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<title>Haaze.com / Simontufell / All</title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com</link>
<description>Test Web 2.0 Content Management System</description>
<pubDate>Sun, 28 Nov 2010 08:10:10 +0000</pubDate>
<language>en</language>
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<title><![CDATA[Lady Gaga quits Facebook, Twitter for charity]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=lady-gaga-quits-facebook-twitter-for-charity</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=lady-gaga-quits-facebook-twitter-for-charity</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 28 Nov 2010 08:10:10 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Simontufell</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=lady-gaga-quits-facebook-twitter-for-charity</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Stars sometimes cause us vast moral dilemmas. Should we support those stars who gyrate appallingly, but whose music we secretly love Should we adore those stars whose songs we adore, but whose personal life seems a sewer of broken hearts and severed sensesNow there is another parameter to this axis of complication.Lady Gaga, she of the interesting designer fashions and music for gym clothes, is, along with other stars, quitting Facebook and Twitter.There are those for whom this news might signify disaster on a worldwide scale. Lady Gaga, after all, has more than 7 million Twitter followers, more, it seems, than, it seems, anyone else. On Facebook, she has almost 24 million fans. Some, though, will think this excessive for an artist of such certain, but limited, qualities.And yet, she and stars such as Justin Timberlake and Usher, are, according to the BBC, merely quitting on a temporary basis. Or at least so they hope. A sample of Lady Gaga&amp;39's tweeting.(Credit:Screenshot: Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)You see, Alicia Keys has a charity called Keep a Child Alive. In order to raise money for this worthy cause, which commits itself to families whose lives have been affected by HIV/Aids in Africa and India, Keys has persuaded stars to quit social networking until people donate $1 million.So here, for some, resides that moral conundrum. Should many people in the world feel that Facebook and Twitter would be enhanced by the disappearance of the likes of Gaga, Timberlake, Kim and Khloe Kardashian and Ryan Seacrest, all they have to do is deprive an excellent charity of much-needed funds. Keys is not unaware of the irony of her movement. She told the BBC: &quot;This is such a direct and instantly emotional way and a little sarcastic, you know, of a way to get people to pay attention.&quot;The president and co-founder of Keep a Child Alive, Leigh Blake, added: &quot;We're trying to sort of make the remark: 'Why do we care so much about the death of one celebrity as opposed to millions and millions of people dying in the place that we're all from'&quot; They both offer stellar logic.However, some might wonder whether more money would be raised had their irony been to offer that the more money is donated, the longer these stars will stay away from Facebook and Twitter entirely.Perhaps they could experiment with half the stars being dedicated to this latter logic. How much might one imagine that people would pay to keep, say, Kim Kardashian from tweeting that she is sitting next to an air marshal on a plane <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Tim Berners-Lee: The Web is threatened]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=tim-berners-lee-the-web-is-threatened</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=tim-berners-lee-the-web-is-threatened</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 23 Nov 2010 08:10:03 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Simontufell</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=tim-berners-lee-the-web-is-threatened</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Turning 20 next month, the World Wide Web has become a ubiquitous part of our lives. But the freedom and open nature of the Web that we sometimes take for granted are threatened, according to its creator.In a long article published yesterday in Scientific American, Tim Berners-Lee writes that the Web as we know it is affected by elements that have &quot;begun to chip away at its principles.&quot;He points a finger at social-networking sites that he says are &quot;walling off information posted by users from the rest of the Web.&quot; Though he acknowledges that sites like Facebook and LinkedIn offer value, he criticizes their &quot;silo&quot; approach in which the information is self-contained and can't easily be transferred to or used on another site.Images: Berners-Lee and the dawn of the Web View the full galleryTouching on Net neutrality, he cites Internet providers that may decide to slow down traffic to Web sites with which they haven't made special deals. He also alludes to cable TV companies that now sell Internet access and are deciding whether to limit their Web-based offerings to only their own entertainment content.Berners-Lee also takes aim at governments, both democratic and totalitarian, that violate rights and monitor online behavior, sometimes without due process. As one example, he cites the U.K.'s Digital Economy Act, which lets the British government tell an Internet service provider to cut off the Internet account of anyone suspected of copyright infringement.As another example, Berners-Lee mentions the proposed &quot;Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act,&quot; which would have given the U.S. Justice Department the power to shut down Web sites &quot;deemed&quot; to be trafficking in pirated films, software, music, and other protected content. Though the bill failed to pass, its opponents have warned that the Senate will likely try again to pass it.If uncontrolled, these activities could limit people's ability to use the Web as they do today, Berners-Lee writes.&quot;If we, the Web's users, allow these and other trends to proceed unchecked, the Web could be broken into fragmented islands,&quot; he writes. &quot;We could lose the freedom to connect with whichever Web sites we want. The ill effects could extend to smartphones and pads, which are also portals to the extensive information that the Web provides.&quot;To guard against this erosion of the Web's freedom and openness, Berners-Lee outlines principles to protect this tool.He believes the Web must remain universal and that people should be able to publish anything online. The Web should be usable by individuals with disabilities. And it should be accessible from any device. The Web must also stay decentralized, so you don't need the OK from any central authority or organization to add a page or make a link.The basic technology that we use to build the Web must remain free, with no royalties required, according to Berners-Lee. Open standards can better ensure the limitless nature of the Web, with anyone able to create anything--from a major Web site to a simple blog. Keeping the Web layer separate from the overall Internet is also vital since it ensures that the Internet can be improved and enhanced without any changes to the Web itself.Finally, Berners-Lee believes legislation is needed to safeguard Net neutrality. Though he feels the Internet and Web are best served with a minimum of regulation, certain basic values sometimes require laws for their own protection and preservation.If the basic freedom and openness of the Web are allowed to thrive, Berners-Lee sees a future with great potential respect for &quot;basic human values.