Here is some information on the latest pre-release version of Firefox 4, which offers new features such as a new tab item, hardware acceleration in Windows 7 and HTML5 video compatibility.

Here is a video from Aza Raskin on the new Panorama Feature:

“I am happy to announce that Tab Candy is coming to Firefox 4. Starting today, Tab Candy will be called Firefox Panorama and be available as a feature in Firefox betas. Head to the Firefox 4 feature list, or watch the video below, to learn how to organize your tabs into groups and reclaim your browsing experience from clutter and information overload.”

Firefox Panorama: How To from Aza Raskin on Vimeo.

Check out ThemeBarn for some premium wordpress themes.

If you’ve been following the Old Spice ads and think Mustafa is awesome, then here is the Old Spice Social Campaign Case Study from WK.

The campaign was designed to capture the attention of both men and women and create a buzz through conversation, which it did… very well.

Mustafa became a legend and they needed to find a way to engage with the new fans, which is how the Response Campaign was born.

Here are some stats from the campaign:

Source

FmyFine is a clever new website that offers premade excuses for lowering or getting out of traffic fines. You always laugh at peoples cars who have those horrible pink stickers attached to their windows, but as soon as it’s your… your heart sinks.

This was found stuck to my car and I almost shed a few tears, but soon found out it was a clever marketing tactic by FmyFine. The feeling of relief associated with any brand is a major win, so congrats on some clever thinking.

It’s been a while since the leak of the iPhone 4 prototype, which launched a buzz online, some fancy letters from Apple Lawyers and a nice little police raid. All that excitement makes me want the iPhone 4 even more!

This is to do with the release of Apple’s OS4 software, which allows for multitasking, folders and all that… and the new design and features of the iPhone 4.

Some new features seem to be:

• Front-facing video chat camera
• Improved regular back-camera (the lens is quite noticeably larger than the iPhone 3GS)
• Camera flash
• Micro-SIM instead of standard SIM (like the iPad)
• Improved display. It’s unclear if it’s the 960×640 display thrown around before—it certainly looks like it, with the “Connect to iTunes” screen displaying much higher resolution than on a 3GS.
• What looks to be a secondary mic for noise cancellation, at the top, next to the headphone jack
• Split buttons for volume
• Power, mute, and volume buttons are all metallic

“We’ve heard that the iPad will change your life, but will it change the way you blend?” – Blendtec

Here is a quick video demonstrating some of the new features in the recent WordPress 2.9 update:

The best user features in the update are:

1. Global undo/”trash” feature, which means that if you accidentally delete a post or comment you can bring it back from the grave (i.e., the Trash). This also eliminates those annoying “are you sure” messages we used to have on every delete.

2. Built-in image editor allows you to crop, edit, rotate, flip, and scale your images to show them who’s boss. This is the first wave of our many planned media-handling improvements.

3. Batch plugin update and compatibility checking, which means you can update 10 plugins at once, versus having to do multiple clicks for each one, and we’re using the new compatibility data from the plugins directory to give you a better idea of whether your plugins are compatible with new releases of WordPress. This should take the fear and hassle out of upgrading.

4. Easier video embeds that allow you to just paste a URL on its own line and have it magically turn it into the proper embed code, with Oembed support for YouTube, Daily Motion, Blip.tv, Flickr, Hulu, Viddler, Qik, Revision3, Scribd, Google Video, Photobucket, PollDaddy, and WordPress.tv (and more in the next release).

View more here

Yesterday, Mark Shuttleworth resigned as CEO of Canonical, which is the company holding Ubuntu. The COO of Canonical, Jane Silber, will become the new CEO.

Shuttleworth won’t be leaving Ubuntu, but rather than managing the business, he will be focussing closely on product design and the enterprise customers, as well as, working closer with partners and with their new cloud based offerings.

Read more

I stumbled upon this today and found it quite cool that Google is integrating Twitter hash tags and status updates in to the search results.

These tweaks to Google’s search results came after the announcement last week that Google was extending its personalised search to all users.

]]> http://www.mikemet.com/twitter-status-updates-now-scrollable-in-google-universal-search/feed/ 0 http://www.mikemet.com/iphone-4g/ http://www.mikemet.com/iphone-4g/#comments Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:41:06 +0000 Mike http://www.mikemet.com/?p=604

After a few months of iPhone 3GS madness and being jealous of my friends who have it… it’s old news.

It seems that there is an Apple 4G on the cards for 2010 and it’s looking hot.

Packed with the following features, It’s definitely on my wish list:

• Slimmer body with talk of aluminium and glass
• OLED screen
• Multi-tasking
• Front camera (iChat video calling)
• Removable battery
• True GPS
• Much, much, more…

It probably seemed like a good idea to use Twitter at the time, but tweeting news stories on a billboard might not be the best plan to date. Epic Fail.

Google Chrome OS is an open source operating system for those who are very web-based. It has been built to provide users with a fast, simple and secure computing experience.

This video tells the story of Google Chrome and how it inspired an operating system.

Twitter just added notifications like you see on Facebook… will save you from having to click refresh or home all the time.

A little Perspective (Digg, Twitter and Facebook)
A great short piece on how these three mega online brands hold up today by Michael Arrington of TechCrunch.

Seth Rotheram from 2Oceansvibe.com was treated to an advanced driving course at Killarney recently. I’m going to spend the day there in 2 weeks for a F1 race day.

VW and drivers say good-bye to the iconic Citi Golf after providing 25 years of getting you from A to B at a very reasonable price.

Last week, at Facebook’s “roadmap edition” of the Facebook Developer Garage, the company announced a series of large changes to the Platform (19 to be exact). Today, the company just released an FBML Bookmark button, and posted a few more details on the new “Counter” API.

