RIP: Google Reader

We hope you’ve had time to say your goodbyes, because Google Reader bows out today, ending its eight-year existence. The search giant gave a two-month warning, with many users incensed that they’d be losing their defacto RSS reader — their favorite way to absorb news and internet goings-on. We’d like to hear why Reader managed to pull in such a devoted following, so leave us your memories in the comments below and let us know which service you’ve moved your feeds to, because some of us haven’t decided yet.

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BSkyB wins trademark case against Microsoft over SkyDrive name

BSkyB wins European trademark case against Microsoft over SkyDrive name

While many can tell the difference between Sky TV services and Microsoft’s SkyDrive cloud storage, that’s not necessarily true for everyone. A British court certainly thinks there’s room for confusion: it has ruled that SkyDrive infringes BSkyB’s trademarks on the Sky name in both the UK and the European Union. The presiding judge didn’t believe that Microsoft’s use of the “sky” prefix was absolutely necessary, and she showed evidence that at least some of the general public didn’t understand which company made what. Microsoft says it plans to appeal the verdict, although there’s no guarantee that it will have to relabel SkyDrive if the appeal falls through. Some past trademark lawsuits have led to fines instead of name changes, and we suspect Microsoft would rather pay out than lose brand recognition across a whole continent.

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Via: TechCrunch

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A Guide To Everything Google Has Been Asked To Censor

A Guide To Everything Google Has Been Asked To Censor

The internet is all about the free flow of ideas, right? Collaboration! Discourse! Sharing! The day to day reality of what we do online may not always be quite so idealistic and ideologically motivated, but the open underpinnings are there. Except, of course, when they’re not at all. This visualization, published by Sebastian Sadowski, uses Google’s transparency data to visualize all the things the company has been asked to censor.

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PSA: Google Play Music All Access $8 promotion ends soon

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Listen, we’re all for waiting until the last possible minute, but that time is now. If you happen to be looking for a deal on Google’s fancy new music service, the clock is ticking. Once June 30th rolls around, Google Play Music All Access’s $7.99 price tag will bump up to the standard $9.99 a month. That’s a full $2 a month more for access to those millions of unlimited songs. You can sign up at the source link below — that same page can also hook you up with a free 30-day trial, if not paying money is your thing.

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Source: Google Play Music All Access

Topographic maps illustrate where Twitter’s bird flies highest

Topographic maps illustrate where Twitter's bird flies highest

Not every Twitter user geotags their musings, but there are enough who do to generate some very insightful data. On its blog today, Twitter shared images from Data Visualization Scientist Nicolas Belmonte, who created topographic maps visualizing the density of geotagged tweets. The result is striking, as tweets clearly correlate with roads, geographic features and even lines of public transit. In addition to the blog’s stills, you can futz around with interactive maps of New York, San Francisco and… Istanbul. When you realize the implications of all those tweets from the Bay Bridge, it’s frightening enough to consider taking BART across the Bay instead.

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Source: Twitter Blog

Yahoo to shutdown a dozen services by September

As the latest of many changes that have been made to Yahoo! under CEO Marissa Mayer’s reign, the company announced via Tumblr that it will be shutting down a dozen services over the new few months, with the last one going down on September 28. This move in part removes services that have received little

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Digg Reader goes public, Android app still pending

When Google announced out of the blue that it would be shutting down its Reader service, a lot of cries arose, and amidst them was Digg’s with a claim that it would step in with its own service. The company has been cranking away at its software, having made the iOS app available earlier this

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Digg Reader web, iOS apps are open for the public

As we stand on the precipice of the shutdown of Google Reader the search for replacement RSS clients is more frantic than ever, and now Digg has opened access to its app for any users interested. Currently available on the web and as an iOS app (Android coming soon), importing ones Google account is just a few mouse clicks away. The experience as it exists now is pretty barebones, and Digg says it plans to add a “View unread items only” option, “Mark as unread” button and the always crucial “accurate” unread counts for feeds and folders in the near future. Hit the source link below to give it a shot, and then let us know if it’s a contender for the throne.

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Source: Digg Blog

Corkscrew Lasers Are About to Revolutionize Internet Bandwidth

Corkscrew Lasers Are About to Revolutionize Internet Bandwidth

We transmit almost a thousand petabytes of data over the ‘nets every month—an amount that’s growing exponentially, thanks to your narcissistic obsession with Snapchat. In fact, we’re quickly closing in on the limits of how much data optical fiber can transmit. Luckily, scientists at Boston University recently unveiled what could be the next generation of bandwidth tech.

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Yahoo Mail adds simple Flickr photo sharing

Yahoo Mail adds simple Flickr photo sharing

Many criticized a pre-Marissa Mayer Yahoo for doing little to integrate acquisitions with its core services, even when they were popular services like Del.icio.us. We can’t accuse the company of negligence today, as it just added simple Flickr photo sharing to Yahoo Mail. Those drafting messages just have to tap an arrow to attach files from their photo streams, and they can sign up for Flickr on the spot. While there’s only so many of us who could use Flickr sharing right now, Yahoo teases that there are more Mail upgrades in the pipeline — it’s not done fighting Gmail and Outlook just yet.

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Source: Yahoo (Tumblr)