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CameraBag Hops From iPhone to Mac, Slips Up Terribly
CameraBag, one of the most successful photo-processing applications on the iTunes Store, has made the transition to the Mac, and manages to get almost everything wrong. CameraBag on the iPhone takes pictures from your Camera Roll and processes them to look like pictures taken with old film cameras. The names of the filters give away the models they mimic: Helga, Lolo, Instant and so on. On the iPhone this is fantastic, as the quick-and-dirty snaps you take there are wonderfully suited to this treatment. It also costs just $2, and has a handsome, simple, iPhone-esque interface. Over on the Mac the problems start after downloading. There is no trial period at all. Launch CameraBag and you are prompted to enter name and serial number, with the application interface peeking tantalizingly from behind this dialog box. If you choose not to, the app quits. We know that, on the iPhone, there is no try-before-you-buy, but this is the Mac, sonny-boy, and we do things different over here. Next is the interface, neither as elegant as the iPhone version, nor anything like what a Mac user would expect. It looks more like a Java app written for a PC. Thankfully, the results are fine, but we wonder why you would buy this when it costs $20. That’s a lot of money for something that works better on your phone, and for one tenth the price. Product page [Nevercenter]
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 25 Sep 2009 | 4:18 am Sony To Launch 250GB Playstation 3 Bundles In October - ITProPortal
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 25 Sep 2009 | 4:17 am Who will enforce neutrality rules? - NetworkWorld.com
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 25 Sep 2009 | 4:13 am Intel Inside Could Mean a TV ... - InternetNews.com
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 25 Sep 2009 | 4:10 am NASA/Ames-controlled moon mission will add to new discovery of water - San Jose Mercury News
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 25 Sep 2009 | 4:03 am You don't know tech: The InfoWorld news quiz
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 Financial Times | Video game console wars reignite BBC News Walk into any music, electrical, or department store over the next few months and the odds are you will find yourself facing piles of game hardware, promising "better graphics, better games, and better controllers". ... Nintendo's Kaigler talks Wii price cut Nintendo prez on Wii price cuts Nintendo slashes Wii price tag |
Normally, when you use Twitter’s search service, you can avoid clicking shortened URLs blindly – which is a security risk – by expanding them and taking a look at where they’ll be taking you exactly. I use it all the time, and I’ve even gotten accustomed to using Brizzly for Twitter on the web partly because it automatically expands any shortened URL.
I’d recommend anyone never to click short URLs without knowing where it goes, even when it comes from people you know and trust, because that’s not a guarantee for safe links either. In that regard, it doesn’t help that Twitter Search now no longer appears to expand Bit.ly URLs, which is the default web address shortener used by Twitter.
We’re not sure when this problem started occurring, but Twitter app developer Mallikarjun Reddy noticed it earlier today and adds that it is not an issue on Bit.ly’s side since its API for URL expansion seems to work just fine. Fortunately, the expansion for most other URL shorteners still functions, but since bit.ly is the most widely used tool of its kind on the social network, this is not something to simply brush off. Even if bit.ly is doing its own part to warn users of malicious links, Twitter has a responsibility to its users to protect them as good as they possibly can.
One more item to add to the ever-expanding to-do list of Twitter’s engineers.
Update: yes we use bit.ly when we push content to our Twitter stream. No, that has absolutely nothing to do with what I wrote above.
Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Well, now we know why Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam said he expects to have “devices like the Pre” on his network by next year: The carrier reportedly doesn’t plan to offer the Pre at all.
Sources close to the company tell TheStreet.com that Verizon has reconsidered its plans to add Palm’s new smart phone to its lineup.
An interesting rumor, but clearly one that’s to be taken with a grain of salt, if not a salt lick entire.
Why? Well, Palm (PALM), which declined comment on the report, just yesterday reaffirmed its fiscal year 2010 outlook and its planned product and carrier launches. Which means it doesn’t foresee any material changes in its business in the near future. Presumably, Verizon (VZ) passing on the Pre would count as such a change.
Moreover, the same sources who told the TheStreet.com that Verizon was going to give Palm the high hat also said the company might take a more diplomatic approach to the situation and simply order just a few Pres with no intention of lending the device much marketing support.
So, as I said, to be taken with a grain of salt…
One thing’s certain, though: If the rumor does prove true, it’s a serious blow not just to Palm, but to Verizon customers pining for a decent handset as well. Unless, of course, Verizon has cut an iPhone deal with Apple (AAPL)–in which case it’s just lousy news for Palm.
Best part: BA is billing this as a way of improving the flight "experience" because you can now be certain you'll get the seat that you want. War is peace, love is hate, the airline industry cares about passengers.
A BA spokeswoman said: "Customers frequently request specific seats, but in the past we've only been able to confirm them 24 hours in advance or on the day.British Airways sets seat charges"We know people want to secure them in advance and have real control over their flying experience. This will allow them to do that."
Resident Evil (Biohazard in Japan) – The Darkside Chronicles is an on-rails shooter that comes out in Nippon for the Wii on January 14. Instead of torturing you with the crappy video I took at the Capcom booth at the Tokyo Game Show, I give you the official trailer the fine people over at the Famitsu secured. It contains cut scenes, gameplay sequences and a few spoilers – you’ve been warned.
Here’s Capcom’s official Resident Evil – The Darkside Chronicles trailer from the Tokyo Game Show 2009:
By Don Clark, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
Silicon Valley has been talking for 15 years or so about marrying TV and the Internet. For the most part, it’s still just talk; most people still use their PCs when they want interactivity, and rely on their TVs when they want to be passive content-watchers.
But Intel (INTC) is not giving up. The chip giant, having run along with partners down most of the blind alleys of interactive television, gave an update this week about a reformulated TV strategy that might be paraphrased as follows: it’s the software, stupid.
In other words, people don’t want to visit Web sites or engage in other PC-like activities while relaxing in front of their big-screen TV.
I posted some pictures of Sony’s and Ubisoft’s booth at this year’s Tokyo Game Show yesterday, but booth-wise, Square Enix, Microsoft (Xbox 360) and Capcom made quite a strong showing, too. Here’s some proof.
Square Enix’s booth
There was exactly one game dominating the Square Enix booth and that was Final Fantasy XIII (trailer).
Microsoft’s booth
Microsoft clearly has the most elegant and coolest booth at the show, just like last year. Unlike during Tokyo Game Show 2008, when players could try out Resident Evil 5, for instance, the attention the Xbox360 gets this years is spread over a number of different games. Also, big M said 12 publishers have signed on to support Natal in the future.
Capcom’s booth
Capcom presented Resident Evil 5 last year, and this year it’s another Resident Evil game that serves as the killer title: Biohazard – The Darkside Chronicles. As one of the biggest Resident Evil fans in the world, I am really looking forward to this on-rails shooter – it looked and played fantastic in the Tokyo Game Show version. The final game will be released in Japan in January.
Another big title was Lost Planet 2, which will come out for Xbox360 and PS3. I asked a Capcom representative when this will be the case but he couldn’t answer me.
By John Timmer, Science Editor, Ars Technica
Faced with a shrinking audience of journalists for their press releases, a consortium of universities has launched Futurity, a site that will aggregate edited versions of the best materials produced by university press offices.
In recent years, the economic hardships that have crippled newspapers and hurt other media outlets have taken a disproportionate toll on science journalism. Many news establishments, including CNN, have entirely eliminated their science staff, while others have severely curtailed coverage or handed it off to journalists with no science experience. The net result is that the press officers of major universities, whose job is to help increase the public’s recognition of the research that goes on there, increasingly feel like they’re speaking to an empty room. Their solution has arrived in the form of Futurity.org, a site that aggregates a selection of the releases they used to feed to the press.
Read the rest of this post on the original site
By Michael Masnick, Editor, Techdirt
In my last post about Lily Allen’s hypocrisy in uploading tons of songs without authorization, while saying it’s good to cut off internet access for regular uploaders, one of the commenters made a good point: we should use this as a teaching moment, to try to show Ms. Allen why her position is wrong, rather than focusing on calling her a hypocrite. And, indeed, that would be great, but it seems like a difficult lesson for some — including Ms. Allen — to grasp.
Read the rest of this post on the original site
By Julian Dibbell, Contributor, Wired Magazine
In the evening of January 15, 2008, a 31-year-old tech consultant named Gregg Housh sat down at the computer and paid a visit to one of his favorite Web sites, the message board known as 4chan. Like most of the 5.9 million people who visit the site every month, Housh was looking for a few cheap laughs. Filled with hundreds of thousands of brief, anonymous messages and crude graphics uploaded by the site’s mostly male, mostly twentysomething users, 4chan is a fountainhead of twisted, scatological, absurd, and sometimes brilliant low-brow humor.
Read the rest of this post on the original site
By Lydia Dishman, Constributor, Fast Company
Can non-profits raise awareness, increase membership, and–most critically–“make the ask” successfully on Twitter? Can a 140-character message deliver the visceral wallop of, say, heart-wrenching footage of starving children covered in flies or the sad eyes of a neglected and abused animal? The answer is yes.
According to Beth Kanter, author of Beth’s Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media, organizations using Twitter that “take the time to engage supporters in a conversation and get to know them are more likely to build trust.” And that trust can turn into raised awareness, support, and ultimately donations for their cause.
Read the rest of this post on the original site
On BoomTown’s trip to London earlier this week, along with a visit to Spotify, I stopped by the UK & Ireland offices of Facebook for a look-see.
Located just off once-swinging Carnaby Street–which is now essentially a place to shop for hip stuff–it’s a very small operation, mostly dedicated to advertising sales.
But I did run into some engineers too, at what is Facebook’s most important international outpost.
Still, while recently surpassing 300 million members worldwide, the Silicon Valley-based social networking site has been careful not to open offices all over the globe, a misstep that too many other U.S. Internet companies have made time and again.
Plus, I got a very fine stiff-upper-lip British version of “no comment” that I do love to hear from Facebook PR–this time from Sophy Silver, who did an excellent job of showing me around.
Here’s the video, as well as my tour in June of Facebook’s new HQ in Palo Alto, Ca. below that:
By Economist.com
FORTY years ago this month American academics sent the first message over the ARPANET, a military network that was the precursor of today’s internet. A legacy of those efforts is that the American government continues to control the internet’s underlying technology—notably the system of allocating addresses. This is about to change, albeit slightly.
For the past decade America has delegated some of its authority over the internet to a non-profit organisation called the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)—an arrangement other countries have complained about, both because they have little say in it and because ICANN’s management has occasionally proved erratic.
Read the rest of this post on the original site
 BBC News | Hearing on Google book-scanning settlement is delayed Los Angeles Times The millions of out-of-print books scanned by Google Inc. and now sitting unread on the company's cyber-bookshelves will have to sit a while longer. A New York judge on Thursday ordered the postponement of a long-standing October hearing ... Judge agrees to postpone Google Books hearing US judge postpones Googlebooks hearing Book Hearing For Google Is Delayed |
 msnbc.com | Ice on Mars more extensive than thought Los Angeles Times An orbiter spots ice in five meteorite craters. The planet's underground ice sheet could be twice the size of Greenland's, scientists say. Recent findings indicate that Mars had a warmer and more humid climate 10000 years ago. ... Craters Show 1970s Viking Lander Missed Martian Ice by Inches NASA: Orbiter spots ice in Martian meteor craters Water Ice Exposed in Mars Craters |
It Took A Year, But Fitness Gadget Fitbit Will Finally Launch
Handheld Genesis system with 20 games for $50? Yes please
A real, hand-made bamboo bike
I was selected to host a Windows 7 Launch Party!
