Crazy Guide to the Internet

Back in September 2007 Mozilla decided to break their email client, called Thunderbird, away from the browser and create a separate subsidiary for it. Up until now the new subsidiary has been called MailCo, but today it officially received the name of Mozilla Messaging. I believe the new name of the subsidiary is a good indication that Thunderbird will evolve into more than just an email application.

David Ascher, the CEO of Mozilla Messaging, has shed some light on the direction that the new subsidiary will be going as they push forward. In Thunderbird 3 they hope to provide an integrated calendar based on the Lightning add-on, add better search capabilities, easier configuration, and enhance the user interface. So it looks like the project might still be alive after all, but what’s expected of Thunderbird 3 makes it sound like it should really be called Thunderbird 2.5.

From the sounds of it the future of Thunderbird will not revolve solely around email. They want to expand into instant messaging, SMS, and possibly even VoIP:

It is worthwhile considering what the right user experience could be for someone using multiple email addresses, multiple instant messaging systems, IRC, reading and writing on blogs, using VoIP, SMS, and the like. What parts of those interactions make sense to integrate, and where? I don’t believe that stuffing all of those communication models inside of one application is the right answer.

We’ll be keeping a close eye on Mozilla Messaging as they move forward, and will definitely watch for improvements to Thunderbird.

David Ascher’s Blog [via Webware]

Copyright © 2008 CyberNet | CyberNet Forum | Learn Firefox

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Original post by Sanchit

The Gamers Developer Conference (GDC) 2008 began yesterday, and it’s been interesting to see some of the announcements that have come out of the conference so far. As you may have noticed, gaming (which was already huge) is creeping into our every day web activities more and more, on a more complex level. And by “more complex” I mean that it’s more integrated.

Today, we hear of Avatar Reality’s upcoming launch of an MMVW called Blue Mars. Those at GDC 2008 get a sneak preview of the virtual world, and you Mashable readers get a bit of a sneak preview as well. The graphics are probably the most noteworthy aspect of Blue Mars, especially at this stage of the game’s life, but equally as important are the platform options Avatar Reality will be extending to third-party developers for creating games of their own.

From the looks of it, Blue Mars will be along the lines of Second Life or Sony Home, where individuals can create realistic representations of things that could occur in real life (shopping, home decor). It could be right up the alley for retailers and brands that would like additional options for integrated online marketing campaigns. I’ll admit, I’ll be anxiously awaiting the arrival of Blue Mars so I can try it out comparatively, though it won’t be available to the public until after Spore is scheduled to actually be released. We’ll see how much free time I have left after that!

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Now that social networks have managed to get users to create all sorts of content and share personal preferences about themselves concerning things like favorite movies, books and songs, we’re seeing a lot more networks looking to leverage that willingness to contribute to collective knowledge about big media, mainly for recommendation purposes.

And as those established social networks move to make their content more accessible by third parties, there have been a number of search tools that can do this in a more direct manner, essentially removing the necessity to build up an entirely new network, such as Delver has done. Entirely new networks are still being built, however, and blippr is the latest to do just this. The new network is currently in private beta, but Blippr has extended a couple thousand invites for you to use. Click here to get an invite code.

At first glance, Blippr appears to be your typical social media recommendation site, and is laid out a little bit like eSnips Social DNA. You can follow users that are similar to you, and search for recommendations on media that you’d like to learn more about. So far, one of the best features on Blippr is its bookmarking tool, which lets you add blips to various lists, such as your queue, your to-do list, or a number of custom lists you can create for yourself.

It’s important to note here that Blippr has described an intriguing plan for expanding on its core service, and it looks to be quite integrated with your existing social utility efforts and personal uses for accessing various sites on the web. Instead of merely adding a “Buy here” link that takes you to an Amazon page, Blippr wants to use these lists you’ve created to help you take action. So there will also be options for getting show times or buying movie tickets for a movie you’ve found a review on, or downloading a track, or even adding a movie to your Netflix queue.

Having such an action-oriented aspect to the site is one of its most powerful features, if it can be executed correctly. It speaks to the potential of having more shared data according to your personal preferences being used for action items across the web, and that’s something that aligns with the core concept of Data Portability, and will eventually change the way in which the web is used.

Now that I’ve gotten you all excited about that, I’m sad to say that these options aren’t yet available on Blippr, nor is the ability to tap into your social sphere/graph/whatever across MySpace, Facebook, etc. to get recommendations from existing friends. These will come later, as Blippr moves into public beta. One thing that doesn’t seem to be part of Blippr’s plan is the inclusion of people recommendations. I know that finding like-minded users is inherent in the typical activity seen throughout the site, but layering it in wouldn’t hurt, especially as the network grows, and incorporates existing social graph data.

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Think Digg looks good? Check out Newspond. It’s in another league, folks.

