Adobe has never provided proper support for Flash on Linux. In fact, they only introduced the 64-bit build of Flash in July last year. Today, they have announced that they will no longer release future versions of Flash on Linux - except as a part of Google Chrome.

Since 2009, Google has been working together to develop the Pepper Plugin API (PPAPI). The PPAPI is a modification to the Netscape Plugin API (NPAPI), which makes the plugins cross-platform and more secure. Adobe has been working with Google to implement PPAPI in Flash for all platforms that Google Chrome supports. Adobe says that Google will start distributing Chrome with the PPAPI based Flash on all platforms later this year.

Adobe is taking this opportunity to end its support of Flash for Linux. Flash player browser plugin will no longer be available for download on Linux. Adobe, however, will continue to release security updates for Flash Player 11.2 for five years. This does not change the availability for other platforms.

For Flash Player releases after 11.2, the Flash Player browser plugin for Linux will only be available via the “Pepper” API as part of the Google Chrome browser distribution and will no longer be available as a direct download from Adobe.

Right now, Chrome is the only browser that supports PPAPI, and the only way to get PPAPI based Flash Player on Linux is to install Chrome. Even if other browsers, say Firefox, adds PPAPI, users will still have to install Chrome to get Flash Player - after all it is no longer available for download and Firefox will not be able to distribute it like Chrome because of licensing. This in essence means that from now, if user wants Flash on Linux, they will have to install Chrome no matter what.

Flash on Linux has been problematic at best. I hope that this will hasten the obsolescence of Flash.

via Adobe Blog

You were reading Adobe Flash To Be Available Only On Google Chrome In Linux - originally published on Digitizor.com on February 22, 2012 - 7:46 pm (Indian Standard Time)

With the tablet and smartphone revolution taking over the age of PCs and desktops, companies have also had to redesign their strategies in order to be more compatible with the changing scenario. Startups face the heat of this transition more than the well-established companies in terms of keeping their sites speedy even on mobiles and tablets. The amount of time taken by a startup's website homepage to load varies considerably.

Consumers these days are using mobile devices more than ever before, and this means that they access the web more through their mobiles or tablets. But it has been observed that the load time taken by a website homepage to load on mobile is more than the time taken on the desktop. This discrepancy has been statistically analysed now.

A Startup Shootout Index by Keynote Systems gives us some reliable information about the core trends and challenges faced by most websites these days. The Index is the first of its kind database providing load times and completion percentages for websites on desktops, smartphones and tablets. One of the key challenges found was how a company is at a risk of losing new customers because of slow loading.

Keynote used a network of PCs it owns to generate traffic for select startup websites from various parts of the US, and also did the same iPad 2 and iPhone 4 users in Chicago, Dallas, New York and San Francisco. Although only Apple mobile devices have been used as a sample, it still represents a good portion of the US population. The tests were done for a period of few weeks and then the Index was created. Keynote analysed startups from six categories, them being Collaboration (including sites like Box, Dropbox, and Huddle), Travel, Mobile and Social Gaming, Social Retail (Gilt Groupe, Fab.com, and the like), Social Networking, Digital Entertainment (Spotify, Rdio, and Turntable.fm).

“We’re seeing that tablets are often a distant third when it comes to performance,” said Tim Murphy, senior mobile marketing manager at Keynote Systems. “The iPad is 2X slower than the iPhone largely because they’re sending about 265KB of data to the tablet user versus 142KB to the smartphone user,” Murphy added.

Given the popularity and the inherent limitations of offering perfect service on mobiles and tablets, companies running game sites and retail sites must also improve to take advantage of the tablet revolution to its full potential.

Source: VentureBeat

You were reading Start-up websites struggle with speed issues on tablets and smartphones - originally published on Digitizor.com on February 22, 2012 - 2:02 pm (Indian Standard Time)

The Andhra Pradesh government has been approached by Amazon.com in to reclaim the land the company has lost at the hands of farmers in the region. Having entered India through Junglee.com and now finally getting a clearance to set up operations in the country, Amazon is trying hard to get back its land and start running smoothly.

Amazon India is already functioning in India through e-commerce site Junglee.com despite the restrictions of Foreign Direct Investment in India (FDI). Junglee.com gives a list of products aggregated from various Indian e-commerce sites, as well as Amazon.com. It further gave the prices of the products on various websites and then rerouted the consumer to the specific website for purchase. But now, Amazon can finally step beyond this stop-gap solution and run operations in India the way it does in the US. The government has given clearance to Amazon Asia-Pacific, and a subsidiary is now setting up logistics and operations for distribution and promotion in India.

