hAcx (Yaniv) Technology & Web 2.0 News

YouTube Will Allow Revenue Sharing

2007-01-27T11:53:00.001-08:00

BBC reports that YouTube will allow revenue sharing, but only for uncopyrighted videos.

YouTube
founder Chad Hurley confirmed to the BBC that his team was working on a
revenue-sharing mechanism that would "reward creativity".

The
system would be rolled out in a couple of months, he said, and use a
mixture of adverts, including short clips shown ahead of the actual
film.

The system should be launched after YouTube manages to develop the content identification software
that will "scan a digital file, such as an MP3 or video, and compare
the electronic fingerprints to databases of copyright material". This way they'll be able to see if a video uses copyrighted material or if it's just a duplicate of another video.

Google Image Search Has a Cleaner Look

2007-01-23T23:34:00.001-08:00

Another important change for Google today: Google Image Search
has a cleaner look. As you can see in the screenshot below, Google only
shows the thumbnail and a short snippet for each result. To read more
information about the image, hover over the image and get: the file
size, pixel dimension, format and the domain.

I like the change, because the most important factor when you
decide if an image result is OK is the thumbnail, not the source of the
image or its format. If you want a certain format or only big images,
you can always the advanced search.

This new design, heavily inspired by Windows Live Search, uses JavaScript, so if you disable JavaScript in your browser, you'll get the old version.

The New Google Groups Is Out Of Beta

2007-01-23T23:33:00.001-08:00

From Google Operating System Ionut Alex. Chitu

The slick new Google Groups launched in October last year and available at groups-beta.google.com is now out of beta and moves to groups.google.com.

You'll find a cleaner homepage, search results that look more like
web search results, topics that borrow a lot from Gmail's
conversations. Each group has 100 MB storage space you can use to
upload files or to collaboratively edit documents. Groups are much more
customizable: you can change the colors and add welcome messages.

Now Google should focus on creating some filters for spam posts and a way to discover potentially interesting groups.

Blu-ray cracked too?

2007-01-20T10:47:00.001-08:00

It's still early on to tell whether this is actually true, but HD DVD cracker muslix64 is back,
and with the help of another anti-DRM cracker, Janvitos, claims to have
also broken the Blu-ray's implementation of AACS. Although their
protection does not yet account for BD+ copy-protection, they claim to
have been able to implement the same key-grabbing known-plaintext
attack as muslix64 used to crack HD DVD in order to successfully to
crack Blu-ray without even using a disc or drive (apparently they just
used a raw encrypted data file and nothing more). Unfortunately they
haven't yet posted code for us to test this out, so we'll have to take
their word for it for the time being.

Yahoo World Explorer - TagMaps

2007-01-19T03:46:00.000-08:00

Yahoo World Explorer is a sample Flash application implemented with the help of the new Yahoo TagMaps API. It displays Flickr tags on a Yahoo map, and clicking on a specific tag will show the associated photos to the right side. Unfortunately, the link to open these photos in full size on Flickr didn’t work here.

PayPal To Offer Security Key Fobs

2007-01-15T11:09:00.001-08:00

Engadget - "PayPal is readying a VeriSign security key that will resemble the RSA SecureID we corporate workers are all too familiar with with, and will sport a monochrome LCD screen that rotates a six-digit password every 30 seconds. Clients who opt to use this device will be able to enter it along with their usual username / password credentials when logging in, which would prevent scammers from accessing their account without the key fob in hand. The firm has been testing the device with employees for "several months," and plans to start trialing it with customers "within a month or so." Personal account owners in America, Germany, and Australia will eventually have the option of picking one up for a one-time fee of $5, while business accounts will receive the unit gratis, but if you're not savvy enough to pass on by those tempting scams, five bucks could be a small price to pay to keep your cash out of strangers' hands".

Firefox 3 Alpha 1 - The First Taste

2007-01-15T01:11:00.001-08:00

Project code name "Gran Paradiso", is the version 3 of the popular mozilla browser Firefox 3. The new generation of the Firefox browser introduces several new features which can be tested in the first alpha 1. Notice that some of the changes in Gecko 1.9 Alpha 1 will affect the web and platform compatibility of Gran Paradiso Alpha 1:

* Cairo is now being used as the default graphics library, affecting all graphic and text rendering
* Cocoa Widgets are now used in OS X builds
* An updated threading model
* Changes to how DOM events are dispatched
* Changes to how elements are loaded
* Changes to how web pages are painted
* New SVG elements and filters, and improved SVG specification compliance
* Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows ME are no longer supported platforms
* OS X 10.2 is no longer supported, and OS X 10.3.9 or higher is recommended
* Moving DOM nodes between documents now requires a call to importNode or adoptNode as per the DOM specification.

iPhone - Close Look At CBS (Video)

2007-01-12T06:05:00.001-08:00

As you know Apple introduced their iPhone cellphone a few days ago and i gotta say its pretty impressive, even i got very impressed, and i'm really not a big fan of cellphones and it's kind (i got my first cellphone only 3 years ago).
but i tell you that, the minute it gets out on sell here in israel, even with a price tag of 499$ - I Will Get It !

Here is a video from CBS showing off the features in the iPhone:

Pixelotto Isn't Doing So Good

2007-01-09T09:41:00.001-08:00

About few weeks ago i posted a story about new site called Pixelotto.com by the (millionaire) owner of the legendary site MillionDollarHomepage.com, so i decided to check back again and see how his new project is doing, as expected the site ain't doing so good.

he managed to raise only 146,900$ by now (it haven't changed for the past week), about a month since it took off, and who knows how much of this amount he actually sold out and how much he had to fabricate or give away to warm up his pixel-board so advertisers can see their money is not wasted on an empty/unvisited site.

my guess is this site ain't gonna make any more million $$$ for the owner who made his first million in his previous project that got about a million sites copying the idea and turning it to something we (the surfers) want to avoid.. too boring.

nLite v1.3 RC - Released!

