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Friday, September 30, 2011

Google is going direct to secured Google SSL beta

For me, a visit to Google main page (http://www.google.com) is redirecting me straight to Google SSL site (https://encrypted.google.com). Google SSL is still in beta stage.

Will Google going to make this default soon?

Monday, September 26, 2011

Burger King's Great DEALS + Coupon Generator

From now till 2 Oct, Burger King is offering attractive yummy deals - selection of FREE burgers, snacks or desserts awaiting you with any purchase of their feature upsized meals.

The King's Deals

Burger King even come out with a coupon generator to help generate a personalized "just for you" coupon.

Manhattan Fish Market 1-for-1 Pasta

From now till 30 Sep, enjoy 1-for-1 pasta of value from $13.90 to $15.90 at Manhattan Fish Market. The offer is valid for dine-in ala-carte pasta dishes from 11am to 5pm.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Yahoo News and Facebook together shows what you and friends are reading

Yahoo News and Facebook together shows what you are reading to your friends and vice versa, as long as you and your friend have chosen to allow readings to new Facebook Timeline.

In my opinion, this is just getting less and less privacy.

Facebook new Friend List, News Feed and Ticker

Sometimes, watching a video to understand the changes Facebook has made is a lot easier than reading through articles, articles and more articles.

What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?

The Search Engine Land and Common Craft worked together to produce a 3-minutes video, explaining what is Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

Good SEO is about making sure your website has great content and supported by the ingredients that search engine needs in their recipe. Recipe are refined and changed all the time. Some of the ingredients needed in the recipe are:
  • Words Matter
  • Titles Matter
  • Links Matter
  • Words in Links
  • Reputation

Do watch the video below for further explanation.

Google Wallet with Citi, MasterCard, Sprint and First Data

Google Wallet — an app that makes your phone your wallet—with Citi, MasterCard, Sprint and First Data. With Google Wallet, you can tap, pay and save using your phone and near field communication (NFC).



» Launching Google Wallet on Sprint and working with Visa, American Express and Discover | Official Google Blog

Facebook New Changes Animated - Animated by Taiwanese

Taiwanese animation company Next Media Animation (NMA) made a video in response to the latest Facebook changes

More than 500 million people use Facebook every day. However, most were annoyed by recent changes that further cluttered the user interface.

The backlash has been fierce. But no matter how disgruntled, users find it hard to leave Facebook because all their friends are there.

At the recent F8 developers' conference, Mark Zuckerberg announced even more ambitious changes, including tighter integration with third party apps.

Another big change is the re-vamp of the profile into a timeline. It pulls all your media and updates into one place.

Zuck also urged developers to demand permission to publish everything from users as a condition for using apps. Where is it all going to lead?


The Chinese version of the animated video can be found here.

How to enable Facebook Timeline?

Techcrunch published an article on how to enable newly introduced Facebook Timeline Beta right now, without having to wait for it to be rolled out to you over the next few weeks. Do read on here for the tip.

Learn more about Facebook Timeline at https://www.facebook.com/about/timeline

Introducing Facebook Timeline

Facebook F8 Keynote Introduction

Andy Samberg standing in for the Facebook CEO at the f8 keynote, pretending to be the real Mark Zuckerberg.

Spotify brings music to Facebook

As part of the recent Facebook f8 conference, Spotify is officially partnered with Facebook to provide a music experience to your social life.


» Spotify introduces music to your social life | Spotify

How to hide the annoying Facebook News Ticker?

Finding the new Facebook News Ticker annoying? LifeHacker posted 3 methods to hide it.

1. AdBlock Plus on Firefox or Chrome, and adding the following custom filters in the extension's preferences.
www.facebook.com##[id="pagelet_rhc_ticker"]

www.facebook.com##[id="pagelet_ticker"]

2. If you have Chrome, you can also install Unannoying Facebook, which gets rid of the news feed as well as the pinned bar on top.

3. Or, if you have the Better Facebook extension, you can paste this into the CSS options under Advanced Options Mode.
/* Hide Facebook live ticker */
.ticker_stream { display:none !important; }

» How to Kill the Facebook News Ticker | LifeHacker

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Windows 8 In-Depth - The Metro UI and the Desktop

From LifeHacker blog

A preview of Windows Live for Windows 8

The Windows Live team has been building applications and services with Windows 8 in mind. In particular, the idea is centred around cloud services and Metro style UI.

The steps taken by Windows Live are:
  • Enhancing our Live service for sync across your PCs
  • Making a SkyDrive available to every Windows 8 and Windows Phone customer
  • Building a new suite of Metro style apps for communications and sharing
  • And enabling app developers to use Live and SkyDrive through the Live SDK

For a demonstration of how Live services integrate into Windows 8, watch the video below:


» A preview of Windows Live for Windows 8 | Inside Windows Live

DEMO - Google+ Hangouts Adds Screen Sharing, Google Docs Collaboration, and More

A recent update on Google+ Hangouts provided some extras that make the experience even better. Now you can share your screen, collaborate in Google Docs, and even draw together in SketchUp. Additionally, the Hangouts API provides developers with the ability to integrate Hangouts into their own web apps.

