TechBlog

February 19, 2010

Echofon: The best new Mac Twitter client

For a while now, I've been a big fan of Tweetie, a Twitter client for the Mac. Atebits, which develops Tweetie, also makes the best iPhone Twitter app, Tweetie 2. Both programs are elegantly designed and make Twitter very easy - and more fun - to use.

But lately, the Mac version has been getting long in the tooth. It doesn't support many of Twitter's newer features, such as Lists, which make managing information from those you follow much easier. Although the iPhone app was updated with List support soon after the feature was released, the Mac version has languished.

I've directed a few queries about the status of Tweetie for Mac at Loren Brichter, the brains behind Atebits, and have not gotten an answer. He doesn't appear to have talked about it recently, though there is this interesting update in his Twitter stream:

"It's just a big iPod touch" is the new "less space than a nomad". The Mac had a great run, but this is the end of the desktop OS.

Has Atebits given up on creating programs for Mac OS X? Boy, I hope not. Brichter has a real eye for design, and it would be a shame to see him walk away from desktop development.

In the meantime, I've found an alternative, and while it may not be quite as aesthetically cool as Tweetie for Mac, it has the features I need, and then some.

Echofon for Mac is currently in beta testing, and while that's going on it's free. If you're an iPhone user, the name will be familiar, because developers Naan Studio offer an iPhone app by the same name.

In fact, one of Echofon/Mac's most interesting features is that it will sync with the paid version of the iPhone app, something the two Tweeties won't do.

Like Tweetie/Mac, Echofon/Mac has a simple, streamlined interface. While clients such as Seesmic or Tweetdeck will let you see multiple columns at once, Echofon is more like Tweetie and Twhirl, limiting your view to one column. I actually prefer this - the Tweetdeck type of display takes up too much screen real estate, and if you're stricken with serious ADD as I am, having that much activity in your face is horribly distracting.

But when you do need to see more, you can. Twitterfon/Mac has a slide-out drawer - an interface convention common to a lot of Mac applications - that can show you a variety of things. It will display an individual users' tweets, search results, updates from a Twitter list or a conversation between users.

Echofon/Mac also will highlight keywords in your main timeline. Let's say you always want to know when one of your friends uses the word "broccoli". Enter that as a keyword, and you'll see it highlighted in yellow when it's used.

The program is still in development, and still needs some key features added. For example, you don't get to choose the URL shortening service in the current version - it's Bit.ly or nothing. But Naan recently added the ability to enter your personal Bit.ly API key, which then lets you track how many times your URLs have been clicked, so I suspect we'll see other services added soon.

You also can't choose your photo service yet - you're stuck with Twitpic.

Echofon/Mac is small, fast and light on its feet. Recent beta updates have plugged some memory leaks, so it's better behaved.

There's no word yet when the final version will be out, or how much it will cost. As I mentioned, the preview version is free for now. If you're a Mac user with a Twitter account, you should grab it and try it out. Unless Tweetie/Mac gets an update soon, this will be my primary Twitter client when I'm using a Macintosh.

When you follow me on Twitter, I'll be interacting with you on Echofon.

 

Posted by Dwight at 08:09 AM in Software | Comments (2)
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Olympian open comments

This is the weekly open comment thread in TechBlog, your opportunity to sound off like a champion on whatever's on your mind related to personal technology.

Leave a comment, and I'll approve it. Who knows, I might even score you from the judge's table.

Actually, all that needs to be said about the 2010 Winter Olympics showed up last night on Twitter, courtesy of our old buddy Jim Thompson. This pretty much sums 'em up:

Update: The second annual Mom 2.0 Summit started today in Houston, and I just stumbled found this incredibly moving video produced by The Shutter Sisters and Katherine Center for the event.

If you have children - and maybe even if you don't - it may make you weep.

While I'm not sure this is very Mom 2.0 - the feelings and ideas expressed in the narrative  are timeless, really - it's beautifully done. If you've got kids, watch it.

Posted by Dwight at 07:00 AM in Open-comment Fridays | Comments (4)
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Linkpost | 2.19.2010

• Report: Facebook Served As Primary Distribution Channel For Botnet Army - Malware used to infect thousands of computers by German and Chinese hackers was planted in many cases via Facebook.

