Softwares in News

Bill Gates gives up Facebook Account - Says Stop Poking Me

noreply@blogger.com (Dan) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:20:40 PDT

Bill Gates was forced to give up on the social networking account on Facebook after too many people wanted to be his friend.

Bill Gates said he had tried out Facebook but ended up with "10,000 people wanting to be my friends".

He revealed the problem to an audience in New Delhi, India as he was honoured for his charity work.

Mr Gates said he was always confused to figure out whether he "knew this person, did I not know this person".

"It was just way too much trouble so I gave it up," Mr Gates told the business forum.

Mr Gates was in the Indian capital to receive the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development, awarded by the government for his work for the charitable organisation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The foundation, built by his massive fortune, has committed almost $US 1 billion ($1.22 billion) to health and development projects in India, targeting AIDS and polio.

Mr Gates also confided to the audience that he was "not that big at text messaging" and that "I'm not a 24-hour-a-day tech person".

"I read a lot and some of that reading is not on a computer," he said.

Mr Gates, who sought to drive a vision of a computer on every desk and in every home, said the information technology revolution had been "hugely beneficial" but added: "All these tools of tech waste our time if we're not careful."

The homes of Tech Czars

noreply@blogger.com (Dan) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 06:35:51 PDT

All that makes tech billionaires have in common, of course other than their fat bank accounts are Larger-than-life Palatial Homes. Spread over hundreds of acres, these stunningly beautiful houses, eye-popping extras, stand as testimony to their owners' deep pockets.

Here's peeping into the houses of technology czars: homes with music-system fitted pools, lakes, five-level terraced lawns and also a legal battle to boasts of.

1. Bill Gates

The former chief architect of world's biggest software company Bill Gates lives in 66,000 square feet house built situated on the edge of lake Washington. The address is 1835 73rd Ave NE, Medina, WA 98039.

The house is famous for its design and the technology it incorporates. Nicknamed Xanadu 2.0, Gates reportedly purchased several pieces of land and houses and built this house adjoining all those. Much of the house is built underground into the hill, so the house looks smaller than it actually is.

The house built in the Pacific lodge style has many marvels including the 17-by-60-foot swimming pool has an underwater music system and a floor painted in a fossil motif. Swimmers can dive under a glass wall and emerge outdoors by a terrace.

Then there's ornate, paneled library with a domed reading room with oculus (light well), fireplace, and two secret pivoting bookcases, one containing a bar. It's the fitting home for Leonardo da Vinci's 16th-century notebook, the Codex Leicester, which Gates bought for $30.8 million.

The 20-seat art deco theater is outfitted with plush chairs, couches, and a popcorn machine. Towering Douglas fir beams support the stainless-steel roof and are surrounded by walls of glass, concrete, and stone. While much of the house is buried into the hillside, windows on the lakefront side provide views of Seattle to the west. There are 84 steps down from the entrance to the ground floor.

2. Larry Ellison, CEO, Oracle

The flamboyant chief executive officer of Oracle Corp has been in buzz for spending nearly $200 million on near a dozen properties in posh Malibu town of US.

Ellison's Japanese-style imperial villa includes a traditional tea house, bath house, gardens, several ponds and waterfalls. The house also has Japanese screens and two Japanese flooring rooms.

The house has a man-made 2.3-acre lake and with extensive seismic retrofit.

The exquisite 23-acre property is located in Woodside, California, one of the most expensive areas in the US.

3. Steve Jobs, CEO , Apple

Apple CEO Steve Jobs' 17,000 square feet 14-bedroom Jackling House in Woodside, California is reported to be worth $5.4 billion. The 30-room Spanish Colonial home dates back to 1926. The home was built for copper baron Daniel C Jackling, who revolutionised the refinement of copper and founded the Utah Copper Company. In 1984, Jobs purchased the mansion designed by George Washington Smith.

Jobs lived in this house for about 10 years. Jobs initially wanted to demolish the mansion; however, he lost his bid to demolish the Woodside mansion that preservationists call a historical treasure.

Jobs bought the house in 1984 but haven’t lived there for a decade, as he wanted to tear it down and build a new, smaller unit that would be more appropriate for his family. They now live in Palo Alto.

Preservationists cried foul and said the house should be protected. A group calling itself Uphold Our Heritage sued the city to stop the demolition.

4. Michael Dell, founder and CEO, Dell

The house of Michael Dell in Austin, Texas is said to be one of the largest house in the world, and one of the most expensive houses built in Texas.

Built in 1997, Dell's 33,000-square-foot mansion is set on a 20-acre spread; a stone's throw from Dell's headquarter. It is known locally as `the castle', courtesy its high walls and tight security.

The house has 8 bedrooms and bathrooms, 13 half baths, a conference room, an exercise room, an indoor pool and outdoor pool, cabanas, a five-level terraced lawn and a stunning view of lake Austin.

Dell's mansion reportedly became a bone of contention between Dell and city appraisers, who assessed the value at $22.5 million. This left Michael Dell with a property tax bill of more than a $500,000. The dispute was finally settled for $12 million.

5. Paul Allen, co-founder , Microsoft

Co-founder of world's largest software company Microsoft, Paul Allen has one of the largest privately-owned super yachts in the world called Octopus. Wondering what is it doing in the tech titans' home list? Allen's Yatch is as good as a home. Read on to find out.

The mega yacht is said to have cost Paul Allen over $200 million. Octopus has a full-time crew of 60, including former Navy Seals. Designed by the world's famous company Espen Oino Naval Architects, German shipbuilders LUrssen and HDW has made its exterior. The interior of the Octopus was designed by American designers Jonathan Quinn Barnett and Christian Grevstad from Seattle.

Allen's Octopus features two helipads on the top deck (one in front and one on the back, each with a helicopter), a sixty-three foot tender docked in the transom, seven boats, a pool on one of the upper decks, a basketball court, and two submarines: one a ground crawler operated by remote control for studying the bottom of the ocean and the other a 10-man vessel with the capacity to sleep eight for up to two weeks underwater. Side hatches at the water line form a dock for jet skis.

