Source: Gizmodo | 2 Jan 2009 | 10:18 am

If You Are Really, Really Desperate For Cash, These Guys Will Give You $3k

Consulting firm Herman Blackbook is launching a new micro-fund today for application developers who want to build stuff on top of “Twitter, Boxee, AppNexus, Trulia, iPhone, and more” called the New Platforms Fund. The catch? They’ll invest only “$1-3,000″ (I hope that’s $1,000, not $1, but whatever) in exchange for equity and they are only investing in “up to 10 cutting edge ideas.”

This capital is supposed to get entrepreneurs to an alpha stage, when they’ll go out and pitch for more money, from someone else.

For the sake of comparison, the size of Kleiner Perkins’ iFund is $100 million, and it focuses only on applications for the iPhone and the iPod Touch.

Let’s be honest. There is very little reason for an entrepreneur/developer to apply for the New Platforms Fund. Incubator micro-funds like Y Combinator, TechStars and Seedcamp don’t give you much in the way of capital ($15k-$20k), but at least it’s enough to live on for a few months while you work on your idea. And those funds have very deep connections in the venture capital world to get you your first round of capital after you’ve spent their initial funds. It’s not clear at all that this new fund can do any of that for you.

If you’ve tried raising from the other guys, your friends, family and anyone else who’ll talk to you and no money is coming, I guess you could give the New Platforms Fund a try. Just don’t quit your day job. Application is here.

Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0

Source: TechCrunch | 2 Jan 2009 | 10:15 am

Self-Repairing Data Center Automation Solution Released

OSLO, January 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Following 5 years of research and development under the technical direction of its long time author Mark Burgess (a professor of Network...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 2 Jan 2009 | 9:57 am

China's Lenovo "to lay off 200 staff" in Beijing

HONG KONG, Jan 2 (Reuters) - China's Lenovo Group , the world's No.4 personal computer maker, plans to lay off 200 employees at its headquarters in Beijing as it fights tough economic conditions, an influential...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 2 Jan 2009 | 9:37 am

Panasonic to launch world’s first fully paperless fax machine

Yes, it’s true that people (and especially businesses) still use fax machines, even in Japan. The market seems to be big enough to make Panasonic Japan develop what’s reportedly the world’s first fax machine that enables users to both send and receive messages without having to use paper.

Panasonic will offer several of these devices under the KX-PW 608 series [JP], which will be available in Japan January 23 (there is no announcement regarding sales outside Japan yet). Just like sending emails on a cell phone, users can use the built-in keypad to type messages.

Alternatively, it’s possible to send documents saved in Word or other formats without having to use a PC. All fax messages can be read and forwarded through a built-in screen without having to print them on paper first.

Via Nikkei [registration required, paid subscription]

Source: CrunchGear | 2 Jan 2009 | 9:27 am

New! Safe and Wholesome Interactive Web Site and Toy Line for Children Ages 3-11 Angel Heaven(TM) World.com

ST. LOUIS, Jan. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Angel Heaven(TM) World, a new St. Louis-based online company, has unveiled their new interactive Web site and full line of original,...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 2 Jan 2009 | 9:00 am

Why Not To Shout At Your Disk Array

Brendan Gregg of Sun's Fishworks lab has an interesting video demo up at YouTube demonstrating just how bad vibes, if expressed with sufficient volume in front of a rack full of disks, can cause a spike in disk latency. White noise, evidently, doesn't do them much harm. (Maybe they just feel awkward to get yelled at on camera.)

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 2 Jan 2009 | 8:58 am

Self-Repairing Data Center Automation Solution Released

OSLO, January 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Following 5 years of research and development under the technical direction of its long time author Mark Burgess (a professor of Network and System Administration at Oslo University College), the recently formed support company Cfengine AS today released a major upgrade of the Open Source, self-repairing software cfengine based on its innovative Promise Theory technology. Unlike would-be alternatives, cfengine is not about producing alarms and reports to notify about errors and misalignments in the Data Center: it is a fully self-repairing maintenance engine capable of fixing them without human intervention.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 2 Jan 2009 | 8:57 am

Cherple Links Instant Messaging With SMS

Cherple, a new service from San Diego based Globaltel Media, wants to connect the world’s 1.5 billion Internet users to the 3.3 billion wireless devices via an instant message-to-SMS platform.

You can use the basic service today, which uses a web interface to chat two way with U.S. mobile phones via SMS. No registration is required. It works much like Google’s new Gmail SMS service which launched last month.

At CES, though, the company says they’ll launch a downloadable version of the service as well, for both Windows and Mac users. Having a persistent presence on the desktop will make the application much more useful (I hope it also auto-imports and syncs mobile numbers and names from my address book). A Linux version will follow, as well as MySpace and Facebook apps. The company is also white labeling the service.

Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.

Source: TechCrunch | 2 Jan 2009 | 8:34 am

A Much Cleaner Way To Get Those Twitter Messages To Your Email

Forget Twply, the day old and already despised service that forwards Twitter messages directly to your email inbox. There’s a new service which will do the same thing that doesn’t require you to give up your Twitter credentials - TwitApps Replies. You simply follow the TwitApps Replies Twitter account, and then reply to the direct message it sends you with the email you’d like the messages forwarded to. If you want to stop the service, just send a direct message to the service saying “stop.”

