Google+Facebook+iPhone: 09/22/11

Thursday, 22 September 2011

Michelle Malkin, Alec Baldwin spar on Twitter over Troy Davis

(CBS) Actor Alec Baldwin and conservative blogger Michelle Malkin got into a heated feud on Twitter over theexecution of Troy Davis.

The two began exchanging words after Davis, a convicted killer who maintained his innocence, died by lethal injection on Wednesday night.

Here are a few of their exchanges:

Malkin: "Waiting for Hollyweirdo @alecbaldwin 's 'I am Troy Davis' tweet..."

Baldwin: "Davis is dead Does that make you happier, @michellemalkin?"

Baldwin: "Everyone tweet that great thinker @michellemalkin and ask her what killing a potentially innocent man does to make you safer."

Malkin: "@AlecBaldwin Direct your minions' ire/rage/profanity/racism/sexism at the US Supreme Court, not me."

Baldwin:: "C'mon!! Let's go all Town Hall on that supreme thinker@michellemalkin. A world class, crypto fascist hater!"

Baldwin: "I wonder if @michellemalkin will push the needle in herself on a man the former FBI director said might have reasonable doubt on his side."

Baldwin: "Every sensible American is appalled when police officer is killed. But the attendant charges are grave. U don't want 2 kill an innocent man."

Malkin: "ICYMI: Here's @alecbaldwin dragging the MacPhail family into his Bush Derangement Syndrome rant http://is.gd/J7Oucx."

Baldwin wasn't the only celebrity to complain about Davis' execution. Kim Kardashian was one of the other stars who took to her Twitter account to discuss the news.

She tweeted: "Such an injustice!!!! Troy Davis was executed! My prayers are with the Davis Family! #RIPTroyDavis."

Source:http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31749_162-20110349-10391698.html

Twitter Rolls Out U.K. Geo-Targeting for All Ad Products

Twitter has rolled out geo-targeting in the U.K. for all its ad products and partnered with British TV network Sky on its first ad campaign aimed at users there. Ads promote the new season of Glee, which debuts Thursday night.

Twitter has offered some location targeting since late March, when it rolled out geo-targeting for Promoted Tweets and Promoted Accounts. Today's announcement marks the first time it has enabled delivery of Promoted Trends to an individual country.

Sky will use the new functionality to spread the word about Glee’s latest season in the U.K. with a handle - @gleeonsky - and a hashtag -- #gleeonsky – as well as Promoted Tweets.

“Other than being huge Gleeks ourselves, we’re excited they’re using our full suite of Promoted Products to increase awareness of and conversation around the show among people in the U.K.,” Twitter said in ablog post.

Other advertisers are lined up. Tony Wang, Twitter’s general manager for the U.K., said in a prepared statement that Twitter will be “rolling out and testing this new offering” with partners including BT, Electronic Arts, Eurostar and Paramount Pictures U.K.

When Twitter introduced Promoted Tweets, Promoted Trends and Promoted Accounts to U.S. advertisers slightly more than a year ago, the products were directed at Twitter’s worldwide audience of more than 100 million users, according to the U.K. blog. But now U.K. brands can target their products to consumers in their home country.

Free mobile smartphone app offers weather, hazardous information

The Georgia Emergency Management Agency/Homeland Security (GEMA) and the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) have released a free mobile app, available for both iPhone and Android devices, designed to keep all Georgians informed of up-to-the-minute weather and hazard information.

It’s called the Ready Georgia mobile app. It can be downloaded from their website at www.ready.ga.gov.

“From a local level we are excited about this new feature,” Whitfield County EMA Director Claude Craig said. “With this technology, it is extremely easy for people to be informed and be prepared. We hope that everyone that can will take advantage of this app.”

Ready Georgia is a statewide campaign designed to educate and empower Georgians to prepare for and respond to natural disasters, pandemic outbreaks, potential terrorist attacks and other large-scale emergencies. The campaign is a project of GEMA and provides a local dimension to Ready America, a broader national campaign.

“Preparation is key to surviving disasters, and the Ready Georgia mobile app makes it easier than ever for Georgians to get prepared, just in time for National Preparedness Month, which runs through September,” said GEMA Director Charley English. “If you’re shopping for emergency supplies, you have a checklist in your pocket. If you see storm clouds, you can check weather alerts. You can even pull up a local map to see if a shelter has been opened in your community.”

Users Steamed over Facebook News Feed Changes

Some Facebook users did not take too kindly to the latest round of updates to their profile pages

The social network unveiled on Tuesday a number of small changes to its News Feed, the buzzing content stream of postings and updates from people and Facebook pages. Among the most significant was the addition of a content well dubbed ‘Top Stories’ atop the News Feed. The idea for this new feature, according to the official Facebook blog post, was so that users “won’t have to worry about missing important stuff.”

: Facebook; A posting on Facebook’s blog highlighted recent changes to the News Feed.

But what constitutes the “important stuff,” has become a point of contention among some users, spawning over 4,500 user comments off that one blog post.

“Facebook, you’re not near as smart as you think you are. Your algorithms for deciding what I want to see, who I want to talk to or what I think is important are 99.999% of the time the exact polar opposite of what I want,” wrote Facebook member Raymond J. Schlogel.

Wrote Nicole Denae Stolpa: “I do not want this. I don’t want Facebook deciding what’s important to me. I don’t care what your algorithms say, you will be WRONG.”

Previously the News Feed items defaulted to chronological order. That view is still available, but below the handful of Top Stories postings. No matter. Complaining members just wanted the new feature completely removed.
Read more at http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2011/09/22/users-steamed-over-facebook-news-feed-changes/?mod=google_news_blog

Color piggybacks on Facebook announcements to lure much-needed users

Color was once an iPhone app for sharing photos with people near you. Now, founder Bill Nguyen says it’s a Facebook app for sharing photos and video.

