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Report: FBI probes hacker attack on Citigroup (AP)AP - The FBI is investigating a hacker attack on Citigroup Inc. that led to the theft of tens of millions of dollars, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 22 Dec 2009 | 3:33 am The App Store Forgets It’s Not The Android Market, Temporarily Sells NES Emulator
As stringent (and arguably overzealous) as Apple’s App review policy is, things still slip through the cracks from time to time. I mean, who can forget the infamous baby shaking simulator slip-up? The latest bit of contraband to hit the App Store isn’t nearly as offensive – that is, unless you’re Nintendo. Earlier today, an application called “Nescaline” popped up on the App Store. Everything about the application, from the name, to the copyrighted icon, to the very functionality of the application rang of something that Apple would generally deny without batting an eye.. and yet, there it was – for all of one day, at least. Read the rest of this post at MobileCrunch >> Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors
Source: TechCrunch | 22 Dec 2009 | 3:28 am The App Store Forgets It’s Not The Android Market, Temporarily Sells NES Emulator
As stringent (and arguably overzealous) as Apple’s App review policy is, things still slip through the cracks from time to time. I mean, who can forget the infamous baby shaking simulator slip-up? The latest bit of contraband to hit the App Store isn’t nearly as offensive – that is, unless you’re Nintendo. Earlier today, an application called “Nescaline” popped up on the App Store. Everything about the application, from the name, to the copyrighted icon, to the very functionality of the application rang of something that Apple would generally deny without batting an eye.. and yet, there it was – for all of one day, at least.
You see, Nescaline is an emulator of 1985’s living room king, the Nintendo Entertainment System. By duplicating the functionality of the system’s hardware in software form, Nescaline would allow you to play NES games on your iPhone. You’re stuck with slightly frustrating touchscreen controls instead of the sharp-cornered, palm-destroying original controller – but hey, it was old school gaming on the go.
The legality of applications of this sort are endlessly debated, and remain in a bit of a legal gray area. Apple avoids any potential copyright battles by banning “executable code”, a term just vague enough to work wherever its convenient. They’ve thus far denied all emulator submissions, including those that had their licensing in order. If you want an emulator on the iPhone, you’ll have to jailbreak first. Apple’s negative stance on emulators is something that fans of Android love to poke fun at, considering that emulators are amongst the most popular on Google’s platform. While Google’s not about to come out and officially support console emulation, the only apps they won’t sell are those that are malicious, explicitly illegal, or adult in nature – none of which fits the bill for most emulators. Nescaline went up on the App Store early this morning, and was pulled by the end of the night. Assuming that this was an accident and not some App Store reviewer’s way of resigning, we’re left wondering: how’d this happen? The app’s description clearly explains everything – and even if they didn’t read a word of that, the app’s icon was a friggin’ Super Mario mushroom. Maybe the “Approve” and “Deny” buttons are just right next to each other.
Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0
Source: Gizmodo | 22 Dec 2009 | 3:11 am Texting more dangerous than talking while driving - The Money Times
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 22 Dec 2009 | 3:01 am RPT-India Reliance's Lyondell buy seen unlikely in 2009MUMBAI, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Indian energy major Reliance Industries' bid to buy bankrupt petrochemicals firm LyondellBasell [ACCEIN.UL] is unlikely to result in a deal in 2009 as the target evaluates its...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 22 Dec 2009 | 3:01 am China to require Internet domain name registration (Reuters)Reuters - China has issued new Internet regulations, including what appears to be an effort to create a "whitelist" of approved websites that could potentially place much of the Internet off-limits to Chinese readers.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 22 Dec 2009 | 2:58 am China to require Internet domain name registrationBEIJING (Reuters) - China has issued new Internet regulations, including what appears to be an effort to create a "whitelist" of approved websites that could potentially place much of the...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 22 Dec 2009 | 2:58 am The BoomTown Movin'-on-Up Tour of Twitter's New San Francisco HQ [BoomTown]
Why Twitter invited BoomTown back for another visit to its latest HQ after my last one, I will never know. But the masters of microblogging did and here is my video of the lovely new digs in San Francisco. Designed by CEO Evan Williams’ wife Sara, it is an understated, classy and very hip–but definitely luxe–affair, with cream, celadon, lemongrass and azure colors among the soothing colors. It also broadcasts green living, as long as there is also a pricey espresso machine present and accounted for. Well, Twitter has raised $155 million in funding, so it is probably good for it. A little over 100 employees toil–although it’s pretty pleasant toiling, with room for about 200 more–in offices most recently occupied by the now-banished Bebo social networking site, owned by AOL (AOL). Well, the karma of that Web 2.0 stumble seems to have been feng-shuied out completely, as you will see below. In fact, Twitter seems to be giving Google (GOOG) a run for its money in workplaces that treat its workforce well, as well as Facebook’s new HQ, which I toured this summer. Some highlights include the same freaky green pair of deer from Twitter’s smaller first HQ nearby, a Twitter employee I dubbed “Snuggie Boy,” a tricked-out DJ booth, too many giant “war rooms” to count, more bird images than that, a spate of comfy couches and a very odd but compelling stool made of wood dowels. And, of course, a free and tasty organic lunch, which is de rigeur for Internet companies. Oh, before I forget, also Twitter employees. The person who drew the short straw to be my tour guide was Jenna Sampson, Twitter PR–oops, Communications–staffer. She used to work for Flickr at Yahoo (YHOO), by the way, so Sampson is definitely moving on up to a deluxe HQ in the sky. I will post a video interview I did with Twitter Co-founder Biz Stone later today, as well as any answers he will give on people who tweeted me questions. Until then, here’s the tour video: [ See post to watch video ] And here is my favorite version of the classic television theme song, “Movin’ on Up,” from “The Jeffersons,” appropriately done by Rhett and Link with an Apple (AAPL) iPhone Leaf Trombone app:
Source: Gizmodo | 22 Dec 2009 | 2:51 am Which of These Male Avatars Should Iris Pick For Her Top Ten Hot List? (Semifinals, Round 1)Now that Iris Ophelia has named the 30 semi-finalists for Hottest Second Life Male Avatar of 2009, help her select the final ten in a survey with three voting rounds, starting with these ten. When making...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 22 Dec 2009 | 2:40 am CBS and Walt Disney may join Apple TV venture -WSJDec 22 (Reuters) - Apple's plan of offering television subscription via the Internet might receive a boost with U.S. media companies CBS and Walt Disney's probable participation in the venture, the...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 22 Dec 2009 | 2:23 am UPDATE 2-Actelion sees $80 million hit from ruling* Arbitration panel ruled unit CoTherix to pay $91 millionSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 22 Dec 2009 | 2:17 am Voice May Join Google's Enterprise LineupGrandCentral, which Google acquired in 2007, relaunched as Google Voice way back in March. It's still technically in private beta, but invitations aren't all that hard to find. From what we've heard,...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 22 Dec 2009 | 2:09 am Voice May Join Google’s Enterprise Lineup
From what we’ve heard, Google is very seriously planning to add a version of the Google Voice product to its Apps/Office suite of applications for businesses. Currently, businesses are offered enterprise versions of Google Docs (online Office), Gmail, calendar and other applications. More than 2 million businesses and 20 million people use Google Apps. Google Voice gives users a phone number that they can then redirect to any phone – mobile, landline, VoIP, etc. My Google Voice number rings my home Vonage line and multiple mobile phones simultaneously. And the Android Google Voice application effectively takes over the phone for all outbound calls and text messages, too. The consumer service will supposedly launch publicly sometime early next year. But an enterprise version, which will act as a virtual phone system for small businesses, may come soon after. Small businesses currently have a variety of choices for their phone system. Regular phone service is just one of those options. Services like Ring Central, which is funded by Khosla Ventures, Sequoia Capital and DAG Ventures, offers a robust virtual phone system for businesses. Pricing ranges from $50/month. Vonage and others also offer business-focused products. There’s no reason for Google not to enter the enterprise phone business. There’s lots of potential revenue there from tens of millions of small businesses. And they are already selling Google Apps into those businesses. A simple version of the service would give a company a single phone number. An automated operator would then direct calls via an extension to employee phones (home business lines, mobile phones, whatever). Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors
Source: TechCrunch | 22 Dec 2009 | 2:09 am Your iPhone Just Called: Your Blood-Sugar Is High [Voices]By Joseph De Avila, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal Earlier this year, Mike Dionne signed up for Polka, a smart-phone application that lets him use his iPhone to keep tabs on the health of his elderly father, who lives 80 miles away. It tracks his dad’s numerous doctors’ appointments, his insulin and medication schedule and other health information. Then in August, a new doctor examining Mr. Dionne’s father detected an aneurysm, something the son was able to confirm from afar. Over the phone, Mr. Dionne consulted Polka, the application he and his siblings maintain on behalf of their father, and was able to tell the doctor when the aneurysm was first diagnosed, by which doctor and the last recorded size. “Before this, all I had was a note that was stuck in a paper file,” says the younger Mr. Dionne, a 60-year-old retiree from West Barnstable, Mass. “Now the family has the same knowledge base for some consistency.” Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 22 Dec 2009 | 2:00 am ChinaEdu Corporation Receives Awards at Tencent China Education Industry ReviewSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 22 Dec 2009 | 2:00 am LG and Sprint launching something at CES – but what?
