Doctors can compel you to remove negative reviews from Angie's List
It's time for your yearly physical. Walking into the doctor's office is like any other visit: the same corny elevator music, the same outdated magazines, and that stack of paperwork the receptionist always hands you to fill out. But there's something new in that paperwork. Your doctor is asking you to sign a new agreement. What it asks for surprises you.
Your doctor wants you to turn over the rights of what you may say about him or her online. Sound ridiculous? It's not and is the newest method medical professionals use to protect their reputations. One company is spearheading this effort, and has become the target of criticism for its practices.
Don't miss one of this week's exciting 18 downloads
Another busy week software releases has passed, and chances are you missed something. Fear not, we have collected together some of the highlights of the past seven day in another handy roundup so you can catch up.
VMWare released a series of updates to it virtualization software, starting with VMware Workstation 8.0.1. The app can be used to run virtual copies of Windows and Linux and the latest version includes graphics performance improvements as well as support for Ubuntu 11. VMware Player 4.0.1 is the free version of the virtualization tool for Windows while VMware Fusion 4.1 is more a major upgrade for Mac users, which supports full screen mode in Lion, improves performance of virtual machines and much more.
Ring in the holidays with "A Charlie Brown Christmas" for tablets
Yesterday I coughed up $6.99 for Loud Crow Interactive's digital pop-up remake of the Charles Schultz holiday classic. "A Charlie Brown Christmas" is available for Android and iOS from the Amazon, Apple and Google mobile apps stores -- for smartphones and tablets. The digital book delights, is more than worth 7 bucks and demonstrates how tablet apps/books should utilize the touchscreen. "A Charlie Brown Christmas" is the must-have addition to any tablet you gift. Tablets top this year's holiday wish lists.
But "A Charlie Brown Christmas" also reveals a problematic similarity to the early PC era: Application incompatibilities across operating systems. Schultz's remade classic is available from the three aforementioned stores, and buyers will have to cough up for at least two platforms, if, say, Junior has Android phone and Janie iPad and both want the same digital app/book. They can purchase from Android Market but will have to again at Apple's App Store. Buyers pay twice if they want what functionally is the same content for two different platforms. This isn't a new problem, but visible example because of price (compared to, say, a 99-cent game). Loud Crow's "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" is available from the same three stores and Nook, too. The situation presents hardships for some developers and consumers.
Replace your TV with an iPad or Android tablet and Hauppauge Broadway
The whole idea of "cutting the cord" means a household cancels its cable or satellite television subscription and relies on IP-based content delivery methods that offer greater choice of programming. The trend often doesn't focus on users actually getting rid of their televisions as well, even though it is entirely possible with technology that is available right now.
And I'm not talking about Netflix, Hulu, Crackle, Amazon Video, Vudu, Ultraviolet, or any of the other pay-per-view or subscription streaming video services, even though they really could turn a mobile device into a TV replacement. I'm talking about the Hauppauge Broadway, which I spent this week testing.
CyberLink Video and Photo Creative Collection 1.0 is a bargain
Multimedia specialist CyberLink has introduced a new money-saving bundle in its latest media creativity suite, the Video and Photo Creative Collection 1.0.
The suite combines the company’s high-end video editor,PowerDirector 10 Ultra, with its excellent photography workflow package, PhotoDirector 2011.
Amazon loses about $3 on each Kindle Fire
Amazon is leaning on its strengths in procurement in order to make the Kindle Fire as cheaply as possible, IHS iSuppli says. The firm has begun its teardown of the device and says that the components inside offer little surprises from the virtual teardown it released in September. Each Fire costs Amazon $201.70 to build, meaning the company loses $2.70 on each device.
Previously, IHS guessed that the Fire had cost $209.63 to build, but that was based on what it new of Amazon's suppliers and not an actual teardown of the device.
Your email signature is a valuable marketing tool
In this depressed economy, the corporate marketing budget is usually one of the first things that is cut back. Proving tangible return on investment (ROI) on marketing efforts can sometimes be a challenge. Marketing initiatives with no tangible ROI often end up on the chopping block during a recession.
