Amazon has just added a major new platform to its Kindle arsenal: Mac. The free application lets you read ebooks on your computer, including those you've purchased previously from Amazon.
Like its applications for iPhone and iPod touch, BlackBerry, and the PC, Kindle for Mac is designed to sync with your Kindle device, so if you're reading an ebook on your Mac, you can pick right up where you left off when you're reading from your Kindle on the train.
Kindle for Mac can be downloaded from Amazon's website now, but note, it requires Mac OS X 10.5 or above. In a statement, Amazon says that full text search and the ability to create and edit notes and highlights will be added in the near future.
The addition of a Mac app was expected, and gives Amazon a presence on yet another key platform. ! Next up will almost certainly be an iPad app, a move that wil! l be clo sely watched since Apple will be launching its own “iBooks” app that makes iPad a direct competitor to Kindle. With iPad hitting stores on April 3rd, expect Amazon to get its app out the door in short order.
Facebook appears to be adding another level of analytics for Fan Page admins: weekly email reports. A number of page owners forwarded us statistics sent to them on Wednesday from the social network, while we received some of our own for the various Pages we mana! ge.
The reports aren't especially detailed, offering only the number of fans added, comments, likes, and visits in the past week. Nonetheless, it's more data for the publishers and brands using Pages – a need that a number of third-parties like Webtrends and Omniture have recently started to try and fulfill.
The feature hasn't been officially announced yet by Facebook, but it follows January's rollout of Post Insights, which tells you the reach and feedback level of each item you post to a Fan Page. Meanwhile, Facebook's overall Insights feature for admins can tell you details about your demographics, longer-term growth, and engagement trends.
In all, this minor feature enhancement represents just another small step! in Facebook's mission to make its Pages more appealing to b! rands, w ho it hopes in turn spend more money advertising with the site.
Universal Music Group has debuted a new Guitar Hero-like music simulation game for the iPhone. Priced at $4! .99 and available in the App Store right now, it’s called Six String [iTunes link].
The emphasis is on a more realistic and deeper guitar-playing experience than you get in other music games, though it’s still not quite like the real thing. The game comes with licensed UMG songs by artists like Bon Jovi and Tom Petty. It even includes a song by The Scorpions (“Raised on a Rock”) from an album that won’t hit shelves digital or otherwise until March 23.
There are two game modes: Practice Mode and Studio Mode. Practice mode gives you feedback on how accurate you are in hitting notes. Studio Mode turns off those hints and replaces them with status bars that measure your progress. If you make too many mistakes, you’re kicked out of the song.
We played the game for a while today, and our impressions are that it’s one of the! better music games for the iPhone. It won’t be as fun a! s playin g Rock Band on the Nintendo Wii with your entire family, but it’s a worthy distraction, and that’s what mobile games are supposed to be.
How You Play
I played electric guitar in a Blues band professionally for two years. Thanks to that experience, I can tell you that while Six String is not too much like the real thing, it feels like a closer approximation than Guitar Hero. That’s despite the lack of a guitar peripheral — not that I’m complaining that there’s not one (you wouldn’t want to carry around a peripheral with your phone, obviously!).
Six String feels more like a real guitar because the mistakes you make are similar to the ones you’d make on a real guitar — with one hand, anyway. The game simulates the strumming and picking hand and has you using the touchscreen to either strum, tap, or hold each individual string (or a group if strin! gs) in correct time as the notes come up. It works well and it feels a little bit like you’re actually playing music when you’re getting it right.
The game also prompts you with chord changes on harder difficulty levels, but you perform them by tapping with the same fingers you use to play the strings. If you miss notes or chord changes, the music is digitally altered to sound a bit off. It doesn’t sound very realistic, but you can tell what you’re doing wrong. As with Guitar Hero, the skills of real guitar players won’t translate here or vice versa. But that’s not really the point, because it’s a fun game to play.
When you complete a song, you’re given detailed stats and feedback. You can share them with fr! iends through the online service described below.
Online Features
The game comes with six songs: Bon Jovi's "You Give Love A Bad Name," Tom Petty's "Runnin' Down A Dream," Fall Out Boy's "Thnks Fr Th Mmrs," Peter Frampton's "Show Me The Way" and Orianthi's "According To You." If you tire of those, you can buy more in the included music store. Each new track costs $0.99. If you’d like, you can buy the same songs on iTunes from within the app. You can also watch music videos or download ring tones.
Six String connects to a social gaming service called Plus+. You can share your top scores, compete for a spot on the leader boards, and check on any friend’s status. UMG put some Twitter and Facebook integration in the mix, too. It’s similar to the Feint network that’s used by several other iPhone games out there.
Do you have a favorite music game for the iPhone? Head down to the comments below to fill us and the other readers in!
“We're investigating a general site outage since about 8:03pm PDT.”
Not much of an update, but at least the Twitter team is aware and communicating about the situation. While we anxiously wait until we can tweet again, feel free to start your own Twitter conversation in the comments.
Are your parents on Facebook? Do you wish they weren’t? Well, it looks like you’re not alone.
We already knew that Facebook users are getting older. You can’t h! ave 400+ million users without a few (million) adults, after all. So many parents are now joining the world’s largest social network that Facebook added a section where you could declare your family affiliations.
Not everyone’s a fan though, and college kids who used to post countless pictures of their passed out bodies strewn across the dorm floor now have worry about mom posting that one picture of you in tights on your Facebook wall.
Well, the good people over at Back of the Class feel your pain, and thus have created a hair metal anthem dedicated to your woes: “My Mom’s on Facebook.” It’s dedicated to all of those things you just wish your mom wouldn’t say on your Facebook wall.
While the lyrics and instrumentals may not be worthy of Led Zeppelin, their metal rocking ways have quicly gon! e viral, amassing over 125,000 views in a single day. Watch a! nd liste n, and you’ll see why:
Not too long ago we got word that Google is working on a TV search project with Dish Network, and now there’s every indication the search giant! wants even more direct involvement with the television ecosystem. According to the New York Times, they’re partnering with Sony and Intel in a new Android-based platform literally dubbed Google TV.
The new set-top box will allow users to surf online video from the comforts of the couch, and will compete with the likes of the Boxee Box and the Popbox we got our hands on at CES this year, the Roku set-top device, and to some extent video game consoles that have the ability to stream content from Netflix, Amazon Video on Demand, and others. Beyond straight up video, the idea is to give users an interface to access popular social sites like Twitter and browse photos o! n sharing sites like Google-owned Picasa on their TVs as well.
As with Android itself, Google TV will likely be an open source platform, with Sony stepping up to manufacture the first hardware that will run it — likely including both set-top boxes and internet-connected TVs. Meanwhile, peripherals manufacturer Logitech is reportedly working on accessories for Google TV devices like a remote control with a small keyboard.
The project is reported to be a few months in already, although without official commentary from Google itself the news technically remains in rumor status. Would you be interested in having a Google-based TV experience?
Not too long ago we got word that Google is working on a TV search project with Dish Network, and now there’s every indication the search giant! wants even more direct involvement with the television ecosystem. According to the New York Times, they’re partnering with Sony and Intel in a new Android-based platform literally dubbed Google TV.
The new set-top box will allow users to surf online video from the comforts of the couch, and will compete with the likes of the Boxee Box and the Popbox we got our hands on at CES this year, the Roku set-top device, and to some extent video game consoles that have the ability to stream content from Netflix, Amazon Video on Demand, and others. Beyond straight up video, the idea is to give users an interface to access popular social sites like Twitter and browse photos o! n sharing sites like Google-owned Picasa on their TVs as well.
As with Android itself, Google TV will likely be an open source platform, with Sony stepping up to manufacture the first hardware that will run it — likely including both set-top boxes and internet-connected TVs. Meanwhile, peripherals manufacturer Logitech is reportedly working on accessories for Google TV devices like a remote control with a small keyboard.
The project is reported to be a few months in already, although without official commentary from Google itself the news technically remains in rumor status. Would you be interested in having a Google-based TV experience?
Until recently, blogging clients for the BlackBerry have been pretty limited. But WordPre! ss for BlackBerry was released last month, and today Tumblr released its official BlackBerry app, which lets you post photos, videos, audio, links and text directly from the BlackBerry to your microblog.
Mobelux, the guys behind the stellar Tumblr iPhone app are also the masterminds behind Tumblr BlackBerry. That means that the same attractive interface and robust feature support from the iPhone app is now available to CrackBerry addicts alike.
Tumblr is hosting the app so that you can download ! it directly to your device. BlackBerry Storm 2 owners might have some issues, but Mobelux developer Jason Emerick has the solution posted on his blog.
The app supports different post types, saving drafts, and publishing options including whether or not you want to also send out the post to Twitter. You can send images from your library directly to Tumblr (just like the Flickr for BlackBerry app) and select pre-existing videos or record new video directly from the app itself.
Kudos to Tumblr — who also tells us the app got 25,000 downloads in the first hour — for putting together a BlackBerry client that doesn’t make any compromises. What apps do you use for blogging from your Blackberry? Let us know!
Until recently, blogging clients for the BlackBerry have been pretty limited. But WordPre! ss for BlackBerry was released last month, and today Tumblr released its official BlackBerry app, which lets you post photos, videos, audio, links and text directly from the BlackBerry to your microblog.
Mobelux, the guys behind the stellar Tumblr iPhone app are also the masterminds behind Tumblr BlackBerry. That means that the same attractive interface and robust feature support from the iPhone app is now available to CrackBerry addicts alike.
Tumblr is hosting the app so that you can download ! it directly to your device. BlackBerry Storm 2 owners might have some issues, but Mobelux developer Jason Emerick has the solution posted on his blog.
The app supports different post types, saving drafts, and publishing options including whether or not you want to also send out the post to Twitter. You can send images from your library directly to Tumblr (just like the Flickr for BlackBerry app) and select pre-existing videos or record new video directly from the app itself.
Kudos to Tumblr — who also tells us the app got 25,000 downloads in the first hour — for putting together a BlackBerry client that doesn’t make any compromises. What apps do you use for blogging from your Blackberry? Let us know!
First came Wired’s official iPad demo, and now there’s a new inspirational vision of the future of digital magazines, courtesy of the following video.
Alexx Henry Photography collaborated with co-directors Cory Strassburger and Ming Hsiung to produce the following cover and feature spread interactive animation for all-digital magazine Viv Mag.
The concept is to envision the interactive publishing potential allowed by the iPad and other tablets coming onto the market in the near, near! future. You can check out a behind-the-scenes look at how the video was put together in the second clip below.
Let us know what you think: Are tablets the ultimate savior of print publishing? Would you be interested in checking out a digital magazine like the one depicted in the video?
First came Wired’s official iPad demo, and now there’s a new inspirational vision of the future of digital magazines, courtesy of the following video.
Alexx Henry Photography collaborated with co-directors Cory Strassburger and Ming Hsiung to produce the following cover and feature spread interactive animation for all-digital magazine Viv Mag.
The concept is to envision the interactive publishing potential allowed by the iPad and other tablets coming onto the market in the near, near! future. You can check out a behind-the-scenes look at how the video was put together in the second clip below.
Let us know what you think: Are tablets the ultimate savior of print publishing? Would you be interested in checking out a digital magazine like the one depicted in the video?
Foursquare might've been last year's breakout app at SXSW, but it looks like this year’s conference had a much more profound impact on the service's growth. The location based network tweeted on Wednesday afternoon that it's added "almost 100,000 users" in the past 10 days.
That's a huge number when you consider that the year-old company reported having "over 500,000" users less than a week ago. Anecdotally, I can also tell you that the surge in friend requests received over the past several days roughly lines-up with the numbers that Foursquare is reporting – in other words, my network seems to be growing proportionally to Foursquare on the whole.
Foursquare also reported a record check-in day over the weekend, with 347,000 of them taking place on Saturday, a surge also fueled in large part by SXSW festivities. As for the much talked about rivalry between F! oursquare and Gowalla, we've reached out to the latter for t! heir own comparable stats, though they indicated that as of Tuesday evening they'd seen 100,000 check-ins in Austin since last Thursday.
Foursquare might've been last year's breakout app at SXSW, but it looks like this year’s conference had a much more profound impact on the service's growth. The location based network tweeted on Wednesday afternoon that it's added "almost 100,000 users" in the past 10 days.
That's a huge number when you consider that the year-old company reported having "over 500,000" users less than a week ago. Anecdotally, I can also tell you that the surge in friend requests received over the past several days roughly lines-up with the numbers that Foursquare is reporting – in other words, my network seems to be growing proportionally to Foursquare on the whole.
Foursquare also reported a record check-in day over the weekend, with 347,000 of them taking place on Saturday, a surge also fueled in large part by SXSW festivities. As for the much talked about rivalry between F! oursquare and Gowalla, we've reached out to the latter for t! heir own comparable stats, though they indicated that as of Tuesday evening they'd seen 100,000 check-ins in Austin since last Thursday.
Earlier today, FTC commissioner Pamela Jones Harbour cited Google Buzz’s “irresponsible conduct” at launch as an example of how comp! anies are being too careless with consumer privacy and online data.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the remarks were made at a public roundtable on privacy-related matters hosted by the FTC, where Harbour made it clear that the FTC can and will take an active interest in protecting consumer privacy.
