Movies, Music, Video Games, Social Networks and Lifestyle News And Reviews
Product reviews and news of digital entertainment products and services in movies, music, video games, game streaming, social networks and lifestyle products.
Microsoft knows its waging a tough battle with Bing Desktop. After all, desktop search giants like Google and Yahoo have long since dominated the space. But even a small percentage of this market share means big bucks in advertising and referral dollars, and this week, Microsoft refreshed Bing Desktop with a raft of new features. Over 10 million people presently have Bing Desktop installed, and the company is hoping to reach even more following the addition of these new features. News at a Glance and Trending Topics:Interested in world news and not crazy about entertainment stories? Or vice versa? With the updates to the news app, you can stay up to date on news across categories with a glance....
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Forget about that awkward moment when you contemplate whether or not to whip out your smartphone and start asking for Facebook credentials at the local pub, only to find out the person you're drinking with isn't in to you. Budweiser has come up with what it believes is a better and more natural way to add to your social circle when meeting up for a cold one -- just clank your cup. Not any ordinary cup, mind you, but Budweiser's new Buddy Cup, which is a specially designed beer glass with an embedded chip inside that links to Facebook. When you first arrive at a Budweiser sponsored party, concert, or festival, the bottom of the cup is scanned with your smartphone to link up with your Facebook...
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A mobile operating system is arguably only as strong as the ecosystem it fosters, and that explains why Nokia is charging so hard to get Instagram onto Windows Phone. BlackBerry knows that BB10 is going to live or die based on the apps that ships alongside of it, and early adopters will be glad to know that the new Z10 now has access to Twitter and LinkedIn programs. The updated editions bring native support of each to the new OS, and Twitter v10.0.1 and LinkedIn v10.0.1 are available as free downloads in the BlackBerry World storefront. Tried 'em? Let us know how it's going. What’s new in Twitter v10.0.1: Doing more on the Compose Tweet Screen – An enhanced Compose...
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Netflix is gearing up to add something you’ve been wanting for a long time. What? No, it’s not HBO content. No, it’s not a better selection of new movies. This is bigger! Better! It’s…”social features.” That’s right, Netflix is getting closer to letting you share your viewing habits with friends. Keep holding your breath for that HBO content, if you insist. An amendment to the Video Privacy Protection Act should make it easier for Netflix to get digital permission from its users to add features that would let them share tidbits about their movie preferences on social networks, such as Facebook. (Some non-U.S. Netflix users already...
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Microsoft earlier this week rolled out a streamlined design for its social sidebar feature for Bing, making it easier to find contacts relevant to your search query based on what they've shared, blogged, or tweeted. That same feature has now been ported over to the Safari browser on iPad tablets, including the iPad mini. "Whether you're planning your night out or trying to decide where to vacation next, the sidebar now shows you upfront what friends and experts have shared -- making it easier for iPad users to get stuff done," the Bing Team explained in a blog post. Getting it up and running is a simple affair. You just need to head over to Bing and authenticate your Facebook profile under Sign...
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Bing and Facebook Team Up to Offer Social Search Results Bing & decide with your friends. Most of us ask family and friends for their advice before we decide what movie to see or new restaurant to try, because getting feedback from others is part of the decision-making process. Bing is a big believer in getting opinions from people you know, too. That's why they've chosen to show what your Facebook friends like in your Bing search results. Here's how it works: Say you go to Bing to look for a day spa or nightclub. The ones your Facebook friends like will show up with their names and photos next to the results. Wouldn't it help to see that a dozen of your friends are fans of a place...
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There's no question that Ford and Chevy have been hitting on all cylinders of late when it comes to integrating technology into their vehicles, but BMW is largely credited with starting that trend. It was among the first automakers to fully integrate the iPod into the in-car experience, and they have slowly but surely innovated beyond that in recent years. Recently, the company launched BMW Connected and MINI Connected, and now -- for the first time -- they're offering select iPhone applications for integrated use in a BMW. The new option is designed to improve the integration of the Apple iPhone in the car and will be available from spring 2011 to coincide with the launch of the new BMW 1 Series...
