Apple bolsters mapping service with Embark acquisition

In an ongoing struggle to keep up with Google Maps, Apple continues to acquire map-centric companies, the latest of which is Embark Inc. According to the company website, Embark makes “mass transit simpler”. It also helps users plan trips, providing them with interactive maps and up-to-date alerts. Currently, the free app is supported in several major cities including Boston, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and Washington DC.

Jessica Lessin, a former reporter for the Wall Street Journal, first broke the story on her yet-to-be named technology news publication. The acquisition was reportedly confirmed by an Apple spokeswoman, who later used the blanket statement, “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans”.

When the home-grown Apple Maps launched last fall, the tech giant announced that public transit features were coming soon. These types of capabilities would eventually help people to predict the arrival of trains and buses, making travel coordination significantly easier.

Unfortunately, Apple Maps was criticized for its poor performance and numerous inaccuracies; some of which included a city being marked as a hospital and a nursery misidentified as an airport. Rather than releasing these features to an admittedly buggy interface, Apple redirected its users to third-party apps – one of which was Embark.

From Embark’s point of view, the buyout makes plenty of sense. Although they already have nearly half a million people using their service and recently received an investment from BMW last November, they still face considerable competition from other mapping apps such as iTransitBuddy and Rover. And much like Embark, these companies were also promoted by Apple amidst their Apple Maps debacle. 

As the land grab for mapping companies continues to develop, the industry is effectively a two-man war between Apple and Google. Over the last two months alone, Apple has also acquired transit information companiesLocationary and HopStop, while Google has snatched up traffic specialist Waze.

Fujifilm Instax Mini 90 blends retro design with instant film

Fujifilm has taken the best elements from two popular camera lines to create a vintage-like shooter with a modern twist. The Instax Mini 90 Neo Classic is a higher-end (and more grown-up) version of the Instax brand originally marketed to children and young women – often sporting colorful designs or pop culture icons like Hello Kitty.

The camera shares design elements from the popular X series line of digital cameras although the Mini 90 is all analog. You might have thought that digital cameras all but gutted the instant camera market more than a decade ago – and you’d be right.

Fujifilm saw sales of instant cameras drop by 90 percent in 2002 and Polaroid filed bankruptcy twice since 2001 but even still, there remains a market for those that desire instant gratification. The company expects sales of instant cameras to surge by 25 percent this year and maintain at least 20 percent growth in the following year.

As photographer Mikiya Takimoto puts it, knowing that film costs money forces shooters to give thought to each shot taken. When you mess up, you work that much harder the next time. Masato Yamamoto, general manager of Fujifilm’s photo imaging products division, added that film yields an authenticity that is often missed in a digital world.

The Polariod-like Mini 90 features 10-second exposures, the ability to mesh multiple exposures into a single image and shutter speeds of up to 1/400 of a second. It’ll go on sale for about ¥20,000 in Japan starting September 20 and $210 in the US next spring.

Weekend Open Forum: Will you get a 3D printer?

This week we learned that Microsoft will implement a new 3D printing format in Windows 8.1 that promises to eliminate all of the current headaches and shortcoming associated with the technology. It’s still an expensive endeavor to bring home a 3D printer but as with all emerging markets, pricing will eventually reach a level that’s considered reasonable by most standards.

With this week’s open forum, we want to know if you have any interest in picking up a 3D printer either in the near future or once prices drop significantly. I’ve toyed with the idea of owning one myself but unless I could find a true practical use for one (crafting figurines that would just take up space on a shelf isn’t appealing to me), I think I’ll pass for now.

Steve Ballmer names Windows Vista as biggest regret while CEO

On Friday, Microsoft's Steve Ballmer announced that he would be retiring from his position as CEO within the next 12 months. The long-standing executive oversaw many operating system, software and product releases as CEO, but speaking to ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley, he regret one particular product launch the most: Windows Vista.

I would say probably the thing I regret most is the, what shall I call it, the loopedy-loo that we did that was sort of Longhorn to Vista. I would say that's probably the thing I regret most. And, you know, there are side effects of that when you tie up a big team to do something that doesn't prove out to be as valuable.

It's not surprising that Ballmer regrets the "loopedy-loo" of Windows Vista the most, as the operating system was heavily criticized around its launch for a number of reasons. High system requirements meant that many people, even with new PCs, weren't able to access all of the OS' features, and there were many issues surrounding compatibility with pre-Vista hardware. User Account Control was also criticized for producing too many prompts, causing many users to simply disable the feature entirely.

Windows 7, also released under Ballmer's reign, addressed many of the issues with Windows Vista to become one of Microsoft's most successful operating systems. Currently Vista sits on around 4% market share, with the majority of its users swiftly upgrading to Windows 7 after its release.

It's not Windows 7 that Ballmer is most proud of though, but the impact that Microsoft has had on people's lives over the course of his work at the company. He highlights being a significant part of "the birth of intelligent personal computing" throughout the '80s and '90s, and he isn't quite sure where the next chapter of his life might lead him.

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Moto X's unique design choice earns a 7 out of 10 repairability score

Teardown specialist iFixit had their hands full on Friday as Motorola’s latest smartphone – the Moto X – finally hit retail. First impressions were generally good as the team found the device to be slightly smaller than the Galaxy S 4 and they were impressed with the contoured back shell although a defect next to the SIM card tray is hopefully an isolated incident.

Getting inside the Moto X proved a bit difficult as Motorola not only clipped the rear shell in place, they also used a bit of adhesive. Multiple steps (and tools) later, the team finally breached the interior only to find Motorola’s X8 Mobile Computing System front and center. The brains of the phone, this bundle includes a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, a natural language processor and a contextual computing processor.