&quot;&quot;The goal of the Web is to serve humanity,&quot; he wrote.&quot; We build it now so that those who come to it later will be able to create things that we cannot ourselves imagine.&quot;<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Honda has an electric Fit]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=honda-has-an-electric-fit</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=honda-has-an-electric-fit</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 17 Nov 2010 08:10:27 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Simontufell</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=honda-has-an-electric-fit</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Credit:Daniel Terdiman/CNET)Honda Fit EV concept (photos) With its small engine, the Honda Fit gets excellent fuel economy and produces few smog causing pollutants, but at the 2010 Los Angeles auto show, Honda showed it could make the Fit even greener. On display was a concept version of an electric Fit, dubbed the Fit EV.Using an electric motor similar to that it developed for the Clarity fuel cell vehicle and a lithium-ion battery pack, Honda says the Fit EV will drive for 100 miles between recharges and hit a top speed of 90 mph. The driver can select between three different drive modes, Eco, Normal, and Sport. In Sport mode, Honda claims the Fit EV will deliver the acceleration of a 2-liter gas engine.Charging times are fairly typical for current electric vehicle technology, at under 12 hours with a 120 volt outlet and under 6 hours with a 240 volt outlet. Few changes were made to the Fit body for the EV version. Honda closed off the front grille and redesigned the headlight casings for better aerodynamics. The interior remains unchanged, with the same versatile seating arrangement.Drivers will be able to view the charging status of their vehicles on the Web, on a smartphone app, or on a special remote for thecar, which will also let them set charging times.Honda expects to put the Fit EV into production in 2012.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Juniper launches smartphone security software]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=juniper-launches-smartphone-security-software</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=juniper-launches-smartphone-security-software</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 26 Oct 2010 07:10:18 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Simontufell</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=juniper-launches-smartphone-security-software</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Juniper Networks unveiled a suite of software today designed to keep smartphones safe from malware and malicious attacks that enterprises and service providers can use to protect employee and customer devices.The Juno Pulse log-in screen on the iPhone.(Credit:Juniper Networks)The Juno Pulse Mobile Security suite runs on all mobile operating systems and devices. It includes antivirus, personal firewall, antispam, and remote monitoring and control services. It remotely backs up and restores data and can locate devices that are lost and stolen, as well as wipe data from stolen devices. It also can send an alert when a SIM card has been removed or replaced. For enterprise users, it protects devices accessing networks with SSL-based virtual private network. The suite is available now to enterprises and Juniper's reseller partners and will be available to consumers through service providers like AT&amp;T before the end of the year. Service providers also will be able to offer enhanced security services like parental controls to consumers.  British telecommunications provider BT will be offering its customers the software, Marc Patterson, BT's general manager of mobile data services, said during a news conference. It's likely AT&amp;T will, too, given that AT&amp;T Chief Technology Officer John Donovan appeared in a video at the event.  The mobile security market is growing rapidly. Last year, Lookout released its Web-based mobile security service. And Cisco has its AnyConnect Secure Mobility Solution. McAfee and Symantec also have mobile offerings.  Juniper's offering is broader than the others and covers more platforms, Mark Bauhaus, general manager of Juniper's Service Layer Technologies Business Group, told CNET. &quot;We've got the deepest set of functionality, with management, security and access.&quot; Juniper also announced the opening of a Juniper Global Threat Center, based in Columbus, Ohio, that will track mobile security threats worldwide and issue reports. The center released some research as part of the launch, which includes findings of a survey of more than 6,000 smartphone and tablet users in 16 countries commissioned by Juniper: There has been a 250 percent increase in the amount of mobile malware over the last year. A Fortune 15 company discovered that 5 percent of its mobile devices (25,000 in all) were infected with malware.Almost 44 percent of respondents to the survey said they use their devices for personal and business purposes and more than 80 percent admit using them to access their work network without the employer's knowledge or permission. Nine out of 10 mobile phones has little or no security protection.One out of every 20 apps in the Android marketplace requests permissions that could allow the app to place a call without the user knowing. More than 60 percent of reported smartphone infections are spyware and 17 percent are text message Trojans that rack up fees charged to the device owner's account.Updated at 3:02 p.m. PDTwith BT using the software, comments from Mark Bauhaus, and additional research.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Travel companies band together against Google]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=travel-companies-band-together-against-google</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=travel-companies-band-together-against-google</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 26 Oct 2010 07:10:06 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Simontufell</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=travel-companies-band-together-against-google</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Travelocity, TripAdvisor, Expedia, Sabre Holdings, and several other online travel companies have created the FairSearch.org coalition to try to block Google's acquisition of ITA Software.In a blog post announcing its launch, FairSearch said that Google &quot;presents a threat to competition and transparency in online travel search, and could lead to higher travel prices and less choice for consumers.&quot;Back in July, Google announced that it intended to acquire ITA for $700 million. The search giant said at the time that ITA, which collects flight, seating, and pricing data from airlines and provides them to online travel search companies, would be used to help people shop for airfare via Google.Google&amp;39's representation of the online travel industry.