Watch the video below on a demonstration on the new features.

Google+: Opened to Public + Start-Up Guide

Google+ is now opened for public and anyone is now able to signup for one without the need for an invitation. If you have not yet tried Google+, do watch the below video to learn about Google+.



Start using Google+ at http://www.google.com/+

» Google+: 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99... 100. | Official Google Blog

Bing Gets More Personal With Adaptive Search

<a href='http://video.msn.com?vid=60353988-525a-4bcf-92e7-df8cd4f57ce5&mkt=en-us&src=FLPl:embed::uuids' target='_new' title='Adapting Search to You' >Video: Adapting Search to You</a>

Petition to White House Directing to Patent Office to Cease Issuing Software Patents

A petition is submitted to the White House directing to the Patent Office to cease issuing software patents.

Under the patent office's current activity, patents have been come a way to stifle innovation and prevent competition rather than supporting innovation and competitive markets. They've become a tool of antitrust employed by large companies against small ones.

If you are also not in favour with issuing software patents, do join in the petition. A whitehouse.gov account is required to sign Petitions.

At present, the total number of petitions submitted is at 6,202, which has already exceeded the goal of 5,000 signatures by October 23, 2011.


Submit your signature in the Petition now!

Infographic: Battle for App Store Dominance, Star Wars Style

Source via PC Magazine

Multiple sign in and preferences supported on Gmail for Mobile

Gmail for your mobile browser is getting better with many new supports including multiple sign-ins.

The new features are:

Multiple sign-in support

Just like on your desktop, you can now to sign into multiple accounts simultaneously.

Mobile-specific signature

It is now possible to set your signature just for your mobile.

Vacation Auto-Responder

Ever forgotten to set your out-of-office auto-reply in Gmail before going on a trip? You don’t have to worry about that anymore, since you can now set your auto-reply using the mobile interface.

» Introducing multiple sign-in and preferences on Gmail for mobile | Official Gmail Blog

Read the Gmail Inbox Feed with .NET and OAuth

Interesting read for web developers.

» Read the Gmail Inbox Feed with .NET and OAuth | Google Apps Developer Blog

Mouse Without Borders - Shares Your Mouse, Keyboard, and Files Between Multiple Windows Computers

Mouse Without Borders is one of the many projects by Microsoft's Garage - a company wide program that encourages grass roots invention, tinkering, ideas and incubation of projects. With Mouse Without Borders, not only can you drag your mouse between monitors, but you can even copy and paste text between computers and drag files from one to the other in the same local network, and all seem too easy to do so.

Use your mouse seamlessly with Mouse Without Borders


Download Mouse Without Border (1.1mb).

» Microsoft download from The Garage: Mouse without Borders | Next at Microsoft

YouTube Blog: Additional Creator Tools from YouTube

Google-owned YouTube has announced 3 new improvements

1. Convert your 2D videos into 3D with a single click. (beta!)

Once you've uploaded your 2D videos to YouTube, you can convert them to 3D with the click of a button. Converted videos will be viewable by everyone in 3D. You'll still get best results with a 3D camera, but it's a great new way to let people enjoy your finest moments. You'll find this feature by selecting "Edit Info", then "3D Video" on a video you've uploaded. (Note, you'll still need glasses to watch on most devices)

2. All verified users in good standing can now upload long-form videos

Today, YouTube is enabling long uploads for users with a clean track record who complete an account verification and continue to follow the copyright rules set forth in our Community Guidelines.

To help you get those longer videos online, there is a recently launched resumable uploads, which ensures that you won’t lose any of the minutes you’ve uploaded if your internet fails or your computer dies during the upload process. You can resume uploading right where you left off once you’re back online. (Note: Advanced uploader is no longer required to upload large files)

3. Shoot, edit and share your videos easily with vlix and Magisto, now on youtube.com/create

Two additional video creation platforms are added to make your videos even better: Vlix and Magisto. Vlix lets you spice up your videos by adding cool effects and text to the video intro and closing. Magisto takes your unedited video and automatically edits it into short, fun clips.

» Additional Creator Tools from YouTube | YouTube Blog

Scientists reconstruct video based on brain activity

This is so scary! Researchers from UC Berkeley actually pieced together the brain patterns of its subjects as they watched YouTube videos, and then produced a YouTube video of their own with the results. If such technology is improved further, this is so privacy intrusive (in my opinion).

The left clip is a segment of the movie that the subject viewed while in the magnet. The right clip shows the reconstruction of this movie from brain activity measured using fMRI. The reconstruction was obtained using only each subject's brain activity and a library of 18 million seconds of random YouTube video. (In brief, the algorithm processes each of the 18 million clips through the brain model, and identifies the clips that would have produced brain activity as similar to the measured brain activity as possible. The clips used to fit the model, those used to test the model and those used to reconstruct the stimulus were entirely separate.) Brain activity was sampled every one second, and each one-second section of the viewed movie was reconstructed separately.

