rankings
Latest
Twitter Blue perks now include higher ranking replies and 60-minute video uploads
Twitter Blue has enabled new perks for subscribers including "prioritized rankings in conversations" and video uploads up to 60 minutes in length.
Google has a new way to call out poorly made Android apps
Google's plan to improve the Android experience involves more than just tweaking the operating system. It also requires developers to up the quality of their work, and now Google has a new way to warn app creators whose work isn't up to snuff. Long story short, if your app ranks in the bottom 25 percent when it comes to certain stability, battery or rendering metrics, you'll be hearing from the search giant through the developer console.
Pandora's radio data now included in Billboard Hot 100
Despite recent layoffs and the fact that it only launched a streaming service last month, Pandora is a giant player in the internet radio market. Billboard unveiled a partnership with the service for its Hot 100 chart, and says it immediately impacted 35 songs. It pushed nine of those up by five or more spots in the rankings, including Sex With Me from Rihanna and Rob $tone's Chill Bill, which leaped 10 places. Lady Gaga's Million Reasons, meanwhile, is now on the Hot 100 thanks to Pandora, Billboard says.
All things college athletics with the official NCAA app
Mention the NCAA around most sports fans and you can expect a litany of complaints about the organization that oversees college athletics. However the official NCAA app should satisfy most followers of collegiate sports. The free universal app runs on iOS 7.0 or later and covers a lot more than just football and basketball. Similar to other apps that cover college sports you can get the latest news updates on major sports such as football, basketball, both men and women's, and baseball. The NCAA app goes further with coverage of all the NCAA sports: Wrestling Volleyball Field Hockey Ice Hockey Cross Country Track & Field Lacrosse And about a dozen more. If you have someone involved in any of the athletic competitions taking place at NCAA member schools you can follow them with the NCAA app. Users can choose up to three favorite schools and the app pulls news, video, scores, and more from each of those schools so you can find it in a single location. No browsing through hundreds of stories or score to get your favorite's. And you can set up alerts for your favorite teams for news and or score updates. The hardest part of picking your favorite is finding the school on the huge list of colleges and universities included in the app. Every school that is an NCAA member is listed in alphabetical order from big universities like Notre Dame, Southern Cal, and Alabama to small schools like Agnes Scott College, College of St. Elizabeth, and Judson College and all the colleges and universities in between. Regardless of what your favorite college sport is, you will find stories and other features included in the app. Plus users can find out the latest rankings of teams in all the sports. So if you want to see how your college cross country team is doing, select cross country from the sports list then choose rankings and you will find Northern Arizona at the top of the Division 1 list followed by Oklahoma State and Colorado. The app provides numerous videos for users to watch both in the team pages and in the general news coverage. I checked several and all were preceded by a fifteen second commercial announcement and unfortunately it appears the same commercial appears before each video so be prepared to sit through the same ad time after time if you watch a lot of videos. Despite this failing, the official NCAA app is still worth having for those fans of some of the less popular and highly covered sports that take place on college campuses around the country.
GuildOx launches Flex Raid ranking
WoW ranking database GuildOx has just announced a new feature -- world-first Flex guild progress ranking for Flex raid groups. According to data gathered by the fine folks at GuildOx, 64% of guilds that have raided Siege of Orgrimmar on normal mode have also completed kills using Flexible Raids as well. Given the popularity of the format, GuildOx decided to create a ranking list for guilds that raid on that difficulty. Flex ranking works the same as the usual raid progress ranking, with guilds being ranked by the number of encounters completed, and the date of their last kill. For players that are diving full-force into Flex raids, the new rankings list should be a nice addition. And for players that haven't delved into Flex raids, it's interesting to see just how many guilds are taking that step, and how far they've gotten in the content. Myself, I'm curious as to how the rankings will be received -- since Flex raids can take any number of people, they're an entirely different animal than 10 or 25 man raiding. With 10 man ranking, you know you're being ranked against other 10 man guilds, and the same applies to 25 man raiding as well. But with Flex, you could be raiding with 12, and another guild with 24. Interesting questions aside, it's nice to see we've got a ranking system in place for Flex raiding enthusiasts. As always, rank listings can be filtered and sorted by region or server. You can check out the full list of ranked guilds and their progress on GuildOx.