2007-01-06T00:29:00.001-08:00

nLite is a tool for permanent Windows components removal and pre-installation Windows configuration. After removal there is an option to make bootable image ready for burning on cd or testing in virtual machines.
With nLite you will be able to have Windows installation which on install does not include, or even contain on cd, the unwanted components.

Changes in this version:

new: Tweak - Minimal Power Management
update: 'Save Dump' upgraded to 'Symbolic Debugger'
fix: Erase then burn stuck at erase
fix: Users creation (with spaces in names)
fix: Missing nhelper (at conservative usage)
fix: ExtraFileEdits addon entry support (multiple lines)
fix: x64 Help removal (could cause many components to fail)
fix: Integrate themes selection (theme removed from the list)
fix: USBPort patch (if duplicate file in cabinets)

as a computer technician i use this program quite often to make faster installation of windows, i managed to reduce installation time from 60 minutes (including third-party programs such as winrar, klite, anti-virus, etc,..) to as much as 20 minutes!

A Handy Little CSS Cheat Sheet

2007-01-02T03:21:00.001-08:00

On this page you can find a great little CSS cheat sheet if your just starting your way with CSS.
take a look at the box diagram, should make your life a lot more easier if you're a newbie !

More Pictures Of Me Using JumpCut.com

2006-12-30T12:14:00.000-08:00

Jumpcut.com has by far best video editing flash tool on the web today (in my opinion), and i used it a lot in the past to do some slideshows and small clips for me and my friends.
the flash editing interface is so sweet you can generate a fairly decent clip of your pictures (with a background music) in seconds.
here is a small slideshow i did a while back.. just a way to get to know me better:

Search Results As SlideShow

2006-12-30T10:54:00.001-08:00

This site shows image search results from Google, Yahoo and Windows Live as a slideshow. It scales the images to fit the window, lets you pause it and if you click on an image, you'll get to the original page that contained the image or a link to the image.
and if your in the "mood" you can un-check "Safe Search" - as the site says.

dunno if anyone have anything useful to do with this thing, but still.. it's original.

Never Knew I'm "The Hulk".. For Real!

2006-12-30T03:34:00.001-08:00

According to What Superhero Are You i'm 95% Hulk.. well, i don't even like this character, but i guess the site knows better.
This site gives you a bunch of questions and then tells you which comic character best fit your personality.

More from the site, Michel Arrington is 70% - Green Lantern, Dave Winer is 95% Superman and Steve Rubel is 85% Iron Man.. then why the hell am i "The Hulk"?! Green was never my color!

(I had nothing to do with that 58% Supergirl thing!)

Saddam Death Might Be In The Top Dugg Items

2006-12-30T01:51:00.001-08:00

Saddam just got executed by hanging in iraq and ofcourse the story got to digg.
Just take a look at the digg swarm screen shot when the story got published:

no question about this story getting into "Digg All-Time dugg items".

Blogger? You Should Really Check Out ScribeFire

2006-12-30T01:34:00.001-08:00

I came across ScribeFire on a post published on TechCrunch.
It is actually a FireFox plugin that make a blogger life a lot easier by giving him the basic stuff he needs to edit or publish stories on his blog.
yeah yeah.. i know there are a lot of plugins that do the same thing, and this is nothing new, but this one REALLY has all the features a blogger need including a site metrics (yes, another blog stats) in single click.

using this plugin you can manage multiple blogs (on all platforms: blogger/typepad/..) and view their history as well as drafts, all sorted in categories of your choice. you can also view your blogs metrics and search Technorati right from the plugin window.

The editor tough is missing the default style option that the web interface has when you add a new image, such as logo to the top of the story, making you edit the html and manually add the style to the image.

ScribeFire really did a good job putting all the features in one plugin. im just thinking of the time it took me to get into Blogger and post a new story and adding all the pictures and then previewing the story, all in the web interface makes me think why haven't i use this kind of plugin before. Sweet!

iLoggo - Create a Thumbnail Grid From Your Favorites Sites

2006-12-28T00:24:00.000-08:00

iLoggo.Com a Polish based company, allows you to save all your favorite sites into a convenient visual map. Each user will be able to easily and quickly access all of his frequently visited sites.

Really cool if you want to make a graphical thumbnail starting page for your yourself or even your customers (if your a computer tech. you can understand how many phone calls you can save when one customer calls you and ask how to get to one site or the other).

Gizmodo Published Top 10 Blogger Babes of 2006

2006-12-27T23:38:00.000-08:00

Gizmodo just published a list of the Top 10 blogger babes of 2006 and believe me the blogosphere couldn't look better, with this look who cares what they are blogging about ;)

(Just take a look, it even puts my picture to shame)

Microsoft Hands Out Acer Ferrari’s To Bloggers

2006-12-27T11:52:00.000-08:00

Microsoft together with AMD gave out some really nice Christmas presents to a bunch of bloggers this year. Brandon LeBlanc got one, Scott Beale got one, Barb Bowman got one, Mauricio Freitas got one, Mitch Denny got one, Zen.Heavengames got one, plus many other bloggers who did not even write about it (shame on them). They seem to have covered everyone from A-list to Z-list, a first in the industry with such a valuable gift, kudos for thinking about the little guys.

Some people got Ferrari 1000s, others got 5000s. The following specs are from the 5000.

The machine looks just as good as it specs. As part of Acer’s Ferrari designer computing range, the carbon-fiber case is styled with a slick threaded finish with genuine Ferrari badging and color strips. Just like the racing counterpart, this machine has grunt. It sports an AMD Turion 64 X2 dual-core 2ghz CPU, 2GB of DDR2-667 RAM, AMD-ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 on a 15.4″ widescreen. It also has a 160GB SATA drive, HD-DVD reader and burner as well as a 1.3mp camera. Full specifications available at the Acer website.

