Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “Google: Desktops Will Be Irrelevant in Three Years’ Time” |  |
- Google: Desktops Will Be Irrelevant in Three Years’ Time
- Funny Or Die Presidential Reunion Unites SNL Stars for Web Hit [VIDEO]
- Google Kansas II: Duluth Strikes Back [VIDEO]
- Google Releases Gesture Search for Android
- Valve to Bring Steam, Half-Life, and More to the Mac?
- Adobe Demos Flash 10.1 for Android on the Nexus One [VIDEO]
- How Topeka Became Google, Kansas: The Mayor Speaks
- Mobile Social Networking Usage Soars [STATS]
- Weird Al Has an Unconventional Sex Tape [VIDEO]
- Bride and Groom Send Out 8-Bit Wedding Invitations
- Google Adding Stars to Search to Replace SearchWiki
- Robot Teachers Enter the Education Workforce [VIDEO]
- Google Looks to Woo Device Manufacturers for Energy Monitoring Service
- 10 Popular Firefox Add-ons for Web Developers
- MashBash SXSWi: 3 Things to Do Before You Set Off
- RootMusic’s BandPage Makes Better Facebook Fan Pages for Bands
- Conan’s Twitter Team: A Small Army [PIC]
- Wall Street Journal App for iPad Confirmed
- Yelp for Android Gets Bookmark Sync and Draft Support
- GetGlue Add-on Brings Social Recommendations Across the Web
- Buzzie: Google Buzz Gets Its First Third-Party iPhone App
- Vodafone UK Partners with Foursquare
- The White House Backs Plan to Open 311 Data to Developers
- WordPress Goes Real-Time With PubSubHubbub
- Omniture Introduces New Tools for Managing Facebook Ad Campaigns
- 7 Essential Online HR Resources for Your Small Business
- TiVo Introduces New Internet-Connected DVRs
- NCAA Vault Streams a Decade of Major Plays from March Madness
- Slow Motion Dog Treat Commercial Beguiles Internet [Randomly Viral]
- AT&T: iPad Is a Wi-Fi Driven Product
| Google: Desktops Will Be Irrelevant in Three Years’ Time Posted: 04 Mar 2010 01:06 AM PST  
"In three years time, desktops will be irrelevant. In Japan, most research is done today on smart phones, not PCs," he said. True, with Android and Nexus One Google has shown a commitment to extend its dominance from the online world to the mobile world. But will desktop PCs really become irrelevant? Depends on how you look at it. Google isn’t really interested in how we edit our photos; it’s interested in where we store them, and increasingly, we do that at a place is a part of their domain – the cloud. And if your data moves to the cloud, and most of your daily online activities are done on devices such as the Nexus One and the iPad, where simple, widget-style applications cater to your precise needs, then yes, desktop PCs as we know them now will become a lot less important. Reviews: Android, Google Tags: desktop, Google, Mobile 2.0, pc
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| Funny Or Die Presidential Reunion Unites SNL Stars for Web Hit [VIDEO] Posted: 03 Mar 2010 10:44 PM PST 
The skit features Fred Armisen, who currently plays Barack Obama on SNL, Will Ferrell bringing back his George W. Bush, Darrell Hammond (Bill Clinton), Dana Carvey (Bush Sr.), Jim Carrey (Ronald Reagan), Dan Akroyd (Jimmy Carter), and Chevy Chase (Gerald Ford). Maya Rudolph plays Michelle Obama. The video itself pokes fun of each president's idiosyncrasies and stereotypes, offering current President Obama advice on how to fix Washington. The ending features an ad for Main Street Brigade, an organization calling for financial reform. Check it out below: Tags: barack obama, funny or die, politics, saturday night live, snl, viral video
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| Google Kansas II: Duluth Strikes Back [VIDEO] Posted: 03 Mar 2010 07:13 PM PST 
However, almost all the buzz in the Google fiber optic network race has gone to Topeka, Kansas — or should we say Google, Kansas? The city temporarily changed its name to “Google, Kansas — the capital city of fiber optics” in a strong bid to bring high speed Internet to its 122,642 citizens. Some aren’t taking the antics of Google, Kansas lying down, though. The city of Duluth, Minnesota has upped the ante with a parody YouTube video response to its Kansas rival. No, Duluth is not changing its name. Instead, the city is decreeing that the name of every first born male in Duluth shall be “Google Fiber” and the name of every first born female shall be “Googlette Fiber.” While just a parody video (we really, really hope citizens of Duluth don’t name their kids “Google”), it will definitely help Duluth steal some of the attention that Topeka has grabbed. It will also draw eyeballs to Duluth’s Google Twin Ports campaign website, where citizens can register their support for Google-powered Internet in Duluth. In the end though, Google will likely make its decision based on more practical matters, such as infrastructure and monetary concerns. Here’s the video for your enjoyment: Reviews: Google, YouTube Tags: Duluth, Fiber Optic, Google, Google Kansas, ISP, Kansas, Topeka
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| Google Releases Gesture Search for Android Posted: 03 Mar 2010 05:58 PM PST 
Gesture Search is pretty straightforward: you open it up and then draw letters. Draw a M and you’ll get contacts, bookmarks, and apps that start with M. Draw an o and you’ll get results starting with “Mo,” and so on until you find what you’re looking for. Queries can also be erased by drawing a line left to right, while drawing right to left removes the last letter in the current sequence. In its announcement, Google highlighted how Gesture Search could be a good option for those who may not be able to use voice search and may find that typing to find queries takes too long. While we don’t expect Google to replace Android typing with gestures, it is a nice Google Labs experiment that we’re sure a lot of people will enjoy using.   Reviews: Android, Google, Google Labs
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| Valve to Bring Steam, Half-Life, and More to the Mac? Posted: 03 Mar 2010 05:36 PM PST 
