Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

It would appear that not even the internet is free from the ever tightening boundaries of free speech. And I am not talking about terrorism plots, or speech which ‘incites racial hatred’. Oh no. It would appear that not even calling someone a ‘douchebag’ is ‘politically correct’.

This follows the case of 16 year old Lewis Mills High School senior Avery Doninger (shown above with Mum) who, in exasperation over the schools inability to help matter overs a ‘battle of the bands’ delay, wrote on her blog that “jamfest is cancelled [SIC] due to douchebags in central office”. Apparently, according to the school, this “created a foreseeable risk of substantial disruption” and they banned her from being re-elected as a class officer. So the teenager and her mum took this to a federal district court judge who rejected their claim of an infringement into her First Amendment rights, a view which was concurred to by an appeals court.

So, if a 16 year old girl can’t express her anger on a blog, then what has the world come to? Surely it is not even that much of an insult, and nothing that a ‘polite conversation’ could not solve, and the fact that it took place out of school grounds also raises questions as to what authority a school should have. So a word of warning, if you have a blog and don’t like your boss… you know what not to do!

Via [Courant]

The Microsoft-Yahoo! game goes into extra innings, but the Kings of Search motor along as if they were, indeed, the only game in town.

The Official Google Blog’s latest post from VP of Search Product Marissa Mayer lets slip a few R&D goodies stemming from an “informal gathering - a factory tour of sorts.” The company also took its Google Health service public, allowing users to store their medical records and information online and share them with authorized parties in what Google promises to be a safe, secure setting. Microsoft’s Healthvault promises the same level of privacy; yet another battlefield for the two tech giants to play on. I can’t wait to see which brand convinces the most consumers that their data servers can indeed be trusted with this extremely sensitive user information.

Mayer’s blog post points to coming innovations in user intent search, geographic search, “as well as how ads might work to enhance the user experience in image search.” That last point will no doubt stir the pot now bubbling over with talk of Microsoft buying Yahoo’s search ad business, or Google and Yahoo partnering up in that category. And tell me again how a potentially unwanted advertisement will add to my user experience when I’m searching for a photo on Google?

Read [Google Blog]

An Apple Store employee whose apartment she was sharing with two roommates was recently victimized by burglars, however they had a happy ending thanks to the help of her stolen Mac’s screen sharing feature and built-in webcam.

After the house was burglarized by thieves, the Apple Store employee received a call from a friend asking if she was online, since it appears that she is online on her friend’s computer. The victim immediately logged on to the Internet and used the Back-to-My-Mac program and found out that her Mac was indeed connected to the Internet. Not wasting any time, the victim quickly activated her Mac’s built-in webcam and the screen sharing feature in order to take a snapshot of the thief who was currently using her notebook. The victim’s friend recognized the man in the picture as someone who had been at her apartment during the recent get together. 

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Encyclopedia Britannica, through its Britannica Webshare program, is giving web publishers free subscription to Britannica Online that includes complete volumes of encyclopedias, atlases, dictionaries, thesaurus and other online resources. By web publishers, Britannica is referring to anybody who regularly publishes on the Internet, including bloggers, webmasters and writers.

To qualify for the free subscription, web publishers will need to sign up, register their blogs/websites and wait for Britannica’s approval. Once approved, they can start linking to Britannica content on their sites. When readers click on the links, they will be presented with the full content of Britannica resources. However, readers will not be able to access other parts of Britannica Online, only the linked content. Full access to the online content will still require a subscription.

In addition, web publishers can also opt to embed the particular Britannica information on their blog or sites. I think this is better than providing links, as they can make their readers stay on their site longer and at the same time add information value to their blogs/sites.

So, what’s in it for Britannica? Is this a gradual shift towards becoming like Wikipedia? I would have to think so. Encylopedia Britannica may be more authoritative as an information resource than Wikipedia, but Wikipedia is freely accessible, and offers almost the same kind of information. This is a good start towards opening its information resources freely towards a larger consumer base which is what made Wikipedia such a big success.

Via [TechCrunch] Read [Britannica Webshare]

After all the cries and complaints over Apple’s deceptive ploy to boost its web browser market share by installing its Safari browser on Windows PCs as part of an “update”, the company has now made a slight change to its latest Software Update. The new Software Update 2.1 now provides two categories: ‘Updates’ and ‘New Software’. So, instead of of deceiving Windows users by listing Safari as an “update” to existing software, the Software Update 2.1 now clearly marks Safari as brand new software. However, the install check box is still marked by default, but users can uncheck the box should they not want Apple’s web browser.

