Google has added real estate search to Google Maps in Australia and New Zealand. Properties for sale or rent can be viewed on the existing maps with additional photos and details available with a click of the mouse.

Private users' listings are added via sites such as homehound and myhome and there are also estate-agent based listings available as well.

House-hunters input the area they are interested in and advance options such as type of properties, price range, floor area range, number of bedrooms, bathrooms and parking spaces.

The system was developed by workers at Google's Sydney office and it is expected that the service will be expanded to the US first and then the rest of the globe.

With many individuals already using Google Map's streetview to look around areas and particular streets that they are interested in, the move to include real-estate listings is a logical one.

(via The Age)

Spotify is offering Chris Anderson's new book Free: The Future of a Radical Price,
narrated by the author himself, free to all UK users.

It's the first time Spotify has made an audio book available although they're keen to stress that it's only a trial - for the time being at least. "We're going to trial it, see what people think and who knows, maybe this is the start of something new for us..." said Andres Sehr of Spotify.

Chris Anderson, the author of the hugely successful The Long Tail and current editor-in-chief of Wired is the perfect guinea-pig for the experiment. He is hugely influential in terms of the internet and web-culture and Free should appeal to a large number of Spotify users.

It's quite a coup for Spotify as well. Free has only been available for a few days in hard-copy and is sure to be a best-seller. It tells the story of new world where the old economic certainties are being undermined by a growing flood of free goods as the result of new technologies, such as the internet.

If you did want to buy Free in its hard-copy format, it's available on Amazon for a bargain £8.54. The Long Tail is available in paperback for £6.69.

(via Spotify)

YouTube has launched a new channel - The YouTube Reporters' Center (yep Center, American's are more important than us, everybody knows that).

The channel aims to take advantage of its unique position in terms of user content when it comes to world events. The current situation in Iran has highlighted its importance in terms of showcasing first-hand events - particularly with the tragic case of Neda Agha-Soltan whose death was captured on video and posted onto YouTube.

The channel's aim is to improve the citizen journalism currently on show on YouTube. There are plenty of instructional videos from the experts such as learning how to prepare for an interview with CBS' Katie Couric, tips on how to be an investigative reporter from Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward or how to report on a humanitarian crisis from Nick Kristof of the New York Times.

The service sounds like a great idea for budding journalists or just ordinary folk who are interested in reporting on news-worthy events in their community. As usual with Google the timing is spot on as well.

(via Google Blog)

London 6pm saw thousands gather in a flash mob tribute to Michael Jackson with a mass moonwalk in celebration of the life of a legend. Word spread in the afternoon on Twitter and all over the web just hours before the meet at Liverpool Street Station.

Billy Jean, Thriller and Bad played out in the streets as peoplle danced with white gloves made of A4 paper pointed into the air, hung from lampposts and stood on phoneboxes or any place to get a better view of the party below.

It may not have been as underground and unfettered as flash mobs of old but there was more passion in the crowd than ever. Michael, I hope you were watching.

Here's a rather curious case of public relations. Habitat, the UK furniture shop, has been spotted abusing popular Twitter search terms in order to get their products and offers seen by more people.

The company's social media arm has been hashtagging their tweets on sales and promotions with #mousavi and #iPhone amongst others and is now being seriously frowned upon for taking advantage of the situation in Iran as well as misleading Twitter users in general.

Habitat has since deleted their tweets such as #iPhone Our totally desirable Spring collection now has 20% off!www.habitat.co.uk/pws/Home.ice and #MOUSAVI Join the database for free to win a £1000 gift card http://bit.ly/2wPLO (expand) ? Now!! but you can still see them here.

The incident's being cited as how not to use social media but then, here I am writing about and I wouldn't have known about their £1,000 gift card. Will more people remember this transgression than'll sign up to their database and spend money in their sale?

Not a trick Habitat can or would repeat twice but an interesting way of spamming Twitter in general. I wonder how long until ViAgRA salesmen start doing the same?

