vision for world

What’s wrong with Twitter 2011?

2011-08-04T11:17:00.000-07:00

Twitter is secretly fundraising for a huge valuation ...

Why its founders quitting one after other ?

The company that compited with Big coperate companies like Google and facebook is now suffering...

The most recent departure was Biz Stone, a cofounder who announced his plans to leave in late June. He will join Twitter cofounder Evan Williams, who bailed out a few months ago for a company called Obvious, the company that spun off Twitter. The third cofounder, Jack Dorsey, works part time at Twitter while also serving as CEO of a startup called Square.

Dorsey was Twitter’s first CEO. He was replaced by Williams when Dorsey became chairman. Williams was replaced as CEO by Dick Costolo, who was hired from Google. Dorsey came back when Costolo took over, but then Williams left, though he remains on the board of directors. Shockingly, after all this turnover, Twitter still can’t get any traction as a business. Revenues may reach $150 million this year and $250 million in 2012, according to eMarketer, which tracks online ad spending. But that’s puny compared with this year’s sales at Facebook ($4 billion), Groupon ($3 billion), and Zynga ($1.8 billion). Add to that the FTC’s reported look into allegations that Twitter has engaged in anticompetitive behavior with companies that develop applications and services that run on top of its network.

Venture capitalists have pumped $360 million into Twitter, and recently the company was reported to be raising more money based on a stunning valuation of $7 billion, roughly double its valuation from only seven months ago. Should anyone be concerned that the cofounders can’t be bothered to stick around? A spokeswoman provides a canned statement claiming the three founders remain “deeply connected” to the company—Dorsey with his part-time role, Williams with a board seat, and Stone doing some fuzzy stuff about “social-good efforts.” The funny thing is that right now the market for tech IPOs is heating up so much that Twitter, despite its woes, could probably make a fortune by selling stock to the public. Twitter’s three cofounders may have the best-paying part-time jobs of all time.

Fix bad request error 400:blogger

2011-06-30T09:20:00.000-07:00

Its very simple all you have to is clear the cache and the cookies from sites that cause problems.

"Clear the Cache": Firefox > Preferences > Advanced > Network > Offline Storage (Cache): "Clear Now"
"Remove the Cookies" from sites causing problems: Firefox > Preferences > Privacy > Cookies: "Show Cookies"

Goolge+ : Facebook killer

2011-06-30T08:56:00.001-07:00

Google's experiments with social media have largely landed with a particularly embarrassing thud--Buzz was a security nightmare, Wave was incomprehensible, and Orkut is only popular in Brazil, for some reason. But Google is nothing if not determined, and today announced its biggest social push ever: Google+. It is definitely similar to Facebook at first glance, but there's a fundamentally different idea underlying Google+ that separates it from the pack. Facebook was an outcropping of networks like MySpace and dating sites--centered around the profile page. Google+, though, is a sharing engine.
More people visit Google's network of websites than Facebook each month, but Facebook is killing the search company in categories that advertisers care most about: Time spent and pages viewed. Users spent 62% more time on Facebook than on Google last month, and viewed more than twice the number of pages on Facebook as they did on Google, according to comScore.
Google's (GOOG, Fortune 500) latest solution to this growing trend is Google+, a new social network that tries to out-Facebook Facebook. On Facebook, people are either "friends" or not. Google+ makes that distinction more fluid, letting users group their contacts into smaller categories, such as relatives, co-workers, or members of a yoga class. Information can be shared selectively with each group.
"The subtlety and substance of real-world interactions are lost in the rigidness of our online tools," said Vic Gundotra, Google's senior vice president of social, in a blog post. "In this basic, human way, online sharing is awkward. Even broken. And we aim to fix it."
Google+ features several components that attempt to mimic natural human interaction. For instance, to simulate sitting out on your front porch, one feature allows users to declare that they're "hanging out" and interested in video chatting if a select group of people are around. Another lets users chat with a particular set of people -- say, before they all meet at a concert.
Google often denies that Facebook is the company's primary competitor, and Gundotra said Google+ was "not a reaction to Facebook." Yet sources with knowledge of the project say that Google+ was known internally as "Googbook." Google devoted 300 people to the team.
Unlike Google's previous social attempts, such Orkut and Buzz -- which had big, bold launches and are largely considered failures -- Google is moving slowly and cautiously with Google+. It has only been launched for a small group of users, and others need to be invited to the service to use it.
Google also doesn't consider Google+ to be a separate product, exactly. Rather, the company says it is an extension of things you can already do on Google. A toolbar will be available atop all Google sites, and users can download an Android or Chrome application to get notifications and share content.
For instance, a user could be in Google Maps, and share directions with a group. Search results, documents, even advertisements could be shared using Google+.

Google's social puzzle pieces

At the same time, the company is also trying to be extra careful about ensuring users' privacy, which ultimately killed any chance Buzz had of succeeding. Buzz was built on top of Gmail, Google's e-mail client, and a confusing one-two punch in Buzz's default settings automatically followed Gmail users' most e-mailed contacts. Initially, those contacts were revealed publicly after a user "buzzed" about something.
Google's first attempt at a social network, Orkut, has also been plagued by privacy concerns, especially when it was hit with a virus in 2010 that collected users' personal information.
With Google+, content is only shared with a specific, intended audience -- it is not shared publicly like content is on Twitter. Continuing the theme of mimicking face-to-face conversations, Google executives compare Google+ interactions to lowering a person's voice to keep something between friends, telling a joke at a party or sharing an idea at a meeting. Each has a different expectation of privacy, which is understood in context by the people involved in the conversation.
After Buzz and Orkut never took off in the way the company had hoped, former CEO Eric Schmidt announced that Google would no longer consider launching a full-on Facebook competitor. Instead, he said, Google would incorporate "social elements" in all of its products.
Then-President Larry Page disagreed with Schmidt. After Page took over as CEO in April, the company began to focus more intently on doing battle with Facebook, including reportedly linking employees' bonuses to Google's success in social networking.
At the All Things D conference last month, Schmidt said Google's social failings were his fault.
"I clearly knew that I had to do something, and I failed to do it," he said. "A CEO should take responsibility. I screwed up."

Amazon stop working with California-based Web affiliates

2011-06-30T00:08:00.001-07:00

Amazon.com Inc. said Wednesday that it will stop working with online affiliates based in California since the state passed a new rule that forces online retailers to collect sales tax there.

In an email Wednesday to California-based affiliates — individuals or companies who run websites that refer visitors to Amazon and then get a cut of any resulting sales — the Seattle-based company said it would cut ties with those who reside in the nation's most populous state if the law became effective. Gov. Jerry Brown signed the law Wednesday as part of a larger state budget package.

