Facebook Reveals Video Chat

Image via CrunchBaseFacebook video chat is real: the social network has unveiled its rumored video chat product, powered by Skype.

The new chat product, according to Facebook’s blog, will allow users to call their friends right from Facebook. The revamped chat system now includes a sidebar with “the people you message most.” It automatically appears when your browser is big enough.

Google WantsTo Buy Hulu

Image via CrunchBaseGoogle is reportedly in talks to purchase Hulu, the online video site, according to the L.A. Times.
Hulu began to weigh options regarding a sale after an unsolicited offer last week, though it might not necessarily sell itself. It was earlier reported that Yahoo had approached Hulu, but that rumor has been all but discredited.
According to new sources, who claim to be "familiar with the situation," Hulu is now talking to Google, Yahoo and Microsoft. Hulu's financial advisers, Morgan Stanley and Guggenheim Partners, are setting up meetings with various companies in the tech, media and communications fields, the source also said.
Hulu lets users watch episodes from television shows currently airing, as well as older shows. The site also offers a premium service, Hulu Plus, that lets users watch a greater selection of programming with limited advertising. The site is projected to make $500 million in revenue for 2011, based on advertising and subscriptions.
Google already owns YouTube, the top online video destination in the country that boasts over 100 million unique visitors per month. YouTube has also launched a streaming rental service, which recently expanded to include over 3,000 more titles.
Source:huffingtonpost.com

Related articles

• Google to Buy Hulu for $2 Billion? Rumour Mill Grinding... (appmarket.tv)

Google Plus+ Invitations

Image via CrunchBaseGoogle is betting that its new social network, Google+, will fix what it calls the "awkward" state of online sharing--but Google isn't sharing invitations to its latest project with everyone.
Users have been clamoring for invitations to Google+, which Google launched as a limited "field trial," noting "you may find some rough edges." Access to the project is currently by invitation only, and a limited number of users were given 15 invitations apiece to bring others on board.
If you're eager to begin trying out Google+ and can't find someone with a spare invitation, you can sign up to request a Google+ account here. Google has created an entry form that asks people to submit their first name and email address so they can stay posted as the service is rolled out more fully. "We’re still ironing out a few kinks in Google+, so it’s not quite ready for everyone to climb aboard," Google wrote. "But, if you want, we’ll let you know the minute the doors are open for real. Cool? Cool."
Source:huffingtonpost.com

Google’s Answer To The Facebook Like Button-Meet +1

                                  WikipediaNearly a year after Facebook Like buttons spread out across the web, Google has announced its own rival, the +1 button. It launches today as part of Google’s search engine, allowing you to “+1″ the search results and ads that you like. And in a few months, it’ll be arriving at a web site near you.
Is +1 (pronounced “Plus One”) part of the new social network that Google’s long been rumored to be building? Or is +1 simply that “social layer” that Google has said would come and isn’t really meant as a rival to Facebook?

+1 Your Favorite Google Search Results

Beginning today, a small percentage of Google search users on Google.com in the United States searching in English will now see a +1 button next to search listings, when they are logged in.

Related articles

• Meet +1: Google's Answer To The Facebook Like Button (searchengineland.com)
• With +1, Google Search Goes Truly Social - As Do Google Ads (techcrunch.com)

Google's code change shifts billions from losers to winners

                            CrunchBase Google's recent change to its search algorithm has dramatically shaken up the businesses of websites that moved up or down its search rankings. Sites whose rankings rose to the top found that their traffic and revenue soared -- but the adjustment had an equally devastating effect on those that were dropped.

The Online Publishers Association, a group of content producers comprising many of the Internet's largest properties (including CNN.com), estimates that the algorithm change shifted $1 billion in annual revenue.
Some of the losers felt the hit immediately. Mahalo.com laid off 10% of its workforce last week thanks to what CEO Jason Calacanis called "a significant dip in our traffic and revenue."

