Download Squad http://downloadsquad.switched.com Download Squad. http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/downloadsquad.switched.com/media/feedlogo.gif Download Squad http://downloadsquad.switched.com prods@weblogsinc.com (Weblogs, Inc. Producers) support@weblogsinc.com (Weblogs, Inc. Web Support) en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. View our terms of service here: http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/ Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/ <![CDATA[Web Toolkit: Find out who else is on your web host with MyIPNeighbors]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/03/web-toolkit-find-out-who-else-is-on-your-web-host-with-myipneig/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/03/web-toolkit-find-out-who-else-is-on-your-web-host-with-myipneig/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/03/web-toolkit-find-out-who-else-is-on-your-web-host-with-myipneig/#comments myIPneighborIf you have a web site, you're probably using shared hosting. Shared hosting, for those unfamiliar with it, is when a company takes a single web server and hosts many web sites on it, sharing the web serving duties and making it possible for the company to make a profit while offering us $3.99/month hosting plans.

While it may be economical, sometimes shared hosting means your site is slow depending on whom you're sharing your site with. For example, if someone has a blog that is hosted on the same server your domain is hosted on and they have a really popular post (perhaps getting on Digg), the server will become slow under the heavy load. This heavy load can bog down the server and make it slow, sometimes unresponsive for everyone else being hosted on that server.

Enter myIPneighbors.com. By giving them a website's address or IP address, they report back with how many other websites are being hosted on the same server as yours. For example, my site is sharing it's web server with 191 sites. Yikes, that's a lot!

If you're having performance issues with your web site and you feel the server might be to blame, check out myIPneighbors and assess for yourself if you web host is spreading it's resources too thin. Depending on your analysis, a web host change might be in your future!

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Web Toolkit: Find out who else is on your web host with MyIPNeighbors originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 03 Feb 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> myIPneighborsweb hostWebHost Jason Harris Sun, 03 Feb 2008 10:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[BBC's iPlayer adds support for Firefox]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/02/bbcs-iplayer-adds-support-for-firefox/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/02/bbcs-iplayer-adds-support-for-firefox/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/02/bbcs-iplayer-adds-support-for-firefox/#comments iPlayer
Rumors have been swirling for months that the BBC was going to allow users of their iPlayer service to access the popular player on a computer or platform other than Internet Explorer for Windows. Well today British citizens are part way there as the BBC has announced their support for the Firefox browser. Mac and Linux fans are out of luck as iPlayer still demands Windows, only now you can view iPlayer content in the alternative Firefox Browser.

The popular iPlayer is a service that acts as an on-demand viewer of BBC content. Similar in functionality to a web based TiVo. The BBC is very happy with this new development and proclaimed, "It's good because it's the first real non-Microsoft thing we've been able to do with the download iPlayer".

What's the hold up with bringing iPlayer to Mac and Linux? None other than our old favorite acronym DRM. BBC's iPlayer relies upon Windows Media Player and it's related DRM to enforce the BBC's viewing policies.

Are there any Brits who have used iPlayer? What are your thoughts on the service? Please share in the comments.

[via Afterdawn]

BBC's iPlayer adds support for Firefox originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 02 Feb 2008 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> bbcdrmiplayer Jason Harris Sat, 02 Feb 2008 16:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Clear your browser cache with these one-click solutions]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/02/clear-your-browser-cache-with-these-one-click-solutions/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/02/clear-your-browser-cache-with-these-one-click-solutions/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/02/clear-your-browser-cache-with-these-one-click-solutions/#comments If you are a web designer or developer, one of the issues you probably face on a daily basis is browser cache. For those who are unaware of this issue, your browser - whether it be Firefox or Internet Explorer - captures all web pages and images when you browse and saves them in the browser cache. This is so that next time you go to a website, you can quickly access the saved files in your cache rather than re-download the image or related content.

This presents an issue for web designers when they make a change to a website, when their own browser uses the cached files rather than downloading the new version off the server. What web designers need is an easy way to empty their cache. We have two suggestions for this type of functionality:
  • For Firefox, check out the Clear Cache add-on. This fantastic extension will add a broom logo to your Firefox toolbar that will instantly clear your cache when you click it.
  • For Internet Explorer, we suggest you look at CachePal. Installing this will give you one-click access to the cache clearing functionality.
We hope these utilities will ease your web development duties. Check them out and let us know what you think in the comments.

[via NoHeat]

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Clear your browser cache with these one-click solutions originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 02 Feb 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> cacheFirefoxInternet ExplorerInternetExplorer Jason Harris Sat, 02 Feb 2008 12:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Web toolkit: find out a site's web host with WhoIsHostingThis]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/02/web-toolkit-find-out-a-sites-web-host-with-whoishostingthis/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/02/web-toolkit-find-out-a-sites-web-host-with-whoishostingthis/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/02/web-toolkit-find-out-a-sites-web-host-with-whoishostingthis/#comments WhoIsHostingThis

For bloggers or anyone who wants their own website, a natural question always is - who should I choose for a web host? There are many guides and ways to get advice on this subject. But the fact is that choosing the cheapest isn't always the best. If you know someone who has a site and you're impressed with the speed and uptime of that site, it might be beneficial to know who their web host is.

Finding out is easy with a great website called WhoIsHostingThis. When you visit the site, there's a simple box where you type the name of any site, hit "Tell Me", and the web host is revealed. Very cool.

We appreciate that WhoIsHostingThis doesn't require registration. Additionally, there's no annoying Flash ads (yet) or any other factors that drive us nuts when browsing the web.

This is a very practical website to add to your web toolbox.

[via MakeUseOf]

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Web toolkit: find out a site's web host with WhoIsHostingThis originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 02 Feb 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> toolkitweb hostsWebHosts Jason Harris Sat, 02 Feb 2008 10:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Egypt calls for bandwidth rationing after tubes get clogged]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/01/egypt-calls-for-bandwidth-rationing-after-tubes-get-clogged/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/01/egypt-calls-for-bandwidth-rationing-after-tubes-get-clogged/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/01/egypt-calls-for-bandwidth-rationing-after-tubes-get-clogged/#comments WiresIf you remember the late 70's, you probably remember gas rationing in the United States when OPEC cut oil production. This lead to pandemonium at the pumps and confusion for American citizens. Well to a lesser degree, having bandwidth cut off would also lead to having to make tough choices.

Perhaps this is why the Egyptian government has asked that all Internet users temporarily stop downloading movies, music, and other large files as a result of their Internet access being hampered earlier this week. Egypt's main cable link to Europe was inadvertently cut by a ship's anchor, causing widespread Internet bottlenecks to Egypt and the rest of the Arabian Peninsula.

