Apple's iPhone will be released on June 11

Ever since Steve Jobs' keynote at the Macworld Expo in January, we've known that the iPhone is being released sometime in June. But we haven't known exactly when.

Now Cingular is confirming that the release date will be June 11. A customer service manager at Cingular (we called 800-947-5096 and were transferred to sales) gave us that date late Thursday, but, alas, said he didn't have any additional information beyond that.

That date is no coincidence. It's the first day of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, scheduled to be held in San Francisco from June 11 through June 15. (Incidentally, the agenda includes a focus on Leopard, the next generation of OS X that's supposed to be released sometime in the second quarter of 2007.)

Rumors have been swirling about the iPhone release date. One blog pointed to a release date of June 15 based on alleged documents filed with the Federal Communications Commission, but those have been shown to be a hoax.

Here's some information from our sister site, CNET.com, about the iPhone.

The 9 Essential Posts that Every Blogger Should Know

Keeping a posting schedule consistent can at times be a little taxing. There are those days when you don’t feel particularly inspired or driven or perhaps you simply don’t have the time. Hopefully you will have had the presence of mind to stock up some spare blog posts, but this isn’t always the case. That is why every blogger should know these 9 essential posts to help fill the gaps while still delivering quality content to their readers.

But first a warning: These posts are for padding purposes only. Use them at your discretion only. Overuse will cause side effects such as causing your blog to become irrelevant, distracted or offtopic.

And now, the Posts, use them wisely fellow bloggers!

(1) The Speedlinker
The Speedlinker (named in honor of Problogger Darren Rowse) is a post where you link up a series of posts from other blogs that your readers would be interested in, usually with a brief description attached. Where you get your posts is up to you, some variations include:

• Speedlinking purely interesting content - a weekly roundup of the best of the best for example
• Speedlinking your top commenters - a great way to reward and please your most loyal subscribers
• Speedlinking blogs that you want to be noticed by - trackbacks can bring traffic and attention
• Speedlinking friendly blogs who have linked you up in the past - gotta pay back that karma

Advantages of the speedlinker are:

• as the name suggests, its speedy;
• its good karma; and
• it can be genuinely useful for your readers.

An example of The Speedlinker

(2) The Quoter
When someone else has already said it best, it can be good to let them say it again… on your blog. The Quoter is a post where you blockquote an interesting point of view, extract or news snippet and add a short bit of opinion and sourcing information.

The Quoter is best used in places where you are quoting a source that your readers probably would not have come across otherwise. If you quote for example a blog that happens to also be your main source of traffic then you are making your blog redundant.

Whatever you do, make sure you provide a complete reference to the original source and don’t try to pass off the quote as your own.

An example of The Quoter

(3) The Entertainer
We all use the web for distraction, so why not help your readers distract themselves by posting an amusing video, cartoon, image or joke that you grabbed from elsewhere. The Entertainer leverages someone else’s wit to entertain *your* readers.

The Entertainer doesn’t need to be leeched either, recently here at NxE I have started purchasing cartoons from CartoonStock which will appear every Sunday exclusively here on this blog.

An example of The Entertainer

(4) The Questioner
The Questioner leverages your community of readers to generate interesting content. By posing an on-topic, interesting and conversation generating question you let the comments be the source of interest not your post.

The Questioner requires you to have at least a small core of commenters visiting the blog in order to work. If this is present then it can be not only a source of interest for your readers, but insightful for you as the blogger as well as you get to hear other opinions than your own as well as learn and get to know your readers.

An example of The Questioner

(5) The Updater
The Updater is a post that fills your readers in on some ongoing project and its associated statistics or status. It can even be used on the blog itself in which case it would take the form of relaying things like what you achieved in the last month, how many new readers and visitors came to the blog and so on.

The Updater is great because it is both informative and easy - as easy as copy+pasting really. It should however not be overused and must be applied to something your readership is interested in such as earnings reports, project progress or software upgrade status. In a sense The Updater is a news item.

An example of The Updater

(6) The Newsreader
Just heard something on the grapevine? Found an interesting press release? Or perhaps you’ve just read something in the paper. Whatever the case, the Newsreader is a post where you relay some information to your subscribers which you didn’t exactly generate but which they would be interested in nonetheless.

The big danger with the Newsreader is that if you are too far down the food chain you are simply adding to the echo effect and possibly boring your readership. The advantage is it can quick and easy and if you get in early also quite useful.

With access to enough news, The Newsreader can in fact become the staple of a blog, a classic example being TechCrunch.

An example of The Newsreader

(7) The Recycler
If you have a blog that has been around the block and back, it might be good to drag out some of those old goodies from the archives and repost them for your new readers. Make sure to add a couple of sentences of new information to keep those diehard subscribers interested and be transparent about bringing back a post from the graveyard.

I couldn’t find an example of The Recycler so here is a link to a YouTube video that I guarantee will make you a happier person instead.

(8) The Guest-Poster
Unlike the other posts listed here, the Guest-Poster needs some foresight. If you ask a few guest posters at the beginning of the month however and tell them that at some point during the month their post will go up then you’re pretty set to have something for those rainy days.

The great thing about the Guest-Poster is it benefits everyone, your guest gets an extra plug, you get a day off and your readers get some variety!

Here’s a post about Guestblogging

(9) The Announcer
The Announcer capitalises on your own local blog news, whats happening in and around your blog? Announcements can be short and sweet, informative and easy to write. The only catch is you need something announce, whether its what you plan to do in the future, a new competition, the reset of your top commenters or some other news. The more interesting and popular your blog is the more interesting your Announcer will be.

An example of The Announcer

And there you have it, 9 posts that no blogger should do without, guaranteed to get you through those long days and bouts of blogger’s block. This post of course is a post of an entirely different kind - the Linkbaiter kind. So if you’ve enjoyed it, digg it, link it, do with it as you will.

New generation of video glasses

Watching TV or digital videos wherever we are is now possible with the array of portable media players on the market, but somehow the viewing experience on such a small screen is still not that satisfying. Those who opt for video glasses will be able to enjoy a big screen experience, but they will have to stay put where they are since they'll be essentially blind to the outside world. The Lumus PD-20 changes that as it displays video by reflecting images directly in the eye's line of sight from the box which is attached to the frame as seen on the right. This means you'll be able to enjoy your favorite movies anytime, anywhere while retaining the ability to see where you're going thanks to the transparent display panel.

Sony Ericsson Shows New High End Phones For US

Sony Ericsson’s new W580 WALKMAN® phone announced today is the music phone that’s pure street style. This slim slider phone speaks volumes in urban cool while delivering the full-on Walkman® phone music experience. It will store up to 470 full-length tracks, has a 2.0 megapixel camera tucked discretely within the slider itself, plus stacks of gaming, fun sports and entertainment features.

“The W580 Walkman® phone is designed to match your lifestyle, whether you are in the car, at a party or busy at the gym,” explains Steve Walker, Head of Product Marketing at Sony Ericsson. “As well as letting you have your latest music with you at all times, the W580 steps in as your portable photo album and pocket gaming device. It will even serve as your training partner thanks to built-in sports applications that track running speed and distance.”

This latest Walkman® phone pushes the boundaries of urban style. When the slider is closed the design, either in Style White or Urban Grey, is ice-cool, understated. Flick open the slider and the phone becomes a real attention grabber, revealing hot orange colour accents and stunning light effects along the sides.

At only 14mm thin, you wonder where the W580 finds room for all of that music, the camera and the fun applications. But it does, effortlessly, and there is no compromise on the full Walkman® phone experience. As well as storing up to 470 full-length music tracks *, it is incredibly easy to get music from your computer into the phone, since the Disc2Phone music management software and USB cable all come in the box. You can even use TrackID™ to identify music tracks you don’t recognise, regardless of whether they are playing out loud or via the phone’s RDS FM Radio. With all this going on, make sure you take time to notice the light effects on the W580. Navigate to the Walkman® player and they automatically change to a glowing orange colour.

With the W580 Walkman® phone you can even take your favourite tracks to the track. It will count your steps, your calories and monitor your running speed/distance/time. Add to that your best tunes for motivation and whether you’re on a run, in the gym or just out for a stroll, the W580 is the perfect fitness partner.

Urban cool really does meet mobile entertainment with the W580. The 2.0 megapixel camera and fast connectivity make picture blogging and instant messaging second nature. 3D Gaming is fast action too with hit titles preloaded. The slider action also allows for a large 2.0” colour screen, ideal not just for gaming but also web browsing and viewing your camera photos.

