The Good NET Guide

Posts Tagged ‘european’

According to Opera Software, downloads of its latest desktop browser (10.5) have increased in number significantly after Microsoft started offering Windows users in Europe a choice in browser with a so-called ballot screen.

The Norwegian software maker says that on average, more than half of the European downloads of Opera’s latest browser come directly from that Choice Screen.

The increase represents more than a doubling from the normal download numbers. At the beginning of this month, Opera touted that browser downloads actually tripled at first, so maybe that growth rate won’t last forever.

I’m also very curious if Mozilla, Google and Apple are spotting the same trend for their respective browsers.

According to plans Microsoft has agreed to with the European Commission, the rollout of the Choice Screen will continue into May for existing Windows computers and for five more years on new installations.

No wonder Opera Software is trying to push for a global roll-out of the choice screen.

The following numbers are the percentages of country downloads of Opera’s latest desktop browser that originate from the Choice Screen, as part of the total Opera 10.5 numbers:

Not an easy thing to conceptualize indeed, but according to eMarketer there will be more mobile Internet users in China than the entire population of the US by the end of this year.

For your reference, the 2010 estimate of the size of the United States population stands at roughly 310 million people according to Wikipedia, so that’s a shitload of people browsing the Web from their phones right there.

The report, which you can purchase here, also says the number of mobile Internet users in China will grow fast to reach a staggering 957 million, and that the country will count approximately 1.3 billion mobile subscribers by 2014.

eMarketer points out that those mobile Internet users do not currently monetize as well as smaller mobile audiences in, say, the States, which means that mobile advertising spending levels in China are still low relative to the size of the mobile Web user base. Also, the company highlights another key trend in China, which is that mobile subscriber growth is actually slowing while mobile Internet user growth is accelerating.

More in this blog post (via Twitter).

(Photo credit: Flickr / lime*monkey / CC BY 2.0)

TiVo has long been limited to just a few countries, but that’s set to change thanks to a new agreement between the DVR company and Conax, a Norwegian content security supplier. The deal has the potential to reach over 100 million potential TiVo customers, spanning 80 countries.

More here: 
TiVo is headed overseas to millions of potential customers

Many countries like Japan and those in the European Union are banning electronics made with lead.

See the original post here:
Magnetic solder might lead to a new computer age

If you guys weren’t terrified of North Korea by now, here’s more evidence that the country is absolutely nuts: they’ve developed their own Linux distribution! It’s called Red Star OS , and we can thank a Russian student for unearthing it for us. I now fully expect to see knee-jerk reactions like, “Down with Linux!” even though that makes no sense at all

More here: 
North Korea develops its own Linux distro called Red Star OS

Got a MacBook Pro or iMac that needs a little customizing? Head over to this Etsy store for a bunch of lid and chin graphics.

Excerpt from:
A one stop shop for all your MBP lid and iMac chin decal needs

You could argue massage chairs are something for old people, but after coming to Japan over 5 years ago, I had the chance to relax in more than one of these for a few hours. And let me tell you these chairs, especially those made by Japanese makers, are awesome, provided you don’t mind passing out while watching a movie.

Original post:
Panasonic new high-tech massage chair looks very, very comfortable

So the latest from Archos leaked recently at CeBIT 2010, the European electronics show. The 2010 Vision line showcases Archos returning to their roots with a series of new audio players designed for the lower end of the price range. First is the A14VG Vision, a simple player with a 1.4″ display, 4GB of internal memory and an FM tuner

Original post:
Archos 2010 lineup leaks (in Europe)

Plugg, the annual conference organised by my TechCrunch colleague Robin Wauters, is due for next week on Thursday (11 March). I’ll be there along with other European tech industry pundits, bloggers, venture capitalists and many entrepreneurs, to listen to a slew of presentations by executives from Nokia, Opera Software, Index Ventures, Duval Guillaume, eBuddy and many more (full program can be seen here).

If you’d like to come too, TechCrunch Europe is pleased to offer a 25% reduction on the ticket fee for our readers – simply use promotion code plugg-25percent upon registration and you’re all set.

And if for whatever reason you’re a European startup that couldn’t make this deadline, then check out how to apply for Geek’n Rolla in London on April 20th.

Meanwhile, at Plugg, I’m most looking forward to the yearly Start-Ups Rally, an on-stage pitching competition between European startups.

Fresh off the heels of a distribution agreement that brought many of e-books in its catalog to Scribd, indie book publisher Author Solutions (ASI) has inked a similar deal with bookseller Barnes & Noble.

Under terms of the agreement, e-book formats of all new ASI titles published through the AuthorHouse, iUniverse, Trafford Publishing, and Xlibris imprints will be made available for purchase through the B&N website on its nook reader.

Much like the agreement with Scribd, a default price of $9.99 will be set for every title, but each author will have the opportunity to set his or her own price.

E-book distribution through bn.com and nook will be included as a free service for all new black-and-white ASI titles.