiesel or bio-ethanol. In other transportation news, the Texas Central Railroad floated a plan to build a $ 10-billion bullet train that would run between Houston and Fort Worth, and Toyota officially unveiled its second-generation 2012 RAV4 EV, which features a Tesla powertrain.

We also saw green technology cropping up in unexpected places this week, like the $ 1-billion ghost town that will be built on virgin desert land in Lea County, New Mexico to test emerging green technologies. Construction on the ghost town is set to begin in late June. Milwaukee native Bryan Cera invented Glove One, a 3D-printed glove that doubles as a cell phone. And in Tokyo, participants heaved 100,000 LED lights into the Sumida River as part of the 2012 Tokyo Hotaru Festival. Although it certainly looked cool, that’s a lot of LED bulbs to literally dump in the river, and it raises some questions about e-waste. GE found a more practical use for LEDs, unveiling a new LED light bulb to replace the 100-watt incandescent.

Continue reading Inhabitat’s Week in Green: self-driving cars, solar parasols and the ultimate DIY Iron Man suit

Inhabitat’s Week in Green: self-driving cars, solar parasols and the ultimate DIY Iron Man suit originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 May 2012 21:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | | Email this | Comments
Engadget

Inhabitat’s Week in Green: self-driving cars, solar parasols and the ultimate DIY Iron Man suit is a post from: eStyleToday