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Review Scores the "Least Important Factor" When Buying GamesA recent report from a games industry analyst suggests that among a number of factors leading to the purchase of a video game — such as price, graphics and word of mouth — the game's aggregated review score is the least important measure. Analyst Doug Creutz said, "We believe that while Metacritic scores may be correlated to game quality and word of mouth, and thus somewhat predictive of title performance, they are unlikely in and of themselves to drive or undermine the success of a game. We note this, in part, because of persistent rumors that some game developers have been jawboning game reviewers into giving their games higher critical review scores. We believe the publishers are better served by spending their time on the development process than by 'grade-grubbing' after the fact."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 26 Nov 2009 | 3:29 am Wooden orrery I love this simple wooden orrery from Muji's gift lineup. Sadly, their ecommerce-fu is about as terrible as it gets, but if you're near a Muji store, it's £16 well-spent.
Wooden Solar System
(Thanks, Alice!)
Bleeding Edge TV 326: Windows 7 tips and tricksIn this episode, we give you a look at a bunch of the new little features that you'll find in Windows 7. They're all small things that, we think, will lead to a nice increase in productivity and time-saving...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 26 Nov 2009 | 2:30 am Wooden orreryI love this simple wooden orrery from Muji's gift lineup. Sadly, their ecommerce-fu is about as terrible as it gets, but if you're near a Muji store, it's £8 well-spent. Wooden Solar System...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 26 Nov 2009 | 2:02 am Google Apologizes For "Michelle Obama" Resultstheodp writes "CNN reports that for most of the past week, when someone did a Google image search for 'Michelle Obama,' one of the first images that came up was a picture of the First Lady altered to resemble a monkey. After being hit with a firestorm of criticism over the episode, Google first banned the site that posted the photo, saying it could spread malware. Then, when the image appeared on another site, Google displayed the photo in its search results, but displayed an apologetic Google ad above it. On Wednesday morning, the racially offensive image appeared to have been removed from any Google Image searches for 'Michelle Obama.' Google officials could not immediately be reached for comment."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 26 Nov 2009 | 2:00 am UCB in talks with banks to refinance loan facilityBRUSSELS, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Belgian pharmaceutical group UCB has begun discussions with banks to refinance loans it agreed three years ago to buy German peer Schwarz Pharma.Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 26 Nov 2009 | 1:53 am UPDATE 1-Borders & Southern, Falkland to raise funds via placing* Borders & Southern to sell 234.2 mln shares at 50p apieceSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 26 Nov 2009 | 1:52 am Guerrila Innovation. SMS Enabled Art Toilet at The Danish National GalleryFrom Guerilla Innovation: In conjunction with a music event held outside the The National Gallery in Copenhagen earlier this summer, the gallery introduced a new kind of service: Art Toilets. Besides...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 26 Nov 2009 | 1:45 am Iraq to counter "lies", show successes via YouTube (Reuters)Reuters - Iraq's government launched its first channel on Google Inc's video website YouTube on Wednesday, which the prime minister said would allow the country to counter media "lies" and showcase its successes.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 26 Nov 2009 | 1:42 am China says Premier Wen to attend climate summitChinese Premier Wen Jiabao will attend the climate change summit in Copenhagen next month to demonstrate his nation's willingness to work with the global community, the government said...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 26 Nov 2009 | 1:31 am Petrol says interested in buying Croatian CrobenzLJUBLJANA, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Slovenia's largest fuel retailer Petrol said on Thursday it is interested in buying Crobenz, a small fuel retailer of Croatian oil group Ina put up for sale for anti-trust...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 26 Nov 2009 | 1:31 am UPDATE 1-System C Healthcare says on track to meet FY mkt view* Says recent acquisitions helped growth (Adds details)Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 26 Nov 2009 | 1:30 am LessLoss Blackbody Is $1000 Of Voodoo Magic For Your StereoBy Evan Ackerman This cube from high end audio manufacturer LessLoss claims that it will make your audio gear sound better. How? It’s so simple, I’ll just have them explain it: The Blackbody...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 26 Nov 2009 | 1:27 am UPDATE 1-Assura posts H1 pretax profit; confident of futureNov 26 (Reuters) - British healthcare firm Assura Group Ltd swung to a first-half pretax profit on Thursday, aided by strong pharmacy revenue and said it was trading in line with its own expectations...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 26 Nov 2009 | 1:24 am Game-controller ornamentsJazz up your Hannukah Bush this year with these gamer-themed ornaments -- game controllers, new-school and old-, laser-cut from acrylic. Available in red or white. Controller ornaments - Red (via...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 26 Nov 2009 | 1:23 am Game-controller ornaments Jazz up your Hannukah Bush this year with these gamer-themed ornaments -- game controllers, new-school and old-, laser-cut from acrylic. Available in red or white. Controller ornaments - Red (via Wonderland)
Previously:
 Source: Boing Boing | 26 Nov 2009 | 1:23 am UPDATE 2-Minsheng falls on debut; China banks under pressure* Minsheng capital ratio rises to 12 pct after HK listingSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 26 Nov 2009 | 1:19 am Snake fire-escape graffiti Zadcat snapped this superb graffiti in Montreal's Chinatown -- snake-fire-escape! Sssnake stairs (Thanks, Zadcat!)
Previously:
Source: Boing Boing | 26 Nov 2009 | 1:14 am Snake fire-escape graffitiZadcat snapped this superb graffiti in Montreal's Chinatown -- snake-fire-escape! Sssnake stairs (Thanks, Zadcat!) Previously:C graffiti - Boing Boing Graffiti of giant people stuffed into small building...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 26 Nov 2009 | 1:14 am Thanksgiving last full day in space for shuttleSpace shuttle Atlantis' astronauts will spend Thanksgiving checking their ship for the ride home. The shuttle and its crew of seven are aiming for a Friday morning landing at NASA's...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 26 Nov 2009 | 1:13 am Thanksgiving last full day in space for shuttle - The Associated Press
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 26 Nov 2009 | 1:11 am The Psychology of Achievement In Playing GamesA post on Pixel Poppers looks at the psychological underpinnings of the types of challenges offered by different game genres, and the effect those challenges have on determining which players find the games entertaining. Quoting: "To progress in an action game, the player has to improve, which is by no means guaranteed — but to progress in an RPG, the characters have to improve, which is inevitable. ... It turns out there are two different ways people respond to challenges. Some people see them as opportunities to perform — to demonstrate their talent or intellect. Others see them as opportunities to master — to improve their skill or knowledge. Say you take a person with a performance orientation ('Paul') and a person with a mastery orientation ('Matt'). Give them each an easy puzzle, and they will both do well. Paul will complete it quickly and smile proudly at how well he performed. Matt will complete it quickly and be satisfied that he has mastered the skill involved. Now give them each a difficult puzzle. Paul will jump in gamely, but it will soon become clear he cannot overcome it as impressively as he did the last one. The opportunity to show off has disappeared, and Paul will lose interest and give up. Matt, on the other hand, when stymied, will push harder. His early failure means there's still something to be learned here, and he will persevere until he does so and solves the puzzle."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 26 Nov 2009 | 1:07 am Daily Crunch: Human Assist Guidance Thanksgiving Edition
Here are some of yesterday’s stories on CrunchGear: Awards: Best of Black Friday
Source: CrunchGear | 26 Nov 2009 | 1:00 am Programming Note [Digital Daily]Programming Note [Digital Daily] All Things Digital will publish on an abbreviated schedule for the remainder of the week in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. Source: All Things Digital | 26 Nov 2009 | 1:00 am 3D printed branding-ironJoris sez, "Turn any logo or words into a custom metal 3D printed branding iron. It snaps on over a lighter, you turn on the lighter for 30 seconds and presto you are ready to leave your brand anywhere."I once sat in on a Bunnie Huang presentation about labor conditions in South China, and he described the factories where rubber logos - the Nike swoosh on the side of a shoe, the rubber designer's logo hanging from the top button-hole of a shirt -- are made. The workers lack basic safety clothes and often end up with several companies' logos branded into their skin by the hot metal. Since then, I've found it nearly impossible to think about branding without thinking of the young women of the Pearl River Delta with all those logo-marks -- vector art from the west turned into curdled flesh in the east -- burned into their skin. Of course, you could use this to brand lots of things that aren't human skin! Wood-burning, leather-burning, probably even some kind of crazy brulee effect.
Customizable 3D printed BrandingIron (Thanks, Joris!)
