Los Angeles (dbTechno) - MySpace has announced that they are going to be using Google Gears to help make their social-networking site easier for users to navigate through and use.

MySpace users will see an installation for Google Gears appear the next time that they go into their mailbox.

It is available for all MySpace users as of today, and will be a quick and easy install.

Once it is in place, users will be able to use a quick search feature which will allow them ot find anything they need in their inbox.

Read more: dbtechno.com 

Labels: Gears, MySpace, Network, social

While it wasn't exactly the lead story on the nightly news, a new way of measuring website popularity startled the Web punditry earlier this week when it put long-suffering AOL in the top spot.

You read that right: that's above Google, MySpace, MSN and any other website you'd expect to be doing reasonably well.

Crazy, you say? You're not the only one.

Here's how it happened: Nielsen/NetRatings modified its website popularity gauge, adding time spent to its unique-audience metric. Using a new "total-minutes" calculation, Nielsen/NetRatings said AOL was the No. 1 site in the U.S. in May, followed by Yahoo; MSN/Windows Live; Fox Interactive, which owns MySpace.com; Google; eBay; Microsoft; Electronic Arts; Apple and YouTube, which is owned by Google.

Full article: usatoday.com 

Labels: AOL, MSN, MySpace

Google Video has been transformed into a video search service that provides links to hosted and offsite video content. The new Google Video service can index media from YouTube as well as an assortment of YouTube rivals, including Metacafe, MySpace, BBC, and Yahoo Video. Previews are available next to search results that are hosted on YouTube or Google Video and thumbnail snapshots are available for content hosted by other providers. Much like Google image search, a frame with relevant Google-provided functionality appears at the top of the window when the user clicks through a search result.

Full article: arstechnica.com 

Labels: MySpace, video, Yahoo

Starting Monday, the Defense Department will block access to MySpace, YouTube and a host of other sites on official department computers worldwide, in an effort to boost its network efficiency.

Troops and families living on U.S. bases will still be able to view the sites through private Internet networks, but the move leaves servicemembers in Iraq and Afghanistan who use the popular picture- and video-sharing sites with little or no access to them.

Defense officials said the move is solely a reaction to the heavy drain the streaming video and audio can put on the defense computer network.

Full article: freerepublic.com 

Labels: Defense, MySpace, Troops, video, youtube