Google had originally wanted to launch the Nexus Two device alongside Android 2.3, the next release of their mobile operating system, also known as “Gingerbread”. That’s not going to happen. The Nexus Two has been delayed. But it appears that Google is full steam ahead on the Gingerbread release. In fact, it may be hitting the Nexus One in the next few days. This news comes by way of a tweet today from one Alvaro Fuentes Vasquez. While Vasquez’s Twitter profile may not show much, his LinkedIn profile reveals that he’s on the “leadership team” of the Open Handset Alliance, one of the governing bodies backing Android. In other words, this guy should know what he’s talking about. His Tweet today: Preparen sus Nexus One (Developer version) para la actualización vía OTA de Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) para los próximos días :-D That translates (roughly) to: Prepare your Nexus One (Developer version) for Android OTA update 2.3 (Gingerbread) in the next few days:-D This news, spotted by the blog The Android Phone, goes along nicely with the rumors from last week that Gingerbread would land on November 11. For those keeping score at home, November 11 is this coming Thursday — a few days away. The Nexus One roll-out plan also goes along with the way Google rolled out Android 2.2, late at night back in May. Further, a strange Flash Player for Android note seems to suggest an Android update is imminent as well. And remember, a couple weeks ago, the Gingerbread Man landed at Google HQ. @kron0xAlvaro Fuentes V. Preparen sus Nexus One (Developer version) para la actualizaci v OTA de Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) para los primos ds :-D about 23 hours ago via webRetweet CrunchBase InformationAndroidNexus OneInformation provided by CrunchBase [thanks Artem]
Amazon.com has just announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Quidsi, which operates ecommerce sites Diapers.com, Soap.com and BeautyBar.com. The acquisition news first broke over the weekend by Fortune’s Dan Primack, who pegged the purchase price at $540 million. Primack wasn’t that far off – Amazon says it will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Quidsi for approximately $500 million in cash. The ecommerce juggernaut will also assume approximately $45 million in debt and similar obligations, bringing the total purchase price to $545 million. We’ve confirmed with the company that Quidsi was operating at a revenue run rate of approximately $300 million this year. The acquisition is expected to close by year’s end. Following the acquisition, Quidsi will continue to operate independently under its current leadership team. Founded by Vinit Bharara and Marc Lore, Quidsi has raised a total of $78.5 million. Its most recent financing was a $20 million debt round last April from investors including Accel, Bessemer Venture Partners, MentorTech, and New Enterprise Associates. The Quidsi deal is similar to the one struck with online shoe retailer Zappos, which Amazon acquired for $1.2 billion a year ago. The also bought Woot last June for $110 million. CrunchBase InformationQuidsiAmazonDiapers.comInformation provided by CrunchBase
Evernote is rolling out version 2 of their app for Android phones, and it represents the biggest update to functionality on any platform in a single release. Updated home screen, tighter integration with the Google Search widget, background synchronization, and simpler sorting with improved views are all great new features, but the most interesting aspect of this update for current Evernote users will be the marked improvement in speed. Read more…
Wireless broadband solutions provider Novatel Wireless has agreed to acquire Enfora, a privately-held provider of wireless asset-management solutions and machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, for approximately $64.5 million in cash. The purchase price includes the pay down of all debt. Additional consideration of up to $6 million, depending on certain performance targets being met, is also part of the deal.
Sorry, folks. Someone clearly couldn’t keep their mouth shut and let it slip that Fancast.com was Google TV‘s backdoor to Hulu. The majority of the content no longer streams to Google TV units like it did just last week. NBC, ABC, Fox — it’s all blocked. Only Viacom’s content still works, but that’s too be expected considering the partnership between Google and the media conglomerate. This is getting a bit frustrating. It’s like buying a fancy speed boat, only to discover when you get home the local wildlife nutsconvincedthe authorities to impose strict speed limits. It’s no fun even if it does save anendangeredspeciesand doesn’t seem like the restrictions will be lifted anytime soon. Read More
The HTC Legend is to finally get updated to Android 2.2, with HTC announcing that FroYo is being prepped for the handset. HTC Legend users must have been looking on with envy as the HTC Desire got its 2.2 update earlier in the year. The Legend came out round about the same time as the more powerful HTC Desire but news on it getting FroYo hasn't exactly been forthcoming. Lucky, then, HTC used its Facebook account to tell all that an update to the Legend was on its way. "We know that a number of you have been very vocal about wanting an update for your Legend," the Facebook post explains. "First and foremost, we would like to apologise for not responding to your ongoing pleas about the update. But we have been listening. "The update has been progressing quite well, and in the coming weeks those with unbranded Legends should be receiving the update." Update on update It seems that those with Legends tied to carriers will have to wait a touch longer, with HTC noting: "Once we finalise the update within HTC, the software must then go through the appropriate approval process at each carrier that supports Legend on their network. "This is the same process for all of our handsets, and Legend is no different. Once our update has been approved by your specific carrier, you should then receive your software update. "How long this process takes can vary, but our team is close to finishing the update and will then work with individual carriers for approval." The HTC Desire update was not without its setbacks, with O2 and Vodafone having issues one way or another with the update. Let's hope that when Android 2.2 (FroYo) reaches the HTC Legend, all these issues have been ironed out. Related Stories Rumour: Android Gingerbread arriving next week?Review: LG Viewty Snap GM360Review: Nokia C7Buying Guide: Which is the best HTC phone?How to share the Orange and T-Mobile signal
Harrods has officially unveiled its crystal-encrusted special edition Samsung Galaxy Tab – yours for a shade under £2,700. The high-end London shop is offering the blinged up Tab with the promise that every crystal has been painstakingly hand-applied to the case. When you consider that means that someone has had to glue on 5,700 Swarovski Bright crystals, it makes it even more pressing to ask exactly which magpie wants a 7-inch Android 2.2 tablet that glistens. Lavish "The Crystal Samsung Galaxy Tab combines lavish design with incredible product features, such as a 1GHz processor, Google's Android 2.2, Froyo operating system, a front facing camera for video calls and a 7-inch TFT-LCD display," added the official press release. "The 7-inch size means the Galaxy Tab is perfectly portable, fits in a pocket or handbag and can be used for everything from watching films and TV, viewing pictures, reading ebooks and sharing documents, to talking to friends and colleagues via voice and video call, e-mail, instant messaging, SMS/MMS or social networking." So, if Swarovski crystals and tech is your thing, then you might want to crack open the crystal-encrusted piggy bank and delve around for the £2,699. The Crystal Galaxy Tab is available exclusively from Micro Anvika at Harrods – with custom designs available. Related Stories Creative outs Android Zen Touch 2 MP3 playerTizi brings Freeview to the iPadApple iOS 4.2 update imminentToshiba releases Folio 100 tablet PCSamsung: Galaxy Tab to hit one million sales 'this year'
Google CL (or Google Command Line to use its full name) is a package that you can install on absolutely any Linux distribution, which enables you to execute a wide variety of operations using various Google services. Whether it's uploading a photo, writing a post for your Blogger account or adding a new event to your calendar, you can do this with the use of just one line in the terminal, or automate those actions in a shell script. Why did Google develop this? Surely this must have taken lots of time for a pretty niche tool? As it happens Google CL was originally created by Google for use by its employees. However, because it's so useful Google has released it on its own Google Code project hosting service and made this freely available to anyone and everyone to use, develop with and improve. That sounds awesome! Which services are supported? You will be glad to know that Google Calendar, Google Docs and your Gmail contacts can all be managed from the command line using this tool. With one line, such as google calendar add "Meeting at Pilkington tommorow noon" you can add events to your calendar. You can do similar things with your files stored in Google Docs and with the contacts that you're probably syncing with the Gmail service. That's fantastic! I guess Gmail is supported too? Unfortunately Google's webmail service is not supported, but most mail clients that are native to Linux tend to be compatible in some way with the command line interface, so in theory it is not difficult to set something of the ilk up yourself. Mutt and Alpine are better suited to this as they are text-mode anyway, but popular mail clients such as Evolution and its associated background daemons can be invoked in the terminal or via a shell script to send emails or check