HP new boss Meg Whitman’s first email to employees

Soon after the departure of HP former CEO Leo Apotheker, HP engaged former chief of eBay Meg Whitman as its new CEO. Mr Leo Apotheker was ousted after making several questionable moves which include closing down its PC and webOS division.

Can Meg Whitman, one who has the experience more in the consumer business but not in the hardware and software industry, save HP?

The full text of the e-mail from Meg Whitman and HP Executive Chairman Ray Lane to HP employees is below.

TO/ All HP Employees
FROM/ Meg Whitman and Ray Lane

We are writing today as the new CEO and executive chairman of HP.

First let us say that we are true believers in the future of HP. We have always had enormous respect for HP and its well-earned iconic status as one of the most important technology companies in the world. We look forward to working with you as we take HP to the next level.

As you may have seen in the press release we issued earlier today, Léo Apotheker has stepped down as president, chief executive officer and resigned as a director of the company. We very much appreciate Léo’s efforts and his service to HP since his appointment last year.

In addition, Ray Lane has been appointed executive chairman of the board of directors. This means that Ray will play a more active role in guiding the company. To ensure good governance practices, HP also intends to appoint a lead independent director soon.

We know that change is difficult. The decision to change the leadership of HP is one the board took seriously. We assure you that it was a difficult decision – and one that was made after careful and thoughtful deliberation – but one the board believes is absolutely necessary for the success of the company.

HP is a leading technology company with a real purpose and the ability to positively impact the way the world works. We all recognize that the technology landscape is changing rapidly and we have to do more than simply adapt. We must invest in innovation, leverage the strength of our core businesses, enhance our software capabilities and integrate our assets to maximize the value of our investments. We believe in HP’s strategy, and we are confident that together, with renewed focus and energy, we will deliver on our priorities for our stockholders, customers and other stakeholders.

Our hallways are filled with the industry’s brightest and most talented people. We believe we all understand that we have a lot of hard work ahead of us. Each and every one of you contributes to our success. The board wants to continue proving to our customers, partners and stockholders why HP is – and should remain – a leader in our industry.

A top priority for us will be to refocus the energy of the organization on our mission and on the performance necessary to accomplish it. We need you to be the ambassadors of HP and work both collaboratively and effectively to usher HP into the future. To reach that goal, we need your best work and a focus on execution.

We believe that HP matters. It matters to Silicon Valley, California, the United States and the world. We will maintain and build upon our proud and deep-rooted legacy. We understand the strength of this company, and we know we have the right tools and the talented people to achieve our goals and execute our strategy.

We want to hear directly from you. Good ideas come from everyone, so please send any thoughts you would like to share to employee survey. We also invite you to join Meg tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time as we discuss this announcement. Details for the meeting will follow shortly.

We look forward to working with all of you. Thank you for your ongoing and deep commitment to HP.

Sincerely,

Meg and Ray

» Meg Whitman’s First Email to HP Employees | Mashable

Friday, September 23, 2011

Borders Singapore 70% discount

After a 50% fire clearance sale few weeks ago, Borders Singapore is now holding a 70% storewide discount at their Parkway Parade branch. This may just be their final final sale.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

New Windows 8 keyboard shortcut keys

New Metro UI of Windows 8 mean a new set of keyboard shortcut keys to be learnt. Visit the this Russian-translated article for the shortcuts.

Link your Facebook Page to Twitter

Facebook is adding a new feature to allow posting updates right from your Facebook Page to Twitter. Status updates, links, photos, notes, and events are allowed to be shared with your followers on Twitter.

To start, go to https://www.facebook.com/twitter/.

It appears this feature is designed to keep Facebook users within the service as much as possible, doing everything all in Facebook and keeping them from other social networking service.

Freshmen orientation - Guys doing push-ups on top of girls - Unnecessary

Quoted from inSing.com "Girls in tears over touchy-feely games", translated from the Lianhe Wanbao 《联合晚报》 Sep 16, 2011 article, it revealed inappropriate orientation games for students to be overly touchy and sexually unwanted. I hope the seniors of local universities and other tertiary institutions can spare some thoughts on others before setting up such immoral games.

Inappropriate orientation games for students have made the news again!

A female student recently burst into tears when taking part in a 3-day 2-night orientation camp held by a local university.

According to an insider at the camp, the girl had been uncomfortable with the physical contact in bonding games and had excused herself by saying she had a headache. However, she could not stand the peer pressure and eventually broke down into tears.

The insider said, "I heard the girl has a boyfriend and was disgusted by the amount of physical contact. She felt forced to be unfaithful to her boyfriend and could not stand the pressure."