The stakes are high in the Google-placement game. The top spot on a search page typically attracts 20% to 30% of the page's clicks, according to Adam Bunn, SEO director of Greenlight. After that comes an enormous tail-off: Positions 2 to 3 generate 5% to 10% of the clicks, and links below the fold receive less than 1% of users' attention. Fall off to the second page and your search-engine-driven clicks will be negligible.
Source:cnn.com

Most Useful Websites

Simple web addresses   saving you a trip to Google

01. screenr.com – record movies of your desktop and send them straight to YouTube.

02. bounceapp.com – for capturing full length screenshots of web pages.

03. goo.gl – shorten long URLs and convert URLs into QR codes.

04. untiny.me – find the original URLs that's hiding behind a short URLs.

05. localti.me – know more than just the local time of a city

06. copypastecharacter.com – copy special characters that aren't on your keyboard.

07. topsy.com – a better search engine for twitter.

08. fb.me/AppStore – search iOS app without launching iTunes.

09. iconfinder.com – the best place to find icons of all sizes.

10. office.com – download templates, clipart and images for your Office documents.

11. woorank.com – everything you wanted to know about a website.

12. virustotal.com – scan any suspicious file or email attachment for viruses.

13. wolframalpha.com – gets answers directly without searching  - see more wolfram tips.

14. printwhatyoulike.com – print web pages without the clutter.

15. joliprint.com – reformats news articles and blog content as a newspaper.

16. isnsfw.com – when you wish to share a NSFW page but with a warning.

17. e.ggtimer.com – a simple online timer for your daily needs.


18. coralcdn.org – if a site is down due to heavy traffic, try accessing it through coral CDN.

19. random.org – pick random numbers, flip coins, and more.

20. mywot.com – check the trust level of any website - example.

21. viewer.zoho.com – Preview PDFs and Presentations directly in the browser.

22. tubemogul.com – simultaneously upload videos to YouTube and other video sites.

23. truveo.com – the best place for searching web videos.

24. scr.im – share you email address online without worrying about spam.

25. spypig.com – now get read receipts for your email.

26. sizeasy.com – visualize and compare the size of any product.

27. whatfontis.com – quickly determine the font name from an image.

28. fontsquirrel.com – a good collection of fonts – free for personal and commercial use.

29. regex.info – find data hidden in your photographs – see more EXIF tools.

30. tineye.com – this is like an online version of Google Googles.

31. iwantmyname.com – helps you search domains across all TLDs.

32. tabbloid.com – your favorite blogs delivered as PDFs.

33. join.me – share you screen with anyone over the web.

34. onlineocr.net – recognize text from scanned PDFs and images – see other OCR tools.

35. flightstats.com - Track flight status at airports worldwide.

36. wetransfer.com – for sharing really big files online.

37. pastebin.com – a temporary online clipboard for your text and code snippets.

38. polishmywriting.com – check your writing for spelling or grammatical errors.

39. awesomehighlighter.com – easily highlight the important parts of a web page.

40. typewith.me – work on the same document with multiple people.

41. whichdateworks.com – planning an event? find a date that works for all.

42. everytimezone.com – a less confusing view of the world time zones.

43. warrick.cs.odu.edu – you'll need this when your bookmarked web pages are deleted.

44. gtmetrix.com – the perfect tool for measuring your site performance online.

45. imo.im - chat with your buddies on Skype, Facebook, Google Talk, etc. from one place.

46. translate.google.com – translate web pages, PDFs and Office documents.

47. youtube.com/leanback – enjoy a never ending stream of YouTube videos in full-screen.

48. similarsites.com – discover new sites that are similar to what you like already.

49. wordle.net – quick summarize long pieces of text with tag clouds.

50. bubbl.us – create mind-maps, brainstorm ideas in the browser.

51. kuler.adobe.com – get color ideas, also extract colors from photographs.

52. followupthen.com – setup quick reminders via email itself.

53. lmgtfy.com – when your friends are too lazy to use Google on their own.

54. tempalias.com – generate temporary email aliases, better than disposable email.

55. pdfescape.com – lets you can quickly edit PDFs in the browser itself.

56. faxzero.com – send an online fax for free – see more fax services.

57. feedmyinbox.com – get RSS feeds as an email newsletter.