Use Google Code Search To Hack To Sites

2006-12-27T01:31:00.000-08:00

Here is a nice article describing how Hackers can use Google Code search to find useful sql connection strings or different backdoors in the site code that they can use to hack into a site.
here are few examples from the article:

SQL Injection exploits:
lang:php query$.*\$_(GET|POST|COOKIE|REQUEST|FILES).*$

XSS exploits:
lang:php (ECHO|PRINT) .*\$_(GET|POST|COOKIE|REQUEST|FILES)

Find host,user,pass for mysql databases:
lang:php mysql_connect\((”|’)[a-zA-Z0-9_.]+(”|’),(”|’)[a-zA-Z0-9]+(”|’) -localhost -127.0.0.1 -192.168

ofcourse, if you have some imagination you can enhance those queries on other source codes other then php and mysql.

WiiHaveAProblem.com - Wii Injuries

2006-12-27T01:24:00.000-08:00

"Wii have a problem" is a blog focused on bringing you the latest trend in gaming violence. That of damage caused by "window lickers" who should not be participating in activity of any form... yet own a Wii. Why? Because we're fanboys that's why.

The Wii-motes have a problem with the hand-strip which is too thin and rip a part on big strain, making all kind of injuries to people and their surrounding when it simply fly out of their hands.
Nintendo announced today that they will be replacing 3.2 million strips with a much stronger one.

AllofMp3.com Sued for $1.65 Trillion!

2006-12-23T04:47:00.000-08:00

The RIAA is suing the website AllofMP3.com on behalf of EMI, Sony BMG, Universal Music, and Warner Music in the amount of $150,000 for each of the 11 million songs that were downloaded from June to October of 2006. That comes to a lawsuit totaling $1.65 trillion!

For those of you who have been hibernating for the last few months I’ll give you a quick run down on the excitement that AllofMP3.com has had. They are a Russian music website that operates legally in Russia but it is deemed illegal in other countries, such as the United States, because they don’t pay royalties to the artists. The RIAA continues to do everything in their power to shutdown the site but their attempts fail one after another. The United States even went as far as blocking Russia’s entrance into the World Trade Organization (WTO) until they shutdown the site.

55 Gmail Tips - The Complete Collection

2006-12-21T10:19:00.000-08:00

Here is a site that lists 55 Gmail tips you might don't know about:

Crazy 3D Avatars From Gizmoz

2006-12-21T04:53:00.000-08:00

Gizmoz has a Flash-based 3D avatar product that is made from a single picture of a person plus their recorded voice.

Users start by uploading a picture of themselves or their pet. Gizmoz turns the picture into a 3D model (see image to right), and the avatar can then be customized with a body, clothes, effects (scars, tattoos, etc.) and backgrounds. You then record a message and sound effects, and your avatar is created. The end result has a moving mouth and facial expressions while you talk, and the effect is quite stunning. Eyal calls it “bringing Pixar to the people.”

The personalized avatar product is still in private beta. The existing product on the site requires the use of a library face, but can be customized and a personal voice can be added. These avatars can be embedded in websites, and Gizmoz also has a downloadable application that adds these avatars to all major instant messaging services.

Google Site Status Tool

2006-12-20T23:51:00.000-08:00

Very cool little tool by google that tells you when you're site was last scanned and if the bots found any errors while indexing the pages.
very handy if you're a site owner.

Two-Way SMS Web Texting

2006-12-20T04:50:00.000-08:00

Joopz is the first web-based text messaging service that enables “web texting” – two-way communications from the Web to any mobile phone ... and back! Best of all, you can use Joopz’ basic service features for free.

It features:

Two-Way “Web Texting” - Joopz lets you send and receive text messages (SMS) from the Web to any mobile phone for free. A real-time history of all your conversations is included.

Group Chat - With the Joopz Group Chat feature, you can have conversations via text with all your friends at once.

Text Reminders - Don't forget the party! Joopz helps you manage your life by tracking what you need to do and when, and then sending a text reminder.

Scheduled Messages - A birthday, an anniversary, a graduation – send delayed text messages for the recipient to receive at a specific time – a day from now, a week from now, a year from now.

And from what i've heard around the blogosphere it actually works!

XinDesk.com - WebOS Done Right

2006-12-20T04:45:00.000-08:00

Xindesk is a free, one stop shop solution for making all your files, calendars, contacts and other data accessible and in sync wherever you are. It’s pretty much like accessing your computer from any standard web browser, from a computer, a mobile phone or any other device connected to the Internet.

The core of Xindesk is a WebOS featuring application that opens and saves the standard office formats. Xindesk is the first web operating system that works easily, even for people without deep computer knowledge. The WebOS is an open platform, just like Windows and Mac OS. This enables anyone to develop new applications.

Xindesk features close to every application you find on your desktop PC from start, for free. Store your files in the file manager. Browse the web or store your bookmarks in the Internet Browser. Customize your desktop with the stickies application with RSS support. The mail application comes with a free Xinmail account, but also support 3rd party POP and IMAP4 accounts. Of course there’s productivity applications with MS Office support, an address book, a photo viewer and some games. We are also developing an instant messenger with Jabber, AOL/ICQ and MSN support. Another key feature of Xindesk is that it enables you to share anything – pictures, music and other files, with your colleagues, friends or family members.

Firefox 2.0.0.1 Final Is Here

2006-12-19T23:23:00.000-08:00

Firefox 2.0.0.1 Final - The award-winning, free Web browser is better than ever. Browse the Web with confidence - Firefox protects you from viruses, spyware and pop-ups. Enjoy improvements to performance, ease of use and privacy.

It's easy to import your favorites and settings and get started. Download Firefox now and get the most out of the Web.

Download it from this Link.

New Digg.com Features Are Online (v4 ?!)

2006-12-18T12:33:00.000-08:00

From Digg Blog - Big update today. Tons of new features to share with you – many inspired by feedback you’ve given us over the last few months (thanks!). Check out this video for a quick overview, or read below for more details.

Interface Design, Digg Goes Widescreen
We’ve gone from a fixed width layout to a flexible one allowing you to make use of your screen real-estate on larger monitors. Navigation has also been moved to the top allowing you to quickly switch between sections.