Study finds app ratings now more critical to rankings than ever before
We knew Apple was tweaking its algorithms for ranking top apps, but a new report by app-testing firm Appurify gives us a much better idea of just how heavily weighted ratings are becoming. The company's study examines at the ratings of the top 1,000 apps on the App Store. Perhaps not surprisingly, the results show that more than half of the top 1,000 apps have a rating of at least 4.5 out of 5 stars, with 75% scoring 4 stars or higher. More interesting, however, is that the higher an app is placed in the charts, the more the ratings seem to matter. For example, in order to reach the top 300 of all apps in the marketplace, you're going to need hundreds of 4.5- and 5-star reviews every single day, but the criteria for landing in the top 300-600 apps is not nearly as demanding. Head on over to Appurify's blog to check out the full results. [via TechCrunch]
Apple is testing changes to App Store ranking algorithms
Determining what apps appear on the top of the App Store charts is a big deal, as it can make or break a brand. App-marketing firm Fiksu has been keeping a close eye on the effect this top secret algorithm has on App Store hopefuls and has discovered that Apple may indeed be revamping the criteria it uses to rank digital products. The company believes it has discovered two very important changes to the ranking algorithm that are being implemented: Rankings now take into account user ratings, and a change in how often the App Store updates the top-seller lists. A tweak to allow app ratings to change rankings is certainly the biggest news, as I think we've all seen apps with one- or two-star ratings in the top 100 or even the top 10 of various categories and wondered how it happened. If an app is more promise than delivery -- think of how lots iOS games sell themselves as the next Angry Birds in text and screenshots, only to deliver something barely playable -- it will have a harder time luring suckers into a purchase. The second change that alters how often the App Store updates its rankings -- from every 15 minutes to every three hours -- is also pretty huge, but in a more indirect way. If an app scores a bunch of downloads in 15 minutes (think suspiciously here), there used to be a chance it could sneak its way into a highly trafficked chart. Now, with three hours' worth of data to draw from, Apple can identify such outliers and deal with them before they con a top spot in the rankings. [via TechCrunch]
GuildOx launches Brawler's Guild ranking system
GuildOx have just released yet another ranking system for WoW players, to go with their achievement and title rankings, and mount and pet rankings! GuildOx has rankings for pretty much everything you can think of, and their latest addition, the Brawler's Guild rankings are another, much requested, string to their bow. They don't, however, track anything but the final achievement of the guild, the Now You're Just Showing Off achievement, and when players got it on each realm, region, and even worldwide. This achievement is kind of the pinnacle of brawling prowess, but it would also be excellent to see rankings for those further down, for example, to see if there's a glut of players stuck on Yikkan Izu or whether it's just that my shadow priest is undergeared, or played by someone terrible at shadow priests. One very interesting thing about these stats is the prominence of ranged DPS among the higher rankings. Mages, elemental shaman, warlocks, balance druids, and hunters all rank pretty high in their top 100 listings, with melee classes seeming not to be able to keep up with their ranged cousins. Is this indicative of a ranged DPS bias in the Brawler's Guild boss design? Also, do note that GuildOx's database is still gathering, so don't check your realm and assume that, because it's empty, you can get ahead and claim the top spot! It will take a little while to stabilize and be completely accurate, thanks to how the database works. But do check it out! Like all their ranking information, it makes interesting reading.
IBM caps two decades as heavyweight champion of the patent world
Thinking about beefing up your IP profile? Try giving IBM a call. For twenty consecutive years, it's been awarded more patents than any other company. According to IFI Claims Patent Services, IBM was issued 6,478 patents in 2012. To put things into perspective, its closest competitor, Samsung, trailed Big Blue by nearly 1,500 patents. No small wonder the company is the tech world's intellectual property broker. Some of the year's biggest patent warriors made the top 50 list too. Both Apple and Google's patent awards grew significantly over previous years, surpassing 2011's numbers by 68 and 170 percent, respectively. The house that T.J. Waston built, on the other hand, grew only a meager 4.8 percent. Still, with patents in health, banking, defense, social networking, cloud computing and beyond, IBM probably has a few years left at the top. Ever onward, IBM. Ever onward.
IDC: Android and iOS continue to carve up the world, another record quarter for smartphones
According to IDC's latest figures, Android and iOS now account for 85 percent of the 152 million smartphones shipped in Q2 2012. Google's OS powered 68.1 percent of all smartphones sold -- with Samsung making the hardware behind for just under half of those. Apple's smartphones now claim a 16.9 percent marketshare and while plenty of phone shoppers are holding out for the iPhone's next iteration, iOS still saw double-digit growth in Q2. There's more bad news for both BlackBerry and Symbian platforms, which, combined, accounted for less than 10 percent of all smartphones shipped last quarter. Windows Phone 7, meanwhile, hasn't quite made it to that hallowed third place it reckons it deserves. The mobile OS continues to grow, however, albeit at a gentler rate than both iOS and Android. Microsoft's likely pinning its hopes on the adjustable widgets and meatier specifications of Windows Phone 8 to draw in some new customers this fall.
