Twitter Translation Center

Twitter launched its Twitter Translation Center on Monday in an effort to turn its users into translating volunteers who will help convert the social media company's products into new languages.
The Translation Center opens up Twitter.com; Twitter's mobile, business and help websites; and Twitter's mobile apps for Apple's iOS and Google's Android operating systems to translation that is crowd sourced by those who use the popular platform to send out messages in 140 characters or less.
Twitter is looking to add Indonesian, Portuguese, Russian and Turkish to the list of languages in which it is currently offered. The service is already available in English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean and Spanish and those languages will also be available to volunteers in the Translation Center in an attempt to improve already translated sites and apps.
Translators who take part in the Translation Center will be translating Twitter's products, not the messages sent out on Twitter.

Yahoo Opens a Digital Newsstand

Yahoo announced the debut of Livestand, a publishing platform that aims to deliver personalized content to mobile devices.
 The platform, a digital newsstand, will offer a continuous stream of programming based on users’ interests. Yahoo plans to push the platform across multiple formats, including tablets, smartphones, and Web browsers .
The platform, which will be available on the iPad and on Android tablets in the first half of this year, will also take into account a user’s location and the time of day. Initially, Livestand will draw from Yahoo’s content library, a vast portfolio that includes Yahoo News and Flickr, but eventually, it will be available to third-party publishers.

Adobe Launches E-form Service

Adobe has launched a service for conducting online surveys that the company says should ease the process of setting them up and analyzing their results.

The hosted service, called Adobe FormsCentral, allows organizations to develop a customized survey form that would be accessible from the Internet.

With FormsCentral, the user creates a form online at the Adobe site, either using a set of templates or by designing a form from scratch. The forms will be based on HTML, making them accessible from any Web browser on any platform. Forms can be customized for each participant, with personalized name and message. Adobe provides a Web address for the finished form, which then can be mailed to possible participants.
The service will also compile the results into an online spreadsheet, which can be analyzed or embedded in another Web page. A dashboard shows a summary of the results. The administrator tools are accessed by a Web browser, using Adobe Flash.

The service will initially be offered only in English, though the company plans to offer additional languages in the near future. 

LG Optimus 3D HANDS ON

The Optimus 3D looks like a regular Android 2.2 smartphone, with a huge 4.3-inch screen with the standard four Android menu buttons at the bottom. What makes it different is its glasses-free 3D technology and the dual cameras on the back which let you take 3D photos and videos yourself.

For the 3D effect (which can be turned on and off at will) to work you need to position the phone just right; once you do it, though, the effect is quite convincing, especially in gaming. LG has included several 3D-enabled games with the device, including a first person shooter called Nova and a game of golf, both of which are quite fun to play on the 3D screen.

A lot of other features on the phone also revolve around 3D, such as videos, photos, and there’s even a 3D-enabled version of the UI for the device. In other words, 3D isn’t included just to make LG look good, it’s actually weaved into several different aspects of the phone.

While we don’t think the 3D features are a necessity for most users, they’re definitely fun to use and we wouldn’t mind having them, if only for the “wow” factor when you show the phone to someone.

Unfortunately, the phone is somewhat prone to crashing, especially when you delve deeper into its 3D features (the fact that most of the devices were running out of battery juice didn’t help). With a bit of polishing, though, LG might have a winner on its hands, at least until the other smartphone makers catch up with the 3D features

Pros and Cons Apple iPhone 4 (Verizon CDMA, 16GB/32GB)

Pros: A solid re-release of the most impressive iPhone yet, combining museum-quality design with industry-leading display and camera hardware, video calling software, and third-party applications that are rarely matched by rival devices. Developed primarily for Verizon Wireless, including the iPhone family’s first Wi-Fi-based Personal Hotspot data-sharing feature for computers and iPads, and benefitting from enhanced call reliability in some parts of the United States. Battery performance is roughly equivalent to original iPhone 4’s, which offered a major jump relative to the prior-generation iPhone 3GS. Still reasonably priced given all of the technology inside.

Cons: Designed for Verizon’s large but slow CDMA wireless network, resulting in markedly reduced data speeds in some areas, and always preventing cellular data services from being used while calls are incoming or in progress. Lack of SIM card slot and GSM support preclude this model from being used on majority of international cellular networks. Despite opportunities to fix previously acknowledged enclosure issues, glass and metal body remains unusually susceptible to damage and antenna attenuation unless a case is purchased and used. Other issues from AT&T iPhone 4 persist, including limited space for high-resolution video, photos, and apps in the lowest capacity 16GB version. Released eight months into iPhone 4’s life cycle, only slightly ahead of anticipated successor model.