In 2003, when Paul Allen got Octopus built, it was the world's largest yacht.

6. Master George Lucas, creator of Star Wars

George Lucas is the man credited of bringing technology to big screens. The creator of Star Wars series bought a land north of San Francisco in 1978 which he named Skywalker Ranch.

Ever since then the famous filmmaker has spiced up the space with new additions. Today, the place is headquarters of Lucas's business operations. The 4,700-acre land has a huge lake called Ewok and several kinds of animals and vineyards. There's a fruits and vegetable garden that also caters to the on-site restaurant. The fitness centre has racquetball courts and an outdoor swimming pool. There's also a hilltop observatory, a 300-seat theater called The Stag, multiple-theater screening rooms. The parking lot is mostly concealed underground to preserve the natural landscape.

According to the Wall Street Journal, "assembled parcel by parcel since September 1978, Skywalker Ranch has cost Lucas up to $100 million."

Source: IndiaTimes

Reasons that make Geeks Sexy

noreply@blogger.com (Dan) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 06:12:52 PDT

You thought software Geeks are just good at cracking computer codes? Time to add some more feathers on the `Geeky caps’. Other than their technical prowess, Geeks are also said to be best when it comes to sex. So revealed a recent study by specialist PlayStation 3 site.

Similarly, the site geeks.com too lists 29 reasons that explain why geeks are sexy. Here are top 20 from the same.

Flawless Code!
Geeks are great baby makers: Their genetic CODE is flawless and clean!

Have fun hobbies!
Geeks have fun hobbies: Who doesn't like to play Halo 3 all day?

Are athletic!
Geeks are athletic: Lugging 50+lbs of PC gear to a LAN party takes skill and muscles!

Are plain smart!
Geeks are smart: They tutor math and science just to kill time between gaming!

Get fat salaries!
Geeks make good money: Especially if you work for Google, Microsoft or..., it's a long list.

Are diverse!
Geeks are diverse: Comic books, PC games, C++ programming OH MY!!

Are multi-lingual!
Geeks are multi-lingual: C++, UNIX, HTML, PASCAL and MIPS are just the tip of the iceberg of the languages they know.

It's in demeanour!
Geeks look good: Our farmers tan will definitely get your attention.

Know how to have fun!
Geeks know how to have fun: Dungeons & Dragons and World of Warcraft are like skydiving for them.

Dress well (mostly)!
Geeks know how to dress: Glasses and pocket protectors are the new black!

Hook pretty!
Geeks always end up with a pretty girl: If you don’t believe, just go and rent `Revenge of the Nerds'.

Are whizkids (again mostly)!
Geeks win every science fair: What 6th grade Geek can’t build a semi-nuclear conductor?

Technically proficient!
Geeks are technically proficient: What isn’t sexy about being able to defrag a hard drive or install RAM?

Are well-behaved!
Geeks are well-behaved: Can you sit in front of a computer for hours? (Most of the time par-taking in harmless activity)

Know what to read!
Geeks were reading Kama Sutra: When jocks were out playing sports!

Amazon.com apologizes

noreply@blogger.com (Dan) — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 22:22:51 PDT

Amazon.com was widely criticized last week for deleting electronic copies of George Orwell’s novels from its customers’ Kindle readers after it discovered that it had inadvertently sold unauthorized editions of the books.
On Thursday, Amazon’s chief executive, Jeffrey P. Bezos, posted a statement on a customer forum, publicly apologizing for his company’s handling of the situation:

“This is an apology for the way we previously handled illegally sold copies of ‘1984′ and other novels on Kindle. Our ’solution’ to the problem was stupid, thoughtless and painfully out of line with our principles. It is wholly self-inflicted, and we deserve the criticism we’ve received. We will use the scar tissue from this painful mistake to help make better decisions going forward, ones that match our mission.”

The apology came as Amazon reported second-quarter sales on Thursday that disappointed investors, who sent its shares down about 8 percent in after-hours trading.

Microsoft may get through the Yahoo deal within weeks

noreply@blogger.com (Dan) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 05:44:39 PDT

Deal between Microsoft and Yahoo is again gearing up and catching heat. The two companies have again started taking the deal ahead and talks are on aggressively between the two as per the sources.

Activist investor Carl Icahn spoke out in favor of a search deal between Yahoo Inc and Microsoft Corp, as talks between the two companies appeared to regain momentum.

Icahn declined to comment on the state of any negotiations between Yahoo and Microsoft. He had tried to broker a partnership between the two companies last year, when talks on Microsoft's $47.5 billion takeover bid for Yahoo fell apart.

Here is what Icahn told to Reuters in a phone interview: "I've been a strong advocate of getting a search deal done with Microsoft," "It would enhance value if a deal got done, because of the synergies involved,"

Microsoft and Yahoo are close to a long-discussed search and online advertising deal, which could be announced in the next week according to sources.

AllThingsDigital blog said a deal may involve Microsoft paying Yahoo several billion dollars upfront to take over its search advertising business and guarantee certain payments back to Yahoo.

The latest discussions involve a partnership in which Microsoft would handle search capabilities for Yahoo, while Yahoo could potentially handle online advertising for the two online sites.

10 execs who can replace Steve Jobs

noreply@blogger.com (Dan) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 06:27:29 PDT

Steve Jobs is back on job after his serious illness but speculations are going all around about his replacement. Apple is definitely looking beyond Jobs. After all, it has to one day..

Here are 10 Executives who can replace Steve Jobs

1. Timothy D Cook
The top contender for the post of Apple's next CEO is Timothy D Cook. He is Apple's present Chief Operating Officer.

2. Ron Johnson
He is Apple's Senior V.P., Retail

3. Philip W Schiller
He has been credited for delivering Apple's most popular products, including iPhone, iPod, Safari and Macbook. He is Senior Vice President of Worldwide Product Marketing and reports directly to Steve Jobs.

