An internal list of the most popular requests for improving Windows has been leaked, giving a glimpse of what users want in the next version of Windows. Strangely, 'make Firefox the default browser' is not one of them.
Digg's original, real-time tracking page, Digg Spy, is one of the best and probably most overlooked ways to use the site. You can get a huge feel for the community from watching diggspy. User habits, hidden gems, new friends, bury brigade activity, URLs, agendas, speed…it's all there.
Both Microsoft and Google added widgets for translating your web page into another language. The feature was already available at BabelFish, but the site makes a major faux-pas by using flags to represent languages.
The next significant software update for Apple Inc.'s iPhone handset is unlikely to surface until early next year but will pack a system-wide search feature when it finally does arrive, according information obtained by investment bank Piper Jaffray.
Mail in Mac OS X has progressively grown from the simple mail client Apple included with the first builds of Mac OS X into one of the best email solutions for the Mac, and certainly the most popular. As the default app for email on the Mac, Mail gets lots of feature requests and lots of complaints when things don't work as expected.
Real Networks today announced availability of its new RealPlayer after a five-month public beta period. The new Real Player got Rave reviews at the "All Things Digital" conference in June 2007 from beta testers and press alike, the new RealPlayer is the first mainstream media player that lets consumers download and record video from thousands of Web sites.
As part of the RealPlayer Plus package, users can now transfer downloaded video content to the Apple iPod Nano, iPod Classic and iPod Video. iPod owners who previously only had access to video content available through Apple iTunes now have access to non-DRM protected videos from thousands of sites on the Web.
Real will extend the popular and simple one-click download feature in the new RealPlayer to the world by the end of November with the availability of localized versions for nine additional languages. In addition, a beta version of the new RealPlayer for Mac users is now available and allows the downloading of non-DRM protected Web videos from thousands of sites for playback online or offline.
"Now consumers can use the one-click download functionality to view Web video offline on their PC or transfer video to popular portable media devices like the iPod," said Harold Zeitz, senior vice president of media software and services at Real. "RealPlayer is one of the most popular applications around the world, and by the end of the month our customers from North America to China will have this one-click video download functionality and the ability to watch videos on the go with their iPods in their own native languages."
"We magically do the video conversion to the right video format and then put them on iPod," Real Vice President Jeff Chasen said.
Real will continue development of the new RealPlayer in the coming months, with plans to add video transfer support for the Apple iPhone and iTouch in early 2008. The new RealPlayer is available as a free download from http://www.realplayer-plus.com. Support for the transfer of video to the Apple iPod is available to those customers who upgrade to RealPlayer Plus at a one-time cost of $39.99.
Facts about the new RealPlayer:
— In addition to the U.S. version, the new RealPlayer and the ability to
download Web video for offline viewing is now localized for the
following languages: French, German, Italian, Korean, Spanish,
Japanese, simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, Brazilian Portuguese
and English language variations serving the United Kingdom, Europe and
the Asia-Pacific region. These localized versions of the new RealPlayer
will be available for PC users (Windows XP SP II and Vista compatible)
before the end of November.
— The Macintosh compatible beta version of the new RealPlayer is now
available to consumers in the U.S., supporting Mac OS X v10.4 and 10.5
with Firefox for the Mac and Safari.
— Consumers can download multiple videos simultaneously with RealPlayer,
allowing people to save time and easily multitask. Users can also start
downloading in the middle of watching a video, and the entire video
will be captured. (PC version only)
— Consumers can send links of their favorite videos to their friends with
a convenient "Share with a Friend" feature. The link that arrives in
their friends' email will direct them to the online source of the video
content. (PC version only)
— RealPlayer features an improved look and feel, a streamlined
installation process and faster video playback.
— View thumbnail images of saved videos.
Get yours now at http://www.realplayer-plus.com.
Zune 2 and its batch of new features are finally upon us, bringing new players and an entirely new experience. Read on to find out how Microsoft has managed to change a lot on the one hand, and very little on the other—then see how the Zune stacks up against iTunes and iPod.
n addition to the ultra-thin aluminum keyboard Apple unveiled for the iMac last month, a similarly proportioned Bluetooth wireless version was also introduced. Here's a setup and unpacking tour, paired with a look at its features, an operational mystery, and a tantalizing future potential.
