INTO THE MIDDLE OF THINGS

Google's 2011 Shopping list

noreply@blogger.com (Franko) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:53:00 +0000

Google has really involved itself in loads of activities this year, including buying a number of tech companies and start-ups, just so as to keep in shape with the fierce competition that the tech landscape has seen this year.

As the year is about to end we bring you list of all the companies that google has acquired in 2011. It may not be surprising to see more additions latter in the year since things do happen fasted than you expect in the tech world.

Date of Acquisition	Company	Business	Country	Value	Used As
02011-01-13 January 13, 2011	eBook Technologies	E-book	USA		Google Books
02011-01-25 January 25, 2011	SayNow	Voice Recognition	USA		Google Voice
02011-01-26 January 26, 2011	fflick	Social networking service	USA	$&1000000001000000000000010,000,000	YouTube
02011-03-01 March 1, 2011	Zynamics	Security	GER
02011-03-07 March 7, 2011	BeatThatQuote.com	Price comparison service	UK	£37,700,000	Google Advisor
02011-03-07 March 7, 2011	Next New Networks	Online video	USA		YouTube
02011-03-16 March 16, 2011	Green Parrot Pictures	Digital video	IRL		YouTube
02011-04-08 April 8, 2011	PushLife	Service provider	CAN	$&1000000002500000000000025,000,000
02011-04-26 April 26, 2011	TalkBin	Mobile software	USA		Android
02011-05-23 May 23, 2011	Sparkbuy	Price comparison service	USA		Google Product Search
02011-06-03 June 3, 2011	PostRank	Social media analytics service	CAN
02011-06-09 June 9, 2011	Admeld	Online advertising	USA	$&10000000400000000000000400,000,000	DoubleClick, Invite Media
02011-06-18 June 18, 2011	SageTV	Media Center	USA		Google TV
02011-07-08 July 8, 2011	Punchd	Loyalty program	USA		Google Wallet
02011-07-21 July 21, 2011	Fridge	Social groups	USA		Google+
02011-07-23 July 23, 2011	PittPatt	Facial recognition system	USA		Android
02011-08-01 August 1, 2011	Dealmap	One deal a day service	USA		Google Offers
02011-08-15 August 15, 2011	Motorola Mobility	Mobile device manufacturer	USA	$&1000001250000000000000012,500,000,000	Android, Google TV
02011-09-07 September 7, 2011	Zave Networks	Digital coupons	USA		Google Offers
02011-09-08 September 8, 2011	Zagat	Restaurant reviews	USA	$&10000000151000000000000151,000,000	Google Places
02011-09-19 September 19, 2011	DailyDeal	One deal a day service	GER	$&10000000114000000000000114,000,000	Google Offers
02011-10-11 October 11, 2011	SocialGrapple	Social Media analytics service	USA		Google+
02011-11-10 November 10, 2011	Apture	Instantaneous search	USA		Google Search
02011-11-14 November 14, 2011	Katango	Social circle organization	USA		Google+

All these made up a total of 24 acquisitions for this year only and there are rumours of more to come before the end of the year.

Top Five Newest Smartphones

noreply@blogger.com (Franko) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 16:55:00 +0000

We check out the best high-tech phones in the market and here is our result:

1. Samsung Galaxy Nexus

It doesn't have the 5.3-inch screen of the recently released Galaxy Note, but the Nexus is no lightweight either, boasting a 4.6-inch high-definition screen and 1.2GHz dual core processor. The real attraction, though, is the fact that the Nexus will be the first smartphone to show off the new Android 4.0 software - also known as Ice Cream Sandwich - and will include advanced new features such as face-recognition to unlock the phone.

2. RIM Porsche Design P 9981

RIM really needs a hit to make up for its network downtime last month, and the P'9981 is certainly a looker - as it should be if the rumours about the price are true. Essentially an upmarket version of the Bold 9900, the P'9981 is made out of gleaming stainless steel, wrapped in sleek black leather. The inside of the phone is conventional enough, with a 1.2GHz processor and 2.8-inch touch-screen, but RIM has come up with some fancy new software. This includes as an augmented-reality 'world browser' that can locate fancy restaurants and expensive Porsche dealerships all over the world.

3. HTC Rezound

HTC's latest arrives imminently - but only in the US. The Rezound looks very similar to the Sensation XE that other markets have seen, with a 4.3-inch screen, 1.5GHz processor and the Beats sound system. However, the screen of the Rezound is full 720p high-def and the phone has 16GB of storage compared to the modest 4GB of the Sensation XE. It costs about $650 sim-free in the US, but there's no news yet on whether it'll be released anywhere outside the States.

4.HTC Edge

Apple's only just put a dual-core processor into its new iPhone 4S, but if the rumours on the net are to be believed then HTC is about to go one better - or two better in fact - with a quad-core powerhouse called the Edge. We don't know much more about the rumoured phone yet, but the quad-chip is believed to run at 1.5GHz, and will be accompanied by a 4.7-inch high-def screen and 8MP camera. The new chip is designed by the graphics gurus at nVidia, so you can expect some serious eye-candy when this one arrives

5. Motorola Razr

Motorola hasn't actually announced the launch date of its new Razr, but sites such as Amazon are already taking orders for it so you shouldn't have to wait too long. The Razr is a streamlined marvel, measuring just 7.7mm thick, yet its toughened Gorilla Glass 4.3-inch screen and woven Kevlar back panel give it a quality feel and ensure that it'll cope with the occasional bit of rough treatment. Your emails and contact info are kept safe too, thanks to high-tech encryption techniques, and there's plenty of power from the 1.2GHz dual-core processor and 1080p high-def video recording.