4. Scott Forstall
He is Senior Vice President, iPhone software.

5. Jonathan Ive
He is Senior Vice President, Industrial Design

6. Peter Oppenheimer
He is Apple's present C.F.O.

7. Bertrand Serlet
He is Apple's present senior vice president of software engineering credited for the release of Mac OS X Tiger and Leopard. Serlet is also responsible for leading Apple's Software Engineering group.

8. Sina Tamaddon
Sina Tamaddon is senior vice president, applications

9. Daniel Cooperman
Cooperman looks into Apple's worldwide legal policies

10. Bob Mansfield
The man who was credited for delivering Mac products; Bob Mansfield is senior vice president of Macintosh Hardware Engineering.

This is how you get spam e-mails

noreply@blogger.com (Dan) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 05:43:02 PDT

A group of researcher tried to find out the secret behind spam e-mails and bulk-messages. This involved exposing 22,230 unique e-mail addresses on the Web over a five-month period and watching for spam sent to those destinations. The researchers found that an e-mail address included in a comment posted to a website had a much higher probability of resulting in spam. While only four e-mail addresses submitted to 70 websites during registration resulted in spam, half of the e-mail addresses posted to popular sites resulted in spam.

The researchers also set up a website on their own domain and waited for their pages to be crawled. Each visitor to the website would see a different e-mail, a strategy that the researchers hoped would gauge how often programs that automatically crawl sites are operated by spammers. "We are giving out a unique e-mail address to every visitor to our webpage," Shue says. "If we ever get an e-mail to that address, we know that the crawler gave that e-mail address to a spammer."

The researchers also found that the programs that crawl the Web looking for e-mail addresses--dubbed spamming crawlers--have characteristics that could make it easier to detect them. For example, the parts of a network from which a crawler operates tend to be a good predictor of whether it is a legitimate crawler, such as those used by Google or other search engines, or a spamming crawler. "It may be feasible to block a small number of [network numbers] associated with spammer Web crawlers to eliminate the harvesting of e-mail addresses on a site," the Indiana University researchers wrote.

In a separate paper to be presented at the same conference, researchers from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), in Brazil, and Brazil's Network Information Center show that spammers tend to combine different techniques to hide the origin of their junk e-mail messages. While many spam groups have adopted the use of botnets to anonymize the source of their e-mail messages, a significant number use a chain of different compromised machines, according to Pedro Calais Guerra, a PhD student at UFMG.

"The key factor for a spammer to succeed in terms of hiding his identity on the network is to spread his activity as much as he can," says Guerra, who believes that the team's study could be used to help fight spam by identifying which messages should be blocked. "We think it may have an impact on the design of blacklists."

Guerra and five other researchers monitored special servers, known as honeypots, collecting 525 million spam e-mail messages sent from more than 216,000 Internet addresses over a 15-month period. They found, for example, that nearly 95,000 machines used by spammers were end-user computers that relayed messages and not mail servers, a third of which were in the United States and a quarter in Taiwan.

The chains of computers used by the spammers to anonymize the origins of spam fell into two categories: open proxies and open relays. The open proxies are compromised servers that forward data to other computers on the network, hiding the sender's address; open relays receive e-mail messages for another domain, passing the message to the next server. The researchers found that spammers typically use each open relay to forward e-mail for only a short time, to avoid having the e-mail server added to a blacklist.

"We show in our paper that spammers send high volumes of spam to open proxies but low volumes of spam to open relays," UFMG's Guerra says.

Apps, tweets and websites for wine drinkers

noreply@blogger.com (Dan) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 10:56:57 PDT

Don't know which wine to have with a pepperoni pizza? There's an app for that -- as well as websites and Twitter.

The number of ways to discover the most suitable wine for a particular dish can be as overwhelming as walking into a large wine shop.

More than a dozen apps claiming to be the equivalent of a sommelier in your pocket are available for iPhones and iPods. And there are others for the BlackBerry and other mobile devices.

But among the most popular for both are Nat Decants Food & Wine Match and HelloVino. Wine blogger Natalie MacLean also provides the same information on her website (www.nataliemaclean.com).

If you want to find out which wine will go best with lamb vindaloo, MacLean, who has almost 400,000 wine and food pairings, recommends Shiraz for red or a white Chateauneuf-Du-Pape. She also suggests food pairings with beer, whiskies and cocktails.

HelloVino is a free app that suggests Zinfandel for lamb shanks, and even advises how to pronounce it. It also chose wines such as California Zins that cost almost $100 a bottle.

But some selections were more reasonably priced such as Chinon and Pinot Noir for grilled lamb or lamb stew that ranged from $10 to $22.

If you want to have a wine tasting without leaving home, the website tastelive.com (www.tastelive.com) uses Twitter to bring winemakers and U.S. importers together.

Started by three 30-somethings from Massachusetts who designed websites for wineries, tastelive tries to select wines that are widely available and not too expensive.

"We knew from using Twitter that people sure liked to talk about wine, but no one seemed to be tasting it," said co-founder Craig Drollett.

The website posts which wines will be tasted and when. Anyone with a Twitter account can give their opinion.
"Right now, the heart of it is users in the U.S., England and Spain, but we've had folks posting from 18 different countries," Drollett said.

"And the winemakers love it. We had Etienne Hugel (the French winemaker from Alsace) up at 2 a.m. tweeting from his kitchen with folks in California."

1WineDude, speaking of the Sauvignon Blanc, tweeted, "I haven't smelled this much grass since I laid sod down in my backyard!"

The SwirlGirls replied, "If the Sauv. B were a person, it would be a high-powered, no-nonsense, good-looking businesswoman."

Not surprisingly by the end of the three-hour tasting, the tweets became a bit less coherent.

"Too buzzed to make any more coherent remarks. Really enjoying the reds with our steak frite dinner!," NomeSane tweeted.

