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Yahoo Could Open Access to Flickr, Other Technologies (PC World)PC World - Yahoo might open access to a broader range of technologies beyond just search, a company executive said.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 6 Dec 2008 | 12:18 pm Kindle Sold Out Until February (PC World)PC World - This holiday season may have a dearth of options, and the current economic disaster is not be the only thing to blame. Right after an analyst decreed Apple's iPod to be in short supply this season, Amazon's Kindle eBook reader disappeared from shelves and will not be available until February of next year.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 6 Dec 2008 | 12:18 pm Firefox Users Targeted by Rare Piece of Malware (PC World)PC World - Researchers at BitDefender have discovered a new type of malicious software that collects passwords for banking sites but targets only Firefox users.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 6 Dec 2008 | 12:18 pm Symbian Foundation Says It's on Track (PC World)PC World - The Symbian Foundation is on track to take over Symbian as an open-source operating system in 2010 and will put out its first distribution of software for developers in the first half of next year, its executive director said Thursday.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 6 Dec 2008 | 12:18 pm Next Metal Gear is Coming to "Universal Power Symbol"? (PC World)PC World - Rumor has it Metal Gear Solid 4 is soon to grace the Xbox 360 and reward the platform faithful. The rumor itself is nothing new, but the picture above, just unveiled by Konami at this website, has speculators salivating. Since the colors are electric green on black, and since the symbol to the right looks an awful lot like the symbol in the middle of the power button on the face of the 360, it's not hard to see why.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 6 Dec 2008 | 12:11 pm Swiss Army Knife of Smartphones to Debut Next Year (PC World)PC World - A U.K.-based mobile phone maker plans to start selling next year a novel smartphone originally built for the British military called the Icephone.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 6 Dec 2008 | 12:08 pm First Look: Why Facebook Connect Is Bound For Success (PC World)PC World - Facebook launched its Web-wide sign-on system, Facebook Connect, on Thursday -- and let me tell you, this thing has the potential to simplify and enrich social networking in a revolutionary way.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 6 Dec 2008 | 12:08 pm Vista SP2 Beta Available For Public Download - InformationWeek
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 6 Dec 2008 | 11:58 am Google's Chrome Team Mulls Local File Restrictions - InformationWeek
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 6 Dec 2008 | 11:58 am IBM Launches Microsoft-Free Linux PCs - InformationWeek
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 6 Dec 2008 | 11:58 am Apple Sees 300 Million App Store Downloads - InformationWeek
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 6 Dec 2008 | 11:58 am OGCC Day 6 - NASCAR Christmas Village Turns The Holidays Into The Holi-Days Of ThunderBy Andrew Liszewski Move over Santa’s workshop and that quaint local post office, it’s time for those miniature ceramic Christmas villages to get a high-octane makeover. Available exclusively...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 6 Dec 2008 | 11:16 am Google Gets More Friendly, ... - InternetNews.com
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 6 Dec 2008 | 11:06 am Latest Facebook Attack Stems ... - InternetNews.com
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 6 Dec 2008 | 11:06 am Spore the Most Pirated Game of 2008TorrentFreak has posted some statistics on the most pirated games of the past year. Leading the list by a large margin is Spore, made infamous even before its release for the draconian DRM attached to the game. It was downloaded through BitTorrent roughly 1.7 million times, with The Sims 2 and Assassin's Creed following at just over a million each. (It's worth noting that Spore came out in September, so that figure is essentially for a mere three months.) GameSetWatch has posted a related piece discussing the countermeasures involved in dealing with piracy. It's the second article in a series about piracy; we discussed the first a couple days ago.Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 6 Dec 2008 | 10:18 am Triple keyboard waterproof smartphone - iCephone
Icephone is the name. It looks crazy and it is being developed by a cell phone manufacturer in the UK for the army and it has three different ways to interact with. First a 3-inch touchscreen then a QWERTY keyboard and finally a navigation interface. Or something like that. If you want one of these you can get it next year for just under $1000. For that price you get a smartphone that’s water-snow-damage resistant and has Bluetooth,Wi-Fi, HSPA and 3G on four band GSM networks. You know it’s good for navigating texting and calling mom the same time. [Via Prim Online [HR]] Source: CrunchGear | 6 Dec 2008 | 10:17 am New Xbox 360 Game Needs 3 DVDs: PS3’s Blu-ray would do in one - Product Reviews
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 6 Dec 2008 | 10:08 am Papercrafts for Charity Fundraisers - The Luminaire PaperLove Project (GALLERY)(TrendHunter.com) All things paper and origami are always on trend here at Trend Hunter, so it was a thrill to see them being appreciated while raising money for a great cause. A large collection...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 6 Dec 2008 | 10:00 am Gallery of obsolete computersThe Obsolete Technology Website has a gallery of 100+ obsolete computers. Lovely. Welcome to the Obsolete Technology Website (via Beyond the Beyond)Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 6 Dec 2008 | 9:52 am Gallery of obsolete computers The Obsolete Technology Website has a gallery of 100+ obsolete computers. Lovely.
Welcome to the Obsolete Technology Website
(via Beyond the Beyond) Source: Boing Boing | 6 Dec 2008 | 9:52 am Growing up poor can impair kids' prefrontal cortex activity -- but it can be restored with gamesA paper in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience describes a study that concludes that poor children aged 9 and 10 are likely to have lowered brain activity, comparable to a stroke victim. The researchers...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 6 Dec 2008 | 9:49 am Growing up poor can impair kids' prefrontal cortex activity -- but it can be restored with gamesA paper in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience describes a study that concludes that poor children aged 9 and 10 are likely to have lowered brain activity, comparable to a stroke victim. The researchers say that it's due to growing up in a stressful, "resource poor" environment, with "fewer books, less reading, fewer games, fewer visits to museums." However, the effects can be remediated through playing stimulating games."When paying attention to the triangles, the prefrontal cortex helps you process the visual stimuli better. And the prefrontal cortex is even more involved in detecting novelty, like the unexpected photographs," he said. But in both cases, "the low socioeconomic kids were not detecting or processing the visual stimuli as well. They were not getting that extra boost from the prefrontal cortex."Poor Children's Brain Activity Resembles That Of Stroke Victims, EEG Shows Source: Boing Boing | 6 Dec 2008 | 9:49 am Tightly-Coupled Systems, Airlines and ErrorGreat new Vanity Fair piece out on the 2006 in-air collision of two jets over Brazil. It is an alternately fascinating and harrowing look at technical systems, complexity, tight coupling and fragility...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 6 Dec 2008 | 9:48 am Please oh please: Don't let the sequel to Repo Man suckTor.com's Bridget McGovern sums up my anxiety at the thought of Alex Cox and David Lynch making a sequel to Repo Man called Repo Chick, "set against the background of the credit crunch."I don’t know. I’m nervous, but also kind of excited to see what Cox comes up with. My biggest question, though, is about the soundtrack: how can the sequel even attempt to match the original in terms of music, when it remains one of my favorite soundtracks of all time? Iggy Pop, Suicidal Tendencies, Black Flag, The Plugz, and The Circle Jerks...the music is the heart and soul of Repo Man, and perfectly captured the essence of the gritty Los Angeles punkdom of the time. Not that there’s not a ton of great music out there, but what really compares nowadays? At least Iggy’s still out there rocking, same as he ever was, but it will be interesting to see who else will help Cox fuel his anarchic punk vision all over again...Here’s Hoping Alex Cox’s Repo Man Sequel Isn’t One Big Circle Jerk Source: Boing Boing | 6 Dec 2008 | 9:44 am Please oh please: Don't let the sequel to Repo Man suckTor.com's Bridget McGovern sums up my anxiety at the thought of Alex Cox and David Lynch making a sequel to Repo Man called Repo Chick, "set against the background of the credit crunch." I dont know...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 6 Dec 2008 | 9:44 am Lard of the Rings and other "edible books" The CU Edible Book fesitval celebrates my three favourite things: literacy, food and horrible puns. Check out the Lard of the Rings, featured here!
The Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
3rd Annual C-U Edible Book Festival
(Thanks, 7-how-7!) Source: Boing Boing | 6 Dec 2008 | 9:41 am Lard of the Rings and other "edible books"The CU Edible Book fesitval celebrates my three favourite things: literacy, food and horrible puns. Check out the Lard of the Rings, featured here! The Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 6 Dec 2008 | 9:41 am Columbia Workshop vintage radio dramas for the downloadingThe Internet Archive's public domain audio archive has dozens of vintage radio dramas from the Columbia Workshop -- everything from Shakespeare to Moby-Dick to "The History of the US Patent System".
Columbia Workshop at the Internet Archive,
Columbia Workshop on Wikipedia
(Thanks, Claude!) Source: Boing Boing | 6 Dec 2008 | 9:38 am Columbia Workshop vintage radio dramas for the downloadingThe Internet Archive's public domain audio archive has dozens of vintage radio dramas from the Columbia Workshop -- everything from Shakespeare to Moby-Dick to "The History of the US Patent System". ...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 6 Dec 2008 | 9:38 am Berlin hacker con will use RFID badges to simulate life in a totalitarian panopticonThe Chaos Communication Congress, held later this month in Berlin, will feature Open Attendee Meta-Data (OpenAMD) RFID badges that will track attendees' every movement, simulating life in the high-tech...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 6 Dec 2008 | 9:34 am Berlin hacker con will use RFID badges to simulate life in a totalitarian panopticonThe Chaos Communication Congress, held later this month in Berlin, will feature Open Attendee Meta-Data (OpenAMD) RFID badges that will track attendees' every movement, simulating life in the high-tech totalitarian state that many of the world's "free" nations are busy erecting.Growing from the success of the OpenAMD Project at The Last HOPE in New York City this past summer, the CCC will be joining forces with SocioPatterns.org to add a real time proximity detection system so users can know what other users are nearby. In addition, users can log into a web interface that will suggest talks they might like and other attendees with similar interests. With this system, attendees will be able to see where they've been, what they've been doing, and with whom.How will surveillance feel in ten years? (Thanks, Aestetix!) Source: Boing Boing | 6 Dec 2008 | 9:34 am Sovkitsch funny postcards Prague's sovkitsch (Commiepunk?) Museum of Communism has some funny e-card designs that combine Socialist Realism with snappy captions.
Museum of Communism: E-Cards
(Thanks, Marilyn!) Source: Boing Boing | 6 Dec 2008 | 9:03 am Sovkitsch funny postcardsPrague's sovkitsch (Commiepunk?) Museum of Communism has some funny e-card designs that combine Socialist Realism with snappy captions. Museum of Communism: E-Cards (Thanks, Marilyn!)Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNBlogTech | 6 Dec 2008 | 9:03 am RIP, Forrest J AckermanRIP, Forrest J Ackerman, the pioneering science fiction fan, editor and writer who coined the term "sci-fi," founded Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine, 4e left the party on December 4, at 92, after a long illness. of heart failure at home at the legendary Ackermansion in Los Feliz in Los Angeles.Forrest J Ackerman, writer-editor who coined 'sci-fi,' dies at 92 (Thanks to all the readers who suggested this!)
(Image: Forrest J Ackerman at the Ackermansion.jpg by Alan Light, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons) Source: Boing Boing | 6 Dec 2008 | 8:59 am Red-lined upside-down baby-head bowl
Etsy user SusanKniffinDavidson's "Upsidedown Baby Head Bowl" does exactly what it says on the tin, and what's more, it has a vivid red glaze on the interior, as befits the inside of a head.
Upsidedown Baby Head Bowl
(Thanks, Aag!)
Source: Boing Boing | 6 Dec 2008 | 8:50 am Google now hawking fully unlocked G1s to developers
To nab one of these, you’ll need to register as a developer on the Android Market site, pay the one-time $25.00 registration fee, and slap down $399 big ones for the hardware. Source: CrunchGear | 6 Dec 2008 | 7:32 am Why Clearwire's 4G Network Plan Is No Slam Dunkalphadogg sends this NetworkWorld story discussing the obstacles Clearwire will have to overcome to succeed, which begins: "Clearwire recently announced the completion of its Sprint Nextel transaction and the formation of the new Clearwire Corp. In addition, it received $3.2 billion from Comcast, Intel, Time Warner Cable, Google and Bright House Networks. As expected, Clearwire's conference call emphasized all the positive aspects of the deal. Namely, it owns lots of spectrum, is building an all-IP network that is 'open,' and will use fourth-generation (4G) mobile WiMAX technology (IEEE 802.16e). I'd love to see a nationwide 4G mobile network, but let's be clear about some of the challenges facing Clearwire, including cost, device and competitive ones."Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 6 Dec 2008 | 7:16 am Google Now Hawking Fully Unlocked Android Phones To Developers
To nab one of these, you’ll need to register as a developer on the Android Market site, pay the one-time $25.00 registration fee, and slap down $399 big ones for the hardware. Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily. Source: TechCrunch | 6 Dec 2008 | 7:00 am Google now hawking fully unlocked G1s to developers
To nab one of these, you’ll need to register as a developer on the Android Market site, pay the one-time $25.00 registration fee, and slap down $399 big ones for the hardware.
Google plans to expand the territories that it’s available in, but initially you may purchase one if you are located in the US, UK, Germany, Japan, India, Canada, France, Taiwan, Spain, Australia, Singapore, Switzerland, Netherlands, Austria, Sweden, Finland, Poland, and Hungary. Google is advising that these dev phones are just that: phones for developers. They’re not intended for the general consumer, as unguided firmware flashing is a quick way to wind up with a fancy paper weight. Speaking of fancy, check out that battery cover. How much for just that part? via xda-dev Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0 Source: MobileCrunch | 6 Dec 2008 | 6:44 am New Android browser ‘Steel’ hits the Market It was only a few weeks ago that Opera Mini 4.2 was unleashed on the Google Android platform, and yet another browser is now surfacing by small software company kolbysoft. Steel is based off the same open-source WebKit components that the default Android web browser is based upon, so there is similar functionality between the two.