Google Reader Redesign needs fixing

noreply@blogger.com (Franko) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 19:41:00 +0000

You know something went wrong with your site's redesign when two people who used to work on it publish detailed, scathing assessments.Google Reader, revamped this week, falls into that category. Google gave the RSS site the new red-and-black look that's sprouting at Gmail and elsewhere and, deeper down, changed the mechanics of how people can share posts they're interested in.
Former Google Reader product manager Brian Shih took Google to task for a monochromatic user interface (UI) that squanders too much screen space on a header bar and for making it harder to share posts: "Taking the UI paradigm for Google+ and mashing it onto Reader without any apparent regard for the underlying function is awful and it shows."
And former Google Reader lead designer Kevin Fox offered to come back to Google for three months to undo what he sees as the redesign's damage. He said he believed "Google Reader was held to a mandate of refreshing Google products under a common style guide" but without the staff to fine-tune the interface for Reader.

The redesigned Google Reader (right) uses less color and more white space.

(Credit: Screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET)

Also piling on are numerous people on the Google Reader forum: "How do I revert this absolutely horrible style?" "Slow with dumb scroll bar." "Bring back COLOR!" "Please change Google Reader back!"
I have sympathy for these concerns. I appreciate that the new Gmail and Google Apps interfaces that use this same template can be set up with denser text for those who prefer more text and less white space (me), so the fact that you can't on Google Reader is unpleasant.
And I can't stand the monochromatic look. The Reader site looks much more polished, but color has a lot of information value in communicating what's active or important. It's also useful for demarcating different entries in an RSS feed so I can scan titles faster, for example.
Almost the only relief from this dreary black and gray tedium is a giant red "subscribe" button. Maybe Google's heat-map statistics show that a lot of people click on this, which in the old interface was more descriptively labeled "add a subscription." But I haven't, not once, in years of usage, and I suspect hardcore Reader fans would be better served with something with more utility. Right now, a full top third of my laptop screen is lost to overhead rather than the actual content.
Breaking the old-style Reader sharing is a more serious question. It's completely fair to drive people to Google+ for this mechanism, not only as a way to drive Google+ usage and utility but also to avoid duplicating development and server resources. But I agree with Fox's idea that it would have been better to "rebuild Google Reader's social sharing using the Google Plus API as a foundation."
As it stands, Reader gets nothing special out of Google+; it's just another source of URLs that can be posted, albeit with some automation that your average Web site often lacks. So the social aspect of feed-reading probably will suffer.
But I think it's worth it to step back for a moment.
First, I'm unconvinced that RSS (and Atom, its rival technology for subscribing to a Web site's updates) will be a big deal for mainstream users.
I like my RSS feeds. My usage of Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ has definitely cut into my RSS time, but it hasn't replaced feeds. The RSS subscription extension for Chrome was one of the first extensions I installed. But I'm an information junkie, off at the far end of the data-voraciousness spectrum. I suspect social RSS reading was even nichier than RSS use in general, and when it comes to building products for mainstream users, Google was right to focus its energies on Google+.
Second, site redesigns always bring out a huge contingent of people vociferously rejecting what's different. Sometimes they have very good reasons, but sometimes it's because they just don't like change. And as much as I hate re-learning how to use the same Web site, it's safe to say that change is a competitive necessity for today's world of strong competition for online services.
Stasis is most definitely not bliss, and Google has to move. Resurrecting the old-style Reader sharing doesn't seem like it's in the cards, but there's plenty of work to be done addressing complaints that are negotiable.

Google Turns The +1 Button Into Its "Like" Button (Finally) - Now Good for Rankings and Traffic

noreply@blogger.com (Franko) — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 17:40:00 +0000

Google has announced changes to the +1 button that could mean huge things for sites and businesses in terms of driving traffic. Google has turned the +1 button into what it should have been when Google+ was launched: a means of sharing content to your Google+ Circles. Or in other words, Google's version of the "like" button.

Do you expect Google's +1 buttons to have a major impact on traffic? Let us know what you think, leave your comments below.

Before, the +1 button was basically just a way of telling Google that content was good enough to be considered a good search result. It presumably still serves this function as well. +1s simply showed up in the +1s tab on a user's profile. You know, where none of your friends see them.

Now, you can share content with your circles more easily like you're using a social network - which you now are.

For publishers, this should be tremendously helpful in boosting traffic from Google+. It means more visibility and more reason for people to share your content on Google+.

"Clicking the +1 button is a great way to highlight content for others when they search on Google.," says Google's Vic Gundotra. "But sometimes you want to start a conversation right away—at least with certain groups of friends. So beginning today, we're making it easy for Google+ users to share webpages with their circles, directly from the +1 button. Just +1 a page as usual and look for the new 'Share on Google+' option. From there you can comment, choose a circle and share."