Amazon's operations have thus been defined as - “To set up a WoS [Wholly Owned Subsidiary] to undertake the business of online market place operator and retailer inter-alia courier services.”

Amazon made an interesting move by launching Junglee.com and gather information about the Indian market, while also working towards getting a clearance for setting up operations. As proof to the fact that Amazon is in fact getting retailers and suppliers for its Indian website, the company released a list of 10 partners, namely The Bombay Store, Fabindia, Bata India Limited, Reebok, Dabur, Homeshop 18, Gitanjali, Hidesign and UniverCell.

As reported in Hindu's Business Line, Amazon's territory in AP has been encroached by the farmers, and a company team bet the Chief Minister of the state to help them resolve the issues.

Source: ZDNet

You were reading Amazon Asia-Pacific cleared to starts operations in India amidst land trouble - originally published on Digitizor.com on February 22, 2012 - 12:57 pm (Indian Standard Time)

Software giant Microsoft is trying to revive its MSN web portal, once very popular amongst users, which had lost its charm, with Facebook and Twitter ruling the social space now, has. The company has launched msnNOw, which the company hopes to make the one stop search engine and shop for the latest buzz and breaking news about a variety of topics from Facebook, Twitter, Bing and BreakingNews.com.

Microsoft announced that msnNOW will have an editorial staff which will scrounge for the hottest news and topics on the internet in 100 words or less, much like Twitter. With all this content being found through Facebook and other social media sites, a single source of fresh content will be created which will also give users information about why something is trending, what people are saying and links for more information. The site will also include Biggest Movers, which is basically looks at topics as they go up and down the popularity list.

The content and news which will be up on the website will be divided into categories to make the browsing experience easier and more organized. The categories would be Fame (Celeb gossip), Soul (topics on beauty, lifestyle etc.), Sweat (sports buzz), Wire (big news of the day) and Cash (finance and business). Users can even browse through these categories through their mobiles and tablets apart from PCs or Macs by accessing msnNOW on their devices. With a special msnNOW Facebook Reader app, users can share content even on Facebook.

The technology being used by Microsoft to run msnNOW is called Demand Dashboard, which sorts and analyses posts from Facebook and other content such as tweets, Bing searches and buzz to detect patterns every 24 hours.

Although Microsoft is now trying to foray into social media again with msnNOW, its footing in the area has never been too strong despite undisputed software leadership. We'll have to wait and watch if msnNOW is able to change the company's social media standing in the months to come.

Via: AllFacebook.com

You were reading Microsoft seeks to revive MSN through buzz portal msnNOW - originally published on Digitizor.com on February 22, 2012 - 12:19 pm (Indian Standard Time)

For fans of the popular VLC Media Player, some good news are here. The version 2.0 of the open source media player has been officially launched. The version also called “Twoflower” has witnessed some major updates in terms of features and video format supported.

Among the major improvements included in the new version, faster decoding for multi-core processors, GPUs and even mobile hardware is the most significant. It now has multi-threaded decoding for H.264, MPEG – 4/Xvid and WebM with support for 10bit codecs as well. There are also some changes in the RealVideo and Real Format support.

One of the other important changes is the new rendering pipeline for video which has the capability of generating higher quality subtitles in the player and video filters for improved video quality. Apart from this, there is also more support for Blu-ray discs. For Mac users, VLC 2.0 has an improved interface which makes the media player much easier to use on Macs now. Mac users have a single window interface with two colors to choose from for the player, and extensions support better Lion integration. VideoLAN has also worked to eliminate hundreds of bugs which were found in the previous versions.

Although, it might seem that Macs have more to gain from the new version, VLC 2.0 has something for all OS platforms. It now has new video outputs for Windows 7, Android, iOS and OS/2. And even though the version has Blu-ray support on an experimental basis, a few features are still not activated in the current release, although VLC says they will be soon. But overall, the release looks quite promising and significant to make the VLC experience better for all users.

You can download VLC Media Player 2.0 from http://www.videolan.org/vlc/releases/2.0.0.html

You were reading VLC Media Player gets major update to version 2.0 - originally published on Digitizor.com on February 22, 2012 - 12:31 am (Indian Standard Time)

Today, Canonical has made a huge announcement - they are launching Ubuntu for Android. It is not the rumored Ubuntu for mobile but, in my opinion, even better. Ubuntu for Android is basically a full desktop Ubuntu running on an Android phones when docked. It is sort of similar to what Motorola's Atrix does.

