Apple Making Google Maps Competitor?

This could be a possibilty as Apple just bought the Canadian mapping company Poly9. Poly9 makes several products but the most interesting is Poly9 Globe, which is a browser based, 3D globe which can be used on all Platforms. The interactive software allows 3D rendering of the Earth in the 3 axis. 

Poly9 was apparently purchased "recently" by Apple, but there hasn't been any official confirmation of the purchase. It was also said that Apple asked Poly9 employees to not discuss the matter. But if it is true, the purchase of Poly9 would be the second mapping related purchase for Apple. Last year, it was revealed that the company had purchased Placebase, a direct Google Maps competitor. 

Because of these purchases, some people have wondered that Apple is going to create its own mapping service on its mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad which would replace the current Google Maps on its iOS devices.

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Source AppleInsider | Gizmodo

Youtube Now Supports 4k Resolution Videos

 

At Vidcon 2010, Google announced that YouTube now supports video shot in 4096 x 3072, otherwise known as 4K. 4K is absolutely huge and the perfect screen size for 4K video is 25 feet. In comparison, IMAX uses two 2K projectors. On YouTube, you will need to click Original on the resolution menu instead of 4096p.

There are only a couple of videos that have 4K resolution. However, you will need to go to Youtube to watch it in 4K as embedding doesn't have this option. Watch the video below.

Here is what Youtube had to say:

Today at the VidCon 2010 conference, we announced support for videos shot in 4K (a reference resolution of 4096 x 3072), meaning that now we support original video resolution from 360p all the way up to 4096p. To give some perspective on the size of 4K, the ideal screen size for a 4K video is 25 feet; IMAX movies are projected through two 2k resolution projectors. [...] We always want videos on YouTube to be available in the highest quality possible, as creators intend. [...] Because 4K represents the highest quality of video available, there are a few limitations that you should be aware of. First off, video cameras that shoot in 4K aren’t cheap, and projectors that show videos in 4K are typically the size of a small refrigerator. And, as we mentioned, watching these videos on YouTube will require super-fast broadband.

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Source BGR

Google Voice Now Out of Beta

 

Google has now made Google Voice public as before it was a invite only service. However it is still only available to United States, but now you can have free calls, free SMS messages (anywhere in U.S. and Canada), voice mail and having one number for all of your phones. Go here to find out more and sign up.

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Source Google

Google Hates Windows

The Financial Times is saying that Google is banning the use of Windows internally. This is in light of the security breach caused by Chinese hackers; Google's IT team are saying that they "feel that Microsoft's OS represents too great a risk across the enterprise to keep using it."

Google has always allowed employees to choose what OS they want to work on. But as of now they can only choose between Mac and Linux, (I know which one I would choose...) as installing Windows on desktops is "strictly forbidden." Because of the "security risk." However, all those Windows fanboys over at Google can still use Windows but only on Laptops.

So what will happen to all that Wintel hardware? Well, they will either run Linux or Google's upcoming Chrome OS, but adding Mac OS X will mean buying Mac hardware. Maybe that's what the Steve-Eric Coffee Summit was all about as Eric said that "truckloads of MacBook Pros heading for the Googleplex."

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