The rule requires online retailers such as Amazon to collect sales taxes if they have in-state affiliates.

In its email, Amazon called the bill "unconstitutional" and "counterproductive."

Passage of the law, which is projected to net $200 million annually, adds California to a growing list of states that have enacted such legislation in hopes of bringing in more tax revenue.

Billions of dollars are at stake as a growing number of states look for ways to generate more revenue without violating a 1992 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that prohibits a state from forcing businesses to collect sales taxes unless the business has a physical presence, such as a store, in that state. When consumers order from out-of-state retailers, they're supposed to pay the tax that is due, but they rarely do and it's difficult to enforce.

States are trying to get around the Supreme Court restriction by passing laws that broaden the definition of a physical presence. Online retailers, meanwhile, are resisting being deputized as tax collectors.

California will become the latest state in which Amazon has parted ways with members of its Amazon Associates Program. Already it has said goodbye to affiliates in states including Arkansas, Connecticut and Illinois due to the passage of similar online sales tax laws. Smaller competitor Overstock.com Inc. has shuttered its affiliate programs in several states due to the laws as well.

California passed such a law in 2009, but then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed it.

Pop Star Justin Timberlake is the part of group and buying MySpace

2011-06-29T23:58:00.000-07:00

Justin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He has won six Grammy Awards as well as two Emmy Awards. He is part of a group that said Wednesday it will buy MySpace from News Corp., a bid to add some cool to a social network that has been losing it for some time.

Timberlake will become a part owner and play "a major role in developing the creative direction and strategy for the company moving forward," according to Specific Media, the company that he will partner with.

The deal is for $35 million, mostly in Specific Media stock, according to a person familiar with the matter. The deal values MySpace at a fraction of what News Corp. paid for the site six years ago and paves the way for the layoff of about half of the 500 workers, the person said. As part of the exchange, News Corp. will receive a private equity stake in Specific Media.

With Timberlake's help, the buyers hope to revitalize MySpace and transform it into a destination for original shows, as well as bolster its already available video content and music.

"There's a need for a place where fans can go to interact with their favorite entertainers, listen to music, watch videos, share and discover cool stuff and just connect. MySpace has the potential to be that place," Timberlake said in a statement.

The sale is expected to close later Wednesday, a day before the end of News Corp.'s fiscal year. News Corp. will maintain less than a 5 percent stake in the site, said the person, who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

News Corp. bought MySpace for $580 million in 2005, but users, advertisers and musicians who once relied on it for promotion fled the site for other hotter social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Less than half of MySpace's 74 million monthly visitors are now in the United States, where its visitor count dropped by half in May to 35 million, according to tracking firm comScore Inc.

Specific Media confirmed the acquisition but not the terms of the deal Wednesday.

"We look forward to partnering with someone as talented as Justin Timberlake, who will lead the business strategy with his creative ideas and vision for transforming MySpace," said Specific Media CEO Tim Vanderhook in a statement. "This is the next chapter of digital media, and we are excited to have a hand in writing the script."

MySpace CEO Mike Jones, the last member of a three-member executive team appointed to fix the site in April 2009, said in a memo to staff Wednesday that he would help with the transition for two months before departing.

MySpace launched in 2003, founded by entrepreneurs Chris DeWolfe and Tom Anderson, who is every MySpace user's first friend. It became a popular Internet destination and a key way for little-known musicians to market themselves and interact with their fans.

But MySpace lost its footing over the years as the fun of customizing one's profile began to bore its users and heavy use of banner advertisements slowed the speed at which pages load. Meanwhile, Facebook, founded in 2004, limited what users and advertisers could do, but kept pages clean, and freshened them with its "news feed" of updates, a feature that MySpace later copied.

People found Facebook easier to use and a great migration from MySpace to Facebook picked up several years ago. When Facebook began allowing apps, including music functions and addictive games like "FarmVille," MySpace was left in the dust. According to comScore, Facebook now has more than a billion users worldwide.

"Apps were the breaking point and MySpace could never recover from that," said Charlene Li, a social media analyst and founder of Altimeter Group.

Rohit Kulkarni, an 18-year-old member of the San Jose, Calif. pop punk band Four O'Clock Heroes, said his group once exclusively used MySpace to reach fans with their music, but they haven't checked the site in months. They opened their Facebook band page last year.

"Most of our following was already on Facebook anyways," Kulkarni said. "Nowadays, people use Facebook over MySpace because it's integrated into almost everything, like all your mobile phones. I'm guessing that's why it became more popular."

Even "FarmVille" game-maker Zynga has taken a role promoting music, as shown recently when Lady Gaga unveiled her new album there.

Timberlake's involvement is a clear sign that MySpace will try to reconnect with its musical roots.

Over the last 11 quarters, News Corp. had cumulatively lost about $1.4 billion on the business segment that houses MySpace. By getting rid of the site before the close of the fiscal year, News Corp. has rid itself of about $250 million in losses this year, estimated Barclays Capital analyst Anthony DiClemente.

At $35 million, Specific Media gets an Internet property for a price that Li called "ridiculously low" and values each monthly U.S. visitor at about $1 each. Its new owners should be able to recoup their investment if the company gets each user to click on about 20 ads over their lifetime, she said.

Specific Media, based in Irvine, Calif., brokers the sale of ads to websites and has dabbled in creating original programming and matching it with sponsors. The company was founded in 1999 by brothers Tim, Chris and Russell Vanderhook.

Tune Up Utilities 2011 Download

2011-06-29T12:35:00.000-07:00

TuneUp Utilities is a utility software suite for Microsoft Windows designed to help manage, maintain, optimize, configure and troubleshoot a computer system. It is produced and developed by TuneUp Software GmbH, headquartered in Darmstadt, Germany and co-founded by Tibor Schiemann and Christoph Laumann in 1997.The American version of the software is distributed by TuneUp Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of TuneUp Software GmbH located in Miami, Florida.

As of 2011, nine versions of TuneUp Utilities have been released and the number of included components have been increased from sixteen to thirty-two. TuneUp Utilities have attained generally positive reviews, although multiple reviewers did not approve of its price for value.

Download Here

The Secret behind Designing and Creating Blogger Widgets

2011-06-29T12:23:00.000-07:00

Developing widgets, gadgets or plugins has become a productive hobby for all. Technology is changing its face rapidly with enhancements and better updates. Technologies once dreamt off are fast becoming realities. Till now you kept on following tutorials on this blog and several others. You did how you were instructed but now you must take a step further and start exploring your hidden skills. Blogger Template editing is an open source option for talented people like you. It takes only a month or two to learn things you never even dreamt off. In todays tutorial I will focus on widgets alone and on my upcoming series guide I will share every single step to design a Blogger Template.

