PCBLOCKTECH

Facebook Vs. Google: The Battle For Internet Dominance

2011-12-30T21:05:00.000-08:00

Google and Facebook will continue to duke it out over the top spot in the display ad market. Mark Zuckerberg’s social network remains one of the main competitive risks to Google’s absolute dominance of the Internet.

“Facebook has posed serious problems for Google, most notably by walling off the social network’s content from Google’s search engine,” explained Baird’s equity research analysts in a note on Friday.

The problem, for Google, is that its business model relies on its ability to “index the web.” Thus, when Facebook walls-off its site, it’s essentially blocking a significant, and growing, portion of the web. “Google’s index has been faced with an ever-increasing blind spot for search,” wrote the analysts.

Google remains the undisputed king of the Internet. It clearly dominates search advertising, with over 65% of the U.S. market and more than 50% of the global market (Yahoo has 16% share in the U.S. while Microsoft’s Bing has been growing fast and now accounts for 14%). It has one of the fastest growing mobile operating systems, Android, where its share is even larger than in PCs and growing faster than Apple’s iOS. In 2012, Google will rake in more than $36 billion in revenue.

But Facebook is creeping up. Mark Zuckerberg’s social network has risen to become the second most important online property, behind Google. Facebook reaches about 43% of the web over the last three months, according to Alexa, and counts with more than 5% of global page views. It makes the difference in engagement, though: users spend an average of 24 minutes and 45 seconds on Facebook, compared with 11 minutes and 52 seconds on Google.

Facebook’s social networking model creates a host of problems for Google. The social network counts with more than 750 million users, 50% of which log on daily. This translates to about 700 billion minutes of usage per month, or about 16 hours per user, with about 70% of those coming from outside the U.S., according to Baird’s analysts.

This directly undermines Google’s communication tools, particularly Gmail, both in its chat and e-mail forms. While the company founded by Sergey Brin and Larry Page has launched its own social network, Google+, a report by Enders Analysis from December 19 suggests it will “remain niche.”

Furthermore, Facebook could jeopardize Google’s online dominance by developing its own search capabilities. Currently, Facebook’s search capacities are very limited, but “theoretically [Facebook could] enter the market by first creating a vertical search engine focused on social, and then broadening the scope to encompass more generic search capabilities,” explained Baird’s research analysts. Thus, Facebook would count with a differentiated search product aided by the “valuable social signals [that] could be used to improve search relevance.”

Google seems set to continue to grow its businesses in 2012 and beyond, particularly given its dominant position. There is little doubt that Google will loosen its hold on its highly profitable search business in the medium-term, but it definitely faces a powerful challenger with Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook. The social network is one of the largest display players, and, sitting on the number two spot of the web, has the opportunity to eat into Google’s formidable share. The battle for Internet dominance promises to be an interesting one.

Written by Agustino Fontevecchia

Culled from Forbes

Facebook Messenger for Windows 7 is now Official

2011-12-30T20:55:00.000-08:00

Facebook has done it’s darndest to take over your digital life. The massively popular social network has your photos, videos, a news feed, apps and games and even instant messaging. Seeking further ubiquity, Facebook is bringing its Facebook Messenger IM feature to Windows 7 as a desktop download.

While Facebook Messenger may play second fiddle to chat services such as Google’s Gchat, Facebook Messenger has amassed a horde of dedicated users — not to mention the millions of people that use Facebook every day.

Of course, the software isn’t entirely surprising. Facebook Messenger for Windows 7 was recently leaked to the interwebs as a private, unauthorized download. Facebook is fighting fire with fire by releasing an official version of the download which you can get here through a direct download. Facebook Messenger has been available as a mobile app for some time but this is the first (official) release for a Windows desktop.

The Windows app looks almost identical to the chat bar on Facebook.com. Users can permanently dock the chat bar on their home screen or access chat via the Windows system tray.

Users get notifications when friends want to chat. Friend activity is also shown, however clicking on these items will take you to a web browser. The same goes for messages in your Facebook inbox.

The chat bar is meant as a chat client and as such many of Facebook‘s features are disabled. For example, you can accept pending friend requests but if you want to search for new friends or check profiles you’ll need to go to Facebook.com. Facebook says the chat bar is a trial application so expect updates and changes (it is Facebook, after all).

The download currently doesn’t support video or voice calling though these features will have to be added if Facebook wants to stay competitive. Does Facebook Messenger have legs? Let us know your thoughts below.

Written by Zachary Sniderman

Culled from Mashable.

HipHopStardom.com VideoTube Site, the new WorldStarHipHop?

2011-12-29T00:39:00.000-08:00

HipHopStardom.com is a new and upcoming Hip-Hop Video Tube site which we learnt will be streaming the world of Hip-Hop stars online such as: Hollywood Stars, Hood Stars, Ghetto Stars, Video Vixens, Rap Battles, Fight Videos, and much more videos that interests hip-hop lovers.

HipHopStardom (a.k.a "HHS"), believe there is a star in each and everyone of us, so the site is also dedicated to showcasing new talents to the world.

Based by popular demand, online video watching is becoming a very popular and booming trend in this internet age. ComScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, on October released data from the comScore Video Metrix service showing that 182 million U.S. Internet users watched online video content in September for an average of 19.5 hours per viewer. The total U.S. Internet audience engaged in 39.8 billion video views.

The Site "HipHopStardom.com" is currently under-development and will be live in early 2012. According to information reaching us, the site serves as an extension of YouTube that only streams video contents, promotes hip hop mixtapes, and publish Hip-Hop celebrity news exclusively for Hip Hop fans worldwide; visit Hip Hop Stardom for more details on how to submit your video(s).

Is it possible that WorldStarHipHop has a new rival? Could HipHopStardom possibly provide a better platform and user experience than WorldStarHipHop? Only time will tell, but for now what is your opinion?

Top 10 Tech Trends To Watch in 2012

2011-12-28T23:39:00.000-08:00

From the continuing rise of tablet devices to the daily-deals craze and the return of the Internet IPO, 2011 has been a transformative year for technology.

The pace of change has become blisteringly fast, with traditional industries -- bookstores, video-rental chains, newspapers -- crumbling more quickly than we could have imagined.

Predicting what will happen in 2012, therefore, is a shot in the dark: A year is virtually a lifetime in the digital era. And yet we can at least make a guess at what will happen in the early part of next year simply by looking at the trends that are shaping the latter half of this year.

Listed below is the best estimate of some of the innovation we'll see in 2012:

1. Touch computing

New input methods will be the dominant trend of 2012. Tablet computers such as the iPad might seem like a nice alternative to desktop and laptop computers, but I believe they're more than that: They're replacements. Just as the command line (remember that?) gave way to graphical user interfaces, so the mouse will be superseded by touchscreens.

The signs are obvious: Windows 8 and Mac OS X Lion, the latest desktop operating systems, borrow heavy from their mobile counterparts. These new interfaces essentially impose a touchscreen-inspired interface over the traditional desktop environment.

Over time, this half-step will become a whole one, and mobile operating systems will dominate. The transition won't be complete by the end of 2012, but we'll be much further down the path, and using computer mice much less often.

2. Social gestures

In the social media realm, social gestures appear to be the leading trend of 2012. Launched by Facebook in September, this so-called "frictionless sharing" functionality removes the need to click a button to share media with your friends. Instead, everything you listen to, read or watch is automatically posted to your profile once you approve the relevant app.

If you've seen apps such as Spotify or Social Reader in your Facebook news feed, you're already aware of these features.

