Instagram and Flipboard coming to Windows Phone 8 soon

Popular services are slowly making their way into the Microsoft mobile ecosystem with the impending arrival Instagram and Flipboard to the Windows Phone 8 platform. Announced at Nokia World, Kevin Systrom, Instagram CEO and co-founder, said in a statement the photo and video sharing app will make its way to the operating system in the “coming weeks.” Meanwhile, Flipboard will first land on the Lumia 2520, the company’s Windows RT tablet, before it is brought to other Windows Phone devices. 

Google Project Shield introduces free DDoS protection

Google announced a new project designed to help organizations protect their sites against Distributed Denial of Service attacks. Project Shield is invite-only at the moment and available to “trusted testers.”

The service leverages a firm’s infrastructure to protect the sites. It is meant to guard free expression on the internet and invites webmasters of human rights websites, elections-related sites, and independent news outfits to sign up.  Project Shield is currently free and Google will inform users through a 30-day notice if there are any pricing changes.

Facebook rolls out official Windows 8.1 app

Facebook has unveiled its official Windows 8.1 application in time for the recent release of the operating system upgrade. It has all the features you’d expect from a Facebook app but with a few Windows functionalities. It has Share Charm support, letting you attach the photo you’re viewing on Facebook as an email attachment. It also has search support and Snap Views but only up to 40 percent of the app window.

Panasonic launches tiniest Micro Four Thirds camera to date

At around 98.5 x 54.9 x 30.4mm and smaller than the Sony RX100, the Panasonic Lumix GM1 is considered the smallest Micro Four Thirds camera to date. Tiny doesn’t mean feature-less though. The Lumix GM1 is equipped with a 16-megapixel sensor, 3-inch touchscreen, pop-up flash, built-in Wi-Fi, and a retro-inspired look similar to the Lumix GX7.

Panasonic created new kit lens for the compact shooter: a collapsible 12-32mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens.  The company also plans to release a Leica Summilux-branded 15mm f/1.7 lens. The GM1 is priced at US$749.99 but no word on its release date at the moment.