Egypt's Ministry of Communications and Information Technology has asked that consumer stop downloading large file so they don't affect "affect businesses who have more important things to do.'"

Ars Technica points out that this isn't the first time this type of event has occurred. Algeria, Taiwan, and Vietnam have all had their Internet access affected by similar circumstances. As the world becomes more and more dependent on the 'Net, we think it's alarming to see how fragile the infrastructure truly is.

So, in conclusion, if you're in Egypt and your downloading last nights Lost episode, knock it off! :)

[via Slashdot]

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Egypt calls for bandwidth rationing after tubes get clogged originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 01 Feb 2008 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> bandwidthegypttubes Jason Harris Fri, 01 Feb 2008 16:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[TweetStats displays your Twitter activity in graphical form]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/30/tweetstats-displays-your-twitter-activity-in-graphical-form/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/30/tweetstats-displays-your-twitter-activity-in-graphical-form/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/30/tweetstats-displays-your-twitter-activity-in-graphical-form/#comments TweetStats

Earlier in the month, we told you about TwitterStats, a downloadable script that would graph your Twitter statistics. The author of TwitterStats, Damon Cortesi, thought it would be great to take TwitterStats to the next level. He did so by making TwitterStats into a Ruby application that you could run without having to download and run a script, a task perhaps only advanced users are capable of.

When you visit TweetStats for the first time, the website prompts you for your Twitter username. Another interesting piece to the front page is the graph that shows you the most popular Twitter apps. FYI, currently the web interface is the most popular at 46% followed by Twitterrific with 21%. After you enter in your username, TweetStats gives you a basic graph of your Twitter activity. As you can see by the screenshot above, my most active Twitter day is Wednesday.

We like TweetStat's simplicity and functionality. Being able to link back to the graph url is a nice feature for those who want to show their graph on their blog or website.

Thanks Damon for this addicting new Twitter tool! Now we stand to get even less done today as we play with TweetStats.

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TweetStats displays your Twitter activity in graphical form originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> microbloggingTweetStatstwitter Jason Harris Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Skype released for PSP]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/30/skype-released-for-psp/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/30/skype-released-for-psp/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/30/skype-released-for-psp/#comments During CES, we reported that Skype was coming to Sony's PSP. Today, anxious PSP owners can jump for joy as Sony has released the new firmware with Skype loaded and ready to rock.

If you have a Sony PSP Slim or Lite model, load up version 3.90 to get Skype on your portable piece of gaming heaven. Once you have it loaded and signed in, you can easily make free calls to your Skype contacts as well as see who is online form your contact list. Skype IM doesn't work, obviously, due to the lack of a way to enter characters.

Additionally, if you have SkypeOut credits to landlines and mobiles for cheap rates. The current rates for calling US/Western European phones is just under 2 cents a minute.

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Skype released for PSP originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 30 Jan 2008 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> pspskype Jason Harris Wed, 30 Jan 2008 14:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Enhance Google Reader with the Better GReader Firefox add-on]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/30/enhance-google-reader-with-the-better-greader-firefox-add-on/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/30/enhance-google-reader-with-the-better-greader-firefox-add-on/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/30/enhance-google-reader-with-the-better-greader-firefox-add-on/#comments Better GReader
Google Reader is the RSS aggregator of choice for many a Download Squad reader, but everyone has an idea of how it could be improved in one way or another. There are some popular Greasemonkey scripts that enhance the experience, but what if these scripts could be rolled into one Firefox add-on?

Lifehacker has set out to do just that. A while back they released Better GReader, a Firefox add-on that collect some of the best Greasemonkey scripts for Google Reader. And this week they've update Better GReader with a few new skins and other tweaks. The add-on basically does three things:
  1. Institutes keyboard shortcuts
  2. Maximizes the viewing area
  3. Bypasses the Google's annoying default subscription mechanism

To get the Better GReader Firefox add-in, head over to Lifehacker's site and install it. After installing the add-in, you'll see the above preference pane in your add-ons menu allowing you to customize Better GReader to your hearts content.

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Enhance Google Reader with the Better GReader Firefox add-on originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 30 Jan 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> google readerGoogleReaderlifehacker Jason Harris Wed, 30 Jan 2008 12:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Seesmic announces new features, much needed mobile support]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/30/seesmic-announces-new-features-much-needed-mobile-support/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/30/seesmic-announces-new-features-much-needed-mobile-support/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/30/seesmic-announces-new-features-much-needed-mobile-support/#comments Nokia N95Social video site Seesmic has announced some cool new features at DEMO08, a conference that showcases new software and web projects. Even though it's still in private beta, the so-called video Twitter now allows you to instantly see video responses to posts as an uninterrupted stream.

Now Seesmic also has a mobile application for Nokia's multi-talented N95 smartphone. Rather than being a live stream application such as like Qik, mobile Seesmic posts will be pre-recorded video snippets. You will also be able to view Seesmic videos on the mobile application.

While we're happy to see Seesmic branching out, we can't help but hope they touch more mobile phones than just the N95. Perhaps they can expand to additional Nokia handsets or even better yet, to Windows Mobile.

[via CNet]

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Seesmic announces new features, much needed mobile support originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 30 Jan 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> n95nokiaseesmictwitter Jason Harris Wed, 30 Jan 2008 10:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Roll your own Twitter with Prologue]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/29/roll-your-own-twitter-with-prologue/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/29/roll-your-own-twitter-with-prologue/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/29/roll-your-own-twitter-with-prologue/#comments Prologue from WordPress
If you've used Twitter, you've probably wondered what it would take to have Twitter-like functionality either 1) on your own blog or website or 2) inside your own company or organization. If so, your wait is over.

Automattic, the company behind WordPress, has released Prologue, a smart theme for WordPress weblogs that allows you to roll your own Twitter. As you can see on the screenshot above, Prologue is structures much like Twitter with a basic window to allow you to enter in some text, along with a submit button and an option to tag your submission.

Automattic has wisely included RSS feeds for many aspects of Prologue including RSS for specific authors, comments, tag, or the entire prologue itself.

To get going with Prologue, download the theme files and apply the theme in your WordPress instance. If your blog is hosted on WordPress.com, simply specify Prologue as your blog theme of choice in the "Presentation" section of your WordPress options.

Prologue is perfect for organizations who would like to have their own Twitter-like conversations or for individuals who want the same!

