Google Voice Gets Less Annoying
The concept of Google Voice is an awesome one. A single number to rule all of your phone numbers, including features like call recording, custom forwarding, and voicemail transcription. I’m loving it. It’s just implemented sort of weird. One of those awkward design choices was with the mobile version. Whenever you made a call, GV would use your mobile data connection to establish the call. Google Voice has always created a special GV phone number for each of your contacts. Now, it will automatically remember and use these numbers to establish the call, speeding things up dramatically. via The Google Voice Blog
Redbox Goes At Netflix
Redbox became the fastest growing video chain in the US by dropping little kiosks in your neighborhood and letting you rent DVD’s from it for $1 dollar per day. The major chains couldn’t compete with that type of pricing. Now, Redbox is taking on their biggest competition by trying to compete with Netflix. Many people use Redbox to get new releases, but still use Netflix to get older movies. These are revenues that Redbox aims to get back by increasing the number of titles they carry and expanding onto the web. via Bloomberg
Facebook Sucks as Bad as Your Cable Company
According to a survey done by the American Customer Satisfaction Index, Facebook is in “the bottom 5% of all private sector companies, and in the same range as the IRS tax e-filing system, airlines and cable companies.” Ouch! They scored a 64 out of 100, which is one of the lowest ranks of any company measured. You would think that with Facebook surpassing 500 million users, they must be enjoying the service, but this is obviously not the case. One theory as to why? Facebook holds a monopoly in the social networking department. via WSJ
Skype Adds Multitasking and Free 3G Calling
The Skype team has wasted no time in supporting the latest iPhone features in their new app. You can now receive Skype calls in the background while you’re doing other stuff or your phone is locked. You can also access other features of your phone while in the middle of a Skype call, like email, movie listings, and maps. They ‘ve also taken advantage of the iPhone 4’s Retina display and have decided to curb plans to charge for calls over 3G. Definitely a score for iPhone owners. via The Big Blog: Everything New at Skype HQ