Why the Google reader service is shutting down soon

The Google Reader users are habituated to bookmark their sites. Some others went ahead and used to subscribe their sites and updating them by using Emails. Out of all services, Google Reader service is very useful. Through the Gmail account, a Google reader can obtain whatever information required and by adding the information to their sites and selecting URLs and can obtain old posts from here. Therefore the Google network is providing an astonished facility to the users. This network has been functioning successfully since many years. But, due to some unavoidable reasons the Google shutting down this reader facility and this announcement is a shock to the users.

What are the Reasons?

In the Google Reader Blog post, the date of shutting down was announced as July,1^st, 2013. As the Google Reader is retiring from the Global Internet by showing two reasons, which are very simple.

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  Usage of Google reader has declined and as a company we are pouring all of our energy into fewer products.
  
  


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  We think that kind of focus will make for a better user experience.
  
  

This announcement was published in the month of March. It is also advised the users to shift into better alternative services with in three months. It is also brought a new Service as Google Takeout service in order to collect the backup of the data deposited in Google reader website. Therefore with this new service the data preserved in not only in Google reader but also in Google account the entire data in Bloggers, Google+, Mails, Google drive data, Picasa Data, Youtube, etc can be collected.

What are the alternatives?

There are so many alternative websites came into existence in the place of Google reader. Some of them are

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  Feedly – It is very good web based application available also iOs and android application
  
  


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  Bloglines - Bloglines is the fastest way to find, track and vote on your favorite websites and blogs in real-time
  
  


• 
  
  Feedspot - Feedspot is the best RSS Reader with social features. It's Free
  
  


• 
  
  Old Reader (Minimalistic) : It's the ultimate RSS reader. Just like the old Google reader, only better. Import your subscriptions in one click,
  
  


• 
  
  News Blur (Open source) : NewsBlur is a personal news reader bringing people together to talk about the world. Web. iPad & iPhone. Android. Sign in. First.
  
  


• 
  
  RSS Bandit (You will get updates at your desktop with this application): A free desktop news aggregator for Windows built on the .NET Framework.
  
  

Conclusion:

The Google reader service is going to be shutdown on 1^st July, 2013. So every user should backup the data preserved in their Reader services and should changes into alternative service as soon as possible.

Do not forget to share this post on Social Media like Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest friends.

Windows 8 To Windows 8.1 Upgrade Will Be Free, Confirms Microsoft

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In a blog post on the official Windows blog, Microsoft today confirmed that Windows 8.1 will be the final name of codenamed Windows Blue update. The blog post also confirmed that Windows 8.1 will be available as a free update to existing Windows 8 and Windows RT users. According to the official blog, Windows 8.1 [...]

Does The Internet Need A ‘Delete’ Button? [You Told Us]

The Internet isn’t perfect. In fact, it’s far from it. For various reasons we may explore in a future We Ask You column, for every part of the Web we’re thankful for there is an annoyance we have to put up in order to be good netizens. The biggest of these is arguably the lack of privacy which is a truly unfortunate part of the way we share information about ourselves and others online for all the world to see.

However careful you may be about what you share on the Web, there is always a chance you’re leaking information. Websites collect data about you, which is then used to present you with relevant adverts. Social networks store updates and comments you make, any of which could come back to haunt you later in life. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Which is why we decided to ask you for your views on this issue.

The Results

We asked you, Does The Internet Need A ‘Delete’ Button? The question was prompted by comments made by Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, who, while defending his company’s policies, declared we needed to have a debate about the lack of a ‘Delete’ button on the Internet now rather than later. The MakeUseOf readership delivered.

We received a healthy number of comments, and although this isn’t a discussion that can be neatly summed up in a few words, we can try to reach a consensus of sorts.

Most commenters accepted that while a ‘Delete’ button would be nice, it’s not feasible. The best we can ever hope for may be “something like a simple dashboard which shows all websites and services I am active on and lets me delete my identity and traces from selected web services,” as suggested by Harshit J. Even that may be wishful thinking.

A couple of people mentioned the usefulness of the Internet for future historians, who will need to see the data intact in order to make sense of how civilization looked at the start of the 21st century. But that wasn’t enough to convince people that we shouldn’t be the sole arbiters over the fate of our own personal data.