“The Commission will unfailingly step in to protect consumers where we believe the law has been violated, and that includes violations relating to privacy promises,” she said.
The commissioner’s remarks echo the sentiments of researcher Danah Boyd during her SXSW keynote,! and the infuriated Gmail users who felt exposed when they were involuntarily following or being followed by their frequent e-mail contacts per the algorithm of Google Buzz’s original auto-follow feature.
Google has since made major tweaks to Buzz, but Harbour believes the misfire is a symptom of a greater problem. She says: “This is turning into a dangerous game of 'copycat' behavior … Unlike a lot of tech products, consumer privacy cannot be run in beta.”
Obviously Harbour’s strong words were directed beyond Google and could apply to all Internet companies that store personally identifiable information on consumers and their online behaviors. As users we tend to forget about the implications of our online actions and naively place our trust in the cloud by storing information, files and communication online. Hopefully the FTC’s agenda around privacy will h! elp to ensure that our trust is not abused in the future.
Earlier today, FTC commissioner Pamela Jones Harbour cited Google Buzz’s “irresponsible conduct” at launch as an example of how comp! anies are being too careless with consumer privacy and online data.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the remarks were made at a public roundtable on privacy-related matters hosted by the FTC, where Harbour made it clear that the FTC can and will take an active interest in protecting consumer privacy.
“The Commission will unfailingly step in to protect consumers where we believe the law has been violated, and that includes violations relating to privacy promises,” she said.
The commissioner’s remarks echo the sentiments of researcher Danah Boyd during her SXSW keynote,! and the infuriated Gmail users who felt exposed when they were involuntarily following or being followed by their frequent e-mail contacts per the algorithm of Google Buzz’s original auto-follow feature.
Google has since made major tweaks to Buzz, but Harbour believes the misfire is a symptom of a greater problem. She says: “This is turning into a dangerous game of 'copycat' behavior … Unlike a lot of tech products, consumer privacy cannot be run in beta.”
Obviously Harbour’s strong words were directed beyond Google and could apply to all Internet companies that store personally identifiable information on consumers and their online behaviors. As users we tend to forget about the implications of our online actions and naively place our trust in the cloud by storing information, files and communication online. Hopefully the FTC’s agenda around privacy will h! elp to ensure that our trust is not abused in the future.
Push notifications let applications notify users of an alert or new message in real-time. This feature has been available to some developers since October of 2008, but today, everyone can get in on the action.
This can be especially useful for breaking news, sports scores or for social networking apps like Twitter and Facebook. Push notifications also improve battery life, because the app doesn’t have to constantly poll a server looking for new data.
RIM has a new page dedicated to the BlackBerry Push Service for developers that gives an overview of how the system works, the different service options and links to resources in the SDK.
Developers have a choice of what type of Push Service they want to implement. BlackBerry Push Essentials support is free for all tiers of users. Developers that want to have more control over their push notifications and content delivery can opt for the BlackBerry Push Plus service, with an annual fee based on how many push notifications are sent per day.
Apps that already use the BlackBerry Push Service include WeatherBug Elite, CNNMoney, 7digital and Facebook for BlackBerry.
It’s nice to see RIM doing more developer outreach to cultivate more feature-rich applications. The BlackBerry is still the most popular smartphone in the United States, but competit! ors like the iPhone and Android are moving much faster in terms of application development and innovation.
Do you develop for the BlackBerry? Does open access to push notifications affect your development plans? Let us know!
Push notifications let applications notify users of an alert or new message in real-time. This feature has been available to some developers since October of 2008, but today, everyone can get in on the action.
This can be especially useful for breaking news, sports scores or for social networking apps like Twitter and Facebook. Push notifications also improve battery life, because the app doesn’t have to constantly poll a server looking for new data.
RIM has a new page dedicated to the BlackBerry Push Service for developers that gives an overview of how the system works, the different service options and links to resources in the SDK.
Developers have a choice of what type of Push Service they want to implement. BlackBerry Push Essentials support is free for all tiers of users. Developers that want to have more control over their push notifications and content delivery can opt for the BlackBerry Push Plus service, with an annual fee based on how many push notifications are sent per day.
Apps that already use the BlackBerry Push Service include WeatherBug Elite, CNNMoney, 7digital and Facebook for BlackBerry.
It’s nice to see RIM doing more developer outreach to cultivate more feature-rich applications. The BlackBerry is still the most popular smartphone in the United States, but competit! ors like the iPhone and Android are moving much faster in terms of application development and innovation.
Do you develop for the BlackBerry? Does open access to push notifications affect your development plans? Let us know!
When you really need those hors d’oeuvres to impress your geek friends, look no further than the Steve J! obs Cheese Head. Upon witnessing the photographic evidence you may be hungry — or you may be just plain disturbed. But if you’re brave enough to give it a try for your next cocktail party, check out the full instructions on The Cooks’ Den.
When you really need those hors d’oeuvres to impress your geek friends, look no further than the Steve J! obs Cheese Head. Upon witnessing the photographic evidence you may be hungry — or you may be just plain disturbed. But if you’re brave enough to give it a try for your next cocktail party, check out the full instructions on The Cooks’ Den.
Suspected Italian mafioso Pasquale Manfredi was apprehended in the southern region of Calabria thanks to his Facebook contacts.
Many are concerned with the privacy implications of sharing information online, and criminals increasingly have cause to be more concerned than anyone — as Manfredi could probably tell you.
BBC News reports that Italian police have used the suspect’s network of connections on the popular social networking site to ascertain his whereabouts. One of the country’s top 100 most-wanted suspects, Manfredi was reportedly arrested trying to escape from the rooftop of an apartment complex in the city of Crotone.
It’s not the first time Facebook has been used to locate a suspect: a careless robber in Pennsylvania was nabbed after updating his Facebook status inside the victim’s home, a Facebook death thr! eat led to an arrest in Colombia, and a British man who taunted police on Facebook was apprehended by Scotland Yard.
In other words: Social networks have enough privacy implications for the law-abiding among us; criminals should really think twice about trying to maintain an identity online.
Suspected Italian mafioso Pasquale Manfredi was apprehended in the southern region of Calabria thanks to his Facebook contacts.
Many are concerned with the privacy implications of sharing information online, and criminals increasingly have cause to be more concerned than anyone — as Manfredi could probably tell you.
BBC News reports that Italian police have used the suspect’s network of connections on the popular social networking site to ascertain his whereabouts. One of the country’s top 100 most-wanted suspects, Manfredi was reportedly arrested trying to escape from the rooftop of an apartment complex in the city of Crotone.
It’s not the first time Facebook has been used to locate a suspect: a careless robber in Pennsylvania was nabbed after updating his Facebook status inside the victim’s home, a Facebook death thr! eat led to an arrest in Colombia, and a British man who taunted police on Facebook was apprehended by Scotland Yard.
In other words: Social networks have enough privacy implications for the law-abiding among us; criminals should really think twice about trying to maintain an identity online.
Lon S. Cohen is a freelance writer and is @obilon on Twitter. He's also the Director of Communications at @ALSof! GNY.
From felons on Facebook to tips through Twitter, social media is being used more and more by law enforcement agencies, and not just to fight Internet-related crimes. We're talking about solving crimes that are happening on the street and in your community.
According to Lauri Stevens, founder of LAwS Communications and organizer of the SMILE (Social Media In Law Enforcement) Conference being held in Washington D.C. this April, adoption of social media is still in the "very, very, early stages," but she sees it making an upward turn. "I expect 2010 will be a monumental year," she said.
But many police departments that have embraced social media are still trying to figure it out.
“Most agencies … are not significantly proactive with keeping up with content and updates," said Terry Halsch ! from Citi! zenObser ver.com, developers of the tip411 system for police agencies. "There are some limitations because of uncertainty of how secure information is, how can it be efficiently maintained, [and] the risks and liabilities of entering the world of social media.”
Below are six different ways law enforcement is utilizing social media and real-time search to enhance tactics, disseminate public information, and ultimately prevent criminal activity.
1. Police Blotter Blogs
A police blotter is the record of events at a police station. Traditionally, a desk sergeant kept a register of these events. Nowadays, Twitter feeds, blogs, YouTube, and Facebook Fan Pages are being used by captains and chiefs to put out the digital equivalent of the police blotter in real-time.
Publishing a register of crimes and arrests in an area has been an online activity for a while now, especially through local newspaper websites. But social media is allowing many police officers on the scene to report the publicly available details of a crime for themselves. Reporters are getting their facts directly from a stream of real time-data and blog posts coming from the department.
Individual cops aren't about to turn into citizen journalists anytime soon, but the police are able, ! through social media and real-time updates, to provide essential information that the public and news gathering agencies need to know. Journalists today often use the web for their first line of research, and rely on web-based police reports for many of the details they need for a story.
"We don't just release the police report; we write our own story and post it to our website," said Mark Economou, the Public Information Manager for the Boca Raton Police Department in Boca Raton, Florida in a post on ConnectedCops.com. "Even more interesting, we are finding the media is just cutting and pasting our stories to their sites, both in television and print."
The Boca Raton Police Department has developed their own branded web platform that they call Viper. Social media is a very important part of their strategy, and like anyone adopting so! cial media into a plan, they use it to support and enhance the! work th ey already do.
2. The Digital “Wanted Poster”
In the vein of an Old West “Wanted” poster, displayed in the most trafficked area of town, modern-day law enforcement agencies are posting descriptions of criminals on today’s most trafficked spots — namely the social web.
With millions of users, extraordinary reach, and the lightning-fast exchange of text, photos, and video, platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube are ideal for getting the word out about wanted persons with up-to-the-minute updates.
The Boynton Beach Police Department is a good example. On their Facebook Fan Page, the department put up a post with the headline, “Police need hel! p identifying motorcyclist who robbed man at ATM.” In the post there was a photo from the ATM machine of the crime in progress. The department also cross-posted the information to their Twitter page.
In the UK, the Leicestershire Constabulary is one of a number of police departments focusing on being hyper-local and involved with the community through social media. Their website has a section titled “Can you help?” which is formatted like a blog, and contains posts about ongoing criminal investigations, and a “Wanted Poster” and “Missing Persons” area with photos and requests for residents to respond with any leads they might have.
The stories are also fed to a Facebook Page ! that is very interactive and updated constantly. They also maintain a Twitter profile, a YouTube account, and the department offers the ability to subscribe to their news feed via RSS. It's an impressive mixture of social media tools that seems to work fluidly and update automatically.
3. Anonymous E-Tipsters
Tips from the community have been a time-honored way that citizens have worked with the public to fight crime.
Consulting companies are developing very sophisticated ways for the public and the police to interact online. The tip411 program developed by the CitizenObserver Corporation is marketed to law enforcement as a web-based notification toolset. Citizen participation has always been a big part of fighting crime, and the people at tip411 stress that social media "acts as a 'force multiplier' by empowering your community to get involved."
“Anonymous text tip systems are gaining significant traction because they enable young people to provide information without fear of retribution, i.e. ‘Snitches get Snitches,’” said CitizenObserver's Terry Halsch.
The program allows tipsters to send information anonymously through a variety of means including "anonymo! us web chat, text tips and secure social media publishing." Filtered alerts can then be pushed out through a police department’s central location to other web mediums. Bundled with other offerings, tip411 can then be published with Google Maps to create a clickable, interactive crime "heat map" of sorts where others can click on links directly to add more information and tips based on location. This program is meant to encourage increased interaction between the police and the community through real-time web tools.
"It doesn’t matter to us where the information comes from," said Detroit's Chief of Police, Warren Evans, a tip411 user. "We just want the information so we can act on it. I want people to know that they can feel safe using this system to communicate with us directly."
4. Social Media Stakeout
Social media advocates stress listening as a part of any brand's online marketing strategy. Listening to the bad guys doing bad things has always been a part of police work. It's important for police to search the real-time web to target particular keywords and phrases being passed around on social media. Use of social media monitoring has a strategic, tactical and operational application for law enforcement.
Boston Police Department Superintendent John Daly spoke about using Twitter search to monitor chatter around the Boston area in real-time. He's very sensitive to the implications of engaging in this type of search, as many police departments are.
"We have to be very careful because there’s a Big Brother aspect to this," Daly said.
He stressed that they were not looking at "everyday messages," as he put it, but specific tweets that signaled something they should be looking into.
"But when people start saying, ‘What’s that smoke coming from the Hancock Tower?’ or ‘Why is everybody running around Copley Place –- is something going on?’ — if two or three things come in we look at patterns, trends, something maybe we should be paying attention [to]. So it’s sort of an early warning system."
5. Thwarting Thugs in the Social Space
Myspace, Facebook and Twitter are popular with gang members, and police use this to their advantage. Law enforcement has been able to infiltrate street gangs by posing as fellow gang members online, making connections, and intercepting criminal communications as they happen. Information like photos, videos, and friend links help law enforcement understand the dynamics of gangs when investigating their activities.
"Investigators build phony profiles to 'friend' gang members either within YouTube, Facebook or Bebo, and then may migrate that friendship to another platform and gain trust and get their 'friends' to share useful information," said SMILE conference organizer Lauri Stevens.
According to an article in 219magazine, police in Cincinnati used Facebook and MySpace to follow more than 20 members of a local gang, the “Northside Tali! band.” The evidence they gathered helped law enforcement connect members to a multitude of crimes, including a possible homicide.
