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Social network in Outlook, but no stability

This free Outlook plug-in introduces many useful features to the e-mail client, but it lacks that essential intangible: stability. iLook Social installs as a sidebar pane and brings souped-up searching and filtering, robust Skype integration, nonfunctioning e-mail controls, e-mail content and attachment exporting, and somewhat mediocre Facebook support.

The search and Skype features are the strongest, but could be better. Boolean searches are not supported, nor are cross-folder queries, and the nature of Outlook requires you to manually create a new search results folder that iLook doesn't address. The Skype support is strong, with decent chat quality, contact list … Read more

iLook struggles to make Outlook more social

Improving Outlook is no easy feat given that it's notoriously anti-social when it comes to social networking. The free Outlook plug-in iLook Social and Outlook tries to make Microsoft's ubiquitous e-mail client a bit more sociable by including souped-up searching and filtering, Skype integration, e-mail controls, content and attachment exporting, and Facebook support.

For a sidebar pane, it's a good list of features with an interface that integrates smoothly into Outlook 2007. Desktop e-mail clients are going to have to adapt to social networking far better than they have to survive, especially if the future of e-mail … Read more

Facebook announces FBFund winners

Facebook has unveiled a list of 18 applications--for the Facebook Platform, Facebook Connect, and Facebook Connect for the iPhone--that have been awarded investments from its FBFund seed funding program and invited to participate in a summer incubator workshop in its hometown of Palo Alto, Calif.

The workshop, called FBFund REV 2009, will run for ten weeks from June through August, according to a post on the Facebook developer blog by company representative Cat Lee. The post also contains a full list of winners, which range from a paintball game app to a dating service to an e-mail management program.

"… Read more

MySpace CEO: We need to innovate faster

CARLSBAD, Calif.--MySpace's problem is pretty simple, says former Facebook executive Owen Van Natta, who is now MySpace's CEO.

"If you don't continue to innovate...people are going to shift interest elsewhere," Van Natta said, appearing on stage at D: All Things Digital, along with with News Corp. digital chief (and former AOL executive) Jon Miller. "We need to continue to innovate a lot more rapidly than we have been."

Van Natta said that, on the plus side, MySpace is more open than a lot of its rivals.

"There's a lot … Read more

Why Facebook needs DST in Russia

Updated at 8:30 p.m.: to correct that DST has no funding from the Russian government.

As reported earlier, Facebook is taking a $200 million round of funding from Digital Sky Technologies, a Russian investment company. While Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a conference call Tuesday morning that Facebook revenue numbers were up, that the company was growing, and that Facebook was, "on track to creating a nice, self-sustaining business," he explained that at Facebook, "we're open to interesting offers."

With many companies wanting to invest in Facebook, what made the DST offer so interesting?

Regional knowledge

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg told me that Facebook was "not actively seeking investments." DST input will be key to Facebook's Eastern European business growth, though. "This is an investment with a strategic partner. We're excited for the learnings," she said.

But a source familiar with DST laid it out for me a bit differently: if Facebook wants to be successful in Russia, DST can bring a lot to the table besides knowledge. DST is close to the government there, the source said, and while outright involvement (or obstruction) from the Russian government is highly unlikely, if Facebook wants its business to go more smoothly, DST can help.

For example, should Facebook want to hire Russians, a connected investor like DST could help. DST influence could be even more important if Facebook wanted to acquire companies in the region.

DST's Alexander Tamas told me his company is private and does not have many interactions with the government. There is no government funding in DST. Still, our source says that DST's connections to the government, subtle though they may be, are important because the Russian market is not friendly to outsiders. "It's a market where you want a partner," I was told.

DST's investment gives it no power over Facebook in the United States, and reportedly no control of the company nor access to U.S. customer data. But through this arrangement, Facebook will likely have an easier time growing its market share in Russia, of obvious benefit to its new investor. … Read more

CNET News Daily Podcast: What new investment means for Facebook

Webware editor Rafe Needleman talks about what a $200 million investment from Digital Sky Technologies means for Facebook, Facebook's place in a global market, and its financial productivity.

Also in this podcast: Apple's lawsuit against Psystar will be delayed after the Mac clone maker files for Chapter 11; spam now makes up 90 percent of all e-mail; and reports say Microsoft's Kumo search engine will be named Bing.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

Today's stories:

Mac clone maker Psystar files for bankruptcy protection

Facebook gets $200 million from European firm

Kumo to be dubbed Bing, AdAge says… Read more

Facebook investment puts spotlight on Microsoft stake

One of the things clearly worth noting about Tuesday's announcement about a $200 million investment in Facebook is the fact that it values the company at $10 billion, down a third in the 18 months since Microsoft poured $240 million into the company.

However, the fact that Facebook isn't worth $15 billion, while confirmed on Tuesday, has been pretty well understood for some time. Ever since Microsoft took its stake, there have been questions about what the social network was "really" worth.

The $200 million investment announced Tuesday came from European company Digital Sky Technologies, which … Read more

Dropio taps Facebook Connect for privacy control

Web storage and collaboration tool Dropio has just put out a useful new way to control who can access files by using Facebook Connect. Called "friend lock," the system uses your list of Facebook friends as a simple directory that you can pick and choose from to create a white list of approved contacts.

Once you've logged in with your Facebook credentials and pick the people who you want to be able to have access, you can fire off invites that show up in their Facebook in-boxes. You can also set it up to publish a note … Read more

Facebook user drops lawsuit over virus

Updated at 5:50 p.m. PDT with plaintiff saying he will drop the lawsuit; at 2:35 p.m. with legal expert comment; at 1:15 p.m. with information from Facebook's terms of service; and at 12:30 p.m. with more details, comment, and background.

A Florida librarian and activist said on Tuesday that he will drop a civil lawsuit he filed against Facebook alleging that the social network failed to adequately protect users from a virus.

Theodore Karantsalis, of Miami Springs, Fla., was seeking $70.50 from Facebook in the lawsuit, which was filed a … Read more