Tesco's free Clubcard TV service has some right old tosh

Tesco's new Clubcard TV gives members of its loyalty card scheme a Netflix-style streaming TV service for absolutely free. Unfortunately, instead of the sexy, cerebral delights of House of Cards, you'll be watching ancient repeats ofTwo Pints of Lager and Alistair McGowan's Big Impression.

Tesco Value Clubcard TV boasts "hours of BBC Worldwide content" -- hours! -- such as the one-joke Goodness Gracious Me, grim children's borefests Stig of the Dump and The Secret Garden, and a bunch of cooking shows featuring angry middle-aged men.

It's not all worthless 90s bilge -- there are some movies, such as Shawshank Redemption,Ocean's Eleven and, er, that's it. Brilliantly, on the signup page it advertises "plenty of choice". Plenty. Not "endless" or "staggering" or "mind-blowing". Just sufficient choice. Not too much.

While it is completely free, you do have to sit through ads. In one episode of Cornish medical snoozer Doc Martin, I had two ads at the beginning and two breaks with three ads each. They're not skippable, and like a lot of online services you see the same ads over and over again. In Ocean's Eleven there were four breaks of three ads each. The same three ads.

The service is currently in beta, although that doesn't seem to mean anything -- anyone can sign up, as long as you have a free Tesco Clubcard. Maybe it just means "we might stop doing this if no one uses it".

Clubcard TV launched for lucky Tesco employees in February and is now open to all. It's run by online rental service Blinkbox, which in turn is owned by Tesco. Blinkbox already provides free online versions of DVDs and Blu-rays you buy in the supermarket, and this meagre offering seems to be another incremental step in Tesco's masterplan of everyone, everywhere buying everything from it. For ever.

Alternatives include Lovefilm at £5 per month, Netflix at £6 per month and the BBC iPlayer for absolutely nothing, not even a licence fee.

[Source: CNET]

Are iTunes Links Being Downranked by Google?

Searching for direct links is a popular way to locate apps, but it appears that Apple's App Store links are being downranked by Google. As TechCrunch points out, a search for "Whatsapp iTunes" or "Whatsapp iPhone" would normally rank the target URL high on the search results page, but that doesn't seem to be the case any longer. 

Searching for Whatsapp's iTunes link with those aforementioned phrases does not return an iTunes URL on the first page of results, and the same goes for many other popular apps like Facebook and Twitter for iOS. Even Apple's own Keynote and Numbers apps do not show up on the first page of results with search terms like "Keynote iTunes."

When searching for "Numbers iPhone," in fact, the iTunes link does not show up until the eighth page of search results. The results can vary slightly depending on whether one is logged in or out of Google, but for affected apps, the links remain low in the rankings. 

Not all apps appear to be suffering from the search bug. For example, a search for “Temple Run: Oz iPhone” returns a top ranked iTunes link, as does a similar search for Minecraft: Pocket Edition. 

Both TechCrunch and The Next Web have gone through several other examples of apps that appear to be suffering from downranked search results. There's no specific workaround for the search result mystery, but as noted by TechCrunch, adding "iTunes" to queries usually works to provide the proper links, though as seen above, that's not always the case.

For most apps, adding "iTunes" works to deliver the iTunes URL results, whether logged in or out. It's the other types of queries that are difficult, and it's difficult to pinpoint an exact time when these changes began. Because Google is constantly refining its algorithms, and many users are on Google while logged in, tweaks to search rankings are rarely spotted immediately, unless it's a case where a URL has been banned entirely, whether or purpose or by accident.

According to AppsFire co-founder Ouriel Ohayon, the search issue began recently, possibly just today. While Google has been contacted, the company has yet to issue a response on the odd search results. 

Update: A Google spokesperson issued the following statement to The Verge: "We've been having some issues fetching pages from the iTunes web servers, and as a result some people may have had problems finding iTunes apps in search easily. We're working with the team there to ensure search users can find what they're looking for."

[Source: MacRumors]

When Technology and Fashion Collide

Both fashion and technology are linked in that they rely on ingenuity and innovation. As long-term trends emerge in fashion, many of them rely on advances in technology, both in terms of the customer’s taste and the elements of the pieces themselves. Let’s take a closer look at how fashion and technology intertwine.

Designer iPhone Cases

Because innovations in technology are expensive to fund, having the latest gadget has always been associated with status and wealth. This trend is also apparent in fashion, and many people choose to display their wealth in the form of clothing. But items like smartphones, though expensive, are becoming more and more widespread and are losing their association with extreme wealth. If everybody has a fancy smartphone, then these items lose their ability to stand alone as a fashion item.