Source: Reuters

Social Community Sites You May Not Know - Interesting Facts

noreply@blogger.com (Dan) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 08:58:25 PDT

We are all aware of and using Social Community or Networking sites like Facebook, Myspace, Reddit, Twitter and many more.

But here are some social networking websites which are more interesting in their specific segment and category, but we may not be aware of. Here is a list of those websites for your reference and some interesting facts about them.

1. Habbo

Habbo (also known as Habbo Hotel) is a social networking website aimed at teenagers. The website is owned and operated by Sulake Corporation The service began in 2000 and has expanded to include 32 online communities (or "hotels"). As of June 2008 over 118 million avatars have been registered. There are an average 8 million unique visitors monthly,and 75,000 avatars are being created every day.

2. Wakoopa

Wakoopa is a social networking site that monitors the software applications its members use. It is for computer fans that want to discover new software and games. Wouter Broekhof & Robert Gaal are its owners and it was launched on May 2007.
3. deviantART

deviantArt is an online community showcasing various forms of user-made art. It was first launched on August 7, 2000 by Scott Jarkoff, Matthew Stephens and Angelo Sotira, amongst others. deviantART, Inc. is headquartered on Hollywood Boulevard in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, California, United States. As of May 2009 the site consists of over 10 million members, over 81 million submissions, and receives around 105,000 submissions per day. The domain deviantart.com attracted at least 36 million visitors annually by 2008 according to a Compete.com study. deviantART aims to provide a place for any artist to exhibit and discuss works. Works are organized in a comprehensive category structure, including photography, digital art, traditional art, literature, Flash, filmmaking, and skins for applications, among others, along with extensive downloadable resources such as tutorials and stock photography. "Fella," a small, robotic, cat character, is the official deviantART mascot.

4. Adult FriendFinder

Amazingly AFF (Adult Friend Finder) tops the charts of Social Networking websites for Adults and also keeps many other General social sites behind in terms of Members and visitors. The site was founded by Andrew Conru (aka Andrew Conreux). It is consistently ranked between the 40th and 60th most visited website on the Internet and claims to have over 20 million members. Originally started as FriendFinder, a more traditional online dating site, Adult FriendFinder was spun off when members began uploading more risque photos than were appropriate.

5. Netlog
Netlog (formerly known as Facebox and Bingbox) is a Belgian social networking website specifically targeted at the European youth demographic. The site, originally named Incrowd, was founded in July 2003 in Ghent, Belgium, by Lorenz Bogaert, Toon Coppens, and BITS, and as of beginning 2009 had 42 million registered users across 25 languages..The world record for the number of friends gathered on a single profile is owned by a German: ""SIDO"", who as of April 2009 had almost 750000 people on their friends list.

6. Flixster

Flixster is a social movie site allowing users to share movie ratings, discover new movies and meet others with similar movie taste. Between November 2006 and January 2007, the number of daily page views by Alexa Toolbar users rose from fewer than 20 million per day to around 50 million per day. Alexa no longer (June 2008) provides numbers of daily page views, but the number of page views as a percentage has decreased by almost two thirds from mid-December 2007 to mid-June 2008. Quantcast.com reports that the number of global daily page views for Flixster.com peaked at 8,331,961 on January 23, 2008 and dropped to 1,325,685 by July 5, 2008. Flixster's growth has been described in the trade press as being due to "its aggressive viral marketing practices", including "the automated selection of your email account's entire address book in order to send a Flixster invitation to all of your contacts.".

7. Geni.com

Geni.com is topping the chart in the category of genealogy-related social networking website. Launched in beta mode on January 16, 2007 by Web 2.0 company Geni, Inc. Over Fifty million profiles are created on Geni by over three and a half million users as of now. Geni is also the parent company of enterprise messaging service Yammer.

Robotic Trash collector - A real life Wall-E

noreply@blogger.com (Dan) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 07:46:13 PDT

A robot called DustCart isn't just a figment of anybody's imagination. The green-colored recycle bot is currently undergoing a test run in Peccioli, a small Italian town.

Peccioli is an ideal location for DustCart's testing because the town is wellknown for its high-tech dump sites that can both recycle and produce usable energy, thereby creating an economy that has something to do with garbage.

Part of a $3.9 million project called DustBot, DustCart will operate autonomously, responding to users' calls within its service area. As soon as DustCart reaches the caller, it will ask for a personal ID number, ask for the type of garbage they want to dispose of (organic, recyclable or waste) and then collect the trash placed in the bin inside its belly to be taken to a dumping site.

Such a scheme will reportedly work better in small towns like Peccioli than larger garbage trucks. Developers, scientists from the Robotics Department at the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna University, also installed a sensor on DustCart that monitors air pollutants in real time. In the future, that particular function could be used to feed data to networks that monitor air pollution.

Noise pollution is also addressed and curbed by using a lithium-battery operated engine to run the robot and avoid the ruckus made by other vehicles. In spite of the ongoing test run, it's still unclear whether DustCart will be put to actual use anytime soon.

Image Courtsey: www.dustbot.org

Microsoft to Offer "Paste Preview" in Office 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Dan) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 05:48:43 PDT

Microsoft is going to offer "Paste Preview" in Office 2010 to make the user's task much easier. The most common commands people use in Microsoft Office is Copy and Paste and once the copied content is pasted, the most used command is Undo. Most of the users use Undo command after pasting the material as they think "they shouldn't have copied the content" or "the copied content is not useful".

To avoid this regret that "I shouldn't have done that", Microsoft is offering a Paste Preview option in the latest version of Office - Office 2010. Microsoft is hoping the paste preview option will help solve that problem. It is also counting on that that and other new features will add up to make Office 2010 a compelling upgrade even though it is not the major overhaul seen with the last release, Office 2007.

Window 7 - A big disaster ???

noreply@blogger.com (Dan) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 02:47:19 PDT

Window 7 can be a disaster and may prove a Big Failure for Microsoft. A recent survey has got the results that 6 out of 10 companies doesn't want Windows 7. They are not at all interested to purchase Windows 7 either because of compatibility issue with their existing applications.

