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Posts tagged Internet
Microsoft to launch final Internet Explorer 9 on March 14th
Feb 18th
Technology giant Microsoft is to release the latest update to their well-used web browser Internet Explorer on the 14th of March at the SXSW (‘South by South-West’) conference in Austin, Texas. The Release Candidate version of the browser has impressed many in the tech community with its superb speed and standards-compliance. This means that web developers will have an easier time creating websites that function as expected in all browsers.
You can try the Release Candidate preview yourself by downloading it at http://ie.microsoft.com/testdrive/, but be warned that as a non-final version it may be susceptible to a few remaining bugs and security issues.
The real world role of social media: tuition fees debate
Dec 8th
You may have been following the UK tuition fees debate with some interest in the news, and seen how previously apathetic students have sprung into organised protests and occupations with surprising speed and ease. This is a great example of the role of social media in a practical context. Let’s take a look at how social networking has been used, and how it is relevant to the commercial world.
How do you know if anybody is coming to a protest? How do you know where to meet? The popular social network Facebook has been used extensively to organise protests across the country. Facebook ‘events’ have been set up with a wealth of information on dates, times, locations and attendees to organise their exploits. However, event pages are only useful up until that event starts. Which leads us to…
So when the march has started, how do such a large mass of people communicate? Twitter is the popular micro-blogging platform used by celebrities, politicians, businesses, charities, activists and everyday people – including students. When police attempted to use their controversial ‘kettling’ tactic a multitude of warnings would appear instantly on the site warning other protestors to change route. Occupations and sit ins have More >
Google responds to Bekko threat
Nov 5th
As we reported previously, Bekko the new alternative search engine platform that uses slashtags assigned to websites to removes spam websites when searched has as we predicted forced Google to respond.
In an update to the Google blog this morning Google is prompting it’s users to report spam websites. They have recently released a Chrome plug-in which makes reporting spam websites much easier.
Spam websites will always be a frustration when your searching online, seems Bekko idea is a good one but will all websites adopt the slash tag method or will Google just increase their spam algorithms?
Either way it is good news for the end user.
Let us know what you think?
Social media giant Facebook announces Single Sign-on, Places API, Deals, Mobile App Updates
Nov 4th
Popular social network Facebook announced a torrent of updates to its mobile products, namely four things: single sign-on, opening up its Places API, allowing businesses to attach deals to their Facebook Place page, and updates to its iPhone and Android apps.
Single Sign-on
Facebook are seeking to limit the amount of typing of long passwords and usernames that a user has to go through inside mobile apps by allowing integration with Facebook in a similar way to what you may see on many websites that you visit. People with the Facebook app installed on their smartphone will be able to log in to other mobile apps using their Facebook account, no giving up of private credentials necessary.
The Places API
Developers can now access the popular Places product to utilise in their own apps and websites. Places is a location based tools that allows Facebook users to ‘check in’ at locations and tag their friends, in a similar vein to location based social networks like Foursquare and Gowalla. The API allows developers to link their own products to this tool so that, for example, Foursquare check ins could be duplicated to Facebook Places. Developers will be able to read data from the tool, write More >
Partial Flash Support now available on iPhone via Skyfire Mobile Browser
Nov 3rd
The new mobile browser SkyFire has been approved by Apple and is due to be released tomorrow in the App Store priced at $2.99.
SkyFire converts Flash videos into HTML5 on SkyFire’s servers making it possible to view flash movies not previously supported on iPhone. Due to the conversion there will be a slight delay while it is processed.
Skyfore itself has been around for a few years in test mode and had been released for Windows Mobile, Symbian Devices and Android. However it does not support Flash games.
A Tale of Friendship: Facebook Unveils ‘Friendship Pages’
Oct 29th
Popular social network Facebook has recently announced a new feature called ‘Friendship Pages’. The new pages will allow you to view a well presented overview of the interactions between you and a friend. Blogs have lauded the ‘human’ aspect of friendship pages which summarise wall posts, photos, events, mutual friendships, comments and ‘likes’ shared between two users. The potential for the highlighting of old and fond memories is huge and will help to cement the websites position as a ‘go-to’ social hub for not only current and future events and social interactions, but also for the snapshots it can provide of the past.
Some have criticised the ever more ‘intrusive’ nature of Facebook and the increasing complexity of its navigation. Will Friendship Pages exacerbate this problem? Or are they a great opportunity to increase the value and usefulness of social media? Tell us what you think in the comments section.
Social network Myspace to debut redesign
Oct 28th
The dwindling social network Myspace has revealed a massive redesign as part of it’s efforts to survive through rebranding. A few weeks after revealing it’s controversial new logo, Myspace has posted a video reel giving the first glimpses at its significant shift in functionality and focus.
The video reveals a strong change in focus to content sharing and discovery, with clear links to other social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. It is a clear cut and intriguing move for the social network which has seen massive drops in traffic since the rise of Facebook and its buyout by News Corp.
Google has 6.4% of Internet Traffic
Oct 28th
According to online security company Arbor Networks, Google now accounts for (on average) 6.4% of all internet traffic. Since January alone it has increased by 1% which is a new record for Google.
Google’s share may be even bigger, possibly up to 8% to 12%, if you account for traffic offloaded by Google Global Cache deployments, Arbor Networks’ Craig Labovitz claims.
So far, Google’s revenue seems to be keeping up with its traffic; we wonder which one will grow faster?
Internet to Surpass 2 Billion Users This Year
Oct 20th
The total number of internet users will grow past the 2 billion mark before the end of 2010, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has reported.
Currently the world population is estimated to be 6.86 billion which means that around 30% of the population will be online next year. A further 226 million users will join the rest of us online this year, 162 million will come from developing countries which despite the fast growth still has a long way to go to catch up with the developed world.
At the end of 2010, 71% of the population in developed countries will be online, compared to only 21% of people in developing countries. Europe making up 65%, Americas 55%, Asia/Pacific 21.9%, leaving a mere 9.6% of the population online in Africa.
The ITU, United Nation’s agency for information and communication technologies, sees the introduction of broadband as the most important element in helping these developing countries “Broadband is the next tipping point, the next truly transformational technology. It can generate jobs, drive growth and productivity and underpin long-term economic competitiveness”, said ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Toure.
This numbers show why companies are investing in ecommerce web design solutions and ensuring their companies website design portrays them More >