After years of studying the best way to enter the business phone, Facebook operated Taiwanese manufacturer HTC mobile phones to create a smart phone that has integrated social networks in the heart of his being.
The code name "Buffy" after television Vampire Slayer, the phone is designed to run on a modified version of Android that very strongly twisted Facebook integration services and support HTML5 as a platform for applications, according to sources close the project.
Although it has changed the scope and leadership, Buffy has been a constant concern for the social networking giant in the last two years. Project is now run by Facebook CTO Bret Taylor, several sources said.
A Facebook spokesperson declined to comment directly on Buffy.
But the official added: "Our mobile strategy is simple We believe that every mobile device is better, if it is very social work with the entire mobile industry -.. operators, equipment manufacturers, operating system vendors and application developers. - And to bring a more social experience and more people around the world "
Facebook recently selected by HTC, while also considering at least one other possible hardware partners - Korea's Samsung. This means that the products are still ways to hit the market, probably for as long as 12-18 months.
HTC declined to comment.
Facebook Mobile is vital for the future. And go directly to the business phone, and full of challenges, could be important for the company.
Facebook says it has 350 million mobile phone users and relationships with mobile operators around the world 475. Although it is one of the most popular phones of almost all of what is available, the social network usually plays a supporting role.
In many cases, the Facebook App is just a place where people can watch the feed of friends' and upload photos and status updates. In other cases, Facebook is working to take things a step further, allowing users to upload images directly to the shooting app, or integrate Facebook contacts with the phone book.
But the fiercest fighting for control of mobile only. Google and Apple both major smartphone operating systems, so little to say about Facebook's mobile destination.
Apple has struggled to keep up strict control over payments on your mobile, even if the applications run off the platform of Facebook, and Twitter also has its social partners. Google is a direct competitor, as it works to promote and integrate your own social network, Google +, through all its products.
Buffy The project represents a significant change for Facebook, which has focused much of his work in partnerships with handset manufacturers looking to create light more socially oriented phones.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Join Facebook Fellowship Program
Applications to join Facebook Fellowship Program are open now and this year Ph.D. students studying at international universities can also apply in addition to applications from Ph.D. students studying in the United States.Facebook Fellowship Program.
facebook fellowshipFacebook accepts applications from students interested in several academic topics like Computer Vision, Computer Architecture, Computer Networking, Computer Security, Internet Economics, Machine Learning, Smart Datacenters, Social Computing etc.
The Fellowship Program is now open to all Ph.D students globally, enrolled during the current academic year and studying Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, System Architecture, or a related area and must be nominated by a faculty member.
Each Facebook Fellowship includes several benefits like
* Tuition and fees will be paid for the academic year.
* $30,000K stipend (paid over 9 months).
* $5000 per year for conference attendance / travel.
* $2500 for personal computer.
* Opportunity to apply for a paid summer internship.
Apply here. Applications for Facebook fellowships will close on December 16, 2011. Any student, faculty member or university administrator can submit the application. Meet the 2011 Facebook fellowship winners. This is Facebook’s third annual Fellowship Program and they are doubling the number of awards this year.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Google.com Free Domain Name, Free Hosting to India Businesses
Google India has partnered with Hostgator India to offer free .in domain names and free hosting for business websites in India. Named ‘India Get Your Business Online’, this pioneering program offers free websites, domain and hosting services to small medium businesses (SMBs) in India. 
Free Domain Name Hosting to India SMBs
Their goal is host 500,000 small medium businesses in India in next three years through this program. They offer Indian businesses a free, easy-to-build professional website (within 15 minutes), with free .in domain name and hosting for one year, free email addresses (Google Apps account) and free 365 days support. HostGator will also offer free support in creating, hosting and managing the website for 1 year via its toll free call centers 1800-266-3000. They also offer a free coupon of Rs. 2500 INR for Adwords advertising to promote your site.
What is surprising is that though India has appox 8 million small medium businesses, only about 5% have a website! If you own a small business in India, this is a good offer for SMBs to get their brand online for free. You can always cancel and decide to continue to maintain your brand presence after a year for a fee.
Monday, October 31, 2011
15 Tips to Make Your PC Run Smoother and Faster
Want o make your PC run faster and smoother?
These are some small tips which make great impact on the performance of your computer. Everybody wants a PC which runs the way we want. A newly bought computer just impresses you, with its fast interface, quick reactions, negligible garbage, in short just like what a new computer should.
But after using your computer for about a year or so, like me, you would also face some minor problems with your computer performance e.g. takes more time to boot up, hangs up very frequently, you see a large cluster of useless icons on your desktop, applications run slower, some even refuse to run. Innumerable problems are faced by all of us.
Now all of us won’t buy a new computer just for this reason, so what would you do? Format your hard disk? Probably, but who wants to lose precious data? There are many small things that PC users, don’t know about, or though being aware of them don’t prefer to use them as they require investment of time. And who has free time? Well then, what to do?
I am going to tell you, what I do to my own PC, to achieve the performance level I want from it. This doesn’t require much effort to follow these simple tips, nor do they require much time, but surely they increase our PC performance, your PC would surely run smoother and faster.
Make Computer Faster
1. First of all, don’t ever fill your desktop with shortcut icons or data folders or files. Keep your desktop as clean as possible. If possible, don’t place shortcut of applications on your desktop, just run them from the start menu. This would vastly speed up your startup process.
2. Keep your C: drive; or whichever partition your OS is installed to, as clean and defragmented as possible. I personally prefer not to install most of the programs on my C: drive. Because this is the drive where your important OS files are present, and whatever space is left on the drive is used as virtual memory, so less the garbage on your OS drive, faster your computer would run.
3. Use least visual enhancements on your desktop. That means, to reduce the use of desktop gadgets, which takes loads of memory usage. Also using a simple theme is best. Animated desktop themes, screensavers or wallpapers obviously take more memory usage from your hands. So keeping it simple makes the difference.
4. If you are regular internet user, then consider using the “Clear Cache” function of your browser, to clear temporary offline data saved by the browser – this clears up some considerate amount of temporary data. Also regularly clear browser history and cookies.
5. Update your antivirus regularly, preferably every two or three days. Worms and malwares are a very common reason due to which your computer runs slower than usual, that is because worms duplicate themselves and fill your disk with useless, corrupt data and also occupies a large amount of your available memory.
6. Make it a habit to clear %temp% and %tmp% folders of your PC every day. They contain temporary files which you can freely delete to gain some small but considerable amount of disk space.
7. Use Disk Defragmenter and Disk Cleanup on a regular basis.
8. One piece of advice from me is not to use any disk cleaning utilities available on the net unless they are from trusted owners. Because, it is true that they help you gain some more disk space and gain some speed from your PC but most of their work can be done manually by users, so they just take some useless space on your disk.
9. After installing any program, they take up some space on your disk, also on your registry. I suggest not installing any program which you consider ‘use and throw’ because even after uninstalling them, some of their remains still linger on your PC, which also affects your PC performance.
10. Regularly delete all the contents of your ‘Recent’ folder. This folder contains shortcut to your recently used documents and programs. These shortcuts are just useless garbage which you should clear on daily basis.
11. To speed up the boot time, disable any useless startup programs from MSConfig utility.
12. Delete contents of your recycle bin to gain some more disk space.
13. TeraCopy is one of the best programs to speed up file copying. I personally prefer using this program.
14. Using external DNS servers such as OpenDNS, boosts your internet speed up to some extent.
15. Select “Adjust for best performance” setting on the Performance tab in System Properties.
These are some small tips which I prefer following and I know the results. If you are completely fed up with your PC performance, then you should try reformatting your hard disk partition. That would surely do it. But if you just want to continue with your PC for a long time, then from the very beginning, follow these steps regularly and you’ll see the impact of these minor steps in a major way.
Friday, October 21, 2011
First iPhone 4S Reviews Are Mostly Thumbs Up
The early reviews for Apple’s iPhone 4S are in and, as expected, reviewers — who had anticipated an iPhone 5 — are tempered in their praise. Still, they give the model points for its 8-megapixel camera, speed and the Siri voice-recognition feature.
Wall Street Journal tech columnist Walter S. Mossberg, for instance, notes the iPhone 4S “isn’t a dramatic game-changer like some previous iPhones.” For that reason, Mossberg recommends that iPhone 4 users don’t rush to upgrade, but download the new iOS instead. “But owners of older iPhone models, or those with basic phones, will find this latest iPhone a pleasure and a good value.”
Though Mossberg praises the phone’s “brilliant new camera” and “faster, 4G-class download speeds,” he dubs Siri, the voice-recognizing personal assistant, the “standout feature.” Siri “isn’t perfect, and is labeled a beta, but it has great potential and worked pretty well for me, despite some glitches,” he writes.
The New York Times‘s David Pogue, meanwhile, was also captivated by Siri, though he notes its similarities to Dragon Dictation, a free iOS app. “Apple won’t admit that it’s using a version of Dragon Dictation,” he writes, adding that Siri “is infinitely better, though, because it’s a built-in keyboard button, not a separate app.”
Pogue was also enamored with the 4S’s built-in camera, which delivers photos that are “crisp and clear, with beautiful color.” Though it lacks a zoom and has only a tiny LED flash, he says “this phone comes dangerously close to displacing a $200 point-and-shoot digital camera.”
In The Guardian, Stephen Fry gushed about Siri, the camera and the phone’s ability to offer service in various parts of the world. “Siri, the high quality and ultra-fast camera, 30 fps 1080p HD video, globally available voice recognition and the introduction of two antennae (the phone seamlessly switches between whichever is getting the strongest signal) are features that make the 4S irresistible,” he writes. Like Mossberg, he advises iPhone 4 owners who are “tired of the upgrade race” to download iOS 5 instead of buying the 4S.