Yet while Wave has had momentum as a consumer tool (people are still clamoring for Google Wave invites), its viability as a business tool has been questioned. Will businesses really adopt Wave as a way to communicate collaboratively and share business docs?

Textures have become more popular and been put to greater use in recent years. They’re not limited to Web design either; textures of all kinds are used in print design, illustration, traditional art, TV commercials… you name it! Texture is one of the best ways to add depth to your design, whether it’s subtle noise on a clean vector illustration or a lot of grunginess throughout a layout.

Introducing the 2009 Xbox Project Natal, a revolutionary new way to play: no controller required.

You will no longer see the fineprint for ‘accessories sold separately’ with this new sensory technology for Xbox consoles.

If you see a bad guy, kick him… don’t hit (X) – This could really become a great workout session, spelling trouble for games like Wii Fit.

Check out the video – I want one.

This video shows a quick look back at the Google story over the past 11 years. From Stanford to Mountain View to the world, featuring many different products, starting with incorporating up to Google Wave, StreetView and Chrome.

I don’t think it is fair to call these girls geeks, as any guy who is an example of a geek in the traditional sense of the word would believe you if you told them that these ‘geek’ girls modeled for Maxim, FHM or any other men’s magazine.

#1 Marina Orlova

Marina Orlova

This sassy Russian practiacally owns YouTube viewers attention with an average of 2 million views per video.

#2 Jade Raymond

Jade Raymond

This geek girl is Australian, mixed with a few other things, giving her awesomeness. She spends her time working on game projects for the big guys like Sony Online, Electronic Arts and Ubisoft.

#3 Marissa Mayer

Marissa Mayer

Being Vice President of Search Product and User Experience at Google makes Marissa kinda a big deal in the leagues of geek girls.

#4 Veronica Belmont

Veronica Belmont

Tech show host for companies like Sony and Revision3 is where this podcasting, PS3 enthusiast spends her time.

#5 Jolie O’Dell

Jolie O'Dell

Jolie spends most of her time at Read Write Web and is otherwise a pretty chilled out writer and journalist.

#6 Olivia Munn

Olivia Munn

This girl has geeks all over the world buying products with her face on and fantasizing about very naughty things. Having been in a Wonder Woman outfit, as Princess Leia in a bikini and the face of G4, it’s not hard to imagine why.

#7 Jessica Chobot

Jessica Chobot

Know for her like of anime, Maxim and FHM shoots and especially for licking the most wanted PSP ever made.

#8 Morgan Webb

Morgan Webb

Ya, I wouldn’t say no

#9 Amber MacArthur

Amber MacArthur

This Canadian girl spent some time with Microsoft and a little stint in San Francisco working at Razorfish. Having made appearances on major tech shows over the years, puts her firmly on this list.

#10 Felicia Day

Felicia Day

He was one of the people who helped create The Guild. Since then has risen to the nerd hall of fame.

#11 Natali Del Conte

Natali Del Conte

Currently on of CNET’s senior editors and has also worked with Wired, TechCrunch and PC Magazine in the past.

#12 Lea Culver

Lea Culver

VW and Diet Coke lover are two of the things that describe this code jockey from Six Apart.

Via Monalith

Overy the past few months many of you would have heard about Google Wave, which is the hot new product currently being rolled out by Google.

Google Wave is a real-time communication platform, which mashes together the functionality of email, instant messaging, wikis, web chat, social networking, and project management into one application.

There will be a bit of a learning curve, but there is no doubt that this is going to be a hot new product with many companies trying to copy it.

Google Wave

Remember all those videos that made you laugh so hard and maybe pee a little…

Well here they all are from Bush having a shoe thrown at his face, the skateboarding bulldog and amazing wipe outs to watching a sleeping dog run, Susan Boyle blow Simon Cowell away and the man’s friendship with a lion – all pack into 4 minutes on YouTube.

Here are some amazing fails from status updates, pictures and some comments that were just plain weird. All were found on Facebook, so be careful what you type… you never know which of your friends will stab you in eye and make your status free for the world to see.

10 Useful Usability Findings and Guidelines

Many studies have been done over the years on various aspects of Web and interface design, and the findings are valuable in helping us improve our work. Here are 10 useful usability findings and guidelines that may help you improve the user experience on your websites.

The Kid Behind a $170 Million Website

Aaron Patzer launched Mint.com as a user-friendly alternative to Quicken and other personal-finance software out there. Little did he know that just two years later, Intuit, which makes Quicken, would fork over $170 million for his website.

Bionic Eye: Augmented Reality on the iPhone

It’s called Bionic Eye, and it’s not entirely sure it’s legal (Apple said they’ll let developers create AR apps come September; well, September is here, but we’re not sure the embargo has been lifted), but it’s currently available in the App Store.

Enhancing User Interaction With First Person User Interface

Though many computer applications and operating systems make use of real-world metaphors like the desktop, most software interface design has little to do with how we actually experience the real world. In lots of cases, there are great reasons not to directly mimic reality.

9 Things to Do To Make Sure Your Next Blog Post is Read by More than Your Mom

Two days back I explored the myth that all you need to do is write great content on a blog for it to get readers and introduced the idea of ’seeding’ content rather than ‘forcing’ it upon readers. Today I want to take the ’seeding’ idea a step further and give a few examples of ways that you can do it…

CONFIRMED: Justin Timberlake Cast in Movie About Facebook

Variety confirms that the core cast for the upcoming David Fincher film, “The Social Network” (AKA, “The Facebook Movie”) has been set.