Twitter to Show Photos and Videos in the Stream [UPDATED]

A new Twitter () setting called “Tweet Media” has rolled out to some of Twitter’s users, strongly suggesting that the company will soon embed videos and photos in the stream.
Tweet Media, which the Mashable () team and others have been able to access under Twitter’s account settings, asks you whether or not you want to show photos and videos from everyone. It also comes with the following description of the setting:

How will Apple respond to the DMCA revision? They won’t.

Today’s adjustment of the DMCA has far-reaching legal implications, which will only be evident after a few weeks, months, or even years as various parties exploit them however they can. I’m going to let the experts play in that sandbox. But one of the new rules seems to have had a specific target in mind: Apple. To wit:

(2) Computer programs that enable wireless telephone handsets to execute software applications, where circumvention is accomplished for the sole purpose of enabling interoperability of such applications, when they have been lawfully obtained, with computer programs on the telephone handset.

The language is a bit confusing, but the end result is the legalization of jailbreaking your phone and side-loading apps. Not that it was ever illegal, although some Apple store employees thought otherwise. Now that it’s been made official, however, one might reasonably expect a bit of give from Apple on this point, since they have taken such great measures to prevent such actions. But I’m pretty sure that apart from a little lip service, Apple will continue with the exact same policies, with the sort of blithe arrogance that simultaneously compels and repels consumers.
From a legal standpoint, it seems pretty clear that this ruling and Apple’s prohibition of jailbreaking are actually non-overlapping. As I noted in my User’s Manifesto, the only real consequence of your jailbreaking your phone is annulling the license agreement you “signed” when you bought the iPhone — a private contract between a user and a company. The extent of the repercussions is that you’re cut off from Apple; this can be serious, as in the recent case of a guy who actually had a faulty iPad (it caught fire), but Apple refused to return it, as it had been jailbroken. Them’s the ropes, kid.

Facebook Testing “Delete Account” Option.

This is still developing, as we’re seeing mixed reports around the Internet. However, it appears that Facebook has released a Delete Account option, in addition to the previous Deactivate Account.
In the past, in order to delete your account, there were quite a few hoops that a user had to jump through. This new feature appears to make the account deletion process considerably easier.
According to a report on Slashdot, the option (which appears to only be showing for some users), will “permanently delete your account and all information you have shared”. It is worthy to note, however, that Facebook’s terms of service allow the site to keep that information once it has been acquired.

10 Fascinating Facebook Facts

Facebook’s astronomic rise, staggeringly large user-base, and world’s youngest self-made billionaire CEO make it one of the most fascinating companies around today.
While everyone knows the basics about the service’s Harvard dorm room origins, we’ve delved a little deeper to find out more interesting snippets of info.
Here are 10 facts you might not know about Facebook (), so read on and let us know your favorites in the comments box below.

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1. Al Pacino’s Face Was on the Original Facebook Homepage

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Prior to a major homepage redesign back in 2007, Facebook’s front page used to feature a man’s face partly obscured behind a cloud of binary code.
Dubbed the “Facebook guy,” it was not known who the mystery man was — until recently. David Kirkpatrick has revealed in his book The Facebook Effect that the image is a manipulated photo of Al Pacino created by a friend and classmate of Mark Zuckerberg.

Time-Lapse Twitter Visualization Shows America’s Moods [VIDEO]

A group of researchers from Northeastern University and Harvard University have gathered enough data from Twitter to give us all a snapshot of how we Americans feel throughout a typical day or week.
Not only did they analyze the sentiments we collectively expressed in 300 million tweets over three years against a scholarly word list; these researchers also mashed up that data with information from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Google Maps API and more. What they ended up with was a fascinating visualization showing the pulse of our nation, our very moods as they fluctuate over time.
The researchers have put this information into density-preserving cartograms, maps that take the volume of tweets into account when representing the land area. In other words, in areas where there are more tweets, those spots on the map will appear larger than they do in real life.
It will surprise almost no one to learn that findings indicate a general mood slump mid-day and mid-week, when we are most likely to be at work. Our tweets show that we’re happiest in the early morning and late evening; during the week, our mood tends to peak on Sunday morning.
Less predictable, perhaps, is the fact that West Coast tweets were “happier” than tweets from the East Coast. Although West Coast Twitter users expressed emotions in the same cycles as the East Coast users (with a three-hour gap, of course, because of time zone differences), the West Coasters didn’t dip as low in mood as the East Coasters by a significant margin.

