Internet & Media

Amazon's Kindle will finally support library lending, the company announced today.

Later this year, Kindle owners and those who run Amazon's Kindle apps will be able to borrow books from over 11,000 local libraries. In addition, Amazon says, users will be able to make annotations and highlight text. All of that content is saved and will be included in the e-book if the user opts to check it out again.

"We're doing a little something extra here," Jay Marine, Amazon's Kindle director said in a statement. "Normally, making margin notes in library … Read more

When Kozmo customers ordered snacks or movies from the Internet delivery service via their PCs, the goods weren't teleported, ala "Star Trek." But it almost felt as if they were.

In the late 1990s, an orange-clad Kozmo delivery person would appear at a customer's door typically within an hour after an order was keyed in. The Kozmo man or woman might have cradled a pint of rocky road ice cream, an Al Green CD, a box of Junior Mints, or some other convenience item. The Internet was still new then, and Kozmo's service helped to … Read more

More details about Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 have apparently leaked onto the Web, revealing new surprises and some makeovers to existing features.

A greater peek into the next version of Windows is coming from Windows 8 Milestone 1, also known as Build 7850, which started popping up at various FTP and file-sharing sites last week. This build was released to Microsoft partners late last year. Milestone 2 has since been released, while Milestone 3 has reportedly been compiled. But combined with details from more recent builds, Windows users can get a glimpse into what the future may hold.

One … Read more

Netflix's limits on the number of simultaneous streams available to customers might soon change.

In a question-and-answer page on the company's investors site, Netflix said that it's exploring ways to encourage customers to pay for the ability to watch multiple streams of its content at the same time.

"Our $7.99-per-month plan is for one stream at a time, and later this year we expect to be able to offer consumers some account options to watch multiple simultaneous streams," Netflix said on the Q1'11 Top Investor Questions page. "Or it could be that … Read more

commentary If Google is weary of waiting to license music from the top record companies and wants to wade into digital music without delay, then acquiring Pandora could be the answer.

The online radio service has the kind of brand recognition and audience (80 million registered users) that YouTube had when Google acquired the video-sharing site in 2006. Pandora also possesses an established advertising business, something that YouTube lacked and something Google understands. In the first nine months of 2010, about 85 percent of Pandora's revenue, or about $78 million, came from ad sales. Another $12 million was generated … Read more

HBO's streaming service is coming to a tablet and smartphone near you.

According to an HBO video posted on YouTube late last week, the HBO Go streaming service is on its way to the Apple iPad, Apple iPhone, and Android-based devices.

"Get every episode of every season of your favorite HBO shows, plus hit movies and much more," the video's voiceover states. "All free to HBO subscribers and all streaming on your iPad, laptop, or smartphone wherever you are."

HBO Go has been available since February 2010. The service allows people to stream 1,… Read more

A report Monday in The Wall Street Journal claimed that Twitter is in "advanced talks" to acquire TweetDeck, a Twitter desktop client preferred by many of the social-media service's most active users, for about $50 million. "TweetDeck has emerged as a favorite of heavy users of Twitter, letting people track tweets about multiple topics at the same time," the story explained. "The program, which many people download and use on their desktop computers, also lets people write tweets longer than 140 characters, among other features."

But wait: Two months ago, TweetDeck was reported to have sold to UberMedia, … Read more

With the deadline to pay our taxes ticking away, many of us wonder just how and where Uncle Sam spends our hard-earned dough. The winner of a recent Google contest reveals the answer.

In February, Google launched a contest designed to shed some light into the U.S. government's often perplexing spending habits. Dubbed the Data Viz challenge, the contest asked developers to create online applications that could show us visually where our income tax dollars are spent.

After receiving more than 40 entries, the Google jury has crowned its $5,000 Grand Prize winner. Created by developer Anil … Read more

The camera in Apple's iPhone 4 is a popular option for Flickr users, a graph on the Yahoo-owned company's site shows.

According to the graph, the Nikon D90 continues to be the top choice among Flickr users. However, the iPhone 4 has been gaining ground quite steadily and could overtake the D90 in short order. The Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi, Canon EOS 5D Mark II, and the Canon EOS Rebel T1i are the other top cameras on the site.

The popularity of the iPhone 4's 5-megapixel camera on the photo-sharing site doesn't necessarily mean that … Read more