Download Squad http://www.downloadsquad.com Download Squad http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/%SiteURL%/media/feedlogo.gif Download Squad http://www.downloadsquad.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Facebook users approve new privacy policy]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/23/facebook-users-approve-new-privacy-policy/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/23/facebook-users-approve-new-privacy-policy/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/23/facebook-users-approve-new-privacy-policy/#commentsFiled under: ,

Facebook made a promise earlier this year to listen to user input about any changes to its terms of service and privacy policy, and so far they've followed through. Facebook opened up a comment period on an update to the privacy policy earlier this month, and now the users have spoken and approved the changes. During the process, the Facebook Site Governance fan page doubled its membership, growing to almost 500,000 fans.

The new privacy policy was written from scratch, so it's hard to point to item-by-item changes. In general, the new terms are stricter about the kind of data Facebook can share with third parties, and the degree of access advertisers have to Facebook users. Facebook has raised the ire of users in the past with programs like Facebook Beacon (which published your activity on third-party sites to your Facebook account). Beacon has been discontinued under the new privacy policy.

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[via AppScout]

Facebook users approve new privacy policy originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>beaconfacebookprivacyterms of serviceTermsOfServiceTOSvotingMon, 23 Nov 2009 11:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Back from the dead? Yahoo Upcoming gets some surprise feature love]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/22/back-from-the-dead-yahoo-upcoming/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/22/back-from-the-dead-yahoo-upcoming/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/22/back-from-the-dead-yahoo-upcoming/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

It's been a number of months (if not longer) since Yahoo showed any love to its Upcoming events service. Since acquiring the service in October 2005, the service has seen just one re-design - and few additional features since. However, in a largely-uncovered announcement earlier in the week, Upcoming now offers a new Jumpstart feature that scans your Pandora, last.fm and iTunes libraries and then follows your favourite artists on the service - alerting you to forthcoming gigs listed on Upcoming.

Whilst other services, including last.fm, allow you to easily view your favourite artists, it's an interesting addition to the Upcoming service - and hopefully means that Yahoo are now looking at ways to build on a largely unloved product.

Back from the dead? Yahoo Upcoming gets some surprise feature love originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>eventslast.fmupcomingyahooSun, 22 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Viewfinder brings powerful Flickr search to your Mac]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/06/viewfinder-brings-powerful-flickr-search-to-your-mac/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/06/viewfinder-brings-powerful-flickr-search-to-your-mac/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/06/viewfinder-brings-powerful-flickr-search-to-your-mac/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

Every now and then I find myself working on slides in Keynote and writing Download Squad posts - and struggling to find a suitable image. Of course, Flickr is the best way to find images - their clear licencing and Creative Commons support makes finding images fairly straight forward. However, getting the image into Keynote isn't entirely painless. The workflow of browsing search results, viewing the image and then finding it at a suitable size (if it exists) takes time - however that's where Viewfinder steps in.

A native Mac OS X application (requiring Mac OS X Snow Leopard), Viewfinder allows you to search Flickr from the desktop apply filters to show only Creative Commons images, and specify a particular image size. Then, once you select an image you can download the image, set it as your desktop background - and most importantly - send images straight to Keynote for your slides.

If you're a heavy keynote user (or blogger) who frequently needs to find Flickr images for your work Viewfinder is indispensible. I've been testing it since early September and found it an incredibly convenient tool to have at hand. A licence costs £15 (roughly $25) and a free demo is available for you try from the Viewfinder webpage.

Viewfinder brings powerful Flickr search to your Mac originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>FlickrImage SearchImageSearchMac OS XMacOsXSnow LeopardSnowLeopardFri, 06 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Digg's homepage will display trending stories for user voting]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/05/diggs-homepage-will-display-trending-stories-for-user-voting/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/05/diggs-homepage-will-display-trending-stories-for-user-voting/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/05/diggs-homepage-will-display-trending-stories-for-user-voting/#commentsFiled under: ,

How can a Digg story make the front page without making the front page? Digg is about to show you, by placing some highly-active stories on the homepage for 10 minutes at a time before they have enough diggs to be there. By putting these trending stories up front, Digg intends to have a higher volume of users digg or bury them, as a sort of filter to decide what belongs on that coveted high-traffic front page.