Ubuntu for Android is different from many ports of Ubuntu for smartphones that we have seen. In Ubuntu for Android, the phone itself will run Android. However, when it is docked, the phone run an Ubuntu session on the desktop. Users will have access to Ubuntu applications as well as the apps installed on his phone. The Ubuntu session has deep integration with Android. They will share the contact list, text messages, emails, calender etc. Users can also make and receive calls from the desktop.

In Ubuntu for Android, some of the default applications that are installed are Chromium, Thunderbird, Google Docs, Google Calender, VLC, Gwibber, Ubuntu Music Player etc. Canonical has also mentioned that certified apps from Citrix, Adobe, VMWare etc. are also available for business users.

The minimum hardware requirement for the phone to run Ubuntu for Android is as below:

• Dual core 1GHz CPU
• 512 MB RAM
• HDMI
• 2GB for the Ubuntu image

Ubuntu for Android is, however, not targeted directly towards the user - it is not an app that users can installed - and it is not free. Canonical is targeting the OEMs with Ubuntu for Android and they are planning to charge a per unit service fee for it.

With all the horsepower that the modern Android phones have, this really is a very interesting development. Canonical has not confirmed if Ubuntu for Android is coming to any upcoming Android phone.

You can get more information at http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/android

You were reading Canonical Announces Ubuntu For Android - originally published on Digitizor.com on February 22, 2012 - 12:19 am (Indian Standard Time)

In one of our recent website app projects, we planned to use MongoDB as our main database. Since we are hardcore PHP guys, we do not even think of developing in some other language although we love Python a lot! In this article we will tell you in a step by step manner, how to set up Apache, MongoDB, PHP and Mongo-Php connects on a brand new Ubuntu 64 Bit Server.

MongoDB Logo

Mongo DB homepage suggests using a 64 Bit server for installation but even if you have a 32 Bit server, Mongo DB would work just fine and fast. Its just that your DB would have to suffer an upper size limit of 2.5 GB if you are on a 32 Bit server. Lets begin the tutorial now:

Installing Apache

Install the Apache server using this command:

sudo apt-get install apache2

After this your box will have the Apache web server up and running. Now, lets install MongoDB.

Install MongoDB

MongoDB packages are not available by default in the Ubuntu Software repositories as of now. So, we will have to add a new source to the server's default repository in order to get MongoDB. We hope MongoDB is soon added to the default Ubuntu software repo just like MySQL. Execute the following commands one by one:

sudo echo "deb http://downloads-distro.mongodb.org/repo/ubuntu-upstart dist 10gen" >> /etc/apt/sources.list

sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv 7F0CEB10

 

sudo apt-get update

Now Install the MongoDB package:

sudo apt-get install mongodb-10gen

After MongoDB is installed, we need to install the PHP component of our LAMP setup and then followed by the installation of the PHP-MongoDB connector. Lets do all that one by one.

Install PHP

This one is simple and many of you must have done it like a gazillion times already. Just use this command to get the essential PHP libraries along with PHP installation:

sudo apt-get install php5 php5-dev libapache2-mod-php5 php5-curl php5-gd apache2-threaded-dev build-essential php-pear

After this is done, we need to proceed to the installation of PHP-MongoDB connect.

Install / Setup PHP-MongoDB Connect

This is required for PHP to interact with MongoDB so without saying, this is a must install! Do it using this command from a terminal:

sudo pecl install mongo

Now add the following MongoDB driver identifier to the end of your php.ini configuration file.

extension=mongo.so

You can also do it directly from the command line using this command but be extremely careful when you use the command below:

echo "extension=mongo.so" >> /etc/php5/apache2/php.ini


We are now almost done, Captain! Just reboot your Apache server or reload the settings and you will have brand new LAMP Setup (Linux Apache MongoDB PHP). Happy coding.

If you are having issues with setting up MongoDB on your servers, then do get in touch with us our programming support team will be glad to assist. Write to: mailman@digitizor.com

You were reading How To Setup & Install MongoDB, PHP & Apache On An Ubuntu Server - originally published on Digitizor.com on February 19, 2012 - 1:30 am (Indian Standard Time)

For the true fans of media apps on Facebook, this could be welcome news. Twelve new media apps were launched by Facebook on Wednesday for its timeline feature, adding to the already long list of media apps which includes Yahoo!, Washington Post Reader and the Guardian social news app.

