Facebook is Planning App for Anonymous Communication

Facebook is working on an independent mobile application that will allow their users to communicate with each other without real names. The publication of this app is provided within the next few weeks, as the NewYork Times reports. The newspaper refers to people who are informed about Facebook's plans.

Facebook is Planning App for Anonymous Communication

While Facebook itself upholds the principle of true identity and only in exceptional cases softens the real name of duty, the planned app users of social networks will also allow the use of pseudonyms. Even with several pseudonyms they should be able to discuss openly online about issues that they do not want to be particularly associated.

The development team for a year preparing the application before this. The project is managed by Product Manager Josh Miller, who came to Facebook through the acquisition of specialized discussion forums startups Branch. Miller was CEO of Branch, the product of which represented a modern, user-friendly version of a classic online forum. Branching could invest in it to further discuss topics that belong to the original question a discussion only marginally or not at all. The Branch team had also developed an iOS app called Potluck, users of social networks should bring outside their circles in contact with people. She presented to news bites, could then be discussed together on.

The Social Network declined to comment to the Times report. A direct request to Josh Miller remained unanswered. According to the newspaper is still unclear how the proposed app with Facebook cooperates as social issues network - or whether it is at all connected to it. Furthermore, is not certain whether the application will also allow the anonymous sharing of photos, and could as a communication with existing friendships look.

Facebook reacts with this app apparently to the increasing success of sites that do not force them to surrender one's own identity. These include the social news site Reddit and the Secret and Whisper Apps. Apparently the development of the new application follows the Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained in April app strategy. It provides an app-hierarchy; the profitable mobile app of Facebook is at its highest point. The apps in the lower levels, however, according to Zuckerberg first attract people and then only seriously contribute to the revenue.

references:

http://referhowto.blogspot.com/2014/10/facebook-is-planning-app-for-anonymous.html

AAA named Siri as a Dangerous Driving Distraction

Siri may not be the hands-free savior Apple intended her to be. A new study by the AAA(American Automobile Association) Foundation for Traffic Safety ranks iOS 7 Siri as one of drivers’ worst distractions!

AAA noted that even though three out of four drivers think hands-free technology is safe to use on the road, it can be deceptively distracting, with potentially dangerous results

"Technologies used in the car that rely on voice communications may have unintended consequences that adversely affect road safety," AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety's president and CEO Peter Kissinger said in a statement. "The level of distraction and the impact on safety can vary tremendously based on the task or the system the driver is using."

The study measured drivers’ reaction time with equipment such as instrumented test vehicles and heart-rate monitors. Although Siri is hands-free and eyes-free, drivers using the Apple function to perform a number of tasks experienced some of the most elevated levels of distraction.

"It is clear that not all voice systems are created equal, and today's imperfect systems can lead to driver distraction," said AAA CEO Bob Darbelnet. "AAA is confident that it will be possible to make safer systems in the future."

references:

http://readwrite.com/2014/10/08/siri-dangerous-driving-distraction

Micro-Investment Platform Acorns launches their Android App

Acorns, the micro-investment platform that lets users save for their future, has today launched on Android.

Acorns simply connects to your credit and debit cards and invests the change from each purchase (rounding up to the next dollar) into an investment portfolio. You can choose between five different risk options, from aggressive to conservative, and watch how your investments are performing over time.

Users can make special deposits or withdrawals (beyond the automatic ones) at any time, or change their risk profile.

In this way, Acorns promises to help you save and make money without leaving you without access to your cash.

Since launching on iOS in August, the app has grown to 60k active users and has thusly decided to capture the Android market on the heels of that momentum. According to the release, a third of all new users are under 23 and a quarter of them make less than $25,000 annually.

Acorns makes money by charging a monthly $1 fee for every active investment month, as well as a management fee that ranges from .5 percent to .25 percent, depending on how much you’re investing.

references:

http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/08/micro-investment-platform-acorns-lands-on-android/?ncid=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29

Few Thoughts of Windows 10

The first Windows 10 preview is, as the company has stressed repeatedly, is a small, and tailored set of new code. There is more coming. What we have in this release are desktop-focused features for business customers. A consumer preview will launch in January.

