IM+

Author Jane McGonigal explains why 'reality is broken' (Q&A)

Until a couple of years ago, the idea that games could make people's lives better was heresy. Everyone knew that games were a massive waste of time and that, if anything, they were harming those who played them the most.

But then word began to spread of new research that showed just the opposite: that games, and playing games, could have a positive impact on people. And while there was still plenty of skepticism, the woman behind the research, well-known game designer Jane McGonigal, began to attract a lot of attention with her new claims. Especially the idea that … Read more

DeviantArt CEO on painting with a broader brush (Q&A)

In 2000, a young entrepreneur named Angelo Sotira co-founded an online community site built around giving artists a place to showcase their work, and art fans a place to discover new talent.

Over the years, the site, DeviantArt, has signed up 15 million registered users and today sees about 35 million monthly unique users, according to Sotira. Yet, despite laying claim to being "the largest online social network for artists," it's likely that most people have never even heard of the site.

Now, CEO Sotira has decided to do something about that. He plans on undertaking what … Read more

Microsoft's Lync arrives, gets a Gates cameo

Microsoft this morning unveiled the latest version of its Office Communicator product, which now goes by the name Lync.

The rebranding actually happened earlier this year, but the product was not finalized and released to manufacturers until late October. This morning's event centered around the news that Lync will be available for sale in 150 countries beginning December 1.

Lync is made up of three different products: an instant messaging system with presence; an audio and video conferencing tool; and a voice call service. The product has been in development for the past five to six years, according to … Read more

Scott Beale on 15 years of Laughing Squid (Q&A)

After 15 years of hard work documenting (and hosting) the development of tech culture, there is one person whom many see at the epicenter of tech culture: Scott Beale.

The founder of Laughing Squid, a company that offers Web hosting to the tech stars (and anyone else), a well-read tech culture blog, a Twitter feed with 100,000 followers, an influential events list, and more, Beale calls himself the "primary tentacle" of his operation.

In a 2007 article on SFGate, he was called "the official photographer of Web 2.0," a title that anyone who's … Read more

Researchers hack toys, attack iPhones at ToorCon

SAN DIEGO--From "weaponized" iPhone software to hacked toys and leaked cookies, researchers at the ToorCon security conference here this weekend showed how easy it can be to poke holes in software and hardware with the right tools, know-how, and curiosity.

One researcher demonstrated how to take control of an iPhone using an exploit that targets a hole in Safari, which has been patched. The iPhone had an app installed that allowed it to process credit card numbers, which could then be stolen if this were an attack in the wild.

Eric Monti, a senior security researcher at Trustwave, &… Read more

Meebo releases beta IM app for BlackBerry

Meebo brings a new instant messaging entrant to BlackBerry today, in the form of a beta release of Meebo for BlackBerry (download). The Web-based IM service hopes to net more users with this app, in addition to those it picked up when Meebo released its iPhone and Android apps.

For the most part, Meebo for BlackBerry beta worked and looked as expected in our tests on a Bold 9700. The app makes use of two tabs to respectively manage your buddy list and contacts. The Menu is home to settings and tools, like logging on to one of your chat … Read more

Study finds love-hate relationship with cell phones

Though our cell phones make us feel safer and more connected, we're not so crazy about how they interrupt our daily lives.

A majority of the people surveyed by Pew Internet for a report released Thursday said owning a cell phone makes them feel safer because they can always use it to call for assistance. A large number (88 percent) also said their phones help them make plans with other people. In particular, the adults surveyed by Pew said they use calls and text messages to set up meetings and check in with others.

A significant number (65 percent) … Read more

Skype updates latest beta with 10-way video calling

The latest release of Skype's 5.0 beta will let you make video calls to as many as 10 people at the same time, according to details posted on the company's Thursday blog.

The 10-way calling is an upgrade from the first 5.0 beta, which offered only 5-way video chatting. But beyond tweaking the video calling, the engineers at Skype have outfitted beta 2 with other new features and tweaks.

Skype's new Home area will offer updates about the service, details on your call purchases, and videos to help newbies get started. The new offline IM … Read more

IM+ comes to the browser: Is it a Meebo killer?

Hopping onto several instant-messaging networks at once is often best done with the help of IM software, but in recent years Web-based chat tools have gotten to the point where software is not as much of a necessity. Shape Services, the maker of several mobile software applications, has put together just such a tool called IM+ for Web that does well to fit into that category.

Like the popular Meebo, IM+ for Web lets you connect to multiple IM networks at once and juggle several chats in one browser window. All the while it provides notifications when new messages arrive, … Read more