Top 50 Real-Time Web Companies

As part of our lead-up to The ReadWrite Real-Time Web Summit, which is just over two weeks away, in this post we're listing 50 leading companies of the Real-Time Web. Like any list, it is bound to be missing...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 28 Sep 2009 | 4:52 am

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer On “Moving The Needle”

Last week we showed the highlights and 10+ minutes of video footage of an exclusive hour-long TechCrunch interview with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

Now for the rest of that interview. The video was just a teaser. I spoke with Ballmer for another 50 minutes on the record, doing a deeper dive into five key areas of Microsoft’s product strategy: Big Opportunities, Operating Systems/Browsers, Mobile, Search and Developers.

This post is about big opportunities at Microsoft beyond their dual cash cows of Windows and Office. Microsoft generates around $20 billion a year in pre-tax profit, and spends nearly $10 billion on research and development. When Microsoft thinks about increasing (or sustaining) those profits, they have to think big. And they have to think long term.

Ballmer says he thinks about new business opportunities in three buckets: expanding current businesses (short run), building things from scratch (long run), and big aquisitions (short cuts).

First Bucket (short term): The bulk of new business opportunities in the short term are going to come from things that Microsoft is already working on. Says Ballmer: “Most of what we’re going to move the needle in the next five years relative to 20 billion is going to come from things that we’re already in.”

Second Bucket (long term): It just isn’t realistic, he says, to build new businesses from scratch to big profits (the kind that make a company the size of Microsoft blink) in five years or so. Ten years is a more appropriate horizon for new ideas: “You would be hard pressed to name a start-up company that generated an interesting amount of profit in five years relative to 20 billion. Even the most successful. Google in its first five years, Facebook in its five years.”

Third Bucket (aquisition short cuts): Despite the fact that in the initial interview Ballmer said that total acquisitions of around 15 companies per year would remain roughly steady, he says not to expect any big “needle changing” acquisitions in the near future: “And the only other wild card you can weigh on top that, which we just don’t do much, is large acquisition. So, we have nothing to announce, there’s nothing we’re thinking about, so I’ll put the third bucket aside.”

Ballmer also specifically highlighted seven businesses that he hopes to dramatically build and/or expand over the next few years: PC innovation, Communication/Productivity Tools, Phones, TV, Search, Enterprise Infrastructure and Servers. He also says to expect an explosion of application development over the next five years:

It’s going to come on innovation and growth in the PC market having the number of PCs that are sold continue to grow. That’s important. We can drive that. It’s going to come from innovation in the tools and technologies both at home and at work to help people communicate, collaborate, to be productive. It’s going to come from phones. It’s going to come from the intelligence that powers TVs. That could happen. It probably doesn’t explode unless we can manage to make the device that does that, the PC, that’s the way to get short-term explosion. We’re focused in on that.

Search, we have real opportunity in search in the next five years.

Biggest opportunity that we never talked about is enterprise infrastructure. Most of that goes to the database and mainframe vendors today who are in the business. We’ve got four billion in revenue and yet we’re a small marketshare player.

Servers, there are going to be more new applications written in the next five years than any five-year period of time.

…

So, I take a look and, I’d like to say we’ve got seven big opportunities and everyone of those seven opportunities is going to have to do its fair share to move the needle over the next five years on the 20 billion. We have some other things that in aggregate may not themselves be a large percentage of the 20. But those have to perform, and we’ve got to be investing in some things that can explode in years 5 to 10. I hope I answered your question.

What about new technologies like Azure, Mesh, etc? Ballmer says they’re “dislocators to technology” that overlay all of these opportunities:

I don’t list the cloud because the cloud has kind of overlaid all of those opportunities. We have opportunities by offering cloud infrastructure to enhance the margins we make in our server business, in our communications and collaboration and productivity business, and that’s where things like exchange online, SharePoint online, Windows Azure, they’re not really new value propositions, but they are new potential margin streams and dislocators to technology shifters and some of the existing kind of customer propositions that we invest in.

Ballmer also broke down that huge $9.5 billion/year Microsoft R&D budget. Just $250 million to 300 million per year is invested in pure research, he says. The bulk of it goes into Microsoft’s five key business areas. They have 5,000 people just researching search, for example. Health IT, robotics and energy also have a share of the budget:

Well, if you look at the R&D budget itself, let me break it into four pieces: pure research, that was misreported I think in Business Week recently. But our pure research budget is about $250 to 300 million or something like that. We have what I call an incubations budget – incubations and explorations. These are things we’re not sure turn into products and don’t yet fit in any one of the existing business groups necessarily. Mostly managed by guys like Craig Mundie and Ray Ozzie. That’s another several hundreds of million dollars.

We have new businesses, put health for example, we have a fairly significant investment in health IT. There’s some stuff going into robotics, energy. That would be another few hundred million. And then the bulk of our key money is going into our five big business groups that are investing in the kinds of stuff that we talked about. Just take search, order of magnitude, we have 5,000 people working in R&D and search order of magnitude.

Five thousand people, you pay a person fully burdened let’s say 200,000 plus. That’s kind of what the tech industry looks like and you get a billion dollars to spend. But we got five of those things, and so – or bigger than a billion. Not many of them are too much smaller than a billion. You put them all together and then add to the first billion and a half I described and then say get the 9.5 billion bucks. So, the bulk, eight of the 9.5 is invested in the core businesses including the incubations that are going on inside the businesses.

Ballmer ends this portion of the interview by talking about Microsoft’s biggest single research focus – communications collaboration and productivity. He says “And you know, the biggest investment area for us is in communications collaboration and productivity. That would be the single biggest investment area for us.”

The full transcript of this portion of the interview is below.

Transcript:

Mr. ARRINGTON: Last year you generated about $20 billion on pre-text, profits.

Mr. BALLMER: That’s right.

Mr. ARRINGTON: It takes a lot to move a needle with Microsoft where you find new businesses in areas you want to expand. What are the new business opportunities that excite you?

Mr. BALLMER: I want to start with my excitement about our existing opportunities.

Mr. ARRINGTON: OK.

Mr. BALLMER: I really do because, if you’re going to – if you want to move the needle for us, there’s two things we have to do. Most of what we’re going to move the needle in the next five years relative to 20 billion is going to come from things that we’re already in. Most of where we’re going to move the needle maybe five to 10 years from now is going to come from things that are new, that we have to go invest in from scratch.

And the only other wild card you can weigh on top that, which we just don’t do much, is large acquisition. So, we have nothing to announce, there’s nothing we’re thinking about, so I’ll put the third bucket aside. But you would be hard pressed to name a start-up company that generated an interesting amount of profit in five years relative to 20 billion. Even the most successful. Google in its first five years, Facebook in its five years. So, there are things we have to be investing for kind of the five to 10 timeframe. But if you look at where things are going to happen and they’re interesting relative to 20 billion you’d mentioned, it’s not at our existing businesses.

It’s going to come on innovation and growth in the PC market having the number of PCs that are sold continue to grow. That’s important. We can drive that. It’s going to come from innovation in the tools and technologies both at home and at work to help people communicate, collaborate, to be productive. It’s going to come from phones. It’s going to come from the intelligence that powers TVs. That could happen. It probably doesn’t explode unless we can manage to make the device that does that, the PC, that’s the way to get short-term explosion. We’re focused in on that.

Search, we have real opportunity in search in the next five years.

Biggest opportunity that we never talked about is enterprise infrastructure. Most of that goes to the database and mainframe vendors today who are in the business. We’ve got four billion revenues and yet we’re a small share player.

Servers, there are going to be more new applications written in the next five years than any five-year period of time.

I don’t list the cloud because the cloud has kind of overlaid all of those opportunities. We have opportunities by offering cloud infrastructure to enhance the margins we make in our server business, in our communications and collaboration and productivity business, and that’s where things like exchange online, SharePoint online, Windows Azure, they’re not really new value propositions, but they are new potential margin streams and dislocators to technology shifters and some of the existing kind of customer propositions that we invest in.

So, I take a look and, I’d like to say we’ve got seven big opportunities and everyone of those seven opportunities is going to have to do its fair share to move the needle over the next five years on the 20 billion. We have some other things that in aggregate may not themselves be a large percentage of the 20. But those have to perform, and we’ve got to be investing in some things that can explode in years 5 to 10. I hope I answered your question.

Mr. ARRINGTON: Oh, yeah, you did. Things sure have changed since your initial mission statement – the computer in every home, every desk running Microsoft software. You’ve moved way beyond that.

Mr. BALLMER: Yes.

Mr. ARRINGTON: Your R&D budget is $10 billion a year, roughly.

Mr. BALLMER: Nine and a half.

Mr. ARRINGTON: $9.5 billion…What do you spend that on?

Mr. BALLMER: Well, if you look at the R&D budget itself, let me break it into four pieces: pure research, that was misreported I think in Business Week recently. But our pure research budget is about $250 to 300 million or something like that. We have what I call an incubations budget – incubations and explorations. These are things we’re not sure turn into products and don’t yet fit in any one of the existing business groups necessarily. Mostly managed by guys like Craig Mundie and Ray Ozzie. That’s another several hundreds of million dollars. We have new businesses, put health for example, we have a fairly significant investment in health IT. There’s some stuff going into robotics, energy. That would be another few hundred million. And then the bulk of our key money is going into our five big business groups that are investing in the kinds of stuff that we talked about. Just take search, order of magnitude, we have 5,000 people working in R&D and search order of magnitude.

Five thousand people, you pay a person fully burdened let’s say 200,000 plus. That’s kind of what the tech industry looks like and you get a billion dollars to spend. But we got five of those things, and so – or bigger than a billion. Not many of them are too much smaller than a billion. You put them all together and then add to the first billion and a half I described and then say get the 9.5 billion bucks. So, the bulk, eight of the 9.5 is invested in the core businesses including the incubations that are going on inside the businesses.

Mr. ARRINGTON: Ok.

Mr. BALLMER: And you know, the biggest investment area for us is in communications collaboration and productivity. That would be the single biggest investment area for us.

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TechCrunch50 Conference 2009: September 14-15, 2009, San Francisco

Source: TechCrunch | 28 Sep 2009 | 4:26 am

Europeans! Last chance to save Net Neutrality in the EU, call your MEP!

Jérémie Zimmermann sez, "The first conciliation meeting on the Telecoms Package will take place tonight at 9:30PM. In this meeting, 27 Members of the European Parliament and 27 representatives of the Council of EU will decide on the future of Internet in Europe. They will choose whether to fix or maintain the dreadful anti-Net neutrality dispositions voted in second reading by the Parliament, under the influence of AT&T. Rapporteurs and representatives of the Swedish Presidency opposed this idea so far. European citizens only have a few hours to urge MEPs to preserve Europe's innovation, competition, and citizen's fundamental rights."

Act now to save Net neutrality! (Thanks, Jérémie!)


Source: Boing Boing | 28 Sep 2009 | 4:17 am

Google Book Search and privacy for students

Parker sez, "Although the Google Books Settlement is being modified, the questions it raises are important for students to think about. Students for Free Culture, in the interest of better informing students about the settlement, has solicited the thoughts of a variety of experts who are providing guest posts reflecting on how the settlement will likely impact students. This is the second installment in the series, from EFF's Rebecca Jeshke, and it talks about the privacy issues involved. All of last week and this week, we'll be posting other responses from people like Google's Derek Slater, and NYLS' James Grimmelman, about different facets of the settlement."
In the physical world, bookstores and libraries have fought for strong privacy protections, requiring the police to get a warrant before getting access to your reading records. These strong positions were developed precisely to respect our private, personal relationship with reading and learning, and to block any "chilling effect" violating that privacy might have on Americans' right to explore the world of ideas. That's why Google Book Search needs a robust, enforceable privacy policy that gives readers as much privacy in online books as we already have today.

A legal settlement that would pave the way for Google Book Search to go forward without these privacy protections is pending approval from a New York federal district court. But a group of more than two dozen authors and publishers, represented by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and others, has filed an objection with the judge. The coalition--including best-selling novelists Michael Chabon and Jonathan Lethem along with Anthony Romero of the ACLU and science fiction author Cory Doctorow--presents a list of privacy protections that would improve the settlement, including limiting tracking of users and requiring a court order or judge-approved warrant before disclosure of the information collected, ensuring user control of personal information stored by Google, and making the system transparent to readers.

GBS and Students: EFF's Rebecca Jeschke on Privacy Implications (Thanks, Parker!)


Source: Boing Boing | 28 Sep 2009 | 4:15 am

Vintage ads from a contrafactual histry


Jeff VanderMeer sez, "Our friend South Florida fashion photographer Steven Paul Hlavac has photographed everyone from Warren Zevon to Daisy Fuentes. Now he's got a new exhibit up in which he's repurposed some of his travel photos (from China and elsewhere) in the context of old-timey ads for various products. It's a lot of fun, and for those still addicted to the meat world, you can also find them on display in the Tavares City Hall (north of Orlando) until the end of October."