Hope might be on the horizon, however, thanks to a series of cryptic images Valve has been sending to various gaming outlets today. Each is a clever play on notable Mac ads, from a Half-Life-themed tribute to the Apple 1984 commercial to a Portal-flavored riff on the iconic “I’m a Mac” ad series.   Of course it’s not official confirmation that Valve is developing Steam for the Mac, but it’s an awfully strong hint. Plus, with the annual Game Developers Conference just around the corner next week, it’s also an incredibly convenient time to be building some buzz for a big announcement of this magnitude. In other words, Mac gamers should sit tight and stay tuned: hope is definitely still alive. Would you be excited about Steam (and some great titles from Valve) for the Mac? Reviews: Steam Tags: apple, games, half-life, mac, portal, steam, valve, video games
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| Adobe Demos Flash 10.1 for Android on the Nexus One [VIDEO] Posted: 03 Mar 2010 03:28 PM PST 
That video interview wasn’t the only thing I recorded, though; I also got Aaron to give me a 7.5-minute demo of Adobe Flash for Android. With my handheld cam, I recorded as Mr. Filner explored how Flash will eventually work for the Google Nexus One. Not only did he show us a preview of some awesome websites that will support mobile Flash (ESPN.com, NYT, Miniclip just to name a few), but he played several Flash games on his Nexus One, some completely unmodified from their original versions. One other news note: You can expect Adobe Flash for Android to be pushed out simultaneously with a major Google Android update in the first half of this year, most likely Android 2.1 (FroYo) or the next update, named Gingerbread. That’s when Flash support will kick in, although, you’ll still have to download the plug-in. Here is the full demo of Android for the Nexus One; let us know what you think of what’s coming in the comments. Reviews: Android, Miniclip Tags: adobe, adobe flash, android, demo, Flash, Google, nexus one, video
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| How Topeka Became Google, Kansas: The Mayor Speaks Posted: 03 Mar 2010 03:18 PM PST 
Mayor William W. Bunten issued a proclamation on Monday declaring the name change and urging “the citizens of Topeka to recognize and support the continuing efforts to bring Google’s ‘Fiber for Communities,’ experiment to our city.” Talking to Bunten you wouldn’t expect this 79-year-old politician and military veteran with a penchant for phrases like “tickled pink,” to be the man behind the innovative Google fiber optics push. And yet such is the case. Now Bunten’s somewhat bizarre decision puts him and his city center stage, currently swimming in an almost overwhelming sea of press and attention the likes that Topeka — ahem Google — has never seen before. Of course Bunten’s mission is more than just a one-man show, it’s a city-wide initiative supported by town residents and the city council, and it all started via e-mail. The story goes that Bunten received an e-mail about Google’s search for cities interested in the Fiber for Communities project, sent it along to the city manager, and together they decided to fill out the application and hope for the best. In the meantime the local “young people” (as Bunten describes them) created ThinkBigTopeka.com to inspire citizens to nominate the city and use social media to show their support. The mayor consulted with the parties behind the site and decided to adopt one of their experimental ideas: To change the name of the city to “Google, Kansas – the capital city of fiber optics” for a day. After further consulting with his city council — who loved the idea and recommended they make it a whole month — the mayor went on to issue the now famous proclamation. In our conversation, Bunten seemed more than amused by the amount of attention this one decision has attracted, though he chalks it all up to “great fun.” Fun it is. Google, Kansas, lives in spirit only; an official name change would require changing the city’s Charter Ordinance, a task that’s not so easily accomplished. The name change isn’t just media fluff though. Earlier today the mayor awarded citizen Paul Guffey with a champion of character award for rescuing two juveniles from a burning car; Guffey was given the award on behalf of Google, Kansas. Whether or not Google will find the humor in the matter remains to be seen, though we have to believe that the city’s unconventional approach to get Google’s attention will not go unnoticed or unrewarded. Bunten tells us that he has not received any direct communication from Google and that he’s aware that decisions will be based on other factors. For the time being he’s content with “having a little fun for the month and showing Google we’re interested.” Reviews: Google Tags: Google, Google Kansas, media, Topeka, trending
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| Mobile Social Networking Usage Soars [STATS] Posted: 03 Mar 2010 02:44 PM PST 
Some highlights:
When it comes to specific social networks, Twitter and Facebook both had increases in mobile browser usage in the triple digits. Twitter usage via mobile browsers was up 347% while Facebook mobile browser usage was up 112%.  Mirroring non-mobile usage, MySpace mobile access was actually down 7% year over year. It’s important to note that these figures are just from mobile browser statistics — they don’t even take into account the use of mobile applications for Twitter or Facebook. Both Facebook and Twitter have prospered from having strong mobile strategies. Twitter’s mobile strategy and integration with SMS messages has made it a natural mobile player since its inception; still more and more users are turning to its mobile browser counterpart to send and receive messages. Facebook has a great presence on mobile platforms, but the fact that so many people are continuing to use it from a mobile browser shows that its strategy of catering to mobile users is working. Do you use Twitter or Facebook more on your phone or via your regular computer? Let us know! Reviews: Facebook, MySpace, Twitter Tags: ComScore, facebook, mobile browsers, mobile stats, stats, twitter
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| Weird Al Has an Unconventional Sex Tape [VIDEO] Posted: 03 Mar 2010 02:19 PM PST 
