Filed under: E-mail, Google, Search
Google, in its infinite wisdom, has finally upgraded Gmail's advent-of-the-Web-what-is-semantics? search engine to something a little more snazzy. You can now search your Google Docs from within Gmail, and there's also a 'did you mean?' subtitle if you typo a search query.
Despite the update, searching is still slower than a three-legged tortoise. At least the Google Docs results come in asynchronously -- so if you're just searching your email, you won't see any speed degradation.
To enable the new feature, click the green 'beaker' in the top right of Gmail and scroll down to Apps Search > Enable. Save your changes and enjoy your new 'Search Mail and Docs' button!
Share TweetGoogle finally updates Gmail's search -- and lets you search your Docs too! originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 19 Aug 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Friday, August 27, 2010
Twitter Tuesday - the official Tweet Button arrives, Twifficiency explained, and more
Filed under: Features, Social Software, Microblogging, Twitter
There's been plenty of big news from the Twitter camp in the past week, so let's jump right in and start with Twitter's official announcements, including the new Tweet Button!
The first thing everybody thought when Twitter announced an official sharing button was "Uh, but what about TweetMeme?" The popular tweet sharing site -- it's like a Digg based on retweets! -- is just the latest third-party service to get some competition from Twitter itself, but Tweetmeme is a different case than the clients and ad networks which met with a similar fate earlier this year.
See, TweetMeme realized that they likely wouldn't survive by competing with Twitter's Tweet Button, so they made a deal to help launch it. The terms of the arrangement are unclear, but the Tweet Button will certainly benefit from TweetMeme's expertise. Twitter will also get the benefit of TweetMeme's userbase, because TweetMeme will now be pointing to the Tweet Button.
Check out Twitter's Tweet Button video, plus more Twitter news, after the jump.
Here's Twitter's official video explaining the Tweet Button:
and now, on to the rest of the stories!
The other major feature launch on Twitter this week was the "Followed By" and "You Both Follow" info that now shows up on every Twitter profile page when you're logged in. Now, when a stranger follows you, you can probably figure out where they came from by looking at who you have in common. Both of these features are more useful than the annoying new recommendations about who to follow, which I would file in the same category as Facebook's irksome recommendations.
What in blazes is Twifficiency? It's the newest in a long line of Twitter scores that you can only get by automatically tweeting it to all of your followers. You've probably seen it going around today, but is it worth spamming for? Probably not.
It's just a little project by a 17-year-old Scottish developer who wanted to learn how oAuth works, and initially forgot to include a warning that his app would auto-tweet your score. He's since apologized, but not before Twifficiency became a big viral hit. Verdict: it's not a scam, but it also doesn't tell you anything useful. It would be cooler if there were some transparency about what the score means (if anything.)
If you don't want to run a desktop Twitter app, but you'd like to tweet from your browser without keeping Twitter.com open in a separate tab, Ostrich might be for you. This gorgeous little Twitter client for Safari (I know, I wish it supported other browsers, too) drops right down onto any Web page and gives you full access to your unread tweets, mentions and more, and also allows you to send tweets and quickly share a link to the page you're on. Did I mention it looks really nice?
Well, that's the Twitter scoop for this week. Keep coming back to Download Squad on Tuesdays for my take on what's new in the Twitterverse. Catch you later!
Twitter Tuesday - the official Tweet Button arrives, Twifficiency explained, and more originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 17 Aug 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
There's been plenty of big news from the Twitter camp in the past week, so let's jump right in and start with Twitter's official announcements, including the new Tweet Button!
The first thing everybody thought when Twitter announced an official sharing button was "Uh, but what about TweetMeme?" The popular tweet sharing site -- it's like a Digg based on retweets! -- is just the latest third-party service to get some competition from Twitter itself, but Tweetmeme is a different case than the clients and ad networks which met with a similar fate earlier this year.
See, TweetMeme realized that they likely wouldn't survive by competing with Twitter's Tweet Button, so they made a deal to help launch it. The terms of the arrangement are unclear, but the Tweet Button will certainly benefit from TweetMeme's expertise. Twitter will also get the benefit of TweetMeme's userbase, because TweetMeme will now be pointing to the Tweet Button.
