It is the responsibility of Federal Trade Commission to safeguard consumer against unreasonable and misleading procedures. The FTC has stated that Google has been deceiving and violating its own procedures as regards to confidentiality after it released Google Buzz in the year 2010. The agreement compels the said search giant to adhere to the consumer data-protection guidelines in its creations for about twenty years. The default setting allows consumers to accept cookies from sites that they allowed. Accordingly, the commission has concluded that the said web search engine violated the settlement by going around Safari’s browser privacy settings. This would allow Google to trace anyone from their own domains. This is to keep up with specific attributes like +1 functionality; even the user had disabled cookies themselves previously. While what Google did was not technically complicated, still, it was deceiving to the consumers.

Few may ask what is wrong with ad tracking. If they are worried about privacy, then they need to modify the browser’s settings to prevent these cookies. One thing, one does not require to have logged in as a Google user for you to be traced. Consumers who have logged in can regulate their privacy preferences for them not to be trailed down however non- Google users cannot do anything.

Google avoids inquiries about the scrutiny, though; it already took away the said cookies and maintained their stand that the action was purely accidental. There are leaks telling that the FTC is trying to estimate the number of the affected consumers, feeding the hearsay of much bigger charges.

Consequently, Google is at stake of compensating $16,000 every breach per day of the supposed offense, in spite of this; the group is yet to officially validate the said penalty. For now, the corporation is being investigated and probed by quite a few US agencies and European watchdogs.

At first look, Sparrow looks similar with Faceboof app because it has the same color scheme and basic layout – with a menu button that looks the same and both in the upper left side of the page. With sparrow app, this button will show your inbox and sent mail folders as well as tags, starred emails, etc. Animation will appear on almost every tap or swipe. The design of the app is more enjoyable and spontaneous to use which gives user a pleasant emailing experience.

Sparrow is easy and simple to use. If you want to bring out your folders, labels and mailboxes, just swipe it once. If you want to see you account list, simply swipe it again. If you are in a conversation thread and you want to navigate your messages, swipe the screen up and down to see the messages. The contact list puts your frequent contacts on top of the list. If you want to do something with the email, just swipe the message to reveal the icons like reply, label, star, delete or archive – and then simply tap what you want to do with the email. Swiping or taping the top bar can help you navigate your email like inbox, sent items, starred, etc.

As with all other apps, Sparrow has a drawback – for some. Since it is a Gmail client, not everybody can use it though it works on Google apps, iCloud, Yahoo, AOL, and MobileMe and IMAP emails. Email users who use POP may not be able to use Sparrow. One known drawback of Sparrow is that it lack s push notifications. For people who checks email regularly and hates frequent notifications, this may not be a problem. For some people who has no time to check emails regularly, this can be a drawback. Sparrow cannot implement push notifications due to some technical restrictions but they are doing their best to someday offer this feature.

1. Stable OS: The two leading mobile OS makers, Apple and Google, have very entrenched operating systems that over thousands of apps that actually enhance user experience. By and large, these os’, iOS and Android, are stable and don’t crash.
2. Small Form: Tablets have embraced the consumer’s preference for small form. While you are still getting a 10″ screen in some cases, the devices weighs a mere fraction of even a netbook. Anyone who has ever lugged around a laptop knows what a blessing this is. It should reduce the visits to the chiropractor.
3. Overall Usability: While you won’t be editing the next great multiplex film on a tablet, you can do a lot with these devices. Plus, you don’t need to be a computer expert to operate one. Even netbooks rely on a version of desktop operating systems. All you have to do is remember back to Windows Mobile to see what you get when you try to cram a desktop system onto a mobile device.

This is not to say the computer is going anywhere. To the contrary, the PC will be around in some form for the foreseeable future. However, the days of the laptop being the dominant form of mobile computing are clearly over. If you are in class or in a business meeting, chances are you don’t need a full OS. All you need is system with web access and a note taking app. Tablets do that perfectly.

Apple unilaterally decided to increase the song preview time in iTunes from 30 seconds to up to 90 seconds. Here is a screencap of the notice they sent to the record labels. My favorite part is the “we are pleased to inform you” line.

I knew I could count on someone from some branch of the hopelessly clueless recording industry to pipe in with a take. That someone is Rick Carnes of the Songwriter’s Guild. Here is his reaction.

“It’s like giving away ice cream samples–someone has to pay the cost,” said Rick Carnes, president of the Songwriters Guild of America. “I think it would be a good thing for consumers to go to 90 seconds. But they’re tripling the amount of time, and they want it for free. I think there ought to be compensation. I believe anytime you use music, you ought to reward the people making the music.”