Windows Vista has also become a big failure for Microsoft and that was the reason Microsoft came up speedily with Windows 7. Now based on this survey, it seems that Microsoft will have tough time selling its latest OS especially in this tough global economic situation.

ScriptLogic Corp - Microsoft Network solution provider, sent out this survey to approx. 20,000 IT administrators to find out about their choices.

The survey found about 60 percent of those surveyed have no plans to deploy Windows 7, 34 percent will deploy it by the end of 2010 and only 5.4 percent will deploy by year's end.

Forty-two percent said their biggest reason for avoiding Windows 7 was a "lack of time and resources."

That dovetailed with another part of the survey, which found that 35 percent had already skipped upgrades or delayed purchases to save money.

But there were reasons other than money for staying away from Windows 7. Another 39 percent of those surveyed said they had concern about the compatibility of Windows 7 with existing applications.

(Source: Reuters)

Google's Twitter Accounts List

noreply@blogger.com (Dan) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 02:27:44 PDT

Here is a list of Google's accounts on Twitter. (Source: Google Blog)

Google accounts on Twitter

twitter.com/Google - central account

twitter.com/Blogger - for Blogger fans
twitter.com/GoogleCalendar - user tips & updates
twitter.com/GoogleImages - news, tips, tricks on google's visual image search
twitter.com/GoogleNews - latest headlines via Google News
twitter.com/GoogleReader - from feed reader team
twitter.com/iGoogle - news & notes from Google's personalized homepage
twitter.com/GoogleStudents - news of interest to students using Google
twitter.com/YouTube - for YouTube fans
twitter.com/YouTubeES - en Espanol
twitter.com/GoogleAtWork - solutions for IT and workplace productivity

Geo-related
twitter.com/SketchUp - Google SketchUp news
twitter.com/3DWH - SketchUp's 3D Warehouse
twitter.com/Modelyourtown - 3D modeling to build your favorite places
twitter.com/EarthOutreach - Earth & Maps tools for nonprofits & orgs
twitter.com/GoogleMaps - uses, tips, mashups
twitter.com/GoogleSkyMap -Android app for the night sky

Ads-related
twitter.com/AdSense - for online publishers
twitter.com/AdWordsHelper - looking out for AdWords questions and tech issues
twitter.com/AdWordsProSarah - Google Guide for AdWords Help Forum
twitter.com/GoogleAnalytics - insights for website effectiveness
twitter.com/GoogleAdBuilder - re building display ads
twitter.com/GoogleRetail - for retail advertisers
twitter.com/TechnologyUK - for U.K. tech advertisers
twitter.com/InsideAdWordsDE - for German AdWords customers
twitter.com/GoogleAgencyDE - for German ad agencies
twitter.com/AdSensePT - info for Portuguese-language publishers
twitter.com/AdWordsRussia - AdWords news & tips in Russian
twitter.com/DentroDeAdWords - Spanish updates from the Inside AdWords blog
twitter.com/AdWordsAPI - AdWords API tips

Developer & technical
twitter.com/GoogleResearch - from research scientists
twitter.com/GoogleWMC - Google Webmaster Central
twitter.com/GoogleCode - latest updates for Google developer products
twitter.com/GoogleData - Data APIs provide a standard protocol for reading and writing web data
twitter.com/app_engine - web apps run on Google infrastructure
twitter.com/DataLiberation - initiative for complete import/export of all data
twitter.com/GoogleMapsAPI - about using Google Maps embedded in websites
twitter.com/GoogleIO - Google's largest annual developer event

Culture, People
twitter.com/googletalks - notes from @Google speaker series
twitter.com/googlejobs - the voice of Google recruiters

Country or Region
twitter.com/googlearabia - news from the Google Arabia Blog*

twitter.com/googledownunder - Google activities in Australia & New Zealand
twitter.com/GoogleDE - Google in Germany
twitter.com/GoogleKorea - News & notes in Korean*

twitter.com/GoogleLatAm - Latin America (en Espanol)
twitter.com/GooglePolicyIt - Notes on Google policy issues in Italy

Suing Google has become new pastime

noreply@blogger.com (Dan) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 21:16:35 PDT

It seems that suing Google has become new pastime for Google's critics and competitors. There has been lot heard about Anti-trust cases against Google across the globe which include strict observation by the U.S. Government, Chinese Govt.'s red eyes on Google over porn search results and many other such cases.

The most recent is one from Rosetta Stone. Rosetta Stone is a language-learning firm which has recently filed a lawsuit in the U.S. federal court against Google, claiming that the company is infringing on its trademarks.

Rosetta Stone has put allegations that Google allows third parties including individuals involved in software piracy to purchase the right to use Rosetta Stone trademarks or other terms confusingly similar in Google's Adwords advertising program. In June 2009, Google changed its policy stating that "advertisers will be allowed to use trademark terms in their ad text even if they do not own that trademark or have explicit approval from the trademark owner to use it."

"Google's search engine is helping third parties mislead consumers and misappropriate Rosetta Stone trademarks by using them as 'keyword' triggers for paid advertisements and by using them within the text or title of paid advertisements," said Michael Wu, general counsel, Rosetta Stone.

The lawsuit by Rosetta Stone was the ninth keyword trademark suit brought against Google.

Twitter may impose fees

noreply@blogger.com (Dan) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 06:36:57 PDT

Have you ever seen advertises on Twitter? Have you ever seen any affiliates on Twitter? Did you ever get corporate offers on Twitter? No. Then how does Twitter make money? The answer to this question is, Twitter is yet to start making money.

Here is the answer to how Twitter will make money.

Twitter's co-founders, Evan Williams and Biz Stone have suggested they might impose fees on companies interested in mining the data about consumer preferences, trends, consumer's behavior and mood and peeves that pour into Twitter. Talks are already going on with "Someone". Williams said he has been discussing possible deals with some of the Sun Valley conference's other guests.

