Category Archives: Internet

Nov 9 2012

Microsoft To Replace Windows Live Messenger With Skype

Microsoft To Replace Windows Live Messenger With Skype

Microsoft has announced that it plans to retire Windows Live Messenger in favour of Skype, according to a blog post on the latter’s website. The software giant had acquired the popular VoIP service last year and a merger of the two IM clients was therefore imminent. It was reported earlier that around 80% of all IMs sent over Skype are being handled by Messenger backend. It is likely that the VoIP feature of Skype, which is something that Microsoft’s IM client missed, enabled the former to retain its existence, rather than being swallowed by the latter. The plan is to slowly phase out Live Messenger over the next few months with a complete phase-out happening by March 2013, with the notable exclusion of mainland China. Users of the IM client can move to Skype during this period using the same login credentials.

Launched on the 22nd of July, 1999, Windows Live Messenger enjoyed pole position for a number of years when only a few competitors such as Yahoo! Messenger were around. Voice and video calling between computers was one of its main attractions in addition to text chat. However, the entry of Google‘s client and browser-based IM service managed to sweep away a sizeable number of users soon after it was launched a little over seven years ago. Probably to counter this new kid on the block, Microsoft and Yahoo! launched interoperability between their two IM clients to allow users from one service to chat using the other’s client. Facebook Chat interoperability has also been supported since September, 2010. Nevertheless, it seems that the IM client finally decided that now is a good time to take a bow. Windows Live Messenger was reported to have over 330 million active users in 2009, although the number is now dropped to somewhere around 100 million.

How many of you use Windows Live Messenger as your primary IM client? Do you think this is a good move by Microsoft?
Microsoft To Replace Windows Live Messenger With Skype

Nov 9 2012

Top 50 Most Visited US Sites List

ComScore released the list of the 50 most visited sites in the US as part of its report on monthly analysis of U.S. web properties activity. ComScore is the leader in estimating World Wide Web traffic to top websites and releases monthly reports on the most visited websites across the world.

The 50 most visited US sites list (PDF download) is available from their website and it shows the following top websites.

top websites in US

It comes as no surprise that Google and it’s related web properties are the most visited websites in the US. Facebook holds an enviable fourth most visited position, even more than sites like Amazon, Apple and eBay, and far far above Twitter and LinkedIn. MySpace still seems to be holding in the top 50 list (the new MySpace might make it promising), while the surprise new entry is Pinterest, which shows the growing popularity and traffic of this new social media service.

I hope you have already seen the Google’s 1000 most-visited sites on the web. Which website you expected to feature on this list and it’s not there?

Nov 9 2012

Firefox turns 8 today

Firefox 8

Eight years ago, when I first saw Firefox posted on a message board that I frequented, I thought it was so cool that someone was trying to make a new browser. The post was flamed to death with all sorts of negative comments about how Microsoft’s Internet Explorer was the best there was and Mozilla was never going to be able to compete with Microsoft. Fortunately, Mozilla didn’t see comments like that and decide to throw in the towel. Because of that, the Firefox team at Mozilla are able to celebrate 8 years of development today.

If you take a look back, you can absolutely see how Firefox was directly responsible for some of the major changes in how we use the web today. Firefox made a name for itself by being something that was so much better than Internet Explorer at the time that the only reason IE was used was to install Firefox. The team has even gone so far recently as to poke fun back at Internet Explorer 10‘s release. The browser has grown with the intention of delivering a web experience that “put people first” as they put it. Now, 8 years later, Firefox has absolutely become a staple in the web ecosystem.

Firefox now exists on Windows, it’s a default browser in many versions of Linux, OSX, and now Android as well. On each platform they support, Mozilla strives to offer the open web standards and practices that the company has dedicated themselves to from the beginning. With a global browser market share that hovers just behind Internet Explorer by a few percent, it’s not hard to imagine that Firefox will be around for a long time. Happy Birthday Firefox!

Nov 8 2012

Become a Skype power user with our 7 must-know secrets

Skype is so popular that in some circles people use the name of the service as a verb. Yet most people use Skype only for making free voice calls, and for conducting occasional video chats between far-flung relatives. That’s a shame, because Skype is a powerful business tool. A Skype-powered videoconference can take the place of a business trip, saving you money on airfare, hotel, and car rental. And let’s not forget the free Skype-to-Skype calls you can make to overseas suppliers, clients, and other contacts.

There’s actually more to Skype than meets the eye, however. For example, you can use the service to show someone a PowerPoint deck. You can use it to dial in to conference calls without all the usual hassles. And you can add a Skype button to your website to give customers a free and easy way to contact you. Sound good? Let’s begin.


As long as you have a video chat going, why not show off what you’re working on? Continue reading →
Nov 6 2012

Google updates Chrome browser with battery-saving feature

Google Tuesday released a Chrome browser update with a video decoding enhancement that the company claims will help users save battery life.

The feature, available for Chrome on Windows, cuts power consumption by executing video decoding on graphics processing units instead of on computers’ CPUs, Google said in a blog post. This is because dedicated graphics chips require much less power than computers’ CPUs, resulting in a 25 percent increase in battery life in Google tests.

“Now Chrome users on Windows will experience longer battery life so they don’t get cut off while watching their favorite YouTube video on repeat,” wrote Ami Fischman, a Google software engineer.

Other new features

This Chrome update—version 23—also gives users an option to send a “do-not-track” request to websites and online services, although Google warned that this feature’s effectiveness depends on how the sites and services field these requests.

“Google is working with others on a common way to respond to these requests in the future,” Fischman wrote.

Chrome 23 also consolidates in an icon next to the URL a website’s permission settings for things like geolocation identification, pop up messages and camera-microphone access.

“Now, simply click on the page/lock icon next to a website’s address in the omnibox to see a list of permissions and tweak them as you wish,” Fischman wrote.

Security fixes include one that is not in the Chrome browser per se, but rather in the way Apple iOS defends against wild writes in compromised graphics drivers. Google paid $1,000 to the person who reported this bug, rated High, the second-highest rating behind Critical.

Google fixed 13 other security vulnerabilities, including five rated High and seven rated Medium, including one for which it paid a reward of $3,500.