• Two Chinese Schools Said to Be Tied to Online Attacks - Including a college with ties to the Chinese military.

• School used student laptop webcams to spy on them at school and home - Big School District Superintendent is watching! And LMSD response to 'invasion of privacy' allegation

• Wordpress.com is down, taking over 9.2 million blogs with it.  [Update: It's Back Up] and WP.com Downtime Summary - Wordpress.com went down for almost two hours Friday, taking big sites like TechCrunch and GigaOM down with it.

• News about our Search Alliance with Microsoft - Regulators in both the U.S. and Europe sign off on the Yahoo-Microsoft search deal.

• Exclusive: Microsoft Crashes Phone Bash - Microsoft and Asus are reportedly working on a Microsoft-branded Windows Phone 7 Series device, though it's apparently hit some bumps in development.

• Apple Now Blocking 'Overtly Sexual' Apps from App Store - The company's sending notices to developers telling them its policies have changed.

• What Steve Jobs Said During His Wall Street Journal iPad Demo - Gawker says Jobs savaged Flash to the WSJ editorial board. Then the WSJ savaged Apple in a subsequent op-ed.

• Apple conceals iPad freight records - report - Most other companies leave their shipping information public.

• Sony Ericsson CEO: Google asked us to build the Nexus One, we refused - The company didn't want to dilute its own brand by being second-fiddle to Google.

• Want Sex.com? Have A Million Dollars? Get In The Auction Line Then!

• Comcast launches online backup service - Your first 2 GB are free. Mac support coming later.

• Dell Posts Higher Revenue But Its Profit Falls 5% - Largely due to the rising cost of parts. Looked at the price of RAM lately?

Posted by Dwight at 06:35 AM in Linkposts | Comments (0)
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February 18, 2010

WinXP reboots caused when patch meets malware

Last week, reports surfaced that some computers running Windows XP computers were crashing to a Blue Screen of Death, then getting caught in an endless reboot loop. The problem appeared to be related to a fix Microsoft issued for this month's Patch Tuesday.

Security writer Brian Krebs reported hearing from a computer tech who had discovered a common factor in all the affected systems he'd seen - the presence of a nasty piece of malware hidden on the users' hard drives.

Now, Microsoft confirms that a rootkit is indeed responsible for the problems with those Windows XP PCs. From the Microsoft Security Response Center blog:

We wanted to provide you with an update on our ongoing investigation into the "blue screen" issues affecting a limited number of customers who installed MS10-015. We have been working around the clock with our customers, partners and several teams at Microsoft to determine the cause of these issues. Our investigation has concluded that the reboot occurs because the system is infected with malware, specifically the Alureon rootkit. We were able to reach this conclusion after the comprehensive analysis of memory dumps obtained from multiple customer machines and extensive testing against third party applications and software. The restarts are the result of modifications the Alureon rootkit makes to Windows Kernel binaries, which places these systems in an unstable state. In every investigated incident, we have not found quality issues with security update MS10-015. Our guidance remains the same: customers should continue to deploy this month's security updates and make sure their systems are up-to-date with the latest anti-virus software.

The question arises: How did Microsoft miss this when it was testing its patch? The answer: Microsoft doesn't test computers with known malware because the machines are not reliable.

This issue was not caught as part of our testing because oftentimes when malware is present, infected systems are put in an unstable state. These types of infections often leave the machine in such an unstable state that it cannot be reliably tested. This is because Malware writers use unsupported and potentially destabilizing methods for compromising machines because they want to keep their malware hidden from anti-malware software. In the particular case of Alureon, malware writers modified Windows behavior by attempting to access a specific memory location, instead of letting the operating system determine the address which usually happens when an executable is loaded. The chain of events in this case was a machine became infected, during which the malware made assumptions as to the layout of the Windows code on the machine. Subsequently MS10-015 was downloaded and installed, during which the location of Windows code changed. On the next reboot the malware code crashed attempting to call a specific address in Windows code which was no longer the intended OS function.

In other words: Sorry, we don't support malware.

The blog post goes on to note that newer versions of Windows have features that help prevent this kind of attack. And the rootkit doesn't affect 64-bit versions of Windows at all.