Other agencies have employed these tactics as well. The NYPD is using the Internet to monitor gang activity, as well, and in a story reported in the Daily News, cops said that gangs have been communicating on Twitter. They think that one Twitter exchange between gang members may even have resulted in the shooting of a youth. The police seek out code words and slang used by individual members to follow gang members online who are organizing illegal activities.
"It is another tool … just like old phone records,” a police source said in the article.
6. Tracking and Informing with Twitter
As we all know, Twitter has plenty of uses for individuals and companies. Law enforcement also uses the service to communicate with the public.
Stevens told us that she follows at least 700 law enforcement agencies worldwide on Twitter alone. Not all of them are active, but some have found unique ways to incorporate Twitter into their police tactics. "The LAPD used Twitter to monitor crowds during the Michael Jackson funeral," for example, said Stevens, and the Boston Police have been using Twitter to alert followers of evolving situations in real time.
Sergeant Tim Burrows does media relations for the traffic services unit in the Toronto Police Service. Tim saw his traffic safety messaging hampered by the mainstream media's editing time lines, so ! he started using Twitter to talk to the local media about ongoing situations and inform the public. He considers his tweets about traffic safety information a valuable public service.
The Broward County Sheriff's Office took things a step further. When the police wanted to utilize social media they, like many agencies, felt that existing public sites were too unsecured and vulnerable for a system-wide roll out within the department. So inspired by Twitter, the department took things into their own hands.
"CyberVisor was my vision of Broward County Sheriff's Office’s own controlled Twitter," said Lynne Martzall, External Affairs Manager, who worked with webmaster Tony Petruzzi to create it.
Since it was rolled out, CyberVisor has been used to broadcast information a! bout unfolding situations, such as crimes in progress, to put ! out info rmation after a bank robbery and when the Sheriff’s Office was looking for an escaped convict. For now, the public can't respond to CyberVisor — it's broadcast only — but it has still be effective.
In one instance, they alerted followers to someone in South Broward County impersonating an officer. In another, they sent out a missing child alert from a local elementary school with a detailed description of the child's physical appearance and where the child was last seen.
Lon S. Cohen is a freelance writer and is @obilon on Twitter. He's also the Director of Communications at @ALSof! GNY.
From felons on Facebook to tips through Twitter, social media is being used more and more by law enforcement agencies, and not just to fight Internet-related crimes. We're talking about solving crimes that are happening on the street and in your community.
According to Lauri Stevens, founder of LAwS Communications and organizer of the SMILE (Social Media In Law Enforcement) Conference being held in Washington D.C. this April, adoption of social media is still in the "very, very, early stages," but she sees it making an upward turn. "I expect 2010 will be a monumental year," she said.
But many police departments that have embraced social media are still trying to figure it out.
“Most agencies … are not significantly proactive with keeping up with content and updates," said Terry Halsch ! from Citi! zenObser ver.com, developers of the tip411 system for police agencies. "There are some limitations because of uncertainty of how secure information is, how can it be efficiently maintained, [and] the risks and liabilities of entering the world of social media.”
Below are six different ways law enforcement is utilizing social media and real-time search to enhance tactics, disseminate public information, and ultimately prevent criminal activity.
1. Police Blotter Blogs
A police blotter is the record of events at a police station. Traditionally, a desk sergeant kept a register of these events. Nowadays, Twitter feeds, blogs, YouTube, and Facebook Fan Pages are being used by captains and chiefs to put out the digital equivalent of the police blotter in real-time.
Publishing a register of crimes and arrests in an area has been an online activity for a while now, especially through local newspaper websites. But social media is allowing many police officers on the scene to report the publicly available details of a crime for themselves. Reporters are getting their facts directly from a stream of real time-data and blog posts coming from the department.
Individual cops aren't about to turn into citizen journalists anytime soon, but the police are able, ! through social media and real-time updates, to provide essential information that the public and news gathering agencies need to know. Journalists today often use the web for their first line of research, and rely on web-based police reports for many of the details they need for a story.
"We don't just release the police report; we write our own story and post it to our website," said Mark Economou, the Public Information Manager for the Boca Raton Police Department in Boca Raton, Florida in a post on ConnectedCops.com. "Even more interesting, we are finding the media is just cutting and pasting our stories to their sites, both in television and print."
The Boca Raton Police Department has developed their own branded web platform that they call Viper. Social media is a very important part of their strategy, and like anyone adopting so! cial media into a plan, they use it to support and enhance the! work th ey already do.
2. The Digital “Wanted Poster”
In the vein of an Old West “Wanted” poster, displayed in the most trafficked area of town, modern-day law enforcement agencies are posting descriptions of criminals on today’s most trafficked spots — namely the social web.
With millions of users, extraordinary reach, and the lightning-fast exchange of text, photos, and video, platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube are ideal for getting the word out about wanted persons with up-to-the-minute updates.
The Boynton Beach Police Department is a good example. On their Facebook Fan Page, the department put up a post with the headline, “Police need hel! p identifying motorcyclist who robbed man at ATM.” In the post there was a photo from the ATM machine of the crime in progress. The department also cross-posted the information to their Twitter page.
In the UK, the Leicestershire Constabulary is one of a number of police departments focusing on being hyper-local and involved with the community through social media. Their website has a section titled “Can you help?” which is formatted like a blog, and contains posts about ongoing criminal investigations, and a “Wanted Poster” and “Missing Persons” area with photos and requests for residents to respond with any leads they might have.
The stories are also fed to a Facebook Page ! that is very interactive and updated constantly. They also maintain a Twitter profile, a YouTube account, and the department offers the ability to subscribe to their news feed via RSS. It's an impressive mixture of social media tools that seems to work fluidly and update automatically.
3. Anonymous E-Tipsters
Tips from the community have been a time-honored way that citizens have worked with the public to fight crime.
Consulting companies are developing very sophisticated ways for the public and the police to interact online. The tip411 program developed by the CitizenObserver Corporation is marketed to law enforcement as a web-based notification toolset. Citizen participation has always been a big part of fighting crime, and the people at tip411 stress that social media "acts as a 'force multiplier' by empowering your community to get involved."
“Anonymous text tip systems are gaining significant traction because they enable young people to provide information without fear of retribution, i.e. ‘Snitches get Snitches,’” said CitizenObserver's Terry Halsch.
The program allows tipsters to send information anonymously through a variety of means including "anonymo! us web chat, text tips and secure social media publishing." Filtered alerts can then be pushed out through a police department’s central location to other web mediums. Bundled with other offerings, tip411 can then be published with Google Maps to create a clickable, interactive crime "heat map" of sorts where others can click on links directly to add more information and tips based on location. This program is meant to encourage increased interaction between the police and the community through real-time web tools.
"It doesn’t matter to us where the information comes from," said Detroit's Chief of Police, Warren Evans, a tip411 user. "We just want the information so we can act on it. I want people to know that they can feel safe using this system to communicate with us directly."
4. Social Media Stakeout
Social media advocates stress listening as a part of any brand's online marketing strategy. Listening to the bad guys doing bad things has always been a part of police work. It's important for police to search the real-time web to target particular keywords and phrases being passed around on social media. Use of social media monitoring has a strategic, tactical and operational application for law enforcement.
Boston Police Department Superintendent John Daly spoke about using Twitter search to monitor chatter around the Boston area in real-time. He's very sensitive to the implications of engaging in this type of search, as many police departments are.
"We have to be very careful because there’s a Big Brother aspect to this," Daly said.
He stressed that they were not looking at "everyday messages," as he put it, but specific tweets that signaled something they should be looking into.
"But when people start saying, ‘What’s that smoke coming from the Hancock Tower?’ or ‘Why is everybody running around Copley Place –- is something going on?’ — if two or three things come in we look at patterns, trends, something maybe we should be paying attention [to]. So it’s sort of an early warning system."
5. Thwarting Thugs in the Social Space
Myspace, Facebook and Twitter are popular with gang members, and police use this to their advantage. Law enforcement has been able to infiltrate street gangs by posing as fellow gang members online, making connections, and intercepting criminal communications as they happen. Information like photos, videos, and friend links help law enforcement understand the dynamics of gangs when investigating their activities.
"Investigators build phony profiles to 'friend' gang members either within YouTube, Facebook or Bebo, and then may migrate that friendship to another platform and gain trust and get their 'friends' to share useful information," said SMILE conference organizer Lauri Stevens.
According to an article in 219magazine, police in Cincinnati used Facebook and MySpace to follow more than 20 members of a local gang, the “Northside Tali! band.” The evidence they gathered helped law enforcement connect members to a multitude of crimes, including a possible homicide.
Other agencies have employed these tactics as well. The NYPD is using the Internet to monitor gang activity, as well, and in a story reported in the Daily News, cops said that gangs have been communicating on Twitter. They think that one Twitter exchange between gang members may even have resulted in the shooting of a youth. The police seek out code words and slang used by individual members to follow gang members online who are organizing illegal activities.
"It is another tool … just like old phone records,” a police source said in the article.
6. Tracking and Informing with Twitter
As we all know, Twitter has plenty of uses for individuals and companies. Law enforcement also uses the service to communicate with the public.
Stevens told us that she follows at least 700 law enforcement agencies worldwide on Twitter alone. Not all of them are active, but some have found unique ways to incorporate Twitter into their police tactics. "The LAPD used Twitter to monitor crowds during the Michael Jackson funeral," for example, said Stevens, and the Boston Police have been using Twitter to alert followers of evolving situations in real time.
Sergeant Tim Burrows does media relations for the traffic services unit in the Toronto Police Service. Tim saw his traffic safety messaging hampered by the mainstream media's editing time lines, so ! he started using Twitter to talk to the local media about ongoing situations and inform the public. He considers his tweets about traffic safety information a valuable public service.
The Broward County Sheriff's Office took things a step further. When the police wanted to utilize social media they, like many agencies, felt that existing public sites were too unsecured and vulnerable for a system-wide roll out within the department. So inspired by Twitter, the department took things into their own hands.
"CyberVisor was my vision of Broward County Sheriff's Office’s own controlled Twitter," said Lynne Martzall, External Affairs Manager, who worked with webmaster Tony Petruzzi to create it.
Since it was rolled out, CyberVisor has been used to broadcast information a! bout unfolding situations, such as crimes in progress, to put ! out info rmation after a bank robbery and when the Sheriff’s Office was looking for an escaped convict. For now, the public can't respond to CyberVisor — it's broadcast only — but it has still be effective.
In one instance, they alerted followers to someone in South Broward County impersonating an officer. In another, they sent out a missing child alert from a local elementary school with a detailed description of the child's physical appearance and where the child was last seen.
This post is part of Mashable’s Spark of Genius series, which highlights a unique feature of startups. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here. The series is made po! ssible by Microsoft BizSpark.
Quick Pitch: Next Big Sound is a tool that gauges the popularity of bands and artists via fan activity on a variety of social networking sites.
Genius Idea: As the music industry and the online world become more and more enmeshed, tracking band popularity via album sales — and even digital downloads (Hello, piracy!) — seems rather arcane. Just because a band isn’t moving a ton of CDs at any given time doesn’t make it less b! uzzworthy — especially as services like Pandora and Spotify continue to take off.
That’s where Next Big Sound comes in. The website is basically a tool for fans, artists, music industry professionals and journalists to track the popularity of an artist across 16 sites: Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, Twitter, iLike, Wikipedia, Soundcloud, Reverb Nation, Pure Volume, OurStage, Vimeo, Bebo, Amie Street, Jam Legend and Virb. Fan interaction counts as plays, fans, views, likes, downloads and comments — depending on the site.
As of right now, the site functions like a wiki; you can add bands that have not yet been included (I added Everyone Was in the French Resistance… Now!). Currently, there are 699,328 art! ist profiles.
We tested out the service with YouTube darlings OK Go, banking on the fact that the social media space has been buzzing about them as of late.
As you can see, there’s a pretty visible spike in online activity around March 1, when OK Go’s new video premiered.
You can also compare bands to see who’s getting the most buzz. This could be a great tool for determining the breakout band during a festival like SXSW — or for bitter, insecure musicians to employ when their rivals hit the big-time. We tried it here! with OK Go and smaller (yet perhaps more rad) band Surfer Blo! od.
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Surfer Blood’s social media cache isn’t quite as big as OK Go’s, but there’s a visible spike in recent activity, which makes sense considering the band is playing SXSW today.
Next Big Sound makes it pretty easy for you to get in on the action — as least as a fan, I’m not in a band, so I haven’t tried out the “verify your band’s account” feature — you can star your favorite bands and have updates on their stats sent your inbox at whatever time you choose (either daily or weekly).
Right now, the site is collecting data on media mentions of SXSW bands to determine which are getting the most attention — it even has as! online playlist of hot bands. This data is sure to be a godsend to music journalists, concert venues and labels following the fest, which is considered one of the top arenas for breakout bands to make their mark.
We’re down with Next Big Sound — as both a tool and toy for musicians and music enthusiasts. It’s cool to see a company change how it thinks about the music industry, which seems to be more in flux every day.
Sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark
BizSpark is a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.