Eminem demands money from Apple, says it sold his songs without permission
Vladimir goes to work on Franz. Nice bug sketch!
Nabokov Edits Kafka's Metamorphosis
Source: Boing Boing | 25 Sep 2009 | 12:17 am
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Lost Vegas (Thanks, Bas!)
It is estimated the population of the underground community could be as many as 700. As well as credit-hustling, they earn their money off the wildly excessive city above by begging and "dumpster diving" - raiding bins and skips.There are around 350 miles of flood channels running under Las Vegas. Most inhabitants are in the area under the city's strip.
Another couple, Amy and JR, have lived in the tunnels for two years, having moved to Las Vegas in search of work, wealth and a slice of the famous Sin City action.
Putting down the Twilight vampire book she is reading for the third time, Amy, 33, explains: "My husband and I have been down here two years this week.
"We were living with my mom in California but the house was full and we had to leave.
"I heard Las Vegas was a good place for jobs. It's the city that never sleeps, with all the bright lights, and I'd always wanted to come.
"But it was tough and we started living under the staircase outside the MGM casino. Then we met a guy who lived in the tunnels. We've been down here ever since.
(Image: AUSTIN HARGRAVE)
Source: Boing Boing | 24 Sep 2009 | 11:48 pm
Not sure if this is Shonen Knife playing "Twist Barbie" but I like it.
Source: Boing Boing | 24 Sep 2009 | 11:42 pm
Cthulhu PSA
Source: Boing Boing | 24 Sep 2009 | 11:07 pm
"That's pretty explicit language," noted Franken, asking Kris how the "roving wiretap" provision of the Patriot Act can meet that requirement if it doesn't require the government to name its target.Al Franken Reads the 4th Amendment to Justice Department Official (via Greg Laden)Kris looked flustered and mumbled that "this is surreal," apparently referring to having to respond to Franken's question. "I would defer to the other branch of government," he said, referring to the courts, prompting Franken to interject: "I know what that is."
Kris explained that the courts have held that the law's requirements that the person be described, though not named, is sufficient to meet the demands of the Constitution. That did not appear to completely satisfy Franken's concerns.
Here is an absolutely adorkable fan-video for Plants vs Zombies by some talented Australian plants and zombies.
A Lawn Defence at Any Hour (via Wonderland)
I love the citizen science motivation behind this doula/student midwife's project to photograph her cervix every day through one entire month: "to better understand my cycle and the changes in my cervix throughout the month."
Beautiful Cervix Project
(Thanks, Fipi Lele!)
Source: Boing Boing | 24 Sep 2009 | 11:00 pm
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer visited Silicon Valley on Thursday for his annual meeting with top venture capitalists to talk about Microsoft product strategy. This was his first visit to Silicon Valley since announcing the search partnership with Yahoo in July.
I had a chance to sit down with him just after that event for a hour-long one-one-one interview. In the first 10+ minutes of the interview Ballmer gives his high level thoughts on major Microsoft products and strategies (including Windows, Windows Mobile, Internet Explorer, Bing, Azure, Mesh, Natal and others), competition, the future of search and search marketing, Microsoft’s “three screens and the cloud” strategy, the recent acquisition of Interactive Supercomputing and, yes, even his thoughts on Twitter.
A few interesting points from the video interview:
- On Microsoft’s “three screens and the cloud” strategy: Ballmer says it’s a “fundamental shift in the computing paradigm.” He added “We used to talk about mainframe computer, mini computer, PC computing, client server computing, graphical computing, the internet; I think this notion of three screens and a cloud, multiple devices that are all important, the cloud not just as a point of delivery of individual applications, but really as a new platform, a scale-out, very manageable platform that has services that span security contacts, I think it’s a big deal.”
He also says that Microsoft obviously won’t be the only player in the new market, and joked that some people “for whatever crazy reasons don’t want to be on windows, might want to be on linux:”
Ballmer: Now in our own case, you know we’re going to try to share technologies, so that we get kind of synergy from a developers perspective. Windows on the phone, you know, Windows PCs controlling TVs, the Windows PC of course itself, Windows Azure in the cloud, so we have a lot of work that’s trying to share technology, but obviously you don’t want exactly the same experience on a little screen and a very big screen and a mid-size screen.
Arrington: Ok, does it work – you talked about Azure in the cloud, but does it work if somebody’s using Amazon web services or something like that. Although we’re talking more about the developer side now, but are you planning to interoperate as much as possible.
Ballmer: As much as possible implies that infinite complexity’s a good thing. Of course, it’s unreasonable to say that you’re going to completely support only your own three screens and only your own cloud. I wish that it were true. We have to make our screens and our cloud first and best, but clearly there are going to be people for example who don’t want to be in the cloud, that want to be on premise, that for whatever crazy reasons don’t want to be on windows, might want to be on linux, for gosh sakes.
Arrington: Yeah, crazy.
Ballmer: For me, I’m allowed to say that. And we need to interoperate, but we do need to be first and best in support and in integration of our own platforms.
- On search innovation: Ballmer says that search innovation, both as a product and a business model, has largely stagnated over the last five years. He also thinks competition will drive more innovation in the future. “I think if you look out the next 10 years we’re going to see more innovation in search,” he said.
- On Why Microsoft won’t build a branded phone, as they have with the Zune and Xbox: Smart phones, like desktop and laptop computers and televisions, are “non-niche devices,” which he defines as 300 million or more units per year. These markets are large enough that there will be multiple manufacturers, and it’s unlikely that any single vertical vendor will dominate the market. It makes sense, he says, for Microsoft to be a vendor of the platform and services for these types of devices. So, don’t expect a Microsoft branded phone.
I’ll call anything that’s north of 300 million a year non-niche. PC’s are not niche devices. Part of the reason I think they’re non-niche devices is, multiple people can manufacture them, they all interoperate, they work together, etc. TVs are not niche. You know, there’s more than, well over 300 million of those sold a year. They interoperate in that case mostly based on standards, but with some innovation. Phones are not niche. The categories where, I think, a single player can control a large percentage of the volume are the smaller categories. What does Apple sell every year of iPods: 30 million, order of magnitude, something like that. What is the whole video game market is maybe 30 or 40 million in units a year. But when you get these categories that are 300 million, 500 million, a billion, a billion-five a year, the truth of the matter is you’re gonna want multiple points of manufacture, with a lot of innovation around it whether its supply chain, for geographic diversity, and our basic play with our software is to try and be super high volume. So I think you can have an Apple in the phone business, or a RIM, and they can do very well, but when 1.3 billion phones a year are all smart, the software that’s gonna be most popular in those phones is gonna be software that’s sold by somebody who doesn’t make their own phone. And, we don’t want to cross the chasm in the short run and lose the war in the long run and that’s why we think the software play is the right play for us for high volume, even though some of the guys in the market today with vertically oriented solutions may do just fine.
- On Microsoft’s acquisition strategy: Microsoft acquired 15 companies in FY2009. Ballmer says to expect roughly the same level of activity in the future. “I’m guessing we’re gonna want to buy about 15 companies again next year,” he says. He says most of those will be smaller transactions ranging from $50 million – $400 million. And those companies will have to “really fit well with our technology platforms and distribution,” he added.
- When I half-jokingly asked if Twitter fits well with Microsoft’s technology platforms and distribution, he responded “Twitter would be great, yeah. I mean, not that we’re talking about buying Twitter…” And he then went on to say that he thinks the Twitter guys are “fiercely committed to staying independent.”
For the rest of the interview we took a deep dive into each of these topics, and over the next few days we’ll have a few follow up posts on each area of discussion in detail. There is some absolutely amazing content to come. The full transcript of the video is below.
Full Transcript:
Michael Arrington: This is Mike Arrington, I’m here with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, hello Steve. It’s been a year since I’ve had a chance to sit down with you, you’re back in Silicon Valley – what brings you here?
Steve Ballmer: We do an annual event where we bring together venture capitalists, and try to make sure they understand where we’re going, and we understand where they’re going, cause there’s going to be opportunities for us to partner with their portfolio companies, try to get their portfolio companies to build on and alongside of things that we do. There’ll be chances for acquisition, and we do that once a year, and we happen to be doing that today. I’m down in the valley probably 7 times a year, and this is sort of more of a valley day because we’re with the VC community.
MA: The last time you were in the valley, is that when you did the yahoo deal?
SB: Last time I was down here probably was the announcement of the yahoo deal. I’ve had kind of a quiet two months of travel since I was down here at the end of July for that.
MA: I have a couple questions about that but we can hit those later. You guys have a lot of new product initiatives, I think some are big ideas, big new businesses, possibly some are what you call an enabler, something like that. You’ve got big buckets – Bing is out, Windows 7 is coming out, Azure, I think you guys have said by the end of the year, Mesh is there, Project Natal, and others. How do you feel about big buckets and all of these products – your babies?
SB: Well, it’s great to have a year where you have a lot of stuff that you can kind of be excited about, if you lead a company like ours we have a lot of very exciting products for the consumer and frankly for the enterprise customer, although that tends to get a little less press attention I would say, but it’s a fun year. It also is a good year to say then that it’s a good year to go build business and it’s a good year to lay the seeds for the next generation of businesses that can be good, and whether it’s what we’re trying to do with Bing, or do with Natal, the next 12 months is shaping up to be very promising.
MA: One of the big things you talk about is something you call “three screens and the cloud.” I’d love if you could dive a little bit into what that means from a business standpoint but also from a user standpoint and what they’re going to get out of this when it finally comes together.
SB: Yeah, the reason I like the little phrase “three screens and the cloud” isn’t just that it’s true and it’s what we started talking about it at CES but I kind of like the alliteration (?) of “Three Men and a Baby.” Every time I say it I think, “Three Screens and the cloud,” “Three Men and a Baby” if you remember the movie, but I think what it really refers to is a fundamental shift in the computing paradigm. We used to talk about mainframe computer, mini computer, PC computing, client server computing, graphical computing, the internet; I think this notion of three screens and a cloud, multiple devices that are all important, the cloud not just as a point of delivery of individual applications, but really as a new platform, a scale-out, very manageable platform that has services that span security contacts, I think it’s a big deal.
You lay natural user interface technologies on there, and platforms on there, and then you start revitalizing the UI platform. What you’re seeing on phones and TVs, people want more than what’s called the classical graphical user interface: touch, voice, camera, gestures – all of that stuff whether it’s Natal or the touch stuff, in iphone or Windows 7 or whatever it is. It is the next big generational shift in the computing platform. And people are going to want applications, I’ll call them that, or services, depending on whether you like old fashioned words or new words, but they’re going to want things that service them across those environments. So when I’m away and just have my phone with me I still may want to check in on the action – my favorite xbox competition, or I may want to play games with somebody who’s in a different environment. We’re sitting watching television, and we want to share with somebody who’s not physically present – we want that to work to somebody who might be a family member, who’s on their PC in a hotel room traveling tonight. So you got to think about it as one integrated computing infrastructure. Now, whether it will all come from one company, and what are the standards, and what are the points of proprietary differentiation, all of that’s going to get kind of played off.
