YouTube aims for greater social media integration

Video-sharing website YouTube, owned by Google, aims to spruce up its social networking skills through better integration across platforms, and hopes to more than double annual ad revenue in emerging markets like India, a top executive said.

"YouTube has been lacking great social features. Commenting and sharing have been part of YouTube, but the experiences could be much better than they are," Tom Pickett, global content head for the website, told Reuters in an interview on Thursday during a visit to India.


YouTube says it gets around 800 million unique users every month. India is the second-biggest source of content for YouTube, after the United States.


Pickett said YouTube was working on areas such as the comments section of the site, which doesn't allow users to log in from other social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter.


"As we think of incorporating Google Plus type functionality we think we can get a better dialogue going and a social platform that's not just YouTube but it's actually a common piece that cuts across all Google products," Pickett said.


Google launched its Google Plus social networking site last year as a competitor to dominant player Facebook, which is readying an initial public offering.


While Pickett said YouTube aims to more than double its ad revenue in emerging markets, he declined to give specifics.


Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/Technology/technology-update-socialmedia/YouTube-aims-for-greater-social-media-integration/SP-Article1-839858.aspx

Global warming researchers says eating bugs better for environment than eating meat

(NaturalNews) Researchers from Wageningen University in the Netherlands say that insects produce far less greenhouse gases than cattle and pigs do, and would thus be a viable alternative to eating meat. Published in the journal PLoS ONE, the study found that pigs, for instance, produce up to one hundred times more greenhouse gases than the equivalent weight of mealworms.


Researchers compared the greenhouse gas emissions of mealworms, crickets, locusts and pigs. Particularly with methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), the insects produced far lower emissions than pigs did overall. Ammonia emissions, which can pollute groundwater supplies, were also lower among insects compared to cattle.


Researchers did not verify that actually producing insect protein for human consumption is as environmentally-friendly as producing cattle and pig protein, pound for pound. So while the idea may sound beneficial in theory, it is unknown whether or not it would work in real life.


There was also no clarification about how the cattle and pigs used in the study were raised. Studies have shown that conventional feedlot raising methods are highly toxic to the environment, while traditional, pasture-based methods of raising animals can actually replenish environmental health (http://www.naturalnews.com/028182_grass-fed_cows_environment.html).


While some scientists insist that elevated levels of man-made greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO2) are getting trapped in the atmosphere and causing global climate change, other scientists say that the sun is the true culprit, and that cyclical climate change is completely normal (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090716113358.htm). This topic remains hotly debated.


As far as plants are concerned, CO2 is vital for life. Plants need CO2 in order to survive, and when they take in CO2, they release oxygen for humans and other mammals to breathe (http://www.populartechnology.net/2008/11/carbon-dioxide-co2-is-not-po...).


Reducing pollution and developing cleaner methods of living are both worthy causes in protecting environmental health, but feeding insects and bugs to humans as a way to be more "green" isn't likely to go over very well with the population. How would you like your Chicken McBuggets served up today?


Sources for this story include:

http://beforeitsnews.com/story/344/655/Future_Of_Food_For_9_Billion_E...

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/031023_global_warming_insects.html#ixzz1rdd8DF5x

A Google Tablet: 10 Reasons Why the Android Community Needs It

A Google Tablet: 10 Reasons Why the Android Community Needs It


Google May Have No Choice but to Try and Profit From Tablets

Google was once known solely as a search company. The firm, under the leadership of co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, found a unique new way for users to find Websites across the Web. And before long, the founders’ service became the obsession of people around the globe. Google has entered the pantheon of tech greats that, like the others, might not be matched for years to come.

But after its successful start, Google wasn’t content to just stick with its core competency. Instead, the firm jumped to a host of other industries, including advertising and mobile operating systems. Right now, the company’s Android operating system is the world’s most popular, easily outpacing Apple iOS, BlackBerry OS and others.

However, the one place Google hasn’t been able to make a mark is in the tablet space despite the growing popularity of Android-based smartphones. The search giant’s hardware partners can’t match the momentum of the Apple iPad despite the large numbers of tablets they have released. And by the look of things, that’s not going to change unless something drastic happens.

For Google, that something drastic might just be developing its own tablet. It’s a risk, for sure, but at this point, Google offering up its own slate is the only way for the search giant to make its marke against the iPad. The question is whether it’s too late to gain on the iPad.

1. Look at the market share

Google is having a real issue in the tablet space. Android’s market share is far below that of iOS, and so far, there hasn’t been a single device to come along that has made Apple scared. If Google truly wants to increase its market share in the tablet market, it’ll have to offer its own slate with all the features customers want. Right now, except for Apple, no other vendor seems willing to do that.

