Qbox is a search engine/media player combo that lets you find and listen to music available from social networking sites including MySpace, Bebo, and YouTube. The interface is a bit more complicated than it needs to be. If you just download the standalone media player for Windows, you'll be told that you need to sign in if you want to search for music.
Search results are displayed in your default web browser, which is odd because the Qbox media player acts as sort of a stripped down browser for playing web audio and video clips. Don't ask us why it won't display search results.
Now here comes the important part: Qbox is not compatible with Firefox 3. If you conduct a search from the media player or the web site using Firefox 3, you'll get a list of songs. But when you click the play buttons next to those songs, you'll be told that you haven't installed the Qbox media player if you're using Firefox 3. When we logged into the web site with Internet Explorer, everything worked properly. But when we tried to search from songs from the media player interface, the results were again displayed in our default browser, which was Firefox 3. There doesn't seem to be a way to select your prefered browser from within the software.
You can also click on genre tags to browse for songs within the media player itself. Qbox is currently available as a public beta, so it's possible the company could improve the interface and adds Firefox 3 compatibility.
As the 2008 US presidential election campaign finally approaches full steam, presumtive nominees Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama are facing off in the media to win hearts and minds. But which candidate is making the most of the of online social media services?
A visit to www.barackobama.com shows that the Obama campaign has established itself firmly in the social media world with an offical presence on major services such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, LinkedIn and more specialist sites such as Glee, Eons, MyBatanga, AsianAve and Faithbase.
On the Republican side, John McCain's presidential campaign has developed its basic Web presence with a mult-faceted Web site but McCain lags far behind Obama in terms of presence and supporters in the key online social media battlegrounds.
MySpace has rolled out its anticipated site-wide redesign today. There's a shiny new search engine which displays results from your friends first and lets you sort your results by movies, music, the web, or all of MySpace. And site navigation has been improved so that it takes less clicks to get from one part of the site to another.
There's also a new video player which supports higher quality videos playing at 480p resolution. That makes the MySpace video player a lot nicer than YouTube's current offering. But if you're a MySpace traditionalist, don't worry, the site still has its obnoxious side. For example, when you visit the main page you'll be greeted by a huge advertisement which pushes the content about halfway down the window. Classy, right?
And of course, if you're worried that you won't recognize MySpace with its new look and all, you can always install a Firefox plugin that will alert you any time you accidentally find yourself on the social networking site.
MySpace is set to roll out a major site redesign next week. Don't worry, MySpace will still be the flashy and obnoxious older sibling to more subdued social networks like Facebook and Orkut. But it'll be a bit easier to navigate, and it will be easier for users to customize their own pages without any HTML knowledge.
Users will be able to edit profiles by using a new sidebar utility that lets you pick a template and change the color scheme. MySpace will also be changing the way it displays search results by providing a series of tabs you can click on to see results from all of MySpace, the web, or just user profiles, videos, or music results.
While most of the changes won't be visible until next week, MySpace has already updated its video player. The new player features easier to use controls, and support for Flash 9, which means you can watch high resolution videos on MySpace TV.
Have you ever accidentally visited MySpace? Yeah, we probably have too, though, it was never a noticeable problem. In fact, we can't even remember it happening, but it seems like it has to have happened... right?
Well, this Firefox add-on promises to detect MySpace in Firefox, and provide a pop-up menu to stop unsuspecting web-browsers from hitting up the social network. The plug-in is obviously a joke, but we found a great use for it anyway -- avoiding phishing.
It's called AmIOnMySpace.com? and it can be used to detect the real MySpace site. If for any reason the message doesn't pop-up upon first visiting the social network, you're not on the real site. The biggest problem with using this as a way of avoiding phishing sites is that it doesn't alert users when leaving MySpace, so it's still possible to get attacked from within.
As cliché as it sounds, breaking up really is hard to do. Well, maybe it's not theoretically difficult, but telling someone you've cared about in any capacity that it's over and it's time to move on isn't fun. Actually, being told is probably even less fun, especially if there's the element of surprise involved.
Technology complicates things. Aside from the potential for devastation that comes from a significant other texting you a "Let's just be friends" message, or finding a picture of your sweetie online in a compromising position, there is the whole social networking issue.
