A new 3D-viewing option on YouTube‘s video player ensures classic movies like The Lion King and Titanic won’t be the only videos getting retroactive 3D treatment.

The option allows viewers to watch short-form videos uploaded
to YouTube in 1080p while wearing 3D glasses.

YouTube’s enhancement, which rolled out across the site on Thursday, is the latest iteration of a beta feature the site launched last September that gave video uploaders a one-click method for converting their 2D videos to 3D. YouTube said in a blog post that users have since applied the option to “hundreds of thousands” of their videos.

In its most recent incarnation, the feature works a bit differently. Instead of allowing uploaders a choice to convert their videos to 3D as the original version did, YouTube now automatically converts them. Viewers can choose to watch 1080p videos with Red/Cyan, Green/Magenta, Blue/Yellow or interleaved 3D glasses through a new 3D button next to the gear option on the video player.

YouTube is, of course, not producing 3D effects on par with video originally filmed in 3D. True 3D video requires two versions of the same scene filmed from two perspectives.

Here’s a simplified explanation of YouTube’s version works: YouTube estimates a depth map for each frame of a video using color, spatial layout, motion and other characteristics. It improves this generated map by applying what it has learned from actual 3D videos uploaded to its platform. This pair — the original video and the generated depth map — make up the left-right video combination that a stereo display system needs to display a video as 3D.

The next thing YouTube will figure out is whether its users actually want to watch web video in 3D.

Although sales of 3D TVs are rising, it’s unclear whether consumers are purchasing them for their 3D capabilities or because it’s becoming harder to find a set without those capabilities. Surveys have shown they’re not pumped about wearing 3D glasses at home or hindering their ability to multitask.

Is watching Bed Intruder in three dimensions any more compelling?

Test out the effects in this example video (3D options can be accessed through the “+3D” icon next to the gear), and let us know if you’ll be keeping a pair of 3D glasses next to your computer.

Android phones have never been as impressive as they are today. They have never been as responsive, as slim or as powerful. Their displays have never been more vivid or more stunning. Their data speeds have never been as fast. Competition is now hotter than ever before in the smartphone market and consumers are reaping the benefits. At its core, each and every new smartphone that launches is an engineering feat that simply could not have existed a few short years ago. And yet as amazing as the current crop of smartphones might be, there has probably never been a worse time in Android’s brief but storied history for savvy users to buy a smartphone.

A quick glance through the smartphone catalogs of each of the four major wireless carriers in the United States reveals a terrific array of Android handsets. There is certainly no shortage of gigahertz or gigabytes, and spec sheets in general have become laundry lists of cutting-edge technology. More importantly, of course, this new breed of Google-powered phones offers performance that is far more responsive and fluid than previous generations of handsets. But as impressive as these devices are, right now is a horrible time to buy any of them.

Things are about to get a whole lot better.

For tech savvy smartphone users, committing to a two-year contract is brutal. Mobile technology moves so fast that smartphones can seem outdated just months after they launch. While this trend is bound to continue, the degree to which new generations of Android phones outdo their predecessors will always ebb and flow. Handsets have been improving at a somewhat modest pace for the past year or so, but the next crop of smartphones to hit store shelves will represent a huge leap forward rather than a few short steps.

Two leading smartphone makers, Samsung and HTC, are on the verge of launching next-generation devices that will put today’s high-end handsets to shame. HTC has already unveiled its new One-series phones, and the two high-end models it showed off at Mobile World Congress are game-changers, plain and simple.

The HTC One X is the Taiwan-based company’s flagship smartphone for the first half of 2012, and it features a 1.5GHz quad-core Tegra 3 processor, a 4.6-inch 1,280 x 720-pixel Super LCD 2 display, an 8-megapixel rear camera, a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera for 720p video chats, 1GB of RAM, 32 GB of internal storage, embedded 4G LTE and Sense 4.0 on top of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. All that technology, mind you, is squeezed into a gorgeous 9.27-millimeter-thick unibody polycarbonate case. The U.S. version of this handset will feature a dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor and 16GB of internal storage, but the impact of this “downgrade” on the user experience is negligible — the phone is still lightning fast and beyond smooth.

HTC’s One S is a mid-range smartphone, though the term “mid-range” is used very loosely in this case. The device sports a 4.3-inch qHD AMOLED display, a dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, an amazing 8-megapixel camera, 16GB of internal storage, Sense 4.0 and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, all packed within an even more slender 7.9-millimeter case made of Micro-Arc Oxidized aluminum.