On the downside, many reviewers also unfavorably compared the iPhone 4S to Android competitors and noted Apple lagged in some Android features. Joshua Topolsky at This is My Next, for instance, notes the phone’s Notification Center feature that collects all of your updates in one place, takes “a page right out of Android’s playbook.”
Finally, there’s the issue of call reception, a bugaboo that has plagued past iPhone models. Apple claims that the model’s two antennas will help that solve the issue. Topolsky wrote that it may have helped. “In my testing, I did seem to be getting more bars more consistently, though it’s tough to say if it made any big difference in terms of call quality.”
Mossberg, however, didn’t see any change, especially if on AT&T. “My AT&T model dropped too many calls, just as earlier AT&T iPhones do,” he writes. “My colleague’s Verizon iPhone 4S dropped none.”
Below you can find CBS’s hands on segment with the new phone. Stay tuned in the coming days for Mashable‘s take on the new iPhone 4S.
Wall Street Journal tech columnist Walter S. Mossberg, for instance, notes the iPhone 4S “isn’t a dramatic game-changer like some previous iPhones.” For that reason, Mossberg recommends that iPhone 4 users don’t rush to upgrade, but download the new iOS instead. “But owners of older iPhone models, or those with basic phones, will find this latest iPhone a pleasure and a good value.”
Though Mossberg praises the phone’s “brilliant new camera” and “faster, 4G-class download speeds,” he dubs Siri, the voice-recognizing personal assistant, the “standout feature.” Siri “isn’t perfect, and is labeled a beta, but it has great potential and worked pretty well for me, despite some glitches,” he writes.
The New York Times‘s David Pogue, meanwhile, was also captivated by Siri, though he notes its similarities to Dragon Dictation, a free iOS app. “Apple won’t admit that it’s using a version of Dragon Dictation,” he writes, adding that Siri “is infinitely better, though, because it’s a built-in keyboard button, not a separate app.”
Pogue was also enamored with the 4S’s built-in camera, which delivers photos that are “crisp and clear, with beautiful color.” Though it lacks a zoom and has only a tiny LED flash, he says “this phone comes dangerously close to displacing a $200 point-and-shoot digital camera.”
In The Guardian, Stephen Fry gushed about Siri, the camera and the phone’s ability to offer service in various parts of the world. “Siri, the high quality and ultra-fast camera, 30 fps 1080p HD video, globally available voice recognition and the introduction of two antennae (the phone seamlessly switches between whichever is getting the strongest signal) are features that make the 4S irresistible,” he writes. Like Mossberg, he advises iPhone 4 owners who are “tired of the upgrade race” to download iOS 5 instead of buying the 4S.
On the downside, many reviewers also unfavorably compared the iPhone 4S to Android competitors and noted Apple lagged in some Android features. Joshua Topolsky at This is My Next, for instance, notes the phone’s Notification Center feature that collects all of your updates in one place, takes “a page right out of Android’s playbook.”
Finally, there’s the issue of call reception, a bugaboo that has plagued past iPhone models. Apple claims that the model’s two antennas will help that solve the issue. Topolsky wrote that it may have helped. “In my testing, I did seem to be getting more bars more consistently, though it’s tough to say if it made any big difference in terms of call quality.”
Mossberg, however, didn’t see any change, especially if on AT&T. “My AT&T model dropped too many calls, just as earlier AT&T iPhones do,” he writes. “My colleague’s Verizon iPhone 4S dropped none.”
Below you can find CBS’s hands on segment with the new phone. Stay tuned in the coming days for Mashable‘s take on the new iPhone 4S.
Color
White
Black
----------------------------
Capacity1
16GB
32GB
64GB
----------------------------
Price2
$199 $299 $399
----------------------------
Size and Weight3
Height: 4.5 inches (115.2 mm)
Width: 2.31 inches (58.6 mm)
Depth: 0.37 inch (9.3 mm)
Weight: 4.9 ounces (140 grams)
----------------------------
Cellular and Wireless
World phone
UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz);
GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
CDMA EV-DO Rev. A (800, 1900 MHz)4
802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi (802.11n 2.4GHz only)
Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology
Location
----------------------------
Assisted GPS and GLONASS
Digital compass
Wi-Fi
Cellular
Display
----------------------------
Retina display
3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen Multi-Touch display
960-by-640-pixel resolution at 326 ppi
800:1 contrast ratio (typical)
500 cd/m2 max brightness (typical)
Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating on front and back
Support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously
Camera, Photos, and Video
----------------------------
8-megapixel camera
Autofocus
Tap to focus
Face detection in still images
LED flash
Video recording, HD (1080p) up to 30 frames per second with audio
Video stabilization
Front camera with VGA-quality photos and video at up to 30 frames per second
Photo and video geotagging
External Buttons and Connectors
External Buttons and Controls
----------------------------
Connectors and Input/Output
Power and Battery5
Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery
Charging via USB to computer system or power adapter
Talk time: Up to 8 hours on 3G, up to 14 hours on 2G (GSM)
Standby time: Up to 200 hours
Internet use: Up to 6 hours on 3G, up to 9 hours on Wi-Fi
Video playback: Up to 10 hours
Audio playback: Up to 40 hours
Audio Playback
Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000Hz
Audio formats supported: AAC (8 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), HE-AAC, MP3 (8 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX, and AAX+), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV
User-configurable maximum volume limit
TV and Video
AirPlay Mirroring to Apple TV support at 720p
Video mirroring and video out support: Up to 1080p with Apple Digital AV Adapter or Apple VGA Adapter (adapters sold separately)
Video out support at 576p and 480p with Apple Component AV Cable; 576i and 480i with Apple Composite AV Cable (cables sold separately)
Video formats supported: H.264 video up to 1080p, 30 frames per second, High Profile level 4.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280 by 720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in .avi file format
----------------------------
Headphones
Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic
Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000Hz
Impedance: 32 ohms
----------------------------
Mail Attachment Support
Viewable Document Types
.jpg, .tiff, .gif (images); .doc and .docx (Microsoft Word); .htm and .html (web pages); .key (Keynote); .numbers (Numbers); .pages (Pages); .pdf (Preview and Adobe Acrobat); .ppt and .pptx (Microsoft PowerPoint); .txt (text); .rtf (rich text format); .vcf (contact information); .xls and .xlsx (Microsoft Excel)
Sensors
Three-axis gyro
Accelerometer
Proximity sensor
Ambient light sensor
System Requirements
Apple ID (required for some features)
Internet access6
Syncing with iTunes on a Mac or PC requires:
Mac: OS X v10.5.8 or later
PC: Windows 7; Windows Vista; or Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 3 or later
iTunes 10.5 or later (free download from www.itunes.com/download)
Environmental Requirements
Operating temperature: 32° to 95° F (0° to 35° C)
Nonoperating temperature: −4° to 113° F (−20° to 45° C)
Relative humidity: 5% to 95% noncondensing
Maximum operating altitude: 10,000 feet (3000 m)
Languages
Language Support
English (U.S.), English (UK), Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Arabic, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazil), Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese
----------------------------
Keyboard Support
English (U.S.), English (UK), Chinese - Simplified (Handwriting, Pinyin, Wubihua), Chinese - Traditional (Handwriting, Pinyin, Zhuyin, Cangjie, Wubihua), French, French (Canadian), French (Switzerland), German (Germany), German (Switzerland), Italian, Japanese (Romaji, Kana), Korean, Spanish, Arabic, Bulgarian, Catalan, Cherokee, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Emoji, Estonian, Finnish, Flemish, Greek, Hawaiian, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazil), Romanian, Russian, Serbian (Cyrillic/Latin), Slovak, Swedish, Thai, Tibetan, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese
Dictionary Support (enables predictive text and autocorrect)
English (U.S.), English (UK), Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), French, French (Canadian), French (Switzerland), German, Italian, Japanese (Romaji, Kana), Korean, Spanish, Arabic, Catalan, Cherokee, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, Flemish, Greek, Hawaiian, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazil), Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese
Siri Languages
English (U.S., UK, and Australian), French, German
In the Box
iPhone 4S
Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic
Dock Connector to USB Cable
USB Power Adapter
DocumentationMonday, October 17, 2011
Mobile SEO is a Myth
I hate the term “Mobile SEO.” What exactly is it? Besides being a buzzword thrown around at every conference, seminar, and new business pitch it’s a topic that nobody seems able to accurately explain. Google it; the results are all over the place. In a perfect world, there would be no need for mobile SEO at all.
It’s an emerging topic that, thanks to smart phones, is dying off quicker than it emerges.
Like most buzz words though, I don’t think the concept of mobile SEO is going to go away anytime soon.
So if we’re stuck with it, we might as well attempt to do it right – by not really doing anything mobile specific at all.
For starters, we need to stop confusing the terms mobile and local. While related, they are very different things – especially when it comes to SEO. It is true that local search is mostly done on mobile phones, but it does not mean mobile and local SEO are the same thing. They are not and that is where the industry confusion comes in.
When people say mobile SEO they usually mean local SEO. Sometimes they actually mean search results on a mobile phone. Most of the time though, they have no idea what they mean and are simply trying to shift their paradigm and leverage as many buzzwords as they can to help synergize their sales pitch. (see how successful that is?)
So let’s clarify:
Mobile Search refers to search done on a mobile device. That’s it.
Local Search deals with results specific to a location. This usually also includes place pages, maps, and other things that help augment local search.
