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Bloggers And Blogging Rights

noreply@blogger.com (G Nagababu) — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 02:42:00 +0000

Blogging should not be misunderstood as journalism. There is a big difference between these two. The journalism rights do not govern blogging and neither the blogger.But blogging should be seen as a privileged platform which empowers one to write with free will. This is a comprehensive list of some basic facts about blogging rights, a list of common questions answered by the Electronic Frontier Foundation. These are the five things any blogger should understand clearly.

Know Your Rights

Quotes : Quotes from a blog with All Rights Reserved, are NOT seen as a copyright infringement when used for commenting, criticizing, reporting, teaching or research.
Images : The use of images is hazy though images have the same copyright as text. Images can be used as thumbnails or parts of images can be used safely in most cases. It is advisable to mention a full credit for the image to the site it is taken from to be on the safe side.
Blogging and Journalism : Bloggers are not Journalists but Journalists can blog. A journalist can use a blogging platform to write a journalism blog, but a blogger does not have the same rights as a Journalist.
Defamation Claims : A claim to defamation can be made if the information provided by the defame is false. In case the information is true, it is a defense to defamation only if supported with adequate proof.
Trademark : A trademark can be used in any content till it is unique

These are just some basic guidelines In addition, EFF continues to battle for bloggers’ rights in the courtroom:

Bloggers can be journalists (and journalists can be bloggers). We’re battling for legal and institutional recognition that if you engage in journalism, you’re a journalist, with all of the attendant rights, privileges, and protections. (See Apple v. Does.)

Bloggers are entitled to free speech. We’re working to shield you from frivolous or abusive threats and lawsuits. Internet bullies shouldn’t use copyright, libel, or other claims to chill your legitimate speech. (See OPG v. Diebold.)

Bloggers have the right to political speech. We’re working with a number of other public-interest organizations to ensure that the Federal Election Commission (FEC) doesn’t gag bloggers’ election-related speech. We argue that the FEC should adopt a presumption against the regulation of election-related speech by individuals on the Internet, and interpret the existing media exemption to apply to online media outlets that provide news reporting and commentary regarding an election — including blogs. (See our joint comments to the FEC [PDF, 332K].)

Bloggers have the right to stay anonymous. We’re continuing our battle to protect and preserve your constitutional right to anonymous speech online, including providing a guide to help you with strategies for keeping your identity private when you blog. (See How to Blog Safely (About Work or Anything Else).)

Bloggers have freedom from liability for hosting speech the same way other web hosts do. We’re working to strengthen Section 230 liability protections under the Communications Decency Act (CDA) while spreading the word that bloggers are entitled to them. (See Barrett v. Rosenthal.)

If you’d like to spread the word about our work, consider adding an EFF Bloggers’ Rights Badge to your blog or website.

This useful post for bloggers is written by our guest author Ashish Mundhra. If you like to share something like Ashish Did

Google.mE Lets You to Manage All Google Services from Desktop

noreply@blogger.com (G Nagababu) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 06:30:00 +0000

We have covered GoogleSysTray all in one app for all Google services on this blog. Today we are here with yet another similar tool Google.mE a java based application to manage your Google services right from your desktop.

Google.mE is a Java based project designed to enable users to sync with all their online Google web applications like Picasa, Google docs, GMail, and many more. Simply select the Google services you want to access and login with your Google ID.

Google.mE Screenshots

Google.mE Login Screen with Supported Google Services List

Google.mE Picasa Album

Google.mE Google Reader

Download Google.mE.

Nokia 5235 arrives in India

noreply@blogger.com (G Nagababu) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 07:11:00 +0000

Nokia has recently introduced the new 3GNokia 5235 touch screen handset and additional to the Xpress music family, where user can download music free of cost and it has 15/18 months warrenty after Nokia subscription. Nokia 5235 is improved and there are some new other facilities are added in the handset for the comfot of user, Nokia 5235 will introduce next year 2010, with the affordable price Rs. 10,000 (INR).

Main features of Nokia 5235 are-

3.2 inch touchscreen
S6-V5 Symbian
Standard resolution 360x640
3G connectivity
GPS support
Ovi maps
2 megapixel camera3.5 mm audio jack
16 GB external memory
1320m AH battery

Windows 7 In Box – All Windows 7 Settings at One Place

noreply@blogger.com (G Nagababu) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:56:00 +0000

So you have recently switched from Windows Xp to Windows 7 and finding it difficult to change simple settings like System settings, keyboard & Mouse settings, managing user accounts, starting various Windows tools etc. Well then here is Windows 7 In a Box to rescue you.

Windows7 in a Box was designed to help guide you through the brand new operating system from Microsoft .Everything from Theme settings to Parental Controls. Sits on your desktop, easy to navigate, and puts an end to all the frustration of endless searching for settings.