"Activity," in terms of getting a story to trend, doesn't just mean diggs. It also means comments, favorites and shares. Because these trends will be gone in 10 minutes if they don't survive the voting process, Digg has started a Twitter account to announce new trends and give more users a change to vote on them. Stories will only show basic information, to cut down on bias in the voting.

Let's have a little vote of our own: do you think putting Digg trends on the homepage is a good idea?


View Poll

Digg's homepage will display trending stories for user voting originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>diggfront pageFrontPagehomepagetrendsvotingThu, 05 Nov 2009 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[CeeVee makes creating your resume easier]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/02/ceevee-makes-creating-your-resume-easier/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/02/ceevee-makes-creating-your-resume-easier/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/02/ceevee-makes-creating-your-resume-easier/#commentsFiled under: , ,

CeeVeeI hate making resumes.

If you're like me, you'll probably appreciate any tool that helps make creating a resume easier. Ceevee is just such a tool.

Ceevee is an online resume builder that allows you to fill in specific fields, and it spits out a very nicely designed resume for publication on the web or print. You have a choice of three themes, which are all essentially the same but with different typefaces.

Modern (the default) uses a sans-serif font, Classic uses a serif font, and Plain Text uses a monospaced font, though it still has formatting.

Once you've created your CeeVee, you can share it on your website by embedding code that will also show a CeeVee icon. If you make it public, you can also share your CeeVee using Twitter and Facebook.

[via WebWorkerDaily]

CeeVee makes creating your resume easier originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ceeveecreating a resumecreating-a-resumeCreatingAResumefacebookonline-resumMon, 02 Nov 2009 16:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Google's Social Search is now live]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/27/googles-social-search-is-now-live/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/27/googles-social-search-is-now-live/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/27/googles-social-search-is-now-live/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Last week, at the Web2.0 Expo, Google demoed a new Social Search feature that delivers targeted search results based on your social circle. Now, this feature is available in Google Labs, so anyone with a Google account can try it out. When social search gives you "results from your social circle," who does it mean? Google looks at your Gmail chat buddies and contacts, as well as your Twitter and FriendFeed buddies and your Google Reader subscriptions to find relevant results. So far, it doesn't seem like Social Search is for everyone, but you should definitely give it a look if you're a social networking junkie.

Social Search results show you which of your connections a particular result came from, and how you're connected to that person. For example, I searched for Download Squad, and found a blog post from fellow Squadder Nik Fletcher, who I follow on Twitter. Results aren't limited to direct connections, though, Social Search also finds more obscure stuff, like your friends-of-friends on Flickr. It's clearly still a work in progress, but right now it's great for finding blog posts by people you know, and keeping up with your friends across the various networks they're signed up for.





Google's Social Search is now live originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>googlegoogle labsGoogleLabssocial searchSocialSearchTue, 27 Oct 2009 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Google Reader now sorts your feeds "by magic"]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/25/google-reader-now-sorts-your-feeds-by-magic/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/25/google-reader-now-sorts-your-feeds-by-magic/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/25/google-reader-now-sorts-your-feeds-by-magic/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Google has made a couple of big improvements to Google Reader, aimed at helping you easily sift through all those RSS feeds to get to the stories you'll find most relevant. One set of new features focuses on finding relevant content that you weren't already aware of, and another feature sorts the stuff you're already subscribed to.

In the sidebar, you'll notice a new "recommended sources" list. These are sites Google Reader thinks you'll like, based on your browsing habits -- if you've opted-in to let Google track those -- and your reading habits in Reader itself. You'll also see a Popular Items section from around the web, showing you some well-read and potentially relevant posts from sites you're not subscribed to.

In addition to these ways of finding new feeds to read, Google Reader can now sort your existing items "by magic," bringing the most relevant articles to the top of your list. To make this happen, go to the settings dropdown for one of your feeds or folders and choose "sort by magic." The magic is actually an algorithm that takes into account what you read and share in Reader, and it seems to work pretty well. I'm not a frequent Google Reader user, and even my relatively untrained recommendations were interesting. If you share and like items on a regular basis, yours will likely be even better.

[via Mashable]

Google Reader now sorts your feeds "by magic" originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 25 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>feedsgoogle readerGoogleReadermagicrecommendationsrssSun, 25 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Waver, a cross-platform Google Wave application for your desktop]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/22/waver-a-cross-platform-google-wave-application-for-your-desktop/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/22/waver-a-cross-platform-google-wave-application-for-your-desktop/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/22/waver-a-cross-platform-google-wave-application-for-your-desktop/#commentsFiled under: , ,

There's Tweetdeck for your Tweets, Seesmic for your Facebook stalking -- and now Waver for your Waves!