58. isendr.com – transfer files without uploading to a server.

59. tinychat.com – setup a private chat room in micro-seconds.

60. privnote.com – create text notes that will self-destruct after being read.


61. flightaware.com – live flight tracking service for airports worldwide.

62. boxoh.com – track the status of any shipment on Google Maps – alternative.

63. chipin.com – when you need to raise funds online for an event or a cause.

64. downforeveryoneorjustme.com – find if your favorite website is offline or not?

65. example.com – this website can be used as an example in documentation. 

66. whoishostingthis.com – find the web host of any website.

67. google.com/history – found something on Google but can't remember it now?

68. errorlevelanalysis.com – find whether a photo is real or a photoshopped one.


69. google.com/dictionary – get word meanings, pronunciations and usage examples.

70. urbandictionary.com – find definitions of slangs and informal words.

71. seatguru.com – consult this site before choosing a seat for your next flight.

72. sxc.hu – download stock images absolutely free.

73. zoom.it – view very high-resolution images in your browser without scrolling.

74. wobzip.org – unzip your compressed files online.

75. vocaroo.com – record your voice with a click.

76. scribblemaps.com – create custom Google Maps easily.

77. buzzfeed.com – never miss another Internet meme or viral video.

78. alertful.com – quickly setup email reminders for important events.

79. encrypted.google.com – prevent your ISP and boss from reading your search queries.

80. formspring.me – you can ask or answer personal questions here.

81. snopes.com – find if that email offer you received is real or just another scam.

82. typingweb.com – master touch-typing with these practice sessions.

83. mailvu.com – send video emails to anyone using your web cam.

84. ge.tt – quickly send a file to someone, they can even preview it before downloading.

85. timerime.com – create timelines with audio, video and images.

86. stupeflix.com – make a movie out of your images, audio and video clips.

87. aviary.com/myna – an online audio editor that lets record, and remix audio clips online.

88. noteflight.com – print music sheets, write your own music online (review).

89. disposablewebpage.com – create a temporary web page that self-destruct.

90. namemytune.com – when you need to find the name of a song.


91. homestyler.com – design from scratch or re-model your home in 3d.

92. snapask.com – use email on your phone to find sports scores, read Wikipedia, etc.

93. teuxdeux.com – a beautiful to-do app that looks like your paper dairy.

94. livestream.com – broadcast events live over the web, including your desktop screen.

95. bing.com/images – automatically find perfectly-sized wallpapers for mobiles. 

96. historio.us – preserve complete web pages with all the formatting.

97. dabbleboard.com – your virtual whiteboard.

98. whisperbot.com – send an email without using your own account.

99. sumopaint.com – an excellent layer-based online image editor.

100. lovelycharts.com – create flowcharts, network diagrams, sitemaps, etc.

101. nutshellmail.com – Get your Facebook and Twitter streams in your inbox.


 Source:labnol

In Defense of Google, Or Why Consumer Watchdog is Full of It

The self-appointed Consumer Watchdog activist group is running a Times Square jumbotron advertisement lambasting Google as a massive invader of your privacy, caricaturing its CEO Eric Schmidt as a creepy, high-tech ice cream vendor who profiles children.

The video (above) is just the latest from Consumer Watchdog, a foundation-funded group that partial to splashy campaigns. The group has hired former reporter John Simpson to be a “hell raiser” focused on Google, and he’s been remarkably good at it, even when the facts aren’t on his side.
Source:wired.com

Popular News Today

• Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen sues Apple, Google, Facebook, AOL,...
• Electric cars 'may be costlier'
• Mcdonald's Hamburgers Don't Age - Good Blog - Good
• 'One in four lap-dancers has a degree'

