We did a post about the social netowrking site Shout Central last month, and today they launched version 2 with a new look and more great features. A revamped logo is and layout is the first clue when you reach the site. With Google Maps you are able to see your last 10 people that viewed your profile and their location, that’s pretty sweet. Shout has also integrated Last.fm, the world’s largest social music platform.

With this feature, users of Last.fm are able to display their top songs and most recently played within their Shout Central profile for all to see. Next, they have integration with YouTube, this feature was in the previous version of Shout Central as well. The Shout site is composed of mainly ajax and well up to date or beyond todays standards. I really recommend this site because of the integration with other big social networking sites and because of the innovation the guys at Shout Central continue to churn out.

The ultra-slim Signeo SN-A800 designed by Marc Newsome is only 6.5mm thick. This MP3 player is available in black, blue or yellow, and available in 512MB and 1GB. It features a built-in FM tuner, and the ability to record voice memos and audio from FM radio to MP3. Signeo is owned by AVC Technology of Japan. Available at Dynamism.

Terrafugia, which is derived from the Latin for “escape from the earth,” was founded by graduates of the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and incorporated in 2006. Currently based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Terrafugia combines solid aircraft design fundamentals with a focus on creativity and customer service.

The Transition is a Personal Air Vehicle (PAV) designed to make general aviation more practical for personal transportation. This increased practicality is accomplished by enabling the promise of a true integrated roadable aircraft at an economically compelling price. The Transition will be capable of driving at normal highway speeds, flying at speeds that approach the light sport aircraft limit, and parking in a standard garage. The freedom enabled by this aircraft will fundamentally increase the personal mobility of its owners while simultaneously improving the safety and practicality of GA travel.

The introductory price of the Transition is set at $148,000. Terrafugia will have a prototype by late 2008 and deliver the first Transition in late 2009. It gets 30 mpg in the air and 40 mpg on the highway with a minimum take off distance of 1500 feet. See more specifications at the Terrfugia site.

Flip4Mac has been released as a Universal Binary. Microsoft has never been fond of supporting Mac users, so when Intel processors were introduced to the Mac, Microsoft could care less about getting its outdated Windows Media Player software running. Microsoft then stopped producing WMP for the Mac and made a deal with Flip4Mac to offer their windows media plugin for QuickTime at no charge.Long story short, if you run an Intel-powered Mac and need to be able to view Windows Media files, go get Flip4Mac’s WMV component! I can hear Mac users everywhere rejoicing. Now I can go back and watch all those WMV’s I’ve been stashing in a folder until this day came. Here’s the tasty changelog:

• Added playback optimizations for Intel Macs
• Added significant export optimizations for PowerPC Macs
• Added multi language audio support in player
• Added overlay when importing WMV content in trial mode
• Added support for web authors to disable “save as” feature in web browser
• Improved support for MMS servers and live streams
• Fixed DCT Blocking issue (progressive deterioration with increasing distance from previous keyframe)
• Fixed encode errors when the audio bit rate is set higher than the video bit rate.

Sony Computer Entertainment America on Thursday turned on new features in its system software for the Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP).

The latest version of the PSP’s firmware v2.80 now supports the ability to download video and image content through real simple syndication (RSS) feeds, register devices with a wireless LAN access point, play AAC files with the .3gp file extension, and play content saved in several folders on a Memory Stick.

An upgrade notice lets the player download the new software the next time they connect to the Internet. The new firmware is available from the Network Update option in the PSP’s menu. Source: TechWeb

Helio, which we covered in mid-June, is the most recent contender in the mobile network market. Their new TradeUps Express Program that offers you cash for your pre-owned technology products (cell phones, PDAs, game devices, MP3 players and digital cameras). New members can trade their pre-owned products up to 30 days after purchase of their new Helio device and activation of new service. You can get a free quote on your potential trade in here. Once you send in your product, they will inspect it and you will receive a check within 60-90 days. A very unique and interesting approach I think will win them many new customers.

Web services, delivered alongside classic software, will complement rather than replace the existing software industry, Microsoft’s chief technologist said on Thursday. Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie told investors and reporters attending the annual financial analyst meeting at Microsoft’s headquarters that the company is looking to convert its existing software franchises into Web-delivered services.
“The overall services opportunity is largely additive, increasing revenue opportunities for both our existing software licensing model as well as our services business model,” Ozzie said.

Microsoft’s strategy is to connect a wide range of devices onto various networks to allow consumers to enjoy the same information and entertainment not only on their computers but also via mobile phones, TVs and gaming systems.

“It’s not unreasonable to think we’ll catalyze some level of additional PC and device purchases,” he said.

Last month, Ozzie stepped into the top technical post at Microsoft, replacing co-founder

Bill Gates. Gates remains chairman, but Ozzie is the up-and-coming visionary with a track record of ground-breaking software including Lotus Notes and wide respect among industry rivals.

Ozzie took issue with technology purists who say Web-delivered services will completely replace traditional computer-installed software. Source: Yahoo!

Those of us in the US can finally get our very own minihompies in the newly launched US version of the South Korean social network CyWorld. Minihompies are now called MiniHomes in the US version and they are these strange little spaces for user avatars (MiniMe) and cartoon charms that people apparently spend real money on. Most of the charms appear to cost 5 acorns - the CyWorld currency (around 50 cents?) though purchasing more acorns with cash will not be enabled on the US site until next month. So spend your acorns carefully when souping up your hompie.The new US site is experiencing some technical problems on its first day, account creation is a little messy but you can go in and look around the site.

According to a report by Katie Fehrenbacher, CyWorld parent company SK Communications has set up a 30 person office in San Francisco, spent around $10 million to the US version and pledges to spend whatever it takes to be succesful in the new market. Still to come are a mobile play and music sales through CyWorld. The company already has localized versions in Japan, China and Taiwan. Localization for most of the rest of the world is in the works.Via TechCrunch