Previously:
Source: Boing Boing | 26 Nov 2009 | 12:56 am 3D printed branding-ironJoris sez, "Turn any logo or words into a custom metal 3D printed branding iron. It snaps on over a lighter, you turn on the lighter for 30 seconds and presto you are ready to leave your brand anywhere...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 26 Nov 2009 | 12:56 am iPhone app for virtual giftsLittle World Gifts - Demo from Katie Lips on Vimeo. For the person who would rather receive pixels instead of presents for Christmas, the Little World Gifts app for iPhone, lets users buy virtual Christmas...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 26 Nov 2009 | 12:51 am EULAs + Arbitration = endless opportunity for abuseJohn sez, "We all know EULAs, and for the most part, we hate them. However, they do serve a valid purpose. In a complex consumer society it allows quick contracting without teams of lawyers hashing it...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 26 Nov 2009 | 12:48 am EULAs + Arbitration = endless opportunity for abuseJohn sez, "We all know EULAs, and for the most part, we hate them. However, they do serve a valid purpose. In a complex consumer society it allows quick contracting without teams of lawyers hashing it out over every consumer purchase. The problem is that EULAs are easily abused. Arbitration is the same way. It is valuable in that it cuts down on the cost of litigation, and it is a simple way to resolve disputes. When it's abused, it ends up being an end run around Due Process and very, very unfair. When you add Arbitration (a creature of contract) to a EULA (a contract) both the good and the evil are magnified exponentially..."The Unconcionability of Arbitration Agreements in EULAs. (Thanks, John!)
Previously:
Source: Boing Boing | 26 Nov 2009 | 12:48 am Cyber Thanksgiving Online Shopping a Growing TraditionNEW YORK, Nov. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the Bergen Record, "In homes across America, there's a Thanksgiving tradition getting bigger every year, and having an...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 26 Nov 2009 | 12:44 am Happy Turkey Day from Mystery Science Theater 3000Tavie sez, "One of my favorite Thanksgiving memories is watching dribs and drabs of MST3K's 'Turkey Day' marathon on Comedy Central in the '90's. Although the marathon is long gone, I always sing this...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 26 Nov 2009 | 12:43 am Happy Turkey Day from Mystery Science Theater 3000Tavie sez, "One of my favorite Thanksgiving memories is watching dribs and drabs of MST3K's 'Turkey Day' marathon on Comedy Central in the '90's. Although the marathon is long gone, I always sing this jingle at least once every Thanksgiving. Other people share a fondness for this Comedy Central 'Turkey Day Marathon' commercial and have tried to post it to Youtube, but Viacom seems quite protective of it. So, quick, before it's gone, enjoy this trip down memory lane!" 1991 MST3K Turkey Day Promo (Thanks, Tavie!)
Previously:
Source: Boing Boing | 26 Nov 2009 | 12:43 am Wikipedia's facts-about-facts make the impossible realMy latest Make: column, "Shortcut to Omniscience," talks about the cognitive shift that Wikipedians undergo in order to collaboratively write an encyclopedia, and how that kind of fundamental, subtle change enables networked groups of people to do things that were previously considered impossible.Shortcut to Omniscience
Previously:
Source: Boing Boing | 26 Nov 2009 | 12:42 am AU Optronics Honored with 2009 / 2010 Ocean Tomo 300(R) Patent IndexHSINCHU, Taiwan, Nov. 26 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- AU Optronics Corp. ("AUO" or the "Company") (TAIEX: 2409; NYSE: AUO) announced today that it is honored ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 26 Nov 2009 | 12:39 am Acer says Windows 7 good for sales (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 26 Nov 2009 | 12:10 am Buffalo announces world’s first 12x Blu-ray burner (and it’s USB 3.0, too)
USB 3.0 is just around the corner (kind of), and the first computer hardware manufacturers are getting ready to deliver products supporting the new standard (even though there were some backlashes along the way). Last month, Asus announced the world’s first USB 3.0 + SATA 6.0 PCI-E card. In May, NEC said they’re going to release the first USB 3.0 host controller. And now Japanese computer hardware company Buffalo has announced [JP] the world’s first 12x Blu-ray burner, which supports USB 3.0 on top of that. The BR-X1216U3 is backward compatible with USB 2.0 but will burn your Blu-rays with “just” 7x speed in that case. You can only use it with a Windows machine (XP/Vista/7). But actually there are no Blu-ray discs which could be used with a 12x burner and no USB 3.0-equipped computers out there at this point, but Japan is known to be a tad quicker than the rest of the tech world sometimes. Buffalo says they will roll out the burner at the beginning of next month. Japanese street price: $460. The company hasn’t said anything yet about international sales.
Source: CrunchGear | 26 Nov 2009 | 12:02 am Ants That Can CountthisIsOdd writes "NPR had a recent report about scientists at the University of Ulm who suggest that ants in desert environments count to help them get to and from their homes. Because the desert's windiness and sandiness is not conducive the 'smell-trail' method, where ants squeeze certain glands that leave a chemical trail, scientists were puzzled by the fact that these desert ants were able to leave and successfully return to their nest. The theory is called the 'pedometer theory,' and the experiment used to test it involves manipulating the leg length of some of these ants. Ants with longer legs would pass the nest on the way home, and ones with shorter legs came up... well... short."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 25 Nov 2009 | 11:52 pm Chinese EBay Rival Branches out With Branded Mobile Phone (PC World)PC World - China's biggest online auction and retail Web site plans to stamp its brand on a new mobile phone, the first time it's name will be put on a device, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 25 Nov 2009 | 11:20 pm More Insight on Those Leaked Climate Change Emails
[Image: "Earth Egg," from the CC-licensed Flickr stream of azrainman] Cory told you earlier this week about the recent hacking at the University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit, and the subsequent distribution of emails that some people say prove a global conspiracy to promote anthropogenic climate change contrary to evidence. I wanted to get a handle on this before I posted, so I've been reading coverage and analysis for the last few days. Here's a few key points I'm picking up...
1) Evidence of vast conspiracy is sorely lacking. Ditto evidence disproving the scientific consensus on climate change. This isn't the "nail in the coffin" of anything. However, the emails do prompt some legit questions about transparency and how professional researchers respond to criticism in the age of the armchair scientist. In fact, the whole reason the CRU seems to have been hacked is that the Unit was fighting off requests for access to the data sets it used to put together its climate models. This is one of the issues that gets discussed in the e-mails. Basically, some of the CRU researchers didn't want to release the data to people who weren't trained scientists because they were tired of spending their time fighting with bloggers and wanted to focus on research. Which is great, except for two things: First, from what I'm reading it looks like there might have been some ethical lapses in how the researchers went about blocking the release of data; Second, when you block the release of data, no matter what your real reason is, people will assume it's because you're hiding something nefarious. One of the positive outcomes of this whole hacking debacle is that it's forcing some discussion about when circling the wagons becomes protectionism, and might lead to the climate change data sets becoming more open source. Frankly, I think that's a good thing. 2) Theft is bad. But if you're a researcher who can explain context to the general public, decrying theft shouldn't be your primary objective right now. This goes back to the whole transparency issue. This would-be scandal ought to be a learning opportunity--a chance for scientists to educate the public on the evidence for climate change. And while there is plenty of that going on, there's also a lot of people making arguments like, "we shouldn't even be talking about the content of the emails because they are stolen property." Well, you're right, they are stolen property and, technically, should be left private. But you know what? Skeptics of climate change are using these emails, no matter what you think. If experts and researchers refuse to address them, it's just going to mean that the only narrative the public hears is the one that thinks the emails are proof of conspiracy. Not helpful. 3) The Mainstream Media is covering this. They just might not be covering it the way you want, and that's probably a good thing. I've heard from several people who have asked me why MM isn't on top of this story, and read several complaints to that effect on blogs. It comes both from people who think the emails are proof of conspiracy, and those who think there's absolutely nothing wrong in the emails at all. But I've been reading great coverage in the New York Times and Washington Post (both the official publications and attached blogs), and elsewhere. In that light, I kind of interpret the complaints as, "The MM isn't saying what I want them to say." OK. That's good. Because the story is a bit more nuanced than either opposing position would have you believe and MM coverage is reflecting that. And now, I bring you a whole crap-ton of links. Basically, everything I say above is a synthesis of what I've read here. I'm including all of these so you know I'm not just pulling this out of my tookus, so you can delve more deeply into this stuff if you want and because it's all pretty interesting if you're wonky like that. And I bet you are. • FiveThirtyEight: I Read Through 160,000,000 Bytes of Hacked Files And All I Got Was This Lousy E-Mail
Source: Boing Boing | 25 Nov 2009 | 10:41 pm Investimonials Wants To Be Your Guide To Quality Financial Products
The new site was founded by Timothy Sykes, a controversial financial expert who was named to Trader Monthly’s 2006 “Top 30 under 30″ and had a once-successful hedge fund that shut down in 2007 after taking heavy losses. Since then, though, he’s mounted a comeback and is now one of Covestor’s top ranked traders (though some people aren’t fans of his tactics). Sykes says that his goal with Investimonials is to help users cut through the spammy and scammy financial sites that litter the web, by offering a comprehensive hub of user reviews for each product. Investimonials will be launching with eight categories, including the top rated Brokers, Newsletters, DVDs, Books, and websites, with plans to have “dozens” over the next few years. At launch the site has 3,000 products ready to review, though the vast majority of them haven’t been reviewed by anyone yet. Sykes says the primary competitor in this area is EliteTrader, which has been around for a decade and has around one thousand total reviews (the site also looks pretty dated). Investimonials incentivizes users to write reviews and share their personal contact information by offering ‘iv bucks’, which can be traded in for prizes. Many of these are Sykes’s own products, though there are a variety of prizes from others as well. Investimonials seems like a good idea, though it’s going to have to be very transparent if it wants to avoid constant accusations of bias. And as with all review sites, it’s going to suffer from the chicken-and-the-egg problem – until it has a lot of reviews about products, few people will have a good reason to use it.
Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors 
Source: Gizmodo | 25 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm SupportSpace Raises $10 Million Series B
SupportSpace, a company that provides on-demand remote tech support solutions, announced today that it has raised $10 million in funding. The round was led by Emergence Capital Partners and also included previous investors BRM Group and Gemini Israel. SupportSpace has raised $24.25M in total funding so far. Kevin Spain of Emergence Capital Partners has also taken a board seat as part of the funding. SupportSpace, founded in 2006, aims to help expand their remote tech service by offering a SaaS (software as a service) platform for the management, marketing and delivery of remote services and a network of virtual experts. To get tech support using SupportSpace, you choose a service or an online expert, then connect to the expert and watch your problem being resolved on your screen in real-time. According to SupportSpace Co-Founder and CEO Yair Grindlinger, SupportSpace will use the funds to enhance its infrastructure, expand its team, and acquire new partners. Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors
Source: TechCrunch | 25 Nov 2009 | 8:49 pm Tokyo Students Design a New Robotic Muscle Suitangry tapir writes "Students at Tokyo's University of Science have developed a new version of their muscle suit, a wearable robotic suit that assists the muscles when carrying out strenuous tasks. The original version of the suit, which has been in production for several years, provides assistance to the arms and back but the new version provides assistance to the back only. That means it is lighter and more compact than the original model."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Gizmodo | 25 Nov 2009 | 8:20 pm Aviary’s Chrome Extension Proves That These Add-Ons Are Going To Be Awesome
While people have been developing extensions for Chrome for a little while now, none were officially supported. But now that Google is reaching out to developers to start making these for real, we’re already hearing about some good ones. One such one was sent to us tonight by Aviary, makers of browser-based creativity tools. Aviary’s new Chrome extension is simple, but very useful. Once you install it, it adds a little icon to the right side of the URL bar. Clicking on this icon gives you a drop down menu of options. Most give you easy access to Aviary’s suite of tools, but the first option is key. It’s the one that allows you to capture the visible portion of any web page you are on with one click. From there, the image is loaded into whichever Aviary tool you set as the default editor. So, for example, if I use the Aviary Image Markup tool as my editor, I’ll capture the web page, and be moved into the editor in seconds. From here I can manipulate the screenshot and easily save it to Aviary. More importantly, I can save it to my desktop without having to save it to Aviary at all. This makes for one extremely fast and easy screen capture tool.
A few notes about Aviary’s plug-in: First, it’s not available yet only because Google has yet to launch its Extension Gallery. Supposedly, that’s coming soon for end-users but for now extension support is limited to developers being able to upload their creations. Second, the extension works fine in Chrome for Windows (and I believe Linux), but to use it on the Mac you have to be using the latest build of Chromium (the newest dev build of Chrome for Mac doesn’t support it yet). Aviary also makes a similar extension for Firefox, that has seen over 100,000 installs, we’re told. That version also features two features the Chrome extension doesn’t yet: Full page captures (not just the visible part of the page) and Flash capture support. We’re told both will be coming in an update to the extension. Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.
Source: Gizmodo | 25 Nov 2009 | 7:40 pm 13.3-Inch MacBook (PC World)PC World - Best Buy is selling a 13.3-inch white MacBook for $1000.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 25 Nov 2009 | 7:17 pm Fancy thermochromic swine flu masks
A Swedish textile design student has created this beautiful series of surgical masks for flu season. The patterns are printed with thermochromic ink, so the masks change color when the temperature of your breath changes. Some of them, like the one below, look more like neck warmers.
Designer's profile via Ecouterre via NotCot
Source: Gizmodo | 25 Nov 2009 | 7:00 pm Emerson 32-Inch HDTV (PC World)PC World - If you're looking for a really cheap HDTV (to complete your really cheap home theater), Wal-Mart has a 32-inch Emerson LCD HDTV for under $250--$248, to be exact.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 25 Nov 2009 | 7:00 pm Facebook Stock Going Public?zmaragdus writes "Facebook Inc. converted its existing stock holdings into different classes of stocks (Class A and Class B) designed to give certain shareholders more power than others. This has been typically done in an IPO of a company's stock to give important people (company founders, for instance) more clout in the actions of the company when stock is first offered to the public. While Facebook maintains that it does not plan to offer stock publicly in the near future, this restructuring is one of the critical steps in doing so."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Gizmodo | 25 Nov 2009 | 6:20 pm Black Friday 2009: $30 netbook from VerizonSection: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Computers, Mobile Computers, Netbooks, Wireless
With all the Black Friday deals this year, a cell phone carrier would probably be the last place on your list of places to visit. Verizon realizes that, and is offering its Back Friday deals from Friday to Monday. Not a bad idea for those who are busy running to other retailers, and also those who need a bit more time to decide on buying anything with a two-year contract. Included in Verizon’s Black Friday deals is a price drop for the Gateway LT netbook. The netbook usually runs $100 with a two-year contract but will cost only $30 for the weekend. Also included in the deals are $10 smartphones, including both the HTC OZone and BlackBerry Pearl. Not the newest smartphones, but for $10, not a bad option. Not only will one be $10, but a second, identical smartphone, will be free, though will likely require a second contract. Other deals include $30 buy-on-get-one-free feature phones like the Nokia Twist and LG Versa in addition to a $50 mail-in rebate fr the MiFi, knocking it down to $50. Overall, the deals from Verizon aren’t too bad. They definitely knock the price down for some decent devices. A $30 netbook isn’t bad at all if you plan on getting one with a two-year contract. $50 for a MiFi, even after a mail-in rebate, is a decent deal as well, and probably the most useful out of the bunch for many people. With those exceptions, chances are you can most of the deals any other time of the year, though they might not have the buy-one-get-one-free deals, and they might come from other retailers, which can be an issue for some people. Read [Electronista] Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 25 Nov 2009 | 6:13 pm Blu-ray Discs, DVDs, and Video Games
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 PC World | Bringing Big Smiles to iPhone Shutterbugs New York Times A basic tenet of photography is that the best camera is the one you have on hand when you need it. For many people these days, that means an iPhone. Camera Genius is a do-it-all app that includes a digital zoom, shutter release and photo ... New Site Logs iphone App Store Rejections App Store Statistics as Misleading as They Are Impressive ebay: Our Mobile Users Will Spend More Than $500 Million On Goods This Year |
FROM APPLETELL - In celebration of Thanksgiving (and likely Black Friday as well), Agile Web Solutions is offering their iPhone app 1Password Pro touch completely free of charge.
MORE »
Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 New York Daily News | AT&T gets Luke Wilson to hit Verizon again CNET News If you thought that AT&T had hurriedly cobbled together one Luke Wilson ad in its attempt to redress the rather crooked balanced created by the latest Verizon ads, well, here's an ad for that. Or several. Curiously, one ad features ... Smartphone Advice for Black Friday Shoppers: Droid, iphone Biz Break: The truth behind Verizon, AT&T smartphone ads New mobile phone accessories may have your number |
There are few things more terrifying to me than the idea of going anywhere near a shopping establishment on Black Friday. But if I lived in New York City, I think I would this year because Google, Verizon, Reuters, and R/GA are teaming up to take over the largest displays on Times Square to allow for a giant Google Search by voice experiment/Droid advertisement.
What does this mean? On Black Friday, anyone who calls 888-376-4336 and does a Google Search by voice, will see their results displayed on either the Reuters sign or the NASDAQ sign in Times Square. So, if you say something like “new Jonas Brothers CD,” the display will come up with a giant Google Map complete with signs showing you where you can find that. Also included is the embarrassment that everyone in Times Square has just seen what ridiculous thing you are searching for.
This is all a big promotion for Droid, the new Android phone built by Verizon and being heavily pushed by Google. And the promotion has actually been going on for the past couple of weeks in New York, but it previously has only run during 90 minutes timeslots in the afternoon or night. On Black Friday, it will be running for 20 hours straight. I would love to know how much that advertisement cost.
Here’s a site with the countdown to the event complete with the message: “Droid will do Times Square for 20 hours…” Minds out of the gutter, folks.
Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.
Unless your gloves are made of human flesh, in which case oh my god, then you probably have to take them off when you need to make a call or launch an app on your fancy iPhone or myTouch. I tend to use my nose when it’s too cold to take off my gloves, but only when no one’s around. I suppose I could just sew in a couple strands of conductive thread, as described in this little project, but then… oh, wait. There’s no downside at all.
