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ICYMI: Google's face-policing API, Rage Rooms and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-380801{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-380801, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-380801{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-380801").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Google's new API for Android applications comes with face detection that can tell if you're smiling or not. Then there's the trend in Rage Rooms that looks like too much fun to keep to ourselves. And a hoax of an amazing prototype: A supposed adoption of Volkswagen technology birthed a stroller to follow you around, using collision sensors to avoid people or objects. This thing should really exist in some form, yes?
Google sets execution dates for Wave, Knol, Friend Connect and more
In what Google is calling its "off-season spring cleaning series," the mega company is finally setting some end dates for many of its lukewarm services, most notably the once-hyped Wave, Knol and Friend Connect. Sitting on Death Row for some time now, Mountain View has slowly phased out the less-than-successful products, most recently announcing that it would kill seven APIs including Translate and Video Search. The sweep is part of Google's VP of Product Management Bradley Horowitz' overall plan to "[do] less of throwing things against the wall," focusing instead on "doing fewer things well." Besides the aforementioned services to receive the axe, Google will also be putting an end to Bookmarks List, Gears, Search Timeline and its Renewable Energy Cheaper than Coal initiative. The company says the overhaul is part of the effort "to build a simpler, more intuitive, truly beautiful Google user experience" -- in other words, "it's not me... it's you." Check the source for more details.
MightyText pushes messages and incoming call alerts to your computer (hands-on)
Have you ever missed an extremely important phone call or text because you were too busy finishing those TPS reports on your personal computing machine? There's a Chrome add-on for that. We went hands-on with a new extension (and accompanying Android app) called MightyText, a free notification service launched today that syncs your phone's texts and calls to your computer in real-time. The idea is crazy simple, yet adds unyielding convenience: incoming SMS messages appear on your screen as a pop-up, giving you the option to read and reply to them without touching or even looking at the phone. The full extension will show each conversation thread in its entirety, as well as call logs. When sent from the computer, texts are still patched through from your phone number, so your colleagues will still see your messages coming through with your name on them. To make the service even more appealing, pop-ups alert you to incoming calls, so you can either hurry to find your phone or just send the caller a canned auto-text reply. It sounds like a great concept, but does it do the job? Head on past the break to learn our first impressions of the program.
Visualized: Google's periodic table of APIs
The world of Google APIs and developer tools can be a confusing one, but the company has now at least brought a bit of order to the chaos with its own take on the periodic table of the elements. As you can see above, Android occupies the top spot normally reserved for hydrogen in the actual periodic table, and the remaining APIs and developer products are all grouped into their appropriate categories -- and, of course, linked to their respective websites. Hit up the link below to check out the table in its interactive form.