If you experience the BSoD and neverending reboots associated with installing the patch, then clearly you've got a bigger issue, even if you restored your system to working order. You'll need to get the rootkit off your PC.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes of ZDNet offers a link to a free Sophos tool that will remove it. However, that Sophos page indicates rootkits like this "can be very hard to remove". It's ominous that Microsoft's blog post points you to instructions for reinstalling Windows, after you've backed up your critical data, of course.

 

Posted by Dwight at 07:37 AM in Microsoft, Security | Comments (3)
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Linkpost | 2.18.2010

• HP Looking to Undercut iPad Pricing With 3G-Capable Slate Device - The Slate device HP showed off at CES may sell for less than the equivalent iPad, under $620. Dell, Sony and Acer are also developing similar devices.

• HP earnings: Strong first quarter results, 2010 outlook - Profits are up 25 percent, and HP expects strong sales for the rest of the year.

• Apple's Prices for E-Books May Be Lower Than Expected - Some of the most popular books could still be priced close to Amazon's $9.99.

• Overseas contractors feel pressure from Apple's rules of secrecy and Reuters Reporter Assaulted While Investigating Apple's Top-Secret China Suppliers - Contractors can lose Apple's business if they're caught leaking info. A Reuters reporter working on this story was assaulted.

• Bad memory card? Could be a 'ghost' - Unauthorized shifts of workers produce cards during off hours out of defective materials. These memory cards can make their way into the "authorized" chain, which may explain why many go back quickly.

• Windows Phone 7 development docs leaked - Looks like WinPhone7 will indeed multitask, and older Windows Mobile apps may run on it (though with interface tweaks).

• Introducing -- Windows Phone Classic - Windows 6.x phones will continue to be sold after Windows Phone 7 Series devices are out. The older OS will be renamed Windows Phone Classic.

• 10 Hot Questions About Windows Phone 7, Answered - A nice FAQ from PC Magazine.

• Local class action complaint filed over Google Buzz - A complaint filed in federal court alleges Google violated the law by sharing confidential data without its users' consent. Also Google Patches Buzz Security Vulnerability

• Google Buys reMail iPhone App for Gmail - Google will discontinue the app but make use of its mail search.

• BlackBerry users get Amazon Kindle app

• Opera Demos Its iPhone Web Browser, It's Damn Fast & Will Be Submitted To Apple - It's at least 5 times faster than Mobile Safari on the iPhone 3GS. Unfortunately, it doesn't do multitouch, and there's no guarantee Apple will ever approve it. Also Firefox for Android coming 'late this year'

• AOL To Launch "Hundreds" Of Local News Sites In 2010 - As part of its Patch network of sites.

• HBO GO, the Best Online Video Service I Cannot Use - Nick Bilton of the NYTimes laments the fact that he's not able to watch HBO GO, because it's only available to cable subscribers.

• 3 Tesla Execs Dead In Palo Alto Plane Crash - The employees were killed when a small private plane went down in a neighborhood. The crash also caused a power outage in the town.

• Core i3 takes on Athlon II - How do today's processors compare to those of yesteryear? A Pentium 4 vs. a Core i3? Interesting results . . .

• Tech Industry Catches Its Breath - Most of the devices unveiled at Mobile World Congress were tweaks of existing products, not great leaps ahead.

• Broad New Hacking Attack Detected - More than 2,500 companies were infiltrated by hackers in China and Germany.

• Classmates.com plans to digitize yearbooks, charge to view online - Your old high school yearbook picture could end up on the Web.

Posted by Dwight at 06:35 AM in Linkposts | Comments (1)
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February 17, 2010

Houston's Werkadoo reworks itself

Werkadoo, a Houston startup we first wrote about early last year, has revamped and relaunched.

Last year, the web company billed itself as an online marketplace where businesses and independent contractors could find each other, similar to Elance and oDesk.

But it wasn't too different from the competition. To set itself apart, Werkadoo decided to automate the job matching process and match companies with workers based on questionnaires they answer about themselves and what they're looking for, a la eHarmony. Workers answer questions about work habits and other behavioral traits, while employers answer questions about the types of candidates they're seeking.

The site uses an algorithm developed by University of Houston researchers to make the matches and will also match workers with potential teammates for project work.