You don’t need to install Windows 7 in a Box just double click & run or carry in your USB drive.

Windows 7 in a Box

Download Windows 7 in a Box.

Namecheap Coupon Code for November 2009

noreply@blogger.com (G Nagababu) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:40:00 +0000

Here is yet another post from the series of Namecheap Coupon code. With wonderful start of month November we are back with Namecheap Coupon Code to help you in saving money when you want to register or transfer domain names.

Namecheap is no doubt best Domain Registrar company and we are sure you will be satisfied with their service. Here is Namecheap coupon code for November 2009 to avail discount and save some money.

Namecheap Coupon Code for November 2009

Namecheap Coupon Code :- AUTUMNLEAVES

Click Here to Register or Transfer Domain on Namecheap.com

(Use the above coupon code to get .com, .net etc domain names at $8.81 i.e., $0.88 reduction in the cost of buying a domain name)

Google India Offers Free Advertising Coupons to Attract Small Advertisers

noreply@blogger.com (Gnb) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 11:25:00 +0000

Google India is giving away free AdWords coupons to businesses who own a website but have never used the Google platform before to advertise their website on the Internet.

Google will provide website owners with advertising coupons worth a certain value for free that they may use to advertise their site on Google search results pages and on external sites that run Google AdSense ads (like Digital Inspiration).

Get Free AdWords Coupons Worth $50

If you are a small or media business owner based in India who also has a website, here’s how you can request Google for free AdWords coupons:

1. Call Google India at this number – 1860 266 6622. (see update below)

2. Register your website with the Google AdWords India platform by providing details about your business and your contact information.

3. The Google India representative will now set up your AdWords account.

Google will also credit INR 2,500.00 worth of advertising coupons to your AdWords account that you may later use for advertising your business on Google pages as well as other non-Google sites on the web.

In addition to free coupons, you’ll also get customer support for one month to help you manage you online advertising campaigns.

This move will probably help Google attract advertisers in India who have small budgets but have never experimented with online advertising before. They can now try the AdWords system without spending a penny and, if the outcome is positive, they’ll continue to do so even after they’ve redeemed all the free coupons.

~~It looks like a very straight-forward process but I have not been able to test it since my site is already registered with the AdWords system.~~

Update A: I just called up this number and the gentleman at the other end suggested that I send Google India office in Mumbai a check for at least Rs 10,000.00 so that they can setup my AdWords account.

When I asked him for free coupons (as mentioned in Google’s press release), he said that the coupons will added to my account the next month only after they receive the initial amount from me.

Now that’s definitely not in line with the information that I received from Google’s PR company. The original email said – "All small businesses with an online presence will be able to avail Rs 2500/- worth of advertising coupons by just calling the number 1860266 6622 and registering their websites with Google India Ad Words platform"

Update B: Google has confirmed that "there was some communication error by the agent". You don’t have to send them a check in advance but the offer does require you to deposit an activation fee to avail the free AdWords coupon from Google India.

Here are the full terms and conditions according to an email from Google’s PR.

Advertisers with self-managed signup accounts are subject to a Rs. 250 account activation fee. Prepay customers must deposit Rs. 500 into their account for activation. Offer expires on 30th Nov, 2009.

Promotional credit must be applied to a new AdWords account within 14 days of creating the AdWords account and is valid only for new Google AdWords customers with self-managed signup accounts. Advertisers will be charged for advertising that exceeds the promotional credit.

Advertisers will need to suspend their ads if they do not wish to receive additional charges beyond the free credit amount. Subject to ad approval, valid registration and acceptance of the Google AdWords Program standard terms and conditions. The promotional credit is non-transferable and may not be sold or bartered. Offer may be revoked at any time for any reason by Google Inc. One promotional credit per customer. Offer void where prohibited by law.

Fake Facebook e-mail contains Trojan

noreply@blogger.com (Gnb) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 02:26:00 +0000

A new variant of the Bredolab Trojan horse is attached to a fake "Facebook Password Reset Confirmation" e-mail, security firm MX Labs is reporting.

Some users are receiving the e-mail from "The Facebook Team," according to the security firm. The sender's e-mail address displays "service@facebook.com." In reality, the address and sender were spoofed.

MX Labs found that the e-mail was accompanied by an attachment named, "Facebook_Password_4cf91.zip and includes the file Facebook_Password_4cf91.exe" that, the e-mail claims, contains the user's new Facebook password. The security firm said that the element between the underscore and .zip are randomly chosen letters and numbers for each recipient.

