Less than a month ago, FourSquare, a location based social network commonly used to post your location on Twitter, announced that they were getting an update every second from their users. So that works out at around 600,000 updates per week. Not bad for a small start-up. However, in less than thirty days their user rates have doubled.
They shared with the world yesterday, via a tweet that they were getting over a million updates per week. 1.2 million to be exact.
That is a phenomenal increase in user ratings which most companies can only dream of achieving. I’ve noticed this increase myself on Twitter and am strongly considering using the service. After all, it’s more fun than our standard geo-location tweets, more social and have cool games to go along with it!
Facebook have told us that over the past few months they have been looking for ways to improve the user interface, and mores specifically the navigation. Obviously, given that it’s a social network, Facebook have developed a new method of seeing what’s new in your circle of friends.
“In the top menu, you will find your newest notifications, requests and messages. For example, when you receive a Facebook notification about someone writing on your Wall or tagging you in a photo, you’ll see a red bubble appear in the left-hand corner near the search bar. When you click on the icon, you’ll see a drop-down menu with your most recent notifications.”Said Jing Chen
The menu to the left of your profile has also been changed around to make it “Easier for you to communicate with and discover content from your friends”. By clicking on News Feed, Messages, Events or Photos you can instantly view the most recent content from your friends as seen in the screenshot above. You can also use the new ‘Friends’ feature to look for new friends who are connected to you via others.
Also, they have made the Game and Application section much, much better. They’re making it easier for you to organise your apps and also find new ones via the “Games” and “Applications” buttons on the home screen.
“You will also start to see counters next to the applications you have bookmarked on your home page. Counters will notify you when you have a specific action to take, so that you never miss your turn in a game or an update from a friend in an application.” she said.
You can bookmark your favourite applications using the “Add Bookmark” button in an application, and then you’ll have one-click access to them from the left-hand menu beneath the Applications and Games dashboards. Click the “More” link to see all of your newest bookmarks.”
It’s good to see that Facebook are continually updating their UI and making it more user friendly.
Since the iPad was officially unveiled over a week ago now, everyone been praising some of its aspects and slamming others. I know quite a few people who aren’t too pleased with paying hundreds of dollars for an “oversized iPad”. Regardless of what you think of the price, it won’t really matter for Austrians.
3, the popular mobile network, will be offering a 333 Euro ($455) discount on the iPad once you take out a data plan at thirty euro a month. We’re not too such exactly what the European price will be for the iPad, but judging from US prices, this discount means you could hand over fifty Euro on the day of purchase and then pay thirty Euro a month for the next two years. But that thirty Euro ain’t for nothing. You’ll be getting a portable broadband modem which will create a WiFi hotspot around you. Thus you can surf the net on your WiFi iPad wherever you are!
This deal isn’t too bad, particularly in the short run. However, as a warning to all our Austrian readers, I’d think long and hard about how much you really need an iPad both now and two years down the line, because once you’re in, you’re in.
A bit of an embarrassment for Mozilla Firefox – and it comes at a a bad time too, right when they’re loosing their dominance in the browser world as Chrome catches up.
Mozilla has been known as a very safe browser as compared to its old enemy, Internet Explorer. In fact, many people used it for just that reason. So the last thing Mozilla needed was reports of Malware in two ad-ons which were available for download from their website.
“Two add-ons in the experimental section of addons.mozilla.org were found to be containing malware,” Mozilla said on its security blog. “These were not originally detected with the anti-malware scanning tools that we have been using. We have since increased the number of scanning tools, and will be taking additional steps to minimize the risk of further incidents.
It is thought that well in excess of 4,000 downloads of the ad-ons have taken place since they were first released in September. So are you one of the thousands of people who inadvertently infected their own machines? Well if you downloaded Sothink 4.0 and all versions of Master Filer then there’s a good chance you are. These installed Win32.LdPinch.gen and Win32.Bitfrose.32.Bitfrose Trojan respectively. So if you have downloaded these, I suggest running a scan of your system ASAP.
Its been well-known for decades that robots are replacing humans in many work-fields. The most obvious would be in manufacturing such as in car plants or food factories. But what about the humble barkeep? Could his days be numbered too?
Well students from Middlesex University think so. They recently showed off their Heineken Bot at the Kinetics Art Fair in London the other day. What the little beer toting fella does is wheel around in a pre-programmed path and serve people glasses of Heineken whenever they want one as you can see in the video below.
He’s basically just a walking keg with a few sensors but I think this is really cool. It might be a few more years before these things are common place (that beer looked a little too foamy for my linking in the video), but I like the principal of Robots serving us beer. Hopefully it’s not just a ploy to get us all drunk and take over the world during our epic hangovers!
Before any phone is released onto the market it goes through a series of test. Some to test the hardware. Others the operating systems. And others, to see how who can break it first. We have come across two videos in which the new Nexus One from Google is put through a series of tests to see how durable the phone is and to show the public just how such a strong phone is actually built.
We don’t get to see any of the phones break into smithereens (I don’t think my heart could take it!), but it’s pretty cool to watch them bend, flex, bounce drop and crash around the testing lab! Check out the short film (which is episode three in the series) in the HTC testing labs.
The next video in the series is the mass manufacturing of the device. As the films narrator rightly points out, the manufacturing of this phone is like no other in that quality is given prominence. Some of the machines and techniques used are pretty cool. You also get insider information from the experts.