The trend makes sense for social networks: With 800 million people already on Facebook, its growth is bound to slow. But if sharing becomes automatic, the volume of content on Facebook will grow at an accelerated pace. There's a big problem, however: Users may be "creeped out" by all this automated sharing of their Web activity and grow suspicious of the apps using it.

3. NFC and mobile payments

Next year is likely to be the year when mobile payments blossom. While we've seen a great deal of innovation in mobile payments technology this year -- including the success of Square's iPhone dongle, allowing anyone to accept credit card payments -- 2012 is the year of NFC.

What's that, you ask? Near Field Communication essentially lets you replace your credit cards with your phone: Wave an NFC-enabled phone near the credit card reader in a store (or taxi cab), and the money is deducted from your account.

By 2013, 1 in 5 cellphones are expected to be NFC-equipped. Early contenders include Google Wallet, Visa Wallet, Serve (by American Express) and ISIS.

4. Beyond the iPad

If touch computing is the future, then the iPad is surely king. And yet the iPad came up against serious competition in the latter part of 2011: As I wrote previously, I expect the new Amazon Kindle Fire to outsell the iPad in 2012. Why? Simply put, the iPad costs $499 while the Fire costs $199.

Amazon's advantages don't stop at the price point, however: The company owns an entire content store of movies, e-books, TV shows and other media. With tablet devices, the hardware is somewhat important but the content available for the device is absolutely critical: With plenty of media available for the Fire right away, it's an appealing proposition.

Why does one device constitute an entire trend? Well, as a true competitor to the iPad emerges, content producers, distributors and even app developers may have an entirely new platform on which to push their wares. (And yes, the Kindle Fire does indeed run Google's Android operating system, but Amazon's version is so unlike other Android tablets that neither users nor app developers will perceive it as "yet another Android device" -- it's a whole new platform.)

5. TV Everywhere

So you thought you'd be able to watch all your favorite shows online and get rid of your cable subscription for good? Not so fast!

The cable companies have a cunning plan: They'll let you watch live TV, plus on-demand movies and TV shows, on your connected devices if you keep your cable subscription. Dish Network, Time Warner and Comcast are among those offering the service.

TV Everywhere has been buzzed about since 2010, of course, and could be a dud -- but the rise of tablet devices would seem to create increased demand for a "TV in your hands."

6. Voice control

Here's another trend that's got a moderate chance of taking off in 2012: Voice control.

The novelty of Siri on the iPhone 4S -- which allows you to send texts, create reminders, search the Web and much more using just your voice -- may be the start of a new trend in voice controlled devices.

Surely voice control has been around for years? Yes, but it wasn't very accurate.

Siri and its ilk define a new era in which we talk, and our devices understand -- often on the first attempt. Other device makers will likely follow suit. What's more, Apple may use voice control to replace the TV remote.

7. Spatial gestures

Other input methods are gaining traction too: Microsoft's Kinect, for instance, has given rise to interfaces that use spatial gestures. Just like in "Minority Report," your devices can be controlled simply by waving your hands in the air.

Thanks to the many innovators who have hacked Kinect to work with other platforms, we may see more devices using this input method next year.

8. Second-screen experiences

"Second-screen experiences" is a buzz-phase among TV and movie execs these days. It refers to apps (mainly on the iPad) that listen to the audio output of your TV and display content related to the show or movie you're watching. The chances are that you already use your tablet computer or phone while watching TV, so there's ample opportunity to make the viewing experience a more interactive one.

Disney already has second-screen apps for movies such as "The Lion King" and "Bambi," while multiple TV networks have similar offerings: We can expect many, many more to be released in 2012.

9. Flexible screens

Personally, I just can't wait for flexible screens: These awesome new bendable interfaces will let you zoom in, zoom out and scroll around a page simply by twisting your phone or tablet.

Nokia and Samsung have both hinted they may release phones with bendable displays in 2012. The really exciting stuff, however -- like paper-thin devices that roll up to fit in your pocket -- is still years away.

10. HTML5

Can I squeeze in one more trend? It's HTML5 -- the fifth iteration of the HTML standard -- and it lets developers create richer, more interactive applications than ever.

Why does this matter? As developers tire of building applications for every operating system out there -- from Android to iOS to Windows Phone and beyond -- HTML5 offers the opportunity to build an app once and have it work everywhere.

The rise of HTML5 is bound to be accelerated by a recent revelation: Adobe is killing off Flash for mobile devices, meaning one of the primary methods of serving videos and rich applications on mobile phones is about to disappear. HTML5 will fill that gap. For us as consumers, that means richer applications and experiences on all our devices.

In short, 2012 is all about new ways to interact with our devices through touch and voice control, new lightweight ways to share content, a revolution in mobile payments and a plethora of rich Web applications -- not to mention the hundreds of new innovations that we've yet to dream up. I can't wait.

By Pete Cashmore

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Pete Cashmore is founder and CEO of Mashable, a popular blog about tech news and digital culture.

Google rewards webmasters who find security flaws

2011-12-28T16:16:00.000-08:00

Google rewards webmasters who find security flaws

New iPhone App Keeps Eyesight from Deteriorating

2011-11-15T21:27:00.001-08:00

A system that trains your brain to overcome degrading vision as you age will soon be available as an iPhone app

I have gotten used to the idea that smartphone apps can substitute for devices like GPS navigation systems or portable music players. But the latest item on the list may come as a surprise: reading glasses.

Early next year, a company called Ucansi will launch GlassesOff, an iPhone app that could help older people shed their reading glasses for at least part of the time - and may allow others to carry on reading without optical aids for years longer than would otherwise be possible.

The app helps people compensate for deterioration in their eyes' ability to focus on nearby objects by training the brain to process the resulting blurred images. "We're using the brain as glasses," says Uri Polat of Tel Aviv University in Israel, and co-founder of Ucansi.

As we get older, the lenses in our eyes become less elastic, and so can't readily be adjusted to focus on nearby objects. Known as presbyopia, the condition is almost ubiquitous among people in their early fifties and older. In addition to the obvious reading problems, symptoms include tired eyes and headaches.

Polat's software trains users to detect patterns called Gabor patches - blurry lines created by varying a grey background. In a typical training session, the user fixates on a white circle, which then gives way to a rapid succession of images. Some are blank, but others show Gabor patches at different places on the screen, one of which will appear where the circle was (see diagram).

Users must determine when in the sequence the pattern appeared at the target position. As they become better at the task, the software adapts to alter the orientation of the patterns, place them closer to the target, or speed up the sequence.

At last week's meeting of the Entertainment Software and Cognitive Neurotherapeutics Society in San Francisco, Polat's team described tests of the software that Dennis Levi ran in his lab at the University of California, Berkeley. After 40 training sessions, volunteers averaging 51 years of age showed impressive gains in contrast sensitivity, measured by similar tests with Gabor patches.

This translated into real-world improvements in vision. After training, the volunteers were able to read more than two lines further down an optical chart held 40 centimetres from their eyes - corresponding to a reduction in "eye age" from 50.5 to 41.9 years. Reading speed increased by about 4 seconds per sentence, which would cut the time to read a page of The New York Times without glasses by an average of 5.3 minutes from the pre-training performance of more than 12 minutes.

As expected, there were no differences in the eyes' ability to focus after the training. "Every single change is in the brain," says Polat.

Although Levi's experiments were run using a PC, the first product will be an iPhone app because of the convenience of the device and its high-quality screen. The cost of the app is expected to be around $95, covering an initial training period of about three months during which users will train for 15 minutes, three times a week. After that there will be a small monthly fee for less-intensive "maintenance" training.

