The past few days, there’s been a lot of talk about web browsers. The report that Google will be paying Mozilla close to one billion dollars over the next three years to ensure that their search engine remains the default for Firefox is fascinating for a few reasons. The biggest is that Google now makes a Firefox competitor, Chrome. And it got me thinking about Safari.
Remember Safari?
While Chrome has skyrocketed from 0 percent market share in August 2008 to over 25 percent last month, Apple’s web browser lingers somewhere between 5 and 8 percent, depending on what numbers you look at. While its growth seemed to stall out in late 2008/early 2009, Safari has been growing again since then. But it has been at a very slow, methodical pace compared to the Google browser. → Read More
Android apps come in all shapes and sizes – literally.
Unlike iOS applications, which are basically created for two form factors, Android apps need to be developed with dozens (if not hundreds) of device-types in mind. This is on top of the inconsistent operating system releases still mucking things up. While all of this fragmentation is a headache for developers, ignoring a platform with 50 percent market share would ultimately lead to their peril.
The best Android apps are thus the ones that can both push the technological envelope while also remaining accessible to the vast majority of users. This is no easy feat.
We divided our list of the best 30 Android apps into four distinct categories. The top ten apps come from third-party developers, and, if not exclusive to Android, were created primarily for the platform. Additional sections include the best new or significantly updated apps from Google, as well as the best apps and games that appeared first on iOS but later arrived to Android in 2011. → Read More
The new year is right around the corner, and many of us are in dire need of some organization. Luckily for all you fandroids out there, DropBox 2.0 has finally made its way onto the Android Market. The app has brand new features and a totally revamped layout.
You’ll find a little arrow to the right of each file in the app, which will then lead you to a pop-out menu. From there you can share, delete, and favorite, which is a brand new feature to DropBox. From the main menu, you’ll see three tabs up top including Dropbox, Uploads and the newly added Favorites. → Read More
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not an ultrabook was whirring, not a touchpad nor mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
With hopes they were stuffed with Thunderbolt MacBook Airs.
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of Galaxy Tabs danced in their heads.
And ma in her ‘kerchief, and I with my apps,
Had just settled our texting thumbs for a long winter’s nap. → Read More
If you could have one superpower, what would it be? Mind control would be my answer (I hope to be an evil genius when I grow up). But it seems the most popular answer to that question is the ability to fly. Jarnos Smeets, a mechanical engineer from the Netherlands, is working really hard to make that a reality.
How, you ask? Well, he’s building real-life wings (just like the wings on a bird). By first combining the accelerometers of the WiiMote and an HTC Wildfire S, he can now measure the arm-speed of his own movements and thus control the outrunner motors on his DIY wings. → Read More
I was in a meeting with Uri Geller. You know who he is. He’s the psychic that bends spoons. He’s been doing it since he was a kid. Marvel Comics even did an issue once where Uri Geller was helping out Daredevil. The cover has Daredevil wearing an extremely tight uniform where you could see the outline of his genitalia (putting it delicately for SOPA Nazis). Daredvil was swinging around punching people while Uri Geller (“the Most Shocking Guest Star of All” according to the cover) was melting tanks.
So now Uri Geller was sitting right in front of me pitching a business.
That’s the way I roll. → Read More
The Gillmor Gang — Robert Scoble, John Taschek, Kevin Marks, and Steve Gillmor — took a WiFi stroll through the forest that is Hollywood’s attempt to lock down our TVs. It’s really too late, what with SOPA boycotts, reverse engineering of the Apple AirPlay bus, and Microsoft’s slow fade from CES underway. But that doesn’t stop the Cartel from trying.
It may turn out that you can someday move network news shows from Slingbox to the iPad and back up to Apple TV over WiFi, but for now the realtime bus is getting choked. In fact all things streaming is about to collide with bandwidth caps, at least in our house. With 5 Apple TVs and counting, it won’t be long before WiFi consulting becomes a trade school offering. Me, I’m off to Fry’s. Happy Holidays. → Read More
First, if you want to get right down to it, here are the codes you type into Facebook chat to get various faces:
Huzzah! We are truly living in an age of wonder!
Second, why does this work? → Read More
The social enterprise has been growing as more and more companies look to incorporate Facebook-like communications among workers. Jive (which just debuted on the Nasdaq), Yammer, and Salesforce are all betting on the social as an integral part of productivity and business processes in the future. And it looks like Google will be entering the space soon. Google’s Vice President of Enterprise Amit Singh tells us that Google will soon bring a more in-depth Google+ social experience to businesses and institutions using Google Apps.
In October, Google announced that Google Apps users could sign up for Google+, allowing businesses and educational institutions to share posts directly to other users within their workgroups and/or universities. → Read More
Entrepreneurs are always in “sell mode”, but that doesn’t mean they need to be BS-artists. Most entrepreneurs aren’t born liars, but we’re brought up in a system that rewards bad behavior and taking the easy way out by lying instead of being truthful, something that eventually catches up with you.
If you’re an entrepreneur, here are 5 common lies you’ve probably told. → Read More
A couple weeks ago, MG wrote: Android development itself remains a huge pain in the ass. I hear this again, and again, and again. Which took me a bit aback: I’ve been writing both iOS and Android apps for more’n two years now, and while both platforms’ developer tools have their highlights and really irritating lowlights, overall it’s pretty much a wash.