The buzz is that Twitter may also consider a small amount of fee with its users once they get addicted to it. Twitterers have already been started getting addicted to it and they won't mind paying fees to access it if the fees are considerably as low as $5 per month or so.

Warren Buffett confided that he enjoys watching YouTube so much that he would be willing to pay a $5 monthly subscription for access. It may be the same case with Twitter.

So this is how Twitter is going to make money.

Michael Jackson's Death Certificate goes Online

noreply@blogger.com (Dan) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:13:47 PDT

Michael Jackson's Death Certificate goes Online. A PDF file of Michael Jackson' Death Certificate has been released on Internet and floating across the world. The copy of the same is being offered at $12 to Micheal Jackson's fans.

In an email to Sky News Online, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said: "The redacted death certificate is now available for purchase from the Department of Public Health.

It is to Note that Michael Jackson's cause of death is listed as "deferred" in this certificate. Here is a copy image for your reference.

The rise of e-Currency - Good or Bad?

noreply@blogger.com (Dan) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 23:14:31 PDT

Those who are playing most popular MMRPG (Massively Multiplayer Role Plyaing Game) like Mafia Wars on Facebook or newly launched 140 Mafia on Twitter might be very well aware of the E-Currency or Virtual Cash.

They use Virtual Cash to buy properties like Islands, Restaurants, Weapons, Sedans, Armors. At the same time they also earn that Virtual Cash by finishing specific tasks.

Web sites such as PlayerAuctions have even adopted a PayPal-like approach in order to broker the trading legally the virtual assests including virtual Gold and acting as an open marketplace for players to exchange their digital assets.

Frenzoo, a "3D fashion game for girls"has adopted this Virtual e-Currency model. Other popular games like World of Warcraft, EverQuest and Second Life also has their own Market Place and simialr models where players are using them for Real Cash.

In March 2009, GoldMoney launched a dedicated iPhone application allowing its account holders to exchange gold and silver units within minutes.

The big question is, whether these kind of models allowing e-Currency and Virtual Cash transactions are good or bad?

The increasing use of these virtual currencies and virtual money by players and internet users leading towards a new Dual Economy is really a matter to concern and take seriously. The Gaming Companies are surely earning Big Time Profits with these kind of Models but the question is how useful it can be made into the routine economy and routine transaction.

If you have your say on the Virtual Economy, comment it.

GM to sell New Cars on Ebay - What an Idea!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Dan) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 10:37:38 PDT

Ever since Fritz Henderson has taken over the charge as the CEO of General Motors, he is engaged in getting and implementing innovative ways to bring up the sale of the GM cars. His only objective in this tough global economy is to sell the cars wherever possible and in what ever ways it can.

As part of its innovative strategy, General Motors Corp. said on Friday that GM is considering to experiment with auctioning new cars on eBay, expanding on an existing partnership covering certified used vehicles on the online marketplace.

GM CEO Fritz Henderson said the company is working on an "innovative new partnership" with eBay Inc. to let consumers in California bid on vehicles as they would in a normal eBay auction, or choose a "Buy it Now" option to purchase the car at a set price. Dealers would still distribute the cars.

A deal between eBay and GM is still under discussion and has not been materialized fully.

GM spokesman John McDonald said the company sees the sales of new cars on eBay as an experiment that builds upon the existing partnership in used vehicles. Certified preowned vehicles from GM, along with other carmakers, are currently offered for sale on eBay Motors, eBay's online auto marketplace.

GM is hoping to get the deal done with Ebay and start testing the new car sales on eBay in the "next couple of weeks."

Howeverm in a statement, eBay Motors vice president Rob Chesney said "at this time, no plans have been finalized with General Motors." Chesney also said eBay was "excited about a potential new adventure that supports GM's dealers by expanding on how they already reach consumers through new approaches."

Worst U.S. cities for IT professionals

noreply@blogger.com (Dan) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 05:11:26 PDT

The United States (U.S.) is the home of opprotunities and the biggest hub of Information Technology (IT) and Software Industry. However, not all the cities of the U.S. are frenzy for IT and Software pros especially in this recession period.

Network World, a leading IT and Research Company, has come out with a list of US cities that IT pros probably should avoid. Here's Network World's list of least favorite US technology job locales.

1. Detroit
Topping the list is Detroit. According to Network World, Detroit, the Mecca of automobile companies, can hardly be any IT professional's destination of choice right now. With auto companies and their suppliers struggling to survive bankruptcy and global recession reason is not hard to find.

Detroit was also a part of the Forbe's top 10 'Fastest Dying US Cities' list.

2. Bentonville
The second city on the list is US retail giant's headquarter Bentonville.

3. Cleveland
The city of Rock and Roll fame Cleveland is next on the list. The city has witnessed one of the highest foreclosure rates in the US, huge population declines and dying industries of yesteryear, according to the article.

Like Detroit, Cleveland too was a part of the Forbes top 10 'Fastest Dying US Cities' listing.

4. Syracuse
Next on the `worst' US city for IT pros list is Syracuse. The city holds the title for the US city with the highest average annual snowfall (115 inches), more than Anchorage, Alaska (114 inches). The city reportedly also has a bit of a problem with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) due to heavy snow and little sunshine.

5. San Francisco
Here's the city whose entry in the list is sure to raise eyebrows. According to Network World, "These havens for IT geeks and tech companies both offer insanely high real estate prices, suicide-inducing traffic and too many cocky and annoying IT people fighting over precious jobs."

San Francisco also claims the No. 1 spot for worst cities for identify theft, or `iJacking.' And Boston is said to be too full of itself.

6. Anchorage
Anchorage is the next city on the list. The city receives second-highest snowfall in the US.

7. Orlando
Orlando is surely a tourist haven with its theme parks. But the city is surely not a haven for techies. The Network World's authour blames the Orlando's real estate mess and the annual hurricane season for this not-so-favourable title

Chrome Vs Windows - Video

noreply@blogger.com (Dan) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 23:49:43 PDT

Here is an interesting video from Blogger Bunch discussing Google Chrome, Windows and OSX operating System's pros. and cons. and other latest offerings from Microsoft and Google. The discussion will probably help users little more to choose between the three OS depending on their individual requirement and easiness. The discussion over the comparison is quite interesting.

