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The undisputed pre-eminence of Google took a beating with the emergence of facebook. With two forgettable forays into the social networking space, Google Buzz and Wave, being relegated to the back burner, Google has now come up with Google Plus, which takes Facebook head on. Facebook created internet history by building a robust networking platform that has been adopted by 750 million users. However, it has had its share of troubles with poorly positioned and sometimes absent privacy controls.

The uproar over privacy issues on Facebook prompted it to rework many of their features and publicize privacy options in order to keep scared users from deactivating their accounts. The introduction of Facebook Ads unveiled the revenue model of the social networking site. In a bid to attract users and advertising, Google launched Google Plus on June 18, 2011. Within a month, it had registered 25 million users. Although this is still miniscule compared to Facebook’s 750 million users, it is an indication of the rate of adoption of Google’s latest offering in the social networking arena. Google Plus has definitely created a buzz among users, with praise and criticism pouring in from all corners of the web. Here is a breakdown of what people are saying and thinking about the Google Plus versus Facebook face off.

1. Integration of services
The advantage of Google Plus lies in its being part of the suite of web services that Google offers. Seamless transition between services and universal log-in for Gmail, Google Reader, Picasa, etc., makes Google Plus especially attractive. Even for users who do not use the other services of Google, Google Plus offers them access to those services in the form of photo storage and basic editing, Sparks that allow you to build in a feed for topics that you like and text and multimedia chat. Google Plus alerts show up unobtrusively in your other Google services, so that you do not have to waste time checking your Google Plus page. In spite of offering messaging, photo storage, and lately, email, Facebook is still struggling to find a toehold in the space of allied services.

2. Feedback of User Preferences
Google uses the data it captures from user behavior on Google Plus to improve the results of Google Search, its core product, as well as to add value to its primary revenue earner, AdWords. Facebook has no such multi-use revenue model that it can route its user behavior into, beyond Facebook Ads.

3. Group Video Chat
This is one area that Google has come up on top of Facebook. Although Facebook did come up soon after with an enhanced chat module that offered video chat, Google Plus Hangout betters this by offering group chat, where up to 10 users can be logged in at the same time. The video and streaming quality is impressive.

4. Privacy Control
This has been a major issue with Facebook users, in spite of the List feature which allows you to share content with a specified list of people. However, like most of Facebook’s privacy controls, this is a feature that is lost to most users. Google Plus addresses this by letting you create Circles, groups of people that you would be considering part of a similar ‘circle’. Thus you can have one circle of friends, one of family, one of coworkers, and even customize them so that you can have a circle of different coworkers from different places of work.

5. User Base
The one place that Google Plus does lose out, at least as of now, is in the sheer number of users that Facebook has. If the purpose of your social networking is to connect back with lost friends, or to promote your cause, Facebook still remains way ahead.

The consensus among users is that Google Plus offers little that is new or different from Facebook other than the privacy control and the group video chat. The stream in Google Plus is almost a replica of the Facebook wall, and the Circles are really an upgrade of the Lists feature on Facebook. Google Plus still has bugs to iron out as it is relatively new out of beta. For those looking for a more secure social networking experience with greater privacy control and with easy integration of other web services from Google, Google Plus is an obvious choice. For those seeking a larger user base but not hampered by privacy concerns, Facebook remains the undisputed leader.

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About the author: Amanda Kidd is a blogger who is fond of writing on tech help and most expensive gadgets. She is all into computers and in recent times she learnt a lot about software downloads and android on windows mobile.

For most of us, the internet has become a cornerstone of our lives and culture. Much of what we do and say is mediated by a vast network of connections. Until recently, access to this essential tool was essentially unmovable. Today, the processing power of phones has enabled us to take much of what we do on the internet with us anywhere we go. The type of connection you choose for your wireless device may seem like an afterthought, but it is in fact one of the most important decisions when considering wireless technology and wireless technology plans. After all, what good is a Lamborghini if all you have to drive on are dirt roads?

