If you ever end up at Panodra.com instead of Pandora.com, you may be putting a few extra pennies into Google’s piggy bank. That’s because of typosquatting, the deliberate registration of a popular domain’s misspelling. Knowing that people often make typos when going to websites - like spelling “Panodra” when they’re looking for “Pandora” - enterprising schemers will register the typo version of a popular website and fill that page with links that pay money for impressions or clicks. The domain owner makes money and Google gets a piece of the action as well.
A Harvard University professor and research fellow have estimated that Google could make as much as $497 million dollars a year through typosquatting. The two men reached that conclusion by creating a list of possible typos for more than 3,000 popular websites, finding 280 possible misspellings for each site. They then found that 60 percent of typosquatters use Google’s advertising program to make money. Google is able to generate that money because more than 68 million people visit typo sites each day.
Typosquatting is a practice that is several years old but still controversial. Domain owners don’t like squatters taking advantage of their potential visitors, and advertisers worry that they will be paying to advertise to people who are confused or disinterested in their product. (Pandora is a music streaming site but ads on Panodra lead to shopping and dating sites).
Google says that it removes ads from typo domains if the original trademark holder files a complaint. The company is currently dealing with a lawsuit over its ads appearing on domain parkers. I wonder how much of their $23 billion advertising revenue goes toward legal fees.
Despite the fact that the enTourage eDGe was originally expected to be available this month, that release has been pushed back one month and will now happen in March. That alone is not all that much of an issue, but at the same time the eDGe ereader has also been given a little increase in price. The enTourage eDGe will now retail for $499, which is up just slightly from $490. Of course, these could still change again in the future.
And just to offer a quick recap, the enTourage eDGe is a dual-screen e-reader with a 10.1-inch LCD display and a 9.7-inch eInk display. Other features include 4GB of internal storage, an SD card slot, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth, 3.5mm headphone jack, speakers, internal microphone and a lithium-ion battery that can offer up to 16 hours of time on the eInk display and up to 6 hours using the LCD.
Finally, the enTourage eDGe is running a version of Android and has support for ePub and PDF file formats as well as a variety of audio and video file formats.
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The publishing industry has been gushing over Apple and the upcoming iPad ever since Apple announced it would allow prices above $9.99, a price point the industry has been resenting ever since Amazon released its popular Kindle e-reader. Last month Steve Jobs announced that 5 major publishers, the Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan, the Penguin Group and Simon & Schuster, had agreed to a pricing model where they set the price and Apple would act solely as the agent and take 30%, leaving the rest to be split between publisher and author. This meant the price of ebooks would be jacked up from $9.99 to between $12.99 and $14.99. Now however it's been revealed that Apple has a provision requiring them to discount best sellers. Apple and the publishers will still make money, but it's quite possible that many books may not rise much in price at all.
How do you feel about increased prices? I am a happy Kindle owner and while I believe e-books shouldn't cost more than their paperback equivalents, I have to say if I want a book bad enough I'll pay more. Eventually publishers are going to have to get past their ignorance and greed and see that not only are e-books here to stay, but jacking the prices up won't generate more profits for them. Why? Because most e-reader owners say if e-book prices get too high they'll go back to getting paper books-at the library or used bookstore. Contrary to what publishers believe, they won't be rushing to Barnes and Noble, Borders or even Amazon for the latest hardcovers and paperbacks.
Google Calendar hasn’t exactly received much attention from the interface design team for quite some time now. Apart from the occasional new labs features, the interface has gone through a stagnant period until recently when screenshots of an upcoming UI face lift began to surface.
Most of the changes are really just cosmetic updates, but these minor updates make the entire app look much more modern. The navigational text links are now replaced with silver buttons, much like the ones used in other Google apps. Also, there’s a new worldwide clock feature added into the UI. While you could previously add this feature via labs, the worldwide clock now displays by default. The calendar itself received some minor changes, which resulted in a cleaner and sleeker look. From what I can see, Google’s new calendar UI cuts down on unnecessary screen real estate wastage.
