Your Apps May Be Snitching
For an increasing number of techies and non-techies alike, smartphones are becoming a central part of life. It’s no wonder that these devices store some of our most personal secrets and information. While the relationship with our smartphones seems intact, it looks like the apps we run on those phones could be undermining what we’ve built.
An examination of 101 popular smartphone “apps”—games and other software applications for iPhone and Android phones—showed that 56 transmitted the phone’s unique device ID to other companies without users’ awareness or consent. Forty-seven apps transmitted the phone’s location in some way. Five sent age, gender and other personal details to outsiders.
iPhone apps were found to share more data than Android apps and we aren’t talking about niche or no-name applications. Some of the apps at fault include: TextPlus, Pandora, Paper Toss, and Grindr. Many of those applications are able to share your data without your knowledge or consent, despite the limitations placed on apps on both platforms. While much of the data was found to be shared “anonymously,” it would be best to keep your smartphone close and your apps even closer.
via WSJ
Google TV Delayed for Last-Minute Tweaks
Google TV was supposed to be the future of living room entertainment. It was supposed to battle Apple TV and Roku, who have both already moved around 1 million units. At The Consumer Electronics Show next month in Las Vegas, we were supposed to see a preview of the Google TV software, which basically brings the web to your TV. Manufacturers like Sony, LG, Toshiba, and Sharp were on board and ready to go.
But Google has asked the TV makers to delay their introductions, according to people familiar with the company’s plans, so that it can refine the software, which has received a lukewarm reception. The late request caught some of the manufacturers off guard.’
James L. McQuivey, an analyst at Forrester, says that one of Google’s problems is in handling their partnerships. Until they develop “more sophisticated partnership skills and issue polished products,” they will continue to have difficulties. McQuivey went on to say that Google TV has all the right ingredients and the perfect recipe, but Google is having a hard time putting it all together. They’re going to need to step their cooking game up because this is a race and they have been left at the starting line.
via NYTimes
Google Buys Huge Building in New York for $1.9 Billion
Google is building their presence in New York by purchasing a ridiculously large building. Not only is the building huge, but it sits in a strategic position on top of the Hudson Street/Ninth Avenue fiber highway.
So down, in fact, that the web search titan just dropped $1.9 billion to acquire one of the largest and most historic buildings in all of the Big Apple. At nearly 3 million square feet, 111 Eighth Avenue, the former Port Authority building, sits like a beached, red-brick cruise ship overlooking New York’s Chelsea neighborhood. The building is so big, in fact, that it has elevators large enough to accommodate 18-wheel semi-trucks.
And yes, that’s a helicopter landing pad on the roof.
The building’s proximity to fiber has made it attractive to tenants like Verizon, Sprint, Level 3, WebMD, Nike, BarnesandNoble.com and ad agency Deutsch. Now, Google will kind of become their landlord. They will retain the Taconic Management Company to “continue the leasing oversight services and management of the building” in order to maintain “the same level of customer service the building’s tenants have come to expect.”
Facebook Categorizes Your Updates
Facebook took updates from its users, did some fancy math magic with them, and came up with some interesting insights into user behavior. For example, young people like to curse and are likely to express more negative emotions. They also talk about themselves a lot. Older people tend to post longer updates that mention other people. What is most interesting to note for those trying to build a brand on Facebook:
Word usage of more “popular” people also differs from people with a lower friend count. People with more friends tend to use more of the pronoun “you” and other second person pronouns. They write longer updates, and use more words referring to music and sports. More “popular” people also talk less about their families, are less emotional overall, use fewer past tense and present tense verbs and words related to time.
So, if you want people to connect with you on Facebook or any other social network: don’t get too personal, be positive (or at least neutral), make your updates timeless, and talk about others more than yourself.
via Facebook, ReadWriteWeb