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Txt To Identify Unknown CallersA text messaging service that enables users to identify unknown callers and text senders in the USA has been launched by WhitePages. Although a basic form of caller ID is available on most mobile devices...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 9 Aug 2009 | 3:23 am 911 Service To Accept Text MessagesAn emergency call center in Waterloo, Iowa, as become the first in the country to accept "911" emergency text messages and even reply back, too. [via Mobile Technology Weblog]Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 9 Aug 2009 | 3:20 am FP About, Twitter, democracy and overthrowing dictatorshipsForeign Policy August 6 2009 Authoritarian regimes should fear Twitter. [via Smart Mobs] Combined with other tools - e-mail, social networking, and blogs -- Twitter can certainly be helpful in spreading...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 9 Aug 2009 | 3:12 am Texting and driving is a dangerous combination. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa ... - Tulsa World
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 9 Aug 2009 | 3:08 am Air quality poorer in Malaysia's BorneoAir quality in Malaysia's Sarawak state on Borneo island edged towards "very unhealthy" levels of pollution Sunday as wildfires raged in forests and peat-growing land in the state. The...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 9 Aug 2009 | 3:06 am St Petersburg, MoscowPhone recharging stations at Moscow's Domodedovo airport. Fans waiting in vain outside the Astoria Hotel in St Petersburg to get a glimpse of Madonna on her way to perform at the central square,...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 9 Aug 2009 | 2:39 am OnLive and Gaikai — How To Stop a Gaming Revolutionhappierr writes "The gaming industry has been struggling in the last few months, and it is about to struggle even more when OnLive and Gaikai launch later this year. The new services are both a step in the right direction to counter piracy and provide easily-accessible gaming to people with low-end PCs. They might even do for PC gaming what the Wii did for casual gaming; greatly expand the market and draw interest from people who would not ordinarily play games. The services are a real threat for the Big Three video game companies (Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo). How will they combat these revolutionary services? There are a few steps that the Big Three are taking to combat the New Two, such as an increased reliance on peripherals and vision cameras, exclusivity deals, and more online multiplayer features, which OnLive and Gaikai will have a hard time matching."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 9 Aug 2009 | 2:36 am Collaborative Text Messaging Reference ServiceA new library service named My Info Quest claims to be the first collaborative text messaging reference service of its kind. The Alliance Library System of Illinois, has partnered with about 50 participating...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 9 Aug 2009 | 1:18 am Shoot It! photo app now available in App StoreWe've been beta testing the Shoot It! app for the past couple of months, and we are excited to let you guys know that it is now available for purchase in the App Store for $0.99. Why the excitement? Well,...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 9 Aug 2009 | 1:11 am Predicting the UnpredictableAfter graduating from college, I left the barren Arizona desert for Manhattan to take my first job. It didn’t take long for my new Manhattanite friends to inform me that it was time to upgrade to...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 9 Aug 2009 | 1:00 am Attacks on lone blogger reverberate across Web (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 9 Aug 2009 | 12:27 am A glimpse at a soon-to-come Microsoft StoreHey, remember when we told you that Microsoft Stores were on their way, and that we'd see them cropping up starting in June? Well it looks like we just got an image of the first store that is currently...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 9 Aug 2009 | 12:23 am Paul Krassner revisits LSD trip taken with Manson Family member Squeaky FrommeThere's been much media attention this month around Manson family: August, 2009 marks 40 years since the Tate/La Bianca murders. One former Manson Family member, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, is scheduled...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 8 Aug 2009 | 11:46 pm Paul Krassner revisits LSD trip taken with Manson Family member Squeaky Fromme There's been much media attention this month around Manson family: August, 2009 marks 40 years since the Tate/La Bianca murders. One former Manson Family member, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, is scheduled to soon be released on parole from a federal prison in Texas. She has served 34 years for attempting to kill President Gerald Ford in 1975, and did not participate in the murders for which Manson and others were imprisoned in 1971. Paul Krassner was investigating the story of those murders back in 1971. Over at the Huffington Post today, he retells the tale of how he came to drop acid with Ms. Fromme at a house in Los Angeles before she tried to bump off the president, and before she went to jail for that act. It's a fascinating read. Snip: Manson had stepped on Sandy's eyeglasses, thrown away her birth control pills, and inculcated her with racist insensibility. Although she had once been a civil rights activist, she was now asking me to tell John Lennon that he should get rid of Yoko Ono and stay with "his own kind."My Acid Trip with Squeaky Fromme (HuffPo) Image: Dick Schmidt, Sacramento Bee. "Sacramento Police and Secret Service men handcuff Lynette 'Squeaky' Fromme under a Capitol Park tree after she tried to shoot President Gerald Ford Sept. 5, 1975."
Previously:
Source: Boing Boing | 8 Aug 2009 | 11:46 pm Kepler telescope makes quick discovery - CNN
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 8 Aug 2009 | 11:44 pm @BBVBOX: recent guest-tweeted web video picks (boingboingvideo.com)(Ed. Note: We recently gave the Boing Boing Video website a makeover that includes a new, guest-curated microblog: the "BBVBOX." Here, folks whose taste in web video we admire tweet the latest clips they find. I'll be posting periodic roundups here on the motherBoing.)
