Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

FriendFeed launched a new feature last night,  real-time updating.  With this feature, you can see all the most recent FriendFeed posts without even having to refresh the page.  As nifty as this new feature is, it can also get a bit crazy.

The site has essentially turned the web into a giant chatroom according to Robert Scoble.  You’ve got it all going on here, not just the chatting, but videos, photos, tweets, and more.  Every item has its own URL, as well as its own RSS feed.  You’re able to comment on everything there, not just on the “commentary” like in a chat room. 

Much more after the break!

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Sections: Computers, Networking, Software / Applications, Gadgets / Other, Lifestyle, Miscellaneous, Web, Downloads, Web 2.0, Web Apps, Web Browsers, Websites, Online Music/Video

HP and MySpace just announced that they’ve teamed up and the partnership will now be providing the ability to print on all user profiles on MySpace.  Now, true, you could do this yourself before by going through steps of your own and saving things yourself and sending them to alternate programs to then print.  But now, it’s just oh so much more simple.

Beginning in November, MySpace users will see a HP-branded button that says “Click to Print” all over the place, not just their photo album.  It will be in their blog, comments, even the mail sections. 

Plans are to extend this even further by selling personalized merchandise.  The merchandise will have users’ photos on it.  No details have been provided at this time as to exactly what kind of merchandise, but, expect the usual mugs, t-shirts, calendars, that sort of thing.

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Sections: Computers, Networking, Software / Applications, Imaging, Accessories, Peripherals, Displays, Printers / Scanners, Web, Downloads, Web 2.0, Web Apps, Web Browsers, Websites, Online Music/Video

With more people texting than talking on the phone, Nokia went out and bought a company that specializes in mobile messaging called OZ.  The Head of Nokia Services & Software, Niklas Savander said, “OZ’s team and technology will help Nokia to address the fast growing consumer messaging market.“

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Because we all need all that extra stuff on our system when we bring it home from the store….right? Yeah. It seems as though Microsoft may actually be making a move in the right direction with this call. Their upcoming Windows 7 won’t include several of those built-in programs for email, movie making, and photo editing like they did include with Windows (*ahem*, memory hog) Vista.

In Vista, Microsoft had included Windows Photo Gallery, Windows Mail, and Windows Movie Maker as a part of the OS; until they later decided to offer separate downloadable Live programs that just pretty much replaced those programs with versions that were able to connect to online services from Microsoft and others. As per CNET, “Last night, Microsoft announced it decided to totally remove those features from Windows 7 and only offer the service-connected Windows Live versions as an optional free download.“

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Sections: Communications, Accessories, Email / IM, Computers, Hardware, Software / Applications, Gadgets / Other, Household, Lifestyle, Peripherals, Displays, Storage, Web, Downloads, Web 2.0, Web Apps, Web Browsers, Websites

I like using Instant Messaging, but I rarely use the emoticons that are associated with them.  Of course, we live an age where some refuse to communicate with anything but emoticons. 

If you are one of those people, and are not satisfied with the Mr. Happy Face look of most emoticons, you can now program your own look.  Thanks to a program known as Minimise-Me, a user can customize an emoticon with an interface that is very reminiscent of Nintendo’s Mii Creator. 

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In the hostile world of today it is good to know that anything you say, or type, is safe from the prying eyes of family member’s, government organizations or even just a nosy person of the street. However, unfortunately, that is not always the case. A recent News.com survey into privacy revealed some pretty interesting results, the most notable of which is that AOL AIM is the most secure with no logs and secure logging-in and secure conversations, and Facebook Chat is the worst as they refused to answer lots of questions and also have an insecure log-in and insecure conversations.

One of the questions asked was “Have you ever received a subpoena, court order or other law enforcement request asking you to perform a live interception or wiretap, meaning the contents of your users’ communications would be instantly forwarded to law enforcement?“

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In this day and age of high powered mobile phones and web based communication applications, we couldn’t help but wonder if there is still a need for a home phone. The Vtech people must have the same thought on their mind when they were conceptualizing the IS6110 cordless phone that’s why they decided to include an Instant Messaging function.

Well, it looks like Vtech might have caught onto something new. For one, their IS6110 cordless phone is the world’s first cordless phone with built-in IM features with support for MSN Messenger, Windows Live Messenger and AOL Instant Messenger. And for that, it certainly deserves some accolades. But if you think that IM is all there is in the IS6110, think again as it is packed with some nifty features too.

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Trying to compete in the arena of instant messaging, Facebook has announced that they’ll be launching their first instant messaging system. The Facebook team has been working hard, programming and testing the system. Rumors claim that the stable version will be launching next week for Facebook users to begin using and testing the new IM system. It is said that, unlike Windows Live Messenger and AOL or any other current IM system where you need to install software to enjoy all the IM service, Facebook users can web chat with friends on their Facebook pages as the Facebook IM is built into the user’s interface. Many also said that you will be able to log in into multiple IM platforms similar to web-based Meebo and other programs like Trillian and Adium.

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Sections: Web, Web Apps, Websites

In January, two of my best friends are traveling to Europe. One friend is backpacking around the continent with no specific plans, and the other is studying as a foreign exchange student in Wales. Both friends have gigantic powerhouse laptops. What is the end-all gadget for people who won’t want to carry around their laptops, but need portable communication with friends overseas? A cell phone? No, too expensive. A Mylo!

Okay, at $350, the Mylo isn’t cheap, but it offers some very unique features:

• Skype, Google Talk, and Yahoo Messenger
• Opera web browser
• 320x240 2.4” screen
• 802.11b Connection
• Slide-out Querty Keyboard
• fText Editor
• Support for Atrac3, WMA, and MP3
• Support for JPEG images and MPEG4 video playback

Thoughts: the Skype connectivity almost makes this a viable phone replacement, and the ability to avoid lugging around a laptop all the time seems like a great idea. I do think a built-in camera would be nice, though, as well as more storage.

Learning Center [Sony]

• Sony’s Home beta temporarily shuts down for maintenance
• Sony giving away Qore Episode 7 for free
• Random Amazon game deals