As if the W580 did not already scream of street style, you can also add music accessories to your Walkman® phone to make even more of an impression. Two sets of cool, optional speakers – the Portable Speakers MPS-70 and Snap-on Speakers MPS-75 – instantly transform the W580 into the heart and soul of any party. If you want to turn up the volume still further, then the Bluetooth™ Music Receiver MBR-100 lets you play your phone music directly through a home stereo, using your W580 as the remote control to skip through tracks and adjust the volume. So the W580 Walkman® phone looks and sounds stylish, whether you are at a party or just hitting the street.

The W580 Walkman® phone is a 2.5G, Quad Band EDGE device (850/900/1800/1900) and will be available in selected markets from Q3 2007.

* W580 Walkman® phone capable of storing up to 470 tracks in eAAC+ codec.

The W580 Walkman® phone at a glance:
Music Walkman® player 2.0
512 MB Memory Stick Micro™ (M2™) (expandable)
12MB user free memory
Music playback up to 20 hours
FM Radio with RDS
PlayNow™
TrackID™ music recognition software
Disc2Phone Music Management Software
Multiple Music Format Support (MP3/AAC/AAC+/e-AAC+)
A2DP (Bluetooth™ streaming sound)
Music Illumination Effects
Stereo Headset
Speakerphone
Design & Lifestyle 14mm slim
Compact slider design
Flash theme
Pedometer
Active Applications
Weight 94 grams
Size 99 x 47 x 14 mm
Imaging 2.0 megapixel camera
2.0” QVGA 262K TFT screen
Picture Blogging
Connectivity & Messaging Bluetooth™ 2.0
Java MIDP 2.0
Full HTML Browser with RSS
Instant messaging
USB Mass storage
POP3/IMAP4 email
Enabled for Java push mail
Accessories In-Box:
Stereo Headset HPM-70
USB Cable DCU-60
512MB Memory Stick Micro™ (M2™)
Disc2Phone Music Management Software
Aftermarket Accessories – including:
Stereo Portable Handsfree HPM-85

Portable Speakers MPS-70
Snap-On Speakers MPS-75

Bluetooth™ Music Receiver MBR-100
Bluetooth™ Car Speakerphone HCB-120
Availability and versions EDGE 850/900/1800/1900

Colours: Style White / Urban Grey

Standby time: up to 370 hours
Talktime: up to 9 hours

Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications serves the global communications market with innovative and feature-rich mobile phones, accessories and PC-cards. Established as a joint venture by Sony and Ericsson in 2001, with global corporate functions located in London, the company employs over 7,500 people worldwide, including R&D sites in Europe, Japan, China and America. Sony Ericsson celebrated the 5th anniversary of the start of the joint venture on 1st October, 2006.

Sony Ericsson is the global title sponsor of the Women's Tennis Association, and works with the Association to promote the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour in over 80 cities during the year. The tour culminates at the Sony Ericsson Championships in Madrid, Spain, from 7 to 12 November.

For more information on Sony Ericsson, please visit at www.sonyericsson.com

FOR MEDIA INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Sony Ericsson Corporate Communications & PR
Aldo Liguori – Telephone: +44 (0) 208 762 5860
Merran Wrigley – Telephone: +44 (0) 208 762 5879

General Press Telephone: +44 (0) 208 762 5858
E-mail: press.global@SonyEricsson.com

Legal:
Facts and features may vary depending on local variant.

Talk and standby times are affected by network preferences, type of SIM card, connected accessories and various activities e.g. games. Kit contents and colour options may differ from market to market. The full range of accessories may not be available in every market.

Sony is the trademark or registered trademark of Sony Corporation. Ericsson is the trademark or registered trademark of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson.

Walkman, Mega Bass, Memory Stick Micro and M2 are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony Corporation.

Increased capacity Memory Stick Micro™ (M2™) memory cards will be supported as they become available.

TrackID™ is powered by Gracenote Mobile MusicID™. Gracenote and Gracenote Mobile MusicID are trademarks of Gracenote, Inc. TrackID is a trademark or a registered trademark of Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB.

MusicDJ™, VideoDJ™ and PlayNow™ are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB.

Bluetooth is a trademark or registered trademark of Bluetooth SIG Inc.
Java and all Java-based trademarks and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Macromedia and Flash Lite are trademarks or registered trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated.

Subject to change without prior notice.

Microsoft Wireless Entertainment Desktop 7000 vs Natural Ergonomic 4000 Keyboard - Video Review

We recently replaced our Microsoft Natural Ergonomic 4000 keyboard with the Wireless Entertainment Desktop 7000 series which also comes with a rechargeable Wireless Laser Mouse 8000. So how does this new Bluetooth desktop compare with the ergonomically designed 4000 series ?


Microsoft has made some big changes in the 7000 series - the standard Numpad is gone so the keyboard is less in width and they have moved the multimedia keys from the top edge to the left side which makes them more accessible.

The 7000 keyboard has an integrated touchpad (like in Laptops) so you can navigate the screen easily even without the mouse. And there are even buttons to emulate the right / left click mouse operations.

The keyboard layout has a comfort curve layout though not as wide as we have seen in the 4000 Ergonomic keyboards. The standard F1/F2 and other function keys are replaced with feather-touch buttons and using the Microsoft Intellitype software, you can can assign any program/file folder to run using these keys.

The Wireless 8000 Laser mouse has a comfortable design but it's slightly on the heavier side. It comes with a rechargeable base and connects via BlueTooth or USB.

The Windows key has been moved to a new location below the space bar though I would still prefer the previous placement which is next to the spacebar. Using the Live Call button, you can run any of your favorite IM programs like Google Talk, Yahoo or Windows Live Messenger in a single click.

This high definition mouse supports scrolling in all four direction and there's a magnifier button to quickly zoom areas where the cursor is.

The keyboard-mouse duo has an attractive design and you'll love it even more if you struggling with desk space. Do check our video review where we compare Microsoft Natural Ergonomic 4000 Keyboard with the Microsoft Wireless Desktop 7000.

Windows Vista Debuts with Strong Global Sales

Initial sales figures from Microsoft show its new operating system Windows Vista made a splash in its debut. In the first month of Windows Vista’s general availability, sales exceeded 20 million licenses, more than doubling the initial pace of sales for its predecessor, Windows XP. These initial figures reflect the broad interest in the security and usability enhancements in Windows Vista.

“We are encouraged to see such a positive consumer response to Windows Vista right out of the gate,” said Bill Veghte, corporate vice president of the Windows Business Group at Microsoft. “While it’s very early in the product lifecycle, we are setting a foundation for Windows Vista to become the fastest-adopted version of Windows ever. Working with our partners, we are helping our customers leverage new tools and programs to accelerate the transition and provide a great user experience.”

Windows Vista license sales after one month of availability have already exceeded the total of Windows XP license sales in the earlier product’s first two months of availability. In January 2002, the company announced sales of Windows XP licenses had exceeded 17 million after two months on the market.

The more than 20 million copies shipped represent Windows Vista licenses sold to PC manufacturers, copies of upgrades and the full packaged product sold to retailers and upgrades ordered through the Windows Vista Express Upgrade program from January 30 to February 28.

Microsoft’s PC-maker industry partners confirm consumer interest is strong. “Since the launch of Windows Vista, Dell consumer customers have overwhelmingly chosen premium versions of the operating system that enable them to have a richer experience with music, video, photography and other computing applications they choose,” said Neil Hand, vice president of Dell’s Consumer Product Group. “Customers' initial experience with Windows Vista has been quite positive, and we will continue to try to deliver the best customer experience possible,” Hand added.

"HP worked extensively with Microsoft to ensure that our Windows Vista-based PCs offer consumers our easiest, safest and most satisfying technology experience yet," said Mark Sanchez, vice president and general manager, consumer PCs, HP. "We are pleased with the customer acceptance of our Windows Vista offerings, including our innovative new TouchSmart PC."

Microsoft has made several new tools and programs available to help customers get the best experience with Windows Vista. Windows Upgrade Advisor is a downloadable tool offered online at WindowsVista.com that helps consumers determine whether their Windows XP-based PCs can be upgraded to Windows Vista, and also helps choose the edition of Windows Vista that best meets their needs. The tool scans the computer and creates an easy-to-understand report of all known system, device and program-compatibility issues, and recommends ways to resolve them.

