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The rise of the API economy and consumer-led ecosystems

Mar28
by on March 28, 2014 at 8:12 pm
Posted In: Analysis and Opinion, Around the Web, Design & Dev, Insider

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Adam DuVander speaks fluent “developer” while serving as Developer Communications Director at SendGrid. Previously, Adam wrote for Wired, Webmonkey and edited ProgrammableWeb, the leading resource for APIs. Just a few years ago, application programming interfaces (APIs) were largely viewed as an easy, functional way to make applications work together, a digital adhesive of sorts. Today, the value of the API has evolved into much more than a simple bridging mechanism. For many developers, APIs have become the foundational architecture that allows them to manifest their vision. Consider the Pareto Principle, which states that 80 percent of the effects come from…

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Microsoft pulls fake Google apps from the Windows Phone Store, but doesn’t fix larger approval process problem

Mar28
by on March 28, 2014 at 8:06 pm
Posted In: Apps, Around the Web, Google, Mobile

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Microsoft today pulled six fake Google apps from the Windows Phone Store, after we contacted the company about the issue. The apps in question were: “Hangouts,” “Google Voice,” “Google Search,” “Google+,” “Google Maps,” and “Gmail – email from Google.” All of these are published by a “Google, Inc” (instead of “Google Inc.”) and priced at $1.99 each. The only app that Google offers for Windows Phone is its search app, and the publisher is “Google Inc.” The apps in question were first spotted by WinBeta this morning, after being originally published yesterday. We got in touch with Microsoft to ask…

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15 quirky gadgets and accessories to buy today

Mar28
by on March 28, 2014 at 7:30 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Gadgets, Roundups

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It’s time for us to take another look at a bunch of quirky, imaginative and downright useful gadgets you can buy today. Which one takes your fancy the most? For more inspiration, check out our 2013 holiday gift guide and our previous collection of gadgets and accessories for geeks. You can view all 15 of our gadgets on one page here. Acorn Bluetooth Speaker Is it an acorn or a speaker? Okay, it’s a speaker but it’s got a beautifully natural look and pairs with Bluetooth audio devices for up to four hours of listening. It comes with a charging cable and…

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Creative expression: Here are the winners of the Guardian’s Witness awards

Mar28
by on March 28, 2014 at 7:10 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider

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These days, you don’t just read the news: you make it, contribute to it, and share it. That’s the idea behind GuardianWitness, the Guardian newspaper’s user-generated content platform, which launched in conjunction with EE, the UK-based communications company. Available both as mobile apps and as a desktop site, the program lets readers share original videos, photos, and stories with the paper to encourage open and collaborative journalism. Entries span the range of art, journalism, human interest stories and, of course, pet pictures. Tony Luck and George Tymvios (co-directors) via GuardianWitness. Commemorating its first year, GuardianWitness Thursday announced the winners of its…

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Dropbox acquires reading platform Readmill, will close it on 1 July

Mar28
by on March 28, 2014 at 6:59 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider

(To go with AFP story by Isabelle Wessel
Readmill has been acquired by Dropbox and is now in the process of closing its reading platform. In a blog post, the Berlin-based startup said it was joining Dropbox to work on “new ways to read together”, suggesting that its original vision would still be the focus of its work. Readmill as we know it is closing though. Users can no longer create a new account and the Readmill apps will no longer be available from July 1, 2014. The company said it had “failed” to create a sustainable solution for reading and apologized for being unable to solve the many…

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