The insider also expressed objections to the games. He said, "The push up game was especially inappropriate. The boys and girls were up close and face to face with each other. If the boy wanted to take advantage of the girl, he could pretend to collapse and lie on top of her."

The insider also felt that many of the bonding games were meaningless, inappropriate and displayed little concern for how the students feel. Some girls have been uncomfortable with the excessive physical contact and more than one have broken down and cried.

Some of the games are played in these ways:

- The girl lies flat on the ground while the boy does push ups on top of her.

- A boy and a girl stand back to back. The girl has to stretch her arms behind her to hug the boy.

- A boy and a girl have to eat a biscuit together from two ends while holding it up with only their mouths. They have to finish the biscuit.

This is not the first time that inappropriate orientation games have made the news. Many controversial bonding games have surfaced over the years, some come with inappropriate physical contact while some are even dangerous.

In a camp hosted by the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in 2004, girls were made to take off the swimming trunks of some boys.

A "human pole dancing game" required a person to pole dance with another person of the opposite sex acting as the "pole".

Another game required girls to lick whipped cream off the topless bodies of boys.

On such games, a student Liu Mei Qing (age 20) said, "I think many girls are like me, we take part in the games and regret it later on when we think about it. But actually, girls can opt out of the games if they are uncomfortable with them."

Blogger's Slideshow Feature

Blogger added a feature that makes it easier to view multiple photos. Photos when clicked will open out as a light-box like overlay and are able to be viewed in a slideshow. Click on any of the following photos to test it out yourself.

Supposedly long image but unable to view full size :(

Smaller image and stretched bigger in light box :)

This feature is enabled by default and can't be disabled from the settings page. In my opinion, it did make viewing of multiple photos easier but then it may be counter productive for very long images in terms of height e.g. infographic, since such images will be limited to screen height. The only method to get away with it to see full sized image is to open the image in a new window yourself.

I wish there is an option to disable it so Blogger can choose to open up full sized image in a new window instead.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Introducing Twitter Web Analytics

Twitter announced Web Analytics, a tool that helps website owners understand how much traffic they receive from Twitter and the effectiveness of Twitter integrations i.e. their buttons are being used on their sites.

Quoting from the Twitter Developer blog:

Twitter Web Analytics will be rolled out this week to a small pilot group of partners, and will be made available to all website owners within the next few weeks. We’re also committed to releasing a Twitter Web Analytics API for developers interested in incorporating Twitter data in their products.

See the full announcement in the video below, courtesy of TechCrunch:


» Introducing Twitter Web Analytics | Twitter Developer Blog

Friday, September 16, 2011

Music Streaming Service MOG Goes Free but only in the U.S.

Popular music streaming service MOG will be introducing a new free, ad-supported version of its versatile, music-filled streaming service today. However, the joy of waiting to trying out its service ended prematurely following it announcing offering the free service in U.S. only. But of course not of a problem if you are running a "fake" VPN.

MOG free service limited to U.S. only

YouTube allow editing of videos online

YouTube now supports editing of your own uploaded videos right on YouTube itself. To get started, read YouTube Help. The printable version is available here.

See what you can edit in the video below


» Edit your videos with YouTube | YouTube Blog

Windows 8 IE 10 will be plugin free, HTML Enabled, no Flash

Steven Sinofsky, President of the Windows Division at Microsoft, wrote on his MSDN blog that Internet Explorer 10 which is to be bundled with upcoming Metro Windows 8 will be free from plugin. This is to say there will be no support of Adobe Flash and the Metro IE 10 will be HTML 5 enabled.

One of the first things a lot of folks will try after installing the developer preview of Windows 8 will be the IE10 browser—the most used tool in Windows. IE 10 in the preview is Platform Preview 3 of IE 10. You can read on the IE blog about the HTML 5 engine work we’re doing. This post is about a big change in Metro style IE, which is the plug-in free experience. In Windows 8, IE 10 is available as a Metro style app and as a desktop app. The desktop app continues to fully support all plug-ins and extensions. The HTML5 and script engines are identical and you can easily switch between the different frame windows if you’d like. Metro style IE provides all the main navigation keyboard shortcuts and mouse support you’ve come to expect—creating tabs, moving between tabs, closing tabs, entering addresses, searching, and more. I’m using this browser full–time, and given the amount of time I spend in Windows Phone, the same experience and use of touch is definitely a plus. But you can decide on what works best for you, and not compromise. Dean Hachamovitch, who leads the IE team, wrote this post.