(Credit:Google)On a site detailing its intentions for ITA, Google states that it wants to &quot;create a new, easier way for users to find better flight information online, which should encourage more users to make their flight purchases online.&quot;Google asserts that its ITA acquisition &quot;will benefit passengers, airlines, and online travel agencies.&quot;But the FairSearch coalition members disagree and specifically cite &quot;The Google Problem.&quot; &quot;If the transaction is approved, consumers should expect to face higher prices and less choice when searching for travel online,&quot; FairSearch states on its site. &quot;This anticompetitive deal represents a broader pattern in Google's acquisition strategy--a strategy that threatens online competition, innovation, and economic growth.&quot;In addition to establishing a coalition, the companies are rallying together in a lobbying effort to urge Congress members to block Google's bid for ITA, The Wall Street Journal reported.But those companies aren't the only stakeholders concerned about Google's intentions for ITA.Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice broadened its review of Google's ITA acquisition. The Justice Department is concerned that Google would keep travel companies from using ITA's services. The federal government also wants to ensure that Google won't use ITA to push people toward its own travel offering, rather than direct them to search sites.For its part, Google has said that the &quot;deal will not change existing market shares.&quot; It also plans to &quot;honor all existing agreements&quot; ITA Software has with travel search companies.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Stanford in line for Google fiber network]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=stanford-in-line-for-google-fiber-network</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=stanford-in-line-for-google-fiber-network</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 21 Oct 2010 18:23:49 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Simontufell</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=stanford-in-line-for-google-fiber-network</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Google plans to build a fast fiber network adjacent to Stanford University for faculty and staff members.(Credit:Google)The first town on Google's list to receive a fiber broadband network is a very familiar one to the company's co-founders. Stanford is the first area Google has picked to get a high-speed broadband network, it announced today. The network, which could deliver speeds up to 1 gigabit a second, will be built for residents of Stanford's Residential Subdivision, an area adjacent to the California institution where members of the university faculty and staff live. Construction is expected to begin in early 2011, Google said. Google stressed that this is not, however, the first town to receive such a network through the selection process it announced earlier this year for Google Fiber, which prompted all sorts of silly publicity stunts from mayors and townspeople trying to get Google to build them a fast network. That process still continues, with Google due to make the first selections by the end of this year. Google's ties to Stanford University run deep. Co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page are still technically on leave from the university's computer science department while they pursue their experimental business plan, which has worked out pretty well for them. John Hennessey, president of Stanford, is the lead independent director of Google's board. And numerous Googlers hail from Stanford, located about seven miles from Google's headquarters in Mountain View.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Like Everyone Else, Amazon Is Testing A Like&nbsp'Button]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=like-everyone-else-amazon-is-testing-a-likenbspbutton</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=like-everyone-else-amazon-is-testing-a-likenbspbutton</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Simontufell</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=like-everyone-else-amazon-is-testing-a-likenbspbutton</guid>
<description><![CDATA[&amp;''Like&amp;'' buttons have been around on the Internet for a while now. But most people didn&amp;'t pay too much attention to them until Facebook came along with their one-like-button-to-rule-them-all. Now it seems as if every site on the Internet needs a Like button. And while most companies are content to use Facebook&amp;'s, some behemoths prefer to keep their data in-house. Like Amazon.It appears that the online shopping giant is currently in the process of testing out their own Like button. As you can see in the screenshots taken by reader Arul Isai Imran, their button looks similar to Facebook&amp;'s, complete with the thumbs-up icon. Clicking on the button turns it orange and changes the text within the button to &amp;''Liked&amp;''. Interestingly, below that, there&amp;'s a check-box that reads &amp;''Don&amp;'t use for recommendations&amp;'' a4&quot; clearly, the main intention here is for Amazon to use this button for recommendations.And that makes a lot of sense. A huge part of Amazon&amp;'s business is recommendations. Currently, they look at what you&amp;'ve been browsing for on Amazon and especially what you&amp;'ve bought. This Like button will give them one more explicit signal, something in-between browsing and buying.It would seem that most people aren&amp;'t seeing this button yet (I&amp;'m not, for example), but plenty of people are, and it seems as if they&amp;'re mainly being tested on Amazon Books pages right now. You&amp;'ll also note in the screenshots below that Amazon has cleaned up the design of their header a bit.[images: twitpic/aruvam]CrunchBase InformationAmazonInformation provided by CrunchBase<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Gmail creator Paul Buchheit breaks down his angel investing numbers]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=gmail-creator-paul-buchheit-breaks-down-his-angel-investing-numbers</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=gmail-creator-paul-buchheit-breaks-down-his-angel-investing-numbers</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Simontufell</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=gmail-creator-paul-buchheit-breaks-down-his-angel-investing-numbers</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Paul Buchheit, the Gmail creator who recently joined startup incubator Y Combinator, just published a blog post summarizing his first three years of angel investing. Ita4a4s important reading for any wannabe angels, because the post gets specific about his returns, rather than just offering generalities.You may remember that we wrote about Buchheita4a4s winning streak a year ago, shortly after his investments reMail, AppJet, and Mint were acquired. So how much has he actually made as an angel Buchheit said that around half of his 32 investments have either died or been acquired so far, making him a total of $1.34 million. Thata4a4s only a 10 percent return on the $1.21 million he invested, but he said, a4AAt least Ia4a4m not losing too much.a4Plus, therea4a4s the other half of his