The “Certified for Windows Vista” logo program is designed to make it easier for consumers to recognize products that deliver premium experiences with Windows Vista. Hardware devices and software bearing the logos at retail help consumers make educated choices when purchasing devices and software to use with Windows Vista. There are more than 4,500 “Certified for Windows Vista” products to date - 2,500 of which were certified just since the January 30 launch event.

Windows Update keeps customers’ computers up-to-date and more secure by providing Windows Vista software updates from Microsoft. In Windows Vista, the update process is designed to be less disruptive than in previous versions of Windows. Users can elect to automatically receive new updates, and updating occurs in the background or may be scheduled for a time convenient to the user. If an update requires a restart to complete installation, a user may complete the restart at a more convenient time. On occasions when an update applies to a file in use, Windows Vista can save the application's data, close the application, update the file, and then restart the application. In the initial phase after launch, Windows Update has delivered new drivers at a rate of more than 1,600 per month, bringing the total number of drivers above 27,000.

Mozilla Puts New Add-on Site Back Up

Okay, so a few days ago we reported that Mozilla had launched their new Add-on Site on the day that they scheduled it. Shortly after they posted it they were forced to remove it because of an overloaded server. I just noticed that the new site is now back up, but I’m not sure if it is for keeps.

All of the new features that I mentioned last time still stand, but now they also added a bunch of extensions to the main site. There are currently about 852 available instead of the measly 152 that were posted last time. I think all of my favorite extensions were pulled out of the Sandbox and are now on the main site, which is good to hear.

If you want to search for extensions that are in the Sandbox area then go ahead and follow the instructions that I posted on the last article. I did, however, try going to Google again to see if they fixed the broken links to existing extensions in the Sandbox. They don’t appear to have changed that as I still receive an error saying “Add-on not found” if the extension is located in the Sandbox.

According to the Mozilla Web Development blog the load on the server with the new site was too much when they updated it last time, and so they had to roll back to the old version. I’m skeptical as to whether this one will actually stick around, or whether they will have to pull it back again. They probably put it up today so that they could analyze it a little further when there isn’t as much traffic. After all, who installs Firefox extensions on a Sunday?

Hopefully the Mozilla Web Development team will find the good news that they are looking for!

Intel's Next Desktop Launch Details Revealed

Roadmaps reveal the refreshed Conroe with a 1333 MHz front-side-bus arriving in Q3’07, around the same time of Intel’s Q3’07 price cuts. The new Core 2 Duo E6x50-series pricing will undercut pricing of current Core 2 Duo E6x00-series processors. As usual, all pricing is in 1,000 unit quantities.

With the introduction of Core 2 Duo E6x50-series processors, the entire Intel Core 2 Duo desktop lineup will fall below the $300 price point. The top of the line Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 is priced at $266 per processor and is clocked at 3.0 GHz - higher than last year’s flagship Core 2 Extreme X6800 at a fraction of the X6800’s $999 launch price. Slotted below the Core 2 Duo E6850 is the 2.66 GHz E6750 at $183. At the bottom end of the Core 2 Duo E6x50 family are the E6550 and E6540 processors clocked at 2.33 GHz, which cost $163 per processor. Intel’s Core 2 Duo E6540 differs from the rest of the 1333 MHz front-side bus Core 2 Duo lineup because it does not have support for Intel’s Trusted Execution Technology, also known as TXT.

Intel will also launch two more Core 2 Duo E4000-series processors. The Core 2 Duo E4400 will arrive next month clocked at 2.0 GHz for $133 per processor. In Q3’07, the Core 2 Duo E4400 will drop down to $113 with the introduction of the E4500. The Core 2 Duo E4500 clocks in at 2.2 GHz and takes over the $133 per processor price point. Intel will slowly phase out the Core 2 Duo E4300 processor in Q3’07. Intel will introduce the first new Pentium desktop product since it switched over to the Core naming scheme in June. Two Pentium dual-core Conroe-based processors with 1MB of shared L2 cache models will launch, the 1.80 GHz E2160 ($84) and the 1.6 GHz E2140 ($74).

No unified gamer tags or codes for Wii online

There will not be unified gamer tags or codes for Wii online games. Users will have to register with each title separately, as is already the case with the DS and the Wii´s first online title, ´Pokemon Battle Revolution´.

This exclusive information comes from GameSpy´s PR people after I asked them to go into the details of them providing the Wii´s online service. Here is the correspondence:

Falafelkid: I would like to know if I am right in assuming that the features mentioned (friend rosters, advanced matchmaking capabilities and comprehensive rankings data) suggest a single, unified online platform for each console, rather than one which is dependent on individual games (as is the case with the DS).

GameSpy: GameSpy’s technology does allow for features that could span multiple games. With the Nintendo Wii, however, the multiplayer features are title-specific.

Falafelkid: But is that the case for all Wii online titles across the board?

GameSpy: Yes, that is the case for Wii titles.

Falafelkid: Just one last question to make absolutely sure I have got this right, please. If I have a friend roster in one game, that roster will not be available to me in any other game. I have to build up an entirely new list for each title, right?

GameSpy: The answer to your question is yes, for the Wii friend lists are game specific.

Now, I must say that I am baffled. The Wii itself already has a friend list. Online games could simply tap into that list. Why make things more difficult? Of course, difficult is not always bad. I have previously said that I believe friend codes are at least partially a good idea, if only to differentiate Nintendo´s ´Wi-Fi Connection´ from Microsoft´s fantastic ´Live´ service.

They do, in fact, even enable certain gameplay elements that would not work in any other environment. Consider the tacit exchange of user-generated content in games like ´Animal Crossing: Wild World´. A good example of that is your animals automatically picking up slogans your friends taught their animals. If it was not for friend codes guaranteeing a common denominator, your animals would suddenly start to say things you would not want them to say.

So friend codes can be a good idea, I believe. But it is entirely unnecessary to use individual codes and lists for each game. That only complicates online communication further without any tangible benefit as far as the service or the gameplay offered by it are concerned.

Commenting on ´Pokemon Battle Revolution´ in December, IGN did not understand that decision either.

Strangely, despite the Wii hardware having its own friend list, Battle Revolution uses its own, independent friend list. (...) We're not sure if Nintendo's policy of minimizing interaction with strangers will change, but future titles will hopefully include chat features, get rid of the lag, and tap into the Wii's built in friend list.

Any such hope that remained seems to have died today. However, we do not yet know if Nintendo will indeed use friend codes across the board. Remember that this exclusive information contains no news about the use of friend codes.

If Nintendo were to do away with such codes for most games, the service could be likened to the state of the PlayStation network up until the current generation (each PS3 apparently has a unified online identity which is used for all online games).

However, if Nintendo were to go ahead and implement friend codes for most of their online games, alongside the game-specific system we have just learned about, building up a friend list would simply become a chore with every new title you purchase.

Google Talk Gadget

The Google Talk Gadget is a web-based module that you can add to your Google Personalized Homepage, letting you see your friends and chat with them -- all on your homepage.

We know a lot of people love being able to chat with their friends in Gmail Chat, so we created the Talk Gadget to offer that experience in other places, starting with the Google Personalized Homepage. You'll also find all your Gmail and Google Talk contacts organized for you in the Talk Gadget. And just like with Gmail Chat, you don't have to download and install software to use it. One thing we really like is that it looks and feels the same on a Linux desktop as on a Windows laptop, and it also works on Macs. No matter where you go, all you have to do is login to your Google account, and there it is.

And if you have a webpage or blog, you can put the Google Talk Gadget in those places too, so your visitors can sign in and start instant messaging right from your page. If you post your username next to it, visitors can add you as a contact and start chatting with you right away. Like most other gadgets, you can do this by pasting a single line of code into your page, which you can find here.

We worked hard to make the Google Talk Gadget embody the same simple, clean feel of Gmail Chat and the Talk download client--but we threw in some extra goodies too. You'll notice that your conversations all open up in tabs inside the Gadget. And one of the coolest features in the Google Talk Gadget is the ability to do media previews. When we're not busy working on new features for Talk, we're checking out "Ask A Ninja" on YouTube or Friday night's party photos on Picasa Web Albums, sending around links to this multimedia in our chats, and posting them in our status messages. It was just plain silly that our IM client didn't know more about photos and videos other than the fact that it was a link. So by scratching our itch, we can now watch YouTube videos and see Picasa Web Albums photos inside of the Google Talk Gadget anytime someone IMs us a link or sets it as their status message.

