Also, Thom Yorke sells torrents, the end of PlayStation Home, and BendGate continues into a second week.
Ello Will Charge You For Features
http://youtu.be/0Jc6Knh41Z8
Ello, the newest social network on the block, has been getting a lot of attention over the past couple of weeks. We have written an introduction to Ello, and various other publications have talked it up as a potential Facebook killer. Yes, another one.
The biggest reason Ello is getting so much attention is its total lack of advertising. This is a refreshing change from the approach favored by the likes of Facebook and Twitter, which both use your data to deliver relevant advertisements. However, Ello still has to pay the bills somehow.
Ello is a business, and one that has already taken $435,000 in funding from a venture capital firm. And when that money runs out, Ello will need more money to stay afloat. The answer is, of course, to charge users for various features. So it looks likely that while Ello will be free to use in its most basic form, anyone wishing to use additional features will be asked to pay a small fee for doing so.
Fortune claims this freemium model will result in one-time fees of $2 for such features as the ability to manage multiple accounts. Such a business model may seem rather obvious to some, but it's an important element to remember while watching Ello grow on the back of positive press coverage.
Yahoo Directory Is Closing Down
http://youtu.be/qCPeGIQlTGo
Yahoo is shutting down Yahoo Directory, with a death notice stating it will disappear for good on Dec. 31, 2014. While it's unlikely many people still use Yahoo Directory given the incredible power of search engines such as Google and Bing, it's rather sad to see this Internet relic disappear. After all, Yahoo Directory was the core component of Yahoo for many years.
Yahoo Directory is, as the name suggests, a directory of websites hand-sorted into various categories. It was once the best way of finding new content on the Web, but the world has moved on, and Yahoo is having to move on with it. Do you have fond memories of browsing Yahoo Directory? If so, let us know in the comments below.
Thom Yorke Launches Paygated BitTorrent Bundle
Thom Yorke's album is excellent "I am a dummy who stays up til 4 just because" music.
— Craig Jenkins (@CraigSJ) September 29, 2014
BitTorrent has added a new paygate element to BitTorrent Bundle, and persuaded Thom Yorke from Radiohead to launch it. BitTorrent Bundle allows artists to offer their content direct to fans, but with the paygate option, they no longer have to give it away for free.
Thom Yorke's new solo album, Tomorrow's Modern Boxes, is the first paygated BitTorrent Bundle, with fans being charged $6 to download it. Payments can be made via a credit card or PayPal, with BitTorrent taking a 10 percent cut of the proceeds. Therefore, this offers artists a new way of selling directly to fans, and BitTorrent a new, potentially lucrative, revenue stream.
Sony Kills PlayStation Home
http://youtu.be/8uE3w02WVo4
Sony is killing PlayStation Home completely, with the virtual world shutting its doors on March 31, 2015. PlayStation Home opened its doors in December 2008, and has undergone several overhauls since then. It started out as a Second Life clone, morphed into a social networking hub, and eventually became the home of promotional mini-games.
Last month, it was announced PlayStation Home is being shut in Asia, and Sony has now confirmed the closure is worldwide. New content will be published until Nov. 12, with Sony pushing out freebies to all users as a thank-you-and-goodbye. There are sadly no plans to launch anything similar on the PS4.
iPhone 6 Plus Less Bendy Than Thought
http://youtu.be/Y0-3fIs2jQs
The Internet has been having a field day mocking Apple over allegations the iPhone 6 Plus bends a little too easily. So much so we were able to compile a list of the best tweets trolling Apple over BendGate. However, Apple has already stated only nine people have actually complained of bending iPhones, and Consumer Reports has now tested the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus against its competitors.
The test suggests the HTC One (M8) is more prone to bending and breaking under pressure than the new iPhones. And the iPhone 6 Plus actually performed better than the regular iPhone 6. However, the LG G3, the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, and even the humble iPhone 5 all took more punishment than either of the new Apple offerings. Perhaps our own James Bruce was correct when, during Technophilia 132, he blamed the users themselves rather than any inherent design flaw.
Conan O'Brien Reveals iPhone Euphemisms
http://youtu.be/MHEmO-kRCSs
And finally, Conan O'Brien never misses an opportunity to poke fun at the latest technology, and the iPhone 6 is no exception. This skit is framed as if it's a new ad from Samsung, but even Samsung wouldn't stoop so low as describing one of its handsets as "a raging phoner." Or would it?
Your Views On Today’s Tech News
Are you happy to pay for Ello if it means no advertising? Do you have fond memories of Yahoo Directory? Are you sad to see PlayStation Home being killed off?
Let us know your thoughts on the tech news of the day by posting to the comments section below. Because a healthy discussion is always welcome.