portfolio thata4a4s still alive and independent and could therefore bring him a lot more money.As for the existing exits, Buchheit divides them into categories based on how big his return was. Cloud hosting provider Heroku and personal finance service Mint returned more than 10 times his investment. AppJet and 280 North were a4Amedium-sizeda4 returns, while Auctomatic, Parakey, and Zenter were smaller exits, returning 2-3x.Buchheit concludes with two pieces of advice: a4A1) Assume you&amp;'ll lose your money and 2) Plan on investing in a large number of companies.a4Next Story: Reddit&amp;'s social news search goes from &amp;''sucked&amp;'' to &amp;''works&amp;'' Previous Story: Just give up on using your iPhone as an alarm clockPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Companies: Heroku, Mint.comPeople: Paul Buchheit          Companies: Heroku, Mint.comPeople: Paul BuchheitAnthony 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.VentureBeat 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[Learning from Groupon, OpenFeint launches group deals for mobile game buyers]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=learning-from-groupon-openfeint-launches-group-deals-for-mobile-game-buyers</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=learning-from-groupon-openfeint-launches-group-deals-for-mobile-game-buyers</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Simontufell</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=learning-from-groupon-openfeint-launches-group-deals-for-mobile-game-buyers</guid>
<description><![CDATA[If it works for Groupon, maybe the group-buying craze will work for mobile games. With that logic, OpenFeint launched a program today that will let groups of gamers buy iPhone and Android games at deep discounts.Millions of consumers already buy goods and services at deep discounts via group-buying services such as Groupon, which is so hot it recently turned down a $6 billion acquisition offer from Google. The vendors providing the goods can see huge increases in volumes, while the participating consumers get great deals. OpenFeint&amp;'s model for Game Channel works the same way by tapping into the company&amp;'s network of 50 million mobile game players. And if it works, there should be plenty of happy game publishers, developers and gamers, because they will have a new way of buying and selling games.Burlingame, Calif.-based OpenFeint offers software that developers can use to bolt a social network onto their mobile games. By adopting OpenFeint&amp;'s software development platform, the game developers can automatically add social networking features such as friend lists, leaderboards, multiplayer challenges, and virtual goods monetization. More than 1,000 game developers are using it, and their 3,800 games collectively have more than 50 million users. The Game Channel will push discount deals to those gamers on a daily or weekly basis.It could prove useful to mobile game developers because they need all the help they can get when it comes to marketing and distribution. That&amp;'s because there are tens of thousands of apps competing for the attention of smartphone users. It&amp;'s a huge discovery problem, and OpenFeint is offering one more way to get noticed through the group-buying deal. I&amp;'m not convinced it will work spectacularly well, since mobile games are pretty cheap already. Many apps are free-to-play, where you play the game for free and pay real money for virtual goods.But OpenFeint will offer discounts to premium games normally priced $1.99 to $9.99. When enough Game Channel users vote to say they want the game, then the price of the game drops. OpenFeint sends push notifications to users saying that the game is on sale for a limited time. The first game eligible for the Fire Sale discount is Jaws, a shark game based on the movie from Bytemark Games.OpenFeint was founded in 2009 and has 40 employees. Rivals include DeNA&amp;'s Ngmoco, Scoreloop, PapayaMobile, and others. Investors in OpenFeint include The9, YouWeb, and DeNA. (Yes, that&amp;'s right. DeNA has stakes in two rival companies).Previous Story: AdKeeper wants to know: Are your ads &amp;''keepable&amp;''PrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: group buying, mobile gamesCompanies: DeNA, Groupon, Ngmoco, OpenFeint, PapayaMobile, Scoreloop, The9          Tags: group buying, mobile gamesCompanies: DeNA, Groupon, Ngmoco, OpenFeint, PapayaMobile, Scoreloop, The9Dean is lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He covers video games, security, chips and a variety of other subjects. Dean previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News, the Wall Street Journal, the Red Herring, the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register and the Dallas Times Herald. He is the author of two books, Opening the Xbox and the Xbox 360 Uncloaked. Follow him on Twitter at @deantak, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.VentureBeat 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[Gillmor Gang 12.11.10&nbsp'(TCTV)]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=gillmor-gang-12-11-10nbsptctv</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=gillmor-gang-12-11-10nbsptctv</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Simontufell</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=gillmor-gang-12-11-10nbsptctv</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The Gillmor Gang traveled to Moscone Center for a special live edition at Dreamforce 2010. Salesforce.coma4a4s premier conference has ballooned to more than 30,000 registered attendees, and now covers Moscone North, South, and West venues. Regular Gang member and Cloudblogger John Taschek and analyst and ZDNet columnist Phil Wainewright held down the enterprise perspective, joined by new Salesforce chief scientist JP Rangaswami and Forbes associate editor Victoria Barret.Barret focused her recent cover story on Marc Benioff, and particularly the use of Salesforce Chatter as a tool to address the Facebook/Twitter wave and its impact on the culture of business in the realtime age. She had watched the previous daya4a4s keynote from him, finding herself surprised it was almost better to mix video and realtime streams from attendees and those watching on the Net.The Gang covered topics including the Death of Office at the hands of realtime streams and the end of email (couldna4a4t happen soon enough). We could barely hear each other over the din of the Expo behind us, which oddly mirrored the siloing that goes on between document-centric productivity applications, and where cc really stands for ass-cover as Rangaswami put it. Those who question the value of realtime collaboration have only to wait for the next Exchange server meltdown. CrunchBase InformationSalesforceMarc BenioffInformation provided by CrunchBaseTipTweet<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Blizzard secures dominance of online games with World of Warcraft: Cataclysm (review)]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=blizzard-secures-dominance-of-online-games-with-world-of-warcraft-cataclysm-review</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=blizzard-secures-dominance-of-online-games-with-world-of-warcraft-cataclysm-review</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Simontufell</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=blizzard-secures-dominance-of-online-games-with-world-of-warcraft-cataclysm-review</guid>
