iTunes 12 Days of Christmas

Apple's iTunes Store is running a feature called "12 Days of Christmas" where they are giving away a featured item every day. The items free will include music, TV shows, books etc, so if an iPod, iPhone or iPad found it's way to you this Christmas, what better way to fill it with content?

Today's item in the UK is a Top Gear episode: "The Trip".

Let it Snow with Google

Google are getting you into the festive mood with their latest Easter Egg (or Christmas Treat!). Type "let it snow" into Google and snow will start falling across the page. The screen will also mist up and you can use your mouse curser to wipe it clean or it "Defrost" which replaces "Search". See the video below or visit www.google.com to try it yourself!

 

Let's Fly - Twitter Update

Twitter are updating their UI (user interface) across the board and a preview is available now at fly.twitter.com. Twitter's blogpost has all the detailed information but essentially the new experience is broken down into 4 sections: Home, Connect, Discover and Me. These are the new symbols for these areas:

The mobile website is up and running and the main site will following in a couple of weeks. The new experience is also filtering down onto smart phone apps and is available as an update on iOS devices now (Twitter v. 4.0).



 Video Preview:


Image from blog.twitter.com

My Xbox Live App

Microsoft have launched a mobile app as a companion to the latest Xbox live software update which launched yesterday. The new app, called "My Xbox Live", features social contacts, achievements and your avatar. The app is free and available for iOS and Windows Phone 7 users. The app is optimised for the iPad too. Details from Microsoft.

O2 Trial 4G in London

O2 have been trialling a 4G data connection system in London. The trial is estimated to be capable of download speeds on 50Mb/s. More information from BBC News.

Rory Cellan-Jones is one of the lucky few and has posted this video showing the results - over 30Mb/s download from a USB dongle!

Windows Store Preview

Microsoft have demonstrated their new Windows Store which will be included in Windows 8 Beta which is due for release next February. They claim it will have a greater reach than iOS and Android devices put together. The Windows Store follows features the Metro stlye which is finding it's way into all Microsoft's products. For more information about developing for Microsoft's Windows Store see the below video.