The preview isn't final code, so let’s not be unkind, but it does currently have a mixed set of user interface elements.There is plenty that works, like metro apps and desktop apps sharing space in the zoomed out modes There are two: Traditional Alt Tabbing, and Task view.

If you click on the Task view button, you see icons for open apps, similar to Alt Tab, and, below, your multiple desktops. And if you hit Windows Tab, you get the same thing. But if you hit Alt Tab, you get just the icons, and no virtual desktops.Here it is somewhat confusing ,isn't it?

It’s going to be a very busy 250 to 300 days in the Windows world.Lets wait and see how Microsoft will going to plan!

references:

http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/04/a-few-thoughts-on-windows-10/?ncid=rss

Apple To Announce New iPad October 16

According to the very recent reliable  reports, Apple's newest ipad  will launch in on October 16, putting its debut slightly ahead of the roll out for the mobile software. It also fits with Apple's pattern of October iPad announcements. 

Anticipation is high for a next-generation iPad Air, as well as a new version of the iPad mini. Rumors suggest there will be a new 12-inch version joining the 9.7-inch and 7.9-inch models, as well as the same Touch ID fingerprint scanner—the latter of which fuels speculation that the tablet will be capable of Apple Pay, the company's new mobile payments system. 
It's a strange thought—who would carry around a big tablet to pay for things in stores?and it would require a Near Field Communication chip, like the iPhones 6 have. Given that, there's a chance that the tablets could merely hook into Apple Pay to pay for online shopping. 
references:
http://readwrite.com/2014/10/03/apple-ipad-event-mac-os-x-ios81

Windows 10 preview build released!

At the beginning of yesterday’s Microsoft event Joe Belfiore, Vice President of the Operating Systems Group at Microsoft made certain the audience understood that we were seeing an early build of its next operating system. Early build or not, for power users that demand multi-tasking, the oddly named Windows 10 looks ready to help you get everything done.

Some awesome features:

Nearly everyone was happy about the return of the Start Menu to Windows 8.1 and it’s still there in Windows 10 with Live Tiles integration brought over from Windows Phone. Even though the additional items on your Start Menu contextual menu could eventually take over your desktop, the size and orientation of the layout is up to you. The Live Tiles area can include any apps you have on your computer and can be displayed horizontally or vertically.

Just grab the contextual menu edges and resize as you see fit. Of course you can just remove all the Live Tiles and return to your old school Start Menu ways. It’s the option of and ability to customize that makes it spectacular. Instead of ham fisting you into the Live Tiles screen of Windows 8 where it takes over your entire screen, this is a good middle ground.

We also got a chance to play with Task View button that resides just to the right of the search button on the task bar. With it you can quickly see all the open apps in a particular Windows environment. If you have more than one desktop available, the virtual machines appear along the bottom of the display. I was able to quickly jump from environment to environment and in between apps. There were a few stutters, but this is early preview stuff and can’t be held against the product for now.

Task View is similar to OS X’s Mission Control, but it aligns the individual apps along the middle of screen in one or more lines, depending on how many apps you have open.

Microsoft also super charged the alt-tab key command with access to all apps in all desktop instances. If you have three apps open on the current desktop and four in a virtual machine you, can toggle between all of them with alt-tab. It’s another way in which Microsoft wants new and old users to be able to multi-task better in their upcoming OS.

Snapping four apps into a single window is cool if you have the display real estate. It’s a helpful feature for someone that needs access to four apps at once, but we’re going to have to wait for Microsoft to release meatier features in the future. Today was just a tiny little taste of what Windows 10 might have in store. A fancy bit of cheese before a meal. It’ll be interesting to see what the waiter brings out later.

If you’re interested in trying out Windows 10 before everyone else, Microsoft announced the Windows Insider Program. Brave souls can sign up to try the operating system while Microsoft is still working on it. The company is still prepping the release of the program so you can’t sign up just yet. But, if you have an extra computer lying around, it’s a fun way to see what the future holds for the software company.

references:

http://thenextweb.com/microsoft/2014/09/30/hands-windows-10-preview-build/