Given that our eyes eventually lose their ability to focus on close objects, the app is unlikely to be a panacea for presbyopia. But Lee Duffner, an opthalmologist in Hollywood, Florida, who serves as a clinical expert for the American Academy of Opthalmology, suggests that it might delay the need to adopt reading glasses. "I think they're probably on to something," he says.

Credit: New Scientist

50 Cent Unveils STREET by 50 Headphones

2011-10-22T10:52:00.000-07:00

Another day, another pair of headphones. A few weeks ago we reported on the Sync by 50 Wireless headphones. Well today, fiddy has debuted some early product shots of their soon be released over-the- ear wired headphones, STREET by 50.

STREET by 50 looks incredibly similar in design to the Sync by 50 wireless headphones. The two major differences are that this is of course a wired version, and that this pair will also be available in blue. Like all high profile headphone releases – these too also promise to be the next best thing your ears have come in contact with.

The headphones will come equipped with 40mm drivers, enhanced bass, soft foam cushions, passive noise cancellation, removable cable with mic, carry case, and airplane adapter. STREET by 50 price and availability is TBD. The street cred, however, should be priceless.

-Culled from ChipChick

Sync By 50 Headphones To Hit The Stores Soon

2011-10-21T10:46:00.000-07:00

50 Cent’s wireless headphones are finally nearing release.

Sync by 50 uses the now-popular unibody casing but features full on-board playback controls — something no other headphones can proclaim. Housed in each can is a 40mm driver, which is surrounded by a memory foam cushion.

The 3.5mm wireless adapter is said to broadcast the signal 50 feet and somehow allow four simultaneous wireless connections through an unnamed wireless standard.

The spec sheet brags that the headphones features a professionally tuned digital EQ along with 16-bit lossless digital sound. The headset apparently charges through micro USB and ships with a wired mic cable (classy) and a hard-shell carrying case. However, the spec sheet doesn’t state the price or release date.

These headphones have had a long journey. 50 Cent (or one of his many companies) teamed up with Sleek Audio last year who later proudly displayed their joint effort at CES. That deal fell through last May.

Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson’s SMS Audio then picked up the project and later bought KonoAudiowhose founder is now the president at SMS Audio. 50 Cent joins Dr. Dre and Ludacris in the headphone game.

"My source couldn’t dig up the price but indicated that this model along with a wired headset and earbuds will launch within the coming months. However, don’t expect these to be inexpensive," Matt quoted.

-Written by Matt Burns, TechCrunch.

TVGoods, Inc. (publicly trading as HNHI) and SMS Audio, LLC, an affiliate of rapper and business-mogul 50 Cent, have entered into a definitive agreement for TV Goods to exclusively produce and distribute a direct response television infomercial to globally market a wireless over-the-ear headphone product, endorsed by and baring the name of 50 Cent.

SMS by 50 will be the new standard for mobile audio performance; a portable, wireless concert hall for the on-the-go music lover, featuring:

Built in track, volume and Enhanced Dynamic Sound (EDS) controls, giving users control over how their music sounds
Multi-listener technology, allowing up to four headphones to be synched to one audio device
Kleer audio technology
Internal amplifiers for a more powerful audio experience

SMS by 50 will be available for purchase in fourth quarter of 2011.
_________________
TVGoods, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of H&H Imports, Inc., a public company listed under the symbol HNHI. TVGoods is a Direct Response marketing organization created by Kevin Harrington, a pioneer and principal architect of the infomercial industry.

Kevin created TVGoods to capitalize on the experience of its management team, which has been responsible for over 500 infomercial spots accounting for revenues in excess of $4 billion. Mr. Harrington is an original investor on the critically acclaimed ABC television series Shark Tank. The show gives budding entrepreneurs the chance to pitch their products to a panel of acclaimed judges in hopes of turning their ideas into a successful business reality.

Customize Facebook Profile with PageRage Layouts

2011-10-21T03:52:00.000-07:00

When Facebook unveiled Timeline not too long ago, many users were amazed by the idea of fragmenting your profile by summarizing your life and connections all in one streamlined page.

Other than the obvious change of your profile page listing all your FB life’s activity on a single timeline, Facebook also introduced to us the “Cover Photo” for our profiles.
With new cover photos, we can sum up our lives with just one picture. The idea behind the cover photo is to allow Facebook users to showcase where they are in their lives, at that very moment, with just one picture. Like your profile picture, the cover photo acts as a bigger profile picture in that it’s showcased in a way that Facebook users never dreamed about. Instead of your small profile picture defining who you are, now the torch has been passed to your bigger and better cover photo.

Not only does the cover photo change the feeling of your personal profile, it also allows users to express themselves in a way that they never could before. But what if users wanted to take this expression a step further? What if users wanted to change the background color of their entire profile, add more personal photos to the scope of their profile layout because one cover photo isn’t enough?

Well, good news for Facebook users, now you can and PageRage is the app that will allow you to do so.

Check out how the app can turn your expression into something tangible:

With PageRage, FB users can add pops of color to their timeline driven layouts in no time. PageRage’s process is simple and only takes a couple of minutes to set-up:

Install PageRage (it’s free and safe).

Select a style to create your own Facebook layout.

Yes, it’s that freakin’ simple.

Got questions? Leave your questions for me in the comments box below.

Thought-controlled computers may soon be a reality

2011-10-19T11:12:00.000-07:00

"Today's human-computer interface is an I/O bottleneck that can be corrected, says scientist"

In 1960, computer scientist J.C.R. Licklider published Man-Computer Symbiosis, a paper that outlined his dream for interactive computing and helped pave the way to the creation of the graphical user interface.

This week, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Emerging Technology Conference here, another scientist suggested that there may soon come a time when people no longer have to touch a keyboard or a mouse, or even speak a command, in order to perform a computer function.

Instead, said Gerwin Schalk, a research scientist at the Wadsworth Center, a public health laboratory run by the New York state government, a person can think of a command and the computer will respond.

"What I'm here to tell you is that this is not science fiction. This is an emerging reality," Schalk said.

Schalk said a slow interface is a problem for human-computer interaction. Humans are forced to translate what they are thinking into digital commands that computers can understand, a process that creates I/O bottlenecks from the very start.

Neurotechnology, a $145 billion market that is growing at 9% annually, has already achieved key milestones in man-computer symbiosis.

Researchers are working with the brain's alpha waves -- neural oscillations in the frequency range of 8 and 12 Hz -- to create rich syntactic representations that can be used to communicate directly with computers, Schalk said.

Schalk presented attendees a video showing how test subjects can control computer games through the use of electrodes attached to the surface of their brains. The test subjects were already wired for treatment of illnesses such as epilepsy.

In one demonstration in the video, a patient used thoughts to shoot monsters in the video game Doom. The patient used a joystick to move the gun back and forth but used his thoughts to cause the gun the shoot -- accurately.

In another demonstration, Schalk showed how a computer can tell the difference between someone thinking the sounds, "Ah" or "Ooh."

A third demonstration a computer detecting the sound level of music a person was listening to and track it moment-by-moment.

"We're about that close," Schalk said, pinching his thumb and index finger together, "to being able to play back the music just by listening to the brain."

Yet another demonstration showed in how scientists can track in real time which part of the brain reacts to physical movement, from sticking a tongue out to trying to solve a Rubik's Cube puzzle.

Such technology could allow users to command a computer without touching it.

-Culled from ComputerWorld

iPhone Accelerometer Could Spy on Computer Keystrokes

2011-10-19T11:02:00.000-07:00

"The accelerometers in many smartphones could be used to decipher what you type into your PC keyboard — including passwords and e-mail content ."