Part of what helps sustain the mobile search myth is this whole multi-screen concept that is somehow gaining popularity. If you look hard enough you’ll find studies that show mobile phone users use their devices differently than tablet users who use their devices differently than ordinary computer users. I’m recalling a presentation I once sat through where somebody in a cheap suit defined 1st screen, 2nd screen, 3rd screen, 4th screen, and 5th screen and how we should have a strategy for all of them. That type of thinking achieves billable hours but not results.
The whole “multiple screens need multiple sites” theory just doesn’t make sense. We have never designed separate TV commercials for 13″ CRT screens and 70″ plasmas – even though people watching them are usually in very different places/situations. When it comes to viewing a website, my 10″ tablet isn’t much different than my 13″ laptop. Sure it does not support flash, but that is not a reason to design a different site – it is just a reason to learn HTML5.
Mobile screens are nothing more than smaller computer screens. There are some minor differences now, but look at how fast phones are evolving; within a year or so there won’t be any difference at all. With browsers (like IE6) there came a time when we collectively decided to stop supporting old technology. That time for mobile sites is now. In the 90’s we designed websites for various resolutions. Today we use fluid layouts. It is time we apply the same approach to mobile.
The best Mobile SEO strategy is to not have a mobile SEO strategy.
Apple does not have a mobile strategy and they practically invented the modern mobile device. Apple.com is a great example of how to handle mobile site design. Apple shows the exact same site to mobile and “wired” visitors. It is even on the same URL. Sure, there’s probably a different style sheet involved, but that’s it. The experience is the SAME.
Even better, since it is the exact same URL they only have one site to optimize. All of the SEO work they have done to their wired site also applies to their mobile site – because they’re the same thing! They do not need a mobile search strategy because they do not technically have a mobile site.
It is not just Apple either. Google does the same thing, only the little promos below the search box change.
This is a best case scenario though, and various technical decisions made in the past might not make it applicable to everybody.
If you really MUST have a different site, use device detection and canonical tags.
Creating a separate site can open you up to all kinds of SEO problems. Having two different domains with similar content is something most SEOs strive to avoid. The last thing you want to do is create a mobile version of a site that competes with your existing site in search. Luckily, there are several ways to avoid this.
If you can’t go with using the same domain then the next best choice is m.yourdomain.com It does not really provide any SEO benefit, but “m” has sort of become the industry standard. In a best case scenario you would be able to keep all of the URLs exactly the same except for the “m.” subdomain. That way, at least it will keep things simple for users.
Remember when I said the best mobile strategy is no mobile strategy? The trick is to leverage device detection and canonicals so that your “wired” site is always shown in search results regardless of what device the searcher uses. As John Mu from Google describes the best thing to do is to slap a canonical tag on that mobile site and point it back to your wired site.
Using this strategy, search engines will always show the wired version of the site in results, but users will be taken to the proper “canonical version” that best fits their device. It is also a good idea to include a link to the full version just in case.
If you truly want a different experience, build an app.
I can hear your argument now: “a mobile device is a different experience. It has got a touch screen!” So what? We are talking about a web browser here. Touch screen, trackpad, mouse, joystick – they are all just methods of pointing and clicking. My art director on the 2nd floor uses a pad and stylus and he has not once asked for his own version of a website. If you really want to use the device’s capabilities you don’t need a mobile website – you need an app.
If you want something that is really native to a device, an app is definitely the way to go. Apps can access multi-touch features, rich media, in app purchases, gps, camera, and other aspects to provide a truly unique experience that a website cannot. But don’t just stop there. Use that same device detection to show an interstitial on your mobile site advertising the app. How is that for leveraging pre-existing SEO? Let your site’s pre-established authority work for your mobile version and help you sell apps!
TL;DR
* The best mobile strategy is to create a site that works on all devices.
* Otherwise use m.yourdomain.com, device detection to redirect (both ways) and canonical tags.
* Always provide a link for me to switch to the full version.
* If you want a true “device experience” then create an app.
* Stop saying “mobile SEO” when you mean “Local SEO”
It’s an emerging topic that, thanks to smart phones, is dying off quicker than it emerges.
Like most buzz words though, I don’t think the concept of mobile SEO is going to go away anytime soon.
So if we’re stuck with it, we might as well attempt to do it right – by not really doing anything mobile specific at all.
For starters, we need to stop confusing the terms mobile and local. While related, they are very different things – especially when it comes to SEO. It is true that local search is mostly done on mobile phones, but it does not mean mobile and local SEO are the same thing. They are not and that is where the industry confusion comes in.
When people say mobile SEO they usually mean local SEO. Sometimes they actually mean search results on a mobile phone. Most of the time though, they have no idea what they mean and are simply trying to shift their paradigm and leverage as many buzzwords as they can to help synergize their sales pitch. (see how successful that is?)
So let’s clarify:
Mobile Search refers to search done on a mobile device. That’s it.
Local Search deals with results specific to a location. This usually also includes place pages, maps, and other things that help augment local search.
Part of what helps sustain the mobile search myth is this whole multi-screen concept that is somehow gaining popularity. If you look hard enough you’ll find studies that show mobile phone users use their devices differently than tablet users who use their devices differently than ordinary computer users. I’m recalling a presentation I once sat through where somebody in a cheap suit defined 1st screen, 2nd screen, 3rd screen, 4th screen, and 5th screen and how we should have a strategy for all of them. That type of thinking achieves billable hours but not results.
The whole “multiple screens need multiple sites” theory just doesn’t make sense. We have never designed separate TV commercials for 13″ CRT screens and 70″ plasmas – even though people watching them are usually in very different places/situations. When it comes to viewing a website, my 10″ tablet isn’t much different than my 13″ laptop. Sure it does not support flash, but that is not a reason to design a different site – it is just a reason to learn HTML5.
Mobile screens are nothing more than smaller computer screens. There are some minor differences now, but look at how fast phones are evolving; within a year or so there won’t be any difference at all. With browsers (like IE6) there came a time when we collectively decided to stop supporting old technology. That time for mobile sites is now. In the 90’s we designed websites for various resolutions. Today we use fluid layouts. It is time we apply the same approach to mobile.
The best Mobile SEO strategy is to not have a mobile SEO strategy.
Apple does not have a mobile strategy and they practically invented the modern mobile device. Apple.com is a great example of how to handle mobile site design. Apple shows the exact same site to mobile and “wired” visitors. It is even on the same URL. Sure, there’s probably a different style sheet involved, but that’s it. The experience is the SAME.
Even better, since it is the exact same URL they only have one site to optimize. All of the SEO work they have done to their wired site also applies to their mobile site – because they’re the same thing! They do not need a mobile search strategy because they do not technically have a mobile site.
It is not just Apple either. Google does the same thing, only the little promos below the search box change.
This is a best case scenario though, and various technical decisions made in the past might not make it applicable to everybody.
If you really MUST have a different site, use device detection and canonical tags.
Creating a separate site can open you up to all kinds of SEO problems. Having two different domains with similar content is something most SEOs strive to avoid. The last thing you want to do is create a mobile version of a site that competes with your existing site in search. Luckily, there are several ways to avoid this.
If you can’t go with using the same domain then the next best choice is m.yourdomain.com It does not really provide any SEO benefit, but “m” has sort of become the industry standard. In a best case scenario you would be able to keep all of the URLs exactly the same except for the “m.” subdomain. That way, at least it will keep things simple for users.
Remember when I said the best mobile strategy is no mobile strategy? The trick is to leverage device detection and canonicals so that your “wired” site is always shown in search results regardless of what device the searcher uses. As John Mu from Google describes the best thing to do is to slap a canonical tag on that mobile site and point it back to your wired site.
Using this strategy, search engines will always show the wired version of the site in results, but users will be taken to the proper “canonical version” that best fits their device. It is also a good idea to include a link to the full version just in case.
If you truly want a different experience, build an app.
I can hear your argument now: “a mobile device is a different experience. It has got a touch screen!” So what? We are talking about a web browser here. Touch screen, trackpad, mouse, joystick – they are all just methods of pointing and clicking. My art director on the 2nd floor uses a pad and stylus and he has not once asked for his own version of a website. If you really want to use the device’s capabilities you don’t need a mobile website – you need an app.
If you want something that is really native to a device, an app is definitely the way to go. Apps can access multi-touch features, rich media, in app purchases, gps, camera, and other aspects to provide a truly unique experience that a website cannot. But don’t just stop there. Use that same device detection to show an interstitial on your mobile site advertising the app. How is that for leveraging pre-existing SEO? Let your site’s pre-established authority work for your mobile version and help you sell apps!
TL;DR
* The best mobile strategy is to create a site that works on all devices.
* Otherwise use m.yourdomain.com, device detection to redirect (both ways) and canonical tags.
* Always provide a link for me to switch to the full version.
* If you want a true “device experience” then create an app.
* Stop saying “mobile SEO” when you mean “Local SEO”
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Delicious unveiled new version of social bookmark,called it stack
Best one bookmarking platform Delicious owner Avos has unveiled new version of social bookmark, features like new revamped hompage, interface back-end architecture and create stack which have designed to make Delicious easier to use.
The new feature ‘Create stack‘ is noticeable which allows you to add bunch of links having custom images, titles, descriptions and comments for each link which can be shared with friends and can be followed by anyone. Avos (Delicious team) call it ‘playlists for the web’
Step to create stack
1 Signup or Login to Delicious
2 Click on Create stack
Fill the information
Title your stack
Write a description
Add links
Submit
After completion follow people.
Check my stack for more information
Information Technology News
Other small changes like tagging is now treated with multiple words for instance ‘social Media’ by separating comma instead of ‘Socialmedia’. The new delicious also supports now profile picture which looks more personable bookmarks.