Nguyen told the New York Times that in spite of a buzz-laden launch, the service has fewer than 100,000 active users.

So the company is taking a slingshot approach to public relations and rebranding itself as a Facebook app on the day of Facebook’s biggest announcements of the year. Clever, no?

Color’s original point was to organize images around places and events. With the relaunch (note: Color hasn’t actually, publicly launched its application yet; you’ll still need to sign up for a preview), Color now acts as an uploader for Facebook photos.

If a Facebook friend clicks on the photo and wants to know or see more, he or she can request a “visit.” If you approve your friend’s “visit” request, he or she has the ability to see a live broadcast stream from your phone.

Yahoo News Gets Integrated With Facebook

The U.S. edition of Yahoo News has been linked with Facebook to make it possible for users of the two sites to share with their Facebook friends the articles they have read on the Yahoo site.

Yahoo, which plans to make the announcement in conjunction with Facebook's F8 developer conference on Thursday, expects the tie-up to drive more Facebook users to Yahoo News, said Jonathan Katzman, a director of product management at Yahoo.

"We'll get a lot more [visibility] for Yahoo News on Facebook," he said.

Another expected benefit for Yahoo is to have visitors spend more time and become more engaged on Yahoo News. "This is going to make you feel you're surrounded by your Facebook friends on Yahoo News," he said.

Adding this social component to the Yahoo News experience complements the site's editorial activities, in which Yahoo editors manually manage content, and its automated personalization features, which tailor content automatically based on certain parameters, Katzman said.

For the integration features to work, Yahoo News visitors need to be logged into their Facebook accounts. If they are, they'll see a Facebook "facebar" placed horizontally near the top of Yahoo News with the profile photos of friends.

Then, they'll be able to see which Yahoo News stories those friends have clicked on, as well as make available their own Yahoo News reading activities to their friends. People's Yahoo News activities will also be reflected back on their Facebook profiles.

Facebook users are cranky, but developers like what they see

SAN FRANCISCO (CNNMoney) -- Facebook's 750 million members are livid about the flurry of changes the site rolled out this week. But another key community -- Facebook's network of third-party developers -- is taking a wait-and-see approach.

Several thousand Facebook developers gathered in San Francisco on Thursday for f8, Facebook's annual strategy conference. The event traditionally brings with it a batch of new site features, and Facebook quickly unveiled two biggies: a radically redesigned News Feed and a personal "timeline" to replace users' profile pages.

Facebook users blasted back hard against the new News Feed, which began rolling out earlier this week. But Kevin Rose, who founded Digg and is now at work on a new startup called Milk, said that reaction is inevitable to any new changes made to a site with a large and passionate audience. He expects this blow-up to follow the traditional cycle: A volcanic freak out, followed by gradual acceptance.

"the fb news ticker reminds me of the hate when the news feed launched," he tweeted, referring to negative reaction Facebook's members had when the feature first launched in 2006. "Everyone will love/accept it in a few days... watch."

Facebook F8: Redesigning and hitting 800 million users

Facebook on Thursday delivered an entirely new profile design, called Timeline; a few new verbs to go with the Like button, such as read, listen, watch, run and cook; and a few numbers as well -- among them 800 million.

While the focus of CEO Mark Zuckerberg's keynote at the F8 conference in San Francisco was on the new products, Spotify's CEO Daniel Ek mentioned that Facebook had passed 800 million users. Facebook's chief technology officer, Bret Taylor, confirmed that fact in a news conference after the keynote. But that wasn't before he mentioned during the keynote that more than 350 million people use Facebook on mobile devices each month.

Zuckerberg earlier in the keynote also mentioned that in one day recently, Facebook had more than 500 million users overall, testifying to the fact that indeed, the world's most popular social network's user base is active.

It's that user base, of course, that the launch partners taking part in Facebook's new "social graph" apps and Timeline are trying to tap into. More than three dozen partners built apps for the redesigned, sharing-focused Facebook, including heavyweight names such as Hulu and Netflix in video; Electronic Arts, Zynga, Disney and Kabam in gaming; Spotify, Mog, Rdio, IHeartRadio and upstart Turntable.FM in music.

Noticeably, but not unexpectedly absent, in the music/movies/TV/books/apps side were Apple and Google -- rivals that Facebook seems to be raising its stakes against.

The goal of the new Timeline design and the increasingly sharing-focused apps is in part to get users to spend more time on Facebook for not only their social networking, but also media consumption.

Facebook as Tastemaker

SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook, the Web’s biggest social network, is where you go to see what your friends are up to. Now it wants to be a force that shapes what you watch, hear, read and buy.

The company announced new features here on Thursday that could unleash a torrent of updates about what you and your Facebook friends are doing online: Frank is watching “The Hangover,” Jane is listening to Jay-Z, Mark is running a race wearing Nike sneakers, and so forth. That in turn, Facebook and its dozens of partner companies hope, will influence what Frank and Jane and Mark’s friends consume.

Facebook, in short, aims not to be a Web site you spend a lot of time on, but something that defines your online — and increasingly offline — life.

“We think it’s an important next step to help tell the story of your life,” said Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, who introduced the new features at the company’s annual conference for developers. He called what Facebook was doing an effort to “rethink some industries.”
Facebook’s moves sharpen the battle lines between the social networking giant and Google, the search giant, because Facebook is trying to change the way people find what they want online. Searching the Web is still the way most people discover content — whether it is news, information about wedding photographers or Swiss chard recipes. Facebook is trying to change that: in effect, friends will direct other friends to content. Google has its own social network product in Google+, but it is far behind Facebook.