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Roll your own Twitter with Prologue originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 29 Jan 2008 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> opensourceprologuetwitterwordpress Jason Harris Tue, 29 Jan 2008 06:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Nokia makes a splash by acquiring TrollTech]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/28/nokia-makes-a-splash-by-acquiring-trolltech/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/28/nokia-makes-a-splash-by-acquiring-trolltech/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/28/nokia-makes-a-splash-by-acquiring-trolltech/#comments Nokia phoneThe largest mobile phone maker in the world, Finland's Nokia, has made a major move by acquiring TrollTech. You may not have heard of TrollTech, but you've probably used their software. They are the make of an application development framework called Qt. This framework is used for creating GUI programs and other programs that are used in applications. TrollTech's Qt is used in notable software packages such as Skype, Google Earth, and Opera, among others.

What does this mean for the average web/computer user? Basically Nokia's acquisition means in the future we will be able to enjoy awesome applications that work on our computers, Nokia mobile phones, and on the Internet. Current platforms that are similar to Qt include AIR, Flash, and Java.

The acquisition needs to be approved by TrollTech shareholders and regulatory, but it looks very probable that the acquisition will go off without a hitch.

[via Engadget]

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Nokia makes a splash by acquiring TrollTech originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 28 Jan 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> flashnokiaqttrolltech Jason Harris Mon, 28 Jan 2008 17:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Tweetmeme brings conversation tracking to Twitter]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/28/tweetmeme-brings-conversation-tracking-to-twitter/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/28/tweetmeme-brings-conversation-tracking-to-twitter/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/28/tweetmeme-brings-conversation-tracking-to-twitter/#comments Tweetmeme
There are many tools on the internet for tracking conversations that seem to be happening at the speed of light. For blogs we have tools like Technorati and TechMeme. But the quickest, most dynamic (and sometimes most interesting) conversation threads are happening on Twitter. If you want to track political news on Twitter, we've had Politweets, but what if you just want to track what's being said in general?

To solve this problem, we now have Tweetmeme. This fun little web site is from the creators of Fav.or.it, a soon to launch blog commenting system. Tweetmeme scrapes Twitter data, tracks conversations, and displays them for the world to see. If you are on Twitter, you know that there are many many urls that are passed around like candy at a parade. Tweetmeme wil attempt to provide some content for all this random Twitter activity.

Additionally, Tweetmeme provides an RSS feed for easy access. Also you can look at links categorized into blogs, images, videos, and audio. They have even made it possible to specify a timeframe of twitter activity with a start and end date.

[via TechCrunch]

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Tweetmeme brings conversation tracking to Twitter originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 28 Jan 2008 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> tweetmemetwitter Jason Harris Mon, 28 Jan 2008 16:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Installing OS X on a Hackintosh (PC) has become simpler]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/27/installing-os-x-on-a-hackintosh-pc-has-become-simpler/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/27/installing-os-x-on-a-hackintosh-pc-has-become-simpler/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/27/installing-os-x-on-a-hackintosh-pc-has-become-simpler/#comments HackintoshHave a decently equipped PC sitting in the corner of your room, gathering dust? Have you been dying to try OS X out?

It used to be that installing OS X on a "Hackintosh" (an Intel based PC running OS X) was an involved process that took hours and hours of hacking to get to work properly, sometimes with mixed results.

According to Lifehacker, you can now install Leopard on a cheap PC almost as easy as installing in an Apple device, sans the wicked command line hacking. Also, you can reportedly update your Leopard install without the fear of all your hard work falling down. It must be stated however, that installing OS X on a non-Apple product may be illegal, even if you have a legitimate installation disc. Proceed at your own risk.

The technique does not require a BIOS reflash, but just tweaking the BIOS settings to be friendly to the OS X install program. Next you download the DVD image and burn it to a DVD for use installing Leopard. We'd recommend actually buying Leopard if you're going to be using it for any amount of time. The final step involves booting the new DVD and running through the install process using the settings for your specific motherboard.

Have any experience with this install process and running OS X on a PC? We look forward to reading about them in the comments below.

[via Lifehacker]

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Installing OS X on a Hackintosh (PC) has become simpler originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 27 Jan 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> hackintoshos xOsX Jason Harris Sun, 27 Jan 2008 14:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Google Reader adds timestamp]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/26/google-reader-adds-timestamp/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/26/google-reader-adds-timestamp/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/26/google-reader-adds-timestamp/#comments Google ReaderGoogle Reader, the preferred news reader of many Download Squaders and our readers, has added a little nugget of a feature that will allow you to finally see how long it took Google Reader to show you a post from your favorite blog or news source. You see, one criticism of Google Reader has been the lag between when an item is posted in an RSS feed and how long Google Reader shows it to it's users. Now with the timestamp, you can see for yourself exactly when the RSS item was posted.

In more minor news, it appears Google has changed the favicon of Google Reader. The new version is a tad more colorful than the last.

[via Google Operating System]

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Google Reader adds timestamp originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 26 Jan 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> google readerGoogleReaderrss Jason Harris Sat, 26 Jan 2008 13:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Have many Flickr pictures to download? Try Flickr Mass Downloader]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/25/have-a-lot-of-flickr-pictures-to-download-try-flickr-mass-downl/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/25/have-a-lot-of-flickr-pictures-to-download-try-flickr-mass-downl/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/25/have-a-lot-of-flickr-pictures-to-download-try-flickr-mass-downl/#comments FlickrDown

If you've ever had your hard drive fail, you've dealt with the ordeal of trying to recover and find all your old files, notably your images. Enter FlickrDown, a utility that allows you to download images from Flickr quickly and easily. FlickrDown is only for Windows at this time and requires .Net 2.0 to be installed.

To get started download the install file and fire up the application. Next, specify a username, email address, tags, or group to find the intended photos on Flickr. Then hit the Download button and the process begins.

Happy Downloading!

Also, on a related note, if you want to upload images to Flickr, be sure to check out the flickr uploadr.

[via ghacks]

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Have many Flickr pictures to download? Try Flickr Mass Downloader originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 25 Jan 2008 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> flickrflickrdownyahoo Jason Harris Fri, 25 Jan 2008 16:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Roost launches with full MLS real estate listings]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/24/roost-launches-with-full-mls-real-estate-listings/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/24/roost-launches-with-full-mls-real-estate-listings/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/24/roost-launches-with-full-mls-real-estate-listings/#comments Roost

In the online real estate market, we already have Trulia and Zillow, but a new player is emerging that should be looked at. Roost is an easy to use, lean website that gives you easy access to real estate listings in specific markets. The site has forged agreements with various Multiple Listing Services (MLS) throughout the country to give users a high volume of listings to look through. What sets Roost apart is it's simplicity and easy to use map to nail down your intended geographic region.

