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bit.ly Launches New URL Shortener

jmplogo.pngbit.ly has launched a new URL shortener, j.mp. This new service is identical to bit.ly’s service, but it generates URLs that are two characters shorter. When a URL is shortened with either bit.ly or j.mp it is automatically shortened by the other service and the domain names are interchangeable. That is, http://bit.ly/3yrVGU is the same as http://j.mp/3yrVGU.

URL shorteners are most popular on Twitter, where the imposed 140 character limit almost requires the use of a URL shortener not to go over the limit. While a bit.ly-shortened URL is short enough for most circumstances, there are rare cases when only one or two extra characters are required to get out a full message within the limit. While bit.ly quickly became the most popular URL shortener when Twitter designated it as the official URL shortener for its service, it has been lagging behind services such as tr.im and is.gd in the competition for the shortest URLs. With this new service, bit.ly could potentially be matched by other URL shorteners, but it cannot be beaten because the shortest domain names are three letters long, there are no two or one letter domain names.

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By Antoniu – September 4, 2009

Loopt Launches First Always-On Location-Aware App for iPhone

loopt.pngVentureBeat reports that Loopt has launched the first always-on, location-aware iPhone app.

Loopt, which has apps out for several phones, is a social network that allows the user to view the proximity of his friends, who are plotted on a map. While an iPhone using location data is not uncommon, what is unique is that Loopt can track your location even when you are not running the app. It does this by having their servers, rather than the iPhone app, ping AT&T’s servers and obtaining your location information. Such a service was previously thought to be impossible because of the limitations on apps running in the background, but now that Loopt has found a way around the problem, expect to see many apps taking advantage of this in the future. The feature will cost users $3.99 per month.

Loopt is currently testing the feature and is allowing 5,000 users to use the service for free for 14 days. You can sign up here.

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By Antoniu – September 4, 2009

Microsoft Allowed to Continue Selling Word for Now

In 2006 Microsoft was sued by i4i, who claimed that it was infringing on a patent it owns. In May of this year, Microsoft was ordered to pay $200 million to i4i and to stop selling the current version of Word, which includes an XML code that infringes on i4i’s patent, by 10 October 2009.

Microsoft has now been granted a stay in the case by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, allowing it to continue selling the current version of Word during the appeal process. In its appeal, Microsoft claims that the judge made procedural errors. The case will be reviewed by the Federal Circuit Court of Appeal on 23 September.

[via CNET]

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By Antoniu – September 4, 2009

President of Google China Resigns

googlechina.pngMashable reports that the president of Google China, Kai-Fu Lee, has resigned from Google. His spot will be filled by Boon-Lock Yeo, who will head engineering, and John Liu, who will head business and operations. Lee says that he is planning to “pursue other ventures”.

While Google enjoys a 67% market share globally, it is second to Chinese search engine Baidu in China. Google China has also had a rocky experience with the Chinese government, which has required Google to censor the search and image results on its Chinese website, google.cn and has occasionally blocked access to other Google sites, such as Google News and YouTube.

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By Antoniu – September 4, 2009

PlayStation 3 to Support 3D

playstation3.jpgSony has announced that an update for the PlayStation 3 will add HD support to all existing and future PS3 games. The update is scheduled for a release sometime in 2010 and will work on all 3D televisions, not just those made by Sony.

Engadget notes that 3D may be one of the features that differentiates consoles going forward. Currently, both Microsoft and Sony are working on and heavily promoting their motion controller projects. However, if they do not become as popular as they wish, 3D support could become even more important to consumers deciding which console to purchase. If 3D televisions take off, it is likely that Microsoft and Sony will both heavily market their console as being the best for a 3D experience.

[image from http://flickr.com/photos/williamhook]

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By Antoniu – September 4, 2009

Could New Features in Snow Leopard be in Anticipation for a Touchscreen?

virtualkeyboard.pngCult of Mac reports that Apple has made some changes to the virtual keyboard in Mac OS X Snow Leopard that may be in anticipation for a touchscreen.

While before the option to display the virtual keyboard was under the little-used “International” tab in System Preferences, in Snow Leopard it can also be found in the newly created “Keyboard” tab, which was previously combined with the “Mouse” tab. Cult of Mac suggests that the move was made to make the virtual keyboard more easily accessible and present it as a viable alternative to a physical keyboard.

Snow Leopard has also made changes to how the virtual keyboard looks and functions. While the old keyboard was small and did not include any of the keys to the right of the return key (fn, delete, home, end, page up and down, and the numpad), the new keyboard can be enlarged to a much greater size and includes all of the keys found on a physical keyboard.

There has been speculation about whether Apple would choose to use the iPhone OS, Mac OS X or something in between on a tablet computer. If it wanted to use Mac OS X, an update to the virtual keyboard would have been necessary to make it useable and this update has achieved that. The more accessible placement of the virtual keyboard option under “Keyboard” may also indicate that Apple is promoting the option as an alternative to a physical keyboard. It is, however, also very likely that the improvements made to the virtual keyboard are not related to plans for a future touchscreen device and putting the option for a virtual keyboard under “Keyboard” makes sense even if Apple does not intend to promote it as an alternative.

