Microsoft had their chance at defining a market. They pushed for the creation of the Ultramobile PCs (“UMPCs”). The Windows-based mini-tablets have not found their market. However, the Apple iPhone (and now the iPod touch) is actually the UMPC done right.

Labels: Apple, Internet, iPhone, Mac, PC

On November 9th, 2004, you all started a movement. Spread Firefox, supported by tens of thousands of contributors, took just 99 days to deliver 25 million downloads of Firefox to a world of people desperate for a better Web -- a Web that didn't overwhelm them with pop-ups, a Web that didn't infect their systems with viruses and spyware, a Web that was fun again, simply put, a Web that worked.

In less than six months, you all doubled that number to 50 million downloads, turned open source into a household word and reasserted the supremacy of choice and simplicity.

It took the Spread Firefox global community of activists only one year to reach the 100 million downloads mark and to let the world know that innovation was alive again on the Web.

And just one year ago you all helped to double that number again, to 200 million downloads. More than 50,000 of you, with Spread Firefox buttons and banners, not only helped Firefox achieve an amazing download milestone, but you all helped to make Firefox one of the world's most recognized and respected brands.

Today, you all have done it once again. With your amazing efforts, Firefox has reached 400 million downloads and demonstrated that not even the world's most powerful companies can keep people from a better, safer, and faster Web experience.

Labels: Firefox, Internet

Labels: Humor, Internet, Microsoft

Zoho customers can now work with their Zoho Writer documents while offline via the new Go Offline feature in Zoho Writer. Additionally, Zoho Writer's new Comments feature lets users add contextual comments to their personal and shared documents.

The offline move is Zoho's first step toward making its online office applications available for offline use via the open source Google Gears platform. To see Zoho Writer's Go Offline feature in action, visit http://www.viddler.com/explore/Raju/videos/7/.

"When our customers ask for new features, we do our best to implement them as quickly as possible," said Raju Vegesna, Zoho evangelist. "For Zoho Writer, we added support for nine languages last week, comments and offline support this week, and yet another significant new feature will be added next week."

Initially, Zoho users will have read-only access to their Zoho Writer documents when offline. Read/write functionality will follow shortly. Going forward, Zoho plans to bring offline capabilities to other Zoho applications.

Labels: Google, Internet

Firefox... what happened to you? Consuming gross amounts of memory, slower and slower as releases go by. You were supposed to be a slim browser usurping Mozilla by virtue of simplicity, shedding the feature creep and lack of engineering that had convoluted the Mozilla suite. Now you have become the very thing you were created to kill: a bloated browser.

Labels: Email, Firefox, Internet, Mozilla

After August 15, 2007, you will no longer be able to view your purchased or rented videos.

Labels: Digital media, Google, Internet

Apple today unveiled an all new all-in-one iMac line featuring gorgeous 20- and 24-inch widescreen displays encased in elegant and professional aluminum and glass enclosures. The entire new iMac line features the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors and a new, ultra-thin aluminum Apple Keyboard, built-in iSight video camera for video conferencing and iLife '08, making it the ultimate digital lifestyle desktop computer for both consumers and professionals. The 20-inch iMac now starts at just $1,199, $300 less than the previous 20-inch model, and the 24-inch iMac starts at just $1,799, $200 less than the previous 24-inch model.

Apple today announced significant enhancements to its .Mac online service, highlighted by the debut of .Mac Web Gallery, a new feature for sharing photos and movies on the Internet. .Mac Web Gallery lets members easily share photos and movies directly from iLife '08 with anyone on a Mac, PC or iPhone(TM) in stunning quality. In addition, .Mac Web Gallery visitors can download high quality images for printing and even contribute photos using a standard web browser or email. Other new .Mac features include a tenfold increase in .Mac storage to 10GB, support for personal domains for iWeb websites and enhancements to .Mac Mail.