No, it definitely does not have millions upon millions of users to give it strength and vigor. Newspond is a very young thing, officially launching today. But boy is she pretty. And a nice face may just give her a swift push to superstardom.

Okay, maybe not superstardom right yet. Definitely stardom, though. Give it a few months. With the right mix of blogospheric press and grassroots publicity, this thing could be swimming among the giants of news aggregation in no time. Seriously. I mean that.

Because…well…look at it. Need I point out the obvious? The place is gorgeous. Top to bottom. Yes, yes, it’s so thoroughly Mac-like, you could very easily question whether this was created somewhere deep inside the elegant craft house that is Infinite Loop, Cupertino. And Apple’s fetish with curves and gloss may not appeal to all. But in Newspond’s case, a fetching physique such as this may help it greatly with its PR efforts.

Furthermore, Newspond operates with the kind of precision that would typically only be found when dealing with desktop-quality applications. Looks are looks, after all. The question is, does it work well? Answer: Yep. Whether you’re managing the front page menu or reading comments, Newspond works in a way that - and I have no hesitation in saying this whatsoever - “just works.” Just works really, really well.

The site wows you with its behaviors and the efficiency with which it handles information. The screenshots here simply do not do it justice. Pay the site a visit. Spend a minute looking around. Two minutes, if need be. You’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.

The way in which like-minded stories and sources are grouped together in comprehensive lists is hugely convenient, too. Everything is superbly organized. And the way in which menus and sub-menus function and correlate with one another is nothing short of impressive. I’ll say it once more. Newspond is top-notch. Through and through.

As far as content is concerned, Newspond is, as I determined earlier, not the most abundant treasure trove of links yet. Digg, Reddit, etc., will give you way more in terms of the sheer volume of activity. But Newspond has its own unique spin on aggregation methodology that it truly manages hold its own rather well. And to be honest, for a first-day launch (granted, the service has been many months in the making; its creators have explained that the comment system alone required half a year’s attention) the thing is off to a phenomenal start. Only time will tell whether it can join the industry best in member numbers, but if any freshman has a shot, Newspond is it.

Message to Kevin Rose, Jay Adelson and the rest at Digg: Watch out. Newspond has got you trumped as far as appearances are concerned, and may soon be sitting in your rear view if it so happens to be touched by the so-called iPod effect.

I honestly never imagined that I’d be wooed by any other news aggregator since Digg came along, but now I don’t know what to think, except, wow.

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Xuqa (now known as Peanut Labs) has quite a history on the web, and has changed its game plan with some pretty nimble moves, in response to the changing landscape of the web as we know it. It looks like its most recent change, from a social network to a service that helps other social networks monetize their user bases, has paid off. Peanut Labs has just announced a $3.2 million Series A round of funding from Leap Frog and BV Capital.

Boasting a seven-figure revenue, Peanut Labs will be quick to tell you that it has eaten its own dog food, and “look how well it works!” As we noted in previous coverage of Peanut Labs, the company’s first hand experience, as well as its knowledge in integrated arenas of our web culture, is really the company’s claim to fame. In providing a broader look at a network’s users through integrated market research surveys, and then turning that into a set of recommendations that will enable the network to turn a profit, Peanut Labs has created a niche all its own.

With consolidated approaches to metrics and advertising methods, among other things, we’re sure to see more of these all-encompassing “consulting” tools emerge in the coming months.

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Fusu could be the biggest thing since sliced bread. Or, it could be a Sam Bowie-like flop (Google it folks). But the company is going after what could be a huge market, allowing anyone to “buy stock” and speculate in premium domain names.

Here’s the basic idea: domain name speculation has typically been an all-or-nothing game. You own a great domain name, but until someone buys it, there is no way to gain any liquidity. Essentially, you’re on the hook for whatever you paid until you can find a buyer. Further, if you’ve ever inquired about one of the tens of millions domains that speculators currently hold, you’ve probably come to realize that prices can be fairly arbitrary.

Enter Fusu, which publicly launches today and allows domain owners to sell up to 45% of their names to investors. It starts with an “Initial Domain Offering” (IDO), the equivalent to an IPO on Wall Street. Investors buy up shares, and that money goes directly to the domain owner. From there, the shares are owned by individual investors, who can then buy and sell them at an agreed on price, which in turn changes the valuation of the domain name. Once the domain owner sells the domain (gets acquired) shareholders get the acquisition price – presumably higher than the current market value that has been set by the Fusu trading community. Similar to an online brokerage account, Fusu provides tools for tracking your investments and getting quotes for domain names.

In theory, this is brilliant for a few reasons. First, domain owners can immediately get cash for their holdings. Second, rather than arbitrary domain pricing, values are set by a marketplace of buyers and sellers. Third, there is a finite amount of good dotcom names in the world, and with such scarcity, the value is likely to continue to go up over time. This gives small investors a chance to get in on the action, versus having to shell out tens of thousands (or more) for premium domain names.