The creation of this project is still very new, so don’t expect it to blow the Underoos off the built-in browser just yet. That said, it’s definitely an application to keep your eye on, if only for that on-screen keyboard the developer says will be in the next release. You may want to continue using the default browser for now as Steel is lacking customization settings and a few other features like overview zoom, but if you absolutely need auto-rotation, then give it a whirl. Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies Source: MobileCrunch | 6 Dec 2008 | 6:23 am Ramones photos by Jenny Lens -- eBook with free sample
Jenny Lens is an LA based photographer who has taken thousands of great early punk rock photos. She is gearing up to release a Ramones photo eBook Ramones First West Coast Tour, 1976, Highlights, V1, the first in a series of exciting, new photo eBooks from the Jenny Lens Punk Archive. The ONLY way you will see so many rare, large and groovy photos, most seen only by Jenny! Source: Boing Boing | 6 Dec 2008 | 5:34 am Amazon Fights Piracy Tool, Creators Call It a Parodyjamie points out an interesting story which started a few days ago, when a pair of students from the Netherlands released a Firefox add-on which integrated links to the Pirate Bay on Amazon product pages. Customers who had the add-on would see a large "Download 4 Free" button next to items which were also available on the Pirate Bay. The add-on quickly drew notice, and the creators were hit with a take-down notice and threats of litigation from Amazon. Now, the students have removed the add-on, and they are claiming an unusual defense: "'Pirates of the Amazon' was an artistic parody, part of our media research and education at the Media Design M.A. course at the Piet Zwart Institute of the Willem de Kooning Academy Hogeschool Rotterdam, the Netherlands. It was a practical experiment on interface design, information access and currently debated issues in media culture. We were surprised by the attentions and the strong reactions this project received. Ultimately, the value of the project lies in these reactions. It is a ready-made and social sculpture of contemporary internet user culture."Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 6 Dec 2008 | 5:13 am Climate may have caused Rome to fallGeologists say a discovery in a cave near Jerusalem suggests climate change may have caused the fall of the Roman and Byzantine Empires. Geochemical analysis of a stalagmite from Soreq Cave in the Stalactite Cave Nature Reserve reveals increasingly dry weather from A.D. 100 to A.D.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 6 Dec 2008 | 5:02 am Ashmore to buy Philippines' Petron stake for $524 mlnMANILA, Dec 6 (Reuters) - A unit of British investment manager Ashmore Group has agreed to a Philippine government offer to buy a 40 percent stake in oil refiner Petron Corp for 25.7 billion pesos ($524...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 6 Dec 2008 | 5:00 am The Decline and Fall of an Ultra Rich Online Gaming EmpireFor a long time, maybe a year and a half, the game was pretty much what remained of Brock Pierce's life: He would wake up, sit down at his computer, log in, and play. Thirteen dollars a month bought him around-the-clock access to this imaginary world, a place of perilous dungeons and enchanted woods where online gamers came together by the thousands in a never-ending quest for treasure. Some assumed the roles of dwarves or lizard-people; some were humans. Pierce would play for hours—as long as 24 hours without a break—slaying monsters, wresting precious coins and jewels and magic weapons from their corpses. Later, he added extra computers to his setup and taught himself to play as many as six characters at once, one per machine. After that he'd sit there in the glow of half a dozen monitors, hands flitting from keyboard to keyboard, eyes shifting from screen to screen, yet still, somehow, not finding time enough for all there was to accomplish in the game. "There were times I came outside," he says, "and the sun hurt." Pierce was 19 at the time and hardly the first young American male to step away from the sometimes painful light of reality for an extended, free-falling obsession with an online fantasy videogame. But it's safe to say that the reality he was shrinking from in 2000 was not that of a typical teen. At 16, Pierce had retired from a career as a modestly successful Hollywood child actor; by 18 he was a dazzlingly successful dotcom entrepreneur, living large on a $250,000 executive salary and the promise of millions more in post-IPO equity. By his 19th birthday he had lost it all. Pierce's high-profile startup had flamed out in a blaze of scandal that included accusations of sex with minors, and he and his cofounders had found it prudent to leave the US. He lived now in a rented house in a strange country, on the dwindling remains of a crash-ravaged stock portfolio. And he played the game. You could call it solace: a way to fill the emptiness of failure with the curiously convincing sense of purpose that comes from steadily amassing a make-believe digital fortune in magic staves and platinum coins. But in time it would be more than that. Much more. Soon enough, amid the daily grind of his obsession, he would see in the game itself a way out of the bleak hole he had fallen into. He would take a clear-eyed, calculating look at what he and his fellow players had been doing all those months—at the countless hours they'd given over to the pursuit of purely virtual but implacably scarce commodities—and he would recognize it not just for the underexploited form of productivity it was but for the highly profitable commercial enterprise it might sustain. He would spend the next half decade bringing that business to life. And though some people would hate what he was building, and others would want to take it all away from him, there would come a day when Pierce, eight years older, could look back on an accomplishment that was bigger than he had ever envisioned—and stranger than he would ever comprehend. That day has come, and it's a Saturday: a bright, clean Saturday in the hills above Los Angeles, where the views from Pierce's $3 million house are impressive. From the poolside patio, you can look down across West Hollywood and Beverly Hills all the way to the rolling breakers off Santa Monica. In the living room, big canvasses by high-end contemporary LA artists hang on the walls. The views are also impressive in the kitchen, where a row of empty wine bottles includes a $5,000 1945 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. That Pierce lives the life of a former corporate mogul at the age of 28 is remarkable enough in itself. Even more so, perhaps, is that he got here by dominating an industry in which orcs, trolls, elves, dwarves, and minotaurs are major segments of both the customer base and the labor force. That industry is known to insiders as real-money trading, or RMT, and if I tell you now that I've made some money in it myself, that's not because I expect you to take it on my say-so that there are people who might pay as much as $1,800 for an eight-piece suit of Skyshatter chain mail made entirely of fiction and code. Or that there are millions more—players of World of Warcraft, Age of Conan, EverQuest, EVE Online, and other massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs, or MMOs)—who have given other players real money in exchange for the virtual weapons, armor, currencies, and other sought-after items around which these games revolve. Or that despite the game companies' widespread prohibition of such transactions, their number has grown to support an estimated $2 billion annual trade, a half dozen multimillion-dollar online retail businesses, and an enormous Chinese workforce earning 30 cents an hour playing MMOs and harvesting treasure to supply the major retailers. It's all true, but don't take my word for it: Just ask any of the world's 20 million MMO gamers, for whom real-money trading has become commonplace, despised by some as a form of cheating and a blight on play, accepted by others as a necessary shortcut through some of the most elaborate (and time-consuming) games ever made. I'm mentioning my own familiarity with RMT—I spent most of 2003 peddling virtual items on eBay and made, if you must know, a grand total of $11,356.70—only to establish that I was around before the virtual treasure trade got to be big business. Which is to say, I was around before Brock Pierce and the company he founded—Internet Gaming Entertainment—made its mark on the industry. I was around before most people in the trade had even heard of IGE, let alone before it became a synonym for virtual currency sales. I was around when RMT as a profession was almost exclusively the province of small-timers like me and the very notion of a multinational, 500-employee virtual-items business doing over a quarter billion dollars in trades was practically unimaginable. And I was around three years later when rumors of a $60 million Goldman Sachs investment in IGE first broke and for a moment it seemed possible that Pierce had a handle on something deeper and more enduring than just a profitable business: the future maybe, not only of virtual retailing but of economic life in general. And I am here today, admiring the views at Pierce's LA home, because I figure it's my best shot at an answer to the only question I can think of asking in the face of a story like IGE's: How did it happen? Pierce, standing in his kitchen, considers the question for a moment and dives in, going all the way back to when he first learned there might be more to videogames than pure amusement: "Avid gamer my whole life, from a very young age," he says. "I played Mortal Kombat competitively in arcades. Played for money at 10, hustling the 20-year-olds. Five bucks on whoever wins. Which, at 10 years old, is real money." He smiles as he talks, and it's a smile I've seen before. You may have, too, actually: Right there in your local Blockbuster on the cover of the 1996 Disney romp First Kid, in which a 15-year-old Pierce starred opposite the immortal Sinbad. His appearance hasn't changed much—he has the doe-eyed good looks and elfin dimensions of an eternal golden boy—but it's the smile that has changed the least. Relaxed and open and at the same time taut with the intention to appear relaxed and open, it's an actor's smile, a mask. And it occurs to me that if I'm ever going to get through to what's behind it, this story is going to have to begin somewhere else. 
Brock and co-star Sinbad pose on the set of First Kid.
The year 1998 was a great time for bullshit, especially if you were selling it and especially if it came with the magic suffix .com attached. In Los Angeles, where the average media exec still didn't know a backslash from a flashback, this was doubly true, and 37-year-old serial entrepreneur Marc Collins-Rector was making the most of it. Having just secured a fortune from the sale of Concentric Network, one of the early dialup ISPs, he was now declaring that his new startup—an online video content site called Digital Entertainment Network—would bury old media. "The boob tube zombie television is dead," Collins-Rector wrote in a vision statement. "Global entertainment will be delivered over the Internet. Digital Entertainment Network will create the last network." This rebel assault on the Death Star of TV was to hinge on smart, hip video programming aimed at young people. That none of this programming yet existed was a hurdle, but the company already had a lock on Gen-Y cred by virtue of its two executive vice presidents. The older of the two VPs, 23-year-old Chad Shackley, happened also to be Collins-Rector's lover and had been since he was 16. The younger of the two, age 17, was Pierce. Pierce had come to DEN by way of a teenage midcareer crisis. He had been a working actor since he was a toddler—"My first memory," he says, "is of being on the set of a commercial when I was 3"—but the truth is that the work had never really been his choice: "It was my mother's." He played the young Emilio Estevez in two Mighty Ducks films and continued to work steadily. But by age 16, he was ready to move on. He moved on to the world of business, more specifically to the world of Collins-Rector and Shackley, which by all accounts was a lively one. They'd recently bought a $2.5 million mansion in Encino, California. Studded with waterfalls and aquariums and equipped with a swimming pool, a screening room, and a hot tub for 12, the sprawling M&C Estate (for "Marc & Chad") was made for parties and reportedly saw its share. Pierce became a fixture at the place, but ultimately his presence there was not about the parties. It was about the future that Collins-Rector and Shackley seemed to be offering when they invited him to join them as a founder of DEN. Brock Pierce served as producer of DEN's infamous online soap "Chad's World," which reportedly cost $12 million. Pierce says he has no regrets about taking them up on it. "DEN was an incredible opportunity to learn," he says. "That was business school." But frankly, it was not the sort of b-school anybody wants to have on their rè9sumè9. DEN indeed took off, and over the three years of its existence it went on gathering momentum, soaking up nearly $90 million in venture funds before self-destructing and becoming what it remains: a canonical example of dotcom-era excess and absurdity. The sum of DEN's creative output was a few dozen episodes of reality shows and teen dramedy, far too bandwidth-hungry for modem connections of the time, memorable mainly for their awfulness or the tragic sums of money spent in making them (or both, as with the stupendously cheesy $12 million pilot episode of DEN's gay-teen weeper, Chad's World, produced by Pierce). But the failure to perform didn't stop the influx of venture capital or the company's extravagant spending. Executives were compensated lavishly, especially by Internet startup standards; president David Neuman had a salary of $1.5 million. Pierce himself, at 18, was earning $250,000 and had 1 million shares of DEN stock in his name. In the fall of 1999, plans were proceeding for a $75 million public offering despite news that the company had lost $20 million in the first half of the year on revenue of $0. But in October, one month after the company filed for its IPO, Collins-Rector settled a suit in New Jersey brought by a boy who claimed the DEN founder had sexually molested him over three years, starting in 1993 when he was 13. Collins-Rector settled the suit quickly and quietly, but the damage was done. The IPO was deferred, and on October 25, DEN's three founders resigned. More lawsuits followed, other young men naming all three former DEN executives in sexual harassment claims. Some $4.5 million in judgments were awarded by default—Pierce insists he didn't even know about them, and according to one of Pierce's former attorneys, the claims against him were later dismissed. But at the time, nobody could locate the defendants to collect. Pierce knew exactly where he was: "I ended up getting lost in EverQuest for a year and a half." 
Pierce Brock's 2005 look.
Photo: Bob Croslin/St. Petersburg Times By the time DEN finally laid off its last employees in May 2000, the founders were living quietly in Spain, in the seaside resort town of Marbella. Pierce, however, was spending most of his time in another place altogether: the magical universe of Norrath, in which EverQuest (then the Western world's biggest MMO) took place. The relative appeal of Norrath wasn't hard to explain. Spain was nice enough, but it was still undeniably part of the same real world in which Pierce's fortunes had lately gone to crap. "I had thought I was going to be a billionaire," Pierce says. "I had all this stock, and now it was worthless." In the real world Pierce was just a 19-year-old washed-up child actor living far from home and going slowly broke. But in Norrath he was none of that. In Norrath he was the dark-elf wizard Athrex, and he was a champion. He played on EverQuest's Vallon Zek server, by far the most competitive of the three dozen subcommunities into which the EverQuest player population was segregated, and even there he stood out. "There would be server-wide tournaments and I would win them," he says, proud even now of his skill in both combat and the endless grind of monster killing and gradual, relentless "leveling up" that defines MMOs. Pierce was a pioneer of the art of "six-boxing": Hopping between half a dozen computers, he would run his dark elf and five little 3-D helpers through dungeons designed to kick the ass of all but the best-trained and best-equipped player groups. He got so good he could reliably kill the mushroom-headed Myconid Spore King, thus securing a regular supply of enchanted Fungi Tunics, which dropped from its corpse. In MMO-speak, Pierce was now single-handedly "farming" Fungi Tunics—acquiring them as a matter of routine. This coveted piece of armor sold for up to 50,000 Norrathian platinum pieces, an amount of virtual money that took most players a full 150 hours to earn. That much virtual loot could cost $500 on eBay. Pierce knew how much real money his farming could have earned him. By then he was rising to prominence in Vallon Zek's premier guild, Twelve Prophets, led by Swiss 18-year-old Alan Debonneville, who in addition to managing the guild was selling EverQuest items and currency on the side. "I was in charge of the market on my server," Debonneville says. "I would net $6,000 to $8,000 per month." Pierce had certainly thought about turning pro. Before DEN took off, in fact, he'd started a business in virtual trading cards in the online game Sanctum and had pulled down $30K a year. And it wasn't a legal issue: "There clearly was a market for selling virtual items for real money," Pierce says. "It was less clear that it was against the rules, and it was certainly not against the law anywhere." But what held Pierce back was a problem of scale: He still was looking for a way back to the multimillion-dollar business world he'd run away from, and somehow the $13-a-month fantasy world he'd run away to didn't seem like the place he'd find it. The kind of business it would take to fit Pierce's ambition—a truly corporate retailer of the virtual, complete with org chart, business plan, and potential IPO—was without precedent. It was a thing so improbable and awesome, come to think of it, that actually making it happen might redeem not just the years he'd lost to DEN but the additional year and a half he had now spent doing little else but play a videogame. And once he finally did come to think of it that way, Pierce was playing a new game: making his redemption a reality. In May 2001, he founded IGE with what was left of his own savings, setting up corporate headquarters in a 700-square-foot office in downtown Marbella and hiring some locals to do the farming—to rack up EverQuest items he could sell for cash. The company's ultimate goal, Pierce says, was to shift to the far more efficient model of acquiring its supply entirely from freelance farmers—and within a few months, IGE would be doing just that. But first Pierce invited Debonneville down to Spain for a look around. There, as Debonneville would relate in a legal complaint several years later, Pierce introduced him to Collins-Rector and Shackley, explained that the three of them had made millions, and invited Debonneville to join him now in making millions more. "I told Alan this could be a $100 million business," Pierce says. "I had that vision." Debonneville didn't hesitate. He moved to Spain and joined IGE with a 2 percent ownership stake and full responsibility for the management of sales, supply, and technology, thus freeing Pierce to concentrate on long-term strategy. And if, in the months that followed, Pierce was slow to give Debonneville a more detailed picture of his business background, well, who could blame him? In any case, Debonneville got a pretty good understanding in June 2002, an eventful month that began with Pierce's mysterious failure to show up for work one day. Debonneville was told at first by Pierce's Spanish lawyers that his partner had gone on vacation to Thailand. In fact, Pierce was in government custody. According to Debonneville's initial complaint, which was later sealed by the court in the course of a business-related suit, Pierce later told him that a Spanish SWAT team had moved in on the house of the former DEN execs with guns and helicopters. Pierce and Shackley spent a month in detention before being released, but Collins-Rector remained in the Spanish prison system for another year and a half, fighting extradition to the US on criminal charges of transporting a minor across state lines with intent to engage in sexual