Call us crazy, but we don’t think you’d host a “Mobile Launch Party” at CES unless you were planning.. you know, a mobile launch of some sort – and when it comes to mobile launches, companies generally don’t co-host parties unless they’re launching a phone together. So when we get a heads up letting us know that Sprint and LG will be throwing a party at CES, it’s a pretty clear sign that somethings up. While we can’t be 100% sure what they’re launching, we can make some pretty well educated guesses. Read the rest of this post at MobileCrunch >>
Source: CrunchGear | 22 Dec 2009 | 1:54 am White House picks new cyber coordinator (AP)AP - The White House has tapped a corporate cyber security expert and former Bush administration official to lead the effort to shore up the country's computer networks and better coordinate with companies that operate 80 percent of those critical systems.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 22 Dec 2009 | 1:53 am Two China web firms set up fund for Hollywood filmsSHANGHAI, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Chinese Internet portal firm Sohu and video sharing firm Ku6 said on Tuesday they will set up a fund to buy licences to show Hollywood movies and television shows on their...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 22 Dec 2009 | 1:51 am LG and Sprint launching something at CES – but what?
Call us crazy, but we don’t think you’d host a “Mobile Launch Party” at CES unless you were planning.. you know, a mobile launch of some sort – and when it comes to mobile launches, companies generally don’t co-host parties unless they’re launching a phone together. So when we get a heads up letting us know that Sprint and LG will be throwing a party at CES, it’s a pretty clear sign that somethings up. While we can’t be 100% sure what they’re launching, we can make some pretty well educated guesses.
What it might be, but probably isn’t: LG and Sprint are pitching the party under the tagline of “Celebrate Style”. When it comes to LG phones, it doesn’t get much more stylish than their Prada line. Fortunately for us, they’ve already confirmed a Prada III is in the works. Celebrities, lavish parties, style – it all just fits together too well. Alas, the fact that Sprint is involved makes it significantly less likely. If Sprint were to carry the Prada phone, it’d be the first time any of the Prada line appeared in CDMA form — not to mention it’d be the first time a Prada phone appeared on a US carrier, period. What it might be, and probably is: The LG Lotus 2. We scooped all the details on the LG Lotus 2 back in October. Launching in January? Check. Heading for Sprint? Yep. Whether or not you think the original Lotus was all that stylish, Sprint certainly does; right out of the first line of the original press release:
So there you have it, folks. Until further evidence arises, consider our bets hedged on Sprint/LG launching the Lotus 2 at CES. Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies
Source: MobileCrunch | 22 Dec 2009 | 1:50 am UPDATE 1-Ratiopharm to beat own expectations for 2009* Previously expected 2009 EBITDA of more than 200 mln eurSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 22 Dec 2009 | 1:47 am UPDATE 1-Ratiopharm to beat own expectations for 2009* Previously expected 2009 EBITDA of more than 200 mln eurSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 22 Dec 2009 | 1:47 am Viral Video: Alyssa Milano Photoshopped into Snooki of "Jersey Shore" [BoomTown]
Whatever you think of “Jersey Shore,” the blithely offensive reality television show on MTV, its broad-brush depiction of Italian-Americans makes it perfect for online video spoofing. Thus, here is the best of them from Funny or Die. It’s a clever technology-fueled transformation of actress Alyssa Milano into Snooki, the program’s dumb-as-a-box-of-hammers “guidette.” See here (as well as another funny Snooki segment from this week on “Saturday Night Live”):
Source: All Things Digital | 22 Dec 2009 | 1:40 am President Obama Gets His H1N1 ShotOn Monday, President Obama said that he and his wife Michelle had "just got the shots." The White House later confirmed that the Obama family were now all immunized against the H1N1 virus (Official White House photo by Pete Souza) ...Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 22 Dec 2009 | 1:35 am UPDATE 1-Russia resumes Turkmen gas imports, slashes volumesASHGABAT, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Russia will resume Turkmen gas imports next year but volumes would be much smaller than in old deals agreed before a supply dispute between the two states prompted Ashgabat...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 22 Dec 2009 | 1:30 am Easynews Partners With Santa Claus, Gifts Free GigsSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 22 Dec 2009 | 1:27 am Alternative 2009 Copyright Expirationsjrincayc writes "It's nearly the end of 2009. If the 1790 copyright maximum term of 28 years was still in effect, everything that had been published by 1981 would be now be in the public domain — so the original Ultima and God Emperor of Dune and would be available for remixing and mashing up. If the 1909 copyright maximum term of 56 years (if renewed) were still in force, everything published by 1953 would now be in the public domain, freeing The City and the Stars and Forbidden Planet. If the 1976 copyright act term of 75* years (* it's complicated) still applied, everything published by 1934 would now be in the public domain, including Murder on the Orient Express. But thanks to the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, nothing in the US will go free until 2018, when 1923 works expire." Assuming Congress doesn't step in with a Copyright Extension Act of 2017. What are the odds?Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 22 Dec 2009 | 1:01 am Daily Crunch: Shocking Xmas Edition
Merry Christmas, Nikola Tesla-style
Source: CrunchGear | 22 Dec 2009 | 1:00 am SMS to Vote Reminders for Uzbek ElectorsAll the mobile communication companies of Uzbekistan will send out text messages tto Uzbek electors (16 million of them), reminding them of the coming elections to the lower (legislative) chamber of the...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 22 Dec 2009 | 12:38 am Soviet kids'-book robotsWill from the Journey Round My Skull blog has been scanning vintage, Soviet-era robot illustrations from Eastern European science fictional kids books -- the pictures are just lovely. A Journey Round...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 22 Dec 2009 | 12:35 am Soviet kids'-book robots Will from the Journey Round My Skull blog has been scanning vintage, Soviet-era robot illustrations from Eastern European science fictional kids books -- the pictures are just lovely. A Journey Round My Skull: Mummy Was A Robot, Daddy Was A Small Non-Stick Kitchen Utensil (Thanks, Dr. Monkey!)
Previously:
Source: Boing Boing | 22 Dec 2009 | 12:27 am Knitted planktonA reader writes, "I just discovered this British artist, Anita Bruce, who knits Ernst Haeckel-esque sea-forms: plankton, corals, starfishes, etc." Plankton Blog Previously:Boing Boing: Nature illustrations...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 22 Dec 2009 | 12:10 am Knitted plankton
A reader writes, "I just discovered this British artist, Anita Bruce, who knits Ernst Haeckel-esque sea-forms: plankton, corals, starfishes, etc."
