Geek news, reviews & more

Jun 30, 2009

Internet,

The ads highlight IE8 features using mock situations and cutesy acronyms like F.O.M.S.--fear of missing something--for IE8s web slices, and S.H.Y.N.E.S.S.--sharing heavily, yet not enough sharing still--for the browser's accelerator feature. But the king of all four ads is O.M.G.I.G.P.--oh my God! I'm gonna puke--for IE8s private browsing feature; private browsing temporarily stops your browser from recording your online activities including your Web history and tracking cookies.

O.M.G.I.G.P. is the most honest ad we've seen from Redmond in a long time. Microsoft openly acknowledges in the spot the most common reason to use private browsing: hiding your online porn tracks. I'm not going to go into detail about what happens in the ad, but let's just say the title O.M.G.I.G.P. is taken very literally.

The new campaign is also tied to Microsoft's dedicated IE8 Web site called, Browser for the Better. For every copy of Internet Explorer 8 downloaded from the new site between now and August 8, Microsoft will donate eight meals to Feeding America, a domestic hunger-relief charity.

Since the launch of Internet Explorer 8, Microsoft's browser has struggled with dwindling popularity, as users turn to other Web browsing alternatives like Mozilla's Firefox and Opera. Will this new campaign help turn IE8's fortunes around? Check out the ads below and judge for yourself.

Jun 30, 2009

Tuesday

Jun302009

Firefox 3.5 - List of features, Benchmark, demo and download.

New features include Private Browsing new Surf the Web without leaving a single trace. Password Manager Remember site passwords without ever seeing a pop-up. Awesome Bar improved Find the sites you love in seconds (and without having to remember clunky URLs). Super Speed new View Web pages way faster, using less of your computer’s memory. Anti-Phishing & Anti-Malware improved Enjoy the most advanced protection against online bad guys. Session Restore improved Unexpected shutdown? Go back to exactly where you left off. One-Click Bookmarking Bookmark, search and organize Web sites quickly and easily. Easy Customization improved Thousands of add-ons give you the freedom to make your browser your own. Tabs improved Do more at once with tabs you can organize with the drag of a mouse. Instant Web Site ID Avoid online scams, unsafe transactions and forgeries with simple site identity.

Jun 30, 2009

Design,

Sunday

Jun282009

Apple running out of iPhones

Jun 28, 2009

Apple,

The iPhone availability widget is back — new and improved — and it’s showing spot shortages of selected iPhones at Apple (AAPL) stores across the United States.

The availability tool, which appearson Apple’s website in times of scarcity, was last seen in the summer of 2008, when demand for the iPhone 3G was heavy and supplies short.

When it reappeared on Friday, only 29 of Apple’s 257 stores were displaying shortages of any iPhones, according toIFOAppleStore, a website that keeps close tabs of Apple’s retail business.

By Sunday morning, however, there were red “sold out” lights for selected 3GS models in all but six states.

Kentucky’s only store, in Louisville, was completely out of stock.

Jun 28, 2009

Apple,

Sunday

Jun282009

The Best JavaScript Animation Libraries

Jun 28, 2009

Design,

How to,

$fx

$fx is a compact and lightweight JavaScript animation library which extends native JavaScript DOM methods with its own animation methods and functions.

Its small file size (weighing in at only 3.7 KB), hassle-free implementation, and low learning curve makes $fx a powerful option for adding eye-popping animation effects to your web projects. Check out the Examples section on the Manuals page to see the library in action.

jsAnim

Created by web developer Kevin Dolan, jsAnim is a JavaScript animation framework for creating high-impact and slick animation sequences for web interfaces.

Crafted with standards and best practices in mind, jsAnim allows you to create stunning animation effects without sacrificing web accessibility of your web projects.

scripty2

scripty2 is a flexible and lightweight JavaScript animation framework for developing delicious visual effects.

The project is still young (alpha), but you can already see its impressive capabilities in the scripty2 demo page which shows examples that rival Flash-based objects in smooth, seamless, and complex animations.

Jun 28, 2009

Design,

How to,

Sunday

Jun282009

Pirate Bay’s YouTube Competitor - Everything you need to know

Jun 28, 2009

The Pirate Bay team has continued developing its video streaming site - which will open up to the public within 5 years. On The Video Bay users can share video clips without having to worry about getting them taken offline due to copyright violations, true Pirate Bay-style.

More than two years have passed since The Pirate Bay team first announced that they were working on a video streaming site. However, as with most of their projects it can take a while before the public can catch a glimpse of what they are working on.

The Video Bay - as the project is named - opened up to the public with a very early test version a few weeks ago. Initially, users were able to browse though the videos but this has been disabled now. What is left is an announcement that the site will be launched somewhere in the future.

“This site will be an experimental playground and as such subjected to both live and drunk (en)coding, so please don’t bug us too much if the site ain’t working properly,” it currently reads on the site’s main page.

The Video Bay Launches in Test Mode

How long it will take before the site will be opened up to the public is unknown. Pirate Bay’s TiAMO told TorrentFreak that there is still a lot of work to do behind the scenes. The encoder is not finished yet and the design is also a work in progress.

Pirate Bay Spokesman Peter Sunde agreed that it might take a while before the site goes live and told us that “it will be done when it’s done, in the future, in like a year or five.”

The Video Bay aims to implement some of the latest technologies including HTML 5 features such as the video and audio tags as well as the embedding of ogg/theora video and audio formats. However, it will not use p2p technology to stream the videos.

In time the site has the potential to become a major player in the video streaming area, similar to what BayIMG is for image hosting. A no-nonsense video sharing site where users can share whatever they want - uncensored. Hollywood will be delighted.

Update: Two preview clips are now available at the main page. Those who want to try out need a web browser that supports the HTML 5 tags such as the latest Firefox Beta or Safari 4.

Jun 28, 2009

Saturday

Jun272009

Flutter: The New Twitter

Jun 27, 2009

Humor,

As Twitter-mania reaches new levels, Slate V presents a mockumentary about a company that wants to take microblogging to the next level.

Nano-blogging

Jun 27, 2009

Humor,

Saturday

Jun272009

How Michael Jackson's death shut down Twitter

Jun 27, 2009

Industry News,