PS: By widget I mean any separate independent object or item of a blog may that be static or dynamic.

How are Blogger Widgets Coded?

Widgets are created in two steps i.e

Programming The Widget
Designing The Widget

Programming The Widget:

Blogger widgets are programmed using XHTML, jQuery and JavaScript. These scripts make the widgets dynamic and describes their function. Most of the coding is done using XHTML which is an advance form of XML combination with HTML. The w3 rules for XHTML are very strict and not obeying to them results in error messages that you see while editing your templates. Honestly speaking it is the only area where even I lack skills as my focus is more towards web designing. Though you can still create widgets by skipping this programming side. Follow up...

Designing The Widget:

Now here comes my favorite part of the discussion. After a widget is programmed then comes styling the widget's font colors, borders, background colors etc. using CSS which stands for Cascading Style Sheet. CSS is responsible for giving proper look and feel to objects and HTML is responsible for positioning them. HTML is used to build the structure for the widget and CSS is used to dress up that structure. Take an example of the Text below,

Hello Brother!

HTML Code:

<p><strong><center> Hello world! </center></strong></p>

Now see it after styling it with CSS:

Hello Brother!

CSS CODE:

<center><span style="border-bottom: #8080ff 10px solid; border-left: #8080ff 10px solid; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; border-top: #8080ff 10px solid; border-right: #8080ff 10px solid; padding-top: 6px; -moz-border-radius: 10px; -webkit-border-radius: 10px"><font color="#8080ff"><strong>Hello Brother!</strong></font></span></center>

Don't be confused with the large chunk of code above, CSS is the most interesting and most easiest web language of all. Just the way you make sentences using alphabets we use bits and pieces to create a CSS class.

So How will you design a widget?

Whether you wish to become a designer or you wish to be able enough to customize your template and posts, learning both CSS and HTML is a must now for a happy blogging career. I learnt designing by tweaking Blogger templates and by reading tutorials on w3schools. There are three important practical tips that I can give:

Go and Learn Photoshop. Find a nearby institute where Photoshop is taught. Take a course of no more than 1 month.
Start reading at least 5 tutorials per day of HTML at w3schools
After you learnt the basics of HTML then start the CSS tutorials and read at least 4 tutorials daily at w3schools

This entire hard work will take you no more than a month. After having learnt everything, you will start experimenting and practicing them the next month and on the third and fourth month you deserve to be called a Designer!

After you have developed your designing skills then you can also go and start learning JavaScript, php, jQuery etc.

I have shared whatever that is practical and affordable to all of you. If you think you can hire a teacher for HTML and CSS then it is even more good but trust me Photoshop is the only thing I learnt in an institute, the rest of all my skills are self thought thanks to helpful internet and w3schools in general. The best thing about w3schools is that you can use their HTML editor to create and preview the code at the same time just like MBT HTML Editor. This thing will build up solid skills within a short time of span.

Keeping everything aside, I will be always there for constant help and support. I wish you may find the topic and tips today helpful in order to better enjoy your lives online. Please never give up and utilize this golden life opportunity effectively. Peace and blessings friends.

Blogger Recent Posts Widget

2011-06-29T12:17:00.000-07:00

I shared a tutorial earlier on how to add a Recent Posts Widget provided by Feedburner. However just this year blogger introduced their own Feed widget that takes the URL of your FEED and displays the links to your posts with some limited options. The widget by feedburner however has many options but if you need a shortcut then here it is:

Add Recent Posts Widget To Blogger

Go To Blogger > Design > Page Elements
Click "Add a Gadget"
Choose the FEED Widget

4. Select it and submit in it the FEED URL of your posts which looks like this,

http://zailab.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

5. Replace http://zailab.blogspot.com with your blog link

6. Click Continue

7. You then have 4 options. You can at most display 5 links, with dates, author names and you can make them to open in a new window. I will recommend that you keep the default settings.

8. Hit Save and you are done!

Blogger Recent Comments Widget

2011-06-29T12:07:00.000-07:00

Installing the Recent Comments Widget provided by Feedburner is a better option but if you think that method is a long one then I am sure you will like installing this easy widget provided by blogger team.

The comments in the image to your right are ASCII comments. Your comments will look normal like those shown in the bottom of this image.

Add Recent Comments Widget To Blogger

Go To Blogger > Design > Page Elements
Click "Add a Gadget"
Choose the FEED Widget

4. Submit your FEED URL of comments which looks like this,

http://zailab.blogspot.com/feeds/comments/default

5. Replace http://zailab.blogspot.com with your blog link

6. Click Continue

7. Just like Blogger's Recent Posts Feed Widget this widget also has 4 options. You can at most display 5 links, with dates, author names and you can make them to open in a new window.

8. Hit Save and you are done!

Salman makes fun of SRK & Hrithik

2011-06-29T11:45:00.001-07:00

Salman khan got a latest hit with Ready movie and also Dabangg and he is very much proud of it.This 'Dabangg' Khan is indeed quite fearless, especially when it comes to the ventures which are close to his heart. Be it friend or foe, nothing comes in between Salman Khan when he is out to grab attention.

These days, Salman is surely going out of his way to promote his first home production 'Chillar Party'. While people would have thought that all izz going well between the star and his favourite rival Shah Rukh Khan, here is something which might spark off the cold war again. Not only SRK, Sallu miyaan has also taken potshot at Hrithik Roshan.

Close sources reveal that, recently Salman shot exclusive 'funny' promos for 'Chillar Party' with where he is shown interacting with one of the characters from the film, 'Jangya' who hates the idea of wearing underwear and considers it uncool.

In the promo he questions Jangya, "Why dont u wear an underwear?" Jangya replies, "Because Shahrukh doesn't and so doesn't Hritik. He adds "You also should not wear one.... Does Aamir also not wear one?" and Salman looks puzzled.

Even though Salman doesn't feature in the film, he felt that featuring in a promo with the kids will only help in creating the right buzz for the movie and getting people to know the innocent humor of the film. Recently in another promo for the same film, the actor has given his most famous trade mark shot in which he removes his shirt much to the excitement of his fans.

'Chillar Party' hits the theaters on 8th July and Salman is all thumbs up for it!

Which One Is Important:PageRank or Alexa Rank?

