Hold the spam please! Facebook bans 'forced invites' in apps

Yes, it is about time Facebook stopped the whole forced-spam hoo-ha and here's some info on it from Facebook bans 'forced invites' in apps:

Ever come across one of those Facebook Platform applications that required you to spam a dozen of your friends with invites before you could access the results of your "Vampire Jedi Zombie Personality Quiz"?

They're annoying. And now Facebook has done something about it. Developer applications must "offer some navigation option to leave the friend invite process," according to a change in the social-networking site's platform policy. If an application's friend-invite page doesn't contain one of Facebook's in-house "Skip This Step," "Cancel," or "Skip" buttons, it has to contain an alternative way to navigate away from the friend invite process.

Developers whose applications ignore the new regulations reportedly receive warning letters that threaten shutdown if they fail to comply.

Read more about it here: http://www.news.com/8301-13577_3-9871148-36.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5

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Tech & Biz Buzz: Microsoft makes changes to Office Live

Ina Fried has an interesting technology post: Microsoft makes changes to Office Live. It's an interesting overview of the coming changes to Microsoft's Office Live service offering. New service plans will be released and some previously paid options will be offered as free, options to add services/features as needed and more changes are expected.

Microsoft is making a series of changes to its Office Live Small Business service, offering some previously paid-for services free, while adding a new charge for domain name registration after the first year. Domain name registration will continue to be free for the first year. But each subsequent year Microsoft will charge $14.95, though it will add the ability for so-called private registration, where customers can keep their personal information out of the public Whois database.Microsoft said that those who have already signed up for Office Live will continue to have their domain name registered for free "in perpetuity."

Read more here: http://www.news.com/8301-13860_3-9867513-56.html Related reading:

• The Microsoft Office Live Small Business Blog
• Microsoft Office Live Small Business - Microsoft Office Online
• Microsoft Beefs Up Office Live Small Business
• Microsoft Stays Competitive for Small Business, Updates Office Live
• Microsoft reinvents Office Live for small biz as 'free'

Windows Tip: Five quick Windows speedup tips

From Dennis O'Reilly's post Five quick Windows speedup tips comes this excellent info:

There's one thing all Windows users have in common: They all want the OS to run faster. Here are five ways to turn your tortoise PC into a hare.

1. Go the one-click route with the "best performance" option in the Visual Effects settings. In Windows XP, right-click My Computer, choose Properties > Advanced, click the Settings button under Performance, and then select the Visual Effects tab. In Vista, press the Windows key, type performance information, press Enter, and click Adjust Visual Effects in the left pane. In both OSes, you can choose Custom and deselect the options in the window below as you prefer, or simply select Adjust for best performance. When you're done, click OK twice.
2. Tell Internet Explorer not to save encrypted pages. Open Internet Explorer, click Tools > Internet Options > Advanced, scroll down the Settings window to the Security section, check "Do not save encrypted pages to disk," and click OK.
3. Disconnect network drives you no longer use. Double-click My Computer (Computer in Vista, or simply press the Windows key, type "computer", and press Enter). Click Tools > Disconnect Network Drive, choose the drive you no longer use, and click OK. (If you use Vista and don't see the Tools menu in Computer, press Alt.)

For screenshots and the rest of the post go here: http://www.cnet.com/8301-13880_1-9868480-68.html? Good stuff!

Is Facebook A Black Hole For Personal Info??

Zonk references Hugh Pickens who writes some interesting thoughts on Facebook and a NYTimes article: Facebook A Black Hole For Personal Info.

"The NY Times has an article on how Facebook is so sticky it is nearly impossible to get loose. While the Web site offers users the option to deactivate their accounts, Facebook servers keep copies of the information in those accounts indefinitely. Many users who have contacted Facebook to request that their accounts be deleted have not succeeded in erasing their records from the network. 'It's like the Hotel California,' said Nipon Das, a user who tried unsuccessfully to delete his account. 'You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.' It took Mr. Das two months and several e-mail exchanges with Facebook's customer service representatives to erase most of his information from the site, which finally occurred after he sent an e-mail threatening legal action. But even after that, a reporter was able to find Mr. Das's empty profile on Facebook and successfully sent him an e-mail message through the network. Facebook's quiet archiving of information from deactivated accounts has increased concerns about the network's potential abuse of private data, especially in the wake of its fumbled Beacon advertising feature."