Check out Twitter's Tweet Button video, plus more Twitter news, after the jump.
Here's Twitter's official video explaining the Tweet Button:
and now, on to the rest of the stories!
The other major feature launch on Twitter this week was the "Followed By" and "You Both Follow" info that now shows up on every Twitter profile page when you're logged in. Now, when a stranger follows you, you can probably figure out where they came from by looking at who you have in common. Both of these features are more useful than the annoying new recommendations about who to follow, which I would file in the same category as Facebook's irksome recommendations.
What in blazes is Twifficiency? It's the newest in a long line of Twitter scores that you can only get by automatically tweeting it to all of your followers. You've probably seen it going around today, but is it worth spamming for? Probably not.
It's just a little project by a 17-year-old Scottish developer who wanted to learn how oAuth works, and initially forgot to include a warning that his app would auto-tweet your score. He's since apologized, but not before Twifficiency became a big viral hit. Verdict: it's not a scam, but it also doesn't tell you anything useful. It would be cooler if there were some transparency about what the score means (if anything.)
If you don't want to run a desktop Twitter app, but you'd like to tweet from your browser without keeping Twitter.com open in a separate tab, Ostrich might be for you. This gorgeous little Twitter client for Safari (I know, I wish it supported other browsers, too) drops right down onto any Web page and gives you full access to your unread tweets, mentions and more, and also allows you to send tweets and quickly share a link to the page you're on. Did I mention it looks really nice?
Well, that's the Twitter scoop for this week. Keep coming back to Download Squad on Tuesdays for my take on what's new in the Twitterverse. Catch you later!
Twitter Tuesday - the official Tweet Button arrives, Twifficiency explained, and more originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 17 Aug 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Apple starts rejecting iPhone apps that require registration to work
Filed under: Apple, iPhoneJust when we thought Apple's weird and arbitrary App Store rejections were at an end, they've invented a new reason to keep iPhone apps out of the store. Apparently, Apple doesn't like apps that require you to register for an account before they'll work. Wait, WHAT?
The app that was reportedly rejected is Read It Later, which needs a user account for you to save articles in so you can ... you know, read it later. Apple's rejection notice implied that Read It Later shouldn't be requiring customer registration, because it doesn't provide any "account-based features." Bullpucky!
Here's what Apple said:
"Applications cannot require user registration prior to allowing access to app features and content; such user registration must be optional and tied to account-based functionality."
As TheNextWeb points out, that sentence is a confusing mess of contradictions. You can't require registration for your app to function, unless the registration is required for your app to function? I can't even begin to untangle that Mobius strip of a statement.
The funny thing is that Read It Later doesn't even need personal information beyond a username and password. What about apps like Facebook, Twitter, and the like? You can't use those without an account, but I hardly see Apple rejecting them. Read It Later appears to be the first app rejected using this rationale (if you can call it a rationale), and the developers don't have anything to go on in figuring out what it would take to get it back into the store.
I'll follow this post up if Apple responds to Read It Later or rejects any more apps for the same reasons.Apple starts rejecting iPhone apps that require registration to work originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
The app that was reportedly rejected is Read It Later, which needs a user account for you to save articles in so you can ... you know, read it later. Apple's rejection notice implied that Read It Later shouldn't be requiring customer registration, because it doesn't provide any "account-based features." Bullpucky!
Here's what Apple said:
"Applications cannot require user registration prior to allowing access to app features and content; such user registration must be optional and tied to account-based functionality."
As TheNextWeb points out, that sentence is a confusing mess of contradictions. You can't require registration for your app to function, unless the registration is required for your app to function? I can't even begin to untangle that Mobius strip of a statement.
The funny thing is that Read It Later doesn't even need personal information beyond a username and password. What about apps like Facebook, Twitter, and the like? You can't use those without an account, but I hardly see Apple rejecting them. Read It Later appears to be the first app rejected using this rationale (if you can call it a rationale), and the developers don't have anything to go on in figuring out what it would take to get it back into the store.
I'll follow this post up if Apple responds to Read It Later or rejects any more apps for the same reasons.Apple starts rejecting iPhone apps that require registration to work originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Use Your iPad To Manage Your Finances In Style
When it comes to budgeting and managing your finances on your iPad there are several apps to choose from, but very few compare to Checkbook by iBear LLC. This newly released app has everything you could want or even ask for when it comes to both style and functionality. Easily keep track of your mortgage, [...]