Third and Fourth Generation

When we compare mobile broadband deals and carriers, it must be understood that the two main options are 3rd Generation and 4th Generation, otherwise known as 3G and 4G. Each generation has its own standards and methods of handling data transmission. The time between the development of each generation has not been very long, but the differences in speed are incredible.

In terms of wireless broadband networks, think of 3G as a narrow dirt road, while 4G is something like a 10 lane super highway. The difference in speed is huge – a 3G connection maxes out at about 2 Mbps while a 4G connection can go even higher than 20 Mbps. This means 4G is potentially more than ten times faster than 3G.

Out with the Old

4G no longer depends on the archaic method of circuit switching which is based on old telephone systems. 4G communication is exclusively packet based, which means it is not bottle necked by the long out-dated phone system. On a 3G connection, the system’s available resources are dedicated equally to each connection, even if the open connection is not sending or receiving any information.

With 4G’s method of packet switching, resources are only used when there is an actual need for data transfer. There is no need to keep system resources on standby if they are not being used. Because of this change, 4G networks can handle more connections at the same time.

Handling the Masses

As mobile technology becomes more widespread, so too does the need for wireless broadband. More and more people are entering the wireless broadband market every day, and as they do, networks are increasingly burdened. 3G networks are very limited in their ability not only to handle multiple connections, but to provide adequate speed for each one. 4G, on the other hand, has utilized a number of new methods to not only handle more connections, but to also provide much higher speeds for each connection. In a world that is becoming increasingly reliant on the internet with each passing day, it is clear that when we compare mobile broadband deals across all providers, 4G technology is the main selling point.

Blake Sanders is a tech writer at broadband comparison site Broadband Expert where he specializes in mobile phones, industry news and information, as well as how to compare mobile broadband deals.

Note: Photo courtesy of arabcrunchvia FlickR Creative Commons.

Today’s technological marketplace is a great place to be, with so many different gadgets and gizmos that allow us to enjoy the freedom and convenience of mobile connectivity. From smartphones to tablets and all points in-between, there does seem no end to the exciting world of electrical products out there.

Little wonder then that the growth of internet usage is now greater than ever before, with many of us preferring to ditch our traditional desktop computers and move towards a more mobile way of carrying out our internet activities. Even the deals that offer ‘mobile broadband with free laptop’ that you see online aren’t being snapped up quite as hotly as they used to be, because many people are seeing the smartphone as the only tool they need.

All change

Of course, things have also been changing quite dramatically since the arrival of the tablet computer too, with the Apple iPad kicking things off and inspiring a wave of rival devices to hit the marketplace. The great thing with tablet computers and also the smartphone is that it has broadened the range of choice for people who need to use the internet and email on a daily basis.

Better still, these gadgets all allow the consumer to enjoy much more choice and flexibility on the sort of operating system they use too. Indeed, unlike traditional computers that were largely dominated by the Windows OS for many years, people can now change to an operating system that meets their needs. As a result, we’ve seen a huge increase in the popularity of the Google Android OS on both smartphones and tablets.

Another angle

Right now, there are numerous operating systems and many different tablets to choose from – meaning that selecting one can be tricky. Added to that, many smartphones now offer such a powerful computing experience that many of us think that a handset like this can do all we want, and more besides, with the ultimate in portability. The downside? Well, smartphones are small and even with a decent sized screen, the smartphone can be a little limiting when it comes to staying productive.

Naturally then the tablet device is filling the gap been a laptop and a smartphone perfectly. However, thanks to increasing competition in the marketplace it is now becoming possible to get deals that bundle not only a smartphone but also a tablet into one portable package. That sort of choice ticks all of the boxes for many people so there’s simply no need to juggle with the choice of which internet enabled device to get.

This post was contributed by Rob Clymo, who writes on behalf of broadbandgenie.co.uk, the online consumer portal for researching offers for laptop deals and the latest choices in netbooks, tablets and smartphones.

Here is a hassle free service from CL1P.net, a free online clipboard. No sign ups or activations are necessary to use it. That makes it ideal to share a bunch of links quickly from a public computer.