2011-06-29T11:26:00.000-07:00

Google Page Rank and Alexa ranking are two different ways determine your site's performance. Here is a little description of the two,

Google Page Rank

Google Page Rank is a rank from 0 to 10. It is the way Google observes a website. It is mostly dependent upon how many quality backlinks the site has. However there are many other features that also count. Sometimes Google ban people from the ranking due to several reasons like copied content and black hat SEO tactics. . It is calculated from an algorithm

Positive Aspects:

A good way to observe sites performance as it uses quality backlinks as a major factor. Follows an algorithm
Can ban websites with copied content.
Ranked by the biggest search engine in the world i.e GOOGLE
Mostly Page Rank is considered a major factor when buying or selling a site.
Calculated by Google itself which is major site that sends traffic.
Offers a toolbar named 'Google Toolbar' to check the Alexa ranking of a site

Negative Aspects:

Updated very late (3-4 months)
People can buy quality backlinks and get good Page Rank.
They do not provide a toolbar for their own Google Chrome.

Alexa Ranking

Alexa is a web directory and provides free traffic metrics, search analytics, demographics, and more. Alexa ranking depends upon how many visitors you get daily.

Positive Aspects:

Updated sooner
Calculation is based on a dependable factor i.e visitor count.
Offers a toolbar named 'Alexa Toolbar' to check the Alexa ranking of a site.

Negative Aspects:

You can use a software and get as robot visits to your site and increase your hit count.

Conclusion:

Observing both the two factors it is seen that none of them actually is a perfect way to describe the success of a website. Both of them have their pros and cons. However PageRank gives an idea of how popular a website is in internet in building reputation and Alexa gives an estimate idea of how much traffic a website is receiving. In short both are important to receive handsome sponsorship and attract tons of Advertisers.

Blogger Password Protected Posts

2011-06-29T11:03:00.000-07:00

An extremely useful and secure script for password protecting blogger blogs has been introduced by vincentcheung . The script created by him hides whatever you want in the form of an encrypted code which can be revealed only if your users know the password to see the hidden content. It is the most secure and working method that I personally liked a lot. The hidden text can not easily be cracked and your content remains hidden from the eyes of all uninvited visitors. According to its author not even he can decrypt (make visible) the encrypted code (hidden message) except the person who sets the password. It works more like a Lock and Key Mechanism. I am sure you will enjoy this new technique that will help you to maintain some privacy.

How To add a Password To Blogger Blogs?

The steps are as usual very simple:

Go To Blogger > Design > Edit HTML
Backup your template
Search for this,

]]></b:skin>

4. And just below it paste the following JavaScript code,

<script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.vincentcheung.ca/jsencryption/jsencryption.js"></script>

5. Save your template and you are done!

How it works?

Now whenever you wish to show images, text, media or anything only to selected people then you may create and write the post as you normally do in your blogger editor or Windows Live Writer and once you are finished do this

1. Switch to the Edit HTML mode and copy all the code that you see. As shown below,

2. Go To Encryption Page

You will see 4 boxes with names: key, Plain Text, Clipher Text and HTML Code. We are only interested in the key, plain text and HTML CODE box. Follow these steps:

1 Enter a password in the Key Box

2 Next Paste the code that you copies from your Blogger Editor into the Plain Text box

3 Hit the Encrypt Button below Plain Text box

4 Copy the code from the HTML CODE box

This is the new look of the same post you created. You will see strange illogical characters but these characters contain your hidden text, images or multimedia. You can now use this HTML CODE in any of your posts and instead of seeing the big chunk of code, the visitor will see only a link that says: Show Encrypted text How? follow the next step:

3. Now get back to your Blogger Editor. Create a New Post. Give your post a title and paste the HTML Code that you just copied inside your blogger Editor in the Edit HTML Mode. You can write anything in place of this text -> Show Encrypted text but make all changes inEdit HTML mode only.

You can also add any message below or above the HTML CODE which contains your hidden text.

I just hope you may like this new discovery and you may find it helpful. Feel free to ask any questions you may have. Peace and blessings. :>

New Latest Social Networking feat by Google

2011-06-29T03:11:00.000-07:00

More people visit Google's network of websites than Facebook each month, but Facebook is killing the search company in categories that advertisers care most about: Time spent and pages viewed. Users spent 62% more time on Facebook than on Google last month, and viewed more than twice the number of pages on Facebook as they did on Google, according to comScore.

Google's (GOOG, Fortune 500) latest solution to this growing trend is Google+, a new social network that tries to out-Facebook Facebook. On Facebook, people are either "friends" or not. Google+ makes that distinction more fluid, letting users group their contacts into smaller categories, such as relatives, co-workers, or members of a yoga class. Information can be shared selectively with each group.

"The subtlety and substance of real-world interactions are lost in the rigidness of our online tools," said Vic Gundotra, Google's senior vice president of social, in a blog post. "In this basic, human way, online sharing is awkward. Even broken. And we aim to fix it."

Google+ features several components that attempt to mimic natural human interaction. For instance, to simulate sitting out on your front porch, one feature allows users to declare that they're "hanging out" and interested in video chatting if a select group of people are around. Another lets users chat with a particular set of people -- say, before they all meet at a concert.

Google often denies that Facebook is the company's primary competitor, and Gundotra said Google+ was "not a reaction to Facebook." Yet sources with knowledge of the project say that Google+ was known internally as "Googbook." Google devoted 300 people to the team.

Unlike Google's previous social attempts, such Orkut and Buzz -- which had big, bold launches and are largely considered failures -- Google is moving slowly and cautiously with Google+. It has only been launched for a small group of users, and others need to be invited to the service to use it.

Google also doesn't consider Google+ to be a separate product, exactly. Rather, the company says it is an extension of things you can already do on Google. A toolbar will be available atop all Google sites, and users can download an Android or Chrome application to get notifications and share content.

For instance, a user could be in Google Maps, and share directions with a group. Search results, documents, even advertisements could be shared using Google+.

Google's social puzzle pieces

Google's first attempt at a social network, Orkut, has also been plagued by privacy concerns, especially when it was hit with a virus in 2010 that collected users' personal information.

With Google+, content is only shared with a specific, intended audience -- it is not shared publicly like content is on Twitter. Continuing the theme of mimicking face-to-face conversations, Google executives compare Google+ interactions to lowering a person's voice to keep something between friends, telling a joke at a party or sharing an idea at a meeting. Each has a different expectation of privacy, which is understood in context by the people involved in the conversation.

After Buzz and Orkut never took off in the way the company had hoped, former CEO Eric Schmidt announced that Google would no longer consider launching a full-on Facebook competitor. Instead, he said, Google would incorporate "social elements" in all of its products.