Red Hat Launches Open-Source Exchange

Ever since its launch in 1993, Red Hat (RHAT) has kept a laser-like focus on one thing: creating software capable of competing with tech giants Microsoft (MSFT) and Sun Microsystems (SUNW). In fact, the No. 1 distributor of Linux—the operating system for PCs and server computers—has done quite well for itself. Red Hat's revenues for the year ended Feb. 28 are expected to top $400 million, up 40% from fiscal 2006. And the Raleigh (N.C.) company just introduced the first new version of its flagship product in two years, which is expected to stir a fresh wave of growth.

Now the question is whether an outfit that has done so well as a lone wolf among "open-source" software providers can transform itself into the leader of the pack by helping companies that make open-source software products that run on top of Linux.

Red Hat signaled a strategic shift on Mar. 14 when it announced an initiative called the Red Hat Exchange (rhx), an online marketplace where it will sell products from more than a dozen open-source companies including Mysql, Sugarcrm, and Al Fresco Software. The exchange could make a wide range of software attractive to businesses large and small that have been put off by the challenges of buying from lesser-known suppliers and piecing it all together.
Community Center

In a sense, rhx is Red Hat's attempt to create an ecosystem similar to the one Microsoft has created for companies whose software runs on Windows (Microsoft declined comment on the development). It's also similar to more recent moves by Salesforce.com (CRM) and Amazon (AMZN) to build communities of software developers to support their efforts (see BusinessWeek.com, 5/10/97, "An eBay For Business Software").

When rhx goes live in the second quarter, Red Hat will guarantee that the other companies' products work well with its own, and the company will provide tech support for all of them. The marketplace will be much more than just an online product catalog. It's designed to function as a community where users of open-source software can read reviews, rate the products, and compare notes.

Open-source software is made collaboratively by developers from around the world and is available for anybody to use, free of charge. Red Hat and others sell commercial versions that include extra software, documentation, and support. Says Red Hat chief executive Matthew J. Szulik, "Rhx gives us the opportunity to be the flag bearer for open-source software."
Seal of Approval

It also could be a brilliant move for Red Hat if wide adoption of other open-source products boosts demand for Linux. "With this exchange, Red Hat is able to broaden the landscape of open-source choices for customers, and it puts itself in the middle of things," says analyst George J. Weiss of researcher Gartner.

The exchange may turn out to be most critical for the smaller companies riding on Red Hat's coattails. Linux has gone mainstream in corporations, but so far, most open-source programs that run on it, such as customer relationship management software, haven't seen that kind of uptake. A not-yet-released survey by Gartner of North American and Northern European information technology purchasers shows that 59% use Linux on server computers, yet only 16% are using open-source software for customer relationship management.

"Rhx is the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval for applications," says Paul Doscher, chief executive of JasperSoft, a small San Francisco company whose software program for business decision-makers will be sold there. "I think it will knock down the last barrier delaying companies from adopting open-source applications."
Sharing is Caring

Red Hat executives had been considering doing something like rhx for years but didn't have the heft to pull it off. The turning point came last February when Szulik called a gathering of the open-source clans at San Francisco's St. Regis Hotel. Managers from 16 other companies showed up. Red Hat had a reputation for being difficult to deal with, so some were surprised when Szulik told them he wanted to become a hub for the industry and asked for feedback.

"Hand after hand went up," recalls Matt Asay, a vice-president at Al Fresco, which makes software that helps companies organize and manage their documents. "People said: 'We need Red Hat to stop being selfish and think about us as much as you're thinking about you.' "

Taking steps to further improve Google's privacy practices

When you search on Google, we collect information about your search, such as the query itself, IP addresses and cookie details. Previously, we kept this data for as long as it was useful. Today we're pleased to report a change in our privacy policy: Unless we're legally required to retain log data for longer, we will anonymize our server logs after a limited period of time. When we implement this policy change in the coming months, we will continue to keep server log data (so that we can improve Google's services and protect them from security and other abuses)—but will make this data much more anonymous, so that it can no longer be identified with individual users, after 18-24 months.

Just as we continuously work to improve our products, we also work toward having the best privacy practices for our users. This includes designing privacy protections into our products (like Google Talk's “off the record” feature or Google Desktop’s “pause” and “lock search” controls). This also means providing clear, easy to understand privacy policies that help you make informed decisions about using our services.

After talking with leading privacy stakeholders in Europe and the U.S., we're pleased to be taking this important step toward protecting your privacy. By anonymizing our server logs after 18-24 months, we think we’re striking the right balance between two goals: continuing to improve Google’s services for you, while providing more transparency and certainty about our retention practices. In the future, it's possible that data retention laws will obligate us to retain logs for longer periods. Of course, you can always choose to have us retain this data for more personalized services like Search History. But that's up to you.

Our engineers are already busy working out the technical details, and we hope to implement this new data policy over the coming months (and within a year's time). We’ll communicate more as we work out these details, but for now, we wanted you to know that we’re working on this additional step to strengthen your privacy.

Easy Way to Save Youtube Videos: Kiss The Address Bar

Kiss YouTube offers an innovative approach for downloading video clips from Youtube. No browser bookmarklets, no software to install, just remember the KISS "Keep It Sweet & Simple" principle.

While you are watching a video clip on the youtube website, just add the word "kiss" to the video URL in your browser address bar and hit enter. The video is ready to be saved on your computer in FLV format.

For instance, if the Youtube URI is something like youtube.com/watch?v=ls1954aa, you can download the clip by adding the word "kiss" in front of the youtube.com domain name. Hence the final address becomes kissyoutube.com/watch?v=ls1954aa which will have the link to save that clip.

KissYoutube.com [Thanks Gina Hughes]

