Category: Internet

Traditionally, Opera Mini has been available as a Java software intended to run on a large range of phones. However, Opera Software has also been working hard to port it to as many different platforms as possible. Opera Mini 5 already supports Blackberry and native Android and iPhone apps are under development. The only major mobile phone OS which Opera had been missing out on is Windows Mobile. However, that is no longer the case as Opera has just launched a native version of Opera Mini 5 beta for Windows Mobile 5- and 6-based handsets.

Opera Mini for Windows Mobile will include all the features we have come to expect from Opera Mini including tabbed browsing, visual speed dials, password manager, download manager, touchscreen support and synchronization. The biggest advantage of Opera Mini is speed. Each of the pages are compressed and rendered at Opera’s servers. Opera claims that it can reduce the size of webpages by upto 90%. This results in a significant speed boost and can even reduce your bandwidth bills.

By integrating Opera Mini with the Windows Mobile platform, Opera Software is hoping to deliver an optimized version of the popular browser that will dramatically improve performance and the overall user experience. “Windows Mobile deserves a mobile browser that looks better, handles better and delivers better than the default browser,” said Dag Olav Norem, Vice President of Products, Opera Software.

You can download Opera Mini for Windows Mobile by browsing to m.opera.com/next from your mobile phone. Alternatively, you can download it to your computer from opera.com/mini/next/.

Don’t miss these Related Posts:

• Opera Mini Coming to an iPhone Near You – Will Be Demoed in Mobile World Congress
• Opera Mini 5 and Opera Mobile Beta Now Available For Download
• Opera Mini 5 Introduces Tabbed Browsing and Touchscreen Navigation
• HTC Launches HTC HD Mini With Windows Mobile 6.5.3
• Run Opera Mini 5 On Your Desktop

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The new TiVo Premiere is like dinosaurs who got upgraded with laser jetpacks: Fancier, but potentially outmoded in a world populated by tons of ninjas with nuclear shuriken.

I saved up enough money to buy the first-generation TiVo—one of the Philips models, I think—when I was still in high school, and mostly used it to record episodes of Buffy and Batman the Animated Series scattered all over the vast expanse of cable television. Oh yeah, and skip commercials. No commercials, and Batman whenever I wanted? This is the future of TV, I was pretty sure.

Which turned out to be true. Now, cable companies (or FiOS or U-Verse) offer DVR services built right into your set-top box, for free, or for a few bucks a month. While the interface and experience they offer isn’t as nice as TiVo’s, most people aren’t willing to drop $300 to $500 on a box with an additional monthly fee for a slightly prettier, more robust experience. They’re happy with the (nearly free) basics: fast-forwarding through commercials, and saving shows to watch them later. That’s 90 percent of what most people want out of DVR, so for them the TiVo price is too high: Another box, another wad of cash, another subscription.

Having convinced the entire industry that its original idea was a really good one, the burden on TiVo this time around was to show us what came next. What could it be? A new cable tuner that embraced technology for cableco-provided VOD and other services? A multi-room system with a big box and many skinny satellite boxes connected by Wi-Fi? Perhaps a box with integrated Wi-Fi or maybe even integrated Powerline networking?

Though TiVo ducked these possibilities—in some cases because the tech just isn’t ready, in some cases because the cost would go up—they did overhaul the user interface. Video remains visible while you are poking around all the menus, rich metadata is now available at the touch of a button while you’re watching, and searches for a single show now list multiple sources including Netflix and other third-party VOD services that come with the system. There’s also a new remote with a QWERTY keyboard.

Though these steps make the Premiere a much improved experience over its predecessors, it only demonstrates the point: Netflix streaming, Amazon VOD, even a QWERTY remote, are all being commoditized. Samsung, Vizio and others are building software right into their TVs or Blu-ray players that tap all of those services, delivering video, photos and news from a multitude of sources (and at least in Vizio’s case) in a pretty damn good interface. Free. LG’s got a Blu-ray player with a hard drive now. Where do you think that’s going? Combined with that free DVR from the cable company, there’s not a lot of room for TiVo there. Hell, the TVs even have built-in Wi-Fi.

That’s not to mention the ultimate DVR: the internet. TiVo is freeing users more and more from the constraints of network programming schedule, the ability to watch the shows whenever I want to. But it’s freedom inside the box. With Hulu, FanCast, or BitTorrent, I can watch shows on just about any screen I want to. My laptop, TV, or my phone. And even the ability to search one show and get multiple sources is a hallmark of Boxee, another free app for PCs, Macs and certain Linux boxes like Apple TV.