Apple Is the New Microsoft, Part 2 (Updated)

Apple surpassed Microsoft two months ago as the world’s most highly valued tech company, and is now challenging the Redmond giant on another key metric: In a blowout third quarter, AAPL posted record revenue of $15.7 billion, which should be close to or exceed what Microsoft reports on Thursday.
Apple’s quarter easily surpassed consensus expectations, per Thomson Reuters, posting net income of $3.25 billion, or $3.51 per diluted share. Gross margins were down slightly year over year — 39.1 percent compared to 40.9 percent — and international sales accounted for more than half of all business, 52 percent.
The Thomson Reuters consensus for Microsoft’s revenue is $15.27 billion. Among the 29 analysts polled, the highest estimate was only a tad above what Apple has actually reported, at $15.74 billion. As of today Apple still has a higher market capitalization than Microsoft, but not by much.
Apple’s hardware story in the 3rd quarter is equally impressive:

Apple Passes Microsoft as World’s Largest Tech Company

What a long, strange trip it’s been.
Apple’s market capitalization officially passed Microsoft’s Wednesday afternoon, making the Cupertino, California, company — for the first time — the largest technology company in the world.
With a market cap of $241.5 billion versus Microsoft’s $239.5 billion, Apple also became the second-largest company on the S&P 500, according to Standard & Poor’s analyst Howard Silverblatt. At the moment, only Exxon Mobil is bigger.

Free iPhone 4 Cases to Cost Apple $175 Million

Apple’s solution to Antennagate — free cases — is likely going to cost the company $175 million in revenue.
Apple posted record earnings this quarter. However, its recent success has been marred by controversy over the iPhone 4’s reception issues, specifically how holding it by its lower-right side can decrease reception.
Apple held a press conference last week to address the issue. Its solution to the problem: free cases for all.
Cases don’t grow on trees, though. During today’s Q3 earnings conference call, Apple revealed that it predicts that the free iPhone 4 cases and bumpers will result in $175 million in deferred revenue. It hits Apple’s books as a liability — essentially a debt or a negative balance on the bottom line. Apple says that it will expense the cost of the cases, which will help mitigate the overall cost on the bottom line.
In other words, Apple is accounting for $175 million in lost revenue on its Q4 balance sheet, all due to free bumpers and cases.
While no company wants to lose out on $175 million in revenue, the alternative — reduced iPhone 4 sales due to Antennagate — was far less palatable. And it’s important to note that this is just Apple’s cost estimate — the actual number could end up being more or less than $175 million, depending on iPhone 4 sales and how many customers take advantage of the free case offer.
Still, it looks like Antennagate will be just a drop in the bucket for a company that made $15.7 billion last quarter alone.

Android Devices Get Video Calling via Adobe

A new Adobe AIR demo is making the rounds today; it shows how Android phones can be used for user-to-user video calls.
Built using an upcoming release of AIR 2.5, this app is the Android () and Adobe developer communities’ answer to FaceTime. The more generous in spirit would call this move “cheeky.” At any rate, it throws yet another log on the bonfire that is the Adobe-Apple public dialog.
The app was originally called “FlashTime,” but the name was changed to avoid some confusion.
Mark Doherty, Adobe’s Flash Platform Evangelist for mobile, said this isn’t an official release from Adobe; rather, it’s something he built over the course of three days to test the features of AIR 2.5 for Android. We’d love to show you his demo video here, but unfortunately, that clip is currently password-protected and not for public consumption.
Doherty doesn’t plan to release the app as a product, but he said he will open-source the code. He expects the code to be stable and finished by next week; interested parties should contact Doherty directly.
AIR and Flash for Android were announced first in February.

Facebook Among Web’s Worst in Customer Satisfaction [SURVEY]

The 2010 American Customer Survey Index conducted by ForeSee Results gave Facebook 64 out of 100 points in a customer satisfaction survey; that’s lower than any other business in its category. However, it’s not at the bottom of the social media heap; MySpace received one point less.