When a user downloads the file, it could wreak havoc on their computer. MX Labs said in a blog post that the Trojan horse Bredolab "executes files from the Internet, such as rogue anti-spyware. To bypass firewalls, it injects its own code into legitimate processes svchost.exe and explorer.exe. Bredolab contains anti-sandbox code (the trojan might quit itself when an external program investigates its actions)." In other words, it's nasty.

Once it makes its way to the user's PC, Bredolab creates "%AppData%\wiaservg.log" and "%Programs%\Startup\isqsys32.exe" in the user's system files. MX Labs said that it also creates two new processes, called "isqsys32.exe" and "svchost.exe."

Another security watchdog, M86 Security, wrote that there's more to the outbreak than Bredolab. After it sneaks its way onto the user's computer, M86 said, Bredolab downloads a bot called Pushdo. The company found that Pushdo immediately starts "spamming out more of these Facebook password reset e-mails."

For its part, Facebook was quick to point out that the e-mail containing the virus wasn't coming from the social network.

"This virus is being distributed through email, not on Facebook," a Facebook spokesperson wrote. "The email is disguised as a Facebook password reset e-mail with an attachment that purportedly contains the new password, but is actually the virus. We're educating users on how to detect this through the Facebook Security Page."

Facebook said that users should be "suspicious of unexpected emails claiming to be from Facebook." The company also said that it will never send users a new password as an attachment.

Those users that have downloaded the file should use anti-malware software to remove it. Click here for a list of security software available from CNET's Download database.

Updated at 1:03 p.m. PDT to include new details from M86 Security.

Firefox gains 30 million users in eight weeks

noreply@blogger.com (Gnb) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 02:25:00 +0000

Mozilla's open-source Firefox browser has gained 30 million users over the past eight weeks, as it continues to gain on Internet Explorer.

Chief Executive John Lilly revealed the increase in user adoption in a Twitter post on Monday, and Tristan Nitot, president of Mozilla Europe, confirmed it to ZDNet UK on Tuesday.

"We've seen a significant increase in the number of users for Firefox," Nitot said. "Firefox checks for new versions every 24 hours, when it's running, and when it checks, it pings the Mozilla server. We count the number of pings."

Read more of "Firefox gains 30m users in eight weeks" at ZDNet UK.

Honda Aviator 110 introduced

noreply@blogger.com (Gnb) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 06:23:00 +0000

Honda two wheelers today introduced its new product Honda Aviator that is powered by 110cc engine. The company launched it in two variants- Honda Aviator 110cc and Honda Aiator Deluxe. This is the second scooter launch by Honda in the year. The company unveiled new Honda Activa a few months back in India. New Honda Aviator is loaded with the same mill that is present in Activa. The new gearless scooter is equipped with 110cc powertrain and belts out 8 bhp of peak power at 7500 rpm and churns a maximum torque of 9 Nm at 5500 rpm. The same combi brakes system and key shutter system are borrowed from the Activa to New Aviator. Honda Aviator is priced at Rs 42,000 and Honda Aviator Deluxe's price tag is Rs 47,000 in Delhi. The new Aviator is priced Rs 6,000 higher than the Honda Activa but proves its worth.

The scooter will be available in five shades- Monsoon Gray Metallic, Rebel Red Metallic, Pearl Heron Blue, Orange Metallic and pearl Black.
Honda launched a new version of Aviator due to recent launches by Mahindra- Mahindra Duro and Mahindra Rodeo. The scooter is available in five stunning hues viz., Pearl Igneour Black, Berry Purple, Monsoon Gray, Space Silver and Rebel Red. Honda Aviator is already there with front disc brakes. On the other hand, Royal Enfield is expected to roll out its Royal Enfield Bullet Classic in the first week of November.

Import/Sync Gravatar to Gmail Contacts with Gravatar Importer

noreply@blogger.com (Gnb) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 18:15:00 +0000

Few days back we had wrote about Google Contacts Outlook Synchronizer which lets you to sync to and from Gmail Contacts with Outlook. Now here is one more synching tool Gravatar Importer which lets you to sync your contacts in the Gmail Contacts address book with their Gravatars, in case they didn’t choose a photo by themselves.

Gravatar is an image that follows you from site to site appearing beside your name when you do things like comment or post on a blog. Avatars help identify your posts on blogs and web forums.

Gravatar Importer

Download Gravatar Importer.

State AGs on Google Books settlement: We object

noreply@blogger.com (Gnb) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 07:33:00 +0000

Five state attorneys general have joined the opposition to Google's settlement with book authors and publishers, objecting to the way the settlement distributes unclaimed funds.

Missouri's top lawyer Chris Koster has joined the opposition to the Google Books settlement.

(Credit: Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster)

The attorneys general for Connecticut, Missouri, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Washington joined the chorus of opposition to the settlement this week, filing briefs with Judge Denny Chin of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York before the October 7 hearing to determine whether the settlement should be approved. The states involved are not pleased with the way the Books Rights Registry set up as part of the deal appears to usurp their ability to collect unclaimed payments on behalf of their citizens.

