ReadWriteWeb

On the internet, data lives forever. Once you post something to the web, you see, you simply can't take it back. Many people have had to learn this lesson the hard way, unfortunately, after discovering that the "delete" button doesn't really work to delete something from the internet as a whole. The embarrassing missive lives on and on, in the web service's archives, in Google's cache, and eventually in the Internet Archive itself.

That may be about to change, though, thanks to a new tool created by researchers at the University of Washington. Called "Vanish," the system places a time limit on any message posted to any web service through a web browser.

Today the Mozilla Corporation announced the pilot release of a new program they're calling "Contributions." The program will allow the developers of Firefox extensions, aka "add-ons," to solicit a dollar amount of their choosing for their work. For end users, the choice about whether or not to donate will be completely optional, so it's not like the Add-on site will become a marketplace where extensions are offered for sale. For developers, the financial support provided by the program will help them continue their efforts in delivering quality work. Hopefully, it will lead to fewer abandoned extensions, too - a problem that has plagued Firefox users for quite some time.

Glubble, which provides families with their own free social networks and also features a Firefox plugin that makes surfing the net safer and easier for children and hooks right into Glubble's web services, released a major update of its service today. Most importantly, Glubble now features a very well thought-out photo sharing solution, the Glubble Family Timeline, which also smartly incorporates messages and status updates. In conjunction with the release of the new family timeline feature, Glubble also announced a new premium product today, which, for $39.95 per year, allows users to upload and store more photos per month than the service's free offerings.