Really, it’s as simple as picking up a spool of conductive thread, sewing a few loops, and tying it off. Do you think you can handle that? Now, conductive thread is pretty coarse, so you shouldn’t try this on your fine kid leather gloves, but any pair of cheap wool or cotton gloves should hold up just fine to a bit of poking.
[via Lifehacker]
Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile
Not to be left out, it looks like AT&T has plans not only for a Black Friday sale, but a weekend full of sales that was described as “Black Friday through Cyber Monday.” According to the announcement the sales are expected to begin as of 12:01 am EST on Friday November 27 and run through the weekend. Here is what you can expect in terms of the deals;
Friday: Savings Begin.
Incredible deals on some of the most popular touch screen devices go live.Saturday: 24-Hour Blackberry Sale.
Free Pearl 8110 or Curve 8310; $49 Curve 8320; or $99 Curve 8900. Two-year agreement with a minimum $69.99 plan required.Sunday: Free Quick Messaging Device Sale.
*Choose from the Solstice, Neon, Magnet, Karma or Propel. Two-year agreement and unlimited messaging or data service required.Cyber Monday: 1 Cent Sale.
*Purchase for only one penny the Nokia e71x; Sony Cybershot; Curve 8900; Pantech Reveal; or, Samsung Jack. Device offers rotate every three hours. Two-year service agreement required.
Read [AT&T]
By Andrew LaVallee, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
Black Friday is expected to kick off a more upbeat e-commerce season this year, but heavyweights Amazon.com (AMZN), Google (GOOG) and eBay (EBAY) are poised to make the biggest holiday gains, analysts said.
In a research note, Jefferies analyst Youssef Squali said that Google stands to benefit from increased search-ad spending among marketers and an updated product-search feature that lets Web users more easily see pictures and reviews of items.
“The integration of search, user-generated content, comparison shopping, YouTube, location information and mobile shows the impressive span of Google’s product portfolio that the company can leverage to drive traffic for its e-commerce customers and advertisers,” Mr. Squali wrote.
Read the rest of this post on the original site
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Section: Communications, Cellphones, Smartphones, Mobile, Gadgets / Other
The New York Times seems to have been busy with mobile news today, first we saw the $100 off offer on a Samsung Go netbook and now they have unveiled a free mobile app for select BlackBerry handsets.
The newly released app will allow users to browse the New York Times online or cache the content for offline use, which sounds nice for those who may be traveling. The catch here is that the app is only available for a select few BlackBerry handsets including the Storm (original and 2), the Tour and Curve 8900.
Those interested can download the app by pointing their mobile browser to http://nytimes.com/bbapp.
Read [NYT] Via [CrackBerry]
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FROM APPLETELL - If Apple’s rumored Black Friday sale isn’t quite good enough for you, know this; there are other options. Best Buy and MacMall’s even beat Apple’s.
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Last month we saw the launch of TechCrunch50 winner RedBeacon, the startup that lets you book local service providers directly from the web. Today it’s getting some strong competition from a new startup called Thumbtack, a local service booking engine that’s looking to offer both a comprehensive directory of providers and a greater degree of trust than you can find elsewhere.
Featurewise, Thumbtack is a mix between RedBeacon, Yelp, and OpenTable. Like RedBeacon, it lets you sign onto the site and issue a request for a service, which service providers can then bid on. CEO Marco Zappacosta says this portion of the service is nearly identical to RedBeacon, complete with a bidding engine for providers to set pricing. But Thumbtack also offers provider profiles, where these providers can list some of their specialties and price points. There’s also a section where you can book a service directly from a profile page as you would on OpenTable, complete with an availability calendar.
One of the biggest issues with local services like Thumbtack is the chicken-and-the-egg problem. These sites generally launch with a relatively small number of services, which means that users can have a hard time finding what they need (and without users, providers have little incentive to join the site). Thumbtack has tried to address this by spending the last year recruiting providers – at launch, the startup says it already has 10,000 of them, ranging from tutors and handymen to rap teachers and henna artists. Thumbtack is also using some clever incentives to get companies to sign up, like offering discounted business cards and other marketing materials. Zappacosta explains that Thumbtack can order these goods in bulk because they work with so many companies, and then pass the savings on to businesses that sign up.
The other big issue with this kind of site is the creepiness factor – many of these services involve inviting these people into your home (say, to fix a sink) or to a private event (wedding caterers). Along with user reviews, which are standard for this space, Thumbtack is taking a few extra steps. If a service provider is licensed they can post that in their profile, which Thumbtack will verify for free. Thumbtack is also giving providers a handful of premium verification options, such as electing to undergo a background check by a national agency (prices vary from $8 to $49 depending on the level of verification). Providers who successfully pass these checks are rewarded with badges on their profile pages, giving users more confidence in their service. Every provider is also run through the DOJ sex offender registry.
Thumbtack plans to make money by building a payment system off of PayPayl’s adaptive payments API. They’ll take a cut out of each transaction that occurs on the site, and for services that require in-person estimates (like plumbing) they’ll take a lead-gen payment. They’ll also be taking a cut every time a provider elects to get verified through one of the third party background check services. Thumbtack is offering its service nationwide beginning today, but as with RedBeacon their primary focus is the Bay Area, with plans to expand down the road.
Thumbtack is doing a lot of things right with its site – I particularly like the idea of having providers verified through background checks, which helps differentiate it from sites like Angie’s List, Craigslist, and RedBeacon (which lets providers display their licenses but doesn’t do background checks). That said, Thumbtack faces the same challenges that RedBeacon will have. For one, it’s going to have to train users to turn to their computers rather than their yellow pages for these local services. And while 10,000 businesses is a good start, it’s going to take a long time for the service to build up a robust community of users and reviews. The background checks are a nice touch, but they don’t do much for helping users discern which providers offer a high quality service.
For another service that’s taking a different approach to matching users with trustworthy service providers, check out Workstir, which provides suggestions based on your social graph.
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 Techtree.com | Kindle, Nook and Other E-Readers to Take Off in 2010 PC World Will 2010 be the year of the e-reader? It sure looks that way. Amazon continues to improve its popular Kindle lineup, and Barnes & Noble claims it can't keep up with customer demand for its new Nook e-reader. Meanwhile, a host of competitors, ... Kindle 2 finally gets native PDF support, screen rotation Amazon updates Kindle software Books Holiday Gift Guide |
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Section: Communications, Cellular Providers, Broadband Cards, Mobile, Computers, Wireless
Possibly my favorite gadget purchase of the year is the MiFi. And it looks like those in Canada will soon be able to get one of their own by way of Bell. I should point out that this is still in the rumor stage, which means we are still awaiting an official announcement.
However, assuming for a minute that the rumor is indeed true, then the Bell MiFi 2372 will be available beginning on November 30. And price wise it will set any would be purchasers back $249.95 or $99.95 with a three-year agreement.
That said, this MiFi has some similarities to the version found here in the US with Sprint and Verizon in that it will allow up to 5 users to connect to the Wi-Fi hotspot that it creates. But there is one nice difference in this model, it comes with a memory card slot that can support cards up to 16GB in size. Portable Wi-Fi is good, but portable Wi-Fi with built-in storage is even nicer.
Via [BGR]
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You wouldn’t think quieter cars would be a problem, but then again, you’re probably not blind. Hybrids and electrics make so little noise that they pose a serious risk to blind people, who often use the sound of a car passing to determine whether it’s safe to cross the road. Nissan’s Leaf, it was announced, will make a “beautiful and futuristic” noise at low speeds so that unaware pedestrians won’t get run down.
Good, but any noise, however beautiful, may become a bother if you hear it all the damn time. So Chevy has stated that its noise, “a series of low horn audio signals,” will be driver-controlled. I have to say, I’m glad of that, because “a series of low horn audio signals” sounds like it’d really bug me. You’ll be able to turn it on and off like any other safety features, like high beams and hazard lights.
I wonder if in the future of car marketing there will be major competition between brand noises — if they’re all quiet, there’s no distinctive engine note, but they still have control over how the sucker sounds. I can just picture it now: “Yeah, the Toyota gets 50 more miles per charge, but have you heard the sweet woom-woom noise the new Fords make?” Or maybe you’ll be able to buy “roll tones.” Okay, I’m a genius. I’m patenting that.
From: Simon EdhousePlease design a logo for me. With pie charts. For free. (Thanks, Fipi Lele!)
Date: Monday 16 November 2009 2.19pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Logo DesignHello David,
I would like to catch up as I am working on a really exciting project at the moment and need a logo designed. Basically something representing peer to peer networking. I have to have something to show prospective clients this week so would you be able to pull something together in the next few days? I will also need a couple of pie charts done for a 1 page website. If deal goes ahead there will be some good money in it for you.
Simon
From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 16 November 2009 3.52pm
To: Simon Edhouse
Subject: Re: Logo DesignDear Simon,
Disregarding the fact that you have still not paid me for work I completed earlier this year despite several assertions that you would do so, I would be delighted to spend my free time creating logos and pie charts for you based on further vague promises of future possible payment. Please find attached pie chart as requested and let me know of any changes required.Regards, David.