Apple today introduced iLife '08, the most significant upgrade ever to Apple's award- winning suite of digital lifestyle applications, featuring a major new version of iPhoto and a completely reinvented iMovie. iPhoto '08 automatically organizes photo libraries into Events that let users more easily manage their growing photo collections, and iMovie '08 introduces an entirely new way for users to quickly make movies and share them online. Both iPhoto and iMovie integrate seamlessly with the new .Mac Web Gallery, Apple's new service for .Mac members to instantly create and host stunning online websites for their photos and videos. iLife '08 also features iWeb '08, with live web widgets such as Google Maps that let users create even more dynamic websites, and GarageBand '08, with its new Magic GarageBand feature that makes it fun and easy for both musicians and non-musicians to create great sounding songs.

Apple today introduced iWork '08, a significant upgrade to Apple's productivity software suite featuring new versions of Pages and Keynote word processing and presentation applications, and introducing an innovative new spreadsheet application called "Numbers." Numbers introduces the concept of intelligent tables on a flexible canvas, a new approach that makes it easy to organize information, create calculations, analyze results and make spreadsheets look as great as they work. Pages '08 now features distinct modes for streamlined word processing and flexible page layout, a new contextual format bar and change tracking, and Keynote '08 now includes text effects, transitions and themes that help users easily compose spectacular presentations, and Smart Builds with easy-to-set-up A-to-B animations that make impressive animations easy for anyone to create.

Labels: Apple, Digital media, Internet, Mac

I've come to the conclusion that everyone needs to take a test before being able to use e-mail. No, I'm serious.

You have to take an e-mail test. If you pass, you get an e-mail license. Proudly hang it on the wall. If you screw up -- break any of Bass's e-mail regs by, say, sending lots of message with blank subject lines -- and your license is pulled. You go on probation and attend mandatory remedial e-mail sessions.

You think I'm kidding, right? Don't test me, okay? Because I have a laundry list of ways people drive me wild with annoying e-mail behaviors. I wrote about a few in Get Relief From Annoying E-Mail, my Hassle-Free PC print column. But I have more (and God help you if you're one of the offenders). Dig in...

Labels: Email, Internet

Mozilla has been supporting Thunderbird as a product since the beginning of the Foundation. The result is a good, solid product that provides an open alternative for desktop mail. However, the Thunderbird effort is dwarfed by the enormous energy and community focused on the web, Firefox and the ecosystem around it. As a result, Mozilla doesn't focus on Thunderbird as much as we do browsing and Firefox and we don't expect this to change in the foreseeable future. We are convinced that our current focus - delivering the web, mostly through browsing and related services - is the correct priority. At the same time, the Thunderbird team is extremely dedicated and competent, and we all want to see them do as much as possible with Thunderbird.

We have concluded that we should find a new, separate organizational setting for Thunderbird; one that allows the Thunderbird community to determine its own destiny.

Labels: Internet, Mozilla

Developers can create Web 2.0 applications that look and behave just like the applications built into iPhone, and provide seamless integration with iPhone applications and services including making a phone call, sending an email, and displaying a location in Google Maps. Third-party applications created using web standards can extend iPhone's capabilities without compromising its reliability or security.

Labels: Apple, Internet, iPhone, Mobile

Verizon Wireless kicked some network sand in the face of AT&T on Friday by announcing its entire EV-DO (Evolution-Data Optimized) network has been upgraded with higher speeds and lower latency.

Although the Apple iPhone going on sale at Apple and AT&T stores Friday has won praise for its design, features and Wi-Fi capability, in its current form the phone uses EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution), a form of GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) that falls far short of the nation's fastest cellular systems.EDGE averages 70K bits per second to 135K bps downstream.

Verizon announced Friday that its whole EV-DO network has been upgraded to EV-DO Revision A, which the carrier said offers 600K bps to 1.4M bps downstream and between 500K bps and 800K bps upstream. Its earlier EV-DO network delivered 400K bps to 700K bps downstream and just 60K bps to 80K bps upstream, Verizon said. Revision A is also designed for less latency, a type of delay that can hurt time-sensitive applications such as multimedia.