Shuffler.fm turns music blogs into streaming radio
Filed under: Audio, Web services
If you're looking for new music, Shuffler.fm is a good place to start. It taps music blogs to create a radio station of the newest songs that are getting online buzz, meaning you always have something fresh to listen to. Start by clicking a genre, and you'll be sent to a blog where music will immediately start. When you hit skip, or the song's done, you're off to the next blog and the next song.
I like that Shuffler.fm sits as a toolbar on top of the actual blog commentary about the songs, because it's nice to read the stories or reviews behind the music. (Plus, those blog entries often have download links, although Shuffler itself doesn't have a download button. Hint hint.) If you just want to listen, you can always minimize the window and let the music play.Shuffler.fm turns music blogs into streaming radio originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 24 Aug 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
If you're looking for new music, Shuffler.fm is a good place to start. It taps music blogs to create a radio station of the newest songs that are getting online buzz, meaning you always have something fresh to listen to. Start by clicking a genre, and you'll be sent to a blog where music will immediately start. When you hit skip, or the song's done, you're off to the next blog and the next song.
I like that Shuffler.fm sits as a toolbar on top of the actual blog commentary about the songs, because it's nice to read the stories or reviews behind the music. (Plus, those blog entries often have download links, although Shuffler itself doesn't have a download button. Hint hint.) If you just want to listen, you can always minimize the window and let the music play.Shuffler.fm turns music blogs into streaming radio originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 24 Aug 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Valve VP: We're not working on Steam for Linux
Filed under: Games, Linux
Well, so much for hints, Linux users. While it initially looked as though Valve's gaming behemoth was headed your way when the Mac client arrived, that may not actually be the case.
In an interview with Gamesindustry.biz, Valve's VP of Marketing Doug Lombardi has bad news for Linux gamers: "There's no Linux version that we're working on right now."
Sorry to take the Steam out of your locomotives. But hey, look on the bright side -- Lombardi didn't say they weren't going to work on it in the future or that they had never worked on a Linux version. If you like reading into things, his phrasing leaves plenty of room for speculation.
[via Web Upd8]Valve VP: We're not working on Steam for Linux originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 09:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Well, so much for hints, Linux users. While it initially looked as though Valve's gaming behemoth was headed your way when the Mac client arrived, that may not actually be the case.
In an interview with Gamesindustry.biz, Valve's VP of Marketing Doug Lombardi has bad news for Linux gamers: "There's no Linux version that we're working on right now."
Sorry to take the Steam out of your locomotives. But hey, look on the bright side -- Lombardi didn't say they weren't going to work on it in the future or that they had never worked on a Linux version. If you like reading into things, his phrasing leaves plenty of room for speculation.
[via Web Upd8]Valve VP: We're not working on Steam for Linux originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 09:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Rotate and Roll is a liquid physics Time-Waster
Filed under: Fun, Games, Time-Wasters
Rotate and Roll is a game about balls. However, it can rapidly turn into a game about balls plummeting towards inevitable doom, unless you play it wisely.
The balls in question are on a plank. Sometimes it's just one lonely ball per level, and sometimes there are as many as four. When you press the arrow keys, the entire level rotates. Obviously, the board tilts, and the ball starts rolling.
If it rolls off the screen, you're out. You're trying to get it to roll into that large ball that you see at the bottom of the screenshot. When it gets there, you win, and you get to go on to the next level.
Sometimes your ball needs to collect something before it can go on to the next level. For instance, you may need to pick up that coin-like thing, which you can see toward the upper right corner of the screenshot (on the right plank). So, you'd have to rotate the level to the right, collect the coin, gently tilt back to the left until your ball falls onto the lower plank, and go from there to the big ball.
Of course, this being a physics game, velocity matters. You don't want to rotate too quickly, but you can do some neat tricks by rotating very fast and "bouncing" the balls off of level elements.
The atmosphere is pretty soothing; there's nice acoustic guitar in the background, and the whole thing is pretty serene. It's quite a fun little game!Rotate and Roll is a liquid physics Time-Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 19 Aug 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Rotate and Roll is a game about balls. However, it can rapidly turn into a game about balls plummeting towards inevitable doom, unless you play it wisely.