Tihar Prison goes social with Facebook, Twitter

Tihar Prisons in Delhi, the largest correctional institution in South East Asia, jumps the social network bandwagon as it plans to engage the public using Facebook and Twitter in order to invite public opinion and improve transparency in its day-to-day functioning.

Its main objective is to convert its inmates into productive members of the society by providing them with useful skills, education and rules, meant to improve their self-esteem and strengthen their desire to advance in life. Items manufactured by the inmates bear the brand Tihar, which is very popular among people in Delhi.

ZTE Goes Full Throttle with iMarket App Store

Chinese handset and telecom equipment maker ZTE today announced that it plans to launch a web-based application store that network operators can use to provide their customers with content. The store, named iMarket, is a white-label approach, and it will let network operators pick and choose the content they feel worth offering their customers under their own brand name. iMarket apps can be used online or off, and will support not only phones, but also PCs and tablets. As part of iMarket, ZTE is also offering network operators deployment help, consultation, and support.

HP TouchPad Tablet Unveiled

Hewlett-Packard introduced its seriousness in making the most out of its US$1.2 billion investment in Palm, which was acquired last year, with an introduction of a bevy of hardware such as its take on tablet computers.

The TouchPad tablet is the first in a planned line of tablets of various forms. This pilot model weighs more than one and a half pounds, measures 13.7 mm thick, and has a 9.7-inch display with 1024 x 768 resolution.

Its features include a Qualcomm dual-core 1.2GHz processor and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera. HP displays TouchPad’s speedy performance as it demonstrated videoconferencing and 3D action gaming during its unveiling event.

The tablet also comes with loads of support for Google Docs, Dropbox, Box.net, Microsoft Word and Excel, wireless printing, and even Amazon Kindle.

It also features HP’s Synergy technology, which flawlessly syncs data among apps between WebOS-powered devices, as well as support for HP’s Touchstone charging and syncing device. Note that TouchPad’s Touchstone appears more like an easel instead of a round stone used in WebOS smartphones.

The HP TouchPad will be available in 16GB and 32GB versions. Release date has yet to be announced.

Source: Information Week

Fujitsu and Oracle to develop next-generation Unix

The Nikkei Japanese business daily had earlier said Japan's largest IT vendor, Fujitsu, will update its SPARC64 processor and combine it with Oracle's operating system to create Unix servers that are about six times faster than current versions.

The processing power of the Unix servers, used in banks and other businesses, will be raised to 15 times that of today's models by around 2014, the paper reported.

The new servers are expected to go on sale worldwide in the second half of 2012, the newspaper said, adding that aside from the Unix business, Fujitsu has also obtained global sales rights to Oracle's database and other applications -(Reuters)

The Gates Foundation Funds Facebook Apps for Students

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has contributed $2 million in funding to a Facebook application with the hope that it will help improve postsecondary education graduation rates in the U.S.

Inigral’s Schools App creates a closed community of students within Facebook’s platform. Retro Venture Partners and Founders Fund also contributed to what totaled to a $4 million round of Series B funding.
About 11 schools use customized versions of the app, which Inigral’s CEO and founder Michael Staton describes as “a cross between Yammer and Twitter.” Essentially, each student gets access to two real-time streams. One provides updates from everyone at the school. The other contains updates that only pertain to topics the student has indicated she or he is interested in. Students can join groups and interact without friending other participants.
The Schools App offers an appealing value proposition for schools, a likely payout for investors, and an intriguing experiment for organizations, like the Gates Foundation, that are focused on improving graduation rates

Twitter launches ‘#BetterNow’

#BetterNow, a new Twitter endeavor designed to promote communities and their health.
The call to action on the website reads: “Be a part of something bigger than yourself and make a difference in someone else’s life. Get involved in making your community and the world #betternow.”
The project, which resides on the Hope140.org domain, is a portal and call to action. Currently #BetterNow is working with Helpline, The Trevor Project, The Gay-Straight Alliance Network, and RAINN. These four organizations work against sexual assault and homophobia, towards providing youth new opportunities, and support communities, respectively.
On the page Twitter encourages you to tweet a link to the page that includes the project’s eponymous hashtag. If you do so, this is what you will tweet:

Uniden HomePatrol Simple Program Scanner

The Uniden HomePatrol Radio Scanner allows users to easily and more conveniently scan and listen to radio channels in their area. It can be as simple as entering the the ZIP Code or the city to select the channels used in your area. A touchscreen display allows for a more convenient control. It covers all known channels in the US and Canada. The device also allows users to record sessions for later playback. The Uniden HomePatrol Simple Program Scanner is available at Uniden for US$600.
Image Source: Uniden

Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy- The Thinking Rice Cooker

The Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker features an advanced logic technology that allows it to adjust cooking temperature and timing by itself when cooking rice. It “thinks” for itself to come up with the perfect cooked rice every time. It can cook different rice types which require different ways and styles of cooking. This thinking rice cooker can even cook oatmeal. The Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker is available at Amazon for around US$155.
Image Source: Amazon

Hotmail Aliases

Microsoft Hotmail's announced aliases feature for its 350 million users.