Labels: Apple, Internet, iPhone, Mobile

The most-hyped phone in history goes on sale at 6 p.m. June 29 -- a product launch turned cultural watershed that has created tremendous expectations. An estimated 19 million Americans have "strong interest" in buying the phone that Apple Inc. has promoted as a "breakthrough Internet device."

The buzz and secrecy surrounding the $499 phone have created a cultlike following, but so far Apple and AT&T, formerly known as Cingular Wireless, have been short on the details -- including basics like how to get one.

no one knows yet whether the iPhone will have its own service plan or whether people will buy one of AT&T's existing plans for voice and data. It's unclear whether people who buy the phone at an Apple store will have to take it to an AT&T store to have it activated or sign up for service at the Apple store.

AT&T said details about the terms of service and activation will be revealed next week prior to launch.

An AT&T spokeswoman said that the corporately owned AT&T stores will carry the iPhone, but authorized retailers -- which may look just like the company-owned stores -- will not carry the phone initially.

Apple announced that iPhone will deliver significantly longer battery life when it ships on June 29 than was originally estimated when iPhone was unveiled in January. iPhone will feature up to 8 hours of talk time, 6 hours of Internet use, 7 hours of video playback or 24 hours of audio playback.*

A group of volunteer designers and developers plan to team up in the Bay Area early next month to host the first ever iPhone Developer Camp, a non-commercial event aimed at making the Web a better place for Apple Inc.'s upcoming mobile handset.

The free gathering, inspired by BarCamp, SuperHappyDevHouse, and MacHack, is open to the public and will run July 6-8 at a still undetermined location in San Francisco, Calif. By the completion of the three-day event, the group's organizers hope to launch a number of iPhone-ready web applications and web sites to the public.

The price of the device itself and the cost of switching carriers may dampen the demand for Apple's iPhone, according to a survey conducted by IDC.

The survey of online mobile phone shoppers, conducted by IDC and Market Insight Corp., found that while a majority of the respondents – nearly 60% of a sample of 456 individuals – were interested in the iPhone, they were unlikely to buy one anytime soon owing to the cost of the device and the potential cost of switching carriers.

Labels: Apple, Internet, iPhone

A failed real estate speculator who created a popular Web site touting his exploits has begun threatening to sue his critics and claims to be in hiding in Australia.

Casey Serin, arguably the world's most-hated blogger, rocketed to Internet stardom after disclosing his pending foreclosures, marital strife and unwillingness to find a job. But the 24-year-old's online fame was hardly flattering: it arose from legions of readers who call themselves "haterz" and frequent his iamfacingforeclosure.com blog to ridicule his financial missteps and urge Serin to pay back up to $420,000 he is said to owe creditors.

Labels: Humor, Internet

There's only one problem -- Safari sucks. A lot of Mac users won't run the browser (I'm one of them), so why would anyone run it on Windows?

On my Mac, Safari is buggy and unreliable. It's always crashing, and it doesn't offer basic features like remembering all the tabs you have open after you quit (or more likely, after it crashes). Until now, it didn't even warn you before closing multiple tabs, although the new version of Safari fixes this.

Labels: Apple, Internet, Mac, PC

Google Inc.'s privacy practices are the worst among the Internet's top destinations, according to a report released Saturday by Privacy International.

The London group assigned Google its lowest grade, a category reserved for companies with "comprehensive consumer surveillance and entrenched hostility to privacy."

None of the 22 other surveyed companies fell to that level, according to Privacy International.

In a statement from one of its lawyers, Google said it aggressively protects its users' privacy and stands behind its track record.

Labels: Google, Internet

At the San Jose Convention Center on Thursday, as Google Developer Day 2007 gets underway in the U.S., Google engineering VP Jeff Huber plans to demonstrate how one of his company's online applications, Google Reader, can be used without an Internet connection.

"Ajax-based applications, browser-based applications, are great and have many, many wonderful properties," said Huber. "But we found that every so often, people get on airplanes."

Google's recently disclosed purchase of browser security startup GreenBorder suddenly makes a lot more sense: Google is moving into Microsoft territory, the desktop.