» Metro style browsing and plug-in free HTML5 | Building Windows 8

Everything You Need to Know About Windows 8 in 8 Minutes


» Everything You Need to Know About Windows 8 in Eight Minutes | LifeHacker

How to get a Windows 7 start menu in Windows 8

If you want to change the Windows 8 start menu back to the Windows 7 version, here’s what you need to do:
  1. Launch the registry editor (win+r > regedit >enter)
  2. Drill down to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
  3. Double-click on RPEnabled
  4. Change the value from 1 to (zero)
  5. Tap enter or click OK
  6. The change will take place immediately — just tap the Windows key on your keyboard twice to try it out (the first press will slide the Metro start screen back into view).
» How to get a Windows 7 start menu in Windows 8 | geek.com

Facebook adds "Subscribe" button for following anyone's public updates

Facebook has launched a new "Subscribe" button for following anyone's (non friends) public updates. This is similar to Google+ follow feature and Twitter.

This is not an auto opt-in feature and Facebook-ers have to "Allow Subscribers" before someone can subscribe you. At present, Facebook CEO's Mark Zuckerberg has amassed a massive 5 million+ subscribers and is still growing.

Facebook CEO's Mark Zuckerberg massive 5 million+ subscribers

Some common questions

1. Why do all my friends have a 'Subscribed' button?

You've always been subscribed to your friends. With the Subscribe button, you can choose which of their updates you get.

2. Why don't all profiles have a Subscribe button?

Only people who allow subscribers will have a Subscribe button on their profile. If you don't see the button, you can't subscribe.

3. How do people subscribe to my updates?

After you allow subscribers, a Subscribe button will show up on your profile. Your public updates will appear in people's News Feeds once they click this button.

4. If I allow subscribers, what updates will they see?

Subscribers can see only the things you share publicly. They can also choose how many and what types of these public updates they get.

» Introducing the Subscribe Button | About Facebook

iPad iOS 5 vs Windows 8 Slate

Music Streaming Service MOG Goes Free

Popular music streaming service MOG will be introducing a new free, ad-supported version of its versatile, music-filled streaming service today.

MOG - Counting down less than 24 hours to Free Play
Free music is going to be available on the web, meaning there will be no desktop app or mobile app for such users. However, existing subscribers get to enjoy more benefits. Basic subscribers have web, desktop client for Mac, LG Internet connected TVs, and Roku access. Primo subscribers enjoy MOG’s award-winning mobile apps for iPhone and Android, as well as Sonos & Boxee and all platforms included in the Basic plan.

How does one sign up?

Free listeners who navigate to MOG for the first time will be able to click Facebook Connect (FC) to instantly listen to music (and enjoy MOG’s personalized recommendations based on Artist likes by the listener and their friends). Listeners can also opt to create an account without using FC. Free listening is near-seamless as new users will not be blocked by a credit card wall, nor will listeners need to download an installable client.

Visit MOG now at http://mog.com/.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Samsung Galaxy Note - 5.3-inch screen, 1280 x 800 Resolution


Get to know more on the new Samsung Galaxy Note here.

Google Flights fast and intuitive trip planner

Google just launched Google Flights Search - an airline search tool. This is an easy to use, lightning fast and intuitive tool, capable of finding flights connecting cities and the cost of travel.



NOTE: Google Flights Search is limited to only U.S. at the moment. However, I see them extending to other countries since they have populated airports of other countries too.

Facebook will be sending you less email

Facebook is trying out a new feature to reduce the amount of email users receive from Facebook. According to an email blast from Facebook:

Starting today, we are turning off most individual email notifications and instead, we'll send you a summary only if there are popular stories you may have missed.

You can turn individual emails back on and restore all your original settings at any time.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Translate PDF files and Word documents with Google Docs

An article on Techdows published a tip on doing language translation on PDF files and Word documents with Google Docs.

To do just that:

  1. Go to Google Docs at http://docs.google.com.
  2. Login using your Google Account.
  3. Upload your PDF file or Word document and make sure you select "Convert text from PDF and image files to Google Documents" before uploading.
  4. Once uploaded, open the file. The file should be opened in Google Docs Editor.
  5. From the Tools Menu. select Translate Document.
  6. Type the name of the “Document Title” and choose language you want the document to be translated into and click Translate button.

You are done!

» Translate PDF Files & Word Documents with Google Docs | Techdows

$1 Off Classic Tower Burger at Freshness Burger

Present the following e-coupon at any of the 2 Freshness Burger stores from 9 Sep to 9 Oct to enjoy $1 off Classic Tower Burger. The usual price for the burger is at $14.90.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

September 11 (9/11) 10 years on

It has been exactly 10 years from the events of September 11, 2001, that has changed the lives of many. 10 years ago was the day when terrorists destroyed the iconic Twin Towers.

Virtual spaces have helped us to remember the victims and honor the courage of those who risked their lives to save others.

On this 10th anniversary, we wanted to note a few of these virtual places:

  1. 9/11 Memorial
    http://www.911memorial.org/
  2. The New York Times on YouTube
    http://www.youtube.com/september11
  3. Mountain Lakes (NJ) Volunteer Fire Department - First-Responder mobile solution
    http://www.first-responder.com/

» Ten years later | Official Google Blog

Google Fusion Tables

Google Fusion Tables is a modern data management and publishing web application that makes it easy to host, manage, collaborate on, visualize, and publish data tables online. It is now available as a BETA component in Google Docs.