Then-President Larry Page disagreed with Schmidt. After Page took over as CEO in April, the company began to focus more intently on doing battle with Facebook, including reportedly linking employees' bonuses to Google's success in social networking.

At the All Things D conference last month, Schmidt said Google's social failings were his fault.

"I clearly knew that I had to do something, and I failed to do it," he said. "A CEO should take responsibility. I screwed up."

Biz Stone the Co-founder of Twitter is leaving

2011-06-29T00:56:00.000-07:00

Twitter is losing another co-founder.Really this is true friends.Twitter co-founder Biz Stone has announced on his blog that he will be departing the Micro blogging site.Stone, 37, said Tuesday on his blog that he will work with the company "for many years to come," but that the most effective use of his time now is to "get out of the way" of Twitter's crew and leadership team until he's called upon to be of some specific use.

Stone says he plans to focus on helping schools, nonprofits and company advisory boards. He's also relaunching Obvious Corp. with fellow Twitter co-founder Evan Williams to develop new projects.

The move comes as Twitter has been trying to build upon its popularity to make more money by selling more ads. The privately held company doesn't disclose its finances, but research firm eMarketer Inc. estimates Twitter will bring in advertising revenue of about $150 million this year.

Stone's departure caps a year of executive changes at the San Francisco-based company. Last fall Williams handed over the reins to Twitter's current CEO, Dick Costolo, and moved on to explore new business ideas. In March, Twitter's third co-founder and original CEO Jack Dorsey returned to oversee product development as executive chairman.

From July 3 'Rachcha' another schedule abroad

2011-06-28T23:12:00.000-07:00

Ram Charan very much dissapointed with his movie orange. That movie is a flop at box office.Now he carefully selected this Rachcha subject.The Ram Charan-Tamanna starrer 'Rachcha' directed by Sampath Nandi and produced by NV Prasad and Paras Jain on the banner of Mega Super Good Films was launched here recently.

The film, had completed its first schedule in Hyderabad after shooting for a week or so. The unit is leaving for Sri Lanka to can a song on the lead pair. For the first time, Tamanna is pairing up with Ram Charan. The abroad schedule is slated to begin from July 3.

Though there were gossips that Ram Charan was troubling the director in the shooting of the film, it was all proved a trash with the successful continuation of the shooting.

Manisharma is scoring music while Sameer Reddy is handling the camera.

In Lulz Security Hacker Investigation FBI Raids Iowa Woman’s Home

2011-06-28T23:08:00.000-07:00

"LulzSec, a small team of lulzy individuals who feel the drabness of the cyber community is a burden on what matters: fun. Considering fun is now restricted to Friday, where we look forward to the weekend, weekend, we have now taken it upon ourselves to spread fun, fun, fun, throughout the entire calender year."The hacking group Lulz Security ended its 50-day reign of terror this weekend, but law enforcement’s hunt for its members will go on. Last week, FBI agents raided an Iowa woman’s home because of her connections to the group.

At about 11 am last Thursday, 29-year-old Laurelai Bailey heard a knock at her Davenport, Iowa home. She found around eight FBI agents swarming at her doorstep, search warrant in hand. But the agents politely “told me they weren’t there to arrest me,” Bailey tells us in an interview.

Instead, they had some questions about hackers Bailey had been hanging out with online. They told Bailey they were investigating a February attack against the security firm HBGary by an elite group of hackers associated with the hacktivist collective Anonymous. Those hackers would later break away from Anonymous to form Lulz Security, who attacked the FBI, PBS, and the CIA in a well-publicized spree before calling it quits this weekend amid increasing pressure and the arrest of a purported member in England.

Bailey’s conversation with the feds lasted about five hours, during which she told them everything she knew. But Bailey says she knew nothing that anyone couldn’t find out themselves, using leaked chat logs and Google. The feds also asked if she could infiltrate the group.

“They wanted to know if I could get close to them,” Bailey says. “I told them these people hate me… it wouldn’t do any good.” Bailey says Lulz Security hackers hold a grudge against her for leaking logs from the secret chat room in which they planned the HBGary hack—which she says she did in retaliation for them harassing some of her friends. (We later published an article based on the logs.) When the interview was over, the agents carted off a couple of her hard drives, her camera and other computer equipment.

According to Bailey, the agents who interviewed her were specifically interested in a member of Lulz Security who goes by the handle “Kayla.” “Anytime I mentioned her, they seemed particularly interested,” Bailey says.

Little is known for sure about Kayla: She was instrumental in the HBGary attack and was a founding member of Lulz Security. She’s claimed to be a 16-year-old girl, though rumors persist that she’s actually a 20-something guy from New Jersey. Others speculate Kayla is Taiwanese, or actually a sockpuppet controlled by many different people. Her purported Twitter account is made up of infuriatingly opaque status updates about going partying and going on vacation. The most recent: “right gonna go get rdy bye twitter ”.

Bailey says Kayla is “friendly” but mysterious, limiting their exchanges mostly to public tweets.

But Bailey insists she was never a member of LulzSec, nor has she ever engaged in illegal hacking. In the chat logs she leaked, she is seen chatting freely with the hackers as the HBGary hack unfolded, offering advice, kibitzing—even giving suggestions for a logo. But she says she became close to the hackers through her involvement with Crowdleaks, a Wikileaks-focused news website. She claims she was in the room during the HBGary hack simply acting as a reporter for Crowdleaks.

Although she’s not worried about getting in trouble with the law, the raid has already screwed up her life in another way. After she chatted with a friend online about the raid last week, the record of their chat was leaked in a document which portrayed her as a member of LulzSec “snitching” on her fellow hackers. The document included her real name and contact information, and the association with Lulz Security caused her to lose her job in tech support.

“They fired me… because I was apparently making the company look bad,” Bailey said.

The raid of what appears to be an insignificant figure in the Lulz Security universe offers a glimpse into how the authorities are going about catching the notorious hackers. It’s not just complicated computer forensics, which will likely lead to dead ends if the hackers were smart enough to cover their tracks. Everyone LulzSec hackers have come into contact with over their entire hacking careers will be swept up in the investigation. Though Bailey said she had no smoking gun to offer the feds, someone might

Megastar quits Acting

2011-06-28T22:25:00.000-07:00

He is the number 1 hero of the Tollywood but he is not going to act anymore.Yes it is true.Megastar Chiranjeevi made a sensational statement on Tuesday. At the launch of UTV's new channel in Hyderabad, Chiru said that he will not act in movies anymore. Chiranjeevi said that his fans can see him in Ramcharan Tej hereafter and bless his son as an actor.