Sharing is an easy three step process:

1. 1. 1. 1. 1. Enter a URL that starts with http://cl1p.net
               example: http://cl1p.net/vipinonline/
            2. Paste in anything you want.
               Some text, links, etc. Click ‘Save’ when done.
            3. Access the same URL from the target machine.
               You will find the information you entered in step 2.

   If the information is confidential, you can secure it by going to Options—> Security, then add a password. We can specify the lifetime of the clipboard from 1 hour to 9 months.

It is not just a clipboard, you can do more with CL1P

• Create a notebook and secure it with a password.
• Have conversations, share the link with your friends. Each of you can update it.
• Create an online community. You and your friends can create cl1ps and link them together using the cl1p link feature

Fourerr is a popular website where people post all sorts of jobs they are willing to do for $4.  Its premise is simple: after signing up, users post things they are willing to provide buyers – for $4 U.S, just as the website’s name suggests.  Buyers review the offers, find one that suits their needs, pay the provider and a $4 match is made.  Fourerr vendors get paid when they deliver the completed product or service to the buyer and the buyer marks the transaction as “complete.”  A commission is deducted and the balance is deposited into an account for the vendor where it can stay to buy the services of other Fourerr vendors, or it can be transferred to PayPal for deposit or withdrawal.

Fourerr is an inexpensive, fun way for vendors and buyers to find exactly what they want at a price anyone can afford.  The diversity and amount of products and services is staggering.  It is an online, virtual, global bazaar where everyone has a key role!  Where else can you purchase services for $4 that elsewhere cost over $100? Nowhere, only at www.fourerr.com.

Diaspora is a “privacy-aware, personally controlled, do-it-all distributed open-source social network“. It’s a decentralized alternative to social network services like Facebook. Diaspora works by letting users set up their own server, like a hosted wordpress installation, to host content; pods can then interact to share status updates, photographs and other social data.

It’s your data and you ought to be controlling it. Diaspora is to allow participants to retain ownership of all the material they use on the site, and retain full control over how that information is shared. It categorizes the social connections into individual groups called Aspects, and the user can control which groups see which material.

Choice

Diaspora lets you sort your connections into groups called aspects. Unique to Diaspora, aspects ensure that your photos, stories and jokes are shared only with the people you intend.

Ownership

You own your pictures, and you shouldn’t have to give that up just to share them. You maintain ownership of everything you share on Diaspora, giving you full control over how it’s distributed.

Simplicity

Diaspora makes sharing clean and easy – and this goes for privacy too. Inherently private, Diaspora doesn’t make you wade through pages of settings and options just to keep your profile secure.

In short it’s the social network which respects your privacy the most.

The Alpha version of Diaspora is out !

A few invites are left. Click on the following link to sign up for Diaspora

Diaspora invites

Hey fellas. This post of mine is specially meant for firefox users who knows the actual fun of browsing. There are a lot of add-ons available for firefox and i have been trying many of them. One of the add-on i came across recently is FoxTab and i really liked it.

This small addon features so many cool things which you will love to do.

Let me share some of the cool features of it:

• Easily access your favorite top sites.
• Enjoy many tabs management options.
• Have 6 layouts to choose from.
• For each layout, select the perspective that you find the most fun and useful to use.
• Customize the way FoxTab looks with a set of predefined themes or by creating your own customized one.
• Set thumbnails to be in Landscape or Portrait orientation

To get this addon you may visit this link . The official site is www.foxtab.com

If you have something to share then feel free to do so. Thanks for reading my post.

Google is back again with it’s new idea of google music. This time specially for the users of india.

Google has launched its online music service in India that enables users to search for legal music streams and downloads.

For its Indian music search service (google.co.in/music) Google has partnered with In.com, Saregama and Saavn. The three digital music providers, hold rights to hundreds of thousands of Indian tracks – ranging from old and new Bollywood hits to Indian classical music. The music search service currently indexes only Hindi songs.

URL -> www.google.co.in/music

Thanks to Pratik, who share this in OUG.  I thinks this is not a new idea but still new in the sense it will be offering “legal” downloads and streaming so if you download any music from it’s results you are not doing anything wrong. good going . Thanks for reading my post. If you like my blog please bookmark it.