Google Wave, a web app which allowed for real-time communication and collaboration, is no longer being developed as of today by Google. On a blog post, Google said, “We don’t plan to continue developing Wave as a standalone product, but we will maintain the site at least through the end of the year and extend the technology for use in other Google projects.”

If you haven’t heard of the amazing HTPC application called Boxee, you really are missing out on a lot. It is an awesome application, that is connected to web services, but still works as expected at accessing your locally stored media. I really recommend this for HTPCs. Boxee features an “App Library” where you can pick from apps you want to use and put them on a screen of your favorite apps. The “App Library” features services such as YouTube, BREAK, Revision3, Netflix (with a subscription), FailBlog, Pandora Radio, and many more. For the most part, these all work as promised, though I have noticed that YouTube is just a blown-up Flash version and BREAK doesn’t show all the videos on the site. The Netflix app is absolutely amazing, it’s better than most of the console versions and other ports because you don’t have to add movies and shows to your Instant Queue to make them show up. You can browse through the whole Netflix Instant Play library and the quality is actually surprisingly good. Some of the other features are the ability to tune into your Facebook and Twitter feeds and see videos that people have linked. I wish that the Facebook and Twitter feeds had more functionality, but I’m sure there are some third-party apps that are capable of doing this. Another thing that I really like about Boxee is that it’s open-source and multi-platform. I have Ubuntu, WIndows 7, and Mac OS X and it works perfectly on all three.
I do feel, however, that for an application which is most likely an application that you always want to keep open on an HTPC, it is missing some functionality. I think that if they want to keep the user from switching to other applications, they should add some more things, such as: e-mail, Google Reader sync (though there is a built-in RSS reader, I like to keep all my devices in sync), ability to actually browse through Facebook and Twitter feeds without third-party plugins, and YouTube via H.264 or other native formats. Otherwise, this application mostly fulfills all my needs for HTPC use.

Click here to get Boxee.

David – Senior Editor

The open source movement has caught on to many an industry – software, hardware, information, text, etc. Most of these efforts are headed by Creative Commons.

But we haven’t changed what currently goes on in the music industry, yet.

Of course, there are public-domain sounds, tracks, and whatnot, but what I’m here to talk about is mainly musical compositions. The problem that we’re facing is two-fold:

• Music composition is very private: music isn’t really written in big groups. Instead, one person or a few (in the case of a band) write the music.
• Publishing is also very corporate: most compositions right now are published by big publishers, without an open Creative Commons alternative. Not only does this put huge restrictions on what can be done with published works and how they can be modified (assuming that they are corporately published), this also completely shuts out the additional community creativity that arises from open-source creation.

Wouldn’t you like to be able to work with other people to create music?

Let’s take an example. One person, who I’ll call Adam, wants to write, let’s say, a march. He has already thought up a few motifs, so he begins planning out the form. After beginning to notate some parts of the piece, he creates an open-source project, uploads his plan and his current score, and shares it with the world. Someone else comes along: his name is Bob. Bob finds the open-source project, checks it out, and wants to add to the piece. He uses the documents Adam uploaded to add more notation, which he then submits as a “patch”. Adam sees the submission, looks it over, and accepts the inclusion.

I think Creative Commons seriously needs to look into this field. Here’s how I think it should be organized:

• Open format: MusicXML is proprietary, maybe create something very open called MML or MusicML(Music Markup Language)? There should then be converters from other proprietary formats (e.g. Sibeliusfiles, Finale files, the aforementioned MusicXML, etc.)
• Subversion/Github-based revision-tracking systems: Changes need to be kept track of, so that people can submit their additions to the music, these additions can be accepted, and every change is recorded. If something goes wrong, you can always go back to an older version!

The whole version control idea would be great, but how do you segment music creation and composition into “parts”/revisions? I think this should be approached the same way as it works in the software development field: each task of adding or changing something is inputed in separate check-ins, using common sense.

Of course, there may be some copyright problems. Arrangements of non-open-source musical works would probably be a no-no, but compositions are OK. Each work would be placed under the copyright of the originator or originating group and licensed under a Creative Commons license. Arrangements of this new music would be derivative works.

We can go so many places with this, just as was done with open-sourced software. Next: an online collection of user-submitted motifs, all open-source, as well as a system resembling Google Code for version control and project hosting.

This post was originally published on Absolutely2Nothing, the author’s blog.

Maxim – Editor

Just a few days back, Google announced Google Buzz. An new competitor in the social networking “game.”

Essentially, Google Buzz is like Twitter and Facebook, combined and, very much like FriendFeed. Like these three sites, it’s meant for anybody interested in the Web 2.0 environment and in social networking.
Like a lot of other networking sites, privacy does become quite a bit of an issue, so Google is letting you choose whether you want to post to thousands of people, across the globe, or just your a couple of your friends. But, even with these 2 choices, I would still not recommend entering private information since the system is probably prone to bugs.
What appears different from Twitter is the ability to post photos, videos and links, directly. The problem with that though, is that Facebook and FriendFeed already have the ability to do so.

The appearence of Google Buzz does vary. After all, it’s tied into your Gmail account. If enabled, Google Buzz will have a navigational button on the left sidebar. The button opens up a Gmail-like window, where you can see updates from the people you follow.

A major problem with Google Buzz is, if somebody comments or likes a status you have posted, you will recieve a notification in your Gmail inbox. As of right now, I’m unable to change whether or not I get notifications.
But, if you can deal with the emails and, you’re a person who likes trying new things, Google Buzz is definatly worth a try.

