Logitech says Google hasn't asked it to halt Google TV production!

                          It was a bit too late to fend off a more than 3% drop in its stock price, but Logitech has finally come out and refuted those rumors that it was asked to halt production of its Google TV hardware until a significant update could be rolled out. 

                         As VP of corporate communications Nancy Morrison explains, Logitech "has not been asked by Google to suspend production of its Google TV products," and that such a suspension wouldn't even be necessary as "every Logitech Revue companion box will receive free over-the-air updates whenever Google and Logitech release software enhancements." That statement has now also been backed up by Logitech's official blog, which assures customers that "all's well with Logitech Revue," and that Logitech will be out in force at CES next month to demonstrate "how Google TV is transforming the TV-watching experience."

Read more!

Data Crunchers offer the word on Facebook

P eople use status updates to share what’s on their minds, to tell others what they’re doing, and to gather feedback from friends. The different ways people use status updates form some interesting patterns. In this study, we looked at the usage of words in different “word categories” in status updates. This led us to discover some patterns in how people use status updates differently, and how their friends interact with different status updates.

         If you took the countless number of Facebook "status updates," or out-loud thoughts, that are plastered on the site every day and put them under a microscope, what patterns would emerge from these many billions of words? What glimpse might we get into the hearts and minds of the social network's millions of users?

        Facebook's data-crunching team decided to take a look this week, and it gleaned some insight into the different ways in which older and younger, many-friends and more-intimate members express themselves.

The team collected about 1 million status updates generated by U.S. English speakers, anonymized them, and picked them apart word-by-word with the help of a text-analysis application called Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count. LIWC was originally developed, with the help of the National Institutes of Health, to aid the study of how written and verbal language reflects mental and physical well-being.

The Facebook team used the LIWC dictionary and its many word groupings to dissect the status posts. The dictionary, for example, has a "psychological processes" category, with an "affective processes" subcategory and a "positive emotion" sub--which includes words such as love, nice, and sweet. There's also a "swear words" subcategory--under the larger "linguistic processes" heading--that includes words I won't repeat here.

The resulting data-dumps provide ample opportunity for musing about the Facebook phenomenon. The data group looked, for instance, at status updates that had triggered comments from readers or inspired them to hit the "Like" button, and it noted the word types most often used in such updates. The team, however, also found that members with a lot of friends tend to use different types of words than members with fewer friends.

At any rate, whether Smith is right or wrong--or whether my own little musing makes any sense--the Facebook Data Team's results are fun to look at and use as fuel for your own ideas about Zuckerberg's monster (and people in general). I'm appending them here, and inviting you to offer up your own heady theories--serious or not--in the comments section. 

(A list of LIWC word groupings can be found here. The Facebook Data Team noted other interesting tidbits as well--negative emotional updates receive more comments than do positive emotional updates, for instance. The team's full post can be found Source.) 

More Likes/Comments: Blue | Fewer: Red

                       Older: Blue | Younger: Red || More Friends: Blue | Fewer: Red

Read more!

Gooogle says we don't need a Hard Drive :!

            Google vision of the future of computers with a walk-through of Chrome, Google's new operating system that will launch to the public on Samsung and Asus netbooks in 2011. 

 Actually, Chrome does not store files, applications and other data on a computer's hard drive, but on online servers, which could eliminate the need for a hard drive. And without a hard drive, computers themselves could become more affordable. We've seen a $300 netbook, could a $300 full-sized laptop be next?.

The developers of Chrome designed the system for people who spend the majority of their computer time online. If you connect to e-mail, you're online. If you're researching, you're online.

As a matter of fact, tasks that could only be done on your computer, such as editing photos and video, can be done online by accessing services like YouTube Remixer, MovieMasher and PhotoBucket.

Read more!

Google's New Browser can Map Human Body in 3D :!

G
oogle has developed a new browser that can map out the entire human body.After its controversial Street View programme, Internet search giant Google is all set to unveil a new browser that can map out the entire human body.

The high-tech 3D application, called Google Body Browser, has been hailed as a breakthrough in the study of anatomy that could revolutionize people's understanding of the human body and even fast-track medical research. The application, yet to be released officially, lets one explore the human body in much the same way you can navigate the world on Google Earth -a virtual globe, map and geographical information programme.

In 2007, Google introduced another application called Street View which provides panoramic views from various positions along many streets in the world. About the development of the new application, Google has, until recently, been tight-lipped, but a new video has appeared on the Internet which provides a sneak peek at how the new tool will work, the Daily Mail reported.

Read more!

Google Promotes Nexus S on Twitter

::Google Nexus S hands-on::

Google's latest flagship cell phone is going to be a top holiday gift for cutting-edge geeks. It Very Fast, smooth and elegant, the Nexus S is the new top Android phone, the first "bead" phone, and it'll be the first one to receive new updates to Android as they come out. That's going to be worth $199 (with T-Mobile contract) to quite a few people.

 The Nexus S comes in a small white box, just like the earlier Nexus One phone.The biggest change is Gingerbread, which brings a lot of refinements and solves a lot of problems in Android's 2.2 "Froyo" build.
 Android 2.2 was faster than Android 2.1.Samsung for one has an advantage, having already worked extensively with Google to bring out the platform’s lead device
Read more!