More @BBVBOX: boingboingvideo.com
@BBVBOX: recent guest-tweeted web video picks (boingboingvideo.com)(Ed. Note: We recently gave the Boing Boing Video website a makeover that includes a new, guest-curated microblog: the "BBVBOX." Here, folks whose taste in web video we admire tweet the latest clips they...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 8 Aug 2009 | 11:37 pm Printable Batteries Should Arrive Next YearFullBandwidth writes "Paper-thin batteries that can be printed onto greeting cards or other flexible substrates have been demonstrated at Fraunhofer Research Institution for Electronic Nano Systems in Germany. The batteries have a relatively short life span, as the anode and cathode materials dissipate over time. However, they contain no hazardous materials."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 8 Aug 2009 | 11:19 pm AT&T U-verse Arrives in GreenvilleGreenville Customers Get New TV Service That Ranks Highest in Customer Satisfaction in J.D. Power and Associates Study GREENVILLE, S.C., Aug. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 8 Aug 2009 | 10:01 pm AT&T U-verse Arrives in GreenvilleGREENVILLE, S.C., Aug. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Greenville residents now have a new choice for their television and communications services, powered by the most advanced technology.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 8 Aug 2009 | 10:01 pm What Is The Real Reason Dell Is Discontinuing 12-inch Netbooks? - Washington Post
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 8 Aug 2009 | 9:21 pm Climate change to challenge US military: reportClimate change will pose profound strategic challenges to the United States in coming decades, raising the prospect of military intervention to deal with the effects of violent storms,...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 8 Aug 2009 | 9:01 pm What Is The Real Reason Dell Is Discontinuing 12-inch Netbooks?
That makes absolutely no sense, since it requires no additional hardware horsepower to power a 12-inch netbook v. a 10-inch netbook. The only difference is power usage from the bigger screen. And the two extra inches more than makes up for the shorter battery life or slightly heavier device from packing in more batteries. It only costs a few more dollars to build a 12-inch v. a 10-inch netbook, and users get a bigger screen with the same performance. In fact, Intel’s official position on 10-inch netbooks is almost exactly the opposite of Dell’s. Intel says “If you’ve ever used a Netbook and used a 10-inch screen size–it’s fine for an hour. It’s not something you’re going to use day in and day out.” So why is Dell really discontinuing 12-inch netbooks? Probably a couple of reasons. First, Intel doesn’t like 12-inch netbooks because they are deep into dual core territory, where Intel has much healthier profit margins. For casual users a 12-inch netbook with an Atom chip works just fine, and they are buying these devices instead of more expensive dual core machines. Intel has put pressure on OEMs to build netbooks that have 10 inch or smaller screens. This includes direct pricing pressure - Intel prices Atom chips based on the size of the device screen. Anything over 10 inches is priced higher than devices with 10 inch or smaller screens. We think this is an inappropriate way to price Atom chips. Dell may also be seeing customers who would otherwise buy a dual-core 13-inch or 14-inch Inspiron choosing the lower priced (and less profitable) 12 inch netbook instead. That’s something they aren’t going to be happy about. Netbooks should be getting bigger, not smaller. That’s what users want. Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.
Source: TechCrunch | 8 Aug 2009 | 8:46 pm 16 Apps That Make Sharing Large Files A Snap
File sharing services are not as popular today as they were four years ago. It’s not that people are sharing any less. Rather, they just found easier ways to do it. Would you upload a funny video from a friend’s email to any of those services or would you search for it on Youtube and share only the link? Would you upload an MP3 file in order to share with whomever, or would you search for it online, grab the link and then share it? And finally, would you use a file-sharing app just to share a picture on Facebook when you can do it directly from your desktop to your Facebook profile? Of course, you wouldn’t! So why would you use an file-sharing app anyway? Actually for many reasons: for larger files, for privacy, multiple files, file format support, and more. In this post, I compare 16 file-sharing services. I took three main issues under consideration when creating the comprehensive app list below: Free, Fast, and Useful . . . Most of the services suggested require no registration. None of them will ask you to download anything to your computer, and all of them are easy to use, and worth using. It is actually great to see services, such as Yousendit, MailBigFile, and Rapidshare, that are still relevant and are good choices, but if I had to pick one it would be Mediafire. Don’t get confused now. This is not a list of services that let you store all your files in the cloud, organizes them, or allows you to collaborate with friends. It’s more focused on file-sharing only, in the richest capacity—well, okay, you be the judge of that.
Sharing files, large or small, should be a simple act, in my opinion—not something that should require a major effort or thought process on your behalf or make you create a complicated profile/account to use it. The options I listed here will help you explore the diverse file-sharing opportunities currently available. Whether you need to send a file privately or publicly, small or big, temporary or permanent, the options are all in this list, you just need to find the best match for your needs. (Folder graphic by Photoxpress) Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.