Brand Republic

Rumours doing the rounds in Hollywood suggest that David Fincher - who has been responsible for some absolute belters including Se7en, Fight Club and err...Panic Room - is to direct the upcoming Facebook movie.

The film will be based on Ben Mezrich's book The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, a Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal. Aaron Sorkin - creator of The West Wing - is all set to write the screenplay apparently and Kevin Spacey is said to be involved in producing the film.

So, who's going to play Mark Zuckerberg? I'm no casting agent but I reckon Michael Cera has got to be a shoe-in. Not only does he look the part - he's also got the gawky, nerdy and nervous act of to a tee.

(via Slashfilm)

Pre-order your copy of Ben Mezrich's book The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, a Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal from Amazon today.

Related post: Second Life - the movie

MySpace is ditching two thirds of their international staff and closing down at least four of their offices in a global restructuring strategy. The move will see 300 jobs lost outside of the US, leaving London, Berlin, and Sydney as the regional hubs and Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, India, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Sweden and Spain offices all ominously "under review".

MySpace chief executive officer Owen Van Natta said:

"As we conducted our review of the company, it was clear that internationally, just as in the U.S., MySpace's staffing had become too big and cumbersome to be sustainable in current market conditions. Today's proposed changes are designed to transform and refine our international growth strategy."

Half of MySpace's traffic comes from outside the US but it's in America where the network has been strongest, only being surpassed by Facebook a few weeks ago. A smaller wage bill isn't going to help growing traffic any but it's clear that the once darling of the web 2.0 world needs to start trimming the fat as their power continues to wain.

I'd still like to think that MySpace has its place - in the music world if nowhere else - but I'm sure it'll see numbers tumble a long way before it levels out again.

An American gentleman by the name of Israel Hyman had his house burgled while he was away on holiday. Nothing particularly new there. However, there's a serious suspicion that the thief had all the information he/she needed through Mr Hyman's own posts on Twitter.

He'd tweeted that he was "preparing to head out of town" and that he had "another ten hours of driving ahead". Combined with links to Mr Hyman's Flickr page containing photos of his computers, bicycle and flat screen TV, all of which were geo-tagged with their location at his home address, and suddenly you've got a pretty good picture for a would-be criminal.

Naturally, there's a lot of scaring the bejesus out of people in the press on this one and, quite naturally, there's probably a few of you out there wondering whether or not it's a good idea to be posting all sorts of bits and pieces on Twitter and other social networks. In fact, you may not be sure that it's safe to use social media at all.

Let me allay your fears first of all by saying, it is. In the great words of the Hitchhiker's Guide, Don't Panic. Twitter is safe, Facebook is safe but, perfectly understandibly, there's a few uncertainties and teething problems because, relatively speaking, it's all rather new. Even if you're an early adopter, the game changes slightly when you've got the whole world using these things, including potential burglars.

So, here are a few bits of advice that'll keep you feeling free and uncensored on Twitter and other social networks without ending up like Mr Hyman:

YouTube yesterday launched it's new multi-platform version of its website, YouTubeXL, designed to bring YouTube content your big screen PC or TV.

The new site is basically an oversized redesign of the current website, minus; comments, adds and other common web-frippery. It's meant to look and work like a native app, but actually it looks and feels like a Fisher-Price website.

The content is hard to move through and the colours of the site are quite jarring. High Quality and HD videos aren't available on it either, which seems like a ridiculous omission for a service that's aimed at large-screen computers and TVs.

The one good thing about XL is that it'll work in anything that's got a browser, so you'll be able to use your PS3 and Wii to watch YouTube videos on your TV.

Not all of YouTube's content will be available immediately on XL, but with Hulu launching it's native app stateside this week YouTubeXL will need to pull its socks up if it wants to win the web-TV war.

Don't get me wrong, YouTube is brilliant for just this reason, but I'm not sure XL knows what it is.

(Via Tech Crunch)

BT, the UK's biggest ISP, has been accused of throttling users' download speeds between 5.30 and midnight.

People who sign up for BT's option one, 8Mbps service, may find the speed they actually get is 1Mbps or under, which might contravene trade descriptions legislation.