for unread arrivals. OK, so what about the rest of the supported services? Blogger is supported, so you will be able to post items to your blog in a similar fashion to adding entries to the previous services. An example command would be: google blogger post --blog "Personal Blog" --tags "linux, examples, fun" post_text.html Here we select the relevant blog, apply tags to the post then grab a HTML file containing the relevant content. This can contain video and photo content, but these will need to be hosted elsewhere as at the time of writing these were not imported with the text. But I'm not all about text. What about other content, like videos and photos? YouTube support is also provided for video uploads and Picasa provides photo and picture upload functionality. To create an album and import a folder of pictures to Picasa you could use something similar to the following: google picasa create --title "Cool album" ~/ path/to/cool/album/*.jpg How far can I customise what I post? Obviously a command line tool is not going to 'view' content online (though you can do this using Lynx, a text-mode web browser) but you can quickly and easily create a post for Blogger complete with a title, subject, tags and the content that will go in the body section. With YouTube you can upload videos as long as they are in the right format with a title as usual, and Picasa also allows photo uploads with tags. With all this potential to use each service, can I do cool stuff? Indeed you can. A shell script is any file with a .sh extension that contains terminal commands. The first command to be executed is at the top while the last command to run is at the bottom, and your script can even take parameters (referenced as $n, where n is the index of the parameter). Using a shell script you could in theory automate the posting of video and photo content and then create a blog post that links to them within some template text. You could create a task in Google Calendar every time you create a new To-Do item, or even something as trivial as creating a new event every month until you disable the script. In short, this simple tool can be used in almost any way to make the best use of your Google account. I love Linux but I dual-boot with Windows. Is Google CL cross-platform? Google CL is provided as a Deb package that you can use with Ubuntu and Debian-based distros, and as a source package for other distros. It also requires gdata-python-client as an additional dependency. To run Google CL on Windows however you need to have the Google Data API and Python already installed on your system, then follow the guide at this blog post. So does this mean my existing Linux applications will work better with Google services? That is a possibility. At the time of writing Google CL was only just released, but by the time you read this you may well see the package maintained in your distribution repository and counted as a dependency for many common desktop applications such as photo managers, mail clients, blogging clients etc. Parts of the Google CL code may have even been included natively in the application source code, but only time will tell how niche or mainstream this handy tool becomes. …and we could see more Linux apps working like a front-end to this? Again, we're still speculating, but it would be trivial to write a GTK or Qt 4 front-end for it, and as we have already discussed you can create a shell script and use crontab to take advantage of this package. You can use Google CL to manually submit content to the web without firing up your browser or to automate and schedule your actions, meaning that this simple tool is highly flexible and powerful. I can't wait to get going with this! Where can I get more information? You can check out the project home page, which contains an extensive wiki, a list of any bugs and the package downloads. The introductory blog post provides a concise introduction to Google CL as well as a couple of examples to try out. Related Stories Tutorial: 25 tips for using the internet on the move
Toshiba has announced that it is allowing other computer manufacturers to use its Blade X-gale solid-state drives, the small-sized SSD which turned up in the latest version of the MacBook Air. The SSDs are a mere inch wide and 0.09 inches thick. But Tosh is boasting that this doesn't hinder the write speeds of the drives, explaining that they can handle 220MB per second read speed at their peak and 180MB per second write speeds. Size matters The Toshiba Blade X-gale come in 64GB, 128GB and 256GB models and are currently only for OEMs. So don't expect to be able to buy them in the shops to do some manual upgrades to your very own MacBook Air just yet. It is nice to see the SSDs out in the open, though. One look at the diminutive you can see how the MacBook Air manages to keep its svelte frame. Related Stories Adata unveils XGP DDR3 memory for gamers
Sales of Blu-ray discs in Q3 of 2010 have more than doubled year on year, with the entertainment industry announcing that a total of €445 million was spent on the high-definition discs. This was a whopping 98.3 per cent increase from the same time in 2009, with the actual volume of sales equating to 24.7 million. The Digital Entertainment Group Europe, who announced the figures, noted that a number of Blu-ray titles – Avatar, The Clash of The Titans, 2012, Alice in Wonderland and Sherlock Holmes – excelled expectations in 2010, which spurred on some of the growth. Disc-ussion Compared to DVD, however, this sum is rather slight. DVD sales may be down 5.8 per cent, but the revenue from these discs is €3.5 billion, which is nothing to be sniffed at. A total of 342 million DVDs were sold, which is well over 10 times the amount of Blu-rays purchased. The DEGE is confident that this upsurge in Blu-ray buying will continue throughout the year, however, with Yves Caillaud, Chairman of the DEGE, saying: "During the last quarter of the year, we expect to see sales continue to gain momentum as the latest Blu-ray blockbusters make it onto everyone's Christmas lists." Related Stories Avatar 3D out now, bundled with Panasonic Full HD 3D products
This holiday season, there’s no longer the need to debate whether to pay $9.95 for Wi-Fi on your flight home; Google is stepping up to offer free inflight Wi-Fi from Gogo on Virgin America, AirTran and Delta on all domestic U.S. flights from November 20 through January 2, 2011. The offer follows last year’s holiday gift to travelers from Google – free Wi-Fi at dozens of airports across the country. With more and more airlines starting to offer inflight Wi-Fi, it seems the timing was right to take the promotion to the skies. This year’s program is sponsored specifically by the Google Chrome team. On the official Google blog, VP of Product Management Sundar Pichai explains the move, writing, “On the Chrome team, we’re big fans of innovations that make our lives on the web and in the browser better—and it all starts with more ubiquitous access to the Internet.” Meanwhile, we wonder if free inflight Wi-Fi might tip the scales for you in determining which airline to fly home for the holidays. Let us know if you plan to take advantage of the promotion in the comments. More About: airtran, delta, GoGo, Google, google chrome, travel, virgin america, wi-fi For more Tech coverage: Follow Mashable Tech on TwitterBecome a Fan on FacebookSubscribe to the Tech channelDownload our free apps for iPhone and iPad
U.S. mobile data traffic will exceed 1 exabyte before the end of 2010, according to Chetan Sharma, an analyst specializing in the wireless data industry. This will be the result of a huge increase in average U.S. mobile data consumption in the past year. “By the end of 2010, we expect the average U.S. consumption to be approximately 325 MB/month, up 112% from 2009,” Sharma claims in his U.S. wireless market report for the third quarter of 2009. An exabyte is 1 billion gigabytes (or 1 million terabytes). In comparison, Cisco approximated global IP traffic at 15 exabytes per month in 2009, predicting that 767 exabytes of data will be transferred online in 2014. The Rise of Superphones The increase in mobile data consumption is due to the rise of “connected devices” such as tablets and superphones — a label that’s sometimes used for high-end smartphones. “There are some superphones that are routinely average more than 1 GB/month, superphones as a category is averaging 700-800 MB/month,” Sharma claims. According to Sharma’s report, nearly half of the devices sold in the U.S. in the third quarter of 2010 were smartphones. “In Q3 2010, 47% of the devices sold in the U.S. were smartphones compared to 24% globally,” the report says.Other Stats of Interest The U.S. wireless data service revenues grew 7% Q/Q to $14 billion in Q3 2010. The mobile data revenues for the U.S. market are likely to reach $55 billion in 2010. AT&T and Verizon now account for 70% of the market data services revenues and 62% of the subscription base.The national prepaid penetration is touching 20%.Nokia sold 110.4 million units in Q3 2010 amounting for 32% of the market share; Samsung shipped 71.4 million units for a 21% share of the market. Apple shipped 9.1 million iPhones in Q3, edging past RIM into the top 5 mobile vendors. [Chetan Sharma via GigaOM] Image courtesy of iStockphoto, alexsl More About: data traffic, exabyte, Mobile 2.0, smartphones, U.S. For more Mobile coverage: Follow Mashable Mobile on TwitterBecome a Fan on FacebookSubscribe to the Mobile channelDownload our free apps for iPhone and iPad