Waver is simply an Adobe AIR application that hooks into your Google Wave account. From there, you can create new waves, or update existing ones.

Adobe's Javascript implementation seems to do surprisingly well, rendering Waves as quickly or quicker than Google's own V8 -- though this could be due to the fact that Waver uses the cut-down iPhone UI output from Google Wave. Also, a lot of the UI seems to actually be, er, missing. And a lot of the shortcuts don't seem to work yet.
Try as I might, I could not get Waver to look like their sample picture -- perhaps it's because I'm running Windows 7 instead of OS X?

But let's not forget the most important thing here: in this case, Waver is merely rendering Google Wave using WebKit -- the same engine powering Chrome, Safari, and several other web browsers.

Is it really worth installing AIR and running a separate application to access your Wave account? Why not just open another tab in Chrome?

[via Life Rocks 2.0]

Waver, a cross-platform Google Wave application for your desktop originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>adobe-airGooglesocial-softwareWaveWebKitThu, 22 Oct 2009 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Facebook revamps Groups feature, makes it more like Profiles and Pages]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/21/facebook-revamps-groups-feature-makes-it-more-like-profiles-and/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/21/facebook-revamps-groups-feature-makes-it-more-like-profiles-and/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/21/facebook-revamps-groups-feature-makes-it-more-like-profiles-and/#commentsFiled under: ,

With all of the redesigning to focus Facebook on your News Feed, one classic Facebook feature got lost in the shuffle. What happened to Groups? Facebook must have noticed that Groups had become virtually useless, because they've just taken some steps to upgrade the feature back to first-class citizen status. Groups now have walls, just like Profiles and Pages, and group activity now has a place in the News Feed.

Although Groups now look extremely to Pages, they still serve two distinct purposes. Pages are for broadcasting information one-way to fans, and Groups are for interaction amongst members. The new discussions tab on each group's page emphasizes the collaborative aspect of Groups. It's nice to see a great feature back from the dead, and doing a lot more than cluttering up your profile.

[via AppScout]

Facebook revamps Groups feature, makes it more like Profiles and Pages originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>facebookgroupsredesignsocial networkingSocialNetworkingWed, 21 Oct 2009 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Bad guys now launching attacks through hacked Facebook apps]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/19/bad-guys-now-launching-attacks-through-hacked-facebook-apps/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/19/bad-guys-now-launching-attacks-through-hacked-facebook-apps/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/19/bad-guys-now-launching-attacks-through-hacked-facebook-apps/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook can already be dangerous places. Things like short links and bogus messages from friends with compromised accounts put unsuspecting and under-prepared users at risk.

Now, AVG's security researchers have discovered a new threat on Facebook. For the first time, they've found hacked Facebook apps. According to AVG, the apps are being used to launch drive-by attacks which target vulnerabilities in Adobe Reader and Adobe Flash. AVG reports finding seven hacked apps, but they admit there could well be more.

First things first: if you're not running up to date versions of either of those, download them right now. Here's the link to Flash and here's one for Reader. Using anything but the most current version could leave you open to attack.

The attack works like this. Visit the Facebook page for any of the hacked apps and click to install. Instead of the normal process, the page will try to push a poisoned PDF document to your machine. Once open, the infected PDF infects your system with a bogus antivirus application - which are often notoriously difficult to remove.

I've mentioned fake antivirus programs like these before on Download Squad. If you've been infected, you can try the tools listed on this post to clean up your system.

To keep from getting infected in the first place, make sure you:
  • have a good antivirus program installed and that it is fully updated
  • update browser plugins like Java, Flash, and Adobe Reader as soon as you are prompted to do so
  • install any critical Windows updates that are available
  • check comments on new apps before you install - others may have already been infected and left a post on the wall!

Bad guys now launching attacks through hacked Facebook apps originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>adobeavgfacebookfacebookappsflashhackhackedpdfMon, 19 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Surprise! Google Wave (unofficially) works on iPhone and Android!]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/14/surprise-google-wave-unofficially-works-on-iphone-and-android/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/14/surprise-google-wave-unofficially-works-on-iphone-and-android/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/14/surprise-google-wave-unofficially-works-on-iphone-and-android/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

After playing with Google Wave for about a week, I found myself wishing I could check my waves on the go. How is this thing going to replace email in the future if I have to be at my computer to use it? Well, it turns out that Wave does work on at least two mobile platforms: the iPhone and Google Android. Although the mobile versions of these browsers aren't technically supported - so you'll have to click through a warning to use it - the fact that they're built on WebKit means it's more or less Wave-ready.