Facebook Timeline

This new addition comes just few months after Facebook added around 60 social apps for its timeline, on cooking, eating, travel and movies. Now with an inventory of over 80 social apps, Facebook is slowly trying to transform itself into a platform for lifestreaming it seems, rather than just restricting itself to the job of connecting people. But ask Facebook what it must be used for, and the answer is never definitive. Although Facebook is providing users with various features, it gives them full freedom to use them or completely opt out. Facebook is to be used by anyone for whatever purpose they want.

Among the social apps available on Facebook, the popular ones include Buzzfeed, The Daily Show and MTV News, Buzzfeed gives viral content, which moves around Facebook even faster, being a perfect app for the sharing. Similarly, The Daily Show and MTV News, both have videos which can be shared on the website. Besides these, even regular media sites like CBS Local, MSNBC.com and the TODAY show are available.

Another very popular app is GetGlue which already had the option of allowing users to share content on Facebook. Now with the GetGlue app, it will be much easier for users to share content, and at the same time cement the association between the two platforms.

AOL's SportingNews, the sports news app will also be joining Facebook in March this year, while photo sharing sites like Pixable and CMT are also hoping to launch themselves as Facebook apps in the hope to generate more buzz and traffic.

Source

You were reading Facebook Now Has Over 80+ Media Apps On The Timeline, As 12 More Join In - originally published on Digitizor.com on February 18, 2012 - 10:19 pm (Indian Standard Time)

WordPress is one of the best blogging platforms out there. It is so good, that even major publishing houses use the WordPress.org free software to manage their online publications. When, you run a multi author blog using website, you need to take care of author permissions at times.

By default WordPress has a couple of user permissions which have certain restrictions on each. For instance, the Contributor user can add new posts but is not able to add or upload images.

A blog post without an image is so meaningless. So, in this article we will tell you two methods in which you could add image upload support for less privileged users on WordPress (like Contributors, Authors and Subscribers).

Method 1: Theme Change

Add the following function / code snippet at the end of your theme's functions.php file just before the php closing tag:

function contri_up() {
 $role = get_role( 'contributor' ); //gets the contributor role
 $role->add_cap( 'upload_files' ); //would allow the contributor to upload files
}
add_action( 'admin_init', 'contri_up');

The method described above will only work only for a particular theme. If you change your theme template, you need to add these changes to the functions.php file of your theme again.

Method 2: Plugin

This is the most versatile way to go about adding or removing support for uploading files for Contributor users on your wordpress blog. All you need to do is install the File Upload Support For Contributors plugin. This plugin will help you to add and remove support for uploading files for Contributor users.

You were reading How To Add / Remove File Upload Support Or Other Capabilities For Contributors In WordPress - originally published on Digitizor.com on February 18, 2012 - 10:08 pm (Indian Standard Time)

Google says it will be coming out with its Google Drive soon, although the exact date of launch has not been revealed yet, meaning it could be months before we actually get to see Google Drive in action. But for now, two screenshots have emerged online which give us insights into the possible logo and interface on Google Drive.

Is This the Google Drive Logo?

It has already been established around tech circles that Google Drive is more or less an upgrade of Google Docs, only with some new features to it. Google Drive will work to be an improved version of Google Docs that functions not just as a document creator and manager but a file depository and sync software like Dropbox.

Google Drive Screenshot

The screenshot which has been released by Geekwire is allegedly from a user who has Google Drive activated on his account. The image simply shows how Google Docs has been changed to Google Drive, with a new name, and My Collection being renamed as My Drive. Only this time around, there is also an Install Google Drive button. Which means Google Drive will also be available as a software which can be downloaded and installed to the computing device, and which will sync local files to the cloud exactly like Dropbox does.

While Dropbox is a hugely popular service with more than 50 million active users, the market for such software is immense, allowing Google to come out with its own Drive to compete with Dropbox and others. But the fact remains that to drive consumers towards its own software, Google will have to come up with something better.

Another screenshot has also emerged, will is allegedly the logo of Google Drive, which looks more like a favicon. Despite speculations on the exact nature of Google Drive, it is certain that either Google Drive will be an upgrade to Google Docs or will be integrated into it. Even more likely is the fact that there will be mobile apps for Drive, with a Google Docs app and Chrome OS integration.