Alright now its time to review the new revamped delicious. I read some tweets about new delicious found most of the negative feedback. But I personally like the new design and new ‘Create Stack’ feature however, I created new stack for previous bookmarked links it doesn’t load proper images and titles for each link.
Check my stack for more information
Information Technology News
Friday, October 7, 2011
Make Money By Uploading Your Video At YouTube?
BBC News recently reported that YouTube was working on an ad revenue sharing program that will allow video uploaders to get a share of the ad revenue. The exact date has not been decided but the program rollout could begin as quickly as within the next couple of months.
This program could enable video creators to make money each time their videos are watched on YouTube. This idea is not new, other video sharing sites such as Revver already split advertising revenues with their users.
One of the options considered is to show the audience of YouTube video a short advert of three seconds length. I would imagine most users would be more tolerant with this arrangement as compare to the industry standard of 15 to 30 seconds ads.
I also imagine the advertisers would prefer longer time slots and perhaps the ability to have their sponsored message appeared at the end of the video clip where users can click to go to their website.
Then there’s another option they could consider, which is to allow video uploaders the chance to upload their video and “tag” it with their AdSense publisher ID to allow them to make money form AdSense.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Information technology news | Technology news | Business Technology
In recent times, Information technology has emerged as the driving force behind the entire economy. The processes of doing business have all been simplified by the use of technology. Judging by the sheer importance of communication in any business setting, it is very important for any current business man or a potential business man to be well versed with the latest technology news.
Talking of Information technology news, we have to narrow down our target to the latest technology news and particularly the latest information and communication gadgets in the market. It would be impossible to talk technology without the mention of great communication gadgets such as iphones and ipads. These gadgets have brought an unmatched revolution in the communication and the entire business sector. It is therefore no wonder that the media is overflowing with iphone news amidst other similar gadgets.
Having carefully evaluated the trends in the business world very accurately, manufacturers of technology equipment have carefully designed the iphone with an aim of trying to capture the demands of the market in terms of communication and entertainment services conveniently combined. it is for this reason that the iphone news seams to be rocking both the communication as well as entertainment industries.
Getting the right information and at the right time is always a vital part of success in any business that you take part in. with this reality in mind, it is important for all players in the industry to try and keep their eyes and ears always open for the latest technology news. In this respect however, we must acknowledge the difficulty of gathering all he important and latest technology news since you cannot be every where as things happen. This is not to say that you should give up. Instead all you need to do is identify a few reputable sources of technology news from where you can always log in and get all the iphone news and any other breaking technology news within the shortest time possible.
There are lots of such sites on the web where you can always get the latest technology news at the click of your mouse. One such site is techinfospotlight.com which takes pride in having some of the latest iphone news and a list of information researchers who work round the clock to bring you all the latest technology news in one single package at your convenience.
For people who are in the business of selling or maintenance of technology related stuff, it is vital to keep abreast with the latest trends as well as being able to foresee the coming trends so that you do not get caught unawares when the market changes towards a particular item. By checking for constant updates on the technology news websites, you can go along way in judging the market’s reaction to certain products and with the information, you can adjust your business plans.
Technology news is released almost every other day as the Technology manufacturers strive to outdo each other in the market. With the major players in the communication industry introducing new brands of equipment on a daily basis, it is important to always catch up with the latest Technology news if you expect to stay ahead of your competition. It is nonetheless worth noting that the latest technology news is not only vital for players in the sale of Technology and other technology gadgets but to the consumers as well.
Business Technology(Information Technology News)
No1technews providing comprehensive information about Latest Advertising News,Information Technology News, Technology News Updates, Technology Current Events, Computer Technology, Business Technology and Latest Advertising News.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
31 Online Resources for Better Writing
Here are 31 online resources to help you improve your writing and become a better writer.
No matter what kind of writing you are doing, whether you are a journalist or an entertainment blogger, a student who has to write an essay or someone who wants to become a screenwriter, there are sites on the Internet that can help you out with your writing.
improve writingHere we have compiled a list of great sites that will help you with your writing, whether it is your career or you are just doing it for fun. These 31 useful sites have been divided into five different categories of tools and resources that you may need as a writer. Have a look at what we came up with.
Organize Yourself
1. Evernote - Evernote can help you keep track of all your writing notes, ideas and interesting articles. It is a multi-platform web application with which you can bookmark websites, clip a portion of website, take and organize notes, snap a picture and much more.
2. Ubernote - Ubernote is another note taking web application which makes it very easy to organize writing your writing ideas.
3. Clipmarks - Clipmarks is a useful web widget and browser plugin that lets you quickly clip and save webpages online.
4. Bubbl.us - This is a great tool for those who like to think visually and offers great mind-mapping devices for those who like to organize their thoughts graphically.
5. Wisemapping - Wisemapping is a great mind-mapping and brainstorming web application.
Writing Aids
6. Windows Live Writer - If you are a blogger you’ll love Windows Live Writer because it allows you to publish to any blogging platform.
7. Plagiarism Checker - If you are a web writer, this tool is handy to use to detect plagiarism.
8. AutoCrit - This site can automatically identify weak words and structures in your writing once you have entered in your text. It is like having your own virtual critic.
9. Visuwords - Visuwords is an online graphical dictionary to find word meanings and associations with other words and concepts.
10. Wordcounter - Another virtual critic or editor, this site identifies words that you use often and makes you put more variety into your writing.
11. Creative Writing Games - On this website you have couple of creative writing games which can help you with inspiration.
12. FocusWriter - FocusWriter helps you focus better on your writing. It creates a distraction free environment.
13. Q10 - This is a text editor which helps you concentrate on your writing and avoid unnecessary distractions.
14. Phras.in - If you are not sure how to say something, or you are having a dilemma between two expressions you can check how many times each of them has been mentioned online.
15. Tip of my tongue - This tool can help you to find out which word it at the tip of your tongue.
Grammar
16. Grammarly - Grammarly is an online tool which helps you with your grammar. Unfortunately, it’s not free but there is a 7 day trial.
17. Grammar Girl - This site is very easy to use and provides short and fun tips to improve your writing. It highlights common grammar mistakes that people make.
18. Grammar and Style - This site offers a nice list of grammatical rules and explanations that will help people who are having trouble grasping the basic and advances rules of writing.
19. Oxford dictionaries - Oxford dictionaries website offers excellent advice on grammar and better writing.
Dictionaries
20. Cambridge Dictionaries - One of the ultimate printed dictionaries offers an online version for all to use for free.
21. Dictionary.com - This dictionary is based on the famous Roget’s Dictionary and through this site you have quick access to Thesaurus.com as well.
22. Merriam-Webster.com - The online version of one of the most well-known and most used print dictionary.
23. UrbanDictionary.com - This is the ultimate dictionary if you are looking for slang and want to write pieces in modern vernaculars that you might not be completely familiar with.
24. The Free Dictionary - This website allows you to make your own personalized dictionary homepage and is one of the most used online dictionaries.
25. Synonym Finder - If you keep repeating the same words in your writing, this website can help you to find more appropriate synonyms.
26. Synonyms - One of the most comprehensive collections of synonyms on the Internet.
27. Idiom Dictionary - This dictionary has an excellent collection of idioms.
Social Networking
28. GoodReads - A great social network if you are interested in getting the opinions of other on the books they have read, form a book club, join discussions and much more.
29. Shelfari - This site is a book recommendation site, but you can join various book communities and learn a lot from readers’ comments.
30. Red Room - Red Room is a community for both aspiring and professional writers, readers, journalists and publishers.
31. Writing - A social network for authors that gives you a good community of writers, readers and editors to communicate with daily.
Guest author Janice Blythe is a regular writer for Cometdocs, a free online document conversion service. Read our guestblogging guidelines.
No matter what kind of writing you are doing, whether you are a journalist or an entertainment blogger, a student who has to write an essay or someone who wants to become a screenwriter, there are sites on the Internet that can help you out with your writing.
improve writingHere we have compiled a list of great sites that will help you with your writing, whether it is your career or you are just doing it for fun. These 31 useful sites have been divided into five different categories of tools and resources that you may need as a writer. Have a look at what we came up with.
Organize Yourself
1. Evernote - Evernote can help you keep track of all your writing notes, ideas and interesting articles. It is a multi-platform web application with which you can bookmark websites, clip a portion of website, take and organize notes, snap a picture and much more.
2. Ubernote - Ubernote is another note taking web application which makes it very easy to organize writing your writing ideas.
3. Clipmarks - Clipmarks is a useful web widget and browser plugin that lets you quickly clip and save webpages online.
4. Bubbl.us - This is a great tool for those who like to think visually and offers great mind-mapping devices for those who like to organize their thoughts graphically.
5. Wisemapping - Wisemapping is a great mind-mapping and brainstorming web application.
Writing Aids
6. Windows Live Writer - If you are a blogger you’ll love Windows Live Writer because it allows you to publish to any blogging platform.
7. Plagiarism Checker - If you are a web writer, this tool is handy to use to detect plagiarism.
8. AutoCrit - This site can automatically identify weak words and structures in your writing once you have entered in your text. It is like having your own virtual critic.
9. Visuwords - Visuwords is an online graphical dictionary to find word meanings and associations with other words and concepts.
10. Wordcounter - Another virtual critic or editor, this site identifies words that you use often and makes you put more variety into your writing.
11. Creative Writing Games - On this website you have couple of creative writing games which can help you with inspiration.