Emails are sent hourly or when you’ve had 25 replies, whichever occurs first. There isn’t much to complain about, and this is a much better way to get the same service. Great little service.

Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.

Source: TechCrunch | 2 Jan 2009 | 8:05 am

With 2008, Let’s Say Good-bye to Mediocrity [Voices]

By Om Malik, Founder and Senior Writer, GigaOm

As 2008 takes its final breaths, I am sitting in my apartment, which is enveloped in a thick fog that’s hiding both the ugly high-rises and the beauty that is the San Francisco Bay. The fog is also muting the sounds of the city–a good enough reason as any to ponder the year that was.

Many of us who obsess about the minutiae of Silicon Valley were slow to respond (at our own peril) to the credit crunch and the financial tsunami that it unleashed. After all, who could have imagined that within a few short months around the world, banks would be quasi-nationalized, capitalist governments would have to adopt socialist principles to save failing enterprises and seemingly astute soothsayers would turn out to be worse than than highway con men.

Whether or not the bailouts were needed remains up for debate. I will let others scream and holler in outrage about the immorality of the actions taken by our completely biased politicians. I will let those who are suffering tell their tragic stories on national media. All I am going to say is this: In 2008, U.S. society–from the very top (our political leaders) to the very bottom (our bankers)–came to embrace mediocrity.

Read the rest of this post

Source: All Things Digital | 2 Jan 2009 | 8:04 am

Bad News for Workers is Good News for LinkedIn [Voices]

By Jon Swartz, Reporter, USA Today

Where everyone else sees economic gloom and doom, Reid Hoffman sees opportunity.

As the freshly minted CEO of LinkedIn (and its founder), he is shepherding a moneymaking tech company in battered Silicon Valley. And he anticipates more growth next year.

That is no small achievement. The social-networking site, which lets business professionals create online profiles to seek jobs and network, is adding members faster than ever despite its own recent layoffs and a management shake-up.

“LinkedIn is the office, Facebook is the barbecue in the backyard, and MySpace is the bar,” says Hoffman, referring to the three major social-networking sites battling it out for millions of consumers and billions of dollars in online ads.

Read the rest of this post

Source: All Things Digital | 2 Jan 2009 | 8:03 am

Gaza Battles on Twitter, Blogs [Voices]

By Alan Abbey, Contributor, E-Media Tidbits, PoynterOnline

I wish I could say that Twitter is providing useful, on-the-ground, independent reports of the Israeli military action in Gaza and the Hamas bombing of southern Israel. But all I have found there so far–in English, from individual tweeters (not news organizations, some of which are using Twitter in their Gaza coverage)–is heated rhetoric from non-Gazans and international observers. The Israeli side is more ideological than reportorial at this stage, as well.

Twitter searches for Gaza and #Gaza revealed a plethora of postings, but a dearth of newsy content.

Read the rest of this post

Source: All Things Digital | 2 Jan 2009 | 8:02 am

Turns Out You Can’t Sue SexSearch.com If The Girl You Met Via It Is Underage [Voices]

By Mike Masnick, Blogger, Techdirt

Another day, another case where someone tried to blame a Web site for the actions of its users. In this case, a guy used the website SexSearch (seriously) to find someone to have sex with (ah, the Internet…). The woman he met claimed in her profile that she was 18 years old. In reality, she was apparently only 14–and the guy was eventually brought up on statutory rape charges. In turn, he sued SexSearch, claiming that the site had a responsibility to verify the ages of its users–something he failed to do himself. After a district court ruling tossed out the lawsuit, an appeals court has also tossed out the lawsuit, noting that none of the various 14 claims the guy brought against the site seemed to hold up under scrutiny. Basically, as the judge in the district court noted: “Plaintiff clearly had the ability to confirm Jane Roe’s age when he met with her in person, before they had sex, yet failed to do so.”

Read the rest of this post

Source: All Things Digital | 2 Jan 2009 | 8:01 am

Hollywood’s Digital Dawdling [Voices]

By Stephen H. Wildstrom, Writer and Editor, Technology & You, BusinessWeek

On Feb. 3, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SNE) is going to make an honest man of me. Finally I will be able to buy a legal DVD of one of my favorite movies, Carol Reed’s 1959 Our Man in Havana. But there’s still no rhyme or reason to what films are available in any digital form. If, for example, you happen to have a videotape player around, you can watch an old VHS version of The African Queen. But you can’t buy it on DVD or download it from any of the Hollywood-sanctioned online services.

The basic problem is that Hollywood is attempting to preserve an analog business model in a digital age.

Read the rest of this post

Source: All Things Digital | 2 Jan 2009 | 8:00 am

New! Safe and Wholesome Interactive Web Site and Toy Line for Children Ages 3-11 Angel Heaven(TM) World.com

ST. LOUIS, Jan. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Angel Heaven(TM) World, a new St.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 2 Jan 2009 | 8:00 am

Nokia CEO to favor profit over sales targets: report (Reuters)

Reuters - Nokia will focus on profit development amid a falling cell phone market in which many competitors are cutting prices, Chief Executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo told the Financial Times.

Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 2 Jan 2009 | 7:46 am

The top 10 DVDs of 2008 - Times Herald-Record

Which?

The top 10 DVDs of 2008 Times Herald-Record - 7 hours ago By Germain Lussier This year officially marked the end of the DVD, as Blu-ray was ushered in as the format of the future. Still, with the higher-definition discs dropping in price and gaining popularity, the DVD was going strong in 2008 (and will ... These eight memorable DVD moments were tops in 2008 Reading Eagle Blu-ray only for Warner, HD DVD teetering Blast iFMagazine - CNET News - PC World - PC Magazine all 208 news articles

Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 2 Jan 2009 | 7:14 am

Apple Says Farewell to Macworld, Hello to the Big Time

It's clear today why Steve Jobs dropped the word "Computer" from Apple's company name in 2007.

The CEO had greater ambitions for Apple. And with the phenomenal success of the iPhone, iPod, iTunes Store and App Store in 2008, Apple shook up the music, phone and software industries, ultimately proving the company is far more than a PC manufacturer. Meanwhile, sales of its Mac desktops and notebooks continued to build momentum, getting the company's share of the PC market to flirt with double digits for the first time in over a decade. 

Now, with Apple preparing to make its final appearance at the Macworld trade show in San Francisco this week, everyone is watching to see what the company's next move will be.

"One thing that's become clear over the last seven or eight years is Apple is much more than a personal computer company," said Yair Reiner, an Oppenheimer analyst. "It's a company that is able to revolutionize the way that consumers interact with digital media of every kind."

Apple's growth in the past decade is indeed remarkable. The company had a series of hits and misses in its early years, with flops such as the clunky Macintosh Portable in 1989 and successes like the first PowerBook laptop in 1991. And in the background, Jobs even resigned from Apple after a power struggle in 1985 -- which led to a dismal period for the corporation until he retook the helm in 1997. It wasn't until 1998 that Apple gained some serious momentum with the introduction of its all-in-one desktop, the iMac, which boosted the company into profitability.

The iMac hit a grand slam for Apple, driving the company to the success evident today. Since 2001, the corporation has expanded from just two stores to 240 retail locations worldwide to date. And you know Apple's doing well when practically every computer you see in a Hollywood movie is a Mac. Heck, Macs and Steve Jobs even recently appeared in an episode of The Simpsons. As for the phone industry, Jobs in October proclaimed Apple to be the third largest handset supplier in the world thanks to the insanely popular iPhone, only two years old. 

Not bad for a company that remains a miniature player in the worldwide PC market. Apple still only possesses 3.3 percent of the global market share and 8 percent in the United States, according to research firm IDC.

"Apple is everywhere now, and everyone knows Apple," said Bruce Evans, better known as "Snaggy," who co-writes the geeky comic strip Joy of Tech. "Ten years ago the thought of Apple stores in malls would have seemed as far off and dreamy as rocket cars in the parking lots!"

Apple and its cult following have much to celebrate, but its future is uncertain. The majority of speculators believe that Jobs' era -- and the entire Apple era -- is coming to an end.

The corporation recently delivered some shocking news: Jobs won't be delivering his famous keynote speech to launch new Apple products at Macworld Expo 2009. And on top of that, Apple won't be appearing for another Macworld show after this year.

Of course, these announcements rebooted a dialog about Jobs' health. Some are insisting that the pancreatic cancer survivor is without a doubt extremely ill. Others are making a more conservative guess -- that Apple is transitioning Jobs out of the CEO role. Either way, none of the guesses about Apple's future bear positive implications.

"Whatever the condition of Steve's health, his cancer has caused a certain amount of soul searching by the company," said Roger Kay, an analyst with Endpoint Technologies. "How do you replace the maestro?  The paradox of the dictatorial personality is that it can't replicate itself. Genghis Khan's empire was gone 130 years after it was created.... So, a big question mark relates to how the product development process will work once he's out of the picture."

The future of Macworld Expo is in question as well. Before Apple announced it was pulling out of the show after 2009, Macworld already saw a 20 percent drop in registrations. Most surprising -- and alarming -- is that Adobe will not be exhibiting at the show.

International Data Group, who hosts Macworld Expo, said it plans to return for another Macworld in 2010. Still, things are looking grim for Macworld. When Apple pulled out of the east coast Macworld show in 2003, the event survived for a few years before it died out.

"I'm hopeful  that Macworld will survive and evolve into even more of a cultural event and less a marketing one," Evans said. "That's the core strength behind Apple, the geeks and nerds who love to use the products to create new things, and share information with each other. The Spirit of the Homebrew Club lives on."

 

Photos: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 2 Jan 2009 | 7:00 am

CMU Using GPS and Accelerometer Systems To Improve Football Officiating

A professor of computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon is combining her mutual love of football and wireless technologies in a project that could lead to a sucker-free future devoid of referrees and missed calls.

