CBS Interactive (NYSE: CBS), under pressure to cut costs after what now seems like an even more costly acquisition of CNET, is announcing some more restructuring tomorrow, we have learned from reliable sources late tonight, and as part of it, will be merging CBSNews.com and CNET newsrooms. Not clear: if it is merging the two main websites CBSNews.com and News.com. As a result of this merger, there will also be some layoffs, but we couldn't figure out the extent of those. CBSNews.com did do some layoffs a year ago, slicing its staff by 15-20 employees, roughly 30 percent, among other...
In an effort to remind people that it had a horse in the identity management race, MySpace last night announced MySpace ID – essentially a rename of the MySpace Data Availability project launched earlier this year to allow users to login with their MySpace credentials and import data on third-party sites. The news comes on the heels of last week’s near-simultaneous launches of Facebook Connect and Google Friend Connect, two similar products from MySpace competitors (though the latter, it turns out, is more of an ally) While much has been written about the technical differentiators between these services –...
"Only connect!" From the announcements that came out today, it seems Facebook and Google are taking the famous advice of Margaret Schlegel, the main character of E.M. Forster's "Howard's End." The phrase seems like an apt marketing maxim for the new superaccount features that big sites are hawking now. Today Facebook formally launched its Facebook Connect feature, which lets the social networks' users log in to a limited but varied array of sites -- including Digg, CNN, CNET and HowCast -- with their Facebook credentials. Once you've done so, a sort of channel is opened between your Facebook account and...
Facebook Connect is now open for business, allowing any developer to let users login to their websites using their Facebook credentials. Additionally, other key Facebook features, like your friends list, can now be integrated into third-party applications, which can in turn send data back into Facebook and the News Feed. If there were an OpenID for Dummies book, its publisher would be Facebook Connect, because for all intents and purposes, it’s the same thing, at least to 99.9% of end users who experience it. For an example of how it works, the new Citysearch beta, which launched a couple weeks...
Having developed the first diode device back in the 80s, Kodak knows a thing or two about OLEDs. So it's no surprise (ok, maybe a little) to see them rolling out the world's first 7.6-inch OLED photo frame. CNET got its hands on the $1,000 device considered a "vanity piece" at that price. It offers "brilliant color" as you'd expect and "sharp" 800 x 480 pixel images on the thin OLED panel pushing a 30,000:1 contrast ratio. The WiFi panel connects to Flickr and Kodak's own photo sharing service (if you must) but will not transfer images from Macs...
[It's always a beautiful day at Piazza Market. Image via Eater SF] · Piazza Market satisfies demand for skies painted on ceilings [Eater SF] · iPhone's Zagat kind of sucks, but addicts won't notice [CNET] · Slocombe's "grown-up" ice cream awaits PG&E's change of heart [Eater SF] · Deets from Copia's breakdown: $50 to $100 mil in liabilities [NPV] · Ouch: serious chefs desperate for hot dog stand jobs [Diner's Journal]...
Yesterday, John covered Fujitsu's clever but vague free laptop plan, wherein you get a like-for-like replacement at the end of the 3-year extended warranty, so long as you buy another 3-year extended warranty. The offer is sweet for peace-of-mind types who fork out for expensive coverage anyway, but not so hot if you're a performance fiend or compulsive upgrader. Besides, if you live in the U.S., this pony is Not Yours: Fujitsu has no plans to bring it this side of the pond. Here's Michelle Thatcher at CNET: We asked our contact at Fujitsu, who replied that LifeBook4Life is U.K.-only...
(Credit: CNET) On Wednesday, Amazon announced the throwing open of its virtual doors to iPhone and iPod Touch users everywhere with Amazon Mobile, a free app now available in the iTunes App Store. It's a pretty nice offering that simplifies the search experience for products found not just on Amazon.com, but also on partner retailers Target and Macy's. The bulk of the app is dominated by a search bar you can launch either from the home screen or from a separate Search screen. While there's a tiny promo area on Amazon Mobile's home screen, the app completely omits browsing by...
(Credit: CNET) On Tuesday, the first promotional codes that will make iPhone apps free to some users began trickling out of the App Store. Apple is finally bequeathing apps developers with a way to let some media testers review an app at no expense and reward or attract a few ... Originally posted at The Download Blog...
The media brouhaha over Apple's 'recommendation' to use antivirus software with OS X was lame and unfounded—Jesus called it. But that wasn't enough; now Apple's getting all flustered, issuing statements and sounding awfully familiar. "The Mac is designed with built-in technologies that provide protection against malicious software and security threats right out of the box." Right! I remember that. That was the sentiment behind so many of the "I'm a Mac" ads, the primary manna for Windows-hating fanboys and one of the claims that, because perceived as pompous, fueled the eagerness to pounce on the antivirus story in the first...
...
Evan Williams, godfather of Twitter.(Credit: Rafe Needleman / CNET) At a Churchill Club event in San Francisco on Tuesday, Twitter co-founder and CEO Evan Williams brushed off -- again -- criticisms that the company is slow to turn on its revenue-generating engines. At first, it sounded like Williams was a bit lost on the revenue front. "We will make money, and I can't say exactly how because... we can't predict how the businesses we're in will work." As he has before, he hinted at generating fees from sales-related Twitter content and from corporate users. But as the conversation went on,...
BKIS, a Vietnamese security center, recently demonstrated that face-recognition security programs found in Toshiba, Asus and Lenovo laptops can be bypassed with a special photo. To enroll in the face recognition software, the built-in webcam on the laptop scans the face for prime areas, such as the eyes or more conspicuous facial features. The special photo, which does not have to be of high quality, is processed so that the key areas are enhanced and the contrast levels are adjusted to the expectations of the software. Dong Ngo of CNET recently underwent a Skype demonstration with a BKIS technician. The...
(Credit: CNET) Despite being a fan of Zagat's restaurant surveys, I've never been overly impressed with the mobile applications for Windows Mobile Smartphone and PocketPC, BlackBerry, and Palm. Regrettably, Zagat To Go '09 for the iPhone and iPod Touch ($9.99 per year) isn't markedly different. The components to a great mobile app are all there--venerable content, click-to-call, a Web site link, OpenTable reservations for some restaurants, and search and sorting filters--but the whole is somehow less than the sum of its parts. Stability is a major concern, the app cries for an in-app browser, and Zagat To Go calibrates your...
Yesterday, CNET dug up a document from Google that outlines where the company plans to go in terms of extensions for their Chrome web browser. Though the document doesn’t offer any specific time line regarding when extensions are coming, it does outline a number of use cases and specific extensions that Google would like to support. Bookmarking/navigation tools: Delicious Toolbar, Stumbleupon, web-based history, new tab page clipboard accelerators Content enhancements: Skype extension (clickable phone numbers), RealPlayer extension (save video), Autolink (generic microformat data - addresses, phone numbers, etc.) Content filtering: Adblock, Flashblock, Privacy control, Parental control Download helpers: video helpers,...