IDC: Samsung and Apple ship almost half of all smartphones, but Korean manufacturer maintains lead
IDC's latest figures offer some predictable reading. More phones are being sold than ever before; 406 million units were sold in Q2, against 401.8 million in the same period last year -- with a 42 percent increase in smartphone sales. The winners? Perennial court antagonists, Samsung and Apple, with the duo doubling their combined market share over the last two years. Samsung maintains its lead, reaching over 50 million phones sold -- and a new quarterly sales record -- while Apple saw a quarter-over-quarter decline, as buyers presumably wait for Cupertino's latest iteration, or go elsewhere. Nokia, meanwhile, had another "transitional" quarter, with sales of both Symbian and MeeGo devices shrinking, although its Windows Phones proved stronger. According to IDC's figures, Nokia and Microsoft's team-up handset sales have doubled since last quarter. HTC misses out on a top three spot, but its fortunes appear to have improved over the last two quarters, with the IDC pointing the finger at a more streamlined product range from the Taiwan manufacturer. ZTE continues to nip at its heels, reaching the top five thanks to strong entry-level smartphone sales in China, while continuing to inch onto US shores. If you're looking for a full breakdown of all phones sold, dumb and otherwise, read up at the source below.
HP reclaims top spot in PC sales, market as a whole climbs 21 percent
Well, Apple's reign atop the list of the world's top PC makers was short lived. After clawing its way into the lead, if you counted the iPad as a PC, HP is back atop the heap -- even with Cupertino's tablet-inflated numbers. According to Canalys, the Palo Alto company shipped 15.8 million units in the first quarter of 2012, barely sneaking passed Apple by 40,000 computers. Of course, remove Apple's 11.8 million iPads, and it's not even a competition. Lenovo, Acer and Dell rounded out the top five, with the total market shooting up 21 percent over the same time last year. However, there is plenty of reason to believe we won't see client PC fly out the door at such an incredible rate. Amazingly, according to Canalys, tablets accounted for 40 percent of all PC shipments in the US. For more details check out the PR after the break.
IDC crowns Samsung the biggest phone maker by shipments for Q1 2012
Research firm IDC is reporting that Nokia has been dethroned as the world's biggest phone maker by Samsung. In the first quarter of the year, Samsung shipped 98.3 million mobile phones, with Nokia and Apple in second and third place. In the smartphone-only charts, the Korean company shipped 42.2 million of its Android and Windows Phone handsets, while Cupertino shipped 35.1 million and Nokia shipped a paltry-by-comparison 11.9 million. Samsung, Apple and companies outside the top 5 all made big gains in the smartphone space, while Nokia, RIM and HTC all felt their numbers drop. Unsurprisingly, companies with big stakes in dumb phones suffered, with Nokia and LG losing big chunks of their market share to the big two and stalking horse ZTE, which has bested LG for fourth place. After the break, we've got the official tallies that you can pore over.
Apple warns of crackdown on App Store rankings manipulation
Apple has issued a reminder to developers that it will not tolerate use of third party services to manipulate app rankings in the App Store. "When you promote your app, you should avoid using services that advertise or guarantee top placement in App Store charts," the reminder states. "Even if you are not personally engaged in manipulating App Store chart rankings or user reviews, employing services that do so on your behalf may result in the loss of your Apple Developer Program membership." This reminder could very well be in response to a well-trafficked post in Touch Arcade where an iOS developer revealed that an ad network guaranteed his app placement in the top 25 apps in exchange for $5000. This third-party service allegedly employs bots to automatically download the targeted app multiple times, automatically increasing the app's ranking and granting the app greater exposure to potential human downloaders. 8 of the top 25 apps were allegedly developed by clients of this bot service. If true, this represents a serious problem to the legitimacy of App Store rankings, and it's therefore no wonder that Apple is reminding developers of its aggressive stance on the issue.