In practice, Fusu has some significant challenges ahead of it. Much like any online marketplace, it will need a critical mass of buyers and sellers in order to set legitimate market values. Until it gets that critical mass, investors could essentially be stuck holding their shares indefinitely, waiting either for more buyers to come along that they can trade with, or for the domain owner to find an acquirer. That said, given the scarcity issue, it’s hard not to be bullish on the long-term prospect of domain investing (as annoying as such practices might be to people who just want a good name for a site they’re actually building!).

If it is successful, Fusu could be an enormously profitable company. They are both the investment bank and the exchange in this case, collecting 1% on the “IDO” and 1% on all transactions that take place in the after-market.

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When I first noticed a spam message in my Gmail account I actually thought it was a genuine message simply because I was so used to Gmail’s antispam filters working so well. From my previous experience, zero spam passed through Gmail’s protection, and other users I’ve talked to have had similar experiences as well.

Now, some friends have called and told me that their Gmail accounts are filled with spam. We’re not talking one or two spam messages; we’re talking dozens of them. Some are also reporting that the overall number of spam messages which have been recognized by Gmail as spam and put in the spam folder has also increased significantly.

Unfortunately, I personally can now confirm these reports. I’m looking at a Gmail inbox full of spam; the screenshot below is just a part of it, since I’ve been deleting spam manually entire morning.

Of course, I’m aware that we’re talking about a small set of users here - me and a couple of friends and coworkers - but since Gmail was so efficient in battling spam so far, even tiny incidents like these seem significant. I’m interested in your experiences, our dear readers; is Gmail’s spam protection still working good for you, or is it leaking? Kindly respond in the comments.

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Verizon Wireless just launched their unlimited calling plans in the United States starting at $99.99 where subscribers pay one flat rate to place and receive unlimited calls.  All in all, it’s not THAT great of a deal, but there are some benefits to what they are offering. Below is the graph which outlines the three unlimited plans available and the prices for each:

Notice that the basic plan includes unlimited calling for $99.99 but doesn’t include messaging, and data sent or received will cost $1.99 per MB. Then you move up to the Select Plan for $119.99 which includes the unlimited messaging and calling to anyone on any network in the U.S., but data sent or received is still $1.99 per MB. Many of you would probably want the unlimited data which would end up costing you $139.99 per month. When you compare that to Sprint’s unlimited plan which includes Web, email and messaging for $119.99 (although the plan is not available everywhere), Verizon’s Premium Plan doesn’t sound so great.

We mentioned that there are some benefits to what Verizon is offering, and the biggest is simply that these unlimited plans really simplify pricing plans and could influence other carriers to simplify their plans as well.  Analyst Craig Moffett says that this is a blow to confusing pricing plans. He says it’s like when Sprint introduced flat-rate long distance calling in the 90’s for landline phones and shortly after, everybody else followed. While Verizon’s offer isn’t THAT great, it’s a step in the right direction towards easier plans for consumers to choose from.

If some of you were asked to come up with the perfect plan, what would it include? Our guess, knowing our readers, is that it would probably consist of unlimited data but limited calling minutes.  For Ryan and I, it seems as though we use our phones more for data than we do for calling and talking each month, so a limited or no data plan with unlimited calling wouldn’t serve us well. What Verizon is offering would be beneficial to businessmen and women who need to be on the phone for long periods of time each day, but for the frequent web user, the plans aren’t ideal.

For more details about the plans, we recommend checking out Verizon’s website.

Source: Engadget

Copyright © 2008 CyberNet | CyberNet Forum | Learn Firefox

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Original post by Sanchit

A lot of websites have news sections where company employees are tasked with writing about the latest industry news as well as news from within the company itself.

Sometimes the news is published because the writer is passionate about the subject and sometimes it is churned out by somebody who seems to be bored by the industry.

It looks like all those acquisitions in the past year paid off. European professional social network Xing is reporting 5 million registered members worldwide, and significant growth in paid subscribers. The strongest growth, in fact, over the entire history of the company. With revenues reaching $28.74 million for the 2007 fiscal year, Xing is skipping all the way to the bank.

So what are these grand numbers being attributed to? Aside from snatching up business-oriented social networks across Europe, Xing has also spent a good portion of 2007 expanding its eCommerce and Advertising segments, which have enabled Xing to layer in two additional streams of revenue. As networks like News Corp. begin to launch their own centralized advertising networks, it’s clear that having a comprehensive ad network of one’s own is an option that is being readily explored in hopes of retaining as much of that profit as possible.

eCommerce is another segment that makes sense for the demographic that Xing reaches out to, and layers in nicely with the other action-oriented aspects of the network that Xing has been improving in the past year as well. Providing more tools for the self-promotion of oneself has seemingly been central to Xing’s improvement to-do list, so incorporating more ways in which to have a farther reach is evident in such changes mandated by Xing, including the network’s participation in Open Social.

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