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Verizin FiOS Widgets Bazaar brings Twitter and Facebook to your TV
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Internet, Software,
Remember those rising files Facebook and Twitter features we told you about? Well, they finally arrived. Verizon FiOS is in the middle of rolling out its Widget Bazaar, which includes Twitter and Facebook integration. You’ll be able to see what others are tweeting in regards to the show that you’re watching in the read-only Twitter widget. For example, if you’re watching a baseball game, you can pull up the Twitter widget to see what others are saying about the same game.
A Facebook widget is also being introduced, and will allow you to see a basic view of your news feed, even allowing you to see your friends photos. While you can’t do any manual updates, the Facebook widget does support sending status updates showing what shows you’re watching. The one caveat here, is that you can currently only have one Facebook profile on a files cable box.
There are other features here as well, as blip.tv, DailyMotion, and Veoh videos will be available to Home Media DVR subscribers.
According to Verizon, this is just the beginning. Their plan is to allow developers access to their open platform so that more interactive files TV applications will be available.
Read More 
| Verizon FiOS WIdget Bazaar Release
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3G speed test: Verizon wins, AT&T dead last
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Corporate News, Internet, Science, Wireless / WiFi,
No shocker here. Wired.com did their own independent tests to determine the fastest and slowest average 3G network speeds in the US, and Verizon came out on top. The survey included 15,000 participants, with 12,000 of them reporting back with data that was valid and usable for the tests. Verizon clocked in with an average download speed of 1,940 kbps, T-Mobile dropped in at second at 1,793 kbps, Sprint took third at 1,598 kbps, and AT&T was way behind at just 901 kbps. That’s just sad, and very telling when you consider the complaints from many an iPhone user as it pertains to 3G speeds.
Granted, this wasn’t the most scientific of studies, as the test included 8153 AT&T users, compared to just 856 from Verizon, but hey, the info is still useful, right?
Read More | Wired
Microsoft Office 2010 Video Tour
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Internet, Microsoft, Software, Videos,
So Microsoft Office 2010 has officially been unveiled, and there’s a lot of excitement surrounding the announcement, mostly due to the fact that a large portion of Office 2010 will be available as a free web application online. Microsoft has put together a bunch of videos showing off the new features found in the Office web applications, as well as Word 2010, PowerPoint 2010, Outlook 2010, and all the rest. We’ve put the video that focuses on the web apps up top, and you can watch the rest after the break as well.
Click to continue reading Microsoft Office 2010 Video Tour
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Amazon to acquire Netflix to form digital movie powerhouse?
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Home Entertainment, Internet, Movies, Rumors,
Netflix stock is surging today due to a hot rumor that the company may be acquired by Amazon.
To the average Amazon consumer, this may be an odd pairing at first glance. However, as broadband penetration becomes more widespread throughout the US, digital movie download services will slowly drive a nail through physical disk media rental services. Both Amazon and Netflix offer movie streaming services right now. Many users of the Netflix service have complained about the lack of newer content being available. Amazon however, offers new movies for rent and download. Together, though, you have one hell of an offering.
A Netflix acquisition for Amazon would mean up airing of these two services, which in the eyes of many a digital downloader would be perfection.
Of course this is all rumor, and we won’t know for sure until something official comes out of either camp. However, looking at the stock surge, there certainly seems to be something up at Netflix. Do note, however, a similar rumor cropped up about two years ago, and nothing ever came of it.
Read More | Bloomberg
Microsoft introduces Office 2010 with web apps
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Internet, Microsoft, Software,
Today, Microsoft has introduced Office 2010 at their Worldwide Partner Conference. As rumored over the past few weeks, Office 2010 will bring with it the first free cloud-based Microsoft Office product. This will be Microsoft’s answer to products like Google Docs, Zoho Docs, and other free online office suites. According to the company, Office 2010 web apps will work with Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari.
You can take a look at the Microsoft Office 2010 technical preview page now, which will soon be open to a limited set of beta testers.
Here’s what we know about Microsoft Office 2010:
Web Apps
As we said, Office 2010 features the introduction of web apps that are completely free to use. The online version of Office 2010 will include Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote. Now, while these are all free, Microsoft does not see them as a replacement for the full desktop office suite. These apps do not include all the bells and whistles that you’ll find the desktop versions, but they do put Microsoft on the map as far as free online office suites are concerned.
