Google takes on Facebook with the Google+ project

New social network announced by search giant

Google has just announced its new social networking platform, the Google+ project - its most blatant attempt at Facebook's throne to date.

Google+ is live now, as an invitation only "Field Trial", and the blog post announcing its arrival isn't shy in stating why this could be your social network of choice (without mentioning the F-word at all, you understand):

"The problem is that today's online services turn friendship into fast food - rapping everyone in 'friend' paper and sharing really suffers," it reads.

"It's sloppy. We only want to connect with certain people at certain times, but online we hear from everyone all the time.

"It's scary. Every online conversation (with over 100 'friends') is a public performance, so we often share less because of stage fright.

"It's insensitive. We all define 'friend' and 'family' differently - in our own way, on our own terms - but we lose this nuance online."

Ouch. Take that Zuck.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwnJ5Bl4kLI

Google+ puts you in control of groups, called Circles, so as you can always control who sees what content that you put online.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeMZP-oyOII

The Big G is also aware that you may be boring you social networking pals by talking about subjects that do not really interest them. To solve this, it has created Sparks within Google+, where you can create groups of people and sections for specific interests.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRkAdTflltc

Hangouts looks like being the Google Skype killer that we'd heard rumoured. It allows you to join in a video chat with a group of your friends (no limit is stated - but the demo video shows a maximum of six people in one conference) all within the browser.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tku1vJeuzH4

Google+ doesn't forget Android either, there's location tagging and instant uploading of your pics on hand - as well as a group chat platform called Huddle.

In fact, the Google+ app is already in the Android Market - with a promise that it'll be App Store bound soon too.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iA22daAstNg

As we said, it's invite only at the moment - although if your Gmail user, be on the lookout for one.

"Online sharing needs a serious re-think, so it's time we got started. There's just one more thing -really the only thing: You." the blog post reads.

"When your invite arrives we hope you'll join the project. But it's entirely up to +You."

You can ask Google to keep you updated on the invite front over at plus.google.com, or even take a tour of the platform's features. You'll need a Google ID mind.

We'd love to be a fly on the wall at Facebook HQ right now.....

Google+ or Google nonplussed? Let us know using the comments below.

Concept future innovation – Google Magnify

Google Magnify is the latest concept to be created by Anh Nguyen. This concept began with a funny email that he had been going around the office at his work. He went up to their intern, who just happened to be from France, before realizing that he would have a tough time reading it. After a little bit of confusion, the intern just copy and pasted the entire email into Google Translate and was cracking up just like everyone else after reading it.

Then the idea started to percolate in his mind; what if there was a device which was basically a window to the world, where everything would be translated into the language of your choosing? A modern take on the magnifying glass, which hasn't been updated much in its 800 years of existence. With a flip out handle, triple cameras, and text recognition software running through the Google Translate engine, the device just needs to be held in front of any text to be translated on the spot.

Just think how helpful this would be for tourists, students abroad, even our parents; the world wouldn't seem like such a scary place with help from Google Magnify.

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BendDesk

For most people from many different disciplines a desk is the main workspace. A typical desk is composed of at least one or more vertical displays that show digital content and a larger horizontal area, containing input devices, such as mouse and keyboard, paper-based documents, and everyday objects. These two areas are clearly separated which makes it hard to move documents from one surface to the other. Furthermore, each area employs a different interaction technique. For example, we use the mouse for drawing on vertical displays but physical pens to annotate paper-based documents. BendDesk is our vision of a future workspace that allows continuous interaction between both areas.

BendDesk is a multi-touch desk environment that seamlessly combines a vertical and a horizontal surface with a curve into one large interactive workspace. This workspace can be used to display any digital content like documents, photos, or videos. Multi-touch technology allows the user to interact with the entire surface using direct manipulation and multi-touch gestures. We took special care for ergonomics. Users can comfortably sit at the desk and place everyday objects on it. Have a look at the video!

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By:Lihet Calin

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Apple Secretly Acquired Data Analytics Firm Acunu [Mac Blog]

Just a day after Apple acquired database company FoundationDB, Bloomberg reveals Apple had previously acquired U.K.-based data analytics company Acunu. The acquisition appeared to have happened in late 2013.

The purchase of the Vienna, Virginia-based software maker follows a deal for closely held Acunu Ltd., a U.K.-based data analysis company, Apple said.