<description><![CDATA[World of Warcraft: Cataclysm is Blizzard Entertainment&amp;'s most ambitious expansion pack for its wildly popular online role-playing game yet. Instead of focusing on adding additional content for high-level players, like it did in its previous expansion, Blizzard went back to its original release and remade the entire world from scratch. Both new players and veterans are going to see the fruits of Blizzard&amp;'s labor in this one.Blizzard, a division of Activision Blizzard, is issuing a very clear directive by revamping the world of Azeroth: 12 million players (and a billion dollars in annual revenue) is not enough for this company. Blizzard has always been extremely ambitious and regularly crushes expectations for its game sales. Its first expansion pack sold 2.4 million units in 24 hours, and its most recent one sold 2.8 million units in the first day.But a majority of its players are already veterans, and won&amp;'t see much of the new content unless. The biggest goal is attracting new players to the game.And pretty much each player counts, because World of Warcraft is a subscription-based game. Each player pays around $15 a month a4&quot; meaning there&amp;'s more than a billion dollars in revenue for Activision Blizzard from this game alone.A shift in design philosophyWhile I was offline, the world came to an end. Deathwing, an evil dragon god, came and destroyed huge swaths of the world of Azeroth.And, my, it is a beautiful Armageddon.This is certainly different from the World of Warcraft that regular players like me know. The moment I make my way to the newest continent of Vashj&amp;'ir, I am attacked by a giant kraken and thrust into a scripted event a4&quot; a part of the game that plays out like an interactive movie. I am thrown off the ship and nearly drown, only to be saved by comrades.The cinematic sequence is an intentional change in direction for Blizzard, and one they explored a little in their last expansion pack, Wrath of the Lich King. Instead of simply dropping players into the world, Blizzard has begun creating more guided scripted content to make the game more appealing to a less-hardcore crowd.The new scripted events allow Blizzard to hold players&amp;' hands and introduce them to their characters at a better pace. There are now alerts that flash on the screen telling players when it is best to use certain abilities. Scripted events pop up heavily in the introductory areas for Blizzard&amp;'s two new races as well. With the latest expansion, Blizzard introduced the scrappy, tech-savvy Goblins and half-man, half-beast Worgen as new races players can select. The first levels for those races range anywhere from cruising around in a pretty sweet car to throwing kegs of gunpowder onto the heads of hulking abominations attacking a city.The writing in Cataclysm is as sharp as Blizzard&amp;'s writing has ever been. The World of Warcraft makers have never been ones to shy away from including a pop culture reference from time to time. But it almost feels as if the whole writing team has a lot more freedom this time around. How often would a writing team for a game with 12 million players get away with saying something along the lines of, &amp;''Thrall&amp;'s Balls! They&amp;'re everywhere!&amp;''A World RebornBlizzard has gone back to the drawing board for pretty much all of its original world of Azeroth. Dubbed the &amp;''vanilla&amp;'' portion of World of Warcraft, the regions of Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms were certainly starting to show their age. That&amp;'s to be expected, though. World of Warcraft launched a full six years ago a4&quot; and the content has still more or less stood the test of time.That&amp;'s not quite good enough for the developers behind one of the most popular online games of all time. As part of the story of the newest expansion, Deathwing has ripped apart the old world of Azeroth and remade it. Some portions a4&quot; originally desolate wastelands a4&quot; are now lush forests and oases. Some parts of the world have been completely destroyed. But all in all, the new regions are more beautiful than they have ever been and much more fitting of a game that brings in about $180 million each month.I&amp;'ve played through both versions of the world of Azeroth, now a4&quot; the original, classic version and the newest version torn asunder by Deathwing. There&amp;'s certainly a bit of a nostalgia component to the classic world, but I would trade it for the newest incarnation of Azeroth in a heartbeat. It&amp;'s much more intuitive and easier to progress in, and the remade regions are beautiful and highly original. Each zone has its own particular flair, and players will have an easy time remembering places like Stonetalon Mountains a4&quot; rather than &amp;''that place they leveled up in when they were 20.&amp;''It fits snugly into the rest of Blizzard&amp;'s recent changes to the game, as well. Players no longer have to seek out dungeons and search tediously for other players to adventure with. With a few clicks, players are dropped into dungeons with anywhere from five to 20 other players. Blizzard&amp;'s also made it much easier to travel in the game and has increased the presence of hub cities like the orc city of Orgrimmar to increase the chance players will interact as much as possible.Even with all the chaos in the new world, there&amp;'s a lot of new life as well. Some zones that were once wastelands were flooded by Deathwing&amp;'s arrival, turning them into lush tropical paradises. The end of the world also hasn&amp;'t destroyed most of the traditional amenities available to players a4&quot; like places where they can trade and sell items and fix their broken equipment.Something new for everyoneBut it wouldn&amp;'t be an expansion pack without providing some new content for top-tier players that have been around for a while. Blizzard has introduced new places to explore like the sunken continent of Vashj&amp;'ir and lush spans of Mount Hyjal for players looking to advance even further.In a move to appeal to an even greater common denominator, Blizzard has completely axed the divide between the &amp;''hardcore&amp;'' and &amp;''casual&amp;'' adventuring parties called raids. There is no longer an advantage for players that can assemble 25 people a4&quot;the rewards for smaller groups are identical to those for larger groups. On paper, it&amp;'s a somewhat confusing move. Blizzard has traditionally left some appealing powerful reward system for hardcore players.To circumvent the naysayers, Blizzard is adding a &amp;''heroic&amp;'' version of dungeons. This is basically a hard mode for difficult enemies, known as bosses, that will provide better and more powerful armor and weapons upon defeat. I had a chance to try both the traditional and heroic versions of several bosses, and the difference is staggering. Even when wearing some of the best equipment available in the game, I found myself and my group regularly getting our faces smashed by these difficult bosses. So there&amp;'s certainly something here for the hardcore players looking for a challenge.But that isn&amp;'t to say it&amp;'s like fighting against a brick wall. The