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Dogs, horses, fields, landmarks… Love it!

Surprised more hasn’t been made of it, it’s an evolutionary step forward

27 minutes ago on Google uses machine learning to pull your personal photos into search results

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these new features make G+ amazing for photos, especially when you haven’t tagged the photos – it just knows what’s in them.

29 minutes ago on Google uses machine learning to pull your personal photos into search results

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Not only can you choose not to use it, but all photos uploaded are private until you choose to share them.

If you choose to use their service, then if you choose to upload photos & then if you go further and choose to share them, you’re in control of who sees them as you can share them with either individuals, circles, extended circles or public… if user photos ever did appear in search then it would only be public ones to do so… the fact publically shared photos don’t currently appear in Google Search (only G+ search) isn’t making best use of the fact that people share them publicly.

Anyway, whatever happens, it’s 100% your choice & is extremely easy to understand too, unlike Facebook’s shady behavior and forever changing privacy controls which often reset your settings.

31 minutes ago on Google uses machine learning to pull your personal photos into search results 1 reply 2 recommends

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Disclaimer: From the headline only.

Doesn’t Google ‘pay’ for your data by giving you loads of services?

about 4 hours ago on 'Who Owns The Future?' Jaron Lanier thinks Google and the government should pay for your data 4 replies 19 recommends

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Hopefully 8.1 sorts it out once & for all.

For my usage case it’s nothing short of dreadful with my laptop trackpad.

about 5 hours ago on Microsoft puts a Windows 8 key on its latest mice, hopes to improve navigation (hands-on) 1 reply 3 recommends

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I suspect this is less about improvements to Home and more about it being a h-u-g-e flop that isn’t worth supporting.

about 8 hours ago on Facebook puts HTC First launch on hold in the UK to 'focus on making Home better' 1 reply 1 recommend

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I have no clue what you’re talking about, Gmail has always been able to act as a unified inbox

I have 2 Google accounts & 3 with other providers, that I use all within the Gmail interface of my main Google (Gmail) account.

Settings > Accounts.

“Send mail as…”
or
“Check email from other accounts (using POP3)”

about 8 hours ago on Mailbox launches an iPad app, but Gmail poses a greater threat than ever 1 reply 1 recommend

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Many people liked it because it was ‘different’ but didn’t carry on using it, sure it suits some people but Gmail seems to be becoming a platform for Google and new features that won’t appear in 3rd party clients are appearing all the time.

about 8 hours ago on Mailbox launches an iPad app, but Gmail poses a greater threat than ever 1 recommend

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I send, receive & manage email from 5 accounts in my main Gmail account.

I use labels & filters to sort them, it’s pretty powerful. Not sure why you’d switch accounts, if you’re replying to an email it automatically selects the email address it was sent to, you use a drop down in the From: line to change it if you want.

about 8 hours ago on Mailbox launches an iPad app, but Gmail poses a greater threat than ever 1 reply 2 recommends

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Wouldn’t have thought they’d do anything with it, instead the Sparrow team will no doubt be contributing to Google’s own services or apps.

about 8 hours ago on Mailbox launches an iPad app, but Gmail poses a greater threat than ever

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He works with Microsoft code as part of his job, as do many people who work on Google desktop products – Why’s that so hard to grasp?

He’s worked with MS in the past and found them to be be dicks towards him, other people have found him to be a dick. * shrugs *

about 8 hours ago on Google engineer publicizes Windows zero-day bug, claims Microsoft is 'difficult to work with' 1 reply 14 recommends

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What war? This isn’t Google.

It’s someone who works for Google who has found a vulnerability, possibly in the course of his work for Google, possibly not.

He’s reported vulnerabilities in the past to Microsoft’s security team but has found them to be hostile when he’s revealed his findings, so has chosen to report the vulnerability to seclists.