Source: TechCrunch | 8 Aug 2009 | 8:41 pm Researcher: Dogs have IQ of human toddlersDogs are as bright as a human toddler, a Canadian canine researcher told the American Psychological Association Saturday. Stanley Coren of the University of British Columbia, speaking on the topic How dogs think, said the average dog can understand about 150 words and signs and can practice intentional deceit on dogs and people. We all want insight into how our furry companions think, and we want to understand the silly, quirky and apparently irrational behaviors Lassie or Rover demonstrate, Coren said.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 8 Aug 2009 | 8:39 pm Times Are Tough For Nigerian ScammersThe Narrative Fallacy writes "The Washington Post reports that online swindling takes dedication even in the best of times but succeeding in the midst of a worldwide economic meltdown takes patience, resolve, and hard work. 'We are working harder. The financial crisis is not making it easy for them over there,' said Banjo, 24, speaking about Americans, whose trust he has won and whose money he has fleeced, via his Dell laptop. 'They don't have money. And the money they don't have, we want.' US authorities say Americans — the easiest prey, according to Nigerian scammers — still lose hundreds of millions of dollars a year to cybercrimes, including a scheme known as the Nigerian 419 fraud, named for a section of the Nigerian criminal code. 419 is cemented in Nigerian popular culture. and the scammers, known as 'yahoo-yahoo boys,' are glorified in pop songs such as 'Yahoozee,' which gained even more fame after former secretary of state Colin L. Powell danced to it at a London festival last year."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Gizmodo | 8 Aug 2009 | 7:00 pm Weekend Update 8.08.09–The Lolcats Edition [Digital Daily]
On a trip to Seattle, BoomTown visited the headquarters of the Pet Holdings empire, which includes Lolcats (icanhascheezberger.com), Fail Blog and now, Emails From Crazy People. While there, Kara filmed a video with Ben Huh, CEO of the (profitable!) company. There is obviously a method to his wackiness. Elsewhere in Seattle, BoomTown got some of the lowdown on the machinations in the wake of the Yahoo-Microsoft deal. Satya Nadella and Yusuf Mehdi are just two of the Microsoft (MSFT) execs charged with leveraging the deal to knock Google (GOOG) out of its number one spot. They each sat down in front of the Flip camera to share their thoughts. BoomTown also noted the beginning of the Yahoo-Microsoft Regulatory Filings this week, and provided the full document of Yahoo’s 8-K (YHOO) to the SEC about the deal. To think: this is only the tip of the MicroHoo iceberg. If you were one of the many wondering about Twitter’s high-profile outage this week, don’t worry–Kara provided a handy translation of the co-founder Biz Stone’s blog post about the whole matter. If you weren’t wondering at all, you’re not alone–Kara’s mother and older son Louie think the whole thing is a waste of time. Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s resignation from Apple’s (AAPL) board of directors was just some of the news on Digital Daily this week. In some of the other news, the FTC responded with a “nice try, but we’ll continue our investigation anyway.” Better news for Apple then, that it claims 32 percent of operating profits in the handset industry, even though it’s only the fifth largest handset vendor. In the not-so-good department on Digital Daily this week, NewsCorp. (NWS) (which owns the Wall Street Journal and this Web site) reported a 32.5 percent drop in fiscal-year-adjusted operating income–largely because of its “red-hot” social network, MySpace. Elsewhere, Cisco (CSCO) reported a 46 percent drop in quarterly profit while still beating the Street’s estimates, and Vonage (VG) recorded a second-quarter profit of $2.3 million while losing 89,000 net subscribers in the same quarter. On Personal Tech, Walt Mossberg reviewed a new netbook from Toshiba this week with a great battery life and keyboard, among other things. On the Mossberg Solution, Katie Boehret reviewed the Wii MotionPlus remote accessory, an add-on to the Wii remote that includes a gyroscope and allows for more precision and sensitivity in gameplay. Walt responded to readers on Mossberg’s Mailbox, answering emails about buying a new no-frills laptop, switching ISPs and moving contacts emails without too much pain, and discerning the minimum system requirements for Windows 7. He went into a little more detail about Windows 7 on the MossBlog. Unfortunately, Walt discovered that more detail does not equal more clarity when it comes to a Windows 7 upgrade. At his request, Microsoft sent along a handy chart meant to simplify all aspects of the matter for readers. It is an astoundingly, comically complicated document. The company has promised to send a newer, simpler one. Stay tuned. More next week. Source: All Things Digital | 8 Aug 2009 | 6:48 pm New tests shed light on how dogs think, smartest breeds - USA Today
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 8 Aug 2009 | 6:46 pm "Dancing with Stars" role for Paula Abdul?PASADENA, Calif. Aug 8 (Reuters) - Paula Abdul may be out of a job on "American Idol" but she could soon be dancing with the stars on rival TV network ABC.Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 8 Aug 2009 | 6:39 pm Which Search Engine Do You Choose In The Blind Test?
A few search engine experts we’ve spoken with over the years say that users tend to think Google results are better just because they’re from Google. If you take any search engine and put the logo on top, it tests better. So Yahoo results with a Google logo will always test better than, say, Google results with the Yahoo or Bing logo. People are just used to thinking about Google as the best search. This search tool strips out all the branding, so you’re forced to really think about which results you like better. And early results showed a much more even distribution than Google’s 70% market share would suggest: Google: 44%, Bing: 33%, Yahoo: 23%. The score keeping feature was removed when people found a way to game it, but you can still run the test against yourself and see which search engine you really like the best. Too bad the one I seem to like will shortly be mothballed. The tool was created by Michael Kordahi, a Developer Evangelist at Microsoft. Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors
Source: Gizmodo | 8 Aug 2009 | 6:00 pm App Store Thaw? Apple Accepts A Gmail Push Application It has now been over a month since we first wrote about GPush, an iPhone app that uses Apple's Push Notification system to alert you when you have new Gmail messages. Like so many other apps, it was starting to look like Apple simply may not accept it. But a surprise came to developers last night: An email from Apple accepting the app.
Now, before you get all excited, it's not live just yet. The developers had an issue with the Amazon servers they use to run their system, so they temporarily took the app down, but the team expects things to be back to normal and the app to be in the store in the next 24 hours, we're told. Again, as far as Apple is concerned, the app is good to go.
Source: CrunchGear | 8 Aug 2009 | 5:25 pm iTunes 9: Blu-ray And App Organization And Twitter, Oh My? This is completely a rumor, but an awesome one. Citing a "pretty reliable" source, Boy Genius Report is saying that the next version of iTunes will add a bunch of new, highly requested features. Specificially, BGR's source says iTunes 9 features Blu-ray support, a new way to organize iPhone apps within iTunes, as well some kind of integration with Twitter, Facebook and possibly Last.fm.
Each of those features have been talked about for some time now on the web. But as BGR notes, the talk of Blu-ray does line itself up well with an AppleInsider report from yesterday that very vaguely suggested Apple has new iMacs due shortly with features that have long been on the wish-lists of Mac owners. Blu-ray is certainly on that list, and seems like a pretty good candidate, despite Steve Jobs' calling the format a "bag of hurt" as recently as October of last year.