News of the day

 Where are the safest and most dangerous places in the world to use the internet?  —  w During the last week of July, AVG researchers compiled a list of virus and malware attacks by country picked up by AVG security software.  —  This means we have compiled data from over 127 million computers …
Source:thompson.blog.avg.com
Apple Said to Prepare New 99-Cent TV Show Rental Service  —  Apple Inc. is in advanced talks with News Corp. to let iTunes users rent TV shows for 99 cents and is in discussions with other media companies about similar deals, said three people familiar with the plan.
Source:bloomberg.com
Firefox Panorama: Tab Candy Evolved  —  I am happy to announce that Tab Candy is coming to Firefox 4.  Starting today, Tab Candy will be called Firefox Panorama and be available as a feature in Firefox betas.  Head to the Firefox 4 feature list, or watch the video below …
Source:azarask.in
iTunes U Downloads Top 300 Million  —  In just over three years, iTunes® U downloads have topped 300 million and it has become one of the world's most popular online educational catalogs.  Over 800 universities throughout the world have active iTunes U sites, and nearly half … 
Source:apple.com
Yahoo! Transitions Organic Search Back-End to Microsoft Platform  —  First let me say, wow, what a week!  As I hope everyone saw our post from last week, Yahoo! began transitioning certain back-end functions for Yahoo! Search over to Microsoft's search platform.
Source:ysearchblog.com
Businesses Add iPads to Their Briefcases  —  Some Companies, Which Barred the iPhone, Build Apps for Tablet Computer and Give Apple Gadget to Employees  —  When Apple Inc.'s first iPhone came out in 2007, many companies told their employees that the device wasn't appropriate for the workplace.
Source:online.wsj.com
Apple exec stashed $150K in shoe boxes  —  Bail for Paul Devine is set at $600K, plus any money he has in foreign bank accounts  —  IDG News Service - SAN JOSE — Federal agents found more than $150,000 in cash when they searched the house of Apple manager Paul Devine earlier this month, prosecutors said in court Monday.
Source: computerworld.com
Toshiba to launch first glasses-free 3D TV  —  TOKYO (AFP) - Japanese electronics giant Toshiba plans to market the world's first 3D television that does not need special glasses later this year, a report said on Tuesday.  —  Toshiba will unveil three models of the television
Source:news.yahoo.com

Google in Talks to Build Rival to Facebook

The search giant has been holding talks with gaming companies as it looks to develop a new service to compete with the social networking site, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Google has been talking with developers like Playdom, Electronic Arts’s Playfish and Zynga Game Network about offering their games for the new service it is planning, The Journal said.
The reported plan for a broader social networking initiative comes as the young but fast-growing market for Internet games on Facebook and other Web sites has exploded, increasing the links between social gaming developers and social networking. Google already owns a stake in Zynga, the maker of Facebook games like FarmVille and Mafia Wars. Walt Disney, meanwhile, said Tuesday that it had signed a deal to buy Playdom for $563.2 million.
However, it seems that Google, which already operates the social networking site Orkut and introduced the networking tool Buzz in February, isn’t looking to churn out a carbon copy of Facebook, The Journal said:

In an interview this week, Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt declined to confirm the development of a social-networking service that would incorporate social games. When asked if Google’s service might resemble Facebook’s, Mr. Schmidt said “the world doesn’t need a copy of the same thing.”

Source:dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com

YouTube hacked because of Justin Bieber: It's your fault!

On Independence Day YouTube has become the target of a hacker attack, specifically targeting videos of the new american pop singer Justin Bieber. It sounds like Bieber fever is getting dangerous!

Shortly after the incident Google explained the situation in the folowing statement:
“We took swift action to fix a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability on youtube.com that was discovered several hours ago. Comments were temporarily hidden by default within an hour, and we released a complete fix for the issue in about two hours. We’re continuing to study the vulnerability to help prevent similar issues in the future.”
A Google representative said the hackers couldn't have the access to Google accounts of YouTube visitors who encountered a hacked page. But it would be better for them to log out of their Google accounts and then log back in.
Google disabled comments within an hour of the start of the attack, then corrected the exploited bug within two hours, according to a statement sent to The Next Web.
The hackers are members of the Internet community 4chan, which has been waging a small cultural war against Justin Bieber.

Source:
http://it.moldova.org/news/youtube-hacked-because-of-justin-bieber-its-your-fault-210645-eng.html

Google Nexus One -Has the iPhone killer finally arrived?

Google Nexus One Phone