Third-party Twitter applications will have to ask users’ permission before processing their private messages following a change in the company’s permissions policy.
Twitter users often use applications (apps) designed by third-party companies to send and receive private messages on Twitter. Twitter will now force some companies to ask users’ permission to serve them their messages and deny other firms any access to the data at all.

“Apps that you use to access your direct messages will ask for your permission again,” Twitter announced on its online blog.

“By the middle of June, applications …

The phone measures 4.2-inches with a touch screen boasting over 16 million colors; that equates to around 854×480 pixels.  The exterior includes a microSD slot for multimedia, three physical buttons (controlling back, home and menu), a 2.5mm headset jack, allowing Sony to push this device as “the world’s thinnest smartphone.”
The phone sports Sony’s Exmor R for mobile, allowing for “best-in-class low-light video and photo capture.”  Stereo bluetooth is made available among other multimedia features including a digital media player, HD video recording as well as a 8.1MP camera for the …

This year’s Best in Show award at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas Nevada is none other than the brand new Motorola Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablet, the one called XOOM! It was almost an upset as many believed that the operating system Android 3.0 Honeycomb would snatch the award, no problem. Instead, it was found pertinent by the voters to instead vote on the vessel. Of all of the tablets (and there were a lot of them) to pop out with Honeycomb at this event, the XOOM is the …

Efficient systems administration, dedicated support, comprehensive legal cover and access to the expert knowledge as and when you need it – Canonical’s Ubuntu Advantage can help you get more out of open source and Ubuntu. With a more productive IT environment, you can boost efficiency and make significant cost savings.
Landscape
Systems management tool Landscape is central to Ubuntu Advantage. With a single web-based interface, systems administrators can manage multiple physical and cloud machines as easily as one. IT teams can avoid manual errors by automating repetitive tasks, such as applying security …

Skype is the process of recovering from a major outage that left users across the world unable to log into the VoIP service on Wednesday.

Many computers that act as supernodes, the systems that provide directory information on Skype, were taken offline “by a problem affecting some versions of Skype”.

As a result many Skype users were unable to contact supernodes and therefore unable to log onto the service. Call volumes dropped by half on Wednesday from a typical daily volume of 20 million a day as a result. The snafu affected …

Sony has launched a new music and video download service as it gears up to challenge Apple’s iTunes.
The announcement, made at the IFA technology fair in Berlin, was timed to coincide with an Apple media event in the US.
The cloud-based service will be available on PlayStation 3s, Bravia TVs, Blu-Ray players and Sony’s personal computers.
Initially it will offer movies. Music will be added at the end of the year.
Sony’s online services platform Qriocity has offered video-on-demand in the US since April this year but will now be available in Europe.
The …

Kinect-esque motion control could soon find its way to the iPad as tech firm Elliptic Labs prepares to show off its Touchless Gesture User Interface technology at CES 2011.
Having teased similar technologies for some time and demoed an unbranded device at IFA earlier this year, Elliptic Labs now appears ready to officially out its motion-sensing iPad dock prototype that will allow users to control their tablets without tarnishing the device with fingerprints.
Made possible by ultrasound technologies that create a 35cm “touchless zone” field around the connected device, the dock prototype …

Apple announced today that unit sales of its tiny set-top box are expected to reach 1 million by the end of this week.
The Apple TV, which launched in September, is one-quarter the size of its predecessor, and allows users to rent and stream television shows and movies from iTunes on their televisions. The set-top box also features access to Netflix, podcasts, and Flickr. Users can stream music content from their computers, and use AirPlay to send multimedia content from their iOS-based devices to the Apple TV. It retails for $99.
But …

Unveiled earlier this year at the D8 Conference in California, the Tegra toting tablet is designed to replace traditional teaching aids such as textbooks and notepads with one tool: the Kno. It will be complimented by the ‘Kno Bookstore’ – an online shop accessible from the Kno where students can purchase textbooks at a substantially lower price than that of physical RRP’s.
The Kno will is available in two versions: A dual screen ‘book’ version that boasts two huge 14.1″ screens, each just shy of A4 size, and a single-screened traditional style tablet – again with a 14.1″ screen. These …

With only weeks to go before its expected unveiling the iPad 2 release date, specs and price are still closely guarded secrets, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some juicy rumours, inspired guesses and possibly even Apple leaks to consider.
Reports suggest Apple is also expecting massive demand for the new device and has ordered six million units per month.
Here’s our pick of the latest iPad 2G rumours.
iPad 2 specs: cameras and a gyroscope
Gizmodo reckons that FaceTime support’s a given, and that means a front-facing camera like the iPhone 4. BuzzBizzNews echoes the camera …