Full size photo uploads: G+ winning the tech war on Facebook

// In the latest #googleplusupdate, you can now upload the full-sized photos and G+ will serve them accordingly: Initially you get a reduced (but great quality) version but you can zoon and pan to see more detail!

How to have this: To enable full-size desktop uploads, just visit your settings at https://www.google.com/settings/plus, and check "Upload my photos at full size." Afterwards, any files larger than 2048px will count towards your Google storage (up to 5GB free). Photo storage at 2048px or smaller remains free and unlimited.

Meanwhile, Facebook still can't keep up, probably not having enough servers/storage to handle better quality in their photos. See also this experiment by +Mike Elgan http://bit.ly/10y7JUH 

Finally, a reminder on how to zoom (try it on this 2448 x 3264 pixels photo from snowy Luxembourg :))
- use your mouse wheel to zoom in or out
- click and drag to pan right, left, up or down

Have fun!

HTC cloned Jony Ive!

// The "evidence" :)
1) Video of Jony Ive on Apple's unibody process http://youtu.be/lJx6cF-H__I
2) Video of HTC's zero-gap process http://youtu.be/pDjfh5mFWUc

Quora, a Google+ blogging alternative?

// I generally detest article headlines that pose questions rather than provide a definite position, but I'm undecided on this one.Recently, #Quora upgraded their Boards feature, renaming the Blogs. The standard features include:
- a quora.com subdomain of your choice
- set a title, logo/avatar image and #blog description
- choice of set of basic categories that show up on the right side of the pages, acting as navigation links to your blog's archives
- categories are linked to Quora existing set of topics
- your blog posts can be linked to either your main categories or other Quora topics
- limited HTML editor for your posts
- statistics on views per post, with monthly archives, including which specific users viewed your posts
- multiple authors per blog allowed
- easy posting via the mobile app
- you can use your Quora credits to promote your posts
- your posts show up in the home pages of people who follow the topics of your posts
- up/down voting and comments on posts
- choice of 2 quite elegant themes (see the default one in the screenshot of my blog)

I've been using #Google + as a blogging platform, so here's how it compares:
- an existing audience: no need to build up a fellowship through Circles or join #Communities (to which you can't cross-post). Tagging to Quora's topics will give your posts a chance to being visible to hundreds if thousands of topics.
- a topic-based audience: the G+ experience is based on following people, while on Quora on following topics
- a different audience: while G+ tries to market itself as everything for everyone, it is mainly focused on images, from great photography to silly GIFs. Quora is focused on text and analysis (top currently trending topics are "smart people", "human behaviour" and "computer programming") which, as you can imagine, has implications on the topics that have the bigger audiences. Quora also has a small army of admins and reviewers who have created a culture of quality content. If you have such content, it should thrive on Quora
- a better editor: although limited ( no source editing), you have an actual HTML editor, can add multiple images anywhere in your post and can have actual links not just drop URLs in your text.
- social propagation: on G+ people can re-share your posts, increasing your audience. Comments and +1's though are mainly done on the copied posts. On Quora, there is no sharing feature (posts have Facebook and Twitter share buttons of course) but when someone follows your blog or a post (similar to subscribing to the comments) or comments to / votes up a post, a related "story" is shown on the user's followers home page as well as the user's profile page.
- statistics: on G+ you have no statistics on whether your posts where read at all. You can only get a total view count on your photos based on third-party sites that use the G+ API or through Picasa. On Quora you get a full listing of who viewed (if they have turned on the related privacy setting) each posts, and how many views you have today as well as per month.

So where do all that leave me with the original question? As you can guess from all of the above, I'm quite positive about it. Of course, I'm not replacing G+ with Quora, I'll be cross-posting though, you can find me (and see a live example of how the system works) here http://bit.ly/g-quora
In the end, I think there is indeed a big difference in the audiences of the two platforms, so there is no harm done from the "both" choice. What do you think? :)

How to create an infographic from your Google Analytics data

// Well, there's not much to say here. People love #infographics for visualising information and numbers in an easy to consume manner. People also love #GoogleAnalytics for an endless amount of #statisticsabout their website.Now you can combine both with a few clicks on the free tool by Visual.ly. The process is relatively simple, you connect +Visually with your GA account, select the website you want the report of, and you're done. You get a result for the last week, like the one shown on the screenshot (you get the typical long form, but I've re-arranged it to fit better on a page). You can also set to have a weekly report sent to your e-mail address.