" I am serious on politics.I have come to public life now and I want to remain here. It won't be fair to shift my focus on acting now. Since Ramcharan Tej is here to entertain my fans, I am sure my fans can see myself in him. I want to dedicate myself to public service." he said.

Also reacting to another question from a journalist on whether he will play the role of a CM in any movie he said that people want him to become Chief Minister in real life.

"What is the need to act as CM in movies when people want me to become CM in real life" Chiranjeevi said.

With Chiranjeevi's statement, all the rumours about his 150th film have been dispelled. Megastar has categorically said that he won't act in films hereafter.

Nadal hurt his left foot in Monday's win over Juan Martin del Potro

2011-06-28T20:40:00.000-07:00

After having an MRI scan late last night, Rafael Nadal has declared himself fit to resume the defense of his Wimbledon title against Mardy Fish in tomorrow's quarterfinals. Nadal hurt his left foot in Monday's win over Juan Martin del Potro.Rafael Nadal says he is not seriously injured and will play Wednesday in the Wimbledon quarterfinals.Nadal, a two-time champion at the All England Club, hurt his left foot in the first set of Monday's win over Juan Martin del Potro. He twice called for a trainer during the set, but still managed to win 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4.

After the match, he went to a London hospital for an MRI exam, but the results were negative.He says "during the match I thought I had something serious but as the match went through the pain got better and thankfully the tests don't show an injury. Today I will practice at 4:30 p.m. and I'll play tomorrow."

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) - A person with knowledge of the medical test results tells The Associated Press that Rafael Nadal is not seriously injured and is expected to play in the Wimbledon quarterfinals.

The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because Nadal has not yet released a statement to the media, says Tuesday "the MRI doesn't show anything. But pain is pain. ... He is expected to practice later today."

Nadal, a two-time champion at the All England Club, hurt his left foot in the first set of Monday's win over Juan Martin del Potro. He twice called for a trainer during the set, but still managed to win 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4.

500,000 Android devices activated each day worldwide by Google

2011-06-28T12:26:00.000-07:00

Android devices are used by so many users.There are now over 500,000 Android devices activated everyday and its growing at 4.4 % w/w said by Andy Rubin.Google Android chief Andy Rubin said through his Twitter account this morning that more than 500,000 Android devices are activated each day worldwide. Week over week, that’s growth at a rate of 4.4 percent, he said.My CNET colleague Don Reisinger notes that it was only a month ago that Google announced a 400,000-devices-per-day figure, up from 300,000 per day in December.

It’s astounding growth, but the question is whether Google can control the beast. Android handsets are widely available, inexpensive to implement and offer the basic smartphone experience as we’ve come to know it in recent years: touchscreen, fast processor, multimedia and so forth.

It’s the special sauce that fueled Android’s staggering growth in the U.S. and is what continues to do so abroad, where smartphone adoption figures are beginning to mirror those seen in the early days in North America and Europe.

But there remain concerns about Google’s ability to keep its various ducks in a row as rivals such as Microsoft and HP begin to execute on their mobile plans.

Still, in Q1 2011, Google and Apple were the only two companies to show growth in the industry-leading U.S. market, with 36.4 percent and 26.0 percent, respectively. (Microsoft held just 6.7 percent of its home market; HP just 2.6 percent.) Which goes to show that being a first-mover — regardless of whether the product is ready to go to market — matters.

Can the other companies stem Google’s tide? I think so, if they focus on winning specific parts of the market where Google is stretched too thin. And we have yet to see how Nokia’s eventual adoption of Microsoft Windows Phone 7 will play out in the global market.

New,Office 365 launched by Microsoft

2011-06-28T12:18:00.000-07:00

As far as we know Microsoft office 2010 but Microsoft launches new type of office that is office 365.If you’re a current Microsoft cloud customer or even someone just kicking the tires of Microsoft’s hosted cloud bundle here’s what you need to know about Office 365, which Microsoft launched on June 28.Office 365 is not Office in the cloud, even though it does include Office Web Apps, the Webified versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. Office 365 is a Microsoft-hosted suite of Exchange Online, SharePoint Online and Lync Online plus an optional subscription-based version of Office 2010 Professional Plus that runs locally on PCs. The Microsoft-hosted versions of these cloud apps offer subsets of their on-premises server counterparts (Exchange, SharePoint and Lync servers), in terms of features and functionality.

Office 365 replaces the company’s Business Productivity Suite (BPOS), Office Live Small Business and Live@edu offerings. As of today, June 28, Office 365 is available in 40 countries.

Office 365 competes head to head with Google Apps, among other cloud-hosted productivity suites.

Microsoft is giving current BPOS users who want to stick with Microsoft a year to migrate to Office 365. The Office Live Small Business migration is slated to happen later this year or early 2012.

At today’s Office 365 30-minute launch event in New York City, headlined by CEO Steve Ballmer, there were no surprises — and no question and answer period for the press, partners and analysts in attendance.

Microsoft announced its plans for Office 365 last fall and has been beta testing the offering for the past couple of months.

Seven Wonders of the World 2011

2011-06-28T06:59:00.000-07:00

1. Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon is a cliff-steep ravine, carved by the Colorado River, in northern Arizona. This gulf is one of the Seven Wonders of the World and mostly located in the Grand Canyon National Park, one of the first national parks in the United States. President Theodore Roosevelt is one of the main supporters of the Grand Canyon area, visiting on several occasions to hunt mountain lion and enjoy the incredible scenery.

This gap, created by the Colorado River cutting a passage for millions of years, to a length of approximately 446 km, with width ranging from 6 to 29 km and with a depth of more than 1,600 m. Nearly than 2000 million years of Earth history has been truncated by the Colorado River and its tributaries layer after layer of sediment as the Colorado Plateau began to rise.

Grand Canyon was first seen by Europeans in 1540, García López de Cárdenas from Spain. The first scientific expedition to the canyon was led by U.S. Major John Wesley Powell in the late 1870s. Powell pointed to the sedimentary rocks exposed in the gap as "leaves in a great story book." However, long before that time, the region has been inhabited by Native Americans who built a residence in the walls of this ravine

2. Great Barrier Reef / Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest collection of coral reefs which consists of approximately 3,000 reefs and 900 islands, which stretches 2,600 km. These reefs are located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland in northeast Australia. Most of these coral areas, including parts that are protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park).

Great Barrier Reef (CDE) can be seen from outer space and is sometimes referred to as the largest single organism in the world. In fact, it was formed from millions of tiny organisms, known as coral polyps (coral polyp). CDE was chosen as one of UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981.

