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Facebook brings event check-ins, unfriending to iPhone app
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Social Networking, App Updates, Free Apps,
Facebook yesterday updated its iPhone app to version 3.4, bringing enhancements to the News Feed and notifications UI as well as the option to check-in to Facebook Events on the go. For unfriending that cannot wait until you get back to your desktop, the app adds that, too.
The signature feature of the update, of course, is the mobile check-ins for Facebook Events. We previously reported that Facebook added another layer to its location-based functionality by including a check-in icon available on the day of a given event. The company had pledged to launch the feature soon on the iPhone and their mobile site. Yesterday's update fulfills that pledge.
Formerly, the only way you could check in to a Facebook Event was through Facebook Places, which entailed checking in to locations as you would with Foursquare or Gowalla. Now users can check-in to events themselves, opening up new possibilities for companies and individuals. For example, you could arrange contests at events.
Click to continue reading Facebook brings event check-ins, unfriending to iPhone app
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AT&T iPhone 4 drops more than twice as many calls as Verizon version
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Wireless / WiFi,
While the overal satisfaction rates with the AT&T and Verizon versions of the iPhone 4 are "virtually indistinguishable," consumers on the Verizon iPhone report fewer dropped calls, according to a report released this morning.
Of the 4,068 people surveyed by ChangeWave Research last month, about 82 percent of Verizon subscribers are "very satisifed" with their iPhone 4 and 80 percent of AT&T iPhone 4 users feel the same.
Customers on Verizon, however, reported a 1.8 percent dropped-call rate on the iPhone 4, while AT&T landed at 4.8 percent.
"Similar to the historical patterns in our overall industry findings – Verizon iPhone 4 owners currently report a lower dropped call rate than their AT&T iPhone 4 counterparts," ChangeWave said.
The company noted, however, that Verizon is in the early days of offering the iPhone 4; it debuted in early February. "It remains to be seen how well the Verizon network performs as the number of Verizon iPhone 4 owners ramps up and inevitably puts more pressure on their system," ChangeWave said.
Click to continue reading AT&T iPhone 4 drops more than twice as many calls as Verizon version
Thor, Green Lantern, Captain America, Cowboys & Aliens.
Yeah, I got all that. But did you know there's another comic book movie coming out this year that should be worth checking out?
This one's an animated feature called Gene-Fusion.
It's based on the comic book by Jeff Amano (Red Warrior) that was written by Ivan Brandon (Doc Savage), and illustrated by Neil Vokes (Dr. Strange) and Jay Geldhof (Grendel).
Here's the pitch from the press release: "In the year 2310, a new sport, Gene-Fusion, is all the rage… specially-trained athletes, called Fusers, design their own super-creature by combining three forms of animal DNA..."
Against that backdrop, four teens become Fusers only to find themselves part of a greater conspiracy that threatens the Earth.
Click to continue reading Comic Book Movie: Gene-Fusion
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Microsoft bringing the ribbon to Windows 8 Explorer
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Microsoft, PC / Laptop, Rumors, Software,
Perhaps people are overloaded on Apple rumors because the rumor mill has shifted to Microsoft and its next operating system, now referred to in the blogosphere as Windows 8.
The latest rumor is that Windows 8 will incorporate the "ribbon" interface with Windows Explorer. The feature - which put more functionality front-and-center rather than hidden behind drop-down menus - was first incorporated into Office 2007. With the release of Windows 7, it was also added to Paint and WordPad. A version of the "ribbon" interface is also included in Microsoft Office for Mac 2011.
According to Within Windows, Microsoft is thinking about adding the ribbon to Windows Explorer in the next iteration of the OS, but nothing is set in stone.
"In early builds of Windows 8, this Ribbon UI is only half-finished and, frankly, of dubious value," the blog wrote. "In fact, based on the divergent ways in which various related UI elements are repeated around the window frame, we get the idea that the use of the Ribbon in Explorer is, in fact, quite controversial inside the halls of Microsoft's Redmond campus."
Click to continue reading Microsoft bringing the ribbon to Windows 8 Explorer
It hasn't been that long since Kevin Rose left Digg, but early details of his new startup are already coming to light.
The company, a development lab focused on solving problems using the mobile Web, is called Milk. Located in San Francisco's Mission District, it has been described as an incubator, but TechCrunch notes that the philosophy behind it is much different than the approach taken by most other Silicon Valley startups.
Incubators are generally thought of as companies that take a lot of entrepreneurial ideas, fund them and help them get off the ground. Rose says that rather than launch a bunch of smaller ideas, Milk will ideally help give life to between four and six bigger, more ambitious businesses. According to TechCrunch, the Digg co-founder expects most of the ideas to fail, but ideally he hopes to see one or two "become viable companies that have a big impact."
Click to continue reading Next Kevin Rose startup: Milk
7th generation iPod nano to bring back camera?
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Cameras, Rumors,
The seventh-generation iPod nano might have some new bells and whistles. Apparently, the forthcoming iPod nano could feature a camera.