Try it out here: http://bit.ly/visually-ga

Found via +Jules Stuifbergen

Does your company know what the internet is?

//_UPDATE_: The situation has been sorted out, the project is back online normally http://bit.ly/chartjs

// Yesterday I wrote (http://bit.ly/g-chartjs) about Chart.js, a new library for javascript/canvas-based charts. A day later, the site is down with a note shown in the screenshot, basically explaining how the developer's employer doesn't like the idea of #OpenSource.

Here's the outcome so far after a few hours:
- The code was removed from the original Github repository but of course has been copied (here http://bit.ly/chartjs-fork along with at least 92(!) forks) and it's not about to be ever deleted completely
- The angry commentators at Hacker News are already looking for the name of the company http://bit.ly/chartjs-hackernews

This is bound to get some press soon...

That said: this wasn't a ground-breaking piece of technology. There is no case that it was any kind of competitive advantage for the company (plus the whole IP issue is ambiguous as this was a university project of the developer). The company had nothing to lose with this being released as open source, only to gain from the publicity of one of their employees releasing a successful open source project.

But if you don't know what the internet is, you're bound to act like an idiot...

Text editing on the cloud: Draft

// I've been using Dropbox for some time now to access work files from home or when travelling. But when I've recently had to work on a closed down Windows PC that I couldn't install anything, I had to get further "deeper" into the #cloud. :) 

I've been keeping quick notes in text files stored in Dropbox so how could I edit them without login on Dropbox, downloading them, editing them and then uploading them again? 

Luckily, I've found an excellent new service for that, Draft http://bit.ly/draftincom It combines a clear interface focused on writing, #MarkDown support for formatting and connections to #Dropbox , Google Drive, Evernote and Box. Any change on the document is automatically saved back to the service it originated. 

On top of that, you can keep multiple versions of your documents for reviewing what you wrote. And on top of that, you can share a document to let others edit your document. #Draft will give you an overview of the changes and the option to reject any edits you don't like. 

Draft is a free service with a premium service for professional editing of your work.  

In case you don't like Draft for some reason, check out also Writebox http://bit.ly/writebox which offers a simple text editing experience (so simple, you don't even need to open an account) and connections to Dropbox and Google Drive. No collaboration features though. 

If you know of another similar service please share it in the comments. 

Google Reader is dead, long live Feedly

// As I was writing (http://bit.ly/YvRWmi) when the #GoogleReader death was announced, the race is on for a new king of #RSS readers. 

Of the 4 that I tried the last 2 days, here's the outcome: 
- The Old Reader: imported everything (but only current copies of the feeds, not the Google #Reader archive (which has about 1000 more unread article  and works fine (with the exception of photos on the Shorpy feed but that is something none of the readers get right)
- Netvibes: imported everything including the article archive but the interface is not very appealing 
- NewsBlur: in order to manage the extra load, they reduced their capacity of 64 feeds to 12 for the free account so that case is dropped for me.
- #Feedly: imported all feeds and article archive, has an excellent interface with multiple choices for layouts and an additional great free app for iOS and Android. 

So, thank you #Google  for introducing me to a great service, Feedly :) http://www.feedly.com/
And now for some obligatory Hitler rage on the issue http://bit.ly/XEczDn

Google Reader's death is an opportunity, but for who?

// So #Google is killing Google Reader, messing with the image they have been building for years that "Google can do everything for everyone". #Reader has been the definitive #web-based #RSS reader service for years. That said the race is one for it's replacement. And things are not looking good in terms of instantly responding to demand. Here is my experience so far: 

The Old Reader imported 3 out of 20 subscriptions and is giving my a message that the rest are being imported in the background. That was some 40 minutes ago. The 3 subscriptions are loading fine though, with the exception of photos on the Shorpy feed  http://theoldreader.com/

Netvibes imported all of my subscriptions but loading feeds is very slow or does not happen at all at the moment http://www.netvibes.com/

NewsBlur hasn't managed to complete the import process after several tries and often gives out 502 error pages http://newsblur.com

Feedly (Chrome extension) imported all subscriptions with ease, but has a problem loading up all the many little images that uses in it's interface and basically you can't use it much http://www.feedly.com/

If you have found another service that does not directly connect to #GoogleReader but instead can import #OMPL files, you can export your Reader subscriptions to OMPL on Google Takeout here https://www.google.com/takeout/#custom:reader

So how are you dealing with this? 

The waiting line game of Mailbox

// #Mailbox , the latest attempt at improving mail #productivity , might work or it might fail. But they've handled their launch strategy in an innovative and smart (in terms of  #marketing ). 