Now in our own case, you know we’re going to try to share technologies, so that we get kind of synergy from a developers perspective. Windows on the phone, you know, Windows PCs controlling TVs, the Windows PC of course itself, Windows Azure in the cloud, so we have a lot of work that’s trying to share technology, but obviously you don’t want exactly the same experience on a little screen and a very big screen and a mid-size screen.
MA: Ok, you talked about Azure in the cloud, but does it work if somebody’s using Amazon web services or something like that. Although we’re talking more about the developer side now, but are you planning to interoperate as much as possible.
SB: As much as possible implies that infinite complexity’s a good thing. Of course, it’s unreasonable to say that you’re going to completely support only your own three screens and only your own cloud. I wish that it were true. We have to make our screens and our cloud first and best, but clearly there are going to be people for example who don’t want to be in the cloud, that want to be on premise, that for whatever crazy reasons don’t want to be on windows, might want to be on linux, for gosh sakes.
MA: Yeah, crazy.
SB: For me, I’m allowed to say that. And we need to interoperate, but we do need to be first and best in support and in integration of our own platforms.
MA: Ok, fair enough. Search. Congratulations, Bing is now one of the major services, they’re saying Bing has now achieved 10% of the market share, up actually quite a big percent over 8, 8 and a half – that’s a big percentage jump, and it seems to be pretty quick, and it seems to be steady and sticking. So congratulations on that.
SB: Thank you.
MA: But, search. Bing is clearly, I think everyone agrees, Bing is a good step forward. I think people who thought they would test them out, a lot of them are sticking, but looking forward 5 years from now, search innovation over the last say, 10 years has been somewhat interesting but will the next 10 years of search innovation be more interesting than the last 10 years?
SB: Let me say something dramatic – I think the first five years there was innovation in business model, there was innovation in approach, give credit to competition, the last 5 years there’s been some, quote, innovation, which is really things like digitizing, maps and books, or whatever the case may be, adding the larger content base to the corpus of information. But in some senses the UI, the approach, the algorithms have changed less in the last five years, then more … so I think if you look out the next 10 years we’re going to see more innovation in search. And, of course, that’ll be best served by good competition in the market and, y’know, at this stage, hopefully with the government approval of our deal with Yahoo, the good competition better come from us. Otherwise I don’t think we’ll see some of that innovation. But whether it’s natural language, visualization, change in the UI, change in the business model… Business model on search is making life tough for other content providers, makes life tough for some of the merchants…
MA: yes
SB: We’re not an incumbent, we can play with user interface, we can play with business models, we can do some things that maybe the incumbent can’t do.
MA: Yes
SB: And the incumbent does some things pretty well too, and we’re gonna have to hustle to catch up, and they have a lot of years of tuning those relevance algorithms, and we’ve got a lot of work to do.
MA: Though you talk about UI, you know, and sometimes it seems like people talk about search problems as, first of all, the search engine understanding the query, and I think that’s where you’re talking about UI.
SB: Well, that’s where I’m talking about natural language,
MA: Right.
SB: Actually, UI I’ll talk about the presentation of the results
MA: Literally, the sort of… visual presentation of the app.
SB: Ya, and I think it matters, actually, search isn’t unlike every other application; the way you present things actually does matter.
MA: What will your market share be in 10 years, on search.
SB: Oh, I don’t know. I mean, making forecasts is sort of not, not a sane practice. A lot more than we have today!
MA: It would be great for me if you answered, but…
(Steve laughs)
MA: The Zune HD: A hit. Seems to be a great device. Still haven’t had my hands on one. Do you have one on you right now?
SB: I don’t actually.
MA: It seems like a lot of people really like the Zune HD, it’s selling out. When you look at the Zune and the Xbox, you seem to be more than capable of creating, successful end consumer devices that are hardware tied to services. When do we get our Microsoft phone? I know you guys keep saying “We will not build a Microsoft branded phone…”
SB: Well let me ask you a question. I’m going to answer your question with a question. Which is to say, look, lets just break hardware devices into two broad categories. Really high volume, and more niche. And I’ll call anything that’s under about 50 million a year niche. And I’ll call anything that’s north of 300 million a year non-niche. PC’s are not niche devices. Part of the reason I think they’re non-niche devices is, multiple people can manufacture them, they all interoperate, they work together, etc. TVs are not niche. You know, there’s more than well over 300 million of those sold a year. They interoperate in that case mostly based on standards, but with some innovation. Phones are not niche. The categories where, I think, a single player can control a large percentage of the volume are the smaller categories. What does Apple sell every year of iPods: 30 million, order of magnitude, something like that. What is the whole video game market is maybe 30 or 40 million in units a year. But when you get these categories that are 300 million, 500 million, a billion, a billion-five a year, the truth of the matter is you’re gonna want multiple points of manufacture, with a lot of innovation around it whether its supply chain, for geographic diversity, and our basic play with our software is to try and be super high volume. So I think you can have an Apple in the phone business, or a Rem, and they can do very well, but when 1.3 billion phones a year are all smart, the software that’s gonna be most popular in those phones is gonna be software that’s sold by somebody who don’t make their own phone. And, we don’t wan’t to cross the chasm in the short run and lose the war in the long run and that’s why we think the software play is the right play for us for high volume, even though some of the guys in the market today with vertically oriented solutions may do just fine.
MA: You just bought Interactive Supercomputing a couple of days ago now. Why?
SB: Well, one of the big pushes for us, we, we’re in the server business, if you .. if you look at all the things people do with servers today, we do pretty well at most of them. The two areas in which we have, are least successful are web, where about half the web servers are Windows and half are Linux, we’re competing, and workin’ at it; and the other one is high performance computing. Scientific supercomputing-like applications. And the truth of the matter is, this is never about price, it’s always about, have we done enough to solve problems, compared with what you could do with the roll-your-own of Linux and Open Source. We took a look at it and said, no, we really want to be in the high performance computing, super computing space, and we’re gonna get after it. We’re gonna get after it with infrastructure, we’re gonna get after it with tools and applications, and as part of that strategy, we made the, uh, deal to acquire Interactive Super Computing.
MA: Okay, great. And you’ve bought fifteen companies in fiscal 09 – I think, is that right?
SB: Yeah, about right, yeah.
MA: Does that stay steady? Increase next year?
SB: I’m guessing we’re goning to want to buy about 15 companies again next year, if, just sort of a guess. Most of the things we buy are smaller. We probably pay some place between 50 million and 3 or 4 hundred million. And then occasionally we’ll do something bigger. But most of what we buy, it’ll probably be about the same order of magnitude, it’ll probably mostly be companies that have 50, 100 to 200 employees, And really fit well with our technology platforms and our distribution.
MA: Would Twitter fit with your technology platforms and distribution?
SB: Twitter’d be great, yeah. I mean, not that we’re talking about buying Twitter… I mean, the Twitter guys want to stay independent, that’s great. Using – making Twitter an asset to one of our businesses, that would be the real question for us, how does it fit, but obviously, yknow, they’ve got a lot of kind of buzz and interest at this stage, but, no, I think they’re fiercely, uh, committed to staying independent, which, which I respect.
MA: Great, thanks.
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Ski season is rapidly approaching, and resorts will soon be releasing their lift ticket prices (if they haven’t already). But this year, some skiers will have a new option when it comes to buying their tickets: discounted pricing for off-peak days, thanks to a startup called Liftopia. Today the company has annouced that it closed a $1 million Series B funding round led by Erik Blachford (CEO of Terrapass, Former CEO of Expedia) and Amicus Capital, with a number of investors from the company’s Series A round also participating.
Liftopia allows ski resorts to offer variable pricing for tickets based on much how traffic they anticipate seeing on the slopes — in other words, resorts can lower their prices if they think they’re going to have a slow day the same way an airline does if a flight might not fill up. Some resorts have been able to do this to a limited extent with ‘peak season’ tickets (a ticket for Christmas time would cost more than one a month or two later), but up until now they haven’t had a good way to adjust their pricing on a daily basis. Liftopia gives them this option.
From the consumer’s standpoint using Liftopia is easy, and will be familiar to anyone who has ever purchased a plane ticket online. Pick a region, a resort to look at, and a date range, and the site will present a list of tickets, some of which are discounted as much as 60% (there’s also a flexible date option).
The site launched back in 2006, but initially saw slow growth due to industry skepticism. Since then things have been picking up — by last spring the site had grown to include around 65 resort partners, and Liftopia will have over 120 in time for this season.
Among the new resorts to sign on this year:
Liftopia seems to be really picking up steam, and it’s a win/win for skiers who get to save money as well as for resorts, who can boost sales when they need too. There’s one small caveat for now though: because few resorts have finalized their pricing for this year, Liftopia’s inventory will be limited for the next few weeks, so you may need to check back later to book your tickets.
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An iron fence on W. 21st St. in New York depicts the classic image of a rocket crashing into the Man in the Moon from Melies' 1902 pioneering science fiction film, Le Voyage dans la Lune (A Trip to the Moon).Melies Moon Fence (Thanks, Jeff!)The fence is across from the Clinton School
of the Artsfor Writers and Artists, and I happened to snap this photo during lunch break. After I was done shooting about 10 or so photos, I noticed that a crowd of kids had surrounded me and continued talking about the image as I walked away.Soooo, teacher that I am, I went back and asked if any of them knew what it was. None of them did, but they agreed that it was "awesome" and wondered if the thing in his eye might be a bullet. I explained about the Melies film, its history, and what the image was supposed to be, all of which the kids said was even more awesome, so they asked me to repeat the title so they could watch the film on Youtube.
I remember being fascinated by a still of the original scene in a book when I was their age, um, many moons ago. Not only is the fence homage cool in itself, but it was wonderful to see that "A Trip to the Moon" continues to inspire.
Alienware announced some new systems recently, including their latest desktop box, the Aurora ALX. The biggest news about the Aurora is the inclusion of the new ATI Radeon HD 5870 card. Reputed to be the current “top of the heap” when it comes to video cards, it’s being tested all over the web.
Hot Hardware gave it a spin and it came in with some extremely impressive benchmarks. Most impressive was a record breaking 75.6 FPS on Crysis. Remember, this is the game that many people felt was written for hardware from the future, not the CPU’s and GPU’s that were available at the time. Well, the future has arrived.
Of course with Alienware, there’s always that other shoe that drops. You know, the price? Well, the Aurora ALX comes in at a wallet-plundering $4074, as tested. Ouch.
Sleep apnea sufferers have long had to use the dreaded CPAP mask, but there may soon be an alternative. Medical researchers have discovered that a small implant, attached to the hyperglossal nerve, is capable of ending your sleep apnea… and probably saving your marriage.
CPAP masks are uncomfortable, unattractive, but are sadly necessary for many to live through a night. The implant works by electronically stimulating the nerve, and causing the passage that respiratory passage to open again, allowing the person to breathe. The implant is placed in the patients neck, and then controlled by an external programming device. It also requires charging, since the implant is applying an electrical current.
Now I wonder if you can run Linux on the implant. Maybe Moblin?
