BrandYourself, a startup offering a cheap and easy approach to managing your Google results, has added a new feature to answer one of those burning questions: Who are the people Googling me?

To be clear, it’s not actually plugging in to Google and sending you an alert every single time someone enters your name. Instead, it’s revealing data about who’s visiting your BrandYourself profile page in a way that’s probably more meaningful and comprehensible to your average consumer than, say, Google Analytics. So every time someone visits your profile, BrandYourself can tell you (either via your dashboard or an email alert) what city they’re in, how they found you, and what company they work for. Co-founder and CEO Patrick Ambron compares the feature to the way LinkedIn and other social sites can alert you about other members who have viewed your profile, “except applied to the entire web.”

Here’s an example Ambron provided about why this might be useful:

Let’s say an advertising student Jim is interviewing at agencies [in] NYC. We can alert Jim and let him know that somebody from Ogilvly just Googled “Jim Armstrong, portfolio” and found his profile. This information is really useful for Jim because it shows him these employers are Googling him and finding him on Twitter, so it’s important he make sure his BrandYourself profile is up to date and he’s using BrandYourself to make sure his first page if filled with positive results, and nothing negative or irrelevant.

By the way, you don’t have to have a BrandYourself profile page to use the service, but it’s highly encouraged, and as you can tell in Ambron’s example, it’s something the new feature is encouraging too.

BrandYourself relaunched a couple of months ago, paring away other features and focusing exclusively on the DIY SEO angle. It now has 25,000 registered users and nearly 1,000 paying ones.

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Now BrandYourself Users Can See The Companies Googling Them

The March smartphone market share tally for the US is in from comScore, and it paints a familiar picture that’s rosy for Apple, Google and Samsung, but not so flush-cheeked for everyone else. Android is still tops and jumped almost four points to 51 percent of new American buyers. Apple’s still riding high after shipping 35.1 million iPhones, however, and moved up to 30.7 percent. As is often becoming the case, it was Microsoft and RIM that took the biggest hit, with the BlackBerry dropping as much as Android gained and tumbling down to 12.3 percent.

A total of 106 million Americans had a smartphone, nine percent higher than in December, and that was mirrored in the hurt dealt out among total cellphone market share. Outside of Samsung’s gangbuster run in smartphones keeping it on top at 26 percent, the only other company to move up as an individual cellphone brand was Apple, which staked out 14 percent of the US cellphone space for itself. HTC, Motorola and LG are all shedding market share, with HTC no doubt hoping that the One X and One S will turn its fortunes around pretty soon.

comScore: Android tips the 51% mark in US share, iPhone nips its heels with 31% originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 May 2012 13:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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comScore: Android tips the 51% mark in US share, iPhone nips its heels with 31%

mask.of.sanity writes “An online search portal has been launched that reveals the IP addresses of any Skype user. The portal needs only a Skype username entered in a search bar for it to produce the IP address of a target user. It then uses IP addresses to geo-locate users on a map and reveal their ISP information.”

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Hacked Skype IP Address Search Shows Who's Speaking From Where

The mini-computer game has so far been dominated by upstarts such as FXI and Raspberry Pi, but a big name is getting ready to join the party, too. Intel first demoed its NUC (Next Unit of Computing) at PAX East in April, but details are just hitting the web now. One standout spec is the NUC’s 10 x 10-cm (4 x 4-in) form factor, which places it between the Raspberry Pi and Mini-ITX boards in terms of size. Moreover, the NUC packs a Core i3 / Core i5 Sandy Bridge chip with last-gen Intel HD 3000 graphics, and sports Thunderbolt, HDMI and USB 3.0 sockets on the back. There’s a heatsink and fan assembly on board, too, and the mini PCIe connectors leave the door open for added functionality. Because it runs an Intel Core i5 CPU instead of the ARM processors found in options such as the Cotton Candy and Raspberry Pi, the NUC promises to be a more powerful mini-desktop. But don’t get too excited: Intel envisions it as a component in digital signage instead. Look for Intel’s mini-PC at a kiosk near you in the second half of 2012, when it’s expected to drop.