Given that Hulu is about to start tinkering with paywalls and subscriptions, its viewership numbers matter a bit less than they used to. But for the record, the site–co-owned by News Corp.’s (NWS) Fox, GE’s (GE) NBC Universal and Disney’s (DIS) ABC–had a record October.
ComScore (SCOR) says Hulu generated 856 million video views during the month, second only to Google’s (GOOG) YouTube in the U.S. This makes sense given that Hulu is driven in large part by broadcast TV, which starts running new shows in the fall.
And if Hulu didn’t post record numbers after adding ABC’s shows to the mix, there would be some real head-scratching. But it will be very interesting to see what happens to these numbers next year if Hulu does move ahead with some sort of pay service.
As always, note the huge disparity between YouTube and everyone else. And it’s also worth noting that while Hulu generates more views than any of its non-YouTube competitors, its reach isn’t quite as deep:
All of which is less relevant than the joint venture’s performance, which is still the subject of much debate. People familiar with Hulu tell me it is “close to break-even,” but I worry about putting much stock in words like “close” (or “break-even,” for that matter) without seeing numbers.
And in any case, that’s only half the issue for its owners these days; just as important are the performance of its parent companies and whether all the free stuff on Hulu is helping or hindering their networks and studios.
But more on that after the holiday. For now, here’s wishing you and yours a happy and healthy Thanksgiving.
The brains behind Yahoo Boss, a young engineer named Vik Singh, is leaving Yahoo to become an entrepreneur-in-residence at Sutter Hill Ventures. Earlier this year, Singh was named to Technology Review’s 35 Under 35 list at the age of 24. Singh is exactly the kind of talent Yahoo should be trying to hold onto, but that is hard to do now that it is ceding search to Microsoft.
Singh is more diplomatic. Contacted for comment he confirms, “I’ll be starting next week actually. I’m really pumped but I’m going to definitely miss Yahoo! It’s been such a great company to work at but I just got this really bad case of the entrepreneurial bug.”
Yahoo Boss, which was largely Singh’s idea, is one of Yahoo’s most successful projects among developers. It “>opens up the power of Yahoo’s search index and algorithms to other sites. Yahoo Boss is a set of APIs and Web services which let people build their own customized search engines. (We use it for our search engine here at TechCrunch). Since it launched a year and a half ago, upwards of one billion search queries a month are powered through the service.
Prior to Yahoo, Singh cut his teeth at Microsoft Research in the lab of computer scientist Jim Gray, who was tragically lost at sea two years ago.
Singh already has some ideas about what he wants to work on at Sutter Hill, but he is keeping them close to his vest at this point. He does offer this: “There’s a line my mentor Jim Gray used to say to me all the time: ‘We gotta party on the data!’ I know it’s vague, but that’s exactly what I’m going to do.” Party on, dude.
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We like to keep an eye on the adoption of mobile video broadcasting applications around these parts. It’s a mighty competitive space, with Qik, Kyte, Flixwagon, Ustream and a number of others all taking a stab at what is essentially the same idea. While the idea as a whole has yet to really take off as something that everyone does, its one that just about everyone seems to appreciate once it’s explained to them. Therein lies the challenge: how do you tell people that such services exist?
One approach is to get it on the handsets right out of the box. If it’s hard to get them to come to you, why not go to them?
The only one of the lot we’ve seen do this so far is Qik, who managed to convince Nokia to pre-install Qik on all of their S60-based phones beginning in July. Today, they’ve announced a new factory-loading partner: Samsung.
After what Qik says was “months of rigorous testing and certifications”, Samsung is now pre-loading the application onto Omnia II handsets at the factory. Samsung managed to sell many millions of the first Omnia worldwide – if the sequel is anywhere near as successful, Qik ought to see a pretty good amount of growth in the coming weeks.
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Black Friday is just two days away. If you have what it takes to wake up at the crack of dawn, brave the crowds, and spot the best deals, there are plenty of savings to be had. Here’s a quick list of some of the best deals from the most popular product categories being offered by brick-and-mortar stores, followed by a few prestigious awards that have been given to various retailers.
Doorbuster deals have been marked with and asterisk and, where applicable, the next best non-doorbuster deal has been listed as well.
Best TV Deals
Best Netbook Deals
Best Notebook Deals
Best Desktop Deal
Best Blu-ray Deals
Best GPS Deal
Best Hard Drive Deals
Best Digital Camera Deals
Best Monitor Deals
With the best deals in the most popular product categories out of the way, we can now move on to the awards section of the program. Please hold your applause until all of the winners have been announced.
The “So… Are You Guys Actually Having a Sale?” Award
And the winner is… GameStop. Aside from a few anemic doorbuster deals, the store’s Black Friday ad is chock full of plenty of regularly-priced items. Wii Fit and Balance Board for $99? Gee, thanks.
The “Why the Hell Are You Opening So Early?” Award
And the winner is… Old Navy. No electronics deals to speak of other than getting Lego Rock Band for free with any $20 purchase but for some crazy-ass reason, the stores are opening at 3AM on Black Friday. Because the only thing better than being in an Old Navy store is being in an Old Navy store at 3AM and then having to kill time until all the other stores open.
The “Doors Will Probably Literally Get Busted” Award
And the winner is… Walmart. Just like every other year, the retail giant will be offering plenty of insane deals to plenty of insane people. If you’re planning on shopping at Walmart this Black Friday and you’re reading this, you are not insane. Everyone else around you will be, though. Not you. I don’t want any trouble. I’m just a guy with a keyboard.
The “Under the Radar” Award
And the winner is… Target. The store lulls everyone into complacency with everyday household items and then sweeps the 32-inch and 40-inch TV deal categories like a ninja, with a 32-inch LCD TV priced at $246 and a 40-inch 1080p doorbuster TV priced at $449. Well played, Target. Well played, indeed.
The “One-Stop Shop” Award
And the winner is… Best Buy. Pretty good all-around deals, plenty of video game deals (especially the Xbox 360 bundles), and 18-month interest-free financing on all purchases totaling $249 and up if you have a Best Buy card make the store a good option if you want to immerse yourself in the Black Friday madness for an hour or two before going back to bed.
Walmart is another worthy option, although Best Buy’s “everyone waits in line for a ticket to buy doorbusters so there’s no mayhem when the store opens” policy seems a little less chaotic than Walmart’s “holy crap I thought there’d be more cops here now who’s going to stop these crazies from ripping the doors off the hinges sweet jesus they’re just like living zombies except much faster and exponentially angrier” Black Friday sales of years past.
See more Black Friday ads here…
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I haven’t played the game yet, but it does strike me that the realism has completely gone. COD4 walked that line successfully, but it sounds like MW2 is (as fun as it may be) a collection of “wouldn’t it be cool if” set-pieces. Still, all the players will tell you that it’s the multiplayer that’s the real draw, and I’m completely out of the loop there. Time to go play some Excitebike!
As part of its push to go more social, Google has been attempting to unify its various account profiles into one Google Profile. And now it’s more useful. Google’s Brad Fitzpatrick has just tweeted out that Google Profiles can now be used as OpenIDs.
What this means is that you can sign into any site that accepts OpenID simply by using your Google Profile domain. Luckily, a few months ago Google started allowing these profiles to have vanity URLs, like /mgsiegler, instead of the previous /32090329039402903. Chris Messina, a huge proponent of the open web movement, has just sent out a picture of what signing in with OpenID via your Google Profile looks like (below).
Despite its good intentions, OpenID has yet to take off in mainstream usage. The problem, it seems, is largely about presentation. Most people have no idea which of their various accounts can be used as OpenIDs, or really even what OpenID is. Google backing it a bit more with these profiles obviously helps, but will it take OpenID mainstream? Probably not.
More interesting may be the second part of Fitzpatrick’s tweet. “Also, gmail webfinger declares that now too.” It’s not entirely clear what he means by that, but it would seem to suggest that we’re getting closer to being able to use our Gmail addresses as a web ID. WebFinger is a protocol being worked on by Fitzpatrick to allow you to attach information to your email address (in this case, you Gmail address), so it can be used as a solid means of identification.
Update: Kevin Marks (former Googler, now with BT) has pointed me to webfinger.org an example site built by Blaine Cook (formerly of Twitter). The site allows you to easily set up your Gmail account with Webfinger right now. As you can see in the example below from Cook’s account, many of the social networks Cook is a part of are pinned to his email address.
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Come early December, Oracle will meet with European Commission regulators to urge their approval of its merger with Sun Microsystems. “Two people with knowledge of the matter” tell Reuters that “Oracle has asked for a hearing which has been fixed for Dec. 10.”
Should make for an interesting meeting given Oracle’s refusal to take the EC’s concerns about the future of Sun’s MySQL database seriously. Certainly, it’s difficult to imagine Oracle (ORCL) caving to the Commission’s demands when it has criticized the group’s findings as a “profound misunderstanding” of the database market and open source.