Sure, the catalogs of many services aren’t as complete, the “listings” can get messy and Hulu yanks down shows I like on occasion, but this is where the future of television really is. Any screen, any time. Without significant development in the box-free world, TiVo can only be a stopgap, really.

The new TiVo’s billing itself as the one true set-top box, and it does embrace the internet in some ways—the overture made to third-party apps development shows that TiVo knows the position its in. But it’s fundamentally the same TiVo it’s always been. That’s painfully clear when you check out the site for Premiere, and then watch this video demoing the latest Boxee, which is fundamentally tied to the internet. Which one looks more like the present to you (annoying narrator aside)?

TiVo isn’t going anywhere yet, just like the dinosaurs who hung around after that meteor threw a bunch of dust into the sky. They couldn’t figure out how to use their laser jetpacks to clear out the debris, so their days were just numbered. I kinda hope they do though.

Yesterday, we posted an item about a reader who discovered that when a Comcast brochure promised “unlimited usage” of high-speed Internet, it in fact meant “limited, and you will lose service for a year if you go over again.” After the story hit the site, you would have expected Comcast to make sure that everyone at the company was on board about the exact definition of “unlimited,” but apparently not.

Today, we received an e-mail from Consumerist reader Greg, who decided to do a little investigating of his own on the matter.

He logged onto the Comcast site and began a chat session (screengrab below) with one of the customer service reps, who at first told him that there “is no limit on the amount of date you upload or download each month. It really depends on the memory space of your computer.”

But after mentioning that he was looking at our story about the 250GB cap, the CSR suddenly remembered that there is a limit to the monthly usage.

While we don’t have an answer as to why the online CSRs don’t know the difference between “unlimited” and “limited,” we did get this statement regarding the misleading brochure from Bill Watson, Comcast’s VP and General Manager for Charleston:

We had an error in how our Internet service was described in customer notifications in Charleston, SC and Augusta, GA. We are sending a corrected notice to our customers in these markets right away. We appreciated finding out about this error quickly, and we apologize for any confusion it may have caused. We believe that this is an isolated incident, but we are conducting a thorough audit of our marketing materials to be certain they are accurate.

Gregory T. Huang wrote:

Portland, OR-based ShopIgniter, a startup working to unify the worlds of e-commerce and social media, has raised $3 million in Series A funding led by Seattle-based Madrona Venture Group. As part of the deal, former Madrona venture partner Matt Compton has joined ShopIgniter as CEO.

ShopIgniter was founded in 2008 by Alan Wizemann, Dan Warner, and Jason Glover. Their idea was to greatly extend online retail capabilities by offering a customizable e-commerce software platform. By adding some social-media features, the company found that “customers could create online stores that self-generated traffic,” Wizemann said in a statement.

The new VC funds will be used to accelerate sales and marketing, and to build out the company’s product into both social websites and the physical retail experience. ShopIgniter’s software enables retailers, wholesalers, and brands to do things like sell products through Facebook, find customers through Twitter, and manage their online stores through a simple Web interface.

One interesting angle is that Madrona co-founder and managing director Tom Alberg is leading the investment and will join the ShopIgniter board. This is Alberg’s first new board position in some time. He also serves on the board of directors at Impinj, SinglePoint, Physware, Mercent, and—oh yeah—Amazon.com. (See this in-depth interview with Alberg in Xconomy last year.)

“We are investing in ShopIgniter because its flexible Web services based platform significantly improves the ability of retailers to better manage and present their Web store to customers,” Alberg said in a statement. “The founders have deep domain expertise and the company has built a platform that incorporates new opportunities for retailers to serve and reach customers through social networks and other innovative features.”

Compton, an Oregon native and former Yahoo exec, has helped Madrona evaluate more than 100 early-stage companies in Oregon. Meanwhile, you have to figure Amazon will keep a very close eye on this baby, thanks in no small part to Alberg.

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The New York Times is reporting that Viacom plans to pull its Comedy Central programming from Hulu next week because it can’t reach an agreement with the video site on compensation. In a post today on its blog, a Hulu executive notes that Hulu was “unable to secure the rights to extend these shows,” and that they’ll be gone as of 11:59 pm PST next Tuesday, March 9th. After that, you can continue watching them on TheDailyShow.com and ColbertNation.com.