Acunu creates technology that provides analytics on databases, and its technology can be used in conjunction with other tools, improving their performance. Bloomberg notes the company's tools work well with free Cassandra databases, which Apple runs on several thousand computers.

It's likely that the Acunu acquisition will be used for iCloud and its various services, like iTunes Radio, the upcoming reimagined Beats Music streaming service and Apple's over-the-air TV service. Acunu Chief Technology Officer Tim Moreton began working in Apple's iCloud division in December 2013, and other Acunu employees made the jump to the Cupertino company in early 2014.

Twitter Launches Live-Streaming iOS App 'Periscope' [iOS Blog]

After acquiring live-streaming video service Periscope back in January, Twitter today officially launched the Periscope app, which aims to compete with newly popular apps like Meerkat in allowing users to instantly live-stream right from an iPhone (via The Verge).

In development for over a year, once a user syncs their Twitter account with Periscope, they can view a list of curated live feeds on the app's homepage and even replay streams that have since ended. Streams can be replayed up to 24 hours after ending, and broadcasters can opt-out of allowing users to view their stream after it's over.

That replay feature could be Periscope's killer feature over Meerkat, as The Verge points out, with the ability to browse old feeds and dig through current live streams resulting in "an app that can actually be browsed." Though working in tandem with one another after being installed, the Twitter and Periscope experiences will stay separate from one another, according to Periscope co-founder Kayvon Beykpour.

You won't be able to launch Periscope directly from the Twitter app, at least not for a while. "We don't think we need to start there," Beykpour says. "We think this deserves to be a separate experience indefinitely." Still, there's a reason Twitter scooped up Periscope: Twitter is a mostly live experience, and so is its new broadcasting app. "We always thought that what we were building, if successful, could be a real-time visual pulse of what's happening around the world," Beykpour says. The vision for Twitter is much the same.

Periscope also includes a few unique social aspects to live-streaming, including the ability for viewers to tap on the stream to send hearts to the broadcaster, showing up as tiny floating emoticons on the stream's lower-right corner for everyone watching the broadcast to see.

The more hearts on a video, the higher the stream climbs on the app's "Most Loved" list found on the front-end menu. This becomes a good measure for the crowd opinion on a current stream, according to Beykpour, who hopes the accessibility of the service propels it to be used by a vast audience and not just as "a tool for very few people."

Although largely in favor of Periscope, The Verge mentions that the push notifications become "out of control" for the live-streaming service, comparing the experience to "getting a push notification each time every single person you follow on Twitter tweeted."

Those interested in Periscope [Direct Link] can download the app for free from the App Store.

'Wunderlist' for Apple Watch Brings To-Do Lists, Agendas and Reminders to Your Wrist

Wunderlist has provided a closer look at its Apple Watch companion app, which appeared on the App Store on Thursday ahead of the device's launch next month. The app is designed with a unique Home View that provides access to your most important items first, with four buttons that display a bird's eye view of your to-do lists, agenda and reminders on your wrist.

Wunderlist for Apple Watch delivers a hand-free experience in situations where you might normally use your iPhone, such as while shopping at a supermarket and checking items off your grocery list, or when using smart voice input to add to-dos for an upcoming meeting. The combination of Glances and real-time notifications ensure that you will stay up to date with important things during your day, be it during your morning commute, at the office or at home.

"As you move through the day, you won't even have to open Wunderlist on your Watch to get stuff done. Just take a look at our Glance during breakfast to review your most important to-dos for the day. Thanks to Wunderlist's real-time notifications, a subtle tap on your wrist will let you know what your colleagues are working on during your morning commute, and remind you to pick up the milk on your way home from work."

Wunderlist for Apple Watch features custom animations for interacting with the app, and its developers have carefully considered which font sizes, layouts and interactions would work best with limited screen real estate. The result is a design that was inspired by Wunderlist's brand-new colorful sidebar icons, with the majority of the user interface consisting of white text on a black background.

Ultimately, the developers behind Wunderlist for Apple Watch wanted to create software that gets out of your way, all the while providing multipurpose functionality for managing your day-to-day life. Apple Watch, and by extension the wrist, provides a more natural setting for to-do apps such as Wunderlist and Todoist, so it will be interesting to see how developers build upon these apps in the future.

Wunderlist [Direct Link] is free on the App Store for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch.