third-party

Twitter beefs up your control over third-party apps

Twitter is now giving its users more control and clarity over what information third-party apps are allowed to access.

As defined in a recent blog, third-party apps are those that "automatically share your tweets on other networks, connect you to players on gaming platforms, or instantly tweet whenever you update your blog."

Common examples include third-party Twitter apps such as TweetBot, TweetDeck, and Twitterific. But they can include any Web site or service that taps into your tweets.

Such third-party apps need your permission to access certain information about your account. But in an effort to be more … Read more

5 steps for editing or deleting words in the Android dictionary

When typing out words that the dictionary on your phone doesn't know, it's easy to add them by tapping on them, or selecting add. Unfortunately, there are times when even the words we add are still not the correct spelling or format that we want the words to appear in. Here are five easy steps for fixing or getting rid of words you added by mistake:

If you are using the default keyboard that came with your phone:

1. Open the global Settings area on your phone.

2. Choose Language & keyboard from the list.

3. Now open … Read more

How to enable third-party app installation on most Android phones

With the arrival of Amazon's App Store, Android users have a new way to get their app and game fix. But while it is--overnight--the best known alternative app store, it's by no means the first. Third-party Android app stores such as AndAppStore, SlideMe, Handango, and GetJar and game developers such as Gameloft have been peddling their wares outside of the Android Market for some time now.

Additionally, smaller developers often offer alpha or beta versions of upcoming apps, while hackers and enthusiasts will sometimes make useful applets available to the Android community on forums and blogs. There are … Read more

Disable third-party cookies in IE, Firefox, and Google Chrome

European advertisers fear they will face a huge new obstacle this May when the European Union's Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive takes effect. The so-called Cookie Directive will require that users explicitly allow Web sites to leave cookies and other data on their machines, according to Raul Mendez on ChiefPrivacyOfficers.com.

It's unclear whether the opt-in requirement will be satisfied by the browser's setting that allows first- and third-party cookies. This uncertainty hasn't prevented some pundits from predicting the end of the world for the European advertising industry, as reported by TechCrunch Europe's Mike Butcher.… Read more

Twitter tells third-party developers to stop building clients

Twitter today told developers explicitly that they should stop making third-party clients, citing repeated privacy policy violations and an inconsistent user experience.

Ryan Sarver, who leads the company's platform team, said in an announcement on the company's developer discussion group that existing third-party clients can continue to operate but they will be held to rigorous standards of privacy and consistency. The micro-messaging company said it now makes the top five Twitter clients (including its Web site) and says 90 percent of its active users use its apps at least once a month.

The key quote is:

Developers have … Read more

Nintendo: First-party titles still reign supreme

Nintendo's own games continue to dominate Wii software sales, much to the chagrin of third-party developers.

Speaking during his company's earnings call on Friday, Nintendo chief Satoru Iwata unveiled the top 20 best-selling games of 2010 in the U.S. market, compiled by research firm NPD. Out of that listing, 11 of the games were available on either the Wii or the Nintendo DS. Nine out of that list were published by Nintendo. The remaining two games--Just Dance and Just Dance 2--were published by Ubisoft. No other third-party developer was able to break into the top 20 with … Read more

Facebook backtracks on apps grabbing address, cell number

Facebook is temporarily putting the kibosh on a new tweak that gave apps the ability to capture someone's cell number and address.

Pushed through on Friday, the new change expanded on the information already available to third-party app developers based on a user's permissions.

When downloading a Facebook app, people have always been asked if they want to share their name, picture, friends list, and other information. The change threw in an additional request asking to share a person's address and mobile phone number.

Concerns quickly arose that Facebook users might click the option to allow access … Read more

Google Docs may soon offer cloud printing, device syncing

A peek at the source code behind Google Docs by a third-party blog site offers a tantalizing hint of some features that may be around the corner.

The Web site Google Operating System (no relation to Google itself) revealed yesterday that it dug into the source code of Google Docs to find a message that said simply: "Coming soon: Third party applications, cloud printers, and sync devices."

Cloud printing, which lets you print to any local or shared printer without the need for a print driver, is a feature that Google has teased for awhile. The company has … Read more

Nintendo finally gets its Game Boy virtual console, and other 3DS surprises

It seemed obvious when the Nintendo DSi first debuted: offering classic Game Boy titles from Nintendo's decades-long back library would be a perfect fit and a no-brainer parallel to the Virtual Console on the Wii.

But it never happened. Now the upcoming Nintendo 3DS, which won't be released in the U.S. until 2011, will rectify this with a Virtual Console of its own, according to a Nintendo announcement released early this morning. That's great news, but there are a few more surprises that the 3DS unveiled--some of which we had been expecting in the Nintendo DSi, … Read more