Author: Paul Lamkin
Google Image Search now has license tagging
Google has added a feature to their image search whereby users can choose to only search for images that are available for reuse.
The advance search option gives users the option to only show images that have been tagged with licenses like Creative Commons or GNU Free Documentation making it easier to find images that, legally, they are free to use on their blogs or webpages.
Creative Commons licenses allow the rights holders to further define how their images can be used. It’s possible to license images for general reuse, or for non-commercial reuse only. They can also choose whether to grant the right to change their images.
Personally, I think that if someone publishes a picture on the web then they have given up any rights they may have had regarding its redistribution. The web is a huge sharing portal and once a picture is published it is bound to be reused over and over again. If people do want their images to remain exclusive they should add a watermark or block image saving on it.
The new Google search options should suit everyone though. People who aren’t fussed about image rights can continue to search for images the usual way and people who do have concerns can use the new functionality. Everyone’s a winner baby.
(via Google)
The Advent PQD-9002 desktop PC – available from PC World
PC World has announced that they’ll be exclusively stocking the Advent PQD-9002 desktop PC. This looks like being a good, media-centre, family PC.
It’s got an AMD Phenom X4 9350, 2GHz, Quad-Core processor with a 512MB ATI Radeon HD4350 graphics card so it should be able to handle gaming pretty well as well as playing video without any lag. There’s 4GB of RAM in there and has a fairly substantial 640GB hard-drive so you can store plenty of media as well.
The Advent PQD-9002 will cost just under £600 with an 18.5-inch LG monitor. It will cost slightly more if you want a bigger screen – 20 and 22-inch monitors are also available. It’s a shame it hasn’t got a Blu-ray drive but it’s not a bad price for what you’re getting.
If you’re interested, order one from PC World.
Bing gets more visitors than Twitter
Figures released show that Microsoft’s ‘knowledge engine’, Bing, got more unique visitors than Twitter, Digg and CNN in June. It also scored more visitors than Embroidery Online, Taxidermy.net and Non-League Daily but I suppose that’s not as significant.
The site was visited by nearly 50 million users – 49,571,922 to be precise. Twitter got 22,997,148 visitors in the same period, CNN got 28,645,202 and Digg got 38,961,981.
Microsoft reportedly spent £61million on the launch of Bing. So it’s money well spent then? Well, maybe, but Bing isn’t really designed to rival Twitter, Digg or CNN is it? It’s meant to rival Google. Google got 145,948,025 unique users in June, so it’s still got a way to go then.
It’s even still trailing Microsoft’s other search engine, Live, which got 79,405,701 visitors. This was a 21% drop from May though, indicating that users are ditching Live in favour of Bing.
Are you guys using Bing? If so, what do you think? I’ve only really had a quick look – I quite liked the video searching with playback available via the thumbnails. Although I’m told you could do this with Live anyway.
I’m just not getting the whole Bing name either. The Bing will always be Silv’s club in The Sopranos to me. Fuget about it.
(via Revolut!on & Compete)
SHINY VIDEO REVIEW: Samsung i8910 HD
Anna takes a look the Samsung i8910 HD, previously named the Omnia HD, which we gave you a sneak peak at last month:
Anna was clearly impressed by the camera and not without good reason. HD video recording at 720p (24fps) is a world’s first for a smartphone. We’ve seen examples of HD footage from this phone on a big screen and, we have to say, it looked good.
The photo aspect of the camera is fairly decent as well – 8-megapixels with auto-focus, face detection, smile sensor and blink detection.
Connectivity is via 3G (HSDPA) or Wi-Fi and it operates on S60 so you’ll be able to load it up with Symbian apps if you wish.
The media capabilities are also very impressive. HD playback is possible via the huge 3.7-inch AMOLED screen – yes, 3.7-inches is huge for a phone screen. It plays a massive range of media formats as well: AVI (DiVX/XviD), WMV, RV, MP4, 3GP, MP3, WMA, WAV, RA, AAC and M4A. It also has a 3.5mm headphone jack which is always welcome.
So, overall this is a pretty good effort from Samsung – although the hefty price tag, as described by Anna, may be enough for customers to shun this phone in favour of many of its illustrious rivals.
Get one from Orange if you want to. If not, well, no biggie.
The Microsoft rumour-mill goes into overdrive
Following Google’s Chrome OS announcement yesterday, there is much speculation on the web today that Microsoft is going to make a big announcement of their own at their conference on Monday.
The rumours began after notorious tech-blogger Robert Scoble claimed via FriendFeed to have some information regarding a possible announcement to his pal Diego. “Diego, no, it’s one of Microsoft’s primary businesses,” he wrote. “Did you know Microsoft has 14 billion dollar businesses?”