"When you share content from the +1 button, you'll notice that we automatically include a link, an image and a description in the sharebox," he adds. "We call these '+snippets,' and they're a great way to jumpstart conversations with the people you care about."

Publishers can customize +snippets. You can alter the markup to fit the kind of content you provide. "You may already be using this markup to build rich annotations for your pages on Google Search," says Group Product Manager Daniel Dulitz. "If not, marking up your pages is simple. Just add the correct schema.org attributes to the data already present on your pages. You'll set a name, image, and description in your code."

More on the markup types here.

A New inline annotations feature may remind you a bit of some Facebook social plugins. "Now, when a person visits a page that someone they know has +1'd, they can see a name and face reminding them to pay special attention to your content," says Duliz.
You can add inline annotations by updating your +1 button code from the configuration tool.

A report from BrightEdge last month found that adoption of the Google +1 button was already on the rise. The launch of Google+ itself only served to increase this adoption, and this new functionality should increase it even more. Why not use it on your content? It can influence your search rankings for the better and encourage social traffic.

Facebook Games, Apps Revamped - a Response to Google+ Games Launch

noreply@blogger.com (Franko) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 16:06:00 +0000

As you may have heard, Google announced the launch of games on Google+. Well, Facebook quickly followed that announcement with one called “Making Games Better,” which includes news of a new game ticker and a bigger screen for game play, as well as the ability to bookmark your favorites.

“When you’re playing games, you’ll now see a separate stream of your friends’ game activity, scores and achievements in a ticker,” explains Facebook’s Jared Morgenstern. “The best way to find new games is through friends, and now you’ll have more opportunities to see what they’re playing.”

“You can now control who can see these stories for each individual app in your Settings,” he says. “If you want friends to see you’re playing one game but not another, you can change that. You’re also able to limit visibility directly from the ticker by clicking ‘X’ on a story to remove it.”

Not all games take advantage of the bigger game play screen, but right off the bat, Cityville, Zoo World, Monster World and Mystery Manor will over the coming days, according to Facebook.

As far as bookmarking, you can keep the ones you want at the top of your bookmarks on the home page. Just click the menu next to the bookmark to add a new favorite. These can be rearranged as you like.

Additionally, Facebook announced some updates to the app experience in general. A major redesign of the Canvas Page includes what the company calls some of the “biggest updates to the apps experience” since they first launched Platform.

Features include: bookmarks, real-time social app activity, game stories, more room for apps, homepage bookmark improvements and quality distribution.

On the top right of each Canvas Page, you’ll find bookmarks for your top apps and games. They include red counters to notify users of outstanding requests.

“The live ticker below the bookmarks shows real-time app and game activity from a user’s friends to make the game playing experience on Facebook more social than ever,” explains Facebook’s Bruce Rogers. “We automatically generate ‘playing’ and ‘using’ stories in the ticker when friends use an app or play a game respectively helping users re-engage and discover new games and apps that their friends are using. These are generated for apps that have enabled Social Discovery in their Developer App settings.”

“In addition to the automatic stories, we are launching new Graph APIs for achievements and scores so you can publish stories for user’s achievements, passing friends’ scores, or leaderboard movement to make game play more competitive, social and exciting for your users,” Rogers continues. “You now have the option to expand the size of your apps based on the user’s screen resolution. Fluid Canvas allows you to make your app left aligned so it takes up the full height and width of the user’s browser. You can enable Fluid Canvas, by selecting ‘fluid’ for ‘Canvas Width’ in your app settings.”

In the “quality distribution” department, Facebook has begun rolling out a new ranking system aimed at better surfacing app stories to people who will most likely engage with it. Hopefully this works better than their way of determining the people I’m most likely to chat with, because they’re kind of missing the boat there sometimes.

There comes the question if Facebook’s redesign has brought back viral spam.

This would seem to go against the grain that Facebook has been setting with things like what happened with the ban bot recently, and Mark Zuckerberg’s criticism of the Chill app wall posting.

It kind of seems as though Facebook is going back to taking a more aggressive approach with games as Google+ gives them some competition in this department.

Google+ is already only charging developers 5% commission compared to Facebook’s 30%. Wouldn’t be surprised to see that come down.

Yesterday, Facebook also launched Insights for Credits to help developers in their monetization efforts

Study: Social Media sucks at driving traffic

noreply@blogger.com (Franko) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 15:51:00 +0000

Quite simply, when it comes to driving traffic to your website, social media sites like Twitter and Facebook kind of suck at it, at least according to a study done by a company called Outbrain.

Once the study is taken into account, even the Drudge Report, a much smaller operation by comparison, out does Twitter and Facebook combined. It should be noted that the king of traffic referrals is, of course, Google. So much so, in fact, they are lapping the rest of the field. Comfortably.

If the study’s validity is intact, the main lesson from Outbrain’s findings is social media sites do not drive traffic like content sites and search engines do, and it’s not even close. That means that, while all those retweets are nice to see, apparently, few people are clicking the actual link embedded within the tweeted message. The study also sheds doubt on just how effective social media marketing campaigns are. Sure, things are good if it’s part of a current trend, but if not, no traffic for you, apparently.