The problem could of course be Tavis Ormandy’s attitude himself, but if he’s followed MS’ recommended procedures and found it not to work for him, he’s just done full disclose in this instance, perhaps because it’s a local rather than remote vulnerability & marked as ‘less critical’

But what this has this got to do with Microsoft’s attacks on Google & Google’s politicking on Microsoft?

about 9 hours ago on Google engineer publicizes Windows zero-day bug, claims Microsoft is 'difficult to work with' 4 replies 21 recommends

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It still doesn’t allow content producers or rights holders an opportunity to earn revenue from their time, work & expense – but it’s a start.

1 day ago on Microsoft updates YouTube Windows Phone app on the day Google demanded it be removed 6 replies 11 recommends

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Verge labelling Keep as neglected despite its release only being weeks ago & it has had both had an update and desktop webapp released in that time.

really? wow!

Verge badly needs a Google-ised version of Tom Warren

1 day ago on Google refreshes Drive for Android interface, adds option to 'scan' paper documents 2 replies 7 recommends

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But it’s there, in black & white… fact.

Just because the message doesn’t suit your worldview it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

1 day ago on My Biggest Disappointment from the Xbox Announcement Update: Tentaively Not Disappointed

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Why do you think it’s speculative criticism? because it goes against your pro-Microsoft worldview? all those articles deal in facts based on both the reveal and the post-reveal Q&As

“Xbox One confusion: Microsoft leaves used games and ‘always-online’ requirement unclear”

Confusion is centred around various things to do with pre-owned, mostly because Phil Harrison wouldn’t talk about it, all we know is there is a fee which might equal the full game price or it might not depending on the quote. Harrison also referred to a mechanism for ‘trading-in’ digital games, something else he wouldn’t talk about… hence the article saying things were unclear or confusion, because there is.

“Unlike PlayStation 4, prospects for indie games on Xbox One are murky”

Sony has rolled out the red carpet for Indie devs
http://www.theverge.com/2013/3/29/4162430/sony-playstation-indie-games-love-story
Microsoft have as good as shut them down
http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/22/4355222/microsoft-xbox-one-and-indie-games

“Live TV on the Xbox One: Microsoft learns nothing from Google TV’s mistakes”

Yep, huge problems existed that haven’t been solved, and have just been reproduced by a different company.

1 day ago on Please Stop Complaining about Verge Bias and Microsoft 3 replies 1 recommend

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Why would anyone report movement which is less than the +/- margin of errors in the data?

1 day ago on Please Stop Complaining about Verge Bias and Microsoft

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Chromebook? An occasional article when something big happens, yes, that’s all such a minor product is worth.

As would be the same with WP & Bing across big tech sites, but with Winrumours running this show there’s practically minute by minute running commentary on the minutest detail which comes across as a PR job to keep those products in the news.

This is why I find any talk of Verge being anti-MS the most bizarre thing in the world, when outside the Microsoft Tribe, most people think the opposite.

1 day ago on Please Stop Complaining about Verge Bias and Microsoft 1 reply

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Because according to American’s what happens in their country reflects the whole world?

1 day ago on Please Stop Complaining about Verge Bias and Microsoft 1 recommend

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Wow, the Xbox fans really can’t see all the major pitfalls in Microsoft’s console taking us from now until towards 2020

Everything I said is fact, not opinion.

• The main selling point doesn’t even work outside the US
• TV, using an IR blaster is awkward at best.
• It only works with a HDMI-CEC compatible device, if your provider’s box doesn’t support that? Tough luck, if you don’t have a provider’s box and get your TV through other means? Tough luck… The Xbox One’s selling point is diminished, massively.
• The Xbox One has no ability to use your providers PVR, or even see what’s on it for you to watch – meaning you have to hop between Xbox One & your provider’s remote control, same with all the on-demand features which are not only important now but they’re only going to be more so as the year’s roll by.

This is Microsoft’s entertainment solution? It’s a half assed, Friday afternoon, botched-job before all the staff rushed it to clear off down the pub… at best.