A fair usage policy secreted on BT's website reads: "We do limit the speed of all video streaming to 896Kbps on our Option 1 product, during peak times only."

ISPs use "traffic shaping" to "provide a good overall experience for all of [their] users". But in practise, this policy just leads to slow and occasionally unusable connections for everyone.

Microsoft has launched its much rumoured motion controller at E3 along with 1080p video-streaming, facebook and twitter integration, and Premier League football as part of Microsoft's deal with Sky.

"Project Natal" is not as many were expecting a hand-held controller but rather a motion sensing camera, like the Eye Toy, but hopefully substantially less crappy.

Steven Spielberg lumbered on stage to demo the new technology, with his avatar moving in real time as he controled the UI. Unlike the Eye Toy which wasn't really developed with any great vigour, Microsoft seem to have gone to town with Natal and look to have created a very immersive and interactive experience.

Maybe too interactive, because in an Orwellian overstep, Microsoft has included face recognition technology which will allow you to use the meat, sinew and cartilage on the front of your head to as your password to log in to your Live account.

But Natal isn't just for gaming: As Microsoft starts to push the Xbox 360 as the home entertainment mega-hub, you'll be able to use Natal to flick through your films and songs and use voice recognition to issue commands.

The demo came complete with a very Wii-esque trailer of a family enjoying the delights of Natal's motion capture, although all the voices have been dubbed so grimly that the whole thing takes on this sort of uncanny and unnerving ambiance, like they're trapped. It's weird - watch it. It's a far cry from the light-hearted japes of the Redknapp clan.

Microsoft look to have created an amazing and deeply immersive piece of kit here, but it still can't make adverts. Not for toffees.

Watch this till the end - it's a good advert and then in the last 10 seconds the way the light on the Natal unit switches off is so creepy!

Has no one at Microsoft seen Space Odyssey 2001? It couldn't be more menacingly Hal-esque.

The BBC is in talks with Google to launch an international edition of the BBC iPlayer, supported by Google owned YouTube.

The sticking point seems to be the need to acquire international rights for the content shown on the UK iPlayer.

Separate negotiations are also in progress between the BBC's commercial arm - BBC Worldwide and YouTube, with a view to making the BBC's archive content, for which international rights have already been acquired, available on YouTube.

It is currently possible to watch some BBC content on YouTube but only in short format; trailers and clips as opposed to entire shows and episodes.

A BBC spokesperson said: "There are a significant number of obstacles to extending this commercially to other countries, including international rights clearance. These obstacles present significant difficulties and for this reason there are no firm plans for a specific international BBC iPlayer, but audiences can watch BBC content outside the UK through numerous BBC Worldwide content deals with online partners such as iTunes."

The news of these negotiations might scupper talks designed to offer a consolidated VoD service for UK content if NewsCorp deems the international iPlayer a significant enough threat to it's part owned US-based Hulu VoD.

(Via Telegraph)

Microsoft's first serious attempt at a Google-beater went live on Friday for US users and is now available in beta form for UK searchers.

The big friendly search page is very "Web 2.0", its all big simple fonts and whitewash villas, no actually, there's a picture of whitewashed villas, which will make you want to search for whitewashed villas, but don't get distracted, you've got searching to do.

Bing is a new-breed of search engine, it wants to give you answers, all by itself. The UK version is, as yet, without the much hyped "Local" search option, which Microsoft have been hyping in the run-up to the launch. A team of 60 web-bods are working full-time to bring Bing's Local option to UK users as soon as possible.

The search results look dismally like Live Search's but, unlike Live Search the side bar with related searches works smoothly and offers an array of pertinent links to potentially related subjects, which is nice.

So say you search; Nikon D300, in your related searches you get; Nikon D300 review, Nikon D300 sales, Nikon D300 to buy, all of which is very helpful.

The image search is better than Google's, it offers filters which allow you to hone your search precisely.

