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SharePod is free program which helps you to manage and share music without iTunes. To install SharePod, visit the SharePod download site and download the .zip file. Once you unzip it, you can either drag and drop SharePod onto your iPod or run SharePod directly from your hard drive. Because it does not require any installation to your hard drive or “Programs” folder, you can also install it onto your USB or flash drive.

1. Select the tracks you want to copy, and click the ‘Copy to PC’ button at the top of the window.
2. Select the files you want to copy, and drag them into a folder on your PC.
3. Right click on a playlist and select ‘Copy to PC’. This will copy all the files in the playlist.
4. Click “Backup iPod” or copy the main playlist. This will copy all the files in all playlists to your computer.

Source: technobuzz

EBay Inc. announced Wednesday that it acquired StumbleUpon Inc., a software startup that suggests Web sites based on reader reviews and personal preferences of its members.

The $75 million cash acquisition gives eBay access to about 2.3 million people who have filled out profiles at StumbleUpon, founded in 2001 by three Canadian software engineers in Calgary. The venture capital-funded company, which recently relocated to San Francisco, is considered a pioneer of the so-called ”Web 3.0” niche.

The term refers to technology that pairs general Internet search capability with a user’s personal data and aggregated community data, theoretically delivering more relevant results than a standard search engine such as Google Inc.

For example, a StumbleUpon search for ”cars” could generate a list of Web pages that factor in a user’s income, age, gender, home address, current vehicles owned and other demographic data submitted. The search results would also include sites ranked favorably by other StumbleUpon members with similar interests and background.

By contrast, a straight Google search delivers 357 million Web pages ranging from the popular Hollywood movie ”Cars” to advertisements for used car dealers and newspaper classified sections.

StumbleUpon is free for users and generates revenue through advertising, though the company doesn’t disclose financial information. Members who pay an annual fee bypass advertisements completely.

Michael Buhr, senior director at San Jose-based eBay, will serve as general manager of StumbleUpon. StumbleUpons founders and managers will become eBay employees.

”StumbleUpon is a great fit within our goal of pioneering new communities based on commerce and sustained by trust,” Buhr said.

Source: Tech2

Apple TV will soon offer content from Google’s popular website,YouTube. Beginning in mid-June, Apple TV will wirelessly stream videos directly from YouTube and play them on a user’s widescreen TV. Users will be able to view the content using Apple TV interface, to browse, find and watch free videos from YouTube.

Apple’s CEO, Steve Jobs said, “This is the first time users can easily browse, find and watch YouTube videos right from their living room couch, and it’s really, really fun. YouTube is a worldwide sensation, and Apple TV is bringing it directly from the Internet onto the widescreen TV in your living room.”

Apple has also announced that it is offering a new Apple TV build-to-order option, with a 160GB hard drive. The new, larger hard drive offers four times the storage for up to 200 hours of video, 36,000 songs, 25,000 photos or a combination of each.

Apple TV, which includes the Apple Remote, is available through the Apple Store, Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers at USD299. Apple TV with a 160GB hard drive will be available at Rs USD 399. The YouTube feature for Apple TV will be available as a free software update in mid-June.

Source: Tech2

Executives at eBay Inc. are touting security as their top priority in 2007 after an internal survey showed that online scammers may be denting the company’s reputation.

The San Jose-based online auction company began a program last year to safeguard members’ identities by concealing their user names on expensive listings. That measure could make it harder for con artists to contact losing bidders and goad them into ‘’second chance offers,” where customers wire cash to the scammers’ accounts.

Engineers also want to reduce counterfeit items and clamp down on scams between buyers and sellers from different countries, said William C. Cobb, president of eBay North America.

”It’s no secret that online criminals who target sites like eBay and PayPal have grown in number and sophistication over time,” Cobb said in comments posted Wednesday to an eBay forum. ”Where we’ve historically put an emphasis on transparency and free choice, today the security threats are more complex, and we’re more actively protecting our buyers from fraud.”

Representatives are also sending nasty e-mails to sellers who charge egregious shipping and handling fees. EBay reduced the average shipping cost in the ”cell phones” category by 25 percent since last summer, Cobb said.
The emphasis on security enhancements — billed as the most important initiative in the company’s 12-year history — comes as senior eBay executives host the site’s top 250 sellers at closed-door meetings this week in Burlingame. Entrepreneurs attending the second annual E-Commerce Forum sold 7 million items worth $1.5 billion in 2006.

So-called ”power sellers” have expressed concern — and have threatened to go to other sites —_ over concerns that eBay has been slow to combat fraud.
EBay says less than one-hundredth of one percent of the listings on its Web site are fraudulent. But even by that conservative measure, 58,300 auctions may have been fraudulent in one three-month period. More than 583 million items were listed in the third quarter of 2006.

More concerning, fraud disproportionately strikes high-end categories such as automobiles, electronics and jewelry. There’s no reliable way to estimate how much is lost to con artists on eBay, where $12.64 billion in merchandise exchanged hands in the third quarter.

Spokesman Hani Durzy said Wednesday that the company is targeting all scammers — from petty thieves to organized crime syndicates.
”We’re never going to completely stop the bad guys from using the Internet, but we do know that negative experiences are a major reason people leave eBay — and they pass along word of mouth to other people,” Durzy said. ”In 2007, you’ll see a sea change in our approach to trust and safety.”

Search engine company, SearchMe has launched a new service to search open source web encyclopedia, Wikipedia. Wikiseek is designed to index and search the contents of Wikipedia and links to webpages referenced within Wikipedia. WikiSeek also features additional tools such as a search plugin for FireFox, IE7 and Opera, and Firefox extension, that alters actual Wikipedia pages to add a ‘Wikiseek search button’.

According to the Wikiseek website, “The contents of Wikiseek are restricted to Wikipedia pages and only those sites which are referenced within Wikipedia, making it an authoritative source of information less subject to spam and SEO schemes. Wikiseek utilizes SearchMe’s category refinement technology, providing suggested search refinements based on user tagging and categorization within Wikipedia, making results more relevant than conventional search engines.”
It says that as Wikipedia grows and more links are added, the service will continue to increase in value over time as a resource for researchers, students and anyone who frequently uses Wikipedia.

The site, built with Wikipedia’s assistance and permission, won’t show every relevant result to a query, but aims to give a good overview of a subject. The search results on Wikiseek also include a ‘tag cloud’ containing Wikipedia categories containing the search term. The first three results of a query are always Wikipedia content, shaded blue while the remaining results are below the shaded area.

The Wikiseek community on Wiki says, “This Wikiseek Community is hosted by Wikia but Wikiseek is an independent project with no affiliation with Wikia or Wikipedia. It also mentions that Wikiseek donates a majority of revenue to the Wikimedia Foundation.”