Your Daily IT News |
- WordPress 3.1 Leads The Way With 15 Million Downloads
- Amazon Kindle App Still in Apple App Store
- Amazon Will Not Collect California Sales Tax
- Amazon Reduces Cloud Data Transfer Fees
- Google Gives Gmail a Makeover
- Google+ Invites in eBay
- Nightspade’s Stack The Stuff and Application Potential in Education
| WordPress 3.1 Leads The Way With 15 Million Downloads Posted: 06 Jul 2011 12:00 AM PDT If Google makes it easy to find information on the web, then WordPress makes it even easier for anyone to put their information on the web. Really, what would the web really be like with without the easy-to-deploy blogging and site-building platform? That question is not one that is easily answered, but one thing is certain: From Techcrunch to Sitetrail, WordPress has been a God-send. In a humble tweet, it was announced that since WordPress 3.1 was released 5 months ago, it has been downloaded over 15 million times. And 15 million is nothing to scoff at. Joomla is WordPress' nearest rival in terms of usability, and it has only had 23 million downloads—in total! Of course there are some detractors who'll site the fact that WordPress popularity has made it a target for hackers. But while this may have some kernel of truth to it, the developers have risen wonderfully to the challenge of constant updating the software to make it more secure. For me, the benefits of using WordPress far exceeds the risks; as such it will continue to be my platform of choice. And speaking of updates, WordPress 3.2 is set for release soon and the rumour is, it will be bigger and better than before. Internet Explorer 6 users will frown slightly because their browser won't be supported. Still I am salivating at the mouth and can't wait to see what 3.2 has to offer. Watch the video to see why WordPress is used by most of the top sites on the web.
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| Amazon Kindle App Still in Apple App Store Posted: 06 Jul 2011 12:00 AM PDT The Kindle app is still found in the App Store and it looks like it survived Apple's deadline for apps that has external links. Apple recently changed its terms with regards to iOS apps, which will disallow apps to have links to external sites for purchases. The Amazon Kindle app features a Shop in Kindle Store button that will direct the readers to the Amazon web site. There, the users can buy e-books that will be downloaded to their iOS device. This is what the new terms of Apple prohibit. Apps that provide a link to subscriptions are also banned by the new rules. Hulu had to update its app last week to comply with it. The Sony Reader app was banned for violating this rule. So it is a surprise how Amazon's Kindle app is still found in the App Store. Most people do know how to buy Kindle books outside of the app but having a button within the app gives convenience. No need to open the browser and click on a bookmark. The rule was implemented so that more people will use Apple's iBooks store. Apple wants to limit the amount of transactions in its iOS devices that it doesn't have a share of. |
| Amazon Will Not Collect California Sales Tax Posted: 06 Jul 2011 12:00 AM PDT Amazon.com said that it will not collect California sales tax on online transactions and the state officials should decide what to do about it. This is the latest development since the new tax law took effect last Friday. It is the practice of companies not to remit taxes until the end of the quarter. This means that California Board of Equalization will not know about Amazon's rejection to collect sales taxes until October 1. The state's tax collecting agency said that out of state firms that engage in online business didn't collect sales tax for the state. Once the law is in effect, California could get at least $317 million each year in sales taxes. Amazon, which is based In Seattle, has reiterated that it would not collect any California sales tax. The company calls it unconstitutional with regards to interstate commerce. This could lead to a major court battle this fall. Amazon could first file the challenge in court, just like it did in New York. The New York trial court ruled against Amazon and the company has an appeal pending. Amazon hasn't said yet whether it would press the matter in court to overturn the new California tax law. The state officials are already expecting a lawsuit from the company. Incoming search terms: |
| Amazon Reduces Cloud Data Transfer Fees Posted: 06 Jul 2011 12:00 AM PDT Amazon Web Services announced last Thursday that it will decrease the fees for outbound data transfers as well as remove the fees for inbound data transfers. This is just the latest moves made by the company with regards to customer bandwidth costs. Amazon TO Werner Vogels said that the company has lowered prices more than a dozen times in the past four years. The prices for bandwidth will decrease and would give the customers 40 to 50 percent savings in their bandwidth costs. In the United States and Europe, the outgoing tier will have their price decreased. There will also be new tiers that will bring savings to large bandwidth customers. Analysts say that Amazon Web Services is so dominate in its market that it can offer lower prices on everything, from bandwidth to computing. Cloud computing also frees up the resources. The company has a lot of innovation with regards to the cloud but it doesn't always have the lowest prices. Last October, Amazon killed its free inbound data offer and replaced it with free micro Linux instance that would only be charged if the application became popular. Microsoft also plans to adjust its Windows Azure pricing to make the platform more attractive to users that would like to move huge data to the cloud. All inbound data transfers for off-peak and peak times will be free of charge. |