The technique depends on the person typing at their computer with their mobile phone on the desk nearby. The vibrations created by typing onto the computer keyboard can be detected by the accelerometer of the phone and translated by a program into readable sentences with as much as 80 percent accuracy.

The technique involves working through probability by detecting pairs of keystrokes, rather than individual keys. It models “keyboard events” in pairs and then works out whether the pair of keys pressed is on the left or the right side of the keyboard and whether they are close together or far apart on the QWERTY keyboard. Once it has worked this out, it compares the results to a preloaded dictionary where each word has been broken down in the same way.

As an example, the word “canoe” is made up of four keystroke pairs. These are: “C-A, A-N, N-O and O-E”. The code is translated by the program as Left-Left-Near, Left-Right-Far, Right-Right-Far and Right-Left-Far. This is compared to the dictionary (that has also been translated in according to this code) and then suggests the most likely word. With a dictionary of around 58,000 words, the system has achieved word detection rates as high as 80 percent.

The technique is not easy. Patrick Traynor, assistant professor at Georgia Tech’s School of Computer Science explains: “We first tried our experiments with an iPhone 3GS, and the results were difficult to read. But then we tried an iPhone 4, which has an added gyroscope to clean up the accelerometer noise, and the results were much better. We believe that most smartphones made in the past two years are sophisticated enough to launch this attack.”

Previous studies have used microphone vibrations to pick up on typing patterns, but a microphone is much more sensitive than an accelerometer. Your typical smartphone microphone can sample vibrations at 44,000 times per second, while the accelerometers sample just 100 times per second. Microphones also tend to be more secure than accelerometers; the phone’s operating system tends to ask users whether to give any new applications access to built-in sensors, but the accelerometer is rarely protected in this way.

Of course, your phone would have to be infected with some spyware first, but this could be achieved through a seemingly innocuous application that doesn’t ask to use any of the phone sensors that might make you suspicious. Once downloaded, the keyboard detection malware could be activated so the next time you start typing with your phone next to you, it could be listening.

If you are worried that your phone might be spying on you — something that the researchers say is very unlikely because it’s so hard to do — you can just leave your phone in your bag or in a pocket.

Image: William Brawley/Flickr

Source: Wired.co.uk

Steve Jobs, Apple co-founder dies from cancer

2011-10-05T23:57:00.001-07:00

SAN FRANCISCO – Apple’s visionary co-founder Steve Jobs died from cancer Wednesday at 56, a premature end for a man who revolutionized modern culture with ubiquitous inventions like the iPod and the iPad.

“We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today,” the California-based gadget maker said in a statement from its board of directors.

Steve’s brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve.”

Tim Cook — who had been handling Apple’s day-to-day operations since Jobs went on medical leave in January, and was made CEO in August — led the praise for the Silicon Valley legend.

“Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor,” he said.

“Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.”

If you are a technology junkie, or just a big fan of Apple's revolutionary products; how will the death of Steve Jobs effect you?

Steve Jobs, Apple co-founder dies from cancer

2011-10-05T23:56:00.000-07:00

“We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today,” the California-based gadget maker said in a statement from its board of directors.

Steve’s brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve.”

Tim Cook — who had been handling Apple’s day-to-day operations since Jobs went on medical leave in January, and was made CEO in August — led the praise for the Silicon Valley legend.

“Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.”

If you are technology junkie, or just a big fan of Apple's revolutionary products; how will the death of Steve Jobs effect you?

Sony Play Station Network releases exclusive games

2011-10-04T02:35:00.000-07:00

Sony Computer Entertainment America this week will begin rolling out exclusive new games as part of a strategy to lure players with fun titles only available on its PlayStation Network (PSN).

An "Only On PlayStation Network" program will kick off Tuesday and showcase videogames made by studios backed by a $20 million (Dhs73.45m) publishers fund set up by the Japanese entertainment titan.

"Our strategy from the very beginning, and even dating back to the PlayStation One, was to bring original brand content to our platform," PSN senior director Susan Panico told AFP.

"Now, we are wrapping this all into a program," she said.

PSN is an online venue where PlayStation 3 console users can obtain games software and play with or against one another.

Every Tuesday in October, the PlayStation online shop in North America will introduce exclusive new games that can be downloaded. The titles to debut this month include "inFAMOUS: Festival of Blood" and "PixleJunk Sidescroller."

Introduction of the program is to be marked by discounts and promotions.

The move is part of a plan by Sony to win more PSN fans by providing enticing games unavailable at rivals such as Xbox Live.

"We are looking now to double-down on this strategy," Panico said.

If you are reading my blog post, I'll like to know: Which one do you prefer: Play Station or Xbox?
___________
AFP

How To Get and Use Yoville Gift Cards

2011-07-04T03:29:00.000-07:00

Yoville Game Cards became available in October 2009. The gift cards sells from $10.00 and up; and were originally only available at Target. In November 2009 7-Eleven, GameStop, and Best Buy stores also began carrying YoVille gift cards. In Target, the cards are often located in the area where music and CDs are sold. At 7 Eleven, YoVille gift cards should be located in the gift card display area along with other gift cards. These gift cards are available in the United States, and select countries.

There is also an Online Reward Center for Yoville game cards that is giving away Yoville Game Cards after completing a survey, offer, or a signup to test a product. This free gift cards are issued to qualified individuals that are at least over 18 years of age.

YoVille game cards have a code that can be redeemed for YoCoins or YoCash in the popular social networking game YoVille. The YoVille cards must be activated upon purchase. After the card is activated online, a player may have to wait as long as four hours before the funds appear in the player's YoVille account.

To redeem the card, players can click the tab that says "Get more YoCash/YoCoins." From here a Zynga Secure Payment page will pop up and it will have payment options. The option for the YoVille Game Card should be selected under the "Select Payment Method" at the bottom of the screen and then the card number can be entered.
__________________________________________________________________________________
SURVEY: Do you play Yoville? (YES/NO). Tell us and get $150 in prepaid game cards for free.
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YoVille on Facebook: YoCoins and YoCash

YoCoins and YoCash are the official currency in the YoVille game on Facebook. YoVille is a virtual world where players can work, earn YoCoins, buy houses, furniture, home decor, gifts, clothes, hairstyles and more.

YoCash is more valuable than YoCoins and with it players can buy exclusive items that are only sold in exchange for YoCash. Both YoCash and YoCoins can be earned by playing mini-games, working in the "Widget Factory," visiting friends and participating in activities or giving gifts to neighbors. Extra YoCoins and YoCash can also be acquired by filling out surveys or signing up for special offers.

Getting A Free iPad 2, Apple's Latest Gadget

2011-06-27T23:55:00.000-07:00

If you are looking for the best way to get a free iPad, then I'm glad you've found this web post and I strongly suggest you keep reading....

Because this is my uncensored story of how I received many electronics for free from the Internet. The ups, the downs, what stuff didn't work and finally the two sites that were so dependable that I consistently got free electronics from them!

If you live in USA, Sign up for your free iPad here:

If not, continue reading!

All of the findings in this module are based on the extensive research that I conducted and from my own experiences successfully receiving free high end products like Xbox 360s, iPods, PS3s and Macbooks from the Internet.

If you are reading this, I am assuming that you understand exactly how frustrating it can be when new electronics are released. Sure, new electronics are useful and can make aspects of life easier.

