Just a few months after introducing its browser-based iTunes Preview pages for music, Apple has expanded the feature to include items from the App Store.
Now, when a user clicks an iTunes link for an iPhone or iPod Touch app, they're taken to a page with a similar layout to what they'd see when browsing the iTunes Store in Apple's iTunes software. But instead, it's in their browser. This allows users who don't have iTunes installed to see more information about an app without having the software installed. That said, preview pages attempt to launch iTunes each time you load them.
As mentioned in previous coverage, there are a few shortcomings to these preview pages compared to the sales pages in iTunes proper. These include only being able to see a handful of user reviews and other purchases by customers. Users are also unable to make a purchase, add the app to a wish list, and share it on Twitter or Facebook.
Despite these limitations, the iTunes Preview program is a strong hint that Apple is on its way towards taking its iTunes Store business outside of conventional software and onto the Web. Though Apple has not yet extended the preview program out to all its content, including movies, TV shows, podcasts, and audiobooks.
Source:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-27076_3-20000041-248.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0
Web Design Firms Chicago
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Facebook Comes Out Swinging at Critics of Settlement Offer In Beacon Lawsuit
Facebook has come out swinging at those opposing a settlement offer it made last year in a privacy lawsuit involving the social networking company's controversial Beacon behavioral tracking service .
Under the offer made last September, Facebook said it would pay $9.5 million to set up a privacy foundation to fund projects promoting the cause of online privacy in return for the lawsuit against it to be dropped. It also said that it would formally drop the Beacon service.
But in complaints filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California last week, opponents of the settlement called it meaningless. In documents filed with the court they argued that all Facebook was doing was paying itself to fund a privacy foundation over which it would exercise undue control.
In response, a Facebook spokesman said yesterday the objections were false and called the settlement "fair" and in the interest of the members of the class-action suit.
The dispute stems from a lawsuit filed in August 2008 against Facebook. It alleged that Facebook and Beacon affiliates such as Blockbuster and Overstock.com had violated several federal privacy laws, including the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and the Video Privacy Protection Act, when they shared data about Facebook users with each other. As part of its settlement offer, Facebook said it would shut down Beacon.
However, in a complaint filed last week in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, of Washington D.C, and some Facebook users asked the court to reject the offer.
In their complaint, the groups said that the proposed settlement did nothing to compensate victims whose privacy may have been compromised by Beacon. Other than formally disbanding a program that Facebook had voluntarily already discontinued, the settlement offered little else the groups complained.
"At the heart of the proposed settlement is the foundation that Facebook will pay itself to establish," one of the complaints noted. The settlement also "improperly" gives Facebook a direct role in drafting the mission and bylaws of the proposed foundation and in appointing board members.
In fact, one of the three initial directors of the foundation is a Facebook employee and chief lobbyist, the complaint noted. "In exchange for what amounts to worthless "relief," all class members will release all Beacon-related claims against Facebook and the Beacon merchant partners," the compliant said.
In e-mailed comments, Facebook spokesman Barry Schnitt blasted such objections. "The suggestion that Facebook would pay itself is absurd, misunderstands how foundations work, and totally disregards the bylaws of this foundation and the enforcement powers of the court," Schnitt said.
The bylaws of the proposed foundation make it clear that its purpose is to fund and sponsor programs to educate users, regulators and enterprises on online privacy issues, Schnitt said. He added that the foundation will be an independent entity run by three well known and respected privacy advocates.
Source:
http://www.itnews.com/social-media/13874/facebook-comes-out-swinging-critics-settlement-offer-beacon-lawsuit
Chicago Web Design
Under the offer made last September, Facebook said it would pay $9.5 million to set up a privacy foundation to fund projects promoting the cause of online privacy in return for the lawsuit against it to be dropped. It also said that it would formally drop the Beacon service.
But in complaints filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California last week, opponents of the settlement called it meaningless. In documents filed with the court they argued that all Facebook was doing was paying itself to fund a privacy foundation over which it would exercise undue control.