Wealth biodiversitasnya, warm and clear waters, and floating facilities keterjangkauannya of the so-called live aboards, make this reef became a very popular tourist destination, especially for scuba divers. Many cities along the Queensland coast which offers tours to the coral sea, every day. Several continental islands have also been changed into the resort.

3. Mount Everest

Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world (when measured from sea paras.) Summit ridge marks the border between Nepal and Tibet peak in Tibet. This mountain has a height of about 8850 m. This mountain get their English name from the name of Sir George Everest. This name was given by Sir Andrew Waugh, the surveyor-general British India, the successor of Everest. Mount Everest is one of the Seven Summits of the world.

4. Victoria Waterfall

Victoria Waterfalls is one of the most spectacular waterfalls in the world. This waterfall is located on the Zambezi River, which at present forms the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. This waterfall has a width of approximately 1 mile (1.6 km), with a height of 128M (420 feet).
David Livingstone, Scottish explorer, visited this lake in 1855 and named it in the name of Queen Victoria, while its local name is Mosi-oa-Tunya, "thundering smoke." This waterfall is part of two national parks, Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park in Zambia and Victoria Falls National Park in Zimbabwe, and also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This waterfall is a major tourist attraction in South Africa.

5. Northern Lights

One of the wonders of the world is the Northern Lights or also known as Aurora Borealis. Kejaiban light colors are formed by interaction between the Earth's magnetic field by solar particles.

6.Volkano Paricutín

Paricutín volcano , is a volcano located in the state of Michoacan, Mexico. Prior to 1943, this volcano did not exist, but suddenly there is volcanic activity that resulted in the people around there to flee, the young mountains continue to grow higher, a day to 50 meters and is currently its activity can be said to stop, and the height of the mountain to reach 336 meters.

7. Port of Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro (meaning "January River" in Portuguese) is the capital of the State of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil tenggara.Kota has a broad section of 1256 km ² and a population of about 6.15 million million (2004). About 10 million people live in Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area Raya, which is currently the fourth largest city in the world.
Location of the port of Rio de Janeiro is unique is right on the tip of the mouth of the river between the sea and rivers meeting, in addition to the port city city also has a geographical location and scenery is very beautiful, Brazil discovered and colonized by the Portuguese in 1565 so that the culture, language, customs , also refers to the state food portugal, which were the spiritual bond between the two states.

In September 2011 there will be Two iPhones...

2011-06-28T06:11:00.000-07:00

As we know that iPhone is released and it is used by most of the users.Recently it is released in India also.

Should we expect to see two new iPhones in September? Although it’s an interesting possibility, it doesn’t seem very likely.

Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Whitmore claims that Apple will be releasing two iPhone models in September: a completely new model — referred to as the iPhone 5 — and an essentially souped-up iPhone 4 called the iPhone 4S.

“With Nokia and RIMM struggling, the time is right for Apple to aggressively penetrate the midrange smartphone market (i.e. $300-500 category) to dramatically expand its [total addressable market] and market share,” Whitmore says.

Whitmore believes that an unlocked iPhone 4S with a $350 price tag and a prepaid voice plan would be able to penetrate markets that previous iPhone models have been unable to. Such markets include Africa, Asia and Latin America, where prepaid voice plans far outnumber post-paid plans, which dominate here in the United States.

The rumor of an affordable, prepaid iPhone has been floating around for several months now, particularly from financial analysts — and often with little to no actual proof. The most evidence for such a phone stems from statements by Apple COO Tim Cook that Apple understands “price is a big factor in the prepaid market,” especially in China, and that it is “not ceding any market.”

Other rumors about the upcoming iPhone that carry a bit more clout include the September launch date, improved A5 chip and 8-megapixel camera sensor and stylistic changes such as curved glass and a flat metal back.

A dual iPhone-model release seems pretty unlikely for several reasons. Firstly, financial analysts typically have a pretty poor track record at predicting anything Apple-related — although they did get a few things right about the iPad before it launched. Whitmore has no proof to substantiate his claim.

And as for affordability, Apple substantially reduces the price of previous iPhone models whenever a new one becomes available. The iPhone 3GS is currently sold for $50, for example. Apple and its carriers, AT&T and Verizon, would only need to introduce a new prepaid pricing option for older iPhone models; there’s no need to create an entirely different phone model for markets that favor prepaid voice plans.

Apple also recently made its GSM model available unlocked for $650. Not cheap, but an option for those who don’t want to stick with AT&T or Verizon’s standard data plans here in the United States, or for those who want to use it internationally.

Apple just has no need to release two new iPhone models in September, or whenever the company decides to lift the curtain on its latest smartphone.

Buzzing belt helps Haptic soldiers alot

2011-06-28T05:59:00.000-07:00

A belt equipped with buzzing actuators could help soldiers navigate, silently and accurately.THE US army is testing a navigation device that allows soldiers to feel their way, literally, through the fog of war. The device, a haptic belt, feeds information to the wearer through coded vibrations and can also relay orders given as hand signals via a glove that recognises gestures.

Navigation can be extremely difficult for soldiers, especially at night, says Elmar Schmeisser, who has been leading the work at the Army Research Office in North Carolina. GPS devices are not ideal as they require soldiers to take their eyes off their surroundings and their hand off their weapon. The illuminated displays can give away their position at night, too.

So Schmeisser has spent the last few years working with different companies and research groups to find an alternative. He and his colleagues have now developed a range of vibrating mini electric motors known as tactile actuators, or "tactors", and tested them in various configurations. "What's best is a belt around the torso with eight tactors signifying the eight cardinal directions," says Linda Elliott, a psychologist who has been testing the systems on soldiers during training exercises at the Army Research Laboratory at Fort Benning in Georgia.

The tactors vibrate at 250 hertz, which is just enough to give a gentle but noticeable buzz around the torso at regular intervals indicating the direction in which the soldier needs to travel to reach the next waypoint.

The belts are hooked up to a regular GPS device to access directional information, as well as an accelerometer and digital compass. These mean the device knows which way the soldier is facing, even if they are lying down. "As long as you are going in the right direction you will feel it on your front," says Elliott, who will be presenting the technology at the Human-Computer Interaction conference in Orlando, Florida, in July. "As you get to within 50 metres of the waypoint all the tactors start to go off, and within 15 metres they will quicken."

Besides directions, the tactors can communicate commands such as "halt", signified by the front, back and side tactors pulsing simultaneously, or "move out", when they pulse from back to front, almost as if they were pushing the soldier forward.