ForeSee Results CEO Larry Freed says that “privacy concerns, frequent changes to the website, and commercialization and advertising” are responsible for the low rating. Those reasons for dissatisfaction mirror the ones revealed in previous surveys.
By contrast, Google () received a score of 80 (though that’s 7 points lower than last year’s score), Bing () and Wikipedia () managed a 77, Yahoo () pulled a 76 and YouTube () landed at 73. Facebook () also received a lower rating than any of the major news websites, which were led by FOXNews.com at 82. MSNBC.com and CNN.com trailed behind at 74 and 73 respectively.
We’d love to see what Twitter ()’s score would be, but the survey excluded Twitter because so many of its users experience it through third party applications, making it difficult to judge how much their perceptions reflect Twitter itself.

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Not Dissatisfied Enough

A Social Media Diva Reveals Her Formula for Winning The Influence Project

Visitors to The Influence Project have no doubt seen the tiara wearing, turquoise phone-wielding, beatific smile bearing Mari Smith. But who is she and how did she emerge as one of the front-runners in this project? Her bio says she's a "Social Media Speaker & Trainer, Chic Geek & Facebook Passionista!, author of @FacebookMktg and Spiritual Truth-Seeker." We spoke last week and discussed her YouTube tutorial for The Influence Project, Twitter hijackers, and how she went about dispatching her influence campaign.
Mark Borden: One week in, you've kept your place in the front row. What made you decide to participate in The Influence Project?

Online, Mobile Ad Spending Explodes, Threatens Traditional Media?

Some thinking about online advertising spend in 2010 suggests that this year it's going to see serious growth, which is fabulous news for new media. But it's potentially bad news for traditional publishing.
The analysis is coming from ZenithOptimedia, which has been revising its estimates for online advertising spend in 2010 upwards for several months now. Its latest piece of thinking has attracted some attention in the online media itself because it predicts that the spend in 2010 will rise some 13.1% throughout this year, and even zoom upwards another 16.1% in 2011. That figure is an amazing indicator that the economic downturn really is over, as ad spend was one of the big indicators that the recession was biting deep.

Bandage iPhone 4 Reception Issues with Antenn-aid [PIC]

On Friday, Steve Jobs announced that part of Apple’s response to the whole iPhone 4 antenna problem would be to offer free cases for all iPhone 4 owners. However, if you don’t like the idea of having your beautiful phone marred by a bumper or other case, consider this adorable (and inexpensive) option to masking tape or silicon: the Antenn-aid.
Antenn-aids are described by the seller as “custom vinyl sitcker[s] for your iPhone 4.” The Band-Aid for your iDevice is designed to be placed over the lower left corner of the antenna. And while the seller takes great pains to ensure that buyers understand that the Antenna-aid is for entertainment purposes only, chances are, the solution will work at least as well as tape or another type of protective covering.

The bandages are being sold in packs of six for $4.99. Each Antenna-aid is a different color so you can color-coordinate.
How useful (or not) the decals actually are is kind of irrelevant. We’re just really taken by the ingenuity and creativity of such a creation. As much as I love my iPhone 4, I still find the idea of having to have a bandage for the device just to make a phone call (assuming you hold your phone while touching the problem areas) absolutely hysterical.

Android Versus Android: Which Phones Are Winning on the Web? [STATS]

Smartphones are one of the most talked-about and hotly debated consumer electronics on the block these days, and manufacturers are pumping out more of these devices each month.
So, how are these devices measuring up in the arena of public opinion? A few 140-character user reviews can say a lot about a phone’s early success or failure, and we’ve got details on what social media junkies are saying about a few Android () devices, including the Droid X, the HTC Evo, and the HTC Incredible.
In the past year or so, we’ve gone from “smartphones” to “superphones” — slick, sexy pieces of hardware with huge screens, HD capabilities, powerful cameras, zippy processors, impressive browsing capabilities and more apps than you can shake a stick at. Technology has accelerated quickly over these months, and Android devices are competing nicely with Apple’s iPhones. How they compete amongst themselves, however, is another story.
Many of these phones are selling faster than they can be built. And each one is making a significant media splash at its launch. In the public eye, is there one Android to rule them all?

Coming Soon From Twitter: “THE MOST AMAZING CLIENT YOU’VE NEVER SEEN”

When Twitter bought Atebits in April, a lot of us were excited about the possibilities. After all, Atebits (aka Loren Brichter) was the company behind Tweetie, the best iPhone Twitter client and arguably the best desktop Twitter client as well (though Mac-only). Developers, however, were not as enthusiastic. Many wondered what it meant for the state of the Twitter third-party ecosystem.
So far, the results of the acquisition seem to have worked out well for everyone. Tweetie for the iPhone was reborn as Twitter for iPhone. And while it’s largely the same, it has added a few bells and whistles thanks to the tighter Twitter integration. But other third-party clients, such as Seesmic and TweetDeck, have continued to thrive as well.