In response, a Facebook spokesman said yesterday the objections were false and called the settlement "fair" and in the interest of the members of the class-action suit.
The dispute stems from a lawsuit filed in August 2008 against Facebook. It alleged that Facebook and Beacon affiliates such as Blockbuster and Overstock.com had violated several federal privacy laws, including the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and the Video Privacy Protection Act, when they shared data about Facebook users with each other. As part of its settlement offer, Facebook said it would shut down Beacon.
However, in a complaint filed last week in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, of Washington D.C, and some Facebook users asked the court to reject the offer.
In their complaint, the groups said that the proposed settlement did nothing to compensate victims whose privacy may have been compromised by Beacon. Other than formally disbanding a program that Facebook had voluntarily already discontinued, the settlement offered little else the groups complained.
"At the heart of the proposed settlement is the foundation that Facebook will pay itself to establish," one of the complaints noted. The settlement also "improperly" gives Facebook a direct role in drafting the mission and bylaws of the proposed foundation and in appointing board members.
In fact, one of the three initial directors of the foundation is a Facebook employee and chief lobbyist, the complaint noted. "In exchange for what amounts to worthless "relief," all class members will release all Beacon-related claims against Facebook and the Beacon merchant partners," the compliant said.
In e-mailed comments, Facebook spokesman Barry Schnitt blasted such objections. "The suggestion that Facebook would pay itself is absurd, misunderstands how foundations work, and totally disregards the bylaws of this foundation and the enforcement powers of the court," Schnitt said.
The bylaws of the proposed foundation make it clear that its purpose is to fund and sponsor programs to educate users, regulators and enterprises on online privacy issues, Schnitt said. He added that the foundation will be an independent entity run by three well known and respected privacy advocates.
Source:
http://www.itnews.com/social-media/13874/facebook-comes-out-swinging-critics-settlement-offer-beacon-lawsuit
Chicago Web Design
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) Best Practices: Six Tips
BlackBerry Messenger, Research In Motion's (RIM) mobile IM application that uses unique "PIN" codes associated with every BlackBerry to connect RIM smartphone users, isn't new. But due to the BlackBerry platform's rising popularity, BBM--which you can think of as a mobile version of AIM or Google Talk that only works with BlackBerrys -- is suddenly getting a lot of attention. And not all of it is positive. In fact, Web-security-software-maker McAfee recently posted a warning about BBM spam and hoaxes on its TrustedSource blog.
To me, BBM is a valuable tool that I use every day for immediate contact with important colleagues, associates and family members. But the app can subject BlackBerry users to unnecessary risk if used improperly or without a certain degree of caution.
Here are half a dozen BBM best practices to help ensure that you get the most of your BBM experience while avoiding any potential trouble.
Add New Contacts Sparingly
This is the most important point in my post, so I'll say it again: Add new contacts sparingly.
I know I'll catch some flak from some of you loyal BlackBerry users out there who seem to be playing a game in which the goal is to gain as many BBM contacts as quickly as possible. But the value in BBM, for me at least, is that it's not just another IM service--I have BeeJive for that.
BBM users add new contacts in a few ways: 1) You can share your unique PIN with others and have them invite you, or vice-versa; 2) you can add new contacts by sharing e-mail addresses associated with your BlackBerry smartphone; and 3) you can "scan" other BBM users' unique PIN-barcodes with your BlackBerry's camera--assuming you're using the latest BBM version (5.0).
I only connect with colleagues, family and friends who I want to be able to communicate with instantly, at any time. And when I connect with someone on BBM, I mostly expect him or her to respond to my message as quickly as possible. And I know most of them expect the same in return.
So, to the point: Do NOT share your BlackBerry PIN or barcode with just anyone; Do NOT post your PIN or barcode on your public Twitter account or any other social network; Do NOT include your BlackBerry PIN or barcode in your fixed e-mail signature.