The balls in question are on a plank. Sometimes it's just one lonely ball per level, and sometimes there are as many as four. When you press the arrow keys, the entire level rotates. Obviously, the board tilts, and the ball starts rolling.
If it rolls off the screen, you're out. You're trying to get it to roll into that large ball that you see at the bottom of the screenshot. When it gets there, you win, and you get to go on to the next level.
Sometimes your ball needs to collect something before it can go on to the next level. For instance, you may need to pick up that coin-like thing, which you can see toward the upper right corner of the screenshot (on the right plank). So, you'd have to rotate the level to the right, collect the coin, gently tilt back to the left until your ball falls onto the lower plank, and go from there to the big ball.
Of course, this being a physics game, velocity matters. You don't want to rotate too quickly, but you can do some neat tricks by rotating very fast and "bouncing" the balls off of level elements.
The atmosphere is pretty soothing; there's nice acoustic guitar in the background, and the whole thing is pretty serene. It's quite a fun little game!Rotate and Roll is a liquid physics Time-Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 19 Aug 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Shopkick Launches Location-Based iPhone App For Shopping Check-ins and Deals
Shopkick, a Silicon Valley-funded startup has launched it’s free iPhone app that combines the best of both worlds – location-based services and shopping. The app uses GPS to detect users nearby a given store and automatically sends a signal to a device in the store itself to let it know when the user is close.�Users [...]
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It's official: Google Voice comes to Gmail -- phone booths on the way
Filed under: E-mail, Google, VoIP
As predicted, Google Voice has now become a part of Gmail. You'll need to install the Google voice and video chat plug-in for your browser and you'll also need a U.S. based Gmail address. Sorry, everyone else alive who uses Gmail (and tech-savvy zombies) -- we're out of luck for the time being.
But there's a twist to the voice calling story. It seems Google plans on giving new users the first hit free, as it were -- by installing Google Voice phone booths in airports and on university campuses. Here's how their plan breaks down:
Install phone booths in public locations
Get users to fall in love with the service
...
Profit!
Google's official blog post is here. I heartily encourage all non-U.S. Gmail users to make with the expansion requests there starting... Now.
Also, Skype killer, etc.
It's official: Google Voice comes to Gmail -- phone booths on the way originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
As predicted, Google Voice has now become a part of Gmail. You'll need to install the Google voice and video chat plug-in for your browser and you'll also need a U.S. based Gmail address. Sorry, everyone else alive who uses Gmail (and tech-savvy zombies) -- we're out of luck for the time being.
But there's a twist to the voice calling story. It seems Google plans on giving new users the first hit free, as it were -- by installing Google Voice phone booths in airports and on university campuses. Here's how their plan breaks down:
Install phone booths in public locations
Get users to fall in love with the service
...
Profit!
Google's official blog post is here. I heartily encourage all non-U.S. Gmail users to make with the expansion requests there starting... Now.
Also, Skype killer, etc.
It's official: Google Voice comes to Gmail -- phone booths on the way originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Froyo update for the Evo 4G is now rootable
The Froyo (Android 2.2) update for the Evo 4G has been rooted. While the current method is a bit hairy and involves timing and a bit of luck, the directions look very straightforward, and more important, not too dangerous to your precious hardware. The method is a mix of the recent exploit used on the Droid 2 and tools from the UnrEVOked team, and should leave you with a fully rooted and bootloader unlocked Evo, ready for your choice of a custom ROM. Remember, this sort of thing breaks warranties and has the potential to ruin things, even if this method looks fairly safe. Proceed at your own risk, or wait it out a few days to see if an easier method rolls around -- nobody here will blame you. But you trailblazers, hit the source link to give it a go! [xda-developers] Thanks Chuck!Posted originally at Android CentralSponsored by Android Cases and Accessories
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Firefox 4 Beta 4 is out, with Panorama and Sync
Filed under: Mozilla, Open Source, Browsers
"Tab Candy" has finally come into its own in this most recent iteration of Firefox, Beta 4. The feature is now called "Panorama". Not all of Raskin's envisioned features made it, but it's still pretty dang cool.