Therefore, designers swooped in with pricey iPhone cases to raise the bar even further, as if to help buyers proclaim that not only can they afford an expensive phone, but they can also afford to cover it with an equally pricey case. In fact, Mischa Barton just released her newest iPhone case that carries a retail value of 302,985 USD! That would certainly be a way to express your individuality on the back of your ubiquitous iPhone.

Solar-Power Bikinis

With the growing interest in harnessing the sun for energy, some well-known designers are experimenting with using fabric that contains solar cells. For example, Andrew Schneider has designed a bikini that comes with a plug that you can use to plug in your phone while you work on your tan. That way, you can turn your day at the beach into a way to charge your devices in a pinch.

An Environmentally Responsive Fabric

Designers are also utilizing the public’s growing interest in climate change and environmental impact. One interesting example is the climate dress by Diffus, which consists of many tiny lights and serves to measure air quality. If sensors in the dress detect elevated levels of pollution in the air, the lights respond by lighting up, thereby warning others of toxins in the air. This piece would certainly make a bold statement on the Red Carpet if the wearer wished to raise awareness about environmental degradation.

Recycled Materials

With advances in recycling coupled with concerns about the sustainability of producing new materials, it’s now possible to find the latest fashions made of recycled materials. SegraSegra, for example, uses recycled bicycle tire tubes to make pleather jackets. Other designers are experimenting with creating eveningwear out of recycled materials. Imagine being able to shop for cocktail dresses, suits and fashionable gilets made out of things we used to throw away, and have them be seen as haute couture.

These are just a few of the remarkable advances that have occurred due to the collision of fashion and technology. It will certainly be interesting to see other developments in these two fields.

Sony Computer Entertainment to fuse Asian and Japanese units into one

As part of recent restructuring and cost-cutting efforts, Sony's Computer Entertainment (SCE) division will merge its Asian and Japanese operations into a single entity. The company said that it would result in a new management unit, with SCE Japan president Hiroshi Kawano taking the helm and the Asian unit's ex-chief, Hiroyuki Oda becoming his deputy. Departments like marketing and finance will also merge in an effort to save cash, as the company hopes to stanch all the recent bleeding and try to make its fiscal 2012 a throwback to the glory days.

[Source: Engadget]

Vine now lets you embed your 6-second clips on Websites

Viners rejoice -- you can now embed your 6-second mini-movie masterpieces on Websites. The Twitter-owned service has just added the functionality, itannounced in a blog post.

If you want to give your movies a home on a site, you'll just have to enter some simple code. You can choose from three sizes: 320px, 480px, or 600px. Choosing the "simple" option will embed just the video, while the "postcard" one will retain the clip's original format, complete with text description and location.

Or you can embed your clip using the iOS app, which has just been updated to include the feature. Tap the ellipses in the bottom-right corner, then "Share this post", then "Embed". It might not work on all sites though, so best check before you start shouting about it too much.

Head to our US cousins' site and you'll see our very own Ken German's brief retrospective of old mobile phones. It's like a sped-up shuffle down memory lane.

Vine launched a couple of months ago, but is still only for iOS. Hopefully us Android users will get a version soon. It's been a massive hit though, with 6-second clips springing up everywhere. The new Wolverine film even had its very own trailer on the service. At least it didn't give away the whole story, like a lot of trailers.

If you fancy seeing what people are making vids of, a site called Vinepeek will give you a glimpse. It's pretty addictive viewing, though I don't want to be held responsible if anyone posts anything not safe for work. Viewer discretion is advised, as they used to say at the start ofWorld's Scariest Police Chases.

[Source: CNET]

Google’s Unified Messaging Service Will Work Across Five Platforms

A new report from Droid-Life details Google’s upcoming Babble—or Babel, sources say— messaging service, and how it’ll unify across five different platforms. The platform is allegedly being tested internally by Google across Android, iOS, Chrome, Google+ and Gmail, and willsync across all five seamlessly in a conversation-based UI. If ever there was one, this is Google’s answer to BBM and iMessage.

Google is allegedly going to push these bullet points when the service officially launches (date is still unknown):

• Access the same conversation list from anywhere
• A new, conversation-based UI
• Advanced group conversations
• Ability to send pictures
• Improved notifications across devices

If this new Babel service turns out to be legit, I’m already a fan. We currently use a few different methods to communicate at work, and it’ll be nice to have something that unifies across five separate platforms. Of course, this is still a rumor at this point, but many of them hammer around the same main points. If this is something Google has planned for I/O in May, we don’t have too much longer to wait.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

Facebook gets green light to build its second campus at California headquarters

Seems as if building new, fancy properties is quickly becoming the norm within the tech sector. Following in both Apple and Google's spacious footsteps, Facebook too will be looking to amplify its California-based headquarters -- and now it's received the OK from Menlo Park authorities to commence turning Frank Gehry's design vision into a reality. The second campus itself is set to boast nearly 434,000 square feet in total and be built across 22 acres, which will be plenty of space to house anything from a rooftop park to an underground tunnel which leads to Facebook's existent abode. As for city council members, they seem to be rather pleased by Zuck's proposed construction, with one Kirsten Keith expressing how she "feels very lucky that we'll have a Frank Gehry building here." Well then, cheers all around.