Seaplanes and Citrus: Vintage Art From An Imaginary Past Photo-illustrations by Steven Paul Hlavac: (Thanks, Jeff!)




Source: Gizmodo | 28 Sep 2009 | 4:06 am

Time Warner Dumping its Magazines? Not So Fast [MediaMemo]

time titlesAdd another voice to the chorus of people who think Time Warner will get rid of its Time Inc. magazine group: Media investor Gordon Crawford is predicting that CEO Jeff Bewkes will shed his conglomerate’s namesake publishing unit.

Crawford’s thinking: After Time Warner ditches AOL, which is scheduled for a spin-off later this year, it will ditch its magazine business as well. That will leave it with a portfolio made up only of a movie studio and cable networks, and a big cash pile to play with.

Time Warner won’t comment, but I’m sure they’ve heard Crawford make this prediction before. His Capital Research Global Investors owns more than 8% of Time Warner shares, which means he gets plenty of access to Bewkes and his lieutenants.

But here’s the thing: The body language from Time Warner executives in recent months makes me think they intend to keep at least part of their magazine business in the family. More than body language, actually: “Time Warner without People? I can’t imagine it,” one well-placed Time Warner official told me recently.

That said, I won’t be surprised if the publisher employs fewer people, producing fewer magazines in the future.

Time Warner officials have repeatedly said that Time Inc. has too many titles: It publishes 23 magazines in the US. How many can you name? And last year’s mass layoffs, while unprecedented for the publisher, were still fairly modest compared to other publishers’ cuts. The 6% reduction left Time Inc. with some 9,400 people on the payroll.

But executives at the publisher love to stress, off the record, that its flagship titles — Time, People and Sports Illustrated — are each on track to generate millions of dollars of profit this year, even though ad pages and revenues are down. And while Time Inc. certainly hasn’t figured out its digital business yet, at least some of its print properties could and should do well on the Web, as People.com is already doing.

There are certainly stuff assets that Bewkes and co. could dispose of fairly easily. For instance, its UK-based IPC Media unit, which handles many of the 90-plus titles it publishes outside the U.S., is frequently brought up as a sale candidate. But I’d be surprised if he got rid of all of Time Inc., and its iconic brands, altogether.

For the record, here’s how Time Inc. performed for the first half of the year. The company has already said it expects similar numbers for the remainder of 2009 (click chart to enlarge).

time inc P&L


Source: All Things Digital | 28 Sep 2009 | 4:00 am

UPDATE 1-Thailand wins praise for AIDS vaccine trial

HONG KONG/BANGKOK, Sept 28 (Reuters) - An experimental AIDS vaccine that appears to be the first to protect people was mired for years in controversy, and credit for its success must go to Thailand where...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 28 Sep 2009 | 3:53 am

Racehorse Prices in Freefall

There are some eye-popping numbers being posted in the current annual Keeneland auction for yearling thoroughbred horses. But they aren't the usual kinds of numbers, with gross auction revenues 41% below...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 28 Sep 2009 | 3:46 am

SINA Announces That It Will Not Negotiate to Extend the Deadline for Its Merger with Focus Media's Digital Out-of-Home Business

SHANGHAI, Sept. 28 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- SINA Corporation (Nasdaq GS: SINA), a leading online media company and mobile value-added service (MVAS) provider for China and...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 28 Sep 2009 | 3:37 am

SINA Announces $180 Million Private Equity Financing

SHANGHAI, Sept. 28 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- SINA Corporation (Nasdaq GS: SINA), a leading online media company and mobile value-added service (MVAS) provider for China and...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 28 Sep 2009 | 3:35 am

AAA pushing a nationwide ban on texting while driving by 2013 - TopNews United States


TopNews United States
AAA pushing a nationwide ban on texting while driving by 2013
TopNews United States
Terming texting while driving as “a dangerous distraction, the automobile club AAA is vehemently pushing the need for introducing a nationwide ban on text messaging while driving. In its endeavor to persuade federal and state governments to pass laws ...
AAA urges no distractions for driversVallejo Times-Herald
A hard driving habit to breakHouston Chronicle
AAA wants to cut out distractionsWilkes Barre Times-Leader
Arizona Republic -Arizona Daily Star -Insurance Journal
all 34 news articles »

Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 28 Sep 2009 | 3:33 am

UPDATE 2-Spain's Prisa to sell 25 pct of Santillana

MADRID, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Spanish media group Prisa said on Monday it had reached a $362 million deal to sell a chunk of its book publishing arm, Santillana, and had more asset disposals on the table...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 28 Sep 2009 | 3:30 am

Greater Cincinnati World Affairs Council Taps Cincinnati PR Firm for Brand

Leading Cincinnati Public Relations Firm EMG to Develop Identity, Outreach CINCINNATI, Sept. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- The Greater Cincinnati World Affairs Council has chosen...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 28 Sep 2009 | 3:30 am

Unicom to sell Apple iPhones in China from October (Reuters)

The Apple iPhone 3GS is shown at the company's retail store in San Francisco, California in this June 19, 2009 file photo. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith.Reuters - China Unicom, the country's No. 2 mobile carrier, will begin to sell Apple Inc's iPhone in China for a retail price of 5,000 yuan ($732.50), as it leans on the phone to launch its 3G service.



Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 28 Sep 2009 | 3:27 am

UPDATE 2-Unicom to sell Apple iPhones in China from Oct

* Unicomm has 530,000 3G users since commercial trial in May (Adds analyst quotes, details)
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 28 Sep 2009 | 3:27 am

Mobile usage a rare highlight in music biz (Reuters)

Customers look over an Apple iTouch at the company's retail store in San Francisco, California April 22, 2009. REUTERS/Robert GalbraithReuters - The mobile music landscape is very much a study in good news, bad news.



Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 28 Sep 2009 | 3:19 am

INTERVIEW-UPDATE 1-KT sees iPhone impact,to offer new phones

* Sees iPhone creating market, healthy competition in Korea
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 28 Sep 2009 | 3:17 am

PhillipsTaylorBrown Launches New IT Support for Resellers Designed to Provide High Level Rapid Problem Resolution

NOTTINGHAM, England, September 28 /PRNewswire/ -- - 'IT Support for Resellers' Launched by IT Support Consultancy and Exchange Migration and Server...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 28 Sep 2009 | 3:16 am

PhillipsTaylorBrown Launches New IT Support for Resellers Designed to Provide High Level Rapid Problem Resolution

NOTTINGHAM, England, September 28 /PRNewswire/ -- - 'IT Support for Resellers' Launched by IT Support Consultancy and Exchange Migration and Server Virtualization Specialists, PhillipsTaylorBrown, With 'Try-before-you-buy' Free Trial IT consultancy, PhillipsTaylorBrown http://www.phillipstaylorbrown.com, has today launched a new service offering, specifically targeting resellers,



Source: Gizmodo | 28 Sep 2009 | 2:46 am

HulloMail Launches Visual Voicemail App For BlackBerry

Voicemail. You hate it. We hate it. Damn near everyone hates it - at least, we all hate it in its current form. It's an antiquated system desperately hobbling on its last leg in an industry where technology moves forward at a nearly absurd rate. While our phones get bigger and better each and every month, our voicemail system has, for the most part, remained the same for over a decade. That's not to say there hasn't been progress. There certainly has - but it's isolated. A handful of smartphones (the iPhone, the Samsung Instinct, and a couple of BlackBerry handsets) have embraced visual voicemail, which does away with the archaic process of dialing in for your messages by bringing your messages to you. In 2008, YouMail rolled out an independent visual voicemail system aimed at smartphones that didn't have it out-of-the-box. This morning a competitor out of the UK, HulloMail, took a huge step forward with the launch of a native BlackBerry application.
TechCrunch50 Conference 2009: September 14-15, 2009, San Francisco

Source: TechCrunch | 28 Sep 2009 | 2:34 am

HulloMail Launches Visual Voicemail App For BlackBerry

Voicemail. You hate it. We hate it. Damn near everyone hates it - at least, we all hate it in its current form. It's an antiquated system desperately hobbling on its last leg in an industry where technology...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 28 Sep 2009 | 2:34 am

HulloMail Launches Visual Voicemail App For BlackBerry

Screen shot 2009-09-28 at [ September 28 ] 12.31.23 AM

Voicemail. You hate it. We hate it. Damn near everyone hates it – at least, we all hate it in its current form. It’s an antiquated system desperately hobbling on its last leg in an industry where technology moves forward at a nearly absurd rate. While our phones get bigger and better each and every month, our voicemail system has, for the most part, remained the same for over a decade.

That’s not to say there hasn’t been progress. There certainly has – but it’s isolated. A handful of smartphones (the iPhone, the Samsung Instinct, and a couple of BlackBerry handsets) have embraced visual voicemail, which does away with the archaic process of dialing in for your messages by bringing your messages to you. In 2008, YouMail rolled out an independent visual voicemail system aimed at smartphones that didn’t have it out-of-the-box. This morning a competitor out of the UK, HulloMail, took a huge step forward with the launch of a native BlackBerry application.

HulloMail’s taken a rather interesting route with their service; unlike the standard voicemail system and competing services, all voice messages are stored by the user – or, at least, the user’s email service. After signing up with HulloMail, the user configures their number (either on the handset or through their carrier, depending on both) to forward to HulloMail whenever a call goes unanswered. After a caller records their voice message, HulloMail encodes it into an MP3, tucks it into an e-mail, and sends it off to the user’s e-mail inbox. The strength of this approach is two-fold: it works on just about any handset that can receive e-mail and play audio files, and it makes sharing drunken voicemails with all of your friends a matter of hitting the “Forward” button.

So if it’s all handled through the user’s existing inbox, why the native app? Flexibility, primarily. There are a few things that can’t be done within the inbox, which is where the native app steps in. First of all, the HulloMail app trims the fat, plucking solely your voicemails from the mess that is your inbox. Beyond that, it’s all polish: automatic contact sync (both Google Contacts and those locally stored on your BlackBerry), one-click callback, and greeting customization to name some of it.

This isn’t HulloMail’s first foray into the native app space. Back in December of 2008, HulloMail made their debut as an Android application. The primary improvement in the BlackBerry app is the overall speed; they’ve learned a few new tricks for retrieving and playing your messages more quickly, and have built them into this new app. Don’t fret, though, Android HulloMail fans – they plan on rolling the same tweaks into the Android app shortly.

Both the HulloMail service and application are free of charge – the company plans to make money with premium services at a later date. The app, compatible with the BlackBerry Tour, 8900, and Bold, should be available shortly at http://www.hullomail.com/, and will roll out onto the BlackBerry App World shortly thereafter.

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Source: MobileCrunch | 28 Sep 2009 | 2:28 am

Viral Video: Megan Fox and Her Transformer Friends at Home [BoomTown]

Here’s one of the many funny videos from this week’s Saturday Night Live 35th season opener, hosted by “Transformers” starlet Megan Fox.

Of course, they had to feature her in a spoof of the silly action movie, although this one is much more entertaining than the real thing.

Here’s the video:


Source: All Things Digital | 28 Sep 2009 | 2:22 am

Twitter Unearths A Secret: Journalists Have Opinions

"All Washington Post journalists relinquish some of the personal privileges of private citizens. Post journalists must recognize that any content associated with them in an online social network is, for...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 28 Sep 2009 | 2:17 am

Twitter Unearths A Secret: Journalists Have Opinions

3903103636_e7554f5131“All Washington Post journalists relinquish some of the personal privileges of private citizens. Post journalists must recognize that any content associated with them in an online social network is, for practical purposes, the equivalent of what appears beneath their bylines in the newspaper or on our website.”

That’s an excerpt from The Washington Post’s new social media guidelines. PaidContent has the entire thing. You really should read it, because it’s a hoot.

These guidelines came about because Raju Narisetti, a WaPo editor, had some tweets recently that revealed *gasp* that he had opinions about issues. When word leaked out that he had his own opinions and was sharing them on Twitter, apparently the WaPo top brass scrambled quickly to get this under control. That included Narisetti deleting his Twitter account. Pathetic.

So pathetic, that I’m kind of shocked that The Washington Post’s Omblog was allowed to publish all the details.

Obviously, WaPo is doing this to try and maintain what it perceives to be its journalistic integrity. That’s great. But as we’ve discussed recently, the idea that any kind of reporting lacks any kind of bias on some level is laughable. It’s fine if you want your organization to only present the facts with no opinions, but the notion that those reporters do not have their own opinions is absurd. WaPo can try to hide those opinions all they want, but they exist, regardless.

Here’s another excerpt:

“Post journalists must refrain from writing, tweeting or posting anything—including photographs or video—that could be perceived as reflecting political, racial, sexist, religious or other bias or favoritism that could be used to tarnish our journalistic credibility. This same caution should be used when joining, following or friending any person or organization online.”

Basically, if you are a human being, you must not show yourself as such online.

