Twitter, the service that’s taken micro-blogging to a new level, wants to make its site more accessible for people by rending it into other languages.
At present, Twitter.com is only available in English or Japanese. Twitter co-founder Biz Stone however, said in a blog that they are planning versions of the website in other languages, beginning with French, German, Italian and Spanish.
“Volunteer translators” were invited to help with the translations of the website.
“We will distribute the translations to Twitter platform developers making it easier for them to offer multiple language support as well,” he wrote in the blog.
“We’re very excited that more people will be able to use Twitter in their native language!” he added.
There is still no word however, as to when the translated sites will go live.
With the introduction of their world’s lightest notebook, the VAIO X Series, Sony also unveiled their first ever touch-enabled, all-in-one desktop.
The VAIO L Touch HD PC/TV is touted to be the ultimate entertainment hub as it integrates a PC, a high-definition TV, and a digital video recorder in one unit.
Interested in the specs?
This baby has a 24-inch high def touchscreen and comes with a rewritable Blu-ray disc drive. This device also features an HDMI input so users can connect it to a cable box, satellite receiver, or PlayStation 3 video-game console, and a built-in digital video recorder with up to a terabyte of storage (that’s around100 hours’ worth of HD TV! J).
The PC comes in either Windows 7 Home Premium or Professional, has an Interl Core 2 quad-core processor, an Nvidia GeForce series graphics processor and yup, a built-in Wi-Fi.
Scheduled for release this month and like the VAIO X Series laptop, the VAIO L Touch starts at a hefty price of $1,300. But with its awesome features and just plain coolness, I bet a lot of people won’t mind spending that much on this baby. 🙂
Because we are in a digital age, it’s very easy to manipulate images according to however we like it. With photo-retouching, the fine line between what’s real and what’s not sometimes becomes impossible to see. There are however instances, when it becomes so obvious that it’s hard to miss it. Take this one for example.
In late September, the blog Photoshop disasters and the blog Boing Boing posted the Ralph Lauren ad showing a ridiculously thin model and caused a lot of buzz in the blogosphere.
Ralph Lauren, who has had enough of the online attention their ad was garnering (not a positive one either), sent out notifications to the two blogs on copyright infringement. Dated October 6, PRC USA Holdings, Inc. (that’s Ralph Lauren), the letter informed the blogs that they didn’t have authorization to post the ad and threatened forced asked that the ad be removed from the site.
Google’s Blogger, host of Photoshop Disasters complied but Boing Boing stood their ground and spat back. In a blog post Tuesday, Boing Boing editor Cory Doctorow wrote in a blog post:
Instead of responding to their legal threat by suppressing our criticism of their marketing images, we’re gonna mock them. So, to Ralph Lauren, GreenbergTraurig, and PRL Holdings, Inc: sue and be damned. Copyright law doesn’t give you the right to threaten your critics for pointing out the problems with your offerings. You should know better. And every time you threaten to sue us over stuff like this, we will:
a) Reproduce the original criticism, making damned sure that all our readers get a good, long look at it, and;
b) Publish your spurious legal threat along with copious mockery, so that it becomes highly ranked in search engines where other people you threaten can find it and take heart; and
c) Offer nourishing soup and sandwiches to your models.
In a statement to Extra (not sure whether this is in response to Boing Boing’s reply), Ralph Lauren acknowledged that indeed, the image was doctored (big surprise there huh? 😉 )
“For over 42 years we have built a brand based on quality and integrity. After further investigation, we have learned that we are responsible for the poor imaging and retouching that resulted in a very distorted image of a woman’s body. We have addressed the problem and going forward will take every precaution to ensure that the caliber of our artwork represents our brand appropriately,” according to the statement.
Apple is really serious in keeping their position at the top of the smartphone arena and one way to do that is to make the iPhone’s software in as tip-top shape as possible.
Today, Apple released yet another update, the iPhone 3.1.2 which is they say is faster and better-looking than its not-so-old predecessor, the iPhone 3.1 released just a month ago.
This new update however, focuses in fixing the bugs that have been causing problems for the iPhone user. Bug fixes provided include that of the problem where iPhones may not wake from sleep, the issue that could interefere with cellular network service and a fix for the bug that causes crashes for streaming video.
The update is available for all models of the iPhone (3GS, 3G, the original iPhone) and the iPod touch and is downloadable through iTunes.
Fans of “Project Runway” will not only be able to watch the show in the small screen, they can now be a part of it – in a game, that is.
Atari Inc. announced that it is developing a video game for Nintendo’s Wii based on the popular reality TV fashion competition.
Players of the game will take the role of fashion designers and create designs for the runway. The best part? They can also play the role of models and showcase their virtual masterpieces while strutting their stuff on the catwalk using the Wii Balance Board controller.
Fans will have to wait a little longer though, as the game is set to for release next year. 😉
Sony is making waves today with the release of what they touted as the world’s lightest laptops, the VAIO X Series.
The VAIO X Series measures 7.29 inches by 10.95 inches by 0.55 inches and weighs in at only 1.6 pounds. The LED-backlit screen measures 11.1 inches.
Users can choose between black and gold for the chassis which is made of light-weight carbon fiber. The palmrest and the area surrounding the keyboard are covered with an aluminum frame. The device runs on Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium OS.