“Wha?” begets Morbid interest begets “WTF?” begets Nervous, uncomfortable laughter begets Share The comedian sets up the joke in the video’s description, which reads:
All in all, the video is far from lewd — disturbing is another story — but its shear viral nature really says something about our culture, which is obsessed with the latest celebrity indiscretion (I mean, Dustin Diamond has a sex tape, a “Weird Al” fleshfest ain’t that far-fetched). Take a look if you have a second, although I far prefer “Amish Paradise“: Tags: celebrity, humor, viral video, weird al
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| Bride and Groom Send Out 8-Bit Wedding Invitations Posted: 03 Mar 2010 02:03 PM PST 
The pair, who shared their story with Offbeat Bride, programed two versions of a Mario-inspired 8-bit video game as their wedding invitations and sent them out to friends and family. Guests are also challenged to beat the game should they wish to unlock the wedding details. Their video game wedding invitations — dubbed Incredible Adventure — also included some remarkable custom packaging (as seen below) and two different versions of the game so would-be guests could play as either the bride or the groom. The 8-bit game is also available for download [.exe file] should you wish to try your hand. For the rest of us, you can get the gist from the video below. [via Boing Boing] [img credit: Offbeat Bride]
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| Google Adding Stars to Search to Replace SearchWiki Posted: 03 Mar 2010 01:38 PM PST 
If you’re a Gmail, Google News or Google Reader user, then Google’s new stars feature is going to look very familiar. The same system of starring your favorite e-mails and articles will soon apply to all of your searches. In an announcement on its blog, the technology titan said that the new feature will allow you to bring your favorite search results right to the top of your search page, making them easier to find every time you search. Here is a short explanation of the feature from the Google Blog:
 Stars sync with Google Bookmarks and the Google Toolbar, allowing you to look at and manage them from one location. Stars will replace SearchWiki, meaning that you will no longer have those transparent arrows to reorder results. However, if you’ve used SearchWiki extensively, don’t fret: Your edits will be preserved. What do you think of Google stars? Is it a smart feature? Will you use it? Let us know in the comments. Reviews: Gmail, Google, Google Reader Tags: Google, Google Stars, searchwiki
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| Robot Teachers Enter the Education Workforce [VIDEO] Posted: 03 Mar 2010 01:18 PM PST 
Thanks to trial work by the Korean Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) and the Nippon Institute of Technology (NIT), robots are expected to enter the “workforce” in 500 preschools by as early as next year. By 2013, robotic teachers could be holding court in as many as 8,000 preschool and kindergarten classrooms in Korea, backed by $44 million (USD) in funding. In general, the Korean robots will be more geared to address younger audiences, with the Japanese robots designed for older students. NIT’s e-Nuvo is a Japanese humanoid robot with a built-in projector — a feature my high school chemistry teacher surely lacked. Nor was she sporting that futuristic Astro Boy look. All joking aside, it will be interesting to see how well robotic instructors will fit into classrooms and what roles they’ll be able to fill. Do you think a robot teacher can ever actually replace a human instructor, or will the e-Nuvos of the world be relegated to the position of sophisticated classroom sidekick? Tags: e-Nuvo, education, japan, korea, robotics, robots, tech
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| Google Looks to Woo Device Manufacturers for Energy Monitoring Service Posted: 03 Mar 2010 01:05 PM PST 
PowerMeter is an initiative from the dot org part of the Googlesphere that monitors a home’s energy usage in real-time, so you can see just how much power turning on the hairdryer, microwave, Hoover and TV at the same time uses. By letting consumers see their energy usage via an iGoogle desktop widget, the service aims to make people aware of how much power they are wasting, thereby helping the poor old planet and saving the consumer cash. Until now, the service wasn’t wholly available — unless a consumer’s electricity provider offered smart meters, or they chose to pay out and self-install the TED 5000 from Energy Inc. There’s no news at this early stage on which companies plan to make PowerMeter-compatible devices, but eco-consumers should keep their eyes and ears peeled for more over at the Google PowerMeter webpages. Tags: electricity, energy, gadgets, Google, google powermeter, software, web
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| 10 Popular Firefox Add-ons for Web Developers Posted: 03 Mar 2010 12:53 PM PST 
Every plug-in on the list offers outstanding utility to developers who install them in their browsers. In fact, some of them are even considered indispensable. And they’re all available as free downloads for Firefox, right now. If you know any other developer staples that didn’t make our top 10, be sure to share them with us and our other readers in the comments. And if you’re more into Google Chrome, be sure to check out our list of 10 essential Chrome extensions for developers. 1. Firebug With Firebug, you can edit the CSS, HTML, and JavaScript on any web page live without navigating to a different application. Changes can be made and previewed in real-time. The add-on also comes with network activity analysis tools and a JavaScript performance profiler. Like the Firefox browser itself, Firebug can be extended with plug-ins that add new features. 