Facebook Blocks Yandex, Russia biggest search engine

Yandex, Russia’s biggest search engine, said its new experimental application to search on social networking sites from mobile devices was blocked by Facebook.

Yandex’s new mobile recommendation tool "Wonder App" was supposed to coalesce a user’s data from Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, and Instagram and use the data to help answer questions asked verbally, similar to the Siri feature on Apple’s iPhone. Instead, Yandex is now in a dispute with Facebook, TechCrunch reports, with the two sides at odds over whether Wonder is properly defined as a search engine and thus in violation of rules governing the use of data provided by Facebook through its software interfaces, or APIs. In the meantime, Facebook has cut off Yandex’s API access, rendering Wonder significantly less viable.

The Facebook’s Yandex blockade is the latest in a series of information embargoes between competing internet giants. Facebook’s Instagram recently blocked users from showing their pictures on the microblogging network Twitter. Twitter, in turn, has been steadily tightening the restrictions on apps that use its own APIs. And Google recently allowed its own photo app Snapseed to publish into its social network Google+ while rivals like Instagram remain entirely locked out.

Internet activist Aaron Swartz commits suicide

Aaron Swartz, was an American computer programmer, writer, archivist, political organizer, and Internet activist. Swartz co-authored the "RSS 1.0" specification of RSS, and built the Web site framework web.py and the architecture for the Open Library. He also built Infogami, a company that merged with Reddit in its early days, through which he became an equal owner of the merged company.

Aaron Swartz has committed suicide. His body was found Friday evening in Brooklyn, said Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman with the New York medical examiner's office. The 26-year-old had hanged himself in his apartment.

His family and partner said they were "in shock, and have not yet come to terms with his passing."

"Aaron's insatiable curiosity, creativity, and brilliance; his reflexive empathy and capacity for selfless, boundless love; his refusal to accept injustice as inevitable -- these gifts made the world, and our lives, far brighter," they said in a statement. "We're grateful for our time with him, to those who loved him and stood with him, and to all of those who continue his work for a better world."

RIP

LG smart home appliances at CES 2013

LG said that they will be showing several new smart home appliances on display at CES 2013 that includes a new smart refrigerator, washing machine, robot vacuum, and oven.

The appliances can interact with users’ smartphones using NFC or remote control over a home WiFi network. By simply touching smartphones to the NFC tag on the smart appliances, users can easily control the refrigerator, washing machine, robotic vacuum cleaner, or the range oven. Users can also give simple voice commands via their smartphones and remotely monitor appliances using LG’s Smart Control.

Now with these technology you could start a load of laundry while you’re on your way home from work, tell your robotic cleaner to vacuum the floor, or bring up a list of food items that are currently in the fridge, as well as bring up a grocery shopping list for items that you need.

The LCD displays on the appliances allow users to access a slew of information. For instance, the oven’s LCD screen can allow you to monitor the status of your oven, search for recipes, set cooking modes, and diagnose problems. Furthermore NFC allows you to quickly set your oven to any particular mode for a specific recipe.

Major Home Appliance Repair

A blog about Major Home Appliance Repair including Appliance Tips to help keep them running in tip top shape.

When a major home appliance breaks down, you’re faced with an important question:  Appliance repair or Appliance replace?  Here’s some good advice from an appliance technician with over 30 years experience.