HP files for “Palmpad” trademark

A short time ago, HP applied to the USPTO for a trademark. “Palmpad.” I can’t be the only one who just gets a good feeling from this.
We knew that HP was going to get their money’s worth from Palm when they nixed their Android plans and downplayed their Windows 7 tablet. While reports still have them making the latter in at least some form, statements from HP and Palm indicate that webOS is going to be the focus for HP’s portable computer business.
Like I said, I get a good feeling from this. The other “pad” devices, including the iPad, just don’t sound right — even with going on four million iPads in the wild, I still feel like that name is a compromise. “Palmpad,” though, that sounds right. Like something out of sci-fi in one way, but something you can get used to saying in another way. When you pair a great name with a great product that truly differs from the competition (here’s hoping), there really is a chance for success.
We know webOS is a solid foundation for a tablet, and we know there are smart software people at Palm and smart hardware people at HP. Their huge investment in this project suggests they understand its weight, and seeing the success of the iPad has allowed them to set their sights high. The timeline is pretty indistinct, but by shuttering Android and putting Windows 7 hardware on autopilot, I bet they can put something out in the first quarter of 2011. Of course, the next iPad will be looming then. Giddiyup, HP!
[via MyHPmini and PreCentral]

Samsung Creating Unbreakable AMOLED Screens

Samsung is planning to launch a display with an AMOLED plastic panel on the universal board within two years. Why? Because by switching to the plastic panel, the AMOLED display would become unbreakable.
Samsung's process in making the indestructible screen is to put a thin film transistor (TFT) on the plastic panel and to replace the vinyl protection sheet with polyimide film. Of course, if you drop your phone the glass will still break, but at least you'll have a working touchscreen underneath the shards.
Samsung plans to start producing these new AMOLED screens in two years. Let's hope they can figure out how to make AMOLED readable in the sun by then too. [OLED-display.net]

Turn Your Car into a Wireless Hotspot with Ford SYNC [VIDEO]

When Microsoft and Ford first partnered to bring SYNC technology to new cars, the idea of having an Internet-connected car was still pretty out there. Mobile broadband hadn’t started to take off, smartphones were still largely relegated to early adopters or business users, and the number of Internet-connected gadgets wasn’t anywhere close to what it is now. Now, the only real problem is finding a way to get an Internet connection to all of your different devices.
That’s going to change next year when Ford introduces the second generation of SYNC in-car connectivity systems. The new SYNC systems will let users turn their into car into one big Wi-Fi hot spot. Users can plug their own USB mobile broadband card into SYNC’s USB port and create a wireless network for everyone in the car to use.

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Bring Your Own Broadband

News Organizations Must Innovate or Die

People in news don't generally think of innovation as their job. It's that old CP Snow thing of the two cultures, where innovation sits on the science not the arts side. I had my own experience of this at the American Society of Newspaper Editors conference in Washington a couple of months ago.
After one of the sessions I spotted an editor whose newspaper had adopted hNews (the Knight-funded news metadata standard we developed with the AP). "How's it going?" I asked him. "Is it helping your online search? Are you using it to mark up your archive?"
Before I had even finished the editor was jotting something down on his notepad. "Here," he said, "Call this guy. He's our technical director -- he'll be able to help you out."

Inside Apple’s Antenna Design Lab

After a press conference Friday addressing the iPhone 4’s antenna, Apple gave journalists a private tour of its radio-frequency test facility to provide a glimpse into the process of designing wireless products such as iPhones and iPads.

Japanese Author Circumvents Publishers to Release New Novel on the iPad

Well-known Japanese novelist Ryu Murakami is releasing his next novel, A Singing Whale, directly to iPad owners via Apple Japan’s App Store, circumventing his traditional publisher in the process.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Murakami is working with a software company to release the novel alongside video content and music by Academy Award-winning composer Ryuichi Sakamoto. Pending App Store approval, A Singing Whale will be available for 1,500 yen (about $17). Apple will receive 30% of the revenue, with the remainder to be divided among Murakami, Sakamoto and the software company.
Although the author advises publishers to “read it and weep,” this doesn’t mark the beginning of the end for the publishing industry — at least not yet. What Murakami is releasing is not an e-book in the traditional sense, but a full multimedia experience that can’t be replicated in print. In some respects, it’s similar to Alice for the iPad, an app that brings Lewis Caroll’s beloved Alice () in Wonderland to life with full-color animations and interactive features. Furthermore, the author is also still in talks with its publisher, Kodansha, about releasing a hard copy of the novel.