Top 10 Stories/Videos
Digg stories move fast, so we’ve created a quick view of the top 10 hottest on Digg, updated in real time. This list changes as other stories accelerate in Diggs - so make sure to check it often. Think of this as your quick pulse of what’s hot in any given section.

Videos Enhancements
Aside from giving Videos their own position in the top navigation, we have added a couple cool features: Top 10 hottest videos, and on-Digg video previews. Simply click any video with a play icon to get lightbox window in which you can preview and Digg the video.

Podcasting
Now you can Digg your favorite podcast series and individual podcast episodes. Not only can you see a list of the most popular podcasts by section, you can also dive into any individual podcasts to see the most Dugg individual episodes. And don’t forget - every time you Digg a podcast or podcast episode that is bookmarked in your profile and shared with your friends.

Profile Enhancements
Now quickly jump between your Dugg News, Videos, or Podcasts. With three separate sections we make it easy to sort through your own Diggs or the Diggs from your friends using the friends tab.

The World's First Winged Robot Video Demonstration

2006-12-17T08:10:00.000-08:00

Witness the world's first winged robot in action. It's flappin' brilliant.

Microsoft Launches Redesigned Homepage!

2006-12-15T06:58:00.000-08:00

On December 14 launched a new home page for Microsoft.com. The new page incorporates months of research, testing, customer feedback, and refinements. A much needed redesign, looks great and goes well with a "Vista" theme.

Microsoft Tries To Stop Vista Piracy Monster

2006-12-14T23:24:00.000-08:00

From "CNET" - The software maker said Thursday that the update is aimed at thwarting a technique that was letting some people use pirated versions of the operating system without going through the software's built-in product activation. Microsoft has dubbed the approach "frankenbuild" because it works by combining test versions of Vista with the final code to create a hybrid version.

"Windows Vista will use the new Windows Update client to require only the 'frankenbuild' systems to go through a genuine validation check," Microsoft said on its Windows Genuine Advantage program blog. "These systems will fail that check because we have blocked the (product) keys for systems not authorized to use them."

Although Vista was only released to businesses last month--and won't hit retail shelves until late January--it has been making the rounds on the Internet, and there have been several reported hacks to bypass its built-in security mechanisms.

A second known issue, Microsoft said, involves using virtualization technology in conjunction with the mechanism Microsoft uses to allow large businesses to activate multiple copies of Vista.

"Piracy is evolving and has made the expected jump from Windows XP to Windows Vista," David Lazar, director of Genuine Windows, told CNET News.com. "We are already starting to see some workarounds to the Vista licensing requirements."

In a statement, the software company said it hoped the actions would help discourage people from trying to bypass its security mechanisms.

"Microsoft hopes that by taking this action now, we can send a message to counterfeiters and would-be counterfeiters, and help protect our legitimate customers from being victimized by further distribution of these tampered products," the company said.

Microsoft Begins Work On The Next Version Of Windows Codenamed "Fiji"

2006-12-14T23:22:00.000-08:00

Even though more and more teams at Microsoft seem to be shying away from christening their fledgling products with good, old-fashioned code names – favoring the ever-so-boring “V.Next” designation instead — there are still some who are doing so.

Microsoft code names always have piqued my interest. They offer some great clues about the Redmondians’ development priorities, not to mention a better understanding of which future Microsoft products fit together, from a strategy standpoint.

In honor of Microsoft code-name junkies everywhere, I’m going to feature one, random Microsoft code name per work day for the rest of this month. I’ll provide as much information as I’ve been able to unearth on each, and attempt to provide some context as to how the team chose the name and how the forthcoming technology fits into the Redmond product hierarchy.

Microsoft code name of the day: Fiji

Best guess on what it is: Fiji is "the next version of Windows" following Windows Vista and preceeding Windows "Vienna" (the version of Windows formerly code-named "Blackcomb"). Some people say Fiji will take the form of Windows Vista Service Pack (SP) 1. Others believe it will be a full-fledged, but relatively minor, Windows release — more of a Vista R2. Microsoft won't comment publicly on the code name at all.

Meaning/context of the code name: Fiji, like a number of the code names I'm planning to feature this week, is part of Microsoft's vista (with a lower-case V) series. When Microsoft officials acknowledged the decision to change the Windows Blackcomb name to Windows Vienna, they said to expect other products to be part of the "beautiful vistas" line. Some of the "vistas" are cities; others seem to be countries.

Jaxtr Lets Social Networkers Chat On Real Live Phones

2006-12-14T23:18:00.000-08:00

From "TechCrunch" - A company called jaxtr, which launches in private beta today, allows users to connect their personal phone to their digital personality.

Jaxr is a widget that users can put into their social networking sites or blogs. When someone has a jaxtr widget, it means you can call them in real-time. Jaxtr members assign a specific number to their widget.

When a caller sees that widget, they can click it and jaxtr will ask them for their own phone number. The caller’s phone will ring, and when the caller picks up, jaxtr will ring the recipient who originated the widget. If the recipient was not available, jaxtr will notify them that they have a voicemail that they can access by calling into their jaxt service.

Fortunately, jaxtr never discloses the call recipient’s phone number so you can install a widget without ever exposing personal information. Users can also block callers or specify on a per-caller basis which callers can reach them live and which get routed to voice mail. The service is free but local phone rates apply.

With the launch of jaxtr’s beta, the company also announced that LinkedIn co-founder Konstantin Guericke has joined the company as chief executive officer.

“There is nothing less satisfying than creating a social network page or blog and not getting a response,” said Guericke. “Social networks are a catalyst for people to meet, and jaxtr ‘jacks up’ the power of networks to help users make new connections. By putting a widget on their social network page or blog, jaxtr users can hear from callers worldwide on their existing landline or mobile phone.”

I have to say, I don’t always find it unsatisfying to blog and not get a response. There are several responses to my posts that I could certainly live without. But I can see the value of phone calls within social networking - especially considering how much of a meat market MySpace can be.

To request a beta membership, visit jaxtr’s Web site, which goes live on Thursday morning.

There are lots of competitors in this space, of course. We wrote about a few of them here.

