Latest Gear Live Videos
How are you liking the 8/11 Xbox 360 Dashboard Update?
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Microsoft, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Marketplace,
Yeah, in case you forgot, today is the day that the masses (including you) get access to all the fancy new features in the latest Xbox 360 Dashboard Update! I’m talking about things like Netflix Movie Parties, Games on Demand, the Avatar Marketplace, etc. You can get the full scoop on all the updates, both major and minor, at the link below. What we wanna know now, though, is how you are liking it. Let us know in the comments.
Oh, and remember, there is more to come in a couple of months, as we still have Twitter, Facebook, Last.fm, and Zune Marketplace with 1080p instant-on movie streaming to look forward to later this fall.
Read More 
| August 2009 Dashboard Update Details
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Facebook buys FriendFeed
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Acquisitions, Social Media,
The social media Internets are all up in arms this afternoon with the news that FriendFeed has been acquired by Facebook. The full details were announced on the FriendFeed blog, and according to the press release, “all FriendFeed employees will join Facebook and FriendFeed’s four founders will hold senior roles on Facebook’s engineering and product teams.”
A lot of the recent Facebook feature additions have been borrowed from, or inspired by, FriendFeed, so the move only makes sense. It brings Facebook directly into the real-time web scene, as they take aim for Twitter.
There is a lot of speculation right now as to what exactly will become of the FriendFeed product, since there is quite a bit of overlap between what FriendFeed does and what Facebook does. Fans of FriendFeed fear that all the features will be rolled into Facebook, while FriendFeed ceases to exist. All we know for now is that “FriendFeed.com will continue to operate normally for the time being. We’re still figuring out our longer-term plans for the product with the Facebook team.” Kind of ominous, I know.
Still, if handled right, Facebook may become the standard for both connecting and real-time sharable status updates. Full press release after the cut.
Click to continue reading Facebook buys FriendFeed
Editorial: It’s time to raise the Xbox Live friend limit
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Editorial, Features, Home Entertainment, Microsoft, Music, Video Games,
Okay, I’ve had enough of the Xbox Live friend limit that Microsoft has imposed on us for far too long. I think this has gone on long enough, and I’m really not seeing a good reason for it. As many Xbox Live gamers know, the current limit on friends you can have is set to 100. The thing is, in the age of social networks like Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and all the others, we are now used to connecting with many people in our social graph across many different services.
Now, all that said, there is still one more very annoying piece to this puzzle. Did you know that the Zune Social and Xbox Live share one common friends list? In other words, if you currently have 100 Xbox Live friends, and you go out and buy a Zune, and want to connect with people who also have Zune’s (but don’t necessarily play games,) you are out of luck. You’ll have to remove someone from your Xbox Live friend list to add someone else. This is, in two words, absolutely ridiculous. I get wanting to share the Zune and Xbox ecosystem, but to shoot yourself in the foot like this is just puzzling. I personally have at least 15 people that I would like to add as friends on the Zune Social, but I can’t, because my Xbox Live list is maxed out.
Click to continue reading Editorial: It’s time to raise the Xbox Live friend limit
INQ introduces two new Smartphones for the Twitter-patted
Posted by Mark Rollins Categories: Smartphones, Handhelds,
For those of you who don’t want or need a BlackBerry, but do want some of the features of a smartphone, then you might want to check out two new phones from INQ. The purpose of the INQ Chat (with QWERTY keyboard) and INQ Mini (candybar model) is to bring “mobile Internet to the mass-market.” Each of them come with some Twitter-friendly applications and the user can also get some one-click apps for Facebook, Skype, IM, and Gmail. Details are sketchy on these phones, and we don’t even have a release date or price.
Oh, and speaking of Twitter, you can follow Gear Live to stay updated on the latest news.
Read More | INQ Press Release
What the F*ck is Social Media?
Posted by Drea Avellan Categories: Marketing, Social Media,
What the F*ck is Social Media: One Year Later, is a presentation by Marta Kagan depicting the impact of social media on our current culture. A great starting point for anyone just jumping into the social media bandwagon and a perfect way convince businesses to start taking social media seriously. The presentation explains that social media is about dialog with your consumers—it’s no longer a monologue. Filled with statics, metrics and tips, What the F*ck is Social Media One Year Later is a great presentation that gives some insight into the social media world in a clean, easy to understand manner.
Hands-on with the August 11 Xbox 360 Dashboard Update
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Downloadable Content, Features, Microsoft, Reviews, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Marketplace,
This morning, Microsoft hooked us up with an early preview of the next Xbox 360 Dashboard Update. We were able to get a look at the new Netflix features (which no longer require a PC,) the Avatar Marketplace, Game Ratings, Games on Demand, and more. While more coveted features like Twitter, Facebook, Last.fm, and Zune Marketplace won’t be landing until the fall, the update is still a solid one. Here are our thoughts on the next update, which lands on your Xbox 360 on August 11 (or sooner if you apply for early access!)
Click to continue reading Hands-on with the August 11 Xbox 360 Dashboard Update
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Toshiba Announces Three Digital Media Frames
Posted by Mark Rollins Categories: Accessories, Smart Home, Internet,
Digital Picture Frames are very common these days, but Toshiba Digital Media Frames are quite uncommon. Toshiba announced three new types at Rockefeller Center today, as well as its partnership with FrameChannel. Not only do these Wi-Fi connected frames offer personalized weather, traffic, sports, music and video, but a FrameChannel account gives users access to Flickr, Photobucket, and Facebook.
The 8-inch models are available in white (DMF82XWU) and black (DMF82XKU) for about $179.99. The black 10-inch frame (DMF102XKU) is priced at $229.99. All three frames should be available in August.
Read More | CrunchGear
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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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?
Where to Watch the Michael Jackson Memorial Online
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Music, Videos, Breaking News, Obituaries,
The Michael Jackson Memorial begins today, Tuesday, July 7th at 10:00 AM PDT, live at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. 17,500 people have won tickets, out of a staggering 1.6 million people who signed up for the priviledge. Of course, you don’t need to be in Los Angeles in order to enjoy this event, as there are multiple destinations online that will be streaming the Michael Jackson Memorial live, including Hulu with Fox News, Facebook with CNN, Ustream with CBS News, among others. Here’s a list, along with details, on each site that will be streaming the Michael Jackson Memorial.
Click to continue reading Where to Watch the Michael Jackson Memorial Online