What will you choose???

World's first 3D digital camera

noreply@blogger.com (Dan) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 10:58:30 PDT

Fujifilm has recently announced that it will unveil the world's first 3D digital camera for consumers later this year.

Fujifilm hopes that its groundbreaking new gadget tentatively named the FinePix Real 3D System will allow it to leapfrog the competition by bringing 3D capabilities to the masses, at the same time putting a little buzz back into the business of taking snapshots.

Fujifilm's 3D Digital Camera offers two viewing options. One is a 3D digital picture frame — an eight-inch (20 cm) LCD screen that directs the dual images to the left and right eyes, creating the 3-D effect. The other option is 3-D prints, which are made with a clear plastic overlay that acts as a kind of 3-D lens. Fujifilm plans to launch an online service that will make 3-D prints for consumers.

The 3D Digital Camera is going to first launch in Japan this summer and in the U.S. and Europe in September. The Fujifilm is considering to quote the cost of its new innovative 3D Digital Cam at around $600, roughly twice the price of conventional digital cameras. The picture frame will cost several hundred dollars, too; Fuji isn't sure yet how much to charge for 3-D prints. "We know that if it's over 500 yen [$5] per photo, it probably won't sell," says Takeshi Higuchi, general manager of Fujifilm's Electronic Imaging Division.

Are you ready for the new Dimensions in Digital Photography???

Bill Gates' encounter with Google CEO Eric Schmidt

noreply@blogger.com (Dan) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 08:35:00 PDT

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and Google CEO Eric Schmidt had an awkward encounter this morning at the Sun Valley mogulfest — and after Google's plan to launch Chrome OS to Netbooks and then hopefully to PCs, Google hopes to challenge Microsoft’s dominant Windows operating system.

Associated Press

Google CEO Eric Schmidt, left, jokes with Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates in Sun Valley, Idaho, shortly after Google announced plans to develop an operating system that will compete with Microsoft’s Windows.

Mr. Gates and his former lieutenant Nathan Myhrvold were walking out of the morning session when two reporters, including this one, asked Mr. Gates for a comment on the new Google operating system, Chrome OS.

“No comment,” Gates replied, while walking out the door.

From behind the reporters, Mr. Schmidt materialized. “It would be better if you don’t make that comment,” he said as he came forward to shake hands with Mr. Gates.

The two laughed, shook hands and walked into the private lunch area together.

Google CEO resisted Chrome initially

noreply@blogger.com (Dan) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 08:15:51 PDT

Eric Schmidt, Google's CEO, resisted the idea of building what became the Chrome browser and (soon) operating system, before succumbing to the enthusiasm of Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page.

Source: Wall Street Journal Blog

By Julia Angwin

Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said Thursday evening that, for six years, he resisted the idea of building what became the Chrome browser and (soon) operating system, before succumbing to the enthusiasm of Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page.

In a wide-ranging on-the-record press conference, Messrs. Schmidt and Page described the origins of the combination browser/operating system.

“At the time, Google was a small company,” Mr. Schmidt said. “Having come through the bruising browser wars, I didn’t want to do that again.”

Eventually, however, Messrs. Brin and Page hired some Firefox developers who built a demonstration of Chrome. “It was so good that it essentially forced me to change my mind,” Mr. Schmidt said.

“I think we just wore you down,” Mr. Page joked.

“I just gave up,” Mr. Schmidt said. “But there is no question I am hugely supportive of Chrome and Chrome OS. They are game-changers. They change the way you think about your computer.”

Mr. Page described the Chrome operating system as a kind of anti-operating system — one that is basically indistinguishable from a browser. Netbooks loaded with Chrome will boot up almost instantaneously and will store data on the Internet instead of a hard drive.

“I wanted the operating system to kind of be out of the way,” Mr. Page said.

“If you live your life in the browser maybe you don’t want all the stuff that came from Eric’s generation,” Mr. Page added, putting his hand on Mr. Schmidt’s shoulder.

Mr. Schmidt leaned back in his chair and groaned at being characterized as an old guy. “Why am I always in this position?”

Messrs. Schmidt and Page were also careful not to position Chrome as a competitor to Microsoft Windows. They argued that Chrome will expand the market for netbooks, rather than eating into Windows’ share of the netbook market.

“Microsoft is welcome to put Internet Explorer on our operating system,” Mr. Schmidt said, although he conceded that “it’s highly unlikely they would do it. They would have to port it and the port is not trivial…the ball is in their court.”

He added that because Chrome is open source, Google won’t be able to block Microsoft.. “All of it is open,” Mr. Schmidt said. “Even if we had an evil moment, we would be unsuccessful.”

Although Chrome will be free, Mr. Schmidt said it will still boost Google’s business. “We benefit when people spend more of their life online,” he said. “So for us it’s a very straightforward strategic initiative that ultimately results in more revenue.”