FROM GAMERTELL - Sony Computer Entertainment Europe announced a 250GB PS3 Slim and a PSP Go Rewards program at the 2009 Tokyo Game Show. The PS3 Slim 250GB model will be available October 1, 2009 in Europe. PSP Go Rewards gives 3 game downloads to PSP owners who upgrade.
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The physical camera is different in some subtle ways. There’s a dedicated live view button, a quiet shutter mode, and the door to the memory card hatch has been changed. Nikon also switched the control rocker switch to the style used in the D3 and D5000, and it’s a definite improvement.
Internally, things have been upgraded as well. The camera has a faster CPU, which allows for quicker auto focus. I have noticed that the 16-85mm lens that Nikon sent with the camera does seem faster, however I haven’t had a chance to test it on my D300 yet to get an accurate idea. The D300s does feel snappier then the D300. I’m not sure if that’s something that quantifiable or not, but I’ll let you know when I do the proper review.
For now, I went out and shot some 720p video for you, and I am impressed with that feature. There are a couple of things that I have notice about the video mode though, you will want to either be on a tripod, or have the VR set to “active”, and the auto-focus noise is really noticeable.
For now, here’s a gallery of the camera itself, and a sample video at the top of this post. If there is anything in particular you’d like me to check out or compare to the original D300, put it in the comments. I will be watching and try to answer for you.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Fluther, a slick service that lets you outsource your questions to other members on the web, has closed a $600k round of seed funding from some of Silicon Valley’s most notable investors. Included in the round were Ron Conway, Naval Ravikant, Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz, and Dave McClure, via FF Angel. Rounding out the roster are Twitter’s Biz Stone and Leonard Speiser (Bix, Twables founder), who are advisors.
Using Fluther is pretty straightforward: you visit the site and ask a question, then wait for other members to answer you in real-time (the site offers a reply system similar to FriendFeed’s that lets you view these responses immediately). Whenever you ask a question Fluther reaches out to other members on the site through Email and (optionally) IM alerts, channeling the questions to members it thinks knows the most about the topic.
Fluther faces a few major competitors, including Aardvark, which also lets you outsource your questions to other users on the web. The biggest difference is who each service turns to for answers — Aardvark tries to pair you with knowledgeable people using your social graph (typically you’ll be referred to friends or friends of friends). Conversely, Fluther sends its questions to members that it deems to be the most knowledgeable, independent of your social graph. You can syndicate your Fluther questions out to Facebook, but co-founder Ben Finkel says that there isn’t a strong emphasis on this.
Another player in this space is Mahalo, which launched its Mahalo Answers product last December. Finkel says that Mahalo’s approach, which incentivizes users to answer questions by offering them monetary rewards, inevitably leads to having people trying to game the system with low quality answers. Instead, Fluther is relying on users to submit answers as a show of good will, though it does offer a points reward system for the best answers. It can be hard to attract users with that model, but we’ve seen it work before on sites like Wikipedia and Finkel says that Fluther has developed some very dedicated users.
Fluther soft-launched back in summer 2007, and is seeing around 600,000 monthly unique visitors. Tonight’s news confirms reports of a funding round based on SEC filings.
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 PMP Today (blog) | How Could IPhone MMS Crash AT&T's Network? PC World All the hand wringing over the Friday launch of MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) on AT&T iPhones may be misplaced for a service that hasn't been a huge success on most other phones. Apple let down iPhone watchers and owners when it announced in June ... 'Nervous' AT&T Starts Countdown For iPhone MMS Kick-Off AT&T prepares for iPhone MMS day tomorrow AT&T gives time frame for Friday's iPhone MMS launch |
FROM GAMERTELL - A number of games that will be compatible with Sony’s 2010 motion control wand peripheral were announced at TGS 2009, like Resident Evil 5: Alternate Edition, Ape Escape, Flower and Eye Pets.
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Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
Section: Audio, Video, Computers, Hardware
Today is the final day of the Intel Developer Forum and as in the end of any forum/expo/conference, it’s a bit light on anything new. Intel, being the large company it is, had something new to announce, though it seems to be just about the only thing new. Intel decided to focus its attention to TV, both in terms of hardware and partnerships for software.
For hardware, Intel introduced it’s new CE4100 processor. It’s a System on Chip processor and also part of the Intel Atom lineup. The new chip will for processing of both broadcast and Internet applications. It even has enough power to support 3D gaming. The chip is capable of decoding two streams running at 1080p simultaneously, which is quite impressive. Also impressive is its ability to record uncompressed 1080p video.
In terms of partnerships, Intel is teaming with Adobe, TransGaming, BBC, CBS, Cisco, and other media companies. Intel hopes that with these partnerships devices using the new SoC Intel CE4100 new interactive features. Adobe will be bringing Flash, and all the benefits of the platform to devices, with support for graphics and H.264 video. TransGaming will be bringing a new service, GameTree.tv to the devices for on-demand gaming, with a variety of games available from TransGaming and and anyone else who wants to develop for the platform. The media companies will come into play in terms of widgets that will held users find media and watch said media, or record it when it is set to air.
Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
While there is often a lot of talk about the downside of URL shorteners being that if they go down, they take your links with them, the much more obvious and real problem is that they very easily mask potentially bad sites. We’ve been seeing this more and more in both public tweets and DMs, but luckily so far most of those have just been worms meant to replicate themselves, rather than really bad viruses. But security software company Symantec released a video today to show some very bad links in action.
As you can see in the video below, clicking on just one link infected a computer a dozen or so times in seconds. Obviously, Symantec’s intention is showing this is to sell their software that helps to protect against these attacks, but the point is still a good one to make. While URL shorteners like Bit.ly have begun warning users about potentially harmful links, others don’t bother. And let’s be honest, most of us click on links from friends regardless of what URL shortener they are using.
Yesterday, Twitter was bombarded by tweets using the hashtags “beforesex,” “aftersex,” and “duringsex.” It wasn’t long before people were using those tags to send out malicious links. It’s a problem because virus makers know that any trending topic is likely to be searched for a lot, so they can just ride that wave and catch unsuspecting users who are curious to click on links.
Google’s Joshua Schachter, who started Delicious, wrote about this and the other problems with URL shorteners earlier this year.
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When the FCC took apart the Zune HD, we noted that the test unit had “For our princess” written on the inside of the shell. Nobody knew what to make of it at the time, but now that it’s in the production units it’s clear that it wasn’t a one-time thing. As it turns out, it’s a memorial for a Zune team member who passed away during the device’s development. That was really nice, Microsoft. Just one more reason to love this thing.
PayPal co-founder and Founders Fund Managing Partner Luke Nosek is tackling a new field: DNA sequencing. Nosek sent out an email (which we’ve pasted below) saying that he has joined Halcyon Molecular, a human genome sequencing firm, as founding president.
According to the email, Halcyon will sequence complete human genomes in less than ten minutes and for less than $100. This is significant drop in price and time from existing genome sequencing labs that take weeks and thousands of dollars to process DNA. Nosek writes that he will continue to lead The Founders Fund’s genomics investing, but his primary role will be leading and advising Halcyon as the company progresses and readies for launch. Nosek adds that Peter Thiel, fellow co-founder of PayPal and Managing Partner at Founders Fund will be joining Halcyon’s board.
When Halcyon Molecular finally launches, its pricing and timing could be revolutionary. 23andme, which reads and tests parts of the human genome and was co-founded by Sergey Brin’s wife Anne Wojcicki, is similar in theory. But 23andme doesn’t do a full genome scan, which Halcyon promises to do, but rather looks at SNPs, which are regions of high variability in the human genome.
This summer I joined as Founding President of Halcyon Molecular, an extraordinary company which has developed a technology for sequencing DNA vastly more quickly, completely, accurately, and cheaply than ever. Ultimately, Halcyon will sequence 100% complete human genomes in less than 10 minutes and for less than $100. Current methods, which take weeks, sequence only about 90% of the genome, and cost from tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on completeness.
Because only a handful of human genomes have been sequenced (and none completely), statistically significant insights have been hard to come by. If genetic research doesn’t seemed to have lived up to its therapeutic promise, it’s because sequencing is just too slow and expensive. With Halcyon’s technology, the pool of genetic information will grow by orders of magnitude in the course of months, offering the first real chance at cures for cancer and other previously intractable diseases. With full sequencing and analysis of millions of genomes, biology can begin to turn into an information science and travel down the path of Moore’s law. While we have 10X better computers and video games every ten years, we do not have 10X better cancer cures and we do not really understand what causes the major killer diseases of the first world other than the cop-out term “aging”. We must change this.
Halcyon’s progress has been rapid in the months since I joined. We have:
· Raised significantly more capital than we need
· Hired world leaders in biochemistry, nanofabrication, and electron microscopy
· Expanded our academic collaborations with Harvard, Stanford, and UC Berkeley
· Received a $2 million dollar aberration corrected STEM electron microscope on loan from the Department of EnergyFounders Fund and myself have made a significant bet on this firm, perhaps the most significant since our investment in Facebook. I have joined as President and moved closer to Halcyon’s future offices in Stanford Research Park to work intensively with the team (I maintain my board seats on SpaceX, Pathway Genomics, and continue to lead Founders Fund’s genomics investing as well). Peter Thiel also joined the board to lend his expertise. But ultimately Halcyon needs the greatest scientists and engineers in the world to succeed in its mission. I know that exceptional people are hard to come by, but of all the Founders Fund companies that have, or have the potential to change the world – Facebook, SpaceX, Palantir, e.g. – Halcyon is the one with the chance to do so in the most profound way possible. It is truly vital that it work.
I want to stress that this is the most talented team I have ever worked with. This is not a job for your best friend’s brother-in-law. Halcyon people have put aside and left their homes, their million dollar salaries, full professorships at major universities, and fully seed-funded startup companies to be part of this effort.
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Fitness gadget Fitbit was a hit at last year's TechCrunch50, where it created a ton of buzz and was a runner-up for the top prize. Of course, we all know that it takes hardware companies longer to launch than software startups and since last September, Fitbit has been working tirelessly to refine the product, establish distributions channels and tweak its online platform. Now we won't have to wait any longer, since Fitbit will officially open up to the public on Tuesday. The site you see currently is the beta version and will feature a redesign as well on Tuesday.
So what does Fitbit do? The sleek little device clips onto your clothing and tracks your movement, sleep and calorie burn throughout the day and night. Fitbit, which costs $99, uses the information it gathers about your movement to help you determine how much exercise you’ve been getting and how many calories you’ve burnt. It can also tell you how many steps you have taken and how well you’ve slept, all based on its internal motion detector. By clicking a little button on the device, you'll see a small blue LED screen that will alternate between the steps you've taken, the calories you've burned, your distance, and gives you a gauge of how high your activity level is. This is shown via a small flower that will grow as you exercise more (though I'm told that you will be able to switch your icon).
AP - BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. reported a drop in fiscal second-quarter profit Thursday because of charges for a patent settlement and said revenue for the current quarter will fall below Wall Street's expectations.
This thing, let’s be honest, is not the most elegantly designed handheld device. But seriously, it’s an all-in-one Genesis system with 20 games on it and a 2.4″ screen for $50. I have no problem with that. Do you?