Fox-Google GOP debate: Wannabes to take aim at Perry on social security

WASHINGTON - Republican contenders will chip away at Texas Gov. Rick Perry's lead in Florida debate Thursday night, zinging his hardline rhetoric on Social Security in a state with millions of elderly voters.

Frontrunner Perry, who has called Social Security a "Ponzi scheme" and unconstitutional but has tried to dial back his language of late, will again be accused by ex-Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney of scaring old folks dependent on the program.

At the second Florida debate in 10 days, this one in Orlando, Romney, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and six other debaters will try to dent the tough-talking Texan's lead by suggesting his views are out of the political mainstream.

Romney, meanwhile, told USA Today he hopes Sarah Palin decides to join the crowded field - a move that would clearly benefit Romney.

"She would make the race that much more exciting, bring more people to watch the debates, and I hope she gets in," Romney said.

Just as Perry sucked oxygen from Bachmann's once-promising candidacy, Palin's entry would pull support away from Perry. Since she's anathema to many Republican party elders, Palin would also make it more likely for some currently neutral GOP bigwigs to endorse Romney.

Perry still leads lead the pack, but there's been some erosion in the last 10 days as Romney has hammered away at Perry's alleged electability problem.

In a new Quinnipiac University poll of Florida voters, Romney leads President Obama by a 47%-40% margin, while Obama - despite unfavorable approval numbers in the Sunshine State - still tops Perry, 44%-42%.

The latest Rasmussen national telephone survey of likely GOP primary voters shows Perry with 28% support and Romney at 24%.

The Orlando debate, sponsored by Fox News and the Florida Republican Party, includes former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson despite his minuscule showing in national polls.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2011/09/22/2011-09-22_foxgoogle_gop_debate_wannabes_to_take_aim_at_perry_on_social_security.html#ixzz1YkuY84Y8

Google Gmail for Mobile Adds Multiple Account Log-Ins, Tweaks Other Features

Multiple account log-ins and vacation-message creation have been added to the mobile version of Gmail, Google's email program, for Android and iOS devices. The changes were rolled out yesterday and are available today.

Multiple accounts in mobile Gmail

Desktop users of Gmail have been able to login into multiple accounts simultaneously for some time--mobile users can now do it, also. Accessing multiple accounts is as easy as tapping the new account switcher button at the bottom of mobile Gmail's browser interface. That will display a pop-up menu that gives you the option of switching between accounts or signing in to all accounts simultaneously.

"Of course, if you don’t already have multiple accounts enabled, you will need to enable it first by visiting your account settings and selecting the box that allows you to access multiple Google accounts in the same browser," Juli Clover reminded Gmail users in the PadGadget blog.

Bookmarks for individual Gmail accountsIf you do use multiple accounts, you might want to create a bookmark that lives on the application screen of your device for each account. Not all devices support this feature, but iOS phones and tablets, which use the Safari browser, do. On those devices, while Gmail is in your browser window, tap the bookmark icon beside the address bar and from the pop-up menu that appears, choose "Add to Home Screen."

Google Rivals Not Shy in Throwing 'Monopoly' Word Around

Nothing catches the attention of the Senate at an antitrust hearing more than the world "monopoly," and Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) rivals didn't miss an opportunity to drive that point home repeatedly during Congress' antitrust hearing Sept. 21.

Most who attended or watched the hearing online agreed Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt largely held his own. For the most part, he answered questions respectfully and appeared as forthcoming as possible.

There were some instances where he looked bad, namely when he couldn't confirm answers to some questions. Senator Al Franken (D-Minn.) properly admonished Schmidt for his fuzziness in certain answers. Yet Schmidt's candor and expertise in the industry outshone those instances.

On the second panel, Thomas Barnett, of Covington & Burling, NexTag CEO Jeffrey Katz, and Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman did everything but call Google the second coming of Microsoft, which was found to be monopolistic a decade ago.

What follows is a summary of their testimonies under oath before Congress—not a summary of the question and answer sessions between them and the Senate. That's for another analysis.

Barnett, who led the Justice Department's antitrust division from 2005 to 2008 and is counsel for Expedia, spoke first for the opposition. Turning Schmidt's comment that Google "gets" what it's like to behave badly as company against company, Barnett said Google won't even admit to reality.

"Google has monopoly power in paid and search advertising. You don't have to take my word for it. You heard it. Both the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission have conducted extensive investigations, and both of them, the expert agencies, reached factual determinations that show that Google has monopoly power."

Google Wallet full download to last into Friday

Computerworld - Even though Google said its Google Wallet app was available Monday, it won't be installed over-the-air to all Nexus S 4G customers until Friday night.

A Google spokeswoman confirmed by email to Computerworld that the downloads won't occur until the end of the day on Friday, after earlier saying they should finish by the end of the day today.

Consumer Reports noted the delay in a blog saying it had hoped to test the app on Wednesday, but that it had not yet downloaded to the device the publication is using.

A Nexus S device being used by Computerworldalso had not received the download as of 2 p.m. (ET) today.

Noting that Google had launched Google Wallet nationally on Monday, saying it was "now available on Nexus S 4G on Sprint," Consumer Reportsadded: "In its rush to be the first digital wallet on the market, Google Wallet's promotional promises seem to have gotten a little ahead of themselves."

In the past, Google's Android version update downloads to various smartphone models have been notorious for delays, generating criticism from Android smartphone users. It isn't clear where the problem with the Google Wallet app download is, with Sprint or with Google.

