“Yahoo! Inc. has been taking a beating in the blogosphere lately. On Sept. 6 came the revelation that it provided information that helped Beijing jail a journalist. Days earlier, a report said Yahoo was actively supporting the companies that spawn pop-up ads. Around the same time, bloggers started griping about new Yahoo software downloads that change the preferences on users’ PCs.”
Businessweek via /.
some links added
Tag: software
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Read About It: Yahoo Is Crap
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Opera to remove embedded ads
“Opera now aims to catch up with Firefox by making its browser totally free, with no purchase price or embedded advertising. […] The company expects to recoup its revenue losses through the Internet search window built into each browser. Opera has deals with search giant Google Inc. and other online search companies. If an Opera user runs a Google search and is directed to Google advertising, Opera will get a cut of the ad revenues.”
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AT&T Labs' Text To Speech Interactive Demo
Just had to make it read Depeche Mode lyrics…
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How to change the default compression in GIMP?
For some time now, I’ve been wondering how to change the default compression level given by the Save dialog in The GIMP. Well, it turns out you can’t change it! Not without recompiling the binaries with your preferred settings, that is.
And I think that just sucks big time.
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Get your free Opera registration code!
“Party favors: Get a free Opera registration code by clicking the “go free” button below. We’re giving away registration codes for as long as the party lasts!”
Opera 10-year online anniversary party
Opera Community via M. Oinonen
some links added
You’ll probably also want to download Opera.
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World, say Hello to OpenWengo!
“Free calls are good, but free software is better. How about both? Wengo is proud to bring you the best open-source VoIP softphone, and the quality SIP service that plays nice with it. Wengo is a European company backed by a major telecom player, totally commited to providing you with the most open platform for IP telephony, video conferencing, and more.”
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Skype opens IM and Presence to the world
“Wouldn’t it be cool if your friends using other IM applications could contact you on Skype? […] What if you could use Skype to communicate with a product reviewer on a Web site, to chat with other players in an online game using Skype? All of these things and a few more that we haven’t dreamed up yet will become possiblities with SkypeNet API, a new set of tools and services that programmers can use to take Skype into new places that you may have never dreamed of before. SkypeNet API will enable developers to access our IM and Presence system and bring it into new applications without needing to have the full version of Skype running on the machine. ”
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If you bought it, you can sell it… right?
“I paid over $400 for the software last year, and I decided didn’t really like the way the program worked […] So I listed it on eBay complete with the original CD they’d sent me, the key codes for the modules I’d purchased, and the on-disk documentation. I had three days left on the listing and I had a high bid of over $100, which was what I was hoping to receive. That’s when the threatening e-mail started.”
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Criticism of GTalk Criticism
“””Welcome to the Stone Age of instant messaging!” Ken Fisher, a Ph.D. student, wrote at PC resource site Ars Technica. His review deemed Google’s service “Spartan” for its failure to allow file transfers and group chats, and for its lack of emoticons and “skins,” or customized, decorative graphics.”
File transfers: Yes, I definitely think they should add this feature. IM clients are no match for true file transferring methods, but quick transfers (e.g. “take a look at this request box”) during messaging are invaluable for me.
Group chats: I’ve very rarely used the group chat feature (mainly just when testing it out of curiosity), but I know YMMV and I respect that. Can’t quite see though, why not use IRC if you need this feature a lot.
Lack of emoticons and other decorative graphics: Fuck that! I’ve turned emoticons off long ago and have been a lot happier since. Would be even happier if MSN allowed me to strip all “decorative” graphics from it; most of it is entirely useless and annoying. The first thing I liked about Google Talk was the simple looks this guy calls Spartan. Again, I’m not saying nobody should like these features, but, for crying out loud, don’t force it on everybody as default!