"We realized no other job board brought in the human element that took in to account how well a person might fit into a company's culture," said co-founder Travis Skweres.

The site is free for workers but employers pay a fee: $175 to post for an individual and $350 to post for two or more people. As of its launch Monday, the site had two projects posted and about 100 registered users.

The company was founded by CEO Bridgette Penel, who also heads the U.S. operations of venture capital firm Zikyn. Before joining Zikyn, she was director of project management for Houston-based Priority IT. Co-founder Skweres met Penel while pitching his former startup, Adjungo, at the Houston Technology Center.

Posted by Purva Patel at 07:07 AM in Houston technology | Comments (0)
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Linkpost | 2.17.2010

• Google: Android now shipping on 60,000 handsets per day and The Android Who Cried Wolf - Android may become a victim of its own success, with new, better phones coming so quickly that customers are confused.

• How Google Went Into "Code Red" And Saved Google Buzz - Silicon Alley Insider plots out Google's "war room" strategy to fix Buzz. Also Privacy watchdog files complaint with FTC over Google Buzz [Updated]

• Amazon e-Book share to fall from 90% to 35%, Analyst Says - Once other big players, such as Apple and Google, enter the market.

• Hackers at Pwn2Own to compete for $100K in prizes - Hack into an iPhone 3GS, BlackBerry Bold 9700, a Nokia phone running Symbian and possibly a Motorola Droid, and you could win $10,000 or more.

• FCC calls for 100Mbps across most of US - Sign me up! But New data: 40 percent in US lack home broadband

• Study: Ages of social network users - Ages vary based on site, but the largest group are in the "younger middle-aged" category.

• Microsoft to pull Facebook, MySpace into Outlook - Using an add-in called Outlook Social Connector. It also pulls in LinkedIn. However, you can't at the moment, push data out to the networks.

• Facebook Launches Zero, A Text-Only Mobile Site For Carriers and Facebook Drives 44 Percent Of Social Sharing On The Web

• Twitter's hiring binge brings it to 140 employees - An employee for every character it allows in its updates.

• Apple announces MacBook Repair Program for hard drive issues - Older MacBooks may have hard drive issues, with replacements made out of warranty.

• HBO Prepares Site That Will Offer Shows and Movies - It's already available to Comcast customers who subscribe to HBO via cable.

• Turf War at the New York Times: Who Will Control the iPad? - The print guys want to charge $20 to $30 a month; the digital guys, $10 a month.

• The Wired Tablet App: A Video Demonstration - Is this the future of magazines?

• Verizon to allow unlimited Skype calling over 3G starting next month - Though only some phones will support it initially, including many BlackBerries and Verizon's Droid and Droid Eris.

Posted by Dwight at 06:35 AM in Linkposts | Comments (4)
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February 16, 2010

Hey, Apple: Your smartphone lead is narrowing

The folks who cover cell phones and handheld computers fell all over themselves Monday to praise the second coming of Microsoft in the mobile space. Those reporters and bloggers who were actually in Barcelona for the unveiling of Windows Phone 7 Series were almost unanimously positive about what they saw.

The proof, of course, is in the execution. A great launch doesn't guarantee a hit in the marketplace. Attendees at CES in 2009 were equally effusive about the launch of the Palm Pre and its webOS software. While it's a cool phone with even cooler software, Palm hasn't exactly knocked the ball out of the park.

As energetic as it is, the consumer market for smartphones is still growing. We're still in a transition phase, where non-business users are switching from traditional cell phones to handheld computers for their communications device. That means there's still plenty of room to jockey for position.

Right now, Apple is in the lead when it comes to innovation and marketplace mindshare. When reviewers and, more importantly, buyers look at a new product, the benchmark inevitably is the iPhone. For simplicity and ease-of-use, it's still the champ, and everything else gets compared to that product.

As I've looked at phones like Google's Nexus One, running the latest version of the Android mobile OS, it's becoming increasingly apparent that Apple's has its work cut out if it's going to stay ahead in the game. Microsoft's new phone OS makes this even more apparent.

It's fair to say that Apple cracked open the smartphone market for consumers. As a friend put it Monday, Apple turned a device that tech-savvy users knew was nice to have into something that mainstream users had to own.

