Mick Darling's posterousAll my blogging in one spot. (mostly)Filed under: readerThe Don't Be Evil Bookmarklet Makes Google's Social Results Useful Rather Than Simply Promotional [Video]
A group of engineers from Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace released a "Don't Be Evil" bookmarklet that tweaks the Google+ integration in Google search results to display the most relevant social network for an individual rather than simply promoting their (often less relevant) Google+ page. More »
Daily Mac App: AirBeam If you have an iPhone and iPad or Mac, you can set up an indoor surveillance system. All you need to get it going is AirBeam, which is software that turns your iPhone into a spy cam and your Mac desktop into a remote viewing station. Setup is simple -- just install AirBeam on all your hardware and the software will do the rest. There's a universal iOS version for your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch and a desktop version that'll run on your Mac. The desktop version is the viewer which will let you watch video and listen to audio streamed from your iOS device(s). You'll need a camera-enabled device if you want video; otherwise, you will only receive audio stream. Once you fire up the software on all your iOS devices, the desktop software will automatically detect their streams. You can watch one stream or multiple streams at the same time. The app keeps the iOS device running so you will have a stream as long as you have battery power. No worries if you don't have a Mac, as the iOS version of the software can work as a monitor, too. This handy feature lets you use your iPhone/iPod touch as a camera and your iPad as the monitor (or vice versa). This is perfect if you have a little one napping upstairs and you want to watch him or her while you're sitting at your desk. The only catch with this setup is that the iOS devices and the Mac must be on the same Wi-Fi network. AirBeam is more than just a novelty; it's sophisticated surveillance software that'll let you set up a motion alarm, an audio alarm and even off-network monitoring so you can monitor your house while you're out running errands. You'll have to know your external IP (the one assigned to your modem) and set up port forwarding on the router for this remote viewing to work. AirBeam also has a recording feature that'll capture up to 30 seconds of video when the software detects motion or sound. You can watch that video remotely using the IP address and port assigned by the AirBeam software. Though you can't pan the remote iOS device, you can toggle both the LED and the camera on and off. In my time using AirBeam, the software's performance was flawless and provided a far better experience than any remote camera I've owned. There was zero configuration, and the video quality was excellent. The only surveillance camera feature I missed was movement. Most security cameras include a swiveling mount which lets you control the position of the camera. You lose that control with AirBeam, but you get almost every other surveillance feature at a fraction of the cost of a dedicated camera. You can grab the Mac version of AirBeam for free, while the iOS version will cost you US$3.99. Daily Mac App: AirBeam originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Anonymous Hacks CBS, Universal Music — Not Colbert Report or Daily Show Twitter AccountsHacktivist group Anonymous made the rounds over the weekend, attacking sites from CBS.com to (once again) Universal Music. In what looks like hacking-spree retribution following the FBI’s shut down of file-sharing site Megaupload, Anonymous didn’t just take CBS.com offline on Sunday with a series of distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attacks — it redirected visitors to different web servers all together. This means that visitors trying to access CBS.com saw what appeared to be a completely deleted site for about 20 minutes. Anonymous redirected CBS.com visitors to servers that showed a directory file and error messages when trying to load pages. CBS.com is now back up and functioning properly. The group also took down other sites over the weekend, including UniversalMusic.com — a site the group attacked last week — as well as its parent company, Vivendi. Various Brazilian sites were also involved in the cyber-attacks, including one for popular singer Paula Fernandes. Elysée — the official website of the French government — as well as several Polish government sites were also hit. Although Twitter accounts for The Daily Show and The Colbert Report were also hacked Sunday night, it appears to be an act from Anonymous supporters — not Anonymous itself. Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) indicted seven people and two companies which ran the file uploading site Megaupload.com. The site — which called itself “the leading online storage and file delivery service” has been shut down for making $175 million on about a half a billion dollars in copyright infringement. Anonymous threatened in a video (above) to bring other sites down if Megaupload isn’t reinstated soon. The video states that Anonymous has gained access to the servers of the United Nations, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and various banks, and threatened to take them down: “We are prepared to launch a global blackout of these websites” if Megaupload isn’t back online in 72 hours. The video was released last Thursday. “We have access to banking and credit card information of millions of citizens,” the video said. “But as for the citizens, do not fear — for your accounts will not be compromised. This is simply to raise awareness — a demonstration to those that doubt our abilities. To those that support SOPA and PIPA. To those congressmen that want to vote yes on those bills. We are not f-ing playing. You have been warned.” According to a Huffington Post report, @ColbertReport and @TheDailyShow were also hacked on Sunday night, as identical tweets were sent out to followers with a link to this picture — two men in a disguise, one wearing a Pokemon hat. But the hackers said they were not associated with Anonymous, although they do support their efforts. The tweets also included hash-tags that referenced Anonymous and Stop ACTA!, a protest group of the anti-counterfeiting trade agreement. The tweets also included this message: “Watch your security, bro <3." Soon after, the accounts reportedly tweeted followers to ignore the previous messages, implying that they had been hacked. Other Viacom accounts -- including @ComedyCentral and @Spike_TV -- were also hacked in the process through Hoot Suite, social media dashboard that helps companies manage and send messages to Facebook and Twitter. The messages have since been deleted from @TheDailyShow, but @ColbertReport has left up a message denying ties to Anonymous: "We are not anonymous, however we do respect @anonops and @poisanon we are however http://twitter.com/ashpluspikachu <3 #stopACTA." What site do you think will be Anonymous' next big target? Do you think Anonymous will ever be stopped? Let us know thoughts in the comments. What is Anonymous? Check out the video below to learn more. More About: anonymous, ddos, Facebook, hackers, Twitter, YouTube SiriToggles Adds Siri Commands to Launch Apps and Control Settings on Jailbroken iPhones [Jailbreak]
iOS (Jailbroken): Siri can do a lot of things, but one thing iPhone 4S users have been wanting since the phone was released is the ability to launch apps and toggle settings. SiriToggles adds this ability to jailbroken iPhone's as a simple tweak. More »
Day One for Mac and iOS Is a Gorgeous Journaling Tool that Encourages Daily Writing [Downloads]
Mac/iOS: We've mentioned that regular writing can have big mental and emotional benefits, and even how keeping a work journal can help your career, but to really get into the habit of regular writing, you'll need a tool that encourages you to do it—one you'll enjoy using. If pen and paper doesn't suit your fancy, try Day One, a journaling app that looks great, helps you keep track of every entry you make, plan future notes and entries, password-protect your journal, and even inspire you when you feel like you're out of ideas. More »
Have we reached peak TV?Probably not, but right now American ownership is going down:
There is much more at the link, and for the pointer I thank Mark Thorson. TouchTV comes to LG Smart TV, iPads: catch news clips at home, on the go If you swing past your local Best Buy and pick up one of those new-fangled LG Smart TVs, you'll find TouchTV's news-clip collection platform available inside. That way you'll be able to watch the trendiest (or at least the most watched) current-affairs clips without having to wait the twenty seconds or so before your rolling news channel of choice displays similar. TouchTV also announced today an iPad app that'll let you grab those newsy clips from your Apple-based slate of choice. The app's available gratis from the store (link below) and we've got the official words and pictures from the company about both products after the interval. Jose Andrade contributed to this report. Continue reading TouchTV comes to LG Smart TV, iPads: catch news clips at home, on the go TouchTV comes to LG Smart TV, iPads: catch news clips at home, on the go originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Jan 2012 14:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | TouchTV (App Store) | Email this | Comments
from Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/22/touchtv-comes-to-lg-smart-tv-ipads-catch-n...
Sensixa e-AR duplicates the inner ear, knows if you've fallen and can't get up
No, it's not a Philippe Starck-designed hearing aid, although we kind of wish it were. What you're actually looking at is an over-the-ear sensor, dubbed the e-AR, made to mimic the human vestibular system. In layman's terms, this 3D accelerometer-equipped device, crafted by Sensixa, is capable of recording real-time information related to posture and orientation, much like the inner ear does, which is then relayed via an embedded low power radio to a remote receiver. The tech, which we spied passing through the FCC's gates, has already undergone several trials for sports and is now being eyed for use in geriatric care. (Take that, Life Alert pendants.) Interest piqued? Then feel free to peruse the rest of the filing and provided user's manual at the source below.
Sensixa e-AR duplicates the inner ear, knows if you've fallen and can't get up originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Jan 2012 01:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | FCC | Email this | Comments
from Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/22/sensixa-e-ar-duplicates-the-inner-ear-know...