Click to continue reading Microsoft introduces Office 2010 with web apps
Read More | Office 2010 Preview
Amazon launches Amazon Wireless, selling mobile plans
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Hot Deals, Internet, Wireless / WiFi,
Amazon has launched Amazon Wireless beta, an online storefront where you can purchase voice and data plans from AT&T and Verizon, with T-Mobile and Sprint also coming soon. Normally, we wouldn’t give something like this a second look, but it’s Amazon, and they will be pointing consumers to this wireless portal from within the main Amazon site. The nice thing about Amazon Wireless is that you can compare offerings from the carriers in one easy-to-use spot, rather than visiting 2-4 different sites. Even better, all that mail-in rebate stuff goes out the window if you end up buying your mobile phone and plan on Amazon Wireless - all discounts are instant. Amazon Wireless beta is open now, and currently has over 130 phones up for sale.
Read More | Amazon Wireless
Microsoft SIlverlight 3 now available, takes aim at Flash, HD streaming
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: HDTV, Internet, Microsoft, Software, Video Games,
Microsoft Silverlight 3 is live, and you can go ahead and update your browsers now over at Microsoft’s Silverlight page. Silverlight 3.0.40624.0 weighs in at 4.7MB, and works with Internet Explorer, Firefox 2 and 3, and Safari 3 and 4. Here’s a look at some of the major new features:
- Media: GPU hardware acceleration, new codec support (H.264, AAC, MPEG-4), raw bitstream Audio/Video API, and improved logging for media analytics
- Graphics: GPU Acceleration and hardware compositing, perspective 3D, bitmap and pixel API, pixel shader effects, and Deep Zoom improvements
- Application development: Deep linking, navigation and SEO, improved text quality, multi-touch support, 60+ controls available, and library caching support
- Data-binding improvements, validation error templates, server data push improvements, binary XML networking support, and multi-tier REST data support
Also, remember that Xbox 360 Instant-on 1080p stuff? That’s all powered by Silverlight 3 as well (yes, Silverlight is coming to your Xbox 360 dashboard.) It’s a solid upgrade, and the installation is pretty much immediate if you are on any sort of respectable broadband connection. Definitely worth a look, and you can bet that Microsoft will be pushing hard for a few big Silverlight exclusives, like they did with the Beijing Olympics.
Try Out iPhone 3.0 HTTP Live Streaming Now
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Handhelds, Internet, Videos,
One of the new iPhone 3.0 features that Apple happily touted when they introduced the new OS is HTTP Streaming Media. Now, the common man may not exactly know much about HTTP Streaming, so let’s break it down for a moment. HTTP Live Streaming allows a server to server multiple versions of the same media file, and serve the one that will perform best for you depending on the amount of bandwidth you have available. If you move to an area with a higher or lower amount of bandwidth while you are viewing a piece of content, the video will be dynamically improved or degraded so that you get the best experience. Very cool, right?
If you want to give it a try, you can do that right now at the iPhone 3.0 Video Showcase, which is hosted by Akamai. Visit the site on your iPhone for the full effect, of course.
Microsoft announcing Office Online This Monday?
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Google, Internet, Microsoft, Rumors, Software,
Look like the reasoning behind Google announcing their new Chrome OS yesterday was to take some of the steam away from a Microsoft announcement due this Monday. Word on the street is that Microsoft is set to announce a web-based Microsoft Office product at this Monday’s Worldwide Partner Conference, taking place in New Orleans.
So, what are the clues that a new Office in the cloud is on its way? Well, for starters, my pal Robert Scoble has been giving hints about a Microsoft product that he has seen, but can’t talk about, hinting at what Microsoft will be dropping on Monday. He did specifically state that is isn’t the new Microsoft non-IE browser, and that the product does run in a browser, including non-IE browsers.
Also, check out Office.com. Looks like the current owners of that domain are getting ready to move off of it, so that someone new can step in. Yup.
Remember, Google also removed the beta tag from their suite of products just the other day as well, to appease business users and maybe lure them into using Google’s online office suite. It seems that all signs point to Microsoft announcing a web-based Microsoft Office suite, which would run completely in the browser. Think about it - Microsoft Office is huge, some consider it a resource hog, and that is the allure of Google Docs and the rest of the Google offering. If Microsoft put it online, without all the bloat, that makes it a lot tougher for Google to defeat.
Read More | Robert Scoble's FriendFeed
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Video: Mr. Kennedy Show How Not To Act on Twitter
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Internet, Videos,
Former WWE
Superstar Ken “Kennedy” Anderson just put the video above on YouTube, which we had to share. Look, we know a lot of you hang out on places like Facebook and Twitter, and that’s cool with us. Just don’t be the guy or girl that Mr. Kennedy is mocking in the video above, mkay?
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