Read more here: http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/02/12/1354255&from=rss

Related reading:

• Facebook Applications: The next privacy scandal
• Does what happens in the Facebook stay in the Facebook?
• Facebook Sharing Too Much Personal Data With Application Developers
• Your Privacy Is An Illusion: Why Facebook employees are profiling ...
• Facebook's Overblown Privacy Problems - Forbes.com

Links for Recycling Old Computer Stuff

Carla Schroder has a post with info on Recycling Old Computer Stuff. She provides links to a few resources for finding places to drop off gear or get it shipped from your home, gratis. Read more here: http://www.oreillynet.com/linux/blog/2008/02/recycling_old_computer_stuff.html

Tech Trends: More 2008 Technology Predictions

Predictions for this new year abound, especially lists of 2008 technology trends (see 2008 IT Management Trends - Seven Hot Acronyms In IT) and so it's no surprise that folks are already distilling these lists with their own thoughts. In 2008 Technology Predictions Ken Sipe posts his own list:

So after a month of reading a number of articles making there 2008 predictions, I feel compelled to share my predictions. I have the added advantage which comes to those who procrastinate... however there isn't much new over the last month.

1. Larger portion of the Java community will move towards Java 5 /6, taking advantage of more of the language changes.
2. Increased adoption of groovy users
3. Spring framework increases in use... leaving in their dust SEAM and Guice.
4. Spring MVC and Webflow becomes the new Struts (from a popularity standpoint) 1. It will come down to WebFlow and JSF 2. It will be interesting to see what grails does to this prediction
5. Late 2008 will have a number of negative news feeds on SOA. 1. This will be geared around failure of large initiatives. 2. It may be 2009... depends on the economy
6. Flex use increases 1. MSFT will start the get the RIA facts in an effort to take over this space.
7. Vista will continue to have trouble 1. It will be interesting to see what MSFT does when the XP isn't available for purchase any more. ** With the OEM ending in June 2008, I expect that MSFT will extend it... after a period of pain :)
8. JBoss and OSS in general will increase in use. 1. The economy will be the driver for this.

Read more here: http://www.nofluffjuststuff.com/tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7461275049781191261.post-5684393914108418725 This list is slanted towards software development and technical folks, but it's a solid one nonetheless. Here are additional 2008 business and technology lists:

• Gartner Identifies the Top 10 Strategic Technologies for 2008
• 5 Hot Technology Trends in 2008
• Software development trends in 2008: Outsourcing, agile development
• Eight business technology trends to watch
• Sanity check: Eight trends that will rock technology in 2008
• Software development trends in 2008
• Business Trends 2008
• The top developments in business technology from CES 2008
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Text to Speech App VozMe - Convert Any Text To MP3

Some interesting info from Gina at lifehacker on a text-to-speech app called VozMe:

There's still no getting around the fact that text-to-speech conversion doesn't sound quite, well, human. VozMe, a free text-to-speech web app, sounds better than you'd expect for a free web service, and is pretty convenient to use. Simply paste text into a web form from any source, hit the "Create MP3" button, and you can then listen through a Flash-based player or download an MP3 for later listening. VozMe can also be embedded in web sites or used through an iGoogle gadget, and while you still won't mistake VozMe for a friendly voice, it gets the job done with decent pronunciation, and without any two-program hacks.

Read more here: http://lifehacker.com/349585/convert-any-text-to-mp3s-with-vozme

After reviewing the comments following the post, this app might not be the best tool. There are other suggestions but most require download and even those tools sounded less than perfect. If you have any solid text-to-speech converson tools/apps to suggest or recommend - leave a comment.

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Do You Need To Re-Register For The National Do Not Call Registry??

Some good info to the question National Do Not Call Registry - do you need to re-register??

Adam Pash at lifeHacker reminds us to Banish telemarketers from your phone as those of us who signed up for the NDNCR five years ago will start seeing our registrations expire. I sort of, kinda remember hearing that registration on the list only last five years. Why? I have no clue, personally I'd like a lifetime membership but I guess if you move/change numbers that would leave the older numbers locked. Hmm, maybe they did think this through... Anyway, here's a clip from the lifehacker post:

"The National Do Not Call Registry allows you to register your phone number as a do not call number for all telemarketers, so that you don't have to tell them all, individually and ever-so-politely, to "Please put me on your do not call list."

The National Do Not Call Registry gives you a choice about whether to receive telemarketing calls at home. Most telemarketers should not call your number once it has been on the registry for 31 days. If they do, you can file a complaint at this Website. You can register your home or mobile phone for free. Your registration will be effective for five years."