12. FocusWriter - FocusWriter helps you focus better on your writing. It creates a distraction free environment.
13. Q10 - This is a text editor which helps you concentrate on your writing and avoid unnecessary distractions.
14. Phras.in - If you are not sure how to say something, or you are having a dilemma between two expressions you can check how many times each of them has been mentioned online.
15. Tip of my tongue - This tool can help you to find out which word it at the tip of your tongue.
Grammar
16. Grammarly - Grammarly is an online tool which helps you with your grammar. Unfortunately, it’s not free but there is a 7 day trial.
17. Grammar Girl - This site is very easy to use and provides short and fun tips to improve your writing. It highlights common grammar mistakes that people make.
18. Grammar and Style - This site offers a nice list of grammatical rules and explanations that will help people who are having trouble grasping the basic and advances rules of writing.
19. Oxford dictionaries - Oxford dictionaries website offers excellent advice on grammar and better writing.
Dictionaries
20. Cambridge Dictionaries - One of the ultimate printed dictionaries offers an online version for all to use for free.
21. Dictionary.com - This dictionary is based on the famous Roget’s Dictionary and through this site you have quick access to Thesaurus.com as well.
22. Merriam-Webster.com - The online version of one of the most well-known and most used print dictionary.
23. UrbanDictionary.com - This is the ultimate dictionary if you are looking for slang and want to write pieces in modern vernaculars that you might not be completely familiar with.
24. The Free Dictionary - This website allows you to make your own personalized dictionary homepage and is one of the most used online dictionaries.
25. Synonym Finder - If you keep repeating the same words in your writing, this website can help you to find more appropriate synonyms.
26. Synonyms - One of the most comprehensive collections of synonyms on the Internet.
27. Idiom Dictionary - This dictionary has an excellent collection of idioms.
Social Networking
28. GoodReads - A great social network if you are interested in getting the opinions of other on the books they have read, form a book club, join discussions and much more.
29. Shelfari - This site is a book recommendation site, but you can join various book communities and learn a lot from readers’ comments.
30. Red Room - Red Room is a community for both aspiring and professional writers, readers, journalists and publishers.
31. Writing - A social network for authors that gives you a good community of writers, readers and editors to communicate with daily.
Guest author Janice Blythe is a regular writer for Cometdocs, a free online document conversion service. Read our guestblogging guidelines.
4 Best Sites to Listen Free Hindi Music, Bollywood Songs Online
Want to listen to free Hindi bollywood songs online? Which are the best sites to listen free Hindi music online. There are many sites which stream hindi music online in high quality, but here are our best picks for Hindi music lovers online.
Listen Hindi Bollywood Songs Online
Gaana.com Music
Gaana – this is my favorite site right now to listen to high quality hindi songs online. It has a very professional interface, and the navigation neatly changes on the same page without popups and excessive ads. The music controls align neatly at the unobtrusive bottom music bar. Choose the latest Hindi songs and albums and easily browse and play music. I now always keep it open in a browser tab. If you need one site, this is our #1 choice right now.
Google Music
Google Music India - Google India music channel combines the power of music search and clean interface to stream high quality Hindi music online. Search by keywords and get all the music albums and Hindi songs neatly arranged. The music player opens in a small pop up window. Enjoy the clean Google Music interface and play Hindi songs online for free.
Dhingana Bollywood Music
Dhingana – is another very popular site to listen Hindi songs online. It features a vast archive and the latest music albums and Hindi songs. Choose your songs and create a playlist to play your favorite music online. The music players pops up in new large window, is ad heavy, and displays most wanted songs, and top playlists. Play popular hindi songs and create smartlists to share with friends.
Saavn hindi music
Saavn – A nice site to find Hindi music and listen latest Bollywood songs free online. The interface is clean and the player is also inline on the right side of the screen. No pop ups or jazzy ads. Search for your favorite songs and easily navigate by singer and playlists. Incidently it also powers Google India Music.
Other notable mentions and popular music sites you might like are Dishant, Raaga, and In.com. Let us know your favorite Hindi music sites in comments.
Listen Hindi Bollywood Songs Online
Gaana.com Music
Gaana – this is my favorite site right now to listen to high quality hindi songs online. It has a very professional interface, and the navigation neatly changes on the same page without popups and excessive ads. The music controls align neatly at the unobtrusive bottom music bar. Choose the latest Hindi songs and albums and easily browse and play music. I now always keep it open in a browser tab. If you need one site, this is our #1 choice right now.
Google Music
Google Music India - Google India music channel combines the power of music search and clean interface to stream high quality Hindi music online. Search by keywords and get all the music albums and Hindi songs neatly arranged. The music player opens in a small pop up window. Enjoy the clean Google Music interface and play Hindi songs online for free.
Dhingana Bollywood Music
Saavn hindi music
Other notable mentions and popular music sites you might like are Dishant, Raaga, and In.com. Let us know your favorite Hindi music sites in comments.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Twitter unveils web traffic analytics
Twitter today unveiled a web analytics service that keeps track of how much traffic Twitter is delivering to a site.
The service also shows how many page views a website generates for each Tweet. That includes re-Tweets and replies on the site. The service also keeps track of where the Tweets came from — whether they were custom-made or published through the Tweet button that sites embed on their pages. Twitter’s web analytics also has a leaderboard, where the most tweeted links show up at the top of the list.
It’s a lightweight analytics service that isn’t designed to compete with more in-depth analytics delivered by companies like Google, Twitter director of web business development April Underwood (pictured right) said. But the company has been toying with ways to make it easier for sites to keep track of traffic coming from Twitter.
Part of that effort was creating the “t.co” wrapper for each Tweet, which shows up as a source in traffic analytics programs. Around 95 percent of all tweets show up as links from “t.co” in analytics services, she said. But Twitter was not satisfied with that and wanted to develop more in-depth analytics.
“We know our partners use third-party analytics tools that go way beyond what we’re offering today,” Underwood said. “So we’re going to release an application programming interface (API) that will make their dashboards stronger.”
The product is still in private beta, but it should come out in the next several weeks.
It’s a lightweight analytics service that isn’t designed to compete with more in-depth analytics delivered by companies like Google, Twitter director of web business development April Underwood (pictured right) said. But the company has been toying with ways to make it easier for sites to keep track of traffic coming from Twitter.
Part of that effort was creating the “t.co” wrapper for each Tweet, which shows up as a source in traffic analytics programs. Around 95 percent of all tweets show up as links from “t.co” in analytics services, she said. But Twitter was not satisfied with that and wanted to develop more in-depth analytics.
“We know our partners use third-party analytics tools that go way beyond what we’re offering today,” Underwood said. “So we’re going to release an application programming interface (API) that will make their dashboards stronger.”
The product is still in private beta, but it should come out in the next several weeks.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Google Acquires Restaurant Rating Service Zagat
Tech giant Google has announced it will acquire the highly-regarded travel and food rating service Zagat.
According to a post on the official Google blog, the company will provide access to Google Maps and search to Zagat services as well as use Zagat's reviews and other content to beef up their local offerings.
"With Zagat, we gain a world-class team that has more experience in consumer based-surveys, recommendations and reviews than anyone else in the industry," says Marissa Mayer, Google's vice president of Local, Maps and Location Services, in the post.
Zagat was founded in 1979, and has grown to become one of the most trusted resources for reviews on restaurants, hotels and other attractions.
"The merger of our resources, expertise and platforms with those of Google will give us the opportunity to greatly expand," reads a statement from Zagat co-founders Nina and Tim Zagat. "We have spent enough time with Google senior management to know that they fully share our belief in user-generated content, and our commitment to accuracy and fairness in providing consumers with the information necessary to make smart decisions about where to eat, travel and shop."
Along with Maps, Google also offers the social-based Places where users can rate and share businesses.
According to a post on the official Google blog, the company will provide access to Google Maps and search to Zagat services as well as use Zagat's reviews and other content to beef up their local offerings.
"With Zagat, we gain a world-class team that has more experience in consumer based-surveys, recommendations and reviews than anyone else in the industry," says Marissa Mayer, Google's vice president of Local, Maps and Location Services, in the post.
Zagat was founded in 1979, and has grown to become one of the most trusted resources for reviews on restaurants, hotels and other attractions.
"The merger of our resources, expertise and platforms with those of Google will give us the opportunity to greatly expand," reads a statement from Zagat co-founders Nina and Tim Zagat. "We have spent enough time with Google senior management to know that they fully share our belief in user-generated content, and our commitment to accuracy and fairness in providing consumers with the information necessary to make smart decisions about where to eat, travel and shop."
Along with Maps, Google also offers the social-based Places where users can rate and share businesses.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
BlackBerry PlayBook Sale: Prices Crash by $150
Best Buy has again taken the lead for a new BlackBerry PlayBook sale, dropping prices by $150 on the 64GB model! After the HP Touchpad sale, it seems tablets are not selling as expected and stock inventories are rising, while Apple iPad stays the favorite.
BlackBerry PlayBook Sale
Best Buy Prices reveal that BlackBerry PlayBook 16GB sells for $449 ($50 discount) while 64GB tablet sells for $549 ($150 discount)
blackberry playbook sale
Of course this is over 20% off, but still does not compare to the $99 HP Touchpad sales. Blackberry Playbook on Amazon is still selling for the usual high prices.
Compare that to the Apple iPad which sells the 64GB model for $699 or the 32GB for $599, and you now both the Blackberry Playbook models are $150 cheaper than iPad! Will you buy the BlackBerry PlayBook at this price?
BlackBerry PlayBook Sale
Best Buy Prices reveal that BlackBerry PlayBook 16GB sells for $449 ($50 discount) while 64GB tablet sells for $549 ($150 discount)
blackberry playbook sale
Of course this is over 20% off, but still does not compare to the $99 HP Touchpad sales. Blackberry Playbook on Amazon is still selling for the usual high prices.