Previously:
Source: Gizmodo | 22 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am EFF's ebook-buyer's guide to privacyThe Electronic Frontier Foundation has pored over the terms of service for several popular ebook services and devices and come up with "An E-Book Buyer's Guide to Privacy," a handy chart that tells you...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 21 Dec 2009 | 11:54 pm EFF's ebook-buyer's guide to privacy The Electronic Frontier Foundation has pored over the terms of service for several popular ebook services and devices and come up with "An E-Book Buyer's Guide to Privacy," a handy chart that tells you what information about your reading habits you "agree" to send to these companies by simply standing in the vicinity of the device, clicking a link, or, in some cases, breathing. In other words, your Kindle will periodically send information about you to Amazon. But exactly what information is sent? Amazon's wording -- "information related to the content on your Device and your use of it" -- reads so broadly that it appears to allow Amazon to track all content that users put on the device, regardless of whether that content is purchased from Amazon. Some security researchers have indicated that the Kindle may even be tracking its users' GPS locations. Is this the future of reading?An E-Book Buyer's Guide to Privacy
Previously:
Source: Boing Boing | 21 Dec 2009 | 11:53 pm 3 hour limit imposed on grounded airplane lockupsThe Obama administration imposes a 3 hour maximum on airlines that strand passengers on the tarmac, after which they must be let free. Airlines must also provide water to stranded passengers and let them...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 21 Dec 2009 | 11:51 pm Report: Russian Gang Linked to Big Citibank Hack (PC World)PC World - U.S. authorities are investigating the theft of an estimated tens of millions of dollars from Citibank by hackers partly using Russian software tailored for the attack, according to a news report.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 21 Dec 2009 | 11:50 pm Octo-chandelierEtsy seller lanternfly has made a stupendous octo-chandelier: "This octopus chandelier is made from sculpted arms and head, she has pink albino taxidermy glass eyes, pearl encrusted body covered with...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 21 Dec 2009 | 11:46 pm Octo-chandelier Etsy seller lanternfly has made a stupendous octo-chandelier: "This octopus chandelier is made from sculpted arms and head, she has pink albino taxidermy glass eyes, pearl encrusted body covered with vintage and new pearls, scallop shells, pink pearl candles and painted with pearlized paint." Our Girl Pearl Octopus Chandelier (via Craft)
Previously:
Source: Gizmodo | 21 Dec 2009 | 11:20 pm Botnet runners start their own ISPsBotnet and malware creeps are setting up their own ISPs, with their own IP blocks, so that spamfighters don't have anyone to complain to when they run them to ground: "It's gotten completely out of...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 21 Dec 2009 | 11:15 pm Botnet runners start their own ISPsBotnet and malware creeps are setting up their own ISPs, with their own IP blocks, so that spamfighters don't have anyone to complain to when they run them to ground:Attackers Buying Own Data Centers for Botnets, Spam (via /.)
Previously:
Source: Boing Boing | 21 Dec 2009 | 11:15 pm Kick-Ass comic movie adaptation, with adolescent ninja girlIn this trailer for the film adaptation of the comic Kick-Ass (about a kid who decides to become a vigilante and hooks up with a superhero-crime-fighter Dad and his adolescent ninja daughter), the most balletic martial-arts gunplay is enacted by a small child. It's pretty odd watching, but the up-beat cover of the Banana Splits theme really makes it, if you ask me. Kick-Ass-Red Band Hit Girl Teaser Trailer (via JWZ)
Previously:
Source: Boing Boing | 21 Dec 2009 | 11:02 pm Monkey knife-fighting with octopus tattoo
Nik writes in about his new tattoo: "This started out as a joke with friends at Sideshow Studios in Sacramento and the more I thought about it the more I had to get it. As a fan of Monkey Knife Fights we one-upped it with an octopus."
Monkey knife-fighting octopus tattoo (Thanks, Nik!)
Previously:
Source: Gizmodo | 21 Dec 2009 | 10:40 pm The Chinese Route To a Web Free of PornAn anonymous reader writes "Despite repeated 'for the children' campaigns, the Western Web as a whole has provided little or no isolation of pornography. This is why the Chinese are now attempting to march to a place where no country has been before: a Web without porn. Recent regulations have included closing down 'vulgar' mobile sites, disconnecting 'obscene' servers, and restricting domain registrations. Yet the breaking news for Monday is that the China is planning to enforce a whitelist on foreign domains: in particular, any e-commerce will have to register locally and obey Chinese law before they get whitelisted. Domains will otherwise be 'irresolvable' to Chinese Internet users. Meanwhile, the government is promoting this campaign heavily, calling it a 'fresh start.' It seems the Chinese may have to do without the Internet, before they can rid it of porn."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 21 Dec 2009 | 10:16 pm Dec. 22, 1882: Looking at Christmas in a New LightThe Christmas tree gets a high-tech addition: electric light. It's the beginning of a long, tangled story, or rather a story about long tangles.
Source: Gizmodo | 21 Dec 2009 | 10:00 pm Apple TV-Service Proposal Gets Some Nibbles [Voices]By Sam Schechner and Yukari Iwatani Kane, Reporters, The Wall Street Journal CBS Corp. (CBS) and Walt Disney Co. (DIS) are considering participating in Apple Inc.’s (AAPL) plan to offer television subscriptions over the Internet, according to people familiar with the matter, as Apple prepares a potential new competitor to cable and satellite TV. The proposed service by the maker of iPhones and iPod music players could, in at least some scenarios, offer access to some TV shows from a selection of major U.S. television networks for a monthly fee, according to people familiar with the discussions. Apple is pushing to complete licensing deals and hopes to introduce the service in 2010, some of those people said. It is unclear whether any networks have signed on yet. Spokespeople for Apple, CBS and Disney declined to comment. Read the rest of this post on the original site
Source: Gizmodo | 21 Dec 2009 | 9:20 pm AMR Research Recognizes DemandTec for Account Planning and Deal Management LeadershipSAN MATEO, Calif., Dec. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- DemandTec, Inc.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 21 Dec 2009 | 9:01 pm 50 things that changed our lives in the aughts
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 Reuters | IPhone apps: A launch point for a new wave of tech giants? Los Angeles Times Scott Lahman was sure he had a hit when his Marina del Rey company developed cellphone software that let people have a text messaging conversation with multiple participants at the same time, like a written conference call on the go. ... App Store success several times what Apple likely expected iPhone Game Developer Reports $1M in Sales — Per Month App army promises new tech revolution |
Section: Web, Web 2.0 / Social Networking
It turns out that the wars between Google and Bing over real-time search turned out to be a great revenue boost of $25 million for Twitter. Twitter has been notoriously known for being a company that has drawn in investor money but has never been able to return the favor in profit. Now, that little boost from Google and Bing has allowed them to squeeze out the first profit ever at the end of 2009.
Biz Stone, one of the co-founders of Twitter, did not make an official statement regarding the rumored profit margin, but did send an e-mail saying:
“We’re thrilled about the partnerships we’ve formed this year and we’re looking forward to opening Twitter even more in the future,”
Now, investors can breathe easier now that the first step has been made. With the new year just around the corner, the next step for Twitter is growing the profit and creating new ways of monetizing its popular microblogging service.
Read [Business Week]
Full Story » | Written by Hunter Clarke for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
The cable companies suck. All of them. Some suck less than others. But they all suck. We need someone to whip them into shape. And that someone may be Apple.
Apple may be on the verge of gaining two key television network agreements, according to The Wall Street Journal. Specifically, CBS and Walt Disney (which runs ABC) are said to be considering a proposal by Apple to offer a subscription-based TV service over the Internet. Presumably, this would work through iTunes like all of Apple-based content, but also presumably it would work over Apple’s Apple TV device (though maybe a new version of it) to bring this content into the living room, where people are used to consuming it. Simply put: This could be huge.
But “could” is the keyword. Just as Apple transformed the music industry in the earlier part of this decade thanks to the iTunes/iPod combination, and the mobile industry thanks to the iPhone, a device that offered all the television content over the Internet could force the cable companies to stop sucking. Of course, Apple already offers a ton of television content over iTunes, but there are a few big problems. First and foremost, you have to buy all of this content. I don’t know about you, but I have no desire to buy 99% of the television shows I watch. I would much rather pay a fraction of the purchase cost to “rent” them, as it were, for a time being. iTunes currently has no such option — it’s all or nothing.