The new feature allows users to add up to five new aliases a year, up to a maximum of 15.

why would you want to add aliases because the email address a person uses is a big part of their online identity. The average person maintains three different email addresses in order to organize different types of email, maintain different personas, or keep junk mail away from a primary email address. So there are many good reasons that people want multiple email addresses, but maintaining multiple accounts, with different user names and passwords that require you to check multiple inboxes, is inefficient.

Mehta offers the example of searching for a car. You may have to sign up for several sites, but once you've found the car, you now have all this email still coming. With aliases, you can simply turn off the alias and the emails stop.

As you can see in the screenshot, when you set up the alias, you are also given the chance to direct all that alias's email to a specific directory. This makes it simple to keep email separated so you can easily ignore pay attention to what's important.

Google Releases Chrome 9 Stable

Google has updated the stable branch of its Chrome browser to version 9. The latest stable release brings in many features Chrome beta users have been enjoying for several months, including Chrome Instant, WebGL support and access to the Chrome Web Store.

Chrome 9.0 brings stable support for WebGL. WebGL lets web developers create hardware-accelerated 3D graphics inside the web browser. We discussed WebGL and the Google Body experiment back in December. If you haven’t seen WebGL in action, be sure to check out the WebGL Experiments page (FYI my favorite is Aquarium).

The Chrome Web Store is now accessible to all users in the United States. Users can “install” free and paid web apps that are accessible in Google Chrome and in Chrome OS.

Some of these apps are just fancy bookmarks to HTML5-infused web pages, but some others really push the boundaries of what constitutes a web app. We reviewed ten of our favorite Chrome web apps when the store soft-launched a few months ago.

How to download The Daily outside of the US

The below solution that will allow you to download The Daily, and read it at least as long as it is free, wherever you are.

It all hinges on having a US iTunes account. Once you have the account, you will have the full content privileges of someone who lives in the US. That means you can then snag The Daily without Apple knowing what country you live in. Let’s get to it.

1. Fire up iTunes and log out of your current account.
2. Open up the iTunes store, and scroll all the way to the bottom. Click on the little round flag symbol at the bottom and then when a menu appears, select the US option.
3. Now, don’t just go and open an account. That won’t work. Instead, browse the app store and try to download any free app.
4. When prompted to log in or make an account, click to open a new account.
5. While filling out your application, on the payment screen select ‘none,’ Apple will sniff you out if you try to use international payment with a US account.
6. Complete the application.
7. Now,you can now download free apps.

Google Shopper App for iPhone

Google Shopper app does all your favorite on the go shopping maneuvers like scans,compares and is now for the iPhone.

Google lets you search not only by barcode, but also by entering an item name or speaking into the phone, giving the app that special, non-smartphone-owning friend impresser Google quality. And of course, everything is Google integrated, meaning you're taken through the entire process, from search to locating and buying the items.

Once you've selected a product result, you can compare prices across web retailers, and even find where you can purchase the item nearby, which is especially useful for those of us who are last-minute shoppers. For some retailers, we also provide inventory information so you can see if a particular store branch has the item in stock, has limited availability, or if the item is out of stock and you should head to a different store.

The app is currently available for free in the App Store for both iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 running iOS 4.0 or newer.

BMW's Wherever You Want To Go explores the future of mobility

BMW's new documentary film series will persuade you. Chapter one of Wherever You Want to Go made its debut today and features interviews with visionaries from both in and outside the automotive community.We can only hope these chats with forward-thinkers convince BMW to re-evaluate its ridiculous car of tomorrow concepts.

Foodily -recipe search engine for foodies

The days of clipping recipes from magazines are in the past -- starting Wednesday, foodies can access the expansive online cookbook known as Foodily.

Short for "Food I Love You," the service acts as a recipe and ingredient search engine for connoisseurs of all kinds of grub -– comfort foods, epicurean delicacies and exotic dishes alike.

Launched by two Yahoo! alums, Andrea Cutright and Hillary Mickell, Foodily has already picked up a $5-million investment from Index Ventures.

Users can look up millions of recipes from websites such as the Food Network and Epicurious, even excluding certain ingredients, and compare the results side-by-side, like in a book.

But what sets Foodily apart from other sites such as Allrecipes.com or Yelp is the heavy social-network aspect. Facebook users can use Foodily to like certain recipes and check out friends' favorite dishes. It's also a one-stop dinner-planning shop -– users can plan a menu and invite friends.

"This is the way we really make decisions about what we eat -- with the advice and ideas of those in our social network," Cutright wrote on the Foodily blog.

Instagram photo editing and sharing service raises $7 million

Instagram, the photo editing and sharing startup that launched just four months ago, now has more than 1.7 million users and $7 million from Benchmark Capital.

The company behind the popular iPhone app started out “scrappy, humble and agile,” wrote chief executive Kevin Systrom in a blog post Wednesday. Now, with the help of Facebook alum and Benchmark general partner Matt Cohler, it has a hefty hunk of financing that it plans to use building an engineering team.

With nearly 300,000 photos posted daily, Instagram has also attracted support from bold-name angel investors Adam D’Angelo (co-founder of Quora and former chief technology officer at Facebook) and Jack Dorsey (chief executive of Square and Twitter co-founder).

The mobile photo space is a hopping these days. Path, a similar sharing service, said Tuesday that it raised $8.5 million from Kleiner Perkins and Index Ventures.

Hex intros iPod nano watch band with Nike+ support

Hex already has some accessories to turn an iPod nano into a tricked-out wrist watch. Now it’s time to suit up and put on your running shoes as there is a new version that supports Nike+.

The design of the Hex Sport Watch Band doesn’t deviate much with its “Pop in, Pop out” configuration. However, the latest watch band does have a perforated silicone to let your skin breathe and an extra opening for a Nike Plus port.

Pricing hasn’t been announced yet, though it will likely be either the same or higher than the standard $29.95 model. The Hex Sport Watch Band will be ready for the road this April.

Google Unveils Android Market Webstore

Until know, the only way to find and install apps was via the Market on your phone..Now users can simply go to their browser. And it’s more seamless than something like the iTunes native app because when you select an app, it can be set up to download automatically to your Android device.

There’s also a social element in that users can email links to the Market to one another. And you can easily share links to apps on Twitter.

The new web version of the Market also features better filters for finding apps. And there’s a nice device and app manager.

And it’s already live. Find it here.

Google Art Project launches today

Google  Art Project is a new tool google launches today which puts more than 1,000 works of art at your fingertips, in extraordinary detail.

Google has teamed up with some of the world’s leading art museums to launch Art Project, a new web portal allowing visitors to take virtual, street view-style tours of their galleries and view super-high resolution images of some of the world’s finest artworks.
 Over the past 18 months, Google has worked with 17 leading museums including The Freer Gallery of Art Smithsonian, The National Gallery, London and Tate Britain, capturing over 1000 high resolution images of famous works of art. These include one massive 7-gigapixel image from each participating gallery, offering a staggering level of detail.

You’ll find a selection of super high-resolution images of famous works of art as well as more than a thousand other images, by more than 400 artists—all in one place. And with Street View technology, you can take a virtual tour inside 17 of the world’s most acclaimed art museums, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art and MoMA in New York, The State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Tate Britain & The National Gallery in London, Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid, the Uffizi Gallery in Florence and Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.
 

Google launches voice-to-tweet service for offline Egyptians

Google, Twitter and voice-messaging service SayNow have teamed up to give people in Egypt the ability to tweet about events in the country, simply by leaving a voicemail on an international phone number.

Egypt, which is currently in the grip of mass anti-government protests that have left 60 to 100 people dead, has been forcefully taken offline. Since 27 January, all major ISPs in the country have shut down their internet networks by order of the government, making it tough for citizens to rally together or contact people outside the country.

Now, Twitter and Google's service, named Speak2Tweet, "will (hopefully) enable more Egyptians to be heard," expains SayNow co-founder, Ujjwal Singh. SayNow was acquired by Google last month.

People in Egypt can leave a voicemail on one of three international numbers (+16504194196 or +390662207294 or +97316199855), and the message is automatically turned into a sound file, uploaded to SayNow's servers and published on the Twitter feed, complete with a hashtag denoting where the call originated from.

Smartr iPhone App Strips Out Spam to Turn Twitter into a News Reader

Smartr for iPhone [iTunes link], which comes from natural language processing startup Factyle, gathers all the tweets in your Twitter timeline and determines which of them have meaningful content. The app then fetches the web pages housed within tweets and optimizes the content — text, images and video — for iPhone.
Instead of seeing t

weets, the Smartr user views a Twitter feed filled with news snippets. “It’s a lens on top of your Twitter Feed,” says Factyle founder Temo Chalasani.
Users can click on updates in the filtered Twitter stream to read a Smartr reformatted, ad-free version of the article, share it with Facebook, Tumblr or Posterous, and choose to save it in-app or via Instapaper or Read it Later.

The application is best suited for news junkies who want an experience that automatically filters out checkins, badges, stickers and updates of the same ilk — updates the startup considers “Twitter spam.”