Scopetech

Digital Inspiration has a story on bringing in your Orkut account into Facebook. All you need is the URL of your Orkut account and you can import the data. The first issue I’m thinking - how secure is your Orkut account? I’ve never used the service, but I can only hope and assume that you can adjust privacy settings preventing people you don’t want to see your account from doing so. The second thing that comes to mind - does anyone really need a social network inside a social network? Isn’t that a bit meta?

What is it about digg that makes me want to stay? It has to be that it’s the first site of its kind (you can’t consider del.icio.us like it) that has me stuck on it. Or maybe it’s the Kevin Rose effect. Who doesn’t like Kevin? Especially after the whole TechTV thing that some people won’t let go, not that it’s a bad thing.

Thoof is a digg-clone that makes me scratch my head. It’s a site where, get this, people submit stories but it’s better than digg because it avoids the whole “angry mob” effect controlling what gets on the front page. So, I’m guessing that’s a spin on “users vote for what they want” and instead they have no real say, or maybe anything that is submitted goes to the front page. Whatever their whole shtick is - the bottom line is the site doesn’t make me want to leave digg. Why?

1. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of content. Chalk it up as a “clean” interface or a clear indication that nobody uses this site.

2.  No categories, just tags. Wait, so how do I just get entertainment stories? What about world news? This is one time when tags to way more harm than good. If digg had tags instead of categories it would be chaotic. Digg, even without tags, allows you to really get news on the topics you care about, customizing your experience to show just what you want. No categories categorically blows.

3. Stories constantly loading. What is it that when I go to the site and scroll down it’s still loading more stories? Pretty annoying “feature” of the Web 2.0 generation.

There is no real incentive to use the site. I have no real thought provoking analysis to add, it pretty much is uninspiring.

As some may have already noticed, Halo 3 has gone gold, which means the game is done and being burned into bazillions of magical discs that will spin glory, or be eaten by the monster under your plasma. (Note: my spell-checker through a fit about bajillions, but apparently bazillions is a respectable substitute.)

Now, those of us who have been waiting on baited breath can rest at ease while these saucers of awesome make their way to our pre-ordering clutches, the carpal tunnel syndrome of grasping at straws making us look like the Wicked Witch of the West, and seriously debilitating said clutches.

Read on for continued story, and words of thanks to people who haven’t seen the light of day since 2002.

Google released its Second Quarter Earnings today, and for the first time in years they missed analyst’s predictions. The search giant posted earnings of 3.87 billion, an only 6% increase from the previous quarter, far below Wall Street’s expectations. At the close of the market today, Google’s stock had dropped a little over 7% due to the unimpressive numbers.

Oddly, revenue is not the culprit in Google’s earnings miss. With revenues up 58% from last year, the lack of earnings can rest solely on the shoulders of the (in)famous Google expenses that everyone knows and loves. With everything from gourmet chefs to a free laundromat, this quarter’s expenses totaled $1.21 billion (sucking up 31% of revenues), up 4% from last quarter.

Could this steady increase in expenses mark the beginning of a penny-pinching spree throughout the company, or possibly even the end of the paradise known as the Google Compound?

As a fan of any company willing to offer free food and weekly roller hockey games, I sure hope not.

(Logo courtesy of 10e20.com)

French based video site Dailymotion has been ordered by Paris court to pay damages for a video the site is hosting illegally. The site was ordered to pay a symbolic Euro 1 ($1.38) to Christian Carion for a clip from his film “Merry Christmas” as well as pay the film’s producers and distributors $17, 914 and $13,780 US respectively. The website may appeal the matter. In March 2007, fellow video sharing site YouTube was slapped with a lawsuit of over over 1 billion dollars for copyright infringement.

-Variety

Google is stretching even further into the mobile wireless world by developing an index service specifically for mobile content, this according to Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal. The content search service would offer higher placement in results via a bid system, similar to the current Adwords service for search advertisers.

This new service would aggregate content specific to mobile phones and devices, like ringtones, games, and video content. Google already offers mobile-ready versions of their conventional search engine and some of their web applications like Gmail and Google Maps.

No official word on when this new mobile service will ship.

Do you love Gmail? Have you wanted to show how much you love Gmail with the very clothes on your back? You’re in luck because you can now submit designs for a T-shirt that best embodies the Gmail personality thanks to a new competition in conjunction with Threadless.com. The theme is “Connect!” and what better way to stay connected than by winning yourself an 8GB iPhone? If you’re a designer and you use Gmail then this is the competition for you. Prizes include

* 8 gb Apple iPhone!
* Jawbone BlueTooth Headset
* $400 gift card for JetBlue Airlines
* A TON of Google memorabilia. You won’t even believe it.
* 1-year 12 Club subscription
* $300 Threadless Gift Certificate
* $2,000 in cash
What are you waiting for? The competition ends on August 16th and even if you aren’t a designer you can help pick out the winning designs. Just don’t tell Maddox if you win the phone.

Check it out.

When Maddox updates the internet, the internet gets a little better. That was the case today as he let us know just what he thinks about the iPhone and in case you were wondering: he hates it. If you know Maddox then you know what to expect: insulting family members, the iPhone’s secondary keyboard, Steve Jobs, babies, the list goes on.

While yet another humorous post looks like it’s only the ranting of a madman, there’s actually some stuff here that many have been saying for the longest while, it’s just that now we’re being slapped in the face with it. We couldn’t be happier. In case you want to be as cool as Maddox, or at least attempt it, his phone of choice is the Nokia E70.

Read It.