Competitors have reacted to Apple's lead, initially creating me-too products, but now devices are starting to catch up and, in many ways, pass the iPhone. I'd invite anyone to spend some quality time with the Nexus One and argue otherwise.

I don't know what Apple's got up its sleeve for the next version of the iPhone, which will likely be coming this summer. So far, the company has been slowly evolving its smartphone but has not made any radical leaps in features or basic design since the original was introduced in 2007.

It's time for Apple to make such a leap, at least if it wants to keep its leadership position. If the iPhone 4G (or whatever it's called) is not that different from the 3G, then Apple's got a big problem. It won't be enough to tweak the software, add a faster processor, improve the camera. The next iPhone can't generate the same "Is that all there is?" reaction as the iPad. Apple needs to take smartphones to the next level.

Why? Because that's what Microsoft appears to have done. . . Again, with the caveat that Microsoft still has to ship a product that's actually as good as its demo.

The clock is ticking, Apple. What are you going to do?

 

Posted by Dwight at 08:06 AM in Apple, Cell phones & telephony, Microsoft, iPhone | Comments (30)
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Linkpost | 2.16.2010

• Windows Phone 7 Series: The good, the bad and the ugly - It's great that Microsoft is starting over in mobile, says Joe Wilcox, but it's going to take too long to get the new platform to market.

• Will all Xbox games work on Windows Phone 7 devices? - A "select number" will run. Mary Jo Foley gets answers to some other questions, but not all is revealed.

• HTC Desire: your Nexus One with Sense and Flash has arrived (video) and HTC Legend Is Official, and Officially The Nicest Android Phone Money Can Buy - HTC and Android making a splash in Barcelona. Also Android tablets resurface at the Mobile World Congress

• Mobile Data, the Next Generation: High Speeds but at What Cost? - Carriers are being cautious, remembering how long it took for users to adopt 3G data services.

• Lenovo educates us on the history of the tablet, has 'exciting products to announce this month' - In is marketing, Lenovo reminds techies that the first ThinkPad (back when it was IBM's brand) was a tablet.

• Jobs Is Said to Assist With Book on His Life - After several unauthorized biographies, Steve Jobs is reportedly cooperating with former Time Managing Editor Walter Isaacson.

• Apple to wrap digital books in FairPlay copy protection - It's the same type of copy protection Apple used to use on its music and still does on other content it sells through iTunes.

• AT&T to sell Apple iPad 3G in stores? - Makes perfect sense, given that AT&T is the sole provider for 3G access for the iPad.

• Symbian 3 Launches, Has iPhone Envy - Newly open-sourced. the latest version of the Symbian smartphone OS looks familiar.

• Google Buzz is planning more changes to please -- and appease -- users - Google also plans to change the way it tests products, no limiting early tests to just its own employees.

• Spam hits Google Buzz already - It started showing up after just two days.That didn't take long.

Posted by Dwight at 06:35 AM in Linkposts | Comments (1)
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February 15, 2010

Windows Phone 7 Series: Mobile resurrection

Smartphone pundits for some time have been writing the obit for Windows Mobile, the operating Microsoft offers for smartphones. It simply hasn't been able to keep up with the advances pushed out by competitors such as Apple, Palm and Google.

But today, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Microsoft may have brought its smartphone business back from the dead.

The company took the wraps off the Windows Phone 7 Series, previously known as Windows Mobile 7. The name may be clunky, but the software demonstrated by Microsoft VP Joe Belfiore is anything but. Judging from the demo, it's slick and smart. If the finished product, due out later this year, is as good as it looks, Microsoft may be about to leapfrog its competitors.

And in a wonderful irony, Microsoft has achieved this level of supreme cool by drawing on a product that's often been mocked for its less-than-cool design — the Zune. Windows Phone 7 Series draws its approach to software directly from the Zune's operating, which I've always liked. Microsoft has thrown away its aging software and started over with something that's stylish and useful. Content is organized around four hubs: people, games, music and a mobile version of Office. Those who have used the Zune PC software for syncing to the media player will recognize a lot of the design.