Dr. Priya Narasimhan is embedding GPS and accelerometer systems in footballs and gloves in order to improve the accuracy of officiating. If she succeeds in her goal of ultimately placing the tech into the ranks of pro football, it's going to be that much harder to blame the ref for a blown call.

But it might finally lead to accurate play-tracking down to millimeters. Some of the applications of the remote sensors include measurements of real-time ball handling grips, detailed ball trajectories, and its speed and relative position on the field. This could also help teams determine which players are better at safely cradling the ball during a run.

According to Dr. Narasimham, the technology is still in its nascent stages. However, the balls already have the technology to able to determine time of posession and automatic first down markers (the dudes who carry the chains should start filling out their resume right about now.)

The special gloves are embedded with 15 wireless touch sensors throughout the fingers and the palm and run up to a wireless pod on the back of the arm. They measure which parts of the glove are touching the ball at all times and this can help measure the correct hand positioning of a player when receiving a ball.

As for the footballs, they were opened up to place a GPS chip and an accelerometer inside and then were filled with upholstery foam for cushioning. The current chip sends the tracking data once per second and is accurate up to 30 feet.

For the next iteration of the project, Prof. Narasimhan and her team are working on a new embedded chip that sends information four times a second and will make the GPS more accurate by placing permanent receivers near the field to determine its position.

One of the doctoral students working on the project envisions the data being displayed on football broadcasts with the same type of liberty as defense line formations are now. While knowing the minute technical hand position of each player might appear like it would be too revealing (or unnecessary), it's good to remember that a lot of the analysis and visual examples now used by broadcasts and video games used to be regarded as either taboo (too much information for the other team to exploit) or 'too inside' to be appealing.

But in the last 15 years, pro football has quickly adopted growing technologies for the benefit of the game, such as projected first down lines, instant replay, and radio helmets. So it is likely something like this will eventually make its way to the game. It's just too bad they can't institute this tech in time for this year's NFL playoffs.

Photo: Andrew Rush/CMU

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 2 Jan 2009 | 6:57 am

CES 2009 Preview: The Ace HiSaver

Section: Gadgets / Other, Green, Household, Lifestyle, Trade Shows, CES

Whether you’re about going green or saving green, you can help yourself out by lowering your energy consumption.  Plenty of us know that computers, monitors, and other toys draw energy even when in standby.  Show of hands—how many of us actually unplug our devices?  Yeah, me neither. 

At CES, Ace is introducing the “HiSaver,“ a power strip that claims to reduce energy consumption.  Ace presents an example where several devices draw 41 watts while off.  The HiSaver is supposed to drop that to 0.2 watts. 

As is the case with most devices that save you money over the long run, this device comes with a high (for a power strip) $99 price tag.  I wonder how long it will take for the HiSaver to pay for itself.  If it lives up to its claims, this could be a must have.

Company Page: [Ace]

Full Story » | Written by Iyaz Akhtar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

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Source: Gadgetell | 2 Jan 2009 | 6:38 am

Falcon 9 Is Now Fully Integrated At Cape Canaveral

RobGoldsmith writes "SpaceX's Falcon 9 is now fully integrated: an update from Elon Musk states 'Falcon 9 is now fully integrated at the Cape! Today we mated the 5.2 m payload fairing to the Falcon 9 first stage. This was the final step in the integration process — one day ahead of schedule.' New images are now available showing the first fully integrated Falcon 9 Rocket. Once the launch mount and erector are complete, SpaceX will transfer Falcon 9 on to the erector and raise it to vertical early in 2009."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 2 Jan 2009 | 6:08 am

“Macho Man” Randy Savage mod for Left 4 Dead

This is possibly the funniest thing ever. Install the Macho Madness mod and the tortured moans and terrifying cries of the infected are replaced by “Macho Man” Randy Savage quotes, exclamations, and catch phrases. I die laughing whenever I hear one of the zombies yell “snap into a Slim Jim!”

Happy new year, people. Hopefully 2009 will be as good for gaming as 2008 was.

[via Reddit]

Source: CrunchGear | 2 Jan 2009 | 5:53 am

Not all Blu-ray discs are created equal

Section: Video, Content, HDTV, Web, Websites

If you are one of those people who picked up a Blu-ray player with hopes of superior audio and video quality, you should know which discs pack the best bang for the buck.

TweakTown has put together its “Digital Lounge Blu-ray Awards.“  “The Dark Knight” and “Iron Man” picked up honors as did Sony Pictures.  The awards are not the typical “Best Movie” kind of thing—these awards spotlight things like best audio quality and best special features collection.

Since Blu-ray is maturing as a format, I think that the studios are figuring out the best way to put their HD transfers to disc.  I’m sure many of you have played with and tweaked your compression settings while trying to keep file size small.  If you’re filling out your Blu-ray library, award winners may be the place to start. 

Read [TweakTown]

Full Story » | Written by Iyaz Akhtar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

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Source: Gadgetell | 2 Jan 2009 | 5:20 am

Wired.com's Top 10 Videos of 2008

It was good year for movin' pictures. Here's the cream of the crop.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 2 Jan 2009 | 5:00 am

10 Most Awesome iPhone Apps of 2008

The iPhone alone is an amazing device. But it's the phenomenal App Store that's made the iPhone truly revolutionary, by giving thousands of independent developers the ability extend and transform the device with their creativity.

