AOL rounds out acquisition spree with Brizzly

By Laura Khalil September 28, 2010

Image used with permission by copyright holder

News broke this morning with the 5min acquisition, then TechCrunch annouced its own purchase and now this. Does any of this stink of desperation? The company has spent years trying to buy its way out of the technological black hole it so clearly lives in. We’ve seen this pattern before, when AOL purchased Bebo for $850 million in 2008, trying to make its way into the social networking market, only to sell the company this summer for a reported $10 million.

Maybe this time will be different. One thing is clear — AOL is serious about revamping its strategy and is on a buying spree to help make that happen.

Thing Labs has some incredible talent that will be running AIM, AOL Lifestream and Brizzly. Brizzly will be integrated with the other applications over time.

Topics

Laura Khalil

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Laura is a tech reporter for Digital Trends, the editor of Dorkbyte and a science blogger for PBS. She's been named one of…

Computing

How to enable picture-in-picture for YouTube on your Mac

If you want to have a bit of music playing in the background or want to have your favorite YouTube video running in the corner of your screen, then the picture-in-picture YouTube feature needs to be on your radar. This allows you to turn your YouTube videos into a tiny pop-up window that can be moved and repositioned around your screen.

Mac users have several ways to activate the feature, including support on both Safari and Google Chrome. There's also a nifty Chrome extension that simplifies the task to a single button press. Here's a look at how to enable picture-in-picture for YouTube on your Mac.

Computing

How to change your Gmail password

pilot testing drivers licenses internet rolls two us states password

Changing your Gmail password is incredibly important for your online security. If you're anything like the average user, your Gmail account is linked to dozens of other organizations and programs – and if your account gets hacked, there's no telling what sort of damage can be done.

Because of this, it's crucial to change your Gmail password at regular intervals. Google makes this a rather painless process, and it should take no more than a few seconds from start to finish.

Best Buy deals: Save on laptops, TVs, appliances, and more

best buy shuts down insignia line smart home products store 2 768x768

Best Buy is always a great retailer to turn to if you’re looking for some savings. There are almost always Best Buy deals taking place on TVs, appliances, and devices we use to navigate the digital world. In fact, right now at Best Buy you can find some of the best TV deals, best laptop deals, and best phone deals that can be shopped, and we haven’t even mentioned the deals on tablets and home audio equipment currently taking place at Best Buy. We’ve rounded up all of the best Best Buy deals you can shop right now and categorized them for your convenience below, so read onward for some great opportunities to save.
Best Buy TV deals

There may be no better place to purchase one of the best TVs than Best Buy. There is almost always some huge savings to find on TVs at Best Buy, and that’s certainly the case right now. You’ll find deals top TV brands like Sony, Samsung, and LG, and more budget-friendly brands like TCL and Hisense are in play, too.