Source: CrunchGear | 8 Aug 2009 | 5:24 pm Several Quantum Calculations Combined At NISTAl writes "Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated a crucial step toward building a practical quantum computer: multiple computing operations on quantum bits. The NIST team performed five quantum logic operations and 10 transport operations (meaning they moved the qubit from one part of the system to another) in series, while reliably maintaining the states of their ions — a tricky task because the ions can easily be knocked out of their prepared state. The researchers used beryllium ions stored within so-called ion traps and added magnesium ions to keep the beryllium ones cool and prevent them from losing their quantum state." In related news, another reader links to an Australian study indicating that quantum computers "can continue to work perfectly even if half their components, or qubits, are missing."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Gizmodo | 8 Aug 2009 | 5:00 pm NYC Mayor Postpones His Day Of Tweeting To Actually, You Know, Do His Job
So those who were hoping to know what Bloomberg was eating for lunch, what he’s thinking about while walking his dogs, and updates about the Yankees game, will have to wait. Why was Bloomberg planning to tweet for the day? Well, because he’s running for re-election and undoubtedly heard about the power of social media in campaigns these days. What’s kind of sad is Bloomberg’s actual Twitter stream. While it’s pretty clear that it’s not actually run by him right now (hence, the idea of him tweeting for the day actually being compelling), his tweet stream is filled with shameless self-promotion to follow him, and touting his day of tweeting. He #followfriday’d himself no less than two times yesterday. Anyone looking at his tweet stream for information about the Hudson River accident? You’re out of luck. That might actually be useful. Still, it was definitely a good call by the mayor to pass up the Twitter promotional stunt to deal with the tragedy.
Information provided by CrunchBase
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Source: Gizmodo | 8 Aug 2009 | 4:00 pm Linux-Friendly, Internet-Enabled HDTVs?mrchaotica writes "I'm in the market for a new HDTV (in the $1200-or-slightly-more range, as I won the extended-service-plan lottery and have a Sears store credit). Several of the TVs I've looked at have various 'Internet TV' features (here are Samsung's and Panasonic's). Some manufacturers appear to be rolling their own, while others are partnering with Yahoo (maybe in an attempt to create a 'standard?'). Moreover, these TVs also tend to run Linux under the hood (although their GPL compliance, such as in Panasonic's case, may leave something to be desired). Finally, it's easy to imagine these TVs being able to support video streaming services (YouTube, Netflix, Amazon, etc.) without a set-top box, but I don't know the extent to which that support actually exists. Here are my questions: 1) Is this 'Internet TV' thing going to be a big deal going forward, or just a gimmick? 2) Which manufacturers are most [open standard|Linux|hacker]-friendly? 3) Which TV models have the best support (or best potential and community backing) for this sort of thing?"Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 8 Aug 2009 | 3:57 pm Twitter Continues to Battle DDoS Attack - PC World
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 8 Aug 2009 | 3:41 pm Twitter Continues to Battle DDoS Attack (PC World)PC World - More than two days after experiencing a complete outage as a result of a distribute denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, Twitter and other social networking sites such as Facebook are still battling a surge in traffic related to the attack.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 8 Aug 2009 | 3:39 pm NSFW: Don’t bullshit a reformed bullshitter; the off-the-record gravy train stops here
Truth be told, in the past I have been guilty of prevarication on an Olympian scale in almost all aspects of my life. In business, in relationships, in friendships and even - during one epically drunken evening in a London pub a couple of years ago - in all three at the same time, leading to hilarious consequences, no small amount of heartache and the beginning of my journey of self-improvement. It’s a long story. You should buy it. Given my past indiscretions, then, it’s both perfectly fitting and deliciously ironic how much I hate being lied to. Or rather, how much I hate discovering that I’ve been lied to. I really can’t put into words how furious it makes me; with the liar, the lie and with myself for believing them both. I could probably forgive you for cheating on my sister (I don’t have a sister) or running over my cat (I don’t have a cat), providing you’re honest with me about it. But the moment you lie, and I find out about it, we’re done. So you can imagine how I felt this week when I found out I’d been lied to multiple times by not one but two separate people, regarding two different stories I was trying to report. I won’t name names on this occasion, for reasons I’ll get to, but the details are important. The first liar presented himself to me on Monday when Lacy and I were working on a story about European music house-of-cards Spotify. Ordinarily I am more than able to resist the temptation of doing actual journalism, but a source very close to the company had reached out to me with details of their latest fundraising round and so I felt I had something uncharacteristically useful to contribute to Sarah’s solid reporting of the story. The source was willing to tell me all that he knew on the proviso that I wouldn’t quote him directly or identify him in any way. With every reason to trust him - or rather no reason not to - I agreed. (Journalism students will have correctly determined that he was asking for a neat subset of “off the record” sourcing called the Chatham House Rule. Well done journalism students, go to the top of your irrelevant class.) A few hours later, as is good practise when dealing with unattributable information, I spoke to another well-placed source for verification. “Here’s what I’ve heard from my source,” I said, before spelling out what my Deep Throat had told me. The second source listened intently but with a look of increasing confusion spreading across her face. “Wait,” she said, “did you get this stuff from __________, by any chance”? “I’m not going to talk about sources,” I said. She laughed, for an uncomfortably long time. “Yeah, you’ve obviously been talking to __________. He does this all the time - exaggerates or out-and-out lies to reporters off the record, knowing he won’t be quoted. He thinks he’s some Machiavellian character but the truth is he’s just not very good at it.” No. He most certainly is not. Moving right along, and if you follow me on Twitter you can probably guess the identity of my second liar of the week. You might even have read the open letter I wrote to him on my blog, but let’s keep his name off TechCrunch just this once. Sufficed to say he’s someone with whom I’ve had numerous conversations - some on the record, others off - in which he’s told me his side of what is a very weird and very painful