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Opera Unite was going to change the Web, according to the hype from the Norwegian browser maker. Despite only being available for a number of months in a beta separate from the main Opera build–and the Internet looking more or less like the same place in the aftermath–the release of Opera 10.10 beta indicates that Unite is about to become a standard Opera feature.

File sharing from the first Opera Unite beta in June 2009.

(Credit:
Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET

Unite is basically a peer-to-peer system designed through the browser, but its API allows users to create feature-rich apps using only HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. By default, Unite comes with six apps: photo sharing, an instant messenger based around My Opera, file sharing, a Web server, a media player, and “the fridge,” a communal place to share short notes with friends. When Unite was released during the pre-Opera 10 beta testing period over the past summer, it was generally stable and didn’t significantly impact Opera’s performance. A free My Opera account is required to use the Unite features.

Users interested in creating Opera Unite apps can check out Opera’s tutorials. If you’ve used Unite, or built an app for it, tell us about it in the comments below.

Originally posted at The Download Blog

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Opera prepares Unite for release

The key feature in Mozilla’s Weave add-on for Firefox is the ability to synchronize tabs, bookmarks, history, and other browser-sourced, data-rich fields. The latest update, Weave version 0.7, gives a big overhaul to the synchronization component, redoing the setup and configuration interface, and adding incremental download support.

Mozilla Weave's new My Account page, which opens in a new tab.

(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)

Compared to previous versions, the installation process on your first computer has been greatly streamlined, though the security questions asked remain the same. The wizard that guides you through the process has been redone to present the information through a tab-specific black overlay.

According to Mozilla, the incremental download support will grab your data in bite-size chunks to spread out, and reduce memory and network usage. To redo the synchronization settings, you still need to load the Preferences via about:weave, and then go to the Tools drop-down menu on the tab that opens and choose Start Over. I was unable to synchronize many settings, but that might be because of a conflict with an installed add-on.

The development of Weave, first introduced at the end of 2007, didn’t really begin to take off until earlier this year. Since then, Weave has introduced multiple useful features that other browsers, such as Opera, have had for a while. Weave can also sync data between Firefox and Mozilla’s mobile browser, Fennec.

Originally posted at The Download Blog

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Mozilla Weave revamps synchronization features

Multiprotocol-messaging client Digsby has announced new features at DemoFall focusing on a completely revamped Twitter interface.

At the time of writing, users must download Digsby build 65, which will then auto-update to build 67, which includes the new features.

The new Twitter timeline window in Digsby features new posts at the bottom, plus a Favorites option.

(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)

Once logged in, users, set to follow Digsby on Twitter by default, are given two ways to manage their tweets. The tweet timeline is a single-window column that starts with the oldest ones at the top. It is accessible only by double-clicking on the Twitter bar in the Digsby Buddy List pane.

Running the oldest tweets on top runs counter to the Twitter Web site, as well as just about every other Twitter client around, and already, there’s a heated debate over the tweet order in the Digsby blog post announcing the new feature.

Most recently received tweets and the status update box reside at the bottom of the timeline window, but every time you open the timeline window, it will go to your most recently read new tweet. Mouse over a tweet, and Twitter functions such as Reply, ReTweet, and Direct Message will appear.

There’s also a new option that should be familiar to Internet Explorer users: Favorite. Mark a tweet as Favorite, and when you switch the view to Favorites–accessible behind the drop-down arrow at the top of the window–you’ll see a list of all your Favorite-marked tweets. Other options include a History view that shows off only your tweets, as well as group creation and editing.

Digsby's mouse-over Twitter stream.

(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)

Mouse over the “quick look” Twitter pop-up window that’s part of the Digsby Buddy List, and the tweet timeline runs in the traditional direction. Although Reply, ReTweet, Direct Message, and Favorite are also available from this view, forcing users to switch tweet stream directions depending on which pane they’re using doesn’t strike me as particularly logical. There’s no option for altering the defaults in the timeline or the quick-look pane.