The problem is that new electronics are released every few years that render the previous item that you bought outdated and useless. If you bought the iPod when it first came out, you were probably amazed by the features and you forked over a good sum of cash for it. Few years down the road, that iPod has become obsolete and now we have the iPod Touch, which can surf the Internet and even keep tract of your work outs!

With the current economy, it is getting really difficult to keep up with the new updates to our current generations of electronics, as it is too expensive and it makes the previous electronics that we bought useless.

If you decide to buy a computer, you may find that if you compared the specifications of the computers one year after you bought it, you may find that you could get way more hard drive space and memory for the price that you paid a year ago!

So how do we solve this problem? Easy. We get our new electronics for free and that’s what I have been doing.

One of the sites where you can get your iPad for free is:

This site is part of the Transcendent Innovations Network. You probably have never heard of this site, so let me brief you on who these guys are.

Transcendent Innovations Network is a network that has existed since 2003. Since then it has shipped over $8 million dollars worth of free gifts to its users. There are many users from all over North America that have received free gifts from them.

They are used by many respectable companies to help them promote their services, here are a list of companies that Transcendent Innovations has worked with in the past. These companies have partnered up with Transcendent Innovations to offer iPads.

Claim your free iPad 2 now, and be one of the very first people to own the latest gadget from Apple. Get your free iPad 2, delivered Worldwide. To participate in this free iPad 2 offer, visit: http://goo.gl/pHjOA

Courtesy: GetFreeBrandPrizes

This is one of the proven ways to get free stuff from the Internet. This process was featured on numerous major news networks including CNN, BBC and Fox News. There is proof all over the Internet as well, so what are you waiting for? I will simplify the process for you in the following steps and if you just follow all the steps below, you will get your free iPad delivered to your door step. The iPad may not be worth it to buy it, but this doesn't matter when you are getting it for free.

Basically once you click on the link, you have to enter a valid email address and your other details such as address has to be valid because where else are they going to send your gift. You have to enter your correct info, because if you don’t, you will not get your free iPad at all.

The information that you enter is strictly confidential and it is secure. They have their site guarded by an anti virus and in their private policy, it says that they will NOT sell your info to any advertisers and they will not spam you at all!

So before you get started, you have to know some basic rules.

These rules you must follow and this is the major reason why people do not get their free iPad from Transcendent Innovations is that they try to cheat the system and they think that they can get away from it. But they have been at this since 2003 so they know how to detect fraud and you will get your account banned for it.

So here are the rules:

You must enter your real information when signing up!
When you refer others, do not use the same computer as your house to get them to sign up. Also, you cannot get them to sign up from the same public network, so basically your school, workplace, dorm, house, and the library. They must sign up from their own home
Do not create fake emails to refer yourself. This means no proxies at all. You cannot sign up for the same site twice.
You cannot complete the offers more than once, you can only do an offer once!
Your referrals cannot log in at your home computer
Do not tell people to do the same offers as you or else it would look suspicious
Do not cancel the trial offers right away, try them out!
So do not try to cheat the system because they will know! Read their Terms of Service so you can know what not to do and this will help you get your free iPad

Step 2: Complete ONE or More TRIAL Offer

But you said it was free? Yes, it is free technically! These offers are free trials. Companies go through Transcendent Innovations to promote their services for you to try! And they pay Transcendent Innovations to promote their services for you, and that’s how the money is made to give you a free iPad. So immediately after signing up, scroll down and you will see a list of possible offers that you can join. A lot of these are free trial offers. Some of these may cost just a bit, around $10 investment. But hey, that’s pretty good right? You will get an iPad in return. So the bottom line is that, depending on the offer you choose, you might need to pay some money and use your credit card or your Paypal. Signing up is free however, so you should check it out to see if it is for you or not.

So when you complete your offer, you will get credit for it. To get credit for it, make sure you have your cookies enabled on your Internet Browser. This is to make sure that you credit for your offer! This is really important!

How do you ensue that you get credit every time?

1) In order to get credit every single time, you should first use Internet Explorer. I know that most people don’t use this browser, but it is really important it is very easy to credit your account if this is used. So you have to change the settings on this browser so that the cookies are accepted. Cookies are just a way for Transcendent Innovations to trace the offer completion back to you so that you can get credit for it.

2) Before an offer, disable your pop up blocker or no script applications. Sometimes offers have pop ups and if you block it, you might not complete it properly

3) Read through the offers before you start to complete it. There are requirements for each offer in order to receive credit. Make sure you follow these requirements so that you will actually get credit for doing an offer.

4) Be aware of the offers that you do so you do not complete the same offer twice. Remember that you can ONLY complete the offer once and if you complete it twice, you will get disqualified for it. So keep a list so you will remember which offers that you did.

5) Sometimes offers don’t credit properly and you will have to get manual credit for it. Sometimes when completing an offer you will get an email confirmation. Do not delete this email. Save it just in case you have to send it to the customer support of Transcendent Innovations so that they can manually credit you.

Step 3: Tell everyone about it! Educate and refer your friends about this!

So after referring your friends, you are now at the last and final step of this process. Getting referrals. Each prize has different referral requirements and you will have to get enough to meet your requirement. First you have to find your referral link, which is located on the status page.

There are plenty of options to refer people, but please do not spam as it is against their Terms of Service. People can report you for spamming and once Transcendent Innovations finds out, they will probably ban you and you will not be able to get your free iPad at all!

Here are some methods where you can get more referrals!

1) Obviously, the first thing that you can do is to ask your friends and family to sign up under you! But don’t forget! They have to sign up under their own computer! This is one of the most effective ways to do this

2) The second way to get more referrals is to make a Youtube video! Many people are now using Youtube, not only to watch videos, but to learn a thing or two. A convincing video will go a long way towards getting referrals

3) Create your own website! Show the world that this process is real and that people can benefit from it!

4) Post on Facebook, start a group or post on your status updates! Facebook has millions of users and you could take advantage of this!

So once you have completed all of these three steps, you can submit your account for approval! If you followed my advice and did not try to scam the company at all, you will be approved and you will get a free iPad shipped directly to your door! It takes about a week to get approved and depending on their source of retailer (most likely Apple.com) it will take about 5 business days once the iPad is released to get your product! Shipping is covered so that’s awesome! What you do with the iPad is up to you! Make it happen!

-Courtesy Matt Longe

Finally, if you have any questions or concerns, please comment below and your questions will be answered!

Latest Keyword Domain Names For Sale

2011-06-06T22:16:00.000-07:00

In this digital age of the 21st century, a company's web site is like an electronic business card. A strong domain name is the key to a company's internet presence. It should be recognizable and relate to your business name, brand, product, and/or activities. Make sure it fits on a business card and is easy to remember whether seen in print or mentioned on YouTube.

Length Does Matters
Conventional wisdom states that a good domain name is easy for customers to remember, easy to spell, and short. That said, it's increasingly difficult to secure short domain names among top level domain names such as .com, .net and ,org. In these cases (and you have 67 characters to choose from), it's preferable to choose a meaningful name such as..."BabyByUs.com" or MyPhysicalHealth.com", which does give a good impression to any company, and draws the interest of enthusiastic crowd searching for such keyword-related terms.

Also, buying domains can be a tricky issue. A crucial factor in the success of an online start up is a fantastic domain name. It is easy for people to remember and link to the site. Domain names should be easy to spell, easy to say and have a .com extension.

If the domain name aptly represents the industry or niche it does business in, it can get direct traffic where users type it into the address bar and reach the site. It also represents your company in cyberspace and is the first port of call online.

How does a keyword domain name affect your business?
A better domain name is more viral and easy to remember reducing customer acquisition costs. The worth of each customer and the current acquisition cost of each customer need to be factored into the final value.

