You’re apt to be disappointed, those of you who were secretly hoping for an over-the-top, preppies-gone-nasty legal battle between Facebook’s founders and the former Harvard classmates who claimed they filched their business plan.

The Facebook-ConnectU legal battle was tinged with Ivy League treachery, but it looks like we …

Source [The social]

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Last week I got a opportunity to meet with J.D. Heilprin, the founder and president of a new video service called Modern Feed. It’s a smart product, taking hosted video programming from a variety of sources and consolidating it into a single directory that’s curated by human beings. The entire experience revolves around a small navigator that sits atop your browser in its own frame. It lets you browse around playlists, search for your favorite shows, and jump around to various content providers without getting lost.

What makes the product noteworthy is that it’s taken some of the annoyances out of viewing professionally produced content on the Web. For example, if there are several places to get the same piece of content, the human curators, known as “feeders” go through and pick out the ideal one to send you to based on video quality, stream speed, and ease of use. It will also tell you how to get at the video if there are steps you need to take to get the video to begin playing. Each time you click to play a video you can preview this information before being jettisoned off-site. It’s a really nice touch.

Modern Feed programming listings contain multiple streams, so if you want to view a certain format you can go straight to the source. (click to enlarge)

Playlist management is also well thought out. You can subscribe to shows on a season pass, just as you would on a DVR. The newest shows end up in your queue and can be reordered. There’s also a designation between a regular playlist and one for iPhones, which contains any H.264 files that can be played on the device if you don’t feel like viewing on your PC. Viewing and browsing these clips requires the use of the specially designed iPhone site (i.modernfeed.com) and a Wi-Fi connection, but the implementation is quite beautiful. Heilprin says the designers took a page or two from Facebook’s iPhone app, and that they plan to make other device-optimized versions in the future.

At launch there are more than 25,000 programs in the directory. There’s a built-in search tool that does a great job at getting you to various shows. The real hook, however are the feeder-created categories, which are far more enjoyable to explore than simply browsing alphabetically. The feeders have created picks the like of iTunes with staff choices and hot lists of what users are watching the most. It makes the site very human and keeps you watching tons of videos from all over the place.

While Hulu might have gotten some real buzz for its convergence of video resources, Modern Feed is doing something far more massive. It’s lassoing content from everywhere. It’s doing what social aggregators like FriendFeed and SocialThing have done so well, which is putting all this information into one centralized location. The added benefit is that Modern Feed has made it exceptionally simple to use and incredibly useful if you’re thinking about ditching your cable provider.

When you're viewing a TV show in Modern Feed, you’ve options to jump back or go to other shows right in the tool bar that pops down. It's like channel surfing, minus the Television. (click to enlarge)

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Fore more visit Source: [webware]

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Rick Astley and Mr. Met: A match made in heaven?

(Credit: Sarah Harbin/CNET Networks)

The title of this post was inspired by Deadspin commenter BlastItBiggs.

After April Fool’s Day, it got horribly gauche to practice the art of “Rickrolling“–tricking people into watching the video for Rick Astley’…

Source [The social]

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For $2B, TPG Gets Sweet Terms From Washington Mutual >WM Last Update: 4/8/2008 3:39:17 PM By Marshall Eckblad Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES NEW YORK (Dow Jones)–The latest reported terms of Washington Mutual Inc.’s (WM) deal to raise $7 billion recommends private-equity cash is getting high-priced. Very expensive. Of the $7 billion in new securities that […] For more visit Source:www.investment-blog.net

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U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama appears in cartoon form on the logo of Chinese search engine Baidu.

(Credit: Baidu)

Chinese-language search engine Baidu has an unusual new mascot atop its home page: U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

A cartoon version of Obama is depicted next to a …

Source [The social]

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Futures Moderately Lower; Alcoa,AMD Eyed Last Update: 4/8/2008 6:34:27 AM DJIA Futures 12,561.0 -41.0 -0.3% S&P 500 Futures 1366.4 -5.8 -0.4% Nasdaq Futures 1860.3 -5.5 -0.3% Above are as of 0608 ET […] For more visit Source:www.investment-blog.net

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So far, Facebook Chat is indeed rolling out slowly. Of my 130-odd friends, only 5 show up Chat-ready, but more seem to be appearing as the hours tick by. At first, the limited list makes for an uncompelling experience, but as all Facebook users gain access, the experience will change. Imagine: stumbling across a old high school friend on Facebook and immediately engaging in conversation. (Or, worse, immediately finding all about your college ex’s wonderful new life.)