And buying this content has another very real downside: You need enough storage space to keep it all. Seeing as some HD TV show seasons are 50 GB in size, this is an untenable model until Apple moves iTunes to the cloud (which it will do, eventually).
Another problem for Apple is that the Apple TV device has not yet proven to be a hit. But this is just as much Apple’s fault as anyone else’s. No less than Steve Jobs has said time and time again that the Apple TV remains a “hobby” and the “fourth leg” of a stool that doesn’t yet need a fourth leg. Apple could have done a number of things to help the Apple TV, such as opening it up to the Internet for use with Hulu and other services. But it hasn’t done that, instead opting to use it to move iTunes content. And it’s actually quite good at that, provided iTunes has what you’re looking for and again, you don’t mind paying for TV shows. A recent firmware update to the device, also made the UI much more usable for scanning a lot of content.
But the Apple TV, which sells for $229, could be a hit in a hurry if Apple offered its own television subscription service that allowed you to bypass the cable companies. Just think about it: Most people pay in excess of $50 a month (and some much more) to the cable companies. For what? Mostly for a bunch of crap they don’t want and will never watch (nor would they even have time to). The problem is that the cable companies have refused to move towards an a-la-carte offering, even though there is a clear demand for it. (It’s partially the TV networks fault too since they like to package their cable channels when giving them to the cable companies.) Apple could do that. And I would bet that is the plan. They may have to start out small with just one or two networks, but if it’s proven to work, eventually they would get more on board and people could start canceling their rip-off cable packages.
I did it myself last year. I cancelled all but the most basic cable and just used my Apple TV and things like Hulu to get all my content. It was much easier than I imagined it would be. Did I miss cable? Not one bit.
But I realize that not everyone is ready for that yet. But that’s why Apple’s role is crucial here. They have a proven track record of taking new ideas and technologies that seem complicated for the average consumer and making them appealing.
The networks are likely to play hardball with Apple though. They’ve all seen what happened to their brethren in the music industry when Apple came on board (they got bullied, but possibly also saved). According to the WSJ report, Apple’s proposal to the TV industry has already changed several times. One deal is said to be a $30-a-month package to consumers that would be a “best of television” package that included several shows from several networks, and more importantly, no commercials, according to the report. Not surprisingly, not everyone liked that idea.
Another part of the report has Apple paying $2 to $4 a month to the major networks per monthly subscriber, and $1 to $2 for a cable subscriber. This is more than a lot of these guys get from their current distribution deals. But Apple would also likely put costs on top of that so they make money too — though it might not be all that much. Remember, Apple doesn’t make that much money from iTunes, instead it’s a driver of iPod sales, and now iPhone sales. The same could be true with this model and the Apple TV.
While everyone is busy focusing on Apple’s tablet device, this could actually be the hot thing to watch for from Apple in early 2010. The report says Apple was hoping to launch this service in March, but that could be delayed, obviously, as the networks fight about why they should or shouldn’t join this venture.
There are at least a dozen headaches Apple would likely have to deal with to get the TV networks on board with this, but Apple’s close ties to Disney (which counts Steve Jobs as its largest shareholder) could help. While it may be just a pipe dream for now, I, for one, hope they’re able to blow up the cable industry. For too long we’ve put up with their sub-par service, their crap hardware, and their rip-off offerings. A change of the channel would do us all good.
[photo: flickr/rickremington]
Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.
Section: Web, Web 2.0 / Social Networking, Websites
Italian blogger Vincenzo Cosenza has put together a map of the most popular social networks in world for a second time now. These statistics are based on the most recent traffic data as taken by Alexa & Google Trends for Websites.
Facebook is the obvious winner of English speaking countries and is continuing to advance on the rest. Many parts of Europe and South America are also under Facebook’s influence as well; and of the countries in Africa that have any statistics at all, they all point towards Facebook. The only continent that seems to be resisting the onslaught of North America’s network of choice is Asia. But that might not last for long as evidenced in India where previous top network Orkut has been overthrown where it usually has a strong following.
It seems Facebook’s biggest competitor is Russia’s Vkontakte.ru. Though, what looks like a competition could easily melt into an alliance. Vkontakte is mostly owned by Digital Sky Technologies which in turn also has a large stake in Facebook. So in the future, these two could become a the first superpower in the social-networking world.
The funny part, in my opinion, is that once popular MySpace is no where to be found on this map. Apparently, MySpace is only dominant on the island of Guam; but it is my guess that that won’t last much longer.
Read [TechCrunch]
Full Story » | Written by Greg Billetdeaux for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
Webdesigner depot has 60 beautiful satellite photos of Earth.
The Dasht-e Kevir, or valley of desert, is the largest desert in Iran. It is a primarily uninhabited wasteland, composed of mud and salt marshes covered with crusts of salt that protect the meager moisture from completely evaporating.(Via The Presurfer)
 PC World | Late Fees for Barnes & Noble's Nook BusinessWeek Over the weekend, bookseller Barnes & Noble notified some customers who ordered the Nook e-book reader that the device wouldn't arrive in time for the holidays. Its consolation gift, $100 toward online purchases for each late Nook, is only part of the ... Barnes & Noble Improves Nook With Firmware Update Some Nook Buyers Getting $100 Gift Certificates Barnes & Noble offers $100 gift certificates for Nook delays |
Section: Communications, Cellphones, Smartphones, Mobile
Since Motorola had such a hit with their first Android device, the DROID, on Verizon wireless, it’s not surprising that we would see another Google powered device coming from them. This new device, titled the Motorola Opus, has now been spec’d out:
While this is not a particularly amazing device spec wise, I think that’s what they are shooting for. With the high-range device covered by the DROID, they can now focus on releasing a cheaper device for a more average user.
Read [Boy Genius Report]
Full Story » | Written by Hunter Clarke for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
Were you planning on getting the wife an iPod, but just now realized you’re not going to have time to drive downtown and get it? No worries. Just order it by tomorrow or the next day from Apple’s online store and they’ll next-day it to you for no charge. That’s pretty sweet. No customizing, though.
AP - Yahoo says it will close its offices from Christmas through New Year's to help save money. The cost-cutting move ends a year in which Yahoo's revenue declined for the first time since 2001.
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With CES approaching, we are starting to see a multitude of different gadgets and technology being released. From the Nexus One, to tablets tablets tablets, they just keep coming in.
Now, LG has announced their newest 1080p TV. This TV is not just another 42”. It is currently the worlds thinnest 42” LCD TV coming in with a thickness of 2.6mm or .1-inch. The TV has a 120Hz, LED-backlit display and weighs only 8.8lbs. So if you can carry a small child, you could potentially carry this thing. Sadly, their are no specs as to what this TV includes but we only have to wait 2 more weeks to see LG’s special booth that will feature their Extreme Slim LCD products.
Read [I4U News]
Full Story » | Written by Greg Billetdeaux for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
Section: Computers, Mobile Computers, Gadgets / Other, Miscellaneous
Leaked pictures of Motorola’s new Android Tablet have been surfacing on the web lately. Previously known as the “Sholes Tablet”, the XT701 will feature a 3.7-inch touchscreen display, with a 854x480 resolution, and will be powered by a Cortex A8 processor.
Other features include a 5-megapixel camera with autoflash and focus, GPS, FM radio, WiFi, Bluetooth, and support for 3G data. The most notable part of this tablet, to me, is the mysterious lump on the bottom-right of the tablet. This lump holds 3 buttons for camera control. I guess they didn’t want to put physical buttons on the side for this? Instead they just add a tumor onto the side of the tablet…
The XT701 is only confirmed for a China release but if it ever does come to the states, it will most likely feature Android 2.0 with an assortment of Google applications.
Read [PCWorld]
Full Story » | Written by Greg Billetdeaux for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
Looks like Google is really going full steam ahead with its shortened URLs. Only a week after the search giant launched its own Goo.gl short URLs, its subsidiary YouTube is launching its own short URL service: youtu.be.
