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At Google, we have a saying: “launch early and iterate.” While this approach is usually limited to our engineers, it apparently applies to our mailroom as well! As you may have read in the blogosphere, we hit “send” a bit early on a comic book introducing our new open source browser, Google Chrome. As we believe in access to information for everyone, we’ve now made the comic publicly available — you can find it here. We will be launching the beta version of Google Chrome tomorrow in more than 100 countries.

So why are we launching Google Chrome? Because we believe we can add value for users and, at the same time, help drive innovation on the web.

All of us at Google spend much of our time working inside a browser. We search, chat, email and collaborate in a browser. And in our spare time, we shop, bank, read news and keep in touch with friends — all using a browser. Because we spend so much time online, we began seriously thinking about what kind of browser could exist if we started from scratch and built on the best elements out there. We realized that the web had evolved from mainly simple text pages to rich, interactive applications and that we needed to completely rethink the browser. What we really needed was not just a browser, but also a modern platform for web pages and applications, and that’s what we set out to build.

On the surface, we designed a browser window that is streamlined and simple. To most people, it isn’t the browser that matters. It’s only a tool to run the important stuff — the pages, sites and applications that make up the web. Like the classic Google homepage, Google Chrome is clean and fast. It gets out of your way and gets you where you want to go.

Under the hood, we were able to build the foundation of a browser that runs today’s complex web applications much better. By keeping each tab in an isolated “sandbox”, we were able to prevent one tab from crashing another and provide improved protection from rogue sites. We improved speed and responsiveness across the board. We also built a more powerful JavaScript engine, V8, to power the next generation of web applications that aren’t even possible in today’s browsers.

This is just the beginning — Google Chrome is far from done. We’re releasing this beta for Windows to start the broader discussion and hear from you as quickly as possible. We’re hard at work building versions for Mac and Linux too, and will continue to make it even faster and more robust.

We owe a great debt to many open source projects, and we’re committed to continuing on their path. We’ve used components from Apple’s WebKit and Mozilla’s Firefox, among others — and in that spirit, we are making all of our code open source as well. We hope to collaborate with the entire community to help drive the web forward.

The web gets better with more options and innovation. Google Chrome is another option, and we hope it contributes to making the web even better.
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Here is the long awaited “QuickPwn” for Mac OS X. You’ll see a similarity to the user-interface of PwnageTool, this is because of the great feedback we’ve had since we moved to that interface with PwnageTool 2.x.

QuickPwn is not a replacement for PwnageTool, they are different tools and provide different features, QuickPwn is for quickly pwning a device, whereas PwnageTool is designed to custom build and tailor the ipsw production process, both tools will be actively developed in the future.
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You can download QuickPwn for Mac here

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To follow this tutorial you will need to have iTunes 7.7 installed (make sure to reboot). Also, you may need to download and install .Net Framework if you are on Windows XP. Finally, make sure you completely uninstall any previous version of WinPwn. Thanks to cmw for all his hard work on this!

Step One
Create a folder on your desktop called Pwnage. In it place Winpwn 2.5(mirror) and the latest 2.0 firmware.

2.0.2 (3G): iPhone1,2_2.0.2_5C1_Restore.ipsw

Step Two
Install WinPwn by double clicking the downloaded executable. Once WinPwn has been installed it will put a shortcut icon on your desktop. Double click to launch the application.

Step Three
Once WinPwn has opened click to select the iPhone 3G.

Step Four
You will then be asked to select the firmware you would like to use. Do this then click the green right arrow at the bottom right of the window.

Step Five
WinPwn will then ask if you are using an official carrier. Most likely you will need to click the green thumbs up button.

Step Six
WinPwn will then ask if you would like to use custom boot/recovery images. Click the green thumbs up button if you would like to.

Step Seven
You will now be able to select your custom images. Click the iPhone on the left to select your boot logo. Click the iPhone on the right to select your recovery logo.

Remember the rules for them: RGB or Grayscale format with Alpha channel and dimension bellow 320×480. If you would like to use the iClarified ones they can be found here: Boot Logo, Recovery Logo

Click the green arrow button to continue.

