Happy Halloween !
Hi guys !
I hope you’re enjoying your Halloween ^^, and I made a small video :
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Enjoy
A look at the 'My Networks' widget.
Google Earth for the iPhone can show satellite views of the world in 3D, in this case the Matterhorn, and dots the display with blue squares showing geotagged Panoramio photos.
–a service that sells MP3s (DRM-free, natch) for 89 cents apiece and streaming-only versions of songs (”Web songs”) for a dime (which can be applied later to the purchase of an MP3). Entire streaming “Web albums” are typically eighty cents. And most downloadable MP3 albums are aggressively priced–ones that go for $9.99 on iTunes are typically $7.49 on Lala, less than even the price-slashing Amazon.com download store charges. (Any download you buy includes a streaming version at no extra cost.)
–a service that will let you listen to scads of new music without paying even that one thin dime per streaming track, since you can stream any song that Lala has–and it has millions, from the four major labels and 170,000 independents–for free the first time you listen. (New members also get their first fifty Web songs for free, period.)
–a service which scans the music on your computer’s hard drive, identifies the songs, and puts them into your online library at Lala for free, so you can listen to them in any browser on any computer. Yes, this is a modern version of My.MP3.com, the nifty service that was killed by the music industry back in 2000. But this time around, Lala is paying the music companies so it’s all kosher. (I’ve wanted MyMP3 back since the day it went away, so I got kind of emotional when I saw that Lala had essentially replicated it for the moden era of digital music.)
–a social network that lets you discover new music by seeing what other folks are listening to, then listening yourself–again, for free if you’ve never heard a track before, and for a dime if you’ve listened once and haven’t already bought the Web version.
–an iPhone application that lets you stream your entire music to your phone; as long as you’ve got an Internet connection, the effect is a little like having an iPod with infinite capacity. (The iPhone app isn’t available yet, but I saw a preview and liked it; the company says it’ll arrive soon.)
2.7 New Post Screen, Unfinished
2.7 Dashboard
From : Wordpress.org Blog
“Apple has invented a whole new way of building notebooks from a single block of aluminum. And, just as important, they are the industry’s greenest notebooks,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “The new MacBooks offer incredible features our users will love —like their stunning all-metal design, great 3D graphics and LED backlit displays—at prices up to $700 less than before.”
A popular free security tool for the Firefox browser has been upgraded to block one of the most dangerous and troubling security problems facing the Web today.
NoScript is a small application that integrates into Firefox. It blocks scripts in programming languages such as JavaScript and Java from executing on untrusted Web pages. The scripts could be used to launch an attack on a PC.
The latest release of NoScript, version 1.8.2.1, will stop so-called “clickjacking,” where a person browsing the Web clicks on a malicious, invisible link without realizing it, said Giorgio Maone, an Italian security researcher who wrote and maintains the program.
Clickjacking has been known for several years but is drawing attention again after two security researchers, Robert Hansen and Jeremiah Grossman, warned last month of new scenarios that could compromise a person’s privacy or even worse, steal money from a bank account.
Unfortunately, clickjacking is possible due to a fundamental design feature in HTML that allows Web sites to embed content from other Web pages, Maone said. Nearly all Web browsers are vulnerable to a clickjacking attack.
“It’s a very hard thing to fix because it’s part of the very fabric of the Web and the browser,” Maone said.
The embedded content can be invisible but a person can still unknowingly interact with it. A clickjacking attack takes advantage of that by tricking a user into clicking on a button that appears to do some function but actually does something entirely different.
Clickjacking can also be accomplished by manipulating the plug-ins of other applications, such as Adobe’s Flash program and Microsoft’s Silverlight. For example, researchers in recent days have shown it’s possible for a clickjacking attack to turn on a person’s Web camera and microphone without their knowledge.
In an advisory on Tuesday, Adobe said it will issue a patch for Flash by the end of the month.
The new improvement to NoScript, called ClearClick, can detect if there is a hidden, embedded element within the Web page. It then displays a warning message asking the user if they still want to click on it.
Maone said ClearClick will likely stop all clickjacking attempts. NoScript is only for the Firefox browser, so users of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer—the most-used browser in the world—are vulnerable.
Web site owners, however, can take one step to prevent their users from falling victim, Maone said. Programmers can use a script on their Web sites that checks to see if a Web page is embedded in another page. If so, the script forces the good Web page in front, preventing clickjacking, Maone said.