But the biggest question is when Google Drive is going to be released, since by the looks of it, it could be a few months, to the next summer. More importantly, the amount of free space which would be offered, and the pricing of the paid versions is also unknown. It could be possible that Google is looking to go beyond standard file sync and include Android integration coming in as well.

Source

You were reading Google Drive Screenshot and Logo emerge on the Internet - originally published on Digitizor.com on February 18, 2012 - 10:08 pm (Indian Standard Time)

Running a multi-author blog is a big headache. You need to take care of a lot of things like site permissions access permissions and what not. Presenting a new plugin called "File Upload Support For Contributors" that aims at removing one of your headaches involved with managing file upload capability for bloggers who have the contributors permission.

Adding File Upload Support to Contributors in WordPress (Plugin)

This is a very simple plugin with options of activating and deactivating the plugin. When you want all the contributors on your blog to be able to upload files, simply activate the plugin from the WordPress Plugins manager. Your bloggers having the Contributor's permission on your blog will now be able to upload files and attach them to their blog posts.

Activate the File Upload Support For Contributors plugin in WordPress

Similarly, it is very easy to remove the file uploading support as well. Simply deactivate the plugin from the wordpress plugin manager and the contributors on your blog will not be able to upload or manage images on the blog.

De-activate the File Upload Support For Contributors plugin in WordPress

Download File Upload Support For Contributors plugin Now →

If you have any problems using this plugin, then you can directly contact us via mail: mailman [at] digitizor [dot] com or leave a comment below. If you are looking for any wordpress related development work then do get in touch with us: debjit@digitizor.com or leave a comment below.

You were reading [WordPress Plugin] Add / Remove File Upload Support For Contributors - originally published on Digitizor.com on February 18, 2012 - 9:21 pm (Indian Standard Time)

All these years, we have been waking up to new stuff and new changes in technology. Each day there is something new happening in the tech world. With Windows 8 to be launched very soon, Microsoft has finally unveiled an all new logo for the Windows 8 operating system.

Windows 8 Logo

The new Windows 8 logo is totally different from the regular Windows logos which used to be colourful windows / flags. The new logo is just all blue in colour and looks like a set of 4 windows panes placed next to each other as you can see above. This is all good until we came across the Windows 1.0 Logo (Windows 1.0 was the first ever usable version of Microsoft Windows, which was launched some good 25 years back. How does it feel to back 25 years just after waking up in the morning?

Windows 8 Tile Logo

The Windows 1.0 logo bears an uncanny resemblance with the new Windows 8 Logo and even you can feel it after you see the Windows 1.0 logo, below. So, all this pomp and show only to get back to from where all it started? Well, we are just kidding. The new Windows logo definitely looks smarter.

WIndows 1.0 Logo

Here are two points which Microsoft had in mind while designing the new Windows 8 Logo:

1. A modern but classic logo with an underlying Swiss design

2. Keep the Metro UI principle of being “Authentically Digital”

Shown below is another Logo which is a simple edit of the Original Windows 8 Logo. This edited version was made by Long Zheng of iStartedSomething and to us, this one looks a bit more "Metro UI" - ish.

Modified Windows 8 Logo that looks more like Metro UI

via

You were reading Microsoft’s New Logo For Windows 8 Takes Us Back To Windows 1.0 - originally published on Digitizor.com on February 18, 2012 - 12:49 pm (Indian Standard Time)

While Microsoft fans eagerly await the launch of the Consumer Preview of Windows 8 on February 29th at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Microsoft has revealed details about improvements made to key accessibility tools in the OS, namely the Narrator and Magnifier.

Windows 8 Accessibility Features Unveiled

The Narrator started as a simple tool designed for those who are visually impaired, and enable them to read on-screen content. The updates made on OS 8 mean that the Narrator will now support more languages, be more responsive & smooth-running and also read additional UI components.

The tool has also been made suitable for touchscreen devices with “exploring”, a feature that reads out content as your finger moves and to select something, you just need to tap with another finger.

Another tool for the visually-challenged is the Magnifier. Even this functionality has been improved to work on touchscreen devices. To make device navigation easier for the challenged, a border will appear on the screen when the feature is on. Dragging a finger along the border will move the screen, and plus and minus signs will assist with the amount of zooming needed. A preview feature has also been added that allows a user to zoom out all the way to see where exactly he is, and also work with pinch zooming.