ABC News takes a hard-hitting look at Facebook relationship statuses. A girlfriend is devastated when her ex- changes his status to "Single." Was she more devastated over the break up, or the fact that several Facebook contacts gave her a ring? ABC doesn't say for sure, but their use of the phrase "barraged with phone calls" and the statement that it was an "uncomfortable experience" for the former couple leads us to believe that, er, maybe some calls were made for less altruistic reasons than the offer of a shoulder to cry on. The love doctors here at DLS Most of us here at Download Squad would say there are a few issues to consider when you decide to make your relationship public on a site like Facebook. Why are you using the social networking site? Is it work or career related? Are you keeping in touch with friends? It's ultimately up to you, and how comfortable you feel about the fact that some friends on social networks might not actually be friends (unless you really do know Tom at MySpace personally).
The sad fact is that on the 'net as well as in real life, there are people who will gossip and ask for way too many details over a break up that they aren't directly involved in. The interwebs makes it easier for them to poke and prod for the juicy bits, sure, but that's less technology related and more human nature related.
And guys/girls... Seriously, don't ever break up with anyone via text. You'll never have a relationship in this town again with that sort of behavior.
How do you do decide which photosharing site to go with? If free is your criteria, there are certainly many options to choose from. Most free photo sharing sites are ad supported and come with a certain GB capacity limit. If you upgrade to a pro account, which can run anywhere from $20-$25 per year, there are typically no limits and no advertisements.
We took a look at the most popular photosharing sites' features and did a comparison to help you decide which photo site is best suited for your needs. We compared Flickr, Photobucket and Zooomr and then test drove each of the sites to see how well they did. Check out our unscientific findings after the jump.
Desktop social networking client Sociagami has added two features that were noticeably absent from earlier builds: Twitter integration and support for updating your status from the application. When we first looked at Sociagami a few months ago, the software provided an attractive (but RAM-heavy) tool for interacting with your Facebook and MySpace contacts. You could see all of the latest status updaes in one place, navigate through your friend list in a slick browser, or view the latest photos uploaded by your contacts.
But without the ability to update your own status, Sociagami wasn't nearly as useful as other desktop social networking tools like Digsby. The latest version includes a handy status update tool that lets you post to Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter simultaneously. If you only want to update one service, just uncheck two of the boxes.
The new Twitter client works pretty much exactly as you'd expect. You get a list of recent messages from your contacts in one window, and you can sift through your contact list in the browser. One thing that sets Sociagami apart from Digsby is the fact that you can see all of your latest Twitter, MySpace, and Facebook messages in a single window.
But while Digsby already has a reputation as a RAM-heavy application, at least that utility also gives you email notification alerts and an instant messenger application, two features that Sociagami lacks. Still, we're happy to report that Sociagami continues to get a bit better with each release, so we're not ready to give up on this application just yet.
Remember making new friends without the help of the Internet? Thanks to a new service called rmbrMe, you can convert those messy real life acquaintances into easily manageable social networking formats! rmbrMe lets you send a code via text message that will link people you just met to your profiles on Facebook, Myspace, LinkedIn, or whatever other networks you choose.
There is a bit of a missing link between having someone's phone number and having their URLs. Not everyone has an iPhone, so it's not always easy to send a hyperlink that won't have to be retyped into a browser later. RmbrMe is a clever concept, but it makes us wish for something even easier. Instead of going to a browser and typing in a five-digit code to get to a profile that aggregates all of your other profiles, it would be nice to see a service that generated friend requests straight from the text message.
For now, rmbrMe is a fairly elegant solution to the problem of helping people, well, remember you. The catch, and the reason we probably won't become frequent users of the service, is that it charges 49 cents a message, on top of whatever your carrier charges. Asking for an e-mail address might be a little bit dorkier, but it's also cheaper.
The "social networking" space is chock-full of applications, plug-ins and other bits and pieces designed to hopefully enhance the user's experience online and potentially in their real lives as well. Unfortunately, some of these applications or plug-ins are often uninspired and do little, if anything, to accomplish this goal.
Sometimes, however, an application or plug-in is able to provide user's with useful services and a forum to express themselves. Case in point, "Where I've Been," an application and a stand-alone website which can actually enhance the user's experience by providing useful tools such as travel-related tips, interactive maps and a forum to showcase and discuss where they've traveled to.
At the helm of "Where I've Been" is CEO Michael Dalesandro who, in a short time, has managed to transform "Where I've Been" from its humble beginnings into a very successful application in use by millions of users each day. Recently, I sat down with with him to discuss "Where I've Been," what it does and where its going.
CHRIS ULLRICH: Michael, thanks for taking the time to talk with me.
MICHAEL DALESANDRO: Not a problem.
CU: How and when did you first get involved with "Where I've been"?