story of lies, betrayal and start-ups-gone-bad. In return I’d given him a fair hearing and, I thought, reported the facts in a way that was fair to all parties. But as time went on, his version of events began to unravel. More and more independent information that I received pointed to the fact that I’d been mislead - and on a few comical occasions the liar’s new lies even began to contradict his previous ones. I mean, seriously. Being fooled by one off the record liar in a week is unfortunate, two starts to look like carelessness. You can imagine how angry I felt. And yet with that anger came a sudden realisation: with almost every lie I’ve ever been told professionally, the circumstances have been the same. The person telling it has always insisted on being off the record, ostensibly because the information they’re giving me is so sensitive that they would risk losing their livelihood if they were revealed as the source. But really because they are talking out of their ass with a serious agenda and don’t want to be exposed as a liar. It’s happened to me maybe fifty times, and I’m not even a real reporter. What seems to have been forgotten in the past few years, by both sources and reporters, is that an off the record agreement is not a one-way deal which allows an interested party to spin a story without any risk that it will come back and bite them on the ass. Rather it’s a contract between two parties, designed to ensure that the truth can be told, in keeping with the public interest, without fear of oppression. It’s a way for a source to feel safe in revealing, honestly, what they know, in return for agreement that the reporter would go to jail before identifying him or her. The reporter is agreeing to take all the heat for the story; to put their ass on the line for the source - and the price of having the reporter take that risk is total honesty. Think Mark Felt and Bob Woodward; that’s how it’s supposed to work. And yet, until now, the big difference between the “off the record” contract and any other binding contract is that the former didn’t carry any penalties whatsoever for breach. Even if all evidence points to an anonymous source being 100% full of shit, the fact remains that the reporter has agreed in advance not to identify them. Sure, I’ll never trust either of my two liars again, but they’re still free to scamper off to another reporter and peddle the same bullshit with a decent chance it’ll be published, at least as a rumour. Every technology and business reporter I’ve spoken to this week about the off the record problem has their own story to tell about bullshitting sources, and every single one says they don’t know what to do about it. They just consider it one of the risks of the game. Well enough’s enough. The one-sided contract ends here. From now on, if you tell me something off the record and I later discover that you’ve knowingly mislead me, our contract of anonymity is immediately void, for breach. That means that everything you’ve told me about the story becomes on the record, and fully attributable. Every. Single. Thing. I will call you out on your lies and I will embarrass the hell out of you, to the point that no reporter - or any other right-thinking human being - will ever believe a word you say ever again. If there’s any justice in the world, you’ll also be fired. And have your sister cheated on, and your cat run over. This new policy starts today, and over the coming days and weeks I’ll be taking my message on the road, selling the idea to every other reporter I meet. It’s time those of us who write about business and technology begin holding ourselves to the same standards we expect from any other kind of reporting, and it’s time to indict those backroom bullshitters who think that journalists are their own private press machines. Consider yourself warned, liars. Your free ride stops here. Because God knows, if there’s one person more unwise to bullshit than a bullshitter, it’s a reformed bullshitter. And, yes, you can absolutely quote me on that. Information provided by CrunchBase
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Source: TechCrunch | 8 Aug 2009 | 3:14 pm Wearable beer dispenser solves multiple problems at once
If you ask me (and nobody asked me) the standard 12-ounce beer size is long overdue for an upgrade. We, as Americans, like things larger than life and there’s no reason we should still be drinking a single beer in under a minute. Until all beer manufacturers start shipping suds in 32-ounce (or larger) cans, we’ll have to make due with an apparatus such as this: the Portable Tap Dispenser. It’s basically a backpack with a big tube to hold a bunch of liquid, connected to a tap. There’s even a pocket for holding cups if you still insist on doing your drinking 12 ounces at a time. I’m not quite straight on exactly how many ounces this thing holds, but it appears to be enough for at least a nice stroll around the block. The tube looks like it’s made of plastic, which will make your beer taste funny — better drink up quickly, then. Thirty five bucks at FunIdeas.com if you’re interested. Portable Tap Dispenser [FunIdeas.com]
Source: Gizmodo | 8 Aug 2009 | 3:00 pm Firefox 3.6 Alpha 1 ReleasedAn anonymous reader writes with word of the release of the first beta of Firefox 3.6, "intended for developers and testers only." "As with Firefox 3.5, there are improvements to the performance; pages render faster, and pages with JavaScript code run much faster with the new Tracemonkey engine. Although this Firefox version carries the code name 'Namoroka' Alpha 1, it is also currently referred to as Firefox.next. And like other Firefox Alphas, it does not bear the Firefox logo. This release uses the Gecko 1.9.2 engine and will likely include several interface improvements in later versions, such as new graphical tab-switching behavior, which was removed from 3.5 with Beta 2." Update: 08/09 03:54 GMT by T : Read more at InaTux.com.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 8 Aug 2009 | 2:49 pm App Store Missteps Could Sully Apple Tablet (PC World)PC World - Apple has been taking a beating this week. Between its alleged censorship of the Ninjawords dictionary and its rejection of the Google Voice application, users and developers are riled up and angry. It is possible that Appleâs authoritarian control could jeopardize sales of its long-rumored tablet computer.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 8 Aug 2009 | 2:48 pm Cassette tape USB hub
Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 8 Aug 2009 | 2:36 pm Week in Apple: mystery Apple product, keyboard and SMS exploits ... - Ars Technica
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 8 Aug 2009 | 2:10 pm USB hub looks like an old cassette tape
So much so, in fact, that it’s the exact same dimensions as a regular cassette tape and it’ll fit in one of those old plastic cases. So if you’ve lost LL Cool J’s Walking With a Panther tape like I have, you can safely house this hub inside the case. But wait, there’s more! Apparently the cassette wheels do indeed spin round and round, except this time there’s no actual tape to get all tangled up. So you can stick a pencil in there and twist it for old times’ sake.