Instead of the classic "give us your e-mail to notify you" and then just launch for the entire world, they adopted a "waiting line" concept: people who signed up first will get the app first. This rewards early adopters but also allows for "bragging rights" as the app shows your number in the "line" and how many people are in front and behind you. 

The result today is people filling the social networks with screenshots like the one below, showing how long the line is and if they are lucky (to be ahead) or unlucky (to have to wait a lot). And of course the tech press has something "exciting" to write about :) 

One could say it's the digital equivalent of #Apple 's lines on product launches. It remains to be seen if other start-ups will copy this idea... :)

Must download: Best of Quora

// If there is a site that you could say "let's convert this into a book", it is probably #Quora . So it's great that they just come out with a collection of 100 of their best responses form the last 2 years. 

The 400-page   #book is available for download as a free #PDF and is split in 18 categories, including food, education, international, law, life advice, literature, music and more.

The #technology part includes: 
- Paul DeJoe's answer to #Startups: What does it feel like to be the CEO of a start-up?
- Steve Case's answer to 1995-2000 Dot-Com Bubble: What factors led to the bursting of the #Internet bubble of the late 1990s?
- Kevin Systrom's answer to #Instagram: What is the genesis of Instagram?
- David Cole's answer to Video Games: Am I missing out by not playing any video or console games?
- Ramzi Amri's answer to Steve Jobs: Why did #SteveJobs choose not to effectively treat his cancer?
- Tim Smith's answer to Steve Jobs: What are the best stories about people randomly meeting Steve Jobs?
- Peter Clark's answer to Silicon Valley Company Culture: Which of the Hogwarts Houses does each of the Gang of Four companies correspond to?

The best thing about the book is probably that is written by people who never intended to write a book or become authors. Their intention was to provide an answer to a question out of their experiences and knowledge without any financial or other motive. 

Download the Best of Quora here http://bit.ly/YhgkhA
If you prefer to read this on your browser or want to check out the full discussions, see the list of the actual pages here http://b.qr.ae/10dDDEt

Does writing in the WSJ mean anything?

// Short answer: probably not. A bit longer answer: 

I just had the pleasure of reading this article by +John C Dvorak on the Wall Street Journal's Marketwatch http://bit.ly/WfVf1V

In it Dvorak determines that #crowdsourcing will soon be over and provides 3 examples: 
1) He went on a site and got a popup (which he didn't know if it was Flash or Javascript(!)) asking him to like the site's #Facebook page. Ergo, Facebook likes are a mess and don't mean anything any more (well tell that to Petter Kverneng who went viral in a single day through the "messy" likes system http://gaw.kr/VAoVbA)
2) He added blogging and video editing as his skills and now is surprised that random people that he accepted in his network are endorsing him for skills he doesn't he is really worthy now. Ergo, +LinkedIn is now "cheapening of the value of crowdsourcing" (By the way, you can hide/delete endorsements or even remove the skills from your profile)  
3) Finally Mr Dvorak discovered the fun of fake reviews on Yelp that are actually mocking Taco Bell. Ergo, crowdsourced review systems are about to be extinct. I hope he doen't find out about Amazon's reviews on "Bic for Her" http://amzn.to/10psWUh or Mr Dvorak will declare Amazon "shortly dead" soon :) 

So there you have it, you read it on WSJ (and then here) first, likes are worthless and crowdsourcing is history. Thank you in advance for your +1s :)

For the record, I blame +Mike Elgan for reading Dvorak's article and spending half an hour writing this #rant :)

Behold the Beauty of Bash

// This dangerous and #fun piece of #code (called a "fork bomb") would make a great t-shirt :)
You can try to find out what it does, do a backup first. Or read the analysis here http://bit.ly/VYACFc
Via +Geek Humor

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The Internet of Buzzwords

// The Next Web explains "Why 2013 will be the year of the Internet of Things" http://tnw.co/TmTcZl

According to WikiPedia, the term describes "a system where the Internet is connected to the physical world via ubiquitous sensors". But at the moment I think there is a confusion on what "the Internet of Things" actually means, or at least how it is used. Or TNW is desperate for a new buzzword. 

For example, the author writes: 
But as Patil points out, the raw data is not so helpful on its own and this is why people are building products that can help to communicate that information clearly. A good example we’re covered recently is MySugr, the data collection app for diabetics.
Although it doesn’t yet take blood readings automatically, but inputting the data on mood, food and health, people with diabetes can start to work with their own data. The mobile app means they can add information anywhere and even show it to their doctor. At the moment though it’s not compatible with the blood testing kits that are given to patients.