Seriously?!?! How do you get from ice cream samples to song previews? I feel like I’m stating the obvious, but ice cream is a scarce good. Music is not. The two don’t compare. Anyone who has ever tried to sample a song on iTunes knows that 30 seconds can be too short. This extra preview time will help people buy more, because they will be confident in what they are buying. Surely Mr. Carnes knows this. In fact, I would suspect this is an attempted money grab.

Say what you want about Apple’s way of doing things, but I’ve got to side with them on this one. If the industry wants to start making money again, they need to start embracing the reality of how people purchase music. They should also keep folks like Mr. Carnes quiet.

I do find this new way to distribute software downright revolutionary. It’s a fantastic way to discover terrific new software. Sites like MacUpdate have been my go-to place to find new software in the past. In fact, that’s how I discovered my favorite FTP client, Forklift. However, MacUpdate is not integrated with the operating system like the App Store will be.

Despite all of the positives, it will be hard to get past the large chunk of the pie Apple takes for using it’s App Stores. With an iOS device, there is no other choice. With a Mac, many developers may choose to stay on their own, thus maintaining control.

Apple has announced a new update to Mac OS X, version 10.7. Going with the familiar cat-themed names, it will be called Lion. The operating system update was just the tip of the iceberg, however. The MacBook Air, iLife Suite, FaceTime for Mac and a new Mac App Store were big announcements yesterday.

I think the Mac App Store is the most intriguing announcement that was made. The Mac developer community has always been vibrant, and this should take that to a whole new level. Users will have one central place to find software for their Mac. This should enhance the user experience, as more and more people are getting accustomed to finding their applications via “App Stores”.

There is quite a bit more information about the Apple announcements yesterday, and Apple has even posted a video of the press event online. I look forward to the release of these new products.

Tablet PC’s would seem to be. The iPad has sold extremely well, and competitors have been scrambling to keep up. Android would seem to be the most poised to enter the market next. Their app store is second only to Apple to volume of apps. Plus, the open environment has developers flocking to Android. It’s unclear how Research In Motion can keep up. Their name was built in the business community with smartphones. They have not dominated the regular consumer market, and it’s remains to be seen if they can develop a tablet to reverse that trend.

I really don’t know who the dominant player is going to be, but I suspect it will be a two headed monster consisting of Apple and Google. Those two are the only ones really innovating right now. I’m looking forward to seeing how the tablet PC market evolves.

I seriously doubt there will be a Verizon iPhone in the near future, and here’s why. Verizon uses CDMA technology for their wireless service. Very few mobile services worldwide use that technology. The preferred worldwide technology is GSM. Apple has been building the iPhone with GSM only parts, which makes it very easy to maintain quality control when selling the device worldwide. If they decide to make second model with CDMA parts, then they’ve doubled their work. Apple has made their name on “it just works” products. I can’t see them changing that now.

Another problem is Verizon’s notorious controlling attitude toward device makers. Apple has the same reputation in it’s dealing with carriers. That would setup a showdown between the two that would end up likely hurting customers.

The one way I see Apple selling the iPhone on Verizon, or any other carrier for that matter, is the upcoming transition to the LTE standard. This new standard is faster than 3G, and both AT&T and Verizon are adopting it. This would alleviate the need to manufacture two separate devices.

I just don’t see the iPhone-on-Verizon rumor coming true anytime soon. However, that’s not going to stop wishful Verizon customers from keeping their hopes alive.

Apple updated it’s Apple TV set top to be more of a streaming device. It’s also got a new black outside finish instead of the aluminum of the older models. I’m very curious to see if this actually works. Personally I’d like to have one with a hard drive to store my data, but Apple is betting that most people will want the simplified streaming-only version. Intel’s CEO isn’t impressed, calling it a device “for mom”.

One of the rumored Apple product releases would be a new iPad that would sport a front facing camera. This would allow Apple to continue rolling out it’s FaceTime service. Since this is merely a rumor, I’m not holding my breath. Speaking of tablet devices, there are still several rumored Android-based tablets that could be nearing release.

If you have a gadget fetish, hold on tight. There are some exciting things on the way!

Not really. They still have the final say, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Some of the more annoying aspects the app approval process still remain. For instance, political satire apps are allowed, but only for professional satirists. Apparently the “professional satirists” label will be decided by Apple. They also will not approve any apps that fit a category already saturated in the store. God forbid there be an app developed for a saturated category that is infinitely better than the existing ones.

This is a good move on Apple’s part, but approval process still has too much capriciousness in it. These new “open” guidelines feel less like receiving the gospel and more like CYA.