Apple’s iPhone 4 Strategy: Free Cases for All

At its press conference to address the iPhone 4 reception issues, Apple laid out its response plan.
The first part of the strategy was the press conference itself. Apple has acknowledged that there is a problem and that it is committed to making its customers happy. Although the data shows that the rate of dropped calls on the iPhone 4 are higher than on the iPhone 3GS, the increase in dropped calls is less than 1 per 100 calls.

Apple made it clear that it is committed to making its customers happy and providing the best products it can offer. With regards to the iPhone 4, this is what the company said it was going to do:

• Release a Software Update to Better Report Cellular Signal — This was actually included in yesterday’s iOS update 4.0.1. The software fix does not actually improve call reception, however. Instead, it adjusts the algorithm to better report the actual signal. That should make the drop in bars when gripping a caseless iPhone appear less significant (even though the end result is exactly the same).
• All iPhone 4 Owners Get a Free Bumper or a Refund for Their Existing Bumper — Apple believes that part of the reason that the dropped call ratio has increased (however slightly) is because fewer users have cases for their new iPhone 4. With the iPhone 3GS, the iPhone form factor didn’t change, which meant that not only did more existing users already have a case, but more cases were available at launch. That didn’t happen with the iPhone 4, and so Apple is going to give all iPhone 4 users who purchase the phone from launch date through September 30 a a free bumper or a refund on their existing bumper. Additionally, because Apple can’t make enough bumpers to satisfy demand, customers can choose another third-party case as well. The company says it will have a form on its website late next week that customers can fill out to request their new bumper or to get a refund on their existing bumper.

• Unsatisfied Customers Get a Full Refund — If the new case or bumper still doesn’t solve the problem, Apple will provide a complete refund to the iPhone 4 owner. Presumably you can also just exchange your iPhone 4 for another unit.

First iAd Campaigns Come To iPhone

With Apple launching its new iAd network last week, and the first few advertising campaigns using iAd popping up, it is time to have a look at whether these campaigns are delivering on the anticipation.

The new service has received a lot of media attention and has been predicted to be a big hit. According to Apple CEO Steve Jobs, Apple has developed iAd to “help developers make money through advertising so they can keep their free apps free.”
Some of the key features of iAD include:

• iAd will allow advertisers to deliver interactive ads to consumers without them leaving the original app
• easy to implement, as it is built into the iPhone OS
• very interactive, providing full access to all the special features of iPhone prouducts

Modded Game Gear becomes portable home for N64 (video)

It may or may not actually be the most compact Nintendo 64 we've ever seen, but even if it's holding down the second spot, you can't knock the ingenuity here. Crafted by one Evil Nod, the self-proclaimed N Gear 64 is little more than an N64 console tucked, shoved and crammed inside a Sega Game Gear enclosure. Best of all, the modder somehow stuffed an N64 controller in there too, yet still left all of the original markings for nostalgia's sake. Head on past the jump for a video of it in action, or tap that source link to learn more about the build process. Riveting stuff, we tell ya.

Apple Goes on the Offensive

CUPERTINO, Calif. — Many expected a mea culpa from Steven P. Jobs, Apple’s chief executive. Instead, he turned the iPhone 4’s antenna problems into a marketing event on Friday.

Raymond M. Jones/The New York Times

The so-called iPhone “death grip.”

At a news conference at Apple’s headquarters here, Mr. Jobs acknowledged that there were issues with the antenna, which wraps around the outside of the device.
But he insisted that the problems, which can result in dropped calls when the device is held a certain way, affect all smartphones — a claim that was challenged by some Apple competitors. And he accused the news media of exaggerating the scope of the issue, saying customers and reviewers were thrilled with the new phone.
“This has been blown so out of proportion that it is incredible,” he said.
Mr. Jobs said that to put the controversy behind it, Apple would give free bumpers — cases that wrap around the rim of the phone and seem to reduce the problem of dropped calls — to all iPhone 4 buyers who want them.