[Source: Engadget]

Find My Friends update allows fine tuning

Find My Friends has received a small, but important update. Version 2.1 of Apple's friend-location software introduces a new UI to search and set location-based notifications. Paranoid that your child is skipping school? Use the UI to look for your child's school and get alerted if he leaves before he should.

The Next Web has played around with the release and notes that the new UI allows you to set an exact distance from a location, so it's more useful for doing things such as locating someone a short distance away from you. Tap and drag on the location to set the parameters desired.

[Source: TUAW]

Amazon to Acquire Goodreads, A Social Network for Bookworms

Amazon announced on Thursday its intentions to acquire Goodreads, a popular socialnetwork in the literary world. Neither Amazon nor Goodreads disclosed the terms of the agreement, so it’s unclear what the selling price was, although Goodreads will keep its headquarters in San Francisco. The social network has upwards of 16 million users who have created more than 30,000 book clubs.

“Amazon and Goodreads share a passion for reinventing reading,” Amazon Vice President of Kindle Content Russ Grandinetti said. “Goodreads has helped change how we discover and discuss books and, with Kindle, Amazon has helped expand reading around the world. In addition, both Amazon and Goodreads have helped thousands of authors reach a wider audience and make a better living at their craft. Together we intend to build many new ways to delight readers and authors alike.”

We assume that last line means that Amazon will embed an easy way to interact with fellow Goodreads members into its Kindle software.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

Google Glass will reportedly be built in America, at least initially

That $1,500 price tag for Google Glass Explorer Edition? Perhaps it makes a bit more sense considering that US labor will be used to manufacturer it. According to unnamed sources cited by Financial Times, the first run of production-quality Glass headsets will be built in Santa Clara, California. The reason? A lot is riding on the quality of Glass, and it's likely that Google just wants to keep a close eye on every single prototype that leaves the lab. In fact, it's not exactly uncommon -- the outfit did the same for its ill-fated Nexus Q, and Apple is building some of its iMacs here in the states as well.

It's also important to note that the initial batch of Glass headsets won't be high yield, so there's little reason for Google to look overseas with so few units slated for production. Whether or not the lines in NorCal will continue to hum once these things hit critical mass remains to be seen, but it is interesting that Hon Hai Precision (read: Foxconn) will reportedly manage the facility that cranks 'em out.

[Source: Engadget]

BBC Two HD launches today, Freeview HD reaches 3.5 million

BBC Two HD launched today, bringing high-definition versions of Auntie's second-best programmes to millions of high-def homes.

BBC 2 shows to be broadcast in extra-crisp detail include The Great British Bake Off, Later... with Jools Holland, and, of course, Top Gear.

Previously, BBC HD showed highlights of BBC shows from across the Beeb board. But BBC Two HD is just the same as BBC Two only with more pixels stuffed into Jeremy Clarkson's increasingly gravity stretched face.

By my reckoning, that means only BBC One and BBC Two shows will be broadcast in high def, which means no more HD for programmes that live on BBC Three or other BBC channels.

From today, BBC Two HD is on channel 102 of your Freeview box, directly replacing the previous BBC HD channel. It's also in the same place on other TV services, except Sky, where it's been shunted to channel 142 to sit next to BBC One HD.

The BBC is also experimenting with its HD channels. For example, the 50th anniversary episode of Doctor Who will be broadcast in 3D on the HD channel on Saturday 23 November.

Freeview reckons the appetite for high definition is large and growing: Freeview HD is now in the main television in 3.5m living rooms, the second biggest HD service after Sky+ HD. Freeview hopes to see another ten high definition channels in the coming year.

[Source: CNET]

'If I had Glass' winners selected by Google, invites due out in coming days

Even though they're still priced at a cool $1500 plus tax, it seems there's a whole lot of people who really want to get hold of Google Glass. The 'If I had Glass' competition offered 8,000 eager early adopters a chance to get in on the ground floor, and now those lucky thousands have been chosen. 

The Explorer Program is only for individuals, so companies such as JetBlue that came up with pretty awesome looking suggestions will have to wait it out for now. But, in the coming days the lucky individuals that have been chosen to hand over their money for Glass will be notified of their success. Google says that the response has been 'enthusiastic.' 

So, if you entered, and you win, be sure to let us know. We just hope that LeVar Burton was one of them.

[Source: AndroidCentral]