activity. Debonneville claims Pierce spent much of that time trying to help Collins-Rector—at one point even flying to Africa to try to buy his former boss a Liberian diplomatic title and whatever immunity might go with it. At the same time, Pierce was busy sorting out his own legal affairs, hiring lawyers to help get the civil claims that had defaulted against him when he'd left the US dismissed. Through it all, though, the sales of virtual platinum kept churning. And if anything, IGE was on steadier ground now that Pierce was no longer distracted by lawsuits. This meant one less obstacle standing between the company and the triumphant future Pierce envisioned for it, and only two more to go—one being the tangle of legal and ethical questions that shrouded virtual item sales in gray-market illegitimacy, and the other being a guy named Jonathan Yantis. The tangle could wait. It was time to get Yantis out of the picture. Yantis was old-school—as old-school as it was possible to be in a business as new as RMT. He was 31, and his Web site—MySuper Sales.com—had been the dominant EverQuest virtual retailer almost as long as EverQuest had been the dominant MMO. He was the competition to beat. Yantis declined to participate in this article, but he spoke with me at length in 2002 about his business. He was netting roughly $2,500 a day—nearly $1 million in annual profit from an operation consisting of himself and an assistant working out of his house in Rosarito, Mexico. He also had maybe a dozen in-game delivery agents in places like Romania, working for the equivalent of $3.50 per delivery. They were the virtual-world equivalent of couriers, walking their avatars right up to the purchaser's avatar to hand over the in-game goods. Yantis was the epitome of pre-IGE cottage-industry virtual retail: informal, personal, and very low-profile. He forbade his family to play EverQuest, and he never touched the game himself, on the theory that this made it harder for the gamemaker to trace his operations back to him. It also meant he never had to accept the license agreement that prohibited his business. Getting busted meant losing inventory, losing inventory meant losing money, and losing money wasn't what Yantis was about. He once went to Texas to confront a player who had cheated him on a trade. "I flew right in and took a taxi to his house, sat down with his parents, and got a check cut right there." As long as Yantis got paid he really didn't care what people thought of him. Pierce, on the other hand, cared a lot, and by 2003, with his legal problems now cleared up, he started a campaign to win gaming-industry hearts and minds. I first met him and Debonneville that November at the State of Play conference on virtual worlds in New York City, where academic games researchers and MMO designers all stared slack-jawed at these smiling emissaries from what many still thought of as a semi-criminal underworld. The boys wore nice suits, handed out business cards, and clearly meant business. IGE had set up US headquarters in Boca Raton, Florida, but the real base of operations—mainly engaged in around-the-clock delivery of EverQuest items—was now in Hong Kong and soon would occupy two floors in the same building as AOL Time Warner Asia. I was in the business myself at the time, selling items in the classic MMO Ultima Online. After the conference, I blogged "Brock Pierce looks like a Norman Rockwell 13-year-old, talks like a coked-up 35-year-old, and happens to have turned 23 last Friday. He is either my new best friend or my new worst nightmare." What alarmed me was the news that IGE was planning to move beyond EverQuest to other games—including Ultima. "I haven't even had a chance to get my little five-and-dime up and running," I lamented, "and already the Wal-Mart is coming to town." But I was kidding myself if I thought I was even on IGE's radar. All its efforts were aimed at crushing Yantis. "It was a market-share game," Pierce says. If Yantis lowered his prices, IGE did, too. If Yantis sought to exploit his more-established reputation, IGE sought to bury him in Google AdWords. ("We were probably one of Google's largest advertisers," Pierce says, adding that they spent about $1 million a month on text ads touting their affordable EverQuest platinum.) Yantis' great misstep, Pierce says, was not thinking big enough. "Jonathan believed that this would only be a market in EverQuest. We had successfully diversified; in Final Fantasy XI, we had a nice profit margin. We were able to bring our margins down in EverQuest. We said to him, 'We are going to bring this market to ruins unless you come join us.'" IGE was still the underdog, but in the end it was Yantis who blinked. The press release went out on January 22, 2004: IGE and Yantis' MySuperSales site were merging. Yantis got payments totalling $2.4 million and a 37 percent stake in the new company, and he joined the team as chief operating officer. "After that, the money started to flow," Pierce says. "Very well." For IGE, this was the beginning of an age of gold. Literally: World of Warcraft was released in November 2004, and over the next year the platinum of EverQuest's Norrath was replaced by the gold of WoW's Azeroth as the most heavily traded virtual currency in the world. WoW's growth rate was phenomenal—the game now has 11 million subscribers, 20 times as much as EverQuest ever had—and the RMT markets grew with it. But most important, WoW did something that made IGE's decision to move to Hong Kong the year before look practically clairvoyant. It ushered in the era of the industrial Chinese gold farm. According to industry lore, China's first gold farms sprang up as early as 2002 just across the border from Korea. MMOs were huge in that country, and it was supposedly Korean player-entrepreneurs who hit upon the idea of hiring low-wage Chinese workers to farm the currency and equipment that other users craved. But in the end it was the huge new market of Western WoW players that gave thousands of small-time Chinese capitalists a reason to set up gold farms of their own. And when they did, it was IGE that became the Wal-Mart moving all that product west to gold-starved players. The Hong Kong base made IGE uniquely suited for the job, and soon the company had a new Shanghai supply center and a Web site just for Chinese suppliers; they could see what the offering price for gold was on a particular server. "We had over 100 people working in Shanghai," Debonneville says, and the investment was worth every cent, securing IGE a truly reliable supply chain—and the sweetened profits that went with it. The source of those profits, ultimately, was operations like the one owned and operated by 26-year-old Liu Haibin in Jinhua, China, which I visited a few years ago. With about 30 workers on staff, Liu was able to keep a gold-farming setup running around the clock. While the night shift slept upstairs on plywood bunks, day-shift workers sat in the hot, dimly lit workshop, each tending three or four computers. They were "playing" World of Warcraft, farming gold at an impressive clip by hunting and looting monsters, their productivity greatly abetted by automated bots that allowed them to handle multiple characters with little effort. They worked 84-hour weeks, got a couple of days off per month, and earned about $4 a day, which even for China was not a stellar wage. Liu's income was better but not always by much. "Sometimes in a month you can lose all the profit you made in a year," he said, admitting there were days he regretted getting into the business in the first place. Why bother? "We also love this game," Liu told me. Most American WoW players at the time knew little about how the farmers lived and worked. What they did know was that there seemed to be more and more of them in the game (broken English and repetitive playing patterns gave them away) and that WoW's publisher, Blizzard Entertainment, did not look favorably on their presence. A Blizzard policy statement reads: "They spam advertisements, use bots that make it hard for players to find the resources they need, and raise the cost of items through inflation." As the gold-farmer population grew, opponents flooded message boards with anti-Chinese invective and increasingly took note of the role a company called IGE seemed to play in the phenomenon. The company was drawing more attention elsewhere, too. When Pierce and Debonneville returned to New York for the second State of Play conference, they came with an entourage. There was Yantis, now part of the team and looking not especially comfortable in the position. And there was a fiftysomething named Steve Salyer, a former Electronic Arts executive who had just been hired as IGE's president—and who made the eye-popping announcement there that the RMT business was now an $880 million industry. "There's no question in my mind that in the future millions of people will make their living in cyberspace," Salyer told me soon thereafter, doing his best to sell the significance of the virtual gold trade in general—and IGE in particular. His job, after all, was to get the company taken seriously. The IGE founders had built a successful business, and now they wanted to make it a legitimate one: IGE wanted deals with game publishers that would give it license to traffic in virtual items without violating the games' terms of service. That sort of deal wasn't likely to get cut with a couple of college-age unknowns. As Debonneville put it, "Brock and I were not adult faces."
Listen to excerpts from an interview with IGE president Steve Salyer and a roundtable discussion with Salyer and Wired contributing editor Julian Dibbell.
In the months ahead, IGE hired more adults, a slew of VPs with decades of industry experience among them. The company also brought on a former Goldman Sachs investment banker named Stephen Bannon, whose mission was to land venture capital. By spring 2005, Yantis was telling IGE affiliates that the company would be announcing limited licensing agreements permitting it to operate aboveboard in at least five North American MMOs. Yantis himself, however, wouldn't be sticking around to see it happen. Pierce and Yantis had arrived at, as Pierce puts it, a "difference of opinion," and in June, after months of negotiation, the terms of Yantis' exit were finalized: For 22 monthly payments of $1 million each, the company would get Yantis' stake back, along with his agreement not to set up a competing business for at least three years. Goldman Sachs started making visits, inspecting the Asian operations and talking with Bannon and others about terms. Finally, on February 7, 2006, the deal was inked: Goldman Sachs, together with a consortium of private funds, made a reported $60 million investment in the company. Part of the money was used to buy Pierce, Salyer, and IGE's general counsel, Randy Maslow, out of some of their stock in the company. Pierce walked away with $20 million and still retained the controlling share of a company that was doing more than a quarter of a billion dollars in sales a year. The only top IGE officer who failed to profit from the deal was Debonneville, who, for reasons that remain disputed, was excluded from selling any part of the 17 percent stake he'd built up. Two and a half months later, he left the company. For Pierce, this was a moment to savor. But it was a short one. Even before the Goldman Sachs deal was sealed, profits had started declining, and by December 2005 IGE defaulted on its monthly payment to Yantis. The company was obliged to waive the noncompete agreement and let Yantis set up his own virtual currency site, which he made clear would be dedicated to crushing IGE. 
Click here to read a PDF of the September 2007 amended complaint that Alan DeBonneville filed against Brock Pierce.
Nor was Yantis the only new opposition IGE was facing. By mid 2006, Blizzard Entertainment was cracking down harder than ever on gold farmers and sellers, shutting accounts by the thousands. The moves cost IGE as much as $200,000 in inventory every month, to say nothing of the havoc it played with suppliers. By January 2007, the company's RMT operation was losing more than half a million dollars a month. At one time, Pierce might have shrugged off those losses, confident that any day the MMO industry would cave in to its customers' unquenchable desire for loot and authorize IGE to provide it. But it had now been over a year since those big licensing deals were supposed to have been announced. And where were they? Nowadays, the few game companies that even admit to having had conversations with IGE deny they ever came close to a deal. "IGE approached us on several occasions," says John Smedley, president of EverQuest's parent, Sony Online Entertainment, "but we flat out turned them down." As for Blizzard, one approach was plenty. David Christensen, then IGE's VP of business development, wrangled a meeting with them, but the company wouldn't even let him on the premises for it. "They took him to a ball game or something, and he got like 10 minutes with them," a former IGE manager recalls. "'They basically hate us' was what he related afterward." Things weren't all bad. The investment money allowed IGE to make some sound diversifying moves, acquiring the very profitable South Korean real-money exchange site Itemmania, a sort of player-to-player eBay for virtual items. But for IGE's retail trading operations—long the core of the company and its main source of income—things didn't look like they could possibly get worse. And then they did. On May 30, 2007, a 28-year-old gamer named Antonio Hernandez filed a multimillion-dollar class-action lawsuit against IGE in a US district court in Florida. Hernandez was a World of Warcraft diehard, averaging by his own description 35 to 40 hours a week of play, and it was on behalf of almost every other WoW player in the US that he was suing IGE for "substantially impairing" and "diminishing" their collective enjoyment of the game. Specifically, Hernandez held IGE responsible for every ill that could be attributed to RMT in general and gold farming in particular, and he was using the leverage of consumer-protection law to make the company answer for it. As Hernandez's attorney, Richard Newsome, explained the case to a reporter: "Guys like Tony have paid their $15 for some entertainment, and IGE is polluting that entertainment. It's kind of like if someone pays for a ticket to go see a movie and someone else comes in behind them and kicks their seat." Hernandez wanted IGE to stop selling virtual merchandise, but that was just the start of it. In addition to a court order enjoining IGE from selling World of Warcraft goods, he was asking the judge for monetary damages—compensation for millions of WoW account holders in the US, plus double that to make it hurt, and just in case that wasn't pain enough, a further payout of every penny the company had ever earned through its "wrongful conduct," which pretty much meant every penny it had ever earned. In effect, Hernandez was seeking not just to punish IGE but to extinguish it. He might have even succeeded, except for one thing: You can't kill something that's already dead. Though neither Hernandez nor his lawyers could have known it, the Florida-based company he was suing, IGE US, was no longer what it used to be. Just two months before the suit was filed, Pierce had acceded to the inevitable and cut loose the company's hemorrhaging retail operation, selling it at a deep discount (for a mid-seven-figure royalty agreement) to the only potential buyer capable of doing anything productive with it: Jonathan Yantis. The business on which IGE was built was sold off, and the company shed its name, becoming Affinity Media and redefining itself as a marketer of the MMO community sites it once bought just to boost its own traffic. IGE US persisted, but only as a holding company with no holdings other than a minority stake in Affinity. It was empty now, a husk. IGE.com persisted as well and remained, as it remains today, among the top virtual-currency sites. But it belonged to Yantis now, who owned it through a web of companies registered in places like Vanuatu and Australia and more resistant to lawsuits like Hernandez's. It took Yantis a while to sort out the mess Pierce had left behind. Many suppliers had gone unpaid and were still harassing the former IGE Shanghai for payment. In May, according to a rumor that made the rounds of MMO blogs, a desperate gold-farm operator stormed the IGE Shanghai offices demanding 2 million yuan and using a "toy pistol" to hold employees hostage. But accounts were settled in the end, and new practices stabilized the supply chain. "Basically," says James Clarke, a veteran turnaround executive who replaced Debonneville as IGE's COO (and left the company last January), "what happens now is that the risk has been pushed further up the supply chain. Retailers often don't even touch the gold; they don't even have accounts anymore. It's the farmer that holds the gold and risks the banning." This was not a great way for Pierce to start the year—and the year never got much better. In June, he was forced out as CEO of Affinity and replaced by Stephen Bannon, the investment banker who had joined the board when the Goldman Sachs deal went through. That same month, Debonneville sued Pierce in Los Angeles federal court, seeking millions of dollars in damages for "breaches of fiduciary duty, breaches of contract, and fraud" related to Debonneville's exclusion from the Goldman buyout—and dredging up questions of character that reached all the way back to the DEN days. A few months later, as if on cue, Collins-Rector made British tabloid news when he reportedly turned up in London consorting with teenage boys ("Tycoon Paedo on Prowl in UK" blared one headline). Debonneville's court filings, meanwhile, revealed that the year before, Pierce had told him that Collins-Rector was blackmailing him, threatening to snarl IGE in litigation that would make it unattractive to investors. Debonneville's suit was settled before it got to court. By the year's end, it looked like Pierce might never really escape the shadows of his past. 
Pierce Brock in The Mighty Ducks, 1996.
But by then it was clear that Pierce's undoing had also been the result of uncertainties about the nature of virtual goods in general. Who really owns them? Who determines their value? These are the kinds of questions that a case like Hernandez's should have helped resolve. And as long as they remain unsettled, no game company will ever let any single independent entity control the amounts of virtual wealth that Pierce and IGE once did. Not that Steve Salyer was wrong to suggest that one day "millions" would be earning a living in the markets IGE pioneered (already the number doing so in China has reached the hundreds of thousands). Or that Pierce was wrong to think that MMO publishers would one day accept the inevitability of RMT in some form or another. In the past year, there's been accelerated movement toward publisher-sanctioned item sales: Funcom, makers of the new MMO Age of Conan, and Sony Online Entertainment have both announced partnerships with a startup called Live Gamer to provide player-to-player RMT exchange sites. At the same time, the so-called free-to-play model—no subscription fees, revenue derived entirely from direct sales of in-game items—has made inroads in the Asian MMO market and is being embraced by no less a gaming giant than Electronic Arts in the upcoming Battlefield Heroes. But both these models, in their blunt rejection of IGE's third-party retail model, only underline what Pierce himself implicitly conceded when he sold out to Yantis: There is no future for his once-bright dream except in the dimness of what is plainly now a permanent gray market. As for Pierce, whatever regrets he may have about the way things ended lie hidden behind that familiar smile and a steady stream of upbeat Facebook status updates ("Brock is having a super day!"). He's back in the startup game, he says, working on a social network aimed at wine lovers like himself. But his IGE chapter is closed. Antonio Hernandez made sure of that much, however little else he achieved. When he and his legal team finally figured out the nature of what they were suing, they realized there was nothing to do but settle for the best terms they could get, and in August, finally, the deal was announced. In return for dismissal, the defendant agreed to Hernandez's central demand: IGE US, already just a corporate ghost—a static afterimage of the vision Pierce had long ago wrested from the depths of his obsession with the game—was now legally barred from having anything to do with the sale of Azerothian gold for real money until the year 2013. Contributing editor Julian Dibbell (julian@juliandibbell.com) wrote about griefers in issue 16.02. 