Other features of the VAIO X Series include 2-GHz Intel processor, 2 GB of DDR2 memory, 128GB of hard drive memory and an integrated Intel graphics chipset. It also has a built-in webcam with face-tracking technology, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and a real-time GPS functionality. The X Series also comes with a built-in 3G mobile broadband but users have to get a separate Verizon Wireless subscription if they want to make use of it.
Curious as to how much this baby is gonna cost you? Techies who want to have this will have to shell out $1,300 and will be available at Sony Style stores and some retailers in November. Those who can’t wait can pre-order their units at the Sony Style website. 🙂
A lot of peeps may not be happy with Apple and AT&T’s exclusive marriage with the iPhone but the duo still proves a formidable force to reckon with. So to keep things interesting in the market (and of course, keep up with the competition J ), Verizon and Google has teamed up to come up with two Android-powered phones and the availability of the Google Voice service to Verizon’s network.
According to the two, they will be co-developing phones and “innovative applications” and will also be working together in marketing and developing both.
Google Voice, famously dumpedrejectedrefused by Apple, will be made available in all Android-powered Verizon handsets. The release of these handsets is expected be in a matter of weeks.
“The nation’s best wireless broadband network is a perfect complement to the innovation of Android-powered services and devices,” Lowell McAdam, CEO of Verizon Wireless, said this week. “Together, we’ll work to deliver a compelling new experience to our customers.”
Google also has good things to say about their partnership with Verizon.
“The Android platform allows Verizon Wireless customers to experience faster and easier access to the web from any location,” said Eric Schmidt, chairman and CEO of Google. “Through this partnership, we hope to deliver greater innovation in the mobile space to consumers across the U.S.”
Hmmn, I’m already looking forward to what these two giants could come up. Are you? 🙂
Amazon.com announced today the new “U.S and international” Kindle which will enable users to wirelessly purchase electronic books from Amazon’s U.S. eBook store even if they are in their home countries.
Unfortunately, the Kindle 2 world version isn’t available for all countries in the world, including a handful that may have been significant markets, including Canada, Singapore, China and South Korea. Canadians aren’t especially happy with the news and has even created a Facebook group page.
Other countries which doesn’t have Kindle availability are: Afghanistan, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Chad, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Gambia, Guinea, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, New Zealand, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestinian Territories, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Yemen.
In its website, Amazon posted a note explaining the delay of the availability in Canada: “Unfortunately, we are currently unable to ship Kindles or offer Kindle content in Canada. We are working to make the Kindle available to our Canadian customers as soon as possible.”
“We want to ship Kindle everywhere and we’re working hard on it,” an Amazon spokeswoman said. “This is an audacious first step, and we will continue to innovate on behalf of our customers and expand our offerings – we know that there will be other steps, but we’re happy with where we are starting and we think our customers will be too.”
For the other countries who do have Kindle world version available can purchase the Kindle here.
This month is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month which means online safety is gonna be much more emphasized (redundant much?haha).
In line with this, Google has come up with a few reminders of obvious-but-often-overlooked practices in keeping your online accounts secure by choosing smart passwords.
Michael Santerre, Google’s consumer operations associate, posted a list of common problems and their solutions in the official Gmail blog. Take a look and see if you have been doing any of these.
Problem 1: Re-using passwords across websites
Solution: Use unique passwords for every account such as selecting a phrase and using the first letter of every world in the phrase. You can also try swapping out letters for symbols.
Problem 2: Using common passwords or words found in the dictionary
Solution: Use a password with a mix of letters, numbers, and symbols. You can also choose two random words and put them together along with symbols.
Problem 3: Using passwords based on personal data
Solution: Your personal data can be easily found in the web social networking sites. Avoid using names of pets or children, birthdays, phone numbers and addresses.
Problem 4: Writing down your password and storing it in an unsecured place.
Solution: Don’t make it easier for others to hack your accounts. That list of complex and hard-to-guess passwords you came up would be useless if someone else found that slip of paper lying beside you computer.
Problem 5: Recalling your password.
Solution: Make sure your password recovery options are up-to-date and secure.
Again, please take the time in making sure your online accounts are safe. Just this week, thousands of Hotmail accounts were exposed through what authorities believe as phishing. Other reports say some Gmail and Yahoo accounts were also exposed. Don’t wait until yours become public too. 🙂
Lexmark, a leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of printing and imaging solutions, introduced today three new laser printers which is targeted at small to midsize workgroups. Laser technology is pretty good these days fast and silent, you can get also a laser cutter to engrave in other materials from Boss Laser.
The two color models – X546dtn color laser MFP and C546dtn – according to the company, can print up to 25 pages per minute for both color and black and white print jobs. They have a 1200dpi print resolution, automatic duplexing and quite operating noise levels.
The X546dtn MFP has fax, copy and scan capabilities with a 600-dpi resolution. It is sold at $999 while the C546dtn is available in the market for $699.
The E462DTN, new black-and-white model, has a printing capacity of 40 pages per minute and features a more compact design. Replacement toner cartridges can spew out up to 18,000 pages J. This unit is sells for $849.
All three new models has a 500-sheet paper capacity and connects via USB 2.0 or built-in 10/100 Ethernet.