There's even a mobile-optimized site for Wave, similar in design to mobile Gmail. Although there's no official Wave iPhone app, you can add Wave to your home screen on the iPhone for convenient access. Obviously, some of Wave's features won't work in the mobile version - dragging and dropping images, for example - but for basic reading and adding to conversations, it's fine. Preparing a decent mobile web version of Wave is certainly one alternative to going through Apple's app store approval process, especially after the infamous Google Voice rejection.

[via TechCrunch]

Surprise! Google Wave (unofficially) works on iPhone and Android! originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>androidgoogle waveGoogleWaveiphonemobilesafariwaveWed, 14 Oct 2009 09:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Tweetie for iPhone hits 2.0]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/10/tweetie-for-iphone-hits-2-0/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/10/tweetie-for-iphone-hits-2-0/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/10/tweetie-for-iphone-hits-2-0/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

We've covered iPhone Twitter clients to death here on Download Squad, but we simply couldn't help but post about Tweetie 2.0 which launched just yesterday. If you're not familiar with Tweetie - which won an Apple Design Award earlier in the year for version 1 - it's often touted as the best Twitter client for the iPhone platform, and this new version raises the bar in terms of features and experience.

There's a tonne of new features (and an all-new underlying core to the application) - so here's just a few of my favourites that I've noticed:
  • Searching within timelines - super-handy if you're trying to find that tweet without having to scroll back through your Twitter history
  • Swipe-to-refresh - if you're at the top of the list of tweets, Tweetie allows you to swipe up and hold momentarily to refresh without tapping a refresh button. It's a really smart touch (though, assumes that you've read all the updates that are in front of you).
  • More integration with location services and image services - If a tweet contains GPS data, or an image from the likes to Twitpic, Tweetie shows you a small preview of the information below the tweet.
  • Multiple-draft support - version 2.0 allows you to save multiple drafts for posting later, and also allows you to post all drafts, whether a tweet or direct message, with one tap.
  • More services - There's built-in links to the likes of Favrd, Favstar.fm and many other Twitter mashups when you're browsing user profiles.
Tweetie 2.0 also heads into uncharted territory by being the first iPhone app to have a paid upgrade. Whilst this has caused much bickering from certain "celebrities", given that a copy of Tweetie 2.0 is just $2.99 for all users it's not going to break the bank. You can pick up your copy on the App Store.

Tweetie for iPhone hits 2.0 originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 10 Oct 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>iPhoneTweetieTweetie 2Tweetie2TwitterSat, 10 Oct 2009 11:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Eolas v. Everyone you've ever heard of]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/06/eolas-v-everyone-youve-ever-heard-of/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/06/eolas-v-everyone-youve-ever-heard-of/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/06/eolas-v-everyone-youve-ever-heard-of/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,


Tireless patent troll Intellectual Property holder Eolas has filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas against, well.. nearly everyone. The issue at hand deals with two patents in Eolas' possession -- the first of which was the subject of a successful lawsuit against Microsoft back in 2004.

The second patent, what Eolas refers to as "a continuation of the '906 patent" claims to hold as the sole intellectual property of Eolas, "fully-interactive embedded applications [...] through the use of plug-in and AJAX (asynchronous JavaScript and XML) web development techniques." The second patent is so far untested in court -- and ostensibly covers more popular websites than you can shake a knock-off Louis Vuitton handbag at.

I haven't had time to delve into the language of the patent, but this reeks of utter nonsense to me so far. In my layman's oppinion, Eolas may have made a crucial mistake however, taking aim at so many large targets at once -- with one untested patent, and another which Microsoft already came rather close to beating.

Take the leap to read the whole extortion demand press release, and see the enormous list of publicly traded web firms included.

