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Google Puts an End to Orkut, Focuses Entirely on G+
After 10 (not so) glorious years, Google decided to discontinue the Orkut social network, in order to focus all of its efforts on Google+.
On September 30, users of the Orkut social network (if any), will have to bid this service farewell, as the search giant will shut it down on that day. To be frank, I don’t consider that to be a great loss, as Orkut has become highly unpopular, and only occasionally made the news due to controversy. Fake and cloned profiles, as well as hate groups and censorship in several states is what brought Orkut again and again to public attention.
In an Orkut blog post published this past Monday, Google unveiled the reasons behind its decision: “Over the past decade, YouTube, Blogger and Google+ have taken off, with communities springing up in every corner of the world. Because the growth of these communities has outpaced Orkut’s growth, we’ve decided to bid Orkut farewell.”
If you went to Wikipedia and looked on any social network’s page, you would notice that almost each and every one of them has an approximate number of users. That’s not the case with Orkut, though, and as if that wasn’t enough to raise an eyebrow, Google declined to reveal this social network’s number of users. If that happens, it’s usually because the numbers are ridiculously low. One thing I’ll never understand is why Google had to wait for 10 years to shut down a service which was destined from the start to be unpopular.
Vic Gundotra, the head of the search giant’s social networking services, left the building in April, and since he supervised the launch of Google+ back in 2011, people started wondering if Google really has an interest in social networks.
As of July 1, people can no longer create new profiles on Orkut. Google permits the users of this social network to transfer their profiles using Google Takeout. One thing I’m certain of is that Orkut won’t be missed, as there are plenty of other sites on which we can share our most private information, so that NSA and other governmental agencies can stalk us. Not to mention that some social networks (ehm, Facebook) even conduct experiments on their users.
Additional details about Google shutting down Orkut are available on the Help section of the Orkut Support site.
Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the file transfers that Google introduced in GTalk, and Google+ Stories.
Google Puts an End to Orkut, Focuses Entirely on G+
After 10 (not so) glorious years, Google decided to discontinue the Orkut social network, in order to focus all of its efforts on Google+.
On September 30, users of the Orkut social network (if any), will have to bid this service farewell, as the search giant will shut it down on that day. To be frank, I don’t consider that to be a great loss, as Orkut has become highly unpopular, and only occasionally made the news due to controversy. Fake and cloned profiles, as well as hate groups and censorship in several states is what brought Orkut again and again to public attention.
In an Orkut blog post published this past Monday, Google unveiled the reasons behind its decision: “Over the past decade, YouTube, Blogger and Google+ have taken off, with communities springing up in every corner of the world. Because the growth of these communities has outpaced Orkut’s growth, we’ve decided to bid Orkut farewell.”
If you went to Wikipedia and looked on any social network’s page, you would notice that almost each and every one of them has an approximate number of users. That’s not the case with Orkut, though, and as if that wasn’t enough to raise an eyebrow, Google declined to reveal this social network’s number of users. If that happens, it’s usually because the numbers are ridiculously low. One thing I’ll never understand is why Google had to wait for 10 years to shut down a service which was destined from the start to be unpopular.
Vic Gundotra, the head of the search giant’s social networking services, left the building in April, and since he supervised the launch of Google+ back in 2011, people started wondering if Google really has an interest in social networks.
As of July 1, people can no longer create new profiles on Orkut. Google permits the users of this social network to transfer their profiles using Google Takeout. One thing I’m certain of is that Orkut won’t be missed, as there are plenty of other sites on which we can share our most private information, so that NSA and other governmental agencies can stalk us. Not to mention that some social networks (ehm, Facebook) even conduct experiments on their users.
Additional details about Google shutting down Orkut are available on the Help section of the Orkut Support site.
Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the file transfers that Google introduced in GTalk, and Google+ Stories.
Peter Molyneux talks next-gen consoles, communal gaming and Oculus Rift
Fabled (and Fable) game designer Peter Molyneux has long been a visionary in the gaming world, and his most recent effort, the Kickstarted title known as Godus, has piqued our Curiosity. However, as a veteran of the console world, we jumped at the chance to get his take on next-gen along with an update on his own projects.
Surprisingly, Molyneux wasn't particularly enthused with the new generation of consoles. Part of the problem, as he sees it, is that consoles are still too focused on the living room, while our digital lives are much more mobile -- which is why, in part, Godus is being built for laptops and phones first. "I wanted them [the consoles] to shock and surprise me" with new ways to integrate with mobile devices, he says, but the current mobile features feel like a "bolt-on" rather than an integral part of gameplay. Aside from all the next-gen talk, we got an update on the man who removed Curiosity's final block (he's just beginning to enjoy the fruits of godhood), and got his thoughts on Oculus Rift (spoiler: he's a fan). While words describing an interview are good, an actual interview is better -- this one awaits you after the break.
Google+ Launches Hangouts on Air Worldwide with Improved Features
FCC tasks Dish with building 70 percent of its AWS-4 LTE network in 7 years
The fellas at the FCC may have given Dish Network the green light to pilfer the AWS-4 spectrum for its upcoming LTE plans, but it didn't do so without leaving a few lingering strings. Dish is expected to build out the proposed network at a rate of ten percent per year, and faces serious consequences if it misses the proposed goals. If the company fails to make a 40 percent rollout in four years, for instance, Dish will be expected to polish off the remaining 30 percent in just two years instead of three. The company has seven trips around the sun to claim the entirety of its proposed market, too -- the FCC says Dish's license to uncovered areas will automatically expire if it doesn't have 70 percent of the network ready within the alloted timeframe.
Competing networks are concerned that Dish may intentionally fall short of this goal, covering the most profitable markets at the expense of losing coverage in less lucrative, rural areas. The feds put out some guidelines on power limitations too, and the fate of the contested H band is still up in the air. Eager to sift though the federal declarations? Skip on over to the source links below and jump in -- it's only a cumulative 216 pages of legalese.
Filed under: Cellphones, Misc, Mobile
Via: Electronista
Source: FCC (Scribd) [1], [2]
Google Takeout introduces transfer tool for Google+ circles, merges your work and personal life
Those who extol the virtues of keeping one's personal and professional life separate probably never had to juggle two Google+ accounts. Folks saddled with a Google+ profile for both their personal Gmail account and their organization's Google Apps account can now migrate circles, blocks and other information from one account to another using Google Takeout. The new tool won't eliminate your double digital life completely, however -- content such as posts, profile information and comments don't migrate. The process takes time, too, kicking off with a seven day waiting period before restricting the user's Google+ access for 48 hours while Takeout boxes up the data. Still, this should make managing Circles across multiple accounts a little simpler. Check out the official Google help page at the source link below.
Filed under: Software
Google Takeout introduces transfer tool for Google+ circles, merges your work and personal life originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 Jul 2012 22:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | CommentsDistro Issue 36 lands with The Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne, the New York International Auto Show, Ultrabooks and Nikon’s D4
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Distro Issue 36 lands with The Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne, the New York International Auto Show, Ultrabooks and Nikon's D4 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Apr 2012 09:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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