Ever thought it would be great if you could just send/share a link with friends by word of mouth instead of typing it out or even using cut-copy-paste? Well now you can; introducing the new Google Tone, a Chrome extension that allows you to share URLs with nearby PCs using your computer’s speakers.  The California Mountain View based global giant is known for encouraging creativity and this time, two research-happy Googlers, Alex Kauffmann and Boris Smus, decided to tax their brains by coming up with a unique way to share links or URLs. Google Tone is a Chrome browser extension that can send/share links to friends and PCs in the vicinity by playing ultrasonic and dual-tone audio signal via your computer’s speakers. These tones are intercepted and translated into a URL by laptops and PCs nearby. Tone incorporates a codec based on dual-tone multi-frequency signalling (DTMF) which is a system generally used in conventional telephony.
Both the sender and the recipient need to install the Tone extension in their Google Chrome browser and have to be logged into their Google account. Once installed, to broadcast a URL, simply click on the megaphone icon in the top right corner of the browser. All or any PC running Tone extension in the immediate vicinity will receive a notification that the sender wants to share a URL along with the sender’s profile name, picture and a preview of the link. To open it, the receiver has to confirm and accept the message. 
Since the add-on is based on a computer’s audio and speaker system, volume levels and mic sensitivity have to be taken into account. Any discrepancy in the audio can affect the extension. According to its creators, “The orientation of laptops relative to each other, the acoustic characteristics of the space, the particular speaker volume and mic sensitivity, and even where you’re standing will all affect Tone’s reliability.” The aim was to share links in the same area as easily as it is done over social networks and other platforms. According to Google’s blog post, "Tone grew out of the idea that while digital communication methods like email and chat have made it infinitely easier, cheaper, and faster to share things with people across the globe, they've actually made it more complicated to share things with the people standing right next to you. Tone aims to make sharing digital things with nearby people as easy as talking to them."  People who have tested it out have confirmed that it works fine when sending data from Windows to Mac but hits a wall when the opposite is done. The company has already confirmed that the product is still not completely free of bugs, “Not every nearby machine will always receive every broadcast, just like not everyone will always hear every word someone says. But resending is painless and debugging generally just requires raising the volume.”
However, the general usefulness is undeniable; Tone can be used to share browser pages, search results, videos and other pages across devices in an office, classroom or family room; it can also be used with Google Hangouts. If you want to try out the new Google Tone, simply download it from the Chrome web store. 
No tag for this post. With the WWDC just around the corner, all eyes are on Apple’s latest announcement where they talk of plans to introduce a new iOS app called ‘Home’ in iOS 9 to control and manage various HomeKit-compatible devices and accessories. 
According to company sources, the app itself is still under development and in its most basic form it includes the ability to wirelessly find and configure HomeKit enabled devices. It can also sync with and organize connected HomeKit devices into virtual rooms and use Apple TV hub to connect to HomeKit devices. The app can also create "a series of screens" to help users explore and discover new HomeKit accessories and apps. The app is currently represented by a 'house' icon on a dark yellow background. At the moment speculations are rife that it may be announced as a part of the expected iOS 9 and might be a specific dashboard-based view of HomeKit-enabled accessories. However the Cupertino-based company is mum on the details of the app or even how users can use the HomeKit to interact with devices in their home. However sources have reported that the company is currently testing a version of the upcoming iOS 9 with the new ‘Home’ app. 
The news is related to Apple’s last year’s WWDC offering, the HomeKit (introduced as a part of 'Internet of Things'), whose first set of accessories is expected to go on sale in June. For those of you who have not heard about HomeKit before, the company’s developer website describes it as “a framework in iOS 8 for communicating with and controlling connected accessories in a user's home.” The HomeKit API can connect smart devices in the house to a user’s iPhone or iPad thereby allowing them to control and communicate with HomeKit-enabled accessories like lights, doors, wireless locks, thermostats, switchboards and other home automation devices using Siri (Apple’s digital assistant). 
A word of caution however, there is no guarantee that the ‘Home’ app will be showcased at the WWDC or even released to consumers. According to inside sources, at the moment embedded in iOS 9 builds for Apple employees and has very limited functionality. This gives rise to the thought that the 'Home' app could be for internal use at the company while HomeKit users may have to rely on Siri and other third-party apps from the AppStore to manage their connected devices. The latest announcement comes just weeks ahead of Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2015 scheduled to start on June 8. No tag for this post. Remember QuizUp, the addictive mobile trivia game that blazed a searing trail through the AppStore back in 2013? Well, they have gone and re-launched themselves as a trivia-based social media network! 
Yes, you read it right, QuizUp has decided to expand their mobile quiz game to the website domain and will be launching a new app and website version of the app dedicated to social networking…trivia-based networking that is. After the chart-breaking popularity of its trivia app, the company has decided to extend it to social media in order to encourage social connections through shared interests between users. The new app and website, with features similar to social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, will facilitate the growth of topic-focused communities which will be based on topics of general interest from its existing user base and offer cross-platform functionality between mobile and desktop. 
According to Thor Fridriksson, founder & CEO of QuizUp, the starting point of the new idea was when, "We found that people were making friends through QuizUp. When you are able to choose your topic, you are really describing one of your interests and interacting with someone who has that in common with you. So it makes sense for that to develop into a friendship or in some cases even marriage. We're the first mobile gaming app to put a huge emphasis on social interaction." 
At the moment QuizUp is available as a free download on both iOS and Android platform while the QuizUp.com website is also open. Users can discover and follow each other via location, gender or shared interests. The profile pages are designed to allow photo uploads, link sharing and stats boosts. While trivia content will remain user-generated like the original trivia app, content providers like HBO etc will offer their own themed trivia games (think Game of Thrones). The new app and site have been given a makeover with new exploration and networking-based design, functionality and features including a follower model, a home feed, and a topics tab system or main category section that allows users to access more than 1,200 quiz topics and 600,000 questions many of them with their own icons. 
When you click on one interest, it will pop up a forum with a comment thread, likes and photo sharing options. Users can view other people’s profiles (unless marked undiscoverable), look at their interests, follow and participate in friendly competitions or send direct in-app messages. Profiles usually comprise an image and a wheel showing the user’s interests and comments made on them. Signees will be able to meet and connect with similar-minded people all over the world not only through trivia-based games but also other forms of entertainment.  Talking about it Fridriksson, said, “When you think of the social networking landscape, there isn’t a good place where you can meet new people. Facebook is all about connecting with existing friends, so it’s kind of weird when somebody [you don’t know] adds you — it’s kind of creepy. Here, you can safely get to know new people, and we think doing that through interest is the way to go. We’re trying to create communities where people play each other, and interact with each other."
Founded in 2013, the Reykjavik, Iceland-based company called Plain Vanilla Games also has a base in San Francisco. It hit the charts with its immensely popular mobile trivia game app called QuizUp which has around 33 million users all over the world with over 7 million daily plays and a total funding of $27.7 million. Now with the new app and site the main aim will be a social networking platform based on similar interests. As Fridriksson reiterates, “I think that what we want to do, and our vision going forward, is connecting people with shared interests. We have built a platform we can iterate on.” 
No tag for this post. More Recent Articles | 
No comments:
Post a Comment