Not even half a year old, the store has surpassed a milestone of 10,000 pieces of software available. Since the beginning, Wired.com has paid close attention to the gems that shine among the dross.

We've plucked out a list of 10 apps — from mapping software to musical instruments to games — that deserve applause for their quality, innovation and breakthrough achievements. Here they are — Jay Leno style — with our top pick at the very bottom.

10. Stanza
A book reader that grabs free titles from public domains, Stanza has soared in popularity — making the iPhone a worthy competitor to Amazon's Kindle. And if those free books aren't enough, Stanza recently expanded to incorporate a store to purchase commercial titles. The app did a good job pleasing Wired.com's Charlie Sorrel, who modified his Moleskine notebook so he could embed his iPod touch in it. (That way, he could read e-books at the cafe while exuding an aura of pretentious artiness, instead of pretentious geekiness.) Download Stanza (Free)

9. SayWhere
You get used to typing on the iPhone after some time, but punching in addresses to look up directions is by far the biggest drag. DialDirections was the first to introduce speech-recognition capabilities to the iPhone with SayWhere, which translates users' speech into queries for Google Maps, Yelp, Traffic or Yellow Pages. It's a nifty app, especially for keeping drivers' eyes on the road rather than the iPhone's virtual keyboard. Download SayWhere (Free)

8. Tweetie
Twitter, a new form of micro-blogging, became more legitimate when it broke the news of the deadly Mumbai attacks. And Tweetie is the best app we've found to follow your Twitter friends. The app neatly separates Twitter feeds into categories, and the interface resembles the bubbly iChat interface that most of us have come to love. It even lets you search Twitter and save those searches for later. A must-have for Twitterholics.  Download Tweetie ($3)   

7. NetShare
This app is so cool you can't have it anymore. Nullriver's NetShare, an application that turns your iPhone into a wireless modem, disappeared from the App Store shortly after its release. Later, we learned Apple banned the app because NetShare violated AT&T's terms of service agreement. So only a lucky few (including some Wired.com staff) got the benefits of unlimited iPhone tethering, which normally costs about $30 a month, for a one-time price of $10. Bummer!

6. Shazam
Everyone's familiar with this scenario: You hear a really catchy, unfamiliar song on the radio and you have no idea what it's called. You hum it to yourself repeatedly and attempt to memorize the lyrics, only to forget it after slamming a few shots at the bar. Shazam will never leave you struggling to recollect these thoughts again: Hold the iPhone up to a speaker playing the unknown tune and the app will identify it — album, artist and song title — just like that. Download Shazam (Free)

5. Ocarina
The hottest music app in the App Store, Ocarina thought beyond the iPhone's touchscreen and found a unique way to use the handset's microphone. Blowing into the mic simulates the experience of tooting into a flute; you play around with four virtual "holes" on the screen to change the note. Ocarina users around the world can even hear what you're playing in a globe mode. It takes a while to get a hang of it, but Ocarina gives away just how creative iPhone apps can get so long as developers have enough imagination. Download Ocarina ($1)

4. TapTapRevenge
You'd have to be living on a different planet (or a retirement home) if you haven't heard of Guitar Hero, the game that gets players to twitch their fingers compulsively along with the beat of their favorite songs. Developer Tapulous took the same idea to make an extremely addictive rhythm game called Tap Tap Revenge. Tapping blinking lights on a screen to catch tunes isn't exactly the same as rocking out on plastic guitars and drum pads, but it's still highly addictive. And Tap Tap Revenge is so popular it's even offering the option to download new tracks to tap to, similar to Guitar Hero and Rock Band's music stores. Download TapTapRevenge (Free)

3. Trism
Trism is such an addictive and appealing game that it blessed its developer Steve Demeter with $250,000 in profit in just two months. And deservedly so, because the game's really well designed and plays something like a Bejeweled with an accelerometer to move around the puzzle pieces. It wouldn't be fair to call it one game, either: There are three different modes to keep you hooked. Download Trism ($3)

2. Pandora
Whoa whoa whoa — free downloaded music on a portable device? You don't say. Pandora's alternative music distribution made this happen, and the app is cool as hell on the iPhone. Add a station for an artist you like, and the app will play that artist's music as well as similar tunes you might like. What better way to find new music with the wealth of new bands out there? Download Pandora (Free)

1. Google Earth
When Steve Jobs called the iPhone "Your life in your pocket," he probably didn't expect Google to deliver the world in your pocket. Well, virtually. Displaying satellite imagery around the world in a 3-D globe, Google Earth is one of the most intense, mindblowing apps that truly shows off the powers of the iPhone. If you want to impress your grandmother with a demonstration of just how far technology has come since she was a girl, this ought to do the trick. Download Google Earth (Free)

Source: Wired Top Stories | 2 Jan 2009 | 5:00 am

Apple Says Farewell to Macworld, Hello to the Big Time

With Macworld 2009 around the corner, we take a look back and a look forward at the state of Apple, a company that has moved beyond cult status to become a dominant player in computers, music and mobile phones.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 2 Jan 2009 | 5:00 am

Apple Says Farewell to Macworld, Hello to the Big Time

With Macworld 2009 around the corner, we take a look back and a look forward at the state of Apple, a company that has moved beyond cult status to become a dominant player in computers, music and mobile phones.

