Google Launches Voice and Video Chat Inside Gmail [Video Chat]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/b7ExS8gmlL8/google-launches-voice-and-video-chat-inside-gmail

Today Google starts rolling out voice and video chat inside Gmail—which requires a free browser plug-in download, and, obviously, a webcam or microphone. Googler Justin Uberti explains:

Once you install the plug-in, to start a video chat, just click on the "Video & more" menu at the bottom of your Gmail chat window, and choose "Start video chat." You'll have a few seconds to make sure you look presentable while it's ringing, and then you'll see and hear your friend live, right from within Gmail. You can click the "pop-out" icon to make the video larger, or click the fullscreen icon in the upper left-hand corner for a fully immersive experience.

Check out the new video chat in action in the video below.

Video isn't yet enabled in my account, but the Googlers say rollout is happening gradually over the next two days, to vanilla Gmail as well as Google Apps accounts, for Mac and Windows. What's your favorite webcam model and video chat service? How does Gmail's video chat stack up? Let us know in the comments.

Say hello to Gmail voice and video chat [Official Gmail Blog]

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Gobby Makes Cross-Platform Collaboration a Breeze [Featured Download]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/yA5a39CzOCA/gobby-makes-cross+platform-collaboration-a-breeze

Windows/Mac/Linux: Gobby is a free, cross-platform collaboration tool that makes it easy to collaborate on text documents over the internet with anyone. Every time you start a session with Gobby, you choose a highlight color that Gobby uses to indicate which sections of the text are being edited by which users. Gobby works like a charm for any text document, but with support for syntax highlighting, it really shines for collaboratively editing source code. It's not quite as simple to get started with as something like Google Docs—for example, you'll need to be able to send other collaborators your IP address—but it's an incredible tool in its own right. In fact, it's the collaboration tool that Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth told us he uses.

Gobby [via MakeUseOf]

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Ordering Pizza Hut From Your Facebook Page? It's on the Way

Source: http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=132322

Fast-Food Chains Experiment With Takeout/Delivery Services Via Social Networks and IPhone Applications

By Emily Bryson York 

Published: November 10, 2008

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- A number of fast-food chains are reaching across the digital divide to get young consumers to order via Facebook or their iPhones. And they're building valuable databases of their customers in the process.

Pizza Hut is launching a free-download promotion with eMusic.com.

Pizza Hut, which recently crossed the $1 billion benchmark in online sales, is launching a Facebook application that allows fans to place orders without leaving their profiles. Although online ordering isn't new -- the chain has offered it in some form since 2001 -- Bob Kraut, VP-marketing communications at Pizza Hut, said the bulk of that $1 billion in sales has come in the past 18 months. The chain is also launching text-ordering capabilities and e-gift cards, which can be purchased, exchanged and redeemed online. 

Pizza Hut's not alone: A number of the nation's biggest fast-food chains are beginning to embrace text and iPhone ordering capabilities, at least as tests.

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Gmail Now With Voice Chat and Video [Google]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/jVe8PUFu8UY/gmail-now-with-voice-chat-and-video

Google just added voice and video chat capabilities to Gmail, the perennially in beta web mail program. It uses a special web browser plug-in available for PC and Mac, which requires Firefox, IE, Chrome, and a camera. The plug-in only weights 2MB.

For now there's no video support in Google Chat, but you will be able to access this from the web browser, with the capability to tear the video chat into a separate window. According to Google spokesman Jason Freidenfelds, the idea is to make it "quicker and easier to communicate with other people by whatever means is best convenient." Which of course really means "easy to access video sex from any computer". [Reuters and Cnet]

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3M MPro110 Handheld Mobile Projector: Lightning Review [Review]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/-_I6kosaDCQ/3m-mpro110-handheld-mobile-projector-lightning-review

The Gadget: 3M's pocket-friendly MPro110 projector packs a sizeable screen into a tiny, battery-powered package. It's mainly for fast-moving business types, but could it also be an alternative to buying a 40-inch TV?

The Price: $350

The Verdict: I am in love with the concept, and this little LCOS-based 640x480 projector does some amazing things given its size and resolution. But even understanding its limitations, it still has some major build-quality issues that prevent it from true awesomeness.

As a portable projector for still presentations and videos alike, it has its strengths and weaknesses. It powers up easily, connects to composite and VGA sources (including component if you have the right cable adapters), and never gets so hot you can't touch it. It's got a tripod screw like most cameras, so you can easily position it where you want to. 3M doesn't disclose the lithium-ion battery life though it should given the LED's constant brightness. Still, plugging it into a wall isn't a big deal, so battery life may not matter. (I will continue to test that and update if there's anything significant.)

The MPro110 isn't going to be of help in a big boardroom—you can only get up to a 40-inch screen (by positioning it about 6 feet), but even then, fine details are blurred. Your best bet for readable viewing is a 20-inch screen at 4 feet. Update: It supports up to 1024x768 resolution input, but it doesn't display at a resolution greater than 640x480. Ironically, the fuzziness is more of a problem for the businesspeople for whom the product was intended—I didn't suffer much watching slightly blurred DVD rips or cable-box TV at the full 40 inches,! though like most projectors, near-pitch darkness is required.

As you can see from the shots, there's some pinch distortion and not a lot you can do about it. There's no optical or digital compensation like on larger projectors—in fact the only control besides on/off is focus, and that only goes so far. Brightness-wise, it's okay, but it suffers noticeably the farther back you pull. Its colors are impressive, especially here, given the fact that I was projecting against a dark yellow wall.

Again, I was forgiving of limitations based on size and functionality—my biggest problems were in construction. The focus dial felt flimsy and wouldn't hold its place if jostled. Worse, it was hard to keep my computer connected, because the projector's VGA cable wouldn't stay inside the projector's jack.

Yeah, $350 is a lot for a toy, but it's not the reason I wouldn't recommend this. If 3M could apply more quality control, this would be a novelty more of us might carry. I can see it being a fun way to watch movies in hotel rooms when traveling, and as the technology behind brightness, throw and resolution improves, these could become hot sellers indeed. [3M MPro110 Product Page]

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