In a blog post announcing the new feature, YouTube writes that the short URL will be used exclusively for YouTube videos (which means it isn’t as useful to spammers for misdirection). The post also notes that because all youtu.be shortlinks include the YouTube video ID, developers can use that information to surface thumbnails and track how a video is spreading.
Unfortunately, embedding a video ID has a downside: they’re relatively long. Whereas your typical bit.ly link weighs in at around 20 characters, a youtu.be link comes out to 27 characters, primarily because YouTube IDs are a beefy 11 characters long. That may not sound like much, but those extra 7 characters represent 5% of your maximum tweet length. Hopefully the features that video IDs enable for developers will outweigh that cost.
Any videos shared through YouTube’s autosharing features to Facebook, Twitter, and Google Reader will take advantage of the new short URLs automatically. You can also create the link yourself in this format:
To use youtu.be manually, simply take a URL like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdeioVndUhs and replace the “http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=” with “http://youtu.be/” to get: http://youtu.be/FdeioVndUhs Plug that shorter URL into a browser, and you’ll see it redirects to that video.
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Section: Gadgets / Other, ebooks
When the Nook was first shipped out to reviewers and customers earlier in the month, there were a lot of complaints. There were issues with the e-ink display’s refresh rate, the touchscreen was slow at best, laggy more often than not among others. Barnes & Noble unofficially said an update would be out soon to right those issues, and today it made good on that promise.
The 1.1 update has been pushed to all Nooks connecting to the network. To get the update, just go to “the daily,” or “Check for new B&N content” in “my library.” The update takes a few minutes to download, install and reboot. There are some definite improvements over the 1.0 firmware, even if there’s nothing particularly groundbreaking. The refresh rates on the e-ink display are a bit faster, though still a bit slow. The touchscreen seems much improved, with less lag and more responsiveness, potentially getting rid of having to double tap, only to realize you clicked through two menus because it wasn’t responding fast enough. The reading screen has also been improved. The top of the screen now has the time and battery icon, with the bottom having the progress bar it had before, and the page count which was previously on the top of the screen.
Again, there’s nothing particularly groundbreaking here, but it certainly seems to be a big improvement over 1.0. Hopefully 1.2 can make the refresh rates even faster, though for those without a Kindle to compare it to, the current refresh rate should be fine. Its nice to know Barnes & Noble is updating the device while its still only in the hands of a few people. By the time most people receive it now, they won’t even know what 1.0 was like unless they read some reviews.
Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
In the two weeks since it acquired imeem in a firesale, MySpace has been met with waves of frustration from outraged users who blame the company for shutting down the troubled music service. MySpace didn’t really have anything to do with imeem’s sudden shutdown (it would have closed shop anyway), but most users don’t care — they just want their imeem playlists and free streaming music back. Today, MySpace is reaching out to these disgruntled imeem users to let them know that their playlists will soon be restored, brought back to life with free streams from MySpace Music.
We’ve known this was happening for a while now (MySpace even tells users who visit imeem.com that their playlists are being migrated), but it now looks like the site is taking a more proactive approach to keeping its users informed. This is probably what it should have done from the start, instead of suddenly pulling the plug on its API and redirecting all imeem traffic to MySpace without any prior warning. But at least your imeem playlists will live on, which is better than nothing.
Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0
Section: Computers
In an episode of ABC’s Better Off Ted, research conglomerate Veridian installs a new motion-detection system that is incapable of detecting black people. Rather than spend money to fix the problem or create a new system, the company hilariously decides to hire minimum-wage white men to follow its black employees and set off the motion-detector on water fountains, doors, elevators, and restrooms.
I doubt HP will come up with an equally humorous solution for the inability of its face-tracking technology to recognize black people. In a classic case of life imitating art, the HP MediaSmart computer’s face-tracking technology does not follow black faces as easily as it does white faces. As you can see in this video below, the camera does not respond to the movements of an employee who calls himself “Black Desi,” but it faithfully pans to show “White Wanda” move left, right, forward, or backward.
HP has responded to the video on its website by making the following statement:
We are working with our partners to learn more. The technology we use is built on standard algorithms that measure the difference in intensity of contrast between the eyes and the upper cheek and nose. We believe that the camera might have difficulty “seeing” contrast in conditions where there is insufficient foreground lighting. While we work on this, take a look here for more information on the impact of lighting on facial tracking software, and how to optimize your webcam experience: http://bit.ly/7HsZHD
Though Desi half-jokingly calls HP computers (the actual device, not the company) “racist,” this whole fiasco is comically bad. You’d have to imagine that HP and its partners went through quite a bit of research and testing to get this technology onto the market. Didn’t anyone at some point think that maybe a black person might be interested in buying this product?
Read [The Daily What]
Full Story » | Written by Andrew Kameka for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
Video language learning website EnglishCentral recently raised a total of $3.5 million, according to an SEC filing. Part of that funding was $1.38 million from a previous convertible debt round, making the amount raised in the current series A financing $2.1 million. EnglishCentral is backed by Google Ventures and Atlas Venture. The fact that Google Ventures was the lead investor in a seed round last October was reported, but the amount invested was never disclosed. Based on the information in the filing, it is possible that that the seed round was in the form of the $1.38 million convertible note and is now converting into equity with the additional $2.1 million investment.
The filing does not say who the invested in the new round, but Rich Miner of Google Ventures is listed as a director of the company. Google Ventures is Google’s venture arm which launched last April with an initial $100 million and can invest in pretty much anything, although mostly it’s been putting money into clean tech startups.
EnglishCentral is a language tutorial site which uses popular videos from movies, news clips, and other categories to help people around the world learn English. Students watch a captioned video, and then try to repeat the phrases by speaking into a microphone and recording their attempts. Speech-to-text software tries to make sense of their pronunciation and gives them grades for accuracy, which they can track over time. The video tutorials are free, but the site also connects language students with tutors, and presumably takes a cut of any resulting fees.
We have contacted both EnglishCentral and Google Ventures for clarification on the details of the funding and will update if we here back.
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A number of pictures have hit the web now showing the Nexus One, aka the Google Phone, in the flesh. But there haven’t been too many showing its packaging, and it getting unboxed. Today, some Twitpics shared by one user show those. As a bonus, he also shows off a bit of its HTC-innards, and even shared a nice little video of the device in action.
The Nexus One is expected to be released early next year sold both unlocked from Google and in partnership with at least one major carrier. Plenty of Googlers already have the device and have been going around all over the country showing it off. There was previously a video of it booting up, but apparently Google made the YouTube user take it down.
[thanks Philip]
Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0
This just makes sense. Most flat screen’s speakers are the suck, but there are those that don’t want bulky speakers cluttering up their space. Enter the Q-TV 2.1 speaker system.
The speakers mount to the HDTV’s VESA port and can fit any flat-screen between 30- and 42-inches. The whole system offers only 100W of total power spread between the front channels and a subwoofer, but that should be more than enough power to out-perform the OEM speakers. Q Audio has announced a price yet for the US, but are planning on showing off the set at CES in a few weeks. [Q-Audio via SlashGear]
By Nitrozac and Snaggy
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
 Geek WIth Laptop | Big Facebook privacy void: Controls on Connect CNET News Privacy on Facebook has been front and center this month as the company has rolled out the controversial revamp of its user privacy settings. One thing that's thankfully stayed intact has been the ability to restrict the ... How the New Facebook Privacy Settings Work FTC complaint says Facebook's privacy changes are deceptive Facebook Privacy: Just How Much Do Users Want? |
Section: Communications, Cellphones, Smartphones, Mobile
Maine State Representative Andrea Boland has introduced a bill that would mandate cellphone makers to put a warning saying cell phone use may cause brain cancer on all phones sold in the state. The warning would have to appear on both the phone itself and its packaging.
Boland insists that many studies have proven a link between cancer and cellphone use exists but in reality, scientists have not be able to prove one exists. The studies she references came from self proclaimed “electromagnetic radiation watchdogs” Their study made some alarming statements:
“Science has shown increased risk of brain tumors from use of cell phones, as well as increased risk of eye cancer, salivary gland tumors, testicular cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and leukemia,” the report read. “The public must be informed.”
It should be noted that neither the World Health Organization nor the National Cancer Institute agree with the study, nor do several other organizations. They all say no conclusive evidence exists. One thing experts do agree on is that more research needs to be done and a firm consensus reached.
In the meantime, if you’d rather be safe than sorry, use the speakerphone or a headset or if you can’t, try to avoid long calls. Don’t sleep with your phone under your pillow and turn it off when not in use.
What do you think about this issue? Leave a comment with your thoughts!
Read [CNet]
Full Story » | Written by Sue Walsh for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
Love it or hate it, Google Wave is proving to be a great way for people to express themselves creatively in the form of videos. We’ve seen it with Pulp Fiction and Good Will Hunting. We’ve seen it with the Declaration of Independance. And now we have a 2009 year-in-review Google Wave video.
There’s not much to say other than this is really well done. It was created by Whirled Interactive, the same group that made the movie Waves. These guys are good.
Sure, this isn’t as serious as using Wave for a manhunt, or even as a new form of communication. Nor does it make Google Wave any easier to explain. But it is an interesting form of entertainment. And a quick tech-way to recap the year.
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This is cutting it close. Sony had previously promised to make the 3G-equipped Reader Daily Edition available before Christmas and the company just announced it’s shipping out pre-orders placed before December 20th. The rest? Well, you’re SOL like some folks that ordered the Nook.
But don’t expect to order one right now and get it before Friday. The $399 flagship Sony is currently backordered, which reinforces our thought that ebook readers were this year’s hottest gifts. Besides those damn Zu-Zu things.
SONY’S READER DAILY EDITION NOW SHIPPING
SAN DIEGO – December 21, 2009 – Delivering on its goal of getting the newest edition of its Reader family into customers’ hands for the holidays, Sony today announced the Reader Daily Edition™ is now shipping. Pre-orders placed on SonyStyle.com through December 20 should begin arriving to customers within the next 48 hours.
The Reader Daily Edition has garnered intense interest since its unveiling earlier this year, with pre-orders exceeding expectations. The device gives consumers wireless access to Sony’s Reader™ Store from most of the U.S., via AT&T’s 3G mobile broadband network. Book lovers can browse, purchase and download books as well as select newspapers on the go. There are no monthly fees or transaction charges for the basic wireless connectivity and users still have the option to side load personal documents or content from other compatible sites via USB.
The Reader Daily Edition is optimized for newspapers and offers periodical content in an elegant, easy-to-read format. The Reader Daily Edition’s responsive, menu-driven, seven-inch touch screen lets readers quickly and intuitively navigate newspapers, turn pages, highlight text and take notes with the swipe of a finger or by using the included stylus pen.
The following newspapers are currently available for wireless delivery to the Reader: The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune. Sony has agreements in place with a host of additional magazine and newspaper publishers, including exclusive offerings from The Wall Street Journal and New York Post, that will be available soon.
Key Facts· The new Reader Daily Edition is now shipping and pre-orders placed on SonyStyle.com through December 20 should begin arriving to customers’ homes before Christmas.
· The Reader Daily Edition provides wireless access to Sony’s Reader Store from most of the U.S.
· Wireless access is provided by AT&T’s 3G mobile broadband network.
· The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune are currently available on the Reader Daily Edition.
· Sony has agreements in place with a host of additional magazine and newspaper publishers that will be available soon
· The Reader Daily Edition’s seven-inch wide, full touch screen display provides intuitive navigation and comfortable layout of content, including newspapers and magazines, in portrait or landscape orientation.
For more details on the Reader Daily Edition please visit sonystyle.com; Sony’s online destination for book lovers – wordsmoveme.com; or the Sony Electronics Community, which includes a corporate blog, video, photos, polls and profiles.
By Amy Schatz, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
With two months to go until the FCC is scheduled to unveil its plan for improving broadband service across the U.S., agency officials seem to be settling on relatively modest speeds for rural areas.
Officials at the Federal Communications Commission looking at setting a floor for Internet speed to which all Americans have access, particularly in rural areas which still rely on dial-up Internet service. FCC officials are looking at speeds in the 2-4 mbps range, said Blair Levin, a former telecom analyst who’s overseeing the FCC’s National Broadband Plan. Mbps, or megabits per second, represents the millions of bits per second that flow across Internet lines to your PC.
“That’s kind of the range. A lot of people say that we ought to have big goals of 100 mbps to every home. When you look at the countries who say they’re doing that, what they’re doing is offering 100 mbps to some homes,” Mr. Levin said Monday on the CSPAN show “The Communicators,” which airs this weekend.
Read the rest of this post on the original site
Section: Communications, Broadband Cards
Ford is trying so hard to have its Sync take off and become mainstream. For the first couple of years I was like any other person and said, “Cool feature, not gonna go out of my way to buy it.” A lot of people agreed with me too that Sync was just not a selling point for Ford. But now that Sync is rolling into its next generation it will be interesting to see what new features they will add to try and revive the American car industry.
The first feature that we heard of got me really excited when I heard about it. A Wi-Fi hotspot on the go. So now when you are on those 12 hour treks across the country you can have Wi-Fi. But wait. Can’t you already do that with a MiFi? And on top of that you have to provide a 3G modem to use on Sync’s new proprietary service.
Wham! Turn off to me. That sounds like Ford trying to make a quick buck on a few naive consumers.
Read [Engadget]
Full Story » | Written by Hunter Clarke for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
 guardian.co.uk | Venomous Dinosaur Discovered--Shocked Prey Like Snake? National Geographic Jurassic Park was packed with pseudo-science, but one of its fictions may have accidentally anticipated a dinosaur discovery announced today—venomous raptors. Though a far cry from the movie's venom-spitting Dilophosaurus, the 125-million-year-old ... Turkey-sized dino packed venom in its fangs Major discovery for KU researchers: 1st venomous raptor Raptor dinosaur had venomous fangs |
I wrote an opinion piece for CNN about making gifts for the holidays.
For Christmas this year, I'm giving out homemade jars of sauerkraut (it costs me 50 cents a gallon and takes all of 15 minutes to shred the cabbage, mix in the salt and let it develop in a crock for a week), hand-whittled wooden spoons (these take a few hours each to make, but the therapeutic value of whittling on the porch is inestimable) and a couple of cigar box guitars I made. The other staffers at Make (and at our sister publication, Craftzine.com) have been busy elves this season as well. Here's a short list of the things they're making:Making merry with homemade gifts (Shown here: Shawn and Arlo Connally's snow globes)• Baby pictures mounted in old picture frames purchased at thrift stores for less than a dollar and painted a gold or silver metallic.
• Snow globes made from recycled glass jars and filled with little trinkets like Army men, plastic trees and foxes.
• A miniature remote-controlled submarine, made out of plastic plumbing pipes, with an underwater video camera attached to it to study ocean life in the San Francisco Bay.
• A cat toy that has an electronic circuit that senses when it is being played with and sends a Twitter message to its owner.
• An assortment of slippers, scarves and plush toy squid.
NZXT announced the launch of their new chassis (don’t call it a case) today. The new chassis, named the Hades is aimed directly at the gamer enthusiast market. Out of the box it’s set up for air cooling, however it’s pre-drilled to make it easier to add a water cooling mod later.
It supports up to 5 fans for air cooling and will fit the new generation of extra-long video cards like the ATI 5970. The motherboard tray holes are set up with rubber grommets to allow wire management without the risk of accidental shorts.
The Hades is currently available from NZXT’s website, for a MSRP of $89.99
From the press release:
El Monte, CA – December 21, 2009 – NZXT, a company built on realizing the dreams of gamers worldwide, is proud to unveil Hades, a chassis that provides an array of advanced features for the most demanding PC enthusiast. Airflow is optimized with 5 fans(dual 200mm intake, 200 mm front fan, dual top 140mm fans, side 200mm fan, and rear 120mm exhaust). NZXT includes all the fans with the exception of the top 140mm and also provides a dual fan 8W per channel controller giving enthusiasts freedom to manage intake and exhaust airflow. A three temperature display on the front panel allows the user to see the temperature inside the chassis even when the door is closed. Additionally, the meshed 5.25” bays, door, and bottom panel allows for air to naturally flow into the system with ease.