Source: Wired: Gadgets | 2 Jan 2009 | 5:00 am

Toss Your Most Brilliant Product Ideas Into Ponoko.com's Fishbowl

Live out your DIY dreams at Ponoko.com, where designers whip up production-ready furniture and laser-cut tchotchkes from your ideas. Ponoko's new service lets creative types submit concepts and designers mock them up. You can sell your built-to-order product on the site, CafePress-style. We request a few items we wish were on the market.

Source: Wired Top Stories | 2 Jan 2009 | 5:00 am

Remotely lock up your home thanks to Black and Decker

Section: Gadgets / Other, Household

For years, I’ve wondered why I can unlock my car door with a remote, but couldn’t do the same with my house.  Black and Decker is looking to bring wireless remotes to door locks for residential use in 2009.

Also, it appears as if the locks will work from far away.  Will it work through the Internet like certain Schlage locks?  We’ll see.  There is no information on when exactly Black and Decker plans to formally launch these devices, but I’m looking forward to it. 

Read [Pocket-Lint]

Full Story » | Written by Iyaz Akhtar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

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Source: Gadgetell | 2 Jan 2009 | 4:15 am

Unlocking the iPhone 3G - or maybe not (CNET)

CNET - Gadget blogs on New Year's Day were aflutter with word that an application called Yellowsn0w was available for those who want to unlock the iPhone 3G.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 2 Jan 2009 | 3:31 am

New Vuzix VR Glasses To Be Unveiled at CES

The biggest feature of the new Vuzix virtual reality glasses has nothing to do with a new technology.

Mostly, it comes from the fact that the company finally hired a designer aware of current aesthetic tastes. The older models of the VR system looked like props straight from Star Trek: The Next Generation, and they exposed the poor saps brave enough to try them in public far too easily.

The new design is interesting enough that any cool-kid Bono wannabe could reach for them, while keeping it fairly basic.

The Wrap 920AV will have some pretty good tech inside as well. It will have an improved variation of virtual reality combined with augmented reality, whereby an object or video feed will appear in space. Basically, it opens up certain video away from a block panel display into one that will give the appearance of interactivity.

While it sounds a bit confusing, Vuzix promises the optics are much improved and that you will actually feel like you're watching a real screen. Previous versions suffered from a narrow frame, resulting in a POV that didn't live up to its goal of immersive-style entertainment.

 

According to a Vuzix rep, the glasses will be able to connect to any type of portable media player and will be unveiled for the first time during next week's CES 2009.

Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 2 Jan 2009 | 3:22 am

Facebook nudity policy draws nursing moms' ire (AP)

AP - Web-savvy moms who breast-feed are irate that social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace restrict photos of nursing babies. The disputes reveal how the sites' community policing techniques sometimes struggle to keep up with the booming number and diversity of their members.

Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 2 Jan 2009 | 3:16 am

The Problem With Twply

Bloggers are enraged over a day old service called Twply that lets Twitter users forward messages that include their user name to their email address.

The first round of complaints centered on spam, because Twply asks if it can send a Twitter message from your account saying that you’ve tried the service (and lots of people are). Then someone noticed that the service was sold for $1,200 immediately after launching.

Neither of these issues really bother me. The message Twply sends out is a standard practice with new web services, although they aren’t very clear in their description of what’s going to happen when they ask permission: “Support Twply on your first login?” And with regard to the sale, meh. I don’t know or particularly trust the people behind Twply, so it doesn’t matter to me that they’re selling it to yet another unknown person or entity.

But there are other issues with the service that do bother me. First, in the sale listing Twply says that the buyer can generate revenue via advertisements in the emails being sent out: “The site currently has no revenue, but the site could do very well with ads within the emails. The emails with the @replies in them are designed to have html in them where you could add ads.”

I don’t want ads being added to these emails without my permission. And this leads me to the second, and bigger problem, with Twply - there is no way to turn the service off. The only thing you can do on the site is add your Twitter credentials and then let it run. There is no way to turn off the service once you’ve started using it (Update: apparently you can disable it via a screen I didn’t see when I first used it, see comments).

Well, there is one way. That’s by changing your Twitter password so that the service can’t access your account. Lots of people are doing that now, as will I.

This is a reminder that Twitter really needs a third party authentication system so that users don’t need to type their credentials into random sites to try out new services. Perhaps this debacle will give Twitter the push they need to deploy that feature.