Lev – Lead Writer

Email Me: lev@techreevu.com

Follow my Buzz: morontown@gmail .com

This week, I moved all my junk from one room to another. In celebration of the glories of my new office (more info coming soon on office specs), I decided to do what I’ve been meaning to do for a long time: set up an Ethernet bridge/hub.

My room has only one Ethernet port, and as I have multiple networkable devices, I saw the need for a way to split that connection up. So, I grabbed an old router of mine, a Netgear WGT624. To set it up as a bridge, I did the following:

Note: these instructions are specifically for the Netgear WGT624 v3 router model. Steps for other Netgear routers are probably mostly identical, and other routers should have similar instructions. Just look around for the names of settings that I talk about below, and you should be fine, but just in case, you should Google for instructions for your specific hub.

Step 1: Locate an Ethernet port in your room, connect a CAT6 cable to it.

Step 2: Insert the other end of the CAT6 cable into the WAN port of your WGT624. If you don’t know what a WAN port is, see the above diagram.

Step 3: Grab another CAT6 cable, connect it to one of your router’s LAN ports and to an input on one of your computers. If you don’t know what a LAN port is, see the above diagram.

Step 4: On your computer, connect to the router LAN and browse to 192.168.1.1 (or your router’s setup panel IP address). Login to the admin panel – the default username and password for the WGT624 model are “admin” and “password” (sans quotes).

Step 5: In the router administration settings, go to “LAN IP Setup”, under “Advanced”  in the left navigation frame. On that page, uncheck the checkbox marked “Use Router as DHCP Server”. Click Apply.

Step 6 (optional): If you want this hub to be Ethernet-only, you want to disable Wireless. So, in the left navigation frame of your router administration settings panel, click “Wireless Settings”, under “Advanced”. On that page, uncheck the checkbox labeled “Enable Wireless Router Radio”. Hit Apply.

Step 7: Exit out of the router administration settings panel. Next, walk over to your WGT624 and remove the Ethernet cable you inserted into the WAN port. Now, insert that cable into another LAN port. Once again, see the diagram above for details on the locations of WAN and LAN ports.

You have now successfully configured your WGT624 router to act as an Ethernet bridge/hub. To connect your devices, insert them into the LAN ports on your WGT624. You make encounter a warning notice from your main router (not the WGT624) when you first try to connect with it.

Good luck!

Image courtesy of ehartwell.com.

This post was originally published on Absolutely2Nothing, the author’s blog.

Maxim – Editor, TechReevu.com

It’s been in the news this whole weekend: on Friday, a man attempted but failed to detonate pentaerythritol tetranitrate, an incendiary powder, on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit. Thankfully, the panic of the passengers drove them to extinguish the fire before the detonation continued, but the issue still remains: how was this Nigerian man able to get these chemicals on board?

Since the September 11 attacks in 2001, U.S. airline security has been tightened. Policies have been enacted dictating how everyone must be screened, using walk-thru metal detectors, x-ray machines, and more.

If we have such a strong arsenal of technology, why was Mr. Abdulmutallab able to get through this screening? This exposes two major issues:

First of all, our screening protocols are very limited. The U.S. currently has random screening for ordinary individuals, and mandatory secondary screening for people on watch-lists. Yet, this random screening isn’t enough – we need to make sure that everybody is safe from this sort of threat. If this means that we have to have secondary screening for everyone, there will, of course, be delays, but in the long run, we need to find a way to make this fast and efficient. The TSA’s current strategy for that is remarkably insecure.

Next, it was mentioned in numerous press articles that the Nigerian man was not on any watch-lists, while his father had specifically reported his growing extremism to American officials. Yes, the man was put on a list of suspected terrorists, but why aren’t the 500,000 people on that list subject to normal watch-list protocols? Let’s have all those 500,000 people be put on the watch-list, so this sort of thing can be prevented.

Now, those two issues expose glaring problems in the U.S’s approach to aerospace security. But while we can put suspected terrorists on the watch-list and improve screening for everybody else, this is not enough – we need a system of sharing information about everybody. And not just a system for the U.S, no, we need to somehow (through the U.N, perhaps?) create an international agreement for sharing data about everyone.

Furthermore, there is a mention in the book SuperFreakonomics about how , after the London Underground attacks, an engineer developed a profile of an average terrorist. The engineer then created a program to go through bank records in London to find possible terrorists. So, what if we were to not only have a shared-info system, but also a system that goes through everyone’s information, highlights those who may be terrorists, and puts them on watch-lists.

Now, if we had that, this situation could be avoided in the future. After all, that is our main goal.

This post was originally published on Absolutely2Nothing, the author’s blog.

Maxim – Editor, TechReevu.com

If you’ve watched TV, or gone on YouTube, for that matter, any time recently, you’ve no doubt seen at least one iPhone ad, and possibly even a T-Mobile MyTouch 3G (Android) one. Well, if not, they’re below for your viewing pleasure (um, maybe not).

David’s Google Voice Application has been updated! Featuring a new Send SMS button and, a bug fix. Download it HERE!

Since, I won’t be posting updates on the front page anymore, catch any new information in the Release Notes or at the Downloads Page.

I’m not the only tired with annoying ads on sites, such as: GET BRIGHTER TEETH! But now, those ads are getting more deviate….. INTRODUCING! FAKE NEWS SITES!

This Ad is located at news6today.com

Now, it’s been taken too far! In other words, this site is promoting something that is completely untrue! And how is this site hosted? YOUR MONEY! Through this scam, they are making enough money to host realistic looking sites. The only 3 ways to tell that this site is fake is by looking carefully.