At this time, a few of the the areas covered by Roost include Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia, San Diego, and Washington, D.C, among others.

This approach of using MLS data is a new. Redfin is also a site that uses MLS data - information that used to be closed off from the web by the MLS providers. For those trying to avoid dealing with Realtors, for sale by owner properties are also displayed on Roost. Roost's easy to use interface includes the ability to quickly view photos, and easy sliders for filtering your list of homes based on price, bedroom count, square feet, etc.

If you're looking to buy or sell a home, add Roost to your list of web resources.

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Roost launches with full MLS real estate listings originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 24 Jan 2008 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> real estateRealEstateroosttruliazillow Jason Harris Thu, 24 Jan 2008 18:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Microsoft gets pushy with IE7]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/24/microsoft-gets-pushy-decides-to-push-ie7-upon-you/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/24/microsoft-gets-pushy-decides-to-push-ie7-upon-you/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/24/microsoft-gets-pushy-decides-to-push-ie7-upon-you/#comments On February 12, there might be some angry IT managers who aren't happy with Microsoft. This is because on the next "Patch Tuesday", Microsoft is going to include Internet Explorer 7 in the list of updates and patches being pushed out to Windows computers that:
  • Use WSUS 3.0 to manage updates in their organization
  • Have Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) or Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1) that have Internet Explorer 6 installed
  • Have configured WSUS to auto-approve Update Rollups for installation

As Ars Technica is reporting, there is a lot of mis-information in the blogosphere about this issue.

People who have Windows computers at home will not get IE 7 put on their computer by Microsoft's updates.

The only group of people who need to be aware of what's happening are IT/Network administrators who have previously deployed the IE7 blocking toolkit to halt IE7 from being installed on computers within their network. These IT managers should closely read this knowledge base article.

There, you've been warned :)

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Microsoft gets pushy with IE7 originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 24 Jan 2008 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> IE7microsoft Jason Harris Thu, 24 Jan 2008 15:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Wordpress.com gets influx of VC money, launches video publishing tool]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/23/wordpress-com-gets-influx-of-vc-money-launches-video-publishing/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/23/wordpress-com-gets-influx-of-vc-money-launches-video-publishing/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/23/wordpress-com-gets-influx-of-vc-money-launches-video-publishing/#comments WordPressThe company behind the popular WordPress blogging platform and WordPress.com, Automattic, has received a large influx of cash from investors. The company has drawn $29.5 million in financing from four companies, including the New York Times Company. After last weeks' news of MySQL being acquired by Sun Microsystems, it appears if you have a great idea and a good business structure, open source is a viable business model.

Matt Mullenweg, the man behind Automattic, has said the company will use the money to build infrastructure, expand product offerings such as Gravatar and spam protection service Akismet, and offer new hosted solutions.

Looking at some of the new traffic metrics, WordPress.com will need to strengthen it's infrastructure. According to GigaOm, In the last 30 days Quantcast reports that Wordpress.com attracted 42 million unique U.S. page views, 114 million global uniques, and 492 million page views overall. WordPress.com is a very attractive option for individuals and organizations who want a blog but don't want to stress about the necessary infrastructure required.



Continue reading Wordpress.com gets influx of VC money, launches video publishing tool

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Wordpress.com gets influx of VC money, launches video publishing tool originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 23 Jan 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> bloggingopensourcewordpress Jason Harris Wed, 23 Jan 2008 16:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[RIM announces exciting new BlackBerry features]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/23/rim-announces-exciting-new-blackberry-features/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/23/rim-announces-exciting-new-blackberry-features/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/23/rim-announces-exciting-new-blackberry-features/#comments BlackBerryResearch in Motion, the company behind the BlackBerry smartphone, announced many highly anticipated features recently at Lotusphere 2008 for BlackBerry Enterprise Server. What can die-hard BlackBerry users expect in the near future? Many features making it easier it easier to message your co-workers and collaborate including:

  • Download and edit Microsoft Office documents: BlackBerry users have been able to download and view Office documents, thanks to the Documents to Go suite, but soon BlackBerry users will be able to edit these attachments as well.
  • Free-busy calendar lookup: want to know if Sally is available for a conference call at 3:00 tomorrow? Simply fire up this new utility and find out, before sending a meeting request, that is :)
  • HTML and Rich Text Email rendering: Rich text emails will now maintain their formatting on the smartphone, including bold, italic, tables, bullets, or whatever formatting your co-workers throw at you.
  • Integration with corporate IM and Presence applications: By utilizing Lotus Sametime and Microsoft Live Communications Server, you can use the "click to call" feature to engage with co-workers and IM Session "convert to call" automatically takes an IM conversation and makes it a voice one.
We're excited to see RIM taking these steps to make their mobile phones more seamless in the corporate environment. Our Windows Mobile counterparts have been able to edit Office documents for a while, and the other new features are a great step forward as well, especially the integration with the corporate IM services.

Looks like RIM is going to have an impressive 2008.

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RIM announces exciting new BlackBerry features originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 23 Jan 2008 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> blackberryblackberry enterprise serverBlackberryEnterpriseServerosupdates Jason Harris Wed, 23 Jan 2008 13:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Study: Email access is still king on mobile phones]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/23/study-email-access-is-still-king-on-mobile-phones/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/23/study-email-access-is-still-king-on-mobile-phones/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/23/study-email-access-is-still-king-on-mobile-phones/#comments SmartphoneAccording to Webcredible, a usability and accessibility consultancy, the most requested mobile service people wanted on their data-enabled mobile phones was email. 33% of respondents stated email was their most needed mobile utility. This may offer some explanation as to why the iPhone is the number 2 smartphone behind RIM. Business users, who still dominate the smartphone market, want access to email to get their business done.

Access to social networks came in a close second in requested features, taking 25% in survey results. This tells us that many mobile phone users like to hop on MySpace or Facebook in between sending all those emails. As adoption of social networks becomes more mainstream, we expect social networking will take over as the number one requested mobile feature.

As a last statistic, local information requests were third on the list at 20%. These requests consist of questions such as "what's around me?" With services such as Google Maps My Location, which tracks your location in a GPS-like service, local information requests a fantastic tool to have access to. With friends and you want to find the closest pizza place, with My Location you can easily look it up and get your pie eating on.

These mobile services add countless features to your daily working life, especially for nomadic mobile phone users. What is your favorite mobile service? We look forward to seeing the comments!