Are you getting the idea here? Good. Furthermore, you don't have to accept all BBM invites you receive. (More on that coming up in the BlackBerry Groups section.) Don't worry about hurt feelings or bruised egos. Your BlackBerry will thank you.
On that note: There's really no right or wrong way to use BBM. But there are smart and effective methods of employing the service. Adding tons of contacts defeats the purpose of BBM for me and diminishes the app's overall value.
Backup BBM Contacts Regularly
As with any computer or handheld, it's a very good idea to backup your BBM--and your entire BlackBerry--regularly. If your smartphone is associated with a BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES),
Source:
http://www.itnews.com/smartphones/13801/blackberry-messenger-bbm-best-practices-six-tips
Professional Web Design Chicago
To me, BBM is a valuable tool that I use every day for immediate contact with important colleagues, associates and family members. But the app can subject BlackBerry users to unnecessary risk if used improperly or without a certain degree of caution.
Here are half a dozen BBM best practices to help ensure that you get the most of your BBM experience while avoiding any potential trouble.
Add New Contacts Sparingly
This is the most important point in my post, so I'll say it again: Add new contacts sparingly.
I know I'll catch some flak from some of you loyal BlackBerry users out there who seem to be playing a game in which the goal is to gain as many BBM contacts as quickly as possible. But the value in BBM, for me at least, is that it's not just another IM service--I have BeeJive for that.
BBM users add new contacts in a few ways: 1) You can share your unique PIN with others and have them invite you, or vice-versa; 2) you can add new contacts by sharing e-mail addresses associated with your BlackBerry smartphone; and 3) you can "scan" other BBM users' unique PIN-barcodes with your BlackBerry's camera--assuming you're using the latest BBM version (5.0).
I only connect with colleagues, family and friends who I want to be able to communicate with instantly, at any time. And when I connect with someone on BBM, I mostly expect him or her to respond to my message as quickly as possible. And I know most of them expect the same in return.
So, to the point: Do NOT share your BlackBerry PIN or barcode with just anyone; Do NOT post your PIN or barcode on your public Twitter account or any other social network; Do NOT include your BlackBerry PIN or barcode in your fixed e-mail signature.
Are you getting the idea here? Good. Furthermore, you don't have to accept all BBM invites you receive. (More on that coming up in the BlackBerry Groups section.) Don't worry about hurt feelings or bruised egos. Your BlackBerry will thank you.
On that note: There's really no right or wrong way to use BBM. But there are smart and effective methods of employing the service. Adding tons of contacts defeats the purpose of BBM for me and diminishes the app's overall value.
Backup BBM Contacts Regularly
As with any computer or handheld, it's a very good idea to backup your BBM--and your entire BlackBerry--regularly. If your smartphone is associated with a BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES),
Source:
http://www.itnews.com/smartphones/13801/blackberry-messenger-bbm-best-practices-six-tips
Professional Web Design Chicago
Monday, February 1, 2010
Google Nexus One Users Report T-Mobile Service Outage
T-Mobile customers who use the Google Nexus One smartphones are reporting widespread data outages on their devices.
The outages are being reported at multiple online sites, including Twitter, where T-Mobile staff are directing affected customers to the carrier's message boards.
Google Nexus One vs. Motorola Droid: Breaking down the basics
According to ZDNet writer Matthew Miller, T-Mobile is sending users messages on their devices telling them that they need to sign up for data plans, despite the fact that they are already T-Mobile data subscribers. Miller says that he personally has "the unlimited Android web plan" and that it "worked just fine until this morning." A Gizmodo reader reported encountering the same problem when he tried to use his Nexus One to surf the web this morning.
Neither HTC nor Google has publicly commented on the reported outage or have given any indication of how they plan to fix it.
The data outage for the Nexus One comes just months after T-Mobile Sidekick users were plagued with a massive outage that initially was thought to have wiped out significant portions of their personal data.
The Google Nexus One first came to T-Mobile earlier this year as the first official phone released by Google. Designed by handset manufacturer HTC, the Nexus One is due to be released on the Verizon network sometime over the next few weeks.