Just $24.95 at Vat19. “Just.” That’s actually a bit expensive, but can you really put a price on nostalgia? If you answered, “NO!” then perhaps you’ll buy this hub. Cassette Tape 4-port USB 2.0 Hub: Looks like an old-school audio tape [Vat19.com]
Source: Gizmodo | 8 Aug 2009 | 2:00 pm Poor Passwords A Worse Problem Than Poor AntivirusdasButcher writes "Viruses and worms get all the headlines, but poor password management is a worse problem according to a new study by Channel Insider and CompTIA. As Larry Walsh writes in his Security Channel blog, VARs and security service providers say they find more problems with password management than antivirus applications when they do security assessments. While password problems are nothing new, Walsh and those posting on his blog correctly assert that users remain cavalier about passwords and businesses are doing too little to address this serious vulnerability."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 8 Aug 2009 | 1:40 pm Expedition to explore war-time ship wrecksA three-week expedition off North Carolina will assess the condition of shipwrecks from World War II, a marine preservationist said. Of special interest are ships sunk in 1942, including U.S. ships, German U-boats merchant ships and British naval ships, said David W.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 8 Aug 2009 | 1:04 pm HotCans: Self-heating canned food
The end is near, my friends. Please observe self-heating canned food. Ready to eat in about 12 minutes, you can choose between Beef Casserole, Vegetable Chili, and Sausages and Beans. Apparently via some sort of “safe exothermic reaction” these “HotCans” become self-aware somehow. Or heat themselves up. Same basic difference — they might as well be self-aware. And while traditional canned delicacies such as “Sausages and Beans” may cost less than a dollar, these HotCans are suitable only for the very well-off. They cost — wait for it — eight bucks apiece. Mmmm, eight-dollar Beef Casserole… They’re available only in the UK at the moment, but this is far too amazing of an invention for them to not show up here in the US in the near future. HotCans [Firebox.com via Random Good Stuff]
Source: Gizmodo | 8 Aug 2009 | 1:00 pm Opera Dominates CNET Survey of "Underdog" Web BrowsersAn anonymous reader writes "Whether you consider Opera an underdog browser or not, it came out on top in a feature on CNet this weekend. It was up against 'underdog Web browsers' Camino, K-Meleon, Shiira and Arora in a piece loosely aimed at determining whether these browsers are yet ready to steal significant numbers of users from Firefox, Safari, IE etc. Interesting most to me, however, is that it transpires that Shiira, the Mac browser from Japan, is one of the fastest browsers on the planet, beating the original Chrome v1.0, Firefox 3.5 and more in its benchmark tests."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 8 Aug 2009 | 12:37 pm RadioShack rebrands as The Shack, will it work?Section: Business News, Communications, Cellphones, Gadgets / Other  In an attempt to reach more tech-savvy customers, the 88 year old RadioShack has finally rebranded itself to “The Shack.” $200 million is set to be spent on ads in order to promote the name change through digital and television ads. Signs around brick and mortar stores will still read RadioShack. Hoping to compete with Best Buy, The Shack is looking to bolster key parts of their strategy. For example, The Shack will continue to hire smart, and knowledgeable employees, and they even signed promotional contracts with T-Mobile and Lance Armstrong. What do T-Mobile and Lance Armstrong have to do with one another? Not much, but The Shack will be selling more T-Mobile phones and Lance Armstrong will be sponsoring The Shack in next year’s Tour de France. Unfortunately for The Shack, there’s always a bit of risk involved whenever companies decide to change their name or name of a product. Pizza Hut was kicking around the idea of changing their name to “The Hut,” but smartly decided to keep it as Pizza Hut. In addition, sales of Gatorade declined after they became “G.” It will be interesting to see how customers respond to the name change and whether The Shack will bring in more customers than RadioShack did. Via [USAToday]
Source: Gizmodo | 8 Aug 2009 | 12:20 pm Nokia's RX-51 tablet
It's been making these things for years, and here's the latest, spotted just in time to dovetail with the latest slavering iTablet rumors. A 5 megapixel camera and 3G internet are the nifty features. [Kaskus.us via Mobile Bulgaria and Engadget] Source: Boing Boing Gadgets | 8 Aug 2009 | 12:17 pm Oil spill tarnishes French nature reserveExperts on Sunday will begin taking stock of the impact of an oil spill from a pipeline that runs through a nature reserve in the south of France, officials said Saturday. Some 4,000...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 8 Aug 2009 | 12:16 pm iTunes 9: Blu-ray And App Organization And Twitter, Oh My?
Each of those features have been talked about for some time now on the web. But as BGR notes, the talk of Blu-ray does line itself up well with an AppleInsider report from yesterday that very vaguely suggested Apple has new iMacs due shortly with features that have long been on the wish-lists of Mac owners. Blu-ray is certainly on that list, and seems like a pretty good candidate, despite Steve Jobs’ calling the format a “bag of hurt” as recently as October of last year. More compelling may be the talk of a new way to organize iPhone/iPod touch apps in iTunes. This has been badly needed ever since it became clear that people were downloading a ton of apps to use on one device. Currently, system for managing them within iTunes is quite franktly, awful. The concept video posted at the bottom of this story shows how it really should work. BGR says the Twitter/Facebook/Last.fm stuff from its tip was more vague, but you can imagine that if such features were integrated it would involve tweeting out or updating your Facebook status with what song you are listening to. It’s possible that for Last.fm, iTunes would build-in support for logging what songs you are playing, something which Last.fm currently does through its own software. The Twitter angle is also interesting because of the rumors of talks between the two companies a few months ago. We were unable to confirm those rumors, but perhaps the two sides did meet to talk about something like this. Obviously, that’s just speculation. Apple has worked with Facebook in the past to get support for uploading pictures built-in to the newest version of iPhoto. The integration is pretty slick as it also allows you to tag Facebook friends in pictures, and keeps edits made on both iPhoto and Facebook in sync. And just imagine if Apple made a feature not only to send the name of a currently playing song to Twitter and Facebook, but if it included a link to buy the song on iTunes as well. That could mean some significant sales. While we’re speculating, I would also love to see a Genius feature for iPhone apps, something which I talked about the need for recently. Again, these are all just rumors for now, but we could see if they’re true or not as early as next month when it’s likely that Apple will hold some kind of iPod even, just like it does every September. Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0
Source: TechCrunch | 8 Aug 2009 | 12:15 pm Video: Six James Bonds playing pokerThrough the magic of video trickery, please observe your favorite James Bond actor playing against all the other ones you don’t like. As a bonus, seeing as though Hollywood is officially out of new movie ideas, be sure to keep a lookout for this to turn into an actual feature film called “Double-O Double Down” or some nonsense like that.