Fusion Tables in Google Docs

One interesting public published table is the "World Data - Internet Users per Country". An interesting representation in a Pie Chart shows

Try Google Fusion Tables now at http://www.google.com/fusiontables/public/tour/index.html.

Adobe brings Flash-free-Flash to Apple iPad, iPhone

Read more here.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Mosaic Project brings Windows 8 Metro UI to Windows 7

If you like the new Metro UI on Windows 8, it is now possible to have that on your Windows 7 PC. This possibility is made a the Mosaic Project.

By the way, Metro UI is a patent recently granted to Microsoft.

Microsoft Awarded With Patent On Metro UI On Windows Phones

Microsoft was awarded with patent on Metro UI (Panoramic UI) which is now being used on Windows Phone last month. Microsoft was also awarded with patent for user specific predictive soft-keyboard.

Question now is if Google is infringing yet another patent since its new Android Market Place uses the Metro UI.

Windows 8 new Metro UI

Windows 8 users who may prefer the new Metro UI can use it exclusively without loading Windows 8 code, thus resulting in the Desktop becoming just an app, potentially reducing boot times, without having to run the Windows 8 code in background. The new Metro UI is optimized for tablet mode or on a PC, with a touch screen feature.

In other words, it is possible to disable the Metro UI feature if you dislike it. There is really no need to be critical against an user interface which you are not used to it. Metro UI is a patent recently granted to Microsoft.

Windows 8 fast boot in just 8 seconds

Upcoming Windows 8, slated to be released in 2012, promises fast boot in double quick time of just 8 seconds, according to a demonstration.


Microsoft provides a very detailed breakdown of how the fast boot times is done.

Access PC remotely from Android using PocketCloud

PocketCloud is a pretty good app to access your PC remotely using your Android device.

Apple finally blocks DigiNotar certificates after a week

Apple finally released an update to block DigiNotar digital certificates, more than a week after these certificates were known, behind Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer and Adobe. A possible man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks against users can be launched, compromising security and privacy. The people affected were primarily located in Iran.

Apple was silent on the issue until now, prompting criticism from an analyst earlier this week.

» About Security Update 2011-005 | Apple Support

Hotmail to hold special event on October 3

Microsoft is to hold a special event on October 3 for Hotmail, inviting reporters to write on it and the public to have a second look on it.


The invitation reads:

WE LISTENED. WE LEARNED. WE REINVENTED HOTMAIL FROM THE GROUND UP.
From performance to spam to security and more, we’re going to challenge your perceptions and show how we stack up against the competition.

Ironically, this invitation comes untimely at a time when Windows Live and Hotmail services went into an outage.

» Microsoft to hold Hotmail press event on October 3 | liveside.net

Windows Live and Hotmail services outage

It was reported on Windows Live blog that Hotmail, SkyDrive, or other Live properties were not working on 8 Sep PST. At current time, it seems to be back in service, at least for me.

» Current Hotmail and SkyDrive Issues | Inside Windows Live

Friday, September 09, 2011

Offline Google Docs

As promised, Google started to roll out the offline version of Google Docs, after the release of offline Gmail and offline Google Calendar. Just like its earlier offline apps, Google Docs works offline only if you use Chrome and install an app from the Chrome Web Store.

How to remove in-feed embedded "Facebook" ads?

If you spot seemingly ads belonging to Facebook but embedded right in your feeds, then mostly your computer is infested by some sneaky third party plugin.

"Facebook" ad appearing in feed

Fellow blogger Mike Holder provided a how-to on removing these sneaky plugin. Do carry out the following steps, not only your main browser, but ALL browsers.
  1. Go to http://www.pagerage.com/disable to remove a plugin by PageRage.

  2. Go to http://www.dropdowndeals.com/settings and choose to remove all related to DropDownDeals.
Your Facebook should now be back to normal. All the best!

» The Continued “MySpacing” of Facebook: Banner Ads, Layouts and Sneaky Plugin Installs | Mike Holder Blog

YouTube doodle - Rostrum in conjunction with Obama address to Congress

YouTube Doodle

Today's YouTube doodle shows a rostrum in conjunction with U.S. President Obama address to Congress, presenting the American Jobs Act, in an attempt to boost employment rate.

President Obama Presents American Jobs Act

Wednesday, September 07, 2011

Yahoo Official Release on CEO Carol Bartz

Yahoo has issued an official release informing the public on the change of CEO. This is after the mention of Ms Carol Bartz's memo to employees that she was fired by the Chairman over the phone. Current CFO Tim Morse will take over the CEO spot on an interim basis.

Yahoo! Announces Leadership Reorganization

September 6, 2011

Board Appoints Timothy Morse Interim CEO
Board Initiates Search for Permanent CEO

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO), the premier digital media company, today announced a leadership reorganization under which the Board of Directors has appointed Timothy Morse interim Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately, replacing Carol Bartz, who has been removed by the Board from her role as Chief Executive Officer.

