Orkut Counting its last days (Article for Splandex.com)

According to Google, Orkut to shut down by the end of 2014. The very first social networking site by Google which was launched back in 2004 is now counting its last days. Orkut which is very popular in Brazil, Asia and U.S is now surviving hardly in competition to other social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter around the globe. Today 50 percent of Orkut users are in Brazil, 20 percent in India and fewer than 18 percent are from the Pakistan and U.S.

In 2010, Facebook overtook Orkut as the top social networking site in India with 20.9 million visitors and after the introduction of Google plus the usage of Orkut become more less and the service also did not do well in other parts of the world, having heavy competitors in race and finally Google took the decision to shut down their very first social networking site. On September 30, 2014, Orkut will be officially shut down. At that point, users won’t be able to log in anymore to Orkut. The company said it would preserve an archive of all Orkut “communities” that will be available from  30th September.

“If you don’t want your posts or name to be included in the community archive, you can remove Orkut permanently from your Google account,”Said Google.

According Paulo Golgher (Engineering Director of Orkut ) ” It’s been a great 10 years, and we apologize to those still actively using the service. We hope people will find other online communities to spark more conversations and build even more connections for the next decade and beyond.”

Taimur wali-Article for Splandex.com

The Top Three Announcements at Google I/O 2014 (Article for Splandex.com)

Google I/O is developers conference held at Moscone Centre San Francisco last week and over 1 million people watched the conference on the live streams around the world. Listed below are the top three announcements at Google I/O 2014 conferences.

Google Android L

Android L will be leading android operating system this year, its the latest version of android previewed at this years google I/O conference. Android L mainly focuses on design and performance with the better notification system. Android L introduces the intelligent Material Design concept for the first time which focuses on design and user experience and provide a better view and interaction of user with the layout of UI. Apps will programmatically changes its color to the surroundings of application. Lets say if we are using music player, the music player will automatically adopt its color intelligently with the selected album cover of the songs being played. Android L will be release by the end of this year, expected release dates are between 23 September and 23 December.

Google senior vice president Sundar Pichai presenting new Android L material design concept.

Android Auto

As a rival to Apple’s Car play, Google introduces Android auto. Google points out that 25% of the accidents on the road occur because people use their phones while driving. Keeping this in mind for the safety of the user while driving Google introduced “Android auto”. With Android auto all important information you need will be at your car dashboard screen and you can use Android auto to make phone calls, send texts, control and play music, and importantly control different apps including Google maps to get directions you need just by your voice commands and also keeping your eyes on the road.

Google Android Auto demo at the Google I/O 2014

Android TV 

From playing games to watching movie now our hands will be on Android TV . With its voice search commands via our phone we can listen to any kind of music or can watch any movie on our TV screens. Saying “X-Men,” “johnny depp movies,” or other types of search will bring up recommendations based on the searched keywords. Android wearable can also control Android TV. Gaming is another feature of Android TV, now users can play multiplayer games with others using their phone as first and android TV as multiple console option.

Presenting Android TV At Google I/O 14.

 Taimur wali-Article for Splandex.com