Collectively, there are 13 good domain names a business owner or a company might want to consider purchasing in other to make their company more visible on the world wide web. This domain names have strong keywords in search engines and are bound to get a lot of traffic flow relatively. This domain names are:

CancerKnowHow.com - Appropriate for a cancer information site such as knowcancer.com, cancercenter.com, or cancer.org
MyPhysicalHealth.com - Perfect for a physical health information site such as webmd.com, or beliefnet.com
MyPhysicalWellness.com - Perfect for a wellness product e-commerce site, personal blog, or exercising.
DroidTechnology.com - Appropriate for an Android and Windows developer community site such as xda-developers.com
BinLadenDocumentary.com - Appropriate for Osama bin laden documentary movie, and featured on History.com
ThinkGreenJobs.org - Appropriate as a biotech industry job site for information such as greenforall.org.
HowToFixMoney.com - Appropriate for a micro-lending financial site or services such as wefixmoney.com.
ClaimFreeThings.com + ClaimFreeThing.com - Appropriate for incentive site, product marketing, or freebie site like thatfreething.com
CouponRefresh.com - Perfect for a coupon code and discount site such as retailmenot.com and makeuseof.com
AfricanCouples.com - Suitable for a dating site for African Americans such as afrointroductions.com
InformAfrica.com - Currently being used as a news and information site just like cnn.com or allafrica.com
MDBusinesses.com - Suitable as directory site for businesses in the state of Maryland similar to searchmaryland.com
Biomechanism.com - is a premium domain name in the biotechnology sector, and have been developed. Sponsors, Advertisers, and niche-related Partners are welcome on the site!
CouponRefresh.com - Perfect for a coupon site just like RetailMeNot! Grocery coupons, printable coupons, coupon codes, local coupons, internet coupons, restaurant coupons, you name it.
SextingCases.com - You know sexting has been a popular trend lately, both online and offline sexting is happening every day every where, and school teachers ending up in courtroom that for sext cases.
SextCases.com - Its easy to monetize this keyword-targeted domain name, Google 'sext cases' or 'sexting cases', this domain will rank number if developed!
AndroidPoweredRobots.com - Open your eyes, we have now entered years of the robots. This is a domain name for anyone who wants to dominate this niche ahead of others. Android powered robots is a popular search term!
MyCookShow.com - Are you a cook, a chef, a TV host? This premium keyword-rich domain name is can be branded, just like the popular 'My Lifetime on TV!
121212Day.com - Are you ready for this day? What will happen on 12/12/12 do you know? Will the world come to an end? Will someone celebrate his/her birthday, wedding, graduation on this very day? 121212Day.com will be perfect to mark a one in a lifetime memorable event!

If interested in any of the listed domain names of websites, or for more information, please contact Kevin Onuma on his Facebook Page.

Prediction: Facebook Will Surpass Google In Advertising Revenues

2011-06-05T19:26:00.000-07:00

Not too long ago—the common perception was that Facebook advertising did not work. Why would a user notice an advertisement with a small image discretely tucked away in the right-hand column? In fact, most users were building up their “banner blindness,” and ignoring the right-hand column altogether.

However, much regarding Facebook ads has changed since then. Changes in profile design encouraged users to provide more complete information and advertisers became educated in the value of hyper-targeting. Facebook’s ad serving algorithm improved dramatically and the launch of the Ads API allowed for an additional layer of intelligence to be built on top of that. Gradually, right-hand column marketplace ads became more effective for all types of advertisers—while Facebook concurrently grew its sales team to push out premium ads to brands and agencies. With all this progress, eMarketer estimated Facebook’s ad revenues at almost $2 Billion in 2010 and over $4 Billion in 2011.

Despite all this success, Facebook’s revenues are still far behind the search giant, and claiming that they will surpass Google is a bold statement. However, there is a very clear path for this to happen and it is simply a question of when. The timeline will be dependent on how aggressively Facebook executes on their advertising products. The fundamental reason why I believe Facebook’s revenues will surpass Google is the untapped power of social advertising. The concept that your friend “likes” and endorses the content behind a particular ad unit changes the game.

Data from over a hundred billion Facebook marketplace (right-hand-column) impressions that AdParlor has managed shows indisputable evidence that social ads produce a significant jump in performance. In several cases, we have seen social marketplace ads double the Click-Through-Rate (CTR) and deliver 5-10x the volume of impressions at the same Cost-Per-Click (CPC) bid compared to regular marketplace ads on Facebook (plain-vanilla display ads not socially targeted). Combine that with a lift in brand recall (1.6X), message awareness (2X), and purchase intent (4X) and we can see why social ads is an extremely powerful product. However, to see the real benefit, we need to look beyond the right-hand column ads and see how social advertising can be applied in other areas. Data from Nielsen shows a similar trend:

Display Advertising
When looking at online advertising revenues as a whole, the IAB reports that roughly a quarter come from display. With over 2.5 million web sites having integrated with Facebook Connect and 10,000 new ones joining daily, Facebook is building up a huge network of external web sites with deep Facebook integration. The opportunity for these sites to display advertising that melds contextual and social is a stone’s throw away, and something that Facebook can aggressively turn on if it so chooses.

To take things further, as “like” buttons become ubiquitous across the web, user profiles are growing with data on what they do, buy, and endorse. While Google and others leverage re-targeting, Facebook will be able to take it one step further with social re-targeting. If my significant-other visits Nordstrom.com and “likes” a pair of boots, that advertisement could now follow both of us around the web.

Every few years, a new layer is built on top of traditional display advertising (contextual, behavioural, re-targeting) but we haven’t seen innovation in quite some time. Social will be the next fundamental change, and Facebook is positioned to take advantage of it.

Search Advertising
The same IAB report shows that roughly 45% of online advertising revenues come from search. The reason why search is so much more powerful than any other medium is because it targets users that have explicit purchase intent. For example, if I search for “car insurance,” I have a very real interest in making a high value purchase. Insurance providers pay big dollars to Google for these clicks knowing that they have a good chance of converting that user into a sale.

Alongside Facebook’s deeper integration with Bing, it is inevitable that at some point we will see advertising that combines the power of intent-based search with social recommendations. However, this will be dependent on how much users are willing to share and “like.” Perhaps aggressive campaigns by car insurance providers (“Get $100 off your premium if you ‘like’ us on Facebook”) will allow us to one day search for car insurance, and see which provider each one of our friends is with. This will undoubtedly be more powerful than traditional search.

Even with this layer of social, in order to be successful, search market share must be won. With Facebook’s social graph, they have the first real opportunity at dethroning Google and winning that market share. Whether Microsoft ends up selling their money-losing search business to Facebook as a starting point, or whether Facebook builds an independent search product from the ground-up, this is where the biggest impact will be made in increasing Facebook’s advertising revenues relative to Google.

Mobile Advertising
With over 250 Million active users accessing Facebook via their mobile device, Facebook is building up an audience on the hottest emerging platform. With free and popular iPhone, Blackberry, and Android apps available, Facebook has yet to serve up a single advertisement on mobile and doesn’t seem to be in a rush. However, things may be changing with a small but targeted recent acquisition. It will require some work to figure out the right format, but again Facebook is at a huge advantage with the user base it has and the social graph that connects these users.

The U.S. local online ad spend is estimated at $20 Billion – which is why Google was so interested in Groupon. Now combine local with mobile and social—and you have the blueprint to build a money-spitting machine. Facebook could theoretically serve you an advertisement like this directly on your phone—“You and your good friend John are a block away from each other, you both like Pizza and its lunch time, go to Pizza Hut together and save $5 on your order”—of course with less words and more pretty pictures.