Reports are now suggesting the Microsoft may be announcing a new version of Office that not only syncs via the cloud, but will work in the cloud without the need for any actual software to be installed.
If true, this would be a major attack on Google Docs. It’s interesting to note that the domain office.com has recently been sold and is currently unoccupied. I wonder…..
Be sure to visit Tech Digest on Monday where we’ll be bringing you any important news from the Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference in New Orleans.
(via TechCrunch)
BT on course with its super-fast broadband project
BT has announced that an additional 69 towns will be receiving their super-fast fibre-based broadband by this time next year – meaning the service will be available to 1.5 million homes and businesses.
BT’s Steve Robertson said: “We had aimed to get fibre to half a million homes by next March but we’re now being far more ambitious. We’ve received a tremendous response to date and so we’re keen to get on with the job.”
Their overall goal of the project, which is costing the telecommunication giant £1.5billion, is to have 10 million homes covered by 2012 – 40% of the country.
BT will be offering access to ISPs on an open, wholesale basis thereby supporting a competitive market. The first areas to have access to the network went live earlier this week. Trials are taking place in Muswell Hill, London and Whitchurch, South Wales and involve 16 different ISPs.
The plan is great news for internet users and makes a bit of a mockery of the plan set out in the Digital Britain report to ensure that the country is covered by a broadband network capable of 2Mbps. The super-fast network being developed by BT should be capable of speeds of 40Mbps – 100Mbps. No wonder MPs are to open an inquiry into whether the 2Mbps plan is ambitious enough. Clearly it isn’t.
(via BT & Computing.co.uk)
Orange announces Toshiba TG01 release
Orange has announced that the Toshiba TG01 will be exclusively available from tomorrow. It will be available for free – but only if you’re prepared to sign up for a £40 a month, 2-year contract.
The plan will give you 1200 minutes of calls a month with unlimited texts and web browsing. It’s not cheap, but hey, you’ll be getting a very powerful smartphone free of charge.
Check out Dan’s preview video as well as his comparison of the TG01 against other flagship smartphones.
Also, check out Toshiba’s very own preview video:
Order via the Orange shop.
(via Orange)
LaCie launches the LaCinema Rugged HD
We told you last year about LaCie’s LaCinema – a rugged, portable multimedia hard-drive designed to host all of your multimedia content. Well, as the name suggests, this is the HD upgrade to that device.
As well as playing all the formats you’d expect of a multimedia player – it now plays all of the popular HD variations too, such as H.264, MKV, WMV9 and MPEG-4.
It’s got 500GB of storage and offers full HD, 1080p resolution via HDMI. It’s designed to be carried around – it has a unique varnished, scratch-protected aluminium shell and shock-resistant rubber sleeve that make it resistant to a bit of rough and tumble.
It’s £289.99 and it’s available now direct from LaCie.
The true cost of the App Store
As you are well aware faithful readers – because we know you all pay diligent attention to every post we publish – the Apple iTunes App Store is celebrating its first birthday this week.
Whether you love the App Store or, in fact, think that it’s a pile of novelty nonsense as Dan hinted at on Monday, you might be interested to know its true value. How much would it cost to buy every single app available?
Well, American blog Busted Loop has done a bit of research and has revealed that in order to buy all 55,732 apps that were available as of 7th July 2009 you would need to fork out $144,326.06. That’s £89,366.57 in proper money. An average of about £1.60 per app.
The publisher with the most valuable portfolio of apps is Iceberg Reader, who offers best-selling books for its e-reader app. You would need £10,172.62 to buy all of their titles.
What is the value of your app collection? How much have you spent on apps? Let us know the usual way. Me – I’ve spent diddly squat. If someone can recommend me a paid app that I simply can’t be without then please do so. In the meantime, I’ll be browsing the app store like a celebrity backstage at an awards show – grabbing all the freebies that I can.
(via Busted Loop)
Prezzybox launches the Pet's Eye View camera
Occasionally we at Tech Digest receive information on some of the more ‘wacky’ gizmos and gadgets that are being unleashed upon the world of tech. Some we like and some we don’t.
The Pet’s Eye View from Prezzybox is definitely one we like. It’s such a simple idea that you can’t help but like it.
It’s a small, lightweight camera that can be attached to a pet’s collar – we’re talking cats and dogs here people, not gerbils and hamsters – and can be set to take pictures at intervals of either one, five or 15 minutes. It can store up to 40 photos.
If you ever wondered what your pet gets up to during the day then the Pet’s Eye View could provide you with the answer.
Wouldn’t it be awesome if loads of people found out that their dogs had weird, secret habits like cross-dressing or throwing wild toga-parties for the other neighbourhood dogs?
The Pet’s Eye View camera is available now from Prezzybox priced at £39.95.