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By Antoniu – September 3, 2009

Google Chrome to Come Pre-installed on Sony Vaios

CNET reports that Google Chrome, Google’s web browser that was released a year and a day ago, will now come pre-installed and set as the default browser on Sony Vaio computers in the United States. While Google Chrome represents only three percent of the browser market, it is likely to get a boost from this deal. CNET also speculates that this deal may also suggest that Sony will be among the companies that will offer netbooks running Google Chrome OS, Google’s announced Linux-based operating system for the netbook market.

Google has now beat Mozilla to have its browser included by a major company on a Windows computer first. This deal may, however, help Mozilla strike similar deals with Sony’s competitors by setting a precedent. Mozilla has been trying to get its own browser, Firefox, pre-installed on computers for several years now.

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By Antoniu – September 3, 2009

iPhone OS 3.1 Next Week

Iphone2g3g3gson.jpgiPhone OS 3.1 is likely to ship next week, alongside the Apple event on September 9.

Along with the update, it is speculated that AT&T will announce that it will support MMS, that is sending multimedia files in messages, support for which was added in iPhone OS 3.0, but AT&T has yet to support the feature. AT&T has previously stated that MMS support will be added by the end of the summer and it is quickly approaching that deadline.

iPhone OS 3.1 will also add support for file transfers via Bluetooth and modem tethering, which will allow the use of AT&T’s cellular network to access the Internet on a computer when the iPhone is plugged into it. Tethering will likely require a separate plan, though we can always hope that AT&T will allow us to use the data plan purchased for the iPhone for tethering too. 3.1 will also increase battery life for the iPhone 3GS, make starting up and shutting down apps faster and increase the performance of Quartz and OpenGL. iPhone 3.1 will also include updated developer tools that allow for the optimization of apps for the iPhone 3GS, which has a faster CPU and GPU than the original iPhone and the iPhone 3G.

[via geek.com]

Update: MobileCrunch reports that AT&T has officially announced that MMS will be enabled by a software update on 25 September.

The AT&T’s full update from its Facebook page is posted below:

An Update on iPhone MMS for our Mobility CustomersWe know many of our iPhone customers are eager for an update on our rollout schedule for Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS). We’ve been working for the past several months to prepare our systems and network to ensure the best possible experience with MMS when it launches – and that launch date is: September 25 for iPhone 3G and 3GS customers. MMS will be enabled through a software update on that day.We know that iPhone users will embrace MMS. The unique capabilities and high usage of the iPhone’s multimedia capabilities required us to work on our network MMS architecture to carry the expected record volumes of MMS traffic and ensure an excellent experience from Day One. We appreciate your patience as we work toward that end.We’re riding the leading edge of smartphone growth that’s resulted in an explosion of traffic over the AT&T network. Wireless use on our network has grown an average of 350 percent year-over-year for the past two years, and is projected to continue at a rapid pace in 2009 and beyond. The volume of smartphone data traffic the AT&T network is handling is unmatched in the wireless industry. We want you to know that we’re working relentlessly to innovate and invest in our network to anticipate this growth in usage and to stay ahead of the anticipated growth in data demand, new devices and applications for years to come.We thank you for your business and look forward to keeping you updated on our initiatives.

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By Antoniu – September 3, 2009

Snow Leopard Downgrades Flash

AppleInsider reports that Snow Leopard downgrades Flash when installed, from the latest version (10.0.32.18) to an older version (10.0.23.1). It does this without informing the user that the change has been made.

Adobe Flash is often targeted by hackers attempting to exploit vulnerabilities in the software and Adobe releases patches often to fix these vulnerabilities. Using an older version of Flash then makes a computer vulnerable to exploits that have since been fixed in later versions. Why Snow Leopard downgrades Flash is unknown, but it is possible to check what version you have at Adobe’s website. If you having else than “10,0,32,18” you can manually upgrade to the latest version at http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/.

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By Antoniu – September 3, 2009

Andreessen Horowitz Bullish on Skype

On Tuesday, it was announced that a group of investors led by Silver Lake and including Index Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, bought a 65 percent stake in Skype for $1.9 billion in cash, with eBay maintaing a 35 percent stake in the company.

Gigaom reports the estimated amount that each member of the group contributed:

  • Silver Lake: $1.48 billion;
  • Canada Pension Plan Investment Board: $300 million;
  • Index Ventures: $70 million;
  • Andreessen Horowitz: $50 million.

While Andreessen Horowitz made the smallest contribution, the sum represents a sixth of the fund’s available $300 million. The fund makes investments ranging from $50,000 to $50 million, $50 million being the cap on how much the fund will invest in a single company, according to TechCrunch. This relatively large investment and the fact that Andreessen Horowitz was willing to deviate from its stated goal of investing in early stage startups shows their confidence in Skype, which generated revenues of $551 million in 2008 and continues to grow.

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By Antoniu – September 3, 2009