2. Web Developer The Web Developer add-on is the most powerful and dynamic extension in this list; it adds a toolbar that lets you do numerous useful things. You can disable Java, disable or view cookies, disable CSS, view styles, see detailed information on forms, disable images, find broken images, view JavaScript, display all kinds of behind-the-scenes information, edit HTML, show hidden elements, resize the window to a specified resolution, validate code and much more. 3. ColorZilla ColorZilla is a color picker that lives down in your browser’s status bar. Just click the ColorZilla button and move the cursor over the color you want to find out about; you’ll be given a reading that includes the color’s RGB values and the hexadecimal code you need to duplicate the color on your own site. ColorZilla also includes a color wheel, a page zoomer and a measuring tool. 4. HTML Validator HTML Validator appears as an icon in the status bar, and displays the number of HTML errors Firefox encountered when opening up a web page. You can then dive into the HTML code to investigate what caused the errors. Be warned that when you navigate to the Firefox add-on page for HTML Validator, you’ll be told that the add-on isn’t available for download for your operating system if you’re a Mac or Linux user. Take a quick trip to the developer’s website and you’ll find versions for several platforms, though. 5. FireFTP FireFTP is an adequately featured FTP (File Transfer Protocol) client that runs inside Firefox. When you execute it, it appears as an extra window just like Firefox’s bookmark or download managers. Features aren’t just limited to the basics; you can perform integrity checks or searches, sync directories while navigating, compare directories and so on. This add-on should meet the needs of the majority of FTP users. 6. IE Tab Microsoft's Internet Explorer web browser is barely used by web developers, but it's the most popular browser in the world at large. With IE Tab you can open any website in a tab that's actually running IE instead of Firefox. That way, you can more easily make sure your website runs correctly for millions of people who aren't using Firefox. Note that IE Tab is not available for Mac or Linux, since you need to have IE installed for it to work and there are not any currently supported versions of IE for non-Windows operating systems. 7. MeasureIt With MeasureIt, you can draw a rectangular ruler anywhere on the website to get the measurements (height and width) in pixels of any element or space. Similar functionality is offered by ColorZilla, so running both add-ons at the same time would be redundant, but this plug-in is nevertheless hugely popular. 8. Greasemonkey Greasemonkey allows more advanced customization of your browser by executing custom JavaScript scripts that change the way websites are displayed. Hundreds of scripts are available, and many of them are tailored to specific websites. For example, we’ve covered the Facebook Friends Checker script in the past; it monitors your friends list when you’re logged in to Facebook and notifies you when one has been removed. 9. View Source Chart When you look at the source for a web page using Firefox’s normal tools, you’re given a massive block of barely-organized text; it’s not very easy to scan and look for something specific. View Source Chart displays a web page’s source code in a set of smartly divided, colored partitions. It visually represents tag boundaries and DOM structure so you can navigate efficiently without getting lost in the noise. 10. Aardvark Use Aardvark to select elements on a website and perform any one of a broad selection of functions on them. You just click on an element and hit one of several keyboard shortcuts. Possibilities include hitting R to remove the element, W to widen it, I to isolate it or V to view the element’s source. Hitting H for “help” brings up a list of all 14 shortcuts. Series supported by Rackspace  Rackspace is the better way to do hosting. No more worrying about web hosting uptime. No more spending your time, energy and resources trying to stay on top of things like patching, updating, monitoring, backing up data and the like. Learn why. Reviews: Facebook, Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Linux, Twitter, Windows Tags: add-ons, developers, extensions, Firefox, plugins, software, Web Development, web development series
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| MashBash SXSWi: 3 Things to Do Before You Set Off Posted: 03 Mar 2010 12:38 PM PST 
1. RSVP on Eventbrite and the Facebook event page so your friends know you’re coming. 2. Add yourself to Austin Realtime, our directory of attendees and their social networking updates. 3. Enter our MashBash Facebook contest to win a Sony bloggie camera! We’re giving away 2 cameras every week until the event. This week's winners: Kara Murphy and David Berkowitz! Congrats! BONUS: Check out our new SXSWi channel! About MashBash 2010
Join Mashable’s Pete Cashmore, Adam Ostrow, Josh Catone, Barb Dybwad, Jennifer Van Grove, Brett Petersel and myself, along with our sponsors Cliqset and Sony Electronics and 1,600+ attendees for a night of networking and music from DJ Chicken George. In addition, there will be a two-hour open bar, strong Wi-Fi, a game room and plenty of surprises! MashBash RSVP DetailsDate: Sunday, March 14, 2010 Many thanks to our sponsors:
Reviews: Facebook, Mashable Tags: austin, MashBash, sxsw, sxswi, texas
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| RootMusic’s BandPage Makes Better Facebook Fan Pages for Bands Posted: 03 Mar 2010 12:12 PM PST 
Quick Pitch: RootMusic is all about making musicians’ professional lives better, be it through building software or building community. Genius Idea: RootMusic’s debut product is called BandPage, and it makes MySpace-like band page features possible inside a Facebook fan page. At present, Facebook fan pages are laid out in such a way that you can’t share your music with your fans while letting them continue to browse for information. You can deploy a music player tab, but as soon as your fans click on the Photos tab to see pictures of your band, the music stops. RootMusic’s BandPage adds its own interface for displaying band info, tour dates and photos without putting a stop to the music (a feature that puts the program ahead of MySpace, which only allows one to listen to music while on the playlist page). You can share the photos that are already present on your fan page without uploading new ones.  At the bottom of the band page, your fans can post to your page’s wall or look at a stream of tweets related to your band. At the top, they can play your songs, read your bio and access your contact information. In the middle, there’s a list of your upcoming live shows along with their locations and door charges. BandPage is free, and login is handled by Facebook Connect, so you don’t have to create a new account with RootMusic to make all this happen. For some examples of BandPage in action, check out the fan pages for OONA, Con Brio and Dear Wolfgang. Sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark
Entrepreneurs can take advantage of the Azure Services platform for their website hosting and storage needs. Microsoft recently announced the “new CloudApp()” contest – use the Azure Services Platform for hosting your .NET or PHP app, and you could be the lucky winner of a USD 5000* (please see website for official rules and guidelines)." Reviews: Facebook, MySpace, PHP Tags: bandpages, bizspark, facebook, facebook connect, music, rootmusic, spark-of-genius, startups
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| Conan’s Twitter Team: A Small Army [PIC] Posted: 03 Mar 2010 11:53 AM PST   It takes a village to raise a Conan O’Brien tweet. Now that the (former…) late night funnyman has officially joined the Twitterverse, he revealed in a recent tweet the extensive army required to keep Team Coco afloat. Obviously, being funny in 140 characters or less is just too much for one man. Even if that man is Coco.  [img credit: the man, the myth, the legend: Conan O'Brien] [via URLesque] Tags: conan, conan o'brien, tv, twitpic, twitter
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| Wall Street Journal App for iPad Confirmed Posted: 03 Mar 2010 11:42 AM PST 
It doesn’t come as a big surprise considering Murdoch’s stated plans to charge for mobile access to News Corp. content and Apple’s desire to woo publishers onto its shiny new iPad platform. Still, it’s solid confirmation from the chief himself. The Q&A also demonstrated the degree to which the iPad is being kept under wraps: “We’ve been allowed to work on one, and it’s under padlock and key. The key is turned by Apple every night. But we will be on that with The Wall Street Journal,” Murdoch told the crowd at the Real Estate Board of New York luncheon where he divulged the details. Moreover, the iPad won’t be the only game in town. Murdoch also said that within the coming year, newspapers and other print media will have at least half a dozen devices on which to offer their content. These are likely to include e-readers like the Barnes & Noble Nook and the Amazon Kindle as well as a veritable fleet of other tablets on deck, many of which will be running Google’s Android operating system. Would you be willing to pay to access The Wall Street Journal or other newspapers on an iPad or other mobile device? Reviews: Android, Google Tags: android, apple, content, ereaders, ipad, Kindle, News Corp, nook, publishing, rupert murdoch, tablets, WSJ
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| Yelp for Android Gets Bookmark Sync and Draft Support Posted: 03 Mar 2010 11:29 AM PST 
The first big new feature is that you can now bookmark businesses with the Yelp Android app or on Yelp.com and those bookmarks will be synchronized across your account. That’s really cool because that way if you find something on your phone, you can check it out in more detail online and vice versa.  While Yelp doesn’t currently allow publishing of full reviews from mobile devices (the Yelp blog explains why), you can now create draft reviews in the Android app, which means that once you get back to your main computer, you can fix any spelling errors or make other types of corrections before publishing.  You can download the latest version of Yelp for Android from the Android Market now. What are your favorite geolocation apps for Android? Let us know! Reviews: Android, Android Market, Yelp Tags: android, yelp, yelp for android
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| GetGlue Add-on Brings Social Recommendations Across the Web Posted: 03 Mar 2010 11:08 AM PST 
 It’s a really nice feature and it adds a lot to the Glue experience, but the problem has been that you can only see these tips when visiting Glue-supported sites. Now, if you install the GetGlue add-on for Firefox or Chrome, links to IMDB, Last.fm, Wikipedia, Amazon and dozens of others will feature a little “Glue Tip” icon. Hover over that icon and you can get access to all of the Glue-sharing functions.  This means that if your favorite blog or your Facebook feed links to IMDB, you can mouse over to see not only the IMDB info on the actor or film, but you can view reviews, see what your Glue friends think, rate the item yourself or save it to your favorites. You can also tweet or share the link via Facebook, and if it’s a purchasable item, buy it from one of many different online retailers. The beauty of something like this is that it is unobtrusive — you only get the info if you hover over the Glue Tip — plus it brings added context and information to what you are reading, or, more importantly, what you are searching for online.  We like that when it comes to music albums, for instance, you can choose to buy a disc from iTunes or BestBuy — even if a link originates at Amazon.com. All in all, this is a worthy update to the GetGlue add-on. What do you think of semantic web plugins and tools like GetGlue? Let us know! Reviews: Chrome, Facebook, Firefox, Wikipedia Tags: chrome, Firefox, getglue, getglue.com, glue, semantic web, web apps
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| Buzzie: Google Buzz Gets Its First Third-Party iPhone App Posted: 03 Mar 2010 10:49 AM PST 