With email marketing open rates and ROI steadily diminishing, savvy companies are now turning to a readily available, virtually free resource for email marketing exposure. Many are finding that by using their email signatures in a creative way, they can market upcoming events, product news, and build social media followers, often achieving tangible and measurable marketing results.
VMWare 4.1 for Mac promises performance fixes
VMWare has updated its range of virtualization products for Mac, Windows and Linux. The biggest update is VMWare Fusion 4.1 for Mac, which addresses a number of issues raised by users, including poor performance and the loss of certain features such as being able to automatically load virtual machines on application launch.
Also updated are VMWare Workstation 8.0.1 and the free VMWare Player 4.0.1 tool for Windows and Linux.
Microsoft expands epic retail war with Apple
It's grand opening weekend for Microsoft's 14th retail store, and first on the East Coast, at Tysons Corner Center in McLean, Va. The company pulled back the curtain yesterday at 9:30 am ET, just down the way from Apple's first-ever retail shop.
I was there when Apple Store opened in May 2001 and regret missing Microsoft Store's debut there. I lived in the Washington, DC area for 23 years before moving to San Diego in October 2007. Tysons Corner is my favorite of the Beltway malls.
Windows Phone 'Mango' upgrade rollout nears completion, gets update on top of it
The Windows Phone "Mango" upgrade rollout continued last night as users of the the Samsung Focus 1.4 on AT&T began to receive updates. Now nearly complete, this upgrade has taken only two months to finish and includes half of all the Windows Phones across the globe.
Given Microsoft's position of simply being the software provider and licenser, and the fact that these upgrades span multiple OEMs and multiple global carriers, this upgrade has been carried out with remarkable speed.
Watch Facebook videos with RealPlayer 15
Real Networks has updated the Windows version of its multimedia player, RealPlayer, to version 15. Available in both free and function-enhanced Plus editions, RealPlayer provides a one-stop shop for organizing, sharing and accessing media content, both online and offline.
RealPlayer 15 adds two new features: the ability to instantly access any video posted to Facebook, and a Private Mode that allows you to download and save video to a password-protected secure location. It’s a less radical build than version 14, which introduced social-networking tools alongside a host of other improvements, including a revamped user interface.
Make your presentations zing with PointerStick
Often, during a presentation, you’ll want to highlight a particular area of the screen. The obvious solution is to use the mouse cursor, and sometimes -- if you’re using a large projector, say -- that may be enough.
Mouse cursors are generally unobtrusive, though, which is why you might lose track of yours even when you’re sitting in front of the screen. So if you’d like to make your point rather more obviously, then you may benefit from a new free tool, PointerStick.
This is how you sell a smartphone
Google's Galaxy Nexus TV spot is simply exceptional. Good advertising is aspirational, and the 60-second commercial is every bit. Something else, and this is particularly true for gadgets: Good marketing emphasizes benefits, not features.
Sales started today in Europe, and I'm feeling oh-so cheated here on the other side of the Atlantic. Where's my Ice Cream Sandwich?
iPhone overtakes BlackBerry as top workplace smart phone
Research In Motion's BlackBerry has lost its long held position as the top smartphone among business users, a new study finds. Mobility services company iPass found that the iPhone is now the most commonly used smartphone in the workplace, with the Android platform also showing impressive growth.
The survey of 2,300 workers found that 45 percent use iPhones, up from 31.1 percent a year ago. BlackBerry usage fell to 32.2 percent from 34.5 percent a year ago. Android now is 21.3 percent of the market, up from 11.3 percent a year ago. Overall, RIM market share isn't collapsing as much as other platforms are gaining acceptance in the workplace.
New Skype betas add Facebook video chat
Skype’s integration with Facebook is nothing new, but the latest beta version of the cross-platform chat and VoIP tool takes this to a new level. Skype for Windows 5.7 Beta and Skype for Mac 5.4 Beta bring further advantages to connecting your Facebook account with your Skype one. Now, as well as being able to make use of Facebook chat from within the app, it is now also possible to conduct Facebook video chats.
This can all be carried out from within Skype itself without the need to visit the Facebook web site -- just as it has been possible to conduct text-based chats with your Facebook contacts, the same is now possible with face-to-face VoIP calls. Improvements have been made to Skype’s video rendering, which helps to give a smoother overall experience, and there are a number of other new features to explore.
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