01/02, 7:05pm
Malaysia requires public Wi-Fi in restaurants
Residents of Belarus are reportedly facing a new law that bars attempts to access foreign websites. The new regulations also threaten to impose fines for Internet cafes, public Wi-Fi providers and individuals that share connections if they do not identify users who violate the law and submit the data to authorities. Separate reports suggest the government of Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur has taken a contrasting approach, requiring restaurants all restaurants to offer Wi-Fi to customers.
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11/23, 8:35pm
Paid posters flood websites with misinformation
University of Victoria computer scientist Cheng Chen in a new report has gone undercover and then developed a computer program to expose the Chinese practice of paying people to post disinformation on the Internet about either a product or a competitor. The practice usually involves a company paying posters, often referred to as the 'Internet Water Army", to literally flood the Internet with deceptive comments, gossip, or innuendo. The objective is to mislead consumers into making a misguided purchase decision.
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07/25, 9:15am
Service predated public Internet
France Télécom is closing its longstanding Minitel networking service. The carrier began offering this service in 1982, at a time when the Internet was still basically available only to researchers and defense organizations. Minitel will stop operating next June.
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06/23, 9:55pm
Public access points may require proof of identity
Danish police are reportedly pushing their government to bring tighter controls over Internet access, arguing that anonymous usage benefits terrorism. A group within Denmark's Ministry of Justice has voiced a recommendation that parliament should draft legislation banning anonymous access to the web, particularly in places such as Internet cafes or libraries.
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05/21, 8:20am
FCC says US behind on broadband
An FCC report has shown that the US continues to lag behind the leading countries in the OECD when it comes to the Internet. Out of 29 countries evaluated for their mobile and fixed broadband adoption rates, the US ranked only 9th and 12th, respectively. Fixed broadband has been adopted by 63 percent of US households leaving it behind adoption rates in countries such as the UK, South Korea and Iceland.
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05/19, 7:25am
“Great Firewall of China” leads to lawsuit
Chinese Internet search giant Baidu has been sued in the US by a group of free speech advocates for censoring Chinese freedom of speech websites. The group of eight New York residents has also included the Chinese government in its complaint. The group claims that as the Baidu site can be utilized in the US, that it violates the US Constitution by reportedly colluding with the Chinese government to omit search results.
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05/09, 9:55pm
Users would be able to opt out of tracking
The US Senate is currently considering a "do not track" bill (PDF) that proposes a number of regulations that may affect methods used to track user activity on the Internet. The bill, which was introduced by Senator John D. Rockefeller of West Virgina, would essentially block companies from logging website visitation details for users who choose to opt out of tracking programs.
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04/11, 9:45pm
Commission asks for input on "need for speed" info
The FCC is currently seeking comment on a proposal to simplify and standardize the presentation of broadband Internet plans to consumers. The Commission suggests many consumers are left uninformed regarding many of the essential differences between ISP offers, which tend to use a wide range of marketing techniques and inconsistent gauges for essential information such as connection speeds.
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12/30, 6:40pm
Country leads in availability of Internet access
Citizens of Canada reportedly spend more time browsing the Internet than any other country, according to data released by the research firm comScore. Over two thirds of Canadians frequently take advantage of their Internet connections, averaging 42 hours each month. France and Britain share the second spot with 62 percent, while 60 percent of Germans report similar habits.
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03/09, 9:50pm
Recommendations set for National Broadband Plan
The US is considering the possibility of providing free wireless Internet access, according to a statement (PDF) released by the FCC. The draft broadband plan, discussed at the recent Digital Inclusion Summit, outlines a variety of strategies aimed at expanding the percentage of connected Americans to 90 percent, from the current situation which leaves 35 percent without broadband.