Under the settlement proposed by Google and several author and publisher groups, Google would be allowed to continue digitizing out-of-print but copyright-protected books and offer them--subject to rights holder approval--on Google Book Search. The company would then share a portion of the revenue earned from selling ads against those book search results, as well as links to book retailers with book rights holders, through the nonprofit Books Rights Registry.

The issue that irks the states is that when the rights holders can't be located, the Books Rights Registry would keep the proceeds on their behalf while they continue the search for those individuals or groups. Laws in the states objecting to the deal require the state treasurer to be the one who accepts an unclaimed payment on behalf of its citizens, according to a copy of the brief submitted by Missouri's Chris Koster.

Missouri said it objected only on that narrow issue and would not comment on the settlement in its entirety, but Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal also voiced concerns about potential antitrust matters, according to MarketWatch.

Google is reportedly talking with the Department of Justice about possible modifications to the settlement that could alleviate the Justice Department's concerns of the settlement, which has drawn intense scrutiny from various parts of the legal, technology, and publishing worlds.

Originally posted at Relevant Results

PowerReviews to offer social product reviews to brands

noreply@blogger.com (Gnb) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 07:33:00 +0000

PowerReviews, a company that provides white-label customer review tools for retailers and brands, is preparing to release a new service called BrandConnect.

BrandConnect features two elements: Listener and Megaphone. According to Darby Williams, the vice president of marketing at PowerReviews, "Listener will help brands track and understand what their customers really want out of their products."

Listener
To do so, PowerReviews first asks users to review a product in more detail than they might be accustomed to. According to Williams, the process will first ask consumers what the pros and cons were of a particular product. It then asks them to describe how they use it.

Listener then examines the data gathered from each review and aggregates responses for the client. Williams contends that the tool's statistical data helps deliver actionable content to PowerReviews' clients.

BrandConnect showing reviews in real-time.

(Credit: PowerReviews)

Williams said in a phone interview on Wednesday that most companies are averse to negative customer reviews. To limit that, PowerReviews employs a two-level moderation process. It first analyzes negative reviews containing "at least one word in the comments and three checked cons" to ensure no profanity or unnecessary negativity is included in a respective review. From there, those negative reviews are sent to the client, giving them the option of removing the negative review or allowing it to stay on the site.

Williams told me that PowerReviews encourages its clients to keep negative reviews in place to maintain credibility, but ultimately that decision rests with those clients.

Megaphone
BrandConnect will also feature a tool called Megaphone. The company's Megaphone feature gives customers the option to syndicate their reviews to Facebook, Twitter, and their blogs.

BrandConnect showing advocates and detractors.

(Credit: PowerReviews)

While they're writing a review, consumers are notified by Megaphone that they can share it when it's completed. They can either use Facebook Connect or log in to Twitter to syndicate their review to the respective social networks. A snippet of about two sentences will be displayed on Facebook, followed by a link to the review. That same form will be displayed on the user's blog if they choose to syndicate it there. A message will populate Twitter's input box, giving users the option to introduce their review to followers.

PowerReviews said it believes that it's that social element that could significantly improve its clients' ability to drive traffic to their sites. The company makes BrandConnect available to retailers and brands on Tuesday.

Vreebit rewards users for social networking

noreply@blogger.com (Gnb) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 07:32:00 +0000

Vreebit is an immensely complex social-networking site, launched in beta on Thursday.

After seeing that it has taken Facebook five and a half years to become cash flow-positive, it seems that founders Michael Fleischmann and Chuck Donnelley are trying to create a new revenue model for their social network.

Vreebit includes a wealth of features, including a calendar, tasks, resume, docs and photos, links, discussions, polls, petitions, expert advice (think Yahoo Answers), and the ability to create your own 11-page Web site.

Upon signing up, users are given 100 "VreeBees," which are a virtual currency that can be used to buy actual goods on the site. You can earn more by participating in surveys, referring users, clicking on ads, and providing expert advice.

The VreeMarket offers a ton of things for users to buy with their VreeBees, ranging from books to video games to clothing. Not only can Vreebit post items for sale there, but actual users can post items as well, setting their price in VreeBees. This section of the site could also benefit from partnerships with some outside retailers.

VreeBees can also be used in exchange for services on the site, such as placing an advertisement, getting expert advice, and creating a survey. All of this activity creates an interesting economy on the site designed to motivate users to participate more.

Vreebit's VreeMarket.

(Credit: Vreebit)

The elements of this site that participate in the VreeBee economy seem to make sense, if the site can gain enough users. They are pretty unique and will drive more use of the service. However, other aspects of the site may greatly benefit from hook-ins with third-party services.