Read more here: http://lifehacker.com/software/telemarketers/banish-telemarketers-from-your-phone-153828.php

You can access the NDNCR directly here: https://www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx. Just click on the register button and you'll be allowed to enter up to three telephone/cell numbers, enter and verify your email address and then submit. One quirky item is that they send a seperate email for each number entered, so I had to click/verify the home and two cell numbers I had re-registered in three individual emails. Not too burdensome considering the positive gains with no more annoying telemarketer calls.

Read more here: http://ravenyoung.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!17376F4C11A91E0E!3847.entry

Related reading:

• Q&A: The National Do Not Call Registry
• Do Not Call Registry -- You may need to re-register
• Do Not Call - Time to Reregister ~ DogReader
• Remember to re-register for the do not call list - DIY Life
• National Do Not Call Registry

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Update Twitter, Facebook & other status messages simultaneously

Another informative tech & internet post: Good Tips: Update Twitter, Facebook &and other status messages simultaneously

HelloTxt makes it easy to make sure all of your friends know what you’re up to all the time, no matter what social networking services they use. Actually, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but HelloTxt does let you post messages simultaneously to a whole slew of social networking sites that allow you to frequently update your status. You don’t need to register for an account to use HelloTxt, but as you’ve probably guessed, you do need to enter your login information for your various social networking sites. If you do register for an account, you only have to enter this data once, and then you can broadcast your updates to your hearts content. Registered users can also see a timeline with your latest updates and responses from their friends.

Read more here: http://wholeenchilada.wordpress.com/2008/02/04/good-tips-update-twitter-facebook-and-other-status-messages-simultaneously/

Related links:

• Social Networks: Update Your Status Across Social Networks with …
• HelloTxt - Making Microblogging Quicker And Easier
• HelloTxt Sends Messages to Twitter and the Rest
• HelloTXT: Post to Twitter, Pownce, Facebook … Simultaneously …
• HelloTxt: Centralize Your Microblogging Services - Rev2.org
• Update all microblogs once with HelloTxt
• HelloTxt is like Meebo for Microblogging

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Tech Tip: Burn An MP3 CD with folders

From the post Cool iTunes Tip: Burn A MP3 CD with folders comes this info:

If your car CD player or media center can play and navigate MP3 CDs by folder, using iTunes you can burn your tracks in album-specific folders automatically. (MP3 CDs have the songs burned on them as files, not audio, and as such can fit a whole lot more music than a regular audio CD.) The Internet Duct Tape blog explains the iTunes tip: the trick is to sort the playlist by album first before you burn.

Read more here: http://wholeenchilada.wordpress.com/2008/02/06/cool-itunes-tip-burn-a-mp3-cd-with-folders/

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Good list: Top 10 FREE Download Managers

Looking for a great, free tool or application for downloading your audio/video/software? Here's some good info on the Top 10 FREE Download Managers:

Whether you do your downloading via BitTorrent, FTP, or plain old HTTP, efficiently sucking files down from the cloud onto your hard drive takes the right tools. Whether you're a web video addict, constant software downloader, MP3 freak, or BitTorrent junkie, we've got some power downloading tools for you. Step inside for our picks of the best free download managers that get you the files you want fast and easy

From the post, here's the list of Top Ten FREE Download Managers:

10. UnPlug (Firefox extension)
09. Miro (Podcatcher, BitTorrent downloader and more)
08. Ares Tube / TubeTV (Web video to iPod downloaders and converters)
07. Wget (Command line download manager)
06. Filezilla (Cross-platform FTP client)
05. InstallPad / AppSnap (Software update downloaders, Windows only)
04. Transmission (Mac BitTorrent client)
03. uTorrent (Windows BitTorrent client)
02. Ted / TVShows (Television episode BitTorrent downloader)
01. DownThemAll! (Firefox extension)


Read more about these great apps and utilities: http://lifehacker.com/347827/top-10-free-download-managers

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Meaningful URL - Generate Short URLs with Meaning

If you're a fan of Tiny URL - "Making long URLs usable! More than 62 million of them. Over 1.6 billion hits/month!" - you might want to check out a similar app with a neat twist. From a post at downloadsquad:

Meaningful URL is a website designed under the same general principle of popular website Tiny URL. While Tiny URL just allows you to take a long URL and turn it into a short one, Meaningful URL takes the idea one step further and allows you to turn any URL into a short AND meaningful one. Meaningful URL has a variety of tags to choose from for your URL with options ranging from "say.iloveyou.to" to "vote.to." After your tag selection you can put your recipients name or any other text you choose to personalize and finish your URL. Free Meaningful URLs expire 5 days after they are created with premium URLs available for $2-$3 a month.