This post is part of Mashable’s Spark of Genius series, which highlights a unique feature of startups. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here. The series is made po! ssible by Microsoft BizSpark.
Quick Pitch: Next Big Sound is a tool that gauges the popularity of bands and artists via fan activity on a variety of social networking sites.
Genius Idea: As the music industry and the online world become more and more enmeshed, tracking band popularity via album sales — and even digital downloads (Hello, piracy!) — seems rather arcane. Just because a band isn’t moving a ton of CDs at any given time doesn’t make it less b! uzzworthy — especially as services like Pandora and Spotify continue to take off.
That’s where Next Big Sound comes in. The website is basically a tool for fans, artists, music industry professionals and journalists to track the popularity of an artist across 16 sites: Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, Twitter, iLike, Wikipedia, Soundcloud, Reverb Nation, Pure Volume, OurStage, Vimeo, Bebo, Amie Street, Jam Legend and Virb. Fan interaction counts as plays, fans, views, likes, downloads and comments — depending on the site.
As of right now, the site functions like a wiki; you can add bands that have not yet been included (I added Everyone Was in the French Resistance… Now!). Currently, there are 699,328 art! ist profiles.
We tested out the service with YouTube darlings OK Go, banking on the fact that the social media space has been buzzing about them as of late.
As you can see, there’s a pretty visible spike in online activity around March 1, when OK Go’s new video premiered.
You can also compare bands to see who’s getting the most buzz. This could be a great tool for determining the breakout band during a festival like SXSW — or for bitter, insecure musicians to employ when their rivals hit the big-time. We tried it here! with OK Go and smaller (yet perhaps more rad) band Surfer Blo! od.
< p>
Surfer Blood’s social media cache isn’t quite as big as OK Go’s, but there’s a visible spike in recent activity, which makes sense considering the band is playing SXSW today.
Next Big Sound makes it pretty easy for you to get in on the action — as least as a fan, I’m not in a band, so I haven’t tried out the “verify your band’s account” feature — you can star your favorite bands and have updates on their stats sent your inbox at whatever time you choose (either daily or weekly).
Right now, the site is collecting data on media mentions of SXSW bands to determine which are getting the most attention — it even has as! online playlist of hot bands. This data is sure to be a godsend to music journalists, concert venues and labels following the fest, which is considered one of the top arenas for breakout bands to make their mark.
We’re down with Next Big Sound — as both a tool and toy for musicians and music enthusiasts. It’s cool to see a company change how it thinks about the music industry, which seems to be more in flux every day.
Sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark
BizSpark is a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.
Sprint didn’t offer any details on the price or availability date of the phone, only noting: “While a pricing plan has not yet been determined for Nexus One, we are confident that it will be consistent with Sprint’s commitment to deliver more value than our competitors and keep pricing simple.”
Currently only T-Mobile offers the Nexus One at a subsidized rate. The new AT&T/Rogers variant is only available at an unlocked price of $529. If Sprint is also offering the phone at subsidized rate for new or existing customers, it could be a big seller for the company.
Sprint and Verizon us! e the same network technology (CDMA), and while phones are not interchangeable between networks (theoretically it is possible, but the steps involved make it an option even most phone geeks will avoid), manufacturers frequently release handsets for both networks at the same time.
Are you interested in a Nexus One on Sprint? Let us know!
Sprint didn’t offer any details on the price or availability date of the phone, only noting: “While a pricing plan has not yet been determined for Nexus One, we are confident that it will be consistent with Sprint’s commitment to deliver more value than our competitors and keep pricing simple.”
Currently only T-Mobile offers the Nexus One at a subsidized rate. The new AT&T/Rogers variant is only available at an unlocked price of $529. If Sprint is also offering the phone at subsidized rate for new or existing customers, it could be a big seller for the company.
Sprint and Verizon us! e the same network technology (CDMA), and while phones are not interchangeable between networks (theoretically it is possible, but the steps involved make it an option even most phone geeks will avoid), manufacturers frequently release handsets for both networks at the same time.
Are you interested in a Nexus One on Sprint? Let us know!
It’s been anticipated for a while now; Verizon just officially released information on the! specifics of what Verizon Droid owners will have to look forward to in the upcoming Android 2.1 update.
The update will be performed over-the-air and will bump up the Droid to the more current version of the Android mobile operating system. New features will include pinch-to-zoom multitouch support in the browser, Gallery, and Google Maps, the Weather and News widgets made popular on the Nexus One, voice-to-text entry, a new 3D Gallery layout for photos, and even a nice surprise that most people thought wouldn’t make it to the Droid: Live Wallpapers.
Engadget reports that leak! ed inter nal documentation reveals the Android 2.1 update will begin rolling out tomorrow, Thursday March 18, in batches of 250,000 customers at a time. In other words, Droid owners should not have long to wait to start enjoying some of the niceties their Nexus One counterparts have made them jealous over in the past few months.
If you’re a Droid owner, what are you most excited about in Android 2.1?
It’s been anticipated for a while now; Verizon just officially released information on the! specifics of what Verizon Droid owners will have to look forward to in the upcoming Android 2.1 update.
The update will be performed over the air and will bump up the Droid to the more current version of the Android mobile operating system. New features will include pinch-to-zoom multi-touch support in the browser, Gallery, and Google Maps, the Weather and News widgets made popular on the Nexus One, voice-to-text entry, a new 3D Gallery layout for photos, and even a nice surprise that most people thought wouldn’t make it to the Droid: Live Wallpapers.
Engadget reports that lea! ked inte rnal documentation reveals the Android 2.1 update will begin rolling out tomorrow, Thursday March 18, in batches of 250,000 customers at a time. In other words, Droid owners should not have long to wait to start enjoying some of the niceties their Nexus One counterparts have made them jealous over in the past few months.
If you’re a Droid owner, what are you most excited about in Android 2.1?
This series is supported by Rackspace, the better way to do hosting. Learn more about Rackspace’s hosting solutions here.
Contrary to popular belief, web developers do sometimes leave their desks, and when they do, that’s always when clients seem to call or disaster seems to strike.
We’ve highlighted some iPhone apps here that will help you out in those situations, and a few others that will stash several neat tricks up your proverbial sleeve for when you’re away from the office.
Have a ! look, and if you’re an iPhone-owning web dev, let us kno! w which apps you find useful for your work in the comments below.
Concentric Sky offers a range of code “cheat sheets” ideal for when your mind just goes blank and you’re away from your usual reference material. Priced at $0.99 each, there are apps available for CSS, mySQL, JavaScript, php, RegEx, jQuery and HTML — the last three of which let you write and test code inside the app. Searchable, and clearly laid out, the info in the apps is available offline, unlike other options that link out to external references. Whether you want to brush up on the bus, or need to code on-the-go, these will be a useful weapon in your web design arsenal. Another great alternative is jQue! ry 1.4.
A little bit like Adobe’s Kuler on your handset, Color Stream is an app that will help you narrow down the correct color, or palette of colors, for a project. The Lite version of the app is available for free, and lets you create a palette of five colors side-by-side using a slider bar in either RGB or CMYK modes. You can then identify your chosen shades by their hexadecimal values for use on the web. This is handy enough, but the paid-for option (priced at $2.99) offers even more functionality, such as the ability to save palettes, use the built-in color schemes, or even match colors perfectly by creating a palette based on elements from an image or ! photo.
If you need to be able to securely log-in to a server away from your desk, then this app — which emulates desktop FTP clients on your mobile — might well be the answer. As well as offering the ability to edit text on the fly and make those changes live quickly, there’s the option to view common file types, download them to your iPhone, e-mail them, and upload videos and correctly-sized pics from your mobile device too. Meanwhile, cleverly getting around the iPhone’s multi-tasking issues, there’s a built-in web browser so you can see changes without leaving the app, allowing for speedy work — which as far as we know, no client has ever complained about.
If you don’t need ! access to your FTP server, don’t forget about Dropbox for the iPhone, which will let you view your Dropbox folder while on the go.
For an on-the-go, at-a-glance look at you site’s stats, either for your own consumption, or to keep a customer satisfied, Ego is a one-stop-shop for such data. This app does not go into extreme detail, but it will summarize data from Ember, Feedburner, Google Analytics, Mint (with an additional download), Squarespace, Twitter and Vimeo. Data such as how many Twitter followers an account has racked up, feed subscription! totals, and visitor numbers are all at your fingertips in an easy-to-use app that saves you logging into to a plethora of individual services. The developer, Garrett Murray, says Ego offers a flexible framework for adding support for other services, and welcomes suggestions on adding other stat-tracking options.
In addition to offering a full-screen browser (as opposed to the iPhone’s Safari window), this app allows you to make notes on, or copy and paste text from, web pages. Whether you’re browsing around for inspiration or assessing a site for changes/improvements, being able to easily annotate the web with a mobile app is simply brilliant. Other functionality includes the ability to upload .txt .doc .pdf .ppt .xls .rtf .jpg files, bookmark sites, and share uploaded documents over Wi-Fi to any web-enabled computer.
Cost: $1.99
Series supported by Rackspace
Rackspace is the better way to do hosting. No more worrying about web hosting uptime. No more spending your time, energy and resources trying to stay on top of things like patching, updating, monitoring, backing up data and the like. Learn why.
This series is supported by Rackspace, the better way to do hosting. Learn more about Rackspace’s hosting solutions here.
Contrary to popular belief, web developers do sometimes leave their desks, and when they do, that’s always when clients seem to call or disaster seems to strike.
We’ve highlighted some iPhone apps here that will help you out in those situations, and a few others that will stash several neat tricks up your proverbial sleeve for when you’re away from the office.
Have a ! look, and if you’re an iPhone-owning web dev, let us kno! w which apps you find useful for your work in the comments below.
Concentric Sky offers a range of code “cheat sheets” ideal for when your mind just goes blank and you’re away from your usual reference material. Priced at $0.99 each, there are apps available for CSS, mySQL, JavaScript, php, RegEx, jQuery and HTML — the last three of which let you write and test code inside the app. Searchable, and clearly laid out, the info in the apps is available offline, unlike other options that link out to external references. Whether you want to brush up on the bus, or need to code on-the-go, these will be a useful weapon in your web design arsenal. Another great alternative is jQue! ry 1.4.
A little bit like Adobe’s Kuler on your handset, Color Stream is an app that will help you narrow down the correct color, or palette of colors, for a project. The Lite version of the app is available for free, and lets you create a palette of five colors side-by-side using a slider bar in either RGB or CMYK modes. You can then identify your chosen shades by their hexadecimal values for use on the web. This is handy enough, but the paid-for option (priced at $2.99) offers even more functionality, such as the ability to save palettes, use the built-in color schemes, or even match colors perfectly by creating a palette based on elements from an image or ! photo.
If you need to be able to securely log-in to a server away from your desk, then this app — which emulates desktop FTP clients on your mobile — might well be the answer. As well as offering the ability to edit text on the fly and make those changes live quickly, there’s the option to view common file types, download them to your iPhone, e-mail them, and upload videos and correctly-sized pics from your mobile device too. Meanwhile, cleverly getting around the iPhone’s multi-tasking issues, there’s a built-in web browser so you can see changes without leaving the app, allowing for speedy work — which as far as we know, no client has ever complained about.
If you don’t need ! access to your FTP server, don’t forget about Dropbox for the iPhone, which will let you view your Dropbox folder while on the go.
For an on-the-go, at-a-glance look at you site’s stats, either for your own consumption, or to keep a customer satisfied, Ego is a one-stop-shop for such data. This app does not go into extreme detail, but it will summarize data from Ember, Feedburner, Google Analytics, Mint (with an additional download), Squarespace, Twitter and Vimeo. Data such as how many Twitter followers an account has racked up, feed subscription! totals, and visitor numbers are all at your fingertips in an easy-to-use app that saves you logging into to a plethora of individual services. The developer, Garrett Murray, says Ego offers a flexible framework for adding support for other services, and welcomes suggestions on adding other stat-tracking options.
In addition to offering a full-screen browser (as opposed to the iPhone’s Safari window), this app allows you to make notes on, or copy and paste text from, web pages. Whether you’re browsing around for inspiration or assessing a site for changes/improvements, being able to easily annotate the web with a mobile app is simply brilliant. Other functionality includes the ability to upload .txt .doc .pdf .ppt .xls .rtf .jpg files, bookmark sites, and share uploaded documents over Wi-Fi to any web-enabled computer.
Cost: $1.99
Series supported by Rackspace
Rackspace is the better way to do hosting. No more worrying about web hosting uptime. No more spending your time, energy and resources trying to stay on top of things like patching, updating, monitoring, backing up data and the like. Learn why.
This past weekend, Digg CEO Jay Adelson revealed that the social news site is working on a complete overhaul that will be rolled out over the coming weeks and months. Today, the company provided a sneak peek of one of the major additions: the ability to login to the site using a variety of third-party services! .
In addition to supporting your Digg and Facebook accounts (which the site already does), Digg plans to let you use your Twitter, Google, Yahoo, or OpenID accounts. Here's what that screen will look like:
Digg says they decided to start with those services based on finding out which services that their members already use. The data offers some interesting insight into the Digg audience and its overlap with other online communities and services:
This is just one of many things Digg hopes will spur a new wave of growth at the site, but it could be a key piece. The company says in a blog post that its Facebook Connect integration increased registrations by 20-30 percent.