The whole thing is ridiculous, but my favorite bit is the last part. You can’t even friend or follow people known to be affiliated with some movement or cause, or presumably is even just a biased person.

This has all come up before, and it will undoubtedly come up again. Twitter is just the latest and probably easiest ways for people to reveal that they have their own opinions online. But this is also related to the issue of Facebook pictures getting people fired or just not hired from jobs. It’s not that companies/employers are asking their underlings to stop having opinions, or stop having fun at parties, they just want to make sure it’s hidden from the public. It’s basically “don’t ask, don’t tell” applied in a different sector.

Again, it’s certainly reasonable to ask journalists to remove their opinions from pieces if that’s the kind of news you’re aiming for. But when you start getting into what they say on their personal online accounts, public or not, things get awfully murky. How deep does that rabbit hole go? Maybe those journalists should also refrain from stating their opinions at dinner parties. Maybe they shouldn’t be allowed to laugh at Michael Moore’s new movie when it comes out. Actually, they probably shouldn’t even be allowed to see it. They should also be careful of any movies in their queue on Netflix. And any books they buy on Amazon. And any music on iTunes.

Hell, they should really just disconnect their computers from the Internet. And maybe stop leaving the office. Also, they should probably just stop having opinions.

[photo: flickr/robnas monster]

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TechCrunch50 Conference 2009: September 14-15, 2009, San Francisco

Source: TechCrunch | 28 Sep 2009 | 2:17 am

For New Zealanders, No More Phones As Sat-Nav Devices

rixth writes "From the 1st of November, it will be illegal to use cell phones while driving in New Zealand. Today, the Government clarified that you can't use your mobile phone as a navigational device, even if it is mounted on the dash board."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Source: Slashdot | 28 Sep 2009 | 2:16 am

The Excavation Of Mushroom Island What If Those Super Mario Games Really Happened?

By Andrew Liszewski So what if it turns out that all those Super Mario games created by Nintendo were actually based on real events? And what if Mushroom Island was actually a lost chain of islands in...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 28 Sep 2009 | 2:09 am

Windows 7 Party Decision Tree [Voices]

By Nitrozac and Snaggy

Here is the latest comic from our Joy of Tech friends at Geek Culture, Nitrozac and Snaggy. Joy of Tech appears three times a week in the Voices section of this site. (Click on the image to see a bigger version.)

1298


Source: All Things Digital | 28 Sep 2009 | 1:39 am

LEGO Minifig Lantern

By Andrew Liszewski At this point even I’m a little sick of the recent flood of LEGO themed electronics and gadgets, but how can anyone resist taking this minifig LED lantern on their next camping...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 28 Sep 2009 | 1:37 am

New Zealand to Ban Cell Phone GPS Features While Driving

New Zealand is taking their cell phones-while-driving-ban beyond text messaging and calling, prohibiting the use of GPS, reports Cellular News. Blockquote>Under the new law, that would be illegal, according...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 28 Sep 2009 | 1:32 am

Barack Obama Loves Startups: New Federal Office for Early-Stage Entrepreneurs [Voices]

By Jolie O’Dell, ReadWriteWeb

According to a Bloomberg report this morning, early-stage startups have a new friend in very high places.

The U.S. Commerce Department is establishing a new Office for Entrepreneurship and Innovation specifically to help entrepreneurs develop great ideas into workable business plans by giving them training, funding, advisement, access to data, and a big pair of federal-sized scissors for cutting through the red tape of starting a new business.

Read the rest of this post on the original site


Source: All Things Digital | 28 Sep 2009 | 1:30 am

Frost & Sullivan: Significant Growth in Nanotechnology During the Next Decade

LONDON, Sept. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- The global Nanotechnology market will burgeon as leading corporations, firms, research entities, government agencies and venture capitalists jump on the abundant commercial opportunities already germinating in a recovering economy.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 28 Sep 2009 | 1:30 am

Marketing on Facebook Requires a Delicate Balance [Voices]

By Marisa Taylor, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal

Despite growing concerns about online privacy on social networks such as Facebook, marketers at the Social Data Summit in New York on Thursday professed enthusiasm for social media marketing.

Read the rest of this post on the original site


Source: All Things Digital | 28 Sep 2009 | 1:23 am

China Unicom to Start Selling IPhone 3G Next Month (PC World)

PC World - Apple's iPhone 3G smartphone will go on sale in China in October, operator China Unicom said on Monday.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 28 Sep 2009 | 1:20 am

There are Over a Million People Actively Using Facebook Right Now [Voices]

By Ben Lorica, Senior Analyst, O’Reilly Media

A little over a week ago Facebook reached a major milestone: 300 million active users. The fastest-growth region continues to be Asia, but growth in other overseas regions such as the Americas and Africa have also been strong. Currently reaching only 1% of potential users in Asia and Africa, Facebook has barely scratched the surface in both regions.

Growth in the U.S. remains fastest among those age 45 and older, and the share of those users is higher in the U.S. than overseas. In other regions recent growth tended to be more evenly divided among age groups. One notable exception has been the teen group in Asia, which grew over 80% in the last 12 weeks.

Read the rest of this post on the original site


Source: All Things Digital | 28 Sep 2009 | 1:04 am

Water on the moon? - Louisville Courier-Journal


World News
Water on the moon?
Louisville Courier-Journal
NASA's lunar-mapping satellite has just begun its four-year mission searching for water on the moon, but it has already turned up a discovery that has scientists scratching their heads. ...
NASA satellite to intentionally slam into moonArizona Republic
Univ. astronomers discover water on the moonDiamondback Online
Deep Impact and Other Spacecraft Find Clear Evidence of Water on Mooninnovations report
StandardNet -io9 -World News
all 42 news articles »

Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 28 Sep 2009 | 1:04 am

Judge Orders Google To Deactivate User's Gmail Account [Voices]

By Wendy Davis, Writer, MediaPost

In a highly unusual move, a federal judge has ordered Google to deactivate the email account of a user who was mistakenly sent confidential financial information by a bank.

The order, issued Wednesday by U.S. District Court Judge James Ware in the northern district of California, also requires Google to disclose the Gmail account holder’s identity and contact information. The Gmail user hasn’t been accused of any wrongdoing.

Read the rest of this post on the original site


Source: All Things Digital | 28 Sep 2009 | 1:03 am

Snowe is the woman with clout on health care (AP)

Senate Finance Committee member Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Sept. 25, 2009, as the committee continued its markup of the health care legislation. The woman with the most clout in Washington these days is the unassuming 62-year-old who often lectures colleagues frustrated by her independence. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)AP - They call her "President Snowe" in the blogosphere.



Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 28 Sep 2009 | 1:03 am

Is the Internet Melting Our Brains? [Voices]

By Vincent Rossmeier, writer, Salon.com

The author of “A Better Pencil” explains why such hysterical hand-wringing is as old as communication itself

By now the arguments are familiar: Facebook is ruining our social relationships; Google is making us dumber; texting is destroying the English language as we know it. We’re facing a crisis, one that could very well corrode the way humans have communicated since we first evolved from apes. What we need, so say these proud Luddites, is to turn our backs on technology and embrace not the keyboard, but the pencil.

Read the rest of this post on the original site


Source: All Things Digital | 28 Sep 2009 | 1:02 am

Post Editor Ends Tweets as New Guidelines Are Issued [Voices]

By Andrew Alexander, Ombudsman, The Washington Post

“We can incur all sorts of federal deficits for wars and what not,” read a recent one. “But we have to promise not to increase it by $1 for healthcare reform? Sad.”

Then, from this week: “Sen Byrd (91) in hospital after he falls from ‘standing up too quickly.” How about term limits. Or retirement age. Or commonsense to prevail.”

What makes these tweets significant is that they were written by Raju Narisetti, one of The Post’s top editors. As one of two managing editors, he’s responsible for The Post’s features content and oversees its Web site. But he also sits in on news meetings and occasionally gets involved in “hard” news.

He has closed his Twitter account.

Read the rest of this post on the original site


Source: All Things Digital | 28 Sep 2009 | 1:01 am

CrunchGear Week in Review: War Is Hell Edition

The coming tablet wars
DIY: 9 easy projects that can help you get your hack on
Tetris Tiles Hit The States, Showers Forever Changed
Layar Enhances Augmented Reality Browser Platform With 3D Capabilities
Tokyo Game Show: Official (and gory) God of War III trailer





Source: Gizmodo | 28 Sep 2009 | 12:54 am

Jack Black and Ozzy Osbourne star in metal video game (Reuters)

Reuters - Amid the din of all the other music-based games being released this fall comes a unique twist on the convergence between music and video games: "Brutal Legend."
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 28 Sep 2009 | 12:46 am

OhGizmo! Review AAXA Technologies P1 Pico Projector

By Andrew Liszewski When you think about it, a video projector small enough to fit in your hand is one of those ‘best of both worlds’ ideas. You get the portability of a device like the iPhone,...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 28 Sep 2009 | 12:22 am

Adobe, McAfee to Combine DRM and Data-loss Prevention (PC World)

PC World - Adobe Systems and McAfee will jointly develop a product that combines digital rights management capabilities with technology designed to prevent data from leaking outside corporate networks, the companies said Monday.
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 28 Sep 2009 | 12:20 am

A "Photon Machine Gun" For Quantum Computers

An anonymous reader writes "Generating entangled photons in a reliable way is impossible right now, stalling the development of the optical quantum computers that would use entangled photons as quantum bits (qubits). Because entangled photons can only be produced at random — which takes time — the most powerful optical quantum computing device use only 6 qubits. UK and Israeli quantum physicists have designed a blueprint for a 'quantum machine gun' that fires out barrages of entangled photons on demand. They think within a few years this device will be built, and could lead to quantum computing using 20 to 30 qubits. Every additional qubit doubles the computing power, so these quantum computers could outperform any existing classical computer, the researchers say. The quantum machine gun is described as 'one of the most exciting theoretical proposals I've read in five years' by a leading quantum physicist." The research was published in Physical Review Letters earlier this month.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Source: Slashdot | 27 Sep 2009 | 11:23 pm

Trintech Expands Financial Reporting Product Team, Publishes White Paper on Automating XBRL Compliance

DALLAS, DUBLIN and LONDON, Sept.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 27 Sep 2009 | 11:00 pm

SpatialKey On-Demand Location Intelligence Software Now Available

WESTFIELD, Mass., Sept. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the SpatialKey (http://spatialkey.com) business unit of Universal Mind (http://universalmind.com) announced the release of its location intelligence software, SpatialKey On-Demand.
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 27 Sep 2009 | 10:55 pm

AT&T U-verse Launches a New Kind of Home Phone Service in Atlanta Area With AT&T U-verse Voice

U-verse TV Multiview, a new app that lets you watch four channels at once on your TV screen. Total Home DVR, which gives you the freedom to watch and manage recordings from a single DVR on any connected TV in the house. Media Share, which lets you stream your personal photos and music files located on your home computers to any connected TV in the home.Regular additions to the U-verse High Definition (HD) channel lineup, which now offers access to more than 110 HD channels -- more than the local cable providers. TV Awards and New Shows, a new app that helps you stay on top of this season's award shows and season premieres.Weather On Demand, an app that gives you instant access to check the current weather conditions and detailed forecasts in any U.S. city.Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Football, an app to help you manage your fantasy teams from your U-verse TV screen through the AT&T U-bar. College Basketball from Yahoo! Sports, which gives basketball fans the ability to view tournament brackets, their personalized completed bracket, game summaries and box scores, and more through the AT&T U-bar.A 20 percent speed increase for AT&T U-verse Internet Max customers from up to 10 Mbps to up to 12 Mbps downstream.Continued enhancements to the U-verse Web and Mobile Remote Access
Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 27 Sep 2009 | 10:01 pm

Sept. 28, 1998: Internet Explorer Leaves Netscape in Its Wake

Microsoft's IE web browser passes Netscape Navigator for the first time. Was it playing fair?



Source: Wired Top Stories | 27 Sep 2009 | 10:00 pm

All Together Now: Organize a Remote Meeting

You have people in multiple locations working on a project, and something as simple as a status meeting can be chaotic. Here’s how to make sure everything goes smoothly.



Source: Wired Top Stories | 27 Sep 2009 | 10:00 pm

Join the TechCrunch/CrunchGear meetup in Taipei on October 5

I'll be in Taiwan next week and am delighted to announce that TechCrunch / CrunchGear are holding a meetup with our partner and co-organizer Chili Consulting, a local innovation strategy firm. The TechCrunch / Chili Consulting Party will take place in Taipei, on October 5 (Monday) and is invitation-only. Details after the jump.



Source: CrunchGear | 27 Sep 2009 | 9:20 pm

With Google Places, Concerns Rise That Google Just Wants To Link To Its Own Content

One of the original goals of Google has always been to help people find the information they are looking for and get out of the way as fast as possible. It was a point of pride, and in fact a design principle, to get people off the search results page to other places on the Internet. Yahoo was the site that tried to keep you from ever leaving, Google was the opposite.