How Search-Engine Rules Cause Sites to Go Missing

Some entrepreneurs have built thriving businesses largely by getting search engines such as Google Inc.'s to direct customers to their Web sites. But what happens when the search engines suddenly start pointing consumers somewhere else?
That is a possibility with which Topix.net Chief Executive Rich Skrenta is struggling this month. The news site, which is majority owned by media giants Gannett Co., McClatchy Co. and Tribune Co., paid a Canadian company $1 million for the Web address Topix.com in January. Mr. Skrenta intends to switch his site over to the more popular .com Web address from .net soon to help eliminate confusion and increase credibility with consumers.
Such a simple change, Mr. Skrenta has discovered, could have disastrous short-term results. About 50% of visits to his news site come through a search engine -- and about 90% of the time, that is Google. Some companies say their sites have disappeared from top search results for weeks or months after making address switches, due to quirky rules Google and other search engines have adopted. So the same user who typed "Anna Nicole Smith news" into Google last week and saw Topix.net as a top result might not see it at all after the change to Topix.com.
Even if traffic to Topix, which gets about 10 million visitors a month, dropped just 10%, that would essentially be a 10% loss in ad revenue, Mr. Skrenta says. "Because of this little mechanical issue, it could be a catastrophe for us," he says.
Further frustrating him is that Google's response to Topix's plea for help was an email recommending that, if the switchover were to go badly, the company should post a message on an online user-support forum; a Google engineer might come along to help out. "This can't be the process," Mr. Skrenta says. "You're cast into this amusing, Kafkaesque world to run your business."
He's among a growing group of businesspeople whose fortunes are buffeted or burnished by the invisible, constantly evolving mathematical formulas at the heart of Web search engines. The influence of search engines has only grown in recent years, as they have become the de facto gateways for many of the more than 180 million American Internet users to anything they might do online.They also have become a crucial tool for businesses that depend on those users finding them.
But as a way to lure customers to a site, search rankings often aren't dependable. Overnight, sites can disappear from top results for any given search term -- say, "Miami hotels" -- and cause the sites' revenues plummet as potential customers go elsewhere.
Topix.net is moving to Topix.com, which could drop it in Google's results.
Among the most common reasons for unpredictable changes in rankings are frequent updates to search engines' algorithms. These mathematical formulas analyze billions of Web pages for dozens of factors, such as the most prominent words on the pages and what other sites link to the pages, in order to determine how to rank them for relevance to a query. Search companies change algorithms partly to frustrate people who try to inappropriately boost their sites in the results, but legitimate businesses sometimes feel they're caught in the crossfire.
Google, of Mountain View, Calif., says it offers online tools for companies to get the best, most consistent, treatment from its search engine. It also counsels that sites shouldn't become overly reliant on traffic from searches and should find other ways to get visitors, such as by setting up user forums. "We have to keep improving our algorithms and giving the best search results," says Google software engineer Matt Cutts. "We can't promise that if you're No. 1 today, you'll be No. 1 tomorrow."
The importance of appearing at the top of the results is undisputed. A JupiterResearch study sponsored by search marketing firm iProspect concluded last year that 62% of search-engine users generally clicked on a link to a site on the first page of results. That has fueled the emergence of an industry of search-engine "optimization" specialists who help businesses try to find ways for their sites to rise in the rankings, such as using more-explanitory page titles.
Companies always have the option of paying for the search advertisements that usually appear above and alongside the search-engine results, but non-advertising results can be more significant. JupiterResearch estimates that when consumers are looking for products and services, they click on non-advertising results almost 80% of the time.
While a business changing its Web address could predictably have search repercussions, unannounced changes in a search engine's algorithm can have outsized impact on a business. Marchex Inc., a Seattle company that operates more than 200,000 Web sites, says it sometimes gets snared by seemingly arbitrary shifts.
One Marchex site, bayareahotels.com, now generally ranks among the top-10 Google results for the search "Bay Area hotels." Marchex executives say the site recently disappeared without warning from the first page of Google's results, then reappeared a few weeks later. Marchex says traffic and revenue from the site fell when it dropped out of the top results (it didn't specify how much).
Peter Christothoulou, Marchex's chief strategy officer, says although changes in rankings are unpredictable, "they do a pretty fair job." He says the best way for a business to weather shifts is to have a Web site with strong content. "If you have a good site, you end up where you should be even if you [occasionally] fall out of listings," he says.
VLSI Research Inc. ran into a different problem. The Santa Clara, Calif., research company recently started a social-networking site for technical workers in semiconductor manufacturing and related industries. Chief Executive Dan Hutcheson was dismayed to find Google wasn't including the site in its search results two weeks after it launched. He says VLSI called Google to ask that it include the new site, and it bought Google search ads in the hope it would help. After VLSI contacted Google repeatedly about the issue, a Google employee threatened to blacklist VLSI sites from its results, Mr. Hutcheson says. The blacklisting never happened, and the site began showing up in Google results two weeks after it started.
"Our intent is to represent the content of the Internet fairly and accurately," Google said in a statement responding to VLSI's allegation. Google says it provides guidelines and online tools to help sites be found quickly. For example, it recommends that companies use its Webmaster Tools site to tell it which pages are most important and how often they change, so Google can more effectively find it.
Then there's the issue Topix and others have wrestled with. After closely held HomeStars.ca changed its name from HomeDirection.ca about 18 months ago to better connect with users, search-engine ranking for the site for consumer reviews of home renovators and suppliers plummeted, says Andrew Goodman, chief content producer at the Toronto-based company. For about six months, HomeStars lost roughly 60% of the visits it through search engines, about 80% of which came through Google. "I don't think anyone has ever had a changeover where they don't lose traffic for a little while," Mr. Goodman said.
When HomeStars moved its site, it placed a computer code on its old HomeDirection site to tell search engines and Web browser software to skip to its new HomeStars address. That's the equivalent of a business's forwarding its mail and putting up a sign with its new address when it moves its store.
But search engines can be skeptical of such notices, because they're wary of people buying Web addresses and forwarding the traffic to other sites that aren't as relevant to the search results.
Concerned about that strategy, Topix has run its site at both Topix.net and Topix.com for awhile. One danger with that approach is that it is unpredictable; Google will see two versions of the same page and could choose to show the Topix.net page most prominently.
Google's Mr. Cutts says the search engine should ultimately understand what is going on when a site changes its Web address. He says the best strategy is to move one section of the site to the new address and see what happens before switching the whole thing.
The Internet company is open to providing businesses with online tools to explicitly signal such a change, but in the meantime, Mr. Cutts says, posting in a Google support forum and hoping for a Google engineer to take sympathy, as Topix was counseled, is more reliable than it sounds.
Mr. Skrenta is crossing his fingers as the changeover approaches, and he says he has no animosity toward Google. "It's not that they're bad guys," he says. "It's just that they didn't set out to wield this level of influence over the Net."

LED Faucet Lights

Tired of that same old monotonous water? Bored with water that doesn't look like futuristic alien mouthwash? Need to make your midnite bathroom appointments more exhilarating? Then you need to get the LED faucet light attachment from ThinkGeek. You can turn any faucet in your home into a streaming fantasia of techie-bliss in just minutes. How does it work? Just attach to the end of your faucet (universal adapters included), and when the water flows through the magic chamber, it simply turns on the LED array and illuminates the stream with soothingly powerful hues.
But wait, there's more! You get to choose between two different Faucets.
Blue LED - Always streams BLUE LED's
Blue/Red LED - Normally streams BLUE LED's until the water temperature hits 89 degrees after which the LEDs turn RED!
Here's what you get with either version:
Chamber with LEDs
Batteries pre-installed plus a set of spare batteries (uses G13-A style watch batteries)
Instruction Sheet
Two universal adaptors included. (fits most standard faucets in USA. Not recommended for faucets outside of the USA.)
Dimensions: 2.25" tall, 1.25" diameter.

The first universal mobile phone charger

The world’s first universal mobile phone charger is being introduced at CEBIT this week. Designed by Professor Luigi Colani, a nearly 80-year-old legend in the field of industrial design, the Anyfix can recharge more than 80% of mobile phones on the market in Europe, and certainly recharges all of the major brand products. It is also terribly exclusive, in purest Colani style, which makes it as much of an object of art as it is a basic commodity!
AnyFix plugs into the electrical outlet and the choice of suitable connector is a matter of just pressing a button. Colani, who sees himself as following in the footsteps of the great natural scientist Galileo Galilei, places great emphasis on the fact, that the AnyFix design is bio-design in its purest form.
The main body as well as the dynamic arms of AnyFix have not been developed with trends or sales tactics in mind, but were take 1:1 from nature.
AnyFix lends its unmistakable outline and shape from one of the fastest and most effective swimmers in the world: the Dytiskus Marginalis, an only approx. 3.5cm long beetle which can move under water at up to 4 meters per second due to its uniquely streamlined body shape
A vast number of Prof. Colani's designs, including his ground-breaking world records in aeroplane and vehicle construction, were decades ahead of their time and helped shape entire industrial eras.

A New Box From Sony Turns Videotapes Into Shiny DVDs

Citizens of ancient cultures made no multimedia records of their own birthday parties, weddings or babies’ first steps. How tragic and boring. When they sat down in front of the TV after dinner at family gatherings, what on earth did they watch?
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Stuart Goldenberg
Multimedia
Video
Taking Old Memories Into the Digital Age
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The Sony DVDirect VRD-MC3 converts video from various formats to DVDs, working by itself or with a PC.
Yet even in the most recorded, videotaped and photographed society in history, we have our own issues. For example, we insist upon upgrading our recording technologies every few years, each time orphaning millions of disks, reels and cassettes in older formats. All over the world, VHS and camcorder tapes from the 1980s and ’90s are slowly turning to dust. And it’s becoming harder and harder to find the equipment you need to play back some of those videos.
Even the DVD will one day turn out to have been a temporary format, but at least it has advantages over tapes. The video quality is terrific. You can skip around without rewinding or fast-forwarding. And homemade DVDs may last 100 years, if you believe the vendors of those gold-coated blanks.
Now, the technologically savvy computer nut thinks nothing of connecting an old camcorder or VCR to a well-equipped Mac or PC; hitting Play; waiting two hours for each tape to transfer in real time; editing and touching up the result on the computer screen; and then waiting another two hours for the resulting video burn onto a DVD.
But in Sony’s opinion (and many other people’s), this is much too laborious, expensive and time-consuming. Enter the Sony DVDirect VRD-MC3, a $218 box that converts old (and new) videotapes into shiny new DVDs with an emphasis on two extremely important attributes: simplicity and reproduction quality.
Under the hood of the cleanly designed, black-and-white plastic case (12.7 by 4.9 by 10.6 inches) is a DVD burner that accepts almost any format of blank disc: DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, and dual-layer (extra-capacity) versions of each. (There is one exception: the DVDirect doesn’t accept the dual-layer DVD-RW variety.)
The steps to follow, and the experience you’ll have, depend on what you’re copying to and from; this is an extraordinarily versatile machine. In every case, however, the 2.5-inch color screen provides simple instructions. You operate the whole affair with only four controls: Record, Stop, Return and a four-arrow navigation button.
OLD VIDEOS Suppose you’ve got a stash of VHS, 8-millimeter or Hi-8 videotapes. You can connect your old VCR or camcorder to the DVDirect using either an S-video cable (for best color) or using the usual set of three RCA cables (red, white and yellow). Once you hit Play on the VCR, the DVDirect auto-detects which jack is being used. Then you hit Record.
If you’re willing to baby-sit the transfer, you can press Stop on the DVDirect at any time, fast-forward or change the tape, and then hit Record again; doing so creates a new “title” on the DVD’s menu, complete with a thumbnail image of the scene. Hitting Pause instead creates a new, invisible “chapter” marker; later, you can use your DVD player’s Previous or Next button to skip among these markers during playback.
Alternatively, you can walk away and let the thing roll unattended. The Sony can add chapter markers every 5, 10, 15 or 20 minutes for your convenience.
You have a choice of five quality settings. The HQ setting provides spectacular video quality — virtually indistinguishable from the source. At this setting, you get one hour of video per regular DVD, or two hours per dual-layer DVD.
Before you can use any finished DVD in a regular DVD player, you must “finalize” it — a software finishing process that takes two minutes.
DIGITAL VIDEOTAPES If you have a more recent camcorder — a MiniDV digital model — things are even simpler. You connect the camcorder to the Sony’s FireWire jack. The camcorder magically rewinds itself and then pours itself onto a blank DVD. Each scene on the tape is supposed to become a new title on the DVD automatically, although that feature didn’t work on my unit.
The Sony can even handle video from Sony high-definition camcorders, although it doesn’t burn high-def DVDs — just wide-screen, standard ones.