During the more than one-hour press conference, Messrs. Schmidt and Page also touched on some other topics:

Apple: Mr. Schmidt said that he will talk to Apple about whether he should recuse himself from discussions of Apple’s operating system. “I recused myself from iPhone because it was a direct competitor,” he said. “There is no change at the moment.”
Twitter: “We’ve talked about everything with Twitter,” Mr. Schmidt said. “We like Twitter a lot. We’re big fans of Twitter.” Mr. Page added that his previous comments about improving Google’s real-time search had been blown out of context. “I made some comments we could do a lot of things better. We could do a lot of things better.” He added that Google is seeking more data sources for real-time search but is not aiming to create a copycat of Twitter. “We have a rule of not doing what everybody else does,” Mr. Schmidt said.
Twitter and Facebook: “We were worried that these guys might be competitors,” Mr. Schmidt said, “but it looks like people who use Twitter and Facebook start using Google more.”
The economy: Mr. Schmidt said the mood at the conference was “sober, realistic.” He dubbed the current state of the economy “the new normal.” “The reality of the new normal is sinking in,” he said. “You run your inventories really tight, credit is not widely available, and you can’t waste money.”
Android: Mr. Schmidt said that there are a lot of commonalities between Chrome and Google’s mobile operating system, Android. “Although it appears they are two separate projects, there’s a great deal of commonality,” Mr. Schmidt said. “Eventually they may merge even closer.”
Online advertising: Display advertising “is something we’re working really hard on,” Mr. Page said. Mr. Schmidt said display advertising “is likely to be the next billion-dollar business at Google.”
YouTube and Hulu: Mr. Schmidt said YouTube would like to have more of the kind of premium content deals that have fueled Hulu’s success. But he added that YouTube didn’t need to get the same shows as Hulu. “We can make money even if we don’t have the top TV shows,” he said. He declined to predict when YouTube would become profitable.
Book Search: Mr. Schmidt said the Google books settlement is not being resubmitted because of antitrust concerns. “It’s in front of a judge,” he said. “I’m not sure we can renegotiate.” He added that “inevitably the thoughtful criticisms fall short because they don’t propose an alternative.”
AOL: Mr. Schmidt said the discussions regarding Google’s buyback of its stake in AOL have been “friendly” and “straightforward.” “I don’t think it’s going to be an issue,” he said.
MySpace: Mr. Schmidt declined to comment on whether Google would renew its $900 million MySpace deal on the same terms when it expires next year. He said “we haven’t broken the code yet” for monetizing social network search.
TV Everywhere: Mr. Page was mildly optimistic about Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes’ TV Everywhere initiative. “Any way to solve rights issues are a good thing,” Mr. Page said.
Bottled water: Mr. Page said that Google has eliminated bottled water from its campus. “We did a long analysis and discovered that reducing bottled water didn’t cause people to drink less water. So we got rid of water,” Mr. Page said. Mr. Schmidt disputed that, saying he’s sure he has seen some bottled water around the Googleplex.

Web Attackers use IP address in 16 nations says South Korea

noreply@blogger.com (Dan) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:05:41 PDT

SKorea says attackers use IP address in 16 nations

By KWANG-TAE KIM
Associated Press Writer

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- Cyber attacks that caused a wave of Web site outages in the U.S. and South Korea used 86 IP addresses in 16 countries, South Korea's spy agency told lawmakers Friday, amid suspicions North Korea was behind the effort.

The countries include South Korea, the United States, Japan and Guatemala, Chung Chin-sup, a member of the parliamentary intelligence committee, told reporters.

He spoke after being briefed by the National Intelligence Service, or NIS, on preliminary investigations of the IP addresses - the Internet equivalent of a street address or phone number.

The assaults on Web sites in the U.S. and South Korea have been described as so-called denial of service attacks in which floods of computers try to connect to a single site at the same time, overwhelming the server.

The NIS also briefed lawmakers on circumstantial and technical reasons for believing that North Korea could be behind the attacks, Chung said without elaborating.

But the spy agency cautioned it was too early to conclude that North Korea was responsible as the investigations were still under way, according to Park Young-sun, another member of the intelligence committee.

"So far, North Korea was not included among the 16 countries' IP addresses," she told reporters.

U.S. authorities also eyed North Korea as the origin of the trouble, though they warned it would be difficult to identify the attackers quickly.

Three U.S. officials said this week while Internet addresses have been traced to North Korea, that does not necessarily mean the attack involved Kim Jong Il's government in Pyongyang. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

It follows a turbulent few months in which secretive North Korea has engaged in a series of threats and provocative actions widely condemned by the international community, including a nuclear test and missile launches.

North Korea has not responded to the allegations of its involvement in the Web site outages.

On Thursday, seven South Korean Web sites - one belonging to the government and the others to private entities - were attacked in the third round of cyber assaults, said Ku Kyo-young, an official from the state-run Korea Communications Commission, but most were back up and running quickly.

As previously, it was caused by so-called denial of service attacks, Ku said, adding that attacks were continuing on the seven sites Friday, but they were still accessible.

Some 50 cases of problems regarding computer hard disks or data were reported Friday morning in South Korea, the commission said, without giving details.

Park, the South Korean lawmaker, said Thursday that a senior intelligence official told her the NIS suspects the North because the country earlier warned it won't tolerate what it claimed were South Korean moves to participate in a U.S.-led cyber warfare exercise, according to a statement from the opposition Democratic Party.

South Korean media reported in May that North Korea was running a cyber warfare unit that tries to hack into U.S. and South Korean military networks to gather confidential information and disrupt service.

Japan was also being extra vigilant against possible cyber attacks, although there was no sign it had been targeted, officials said.

Japan has a "cyber clean center," set up in 2006, to protect its government computers from attacks, including a decoy computer to analyze possible viruses, Kazuaki Nakakoshi, an information security official at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, said Friday.

"No attacks targeting Japan have been confirmed," he said in a telephone interview.

PCs are Next Target for Cyber Attacks

noreply@blogger.com (Dan) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:21:18 PDT

A South Korean security agency has said that the recent cyber attacks and web attacks on the U.S. and South Korea has got a new target and those are PCs. Cyber attacks in U.S. and South Korea could enter a new phase on Friday by attacking personal computers and wiping hard disks, a South Korean government agency and Web security firm said.

The Cyber Attackers will start a new phase from Friday after hitting the important government websites of the United States and South Korea.

The attacks targeting dozens of government and business sites in South Korea and the United States did not caused major damage or security breaches, experts said, but the KCC warned a new phase at 1500 GMT on Friday that could cause severe damage that will hit the Personal Computers and wipe out the hard disks.

"The affected computers will not be able to boot and their storage files will be disabled," said Lee Byung-cheol of Ahnlab which is a leading web Security Agency in South Korea.