We’ve been really impressed with the iPhotography being produced on Apple’s iPhone, so we decided to take a look and see whether Android owners were also coming up with the goods. We’ve found some amazing land- and city-scape images taken by all manner of Google-powered phones and using all manner of Android photography apps, proving that iPhone photography isn’t the only area where mobile snappers are making a mark. Take a look at our 10 fantastic hand-picked photos snapped on Android handsets in the gallery, and, as always, please do share your thoughts — or any great pics you’ve snapped on your Droid — in the comments below. 1. Arrow by John HomerArrow by John Homer" src="http://cdn.mashable.com/wp-content/gallery/android-photographs/an4095440414_c0766ba7c0_z.jpg" /> This slice of urban art was captured in Swindon, UK. The muted colors come courtesy of the FXCamera app, but the clever use of the arrow and great composition are John Homer's own. Taken with: HTC Magic 2. View From a Starbucks by Terry WongView From a Starbucks by Terry Wong " src="http://cdn.mashable.com/wp-content/gallery/android-photographs/fl.jpg" /> This unusual Boston street scene offers lots of movement, suggested by the wheel and delivered by the blurry woman. The monotone finish helps add a sense of timelessness. Taken with: T-Mobile G1/HTC Dream 3. After the Rain by Clayton PerryAfter the Rain by Clayton Perry" src="http://cdn.mashable.com/wp-content/gallery/android-photographs/anan4190865147_05edc41b4e.jpg" /> It's the light that makes this photo extraordinary, with the brilliant sun creating reflections that add interest, as well as a nice lens flare effect. Viewing this image, you feel that Clayton Perry managed to capture the exact moment the sun came out from behind the clouds after the rain had stopped. Taken with: HTC Hero 4. Printemps by Vincent VandeveldePrintemps by Vincent Vandevelde" src="http://cdn.mashable.com/wp-content/gallery/android-photographs/4621908158_c62670437a_z.jpg" /> With the looks of an Impressionist painting, beautifully vivid colors contrast in this shot of French fields to give the photo a dream-like quality. Taken with: HTC Desire 5. Old Street by Matt KingOld Street by Matt King" src="http://cdn.mashable.com/wp-content/gallery/android-photographs/old4282881676_77ac100d3b_z.jpg" /> How often do you take the time to look up? Matt King did and it got him this fab shot. Taken with: T-Mobile G1/HTC Dream 6. Sunset by Zan McQuadeSunset by Zan McQuade" src="http://cdn.mashable.com/wp-content/gallery/android-photographs/android.jpg" /> This amazing sunset was captured sans app by Zan McQuade, although some minor tweaks to the saturation, contrast, and brightness settings have helped make it the stunning shot it is. Taken with: HTC EVO 4G 7. Telephone in Kingston by LomodroidTelephone in Kingston by Lomodroid" src="http://cdn.mashable.com/wp-content/gallery/android-photographs/4884328031_069cba263a_z_picnik.jpg" /> The popular Android Vignette app helped Lomodroid snap this surreal pic. The bright red telephone boxes against the greened-out background and the fab framing add up to a striking shot. Taken with: Nexus One 8. Japanese Sky by Nox DineenJapanese Sky by Nox Dineen" src="http://cdn.mashable.com/wp-content/gallery/android-photographs/jap4933582910_9df0dc119f.jpg" /> "Looking up through the trees reminded me of Japanese art," says Nox Dineen of this wonderful photo. Almost abstract, it's a beautifully stark example of how to zoom in on an object and fill the frame with detail to create a strong image. Taken with: HTC Hero 9. Outside the Kimball Art Museum by Jessica MartinezOutside the Kimball Art Museum by Jessica Martinez " src="http://cdn.mashable.com/wp-content/gallery/android-photographs/4264217878_362a668797.jpg" /> The setting sun just peeking out from behind a tree adds a warm radiance to this tranquil landscape, while the colors make for a lovely Autumnal palette. Taken with: T-Mobile G1/HTC Dream 10. Untitled by Tara HollandUntitled by Tara Holland" src="http://cdn.mashable.com/wp-content/gallery/android-photographs/tata.jpg" /> Arguably more a portrait than a city-scape, this street scene caught our eye and we just had to share it. The awkward-looking subject contrasts brilliantly with the models in the background, and who can fail to smile at a classic case of blackened tooth graffiti? Taken with: T-Mobile G1/HTC DreamMore Android Resources from Mashable: - 8 Best Android Apps for Photo Editing - 10 Best Multimedia and Entertainment Android Apps - 10 Fun Casual Games for Android Phones - 15 Awesome Android Accessories - 8 Best Android Apps for Health and FitnessReviews: Android, Google More About: android, Android apps, cameraphones, galleries, gallery, Google, htc, photography For more Mobile coverage: Follow Mashable Mobile on TwitterBecome a Fan on FacebookSubscribe to the Mobile channelDownload our free apps for iPhone and iPad
If you’ve been planning to buy a Windows Phone 7 device, now is the time to walk the walk, as several smartphones based on Microsoft’s new mobile platform are now available in Microsoft’s Store. HTC Surround and Samsung Focus are both available for $199 with a two-year contract with AT&T, while the HTC HD7 is available for the same price with a two-year contract with T-Mobile. If you’re looking for deals, you might want to check out Dell Mobility and Amazon, where the same devices are offered with extra discounts. More About: microsoft, Mobile 2.0, smartphone, trending, windows phone 7 For more Tech coverage: Follow Mashable Tech on TwitterBecome a Fan on FacebookSubscribe to the Tech channelDownload our free apps for iPhone and iPad
David A. Yovanno is the CEO of Gigya, Inc., a leading social optimization platform for online business. He can be found on Twitter at @daveyovanno or e-mail dave(at)gigya(dot)com. When it comes to Facebook, if you’re uncertain where and when to place a “Like” button on your site and when to use “Share,” you’re not alone. Social sharing technologies have evolved significantly in the past several months, but it’s not as complicated as it may seem. Used in concert, “Like” and “Share” are some of the best tools around for driving referral traffic from social networks, opening new communication channels with customers and prospects, and building relationships with your best advocates. Here are three best practices for applying them together.1. Design for Both “Like” and “Share” Rather than choose one or the other, sites that combine “Like” and “Share” into the user experience see the greatest level of success in terms of driving referral traffic, building relationships and learning more about their customers and visitors. Why? Not only do “Like” and “Share” have different strengths and different applications, they actually drive the most value when used in concert. Let’s drill into the specifics to illustrate. The “Like” button has many benefits: When clicked, an item is published to the person’s Facebook feed, driving referral traffic to the website. If the user is already logged into Facebook, this is a one-click process.“Liking” adds data to the user’s profile on Facebook.“Liking” is an easy way for users to make a connection with the things they have an affinity for — just a single-click user experience.“Liking” opens a new communication channel for publishers that can subsequently share news to the feeds of Facebook users who have “Liked” that item on their site. Facebook recently released data on the value of a “Liker” which provides compelling reasons for engaging them: “People who click the Facebook Like button are more engaged, active and connected than the average Facebook user. The average ‘liker’ has 2.4x the amount of friends than that of a typical Facebook user. They are also more interested in exploring content they discover on Facebook — they click on 5.3x more links to external sites than the typical Facebook user.” So where does the next generation of “Share” functionality fit into this picture? Enabling “Share,” in addition to “Like,” enhances both the overall user experience as well as the power of the “Like” button for the site: Sharing provides a way for people to express themselves and share with friends when “Like” (or “recommend,” which is another form of the “Like” button) is not the appropriate sentiment. People typically “Like” things or social objects, but share activity. For example, if someone makes a comment on an article or reviews a product, they are more likely to want to share their point of view with friends rather than “Like” it.When a Facebook user clicks the “Like” button, the website hosting the button does not get access to information about that user or about the “Like.” Integrating sharing into the site — via Facebook’s Open Graph API — effectively closes the data loop by asking a person to connect with a website the first time he or she chooses to share something. Once a user connects, his or her “Like” data is available to the site owner, enabling a more personalized user experience outside of Facebook. Example of an Effective Application of Both “Like” and “Share:” Specialty outdoor retailer Giantnerd recently published data showing how social sharing has doubled traffic from Facebook. The number of those consumers coming from Facebook who actually place an order has jumped 30% and the average order value has risen 50%. In the example below, Giantnerd enables members to “Like” a specific product, and to “Share” a question about that product’s features. “Like” the helmet: Share a question about the helmet: You can also drive more referral traffic by enabling your site visitors to share to multiple social networks simultaneously, as Giantnerd does in the example above.2. Use “Like” and “Share” to Build Relationships As we touched on in the first point, today’s sharing technologies are based on the concept of first establishing a relationship between the user and the site, wherein the user connects his or her social identity to the website via an explicit permission or authentication step. Most people associate authentication with registration or log-in, but the process can be woven into a variety of social activities, from sharing to community features, creating far more opportunities for any site to make that connection. This is an enormous win for