I’m waiting to hear back on what games this thing comes with, but you can be sure it’s got Sonic & Knuckles, Ecco the Dolphin, Sonic Spinball, and Golden Axe — plus 16 others. If it’s got Sonic 2 then I’m sold. They’ve got it at Buy.com.
 Telegraph.co.uk | Google Outages Raise Questions About Online Services ChannelWeb By Joseph F. Kovar, channelweb Two recent disruptions in Google's Gmail service and a disruption in the Google News site, as well as outages in other online-based services could either mean a bust in the nascent cloud computing industry or a boom for ... Google Outages Damage Cloud Credibility Google Apologizes for Latest ... Gmail outage casts cloud over online services |
Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile
The Android-based myTouch 3G has not even been available for a full two months, however that has not stopped T-Mobile from slashing the price. I guess T-Mobile has finally realized that the $199 price tag was a little higher than many were willing to pay. That said, I am not sure that the new price of $149.99 is going to help it all that much, especially considering the early excitement around some of the other soon-to-be-released Android handsets such as the Motorola Cliq.
As far as that $149.99 price tag, it still comes with the required two-year contract, but on the positive side there is not any mail-in rebate that you will have to deal with. Maybe this price cut, along with their recent celebrity advertising can help to convince a few more people to make a purchase.
Of course, this just means that we now need to see T-Mobile finally do something with the G1 price, they are still trying to sell it for $129.99. Granted that is not a bad price, except when you realize that both Amazon and Wal-Mart are selling the same phone for under $100 bucks.
Via [TmoNews]
Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
I’m sure the K700 is really nice. And if it were ever going to come out in the USA, I’d love to take it out some time just to talk, maybe grab some gelato, or whatever. But I’m just not feeling that connection… oh, all right, if you must know, it’s the chin. A strong chin is sexy on some handsets — I hooked up with an original Hero once — but it just doesn’t fit with the rest of the K700. You know what I mean? I think Philips does — check out those pictures, they used “Myspace angles” to hide it.
Okay, enough hijinx. The K700 from Philips is a media phone that we’re not likely to see, but it’s nice to check in with some less-recognized handset makers once in a while to see what they’re up to. This thing seems to have a pleasant but generic look to it, and its specs are nothing to scoff at:
* 2.8-inch touchscreen TFT-LCD, 262,000 colors, 400 x 240 pixels
* GSM/GPRS/EDGE 900/1800/1900 MHz
* Supported file formats RMBV, AVI, FLV, Divx, MP3, WMA, AC, FLAC, APE
* Dedicated GPU / stereo
* 3.2 megapixel camera with auto-focus and video recording
* Up to 4 hours of video playback / Up to 25 hours of music playback in CD-quality
* 48 MB of internal memory, support for MicroSD memory cards up to 8GB
* Bluetooth 2.0 / USB 2.0 / FM-radio with RDS / jack 3.5 mm
* Battery: 1000mA / h lithium-ion
* Dimensions: 101 x 52 x 13 mm
* Weight: 97 g
* Standby time – up to 1 month, talk time – up to 8.5 hours
Thanks, Philips. I’ll call you some time. No, I’m totally serious! No, don’t call me, it’s cool, I’m pretty busy these days. I’ll let you know.
[via BGR]
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Professional animators script, record, and "lock" audio before animating a frame. Josh Dolgin and I are not professional animators.
We wanted 500 Pound Planet to have a loose, improvisatory feel. So we decided on a general plot outline, a handful of settings and scenes and a cast of characters. For each character, we animated a number of facial expressions, hand gestures and lip-positions, so that we could figure out what they're saying at any point and drop it in.
This "worked" in a sense, but also made for a lot of crazy, since everything was infinitely malleable. We could always record more, tweak a line, second-guess a plot point- whatever. The process became so maddening that we bickered constantly over every detail and bit by bit, that's what the film became about- our spiteful, imploding "marriage", which we kept alive for the sake of the children- our deformed, clay puppet kids. Enjoy!
Previously:
500 Pound Planet: Prelude
500 Pound Planet: Chapter One
500 Pound Planet: Chapter Two
Source: Boing Boing | 24 Sep 2009 | 6:01 pm
One sweet day, Canon will unify its naming conventions, and I won’t have to put slashes in post titles ever again. But until that time, we’ll just have to deal with this dual naming nonsense. You may remember the T1i, a camera I advised against getting because of its ridiculous 20 frames per second video mode. The rumored T1 fixes that, but doesn’t appear to change too much else.
It’ll be using the Rebel XSi’s sensor and a DIGIC IV image processor, and should take shots at about 3.5FPS. 1080p movie mode is restricted to 30FPS, but I’m not sure about 720p. The rumor states there may be sensor-shift stabilization, which seems unlike Canon. They’ve always been lens-based stabilizers, but hey, maybe they saw the light. (Doubt it)
Last year, Dambisa Moyo was an unknown banker in the London office of Goldman Sachs. Then she wrote a book, Dead Aid, that blames foreign economic assistance for Africa's poverty and corruption (with passing shots at Bono and celebrity activism) and calls for an overhaul. As she began a tour of what seemed like hundreds of talk show appearances, defenders of aid started fighting back. Economist Jeffrey Sachs called her views "cruel" and noted acidly that aid (i.e., scholarships) sent Moyo from Zambia to Harvard. Others, Moyo says, accused her of "killing African babies."
But Moyo's arguments are based on basic, even well-known, facts: Europe and the US have sent billions in aid to horrible regimes. Corrupt leaders have seen way more cash than needy citizens. Endless loans left the continent with crippling debt. And most of Africa is actually poorer today than it was a few decades ago, when aid dollars began to increase.
Furthermore, she doesn't condemn all aid, just that to governments. Nor has she proposed to end aid to Africa in five years, as many critics believe. Rather, Moyo wants the world to taper off financial assistance to African governments, as quickly as possible, and replace it with direct investment. She wants foreigners to see Africa as an opportunity not a basket case. And she points to the fact that a number of African economies have actually grown in the past year, even as the global economy contracted.
Moyo is young, African, great on television, and a natural pundit. This is what makes her so alarming to the development community. To them, she's providing cover for the world to neglect Africa. She sees it another way. "One of my publishers told me that I've given people license to question these issues without being labeled heartless or uncaring."
Ralph Keeney wants to improve our lives—by making us confront our deaths. In a recent study published in the journal Operations Research, Keeney, a decision analyst at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, crunched data from the Centers for Disease Control to assess how many deaths in the US are due to personal choices—things like smoking, overeating, or unsafe sex. The results: A remarkable 55 percent of deaths for people age 15 to 64 can be attributed to decisions with readily available alternatives. In other words, most people are the agents of their own demise. That's a vast difference from a century ago, when, Keeney estimates, a scant 5 percent of deaths were brought on by personal decisions (infectious diseases account for most of the rest).
So are we facing an epidemic of stupidity? More like an epidemic of ignorance. Our health and well-being are determined by numerous daily cost-benefit calculations. But too many of us get the math wrong. We may know that it's bad to drive without a seat belt. But we don't correctly weigh the cost (the three seconds it takes to buckle up) against the risk (death).
Keeney notes that society already holds people accountable for some actions: Some workplaces disqualify smokers as job candidates; alcoholics are often denied liver transplants. We could deploy more of these penalties: costlier health insurance for the obese, or criminalizing texting while driving the way we do drunk driving. But in the end, punishment is inevitable anyway. "The ultimate penalty is death," Keeney says. "I don't want to totally thwart survival of the fittest."
: For a document that organizes the building blocks of everything in the universe, the periodic table is awfully dull. Enter science writer Theodore Gray. He spent years collecting and photographing samples of elements from aluminum to zinc, and his book The Elements is a loving reimagination of the classic table, detailing not only atomic weight and structure but also how each substance is used. Where would we be without brittle, iridescent bismuth, the active ingredient in Pepto-Bismol?
: Music programming isn't rocket science, but sometimes it's wise to leave the task to the pros. This Chicago-based Web radio station offers more than 25 curated channels, letting you dive into a plethora of cleverly monikered genres like Au Naturale and Flux and explore music scenes around the world. Bonus: no registration required.
: Sure, you could build your own robot out of sheet metal and circuit boards, but that's a chore—and the result could enslave you. Grab this $15 Japanese kit and you can make one out of paper in half an hour. Each Piperoid comes as a set of colorful tubes with holes and marks that make assembly a snap. Simply cut and slide the pieces together—no glue, tape, or PhD required.
Photo: Todd Tankersley
: You've seen the movies, played the videogames, and wielded the lightsaber. What's next? A live Star Wars symphony! With Anthony Daniels (aka C-3PO) narrating, a full orchestra will perform John Williams' glorious music, accompanying scenes from the films on a giant hi-def screen. The world tour starts October 1.
: At 14, armed with only a library book and mad DIY skills, William Kamkwamba built a windmill out of a discarded tractor fan and a broken bicycle. He used it to pump 12 volts of electricity—enough to power a lightbulb—into his Malawi home for the first time. Many inventions later, the TEDGlobal fellow recounts the story in this touching memoir.
: Every day we type in search queries without considering what they say about us. But what if our searches were not only made public but turned into a movie? You'd get I Love Alaska, a series of videos by Lernert Engelberts and Sander Plug that use the accidentally leaked queries of a real AOL user to tell the tale of a cheating wife who is dumped by her cyberlover (tinyurl.com/czbm2n). As the camera pans over frozen landscapes, a voice reads her revealing keywords. It'll make you think twice before you Google.
: Former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne chronicles the ups and downs of his decades pushing pedals in NYC and abroad. Part travelogue, part cultural critique, the book takes us from Berlin to Buenos Aires, delivering historical ephemera and witty ruminations on everything from Jane Jacobs to padded spandex.
Photo: Todomundo
: Bradford Cox, the songwriter behind psych-noise quartet Deerhunter, ditched an album's worth of material after it leaked online. Fortunately for us, Cox later reconsidered and revisited the tracks. The resulting set of dreamy pop tunes, featuring members of Animal Collective and Stereolab, is worth the wait.
: Derrick Comedy, a sketch troop whose YouTube videos of witty nincompoopery boast 75 million views, has taken its antics to the big screen. In Mystery Team, a trio of artless teens fancy themselves detectives and bumble along on the trail of a murderer. Hilariously, one "disguise" consists of top hats and monocles.
: Feeling stressed at work? Let Tengu reboot your mood. Created by designer Crispin Jones, this USB-powered device sits on your desk and lights up with goofy faces that lip-sync to music—or a harangue from your boss. The original model looked like an innocent peripheral when asleep; this incarnation features gaudy afros and glammed-up attitude.
Want to put your doctor's stethoscope in a twist? Ask them to hand over a complete copy of your medical records. Then watch as they nervously demur, citing state laws, cost, and fuzzy hospital policies.
Jamie Heywood wants those obstacles legislated out of existence so we can access our own health data almost as easily as ordering a pizza. And he hopes consumers will in turn share that data with one another via online communities such as PatientsLikeMe, which he cofounded in 2004.
"Privacy has been used as an excuse by those who have a vested interest in hoarding this information," Heywood says. He believes that the real reason hospitals jealously guard medical records is they don't want to open themselves up to second-guessing from patients—or patients' lawyers. And that lack of openness, Heywood argues, is making us sicker: With data scarce, there's no clear way for physicians to know what treatments are working for other practitioners.