Intel enters mini-computer fray with Core i5-powered NUC originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 May 2012 12:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel enters mini-computer fray with Core i5-powered NUC

With roughly 98 percent of the desktop and laptop market spoken for, you’d be forgiven for thinking your only choices for powering your computer were Windows or Mac OS X. There is another way, though. Linux may only run on a tiny sliver of consumer PCs, but the number is growing and one of the biggest players propelling its popularity is Ubuntu. Since bursting on the scene eight years ago, the distro has grown to dominate the desktop Linux market and made plenty of fans (and a few detractors) along the way. Truth is, Ubuntu is completely unique and, at least compared to other distros out there, very user-friendly. It also happens to have a very active community of developers and users willing to lend help to those in need, which makes it appealing to Linux vets, enterprise users and *nix n00bs alike.

Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin is part of the company’s LTS or Long Term Support series, and is guaranteed for five years of support through Canonical. That means the company is focusing less on cramming new features into this release and more on making it as stable as possible. So, if you’re familiar with Ubuntu, you won’t find much here that will blow your mind. Of course, the real question is whether or not the aubergine-loving open-source OS is for you, not whether there’s enough new tweaks to fill a book. So, without further ado, we present Ubuntu 12.04: the review. Join us after the break, won’t you?

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Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 May 2012 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin review

Two closely watched cases in the music industry are about to go to trial involving a motley crew of characters: Eminem’s producers, Rob Zombie, Rick James (his estate at least) and Steve Jobs.

Apple is claiming that a deposition of Steve Jobs from a 2010 trial involving F.B.T. Productions, producers of several hit Eminem tracks, could, if released, bring competitive harm to the company over “highly confidential and proprietary trade secrets.”

The main trial involves the aforementioned blonde rapper’s producers and Aftermath Records, a division of Universal Music Group, in a debate over whether digital music should be treated as “licenses” and not “sales.” As the Hollywood Reporter puts it, “The two sides are about to go to trial to figure out exactly how much that is worth.”

In a separate case — Rob Zombie and several other musicians have filed a class action lawsuit against UMG — the plaintiffs are asking for documents related to an earlier trial involving F.B.T. Productions and UMG.

So what’s the issue?

According to the Hollywood Reporter, when Jobs was being deposed in 2010 the judge sent nearly everyone out of the court room and again when the deposition was played back to the jury. The dispute stems from the plaintiff’s inability to prove to Apple why the requested documents — which includes information on Apple’s business dealings with record labels — are relevant to their case against UMG. Apple goes even further and blames the musician’s attorney’s for seeking documents that are “broad but indiscriminate.”

So what is Apple hiding? At this point, only Apple and the few folks directly involved with the 2010 trial know but that could soon change if Zombie and friends get their way.

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Apple Tries To Halt Release Of Steve Jobs Deposition In Lawsuit … What’s It Hiding?

CWmike writes “The internet is no stranger to crime, writes corporate investigator Brandon Gregg. From counterfeit and stolen products, to illegal drugs, stolen identities and weapons, nearly anything can be purchased online with a few clicks of the mouse. The online black market not only can be accessed by anyone with an Internet connection, but the whole process of ordering illicit goods and services is alarmingly easy and anonymous, with multiple marketplaces to buy or sell anything you want. Gregg started with $1000 and a took journey into the darker side of the Internet using two tools: Bitcoin and the Tor Bundle.”

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How Online Black Markets Work

Last month I did a rendering gig for a client that involved blending their design with elements from photos of a competitor’s design and dropping the whole thing into a photorealistic environment. Pretty standard stuff, and I always use Photoshop for these types of jobs. Depending on the objects’ complexity, the requested environment and the clients’ mood, these gigs range in length from the better part of an afternoon to several days, which all adds up to billable hours and me keeping the lights on over here.