The technique is called “framebusting.” Ebay’s online payments service, PayPal, which is frequently targeted by cybercriminals, has already implemented framebusting, Maone said. NoScript will allow a framebusting script to run, Maone said.
“The best thing that can happen is that Web site owners start to think more carefully about security,” Maone said. “It is important that Web site owners spread the word that they should implement framebusting.”
Clickjacking is a serious, potentially long-term problem for browser developers. Since the attack is enabled by a feature within HTML, it demands changes to the HTML specification.
Web standards groups are currently working on HTML 5, a specification that will incorporate new features into the programming language to accommodate future Web design. But the standards process moves slowly, and changes to HTML could break existing Web pages, Maone said.
“For the user, I’m afraid there’s no fix but NoScript for the time being,” he said.
From : Macworld
Yahoo is continuing its marathon merger discussions with AOL, sources close to the negotiations have whispered to us, and a deal could happen as early as this month. Is this just a rehash of the reported discussions in February and then again in April?
Yes and no. It’s clear that AOL’s parent company, Time Warner, wants this deal more than ever. What isn’t clear is whether AOL’s assets will fix any of Yahoo’s problems.
The deal structure that is currently being discussed is Yahoo’s acquisition of AOL (content, services and advertising), minus their subscription dial up business. That plus a couple of billion dollars in cash from Time Warner gets them approximately a third of the combined entity. Time Warner’s AOL headache is gone, and they have a stake in the world’s most valuable chess piece in the Google/Microsoft search and advertising war.
Factors favoring a deal: the companies believe Yahoo’s advertising platform would monetize AOL assets far beyond what they’re generating today (a little over $2.4 billion annually). And those against: combined dominance in mail (they’d have 48% of all worldwide email accounts according to Comscore, with Microsoft #2 at 42%) and instant messaging (39% worldwide combined market share, compared to 55% for Microsoft). In reality, though, email and instant messaging market share are only a problem if Microsoft then comes in and buys the combined entity.
Yahoo gets to make a case to stockholders that they dominate the online portal/services/content world, and who cares if they outsource search advertising to Google. Our position is that they can’t succeed in the long run without strong and competitive search advertising, although it may take the Department of Justice to get that message through to Yahoo’s executive team. Even after these entities combine, if they do, Yahoo still has a major long term competitive problem on its hands.
From : TechCrunch
[Thanks Hebbet and Avrohom Eliezer Friedman!]
From : G Blogscoped
With the DOJ expressing skepticism over Yahoo's agreement to sell search ad space to its biggest competitor, a letter from a key US senator urging action could be preaching to the choir. What's interesting is that senator's theory.
In a letter to the Justice Department's antitrust chief yesterday, Sen. Herb Kohl (D - Wisc.), chairman of the Senate Antitrust Committee, advised the Dept. to maintain a close watch over Google and Yahoo as they initiate their search advertising deal, for two reasons: The first is something discussed quite often, that the deal could be used to drive up the price of contextual search advertising.
But the second is something that has been mentioned, but not fully explored: the notion that Google made the deal in bad faith, as an anti-competitive measure to maintain Yahoo's subordinate position in the marketplace.
"Many interested parties are also apprehensive that if the transaction is consummated, Yahoo will have less incentive to compete against Google, as it will rely upon its main competitor for a significant increase in its revenue," reads Sen. Kohl's letter to Assistant Attorney General Thomas Barnett. "Therefore, critics contend that an advertiser will have an incentive to bypass Yahoo entirely and only bid for Google advertisements since an advertisement purchased with Google could be placed on both Yahoo and Google's search result pages."
Furthermore, Kohl goes on, as Yahoo receives more and more revenue from Google, it will only gain further incentive to give Google better placement. That could water down the value of Yahoo pages for other advertisers, in a situation that eventually leads to Yahoo never retaining a position as a major player in search advertising.
In its "Facts about the Yahoo-Google advertising agreement" microsite launched last week, Google explains its view that the deal is only beneficial for competition, and potentially beneficial for Yahoo.