Google TV apps for TNT, TBS leak out briefly, reveal authenticated streaming on the way

We're still waiting for Google TV products to officially get their big update with Honeycomb and access to the Android Market, but compatible apps are already leaking out. NewTeeVee points out a couple from TNT and TBS (which also allow Google TV streaming from their websites) that briefly appeared and will let pay-TV subscribers stream episodes directly over the internet, similar to the iOS apps both networks have already rolled out. Turner confirmed the existence of the TV Everywhere apps, while Google expressed its hope to see more authenticated apps like these and the existing HBO Go access on the platform, as opposed to simply ending up blocked. That's bad news for cord-cutters hoping for an online only machine, but with the majority of viewers still hooked into satellite, cable or IPTV it may be the only way to make Google TV a viable platform right now. All signs point to the update arriving at the end of this month, we should find out more about these apps and others like them then.

Source:http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/22/google-tv-apps-for-tnt-tbs-leak-out-briefly-reveal-authenticat/

Explain the Google Error

What Google move sent Eric Schmidt to Washington to testify before Congress Wednesday?

I do know what is supposedly wrong, but how many of us have witnessed this in the wild? Google is supposedly sending search results to its own sites when given the chance. I immediately ask: what sites?

Google owns Blogger. I rarely get a Blogger hit on my searches. I know for a fact that a lot of good information is posted on Blogger and I may be looking for that directly. But I rarely get a hit. It seems that Google is directing too little traffic to its own sites, if this is any indication.

Apparently, Yelp.com CEO Jeremy Stoppelman has some objections. Here is the meat of his complaint, as reported by CNN Money:

"The experience in my industry is telling. Google forces review Web sites to provide their content for free to benefit Google's own competing product, not consumers. Google then gives its own product preferential treatment in Google search results.

"Google first began taking our content without permission a year ago. Despite public and private protests, Google gave the ultimatum that only a monopolist can give: In order to appear in Web search, you must allow us to use your content to compete against you. As everyone in this room knows, not being in Google is equivalent to not existing on the Internet. We had no choice."

What competing product? Google Local or Google Maps? Is Google just excerpting the stars or taking all the content? I personally do not pay attention to cursory reviews and always go to Yelp for analysis. If anything, the Google search results trigger my visits to Yelp. It does not dissuade me in any way from going to Yelp.

Most smartphone owners are indifferent about phone security

Possibly due to kids under ten running rampant with iPhones, over eighty percent of smartphone owners have no security products installed on their mobile devices according to a new study conducted by NPD. In addition, 25 percent of all smartphone owners have no idea how to install software to make smartphones more secure. However, 83 percent of respondents in the survey claimed they would take action and install a piece of security software only if a threat like a virus or piece of malware infects the phone. In addition, 25 percent of owners without any security software installed on the phone are under the impression that the software is too expensive to purchase.

Of the people within the survey that were using security software to protect their smartphone, 75 percent of that group paid nothing to acquire and install the software. The average price paid from users that did spend money on security software was approximately three dollars. Between Android and iPhone owners, about 30 percent of Android owners installed security software on the smartphone, while only 6 percent of iPhone owners installed software to protect the Apple product.

The most common security concerns of smartphone owners included having credit card information stolen, unauthorized activity monitoring, hackers breaking into the smartphone and loss of the expensive device. Other concerns included viruses, harmful apps containing malware, malicious emails or text messages and unauthorized location tracking. According to the survey, iPhone owners were consistently less worried about these issues than Android owners.

Motorola and Telcel announce availability of MOTOKEY XT in Mexico

(Source: Datamonitor)

Motorola

Mobility has announced that Motorola MOTOKEY XT is now available from Telcel's chain of authorized distributors and customer support centers.

"At Telcel, we are focused on providing users with an extensive portfolio of cell phones that offer integrated voice and data features and simplified mobile Internet access," said Leonel Shofecker, assistant director, strategic planning, Telcel. "MOTOKEY XT delivers on all counts; featuring a full QWERTY keyboard, touch-screen display and multiple options for accessing social networking sites."

"Users expect to wirelessly access the Internet anywhere the Motorola MOTOKEY XT with touch-screen display offers you the flexibility you need," said JosÃ© Luis de la Vega, marketing director, Motorola Mobility, Latin America North. "Motorola Mobility is committed to offering devices with multiple features at reasonable prices. Partnering with Telcel provides users with access to high-quality voice and data services."

Motorola MOTOKEY XT is less than 10mm thick and features a 2.4-inch touchscreen display. Motorola MOTOKEY XT also offers five different home screen styles, a range of interface themes and built-in links to Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites, plus the Opera Mini browser and other email services.

Did Al Gore just confirm a two-iPhone launch?

Al Gore caused a stir among Apple fans when they heard part of a speech he gave Wednesday in South Africa, PC World reported. Gore, who is an Apple board member, made a passing reference to “the new iPhones coming out next month,” according to those who attended the talk and a video from the speech.

Some have taken this to be confirmation that the company is, in fact, launching two models of the iPhone at its rumored Oct. 7 event. But Stuff Magazine editor Toby Shapshak told the magazine that it wasn’t clear from Gore’s remarks whether he was talking about Apple introducing two models of the iPhone or simply referencing the sheer number of iPhones that eager consumers are expected to snap up in droves.

According to a survey from RBC Capital Markets, the iPhone 5 is more highly anticipated than its predecessor, with 31 percent of respondents likely to purchase the handset at launch. The same survey found that 66 percent of iPhone owners planned to upgrade to the next model, Boy Genius Report said.