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02/23, 9:50pm
Set parental control ratings on internet TV
InternetSafety.com has introduced Safe Eyes 6.0, the latest version of its parental control software for limiting access to unsafe or inappropriate web sites. The new release provides tools for filtering Internet TV, allowing parents to set the rating level, such as TV-G or TV-PG, that is appropriate for their child. The software enables each user profile to hold a different viewing rating, while parents can customize blocks for specific content.
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10/30, 5:20pm
The Internet celebrates being 40 years old
The Internet has turned 40 years old this week, with its beginnings occurring at 9pm on October 29th, 1969. On that day, engineers at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and Stanford Research Institute (SRI) nearly 400 miles away sent data over the first two nodes. Back then, the Internet was known as Arpanet, after the US Department of Defense's Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), which commissioned its creation.
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02/22, 11:25pm
Home Wi-Fi users affected?
Two Texas-based US representatives have introduced bills that would require ISPs to store user information for two years. The bills may even require home wi-fi router users to track the same information, according to Macworld. The bills were introduced Thursday, one in the US Senate, by Rep. Senator John Cornyn, and in the House by Representative Lamar Smith. Each bill is called the Internet Safety Act, aimed at preventing child pornography via the Internet. The bills call for stronger penalties for accessing child pornography on the Internet and would require Internet and e-mail service providers to retain all records and related information about anyone using a network address temporarily assigned by the service.
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02/03, 4:00pm
EU considering freedom law
A law to uphold users' freedoms on the Internet similar to the Global Online Freedom Act drafted by the US Congress is not necessary in the European Union, said EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding on Tuesday, according to a report. The law would protect surfers' rights, especially in countries where the government is blocking sites and intimidating users by policing their actions, which violates their human rights, say EU lawmakers in favor of the "freedom law."
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09/12, 4:50pm
Internet anonymity threat
A set of technical standards being developed behind closed doors by a United Nations agency that would potentially curb users’ ability to remain anonymous on the Internet has privacy advocates and technologists alarmed, according to a Friday report. The standards are proposed by the Chinese government and the US National Security Agency is also part of the IP Traceback drafting group, named Q6/17. Headed up the by the UN’s International Telecommunication Union, the group is due to meet next week to work on the proposal, though the meeting will be closed to the media and public, the report suggests.
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09/02, 1:10am
Google Chrome browser
Google this weekend accidentaly leaked details -- via an online comic book -- on its upcoming cross-platform open-source browser: Google Chrome -- which it claims will deliver a streamlined and improved interface along with performance improvements and security enhancements; the new browser is based on both Apple's Webkit, the core of the Safari browser, and Firefox, the rapidly growing alternative browser, but will square off against Microsoft's Internet Explorer, which dominates the internet, but continues to play catch up with security flaws and compatibility. The beta version of Google Chrome, only for for PCs initially, is expected to ship on Tuesday in more than 100 countries, while Mac and Linux versions are in development.
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08/13, 5:00pm
Headline 1.0
Many popular websites update news stories and articles regularly. To catch these latest stories, you can visit these sites periodically or you can use RSS feeds to receive summaries of the current articles. Both Safari and Mail let you read and bookmark RSS feeds, but if you find these programs too cumbersome, you might prefer a dedicated RSS feed reader such as Headline 1.0 from Doseido Software.
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07/22, 12:05am
PC Tools iAntiVirus
Anyone who has used a Windows PC knows that you absolutely must have an anti-virus program or else your computer will likely crash the moment you connect to the Internet. Fortunately, the Mac has remained largely untouched by the variety of malware (viruses, worms, Trojan Horses, and spyware) that plagues PCs. However, with the growing popularity of the Mac, it’s inevitable that more people will start writing malware for the Mac. Although you don’t need an anti-virus program for the Mac just yet, you might feel safer knowing that a free one exists called PC Tools iAntiVirus.
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07/11, 9:35am
Two VOIP apps for iPhone
Two VOIP companies -- TruPhone and Packet 8 -- have announced support for the iPhone, allowing users to make calls through Wi-Fi hotspots. Truphone says its VOIP application acts just like the regular iPhone dialer, except that calls are made through the internet at what it claims are "incredible low rates." Calls to landlines in 40 countries cost 6 cents per minute; 30 cents for calls to other mobile phones. The dialer is free at the AppStore.