“A Fond Farewell” [Hulu]
“Viacom Will Take ‘Daily Show,’ ‘Colbert’ Off Hulu” [New York Times] (Thanks to Michael!)

This video infographic (vinfografic?) by Jesse Thomas runs through a boatload of stats on the internet and just how much happens on it every day. And man, Facebook is huge, guys. [Vimeo via The Daily What]

Two days after a devastating earthquake hit Chile, Springfield resident Carrie Martinez is still trying to track down friends and relatives.

Martinez, who grew up in Chatham, spent about seven years in Chile between 1999 and 2007. Her ex-husband, Luis, is safe in Santiago, but there are still some people she hasn’t heard from.

“It’s frustrating,” Martinez said. “Every time I call over there, there’s no line available. The only way I can get through is calling a home phone or business phone. If you call a cell phone, the call will not go through.”

Saturday’s 8.8 magnitude quake was centered in the town of Concepcion, about 270 miles from Santiago. Like several people in the Springfield area, Martinez says communication has been hit-and-miss.

Martinez said the initial contact with her ex-husband was through Facebook. She was able to get a message to friends in Argentina, who managed to get through on Luis’ cell phone. Later, Luis called his family in Chatham.

“He explained that there was a boat at the port that got thrown all the way up (on the beach). There were several houses along the water that were also destroyed,” Martinez said.

Veronica Espina, a professor at UIS who grew up in Chile, also has ties to Santiago.

“I would say 90 percent of my family lives in Santiago. If it wasn’t for Facebook, I would be panicking,” Espina said. “I’ve heard from sisters, cousins and aunties, my family is well.”

Espina also has a few family members in Concepcion.

“I was really worried about them, but then I remembered that in February, people leave the city to vacation. They were someplace else, so they are OK,” Espina said.

Espina said some buildings in Santiago were damaged by the quake, and an unknown number of smaller villages were heavily damaged. Buildings in those communities were of traditional adobe construction, and many collapsed when the quake hit.

“(Friends and family members) heard that a couple of towns know for their crafts and artisan markets are completely gone. They don’t exist anymore because of the adobe construction. That’s pretty horrible.”

Yarela Beltran-Osgood returned in January from a month-long visit to several cities in Chile.

Beltran-Osgood was born in Chile in 1977 and grew up in Concepcion.

She attended Springfield High School for two years as a foreign exchange student and graduated in 1996. During that time, she met the man who would become her husband, Stephen Osgood.

“We have been communicating the best we can with family and friends through Facebook,” she said. “Cell phones and land lines are down, and the internet is intermittent. We’ll be talking one minute through Facebook, and the next minute they are gone.”

Beltran-Osgood said she still hasn’t heard from many of her friends who live in the Concepción area.

“We do not know a whole lot of details of how the damage has affected our family and friends,” she said. “My parents still own a house in Concepción and we are unsure the condition of the house. Two of my cousins live in multi-story apartment buildings in Santiago, the capital. Their buildings have cracks in the walls.”

John Reynolds can be reached at 788-1524. Rhys Saunders can be reached at 788-1521.

Area couple arrived in Chile only hours before quake

Springfield native Doug Closter and his wife, Noemi, arrived in Santiago, Chile, less than 12 hours before Saturday’s devastating earthquake.

The couple had boarded a bus to Vina del Mar, north of the quake’s epicenter near the city of Concepcion, before the disaster struck, said Closter’s mother, Kay Closter of Springfield.

“They were awakened by things falling off the walls and vases were breaking,” Kay Closter said. “Most of the damage where they were consisted of cracked walls and broken glass.”

Perhaps even more fortunate is the fact that Doug Closter, 27, is no stranger to crisis situations.

The 2001 Pleasant Plains High School graduate served three tours of duty in Iraq with the U.S. Marine Corps.

“He is taking it in stride,” Kay Closter said. “He’s probably thinking, ‘I’ve been in much worse situations than this.’”

Closter says communication with her son has been limited, but, most importantly, she knows he and Noemi are OK.

Doug Closter was to start school next week in Vina del Mar as part of the international business studies program at San Diego State University.

Kay Closter found out about the earthquake about 4 a.m. Saturday, after her sister saw it on the news.

