Tag Archives: rip

PicPlz shutting down permanently on July 3rd, all photos to be deleted pre-fireworks

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PicPlz shutting down permanently on July 3rd, all photos to be deleted

Already prepping to share oodles of horribly blurry and underexposed Independence Day photos via PicPlz? Go ahead and burst your own bubble, bub. The aforesaid photo sharing app / site has decided to throw in the towel, with a brief blurb posted on its site today describing that July 3rd will be its final day of operation. To quote:

"On July 3, 2012, picplz will shut down permanently and all photos and data will be deleted. We have provided download links for existing users to save their photos. Thank you for your support of picplz and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you."

Users are encouraged to login prior to that day in order to download their photos, including those ones of you shooting Instagram and Facebook Camera in the face. Violence isn't cool, but who are we judge how your grieve?

Continue reading PicPlz shutting down permanently on July 3rd, all photos to be deleted pre-fireworks

PicPlz shutting down permanently on July 3rd, all photos to be deleted pre-fireworks originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 02 Jun 2012 20:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Wave reaches zero amplitude

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Google Wave reaches zero amplitude

We knew it was coming, but alas, the loss of Google Wave hits us anew now that the execution date has finally come. To say we fully grokked this platform would be untrue, but as we dug through its history to gather our thoughts, we realized what a misunderstood creature Wave really was. Released in 2009 with great fanfare and no shortage of Firefly references, the program meant well with its collaboration-friendly interface, emphasis on multimedia sharing and raft of third-party extensions such as real-time Swedish Chef translation. But while its heart was in the right place, the service sacrificed accessibility for intrigue, a distinct online identity for an early adopter sensibility. Thus, after the invite-only mystique wore off and talk of a Wave app store began to sound downright foolish, the program's future looked anything but rosy. But even a product this short-lived can have a legacy: in Wave's case, it could be making Google Plus seem downright approachable by comparison. And though this may be little consolation to those hardcore wavers -- few and far between as they may be -- the project's spirit will live on in the equally perplexing Apache Wave. RIP, Google Wave, we really hardly knew you.

Google Wave reaches zero amplitude originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chumby halts hardware sales, long-term support looking mighty unlikely

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dead chumby

"The site is closed temporarily." Never a good sign, indeed, and particularly not when it's plastered across Chumby's own webstore. For over two days now, that's the message given to anyone attempting to buy hardware from the company, and it looks as if the Chumby we knew may be counting down its final days. A scrappy upstart attempting to bring its Chumby OS to the masses via injections into larger OEMs, the outfit saw little to no uptake across a wide variety of products; Sony nixed the Dash earlier this year, and Insignia turned its back quite some time ago. To be fair, Chumby had stopped manufacturing its own branded hardware in 2011, with the outfit's Duane Maxwell confirming the outright death of Chumby's store in a forum posting today. According to him, there was "no point in keeping the store around once inventory was exhausted," though hardcore loyalists can still snag a NeTV from adafruit.

Other forum members have noted that all support emails now seem to be headed into the Great Beyond, and while the actual network that Chumby OS relies on remains alive at the moment, there's no guarantee it'll last. Interestingly, at least two individuals instrumental in the building of Chumby are now working at Media Navi -- both Alison Fay and Michael Coleman have moved Chumby-related job listings to "Past" in their LinkedIn profiles. We'll be reporting more as we get it, but in the meanwhile, we'd recommend giving your favorite Chum a warm hug. His / her heart may not be beating for too much longer.

[Thanks, Jonathan]

Chumby halts hardware sales, long-term support looking mighty unlikely originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Apr 2012 20:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceChumby Store, Chumby forums (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments

Commodore founder Jack Tramiel passes away at age 83

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Commodore founder Jack TramielTerribly sad news from the family of Jack Tramiel today. The Polish-born businessman is perhaps best known in the technology universe for his founding of Commodore International, the company responsible for the Commodore 64, 128, Amiga, etc. Tramiel's story is an inspiring one; he was born into a Jewish family, and during World War II, was sent to Auschwitz. He was rescued in April of 1945, and some 39 years later he purchased Atari Inc.'s Consumer division and formed the Atari Corporation that is so well recognized in gaming lore. As first reported by Forbes, Martin Goldberg -- a writer working on a book about the Atari brand and the early days of video games and computing with Atari Museum founder Curt Vendel -- had this to say: "Jack Tramiel was an immense influence in the consumer electronics and computing industries. A name once uttered in the same vein as Steve Jobs is today, his journey from concentration camp survivor to captain of industry is the stuff of legends." Tramiel leaves behind his wife, three sons and their extended families.

Commodore founder Jack Tramiel passes away at age 83 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Apr 2012 15:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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