The same, according to the study, is true for all those Facebook shares, as well. People evidently only react to the subject line, and not the content contained within, or that’s being promoted. A look at the chart of Outbrain’s study shows these surprising numbers quite clearly:

David Sasson, Outbrain CEO, had some thoughts on the study:

“With our second report, we’re able to provide a compelling look at fluctuations in traffic referral and reader engagement across some of the leading destinations online. Our hope is to leverage our unique data to paint a picture of macro-level trends in content consumption over time. As Outbrain expands on a global level, we’re able to introduce additional metrics into our report and evaluate international trends, comparing reader behavior across continents.”

It does make sense that Google is a clear leader in such a category. When people search, they usually click a result, which takes them to a webpage/site, ergo, traffic driving has occurred. Same with aggregate sites like Drudge Report and Reddit, although, Reddit’s score is a low 1.10%, which, while still higher than Facebook’s score, brings the study’s validity into question.

Ask Imgur.com how many traffic referrals they get from Reddit.

With all of that in mind, does the study make you doubt the effectiveness of a social media marketing campaign? Especially if people aren’t clicking the links? Even for stuff they apparently like?

In a subsequent review, the report has been pulled, and an Editor’s note from Amanda Lucci’s blog says:

Editor’s note: Since this post was published, Outbrain has reached out and said they are rerunning the numbers “to ensure they’re accurate” and might have an update later.

Perhaps they, too saw the Reddit discrepancy and wondered if they needed to remeasure.

Update:
Outbrain has reposted their findings, and while the gist is the same–content sites drive more traffic than social media–their metrics aren’t as specific. If you look at the first table they created, you’ll notice Drudge Report drove more traffic than Twitter and Facebook combined. Now, that’s not the case:

As you can see, Facebook now ranks above Drudge, but Twitter still trails both properties. Another observation is the percentages are no longer with the new table. It’s also noticeable that Reddit didn’t improve much either. Considering the nature of the site, essentially, a news aggregate site, not mention the wide appeal of the site–just check Reddit’s Alexa ranking–the fact that Outbrain’s study says Outbrain drives more traffic than Reddit is almost laughable.

Granted, their Alexa profile is respectable, but it’s not as powerful as Reddit’s. With that in mind, despite Outbrain’s confusing devaluing of Reddit, the following statement continues the theme from the initial study:

…finally, social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Fark.com, reddit, Digg) send 11% of traffic to content pages.

And it continues the theme of this particular post, which is social media isn’t very dependable when it comes to driving traffic.

One of our reader’s comments captures the theme quite well:

Art Butcher says: I’m not surprised by these findings.
I believe people look at tweets or posts with links as a sales pitch.
And many are.
What would be different if the links were content oriented and provided value as you say content is a critical driver. My guess is it takes time to build a reputation as a value driven content provider.

Does the spammy nature of linked tweets make them less attractive to potential link clickers?

Google+ Games. Now it’s On

noreply@blogger.com (Franko) — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 23:35:00 +0000

With a little over six weeks having passed since its launch, the fuss about Google+ has died down. Google today shook things up again with the introduction of games.

When Google+ launched on June 28, early adopters praised the minimalist, clutter-free feel of the UI. Several people in my circles mentioned the lack of games specifically. Well, today Google filled that void. The company has added games to its brand new social network.

Angry Birds, Zynga titles and more

Well, it was only a matter of time. Here comes Google+ games for
better or for worse.

Will games put Google+ in the mainstream? Will you play them? Comment here.

Google announced the addition of games to Google+. They began the
rollout on Thursday.
Yesterday afternoon, Vic Gundotra, Senior Vice President of Engineering at Google, announced that the search giant would be gradually roll out games in Google+. Gundotra explained that Games will not be in your face, bothering you when you're not interesting in playing.

"With the Google+ project, we want to bring the nuance and richness
of real-life sharing to the web," said Vic Gundotra, Google Senior VP,
Engineering, on the Google Blog. "But sharing is about more than just
conversations. The experiences we have together are just as important
to our relationships. We want to make playing games online just as fun,
and just as meaningful, as playing in real life."

Some of the games you'll be able to play via Google+ are Angry Birds, Bejeweled Blitz and Dragon Age Legends. If the Games tab is available to you, you should see it along with the 'home,' 'profile,' 'photos,' and 'circles' tabs at the top of the G+ homepage. Let us know what you think!

Bringing the internet to live - domain names

noreply@blogger.com (Franko) — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 08:19:00 +0000

ICM Registry, the company that registered the adult domain .xxx. expects to make US$200m/year from other companies registering its sites with the domain.

What has changed in the awarding of Internet domain names?

It has become a lot broader. Previously, sites were limited to 22 top-level domains like .com, .org, .co, .net, .edu and national domain extensions like .za and .uk. Now companies like Coke, Apple and Google and even communities can have their own domains.

Why was this done?

To liven up the Internet, is the short answer. Some in the tech community have long argued that the limitation on the kind of domain someone could have was unnecessary and that a broader range of names would allow for more creativity.

Who will gain most?

ICM Registry, the company that registered the adult domain .xxx. It expects to make US$200m/year from other companies registering its sites with the domain.

Is there a danger of someone registering a company’s name and just sitting on it?