The interface changes you see in the screenshots are just internal builds as of now, however, Google may roll out these updates very soon. Here’s a screenshot of the old Google Calendar interface (below) for you to compare with the new screenshot:
Those who use Google Chrome and Evernote listen up for a minute because the the browser and digital brain service play very nicely together. First, for those unaware there is a nice Evernote Web Clipper extension available for Chrome. Of course that has been around for a little while now and many Evernote users likely already know about that tool.
But moving on, there is also a good way for Google Chrome users to search their Evernote account from the address bar. You just need to do a quick setup before you begin. To get started right click in the Chrome address bar and select “Edit Search Engines.” After that click the little “+” sign in the bottom left hand corner. Once you have done that just set up the search with the following parameters.
Name: Evernote
Keyword: Evernote.com
URL: http://www.evernote.com/search?q=%s
After you have those fields entered, just click to save. That said, Evernote also has nice desktop versions of their software available for both Mac and PC’s which includes the ability to search. Personally I run the desktop software, but am in the browser more often than not so this little trick just seems to work better with my current flow.
Late Sunday night my husband was working on his blog when he decided to check out one of his trackbacks. Bad idea. He was immediately redirected to a fake anti-virus site and even though he knows not to click on anything and shut the browser down via Task Manager, somehow the program, called Vista Internet Security 2010 installed itself anyway! He was immediately tormented by pop up after pop up with dire warnings like:
System warning! Intercepting programs that may compromise your privacy and harm your system has been detected on your PC. It's highly recommended you scan your PC right now.
and
System warning! Continue working in unprotected mode is very dangerous. Virus can damage your confidential data and work on your computer. Click here to protect your computer.
All fake of course. A fake version of the Windows Security Center opened up as well, and it claimed that his anti-virus and firewall were nowhere to be found. The infection happened about 11pm and it took me until 8am to finally get him back to a clean system. This rogue anti-virus is particularly nasty and frightening too. Here's why:
Our firewall didn't stop it and neither AVG nor Malwarebytes detected it when I ran scans with each of them. They are both fully updated so this means either this rouge so new the anti-virus programs haven't caught up with it yet, or it is able to avoid detection/disable anti-virus programs.
It completely disabled Windows Security Center. Even when I went to Control Panel and launched it there, it presented me with the fake one.
It dropped a nasty Trojan that inserts a browser hijack into every browser it finds installed on the system. The hijack throws up a fake warning that the site you are accessing is infected and keeps redirecting you to scam sites.
It also dropped a keylogger-not the fake one it claims Firefox is infected with, but a real one. For those not familiar with the term, a keylogger is a malicious program that records everything typed into a computer, saves that info, and sends it off to the hackers. So if you have a keylogger installed and log into say, Paypal or your bank, the hacker gets your login and password.
So how did I clean up the mess? Well since neither MalwareBytes or AVG was able to detect the malicious files, first I went to my computer and downloaded Malwarebytes to a flash drive and tried to run it on the infected system. No dice. I then opened the Windows Registry and tried to delete the files it had placed there but I was denied access. Finally I fought through the redirects, went to TrendMicro's site and used their HouseCall scanner. I did two full scans and it found all the nasty files and deleted them. Once the system was clean I ran a Hijack This log to make sure no rogue files were lurking around plus another virus scan. Once I was confident the system had been cleared, I had my husband change the password to every site, service and forum he's registered with.
If you find yourself redirected to a fake anti-virus site, shutting down the browser via Task Manager may not be enough. If it's not the first thing to do is disconnect any other computers from your network, if you have one. This will keep all them from getting infected if the rouge anti-virus happens to be network aware. If your anti-virus software didn't catch the infection, it's probably been disabled or the variant is so new the anti-virus companies haven't caught up yet. It is possible to manually delete some of these rouge anti-virus programs but if you get an access denied or you don't feel comfortable messing with your registry (if you don't know what you're doing you can render your entire computer inoperable!) try using another computer to download an antivirus program to a flash drive or use an online scanner like HouseCall.
How do you prevent infections in the first place? Think before clicking on any link. If it's got gibberish in it, came in an email from a stranger or from a friend but with no explanation, delete it. When dealing with URL shortened links like bit.ly, don't click unless you know and trust the source completely. Never ever click on a banner ad or pop up that warns you your system is infected, and always keeps your anti-virus program updated and your firewall on. It's not fool proof but following these steps will help significantly reduce your chances of getting infected.