marketers, as a connected user typically comes with rich social network profile data, including a pre-validated e-mail address and a slew of “Likes” from across the web. This data can help a business personalize the site experience and communicate with that person more effectively. The “Like” button also provides an opportunity to build relationships. While the site does not have information on any individual user, the entity that was “Liked” can publish relevant activity to the “Likers” as a group. For example, a children’s apparel retailer could promote an end-of-season sale to “Likers” of its winter coats. A publisher could share new content to people who “Like” a particular op-ed author or piece.3. Optimize Your Content for the Facebook Feed While some content may be intrinsically more interesting than others, one thing is certain: Presentation counts when it comes to driving referral traffic. Optimizing all the elements of what is published to a user’s feed is important for both “Likes” and “Shares.” There are two different “Like” button implementations, and while the iFrame version is easier to implement, the XFBML version gives you more opportunity to optimize. According to the Facebook developer documentation, “The XFBML dynamically re-sizes its height according to whether there are profile pictures to display, gives you the ability (through the JavaScript library) to listen for Like events so that you know in real time when a user clicks the Like button, and it always gives the user the ability to add an optional comment to the Like. If users do add a comment, the story published back to Facebook is given more prominence.” Prominence on Facebook means it’s more likely that the Facebook algorithm will actually display a “Like” to people in the user’s network, so taking the time to use the XFBML version with commenting enabled is highly worthwhile. Optimizing “Likes” for the feed also involves adding Open Graph tags with information that Facebook can pull when someone clicks the “Like” button. To optimize for the feed, in addition to information that categorizes each item within the Open Graph, sites should also be sure to specify the image and text that will show in the feed item, as in this example: Shared items should similarly be optimized for maximum exposure. One of the advantages of the latest generation of sharing technologies is that you have full control over the image and body text for shared content, as well as the hyperlinks that appear at the bottom of the feed item. In this example, the item published includes a photo that supports the content, text that moves a user to take action, and a link at the bottom that specifically drives more people to the original site to take the poll: The benefits of combining “Like” and “Share” are big, so don’t sit back and wait for a final iteration of the platform; these technologies will continue to evolve, and so will the size of the opportunity.More Facebook Resources from Mashable: - 5 New Ways to Market Your Brand on Facebook - 4 Things Small Businesses Should Know About Facebook’s New Groups - HOW TO: Score a Job Through Facebook - 8 Quick Tips for Developing a Facebook Marketing Strategy - Top 5 Emerging Brand Trends on Facebook More About: business, facebook, Facebook Like, facebook open graph, Facebook Share, like, List, Lists, Open Graph, optimization, share, small business, SMO, social media, social media marketing, social media optimization, tips For more Social Media coverage: Follow Mashable Social Media on TwitterBecome a Fan on FacebookSubscribe to the Social Media channelDownload our free apps for iPhone and iPad
The government is recommending a suite of reforms to make it easier for the poor to get cheap phone service—and some of the proposals will eventually be extended to broadband. The most high profile of these suggestions urges the Federal Communications Commission to encourage automatic enrollment in the agency's Lifeline and Link-Up programs, activated when low-income families apply for other benefits, such as food stamps. "I believe the Commission should address low-income consumers' ability to use their Lifeline discounts for services or packages that include voice and broadband," added Commissioner Mignon Clyburn on Friday, "as recommended in the National Broadband Plan, as soon as possible." Read the comments on this post
Botnets have penetratedmost Fortune 500 companies, and the United States leads the world in PCs infected with bots. And Mac users beware—a new Trojan variant attacks Mac OS systems via social networking sites. If you see a message on a social network like Facebook that says "Is this you in the video?" clicking the item could deliver your computer to a botnet—a network of hijacked machines deployed to steal content and launch distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks on other sites. Read the comments on this post
We don't have any hard numbers available yet, but the Kinect launch at least looks like a success. Microsoft took over Times Square with a huge event to promote the hardware, there were widespread reports of preorders being sold out at various retailers, and serious pre-show buzz helped to get the message out: Kinect is a big deal. The big question about Kinect is whether Microsoft needs the hardware to turn a profit this generation, or is this part of a longer-term plan to change how we interact with games and our computers? Our guess is the latter. Read the comments on this post
Developers have mixed feelings about the Mac App Store and what effect it will have on the independent Mac OS X software market. One possible effect that hasn't gotten much discussion is what might happen to app bundles that have become popular in the last few years (see our links below). If the Mac App Store proves successful, it could lower interest in these bundles, which trade increased exposure for the developers in exchange for a low price for buyers. Still, Apparent Software is giving its bundle of creative software—MacGraPhoto—at least one more go. Apparent's Jacob Gorban told Ars that last year's $39.99 bundle of seven apps—which included GraphicConverter, DrawIt, HoudaGeo, and Apparent's own ImageFramer—sold very well. So well, in fact, that MacGraPhoto is back this year with a bundle of 10 different apps for the same $39.99. Read the comments on this post
Just over a week ago, we learned that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was stepping up its efforts to get Americans in front of its new clothes-piercing "backscatter" and "millimeter wave" scanners at airports. The devices have raised all sorts of concerns about privacy (they can see through clothes) and radiation, but those who don't go through them will now suffer an intimate pat-down of nut-busting proportions. And pilots have had enough. Dave Bates heads the Allied Pilots Association, which represents American Airlines pilots and claims to be the largest independent pilots' group in the world. Bates recently told his members that they should refuse the new scans, together know as "Advanced Imaging Technology" (AIT). And he thinks the new pat-downs are a disgusting breach of a pilot's "privacy and dignity." Read the comments on this post
I just bought my sister an iPod Nano and she really seems to like it. However, I don’t know how much she’d like a fake iPod Nano from the Shanzai markets. This wee fake comes in two sizes, 1.5 or 1.8 inches, and even comes in multiple colors. No pricing, but given my experience with Chinese junk I wouldn’t recommend picking it up. via GizChina
Toshiba in Japan has announced [JP] their first Android cell phone today, the Regza T-01C (Regza is also the brandname for the company's flat panel TVs). Big T says they used the "Mobile Regza Engine 3.0" for the phone's touchscreen, which is sized at four inches and features 480x854 resolution. Read the rest on MobileCrunch.
Hey, lazy: want a Black Belt watch but don’t have a black belt? Well put down that Chicago-style hot dog and listen up. The same company that brought you the $3,000 watch for black belts only (you had to submit an application) is offering the Black Belt Spirit for those who want “A choice of life at your wrist.” See? The watchmakers know you’re such a slob that you won’t even care if their motto is grammatically correct and/or totally nonsensical! This watch is about $500 and has a piece of garbage quartz movement, just right for the clods who can’t do the Iron Horse kata without burping up the remainder of a 99 cent Wendy’s value meal. Real black belts can still get the original watch and then beat up the folks who bought the Black Belt Spirit watch. HIIIII-YA! Product Page
No comment on the branding, but Sharp will soon [JP] produce a cell phone whose body is made entirely of wood, namely Japanese cypress. According to Sharp, the handset is not a joke product but actually built for long-term usage, meaning buyers won't have to fear mold and other things. Read the rest on MobileCrunch.
Isabella Products, the folks that brought you the Vizit interactive picture frame are planning to bring your children a 7″ tablet called the “Fable”. Aside from built-in mobile broadband and a camera, no real technical details are available. The product will incorporate the “carousel” interface used by the Vizit picture frame. Apps include an e-reader with children’s content from Houghton Mifflin, a drawing thingie, games, and a photo sharing thingie. The Fable announcement is vague on details, including estimated price, but it’s clear that Isabella is going for an end-to-end solution: online activities will be tied into the VizitMe.com content management system. I guess this is a good idea for parents worried about their little darlings being exposed to the horrors of the Internet too soon, but it’s been my experience that such integrated solutions are way too limiting. I guess we’ll all just have to wait and see what Isabella does.
