The New Twitter - WebP, Google's new pic standard - Goo.gl launch and PR code - Boston Globe site to go pay - Windows Phone 7 coming soon

[Ramakrishnan Laxman]

The New Twitter.com! (Screenshots)

Here it is, the new Twitter.com experience. As you can see the entire thing has been revamped — yes, there are now videos and pictures, but these are on the side in the new right-side pane.

As Twitter said during the event, the site will be incrementally rolling out worldwide over the next few weeks. It just got turned on on my page, and at first glance it does look pretty amazing.

With WebP, Google Aims To Replace Yet Another Elemental Web Format
Most of the common image formats on the web today were established over a decade ago and are based on technology from around that time. Some engineers at Google decided to figure out if there was a way to further compress lossy images like JPEG to make them load faster, while still preserving quality and resolution. As part of this effort, we are releasing a developer preview of a new image format, WebP, that promises to significantly reduce the byte size of photos on the web, allowing web sites to load faster than before.
http://blog.chromium.org/2010/09/webp-new-image-format-for-web.html

Goo.gl’s Awesome Easter Egg To Instantly Turn Any Link Into A QR Code

Earlier today, Google formally released Goo.gl, their URL-shortener, to the public. They’re calling it the “stablest, most secure, and fastest URL shortener on the web.” But it also may be the coolest thanks to an easter egg. As Google’s Matt Cutts’ just tweeted out, if you simply add “.qr” to the end of any goo.gl URL, it will create a QR code. Scanning this with any QR code reader will take you to the URL.

So, for example, this URL: goo.gl/umo0, is the shortened link for this post. If I make it: goo.gl/umo0.qr, I’ll get the image above.

'Boston Globe' To Launch Pay Site

Following in The New York Times' footsteps, The Boston Globe on Thursday announced plans to launch a paid subscription Web site by the second half of 2011. Named BostonGlobe.com, the paid site will feature news and feature stories, commentary, analysis, photographs and graphics published in the paper's daily and Sunday newspapers. As part of a two-pronged strategy, Boston.com will remain free to readers, and continue to serve a platform for advertisers. Its focus will remain daily local news reports, sports, and weather, as well as guides to local entertainment, travel and restaurants.

Windows Phone 7 Unveiling Coming In 11 Days

Microsoft is expected to unveil a lineup of Windows Phone 7 smartphones to the media at an event in New York on Oct. 11. The phones will then become available to consumers in November. While the primary event will take place in New York, the launch will be telecast to several other locations, reports the WSJ.