Social network MySpace has revealed another redesigned version of its site, with the main frontpage of the site devoted to prominent investor Justin Timberlake. The new design of the social network became available to normal users earlier this week, after an internal beta test from July onwards that later opened up to others through invitations.
Apple used the end of its fiscal year yesterday to kill off two services; one it had created itself, the other it bought from outside the company. As previously announced, music social service Ping has been completely removed from iTunes through a silent update. The social service launched in 2010 but a failed attempt to integrate Facebook made users avoid it, and it languished despite the addition of Twitter integration later on. Apple purchased app search service and iOS app Chomp in February to incorporate its discovery technology into its redesigned App Store in iOS 6.
A new social iOS app Saga has just hit the App Store (Free, iTunes) and is already generating considerable buzz. Building on the location aware functionality in Siri and Google Now, Saga utilizes data from Facebook, Twitter and others to develop an 'understanding' of a users movements and entertainment habits. Using this information, it can generate suggestions about places to eat that suit your tastes, or other entertainment hangouts, or places where you can buy good coffee.
Jolicloud, described as a "social organizing tool," is now available as a free app for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The service offers to index everything a user has created, linked to, liked or received on several of the top social networks, including Facebook, Twitter, Picasa, Flickr, Instagram and other services. The indexing in effect creates a personal library that is more easily searchable and centrally located than attempting to track down a URL users might have linked to in the past.
Users of Path can now use Lenses on the Android version (Free, Google Play) of the social network-enabled photo sharing app. Lenses, available to iOS Path members for the last year, allow the user to apply filters to the viewfinder, before taking the photograph itself.
Google has updated its iPhone app for its social network Google+, adding support for "Hangouts," ie multi-user videoconferencing, reports MacStories. Up to nine people can join a Hangout, using the front-facing iPhone or iPad camera by default (though the rear camera is also supported). Other changes include the renaming of "Huddle" to "Messenger," and which now supports photo attachments.
Ness Computing has launched its first app, a restaurant recommendation app called Ness that the company says goes beyond gathering crowd-sourced reviews, using social-media data mining, user interaction learning and natural language processing to try and gauge both quality and popularity of a given establishment. The app gathers mentions and reviews from other services that contain the name of the restaurant in order to present an even broader cross-section of opinion.
Instant social-sharing of photos snapped (primarily) on the iPhone or iPod Touch through apps like Instagram has caught on with both artists and amateurs as a way to quickly pass on discoveries and documentation of their lives. A new service and app, GLMPS (pronounced "glimpse," free) offers a twist on the idea by pre-recording the five seconds before a photo is taken, making the photo the last "frame" of a short video -- giving more context to the picture.
Registrations for the Macworld Conference & Expo 2009 are now open, with show organizer IDG creating a brand new web site that offers enhanced Web 2.0 compatibility. The new website allows users to interact with Macworld attendees and other Mac users through Facebook, MySpace, and the Expo's own proprietary social network. The 2009 Expo will run from January 5th to the 9th, and several different passes available for varying schedules and event privileges.
Mac-based social network net4mac has updated its software to version 1.5. net4mac is a Mac-only social network, with Mac-integrated software that allows users to build profiles, add friends, contact other users, create events and search for members using specific criteria. The new update has a completely rewritten chat function, with an improved geolocation feature (for finding members on a map) and an upgraded user interface with better feedback. It also adds forums, new tips and tricks and numerous bug fixes. The free net4mac software runs on Mac OS X 10.4 and higher.
App4Mac, the company behind RapidoWrite, CheckUp and other Mac OS X tools, has announced net4mac, a new, free social networking service built exclusively for Mac users. Users can create a profile including your location, job, activities, skills and the type of Macs, iPhone, iPod, etc. owned, then add friends to your profile and manage them. Users can also create their own groups of interest and invite friends to join them (people using the same application, in your same location, sharing the same passions, etc) and create events and invite Mac users. Registered users can search members using different of criteria and discover local Mac users..
Unknown Vector today launched the uvLayer beta, a free, multi-service video sharing community that allows users to communicate with friends across several social networks. uvLayer relies on Adobe AIR to provide a full-screen video organization and sharing area. Users can sort videos however they choose, by stacking, dragging, and throwing video thumbnails across the virtual tabletop. uvLayer requires Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger or later, and the Adobe AIR browser plugin.