Source: Wired Top Stories | 6 Dec 2008 | 5:00 am Outputting the iPhone display to a TV screen is in the worksFROM APPLETELL - The MPTVOutWindow class in the iPhone 2.2 software allows developers to output the iPhone’s screen to a larger screen, such as a TV, thereby taking advantage of its speakers and size. MORE » Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 6 Dec 2008 | 4:56 am 100 Million Apps in 6 weeks; And you don’t fear the iPhone?Section: Communications, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile
For those slow at math like me, that is $300 million Apple will make off the app store by doing nothing than keeping the electricity on for the servers to hum. If I were Steve Jobs, Apple’s #1 man, I’d sit next to the servers and laugh demonically. Maybe he does that, I won’t judge. But what intrigues me is the community Apple is building around the phone. Lately, big businesses are creating iPhone apps to reach customers. Obama had his iPhone app (I’ll refrain from suggesting it is what won him the election). If everyone and everything is on the iPhone, why get any other phone? And this could lead to my very favorite thing: car integration. Yes, the BMW has iPod integration, but I want to dock my iPod on the dash, charge/play/talk/navigate etc. all on the iPod all at the same time. All these users and infrastructure could give folks the inclination to help integrate the iPhone into our car. I am tired of the wires, hokey docks, too few cigarette lighters, blah blah blah. This stone is rolling and continues to pick up steam. It is only going to go faster if Wal-Mart really does have a $99 iPhone up its sleeves. Read [CNBC] Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 6 Dec 2008 | 4:19 am Gadget Lab Videoblog: Danny and Steve's Excellent RV AdventureSo this is a video of Steven Leckart and I taking a 2009 Airstream Interstate 3500 down to Los Angeles. The Interstate began its life as a Dodge Sprinter van but was then was completely tricked out in the inside with all kinds of cool tech from Airstream. We talk about that stuff in the beginning of the video: the toilet with integrated shower, the fold down bed, the LCD TV, the combination convection oven/ microwave. But a good 90 percent of this video is footage of Steve and I actually driving the Airstream down to LA. Hilarity results. We experienced the world’s strangest urinal, camped illegally, couldn’t figure out how to microwave an enormous frozen burrito (AKA the BOMB), and had an adventure trying to locate the gas tank. Special attention should be paid around the 4:41 mark where we have the most awkward breakfast in history. Keep in mind, this trip may seem like it went on for weeks, but there was maybe eight hours of total driving max. Steve’s also writing up the review of the Interstate over the weekend. We’ll have it ready to go early next week for y’all on wired.com/reviews. The camera work for the initial segments was performed by John Ross, our producer is Annaliza Savage. Steve and I took all of the footage on the road. Special thanks to video editor Fernando Cardoso who took three hours of raw footage and cut it together into the masterpiece you see before you. Thanks Fern-dog, we owe you beer!
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 6 Dec 2008 | 4:06 am Intel works on tiny devices for eco-technology - San Francisco Chronicle
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 6 Dec 2008 | 3:59 am Taiwan Company Mocks Up Another Foldable Display Phone
It's another day and another flexible display prototype gets to tease us with its sexiness.
Unlike the other foldable displays we've recently seen, the device's screen is a TFT-EPD screen and the mechanism appears to be built around the technology – one side slides up (or out) from the phone chassis to create a 5-inch screen. If you're worried about the phone's thick appearance, it's not because of the need to accommodate the screen in the middle. The hinge only uses up one cm of space, or about 0.39 inches.
This is the second recent mock-up we've seen detailing this idea. As we mentioned earlier, Samsung is preparing their own flexible display mod from their development group and that one looks pretty great. We fully expect to hear of other companies getting in to this technology and will keep you updated as they come in. Source: Pilotfish, engadget See also:
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 6 Dec 2008 | 3:54 am An Interview with Ethan Lowry of Urbanspoon
With iPhone app downloads having just blown through the 300 million mark, we jumped at the opportunity to talk to Ethan Lowry. As a founding member of the trio behind Urbanspoon, one of the most downloaded iPhone applications of 2008 , Ethan knows a thing or two about iPhone app downloads. Back in early November, Urbanspoon had just cracked 1 million downloads - 4 months after the application launched with the App Store in July. Shortly thereafter, Apple ran a TV spot featuring the application. During out interview, Ethan disclosed that the application had now surpassed 2.2 million downloads. One month and an Apple commercial later, Urbanspoon has more than doubled the userbase it took them 4 months to build. Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware. Source: TechCrunch | 6 Dec 2008 | 3:53 am An Interview with Ethan Lowry of Urbanspoon
With iPhone app downloads having just blown through the 300 million mark, we jumped at the opportunity to talk to Ethan Lowry. As a founding member of the trio behind Urbanspoon, one of the most downloaded iPhone applications of 2008 , Ethan knows a thing or two about iPhone app downloads. Back in early November, Urbanspoon had just cracked 1 million downloads - 4 months after the application launched with the App Store in July . Shortly thereafter, Apple ran a TV spot featuring the application. During out interview, Ethan disclosed that the application had now surpassed 2.2 million downloads. One month and an Apple commercial later, Urbanspoon has more than doubled the userbase it took them 4 months to build.
Before you dive into the interview, think about that number for a second. If Urbanspoon has 2.2 million downloads and ranked 10th on Apple’s Top 10 free application downloads of 2008, the other 9 pulled at least that - likely much more. At the very barest of minimums, this means that the Top 10 free applications pulled over 22 million downloads. 300 million applications have been downloaded total. Of all of the downloads the App Store has seen thus far across its more than 10,000 applications, the Top 10 free apps make up at least 7% - again, the actual number is likely significantly higher. Who are you, and what do you do? I’m Ethan Lowry, I’m one of the founders of Urbanspoon. We wear a lot of hats. My main brief is user experience and product design, so the front end of the service. Adam and Patrick are both hardcore CS guys. Because it’s just the three of us, we all also do whatever else is necessary. Adam’s our accountant, and I tend to do business conversations. This is my first IM interview, by the way. It’s interesting. Do you guys ever have to call for outside help, or do you generally fair pretty well with just the three of you? We have a couple of contract people to help with customer service, which is hugely helpful. We have occasionally brought on help when building out new cities, but we do most everything in house. Hmm. Well, we threw out a bunch of words that were food related and local related. My wife claims she came up with the name. I won’t argue. Heh - as long as she doesn’t start asking for royalties on the ad commission. Exactly! I think she values the name at 92% of total worth It’s working out reasonably well. For us — as three guys — ad networks make a ton of sense. We don’t want to have to put together an ad sales team, we’d rather focus on the product. AdMob has done the best job we’ve seen of creating an attractive standard iPhone ad unit and while of course we’re always pushing for more and better advertisers, I’d say they’re handling the iPhone surge pretty well Would you say that ad units are a viable source of income for developers of free apps, then? It’s a question of scale. Where I think Urbanspoon has been really strong is repeat usage. We have a lot of people using the app on a daily basis, so our available advertising real estate is big enough to bring in real revenues. The ad model is pretty similar to what we’re used to seeing on the web, at least for now. I think advertisers may start to discover different ways to take advantage of the mobile world soon, but it’s still in its infancy. Advertisers are pushing their own iPhone apps, and a very few take advantage of the location-based nature of mobile, but for the most part they are still thinking about the iPhone as a small-screen web page. I think that will change. Mobile has immediacy, location, intimacy — a bunch of things the web is missing. Over time advertisers and publishers will figure out how to take advantage of all that. To be honest though, we’re not putting much effort into that — we’re more interested in user-facing features, at least for the foreseeable future. Can you reveal how many downloads you’ve had thus far? We’ve seen around 2.2 million downloads so far Very impressive - what about shakes? [A notable feature of the Urbanspoon iPhone app is its "Shake" screen - you tell Urbanspoon which nearby city you want food in, what type of food you want, and the price, and then physically shake the device. Urbanspoon will dig through its database to find a random restaurant that matches your criteria. If you leave any of the criteria unspecified, it'll randomize that as well.] Checking…. wow. More than I thought: 70 million. Also, we just extended our coverage. For the longest time the only big complaint we’ve gotten about the app was, “you don’t cover my city!”. Over thanksgiving we rolled out “Urbanspoon Everywhere”. ["Everywhere"] is an exaggeration, but we do cover everywhere in the US and Canada. The people who’ve downloaded so far had to be in one of our supported cities Did you cover Canada before the update? We covered Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Calgary, but now we also get smaller places like Victoria and Saskatoon. Urbanspoon Saskatoon. How has adoption been in Canada, as compared to the states? It’s been good — a ton of iPhone usage in Toronto, and before we rolled it out Montreal was our most requested city. On the web the Canadians have been great as well. Our biggest cities are still places like New York and LA The Urbanspoon app was featured in an iPhone commercial - what was that like? It was wonderful. Apple plays its cards very close, so we didn’t have much advance notice and the first time we knew for absolute certain we were going to be in the ad was when someone saw it. When I turned on the tv the night it started and two minutes later our ad came on that was a pretty amazing feeling. The Urbanspoon app launched on July 10th, and by early November it was sitting at around a million downloads. Also in early November, the iPhone Urbanspoon commercial hit the airwaves. A month later, you’ve shot up to 2.2 million downloads. How much of this sudden surge would you pin on the commercial? The commercial has made a big difference in traffic, definitely. So Apple never really came to you on the matter, it was sort of just “Hey, we’re putting Urbanspoon in a commercial.”? Well, there was a little bit more than that. They said, “we’d like to do some marketing, can we use Urbanspoon’s logo?” YES. Then they said, “we’d like a demo version of the app, can you give us that?” YES! And then finally, “we’re shooting a commercial, can you make these tweaks?” ABSOLUTELY!!! Heh - certainly not something you’d want to let pass you by. No, though we didn’t know what kind of gains to expect. The commercial has exceeded our expectations. On a typical day during prime time, when a commercial runs we’ll see a spike in traffic up to maybe 5000 “shakes” in a minute. Any plans to expand the application to other platforms? More specifically, any plans for the Android port many are clamoring for? Yeah, both Android and RIM are things we need to do. The biggest question for us is where can we get sufficient exposure to justify applying our limited resources Are they works in progress, or future goals? We’ve done some initial research and experimentation, but they are still in the future Ah - I anxiously await it. Do you have a preference? Oh, Android, absolutely. Do you have the G1? Yep. I’ve got a ton of faith in Android, but not so much the G1. Apart from the google name, what’s the biggest draw? The idea of a royalty-free, opensource OS. I feel that the mobile market is a mess right now because of how many horrible proprietary platforms there are. I agree. 10 years ago all three of us worked at a mobile startup, Avogadro (later acquired by Openwave), and at that time we were all talking about the things that are happening today. It’s all made sluggish by the challenges of operators and handset manufacturers. Apple neatly sliced through that with the iPhone, which is stirring some action. I’m still somewhat skeptical about Android, though. I hope it works, but there are two challenges that don’t seem to be addressed adequately First, the platform doesn’t eliminate the need for an elaborate test matrix. Once Android is on many phones, each may have variations in screen size and capabilities and each environment can be tweaked to differentiate for the carrier or the handset maker. That’s tough for a small company like ours. At openwave they had floors of the building dedicated to teams specializing in particular handset/carrier combinations. Excruciating. The second problem is promotion. Google provides a great way for sites to get discovered on the web: search. But search isn’t as appropriate a tool on a small screen, difficult input device. Apple is refining the App Store and put a ton of hype and marketing muscle behind apps on the iPhone. The equivalent remains to be developed on other platforms. I’m not convinced yet. Beyond promoting the apps, how well do you think Apple has handled the App store so far? While there’s still a ton of room for improvement, I think it’s inspired. We’ve seen that people in general are downloading our app on the device, not nearly as much through iTunes, so providing a centralized model for finding apps while you are playing with your phone is just brilliant. What sort of things could be improved? Well, they just made one improvement, at least from our perspective, by providing a way to browse for the most popular apps in each category. The top level “what’s hot”, “what’s new” and “top 25″ lists all favor new apps, but it’s important to have a structure that will allow apps to get noticed and then stay accessible on the device. Before that wasn’t possible. I think in general they are going to have to continue to strike the balance between exposing new and fast-gaining apps while still showcasing established winners, without making it feel like there’s no way to crack in with a cool new idea. Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors Source: MobileCrunch | 6 Dec 2008 | 3:39 am Custom grips for the Logitech G9
$20 seems a little much for a little piece of plastic with your face (or…) on it, but it would make a pretty nice stocking stuffer for the Logitech fan in your home. Source: CrunchGear | 6 Dec 2008 | 3:30 am RIAA Vs. Web 2.0? Social Media and LitigationNewYorkCountryLawyer writes "After learning that Professor Nesson's CyberLaw class at Harvard Law School has set up a Facebook page to assist in its defense of Joel Tenenbaum in an RIAA case, SONY BMG Music v. Tenenbaum, Wendy Davis of the Online Daily Examiner opines that 'Web 2.0,' and more particularly, the 'social media,' are playing an increasingly important role in RIAA litigation. We at Slashdot have already learned that principle, and have made good use of it, as have our friends at Groklaw."Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 6 Dec 2008 | 3:14 am Konami teasing new Metal Gear - GameSpot
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 6 Dec 2008 | 2:47 am Acer smartphone to drop in 1Q09, no one knows where
After completing its acquisition of Taiwan smartphone maker E-Ten Information Systems in September, speculation continued to grow about when it would release its first Acer-branded smartphone, until today. Acer has officially clarified its intention to launch a self-branded smartphone in the first-quarter of 2009, but did not specify any particular region.
With no other substantive information to go on, let’s go out on a limb and call this vaporware work-in-progress the aPhone. Acer is in a wonderful position to learn from its fellow computer-company-turned-handset-maker; design AND functionality matter. Plus, another couple months gives Acer a chance to better incorporate Android (presumably) into its aPhone, thereby giving this theoretical name even more impact. What do you think? What will an Acer smartphone look like? Will it run Android? Compete with the iPhone? Go after the BlackBerry? Hit us up in the comments with your thoughts. [via DigiTimes] Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware. Source: MobileCrunch | 6 Dec 2008 | 2:31 am Media Power USA, Inc. Announces Action Against Scandinavian PressNEW YORK, Dec. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Media Power USA, Inc. ("Media Power"), a provider of proprietary mobile phone software, connecting advertisers directly to...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 6 Dec 2008 | 2:13 am Ancient Stone Age art found in RussiaRussian archaeologists say they've uncovered a group of Stone Age art objects that appear to have been part of an ancient hunting ritual. The items, which were buried in pits and covered with mammoth bones, are 21,000 to 22,000 years old, CNN reported Friday. Hizri Amirkhanov and Sergey Lev of the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences said the art objects, carved on mammoth ivory plaques, include representations of women and large mammals.Source: Gizmodo | 6 Dec 2008 | 2:00 am Facebook Introduces Embeddable Videos Only Your Friends Can SeeVideo is not front and center on Facebook. It’s a tiny link in the sidebar of a member’s homepage that many hardly notice. They are probably more familiar with the random videos from friends that sort of pop up in their News feeds. Often those videos are from YouTube, but increasingly they are hosted on Facebook itself. In fact, since Facebook launched its own internal video feature in 2007, 45 million videos have been uploaded. About 100,000 are added every day. And that is for a feature that is practically hidden. Today, Facebook is making some improvements to its video-sharing service. The quality will be bumped up to 720p, which is technically the low end of HD. Coincidentally (or not), YouTube turned on an HD-quality option on Friday. The key change, though, is that the videos will now be embeddable on other sites. This is also something that has been a standard for a long time at YouTube, MySpace, and practically every other video site. But Facebook is adding a privacy twist. Just as on Facebook, you can determine exactly who can see any video you upload. Those privacy settings will be maintained across the Web. Anyone will be able to see public videos. But if you set it so that only your friends can see it, the video won’t play unless those friends are currently logged into Facebook. Given the sheer scale of Facebook, making videos embeddable will no doubt give its video efforts a much needed boost, especially if people just embed public videos. But will it be enough for Facebook to close the video gap with arch-competitor MySpace, and maybe even nip at YouTube’s heels?
Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0 Source: TechCrunch | 6 Dec 2008 | 1:55 am Yahoo upgrades mobile Flickr with iPhone-optimized video - IntoMobile
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 6 Dec 2008 | 1:49 am /K I L L K I L L K I L L -- Media Power USA, Inc./We are advised by Media Power USA, Inc. that journalists and other readers should disregard the news release, Media Power USA, Inc. Announces the Action Against...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 6 Dec 2008 | 1:43 am A nice little way to hide your memory stickSection: Peripherals, Storage
With the advances in technology meaning things are smaller and more valuable people are always looking for new ways to stop things from getting lost, and stop them from getting nicked. Memory sticks certainly fall into this category: it is now far too easy to lose your new tiny memory stick, and if you are that sort of slimy person, it is also very easy to take them off your desk and copy all your valuable documents. Bring in the CurrentKey: the height of USB stick disguise and poor puns. The main idea behind these USB sticks is “acts” like coins, sitting nice and safe in the coin section of your wallet out of harms way and unlikely to get lost (as you always know where it is). But if you were to twist it the snazzy rotation system brings out a USB stick capable of holding up to 8GB of work, music or whatever else you keep on your memory stick. Originally a European company LaCie are now one of the world market leaders for computer peripherals who specialize in practical solutions for both the general public and professionals. This is obviously aimed more at the public market (no where near geeky enough for a computer technician) along with many of their brightly colored not-easily-lost USB “solutions”. This really is a neat product: designed to look like Euro coins (as the image suggests) they will fit in very well in any purse with the bronze (4GB) and silver (8GB) versions. T he only problem? If you are in a rush you may end up giving someone one of these instead of a coin, which will be a fairly expensive mistake (admittedly not one your are likely to make in America) but the nice little USB logo and number indicating capacity is a bit of a give-away. It is also not the sort of thing that a passing opportunist is going to take; I know that USB thefts are not very common, but I have heard of them and if you store valuable data (such as credit card details) there is definitely a motive for people to steal them. However I doubt that anyone will steal a small foreign coin that is on your desk, so perhaps this is an advantage. The only problem is the price, in a day where you can get 4Gb for around $8 the $20 and $30 price tags seem a little high, but I suppose that is the price for style and practicality, something that this little number has in buckets. The pun (CurrentKey - Currency) isn’t that bad either so overall this is a solid piece of consumer orientated design, something we all want to see. Source [UberGizmo] Full Story » | Written by Christian Milsom for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 6 Dec 2008 | 1:38 am Watch out for fake Nintendos this Christmas
Fake Nintendo DS and DS Lite game consoles are being seized by British customs. Potentially dangerous power adapters that do not meet stringent British power standards are cited as a potential source of serious injury. These products are being purchased from websites based in Asia at a 50 percent discount. So this holiday season if you are going to buy a DS and a website is offering it for a steep discount. It quite possibly could be a dangerous fake. Source: CrunchGear | 6 Dec 2008 | 1:33 am Thank You TechCrunch Sponsors and Get a Free LeWeb TicketOur friends at the LeWeb conference, in Paris on December 9th and 10th, are going to be giving away one ticket to the TechCrunch reader who leaves the best comment about why they want to go (and includes a contact e-mail address). We are also excited that LeWeb’s organizers are offering TechCrunch readers a 20% discount Thank You LeWeb Without our sponsors TechCrunch would not be possible. Accordingly, we want to thank the following sponsors for their support. Clarion is a leading manufacturer of car audio and video systems, marine audio products, navigation systems, and other multimedia products. RackSpace a provider of managed hosting solutions MediaTemple TechCrunch’s exclusive hosting provider, and a worldwide leader in managed hosting solutions across all major platforms eBuddy a webware meta instant messaging client with over seven million users IronScale the world’s first fully automated dedicated managed hosting solution Perflect the makers of PSD2HTML and other solutions to turn design documents into W3C compliant XHTML Seesmic the video micro-blogging service that powers video commenting on TechCrunch Conduit, the makers of the Crunchbar, and other toolbars ServePath the maker of GoGrid, the world’s first multi-server control panel that allows you to deploy cloud server networks in minutes MailPronto a hosted e-mail solutions provider TechCrunch also is happy to announce two new sponsorship opportunities. First, CrunchGear is publishing a Holiday Gear Guide, which is the perfect way for your company to reach people as they research their purchases this holiday season. Second, we are now offering a full banner (468×60) on TechCrunch’s RSS feed, which has over 1.2 million subscribers. If you are interested in either of these opportunities, please e-mail Dan Kimerling Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily. Source: Gizmodo | 6 Dec 2008 | 1:30 am AT&T Sidestepping Google, Eyes Symbianmolotovjester writes "In what is surely going to be a slap in the face of Apple, AT&T is eyeballing the Symbian platform as a smart-phone OS for an army of new handsets it expects will make up the majority of the market by 2014. Is this move too little, too late compared to Google's Android? Will Apple open up its iPhone platform, or will dreams of electric sheep be dreamed up by the majority of cell phone users? I wrote an analysis of the industry players as of mid-November, but it will be interesting to see what AT&T does and how it changes the mobile ecosystem."Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Gizmodo | 6 Dec 2008 | 1:10 am Scientists predetermine gender of foalsResearchers at Italy's Bologna University say they've found a way to choose the gender of foals using frozen sperm and egg cells. The university's veterinary department said two foals, named Mario and Maria, resulted from the world's first successful procedure to choose the sex of horse embryos. HorseSource: RedOrbit News - Science | 6 Dec 2008 | 12:58 am An Injection of Hard Science Boosts TV Shows' PrognosisScience is playing a leading role in an increasing number of prime-time dramas. Television producers are replacing science fiction with science fact by tapping rocket scientists, chemists, mathematicians and other experts to help write for their shows.
Source: Gizmodo | 6 Dec 2008 | 12:50 am Grains of War will curb stomp your appetitePerhaps I’m a cynic, but I really expected this Gears of War parody spot, made by the folks on G4’s X-Play, to suck something fierce. Then Cole Train dumped cereal all over his face, and my worries drifted away. Source: CrunchGear | 6 Dec 2008 | 12:36 am Today on Offworld Today on Offworld, we looked at how the first pack of downloadable content for Mirror's Edge reminded us (happily) of the best bits of Super Mario Sunshine, went undercover to sneak ourselves out a copy of Japan's exclusive Resident Evil 5 demo, logged into Sackbook, the best new web project to come out of LittleBigPlanet, and went Mario Kart-ing in real life.
We also prepared ourselves for a Metal Gear December Surprise, saw how LittleBigPlanet was invading music/puzzle game Lumines (later, in motion), and nosed around Sega's new Sonic-laden casual game portal. Finally, we looked at Trine, a forthcoming PC/PS3 game from Finnish developer Frozenbyte that looks to blend the best parts of Lost Vikings, Gauntlet and.. Crayon Physics, saw Obama going all Gears of War, and, most endearingly, rescued wayward beagles across procedurally generated landscapes. Source: Gizmodo | 6 Dec 2008 | 12:30 am Time To Get Good At Functional Programming?prone2tech writes "From an article at Dr. Dobb's: Chipmakers have essentially said that the job of enforcing Moore's Law is now a software problem. They will concentrate on putting more and more cores on a die, and it's up to the software industry to recraft software to take advantage of the parallel-processing capabilities of the new chips. As is argued in this article, this means becoming proficient in parallel functional programming. The bad news? Getting good at functional programming is hard, harder than moving from iterative Pascal or Basic or C coding to object-oriented development. It's an exaggeration but a useful one: When you move to FP, all your algorithms break.'"Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 6 Dec 2008 | 12:23 am Youth-Oriented Media Company GoFish Raises $22.5 Million
GoFish, a digital media company that focuses on content geared towards children, teenagers, and their parents, has raised a $22.5 million funding round led by Panorama Capital, Rustic Canyon Partners, and Rembrandt Venture Partners. As part of the deal, Michael Jung, Mark Menell, and Richard Ling (from Panorama, Rustic Canyon, and Rembrandt respectively) will join the company’s board of directors. The company says that it now has a reach of 69 million unique vistors worldwide, with nearly a third of that coming from the United States. Included in GoFish’s publisher network are sites like WeeWorld, MiniClip, and Piczo (you can see a full list here). To get a sampling of some of the videos available, you can conduct a search at the company’s consumer facing site. The company plans to use the money to continue growth and expansion, as well as to settle its debt (details below):
Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors Source: Gizmodo | 6 Dec 2008 | 12:10 am UPDATE 1-Reliant Energy terminates $300 mln debt facilitySAN FRANCISCO, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Reliant Energy Inc said on Friday it had terminated a $300 million working capital facility with Merrill Lynch as it shapes up its balance sheet and looks at a possible...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 6 Dec 2008 | 12:09 am Media Power USA, Inc. Announces the Action Against Scandinavian PressNEW YORK, Dec. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Media Power USA, Inc. ("Media Power"), a provider of proprietary mobile phone software, connecting advertisers directly to consumers...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 6 Dec 2008 | 12:06 am S&P Announces Motorola JNKR [Digital Daily]
An ugly blow for Motorola (MOT). With the economy in a deadspin and stronger rivals like Nokia (NOK) lowering handset sale expectations, things are looking decidedly bleak for the company. Source: Gizmodo | 5 Dec 2008 | 11:50 pm No antiphishing feature in final Firefox 2.0 version (CNET)CNET - Updated 4:30 p.m. PST with Google comment.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 5 Dec 2008 | 11:49 pm Canon Powershot SD790 best camera for moms, grandma Looking for a good camera to buy for the parents this year? Well, from the current batch of ultra-slim products coming out, it looks like you can’t top the Canon Powershot SD790. While it’s a little heftier then the other brand offerings, you can’t beat it on performance. Combining 10 megapixels with some nifty new image stabilization technology, if you’re shopping for a non-DSLR camera the Canon looks to be the way to go. Source: CrunchGear | 5 Dec 2008 | 11:48 pm Hobbled Hubble Will Finally Get Some Astronaut LoveAfter several delays, NASA finally reschedules its final space shuttle mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. Set for May 2009, the mission will replace a failed scientific instrument and upgrade its stabilizing gyroscopes.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 5 Dec 2008 | 11:43 pm TAAS Company Presents New Orbital Space PlaneRobGoldsmith writes "The TAAS Company have released details on their new Orbital Space Plane. The new design has many attributes to set it apart from its rivals. One highlight is the integrated Safety System; this is where an escape vehicle can eject from the main body of the craft then fly home safely. They claim: 'With the system's performance capability, economical first stage tow and independence from ground launch facilities, it can offer the lowest price. It also offers the safest flight.' Could this spaceship rival Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo?" Reader wooferhound points out related news from XCOR Aerospace (which we've discussed previously), that they're beginning to take orders for seats on their own suborbital flights, with test runs planned for 2010. Seats will be going for around $95,000 each, less than half the cost of the first tickets for SpaceShipTwo.Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 5 Dec 2008 | 11:33 pm UPDATE 2-US panel supports Allergan drug for longer lashesROCKVILLE, Md., Dec 5 (Reuters) - A prescription eye drug originally used to treat glaucoma is also safe and effective for adults who want the longer, thicker eyelashes, a U.S. advisory panel said on Friday...Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 5 Dec 2008 | 11:32 pm 3 Charged With International Bank Trojan SchemeA Russian man is accused of infecting U.S. consumers with password-stealing Trojan horses, then plundering their online banking and brokerage accounts. Two in the United States are charged with opening "drop" accounts to receive the stolen funds.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 5 Dec 2008 | 11:31 pm Fashion meets technology: HP Vivienne Tam released
It features vibrant peony blooms signifying good fortune and prosperity. A matching silk sleeve is included to secure this stylish fashion accessory. Weighing in at 2.45 lbs and 1” thin, it features Windows XP Home on a 10.2-inch display. The price includes a 16GB SSD, but for $25 more you can get a 60GB HD instead. If you order by Dec. 12, you’ll get it with free shipping in time for the holidays. HP claims that it’s a definite “do” for the fashion-forward, trend-setting woman who wants to elevate her digital capabilities while accentuating her keen sense of style. Don’t order me one; it’s a little too flowery for my taste. Source: CrunchGear | 5 Dec 2008 | 11:30 pm Who’s On Crack in tech: 12.5.08 editionSection: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Email / IM, Smartphones, Mobile, Originals, Columns, Who's On Crack, Features
Here’s what I am calling out this week as whack:
AT&T’s one OS worldSure, supporting all these OSes isn’t easy. Your tech’s knowledge has to be limited by all the myriad of OSes they’re supposed to know. News came today that you blue-sky-guy says Symbian would be good choice for a company-wide one OS to offer and support. But consolidating down to one OS? And you think Symbian is that OS? Really? Whispering sweet nothings into Symbian’s ear isn’t going to get you anywhere. Stop worrying about a Nokia take over of the US market, that train isn’t leaving the station. A much better idea, at least in my mind, is to convince Apple to license its software onto other devices. Hitch your train to that engine, crackheads.
Sprint says, “Hey, did you know the instinct couldn’t support your work calendar?“Sometimes, all that is needed is an email to customers. Something quiet in the night that says, “hey boys, go here and download this and you get Outlook Calendar support, sweet huh?“. But no, you had to go and issue a press release telling everyone our out-of-the-box expectation of calendar syncing was off. Thanks for pointing this out, as I’ve not made fun of the Instinct in a while. I feel better now. iPhone killer? LOL.
Get the Verizon Omnia price ticker gadget on your desktop?I watch the stock market. I watch the price of light sweet crude. And now, I am watching the daily price of Verizon’s Samsung Omnia. This thing is more volatile than a barrel full of gasoline next to a Sony laptop. Jump beside me in the way back machine, we travel back to 2008, a cloudy November day, the 25th if you are taking notes. The shiny Omnia is introduced at $249.99 after a lame $70 mail in rebate. Now, as we are chased by the bizarre inhabitants of November 25, we land on Dec 2nd of the same year. Here we find the same Omnia, now priced at $199 after the same lame mail in rebate. Nervous much? Did you wake up, presumably strung out, in December and say to yourself, “Holy cow! Have you heard about this economy stuff? And this Apple phone, who knew about that? Quick, slash the price before these phones end up at Odd Lot!“ Lay off the dope.
Nokia disappointments with the N97I believe we all keep expecting someone else to “get it” with phone software and it clouds are judgment and/or enjoyment of an otherwise snazzy phone. The new Nokia entry is beautiful, well-built with lovely screen resolution. But. And then things start flowing. The biggest “but” is Nokia refuses to update its OS for the touchscreen times. HTC gets it. Their Windows Mobile skins walk the line of needed Active Sync support mated with something actually functional and close to fun to use. But not Nokia. And the N97 is a bit brickish. Keep at though, your getting warmer. Appletell’s Josh Holat, while espousing his love for Apple’s device sums up his look at the N97 with:
That’s my list for this week. Let me know in the comments what crazy things I missed and stay off the crack kids. Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gizmodo | 5 Dec 2008 | 11:30 pm Japanese Toy Lets You Poke Inside a Box For Endless Fun
Forget DSLRs and Laser TVs. A toy box that lets you poke it from the inside is the perfect holiday gift for your loved one. This is especially the case if your work takes you away on long periods of travel. Bandai's Tuttiki Bako (literally, 'the poking box') features a type of touch interface where you can 'tease and harass the digital characters' on-screen with your own finger. According to the manufacturer, the box gives off a realistic sensation each time you touch a character, and you can see your own finger in the shadow-hand-style display. Apparently, this wonderful sounding feat is accomplished through motion sensors embedded inside the box. We don't know if the screen will replicate other things that may be placed inside, like, say, a pencil or a q-tip. This technology is visually reminiscent (but far from the same) as that of Microsoft's LucidTouch, which allows you to manipulate the front and back of touchscreen devices. That one also produces transparent finger shadows to touch things on-screen, but instead, uses a camera to read movement. Among the various things you can poke in the Poking Box toy are a panda, a face, and a tiny stick-like device. It also works as a bed clock, so you can always have it right next you in case you need to check the time in the middle of the night. The Poking Box is available in Japan, for about $30, and should be a great gift for all.