Why just dock your iPhone when you can create an iOS-based Eee Keyboard instead? What you're looking at is a Made for iPhone keyboard called WOWKeys from Omnio. The $100 USB keyboard / iPhone (3GS or 4) dock is Mac or PC compatible (note the cohabitation of the Windows flag and Command key in the prototype images after the break) featuring 15 hotkeys designed for iPhone use. Of course, you can also load up any number of apps to turn the iPhone into a media center remote control, multi-touch trackpad, and soon an AirPlay media streamer when iOS 4.2 is released. That makes the whole ensemble a pretty versatile ARM-based computer and smartphone. Someone remind us of the advantages of that $600ish Atom-based ASUS all-in-one PC running XP again?Update: Added gallery of product renders below and a description of the shortcut keys after the break. Gallery: Omnio WOWKeys and iPhone team up to build a better Eee Keyboard Continue reading Omnio WOWKeys and iPhone team up to build a better Eee Keyboard Omnio WOWKeys and iPhone team up to build a better Eee Keyboard originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Nov 2010 06:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink Everything USB | AVING |Email this|Comments
It takes a pretty radical hack to truly grab us, but we're fairly confident that Matt Richardson is now one of our most favorite dudes ever. He has put together a comprehensive video detailing the setup required to build your own Arduino-powered remote shutter trigger, and while it's certainly one of the more complicated setups out there, properly executing it can land you self-taken photos like the one above. You'll need a laptop, a solid DSLR, an Arduino, a DIYer toolkit (you know, tiny screwdrivers and the like) and a good bit of spare time. If you've already checked all five from your list, head on past the break and mash play -- your weekend project awaits. [Thanks, Matt] Continue reading DIYer builds handsfree, Arduino-powered remote camera trigger (video) DIYer builds handsfree, Arduino-powered remote camera trigger (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 07 Nov 2010 08:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Github (mrichardson23), YouTube (mrichardson23) |Email this|Comments
Yes, Microsoft's Kinect has already been cracked, as you'll see on video after the break -- the motion-sensing depth camera now nods its head on command and displays real-time accelerometer data on one lucky hacker's PC. We tracked down the son-of-a-gun who did it -- as it happens, the same NUI Group member who hacked the PlayStation Eye in 2008 -- and found to our disappointment that he doesn't necessarily intend to unleash his new exploit on the world. The $2,000 prize Adafruit is presently offering for open-source Kinect drivers isn't his aim, though he does have big personal plans for the device, as he hopes to integrate it into his company's commercial visualization suite CL Studio Live. It seems that work is progressing fast, as he's already gotten video streams from both cameras to output to his computer, and he plans to upload a far more convincing video soon. Here's hoping he has a change of heart about sharing his rapid accomplishments. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Continue reading Kinect does hacker's bidding, but not for fortune or fame (video) Kinect does hacker's bidding, but not for fortune or fame (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 07 Nov 2010 19:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink Gizmodo, Adafruit | NUI Group |Email this|Comments
While Amazon and Sony are still hemming and hawing about taking their ebook-reading adventure into the color E Ink realm, China's Hanvon is plunging straight in. The New York Times is reporting that the company intends to grace this year's FPD International trade show with the news that a 10-inch touchscreen e-reader, equipped with the first color-displaying panels from E Ink Holdings, will be arriving in the Chinese market in March. That's a little later than the originally promised "by the end of 2010," but it's not like anyone else is beating Hanvon to the market. Pricing in China is expected at around $440, and though there are no plans to bring it Stateside just yet, we imagine Hanvon would do so quite willingly if it can reach the volume necessary to offer up a more palatable price. And we'd be very happy if it does, the Nook Color's been looking a little lonely in the color ebook reader room. Hanvon to be first with color E Ink reader, sizes it at 10 inches, makes it a touchscreen originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Nov 2010 02:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | New York Times |Email this|Comments
Been waiting on an Eee PC 1215N with an AMD Neo processor? Or how about an Eee PC 1015T with a 12.1-inch display? We know, you need a damn almanac to keep up with all of ASUS' netbooks, but if you have in fact been waiting on the respective strengths of those two Eee PC variants, the company's got you covered with its new 1215T. Forgoing the Intel Atom / NVIDIA Ion 2 combo for a single core 1.7GHz AMD Athlon K125 processor, the 12.1-inch notbook (our word for a machine that's not really a netbook anymore) packs 2GB of RAM, an 320GB hard drive and Windows 7 Home Premium. The system looks to have the same chassis as the $485 Eee PC 1215N we reviewed not too long ago, but instead rings up at around $436 on Amazon right now. We obviously haven't tested the AMD version nor have we seen any reviews, but we'd venture to guess that while you may save $50, you'll give up the better battery life of the Intel / Ion-powered 1215N -- the AMD Neo laptops we've tested haven't lasted longer than four hours on a charge. That's just our hunch, but hey, don't let us stop you from hitting that source link and ordering one right now. [Thanks, Sal] ASUS Eee PC 1215T with AMD Neo on sale now originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 07 Nov 2010 20:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink Notebook Italia | ASUS, Amazon |Email this|Comments
This Saturday, high-school students around the country will sit for hours of silent testing that will determine some portion of their future: That’s right, it’s SAT time. For both parents and kids, the preparation for taking the standardized test is stressful and expensive, often involving hours of studying and several hundreds of dollars spent on classes, workbooks and tutors. And many kids will take these tests more than once. [ See post to watch video ] So this week I tried a Web-based form of test prep called Grockit that aims to make studying for the SAT, ACT, GMAT, GRE or LSAT less expensive and more enjoyable. Grockit.com offers lessons, group study and solo practice, and does a nice job of feeling fun and educational, which isn’t an easy combination to pull off. A free portion of the site includes group study with a variety of questions and a limited number of solo test questions, which are customized to each student’s study needs. The $100 Premium subscription includes full access to the online platform with unlimited solo practice questions and personalized performance analytics that track a student’s progress. A new offering called Grockit TV (grockit.com/tv) offers free eight-week courses if students watch them streaming live twice a week. Otherwise, a course can be downloaded for $100 during the course or $150 afterward. Instructors hailing from the Princeton Review and Kaplan, among other places, teach test preparation for the GMAT business-school admissions test and SAT. For the sake of testing, I focused on the SAT and plunged back into the depths of reading, writing and (gulp) math to get a sense of what students see and do on Grockit.com. In a short period of time, I found myself wanting to go back to the site to get better at certain sections or to earn more Experience Points, which result in badges and unlock new levels of study, both of which can be optionally posted to outside networks like Facebook or Twitter. By default, everyone can see one another’s points, which invites healthy competition; these can also be hidden if you’d rather keep them private. I tested both the free version of Grockit.com, which includes an SAT writing diagnostic test, and the extra offerings of a $100 Premium account, including diagnostic tests for writing, reading and math to evaluate my strengths and weaknesses in taking the SAT. The free version had too many messages that constantly notified me of what I could do with a paid account and prompted me to upgrade. A look at a Grockit group study session: 1. Sample question; 2. other players; 3. Grockit messages with running score of correct answers and badges earned and those shared on Facebook; 4. instant messages from players. Along with completing practice questions with strangers and instructors, I got a friend of mine to also use Grockit.com so we could compete together in Grockit’s Speed Challenge Games. These are included in the free portion and they reward the fastest person who answers a question correctly—but also display incorrect guesses, thus narrowing the possible answers for those who don’t answer first. It was more fun for me to play against someone I knew, but I can imagine kids preferring the anonymity of competing with strangers when they don’t answer questions correctly. In an introductory video, Grockit founder and chief product officer Farb Nivi describes the site by saying, “It’s like having a complete multimedia textbook and workbook online, at your fingertips.” But for kids (and from my experience, adults), the computer isn’t an easy place to concentrate. On any given PC, especially one used by a teenager, instant-message indicators are chiming, Facebook updates and Twitter tweets are waiting to be checked, music is playing in the background and emails are flowing into inboxes. Plus, the Grockit site is just a tab away from other websites and distractions. And the site has no way of working in a distraction-free mode, like how the new Microsoft Office for Mac offers Full Screen View, which quiets any alerts or pop-up distractions. It also isn’t necessarily comfortable for students to read extensive text (like in reading questions for the SAT) on a vertical computer screen. The site will run on the iPad, which can be held on a lap for more comfortable reading, but many students don’t own one of these. Part of the way Grockit is made more fun is by purposely incorporating social networking into the experience. As people work on questions, they can instant message with one another in a right-side panel about tips for answering questions or simply for commiserating about studying. These IMs don’t make indicator sounds, so they aren’t too intrusive, but they can’t be fully closed. I saw several chats among teens about nothing in particular, as well as some test-taking tips from instructors and other students. Grockit encourages users to “be nice” in chats because all conversations are logged; people can also flag one another for offensive remarks. Chats are also archived on your page so you can reread them for tips and study hints. If you find someone’s tip helpful or if you simply like a person, you can award him or her with Grockit Points, which show up beside a name and profile photo. Users’ ages or last names aren’t displayed. Grockit offers one-on-one tutoring for a fee of $50 an hour, and I tried one session for math. My instructor and I used Skype to audio chat throughout the session and he took advantage of a whiteboard in Grockit, where he could write out the steps in an algebra problem to demonstrate how to solve for X. Around 40 instructors are employed for Grockit, but anyone can run a practice session, even other students. I signed up for a scheduled practice session at 8 p.m. that I assumed was run by an instructor, and later found out it was run by a student. Grockit instructors can also pop into sessions at any given time to help students, and one did during my session. Grockit works on a system of transparency so users can evaluate all teachers. My tutor had five-star rating and did a great job reminding me of algebra rules. If you’re looking for an inexpensive and more enjoyable way to study for big tests, Grockit is a viable and easily accessible option. But its proximity to the rest of the Web could prove much more distracting than the old SAT workbook. See a video with Katherine Boehret on Web-based test-prep software at WSJ.com/PersonalTech. Email her at mossbergsolution@wsj.com. 1
Yesterday, BoomTown wrote a post titled “Dear Zuck: The Apple iPad Is Mobile (So Sorry!),” countering Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s statement at a press event earlier this week that the popular tablet device is not. As I wrote about what the kingpin of the social networking giant said: Ben Parr of Mashable asked a question everyone has been speculating about recently–whether and when there would be an iPad app for Facebook coming. A fumbling “no comment” would have worked fine, but the real Zuckerberg seemed to have decided to channel the clever Aaron Sorkin-ish repartee of the fictional Zuckerberg in the movie “The Social Network.” “It’s not mobile…it is a computer,” he said flatly. “I think Apple would disagree with you,” noted Parr. “Well, sorry,” Zuckerberg spat out, his voice dripping with the kind of sarcasm that only a super-nerdy Silicon Valley engineer can pull off properly. I disagreed, noting: The iPad is a computer, because that is technically true, even though that makes a smartphone a computer too. (And, now that I think of it, my car is a computer.) But actual civilians don’t make these kinds of distinctions and, if one spends any time watching consumers use tablets, mobile is entirely how they think of it. The post got a lot of comments, and tweets too, so I thought I would post a survey so that everyone can cast their own vote. And I won’t blame the economy if I lose, so click away (and I will post the results later): Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world’s leading questionnaire tool.