Now that the mobile advertising dollars are finally starting to materialize, we still have not seen the hockey-stick curve that we all expected. This will occur when more innovative mobile ad products are built out—and again, Facebook is at a massive advantage.

When Facebook’s VP of Global Marketing Carolyn Everson said at Disrupt NYC, “We’re one percent done on our ad products,” it may not be an exaggeration. Ads that live within the Facebook site really are the beginning of where things can go. As Facebook gears up for an IPO, expanding its portfolio of advertising products through display, search, and mobile will change the landscape in each one of these areas. It becomes even more impactful when we think about how these different products can work together connected through the social graph.

Sample Ad:

While many people think about Facebook as a powerhouse due to the number of users on the site, the real power comes with the way they are mapping users to their friends and the products, people, and places that they “like.” When Facebook decides to turn up the revenue dial, they will be able to leverage this graph and create powerful social ads across multiple platforms to a degree of scale and sophistication that no other company can match. As these products develop, Facebook will command the lion’s share of online advertising dollars—and they will undoubtedly surpass Google.

Source: Latest Technology Trends

Google, Microsoft, Yahoo Back Search Metadata Project

2011-06-05T18:53:00.000-07:00

While Google competes with Microsoft and Yahoo in the search market, the three companies are cooperating to help web publishers make their content more comprehensible to search engines.

Google on Thursday said that the three companies had launched an initiative called schema.org, to create and support common ways to represent web page metadata. The project will offer web publishers the tools to make their web content more easily understood by search engines and more effectively represented on search results pages.

"With schema.org, site owners can improve how their sites appear in search results not only on Google, but on Bing, Yahoo, and potentially other search engines as well in the future," said Google Fellow Ramanathan Guha in a blog post.

Schema.org hosts definitions for HTML tags that webmasters can use for data markup. For example, the Person schema provides a way to associate a person's name with data that relates to that person, like his or her street address and email address. Without the structure provided by metadata markup, it can be difficult for search engines to be certain that a name on a web page is associated with some other data attribute.

There are other ways of marking up web pages, such as RDAa and microformats. But Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo argue that other formats have disadvantages and that webmasters will benefit from having a single markup resource focused on search engines, which in turn will lead to more markup and a better search experience.

Google has been pursuing its own structured markup for several years. In 2009, the company enhanced its search results with rich snippets, which made additional data like online reviews visible in search listings. The company has expanded its snippets to include events and recipes. As a result, companies like stubhub.com and allrecipies.com have chosen to structure their data to take advantage of the more effective presentation afforded well-described data.

The schema.org initiative is similar in some respects to sitemaps.org, an XML schema that helps search engine crawlers navigate websites. The protocol was created by Google in 2005 and supported by Microsoft and Yahoo in 2006, with other companies announcing support later.

The existence of schema.org can be seen as an acknowledgement of the limits of automated data analysis. One of the Frequently Asked Questions posted on the schema.org site attempts to deal with a possible objection to web page markup, specifically that it requires work from webmasters. "Automated data extraction is great when it works, but it can be error prone because different sites can represent the same information in so many different ways," the schema.org website says.

Understanding, in other words, is a harder problem than indexing. Humans may not be obsolete after all.

A Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo deal? Could be possible in the future to see all three companies invent a proprietary technology or software together.

Smart phones used to track graffiti vandals

2011-03-06T02:50:00.000-08:00

According to a recently published news update, Law enforcement agencies are now using smart phones to track and arrest graffiti vandals in Los Angeles, a newspaper report said on Saturday.

The graffiti-tracking program, spearheaded by the Tracking and Automated Graffiti Removal System, or TAGRS, allows graffiti- cleaning crews equipped with smart phones to photograph the markings and upload them to a Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) database, the Los Angeles Times said.

The photos are used to gather evidence for prosecution and restitution, the paper quoted city officials as saying.

Once the graffiti suspects' identities are discovered, the information is added to the TAGRS database and may eventually uncover incidents involving the same suspects, the paper said.

The LAPD launched a pilot project in 2009 in Van Nuys near Los Angeles, modeling its version on one run by the Orange County Sheriff's Department, according to the report.

The program is now anchored at four LAPD stations, Van Nuys, Hollenbeck, Central and Harbor, said Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's spokeswoman Casey Hernandez.

Los Angeles spends about 10 million dollars a year cleaning up graffiti, Hernandez said.

Technology is taking us places that most people can barely imagine. It has completely changed the way we live. Do you have anything to add? Post your response in the comment box below.

Aha...Apple to unveil iPad 2 next month

2011-02-23T11:16:00.000-08:00

If you're about to whip out your newly acquired iPad on a crowded train to the envy of fellow commuters, think again.

For no sooner have you spent your hard-earned cash on the must-have tablet computer, Apple is expected to announce the launch of its new iPad - in just seven days from now.

And the news has taken the technology world by surprise.

Contrary to speculation that the iPad 2 had been delayed, it now appears Apple will officially unveil it at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center For The Arts, its preferred venue, on March 2.

It is thought the iPad 2 will differ from its phenomenally successful predecessor in a number of ways.

The new model is expected to be slimmer, lighter, have a better resolution display and cameras on the front and back.

Apple will also replace the heavier aluminium shell of the iPad with a carbon fibre version, it is believed, following complaints that the first iPad was too heavy to be carried around conveniently.

The iPad 2 is expected to be a 9.7inch device, although there have been rumours that Apple is planning on releasing a smaller 7inch sister tablet.

Recent speculation that the iPad 2 had been delayed until June was 'simply not true', an Apple insider said.

The firm is said to want a launch at the same time of year as the first iPad, which went on sale in April 2010.

No release date or price has been set yet.

Talk of the iPad 2 comes as reports detailing the faltering health of chief executive Steve Jobs emerged.

The iPad was the hottest technology device of 2010, selling nearly 15million units and sparking a slew of copycat devices from rivals.

More than 50 million tablets are expected to be sold this year, with Apple capturing the bulk of the demand.

Microsoft withdraws Windows 7 software update, handset crash reported

2011-02-23T11:04:00.000-08:00

Microsoft has been forced to pull the first update for its Windows Phone 7 system after it crashed handsets.
Owners found their mobiles turned off or failed to start up at all after they had downloaded the program.
The problems appear to have been confined to users of Samsung phones so far, Microsoft claimed.

The glitch sparked a firestorm of criticism on blogs and forums with many complaining that their phones had been ‘bricked’, or turned into an expensive but useless dud.

The embarrassing episode comes as Microsoft struggles to gain a foothold in the lucrative smartphone market against stronger competitors like Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android.

It also comes against a backdrop of other glitches with Microsoft products, especially its virus-ridden browser Internet Explorer.

The problems with the update came to light in blog posts about Samsung’s Omnia 7 phone, which comes pre-loaded with Windows.

‘I've got an unmodified Samsung Omnia 7, now bricked,’ wrote one contributor to Microsoft's Answers site.

‘My phone is currently unusable, even after hard reset,’ wrote another user on the same site.
And Alex Roebuck, a British Omnia 7 user, said on Twitter: ‘It's 1am here in the UK. ‘Have to go to work tomorrow with no phone. Very unhappy.’

It appears users experienced problems if their update did not go through properly then they manually tried to restart the phone.

A statement on Microsoft’s support forums urged users not to try to turn their phones on and that it would be issuing a new update in three days time.