Well, it was easier to send people away when Google was just a search engine. Now it has apps and Gmail and Google Maps and Google Books, and a lot of other reasons to stick around on Google itself. But there is still a clear demarcation between its content/communication sites and search. At least there was until late last week when it launched Google Places on Google Maps. Google Places is a local search page for restaurants and other local businesses that brings together the address, phone number, Website, maps, description, directions, photos and reviews all on one page.

When you click on a pin for a local business or place of interest on Google Maps a bubble will open up, and if you click “more info” sometimes it will take you to the Google Places page. So far, so good. Google Places is simply making Google Maps better, right?

The concerns arise, however, back on Google’s main search page, where Google is indexing these Places pages. Since Google controls its own search index, it can push Google Places more prominently if it so desires. There isn’t a heck of a lot of evidence that Google is doing this yet, but the mere fact that Google is indexing these Places pages has the SEO world in a tizzy.

And Google is indexing them, despite assurances to the contrary. If you do a search for the Burdick Chocolate Cafe in Boston, for instance, the Google Places page is the sixth result, above results from Yelp, Yahoo Travel, and New York Times Travel. This wouldn’t be so bad if Google wasn’t already linking to itself in the top “one Box” result, which shows a detail from Google Maps. So within the top ten results, two of them link back to Google content.

Your chances of clicking on a Google page for this particular search are pretty high. Google isn’t sending you away anywhere. And if you do go to the Google Places page for Burdick Chocolate, it is made up of rehashed content from other sites: snippet descriptions from InsiderPages, Judy’s Book, a menu link from AllMenus, photos from CityGuide and Yelp, and reviews from Igougo and CitySearch. On the right is a small Google Map and below that are Google search ads.

It’s actually a pretty useful page, and there is certainly value in aggregating all of this information in one place. Google might even license the data, which would mitigate any protests that it is “stealing” the content like we see with Google News. But nobody really cares about that. The real issue is whether or not Google is going to favor its own pages in its index when it comes to local search. SInce Google’s algorithm is a black box, there is no way to know one way or another. But the question is out there.

Maybe the Google Places page for Burdick Chocolate ranks highly only because Google used it as an example in its pre-briefings and a lot of bloggers subsequently linked to it. The point, though, is that these Google Places are getting into Google’s index. (Tartine Bakery is another example). Even if they make it onto the first page of Google search results for legitimate reasons, their very presence goes against the fundamental principle that Google’s main purpose is to link out to the best information on the Web, not to hoard the links for itself.

We know what will happen if it keeps going down this path. It will turn into Yahoo.

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

TechCrunch50 Conference 2009: September 14-15, 2009, San Francisco

Source: TechCrunch | 27 Sep 2009 | 9:19 pm

TechCrunch/CrunchGear Meetup In Taipei, October 5

taiwan-flagI’ll be in Taiwan next week and am delighted to announce that TechCrunch / CrunchGear are holding a meetup with our partner and co-organizer Chili Consulting, a local innovation strategy firm. The TechCrunch / Chili Consulting Party will take place in Taipei, on October 5 (Monday) and is invitation-only.

Here are the details (in Chinese):

  • Event date: October 05 (Monday), 2009
  • Time: 7:30pm – 9:30pm (doors open: 7pm)
  • Venue: Mary’s Bistro 2nd. Floor, No.89, Sec 2 Ren-Ai Rd., Taipei City
  • Fee: NT$250 per person

PrintRegister for the event here. Please note that we are restricted on numbers, so don’t be disappointed if you can’t get on the guest list (this is strictly an “invitations only” event).

Please send an email to service [AT] chiliconsulting.com if you’d like to sponsor the event. Do the same if you have something cool and “made in Taiwan” to pitch (i.e. mobile tech, a web service, gadget etc.). Use the hashtag “#tctaipei” when twittering.

Special thanks to Chili Consulting for organizing this meetup (make sure to follow the company’s Facebook page and blog for updates).

We hope everyone has a great night and are looking forward to seeing you all on October 5 in Taipei!

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

TechCrunch50 Conference 2009: September 14-15, 2009, San Francisco

Source: TechCrunch | 27 Sep 2009 | 8:37 pm

The Informant Is Back At Work

theodp writes "Fortune catches up with former ADM exec and whistleblower Mark Whitacre, who talks about watching his life on screen in the dark comedy, The Informant!. Among other things, Whitacre apologizes to Fortune for duping the magazine in a 1995 interview when his bipolar-fueled compulsive lying was in its full glory. Thanks to a Ph.D. he earned from Cornell in nutritional biochemistry, and an understanding CEO who was involved in prison ministry, Whitacre is now COO of Cypress Systems, where he's been working since spending nine years in prison for embezzlement. And yes, his wife really did stand by him through the wild ride."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.





Source: Gizmodo | 27 Sep 2009 | 7:26 pm

Hippo Hooray! Jackson Fish Market Launches Suite Of Charming iPhone Games For Toddlers

The iPhone is quickly establishing itself as one of the hottest gaming platforms around, and that doesn’t just extend to games for teens and adults — it’s also a great device for toddlers, provided you have someone around to make sure they don’t start throwing the iPhone or dipping it in apple juice. One company that’s proving this is Jackson Fish Market, a small Seattle-based development house with a knack for building charming products and sites. The company has just launched a new suite of iPhone apps under the banner Hippo Hooray!, with new apps available to teach kids about Shapes, Colors, and Letters.

Be warned: if you’re over the age of seven, these probably won’t have much appeal. But for their target age range they’re sure to be a hit. Gameplay is very basic, consisting primarily of a child’s voice commanding you to “touch red” or “touch the letter ‘R’” depending on which game you’re playing. If you choose the right answer, you’re rewarded with the announcer saying things like “Super cool!” and “Great Job!” Get enough right, and you’re treated to a Hippo Hooray fireworks show. The apps are all well done, with very nice original artwork and an intuitive design.

For those that haven’t been keeping up with the nifty products to come from the studio: Jackson Fish Market was founded back in late 2006 by a small team of ex-Microsoft employees who set out develop “Handcrafted Software Experiences” (the studio’s name was inspired by co-founder Hillel Cooperman’s grandfather’s fish store). Along with the core principles that drove that fish store, the company also drew inspiration from 37signals. Other Jackson Fish Market products include They’re Beautiful!, Tafiti, and Invitastic.

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

TechCrunch50 Conference 2009: September 14-15, 2009, San Francisco

Source: TechCrunch | 27 Sep 2009 | 7:16 pm

A word-based clock that I actually want – a lot

wordclock
Usually, design-y clocks with the time spelled out on them try to hard and aren’t practical. This one, however, is not only cool-looking as all hell, but is intuitive to read. Top to bottom, right to left. Unfortunately, it’s not exactly a super-simple thing to put together — though using an LCD screen as a background would probably simplify things. But if you’ve got a hundred LEDs sitting around and a way to cut a stencil out of a metal sheet, you’re halfway there.

Check out the instructions here. In case you’re wondering, yes the names Megan and Doug are on there to fill in space. You could also put in something like “ALARM” or “WORK” in there and have custom times to have them illuminated. It’s up to you, chief.

[via Hack A Day]



Source: CrunchGear | 27 Sep 2009 | 7:00 pm

Carl Sagan Sings

gijoel writes "Someone with too much time on their hands and access to Auto-Tune has taken clips from Carl Sagan's Cosmos series to make this fantastic song. Watch for the Stephen Hawking cameo."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Source: Slashdot | 27 Sep 2009 | 6:51 pm

Radio Free Africa

ayitteyspeaking.jpg"Freedom of expression and of thought was not invented by the West. It has existed in traditional societies -- even primitive ones -- for centuries. Human progress would not have been possible without it. I'm saying this as a black African from Ghana because today around the world, we have 'educated' barbarians who want to suppress this freedom by arresting and jailing dissidents, writers, journalists and those they disagree with."
-- George Ayittey on the BBC, September 20, 2009.

Ayittey, whose famed "cheetahs vs. hippos" TED speech I've blogged before, is co-founder of an inspired new project called Radio Free Africa. (thanks, Emeka Okafor)


Source: Boing Boing | 27 Sep 2009 | 6:34 pm

Appletell reviews PushGmail for iPhone, iPod Touch

FROM APPLETELL - Many people have been waiting for decent Gmail Push Notifications to come to the iPhone. PushGmail is just one of these applications (and the cheapest that I can find) that aims to solve this issue.
MORE »

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


Source: Gadgetell | 27 Sep 2009 | 6:25 pm

CrunchDeals: Watch nerd stuff with free shipping and a free polishing cloth

29setBoston Watch Exchange, the place I picked up some red and green polishing compound for stainless steel – it buffs out the mess on stainless steel pieces – is offering a free Horosafe polishing cloth and free shipping on orders over $40. I know you’re probably not amazingly interested but who doesn’t want a 29 piece watch repair kit for $300?

Not you? Then the Wii is $199 now. Go buy that.



Source: CrunchGear | 27 Sep 2009 | 6:25 pm

Apple played critical role in creating Intel’s “Light Peak” interface

Intel Chip
While there are certainly fewer interfaces around today on the average computer than there were a decade ago, there are still too many. It’s all just data, why should it matter what kind of pipe it goes down? As long as it goes both was and can handle the bandwidth you need it to, you’re golden. Intel’s pushing down that road with Light Peak, though the ultimate end of it is, obviously, obsoleting the USB standard that they helped establish. In an interesting wrinkle, however, it appears that no one less than Apple (king of irritating alternative interfaces) has been prodding Intel into action for years now.

The idea of a single connector for your display, network adaptor, hard drive, and mouse seems crazy, but that’s only because we’re so used to the jungle of I/Os on the back of our machines. At 10Gbps, the optical Light Peak interface is faster than the latest SATA, and has the potential to go much faster. Hopefully it’s powered; there’s nothing on that at Intel’s site, but it’d be easy enough to adapt the consumer interface to include a power cable running parallel, I think.

In any case, Apple’s been pushing on Intel to make this happen, probably because they want to be the first to put it into use. They’ve collaborated for a while; Engadget has more of the history if you’re interested. I’m excited to see more of this technology



Source: CrunchGear | 27 Sep 2009 | 6:13 pm

Are Muslim Women Oppressed? Ask One

Aman Ali, a BoingBoing guest blogger, is the co-author of 30 Mosques, a Ramadan adventure taking him to a different mosque in New York City every day for a month. My last post generated an interesting discussion (268 comments and counting) on Muslim women covering their hair. But it seemed kind of silly to talk about the subject, without hearing viewpoints from Muslim women. My friend Mariam Sobh has graciously agreed to chime in. She is editor in chief of Hijabtrendz, the original fashion beauty and entertainment blog for Muslim women. Here's what she had to say:
It's the age old debate that quite frankly I'm sick and tired of. Muslim women and their "oppression". Oppression is such a loaded word and it conjures up all sorts of negative images, but what people don't seem to want to understand is that Muslim women are just like any other woman. We come in all shapes and sizes, and all sorts of beliefs. You can't paint us all with the same brush. I'm as American as anyone else, I watch movies, I read celebrity gossip, I shop at Victoria's Secret, I work outside the home, I'm pursuing my dreams, the only difference is that little piece of fabric I wrap around my head. Big whoop. I'm not harming anyone by wearing a piece of material on my head so what's the big deal? I myself wear the headscarf and I do so because it's something I believe is mandated in my religion. No one is forcing me and it has no political significance (I have no idea why people keep thinking it does). Believe me if I didn't think it was required I WOULD NOT be wearing it. I hate being bullied all the time by the press or some ignoramus about my scarf. It takes a toll on you emotionally and eventually you have to develop a thick skin. But words will always hurt no matter what.
I believe God asked us to cover our bodies and that includes our hair. Look at other religion where people try to practice their beliefs and it's very similar; think of the Amish, Mormons, even Hasidic Jewish women. They all cover up in some way to preserve their modesty. Now, I'm not here to judge anyone. If you want to walk around outside naked, go for it. But I'm not going to reprimand you or try to psychoanalyze you, or even tell you that what you're doing is wrong. That's for you as an individual to figure out. So why is it, that whenever it comes to people who prefer to live more conservatively everyone is up in arms? OH MY GOSH SHE'S COVERING HER CLEAVAGE! So what? Why do I have to share my goods with you? I choose who gets to see me and who doesn't. Is that what is so bothersome, that I actually have a choice? I'm seriously trying to figure this out. Some Muslim women wear the headscarf and some women don't. Some Muslim women choose to wear their headscarf in a way that conforms somewhat to today's fashion and some prefer to go old school. It all comes down to personal interpretation and understanding and that's perfectly fine. We're all adults, we're all responsible for our own actions. I'm not holier than thou. My headscarf does not make me some religious expert, it's just a small part of my life. It's a testament to myself that I want to be a better person and that I'm struggling to do good in this world by following what I personally believe God wants me to do. For those who talk about women being forced into submission, that occurs everyday all over the world regardless of religion and it's very sad indeed. If people try to use Islam as a way to manipulate women then those individuals are sick and twisted. At the end of the day I'm thankful that I have the life I do, where I can practice what I believe and not worry about anyone forcing me to do something against my will.