While Samsung hasn’t yet unveiled its next-generation flagship smartphone, a series of exclusive BGR reportspaint a fairly comprehensive picture of the Galaxy S III. To start things off, we can expect the most stunning display ever to be used on a smartphone. This high-definition, 1080p-resolution, 4.8-inch Super AMOLED display will be to smartphones what Apple’s new Retina Display is to tablets. Toss in a 1.5GHz quad-core Samsung Exynos processor, an 8-megapixel rear camera, a 2-megapixel front-facing camera, 4G LTE, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and a sleek ceramic case, and you’ve got one of the most remarkable mobile devices the world has ever seen.

In short, there probably hasn’t been a worse time than right now to buy a new Android phone and get locked in to a new two-year contract.

These next-generation Android phones will set a new precedent, and handsets that launch for the subsequent six to nine months will be playing catch-up. The chips within these new smartphones are faster, smaller and they consume power far more efficiently than the silicon that came before them. And while I haven’t yet had the opportunity to test the upcoming Galaxy S III, I have handled the One X and One S, and I can confidently say that they offer an end-to-end experience that is significantly better than what we see on the market today. The cameras alone, which are powered by a dedicated chip and are capable of capturing a RAW 8-megapixel image and returning to a ready state in just 0.7 seconds, are worth the wait.

These new smartphones will be slimmer, sleeker and more capable than anything on the market today, and they will still tout better battery life and more impressive performance. With HTC’s handsets ready to begin launching next month on AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile, and the Galaxy S III set to be unveiled in April or May, Android fans would be wise to sit tight for now.

When BookArc is paired with Air and an external monitor a boost up in the display is noticed that is very precise for graphic applied programs. Its shipping is done only for $39.99. When a monitor is used with Air left open the video memory is ditributed among the two displays. But when working with BookArc in resting position and closed Air seems to utilise its 100% memory onto the monitor.

Actually there is another alternative you can try other than waiting for the application English language version of the ucweb out. Alternative application is the result of translation of china ucweb version 7.1. Although not an official version, but surely this is better than using the language of china that we do not understand at all.

This ucweb 7.1 applications are made to improve the previous version of version 7.0. For you who are interested in downloading the application you can download terebut on the following link.

DOWNLOAD UCWEB 7.1 ENGLISH

 

The iPad is certainly the top tablet as far as consumers are concerned, but businesses strongly prefer it, too. That’s the word from the industry analysts at NPD, who just published the results of a survey that shows nearly three-quarters of small- and medium-size businesses (SMBs) are looking to buy tablets for their workers in 2012, strongly preferring the iPad over competitors.

The survey found that the larger the company, the more likely it was to want a tablet, and the stronger the preference for the iPad. Among businesses with fewer than 50 employees, the intent to purchase a tablet was a solid-but-not-overwhelming majority of 54%. As the companies grew, however, so did their desire for tablets, with 89% of companies between 501 and 999 employees planning to buy them. Of all the businesses considering a tablet, 73% were targeting the iPad.

“You’re really dealing with two different types of business,” Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at NPD, told Mashable. “When you look at really small business, under 50, there’s a lot of crossover between things consumers want to use and what’s useful in a small-business environment.”

The study is lousy — if unsurprising — news for Apple’s competitors. The only tablet to seriously challenge the iPad so far is Amazon’s Kindle Fire, but that device runs a customized operating system that’s highly catered toward consumers, so it makes sense that businesses aren’t interested. Even if business-friendly software were developed, the Fire lacks some key hardware features, such as a camera, that many companies would need.

A seemingly business-friendly alternative to the iPad is the BlackBerry PlayBook. But that device has suffered from a troubled spring launch that saw the tablet debut without a native email client. Users are still waiting for a software update that will add one, and its QNX-based operating system has little developer support.

“There really isn’t another product that has any kind of headway that the iPad has,” says Baker. “It’s probably not as much about the iPad as the product type. Employees are using them, and they want to find ways of using them in the business.”

Although the NPD study doesn’t include large companies, the iPad has been making inroads in the enterprise market as well. Following the “consumerization of IT” trend, a study released in May by Model Metrics showed 83% of IT departments at 448 companies planned to deploy iPads by the end of 2013.