Because while those who live in the echo chamber of Silicon Valley are frequently wrong, but never in doubt, a gigantic amount of time is spent being more technical than realistic. And by “technical,” I mean annoyingly detailed in making a point as to completely obfuscate the essence of anything. Let me explain. In the middle of yet another dullish release of features–this time mobile-related–at an event at Facebook HQ in Palo Alto, Calif., on Wednesday, Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder and CEO of the social networking giant, finally livened up the proceedings in the Q&A part at the end. Ben Parr of Mashable asked a question everyone has been speculating about recently–whether and when there would be an iPad app for Facebook coming. A fumbling “no comment” would have worked fine, but the real Zuckerberg seemed to have decided to channel the clever Aaron Sorkin-ish repartee of the fictional Zuckerberg in the movie “The Social Network.” “It’s not mobile…it is a computer,” he said flatly. “I think Apple would disagree with you,” noted Parr. “Well, sorry,” Zuckerberg spat out, his voice dripping with the kind of sarcasm that only a super-nerdy Silicon Valley engineer can pull off properly. And, while he quickly backtracked and declared a deep love of Apple products, it was clear Zuckerberg meant what he’d said and said what he’d meant. That the iPad is just another version of the kind of computer he cut his geek teeth on and it is not at all like the mobile smartphones that are now moving squarely into power pole position in the digital universe. Except, not so fast. First, the creators of the iPad over at Apple do consider it mobile, and its own often-disdainful leader Steve Jobs has said so on many occasions. While that does not make it so, of course, imagine if he got up and said Facebook was not actually a social network as much as, say, a glorified portal with more chitchat. Sort of an AOL-Plus! You could make that argument, although it would not take into account a lot of key elements Zuckerberg did not take into account in his iPad-is-a-computer zinger. But that’s not a good enough counter, of course, so let’s focus on real people using the iPad or tablets like it, such as the Amazon Kindle e-reader. First, the iPad is a computer, because that is technically true, even though that makes a smartphone a computer too. (And, now that I think of it, my car is a computer.) But actual civilians don’t make these kinds of distinctions and, if one spends any time watching consumers use tablets, mobile is entirely how they think of it. If you want to get technical, I supposed “portable” is a better way to describe it, but not in the way a laptop is. And here are the five simple reasons why: No. 1: A tablet is typically carried around like a book or magazine, which are perhaps the most portable of all media. While it has a hard shell, an iPad has the elements of those much more so than a computer laptop, which is much harder to manipulate, due to its clamshell design and keyboard. No. 2: A tablet is largely used via a touchscreen, which allows the device to be intimate in a way a computer never is. Watch people use a laptop and an iPad in a public setting and you will easily see the relationship is much different. A laptop is treated more as a work device and an in-a-pinch entertainment player. Like a phone, the tablet is used close in and with no sense of boundaries. No. 3: A tablet is largely used as a consumption device, with interactive and inputting elements, while a computer is an interactive and inputting device with consumption elements. No. 4: The tablet, like my phone, is always on, with no boot up. It is persistent, while a computer is more periodic. And a tablet is smaller and thinner than any computer and will only get thinner over time. Again, this kind of form factor makes it more and more a mobile device. No. 5: And, even now, as large as the first iteration of the iPad is, it never sits on my desk. A desktop computer, of course, does. My laptop sits on my desk, plugged into a big screen, and is often unplugged and taken with me when I travel. But my iPad is never on my desk. Unless it is charging or synching, it is in my bag with my phone and always ready to go. As in, mobile.
Looks like the Federal Trade Commission got its first choice of Chief Technologist, because it’s hard to think of anyone better to serve in that capacity than Princeton computer science professor Ed Felten, a guy whose CV makes everyone from Microsoft to Diebold shudder in embarrassment. A renowned computer researcher, Felten has over the years led charges against some of technology’s most ill-starred concepts, chronicling them in his widely read Freedom to Tinker blog. In 2000, his team dropped the hammer on the Hack SDMI challenge by demonstrating how easy it was to crack the decidedly mediocre Secure Digital Music Initiative. Dragged into the Sony BMG CD copy-protection scandal in 2005, he discovered that Sony’s “fix” for the Digital Rights Management rootkit it used to protect some new music CDs furthered inflamed an already bad situation. And then, of course, there were Felten’s various investigations into electronic voting machines, the most notorious being the one that revealed Diebold’s machines could be opened with a standard office furniture key. “The access panel door on a Diebold AccuVote-TS voting machine–the door that protects the memory card that stores the votes, and is the main barrier to the injection of a virus–can be opened with a standard key that is widely available on the Internet,” Felten wrote at the time. “The exact same key is used widely in office furniture, electronic equipment, jukeboxes, and hotel minibars.” Thank God for Felten, right? And thank God the FTC has seen fit to hire him. There’s a lot of good he can do there. As Felten described it, “My main job will be to advise the FTC leadership on technology policy issues. My goals are use my technical expertise and knowledge of the tech world to help the FTC make the best decisions on tech topics, and to contribute to building up the agency’s technical capabilities.” Said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz, “Ed is extraordinarily respected in the technology community, and his background and knowledge make him an outstanding choice to serve as the agency’s first Chief Technologist. He’s going to add unparalleled expertise on high-technology markets and computer security.”
He’s not Andreessen and he’s not Horowitz, the pair of brand names of the high-profile Silicon Valley venture firm that just announced a new $650 million fund to add to their $300 million already at work. But as quiet as John O’Farrell has been, he is the third general partner–and there are only three for now–of what seems to have turned into the hottest VC outfit of late. Launched in mid-2009 by Netscape Founder Marc Andreessen and his longtime business partner Ben Horowitz, both have since made a series of splashy investments, written splashier blog posts and served on the splashiest–well, controversial–of boards. O’Farrell just arrived to the party in late June. But he had worked closely with Andreessen and Horowitz at Opsware executive, through some decidedly rocky times until they pulled off a remarkable recovery for the software company and sold it in 2007 to Hewlett-Packard for $1.6 billion. The Irish-born O’Farrell–who has an interesting background in the cable business too–moved onto Silver Spring Networks, a smart grid start-up. He assumed he would remain an operating exec. But when he got the call from Andreessen and Horowitz, he said he could not resist the offer. Here is O’Farrell talking about the firm in a video interview BoomTown did earlier this week. In it, note at the end how he is deftly answering–but not–a question I had about an investment it might make in Twitter: [ See post to watch video ]
Last month, we noted that some Canadian politicians were jumping on the censor Craigslist bandwagon, though some pointed out in our comments that the politicians in question actually had little influence. However, it looks like those who actually are in power are jumping onto the same grandstanding train. Canada's Justice Minister, Rob Nicholson, has now demanded that Craigslist censor its adult services section -- and he does so with statements that are blatantly intellectually dishonest: "With respect to newspapers, there are editors, I am sure, who take precautions to make sure they�re not getting into the business of child exploitation or human trafficking and so on" in their classified ads, Mr. Nicholson said after the Conservative caucus meeting on Wednesday. "It seems to me with Craigslist there's no regulation at all as to what goes on." Except, most of that is inaccurate or misleading. Newspapers work on an entirely different scale and different model than Craigslist, which just acts more as a platform. Second, there is quite a bit of "regulation," it's just that this doesn't sound good, so Nicholson apparently decides to ignore it. Nicholson also claims he's going to introduce new legislation "that would create two new offences under the Criminal Code to close loopholes in Canada's laws against child pornography." If he's complaining about Craigslist and talking about loopholes, that sounds like that new legislation may create secondary liability for platform providers. Hopefully someone can explain to Nicholson the ridiculous unintended consequences of such secondary liability, which would create massive liability for an awful lot of the internet.Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
Earlier this year, we wrote about a German lower court ruling that found YouTube liable for copyright infringement, for the actions of a user, uploading a Sarah Brightman song to the platform. As I noted at the time, this didn't make much sense at all, since there's simply no way for Google to know ahead of time whether or not the user has permission to upload a video. Putting the liability on the service provider is simply nonsensical. The week after that ruling came out, I actually was in Berlin, for Berlin Music Week/Popkomm/A2N, and led a session discussing the legal status of YouTube. It was quite interesting, and I talked with a lot of folks on all sides of the issue (some were... um... angrier than others). But one thing that I was told over and over again by folks is that there are some serious issues with German copyright law, which considers third party liability a perfectly normal thing (and demonstrating how ridiculous this is, one audience member angrily read aloud some incendiary comments -- one of which insulted Germans -- from Techdirt and told me I was liable for it under German law, and then demanded to know why I hadn't taken it down). However, thankfully, it appears that not every court in Germany feels that this is what the law says, or that this is acceptable. Apparently, a few years back, the very same court that issued the YouTube/Sarah Brightman ruling also issued a similar ruling against a local video hosting site called Sevenload, saying that it was liable for infringing videos uploaded by users. However, it appears that the appeals court has now reversed that decision, and ruled that Sevenload should not be liable. After the jump, I've embedded an English translation of the ruling, but the key point is that the court found that since Sevenload is not active in selecting the content, it makes no sense to hold the company liable. It also laughed off the argument from the rightsholder that since it wasn't known who uploaded the video, it could have been an employee of Sevenload. The court notes that this argument was brought up too late (i.e., not in the lower court decision) and that the plaintiff didn't offer any evidence to support such an assertion. One part I liked in the ruling is that the court pointed out that it should be common sense that user-created content is not from the company in question: Furthermore, from other services on the Internet, Internet users are used to areas being set up in which users can participate, in particular discussion forums. The sensible Internet user does not, as a rule, regard these areas as the site operator�s own content for which the operator intends to take responsibility. The court also cites other cases which noted online auction providers are not expected to review every auction before it goes up, "as this would call the entire business model into question." Similarly, the court finds it silly that a video hosting service should need to inspect each video. While certainly no guarantee, this appeals court ruling appears to bode well for Google's appeal of the Sarah Brightman ruling.Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