Amazon To Sell Wii and PS3 Soon

2006-12-14T23:15:00.000-08:00

From "TechCrunch" - If you’re pounding the pavement looking for a Nintendo Wii or Sony PS3, then this should take a load off. We’ve heard from a credible source that Amazon is going to start selling both game consoles “in the coming days.”

Finding a Wii or a PS3 is like finding a four-leaf clover these days. Stores like Best Buy simply cannot keep them on the shelves fast enough and you have to pay through the nose to get one on eBay.

Amazon sold out of the Wii on the first day it was released in less than one minute and has not been able to keep PS3 in stock consistently at all. Our source tells us that the site will be ready to take orders for both again soon, although we don’t know exactly when. Both systems are available for resale on the site, but for two and three times their shelf value.

As far as we can tell, Amazon has yet to set a price for either console but we suspect that they will sell them for the retail price. It is possible that they will do a similar promotion as the one they did for Xbox in November, although not likely. Gamers can just be happy to have a sure-fire way to purchase these precious machines, rather than stand out in the cold in front of an electronics store, hoping to find gold. Good move Amazon!

Gmail New Feature - Get Mail From Other Accounts

2006-12-09T05:10:00.000-08:00

Now Gmail can check for the mail you receive at your other email accounts. You can retrieve your mail (new and old) from up to five other email accounts and have them all in Gmail. Then you can even create a customized 'From:' address, which lets you send messages from Gmail, but have them look like they were sent from another one of your email accounts. Please note that you can only retrieve mail from accounts that have POP3 access enabled.

Notice: This feature is currently only enabled for a limited number of users. We're working on making it more available soon. Look for it in the 'Accounts' tab in Settings.

YouTube Allows Users To Record Directly To Site

2006-12-09T04:31:00.000-08:00

YouTube quietly added a new feature today to its popular user-generated video site today called Quick Capture, which allows users to record video directly to YouTube from webcams plugged into their computers. This new feature eliminates steps in the process of producing video content, making it easier than ever to publish videos to the web.

Use the quick capture tool on YouTube at this link.

Btw, don't know if this link on YouTube suppose to be a secret or something like that but i found this link over at YouTube that gives an inside look at new features that are tested in the service before they are released, just take a look.

BitTorrent to Acquire µTorrent

2006-12-08T06:42:00.000-08:00

Bram Cohen, the creator of the BitTorrent protocol, announced that his company would be finalizing an acquisition of µTorrent today.

“Together, we are pleased to announce that BitTorrent, Inc. and µTorrent AB have decided to join forces,” Cohen wrote in his blog. “BitTorrent has acquired µTorrent as it recognized the merits of µTorrent’s exceptionally well-written codebase and robust user community. Bringing together µTorrent’s efficient implementation and compelling UI with BitTorrent’s expertise in networking protocols will significantly benefit the community with what we envision will be the best BitTorrent client.”

Link to the Forum Post on the acquisition by Bram Cohen & Ludvig Strigeus (µTorrent).

Pirates crack Vista Activation Server

2006-12-08T06:36:00.000-08:00

From Apc.com - "Pirates have released another ingenious workaround to Vista's copy protection: a hacked copy of Microsoft's yet-to-be-released volume licencing activation server, running in VMware.

Volume Activation 2.0 is one of the more controversial features of Vista: it means that every copy of Vista has to be activated, even the Business/Enterprise volume licenced editions.

However, to make life easier for administrators, Microsoft worked in a more convenient system of in-house for en masse activation of PCs called KMS – Key Management Service.

The idea behind KMS is that you have a single PC running KMS which can then handle activation for all your Vista clients, so that they don’t have to connect back to Microsoft every single time.

The downside of KMS is that the activation is only good for 180 days, to discourage people bringing in their home systems, activating them and wandering off again."

OSxCode.com - Great Ajax Feed Reader Site

2006-12-08T06:22:00.000-08:00

I know there are a lot of RSS Feed readers out there but this one really got my attention.
It has a really slick Feed listing/searching all in one page using Ajax to retrieve the news/articles from Technology & Web 2.0 sites.

using a 3 column layout you can quickly browse the feeds or make a quick search on any/all of them at once, there is also an option to sort the items by title, description and so on..
all of the feeds in the site are pre-installed so you won't have to enter them on your own, but this is also the drawback, you can't add any custom feed by yourself :(.

anyhow, i'm sure be using this site in the future, not because it has some nice javascript effects but it holds all my favorite Technology & Web 2.0 programming feeds in one nicely done site.

Quick Hack To Free Windows Xp Memory

2006-12-05T22:55:00.000-08:00

Tired of running a slow WindowsXP? Create this shortcut to clear your memory with 1 Click! easy, useful and handy.

Just create a shortcut with this command:

%windir%\system32\rundll32.exe advapi32.dll,ProcessIdleTasks

Or watch the video for more details:

Optimus Keyboard Will Sale For 1200$ (?!)

2006-12-02T08:19:00.000-08:00

Optimus Keyboard (if you don't already know) is a keyboard that has screen buttons, meaning you can modify your keyboard to fit each game individually.
Optimus already released a 3 button keyboard earlier this year and had quite an impressive reviews.

Just imagine that you can reflect anything you want (picture/words/numbers..) on every key, this way you can display cpu-usage and cpu-temp. straight to your keyboard and create different keys for Emule, Media-Player, Photoshop by displaying their icon on a specific button, now thats kewl.

Now, lets get to the only problem i see that will stop a lot of game fanatics and computer geeks from purchasing this keyboard -- THE PRICE! 1200$. sounds like A LOT for a pre-order product that is still in development !

Think i'll wait for it to drop to around 400$-500$ which is more a reasonable price.

New MULTI Million Dollar Homepage

2006-12-01T23:59:00.000-08:00

TechCrunch - "Alex Tew, the mastermind behind The Million Dollar Homepage is most certainly pressing his luck. Tew sold one million pixels worth of advertisement for $1 per pixel and made $1 million. It worked so well that he thinks he can do it again, this time for twice the price.

