Instagram video: Vine killer and not much else

After hinting this day would come for the past two years, Instagram finally added video to its arsenal on Thursday.

Video on Instagram works almost exactly as CEO Kevin Systrom said it would -- quick and simple. The new feature, developed by the Facebook-owned (FB) Instagram, bears much resemblance to Twitter's Vine app. But Video on Instagram packs a couple of features Vine does not, such as video filters and stabilization.

As technically sound as Instagram's new features are, they feel less like a magical new way of using Instagram and more like a quick way to snuff Vine out.

Why bother with keeping accounts with two services when you can get everything in one package? Why limit yourself to six seconds of Vine video uploads when you can have up to 15 with Instagram? Why look at the world as it is, when you can see it through a faded lens?

But that's just about where the benefits of Video on Instagram end.

Related story: Twitter's identity crisis

The initial magic of Instagram was not that it allowed you to stumble into beautiful, nostalgia-laced photography through the use of filters (Hipstamatic did that first). It's that it made the process of capturing and sharing those types of photos fast and easy.

Instagram's video product won't have quite the same effect.

As easy as Vine and Instagram have made video sharing, it's still not as simple as it could be. Compared to the video stitching feature on the HTC One smarphone, which will auto-edit a video together from multiple clips (generally to good effect), the Instagram and Vine solutions take comparatively more work, often yielding a cruder finished product.

The additional time and effort needed for creating and consuming video could diminish some of the magic that Instagram has been so good at providing.

Video on Instagram does not feel as essential as its photo counterpart. Still, it has enough positive features to vault it to the top of the list of best video-sharing apps. 

http://money.cnn.com/2013/06/20/technology/mobile/instagram-video/index.html

Google's Waze Buy Hints At Major Tech Shifts That Will Impact 2016's Presidential Election

How is this relevant to politics?  Because the more you know about your customers (in politics, voters), the better you can serve them and the more you (and they) will thrive. Facebook FB +1.62%, as recently explained in theAtlantic Monthly, begins to look like the wave of the past.

The Republican National Committee recruited Barkett from, most recently, a brief gig at Facebook. According to the HuffPo:

In 2006, Barkett went to work for Google GOOG +1.35%, where he was a technical program manager for two years. During that same period, he co-founded Greenlight Apparel, a “fair-trade, organic clothing company.”

Barkett left Google in 2008. He was a senior IT management consultant at Taos Mountain Inc. for several months, then a senior director for engineering at Livescribe Inc. for almost two years. In January 2011, Facebook hired Barkett as an engineering manager.

GOP technorati wish Barkett well.   The big question being quietly asked has little to do with his qualifications.  It is whether Chairman Priebus really will give him the level of authority (and the political heat shield) he needs to get the job done.  The Obama campaign gave its Ubergeek, Harper Reed, serious authority.  The RNC has a history of undermining the authority of its tech execs.   Will Chairman Priebus protect Barkett from meddling by clueless National Committee people (on a majority of whose votes Mr. Priebus’s chairmanship depends)?

Barkett’s technical credentials are impeccable.  The jury, necessarily at this stage, remains out on his strategic political cred.  Facebook, his most recent gig, is built on what are called “weak bonds.”  This columnist calls Facebook the “High School Cafeteria of the Internet.”

Harper Reed got his chops from Threadless.com. Threadless uses a vastly different model of user engagement than does Facebook.  Threadless is a crowdsourcing icon.  Threadless is fundamentally different, too, from Barkett’s Greenlight Apparel a good but generically top down business-to-consumer e-commerce business.

What do Threadless, Narwhal (the Obama 2012 campaign tech) and, yes, Waze have in common (that Facebook, Greenlight, and Romney 2012’s Orca do not)?  Crowdsourcing.  Crowdsourcing is geek speak for honoring the American principle known as subsidiarity: delegating authority to the front lines.  Subsidiarity is at the tactical heart of the left’s recurring victories.

Central planning vs. subsidiarity is a critical distinction.  Weirdly, it is the libertarian faction that is pushing central planning on the Grand Old Party.  And not just in tech.

Saudi Arabia threatens to block WhatsApp over regulation refusal

Popular messaging app to face sanctions 'before Ramadan' following similar action against rival Viber

Messaging app WhatsApp has an estimated 250m users worldwide

Messaging app WhatsApp is the latest social networking service to face the wrath of the Saudi Arabian government, and could be blocked in the country within weeks.