Despite that excitement, it seems users would not be willing to switch carriers just for the iPhone. Fifty-four percent of Sprint customers — who are expected to see the phone added to their device lineup — said that they would be more likely to buy the phone if it hits their carrier; 53 percent of T-Mobile customers said the same.

New iPhone App Unlocks the eBook Walled Garden

Portland, Oregon (PRWEB) September 22, 2011

Inkstone Software announces free iOS eBook Search app giving readers over 2 million books free to read on their Kindle, Nook, or iBooks apps after major eBook retailers close their in-app bookstores.

Apple's recent lock-down of in-app bookstores has left a lot of people adrift in a sea of confusing eBook formats. Books purchased for one reader, can't be read on another, and it's becoming increasingly difficult to locate good books for your reader.

However a new free iPhone and iPad app called eBook Search from veteran developers Inkstone Software has come to the rescue, allowing users to tap into a library of over 2 million books, while also giving people the power to download a book to their choice of reader app at the touch of a button. With eBook Search, readers are no longer limited to the books available in one reader app.

"What most owners of eBook reader apps don't realize is there are huge libraries of free books out there. From timeless classics, to up and coming indie writers, and fan fiction - there is something for everyone", says Inkstone CEO Patrick Thompson, "But these libraries weren't easy to access on your iPhone or iPad. That's why we developed eBook Search."

After browsing the catalogs, the user simply selects the book, and with a couple of taps on the screen, the book is transferred to the user's favorite eBook reader like iBooks, Kindle, Nook, or Kobo. And it's available for him to read on any of those apps or via e-mail

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/09/22/prweb8817821.DTL#ixzz1YjCXxTL1

More next-gen iPhone parts surface as '4S' case packaging appears

Whether it's an "iPhone 4S" or an "iPhone 5," new components show an updated iPhone with a design similar to the current-generation model, while the packaging for a third-party case refers to a "4S" model.

The latest next-generation iPhone components were leaked to Indian iPhone repair site iRepair.in and shared with AppleInsider. They show a front glass screen the same size and design as the currently available iPhone 4.

Internal components, however, suggest the screen is accompanied by new hardware, making it a version of the handset that has not yet been announced. One noticeable change is the forward-facing camera, as the ribbon cable connected to it has changed from a small L-shaped design to one that is longer and straight.

Also pictured is the dock connector assembly of the unreleased iPhone, featuring a slight change in the connector cable and connector pins from the iPhone 4 first released in 2010. The headphone jack and power button assembly unit has also been tweaked, with a slightly modified connector pin.

iRepair also leaked alleged "iPhone 4S" parts earlier this week, reportedly obtained from Shenzhen, China. The components were said to have come from someone who identified the phone as an "iPhone 4GS."

Report: Japanese Mobile Carrier SoftBank To Lose iPhone Monopoly To KDDI

It happened in the US a few months ago, and now something similar is about to happen in Japan, too: in one of Apple’s biggest markets, mobile carrier SoftBank is reportedly about to lose its exclusive domestic distribution rights for the iPhone and has to share the market with competitor KDDI.

Nikkei Business Online claims it has learned that KDDI au, Japan’s second biggest mobile carrier with 33 million customers, will provide the iPhone 5 starting next year. If the rumored roll-out of the phone next month will become reality in Japan, too, this means that SoftBank has a few months before its closest competitor can start tapping into their most important segment.

SoftBank has been Apple’s partner in Japan since August 2008 (when the iPhone 3G made its debut in Japan) and is also the exclusive provider of the iPad in this country. Gartner estimates that Apple, via SoftBank, has sold 7.5 million iPhones so far in Japan.

Nikkei Business also says the iPhone 5 will support the CDMA standard. Japan’s biggest mobile carrier NTT Docomo, long rumored to be interested in distributing the handset as well, will apparently be left out.

Neither Apple nor KDDI have confirmed the Nikkei Business report so far.

Source:http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/report-japanese-mobile-carrier-softbank-to-lose-iphone-monopoly-to-kddi/2011/09/22/gIQA2RjgnK_story.html

Samsung Galaxy S Glide QWERTY Slider with a dual-core heads to Rogers

I know there is still a huge market for QWERTY slider smartphones these days, and for someone waiting for a powerhouse slider this may be exactly what you’ve been waiting for. Sadly for now this is only known to be headed to Rogers Canada but it sounds impressive and we have all the details. It may not be named a Galaxy S “II” but don’t let that fool you.

rogers-samsung-galaxy-slide2-e1316705189445

Shown in the image below the Glide features an impressive 4 row slide-out QWERTY keyboard with big and well spaced keys, as well as dedicated home, menu, back, and search buttons on the outer edges. We mentioned this is titled with the Galaxy S name and it appears Samsung chose not to call this a Galaxy S II phone but we aren’t fully clear why.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 mistakenly exchanged at Best Buy

About a week ago we reported that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 was up for pre-order at Best Buy. Unfortunately it was not specified as to when customers at Best Buy would be able to get their hands on the product, but if the reports are correct, it looks like the stock for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 has already arrived in Best Buy stores.

Based on a report that a reader of AndroidCentral sent in, it seems that due to a manufacturing defect on his Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, he took it back to the Best Buy store in order to get it exchanged. However instead of getting back a brand new Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, he instead was given a Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9. Oddly enough the Best Buy employee did not know that he/she had just given out a tablet that had yet to be launched, and we guess that the person did not bother mentioning the little slip up either.