Tew is reportedly on the verge of launching a second site called Pixelotto. Instead of selling each pixel for $1, he plans to sell each pixel for $2, plus hold some kind of lottery where the winner who clicks the right advertisement will win $1 million."

Would You Like People To Rate Your Site?

2006-12-01T13:43:00.000-08:00

Here is another small script widget that lets users rate your site without an extra effort on your side other then pasting a small script.

You can see an example of this widget on the right side-bar under my profile.

Embed Digg Flashing News In Your Site

2006-12-01T13:36:00.000-08:00

This little widget will create a scrolling news flash widget filled with Digg items.
All you have to do is go to this site and select which kind of news you want the widget to display.

Here is an example:

Top 10 Naked People on Google Earth

2006-12-01T12:09:00.000-08:00

You’ve all seen the original Google Sightseeing Topless Sunbather already, but did you know that the Hague is in fact completely overrun with naked and semi-naked Dutch men and women? Yes people, it’s time to get your magnifying glasses out, because here comes the Top 10 Naked People on Google Earth!

Visit the Site Googlesightseeing.com

Apple Prototypes: 5 Products We Never Saw

2006-12-01T12:02:00.000-08:00

For every Apple product we see on the shelves, there are dozens that never make it to production. Sometimes, these rare gems surface on the web for us to take a look at, and ponder what might have been. Scouring through the interweb, I’ve compiled this list of 5 Apple products that only the most hardcore of hardcore MacAddicts have ever stumbled across.

Surprisingly, some of these products, over 10 years old, are still being speculated about in one form or another to this day. Will we see new products based on these old prototypes? It’s far more likely that anything resembling the devices listed below have been rebuilt from the ground up, but still, it’s fun to look back on the products that didn’t make it to the mass market…

FLV (Flash Video) Online Converter

2006-12-01T11:30:00.000-08:00

The service converts a FLV file (Youtube's movie,etc) to another format (AVI/MOV/MP4/MP3). The service is using a unique technologies (JP), and converts FLV to MPEG4 faster and losslessy than a typical transcoder.

When you submit an url, this service will download and convert the video format. Then you can download the converted file.

TechTV - James Kim Is Missing

2006-12-01T11:01:00.000-08:00

While i was surfing some blogs i noticed a news item on some stating James Kim was missing, i knew i heard this name before so i started googling for images on this name.. guess what -- James Kim is the former TechTV and CNET author.
I hope he'll pop up soon.. i really liked this guy (altough i don't know him on a personal level).

Update: The official missing person report

Script.aculo.us 1.7 beta 1 is out

2006-12-01T10:44:00.000-08:00

script.aculo.us 1.7 beta 1 is out now and the big new thing is Effect.Morph which allows for CSS style-based effects, and its companion, the Effect.Transform shortcut to set up complex animations in a snap.

Look at the Demo to see the new Morphing script in action.

Let’s look at how Effect.Morph is used:

new Effect.Morph('error_message',{
  style:'border-width:3px; font-size:15pt; color:#f00'
});

This will start an effect to morph the div element with id error_message smoothly from whatever border-width currently is set, whatever font-size is set (note the currently set font-size must have the same unit, in this case pt), and whatever color is set to the given new values.

InCircles - Quick Chat On Your Site

2006-12-01T10:19:00.000-08:00

I Came across InCircles.Com flash chat widget first on TechCrunch and was really impressed at how easy it is to use.

the widget is a simple flash chat script you put on a site so visitors can chat with each other, nothing innovative here but still it has a really small and clean layout without the need to register (i like that!) to start chatting, unlike other chat widgets i know.

Some stuff that is currently missing right now, that I THINK would help improve this widget even more is a user Ban feature, so the site owner can ban certain users (by ip/nick) from participating in the chat.

You can also see a Popular-Pages list of sites that also have InCircles chat implemented in them (nice feature).

AMD's QuadFX (a.k.a. 4x4) Disappoints

2006-12-01T10:00:00.000-08:00

AMD officially released their new QuadFX cpu's today (a.k.a 4x4).
the new cpu will come as a bundle of two chips (thats right!), of course the new motherboards supporting this chip will have 2 (two!) cpu slots and will handle them both at the same time giving extra strength and improved sharing of tasks between both the cpu's.

Some benchmarking sites already did some testings on the new bundle against Intel QX series cpu's, and i think you'll find the bench tests some what interesting as AMD come second on most tests right after Intel latest cpu.

Intel also announced its going to release a real Quad-Core cpu (not a bundle) supporting the 45nm technology in few months/weeks while AMD 64 QuadFX latest cpu still uses 65nm.
AMD should start doing some really innovative cpu's in the future (like they did with the dual-core cpu) if they want to get some more market share as the QuadFX really did not impress us so much :(.

Yaniv Danan Takes Bar On The Jetski Tube

2006-08-11T13:31:00.000-07:00


Another video of me taking bar to a spin on the tube on my new jetski.

Small Jetski Video edited in JumpCut.com

2006-07-18T06:16:00.000-07:00

As i came home from work today i noticed a small review on this site called JumpCut.com.
What cought my attention about this site was the fact that it had a video editing tool interface (in flash) embedded in the site, you can also upload some photos/clips/mp3\'s and combine them all to a short clip without downloading or installing anything, just using the flash interface.
Anyhow, take a look at this clip i made in 10 minutes (not counting the actual upload process):

Valley-Schwag May Package Arrived

2006-06-07T02:48:00.001-07:00

Yesterday i received my first package (may) from Valley-Schwag.

Altough it took only 5 days to arrive, i was somewhat disappointed by its contents. I expected to see more stickers and atleast 2 t-shirts, but thats just me, after all i only paid 25$ for it.

From what i saw on other blogs from subscribers of the schwag service, i noticed that im the only one (up to this second) that received a Hat (ain't gonna wear it anyway) and DIDN'T receive the cards everyone else got.
I know i have nothing to complain about and this is just the first package, valley-schwag is going to do more in the future to please everyone of its subscribers.

