RealNetworks will get a chance to defend the legality of its RealDVD DVD ripping software on April 24th in court, launched back in September, sales of which were later banned by a federal judge and the ban extended after the software maker was sued by movie studios. The trial will take place in a US District Court in San Francisco, RealNetworks Chairman and CEO Rob Glaser said in a Friday TWICE report.

RealDVD cost nearly $30 and allowed users to copy movie DVDs to a computer’s hard drive for playback. There is an option to register up to four more PCs for playback, with each additional registration priced at $20. In its lawsuit, the movie industry is arguing that RealDVD violates the Digital Millenium Copyright Act as users can rent or borrow movies and then rip them, resulting in a loss of revenue for the studios. The studios are seeking damages and a permanent injunction of sales of the software.

Glaser said RealDVD protects rights holders, adding consumers “have the right to make a secure copy” that will make it impossible to be shared on a P2P network.

Google is deep into talks for the purchase of microblogging network Twitter, according to two unnamed sources said to be close to the negotiations and cited by TechCrunch on Thursday. Since then however, AllThingsDigital has suggested that the two parties are simply engaged in “some product-related discussions” regarding collaboration on a real-time Google search engine. “There was a discussion with [Google] group about real-time search and about product stuff. It was a couple weeks ago. It was very preliminary…and that was that,” says an unnamed source from Twitter, quoted by ATD.

Twitter allows users to post 140-character messages reflecting their thoughts, which can be followed by friends, colleagues and strangers. Companies have also begun using Twitter accounts, and as such integrating search into Twitter could further boost the popularity of the site. Integrating a search browser into Twitter would also be in line with Google’s recent, gradual attempts to incorporate blogs as well as news stories into its search results.

Firefox 3 has overtaken Internet Explorer 7 in Europe according to data from StatCounter. Although IE still leads when counting all versions (IE 8IE7/IE6), the current Mozilla-based Firefox usage has surpassed IE 7 by a percentage point. Ars Technica has reported that IE 8, released two weeks ago, has pulled over two percent of IE 7 users from its ranks, dropping it beneath Firefox.

When considering all versions of each browser, Internet Explorer still leads the field, with a 48-percent market share, to Firefox’s 38 percent. Opera is far back at 7 percent, while Apple’s Safari and Google’s Chrome are at less than three percent in the latest European figures. Read the rest of this entry »

People who want to use their Blackberry Smartphones to watch full episodes of popular TV programs from leading networks can be able to do so with the launch of PrimeTime2Go premium mobile TV service.

The monthly subscription fee-based service will be available in early May via the BlackBerry App World storefront, and will enable consumers to download and watch full-length episodes of their favorite shows on-demand including NBC’s “The Office,” CBS’s “CSI,” MTV’s “The Hills,” a part of MTV Networks, and The CW’s “90210” anytime, anywhere. Read the rest of this entry »

One TV show that is followed by a lot of people is American Idol. And while most people cannot constantly follow this show, worry no more as your iPhone can keep you up to date with the latest happenings.

Fans leverage the Web to vote for their favorite contestants, and instantly keep up on the best and worst performances, get the inside scoop on the favorites, and all the behind-the-scenes gossip. Now, Buzzwire, Inc. is making things easier than ever for fans by giving them the quickest news and gossip on their mobile phone, wherever they are. Read the rest of this entry »

If you are looking for the most reliable iPhone app in the market today that carries the most comprehensive VoIP application for the iPhone, the Nimbuzz iPhone app is your best bet.

With free Wifi calls to instant messaging buddies already available, new additions include the introduction of a dial-pad and the ability to make VoIP calls to landlines and mobiles via Skype-Out, and Nimbuzz’s major SIP provider partners including Gizmo5, Vyke, and SIPgate over Wifi – effectively turning the iPod touch into an iPhone. Read the rest of this entry »

If you are a resident of major cities in the UK including London, Bristol, Birmingham, and Sheffield, and use Google Maps like your driving life depends on it, Google has made your life a tad more easier.  The popular StreetView feature has now been implemented in most major cities across the UK and Netherlands and if you are using a version older than 2.3, you better update to the latest Google Maps 3.0 to get going.

Head over to m.google.com on your cell phone and get it now.

Google has introduced a new Image Search results page for both the iPhone and the Android platform. If you live in the U.S. UK or Japan, your Image Searches will be significantly improved. Now you can scan up to 20 images on a single page and you’ll get detailed info with every image. And now images can be filtered by style: faces, clip art, photo content just like on the desktop version. Ready to test it out? Remember to go to the USA, UK and Japan. And iPod touch users relax, the new Google Image Search is available for the the touch too.