Monolith Takes Further Steps to Augumented Reality

It is now definite, that augumented reality segment goes into limelight of IT world as one of the most promising ones. Despite the fact, that the sector of the industry is relatively young, it has, undoubtedly, beome the new passion for a great number of reputable companies, engaged in IT.

Along with ambitious and well-promoted Google Project Glass, which has been recently officially presented to the open public, there has already been introduced another player, involved in augumented reality projects. In particular, I’m talking about a Croatian startup Monolith offering 3 serapate applications for advertisers, namely Monolith Wardrobe, Monolith Games and Monolith Objects.

In this respect, there can be distinguished several essential peculiarities of products, offered by Monolith, the first and the foremost among which is certainly, the uniqueness of the ideа in the essence of the engine. 

I’m sure that the majority of average users haven’t actually thought of using Kinect elsewhere, other than in their xBox, well, Monolith developers went further. Having built their applications on the basis of Kinect hardware, they have also added their exclusive software solution, enabling to create a movie-like advertising experience, achieving impressive results.

Here, the focus on advertising is, perhaps, another essential feature of Monolith products. Obviously, it’s rather about online and mobile ads being the most popular, effective and profitable ones at the moment, that the live ones. Relatively, innovative online ad platforms, like Epom, for instance, are now getting trendier and trendier today. Yet, the current tendencies doesn’t prove the death of live advertising, so the authors of Monolith have made the right decision to reanimate this niche of the market with their fresh and creative solutions.

In addition to that, what is also special about Monolith augumented reality advertising engine is that it has been founded not in the USA, which is frequently considered the epicenter of IT development, but in Croatia, that hasn’t yet got such reputation.

Does the apperance of Monolith mean that the vector of rapid IT development is moving from the US to Europe, considering that the already-mentioned platform Epom has been also started in Europe as well, namely Poland? In fact, it does more likely mean that the there will soon appear numerous regional IT centers all around the world, all being somewhat unique in their entity.

Well, we’ll see)

Stay cool)

Andy

CloudFlare Widens Horizons for Sites' Improvement

Do you happen to own a site? Even if you don’t at the moment, you will, perhaps, get one, as long as you run the business of your own or are more or less interested in blogging, for instance.

The thing is that the boost in development of Internet technologies and the colossal growth of popularity of online resources force the businesses in almost every niche to maintain their presence on the Web.

Well, there you go. In case you have a business, you must have a site.

Yet, the maintenance of a site, especially if you wish to make it rich and bright in the interface and multifunctional,  is a far more complicated matter, than just the creation of one. In this respect, one of the fresh services on the market CloudFlare happens to offer convenient tool to protect and improve your site’s work.

One of the essential aspects, which CloudFlare enables you to upgrade, is the loading time of your site. It often happens so, that the large sites with complex graphics and sufficient amount of ad content load rather slowly, which irritates visitors and can even make them refuse to ever try the service again.

Well, as the creators of CloudFlare state, their featured optimizer can help your site load really fast, which is incredibly encouraging.

Another essential feature, offered by CloudFlare, is related to the site’s security. It is, actually, one of the most painful aspects of every site’s work, which can either benefit your reputation, or totally destroy it.  Much because of that, the majority of trustworthy companies pay much attention to proving their reliability and safety to clients.

As an example, I’ve recently found the news that 4shared established partnership with McAfee security company to double-check all files in their database. Not bad, or I’d say even grrrreat!

Back to what CloudFlare can provide you with in terms of security, the service enables you to detect hacker attacks, create block lists and trust lists for your visitors, etc. within convenient UI.

The last but not the least…

CloudFlare is also recognized to provide you with traffic analytics for your site, which is one of the most important aspects in terms of sites’ promotion.

Of course, you can stick to using Google Analytics, it won’t be a problem.

All things considered, CloudFlare is, undoubtedly, worth trying, especially if you need to make your site more reputable and popular among users.

Stay cool)

Andy

Codecademy Opens One More Door to Coding Secrets

Have you ever dreamt of becoming a programmer? I have never thought about such a perspective as a child, but having grown up I realized how interesting and profitable! it can be to be engaged in this niche.

Well, now that I have already become a developer myself I have never questioned the rightness of my former decision, but what about people, who have realized their pure desire to learn programming already being adults? Of course, it’s never late to learn.

Yet, what if you didn’t have a chance to go study in the university at the moment? The reasons may differ, in this respect, either you don’t have enough money to pay for studying, or you don’t have sufficient time to attend classes because of your full-time job. Are there any ways out to have the most convenient learning conditions? Yes, now there are.