Source: Boing Boing | 27 Sep 2009 | 6:10 pm

Secret Ops, Domestic Spying OK — As Long As Someone's Watching the Watchmen

Last spring, President Obama showed us the limits of Change. Sure, he banned the harsh interrogation practices condoned by his predecessor, and he will most likely close the prison in Guantánamo. But when he fought a lawsuit against the warrantless wiretaps that the Bush administration began, Obama was essentially saying he would keep relying on the notion of "state secrets." And you know what? That's OK.

Abruptly pulling the plug on US intelligence operations, even if they may eventually be deemed illegal or unconstitutional, is neither practical nor desirable. If we want a successful clandestine service—and we do—a certain amount of opacity is not only acceptable, it's necessary. This isn't business; this is spying. But that doesn't mean letting those agencies do whatever they want. The most effective remedies for US intelligence excesses will be discipline and oversight, not radical transparency.

Ten years ago, I was an analyst at the CIA's Counterterrorist Center. I wrote reports and briefings, mostly for national security staffers, about how terrorists might use the Internet and information technology. I also helped CIA officers in the field target terrorists' computers. We were still trying to reconcile Cold War-era eavesdropping rules with the wild frontier of Internet-based intelligence. Our guidelines, codified in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, were devised for analog telecommunications, and they were a poor fit for Hotmail, instant messages, and throwaway cell phones.

All the while, we had to coordinate and review our operations with an annoying army of lawyers and graybeards who thought the Internet was just a fad—or worse, a security risk that should be avoided entirely. Our counterintelligence experts, the folks charged with keeping secret operations secret, rarely understood how, or even if, we could be discovered. During this period, I got pretty familiar with government legalese and the ways of the bureaucracy. Following the rules and occasionally scaling back ambitions was annoying as hell, and it may well have cost us some opportunities in our early fight against al Qaeda. But ultimately, it yielded better intelligence, because that gauntlet of sniff tests kept us grounded. The lawyers, counterintelligence review panels, and legislative liaisons who monitored our newfangled computer operations all knew that mistakes could lead to national embarrassment, exposure of sources and methods, or even violation of US law. They didn't demand transparency, but they kept us honest.

After the September 11 attacks, the US intelligence community again found itself in uncharted territory. But this time, the Bush administration decided that what was needed was more executive power and less oversight. Managers raced to prove they were macho enough to handle the new world order, empowered by a raft of then-secret executive orders and other directive memoranda. Granted, the intelligence community needed to shake off a certain level of complacency. But to do so, it leapfrogged all the people who could have helped resist poorly considered, short-sighted decisions. The result: extraordinary renditions, torture, and a skirting of the decades-long ban on domestic surveillance by the NSA, which allegedly set up intercepts in the bowels of AT&T and other telecom companies—not something that has endeared the agency to the public.

Thankfully, the old oversight system is starting to reawaken. These mechanisms can and should be secret. It's fine to have bloggers break news of secret detentions, but the nation is better served by congressional investigators quietly examining detention and interrogation practices and by courts rejecting spurious claims of state secrets. It's a well-oiled system of internal checks and balances. Of course, even this attention annoys the hell out of the spooks. They will complain, but we should ignore them. The tension between intelligence agents and those who look over agents' shoulders is what makes a strong, responsible service.

Stephen Lee (leestepr@gmail.com) is a former CIA analyst.



Source: Wired Top Stories | 27 Sep 2009 | 6:00 pm

Netflix Everywhere: Sorry Cable, You're History

It had taken the better part of a decade, but Reed Hastings was finally ready to unveil the device he thought would upend the entertainment industry. The gadget looked as unassuming as the original iPod—a sleek black box, about the size of a paperback novel, with a few jacks in back—and Hastings, CEO of Netflix, believed its impact would be just as massive. Called the Netflix Player, it would allow most of his company's regular DVD-by-mail subscribers to stream unlimited movies and TV shows from Netflix's library directly to their television—at no extra charge.

The potential was enormous: Although Netflix initially could offer only about 10,000 titles, Hastings planned to one day deliver the entire recorded output of Hollywood, instantly and in high definition, to any screen, anywhere. Like many tech romantics, he had harbored visions of using the Internet to rout around cable companies and network programmers for years. Even back when he formed Netflix in 1997, Hastings predicted a day when he would deliver video over the Net rather than through the mail. (There was a reason he called the company Netflix and not, say, DVDs by Mail.) Now, in mid-December 2007, the launch of the player was just weeks away. Promotional ads were being shot, and internal beta testers were thrilled.

But Hastings wasn't celebrating. Instead, he felt queasy. For weeks, he had tried to ignore the nagging doubts he had about the Netflix Player. Consumers' living rooms were already full of gadgets—from DVD players to set-top boxes. Was a dedicated Netflix device really the best way to bring about his video-on-demand revolution? So on a Friday morning, he asked the six members of his senior management team to meet him in the amphitheater in Netflix's Los Gatos offices, near San Jose. He leaned up against the stage and asked the unthinkable: Should he kill the player?

Three days later, at an all-company meeting in the same amphitheater, Hastings announced that there would be no Netflix Player. Instead, he would spin off the device, letting developer Anthony Wood take the technology and his 19-person team to a small company Wood had founded years earlier called Roku. But Netflix, which had already begun streaming movies to users' PCs, was hardly giving up on the idea of streaming them to televisions as well. Instead, the company would take a more stealthy—and potentially even more ambitious—approach. Rather than design its own product, it would embed its streaming-video service into existing devices: TVs, DVD players, game consoles, laptops, even smartphones. Netflix wouldn't be a hardware company; it would be a services firm. The crowd was stunned. In half an hour, Hastings had completely reinvented Netflix's strategy.

Today, nearly 3 million users access Netflix's instant streaming service, watching an estimated 5 million movies and TV shows every week on their PCs or living room sets. They get it through Roku's player, which was successfully launched in May 2008. (The Roku now also offers more than 45,000 movies and TV shows on demand through Amazon.com and, since August, live and archived Major League Baseball games.) They get it through their Xbox 360s—Microsoft added Netflix to its Xbox Live service last fall. They get it through LG and Samsung Blu-ray players. They get it through their TiVos and new flatscreen TVs. By the end of 2009, nearly 10 million Netflix-equipped gadgets will be hanging on walls and sitting in entertainment centers. And Hastings says this is just the beginning: "It's possible that within a few years, nearly all Internet-connected consumer electronics devices will include Netflix."

And the devices won't just be streaming remaindered basic-cable or art-house fare: Already, Netflix customers can call up just about any episode of SpongeBob SquarePants, The IT Crowd, or Lost whenever they like. They can watch recent releases like WALL-E and Pineapple Express. In other words, they can get unlimited access to the kinds of programming that previously required a cable subscription. (One visitor to the Netflix blog was particularly pleased to see that they could stream old episodes of Dora the Explorer: "We couldn't cancel cable until more kids' shows were available to watch instantly. Thanks for saving us another $400/year.") Netflix has taken the boldest step yet toward a world in which consumers, not programmers, determine not only what they watch but when, where, and how. The dream of routing around cable companies just may be in sight.

You'll never hear Hastings point that out, however. Unlike many in the tech world, he's a quiet disrupter, sabotaging business models silently and irretrievably. His first hit was to the DVD business. Netflix, which lets subscribers hold on to movies for as long as they like, was cheaper, easier, and more convenient for consumers than building film libraries; DVD sales have plummeted as Netflix has grown. And while his streaming service would seem to present a similar threat to cable companies, Hastings argues that their real challenge comes from the Internet in general, not just Netflix. "I mean, will people disconnect their cable over time?" He shrugs. "Potentially." Hastings may undersell the impact of his service, but some of his partners don't share his gift for diplomacy. "Our goal is to have everyone cancel their cable subscription," Roku's Wood says.

Whether Hastings cops to it or not, that day could be coming soon. That's why, for Hastings to fully accomplish his vision, he'll have to go up against some of the most powerful incumbents in media: the cable companies and content providers that have successfully stymied or co-opted all previous entrepreneurial efforts. So far, Hastings has avoided the wrath of the giants by building his Netflix service surreptitiously, slowly amassing his library of streaming content and giving viewers new ways to access it. And now, even if the cable and content companies do take him on, it may be too late. Hastings' Trojan horse—Netflix's software, embedded on myriad consumer devices—is already in place.

It is odd, in an era when the Internet seems able to worm its way into every part of life, that nearly all of us still watch television the old-fashioned way, piped over cable or beamed in by satellite and available only in bloated packages of channels programmed by network executives. Breaking out of this system requires more patience, money, and technical expertise than the average couch potato is willing or able to expend: Plunk an expensive streaming device or PC tower in the living room, wire up a connection to the TV, and install the Boxee app or program a BitTorrent RSS feed to get the content. Watching live shows in real time requires an even more elaborate work-around. Cable companies have made some feints toward giving subscribers more control over what they watch, but most of their efforts have been lackluster. Verizon's FiOS TV offers access to a few user-generated Web sites; Comcast and Time Warner Cable are rolling out services that let subscribers stream cable channels to their PCs.

The set-top box has proven to be a closed and well-guarded fortress against a world of clouds and openness. The cable and satellite industries, and their partners in Hollywood, work strenuously to keep it that way. It's easy to see why: Those little boxes bankroll their business. While the cable companies offer telephone and broadband, TV subscriptions still account for about 60 percent of their revenue. About a third of those fees get funneled to cable networks like Disney and Discovery, where they account for at least half of their revenue. Another chunk of subscription revenue goes to movie studios, which make more than $1 billion a year charging premium channels like HBO for the right to air their films. Even broadcast networks like ABC and NBC, which don't make any money from cable bills, would still prefer that the content they make available online not be viewed on a TV set, because they can't sell as many ads for their Web versions. Fox crams 18 commercials into every Sunday night airing of The Simpsons, earning 54 cents per viewer. But, according to research firm Sanford C. Bernstein, Fox airs just three commercials for the same show on Hulu—a site it co-owns with NBC Universal and Disney—earning a measly 18 cents per viewer.

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings.
Photo: Robert Maxwell

The man who would overturn this decades-old system is an unlikely revolutionary. Hastings carries himself with a laconic modesty that contradicts an ambitious and restless mind. He has the deep tan of a dedicated snowboarder and a salt-and-pepper goatee that gives him a casual, approachable air. A quiet, hands-off leader, he sets the tone and objectives and lets his employees figure out how to execute them. His main directive is that everyone act like an adult: Netflix has no vacation policy (take as much as you need, when you need it), pay is flexible (stock or cash, your choice), and though firings are unusually common, severance checks are unusually generous. Hastings is comfortable creating his own rules for how to run a business; you don't see any management tomes in his office. In fact, he doesn't even have an office. The CEO prefers to stroll around, a ThinkPad in hand, pitching camp in an empty conference room or huddling in an engineer's cubicle to whiteboard some formula.

One recent morning, Hastings gathered a group of seven newly hired Netflixers in a sunny conference room on the roof of the company's headquarters. He does this once a month and, as always, kicks off the discussion by asking everyone to talk about the best movie they've seen in the past few weeks. He picks Jimmy Carter Man From Plains: "Five minutes in, I was hooked. The filmmaker did a good job making him not boring." The talk flows easily, but the goal is bigger than making everyone comfortable; he's reinforcing the idea that Netflix culture revolves around serving up content.

Since starting the company in 1997, Hastings' goal has always been the same: to deliver the right content in the fastest and most economical way. Obsessed with designing the perfect algorithm for helping viewers discover new movies, he has packed the place with mathematicians and engineers. They test everything, from the recommendations engine to the Web site's design. But if Hastings uses geeky number-crunching to help customers find their movies, his process of delivering them has been decidedly low tech: sending DVDs in red envelopes via the US Postal Service, which costs him roughly a quarter of his $1.4 billion in annual revenue.

Hastings has wanted to move beyond the silver discs for years, but his early attempts to deliver movies over the Net were slow and kludgy. In 2000, his engineers came up with a service that took 16 hours to download a two-hour movie. Hastings killed the project and disbanded the team. In 2003, a new group of engineers built a small, TV-connected Linux PC that could pull in movies. It cost $300 and took two hours to download a film. Again he wielded his ax. Hastings' decisions may have seemed coldhearted, but ultimately they were proven correct. Other competitors like Akimbo brought similar boxes to market—and failed.

It wasn't until 2006 that he tried again. By this time, the long-download problem had been solved by widespread adoption of broadband among consumers. Meanwhile, the spread of YouTube had gotten users used to the idea of streaming content rather than downloading and saving it. So Hastings put together another team of engineers, who developed a way to navigate unreliable home networks, allowing bitrates to shift midstream to maintain the best picture quality with the least amount of buffering.