Hades also boasts premium expandability with up to nine 5.25” bay setup or five 5.25” and four 3.5.” It also features VGA clearance room for 300mm cards like the new ATI 5970. The punched side panel and motherboard tray with rubber grommets on the motherboard routing holes enables advanced wire management and quick CPU bracket removal. Additional advanced features include a solid state bracket allowing for two SSD drives, pre-drilled water cooling holes on the backplate, mounting holes for a dual radiator at the top, and a removable filter at the bottom PSU.
“Enthusiasts and gamers have a lot to be excited about with the advanced airflow and control options that Hades brings to the table” said Johnny Hou, Chief Designer at NZXT. “With an array of options for limitless upgradeability, Hades has the performance and longevity that gamers desire.”
Apple has issued a firmware update to address display issues affecting many brand new 27-inch iMacs.
The update, labeled 27-inch iMac Graphics Firmware Update 1.0, is 683KB large and requires Mac OS X 10.6.2. Installation instructions are available at Apple’s website.
Customers complained in support forums about display and performance issues with the 27-inch iMac shortly after its Oct. 20 release.
Via MacRumors
See Also:
Image courtesy of Apple
AP - Stores in the snow-battered East Coast may have been sparse this weekend, but shoppers kept spending online. Retailers spurred sales with new discounts and shipping offers to make sure gifts arrive by Christmas.
Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile
In November 2009, Verizon had been applauded for launching two new Android running phones, the HTC DROID Eris and the Motorola DROID. The latter of the two seems to really have hit a spot with Verizon customers as it is steadily making Android a lot more popular within the United States and worldwide.
One of the latest smartphones from Verizon features comparable specs and pricing to the iPhone 3GS, thus having earned the title “iPhone-killer” on the Verizon network. How many phones have been giving that title and actually could contend against the iPhone? Not many, unfortunately. AdMob has some interesting statistics about the Android traffic in November, and who supplied much of the traffic. Android smartphones have generated a 37% increase in November, and the Motorola DROID accounts for 25% of that growth. Such high usage by DROID users places the Verizon smartphone fifth highest in the United States passing Android cousins such as the HTC Hero, HTC myTouch 3G, and Motorola CLIQ. As early as six months ago, the T-Mobile G1 (the pioneer of Android phones) generated all traffic usage of Android phones coming in at 92%. However, as of November, it only accounted 37%, and consider how many users the G1 has accumulated in all the time it has been available.
In terms of worldwide usage of Android phones, the Motorola DROID had 22%, followed closely by the HTC Magic at 21%, and the HTC Hero at 9%. From October to November, Android saw an increase in requests from 20%-27%, catalyzed by robust marketing campaigns on Verizon’s and Motorola’s part. While the T-Mobile G1 still had the most usage in November, the Motorola DROID was second. Within a few months, it looks like Motorola with its DROID could easily become the top Android phone in the United States.
Motorola seems to have found a nice combination of hardware and design in the DROID. And Verizon finally picked a winning phone and stuck an affordable and competitive price tag on it.
Read [AndroidandMe] Via [AdMob]
Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
This is the result of a lot of time, passion for electricity and some fancy camera tricks. We like it. Also, if you do try this at home, send us pics. [Thanks for the tip, Marie]
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
 PC World | Apple and Microsoft vs. Google for Smartphone Dominance? The Mac Observer Apple and Google were once seen as best friends in their fight against mutual enemy Microsoft, but as Google has ventured into Apple's turf with the Chrome OS and Android smartphone OS, their BFF status has been in jeopardy. ... Why 2010 will be Android's year Android for Business? 5 Reasons to Think Again Top 10 Smartphone Advances Of 2009 |
By Tiernan Ray, Blogger, Barron’s, Tech Trader Daily
Shares of Cray (CRAY) continue to trade down today as they have for the last month or so, prompting a note from Thomas Weisel analyst Doug Reid this morning reiterating his “Overweight” rating on the shares. Cray’s stock is being held back by concerns the company won’t get its full reimbursement from the U.S. Defense Advance Research Projects Agency for R&D expenses on work it’s done for the agency. Investors’ concerns are ill-placed, Reid writes.
Though there’s a delay in reimbursement, Cray likely won’t have to take a lower rate on future reimbursement from DARPA, he believes.
Read the rest of this post on the original site
PogoPlug has gotten a fair bit of coverage here at CrunchGear, including a full review of the original PogoPlug device. A new version was recently released, with quite a bit more to offer, so an updated review is in order. The second generation PogoPlug supports up to four USB drives, offers gigabit Ethernet, has mobile clients for the major smartphones, and has a burgeoning independent developer community. That’s a lot for a $129 gadget!
Features:
Pros:
Cons:
Review
I’ve been using Dropbox for a couple months now to synchronize my files across several different computers. It works, but sometimes I just don’t want my data living on someone else’s servers. The PogoPlug solves that problem by allowing me to store my data on my physical hardware, and access it from anywhere using either a web-based interface, a WebDAV system that makes the PogoPlug look like a locally connected drive on my computer, or via a mobile phone. I can also store a lot more data on a PogoPlug for considerably less money than twelve months of Dropbox service.
I have two gripes with the PogoPlug, which should be addressed up front. They’re both pretty small, and do not in any way detract from my willingness to recommend this product to everyone. First, all remote access of my data takes place through the my.pogoplug.com URL. I believe them when they say “the data may be forwarded through our servers, but no copies are retained during this process”, but it still makes me a little uncomfortable. Also, it’s worth noting that when accessing your PogoPlug locally — that is, both you and the PogoPlug are on the same LAN — you talk to the PogoPlug directly, without going through pogoplug.com. Second, there is no obvious display of the capacity of the attached media, nor indication of how much space is free. It’s there in the Settings page, but not on the main screen’s sidebar. This usually won’t be a problem if you’re attaching current vintage hard drives, but if you plug in a USB flashdrive, you might have more interest in knowing how much space is free before you try to upload something.
The my.pogoplug.com website has had a modest update, to properly display the different media that may be attached to the unit. Navigating files and directories is as simple as it should be. Uploading and downloading files is problem-free. Creating slideshows from media is easy to do, and sharing those slideshows is simple, too!
One of the more surprising features of the new PogoPlug is its ability to transcode video files automatically. Upload a video to your PogoPlug, and within a couple moments it’ll have a small preview clip that you can play from your computer or iPhone. Then, while you wait, a complete mobile-friendly version of your video will be produced! This is not a fast process, since the PogoPlug hardware is not super-computer caliber. It took over eight hours to transcode a rip of George Romero’s classic Dawn of the Dead that I put onto the PogoPlug. But, once the transcode was finished, I was able to watch the zombie fun right on my iPhone while riding a city bus around town! I don’t know that this is a reason to buy the PogoPlug by itself, but it’s certainly a feature not commonly found in other NAS devices just yet.
Another interesting aspect of PogoPlug is that they don’t shy away from the fact that they use open source software under the hood. Many similar products don’t make any public mention of their use of open source software, let alone provide you root access to your device!
![Screen shot 2009-12-22 at [ December 22 ] 2.05.03 AM](http://www.mobilecrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Screen-shot-2009-12-22-at-December-22-2.05.03-AM.png "Screen shot 2009-12-22 at [ December 22 ] 2.05.03 AM")
![Screen shot 2009-12-22 at [ December 22 ] 1.34.22 AM](http://www.mobilecrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Screen-shot-2009-12-22-at-December-22-1.34.22-AM-199x300.png "Screen shot 2009-12-22 at [ December 22 ] 1.34.22 AM")
It’s worth noting that Nescaline didn’t include any copyrighted games out of the box, instead providing just a handful of community-made home brew games. However, if the user just so happened to know the URL of another ROM — be it another home brew game or an unlicensed copy of Super Mario — Nescaline would download the ROM to its internal library.