And if not that, then what? Would Oracle abandon the deal instead? That too seems unlikely because it would mean delaying CEO Larry Ellison’s plan to transform Oracle into the next IBM (IBM). As Ellison said in October, “T. J. Watson’s IBM was the greatest company in the history of enterprise in America because its combination of hardware and software was running most of the enterprises on the planet. We think with the combination of Sun technology and Oracle technology we can succeed and beat IBM. That’s our goal.”
Given the EC’s concerns about the Sun (JAVA) acquisition and Oracle’s refusal to address them, what other option is there?
The nostalgic gamer — you know the type. Maybe you are the type (I’m definitely the type). The nostalgic gamer is in his or her late twenties to early thirties, was brought up on the Nintendo Entertainment System, and sometimes longs for the good old days when controllers featured only a few buttons (at most). Here’s a list of gift ideas for the nostalgic gamer.
EA Sports Madden 95/NHL 95 Plug and Play TV Game: $16 (Amazon.com)
I take this thing with me whenever I travel. It contains two of the greatest old-school Sega Genesis games of all time: Madden 95 and NHL 95. It plugs into any standard TV via white and yellow AV cables and this two-player version here is perfect for reliving the glory days of mid- to late-adolescence with an old buddy. For best results, have Pearl Jam’s “Ten” album playing in the background and sit on a beanbag if there’s one available.
ExciteBike: World Rally: $10 (Nintendo Wii/WiiWare)
Oh man, I downloaded this the other day and played it for about six hours straight. It’s ExciteBike, through and through, with the added bonus of online multiplayer and all new graphics. The game itself is still as simple-yet-addicting as ever, you can still build your own tracks, and the $10 price tag isn’t too bad considering the multiplayer feature augments the otherwise short single player mode with nearly infinite replay value.
Portable Handheld Emulator: Starting at around $30
Nothing gets a nostalgic gamer excited like the idea of taking old school games everywhere and, thankfully, there are plenty of portable emulation machines on the market. From the very-reasonable NES emulator reviewed here, to the slightly-more-expensive Genesis emulator reviewed here, you should be able to find an emulator for most older systems for under $50.
The ultimate portable, perhaps, would be the GP2X Wiz, a $180 handheld that runs just about every available retro system available and is backed by a vibrant community of users. Nobody beats the Wiz.
Retro Duo Twin Video Game System: $43.99 (Amazon.com)
If your favorite gamer hasn’t had the heart to sell, donate, or toss a single NES or SNES game cartridge despite numerous advancements in the magical field of PC-based emulation, then this Retro Duo console is a no-brainer. It’s cheap, too!
Less than $50 for a console that plays NES and SNES games and includes two controllers? There’s not much to consider there – it’s pretty much an impulse buy.
USB NES Controller: $29.99 (ThinkGeek.com)
Playing old emulated NES games using anything other than an original controller just feels so… wrong. But if you don’t have the tinkering prowess to convert an original NES game pad into a USB version that can be used with your computer, you still have options. The $30 RetroLink USB gamepad takes care of the dirty work for you, allowing you to play those old NES games the way the gaming gods intended.
Apple has trained iPhone owners to enjoy paying for digital content more than the general online population, a survey suggests.
Media law firm Olswang on Wednesday published its 2009 Convergence Survey, which analyzed e-shopping trends among iPhone owners and general online consumers. Apple enthusiast blog 9to5Mac summarizes the findings regarding the iPhone demographic:
Those numbers are quite high when stacked against the figures from the general online population surveyed:
Olswang found these numbers about the iPhone demographic to be “striking,” but they are what you’d expect. The App Store made purchasing apps incredibly easy, and many of the high quality apps are dirt cheap.
Above all, my view is that the App Store, which serves over 100,000 apps, has conditioned us to demand more and more from a single device. In turn we’re evolving into a demographic that craves more from the digital as opposed to the physical.
These numbers are quite striking indeed. And it suggests the rumored Apple touchscreen tablet, which several independent reports have said will focus on e-reader functionality, does have potential to resuscitate the dying publishing industry — because there would most likely be a large amount of overlap between the iPhone and “iTablet” demographics.
Meanwhile, a recent report from The New York Times cites sources who say a consortium of magazine publishers are jointly planning to build an “online newsstand” — a “new iTunes for magazines.” It would involve publications repurposing their print content into multiple digital formats to be sold through a new company, sources told NY Times. If that’s the case, today’s survey suggests they’ll find a friendlier reception among iPhone users than among the general population.
See Also:
 UberGizmo (blog) | Google Launches Mobile Movie Search App ChannelWeb By Stefanie Hoffman, channelweb Google is launching a minor upgrade but one that enables users armed with only a mobile phone to make a last minute getaway to the movies with a new movie search feature for the iphone, Palm webos or Android-powered ... Google Improves Mobile Movie Search Gameloft does a backflip, supports next generation Android phones admob pegs Android as No. 2 mobile Web platform in the US |
Black Friday is almost here. It's a great time to score some deals, but don't go at it willy-nilly. Follow these 5 simple Black Friday rules to avoid the scams and wasting time.
By Marisa Taylor, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
The day after Thanksgiving is one of the biggest shopping days of the year and marks the official beginning of the holiday retail season.
So where can you find the Black Friday deals? Google (GOOG) the term and a host of compilation sites pop up, many of which began posting information a month ago to alert customers to the best deals.
Black Friday Ads, for example, publishes daily updates featuring the best deals on electronics across the Web. SlickDeals.net categorizes offers by retailer, including major ones like Amazon.com (AMZN), Best Buy (BBY), Macy’s and Target, and the number of deals available at each one. BlackFriday.info allows shoppers to create a Black Friday shopping list and specifies which deals are online-only.
Some sites offer a highly organized look at what could otherwise be a jumble of information. DealsVista has created a deals spreadsheet that can be viewed online or downloaded, and Shoppers Shop created an online table of deals that includes start and end dates.
Read the rest of this post on the original site
Black Friday is almost here. It’s a great time to score some deals, but don’t go at it willy-nilly. Follow these 5 simple Black Friday rules to avoid the scams and wasting time.
What we call doorbusters, stores call loss leaders. These items are heavily advertised and retailers will lose money on them. Because of this, the doorbuster items are generally older products repackaged as something new or current models stripped down to the bare essentials.
Take a look the advertised doorbusters this year. Best Buy has a notebook for $197, but it’s built around a Celeron CPU. Walmart has a $78 Magnavox Blu-ray player, but is only Profile 1.1 compatible. These are older items with a new model number. They will probably work, but you’re not getting a gadget worth your time.
The goal of these doorbusters is to draw in people that will hopefully buy other merchandise and extended warranties.
Just because it’s Black Friday, it doesn’t mean everything is on sale. In fact, a lot of retail stores mark up items from their standard price hoping to squeeze a little extra out of unknowing shoppers brought in by the doorbuster items. Other retailers like jewelery or specialty stores will not offer any additional discounts at all.
Black Friday isn’t a day for impulse shopping. It’s a day that needs to be carefully planned. Know what you are buying and avoid everything else.
Half the fun of Black Friday is the experience of waking up at 3 a.m. and standing in line at Target for a mini fridge that’s $15 off. Fine, but if you’re sane, you’ll shop the deals available now or wait until Cyber Monday instead when online retailers put up their best sales.
BlackFriday.info has all of the Black Friday deals listed. Spend some time there and ensure that you’re not wasting your time on Friday morning. For instance, West Marine has the same deal right now on the Garmin nuvi 265WT GPS that Radio Shack will make you wait in line for on Black Friday. Staples is also advertising the Sony Reader Pocket Edition for $199 for Black Friday; it can be had for less online now. Shop around.
Shop in groups of three. Two people rush around the store while one person stands in the long line. This works especially well if you’re not the first person in the store. Generally Black Friday involves 5 minutes of crazy shopping and 5 hours of waiting to check out. With this strategy you can get in and out of the store quickly.
Black Friday can be scary. Children and small men often get trampled by large women rushing to score special deals. Parking lots are filled with NASCAR drivers and everyone is hopped up on coffee and Red Bull. The best thing to do is sleep right through it, but if you must shop, please be nice.
Smile at the cashier. He doesn’t want to be there and hates you for perpetuating the tradition. Smile at other shoppers too because you are all in this together. If you must shove someone out of the way to grab the last $79 GPS at Radio shack, do it gently.
Remember the iTwinge, that crazy slide-on plastic sheath for the iPhone that would give you a physical keyboard by overlaying real buttons on top of the virtual ones? This is just like that, except it’s clear, rather than opaque black. Oh, and it requires you to stick a bunch of adhesive crap all over your iPhone.
Remember the iTwinge, that crazy slide-on plastic sheath for the iPhone that would give you a physical keyboard by overlaying real buttons on top of the virtual ones? The 4iThumbs keypad is just like that, except it’s clear, rather than opaque black. Oh, and it requires you to stick a bunch of adhesive crap all over your iPhone.