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07/08, 1:35am
Mac version of GoBoingo!
Boingo on Tuesday launched a Mac version of its GoBoingo! client software that provides access Boingo Wi-Fi at more than 100,000 hotspots worldwide. The company says the "lightweight" GoBoingo! client software simplifies the process of logging in to public Wi-Fi hotspots by memorizing multiple usernames and passwords, and paying different Wi-Fi providers at each stop during a trip. In addition, Boingo offers monthly plans for both North American and international usage, as well as a “pay as you go” option. GoBoingo! for Mac, designed for Mac OS X 10.4 or later (as well as Vista, XP and Windows 2000) automatically determines whether a hotspot belongs to a Boingo roaming partner and helps users log on to the Internet with their Boingo account in a single click. According to the company, nearly 20 percent of airport usage comes from Mac laptops, an increase of 30 percent since January 2007.
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07/07, 6:20pm
Hazel
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Troi File Plug-in 4.5.1 for FileMaker 9 ($80) tool for getting access to information outside the FileMaker Prdatabase. Any files or folders stored on the computer can be accessed through the functions of the plug-in. Troi File Plug-in recently added support for drag and drop, GPS and XMP metadata. Troi File Plug-in 4.5.1 is a maintenance release that fixes some reported issues. [Download - 3.1MB]
- World Clock Deluxe 4.5.4 ($20) display multiple clocks in a horizontal or vertical palette, in the menu bar and in the Dock, show Coordinated Universal Time and Internet Time, assign labels and colors to clocks, calculate date and time conversions across different time zones and show the current weather all over the world. This release adds 99 cities including Algeria, Angola, Bolivia, Brazil, Chad, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Paraguay, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Somaliland, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Venezuela and Zimbabwe. [Download - 7.5MB]
- Hazel 2.2 ($22) watches whatever folders you tell it to, automatically organizing your files according tthe rules you create. Hazel 2.2 focuses on power users, providing many features for advanced workflows. In this release, Hazel introduces powerful pattern matching features as well as the ability to define custom tokens. Hazel also expands its support for AppleScript, including the ability to edit scripts directly within your rules. [Download - 1.6MB]
- GPS-Info CMM 1.1 (donationware) free Finder context menu plugin that displays the GPS coordinates embedded in a photo, and offers to display that location in Google Earth, Flickr, Panoramio, Google Maps, or MapQuest. Supported photo formats are JPG, TIFF, PSD, and RAW. In this release, the IPTC fields city, state, and country are being displayed, if they are contained in the photo [Download - 336KB]
- TaskTime4 4.5 ($20) straightforward method of tracking time spent on jobs you do for your clients. It can generate invoices which can be emailed, printed, and saved tdisk. The new release adds a daily Report item to the Options menu, a combined Project Manager and Client Manager into new Manager Window and a project summary has been added to Project tab of Manager window. [Download - 6.3MB]
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07/01, 4:00pm
T-Mobile intros HSUPA
T-Mobile UK is set to allow access to an HSUPA data network today that will let users upload content to the Internet via their cellular phones, becoming the UK's first wireless provider to do so across the country. HSUPA, or High Speed Uplink Packet Access, is the equivalent of the commonly-available HSDPA 3G data network except for its uploading abilities.
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06/27, 12:45am
Safe Eyes 3.0
InternetSafety.com on Thursday unveiled Safe Eyes 3.0 for Mac, its parental control software that allows users to limit children's access to inappropriate content on the internet. The new Mac version adds several new features from the Windows equivalent, such as time limits, instant message blocking, or restricting access to entire applications. InternetSafety.com is currently selling Safe Eyes 3.0 for a yearly fee of $50, and can be installed on up to three computers.