Source:
http://www.itnews.com/smartphones/13678/google-nexus-one-users-report-t-mobile-service-outage
Professional Web Design Chicago
The outages are being reported at multiple online sites, including Twitter, where T-Mobile staff are directing affected customers to the carrier's message boards.
Google Nexus One vs. Motorola Droid: Breaking down the basics
According to ZDNet writer Matthew Miller, T-Mobile is sending users messages on their devices telling them that they need to sign up for data plans, despite the fact that they are already T-Mobile data subscribers. Miller says that he personally has "the unlimited Android web plan" and that it "worked just fine until this morning." A Gizmodo reader reported encountering the same problem when he tried to use his Nexus One to surf the web this morning.
Neither HTC nor Google has publicly commented on the reported outage or have given any indication of how they plan to fix it.
The data outage for the Nexus One comes just months after T-Mobile Sidekick users were plagued with a massive outage that initially was thought to have wiped out significant portions of their personal data.
The Google Nexus One first came to T-Mobile earlier this year as the first official phone released by Google. Designed by handset manufacturer HTC, the Nexus One is due to be released on the Verizon network sometime over the next few weeks.
Source:
http://www.itnews.com/smartphones/13678/google-nexus-one-users-report-t-mobile-service-outage
Professional Web Design Chicago
Sunday, January 31, 2010
MySpace Accepting Submissions For App Contest
MySpace has opened the submission period for its Developer Challenge, a contest in which the company will award US$50,000 in prizes for new applications and for innovative uses of the social networking site's application programming interfaces.
External developers have until Feb. 24 to enter the contest, which includes a US$10,000 award in each of five categories: best new MySpace application and the most innovative uses of the real-time stream API, open search API, photo upload API and mobile API.
The panel of judges will include MySpace COO Mike Jones and Google Engineering Director David Glazer, MySpace announced on Monday. The winners will be announced at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco in March.
To be eligible, contestants must be legal residents of the U.S., Canada (excluding Quebec), U.K., or Australia and be at least 18 years of age. Developers can participate as individuals or as part of a team of no more than three members.
Judges will evaluate applications and use of APIs according to four general criteria: originality, technical achievement, entertainment value and innovation.
MySpace also will host a free event called MySpace devJam on Jan. 14 at its San Francisco office to help developers get started on their applications for the contest, a company spokeswoman said via e-mail.
The developer contest comes on the heels of MySpace's decision about a month ago to open its users' public activity stream data to external developers via a new set of APIs.
MySpace wants developers to use these status updates and action notifications in external applications and in Web sites. MySpace has about 110 million members worldwide. They generate about 46 million status updates and action notifications every day.
Once the most popular social networking site in the world, MySpace lost that position to Facebook, but a new management team is trying to refocus MySpace so it can recover lost territory.
Source:
http://www.itnews.com/social-networking/12497/myspace-accepting-submissions-app-contest
Web Design Firms Chicago
External developers have until Feb. 24 to enter the contest, which includes a US$10,000 award in each of five categories: best new MySpace application and the most innovative uses of the real-time stream API, open search API, photo upload API and mobile API.
The panel of judges will include MySpace COO Mike Jones and Google Engineering Director David Glazer, MySpace announced on Monday. The winners will be announced at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco in March.
To be eligible, contestants must be legal residents of the U.S., Canada (excluding Quebec), U.K., or Australia and be at least 18 years of age. Developers can participate as individuals or as part of a team of no more than three members.
Judges will evaluate applications and use of APIs according to four general criteria: originality, technical achievement, entertainment value and innovation.
MySpace also will host a free event called MySpace devJam on Jan. 14 at its San Francisco office to help developers get started on their applications for the contest, a company spokeswoman said via e-mail.
The developer contest comes on the heels of MySpace's decision about a month ago to open its users' public activity stream data to external developers via a new set of APIs.
MySpace wants developers to use these status updates and action notifications in external applications and in Web sites. MySpace has about 110 million members worldwide. They generate about 46 million status updates and action notifications every day.
