Photobucket
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Facebook adds Photobucket and Google Calendar to its data portability options
Another service has signed up to receive your images from Facebook.
'Photofucket' devs arrested for selling their pic-stealing app
Years before stolen pictures of celebs hit the internet in a massive bundle, news that Reddit posters were searching for private photos popped up under the term "fusking." As detailed by Buzzfeed in August of 2012, Reddit channels were dedicated to using a security flaw in Photobucket.com to search for pictures posted in private folders. If anyone on the internet knew (or could guess) a private photo's direct URL it was visible, and guessing the default filename of digital photos isn't very difficult. Today the US Department of Justice is announcing the arrest of two men for selling "Photofucket" software that it says stole guest passwords for protected albums and sought out those private pictures.
Best Buy launches Insignia connected TVs with DVR-less TiVo
Right on schedule, Best Buy's announced it's good and ready to ship two Insignia-branded connected televisions with TiVo's UI -- minus the whole DVR thing, that is. The two 1080p sets, available in 32- and 42-inch flavors, are landing months after the retailer said it was buddying up with TiVo to borrow its user interface -- and only that, there's no indication these will play nicely with Premiere DVRs and their multiroom streaming at launch -- for searching content and also just getting up and running easily. As you'd expect, folks perusing these sets can watch movies from Netflix, CinemaNow, and YouTube, as well as stream from Pandora and Napster. Rounding out the list of apps are Facebook, Twitter, Photobucket, and Chumby, with more to come, Best Buy tells us. In addition to the easy access to content, the story here is that the UI plays nice with existing cable boxes, making the installation easy even if the person holding the remote doesn't happen to have a lengthy serial number on hand. Look for the 32-inch number for $499, with the 42-incher fetching $699. Find the full PR and some b-roll video after the break, along with a smattering of hands-on shots of what should be an all-too-familiar interface. %Gallery-129545%
Twitter announces integrated photo-sharing service, improved search
Well, it's not exactly a good day for anyone that placed their bets on a Twitter-linked photo service. As expected, Twitter today announced its own integrated photo-sharing service, which will launch "over the next several weeks" and let folks upload an image and attach it directly to their tweet from Twitter.com -- the same functionality is also said to be coming to its official mobile apps "soon." The service isn't completely in-house, though -- Twitter has partnered with Photobucket to actually host the photos. In more immediate news, Twitter has also announced that a "completely new version" of Twitter search is rolling out today. It promises to deliver more relevant results for searches and trending topics, as well as related photos and videos that will be displayed next to your results (which can also be browsed and explored in-depth). Head on past the break for a quick demo video.
Vizit cellular photo frame arrives March 23rd, your mom can't afford one
Last we heard from Isabella Products, the company's always-on Vizit photo frame was a 10.4-inch touchscreen LCD with a built-in cell modem to receive emailed pics and MMS, a built-in price of $280 (plus subscription fees), and an "early 2010" release date. Well, early 2010 is here, and so is the Vizit -- sales commence on March 23rd. In honor of the occasion, the company has even spilled a few final details; according to Bostinnovation, Vizit's service plan will use AT&T's 3G network, share photos from both Flickr and Photobucket, and cost $6 per month or $72 for a full year. Sorry, Grandma, but at that price, you'll have to make do with WiFi.