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06/26, 4:00pm
Alltel, Boingo offer Wi-Fi
Cell phone network provider Alltel today announced it teamed up with Wi-Fi network hotspot provider Boingo to expand Wi-Fi access to over 25,000 hotspots in stores, coffee shops and hotels across the US. Plans will be offered to existing Alltel subscribers, or anyone else on a daily or monthly basis without a contract. The company is also offering a Premium service for frequent travelers, which expands those hotspots to include hundreds of airports in the US and thousands more hotspots in Canada, Mexico and Europe.
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06/23, 12:05pm
First Look: Firefox 3
For years, Internet Explorer defined the standard for web browsers. After years of neglect and security flaws however, the browser grew less popular, prompting the release of a number of rivals. Perhaps the most successful competition has been the open source Firefox browser, which emphasizes security foremost. Now with version 3, the browser also boasts faster speed along with a host of other improvements.
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06/20, 7:40pm
Safari beats Firefox, IE
Webkit's earlier reported adoption of the SquirrelFish JavaScript interpreter is paying off, as Safari takes the lead in browser rendering speeds. Zimbra writes that Apple's web browser led the pack ahead of Firefox and Internet Explorer, with the Yahoo-owned messaging company declaring Safari "Winner of the Browser Wars." The tests were performed using several incarnations of all browsers as they viewed Zibra's AJAX web-client, and recorded using OpenQA Selenium.
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06/20, 5:20pm
Graph Paper Maker
- Logo Design Studio Pro 1.8 ($60) logo design software brings together a full vector editor with pre-designed conceptual logo templates and objects. The new update to Logo Design Studio Pro now includes increased support for SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) files; over 1300 pre-designed SVG objects that anyone can fully edit; a new browser that allows you to preview each SVG object in a variety of categories, and the latest version of the Sparkle framework.
- Composer FX Movie 1.7.6 ($20) video effects processor application with over 400 special effects filters. Harnesses the power of Mac OS X 10.5’s Quartz Composer for adding visual effects to your movies. Acts as a companion program for iMovie 08. Composer FX Movies includes: Comic Book, Hearts, 3D Video Wall, Plasma, Glass, Sky, Aquarium, Snow, TV, Pencil and many more. [Download - 14.2MB]
- Graph Paper Maker 2.0 ($20) lets you create your own custom sheets of graph paper. It is ideal for students, teachers, engineers, scientists, researchers, businessmen, and others who need to create specialized sheets of graph paper.
The latest release of Graph Paper Maker adds options to create custom sheets of Cornell Notes paper, as well as custom designed grids of dots and crosses. [Download - 1.4MB]
- MediaRich Media Server 3.8.6 automatically produces image, sound and video assets automatically enabling the multi-channel delivery of all media assets to websites, wireless and devices. Added features include expanded support with the optional Audio/Video module of HD and Broadcast formats, including MXF, MPEG2, MPEG2 Transport Stream, and many more. In addition, scalable hot-folder support is included utilizing the power of MediaScript, MediaRich's flexible media manipulation scripting language based on ECMA JavaScript. [Download - form]
- Text Up and Text Up Pro (free-30 Euros) TextUp is free. It creates subtitles which build up from the bottom of the screen as you type in a way which is needed for standard subtitling. It also features 'Outline', 'Drop Shadow' and 'Box'. It's a easy to use 'one stop' generator for most of the subtitling issues. TextUp Pro additionally includes 'Line wrapping' which will fit the text automatically into a given title safe area. So copy/paste text from a script or using an external application to import titles (like our TitleExchange) will make the workflow even easier. TextUp Pro also adds vertical alignment options, you get 'TextCenter' and 'TextDown' as well.[Download - 1MB]
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06/18, 2:10pm
iCalamus
- Timepost 2.3.2 ($50) a reliable web-integrated time management system for Mac OS X. Timepost is a full-featured time tracking solution that integrates with internet project management services. Can post time to Basecamp, Blinksale, Cashboard, FreshBooks, FogBugz, and Tick. Not only is Timepost a simple project timer, but a powerful extension to your existing web service. The new release adds menubar timer access. [Download - 1.1MB]
