instant

Scratch the IM itch

BeejiveIM (confusingly pronounced "beehive") is the high-end luxury chat app of the multinetwork IM world, though you may not believe it by looking. It's the priciest client to get you chatting with friends on the major multinetworks--AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, MSN, Google, MySpace IM, and Jabber--but it's also the one we keep returning to for seamless messaging. Floating icons in a chat window make it easy to switch among open conversations, which are also set apart in the buddy screen. Emoticons are present, as are other customizations, and a kettleful of skins to dress up the chat … Read more

Facebook, Twitter, Last.fm hit Xbox 360 today

We've already had some time with the new Xbox Live Dashboard update, and now the new firmware, which will bring Facebook, Twitter, and Last.fm to the console, is available for download today.

In addition to these services, Microsoft will be rolling out Zune Video, which promises instant-on 1080p video streaming as well as 5.1 surround sound.

We should note that Twitter, Last.fm, and Facebook will require an Xbox Live Gold membership ($50/year) and both Twitter and Facebook services require all users to be at least 18 years of age.

If you aren't a member … Read more

Speak easy

Get social over the long-established, well-rounded chat and VoIP client Yahoo Messenger and you'll find drag-and-drop capabilities and contact importing from friends other IM, e-mail, and social-networking accounts who are also on Yahoo chat. Another favorite trick is the ability to see images and videos displayed inside the chat window when you or a pal drops in a public URL.

Yahoo Messenger 10 adds some visual enhancements that call out VoIP and video chats on the conversation window. Tweaks in the buddy list showcase an updates tab that operates as a newsfeed for friends' status messages. Other visual refreshes … Read more

Polaroid relaunches instant cameras

After an incredible response to the passing of Polaroid instant film, the new licensee of the Polaroid brand has decided to relaunch some of the most popular instant cameras.

Endeavors like The Impossible Project, a scheme to reinvent Polaroid instant film after the company ceased its manufacture, has proved that there's still interest and demand for the film.

The Summit Global Group, which licensed the Polaroid brand, has enlisted The Impossible Project to produce limited-edition Polaroid-branded instant films for the new cameras, to be released in mid-2010.

Read more of "Polaroid relaunches instant cameras" on CNET Australia. … Read more

Crave giveaway of the week: Duracell Smart Power goodies

For this week's installment of the weekly Crave giveaway, we have an assortment of Duracell Smart Power accessories that are just about to hit stores. Included in the package is an Instant USB charger, a sweet Daylite LED flashlight, a Go Mobile charger with two AA and two AAA rechargeable batteries (plus a car adapter), and last but not least, the myGrid cable-free conductive charger (you lay your phone on a mat and the battery juices up). Out of the box, the myGrid only works with the Blackberry, Motorola, and Nokia models pictured, but additional charging adapters are available … Read more

Dell brings wireless recharging to laptops

That Dell is releasing a new laptop for business customers is the opposite of surprising. But the fact that it contains notable features not seen in any other laptops certainly is.

Most everything about the new Latitude Z is expected: It's yet another very thin notebook (a metric which PC manufacturers keep using to try to one-up each other), with a different kind of exterior finish (soft-touch, in this case), and comes in a black cherry. It measures 16 inches across, and is 14 millimeters thin at its most narrow point.

But you probably wouldn't guess that the Latitude Z charges wirelessly. And as far as we can tell, it's the first laptop to do so. Surprised that this is coming from Dell? You're not alone.

The wireless charging is handled elegantly enough. An inductive pad that's built into a laptop stand can accomplish a full recharge in "about the same amount of time" as a standard-issue cabled charger, according to Dell. While smartphone maker Palm has a similar (albeit smaller) wireless charging system for the Pre, and companies like Visteon and Wild Charge have debuted wireless charging accessories for phones, no PC maker has incorporated the idea until now.

… Read more

Fujifilm brings second instant-film camera to U.S.

With Polaroid killing off its instant-film business in favor of its Zink printing technology, Fujifilm saw a hole it could fill with its instant-film cameras. The first Instax camera arrived in November 2008, and Wednesday the company announced the arrival of the Instax Mini 7S.

The 7S features:

Automatic built-in flash for low-light shooting 1/60-second electronic shutter LED exposure indicator Silken white finish Measures 5 inches by 5 inches by 2.5 inches (HWD)

The camera uses Fujifilm's Mini Instax 2-inch by 3-inch film with a printed area of 1.8 inches by 2.4 inches. It's … Read more

Digsby unveils new Twitter 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.

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 … Read more

Organize your chat stream

With so many ways to network and socialize online, you may find it difficult to keep track of everything. Digsby promises to help keep chat, e-mail, and social networking conversations in one convenient place, but it didn't work exactly as we expected.

This freeware program looks a great deal like other popular chat programs, such as AIM. With a skinny rectangular box running along the side of your computer, a prompt to add accounts helps you get started. From here you will find a menu of seven different IM programs to choose from, six different e-mail programs, and four … Read more