Archive for: beta
ReTweeting is the pretty much the equivalent of digging something multiple time – only with Tweets. When most uses see a retweet it must be from somebody that they are connected with. Now however, Twitter are testing a new Beta program which changes how retweeting works.
Basically,when a person who you are indirectly connected to, I.e. a friends of a friend, tweets something and a person you’re following retweets that tweet, it will be displayed in your timeline. As a member of this Beta I think this is a great idea. I’m finding that my community has grown (almost doubled) and the retweets are always valuable and worthwhile. This is definitely of increasing the quality and social worthiness of Twitter which I approve of.
WordPress Testers and early adopters can now download Wordpress 2.8 and test the new features that promise to make WordPress better and more powerful than before.
There are lots of new features in WordPress 2.8 that are really interesting. Here are a few user features you can look out for
- New Theme Installer routines
- Add CodePress syntax highlighting to Theme and Plugin editors
- Use “Custom Header” for menu text and revise Default theme to reflect change
- Separate Comments into a separate postbox, from Discussion postbox, on the Edit Post screen
- Make tags accessible without Javascript on the edit screen
- Don’t ask for confirmation when marking a comment as spam
- Don’t notify post author of own comments
- Allow the dashboard widgets to be arranged in up to four columns as set via the Screen Options tab
- Add column “Rating” in Administration > Links > Edit
- Improve installer to help people entering wrong email addresses
- Per Page option for plugins
- Show absolute date instead of relative date for scheduled posts
- Autosave post/page when pressing Control/Command+S
- Add toggle all button to the Gallery tab in the uploader
- Support more than one gallery on the same page
- Add per page option to Screen Options for comments, posts, pages, media, categories, and tags
- Show Tools menu for all users so they can access Turbo
- Fix most popular link category list
- Add description field for tags
- “Choose a city in the same timezone as you” for Timezone in Administration > Settings > General
- In upgrade process, provide better explanation for database upgrade message
- Enforce unique email addresses in Add/Edit users
- Hide things that need to be available to screen readers via offscreen positioning
- Use invisible class for hiding labels and legends
- Use a semantic class name for text targeted to screen readers
Download Wordpress 2.8 Beta 1 now and try it out. Since its a beta release, don’t try it on your primary blog.
Since January there has been a lot of buzz around Windows 7 and what is going to be added and removed. Windows 7 has had a beta program which lets anyone signup and test out the new Windows 7 before official release. I wanted to let you know how you can get a Windows 7 beta key.
Basically you have to login to your Windows Live account from the TechNet Downloads page, and then from the same window, paste in the following URL for the 64-bit key:
https://www.microsoft.com/betaexperience/scripts/gcs.aspx?Product=tn-win7-64-ww&LCID=1033
…and this URL for the 32-bit key:
https://www.microsoft.com/betaexperience/scripts/gcs.aspx?Product=tn-win7-32-ww&LCID=1033
We just tried and successfully grabbed a key. If you’ve already installed Windows 7 Beta, then you have to navigate to Control Panel > All Control Panels > System and scroll down to the Windows Activation section which should say “You have 29 days left to activate. Click here to activate now.” Click that link and you will be prompted for the code. Enter the code and then click Activate online now. The online activation failed the first few times with an error for us, but simply trying again eventually yielded a successful activation with the code provided, so don’t lose hope if it doesn’t work the first time. Hello, no expiration until August 2009! Supposedly activation will be limited to the first 2.5 million copies of Windows Beta 7, so you might want to go ahead and download your copy now and get the code. Good luck!
Google has just release Chrome (its internet browser) to the world in beta stage. If you are interested in testing out this new browser then head here to download.
So, what does a Google Chrome beta bring? Speed, and lots of it. According to Google, it’s 25 percent faster than the stable build of Chrome, which is nothing short of amazing given that Chrome is already blazing fast.
Other new features are form autofill, full page zooming and autoscroll, as well as a way to get a side-by-side view by dragging out tabs to the side of the browser window, which you can see in the amazingly short video below.
Rubicon Project is now in public beta and has even named their product, Automatic. Automatic is their ad network optimiser and for this service they will be charging 10% of your ad revenue, but say they can increase your CPM and fill rates. We will see if this works! For a while now I have been in their private beta, and im very curious to see if their service actually works and by how much.
Today Yahoo have announced the release of the brand new version of FoxyTunes, in which they purchased back in February.
The new version is for IE (fresh beta) and it has some great new customisation option to boot. Now you can change the appearance of your FoxyTunes by installing custom skins (we’ve already got 11 skins available) and down the road you’ll be able to create your very own. We’ve even added a FoxyTunes Mini, basically a universal desktop widget that’s a customizable, collapsible, and skinnable version of its big bro. The best part — there’s a timer and alarm clock feature that lets you set your media player to your favorite song.
Download the new version here.
I was lucky enough to get a chance to look at Netvibes and their new Ginger offering. As most of us already know Netvibes has to be the most popular start page on the internet at present, and with this new offering it is going to continue. Ginger is the name for the next generation start page that Netvibes is offering in February. This start page has a lot more features then their previous version and more the point is a lot more aesthetically appealing. 
The Interface
The interface in Ginger is a great deal better then what is offered on Netvibes at the present. You have a lot more options to customise your start page exactly like you want it. The theming and coding just seems to be a lot more professional than before.
More Of A Social Network
In Ginger there is a new contact section that is making Netvibes to become much more than just a start page. Slowly the site is growing into a type of social network, in which you will be able to see what your friends are looking at and ever people can follow your site. This feature reminds me a lot of Twitter, follow or being followed. Im also a fan of the activities section, kind of a mix between Facebook news feeds and Twitter.
Overall
Everyone will get there hands on the new Netvibes in February and it will be worth the wait. I have never been a person to use a start page, but because Ginger has just got a really sexy interface, I might even make the switch. Netvibes has also worked out their business model to be based around providing widgets for outside clients, but I would to see them monetize in unique ways, such as offering a sponsored section in which you can pay to be placed in a predominant spot when adding a widget. I can see they already offer a featured section, but this seems to be limited to only 6 slots. However, its always good to see a service not filled with shitty display ads!
Qtrax will be sued before they even launch if they arent careful. Qtrax is a music P2P service that is supposed to have launched a few days ago, but the site is online and no one can download their software. Plus, it has been reported that Qtrax dont have agreements with WMG and EMI when they have specifically announced that they have. So strange!
The LA Times reported that Qtrax has not signed with EMI or Warner Music Group and they are only close to coming to terms with Universal. So why are they going around saying they already have these contracts? I really think this product could be a lost effort even before it launches.
ReTweeting is the pretty much the equivalent of digging something multiple time – only with Tweets. When most uses see a retweet it must be from somebody that they are connected with. Now however, Twitter are testing a new Beta program which changes how retweeting works.