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

Source: TechCrunch | 2 Jan 2009 | 3:02 am

Time Warner/Viacom Rift Healed, Pending Details

jwilcox154 writes "Yesterday a dispute over fee hikes had threatened a damaging blackout at a minute past midnight Thursday that would have prevented TWC subscribers from watching their favorite shows such as 'SpongeBob SquarePants' and 'The Colbert Report.' The two sides reached an agreement on Thursday, the first of January 2009. The companies stated the terms of the deal were not disclosed. Details must still be finalized over the next few days."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 2 Jan 2009 | 3:00 am

The Digg Civil War

Section: Originals, Web, Web 2.0, Websites

There’s a small civil war beginning on Digg.com.  If you don’t know what Digg is—there is no way to finish that sentence—everyone knows Digg. 

In the past couple of days, a bunch of stories have made it to the front page of Digg demanding change.  The stories claim that “power diggers” have taken over Digg and it is no longer a fair playing ground for all users.

The claim is that the stories themselves no longer make it to the front page of Digg.  If identical stories are submitted by a regular user and a power digger, even if the regular user submitted the story first, the power digger’s story will make the front page.  Some users are stating that they won’t even submit a story to Digg because they don’t think it will ever reach the front page. 

The biggest solution that has been championed is using anonymous submissions.  The argument goes if no one knows who exactly is submitting stories, the stories will be dugg based on their merit and not on the basis of the submitter. 

I was looking around on Digg competitor site, Reddit, and stumbled upon a graphic for “Support No Digg Day” to take place on January 4, 2009.  “Don’t let Power Diggers manipulate your Digg experience” is emblazoned on the top of the image.  There is no need to go into the Digg/Reddit rivalry here, but that is one interesting graphic.

It has gotten to the point where Digg founder, Kevin Rose, has responded to the concerns in a comment to one of the Digg stories.  He is “disappointed in the tone taken towards the staff here at Digg.  We have 70 or so engineers, designers . . . trying to create a better site for everyone.  Does Digg have issues with promotion/diversity?  Of course . . . it’s something that we have a team constantly tweaking/evolving to stay ahead of gaming. . . .“

Digg’s own popularity is causing their problem.  Yes, I have seen plenty of stories by certain diggers on the front page.  When Digg started years ago, every digger was a nobody and stories reached the front page if enough people dugg the story.  I, myself, have had several front page stories years ago.

I am sure that Digg will change one way or another.  They have always been very responsive and do what they can to remain an excellent source of information.  After they fix this psuedo-oligarchical problem, something else is bound to come up. 

Read [Digg]
Read [Kevin Rose’s response]
Read [“No Digg Day” graphic]
Read [Digg petition]

Full Story » | Written by Iyaz Akhtar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

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Source: Gadgetell | 2 Jan 2009 | 2:15 am

The cure for Zunepocalypse

FROM APPLETELL - Microsoft has offered a solution to the Z2K9 problem, and it’s a solution so elegant, it should have occurred to anyone who has owned, tried, or even seen a Zune. MORE »

Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

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Source: Gadgetell | 2 Jan 2009 | 1:50 am

CrunchDeals: Free Parallels for Windows/Linux

Thats right. You heard it. Parallels for free. It may not be the version for Mac, but you can still virtualize Windows in Linux or vice versa. Just head over to this link and request a key.

[slickdeals via geardiary]

Source: CrunchGear | 2 Jan 2009 | 1:28 am

iPhone Dev-Team launches yellowsn0w unlock

FROM APPLETELL - The iPhone Dev Team has released their iPhone 3G unlock software, entitled “yellowsn0w.“  The hack runs only on the iPhone 2.2 firmware. . . MORE »

Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

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Source: Gadgetell | 2 Jan 2009 | 1:20 am

Innovative Enterprises Introduces NC2.0(TM) Background Screening

NEWPORT NEWS, Va., Jan. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Innovative Enterprises, Inc.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 2 Jan 2009 | 12:57 am

Learn and Save aims to help both the consumer and the company

Section: Video, Content, Video Providers, Gadgets / Other, Lifestyle, Web, Websites, Online Music/Video

Now that it is 2009, one of your resolutions might have been to try and save more money.  Who can blame you?  I’m sure many share your resolution, and a recently launched website, called Learn and Save, aims to help you save more money.  With more than 15,000 tutorials, Learn and Save provides many how-to video tutorials, quality information, and then some coupons for additional savings. 

Learn and Save’s main goal is to help the consumer learn more about products they are interested in through how-to tutorials, in depth articles, and then coupons.  I think that how-to tutorials videos on this site would be better than how-to videos on YouTube, because many of them are company sponsored, and they have to be approved first before they go on the site; whereas on YouTube, anyone can make videos and put them up.

Charlie Gillette, Chief Executive Officer of Learn and Save, had this to say about their new site:

“Our vision is to provide tutorials on a wide range of topics where each tutorial is matched to savings opportunities that also match the subject and content of the tutorial. We have designed the site so it is simple, safe and convenient to use. We recognized that as economic conditions continue to tighten, people are looking for ways to save money. Tutorials married with coupons help meet that need by allowing consumers to get instructions in a safe online environment while taking advantage of savings and connecting with other experts to maximize the use of their products.”

In addition, Gillette claims that companies also benefit from his site because they can display relevant ads to their products when someone searches for it.  Consumers would be more likely to buy their product on this site than some random website where the same ad is displayed.  Companies also sponsor how-to tutorials in hopes that the consumer will watch that video, understand the product better, and not return it. 