"With Google Gears we're tackling a key limitation of the browser in order to make it a stronger platform for deploying all types of applications and enabling a better user experience in the cloud," said Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, in a statement. "We believe strongly in the power of the community to stretch this new technology to the limits of what's possible and ultimately emerge with an open standard that benefits everyone."

Google hopes Gears will become the standard for adding offline capabilities -- data storage, application caching, and multi-threading -- to online applications.

Labels: Google, Internet

Google and Dell have teamed up to install some software on Dell computers that borders on being spyware. I say spyware because it’s hard to figure out what it is and is even harder to remove.

About a year ago Google and Dell announced a partnership to include the Google Toolbar on new Dell computers. At the same time, Google was trying to convince the Department of Justice that changing the default search engine in the (then) new IE7 was too difficult (when in reality it’s really simple). Installing the toolbar meant that users would have Google as their default search engine in IE7. It also meant that Dell and Google would share some of the revenue from the advertising clicks that resulted from these installations, much like The Mozilla Foundation does with its Firefox browser.

The computer hardware business has razor-thin margins which means making a profit is tough. So the opportunity for Dell to get a recurring revenue stream from an existing customer long after the sale of the computer is more than just enticing, it’s huge. It also means a couple other things:

1. Dell and Google have an incentive to make it very hard for users to turn this off.

2. Because users can’t get rid of it, Dell and Google can get away with putting more ads on the page and pushing user-relevant content off the page.

They’re now doing both of these things.

Labels: Google, Internet, PC

Google TiSP (BETA) is a fully functional, end-to-end system that provides in-home wireless access by connecting your commode-based TiSP wireless router to one of thousands of TiSP Access Nodes via fiber-optic cable strung through your local municipal sewage lines.

Installing TiSP

Installing a typical home TiSP system is a quick, easy and largely sanitary process -- provided you follow these step-by-step instructions very, very carefully.

#1 Remove the spindle of fiber-optic cable from your TiSP installation kit.

#2 Attach the sinker to the loose end of the cable, take one safe step backward and drop this weighted end into your toilet.

Labels: Google, Humor, Internet

Microsoft has denied reports that users of its Xbox Live online gaming service have had their accounts hacked.

It follows a number of complaints from gamers that their IDs, or gamer tags, have been taken over while playing.

The problems came to light after security researcher Kevin Finisterre reported his experience of a problem first-hand on his website.

In a statement Microsoft said it had found no evidence of any compromise of the security of Xbox Live.

A Microsoft spokesman told the BBC News website that "rumours about accounts being hijacked are false".

In a statement the firm said: "There have been a few isolated incidents where malicious users have been attempting to draw personal information from unsuspecting users and use it to gain access to their Live account.

"We think this is a good time to remind our members that they should never give out any of their personal information."

Labels: Internet, Video games, Xbox 360

Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser may have the lion's share of the general market, but when it comes to security professionals, Mozilla's Firefox open source browser is an even contender, according to a security survey released Monday.

Security-minded people also were quicker to try out Internet Explorer version 7, researchers with the SANS Institute found, though it didn't appear to sway Firefox fans, and the general public quickly is catching up in IE7 adoption.

"Security people are overall more aware of the flaws in Explorer and more likely to play with other browsers," says Johannes Ullrich, chief research officer at the SANS Institute and chief technology officer for the Internet Storm Center. "More common users might not feel comfortable trying out something new. Not as confident."

While IE generally garners about 79% of the browser market, Firefox is just as popular as IE when it comes to security types, the survey shows. Frantzen's survey also shows that that 50/50 stat has held pretty steady over the past six months.

"It isn't that Firefox is really more secure per say, but [Mozilla is] typically patched faster," says Ullrich.

Labels: Firefox, Internet, Mozilla

In the past, Scoble has tended to be sympathetic about Microsoft’s failings. However, he was provoked into stinging criticism last week after a series of triumphalist remarks, including some disparaging comments about Google made by Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s chief executive.

