Take a Moment of Silence for Google’s Discontinued

Popular Android device is officially defunctIt took some time before Android tablets hit their stride. In the beginning, they were expensive, as manufacturers tried to compete with Apple’s iPad on price, which negated one of the primary benefits of Android — it’s an open source platform and products should be cheaper than their proprietary counterparts. It took Amazon’s Kindle Fire (now just Fire) line to drive the point home, though it was Google’s Nexus 7 that finally got things right. Fast forward to today and Google’s Nexus 7 is sadly discontinued.

Read on, source: Take a Moment of Silence for Google’s Discontinued Nexus 7 Tablet | Maximum PC

Debian ships new ‘Jessie’ release with systemd AND sysvinit

The Debian project is touting new ports for ARM and POWER architectures, a bunch of software updates, an upgraded Gnome desktop and better security in its just-unleashed Jessie release.However, El Reg fully expects that the switch to systemd as the default init system will divert at least some attention from the release.Promising that systemd provides “advanced monitoring, logging, and service management capabilities”, Jessie – the upgrade to Wheezy – still lets the greaybeards’ favourite, sysvinit, co-exist with the new init system.After a brief affair with Xfce, Jessie sees Debian return to the Gnome fold, using version 3.14 of the venerable desktop as its default. The MATE and Cinnamon desktops are also available, or users can opt for Xcfe (version 4.10) if they prefer.

Read on, source: Debian ships new ‘Jessie’ release with systemd AND sysvinit • The Register

Steely wonder? Samsung Galaxy S6

Review I’ve found life is so much easier if one sticks to three simple rules. Never drive a Volvo car, never buy a Samsung phone, and always grind your own coffee. However, I might have to rethink one of those – and it isn’t the coffee.Samsung’s Galaxy S6 flagship handsetSamsung can’t do anything without a cacophonous bang, whether the product is good, bad or indifferent. Yet in a sober assessment, Samsung’s new Galaxy S6 is the best phone you can get today that isn’t an iPhone, and is actually preferable to an iPhone on several counts of quality and convenience.I’ve spent a few days with the S6, and a few minutes with the curved glass S6 Edge, which means it only gets a footnote here. In both cases, every part of the flagship has received some long overdue TLC. The S6’s style unabashedly apes the iPhone, with mixed results.

Read on, source: Steely wonder? It’s blind to 4G and needs armour: Samsung Galaxy S6 • The Register

Nepal quake survivors draw support from Apple, Google, Facebook

Apple, Google, Facebook and Twitter are pitching in to help survivors of the catastrophic Nepal earthquake that occurred over the weekend.Apple has launched a partnership with the American Red Cross, asking iTunes users to donate money through its iTunes Store for the relief efforts. Apple says that 100 percent of the donations will be made to the American Red Cross in its ongoing efforts to help survivors. Twitter is also helping to raise funds through not-for-profit organizations, including UNICEF.

Read on, source: Nepal quake survivors draw support from Apple, Google, Facebook and others – CNET