Negotiations between WhatsApp and Saudi Arabia's Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) have broken down, according to the body's governor Abdullah Al-Darrab.

"We have been communicating with WhatsApp and other similar communication platforms to get them to co-operate and comply with the Saudi telecom providers, however nothing has come of this communication yet," he told Arab News.

"We will take punitive action against these applications and services if they do not comply with the regulations," added Al-Darrab, suggesting that a WhatsApp block is "highly likely before Ramadan" – which starts on 9 July.

The telecoms regulator is cracking down on social apps, having barred Voice-over-IP and messaging app Viber from being used in Saudi Arabiaearlier in June.

The CITC is also training its sights on Skype and Tango for failing to "comply with existing regulations" in the country.

These VoIP and messaging apps are popular globally: WhatsApp has an estimated 250m users worldwide, Viber has 200m, Tango 120m and Skype more than 280m when it last announced figures in October 2012.

In the west, debate about the disruptive potential of these apps focuses on their effect on the businesses of traditional mobile operators, as customers make fewer voice calls and send less text messages.

In April 2013, analyst Informa Telecoms & Media claimed that daily messaging traffic from such apps has already overtaken SMS, and will double it by the end of 2013: 41bn and 19.5bn daily messages respectively.

In Saudi Arabia, the CITC's concern is more about the challenges of monitoring the traffic on this new wave of apps. In 2010, the body threatened to block BlackBerry Messenger for similar reasons, beforereprieving the service after Research In Motion reached a compromise deal.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/appsblog/2013/jun/17/saudi-arabia-whatsapp-blocked

10 Upcoming Technology That May Change The World

We have seen great leaps in digital technology in past the past five years. Smartphones, cloud computing, multi-touch tablets, these are all innovations that revolutionized the way we live and work. However, believe it or not, we are just getting started. Technology will get even better. In the future, we could live like how people in science fiction movies did.

Today’s post is about 10 upcoming, real-life products that is set to revolutionize the world as we know it. Get ready to control the desktop and slice Ninja fruits with your eyes. Get ready to print your own creative physical product. Get ready to dive into the virtual world, and interact with them. Come unfold the future with us.

1. Google Glass

Augmented Reality has already gotten into our life in the forms of simulated experiment and education app, but Google is taking it several steps higher with Google Glass. Theoretically, with Google Glass, you are able to view social media feeds, text, Google Maps, as well as navigate with GPS and take photos. You will also get the latest updates while you are on the ground.

It’s truly what we called vision, and it’s absolutely possible given the fact that the Google’s co-founder, Sergey Brin has demo’ed the glass with skydivers and creatives. Currently the device is only available to some developers with the price tag of $1500, but expect other tech companies trying it out and building an affordable consumer version.

2. Form 1

Just as the term suggests, 3D printing is the technology that could forge your digital design into a solid real-life product. It’s nothing new for the advanced mechanical industry, but a personal 3D printer is definitely a revolutionary idea.

Everybody can create their own physical product based on their custom design, and no approval needed from any giant manufacturer! Even the James Bond’s Aston Martin which was crashed in the movie was a 3D printed product!

Form 1 is one such personal 3D printer which can be yours at just $2799. It may sound like a high price but to have the luxury of getting producing your own prototypes, that’s a reaonable price.

Imagine a future where every individual professional has the capability to mass produce their own creative physical products without limitation. This is the future where personal productivity and creativity are maximized.

Apple iOS 7

Some people think Apple's forthcoming iPhone and iPad operating system iOS 7 is awesome. Others think it's awful. I think it's a derivative copycat not only of Android but of almost every other major mobile operating system out there. 

I thought I'd seen this operating system before! (Credit: Dustin Johnson)

Let's start with the iOS 7 front-end. To me, it looks like they took Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 (WP8) — don't ask me why Apple used that for inspiration — to produce a flat display with large fonts. Oh wait, didn't I see something like this before in Microsoft's Zune interface? Why, yes, yes I did. Oh well, at least Apple didn't include WP8's annoying tiles.

Or, is iOS 7's interface more like the new BlackBerry Z10's display with its two-dimensional, pasted-on-the-wallpaper icons? In both cases, copying is not the sincerest form of flattery. It's hitting fired iconic iOS designer Scott Forstall's once lovely design with an ugly stick.