Those numbers may shift, however, as Microsoft makes its big tablet push late next year. Windows 8 should start shipping in fall 2012, and the entire operating system has been tailored from the ground up to be tablet-friendly. Businesses that are reliant on Microsoft software (read: the vast majority) will have good reason to consider a Windows tablet once they become available.

Are you a small-to-medium-size business owner or manager? Tell us about your tablet plans in the New Year: Are you going to get one for your company? Which one and why? Let us know in the comments.

Well for you who want to download the application this ucweb 7.1 Chinese you can download it at the following link.

Download Ucweb 7.1

Computer Sciences Corp. might have to write off the US$1.5 billion investment it has made in developing and deploying a failed e-patient records system in the U.K., which the government canceled in September, the company warned in a filing Tuesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

CSC and the U.K. National Health Service had “substantially completed” negotiating a memorandum of understanding in May regarding a reduction in the scope of the project and its contract value. However, since mid-November, they have been negotiating over a proposed amendment that modifies the company’s existing contract with the NHS. CSC was recently informed that the memorandum of understanding and the proposed amendment will not be approved by the U.K. government, it said in the filing.

The company expects that it will continue discussions in January over proposals from both sides that would modify the scope and decrease the value of the contract, which “differ materially” from those in the memorandum of understanding, the filing said.

Until negotiations conclude, CSC cannot estimate the amount it will have to write down in the third quarter of its 2012 fiscal year, but said in the filing that depending on terms reached in the amendment under discussion or if no agreement is reached, the total could be equal to its net investment in the project, which was $1.5 billion as of Nov. 30. It is possible that the company will take on additional costs as well.

CSC will provide updated 2012 financial guidance related to the situation with the NHS project when it announces those third-quarter earnings in February, it said in the filing.

The company has faced withering criticism from the U.K. government over its handling of the project

Besides the ongoing issues with the NHS project, CSC has been beset by other problems this year, including a continuing SEC investigation related to possible fraudulent stock manipulation in the Nordic region and Australia.

The company announced in October that Chairman and CEO Michael W. Laphen would retire within a year.

Opera Mini itself is available in various versions. Opera Mini for java, mobile, and modification. The last name is the fruit of the work of the users who give more attention to this application. With her hands that the opera mini application can be modified and provide functions that are not found in the original version.

The number of these versions can sometimes make the user a little confused to choose which version to use. Moreover, usually not permanently downloaded opinion of the official web work. So I give the link download the latest opera mini hopefully be useful to you all.

You can download various vesrsion of opera mini on the link bellow.

OPERA MINI JAVA

Opera Mini 2.0

http://mini.opera.com/global/opera-mini-2.0.4509-basic-int.jar
http://mini.opera.com/global/opera-mini-2.0.4509-basic-int.jad
http://mini.opera.com/global/opera-mini-2.0.4509-basic-int.zip
http://mini.opera.com/global/opera-mini-2.0.4509-advanced-int.jar
http://mini.opera.com/global/opera-mini-2.0.4509-advanced-int.jad
http://mini.opera.com/global/opera-mini-2.0.4509-advanced-int.zip
http://mini.opera.com/global/opera-mini-2.0.4509-advanced-int.prc

Opera Mini 3

http://mini.opera.com/global/opera-mini-3.1.10423-basic-int.jar
http://mini.opera.com/global/opera-mini-3.1.10423-basic-int.jad
http://mini.opera.com/global/opera-mini-3.1.10423-basic-int.zip
http://mini.opera.com/global/ope … 23-advanced-int.jar
http://mini.opera.com/global/ope … 23-advanced-int.jad
http://mini.opera.com/global/ope … 23-advanced-int.zip
http://mini.opera.com/global/ope … 23-advanced-int.prc

Opera Mini 4

http://mini.opera.com/global/ope … 06-advanced-int.jar
http://mini.opera.com/global/ope … 06-advanced-int.jad
http://mini.opera.com/global/ope … 06-advanced-int.zip
http://mini.opera.com/global/ope … 06-advanced-int.prc

Opera Mini 4.1

http://mini.opera.com/global/ope … 55-advanced-int.jar
http://mini.opera.com/global/ope … 55-advanced-int.jad
http://mini.opera.com/global/ope … 55-advanced-int.zip
http://mini.opera.com/global/ope … 55-advanced-int.prc