The Board has also named key senior Yahoo! executives to a newly formed Executive Leadership Council tasked with supporting Morse in managing the Company's day-to-day operations until a permanent chief executive is appointed, as well as supporting a comprehensive strategic review that the Board has initiated to position the Company for future growth.

Roy Bostock, Chairman of the Yahoo! Board, said, "The Board sees enormous growth opportunities on which Yahoo! can capitalize, and our primary objective is to leverage the Company's leadership and current business assets and platforms to execute against these opportunities. We have talented teams and tremendous resources behind them and intend to return the Company to a path of robust growth and industry-leading innovation. We are committed to exploring and evaluating possibilities and opportunities that will put Yahoo! on a trajectory for growth and innovation and deliver value to shareholders."

Bostock continued, "On behalf of the entire Board, I want to thank Carol for her service to Yahoo! during a critical time of transition in the Company's history, and against a very challenging macro-economic backdrop. I would also like to express the Board's appreciation to Tim and thank him for accepting this important role. We have great confidence in his abilities and in those of the other executives who have been named to the Executive Leadership Council."

In addition to Morse, who will also continue in his role as Chief Financial Officer of Yahoo!, the Executive Leadership Council will consist of Michael Callahan, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary; Blake Irving, Executive Vice President and Chief Product Officer; Ross Levinsohn, Executive Vice President, Americas; Rich Riley, Senior Vice President & MD, EMEA Region; and Rose Tsou, Senior Vice President, APAC Region. The Co-founders of Yahoo!, David Filo and Jerry Yang, will each continue as Chief Yahoo and will provide counsel to Tim and the Executive Leadership Council.

"It is an honor to be selected for this role and lead the Company with this world-class team of executives. I look forward to working with the Executive Leadership Council and the talented employees of Yahoo!, and to partnering with the Board to invest in the organization and continue to drive its ongoing growth plans," said Tim Morse, Interim Chief Executive Officer.

The Board is commencing a search for a permanent Chief Executive Officer and expects to engage the services of a nationally recognized executive search firm to help it identify candidates for the position as expeditiously as possible.

» Yahoo! Announces Leadership Reorganization | Yahoo Investor Release

Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz fired; Memo to Employees

Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz was fired by the Chairman over a phone with confirmation coming from a memo sent out to all employees of Yahoo's. Current CFO Tim Morse will take over the CEO spot on an interim basis. Bartz’ days were numbered when Yahoo announced weak Q2 financials recently.

Carol Bart'z memo to all employees

» Carol Bartz’s Memo to All Employees: I’ve Just Been Fired | Mashable

Tuesday, September 06, 2011

Update Google Product Search Feed by 22 Sep to avoid Account Freeze

Google has posted a reminder to notify all accounts that do not comply with the new requirements after 22 Sep 2011 may be suspended. This is after Google announced in July on their new Google Product Search Feed Specification and Policies.

» Upcoming Google Product Search Feed Specification and Policy Changes | Google Merchant Blog

Google Translate supports phonetic typing (hanyu pinyin 汉语拼音)

Google Translate has provided support for phonetic typing (hanyu pinyin 汉语拼音). Without having to install a Chinese input language add-on, it is now possible to type in Chinese hanyu pinyin 汉语拼音. I must say this is a 100 times thumbs up!

Google Translate phonetic typing in action

Monday, September 05, 2011

Amazon tablet friendly website redesigned

Amazon is testing a new tablet friendly website redesign, offering a less cluttered, more white space, and a larger search box design.

It could just be their own testing for their very own Amazon tablet, a probable serious iPad competitor.

Amazon new website redesigned

Sunday, September 04, 2011

Hotmail: Sweep unwanted mail out

Hotmail helps you get rid of unwanted email with the Sweep menu. It also allows you to sweep such email in the future from your inbox to trash or a folder. Quite an useful way to organize emails.


» Hotmail: Sweep unwanted mail out | Hotmail Tips

Microsoft Windows Live Hotmail shows Cc as To for recipient

I just realised Microsoft Windows Live Hotmail actually shows recipient in the "To" list by default even if it is meant to be a "Cc".
Default showing all in "To"

After enabling "Show Details", recipients in the "Cc" list will then be shown.

"Cc" shown after "Show Details" enabled

Is this a feature? Wonder if "Show Details" can be enabled by default.

How to Enjoy the New Web Speed Boost from Google DNS and OpenDNS

Google has teamed up with OpenDNS team in an effort to bring loading of internet content faster, bringing the content nearer to you than ever. The reason behind the speed bump is that OpenDNS and Google are working with Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) to attach location data to the DNS requests, so when you request a web page, it will go to a server near you rather than, as previously mentioned possibly a server that's not closest to you.