I’ve just discovered Adobe’s new Photoshop CS6 has new “content-aware” move and patch tools that are going to greatly reduce the time needed for those types of jobs. Here’s how they work:

More on the content-aware move and extend tools after the click…

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New Photoshop CS6 “Content-Aware” Feature Will Destroy My Billable Hours

SalesVu, the maker of a mobile payments service designed for business customers, is launching a major update with SalesVu 2.0, live now in the iTunes App Store. The company is somewhat similar to Square, in that it also includes a dongle that plugs into an iPhone or iPad and works alongside an accompanying mobile application. However, the company is focused on providing tools that address more complex business needs than simply taking credit cards via a mobile device. For example, SalesVu currently offers real-time analytics reporting and the ability for businesses to post offers directly to Facebook through social sharing mechanisms.

With the release of SalesVu 2.0, a number of improvements have been added for business users, including things like receipt printing, barcode scanning, employee timekeeping, and online order processing, to name a just few.

While competing in the same general space as Square, Austin-based SalesVu is different in that it has never gone after the market of individuals users who had always relied on cash-based transactions. Instead, its focus has been the business customer processing at least $1,500/month who was looking for a mobile payments solution with a specific emphasis on integration with other backend systems like order management, deals and discount management, and social marketing.

With the release of SalesVu 2.0, the goal is to better improve on the feature set these customers need. For retailers, the company has now added receipt printing and barcode scanning functionality, which customers demanded. They also asked for the newly added employee clock-in/clock-out function, which is now tied to SalesVu’s online timekeeping solution. Plus, SalesVu 2.0 has improved the close-out process with new cash drawer functionality also new in this release.

For restaurants, the company has added features like the ability to split checks, print orders to the kitchen, adjust tips at the end of shifts, and receive orders from the web. The online orders are also displayed in the SalesVu POS app for immediate processing, as opposed to being sent out as emails, as is typical with some online ordering integrations targeted towards the SMB market. This feature now also makes SalesVu a competitor to traditional POS systems, says SalesVu CEO Pascal Nicolas.

“The online ordering feature is probably the most important one we’re adding in this release,” explains Nicolas, “because we’re going from a convenience app to a revenue-generating app. These are orders that they may not have received, if they had not received them online,” he says. The feature was heavily requested by restaurants, for obvious reasons, but the functionality is available to anyone, including retailers, Nicholas adds.

Finally, for service businesses (think salons, spas, plumbers, etc.), SalesVu 2.0 has added the ability to route appointments from a business website to the app on the iPhone or iPad, and now supports the ability for the business to take a deposit at the time of reservation. Invoicing and recurring billing have been added, too.

Despite these business-friendly features, SalesVu’s biggest challenge for now is brand recognition and awareness – even Square itself isn’t a household name yet. Plus, one of Square’s bigger draws is that free dongle it hands out to any who ask. SalesVu, meanwhile, only gives out the first dongle per location for free and then requires businesses to pay $99 for each additional one. However, it has now dropped the monthly subscription fee ($9.95/month) for use of its cloud system in order to be more competitive.

SalesVu is also competing heavily on pricing, in terms of processing fees. To combat Square’s low 2.75%, SalesVu negotiated with its partner Mercury Payment Systems to take the risk and go even lower to a flat 2.7% in the U.S. In Canada, rates vary from 1.73% to 3.26% depending on card type, which means it’s (sometimes) lower than Intuit’s GoPayment. The company has a profit-sharing arrangement with Mercury which allows it to generate revenue from those fees.

Currently, SalesVu’s mobile apps have been downloaded 15,000 times, and now nearly 6,000 businesses have signed up and are actively using the system. The company is iOS-only for now, but plans to release an Android version this summer.

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Square Competitor SalesVu Ups Its Game With New Features For Restaurants, Retailers & More