Those who attended the event in Barcelona, and who have gotten some hands-on time with a Windows Phone 7 Series device, are raving about it. Gizmodo, for example, is notoriously cynical about most things Microsoft, but writer Matt Buchanan is an instant fanboy:

The name--Windows Phone 7 Series--is a mouthful, and unfortunately, the epitome of Microsoft's worst naming instincts, belying the simple fact that it's the most groundbreaking phone since the iPhone. It's the phone Microsoft should've made three years ago. In the same way that the Windows 7 desktop OS was nearly everything people hoped it would be, Windows Phone 7 is almost everything anyone could've dreamed of in a phone, let alone a Microsoft phone. It changes everything. Why? Now that Microsoft has filled in its gaping chasm of suck with a meaningful phone effort, the three most significant companies in desktop computing--Apple, Google and Microsoft--now stand to occupy the same positions in mobile. Phones are officially computers that happen to fit in your pocket.

[deletia]

. . . The face of Windows Phone 7 is not a rectangular grid of thumbnail-sized glossy-looking icons, arranged in a pattern of 4x4 or so, like basically every other phone. No, instead, an oversized set of bright, superflat squares fill the screen. The pop of the primary colors and exaggerated flatness produces a kind of cutting-edge crispness that feels both incredibly modern and playful. Text is big, and beautiful. The result is a feat no phone has performed before: Making the iPhone's interface feel staid.

If you want to know what it feels like, the Zune HD provides a taste: Interface elements that run off the screen; beautiful, oversized text and graphics; flipping, panning, scrolling, zooming from screen to screen; broken hearts. Some people might think it's gratuitous, but I think it feels natural and just...fun. There's an incredible sense of joie de vivre that's just not in any other phone. It makes you wish that this was aesthetic direction all of Microsoft was going in.

Engadget was just as enthusiastic, though conceded that the software they've seen still has rough edges:

First the look and feel. The phones are really secondary here, and we want to focus on the interface. The design and layout of 7 Series' UI (internally called Metro) is really quite original, utilizing what one of the designers (Albert Shum, formerly of Nike) calls an "authentically digital" and "chromeless" experience. What does that mean? Well we can tell you what it doesn't mean -- no shaded icons, no faux 3D or drop shadows, no busy backgrounds (no backgrounds at all), and very little visual flair besides clean typography and transition animations. The whole look is strangely reminiscent of a terminal display (maybe Microsoft is recalling its DOS roots here) -- almost Tron-like in its primary color simplicity. To us, it's rather exciting. This OS looks nothing like anything else on the market, and we think that's to its advantage. Admittedly, we could stand for a little more information available within single views, and we have yet to see how the phone will handle things like notifications, but the design of the interface is definitely in a class of its own.. . .

Colin Briggs at GigaOM isn't willing to give Microsoft a pass. He says the company has three things to master, now that it's got a slick platform:

• Build a better app store. Smartphone users already have the luxury of browsing through tens of thousands of apps in the Android Market or Apple's App Store, so Microsoft will have to quickly find a way to build an impressive library of offerings for its new Phone 7 Series. CEO Steve Ballmer today quashed speculation that the company might make its OS freely available to developers, so the company must find other ways to attract the attention of developers who already have lots of attractive platforms on which to build their mobile apps.
• Build a better brand. Forrester's Charles S. Golvin noted this morning that 24 percent of Windows Mobile users in North America say their phone was made by Apple or RIM, and more than one-third of European Windows Mobile users said Nokia made their phone. And the Windows brand isn't linked to phones that use the OS on any carrier's web site, Golvin said. So Microsoft will have to leverage its partnerships and invest heavily in promoting its brand if Windows Phone 7 Series is to be a hit with consumers.
• Understand the mobile web. Microsoft's inability to become a major player on the Internet is well documented, and is a key reason the company has failed to connect with consumers. Apps are great, and Microsoft's apparent progress in tearing down the siloed world of mobile apps to create a more integrated experience is impressive. (That progress was illustrated this morning by the company's success in integrating Bing and social networking sites with the mobile experience.) If the overhauled OS is to find an audience, though, Microsoft must prove that it understands how consumers want to use the web while they're on the phone. That will be a particularly difficult hurdle for a company that has always been about software -- not consumer experiences.

There's more coverage at Techmeme. And if you want to try it yourself, Microsoft has a simulator (requires Silverlight).

Does this reawaken your interest in Microsoft's mobile platform? More succinctly: Do you want one?