Step Eight
WinPwn will now search for your ipsw firmware file. If it cannot find it you will be asked to search manually. Click the green thumbs up button then navigate to the Pwnage folder on your desktop and select the ipsw you downloaded in Step One.

Step Nine
WinPwn will now build your custom ipsw.

Step Ten
Once your custom ipsw has been built WinPwn will ask you if you want to see instructions on putting your iPhone into DFU Mode. Click the green thumbs up button for yes or the red thumbs down button for no.

Step Eleven
WinPwn will then prompt you to connect your iPhone via USB and make sure its turned off. Do this then click the green thumbs up button.

Step Twelve
WinPwn will then say its ready to start Pwnage. Click the green OK button.

Step Thirteen
Be ready to follow directions now. It will ask you to hold the home button and the power button for 10 seconds. Then, you will have to release the power button and hold the home button for 10 seconds to enter DFU.

Step Fourteen
Once you iPhone is in DFU mode WinPwn will begin the pwnage process.

You will be informed when pwnage is complete.

Notice that your iPhone will display a “Ready to restore Custom IPSW” message.

Step Fifteen
iTunes will now prompt you that you are in recovery mode.

Hold down Shift and click the Restore button in iTunes.

A popup window will appear asking you to select your firmware. Select the Custom firmware file we created using WinPwn then click the Open button. NOTE**: WinPwn placed the Custom firmware file in the “My Documents” folder.

Your iPhone will now be restored to the jailbroken 2.0.x firmware of your choice!

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Features:
- QuickPwn Support for 2.0/2.0.1/2.0.2
- Root partition resize support
- Installer support
- Basic / Expert modes
- Wizard style interface
- Automatic updater
- Support for WinXP and Vista 32/64bit.

Big thanks to cmw for his work on this!

You can find tutorials on how to use the new version of WinPwn here:
- 2G iPhone
- 3G iPhone

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Some of my buddies have expressed astonishment that I get approximately thirty-six hours of standby with my iPhone, so I’m sharing my settings. Note: this is my second 3G iPhone–I returned the first one because I was getting only five hours of standby time.
….
I don’t know if you’ll get this kind of standby time (or more!), but this is what works for me. Of course, people with lesser phones are having a good chuckle because they get three to five days standby time, but their phones aren’t cool. And it’s better to have a cool phone that you have to charge everyday than a sucky phone that you can charge once a week.

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Marketing isn’t so hard. You just need to inspire people. Way to go Discovery Channel. I’m downloading some of your shows now…

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We’ve written a lot of times about developer platforms for the Web and we’ve reviewed a fair number of them. A web platform at its simplest is an API, allowing external developers to build on top of your web app or product. As we explained in our post APIs and Developer Platforms: A Discussion on the Pros and Cons, “offering an API is a great way to make developer friends and developing for a large Platform has the potential to bring your work to a huge audience.”

Note: the content in this post has been written collectively by members of the RWW team. Also the list below is in no particular order.

1. Imeem Developer Platform: Music

Major social networking site Imeem launched a developer platform in March that will enable read/write access to user information and more. Imeem is a site where users can upload music, create and listen to any uploads and blog about music all for free. Imeem pays internet radio-style licensing fees for each time a copyrighted song is played.

The new platform is a Flex and ActionScript API that will let developers create customized music players, access activity data and build things like recommendation engines, smart playlists and music games.

Read more…

2. YouTube Platform: Online Video

The video uploading platform announced by YouTube in March may not have been what many pundits expected but it could mark a major turning point for both YouTube and thousands of other sites around the web.

By allowing website owners to combine an on-site video publishing option for their users with the huge number of people looking to discover new content on YouTube, the platform will create a mutually beneficial feedback loop that will breathe new life into both YouTube and the web at large. It’s also got potential to show up all the other big platform plays we’ve seen to date.

Read more…

3. Fire Eagle: Yahoo’s Location Platform

Earlier this month Yahoo announced that the closed beta period for its location platform Fire Eagle had ended and that the service was now open for everybody.. Since then, a number of high-profile services, including Brightkite, Movable Type, Dopplr, and Pownce have implemented Fire Eagle through the numerous APIs Yahoo provides for accessing the service.

