Facebook's Meteoric Advertising Market Share

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This Better Not Be The Xoom 2

The Internet is abuzz with chatter that this, the tablet in the pic above, is the Xoom 2. It's featured in a new Verizon ad (embedded after the link) and while it lacks any branding besides the large Verizon logo on the back, it at least looks like a Xoom. It has the same matte black color scheme, contured back and, as Droid-Life points out, the same unique speaker found on the Xoom. But please-oh-please do not let it be the Xoom 2. Or rather, please don't release the damn thing anytime soon. The original Xoom started slowly rolling out back in late February. It was supposed to be the ultimate Honeycomb tablet -- a sort of Nexus product. But it isn't and the sales reflected that. It's stupid expensive, hard to hold, lacks a USB host port and functional microSD card slot. Then there's Honeycomb, which isn't exactly fully cooked even now thanks to the lack of apps. It only makes sense that Verizon and Motorola would want to quickly recover from the Xoom disaster, but launching the Xoom 2 anytime soon would do just the opposite.

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Daily Mail: Bill Gates is not going back to Microsoft

For everyone hoping that Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates will make a Steve Jobs-like comeback to Apple, the answer is no, according to an interview Gates did with the Daily Mail.

In an interview with the U.K. publication, Gates said his full time work for the rest of his life will be with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Here is the excerpt from the Daily Mail:

"I ask him whether this is it now ? is Microsoft history to him, replaced in his heart by his philanthropy? He retired from the day-to-day running of Microsoft in 2008, with many believing it has since lost its edge to companies like Apple and Google.

My full-time work for the rest of my life is this foundation.

Will he ever return to helm Microsoft?

I?m part-time involved. But this is my job now.? "

Here is another nugget from the interview: Bono stayed at Gates' house in Medina when U2 came to Seattle to perform this month. Here is an excerpt from the Daily Mail where Gates talks about the U2 concert.

" 'We went to the concert with my daughter and three of her friends, so there were six of us and we took the minivan. I drove.?

Did Bono invite them backstage? A long pause, then: ?Umm, no ? actually, he stayed at our house.? "

You can read the Daily Mail's story on Gates here.

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The Weekly Wrap: More U.S. carriers, Evernote arrives, and a handy new app-making tool

So many websites, so little time. Now you don?t have to worry about falling behind on Windows Phone news. Today we?re kicking off a new blog feature?a weekly news round up. Each Friday I?ll recap some of the posts and announcements around the web that caught my eye. Let me know what you think?and what interesting ones I missed. Have a great weekend!

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More U.S. carriers get Windows Phones

U.S. Cellular this week began selling the HTC 7 Pro, its first Windows Phone 7 device. The handset, available for $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate, features a 3.6-inch WVGA touchscreen, 1GHz processor, 5-megapixel camera (with 720p video capture), and a sweet slide-out keyboard. Buy it on their website

Cellular South, meanwhile, debuted its own HTC 7 Pro this week. Check their website for details

Evernote arrives

The much-anticipated note-taking app from Evernote is now available for Windows Phone 7. The free app lets you capture and save notes, photos, clippings, and other inspirations while you?re on-the-go, and can then seamlessly share them with your social profiles. Of the 13 or so versions of Evernote, ?this is the most feature-rich debut we?ve ever had,? the Evernote crew said on their blog. 

Download it now from Marketplace

Manage your server with Windows Phone

Wouldn?t it be handy if you could manage your home or small business server from your favorite coffee shop? As We Got Served reported, that?s possible now with the Windows Server Solutions Phone Connector add-in for Windows Home Server 2011 and Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials.  Once you?ve installed the Microsoft-made add-in?available only as a Release Candidate for testing at the moment? and a companion app on your phone, you can get alerts, stream media from your server, and monitor health status and free disk space from the app?s Live Tile. Test it now

Check out library ebooks with OverDrive

Readers at 15,000 public, school, and corporate libraries can now wirelessly download ebooks and audiobooks directly to their Windows Phone with the free OverDrive Media Console app, new this week in Marketplace (watch a demo).  The app's Get Books feature makes it easy to find a local library, and then browse and check out titles. Another bonus: since digital library books automatically expire, you?ll never pay late fees. Download it now from Marketplace

Mock up apps faster with SketchFlow

Dreaming up new Windows Phone apps just got a little easier. This week Microsoft unveiled the SketchFlow Template for Windows Phone 7, which makes it super easy to mock up and prototype new apps with Expression Blend 4. The template includes common phone features such as pivots and panoramas, date and time pickers, and the application bar. It also includes full-screen mockups of the camera, Bing, the App list, and Start screen. Download it now

And finally?

Looking for the perfect Father?s Day gift for the avatar who has everything? How about a new Windows Phone 7! In case you missed this item last week, WPCentral described how to download a free WP7 handset for your Xbox alter ego. The caveat: the trick only appears to work for U.S.-based Xbox accounts.

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Royal Mail deliveries slump by over 20 per cent during the web age

Email and social networks take their toll on service

Royal Mail has released its financial results for 2010-11, and one thing is clear - it has taken a hell of a kicking due to the rise in communication technologies.

In the last five years, the time period in which web 2.0, smartphones and tablets have taken hold in the public arena, Royal Mail's letter delivery service has slumped by 22.5 per cent - from 80 million items a day in 2005-06 to just 62 million items a day in 2010-11.

The delivery specialist has also indicated that it expects further decreases of 5 per cent per year going forward.

This fall in popularity for a method of "social messaging" - which is struggling to compete with the instantness of a Facebook message, an email or a direct tweet - accounted for a huge loss of ?120 million in 2010-11; almost ?2 million a week.

Royal Mail knows it is fighting a battle with technologies that it cannot compete with and has committed to spending ?400 million on modernisation this year alone.

"We have to develop new products and services to meet the needs of our customers and generate additional revenues to offset the decline in earnings from our letters business," said Moya Greene, chief executive of Royal Mail. "We will also innovate and build new partnerships with respected third parties.

Read

Tags: Royal Mail Email Social networks Facebook Twitter

Royal Mail deliveries slump by over 20 per cent during the web age originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 14 Jun 2011 13:53:01 +0100

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Microsoft quarterly dividend stay at 16 cents

Microsoft's quarterly dividend will stay at 16 cents per share, the company said Wednesday.

The dividend will be payable on Sept. 8 to shareholders of record as of Aug. 18. The ex-dividend date will be Aug. 16.

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WEBSITE OF THE DAY - I Love Cashback

Regular readers will know that we love a price comparison site. We really love a voucher code too. More than anything, we adore cashback on anything we buy.?

So, when we heard about www.ilovecashback.com (talk about a Ronseal URL!) we sat up and took notice.

For the first time, the three best ways to save money when you’re buying stuff online have been combined on one site.

Search for an item and compare the best prices. Then ?pick the best voucher code to go with it and save yourself a packet. Top it off with a nice bit of cashback and we’re struggling to find a reason not to like this site.

And these aren’t your bucket shops either – they’re top brands and household names you can save money on. From Firebox and Play.com to Asda and Boots – you can stock up and cash in at the same time.

Time to go shopping.

Tags: Websites Software Online WebsiteOfTheDay

WEBSITE OF THE DAY ? I Love Cashback originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 16 Jun 2011 01:00:00 +0100

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