- Modul8 2.5.5 (300 Euros) Mac OS X based real time, live performance video compositing software. The incremental update brings several interface enhancements, numerous bug fixes and added 'keyword' functions in its python scripting based module system. The update is free for all registered users and can be accessed using the in software update command. [Download - 20.9MB]
- iCalamus 1.13 ($130) multi-lingual, frame-oriented desktop publishing solution for Mac OS X. iCalamus offers an easy approach to DTP, and an excellent choice for creating simple posters, to complex magazines, scientific works and book publishing. Among the many new improvements and bug fixes, version 1.13 can now import iPhoto documents as calendars, as well as printing Photographerbook documents externally. [Download - 25.6MB]
- iWisdom 1.7 ($10) desktop program that will help you manage and maintain a list of quotations and insightful ideas. In this release, categorization of quotations is now much more powerful. Multiple separate categories may now be assigned to the same quotation, and the ability to define multiple levels per category has been preserved. [Download - 3.3MB]
- Label Wizard 1.0.0 ($30) lets you create your own custom sheets of labels. You have complete control over the layout of the label. Each object can be precisely position. Serial numbers are a special case, they will be automatically incremented on each label. So you can easily print out a sheet of labels, each with a unique serial number. [Download - 3MB]
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06/13, 1:15am
Qik video streaming
Qik on Thursday added iPhone compatibility to its live internet streaming capture service – Qik is avidly used by investigative journalist Robert Scoble, among others. Qik allows users to create a live stream from an internet-enabled camera device (such as the iPhone) for live reporting coverage, or other similar instances. The service requires users to be signed up with a data plan -- an unlimited plan is highly recommended for the amount of data used by the app.
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06/11, 3:40pm
Google tops Web audience
Nielsen Online has reported May 2008 data for the Top Sites by Parent Company and Top Brands. Google tops the list with 127 million unique visitors. Microsoft is close behind with 123 million, while Yahoo! comes in third at 115 million. Time Warner pulled 107 million visitors, News Corp. Online 79 million, eBay 66 million and InterActiveCorp 64 million. Wikimedia Foundation, Amazon and New York Times round out the list with between 50 and 60 million unique visitors. The data indicate that, for example, that 51.1 million home and work Internet users visited at least one of the New York Times Company-owned sites or launched a New York Times Company-owned application during the month, and each person spent, on average, a total of 17 minutes and 27 seconds at one or more of their sites or applications.
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06/10, 4:45pm
Digifriends MID in US soon
(Updated with follow-up) The Digifriends M3 MID (Mobile Internet Device) that was unveiled at CES 2008 will be coming to the US market "very soon," according to yesterday's reports that had Digifriends USA's project supervisor Peter Kim as the source. The Korean company's device will likely be offered under contract through Sprint's Xohm WiMAX network as well as NextWave. The device features a 4.8-inch touchscreen with WSVGA (1024x600) resolution and a host of wireless connection options apart from WiMAX, including Korea's WiBro, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 2.0.
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06/05, 5:00pm
UK ISPs get ad standard
Ofcom, the UK communication industry's independent regulator, is planning to make a voluntary standard for Internet providers to follow when advertising their maximum connection speeds. More than 90 percent of the country's ISPs agreed to complying with the new code, which would give customers a more accurate comparison of performance between companies when shopping for a new provider.
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06/04, 5:15pm
Comcast starts local tests
Comcast's latest attempt to curb bandwidth bandits will see the Internet and cable TV provider perform local tests to help it decide which method of traffic management it should undertake. The company announced on Tuesday it will be conducting one month-long tests in local neighborhoods, starting tomorrow in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and Warrenton, Virginia, with another test planned in Colorado Springs, Colorado, later on this summer.