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 5 Dec 2008 | 11:25 pm Gadget Lab Audio Podcast #56: Apple Gets Sued, Man Puts Cam in Eye Socket, Weezer Wishes You a Merry X-Mas
What kind of a kooky person would sue Apple for false advertising? What are the consequences of cramming a small camcorder into your gaping eye socket? How is emo alt rock band Weezer poised to play Christmas jams directly to the Jesus phone? Find out with the Gadget Lab crew — Danny Dumas, Brian Chen, and Priya Ganapati as we wax elegant and eloquent about Apple’s recent legal qualms, one man’s quest to replace his eye with a miniscule camera, and the boys at Weezer’s spreading holiday cheer exclusively on the iPhone. And hey you like reviews, right? Who doesn’t? Listen as we tear down the WORST gadget we’ve seen all year, the Hi-Phone, a Chinese made iPhone knockoff. Why do they call it the Hi-Phone? Probably because you’d have to be high to buy it. If the embedded player above doesn't work, you can download the Gadget Lab podcast MP3 Use iTunes? Subscribe to the Gadget Lab Audio Podcast in iTunes. Do it now! You also simply must check out the Gadget Lab Video Podcast — available on iTunes and the Gadget Lab blog.
Source: Gizmodo | 5 Dec 2008 | 11:09 pm CrunchDeal: GeForce 260 with Far Cry 2, $248 shipped
[via Tech Report] Source: CrunchGear | 5 Dec 2008 | 11:00 pm If Customizing Your Car With Infectious Is Too Big A Job, Start With Your iPhone Instead
Each of the designs are done by hand-picked artists who are paid for their work in exchange for granting exclusive licensing rights to print on vinyl. The artists retains all other rights. So if you really like Devin Larwson, the guy who created the image above, you can make your car, wall, laptop and iphone all match. These things don’t come off accidentally, but apply a little heat from a hairdryer and they peel right off. Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware. Source: TechCrunch | 5 Dec 2008 | 10:58 pm NFL's First Broadcast In 3-D, Still Has Work To Dodarkwing_bmf writes "The NFL broadcast a live game to theaters in 3-D for the first time on Thursday night. The technology demonstration was mostly successful but they still have some issues to work out. 'Some scenes clearly captured the benefits of 3-D broadcasts, however, such as an interception by Chargers linebacker Stephen Cooper as players crisscrossed the field, and a long touchdown catch by San Diego's Vincent Jackson with the arc of the ball caught on camera all the way. Viewers were encouraged to text in their reaction to the viewing. One of the first comments, according to the commentators: "More cheerleaders."'"Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 5 Dec 2008 | 10:40 pm Axiotron releases updated Modbook
And, in typical Mac fashion, they are priced almost twice as much as a tablet PC. Source: CrunchGear | 5 Dec 2008 | 10:30 pm Yahoo Testing Ways To Make Those Search Ads Pop
There is a line in Web advertising between search and display ads, and Yahoo just crossed it. Sponsored ads that appear above or beside search results are typically text-only ads. But Yahoo is testing sponsored search ads that include brand logos, images, and even interactive elements. For instance, if you search on Yahoo for “eBay,” the sponsored ad on top includes eBay’s logo. I checked with Yahoo to see if this was new, and a spokesperson confirmed that the company is testing new search ad units that include “images, brand icons, videos, search boxes and deep links.” Really, when you think about it, there is no reason that display, video, and other graphical ads can’t be mixed in on search results pages. Just because Google doesn’t allow display ads to sully its search results page doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a bad idea. As long as they are not too blaring, I think they’ll work. Any image will pop in that sea of text on the search results page. And both Yahoo and Google are already incorporating images and videos in their natural search results. So why shouldn’t advertisers be able to do the same for sponsored results? Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily. Source: TechCrunch | 5 Dec 2008 | 10:27 pm Moto Chaser for the iPhone modified to support TV-out as a proof of concept Last week, Ars Technica uncovered an undocumented class in the iPhone SDK which allows applications to push visuals to an external monitor rather than the device’s built in screen. Lightbulbs flicked on above the noggins of iPhone developers everywhere, all with the same idea: this could be used for games! Source: CrunchGear | 5 Dec 2008 | 10:24 pm Heart attack patients get 'big chill' treatment (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 5 Dec 2008 | 10:18 pm Moto Chaser for the iPhone modified to support TV-out as a proof of conceptLast week, Ars Technica uncovered an undocumented class in the iPhone SDK which allows applications to push visuals to an external monitor rather than the device’s built in screen. Lightbulbs flicked on above the noggins of iPhone developers everywhere, all with the same idea: this could be used for games!
The only catch: it’s an undocumented feature, which generally means it’s off limits to applications submitted to the App Store. Until Apple gave developers the go head to use it, it wasn’t too feasible to write a whole game around it. Instead, Ars contacted Freeverse, makers of the ultra popular Moto Chaser, and convinced them to throw together a version of the game modified to utilize the hidden TV-out functionality. Within hours, the demo was done. It’s not flawless - the frame rate gets a wee bit chunky at times - but it’s about as much proof as we need that the concept is sound - that is, once Apple says it’s okay. Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0 Source: MobileCrunch | 5 Dec 2008 | 10:18 pm Joost comes to iPhone, bringing nudity with itFROM APPLETELL - The Joost streaming video app for iPhone/iPod touch crashes a lot and features a terrible user interface, but it also has porn. MORE » Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 5 Dec 2008 | 10:15 pm Stylish Persona 4 Is Role-Playing PerfectionWe review the role-playing game Persona 4, our pick for the best PlayStation 2 game of 2008.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 5 Dec 2008 | 10:12 pm What's Old Is New: 12 Living FossilsSome animals have been around for many millions of years without changing much at all. Many were thought to be extinct long ago until they were recently rediscovered.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 5 Dec 2008 | 9:57 pm A Cheat Sheet To All the Browser BetasHarry writes "I can't remember another time when there were so many Web browsers in prerelease form — 2009 should be a really, really good year for final browser versions. I have posted a quick recap of the state of the upcoming versions of Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Safari." It is nice to see a healthy market of competition driving innovation in a market that has been largely stagnant in recent history. What do other folks see on the scorecard?Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 5 Dec 2008 | 9:52 pm UN identifies ‘hotspots’ to Protect Climate and Rare WildlifeAn atlas issued at the December 1-12 U.N.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 5 Dec 2008 | 9:49 pm Music Video Created Using 45,000 Still PhotographsA New York animator and lighting technical director eschews a video camera and instead takes 45,000 photographs with his Nikon D200 DSLR and stitches them together to create a music video.Source: Wired: Gadgets | 5 Dec 2008 | 9:37 pm Music Video Created Using 45,000 Still PhotographsA New York animator and lighting technical director eschews a video camera and instead takes 45,000 photographs with his Nikon D200 DSLR and stitches them together to create a music video.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 5 Dec 2008 | 9:37 pm Director Stitches 45,000 Photographs Into a Music Video
Cesar Kuriyama, a New York animator and lighting technical director, has directed a visually arresting music video using an interesting technique. Eschewing a video camera, he took 45,000 photographs with a Nikon D200 DSLR (digital single-lens reflex) camera and stitched them together to create the illusion of video. The music video was created for the band Fat City Reprise and premiered at their homecoming concert in Philadelphia. Kuriyama says he directed the talent in the video to move as best they could in slow-motion while he had his director of photography Tommy Agriodimas shoot JPG bursts with the Nikon D200. The duo were able to get about 60 images per burst at about four pictures per second. "Obviously we did many takes for each shot," says Kuriyama. "Eventually one good take of them moving in slow motion would look great." After that the team re-worked the frames in post-production to move closer to 24 frames per second. Including the time for conceptualizing and creating the story board, it took Kuriyama about 14 months to the video. He worked on it after-work hours every day. The whole video cost just about $3000 to make, says Kuriyama, "plus the endless personal hours." The video also features an animated stuffed animal designed and created by a friend. Kuriyama rigged it with blue sticks coming out of its arms and legs and wore a black suit to hide him. Post-production tricks helped firm the illusion. Much of the editing for the video, says Kuriyama, was done on his MacBook Pro in Final Cut Pro. He managed the photographs in iPhoto and did the effects in Eyeon Fusion. Kuriyama's efforts is an interesting way to circumvent the challenge that photographers face when it comes to creating high quality videos at low cost. Compact digital cameras, which have had video-recording capabilities for years, offer disappointing image quality. High-end video and movie cameras are bulky and can be very expensive. But the $2700 21-megapixel Canon 5D Mark II capable of 1080p HD video and the $1300 12-megapixel Nikon D90, which can record 720p HD video could change the game. The two cameras deliver very high quality video and still images and could help photographers move to a single camera for their needs. Also see: Photo: Cesar Kuriyama
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 5 Dec 2008 | 9:37 pm GoodSync - the easy way to sync and back up filesSection: Computers, Software / Applications, Reviews, Web, Downloads
Microsoft Vista has a built in back up tool, but it doesn’t always do the job well. It doesn’t allow you to really pick and choose what you want to back up, and it backs up a lot of junk you really don’t need, like all the built in software that came with your system, which no one needs a back up of! Fortunately Siber Systems has come to the rescue with GoodSync. This marvelous program automatically backs up your data and syncs it between laptops, servers, desktops, and portable drives, all with just a few clicks! Continued after the break. Once you’ve downloaded and installed the program, open it, and choose the drives you want to sync, like your C: drive and a flash drive. Click the Analyze button and Goodsync will show you the directories and files on both drives. Simply choose the files you want to sync, click Sync and GoodSync does the work for you. Your data is now backed up. Goodsync also offers an auto setting that allows you to schedule regular synchronization jobs so that your data back ups are always current. And since GoodSync is bidirectional, it’s easy to restore the data you’ve backed up should you ever need to. Goodsync is also great for syncing data between your laptop and desktop, so when you travel you’ll always have your data at your fingertips. Goodsync is fast and doesn’t take up much memory. In addition to PCs, servers, and portable drives, it also syncs to Windows Mobile and Pocket PC devices, making it a snap to move files between your cell or PDA and your desktop. Click here for a full list of Goodsyncs key features. Goodsync is available here. You can download a free trial or Goodsync Pro for just $29.95. It runs on Windows 2000, XP, and Vista and is also available for XP and Vista 64bit systems. I’ve been using it for about 2 weeks now and it’s been flawless. No slowdowns, hangs, or stability issues. It is truly a useful and quality product! Read [Goodsync] Full Story » | Written by Sue Walsh for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 5 Dec 2008 | 9:24 pm Detroit Rarely Misses a Chance to Miss a ChanceYes, Detroit is building more fuel-efficient cars and it's looking ahead with hybrids and even EVs. But the Big Three have a long history of dropping the ball, which is why lawmakers are skeptical of helping them out.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 5 Dec 2008 | 9:06 pm Hawaii Planning State-Wide Electric Car NetworkMojoKid writes to tell us that Hawaii is planning on implementing a statewide electric car charging network. While the initiative seems to highlight the lower carbon footprint, Hawaii doesn't exactly seem like the ideal candidate for this initiative. One reader pointed out that perhaps a Solar or Wind power generation initiative might be a little better suited for the island state. "We have tons of wind and sun here that could be harnessed for electricity, but Hawaiian Electric Company has enough control over the government to block most wind and solar projects, and they make more money burning oil and diesel because the PUC lets them pass the fuel costs directly on to the consumer. Gov Lingle is taking all the credit, but if she actually wants to make a difference in oil consumption in the islands she needs to get large scale wind and solar projects pushed through first."Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: Slashdot | 5 Dec 2008 | 9:04 pm How to Kill Vampires (Try Wood, Ultraviolet Ammo)As vampire flick Twilight tops the U.S. charts and opens in Britain, female viewers are swooning over the impossible romance between mortal and immortal. But many of their male companions will be pondering the age-old question: "Just what kind of hardware do I need to take down that sucker?"