 

Posted by Dwight at 03:45 PM in Cell phones & telephony, Microsoft | Comments (20)
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Chatroulette: Viral craze or an idea with a future?

Last spring, I stumbled across a new Web site called Omegle, which let you chat with a random stranger. I didn't write about it then, but Kyrie O'Connor did in her MeMo blog, with a headline that kind of summed up my own feelings about it:

Omegle is still around, and there's even an iPhone app to go along with it. But I wouldn't say it's a major destination site on the Intarwebz.

Now, Omegle has been one-upped by a new random-chat site called Chatroulette, which adds video to the mix. You're paired with someone who may or may not have a webcam turned on. If you have your own video enabled, the other person can also see you.

The site has thousands of users at any given time, and you need a webcam active to participate. In fact, as I played with the site over the weekend, I found most people don't have their cams turned on.

Chatroulette also can be unstable, locking up from time to time. The session captured above ended when my chat partner's video froze and I couldn't type in the window anymore. (I've hidden his face because I didn't get a chance to ask permission to use his picture.)

And just as you would expect, there's a significant amount of, um, bad behavior on display in Chatroulette. If you're easily offended, I'd advise you not to play. Yes, there's a link above the incoming video window for reporting "inappropriate video", though I'm not sure how much good it does. The site's opening screen promises that "necessary steps" will be taken, which include blocking.

And apparently, the person who'll be taking those steps is a 17-year-old kid from Moscow, Andrey Ternovskiy. New York Times reporter Brad Stone received a response to some questions submitted by e-mail. Ternovskiy said he created the site for fun, not profit:

I created this project for fun. Initially, I had no business goals with it. I created this project recently. I was and still am a teenager myself, that is why I had a certain feeling of what other teenagers would want to see on the Internet. I myself enjoyed talking to friends with Skype using a microphone and webcam. But we got tired of talking to each other eventually. So I decided to create a little site for me and my friends where we could connect randomly with other people.

[deletia]

As the user base grew, bandwidth and hosting bills started to show bigger sums. I am glad that my relatives helped me with it by "investing" some money in my idea.

It wasn't very much money, so I couldn't just buy new servers just like that, I had to optimize my code as much as possible instead. I must say that lots of people have helped and still are helping me when I have questions about coding. I am very thankful to them. I still code everything myself, though. I'd love to share work with someone else, but I am not in the USA, and most of the interested people are located far away from me, because I live in Moscow. So I still have to do all the things myself. But I am not worried.

He shouldn't be. Venture capitalist Fred Wilson wants to fly Ternovskiy to New York for a little chat, and possibly throw some cash his way . . . or not.

I think we'll reach out to Andrey and offer him a visit to NYC. I'm still not sure if this is something we should invest it, but I'd sure like to meet this guy. He reminds me of many great young entrepreneurs we've worked with and his story sounds so familiar.

Indeed, a lot of sites began with one person's simple idea and a little code. Shawn Fanning's Napster, for example, may have been sued out of existence but it was responsible for the digital music revolution, and it began as a way for him to share music with friends.

While Chatroulette is crude — both in terms of design and, um, some of what you'll see in its video window — it's an intriguing idea. With some a more stable platform, features to facilitate better-quality interactions and filters to keep it from becoming a cesspool, Chatroulette may have a real future.

Or, it may go the way of Omegle . . . one of those "remember that? It's still there . . . " kind of sites.

 

Posted by Dwight at 07:59 AM in Social media, Tech & society, The Web | Comments (2)
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Linkpost | 2.15.2010

• Adobe Flash and AIR Coming Soon to Android [VIDEOS] and No Flash for Windows Mobile 7 - Flash/AIR for Android should be out this year. Flash for WinMo will eventually, but not now.

• Mobile phone operators' war on Apple apps - A dozen wireless carriers - including AT&T - are working together to build an international platform for app developers.

• Though Absent, Apple Permeates Barcelona Fair - Apple's not at this week's Mobile World Congress, but it's the company everyone's talking about . . . similar to its non-presence at CES and Macworld.