The Motorola Backflip will be the first Android phone on AT&T when it goes on sale early next month. According to reports from Reuters, the Backflip will sell for $99 with two-year agreement and $100 mail-in rebate beginning March 7.
Sporting a uniqe method for flipping the phone to expose the QWERTY keyboard, the Backflip is AT&T’s first Android phone. It is similar to the Motorola CLIQ in that both phones have identical faces and MOTOBLUR, though the Backflip has a different keyboard set-up.
AT&T will launch the BackFlip with the outdated Android 1.5 Cupcake build but it could be updated to 2.1 at some point this year. That would greatly improve on the 3.1 inch HVGA touchscreen, 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash, and 1,500 mAh battery that’s packed into the phone.
With the announcement from Microsoft of Windows Phone 7 Series, they created many questions about what will happen to the current iteration of Windows Mobile. It seems Microsoft intends to rename Windows Mobile 6.5 into Windows Phone Classic. The good bit of news here is Microsoft will continue to support the devices currently running the software.
Microsoft’s dual prong strategy involves having the two OS’ sell next to each other. Yes, Microsoft will have Windows Phone 7 Series (whose name has been nominated for “Best comedic performance by an ensemble”) devices launching along side Windows Mobile 6.5x devices. I can’t fathom why one would continue to support the old way of doing things, but then again, folks love styli.
According to istartedsomething, Microsoft will continue to aim the old Windows Mobile platform at enterprise, while the hot new sexy Windows Phone 7 Series will be tilted towards consumers. Interesting. While Blackberry,Android, webOS, and the iPhone OS all offer “one ring to rule them all” or one OS for both range of consumers, enterprise or not; Microsoft continues to treat the two markets as separate.
It will be telling to see what MS has up it’s sleeve for the next version of Windows Phone Classic. Can it be seen as anything but an old lumbering giant?
Remail was remarkable in a few ways. Remail figured out a way to compress emails and store them all on the iPhone. Having the email stored locally on the device allowed it's searches to be lightening fast. The iPhone's stock app connects to the server to search most of your inbox (assuming you, like Cselle have 30,000 emails hanging around). In fact, those 30,000 emails only took up 127mbs.
It seems Google's interest in quickly scanning email, not just Gmail is the endgame here. Google could be looking to one-up the iPhone by incorporating Remail into an Android app but that seems against the Google's value prop of everything in the cloud, everywhere. It will be interesting to see how Google uses Remail and if they'll use it as a weapon to compete with rival Apple.
The founder had one time worked at Google on Gmail before he was a co-founder in Outlook plug in Xobni. Here's Cselle on his Remail application.
Despite finding out that Best Buy was going to begin shipping the iREX DR 800SG ereader back in September of last year and expecting it to begin shipping as of October—it is just now available. I guess this falls into the better late than never category. But those waiting for the iREX DR 800SG can head on over to BestBuy.com and plunk down your $399.99.
Feature wise, the iREX DR 800SG comes complete with goodies such as 3G connectivity and access to the Barnes & Noble eBookstore. Other features include an 8.1-inch touchscreen display, microSD card slot and a weight of just 12.7-ounces. Additionally the iREX DR 800SG ships with a 2GB microSD card, protective sleeve and has support for ePub, PDF, PDB, JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP and TIFF files.
Personally I am not sure how well adopted the iREX will become, however it seems that Barnes & Noble could be a winner here. After all, with support on more and more devices, that should in the end equal more sales.
Westlake Village, Calif., Feb. 17, 2010 – IREX Technologies’ DR800SG wireless eReader is officially available on BestBuy.com today.
The device combines an incomparable, paper-like reading experience and the perfect balance between readability and portability with an open approach to buying and transferring content. With 3G wireless capabilities, users can purchase and quickly download an eBook while on the go.
“Consumer awareness and adoption of eReaders is reaching a tipping point – devices were a hot seller this holiday season and the space is poised to explode in 2010,” said Kevin Hamilton, CEO, IREX North America, Inc. “This is a purpose-built device for people who love to read. IREX supports multiple file formats, provides access to hundreds of thousands of leading books and periodicals, and now offers a strong retail presence to help us stand out in this competitive market.”