As Mobile Phones Grow More Complex, Carriers Insist on Fewer Operating Systems

MILAN, March 11 — Two operating systems run more than 95 percent of the world’s computers, but dozens of systems are behind the 2.5 billion mobile phones in circulation, a situation that has hampered the growth of new services, industry executives and independent specialists say.
“There are too many operating systems already and more are coming on stream, making things complicated for smaller software companies,” said Tony Cripps, a senior analyst with the telecommunications consulting firm Ovum in London.
Mobile phone carriers are watching with more than passing interest because the new applications they are counting on to increase revenue and profit may make it to only a limited number of phones as software developers struggle to keep up with the different operating systems.
Having multiple systems is also time-consuming and costly for the carriers, which must configure the phones they sell.
Vodafone, the world’s largest mobile phone company in terms of revenue, has been leading a push to limit the number of operating systems, declaring in November that it would eventually sell only phones that ran on Microsoft’s Windows Mobile, Symbian Series 60 or Linux. For more than a year, NTT DoCoMo of Japan has concentrated on Symbian, a privately held British-based company in which Nokia of Finland has a nearly 50 percent stake, and Linux.
“What Vodafone did by choosing a few was inevitable,” a Symbian executive vice president, Andy Brannan, said.
Arun Sarin, the Vodafone chief executive, said last month: “We need to reduce the number of operating systems on phones. I’m not saying bring it down to one, but several. With fewer operating systems, it will be easier for content delivery.”
Most mobile phone manufacturers use internally developed software to run their simpler phones. But smart phones, high-end devices that have access to the Internet and send e-mail, run on operating systems created by other companies. Mr. Brannan said that in the future, only the most basic phones would run on operating systems developed by the phone makers.
Last year, two-thirds of smart phones sold ran on Symbian’s operating system, an increase of about four percentage points from 2005, according to Canalys, a consultant and market research firm based near London. Microsoft was second last year with a 14 percent market share, slightly less than the year before, followed by Research in Motion, which makes the BlackBerry, with 7 percent, and Linux, with 6 percent, according to Canalys.
Having so many operating systems makes it expensive to make software, said Faraz Hoodbhoy, the chief executive of PixSense, whose software helps users of camera phones save and share multimedia content.
“It’s not like with computers, where anybody who has an Internet connection can download your software,” he said. “The barrier to innovation is higher in the mobile world.”
What operating system a software developer decides to concentrate on first will most likely depend on what geographic area and type of user it is trying to attract, Mr. Cripps, the Ovum analyst, said. Windows Mobile is stronger in North America and with business users, while Symbian is dominant in Europe and with nonbusiness customers.
But despite the moves by Vodafone, DoCoMo and other service providers, the huge size of the mobile phone market will ensure that smaller operating systems survive, Mr. Cripps and several executives said.
Fabrizio Capobianco, chief executive of Funambol, an open-source software company based in Redwood City, Calif., that has developed a highly popular e-mail program for mobile devices, said, “I don’t see convergence of the operating systems happening anytime soon.”
Citing Apple’s new phone, Mr. Capobianco, who began as a technology entrepreneur in Italy, added, “Vodafone is trying to standardize by going with three operating systems, but now the iPhone is coming, so they will have to have at least four.”

Bose Media System crams GPS / media playback into your dash

Although Bose has become somewhat of a mainstay in the iPod speaker / overpriced headphone departments, the always controversial firm is kicking out a new device suited for your vehicle's dash. The simply-named Bose Media System head unit looks to replace that entirely antiquated cassette player you're still using, and offers up a solid mix of abilities all the while. Aside from the obvious navigation and CD playback functions, the universal player will also handle SACD, DVD-A, MP3, and AAC files burned onto a CD / DVD-R, and can also tune into XM (and Sirius?) broadcasts when not locked onto AM / FM transmissions. You'll also be graced with 5.1 playback, the uMusic mood-sensing system, proximity control sensors, Bluetooth, iPod connectivity, USB 2.0 input for portable media access, and in typical Bose fashion, a mysteriously sized hard drive that reportedly holds "up to 200 hours" of content. Of course, don't expect Bose to divulge any details regarding wattage, screen specifications, or any other tidbit that could be helpful in weighing your in-dash options, but folks eying the forthcoming Ferrari 612 Scaglietti can expect it to debut in their ride for a currently undisclosed price.

LEDs to whiten your teeth

(Credit: The Johnson Smith Company)

It's one thing to have LEDs around the house or even on the head, but in your mouth? Um, no.

The "Ionic Teeth Whitener" promises to keep your pearly whites sparkling with a special blue LED that that "activates silver ions" in its accompanying toothpaste, according to Red Ferret. For $30, it promises to "remove stains from coffee, soda, wine, smoking and more."

More? If you've got more issues than these, you probably need more than a dental cleaner in your life.

HowTo Evade Turkey's YouTube Block

A 27B source inside Turkey reports that some proxies work for routing around the country's block on YouTube, which was instituted at the direction of a court after it found that a Greek video hosted on the site violated a law against ridiculing the country and its leaders.

"Apparently, only Turk Telekom has enacted the ban so far, which is a bit deceptive, since all other providers have to route through Turk Telekom to get out of the country...so it's an effective country-wide ban," the source said.

Things that seem to work now:

- Using Firefox, instead of IE or Safari (though oddly, the screenshot above is from Firefox)

- YouTube videos embedded in a web page or blog work fine

- A proxy, specifically http://youtubeproxy.org/ works well. Just visit that page and then find the video you want to watch.

- TOR - The Onion Router -- Commenter says it works, but is slow.

- The TORPARK browser

- OperaTor (after setting it to allow Javascript and plug-ins). It works, but it is slow.

- OpenDNS in combination with OperaTor. OperaTor with OpenDNS seemed to be more responsive than using TT's DNS. I did not try OpenDNS with Torpark.

Others proxies to try include:

http://www.proxymy.com
http://www.proxysmurf.com/
http://www.worksurfing.com/
http://unblockfacebook.com/
http://www.bypassfilter.net/
http://www.ibypass.org/
http://www.ipzap.com/
https://proxify.com/ https://proxify.us/ https://proxify.biz/
http://kproxy.com/index.jsp
http://www.attackcensorship.com/attack-censorship.html
http://mrnewguy.com/
http://www.unblockwebsites.com/
http://spysurfing.com/
https://www.the-cloak.com/anonymous-surfing-home.html
http://www.stupidcensorship.com/
http://www.evilsprouts.co.uk/defilter/
http://www.bypassbrowser.com/
http://www.proxymouse.com/
http://www.fsurf.com/
http://www.browseatwork.com/
http://www.surfonym.com/
http://www.iamnewguy.com/
http://www.ninjaproxy.com/

Find updated proxies here: http://myspaceblockedproxies.com/

Untested possibilities:

- Instead of typing YouTube.com into a browser window, type 208.65.153.253, to evade Turkey's DNS

- Evade DNS lookups for YouTube by installing the lookup on your local machine. Instructions from Slashdot reader AKAlmBatman are here.