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05/06, 7:10pm
AOL Desktop for Mac
AOL on Tuesday unveiled AOL Desktop for Mac, a brand new portal software for the company's internet services, representing the first such major release in five years. The client offers email, messaging, and web browsing services, as well as access to the company's various content channels. AOL includes easy transition tools, which allow users to quickly import AOL favourites and mail from the former Mac OS X client. AOL Desktop for Mac is available from the company's website.
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05/01, 10:45am
Vodafone's Internet plans
Vodafone UK on Thursday announced it would add 'unlimited' access to the Internet and email to its monthly cell phone plans as it tries to garner a larger share of the country's highly competitive cellular market. The world's largest mobile telecommunications network company does in fact limit the plan to 500MB per month, as per its fair usage policy. The provider noted use of its Vodafone Mobile Internet service has grown rapidly since its launch last summer, with users accessing popular networking sites, news sites and search engines most often.
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04/25, 4:00pm
French fiber-optics law
On Thursday, the French government announced its plans to pass a law that would require all new apartment buildings to be pre-wired with fiber-optic cable for Internet access. A proposal that would include such a requirement is reported to go in front of the Parliament this spring, and will involve all buildings of at least 25 units. The government is trying to speed along adoption of fast broadband access with this law, as the country's three biggest Internet providers have committed to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on fiber-optic networks in the near future.
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04/15, 9:10pm
iSoftPhone 2.2 update
Xnet Communications today unveiled iSoftPhone 2.2 for Mac, a free update to its telephony application that allows users to place phone calls over the internet, introducing a few new features and bug fixes. The new version uses a new Dock icon that indicates when a call was missed, and also prompts users before quitting. A major crash was resolved for Mac OS X 10.4 users, which occurred when calling from the iSP address book. iSoftPhone 2.2 sells for $35 for new users.
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04/08, 9:40pm
LifeAgent 2.2 adds Flickr
Memeo today unveiled LifeAgent 2.2, a new version to its automated software backup solution, that introduces support for Flickr and .Mac iDisks. Using LifeAgent, users can automatically back up data to a network folder, external hard drive, removable media, the internet, and now Flicker and iDisk. By securing multiple backup locations, LifeAgent helps ensure that data will be safe in the event of an emergency. LifeAgent is available for $30 from Memeo's website.
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04/08, 12:50am
Chinese aware of iPhone
Despite a lack of the of a localized version or solid confirmation of plans to do make one, a recent study indicates that 68-percent of all Chinese surveyed showed knowledge of the iPhone, but also discovered that it might not sell very well with its $500 price point. According to The iPod Observer, the price tag was the most frequently mentioned restriction that would prevent people from buying one, but information regarding how many felt this was not readily available.
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04/03, 5:00pm
Slingshot prepaid wifi
Slingshot on Thursday announced it will offer pay-as-you go wireless broadband Internet access. Customers will be able to pick up CDs from retailers or download a free program and set up an account, and won't have to go through credit checks or sign any contracts, like they do with traditional Internet providers. A slingshot.com email address will be included with each packet of time purchased, though it is unclear exactly how time will be sold. For frequent users, the option of buying and loading up a recharge card is offered. What is likely is that some kind of adapter for notebook cards or USB modems will be required to sign on from remote locations.
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04/02, 6:55pm
Baidu poaches Apple
Baidu.com, the leading Chinese search engine, has hired Apple Inc's head of China operations for the role of chief operating officer. Reuters reports that Peng Ye, who oversaw all business operations in China for Apple as the U.S. firm's country general manager, is joining Baidu, right after ex-General Motors executive Jennifer Li accepted the post of chief financial officer. Ye will officially joing the company on April 25. Baidu is bigger than Google in China, the number 2 Internet market in the world behind the United States.