Opera Mini 4.2

http://mini.opera.com/global/ope … 12-advanced-int.jar
http://mini.opera.com/global/ope … 12-advanced-int.jad
http://mini.opera.com/global/ope … 12-advanced-int.zip
http://mini.opera.com/global/ope … 12-advanced-int.prc

Opera Mini 5 Beta 1

http://mini.opera.com/global/opera-mini-5.0.15650-advanced-en.jar
http://mini.opera.com/global/opera-mini-5.0.15650-advanced-en.jad

Opera Mini 5 Beta 2

http://mini.opera.com/global/opera-mini-5.0.16823-advanced-en.jar
http://mini.opera.com/global/opera-mini-5.0.16823-advanced-en.jad
http://mini.opera.com/global/opera-mini-5.0.17443-advanced-en.jar
http://mini.opera.com/global/opera-mini-5.0.17443-advanced-en.jad

OPERA MINI MOBILE/SYMBIAN S60v3 os 9.x

Opera Mobile Version 8.60 [ Dated 12 jun 2006]

opera_s60_860_AMERICAS_70s_30.sis
opera_s60_860_AMERICAS_70s_30.sis
opera_s60_860_AMERICAS_70s_30.sis

Opera Mobile Version 8.65 [ Dated 21 sep 2006]

opera_s60_865_AMERICAS_70s_30.sisx
opera_s60_865_APAC_70s_30.sisx
opera_s60_865_EMEA_70s_30.sisx

Opera Mobile Version 10 beta 1 [ Dated 10 Nov 2009]

Opera_Mobile_10_beta_1.sis
Opera_Mobile_10_beta_1_apac.sis
Opera_Mobile_10_beta_1_ru.sis

Opera Mobile Version 10 beta 2 [ Dated 04 Dec 2009]

Opera_Mobile_10_beta_2.sis
Opera_Mobile_10_beta_2_apac.sis
Opera_Mobile_10_beta_2_ru.sis

Opera Mobile Version 10 beta 2u [ Dated 17 Dec 2009]

Opera_Mobile_10_beta_2u.sis
Opera_Mobile_10_beta_2u_apac.sis
Opera_Mobile_10_beta_2u_ru.sis

Opera Mobile Version 10 beta 3 [ Dated 11 Feb 2010]

Opera_Mobile_10_S60_beta_3.sis
Opera_Mobile_10_S60_beta_3_apac.sis
Opera_Mobile_10_S60_beta_3_ru.sis

OPERA MINI MODIF

Opera Modif Standar

Opmin modif 204
Opmin modif 205
Opmin modif 206
Opmin modif 311 english
Opmin modif 312 (indo)

Opera Modif Handler

Opera Mini 4.2 Handler UI110
Opera Mini 4.2 Handler UI121
Opera Mini 4.2 Handler UI130
Opera Mini 4.2 Handler UI131
Opera Mini 4.2 Handler UI132
Opera Mini 4.2 Handler multy windows
Opera Mini 5.0 Handler UI121
Opera Mini 5.0 Handler UI122

OPERA FOR WINDOWS MOBILE

Opera Mobile v8.00 [Dated 29 june 2005]

opera_wmsp_800.msi

Opera Mobile v8.60 [Dated 30 may 2005]

opera_wmppc5_860.cab
opera_wmppc5_860.msi
opera_wmppc5_860_VZW.cab
opera_wmppc5_860_VZW.msi
opera_wmppc2003_860.cab
opera_wmppc2003_860.msi

Opera Mobile v8.65 [Dated 3 april 2008]

opera_wm5_ppc_865.cab
opera_wm5_ppc_865.msi
opera_wm5_sp_865.cab
opera_wm5_sp_865.msi
opera_wm2003_ppc_865.cab
opera_wm2003_ppc_865.msi
opera_wm2003_sp_865.cab
opera_wm2003_sp_865.msi

Opera Mobile v9.50 b1 [Dated 16 jul 2008]

opera_wm5_ppc_951b1.cab

Opera Mobile v9.50 b1 [Dated 29 jul 2008]

opera_wm5_ppc_951b1.cab

Opera Mobile v9.50 b2 [Dated 18 feb 2009]

opera_wm5_ppc_951b2.cab
opera_wm5_ppc_951b2.cab

Opera Mobile v9.70 b1 [Dated 8 jun 2009]

operabrowser_wm_97b1.cab

Opera Mobile v10 b1 [Dated 17 nov 2009]