At a “global summit” of its most-valued software developers, Microsoft repeatedly declared that it would “win” in search and other parts of its Windows Live internet strategy.

“The words are empty,” Scoble responded. “Microsoft’s internet execution sucks (on the whole). Its search sucks. Its advertising sucks. If that’s ‘in it to win’, then I don’t get it.”

He continued: “Microsoft isn’t going away. Don’t get me wrong. They have record profits, record sales, all that. But on the internet? Come on.

Labels: Internet, Microsoft

Despite their best efforts, Google's search engine rivals still aren't making much of a dent in the company's commanding lead in the space. Apparently, their latest strategy is to convince users that Google's position allows it to wield a frightening amount of control over the world's information. Of course, they don't just come out and say this; rather, a marketing firm hired by Yahoo and Ask has started promoting a site that cryptically warns users to "Stop The Online Information Monopoly". It warns that it's only a matter of time before Google has the power of mind control, and that the way to stop this is to try a rival search engine. The problem is that Google really doesn't exhibit the ominous behavior that this marketing campaign claims it does. Consumers do have choice when it comes to search engines, and for the most part, they're choosing Google.

Labels: Google, Internet

Google Inc. is adopting new privacy measures to make it more difficult to connect online search requests with the people making them — a thorny issue that provoked a showdown with the U.S. government last year.

Google believes it can provide more assurances of privacy by removing key pieces of identifying information from its system every 18 to 24 months. The timetable is designed to comply with a hodgepodge of laws around the world that dictate how long search engines are supposed to retain user information.

Authorities still could demand to review personal information before Google purges it or take legal action seeking to force the company to keep the data beyond the new time limits.

Labels: Google, Internet

In a widely expected move, media conglomerate Viacom on Wednesday announced that it was suing Google for $1 billion over rampant copyright infringement on Google's YouTube video site. Viacom says that Google has shown "brazen disregard" for its multiple requests to have content from such Viacom entities as "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," "South Park," and even movies like "An Inconvenient Truth" removed from YouTube.

In the unlikely event that you're not familiar with YouTube, the site came to prominence a few years ago as sort of a video version of Napster: Users log onto the site and upload videos, which can run the gamut from home movies to ripped versions of commercially available Hollywood movies. Indeed, most of the content on YouTube seems to be stolen directly from TV and movie sources. After Google purchased the site for $1.65 billion last year, the company moved quickly to make arrangements with various content creators in order to avoid this sort of lawsuit. But Viacom has held out refused to give Google permission to host its content on YouTube.

According to Viacom, YouTube has displayed over 160,000 unauthorized video clips that have been viewed over 1.5 billion times by users.

Labels: Google, Internet

A very nice checkin has just hit the Mozilla source code. Support for read and write of Google Calendar. So now both Lightning and Sunbird has support for Google Calendar. Please note that the support currently is minimal but it's being worked on. It's being build as an extension.

And no, I dont know where to get this extension. I dont think it's getting build right now. So you have to wait for more information.

Labels: Google, Internet

Movie-rental giant Blockbuster Inc. is in advanced talks to acquire Movielink LLC, an online movie-downloading company owned by the major Hollywood studios, according to people familiar with the matter.

While the proposed deal is small -- the price is said to be less than $50 million in cash and stock -- it has important strategic implications. For Blockbuster, it represents a quick way into the online download business. Movielink has quietly peddled films online since 2002, with little success. In the past year or so, the nascent field has begun to pick up momentum, with big players like Apple Inc.'s.

Labels: Digital media, Internet, iTunes

Microsoft Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie yesterday described the company's most recent Internet-based competitor, Google, as a "wake-up call."

Despite Ozzie's internal efforts, Microsoft has only floundered in the online space since Google's rise. Part of the reason is corporate inertia: Microsoft's biggest businesses, Windows, Office, and Windows Server, are traditional software products with entrenched teams of backers who have only slowly realized the dangers of Web-based software services. Microsoft fears that it will have to cannibalize its most successful products in order to effectively compete with companies such as Google.