Yes, and this is why the Internet Corp for Assigned Names & Numbers (ICANN) is charging $185000 to apply for a domain name as a way to prevent cybersquatting.

Are there restrictions on names that can be adopted?

ICANN would prefer none but is concerned that some names could cause religious or social offence and could be banned in some countries.

Facebook for Business

noreply@blogger.com (Franko) — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 17:20:00 +0000

Businesses and other organizations not sure how to set up the right Facebook page can now get help from a guide just launched by the social network.
The new Facebook for Business help guide offers a step-by-step tutorial on how business users can set up a page and use it to market themselves and connect with customers. It comes as Google is trying to work out the kinks with its new Google+ social network, including ways for businesses to make use of it.
The how-to guide first explains how to create the best page for specific types of businesses, ensuring that it can draw in the right customers and other interested parties. Moving further, the guide then shows businesses how they can publish ads and sponsored stories to market themselves and boost their image. Finally, Facebook suggests various built-in apps to transform a business page into a richer platform designed with social media and mobile use in mind.
With each page of the guide, Facebook also provides links to create the actual pages, apps, and other content.
The social network has lately been encouraging its business users to set up the right type of page. In March, the company launched a new feature that can migrate a personal profile into a business page.
Google, meanwhile, has bumped into trouble with companies eager to set up Google+ profiles. The search giant's social network, launched in June, has so far focused on individual profiles, prompting Google to shut down a number of Google+ accounts created by corporations. Scaling back on its plans to support enterprise accounts, Google is now advising companies to pick one individual to create a profile that can represent the entire business.

Lenovo IdeaCentre A320 - the thinnest all-in-one PC in the world

noreply@blogger.com (Franko) — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 17:14:00 +0000

At 18.5-mm deep, the Lenovo IdeaCentre A320 is the thinnest all-in-one PC in the world. Lenovo's held that distinction three years running—but this year's model packs in performance to match.
The A320 has the same 21.5-inch widescreen display as its predecessor, but upgrades to Intel's latest and greatest Core i5 processor. The A320 can also be equipped with up to 8GB RAM and a 750GB HDD. Also returing: HDMI-in, which combined with the A320's bulked up integrated graphics prowess makes this an easy replacement for your bedroom or kitchen TV.

Or you could skip the cords and head straight to the IdeaCentre B320, which features Hardware TV technology that lets you switch between TV and computer functions. Both models will be available this June, both starting at $700.

Lenovo Redefines the ‘A, B, C's of IdeaCentre All-In-One PCs
IdeaCentre A320 – world's slimmest AIO design IdeaCentre B520 - Maximum entertainment with the world's 1st frameless multitouch AIO IdeaCentre B320 – the computer that's also a TV Lenovo C205 – compact all-in-one design at an affordable price point
CES 2011, Las Vegas – January 4, 2011: Lenovo (HKSE: 0992) (ADR: LNVGY) today unveiled four new IdeaCentre and Lenovo all-in-one (AIO) desktops at the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show that redefine design, performance, style and entertainment capabilities in a desktop form factor. The IdeaCentre A320, B520, B320 and the Lenovo C205 are each uniquely designed to satisfy individual consumers‟ needs and preferences.

"We‟ve seen Lenovo‟s IdeaCentre AIO desktop business grow 150% year over year – a significant achievement for Lenovo and powerful statement that consumers desire the unique designs and experiences delivered by our portfolio," said Dion Weisler, vice president, business operations, Lenovo. "The latest Lenovo AIO desktops round out our existing portfolio to offer the right PC for every individual and family that is seeking powerful performance with cutting edge features like touch screen and 3D capabilities, HD monitor and a sleek appearance."

AVG Anti-Virus Free

noreply@blogger.com (Franko) — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 17:55:00 +0000

What's new in version 10.0.1390

Version 10.0.1390 is a maintenance release.

General

Publisher AVG Technologies USA
Publisher web site http://www.avg.com/
Release date July 13, 2011
Version 10.0.1390

System requirements

Operating systems Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP
Additional requirements Not available

Download information

File size 5.31MB
File name avg_free_stb_all_2011_1375.exe

Pricing

License model Free
Limitations Not available
Price Not available

DOWNLOAD

Facebook iPad app "hidden" in iPhone app code?

noreply@blogger.com (Franko) — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 18:04:00 +0000

Facebook's long-awaited iPad app might actually be hidden in the company's latest iPhone app update, TechCrunch is reporting.
According to Techcrunch, Facebook's latest update to its iPhone app, version 3.4.4, includes executable code that allows users with jailbroken iPads to access and use the social network's full, native tablet application.

Expectations for a Facebook iPad app has topped the wish lists of the social network's users for quite some time. The company currently offers full-featured smartphone applications across several different operating systems, including iOS and Android, but iPad owners need to access Facebook via their Safari browser.
Since the launch of the iPad, rumors have cropped up from time to time claiming Facebook was planning the launch of its tablet application. Last month, for example, it was reported in the The New York Times that the social network would be launching its iPad app "in the coming weeks."
That rumor was bolstered by Facebook's announcement late last month that it was planning to "launch something awesome" early on in July. Rather than announce an iPad app as expected by most funs, however, Facebook unveiled Skype video calling and group chatting.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg kept the hope alive, however, saying that this month's announcement was the first of what would be many in the company's "launching season 2011."
In the iPad app that TechCrunch tried out, Facebook's many features were present. The blog was able to view the news feed, chat with friends, interact with content across the social network, and input locations through Places. TechCrunch said that the app is "spectacular."
Of course, whether or not the app TechCrunch accessed is actually Facebook's official iPad program is unknown at this point. The blog said that it has "confirmed with a source" that the app it used will be the one Facebook launches, but until the social network confirms that report, consider this one a rumor.