2. The vendors aren’t keeping up

Following that, it’s important to point out that none of Google's Android partners is actually keeping up with the changing times. In some cases, these companies are using outdated versions of the Android operating system. In other cases, they’re failing to deliver the screen sizes and designs customers are after. If vendors can’t be relied on, Google must deliver something better.

3. It helps the entire ecosystem

There is some concern that if a company that offers software jumps into the hardware space, it hurts all stakeholders. That’s just not the truth. If Google can sell its tablet in boatloads, other Android-based devices will sell well, since they’ll benefit from more customers wanting to use the operating system. A well-built Android-based device helps the entire ecosystem.

4. It’s unlikely vendor partners will care

The belief that a Google-branded tablet could hurt the market also tends to presuppose that vendors won’t like it. They’ll say that Google is competing unfairly, some say, and they’ll jump to other platforms. But that wouldn’t happen. There isn’t a single vendor that’s upset about Google acquiring Motorola Mobility. In fact, all those competing vendors continue to sell products running Android. If they don’t care about that, why would they care about a Google-branded tablet?

5. Amazon is a huge threat

Although Google is widely viewed as a mobile juggernaut, the company has a real threat in Amazon. The online retail giant offers a wildly popular tablet, the Kindle Fire and its App Store is becoming a top destination for many Android Market developers. There’s a good chance that if Google doesn’t offer its own tablet, it might hand over too much power to Amazon as its slate gains popularity.

6. Tablets are arguably more important than smartphones

There’s no debating Google has the smartphone market firmly under its control. But looking ahead, there appears to be a good chance that tablets, and not smartphones, could become more important. After all, tablets could replace both smartphones and laptops for some consumers. More importantly, tablets could become huge in the enterprise. It’s best for Google to capitalize on that now and not when it’s too late.

 

7. It could hurt smartphone adoption

Although Android-based handsets are selling exceedingly well right now, if Google can’t make a mark in the tablet space, that could change. As consumers get used to products from Apple or Microsoft in the tablet market, they might turn their backs on Android-based smartphones. It’s no secret Apple’s iPad is successful because of the iPhone. So, what makes anyone think Google might start having trouble in smartphones because of tablets?

8. Think about the upside

From a financial perspective, Google could make a solid argument that getting into tablets could be a good idea. Companies that are successfully selling tablets are making a serious amount of cash on each sale. Google, meanwhile, isn’t making a dime on any tablet out there. As investors start to realize that, Google might have no choice but to try and profit off tablets.

9. It forces Tim Cook to prove he’s like Jobs

Right now, Apple isn’t concerned about anything in the tablet space. The iPad is the top slate on store shelves, and it has no other competitor to worry about. But if Google launches a tablet and puts Apple on notice, for the first time, Tim Cook will be tested. And he’ll have to prove he can live up to the legacy set forth by his predecessor, Steve Jobs.

10. Say so long to Microsoft

Microsoft is currently looking to enter the tablet space when Windows 8 launches. Right now, however, the software company has no presence there. If Google can get out ahead of Windows 8, it might make it more difficult for Microsoft’s vendor partners to enter the fray and succeed. Windows 8 can either be a thorn in Google’s side or the operating system that, due to the search giant’s efforts, leads to Microsoft’s eventual downfall. The choice is up to Google, and tablets might just be the devices to help seal the deal.


Source: http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/A-Google-Tablet-10-Reasons-Why-the-Android-Community-Needs-It-570865/

Faster than light' neutrinos scientist quits

The scientist who headed a European research team that last year measured particles travelling faster than light has resigned, weeks after a rival team cast doubt on the accuracy of those readings.


Italy's National Institute of Nuclear Physics said today that Antonio Ereditato had stepped down from the leadership of the OPERA experiment, whose measurements on the speed of neutrinos were widely questioned when they were announced in September.


Mr Ereditato confirmed his resignation in an email but declined to comment further.



The OPERA team itself had cautioned in September that the measurements needed to be checked by independent researchers because they appeared to go against a key tenet of modern physics - that nothing can travel faster than light.


Breaking that rule, which underlies Albert Einstein's famous special theory of relativity, could have opened the door to a new kind of physics in which time travel and warp speeds might be possible.


In February, the OPERA team acknowledged that it had found a flaw in the technical set-up of its experiment that could have affected the measurements, but held off on calling them wrong.


Then, earlier this month, a rival team called ICARUS clocked neutrino speeds using a different experiment and found they behaved just as expected. They travelled at, but no faster than, light speed.


OPERA, ICARUS and two other teams will try to settle the issue once and for all by conducting further tests at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, or CERN, in May.


Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/faster-than-light-neutrinos-scientist-quits-7605850.html