Hankering to access Google Buzz on your iPhone outside of Mobile Safari? Pardon us, but there’s an app for that. The Next Web reports that Buzzie [iTunes link] is now in the App Store for $1.99. Buzzie gives a view into ongoing Buzz conversations nearby even when you’re not logged in, and once authenticated, users have access to standard Buzz features like starting and participating in conversations. You can mark messages as public or private and decide whether or not to include location information in a Buzz. The third-party Buzz client is arguably a slicker rendition than the standard web app version, but will users be willing to shell out $2 for the extra polish? Developer Alberto Hierro certainly hopes so. That cost is also a special introductory deal, so if you’re thinking of picking up Buzzie, be aware, the price will jump up to $2.99 after the launch week. Have you checked out Buzzie? Are you interested in a full Buzz mobile client or is the web-based app enough for your needs? Reviews: Google Buzz Tags: app store, buzz, buzzie, google buzz, iphone, location
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| Vodafone UK Partners with Foursquare Posted: 03 Mar 2010 10:25 AM PST 
As it stands, all Vodafone UK customers will now have instant access to Foursquare’s mobile site from any mobile Internet-enabled device, or they can text “Foursquare” to 97886 for a link to the site. While the new relationship doesn’t appear to add any juicy extras or content to the service, it’s still a major coup for the relatively underground startup. What Vodafone UK can offer Foursquare is massive mobile distribution and an introduction of the service to millions of potential new users. It’s hard to tell just yet what Vodfone gets out of the relationship, but we’ve contacted Foursquare for more information on the partnership and will update this post when we know more. As it stands, though, in recent weeks Foursquare’s been able to forge pivotal content and media relationships with everyone from Zagat and The New York Times to Bravo TV and Harvard. It has even managed to secure its name in Vegas lights. Now with a carrier in its back pocket, Foursquare seems positioned to attract substantial mainstream attention. Update: In speaking with Foursquare’s General Manager Evan Cohen we’ve learned that Vodafone UK is the first carrier partner, but the startup has reached out to “all major carriers and handset manufacturers in the U.S. and abroad,” and they expect to “strike similar deals in the future.” In terms of motivating factors on both sides, Foursquare is interested in the distribution aspects of the deal (as we surmised) and Vodafone UK is pursuing the Foursquare relationship to add value to their customers. Cohen shares that in general the “squeeze is on operators as they try to find ways to avoid becoming a ‘dump pipe,’” … “one of the strategies they’re pursuing is promoting value add applications to their customers.” Reviews: Foursquare Tags: foursquare, MARKETING, Mobile 2.0, vodafone
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| The White House Backs Plan to Open 311 Data to Developers Posted: 03 Mar 2010 10:03 AM PST 
Almost every city in the country has a 311 Customer Service Center providing residents answers about city services, and a way to report potholes, graffiti or other issues. Since the launch of San Francisco's 311 Center in March 2007, more than 8 million calls have been answered and thousands of requests have been submitted online. Last year, I announced a first-of-its kind partnership with Twitter to make it even easier for San Franciscans to communicate with government and report problems. Thousands of residents have taken advantage of this service tweeting requests to 311 at zero cost to the City. With the success of the Twitter/311 partnership, we have decided to expand to as many different platforms as possible, like Facebook and mobile devices. As we have seen in the consumer marketplace, when companies like Google, Twitter, and Facebook release APIs (Application Programming Interface), countless innovative applications are created that build on the original idea. In an effort to change the way government operates and tap into that same creative energy, today I am pleased to announce with President Obama's CIO Vivek Kundra the launch of a national Open311 API. Watch a live webcast on WhiteHouse.gov @ 2:30 EST! A National 311 Data StandardThe new Open311 standard will allow software developers to write web applications that do two things: 1) get service request data from the 311 system, and 2) submit new service requests to city departments. Over the past few months, we have been collaborating with a number of cities, non-profits, and Gov 2.0 companies like SeeClixFix to create the Open311 API to make this possible. This means that soon a person living in San Francisco who travels to Portland or Boston could use the same application to request a service in their hometown or one they are traveling to.  Forward thinking cities like LA, Boston, Washington DC, Portland, and Edmonton have already pledged to use the API in their cities. But, we want every major city to join this effort. You can ask your city to join the national initiative to Open 311 on the Open311.org web site – the more cities behind this effort the better for city budgets, citizens, and developers throughout the nation. There is tremendous passion and talent waiting to assist government in making cities a better place to live. Our DataSF App Showcase has proven that the public will create innovative applications when given access to the information they need. We hope to see numerous iPhone apps, Android apps, and web sites taking advantage of the new Open311 API in the weeks and months ahead. The Open311 API will be available to the public starting next week. Visit the Open311 wiki for specifics on the API design, join the mailing list to stay in the loop, and encourage your city to use the Open311 API. Reviews: Facebook, Google, Twitter Tags: 311, Announcement, api, gavin newsom, open311, San Francisco-San Jose, social media, twitter, White House