The video and shopping searches also equally hold their own. But in terms of Search, because after all Bing is primarily a search engine, Bing still falls short of Google's unerring and uncanny knack of finding just what you're looking for.

But beating Google is maybe setting Microsoft's sites a bit high. Live Search had about 8.5% of the global search market, behind Yahoo on 18% and Google on 69%. So leapfrogging Yahoo might be the first step for Microsoft, but right now, will I be deserting Google for Bing? No.

Scientologists have been blocked from editing Wikipedia because they used the popular online encyclopaedia to "push their own agenda".

Wikipedia's supreme court has banned all contributions from all IP addresses owned or operated by the Church of Scientology and its associates.

The site's Arbitration Committee voted 10 to 0 (with one abstention) in favour of the move, which takes effect immediately.

I went to the Church of Scientology bookshop on Tottenham Court Road for a response and though the representatives there said they were aware of the story they were not willing to comment and asked me to leave. I asked if they wanted to try and convert me, to which they replied that I was, "too far gone". Which is comforting to know.

Evidence was submitted showing multiple editors had been "openly editing (Scientology-related articles) from Church of Scientology equipment and apparently coordinating their activities." Stories regarding the editing of Scientology articles from Scientology IPs had been doing the rounds for a while, and some site admins were concerned this is "damaging Wikipedia's reputation for neutrality".

This all comes on the back of the start of a court case that could see the dissolving of the French church of Scientology.

Tom Cruise is not believed to have been involved in any editing but probably would if he had a chance.

(Via The Register)

Google's new Search will go live worldwide on the 3rd June. Named after the popular sitcom character Chandler (it's not really), Bing is Microsoft's first real pop at a Google beater.

And first impressions are...not bad, which, for Microsoft, is a massive victory.

It's being praised for its comprehensive and user-friendly travel and shopping searches, although general searches and Microsoft's big hope, local search, have left something to be desired.

Although the UI seems clean and simple some of the better features have been secreted under drop-downs and tabs.

Bing will get a "soft launch" in the UK in beta form, before a 60 strong team go to work making it's results more UK relevant.

Ashley Higfield, a key player behind the success of the iPlayer, and now Microsoft's UK Consumer Vice President, said: "There is a huge opportunity in the search market."

"Given that it's dominated by one player, and given that research shows a high level of dissatisfaction among a high level of the user base. We know that only around a quarter of people get what they are looking for on the first search."

Bing is being considered by some more as an "information portal" than a straight-up search engine. It provides options and answers as opposed to referrals.

But it looks to be a good start - some tweaking and Microsoft might well be onto something.

(Via Wired and The Times)

Seven-million people in the UK use illegal downloads - apparently costing the economy tens of billions of pound according to government advisors.

Researcher found that 1.3 million people use one file sharing site per weekday, which compared to the size of the population hardly seems like an epidemic.

The Strategic Advisory Board for Intellectual Property (SABIP) warned it may be hard to change attitudes - although some say it's not attitudes that need to change but the industry who still charge a disproportionate amount for digital copies.

The government says work must be done internationally to tackle the problem.

Intellectual Property Minister, (a whole minister - is that really necessary?) David Lammy said the report put into context the impact illegal downloads had on copyright industries and the UK economy as a whole.

"This is not an issue confined by national boundaries and I am sure that other [EU] member states and their copyright industries will find this report of use in the development of policy," added Mr Lammy.

An alliance (or "greedy-hoard") of nine UK bodies representing the creative industries joined trades unions to call on the government to force internet service providers to cut off persistent illegal file-sharers. And everyone knows, if there is one sector you don't want to piss off it's the creative industries - imagine a strike, no Doctors, no Eastenders, no Holby, no One Show, imagine the chaos. Imagine the silence. Bliss.

ISPs have gallantly shirked any responsibility reiterating that it isn't their job to police the internet.

What this all goes to show is that the government and people doing the government's research still fundamentally don't understand downloading.

They aren't costing the economy tens of billions of pounds, that is nothing but propaganda and scaremongering. Using the flagging economy to turn the screw on a kid who's downloaded the latest version of Photoshop CS4 so he can put the head of the kid that bullies him at school on a camel seems frankly, a bit much.