ANGRY BIRDS Theme for Windows 7

noreply@blogger.com (Franko) — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 10:25:00 +0000

The super popular Angry Birds series of games developed by Rovio Mobile’s and are available on just about every platform from Windows to the Nokia’s defunct Maemo OS, has received its own theme for Windows 7.

Angry Birds which is a puzzle-based video game, developed by Rovio Mobile, started out on Apple’s iOS platform back in 2009. It’s easy to learn but difficult to master which is what makes the game so, so much fun and addictive! Since 2009, the game has become the most popular game on iOS, having been downloaded more than 50 million times.

Owing to popular demand, the series was, in the recent past, expanded with Angry Birds: Seasons and Angry Birds: Rio. Its popularity only became more widespread when Rovio released the game for other devices and platforms such as Maemo, iPad, WebOS, Symbian^3, Android, Windows Phone 7, PlayStation 3/PSP, Windows, Mac and in May, on Google Chrome.

Expanding their outreach, the raging birds have received a theme on Microsoft’s Windows 7 Personalization Gallery.
The wallpaper pack comes with six high-resolution wallpapers and its own set of chirpy sound effects. The wallpapers are nice and everything, but it’s really the sound effects that sends this theme flying high (pun intended).

They have no wings. Their eggs have been stolen by pigs. So, yeah, they’re pretty angry. Contemplate their mood at length with our free Angry Birds theme for Windows 7.

If you’re a seasoned fun and prefer minimalistic themes then chances are you won’t be liking the sound effects since, well, they can be annoying. But if you have a younger brother or sister who’s a big fan of the series, they’re bound to love it!

You may download the Angry Birds theme from the link below. To install, simply double click on the downloaded .themepack file. Windows 7 (which is required for the theme to work) will install the theme itself.
DOWNLOAD Official Angry Birds Theme for Windows 7 [DIRECT DOWNLOAD]

Play Angry Birds in Google Chrome now for free

noreply@blogger.com (Franko) — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 10:22:00 +0000

Rovio Mobile, the makers of smash hit mobile game Angry Birds announced a new browser-based version of the game at Google's I/O event.

The new release was built using WebGL and uses local-caching so players can continue to cause mayhem even when not connected to the internet.

The survival of the Angry Birds is at stake. Dish out revenge on the green pigs who stole the Birds’ eggs. Use the unique destructive powers of the Angry Birds to lay waste to the pigs’ fortified castles. Angry Birds features hours of gameplay, challenging physics-based castle demolition, and lots of replay value. Each of the 70 levels requires logic, skill, and brute force to crush the enemy.

Available to download now from the Chrome Web Store for absolutely nothing, the game features all-new Chrome inspired levels and the Mighty Eagle add-on will be available via the new Google Payments in-app purchasing feature at a later date. The game will also work in other browsers should Chrome not float your particular boat.

Angry Birds is available for almost all platforms at this point with the franchise going from strength to strength.

Apple iOS 4.3.4 update released

noreply@blogger.com (Franko) — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 09:42:00 +0000

Apple released the iOS 4.3.4 update on July 15 for the iPhone, iPad and the iPod touch. This update claims to solve the PDF exploit in iOS. However, as is usual with iOS updates, it also breaks your jailbreak should you choose to upgrade.

However, even though it has been just a couple of days since Apple released the update and it seems there is already a jailbreak available for it. Thanks to PwnageTool, you will be able to perform a tethered jailbreak on your iPhone, iPod touch and the first generation iPad (no iPad 2 support for now), and at the same time preserve your baseband for an Ultrasn0w unlock later on.

A tethered jailbreak simply means if your device loses power or restarts then you would have to boot it into the jailbroken state again. No matter how annoying it may sound, but its better than having no jailbreak at all.

Cydia, running on iPhone 4 GSM, iOS 4.3.4

The neat thing about PwnageTool is that it allows you to preserve your iPhone’s baseband, which aids in unlocking your iPhone later on using Ultrasn0w unlock. You can find out you how you can jailbreak your iPhone on iOS 4.2.4, preserve your baseband and unlock it with Ultrasn0w, let’s get to it!

FIREFOX 5.0.1

noreply@blogger.com (Franko) — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 08:54:00 +0000

Version: 5.0.1
Features:

Super Speed
View Web pages way faster, using less of your computer’s memory.
Stay in Sync
Take Firefox with you wherever you go. Synchronize your browsing across multiple devices.
Easy Customization
Thousands of add-ons give you the freedom to make Firefox your own.
Awesome Bar
Forget clunky URLs – find the sites you love in seconds
Intuitive Interface

Size: 13.1 MB

DOWNLOAD

3 More Years for Windows XP

noreply@blogger.com (Franko) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 12:17:00 +0000

Microsoft has began to intensify efforts to convince stuck-in-the-mud Windows XP customers to switch to Windows 7, the companies new OS. Although Windows XP is 10 years old, it is still running strong. The company will, however cease providing support for the XP OS in 3 years time (less than 1000 days) - a full 13 years after the operating system was originally released.