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| WordPress Goes Real-Time With PubSubHubbub Posted: 03 Mar 2010 09:56 AM PST  WordPress.com‘ 10.5 million blogs are about to get a whole lot more real-time, thanks to a new behind-the-scenes development. The WordPress team has announced in a blog post that the company has turned on support for PubSubHubbub (try saying that fast five times), a move that will get blog content to RSS services (such as Google Reader and Bloglines) much more quickly. Essentially it’s a way for hosted WordPress blogs to “push” content out as it’s published to the services, rather than waiting for the services to check in for new posts. It’s live now for WordPress.com blogs, while self-hosted blogs can go real-time with this plugin. PubHubSubbub, or PuSH, is demoed nicely in the “cheesy” video (that’s WordPress’ choice of word, not ours) below. However those of you who want to find out more about the new protocol can do so over at the PuSH project site. Reviews: Bloglines, Google Reader, WordPress Tags: pubsubhubbub, push, trending, Wordpress
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| Omniture Introduces New Tools for Managing Facebook Ad Campaigns Posted: 03 Mar 2010 09:38 AM PST 
The new offerings are geared toward marketers looking to better understand the performance of their Facebook media buys, adding custom reporting options for a more complete look at the analytics, effectiveness and customer engagement generated by campaigns. Omniture’s SiteCatalyst product has evolved in the past year to support Twitter analytics andFacebook application measurement, so the addition of Facebook ad measurement tools is the logical next step for the now Adobe-owned company. Given that a majority of Facbook’s projected revenue for 2010 comes from ad buys, we can certainly understand why both Omniture and Facebook would want to help marketers better analyze, optimize and spend more on their campaigns. Today’s product enhancement news also includes the addition of display ad optimization, more mobile analytics and an expansion to the company’s partnership with Experian. Reviews: Facebook Tags: facebook, MARKETING, social media, social media marketing
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| 7 Essential Online HR Resources for Your Small Business Posted: 03 Mar 2010 09:23 AM PST 
As a business owner, you know your product, service, market and customers. But sometimes one of the most challenging aspects of operating a business is employees. Not because the employees themselves are a challenge but because there's so much legislation and nuance to employee relations. Wouldn't it be great to have a go-to list of resources that can provide answers to common HR questions or solve those nagging people issues? Well, while this list is not a substitution for legal advice, these seven resources can lend a hand in understanding the complexities of labor and employment matters for your business. The List1. There are several well-written human resources blogs that offer pertinent, common-sense advice. Two of my favorites are Ask a Manager and Evil HR Lady. Both written by practicing HR pros, these blogs offer a unique format by answering questions from readers. At first glance, it might appear the questions are trivial or unrealistic, but trust me, I've seen many of the same situations. And, dealing with everyday internal squabbles or misunderstandings can consume a lot of time. 2. The Department of Labor offers an easy to maneuver site covering many of the common questions employers ask, especially when it concerns employee wages. I find it becomes particularly useful when companies are sending employees to off-site training or conferences – not something companies do every day but you sure want to know how to pay people when those situations arise. 3. G.Neil is a one-stop HR supply shop for your small business. They are well-known for their 5-in-1 labor law posters as well as a service that will notify you when updates are issued. G.Neil also offers a popular attendance tracking system that allows you to record all of an employee's time-off requests on a single piece of paper – very convenient. 4. Monster.com is considered one of the top (if not the top) job board in existence. Besides being able to post jobs on Monster, companies can save job searches and constantly monitor the site for talent. This can be very valuable if you have positions you hire for regularly or a job that's difficult to fill. Even if you're not hiring, the site has developed specialized community forums in Sales, Health Care, Administrative services, etc. so you can stay on top of industry trends and commentary. 5. SmartBrief publishes several B2B electronic newsletters for business owners, entrepreneurs, and specialized industries. Their offering includes partnerships with NFIB, NAWBO, Non-Profits, etc. Subscriptions are free and they allow you access to a wide variety of content. They give you the best of the best so you don't have to scour multiple sources for great information. 6. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is a professional association and the leading voice of the human resources profession. I can't even begin to tell you how much content is on their website. Some of it is free. And for a nominal fee, members have access to articles, white papers, templates, tools, etc. I regularly use their Knowledge Center for answers to everyday questions such as inclement weather policies. SHRM also provides regular updates on pending employment legislation. 7. Your Local Chamber of Commerce can be a good resource to find meetings and workshops on common employment challenges. My local chamber regularly partners with consultants or law firms to offer topical sessions. And you don't always have to be a member to attend. Take a moment and bookmark these sites. It might not be a list of resources you use every day, but when you do need them, you will be happy you had them bookmarked. Have you found any additional HR resources helpful? Tell us more about them in the comments. More business resources from Mashable:
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, peepo Reviews: iStockphoto Tags: business, human resources, List, Lists, small business