MD: Craig Ulliott was working for Blueye.com as a developer when he brought me the concept for "Where I've Been." He wrote the application and then it launched on Facebook first. That's where it all started.
CU: For someone unfamiliar with "Where I've been", can you describe it?
MD: "Where I've Been" is a simple way for people to connect and express themselves primarily through their travel experiences. It allows the user to highlight their travels graphically and show what places, cities, countries they've been to.
The can share where they have been, where have lived and where they want to go with friends, family and others.
CU: How does "Where I've been" benefit the user? Why should someone use it?
Been so busy trying to buy Pope bobble-head dolls on eBay that you've fallen behind on the week's software news? We've got your back. Here are some of our favorite stories from the past week. Comcast shuts down Dave Winer
Ever wonder if those unlimited bandwidth internet service plans are really unlimited? Tech analyst Dave Winer found out the hard way that there's unlimited, and then there's Comcast. The cable and internet provider cut him off for excessive use. Download Squad's Christina Warren interviewed Winer about his Comcast woes, Amazon MP3 has little or no effect on iTunes
Amazon's MP3 download store might look like a great alternative to the iTunes store. It has a ton of music, it's well priced, and all the tracks are DRM-free. But it turns out that iTunes is still king. By a long shot. Less than 10% of Amazon MP3 customers are iTunes converts.
A sassy 13 year-old Virginian laid the smack-down on a vacuum instead of doing his chores and then was caught looking at porn by his tech savvy mother, who stumbled upon some very suspicious looking cookies (not pictured above) stored on the computer's browser. Unhappy with his recent behavior, how does a mother punish a boy in this day and age?
Grounding him to his room would only be a blessing: video games, TV, the Internet, movies, phone, etc. Getting him to do chores has already proved fruitless. Perhaps in another time-period, she would've beat him into a coma with a yard stick, but today's politically correct nation requires Parenting 2.0 -- officially trademarked, copyrighted, and owned by T-Mobile.
MySpace, Warner Music Group, Sony BMG, and Universal Music have announced plans to launch an online music web site called MySpace Music (not to be confused with the existing web site called MySpace Music, rather the new site will be a spinoff of MySpace's existing service).
The music companies wil be making their complete content libraries available. Users will be able to stream ad-supported audio and video for free, or pay to download files includign songs and ringtones. MySpace Music will also sell concert tickets and artis merchandise.
EMI hasn't signed onto the project yet, but the New York Times reports that sources say the 4th major label will probably join up soon.
The music labels will own a minority stake in the business, which will compete with Apple's iTunes. Of course, the labels are making money through iTunes sales as well, but they've been complaining for a while that as the dominant online music retailer, Apple has too much control over the pricing and distribution of digital music.
Yahoo!, MySpace and Google announced the creation of the OpenSocial Foundation today. The foundation is a non-profit entity aimed at ensuring "...open and transparent governance of the OpenSocial specifications and intellectual property."
On the final day of SXSW Interactive 2008, we were lucky enough to sit down with Kevin Marks from Google's OpenSocial project. Kevin broke down what OpenSocial is, where it is going (MySpace, Hi5, and Orkut among others had already signed on as of our interview) and what the plans are for the future. We'll be posting our interview with Marks shortly.
In the meantime, you can read more about the new foundation after the jump
Digsby, the instant messaging, social networking, email super-tool we first told you about last month launches its public beta today. That means you can sign up without an invitation code. The latest version of the Digsby client also has ton of new features:
Twitter support
Audio and video chat through a partnership with ToxBox
Spell checking
New "listening to..." status box will automatically update your status with currently playing songs from iTunes or Winamp
Block contacts by right clicking in the IM window
If you're still not exactly sure what Digsby does, it's basically a single application that lets you communicate with your IM contacts, friends on Facebook, MySpace, or Twitter, or anyone else thanks to email notifications. You can configure Digsby to display a pop up alert every time you receive an email, every time a friend sends a message via Twitter, or every time someone changes their MySpace or Facebook status. You can also see a list of recent updates in each category.
Digsby historically has been a bit of a memory hog compared to lighter weight instant messaging programs like Pidgin. But considering just how many features Digsby has that Pidgin lacks, the memory use doesn't seem excessive.
The application is available for Windows XP and Vista. Mac and Linux clients are in the works.
As the 2008 US presidential election campaign finally approaches full steam, presumtive nominees Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama are facing off in the media to win hearts and minds. But which candidate is making the most of the of online social media services?
Been so busy trying to buy 