"Yahoo has stated that it will reinvest the additional revenue from this agreement into improving its user services and competing vigorously against Google, Microsoft and other companies," the site currently reads. "This gives all companies the continued incentive to keep improving and innovating. The agreement won't affect Yahoo's natural search results. Yahoo will continue to operate its own search engine, and Google's share of search traffic will not increase. In addition, the agreement is non-exclusive, meaning Yahoo could make a similar deal with another company."
Kohl suggests that the Dept.'s Antitrust division monitor the agreement closely, and intervene when necessary to protect the competitive state of the online advertising market. Last month's hiring by the DOJ of Barnett's own predecessor during the Carter administration, former Disney vice chairman Sanford Litvack, was a clear indication that preparing to intervene may be exactly what Barnett has been preparing to do anyway.
From ???TUAW believes that the upcoming MacBooks will indeed be powered by NVIDIA chipsets and will be delivered on October 14th.
A source tells us that Nvidia is showing off new MacBooks to their employees, and word is going around that the new versions will be released as soon as October 14th.
Apple was first rumored in July to be incorporating alternative chipsets in future laptops. While Apple would still be using Intel CPUs to power their laptops, the support chips (including graphics) were said to be supplied by a company other than Intel. NVIDIA topped some lists as the most likely supplier. A subsequent report from MacSoda pointed specifically to the use of the MCP7A-U chipset in future MacBooks. This NVIDIA chipset was brieflydetailed by Expreview:
“MCP7A-U is the top class chipset in the MCP7A family. Though it could be named as GeForce 9XXX, it will be come the first mainstream uATX mobo with DDR3-1333 support. Sources inform us the MCP7A-U will be the “fastest mGPU”, but who knows.”
Such a move would address user complaints about the use of Intel's slower integrated graphics chipsets in current MacBooks. The move would also prepare Apple's laptops for the release of Mac OS X Snow Leopard which will allow applications to utilize the more powerful graphics processing units.
MacRumors has also heard similar whispers which lead us to believe these reports could be true.
From MacRumors
Fring has released the iPhone version of their service today as a free download in the App Store.
Fring allows you to chat and interact with others on a variety of networks including Skype, MSN, GoogleTalk, AIM, Yahoo, Twitter, and ICQ. In addition, Fring offers Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP)
using the iPhone's Wi-Fi connection. Features listed include:
• VoIP (Voice) Calls over WiFi
• Instant Messaging
• Integrated dynamic contact list with real-time contact availability
• SIP integration
• Multiple Connection types
Fring supports SkypeOut and SIP which allows you to make calls to landline and mobile phones. Some charges may apply depending on the type of call and plan. Fring is available as a free download in the App Store. (App Store Link)
Steve Jobs had said that VoIP calls over Wi-Fi was allowable in the App Store when the iPhone SDK was first released. Fring should also work with the new iPod touch, which supports an external microphone.
Update: Some are confused about the benefits of fring. One user details some of the features:
- Can call directly using iPhone to another person with iPhone running Fring
- Call MSN or Skype users that are using their computer
- Call using Skype account, which allows you to have your own Skype number and at a discount rate for international calls
- Receive phone calls using Skype with your own custom Skype number
- Basic chat functions with most chat platforms, such as AIM, Yahoo and ICQ
Update 2: This YouTube video demos using Fring on an iPod Touch to call a cell phone for free. This Video walks through how it is accomplished.
From MacRumors
One unpublicized feature introduced by Apple's latest iPhone software updates is the ability to save Web apps to the home screen and have them launch in full-screen mode without the Safari wrapper, essentially mimicking the experience of a native app.
Clancy, an AppleInsider reader who brought the matter to our attention, believes the undocumented feature arrived as part of the most recent iPhone Software 2.1 update. He notes that the capability is only present in Web applications specifically authored to include the full-screen code.
To illustrate the feature, he's created a demo application for iPhone users to try out. In order to trigger the full-screen mode, follow these steps:
Once the app is loaded in full-screen, it behaves just like a native app acquired from the App Store, though it may perform slightly slower as all the resources and interface elements are being downloaded in real-time over the Internet.
You can even pull the interface down (screenshot, below) like a native app without the Safari interface coming into play.
Saving a Web app to the Home Screen
Steps to prep a Web app to launch as a full-screen app.
Launching a Web app in full-screen mode
From AppleInsider
So, this is pretty much what happened today and by the way this is the last day in the festival , At least here in Algeria :
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Hope to see you soon.