Elsewhere is a 2,200mAh lithium ion battery, a 2-megapixel front-facing camera, a 10-megaxpiel rear shooter, Toshiba THGBMAG7A2JBAIR 16 GB eMMC NAND flash, SK Hynix H9TKNNNBPDAR RAM, an NXP 44701 NFC chip and other various chips and components.

If nothing else, iFixit described the design choices as unique and in conclusion, it earned a repairability score of seven out of 10 (10 being the easiest to repair). The use of pressure contacts and cable connectors make the modular components easy to replace while a single type of screw (albeit a fairly uncommon size) will limit the number of screwdrivers you need.

Shortcomings include a taped-in battery that was less accessible than they liked and a digitizer that is fused to the display which increases repair costs for a cracked screen. The display midframe can be separated, however, potentially lowering the cost of the replacement part.

Facebook purges physical goods from online gift shop

Facebook has announced plans to purge physical merchandise from its online gift store less than a year after launching the service. The social network envisioned Facebook Gifts as being a one-stop shop for items like chocolate bars, cupcakes and stuffed animals that could be gifted to friends and family but the reality of the matter is that said items only accounted for 20 percent of sales.

Moving forward, Facebook Gifts will focus on its bread and butter – digital gift codes and Facebook’s own physical card. The Facebook Card was introduced early this year as a reusable gift card that can be redeemed at a number of real-world retailers including Jamba Juice, Olive Garden, Sephora and Target, just to name a few.

The social network said early on that they didn’t expect Facebook Gifts to be a substantial source of additional revenue, at least not in its first year. By eliminating physical goods, the company will be able to cut down on costs associated with delivery and management. True enough, a stern focus on digital goods will allow them to continue to experiment with the revenue stream without the added overhead.

The revamped shopping experience is already available to 10 percent of Facebook users and should see a site-wide rollout next week according to a spokesperson for the company. Users can also expect to see digital codes from more brands and in various denominations – the latter being a first for Facebook Gifts.

Do you know Vasanthi Subermaniam, Pengemis Chinta and 8 others?

facebook People You May Know Add the people you know to see their photos and updates. Vasanthi Subermaniam Informatics Institute Ipoh Add Friend Pengemis Chinta KETUA at Pt.cinta monyet Add Friend Segaran Kunasegaran RANNIVAL ACADEMY OF HIGHER LEARNING AND PROFESSIONAL TRANING Add Friend Kuna Segaran RANNIVAL ACADEMY OF HIGHER LEARNING AND PROFESSIONAL TRANING Add Friend Kenah Wijaya Punjab Group Of Colleges Add Friend Kannan Uka Pembantu Am at Majlis Bandaraya Ipoh Add Friend Shantini Shasha Rannival Add Friend Jackdass Bopul Add Friend Thamara Zhaky ♥ I Need Allah In My Life ♥ Add Friend Sara Dava Works at Bussiness man Add Friend Find More Friends Go to Facebook This message was sent to revitian@gmail.com. If you don't want to receive these emails from Facebook in the future, please unsubscribe. Facebook, Inc., Attention: Department 415, PO Box 10005, Palo Alto, CA 94303

Do you know Thamara Zhaky, Shantini Shasha and Loshini Nair?

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Pay for 3 Nt Get 1 Nt Free - Alor Holiday Resort, Goa

You can´t see this email? View it in your browser About Contact Per Couple CP-6299/- INR MAP-7699/- INR AP-8999/- INR Ext Person CP-2700/- INR MAP-3450/- INR AP-4200/- INR Child 5-12yrs CP-2000/- INR MAP-2600/- INR AP-3200/- INR Deluxe Room Inclusive of Buffet Breakfast, Airport Transfers, Mineral Water, Fruit Platter & Cookies platter. Room is 381 sqft. in area and offers Marble flooring, Direct Dial, In-room safe, Minibar, Satellite television, Temperature control, Tea-coffee maker, Turn-down service, Work desk and WiFi internet (on charge). Attached bathroom offers bathtub, bathrobe, modern toiletries, and laundry bag.  A/C Standart Room (Valid from now till 30th sep 2013)  # Rs.1700/- Per Room Per Night Includes : · A/C Accommodation · Indian Breakfast · Free use of swimming pool, indoor games & mini gym Package Inclusions -Transfers by Non A/C Vehicle (Thivim Railway/Airport) (Rs.450/- one way extra for transfer from Margaon Railway Station). - Welcome Drink on Arrival (Non Alcholic) - Well appointed air conditioned rooms with TV, Mini Bar (Minibarconsumption extra) and attached bath with 24 hrs. Hot & cold water. - Bottle of Goan Wine in the room on arrival. - 2 bottles of mineral water per room per day. - 2 Half Day sightseeing by N A/C Coach( North and South) & 1 Hour Boat cruise (on the day of South Goa Tour ) - Meals as per Plan (CP: 03 Breakfast, MAP: 03 Breakfast & 03 Dinner AP: 03 Breakfast, 03 Lunch, 03 Dinner) - Free use of our swimming Pool ( with proper swim wear), Mini Gym and Indoor games - Farewell gift at Departure *Government Taxes of 15.42% is applicable on the above packages and room rate. Our Address Alor Holiday Resort  Poriat, Naika Vaddo, Calangute - Goa 403516, India Phone Number : +91 11 32 02 02 02, 9999989548 Email : reservation@hotelsgds.com www.hotelsgds.com   You have received this email because you have subscribed to Hotelsgds If you no longer wish to receive emails please unsubscribe Copyright © hotelsgds.com     Subscribe to: Posts (Atom) Links from Friends   Track