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Study: Email access is still king on mobile phones originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 23 Jan 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> emailfacebookiphonemyspacesmartphone Jason Harris Wed, 23 Jan 2008 09:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[OSX update 10.5.2 is coming, packed with plenty of fixes]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/22/osx-update-10-5-2-is-coming-packed-with-plenty-of-fixes/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/22/osx-update-10-5-2-is-coming-packed-with-plenty-of-fixes/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/22/osx-update-10-5-2-is-coming-packed-with-plenty-of-fixes/#comments LeopardApple's Leopard operating system is about to get a hefty update. Version 10.5.2 was seeded to developers and according to AppleInsier the update will contain around 100 code fixes and enhancements.


The only specifics available on features being updated seem to be Time Machine backups and the handling of PDF documents, and image/mail attachments. Die-hard Leopard users are also hoping the new OS X update will address issues with Stacks desktop feature as many have reported numerous errors.

If you have been wanting to upgrade to Leopard but have been waiting for some of the major bugs to get worked out, 10.5.2 might be the release you've been waiting for. The update is quite sizable - weighing in at around 450 megabytes.

[via Engadget]

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OSX update 10.5.2 is coming, packed with plenty of fixes originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 22 Jan 2008 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> appleleopardmacintoshos xosupdatesOsX Jason Harris Tue, 22 Jan 2008 14:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[5 ways to pimp out your WordPress weblog]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/20/5-ways-to-pimp-out-your-wordpress-weblog/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/20/5-ways-to-pimp-out-your-wordpress-weblog/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/20/5-ways-to-pimp-out-your-wordpress-weblog/#comments WordPressSo, you got your domain name registered, your hosting plan set up, and you've configured your brand new WordPress weblog. Or maybe you've had WordPress set up for a while and you're wondering what you can do to spice things up a little bit? Look no further, we'll let you know how you can pimp out your WordPress and give you that happy fuzzy feeling about your blog again. It is after all, part of your online identity!

Apply a new theme: This may be a daunting task, depending on how much you've customized your current theme. However, there's no better way to give your WordPress blog new life than to completely re-fresh it's look and feel. There are a ton of great places to find exciting themes based on your tastes and preferences, but we would start at WordPress' site, Smashing Magazine, and BestWPThemes.

OpenID: With all the press about OpenID lately, woudn't it be great to allow people who want to leave a comment on your blog to sign in using their OpenID? The WPOpenID plugin will allow you to this, as well as use your own OpenID as your log in to the admin interface of your WordPress blog.

Continue reading 5 ways to pimp out your WordPress weblog

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5 ways to pimp out your WordPress weblog originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 20 Jan 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> bloggingopensourcewordpress Jason Harris Sun, 20 Jan 2008 19:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[New 1.1.3 firmware reportedly fixes bricked iPhones]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/20/new-1-1-3-firmware-reportedly-fixes-bricked-iphones/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/20/new-1-1-3-firmware-reportedly-fixes-bricked-iphones/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/20/new-1-1-3-firmware-reportedly-fixes-bricked-iphones/#comments BricksThere are reports funneling through the Internet that indicate Apple's new 1.1.3 firmware will unbrick previously useless iPhones that were unlocked by users late last year.

A few months back, iPhone owners who either 1) wanted to run applications on their iPhone other than what Apple pre-installed, or 2) wanted to use a service provider other than AT&T, used some tools to 'unlock' their phone. Then Apple released some firmware updates and these altered phones were rendered worthless and otherwise "bricked".

According to a reader of The Unofficial Apple Weblog, he was able to recover his bricked iPhone by installing firmware version 1.1.3. Months ago he hopelessly resigned to owning a $600 paper weight but is now rejoicing that he can use his beloved Apple cell phone. By putting his phone 1.0.2-versioned phone in recover mode and installing the newly released 1.1.3, he was able to recover his iPhone.

Has anyone experienced anything similar? Please reply in the comments.

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New 1.1.3 firmware reportedly fixes bricked iPhones originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 20 Jan 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> appleiphone Jason Harris Sun, 20 Jan 2008 09:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Time Warner's use-based pricing model to fuel the net neutrality issue]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/18/time-warners-use-based-pricing-model-to-fuel-the-net-neutrality/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/18/time-warners-use-based-pricing-model-to-fuel-the-net-neutrality/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/18/time-warners-use-based-pricing-model-to-fuel-the-net-neutrality/#comments The TubesNet Neutrality is a subject that has impassioned internet enthusiasts and techies alike. However trying to get the broader public to take notice of the issue has been challenging. A few net neutrality bills have been brought up, but quickly fizzled out in Congress. Perhaps the fine Senators don't really understand the "Tubes". Or is it they and the public have had no real reason to care so far?

This week, Time Warner gave us a reason to care. It has come to light that Time Warner will start billing internet customers based on usage, rather than a flat-fee as they've been doing for years. That is, rather than expanding the network to accommodate and enhance customer experience, Time Warner will start charging new customers more.

To take this line of thinking further, how about this scenario: if your parents or grandparents only use the Internet a couple of times a week to check photos of their little grandchildren and to check their email - will they be able to pay less? We highly doubt it. The monopolistic ISP's have have only one intent in mind - bilking us for all the cash they possibly can.

We hope the net neutrality flames is fanned by this move before it's too late. It's time to start talking, blogging, and contacting your legistlator to tell him or her your viewpoint on this issue.

[via Freedom to Tinker]

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Time Warner's use-based pricing model to fuel the net neutrality issue originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 18 Jan 2008 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> comcastnet neutralityNetNeutralitytime warnerTimeWarner Jason Harris Fri, 18 Jan 2008 13:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Skitch opens up, offers beta to the public]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/17/skitch-opens-up-offers-beta-to-the-public/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/17/skitch-opens-up-offers-beta-to-the-public/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/17/skitch-opens-up-offers-beta-to-the-public/#comments Skitch
As a part of the MacWorld celebrations, Skitch has announced that they are opening up and releasing a beta for the general public. As covered before, Skitch is a rockin' screen capture application for the Mac. You can easily capture all or just a portion of your screen, do some quick editing, and easily share it with your peeps via Flickr, FTP, or Skitch's on web service.

We promise, once you start using this app you'll wonder how you adequately did screen captures before. If you're a blogger, techie, or artist you'll love this functional (and beautiful) app. In addition to doing normal screen captures, you can use your built-in iSight to snap a photo of your self, sketch out a quick drawing, and access your iPhoto library for easy photo sharing. Skitch also makes annotating images real easy with attractive text and image editing capabilities.