PatientsLikeMe allows people with chronic diseases to create public profiles listing their symptoms, medications, and other details long deemed too sensitive to share. Users can then see how fellow travelers are faring and get leads on promising treatments. The company, meanwhile, anonymizes the data and sells it to medical researchers and drug developers.
PatientsLikeMe obviously has its own vested interest in making medical records more accessible. In addition to testifying before Congress, Heywood is a driving force behind the Declaration of Health Data Rights, a four-point manifesto that supporters can publicly endorse through HealthDataRights .org. The declaration's third tenet, in particular, is bound to vex secretive doctors and hospitals: "We the people have the right to take possession of a complete copy of our individual health data, without delay, at minimal or no cost."
Heywood admits that there may be pitfalls—the prospect, for example, that employers could weed out workers with rare diseases. But by his estimate, tens of thousands of lives are lost each year because health data doesn't flow freely. "You're talking an entire Vietnam War annually," he says, "versus a couple of lost jobs."
Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile
In a short but sweet post on the Official Palm Blog, we now have official confirmation on the GSM Palm Pre. Unfortunately for anyone here in the US, that little bit of news does not offer anything for us to get excited about because the Pre will be heading to the UK, Ireland, and Germany by way of O2.
In terms of availability, the webOS based smartphone will debut on October 13 in Germany and a few days later on October 16 in the UK and Ireland. Additionally, similar to Sprint here in the US and Bell in Canada, O2 will be the exclusive carrier for the launch.
Otherwise, aside from the obvious difference of GSM and CDMA, the Palm Pre will be running the same webOS and include the goodies that people have come to love it for.
One bit that is unlike here in the US comes in regards to pricing, in the UK customers will be able to score a Palm Pre free of charge as long as the agree to a 24 month contract with a plan of at least £34.26 (about $55 US) a month.
Read [Palm]
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Bing is beginning to find its way onto the iPhone through apps that build on top of its APIs. One that just hit the iTunes Store is an augmented reality app called Robotvision (iTunes link). Like other AR apps, it uses the video camera on the iPhone 3GS, as well as the GPS and the compass to bring up data about nearby restaurants and shops, including reviews. It gets this local business data from Microsoft’s Bing search engine.
Once you find a place nearby, you can call it the business from within the app. A lot of this functionality is already in the current Yelp iPhone app hidden as an Easter Egg, but Robotvision has some nice extra features. For instance, a feature is triggered by looking down at the screen, which shows the business and others like it as pins on a map. You can toggle back and forth between augmented reality view and map view depending on how the phone is positioned. (see video demo below).
Robotvision also shows you nearby Tweets and geo-tagged Flickr photos. I’m not sure how useful these are in an augmented-reality app. Basically, these are best suited for surfacing information about a place directly in your view or right around the corner. There are plenty of Twitter apps, like Twinkle, that show you nearby Tweets. For the most part these are pretty useless unless they are people you know. I guess it would be cool to be able to point your phone’s camera to a crowd and see related Tweets from people in that crowd, but Robotvision isn’t quite that advanced yet.
Last month, Microsoft announced its Bing iPhone SDK, which this app is using.
Here is a video demo recorded last month:
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Fitness gadget Fitbit was a hit at last year’s TechCrunch50, where it created a ton of buzz and was a runner-up for the top prize. Of course, we all know that it takes hardware companies longer to launch than software startups and since last September, Fitbit has been working tirelessly to refine the product, establish distributions channels and tweak its online platform. Now we won’t have to wait any longer, since Fitbit will officially open up to the public on Tuesday. The site you see currently is the beta version and will feature a redesign as well on Tuesday.
So what does Fitbit do? The sleek little device clips onto your clothing and tracks your movement, sleep and calorie burn throughout the day and night. Fitbit, which costs $99, uses the information it gathers about your movement to help you determine how much exercise you’ve been getting and how many calories you’ve burnt. It can also tell you how many steps you have taken and how well you’ve slept, all based on its internal motion detector. By clicking a little button on the device, you’ll see a small blue LED screen that will alternate between the steps you’ve taken, the calories you’ve burned, your distance, and gives you a gauge of how high your activity level is. This is shown via a small flower that will grow as you exercise more (though I’m told that you will be able to switch your icon).
Here’s the really innovative part—the device is wireless so all data gets automatically synchronized to your computer and then the web through a wireless base station, so you don’t even have to plug it in. If you are within 10 feet of the device (it plugs into your computer via a USB cord), the station will sync with your device. In order for the wireless functionality to work you need to install a syncing software that runs on both Macs and PCs. Once synced, you can view your health dashboard online.
The dashboard is fairly simple and organized. You input your age, height, weight, and gender and are given basic info of how many steps you’ve made in a day and a breakdown of how active you are within the day, showing the highs and lows of your activity. The site will even break down particular activities and measure the intensity of workout. In terms of caloric burn and intake, Fitbit will calculate how many calories you burn in a given day, and if you log in your nutritional info, will also compare that to how much your intake was, making it ideal for anyone who wants to lose weight. And Fitbit has made it easy to input any type of food by already integrating the nutritional value of most types of food, cuisine and even restaurant chain foods, which cuts out a large amount of work for you.
One of the features that I find particularly compelling is the ability to monitor your sleep pattern. If you wear the device while sleeping, it will give you a snapshot of your “sleep health.” As you fall in and out of sleep, the Fitbit tracks the movements that your body makes and can tell you how long it took you to fall asleep, how many times you woke up throughout the night and the actual time you were asleep vs the time you were in bed. You will be able to see all of this detailed information on your dashboard. And to make sure that the device is comfortable for people to wear during the night, you can slide Fitbit onto a wristband that is provided.
Fitbit’s co-founder and CEO, James Park, told me that when it comes to running and walking, Fitbit is 99 percent accurate in its reporting of steps and 90 percent accurate for caloric burn. But Fitbit isn’t as accurate for other types of activities, like weight-lifting and biking. To mitigate this problem, the online dashboard lets you input exercise types and times manually and Fitbit will calculate how many calories you burned based on health information it has collected.
On Tuesday, the site will be open to the public and all of those individuals who pre-ordered the device over the past year will finally receive their Fitbit. While the site will be the only place you can order the Fitbit, Park says that in Q4 you’ll be able to buy the Fitbit online and in retail stores but declined to name which stores he’s partnered with. Fitbit raised a cool $2 million last October and Park says they are looking to raise more to up manufacturing and distribution channels.
Fitbit will also become more social, letting users form groups where they can compare their fitness goals and activities. The site will also take a page out of Mint.com’s book by letting you compare your activity and fitness with other anonymous people who have similar weight, height, and gender. While using the personalized dashboard is free, Fitbit will soon be rolling out premium paid features such as customized fitness coaching and guidance.
So what’s the competition? There are similar products on the market that offer the same functionality as Fitbit, such as the Philips Activity Monitor or the BodyBugg or Nike/iPod gear (which doesn’t measure sleep patterns). But the beauty of fitbit is in it’s pricing and in its sleek structure. It fits in any pocket and is so small and unobtrusive that it could be hooked into a bra. Both the Philips and BodyBugg products are bulky, making it difficult to wear 24-hours per day. The advantage of the BodyBugg is that it measures calories burn by heat, which is a more efficient and accurate way of measuring calorie burn. Fitbit counts calories via motion, but that’s also why it’s easy to wear.
I wasn’t at TechCrunch50 last year but after seeing a demo, I’m already excited about this product after being frustrated with the limitations of pedometers that I’ve used. The ability to wirelessly connect to the online dashboard takes a lot of the work out of actually making sense of the data. And being able to understand your optimal balance of diet, workouts and sleep is valuable. It seems that Fitbit was worth the wait.
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Dropbox, the impressive file sharing service which makes it easy to sync your files across multiple computers and the web, has announced that it has reached two million registered users, just four months after reaching one million users. Of those, Dropbox has almost one million users that are active.
Just earlier this month, Dropbox rolled out a brand new redesign of its web interface, and new search as well as many other features. Dropbox has been very secretive about numbers, especially financials, but these figures indicate that it is definitely gaining traction.
Dropbox submitted its iPhone application in the middle of August. It still has not been approved. According to CEO Drew Houston, Apple rejected the application two weeks after submitting to the App Store, but since then they have fixed all the bugs, and re-submitted the app.
Dropbox was one of the finalists for TechCrunch50 one year ago. The company is based in San Francisco and has raised $1.5 million from Sequoia Capital.
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By Eric Savitz, Blogger and Columnist, Barron’s, Tech Trader Daily
In a lengthy filing with the SEC, Omniture (OMTR) provides a detailed time-line of the events that culminated in its agreement to be acquired by Adobe Systems (ADBE) for $21.50 a share. There are several fascinating aspects to the company’s account.
For starters, the deal came together in a hurry. On July 20, Adobe told Omniture it was interested in pursuing a transaction, and that it wanted to announce the deal on September 15, the day it was scheduled to report earnings. And that is actually how it played out.
Read the rest of this post on the original site
In a rather surprising move considering Verizon’s lack of compelling handsets, the nation’s biggest wireless carrier has decided it’s going to pass on the Palm Pre, if reports are to be believed. This is a serious blow to Palm’s aspirations, and their stock took a 5% hit as if to rubber-stamp it. Although the team here is divided over Palm’s new efforts (and advertising strategy), I think we were all secretly rooting for Palm just a bit. After all, WebOS is impressive and the Pre and Pixi are solid little devices — but Verizon doesn’t think so, or at least not anymore.
Nobody can deny that sales have been underwhelming — half a million is about where I’d place them, which is no way to launch a giant-killer. That’s Verizon’s first complaint, and you can’t really blame them. Okay, strike one.
Verizon is also revamping its VCast system and launching its own app store. I’m of the opinion that this store will be a piece of garbage, but I’d understand if they don’t share my outlook. And garbage or not, it’d still be in conflict with Palm’s own app store. Steeerike two.
Lastly, it seems like the true sleeper phone is awakening, and Verizon wants to get on board before that ship sails — instead of being late to the party like it’s been with, you know, everything else. The CLIQ is an interesting phone, and Motorola is a proven partner. And they too know the sting of being hopelessly out of date. It kind of reminds me of Grumpy Old Men, except in this case the crusty invalids are major corporations, joining forces to rejuvenate their sagging sales. I smell a remake! Strike three, and a foul on me for making that reference.
One reason not mentioned: Could Verizon be secretly waiting on the iPhone? It’s a fun thought, but I’d say no way. AT&T has barely been able to cope with the strain of a network full of iPhones, and Verizon would probably break. It’s also an expensive move, and Verizon’s always been about selling medium-sized services to cheap phones. That may have to change, but they’ll ramp up before they go all out.
What this means for Palm will be determined by how they roll with it, and whether they’ve got anything else up their collective sleeve. It’s certainly not good news, in fact I’d say it’s probably the worst news possible short of a meteor striking Palm’s HQ, but don’t go picking out a coffin just yet.
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Section: Video, Portable Video
Getting back to the FLO TV device that we have been hearing about lately, we now have what appears to be a leaked image. And holding true to the unofficial leaked image rule, this is far from the best of pictures.