Amidst the anticipation for the launch, Microsoft has stated that these and many other assistive technologies are coming in Windows 8. To help create apps with such accessibility features, Microsoft is looking to build these technologies into Windows 8 developer tools as well, to provide a complete Windows experience across all devices and applications.

Source

You were reading Accessibility Features Updated For Windows 8; To Be Launched In Public Beta Version - originally published on Digitizor.com on February 16, 2012 - 11:40 am (Indian Standard Time)

An infographic released by employment agency OnWardSearch on the status of social media jobs in the US gives us some interesting details on the growth and scope of this industry which is now attracting more and more individuals looking to engage in unique career options.

Best Social Media Jobs are in the New York, USA

Called The Social Media Jobs Salary Guide, this infograph gives the top 20 markets for social media jobs, along with the salary brackets for the top job titles. The infograph also comes with a bit of career advice from leading professionals in the industry.

Although the left coast remains to be the top destination if one wants to work as a blogger, tweeter or brand manager on social networks, and make good money as well, New York beats all to emerge as the number one city for social media jobs. In the northeast, even Boston emerges as number 5 of the list.

California however, comes out to be the top state in terms of the number of Californian cities that fall under the list. When it comes to the kind of job titles, post of a Social Media Marketing Manager pays 73k-116k a year; while in San Jose, California, it is slightly higher at 74k-117k a year. The next 4 top job titles are Social Media Strategist, PR Manager, Online Community Manager, Social Media Specialist and then finally a Social Media Copywriter.

The most popular job however is not the one with the maximum pay. Approximately, 27% people are employed as Marketing Managers, while 30% are Content Writers. Other popular jobs in the industry include Digital Marketing Project Manager, Online Marketing Manager, PPC Specialist and SEO Analyst.

What OnWardSearch is looking to analyse further is how the list will change on a per year basis, be it salary changes for job titles, number of people employed under a particular post or how the cities score in terms of being most suitable for social media employment.

Source, image

You were reading New York – The Best Place In The US For Social Media Jobs - originally published on Digitizor.com on February 16, 2012 - 11:34 am (Indian Standard Time)

One of the popular mobile ad networks in China, Madhouse has now launched operations in India and is planning to tap the mobile advertising potential in the country and help brands reach out to more consumers by providing the right kind of tools for them. For this purpose, it will be opening offices in 3 cities of India.

MadHouse - Chinese Mobile ad network launches in India

With 850 million mobile connections in India, the scope for expanding and taking advantage of mobile as a mass media is immense. Madhouse aims to use this scope for building operations in the country. The challenges to mobile advertising in India have primarily been lack of scaling solutions in data, voice and text, lack of reliable tools and systems and managing the different mobile operating systems with multiple stake holders. All these challenges again make it difficult for brands and advertisers to use the mobile medium to connect with the consumers.

But with Madhouse India, potential clients and advertisers can make use of established tools and mobile solutions for all kinds of smartphones and tablets in the spectrum of paid, owned and earned media. The company also has reliable data including demographics, psychographics and targeting for geography for all mobile operating systems.

Founder and CEO of Madhouse, Joshua Maa commented on the expansion by saying that they see tremendous growth and potential in India and are fully committed to investing in this market. With the right local partners, the MadHouse technology and operational expertise can be leveraged to serve the unique mobile marketing needs of clients. In China, MadHouse has been working with partners such as Rovio, EA, China Unicom’s app store, and ad agencies to continually grow their leadership position.

Source / PR

You were reading Popular Chinese Mobile Ad Network “Madhouse” Comes To India - originally published on Digitizor.com on February 16, 2012 - 11:27 am (Indian Standard Time)

Chromebook owners can rejoice a bit, since the Google Chrome 17 is now in stable channel and will be available to them soon. After being in beta channel for several weeks, this is definitely something to look forward too. Both the beta channel and now the stable channel have new things to offer as well in terms of better interface and features, although Chrome 17 might still not be ready to reach the consumer just yet.

You can download Google Chrome 17 for your Windows, Linux and Mac OS X system from this link: google.com/chrome

Chrome 17

The beta channel had interesting changes done to the graphics, 2D and 3D graphics were improved from the older versions. So now, the new version will improve the performance of 2D animations using Canvas to enhance the games experience, as well browsing on graphic intensive websites. For 3D graphics, systems with older GPUs can use SwiftShader instead of WebGL, and support better 3D graphics to a large extent. The final release of the stable channel is not sure as of now, but Chrome Beta with these improvements is not available.