People’s opportunity to acquire knowledge of programming or share the already possessed skills is actually the essence of a rather new service Codecademy, enabling to learn and practice Java programming without any payment. What is essential, the choice of language in Codecademy is absolutely justified, as it is now the most widely-used one in the creation of high-quality sites with the best graphics and the most intuitive UI (e.g. TechCrunch, Facebook, 4shared sites are created with the usage of Java). 

As for the specifics of the learning courses, here’s where the benefits for users continue. To start with, each and every exercise is provided with precise instructions, so that you don’t spend hours perusing the same passage for 1, 000 of times. Moreover, you can practice the newly-got knowledge right at the page, where the exercise is being explained with an ability to check FAQ’s, if you happen to be stuck at some point. In this respect, even if you can’t find the answer to your question, you’re free to post it in the section, so that it can be answered a bit later. To be honest, there’re a lot of questions, which haven’t yet been answered, but minor flaws are inevitable, I suppose.

In addition to that, every section of the course is finished with a particular number of points you receive and a sort of the award you also get. Of course, it’s not an actual prize, but works well as motivation.

And it isn’t the end… Codecademy also enables the users to apply for becoming a beta tester in versatile courses, no matter how much knowledge you already have. This might be really beneficial in terms of practicing acquired skills.

In a whole, of course, Codecademy isn’t enough for you to become a superprofessional in programming, but it is seemingly the perfect first step into the world of coding. Not bad, ha?

Stay cool)

Andy

OwnCloud – Peculiarities and Perspectives

Of course, the present-day diversity of cloud storage opportunities and the current number of versatile syncing services have already reached truly outrageous heights.

Well, apparently, the vast range of choice hasn’t scared fresh players in the field, as we have already been introduced the new cloud storage and syncing service ownCloud, which is, similarly aimed at making our life more convenient and enables to get quicker access to our data and synchronize the most essential stuff between our devices.

Pros

The benefits of ownCloud, in particular, are crystal clear. To start with, the solution is available for all platforms in customized formats; therefore you can select the most convenient one for you. Moreover, it is really multifunctional and enables you to upload, download, sync and share any of your files in a few clicks.

In addition to that, the interface is rather plain in design, which proves the point that usability is prior. The commercial solutions acquire the brighter UI pecualities, which have been, perhaps, added to make them more attractive to buyers. 

Cons

Undoubtedly, ownCloud isn’t perfect at all, much because it possesses one essential flaw. The thing is that you won’t be able to use it, unless you’re a pro user: to start working with ownCloud you should at first download .tar.bz2 package and be aware of how to use it further. The whole range of opened possibilities can hardly be understood by people, who aren’t used to programming, working with mySQL databases, PHP, etc., for instance. Therefore, the community of devoted fans of the service won’t probably include such a vast number of people, like the famous 4Sync has got, for example.

Besides, the free ownCloud enables you to get only 7GB of storage space, so the whole free 15GB from 4Sync are yet unbeatable. I heard the news about Dropbox offering simpler ways to get more free space, but as it turns out, these likewise presuppose sending invites to others. It’s really irritating, to be honest.

In a whole, what is unique about ownCloud is that it might be one more useful option at programmers’ disposal, yet, not the best variant for common usage, of course.

Stay cool)

Andy

Yoke – One More On-the-Spot Matchmaker

It goes without saying that people are all about socializing, and the speeding up popularity of social networks only proves this point. Here, in addition to online communication with our friends, colleagues or family members in Gmail, Skype, 4shared (don’t forget about the service’s option to send PM’s to your friends) and Facebook or Twitter, of course, most SM users tend to search for new friends on the Web as well. In fact, some of us, who are either too shy in real life, or don’t have enough time for meeting new people in person somewhere at the excibition, in a gym or even in a pub, get frequently prone to signing up for versatile matchmaking services as well. These are specifically designed to bring the new couples, usually from all over the world, together, and often require nothing, but your provided bio, photos and, certainly, time.

At one point the the dating sites have evolved to the integration into social media, like the famous and yet terribly annoying Badoo on Facebook, which is, besides, really hard to unsubscribe from, even though you didn’t even subscribe to it at all.

As for now, it’s about time the online matchmaking market was introduced with another player, the more upgraded application Yoke, recently presented for FB users. Having moved beyond the limits of an average dating service, the application does all work for you by collecting and comparing the info about your hobbies and interests with the facts that other users mention about themselves and makes a suggestion, that your match and you should start communicating. Not bad, ha?