- BoingBoing's longstanding guide to evading censorware

- Try switching your DNS to OpenDNS

Any inside-Turkey information would be appreciated. I'll update the list if information changes.

And some great background on the story from commenter viskisoda (nice handle):

As far as i know the thing which started all this was a Turkish video on youtube, claiming that homosexuality started in Greece 3000 years ago and greeks have been gay ever since.

In response to this, comes the Ataturk video which was childish and a bit over the line.

And then the Turkish newspapers dive in, turning this shitty video into a cyber war.

As far as i can tell there are two reasons for the newspapers to dive in:

1. They are to lazy to find real news.
2. They like the idea of Youtube getting out of the picture and their video sites sharing that heavy traffic.

And they have sucseeded of course.

I have been watching Turkish users behaivors on the net for a while and believe me when i say there are no better flooders on the net than us. We can gather hundrends of thousands of people within hours and flood the hell out of anysite with abuse.

Which we did to youtube as well.

And the funny part begins here:

The day after the incident, a DA in İstanbul reads the news, wants a copy of a video. It comes burned in a disc, he watches it, founds the youtube guilty and orders Turk Telekom to ban the site.

I think the next step will be banning Google, as it leads to a lot of anti turkish material when you use the right keywords.

All in all Turkish users cannot reach Youtube as a result of general stupidity mixed with a Greek kid with bad skills in Flash.

I won't really blame you, if you laugh...

UPDATE: Xeni at Boing Boing tries to figure out if Google/YouTube caved to Turkey demands to take down a video, and has a hilarious screenshot and comments on the ongoing Greece/Turkey flame war. 27B would like to reiterate that it finds the whole escapade hilariously stupid, and wishes only the best online pox for both sides in this nationalist inanity.

Netvibes announce the Universal Widget API

Hello! The long-awaited Netvibes Universal Widget API has been released today!

Since our announcement, you've been thousands to subscribe to our announcement list and we thank you!

We believe at Netvibes that UWA can really change the way we produce and develop widgets. We've been working hard to release it. As you know, the Universal Widget API will replace the Mini-Module API that was used on Netvibes.

The launch of the UWA effort starts with a new website, a great documentation and of course some cool examples. You will then be able to implement your widgets on Netvibes, and also to have them running on Google IG and Apple Dashboard. As promised, more platforms are currently in the process of being supported. The Opera and Vista support are just a few weeks away.

As you will experience, we have lead efforts to build a very simple API that let you leverage our Netvibes User Interface, and let you integrate HTML and Flash elements very easily.

The UWA relies on a soon-to-be-released open-source JavaScript runtime. Through JavaScript best practices, our components and templates, the UWA makes it easy to assemble a widget for any given web service. Since our primary announcement, some great platforms contacted us to collaborate on expanding the reach of UWA widgets.

Get started now! This is the place where you can find developer resources: UWA is now part of our new Developer Network website. http://dev.netvibes.com/

A forum is already there to follow-up on your questions and needs; a developer blog is coming soon and will showcase your best widgets along with tutorials and cool tips.

There is still much to do, and as usual we want to learn from you to improve and fit into your development needs.

If you are not a developer, and you still want to find out how you can leverage the power of UWA for your business needs, you can contact us at business [at] netvibes.com .

Thanks for your attention. We are looking forward to your feedback.

Join the widget revolution!

Also find this video on YouTube or MetaCafe.

All developers are encouraged to create and build widgets with UWA !

Have fun and enjoy

My Yahoo! Gets Web 2.0 Makeover

Hot on the heels of My.Netscape's personalized homepage makeover, Yahoo has announced a new version of its own long-running personalized homepage, My Yahoo. It will at first be a private beta, with a limited number of users being offered a beta account at http://cm.my.yahoo.com/upgrade. Yahoo's plan is to gather feedback from those early users and then make the My Yahoo! beta more broadly available - with additional features - over the coming months.

Read/WriteWeb got a sneak peak at the beta and we have some screenshots, along with our initial impressions, below. There is also a screencast available (but for now it is high res and slow to load; I'll notify you when a better version is up).

My Yahoo! has been Yahoo's personalized offering to its consumers since 1996. In the preview, Yahoo told me that My Yahoo! is seen as their "narrowcast" option for users, while the yahoo.com frontpage is seen as the broadcast model. However I was also told that, over time, the two homepages will converge. Certainly, the first thing I noticed about the new beta My Yahoo was that it had some of the new features Yahoo introduced last year with its Ajax makeover of yahoo.com. And the look and feel is very similar between the two.

My Yahoo! is essentially a user's dashboard, or start page, for the web. So it shares a lot in common with Microsoft's Live.com, Google's Personalized Homepage, Netvibes, Pageflakes, Webwag, and many others. However up till now, My Yahoo has been a relatively static personalized homepage - mostly devoid of the widgets and gadgets that populate the likes of Netvibes and Live.com. Also the design was rather conservative, although to be fair probably much more usable than the other 'start pages'. Also, My Yahoo was an early adopter of RSS feeds (not full text though).

All in all, Yahoo has managed to keep its many millions of mainstream users happy - but with the trade off of falling behind Microsoft and Google in terms of widgets and ajax interactivity. Indeed we've noted a few times before that My Yahoo has plenty of potential as a 'web 2.0' start page - and thankfully now we're starting to see that potential being fulfilled, which is good news for Yahoo's user base.

New Features

The beta My Yahoo has a fresh new design and some neat interactive features (using ajax of course!). It also aims to make personalization simpler. Some of the new beta features include tools for:

• pre-built personalized page for each user, based on data Yahoo has already gleaned from their usage of Yahoo properties - the design of the page is closely aligned with yahoo.com;
• Category pages for topics such as cooking, plus "content suggestions";
• Users can further customize their page with drag-and-drop modules, and new four-column and small search box layouts;
• Feed previews and a full post reader on the page;
• Editable Personal Assistant with instant access to things like Yahoo! Mail, horoscopes, local traffic, etc;
• Redesigned modules from Yahoo! and select partners, with games, music, commerce, sports updates, weather, finance portfolios, TV listings, etc;
• Sharing feature, enabling users to send their My Yahoo! page or favorite modules to friends and family - note, this is very similar to Pageflakes' sharing feature, only Yahoo told me that their sharing service doesn't require sign-ups;
• More "new interactive modules" to come

Also noteworthy is the "hover bubble" (an unofficial term for an ajax-based text bubble). My favorite new feature so far is the MyYahoo Reader, which offers full text (yay!). Both of these features aim to give the consumer more content in the page, without navigating away.

What's not there currently? Widgets, but Yahoo told me that over time Yahoo! Widgets (aka Konfabulator) will be integrated with My Yahoo.

Conclusion

As you can see from the screenshots below, the new beta My Yahoo is much easier on the eye than the current My Yahoo. It is very slick and easy to use too. My Yahoo currently gets 50 million monthly users worldwide (their figure) and so it is the biggest "personalized homepage" on the market. As such it is careful about rolling out new ajax and web 2.0 features – in order to avoid the Netscape.com or USAToday re-design backlash from users. Yahoo also says it received "a fundamental United States patent for the invention of personalized start pages" back in 1999, although who knows what that means.

The new My Yahoo is a great improvement already on the old one and we'll be tracking its progress over the coming months, as it is slowly released to the mass market.

Update: Ex-My Yahoo Boss, Now Pageflakes CEO, Responds to My Yahoo Beta

My Yahoo Reader

Customize colors, columns, etc

Similarities to yahoo.com

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Demo: Brian Lara International Cricket 2007

Name: Brian Lara International Cricket 2007 Demo
Price: Free
Availability: Xbox Live Gold members in Ireland and the U.K.
Dash Details: Download the demo.
Size: 688.06 MB (approx)

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How To Widget?

Being a publisher ain't so easy these days. I know a little bit about it now that I have this thing called a blog that I feel compelled to keep fresh and build (whatever that means, my audience has been flat for the past year - maybe because of the very subject of this post).

But things don't stand still. You need to do more everyday to keep up with all the changes afoot. And one of the biggest changes out there is the world of distributed media. Feeds, widgets, embed codes, apis, and other tools that allow the publisher to make their content available on other pages. You have to do this, it's critical and it's way more than just getting your content on my daughter's MySpace page. The web is disaggregating itself and reassembling itself in front of our very eyes as users take control of more pages on the web every day.

