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<title>Haaze.com / RachelStein / All</title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com</link>
<description>Test Web 2.0 Content Management System</description>
<pubDate>Fri, 21 Jan 2011 08:10:01 +0000</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Access your media files anywhere with Libox]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=access-your-media-files-anywhere-with-libox</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=access-your-media-files-anywhere-with-libox</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 21 Jan 2011 08:10:01 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>RachelStein</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=access-your-media-files-anywhere-with-libox</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Credit:Screenshot by Jasmine France)As evidenced by the introduction of Unifi atCES 2011, there's a move to provide cloud storage services that focus specifically on media files. Of course, the problem one runs into with these types of files is that they tend to be a lot larger than things like documents, spreadsheets, and presentations--downright huge, in the case of video. A new software and service called Libox is aiming to tackle that problem.Like Unifi, Libox serves to aggregate your media files from various drives and devices (though at this time, it doesn't bring in content you may have stored with other services such as Facebook). The difference with Libox is that it doesn't actually upload your media files to the cloud. Instead, the service sniffs out the content stored on your computer, designated networked drives, and connected devices and creates a marker to their location. So it doesn't actually move or copy any files' rather, it offers a path through which you can access media. There are three ways to do this: via the desktop software, by logging on to the Web portal, or by using the corresponding mobile app (currently available for iOS only, but coming to Android in the near future).There are a few benefits to this method of media aggregation. For one, you don't have to wait through a lengthy uploading process. Although the initial scan will take some time--quite a bit if you have a ton of content--it's generally much quicker than uploading. Also, you don't have to select files for uploading because anything added to your computer or devices automatically shows up within the Libox interface. Finally, Libox is able to offer the service entirely for free, since there's no costly storage overhead on its end. And there are no ads for the user either (the company will generate revenue from partnerships rather than advertising).(Credit:Screenshot by Jasmine France)So far, it's looking like Libox is doing pretty good job delivering on its promise of media accessed anywhere easily and for free. I gave all three methods a spin, starting with the desktop software. Indeed, you will be required to download the program in order scan--and then keep an eye on--the media on your drives. However, the mobile app isn't a necessity in order for your media to be added to the overall container' you simply must connect the device once. Also, you can access Libox through the Web portal on non-iOS phones (that is, those that don't have their own apps yet).One thing I liked off the bat is the fact that the Widows software and the Web portal offer the same visually-appealing interface. Library navigation options are laid out clearly on the left, while large thumbnails dominate the main window. A nice touch with music is that Libox fills in some funky imagery for albums without cover art, so the whole space is a colorful mosaic. However, as much as the navigation looks good, it would be nice to have a way to browse content by a detailed list. Photos and music may be easy to navigate by thumbnail alone, but it's not ideal for video--as it stands, it's difficult to find the exact video you want to watch (although the search bar helps).Unsurprisingly, Libox also offers a social element. Although your aggregated library is only accessible by you, you can select individual files or even folders and albums to share. For now, the social aspect is limited to other Libox users, so you'll have to convince your friends to sign up, too. However, it wouldn't surprise me if the software offered some Facebook or Twitter integration in the future.As for the performance, there are some hiccups in certain cases. For one, Libox does not appear to recognize certain video types, particularly those with the AVI container. That said, this is a forgivable issue given the fact that Libox is doing extensive behind-the-scenes transcoding to get files to playback on all types of devices. Video formatting is particularly problematic, so the service gets some slack for now. Hopefully, this will be remedied in the near future.Another issue I ran into was with theiPhone app, which seems to be more of a beta than the other two portals. I manually selected some photos to be uploaded, since the process did not happen automatically, and the action continually caused to app to crash. Also, it takes forever for a video to load for playback on the device. Again, these are issues that I expect will be addressed going forward.Libox still has a few kinks to iron out before it hits a home run, but the service has the right idea. Obviously, if you're looking for something that actually backs up all of your media, Libox is not the answer. However, if the goal is to quickly and easily access and share your media from anywhere, it's worth giving this service a spin.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Ford C-Max was expected, hybrid model wasn't]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ford-c-max-was-expected-hybrid-model-wasnt</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ford-c-max-was-expected-hybrid-model-wasnt</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 11 Jan 2011 08:10:43 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>RachelStein</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ford-c-max-was-expected-hybrid-model-wasnt</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The C-Max, already sold in Europe, comes to the U.S.(Credit:Josh Miller/CNET)Ford C-Max and C-Max Energi (photos) DETROIT--With the Fiesta, Ford started to bring its European-designedcars to the U.S. This effort has been followed through with the new Focus and the C-Max people carrier, the latter currently sold in Europe. Ford previously announced the C-Max would be coming to the U.S.But kept secret until the 2011 Detroit auto show was the hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions. Both models use a hybrid system similar to that found in the Ford Fusion Hybrid, an Atkinson cycle engine paired with an electric traction motor, letting the cars drive under electric power alone at speeds up to 47 mph. But the C-Max hybrids get an improvement on this system using lithium ion batteries instead of the Fusion Hybrid's nickel metal hydride. With this new battery pack, Ford expects the C-Max hybrid to get better fuel economy than the Fusion Hybrid.The plug-in version, called the C-Max Energi, adds a plug port to the left front fender of the car. The Energi drives in electric mode when it has a fully charged battery, switching to normal hybrid drive when the battery gets depleted. Ford does not specify an electric range, which we would not expect to be much, but overall the car can go about 500 miles.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Pandora looks beyond music to sports and talk shows]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=pandora-looks-beyond-music-to-sports-and-talk-shows</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=pandora-looks-beyond-music-to-sports-and-talk-shows</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>RachelStein</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=pandora-looks-beyond-music-to-sports-and-talk-shows</guid>