After all i give this this (First!) package a 7, coz after all my young brother did enjoy the tatoo :).

Here are some pictures i took the minute the package came through the door:

Ten (Web 2.0) Video Sharing Services Compared

2006-04-08T02:36:00.000-07:00

The number of video-sharing sites has shot through the roof recently, as dozens of companies try to become the Flickr of the online video world. To this end, many video services have started offering new features like editing and remixability in an attempt to snatch a piece of the ever-expanding online video pie. But for the average user--who just wants to post a video on the 'net and share it with some friends--there are already too many options out there. All one really wants to know is, which site is going to work, with the least amount of hassle?

No Posts Untill Sunday As Im On a Trip

2006-03-28T13:06:00.000-08:00

Starting Wedensday im taking a long Vacation 'till Sunday to the city of Tel-Aviv here in israel and i hope to keep up the 2-posts-a-day tradition i have here in the blog when i get back.
I wish you all a great weekend and hope to see you all again when i get back, hopefully with pictures from the trip which i promise to post on Riya so you can all see, just search for "Yaniv Danan" on Riya to see them.

See you all soon :)

Fundable - Raise Money For Your Own Business

2006-03-28T11:07:00.000-08:00

What is Funable?

"Funable.org lets groups of people pool money to make purchases or raise money".

The idea behind this site is trully genius, You come up with a business idea or a creative way to spend (others) money and people simply start pooling money until the right amount of money is collected. When the target is reached you get the money through the site. Ofcourse if the right amount is not collected before the expiration date Fundable.org deletes everyone payment pledges and no one loss their money, simply saying -- NO RISK.

Some of the fundraisings on the site are so funny, have no idea how people come up with such requests, like: "Robs Bachelor Party (Save a Pimp Foundation)" , "Fundraising for Feature zombie horror movie MASS ACRE HILL", just check out the site.

I can't tell you how many times i needed money for small projects and had no way of getting the money or collecting the money. Now what im about to do is try the site and ask fund for a small idea i have and let you all know what came up with that in a few days or weeks :)

DHTML Scripts You Won't Find Anywhere Else

2006-03-26T08:23:00.000-08:00

I came across this site the other day, it has some amazing DHTML images & 3d effects on it.
I promise you won't find the scripts on this site any other place, the author of this site is so original i decided to give him a place on my blog.. respect!
This site has about 200+ scripts all made by the author of the site.
The effects are seperated into sections such as TEXT, IMAGE, 2D, 3D, and contains some very advanced image slide-shows effects.

The image effects he did are so AMAZING and realistic you'll spend hours just exploring the site over and over and over again.. I know i did!
I'm sure some of the scripts will find their way somewhere in you're site, just be sure to send an email to the author to support his work if you do so.
Btw, i get no credits or money for promoting the site, i just think the author deserve the support for the hard work he put into the scripts.

DHTML Scripts: http://www.dhteumeuleu.com/

Ajax Animated Activity Indicators

2006-03-26T06:15:00.000-08:00

The increasing amount of Ajax & Web 2.0 sites out there today make this Animated images a MUST on each one of them.
You're probably asking why? well, first of all Ajax is using a "behind-the-scenes" components that does not necessarily let you know when its performing an action or just waiting for the user.
As of now the only way you know about data transfer between you're client and the server is by looking at the Animated Windows Flag in IE or the Circle in the corner on Firefox.

So if you're an Ajax programmer and want to put some kind of indication on you're site to let the users know when the site is doing something in the background, you should really consider putting one of this animated indicators on you're site.
I did put it on my site (news.hAcx.org) and believe me the bandwidth overhead was reduced by 30%, because now the users know when their request is being processed rather then them clicking on the same button over and over when they see no response.

Download the Animated Indicators at: http://www.napyfab.com/ajax-indicators/

Mobber - Chat With Visitors On Your Site

2006-03-26T00:41:00.000-08:00

Let me explain what Mobber is (as described on the site):

"Who's On? Mobber's patent-pending software shows you who's on a particular web page, allowing you to chat with them privately or in a group. We make the web a two-way real-time medium. Got a site, or online profile? Add Mobber to it in under 5 seconds. Go on… mob the web!"

Making a long story short, this site lets you see who's on your site and chat with them right there on the site.
The way it does that is by adding a small script snippet (iframe) to any place on your site, without the need to sign-up, and then everyone entering your site can see who's viewing the site at the moment and if he/she wants to they can enter a chat with one or any of the visitors.

Add this iframe to anywhere on your site to see how it works (note: MySpace users can't add iframes so you're out of the game for now) :

<iframe src="'http://www.mobber.com/embed/ajax?v=" frameborder="0" width="775" scrolling="no" height="115"></iframe>

Visit Mobber at: http://www.mobber.com

Use IM (MSN/ICQ/YAHOO/..) In Your Browser

2006-03-25T06:28:00.000-08:00

I know alot of people that can't use Messenger (msn/icq/yahoo) at work because their boss blocked all the ports except for port 80 (which is Http default port for normal WWW sites).
Some of them doesn't really know that since the introduction of Web 2.0 sites there are a few sites that gives you access to almost all the messaging protocols right in your browser, if its IE or Firefox/Netscape/Opera..
Just enter one of the sites below (just choose the interface you like), Enter you're login details on the IM of you're choice:

meebo (MSN/AIM/ICQ/MSN/GTALK/JABBER/YAHOO)
eMessenger (MSN/AOL/YAHOO)
webMessenger by MSN (MSN/AOL/YAHOO)

All of the sites have a window-like ajax interface and have almost all the features of the original win32 versions except for File-Transfers and Videos.
If you ask me, my choice is meebo as it has the best interface and its updated/bug-fixed regulary, check out the blog on the site to read on last changes and fixes.

XG Magnum 600 External (Fanless) Power Supply

2006-03-23T23:21:00.000-08:00

XG, a division of MGE, has launched an external high-end 600 W fanless power supply, called Magnum 600 External. Yes, you read it right: external. The idea is to provide “true” 600 W power and, at the same time, to help lowering the temperature inside the PC, since high-end power supplies increase the PC internal temperature.