Read more of the post: http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/02/05/give-your-urls-meaning-with-meaningful-url/

Read more about Meaningful URL: http://www.meaningfulurl.com/index.php

Read more about TinyURL: http://tinyurl.com/

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Electronics: Coming Wave of Gadgets That Listen and Obey

From a post at the NYT comes this interesting info:

INNOVATION usually needs time to steep. Time to turn the idea into something tangible, time to get it to market, time for people to decide they accept it. Speech recognition technology has steeped for a long time: Mike Phillips remembers that in the 1980s, when he was a Carnegie Mellon graduate student trying to develop rudimentary speech recognition systems, “it seemed almost impossible.” Now, devices that incorporate speech recognition are starting to hit the mass market, thanks to entrepreneurs like Mr. Phillips. He is the chief technology officer and a co-founder of the Vlingo Corporation, an 18-month-old start-up in Cambridge, Mass., that is selling services to cellular carriers and other software companies that want to give their customers the ability to let their mouths do the walking — and the searching.

If you're interested in electronics, gadgets, innovation and technology, definitely check out the rest of the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/business/27proto.html?ex=1359176400&en=f915464ae8b8f3f7&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

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Does Microsoft + Yahoo = Big Impact Open Source?

Why would you want to read yet another post/article/commentary/rant on the possibility of a Microsoft + Yahoo! union? Perhaps you're a glutton for punishment, perhaps curiosity demands you click. Either way, here's an interesting clip from the post How Microsoft-Yahoo Will Affect Open Source:

jammag writes: "If the marriage of Microsoft and Yahoo were to be consummated, GNU/Linux would be hindered, argues Roy Schestowitz. Yahoo's funding of open source initiatives would dry up. Yahoo, which acquired Zimbra, would lose its love for the open source competitor of Microsoft Outlook. The list goes on..." Read more here: http://developers.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/02/04/172259&from=rss

From the original post How Would GNU/Linux Users Be Affected by Yahoo-Microsoft Merger? comes this enticing intro:

Articles about Microsoft's bid have probably tired you to death by now, but this article discusses one particular aspect of the potential takeover, namely its effect on GNU/Linux and BSD users. Here's a point-by-point analysis of the impact, covering several of the key issues...

Key issues covered include:

• Funding to the Source
• Duplication Makes Convergence
• Open Source Zimbra
• Lights Out for LAMP and FreeBSD?
• Web Browser Support
• Silverlight in Yahoo?
• Moderation Policies
• Ways Forward and Conclusion

Read more here: http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/cnews/article.php/12035_3725691_2

Yep, the beat goes on..

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Good Question: Should Microsoft Buy Yahoo?

Great, informative post by Bruce Eckel on the possibility of a Microsoft / Yahoo venture: Should Microsoft Buy Yahoo? Eckel starts with a great line "I read somewhere that over half of acquisitions fail. I think the percentage may much higher than half. " I think he's right about the percentage being higher, but maybe it just sounds right. The article proceeds to outline two past big-name acquisitions like "Borland buys Ashton-Tate" and "HP buys Compaq", and then tackles the current potential big buy - "Microsoft might buy Yahoo":

And that's really the point. Maybe Yahoo has some fraction of the market now, and maybe they will recover in 2009, but right now they're kind of a failing company. What is a hostile takeover by Microsoft going to do for that? Is Microsoft going to manage them back to health? It seems unlikely that the "maybe 2009" recovery will happen sooner after a hostile takeover. And the really big question: Microsoft already has an Internet division: MSN. But they haven't been able to make that go anywhere. Yahoo made a good start at the beginning of the Web revolution, but then got stuck and faltered. Why on earth would combining the talents of Microsoft MSN and Yahoo produce anything other than more stumbling around in the dark? Which company would lead this recovery? At least Yahoo managed to make a strong start on the Web before driving into the weeds. But no, it would be the company that takes over, Microsoft, who brought us both MSN and Windows Vista. How does combining a failing company (Yahoo) and a failed division of Microsoft (MSN) produce a successful division of Microsoft?

Read more here: http://www.artima.com/weblogs/viewpost.jsp?thread=224113

I think the last question is a great one - "How does combining a failing company (Yahoo) and a failed division of Microsoft (MSN) produce a successful division of Microsoft?", and many more excellent questions, potential answers and information abound throughout the article. Be sure to check it out!

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