Compare that to the Apple iPad which sells the 64GB model for $699 or the 32GB for $599, and you now both the Blackberry Playbook models are $150 cheaper than iPad! Will you buy the BlackBerry PlayBook at this price?
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Samsung Unveils Galaxy Tab 7.7 Android Honeycomb Tablet
New 7-inch Honeycomb tablet is first with A high-resolution Super AMOLED Plus display.
New 7-inch Honeycomb tablet is first with A high-resolution Super AMOLED Plus display.
Samsung today launched the successor to its original Galaxy Tab tablet, one year after first showing off the 7-inch Galaxy Tab at last year’s IFA trade show in Berlin. That Samsung would refresh that initial model, and bring its naming convention more in line with the other tablets in the company’s lineup (the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Galaxy Tab 8.9) was predictable. That Samsung would include a Super AMOLED Plus display on such a large screen was less of a given, but no less welcome.
A year ago, some observers had theorized that Samsung might include an AMOLED display on its first Galaxy Tab. But the company didn't show off its 7-inch Super AMOLED Plus display technology until November 2010. The panels—actually 7.7 inches—went into mass production in August 2011, so the use of Super AMOLED Plus makes total sense for the next-generation 7-inch-class Tab.
The display brings the benefits of Super AMOLED Plus (bright display, vibrant colors) together with a sharp resolution—1280 by 800 pixels. That makes it the highest-resolution display on a tablet we’ve seen. So far.
The Tab’s introduction today, as with the Samsung Note, was a worldwide unveiling. As of now, according to Samsung, there are no plans for it to come to the U.S. market. That said, fall CTIA isn’t far away—and I fully expect we will have news coming from Samsung about Tab 7.7’s U.S. availability just in time for the final holiday shopping crunch.
The Tab 7.7 packs a 1.4GHz dual-core processor (no word on the type of CPU) and Android 3.2v Honeycomb (not clear what the “v” stands for on the spec sheet, though this does include Samsung’s TouchWiz UX interface). Like Samsung’s other Galaxy Tab introductions this year, the 7.7 distinguishes itself with its slim and sleek design. The Tab 7.7 measures 7.89 millimeters thin, or 0.31 inch, practically two-tenths of an inch less than the original Galaxy Tab’s depth.
Another less touted, but notable inclusion: Universal Remote Control functionality, so you can control your home entertainment system components directly from the tablet. (Presumably this capability uses a built-in IR blaster, but that wasn’t stated on the available spec information.) After trying out a URC on the new Sony Tablet S, I’m convinced this will be one of the must-have features for a tablet going forward.
The connectivity options in this model are strong. The Tab 7.7 supports HSPA+ 21mbps networks, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n (on both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands), and Wi-Fi Channel Bonding for improved Wi-Fi performance. As announced in this worldwide version, the Tab 7.7, like the original Tab, supports voice calls. Assuming the 7.7 comes stateside, though, I would expect we’d lose the voice capability, just as we did on the original Tab. (Memo to U.S. carriers: Some consumers actually want their tablet to be capable of acting as their phone, too.)
Samsung says the Tab 7.7’s 5100 mAh battery will provide up to 10 hours of video playback.
The unit will come in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB capacities, with a microSD card slot on board for up to 32GB of files. The cautious language of Samsung’s press release indicates a dangerous trend forming, though. The company specifies the microSD card slot is for “direct media files transfer” only, something that Sony did with its Tablet S as well. I don’t like this trend one bit: Consumers are used to card slots supplementing their storage, not being used solely as a transfer mechanism.
Clearly, with this announcement, as well as the recent release of the Acer Iconia A100 and others, the 7-inch-tablet market has a new lease on life. Now all we need is Samsung’s release timing and pricing, which I expect we’ll hear more about by October.
Clearly, with this announcement, as well as the recent release of the Acer Iconia A100 and others, the 7-inch-tablet market has a new lease on life. Now all we need is Samsung’s release timing and pricing, which I expect we’ll hear more about by October.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Wacom’s Inkling Captures What You Draw On Paper Digitally
Wacom has announced a pretty amazing product today, the Inkling.
Wacom has announced a pretty amazing product today, the Inkling. This so-called Digital Sketch Pen allows you to capture whatever you draw or write on a sketchbook or any kind of paper in digital form, “stroke by stroke”. Just insert a sheet of paper or a notebook into the receiver, use the Inkling Digital Pen and transfer your works to your computer to refine themdigitally anytime later.
Wacom says that Inkling even lets users create layers in the digital file while sketching on paper, with the push of a button.
Works can be stored as JPEG, BMP, TIFF, PNG, SVG and PDF files for use with any kind of application that supports these formats. The Inkling offers direct transfers to Photoshop, Illustrator, and Autodesk Sketchbook Pro/Designer.
Wacom says that Inkling even lets users create layers in the digital file while sketching on paper, with the push of a button.
Works can be stored as JPEG, BMP, TIFF, PNG, SVG and PDF files for use with any kind of application that supports these formats. The Inkling offers direct transfers to Photoshop, Illustrator, and Autodesk Sketchbook Pro/Designer.
Wacom plans to start selling the Inkling worldwide in the next few weeks. In the US, it will be available in “mid-September” for an MSRP of US$199.99, according to the company website.
I am not really an expert in this field, but I am pretty sure this thing will fly off the shelve
I am not really an expert in this field, but I am pretty sure this thing will fly off the shelve
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Google+ Verified Profiles for Celebrities, Public Figures
Google+ is now rolling out Google+ verified profiles with verification badges for public figures, celebrities, and people added to a large number of Circles. Though Google+ is still planning to develop a way to extend this to the public at large, if you are in enough Google+ circles, you might get a verified Google+ profile soon.
A new tick icon is appearing besides Google+ verified profiles, and if you move your mouse over the tick, it expands to reveal Verified name. I see a lot of top bloggers, Googlers, celebrities have already got the verified badge. Much like verified Twitter profiles, people are more comfortable adding a real celebrity, who has been verified, rather than adding a fake celebrity fan account.
How can you get a verified Google+ profile? - as of now, if you are popular enough, in thousands of Google+ circles, chances are Google will verify you faster.
A new tick icon is appearing besides Google+ verified profiles, and if you move your mouse over the tick, it expands to reveal Verified name. I see a lot of top bloggers, Googlers, celebrities have already got the verified badge. Much like verified Twitter profiles, people are more comfortable adding a real celebrity, who has been verified, rather than adding a fake celebrity fan account.
Report: Apple Preparing New Mac Line
Apple's Mac line offers products for a variety of uses, ranging from lightweight notebooks to powerful desktop towers, but according to Japanese site Macotakara, a brand new Mac product is on its way.
By way of a rough translation, the site reports:
"According to anonymous source in Asian supplier company, Apple seems to be preparing project to release new Mac line-up which is absolutely different from current products until end of this year."
"Though this source does not told in detail, this new Mac line seems to be clearly different products from current ones, so new product name could be given."
The resulting product may mean a number of things, although recent reports of a MacBook Air Pro come to mind. Given, a revised version of current laptops isn't exactly "clearly different," but the actual meaning may be lost in translation.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Bing-Yahoo Search Alliance Gains U.S. Market Share
Microsoft launched its search engine Bing back in 2009. Since then it has been pumping cash into its online search division in the hopes that it may be able to snatch some market share from Google and tap into the lucrative search business.
Web search and advertising account for the majority of Google’s stock that we estimate is worth an intrinsic value of about $192 billion, and so it is little surprise that Microsoft wants to get a piece of the search action as well. Moreover its deal with Yahoo is bearing fruit as ComScore data suggests that Bing now powers nearly a third of all U.S. searches once you combine Yahoo and Bing together.
We have a $28 price estimate for Microsoft and estimate that Bing accounts for around 5% of its value. Our price estimate is about 10% ahead of the market price.
Bing-Yahoo Alliance Gaining
Bing has been growing at a steady pace in the U.S. market. ComScore released some figures this week that suggests that while Bing’s market share remained relatively flat at 14.4%, Yahoo’s market share increased by 0.2% to 16%. Google’s market share decreased from 65.5% to 65.1%. [1]
Since Yahoo’s search engine is powered by Bing, this brings Bing’s total U.S. marketshare to 30.5%, which is almost half of Google’s market share.
While it’s making inroads in the U.S. search market, it hasn’t been able to make much of a dent in the global search market. It still serves only around 4% of the global search market compared to Google that can brag about its 80% share. Bing did score a major victory in its deal to power the English search results for Baidu – the popular Chinese search engine.
Is it Worth it?
While Bing’s efforts have been quite successful, have they been worth it?
Microsoft incurred losses of $2.6 billion in the online division in the fiscal year ended June 30th and lost $728 million last quarter alone. It has been bleeding cash for almost 22 consecutive quarters now, with no signs that it will ever improve. Despite spending so much, data suggests that Bing hasn’t gained market share from Google but instead from other players like Yahoo, Ask and AOL.
Web search and advertising account for the majority of Google’s stock that we estimate is worth an intrinsic value of about $192 billion, and so it is little surprise that Microsoft wants to get a piece of the search action as well. Moreover its deal with Yahoo is bearing fruit as ComScore data suggests that Bing now powers nearly a third of all U.S. searches once you combine Yahoo and Bing together.
We have a $28 price estimate for Microsoft and estimate that Bing accounts for around 5% of its value. Our price estimate is about 10% ahead of the market price.