What these researchers are suggesting is that downloaders would buy every movie, song or program they've torrented, P2Pd or USBd, and that's just not the case. They'd do without.

And maybe the government have decided now isn't exactly the best time for MPs to be sounding off about freeloading: Because filling in a claims form and taking public money to clean your moat is, undeniably, far more devious, than downloading Space Cowboys.

Clint Eastwood, Donald Sutherland and Tommy Lee Jones - in space! Amazing.

(Via BBC)

Google is introducing some frighteningly integrated web software that I can best describe as a kind of live, collaborative Facebook page. Google Wave will bring together all of your social media apps and all your media itself together in a place where it can be accessed by as many people as you like at one time. It can be added to, commented on and edited in more ways than I can get my tiny little mind around at 5pm in the afternoon the day after the Champions League final.

Royalty collector, PRS for Music, has cut its online streaming rate from £0.0022 per song to £0.00085 per song, which is music to the ears (punilicous) of struggling online music services.

The decision comes after a lengthy consultation with music industry heavyweights and new media professionals who argued that by making music more readily available the publishers and artists stood to make more money in the long run.

All of which might mean the return of music videos to YouTube although this can't be confirmed as they are still "in discussions with the PRS to agree license terms".

We7 CEO Steve Purdham, said: "On first glance, this looks like a good step in the right direction and it is pleasing to see that the PRS has listened to many of the consistent views from the consultation period. It is these minima which significantly affects the evolution of new digital businesses and the PRS have done a good job in going some way to address this problem."

PRS is, however, authoring new Online Music Licenses which will replace the old Joint Online License, meaning PRS is sticking to the notion that the artist should be paid everytime their song is played. Even if it is Flo Rida. Seriously who is listening to Flo Rida - whoever you are, will you ruddy stop please. He's just awful.

(Via paidContent:UK)

Humourous reviews of a wicked-cool T-shirt featuring three wolves and a moon went viral this week sending sales soaring 2,300%.

"It's got three wolves on it. Like, I'd be happy with a t-shirt with one wolf on it, but this one's got three. Three wolves - and a moon, and it's a full moon and stuff, so it kind of makes me feel like a werewolf when I'm wearing it - which is kind of my favourite way to feel," said Carl Chesterson, in one of the 454 reviews on Amazon.

But Isabelle O'Carroll, editor of online fashion bible, Catwalk Queen, told us that actually, "Wolf print t-shirts have been the height of hipster cool for some time now, and then Martin Margiela had some airbrush hippy tees in his SS/08 collection (that's spring summer 2008 for the non-fashion types)"

"Then Topshop followed suit with their take on the trend, so the wolf tee might be hitting headlines but as usual fashion got there first!"

And actually, Tech Digest wouldn't mind a return to the days when a man could don a wolf, or global hypercolour, or He-man, or Fat Willys t-shirt without being castigated.

Michael McGloin, art director of the firm behind the tee said: "We'll take ironic fashion any day, we're printing another 400,000 more t-shirts.

"It's just a fantastic thing." It is. It really is. Wolf t-shirts for all.

4Chan is at the centre of another internet crapstorm after users of the site laid siege to YouTube, posting a plethora of lewd and pornographic videos.

Already infamous for attacks on white supremacist Radio, DJ Hal Turner, and responsible for the Rickrolling phenomena, 4chan-ers posted videos tagged with the names of tweenie stars, The Jonas Brothers and Hannah Montana.

Dubbed "internet terrorists" by the ever rational and balanced Fox News, and "lunatic, juvenile, brilliant, ridiculous and alarming" by The Guardian. The 4Chan films start with innocent footage then meander into sex scenes.

"We are aware of the slew of pornographic videos that were uploaded," said a spokesman for Google.

"We are addressing them as we would any video that violates our community guidelines."

"In addition any account we discover that has been specifically set up to attack YouTube will be disabled." Yeah YouTube - you tell them.

(Via Metro)