Once the most popular social networking site in the world, MySpace lost that position to Facebook, but a new management team is trying to refocus MySpace so it can recover lost territory.
Source:
http://www.itnews.com/social-networking/12497/myspace-accepting-submissions-app-contest
Web Design Firms Chicago
Friday, January 29, 2010
T-Mobile USA finishes upgrade to HSPA 7.2
T-Mobile USA has completed its deployment of a faster 3G technology across its national network, reaching more than 200 million U.S. residents with the high-speed data and voice system while getting ready to upgrade some areas to even higher speeds later this year.
The nation's fourth-largest carrier had promised last year it would finish rolling out HSPA 7.2 -- High-Speed Packet Access with a theoretical top speed of 7.2M bps (bits per second) -- by the end of 2009. The carrier announced Tuesday it had achieved that goal. The news came out just before Google introduced the Nexus One handset, which will be sold by Google and run on T-Mobile's network. The Nexus One supports HSPA 7.2.
While most mobile operators look toward LTE (Long-Term Evolution) as the next major generation of mobile data networks, 3G technology continues to evolve with higher performance and greater efficiency. Both AT&T and T-Mobile have said they will deploy LTE in 2011, a year later than Verizon Wireless, while upgrading on the 3G path in the meantime. AT&T said last year it would have HSPA 7.2 in at least six markets, including Chicago, Los Angeles and Miami, by the end of 2009. The new technology will reach 90 percent of AT&T's network by the end of 2011, the company said last October.
While AT&T continues to roll out HSPA 7.2, T-Mobile this year will begin deploying HSPA+, which is designed for speeds of 21M bps or more. The carrier did not provide any details on the timing or location of its HSPA Plus deployments this year.
Verizon Wireless, which uses a different 3G system from AT&T and T-Mobile, plans to launch commercial LTE service this year. LTE has been demonstrated at speeds of more than 100M bps downstream. Real-world speeds on all mobile networks depend on local conditions and typically are shared among many subscribers.
Source:
http://www.itnews.com/mobile-handsets/12542/t-mobile-usa-finishes-upgrade-hspa-72
Web Site Design
The nation's fourth-largest carrier had promised last year it would finish rolling out HSPA 7.2 -- High-Speed Packet Access with a theoretical top speed of 7.2M bps (bits per second) -- by the end of 2009. The carrier announced Tuesday it had achieved that goal. The news came out just before Google introduced the Nexus One handset, which will be sold by Google and run on T-Mobile's network. The Nexus One supports HSPA 7.2.
While most mobile operators look toward LTE (Long-Term Evolution) as the next major generation of mobile data networks, 3G technology continues to evolve with higher performance and greater efficiency. Both AT&T and T-Mobile have said they will deploy LTE in 2011, a year later than Verizon Wireless, while upgrading on the 3G path in the meantime. AT&T said last year it would have HSPA 7.2 in at least six markets, including Chicago, Los Angeles and Miami, by the end of 2009. The new technology will reach 90 percent of AT&T's network by the end of 2011, the company said last October.
While AT&T continues to roll out HSPA 7.2, T-Mobile this year will begin deploying HSPA+, which is designed for speeds of 21M bps or more. The carrier did not provide any details on the timing or location of its HSPA Plus deployments this year.
Verizon Wireless, which uses a different 3G system from AT&T and T-Mobile, plans to launch commercial LTE service this year. LTE has been demonstrated at speeds of more than 100M bps downstream. Real-world speeds on all mobile networks depend on local conditions and typically are shared among many subscribers.
Source:
http://www.itnews.com/mobile-handsets/12542/t-mobile-usa-finishes-upgrade-hspa-72
Web Site Design
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
2009 in Review: The Year in iPhone
In 2008, the iPhone grew up, evolving from its status as the "it device" of the moment into a burgeoning ecosphere. In 2009, that "it" device went thermonuclear. The iPhone software turned 3.0, the barrier of entry dropped to $99, and the App Store hit 100,000 applications and an astounding two billion downloads. With all of that, it's hard to believe that Apple's iconic cell phone is still weeks shy of the third anniversary of its unveiling. As 2009 comes to a close, we wrap up the year in iPhone by the numbers.