Continue reading Eolas v. Everyone you've ever heard of

Eolas v. Everyone you've ever heard of originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ajaxeolaspatentpluginstrollweb browserweb devWebBrowserWebDevTue, 06 Oct 2009 11:15:00 EST<![CDATA[Juice brings a smart research toolbar to Firefox]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/05/juice-brings-a-smart-research-toolbar-to-firefox/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/05/juice-brings-a-smart-research-toolbar-to-firefox/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/05/juice-brings-a-smart-research-toolbar-to-firefox/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Juice is a Firefox add-on that makes it easier to go off on browsing tangents and get more information on things you find on the web, without opening new windows or browser tabs. When you highlight and slightly drag text from webpages, Juice pops open a sidebar that shows you relevant entries from Wikipedia, Amazon.com and more. That way, you never have to leave a tab to look something up. You can also watch videos - and even playlists - in the Juice sidebar.

You can also set Juice as your default search engine in Firefox - or just start Google queries with "juice" - to see your search results in Juice instead of in your main tab. On top of its usefulness as a multitasking tool, Juice also connects with Facebook, so you can share links and media from the sidebar. Unfortunately, Juice doesn't really reveal how it does its magic, and there's no way to add or subtract from the list of sites it searches. Even with a lack of customization, though, you'll love Juice if you hate opening new tabs for quick research tasks.

[via ReadWriteWeb]

Juice brings a smart research toolbar to Firefox originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>add-onfirefoxjuiceMon, 05 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Facebook brings Latin back to life with new language option]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/04/facebook-brings-latin-back-to-life-with-new-language-option/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/04/facebook-brings-latin-back-to-life-with-new-language-option/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/04/facebook-brings-latin-back-to-life-with-new-language-option/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Facebook have always worked to make sure that the service is available in as many languages as possible - from French to Føroyskt, Polish to Pirate, the service is available in 70 languages for the site's worldwide audience. Yesterday, however, the Facebook team have rolled out a Latin localisation of the site to help students, noting that "the experience of studying Latin can frequently seem somewhat far and away".

As someone who studied Latin at school, it's nice to see a often-mocked-as-dead language rise from the ashes and brought to life on Facebook - though, I'll admit I won't be leaving the language as my default setting any time soon.

Facebook brings Latin back to life with new language option originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 04 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>FacebooklanguageSun, 04 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[WSJ taunts the NFL with couch-based live-blogging]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/04/wsj-taunts-the-nfl-with-couch-based-live-blogging/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/04/wsj-taunts-the-nfl-with-couch-based-live-blogging/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/04/wsj-taunts-the-nfl-with-couch-based-live-blogging/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

At the end of August, the NFL decided to institute a number of rules prohibiting the use of social media by teams and referees on match day - as well as rules that banned the media from providing live play-by-play coverage of matches.

As was pointed out at the time, the rules are easily imposed on officially-sanctioned media reps at matches - but what's to stop the average Joe in the stands updating Twitter or their blog as the match goes on, or mainstream media who want to provide play-by-play coverage online by sitting on their couch at home and blogging? That's exactly what the Wall Street Journal's Peter Sanders did in the recent New York Jets / Tennessee Titans match.

Of course, the NFL is simply working to protect its lucrative television revenue deals (and, ironically, the couch-based writer is part of that revenue stream), however the crackdown on live-blogging certainly seems futile given that only forces the hand of bonafide media at matches - and the NFL certainly can't control or crack down on every Twitter user sat watching a match and sharing scores...

[Via TechDirt]

WSJ taunts the NFL with couch-based live-blogging originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 04 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>live-bloggingsocial mediaSocialMediatwitterSun, 04 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Week in Review: 3rd October]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/03/week-in-review-3rd-october/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/03/week-in-review-3rd-october/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/03/week-in-review-3rd-october/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,

It's been quite a week here at Download Squad - and contrary to popular opinion there's been more than Google Wave in the news, so here's quick roundup of the news from the last seven days alongside some other stories that we simply didn't get a chance to cover.

Continue reading Week in Review: 3rd October

Week in Review: 3rd October originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 03 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>week-in-reviewSat, 03 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Echofon (neé TwitterFon) heads to OS X]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/09/29/echofon-nee-twitterfon-heads-to-os-x/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/09/29/echofon-nee-twitterfon-heads-to-os-x/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/09/29/echofon-nee-twitterfon-heads-to-os-x/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

There's been plenty of iPhone Twitter clients released over the last 18 months, however the goldrush to develop for the mobile device has meant the OS X Twitter clients have seen just the arrival of Tweetie in the same time. Today however, naan studio the developers behind the popular Echofon (previously TwitterFon) iPhone client have launched a beta of their forthcoming desktop release.