Along with immediate availability on BestBuy.com, the device will appear on Best Buy shelves through a phased launch in coming months. Giving users access to the device through a retailer recognized for providing hands-on interaction with technology will drive increased awareness and understanding of eReaders, as potential buyers can see, touch and even test the product – a must do for consumers buying an eReader.
The IREX device includes the Barnes & Noble eBookstore from Barnes & Noble, the world’s largest bookseller, giving users access to more than 750,000 titles, including new releases and bestsellers at $9.99. Barnes & Noble expects its eBookstore (www.bn.com/ebooks) will increase to well over one million titles in 2010, inclusive of every available eBook and eBook originals from book publishers.
Agreements with NewspaperDirect and LibreDigital – two leading distributors of digital content – give IREX users access to the most comprehensive collection of newspapers and magazines available in the eReader market, up to 1,100 more titles than what is currently available on some competitive devices.
“A flurry of eReaders and tablets were announced at CES in January, but the reality is that many of these devices are not widely availability. Shoppers can head to BestBuy.com and purchase the DR800SG immediately, putting their favorite eBooks, newspapers and magazines just a few clicks away – not a few months away,” said Hamilton.
Key product specifications · Purchase content on the go – wireless service for the IREX device is provided by Verizon Wireless, the nation’s largest and most reliable 3G network. Qualcomm’s Gobi™ multi-mode 3G embedded module drives connectivity to 3G networks around the world.
· Big screen, compact design – some competitive devices offer a similarly-sized device but with a much smaller display area. IREX’s 8.1-inch screen is ideal for books, magazines and newspapers with detailed graphics.
· Purpose-built device – the DR800SG features the latest electronic paper display technology, using E Ink’s Vizplex imaging film, to deliver an experience that is closer to reading ordinary paper than possible with a netbook or tablet device. It also has a longer battery life and is lightweight.
· Easy navigation – the device turns pages faster than competing products and navigation is easy with an interactive stylus-driven touch screen. Users can search their library or add a bookmark with the tap of a stylus or skim an eBook with the touch of a thumb.
· Customized reading – users can enlarge or reduce text size and margin widths, or select portrait or landscape mode to suit their preferences.
Pricing and availability The IREX DR800SG has an MSRP of $399.99, which includes access to a variety of free content. Wireless access to downloaded content is included in the cost of the DR800SG and no contract is required.
Good news for BlackBerry users that want to read while on-the-go—your Kindle app is now ready and available for download. And getting right down to the availability and compatibility. The Kindle app for the BlackBerry is listed as being able to work on the Bold 9000, Bold 9700, Curve 8520, Curve 8900, Storm 9530, Storm 9550 and the Tour 9630. Additionally, at this time it is available only for US customers.
Moving on, the app is available for free, you can either visit www.amazon.com/kindlebb from your BlackBerry or visit Amazon (link below) and have a link delivered by email.
Feature wise the BlackBerry app is what we have seen before on other devices and will allow you to sample, read and purchase—all whether you have a Kindle or not. Of course, these mobile apps work very nicely in conjunction with a regular Kindle due to Whispersync which allows you to sync your bookmarks, annotations and last read page between devices.
At the Mobile World Congress, Google decided it was going to outsmart every company in attendance and take a step towards a truly amazing technology. Google Goggles, the visual search app developed by Google, has been making its rounds around Android users with mixed reviews. But this next prototype is sure to make things even more complicated.
Eric Schmidt himself showed off the new prototype of Google Goggles that will allow the user to take pictures of text and literally scan it into the phone. This will allow for easy translation, note-taking, and all around fun way to keep up with things. Of course there is always be that barrier that is created with the quality of the camera that is taking this picture and the accuracy of the scanner. But that is not the point. This technology is what would be considered futuristic in my book. It won’t be long until we will be able to travel overseas with a personal translator in our pockets.
The entire process is a bit technical, of course. But Google has managed to create a machine translation technology to work in junction with the image recognition already on the Google Goggles software. Google is making sure that this new technology will be criticized around its campus before releasing the update, and, for that reason, the release date is shady at best. Meanwhile I can not wait to get my hands on it.