Things get better, faster and eventually it is time to move from good enough to something better. Support for XP officially ends on April 8, 2014.

In a letter sent to customers this week, Microsoft senior VP Bill Veghte said the software maker will provide security patches "and other critical updates" for Windows XP until April, 2014.

"Our ongoing support for Windows XP is the result of our recognition that people keep their Windows-based PCs for many years," Veghte wrote.
That may be, but Microsoft normally terminates support for an OS within ten years of its release -- at the latest. For instance, it plans to end support for Windows 2000 in 2010.

Google+ vrs Facebook

noreply@blogger.com (Franko) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 10:59:00 +0000

Google+ Advantage

1. Easily share pix, links or posts with only targeted friends within a circle. Circles can easily be created by drag and drop. Facebook privacy settings and Groups makes targeted sharing difficult.
2. Plan an event with live video chats by using Hangouts, the multi-user video chats feature of Google+. There is nothing like this in Facebook. Having a video chat right in the context of all other info makes a lot of sense and is really fun.

3. Google+ also integrates what Google always does best - points you to targeted content on the web. This feature is called Sparks. Be it people, articles, news, blogs or any info you are looking for Sparks will take you to the specific object of your interest.

4. Instantly and automatically upload pix and vids to the cloud and share them later from your mobile.

5. Have you ever tried to quit Facebook and delete your account entirely? The option is so hidden that it is utterly impossible to find. Deactivating your Facebook account does not remove you either. Google+ easily allows you to quit and totally delete your account - of cause, after downloading all your data.

Facebook in order to keep its heads above water with, outdoored a new Skype-powered in-browser video chat service which is a welcome news for its users.

Free online logo maker

noreply@blogger.com (Franko) — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 18:26:00 +0000

I was on the web today and was wondering how to get a nice looking header image for my new blog here and I came across this free Online Logo Maker that you can use to create sleek looking logos for your blog.

I went there and tried my hand on few things and I found it so amazing. It has so many font types and colors that you can choose from to make your logo look professional. You can also select any font size you like. You can either save your image in .gif or .png. What is more it is so easy to use.

After trying some few style, I came up with the following logos for my blog:

I have decided to use the second one for now. But I think I will be changing it very often till I go through all the fascinating font styles. You can try your hand at it, maybe you will could creat something interesting for your site. For the meantime my technorati code is SXNRE9SBK6QN.

Google+ aims at Facebook!! Will it work?

noreply@blogger.com (Franko) — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 10:36:00 +0000

Google in effort to expand its reach and to take a bite of the social networking cake, announced Google+ or Google Plus, a long-awaited social network rival of Facebook. Google has been trying to take a crack of the social market for years which resulted the content sharing features of Wave and Buzz (Wave fizzled out, Buzz became clouded with privacy complaints resulting in a lawsuit and an FTC settlement)

Many has been waiting for Google big jump into social especial since the launch of its +1 button. And then on Tuesday 29, Google plus was announced.

At a first glance at Google+, one wonders it this is just another link to get to Facebook. It bears so much resemblance to Facebook, it is clear that Google+ gathers its features from existing social networks.

The main features include;

Circles allows you to group contacts into friends, family, school, work and, just like Facebook, send messages to any of the target groups.

Sparks acts like an RSS reader or Facebook newsfeed.
Hangouts features live group video chats, able to hold meeting of up to 10 people.

Instant Uploads take care of the mobile aspect of social networking. Users pictures are automatically uploaded unto a private album and the user decide with whom to share which picture with.
Huddle is a group texting feature, letting you chat with group members with your mobile phone – just like Beluga, which Facebook acquired in March.

Is Google in for a wrong move with this deal? Can Google effectively and conveniently fix into their web of existing apps and services, a social network.

So many things has happened at Google during the past year including stepping-out and stepping-in of some big shots. The slick-looking and Wavy confusing lining up of “circles”, “sparks”, “hungouts” and “huddles” could have been the result of an effort to make Google more sociable. It is also important to determine if this new dimension is consistent with the company’s DNA.

Top-Rated reasons for using Search Engine Optimization?

noreply@blogger.com (Franko) — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 15:35:00 +0000

If you are newer to the concept of SEO (short for Search Engine Optimization) you might be wondering what all the fuss is about. This practice is essentially the fine art of making your website visible to people searching it using “niche language.”

Niche language simply means using terms and phrases in your website or blog that people use when they type what they are looking for into a search engine. These phrases are also noted and collected by the search engine bots and spiders that belong to the search engines. The more friendly the copy in your web site is to the search engine spiders, the more likely people are to find you (which of course increases your traffic and sales.) In addition, the more hits you get from people searching for your products or services the higher your web site will be indexed on the search engine pages.

Remember how web pages work! It is basically one big popularity contest. Essentially the more hits you have, the higher your ranking is in the search engines. This leads to more hits and a website that is the equivalent of a wealthy rising cyber star!

