The Next Web

Jul 27, 2013 ∞

Twitter UK chief responds to abuse concerns after campaigner is deluged with rape threats

This is a disturbing story, but more broadly it represents a big step backward for a company otherwise known for standing up for its users.

Jon Russell, writing at The Next Web:

Wang said, via Twitter, that the company was unable to discuss the specifics of the incident because “we don’t comment on individual accounts.” That position was echoed in a statement that Twitter provided to the BBC.

That’s unacceptable. It’s one thing to give the silent treatment to feature requests and “first world problem” complaints. But it’s another thing entirely when someone is being deluged with threats and then sees their own account suspended when they reach out about it.

Twitter is lucky it has built up so much goodwill among users and the press, because it burned much of it off with this serious misstep.

Feb 28, 2013 ∞

Google's answer to AirPlay comes to YouTube for iOS, sends video to consoles and TVs

Google’s answer to AirPlay comes to YouTube for iOS, sends video to consoles and TVs

I’ve been doing this from my Galaxy Nexus for a while now. I paired my phone to my Xbox 360 so I can pull videos up on my phone’s YouTube app (which is much easier to use than the Xbox app) and then send to my TV via the console. It’s a great experience.

If you need some YouTube content to try this out with, consider the massive Slenderman collection I linked to at my personal blog yesterday.

Jan 7, 2013 ∞

Keycard: A neat little Mac app that secures your computer by detecting the proximity of your mobile device - The Next Web

Matt Brian writing at The Next Web:

In our tests, I had mixed results. Initially, my iPhone continued to remain in range, meaning that if I was to walk around the office or different rooms in the house, my Mac remained awake and usable. However, if I went outside a range of around 10-15 meters, Keycard did its thing without an issue.

I’m not sure $6.99 is a viable price for 1.0 app whose developers are still perfecting activation range and that is suffering from “random screen locks when the device is still in range,” but it’s a neat concept. I’d find it especially useful in an Apple-focused office environment or a co-working space. Here’s a direct link to the iTunes store if you want to check it out.

Dec 9, 2012 ∞

96.36 billion cyberattacks against the US Navy each year

The Next Web's Emil Protalinski, quoting HP's head of enterprise services Mikle Nefkens:

“This means the attacks average out at about 1,833 per minute or 30 every second.” Those figures are simply astonishing. Extrapolating the other way, it means the US Navy is attacked some 96.36 billion times every year.

If you ever doubted the importance of cyber-preparedness, this should go a long way toward assuaging those doubts.

Nov 5, 2012 ∞

When 32GB is really 16GB...

When 32GB is really 16GB…

Microsoft is taking heat for claiming more user-available disk space on its new ARM-based Windows 8-powered Surface tablet than is really there.

But I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. Most companies are lying in their commercials, product pages, and press releases when it comes to how much disk space their gadgets offer users. This isn’t as big a deal for the kind of person who reads Alex Wilhelm at The Next Web. But for my parents, looking to buy a tablet, it is a non-trivial deception.

The deception actually works against the companies that use it: I suggest that many people may consider the larger model if the true size of the smaller model were more apparent.

Nov 2, 2012 ∞

Over 50% of Android phones still run Gingerbread

The greatest argument against Android is that the “Android” I am talking about when I describe the experience on my Galaxy Nexus is still very foreign to a majority of Android users.

Sep 26, 2012 ∞

Google Now Lets You Download All Your YouTube Videos In One Archive

Whether you like them or not, Google still leads the way on data portability.

Sep 24, 2012 ∞

MySpace renovations

Dear MySpace:

I am happy to see you lean away from Facebook and toward the new Digg and Rdio, with a clean design that prizes whitespace as much as content. Give me something functional and pretty, without the spammy taste of Facebook or the learning curve of Google+. Do this for me, and I will proselytize for you, even in the face of hopelessness.

Sincerely,

Joe

Sep 7, 2012 ∞

Say Hello to Samsung's Fanboy Factory - The Mobilers Program

Say Hello to Samsung’s Fanboy Factory - The Mobilers Program

Indian mobile tech blogger Clinton Jeff of Unleash the Phones, talking to The Next Web's Brad McCarty:

We got a call from Samsung India saying ‘You can either be a part of this and wear the uniform, or you’ll have to get your own tickets back home and handle your hotel stay from the moment this call ends…

Samsung released a statement calling the debacle a “misunderstanding” but only apologized to Mr. Jeff in the privately-emailed version of the statement. They said:

I would like to reach out to you and deeply apologize to you for your experience in Berlin at IFA. We put you through undue hardship and we are trying to rectify the situation.

Samsung’s behavior is inexcusable, and even worse for the lack of a public apology.

Sep 6, 2012 ∞

HootSuite Buys Seesmic

Robins Wauters interviewed Seesmic founder Loïc Le Meur at The Next Web today on his company’s sale to rival HootSuite.

I have always thought Seesmic was the best multi-profile app for Twitter and Facebook on mobile, and I always preferred their web interface to Hootsuite’s. But Le Meur is a brilliant fellow, and, as long as his team is taken care of, via either jobs at Hootsuite or decent compensation, I can only be happy for Seesmic.

Tent - the decentralized social web

Tent is decentralized, not federated or centralized. Any Tent server can connect to any other Tent server. All features are available to any server as first-class citizens. Anyone can host their own Tent server. Tent servers can also be run as Tor hidden services to create a social darknet for at-risk organizers and activists. Anyone can write applications that connect to Tent in order to display or create user content.

Is it Diaspora? Is it IRC? Is it Twitter? Is it Wordpress?

Well, I think, yes. And no.

Twitter’s recent adoption of a hostile stance toward its developer community and, to some extent, its users, is catalyzing the market for alternatives. Matthew Panzarino reports at The Next Web that they cut off Tumblr’s ability to help you find Twitter friends who also use Tumblr, as they did with Instagram.

joeross.me