Hasta La Gadget!

As cutting-edge as Google can be, its Chrome browser has trailed in supporting Do Not Track by default; all its major challengers already have the option to cut off tracking cookies. At least that’s where Google’s fast-track development process comes in handy. Following a short beta, the stable release of Chrome 23 includes the DNT protocol to both safeguard privacy and prevent a few eerily well-targeted ads. The update is more fine-grained still with a quick drop-down menu to selectively turn off access to cameras, location and other sensitive details on a site-by-site basis. Even those who live their life in public get something: Windows users at last have graphics hardware acceleration for video, giving a lift to battery life on laptops and smoothing playback for those on borderline-acceptable PCs. More details are available at the source link, so get to clicking if you’re not a fan of small text files shadowing your web visits.

Filed under: Internet, Software, Google

Google Chrome 23 in finished form brings Do Not Track, graphics boosts for Windows users originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 14:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Instagram has finally decided to improve its own app on the web. Currently, Instagram has a bare and almost-boring web app that contains links to the App Store and Google Play. Many were hoping that the developers will somehow improve its presence on the web, and at least allow them to access their profiles and pictures from there. Well, it seems that the team behind the insanely popular app has listened to the woes and cries of its users by announcing Instagram Profiles on the web today. Expected to roll out in the coming days, Instagram web profiles are a beautiful new way to view and share Instagram on the web.

“It features a selection of your recently shared photos together with your own profile photo and bio, giving others a snapshot of the photos you are sharing on Instagram. Instagram profiles on the web also lets you follow users, comment and like photos, and edit your profile easily and directly from the web. “We’re launching web profiles to give you a simple way to share your photos with more people and to make it easier to discover new users on the web,” the company writes. To check if you already have the feature, just navigate instagram.com/[username] with your username on it.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Instagram passes 40 million user mark, says API, Instagram on the way to Android,

Have you ever tried to access a tweet, but only to find it removed? Perhaps the poster took it down, or perhaps it was a bad link, or perhaps Twitter took it down due to alleged copyright violations, but whatever the case, the end user is left in the dark. Well it looks like Twitter is hoping to clear any possible future confusion by announcing that they will be updating their DMCA takedown policy for Tweets. Seemingly following in the footsteps of filesharing websites and YouTube, Twitter will now keep the page of the tweet, but will remove the copyrighted content but will now display a message saying that the tweet was removed for copyright reasons, linking the reader to Twitter’s official Copyright and DMCA policy FAQ.

This update was designed to encourage transparency, while at the same time it will also encourage discussion about the followers of the Twitter user whose tweet has been removed. In any case this should help make things clearer in the future for both the tweeter and their followers.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Twitter planning to add photo filters, says report, New algorithm can predict trending topics on Twitter better and faster,

Instagram, apart from its photo-centric aesthetic qualities, also features an astute photo filtering service. This makes the photo-sharing platform very very enticing. In fact, it was so enticing that Twitter once considered acquiring the company behind it. But after losing to Facebook, it was rumored that Twitter was planning to buy an Instagram-like company to even it out. So when we heard today that Twitter is planning to launch a range photo filters that its users can add to pictures, we weren’t at all surprised.

That seems to suggest that Twitter is taking on the “if you can’t buy it, then build it” approach. According to the New York Times, Twitter is planning to update its mobile platform by introducing filters for photos that will allow people to share images on Twitter while bypassing Instagram. “The filters on Instagram make photos look like they were shot with 1960s Kodachrome or with 1890s sepia tone film,” reports the NYT. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Instagram will translate Instagram mentions to Twitter mentions automatically, makes life a little easier, Instagram drops ‘Find Twitter Friends’ feature,

I can’t remember exactly the last time I paid for a webcam, probably 8 years ago, or something like that, however if you use your webcam a lot, it makes sense to buy something with a better sensor than the one you’ve got stuck on the top of your laptop. Check out Belkin’s NetCam, a webcam that’s got night vision.

The NetCam is a Wi-Fi camera that can see in the dark, and it will allow you to easily monitor your home remotely. It’s also got a wide-angle lens, so that you can get a better view of the room it’s placed in. Video can be saved to mobile devices, allowing you to quickly share it with others. Unlike some other cameras of this class, the NetCam also captures audio. It works with iOS and Android devices, and will directly hook up to your Wi-Fi router. Its greatest feature is that it will send you an alert when it senses movement, and include a snapshot of what caused it.

The Belkin NetCam will sell for $129.99(USD).

[via Ubergizmo]