But the technology was the easy part. Once Hastings decided not to release his own player, he encountered a different challenge: finding devices beyond Roku that would agree to host Netflix's streaming service. One of the first companies he turned to was Microsoft. Practically since releasing its Xbox in 2001, the company had dreamed of making the console into more than just a gaming machine for teenage boys. It offered more than 17,000 movies and TV shows over Xbox Live, but consumers mostly ignored them; apparently they still saw the console as a Halo delivery device. Providing unlimited access to Netflix's streaming library could change that. Microsoft executives were won over, but even they were surprised at the service's success: Within three months of the late 2008 launch, more than 1 million people had signed on, a huge percentage of whom had never touched an Xbox before. "There's a whole demographic—women—that we now pick up," says Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft's entertainment and devices division. "They always thought of Xbox as a hardcore gaming machine. It belonged in the kid's bedroom or the den or some place where 'my husband cocooned when he wanted to play games.' Now its front and center in the house because everyone wants to stream a movie."

Since then, a full Netflix pandemic has broken out. Microsoft incorporated the service into its Windows Media Center software, meaning anyone with Vista can stream Netflix to their TV. Hastings inked deals with Sony and Samsung to put the service into Bravia TVs and Blu-ray players, respectively. The service started showing up in TVs made by Vizio, the largest seller of LCD televisions in the country. And Broadcom began baking the software into some of its flatscreen chips, making it easy for any TV maker to offer sets pre-loaded with Netflix. (As an extra incentive, Netflix pays manufacturers a bounty for any new subscribers that sign up via their products.) Investment bank Piper Jaffray estimates that 25 percent of Netflix's 2.4 million new subscribers this year will come through one of the streaming devices.

With the device makers on board, Hastings had an even tougher task. He needed more and better content. The interface could be the slickest around, but nobody would tune to Netflix's service if it only had back-catalog flicks and old TV shows. In other words, Netflix needed Hollywood.

Despite having run a movie-distribution company, Hastings was far from a Hollywood insider. Netflix simply bought DVDs like any other customer (albeit one with a major movie jones), occasionally striking special revenue-sharing deals for certain titles. The studios couldn't do much: A section of the US copyright law known as the First Sale Doctrine states that, as long as you own it, you can basically do whatever you want with a physical disc. As one studio exec says, "We don't have a choice. We were backed into the business model."

But with online streaming, Netflix has no such advantage. The First Sale Doctrine gives Netflix the right to do what it wants with the disc, not the movie. Netflix suddenly needed to craft more-complicated licensing deals. Push too hard or offer the wrong incentives and the studios could block Netflix from getting good content; acquiesce too easily and Hollywood would happily impose intolerable rules regulating when a movie could be shown, on what platform, and for what price. Part of Netflix's promise is that it offers, like cable and broadcast TV, all-you-can-eat content. If the company bargained away that feature, its service would become just another pay-per-view platform.

To woo Hollywood, Hastings turned to Ted Sarandos, who oversees a staff of 75 at Netflix's Beverly Hills beachhead. Sarandos, a former executive at a video distribution company, serves as translator between the geeks and the studio executives. "There's a lot about the entertainment industry that drives Silicon Valley insane," Sarandos says. "Just the way things work, the politics of it, the pace of it."

Sarandos asked his team to use their data-mining skills to help him find deals. While other video providers might ask studios for a sack full of sure things—new releases by big-name stars—Netflix's engineers could dig through their queue and review databases to find sleeper hits that its users actually wanted to watch but that studios might be willing to license for a pittance. Earlier this year, for instance, Netflix jumped at the chance to stream a French film called Tell No One. The movie pulled in just $6 million at the US box office, but enough subscribers added it to their rental queues that Netflix was able to calculate an estimate of how popular the film would be. Almost immediately after Netflix started streaming it, Tell No One became the fourth-most-watched piece of content. "We have the rental history and the queue insight that enables us to go after things that other people may not be really even hunting," Sarandos says.

Unearthing overlooked gems is great, but Netflix's service will never take off until it can offer up its share of blockbusters. To get those titles, the company needed some way to hack the so-called windowing system, the complicated schedule that governs which distributors can show what films and in what format. First, national and international theatrical distributors pay to show a film in their theaters. Next, there's the DVD and pay-per-view windows. Then there's the combined $1.7 billion a year that channels like HBO, Starz, and Showtime spend to secure the exclusive rights to show movies to subscribers. (Each studio usually signs with just one pay channel; all Warner Bros. movies appear only on HBO, while Sony's go to Starz.) After a few months, the pay-TV networks hand off their rights to broadcasters and ad-supported cable stations. A few years later, the premium channels get the films back, giving them exclusive rights to air them. The windowing system can keep films locked up for years; Disney's National Treasure: Book of Secrets came out in 2007 and is spoken for until 2016. Unless Hastings and Sarandos could find a way around the windowing system, it would be a challenge to show any major movies that had been released in the recent past.

Then they discovered a loophole: Why couldn't Starz sell Netflix the right to air its movies, just as it did with Comcast? Starz had the pay-TV rights to newer titles, exactly what Netflix lacked. Netflix had nearly 9 million (now almost 11 million) subscribers; if it were a cable company, it would be number three, bigger than Cablevision and Charter combined. "We looked at our contract rights and saw that they were an aggregator of content just like the other distributors," says Starz CEO Robert Clasen.

Anthony Wood created the Roku media streamer while working at Netflix.
Photo: Robert Maxwell

In October 2008, the two companies announced a deal that would add 2,500 fresh titles to Netflix's service. The studios were stunned. "This is the last thing you want," moaned one studio executive. "More eyeballs with no incremental revenue."

Hastings' window probably won't stay open forever. Unhappy studios or cable companies could easily renegotiate their contract with Starz to discourage it from working with Netflix. Still, the deal kicked off what Hastings hopes will be an unstoppable virtuous cycle. If Netflix can use the Starz offerings to sign up more subscribers, those subscription fees will generate more revenue. And with more revenue, Netflix can afford to pay more studios for rights to more films—which will draw in still more subscribers. And so on. Ultimately, if Netflix can grow and maintain a big enough library by working directly with the studios, it won't need the likes of Starz. Sure, it could potentially overturn the way Hollywood has done business, but as long as the studios are getting paid, why should they mind? "Think of all things in Hollywood as 'money talks,'" Hastings says. "If we can generate enough money for studios, we can get any content we want."

As Hastings chips away at Hollywood, he's also moving as fast as possible to cement Netflix's presence in the next generation of home entertainment devices. He knows he has limited time before the rest of the movie-distribution industry realizes what has hit it. "We had DVD by mail mostly to ourselves for five years before Blockbuster attacked," he says. "And then they gave us hell for five years. So, as great as things are going now, I'm like, remember, hell will return."

It could come from anywhere. Maybe one day the studios decide they don't need Netflix and start dealing directly with device manufacturers. Or they could just jack up the fees they charge Netflix. Amazon or Apple could emerge as a tough competitor. Cable behemoths could use their power to block Netflix's access to content, or they could try to put together their own Netflix-like services. ("There is no reason why this isn't something we can compete with," says Peter Stern, chief strategy officer of Time Warner Cable.)

There are a million different ways for Netflix to fail. But that has always been the case. Netflix should have failed already, taken down by Blockbuster or Wal-Mart, kneecapped by Hollywood, made irrelevant by BitTorrent or iTunes. Yet time and again, the company has not only survived but quietly thrived—on the strength of its unique algorithms and its relentless focus on getting customers content they didn't even know they wanted.

Speaking to his new hires, Hastings lets slip a rare glimpse of immodesty. "When people connect with a movie, it really makes them happy, and that's fundamentally what we're trying to do," he says. "Today you love one out of three movies that you watch. If we can raise that to two out of three, we can completely transform the market and increase human happiness." He makes it all sound so easy—never mind the powerful competitors. Ultimately, the key to film nirvana, whether delivered by DVD or streamed over the Internet, can be as simple as cracking an equation.

Senior writer Daniel Roth (daniel_roth@wired.com) wrote about reforming Wall Street in issue 17.03.



Source: Wired Top Stories | 27 Sep 2009 | 6:00 pm

Apple rejects “iSinglePayer” app for being “politically charged”

rejection
It’s tempting, in these cases, to look on Apple as a sort of mother figure. They keep the apps in the app store wholesome, keep you from growing hair on your palms, and prevent you from being exposed to anything that might be controversial or fun on any terms but theirs. Actually, I’m going to give into the temptation – Apple takes a smothering mother role to the iPhone, and rejecting an app like iSinglePayer is more evidence of that.

I remember writing up Election ‘08 and thinking wow, this is great, advocacy on a mobile phone. Of course, that app was more impartial, but iSinglePayer is hardly “charged.” It’s attempting to spread information the author thinks is important, and might be useful if you’re in a political argument with a friend. “Here, I’ve got the statistics right on my phone.” Is that too much for mom to handle?

Obviously they don’t want to be embroiled in the health care debate. That’s totally reasonable; neither do I, at least in any professional capacity. But I think that given Apple’s tagline of “Think Different” and their penchant for promoting individuality and freedom, they’d rather allow both sides to have their own app than censor them both. After all, the reason people bought iPhones in the first place was to stay connected with the things that matter to them.

Apple, sometimes love means letting go.

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



Source: MobileCrunch | 27 Sep 2009 | 5:54 pm

sinclairtv.jpg

From Rick Dickinson's photostream.






Source: Gizmodo | 27 Sep 2009 | 5:00 pm

Walmart is now selling the Palm Pre for only $79

walmart-pre
So ya think that the Pre is still overpriced at $100 from Amazon, eh? Well, if you’re willing to buy the Pre at Walmart and deal with mail-in rebates, you can snag one for only $79.99.

This deal is of course for new subscribers that sign a 2-year agreement, but the end price is the cheapest we’ve seen yet. With prices this low, it kind of makes you wonder how much the Pre’s little brother, the upcoming Pixi, will be when it’s finally available. [Walmart via everythingpre]



Source: CrunchGear | 27 Sep 2009 | 4:48 pm

Walmart is now selling the Palm Pre for only $79

walmart-pre
So ya think that the Pre is still overpriced at $100 from Amazon, eh? Well, if you’re willing to buy the Pre at Walmart and deal with mail-in rebates, you can snag one for only $79.99.

This deal is of course for new subscribers that sign a 2-year agreement, but the end price is the cheapest we’ve seen yet. With prices this low, it kind of makes you wonder how much the Pre’s little brother, the upcoming Pixi, will be when it’s finally available. [Walmart via everythingpre]

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



Source: MobileCrunch | 27 Sep 2009 | 4:48 pm

StackOverflow For Any Topic

RobinH writes "StackOverflow, the successful question-and-answer website for programmers, is now over a year old and its top user has just passed 100,000 reputation points. Now one of the creators of StackOverflow, Joel Spolsky, and his company Fog Creek, are developing a software-as-a-service form of the StackOverflow engine called StackExchange to support any topic you want. The software is currently in private beta, but the first few beta sites have surfaced. Topics include business travel, the home, parenthood, the environment, finance, and iPhone game development."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.





Source: Gizmodo | 27 Sep 2009 | 3:30 pm

Revisiting DIY HERF Guns

An anonymous reader writes "HERF guns have previously been regarded as nothing more than an interesting project with uses ranging from at-home experiments to malicious pranks. But the deployment of 'morally gray' forms of high-tech crowd control, such as the recent use of a sound cannon against domestic protesters, along with the likely future unleashing of the pain gun on more than just 'foreign terrorists,' creates a new purpose for these relatively easily assembled devices. Could HERF guns become a new method to counter the silencing of protesters via these sophisticated attacks, or is there any other way to prevent such efficient, convenient crowd dispersal?"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Source: Slashdot | 27 Sep 2009 | 3:20 pm

Tokyo Game Show 2009: PSPgo Rewards coming to Europe

FROM GAMERTELL - Sony Computer Entertainment Europe announced a PSP Go Rewards program at the 2009 Tokyo Game Show. PSP Go Rewards gives 3 game downloads to PSP owners who upgrade to a PSP Go.
MORE »




Source: Gizmodo | 27 Sep 2009 | 3:00 pm

Software To Flatten a Photographed Book?

davidy writes "I have photographed some pages of a book for reading on my PDA. This is much faster than scanning and I don't have to carry the heavy books. However, the photographed books are not as nice: curved, skewed, and shadowed, as opposed to the much flatter, cleaner scanned books. I have searched for software that can flatten the pages for better reading on the PDA. So far I have come across Unpaper and Scan Tailor. Unpaper doesn't seem to have a windows GUI, and Scan Tailor doesn't unskew well. I remember reading about Google's technique of converting books to e-books with a camera and a laser overlay. Is there any home user software that can do a similar job without the need for a laser overlay or other sophisticated (and patented) technology?"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.