Bing-Yahoo Alliance Gaining
Bing has been growing at a steady pace in the U.S. market. ComScore released some figures this week that suggests that while Bing’s market share remained relatively flat at 14.4%, Yahoo’s market share increased by 0.2% to 16%. Google’s market share decreased from 65.5% to 65.1%. [1]
Since Yahoo’s search engine is powered by Bing, this brings Bing’s total U.S. marketshare to 30.5%, which is almost half of Google’s market share.
While it’s making inroads in the U.S. search market, it hasn’t been able to make much of a dent in the global search market. It still serves only around 4% of the global search market compared to Google that can brag about its 80% share. Bing did score a major victory in its deal to power the English search results for Baidu – the popular Chinese search engine.
Is it Worth it?
While Bing’s efforts have been quite successful, have they been worth it?
Microsoft incurred losses of $2.6 billion in the online division in the fiscal year ended June 30th and lost $728 million last quarter alone. It has been bleeding cash for almost 22 consecutive quarters now, with no signs that it will ever improve. Despite spending so much, data suggests that Bing hasn’t gained market share from Google but instead from other players like Yahoo, Ask and AOL.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
The Guru Guide to Keyword Research
Here is my guide to Keyword Research. If you’ve been hanging around the internet-marketing space for any length of time, you probably understand the importance of keyword research already. The topic has been written about frequently in the the past, however, much of the information that’s available is not very in-depth or too vague to take any real action on.
SEO booksIn this post, I want to break down the process of creating an initial keyword list, the specific criteria I use to evaluate a keyword, and provide some basic tools to get started with your research. Ready? Let’s go.
SEO booksIn this post, I want to break down the process of creating an initial keyword list, the specific criteria I use to evaluate a keyword, and provide some basic tools to get started with your research. Ready? Let’s go.
Getting Started
Whenever you’re about to get started with keyword research you’ll want to open up an Excel spreadsheet to help analyze the data. You don’t need to create anything fancy. Just add the following column titles into your spreadsheet:
Keyword / Search / Volume / Competition / Searcher / Intent
The information you enter into the above for columns will serve as an aid to help evaluate keywords later. Next step, time to starting looking for keywords.
Whenever you’re about to get started with keyword research you’ll want to open up an Excel spreadsheet to help analyze the data. You don’t need to create anything fancy. Just add the following column titles into your spreadsheet:
Keyword / Search / Volume / Competition / Searcher / Intent
The information you enter into the above for columns will serve as an aid to help evaluate keywords later. Next step, time to starting looking for keywords.
How to find Keywords
Typically, I use three techniques to start researching keywords:
1. Industry: Start typing a big list of the keywords you think would be relevant to the niche your getting into. This includes technical phrases, jargon, or branded keywords that people might use to discover website about your topic.
Typically, I use three techniques to start researching keywords:
1. Industry: Start typing a big list of the keywords you think would be relevant to the niche your getting into. This includes technical phrases, jargon, or branded keywords that people might use to discover website about your topic.
2. Competitors: Make a list of 4 – 5 websites that sell similar products or services to you. Reviewing the title tags of competitors websites is a great way to quickly learn what keywords other businesses are targeting and profiting from. A great tool called SEMRush can also be used to speed up the competitive research process.
3. Tools: There are about a thousand different keyword research tools online, but the ones I use the most frequently are the Keyword Tool in Google Adwords and Wordtracker.
Don’t forget to copy and paste all the keywords you’ve found into the Keyword column of your spreadsheet.
How to Evaluate Keywords
There are three metrics I always evaluate to help determine whether or not I want to go after a particular keyword phrase. They are….
1. Volume: Are there enough people actually searching for the particular product or service you’re trying to sell? If not, it might be wise to re-evaluate the market you’re planning to enter. But how do you know when there is enough volume?
This number will depend on who you ask of course. However, I like to use affiliate marketing master Andrew Hansen’s advice to go after keywords with at least 1,000 exact match searches per month according to Google’s Keyword Tool. In my opinion, this is a really solid base line.
This doesn’t mean that you won’t still need to develop content that targets the long tail as well, however, you should set the goal of targeting high-volume, high-conversion search phrases as a longterm goal.
There are three metrics I always evaluate to help determine whether or not I want to go after a particular keyword phrase. They are….
1. Volume: Are there enough people actually searching for the particular product or service you’re trying to sell? If not, it might be wise to re-evaluate the market you’re planning to enter. But how do you know when there is enough volume?
This number will depend on who you ask of course. However, I like to use affiliate marketing master Andrew Hansen’s advice to go after keywords with at least 1,000 exact match searches per month according to Google’s Keyword Tool. In my opinion, this is a really solid base line.
This doesn’t mean that you won’t still need to develop content that targets the long tail as well, however, you should set the goal of targeting high-volume, high-conversion search phrases as a longterm goal.
2. Searcher Intent: Are you able to provide a solution to the searchers exact query at the precise time they need it? If so, does this keyword suggest any sort of commercial intent?
A deep understanding of the searcher intent behind each of your keywords is critical. Sometimes searcher intent is straight forward. However, it can also become more complex when keywords have multiple meanings.
For example, consider the thousands of variations of searcher intent that include the keyword “insurance.” Potential searcher intent could include insurance for home owners, life, cars, boats, motorcycles, trucks, discount, or free quote related phrases just to name a few.
Bottom line: Get to know what searchers want when entering a website through your keyword. Even if it is more than one thing.
Bottom line: Get to know what searchers want when entering a website through your keyword. Even if it is more than one thing.
3. Competitiveness: No matter how great of an SEO or internet marketer you are, there are just some keywords that are too competitive to even consider entering the fray. These types of keywords are dominated by large companies with substantial advertising budgets and resources that you probably don’t have.
One quick way find out whether or not your keywords are too competitive is to check the backlink profile of the top five ranking websites in Google for keyword(s) you’re considering. If the websites listed at the top of the SERPs are on domains with thousands of unique linking domains this is cause for concern. Consider going after longtail search phrases first or consider a less competitive market.
Tools of the Trade
When you’re conducting keyword research knowing the tools of the trade helps. Fortunately, most of the keyword research tools I use are free or have free limited access versions.
Here are a handful of tools that can come in handy in the discovery and evaluation of a keyword for your website:
* Google Adwords Keyword Tool: In my opinion this is the best and most accurate keyword tool available in your keyword research toolbelt. Nobody has got more data than Google and best of all the tool is totally free.
When you’re conducting keyword research knowing the tools of the trade helps. Fortunately, most of the keyword research tools I use are free or have free limited access versions.
Here are a handful of tools that can come in handy in the discovery and evaluation of a keyword for your website:
* Google Adwords Keyword Tool: In my opinion this is the best and most accurate keyword tool available in your keyword research toolbelt. Nobody has got more data than Google and best of all the tool is totally free.
* OpenSiteExplorer.org: This is the industry standard back-link analysis tool. This tool can help you identify how many inbound links you’ll need to develop to compete with top domains in your market. You’ll also find the anchor text competitors are using to build back links
* SEMRush: Looking at the organic and paid search keywords of your competition allows you to gain insight into potentially lucrative keywords. This tool let’s you examine keywords being targeted on the organic and paid side within the same tool.
* Wordtracker: This is my second favorite keyword research tool.
* Excel Spreadsheet: It’s tough to do good keyword research and analysis without the old reliable spreadsheet.
Wrapping it all up…. So there you have it. How to find and evaluate keywords, along with the tools you’ll need to get it done. Any other questions? I’ll be happy to respond in the comments.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Internet Explorer is best at protecting against drive-by downloads
Microsoft's browser thoroughly outclassed all of its competitors in NSS Labs' tests
Internet Explorer is better at defending against drive-by downloads than competitors' browsers and the contest isn't even close, according to a worldwide test of browsers by security research firm NSS Labs.
Internet Explorer scored a 99.2 percent protection score in the firm's most recent test of socially engineered malware distribution, with Google Chrome coming in a distant second with 13.2 percent.
[ The Web browser is your portal to the world -- as well as the conduit that lets in many security threats. InfoWorld's expert contributors show you how to secure your Web browsers in this "Web Browser Security Deep Dive" PDF guide. ]
Trailing behind it were Safari and Firefox tying with 7.6 percent each, and Opera pulling up last with 6.1 percent.
THREAT: Social networking security threats taken too lightly
NSS tried to access URLs known to download malware to computers used by site visitors and kept track of whether browser protections warned or blocked against these sites using in-the-cloud databases of known malicious sites.
The report, "Web Browser Security, Socially Engineered Malware Protection," credits Microsoft's SmartScreen URL and Application Reputation features with landing the big score.
NSS tested Internet Explorer 9, Chrome 12, Opera 11, Firefox 4, and Safari 5 during 14 days, May 27 through June 10.
The test included 1,188 URLs that NSS had verified contained malware, and an average of 86 new ones were added each day.
Chrome's score represents a big improvement over its performance in last year's test when it scored just 3 percent. Firefox lost ground against last year's test when its score was 19 percent.
As soon as NSS discovered new malicious URLs, they were added to the test, then NSS measured how long it took the browsers to recognize them as such, only recording the calculation if the browser actually recognized a URL as malicious. If it never recognized a given malicious site, it wasn't used in the calculation.
Internet Explorer blocked sites on average within .56 hours. Safari was second with 4.9 hours, then Firefox (6.07 hours), Chrome (17.64 hours) and Opera (18.39 hours).
Chrome, Firefox and Safari all use the same data feed of malicious URLs -- Google's Safe Browsing, which explains why their overall protection ratings are similar, the report says. Supporting this notion is that results for the three browsers rose and fell in unison over time.