Panorama now lets you group tabs and optionally name the groups. You can resize the groups, and when you shrink a group down to its smallest size, it becomes a "pile" and you can zoom into it by clicking a button next to it.
Another major addition is Firefox Sync. It works with its own accounts, "Firefox Sync accounts." Interestingly, it prompts you for a pass phrase in addition to a password. It's a service which syncs your history, open tabs, bookmarks, Awesomebar, etc. Sounds identical to what Google already does with Chrome, but now Firefox has it, too.
These are the two new major features in the Beta 4. The inclusion of Panorama is a big deal - it's Firefox's most innovative UI feature by far, and I think it signifies the release cycle rapidly moving to maturity for this version. You should definitely go give it a try, even if it's not ready yet for use as a full-time browser (due to lack of add-ons).Firefox 4 Beta 4 is out, with Panorama and Sync originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 25 Aug 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
"Tab Candy" has finally come into its own in this most recent iteration of Firefox, Beta 4. The feature is now called "Panorama". Not all of Raskin's envisioned features made it, but it's still pretty dang cool.
Panorama now lets you group tabs and optionally name the groups. You can resize the groups, and when you shrink a group down to its smallest size, it becomes a "pile" and you can zoom into it by clicking a button next to it.
Another major addition is Firefox Sync. It works with its own accounts, "Firefox Sync accounts." Interestingly, it prompts you for a pass phrase in addition to a password. It's a service which syncs your history, open tabs, bookmarks, Awesomebar, etc. Sounds identical to what Google already does with Chrome, but now Firefox has it, too.
These are the two new major features in the Beta 4. The inclusion of Panorama is a big deal - it's Firefox's most innovative UI feature by far, and I think it signifies the release cycle rapidly moving to maturity for this version. You should definitely go give it a try, even if it's not ready yet for use as a full-time browser (due to lack of add-ons).Firefox 4 Beta 4 is out, with Panorama and Sync originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 25 Aug 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Froyo update for the Evo 4G is now rootable
The Froyo (Android 2.2) update for the Evo 4G has been rooted. While the current method is a bit hairy and involves timing and a bit of luck, the directions look very straightforward, and more important, not too dangerous to your precious hardware. The method is a mix of the recent exploit used on the Droid 2 and tools from the UnrEVOked team, and should leave you with a fully rooted and bootloader unlocked Evo, ready for your choice of a custom ROM. Remember, this sort of thing breaks warranties and has the potential to ruin things, even if this method looks fairly safe. Proceed at your own risk, or wait it out a few days to see if an easier method rolls around -- nobody here will blame you. But you trailblazers, hit the source link to give it a go! [xda-developers] Thanks Chuck!Posted originally at Android CentralSponsored by Android Cases and Accessories
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Thursday, August 26, 2010
iPhone Tip: How to Use Spell Check Feature in iOS 4
Spell check is a minor but very handy feature that comes with the iOS 4 update. Probably this is the very first time you know about this feature as it is a relatively minor feature compared with those imminent ones (such as multitasking).
The spell check is a system wide feature added in iOS 4 [...]
The spell check is a system wide feature added in iOS 4 [...]
iPhone Tip: How to Use Spell Check Feature in iOS 4
Spell check is a minor but very handy feature that comes with the iOS 4 update. Probably this is the very first time you know about this feature as it is a relatively minor feature compared with those imminent ones (such as multitasking).
The spell check is a system wide feature added in iOS 4 [...]
The spell check is a system wide feature added in iOS 4 [...]
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MessageParty is a location-based iPhone chat app
Filed under: Social Software, iPhoneCould MessageParty be the newest chat trend? It's an iPhone-only, location-based chatroom. That means you can jump in and start talking to people near you, in your city, or even in the worldwide "everybody" room. It's easy to set up, using Facebook Connect to log in, and there aren't a lot of frilly features. There aren't even direct messages, which really keeps the "party" in MessageParty. Just set up a room for your location or event, and off you go.