Good idea? Bad idea? I’ll leave that call up to you – I’m too distracted by their waaaay cheesy commercial (starring not-Justin-Long and not-John-Hodgeman) to think about it. Word? Word. One more video after the jump.
[Via EngadgetMobile]
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 DailyTech | EU hearing on Oracle, Sun deal on Dec 10 - sources Reuters BRUSSELS, Nov 25 (Reuters) - US software company Oracle (ORCL.O) will present to European Union regulators on Dec. 10 its case for buying computer maker Sun Microsystems (JAVA.O), two people with knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday. ... US Senators Ask EC to Sanction Oracle Buyout of Sun US Senators Go to Bat for Oracle, Sun Merger Senators Urge EU To Finish Oracle Sun Probe |
One of the most popular paid photo apps for the iPhone, Snapture (iTunes link) just got a few upgrades. The new features include the ability to share photos on either Twitter or Facebook, a new tap-to-focus capability, and different color modes (black & white, sepia, negative). Posting to Facebook or Twitter should be standard for any photo app. It instantly makes the photo app social.
The Snapture app, which costs $1.99, shows you the picture you just took in a small picture-in-picture window so that you don’t have to go to the camera roll to see if it’s any good. It also offers multi-shot mode and pinch-to-zoom. And you can share by email as well.
Snapture has already been downloaded more than 700,000 times (much of that from when it was a free jailbroken app), which is not bad for a slightly better mousetrap.
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![Screen shot 2009-11-25 at [ November 25 ] 10.16.53 AM](http://www.mobilecrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Screen-shot-2009-11-25-at-November-25-10.16.53-AM.png "Screen shot 2009-11-25 at [ November 25 ] 10.16.53 AM")
This week, people are hungry for three things: turkey, stuffing, and holiday sales. It’s a bit unlikely that EA Mobile can deliver either of the first two, but they’ve come through on that last one. From today through 11/29, EA Mobile is dropping the price on around 15 of the iPhone games, with discounts coming in at around 30-50% off. This’ll probably be the cheapest way to pick up the iPhone version of Rock Band for a few weeks at least – so if there’s interest there, strike while the iron is hot.
Update: We just got word that Gameloft is also doing a T-day sale.
Check out the sales list after the jump.
List via Into Mobile
The following Gameloft games have been lopped down to $0.99:
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 Pocket-lint.com | TiVo: Glass Half-Full or Half-Empty? BusinessWeek Digital video recording pioneer TiVo just can't seem to shake its good news, bad news reputation. Investors have found a lot to like about TiVo this year, bidding its stock up more than 50% to more than $10 a share. It has struck deals to add its ... Google,Virgin Media deals command TiVo spotlight UPDATE 2-TiVo loss matches expectations tivo Loss Is Narrower Than Expected |
FROM GAMERTELL - 103,524 DSi LLs were sold in its first two days on the market in Japan. In comparison, only 28,725 PSPgos were sold the day it debuted in Japan.
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Apple’s new 27-inch iMac is a speed demon, especially the model shipping with the new Core i7 processor. Even better, the latest iMacs ship with the new Magic Mouse, Apple’s first single-button mouse that gets it right thanks to the powers of multitouch.
Wired.com’s Mike Calore is mesmerized with his Core i7-powered iMac. He gave it a rating of 8 out of 10:
Put one of Apple’s new 27-inch Core i7 iMacs on your desk, and you run the risk of alienating yourself from your friends, co-workers and loved ones.
Sure, the sheer speed of the thing is amazing — the new Core i7 processor is outrageously fast — but it’s the massive screen that will turn your brain into a gob of HD-saturated jelly. Seriously. The iMac’s screen is so freaking huge, so bright and so crisp, it will render you dumb with child-like glee. You’ll just want to sit there and watch movies all day and night.
And yours truly was a fan of the Magic Mouse. I think it’s the first Apple mouse that doesn’t suck. (I wasn’t a fan of the Mighty Mouse because of its gunk-collecting trackball.) I gave it a 7 out of 10, knocking off a few points because of the lack of Exposé functionality:
The Magic Mouse ditches the lozenge-shaped body and gunk-collecting trackball of its predecessor (the Mighty Mouse) in favor of a curvy wedge shape with a fully touch-sensitive housing. The new form factor fits more naturally in your hand than previous Apple mice — enough so to erase the painful memories you have of that atrocious hockey-puck mouse from the ’90s.
….
As is often the case, these gains come with loss, too. The Mighty Mouse had a clickable scroll wheel and two squeeze sensors on the side that could each trigger the Exposé and Spaces tools for desktop management. The Magic Mouse doesn’t have any built-in gestures for Exposé, which seems like a wasted opportunity.
Want the full gist? See Mike’s full review of the iMac and my writeup of the Magic Mouse at the Wired Reviews site.
See Also:
Photo: Mike Calore/Wired.com
Wired’s wish list is our annual roundup of the gadgets, appliances, accessories and toys that we want: 100 of the year’s coolest, most interesting, most exciting products.
The product editors of Wired put together this list, which appears in our December issue. But this year, thanks to our sponsors, you can also get some of the stuff from our wish list without paying a dime of your own money.
All you have to do is enter the One Wired Wish contest, and you’ll have a chance to win a $10,000 prize package, including these cool prizes:
* BlueLounge StudioDesk
* BuckyBalls
* Casa Bugatti Vera Electric Kettle
* Cuisinart Vertical Rotisserie
* Dyson Air Multiplier Fan
* Fuego Element Grill
* JVC LT-42WX70 HDTV
* Kästle FX 84 Skis
* Kensington SlimBlade Trackball
* McIntosh MXA60
* Powermat Cordless Charger
* Seagate Replica Hard Drive
* Shure SRH440 Headphones
* Spot Personal Tracker
Visit the Wired Store: www.wired.com/wiredstore
View the full sweepstakes rules and regulations.
Want to know what all those cool things are? Click through the gallery here for photos of the wish-list prize package — or head over to Wish List 2009 to see all 100 glorious products.
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So many staffers stopped by to gawk at this laptop desk that we thought it was giving away liquor. It wasn’t (we checked). The clean, understated look is what made everyone pause — and that’s before they discovered the sliding center panel. Move it back to reveal a space for hiding your power strip, cables, or, of course, booze.
$600 • bluelounge.com
By Nathan Becker, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
Internet researcher comScore (SCOR) said consumers spent more shopping online in the first 22 days of the holiday season than they did during the same period last year.
But even though they are expected to spend more this season than during last year’s downtrodden holiday season, consumers are likely to keep their online spending tempered, the group said.
ComScore said consumers spent $8.21 billion online from Nov. 1-22, a 2 percent jump from the same period a year earlier. It expects the total for both November and December to reach $28.8 billion, a 3 percent gain from last year’s holiday season. Results fell 3 percent last year and comScore noted prior-years growth was 20 percent or higher.
“Online spending this holiday season will likely be tempered by the stark reality of 10 percent unemployment and less disposable income in many consumers’ wallets,” said comScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni.
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 Telegraph.co.uk | 'Godfather of Spam' Ralsky Gets 51 Months in Prison PC Magazine Four men, including a 64-year-old Michigan resident known as the "Godfather of Spam," were sentenced to several years in prison Tuesday for conspiring to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and violate federal Can-Spam legislation. ... 'Godfather Of Spam' Hit With Four-Year Prison Sentence Security Fix Brian Krebs Spam King Gets More Than Four Years |
As incongruous as it might seem, Apple’s iPhone is headed to the shelves of Tesco, the U.K. supermarket chain.
The retailer, which offers cell service through its Tesco Mobile joint venture with O2, will begin selling Apple’s super-smartphone “shortly” through its Tesco Phone Shops and online via Tesco Direct. Said a spokesperson for the company: “We would love to get it in our stores before Christmas and would love to bring a bit of Tesco value to the iPhone and offer something very different to what is out there.”
Sounds like the U.K. can expect a bit of an iPhone price war in the next few months. A nice move for Apple (AAPL), which will obviously benefit from the increase in distribution and the resulting sales.
If you’re like me, you’ve got a fair number of family and friends who don’t quite share the same level of enthusiasm for technology as you. But the thought of buying someone a gift that wasn’t a gadget? Insanity. Pure insanity. In that spirit, here’s a list of products that ought to make easy-to-use gifts for the technologically ambivalent in your life.
Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile
Quickly becoming the place to buy cellphones on the cheap, Walmart is bringing its low-cost ways to the weary cell phone buyer. One has to wonder about some of the deals on their site offering up to $100 to take home some very decent phones. Have they gone too far?
Walmart will send you a check for $100 after you agree to a two year contract with T-Mobile on their LetsTalk site. Is the Sidekick that bad a phone? Or is it the recent trouble Microsoft ran into with Sidekick owner information?
The phone was launched back in 2007, and only received 3 out of five stars for most reviews. The keyboard isn’t fantastic and it is a bit chunky by today’s standards. It is probably a safe bet that the incident that involved user data being lost is not likely to happen again.