Anyway, according to the rumor, the FLO TV device is being made by Qualcomm, although we were previously told Audiovox and offer features such as 4GB of internal storage, a capacitive touchscreen and built-in stereo speakers.
Now in regards to the image, despite the previous rumors that claimed the device would be “iPhone-sized” this particular shot makes it look really tiny. Of course, that also may be a really large coffee cup that it is sitting next to. Not to mention, maybe someone should have moved that off the edge of the table just a little bit.
Unfortunately, while leaked images are always fun, they generally do not offer us anything new which means we still have no real idea of the official specs, pricing or a release date.
Via [BGR]
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Reuters - Microsoft Corp has no plans to acquire Electronic Arts, a Microsoft executive said, shooting down unsubstantiated talk of a potential bid that triggered a spike in the video game publisher's shares.
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Section: Computers, Software / Applications, Web, Web Browsers
Microsoft gets a lot of flack for not following web standards in Internet Explorer. In the past couple of years, MS has made an active move to become more standards compliant. If you downloaded the latest version of Firefox, you may have seen the HTML5 video tag in action. It is an easy way for people to put video on a website without needing plugins. Microsoft announced that their Internet Explorer will support the HTML5 video tag.
What does this mean? It should mean that many sites may dump plug-ins for video like Flash, Silverlight, and Quicktime and just opt for HTML5 since Microsoft is now on board with the standard. Firefox already supports the HTML video tag as do Chrome, Opera, and Safari.
While IE may support the HTML5 video tag, we don’t know how well IE will handle the video tag. Ask any person who has designed a website to be compatible for every browser - then mention IE6. You might want to step back.
Read: [Open Video Alliance]
Full Story » | Written by Iyaz Akhtar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
What a disappointing report from Research in Motion. For its fiscal second quarter, the BlackBerry maker posted sales and an outlook that fell short of analysts’ expectations.
Earnings slipped by four percent, with RIM (RIMM) making $475.6 million, or 83 cents per share. Excluding one-time items, however, RIM earned $1.03 per share on sales of $3.53 billion, compared with 86 cents per share on sales of $2.58 billion in the same period last year. The Street had expected the company to turn in a profit of $1 per share on sales of $3.62 billion, according to a consensus from Thomson Reuters. RIM also shipped slightly fewer devices than analysts had hoped. The company said it sold about 8.3 million BlackBerry devices during the quarter, adding about 3.8 million new subscribers. Analysts had expected the company to add about 4 million new subscribers on shipments between 8.5 million and 8.6 million.
Looking ahead, RIM gave a per-share earnings outlook of between $1 and $1.08 for its third quarter, compared with a $1.05-per-share average expected by analysts.
Suffice it to say, investors are not pleased. RIM’s shares are down about 10 percent in extended trading as I write this.
FROM GAMERTELL - Kaz Hirai used his TGS 2009 keynote speech to enlighten the audience about Sony milestones, like 1 million PS3 Slims were sold in the first 3 weeks, and 8 million people use Home. No major announcements were made.
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A Maine construction firm had nearly $600,000 stolen from its bank account and is suing the bank, claiming they are to blame for not monitoring accounts more closely.
Hackers hit Patco Construction Co.’s bank account at Ocean Bank of Delaware (also known as People’s United Bank) in May, ripping off the funds in 6 separate transfers over a week. The account, which was used for payroll, was completely emptied. As part of the account’s overdraft protection the bank took $223,237 from the company’s line of credit to cover the withdrawals.
Patco sued. They blame the bank saying the hacking is their fault and that Ocean did not do enough to monitor for suspicious activity. It is not yet clear how the hackers got into Patco’s account. Several employees had access to it with their own IDs and passwords. It’s likely a malware infected computer is involved, or someone with access fell for a phishing scam. So far, the bank has only been able to recover $243,406.
I’m not so sure the bank is to blame, but I don’t know what kind of security procedures their online banking site has in place. I do know that it was Patco’s responsibility to monitor their account and that giving multiple employees access to it was not smart. The more people who have access the more likely something will go wrong.
Read [PCWorld]
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WinMo 6.5 might still be a month out, but that hasn’t stopped the mobile folks in Redmond from spilling the beans on an upcoming (albeit foreseeable) addition to WinMo 7 – MS’s own Flash killer competitor, Silverlight 3.
The good word comes from Brian Goldfarb, a marketing director for Microsoft’s Silverlight team, who told the Seattle PI that WinMo 7 will indeed come integrated with Silverlight 3.
“We are 100 percent dedicated to seeing Silverlight across all three screens – PC, TV and mobile,” he said.
Theoretically, the inclusion of SL3 means future WinMo 7 devices could support Netflix’s “Watch Instantly” feature, bringing tons of your favorite content right to the comfort of your 3″ display-equipped mobile phone.
This is also a direct jab at Adobe, who has been notoriously slow (er, uninterested) in porting Flash to the mobilesphere in any meaningful way (read: No Flash for iPhone). Sure, they ported Flash to Android (but it doesn’t really work all that well, as seen on the Hero), and there is Flash Lite, but unfortunately, until Flash and Flash Lite files become interoperable, it seems as though MS actually has a leg up with Silverlight 3.
[via MobileTechWorld]
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FROM GAMERTELL - Nintendo announced a $50 Wii price cut, effective Saturday, September 27, 2009. The system’s new price is $199.99. Nintendo will be promoting the sale, and new games, with a string of convention appearances.
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(With the image above, close your eyes and pretend that instead of bottles of shampoo, the price cut signs are pointing at a shelf full of MyTouches. Our photoshop talents only go so far. And by “so far”, we mean not very.)
If you were on the cusp of buying a T-Mobile myTouch but just felt it was a little too expensive, we’ve got good news: it just got cheaper. Early this morning, ol’ magenta decided to chop 25% off the going price of $199.99, bringing the total on a two-year contract down to just $149.99.
There are too many reasons why they might have dropped the price (for example, the fact that T-Mobile is prepping to launch the Android-powered and purportedly dirt cheap Cliq ) to make any assumptions. With that said, folks don’t tend to drop the price of things when they’re expecting them to sell like hot cakes on a winter’s eve.
[Via TmoNews]
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Widgets. They’ve been all-the-rage slowly simmering as the go-to “next big thing” in mobile since 2004. Though no one has yet to launch a massively successful widget engine, some are still banking on the idea as a means of competing in a world suddenly filled with full-fledged Apps coming out of full-fledged App Stores. Now, thanks to a handful of ingenious developers out of Switzerland, they’re coming to the iPhone.
Through MediaPhone’s solution, SmartScreen, Dashboard-esque widgets are placed on the iPhone lockscreen. Widgets are contained within swipe-able pages, and can be moved around with a long press. This all going down on the lockscreen means, of course, that you’ll have to jailbreak to play – but come on, Apple. Give us something like this. Even if not everyone uses them, it’s just one more thing to sell in the App Store. 50 cent widgets? I’ll take 20.
Developers are currently being weighed for their beta widget development program, with the first run of the product expected to launch come November.
[Via TUAW]
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AT&T iPhone owners have been waiting over two years for a feature that almost every other cellphone has had for ages: multimedia messaging. That day is almost here. MMS lands on the iPhone tomorrow.
AT&T posted the following message on its Facebook page:
MMS Update: We know you’ve been eager for this service so we wanted to offer a quick update on the launch plans for MMS on Friday, Sept. 25. Late morning, Pacific Time, on Friday, the new carrier settings update enabling MMS should be live and ready to download through iTunes. We’ll provide the steps and all of the details you need right here at that time.
That sounds like a painless upgrade: You won’t have to download a huge iPhone software update just to gain MMS. Updating the carrier settings usually involves flashing the firmware, which takes a matter of seconds.
Now, let’s see if AT&T can handle the huge amount of data traffic tomorrow when thousands of iPhone users send their “O.M.G. I FINALLY HAVE MMS!” messages, toothy-grinned self-portraits attached.
See Also:
Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com
Circumstantial rumor > confirmed rumor > official confirmation. Such is the storied life of a mobile gadget these days. It was just last week when word of a September 27 launch date for Sprint’s Samsung Instinct HD leaked onto the Internethers, and today that rumor became substantiated.
Sprint has officially announced the availability of the Samsung Instinct HD. The high-def mobile will be available from Best Buy on Sept. 27 and all other Sprint retail channels on Oct. 11. As for the features:
Samsung Instinct HD boasts an attractive and intuitive user interface as well as the high-speed connectivity of America’s most dependable 3G network3 (EVDO Rev. A).With Samsung and Sprint’s first high-definition 5-megapixel camera and camcorder and TV-out HD connection, it allows photo and video playback on an HD capable auxiliary device but it does not provide HD playback directly on the handset.
Samsung Instinct HD further improves on the original with an enhanced Web browsing experience, including a full Opera Mobile 9.7 browser, WiFi capabilities, an Ambient Light Sensor and Accelerometer. It also features a Proximity Sensor with haptic feedback that gives users a gentle vibration as they experience the virtual QWERTY keyboard.
While the phone looks pretty decent and clearly is packin’ some impressive features and hardware, the newly revealed price, $249.99 with a new two-year service agreement after a $100 mail-in rebate (taxes and service charges excluded), still seems a bit steep. Either way, we’re lovin’ Samsung’s humorous? choice of color – Blue Steel. So hot right now!
Samsung Instinct® HD™
Living in High Definition
Samsung Instinct® HD, exclusively from Sprint, is the latest addition to the award-winning Samsung Instinct touch-screen phone product line, offering an attractive and familiar interface while adding a larger and brighter touch-screen, enhanced Web browsing experience, Sprint’s first high-definition camera and camcorder and TV-out HD connection, which allows photo and video playback on an HD capable auxiliary device but it does not provide HD playback directly on the handset.1Samsung Instinct HD is powered by the high-speed connectivity of America’s most dependable 3G network2 (EVDO Rev. A). Samsung Instinct HD boasts all of the must-have features of its predecessors including Live Search for Sprint, Visual Voicemail, Sprint TV®, localized haptic feedback, Advanced stereo Bluetooth® 2.0, SMS voice and text messaging with threaded text and true HTML Web experience from both the enhanced embedded browser and the addition of Opera Mobile 9.7 with a desktop-like browsing experience and WiFi capabilities. This sleek handset comes in Blue Steel.
Entertainment/Personalization
• 5.0 megapixel camera and video camcorder with HD video out and flash (This
handset allows photo and video playback on an HD capable auxiliary device but it
does not provide HD playback directly on the handset.)