Millions of Americans, and indeed people around the world, tuned in to watch the highlight of the US sporting year, the Super Bowl. As Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google, hinted yesterday, Google did indeed run an advertisement during the Super Bowl for the first ever time.
The ad has since become a hit around the Internet, especially on sites such as YouTube on Twitter, all within a few hours of being broadcast in the third quarter ad break of the Super Bowl. I watched it on YouTube, and I have to say it’s pretty well done. It basically summarises Google’s search functionality in a way which I’m sure has millions of US families going ‘Awwwwww’. Check it out below.
As I write this article, and as you read it, thousands of developers are scrambling to update their apps so they’re compatible with the iPad and to make better versions which suit the device. Nobody knew what was going to be in store for the app world with the launch of the iPad the other day. Many expected a Mac laptop without the base. Fortunately for app developers, it’s basically a big iPod touch!
This brings a whole new market to the app world. And a new market needs to be monitored for usage and revenue. Motally, who currently offer remote services for iPhone app developers have said that their service will be extended to include iPad SDK devices. That way, developers will be able to keep track on how popular their app is and what users are doing when on the app. Data which can be taken include page views, time spent using app and when the app is most frequently in use (time of day).
Developers will be able to get daily updates delivered straight to their own iPads or iPhones and can view complete statistics on the Motally website. Currently, the small start-up is quite successful and has helped some big clients keep track of their apps. These include Twitter, Yelp and Verizon.
Finally, VoIP calling has been given an official place on the iPhone after much confusion and anger when several VoIP apps were rejected or restricted by Apple last year.
iCall is a new service which has just been announced for the iPhone 3G and the iPad SDK. This comes just hours after Apple dropped restrictions on VoIP services (maybe in an attempt to sugar coat the iPad given the lack of phone features?).
Despite the ‘Why?’, this is great news for all iPhone users. Skype should now be able to flourish on the iPhone and Google Voice will undoubtedly be given a place in the app store even though it was previously banned and the two companies are now at war with one another.
I’m looking forward to trying out some 3G video conferencing and testing out the quality of VoIP over a 3G network. The fact that the iPad doesn’t have a camera may hold it back in this regard but I guess it’s better than nothing.It’s about time Apple started paying attention to the needs of the customer instead of bowing to every demand of AT&T.
The iPad has been receiving mixed reviews. Some see it as a breakthrough. “Like holding the future in your hands” is a quote that’s been used a lot. Others who thought it would encompass more of a Mac computer feel were a little disappointed. None more so than Adolf Hitler.
This is a parody that has been ripped off way to many times for everything from WoW to Burger King. But this one is very well done and has Hitler raving about the lack of a camera and Flash support. Also, he’s not too pleased with the 3G restrictions to the much shamed At&T network in the US. He also doesn’t see the new ‘iBooks’ store as an alternative to the Kindle and pretty much calls it an oversized iPod touch.
Hey, maybe he’s right on this one. Check out the video here.
Remember a few weeks ago, right around the time of CES, when everyone was yammering on about the Apple iPad. All the other prospective touch screen tablets which were ‘up and coming’ took a back seat. The HP Slate was given the cold shoulder and the MSI 10-inch tablet? Forget it.
Now however, the sobering release of the real Apple iPad (not the wishy-washy dreams of Apple fan boys) have us looking at the competition. And according to DigiTimes, MSI’s tablet will retail at a pricy $500. Ouch.
However, I do smell a level of success for this one. You see, the iPad has been bombarded with criticism for being an oversized iPod Touch. Everyone wanted a slim, touch screen computer but that just didn’t happen. MSI might fulfil the prophesy.
It’s got a desktop much like that of your standard PC and has numerous ports and external ports. It’s not as sleek looking as the overgrown iPod iPad but it does have an aura of practicality about it.
This is a tough one to call. And to be honest, it’s destiny (and perhaps even that of the HP slate) relies on how well publicity goes for the iPad over the next few weeks. If the launch goes well and people get over the iPod feel, then MSI might be in trouble. If things keep going as they are though, then the MSI tablet might just be the next big hit for portable touch screen computing!
Back when the internet was gaining huge amounts of users at the turn of the millennium, everything was about the World Wide aspect. But now, it’s worn a little thin. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still useful and connects people and companies all over the planet. But local search is where there are big bucks to be made. Think about it, aren’t you more likely to click on an advertisement when it’s a 20% discount for the Chinese restaurant around the corner, instead of an offer for the Chinese HiPhone?
All the major online services have caught on with Twitter being the latest having launched Local Trends. Now, Buzz.com looks to catch in on the local .com boom. At the minute it’s still in Beta testing. But more and more tech blogs are talking about it.
While Buzz.com will rely heavily on social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, At&T have stressed that they have not built a social networking site, although you will be able to share many things with friends and family. By indexing what people are talking about as well as working with companies and advertisers, buzz.com will provide people will accurate search results for things like clubs, restaurants, shops, deals and much more. It’s like social media for local businesses.
I can’t wait until Buzz comes out of private Beta. It sounds like a great service to get the skinny on what’s going on in your locale. If you want to try your luck at getting a private invitation, click here.
Want to know the best places to go or businesses to call? Let buzz.com help you tap your social net for business recommendations from the people you trust most – your friends and family. – Buzz.com