One thing is pretty clear: A decade ago, Microsoft was willing to do whatever it took to take down Netscape, including the ill-advised bundling of its Web browser into Windows, despite internal protestations about the technical and moral problems with such an approach. Stung by the innumerable antitrust battles that followed, today's Microsoft seems unwilling to change as dramatically. And its current complementary approach, from what I can see, has failed. Put simply, Microsoft may indeed have gotten a wake-up call, but it's been punching the Snooze button ever since.

Labels: Google, Internet, Microsoft

BitTorrent.com is the premiere destination for downloadable entertainment content. Not only does the site provide fast, on-demand access to the most comprehensive licensed catalog of thousands of movies, TV shows, music and games, it also provides content creators a publishing platform to list their works in high-quality alongside the most recognizable titles from major movie studios, TV networks, and record labels.

Labels: Internet, iTunes

I'm excited to tell you that our baby has finally graduated and is entering the business world. Google Apps Premier Edition is a new version designed to take on all the challenges presented by businesses with complex IT needs. For $50 per account per year, you get the whole Google Apps package plus many new business-oriented features, including access to our APIs and partner solutions (so it’s easy to integrate with existing systems), conference room scheduling for Calendar, 10GB of inbox storage, extended business hours phone support, and mobile access to your email on BlackBerry devices (just in case you can't get enough at the office).

Already, companies big and small, like Procter & Gamble, General Electric Corporation, Prudential, and SF Bay Pediatrics, are talking about how this new version of Google Apps makes it easy to offer low-cost communication and collaboration tools to all their employees so they can get on with what they do best.

Google Apps also won't forget its roots anytime soon. The Standard and Education Editions will continue to be offered for free, and we'll keep working on all three flavors of Google Apps with the help of feedback from all of you. As a start, we’ve just integrated Google Docs & Spreadsheets in all three editions so that everyone can share and edit documents online. Since August, we’ve also added five more major features you've requested, including customized service URLs (mail.yourcompany.com) and domain registration for organizations that don’t yet have a custom domain. Our appearance has matured too, with updates to the administrator control panel that make it easier to setup and manage your services.

Labels: Google, Internet

Nearly three years after Gmail was first released, the free Web-based e-mail from Google is being opened up for anyone in the world. Beginning Wednesday, everyone and their mother can sign up instead of having to get an invite from a Gmail-using friend. Google has been phasing out the invitation restriction geographically, with total general availability offered in Europe last week and in North America, South America and Asia this week. The service is still in beta test mode, however.

Labels: Google, Internet

What you are looking at is a draft of the main toolbar of Netscape 9.0, running on Windows XP.

Netscape 9 will be a standalone browser, and from this screenshot, you can infer several things: unlike Netscape 8, Netscape 9 will contain more standardized support for newsfeeds (a.k.a. Live Bookmarks); it will also have tight integration with the Netscape.com service, as evidenced by the icons for the two available Netscape.com extensions (Friends' Activity Sidebar and the Sitemail Notifier). Several Netscape.com-based extensions will be built into the browser; only these two have been previously announced.

Labels: Internet

When the Google founders talk about the decision being bad for Google, it’s purely on a business level. They could care less about ethics, about doing what’s right, about living up to their “Don’t be evil” slogan, and about principles. As long as things are good for business, they’ll go ahead with it no matter what. And this was ofcourse their motivation to help censor information at the very beginning as I wrote. But when they don’t get what they want from the Chinese government, then suddenly the “principled approach makes more sense.”

So remember, it is very important to know why Google regrets censoring information in China. Not because they came to see that it was against their “Don’t be evil” slogan and that it was a bad thing to do, but because they didn’t get the business results from it that they hoped to get.

And when you know this, it is also easy to understand why there has since been no reversal of that decision. Since this is purely about business, a reversal would mean losing even more business, so that’s not an option. If this was about doing what’s right, about living up to their false “goody two shoes” image, they would have reversed their decision a year ago already.

Labels: Google, Internet