The new Google Maps

Windows Phone Ad Paints Apple and Samsung Fans as Buffoons

Microsoft is attempting to triangulate in the Apple-Samsung war with a new ad that presents itself as above the fray of their petty bickering.

The ad takes place during a wedding. As a nerdy guy steps up to photograph the event, an iPhone fan challenges him to remove “your enormous phone.”

“You mean the enormously awesome Galaxy?” another Samsung fan counters. “Search: ‘One trick pony,’” a middle-aged woman replies, speaking to Siri on her iPhone. “Aren’t you a little young to have an iPhone?” another Samsung fanboy retorts.

The scene soon erupts into a brawl. At the conclusion, a waiter and waitress observe the scene calmly as they clutch their Windows Phone-based Nokia Lumia 920s. “You think if they knew about the Nokia Lumia they’d stop fighting all the time?” the waiter asks. “I don’t know. I think they kind of like fighting.”

Though the ad seeks to differentiate itself from both Apple and Samsung, the background music and tone are strikingly similar to Samsung’s anti-Apple ads, including its 2012 Super Bowl spot. (This spot was directed by Roman Coppola, best know for the 2001 film CQ.)

At this point, Nokia is more of an underdog than Samsung was at the time. Nokia sold 5 million Lumias in the most-recent quarter vs. 37.4 million iPhones and Samsung shipped around 70 million smartphones in the calendar first quarter. Comparatively, in 2011, Samsung shipped some 94 million smartphones.

Waking Mars: This is a game, but it’s one of those games that’s also a trick because it makes you, ya know, learn stuff. And it’s so cool. Explore the Red Planet in the year 2097, when humans have finally made it on the surface and made contact with other life forms. £3.15

Pixlr Express: Screw Instagram—this app has upwards of 600 effects you can add to any of your pictures. It also includes simple editing tools like cropping, resizing, and other augmentations you need to make to your smartphone snaps even better. Free 

GoPro App: Have a GoPro? Now you can control it from your Android phone. You can check out your own videos as well as EXTREME CLIPS others have uploaded. Free

Ghostbusters: Paranormal Blast: Who doesn’t like Ghostbusters? Seriously, raise your digital hands so I can embarrass you. In this game, the ghosts come to your city, and you have to stave them off to keep your fellow citizens from suffering some serious hauntings. £1.24

Call of Duty Elite: If you are obsessed with Call of Duty, you need to have this app, which has just been updated for Black Ops II. You can track your stats from the game and hone your strategies. Free

(Source: gizmodo.co.uk)

Google has come out with Chrome Remote Desktop, click the link and download it now!

Despite Google’s best efforts to continually roll out new features and updates, it can’t add everything. This is where last April’s Map Maker comes in and it’s been given a design refresh in line with the rest of Google’s portfolio. The update also attempts to make the interface easier for first-timers, with a brief tutorial page explaining all the tools on offer. You can now draw in new roads, bike trails and other local features in over 180 countries and once approved — there is a moderation system in place — they’ll appear integrated into this alternate universe Google map. Wannabe cartographers can check the video intro after the break or get involved at the source link below.

(Source: Engadget)