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| TiVo Introduces New Internet-Connected DVRs Posted: 03 Mar 2010 09:06 AM PST  TiVo has updated its offerings, introing two new set-top boxes, the TiVo Premiere and the TiVo Premiere XL, which will finally bring high-definition to the DVR range. In a nutshell, the web-connected TiVo Premiere boxes offer cable TV, movies on demand (from Netflix, Amazon and Blockbuster) and web videos from YouTube. In the coming months, they will also offer music from Pandora, along with existing services from the likes of Rhapsody (which will also be available to Series 2 and 3 box owners). In addition, TiVo is not letting the demand for apps pass it by; the boxes will offer access to more than 1,000 apps from FrameChannel with widgets for news, weather, sports, social networking sites and more. As far as the difference between the two boxes goes, the Premiere has a 320GB harddrive — said to be good for 45 hours of HD storage or 400 standard, while the Premiere XL has 1TB of storage space and boasts 150 hours for HD and more than 1,000 for SD, as well as some THX tech for all kinds of optimal audio and video reproduction claims. The boxes cost $300 and $500, respectively, and will be on sale in April. Also due soon from TiVo is a Wireless-N Wi-Fi adapter, and an unusual, slide-out QWERTY TiVo remote that will be offered as optional extras. The idea of bringing the Internet into the living room is becoming more common as of late. Hardware products such as the soon-to-be-released Popbox and Boxee Box are all about getting Internet content on your television, and Yahoo’s Connected TV offering for web-enabled televisions will bring web widgets to the living room. Heck, Samsung has even introduced an app store for televisions. These products and innovations, along with TiVo’s newest venture, just serve to demonstrate how attached we are to the Internet (Case in point: 13% of viewers were surfing the web during the Olympics’ opening ceremonies). Reviews: Pandora, Rhapsody, YouTube Tags: amazon, blockbuster, FrameChannel, netflix, pandora, tivo
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| NCAA Vault Streams a Decade of Major Plays from March Madness Posted: 03 Mar 2010 08:51 AM PST 
Videos don’t appear to be embeddable, but you can share them to Twitter or Facebook, or simply hand someone the URL. You can search by team, year or player and see highlights or complete games, then break those down into the plays you want to share via social media. The site also offers featured videos of dunks, great shots, blocks, plays, finishes, the most outstanding players and current stars. NCAA Vault — which is powered by stock footage company Thought Equity Motion — is free because it’s ad-supported. The video quality isn’t amazing but it’s not poor, either. Sports broadcasters have been wary of putting archive footage up on the web, preferring instead to try to get people to watch on broadcast or cable television, but there have been enough web video successes — particularly in the sports arena — that the folks who run this content are becoming more comfortable sharing it online on sites like this one and YouTube. Reviews: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube Tags: basketball, march madness, NCAA, ncaa vault, News, sports, thought equity motion
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| Slow Motion Dog Treat Commercial Beguiles Internet [Randomly Viral] Posted: 03 Mar 2010 08:33 AM PST 
Well, that’s all very inspiring and poignant and whatnot, but the reason behind why this vid has become so popular is quite simple, really. In fact, it can be boiled down to a rudimentary mathematical equation (get out your notebooks, kids):
Seriously, friends, you can take that to the bank. Now, while you commence scheming your own canine sensation, take a peek at the video in question: Oh, and lest you think that there’s anything new under the sun, someone sent me this vid a while back (it has lasers!): Tags: animals, humor, MARKETING, pop culture, viral video
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| AT&T: iPad Is a Wi-Fi Driven Product Posted: 03 Mar 2010 07:04 AM PST 
It makes sense; people who already have an iPhone subscription may be unlikely to go for another subscription, especially since it’s not crucial to the iPad experience, which comes in both Wi-Fi and 3G flavors. But, have you ever actually tried to do some meaningful work (or even casual browsing) using only a Wi-Fi connection when you’re on the move? Often, you’ll find many Wi-Fi connections available, but they’re all password-protected. When you find one, you’re not very mobile anymore: sit on a tram, bus, or a subway, and your Wi-Fi is lost, then you have to search for another one. Finally, open Wi-Fi connections are often unsafe, and many users won’t dare access or send sensitive data over them. Being able to fall back to a 3G connection improves your mobile Internet experience tremendously, and the logical question (that no one answered yet) is this: Will iPad users will be able to tether 3G connection from the iPhone? After all, if you’re paying for a 3G iPhone subscription, shouldn’t you be able to use that connection on another device (bought from the same carrier and the same manufacturer)? Apple has so far been silent about tethering on the iPad, but it’s a question that needs to be answered, perhaps even before iPad hits the market. Tags: 3g, att, ipad, iphone, Tethering
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This guest post was written by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who was elected to the position in 2003 and reelected in 2007. In this guest post, Mayor Newsom announces the launch of a national open platform for 311 Customer Service Centers on which developers can build applications.
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The NCAA has launched 
According to AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, iPad will be a Wi-Fi driven product. “My expectation is that there’s not going to be a lot of people out there looking for another subscription,” | You are subscribed to email updates from Mashable! To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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