Best Buy Mistakenly Replaces User’s Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 with an 8.9

Someone going to Best Buy to get his faulty Galaxy Tab 10.1 exchanged got a bit more (or less, depending on how you feel about it) than what he bargained for. Instead of giving him the same model he had previously, a Best Buy employee accidentally gave him a Tab 8.9 instead. That means they’re in stock and absolutely should be launching very soon (we’re hearing tomorrow, but anything can happen). Now, to go see if I can exchange this old busted Dell laptop for an Eee Pad Slider

Source:http://phandroid.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/tab_8.9.jpg

Apple moving away from Samsung memory components

Apple has allegedly already switched away from Samsung for production of the next-gen A6 processor for iOS devices, and if the latest report from Digitimes is accurate, Apple's alsodiversifying its sources for DRAM and NAND memory. Digitimes' sources claim that Apple is now starting to source NAND memory from Toshiba and mobile RAM from Elpida.

Currently, a fairly large proportion of the internal components of iPhones and iPads are actually manufactured by Samsung. Considering the much-publicized global patent spats between the two companies, this puts Apple in a potentially awkward position. It makes good business sense for Apple to start sourcing components from the few tech companies on Earth that haven't filed lawsuits against it (yet).

MacRumors points out that Samsung's currently contracted for US$7.8 billion in parts over 2011, including the A5 processor that powers the iPad 2. Although Samsung is the world's largest supplier of many electronic components, losing Apple's business will likely put a very large dent in the Korean tech giant's ledger.

Loose-Lipped Employee Reveals Facebook Changes Over Twitter

As 750 million users wait for Facebook to announce radical changes to its site at the company's f8 developer conference on Thursday, luckily for us, there's another social network called Twitter, where employee slip-ups were both born and perfected.

On Wednesday night at about 8:10 p.m., Facebookemployee Ji Lee (@PleaseEnjoy) tweeted, "The 'Listen with your friend' feature in ticker is blowing my mind. Listen to what your friends are listening. LIVE."

Soon after Lee posted the tweet, he deleted it from his account. A screenshot was taken before its removal, which then made its way around the Internet.

Earlier this week, Facebook launched the ticker feature, which allows users to follow their friends' actions in real-time. Judging by Lee's tweet, Facebook will allow friends to view what other users are listening to, most likely through an online music platforms like Spotify, and then choose to join the listening session. This functionality has potential to create listening parties between friends.Read more at http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/218357/20110922/facebook-changes-ji-lee-facebook-facebook-f8-spotify-google-daniel-ek-bob-pittman-billy-chasen.htm

Did Twitter Erase #Troy Davis As A Trending Topic?

A writer from the website Singleblackmale.org is claiming that Twitter erased Troy Davis from the trending topics section numerous times in the days leading up to his execution.

Here are a few excerpts from his article:

As a blogger, a number of people contacted me throughout the day on Tuesday, September 20th with the theory that “Troy Davis” and related topics were being censored on Twitter. I also received an email that day from Courtney Rose-Harris of the NAACP New Media Department in Washington D.C. She asked that I share the story of Troy Davis with my network. The subject line of her email included the hashtag “#TooMuchDoubt.” For those of you who are unfamiliar with Twitter hashtags, these are used to unify related subjects under a similar term. In theory, this will allow a “trend” to begin, whereby more and more attention is drawn to the topic discussed by people with similar interest.

A casual observation of current Twitter trends at the time saw no mention of #TooMuchDoubt or another popular and obvious hashtag, #TroyDavis. Despite the fact that the story was being covered by national news organizations across the country, I gave Twitter the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps it simply was not trending worldwide I assumed. With this in mind, I limited Twitter’s trending search to one of Georgia’s largest cities with a high concentration of African Americans, Atlanta. I still saw no mention of #TooMuchDoubt or #TroyDavis trending in this area. I did notice #SideChickBirthdayGifts and #DudesThatSayNoHomo trending 1 and 2, respectively. I found this somewhat suspicious.

By this time, the belief that Twitter was actively censoring and blocking the Troy Davis topic from trending was spreading.

Source:http://newsone.com/nation/technology-nation/newsonestaff2/troy-davis-twitter-trending-topic/

Art world is a-Twitter over Andy Warhol exhibit

After all, he sort of invented the idea of speaking in aphorisms of less than 140 characters: "In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes." He was nothing if not prescient.

This thought will linger with viewers at the National Gallery of Art's new Warhol exhibit, Warhol Headlines, which opens Sunday in Washington and is up until Jan. 2. It proves, as if any further proof were necessary, that Warhol was right. We are living in a world first imagined by this artistic oddball decades ago, dominated by media saturation coverage of crime, celebrities, scandal and gossip.

Warhol was obsessive in his effort to document the insatiable appetite — his own and everyone else's — for sensational news, and these 80 paintings, photos, films, video and television are what came of it. Fans and consumers of newspapers will notice two things: Newspapers used to matter!

And headlines have hardly changed: Royal babies. Plane crashes. Liz Taylor's marital woes. Food contamination. Even piracy on the high seas. "Tunafish Disaster" and "Pirates Seize Ship" were just two New York tabloid headlines that Warhol turned into art. The more things change …

"Twitter terrorists" freed

Cartels have shattered the sense of security in some Mexican cities. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Mexico’s “Twitter terrorists" have been freed after four weeks in jail.

The pair, a local journalist and a math teacher, had tweeted about an attack on a primary school— that turned out to be untrue.

Before anyone realized that, panicked parents flocked to the school to rescue their kids.

When the hoax was uncovered, the two were charged with terrorism and sabotage, which could have given them 30 years in jail.

That’s kind of a long time. Supporters, while annoyed by their alarmist tweets, protested that they should be protected by freedom of speech.

But in Mexican states dealing with drug violence, people have been put on edge amid the realization that the cartels are no longer targeting their rivals and enemies, but ordinary civilians as well.