One of my favourite features in the application is the inclusion of highlights - the ability to receive notifications based on search phrases - and if you're a big user of the iPhone version then you can also sync the read / unread status of tweets between the two Echofon applications. The desktop version of the Mac has all the bells and whistles you'd expect - multi-account support, Photo uploading - and certainly pretty stable despite being just a beta.

Echofon will, upon its release later this year, be a paid-for product - however it remains free in beta from the Echofon website.

Echofon (neé TwitterFon) heads to OS X originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>echofontweetietwittertwitterfontwitterrificTue, 29 Sep 2009 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Clarke lets you update FireEagle from within OS X]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/09/29/clarke-lets-you-update-fireeagle-from-within-os-x/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/09/29/clarke-lets-you-update-fireeagle-from-within-os-x/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/09/29/clarke-lets-you-update-fireeagle-from-within-os-x/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

Yahoo's FireEagle project has long been a great (albeit under-used) service to let you share your location with other websites. Services such as Dopplr, Brightkite and many others can all update & read your location and use the service to display location-based data.

On the iPhone, there's plenty of free applications that update FireEagle such as yofe, but what if you're working on a desktop or laptop computer? That's where Clarke comes in handy -- a small, open-source utility for OS X that runs in your menu bar, it'll figure out where you are based on the Wi-Fi networks around you.

In earlier versions of Clarke, the updates were based on Skyhook Wireless' database -- the same used by the original iPhone to triangulate your location -- however the utility was recently updated for Mac OS X Snow Leopard and now uses the OS' built-in Core Location system to figure out where you are when run on the newest big-cat.

A free download, developers can also grab the source code over at Github, and the application also lets you easily view nearby data from Flickr, Google Maps, OpenStreetMap and Yahoo Maps.

Clarke lets you update FireEagle from within OS X originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>core locationCoreLocationFireEaglelocationlocation servicesLocationServicesos xOsXservicesocialYahooTue, 29 Sep 2009 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Publicly ridicule arrogant jackasses with Tweeting Too Hard]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/09/29/publicly-ridicule-arrogant-jackasses-with-tweeting-too-hard/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/09/29/publicly-ridicule-arrogant-jackasses-with-tweeting-too-hard/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/09/29/publicly-ridicule-arrogant-jackasses-with-tweeting-too-hard/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Tweeting Too HardHave you ever wished that there was a way to call out someone for posting a completely self-indulgent, arrogant, whiny, or self-important tweet? If so, you're going to enjoy Tweeting Too Hard.

Tweeting Too Hard is a Digg-like user submitted voting site, where the submissions consist of tweets that readers consider to be intended to make the tweet's author seem important. If that description isn't clear enough for you, have a quick browse of Tweeting Too Hard's All Time Top posts, and you'll get the idea very quickly. Things that will get your tweet submitted to Tweeting Too Hard include random mentions of how rich you are, mentioning a book you wrote, being curiously obsessed with your good looks and discussing them, among numerous others.

Users' votes for the worst-offending tweets with Back Pats. At the time of this writing, the top three Tweeting Too Hard submissions are:

1979 Back Pats: OMG i was saying how i couldn't afford the gas to fly daddy's jet to the riviera this summer, and this barista totally rolled her eyes at me

1761 Back Pats: fan belt light came on in the 911 so now I'm driving the Cayenne Turbo S - the backup, backup car. Trying not to think about the Tesla...

1651 Back Pats: it makes me sad, the more I have success the more people don't like me....

While it's certainly easy to game a system like this, the entertainment value is high no matter what.

Tweeting Too Hard has a commenting system, so you can discuss the unique charm of your favorite tweet with other users. Maybe surprisingly, the level of conversation seems fairly high at the moment, though if Tweeting Too Hard gains some serious traction and popularity, it can pretty much be expected that the comments will suffer from YouTube syndrome.

It seems like a site like this is purpose-built to catch celebrities showing their asses, and so far there's at least one in the top 5 -- can you guess who it is? How long before the All Time Top list reads like the cover of a tabloid?

Publicly ridicule arrogant jackasses with Tweeting Too Hard originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>assesback patback-patBackPatcelebritiesentertainment valueentertainment-valueEntertainmentValuementionspopularitysubmissionstweettweetingtweeting-too-hardTue, 29 Sep 2009 09:00:00 EST