While commands could be sent from base, Schmeisser and Elliott are also working with a company called AnthroTronix, which has developed a glove that has integrated accelerometers to detect hand gestures. The hope is to allow a platoon leader to be able to communicate with their squad while out in the field through standard military hand gestures sent wirelessly to their belts, says Elliott.

It's an interesting and useful development, says Katherine Kuchenbecker, director of the haptics group in the University of Pennsylvania's GRASP lab, in Philadelphia. Her group has previously made a haptic vest for first-person shooter video games, where the tactors are activated to simulate a shot when the player is hit. "Conveying directional information through the skin is a nice complement to seeing and hearing one's surroundings," she says.

Elliott has tested the haptic belt on a number of different army personnel, from rangers to snipers, as they carried out six training exercises during the day and night. They were required to carry out various tasks, such as responding to requests for information and searching for targets, while navigating at the same time.

"We compared the performance with a handheld Garmin GPS and a traditional map and compass," says Elliott. Based on navigation time, errors en route and targets detected, the belt not only performed as well but the consensus among soldiers was that they loved it, because they didn't need to put down their weapon or take their eyes off their surroundings. As one soldier put it: "It is hands and thought-free."

Microsoft to Defend Its Office Business Takes to Cloud

2011-06-28T01:27:00.000-07:00

Microsoft Takes to Cloud to Defend Its Office Business.This is true friends.Mr. Conophy, the chief information officer of the InterContinental Hotels Group, decided earlier this year to begin moving nearly all the company’s 25,000 office workers off Microsoft’s e-mail and Office productivity applications and onto Google’s Web-based alternatives.

About 6,000 employees in the hotel management company have converted so far, Mr. Conophy says, and things are going well. The savings, he estimates, will add up to millions of dollars a year. And Google’s online offerings, he said, have improved steadily since it entered the business market four years ago.

“We could do this now because the Google cloud apps are ready for prime time,” Mr. Conophy said.

Halting such defections is a top priority at Microsoft. Its response arrives Tuesday, when the company begins selling Office 365, a cloud-based version of Microsoft’s e-mail, whiteboard collaboration software and word processing, spreadsheet and presentation programs. The marketing campaign will begin with a presentation in New York by Microsoft’s chief executive, Steven A. Ballmer.

Like Google Apps, the new service is run in the cloud — remotely in data centers — and users tap in from an Internet-connected browser on a personal computer, tablet or smartphone.

Microsoft’s long-awaited move, analysts say, is a studiously crafted bet, including various offerings at different prices. They are not sure whether it represents wishful thinking or a workable strategy. Microsoft’s plan is to embrace the demand for cloud-based tools for office workers, which promise to be less costly for companies than conventional software, and yet avoid cannibalizing a business that is its biggest single money-maker.

“If Microsoft stumbles, it really opens the door to Google,” said Matt Cain, an analyst for Gartner. “It’s a tremendous long-term threat to Microsoft and its Office franchise.”

The Microsoft unit that includes the Office family of products is a $20 billion-a-year business with pretax profit margins of 60 percent. The business is even larger than the company’s other big profit engine, the Windows PC operating system.

Google portrays the arrival of Office 365 as an endorsement, if not a capitulation. “This is a recognition that our business is for real,” said David Girouard, president of Google’s enterprise division. “We’ve really helped move the needle in the marketplace.”

The company now claims more than 30 million active users of Google Apps, its collection of online office productivity and communications programs. But about 12 million of those users are university staff and students, who typically get free access to the apps. The standard charge for business and government customers is $50 per user a year. Google will not disclose how many customers pay that fee.

It does say it is gaining momentum. Just this month, Google announced a series of large converts. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the federal agency that conducts climate and ocean studies, with 25,000 employees, is adopting Google Apps. Others include the State of Wyoming, with 10,000 workers, and the McClatchy Group, a publishing chain, with 8,500 workers.

The subscription renewal rates to Google Apps, Mr. Girouard said, are higher than 90 percent and for larger companies the rate is nearly 100 percent.

There are other cloud-based business e-mail, productivity and collaboration tools including entries from Zoho, Zimbra from VMware, Lotus Live from I.B.M. and Chatter from Salesforce.com.

Yet Google, analysts say, is the main rival that Microsoft has in mind with Office 365. “There’s no doubt that the increasing popularity of Google Apps has forced Microsoft’s hand,” said Melissa Webster, an analyst at IDC. “But Microsoft is really embracing the cloud now. This is the other shoe dropping.”

At $50 a year, Google’s pricing seems far more appealing than the standard price for the Office PC software, from $200 to about $400, depending on features. Office 365 prices are from $2 per user a month to $27 per user a month. The $2-a-month service is just e-mail and is intended for companies that want to extend communications to employees currently not served, like factory workers. The $27-a-month offering is for all the online features, including Web conferencing and digital whiteboards for team projects, and a license to the most powerful version of the Office personal computer software.

A $6-a-month offering is aimed at extending Microsoft’s e-mail server services and collaboration tools, like SharePoint, to small businesses. These small businesses typically have the Office PC software, but not the related software, analysts say.

With cloud-based versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint, plus several new communications and collaboration tools, that offering could be quite appealing, analysts say. The price, at $72 a year, is somewhat above Google’s, but it carries the Microsoft name and familiarity. “It could be a lot of net new business, and stable recurring revenue, if Microsoft can pull it off,” Ms. Webster said.

UK phone hacking scandal:New arrest

2011-06-28T01:16:00.000-07:00

Every journalist suffers from subpoenas envy. As powerful as the pen may be, reporters covet the power that courts and Congress have to command individuals and organizations to give testimony and produce evidence. So whenever the power-thresher of a prosecution or a congressional investigation rolls over a prominent person or a notable organization, journalists flock like grackles to glean whatever material they can for their stories.Scotland Yard said that detectives questioned the 34-year-old on suspicion of intercepting private communications, after she turned herself in at a central London police station. She was released on bail hours later.

Press Association identified the journalist as royal reporter Laura Elston, but did not provide any more details.

Dozens of celebrities and public figures in Britain have claimed their phones were hacked by reporters, but so far the scandal has only involved the Rupert Murdoch-owned The News of the World tabloid newspaper.

In 2007, the tabloid's former royal reporter Clive Goodman and private detective Glenn Mulcaire were jailed for intercepting messages from members of the royal household.

Three of the paper's journalists have been arrested and questioned since police reopened a probe into its practices, but no new charges have been brought.

The paper's owners have apologized, admitted wrongdoing and reached cash settlements with some of the victims, including actress Sienna Miller.