Mexicans have been relying increasingly on social-networking sites, and Twitter in particular, to spread information about attacks. With journalists under attack, some of them killed or fleeing for their lives, civilian reporting has stepped in to fill the gaps.

The value of social-networking sites hasn’t gone unnoticed by the cartels, who recently tortured and murderedtwo people for Tweeting about the Zetas, according to a sign left by the people’s bodies.

After their murders, some Mexicans tweeted that backing down would be a victory for the cartels. So the abuse of such a powerful tool could lead to further confusion and mistrust at a time when tensions are high.

Throwing these two in jail might have seemed reactionary by the authorities, but it’s also an effort to exert some control in a town where armed gunmen can hold up traffic to dump two trucks of bodies on the street.

That’s of course what happened on Wednesday in Veracruz.\
Source:http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/news/regions/americas/mexico/twitter-terrorists-freed

Alec Baldwin Goes on Twitter Tirade Over Troy Davis

Alec Baldwin's on a rampage, and it's not about GE microwaves or Schweddy Balls.

The "30 Rock" star and veteran actor has been tweeting about the execution of convicted cop killed Troy Davis since Wednesday night. Well, sort of -- his tweets have turned into a long-winded rant about subjects as removed from Davis as former Vice President Dick Cheney, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and conservative author Michelle Malkin. For example:

"When do Cheney and Rumsfeld go on trial for murder? Will that trial be in Texas? Georgia?"

"I wonder if @michellemalkin will push the needle in herself on a man the former FBI director said might have reasonable doubt on his side"

Baldwin's beef appears to be not just with Davis but also with "blood-thirsty right wing trash" and general world problems. This morning, he tweeted, "Troy Davis is still dead. The gulf, still contaminated. Fukushima, still radioactive. Iraq, war."

D.C. Fire returns to Twitter

The D.C. Fire Department relaunched its popular Twitter feed Thursday, moving swiftly to head off concern that Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) was trying to quash the flow of emergency news updates.

During a closed-door meeting with Gray’s communications staff, Peter Piringer, chief spokesman for the Fire Department, was told he could resume posting updates as @dcfireems on Twitter about emergency calls immediately, administration officials said.

Oscar Mendez, another fire official, will also help Piringer manage social media for the department to ensure timely updates.

With the Internet changing how residents get their news, Piringer had embraced Twitter as a vehicle for getting out information about ongoing fire or ambulance calls.

But the department’s Twitter feed went dark late last month following concern from top officials that sensitive information was being posted. Around the same time, Piringer went on vacation.

In response to the move, members of the local media questioned Gray on Tuesday about whether he was abandoning his pledge of transparency.

VIA Seeks to Ban iPad, iPhone in U.S. for Patent Infringement

Apple, Inc. (AAPL) is currently riding high on its victory over rival Samsung Electronics Comp., Ltd.'s (SEO 005930) in Germany. German courts sided with Apple and banned sales of Samsung's tablets, as they say Apple owns exclusive rights to minimalist tablet designs. As reports indicate that Samsung is currently the only major Android company currently coming close to rivaling Apple in sales, Apple for now enjoys a court-enforced monopoly on the tablet market for the time being.

Now, Taiwanese motherboard, CPU, and chipset maker VIA Technologies, Inc. (TPE:2388) has just filed suit in U.S. Federal Court in Delaware, seeking to ban sales of Apple's iPad and iPhone, which it says infringe upon three of its U.S. patents. VIA is also seeking damages and has asked for a trial by jury.

VIA writes, according to a copy of the complaint obtained by Bloomberg, "The products at issue generally concern microprocessors included in a variety of electronic products such as certain smartphones, tablet computers, portable media players and other computing devices."

The company seems in good position to see success. The Delaware court is known as a plaintiff friendly region, akin to the Eastern District Federal Court of Texas.

For VIA the suit is somewhat personal, as the company has close ties to "patent poor" HTC Corp. (SEO:066570), a recent target of Apple's intellectual property aggression. VIA recently sold its S3 Graphics subsidiary to HTC for $300M USD. VIA had already won a lawsuit against Apple for patents held by S3 -- HTC is now using that victory to try to force Apple to cross license the IP that would allow it to continue to sell Android tablets and smartphones in the U.S. and other regions.

BlackBerry falls behind combined Android, iPhone use in workplace

Computerworld - More workers use iPhone and Android smartphonescombined than BlackBerry smartphones, according to a survey of 1,681 U.S.-based workers released Thursday by Forrester Research.

That finding amplifies what many have known for a while about the entrenched workplace smartphone veteran: the BlackBerry faces trouble from its competitors.

The BlackBerry, made by Research in Motion, still leads among U.S. workers, with 42%, the survey said, with Apple's iPhone accounting for 22% and Android devices, 26%.

The survey also found that nearly half, or 48% of the group, said that they chose the primary smartphone used for their work without considering what their company supports. Only 29% said they chose the smartphone from a list of phones the company supports, while 23% said they had no choice in the matter.

Often, corporate IT shops will choose BlackBerry smartphones when requiring a worker to use a specific smartphone, partly because of the perceived security benefits, many analysts, including at Forrester, have found. The growth in Android phones and the iPhone -- many of them brought to workplaces by workers independently -- are forcing IT shops to rethink that decision, however.

Ted Schadler, a Forrester analyst, said the survey points to two major trends. The first is that more workers than ever are bringing consumer-focused devices, such as Android and iPhone smartphones, to use for work, and more companies are supporting those devices.

For smartphone security issues, consumers, enterprises rely on carriers

Quality of service is no longer the most important factor in assessing mobile network operators. Users of smartphones and other mobile devices are placing more importance on their cell phone carrier’s ability to keep their data safe and respond to security incidents, according to a new survey.