3.0
If the iPhone OS 2.0 update turned an amazing device into a world-beating platform by allowing third-party apps, then iPhone 3.0 was all about sanding off the software's rough edges and turning it into a full-featured experience.
Apple made no secret about iPhone 3.0, holding an event in March, months prior to its eventual launch, to show off the catalog of new features and developer APIs that would define the next-generation of iPhone software. With Steve Jobs on medical leave, the presentation fell to the capable team of Greg Joswiak and Scott Forstall, who ran through iPhone 3.0's high points, as well as yet another series of interminable developer demos.
While end users got some nice additional features in 3.0, such as the much anticipated cut, copy and paste, the long-run impact of the update has been more about what lies under the hood--it was the iPhone's equivalent of Snow Leopard. Developers got the ability to communicate with hardware through the dock-connector port or Bluetooth, peer-to-peer networking, in-app purchase, and the long-awaited push notifications. The testament to iPhone 3.0's importance is the number of programs on the App Store that require it.
Not all was rosy with this latest software update: while two of the features most demanded by consumers--support for Multimedia Messaging (MMS) and tethering--were promised by Apple for 3.0, MMS didn't arrive until September, three months after 3.0's release, and tethering remains imprisoned in an oubliette of AT&T's devising to this day.
3GS
With the iPhone 3G only a year old, it might seem surprising that Apple would roll out a brand new model, but that's just what it did at June's Worldwide Developers Conference. This time it was Phil Schiller stepping in as maestro for the proceedings, which included unveiling the iPhone 3GS. If the name, with its 'S' for speed, was a bit of a head-scratcher, its performance was anything but. Though outwardly it looked the same as the iPhone 3G, it was unquestionably a horse of a different color on the inside.
Source:
http://www.itnews.com/smartphones/12381/2009-review-year-iphone
Chicago Web Design Firms
3.0
If the iPhone OS 2.0 update turned an amazing device into a world-beating platform by allowing third-party apps, then iPhone 3.0 was all about sanding off the software's rough edges and turning it into a full-featured experience.
Apple made no secret about iPhone 3.0, holding an event in March, months prior to its eventual launch, to show off the catalog of new features and developer APIs that would define the next-generation of iPhone software. With Steve Jobs on medical leave, the presentation fell to the capable team of Greg Joswiak and Scott Forstall, who ran through iPhone 3.0's high points, as well as yet another series of interminable developer demos.
While end users got some nice additional features in 3.0, such as the much anticipated cut, copy and paste, the long-run impact of the update has been more about what lies under the hood--it was the iPhone's equivalent of Snow Leopard. Developers got the ability to communicate with hardware through the dock-connector port or Bluetooth, peer-to-peer networking, in-app purchase, and the long-awaited push notifications. The testament to iPhone 3.0's importance is the number of programs on the App Store that require it.
Not all was rosy with this latest software update: while two of the features most demanded by consumers--support for Multimedia Messaging (MMS) and tethering--were promised by Apple for 3.0, MMS didn't arrive until September, three months after 3.0's release, and tethering remains imprisoned in an oubliette of AT&T's devising to this day.
3GS
With the iPhone 3G only a year old, it might seem surprising that Apple would roll out a brand new model, but that's just what it did at June's Worldwide Developers Conference. This time it was Phil Schiller stepping in as maestro for the proceedings, which included unveiling the iPhone 3GS. If the name, with its 'S' for speed, was a bit of a head-scratcher, its performance was anything but. Though outwardly it looked the same as the iPhone 3G, it was unquestionably a horse of a different color on the inside.
Source:
http://www.itnews.com/smartphones/12381/2009-review-year-iphone
Chicago Web Design Firms
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