I could see this catching on in a few particular markets: high school or college campuses, for example. Mashable suggests it would work well at conferences. So far, MessageParty has around 750 users trying out the Everybody Party, and I've seen 7 people signed in here in Seattle. The interface is insanely easy to figure out, so this could catch on big-time ... it just needs a big event to drive it, the way SXSW in Austin helped launch Twitter.MessageParty is a location-based iPhone chat app originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
I could see this catching on in a few particular markets: high school or college campuses, for example. Mashable suggests it would work well at conferences. So far, MessageParty has around 750 users trying out the Everybody Party, and I've seen 7 people signed in here in Seattle. The interface is insanely easy to figure out, so this could catch on big-time ... it just needs a big event to drive it, the way SXSW in Austin helped launch Twitter.MessageParty is a location-based iPhone chat app originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Website owners: Opera users are the most valuable, in terms of ad clicks
Filed under: Browsers
An interesting report, titled 'Are Opera Users the Most Valuable?' has been making the rounds this week. The commentary has been opinionated and fiery and, truth be told, we're still no closer to working out why Opera users click the most ads.
If you don't want to click through, the basic gist is this: Opera users are 50% more likely to click ads than Chrome users. Internet Explorer are the next-most likely to click ads, followed by Firefox. Safari users actually click the least ads!
The difficulty comes from trying to analyse these figures. A nascent analysis, perhaps citing Internet Explorer, would state that the lack of ad-blocking is to blame. Both Chrome and Firefox have excellent ad-blocking extensions, that's why their users click so few ads. But Opera has ad-blocking! And if it was only about blocking ads, wouldn't Internet Explorer be at the top?
So, Opera has ad-blocking, yet its users still click the most ads. Curious. (Incidentally, is there a popular ad-blocking add-on for Safari? As in, one that even non-power users would know of?)
Perhaps it's the users themselves. Are Opera users more inquisitive? This report uses in-line text ads as a sample set, so maybe... Opera users are more literate? Perhaps Safari and Chrome users merely scan text, rather than actually reading it? The problem with this argument is Internet Explorer -- it's right up the top with Opera! Can we really say that the average Opera user is comparable to an IE user? Surely they are at the opposite ends of the spectrum!
What's the answer, then? I'm guessing that the sample set is from a biased set of websites -- perhaps from a forum that's frequented by a lot of Opera users? Internet Explorer should be at the top, with its lack of ad-blocking and its 'newbie' user base. Still, I'm going to suggest to my chief that we write more Opera news...Website owners: Opera users are the most valuable, in terms of ad clicks originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
An interesting report, titled 'Are Opera Users the Most Valuable?' has been making the rounds this week. The commentary has been opinionated and fiery and, truth be told, we're still no closer to working out why Opera users click the most ads.
If you don't want to click through, the basic gist is this: Opera users are 50% more likely to click ads than Chrome users. Internet Explorer are the next-most likely to click ads, followed by Firefox. Safari users actually click the least ads!
The difficulty comes from trying to analyse these figures. A nascent analysis, perhaps citing Internet Explorer, would state that the lack of ad-blocking is to blame. Both Chrome and Firefox have excellent ad-blocking extensions, that's why their users click so few ads. But Opera has ad-blocking! And if it was only about blocking ads, wouldn't Internet Explorer be at the top?
So, Opera has ad-blocking, yet its users still click the most ads. Curious. (Incidentally, is there a popular ad-blocking add-on for Safari? As in, one that even non-power users would know of?)
Perhaps it's the users themselves. Are Opera users more inquisitive? This report uses in-line text ads as a sample set, so maybe... Opera users are more literate? Perhaps Safari and Chrome users merely scan text, rather than actually reading it? The problem with this argument is Internet Explorer -- it's right up the top with Opera! Can we really say that the average Opera user is comparable to an IE user? Surely they are at the opposite ends of the spectrum!
What's the answer, then? I'm guessing that the sample set is from a biased set of websites -- perhaps from a forum that's frequented by a lot of Opera users? Internet Explorer should be at the top, with its lack of ad-blocking and its 'newbie' user base. Still, I'm going to suggest to my chief that we write more Opera news...Website owners: Opera users are the most valuable, in terms of ad clicks originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Historious lets you easily recall where you browsed, but the price tag is a killer
Filed under: Utilities, Browser Tips
Historious tries to fill an incredibly tiny niche in the world of online bookmarking, archiving, and saving text for later perusal.