This past weekend, Digg CEO Jay Adelson revealed that the social news site is working on a complete overhaul that will be rolled out over the coming weeks and months. Today, the company provided a sneak peek of one of the major additions: the ability to login to the site using a variety of third-party services! .
In addition to supporting your Digg and Facebook accounts (which the site already does), Digg plans to let you use your Twitter, Google, Yahoo, or OpenID accounts. Here's what that screen will look like:
Digg says they decided to start with those services based on finding out which services that their members already use. The data offers some interesting insight into the Digg audience and its overlap with other online communities and services:
This is just one of many things Digg hopes will spur a new wave of growth at the site, but it could be a key piece. The company says in a blog post that its Facebook Connect integration increased registrations by 20-30 percent.
This past weekend, Digg CEO Jay Adelson revealed that the social news site is working on a complete overhaul that will be rolled out over the coming weeks and months. Today, the company provided a sneak peek at one of the major additions: the ability to log in to the site using a variety of third-party servic! es.
In addition to supporting your Digg and Facebook accounts (which the site already does), Digg plans to let you use your Twitter, Google, Yahoo or OpenID accounts. Here's what that screen will look like:
Digg says it decided to start with those services based on finding out which services that its members already use. The data offers some interesting insight into the Digg audience and its overlap with other online communities and services:
This is just one of many things Digg hopes will spur a new wave of growth at the site, but it could be a key piece. The company says in a blog post that its Facebook Connect integration increased registrations by 20-30%.
YouTube has just announced that it has surpassed yet another milestone, and this one’s a doozy: 24 hours of video is now uploaded to the social video site every sixty seconds. Every second you are browsing YouTube, a full 24 minutes of video is uploaded to the site.
On May 20th, 2009, YouTube announced that its users were uploading 20 hours of video per minute. That means in a 10 month time-frame, YouTube uploading has increased by over 17%. The feat’s incredibly impressive by almost any standard. More than two million minutes of video (or 34,560 hours) is now uploaded onto YouTube per day.
The Google-owned video site even provided a graph depicting its growth:
Around April or May 2008, users were “only” uploading 12 hours a video per minute. In under two years, YouTube has doubled that influx of content. There’s no sign of it stopping
YouTube has just announced that it has surpassed yet another milestone, and this one’s a doozy: 24 hours of video is now uploaded to the social video site every sixty seconds. Every second you are browsing YouTube, a full 24 minutes of video is uploaded to the site.
On May 20th, 2009, YouTube announced that its users were uploading 20 hours of video per minute. That means in a 10 month time-frame, YouTube uploading has increased by over 17%. The feat’s incredibly impressive by almost any standard. More than two million minutes of video (or 34,560 hours) is now uploaded onto YouTube per day.
The Google-owned video site even provided a graph depicting its growth:
Around April or May 2008, users were “only” uploading 12 hours a video per minute. In under two years, YouTube has doubled that influx of content. There’s no sign of it stopping
Posterous — the e-mail-to-blog-to-everywhere platform — has just introduced a new feature that will let users schedule posts to be published in the future via e-mail, web or bookmarklet.
The appeal of Posterous is that every blogging behavior can be completed via e-mail with little to no thinking involved; this feature is no different. To schedule posts, users simply need to add “delay” or “publish” commands to e-mail subject lines and specify time constraints.
To publish a post on a specific date add “((publish: on mo/day/year))” or to delay publishing add “((delay: in x minutes or hours))” after your post title in the subject line of the e-mail. The “schedule later” option is also available in the Advance Settings portion of the bookmarklet or the Manage Page section on the web (see below).
The new feature addition is a minor upgrade with b! igger implications as Posterous continues to make its simple b! logging platform more business-friendly. It also comes just a few days after the introduction of a page break element, and further exemplifies how such a simple platform can support complex functionality.
Posterous — the e-mail-to-blog-to-everywhere platform — has just introduced a new feature that will let users schedule posts to be published in the future via e-mail, web or bookmarklet.
The appeal of Posterous is that every blogging behavior can be completed via e-mail with little to no thinking involved; this feature is no different. To schedule posts, users simply need to add “delay” or “publish” commands to e-mail subject lines and specify time constraints.
To publish a post on a specific date add “((publish: on mo/day/year))” or to delay publishing add “((delay: in x minutes or hours))” after your post title in the subject line of the e-mail. The “schedule later” option is also available in the Advance Settings portion of the bookmarklet or the Manage Page section on the web (see below).
The new feature addition is a minor upgrade with b! igger implications as Posterous continues to make its simple b! logging platform more business-friendly. It also comes just a few days after the introduction of a page break element, and further exemplifies how such a simple platform can support complex functionality.
From the time we wake up in the morning to the moment we call it a day, and every moment in between (think bedroom, bathroom and dinner table), w! e’re checking in on our favorite social media sites.
This conclusion comes from data gathered by an independent study (commissioned by Retrevo), which surveyed 1,000 online individuals.
Per the report, our Facebook and Twitter activities continue even after we’ve hit the hay, with 48% of respondents checking in on activity when they wake up in the middle of the night or as soon as they wake up in the morning. Unsurprisingly, these night owl social media behaviors skew heavily toward those under the age of 25.
iPhone users are the most social of the respondent pool and were significantly more likely to check or update Twitter or Facebook from bed — many before turning on the TV in the morning. Several also use these sites to consume their morning news. The iPhone’s app and we! b experience is clearly making it even easier for the young so! cialites to maintain their Internet presence regardless of their physical station in life.
The study also found that 56% of social media users check Facebook once a day, 32% don’t mind being interrupted by an electronic message while eating and 24% of respondents under the age of the 25 have no problem with digital communication while on the pot.
A few other interesting data points from the study include:
- 12% of respondents check/use Facebook every couple of hours
- 62% of individuals over the age of 25 see electronic communications during a meeting, meal, sex or bathroom act as unwanted interruptions
- 23% of iPhone owners primarily get their morning news from Twitter and Facebook
While we can’t verify that the data is representative of the entire population, most of these stats — wh! ich might be surprising on first look — should be expected. Now that smartphones with apps are ubiquitous, it’s quite logical that these devices would accompany their owners even in the most private or intimate of scenarios.
From the time we wake up in the morning to the moment we call it a day, and every moment in between (think bedroom, bathroom and dinner table), w! e’re checking in on our favorite social media sites.
This conclusion comes from data gathered by an independent study (commissioned by Retrevo), which surveyed 1,000 online individuals.
Per the report, our Facebook and Twitter activities continue even after we’ve hit the hay, with 48% of respondents checking in on activity when they wake up in the middle of the night or as soon as they wake up in the morning. Unsurprisingly, these night owl social media behaviors skew heavily toward those under the age of 25.
iPhone users are the most social of the respondent pool and were significantly more likely to check or update Twitter or Facebook from bed — many before turning on the TV in the morning. Several also use these sites to consume their morning news. The iPhone’s app and we! b experience is clearly making it even easier for the young so! cialites to maintain their Internet presence regardless of their physical station in life.
The study also found that 56% of social media users check Facebook once a day, 32% don’t mind being interrupted by an electronic message while eating and 24% of respondents under the age of the 25 have no problem with digital communication while on the pot.
A few other interesting data points from the study include:
- 12% of respondents check/use Facebook every couple of hours
- 62% of individuals over the age of 25 see electronic communications during a meeting, meal, sex or bathroom act as unwanted interruptions
- 23% of iPhone owners primarily get their morning news from Twitter and Facebook
While we can’t verify that the data is representative of the entire population, most of these stats — wh! ich might be surprising on first look — should be expected. Now that smartphones with apps are ubiquitous, it’s quite logical that these devices would accompany their owners even in the most private or intimate of scenarios.
Comedian Zach Galifianakis’s edgy celebrity interview web show Between T! wo Ferns attracted a big movie star in its latest episode. Ben Stiller came on the show, and the Funny or Die-hosted video has been spreading quickly in blog posts and tweets today.
Between Two Ferns is nominated for multiple Streamy Awards this year. Each episode features recent SNL host Zach Galifianakis (known for his work in Comedians of Comedy and The Hangover) awkwardly interviewing a deadpan celebrity guest while sitting between two ferns. Usually he passive-aggressively does something extremely unprofessional, causing the guest to become increasingly flustered.
This viral vid with Ben Stiller follows a similar patter! n. Galif ianakis opens the interview by botching Ben Stiller’s last name, then suggesting he change it to “There, Done That” — it goes even further downhill from there.
Here’s the video, but be warned that it has some NSFW language, so you might want to plug in those headphones.
Comedian Zach Galifianakis’s edgy celebrity interview web show Between T! wo Ferns attracted a big movie star in its latest episode. Ben Stiller came on the show, and the Funny or Die-hosted video has been spreading quickly in blog posts and tweets today.
Between Two Ferns is nominated for multiple Streamy Awards this year. Each episode features recent SNL host Zach Galifianakis (known for his work in Comedians of Comedy and The Hangover) awkwardly interviewing a deadpan celebrity guest while sitting between two ferns. Usually he passive-aggressively does something extremely unprofessional, causing the guest to become increasingly flustered.
This viral vid with Ben Stiller follows a similar patter! n. Galif ianakis opens the interview by botching Ben Stiller’s last name, then suggesting he change it to “There, Done That” — it goes even further downhill from there.
Here’s the video, but be warned that it has some NSFW language, so you might want to plug in those headphones.
If these Australian Apple ads a! re any indication, a hardware refresh may be coming soon for at least the MacBook Pro, MacBook Air and Mac Pro lines.
The official-looking ads show higher pricing than what the Australian online store actually lists when you click through them, suggesting that the ads represent an early look at what the pricing will be for the refreshed hardware lines.
Similar pricing inconsistencies were found within Apple’s own New Zealand site, lending credence to the theory that a hardware refresh — and accompanying price change — might be on the way in the near near future.
We’ve also seen hints flying around recently that Apple is working on a processor upgrade for its Mac lines to Intel Core i5 and Core i7 chips.
The MacRumors Buying Guide, which tracks upgrade rumors and average hardware refresh times, also currently lists the Macbook Pro, Air and Mac Pro units as status “Don’t Buy — Updates soon.”
In other words, it’s still a collection of tiny details, but all signs seem to point to an impending Mac hardware refresh. If you’re contemplating picking up a Mac in one of those lines, it might be worth holding off a short while.
If these Australian Apple ads a! re any indication, a hardware refresh may be coming soon for at least the MacBook Pro, MacBook Air and Mac Pro lines.
The official-looking ads show higher pricing than what the Australian online store actually lists when you click through them, suggesting that the ads represent an early look at what the pricing will be for the refreshed hardware lines.
Similar pricing inconsistencies were found within Apple’s own New Zealand site, lending credence to the theory that a hardware refresh — and accompanying price change — might be on the way in the near near future.
We’ve also seen hints flying around recently that Apple is working on a processor upgrade for its Mac lines to Intel Core i5 and Core i7 chips.
The MacRumors Buying Guide, which tracks upgrade rumors and average hardware refresh times, also currently lists the Macbook Pro, Air and Mac Pro units as status “Don’t Buy — Updates soon.”
In other words, it’s still a collection of tiny details, but all signs seem to point to an impending Mac hardware refresh. If you’re contemplating picking up a Mac in one of those lines, it might be worth holding off a short while.
But we’d like to help in a more direct way, too. Mashable's job boards are a place for socially-savvy companies to find people like you. This week and every week, Mashable features its coveted job board listings for a variety of positions in the web, social media space, and beyond. Have a look at what's good and new on our job boards:
Mashable Job Board Listings
Senior SEO Strategist at Infuse Creative in Santa Monica, CA
The Senior SEO Strategist and Provider develops and provides effective Search Engine Optimization strategies for client websites, with the goal of generating increased targeted Web traffic and higher lead generation.
Intermediate-Senior Social Media Specialist at Infuse Creative in Santa Monica, CA.
An Intermediate Social Media Marketing Specialist works with our search marketing and optimization senior leads and teams as well as client agencies, support people, and in some cases the clients themselves.
Website Project Manager at TIG Global in Chevy Chase, MD.
As a result of continued growth and expansion, we are currently seeking a Website Project Manager – a highly organized individual that can manage multiple interactive efforts in a fast-paced ever-changing environment.
Share Our Strength is currently seeking an Online Community Director to lead all aspects of the organization's web-based activism and constituent engagement.
Author Community Manager at Eleven Learning in Cambridge, MA.
Now we’re searching for someone with both textbook industry experience and a familiarity with social media who can help us design and run our next product: a social network for textbook authors and adopters.
Senior Ruby on Rails Developer at Gravit in Park City, UT.
We are looking for an experienced software engineer with a strong background in Ruby, Rails, and Javascript to help design and develop a web application that supports heavy traffic.
Social Media Online Marketing Manager at Media Storm in New York, NY.
As a Social Media Online Marketing Manager, you will lead the development of strategies and objectives for building and executing year-round brand engagement via social media.
Social Marketing Strategy Manager at IMRE, LLC in MD.
IMRE, an agency of marketing experts in the Healthcare, Home & Building and Financial Services industries is seeking a dynamic and fearless Social Marketing Strategy Manager to join our growing team.