Launching a website without any type of SEO is like throwing a party and forgetting to invite people.

Launching your website should be an exciting event. The reasons events (and the launches of new web sites) often fail is because:

You fail to list your website's URL properly in search engines or when you completely ignore the section in URL submission sites that ask you to fill out keywords.

Your customers can't find the party.

Making your website more identifyable to people and search engines sound like it might be difficult and schizophrenic thing to accomplish it is.

This is because having a people-friendly web site is not the same as having a search engine friendly web site. A search engine friendly web site is one that appeals to tiny robots called “spiders” that search the World Wide Web for your site every time someone searches for information.

The intention of SEO copywriting is to elevate your site's ranking in the search engines by including what are called targeted keywords and keyword descriptions right in the body of the text. These keywords are obtained by finding out how people phrase their requests when they input a request into the search engines by using keyword tools such as the Overture keyword search tool and Google keyword tool. Once the top ten to twenty most-searched-for keywords are found, articles are then created

around each of these key phrases and posted to the web site. Each of these new search engine optimized articles creates new pages or the search engines to spider when people type in those key phrases during a search. So in essence the search engine optimized article is mainly a way to increase increasing your visibility in the search engines.

Being savvy about SEO is not rocket science. However it does means knowing a bit about html and keyword optimization. It entails knowing how to phrase things so that computers understand the language of what it is you are trying to convey or sell when you submit your site to the search engines.

The reason it is so important for you to know how to talk to robots is because it is an aspect of web site and e commerce marketing that is vital to the branding and marketing of your product or service. By doing just a few simple things, you can give your web site an edge over the competition’s by making your business recognizable to both spiders and potential visitors alike.

Microsoft Office 365 hits the cloud

noreply@blogger.com (Franko) — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 11:39:00 +0000

Microsoft launched its new Office 365 on June 28 at an event in New York City.

The event was hosted by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and was available via live Webcast.

Office 365 is Microsoft’s version of a cloud-based alternative to its traditional desktop and server products. Its components include Microsoft Office Web Apps with hosted versions of Exchange and SharePoint in addition to Lync which brings in the online communication part.

The new product, which was available in beta since April, is in two versions:

1. Office 365 for Professionals and Small Businesses, which is the entry level, include Office Web Apps, Exchange, SharePoint and Lync online, along with an external Website and cost $6 per month per user.

2. Office 365 for Enterprises, the larger-scale, offers additional features such as IM, online meetings and video conferencing and varies in price from $10 to $27 per user per month.

Beyond this two Microsoft is also offering education version of Office 365 with plans geared towards faculty, staff and students.

Could this be Microsofts attempt to keep its head above the waters after Google took a swipe at Office 365 ahead of its release, giving out reasons why users should choose Google Apps over Office 365.

All these points to the fact that competition within the cloud is becoming very keen and big firms are doing all possible means to catch a bit of the cake.

The Honeycomb is missing!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Franko) — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 17:07:00 +0000

Any one who has been in track of mobile application development might have realized that the sweet Honeycomb released some four months ago by Google has been lying on the low side so far. User are left wondering where the sweet Honeycomb apps are. Has the bees ceased working?

The much anticipated tablet operating system, Android 3.0 Honeycomb made its launch in late February with the Motorola Xoom. Very few Honeycomb optimized apps have come out since then. There is expected to be a flood of apps after the initial launch, but after four months we are still waiting. The number of Honeycomb optimized apps is still in the low hundreds.

So what is the deal here? What is the mystery behind the missing Honeycomb?

1. Design and Redesign

Honeycomb is suitable for large displays about 8.9 inches and above, so are no 7 inches tablets (although later versions, 3.2, are supposed to correct this). The large display brings with it a design challenge. Architects believe this might not be problem but rather more work. Designing an app for a 10-inch screen is a total different experience than for a 5-inch screen, especially, for text-focused apps. This is the more reason why Android 2.x apps will run on Android 3.x but with an awkwardly small and clunky text features.

For gamers, adapting to a wider display screen is not much of a problem. Gamers rely on other third-party engines such as Unity for scaling and to adapt their games to the Honeycomb.

2. The Android App Market

When you go into the Android market after obtaining your new Honeycomb tablet, you find it difficult to locate Honeycomb-optimized apps. Aside from the “Featured Tablet Apps” feature, you have no way to search for apps by OS in the market. Google for sure expects Android 2.x apps to run on Honeycomb, but the fact that they can run does not imply that they are optimized for Honeycomb-specific features. There are also Honeycomb-optimized apps but there is no indication to that effect in the market.

3. Ice Cream Sandwich on the way?

Many speculators believe that the hold-up is due to the in-coming Ice Cream Sandwich, which will merge Androids tablet and phone platforms, which will arrive this fall. Why develop an app for a platform that will be enveloped by another.

4. Where is the Demand?

Most developers also believe that demand for Honeycomb apps has been on the low side resulting in the slow development of apps. Demand for Honeycomb just does not exist yet. So no demand, no revenue, no app.

All the same, it is not possible to completely write off the Honeycomb from the mobile app world. Some players are very optimistic the Honeycome will jump back and pick up both user and developer interests.