Erictric

Canon To Register .Canon Top-Level Domain

Ever since it was announced that organizations could register their own top-level domain (TLD examples: .com, .net, .org), companies around the world have been scrambling to decide as to whether making the move is right for them.

It would appear as if popular electronics company Canon has made the decision to go ahead with obtaining the .canon top-level domain. The company made the announcement on Monday via a press release. A decent example of the new top-level domain put in place would be to use “contact.canon” as a direct link to the company’s contact page, as opposed to using “www.canon.com/contact,” as they currently have set up.

It could be a trend-setter for companies everywhere looking for customer to help memorize their website better, but it’s not without a cost. It is expected that preparing for the TLD (applications, fees) top $500,000. Annual fees on the top-level domain top tens of thousands of dollars.

Certainly not a venture for your average Joe.

[ via TNW ]

Opera Browser For iPhone Coming “Very Soon”

The user base of Apple’s incredible iPhone smartphone are seemingly excited about a new browser which claims to be a whopping six times faster than the stock Safari browser on board the device’s operating system. We are of course referring to the Opera browser.

According to Opera spokesman Thomas Ford, iPhone users could be seeing the browser in just a matter of weeks:

“I can’t positively say the time frame, but I can say it’s very soon,” he said.

Of course, the release of the highly-anticipated browser could be crushed in a split second if denied by the ultra-strict iPhone App Store approval team.

More on this as information becomes available.

[ via CNN ]

Barnes & Noble to Launch eReader App for iPad

An effect of high demand, Barnes & Noble announced today on the BN eReader Blog that they will be launching an official B&N eReader application created specifically for the soon-to-be-released Apple iPad. Apparently, many customers have been asking about such application for what may seem like ages. The application is expected to be released just around the time the iPad is launched — April 3rd.

The B&N eReader app promises to let customers access the more than one million eBooks, magazines, and newspapers in the Barnes & Noble eBookstore. Just like the applications for PC, Mac, iPhone, iPod Touch, and Blackberry, the B&N eReader for iPad will also be completely free. Additionally, Barnes & Noble informs that all of the current mobile device eReader apps will be updated soon with a new “enhanced on-the-go reading experience.”

Will Amazon follow suit and launch an official Kindle application for the iPad, too? We wonder.

Google Acquires DocVerse

Google has been in a big shopping spree lately. It has been acquiring different startups and online services like Aardvark, reMail, and Picnik. Now, Google has announced on the Official Google Enterprise Blog that it has acquired DocVerse, a productive and collaborative service that emphasizes on Microsoft Office documents. The DocVerse team has also posted blog entry titled “DocVerse has been Googled!” announcing the acquisition.

DocVerse was founded about 3 years ago in 2007 by Microsoft veterans Shan Sinha and Alex DeNeui. As more and more data and services move to the cloud, Google hopes that DocVerse will help those who are still accustomed to desktop software transition easily and smoothly toward cloud-based services like GoogleDocs.  More »

First Google Buzz iPhone App Goes Live

A new application for both iPhones and iPod Touches has just found its way past Apple’s approval team and into the ever-so-popular App Store. It’s Buzzie, and it has everything to do with Google Buzz.

The application essentially allows folks who don’t use Buzz to get a glimpse as to what the buzz about Buzz really is. Users will be able to follow public conversations on Buzz in their local area without logging in or the likes. Of course, users will be able to log in and Buzz themselves — either by starting conversations, or by joining others. Users seeking privacy are able to disable location sharing and will sport the ability to make a conversation private.

The application is not an official Google app, and will run you a reasonable $1.99 at the US store.

See some more shots after the break. More »

Facebook App for Zune HD Starts Rolling Out

The Zune team announced on Twitter that the promised native Facebook application for the Zune HD is finally rolling out to users. While the application appears to be pretty decent as far as functionality goes, many of the initial users report experiencing issues when installing it or accessing data afterward. The problems have already been acknowledged by the Zune team, who promises to “provide an update as soon as possible.”

If you remember well, the Twitter application for Zune HD also experienced a few problems when it was first released last year in December, something that Microsoft fixed within hours with a small update. To learn more about the Facebook App for Zune HD, visit the Zune website.

Check out one more screenshot of the application after the break. More »

Apple Now Targeting Apps With “Minimum User Functionality”?

First, Apple went ahead and removed most of the overtly sexual applications from the iPhone App Store, a move that we have unofficially named “The Great App Store Porn Purge of 2010.” Now that most people have resigned to either jailbreak their iPhones to watch all the porn they want or to use their Safari browser to enjoy iPhone optimized porn websites, Apple seems to be targeting a new kind of applications. We’re talking about apps with “minimum user functionality” or dumb apps.

You see, Atlantia Software developer Nick Bonatsakis created a simple application that would make the iPhone quack like a duck, as a reference to a duck-shaped phone featured in a reality show called Jersey Shore. He recently found out the strictness of the Apple App Store the hard way. His application was flat out denied on basis that it “contains minimal user functionality.” More »

Apple Submits Trademark Application for “Magic Trackpad”

Last week, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office [USPTO] revealed that on Monday, February 22, Apple submitted a trademark application for what appears to be called a “Magic Trackpad.” The application was filed under International Class 009, which includes several different categories like computer software, computer hardware, computer peripherals, trackpads, to name a few.

It’s not really clear at this time how Apple plans to make use of this technology. Many believe a “Magic Trackpad” could be incorporated in future MacBooks, though it could also be used on an entirely new product.

You can check out the application at the USPTO page.

[ via MacRumors ]

Apple Bans Overtly Sexual Apps

We’re learning that Apple may have just changed their App Store guidelines to no longer permit overtly sexual applications in their still-young iPhone, iPod Touch, and soon-to-be iPad App Store. The information comes courtesy of “Wobble iBoobs” developer Jon Atherton, who was just recently emailed by Apple with news of new App Store guidlines.

The message:

The App Store continues to evolve, and as such, we are constantly refining our guidelines. Your application, Wobble iBoobs (Premium Uncensored), contains content that we had originally believed to be suitable for distribution. However, we have recently received numerous complaints from our customers about this type of content, and have changed our guidelines appropriately. More »