The stable channel on the other hand comes with two other features, i.e. page preloading and malicious file scanning. In page preloading, the moment one types in the URL bar and Chrome attempts to complete the page link, it also renders an image of the page, and the page loads faster the moment the person hits Enter. But this feature is only going to work with your most visited sites, or if Chrome is sure about the link you wish to visit. The feature is also available on Chrome for Android Beta, on default over WiFi.

The second feature is perhaps an extension of file scanning that Chrome already does. In older versions, it used to scan for bad files, but now if it finds that an executable file such .exe or .msi does not match the whitelist, it seeks additional information and also informs the user in case the website he is going to visit may host malicious files.

Yes, the features do provide the necessary excitement about the new version, however Chromebook owners will have to wait for the stable channel to finally come out. In the run-up, Google has released a list of improvements to the Chrome 17. The two improvements Google is banking on for Chromebooks, is a brand new photo editor which finally gives the user full freedom to edit and share photos; and a new Verizon 3G portal, for mobile data activation and top-up. These features coupled with an updated file manager and more support for OpenVPN makes Google Chrome 17 worth a wait for Chromebooks.

You were reading Chrome 17 Comes In Stable Channel With New Features - originally published on Digitizor.com on February 15, 2012 - 1:58 am (Indian Standard Time)

Imagine if all the paper junk mail in your mailbox could be eliminated with the simple click of a button. That’s exactly what a new app from Readabl, Inc called PaperKarma does. It is a boon for businesses looking to cut down on paper advertising expenditure, the average consumer who hates the trash and also for the earth. Started by two people in Seattle who detested useless paper mail, PaperKarma also has the goal of helping people control their mailbox and what goes into it.

Download PaperKarma from Android Market | iPhone App Store | Windows Phone

PaperKarma iPhone app

PaperKarma is an easy to download app currently available on the Apple App Store, Android Market and for Windows Phone. All one needs to is click a picture. Yes, it is that simple. For one, the app uses technology to save trees and the environment, for another, it does it intelligently. The user clicks a picture of the mail item he does not wish to receive in future, be it magazines, credit card offerings or even flyers, and the app processes the image and sends a mail to the company in question.

PaperKarma developers work closely with the sources of this junk mail to help you unsubscribe to all of it which is unwanted.

Furthermore, PaperKarma also has the option of letting you choose if you want the mail in electronic form, a step which could save upto 100 billion pieces of paper mail in the US alone, and saving considerable environmental damage. All the app does is creates a compromise between consumers and marketers. And it turns out to be a fruitful compromise too, since consumers receive mail which they want, and marketers pay for exactly that.

The app sends a notification within 24 hours to the users’ phones telling them that they have been unsubscribed. It also allows users to check the status and progress of their unsubscribe requests. The idea behind PaperKarma is so unique and representing the need of the hour, consumers and companies both will love it. To download the app, logon to https://www.paperkarma.com/

You were reading PaperKarma Helps You Get Rid Of Paper Junk Mail – The Green Way - originally published on Digitizor.com on February 15, 2012 - 1:48 am (Indian Standard Time)

Facebook is the world’s largest social network, and for co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, it has to be more about user experience and less about advertising. Strangely enough, even with this philosophy, Facebook is planning to launch sponsored stories for the mobile version soon. And to not focus on monetization is rather interesting coming from Zuckerberg, considering he is the world’s youngest billionaire with a 25% share in his own company.

Facebook on Mobile

Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP Plc, in a statement to Reuters said that "Mark has an evangelical approach to advertising. He sees Facebook as a vehicle to open up communication, not to monetize." The change in Facebook’s attitude to advertising is now showing with even users noticing the changes. The coming of sponsored stories to the regular news feed and now the decision to introduce them on mobile is evidence to the same.

Figures released by Hitwise show us that 9% of website visits in the US are to Facebook. That roughly means one in eleven times that a person opens a website, it is Facebook. It is one of top two websites of all markets in the world, except China, and now has 850 active monthly users. As staggering as the numbers are, with further expansion happening on mobile, the possibilities are endless. So what does the new mobile advertising move spell for Facebook?