Responsibilities include research, assistance with graphics and promotional initiatives, lead generation, creating new business presentations and proposals, and more.
Director/VP of Sales and Business Development at Comedy.com in Santa Monica, CA.
Comedy.com, the "guide to what's funny right now," is looking to hire a Director (or VP depending on experience level) of Sales and Business Development in its Santa Monica office.
Mashable has a variety of web 2.0, application development, business development, and social networking job opportunities available. Check them out at Mashable's Job Board.
Got a job posting to share with our readers? Post a job to Mashable today ($99 for a 30 day listing) and get it highlighted every week on Mashable.com (in addition to exposure all day every day in the Mashable marketplace).
But we’d like to help in a more direct way, too. Mashable's job boards are a place for socially-savvy companies to find people like you. This week and every week, Mashable features its coveted job board listings for a variety of positions in the web, social media space, and beyond. Have a look at what's good and new on our job boards:
Mashable Job Board Listings
Senior SEO Strategist at Infuse Creative in Santa Monica, CA
The Senior SEO Strategist and Provider develops and provides effective Search Engine Optimization strategies for client websites, with the goal of generating increased targeted Web traffic and higher lead generation.
Intermediate-Senior Social Media Specialist at Infuse Creative in Santa Monica, CA.
An Intermediate Social Media Marketing Specialist works with our search marketing and optimization senior leads and teams as well as client agencies, support people, and in some cases the clients themselves.
Website Project Manager at TIG Global in Chevy Chase, MD.
As a result of continued growth and expansion, we are currently seeking a Website Project Manager – a highly organized individual that can manage multiple interactive efforts in a fast-paced ever-changing environment.
Share Our Strength is currently seeking an Online Community Director to lead all aspects of the organization's web-based activism and constituent engagement.
Author Community Manager at Eleven Learning in Cambridge, MA.
Now we’re searching for someone with both textbook industry experience and a familiarity with social media who can help us design and run our next product: a social network for textbook authors and adopters.
Senior Ruby on Rails Developer at Gravit in Park City, UT.
We are looking for an experienced software engineer with a strong background in Ruby, Rails, and Javascript to help design and develop a web application that supports heavy traffic.
Social Media Online Marketing Manager at Media Storm in New York, NY.
As a Social Media Online Marketing Manager, you will lead the development of strategies and objectives for building and executing year-round brand engagement via social media.
Social Marketing Strategy Manager at IMRE, LLC in MD.
IMRE, an agency of marketing experts in the Healthcare, Home & Building and Financial Services industries is seeking a dynamic and fearless Social Marketing Strategy Manager to join our growing team.
Responsibilities include research, assistance with graphics and promotional initiatives, lead generation, creating new business presentations and proposals, and more.
Director/VP of Sales and Business Development at Comedy.com in Santa Monica, CA.
Comedy.com, the "guide to what's funny right now," is looking to hire a Director (or VP depending on experience level) of Sales and Business Development in its Santa Monica office.
Mashable has a variety of web 2.0, application development, business development, and social networking job opportunities available. Check them out at Mashable's Job Board.
Got a job posting to share with our readers? Post a job to Mashable today ($99 for a 30 day listing) and get it highlighted every week on Mashable.com (in addition to exposure all day every day in the Mashable marketplace).
On March 24, T-Mobile will be releasing the HTC HD2 Windows Mobile smartphone. Whi! le this phone will not be upgradeable to Windows Phone 7 Series, it will be the first mobile phone that will feature the Blockbuster OnDemand service.
ReadWriteWeb also reports that Blockbuster is planning on bringing OnDemand to the Android platform as well, for use on “select Motorola phones.”
Blockbuster OnDemand is basically like Amazon Unbox (the download version). Rather than streaming titles from your device, you download the content. There are also hardware devices, like Blu-ray players, HDTVs and TiVo, that can access Blockbuster OnDemand content. This is different from services like Netflix that stream video content either in your web browser or on a different hardware device.
Downloading, Not Streaming
Thus, when it comes to watching Blockbuster OnDemand content on an HTC HD2 or other compatible phone, you’re downloading the digitally protected file to watch on your device. Downloading and streaming both have their own sets of pros and cons, and we’d really need to try Blockbuster’s implementation before making any judgment.
ReadWriteWeb says the company is looking into how it can support the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad platforms. Right now, you can’t download a media file from a third-party directly to your iPod or iPhone — you have to use iTunes or transfer files using your computer.
However, we should also note that since Blockbuster doesn’t even support Mac users when it comes to using the! OnDemand service, we’re not holding our breath for any sort of big movement on the iPhone/iPad platforms — at least right now.
Competition Abounds
Blockbuster’s news follows Netflix’s announcement that it will be running on the Windows Phone 7 Series phones later this fall. Netflix already uses Microsoft’s Silverlight technology to stream video to Windows and Mac OS X computer and Silverlight will be built in to Windows Phone 7 Series devices.
As Blockbuster faces major financial challenges and heavy competition from not only Netflix, but also Redbox (not to mention other video on-demand download and streaming services like Vudu, CinemaNow and FilmFresh), how it implements its mobile strategy will be of huge importance.
Simply making it possible to download a movie to your handset might not be enough of a draw to users, especially if the overall experience isn’t just right. We’ll be interested to see how this solution shapes up when the! HD2 is released next week.
What do you think of Blockbuster’s mobile strategy? Would you rather see companies support streaming or DRM downloads on mobile devices? Let us know!
On March 24, T-Mobile will be releasing the HTC HD2 Windows Mobile smartphone. Whi! le this phone will not be upgradeable to Windows Phone 7 Series, it will be the first mobile phone that will feature the Blockbuster OnDemand service.
ReadWriteWeb also reports that Blockbuster is planning on bringing OnDemand to the Android platform as well, for use on “select Motorola phones.”
Blockbuster OnDemand is basically like Amazon Unbox (the download version). Rather than streaming titles from your device, you download the content. There are also hardware devices, like Blu-ray players, HDTVs and TiVo, that can access Blockbuster OnDemand content. This is different from services like Netflix that stream video content either in your web browser or on a different hardware device.
Downloading, Not Streaming
Thus, when it comes to watching Blockbuster OnDemand content on an HTC HD2 or other compatible phone, you’re downloading the digitally protected file to watch on your device. Downloading and streaming both have their own sets of pros and cons, and we’d really need to try Blockbuster’s implementation before making any judgment.
ReadWriteWeb says the company is looking into how it can support the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad platforms. Right now, you can’t download a media file from a third-party directly to your iPod or iPhone — you have to use iTunes or transfer files using your computer.
However, we should also note that since Blockbuster doesn’t even support Mac users when it comes to using the! OnDemand service, we’re not holding our breath for any sort of big movement on the iPhone/iPad platforms — at least right now.
Competition Abounds
Blockbuster’s news follows Netflix’s announcement that it will be running on the Windows Phone 7 Series phones later this fall. Netflix already uses Microsoft’s Silverlight technology to stream video to Windows and Mac OS X computer and Silverlight will be built in to Windows Phone 7 Series devices.
As Blockbuster faces major financial challenges and heavy competition from not only Netflix, but also Redbox (not to mention other video on-demand download and streaming services like Vudu, CinemaNow and FilmFresh), how it implements its mobile strategy will be of huge importance.
Simply making it possible to download a movie to your handset might not be enough of a draw to users, especially if the overall experience isn’t just right. We’ll be interested to see how this solution shapes up when the! HD2 is released next week.
What do you think of Blockbuster’s mobile strategy? Would you rather see companies support streaming or DRM downloads on mobile devices? Let us know!
Yahoo Inc. has announced at the 201 IMG World Congress of Sports that it will be acquiring Citizen Sports, a social and mobile application development firm focused on sports. Terms of the deal were not announced.
The acquisition, according to Yahoo, helps strengthen i! ts “social strategy of enriching, aggregating and distributing social content from across the entire Web.” Our guess is that Citizen Sports will provide Yahoo more distribution channels to promote its content and expand its reach, something we recently discussed at length.
Citizen Sports will be deeply integrated with the Yahoo Sports property, one of the most popular in terms of athletics. Citizen Sports provides Facebook, iPhone, and other apps for filling out brackets, checking scores, and participating in league partnerships. Having talented developers create the apps that will spread Yahoo Sports across the web seems like a sensible move.
When we learn more details, we will bring them to you.
Yahoo Inc. has announced at the 201 IMG World Congress of Sports that it will be acquiring Citizen Sports, a social and mobile application development firm focused on sports. Terms of the deal were not announced.
The acquisition, according to Yahoo, helps strengthen i! ts “social strategy of enriching, aggregating and distributing social content from across the entire Web.” Our guess is that Citizen Sports will provide Yahoo more distribution channels to promote its content and expand its reach, something we recently discussed at length.
Citizen Sports will be deeply integrated with the Yahoo Sports property, one of the most popular in terms of athletics. Citizen Sports provides Facebook, iPhone, and other apps for filling out brackets, checking scores, and participating in league partnerships. Having talented developers create the apps that will spread Yahoo Sports across the web seems like a sensible move.
When we learn more details, we will bring them to you.
There’s a new viral video making the rounds that challenges the normal order of the written word. Th! e vid was (somewhat appropriately) created for a publishing company.
Created in the UK for a Penguin subsidiary, “The End of Publishing” offers viewers a very different narrative dependent on whether the text is read forwards or backwards.
Those with a keen memory for virals of the past will instantly recognize it as a tribute to first Jonathan Reed’s “The Lost Generation,” created for AARP’s U@50 Challenge back in 2007, that was in turn based on the Cannes Silver Lion-winning Argentinian political TV advert written by Ricardo Lopez for RECREAR back in ‘06.
We think it works, both as an interesting video and a positive PR message for the publishing industry. Let us know your thoughts in the comments box below.
There’s a new viral video making the rounds that challenges the normal order of the written word. Th! e vid was (somewhat appropriately) created for a publishing company.
Created in the UK for a Penguin subsidiary, “The End of Publishing” offers viewers a very different narrative dependent on whether the text is read forwards or backwards.
Those with a keen memory for virals of the past will instantly recognize it as a tribute to first Jonathan Reed’s “The Lost Generation,” created for AARP’s U@50 Challenge back in 2007, that was in turn based on the Cannes Silver Lion-winning Argentinian political TV advert written by Ricardo Lopez for RECREAR back in ‘06.
We think it works, both as an interesting video and a positive PR message for the publishing industry. Let us know your thoughts in the comments box below.
A Microsoft architect has developed an application that lets you stargaze from Bing Map’s street level vi! ew. You can use it to identify constellations, planets and other objects of interest in the night sky.
The app (called World Wide Telescope) is a real-time simulation, so it shows the night sky as it would appear from wherever you’re virtually standing at the time you’re doing so. It works during the day, too.
After going to Bing, you just activate the app, go to street level, then pan the camera up. The lighting will dim on the buildings and streets surrounding you (though you can still see them) and the stars will become visible in the sky, with several customizable overlay options.
The app is accompanied by collections of data from different space projects. You can browse through objects Hubble has discovered or locate active supernovas in the sky.
There are tons of sites for backyard astronomers out there already, and two year! s ago Google! imp lemented a star-browsing feature in Google Earth, but it only worked in the desktop application (as opposed to maps.google.com) and it wasn’t integrated with Google’s own street view feature. Microsoft is showing off with features like this — sure, stargazing doesn’t serve a practical purpose, but it’s cool.
Here are some pics of the Bing app in action. It’s expected to go live sometime today.
A Microsoft architect has developed an application that lets you stargaze from Bing Map’s street level vi! ew. You can use it to identify constellations, planets and other objects of interest in the night sky.
The app (called World Wide Telescope) is a real-time simulation, so it shows the night sky as it would appear from wherever you’re virtually standing at the time you’re doing so. It works during the day, too.
After going to Bing, you just activate the app, go to street level, then pan the camera up. The lighting will dim on the buildings and streets surrounding you (though you can still see them) and the stars will become visible in the sky, with several customizable overlay options.
The app is accompanied by collections of data from different space projects. You can browse through objects Hubble has discovered or locate active supernovas in the sky.
There are tons of sites for backyard astronomers out there already, and two year! s ago Google! imp lemented a star-browsing feature in Google Earth, but it only worked in the desktop application (as opposed to maps.google.com) and it wasn’t integrated with Google’s own street view feature. Microsoft is showing off with features like this — sure, stargazing doesn’t serve a practical purpose, but it’s cool.
Here are some pics of the Bing app in action. It’s expected to go live sometime today.
Update: We’ve also embedded a video of a TED presentation in which this app was demonstrated. Thanks, leojr!
TED: Blaise Aguera y Arcas Demos Augmented Reality Apps
This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.
Apple’s iPhone wasn’t originally conceived as a business-focused device; however, the advent of the App Store and the rapid rise in usage and adoption has really given the platform — and the phone — some pretty great use cases for business users. The iPhone App Store has more than 150,000 applications and separating the wheat from the chaff, especially when you have a specific goal or task in mind can be difficult. That’s why I’ve compiled this list of some of the best applications for the iPhone for the small business user.
Access to Files and Folders
Something that really sets this generation of smartphone devices apart from devices of even five years ago is the rise in cloud computing and ubiquitous connectivity. While accessing e-mail from multiple devices with full message history intact is old-hat, that capability has now extended to many other types of files.
