Tube Full of Plasma Creates Solar Eruption in the Lab
Sep 1, 2010 Software
Explosive bursts normally seen only on the surface of the sun can now be captured in a 13-foot-long tube using lab-created plasmas and bursts of laser light.
Digg: Amazon Manager Will Take the Helm, Try to Save Site From Tides of History
Sep 1, 2010 Software
Controversial social news site Digg has hired Amazon.com’s Matt Williams to be its new CEO, according to a scoop by TechCrunch this morning.
Williams has more than a decade of experience in online ecommerce and small business services, but little discoverable social media participation. He’ll take the helm of a site that was groundbreaking just a few short years ago, still drives more traffic than any other technology news aggregator, but struggles to remain relevant as larger, more general interest ways to share and discover news have arisen.
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Williams will replace site co-founder Kevin Rose at the helm of the ship and Rose will return to the position of chief architect, TechCrunch reports. Rose spent less than 6 months as CEO, a position he told Kara Swisher he wouldn’t wish on his worst enemy. He led the company after the departure of Jay Adelson, one of young Silicon Valley’s most respected executives.
All leading sites fall, in time. Williams faces a big challenge in forestalling that fate for Digg.Last week Digg’s business development director Matt Van Horn left the company to join former Facebooker Dave Morin’s pre-launched startup Path, so there’s no shortage of shake-up among Digg’s leadership right now.
Of course all this is going on in the glow of the site’s biggest relaunch in years. Version 4 of Digg offers a more personalized stream of news to users and undercuts the power of the cabal of power users whose shadowy influence has dominated the front page of the influential site for years. The relaunch has been dramatic and controversial. Williams will join Digg in trying to navigate a user revolt, hardly the first one the site has faced.
Can Digg remain relevant, much less grow beyond tens of millions of tech fans it has visiting it today? New CEO Williams is not taking on an easy job.
All leading sites fall, in time. Williams faces a big challenge in forestalling that fate for Digg.
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You or Me
Sep 1, 2010 Software
ShareI often wonder how we attain fulfillment through Social Media. Its an interesting question, and how you answer truly hinders on which school of thought you belong to. Either you immerse yourself in Social Media for yourself. Or you immerse yourself in Social Media for others. Personally, I belong to the former but can understand [...]
Palm puts webOS 2.0 SDK into limited release starting today
Sep 1, 2010 Software
Palm fans, get your party hats on. Today the company is announcing the beta release of its SDK for webOS 2.0, which means we’re getting dangerously close to a proper 2.0 release for devices. And who knows… maybe the phone-maker will decide to throw a new device our way to go along with the OS. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Starting tomorrow, a select (though rather wide, says Palm) group of developers will be able to start toying around with the latest and greatest SDK for the company’s mobile operating system, and it looks like the new software brings some tasty morsels to the table that you’re definitely going to want to chow down on. We got the scoop directly from Palm on just exactly what kind of changes you’ll be seeing in the first version of 2.0, and we’ve rounded them up in a neatly digestible form below, so read on after the break and get the full story.Continue reading Palm puts webOS 2.0 SDK into limited release starting todayPalm puts webOS 2.0 SDK into limited release starting today originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | |Email this|Comments
Philips GoGear Connect is an Android-based iPod touch competitor
Sep 1, 2010 Software
For all its success, the iPod touch has few dedicated media player competitors capable of matching its big-touchscreen, WiFi, and voluminous app store. Until today. Philips just went official with its GoGear Connect featuring the full suite of Google Mobile applications pre-installed and access to the Android Market. Spec-wize we’re looking at a 3.2-inch display, WiFi, sound isolating earphones, built-in camera, and microSD slot. Sorry, not mention of the Android OS version. Syncing your music is done over Bluetooth or a USB tether to your PC with a Philips Songbird software assist. The MP4 player also supports Maps and location-based services — presumably accomplished by some kind of Skyhook service and not via a GPS radio (though the Philips post is tagged with “GPS”). Look for the GoGear Connect to land in Western Europe, China, and yes, the US, starting in late October with the price pegged at 249 (about $315) for the 16GB model.Philips GoGear Connect is an Android-based iPod touch competitor originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 06:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Philips |Email this|Comments
Bank of America reaches new low. Charges customers to use parking lot. [pic]
Sep 1, 2010 Software
submitted by voyetra8 to WTF [link] [48 comments]
TweetDeck Warns Of Fake Update, Trojan
Sep 1, 2010 Software
As we mentioned earlier today, some third-party Twitter applications may stop working because Twitter has made some big changes this morning regarding how other applications and websites gain access to your Twitter account. Unfortunately, some unfriendly types out there have tried to take advantage of the situation with a fake Tweetdeck update that is actually a trojan horse virus.
Tweetdeck posted a warning on its blog yesterday about the fake update, but today will be the real test, as many of us go searching for the real update.
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If you’re seeing what I’m seeing this morning (see above), the only place to go is to the official Tweetdeck website. According to Tweetdeck, there are a number of tweets getting passed around urging users to update to the latest version of Tweetdeck. While many do need to update, the only place users should go to download this update is http://www.tweetdeck.com/desktop/. The tweets about the fake update link to a file named “tweetdeck-08302010-update.exe” and often are from the URL http://alturl.com. The Tweetdeck blog warns that many of the suspect tweets include the following:
TweetDeck will work until tomorrow, udate now!
1.Download TweetDeck udate ASAP!
2.Update TweetDeck!
3.Hurry up for tweetdeck update!
4.Sorry for offtopic, but it is a critical TweetDeck update. It won’t work tomorrow!
Trend Micro researcher Paul Ferguson told Network World that the file is “a generic Trojan horse program that is not detected by most antivirus products”, so installing the fake update could be harmful and go completely unnoticed.
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Pirate Bay Documentary in the Works
Sep 1, 2010 Software
Notorious file sharing website The Pirate Bay is a long-standing enemy of the movie industry, but one Swedish filmmaker has plans to create a documentary called TPB AFK about the three founders of the site, and their reactions to being found guilty of being accessory to crime against copyright law and fined about $3.6 million.
Microsoft shows off new controller, with transforming D-pad
Sep 1, 2010 Software
The D-pad on the existing 360 controllers is, to put it mildly, utter garbage. If you want to play any games relying on precise movements, such as fighting games, buying a third-party controller is a requirement. Microsoft hopes it has this problem licked, however, and is releasing a controller with a new, updated D-pad on November 9. The catch? You won’t be able to buy the controller alone; you’ll need to grab the Play and Charge Kit to get it, and the final cost will be $64.99.
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