Internet

Recently, we reported the launch of Microsoft's new MSN Live Spaces , an upgrade to its previous MSN MySpace. Although the new Live Spaces is seeking to improve on the rampant popularity of MySpace by introducing a slew of new options (including ... quirky little gadgets, exclusive friends groups, blogs, and security measures to keep sickos away from kids), the launch day was reportedly a complete disaster. Even Microsoft has openly admitted that there were significant problems, and have publicly apologized to Spaces' junkies. In the first 12 hours of its launch, MSN Live Spaces experienced major ... (view more)

Widgetbox is a new website that is directory of web widgets. Currently in private beta, Widgetbox makes it very easy to add widgets to your blog and also makes it easy to manage them. Widgetbox manages how blogs retrieve the widget, which allows you ... to reconfigure your widget without editing the HTML on your blog (a real bonus). Widgetbox widgets are also future-proof: they have backwards compatibility built into them so that developers can add features and rearrange their service without disrupting existing users of the widget. Currently, the site offers many widgets in the following ... (view more)

Want to let everyone know what you think of your neighbor's barking dog or the latest episode of Lost? Microsoft has now made it easier for you to rant, this time in pretty colors. On Tuesday, August 1st, Microsoft launched its Windows Live Spaces: ... a revamped and updated version of its previous Spaces brand. The immensely popular MSN Space lets users showcase pictures of themselves, friends, pets, and pretty much anyone ever photographed/drawn. The new version upgrades these abilities, allowing users to present blogs, music lists, and, like, oh-so-many more photos. Although personalization ( ... (view more)

The next theatre of war for Google and Microsoft might be a realm previously and popularly unassociated with information technology: healthcare and medicine. Amidst rumors that Google is strongly considering the release of a Health search and/or ... service, Microsoft is apparently closing in on a constructive build of its Windows Live Healthcare. The exact message for the Redmond-based company is still unclear, as Microsoft executives, including corporate vice president of Health Solutions Peter Neupert, remain very hush when it comes to details. (Source: microsoft-watch.com ) For months, both ... (view more)

Let me just start like this: Preloader rocks. I can't believe I just found this tool! Preloader is a free image editing tool for flickr users. It's designed to pre-process photos uploaded to flickr. Using the public flickr API, Preloader connects to ... your fickr account and allows you to edit your photos in your browser. And these aren't just your basic edits, either! Beyond your basic cropping and rotating, you can edit layers, apply filters (ie. sharpen, contrast, greyscale, brightness, etc.), adjust the gradient, histogram, add text, ... (view more)

It has been a bittersweet day for America Online. On the same morning the company announces that it has beaten industry giants Microsoft and Google in launching the first online storage system, the company has at the same time admitted that it must ... lay off 5,000 employees. The cuts represent nearly a quarter of the AOL's manpower, and are part of a massive restructuring effort across all of its international offices. The hardest hit branches may be those located in Europe, as rumours abound that the entire United Kingdom arm of AOL could be severed. In desperation to regain some of its once- ... (view more)

YouTube is now synonymous with the likes of Google and MySpace as one of the Internet's hippest buzzwords and has now become the talk of the Internet since launching a little over a year ago. Infopacket columnist Sarah Perez even lists the video ... sharing page as one of her top ten sites that have changed the Internet . In only five months -- from January 2006 to May 2006 -- YouTube leaped from 2,471 unique visitors a month to a whopping 12,669. And now the big boys are taking notice. Television network giant NBC has struck a deal with YouTube.com that promises to be mutually beneficial to both ... (view more)

Let's face it: Wal-Mart is the most dominant retail chain in North America. By importing cheaper Chinese wares and selling them to U.S. and Canadian consumers for slightly less than the competition, the massive all-in-one department store franchise ... has choked out small business pennies at a time. Yet there is one demographic that has not yet contributed fully to Wal-Mart's tremendous growth: Youth. In an attempt to act on the popularity of MySpace, Wal-Mart has launched its own similar site, "The Hub", a social site with the intention of raking in as much disposable income as possible. So, ... (view more)

Amazon, the venerable online retailer best known for selling books, CDs, and DVDs, is said to begin offering downloadable films and television shows to Web users next month. A source close to the offering confirmed rumors that Amazon Digital Video ... will allow users to download video either on a pay-per-view basis or by subscription, where a one-time fee is paid to view movies over a certain time period. (Source: news.com ) This news follows closely on the heels of last week's rumors that Apple is heading in the same direction. Competing with Apple? This is not the first time that news has ... (view more)

I was thinking about how far the internet has come since I started blogging a few years ago (over yonder at Blogger back then), and decided it was time to show some love for the websites that I wonder how I ever lived without. I know I've left great ... sites out, so it's up to you to fill in the blanks. Anyway, without further ado, here are the top 10 websites that have changed the internet for me: 1. Google. For me, Google = Internet. What good would the net be without this search engine? Google is so ubiquitous, that we sometimes forget about it. It's just the search box, right? No! It's the ... (view more)