Web 2.0 aids presidential race

ABC News and Facebook announced a new initiative today aimed at injecting a Web 2.0 twist to the 2008 race for the White House, reports Computerworld.

The two have created an application called US Politics, built by combining Facebook technology with editorial content from ABC News, to give Facebook users new ways to learn about and debate issues of importance in the upcoming primary and national elections, the two companies said.

Facebook users taking part in the programme will affect how ABC News approaches its coverage of campaign events, said David Westin, president of ABC News.

A promotion in which a customer, buying a $188 computer in the US and Canada, automatically donates a second one to a child in a developing country was extended until year`s end, organisers said Thursday, reports Fox News.

The "Give One, Get One" programme will now run until 31 December, instead of ending on 26 November, according to the One Laptop Per Child Programme, a non-profit spin-off from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The programme said customers in the US and Canada will pay $399 for two laptops, with one going to the buyer and the other to a child in such countries as Rwanda, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Haiti, and Mongolia.

A Microsoft product manager couldn`t correctly explain the "Vista Capable" marketing slogan, according to recent filings in a lawsuit that claims the company misled consumers with a pre-release Vista campaign last year, says PC World.

The case, first filed in March by Washington state resident Diane Kelley, charged Microsoft with deceptive practices in letting PC makers slap a "Vista Capable" sticker on PCs, when "a large number" of the machines would be able to run only Vista Home Basic, the simplest version of the operating system.

About two weeks ago, lawyers for Kelley requested that the lawsuit be given class-action status, which would open the plaintiff list to all US residents. Last week, Microsoft opposed that move in its own filing with the federal court in Seattle.

AT&T released its new Shine phone from LG Electronics just in time for Black Friday, says Technews World.

The Shine, by LG, offered exclusively through AT&T, is a sliding form-factor device that features a silver exterior and comes with video, music and camera features and a 2.2-inch mirror LCD screen.

AT&T services, including video share, mobile banking and mobile music, come preloaded on the phone, which is available through AT&T`s Web site and select retail locations for $149.99 with a two-year contract and a $50 mail-in rebate.