For example, instead of having to fill out your calendar on Vreebit (which doesn't sound overly appealing) the service could pull from Google Calendar for its content. And even though it is competing with Facebook, I think that Vreebit could benefit from using Facebook Connect, which can speed up account setup, automatically bringing in contact information and user data, as well as maintaining the same log-in.

Although Vreebit might be a bit crowded with not-so-enticing features, and users will likely be a bit wary of being rewarded specifically for clicking on ads (this will surely sink its ad rates through the floor), its virtual-currency model may have some potential.

With the addition of hook-ins for some third-party services, Vreebit may have a chance at becoming a viable social network, but for the moment, some users might be scared away by the amount of site features and the amount of time it takes to set up a new account--not to mention the fact that there's not much incentive to join a social network unless your friends are already there.

Originally posted at The Web Services Report

Test-drive: Office Web Apps technical preview

noreply@blogger.com (Gnb) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 07:27:00 +0000

Microsoft has finally started to open up its Web-based versions of Office apps to early testers. Thursday we got access to a "technical preview" of Excel and PowerPoint on the Web (not, notably, Word). The obvious comparison that will be made is to Google Docs.

Excel

The version of Excel that we have access to is the most similar to Google Docs in capabilities. It allows simultaneous editing -- two or more people working on a spreadsheet at the same time. As in Google Docs' spreadsheet app, as soon as one person updates a part of the spreadsheet, everyone else viewing the sheet gets the change in real time, or close enough to it. Users don't have to "save" their file for the changes to get pushed out.

In raw editing capability, Excel on the Web beats Google. It will have features approaching the PC counterpart of the app, not to mention the same user interface (the "ribbon" Office users are accustomed to) instead of Google's old-timey but clear pull-down menus. The commonality between the Web and PC versions of the products should make it easier for people to pop between the desktop Office apps and their Web counterparts.

The technical preview of Office Web Apps shows how similar the online apps will be to their desktop counterparts, even though many features are missing in this early version.

(Credit: Screenshot by Rafe Needleman/CNET)

In the preview we saw the user interface of the Web-based version of Excel is extremely close to the traditional version of the app. Getting comfortable with the app took no time at all. It's just a lot slower than the desktop version. Given that this is such an early preview, we were not surprised that many tabs and features were missing from the Web app. But complex formatting, database elements, and charts from Excel files created in Windows transferred with good "fidelity" (that's Microsoft's word) to the Web. It appears users won't lose anything in translation in the move from editing documents on a desktop to the Web.

Sharing in Office Web Apps is unbelievably tedious.

(Credit: Screenshot by Rafe Needleman/CNET)

However, setting up sharing is much more tedious in Office Web Apps than it is in Google Docs. In Office Web, you don't share files, you share folders. So to share a spreadsheet, you first save it to a particular folder, and then share that folder with the people who you want to let into the file. That's no big deal if you're just sharing one file, but if you want to share different files with different groups of people, it's confusing and tedious, since you have to create a different folder for each set of people you want to share with. If you want to change the sharing specifics on one document in a folder but not others, you'll have to move the document to a different folder. This is a catastrophic design flaw. Worse, there's not even a clear "share" link. You have to find the "Shared with" entry in each folder, click on the "People I selected" link, then "Edit permissions," then enter the name of the person or people you want to share with, and then, once that person shows up in your sharing list, you have to change the default permission from "view" to "edit."

Google, for its part, lets you share files from within the files themselves, by selecting "Invite people" from the "Share" menu. It makes much more sense. You can also see all your Google docs in one big list. With Microsoft, you have to page through your folders to see your documents. Microsoft does have a nice browser plug-in for drag-and-drop uploading of files, however. That's a bonus, but not enough of one to offset the awful sharing workflow.

PowerPoint

Like the online version of Excel, PowerPoint on the Web is a high-fidelity experience. Documents come through just as they appear on the PC, and can be edited in place on the Web. Most of the graphically intensive features, like adding animations and design elements, are not yet in this preview, though, so we could not evaluate the experience of creating complex builds and graphics over a Web connection. PowerPoint documents displayed very well on the Web, as I said, but I'd like to see a real full-screen slideshow viewer (the current version displays just a touch of browser frame) for showing presentations over the Web.

The capability to edit a PowerPoint doc from any Web-connected PC right before you have to make the actual talk will make many presenters a lot less nervous about making last-minute changes before a pitch.

As in Excel on the Web, only new Office 2007 files (.PPTX for Powerpoint; .XLSX for Excel) can be edited online. Older .PPTs can be viewed and displayed, but not edited.