18th Century Ship Discovered in World Trade Center Construction Site

In the middle of construction work for the new World Trade Center on Tuesday, those excavating the site for the planned underground vehicle security center encountered a vehicle that had definitely not been given proper authorization to be there. Or if it had, it was over 200 years ago, and it’s probably lost clearance by now.
Excavators working at the site found, deep underground, what the New York Times describes as “a row of sturdy, upright wood timbers, regularly spaced, sticking out of a briny gray muck flecked with oyster shells.” As the unearthing continued, it became clear that this was most definitely a full-fledged ship, preserved 20 to 30 feet underground and undisturbed for a couple centuries.
As remarkable as this discovery was (the last similar find was back in 1982, when a cargo ship from the same era was discovered under Water Street), it is also an extremely delicate one. Had the weather not been so dreary and rainy, the ship would have started to deteriorate instantly from sun exposure.
So as archeologists and scholars clamored to the site, time was against them. Not only could the sun come out at any moment to start senselessly destroying the old vessel, but construction could not be stopped just for the find. Scientists and construction workers were both racing to get their work done as fast as possible in the same pit, trying not to disturb one another:

Apple Tried To Buy Palm Before HP Won The Bidding War -- And RIM Completely Blew The Deal

The race to buy Palm earlier this year was fast and hot, with the company's bankers contacting 16 companies about the deal, including five serious potential suitors.
HP won the bake-off, acquiring Palm for $1.2 billion in late April.
But other companies involved in the talks included Silicon Valley's increasingly competitive rivals, Apple and Google, as well as BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, we have learned from a source familiar with the negotiations.
According to our discussions with this person:

• Apple was mostly interested in Palm's huge library of intellectual property and patents (450+ patents on file, another 400+ applications on file). And unlike some other bidders, Apple even seemed committed to funding Palm's operations, perhaps to challenge RIM's dominance in the keyboarded segment of the smartphone industry, our source says. (There's a bunch of problems with this idea, such as the idea of Apple supporting two rival app platforms, but that's what this person says.) Ultimately, Apple didn't bid high enough, while HP offered an amount the board couldn't say no to. (Recall that Steve Jobs tried to buy Palm years ago in its first life, too, when it was owned by 3Com.)

• RIM basically had the deal in its hands and "had to work incredibly hard to blow it," our source recalls. RIM initially came in higher than HP, but HP upped its bid, our source says.

• Google, likely interested in Palm's intellectual property, supposedly only wanted it because Google thought Apple might want it. But Google supposedly didn't know Apple was actually bidding for Palm, so it didn't proceed.

• Nokia, bizarrely, wasn't anywhere near the deal. That may prove to be a stupid move, which we'll expand on later.

Microsoft Pays $3 to Set Bing as The Default Search Engine!

Microsoft is going all out and doing everything humanly possible to eat into Google’s search market share. Google dropped by 1% in the month of June as Yahoo and Bing gained .6% each. Though the drop cannot be directly tied to Bings aggressive marketing tactics just based on 1 months results, it would be interesting to see if the trend continues.
Microsoft is currently paying $3 to anyone who decide to set Bing as their default search engine. The company has tied up with DonorsChoose.org where users can donate the $3 they earn by switching to Bing.
So here is how it works..

Millennial Media: Apple OS Grows By 36 Percent In June, Android Up By 23 Percent

Mobile ad network Millennial Media, which claims that its network reaches 82 percent of 72 million mobile web users in the U.S., is reporting that globally, Apple OS requests are up by 36 percent in June, after dropping 33 percent in May.
Android requests continued to rise, and grew another 23 percent month over month. Android is now up a whopping 439% since January. iPad requests are also increasing at a fast rate, growing 206 percent in June, after rising 160 percent in May. RIM ad requests increased percent month-over-month, posting a 41 percent increase in requests since January.
In terms of ad impressions, Apple’s OS remained the leading Smartphone OS on Millennial’s network in June with a 56 percent share of impressions and an 8% growth month-over-month. RIM was the second largest Smartphone OS for the eleventh consecutive month, representing a 17 percent share of impressions for June, dropping by 2 percent from last month. Android’s OS remained the third largest operating system in for the fourth consecutive month, representing 11 percent of impressions, dropping by 4 percent from May.
When splitting ad impressions by device manufacturer, Apple had the largest share increase of 4 percent with approximately 30 percent share of impressions in June. Motorola moved into the number four position, passing HTC and LG, with the mobile company’s devices representing an 8 percent share of impressions for the month. This growth is largely driven by the Droid device, says Millennial.