It's a browser bookmarklet, and its claim to fame is that it involves just a single click. There's no tagging or anything like that. Once you click the bookmarklet, Historious adds the site to your "personal history." You can then search your personal history for anything in the text of the article that you wanted to read. The search engine that's used seems to be a rebranded version of Google Custom Search.
Let's say that you've read an article about honey bees, and months later, you think to yourself, Hmm, where was that article about the bees? You can just go to Historious, search for bees, and voila - there's your article.
The reason that I feel Historious has a very slim chance of making it big time is that they want money. I mean, there's nothing wrong with wanting some money, but their business model makes it a paid service.
Delicious, Diigo, Read It Later, Instapaper and, Google Web History are all services that could be used for doing much the same thing; they provide richer functionality and are completely free. Most of these won't let you search the entire text of the page, though (with the exception of Web History, which is a bit creepy in its own way). But, that aside, I am just not convinced that being able to save my pages without tagging them first is worth US$19.85 per year (they do offer a free option, but it's just up to 1,000 links).Historious lets you easily recall where you browsed, but the price tag is a killer originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 26 Aug 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Historious tries to fill an incredibly tiny niche in the world of online bookmarking, archiving, and saving text for later perusal.
It's a browser bookmarklet, and its claim to fame is that it involves just a single click. There's no tagging or anything like that. Once you click the bookmarklet, Historious adds the site to your "personal history." You can then search your personal history for anything in the text of the article that you wanted to read. The search engine that's used seems to be a rebranded version of Google Custom Search.
Let's say that you've read an article about honey bees, and months later, you think to yourself, Hmm, where was that article about the bees? You can just go to Historious, search for bees, and voila - there's your article.
The reason that I feel Historious has a very slim chance of making it big time is that they want money. I mean, there's nothing wrong with wanting some money, but their business model makes it a paid service.
Delicious, Diigo, Read It Later, Instapaper and, Google Web History are all services that could be used for doing much the same thing; they provide richer functionality and are completely free. Most of these won't let you search the entire text of the page, though (with the exception of Web History, which is a bit creepy in its own way). But, that aside, I am just not convinced that being able to save my pages without tagging them first is worth US$19.85 per year (they do offer a free option, but it's just up to 1,000 links).Historious lets you easily recall where you browsed, but the price tag is a killer originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 26 Aug 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Google Chrome dev channel hits v7 -- get ready for native code in Web apps!
Filed under: Google, Browsers
Those of you who have been waiting patiently to see what Google's Native Client is all about shouldn't have to wonder much longer. With yesterday's bump to version 7, Google Chrome dev now comes with the NaCl plug-in enabled by default -- and as we've seen countless times before, once a feature is turned on it doesn't take long for Chrome developers to pounce on it.
So, what is Native Client all about? It's Google open source tech which allows native code (the kind of code which powers your favorite desktop apps) to run inside your browser. Assuming that browser is Google Chrome, of course, because no one else sports NaCl support yet. Native code in the browser should mean the arrival of Web apps that truly compete with desktop apps in terms of performance -- which could be a big boost to things like online media converters and photo editors. At the very least, you'll be able to play Quake in Chrome.
If you want to see Native Client in action, Google has a gallery of NaCl demo ports you can check out -- or at least you're meant to be able to check them out. Both Chrome dev and Canary responded with a "missing plug-in" message when i tried to load them, even though Native Client was enabled (as you can see in my screenshot).
The dev channel update was actually quite a major one, though it mostly contained bugfixes and cleaned up code. The full log of revisions is available here.
update: as reported in the comments, you need to add the --enable-nacl flag to your shortcut. I've done that, and the demos still don't load, however. The missing plug-in message did disappear at least...
Share TweetGoogle Chrome dev channel hits v7 -- get ready for native code in Web apps! originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 26 Aug 2010 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Those of you who have been waiting patiently to see what Google's Native Client is all about shouldn't have to wonder much longer. With yesterday's bump to version 7, Google Chrome dev now comes with the NaCl plug-in enabled by default -- and as we've seen countless times before, once a feature is turned on it doesn't take long for Chrome developers to pounce on it.