Mozilla’s CEO John Lilly, the most vocal critic of Apple’s sneaky Safari install, calls the new update “a good change” but he says he’d like to see Apple “do a bit more”, hinting that the company should unmark the install check box by default.

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Verizon has launched a new service for their customers who use smartphones, dubbed the “E-mail and Web for Smartphone” plan. The new Verizon plan offers smartphone users an unlimited data allowance for accessing their e-mail as well as browsing the Internet through their mobile phones. The new plan covers up to 10 personal e-mail accounts that include Yahoo Mail, AOL, Windows Live and Verizon.net.

“Customers using E-mail and Web on their Smartphones can use these tools to stay on top of news from their favorite Internet sites or remotely and seamlessly interact with friends or clients via e-mail,” said Robert Miller, vice president of marketing for Verizon Wireless.

Verizon’s E-mail and Web for Smartphone plan is currently available to subscribers for $29.99 on a monthly access basis. Verizon users with an SMT5800, XV6800 or MOTO Q9m will be able to take advantage of the new service. Verizon has also promised to allow this plan to be used with more smartphones in the coming months.

Read [Verizon Wireless]

Just four and half years after its launch, eMusic is reporting that it has already sold around 200 million digital songs through web downloads. What makes it even sweeter for eMusic is that it has achieved the feat without too much tie-up with the major record labels. eMusic managed to sustain sales growth through its cooperation with independent digital music content providers.

eMusic is also attributing the growth of its web-based music service to the launch of rival Amazon MP3 which said to have led to the increased in awareness of eMusic. Amazon MP3 contributed to around 40 million of eMusic’s download statistics. Since Amazon MP3’s launch in September 2007, eMusic has sold around 7 million tracks monthly.

eMusic’s success can also be attributed to the increasing popularity of DRM-free music online. eMusic was among the first online music store which offered DRM free songs. It has been Amazon’s secret and has catapulted it to being the second online music store next to Apple’s iTunes despite higher per-song cost. eMusic would have had higher figures if it had established tie ups with major labels as well.

Via [electronista]

MySpaceTV shows will soon be available on television and DVD’s elsewhere aside from the United States as MySpace owner’s very own daughter promises to help its distribution. Elizabeth Murdoch, through her company Shine Group is set on making MySpace a media platform that will set it apart from rival Facebook.

Despite the challenges facing the Web TV market brought about by the prolonged U.S. writers strike and the lackluster performance of MySpaceTV’s previous take on Web TV broadcasting via its “Quarterlife” show, Shine Group still believes that since Web TV is still a work in progress, MySpace will soon get its time in the Web TV market.

For the first venture of the Shine Group backed MySpace TV, the legendary horror film “Beyond the Rave” which is a UK co-production deal, will debut on MySpaceTV on April 17. The show will be aired in four to five minute installments.

Read [Reuters]

Opera Mini 4.1 has just been released. The new mobile browser version includes various features that make the Opera Mini 4.1 even more useful for mobile browsing purpose. Some of the key features introduced in this newest iteration of the Opera mini browser include; automatic completion of web addresses, tools for attaching files to web-based email, uploading photos to blog or other site, downloading attachments from email for storage to phone and saving and viewing features.

Opera Mini 4.1 beta offers an enhanced mobile web browsing experience with 50% faster speeds. Heavy sites that used to take an eternity to upload, such as Facebook and the BBC, are now faster to load, almost at par with desktop speed. The scrolling function of the Opera Mini 4.1 in mobile phones was also improved with text searching within a visited web page. 

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Ever wind up at a website that took centuries to load? Only to get an error message after waiting for what seemed like an eternity. After that happens I am sure, like us, that you curse the net, the broadband and your computer. In the meantime you still wait and refresh, possibly setting yourself up for further disappointment.

Well, now instead of raising that stress level any further you can check out “Down for everyone or just me?”. It’ll tell you whether the offending website is down for everyone or just for yourself. Overall, two thumbs up for this website.

Read [Down for everyone or just me?] Via [geeksugar]