Well, for those, who are interested in finding a couple online, Yoke can be considered an exciting option to try, but in general, it is still very similar to other, formerly-known matchmaking sites, just for lazier users, who don’t even want to type in the requirements for a possible soulmate into a search bar. Its significant peculiarity, at the same time, is related to the match being based on one’s interests, rather than a person’s appearance, hair cut, or else.

What is disappointing is that Yoke founders haven’t found it necessary to organize at least the minimum separate site for it, except for the FB page, offering you to start using the actual app and find out about its features during the alpha-test. In this respect, the service gets fewer chances to become noticeable and recognizable for users, especially if to consider its name. The thing is that, I have already encountered separate services, called YokeApp, Yoke Messenger, etc. which aren’t aimed at matchmaking at all. Undoubtedly, all of the mentioned factors can’t but take a toll on the app popularity, from my point of view.

Generally speaking, Yoke is seemingly one more toy for people, who get bored, or may be, wish to try something new in terms of online communication. Apparently, it can also become promising for lonely Web surfers, who can’t (or can’t stand)))) getting acquainted with people in person. Well, everyone deserves to be happy.

Google Takes Action in a File-Sharing Scandal: Reasons & Causes

With SOPA haste seeming to be now over, the file-sharing scandal, involving MegaUpload, has taken an interesting twist with Google saying its defending word in court. In fact, the IT giant has also officially claimed its position in the case with accusations of HotFile, recently made by MPAA (the abbreviation corresponds to The Motion Picture Association of America).

In particular, Google representatives claim, that any complaints towards HotFile, and even MegaUpload accordingly, are rather groundless, as both services are recognized to follow DMCA (The Digital Millennium Copyright Act), which makes their work legal, except for the links to files at MegaUpload, protected by copyright, which should, undoubtedly, be removed immediately.

What makes such a position of Google so peculiar is that the company has nothing to do with either HotFile or MegaUpload, regarding the shareholding aspect, for instance; yet, it has decided to stand out and say its word in, perhaps, the most media covered scandal recently. Nonetheless, if to take a closer look at the whole situation, Google’s actions turn out to be absolutely justified.

The most essential reason, in this respect, is the fact that the company’s own services, like YouTube, also happen to follow the mentioned DMCA, and they are generally considered 100% legal. At the same time, if HotFile is being accused of violating the law, what can prevent such companies, as MPAA, from accusing Google itself in future? That is the question.

Here, what can Google’s actions in the case with MegaUpload and Hotfile cases change? There’re, actually, several ways, in which the situation can develop. On the one hand, since Google is commonly known as one of the most influential IT companies ever, its official opinion is, obviously, highly valued. Moreover, the enterprise has a point when emphasizing the necessity of following the general laws, and DMCA is what the most reputable file hosting services, like 4shared.com, are pursuant to.

On the other hand, if the above-mentioned cases finish with guilty verdicts, can it lead to implementation of changes in DMCA itself? Hopefully, not.

But, we’ll see.


Stay cool)
Andy

Twixtor: Peculiar Video Software at Users’ Disposal

To be honest, I’ve never been a YouTube fan, in terms of creating thousands of funny or interesting videos of mine on a permanent basis and submitting them for other users’ review. At the same time, I frequently find it exciting to create a sort of video-greeting for my friends abroad, who I can share it with at 4shared (TG I am provided with enough space at my 4shared account).

Much because of that, I’m really interested in versatile video camera peculiarities as much as in specifically designed video software, which enables to make my digital masterpiece truly unique.
Having been for long accustomed to Sony Vegas Pro with its relatively convenient interface and a wide array of available functions, I’ve lately encountered one more service Twixtor that happens to be much more advantageous in creating slow-motion videos.

With provided motion control and management functionality, not to mention possibilities to modify motion sensitivity and frame interpolation, Twixtor appears to be a wonderful tool for everyone, who wishes to create various high-quality videos, especially with customized slow-motion and quick-motion parts.

As for Twixtor interface, it won’t be really hard to grasp, but much because of such numerous features, it’d be better to figure out their inns and outs in advance not to get confused. Fortunately, there are plenty of tutorials on the Web, explaining how this or that peculiarity of the service can be implemented to modify the already created video in the way you need to.

In a whole, I could tell you further, how useful and advantageous Twixtor surely is, but I won’t. It’s so, because, you should open it up yourself and start creating your own best videos, which would strike everyone.

Take it as a call to action;))


Stay cool
Andy