14 Steps To Successful SEO For Startups![]() This is a guest post by Ryan Spoon (@ryanspoon), a principal at Polaris Ventures. Read more about Ryan on his blog at ryanspoon.com. For startups, it is dangerous to entirely separate product and marketing – both strategically and organizationally. A great product isn’t overly useful without an audience. And a great marketing strategy can’t save a poor product. Product and marketing have to coexist. So when imaging, building and eventually launching your product, it is important to also hone the marketing strategy. There are five core channels: - Paid marketing (SEM, display, affiliates, etc) For early-stage companies, advertising at scale is expensive and consequently difficult. Furthermore, PR and business development become easier efforts as the company matures. So where does that leave you as a resource-constrained startup? Marketing needs to come from the product itself. Last week I explored the role that social and virals play. And while the tech world is fascinated with social media and major platforms like Facebook and Twitter, we shouldn’t overlook the role of SEO (and consequently Google). Like Facebook and Twitter, SEO is another opportunity to expand your funnel and increase your audience — without an advertising budget! Also like social, SEO is far more effective when built directly into the product (“from the ground up”). Here are 14 guidelines for thinking about SEO. 6 Things to Know Before Starting a BusinessThis post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business. An entrepreneur’s life can be a real roller coaster. Having started a few businesses in my career, I thought it would be useful to highlight some of the hard-won experience I’ve learned throughout the process — the kind of advice I wish I’d known when I started my first, or even second, business. 1. Don’t Underestimate a Business PlanIf you’re not seeking outside funding at the start, it’s tempting to forgo writing out a formal business plan. However, taking the time to write out your business plan, forecasts and marketing strategy is a particularly effective way to hone your vision. All planning should center around two essential questions: How is my business serving a particular need or pain point, and does this represent a major market opportunity? In addition, don’t overlook the exit strategy at the beginning. Do you want your children to take over the company? Do you want to sell it? It’s critical to think about these questions from the start, as the building blocks of your company (such as legal structure) should vary depending on your preferred final outcome. 2. Don’t Get Stuck in the PastMy husband and I launched our first online legal document filing service in 1997, and then re-entered the market with our second company in 2009. While our previous experience certainly gave us a leg up the second time around, we soon realized the market landscape had changed dramatically since our first company. We had to stop dwelling on previous competitors, customer needs and service expectations and write a brand new playbook. The marketplace and your business plan are living entities; they’re continually in flux. Whether it’s your first company or fifth in a given market, you’ve got to keep asking: What do we need to do today? 3. Don’t Hire FriendsI form bonds quickly and make fast friends with people around me. While I generally consider this a positive trait, it has created some difficult situations when running a business. At times I have been reluctant to let employees go even though I know it’s not a good fit. If things aren’t working out between an employee and startup, it’s time to put feelings aside and trust that the person will find a better situation elsewhere. Unfortunately, I’ve also learned that people can let you down, ranging from laziness to fraud. I still believe that faith in people is a good thing. However, blind faith can bring trouble. 4. Don’t Dive in Without a Plan![]() Just like the business plan, it’s critical to think through any initiative you wish to launch. When you’re in the midst of startup fever, it’s easy to get wrapped up with every new idea. However, be careful of losing focus. Moving forward is critical for any startup, and constantly switching directions can impede this forward progress. With each new idea, step back and think how it fits into your company’s overall goal and vision, then create a plan for how to make it happen. 5. Don’t Fall Into a Discount TrapAt the beginning, too many young companies feel the pressure to heavily discount their prices in order to win business. While customer acquisition is important, attracting customers at unsustainable price levels will just result in a race to the bottom. After all, raising your prices on goods and certain services can be a tricky proposition. I’ve learned that you’re better off in the long run focusing on how to bring more value to customers, rather than simply slashing your prices. 6. Don’t Be Afraid to FailSoccer coach Sven-Goran Eriksson once said, “The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure.” An entrepreneur’s path is uncharted and sometimes a little bumpy. It’s easy to get stressed or downright panicked, but you cannot let fear prevent you from following your dreams. Think of it this way: the sooner you fail, the closer you are to discovering what works. ConclusionWhile you can’t guarantee the outcome of any new venture, you can stack the odds in your favor. These are six lessons I’ve learned over time and countless others are out there. If you’re open, you can gain wisdom from everything you try and gather insight from fellow entrepreneurs. What do you wish you knew when you started your first business? Image courtesy of iStockphoto, ineskoleva More About: Business, features, mashable, open forum, small business whiteboard, Startups For more Business coverage:
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