By 1) Verizon opens 911 calls to all VOIP customers in the New York area by the end of this summer. Currently VOIP users either have to call a special number, speed dial, or dial 911 and be charged extra for some speciall forwarding service.
Link: C-NET News Related: Verizon Doubles DSL Speed
2) Skype Update v1.2.0.48. This update will fix the default windows size, toolbar key streching problem, API bug fix, and finally the quality feedback form function. This update dosen’t really do much for most people. You may update if you have time, but it is not really neccessary and most might as well wait for the next major update.
Link: Skype Main | Download Skype | ChangeLog
3) TextAmerica boosts video storage size to 25MB from 4MB. They also allow not only 3gp, but also mpeg, mp4, mov, avi, and asx. The service is getting better and better. They have even made a partnership with digg, so the latest news will be displayed on the main page. They have also added RSS feeds to every account so its easier to recieve my latest posts.
Link: TextAmerica | Digg | My TextAmerica | My Digg
4) WEB SEARCH HISTORY WARS begin. Google launched a new service, which logs every single search you make through their site after logging into their gmail or google accounts. Shortly after Yahoo launched their own BETA version that will work with any yahoo account. A9, Amazon’s search engine, has had this feature for a while. It never became popular or was something people really needed. I don’t like this feature because it seems pointless since most people have the history on their browser, but then again Google is aiming to users that use multiple computers.
Link: Google Search | Yahoo Search | A9 Search
Related: MSN Search | Clusty | Ask
5) Sony’s just released these network walkmans NW-E407, NW-E405, NW-E505, and NW-E507. The storage size ranges from 512MB to 1GB. They all have 50 hours of battery life, and it uses a new quick charge battery that allows you to get 3 hours of battery life by charging it for only 3 minutes. The price ranges from $129 to $200 depending on the storage size and whether it has an FM tuner or not. This is going to reduce the sales of Apple’s iPod for sure mainly because it has a 3-line display which shows the track name, number, album name, and artist name. It also shows the date and time and has a repeat and shuffle function. It works with Sony’s Connect Music store and plays mp3, atrac3, wav, and wma.
Link: Sony’s Mp3 Players | Apple iPod Shuffle
