sense

Similar to Mozilla Firefox's upcoming "Tab Candy" concept, Google Chrome add-on TabSense helps manage your tabs in a streamlined, organized manner. Though in its rookie status--there are still minor bugs--the extension is definitely worth keeping thanks to its simple utility. After the lightning-fast install, a rounded/rectangular icon will appear to the right-hand side of the address bar. A message will say that settings can be configured through the extensions option of the tool menu. In this menu users can uninstall and disable; however, the "options" link takes you to a blank page that merely … Read more

The U.S. copyright office now says that there are instances in which you may hack, fold, spindle, or mutilate copy protection, but just a few, and don't go breaking any other contracts while you're at it. Also, Microsoft wants its employees to build Windows 7 phone apps... for free!

Amid reports that HTC is working hard to bring its Sense user interface to Windows Phone 7 gadgets, there's been at least one reported sighting of just such a phone that lacks Sense.

A tipster has shared with Engadget some details of a "mystery HTC Windows Phone 7 device" that the gadget blog describes as likely a developer build with hardware that's ready to go. But the phone doesn't seem to have a Sense skin atop the Windows Phone 7 OS, according to the report.

Smartphone makers typically tweak the user interface of the handsets … Read more

OAKLAND, Calif.--Everyone knows that Google is the richest Internet company of our time. But Google doesn't think people know enough about the impact its services have on the broader economy.

In an effort to shine a brighter light on its economic contributions, Google held a series of press conferences around the country Tuesday highlighting the impact that AdWords, AdSense, and Google nonprofit grants have on the small business community. The events accompanied the release of a report claiming that Google advertisers generated $54 billion in U.S. economic activity during 2009, and that doesn't even count the … Read more

Google has finally revealed how it shares advertising revenue with AdSense customers who run Google ads on their own sites.

AdSense customers are publishers who run "Ads by Google" ads on their pages as well as those who use a custom Google search box on their site and run search-related ads. Those in the first category--AdSense for content--receive 68 percent of the revenue that Google earns for selling those ads, while AdSense for search customers get 51 percent of that revenue, the company revealed for the first time Monday in a blog post.

Major publishers negotiate individual deals … Read more

Somewhere in your closet there's a pair of gloves straight out of "Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo." Well, if you dust them off and fire up your Webcam, you'll have the beginnings of a nifty gestural interface system, thanks to research at MIT.

Robert Wang of MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory designed a gestural system that tracks a pair of rainbow-colored Lycra gloves to be used with a standard Webcam. The gloves, which cost only a dollar to manufacture, can be used to manipulate virtual objects such as blocks or even complex machinery models (… Read more

A new curriculum being developed by Common Sense Media is intended to help middle school teachers, parents, and kids themselves "raise a generation of responsible, smart, and safe digital citizens."

The curriculum is based on the digital ethics framework developed by the GoodPlay Project, led by Harvard School of Education professor Howard Gardner.

The curriculum has been tested in pilot programs in the San Francisco Bay Area, Omaha, and New York and will be rolled out nationwide in the fall.

To learn more about this curriculum, I spoke by phone with Common Sense Media CEO Jim Steyer. You … Read more

commentary In my more than 15 years in the Internet safety field, I've seen a lot of programs designed to teach children how to use the Internet safely, but many have missed the mark because they too often focus on children as victims or at least passive consumers rather than as participants in our digital culture. But in this Web 2.0 world, kids aren't just consuming media, they're creating it and they have collectively embraced social media as a part of their lives. They don't go online; they are online--whether on a PC, a mobile … Read more

Yahoo on Wednesday announced that it has decided to close the Yahoo Publisher Network, the company's answer to Google AdSense.

The Yahoo Publisher Network, an advertising platform enabling small Web publishers to place ads on their sites to drive revenue, will officially close on April 30. The service has been in beta testing since its launch nearly five years ago.

In an e-mail sent to Publisher Network users, Yahoo said users of its service might want to consider moving to Chitika, another ad platform that the company says serves more than "2 billion monthly impressions across more than … Read more