You'll know you have Facebook chat by this yellow notification.

(Credit: Lindsey Turrentine/CNET Networks)

The Facebook Chat Web app itself is easy and straightforward. Look to the bottom-right corner of an open Facebook browser window to see how many of your friends are on the web and available to chat. Click their names and begin typing. The most right-hand icon brings up your status window, where you can change your status to “offline” in order to avoid invites.

The Facebook Chat window shows up in the bottom-right corner of your browser.

(Credit: Lindsey Turrentine/CNET Networks)

Facebook Chat’s help page confirms the slow rollout: “We are currently running a pre-launch beta to a few networks to make sure that the product is ready to go. Once Facebook Chat is ready, we’ll release the feature to everyone on Facebook.” Even once Facebook Chat leaves beta, not everyone will have immediate access and some may never–currently, the Web app works only with World wide web Explorer 7.0, Firefox 2, and Safari 2 for Personal computer and Firefox 2, Safari 2, and Safari 3 for Mac.

The Facebook Chat pop-out window lets you keep chats active outside your main browser window.

(Credit: Lindsey Turrentine/CNET Networks)

If you’re in one of the early rollout Facebook networks (so far, Harvard seems to be one of them. Any others?) and want to chat with many friends simultaneously, you can take advantage of the “pop-out” Chat window, which opens a small, floating browser window to superior manage a lot of chatter. Unfortunately, however, the Web app only alerts you to new messages or conversations within its active browser window. There’s no sound to alert you to new messages, so you won’t see them until you pull up Facebook or your pop-out window. Nor can you block specific friends from starting chats, but Facebook says it’s working on that.

Additional small complaints include: no compatibility with other, third-party chat clients; no platform integration for outside developers; and no party-line chat. Still, I predict the success of Facebook Chat is all in the (healthy) network.

Fore more visit Source: [webware]

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Social-media site Imeem, which focuses on ad-supported music and video playlists, announced Monday that it has acquired Snocap, the music-licensing company founded by Napster creator Shawn Fanning. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Reports of the acquisition had first surfaced in February.

The deal is all about Snocap’s technology, as …

Source [The social]

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So you’re throwing open the windows and beating the winter blues out of the house. Spring cleaning is under way — why not do it in an eco-friendly fashion this season?

Many of the cleaning products found in the kitchen and lavatory are full of harsh chemicals that are toxic for you and your family plus the planet.

The Union of Concerned Scientists notes that most cleaners contain petroleum products, phosphates, phthalates, or chlorine. These ingredients are either nonrenewable resources, polluting to the environment, or harmful to our health. Bad news all around!

And frankly, they’re not necessary to get stuff clean. Our grandmothers kept the homefront spotless with good old-fashioned ingredients like baking soda, vinegar, lemon juice, borax, and plain soap. If you want a fancy scent, add a natural essential oil. Planet Green has a bunch of easy recipes to make your own green cleaners.

If you don’t have time to mix your own stuff, look for certified biodegradable products, such as Planet brand. The EcoLogo certification is a globally recognized environmental certification worth looking for on cleaning products too.

Seventh Generation has an excellent guide to getting the toxins out of your home, and this brand of papers and cleaners lists all of its product ingredients on its website.

Even eco-celeb Ed Begley Jr. has weighed in on green cleaning with his own line of products called Begley’s Best. The cleaners earned a Crade-to-Cradle certification, which means the product is not only environmentally safe but the design itself is efficient and the company is socially responsible.

Lastly, when you do get rid of any toxic cleaners, be careful. Don’t just pour them down the drain. Check this saftey info about disposal, and contact your local dangerous waste department (check your phone book), if necessary.

For more visit Source:[green.yahoo]

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