Using programs like FileMagnet ($4.99) and Air Sharing ($3.99 for the regular version, $9.99 for Pro) you can easily transfer PDF, Microsoft Office and iWork files to your iPhone from your Mac or PC over WiFi.
As I’ve pointed out in the past, servi! ces like Box.net and Dropbox can be really great tools for small business owners. Both Box.net and Dropbox have free iPhone applications that let you access your files on those clouds directly from your phone.
If you’re a user of Apple’s MobileMe service, there is also a free MobileMe iDisk app that lets you access those files, folders and images directly from your iPhone.
Document Viewi! ng and Editing
Accessing files and folders is great, but what about when you want to get some serious work done? There are a number of full-fledged productivity applications that make it possible to not only view, but also edit documents, even on cloud-based services.
QuickOffice Connect Suite for the iPhone ($9.99) is a great app because it not only lets you view your Microsoft Office documents, but also edit and create those documents — both stored locally on your phone, and on cloud services like Google Docs, MobileMe, Box.net and Dropbox.
This means you can view a file shared with you on Box.net or in your Dropbox folder, make some changes and save it back. Likewise, you c! an create a new document or spreadsheet and save it to a cloud service of your choice.
Documents To Go Premium ($14.99) also lets you view and edit Microsoft Office docs on your iPhone, but it only supports Google Docs right now.
If you really need to view documents more than edit, GoodReader ($0.99) is not only the best PDF viewer on the iPhone (you can view files up to 1GB in size without having issues), you can access files from WebDAV servers (including MobileMe), Box.net, Dropbox and for a $0.99 in-app purchase, you can also access GoogleDocs.
File editing is limited to text files for right now, but the viewing capabilities, the ability to transfer files over WiFi, download PDF f! iles from a URL directly to the iPhone and support for stuff l! ike zipp ing and unzipping of files make this app really fantastic. If you ever find yourself needing to deal with exceptionally large PDF files, GET THIS APP.
Scan, Fax, Print
That camera on your iPhone is for more than just quick snapshots and Facebook uploads. Believe it or not, it’s also a really good document scanner. This goes double for iPhone 3GS owners, as the improved lens and built-in auto-focus and stabilization features make it a real asset for document capture.
While the iPhone camera might not displace a high-quality document or business-card scanner, you might be surprised at how well it can work, especially when paired with the right software.
JotNot Scanner ($4.99) is a solid document scanner that lets you scan multiple page PDF files and then save them to MobileMe, Evernote, Dropbox. Box.net or Google Docs. If you upload to Google Docs you can eve! n take advantage of Google’s OCR engine for better document processing. The app is really optimized for the iPhone 3GS but older iPhones can still utilize its featureset.
Scanner Pro ($6.99) is another solid scanning option. It also can upload to Box.net, Dropbox, Mobile Me (or any WebDAV service). It also lets you do custom-page sizes, send scans by e-mail and if you also have the Print n Share ($6.99), seamlessly send a document to your printer.
For users who need to send faxes from the iPhone, there are a number of faxing-specific apps but most of them charge a high per-fax (and sometimes per-document) fee in addition to the price of the app itself. That’s why, if you plan on doing any serious fax! ing, I recommend spending the $24.99 and getting the ScanR Business Center app because not only does it let you capture files as PDF and do OCR processing (with desktop web access too), you can send unlimited faxes from the app itself.
If you already have an e-mail to fax solution like eFax or Maxemail, check out Mobile Phax ($4.99) which will do document capture to PDF and easily integrate with lots of e-mail to fax programs. Of course, you can conceivably use any image to PDF app to send faxes as an attachment with your existing e-mail to fax subscription plans, Mobile Phax just makes the process a bit more seamless.
Which iPhone apps do you find most useful for your small business? Tell us about your favorites in the comments, and look out for my next post, where I’ll discuss the best productivity apps for the iPhone for your small business.
This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.
Apple’s iPhone wasn’t originally conceived as a business-focused device; however, the advent of the App Store and the rapid rise in usage and adoption has really given the platform — and the phone — some pretty great use cases for business users. The iPhone App Store has more than 150,000 applications and separating the wheat from the chaff, especially when you have a specific goal or task in mind can be difficult. That’s why I’ve compiled this list of some of the best applications for the iPhone for the small business user.
Access to Files and Folders
Something that really sets this generation of smartphone devices apart from devices of even five years ago is the rise in cloud computing and ubiquitous connectivity. While accessing e-mail from multiple devices with full message history intact is old-hat, that capability has now extended to many other types of files.
Using programs like FileMagnet ($4.99) and Air Sharing ($3.99 for the regular version, $9.99 for Pro) you can easily transfer PDF, Microsoft Office and iWork files to your iPhone from your Mac or PC over WiFi.
As I’ve pointed out in the past, servi! ces like Box.net and Dropbox can be really great tools for small business owners. Both Box.net and Dropbox have free iPhone applications that let you access your files on those clouds directly from your phone.
If you’re a user of Apple’s MobileMe service, there is also a free MobileMe iDisk app that lets you access those files, folders and images directly from your iPhone.
Document Viewi! ng and Editing
Accessing files and folders is great, but what about when you want to get some serious work done? There are a number of full-fledged productivity applications that make it possible to not only view, but also edit documents, even on cloud-based services.
QuickOffice Connect Suite for the iPhone ($9.99) is a great app because it not only lets you view your Microsoft Office documents, but also edit and create those documents — both stored locally on your phone, and on cloud services like Google Docs, MobileMe, Box.net and Dropbox.
This means you can view a file shared with you on Box.net or in your Dropbox folder, make some changes and save it back. Likewise, you c! an create a new document or spreadsheet and save it to a cloud service of your choice.
Documents To Go Premium ($14.99) also lets you view and edit Microsoft Office docs on your iPhone, but it only supports Google Docs right now.
If you really need to view documents more than edit, GoodReader ($0.99) is not only the best PDF viewer on the iPhone (you can view files up to 1GB in size without having issues), you can access files from WebDAV servers (including MobileMe), Box.net, Dropbox and for a $0.99 in-app purchase, you can also access GoogleDocs.
File editing is limited to text files for right now, but the viewing capabilities, the ability to transfer files over WiFi, download PDF f! iles from a URL directly to the iPhone and support for stuff l! ike zipp ing and unzipping of files make this app really fantastic. If you ever find yourself needing to deal with exceptionally large PDF files, GET THIS APP.
Scan, Fax, Print
That camera on your iPhone is for more than just quick snapshots and Facebook uploads. Believe it or not, it’s also a really good document scanner. This goes double for iPhone 3GS owners, as the improved lens and built-in auto-focus and stabilization features make it a real asset for document capture.
While the iPhone camera might not displace a high-quality document or business-card scanner, you might be surprised at how well it can work, especially when paired with the right software.
JotNot Scanner ($4.99) is a solid document scanner that lets you scan multiple page PDF files and then save them to MobileMe, Evernote, Dropbox. Box.net or Google Docs. If you upload to Google Docs you can eve! n take advantage of Google’s OCR engine for better document processing. The app is really optimized for the iPhone 3GS but older iPhones can still utilize its featureset.
Scanner Pro ($6.99) is another solid scanning option. It also can upload to Box.net, Dropbox, Mobile Me (or any WebDAV service). It also lets you do custom-page sizes, send scans by e-mail and if you also have the Print n Share ($6.99), seamlessly send a document to your printer.
For users who need to send faxes from the iPhone, there are a number of faxing-specific apps but most of them charge a high per-fax (and sometimes per-document) fee in addition to the price of the app itself. That’s why, if you plan on doing any serious fax! ing, I recommend spending the $24.99 and getting the ScanR Business Center app because not only does it let you capture files as PDF and do OCR processing (with desktop web access too), you can send unlimited faxes from the app itself.
If you already have an e-mail to fax solution like eFax or Maxemail, check out Mobile Phax ($4.99) which will do document capture to PDF and easily integrate with lots of e-mail to fax programs. Of course, you can conceivably use any image to PDF app to send faxes as an attachment with your existing e-mail to fax subscription plans, Mobile Phax just makes the process a bit more seamless.
Which iPhone apps do you find most useful for your small business? Tell us about your favorites in the comments, and look out for my next post, where I’ll discuss the best productivity apps for the iPhone for your small business.
We’re used to Google and other search engines decorating their homepages for special occasions, and this St Patrick’s Day is no different with various doodles, graphics and costumes marking the holiday around the web.
Google, Bing, Ask and Yahoo are all hyping the craic in honor of the patron saint of Ireland whose Saint’s Day — March 17 — sees parades and celebrations, the wearing of green, the drinking of Guinness and the singing of terrible songs across the globe.
Google
Google has chosen to go Celtic with a green Irish doodle version on its homepage:
Ask
Ask has dressed up its Jeeves character with some Irish-themed accessories, sticking with the green theme and adding a shamrock for good luck:
Bing
Bing offers a photographic snapshot of a knees-up of the Irish variety:
Yahoo
Finally, Yahoo goes all-out with a shamrock in a leprechaun hat that grows out of a rainbow then dances a jig across the logo, mixing about as many Irish cliches as it could in one animated effort:
Have you seen any other St Paddy’s themed properties on the web today? What’s your favorite? Let us know in the comments below.
We’re used to Google and other search engines decorating their homepages for special occasions, and this St Patrick’s Day is no different with various doodles, graphics and costumes marking the holiday around the web.
Google, Bing, Ask and Yahoo are all hyping the craic in honor of the patron saint of Ireland whose Saint’s Day — March 17 — sees parades and celebrations, the wearing of green, the drinking of Guinness and the singing of terrible songs across the globe.
Google
Google has chosen to go Celtic with a green Irish doodle version on its homepage:
Ask
Ask has dressed up its Jeeves character with some Irish-themed accessories, sticking with the green theme and adding a shamrock for good luck:
Bing
Bing offers a photographic snapshot of a knees-up of the Irish variety:
Yahoo
Finally, Yahoo goes all-out with a shamrock in a leprechaun hat that grows out of a rainbow then dances a jig across the logo, mixing about as many Irish cliches as it could in one animated effort:
Have you seen any other St Paddy’s themed properties on the web today? What’s your favorite? Let us know in the comments below.
This post is part of Mashable’s Spark of Genius series, which highlights a unique feature of startups. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here. The series is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark.
Quick Pitch: DooID combines the basic ideas of business card websites and e-mail signatures to create a useful service for everyone.
Genius Idea: DooID is a free business card website tool that lets you put an attractive, accessible page together with all of your social networks, contact information and work info in one place. You can also choose to make some information available only to users who have access to a special “guest password.”
Inspired by Tim Van Damme’s beautiful business card website, DooID is a nice option for users that want a way to showcase all of their information, but either lack the time to handcode the JavaScript or CSS or don’t know where to start.
When you sign up for the service, you choose a username that will become the basis for your DooID URL. From that point, you fill in information you want to share. You can add in user profiles from social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook and more. Plus, you can add links to other websites.
You can also choose to add your personal and business contact information. This information can be publicly available, or you can choose to make things the details viewable only to users who are given your guest password.
We really like that you can customize the l! ook of your DooID. Here’s what mine looks like, using one of the pre-built color templates and font options:
DooID has pro features that you can purchase for either $35.88 per year (or $2.99 per month) if you pay at once or $3.99 per month. This lets you add an e-mail contact form, upload your CV as PDF, have more control over your RSS feed, have access to more themes and also have access to an iPhone version of the site for an enhanced mobile look.
DooID lets all users — pro or free — embed an easy link to their DooID onto their website or on other social networks.
We really liked how easy it was to create a DooID, and think that this is a great idea, especially for users that don’t have time to build something themselves. If we had a! ny requests, it would be that a) The Twitter icon get reversed! (the &# 8220;t” is currently backwards) and b) That the pro option also include the ability to map to an external domain. Even if domain mapping was a feature that cost more money, I think it would make DooID a really good option for users looking for a good landing page.
Do you have a digital business card website? If so, how did you build it? Let us know!
Sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark
BizSpark is a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.
This post is part of Mashable’s Spark of Genius series, which highlights a unique feature of startups. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here. The series is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark.
Quick Pitch: DooID combines the basic ideas of business card websites and e-mail signatures to create a useful service for everyone.
Genius Idea: DooID is a free business card website tool that lets you put an attractive, accessible page together with all of your social networks, contact information and work info in one place. You can also choose to make some information available only to users who have access to a special “guest password.”
Inspired by Tim Van Damme’s beautiful business card website, DooID is a nice option for users that want a way to showcase all of their information, but either lack the time to handcode the JavaScript or CSS or don’t know where to start.
When you sign up for the service, you choose a username that will become the basis for your DooID URL. From that point, you fill in information you want to share. You can add in user profiles from social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook and more. Plus, you can add links to other websites.
You can also choose to add your personal and business contact information. This information can be publicly available, or you can choose to make things the details viewable only to users who are given your guest password.
We really like that you can customize the l! ook of your DooID. Here’s what mine looks like, using one of the pre-built color templates and font options:
DooID has pro features that you can purchase for either $35.88 per year (or $2.99 per month) if you pay at once or $3.99 per month. This lets you add an e-mail contact form, upload your CV as PDF, have more control over your RSS feed, have access to more themes and also have access to an iPhone version of the site for an enhanced mobile look.