As we wrote about Fire Eagle when the beta was first announced, it offers API kits in five different programming languages, it’s got user authorization protocols already available for web, desktop and mobile apps and it’s using the open standards community built oAuth to facilitate faster, more secure mashups. This ain’t no cry-baby do it my way or I’m taking my ball and going home framework like the Facebook platform. This is leveraging universal open standards.

Note: also see our coverage of the Yahoo! Internet Location Platform, a collection of in-depth geo-location based APIs.

Read more…

4. Mozilla Weave: Web Platform for User Data

Mozilla recently announced Weave, a new web platform that will store users’ browser metadata in a cloud environment for access anywhere. Weave is a “framework for services integration” that will, according to Mozilla, “focus on finding ways to enhance the Firefox user experience, increase user control over personal information, and provide new opportunities for developers to build innovative online experiences.”

The basic idea is that browser metadata (things stored in your Firefox profile like bookmarks, history, RSS feeds, usernames and passwords, etc.) is pushed into the cloud and stored on Mozilla’s servers. The data is available to users from wherever they get online and users can share information with friends, family, or third parties while retaining control over how, when, and if the info is shared.

Read more…

5. Live Mesh: Microsoft’s Multi-device Platform

The new Live Mesh service launched in April as an invite only “technology preview”. It is Microsoft’s attempt to tie all of our data together. Live Mesh synchronizes data across multiple devices (currently just Windows computers, but theoretically it will extend to mobile and other devices in the future) as well as to a web desktop that exists in the cloud. It can sync data across devices used by a single users, as well as create shared spaces for multiple users. On the surface, Mesh is a lot like competing file sync services such as Dropbox, SugarSync (which we covered in January), and even Microsoft’s own FolderShare product. But what sets Live Mesh apart is its platform approach.

Essentially, Live Mesh is a collection of feeds (which can be expressed as ATOM, JSON, FeedSync, RSS, WB-XML, or POX). Every piece of data entered into a user’s Mesh — be it a file, a folder, a message, a user permission, or a new device — is rendered as a piece of information in a feed. The feeds are then synced with other devices that are part of that Mesh following rules for how to sync each particular piece of information (i.e., File A may sync with Users 1, 2, and 3, while File B may only be told to sync with Users 1 and 2).

Read more…

6. Hakia’s Semantic API

Semantic search engine Hakia announced in June a set of APIs that opens up their natural language processing and search platform to developers. Hakia’s Syndication Web Services really comes in two parts: search queries, which allow developers to add web search functionality leveraging Hakia’s five billion page index, and XML feed calls, which give developers access to Hakia’s underlying natural language processing technology. The latter of the two is clearly the more compelling of the offerings. [disclosure: hakia has been a RWW sponsor]

Read more…

7. Iceberg: Everyone Can Program

There was a time when only technically-savvy people knew how to create content and publish it to the internet, but the rise of easy-to-use blogging and CMS systems changed that. Today, everyone can be a publisher. Now, Iceberg wants to bring that same democratization to programming. In fact, that’s their vision for Web 3.0 - the web where everyone is a programmer.

Build an App in 3 Minutes

In June Iceberg launched publicly. Although the focus is on business applications, like CRM or PM tools, you can interface with anything that offers up a web service. For enterprise environments, instead of using Iceberg as a service, I.T. departments can download and use Iceberg offline, behind the firewall, to work with their in-house servers, like Windows SQL server for example.

Read more…

8. Cascada Mobile: Anyone Can Build a Mobile App

In July Cascada Mobile launched a platform called Cascada Breeze, allowing anyone to take their idea from thought to app in about fifteen minutes. Well, maybe not anyone - the apps are built using HTML, so you would have to have some rudimentary web programming knowledge to use their platform. Still, you have to admit, that’s a lot easier than using a professional development platform.

With Breeze, you can build, test, and distribute mobile J2ME apps that run on hundreds and handsets. And these are “real” apps, too - fully integrated mobile applications with their own icon, not just mobile widgets.