Overall, it sounds like a cool site that, if managed well, definitely has some great potential.

Check it out: [Learn and Save]
Read [BusinessWire]

Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

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Source: Gadgetell | 2 Jan 2009 | 12:17 am

RemoteDroid: use your G1 as a mouse and keyboard for your PC

RemoteDroid allows you to use the touchscreen and keyboard of your G1 as inputs for your PC. I’m trying to think of a situation in which this would be handy and not just cool, but I can’t. Of course, that doesn’t change the fact that it’s totally awesome. Actually, it could be useful for a home theater PC setup, or for making people think your computer is haunted.

You’ll need to install the “server” on your Windows machine, and then of course the app on your G1. After that you’re only limited by your imagination. And some other stuff, probably.

[via Engadget]

Source: CrunchGear | 2 Jan 2009 | 12:16 am

RemoteDroid: use your G1 as a mouse and keyboard for your PC

RemoteDroid allows you to use the touchscreen and keyboard of your G1 as inputs for your PC. I’m trying to think of a situation in which this would be handy and not just cool, but I can’t. Of course, that doesn’t change the fact that it’s totally awesome. Actually, it could be useful for a home theater PC setup, or for making people think your computer is haunted.

You’ll need to install the “server” on your Windows machine, and then of course the app on your G1. After that you’re only limited by your imagination. And some other stuff, probably.

[via Engadget]

Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors

Source: MobileCrunch | 2 Jan 2009 | 12:15 am

IE Market Share Drops Below 70%

Mike writes "Microsoft's market share in the browser dropped below 70% for the first time in eight years, while Mozilla broke the 20% barrier for the first time in its history. It's too early to tell for sure, but if Net Applications' numbers are correct, then Microsoft's Internet Explorer will end 2008 with a historic market share loss in a software segment Microsoft believes is key to its business."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 2 Jan 2009 | 12:06 am

That Was, Like, So 2008 Part 2: Gamertell’s big fat July through December 2008 recap

FROM GAMERTELL - Gamertell takes a look back at the more interesting, popular, noteworhty and weird stories of 2008.  This second of the two-parter includes July through December… MORE »

Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

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Source: Gadgetell | 1 Jan 2009 | 11:33 pm

Steve Jobs' Macworld Keynotes, 1998-2008

Ian Lamont writes "The Industry Standard has put together a collection of video highlights from Steve Jobs' Macworld keynotes since his return to Apple in the late 1990s. It's interesting to watch. Jobs was basically able to turn tech product demonstrations into convincing consumer spectacles that made even the simplest product feature — such as the handle on the clamshell iBook — seem innovative and utterly desirable. And while his appearance changed greatly over the years (compare his 1998 iMac demonstration with his "iPod Mini" keynote in 2004, when he was reportedly trying to treat cancer with a special diet), his enthusiasm never waned. Of course, he may make appearances at Apple's WWDC or other events, but a Macworld expo with Phil Schiller headlining just won't be the same."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 1 Jan 2009 | 10:32 pm

Gadgetell Review: Coosh headset

Section: Audio, Headphones, Reviews

What is it?

• Coosh is a pair of headphones with a microphone that works with your iPhone or Blackberry.

What’s cool:

• The headphones are comfortable.
• Built-in microphone does an okay job.
• Built-in cord management is a good idea.

What’s not:

• Audio quality is not too great.

The Crux:

• For $30, the Coosh headset is a good idea that needs some revisions.  Wait for a second version.

Trying to wear them

The Coosh headset promotes itself as the headphones that stay on and feel good.  Unlike other headphones, the wrap around pieces are a flexible silicone instead of rigid plastic. 

There are instructions explaining how to wear the headset.  I am not a huge fan of needing instructions to wear headphones, but I gave it a chance.  After wrapping the silicone earrings around my ears, the earbuds kept falling away from ears.  The headphones stayed on my ear thanks to the earrings, but the buds kept falling away. 

What was I doing while the buds fell out?  Turning my head sitting at a computer. 

I reread the instructions.  I saw that Coosh had a bunch of reviews on their site saying these headphones are great and stay in.  Maybe my ears are not fully compatible with the Coosh headphones.  My wife also had the same difficulty with the headphones.

Audio quality

The audio quality is only so-so.  It is probably only a little better than the headphones that come with the iPod.  That is not saying much.  I normally use a pair of $20 Sony Fontopia in-ear headphones, which I think sound much better than the Coosh. 

Bass on the Coosh is hard to hear and at loud volumes, music becomes distorted.  Microphone quality was fine.  There were no complaints from people I called while using the Coosh headset. 

Wrap up

I am by no means an audiophile, but these headphones are nothing special.  The audio quality is passable, but you can get better sounding headphones for less money.  They might not come with microphones, though. 

The Coosh is a good idea, there is a built-in cord manager and clip to keep the microphone near you.  Perhaps an in-ear model would be better.  The headset costs $30 at the Coosh site, but you can get it on Amazon for less.

Product Page [Coosh.com]