Back in August, we wrote about a NY Times article insisting that the cable companies had beaten the internet and the idea that people would "cut the cord" and get their TV from the internet was something of a myth. The centerpiece of the story was a single anecdote of a guy who tried to just watch TV on the internet, but went back to cable. Because, you know, a single anecdote must represent a trend. We noted the irony that the day after that article came out, reports broke that cable TV had suffered its first ever decline in subscribers. And since then, the evidence of cord cutting has only grown. We noted recently that Comcast had lost 275,000 video subscribers, which they tried to explain away by blaming "the economy." Of course, the economy was a lot worse last year. And, now, Time Warner Cable has released the news that it's lost 155,000 TV subscribers. But cord cutting isn't real, right?Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
As a bunch of folks have sent in, there's a proposal making the rounds in the EU for a "right to be forgotten," which would require websites to delete all information about a person at their request. We've actually seen something like this in the past, in Germany, where last year we noted that a convicted German murderer, was using such a law to demand details of his conviction be removed from various websites. It's not difficult to recognize how problematic this concept can be. As Adam Thierer notes, a "right to be forgotten," is a clear restriction on free speech. Now, some might claim that this is a point where free speech and privacy rights clash, but I'm not sure I actually agree with that. In fact, I'd argue that a "right to be forgotten" is not really a "privacy" right in the first place. A privacy right should only concern information that is actually private. What a "right to be forgotten" does is try to take information that is, by default, public information, and pretend that it's private. That's a very different situation, and one that clearly conflicts with free speech concepts.Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
Way back when private equity firm Terra Firma bought record label EMI, we actually had some hope that by putting in place some folks with a different viewpoint, they might actually help EMI make the transition to the new world that the other record labels were unwilling to do, since they were too tied to the past. And there were a few encouraging early signs. EMI's new boss, from Terra Firma, Guy Hands, told everyone at EMI that Radiohead's business model experiments should serve as a wake-up call to respond to new challenges with "creativity and energy," rather than lawsuits. Along those lines, he also threatened to withdraw from the RIAA and the IFPI. Finally, he hired two big name techies: including Google's former CIO and Second Life's co-founder. However, there were also indications that the company was still very much unable to adjust, and didn't really welcome those outside views. Part of it, apparently, was that EMI's attempt to negotiate new deals with its biggest artists was done in a somewhat tone deaf manner, which pissed off those artists, who got the impression that EMI was trying to take advantage of them rather than trying to help them. On top of that, the company backed down on its threats to leave the IFPI and the RIAA... and instead became one of the more aggressive record labels in suing innovative start-ups and directly suing their execs in attempts to bankrupt them. It wasn't much of a surprise that the two tech superstars EMI hired both left pretty quickly, as it became apparent they were marginalized within the company. With this approach, not surprisingly, EMI has suffered massively in the market, and last year, Terra Firma tried to pin the blame elsewhere by claiming that Citigroup had mislead the firm into buying EMI, convincing the private equity firm to overbid. As we noted at the time, this seemed hard to believe. It was no secret that the record label business was in bad shape at the time and really needed a different approach if it was to survive. The problem was that, for all of the early talk, Terra Firma and Guy Hands never really figured out a way to change the company at all. Now a jury has ruled against Terra Firma saying that Citigroup did not mislead Terra Firma and, basically, Terra Firma just made a bad deal. Considering how they've run EMI, perhaps this is not too surprising. Of course, this also means that Terra Firma is not going to get out of the massive debt obligations it owes Citigroup, which likely means that Citigroup will get to takeover EMI, meaning it will sell off the pieces (most likely to Warner Music) knocking the major record labels down to just three: Universal, Warner and Sony. It seems that, as long as they keep merging, they can pretend that it's okay that they refuse to adapt.Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
Groupon, the social-buying phenomenon that has been growing faster than almost any other tech startup in recent memory — and has already raised more than $165 million in financing in the past year — is looking for another round of funding that could give the company a market value as high as $3 billion, according to a report by Bloomberg. The report, which quotes several sources “familiar with the matter,” says that the Chicago-based company needs the cash to continue its aggressive expansion into new markets, as it tries to become the global leader in group-buying discounts and fend off well-funded challengers such as Facebook. Groupon said recently that it expects to end the year with more than 25 million subscribers and close to $500 million in sales. The service — which offers users discounts from restaurants, retailers and other merchants that are based on a certain number of subscribers accepting the offer within a given time period — now operates in over 230 cities in the U.S. and several other countries. In addition to internal expansion, Groupon has also acquired several competitors, including group-buying operators in Japan and Russia, and in the company’s last round of funding, it got $135 million from Russian holding company Mail.ru (formerly known as Digital Sky Technologies). One reason why Groupon is likely looking for more cash is the group-buying space continues to grow more competitive, as others try to replicate the company’s success. In addition to LivingSocial, which is the number two player in some major U.S. markets and has also been expanding aggressively, Groupon got a new — and much larger — competitor last week, when Facebook launched its Deals feature, which provides discounts at major retailers when users “check in” via the social network’s Places service. The combination of location and group-buying could make the Facebook offering a powerful draw for consumers, and poses a clear threat to Groupon’s dominance. The new funding (if it actually occurs) would allow Groupon to hire more advertising sales and support staff to handle all the new businesses that it is signing up, one of the things that makes group buying a lot more resource-intensive than many other web-based businesses. That kind of infrastructure, along with the brand name and relationships it is developing with retailers and advertisers, are the main weapons that Groupon holds as it fights to remain the dominant player in one of the hottest retail markets around. But can the company continue to grow quickly enough — and cheaply enough — to justify its huge valuation? Related content from GigaOM Pro (sub req’d): Facebook Remained Social Media’s Chief in Q3 Report: Location, the Epicenter of Mobile Innovation Shopping Matters When it Comes to Location-Based Apps
Microsoft has gotten a fair share of chuckles from its initial Windows Phone 7 commercials, which feature addicted smartphone users plodding along cluelessly as they live life transfixed by their handsets. The best ads feature exasperated onlookers, friends and family members asking, “Really?!” when confronted by a person’s smartphone obsession. While it’s good for a laugh, Microsoft had better hope that it can replicate some of that addiction with the launch of Windows Phone 7 today. It will need some of its own “Really?!” users, or Windows Phone 7 won’t compete in today’s smartphone market. Microsoft is selling Windows Phone 7 as a device aimed to “get you in, and out and back to life.” This is a savvy move for non-smartphone users who are still intimidated by the devices and see their owners as obnoxious slaves to their handsets. But smartphones are addicting. We love the Internet, we love staying connected anywhere and we are generally rewarding companies that deliver that experience. The iPhone was the first of many smartphones that really allowed uses to take their online desktop experience with them via a mobile phone. Has it led to some oblivious moments and maybe a little bad behavior? Yes. But I knew I truly loved my iPhone when I walked off a bus and onto the sidewalk and to my office mesmerized by the handset. Yes, I look a little clueless (and might step into a manhole or get hit by a car), but my unconcern with such matters is a measure of how good the iPhone is. Between the browser, the apps and the games, I don’t want to put it down. Is there room for a phone that can make the whole experience a little more efficient? Sure, and non-smartphone users may welcome that. But Microsoft is also selling its phones as major gaming devices and they’re working hard to stock the marketplace with thousands of apps, evangelizing to developers about the ease of writing for Windows Phone 7. Success for those developers won’t involve a user putting down his smartphone for hours on end. It’ll look more like the stuff Microsoft is parodying. And the fact is information is real-time now. We are in a world where Twitter, Facebook, e-mail and all manner of news and information is flowing to us all the time. We’re not only consuming; we’re broadcasting more and more, whether its status updates, check-ins or comments. Smartphones allow us to tap into that, and that’s why we’re buying these devices. A new phone that let’s you get back to life won’t stop the flow of information or peoples’ desire to share. No, for Microsoft to succeed, it had better hope that it has its own legion of “Really?!” users, those users who can’t put the phone down. It will mean that people really love their phones and what it offers. It may not make for a funny commercial but that’s the reality of smartphone usage today. Related content from GigaOM Pro (subscription req’d): Sony vs. Microsoft: Whose Mobile Gaming Strategy Will be Better? Why Carriers Still Hold the Key to Handset Sales Is an iPhone- and Android-Only World the Best We Can Do?