Word

Finally, while online Word editor isn't available yet (the viewer is, and it works well), we did learn a few things about the capability -- none good. First of all, Word online won't get you simultaneous editing. When you open a file to work on it you will lock it, and other people won't be able to get in to change things. If you want simultaneous editing, you'll apparently be able to do it from within the Word 2010 installed app. Online simultaneous editing is "on the road map," we're told, but won't be ready even when Office Web Apps goes public in 2010.

OneNote is on the same track as Word, and will get editing capabilities online when Word does.

You also won't be able to embed your Word documents in other Web pages, Scribd-like. There will be options to embed Excel files. (The feature does not seem to be turned on yet.)

It's no Google

Office Web Apps is a fundamentally different product from Google Docs. The apps run more slowly than the lightweight online Google productivity apps, but Microsoft will offer more features and commonality with the desktop apps.

For people and companies that have standardized on Microsoft Office, the preview shows that Office Web Apps will do a good job of extending the desktop experience to the Web. But the desktop legacy may also be a liability. File management -- moving documents between desktop and Web, or keeping them in sync across platforms -- is going to be complex, and it's unclear how Microsoft is going to integrate its desktop apps, PC sync products like Mesh, and Web-based storage services like Skydrive, where Office Web Apps stores files for consumers. Also, Enterprise customers can use SharePoint for storage, which may not integrate well with workers' personal file stores, online or offline.

In what appears to be a childish move, but one that Microsoft is defending by saying, "we had to prioritize," Office Web Apps doesn't work on Google's Chrome browser. That's a shame, since for Web apps (as opposed to more-static sites), I have found Chrome to be a faster and thus more usable platform than Firefox or Internet Explorer. (Office Web Apps also supports Safari.)

In summary, Office Web Apps is, very clearly, the desktop Office suite put on the Web. It's feature-rich and appears to be targeted at individuals creating complex documents on their own. New users who don't need or want the complexity of a desktop app, or who are more accustomed to working hand-in-hand with others, may be put off. Certainly, if Microsoft releases this product to the public without fixing the collaboration workflow, even die-hard Office users will avoid the service when they're in a hurry and have work to do with colleagues.

Originally posted at Rafe's Radar

Browser-based Office shows its face

noreply@blogger.com (Gnb) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 07:27:00 +0000

The technology preview of Office Web Apps allows users to edit Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations and view (but not edit) Word documents.

(Credit: Microsoft)

Microsoft plans on Thursday to start public testing for the first browser-based version of Office, although the technology preview is at least as notable for what it doesn't include as what it does offer.

The limited test of the so-called Office Web Apps includes versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint, but not the OneNote note-taking application. And while Excel and PowerPoint offer the ability to edit and create documents, the current Web-based version of Word can only be used to view documents, essentially the same capability it already offers as part of its current Office Live Workspace product.

Microsoft said the Web versions of OneNote and Word share "the same editing surface," and that the technology is still being worked on.

"We made the hard decision to turn off editing in the Word Web App at Tech Preview, in order for people to have the best experience at this early stage," Microsoft said.

Microsoft plans to offer the Web Apps preview first to users of Windows Live SkyDrive, giving them 25GB worth of storage.

The Office Web Apps are scheduled to be launched along with Office 2010--the next version of Office, with both browser-based and desktop programs due out in the first half of next year. The Office Web Apps will be made available to consumers as a free, ad-supported part of Windows Live, while businesses will be able to offer them to workers via their own SharePoint servers or through the Microsoft Online subscription service.

Microsoft said it will have editing abilities for Word and a version of OneNote by the time the Office Web Apps launch in final form. The current technology preview will be made available to tens of thousands of users, with a broader beta planned for later this fall. However, Microsoft would not commit to offering editing abilities for Word by the beta release.

Once finished, the browser-based versions will all offer editing, though not all of the capabilities of their desktop counterparts. Excel and OneNote will feature live co-authoring abilities, while all the Office Web Apps will work only while a user is connected to the Internet.

Microsoft also takes a different approach when it comes to sharing documents than do its rivals. While Google Apps lets users share a document directly, Office Web Apps enables sharing at the folder level--meaning that to share a document, a user must save it into a folder on Windows Live SkyDrive and then share that folder.

Forrester analyst Sheri McLeish said that the Office Web Apps do appear to be more complicated than rivals such as Google Docs or Zoho Office.

"Google and Zoho are very easy to get started on today, requiring just a step to register before being able to work on a document or spreadsheet," McLeish said. "Microsoft's Office Web Apps do not seem to match that level of ease to get started."

On the plus side, McLeish noted that Office offers a depth not found in its online rivals.

"Once you are in the Web Apps the experience is very much the same as the desktop suite," McLeish said. "And for enterprises, deployment choices to host the Web Apps themselves on-premise is a big differentiator from Google and Zoho."