newest boss encounters are intelligently designed and defeating them often requires a very simple yet elegant strategy. For example, one boss pulls all players close to it and chains them to the ground. Players have to quickly destroy the chains and run away before the boss spins around and hits them a4&quot;usually killing them instantly. It&amp;'s a simple idea in concept. I can tell you that it&amp;'s much more chaotic and difficult when you actually find yourself chained to the ground and panicking a bit. Intelligent enemy design has always been a hallmark of Blizzard games, but it really shines in Cataclysm.And players can still kill each otherOne of the newest additions to the World of Warcraft is a system for competitive player-versus-player games that involve tons of people. They&amp;'re called rated battlegrounds. Basically they consist of games of capture the flag, king of the hill and siege battles that involve anywhere from 10 to 40 players. Battlegrounds were available before Cataclysm, but they weren&amp;'t necessarily competitive. That was left to arenas, which were basically two-on-two to five-on-five melees.Blizzard has brought that competitive element to large-scale PVP groups with rated battlegrounds in another move to appeal to an even larger player base. Traditionally there were no &amp;''true&amp;'' guilds dedicated to player-versus-player content, because all the best equipment was available through competing with small teams. Guilds were usually used for organizing large groups of adventurers that wanted to kill monsters in raids for the best equipment. That&amp;'s changing now that Blizzard has provided an option for large-scale PVP combat.So what does it all boil down toBlizzard&amp;'s making a very bold statement with its newest expansion pack. They are not satisfied with their current player base and have invested a tremendous amount of time into the newest expansion to make sure there is something for pretty much everyone. They want more than 12 million players shelling out $15 every month to adventure in the world of Azeroth.World of Warcraft is still the last vestige of the subscription model, where players pay a monthly fee to access a persistent world. Nowadays, online games have to employ a free-to-play world where players can purchase premium content like more powerful weapons to be competitive. It&amp;'s been successful a4&quot; Lord of the Rings Online&amp;'s revenue doubled after it went free to play, and Dungeons and Dragons Online saw its revenue shoot up by 500 percent.Cataclysm solidifies World of Warcraft as the game to beat. It also pretty much secures its position on top of the online role-playing game market. I don&amp;'t see any game coming out in the near future with the potential to unseat it. What that means is that we will probably continue to see waves of online role-playing games relying on a freemium revenue model. The Cataclysm expansionlaunches December 7, and will be available for preliminary download in the next couple of months. Gamers wona4a4t be able to actually play the expansion yet, but will be able to as soon as Blizzard flips the switch to turn the servers on.World of Warcraft will eventually come to an end. Odds are, it will be another online role-playing game by Blizzard that will unseat it as the dominant force in the market. Blizzard&amp;'s already said it is working on another online massively multiplayer online (MMO) game a4&quot;though it has been mum on the details for the most part.It&amp;'s the end of the world, and we really are feeling just fine. Better than fine, even. World of Warcraft: Cataclysm is an incredible testament to the ability of Blizzard&amp;'s developers and the kind of experience an online role-playing game can deliver.It isn&amp;'t without its flaws a4&quot; often times, the game assumes players know nothing and holds their hands a little too much. The new zones, while beautiful, can also be a little unwieldy to navigate a4&quot; particularly the newest renditions of hub cities that all players traditionally spend a lot of time in. But it still does set a standard for all other online games to followa4&quot;you can make a game that has something for just about everyone and make a ton of money off it as a result. It&amp;'s well deserving of a score of 95 out of 100.Next Story: On the GreenBeat: GE&amp;'s electric bus of the future' MiaSol bests its solar efficiency record Previous Story: AOL cofounder Steve Case on why the Time Warner merger went wrongPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: free-to-play, freemium, online games, subscription games, World of WarcraftCompanies: Blizzard, Turbine          Tags: free-to-play, freemium, online games, subscription games, World of WarcraftCompanies: Blizzard, TurbineMatthew Lynley is VentureBeat's enterprise writer. He graduated from University of North Carolina, where he studied math and physics, in May 2010. He has reported for Reuters. He currently lives in San Francsico, Calif. You can reach him at mattl@venturebeat.com (all story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com), and on Twitter at @logicalmoron.VentureBeat 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[The Future of Local Commerce = Facebook + Foursquare + Yelp +&nbsp'Groupon]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=the-future-of-local-commerce---facebook--foursquare--yelp-nbspgroupon</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=the-future-of-local-commerce---facebook--foursquare--yelp-nbspgroupon</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Simontufell</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=the-future-of-local-commerce---facebook--foursquare--yelp-nbspgroupon</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Editor&amp;'s note:  The following guest post is by David Marcus, founder and CEO of Zong, a mobile payment provider for Facebook Credits, AT&amp;amp'T and hundreds of leading destination websites and mobile applicationsThere&amp;'s been much hype, crazy valuations, and overall market excitement about businesses that promise to unleash the power of the social graph, location, recommendations and group buying.a4sFacebook&amp;'s latest valuationa4saccording to SecondMarket is now about $30 billion, Foursquarea4sraised $20 million at a post-money valuation of $115 milliona4swhile still at a pre-revenue stage, Yelp,a4sshort of selling for $550 million to Google, raised over $25 million at an undisclosed but very high valuation, and finally Groupona4sraised $135 million at a whopping $1.35 billion valuation. So besides their huge success with the investment community, and their users, what do these companies have in common, and what does all this have to do with disrupting Local CommerceIn an August TechCrunch guest post, Alex Rampell,a4sdescribes how Online2Offline commerce is a potential trillion dollar opportunity. The gist of it is that we spend most of our disposable income offline, in local stores, restaurants, and shopping malls. But companies like Groupon, Gilt, and other group buying and private sale startups are changing the money flow. People buy online, and redeem offline. But this is just the beginning of a perfect storm brewing that will change the way we discover, shop, and pay for things. Let&amp;'s focus on the main function each of these different startups provide to understand how bringing them together will ultimatelya4sdisrupt multiple trillion dollar industries:Facebook: provides the Social Graph, which is fast becoming a utility. Through its open platform, and APIs, we share more about our lives and our interactions online and on mobile every day.Foursquare and Gowalla: provide location services and check-ins, along with game mechanics that motivate users to unlock badges, earn mayorships, and get discounts at local stores in the process.Yelp: provides crowdsourced reviews of local businesses. Now also provides check-ins, and offers.Groupon: provides discounted offers against a promise to increase sales and bring in brand new customers to local businesses.The interesting thing here is that there&amp;'s a lot of overlap between the features offered by these companies.  Recently, Facebook launched Places, a mobile geo-location service thata4smimicsa4sFoursquare local check-ins. Yelp also added check-ins, and recently rolled out Yelp Deals, a Groupon clone.Considering that Local Commerce will be mostly mobile, one of these companies still must bring all of these features together, along with one-click payments (IMHO), to truly tap into the potential of all these disruptive technologies. In my mind, the ultimate product combines all these features in a mobile app. A user would launch the app, see what special deals are in her area (location + group buying), whom of her friends already bought the coupon/item (social graph), local reviews from friends (social graph + reviews), and then she could buy the desired coupon in one click on her handset.  She could walk into the local business with a discount code, barcode, or maybe at some point in the future, an enabled RFID tag, and redeem what she just bought.All of these companies, with the exception of Yelp, are at an early stage of their product development in this space. Facebook Places is lacking the gaming mechanics of Foursquare, the reviews of Yelp, and the local deals of Groupon. Foursquare is missing scale in its discounted offers. Yelp is missing the reach of the social graph, and the embedded payments. Groupon is lacking core social graph features that would give it better relevance through social shopping.So which one of these companies will succeed in unleashing the power of Local Commerce by combining the right set of features with the appropriate on-the-ground salesforce My bet is on Facebook to be first. They have a large advertising sales organization that could reach out to local businesses, already are supposedly testing offers on Places, they have de-facto more distribution and social graph access than any of the other companies, and finally they are building a true payments platform.Groupon and Yelp also have a decent shot at it, but it will be tough to compete with Facebook&amp;'s distribution capabilities and ubiquity. In order to remain relevant, they will have to innovate and come up with original features. Foursquare&amp;'s future is probably going to be more challenging with more players entering their space, but it it could end up being bought (once again for founder Dennis Crowley) by Google, which is preparing to aggressively go after the local commerce opportunity.CrunchBase InformationFacebookFoursquareGrouponYelpInformation provided by CrunchBase<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[AU Optronics Unveils A Solar Touch&nbsp'Keyboard]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=au-optronics-unveils-a-solar-touchnbspkeyboard</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=au-optronics-unveils-a-solar-touchnbspkeyboard</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Simontufell</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=au-optronics-unveils-a-solar-touchnbspkeyboard</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Move aside Logitech, there&amp;'s another solar keyboard in town.Earlier this week, Logitech introduced the K750, an $80 wireless, solar-powered keyboard made of recyclable plastic and billed as the world&amp;'s first solar keyboard. The K750 may be first but it certainly won&amp;'t be the last.This Wednesday, Taiwan&amp;'s AU Optronics released details on its own solar keyboard solution. According to reports, AUO&amp;'s version is essentially a solar sheet, measuring 2.1 millimeters thick with touch sensitivity. Aesthetically, it looks like the complete fusion of a solar panel and keyboard. The surface is perfectly smooth and somewhat reflective, like a solar panel, with only the hint of a keyboard&amp;'s outline.Similar to Logitech&amp;'s K750, the AUO version promises to charge in natural and artificial light. However, unlike Logitech&amp;'s freestanding model, AUO&amp;'s 14-inch touch keyboard will be built into computer manufacturers&amp;' laptop sets.AUO will showcase demo models of its solar contraption next week during FPD International in Chiba, Japan.(Image Source: AUO/via Digitimes)CrunchBase InformationAU OptronicsLogitechInformation provided by CrunchBase<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Viacom blocks Google TV, the madness continues]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=viacom-blocks-google-tv-the-madness-continues</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=viacom-blocks-google-tv-the-madness-continues</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Simontufell</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=viacom-blocks-google-tv-the-madness-continues</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The list of Google TV haters continue to grow. Viacom confirmed this morning that it is blocking Google TV&amp;'s access to its web video, which includes popular networks like Comedy Central, MTV, and Nickelodeon.First reported by GTV Hub, the blockade puts Viacom in company with ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox, all of which also decided to restrict Google TV&amp;'s access to their web video. When you visit any of the blocked sites with a Google TV device, you receive a note saying &amp;''the content is unavailable for your device.&amp;''The move brings to mind Viacom parting ways from Hulu earlier this year. Viacom said in a statement that it&amp;'s continuing &amp;''to evaluate Google TV to identify opportunities where it may make sense to optimize our Web content for the platform.a4 On many of the network sites, Google TV users can still view short video clips, but full episodes are for the most part completely blocked.It&amp;'s not surprising that Viacom would also give up on Google TV, given that Google won its court case against the media company earlier this year. The real question seems to be what took Viacom so long to finally go through with the content block.As I&amp;'ve written previously, Google TV is a sea change in the way we approach television, so ita4a4s not  a huge surprise that traditional TV networks are wary of it. Some  networks, including Disney and NBC, are also worried about Googlea4a4s  approach to websites that offer pirated streaming video content,  according to the WSJ. Disney execs were apparently unsatisfied with  Googlea4a4s previous response to pirated video sites. Google, meanwhile,  has tried to calm the networks by demonstrating how Google TVa4a4s search  promotes their own websites, as well as other options like purchasing an  episode on Amazona4a4s video-on-demand service.Next Story: As game business changes, Disney&amp;'s longtime game studios chief resigns (exclusive memo) Previous Story: HP posts solid earnings despite turmoil around Mark Hurd&amp;'s departurePrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: Google TV, streaming, videoCompanies: Abc, cbs, fox, Google, nbc, Viacom          Tags: Google TV, streaming, videoCompanies: Abc, cbs, fox, Google, nbc, ViacomDevindra Hardawar is VentureBeat's lead mobile writer and East Coast correspondent. He studied philosophy at Amherst College, worked in IT support for several years, and has been writing about technology since 2004. He now lives in Brooklyn, New York. You can reach him at devindra@venturebeat.com (all story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com), and on Twitter at @Devindra.VentureBeat 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[Citizen journalism, from text message to map - Springwise]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=citizen-journalism-from-text-message-to-map---springwise</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=citizen-journalism-from-text-message-to-map---springwise</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Simontufell</dc:creator>
<category>Social</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=citizen-journalism-from-text-message-to-map---springwise</guid>
<description><![CDATA[A shining example of crowdsourcing at work, Ushahidi is mobilizing citizens to report and map conflicts. The project began as a way for Kenyans to log reports of violence during the post-election fallout of early 2008' a period when mainstream media was banned. A new Ushahidi engine is currently in development that will allows users to SMS, email or an online form to submit reports that are then flagged on a map that anyone can view to gain a speedy understanding of where issues are happening. Reports are broken down into categories that include deaths, looting and peace efforts. Ushahidi works with NGOs to verify reports, helping ensure that content is as accurate and complete as possible. Reporting in this way promotes peace efforts, increases awareness of violence and provides a permanent log of events, referral to which may help in future conflicts and ensure that what happened is not forgotten.Ushahidi plans to release the tool as a downloadable application that is both open source and plug-in friendly, meaning it can be customized for different needs and locations. As we''ve seen before, crowds are more than ready to adopt applications like this when the cause is right, fully aware that it increases the transparency of events receiving limited or skewed media coverage. (Related: Front page rivalry&amp;8212'pros versus citizen journalists.)Website: www.ushahidi.com &amp;8212' legacy.ushahidi.comSpotter: Kevin Rombe<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Google Testing Out A Sexier Top Nav Bar&nbsp'[Pics]]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=google-testing-out-a-sexier-top-nav-barnbsppics</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=google-testing-out-a-sexier-top-nav-barnbsppics</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Simontufell</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=google-testing-out-a-sexier-top-nav-barnbsppics</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Google has never been known for their design prowess. But over the years, there&amp;'s no denying that they&amp;'ve made even google.com look significantly better with logo, button, and even search box upgrades. Now it looks like the basic top nav bar may be getting a fresh coat of paint as well.As you can see in the images below, Google is currently testing a new-look nav bar that replaces the standard blue underlined links with a much better looking, but subtle, toolbar. Your place in the navigation is now not only indicated by the darkening and bolding of the text, but also by a colorful band across the top of you position. For example, in the images you can see the blue bar on top of the &amp;''Web&amp;'' area indicating you&amp;'re in a web search.On the far right side you&amp;'ll notice a nice big &amp;''Sign in&amp;'' button (with a subtle yellow bar on top of it), and a new settings icon next to that.It&amp;'s not a huge change, but it&amp;'s a nice-looking one. Google has confirmed that they&amp;'re testing it but will only say the typical:At any given time we are running 50-200 search experiments. You can learn more about search experiments on our blog: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2006/04/this-is-test-this-is-only-test.htmlI suspect this experiment is one that will see the light of day on google.com at some point in the future.(Click on the images to enlarge)New:Old:[thanks Ted]CrunchBase InformationGoogleInformation provided by CrunchBase<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Myspace: Wea4a4re cutting staff by 47 percent, but our redesign is great]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=myspace-weâÂ€Â™re-cutting-staff-by-47-percent-but-our-redesign-is-great</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=myspace-weâÂ€Â™re-cutting-staff-by-47-percent-but-our-redesign-is-great</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Simontufell</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=myspace-weâÂ€Â™re-cutting-staff-by-47-percent-but-our-redesign-is-great</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Myspace today released a statement confirming yesterdaya4a4s reports that it plans to lay off a large percentage of its workforce  &amp;8212' specifically, the company says its a4Aorganizational restructuringa4 will cut 500 employees, or 47 percent of the company.Companies always try to paint these sorts of announcements in the best possible light, although thata4a4s harder when News Corp-owned Myspace is essentially halving its workforce. The big message from chief executive Mike Jones is that the a4Atough but necessary changesa4 dona4a4t reflect anything bad about the new redesign, which refocuses the company on a4Asocial entertainmenta4 rather than trying to compete with Facebook directly. Jones said the layoffs will cut the elements of the companya4a4s a4Alegacy businessa4 that werena4a4t working.As evidence that the redesign is starting to catch on, Jones said that since the redesign rolled out at the end of last year, more than 3.3 million new profiles have been created as well as 134,000 topic pages. The number of mobile Myspace users increased 4 percent between November and December, he said, to 22 million.Moving forward, it sounds like Myspace will be relying more on a partnerships with local companies in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia for its international advertising and content.Next Story: Steve Wozniak wishes he had a dual AT&amp;038'T-Verizon iPhone (video interview) Previous Story: Hands on with the Verizon iPhone&amp;'s 3G hotspot (video)PrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: layoffsCompanies: MySpace, News CorpPeople: Mike Jones          Tags: layoffsCompanies: MySpace, News CorpPeople: Mike JonesAnthony 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.VentureBeat 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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