Twitter account options in Digsby.

(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)

In Digsby build 67, users get two methods for updating their tweets. They can use the text field at the bottom of the Twitter timeline pane, or use the global status updater available from the drop-down menu at the top of the Buddy List. It comes with a character counter, useful, even though the global updater can be toggled to work for other social-networking statuses. The Twitter timeline text field and the global-status updaters will both automatically shorten URLs and automatically upload photos. Auto-shortening can be toggled in the drop-down menu by clicking on character count.

Some users have been complaining about stability problems that are probably related to the untested nature of programs that debut at DemoFall. If you don’t mind the unusual flow of the timeline window, or if you’re a Digsby user to begin with, this Twitter implementation isn’t perfect, but it’s a strong step forward for a program that already supports MySpace, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Originally posted at The Download Blog

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Digsby unveils new Twitter features

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Last week when it first updated, we related our first impressions of Facebook for iPhone 3.0. Now that’s we’ve spent some more quality time with it over the weekend, we can confirm that the 3.0 update is huge. Sure, it takes up more room on your iPhone or iPod Touch, but that’s not what we meant.

The real growth spurt comes from the pile of new and improved features that Facebook has poured into the app. They range from the typical–support for landscape mode, capability to change your profile picture–to the powerful–such as creating photo albums and kicking off a text message or call from the Facebook interface.

That last point echoes a central thesis in a June 2009 Wired article (“The Great Wall of Facebook“): by storing intensely personal data about real people–their likes and dislikes, e-mail addresses, friends, activities, and even phone numbers–Facebook is creating a formidable “second Internet” to rival Google. Indeed, the SMS and phone call triggers on Facebook for iPhone 3.0 (and a similar feature on Facebook for BlackBerry that hooks into your address book) do influence, even facilitate, the way you contact friends in real life. Now you can rely on a Web-based network as a point of entry to your actual social life.

But that feature is just one of many. See the new Facebook for iPhone 3.0 in action in this First Look video. If you have used it, let us know how you like it.

Originally posted at The Download Blog

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Facebook for iPhone 3.0: First Look video

Yelp 1.0 on the Palm Pre.

(Credit: Yelp)

Yelp has been pushing hard to make its presence on smartphones known. In the last seven days, it has released a major upgrade to its iPhone application and has debuted native versions of Yelp for BlackBerry and the Palm Pre (Palm WebOS.)

Yelp 1.0 for Palm Pre and Yelp 1.0 for BlackBerry are much more basic than their iPhone kin is. According to Yelp, this is a conscious decision to get the core features out there and usable. And, although not much to look at (on the BlackBerry Bold, anyway,) the apps retain their utility. We put the BlackBerry version to the test to find and direct us to our humble lunch spot, even reading reviews in line to see which menu items were most recommended. Yelp on BlackBerry is location-aware and uses maps (Microsoft’s Bing maps, not Google Maps) and click-to-call to help a mobile Yelper out.

The Palm WebOS version has the same core features, but the experience is leagues ahead of the BlackBerry version. The Pre’s interface is also much more stylish and provides access to special offers. BlackBerry users may miss those deals at this stage, a shame. Yelp on the Pre can also save contacts to the address book, and can share listings by e-mail or text. The biggest usability error we noticed on the Pre was having to scroll to the very end of a record to access the Web site link. It would be better to see this in the address block up top.

Both version 1.0 applications are missing interactive capabilities to upload photos, write reviews, and rate others’ reviews. According to Yelp, more advanced features such as these will come later on.

Yelp for Blackberry is available for free on BlackBerry devices in the U.S., Canada, U.K., and Ireland (or anywhere else you use BlackBerry) by pointing the mobile browser to http://m.yelp.com. Yelp for Palm Pre can be used in the U.S. or Canada (or anywhere else you have a Pre). You can download the Pre app from the App Catalog on the phone.

Originally posted at The Download Blog

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Yelp app makes debut on BlackBerry, Palm Pre