Chumby widgets to appear on photo frame, other devices by year's end
Chumby announced that it'd be bringing its snuggly little widgets to other devices all the back in February, and it looks like we're finally seeing some action -- "powered by Chumby" gear should be on shelves by the end of the year. The first device out of the gate will be -- surprise, surprise -- a digital picture frame from an unnamed partner that will apparently integrate with Flickr, Facebook, and Twitter, and offer new feeds, internet radio, and weather. You know, Chumby stuff. We're more interested in seeing the fruits of Chumby's new partnership with Samsung -- Sammy's already doing widgets like crazy with TouchWiz on mobile and Yahoo's Widget Engine in the living room, so we're wondering where Chumby fits in. We're also wondering what'll happen to the Chumby hardware now that the company seems focused on becoming a software company -- maybe we'll finally place that order. [Thanks, Craig; Photo is that sweet Chumby telephone mod]
Zensify, another not-so-hot social aggregator for the iPhone
It's an increasingly crowded category on the App Store: Social Networking. Like several other apps in this category, Zensify (iTunes link) doesn't just tap into one social networking service. The app is an aggregator, taking multiple sites and rolling them up into one app that will, in theory, make your social networking somehow easier. That's the promise of all these aggregator apps. So how does Zensify do? First, Zensify supports Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Digg, Delicious, YouTube, 12seconds and Photobucket. Unfortunately, I had only moderate success with signing in to some of these. Flickr takes you to the requisite Flickr-based verification pages, but after going through the process I received a warning dialog that an error had occurred, with only OK as my option to continue -- right before the app froze up completely. Then I tried Digg, but there was only a username field, not a password field. I was able to get Delicious to work, and YouTube (after quitting the app, as there was a bug preventing me from typing in the text area). I didn't try Photobucket or 12seconds, as I'm not big on those. I should note that I wound up deleting Zensify, then re-installing it, and something interesting happened -- once I had re-logged into Facebook Connect, my previous logins "stuck." I only needed to type in my username on digg and it said everything was logged in. That was a pretty neat trick, and a re-install appears to take care of some of the initial bugs. I'm assured by the folks at Zensify that several other bugs are being crushed for the next release. While Zensify is pretty in parts, there are functionality issues. These are because, in an effort to do everything, the app winds up a confusing mess at times. Many apps suffer from this, especially social networking apps. Keep reading for my full review. %Gallery-68468%
Toshiba's new digiframes feature social networking, FrameChannel
If you don't own a digiframe yet, perhaps it's because you were waiting for the kids at Toshiba to design something that looked even more like the faceplate of a microwave oven than the usual fare. But that's not the whole story: besides looking at home next to your Cuisinart and rice cooker, this guy also supports FrameChannel accounts, so personalized weather, traffic, sports scores, music, and video are also on the plate -- as well as the Flickr, Photobucket, and Facebook integration that companies like Toshiba think that you want in a digital picture frame. Hitting shelves in August, the 8-inch frame is available in white (DMF82XWU) or black (DMF82XKU) for an MSRP of $179.99. For the 10-inch frame (DMF102XKU, black only) you can expect to pay $229.99.[Via i4u]
Eye-Fi's 4GB WiFi Video cards now with more options for Internet regret
You know that video mode you haven't used since first bought your compact point and shoot? Right, the one that does 720p HD video if you've purchased a camera within the last 6 months? Well, Eye-Fi's back to remind you that it's now selling its $99 Eye-Fi Explore Video (with geotagging) and $79 Eye-Fi Share Video SDHC cards nationwide. They've also enabled video sharing with Picasa, Photobucket, and SmugMug in addition to Flickr and YouTube. The result is dead-simple, un-edited direct-to-internet video sharing without the need for a tethered computer. Of course, these cards work equally well for dumping your films and photos over WiFi to your Mac or PC at home -- but why live your life in a bubble?
Web2 Delight
We've looked at applications like Photonic, a Flickr client which removes the web from "web 2.0" (the web navigation, anyway) and offers a smooth desktop experience for browsing photos. It seemed likely that we'd see a similar application which would bring a blitzkrieg of media from similar sites to your desktop. Hey, look at that, we were right: Web2 Delight is here to help you while away the hours trolling YouTube, Veoh, blip.tv and your favorite photo sites for something worth all of the time you invested looking. Web2 Delight makes it simple to search and save content, with saved searches, multiple and scheduled downloads, export capability and slideshow functionality. You can browse photos as thumbnails, lists or combination views. There's even a Cover Flow view, which I think should be put to good use making Flickr flip books. The software, of course, allows you to stream video previews before opting to download that horrifically long clip which you'll subject in-laws and co-workers to later ... watching their face intently to make them feel uncomfortable if they don't laugh, of course. And now it's on your iPod and you can share it with perfect strangers. It's a great interface, though, and makes browsing these sites very smooth. I obviously have issues with some of the more tedious bits of content which I've personally been subjected to, but that's not the fault of this software. Web2 Delight is every bit as brilliant (or mundane) as the media you dig up with it, which I suppose means that the ultimate responsibility lies with you. Of course, f you're already losing an hour or more a day to sites like YouTube and Veoh, well, this might just get you back enough time to mow the lawn. And -- after downloading the demo and uncovering all that extra time -- you can spend the twenty bucks you won't be paying the kid next door on registering the software ($19.95). Oh, and to be fair, we do find our share of gold on Flickr.
TiVo rolls out Picasa, Photobucket integration
TiVo owners with Picasa or Photobucket accounts just got another way to view their photos on their TVs -- everyone's favorite DVR company announced deals with both services today that will allow users to access their photos from any TiVo device. Photos will be pulled down at the highest resolution your TiVo supports, so Series3 and TiVo HD owners will get HD-res images displayed, and what's more, users can also access friends' photo albums. The feature should be rolling out starting today -- between this and that Rhapsody partnership, it seems like TiVo is starting to get serious about branching into the still-dormant media streamer / extender market.[Via TG Daily]
