Boot up: cable organisation, GPS's value, Google v Chrome, and more

Plus what the Google Books settlement enables, Python v R, what Nokia should do next, and moreA burst of 9 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology teamDIY toilet paper tube organizer is ugly, but it's a helluva cable organizer >> LifehackerIf you are a tech head, you've probably amassed quite a collection of miscellaneous cables that you aren't currently using, but might need later on. Keep them organized and tangle-free with a few toilet paper tubes in a box. We can attest that this is cheap, effective and environmentally friendly.Gates Foundation awards grants to develop urine-powered fuel cells, waterless toilets and solar steam sterilizers >> Bill & Melinda Gates FoundationNew Phase II grants were awarded to five organizations working to improve water and sanitation conditions in the developing world:University of the West of England, Bristol in the U.K. to develop microbial fuel cells that can be powered by urine. The electricity generated can be used to power sanitation of the waste, and even to charge a cell phone.Difficult task: placing an economic value on GPS >> Inside GNSSThe nation's leading GPS experts are struggling to quantify how the world's premier navigation and timing system affects the U.S. economy, an effort critical to building a political firewall around GPS spectrum in the face of ballooning demand for broadband capacity."It is an impossible question," said James Schlesinger, chairman of the National... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #ars technica #pinboardto suggest #@gdntech #microsoftapplegooglecharles arthurtheguardian

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Boot up: cable organisation, GPS's value, Google v Chrome, and more'


Scribd Founder Envisions Google Glass–like Wearables For E–Reading

The content on Scribd, the San–Francisco based startup that aims to create the digital library of the future, is available on a range of devices, from laptops to smartphones to tablets. But CEO Trip Adler tells Fast Company we won't be reading e–books in our hands in the future––they'll be... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2013-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #free reading #digital library #company launched #book space #barnes noble #crazy idea


Google Play Ebooks Expands to 9 New Asian Countries

Google has expanded Play ebook sales to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and New Zealand. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-09-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #asian countries #hong kong


Firefox and Chrome give browser plug-ins the cold shoulder

All of a sudden, the browser plug-in as we know it is starting to look mighty unpopular. Microsoft barred plug-ins from the modern UI version of Internet Explorer 10 right out of the Windows 8 gate, and this week, the other two major browsers advanced plans to nerf the out-of-the-box... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2013-09-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #facebook video #stop publishing


Google patent filing describes tailored online book clubs, minus the wine

The phrase "virtual book club" may not conjure romantic visions of low-lit rooms and vintage wines, but you don't necessarily need those things to throw fancy words around. Amazon-owned Goodreads hosts user-created online clubs, but a Google patent application that's surfaced today imagines a... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2013-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #patent filing #financial rewards


Google+ adds author attribution and embedded posts

Google+ is a great social media service for people to interact with friends and strangers alike. However, much like fellow social media sites Facebook and Twitter, it also serves as a great tool for bloggers and writers. Yesterday, Google announced that it is bolstering its social media service... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2013-09-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #google announced #embedded posts #great tool #search giant


Google+ rolls out features to help publishers build Web audience

SAN FRANCISCO — As part of its increasingly aggressive moves to get more people to use Google+ and to keep Facebook and Twitter from dominating the social networking business, Google is rolling out two new tools that it says will help authors and publishers build a bigger audience on the Web.     Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-09-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bigger audience


Zite's Personalized News App Comes To Google Glass

Mark Johnson is possibly the only person in the world who has gone through two pairs of Google Glass in five weeks. (He chalks up the loss of his first pair to an unfortunate brunch incident.) During a recent interview with Fast Company, the CEO of personalized news app Zite was staring into the... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2013-08-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #recent interview #fast company #tablet apps #media brands #app makers


Why Is Google Highlighting Long-Form Articles?

People ask Google some deep questions, like “why am I here?” “should I have a third child?” and “why is my scab turning that color?” Apparently 10% of our time on Google is spent digging into broad topics like these. So Google is curating and featuring authoritative treatises on popular subjects... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2013-08-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #starting point #online publishing #attention span


Google adding textbooks to the Play Store

While most people associate Android with text-messages, Google hopes you will think of it in another "text" aspect too -- textbooks. Today, Google announces that it is bringing textbooks to the Play Store. The company has partnered with all five major textbook publishers -- Cengage, Wiley,... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2013-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #google announces #play store #normal price


Google Play Store to Rent and Sell Textbooks

Google is getting into the textbook business by selling and renting materials from the top five education publishers in the US. The new service will launch August 8. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #education publishers


Harry Potter's Diagon Alley: visit on Google Street View

Google has added images of the Diagon Alley set from the 'Harry Potter' movies to its Street View function, allowing users to virtually walk through the magical shopping center. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #harry potter #diagon alley #allowing users


Apple, Google and others ask US government for more transparency with data requests

Just a few days after Google and Twitter pushed for the government to reveal the number of security-related requests, the Obama administration and Congress have just received another salvo backed by even more tech heavyweights -- 63, to be exact. A letter signed by many of the giants covered by... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2013-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #american people #international users #full text


US court throws out class-action status in Google books case, for now

A U.S. court has decided that the class-action designation of the copyright lawsuit brought against Google by the Authors Guild over the company's book-scanning project was "premature," and has returned the suit to a lower court for consideration of fair use issues.The Authors Guild filed its... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2013-07-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #lower court #district court #book-scanning project #books online #southern district #class-action lawsuit #move forward


Google Wins a Round in Book-Scanning Suit

A federal appeals court on Monday threw out the approval of a class of authors in a long-running lawsuit against Google Inc. over its efforts to electronically scan millions of books from public and university libraries in order to make them available online. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2013-07-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #university libraries


European publishers united in Google challenge

In what is being called "an unprecedented show of solidarity," hundreds of Europe's leading publishers have joined forces to call on European Commission Vice President Joaquín Almunia to reject outright the draft measures offered by Google to end their abusive practices. Continue reading at Media Week

[ Media Week | 2013-06-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #leading publishers #joined forces


Google News opt-in is not good enough, German publishers say

German publishers will disappear from Google News on Aug. 1 unless they opt in to the service as Google seeks to comply with a new German law. But the publishers said on Monday that this is not good enough, they want a share in Google's revenue.The law will come into effect on Aug. 1 and gives... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2013-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #german publishers #parts thereof #single words #news aggregators


Google News Becomes Opt-In For German Publishers After Copyright Law Change

Since Google News began, publishers have complained that it scrapes their content and offers little in return, letting readers get vital parts of stories as short snippets. In late 2012, the site settled with Belgian publishers after a six-year-long ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-06-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #german publishers #google news


Google News in Germany asks publishers to opt-in for indexing, sidesteps copyright fees

Despite its "Defend Your Net" campaign last year, Google was unable to fully put the brakes on changes to German copyright law that may mean it has to pay up for news excerpts it indexes. As a result, the company announced that unlike the other 60 countries where Google News operates by relying... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2013-06-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #company announced #txt file #publishers worldwide #free service #german law #search engines


US court backs Google book plans

A US federal appeals court has questioned the reasoning behind a class-action lawsuit against Google over its effort to digitise millions of books, suggesting that many authors could benefit from the project. Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2013-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #class-action lawsuit