Although Facebook does not have a mobile advertising platform of its own as of now, the fact that half of its users access Faceboom through their mobiles means that mobile advertising will have to be different from the browser experience. Reports say that Facebook will begin featuring sponsored stories into users’ mobile news feeds around March 2012. Facebook also confirmed to Reuters that it will not ask any third party agency to build paid apps for the mobile platform.

Mobile advertising will help advertisers reach out to 425 million mobile users of Facebook. However, the company has also spoken about the risk factors that affect it in its S-1 filing, noting the lack of a mobile advertising platform, changing nature of user privacy and data protection laws to be major risk factors involved in mobile advertising.

Sources: 1, 2

You were reading Facebook To Launch Advertisements On Mobile As More And More People Log On - originally published on Digitizor.com on February 9, 2012 - 12:12 pm (Indian Standard Time)

One can never be too sure when it comes to the World Wide Web and safety is a concern for all parents with kids who frequently use the Internet. This is why the concept of Safer Internet Day, which is today, is of vast importance. The idea of Safer Internet Day started in2004, targeting children and young people who use the Internet a lot more than adults do.

In past years, SID has focused on particular themes for each year, ranging from cyberbullying to social networking. This year the theme is “connecting generations”, which focuses on making the Internet safer for people of all ages – from kids to grandparents.

Safer Internet Day was an initiative by the EU SafeBorders project back in 2004 and now has roughly 70 countries participating in the initiative to make the Internet a safer place for everyone.

Surveys across countries have revealed that 91% of Gen-Y people have admitted to using the Internet in the bathroom as well, allowing communication to happen even in the most private of spaces. With these stats, the need for safer Internet browsing becomes essential, and spread awareness about safe Internet habits is a prime motive behind Safer Internet Days.

But the fact that only 41% people from the so called silent generation have used Internet in the bathroom would make it seem like this generation of people is safer, but turns out that is not always the case.

To promote safe Internet usage, the European Commission started the Safer Internet Programme in 1999, and today with 30 Safer Internet Centers in the Insafe network present in all 27 EU states, the movement towards safer Internet browsing is only growing stronger. These Safer Internet Centers have successful awareness centers complete with a hotline, helpline and youth panel addressing queries of Internet users in these countries.

The theme this year focuses on educating parents about Internet safety as well, so they can protect their kids and answer any question that the latter might have. To participate in Safer Internet Day, log on to saferinternetday.org/web/guest/sid-2012.

Source: http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/today_is_safer_internet_day.php

You were reading Safer Internet Day 2012: Making The Web Safer For Kids And Adults Alike - originally published on Digitizor.com on February 9, 2012 - 11:43 am (Indian Standard Time)

When it comes to referral traffic, everyone knows that Facebook tops the list. And no matter how hard Google may try to compete with it, it never quite will. The massive user base of Facebook, and the amount of data shared from within and in connection with it is enormous. But in cyberspace, startup companies have been known to create havoc. Something similar had been happening with Google, Youtube, Myspace and even LinkedIn in the past months, with a new company called Pinterest overtaking them in terms of referral traffic it has been generating.

Pinterest.com Generates Massive Traffic in just 6 Months

Pinterest has challenged the likes of Twitter as well, and a lot of this could be related to the concept it brings to the users. With Pinterest, people can create pinboards of things they find interesting on the web and those that they wish to share. Besides, sharing via Pinterest enables users to advocate a personal brand, rather than just restricting themselves to sharing over Facebook or Twitter. People can really present themselves in any way that they want.

A Shareaholic study revealed how from being a mere startup on the web, the website became the fourth largest source of traffic for sites in the US, taking everyone by surprise. And this growth in Pinterest traffic happened in just six months. Despite being an invitation only site for now, it’s still growing at a very fast rate.

Facebook still reigns as the top source of traffic according to the same study, generating 26.4% referrals in January. StumbleUpon came next with a share of 5.07%, although its share reduced from 6.5% of last month. Google and Twitter hung close with a 3.62% and 3.61% share of referrals respectively. Then comes Pinterest with 3.60% in January, growing from 2.5% in December 2011 and 0.17% further back in July.

With its current growth rate, Pinterest could well take over Twitter and StumbleUpon as well, seeing how it has already gone ahead of Youtube, Myspace, Reddit, Google+ and LinkedIn combined.

Source

You were reading Pinterest Overtakes Youtube, Google, Myspace; Generates More Traffic In 6 Months - originally published on Digitizor.com on February 9, 2012 - 11:32 am (Indian Standard Time)