The testers noted that Opera would detect a malicious site sometimes, but later would miss it. That could be attributed to the fact that in some cases the warning that a site was malicious would pop up after the malware had already downloaded or even downloaded and executed, the report says.
In general, users are four times more likely to be socially engineered into downloading malware than they are to fall victim to a software exploit.
Internet Explorer is better at defending against drive-by downloads than competitors' browsers and the contest isn't even close, according to a worldwide test of browsers by security research firm NSS Labs.
Internet Explorer scored a 99.2 percent protection score in the firm's most recent test of socially engineered malware distribution, with Google Chrome coming in a distant second with 13.2 percent.
[ The Web browser is your portal to the world -- as well as the conduit that lets in many security threats. InfoWorld's expert contributors show you how to secure your Web browsers in this "Web Browser Security Deep Dive" PDF guide. ]
Trailing behind it were Safari and Firefox tying with 7.6 percent each, and Opera pulling up last with 6.1 percent.
THREAT: Social networking security threats taken too lightly
NSS tried to access URLs known to download malware to computers used by site visitors and kept track of whether browser protections warned or blocked against these sites using in-the-cloud databases of known malicious sites.
The report, "Web Browser Security, Socially Engineered Malware Protection," credits Microsoft's SmartScreen URL and Application Reputation features with landing the big score.
NSS tested Internet Explorer 9, Chrome 12, Opera 11, Firefox 4, and Safari 5 during 14 days, May 27 through June 10.
The test included 1,188 URLs that NSS had verified contained malware, and an average of 86 new ones were added each day.
Chrome's score represents a big improvement over its performance in last year's test when it scored just 3 percent. Firefox lost ground against last year's test when its score was 19 percent.
As soon as NSS discovered new malicious URLs, they were added to the test, then NSS measured how long it took the browsers to recognize them as such, only recording the calculation if the browser actually recognized a URL as malicious. If it never recognized a given malicious site, it wasn't used in the calculation.
Internet Explorer blocked sites on average within .56 hours. Safari was second with 4.9 hours, then Firefox (6.07 hours), Chrome (17.64 hours) and Opera (18.39 hours).
Chrome, Firefox and Safari all use the same data feed of malicious URLs -- Google's Safe Browsing, which explains why their overall protection ratings are similar, the report says. Supporting this notion is that results for the three browsers rose and fell in unison over time.
The testers noted that Opera would detect a malicious site sometimes, but later would miss it. That could be attributed to the fact that in some cases the warning that a site was malicious would pop up after the malware had already downloaded or even downloaded and executed, the report says.
In general, users are four times more likely to be socially engineered into downloading malware than they are to fall victim to a software exploit.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Current Twitter Limits
The current technical limits for accounts are:
* Direct Messages: 250 per day.
* Updates: 1,000 per day. The daily update limit is further broken down into smaller limits for semi-hourly intervals. Retweets are counted as updates.
* Changes to Account Email: 4 per hour.
* Following (daily): Please note that this is a technical account limit only, and there are additional rules prohibiting aggressive following behavior. You can find detailed page describing following limits and prohibited behavior on the Follow Limits and Best Practices Page. The technical follow limit is 1,000 per day.
* Following (account-based): Once an account is following 2,000 other users, additional follow attempts are limited by account-specific ratios. The Follow Limits and Best Practices Page has more information.
These limits include actions from all devices including web, mobile, phone, API, etc. API requests from all third-party applications are tracked against the hourly API limit. People who use multiple third-party applications with their account will therefore reach the API limit more quickly. For more information on this topic, please see our API Rate Limiting Page.
These limits may be temporarily reduced during periods of heavy site usage. In such cases, we will post an update at the Twitter Status blog.
What happens if I hit a limit?
If you do reach a limit, we'll let you know with an error message telling you which limit you've hit. For limits that are time-based (like the DM Messages, Update, Changes to Account Email, and API Requests Limits), you'll be able to try again after the time has elapsed.
The Update Limit of 1,000 updates per day is further broken down into semi-hourly intervals. If you hit your account update limit, please try again in a few hours after the limit-period has elapsed.
Having Trouble?
* Direct Messages: 250 per day.
* Updates: 1,000 per day. The daily update limit is further broken down into smaller limits for semi-hourly intervals. Retweets are counted as updates.
* Changes to Account Email: 4 per hour.
* Following (daily): Please note that this is a technical account limit only, and there are additional rules prohibiting aggressive following behavior. You can find detailed page describing following limits and prohibited behavior on the Follow Limits and Best Practices Page. The technical follow limit is 1,000 per day.
* Following (account-based): Once an account is following 2,000 other users, additional follow attempts are limited by account-specific ratios. The Follow Limits and Best Practices Page has more information.
These limits include actions from all devices including web, mobile, phone, API, etc. API requests from all third-party applications are tracked against the hourly API limit. People who use multiple third-party applications with their account will therefore reach the API limit more quickly. For more information on this topic, please see our API Rate Limiting Page.
These limits may be temporarily reduced during periods of heavy site usage. In such cases, we will post an update at the Twitter Status blog.
What happens if I hit a limit?
If you do reach a limit, we'll let you know with an error message telling you which limit you've hit. For limits that are time-based (like the DM Messages, Update, Changes to Account Email, and API Requests Limits), you'll be able to try again after the time has elapsed.
The Update Limit of 1,000 updates per day is further broken down into semi-hourly intervals. If you hit your account update limit, please try again in a few hours after the limit-period has elapsed.
Having Trouble?
Twitter Adds Favourite, Retweet and Activity Tab
Today, we’re rolling out two new features on Twitter.com that help you discover more on Twitter. You can now see when someone favorites or retweets one of your Tweets. You can also learn which Tweets are most interesting and inspiring to the people you follow.
The first new feature offers a simple way to see what's happening on Twitter in relation to you. Just click on the new tab with your @username, and you’ll be able to see which of your Tweets are Favorites, plus the latest Retweets (of your Tweets), Tweets directed to you, and your new Followers.
The other new feature is the Activity tab. It provides a rich new source of discovery by highlighting the latest Favorites, Retweets, and Follows from the people you follow on Twitter – all in one place. It’s easier than ever to explore Twitter, connect with people, and discover what’s happening around the world.
The first new feature offers a simple way to see what's happening on Twitter in relation to you. Just click on the new tab with your @username, and you’ll be able to see which of your Tweets are Favorites, plus the latest Retweets (of your Tweets), Tweets directed to you, and your new Followers.
The other new feature is the Activity tab. It provides a rich new source of discovery by highlighting the latest Favorites, Retweets, and Follows from the people you follow on Twitter – all in one place. It’s easier than ever to explore Twitter, connect with people, and discover what’s happening around the world.
Purpose Code Mandatory for PayPal India Users to Receive Money
Paypal India users now need to add purpose code to receive and withdraw money to India banks. In an email, Paypal has pointed out to an acccount upgrade wherein Purpose Code is mandatory requirement now to keep your Paypal account active to recieve money.
Purpose Code Mandatory
A year back the purpose code was introduced and was only required when you needed to withdraw money to your bank account. Recently, Paypal India made it compulsory for Indian users to add the 3 requirements to withdraw money.
1. PAN or Permanent Account Number
2. Purpose Code
3. Bank account in India.
Many users fail to use the purpose code. But now you need to enter the purpose code also in order to continue recieving funds. This is to comply with RBI guidelines in India in order to receive export-related payments into your Paypal account and withdraw money. The Paypal FAQ clearly state that “Your account will be limited from receiving payments, in case you fail to do so.”
Auto-withdrawal to Bank Accounts
Remember as per recent Paypal restrictions, PayPal users in India are not allowed to hold money in their PayPal account as balance. Instead, all payments received into your PayPal account must be withdrawn to your linked bank account in India. So what if you don’t withdraw the money?
The FAQ reveals that now your funds will be auto withdrawn to your bank account in India, but that requires PAN, Purpose code and Bank Account. Once your data is complete, Paypal can transfer money to your bank account automatically to comply with Indian regulatory requirements.
Monday, August 8, 2011
How to Enable Instant Pages on Google Chrome Browser
Activate and enable Instant Pages on your Google Chrome Browser. The latest stable release of Google Chrome browser comes powered with Instant Pages, which means when you type a term in the Google url bar, instant search results will preview below.
Also while you are typing your favorite domain name, Google chrome is already displaying the website in the browser … as you type. The web just became much faster.
How to Activate Instant Pages
1. Get the latest release of the Google Chrome browser. Go to Settings spanner icon on the top right > About Google Chrome and it will check and auto-update to the latest version, which is Chrome 13+ right now. Only the latest version supports Instant Pages built in, so you need to get the latest stable release to get Instant Pages to work. You will need to restart the browser to start the new version.
2. Activate Google Instant – Go again to the spanner icon in top right > Options > Basics and tick the option to enable Instant for faster searching and browsing. And FYI the box is called the omnibox.
A popup alert reminds you that search engines may be logging these search queries.
3. Activate prediction services – Go to spanner icon > Options > Under the hood > Tick the Predict network actions to improve page load performance
instant pages prediction
Now when you type a keyword, the search results already appear. Google also preloads the first result, so as you click the link, the site loads instantly. Google just made the web a lot faster and you will never choose any other browser.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Google Adsense Enlarges First Ad for More Clicks
Google Adsense is enlarging text of the first ad in all ad unit sizes to increase visibility to get more clicks. This test is visible as we browse around websites, most Adsense ads show the first ad text slightly enlarged. Usually Adsense publishers can choose the ad text size, but this time the first ad text is being automatically enlarged in all ad units.
See the ad units below and see the first ad is enlarged
in all the ad units.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)