“We felt very helpless. You don’t know what to do. We didn’t know exactly where he was, we just knew he was in Chile,” Kay Closter said.

The family heard from Doug and Noemi via email about 10 a.m. Saturday.

“The apartment where they are has very limited water. (On Saturday) there was no food and water, but they had power and gas,” Kay Closter said.

Though she’s accustomed to the worry that accompanies military deployments, Kay Closter said natural disasters are a different fear all together.

“Even though you breath a sigh of relief when hear from them, you don’t know what the aftershocks are going to bring,” she said. “That’s still something that’s out of your control, so you just have to trust them and trust God and trust their instincts.

“He always seems to pull through.”

Want to help?

The Salvation Army has established an easy way for people to donate money to help the earthquake victims in Chile.

People who want to help can send a $10 donation by texting the word “CHILE” to 52000 via a mobile phone. The donation will appear as a charge on their phone bill.

The Salvation Army has had a presence in Chile since 1909. It offers social and services including hospitals, schools for impoverished children, and adult rehabilitation.

Verizon Wireless also has waived all calling fees for customers trying to reach loved ones in Chile. Additionally, the company is working with international relief organizations to allow people to donate money through their cellular phones.

To make a $10 donation to Habitat for Humanity, text the word “CHILE” to 25383; to make a $10 donation to World Vision, text the word “CHILE” to 20222.

Read the original article from The State Journal-Register.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

As a proud member of the 225,000+ strong Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament Facebook group, it is nice to see group creator Mr. Christopher White going to Ottawa to speak at a roundtable about our democratic process.

The following is Chris’ publicly posted introduction and a version of his prepared text for the roundtable. While I may not agree with everything Chris is saying, I feel it is important enough to repost it here for further public discussion. If we are to make democracy in Canada working better again, we have to be able and ready to roll up our selves to start finding better ways to do things.

*******

Message from Christopher White (click here for full discussion thread “ADMIN UPDATE: My opening statements for March 2nd Ottawa roundtable” in Facebook group)

Hello all,

As some of you know, I am in Ottawa this evening, ready to present at a Liberal sponsored roundtable tomorrow morning (March 2nd). I’ve consulted with many of you and put together these statements to reflect what I think needs to be done to reenage Canadians with our democratic process. I couldn’t include everything, but the morning session will provide ample opportunity to bring up some of the other issues (such as recall legislation, senate reform, etc).

I’ll be tweaking the text a bit, but it should give you the gist of it. Enjoy!
—

I want to start by thanking the moderators for the opportunity to speak today. Before you sits three distinguished professors of political science and law, between them over a centennial of service, and me – the guy who started a Facebook group.

While I joke about it, I know that my presence helps to legitimize the role that new media can play in our politics, to say nothing of the countless hours dedicated by thousands of Canadians across the country over the past two months and the results we’ve seen. I cannot speak for all of them but I can speak from my own conscience, which has served me well up to this point.

I want to talk broadly about the relationship between the government and the people. I’ll start by saying that we are not in a democratic crisis. What we have is a structural democratic deficit and, as with any deficit, we need to make some tough choices that aren’t going to be popular with everyone but will hopefully makes things better in the long run.

Ask any Canadian and the vast majority will say it’s their “duty” to vote and yet the reality is that over the past 25 years, voter turnout has been in declined. In my both homes of Alberta and the Northwest Territories – I’ve got duel citizenship – half of eligible voters didn’t bother to cast a ballot in the 2008 election. This cannot simply be chalked up to apathy and indifference, it’s our collective failure to address the growing disconnect between people and our government.

Our elected Members of Parliament are no longer seen as representing their constituents. They are seen as a separate class, one that is accountable to their parties, which in turn are seen merely as mechanisms to win elections. Valid or not, this is the perception and it needs to be changed. The solution is two-fold: Canadians must be reengaged in macro, party-level politics while the government must recognize the important role of non-governmental organizations and social movements.