Appitalism, a new online app store for phones, tablets and e-book readers, opens today with support for most major smartphone platforms, as well as feature phones with Java capabilities. The store tackles the app discovery challenge with user community ratings and reviews instead of using algorithms to suggest mobile apps. Membership in Appitalism is free, but subscribers can purchase virtual credits with real currency in order to pay for software titles at slightly reduced pricing. Creating an app store for multiple platforms isn’t new: GetJar was founded in 2003 and continues today with support for multiple handsets and recently surpassed a billion downloads. In that regard, Appitalism and other stores are competing against an incumbant in this space, not to mention the platform-specific stores such as iTunes, the Android Market and the BlackBerry App World to name a few. Oh, and don’t forget the carrier-branded stores and sub-stores, as well as wholesalers and telecoms that are working together for their own app stores. The whole app store phenomenon harkens back to the California Gold Rush of 1848; independent entities are scrambling to get a piece of the action before too many others do the same. The odds of finding gold this time around are even lower because of the way consumers place high value on and trust business relationships with carriers and mobile platform owners. My colleague Stacey raised a good point during a voice chat on this topic earlier today. She recalled her father’s hesitation when he went to install Pandora on his Android phone due to the many permissions the app would have. In essence, he didn’t have any kind of relationship with Pandora as a business in the past. But if the Pandora app was in a Sprint app store on his device, he’d be more likely to have overlooked that. Why? Because as a customer for years, he trusts Sprint; he sends them a check each month and they provide him a service. I think Stacey is on to something there. Nothing against Appitalism, GetJar or any number of other independent app stores, but the masses are more likely to stick with the major platform stores that have cropped up since 2008 in support of mobile devices. Does that mean the independents shouldn’t exist? No.They’ll keep panning for gold and earn some nuggets along the way because they’re focusing on the app discovery problem in a market that’s growing so fast, it can overwhelm device owners. Who can blame them when research firms such as Gartner are predicting $29.4 billion in mobile app sales by 2013? For my iOS and Android devices, I tend to stick with the Apple and Google stores, with the notable exception of AppBrain for Android. The main reason I use AppBrain is because I can browse online with a notebook and wirelessly send app installs to my Android phone. Google has already said it will be bringing that same feature to Android natively, so when that happens, even AppBrain may fall off my radar. Where are you getting your apps and which companies do you trust? Related content from GigaOM Pro (subscription req’d): Why Feature Phones Are the New Black for Mobile Apps Will Killer Apps Affect Which Handsets Consumers Buy? How Carriers Can Crack the App Discoverability Nut
Men, not the women they often say talk more than them, are the more likely users of new communications technology, leading the way both in use of international VoIP and video call services. According to a new Harris Interactive survey of 2,258 adults, 31 percent of men making international calls would likely do so with Skype or another VoIP or video service, as compared to 19 percent of women likely to do the same. This, and other data in the survey, indicates that marketing the benefits of new or inexpensive international calling services could be targeted at women who don’t yet see the point. Such services are big business: The survey data, sponsored by Rebtel, a low-cost mobile VoIP provider, estimates 58.8 million Americans spend a total of $23.8 billion per year on international calls. Of those, 51 percent are still using a traditional landline, so there’s still a tremendous business opportunity for the Rebtels, Skypes and Truphones of the world. Here’s another example from the survey data: 42 percent of men vs. 24 percent of women say they’d likely pay a monthly fee for video calling services. And 10 percent of men would be willing to change their international calling to VoIP while a scant 2 percent of women would consider the same. If men are more apt to use VoIP or video call technology, why waste a majority of advertising dollars on them if they already have an affinity for the services? Throwing ad dollars at us vain, visual men, who already like to talk in front a camera on their computer is easy, but convincing women to do so would rapidly build up an entirely new user base. Related content on GigaOM Pro: (sub req’d) Report: The Consumer Video Chat Market, 2010-2015 Mobile Operators’ Strategies for Connected Devices Report: The Enterprise Videoconference Landscape, 2010 – 2015
New and most existing customers of Mobile Roadie’s app maker platform are deploying on Android equally with iOS, though most are having difficulty making any thing close to the money they make from iOS apps. Michael Schneider, CEO of Mobile Roadie, said new customers such as Taylor Swift, Linkin Park and Madonna are choosing to activate apps on Android and iOS equally since Mobile Roadie began supporting Android apps in February. While most customers are still seeing a lot more downloads of their apps on iOS (only 25 percent of hip-hop artist Drake’s apps are downloaded to Android devices), the Miami Dolphins football team actually has more downloads of its Android app than of its iOS version. Schneider said artists and brands are eager to reach the growing audience of Android users because “The tide is turning.” Mobile Roadie has a good vantage point to compare iOS and Android apps and see which one of them has the best money-making prowess. The company, which enables customers to build and customize their own mobile apps, currently has about 1,200 apps: 800 on iPhone and 400 on Android, though most of the Android apps are duplicates of their iOS counterparts. Mobile Roadie works a lot with music artists who sell digital downloads, tickets, merchandise through their apps. The lack of a richer ecosystem is where Android comes up short. Schneider said Taylor Swift made $40,000 in digital downloads through iTunes in the first week her iOS app was available. He said he doesn’t believe the Swift’s Android app has sold more than ten tracks, likely because Google doesn’t have its own music store. Overall, iOS apps, which Mobile Roadie launched in March of 2009, have resulted in digital download revenue well into the six figures, Schneider said, while Android apps are nowhere near six figures. The issue, Schneider said, comes down to couple of things: Android doesn’t have an iTunes equivalent, so artists must send their Android app users to services such as 7digital for downloads, requiring them to set up an account and enter in credit card information. It’s a barrier most don’t climb over. Some artists also send customers back to web pages that are not mobile-optimized and also require credit card information. Such barriers have helped build up a culture of less buying on Android. “It’s just easier to spend money on iPhone apps. [Spending money on Android] is not a user-friendly experience. It’s almost like putting up a brick wall,” Schneider said. He said Android fragmentation also affects users. While 77 percent of Android users are on 2.2 or 2.1, there are still a sizable group of people running older operating systems that their carriers won’t update. Mobile Roadie supports back to Android 1.6 but there are still users on Android 1.5 (7.9 percent of current Android users) who can’t see its apps. Schneider is hopeful that Google will launch a music store soon, making payments potentially easier for song downloads. It’s tough to replicate the success of Apple’s iTunes ecosystem, but his clients are still betting that Android will not only be big but lucrative soon. “Once they solve the purchasing flow issues and make it as easy to sell as the iPhone, Android will be a major force,” he said. Related research on GigaOM Pro (sub. req’d): Why RIM’s Future (Unfortunately) Hinges on BlackBerry OS 6 Why Google Launched App Inventor Is Amazon the New Self-Publish Kingpin?
GoSolarUSA and Yosion have announced yet another development agreement to configure new versions of the ApplePeel 520 for use with tablet computers like the iPad, following their original deal for developing and selling iPod touch-compatible units in China and the United States.The American company is reportedly pro... (read more)
A team of biologists found a graveyard of deep-sea gorgonian corals, 11 kilometers south-west of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.These corals, which used to be quite colorful before, are now brown and have layers of peeling tissue, and it is known that when coral get stressed, they release mucus which traps debris.Fo... (read more)
Evernote for Android has just got a major update, with version 2.0 released on the market today with a nice range of enhancements and improvements. According to the development team, Evernote 2.0 for Android is being released today as the biggest step forward for the application.“But the thing that gets us the most excited is Evernote 2.0 for... (read more)
After a fairly long time during which ARM stated its intention to power processors aimed at the enterprise market, Marvell seems to have finally turned this goal into a reality with the ARMADA XP.So far, the x86 architecture has practically owned not just the consumer, but the enterprise market as well.This is quite ... (read more)
Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2008 is a video game developed and published by Japanese company Konami exclusively for the Nintendo DS. As its name says, it is part of the extremely popular Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise and is just one of the many video games that were inspired by the long running anime and manga series. The ga... (read more)