Source: Gizmodo | 27 Sep 2009 | 1:30 pm

Wal-Mart offers Palm Pre for $79 - CNET News


PC World
Wal-Mart offers Palm Pre for $79
CNET News
by CNET staff As noted in CNET's review, the Palm Pre features a vibrant display with multitouch functionality as well as a solid Web browser and good multimedia integration. The Pre offered good call quality and wireless options include 3G, Wi-Fi, ...
Walmart undercuts Amazon's Pre offer with $20 discountTopNews United States
Score an $80 Pre -- If You're PatientPC World
Wal-Mart selling Palm Pre for $80Afterdawn.com
Brighthand -Slippery Brick -ITProPortal
all 30 news articles »

Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 27 Sep 2009 | 1:17 pm

iPhone MMS goes live

FROM APPLETELL - The day has come when the 3G and 3GS iPhones would finally be able to use MMS on AT&T and join the ranks of just about every other cell phone in the universe.
MORE »




Source: Gizmodo | 27 Sep 2009 | 1:00 pm

'09 Malibu Vs. '59 Bel Air Crash Test

theodp writes "To celebrate their 50th anniversary, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety crashed a 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air into a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. Hate to spoil the ending of the video, but if you find yourself participating in a similar car-jousting contest, pick the Malibu over the Bel Air. (Not that you'll be complaining afterwards if you don't, or doing much of anything.) Guess there is something to those crumple zones after all."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Source: Slashdot | 27 Sep 2009 | 12:43 pm

Zoe Keating: Web Fame that Actually Translated to a Career

zoekeating-300dpiJust like Web 2.0 start-ups have been spending much of 2009 trying to figure out how to turn users and community into revenues, so too have the last few years’ crop of Internet celebrities been trying to figure out how to make a business out of those over-used buzz words “their personal brands.”

Think of all the online fame that’s been created in the last few years amid this hype of the Web democratizing celebrity. Now try to name how many of them crossed over to mainstream popularity. Tila Tequila got an MTV show and a record deal. LonelyGirl15 is on ABC Family’s Greek. And…the list dwindles from there. Amanda Congdon’s “talks” with HBO never seemed to materialize. Kudos to Julia Allison for snagging a Wired cover and starting a lifecasting site, Nonsociety, but that Bravo pilot never saw the light of day and even Gawker doesn’t cover her much anymore. (She may consider that a blessing.) The people who get the most press for using social media are still, well, the real celebrities like Oprah and Ashton Kutcher.

It’s enough to make you a cynic that celebrity isn’t really getting democratized at all—it’s just getting fragmented into slivers of micro-fame. And the truth is so far micro-fame doesn’t pay.

Enter an unlikely Internet fame winner: Zoe Keating. Keating is an avant garde cellist and that is her day job. She has no label. No agents. Nothing. Just 1,081,522 Twitter followers (and counting), the number one spot on iTunes classical music list, YouTube videos of her performances and a Web site.

Keating was on NBC’s Press:Here along with Pandora co-founder Tim Westergren this week. While Westergren left the music world to start a tech company, Keating left a high-paying tech job to become a full time cellist. Her music has been featured in film scores and commercials, but she makes the bulk of her income from iTunes. And because she doesn’t have any “people,” she gets to keep every dime. It’s an interesting flip from the mainstream model where studios make money off music sales and artists only make money when they tour.

Keating also doesn’t have the normal hang-ups of a prima donna musician. I asked her if she had the usual anti-corporate bias against her music being used to advertise products and she looked at me like I was mental. (See the clip below. The entire show is available here.) In short, she gets that the model for musicians is thoroughly broken and she revels in it. I asked if she would take a huge record deal if it came to her now and she said “no” before I could finish the question. “I would definitely do it myself because I don’t want to compromise,” she said.

This is all the more impressive when you consider she’s a classical musician—not exactly a category that flies off the shelves. Or is that part of why it worked? You don’t exactly see classical musicians on MTV’s Cribs squandering multi-million signing bonuses. So someone like Keating would have to find another way to make a living making music.

Keating says she spends 50% of her time managing and promoting her music and 50% actually making music. She also emphasized this was a long struggle to get to this point.

Lesson to would be fame seekers: It’s not really a new world when it comes to celebrity. There are no shortcuts. It’s still talent, perseverance and hard work. Even the speed and reach of the Net can’t create lasting value and income overnight.

[PHOTO CREDIT: Jeffrey Rusch.]

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

TechCrunch50 Conference 2009: September 14-15, 2009, San Francisco

Source: TechCrunch | 27 Sep 2009 | 12:17 pm

Rumor alert: New MacBooks only weeks away - CNET News


Cult of Mac (blog)
Rumor alert: New MacBooks only weeks away
CNET News
While we've been hearing about a possible fall update to the iMac line, including Blu-ray options, for a couple of weeks now, the online rumor mill has now consigned itself to expecting new MacBook laptops as well. ...
Imac rumours wrapped upInquirer
Low cost Apple MacBooks to hit the market?The Money Times
New plastic MacBooks imminent: “most affordable” to dateSlashGear
TopNews United States -ChannelWeb
all 131 news articles »

Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 27 Sep 2009 | 12:01 pm

Afraid of your cell phone?  Read this and you may be

Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile

afraid of your cell phone? read this and you will be“AT&T: More stalkers in more places.”  Perhaps changing their tagline to this sentiment might help customers understand how the company knows where you are.  In this Gadgetell exclusive, we’ve uncovered what the giant telecom AT&T is doing to its customers and why it believes it is in the right.  This may lead to an unnatural fear of your mobile.

Hollywood has been pointing out using a cell phone is unsecure for years in spy movies.  Heroes always ditch their phones, even pulling batteries out of them stating the phone will transmit data even when in the off position.  Are we just slow on the uptake?  Maybe, as Gadgetell’s Executive Editor, Doug Berger found out.

This week, Exec. Editor Berger received this text:

AT&T Free Msg: Committed to enhancing your wireless experience, we just upgraded our wireless network on the XXXX University Campus. Reply stop to end mktg msgs.

I’ve blocked out which university campus for privacy’s sake, but clearly AT&T doesn’t care about you knowing you are being stalked.  Berger happens to frequent the campus and was astonished that AT&T would let its users know that Big Brother is watching. 

Is it helpful that AT&T upgraded their service?  Absolutely.  Is it great that they’ve tied their upgrade into an announcement to the users it will help?  Absolutely.  Is it creepy that AT&T knows where you go and tells you about it?  Absolutely. This is the stuff that made, the “I am in your room, under the bed” kind of horror movies so scary.

From AT&T’s Privacy Policy:

What About Presence, Location, and Tracking Information?
Our network knows the general location of your phone whenever it is turned on. When we offer you optional services that require use or disclosure of this information, the terms and conditions for the specific service offering explain how the location information will be used. We also may provide your network location to emergency service providers if you place a 911 call.

It’s all good right?  AT&T just wants to help us wayward customers that are in trouble.  AT&T says they won’t share your location without your consent, they will only use it to provide you with services such as navigation (AT&T Navigator), Loopt, and Family Map.  These are service many of us find extremely helpful.  All good right?

Well, not so fast.  There is this gem in the privacy policy: “the information you receive in connection with your use of LBS may include advertisements relevant to your request and your location.”  So, AT&T won’t share you location, but they can use it to serve relevant advertising.  It would appear the advertiser is blind to you with AT&T acting as the benevolent invisible hand moving advertisement to it’s flock but refusing to let the wolves have at them directly.

Our take

By signing your contract for service, users let AT&T reach into their personal data to the very extent they’ve agreed to.  AT&T is within it’s legal rights to obtain our location and they are by no means the only telecom doing this. 

We’ve boiled this down to two take aways:
1. Your telecom knows quite a bit about where you go.  As GPS becomes more and more prevalent, this information will be used to bring us more location based services and ads.  This is a fact.
2.  Had Mr. Berger opted out of free marketing messages, he’d be sleeping much better now.  Ignorance is bliss, especially if there isn’t much you can do about it.

Had enough of this?  Ready to rise up against the man to fight for your right to privacy?  Think the teleco’s are going to become the Cyberdyne Systems of the future?  Make yourself heard in the comments below.

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


Source: Gadgetell | 27 Sep 2009 | 11:42 am

Erie County Plant Never Before Recorded In Pa

Dwarf scouring rush found in rare wetland on Mercyhurst College landWestern Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) scientists have discovered a plant in Erie County that has never been recorded in Pennsylvania.The plant, dwarf scouring rush, was identified with the aid of a Mercyhurst College professor on the college's Mercyhurst West property in Girard.Dwarf scouring rush is known to exist in northern U.S.
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 27 Sep 2009 | 11:40 am

Cyber Gangs Raise Profile of Commercial Online Bank Security

tsu doh nimh writes "The Washington Post's Security Fix blog has published a rapid-fire succession of investigative stories on the theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars from companies, schools, and public institutions at the hands of organized cyber thieves and 'money mules,' willing or unwitting people recruited via online job scams. Some businesses are starting to challenge the financial industry's position that they are not responsible for online banking losses from things like keystroke logging malware that attacks customer PCs. Last week, a Maine firm sued its bank, saying the institution's lax approach to so-called multi-factor authentication failed after thieves stole $588,000 from the company, sending the money to dozens of money mules. The same group is thought to have taken $447,000 from a California wrecking company, whose bank also is playing hardball. Most recently, the Post's series outlined a sophisticated online system used by criminals to recruit, track and manage money mules."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Source: Slashdot | 27 Sep 2009 | 11:26 am

So Hot Right Now: Top 10 Gadgetell posts for the week of September 20, 2009

Section:

Haven’t caught all of the Gadgetell news this week?  Here’s your chance to catch up on this week’s top 10 articles!

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


Source: Gadgetell | 27 Sep 2009 | 11:07 am

How long will we be playing the Xbox 360 and PS3?

qms

Questing in Kalimdor, I received word that, yes, the Wii has dropped in price to $199. After I logged out, I got to thinking: how long can this last? Like, the Wii (and the PS3) came out three years ago, and the Xbox 360 came out four years ago. Given how quickly consumer electronics evolve, how long we can expect to play these systems?

We pretty frequently hear rumors of a “Wii 2,” or whatever you want to call it, but that could well be because the Wii is only slightly more powerful than the GameCube, itself eight years old. How long can you expect people to play a GameCube with a fancy controller? (That’s not a knock against the Wii, of course, but it’s been a little while since we saw all those IT PRINTS MONEY articles.) That said, when was the last time you read something alluding to a PS4 or new Xbox? Heck, you can make the argument that the PS3 is just now starting to find its legs, what with the success of the PS3 Slim. Microsoft, for its part, seems to be clinging onto Xbox Live as a place where you’ll find its innovations.

Then you’ve got the fact that both Sony and Microsoft are tacking on motion control to their respective systems, and you get the feeling that neither company is looking to rush into the next generation. Nope, they’re gonna squeeze as much life out of these guys as they can.

And is there anything wrong with that, maximizing the current crop of systems before tossing them aside?

And let’s not forget that a significant number of people are still playing their games on a small, non-HD TV (probably with the TV’s built-in speakers, too), so these people aren’t even taking advantage of the current generation, let alone some crazy Future Techno gigaflops and whatnot.

I don’t know, I guess the point is: how long do you think the Xbox 360 and PS3 will last? You have to assume that Microsoft and Sony are already working on their next systems, but that doesn’t mean we’ll be playing them any time soon! And if we’re looking at another three years with the same systems, does that bother you? To me, the answer is “no,” it wouldn’t bother me to keep playing these systems (never mind that I mostly play WoW these days) for several more years. (Apologies if this seems disjointed, I’m writing this with one foot out the door.)



Source: CrunchGear | 27 Sep 2009 | 10:30 am

Imagination In Games

In a recent article for Offworld, Jim Rossignol writes about how the experiences offered by games are broadening as they become more familiar and more popular among researchers and educators. He mentions Korsakovia, a Half-Life 2 mod which is an interpretation of Korsakoff's syndrome, a brain disorder characterized by confusion and severe memory problems, and makes the point that games (and game engines) can provide interesting and evocative experiences without the constraint of being "fun," much as books and movies can be appreciated without "fun" being an appropriate description. Quoting: "Is this collective imagining of games one of the reasons why they tend to focus on a narrow band of imagination? Do critics decry games because games need, more than any other media, to be something a group of people can all agree on? Isn't that why diversions from the standard templates are always met with such excitement or surprise? Getting a large number of creative people to head out into the same imaginative realm is a monumental task, and it's a reason why game directors like to riff off familiar films or activities you can see on TV to define their projects. A familiar movie gets everyone on the same page with great immediacy. 'Want to know what this game is going to be like? Go watch Aliens, you'll soon catch up.' We are pushed into familiar, well-explored areas of imagination. However, there are also teams who are both exploring strange annexes and also creating games that are very much about imaginative exploration. These idiosyncratic few do seem like Alan Moore's 'exporters,' giving us something genuinely new to investigate and explore. Once the team has figured out how to drag the thing back from their imaginations, so we get to examine its exotic experiences — like the kind we can't get at home."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Source: Slashdot | 27 Sep 2009 | 10:09 am

Gadgetell Guide: Stay on the bleeding edge of tech using the web and common sense

Section: Gadgets / Other, Features, Originals

Use the web and a little common sense to stay bleeding edge with your gadgetsI was originally approached to write something about how to sell your gadgets on the web, but thought that was a little boring, after all, most Gadgetell readers know how to sell something on eBay or Craigslist.  So instead I am going to focus on getting and staying on the bleeding edge.  Why?  If for no other reason than because most gadget geeks want the latest and greatest.