To get started with Skitch, head on over to their homepage and download the install file.

[via TUAW]

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Skitch opens up, offers beta to the public originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 17 Jan 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> commercialmacskitch Jason Harris Thu, 17 Jan 2008 15:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Miro gets refreshed to version 1.1, Bit Torrent dramatically improved]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/17/miro-gets-refreshed-to-version-1-1-bit-torrent-dramatically-imp/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/17/miro-gets-refreshed-to-version-1-1-bit-torrent-dramatically-imp/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/17/miro-gets-refreshed-to-version-1-1-bit-torrent-dramatically-imp/#comments Miro
The open source, cross-platform video platform, Miro, recently released version 1.1. The new update offers two main improvements. First, Miro has significantly improved BitTorrent performance by giving the user more control and settings for BitTorrent downloads. Miro's support of BitTorrent has always set itself apart from other media players with it's BitTorrent support and we're glad to see them enhancing this important feature.

Second, Miro 1.1 has made it easier to find the search results you're looking for by instituting a combined search across all 5 of their search engines. Users who want to only search the engines one at a time can still do so by choosing the engines they're most interested in seeing results from.

If you're not a user of Miro yet, we encourage you to take a look its way. Miro is a media viewing software package that allows you to view almost any video file format, search for and view YouTube videos, and access video podcasts via BitTorrent. Additionally, Miro is an open source video platform that lacks any DRM and allows unrestricted viewing of their materials. Also, they Miro takes pride in it's selection of HD content.

[via Miro's blog]

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Miro gets refreshed to version 1.1, Bit Torrent dramatically improved originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 17 Jan 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> hdjoostmiroonline videoOnlineVideoopensourcepodcastsyoutube Jason Harris Thu, 17 Jan 2008 12:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Yahoo jumps on the OpenID Bandwgon]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/17/yahoo-jumps-on-the-openid-bandwgon/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/17/yahoo-jumps-on-the-openid-bandwgon/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/17/yahoo-jumps-on-the-openid-bandwgon/#comments
OpenID signinThe OpenID project got a huge shot in the arm today as Yahoo! announced their support for the OpenID 2.0 single sign-on framework. As of today, there are a total of about 120 million OpenID accounts spread across services such as myopenid, WordPress.com, AOL (covered here before), and others. Yahoo! triples that number today by becoming an OpenID provider and adding approximately 250 new OpenID enabled accounts. Yahoo! users can expect to be able to use the services in private beta on January 30.

This means users will be able to log into more than 9,000 OpenID enabled sites with their Yahoo! username and password. For those of you who are unfamiliar with OpenID, it is a single sign on system for the web. Meaning if you look to join and log-in to a new site, you can use one username and password across all these disperate websites. For more info about OpenID, see Wikipedia or the OpenID homepage.

This can be counted as a huge win for the OpenID project. We believe in the idea of OpenID, but it won't be successful until the major players in the web market hop on board. We hope to see the other big companies such as Google and MSN hop on board and start serving up some OpenID goodness.

[via TechCrunch]

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Yahoo jumps on the OpenID Bandwgon originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 17 Jan 2008 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> googlemsnopenidyahoo Jason Harris Thu, 17 Jan 2008 11:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Update numerous social services at once with new mult-submit toolbar from Mahalo]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/16/update-numerous-social-services-at-once-with-new-mult-submit-too/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/16/update-numerous-social-services-at-once-with-new-mult-submit-too/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/16/update-numerous-social-services-at-once-with-new-mult-submit-too/#comments Mahallo follow
Mahalo, the human powered search engine, has announced a new add-on for Firefox that submits sites to many popular web services at once. How many times have you found a link that you want share with your friends and realize you have to submit it to more than one service such as del.icio.us, twitter, and so on?

Mahalo's new add-on, called Mahalo Follow for Firefox solves this problem by submitting your link to services including Twitter, Jaiku, Ma.gnolia, del.icio.us, Google Bookmarks, and Tumblr. This seems to be an extremely useful tool.

To get started, head on over to Mahalo's site and install the Firefox add-in, put in your credentials for your various services, and share away.

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Update numerous social services at once with new mult-submit toolbar from Mahalo originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 16 Jan 2008 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> del.icio.usfirefoxgooglejaikumahalotumblrtwitter Jason Harris Wed, 16 Jan 2008 23:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Sun Microsystems purchases MySQL]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/16/sun-microsystems-purchases-mysql/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/16/sun-microsystems-purchases-mysql/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/16/sun-microsystems-purchases-mysql/#comments DolphinsSun Microsystems has made a huge leap into the open-source market by purchasing MySQL AB, the company behind the wildly popular MySQL database, for $1 Billion in stocks and cash. In a humorously named blog post titled "Helping Dolphins Fly", Sun Microsystems CEO Jonathan Shwartz stated that Sun would not only support MySQL once the transaction is finalized, but they'll be throwing their engineering support behind making MySQL more efficient on Sun's software platform.

MySQL is a widely used database product. It is the database used behind many popular sites -- Facebook, Digg, and Google, among others. Sun has long been a proponent of open source software, up until this point Sun has promoted PostgreSQL as a favored database.

MySQL AB was about to seek an IPO offering. We think Sun got a good deal by giving MySQL AB a cool billion, but just hope the MySQL database continues to innovate and carry on it's reputation as a fantastic database platform.

Perhaps with the influx of $800 Million, MySQL can make the leap from your favorite website into the enterprise where the real money is. Some large corporations wouldn't touch a database product that doesn't have support behind it, but if MySQL has a good system in place -- and a sales team who've marketed inside the enterprise for years -- new customers are more likely to take the bait and ditch Oracle or Microsoft's SQL Server.

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Sun Microsystems purchases MySQL originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 16 Jan 2008 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> databasemysqlopen sourceOpenSourcesun Jason Harris Wed, 16 Jan 2008 12:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Google Maps' self promotion pays off]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/15/google-maps-self-promotion-pays-off/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/15/google-maps-self-promotion-pays-off/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/15/google-maps-self-promotion-pays-off/#comments Google Maps

Google has been promoting Google Maps on search results pages, and according to Hitwise, their promotion is paying off. As a result, Google Maps has seen a sizeable increase in their traffic in the last year. If you were to search for an address on Google before last January, you would have seen map links for Yahoo, MapQuest, and Google Maps. Now, you only see a link for Google Maps.

Additionally, if you search for "map quest" or "mapquests", you'll see a Google Maps advertisement next to the search result. The number of searches resulting in a visit to Google Maps recently tripled. According to hitwise, on the week ending January 6, 2007, 0.22% of searches resulted in traffic going to Google Maps, versus 0.67% during the same week this year.