But then I realized: if you’re an iOS developer moving to Android, then yes, it would seem a million times worse. Just as the converse would; it’s just that the converse is far less common. The platform you don’t know always seems a million times worse than the one you know. You’ve already gone through the setup nightmares, figured out its quirks and idiosyncracies, and learned what not to do or try.
This, I think, is a big factor in the reign of apps. Ever since the App Store came out, people have been prophesying that apps are a passing fad, soon to be replaced by HTML5. For years now, PhoneGap and Sencha have offered cross-platform app development, ie the ability to write a single app that works on both iOS and Android. If the transition between the two is such a giant pain, as mentioned above, why wouldn’t everyone do that? → Read More
2011 saw the rise and fall of Siri. What was initially hailed as something just short of the savior of mankind turned out to be a limited voice control system. Apple insists Siri is still a beta product. They say it will get better.
But some out there couldn’t wait for Apple. And so, with a little imagineering, people made Siri do all sorts of unconventional tasks in 2011. These hacks led to her opening beer, playing the piano, and even warning owners about what’s on a specific TV station. Yeah, the official feature set of Siri is a bit underwhelming, but hackers and modders managed to roll out an impressive set of avant-garde use cases to keep owners occupied until Apple rolls out the next Siri revision. Read on for the top 5 Siri hacks and mods of 2011. → Read More
TechCrunch Disrupt winner Shaker is already getting ready for New Year’s Eve. The Facebook app creates 3D virtual rooms where you can party with your friends and meet new people. The startup is partnering with Dick Clark Productions to create a virtual loft where a pre-party will take place right before the “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2012″ show begins.
The New Year’s Eve loft will be a place where people can virtually hang out between 4PM and 8PM ET on New Year’s Eve before the live show begins. You will be able to dance, mingle, buy virtual drinks and watch exclusive interviews with some of the performers who will be on the ABC television show, including Will.i.am, Taio Cruz, LMFAO, Gym Class Heroes, Fergie, Blink 182, and The Band Perry. (RSVP for the event here, or just show up on New Year’s Eve). → Read More
Where do you publish first if you have more Facebook subscribers than Twitter followers? That’s a question more and more journalists are going to be asking themselves. Just 3.5 months after the launch of Facebook’s late entry into asymmetrical following, many individual content producers including TechCrunch / CrunchFund’s MG Siegler, The New York Times’ Nick Bilton, and myself have have seen our subscriber counts surpass our follower tally. How? Because Facebook’s larger user count makes it easier to amass subscribers. → Read More
I know there are lots of people out there who have passionate feelings about Ron Paul. He’s a principled and independent fighter for old-time American values, or a conspiracy theorist loon, or someone who let idiotic racist stuff get published in his newsletters decades ago… or whatever else it is that you see about him that makes you react.
I’m not here to take sides and tell you how to vote, I’m just writing this article to point out that he’s been gaining the most new Facebook fans every day for most of the past month. He’s now the second-most popular candidate behind Mitt Romney (and Democratic incumbent Barack Obama, of course), according to the Inside Facebook Election Tracker.
→ Read More
Mobile analytics firm Flurry is closing out the year with a look into the forthcoming shift in mobile installed bases expected in 2012. Using data from the firm’s dataset of over 140,000 apps running worldwide, it was able to calculate smartphone penetration in established markets like U.S. and Europe. Then, using additional data from the IMF in combination with Flurry’s own data, the firm was able to then determine which countries represented the top market opportunities for mobile app developers.
Not surprisingly, China and India made the list. But so did the U.S. → Read More
The Gillmor Gang – Robert Scoble, Kevin Marks, John Taschek, and Steve Gillmor – are recording live at 1pm PT.
Recording has concluded. → Read More
In a brief interview with TechCrunch, GoDaddy’s new CEO, Warren Adelman, did a little damage control relating to the company’s highly public reversal of its position on SOPA. GoDaddy had previously issued a strong statement of support for the controversial bill, which you can find here. The last day has seen a growing grassroots rejection of the company and its position in the form of a boycott. But today brought a statement from the company apparently doing a complete about-face.
Adelman noted that he had “been CEO of this company for all of one week,” and that the complaints and feedback had grown just over the last 24 hours, and it is during this time that he became involved. He said that the feedback made him realize they should “take a step back and look at the current legislation.” Of course, the outcry against SOPA and its twin in the Senate goes back much further. → Read More
The Internet is up in arms about the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), and for good reason. It could potentially block and censor sites for alleged copyright infringement without full due process. Companies that support the bill are facing boycotts (GoDaddy just withdrew its support for this reason).
But people on the two sides of the debate still don’t see eye to eye, which is why we invited one of the SOPA’s co-sponsors, Congressman Bill Owens (D-NY), to address the issues. We captured the conversation in the video above. → Read More
When you’ve got a campus with 70,000 students and staff on it, all requiring some form of integrated cloud service, be it for email, scheduling, documents, or what have you, the decision-making process over which service to use is not a trivial one.
Fortunately, UC Berkeley considered it not only necessary, but a duty to the public to not just consider the options carefully but to explain those considerations. They’ve put up a nice detailed comparison of Google and Microsoft’s offerings (Apps and Office 365) as they relate to University business. Anyone or any institution thinking of doing a similar deployment may find it interesting reading. → Read More