Let’s start with the political level. First, a quick disclaimer: legislative fixes alone won’t solve the problem. While we need concrete solutions, we can’t expect that changing policy will automatically pay off in terms of citizen engagement. Canadians need to be brought into the decision making process, consulted and kept in the loop, not force fed the party line or simply ignored. I’ve consulted with a broad spectrum of Canadians, online and in public forums. I’ve been in contact with Mps and senators from all parties, academics and activists and here’s a few of the ideas that have come up:

1)A Citizens Assembly on Electoral Reform: We’ve recently had two such assemblies in Canada, in Ontario and British Colombia and we can use these as models for a framework at the national level. In both cases regular Canadians were brought together to examine the electoral system and consider alternatives. When implemented, I want to see a concentrated effort on the part of the government to promote and disseminate the findings of the assembly. If a referendum is to be called, I want to see it as a straight majority, not a super-majority. Of all my proposals today, this is key and the one that has received near unanimous support from the Canadians I’ve had the priviledge of speaking with. I want all the politicians listening today to take the time to consider it, but sooner rather then later, declare whether you will works towards establishing an assembly.

2)Educate Canadians: Before I knew how our Canadian political system worked, I knew what it was like to be a bill on Capitol Hill. While the heritage minutes taught me that Superman is Canadian, I remain fuzzy on what goes on in this building. The internet is a cost effective way of providing basic education. A government funded “How Canada Works” site administered by an independent body such as elections Canada would be a good start. Nothing complicated, two-minute flash animations, quizes, virtual tours. We need a Citizenship for Canadians handbook, “Everything you wanted to know about Parliamentary Democracy but were afraid to ask”. I looked around for one, and while it may exist, the best I could find was a manual for new immigrants.

3)Strengthen the role of local associations and individual MPs: Political parties have routinely walked all over their local riding associations. Recently, we’ve seen this play out quite dramatically, but the appointment of candidates over local interests is a tradition shared by all parties. Stop it. We also need to strengthen the role and the voice of individual MPs, and one of the solutions is in how you treat your political opponents. When you pounce of every slip-up and take the low road, of course Mps are going to be kept on a short leash. You can also look at limiting the number of cabinet positions: it will save money and cramp the promotion oriented mentality that we in the public hear about. Nothing I’m mentioning here in new, but the fact that I need to remind you is proof that the issue has not yet been addressed seriously.

4)Access to Information: We need the act to be inclusive and open, with greater investment in resources to ensure prompt compliance with requests. The government needs to adopt a proactive online disclosure policy similar to the US stimulus spending package.

These recommendations alone will not engage Canadians, for that there is no blueprint. How do you legislate patriotism? You can’t, but you can foster dialogue and greater involvement by acknowledging our concerns. Do not interpret dissent as treason, embrace it. I can respect any politician who is capable to acknowledging their faults and that disagreement and compromise is necessary in the functioning our democracy.

People will, given the right impetus, organize themselves. We’ve seen that with the prorogation backlash and how it blossomed into a broader social movement. The opposition parties have benefited from this. I know I am sitting here today at a Liberal round table because I spoke out against the actions of Mr. Harper. Will you be as welcoming to those who speak out against Mr. Ignatieff? That will be a true test of leadership.

I want to wrap up with a few quick works about the fundamental role of the media. I remember a few years ago when Mr. Harper began vetting questions and in response, the reporters walked out. I was thrilled, but what happened after that? I don’t know. Was the policy changed or did the reporters quietly show up for work the next day?

Donna Morris, a dedicated CAPP member, took the initiative to contact Mary Welch of the Canadian Association of Journalists about the press restrictions imposed by Mr. Harper. She shared her frustrations but the assumption among the press was that Canadians don’t want to hear “whining”. Please, whine away. An injustice inflicted up the press is an injustice inflicted upon all Canadians. At the CAJ’s convention in Montreal, I want see a voluntary policy brought forward of No Questions, No Photos. The media is not the propaganda wing of any party. If they invite you to a photo op and refuse to take questions, you owe it to yourselves, your profession and the public to just walk away.

So, there you have it. I believe in Canada and I am proud that we are seen as a beacon of hope and prosperity in the world. The health of our democracy and our future depends on each of us, government, the public and the media, understanding our roles and responsibilities. We have an obligation to one another and to our nation and I am grateful for the opportunity to have played a small role in this dialogue today. Thank you.

***** THE END *****

Kempton: I wish Chris all the best in his trip to Ottawa. Chris’ trip reminded me of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), “a 1939 American drama film starring James Stewart and Jean Arthur, about one man’s effect on American politics”. Here is a scene from the film.

Filed under: Canada, Democracy, digital democracy, Digital-Revolution, ideasRevolution, insightful, Internet, people, politics