Category: Websites (Page 15 of 23)

      Skype’s Founders Not Going To Play Nice

      September 17, 2009 /

      Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom.Less than three weeks after eBay announced official plans to sell Skype, Skype’s founders decided they won’t be playing nice. Skype founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis filed suit against both eBay and private investors via Jolitd Ltd., a firm owned by the two from which Skype licenses peer-to-peer technology. The suit alleges copyright infringement and requests a permanent injunction against Skype along with damages.

      According to the lawsuit:

      The Skype companies have continued to infringe Joltid’s copyrighted works on a massive scale. Each day that the Skype Companies continue to make available its Internet telephone software for download, Skype users download Joltid’s copyrighted works approximately six times per second.

      That’s a lot of copyright infringing, and a big problem for eBay, which claims to remain on track to sell the company in Q4. Friis and Zennstrom have since been contacting private venture groups in an attempt to buy back the Skype business. However this one shakes out, I’d guess it’s going to be pretty ugly.

      Source: Reuters

      Audio, News, Websites

      Vivox Is Coming To Facebook

      September 15, 2009 /

      Vivox logo.What’s Vivox? You may be using the service without knowing it. Vivox currently delivers in-game voice chat for EVE and Second Life a boasts more than 15 million users. But the service is looking to expand into a much bigger market: Facebook.

      Yes, live voice chat is coming to Facebook, and I just have one thing to say: Thank god for Facebook Lite. I hate to sound curmudgeonly, and no one likes a broken record, but voice chat is the last thing I want from people on Facebook. I realize this is great news for people who use Facebook as a primary method of communication. For all of you this could be really fantastic news.

      I will say, the service actually sounds really cool. It offers conference support, and users outside Facebook will be able to call in to participate in real-time chat, which could make keeping in touch a whole lot easier. One of the most interesting moves Vivox is making, though, is releasing the source code to other third-party app developers.

      Vivox will run on Facebook as a plug-in, so it’s not technically part of the core set of Facebook features. By opening up the source code, Vivox is giving voice chat to anything from games to utilities. It’s pretty easy to see how Facebook is swallowing up other social services at an alarming rate. It’s nabbed chat from AIM, integrated Twitter-like features, and now looks to go after Skype. Granted, this isn’t Facbeook proper doing the last, but it’s pretty close, and this kind of integration could turn Zuckerberg’s eyes to Vivox, and potentially open his wallet.

      For now Vivox is testing in closed beta, and probably won’t go public for a while. When it does, I’ll be sure to let you know, probably by mentioning once again just how much I hate Facebook.

      Audio, News, Websites

      Google Fast Flip Lets You Preview Your News

      September 14, 2009 /

      Google logo.Today Google launched an experimental news service aimed at making news more digestible. Called Fast Flip, the service is basically a visual replacement for Google News, which aggregates stories from all over the web. Fast Flip displays those stories visually, giving the reader a look at what’s through the link.

      This is one of those rare Google products I can see myself using every day. Most of the company’s announcements are interesting, falling into that “kinda neat” category that I go dig through when I’m extremely bored. This, though, could easily become the place I go first for news. In a way it’s like the Twitter of the news scene. Granted, things aren’t quite as immediate, but that’s something I appreciate. I don’t mind finding out, like I did tonight, that Patrick Swayze has passed away when it’s been edited once or twice, instead of “OMG PATRICK SWAYZE ILL MISS U <3.”

      You can take a look at Google’s newest project at fastflip.googlelabs.com.

      News, Websites

      Facebook Lite Is Like An Answered Prayer

      September 11, 2009 /

      Facebook Lite.Facebook rolled out a new feature yesterday that just might restore my faith in the service. I’ve long hated Facebook, and that hatred only grew as the site became more “feature-rich,” that is to say a much bigger pain in my ass. Luckily, I finally have some respite from all the requests for Mafia and Texas Hold ‘Em: Facebook Lite.

      Originally intended for use in countries where broadband is sporadic or even nonexistent, Facebook Lite offers a slimmed down version of the social service, removing all the extra applications and goodies in favor of a much more utilitarian user interface. You get the bare bones, nothing more. I love it.

      Facebook had this to say:

      We decided to roll out Facebook Lite in the U.S. to give users a simple, expedient alternative to facebook.com, and hope that it will fill this need. While the majority of our user base is outside the United States, we’re always working to enhance the new user experience even in markets where facebook.com is easily accessible. We have also found that people who are new to Facebook tend to be most interested in a simpler experience, focus on establishing their network of friends and communicating with them by writing on their walls, sending messages, and looking at pictures. We have introduced the Lite site with these new users in mind.

      I might actually log in more than my typical twice a month. You can check out the new service at lite.facebook.com.

      Source: TechCrunch

      News, Websites

      Pandora One Gets Desktop 2.0

      September 2, 2009 /

      Pandora One desktop client.Today Pandora announced the release of a new desktop client for all Pandora One users to download. If you don’t know, Pandora One is the paid version of the popular Pandora online radio service that compiles playlists based on the style of a selected song, artist, or genre.

      Along with your ad-free, desktop music listening experience, the Pandora One client update adds some features that were definitely missing from the older version. Among those features is listening history, which allows you to see what you’ve been listening to for the past hour. You also get a progress bar for the currently playing track, faster song transitions for your downvotes and skips, and track info on system tray hover for you Windows types.

      One of the features I like the most is persistent placement/volume settings. No more fiddling around with settings when you open the app. It remembers where you placed it on your desktop and the last volume setting. Set and forget is a lovely thing, especially if its something you fire up at the office first thing in the morning.

      You can read the full announcement over at the Pandora blog.

      Music, Websites

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