Read more…

9. Android: Google’s Open Mobile Phone Platform

We said we wouldn’t discuss iPhone, but we can’t help mentioning Android - because of its potential to really open up the up-till-now closed mobile phone platform ecosystem. Earlier this week we reported that the HTC Dream, the first handset to run Android (aka “the Google Phone”) has been approved by the FCC. In the documents provided, it appears that we have now a release date for this highly anticipated phone: November 10th, 2008.

Google has been encouraging developers to create applications for Android and rewarding them for doing so with cold, hard cash with the Android Developer Challenge. (See our previous coverage here). This has led to numerous third-party applications ready to flood the market when the phone goes to launch, regardless as to which developers win the big prizes (Pictured: Teradesk App). According to PCWorld, Google Developer Advocate Jason Chen told the Android breakout session at May’s Google I/O event that developers won’t need to get Android applications certified by anyone nor will there be any hidden APIs accessible only to handset makers or mobile operators. Even the phone’s homescreen and widgets will be customizable - that’s a much different take than the locked-down iPhone - and one that caters to users who like to make their phones their own.

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10. Meebo: Web Instant Messaging

Unlike most other platforms in the news these days, the Meebo Platform is a closed one. As at December more than 300 companies had registered to build applications but only 39 had been accepted into the program. Most are multiperson gaming apps, the rest video and voice chat apps. Companies chosen to participate in the Platform work closely with Meebo to assure high-quality integration of their applications, the company says.

The Meebo Platform is the third step in the vision for the company, after building a basic web IM service and then integrating that service into other sites through tools like MeeboMe and MeeboRooms.

Read more…

We hope you enjoyed this overview of 10 promising web developer platforms. For more about the theory and practice of platforms, check out Marshall Kirkpatrick’s post So You’re Launching a Platform: After Ubiquitous APIs - What’s the Next Frontier?. A good companion piece is Picking a Platform: 5 Issues to Consider. Also read Alex Iskold’s classic March ‘07 analysis When Web Sites Become Web Services.

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Features
- QuickPwn support (2.0/2.0.1/2.0.2)
- DFU helper
- Automatic updater (yay no more downloading new installers)
- Plus much more….

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Interview with Yuji Oshimoto (designer)

By Takayuki Kawamoto

Ed’s Note:Yuji Oshimoto is the designer of the world famous “04″ fonts, which are quickly becoming a standard in the world of skinz. He has also created games (make sure you play Frogkiller) and other designs, which are available on his website at www.04.jp.org - The site is available in Japanese and English language.

TEK: Thank you for making time to speak with us, now here we go.
Please tell me about your experience with the computer. How long have you used it?

Yuji: About 6 years now. I started using the computer in my career as a designer.

TEK: And now, you work mainly with computers…

Yuji: Yeah. I’m working on several design things in magazines, websites, and the user interface of games… can’t sleep day after day.

TEK: So, do you use a Mac?

Yuji: Yes, most Japanese designers work with Macintosh, and similarly I use Windows boxes only for testing the appearance of the results… or just for playing games

TEK: Do you customize your desktop with skinning apps, something like Kaleidoscope?

Yuji: Sure, I love it. And I have made my own scheme for Kaleidoscope.

Yuji: But now, because I often show my desktop to my clients, I don’t use anything. I think it will be better to keep the average appearance of a desktop for making webpages for most people. For the most part, I choose not to change much, and to let it be a normal desktop.

TEK: Ah, things are different…

TEK: Speaking of skins, I think the default skin in most apps is made by a designer at each software company. Do you see skinning turning out to be established as a professional type of business?

Yuji: Maybe… but if I was in the position of my client, I would not entrust my business to a person who has spent his time only making skins. The client may think that the designer would make similar skins every time. So if I was a client, I would like to leave my task to a person who has another talent of design… for games, or webpages.

TEK: someone like you, Yuji?

Yuji: Wow, I didn’t mean…, hehe. Anyway there would be many people who had talents in the making of original interface designs. So it might be more desirable to offer various designs by many persons.

