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Redmi Note review: A budget phablet that’s too clunky as a smartphone, but could replace a tablet

Jul08
by on July 8, 2014 at 5:33 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Asia, Gadgets, Insider, phablet, Product Reviews, redmi, redmi note, xiaomi

Redmi-Note-Feat
I’ve never understood the appeal of a phablet — what’s commonly known as a smartphone-tablet hybrid, or just a giant smartphone — as it seems to have an identity crisis. Popular Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi took the wraps off its first phablet in March this year, the Redmi Note, a 5.5-inch version of its budget smartphone Redmi. The device made its way outside of greater China today with a launch in Singapore at a pricing of S$199 (US$159) and amazingly sold out in just 42 seconds. The Redmi was warmly welcomed not only in China, but overseas markets — in Singapore,…

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The US military runs studies on Twitter, Facebook and Reddit to learn how to counter propaganda

Jul08
by on July 8, 2014 at 5:11 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider

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In light of Facebook’s disconcerting emotion experiment, The Guardian has published an in-depth look at the US military’s own research efforts to understand and influence social media. DARPA, the Department of Defense’s tech research arm, has sponsored numerous studies across the most popular services, including Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Kickstarter and Reddit. The studies come under the Social Media in Strategic Communication (SMISC) program, which was revealed back in 2011. Here’s the initiative’s stated mission: The general goal of the Social Media in Strategic Communication (SMISC) program is to develop a new science of social networks built on an emerging technology…

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CheckiO launches a crowdsourced coding game platform for Python developers

Jul08
by on July 8, 2014 at 4:35 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Design & Dev, Insider, Product Updates, Profiles and Interviews

checkio
By looking at the variety of online services for wannabe programmers, it seems like nowadays it is easier to learn how to code than how to cook. There is, however, not much of gamified experience for those who know the craft but still want to stretch their brains instead of playing another few hours in WoW or LoL. Those bored coding enthusiasts are the main audience pursued by CheckiO, a Techstars-seasoned Ukrainian-born startup based in Las Vegas. After two years of flying under the radar and raising $750,000 in seed funding in November 2013, the startup is aiming at a…

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Mynd’s smart calendar gives you the entire day at a glance with a premium version to manage your every minute

Jul08
by on July 8, 2014 at 4:30 pm
Posted In: Apps, Around the Web, Insider

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Scheduling has become hectic. This is especially true when you’re dealing with multiple calendars and your day ends up looking like a blob of bars and colors and events and where am I supposed to be at 5:30? The Mynd smart calendar app arranges that daily nightmare into an easy to read, single-page brief. Today, that app was updated to work with your Linkedin and iPhone contacts, to let you share Evernote notes from within an event and create and assign categories to events. There’s also an Inside Mynd premium feature that can be added via in-app purchase. It’s meant…

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Finding the balance between unconventional tech funding routes

Jul08
by on July 8, 2014 at 4:23 pm
Posted In: Analysis and Opinion, Around the Web, Entrepreneur

crossing the road
Derek Schoettle is the CEO of Cloudant. There seems to be a never-ending stream of news and opinion about startups’ shocking valuations, the latest multi-million dollar rounds of funding for companies yet to turn real profits, and the potential for another tech bubble. Just to name a few recent examples: An app with the purpose of sending a “Yo” notification to friends received $1 million in seed funding (and perhaps more importantly, the backing of Marc Andreessen). Uber garnered a $17 billion valuation after completing a round of financing last month. Foursquare took on yet another round of funding in previous months…

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