Source: Gizmodo | 8 Aug 2009 | 12:00 pm Blogger Blames Russia For Recent Web AttacksA pro-Georgian blogger who was targeted in a coordinated attack against websites such as Facebook and Twitter said he blames Russia for the recent attack, BBC News reported.The Blogger, who goes by the handle Cyxymu, said he had been targeted for "telling the truth about the Russian-Georgian war" in his writings – which he claims resulted in a recent attack that caused a blackout of Twitter for about two hours on Thursday.However, security researchers say there is no suggestion the attack -- which affected Google, Facebook and blogging platform Live Journal -- was state-endorsed.Cyxymu had accounts on all of those websites.He told BBC News: "I write the truth about the Russian-Georgian war and somebody did not like these truths - these people in Russia.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 8 Aug 2009 | 11:55 am Greenpeace to sink boulders to stem trawling off SwedenGreenpeace said Saturday it will press ahead with plans to sink nearly 180 boulders into cod fishing grounds off Sweden to impede bottom-trawling, despite criticism from the Swedish...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 8 Aug 2009 | 11:49 am GM Gets To Dump Its Polluted SitesParticleGirl writes with this excerpt from the Detroit Free Press: "GM's unusual, government-engineered bankruptcy allowed the Detroit automaker to emerge as a new company — and to shed billions in liabilities, including claims that governments had against GM for polluting. Environmental liabilities estimated at $530 million were left with the old GM, which has only $1.2 billion to wind down. Administrative fees and other claims will soak up that money, and state and local officials told the Free Press they fear the cleanups will be shortchanged. ... The New York Attorney General's Office, seeking to protect environmental claims for cleanup at Massena and other sites, argued that federal and state regulatory requirements should not be eliminated by a bankruptcy sale. ... But [US Bankruptcy Judge Robert Gerber] ruled otherwise."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 8 Aug 2009 | 11:48 am Apple Streams Concert on iPhone
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 Soft Sailor | Apple Tablet Could Shake Up Netbook Market, Analysts Say eWeek Apple could roll out a tablet PC in early 2010, according to a new research note by Piper Jaffray. The Apple tablet PC would be cheaper than a MacBook but still more expensive than the mininotebooks or netbooks that are currently dominating sales on ... Apple Tablet PC Could Take In $1.2 Billion Analyst predicts Apple mini-computer in '10 Apple Tablet Rumors Heat Up |
I could really use this. I find that the asxphyixiation induced by heavy workouts can - and does - improve sexual response. Therefore as I browse GrannyLovers.org - the world’s only open-souce granny resource - I can use this Web Cycle to boost my throughput and improve my good time.
The cycle was created by Matt Gray and Tom Scott and uses a janky exercise bike and an Arduino board. The input from the cycle connects to a laptop running Ubuntu and wondershaper.
Obviously this isn’t quite a real product but I suspect Nintendo will have something like this in the next few years. They’ll call it the Wii Cycle and it will tell you that you ride too slow and that you are fat.
Ever since the new Firefox 3.5 came out about a month ago, I’ve been using it as my main browser. Generally I am very happy with it. Pages load a lot faster than they did before, the plus-sign feature in tabs which launches a new one is a godsend, and I am very excited about the prospects for all of the open video technologies built into it. But there is one persistent bug that might push me to another browser: it keeps crashing on me.
This usually happens when I have too many tabs open (like 15 or 20, which is not unusual for me towards the end of the day). The whole thing will just freeze and I’ll have to force the browser to quit. When I relaunch I get a message like the one above, sheepishly saying, “Well, this is embarrassing.” Yes, it is embarrassing. A modern browser should be able to handle dozens of open tabs, and if there is a problem with one, it should be able to isolate it and allow you to carry with your business in the other tabs.
Without basic stability, none of the other great features or add-ons really matter much. Mozilla needs to fix this issue fast because Firefox 3.5 is already gaining a lot of traction. Net Applications has it at a 4.5 percent market share at the end of July, while StatCounter has it at 9.4 percent as of today. People are using this as their main browser, despite the beta label, and there are plenty of other powerful choices out there from Safari to Chrome to, yes, even IE8.
I realize that Firefox 3.5 is a just came out of beta, and to be fair, it has become slightly more stable over the past month (it was crashing every day in the beginning, now it is just every few days). I’ve been patiently waiting for the crashing to stop as Mozilla releases patches and updates. And I’m on a developer build, so maybe I’m just asking for crashes. But plenty of other people are complaining as well. Is Firefox 3.5 crashing for you?
Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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We may not cover Apple 24x7… but we know someone who does! Here’s a few of this week’s hottest from Appletell to get you started…
Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
It’s pretty obvious that you guys have interests outside of tech and gadgets just like the crew at CG. Yes, we’re deeply in love with our gadgetry, but we like to nerd out over other things, too. Or maybe it’s just me. I, for one, will be playing a slew of videogames including Battlefield 1943 (Xbox 360), King of Fighters XII (PS3), Pac-Man (PS3), Prototype (Xbox 360) and G-Force (Xbox 360).
I will also be catching up on some reading, like Robert Kirkman’s Invincible and McFarlane’s Spawn. I picked up Tyrese Gibson’s Mayhem and it was pretty boring. I’m on the fence about Avatar’s Absolution, too. I should probably finish catching up on DC’s Blackest Night series as well.
What about you guys?