In our non-scientific observation, most younger people are using Google Maps and MapQuest is utilized by old timers who've been using it for years.

Which online mapping system do you use? We look forward to seeing opinions in the comments from yougin's and geriatrics alike.

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Google Maps' self promotion pays off originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 15 Jan 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> googlemapquestmapsyahoo Jason Harris Tue, 15 Jan 2008 08:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[WebEx now offering remote desktop for the Mac]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/15/webex-now-offering-remote-desktop-for-the-mac/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/15/webex-now-offering-remote-desktop-for-the-mac/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/15/webex-now-offering-remote-desktop-for-the-mac/#comments WebEx, one of the premier providers of web-conferencing software, has announced that their desktop sharing software is available for Apple's OS X operating system. PC users have long known the advantage that WebEx provides - being able to share desktops for online meetings, product presentations, and joint collaboration.

Just in time for MacWorld, WebEx has announced that they are expanding their product offering and going cross-platform. Using their new OS X client, you can easily conference PC-to-PC, PC-to-Mac, Mac-to-PC, or Mac-to-Mac. Enterprise users will be particularly fond of this added functionality.

To get started, head over to WebEx's Mac page and download the 30-day trial of WebEx PCNow. After installing the WebEx Mac client, you'll be connected to your home computer. Another great feature is the use of 128-bit encryption that is also firewall friendly. For those of you who want to keep an eye on the office or home, you can utilize Remote Webcam Streaming.

Head on over and give WebEx for OS X a shot.

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WebEx now offering remote desktop for the Mac originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 15 Jan 2008 05:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> applemacintoshos xOsXwebex Jason Harris Tue, 15 Jan 2008 05:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Google unveils new iPhone interface for Google Apps]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/14/google-unveils-new-iphone-interace-for-google-apps/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/14/google-unveils-new-iphone-interace-for-google-apps/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/14/google-unveils-new-iphone-interace-for-google-apps/#comments Google on the iPhoneJust in time for MacWorld, Google has announced sizeable improvements to it's mobile applications for Apple's iPhone. Applications that have been updated include Google Reader, Calendar, Gmail, iGoogle, Search, and Picasa.

Google aims to make the mobile experience slicker and usable for iPhone users by better utilizing the iPhone's touch screen. Users can expect to see:

  • A quicker Gmail: you no longer have to hit refresh to see when news messages arrive. Also, auto-complete makes typing in address quicker.
  • Speedier Calendar: now look at month view and be able to see your entire month's activities at quick glance
  • Default tabs can be customized: change and place your tabs on your iGoogle page. Also, single sign on for Google unlocks all google apps with one entry of your username and password
  • iGoogle now shows your iGoogle Gadets. Chose from weather, stocks, newsfeeds, clocks, and many more.

If you have an iPhone, all these improvements can be seen by heading over to google.com on your mobile browser.

We're glad to see Google embrace the mobile market in this way. With great features such as these, more people will look at cell phones as a natural extension to their online lives.

[via Google Press Center]

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Google unveils new iPhone interface for Google Apps originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 14 Jan 2008 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> googleiphone Jason Harris Mon, 14 Jan 2008 11:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Photophlow gives new breath to flickr]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/11/photophlow-gives-new-breath-to-flickr/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/11/photophlow-gives-new-breath-to-flickr/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/11/photophlow-gives-new-breath-to-flickr/#comments Photophlow

Flickr has been around for a while (especially by web 2.0 standards) and has it's many fans. Rightfully so. We love Flickr too. But don't you feel Flickr needs some thing 'new'. You know, something to spice it up a little?

Enter Photophlow. This site brings a much needed social aspect to your Flickr photoset - conversation. Think about it, when you get back from a trip, isn't it fun to have your closest friends and family gather around while you show them your photos and re-live your experiences on your vacation? Photophlow acts as a chat room centered around photos on Flickr.

The site has a warm fuzzy feeling to it. The other Flickr users in the chat rooms are talkative and inviting. When you log into Photophlow, it almost feels like stepping into your favorite coffee shop on a winter day.

Continue reading Photophlow gives new breath to flickr

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Photophlow gives new breath to flickr originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 11 Jan 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> flickrphotophotophlow Jason Harris Fri, 11 Jan 2008 13:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Zmanda offers backup to Amazon's S3]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/11/zmanda-offers-backup-to-amazons-s3/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/11/zmanda-offers-backup-to-amazons-s3/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/11/zmanda-offers-backup-to-amazons-s3/#comments Zmanda S3

Zmanda, a company who specializes in enterprise multi-platform network backup, has announced a partnership with Amazon.com to make their backup services work with Amazon's S3 storage service. Zmanda is a company which specializes in offering support around the Amanda backup software package.

Zmanda has been in business since 2005 and specialized in centralized enterprise backup with clients that work on Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X and up until this point offered backup to disk and tape. Their new agreement with Amazon's S3 shows S3's influence in the off-site backup market. Amazon S3 offers very inexpensive, secure storage for individuals, developers, and companies.

To get started using Zmanda, visit their website and download the client appropriate for your computer. Also check out their press release for more information about the partnership with Amazon.

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Zmanda offers backup to Amazon's S3 originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 11 Jan 2008 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> amandaamazonbackups3zmanda Jason Harris Fri, 11 Jan 2008 08:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Nokia Sports Tracker gets a Facebook app]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/10/nokia-sports-tracker-gets-a-facebook-app/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/10/nokia-sports-tracker-gets-a-facebook-app/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/10/nokia-sports-tracker-gets-a-facebook-app/#comments Nokia Sports Tracker
Nokia Sports Tracker is an amazing application for Nokia N series smartphones that uses GPS to enable users to track their activities. Do you have a friend who has a Garmin ForeRunner? These are amazing GPS watches because they give you exact statistics about distance traveled, average speed, elevation gain, etc. Well Nokia Sports Tracker gives you the same information by using the GPS in your Nokia phone (such as the N95).

Nokia has taken the next step by allowing you to share this information with your friends by developing a Facebook application. Now you can share your latest workouts and routes directly in your Facebook profile. Information such as your speed, distance and time are automatically stored to your training diary.

Enjoy sharing your route, speed, and distance with your friends with this smart new Facebook Application.