In what was described above, no "thing" produces data or communicates with any other "thing". This is simply an example of "digitized life" (is this a term? can I coin it? :))

Another example involved switching on the lights to your home by your mobile device's GPS signal when you enter the house. If there ever was an example of too much technology being used for a very simple task, that is probably it. Not to mention that GPS signal can be problematic inside a house (signal gone = lights turn out on you?). 

Perhaps we need better examples if the idea of "The Internet of Things" is to have any success...

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The universal translator is coming

// Speech recognition + instant translation + speaker like speech synthesis! 
Watch the demo: 

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How-to: Torrents on your iPad

// How to download/watch torrents on your #iPad:
1) Go to www.put.io and make a free account
2) Get a #torrent link from your regular legal source
3) Paste the torrent link to put.io.
4) You're done. Very soon you'll have a download link and a stream option
Enjoy! :)

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Awesome Google Maps fail

// Maybe we shouldn't be so hard on #Apple's #map failures... :) 
Link to the see it for yourself http://goo.gl/maps/4bh3m
And Bing getting it right http://binged.it/QQMkkf 

Reshared post from +Sharon Strandskov

I am usually pretty pleased with Google Maps, but surely there has to be a faster way... I know there were border issues, but I thought they settled those, and imagine you could go through a closer country regardless... anyone know why this would be the case?

Edit: Read comments for more examples, such as those from +Nigel Fish and +Wayne Radinsky, like this one where the pins are both in Vietnam, within 0.12km and it is a 750 hour rerouted drive: http://goo.gl/maps/O9Oy6

Edit, potential reason, thanks to +Jennifer Luzio:
"Google hasn’t actually operated in China since early 2010, when they decided they would no longer censor search results on Google.cn. That move came after Google sustained a cyberattack originating in China, designed to steal the GMail information of Chinese human rights activists. The Chinese government has long denied any involvement.
Users in mainland China can still search using Google Hong Kong."
from SearchEngineWatch
More on the cyber attack: http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2066083/Googles-New-Approach-to-China-A-Closer-Look-at-the-Attack-Heard-Round-the-Web

Either Google is purposefully avoiding China or they have such a lack of quality sourced data that they choose to avoid China.

In album October 5, 2012 (1 photo)

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Dailymotion opens up Publisher Network - kind of

// #Dailymotion has been doing revenue deals with big sites like Yahoo! and The Huffington Post, but recently they have opened their platform for smaller sites as well. 

The basic idea is that you embed Dailymotion videos in your site, ads are server and you get 30% of Dailymotion's net ad revenues. A "Curator tool" is offered as well as API access. 

So I've signed up Top40-Charts.com and got accepted, but apparently not everything is in place yet as I got this message: _In the next couple of days the revenue share system will be activated and you’ll receive a temporary password in order to access your account._

So, we're on hold...
Check out the network's site here http://dai.ly/QZKAW5

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SoftLayer considered spam by Google

//If you are a  #SoftLayer client, be sure to check your #junk folder often as #Gmail is now considering it as a source of #spam . This is probably a recent development as I never had this problem before. As a result all mails from Softlayer of the last 10 days have ended up in my junk folder.

The irony of this #fail is of course the SoftLayer ad over the spam-considered message :) 

Is anyone else having this? 

Update: Looking at my junk folder I now find random mails from Twitter, other services, even Google Analytics! 

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The Apple Manual on being a Human

// A big scoop for Gizmodo yesterday, with what appears to be the Apple manual on their Genius staff training. It's a full instructions set on how to talk to customers in a civilized, friendly and empathic way, while at the same time not admitting that there might something wrong with an #Apple product and of course always providing some opportunity of selling merchandise... 

Full read http://bit.ly/TtwMDq

cc +Guy Kawasaki have you seen this? I thought of your books when I saw this :) 
via +Nassos K. 

Unrelated issue: what on earth did #Gizmodo do to their commenting system? This thing is unusable...

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Penises on Salad Super-Delegates

// Oh Google automatic #transcribe feature, you're always an instant source of fun! :-)

It's like magic: "We're enjoying a tasty lunch with Athenos feta in our salads, it's super delicious" is transcribed to...
what i'm saying it's a steel into the penis that on our salads super-delegates

More fun on the video link here http://bit.ly/OIVAHI

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