BraveMoonman's $18 floppy disk coinpurses come in all the colors of the rainbow. [Etsy via Technabob]
There are no words to describe this act of lunacy, but it made me laugh out loud so I’m sharing with you. I’ll do the same thing when my MacBook Pro decides to kick the bucket. One more video after the jump.
via Giz
Oh, my Freddie Fruitcake!
Ingenious's flickr via Gizmodo
AFP - A Georgian blogger known as "Cyxymu" on Saturday blamed Russia for a massive cyber assault that affected millions of Internet users worldwide by disrupting popular sites like Twitter and Facebook.
Wu Zhongyuan, 20, of Luoyang, China, built this real-life lollercopter from elmwood and steel pipe. It cost less than £1,000 to build, and Zhongyuan claims to have gotten it to 2,600 feet--enough to get in trouble with aviation authorities!
[Ananova
via Dvice]
Last month Paypal quietly began charging new fees to its customers who have personal accounts without actually notifying them of the change. The new fees apply to payments marked as “Goods” or “Services.” Such payments were previously free but will now be charged a fee of about 2.9% plus 30 cents. When confronted, Paypal claimed the new fees had been announced in email, news articles, and Paypal’s own blog. However that turned out to be untrue. The only thing mentioned in those announcements was Paypal’s decision to allow its customers with premium accounts to make personal transfers for free.
“We didn’t want to make a huge formal communication out of this pricing change, because we weren’t really adding any fees, and we were hoping it would be a more useful experience for people,” Charlotte Hill, PayPal’s PR manager said.
That is beyond inexcusable. When Paypal, or any company, makes a decision that is going to cost its customers money, the first thing they need to do is communicate this to those customers. I’m not sure how Paypal thinks taking more money from its customers equates to a more useful experience either. I get payments via Paypal from my clients every month and Paypal always takes a chunk for themselves. I think they need to be charging people who send money via Paypal, not those who receive it. Paypal gets a good $50 or so a month in fees from me each month, fees that come from money I’ve earned.
How do you feel about Paypal’s fee structure? Do you think its fair or not? Please leave a comment with your thoughts!
Read [PCWorld]
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The Motorola r765IS, which meets the requirements of Mil Spec 810F, responds only to loudly barked imperative commands. [Sprint via Engadget]
Oppenheimer won’t have nothing on you when you turn a standard cordless drill into a fully-operational plasma gun. This gun sends huge arcs of blazing hot plasma to your targets, ensuring that you can light light bulbs and scare cats off your lawn with absolute precision.
The project is based on a DIY tesla coil and uses all kinds of crazy electrical stuff to creae sparks from an 12V battery. The distances is fairly small here but its still darn impressive.
Best of all, they include full specs on manufacturing your own. Blast away, Star Troopers!
FROM GAMERTELL - Title: Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse: Season One (aka Dollhouse) Format: DVD (Blu-ray) Price: $39.99 ($59.99 Blu-ray) Release Date: July 28, 2009 Publisher: 20th Century Fox Rating: G (PG in Canada) Pros: The series make for a solid play through, great wide screen presentation. Some good acting, decent action and just a… MORE »
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Section: Communications, Mobile, Gadgets / Other, Lifestyle, Web, Websites
Open Table, the online restaurant reservation system, has swept its way into over 10,000 eating type establishments. With revenue of $55 million and an almost unbelievable, successful IPO, given the economic climate, the company has even infiltrated the suburbs. Now, iPhone App competitor Urbanspoon looks to enter the same space.
Currently being tested, Urbanspoon’s twist looks to be immediacy as the new service can now help users make same-day reservations. Instead of planning reservations in the future like Open Table, Urbanspoon looks to seize the “where can we eat now” crowd. So how can Urbanspoon compete with an established market creator?
OpenTable’s start up cost for a restaurant is about $1300 for hardware installation and training. The site also collects $1 bounty per diner and $199 per month for membership (figures from here). Ouch. Why would anyone sign up for such an expensive system? The software. OpenTable’s reservation management, customer database, and email tools allow restaurants to have better access to their customers—an important means for marketing.
One hiccup for Urbanspoon is compatibility. A reservation coming in through Urbanspoon while earning the same $1 bounty for Urbanspoon must be manually entered in a restaurant that also has OpenTable. For a busy place, that is going to be an issue.
This should be one to watch.
Read [TechFlash]
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FROM APPLETELL - Thanks to who knows who, this past week has been a bit blah on the App Store. Still, there are a few more icons that can be added to your Home Screen.
MORE »
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 Reuters | Apple's iPhone claims 32 percent of industry profits? Afterdawn.com According to Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi, Apple's iPhone accounted for about 8 percent of the handset industry revenue, but possibly around 32 percent of the industry operating profits, during the first half of 2009. ... iTunes' Mexico launch could shake up digital market Will Apple Open the iPhone to Rival Spotify? iTunes 9: Blu-ray And App Organization And Twitter, Oh My? |
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Dell has retired their 12-inch Intel Atom-powered netbooks, they 
It’s been a long time between weekend updates, and a long week without Peter Kafka, All Things D’s intrepid MediaMemo reporter. He returns Monday, and just in time, too, since John Paczkowski and Digital Daily will be out all next week. Must be August–do Europeans still take the whole month off? Or is that an urban legend. No matter, it definitely has not been sleepy around here. To wit:
Have you tried out this 
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg had planned to take the entire day tomorrow to use Twitter to send out mundane updates about his life. Unfortunately, the Hudson River 
As anyone who has read my critically acclaimed, Pulitzer-Prize-winning 
If you feel like you’ve been dragged kicking and screaming into the wonderful world of technology, now’s the time to show everyone that you still haven’t forgotten your old school analog roots — sort of. This is a four-port USB hub that looks like a cassette tape.
This is completely a rumor, but an awesome one. Citing a “pretty reliable” source, 
It has now been over a month since we first