YouTube Higher Quality Lands

Check this out; I thought I’d post up a version on the new Cadbury’s Chocolate Advert, but then I saw something different about YouTube.

Underneath the video, there’s now a link offering ‘watch this video in higher quality’. Clicking reloads the video in - you guessed it - higher quality.

I’ve yet to test the quality for HD compatibility, or to see if YouTube is just limiting the initial quality of the videos, and then offering the original, but this looks like a definate step in the right direction for the video giant.

Hit the jump for an example video, plus links >

Microsoft Developing Office Suite For iPhone - Really

It’s been confirmed to Fortune by Tom Gibbons - head of Microsoft’s Specialized Devices and Applications Group - that the Big Blue will be looking to bring its Office suite to the iSlates.

“To the extent that Mac Office customers have functionality that they need in that environment, we’re actually in the process of trying to understand that now.”

With the help of the iPhone SDK, the eggheads at Big Blue will also be bringing TellMe, a voice recognition technology that they acquired last year.

So it looks like Microsoft is opening up to the idea of rapidly emerging markets, and that they’re willing to take the plunge a lot sooner than I anticipated - either way, it’s great to see big companies playing nice for a change.

Graham

Verizon Wins 700Mhz Auction, And Why That’s Not So Great

What Just happened: Just as Gizmodo, and to a lesser extent I believed, Verizon has won the auction for rights to the 700Mhz chunk of the US airwaves. The Giz has a handy guide here about why that’s important, and what it is.

Why that’s not so great: Simply put, Verizon doesn’t really change things.

When Google threw their hat into the ring, opinions were divided on whether it was purely to save face, but I thought that a Google-owned 700Mhz band would have been far more interesting.

More info after the jump>

Microsoft Rolls Out Internet Explorer 8, Get It While It’s Hot [Browser Wars]

The Big Blue just announced their next move in the Browser Wars: A new version of it’s own offering Internet Explorer.

What’s new? So far, IE8’s main new features are a kind of offline browsing trick where you can work on pages and save the changes locally, and then sync up when the Internet link comes back, and a shift to a standard way of rendering web pages.

So nothing huge, really. I’d be inclined to call this IE 7.5, and save the 8 moniker for the next huge overhaul.

More info plus download links and commentary after the jump>

Chic Speakers Tell That Tinny Audio Is Now Cool

These cool speakers are from zaecherl. A great idea, both chic and green, the speakers are made from re-purposed tin cans, which are overlayed with a metal mesh.

Bung in a speaker at the back and hey-presto! It’s art you made yourself - genius.

You can check out the original instructions here (in German), or hit the jump for the translated post and more shots too.

Google Wants Your Medical Info, Your Soul

I know that the Big G (Google) is great at harvesting, organising, and using data - and great at being controversial about it, too. But this next move might be a huge boon, or a shot in the foot for the search giant.

Google has unveiled plans to help U.S. patients gain control of their medical records and is working with doctors’ groups, pharmacies and labs to help them securely share sensitive health data - ’securely share’, now there’s a oxymoron and a half.

Apparently, Google has signed deals with medical tester Quest Diagnostics Inc, health insurer Aetna Inc, Walgreens and Walmart Stores Inc pharmacies. Google wants to nurture a partnership between medical institutions and information services. The service will allow U.S. patients to share information like their prescriptions, past drugs and test results.

More info after the jump>