TEK: Well, turning to the main subject in this interview, you put your fonts and flash works on view at your own website. The so-called “04 fonts”, for example. We want to know about these fonts… what was your motivation to make these fonts?

Yuji: I’m working on several designs for magazines and websites, and sometimes I make interfaces to be used in softwares or games. The first such job was a software for PlayStation (BEAT PLANET MUSIC by SCEI with Me Company), and it needed many, many characters at once. So I wanted to make my original ones for them.

TEK: I see..

Yuji: Well, I made 5 sets of fonts, but they were just images at that time. Necessarily these were not files available in Macintosh nor Windows, just separated images, and I arranged them on a background or base image one by one… While going through this process, I realized it was difficult to work with, and on the computer, I changed them to usable fonts.

TEK: Did you think these fonts would be used on the web?

Yuji: Yes.

Yuji: When I make web images with these fonts in GIF format, the size of image will compress very well. So after making fonts, they came to be used in my design works on the web.

TEK: Here’s a little question. How should we call your fonts? Your family name is “Oshimoto” and usually a number zero is pronounced as “o” and a number four as “shi” just for reminders of… phone number, for example in Japan. Then, should we call “04″ as “oshi”?

Yuji: Hahaha… no, I don’t care about it. If you are native in English, you can call it as “zero-four”, and if you are native Japanese, you can call it as “oshi” or “zero-yon” or something you like. In every case, I want some meaningless name for my fonts and world-wide spelling for them. Numbers will be the best, I think.

TEK: Thanks, I would like to ask you a question about a simple thing I want to ask you about fonts for web images. In most cases, people will use little letters, taking an easy way for which they define fonts as 6pt or 7pt letters in each image editors. Just simple. But you have never made your image this way. Why?

Yuji: It’s not only a matter of fonts. We designers would make own materials to be used for our works. Designers always want original materials and do not stay in a place with ready-made materials… plus, there were few fonts around several years ago.

TEK: How important are fonts in the world of design?

Yuji: Every appearances will be changed when we change fonts on webpages, magazines, or any others. Fonts will be worth doing as much as the hue, photographs, illustrations, and layouts. I think that designers will be able to know what their talents are from the result, and if we cut corners to easily go to the finish, people will also find out easily.

TEK: Okay, thanks… eh just one more little question, why do you attach a little image as readme in the archive of each font?

Yuji: Oh… not for any special reason. But I tend to throw such readme file into the garbage box, hehe, so I thought people would save such a small and nice image instead of text file… hm, now many people use my fonts overseas and I may make another in English…

TEK: That’s fine.

TEK: Well, the next question. How have you been inspired at working, and inspired from what?

Yuji: Watching everything in many times. It has a limit to stay a same place and stage. We should learn more and more, and then get out from closed and limited possibilities in the design thing… or every things in artistic activities though.

TEK: What do you mostly care on at working?

Yuji: Generally speaking any works in design must arrange informations on suitable places. I mean with “informations” as not limited in textual objects. All things in a wider sense of “design” will have to do with making each interface more better. So, we should care on all elements, not limited in anything.

TEK: Great… then, may I ask about your personal details? What’s your hobby, music or movies, or?

Yuji: Heeeey, it’s difficult for me to count my hobbies But the design of something is my one of hobbies as well.

TEK: Is there your favourite designer or works of somebody?

Yuji: I enjoy playing games and they have influenced on my works and ideas very much.

TEK: And, this web magazine has been distributed mainly to foreign people, so would you talk them about you home location in Japan?

Yuji: Ah…. pretty difficult Similarly to another cities in Japan, there are many things and infos so it’s exciting every day. Oh and, I have sufficiently many games, manga, and anime here!

TEK: Finally, please give your comment or advicement to skinners, if any.

Yuji: Well well…, you have better to use any materials for you own conception and don’t use them for a trendy reason… oh what a great speech! Haha… but anyway I am very happy to know that many people use my fonts and are interested in my work.

Thanks all!

TEK: Thank you for giving us a chance to talk with you.

Source: http://www.teknidermy.com

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The Dark Knight stars dining together

We found this on digg.com

R.I.P. Heath Ledger.

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