Older doesn’t mean bad to everyone

This works especially well with phones, because while some will want the latest there is still a great secondary market because lots of people are willing to buy a 6-month or 1-year old phone for the simple fact that they can buy and use it contract free.  They are also usually willing to pay a premium for that.  Just as an example, a few months back I sold my year-old 16GB iPhone 3G with a low-cost case bundled in for $399. 

Another good thing to consider when selling is when companies remove certain features such as with the Kindle.  Although I kept my original Kindle, I had more than a few offers due to the fact that the Kindle 2 does not have a removable battery or SD card slot.

Here are some personal experience tips that I can offer on how to buy, use and sell your gadgets.  I have recently been able to purchase an iPhone 3GS and Zune HD (just to name a few) without spending much money out of pocket.  Well, truth be told I did spend the money first, but was later “reimbursed” thanks to eBay.  I have been doing this for years now staying up to date with items such as the Zune, iPod, iPhone and even more recently with netbooks.

Buy:


This one pretty much speaks for itself, you have to buy the gadget first.  This part will require some money up front if you are just getting started, however as long as you follow some common sense tips when using that gadget you purchased, then you should later be able to sell it and get a decent return, which means you can stay bleeding edge.

Use:


This is the most important part, and it does come with some concessions.  The biggest issue is that you are going to need to protect your investment.  That said, the number one thing that I can suggest is to use protection.  Spend a few extra bucks and invest in a case.  Notice I said “invest” because when it later comes time sell that gadget you will be able to include that case as a “free” bonus or possibly even re-use it such as with an iPhone 3G to iPhone 3GS upgrade.  I would also suggest getting a screen protector of some sort, personally I use the invisibleSHIELD from ZAGG.

Sell:


Again, this one sounds pretty simple, and in reality it is.  That said, there are a few tips that can help to get the most money for your gadget.  Of course, there is always the possibility of getting burned, but that goes with selling and sometimes even the best deal can go bad if the buyer turns out to be a dirtbag.

Keep it clear

Selling your items will require a few things such as having a clear description, a fair starting price and perhaps most important—plenty of pictures.  And for the pictures, those Mr. Blurrycam style shots are not going to work.  And remember that case, or screen protector that you invested in?  Those are now perks that you can bundle in with your sale.  Just from personal experience, people will buy something that comes with free extras.  Those can be simple items such as a case or screen protector that is already applied and in place, it can even be other items such as an SD or microSD card.

What to sell

Of course, this should go without saying, but the gadgets you are selling should be as recent and as current as possible.  In other words sell them while they are popular.  For example in the case of the iPhone, I sold my iPhone 3G when everyone was still hyped up about the iPhone 3GS, and I sold my Zune 80 just after the Zune HD was released.  This will allow you to get some built-in traction and in my experience will help drive your selling price up a little bit.

No reserve

Finally, one thing I would suggest in regards to eBay it to trust what you have and trust the system.  In other words do not use a high reserve and do not set a high starting price.  Those two items are likely to scare many people away.  This does involve a little risk, but I recommend starting your auction at $0.99 with no reserve.  Additionally, you can also set a Buy It Now price and hope for the quick sale, but that does require a little additional research to make sure you are asking a fair price.

And just to close this out, personally I almost always use eBay, well that or a personal sale to a friend or family member.  Of course, I tend to get more money when selling on eBay, because I will usually give a friend or family member a slightly better deal.

Alternatives to eBay

That said, eBay is certainly not the only game in town.  You can also use Craigslist, but for me that comes with a good and bad point.  To begin with, you generally have more expectation to speak on the phone and show something in person.  More calls and more appointments lead to more wasted time. 

In general I find that people who buy on Craigslist also tend to want to pick things up and that means another appointment and more wasted time.  For me, eBay works best—list the item and deal with questions by email.  When complete, simply box it up and ship it. A tip in regards to shipping: always use a service with a delivery confirmation and make sure you save the receipt—this will help if the buyer is a dirtbag and decides to do a chargeback down the road.  Overall this means less of a time investment on my part and as a freelancer I truly believe that time is money.

A few other resources that you can use, or at least consider when selling a gadget are sites such as Gazelle.com or NextWorth.com.  These are generally quick and easy and will offer you a fixed price, making for an easy sale.  Additionally, other places that you can consider are big box retailers such as Radio Shack, Best Buy, and Costco as they all offer some sort of trade-in program.  That said, those trade-on programs, along with the previously mentioned sites such as Gazelle and NextWorth are most likely going to give you less in return for your gadget than selling on the open market.

Your profit a.k.a. the Gadget Fund

Another tip would be to begin and keep a gadget fund.  For example, I sold my iPhone 3G for $399 and in turn my new iPhone was a little over $300 after tax was included.  Given that I made a nice profit.  Now I could have just spent that money on anything, but instead it went directly into my gadget fund for a future purchase, which in my case was the Zune HD.  I then sold my Zune 80 for $120 bucks, which combined with the previous (approx) $85 from the iPhone meant I now had about $200 toward my Zune HD purchase.

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


Source: Gadgetell | 27 Sep 2009 | 9:00 am

Hot gaming news for the week of 9-20-2009

Section:

title

No need to scour the interwebs for hot gaming news, Gamertell‘s already done that for you!  Here’s a look at this week’s top stories…

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


Source: Gadgetell | 27 Sep 2009 | 8:42 am

It’s Wii-Day! The Wii is $199

wii
Amazon, a company that sells things, is now selling the Wii for $199 and this price should appear across the board.

We reported this last week and it’s finally here. Thanks to reader Brandon for sending this in.



Source: CrunchGear | 27 Sep 2009 | 8:23 am

From The TC50 DemoPit, Trademarkia (TM) Simplifies Trademark Search

On the Web there are easy ways to search patents, but trademarks are still lost in government websites that are not particularly search-friendly. One of the DemoPit companies that launched at TechCrunch50 is addressing this problem with a website that makes trademark search a breeze.

Trademarkia let’s you search all U.S. trademarks filed since 1870, including dead marks. The company has scans of all the marks and returns results in a very appealing visual grid. You can search by company, theme, product category, or even filing attorney. Companies can also file a trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office through the site.

Trademarkia is a great resource for anyone researching trademarks, companies getting ready to file a trademark, or even product and brand logo designers. It operates much like a domain registrar like GoDaddy. Instead of searching for available domain URLs, you search for trademarks, and if they are available, you can register them for a fee.

Let’s say you want to use a Pegasus for your company’s new logo. On Trademarkia, you can search all trademarks with a pegasus to make sure you are not duplicating someone else’s mark. You can search for dead marks, and if you like one, you can register it for $159.

You can also can look at all 408 trademarks registered to Apple, or sort them to see just the 85 marks Apple has allowed to expire. Some of Apple’s toss-aways include “Mactel,” “iMusic,” “Vingle,” “Xray,” and something called the “Graphulator.” At one point Apple also trademarked “Cougar” and “Lynx” for its Mac OS series, but it let them die. Those are currently available.

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

TechCrunch50 Conference 2009: September 14-15, 2009, San Francisco

Source: TechCrunch | 27 Sep 2009 | 8:10 am

What's government's role in making the Web secure? (AP)

FILE - In this July 8, 2009 file photo, an employee of Korea Internet Security Center works at a monitoring room in Seoul, South Korea. There is no kill switch for the Internet, no secret on-off button in an Oval Office drawer. Yet when Congress was exploring ways to secure computer networks, a plan to give the president the power to shut down Internet traffic to Web sites in an emergency set off alarms. Corporate leaders and privacy advocates protested the idea earlier this year, saying the government must not seize control. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, FILE)AP - There is no kill switch for the Internet, no secret on-off button in an Oval Office drawer.



Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 27 Sep 2009 | 7:57 am

Signing off.

Jesse Brown, a BoingBoing guest blogger, is the host of TVO's Search Engine podcast. JB-tree_wide.jpg

Today marks the end of my guest blogging stint here at BoingBoing.

It's been awesome (for me anyway). Thanks to BB readers for letting me share my projects, interests and ideas with you. And thanks for engaging- the comments often taught me more about a subject than I had to impart in the first place.

Thanks also to Cory and Rob and the rest of the BB crew for having me!

Please keep in touch! I'm particularly interested in story ideas and freelance pitches for my podcast.

Email: jesse at jessebrown.ca

Twitter (link)

Podcast/Blog (link)


Source: Boing Boing | 27 Sep 2009 | 7:52 am

Australian Town Becomes First To Ban Bottled Water

In the world’s first ban on bottled water, the rural Australian town of Bundanoon pulled all bottled water from its shelves on Saturday, replacing them with refillable bottles instead.Hundreds of people marched through the tiny town to mark the occasion, unveiling a series of new public drinking
Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 27 Sep 2009 | 7:25 am

Walmart offering the Pre for $80 - with a huge catch

Section: Communications, Smartphones

PalmPreFollowing the news that Amazon is offering the Palm Pre for $100, Walmart has announced they will offer the Pre for an amazing $80.  But before you run out to snatch one up, keep reading, because they aren’t being exactly truthful.

Walmart’s deal is this:  They are selling the Pre for $179.99 with a $100 rebate, however their conditions leave a bit to be desired.  They will not honor it until you send in a copy of your bill from your 4th month of service showing no outstanding balance with it.  Yes, you heard that right.  You have to wait four months before you can send in your rebate and naturally they take 8-10 weeks to process.  Act now and you just may get yours in time for spring break!

Frankly Amazon’s offer is a lot less of a hassle, unless waiting half a year for a rebate isn’t a problem for you.  Walmart hasn’t explained the reason for its ridiculous conditions as of yet.  Maybe they are just hoping people won’t bother sending it in?  I think what is really going to happen is people just won’t bother buying the Pre from Walmart at all.

Read [PC World]

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


Source: Gadgetell | 27 Sep 2009 | 7:00 am

Tokyo Game Show: A couple of gorgeous booth companions (photo gallery)

booth_companion_4

Sorry ladies, but I haven’t seen even one male booth companion at the Tokyo Game Show this year (or in 2008, for that matter). There were ladies only – and almost all of them were gorgeous. Here are some of them.

booth_companion_8booth_companionbooth_companion_2booth_companion_3booth_companion_5booth_companion_6booth_companion_7booth_companion_10booth_companion_11

And here’s a short video (taken by a guy from Japan’s biggest blog Gigazine):



Source: CrunchGear | 27 Sep 2009 | 6:01 am

D&D camp, circa 1982


Here's a lovely interview with an alumnus of the Shippensburg Adventure Game Camp, a residential D&D camp for 10-17 year olds held at Shippensburg College (now Shippensburg University) in Pennsylvania. Campers played a series of rotating adventures in aged-grouped parties, with the councillors comparing notes behind the scenes to keep all the groups in synch and to ensure maximum fun and mayhem for all the players. They unwound with improv games.

I attended a D&D day camp around this time, 1983 or so, at Harbourfront in Toronto. We painted lead miniatures (I still love doing this) and had guest-lectures from medieval weapons freaks, a ninjitsu master, and a science fiction writer named Edward Llewellyn, who was the first published sf writer I ever met. He signed a copy of one of his books for me and I obsessively sought out and read his entire oeuvre. And of course we played lots of D&D. I still remember that as one of the most fun summer activities I ever got to participate in.

Shippensburg Adventure Game Camp ran in the summers of 1981 through 1985. There were two one-week sessions, each Sunday evening through Friday afternoon. I found out about it because the teacher we had convinced to sponsor the school D&D group got a flier for it when it was first organized.

Campers were divided into different gaming groups at the beginning of the week, with councilors doubling as DMs. There were morning lectures (seriously) with gaming in the afternoon. All the groups played through the same adventure, written specifically for the camp. It wasn't an actual tournament, but each group pretty much tried to get as far as possible before the end of the week -- a slightly rigged process as I found out once I became a councilor.

The same campers could come sign up for both weeks, but obviously that wasn't the intention because they'd be playing in the same adventure twice.

There were a lot of other summer camps going on at the Shippensburg campus at the same time: baseball, tennis, cheerleading, etc. Everybody stayed in the dorms, with different buildings for different camp groups, but lectures and afternoon gaming were in other campus buildings.

One time at D&D camp... (Thanks, Fipi Lele!)


Source: Boing Boing | 27 Sep 2009 | 5:42 am