If you’ve visited Myspace, Facebook, or any number of other sites on the internet today you have invariably been exposed to a YouTube video. YouTube has seen the number of its uploads grow over 1700% in the past several months, and with the advent of the “Smart Phone”, one need not look far to find the cause. With their increasing popularity, and increasing ease of use, Smart Phones are becoming a way for more and more people to share their lives with each other. It follows then that if the Smart Phone is the brush with which we paint our individual life stories, then YouTube is fast becoming the canvas.

The Apple, in its design of the iPhone 3GS, has gone to great lengths to put the power of mobile video into the hands of any user. The iPhone 3GS’s built in video functionality is impressive to say the least, and its ease of use has no doubt added to the popularity of this particular Smart Phone. The impact that the new iPhone 3GS has had on the rate of YouTube’s mobile uploads has been staggering to say the least, with uploads increasing over 400% in the first six days since its release.

This is, however, only the beginning, and as more and more people become familiar with the technologies and platforms available to share their videos with friends and family, YouTube’s numbers will continue to increase exponentially, a thought that has not gone unnoticed by other cell phone manufacturers who are scrambling to design and market competitive alternative options for consumers.
Read the rest of this entry »

If you’ve logged on to the internet any time in recently, you more than likely have stumbled upon a headline or two (or likely more) about Microsoft’s exclusion of Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) from their upcoming European release of Windows 7. In fact, Microsoft will not be offering any web browser as part of the Windows 7 operating system software.

The European Commission has been quite unhappy with Microsoft over the past several years, citing anti-trust issues regarding past releases of Windows OS Software. They have fined Microsoft nearly $1.7 billion as a result of their unhappiness and Microsoft, not surprisingly, is looking to avoid these fines in the future. Offering an alternative version of their upcoming OS software, one which the European Commission would be happy with, will delay the overall release of Windows 7, which is something that Microsoft is unwilling to live with.

The media, however, has somewhat distorted the facts regarding this issue, choosing to have the average European consumer believe that they will be unable to reach the internet with this new OS release. This could not be further from the truth. PC makers, such as Dell, HP, IBM, etc, plan to load the IE8 Software on their machines prior to shipping them to stores. Also, Microsoft will be presenting an “Internet Bundle” package that consumers will be able to purchase separately at the store. With large in-store displays and cashiers reminding customers at checkout, it will be virtually impossible to leave the store without IE8 software in hand. Microsoft believes also that the small percentage of users (roughly 5%) who will be purchasing Windows 7 to load on an existing machine will more than likely have the knowledge required to load a web browser of their choosing as well (Mozilla Firefox, IE8, etc). However, Microsoft has pledged that there will be a direct hotline for those who need help accomplishing that task.

There has been talk that Microsoft may yet need to seek out a different approach in order to appease the European Commission. One such approach would involve the use of a “Ballot Screen”. This would appear in front of the user at the first initial boot up of their machine. The user would then have a choice to make (presumably from a list) of which web browser they wish to use. Microsoft, however, believes that it has gone to great lengths in creating this new type of OS release and is hoping that the steps they have taken will be enough to satisfy both the European Commission and the European consumer.

Blogger, Google’s proprietary publishing platform, saw the release of a new Custom Search Box gadget. This gadget, originally released in Beta form (then called Blogger In Draft), allows for a broader area of focus within a particular search. It accomplishes this by including in searches readers search posts, linked web pages, blog roll blogs, and shared link list pages. AJAX Search API’s allow for the new search gadget to aesthetically blend into any blog and, in addition, will update the custom linked search engine whenever your blog, blog list, or link lists are updated. This will allow for more inclusive yet focused searching.

The massive online giant Google, in a continuing effort to drive technological innovation, will begin accepting entries in the second round of its Android Developer Challenge. The Android Platform, originally designed by a company with the same name in Palo Alto, CA and purchased by Google in 2005, is a Linux based operating system (OS) designed for use in mobile phones, PDA’s and other mobile devices. Google hopes to strike gold in the form of new applications for use on this platform, and those who submit the best of the best will find themselves on the receiving end of some hefty cash grants totaling nearly two million dollars.

In the spirit of entrepreneurial fair play, Google has decided to open this second challenge to the general public. Google is seeking fun and exciting applications that both make people smile, and are designed by people like you. Beginning in August of this year (final date to be announced), the first round of judging will commence. Individuals running the Android Platform on their mobile device will be able to vote for their favorite applications, of which the top 20 from each category will be selected to move on to the second and final round of judging. The general public will rank these applications from most to least favorite. The community vote will account for 45% of the final vote, with the remaining 55% going to a team of Google selected judges. For more specific information on eligibility and other criteria, please click here.