As for the current release, Microsoft noted that it is still in pre-beta form and has a number of known issues.

"It's still going to be rough around the edges," said Ural Cebeci, a senior product manager in Microsoft's Office unit.

The Office Web Apps are being certified to work in Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari, and may also work in Google's Chrome--although Microsoft isn't guaranteeing Chrome compatibility.

Microsoft had previously indicated on several occasions that the Safari compatibility meant that users would be able to edit documents on their iPhone, but Cebeci said that iPhone users will only be able to view documents--capability similar to that offered on other smartphones.

Originally posted at Beyond Binary

Find Domain Information the Easy Way with Win32Whois

noreply@blogger.com (Gnb) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 20:10:00 +0000

Ever find yourself needing to acquire information about a particular domain but want an easy way to do it? Now you can with Win32Whois.

Setup

Getting started with Win32Whois is extremely simple. There is no install process to deal with, just place the exe file in a location of your choice and create a shortcut (terrific!). When you start Win32Whois, this is what you will see. To get started, enter the domain address that you are curious about and click “Go”.

For our example, we entered “www.howtogeek.com”. The results came up very quickly and as you can see by the scrollbar, there was quite a bit of information returned (very nice!).

Conclusion

Win32Whois can provide a quick and easy way to find the information that you need about a domain. This is definitely a nice reference tool to have on your system or USB drive.

Links

Download Win32Whois (version 0.9.14)

Nokia introduced two new classic phones in India

noreply@blogger.com (Gnb) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 02:37:00 +0000

Nokia, leading mobile phone manufactures, has unveiled two new classic phone in India. The phone, Nokia 6700 Classic & Nokia 6303 Classic, were launched by Bollywood diva Priyanka Chopra. These sleek mobile phones have been equipped with most advanced features with superior functionality and premium finish at competitive prices.

The stylish Nokia 6700 Classic comes with a 5 MP camera, for voice quality uplink noise cancellantion, MP3 player and FM radio, 2.2" QVGA display and 170 MB internal user memory. This advanced instrument has a price tag of Rs 14,000. The phone is available in two attractive colours-- chrome and black. The Nokia Classic phone's 5 MP camera with autofocus and integrated flash and dedicated camera key promises great pictures, which are easy to share by uploading on social networking sites or via MMS and email.

On the other hand, Nokia 6303 sports 3.2 MP camera intergrated with 8x digital zoom and autofocus, same FM radio and MP3 player and 17 MB iunternal memory. It comes in steel and matt black colours. It is priced at Rs 8,000. Nokia's other most sought out mobile phones are Nokia 7210, Nokia 5310 and Nokia 6300.

Free Small Business Online Data Backup, Sync And Recovery Service

noreply@blogger.com (Gnb) — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 08:43:00 +0000

Sync your files online and across computers with Dropbox, it is a simple online data backup and recovery service. Unlike Amazon S3, dropbox comes with a user friendly software that works with a mac, pc and linux, it is ideal for people using different operating system at home and in the office. Ideal as a small business online backup solution.

share large files
automatic backup of documents
access your files anywhere
Sync Your Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer Bookmarks
share photo albums

Dropbox offers you a free 2GB online backup storage space, you can use it to backup your files or sync important data such as bookmarks and notes online. The information is available on a mac or a PC as long as you have an internet connection. It automatically sync the “My Dropbox” folder with your online account.

Basic – 2GB -Free
Pro 50 – 50GB – $9.99 per month or $99.00 per year
Pro 100 – 100GB – $19.99 per month or $199.99 per year

Bulk SMS Gateway Server Hosting And API Application

noreply@blogger.com (Gnb) — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 08:41:00 +0000

How to send a free message to USA cell phone? Try SMS Everywhere, it is a free sms messenger for T-mobile, Sprint, and Nextel. If you’re looking for a sms gateway api for bulk sms messaging, create your own messaging applications with their API developers tool. To send a message, data is posted over HTTP to SMS Everywhere servers. Features:

Add text messaging to your application or website.
Account manager allows to keep track of messages.
Set the header e-mail address.
No need to know the phone company/carrier.

Use the SMS Everywhere Gateway API to send data over http. Follow the example to create an application in your language or subscribe to their dedicated SMS server for mass and bulk sms messaging.

Cheap, Affordable And Reliable Low Cost Web Hosting Services

noreply@blogger.com (Gnb) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 05:10:00 +0000

No other host offers all these features and services at no cost to you. X10Hosting offers some of the many things that come with your free hosting account. ASP.NET, PHP, MySQL, CGI, Python, Perl, Website Builders, cPanel, Fantastico, Templates, Contests, Prizes, 4 years of experience and more.

cPanel 11+
Free Subdomains!
Up to 500MB of Disk Space!
Up to 10 GB of Bandwidth!
No Advertisements Required!
MySQL databases.
AwStats Statistics.
Shared SSL!
Daily Backups!