• Samsung i8520 'Halo' Android 2.1 phone with 3.7-inch Super AMOLED and pico projector - Samsung will likely formally unveil this today at Mobile World Congress. Also Sony Ericsson Announces User-Generated Content Platform And Three New Phones

• Teacup, Meet Storm, pt. IV: Adobe Blocking HTML5? - Not really. Apparently Adobe objects to some specific documents bundled with the HTML5 spec, but not the spec itself.

• Leaked Google Nexus One Firmware Upgrade Could Address Spotty 3G Reception - The last update didn't seem to fix the problem for many.

• YouTube & the Online Video Revolution - Hard to believe that YouTube is just five years old.

• Local TV for Devices on the Move - This helps solve the problem created by the disappearance of analog broadcast TV. Mobile TV will be offered at first by just 30 stations nationwide.

• Facebook directs more online users than Google - According to one Web measurement company, Facebook connections direct users to Web links more than individual search engines.

• Some Interesting Facts About Chatroulette - Venture capitalists in New York want to bring the 17-year-old founder of the random video chat site to the U.S. for talks. And Naked guy. Click. Naked guy. Click. Naked guy

• Video: Bing Maps at TED - Bing's maps are more than a Google Street View rip-off. They integrate photos from Flickr and even video, taking you inside buildings and drawing on live webcams.

Posted by Dwight at 06:37 AM in Linkposts | Comments (1)
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February 14, 2010

Linkpost | 2.14.2010

• These Battle Lines Are Drawn in Yellow - A new Google product that lets businesses enhance their search listings is being tested in Houston.

• A new Buzz start-up experience based on your feedback - Google makes more changes to it social network, ending auto-following and making it easier to turn the service off. Is it enough to quell privacy concerns? And Buzz Drops Auto-Following, Won't Automatically Connect to Google Services, Adds Better Disable

• Average iPhone Consumer Data Usage Pegged at Five Times That of BlackBerry - According to Consumer Reports. We already know iPhone owners access the Web more than other smartphone owners.

• Macworld iPad panelists defy Steve Jobs' snub of the show - Discussion of the iPad among heavy-hitting Mac pundits has plenty of criticism.

• Windows Phone 7 Series: that's the name - Spotted by Engadget in branding at the Mobile World Congress conference.

• Chatroulette's Creator, 17, Introduces Himself - The site hooks you up randomly with a stranger, via webcam. And you can guess what often happens from there. The creator is a 17-year-old boy living in Moscow.

• Justice Dept. defends warrantless cell phone tracking - The feds say they should have easier access to cell phone location data than a warrant would allow.

• Walter Fredrick Morrison dies at 90; father of the Frisbee - It was originally called the Pluto Platter, and Morrison got the idea after tossing popcorn tin lids and cake pans to his girlfriend.

• A Side-by-Side Look at Tax Software - Because it's the time of year when you must render unto Caesar.

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February 13, 2010

Linkpost | 2.13.2010

• Rumoured Microsoft Project Pink phone "Turtle" confirmed at FCC - Could be the rumored Zune phone . . . or the next version of the Sidekick (as Microsoft bought Danger Inc. a while back). And Microsoft Bets on Software Upgrade to Fight iPhone

• Wi-Fi rides to wireless networks' rescue - As demand increases on 3G and newer 4G networks, wireless carriers are looking at setting up Wi-Fi hotspots to help handle the load.

• Google says VP's comments misconstrued, not taking Buzz out of Gmail - Instead, Google is considering also creating a standalone version of its new social network. Also Google Responds To Blogger's Outrage With Product Tweaks

• Google's Sergey Brin Talking China At TED - In an impromptu interview, Brin says he's optimistic Google can offer uncensored search in China.

• Cyber attacks against Australia 'will continue' - The group Anonymous - which has also taken on the Church of Scientology - is targeting Australia's government over its Internet censorship policies.

• Obama Is Hiring a Twitterer - The new hire would be the president's proxy on Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.

• HP announces Android netbook - Only available in Europe for now, and initially only in Spain.

• Looking for a Date? A Site Suggests You Check the Data - It's what happens when "math guys" start an online dating service.

• Computer Engineer Barbie Has a PhD In FUN (And Breaking Down Stereotypes) - Apparently Barbie no longer thinks math is hard.

Posted by Dwight at 09:31 AM in Linkposts | Comments (1)
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