Opera_Mobile_10_WM_beta_1.cab
Opera_Mobile_10_WM_beta_1_ru.cab

Opera Mobile v10 b2 [Dated 1 dec 2009]

Opera_Mobile_10_WM_beta_2.cab
Opera_Mobile_10_WM_beta_2_ru.cab

Opera Mobile v10 beta2u [Dated 18 dec 2009]

Opera_Mobile_10_WM_beta_2u.cab
Opera_Mobile_10_WM_beta_2u_ru.cab

Opera Mobile v10 beta2u [Dated 11 dec 2010]

Opera_Mobile_10_WM_beta_3.cab
Opera_Mobile_10_WM_beta_3_ru.cab
Opera_Mobile_10_WM_beta_3_sp.cab
Opera_Mobile_10_WM_beta_3_sp_ru.cab

For big brands, Google+ is probably a good investment — but is Google+ an efficient use of time for small businesses?

Google unveiled Google+ brand pages in November, enabling businesses and brands to join its social network. Since then, big brands — including Pepsi, Macy’s and Toyota — have jumped on the Google+ bandwagon, creating yet another hub page for their content-hungry fans.

We reached out to our community to better understand how (and if) small businesses are using Google+. We received more than 50 responses detailing the merits and downfalls of using Google’s social network as a small business.

Below are some of the top thoughts on the pros and cons of using Google+ as a small business. Read on and add your thoughts in the comments below.

7 Reasons to Use Google+

A bulk of the small businesses we spoke with said they feel Google+ is an important social platform because it was developed by Google, one of the Internet’s favorite brands and one of the most influential websites when it comes to site referrals. But small business owners gave a plethora of reasons for being early adopters of the platform. Here are some of the top reasons we heard for using Google+.

1. Get an SEO Boost: Bob Shirilla, director of marketing at Simply Bags, says that his business joined Google+ because he relies on Google search referrals for sales conversions. “Google+ influences search for all the people who have included my business in their circle,” he says. “We have also put a +1 button on each product page. This is a great way to get free promotion from people who like the product to people with similar interests.”

2. Host a Hangout: “Hangouts offer an amazing opportunity for businesses to engage in a highly personal way with clients, customers and industry thought leaders,” says Roger Friedensen, president and CEO of Forge Communications. “Plus, employees in remote locations can hold team meetings to brainstorm with one another from an interface that affords them immediate and easy access to share and collaborate on most of the information materials they might need, such as documents and spreadsheets.”

3. Expand Content Distribution: Phyllis Khare, the social media editorial director of iPhone Life magazine, says that Google+ is a great platform for expanding the publication’s content distribution. “It took us almost a year to get 1,000 Likes on our Facebook Page, and three days on G+ to get that number to Circle us,” she says. “We are gearing up for Hangouts with some of our writers in 2012 to answer iOS questions and a few other fun things with contests and giveaways.”

4. Connect with Early Adopters: If your business falls in the Internet or technology industries, Google+ could be a great place to connect a tech-savvy audience. “The people that are on Google+ already are most likely going to be early adopters of other technologies and marketing channels,” says Jason Pinto, CMO at interlinkONE. “When we look at what defines an ‘ideal customer’ for our products, that criteria is certainly high on our list.”

5. Segment Your Audience: “The obvious benefit of Google+ is that it allows us to share select content with specific audiences,” says Chad Udell, managing director of Float Mobile Learning. Google+ makes it easy for businesses to segment their audiences and share content directly with those certain groups of followers.

6. Use Google+ to Network: David Greenberg, president of Parliament Tutors, says that his business does not have a Google+ page, but that he uses his personal Google+ page to network and gather contact data and research the “personal side” of relevant contacts, such as journalists and potential clients, so that he can better create a connection with them. He adds that the “About” section of a contact’s Google+ profile is usually a great start.

7. Just Explore: Netronic Managing Director Martin Karlowitsch says, “We currently use Google+ for exploratory purposes. It is still a niche platform, but quickly growing and with a platform giant behind it. Knowing the impact that Google has on the way people find relevant information on the web, Google+ soon can become significant by combining social and search. I want to start early using this platform to be prepared when this inflection point arises.”