So, what’s the catch? When you subscribe to their ads-free hosting plan, you are required to join their forum and participate once every two weeks.

Cheap MySQL And PHP Web Hosting With FTP For Wordpress

noreply@blogger.com (Gnb) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 05:10:00 +0000

110MB hosting offers an advertisement free web hosting service, it comes with 5GB of Disk Space along with PHP and MySql support. With PHP and MySql supported, running Wordpress shouldn’t be a problem, my advice is, for those looking at mirgating from Blogspot to Wordpress and would like to have a hands on experience on purchasing a web hosting service, do give 110MB FRRE Web Hosting a try.

110MB Space – FREE (Can upgrade to 15GB)
Dual Xeon & Opteron based Servers
PHP 5 – FREE!
FTP (chmod support) – *Must activate
Your Own Domain Hosting – FREE!
10GB Bandwidth – FREE! (Can upgrade to 1TB)
MYSQL 5 – *Must activate
NO popups, spam or ads ANYWHERE

Based on my own experience, these so called ‘Free’ web hosting are indeed free, however, the catch is once you’ve reach a certain limit – overloading their CPU, they will ‘advice’ you to move to one of their better plans to meet your demand.

Google Apps & Gmail are out of Beta ! [Hooray]

noreply@blogger.com (Gnb) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 03:54:00 +0000

After being in beta stage for more than five years, Gmail has now left behind its beta tag. Now you’ll not see the word ‘beta’ along with the Gmail logo and Google Apps too.

Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs and Google Talk — both enterprise and consumer versions — are now out of beta. "Beta" will be removed from the product logos today, but we’ll continue to innovate and improve upon the applications whether or not there’s a small "beta" beneath the logo.

Google Apps is out of beta (yes, really) [Google Official Blog]

Free Web Based SMS Text Messaging Service

noreply@blogger.com (Gnb) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:43:00 +0000

Which is the best web based sms service? Where to send free sms text messaging via online? Found this free SMS service known as mjoy, am a little bit skeptic about the so called ‘Free’ SMS service. To use the free service, you need to enter your phone number and activate your subscription via a link emailed to you.

I had a pretty bad experience with SMS.ac, once registered, they will bombard you will advertisement and the best thing about this SMS.ac thing is they charge you to receive advertisement.

A closer look at mjoy’s advertisement link at the bottom of the website reveals its source of income – advertisement via sms and how they earn money through sms. My advice is, stay away from those free SMS service that requires you to register your mobile number.

Orientation Webinar For People Who Are New to Google AdSense

noreply@blogger.com (Gnb) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 03:26:00 +0000

This is something for AdSense publishers in India whose accounts have just been approved by Google.

The AdSense team at Google will hold an online webinar on May 22, at 5:00 p.m. IST to help newly approved publishers on getting started with their AdSense account.

Highlights, according to an email from Google, include:

Learn how to make the most of your AdSense account
Get an opportunity to chat with some AdSense Specialists
Get detailed insight into different account features

You can participate in the AdSense webinar by registering at this link on the Webex site - the meeting can accommodate a maximum of 500 people.

You will need to use the email address and your AdSense publisher I.D. in order to sign up. On-demand webinars can be viewed whenever you wish by clicking on the view now link next to the webinar you want to watch

Next-gen DVD stores terabytes

noreply@blogger.com (Gnb) — Sat, 23 May 2009 13:54:00 +0000

I still remember those days when i used to use floppies with Little storage of 1.44mb but today world has gained something. Earlier Compact discs came in market which brought the revolution in storing devices. After that, DVD (Digital Video discs) has invented which solved the storage problem at certain level. But still people are facing some kind of storage problem but this time this problem gonna over with the invention of Next-gen DVD which can store 2000 movies more then any storage device like Blu- ray Disc.

The Next-gen DVD can store 10,000 times more data than current DVDs. This kind of DVDs may be come in market with in a decade. The DVD capacity is 1.6 terabytes of data which is quite higher then current DVDs and Blu- ray disc capacities. Some of researchers says that The capacity of the disc can be increased by adding gold nanorods to the disc because nanorods react to light according to their shape thus allowing us to record information using light of different wavelengths, or colours, on the same location on the disc. Apart from this, polorisation is also helps to increase the capacity of disc.

Professor Min Gu, Director of the Centre for Micro-Photonics at Swinburne said "We have created a new recording device that can respond to different colour and different polarisation. By using these properties we can use more of the disc." By using three different wavelengths and two polarisations, three layers of information can be recorded to disc. Researchers believe that it is possible to record 100 layers onto a single disc.