The GOOD 30-Day Challenge: Connect with People

Things are easier said than done, or so the old adage goes, and we couldn't agree more. That's why we do The GOOD 30-Day Challenge, a monthly attempt to live better.

With the internet age not only upon us, but so intertwined into our lives that living without the web seems impossible, sometimes we forget to talk to each other. Sure, we tweet, text, Facebook, Google+, Gchat, and AIM constantly—it's not that we don't communicate. But how often do we actually talk?

When's the last time you struck up a conversation with a stranger on the train, or asked the barista you see every morning how they're doing? Have you ever emailed that teacher you occasionally think about to thank them for their service to you? Have you ever looked a homeless person in the face and asked them if they'd like half your sandwich? 

The technology of our world is a truly beautiful, convenient, and life-altering thing. And as much as it's helped us connect in ways our grandparents never thought possible, it's also created a culture in which we take the easiest option to communicate instead of the best option.

For September, our GOOD Challenge theme is "Connect with People." Unlike past challenges, in which we implored you to do one thing for a whole month, this one will involve one new task per day. We'll as you to say hi to strangers, call a relative, reach out to someone you only know via Twitter, and more. The goal is to remind you not only of how tight-knit communities can be, but also how big the world is, and how easy it is to lose track of someone you know and love. 

As usual, consider this post an open invitation to join in the challenge. Check GOOD.is at 8:30 a.m. EST every day of September to see that day's task and get a sneak preview of what the next day holds. On Twitter and Facebook, we'll be using the hashtag #30DaysofGOOD to keep you abreast of our progress, and we hope you'll use it to let us know how you're faring as well.

Now get out there and meet the world.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/good/lbvp/~3/52mVwxCixnY/

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Twitter Seeks Developers' Help With Deep iOS 5 Integration

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey has put out a call for comment to the platform's developers. In a note posted on Twitter's developer site he says; "I'd like to ask for your candid feedback. We want to know what additional materials you need from us to help you build products, boost distribution and expand your reach."

Dorsey goes on to express enthusiasm for the future of Twitter, especially concerning the upcoming deep integration into iOS 5. "Very soon, anywhere there's an iPhone or an iPad, you'll always find Twitter." Yet, Twitter's relationship with its developer ecosystem has not always been rosy. Is this an olive branch from the service as it prepares to grow?

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"If you're an iOS developer, you can add Twitter to your application to personalize the experience for your users, giving them easier and better ways to login, enrich their experience, share thoughts and content and help boost your distribution," Dorsey wrote. "I believe that our relationships with consumers and developers are a primary measure of our success. Thank you for helping millions of people around the world get more from Twitter."

Not A Good Year For Twitter Developers

This has not been a good year if you are a developer working on a third-party Twitter client (unless you are TweetDeck and just got purchased by Twitter, of course). In March, Twitter more or less said, "Do not try and compete with us or our native clients." TweetDeck was too big for Twitter to push over, so it bought it rather than let it fall into the hands of UberMedia.

Come June, at Apple's World Wide Developers' Conference, it was revealed that Twitter would be ingrained into nearly everything that happens in iOS 5. The deal was probably in the works for a couple of months. With iPhone 5 almost ready to be released, Dorsey and the Twitter team have probably come to realize that it needs to re-enlist its developer community that it had once shunned to help integrate the service into Apple devices. It is a monumental undertaking that Twitter alone is likely not capable of handling.

Hence, the call for help.

"If you're an iOS developer, you can add Twitter to your application to personalize the experience for your users, giving them easier and better ways to login, enrich their experience, share thoughts and content and help boost your distribution," Dorsey wrote. "I believe that our relationships with consumers and developers are a primary measure of our success. Thank you for helping millions of people around the world get more from Twitter."

iOS 5 Release Around The Corner

Apple released iOS 5 beta 7 today, which is likely the last or the next-to-last beta version of the OS to come out before the iPhone 5 (and possibly another cheaper version) come out. A quick note from a developer who has been running the beta versions said, "very few changes, likely near the end of the beta" in regards to what is been updated or fixed with the latest release. So, Twitter has a couple weeks left, at most, before the new wave of iOS 5 applications come out. And here is Jack, waving a white flag and offering whatever support Twitter can muster.

"Our ongoing commitment is to give you the structure, tools, resources, and support you need to build your businesses as you leverage the power of Twitter," Dorsey wrote.

That is a far cry from what came out of Twitter in March.

""We ask all developers in the Twitter ecosystem to abide by a simple set of rules that are in the interests of our users, as well as the health and vitality of the platform as a whole," said a Twitter spokesperson. "We often take actions to enforce these rules; in fact, on an average day we turn off more than one hundred services that violate our API rules of the road. This keeps the ecosystem fair for everyone."

You can join the Twitter developer conversation in the services discussion group here.

So, developers, what do you want to see from Twitter? How can Dorsey and company woo you back into their good graces?

Discuss

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/readwriteweb/~3/MJBa6aPiYh0/twitter_seeks_developers_help_with_deep_ios_5_inte.php

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Opera 11.10 includes improved power saving features

Just recently, the Opera 11.10 release candidate was made available for download. It brought a handful of important feature additions -- like HTML5 File API support and IMAP enhancements -- and loads of bugfixes. Nestled in amongst the other details in the Opera team's announcement is one more interesting tidbit: Opera 11.10 offers improved battery optimizations.

The timing here is certainly interesting, what with Microsoft's recent report on how much power the top five Web browsers consume. In its findings, Opera 11 was fairly low in the standings. While we've not seen any new benchmarks yet, we're curious to know whether the Opera 11.10 RC offers any significant gains.

If you're running Opera 11.10 on a laptop, let us know if you're seeing an improvement in your battery life while browsing!