5 Downfalls of Using Google+

1. Administration is Difficult: “The pages need to be created from an individual’s Google+ account, and you cannot add admins or any other users to manage the account,” says Jason Donaldson, an account executive at Formic Media. “Depending on the size of the business, this may not be an issue. For example, if you only have one or two employees, there probably isn’t an issue accessing the page from a personal Google account. The problem becomes more exaggerated with businesses that don’t have a dedicated social media manager (unlikely with small businesses), because of the need to give out personal account information for users to post on the business page.”

2. Facebook and Twitter Reign: Many of the small businesses we spoke with pointed out that they maintain engaged audiences on Twitter and Facebook, but most of their customers and clients don’t use Google+. So, the platform isn’t much of a priority for their business. In the words of TwiloPR President Chris Heuwetter, “The true value is in Facebook, where we see a nice return on our efforts. Google+ seems like a ghost town [for many small businesses].”

3. Social Dashboards Don’t Integrate Google+ Yet: While more progressive social media dashboards, like Hootsuite, have integrated Google+ into their products, many social dashboard services on the market do not enable users to post to Google+. For businesses that manage their social presences from one central location, the lack of Google+ integration is a huge barrier to Google+ usage.

4. Google Side Projects are Unreliable: James Beswick manages online marketing for a bar in San Antonio called Drink. He looked into creating a Google+ page for the bar, but decided against it, since he’s not certain that the social network will pan out. “Google keeps starting and shutting down products — Buzz, Wave and Hotpot, to name a few — and I’m not entirely convinced the same thing won’t happen with Plus,” he says. “Given the time and cost of engaging followers, I think the effort is better spent on Facebook.”

5. Growth Is Small: Tara Parks, senior marketing administrator at Convergence Networks says that she sees potential in Google+, but that growth has been small for her company. “The biggest drawback to Google+ so far is that it’s hard to grow a fan base, since businesses can only add other businesses to their Circles, and not individuals, the way you can on Twitter (until they add you, that is),” she says. “It will definitely be a lot more fun once more people start using Google+.”

When we wrote about what 2012 may hold for the world’s largest online retailer, Amazon, we mentioned the idea that Jeff Bezos and co. may eventually pull together the site’s myriad digital services and leverage its growing Kindleplatform into some kind of social network. Now it appears the company may be doing just that.

Geekwire reports that Amazon has effectively hired the entire team at Quorus. Amazon previously hired Quorus co-founder Logan Bowers, and now it appears he’s taking his team with him.

Quorus’ former vice president of business development, Matt Scoble, confirmed to Mashable that the company’s other co-founder, Michael Dougherty, now works for Amazon. The report says Amazon also snapped up Quorus employees Sam Rayachoti and Peter Abramson. Quorus.com now shows a placeholder site and the company’s official Twitter feed hasn’t been active since July.

Hold your horses before you think Amazon’s grab at social-software talent means the company is prepping to take on Facebook. Quorus makes software that lets shoppers essentially bounce purchases off friends before committing to a buy. It’s not quite the next Google+, but it could give Amazon an edge over other online retailers.

Quorus software works like this. Say you’re buying a sweater for your dad, but you can’t decide between two different patterns. Right from the product page, Quorus lets you call up a window to contact your mom, siblings and friends to help you out. The connection can be done by email, Facebook, Twitter or even text message.

Once you’ve reached out to your impromptu jury, Quorus can facilitate both a live chat and offline discussion. Not everyone will be able to stop what they’re doing to help you hunt down the perfect wool cardigan, so the software saves those messages for you (and yours) to read later. The whole exchange is hosted by Quorus — it’s not dependent on the social networks it uses to communicate.

That’s probably why the service looks attractive to Amazon. While Amazon has an interest in playing nice with the likes of Facebook, there’s no way Amazon will trust its destiny with a third party. Rather then create a social shopping experience from the ground up, Amazon simply gobbled up Quorus.

The next logical step is for Amazon to deploy Quorus’ collaborative shopping system on its product pages. The question now is whether it will appear universally throughout the site or if it will be something lumped in with the premium services of Amazon Prime. By going site-wide, Amazon will have even more of an edge over other retailers. However, the company needs to convert more customers into Prime members to help push its platform and right now there just aren’t a lot of good reasons for Amazon users to opt for the service.

What do you think about the Quorus experience, and does it work for Amazon? Would you use it if it was available? And more important, would you pay for it? Let us know in the comments.