Did you prank anyone on April Fools’ Day? Well you probably didn’t have to anyway because some of the biggest names in tech had more than their fair share of April Fools’ jokes.
Most of the shenanigans were pretty obvious, but there was one in particular that seemed to have really fooled a few oblivious people (more on that below).
A quick note though: Whether you were the prankster or the prankstee this past April Fools’, don’t forget that all the jokes on the 1st of April should just be made in the name of good clean fun. (And if you ended up on the wrong side of a prank, don’t worry… you can always get your revenge next year!)
Anyway, in case you missed them, below is a summary of some of tech’s best April Fools’ jokes of 2013.
Google Nose - “In the fast-paced world that we live in, we don’t always have time to stop and smell the roses. With Google Nose BETA, the roses are just a click...
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Investment firm Piper Jaffray might butt heads with Android lovers out there. In its study conducted earlier this year, it found that Siri, Apple's voice recognition software turned personal assistant, is wrong about 1/3rd of the time. However, the study revealed something interesting when compared to Google's version.
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Most people are now familiar with Google's voice assistant. Piper Jaffray compared the two and found that while Siri only correctly answered the users' queries 62 percent of the time on a busy street and 68 percent in a quiet room, it understood 89 percent of the questions being asked while in a quiet room. Even on a busy street, it understood the user 83 percent of the time.
Google's accuracy was much higher - 86 percent - when asked the same questions as Siri. Why the discrepancy? Well, for a while now, Siri has relied on Google for many quieries. Yep, even as Apple vowed...
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Google has just released Google Maps for IOS. Apple vowed to recreate maps on the iPhone and push its competitor out the digital door. Apple's release of Maps, however, was less than stellar. Google has been capitalizing (at least in theory) on the failure for a while now by promising a new maps program for IOS. Today, another blow was dealt as the theory became practical. Google's new maps program has had more than 10 million downloads in less than 48 hours.
Jeff Huber, SVP of Commerce and Local at Google announced that, "We're excited for the positive reception of Google Maps for iPhone around the world. Congratulations to the Maps Team on the recognition for the passion and hard work they poured into it, for this release and over the last 7+ years."
That's no consolation to Apple, who has been the target of backlash, even from faithful Apple users. To make matters worse, Google Maps holds the #1 spot in the App store....
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Thanksgiving in the US may be over and done with, but that doesn’t mean we still can’t count down the many things that people (online entrepreneurs in particular) should be thankful for.
Below are several reasons why people doing business online should be grateful this year. From websites that enable them to easily reach customers, to tools that boost productivity, to services that take companies to the next level, the following things have definitely made life a whole lot easier for Internet entrepreneurs.
1. The rise of several cloud-based services – Dropbox, iCloud, Evernote, Google Drive… clearly there isn’t a shortage of cloud-based services on the web—and this is a huge thing that online entrepreneurs should be thankful for. The above tools and services allow users to work wherever they are and be able to seamlessly link and connect multiple devices.
For example, thanks to tools like Google Drive and...
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There's been a lot of talk over Apple Maps lately. With Apple releasing iPhone 5, and iOS6, the map program developed by the geniuses in Cupertino is getting some heat. Apparently, people are getting iLost. The Apple maps program does need some work. The signs on the top of the program can be a little confusing, especially if you are moving the map around to see where you'll be going. That's ironic, since Apple pitches itself as a user-friendly company with a stunning UI.
Critics are calling Maps a "complete failure." If that's the case, why worry about Maps? In a word: Apple users. The type of people using an iPhone are a very different kind of consumer. Most Apple consumers love Apple. They love their devices. They might go out of their way to use 3rd party apps, but if Maps is "good enough," most won't bother.
What you need to be cognizant of is the fact that Yelp and Apple are like peanut butter and jelly....
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There are times when even the most competent individuals come up short. Whether it’s a case of marketers who can’t come up with new taglines, bloggers not having enough content, or startups failing to gather enough funds, not having sufficient resources to complete a project can be a vary daunting experience.
But thanks to the Internet, not having enough resources is becoming less and less of an issue. Gone are the days when you need to have a lot of money in your pocket if you want to build a product. And in this day and age, you don’t need to be a walking encyclopedia or know a lot of “experts” to come up with a good article or a book.
So what makes all these things possible? One word: crowd. More and more people are using the power of the crowd to gather ideas, gain inspiration, and even raise money for their business.
This blog post will discuss crowdsourcing and crowdfunding, two types of methods that people use to...
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One of the most interesting things about Wikipedia is the sheer traffic volume the site gets. There are millions of pages on an almost endless number of topics. The problem is that it's notoriously difficult to get links from the Wiki. Even if you do manage to, you're not guaranteed to get a lion's share of the traffic. Here's how to spy on Wikipedia to make sure the backlinks you do get are well worth the effort.
1) Choose your niche. Make sure it has broad appeal. You can go to Wikipedia and search for your niche to dig up some pages. This might not tell you traffic numbers, or give you an idea of the amount of traffic flowing to each page, but if there are a lot of pages on your area of interest, it's a good bet that there's some traffic there.
2) Go to: http://stats.grok.se/. This is where the rubber meets the road. This site allows you to pull back the curtain on Wikipedia and see exactly what pages get the most traffic. Once you have that...
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If you’re a blogger, an Internet advertiser, or someone running an online business, then consider yourself lucky because you are operating in a world of near-endless opportunities. The World Wide Web offers tons of chances for people to make connections, find customers, and earn money. Markets are evolving, and more and more consumers are going on the Internet to find information, make purchases, and connect with others.
If you’re thinking of doing business online but are still on the fence about it, check out the detailed explanations below on why there is no better time than now to become an online entrepreneur:
1. We are in the information age – The industrial age, which is characterized by assembly lines and factories, is long gone. Jobs are being replaced by computers, and activities that used to take a lot of time and manpower can now be done in minutes or even seconds thanks to computers and the Internet.
We are now in the...
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Establishing an online presence for your business does not have to be a huge investment but, at the same time, do not let anyone tell you that building and maintaining a website and Internet marketing are free. Costs vary considerably and while online marketing is generally a very cost-effective way to get more customers, it is not nearly as cheap and straightforward as some people make the mistake of thinking. The costs you can expect depend largely on your requirements. If all you need is a simple online portal for your business – something which provides useful information about your business and its products and services – the costs should be very low indeed. However, if you want to establish an online shop with an ever-expanding catalogue of products, then things become somewhat more complicated. Following is an overview of the costs you can expect to encounter when getting your business into the online world.
1 – Domain...
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Online business and Internet marketing are the most talked about things in the world of modern business. With so much hype, it is hardly surprising that many newcomers to online marketing regard the whole thing with suspicion. Knowing what to believe and what not to believe is essential when it comes to making a success in the highly competitive world of online business. However, if and when you do succeed, the rewards can be great and, for those who are successful, the freedom afforded by a location independent, Web-based income is the greatest boon of all. Before you jump into the world of online marketing with a little too much enthusiasm, however, consider these common myths.
1 – Online Business Is an Easy Way to Get Rich Quick
Easily the most common myth, you will often see and hear outrageous claims, usually from people selling get-rich-quick schemes, about how online business is easy and how it is the way to great riches in minimal...
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