XG Magnum 600 External power supply main specs include:
External power supply.

ATX 2.0.1 (24-pin ATX)
Two PCI Express cables (for SLI or CrossFire configuration).
True 600 W.
Two separated 12V rails.
Aluminum case.
Fanless (copper radiator with heat-pipes).
Active PFC.
LCD reporting power supply temperature, voltages and wattages.

Visit the review site: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/299/1

CSS Rounded Corners Without Images

2006-03-23T01:32:00.000-08:00

I saw this link on Digg (www.digg.com) after looking for this kind of css trick for a long time now, i found some other tricks but none of them really did the job like i wanted to.
If you're new to Nifty Corners, I suggest to look in particular at the article on the first version to understand the concept behind them - http://pro.html.it/esempio/nifty/.
Basically, Nifty Corners are a solution based on CSS and Javascript to get rounded corners without images.

Now, i know not alot of you knows about css 3.0 features which are not yet supported by IE (but Firefox does support them), you can simply do 2 lines of css code to get any type of rounded corners by using this:

.RoundCorner {
border: solid 1px #c1c1c1;
-moz-border-radius: 9px;
}

Im using this on alot of my sites and it sure makes the corners job lots easier (Firefox users gets a better looking interface this way).

Ajax Background Image Maker

2006-03-22T11:36:00.000-08:00

I know one of the things i hate most when building a site is making those Smooth Gradient Backgrounds for both tables and titles (like the one i use in this blog title box).
Anyhow, i found this site which make this task all lot easier, meet "Background Image Maker", using this Ajax page you can select 4 types of background images to make (Slash, Strip, Dot, Gradient) in a very simple & clean interface.
All you have to do is select the type of image, the colors to use (it can even do Alpha Transparent .Png files) and then the size of the image and your done.
Click "Make" and it will generate the image for ya.. how kewl is that!
You can use the generated image straight from the site by copying its full-url or saving the image into your own site.

I usually make an image with width "1" (for faster loading) and set the background image style to "Repeat-X" so it will duplicate the image to the size of the area its in, this way it takes no time to load coz the image size is usually less then few kb's.
pfff.. why didn't i think of it first ;)

Background Image Maker - http://lab.rails2u.com/bgmaker/

New Google Layout - Cookie Hack

2006-03-21T14:35:00.000-08:00

I came across this blog post today, it explains how to hack the google cookie so you can see the new Google layout which only poped-up for few people and no one was sure how to make it visible on demand or even make it appear on each search query.
The link (on the bottom) explains how to hack the cookie using the "Add N Edit Cookies" Firefox extension.
Here you go, another reason to move to Firefox.
- Btw, i checked the hack myself and it does work (you can see in the picture) for English and Hebrew.

This blog explains how to do the hack:
http://www.salvatore-aranzulla.com/?p=554

Riya.com - Photo Face Recognition

2006-03-21T13:30:00.000-08:00

Riya.com is a face recognition technology that automatically tags people in photos so you can search for just the photo you want in your albums.
Meaning, you upload your photos or albums to the site and tag yourself on atleast one photo and enter your details, once your done "Riya" engine will start processing all the photos found in its database and tag you on every photo you are in.
This way you can enter the site and use the search engine to find yourself or anyone else in the photos.
I managed to get an invitation to the site and tried some stuff in there myself, It actually did find me on most of the photos i uploaded but it did miss me on ones where i had a different haircut or standing with my back to the camera.. Go Figure ;)

The register/sign-up page on the site wont really let you sign-up but you can use this hidden link to create an account: http://www.riya.com/groundTruth

www.Riya.com

Google Finance Announced Today (Another Gold-Mine?)

2006-03-21T11:13:00.000-08:00

- What is Google Finance?
"Google Finance is an early beta product that offers a broad range of information about North American stocks, mutual funds and public and private companies along with charts, news and fundamental financial data."

Today Google labs released another site -- Google Finance.
Can't believe no one saw that coming, im starting to believe Yahoo! is the main player here and Google is just holding its left pocket trying to immitate its older brother.

Your probably asking whats Google-Finance differs from other sites?

It has really amazing interactive stocks charts following google vision of adding kewl javascript effects implementation on every new site that put out.

Stock News are also sync with the selected chart range for more pin pointed news.

Company Related Blogs postings gives you more inside information from people working in the company, im sure some might find it usefull.

And ofcourse its all wrapped with Google (Smart) Search-Engine.. Thats you gotta love!

What's puzzling me is Google Finance gonna have any API released so others can make use of the information collected by the search giant? and if so, are they going to charge for that? (as you know the up-to-the-second information published on the site costs Google money as they are paying for that information to third-party financial companies).
All i can see is another Gold-Mine discovered by the giant, whats left to do is to sit back and see what position google's going to take in the online financial world as the features they have now are nearly isn't enough to compete with other established companies.

Visit: finance.google.com

XBOX 360 Firmware Hacked !

2006-03-21T07:14:00.000-08:00

Few hackers found a way to hack/bypass the cd-protection check on the xbox-360 by doing a reverse-engineering on the built-in dvd firmware.
I knew it was about to happen, but not just after 5 mounths of its release.
The hacking group is saying its pretty simple to apply the hack even for the average hacker wanna-be.
All you have to do is open up the Xbox-360 (yes yes, avoid the warranty!), and remove the dvd from the box, After that just connect it into your computer (you must have sata on it, as its the only connection the dvd have).
When the dvd is connected to the computer all you have to do is flush the hacked firmware straight to the dvd drive and disconnect it from the computer.
Connect the dvd back to the xbox and... your done!
I was trully supprised that the hack actually works without installing any modchip or modifying the wiring inside the box.. weird.. i guess microsoft engineers should'nt have brag about it being built with the best anti-hacking security available today.

Btw, the hack is still not available to the public but the hackers say it will be in a few days.. cant wait (altough i dont have a Xbox-360.. yet!).

Here are some links to follow regarding the title: