FTC Do-Not-Track: feasibility is just fine, consumers are smarter than advertisers think, and consumers will win - http://bit.ly/giPfIN
Monday, December 06, 2010
Why Is The WikiLeaks Twitter Account Only Following TweetBackup?
Why Is The WikiLeaks Twitter Account Only Following TweetBackup?
Perhaps WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is wondering the same thing. Which would explain why only account @WikiLeaks is following at the moment is @TweetBackup, a service that allows you to back up your tweets daily.
Tweetbackup, run by Backupify, requires that you follow it in order to use it, which means that Assange has no other choice but to follow if he wants Tweetbackup to preserve his tweets in case of a takedown.
It’s interesting to note that by some kind of default Assange, who has all eyes on him at the moment, is basically advertising one service and coincidentally one that protects your Twitter data in cases of deletion. I’ve contacted Twitter as to whether they would take down the @WikiLeaks account under any circumstances and have yet to hear back.
In the meantime TweetBackup representative Charlie Ungashick tells TechCrunch that they haven’t tried to DM Assange, despite being the only people in the world who have the power to do so. I’m amazed at their powers of resistance and/or indifference.
Twitter Goes After Twittersearch.com
Twitter Goes After Twittersearch.com
Twitter late last week filed a UDRP complaint, notably its first ever since the company was founded, in an effort to obtain ownership over the (currently parked) domain name twittersearch.com – as you can see here.
Obviously, Twitter is right to do this, since the domain is likely to cause some confusion, although we should note Twitter hasn’t managed to secure a trademark for the term ‘twitter’ in the United States so far, despite multiple attempts.
Update: my bad, they haven’t had any success in getting a trademark on the word ‘tweet’, but they do own the ‘twitter’ trademark.
Twitter of course has a popular search product that bears the obvious name Twitter Search, so I’d do the exact same thing if I were them.
That said, they took their sweet time to make the move – twittersearch.com was first registered back in March 2007.
A quick WHOIS search reveals that the owner of the contested domain name has opted to hide his or her identity, and the domain name is currently inactive, leading to a placeholder page riddled with ads.
Next up, twitter-search.com?
Update 2: DomainNameWire on ‘Why Twitter Singled Out TwitterSearch.com’. Also, the owner is apparently Popvox, the same company that’s behind TwitterVision.com.
Information provided by CrunchBase
AVG 2011 Update Crashes 64-bit Windows 7 PCs; Here's a Quick Fix [Fixes]
AVG 2011 Update Crashes 64-bit Windows 7 PCs; Here's a Quick Fix [Fixes]
If you use the popular AVG Free as your anti-malware app of choice, an update to the 2011 version of the application has bricked 64-bit Windows 7 machines. If you're running Windows 7 64-bit and use AVG, you might want to hold off on the update; if you've already updated and are experiencing this problem, AVG offers this quick fix. [Slashdot]
How to Get the Flash 10.2 Beta Working in Google Chrome [Flash]
How to Get the Flash 10.2 Beta Working in Google Chrome [Flash]
Even after installing the 10.2 beta, Chrome will default to its built-in version of Flash, even though it detects the 10.2 beta just fine. To use the beta instead of the stable version, open up Chrome and type about:plugins in the address bar. Hit the "Details" button in the upper-right hand corner, and under "Flash" you should see two different plugins—one in Chrome's folder, and one elsewhere (see above). Hit Disable under the one located in Chrome's folder, and close out of the plugins window. To see if it worked, you can try watching Adobe's Stage Video demo.
If it works, you're using the beta. If it tells you to install the beta, go back to about:plugins and make sure you've disabled the correct plugin. Once you get the beta working, you should notice Flash hogs less of your CPU, and can play videos in full screen on one monitor while you work on the other!
Note that using the Flash beta likely disables Chrome's new sandboxing abilities in the Dev channel, so you have to choose which is more important to you.
How-To: Disable Chrome's Built-In Flash to Use a Flash Beta Release [Download Squad]
Edmodo Is a Social Network for Teachers and Students [Education]
Edmodo Is a Social Network for Teachers and Students [Education]
Edmodo is a teaching tool modeled after social networks with a focus on communication and not merely distribution of information from the teacher and grade reporting—although you can certainly use those functions easily enough. As an educator you can share files, links, assignments, and grades as well as issue alerts and updates, dialogue with your students on a Facebook-like wall, survey your students, and manage map out your class syllabus on a public calendar. As a student you can contact your instructors directly, message other students, interact in the public discussion spaces, and even access Edmodo from your mobile phone via their mobile-optimized page to check assignments and more.
Edmodo is a free service. Visit the link below to sign up and test it out or read a detailed breakdown of the teacher and student features here.
Add Google Docs to the Windows "New" Document Context Menu [Google Docs]
Add Google Docs to the Windows "New" Document Context Menu [Google Docs]
How-to and technology blog How-To Geek has a detailed writeup on adding Google Document types to your "New" right-click context menu. They've prepacked a registry mod (one for installing and uninstalling) and accompanying files like the Google Docs icons. Visit the link below and grab the installation package then follow along with their screenshot-heavy guide to install it.
Why Did NASA Create a Material Ten Times Blacker than the Blackest Black Paint? [Astronomy]
Why Did NASA Create a Material Ten Times Blacker than the Blackest Black Paint? [Astronomy]
Once it goes through some manufacturing fine-tuning, the new material will be used to coat the guts of cameras and telescopes in space. Right now, these instruments use NASA's Z306 paint, a pitch black painting that reduces photon contamination by absorbing errant light. According to NASA, this light "has a funny way of ricocheting off instrument components and contaminating measurements."
But Z306 is not black enough: 40% of the data captured by space cameras is unusable because of light contamination. With the new blacker than black coating, this is what will happen:
The new material absorbs 99.5 of the light in the tiny gaps between the tubes, practically eliminating the problem. The material is close to final production, and NASA is looking into using it in ORCA, "the Ocean Radiometer for Carbon Assessment, a next-generation instrument that is designed to measure marine photosynthesis." [NASA]
Nexus S shows off its camera, video recording abilities
Nexus S shows off its camera, video recording abilities
[Thanks, Anonymous]
Continue reading Nexus S shows off its camera, video recording abilities
Nexus S shows off its camera, video recording abilities originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Dec 2010 12:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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FTC says it's talking to Adobe about the problem with 'Flash cookies'
FTC says it's talking to Adobe about the problem with 'Flash cookies'
We've already heard that the Federal Trade Commission is pushing for a "do not track" button of sorts to stop cookies from watching your every move, but it looks like it isn't stopping at the usual, non-edible definiton of a "cookie." Speaking at a press conference on Friday, FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz also dropped the rather interesting tidbit that it's been talking with Adobe about what it describes as "the Flash problem." As Paid Content reports, newly-appointed FTC Chief Technologist Ed Felten later clarified that the problem in question is actually so-called "Flash cookies," or what Adobe describes as "local shared objects." As Felten explained, those can also be used for tracking purposes, but they usually aren't affected by the privacy controls in web browsers -- Chrome is one notable exception. For it's part, Adobe says that Flash's local shared objects were never designed for tracking purposes, and that it has repeatedly condemned such practices -- the company also added that it would support "any industry initiative to foster clear, meaningful and persistent choice regarding online tracking." [Image courtesy dopefly dot com]
FTC says it's talking to Adobe about the problem with 'Flash cookies' originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Dec 2010 23:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Droid Pro dropped to $50 on contract by Best Buy Mobile (update: $20 at Amazon)
Droid Pro dropped to $50 on contract by Best Buy Mobile (update: $20 at Amazon)
[Thanks, Tony]
Update: Amazon.com is undercutting Best Buy with a $19.99 price for those opening new Verizon accounts when buying the Droid Pro.
Droid Pro dropped to $50 on contract by Best Buy Mobile (update: $20 at Amazon) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 05 Dec 2010 14:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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I4U | Best Buy Mobile | Email this | Comments
Frontal Concepts' Infuse iPod nano watch strap wins imaginary design award, our hearts
Frontal Concepts' Infuse iPod nano watch strap wins imaginary design award, our hearts
Frontal Concepts' Infuse iPod nano watch strap wins imaginary design award, our hearts originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 05 Dec 2010 16:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Micron embeds error correction in flash memory chips, calls it ClearNAND
Micron embeds error correction in flash memory chips, calls it ClearNAND
Continue reading Micron embeds error correction in flash memory chips, calls it ClearNAND
Micron embeds error correction in flash memory chips, calls it ClearNAND originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 05 Dec 2010 18:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink ! ;PhysOrg | Micron | Email this | Comments
NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M refreshes mobile graphics midrange, starts up 500M series
NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M refreshes mobile graphics midrange, starts up 500M series
Uh oh, just as we thought NVIDIA had moved beyond its penchant for rebadging hardware, here comes the vanguard of its 500M mobile GPU series -- which happens to be specced nearly identically to what's already on offer in the 400M family. The GT 540M chip maintains the same 96 CUDA cores and 128-bit memory interface as the GT 435M, but earns its new livery by cranking up graphics and processor clock speeds to 672MHz and 1344MHz, respectively, while also taking the onboard memory to a max speed of 900MHz. Power requirements have been kept unchanged, mind you, and NVIDIA itself admits it's exploiting the maturation of the production process to just throw out some speedier parts. China gets the GT 540M immediately, courtesy of Acer, while the rest of the world should be able to buy in at some point next month. Jump past the break for the full press release.Continue reading NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M refreshes mobile graphics midrange, starts up 500M series
NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M refreshes mobile graphics midrange, starts up 500M series originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 05 Dec 2010 22:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | CommentsKinect turned into a quadrocopter radar (video)
Kinect turned into a quadrocopter radar (video)
[Thanks, Glen]
Continue reading Kinect turned into a quadrocopter radar (video)
Kinect turned into a quadrocopter radar (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Dec 2010 01:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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