So, what is Native Client all about? It's Google open source tech which allows native code (the kind of code which powers your favorite desktop apps) to run inside your browser. Assuming that browser is Google Chrome, of course, because no one else sports NaCl support yet. Native code in the browser should mean the arrival of Web apps that truly compete with desktop apps in terms of performance -- which could be a big boost to things like online media converters and photo editors. At the very least, you'll be able to play Quake in Chrome.
If you want to see Native Client in action, Google has a gallery of NaCl demo ports you can check out -- or at least you're meant to be able to check them out. Both Chrome dev and Canary responded with a "missing plug-in" message when i tried to load them, even though Native Client was enabled (as you can see in my screenshot).
The dev channel update was actually quite a major one, though it mostly contained bugfixes and cleaned up code. The full log of revisions is available here.
update: as reported in the comments, you need to add the --enable-nacl flag to your shortcut. I've done that, and the demos still don't load, however. The missing plug-in message did disappear at least...
Share TweetGoogle Chrome dev channel hits v7 -- get ready for native code in Web apps! originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 26 Aug 2010 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Natale Geek: 5 gadget da NON mettere sotto l?albero
Tra mutande rosse, pandori zombi e sciarpe del nonno riciclate, sotto l?albero di Natale ci finisce davvero qualsiasi schifezza possibile e immaginabile.
Almeno noi geek cerchiamo quindi di rendere queste feste pi� piacevoli, evitando di regalare e farci regalare cose come quelle che stiamo per proporvi. Cinque gadget tecnologici da non mettere sotto l?albero per nessun [...]
Almeno noi geek cerchiamo quindi di rendere queste feste pi� piacevoli, evitando di regalare e farci regalare cose come quelle che stiamo per proporvi. Cinque gadget tecnologici da non mettere sotto l?albero per nessun [...]
NewsBlur is a slick, impressive, undocumented RSS reader
Filed under: Utilities, Blogging, web 2.0
NewsBlur is a very beautiful feed reader that's laden with tons of JavaScript, but it utterly lacks any form of documentation.
It's an open source project by the talented Samuel Clay, who has been working on it for 15 months now. He's currently working on an iPhone version, but the regular version is very impressive in itself.
The sources are hosted over on GitHub, and the project uses the Django Web framework for Python. This means that you can probably install it on your own server and break free from the big G. But unlike Fever, which is another server-based reader, NewsBlur has built-in multi-user support, and it's free. So, you don't have to install it on your own server to use it; you can just go to the NewsBlur site and open an account.
NewsBlur lets you import your current feeds from Google Reader. It lets you vote articles up and down, and it uses your input to figure out what you might like to read in the future. It then marks articles appropriately so that you can (hopefully) read just the stuff that you're interested in out of the sea of RSS feeds that you've been reading.
To really see if the intelligence works, you have to use it for a while, which is something I haven't done. This is a very impressive project, but I feel that the lack of documentation (not even an About page) is holding it back. I would have given you a complete screenshot tour of it, but it's very difficult when you don't know what anything does.
Share TweetNewsBlur is a slick, impressive, undocumented RSS reader originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
NewsBlur is a very beautiful feed reader that's laden with tons of JavaScript, but it utterly lacks any form of documentation.
It's an open source project by the talented Samuel Clay, who has been working on it for 15 months now. He's currently working on an iPhone version, but the regular version is very impressive in itself.
The sources are hosted over on GitHub, and the project uses the Django Web framework for Python. This means that you can probably install it on your own server and break free from the big G. But unlike Fever, which is another server-based reader, NewsBlur has built-in multi-user support, and it's free. So, you don't have to install it on your own server to use it; you can just go to the NewsBlur site and open an account.
NewsBlur lets you import your current feeds from Google Reader. It lets you vote articles up and down, and it uses your input to figure out what you might like to read in the future. It then marks articles appropriately so that you can (hopefully) read just the stuff that you're interested in out of the sea of RSS feeds that you've been reading.
To really see if the intelligence works, you have to use it for a while, which is something I haven't done. This is a very impressive project, but I feel that the lack of documentation (not even an About page) is holding it back. I would have given you a complete screenshot tour of it, but it's very difficult when you don't know what anything does.
Share TweetNewsBlur is a slick, impressive, undocumented RSS reader originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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