That was later changed to an undetermined point in the future.

Last December users were warned about a flaw which could allow hackers to take control of unprotected computers.

Earlier this month another problem was identified which allowed cyber criminals to harvest banking information and passwords from the browser’s 900 million users worldwide.

Microsoft said in a statement: ‘We have identified a technical issue with the Windows Phone update process that impacts a small number of phones.

‘We have temporarily taken down the latest software update for Samsung phones in order to correct the issue and as soon as possible will redistribute the update.’

So, if you recently installed the Windows 7 software update on your Windows Mobile, and you experience a crash, or your phone gets damaged in the process; contact Microsoft or your wireless carrier for a replacement or fix right away.

My Computer is Slow. How Do I Fix and Optimize it For Free

2010-12-30T19:25:00.000-08:00

There are many reasons that may cause your computer to be running slow, and many people often ask themselves these questions: How do I fix my slow computer for free?, How do I optimize my laptop computer for better performance? or How do I clean up my computer of malware/virus? However, the three main factors to consider when it comes to computer protection are listed and explained below:

Virus: A computer virus is a small software program that spreads from one computer to another computer and that interferes with computer operation. A computer virus may corrupt or delete data on a computer, use an e-mail program to spread the virus to other computers, or even delete everything on the hard disk.

Malware: Software designed to infiltrate a computer system without the owner's informed consent. The expression is a general term used by computer professionals to mean a variety of forms of hostile, intrusive, or annoying software or program code.

Adware: Software package which automatically displays or downloads advertisements to a computer when software is installed. Adware will slow your computer down and allows companies to track what you do on the internet. Removing Adware will speed up your computer and keep your privacy safe.

Spyware: Malware that is installed on computers and collects information about users without their knowledge. Spyware will slow down the performance of your PC. Our scan looks for spyware, including malware registry removal, when cleaning and speeding up your computer.

Now let's talk about how you can easily fix your slow computer for free. There are many programs out there that claim to fix registry errors, free hard disk space, or scan your computer for infections. However, you have to be cautious of this softwares because there are not 100% free. One of the few and proven tools out there that will not only scan your computer for problems but also optimize its performance is PC Pitstop's award-winning "Free PC Matic Scan" for speed, stability, security, and performance.

Do you know that the #1 reason people replace their computer is because it slows down while browsing the internet or watching a movie? They just assume it no longer works properly and need to buy a new computer when this happens. NOT TRUE! Your computer is probably just fine, and all it needs is some maintenance and protection. If at this very moment, your laptop or desktop computer is still experiencing a slow performance or is unresponsive at times. I recommend you click here to run a free scan to test your PC's performance now. This award-winning PC tune-up tool is provided by PC Pitstop for free, and can be easily installed and uninstall as much as you please.

A Common Computer Tip For End-Users
Like many people, you probably download and try out many different programs each month. How many of them do you actually end up using on a regular basis? Chances are, not very many of them. By getting into the habit of uninstalling unused and unneeded programs, you can keep your computer’s file system a lot less cluttered. In turn, your PC’s performance will improve dramatically. You can optimize your computer in this way by using its Add/Remove Programs feature. Its location varies by operating system, but you should be able to find it somewhere in the Control Panel.

When it comes to keeping your computer running optimally, small but regular maintenance is the best way to go. Protecting your PC only does so much; even the most careful Internet users in the world unintentionally download malicious software from time to time. By using basic system tune-up tools, cleaning your computer’s Windows registry regularly, performing regular file-cleaning maintenance and otherwise optimizing your PC, you should be able to keep it in like-new condition for a lot longer.

Facebook Unveils New Tag Suggestion Feature

2010-12-16T13:09:00.000-08:00

There was a reason why Mark Zuckerberg was named TIME’s person of the year, and that inevitably was, Facebook. The social network now caters to over 500 million users worldwide and brings frequent updates to its features. Facebook is revamping its much used feature, Facebook Photos, an update which just might be potentially controversial and irking for some users.

This new feature from Facebook, will automatically suggest users as to who they should tag in their photos, and it is all going to be based upon facial recognition technology. This feature is called Tag Suggestions, and would be unleashed to U.S. users next week

Understanding Tag Suggestions isn’t tough, as when a user is given the chance to tag groups of their friends in an album, Facebook, using its facial recognition technology in order to group similar faces together will then in turn automatically suggest the user which friend they should tag them with. Facebook will simply fill in the “Who is this?” box along with its suggestion and the user just needs to click on the “Save Tags” button to accept.

For those users who would be more concerned about their privacy, Facebook has given a provision to opt out of Tag Suggestions. They can easily disable the “Suggest photos of me to friends” by going to their privacy settings.

Even though Facebook Photos is quite a popular product, many people still consider photo tagging a tedious task. Tag Suggestions hopes to make that task easier by relatively speeding up the tagging process.

Let us know your thoughts about Tag Suggestions and potential privacy issues, in the comments below.

Sprint gets a similar iPhone via ZTE Peel-iPod

2010-11-21T11:58:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the wonder that is Voice over Internet Protocol, better known as VoIP, people have long been able to make phone calls from computers or, say, an iPod Touch.

But a new iPhone case with a built-in 3G-to-Wi-Fi hot spot comes closest yet to turning an iPod Touch into a real phone. The case, called the ZTE Peel, wraps around a second- or third-generation iPod Touch to connect it to Sprint’s 3G data service.
That means that by using a VoIP application, you can make phone calls on the move just as you can from a mobile phone.

You can also use it to connect a fourth-generation iPod Touch to the Internet just by having the Wi-Fi hot spot case nearby, but it will not snugly fit the fourth-generation Touch.
Two devices can connect to the Peel at a time, so you can also use it to connect a Windows or Macintosh computer to the Internet at the same time you are using your faux phone.

The Peel, which becomes available on Sunday, will retail for $80 through Sprint online. It will also require a $30 monthly service plan, which allows for 1 GB of data. That is about the equivalent of one hour of YouTube streaming, 250 Facebook uploads or 5,000 one-page e-mails.

When AT&T offered tiered data packages last June, Skype estimated that one minute of VoIP over 3G would use about 0.345 MB of data. So according to Skype, 1 GB of data should be about 2900 minutes of VoIP voice calls. That’s for a $30 a month fee. If the Peel works as promised … bargain!

Whether or not it’s as good a deal as buying an iPhone depends on whether you already have an iPod or not. A 32 GB iPod Touch costs $299, the same as the 32 GB iPhone 4.

Comparing the cost of plans with the iPhone 4, still available only through AT&T, you would have to have a voice plan the costs $40 to $70 a month, a data plan that costs $15 to $45 a month, and there’s an optional messaging plan that costs $5 to $20 a month. The low total would be $55 a month for talk and data with no texting.

The Peel-iPod-Sprint plan combo is less expensive, but until we know how much talk you get, it’s premature to call it a bargain. If you need a phone, I suspect you’ll still be better off with the proper iPhone. I’ll know more after testing the Peel in a week or so. If you just want to add a phonelike feature at a moderate price, the Peel might appeal.

Update: Added calculations regarding the amount of data per minute was used when placing an VoIP call.

By ROY FURCHGOTT

This TurboCharge Cell Phone and iPod Chargers give you up to two hours of talk time, or a full charge--anytime, anywhere. The latest model is new and improved; with a durable plastic case, built-in LED flashlight, on-off switch, battery meter, improved charging power and digital overcharge protection. The Phone Kit comes with 13 adapters to fit most recent cellphone models, while the iPod Kit adds a special iPod charger. Uses two AA batteries (included).