Comment Of The Week

We had great input from the likes of Rob H, BiG eViL, and Lisa Santika Onggrid, to name just a few. Comment Of The Week goes to dragonmouth, who, as well as the respect of myself and hopefully everybody reading this, receives 150 points to use for MakeUseOf Rewards.

While it might be nice to have, it is much too late for a “Delete” button. Pandora’s box has been opened and cannot be closed. There are too many entities in possesion of our data to even contemplate its complete deletion. Besides, each and every entity will argue very strongly for their right/need to retain the data. By saying “there are times when erasure [of data] is the right thing … and there are times when it is inappropriate.” Mr.Schmidt is already positioning himself to argue Google case for retention of any data in their possession.

“How do we decide?”

WE don’t decide. The owner of the data decides. Mr. Schmidt and his employers DO NOT have a say in the matter. Unless they are following the maxim that possession is 9/10ths of the law.

” We have to have that debate now.”

There is no debate, there is no “WE”. If, as the owner of the data, I decide to expunge it from the Internet, not Mr.Schmidt, not his employers, not the government have any say in it. Privacy is like being pregnant, either you are or you’re not, either we have privacy or we don’t. There is no partial privacy just as there is no partial pregnancy.

Of course, in the real world everybody wants to know everything about everybody. Whether it is vital for business interests, as in the case of Google, Amazon, etc., or for “national interests” as is the case with governments, we will never be allowed to expunge traces of ourselves from the Internet.

We liked this comment because it strongly argues the case for why a ‘Delete’ button is improbable (likely impossible) at this stage of the game. It also addresses Schmidt’s points directly, cutting through the notion that he might be working on our behalf rather than on the behalf of his company.

We will be asking a new question tomorrow, so please join us then. We Ask You is a weekly column dedicated to finding out the opinions of MakeUseOf readers. We ask you a question and you tell us what you think. The question is open-ended and is usually open to debate. Some questions will be purely opinion-based, while others will see you sharing tips and advice, or advocating tools and apps for your fellow MakeUseOf readers. This column is nothing without your input, all of which is valued.

Image Credit: Matt McGee

The post Does The Internet Need A ‘Delete’ Button? [You Told Us] appeared first on MakeUseOf.

How Should You Deal With Twitter Spammers?

Google OKRs

Rick Klau, who is now a partner at Google Ventures, gave an interesting talk about Google OKRs. "Objectives and Key Results" (OKRs) have been used by Google since 1999 and they're a great way to set ambitious goals and to measure how much you've achieved. Each Google employee has his own OKRs, each Google team has a few OKRs and there are some Google-wide OKRs that reflect the most important priorities of the company. All OKRs are public inside the company, so each employee knows what's going on.



There are yearly OKRs and there are quarterly OKRs. Usually there are no more than 5 objectives and each objective has a few key results that help you determine the progress. Key results have to be measurable. An example of objective is improving Gmail revenue and a key result could be adding a new ad format that doubles the CTR (click-through rate). At the end of the quarter, you can grade each key result and attribute a value from 0 to 1.0. Apparently, it's best when your average grade is somewhere between 0.6 and 0.7. If your grades are higher, the goals aren't ambitious enough.



"To make sure our products work seamlessly together across Google, we're focusing more on broader OKRs – big company goals that can only be achieved if everyone works together. For example, a recent OKR objective for our search team was to improve the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful, which restates and reiterates the company's mission statement. The key results underneath that objective included metrics and projects for the quarter, many of which span a number of teams, ensuring a well-coordinated push toward a shared goal. Having these shared goals also has the benefit of helping prevent the formation of silos – always a concern as companies grow," explains a Google Think Insights article.



Rick Klau joined Google from the FeedBurner acquisition and he worked on products like Blogger, Google Profiles and YouTube. The talk includes some examples of OKRs for Blogger. Back in 2008, the most important objective for Blogger was to improve revenue.

Add Images to Google Forms

You can now add images to Google Forms. Just click the "Insert" menu, select "Image" and upload the image you want to add. You can also select an image from Google Drive, Google+ Photos, take a snapshot, enter the URL or use Google Image Search to find the right image.

"Photos can be resized, centered, or swapped out for another photo with just a few simple clicks," informs Google. You can also enter an image title and a hover text.



It's another feature that makes Google Forms more useful, just like the new question types for date and time. Next up: rich-text editing.