Facebook 'Like' button on other websites - Grab Yours

Facebook launched it's 'Like' button for usage on other websites. The concept is simple: someone can come to your website, click the "Like" button, and your site will instantly show up on that person's "Wall".
The setup is very easy, and here is how to do it:

• Go to developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/plugins/like.
• Use the tool to create the Like button.
• Embed the code into your website.

It's really that simple.

Source: http://asurl.net/kGa

A look at tech-industry earnings for Q1

Here is a summary of earnings reports for selected technology companies for the first quarter and what they reveal about the state of corporate spending:
April 13: Intel Corp. says net income nearly quadrupled revenue up 44 percent. Intel says corporations are upgrading their employees' computers and buying more servers.
April 15: Advanced Micro Devices Inc. shows a 34 percent increase in revenue and says spending on servers is "pretty healthy." The microprocessor maker's CEO says he is less certain about corporate spending on personal computers.
Google Inc. says revenue surged 23 percent, its best rate since the summer of 2008. Prices paid for Google's ads were 7 percent higher than the average rate at the same time last year.
Source: http://asurl.net/k5f

RIM announces BlackBerry Pearl 3G (Includes video)

Another wonderful announcement from this years WES, the BlackBerry Pearl 3G! Research In Motion just announced the Pearl 9100 and 9105 which should be available sometime in May.
“The BlackBerry Pearl 3G is unlike any other smartphone in the world and we expect a broad range of new and existing customers will be drawn to its powerful features and compact design,” said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO, Research In Motion. “Considering the fast growing consumer interest in smartphones and the fact that more than three-quarters of the people in the global mobile phone market are still buying handsets with a traditional alphanumeric keypad, we think the new BlackBerry Pearl 3G addresses a substantial market opportunity. It allows consumers to upgrade their traditional mobile phone to a full-featured, easy-to-use and fashionable 3G BlackBerry smartphone that supports BlackBerry Messenger and many other apps while maintaining a handset design and layout that is familiar and comfortable.” [Press Release]
The new Pearl will come in several different colors and have two keypads.  The 9100 will have the 20-key SureType qwerty keypad seen on previous Pearls, and the 9105 will feature a first for RIM, a 12-key standard keypad.  This should reach out to a whole new niche of people who would like to have all the great features of BlackBerry, but don't want to commit to a new style of keypad.
The other main features of the phone are as follows:

• 3.2 Megapixel camera with flash, video recording, and autofocus
• 3G and WiFi 802.11 b/g/n capability
• 256 MB internal memory
• OS 5.0
• Dedicated media player buttons
• Up to 32GB expandable memory

If you'ld like to see the Pearl 3G in action, check out the video!  And don't forget to leave me a comment and tell me what you think!
Source: Examiner - http://asurl.net/kcu

BlueTooth v4.0 coming soon

The BlueTooth Special Interest Group, or SIG, announced last week the details on the upcoming v4.0 and how it would revolutionize the short range wireless data transfer world.
V4.0 will feature three specifications that will be available on various devices.

• Classic BlueTooth, available in the types of BlueTooth enabled devices you use on a normal basis
• High Speed BlueTooth, for use in small devices such as watches and remote controls
• Low Energy BlueTooth, which will work well in pedometers and other devices with sensors.

The BlueTooth SIG also claimed that there's a chance the range of enabled devices will leap from 30 feet to up to 200 feet and maybe more in different devices.
Completion of the specifications is projected for the end of June of this year, with compatible devices by the end of the year.
[Press Release]
Source:  Examiner - http://asurl.net/koQ

Uh, oh. Now Google's cataloging MAC addresses.

So here’s the scenario. Google’s Street View vehicles are traveling all over the world, sucking as much information into Google’s ginormous databases as they can find. Some of that information shows up in the publicly-available Street View application and some, apparently doesn’t. According to an article in the German SPIEGEL ONLINE, Google’s roving spy cars are also cataloging WiFi network information, including MAC addresses and available SSIDs.
Source:  ZDNET http://asurl.net/kYH

Verizon: No plans to offer Google Nexus One

Verizon said on Monday that it would not be offering the Google Nexus One smartphone as had been promised earlier, instead focusing on the recently released HTC Droid Incredible.

Until today, Google’s website indicated that the Nexus One would be available on Verizon’s network in spring of 2010.
Now, the site says the following: “For Verizon’s network, you can buy the Droid Incredible by HTC, a powerful Android phone and similarly feature-packed cousin of the Nexus One.”

The change is not entirely unexpected. Google’s Nexus One has not fared well in the marketplace, available as a full-price unlocked model or on contract with T-Mobile, the nation’s smallest carrier.
Without a Verizon partnership, Google loses access to the carrier’s more than 90 million customers.
Bloomberg had the following to say about the change:

The breakdown of the deal signals Verizon may view Google as a competitor rather than a partner when it comes to Nexus One sales, which are probably at less than half a million since the phone’s January debut, said BGC Partners’s Colin Gillis.

But this view is not entirely fair, as Google’s operating system is also loaded on the HTC Droid Incredible, which is made by the same manufacturer that makes the Nexus One.
Still, it shows that Google may have to fight its two battles separately: first, the move to offer its own branded phones; second, the move to sell them at full price online only.
The change also means AT&T may be less inclined to formally offer the Nexus One, as had also been rumored at the phone’s launch this winter.
The bottom line? Google still wins overall as the Android ecosystem expands. But it may have to refine its approach when it comes to making money.
Source: ZDNET http://asurl.net/kqz