To start experiencing the faster DNS service, set it up by configuring your router or computer to use their DNS servers addresses. Here are instructions for Google Public DNS and help for OpenDNS. With OpenDNS, you'll also get additional services like malware detection, stats, and more, in addition to the speed boost.

» How to Enjoy the New Web Speed Boost from Google DNS and OpenDNS | Lifehacker

Facebook is testing a Translate feature

Facebook could be testing a new "Translate" button for comments on pages, translating foreign language to users' chosen language at the click of a button.

» Facebook Is Testing a “Translate” Button for Comments on Pages | Inside Facebook

Saturday, September 03, 2011

Patent Wars: A New Age of Competition (Infographic)

Quoting from PC Magazine,

Last year alone, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) issued 107,792 patents, and the top five organizations that had the most patents approved are all in tech: IBM (5,866); Samsung (4,518); Microsoft (3,086); Canon (2,551); and Panasonic (2,443). IBM has actually been the top patent awardee for the past 17 years, but as the infographic notes, its portfolio is not considered to be the most valuable. That honor goes to Microsoft.

Source: PC Magazine

Friday, September 02, 2011

Evolution of Web

View the evolution of web since the introduction of HTTP and HTML 1.0 days all the way to today's HTML 5.0, WebGL and other modern web technologies.

The interactive graphics requires a modern HTML 5.0 enabled browser to view.

Blogger’s fresh new look - Makeover

Blogger has now got a makeover, graduating from Blogger In Draft after a few months of trial runs.

From Google's official blog, the new Blogger was rewritten for a whole brand new experience, matching closer to the Google’s current aesthetic. On top of that, it comes with an integrated dashboard for monitoring site traffic.

We’re working hard to fundamentally revamp and improve the Blogger experience from the ground up, and we hope you enjoy the first in a series of major updates that are on their way in the coming months.

Starting today, Bloggers will be able to choose to turn on and opt in to the new UI, from a pop-up announcement on your dashboard with instructions on how to get started. For more information on what's changed, check out this Blogger Help Center page.

» Blogger’s fresh new look | Official Google Blog

Thursday, September 01, 2011

Offline Google Calendar from Chrome Web Store

Google has recently launched a new Gmail web app and updates to Calendar and Docs, to equip them with offline capability.

When you’re offline in Google Calendar, you can view events from your calendars and RSVP to appointments. With Google Docs you can view documents and spreadsheets when you don’t have a connection. For now, offline editing is not yet ready but work is on its way to make this possible. To get started using Google Calendar or Google Docs offline, just click the gear icon at the top right corner of the web app and select the option for offline access.

Download Offline Google Calendar from Chrome Web Store here.

For information on Offline Gmail, click here.

Offline Google Mail from Chrome Web Store

Google is launching a new Gmail web app and updates to Calendar and Docs, to equip them with offline capability.

Gmail Offline is a Chrome Web Store app that’s intended for situations when you need to read, respond to, organize and archive email without an internet connection. This HTML5-powered app is based on the Gmail web app for tablets, which was built to function with or without web access. After you install the Gmail Offline app from the Chrome Web Store, you can continue using Gmail when you lose your connection by clicking the Gmail Offline icon on Chrome’s “new tab” page.

Description of the Gmail Offline app:
Gmail Offline beta is a Gmail app built to support offline access, allowing mail to be read, responded to, searched and archived without network access. After first start-up, Gmail Offline will automatically synchronize messages and queued actions anytime Chrome is running and an Internet connection is available. More than just an offline app, the streamlined user interface, based off Gmail’s popular tablet interface, provides extremely fast response time with a pure, email focused experience.

To start Offline Gmail after installing, open a new tab in Chrome; In the new tab pane you will see a Gmail Offline Icon. Click on the icon, and Offline Gmail will load.
Download Offline Google Mail from Chrome Web Store here.

For information on Offline Google Calendar, click here.

Google launches Offline Gmail, Calendar and Docs

After plans to shut down Gears and removing Gears offline support on Chrome, Google has now finally execute its plan to go offline using HTML 5 technology.

Google is launching a new Gmail web app and updates to Calendar and Docs, to equip them with offline capability.

Gmail Offline is a Chrome Web Store app that’s intended for situations when you need to read, respond to, organize and archive email without an internet connection. This HTML5-powered app is based on the Gmail web app for tablets, which was built to function with or without web access. After you install the Gmail Offline app from the Chrome Web Store, you can continue using Gmail when you lose your connection by clicking the Gmail Offline icon on Chrome’s “new tab” page.

When you’re offline in Google Calendar, you can view events from your calendars and RSVP to appointments. With Google Docs you can view documents and spreadsheets when you don’t have a connection. For now, offline editing is not yet ready but work is on its way to make this possible. To get started using Google Calendar or Google Docs offline, just click the gear icon at the top right corner of the web app and select the option for offline access.

» Using Gmail, Calendar and Docs without an Internet connection | Official Gmail Blog

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