Now I've been a big fan of widgets, maybe even the poster child for them with the sidebars on this blog. Many people link to this blog when they talk about widget overload. I do love widgets but I have a view about widgets that I'd like to put out there.

Widgets should not be one more publishing system that we need to support. Widgets should be built on top of a feed based architecture. I am stuck on my four rules and I plan on sticking to them a little longer. They are:

1 - Microchunk it - Reduce the content to its simplest form.
2 - Free it - Put it out there without walls around it or strings on it.
3 - Syndicate it - Let anyone take it and run with it.
4 - Monetize it - Put the monetization and tracking systems into the microchunk.

Widgets are part of rules 3 and 4. Widgets are a syndication tool and a tracking tool. And hopefully they'll become a monetization tool as well.

But when I put on the hat of a publisher, I want a simple way to do all of this. And that takes me back to the feed. I like the idea of write once, publish anywhere and everywhere. When I hit the "save" button on this post, not only will this post hit the web at avc.blogs.com, but it will be put into my feed. That means it will appear in web-based feed readers and start pages all over the internet pretty much instantly. It should also mean that it (or at least the headline) should appear in widgets all over the web.

But many of the leading widget solutions don't support a feed-based architecture. I have a friend who is in charge of the web efforts of a large media company. He saw the news that Clearspring had just closed a big round of financing for "widget syndication" and asked me what I thought of them.

I told him that Clearsping was a great company but that he ought to think hard about his distributed media strategy before making any decisions. Does he want one solution for the web, another for feeds, a third for widgets, a fourth for video, and so on and so forth?

Or would he like to write once, publish everywhere?

If the answer is the latter then widget syndication systems must be built on top of a feed architecture, as should web video syndication systems, and any other systems that support a distributed media model.

Being a publisher is hard and getting harder so I'd like everyone building tools for publishers to think about making things simpler and to my mind, feeds are as simple as it gets.

Nokia 6110 Navigator sighted!

Nokia’s got sat-nav on the brain. First we saw its impending N95 superphone, and now the 6110 Navigator.

Smaller than the N95, the Navigator’s a sleek little smart phone with more tricks than David Blaine’s stag night.

From 2-meg digi-cam to high-speed HSDPA data downloads, it’s a fully featured phone from every angle, and that’s before its sat-nav party piece is unleashed on the eyes.

Hit the dedicated navigation button up front, and a swish sat-nav interface swings into view.

A special pedestrian mode lets you dodge motorway-ridden routes when the Navigator’s in your hand, and safety cam warnings mean it’s perfect for slapping on the dashboard too.

Add 3D views, point of interest data and a slick zooming ability for the best in-phone sat-nav yet to grace our palms. Take a close up peep in our exclusive video below, and see why your next phone just has to pack sat-nav.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-G1-- Additional images

Additional images

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-G1

SONY DEBUTS ITS FIRST WIRELESS CYBER-SHOT DIGITAL CAMERA

LAS VEGAS, March 8, 2007 – Sony is advancing wireless digital photo sharing with today’s introduction of the 6-megapixel Cyber-shot ® DSC-G1 digital camera.

The G1 model is Sony’s first digital camera with the ability to send photos wirelessly to other Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA)-enabled devices, such as another camera or a PC.

“This is a step towards realizing a platform for networked photo communication,” said Phil Lubell, director of marketing for digital cameras at Sony Electronics. “We will continue to explore the possibilities for networked digital imaging as broadband Internet becomes more pervasive in American homes.”

One-Touch Wireless Photo Sharing and Archiving

The G1 model features a 3.5-inch LCD screen with resolution of 921,000 pixels. Lubell said that’s four times higher than the average compact digital camera and all previous Sony Cyber-shot models. The new camera’s slide show with music function makes sharing photos directly on the camera even more enjoyable.”

“Sony popularized the use of large LCD screens on compact cameras, with the understanding that simply passing the camera around is a means of sharing,” Lubell said.

The new models’ camera-to-camera wireless capability makes it possible to send your friends a photo at the push of a button. It’s also possible for up to four camera users to send each other photos in real time. With a DLNA-compatible PC, storing and sharing photos becomes simplified through wireless image transfer from the camera to the PC.

Mega Storage Capacity and Sophisticated Image Management

The G1 unit is the ideal vacation camera with 2GB of internal memory, saving you from having to manage extra media cards. It becomes a virtual photo album in your pocket as it can store up to 7,500 VGA-quality photos or 600 6-megapixel pictures. If additional storage is needed, the camera's capacity can be expanded with an optional Memory Stick Duo ™ media card or Memory Stick PRO Duo ™ card, now available in capacities up to eight gigabytes.

In addition to storage capacity, it incorporates an auto image management system with sophisticated search functions. You can organize your photos by events, such as vacations or birthdays, and retrieve them later by keywords or labels. It’s also possible to select an image and search for other photos with the same face, same color, or a similar composition.

Armed with features for optimal shooting and sharing, the new model also integrates built-in technologies to minimize image blur, including Super Steady Shot® optical image stabilization. It also has high light sensitivity, up to ISO 1000, to facilitate shooting at higher shutter speeds, as well as low-light conditions for more natural exposures or for settings where flash is not permitted.

This new Cyber-shot model also features a distinctive design. Its Carl Zeiss® 3x optical zoom lens is wrapped in an elegant metal body. You slide the lens cover across, instead of down as with previous models, and you’re ready to shoot in less than a second.

The DSC-G1 digital camera will ship in April for about $600. Additional accessories will include lenses, filters, batteries, travel chargers, sports packs and cases. All can be purchased online at sonystyle.com, at Sony Style retail stores (www.sonystyle.com/retail), and at authorized dealers nationwide. Pre-orders begin on Feb. 28 at www.sonystyle.com/newcameras.

Sony DSC-G1 specifications

Sensor	• 1/2.5 " Type CCD • 6.0 million effective pixels
Image sizes	• 2816 x 2112 • 2048 x 1536 • 1632 x 1224 • 640 x 480 • 2816 x 1872 (3:2) • 1920 x 1080 (16:9)
Movie clips	• 640 x 480 @30fps • 320 x 240 @ 30fps
File formats	• JPEG • DPOF • MS Video LV4
Lens	• Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar • 3x optical zoom • 38-114mm (35mm equiv) • F3.5-4.3
Image stabilization	SuperSteadyShot
Conversion lenses	No
Digital zoom	Precision 2x, TTL 6x
Focus	• Auto • Macro • Magnifying Glass • Single • Monitoring
AF area modes	9-point
AF assist lamp	Yes
Focus distance	• AF: 50cm • Macro: 8cm (wide) 25cm (tele) • Magnifying Glass: approx 1-20cm
Metering	• Multi-pattern • Center-weighted • Spot
ISO sensitivity	• ISO 80 • ISO 100 • ISO 200 • ISO 400 • ISO 800 • ISO 1000
Exposure compensation	+/-2EV in 1/3EV increments
Exposure bracketing	3 frames @ +/-0.3 / 0.7 / 1.0EV
Shuttter speed	• Auto: 1/4-1/1000 • P: 1-inch-1/1000 • Slow shutter: 1/6sec or slower
Aperture	F3.5-5.6 (wide) F4.3-7.1 (tele)
Modes	• Auto • Program Auto • Scene
Scene modes	• Twilight • Twilight Portrait • Landscape • Beach • Snow • Fireworks • High Speed Shutter • High Sensitivity • Soft Snap • Handheld Twilight
White balance	• Auto • Daylight • Cloudy • Fluoorescent 1 • Incandescent • Flash WB
Self timer	2 or 10 sec
Continuous shooting	max 7 shots @ 3.3fps
Flash	• Auto • On • Slow Synch • Off • Red-eye reduction • Auto Daylight Synch • Range: 0.1-2.8m (wide) 0.25-2.2m (tele)
Viewfinder	No
LCD monitor	• 3.5-inch • 921,000 pixels
Connectivity	• Cradle • USB 2.0 • AV out • DC in • WiFi (b/g)
Print compliance	PictBridge
Storage	• Memory Stick / Pro Duo • 1.86GB internal memory
Power	• Rechargeable Lithium-ion battery NP-FR1 • AC adapter AC-LS5
Weight (no batt)	204 g (7.2 oz)
Dimensions	93.3 x 71.7 x 25.3 mm (3 11/16 x 2 13/16 x 1 in)