<description><![CDATA[It looks like online radio station Pandora, which just filed for its initial public offering, has some ambitious plans for the future.In the company&amp;'s IPO filing, it lists a number of strategies for building &amp;''a successful long-term business.&amp;'' Many of these items are either vague or obvious, like &amp;''enhance our service&amp;'' and &amp;''build our ad sales force.&amp;'' But the section closes with the most interesting point:Expand Content Formats. Although music format stations represent 80% of total radio share according to Arbitron, a media and marketing research firm, many radio listeners are drawn to sports, talk, news and other forms of content beyond music. We think there is an opportunity over the long term to offer these types of content in addition to music.Later in the filing, when discussing the competition, Pandora notes that this non-musical content gives &amp;''terrestrial&amp;'' radio stations an edge over its service.Now, this doesn&amp;'t necessarily mean that Pandora will be announcing a slate of talk shows tomorrow, or that it&amp;'s actively developing a service in this vein &amp;8212' those other formats might just be on the roadmap for the future. It&amp;'s also not clear how this would fit in with Pandora&amp;'s existing technology, which revolves around creating personalized music stations made up of songs that you&amp;'ll probably like. Could Pandora develop a way to provide similarly sophisticated recommendations for non-musical contentPandora&amp;'s others plans include expansion beyond the United States, and into new car technology systems, new phones, and other devices, according to the filing.Previous Story: BioWare&amp;'s founders say the Force is with them on Star Wars: The Old RepublicPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: Internet radio, IPOs, online radioCompanies: Pandora          Tags: Internet radio, IPOs, online radioCompanies: PandoraAnthony is a senior editor at VentureBeat, as well as its reporter on media, advertising, and social networks. Before joining the site in 2008, Anthony worked at the Hollister Free Lance, where he won awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association for breaking news coverage and writing. He attended Stanford University and now lives in San Francisco. Reach him at anthony@venturebeat.com. (All story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com) You can also follow Anthony on Twitter. Have news to share Launching a startup Email: tips@venturebeat.comVentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Google yanks request for kids&' social security numbers]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=google-yanks-request-for-kidsrsquo-social-security-numbers</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=google-yanks-request-for-kidsrsquo-social-security-numbers</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>RachelStein</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=google-yanks-request-for-kidsrsquo-social-security-numbers</guid>
<description><![CDATA[What does Google need with (part of) your child&amp;'s security numberThat&amp;'s what privacy advocates were asking, prompting Google to withdraw a requirement that parents entering their children in its popular &amp;''Doodle-4-Google&amp;'' provide the last four digits of a child&amp;'s social security number.The art contest, which drew more than 33,000 entries last year, was created by Google to highlight &amp;''the creativity of young people&amp;'' by having them send in a drawing under the theme &amp;''What Ia4a4d like to do someday a4&amp;''It is open to children from kindergarten through the last year of high school and requires that a contestant provide a Parent Consent Form along with their submission.The original form asked for the child&amp;'s city of birth, date of birth, the last four digits of the child&amp;'s social security number, and complete contact info for the parents.But with all of that info, watchdogs worried about online sites having too much information pointed out it would be relatively easy to steal someone&amp;'s identity &amp;8212' or sell the data to marketers who could do just about anything with it.Bob Bowdon, who directed &amp;''The Cartel,&amp;'' a documentary about corruption in the public-school system explained the significance to New York Magazine:You see what Google knows and many parents don&amp;'t know is that a person&amp;'s city of birth and year of birth can be used to make a statistical guess about the first five digits of his/her social security number. Then, if you can somehow obtain those last four SSN digits explicitly a4&quot; voila, you&amp;'ve unlocked countless troves of personal information from someone who didn&amp;'t even understand that such a disclosure was happening.Bowdon admits he has &amp;''no evidence that Google will use or sell this information for marketing purposes.&amp;''But regardless of its motivations, 26 hours after the FTC was alerted about the requiqrement, Google had reconfigured its consent form and deleted the request for the last four digits of a child&amp;'s Social Security number.To date, it is still requiring parents to list a child&amp;'s birth, not current, city.Here&amp;'s the explanation that Google sent to New York Magazine:This year we started accepting doodles from kids even if their school hadn&amp;'t registered for the contest. To help us keep entries distinct and remove duplicate entries from any particular student, we asked parents for limited information, including the last 4 digits of a student&amp;'s social security number. We later updated our forms when we recognized that we could sufficiently separate legitimate contest entries while requesting less information. To be clear, these last 4 digits were not entered into our records and will be safely discarded.The city of birth helps us identify whether contestants are eligible for the contest, as winners must be either U.S. citizens or permanent legal residents of the U.S. The information isn&amp;'t used for any other purpose.Previous Story: Do women play more games than menPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Companies: Federal Trade Commission, Google, new york magazinePeople: bob bowdon          Companies: Federal Trade Commission, Google, new york magazinePeople: bob bowdonRiley McDermid is a contributing reporter to VentureBeat. She was previously the online editor at institutional investing and trading forum Markets Media, which she joined in 2008 from Dow Jones/MarketWatch in New York. Her work has appeared in the The New York Times, the Associated Press, Portfolio Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and Barrona4a4s. She has won awards from the American Society of Business Publishers and Editors, the Magazine Association of the Southeast, the Mississippi Press Association and the Atlanta Press Club, and was a finalist for the Pacemaker Prize for excellence in news reporting. Have news to share Launching a startup Email: tips@venturebeat.comVentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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