| Posted: 05 Jul 2011 11:59 PM PDT Google web services are redesigned to match its Google+ social network. If you're a Google user then you might have already noticed the black bar on top of the search engine and other services. The company announced that Gmail will be next to have the design makeover. The new Gmail design is now available as a theme. To activate the new look, go to the Mail settings. Then go to the Themes tab and select Preview or the Preview (dense). The inbox will have a cleaner look similar to the Google+ style. Unlike the ordinary themes that customize the color scheme of Gmail, the new Preview themes change the look of the elements such as the size of the navigation controls and buttons. The color scheme is red, white and gray but Google said that more colors will be incorporated into Gmail themes. The other existing themes will be upgraded in the future. Google Calendar will also have the same changes in the next few days. The redesign will be done to all Google services. Because of the makeover, there would be some Google Labs features will not work as it should be. The company promises to iron out the issues as soon as possible. |
| Posted: 05 Jul 2011 11:59 PM PDT There are at least 255 listings for Google+ invites in eBay. In case you were living under a rock in the past few days, Google+ is Google's latest attempt at social networking. It is still in field test and most of those who got into the testing phase are tech journalists, techies, and a few who managed to get an invite before Google closed the invitation due to the overwhelming demand. Most of the listings for Google+ invites in eBay go for less than $5. A seller even has 31 separate listings for Google+ invites and people are bidding for them from $2 to $4.13. But the question remains is to whether the invites will work at all. Google+ invites were sent to a specific email address. EBay didn't say whether selling Google+ invites is in violation of any of its rules. People buying the invites could be gambling that Google will again open up Google+ soon and they could get in through their purchased invite. Google will be rolling out its Google+ in a controlled fashion so that it would avoid the issues it encountered with Buzz. At present the invite mechanism is disabled. There's no timeline as to when Google+ will be open for membership again or when it will be launched to the public. |
| Nightspade’s Stack The Stuff and Application Potential in Education Posted: 05 Jul 2011 11:59 PM PDT
Stack The Stuff can downloaded for free and after several levels (multilevel models such as Cut The Rope or Angry Birds; 1-1, 1-2, and so on), you’ll be given the option to purchase (in-app purchase) the full version for $ 0.99. There is also the option to make donations (also in the app). I think this option is very effective because they don't need to make two versions of the game, lite and full. Stack The Stuff seems to get a broad response globally and included in the list of New & Noteworthy in the App Store in many countries. It also earned high ratings. Back to the topic of the title I gave, it is true Stack The Stuff is not devoted as educational games. But by using school equipment and simple logic of equilibrium, it's very reasonable if I discuss Stack The Stuff on the educative side. For the early elementary school age, a game like this can certainly help to foster understanding of the school equipments that need to be prepared and of course how to generate equilibrium associated with natural science (or physics for that in high school). With a view like this veiled, learning would be more fun. I try to discuss more generally about the educational applications. In my knowledge, market educational applications or games for mobile-based education in Indonesia still don't have much demand. Looking at the diagram presented by Distimo when they survey 300 most popular iPhone applications in various countries, the actual potential of education-based applications and games, both in the USA and in Asia, has been great. Education is ranked even higher than the paid applications for Social Networking which is believed to be more popular. One local education-based application that has been discussed at DailySocial is Kieeds, which tries to capture schools as a business partner. I think the market is still wide open. Isn't it the biggest state budget allocation for education? Isn't the cost per year that always up beating the inflation rate is the cost of education? Surely there are ways to get this delicious cake; of course in condition it has an application or game that is loaded with quality and pedagogical elements. One of the reasons why iPad having a hard sale can, of course other than “wow” and “style” factors, is the availability of a variety of applications and educational games that are beneficial for children. iPad is not just for adults but also fun and rewarding for children. My son is about one year old and very fond of iPad, he always asked me to fiddle the iPad for him. Wether it just watching cartoons to the interactive learning A-B-C-D games (in English of course). Unfortunately, of course, no one could help him understand all the new things in the Indonesian language. I look forward to the application from local developers who can later help my child learn a variety of words, counting, and singing children's songs, all in Indonesian. Furthermore, it would certainly be nice if applications or games for a tablet can help students to learn interactively with an attractive visual communication. Anyone dares to make a Student Work Sheet (SWS) in an application platform and cooperate with the publishers? Of course, applications and games like this is not all about serious stuff. Like Stack The Stuff, a game with brains and logic were certainly going to be a challenging thing. It takes lots of creativity from the local developers to create this sort of thing, but that’s an important element for improving the quality of education in the country. Applications and games for education sector is a necessity, not just pleasure. |
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