FROM GAMERTELL - Mattel’s latest Barbie, computer technician Barbie, made her grand debut at the 2010 New York Toy Fair, alongside news anchor Barbie. Both dolls will be available in Fall 2010. MORE »
It seems like over night Google went from one of the most loved companies on the Internet to one of the most hated. All because of it’s new Buzz service. First a lot of users complain about privacy issues, which Google fixes in days. Then there are complaints that it doesn’t work as well as FriendFeed with some things, that it floods Gmail inboxes with messages and still has lingering privacy issues. After all of that, the Canadian government is investigating Buzz, and EPIC is asking the US to do the same.
For those who don’t know, EPIC stands for Electronic Privacy Information Center. Today the group sent the Federal Trade Commission a 16 page letter outlining the privacy issues in Google Buzz. The opening of the document complains that with Buzz, Google turned private information into public information, which “violated user privacy expectations.” It goes on to state that Google may have violated federal wiretap laws in addition to contradicting Google’s own privacy policy. The rest of the document calls for the FTC to investigate Google Buzz and outlines the history and complaints users have had about the service so far.
The privacy issues here are certainly warranted, there aren’t going to be many people who would say they want their email and other information shared without having much of a choice. If Google had warned users upfront that all information would be made publicly available if they chose to use Buzz it might have been a lot better. There is an option to opt-out of Buzz, though perhaps it would have been better for Google to make it an opt-in service instead. The company’s moves to fix those issues should be commended, even if the problems were terrible to begin with.
FROM APPLETELL - Having access to information on the go is no longer a nicety; it has become a necessity of the business world. With the help of Doc2, you can turn your phone into a mobile productivity center. MORE »
If you ever end up at Panodra.com instead of Pandora.com, you may be putting a few extra pennies into Google’s piggy bank. That’s because of typosquatting, the deliberate registration of a popular domain’s misspelling. Knowing that people often make typos when going to websites - like spelling “Panodra” when they’re looking for “Pandora” - enterprising schemers will register the typo version of a popular website and fill that page with links that pay money for impressions or clicks. The domain owner makes money and Google gets a piece of the action as well.
The publishing industry has been gushing over Apple and the upcoming iPad ever since Apple announced it would allow prices above $9.99, a price point the industry has been resenting ever since Amazon released its popular Kindle e-reader. Last month Steve Jobs announced that 5 major publishers, the Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan, the Penguin Group and Simon & Schuster, had agreed to a pricing model where they set the price and Apple would act solely as the agent and take 30%, leaving the rest to be split between publisher and author. This meant the price of ebooks would be jacked up from $9.99 to between $12.99 and $14.99. Now however it's been revealed that Apple has a provision requiring them to discount best sellers. Apple and the publishers will still make money, but it's quite possible that many books may not rise much in price at all.
Late Sunday night my husband was working on his blog when he decided to check out one of his trackbacks. Bad idea. He was immediately redirected to a fake anti-virus site and even though he knows not to click on anything and shut the browser down via Task Manager, somehow the program, called Vista Internet Security 2010 installed itself anyway! He was immediately tormented by pop up after pop up with dire warnings like: 
The Motorola Backflip will be the first Android phone on AT&T when it goes on sale early next month. According to reports from Reuters, the Backflip will sell for $99 with two-year agreement and $100 mail-in rebate beginning March 7.
With the announcement from Microsoft of Windows Phone 7 Series, they created many questions about what will happen to the current iteration of Windows Mobile. It seems Microsoft intends to rename Windows Mobile 6.5 into Windows Phone Classic. The good bit of news here is Microsoft will continue to support the devices currently running the software.
Despite finding out that Best Buy was going to begin 
Good news for BlackBerry users that want to read while on-the-go—your Kindle app is now ready and available for download. And getting right down to the availability and compatibility. The Kindle app for the BlackBerry is listed as being able to work on the Bold 9000, Bold 9700, Curve 8520, Curve 8900, Storm 9530, Storm 9550 and the Tour 9630. Additionally, at this time it is available only for US customers. 
It seems like over night Google went from one of the most loved companies on the Internet to one of the most hated. All because of it’s new Buzz service. First a lot of users complain about privacy issues, which Google fixes in days. Then there are complaints that it doesn’t work as well as FriendFeed with some things, that it floods Gmail inboxes with messages and still has lingering privacy issues. After all of that, 
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