Now, where have I seen that before? Oh, right: Android.Looking more closely, I can see Apple using a copying machine on Android for the iOS lock screen with its large digital clock, the date, and a slide-to-unlock region at the bottom a la Android. The iOS 7 lock screen also now has better handling of notifications.

There are other Android copy-and-paste examples throughout iOS 7's interface: the calendar's color scheme, Safari's look-alike Chrome style Web page panels, and the marked resemblance between iTunes Radio and Google Music. Then, there is iOS 7's use of cards to present information.

Wait. While Google is implementing a card metaphor to share information from Android to Google+, that user-experience idea goes to the late, lamented WebOS.

I'm also amused to see that at long, long last Apple has added swiping gestures for deleting or archiving e-mail to its built-in e-mail client. Of course, Google just stumbled by switching the message swipe default in the Gmail Android client to archive, but that's easy to fix.

Looking behind the interfaces, we find Apple playing catch-up in such fundamental technologies as auto-application updates and multitasking. At long last, iOS will be aware that the apps you use most often are the ones that should get more of the processor love. That's nice, but that's so last year's Android and Windows Phone. Adding insult to injury, iOS 7 won't even be showing up until some time this fall.

Make no mistake about it, Apple iOS is now officially in catch-up mode both technically and in the marketplace. Apple people love their iPhones, but Android phones out-sell them four to one.

I wish Apple had spent more time fixing the bugs hiding in iOS rather than radically reworking its front-end for no good purpose. I mean, the last time I checked, iOS 6 still has Wi-Fi and battery problems. There's nothing exciting about repair work, it just makes a better product for users.

Still, as my writing colleague Wayne Rash put it, "I was really disappointed in the iOS 7 announcement. I was really hoping that we’d see something that’s new, not just new to Apple." That would have been nice, wouldn't it? 

http://www.zdnet.com/apple-ios-7-android-copycat-7000016705/

Comparing the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the Galaxy S3

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No matter whether you're deciding if you should wait and get the Samsung Galaxy S4 next week, making sure you don't have buyer's remorse from just having purchased your Galaxy S3, or perhaps just plain curious, CNET makes it easy to compare the two sibling handsets with this chart.

Physically, the GS4 didn't get any bigger. In fact, it even sports a thinner build and weighs a hair lighter. But with a slimmer bezel, its 5-inch full HD Super AMOLED touch screen had room to expand, and the display now sports a higher pixel density.

Also new is its quad- or octo-core processor. Similar to the situation when the GS3 debuted, which CPU is available will depend on where you live. The U.S. will receive the 1.9GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600.

Both cameras also got a bump, with the rear shooter jumping from 8 megapixels to 13 megapixels. Other changes include running the newer Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, a beefed-up battery, and a slew of new software features. And if you want to see how the GS4 compares with other flagship handsets, be sure to read our other chart.

Spec	Samsung Galaxy S4	Samsung Galaxy S3
Operating system	Android 4.2.2	Launched with Android 4.0, some versions have updated to 4.1
Dimensions	5.38 x 2.71 x 0.31 in.; 4.6 ounces	5.38 x 2.78 x 0.34 in.; 4.7 ounces
Display	5-inch full HD Super AMOLED; 1,920x1,080 pixels, 441ppi	4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED; 1,280x720 pixels, 306ppi
4G LTE	Yes	Yes
NFC	Yes	Yes
Rear camera and recording	13-megapixel, 1080p HD video	8-megapixel, 1080p HD video
Front-facing camera	2-megapixel	1.9-megapixel
Processor	1.9GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600 (U.S. version); or proprietary 1.6GHz octa-core Exynos 5 Octa	1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 (U.S. version); proprietary 1.4GHz quad-core Exynos
Capacity	16GB, 32GB, 64GB	16GB, 32GB
Expandable memory	Up to 64GB	Up to 64GB
Battery	2,600mAh	2,100mAh
Price	AT&T: $199, 16GB with contract; T-Mobile: $149.99 down plus $20/month for 24 months; U.S. Cellular: $199, 16GB with contract; Sprint: $249, 16GB, new customers get it for $149; all other carriers TBA	Varies from carrier and capacity: $99.99 to $199.99 with contract, $499.99 without
Carriers	AT&T, Cricket, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, Verizon	AT&T, Cricket, C Spire, MetroPCS, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, Verizon
Available colors	Black, white	Black, blue, brown, gray, red (AT&T only), white

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-6452_7-57570796/comparing-the-samsung-galaxy-s4-and-the-galaxy-s3/