• Accelerometer, Ambient Light Sensor and Proximity Sensor enhancing the user
experience
• Sprint TV® with an extensive selection of live and on-demand programming
• Sprint Music StoreSM allowing users to wirelessly download full-length songs
directly to their phone for just 99 cents each
• Several streaming-radio applications, including Sprint Radio with more than 150
channels
• Customizable Favorites menuProductivity
• Access to Corporate and POP3 email including AOL, Gmail, Yahoo! and
MSN/Windows Live Hotmail
• Calendar synchronization access to Microsoft Exchange Server and IBM Lotus
Notes
• Sprint Navigation with GPS-enabled turn-by-turn driving directions, traffic rerouting and more
than 10 million local listings
• Live Search for Sprint, powered by Microsoft, provides easy access to directory information,
integrated GPS-enabled directions, interactive maps and one-touch click to call access
• Speech to Action button providing many functions using voice activation including call, text,
traffic, movie, sports, news and search
• Visual Voicemail
• Built-in instant messaging with threaded text
• Opera Mobile 9.7 Web and True HTML Browser
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
• Advanced Stereo Bluetooth® Wireless Technology
• Mobile Sync to restore contacts if the device is lost, stolen or damagedSpecifications
• Dimensions: 4.63 x 2.28 x 0.50 inches; 4.01 ounces
• Display: 1.78 x 2.66 inches TFT (320 x 480 pixels and 16M vibrant colors)
• Standard Lithium (LiIon) battery: up to 5.8 hours continuous talk time3
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![Screen shot 2009-09-24 at [ September 24 ] 9.40.16 AM](http://www.mobilecrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Screen-shot-2009-09-24-at-September-24-9.40.16-AM.png "Screen shot 2009-09-24 at [ September 24 ] 9.40.16 AM")
After locking down pretty much the entire story on the VX8575, from the first shots to a launch date, PhoneArena has gone ahead and sealed the deal with a pre-announcement hands on.
Here’s what we walk away knowing:
Not bad, LG – but we’re still wagging a finger at Verizon for not nabbing the BL40.
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While this certainly isn’t the first time — we’ve seen a music video shot on an iPhone (or even the first time one has been shot with the 3GS), it is the first time we’ve seen it done by someone with.. you know, money.
Rapper Paul Wall, who’s other job is making and selling platinum and diamond jewelry for your teeth, released a video last night shot from end-to-end on the 3GS. It’s not exactly raw footage (every shot has scene some hardcore post processing), and we’re still not sure why a man who can afford diamonds in his mouth would use an iPhone 3GS to shoot his videos — but either way, we’re still impressed.
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 Telegraph.co.uk | Honda's U3-X unicycle really for robots CNET News Honda on Wednesday unveiled the U3-X, a stool with a unique directional wheel system that allows it to travel diagonally, as well as right, left, forward, and backward. The device is able to readjust itself so that instead of riders ... Honda shows small light 'personal mobility' device OAP unicycle unveiled in Japan Honda U3-X personal mobility device tips up |
According to a recent FCC filing, this is an embeddable WWAN and WiFi module that could be the first step in creating an internal MiFi like device, a system that would allow those sitting around you to share your WWAN connection.
There’s not much more info than that except that it’s using a Qualcomm board to transmit on UMTS 3G.
I would totally share my WWAN connection – for a price. Imagine the lucrative trade you could have in an airport.
Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0
Before we start this review, I want to say two things. One, I bought this utility belt right after writing about it at the beginning of August. I liked it then, and I like it now that I have used it. While there are a few niggles, this will be less of a review and more of a how-to. Second, I know that this color scheme makes it look like a carpenter’s tool-belt. Thanks to everyone who keeps pointing that out.
The belt is made for cyclists, and every part of the design shows this. The most obvious is the U-Lock holder on the back, which fits a Kryptonite Evo Mini, although as the belts are made to order you can specify another size. The Superhero is the full-sized nerd-belt (there is also a half-belt with less pockets), and is made from nylon or canvas sections mounted onto an old car seatbelt (we love the idea of dead cars resurrected as bike accessories). The whole thing is secured by Velcro, letting you adjust the size to fit over different clothes very quickly.
The Velcro feels odd at first. Because you can load up the Superhero with so much weight, it’s a little nerve-wracking not to have a proper clasp. In practice, the long wide strips are more than equal to a full load, and better, there is no buckle to dig into you.
So, the build-quality is fine, and worth the $120. What you all want to know is how does it work, and what do all those hooks and pockets do? I shall tell you.
At the back, you have the aforementioned lock-holster. If you’re the type that can’t spoil the lines of your bike with a lock-bracket, the holster is the most comfortable way to carry your lock. It slides in and out with a shove and a tug, and when you’re on the bike you can’t feel it. The rear position means that it often feels as if it might catch on the seat, but in practice mine never has.
Next around are a pair of elastic loops. I haven’t worked out a use for these yet (they’d hold a wrench, but that will fit elsewhere and be less dangly), so suggestions are welcome. Alongside these loops is a metal hook, onto which you can clip keys. One advantage of a belt for carrying your gear is that, when seated, it doesn’t jiggle much and you don’t feel any weight. This means the keys are silent on the bike, although you’ll jangle like a spinster kindergarten teacher’s ears when you start walking.
Then we come to the first pocket, which sits just behind the right hip, and can be left gaping open to carry a can of beer or cocktail shaker, or closed with a press-stud. This model is the Relaxed Superhero - Rust, which is made from waxed canvas and is floppier than the nylon, and also unpadded. Other belts have a zipper here. The open hole also works great for holding gloves or a cap, or anything you might toss in there.
Next to this is a Velcro-closing pocket that will fit a multi-tool or a cellphone. In fact, it’ll fit a cellphone, an iPod Touch and an iPod Nano, all at once. Being at the front right, it’s very easy to get to, even while riding. Finally, for this side at least, we get to the money pocket, which will hold a few notes and coins. The Superhero effectively closes off your pants pockets, so this is useful, if a little bit of a squeeze for the fingers. Because this pocket is sewn top and bottom, there is also space to squeeze an iPod Nano in behind it.
On the other side is a solitary pocket, but it makes up for its rarity with size. The zippered pouch looks like a whole fanny-pack on its own, and can fit a lot of gear inside. This could be a home for your toolkit: it’ll hold an inner-tube, multi-tool, 15mm wrench, patch kit, as well as a wallet. There’s also a small patch pocket at the back, where you could slide credit cards, a slim phone or an iPod, or cash money. You’d also get a mini-pump in here, but you don’t need to as right next door is a…
Pump loop. This is simply two pieces of Velcro that will wrap and secure a pump, and it is probably the dorkiest feature of all. It is also damn useful, as you don’t have to squeeze an awkward tube in anywhere else.
That’s it. As you can see, it looks great on, once you’ve got past the utilitarian construction-site aesthetic. I have even worn it off the bike, and it drew a mixture of looks, from curiosity to pity. And that was from people I saw walking towards me: God knows what the people behind me thought when they saw a bike pump hanging from my butt.
Product page [Fabric Horse]
Photos: Charlie Sorrel
Model: The Lady
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Input tablet maker Wacom has just updated its Bamboo line to accept multi-touch gestures from fingers as well as the more traditional pressure-sensitive pen. There are three main models — pen only, touch-only, and one with everything.
If you have used a recent MacBook or an iPhone, then you’ll instantly be at home. Pinch to zoom, double-finger swipes and right-clicking are supported, as are rotate and scroll. You still get the pen in most of the boxes, along with a set of customizable hard keys.
For the tech-curious, the new tablets have 512 pressure levels in the pen tip and the active area of the tablet is 5.8 x 3.6 inches, and all lose the in-pack mouse (for obvious reasons). The Touch and the Pen models are both $70, and the Pen & Touch is $100. Also, if you were thinking of buying Photoshop Elements 7 for the same price, get a tablet instead — Elements comes in the box.
Product page [Wacom]
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Remember the amazing augmented reality application demo for the iPhone that we saw back in July? It was called Nearest Subway, and it overlaid floating representations of nearby New York subway stations onto the live video coming in through the camera of the iPhone 3GS. These appeared to be hanging in space, pinned in place by the 3GS’ compass and GPS.
That application is now available to buy, for just $1. There have been a few changes — it’s now called Bionic Eye, for instance — but the jaw-dropping virtual signage is still there, and the subway stations have been joined by other points of interest, hotels, fast-food joints and, splendidly, Hooters.
Bionic Eye now works anywhere in the United States, not just New York, and you can buy add-ons for the subway systems of New York, Washington and Chicago from within the application. To use it, you just hold it up and look. As you scan the electronic window across the cityscape the app updates in real time and shows you where things are. Move the iPhone down to a horizontal position and the jiggling signs turn into a list. Touch one of the items and the display shows an arrow pointing you towards, say, a lunch of wings and tight-fitting T-shirts.
Magically, this all works offline, so you need neither a Wi-Fi or data connection (although the app will show you any Wi-Fi spots around you). Everything is contained within the tiny 2.9-MB download. You will need the 3GS for this, as it has the essential compass, but you can use it with older iPhones or iPod Touches and get the same points of interest plotted onto a Google Map — equally useful but less jazzy.
Outside the United States, the UK, France and Tokyo are supported. Available now.
Product page [iTunes]
Product page [Bionic Eye]
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If the roll-your-own Digital Holga is too rich for you (and at $3,000 and up to take some blurred photos it certainly should be), then you might try Lomo’s ready-made solution for its other medium format camera, the Diana F+.
The Diana F+ SLR adaptors are simple rings that attach to Nikon and Canon SLR cameras and let you use them with the low-quality Diana lenses. Why bother? Because the happy accidents you get using crappy glass or plastic lenses are impossible, or at least too long-winded, to reproduce digitally. And unlike the rather more specialized (and splendid) Lensbaby series, these are so dirt cheap that it is almost silly not to buy them. The adapter is a mere $12, and the lenses start at $40. That’s a lot, lot less than you’d pay for a single (proper) fisheye lens.
Actually, I’m sold. As soon as the local Lomo store re-opens after today’s holiday, I’m going to pick one up.
Product page [Lomo]
Store page [Lomo]
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Three weeks ago we showed you Mavic’s magnetic shoe/bike pedal combo, which drew some interesting comments about their efficacy. Reader Reubennz:
If it’s strong enough to hold the foot in place through the second part of the rotation how do you ever release from the pedal? If the magnet is weak enough to release straight up then it could never allow any kind of power advantage.
We agree, and we see the exact same problem with this version from Proton Locks. While it has a big advantage over the Mavic EZ-Ride pedals in that it comes with magnetic plates to bolt onto your own shoes, rather than requiring you buy a specially made pair, it still suffers from a lack of locking. Toe clips and clip-less pedals are meant to keep you foot on the pedal however hard you pull, for maximum power transfer. As Reubennz points out, if the magnets could do that, you’d never be able to remove your feet.
The Proton pedals have another disadvantage. They cost $145 for the mini pedals and $165 for the full-sized, against just $60 for the Mavics. On the other hand, you don’t have to drop another $90 on the Mavic-compatible shoes. Me? I’ll stick with my regular sneakers and cheap cage/strap setup.
Product page [Proton Locks via Cyclelicious]
P9210059 en Flickr: ¡Intercambio de fotos!
“>Photo from Interbike 2009: UltraRob/Flickr
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The Moviewedge is not, as I first thought upon reading the rather juicy name, a chunky media viewer, or even a small prop to hold your eyes open during the penultimate 15 minutes of Blade Runner. It is a beanbag in the shape of a wedge, with a plush lip at the front, and it is the perfect place to rest a tired iPod, cellphone or other movie-playing device.
It’s probably a little chunky for the minimalist traveler, but we like it anyway. The bag will sit on an airline seat-tray or your knee, just as happily, and just as steadily. The single best feature is the micro-fiber material which forms the skin, perfect to quickly polish away greasy smears from grubby thumbs. And finally, the combination of soft body and hard, shiny screen reminds of of the Chumby, only this is actually useful.
Product page [Moviewedge. Thanks, Brad!]
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