Carriers are held responsible for a variety of smartphone security issues, from SMS text phishing and unsolicited spam and text messages, to malware and rogue applications, according to the survey of more than 2,000 U.S. smartphone users. Mobile network operators are among the most trusted service providers, with only banks more trusted. The survey was conducted by U.K.-based market research consultancy Loudhouse and was commissioned by Dublin-based mobile security vendor AdaptiveMobile.

“The carrier is usually the one that provides your access, the service and the handset,” said Gareth Maclachlan, founder and chief operating officer of AdaptiveMobile. “The research that we’ve conducted shows consumers turn to the carriers to protect them from the various threats they’re seeing in the mobile space today.”

The survey found service quality is no longer the most important aspect of the carrier relationship with smartphone users. Nearly 70% of those surveyed said keeping personal details safe and secure was the biggest factor in building and maintaining trust in a carrier. Security issues erode trust and can potentially prompt users to change carriers, with 90% of those surveyed indicating they would change or consider changing their carrier if unexpected charges were on their bill related to security problems.

Got a Bad Habit? Your Smartphone Can Cure Your Vices

Addicted to chocolate? Can’t seem to kick the smoking habit? Still biting your nails? Skipped the gym again? If you have a bad habit you can’t seem to break, don’t worry: You have help on your smartphone.

Here are a few apps to rid you of your vices, keep you in line and create better habits.

MyQuitCoachSmoking is said to be one of the hardest addictions to break, and different methods for quitting work for different people. The MyQuitCoach app designs a personalized plan for you to end the nicotine addiction.

The team at Livestrong.com -- the Lance Armstrong Foundation -- created the app as a support network.

Determine what motivates you and upload those ideas to the app, and find encouragement by chatting with others who are going through the same process or have already had success. The app helps you set attainable goals, and keep track of your daily consumption and allowance of cigarettes. Most important, you will receive alert reminders to reward yourself for staying strong.

You can expand your support network to include your Facebook and Twitter to cheer you on as you meet your goals.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/09/22/got-bad-habit-your-smartphone-may-be-able-to-cure/#ixzz1YiQ85RkO

Google Android Meets Tout.com Video Sharing App, iPad Next?

Tout.com, the 15 second video sharing website (of which this blogger is a featured user, or “Touter”) was originally launched in 2010 under another name, then officially re-launched as Tout.com in 2011, and around an iPhone app.

And even though iPhones sales dominated the smartphone industry for a few years, Google Android sales leaped ahead of iPhone sales in 2010, before “flattening out” as one publication put it.

Still, it became an imperative for the Tout.com execs, CEO Michael Downing, Community Manager Gardner Loulan, and Scott Epstein in Marketing (and now joined by Katie Fountain as Marketing Manager), to speed the development of a Tout app for Android.

Before we get to that, here’s a video of my recent Tout.com, office visit:

Google Android Meets Tout.com Video Sharing App, iPad Next?

How Does An Article Get to the Top of Google News?

Pasadena, CA (PRWEB) September 22, 2011

Today at the Online News Association conference in Boston, MA, Perfect Market, Inc. (www.perfectmarket.com), Local SEO Guide and Newsknife released a new survey detailing never before seen insights into how articles are ranked by Google News (www.googlenewsrankingfactors.com). Respondents included the news publishing industry's most influential online strategists. Participating news SEOs have worked with publishers including The New York Times Company, The Tribune Company, Time Warner and Conde Nast.

The result of the survey is a list of the "Top Ten Most Important Google News Ranking Factors," including tactical approaches and insider commentary on emerging trends. The report reveals many new insights about how to get content ranked highly on Google News and also clarifies myths and misperceptions around how articles make it to the top of the Google News page.

News ranking factors may surprise many online strategists. Unlike ranking factors in Google.com, where domain authority is widely believed to carry influence, 'category authority' is "massively important" when determining Google News rank. Similarly, 'authority' matters, but it's much more likely the category focus of the site pulls more weight within the news ranking algorithm.

Other insights from the survey include the fact that being the first to publish isn't necessarily important when determining Google News rank while neither is the publisher's authority.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/09/22/prweb8819457.DTL#ixzz1YiP9f06m

A Google tutorial for Rick Santorum

(CBS) - Rick Santorum is making headlines again, but this time he's going after Google for - well - being Google.

The Republican presidential candidate attacked the search engine for not pulling down search results for a sexual term that was invented by gay activist Dan Savage and his readers. The top Google result for "Rick Santorum" is a site called Spreading Santorum, which is a blog owned by Seattle-based newspaper, The Stranger.

The site's landing page defines "santorum" with a digital rendering of what it might look like, FYI. So, tread lightly. If you haven't Googled "santorum" by now, we discourage eating while doing so. We can only describe is as the thing that you get after the thing that happens when the two things come together. Get it? Eek.

Dan Savage threatens Rick Santorum with another "Google bomb" (NSFW)

Santorum believes it is Google's responsibility to take down references to the other definition of his name. In a statement given to Politico Santorum said, "To have a business allow that type of filth to be purveyed through their website or through their system is something that they say they can't handle but I suspect that's not true."

We contacted Google for a statement and spokesperson Gabriel Stricker said, "Google's search results are a reflection of the content and information that is available on the web. Users who want content removed from the Internet should contact the webmaster of the page directly."

We can't see that happening, unless Santorum and Savage kiss and make up. Savage was the editor-in-chief of The Stranger for years and his popular column, Savage Love, is a major draw to the website.

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Thursday, 22 September 2011