Say hello to Gmail voice and video chat

Posted by Justin Uberti, Software Engineer


I'm a big user of Gmail chat. Being able to switch from email to chat as needed, all within the same app, is really great for productivity. But people can only type so fast, and even with our new emoticons, there are still some things that just can't be expressed in a chat message.

That's why today we're launching voice and video chat -- right inside Gmail. We've tried to make this an easy-to-use, seamless experience, with high-quality audio and video -- all for free. All you have to do is download and install the voice and video plugin and we take care of the rest. And in the spirit of open communications, we designed this feature using Internet standards such as XMPP, RTP, and H.264, which means that third-party applications and networks can choose to interoperate with Gmail voice and video chat.

Once you install the plugin, to start a video chat, just click on the "Video & more" menu at the bottom of your Gmail chat window, and choose "Start video chat." You'll have a few seconds to make sure you look presentable while it's ringing, and then you'll see and hear your friend live, right from within Gmail. You can click the "pop-out" iconto make the video larger, or click the fullscreen iconin the upper left-hand corner for a fully immersive experience. See this all in action in the video below:

Our team is spread between Google offices in the US and Sweden, and video has really changed the way we work. Collaborating across continents and timezones is a fact of life for us, and it sure is easier (and greener) to click "Start video chat" than to get on a plane! And when I do have to visit another Google office, I can use Gmail voice and video chat to check in with my family.

We've just started to roll out Gmail voice and video chat for both PCs and Macs, so if you don't see it right away, don't worry -- it could take a day or so for this feature to be available in all Gmail and Google Apps accounts. If you want to download the plugin right away, visit http://gmail.com/videochat. And if you need a webcam, there are a few models with special discounts through November 30th (I use the QuickCam Pro 9000 myself).

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Update On Google iPhone Voice Recognition App: Look For It On Monday

Google’s voice recognition search application for the iPhone, originally set for launch on Friday, will likely go live sometime Monday, we’ve heard from a source with knowledge of the situation.

Google was under the impression that the application would be live on the App Store on Friday (obviously, since they pushed all significant press attention to it). Sometime Friday they found out Apple wouldn’t be pushing it, despite the fact that Google submitted it for review earlier in the week and got a thumbs up for Friday. One source says they’ve had little direct contact with Apple during the review, instead getting their updates via the standard iPhone developer tool, which has said “in review” for the last few days.

Who knows why Apple delayed the application, or why they tend to treat every application developer equally poorly.

But in this case Apple really screwed up in our opinion.

If the application is half as good as the demo video shows, Google has done something pretty amazing with voice recognition and mobile platforms. This application will, quite simply, sell iPhones. Lots of them.

Google faced a decision on which mobile platform to first launch the application - the iPhone or their own Android. The fact that they decided to launch first on the iPhone shows a willingness to embrace what’s right for the user, and it’s something that few other companies would have done. Google could have launched for the Android first and pushed sales of phones on their platform. They didn’t, and Apple should have embraced them for that.

Next time I expect Google won’t be so trusting. And I don’t blame them.

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

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Seaside

3rd Edition FP1 Theme in 240x320px with changed Icons

Seaside_yI.zip = 3rd Edition (240x320px) changed Icons

cliff_lighthouse_animation.zip = Screensaver

Downloadversion with default Icons:

http://www.imserba.com/forum/showpost.php?p=894771&postcount=885

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Disney's Wizards

A turn-based strategy. The player plays for a team of magic beginners- Mickey Mouse, Donald and Goofy which must win different battles against other magic teams. The game follows the plot of the first series of comic book Wizards of Mickey. The team must win the Great tournament to reform an ancient Great crown and also find a way to free Mickey’s master Nereus who has been captured by evil Black Phantom who wants to reform the Great crown himself to rule the world.



Game Features: Sound, Help, Save Option, Suspend/Resume, Bus/Tube Friendly,



Mirrors



176x220

http://www.ziddu.com/download/255858...6x208.zip.html

http://www.uploadjockey.com/download...s60176x208.zip



240x320

http://www.ziddu.com/download/255850...0x320.zip.html

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320x240

http://www.ziddu.com/download/255850...0x240.zip.html

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352x416

http://www.ziddu.com/download/255850...2x416.zip.html

http://www.uploadjockey.com/download...S60352x416.zip

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Introducing the Flocktography Photo Challenge!

Flock isn't about technology. Flock is about a feeling.

While the technology powers Flock, the reason you and I love this browser is because it makes the web fun and easy again.  Using Flock gets me excited about going online, keeps me in better contact with my friends, and makes my day easier.

With the new look of Flock's homepage and tour, we're fully embracing this feeling.  We scoured Flickr for days finding the perfect images that represented the fun, freedom, and ease of Flock. We've been all smiles viewing these pages day after day as we prepped them for launch.

Of course, nothing is permanent on the web and we're going to want to keep our homepage fresh with some new images in a few months.  Which brings us to...

The Flocktography Photo Challenge!

We want to take this fun, relaxed feeling even farther and put YOUR photos on the homepage!  Nobody knows the joy that is Flock better than you, and we're sure that you've got tons of photos of you and your friends that will shine on our homepage.

All you have to do is submit your photos.  We'll choose the finalists, and your fellow Flockstars will vote on who will be the winners!


The winner of the Flocktography Photo Challenge will have their photo featured on our homepage, and will also receive a collection of awesome Flock swag!

Entering the Challenge

Each Flockstar can submit up to 3 photos to our Flocktography group on Flickr.

Photos must be at least 917px wide by 385px tall.

Any person prominently featured in these photos should have given verbal or signed approval to be featured on flock.com...which means you shouldn't include a celebrity or musician photo unless you can get their approval.


Winning the Challenge

A group of qualified folks at Flock will choose the finalists for the Flocktography photo challenge.  Finalists will be called out in a discussion thread on the Flocktography Flickr Group.  At that point we'll let you know how YOU can vote for the winners.

---

Obviously the rules are a little loose for this first contest as we feel it out, but we fully hope to do this again...hopefully with more organization, more submissions, and bigger prizes!

Please spread the word about this contest to all your awesome photographer friends (who, of course, you've already turned into Flockstars) so we can have a really awesome set of submissions.

We can't wait to see what you all come up with!

Flock'n'roll,

Evan Hamilton

Community Ambassador

evan at flock dot com

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Tags: flock, browser, photography, contest, challenge, homepage, flocktography, flickr

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DirectTV May Enter Online TV War With “Web On Demand” Service

We’ve received a couple of anonymous tips that DirectTV, a $24 billion satellite TV provider, may be entering the online TV wars with a new site called DirectTV Web On Demand. The site would compete with startups like Hulu, Joost, Fancast, Sling.com, etc.

We don’t know much about the service, or even if it’s real. One of the tipsters says they’ve worked on the project and supplied us with the mockup screen shot above, which could quite possibly be real. On the other hand, we’ve spoken with industry insiders and they say they’ve heard nothing about the project.

The screen shot shows Heroes, which is an NBC show. The only way for Fox and NBC shows to be syndicated on the web is via a deal with Hulu. For CBS shows, they have to go through the CBS Audience Network.

That means it’s either very, very early in the development process or it doesn’t exist at all. We have an email in to DirectTV for comment.

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

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Google Launches Its Own Memetracker

Google has just launched a new homepage for its blog search that bears a strong resemblance to Techmeme, Memeorandum and their “memetracker” counterparts. The site displays a listing of the top stories from across a variety of topics including business, politics, technology, and entertainment.

Memetrackers identify emerging trends on the web, especially across blogs. They are often the best way to learn about breaking news stories, as they can automatically monitor hundreds (or more) news sources at once. Major news outlets and user-submitted content sites like Digg often trail memetrackers by days.

Google may well be able to leverage some of the technology it has developed for Google News, which identifies emerging news stories across thousands of sites run by newspapers, television stations, and other media sites. But at this point it’s too early to tell if Google Blogsearch will be more useful than any of the other memetrackers (or if its even in the same league). Much of its utility will lie in how often the listings are updated, how many sources it pays attention to, and how it assesses a blog’s credibility - a memetracker is only as good as the stories it presents.

Google may be able to create a useful tool, but that may not be enough to overcome the established leaders in this space. In 2007 the New York Times launched its own TechMeme killer, which has largely been ignored. There’s something about TechMeme which keeps bringing people back to it.

Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors

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Apple responds to toxic Mac Pro claims

Apple just responded to the report claiming Mac Pros produced before 2008 can give off leukemia-causing benzene by stating through a spokesman spin-doctor to Macworld the following:

We have not found anything that supports this claim, but continue to investigate it for the customer.

While we would love to give Apple the green light on this, what company would openly admit that they products could literally kill you? Independent reports will no doubt populate quickly as the Mac Pros in question more than likely power the labs that test for these types of toxins anyway. How hard would it be for a lab rat to point his atmosphere sniffing thingie at the computer he works on all day. Don’t expect this story to go away any time soon.

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Samsung i900 Omnia debuts In India

Samsung is launching its much awaited Samsung i900 Omnia today in India. It brings together high performance business content, top of the range style and a fun, dynamic multi-media experience, to ensure consumers are always connected both at home and at work.







OMNIA word means ‘everything’ in Latin and ‘wish’ in Arabic.



The Samsung OMNIA is an great example of Samsung’s leadership in design. With maxi-phone capabilities, it boasts a slender, chic form, so users can step out in style. It features an ultra-slim 12.5-mm profile and a platinum-look. check details here

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Mobile Theme : Tanjung Rhu

3rd Edition Theme in 240x320px with changed Icons

Downloadversion with default Icons:

http://www.imserba.com/forum/showpost.php?p=873991&postcount=831

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Tip: Set Gmail as your default email client in Firefox 3

Posted by Robby Stein, Associate Product Marketing Manager

For those of you using newly released Firefox 3, or willing to give it a try, you can take advantage of a new feature that lets you set Gmail as the default for all email links -- those that contain "mailto:" in them. If you're like me and don't have a default email client set up, then clicking these links typically launches an installation wizard for a destkop mail client, or opens some email software that you don't actually use.

Now you can configure Firefox to launch Gmail when you click on email address links and avoid the hassle. The folks over at Lifehacker published these tips on how to set it up:

1) Go to Gmail and sign in.

2) While in Gmail, copy and paste the following into your browser's address bar and hit enter.

javascript:window.navigator.registerProtocolHandler("mailto","https://
mail.google.com/mail/?extsrc=mailto&url=%s","Gmail")

Google Apps users can use this code (but be sure to replace yourdomain.com with your Google Apps domain name):

javascript:window.navigator.registerProtocolHandler("mailto","https://
mail.google.com/a/yourdomain.com/mail/?extsrc=mailto&url=%s","Gmail")

3) Click "Add Application" when you are prompted¹. Congrats, you just added Gmail to your browser's list of mail clients.



4) To set Gmail as your default, click on this link and you will be prompted with a dialog box listing available email applications. By selecting Gmail and checking "Remember my choice for mailto links" you won't have to tell your browser again. (You don't actually need to send an email after you click that link.)



You can always change this setting by going into "Tools" > "Options" (or "Firefox" > "Preferences," for Mac users) selecting "Applications" and going to the "mailto" option. There's a drop down next to the option that lets you change your default. Clicking "Application details" will take you to a settings page where you can completely remove Gmail or other mail apps.



¹If nothing happens when you type in the code, double check that you copied the entire snippet correctly, and if nothing happens, you probably changed an advanced setting (maybe without even knowing) and need to set it back to default. To do it, type about:config into your browser and make sure that network.protocol-handler.external.mailto is on the default setting: true.

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Chat with your Gmail contacts on the iPhone

Posted by Marc Wilson, Software Engineer, Google mobile team

Last week, we launched a new version of Google Talk designed specifically for the iPhone. It works right in your Safari browser, so there's no need to download or install anything -- just go to talk.google.com and sign in.*

Because this version of Talk is designed to run in your browser, you'll be automatically signed out of Talk when you navigate to a different browser window or iPhone app. So while it's not a traditional "always-on" instant message client, it's useful for changing your status message on the go or checking in to see if someone's online and sending them a quick chat. It's equally nice for killing time at the airport.

*Google Apps users: visit http://talkgadget.google.com/a/your-domain.com/talkgadget/m from your iPhone's browser, but be sure to replace 'your-domain.com' with your actual domain name.

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Convert DVD to iPhone

iSkysoft DVD to iPhone Converter is a professional Windows DVD to iPhone conversion program. Converting your DVDs to iPhone with this easy used software is just a few simple steps:



Step 1: Add DVD Movie







Click the Load DVD button, browse your computer, find the DVD folder of the movie you want to add from your hard disc or DVD-ROM, open your DVD folder, select the VIDEO_TS folder and click OK.

Or, click the Load IFO button, browse your computer, find the DVD folder of the movie you want to add from your hard disc or DVD-ROM, open your DVD folder, open the VIDEO_TS folder, select all the IFO files and click OK.

After you add your movie, you can choose any titles or chapters that you want to convert by ticking the check boxes before them.







Step 2: Output Settings







At the bottom of the main window, you can name the output file for the current title/chapter, and select a subtitle to put on your movie, select an audio track. Then finish all the settings including selecting an output format, clicking the Settings button to set the video and audio encoding settings, choose if to merge the selected titles or chapters into one file, and set an output directory to save the output files.



Step 3: Start Conversion







After setting the output settings, you can just click the Convert button to start converting your Movie. You can choose to shut down your computer or open the output folder after conversion so you don’t have to sit before your computer waiting for the conversion to finish.

Advanced Options



If you want to edit your movie before converting it, iSkysoft DVD to MP4 Converter for Mac provides your with various powerful functions including:





1. Trim DVD Title or Chapter



If you want to capture a clip from the current title/chapter, you can click the Trim button to open the Trim window and trim the current title or chapter by dragging the Start Time slider to set the start time, and dragging the End Time slider to set the finish time.







2. Crop DVD Video



If you want to remove the black edges or just convert an area from your movie video, you can click the Crop button to crop the video of the current title or chapter. You can specify an area

either by dragging the frame around the video or setting the crop values: Top, Button, Left and Right.







3. Video Effect



If you want to adjust the video effect of your movie, you can click the Effect button and drag each effect adjustment slider to set the video brightness, contrast, saturation and video volume. You can also choose a special effect from the Effect drop-down list to apply to your movie.







DVD to iPhone

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