Source: Wired Top Stories | 5 Dec 2008 | 9:01 pm Toshiba To Halt Production Due to Weakening DemandToshiba Corp. will shutdown production for nine days at two of its plants due to weak demand, marking the company’s first production break in seven years, according to a report by Japanese broadcaster NHK on Friday.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 5 Dec 2008 | 8:55 pm Amazon.com Add-On Hack Was a University ProjectTwo media design students from the Netherlands who produced the Firefox browser add-on that redirected Amazon.com shoppers to The Pirate Bay complain about what they describes as "hostile" comments they received over the school project.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 5 Dec 2008 | 8:50 pm Verizon lets loose BlackBerry Storm OS update Bonnie Cha over at CNet has the scoop on the Storm OS update we’ve all been waiting patiently for over the last two weeks. If you actually bought this ginormous piece of poo then you can update using the Desktop Software Manager or wait for the OTA that’s said to be going out at 12:30 AM EDT. Regardless of what this update can do, I won’t be changing my review of the Storm. It really is the worst device RIM has put out on the market and I love BlackBerrys. Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies Source: MobileCrunch | 5 Dec 2008 | 8:26 pm The iPhone From 1983, a Nintendo Bong and a Really Big TV [MediaMemo]
Theoretical questions no longer. At least for people who visit New York’s Lower East Side for the next few days. That’s where Gizmodo, Gawker Media’s crazily successful gadget blog, has set up a gallery of odd, cool and awesome stuff. For a very limited time–it opened on Thursday and it runs through this Sunday. Head Gizmodo geek Brian Lam gave me a tour of the gallery yesterday, and it’s great fun: In addition to the iPhone prototype, there’s a handful of other cool things from Apple (AAPL), including a 20th anniversary edition Mac and a prototype of an Apple Tablet machine that never saw the light of day. So if you’re at all interested in gadgets, or the people who are, drop on by 151 Orchard Street. It’s free, but they’re happy to accept Toys For Tots donations (which also qualifies you for some cool giveaways). If you can’t make it, you can see still images on Brian’s site, or you can check out my first attempt at Web video-making with the mandatory All Things Digital Flip camera. I’ve added a few subtitles to compensate for the fact that Brian is soft-spoken and the dudes playing “Call of Duty” in the gallery were loud. The fact that the camera is shaky and that the camera-holder says “awesome” a lot is entirely my fault. [Image Credit: Gizmodo] Source: All Things Digital | 5 Dec 2008 | 8:20 pm Icelandic Whale Meat To Be Sold In JapanAn Icelandic firm has announced that whale meat imported from Iceland and Norway has gone on sale in Japan.After completing food safety checks, the meat is now being distributed in Iceland's first whale export to Japan in 20 years, according to whaling company Hvalur hf.All three countries have registered exemptions to rules banning international trade in whale products.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 5 Dec 2008 | 8:20 pm Gamertell Review: TeknoCreations’ InCharge dual-controller charge station for Xbox 360FROM GAMERTELL - Here’s another nifty two-controller charge station, this time by TeknoCreations for Xbox 360 controllers. It’s relatively easy to use and the battery rechargeable packs even lighter than a pair of standard AA batteries… MORE » Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 5 Dec 2008 | 8:18 pm Action Plan Aims to Save Declining Gorilla PopulationsCountries with laws against gorilla poaching are vowing to step up their enforcement of such laws in light of claims from environmental groups that countries don’t do enough to implement them.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 5 Dec 2008 | 8:05 pm LG Sees Significant Downturn in its Phone Business
Mobile phone manufacturers were one of these lucky groups and with Apple and RIM leading the way, customers appeared to be unwilling to pass up their innovative must-have handsets. But all that’s gone now. And no company is a better example of the downturn than up-and-coming LG. In a statement earlier this week, officials from the company revealed that it sold 23 million phones in the third quarter, a downturn from the record 27.7 million in the second quarter. And its operating profit margin went from 15.9 percent in the first quarter, to 11.5 in the last one. This is huge step back from a company that was recently doing 30% jumps every quarter and went from a small share of the world market to about 8%. When the LG news is combined with similar statements from Nokia and Qualcomm, on top of the recent downgrading from industry analysts (Gartner expects a 4% dive next year), the phone business seems like it's the verge of a deep break. Still, the LG numbers are not bad for a company that has only started to make its mark in the last couple of years in the U.S. And despite the fact that some (like us) have accused it of recycling handset ideas better executed elsewhere (the LG Viewty and its janky touch screen comes immediately to mind), they've been doing enough interesting things with them to merit a extra look by customers. The company will likely ride out the recession successfully as long as it stops wasting its time with partnerships with lifestyle brands like Prada, fixes obvious problems (like cramped keyboards) and continues on its path of offering good hardware options that set it apart, such as 8 megapixel camera phones. Sources: Reuters, CNBC
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 5 Dec 2008 | 8:02 pm Saltwater Crops Could Help Global Food ShortageGlobal food shortages could be helped by the integration of plants that grow in salty conditions, according to researchers.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 5 Dec 2008 | 7:45 pm Is this Nokia’s next top-secret touchscreen handset? After blatantly boasting about how well they’d managed to keep the N97 off the radar, you’d think that Nokia would be incredibly wary of letting on details of future handsets. That is, you wouldn’t think they’d slide a shot of an unannounced touchscreen handset into a presentation in New York yesterday. Well, if this thing turns out to be legit, that’s exactly what they did. We’re not going to attempt to call this one either way - while the dramatically different homescreen UI makes us skeptical (if it’s legit, why isn’t the same thing going into the N97?), it’s a pretty enough piece that we certainly hope Nokia has something like it in the works. If the 5800 is Nokia’s response to the iPhone and the N97 is their response to the QWERTY-toting G1 and HTC Touch Pro, it seems this unnamed handset, with its full-touch face, would be their rebuttal to the HTC Touch HD. Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors Source: MobileCrunch | 5 Dec 2008 | 7:43 pm SLIDE SHOW: Images in the NewsFrom ancient cannabis to baby gorillas, highlights from Discovery News, Dec. 1-5.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 5 Dec 2008 | 7:38 pm Colorado River Drying Up Due to Climate ChangeScientists predict even more water shortages over the next several years for seven Western states due to the added affects of human-caused climate change.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 5 Dec 2008 | 7:35 pm CES 2009: Three Booths and a Clapping Toy Monkey? [Digital Daily]
Not Seagate (STX). Not Logitech (LOGI). Not Sanyo. And not Cisco (CSCO), either. All four companies have abandoned plans to exhibit on the Consumer Electronics Show floor. Like Belkin, they are all opting for the more intimate and inexpensive floorspace of a Vegas hotel room. Said Seagate spokesperson Woody Monroy, “We haven’t pulled out of CES…we’re just taking a different approach.” Cisco offered this statement on the matter:
Source: All Things Digital | 5 Dec 2008 | 7:26 pm Startup Company Offers Affordable E-Book ReaderMany consumers have failed to jump onto the electronic books bandwagon, but Ohio-based startup Photoco Inc. is looking to change that with the introduction of the modestly priced MiBook.The MiBook (pronounced "my book") is a book-sized white slab with a 7-inch color screen.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 5 Dec 2008 | 7:25 pm EPA Reports Record Year For U.S. Polluters in 2008A report released on Thursday showed that the U.S.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 5 Dec 2008 | 7:15 pm Mars Phoenix's Twitter Proves a Huge SuccessTwitter messages like "I dig Mars!" helped bring a NASA Mars lander to life.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 5 Dec 2008 | 7:12 pm Facebank swallows soulsHorror: the blankly staring arms, the hungry gumming, the mewling sound of infants dying. All in a Japanese novelty bank! [via Crunch] Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 5 Dec 2008 | 7:02 pm Bailing on Big Tech Trade Shows [Digital Daily]
Source: All Things Digital | 5 Dec 2008 | 7:00 pm The ci desk mobile workstation is chic, probably useless
The ci desk mobile workstation is dreadfully chic, with it tabouret drawers and fold out desk, but I can't quite imagine who would use it except for the novelty of something so well designed: there's few mobile designers I know who need to take a planar surface to work on with them. ci desk mobile workstation [Designboom] Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 5 Dec 2008 | 6:53 pm AT&T wants a Symbian iPhone? Are you kidding me?Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile
Symbian who?Symbian, which garners 45% or so of the worldwide smartphone OS market, owes much of its success to Nokia. The platform is stable, works well, and is loved in Europe. As of late, Symbian was purchased by Nokia and is committed to going open source. iPhone effectOther news this morning from Bloomberg states Apple’s iPhone is recession-proofing AT&T thanks the steady line of new customers for the device. The company is expected to be the only carrier to post accelerating growth this quarter as companies hunker down for the economic storm. While AT&T has announced layoffs, subscribers are not detered from obtaining these luxury phones.
Additionally, iPhone buyers are among the industry’s most wanted customers, those that pay 1.6 times what the average customer pays for phone and data services. In a time where carriers are running out of new customers, they are looking to steal or hold onto these higher-paying customers. Sucking up?Perhaps Mr. Smith was sucking up the Symbian crowd? Certainly a unified OS would make AT&T’s life easier. One OS to support would be a welcome task to AT&T’s customer support team who currently deal with Windows Mobile, Blackberry, Apple, and then the home brew jobs from Pantech, Samsung and lots more. Is it possible AT&T could narrow that list down to just one? Perhaps, but at what cost? When you remove consumer choice, demand will typically lessen. Unless other carriers adopt similar rules (and who wants to be the first?), AT&T’s dream of one OS is just pie in the sky thinking. Source: [Bloomberg] Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 5 Dec 2008 | 6:38 pm If Belkin’s Not Exhibiting at Macworld, Who Is? [Digital Daily]
Belkin has confirmed that it’s pulling its booth from the show floor as well. The company has opted instead to hold private meetings with its channel partners. It insists that this isn’t so much a financial decision, as a strategic one–”we’re reallocating show floor funds to hold private product meetings,” a spokesperson told me–but it’s hard not to view it that way, given the continued deterioration of the economy. Interesting to note, though, that sources tell AppleInsider that the company had already paid for its 2009 booth space. Show organizer IDG must be offering Econalypse refunds…. UPDATE: Belkin won’t be exhibiting at the Consumer Electronics Show, either. “No booth at CES–and it’s for the same reasons why we’re not exhibiting at MacWorld,” a spokesperson tells me. “We learned that a smaller group of our channel partners will be attending CES, and those who are attending are focusing on driving incremental value in 2009. We believe that private meetings in hotel suites are more conducive for this type of discussion, as they are more intimate. So, we are redistributing our resources and funds to help support sell-thru for our retail partners and drive traffic into their stores. Examples: more holiday promotions and programs.” As of this morning, no participants–potential or otherwise–have pulled out of Super Bowl XLIII, but the trend is looking grim for seasonal blockbusters. We’ll keep you posted. Source: All Things Digital | 5 Dec 2008 | 6:23 pm Scientists create tough ceramic that copies mother of pearlBiomimicry – technological innovation inspired by nature – is one of the hottest ideas in science but has yet to yield many practical advances. Time for a change. Scientists with the U.S.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 5 Dec 2008 | 6:19 pm Mickey Mouse iRiver gets abstract facial expressions
These iRiver Mickey Mouse shaped MP3 players are nothing new, and everyone's already aware of the darling mechanism of changing tracks or adjusting the volume by screwing the Mouse's ears... as in "clockwise" or "counterclockwise," and not by the other mechanism, which would be a novel interface indeed. What is new, however, is that the latest iteration of the iRiver MP3 changes its facial expressions according to what you're doing, whether lowering the volume, skipping a track or shuffling. It's very Japanese and very cute. Mickey MP3 Player can change facial expressions [Slashgear] Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 5 Dec 2008 | 6:12 pm Apple: 100M iPhone Apps Downloaded in Six Weeks
In the fine print of an advertisement, Apple shyly announced that iPhone owners have downloaded 300 million applications through the App Store. Apple mentioned the number at the bottom of an iPhone ad in Friday's edition of New York Times, according to CNBC's Jim Goldman. What's more interesting than that astronomical grand total is what it gives away about the App Store's rapid progress. In Apple's latest conference call held late October, Steve Jobs said he was expecting to see iPhone owners download their 200 millionth application. So if we take the advertisement as fact, that means 100 million applications have been downloaded in the past six weeks. Holy moly. Then again, let's take this number with a grain of salt. The corporation recently said claims made in its iPhone advertisements are true, but we'd be fools to believe them anyway. Apple Apps "Bubble" Talk Just That, As Downloads Soar [CNBC]
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 5 Dec 2008 | 6:11 pm Vodafone Americas Foundation Launches $3 Million Fund To Fuel Mobile Innovation
Have you got some outstanding idea for the mobile world rattling around in your brain, but can’t afford to make it happen? Vodafone wants to hear from you. This morning, the Vodafone Americas Foundation is launching a $3 million fund to help them find “wireless technology that can change the world.” Coming out swinging, they’ve announced that the first $600,000 of that $3 million will be given as cash grants to the winners of a Wireless Innovation Challenge. First place walks away with $300,000, while second and third get $200,000 and $100,000 respectively. Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware. Source: TechCrunch | 5 Dec 2008 | 6:02 pm SaveThePlanetAndWin: Another Social Network Hoping To Make The World A Little Greener
Save The Planet And Win, a new green social network looking to help users cut back on their carbon deficits, launches today to the public. Beyond traditional social network features like user messaging, Save The Planet And Win offers a few ways to help users keep track of and earn more carbon credits. Every week the site will offer a 30 second clip from a sponsor, who will add points to a user’s STPAW account in return for watching the ad. These points can be applied towards purchasing carbon credits, helping a particular effort like the quest for an AIDS vaccine, or can be exchanged for cash. Other features include a ‘Carbon Collective’ where groups can monitor their combined carbon reduction efforts, as well as forums for sharing green tips and ideas. We’ve seen a few other green social networks, and while their goals are certainly admirable, they usually seem like a better fit as social network applications on larger networks like Facebook or MySpace. In June we saw Waste Management launch a green social network called Greenopolis, and we’ve also covered Zero Footprint, a site where users can manage and purchase their carbon credits. Also see Celsias, a network that looks to keep companies honest by tracking their green initiatives, and CO2Stats, which lets users negate the environmental impact of their websites.
Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors Source: TechCrunch | 5 Dec 2008 | 6:01 pm Vodafone Americas Foundation launches $3 million fund to fuel mobile innovation Have you got some outstanding idea for the mobile world rattling around in your brain, but can’t afford to make it happen? Vodafone wants to hear from you. This morning, the Vodafone Americas Foundation is launching a $3 million fund to help them find “wireless technology that can change the world.” Coming out swinging, they’ve announced that the first $600,000 of that $3 million will be given as cash grants to the winners of a Wireless Innovation Challenge. First place walks away with $300,000, while second and third get $200,000 and $100,000 respectively.
Now, don’t go trying to score a couple hundred grand with a ringtone editor or an application that turns the iPhone into a flashlight. Vodafone’s mission here is to “address critical social issues around the world”, mentioning mobile disaster warnings and “a microscope embedded on a mobile phone and used in remote areas to collect and submit blood samples for diagnosis at a faraway lab” as ideas of the right mindset. More specifically, they’re looking for ways to better the world in the areas of health, education, economic development, the environment, and access to communication. Amongst other criteria, application is only open to tax-exempt nonprofit corporations/trusts and U.S. universities. If you’re considering diving into this, make sure to run through the eligibility questionnaire before you get too deep. Applications are being accepted until February 2, 2009, at which point 8 finalists will be chosen for in-person presentations in March. Winners will be announced at the end of April. Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware. Source: MobileCrunch | 5 Dec 2008 | 5:52 pm New Technique To Differentiate Between Original And Bootleg CDsA group of scientists of the University of Granada has developed a new optical technique which permits to know if a Compact Disc (CD) is original or a copy.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 5 Dec 2008 | 5:50 pm Maintaining The Brain's Wiring In AgingResearchers at the Babraham Institute near Cambridge, supported by the Alzheimer's Research Trust and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), have discovered that the brain's circuitry survives longer than previously thought in diseases of ageing such as Alzheimer's disease.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 5 Dec 2008 | 5:44 pm NASA Space Probe to Track CO2 on EarthNASA prepares to launch a spacecraft to track CO2 on Earth from space.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 5 Dec 2008 | 5:38 pm Swinging Apple baffles
Outside the Apple Soho store, a little bite of commentary. Or just a visual pun! A hobo warding? House sparrow tetherball? I do not know. Image: Adam Lawrence (And thanks!) Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 5 Dec 2008 | 5:27 pm Teach your iPhone to swear Courtesy of Tim Luoma courtesy of Charlie Sorrel couresy of Dan Gruber, this solid tip on how to teach your iPhone to swear: make all the curse words you would like to use regularly in text messages or emails blank contacts in your contact list.
If you're wondering where all the posts were this morning, here's your answer: I spent the last five hours importing most of the more colorful Urban Dictionary entries into my Contacts List. Ducking an iPhone Annoyance [Lucoma via Gadget Lab via Daring Fireball] Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 5 Dec 2008 | 5:25 pm Toshiba Suspends NAND Production at Two Plants [Voices]By Eric Savitz, Blogger and Columnist, Barron's, Tech Trader DailyToshiba has suspended NAND flash memory production at two plants for nine days due to weak demand, according to Reuters, which picked up the story from broadcaster NHK. The wire service said the company denied plans to shut down all operations at the two factories in Yokkaichi, in western Japan, and Oita, in southern Japan. The Yokkaichi factory is a joint venture with SanDisk (SNDK). Source: All Things Digital | 5 Dec 2008 | 5:17 pm Parents Warned of Fake Nintendo Consoles in UKSeveral fake Nintendo DS and DS Lites have been circulating through the UK, but consumer groups are warning parents that they contain dangerous components.The UK’s HM Revenue & Customs warned parents to be vigilant when shopping for new Nintendo DS and DS Lites because of a recent surge in counterfeit consoles on the Web.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 5 Dec 2008 | 5:15 pm Good News for Happy People: It's ContagiousWhen you're smiling, the whole world really does smile with you, finds new research.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 5 Dec 2008 | 5:14 pm Burger King’s Wii-themed kids meal toys, $5 off coupon codesFROM GAMERTELL - Along with novelty gift cards, the other inexpensive plastic tchockies, I like to scout for kids meal toys. As a followup to last year’s Wendy’s Wii toys, Burger King is offering this year’s Wii-related tiny toys intended for tots (but not those under the age of three, of course).… MORE » Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 5 Dec 2008 | 5:12 pm Sony Ericcson “Kate” becomes C510, details of two new handsets leaked When word of this Sony Ericsson cybershot handset got out waaaay back in September, rumors indicated that it would be on the shelves by October. October came and went.. then we burned through November.. and now we’re marching right through December without any real indication of a release date better than the always slipping “next month”. While we’re not sure what’s going on with this one back at Sony Ericsson HQ, we do know that they’ve at least gotten around to giving it a new name. Previously known only as it’s internal moniker “Kate”, the handset has been christened the C510. Details of two other cybershot handsets, “Filippa” and “Frances”, have also leaked, though they’ve managed to steer clear of cameras so far. Specs for all three handsets right after the jump.