DooID lets all users — pro or free — embed an easy link to their DooID onto their website or on other social networks.
We really liked how easy it was to create a DooID, and think that this is a great idea, especially for users that don’t have time to build something themselves. If we had a! ny requests, it would be that a) The Twitter icon get reversed! (the &# 8220;t” is currently backwards) and b) That the pro option also include the ability to map to an external domain. Even if domain mapping was a feature that cost more money, I think it would make DooID a really good option for users looking for a good landing page.
Do you have a digital business card website? If so, how did you build it? Let us know!
Sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark
BizSpark is a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.
AT&T is offering folks the chance to be a small part of a big difference as it announces the launch of the ZERO Charger for phones.
When you leave your mobil! e phone charger plugged in when its not actually juicing up a handset, you waste electricity – some estimates see the overall power suck from such scenarios as enough to power 24,000 homes for a year.
That’s where AT&T ZERO charger comes in — it works by automatically sensing when a cell phone is not plugged in and cutting the power supply from the wall socket. Now you can save electricity (and your conscience) when you just grab your phone and go without taking the time to cut the power.
The new eco-friendly charger has a five-star efficiency rating, a “block and cable” design that will work with unspecified “future handsets” and packaging made from 100% recycled paper.
The charger, which is said to be priced the same as a standard charger, is due to hit AT&T stores nationwide in May. There’s more info on the new green option for phone lovers over on AT&T’s microsite.
AT&T is offering folks the chance to be a small part of a big difference as it announces the launch of the ZERO Charger for phones.
When you leave your mobil! e phone charger plugged in when its not actually juicing up a handset, you waste electricity – some estimates see the overall power suck from such scenarios as enough to power 24,000 homes for a year.
That’s where AT&T ZERO charger comes in — it works by automatically sensing when a cell phone is not plugged in and cutting the power supply from the wall socket. Now you can save electricity (and your conscience) when you just grab your phone and go without taking the time to cut the power.
The new eco-friendly charger has a five-star efficiency rating, a “block and cable” design that will work with unspecified “future handsets” and packaging made from 100% recycled paper.
The charger, which is said to be priced the same as a standard charger, is due to hit AT&T stores nationwide in May. There’s more info on the new green option for phone lovers over on AT&T’s microsite.
YouTube has helped launched the career of many an awesome band (and Justin Bieber), now the video-sharing site is taking active steps to help out struggling artists by launching a YouTube Partner program at SXSW called Musicians Wanted.
If you’re a band or musician on the brink, you can head to YouTube’s partnership page to apply for the program, which already counts bands like now-totally-indie OK Go among its denizens.
According to the YouTube blog, only U.S.-based artists can currently apply, but it’s planning on expanding in the future (so keep your ears peeled, Fully Sick Rapper).
This is good news for many a musician. Viral music videos can really rack up the views, and exposure that could actually garner bands cash could be a boon for dudes who subsist solely on Top Ramen and a dream.
Here’s in! die viral darlings, Pomplamoose, to tell you more:
YouTube has helped launched the career of many an awesome band (and Justin Bieber), now the video-sharing site is taking active steps to help out struggling artists by launching a YouTube Partner program at SXSW called Musicians Wanted.
If you’re a band or musician on the brink, you can head to YouTube’s partnership page to apply for the program, which already counts bands like now-totally-indie OK Go among its denizens.
According to the YouTube blog, only U.S.-based artists can currently apply, but it’s planning on expanding in the future (so keep your ears peeled, Fully Sick Rapper).
This is good news for many a musician. Viral music videos can really rack up the views, and exposure that could actually garner bands cash could be a boon for dudes who subsist solely on Top Ramen and a dream.
Here’s in! die viral darlings, Pomplamoose, to tell you more:
After many months of testing, five beta versions and 2 release candidates, Firefox 3.0 was released in June 2008. The 3.0.x branch was the major stable branch ! of Mozilla’s web browser for a long time, and it’s been updated to version 3.0.18 so far. Now, however, it reached the end of the line, as Mozilla’s development plans include only one more update for it.
The users who have moved on to the current stable branch, 3.6, are probably wondering what we’re talking about, but many users still use the 3.0.x version; with this move Mozilla is indicating that it wants these users to upgrade, too.
Mozilla has recently been more aggressive about upgrades, reminding users of old versions of Firefox that an upgrade is available. They’re right: the latest stable versio! n of Firefox (3.6) has been around for several months now, and! in most cases there’s no reason to stick to the old branch.
After many months of testing, five beta versions and two release candidates, Firefox 3.0 was released in June 2008. The 3.0.x branch was the major stable branc! h of Mozilla’s web browser for a long time, and it’s been updated to version 3.0.18 so far. Now, however, it reached the end of the line, as Mozilla’s development plans include only one more update for it.
The users who have moved on to the current stable branch, 3.6, are probably wondering what we’re talking about, but many users still use the 3.0.x version; with this move Mozilla is indicating that it wants these users to upgrade, too.
Mozilla has recently been more aggressive about upgrades, reminding users of old versions of Firefox that an upgrade is available. They’re right: The latest stable vers! ion of Firefox (3.6) has been around for several months now, a! nd in mo st cases there’s no reason to stick to the old branch.
Lithuanian-based GetJar, an independent mobile phone application store with more than 60,000 mobile appli! cations for major mobile platforms such as Android, Symbian and Windows Mobile, commissioned a study that predicts a huge surge in the number of mobile app downloads and the overall size of the mobile app market.
According to the study, created by Chetan Sharma Consulting, mobile app downloads should jump from 7 billion in 2009 to almost 50 billion in 2012. By this time, the market will be worth 17.5 billion dollars, the study predicts, despite the expected lower price of mobile apps, which should drop from the current average of 2 dollars per app to 1.5 dollars in 2012.
GetJar chief executive Ilja Laurs makes another bold prediction, echoing the one we’ve recently heard from a Google executive. “It is easy to see how mobile apps will eclipse the traditional desktop Internet. It makes p! erfect sense that mobile devices will kill the desktop,”! he said .
He backs this up with more data from the study, citing that 17% of GetJar users spend more time on internet-linked smartphones than they do on desktops.
Be that as it may, the work you do on your desktop is still a lot different than the work you do on your smartphone. The mobile application market definitely has tremendous room to grow, especially with the coming of iPad, which takes the mobile app paradigm and slaps it onto a bigger, tablet device. But let’s wait and see how it performs on the market before we declare desktop dead or irrelevant.
Lithuanian-based GetJar, an independent mobile phone application store with over 60,000 mobile applicatio! ns for major mobile platforms such as Android, Symbian and Windows Mobile, commissioned a study that predicts a huge surge in the number of mobile app downloads and the overall size of the mobile app market.
According to the study, created by Chetan Sharma Consulting, mobile app downloads should jump from 7 billion in 2009 to almost 50 billion in 2012. By this time, the market will be worth 17.5 billion dollars, the study predicts, despite the expected lower price of mobile apps, which should drop from the current average of 2 dollars per app to 1.5 dollars in 2012.
GetJar chief executive Ilja Laurs makes another bold prediction, echoing the one we’ve recently heard from a Google executive. “It is easy to see how mobile apps will eclipse the traditional desktop Internet. It makes perfec! t sense that mobile devices will kill the desktop,” he s! aid.
He backs this up with more data from the study, citing that 17% of GetJar users spend more time on internet-linked smartphones than they do on desktops.
Be that as it may, the work you do on your desktop is still a lot different than the work you do on your smartphone. The mobile application market definitely has tremendous room to grow, especially with the coming of iPad, which takes the mobile app paradigm and slaps it onto a bigger, tablet device. But let’s wait and see how it performs on the market before we declare desktop dead or irrelevant.
Talk about not learning from others’ mistakes. Apple has been bashed for months due to lack of copy and paste on its iPhone – never mind if you actually use clipboa! rd or not (I bet most people don’t), it’s a smartphone, and not having this functionality makes the phone seem a lot less smart.
Users gave Apple no rest until it finally included the functionality, and it seems like Microsoft will have to go through the same ordeal on its Windows Phone 7 devices, as Engadget discovered they won’t have copy and paste, either.
Even worse, Microsoft claims that most users don’t really need clipboard functionality. Yes, it might even be true, but the power users are louder than the rest, and they’ll definitely see lack of this functionality as a huge minus.
Talk about not learning from others’ mistakes. Apple has been bashed for months due to lack of copy and paste on its iPhone – never mind if you actually use clipboa! rd or not (I bet most people don’t), it’s a smartphone, and not having this functionality makes the phone seem a lot less smart.
Users gave Apple no rest until it finally included the functionality, and it seems like Microsoft will have to go through the same ordeal on its Windows Phone 7 devices, as Engadget discovered they won’t have copy and paste, either.
Even worse, Microsoft claims that most users don’t really need clipboard functionality. Yes, it might even be true, but the power users are louder than the rest, and they’ll definitely see lack of this functionality as a huge minus.
The preview is bare-bones: after playing around with it, I can tell you that it doesn’t have much in terms of user interface — or anything else for that matter. This is more of a proof-of-concept than a web browser (there isn’t even an address bar). Still, it provides a good glimpse into what we can expect from IE9: a complete reboot.
For one thing, it supports HTML5, the new version of the mark-up language that supports more dynamic web pages, video embedding, and geolocation. That becomes apparent when you test things such as the “HTML5 T-Shirt designer,” which uses HTML5 and XHTML to let you paint your own shirt. It definitely brings Internet Explorer closer to rivals Firefox, Safari, and Chrome in terms of functionality.
Microsoft also focused on adhering to web standards. IE9’s Acid3 test — a measure of how well a web browser follows certain web ! standards — achieves a score of 55/100. Firefox 3.7, fo! r compar ison, scores a 97/100, so still not great. Microsoft also shows off its improved compliance with CSS, including rounded corners (if you’ve ever developed for previous version of IE, this is definitely a sore spot). Microsoft also seems intent on being compatible with CSS3, which is currently under development.
In order to bring IE9 into the new era of the web, Microsoft had to sacrifice a few things. The big one: IE9 will notsupport Windows XP. It could prove to be a smart move, as it might help push more people to upgrade to Windows 7. More importantly, it makes IE9 as web-compliant and advanced as possible.
Microsoft still has a lot to do to win back web users and developers; its market share continues to erode as other browsers with stronger developer ecosystems and more standard-compliant features. This is a strong start though, and a good sign that Microsoft is taking its web browser rivals very seriously.
The preview is bare-bones: After playing around with it, I can tell you that it doesn’t have much in terms of user interface — or anything else for that matter. This is more of a proof-of-concept than a web browser (there isn’t even an address bar). Still, it provides a good glimpse into what we can expect from IE9: a complete reboot.
For one thing, it supports HTML5, the new version of the mark-up language that supports more dynamic webpages, video embedding, and geolocation. That becomes apparent when you test things such as the “HTML5 T-Shirt designer,” which uses HTML5 and XHTML to let you paint your own shirt. It definitely brings Internet Explorer closer to rivals Firefox, Safari and Chrome in terms of functionality.
Microsoft also focused on adhering to web standards. IE9’s Acid3 test — a measure of how well a web browser follows certain web sta! ndards — achieves a score of 55/100. Firefox 3.7, for c! ompariso n, scores a 97/100, so still not great. Microsoft also shows off its improved compliance with CSS, including rounded corners (if you’ve ever developed for previous version of IE, this is definitely a sore spot). Microsoft also seems intent on being compatible with CSS3, which is currently under development.
In order to bring IE9 into the new era of the web, Microsoft had to sacrifice a few things. The big one: IE9 will notsupport Windows XP. It could prove to be a smart move, as it might help push more people to upgrade to Windows 7. More importantly, it makes IE9 as web-compliant and advanced as possible.
Microsoft still has a lot to do to win back web users and developers; its market share continues to erode as other browsers with stronger developer ecosystems and more standard-compliant features. This is a strong start though, and a good sign that Microsoft is taking its web browser rivals very seriously.
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Amazon has just added a major new platform to its Kindle arsenal: Mac. The free application lets you read ebooks on your computer, including those you've purchased previously from Amazon.
Facebook appears to be adding another level of analytics for Fan Page admins: weekly email reports. A number of page owners forwarded us statistics sent to them on Wednesday from the social network, while we received some of our own for the various Pages we mana! ge.
Universal Music Group has debuted a new Guitar Hero-like music simulation game for the 
Update: It’s back!
Are your parents on Facebook? Do you wish they weren’t? Well, it looks like you’re not alone.
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This post is part of Mashable’s Spark of Genius series, which highlights a unique feature of startups. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details 
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YouTube has just 
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We’re used to Google and other search engines decorating their homepages for special occasions, and this 
Name: 
AT&T is offering folks the chance to be a small part of a big difference as it announces the launch of the ZERO Charger for phones.
After many months of testing, five beta versions and 2 release candidates, Firefox 3.0 was released 
Lithuanian-based 
Talk about not learning from others’ mistakes. Apple has been bashed for months due to lack of copy and paste on its iPhone – never mind if you actually use clipboa! rd or not (I bet most people don’t), it’s a smartphone, and not having this functionality makes the phone seem a lot less smart.
Today Microsoft released the 
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