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03/27, 12:30am
Photoshop Express beta
Adobe on Thursday morning released Photoshop Express public beta, a free internet-based application that easily and quickly edits and applies non-destructive digital effects to photos. As a beta product, Adobe promised it would solicit user feedback on product features and functionality and continue to evolve the product over time. The application leverages Adobe's image editing technology and allows users to store up to 2GB of images online for free, make edits to photos, and share them online with using social networking site such as Facebook. The free service, which offers a variety of photo management tools, is available online as a beta product, but the company did not provide any details on a final release date.
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03/26, 7:30pm
Industry torn on mobility
The iPhone is among the most widely accepted portable internet devices, and some in the industry are torn on whether this is a sign of the prophesized death of desktops. PC Magazine writer Lance Ulanoff argues that the iPhone, coupled with the long-awaited SDK, is creating a brand new era of computing standards that will some day kill the desktop, and possibly the laptop. Ulanoff argues that the iPhone has found a market with many different groups.
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03/21, 7:50pm
iSoftphone 2.1 update
Hamburg-based Xnet Communications recently unveiled iSoftphone 2.1, an update to its internet telephony software, which features vastly revamped code and several new features. Xnet has reprogrammed several of the key features, giving the application enhanced performance and functionality, and also laying the groundwork for future implementations. The update is free for all users with Upgrade Protection, while new users can pay $50 for a license.
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03/14, 4:35pm
SubEthaEdit 3.1 update
TheCodingMonkeys today announced the release of SubEthaEdit 3.1, an update to its collaborative text editing software, adding a number of different features to make internet collaboration easier. The new version adds automatic port forwarding, allowing users to connect easily without manual setup. iChat invites allow users to drag and drop iChat contacts onto the software to invite users to a session. SubEthaEdit 3.1 is available for €29 (~$45).
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03/05, 6:40pm
IE 8 takes on Safari
Microsoft has released Internet Explorer 8 (IE 8) beta, a test version of the company's free Web browser that will compete for dominance with Apple's Safari browser and Firefox. IE 8 features 'Activities,' or contextual services that provide quick access to a service -- such as 'look up' or 'send' -- from any Web page. Activities for example could allow a user to select the address of a restaurant and display an in-place view of the map using a favorite map service.
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03/04, 1:15pm
Potential Mac epidemic
Several internet security companies have preliminary Mac OS X anti-virus applications, awaiting a potential large-scale attack before deploying the countermeasures. According to Yahoo News, Kaspersky Lab keeps a prototype of a Mac-based anti-viral program that could be distributed in a matter of days, should an outbreak occur. Kaspersky has even tested a version designed specifically for the iPhone.
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02/21, 2:05pm
EDGE outage, iPhone GO
An EDGE network outage that seems to be based around pre-paid AT&T iPhone GO clients is on its fifth day today, leaving many without mobile internet access. According to Scott Kleinberg of iPhone, Therefore I Blog, users have been experiencing intermittent success surrounded by failure to access the EDGE network. Several have reported switching to the billed service and are back on the network. AT&T has not officially commented on the matter, other than to say they are working on a solution to the problem.
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02/16, 1:30pm
First Look: Speed Download
Nothing is more frustrating than finding a file on the Internet and then having trouble downloading it to your computer. Sometimes downloading slows to a crawl and other times a web server may be down, forcing you to return repeatedly to a web site to download a file again. Fortunately, Speed Download 5 overcomes these problems by offering multiple file transferring features in an easy to use interface.
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02/14, 11:05am
Launch2net, AT&T modems
Nova Media today highlighted launch2net -- an application that handles setup as well as connections to the internet for PC card and ExpressCard modems -- on the heels of AT&T's new LaptopConnect modems. "If you need a bit more than just a connect/disconnect button, launch2net is the right software for you." said Jan Fuellemann of nova media. "launch2net offers advanced statistics, auto-connect, disconnect after a certain time or traffic spend online, a menu icon so the software does not have to be running to establish a connection and more." Launch2net is priced at $110, and requires Mac OS X 10.4.3 or later.
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