And as far as entertainment goes

• The PS4 GPU is 50% more powerful, this means the Xbox One is going to act as a major lag on multi-platform games
• No fast video RAM, whereas all the PS4’s 8GB of system memory is GDDR5
• The OS is taking up 3GB of that slower DDR3 RAM, meaning developers only have access to 5GB anyway
• Microsoft have completely screwed over all Indie developers
• And batteries in a controller, what is this the 80’s? Surely on premium equipment – rechargeable cells is the way forward.

So whether you look at it from the point of view of entertainment box, or games machines… it’s pretty hard to see how Microsoft could have done a worse job with the Xbox One

1 day ago on My Biggest Disappointment from the Xbox Announcement Update: Tentaively Not Disappointed 2 replies

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Except its all true – care to highlight how a single one is incorrect? Or can’t you, because they’re based in fact.

Also, the thread is titled “My Biggest Disappointment…”

1 day ago on My Biggest Disappointment from the Xbox Announcement Update: Tentaively Not Disappointed 2 replies

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Microsoft yes, I get that. Microsoft is huge.

Windows Phone & Bing were my points… both are the equivalent of a rounding error in the scheme of things, yet anything they say or do gets a write up in the way you’d expect a single-format site like Winrumours to do, whilst fine on a fansite is completely unbalanced on a whole of market site like Verge and makes it look like their cheerleading rather than reporting when writing up what someone at Windows Phone had for lunch.

Obviously that the idea of appointing Tom, just weird and gives the impression of pro-MS bias there’s not equivalents to provide that sort of coverage and gain ‘exclusives’ in the same way from the other big companies.

To many, people moaning about Verge being anti-MS in some way is just bizarre when the opposite view holds some weight.

1 day ago on Please Stop Complaining about Verge Bias and Microsoft 2 replies

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Very disappointing, bordering on disastrous really… If Microsoft didn’t make a bazillion dollars a year elsewhere you’d almost write the Xbox One off after that reveal & later following journalist’s Q&As

• Its unique selling point – TV, only works in US for the forseeable future
• This TV integration requires an ‘IR Blaster’ which is awkward, at best
• Only works with settop boxes (if HDMI-CEC compatible), and not at all with TVs with built in tuners
• Of no use whatsoever to cord cutters & is propping up an old premium TV business model that people are moving away from & Microsoft have bet their house on this?
• Xbox One isn’t aware of your PVR & doesn’t include PVR features of its own
• Xbox One has no ability to use catchup or on-demand features of your set-top box
• ‘Permission’ based gaming ownership model
• Preowned confusion (putting it politely)
• Games have to be installed and over time the 500GB proprietary HDD (non-upgradeable) could be really limiting… PS3 Blu-ray games which are exclusive to PS3 (not multi-platform titles limited by Xbox 360’s 6.3GB capacity limit) currently weigh in at 40-50GB
• Removal of indie game category & still won’t allow Indies to self publish really restricting whos going to be interested in bringing games to the platform.
• PS4’s GPU is 50% more powerful
• No fast GDDR5 video memory meaning the 32MB ESRAM running on top of 5GB (available) DDR3 is a slightly weird architecture in comparison to both PC & now PS4, could this mean Xbox One won’t be lead development platform for multi-platform titles?
• External power brick which will be fine for some but others will find it gets in the way.
• Controller requires batteries, yes really.
• Microsoft focus seems to be on stuff like Skype which is of no real importance to most purchasers
• Compulsory camera, which you can’t turn off whilst you’re listening to your Xbox Music subscription, watching TV, watching Netflix or whatever, browsing the web etc & etc
• Camera is always listening, even when console powered down.

1 day ago on My Biggest Disappointment from the Xbox Announcement Update: Tentaively Not Disappointed 2 replies 1 recommend

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I thought this was about Verge’s pro-Microsoft bias that sees things like WP & Bing receive many times more articles than their real world usage would indicate, meaning that it looks like Verge or Tom is a key tactic in keeping these products in consumer’s minds & part of their PR effort.

but you meant Verge biased against Microsoft? Really? I just don’t see it.

1 day ago on Please Stop Complaining about Verge Bias and Microsoft 2 replies 1 recommend