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Free flowing bandwidth; it's an enabler. There was a time when no one had cable modems or DSL lines. Remember that? Alright, fair enough, neither do we. Regardless, having a 10Mb+ data connection to your domicile is a thing of beauty, because there's obviously so much you can do with it. The question becomes not so much what the cable or telecom companies tell you, or sell to you, with respect to what you can do with it, but rather what a little imagination, and some optimized hardware and software can do with it. And that's exactly the premise by which service platforms like Roku, Apple TV, Google TV and Boxee were born, though Boxee was a bit of a pioneer...
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Social networking is huge. No one will dispute that. But we're still seeing the category as a whole grow, and it's probably nowhere near its peak. There's Twitter, Facebook, FourSquare, and now, Bumped.in. This particular networking site is geared towards avid travelers, particularly business commuters. The company claims to offer travelers the chance to find out who is traveling with them, discover common interests, and make connections by digitally reaching out to the people around them to start in-person conversations. Additionally, Bumped.in offers real-time travel information, so that passengers and commuters can receive the latest status updates and transit alerts on everything from delays...
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Earlier this week, we covered news that a California PS3 owner, Anthony Ventura, had filed a class action lawsuit against Sony, alleging that the company's decision to terminate the PS3's Linux support via firmware update constituted a false/deceptive marketing practice.While most PS3 owners never took advantage of the system's Linux capabilities, "Other OS" functionality is critical to the universities and institutions that have deployed PS3 clusters as high-performance compute farms. We talked with several project leads on the impact of Sony's decision, and what it means for low-cost supercomputing programs. Cluster of PS3s, U.S.A.F. 2,000 Console SupercomputerImage courtesy: U.S. Air ForceIn...
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You're stuffed full of turkey, you somehow managed to erect a Christmas tree (or not), and you're still recovering from Black Friday. Without a doubt, you've had one whirlwind of a holiday. But before you get too comfortable in that chair of yours, we should probably remind you that the gift giving day(s) you've all been waiting for is only a few weeks away. If you've been thinking of replacing that aging gaming rig of yours with something a bit more powerful as a gift to yourself (so to speak), we've rounded up a few solid options in varying price ranges that just might fit the bill. Oh, and you don't even have to get off of that sofa you're planted on to assemble these! The Lower-End:Let's...
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Is there such a thing as being too popular? Having too many friends? If you're Bill Gates, we guess the answer is "yes." The famed Microsoft co-founder has recently admitted to giving up Facebook after "too many" people wanted to befriend him. Of course, we find it kind of silly that Mr. Gates expected anything other than an onslaught of friend requests, but we digress. The face of Microsoft recently told an audience in India that he gave Facebook a shot but ended up throwing his hands in the air after "10,000 people" attempted to become one of his online friends. The issue? He had trouble figuring out if he knew the people that were hitting him up for friendship, and he noted that the whole...
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There’s been an ongoing discussion in the search community regarding the value of content on Twitter and how to capitalize on it, particularly since Twitter content can reflect instant public reactions and newsworthy events. As a way to add more real time data into its search results, Microsoft has started adding some Twitter posts to the search results you get when searching for some people using Bing.Sean Suchter, general manager of Microsoft's Silicon Valley Search Technology Center, wrote on a company blog, "We think this is an interesting first step toward using Twitter's public API to surface Tweets in people search."Most of Bing’s search competitors don’t offer Twitter search results,...
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OnStar is General Motor's security and safety system which, if you've heard the radio ads, can do everything from get your doors unlocked if you lock your keys in the car to automatically letting OnStar reps know if you are in an accident, even if you are unconscious. According to information leaked in a recent online survey, you may soon find Twitter integration on your OnStar unit. Wait, wait, isn't this precisely the sort of distraction that California was trying to outlaw with its anti-SMS while driving law? Yes, and no. Twitter use while driving using your cell phone is definitely out. But the way this is planned would use voice-to-text conversion. “While in your vehicle, you can use OnStar...
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