This BlackBerry, first sold back in 2008 might be an older model, but it is one of the best. Featuring GPS, 2.0 mp camera and of course, the great BlackBerry messaging service. Getting paid to bring this one home is icing on the cake.
While there are other phones that offer you a bounty to order them, there are many that are free as well. Phones like the original BlackBerry Bold, considered to be the best BlackBerry ever by many, Samsung Instinct and lots more. If you are looking for a new mobile phone this holiday season, check out Walmart’s LetsTalk site.
Product Page: [Walmart]
Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
By Russell Garland, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
What’s Twitter Inc. worth?
Venture investors valued the social networking start-up at $1.13 billion in its most recent financing round in September. Some holders of common stock think it’s worth even more–$1.3 billion. But NYPPEX LLC, a Greenwich, Conn.-based firm that advises buyers and sellers of private company shares on the secondary market, pegs Twitter’s worth at $474 million based on its paltry revenue. And institutional buyers want a big discount, valuing the company at $135 million.
NYPPEX, which includes these valuations in a report it is releasing to clients Wednesday, also believes Facebook Inc. common stock is overpriced, but not by as much as Twitter’s, while LinkedIn Corp. is somewhat undervalued. “Caveat emptor” clearly should be the motto of anyone venturing into this market. “We believe higher industry standards may be needed for research disclosures and price transparency to protect investors,” NYPPEX says.
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Section: Audio, Web, Downloads
Everyone loves to get something for free, and for a limited time you can do just that. This deal will score you three free MP3 downloads from Amazon MP3 and is available until the end of November.
Thankfully this offer is also easy to take advantage of, all you need to do is visit Amazon (link below) and follow the three easy steps. Actually the hardest part here is deciding which three tracks you want to download.
Read [Amazon] Via [Twitter @amazonmp3]
Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
Last month I told you about Hot Potato, one of the buzziest start-ups in the very buzzy “real time” sector. Now you can check out the service yourself. But not really.
The New York-based service opened its doors last week, but it won’t really kick into gear until Apple (AAPL) signs off on its iPhone app, and that’s taking a bit longer than the company expected. Founder Justin Shaffer still thinks he’ll be up and running on Apple’s platform in a few days, but until then, you can check out this video interview I shot with him yesterday, where you can get a sense of how the app will work.
Or if you’re impatient, here it is in a nutshell: The service is supposed to let users converse in real-time about “events”–whether a football game, business conference or maybe even a really good house party.
You can already do that on Twitter and Facebook, but the pitch is that Hot Potato will help “curate” the chatter, so you will end up talking to both your friends and interesting people you don’t know–and that’s something Twitter and Facebook don’t do well right now.
If it works, there are some obvious advertising/sponsorship opportunities available for the service: The NFL could sponsor chatter about its games, for instance. Or someone who isn’t related to the football league could sponsor chatter about the games–since this is user-generated content in its purest form, Hot Potato isn’t required to get the go-ahead from anyone before it creates a conversational stream.
In any case, Hot Potato now has a pile of money to help it figure this stuff out. Last week, the company closed its first funding round of $1.4 million (I had originally reported that it was raising “about $1 million”), and in addition to VC backers First Round Capital and RRE Ventures, the start-up has an array of high-profile angel investors who have pitched in.
Here’s the roster: Super-angel investor Ron Conway; real-time start-up incubator Betaworks; Huffington Post co-founder Ken Lerer and his son Ben Lerer, who runs Thrillist; New York Observer owner Jared Kushner and his brother, Josh Kushner; ZelnickMedia’s Strauss Zelnick; Hunch and Founder Collective co-founder Chris Dixon; About.com co-founder Scott Kurnit; Facebook executive (and Apple vet) Dave Morin; Boxee’s Zach Klein; angel investor Allen Morgan; and entrepreneurs and investors Scott and Cyan Banister.
A year ago, when Time Warner Cable and Viacom sparred over renewal fees, Viacom (VIA) took out ads asking consumers for sympathy. Today, faced with the prospect of similar fights with the likes of News Corp. and Scripps (SSP), Time Warner Cable (TWC) is launching its own media salvo.
The cable provider is promoting a “Roll Over Or Get Tough” campaign, which asks consumers to…well, it doesn’t ask them to do anything, really. But there is a Web site where the company makes its case–its programming partners want more money, because that’s what they always want–and says that at some point, consumers will be able to “vote” on…something.
The thing is, the cable providers are at least half right: Cable programmers do want more money, because that’s what they always want. And now broadcasters like CBS (CBS) and News Corp.’s (NWS) Fox, which traditionally haven’t been paid for their programming–at least not officially–want money, too.
But boy oh boy, is it going to be hard to gin up sympathy for the cable guys. When’s the last time you felt anything remotely warm and fuzzy toward your local operator, which may well have an effective monopoly in your neighborhood, and certainly acts like someone who has a monopoly?
And in any case, it’s hard to see what consumers are expected to do here: Left to their own devices, they might well elect to pay for just a handful of cable channels they want instead of subscribing to dozens of ones they never, ever, watch. That might well drive down cable bills, dramatically. Which is why programmers and providers don’t want that to happen.
Recently, I have been toying with experimental packing. A suitcase with all the clothes, cables and computers layered neatly inside is a good idea right up until you open the lid to check you packed something. Then it all goes wrong.
My latest method is to first layer and then tightly roll clothes into a few fat cylinders secured with ball-bungees. This keeps them wrinkle-free and arranges them into easily removable blocks. That way you can hunt around inside your bag for gizmos and the clothes stay in place. I call this method The Tetris.
Spacepak is similar, only you get to buy new, cool luggage gear. The modular system comes in various sizes for suits, shoes and even lingerie, and the airtight, watertight bags have one-way valves so you can squish them down to remove air and it won’t come back in. The bags are split with a moving, central sheet, so you wear clothes from the clean side return them to the dirty side, a very handy feature on its own.
The best, though, is just how tidy this all looks, letting you live out of a suitcase without turning your hotel room into badly-run laundromat. John Brownlee, ex-Wired and Boing Boing Gadgets blogger, and good friend, could have done with a set of these on his recent visit. After bare minutes left alone in the Lady’s room, which he borrowed for his stay, every single surface was covered with his junk (and a fine dusting of pipe tobacco). If you ever wonder what goes on inside a man’s twisted mind, take a look at his bedroom. $30-$100.
Product page [SpacePak via Uncrate]
My first thought on seeing the rather raggedy Multi-Format LED Display Watch was “that thing looks hand made”. Not hand made in the sense of a Vertu phone, put together by craftsmen one precision engineered bearing at a time, but home made as in “A bit of gaffer tape should hold that together OK.”
Reading further I discovered that the watch is in fact “hand assembled”, put together from aluminum and acrylic (not two materials usually associated with scratch-free durability). But what this $150 special-edition lacks in looks and materials choice, it makes up for in geek-awesomeness, or geeksomeness. Tap the watch to light the glowing red LEDs, and tap again to switch displays. Not only is there boring old normal time, you can also view the hour in binary, octal and hexadecimal.
There’s something oddly alluring about this device, with its bolt-on face, skinny leather strap, hard to understand nature and almost-but-not-quite-waterproof spec. If a geek was somehow shrunken and turned into a watch, this is what he would look like.
ThinkGeek :: Multi-Format LED Display Watch
“>Product page [ThinkGeek]
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Contract law in the U.S. has a defense to this, namely a doctrine where
any contract that is so manifestly unjust so as to shock the conscience
will not be enforced. The problem is that like all tech law, case law
is all over the place.
Here's the thing about expertise: it's hard to define. It may be
possible for a small group of relatively homogenous people to agree on
who is and isn't an expert, but getting millions of people to do so is
practically impossible. The Britannica uses a learned editorial board to
decide who will write its entries and who will review them.
I have something to admit: I’ve never been a big extension guy. When I was still using Firefox, I liked them, but the downside, browser bloat, turned me away. But now that we’re starting to see the first steps of true extension support in Chrome, I think I could be swayed.
But the best part of Aviary’s extension is that it doesn’t slow down Chrome. While the actual Aviary editor takes up some of your CPU, the extension itself ads no bloat to the regular browsing experience. I actually have three extension installed right now and none are slowing Chrome (Chromium) at all. This gives me great hope.
Video game online network 
Best Buy has announced it will offer a $197 laptop as one of its Black Friday deals. The laptop, an HP G60-507DX, usually retails for $549.99. It features an Intel Celeron 900 processor, 2GB memory, 15-inch screen, a 160GB hard drive and runs Windows 7. It is already being featured in Best Buy’s preview ads and in television commercials. In addition to this new deal, Best Buy said it plans to offer what it dubs “the most competitive Windows 7 netbook deal ever” and special Limited Edition Dell netbooks designed by leading artists from around the world. They will be individually numbered by each artist. Other Best Buy Black Friday deals include the Palm Pre for $79, the Sprint MiFi for free, and 5 Android smartphones for $99 each.