Don’t Hack or Mod the Droid X, Unless You Want a Useless Paperweight

Droid X owners, beware: If you mod or tinker too much with your shiny new phone it could suddenly turn into a useless brick, according to reports surfacing from people who have attempted to hack, root, mod or tinker with the massive smartphone.
In the first place, the device is difficult to hack due to an encrypted bootloader. If you then change or compromise the bootloader, kernels or ROM of the device, it will become completely unusable. The only solution is to take it in to a Verizon store, where you will likely be charged for a fix since you voided the warranty.
The security features focus around a technology called “eFuse,” which is designed to verify you are using the versions of your bootloader, kernels and ROM. If this check fails, the bootloader is permanently corrupted, making your Droid X useless.
You can find a more detailed explanation of how this technology works on the My Droid World forums, but it boils down to this: Motorola doesn’t want you hacking your phone, even though you purchased the device and it’s legally yours.
If you buy a new Droid X phone and intend to hack it, tread lightly. Otherwise, your expensive smartphone might become about as useful as a paperweight.

BP shares rise after crude leak stopped

(Reuters) - U.S.-listed shares of BP Plc (BP.L) (BP.N) jumped 7.6 percent on Thursday after a company executive said no oil was leaking from its blown-out well into the Gulf of Mexico for the first time since late April.
Kent Wells, BP's senior vice president of exploration and production, told a media briefing that a new cap had completely shut in the flow of crude oil while the company conducts a critical pressure test on the stricken well.
Investors are closely watching the company's efforts to stop the crude flow, which has caused the worst U.S. environmental disaster. BP's setbacks and progress in recent weeks have caused big swings in the stock price.
BP shares ended at $38.92, up $2.74, on the New York Stock Exchange. After the close of regular trading, the company's stock rose further to $39.15.
News that the crude stopped flowing also gave a lift to other so-called "spill stocks."
Shares of Anadarko Petroleum Corp (APC.N), a U.S. oil and gas company that owns a 25 percent stake in the ruptured well ended 3.2 percent higher at $49.08. U.S.-listed shares of Transocean (RIGN.VX) (RIG.N), which owned the rig that sank in the April 20 accident, ended the session up 4.5 percent at $54.70.
(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch in New York and Anna Driver in Houston; Editing by Kenneth Barry and Steve Orlofsky)

Thai Team Wins Imagine Cup

Microsoft Sponsors Eighth Annual Student Technology Festival

Team Skeek from Thailand won top honors at last week's Imagine Cup Worldwide Finals in Warsaw. More than 325,000 students from around the world participated in the eighth annual Imagine Cup, a competition sponsored by Microsoft Corp. that challenges high-school and college students to create technology solutions for the world's toughest problems.

The awards ceremony capped the weeklong Imagine Cup World Festival, where students demonstrated their projects and competed for cash prizes totaling $240,000 through five competition categories and six achievement awards.

"These student projects are sophisticated technology accomplishments that highlight the incredible things that can happen when inspired ideas and the will to make them happen come together," said Jean-Philippe Courtois, president of Microsoft International, in announcing the awards. "These students should make us all proud, as they are taking concrete steps to help others and make our world a better place. With their passion and the assistance of technology, these young adults can and will affect the future."

Team Skeek won the $25,000 grand prize in the software design category for its project, eyeFeel, which lets the hearing impaired communicate with other people through an augmented-reality environment.
According to Microsoft, this year's projects concentrated mainly on education, healthcare and the environment. Competition categories were Digital Media, Embedded Development, Game Design, IT Challenge and Software Design. In addition, there were six achievement awards categories: Envisioning 2020 Award, Interoperability Award, Next Generation Web Award, Touch & Tablet Accessibility Award, Windows Phone 7 "Rockstar" Award and Windows Internet Explorer 8 Award.
The Imagine Cup began in 2003 with 1,000 student participants and has grown to become the premier student technology competition worldwide.

Facebook Preparing To Announce 500 Million Users

Facebook is about to announce that they’ve hit 500 million users — a milestone that cements (as if it hadn’t already) the site’s status as one of the web’s biggest successes ever. Of course, at Facebook’s growth trajectory it hasn’t been a matter of if the social network would be hitting 500 million, but when it would (in fact, the movie poster for the upcoming movie The Social Network uses the 500 million stat in its tagline). Still, it’s finally about to become official. So how do we know?