Opera 11.10 includes improved power saving features originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/07/opera-11-10-includes-improved-power-saving-features/

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Google bids $900 million for Nortel's patents to protect against litigation trolls

Nortel, once one of the biggest telecoms company in the world but now in the death throes of bankruptcy, has selected Google's $900 million bid for its patent portfolio as the stalking horse bid. This doesn't mean that Google will automatically win Nortel's massive array of telecoms patents, but it does mean that Google is the preferred buyer.

Google, which has a history of lobbying for patent law reform, has been the target of many patent litigation suits. Google's relative infancy means that it has a lot less patents in the vault than big-hitters like Microsoft, Oracle and IBM, and buying Nortel's portfolio of 6,000 patents could provide better protection against patent litigation in the future. It's worth noting that both Apple and RIM have showed interested in the portfolio, too.

Mashable speculates that the patents -- which are nearly all telecoms-related -- will be used to defend against Oracle's attacks on Android's use of Java. We reckon that Google is simply looking to cover its future endeavors in the world of networking. In the absence of patent law reform, and continued threats to net neutrality, owning a bunch of telecoms patents sounds like a very sensible move.

Google bids $900 million for Nortel's patents to protect against litigation trolls originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/04/google-bids-900-million-for-nortels-patents-to-protect-from-li/

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The GOOD 30-Day Challenge: Connect with People

Things are easier said than done, or so the old adage goes, and we couldn't agree more. That's why we do The GOOD 30-Day Challenge, a monthly attempt to live better.

With the internet age not only upon us, but so intertwined into our lives that living without the web seems impossible, sometimes we forget to talk to each other. Sure, we tweet, text, Facebook, Google+, Gchat, and AIM constantly—it's not that we don't communicate. But how often do we actually talk?

When's the last time you struck up a conversation with a stranger on the train, or asked the barista you see every morning how they're doing? Have you ever emailed that teacher you occasionally think about to thank them for their service to you? Have you ever looked a homeless person in the face and asked them if they'd like half your sandwich? 

The technology of our world is a truly beautiful, convenient, and life-altering thing. And as much as it's helped us connect in ways our grandparents never thought possible, it's also created a culture in which we take the easiest option to communicate instead of the best option.

For September, our GOOD Challenge theme is "Connect with People." Unlike past challenges, in which we implored you to do one thing for a whole month, this one will involve one new task per day. We'll as you to say hi to strangers, call a relative, reach out to someone you only know via Twitter, and more. The goal is to remind you not only of how tight-knit communities can be, but also how big the world is, and how easy it is to lose track of someone you know and love. 

As usual, consider this post an open invitation to join in the challenge. Check GOOD.is at 8:30 a.m. EST every day of September to see that day's task and get a sneak preview of what the next day holds. On Twitter and Facebook, we'll be using the hashtag #30DaysofGOOD to keep you abreast of our progress, and we hope you'll use it to let us know how you're faring as well.

Now get out there and meet the world.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/good/lbvp/~3/52mVwxCixnY/

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Firefox 4 Mobile officially released for Android and Maemo devices

Moments ago, Mozilla stripped the release candidate moniker from Firefox 4 Mobile and pronounced it fit for public release. If you have a Nokia N900 phone, or a fairly-modern Android 2.0-or-later device, go ahead and install it from the Market, by using scanning the QR code after the break, or by visiting Firefox.com/m.

Accompanying the release is the launch of Spark, a cute social game that's designed to fuel the adoption of Firefox 4 Mobile, much like last week's use of Glow and Twitter Party during Firefox 4 PC's release.

While the browser still feels a little rough around the edges, it's definitely worth trying out if you're still using Android's stock browser. Its JavaScript performance is significantly better than any other Android browser, and if you use Firefox on your PC, its built-in Sync functionality is awesome.

Over the next few days we'll have plenty of tips and tricks for Firefox 4 Mobile, and a list of the best add-ons available for the new browser.

Continue reading Firefox 4 Mobile officially released for Android and Maemo devices

Firefox 4 Mobile officially released for Android and Maemo devices originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 29 Mar 2011 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/29/firefox-4-mobile-officially-released-for-android-and-maemo-devic/

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Firefox 4 rockets to 5% global usage share, IE9 wallows at 1.5%

Using some early numbers from both StatCounter and Net Applications, Mozilla's noisiest hominid, Asa Dotzler, has illustrated Firefox 4's meteoric rise to around 5% of Web browser global usage share. Internet Explorer 9, which launched two weeks ago, seems to be enjoying a much more casual stroll in the park with just 1.5% of the global Web usage share.

Interestingly, we can see IE9 dipping between March 20 and 21, just before the 'Important' Windows Update rolled out. It's hard to say whether IE9 is only growing because of the installed-by-default Windows Update, but that small dip definitely sticks out -- did excitement peter out? Did people download IE9, try it out, and summarily uninstall it? Perhaps, given their close proximity, the stats show an attention shift from Microsoft to Mozilla?

Numbers-wise, if the bottom left corner of the graph shows 2.3 million downloads for IE9, we can guesstimate that that it has now been downloaded 5 million times. Firefox is clocking in at 37 million downloads after five days of public availability.

We wonder whether Microsoft knew its release schedule would coincide so closely with Firefox 4. Internet Explorer 9 -- a great browser by almost every metric -- was never going to do well against anything emanating from the maws of Mozilla. The main thing, though, is that Microsoft has now shown that it's serious when it comes to the Open Web. If Internet Explorer 10 is good, and 11 and 12, then we might finally see it compete with the zealous Mozillan horde.

Firefox 4 rockets to 5% global usage share, IE9 wallows at 1.5% originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 05:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/28/firefox-4-rockets-to-5-global-usage-share-ie9-wallows-at-1-5/

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