The report came from a post originally published to Chinese site Apple.pro that said Apple would retain the same compact size of the sixth-generation nano, but would add a camera to the music player.
The fifth-generation iPod nano was larger; it included a video camera, widescreen display, and video playback. For the current sixth generation nano, Apple stripped the device of the aforementioned features, made it smaller, and added a belt clip and a multitouch display.
For the seventh generation device, Apple will maintain the smaller design, but will add a camera again.
Click to continue reading 7th generation iPod nano to bring back camera?
How To: iOS 4.3.1 untethered jailbreak with RedSn0w and PwnageTool
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Mods / Hacks, Software,
iOS jailbreakers have been waiting about a month for the arrival of an untethered jailbreak to be released, since the arrival of iOS 4.3. Well, the day has finally arrived, and you can now safely upgrade to iOS 4.3.1 and jailbreak it with RedSn0w 0.9.6 on Mac and Windows platforms. We've got a step-by-step tutorial for you, explaining the process from start to finish, after the break.
Click to continue reading How To: iOS 4.3.1 untethered jailbreak with RedSn0w and PwnageTool
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Weekend Reading: Kirby, Dick Tracy, Godzilla & Jimmy Olsen
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Interviews, Movies, Reviews, DC Comics, Marvel Comics,
Everyone but me is at WonderCon this weekend. And I know this because of all the Facebook updates and Tweets that keep showing up in my inbox.
For those of us not walking the con floor and buying comics and debating the future of comics, let’s see if there’s something we can read:
Superman: Nikki Finke prints the letter that the late Joanne Siegel sent to Warner Bros. regarding the Siegel estate’s ongoing legal battle over Superman.
For those in need of some history about the current incarnation of the Warner empire, it begins with Kinney Parking Company which “was a New Jersey parking lot company owned by Manny Kimmel, Sigmund Dornbusch and mob figure Abner Zwillman. Prior to its public listing in 1960, it merged with a funeral home company, Riverside, and then expanded into car-rentals, office cleaning firms and construction companies."
Kinney National Services, Inc. “which was formed in 1966 when the Kinney Parking Company and the National Cleaning Company merged. The new company was headed by Steve Ross."
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Kirby, Dick Tracy, Godzilla & Jimmy Olsen
Time Warner removes Fox, Viacom, and Discovery channels from iPad App
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Corporate News, Home Entertainment, Software,
Amidst a controversy over streaming rights, Time Warner Cable has agreed to remove content from Fox Cable Networks, Viacom, and Discovery from its iPad app.
All three networks were "willing to threaten to sue over it," Jeff Simmermon, director of digital communications at Time Warner Cable, wrote in a blog post, so Time Warner has pulled the networks from its iPad streaming for the time being.
Specifically, Time Warner will remove streaming access to 11 channels: Animal Planet, BET, CMT, Comedy Central, Discovery Channel, FX, MTV, National Geographic, Nickelodeon, Spike, and VH1.
Time Warner still maintains that it has "every right" to stream content from these channels via its iPad app, but said it will focus its iPad efforts "on those enlightened programmers who understand the benefit and importance of allowing our subscribers - and their viewers - to watch their programming on any screen in their homes."
Click to continue reading Time Warner removes Fox, Viacom, and Discovery channels from iPad App
The best of April Fool’s Day 2011 from around the web
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Google, Internet,
April Fool's Day is upon us, and that means that you can never be too sure if anything you read today is true or bogus. Everyone from Google and Hulu to Funny or Die and Groupon have come up with their own gags, and here's a look at some of the ones circulating this morning. If you see any other notable April Fool's Day jokes, let us know in the comments.
Chromercise: In a throw-back to Jane Fonda and the Jazzercise era, Google is helping you get your fingers limbered up for some searching with Chromercise. Strap on your most flattering 80s fingerwarmers and Google-fied headbands, and feel the burn.
YouTube: While you might think that YouTube was founded in the last decade, it actually dates back to 1911, when videos of horse and buggy crashes and pre-talkie fruit conversations dominated the airwaves. And of course, pets were still able to play instruments with ease; trumpet cat ftw.
Autocompleter: You thought those auto-completes on Google were done by an algorithm? Nah, it's just Michael, an auto-completer at Google. He started out as a spell checker, but now provides users with suggestions as they type. Michael averages about 34,000 words per minute and goes through a keyboard every eight days.
Comic Sans for Everyone: As we all know, comic sans is everyone's favorite font. As a result, Google will roll it out as its default fonts across all Google products, effective April 4. It's live for a few lucky people in the Google Labs Trusted Tester Beta Preview Sandbox program, so check it out.
Gmail Motion: Typing and using a mouse to write emails? Blech. With Gmail Motion, you can use your Webcam and simple movements to tell Gmail what to write. To open an email, move your hands like your opening an envelope. To reply, point your thumb behind you; use both hands to reply all.
Click to continue reading The best of April Fool’s Day 2011 from around the web
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