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Nokia Sports Tracker gets a Facebook app originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 10 Jan 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> gpsn95nokianseries Jason Harris Thu, 10 Jan 2008 10:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[NewsGator updates popular RSS Readers, makes them free!]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/09/newsgator-updates-popular-rss-readers-makes-them-free/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/09/newsgator-updates-popular-rss-readers-makes-them-free/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/09/newsgator-updates-popular-rss-readers-makes-them-free/#comments FeedDemonNewsGator, the Denver based company behind ever-popular RSS readers such as NetNewsWire for Mac and FeedDemon for Windows, announced updates for these award-winning products. The full list of the updated products include FeedDemon 2.6 (for Windows), NetNewsWire 3.1 (for the Mac), NewsGator Go! (for mobile platforms), and Inbox (a Microsoft Outlook plug-in). According to NewsGator, users will see improvements in peformance, usability, and relavance improvements.

The second part of NewsGator's announcment is the most exciting - all these products are available for free! Yes, you read that correctly - start downloading away.

NewsGator products' built-in selling point their ability to sync with Newsgator's internet based servers. That is, if you use NetNewsWire at home and FeedDemon at work, you won't have duplicate items to read between the two applications.

Why did NewsGator set these products free? They are obviously shifting gears add corporate resources to monetize their Enterprise offerings such as the NewsGator Enterprise Server. NewsGator wants to take the success they've enjoyed in the consumer market and apply it to the Enterprise environment.

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NewsGator updates popular RSS Readers, makes them free! originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 09 Jan 2008 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> feeddemonfreewaremicrosoft outlookMicrosoftOutlooknetnewswirenewsgatorrss Jason Harris Wed, 09 Jan 2008 15:45:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Save all your instant messages with IM history]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/09/save-all-your-instant-messages-with-im-history/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/09/save-all-your-instant-messages-with-im-history/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/09/save-all-your-instant-messages-with-im-history/#comments IM History
Do you use multiple IM programs? Do you wish you could save your chats in one place? IM History may be for you.

This application saves your IM history across multiple computers and heck even multiple operating systems. IM History currently works with AIM, Yahoo, MSN, Skype, Trllian, and a few others. Using their web interface, IM History users can easily pull up their archived messages.

Think about the usefulness of this utility. Remember way back when one of your IM buddies gave you a link you're dying to get access to, weeks later? By using a tool like IM History, you can easily pull it up and be on your way.

[via LifeHacker]

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Save all your instant messages with IM history originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 09 Jan 2008 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> IM HistoryImHistoryInstant messagingInstantMessaging Jason Harris Wed, 09 Jan 2008 13:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[AT&T openly says it may filter Internet content]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/09/atandt-openly-says-it-may-filter-internet-content/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/09/atandt-openly-says-it-may-filter-internet-content/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/09/atandt-openly-says-it-may-filter-internet-content/#comments Net Neutrality
According to Brad Stone over at The New York Times, AT&T openly stated at CES that they may start filtering Internet content. This is a very big announcement because most ISPs (even Comcast) have up until this point claimed to be net neutral.

So much for being a wide-open pathway to the Information Superhighway. AT&T is reportedly talking to technology companies and the RIAA/MPAA regarding the implication of digital fingerprinting techniques at the networking level. Our friends at civil rights organizations are opposing such measures by implying that they impede on free speech. Some are going as far as to say that these legal provisions stop uses such as parody.

When asked about how their customers would respond to network level filtering, AT&T stated: "Whatever we do has to pass muster with consumers and with policy standards. There is going to be a spotlight on it."

Yeah, there will definitely be a spotlight. We say: Let the free market reign.

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AT&T openly says it may filter Internet content originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 09 Jan 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> net neutralityNetNeutrality Jason Harris Wed, 09 Jan 2008 11:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Comcast could receive hefty FCC fine for throttling Bit Torrent traffic]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/08/comcast-could-receive-hefty-fcc-fine-for-throttling-bit-torrent/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/08/comcast-could-receive-hefty-fcc-fine-for-throttling-bit-torrent/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/08/comcast-could-receive-hefty-fcc-fine-for-throttling-bit-torrent/#comments ComcastRemember October's news of Comcast throttling Bit Torrent traffic? The debacle not only created a firestorm of bad press for the nation's largest cable provider but also re-ignited the nationwide debate about Net Neutrality. We had numerous signs that Comcast was inhibiting our use of this legal and legitimate file transfer protocol, but to have the AP catch them red handed was icing on the cake.

To add to our pleasure, we learned today that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has finally taken notice of Comcast's indiscretion as well. According to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, a group of consumer advocates and legal scholars have asked the commission to look into Comcast discriminating against specific types of data (read: Bit Torrent). The groups have also requested the FCC to fine Comcast $195,000 per affected subscribers. In case you were wondering, at last report, Comcast has 9.1 million subscribers.

We don't really think Comcast will be forced to fork out the projected $1.77 trillion, but we do hope they get scraped through the mud on this one. They completely disregarded their entire customer base and should receive far more than just bad press as a result of this. If you are a company and you're going to filter network traffic, be transparent and disclose it up front. If not, be ready to pay up to Mr. Martin.

[via Mashable]

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Comcast could receive hefty FCC fine for throttling Bit Torrent traffic originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 08 Jan 2008 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> bittorrentcomcastnet neutralityNetNeutrality Jason Harris Tue, 08 Jan 2008 22:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Plaxo, Facebook, and Google go 'open' by joining DataPortability.org]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/08/plaxo-facebook-and-google-go-open-by-joining-dataportability/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/08/plaxo-facebook-and-google-go-open-by-joining-dataportability/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/01/08/plaxo-facebook-and-google-go-open-by-joining-dataportability/#comments In the wake of last week's explosion of attention on data portability on social networks, (that is, being able to take your data from one social network to the other) there is a huge development today. Google, Facebook, and Plaxo have all announced they're joining DataPortability.org.

What does this mean? Well to quote the announcement directly, "Users will be able to access their friends and media across all the applications, social networking sites and widgets that implement the design into their systems". Potentially it means social network widget and application creators will be able to write their widgets for use on any compatible social network.

Considering all these social networks are fighting for our attention, we are not sure how 'open' these social graphs will truly be. Will we be able to export our friends list from Facebook and take it over to MySpace and vice versa? Might we be able to take Facebook applications and use them in MySpace?

These are the types of questions that still need to be answered. Stay tuned to Download Squad for updates as they come across the wire.

[via ReadWriteWeb]

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Plaxo, Facebook, and Google go 'open' by joining DataPortability.org originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 08 Jan 2008 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> dataportabilityfacebookgoogleplaxo Jason Harris Tue, 08 Jan 2008 14:30:00 EST Download Squad