ComScore: Android and iOS gallop ahead, US smartphone usage approaches 100 million
The latest report is in from ComScore, and as you might expect, the news is sunshine and roses for the crews at Google and Apple. Both companies platforms charted some worthwhile month-over-month gains, as Android is estimated to account for 47.3 percent of smartphones in the US, while iOS runs a strong second with 26.9 percent. Meanwhile, former BlackBerry fans continue to scatter, as the platform now accounts for 16 percent of smartphone users. Similarly, Windows Phone (and whatever's left of Windows Mobile) have taken it on the chin, and have fallen to just 4.7 percent market share. Without ever gaining much traction in the US, Symbian now makes up 1.4 percent of the smartphone pie. You'll find a quick look at the manufacturing side of the equation, along with the full ComScore press release, after the break.
IDC: Nokia, Samsung, Apple are the new top 3 handset makers
The latest figures are in from IDC: the top three global smartphone makers are Nokia, Samsung and Apple, in that order. Drilling down into the figures finds some surprises: Cupertino's third-place with only 8.7 percent of the market, while the giants of Korea and Finland are duking it out with 22.8 percent and 26.6 respectively. LG and ZTE are tied for fourth, but that's hardly good news for Goldstar, given that it's lost a staggering 42.2 percent of its market share in the last twelve months (Nokia was the other loser, eating 8.2 percent). The cause for the drop is in part the world's rejection of feature-phones (dropped faster than fashionistas rightly abandoned Ugg Boots and Jeggings) as millions upgraded to smartphones. After the break we've got the tables in full for anyone who wants to have their mind blown at the sheer quantity of handsets shipped in the last year, both financial and calendar.
IBM maintains top spot in global patent rankings, Canon overtakes Microsoft
IBM has been selling off a sizable number of its patents these past few months, but according to a new research report, the company still ended 2011 with the world's largest artillery. For the 19th straight year, IBM has come out on top of IFI Claims Patent Services' annual rankings of the world's top 50 US utility patent holders, with a record 6,180 patents. That's up five percent from 2010, though there are several contenders hot on its heels. Second-place Samsung saw an eight percent spike in its holdings, while Canon overtook Microsoft for third place, on the strength of an eleven percent year-on surge. Qualcomm, meanwhile, was among the biggest gainers, with a full 40 percent increase, along with RIM, which enjoyed 38 percent growth. Perhaps the biggest winner? The continent of Asia, where a full 25 of the top 50 companies are based. More numbers for your enjoyment after the break.
Behind Amazon's Silk browser lurks a really fast supercomputer
We were hardly shocked to see Fujitsu atop the most recent list of the world's fastest supercomputers, but perhaps more surprising is the fact that Amazon cracked the top 50, as well. Turns out, the company's Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) servers are powered by a Linux-based, 240-teraflop beast that boasts 17,024 cores, 66,000 GB of memory, and a ten gigabit Ethernet interconnect. That's good for 42nd place on Top 500's global rankings, and it's also good enough to power Silk, the browser you'll find on the Kindle Fire. But Amazon has a long way to go before catching up with the Fujitsu K, which recently cracked that vaunted ten petaflop barrier.
Google makes rich richer, poor poorer in search results
If you've been paying attention to the state of search as of late, you'll know that Google's between a proverbial rock and hard place right now. Some individuals and companies claim Mountain View's beloved search engine is losing to the spammers, squatters, scrapers and content farms by failing to weed them from the system -- though you can now do that on your own -- while others say it's squashing the little guy by unfairly downranking competitors in search results. We're not sure if either is truly the case, the company's made a mildly controversial move this week: it's tweaked the search algorithms to "reduce rankings for low-quality sites," and "provide better rankings for high-quality" ones. As ever, Mountain View's not talking about what that change mathematically entails, though it says about 11.8 percent of queries will be affected as a result. In short: some will be happy, some sad, some angry, and many won't notice at all.
Wings Over Atreia: Death of a legion
It happens. You might be trucking along, grinding your own business when BAM! Suddenly your /l chat is gone. What the... ? Yup, your legion just disbanded. Or perhaps the leader just disappears offline for an extended period of time. Could be that the leadership drives members away by its actions (or inaction). So the death knell tolls. With reasons ranging from real life (work, family) to game mechanics (boredom, frustration) to the most frequent culprit, drama (cyber-relationships gone bad, over-inflated egos, power-hungry control freaks), legions fold. It is a fact of gaming -- though not always a negative one. But in Aion, where reputation, ranking, and Abyss contribution are significant factors to players, the death of a legion can have more consequences than just missing a chat channel. If you are lucky and have forewarning, you can plan ahead to minimize the impact on your gaming experience. If your legion has folded -- or is about to -- what are your options? Let's drop our wings and dive past the cut to explore some available paths to take when this fact of e-life happens.