Sony Ericsson Kate aka C510: 2.2-inch QVGA display Sony Ericsson Filippa: 2.2-inch QVGA display Sony Ericsson Frances: 2.4-inch QVGA display [Via SEMC Via IntoMobile] Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0 Source: MobileCrunch | 5 Dec 2008 | 5:06 pm Monitor the quality of your erection with the EQM
The Erectile Quality Monitor is a small device that will measure the turgidity of your manhood and alert you through a system of color-coded LEDs whether or not you are ready for action and to what degree. I love it: not only is the chart uncomfortably descriptive — "penetration possible with help of hand" — but the whole device ignores the male phallus' own in-built color coding system for alerting you to the throbbing, veiny status of your virility: purple, red, pink, white. Erectile Qualiy Monitor [Fast Size via Gizmodo] Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 5 Dec 2008 | 5:01 pm Twenty 45 adapters
A collection of 45RPM record adapters from Glen Mullaly, who just so happens to be an awesome illustrator. Full-size image and manufacturer key [Flickr] (Thanks, DD!) Update: Reader Tim H. writes "It seems like you can't post an image as a comment on bb (for obvious reasons) but I've bumped into a handful of people like me who have loved the 45 symbol enough to get it tattooed." 
Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 5 Dec 2008 | 4:52 pm Microsoft Pursues Auction Pirates in LawsuitsThere have been 63 separate lawsuits launched by Microsoft against people peddling counterfeit software on auction sites.Sellers have been targeted in 12 different countries including the U.S., United Kingdom, Germany and France.The counterfeit "Blue Edition" versions of XP are the prominent target for Microsoft.The operating system was proving popular on auction sites as it is reaching the end of its commercial sales cycle, according to Microsoft.Windows XP is no longer installed on new PCs as of June 2008. Windows Vista is now the choice operating system for new PCs.Even though Microsoft claims strong sales for Vista, many consumers have given up on the software and switched back to Windows XP.David Finn, Microsoft's general counsel on worldwide anti-piracy and anti-counterfeiting, said auction sellers were taking advantage of unsuspecting customers.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 5 Dec 2008 | 4:30 pm Crash calculator constantly crashes, costs more than a functioning one
This jumbled, curiously laid-out CRASH calculator is described by its manufacturers, the Takumi Corporation, with a random squirting of Engrish:
Everybody has an impulse to CRASH! We seek for the excitement of crashing in this calculator. You will be driven to crashing with the unpredictable action it makes. Calculate to crash, get an answer to crash… Enjoy yourself by operating this uncontroll” I think that's actually a quote from J.G. Ballard run back and forth through the intestines of an English to Japanese babelfish. crazy calculator constantly crashes [technabob] Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 5 Dec 2008 | 4:26 pm Climate Change to Strain Colorado RiverClimate change and rising populations threaten the Colorado River.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 5 Dec 2008 | 4:21 pm The SimpleTech Signature 500GB HDD is sleek and tiny
Devin Coldewey over at Crunchgear has reviewed the SimpleTech Signature 500GB external hard drive, which is an unremarkable piece of kit except for the fact that it is just adorably tiny. Devin quite likes it: The styling is very understated and attractive; it has a smooth, velvety surface not unlike that of a Razer mouse, and its torpedo-like profile has no major logos or flourishes. There are two little indentations near the front, which beg to be grasped, although I don’t know who would want to carry it with a pincer grip like that. The bottom has little rubber ridges so it doesn’t slide — it was rock solid at a 45 degree angle. Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 5 Dec 2008 | 4:19 pm Did YouTube Just Turn On HD For Real?
After teasing us for a year with the option to watch “higher quality” videos that weren’t quite high-def, it appears that YouTube is making the switch to HD, at least for some videos that have been uploaded in that quality. Earlier this month, there were reports of YouTube testing this feature, but this morning it seems to be more widespread. (This comes after YouTube adopted a widescreen format for all of its videos last week). There is nothing on the YouTube Blog yet, but people are starting to notice the new feature on Twitter this morning. You can find a bunch of HD videos on YouTube by searching for “HD.” For videos uploaded in HD, in the lower right hand corner there is no a link that says “watch in HD” instead of “watch in higher quality,” which is what it used to say. The screenshot above is from a video uploaded eight months ago making fun of the fact that the higher quality link wasn’t really HD, but it is funnier now because that link has been changed to “watch in HD.” The HD option only appears on videos on YouTube itself, not in embedded videos. I have not tested to see whether it is true HD, but the difference is noticeable. Below are two screenshots of the same video from Nicolas Charbonnier, a reader who tipped us off to the change. The top is the regular low-res YouTube video we’ve all grumblingly accepted as the norm on the Web. The bottom screenshot is of the same frame in HD. I would not recommend watching the HD version if you don’t have a high-bandwidth connection. The HD video is taxing even the regular broadband in my office. If that’s not reason enough to get fiber-optic broadband, I don’t know what is.
Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors Source: TechCrunch | 5 Dec 2008 | 4:08 pm For Carbon Storage, Burn the Bogs?Controlled burns of carbon-hoarding peat bogs could actually boost carbon storage.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 5 Dec 2008 | 4:00 pm Facebook Is Infected With 'Koobface' VirusA virus dubbed as "Koobface" is infiltrating Facebook's 120 million users by using the social network's messaging system to infect PCs, and get credit card numbers.This is the most recent attempt of hackers looking to take advantage of users on social network sites."A few other viruses have tried to use Facebook in similar ways to propagate themselves," Facebook spokesman Barry Schnitt said in an e-mail.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 5 Dec 2008 | 3:50 pm Yahoo CEO Countdown, 26 Days to Go: As Chernin Declines, Will a Dark Horse Emerge? [BoomTown]
With Yahoo board Chairman Roy Bostock reportedly assuring investors and others that the company will have a CEO in place by the end of the year, it seems prudent for BoomTown to initiate an official Yahoo CEO Countdown. After all, this column had a 100-Day No-Sacred-Cows Vision Quest to mark the time that Jerry Yang said he needed to give Yahoo a top-to-bottom look-see when he took over last summer as CEO. Yang announced he was stepping down on Nov. 17, prompting the search for someone to lead Yahoo (YHOO) to the promised land where BoomTown countdowns are illegal. But that’s not today, so here’s the 26-days-to-go update:
It looks like Yahoo has almost no chance to nab a top candidate, News Corp. (NWS) COO Peter Chernin. While Yang made nice and Bostock quickly lobbed in a call to get the well-known exec to come in and talk, several sources said Chernin declined even that. Of course, moguls like Chernin are pros at not interviewing–one media player schooled me that you apparently never show interest in a job and only take it if a full offer is made, because if you don’t get it after chit-chatting, you look like a loser. But I don’t think it is a slick feint on his part, even though Chernin is now engaged in contract renewal negotiations at News Corp. (which owns this Web site). Consider: If you were Chernin, would you want to trade your powerful, well-paid, glamorous job in Hollywood and New York for what will surely be a slog of a job in Sunnyvale, and in a cubicle? And Chernin has told many he is not interested in doing the job, although News Corp. would still love to do some sort of deal to combine its online assets, like MySpace, with Yahoo’s, as it almost did many times. While Chernin did just take delivery on a Tesla, showing some clear geekiness, and he would be an exciting get for Yahoo, it’s the longest of shots. The same is true for some other names that have been floated (by me!). But several of the people are on the Yahoo board’s list too. And while things can change, it is more unlikely any of them will be the pick. That includes former Yahoo COO Dan Rosensweig, who has a good life now as a media investor; former eBay exec and OpenTable CEO Jeff Jordan, who told his investors he does not want to be in the running and was sticking with the start-up’s IPO plans–if and when the economy recovers (although Yahoo could buy OpenTable and, thus, Jordan); former eBay (EBAY) CEO Meg Whitman, who could be running for governor of California; and former AOL CEO Jon Miller, who is not secretly buying Yahoo, but who could not be its leader anyway, since he is bound by a Time Warner (TWX) noncompete agreement until the end of March. Another sticking point: The Yahoo board has limited the pool by a list of six criteria that it has drawn up, with the No. 1 being a CEO candidate has to have public company CEO experience. If enforced, that nixes a lot of folks, like Google (GOOG) exec Tim Armstrong and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) exec Todd Bradley. In addition, Yahoo President Sue Decker getting the nod is even more unlikely, for that and other reasons, according to many. From my lists, that leaves DoubleClick CEO David Rosenblatt (his company is now owned by Google); Demand Media’s Richard Rosenblatt; former Viacom (VIA) head Tom Freston; former CNET CEO Shelby Bonnie; and Juniper Networks (JNPR) CEO Kevin Johnson, who was the Microsoft exec who was key in the Yahoo takeover attempt there. All have reasons not to either want or be able to take the Yahoo CEO job, so that means there could be a dark horse candidate. (I am now drawing up yet another list of qualified public CEO tech and media execs). Here’s one: Yesterday, after it was announced he was stepping down from Microsoft (MSFT) in the wake of its hire of former Yahoo tech star Qi Lu as its online leader, I noted that I liked Brian McAndrews for the job. Plus, the former CEO of aQuantive, which Microsoft bought for $6 billion last year, would be a delicious irony. But those who have talked to him told me McAndrews–who did want the digital head job at Microsoft and was left hanging by the software giant’s CEO Steve Ballmer–seems intent on taking time off now.
Alternatively, one of the two Yahoo board members, Maggie Wilderotter or John Chapple, both have the public company CEO checked off. Personally, I am betting on one of them as CEO, although I believe it would be better if Yahoo picked a fresh outside choice. So do a lot of execs remaining at Yahoo, most of whom visibly roll their eyes at the idea of a board member taking over, considering the record of the directors so far in guiding Yahoo’s fortunes. That’s why the board–which definitely has not distinguished itself by any criteria so far in Yahoo’s long fall from grace–should try to get it right this time, as Yahoo can’t take any more of the way it has been running the show so far. Source: All Things Digital | 5 Dec 2008 | 3:24 pm Mark Zuckerberg: Bad Santa [Digital Daily]
An open-ended timetable for an employee stock sale program. Perhaps it’s the same “open-ended timetable” Facebook’s using for that mythical liquidity event, hmm? Without a silver bullet business model and no stable revenue stream to speak of, investors were bound to question Facebook’s perceived valuation sooner or later. And, apparently that’s exactly what happened, according to Valleywag’s Owen Thomas. “Facebook’s common shares…have a value that put the whole company’s worth at around $4 billion,” Thomas explains. “Or they did. A source close to potential investors said they wanted to buy shares from employees at a lower valuation, or with guarantees similar to Microsoft’s. To reward a small number of employees who had enough shares to benefit from the program, [Facebook] would have had to give away something for nothing.” Source: All Things Digital | 5 Dec 2008 | 3:17 pm Backup Time! [Voices]By Nitrozac and Snaggy
Source: All Things Digital | 5 Dec 2008 | 3:04 pm Ancient Roman Oil Lamp 'Factory Town' FoundArchaeologists find remains of workshops that produced oil lamps for the Roman empire.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 5 Dec 2008 | 2:32 pm AT&T Eliminates 12,000 JobsWeighed down by the economic havoc and the increased loss of traditional phone customers, AT&T Inc. (ATT) is eliminating 12,000 jobs, or about 4 percent of its employees.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 5 Dec 2008 | 2:20 pm Venter Lab Makes Progress on Artificial LifeCelebrity scientist Craig Venter devises a new way to build a synthetic genome.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 5 Dec 2008 | 2:13 pm Microsoft taps former Yahoo exec to lead Web business (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 5 Dec 2008 | 2:10 pm Next Up for Media Layoffs: ABC? [MediaMemo]
So says Barclays Capital analyst Anthony DiClemente, who probably isn’t going out on a limb here. Yesterday’s cuts from Viacom (VIA) and GE’s (GE) NBC–850 and 500 jobs, respectively–are actually “small in aggregate,” he argues. So who’s next? Pretty much anyone that hasn’t made significant cuts will have to do so soon, DiClemente says. He singles out Disney (DIS), and specifically “its underperforming divisions, including the ABC Network” as a logical candidate. But DiClemente doesn’t get any more specific about the number of people he thinks Disney will or should fire, other than noting it has a lot of workers (see Barclays chart below; click to enlarge). I’ve asked him for additional color and have asked Disney for comment, as well; not holding my breath, though.
Source: All Things Digital | 5 Dec 2008 | 1:11 pm Mouth Watering Video GamesMove over Madden, a new menu of video games is giving fans a chance to play with their food.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 5 Dec 2008 | 12:25 pm Waterproof SD Card Beats Spills
We're curious as to the utility of Elecom's upcoming waterproof SDHC card. The selling point seems to be that your pictures will be safe if you drop the card in water whilst transferring between devices. But an SD card has no power source inside, and being solid-state, it also has no moving parts to get wet and rust. Surely any SD is waterproof in this sense? Sure, with a regular card, you'd want to leave it in a warm, dry place for a few days after dunking, but what of Elecom's card? Would you risk putting a wet card into a dry camera? A look at the product packaging gives us a clue. We see a silly cry-baby who has spilled water on his camera. A woman (his mother?) triumphantly holds the memory card aloft, smiling brilliantly and completely unaware of both her son's distress and the worm peeking from his hair. So perhaps the idea is to keep your photos safe after an aqueous disaster caused by brain parasites. The card will be available in 4GB and 8GB sizes, is waterproof for up to half an hour at a depth of one meter (3.3 feet) and has a read/write speed of 15MB/s. Price tba. Product page [Elecom via Oh Gizmo via Akihabara News]
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 5 Dec 2008 | 12:12 pm Around The World Without FuelThink you can drive around the world without using a drop of oil? A Swiss man is living the dream."These new technologies are ready," he said. "It's ecological, it's economical, it is absolutely reliable.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 5 Dec 2008 | 12:00 pm Sick-Bag In-Flight Entertainment Hack
This is truly one of the neatest hacks we have seen in a while, and it should work with any portable video player. Simply rip a screen-sized hole in the side of an airplane sick-bag, tuck the end into the lap-tray of the seat in front and sit back to enjoy the movie. We thought that Andy Ihnatko's Gorillapod in-flight entertainment system was good, but this one is even better. And cheaper. Testicular mumps Trick17: Free iPhonehalter [Hodenmumpds via Engadget] See Also:
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 5 Dec 2008 | 11:39 am Japanese Start-up Readies Flexible, Transparent Plasma ScreensA Japanese start-up is trying to shake up the display scene with the latest version of their flexible display prototype. Shinoda Plasma's three-meter wide, 1 mm-thick plasma made some waves earlier this year, but the new panel shown at the FPD International show in Yokohama, Japan, is the almost-final version they’ll be releasing next year. Like the last version, Shinoda's plasma is made out of three plasma tube array modules modded together to produce a 960 x 360 pixel resolution screen that weighs only 7.9 lbs. and consumes, on average, about 400 watts. But the improvement lies in the visibility of the screen. The glass tubes, which are lined with electrode films, are designed so tightly and are so long that they make the screen unbelievably thin while staying tough enough to bend. Plus, the chemistry of the tubes enables the whole display to go without a back panel, making it transparent and therefore visible from the back as well as the front. As we noted last month, makers of flexible displays are trying to carve in an important niche within the future of display industry. Most recently, government groups like the U.S. Army have unveiled their plans to test flexible panels for military applications. On top of that, the regular lineup of manufacturers is getting in line to try out this potentially lucrative market. One of the leading manufacturers investing in flexible OLED displays is Korea's Samsung. The company recently unveiled 14- and 31-inch OLED panels in a conference in Dubai, and earlier last month, displayed a prototype cell phone that contained a foldable OLED screen inside its innards as well as a plastic AMOLED with thin film encapsulation (see video below.) Because OLED panels generate light organically (through pixels that create their own light), they're also conducive to super thin and flexible designs without losing picture quality. Expect the first applications of the large panel flexible plasmas from Shinoda to show up in public areas fairly soon, and we fully expect it to show up at CES next month.
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 5 Dec 2008 | 11:25 am
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Next month’s Macworld Conference & Expo show floor will be quite a bit easier to navigate than in years past. With registration down by 20 percent over last year, there are likely to be far fewer attendees at the annual marquee Apple (AAPL) event, and with a growing list of companies pulling out of the show, there’ll be fewer booths for them to crowd. Earlier this week, Adobe (ADBE) said 
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