GrandCentral, which Google acquired in 
"It's gotten completely out of hand. The bad guys are going to some local registries in Europe and getting massive amounts of IP space and then they just go to a hosting provider and set up their own data centers," said Alex Lanstein, senior security researcher at FireEye, an antimalware and anti-botnet vendor. "It takes one more level out of it: You own your own IP space and you're your own ISP at that point.
Last week we wrote about a 
-bash-3.2# free
total used free shared buffers
Mem: 256012 20428 235584 0 0
Swap: 0 0 0
Total: 256012 20428 235584
-bash-3.2# df -h
Filesystem Size Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/mtdblock2 32.0M 11.6M 20.4M 36% /
none 125.0M 8.0k 125.0M 0% /tmp
-bash-3.2# uname -a
Linux Pogoplug 2.6.22.18 #44 Mon Aug 10 12:57:36 PDT 2009 armv5tejl unknown
-bash-3.2# head -2 /proc/cpuinfo
Processor : ARM926EJ-S rev 1 (v5l)
BogoMIPS : 1192.75
That’s pretty cool, in and of itself. But the fun doesn’t stop there! PogoPlug has a robust and well-documented public API, allowing folks to create their own web-based applications to integrate with their PogoPlug devices. And there’s a lively third-party development community over at pogoplugged.com.
Product Page: PogoPlug
Barnes & Noble has rolled out the first firmware update for its Nook e-book reader that includes performance updates in areas such as page turning of e-books and formatting of downloaded books.
The $260 Nook, which started shipping earlier this month, was criticized for its slow refresh rate as users flipped pages and for a software interface that didn’t entirely seem ready, as Wired.com pointed out in its Nook review.
The firmware update 1.1.0 attempts to fix some of these problems. The update improves the start-up time for features such as ‘My Library’ on the device. It also ensures that the device displays the correct time on its status bar, has better page numbering for books and removes some formatting-related issues.
Meanwhile, some users have ‘rooted’ the Nook or hacked the device’s firmware to gain system level access. This allows them to run on the Nook apps such as Pandora, a browser and other programs that Barnes & Noble does not support officially.
The latest firmware update does not lock the rooted Nooks, says nookDevs, a group that has created a wiki and an online forum for Nook enthusiasts. “The update is safe, if you’ve had your device already rooted,” says the group on its website. “It will stay this way.”
But that’s if you got a Nook in the first place. With some customers worried that their pre-ordered Nooks won’t arrive in time for Christmas, Barnes & Noble has sent an e-mail promising a $100 gift voucher to anyone whose Nook doesn’t make it.
See Also:
Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
If you have a dog and you’ve thrown a party, you know that dogs generally add a bit of fun to the mix at the beginning of the party but by the end, they’ve mostly eaten food off the coffee table, scared the bejesus out of the three guests who have an irrational fear of dogs, and had a few “accidents” in high-traffic areas like hallways and doorways.
You can definitely add some value to your house pet with this collar that features a built-in bottle opener. It’s retractable and it only costs $15 – not a whole lot to think about there, it’s pretty much an impulse buy. If you can teach your dog to fetch beers, too, well then you’ve set yourself up for a long, stress-free life. Man’s best friend, indeed.
Bark4Beer [Product Page via Craziest Gadgets]
Outside of a completely simulated appearance in a commercial, we've been hard-pressed in finding any video of the LG eXpo's projector attachment in action. We expected to see some hit the Tubes after the handset launched last week - alas, the projector accessory still hasn't hit the shelves.
Fortunately, the guys over at MobileSyrup have managed to scrounge one up north of the border.
The TV business loves to recycle old plots. Here’s a familiar one: TV programmer A wants more money from cable company B, which doesn’t want to pay up. Negotiations stall and both sides threaten to take their balls and go home–which would leave cable subscribers with empty TV channels.
Last year’s version featured Time Warner Cable facing off against Viacom (VIA). This year, it’s Time Warner Cable (TWC) versus News Corp.’s (NWS) Fox channel. (Disclosure: News Corp. owns Dow Jones, which owns this Web site).
If you’re looking for a variation on a theme, note that Fox is trying to get paid for its Fox broadcast channels, which the cable guys traditionally don’t pay for, at least not directly. But big picture, it’s the same pool of money, divvied up by the same companies and funded by the same people–Time Warner Cable customers like me–who don’t really have a say. Nothing new here.
I have noticed one difference. Last year, the Time Warner Cable guys suggested that if Viacom shows really did disappear from customers’ homes, it would be easy enough to find them by going online. And the company promised to help its customers figure out just how to find the likes SpongeBob and Jon Stewart on the Web, if it came to that.
This year, we haven’t heard this particular threat. But for a lot of people, Web TV is a much more plausible alternative than it was 12 months ago. What gives?
Nothing, says TWC spokesman Alexander Dudley. He just hasn’t gotten around to talking about it yet.
“We have plans, if it goes on, to direct customers to specific content” on the Web, Dudley says. One of the reasons it hasn’t come up yet, he adds, is because it’s so obvious–everyone knows that if you want to watch Fox shows on the Web, you go to Hulu, the video site the company owns with GE’s (GE) NBC and Disney’s (DIS) ABC.
“Part of the reason that we find their demands outrageous is because the content is available for free online,” Dudley says. “And if it goes on, we plan to show our customers how to connect their PCs to a TV using an S cable.”
Dudley won’t spell it out, but he’s essentially repeating one of the cable industry’s main criticisms of Hulu: Handing out free TV on the Web devalues the stuff programmers try to sell to the cable guys.
We’ll see. I think that if push really does come to shove, casual Hulu users might discover that the site is no longer the treasure chest of free TV they thought it was.
For starters, there’s broadcast stuff that never gets to Hulu in the first place–like live events. In Fox’s case, that’s a very big deal, since its January schedule includes both NFL football playoffs and the start of “American Idol.”
And when it comes to cable programming like “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” or “Nip/Tuck”–stuff that Time Warner Cable is already paying for–Hulu’s owners have been careful not to put much on the Web in the first place. Go try to watch “Sons of Anarchy,” the FX biker show on Hulu and you’ll end up pretty frustrated.
So here’s a question for Time Warner Cable: Do you really want to send angry customers to Hulu–and then have to deal with them a second time, when they find they still can’t watch their favorite shows, S cable and all?
Another thought: What if Fox simply yanked the programming it supplies to Hulu from Time Warner Cable users? Is that doable–either technically or contractually? I’m lobbing the question to News Corp. and will let you know if I get a response.
Best bet: Just like last year, this year’s fight will likely go up until the Dec. 31 deadline. And then it will get resolved, with the cable guys paying more than they wanted and the network getting less.
Then again, there is dark muttering that is really different this time because both sides have important precedents at stake, etc. I wouldn’t put much stock in that yet–what else are they going to say?–but if it pans out, it will be interesting to see what role Hulu ends up playing.
 TG Daily | PC makers introduce netbooks with new Atom processor Computerworld seedub says: Sucker city? I guess it takes one to know one. Personally, I love my netbook... over half the weight of... JohnBellevue says: I have the HP Mini 2009 1000 series and I love it. I maxed out the ram to 2GB and. ... Are More Netbooks Bad For Computer Makers? Intel to Boost Netbooks' Atomic Power Intel launches redesigned Atom chip for Netbooks |
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
It’s unclear whether Psystar, a Mac cloner that recently lost a long legal battle with Apple, is dead or alive. The startup was quoted in a news report saying it was shutting down, and then in a followup story the company retracted the statement.
Apple last week won a permanent injunction against Psystar. The injunction effectively banned Psystar from selling Mac clones or distributing tools that would enable consumers to create their own Hackintoshes.
Subsequently on Friday, Dow Jones Newswire quoted Psystar’s company attorney Eugene Action, who said the startup would immediately fire its employees and shut down. Psystar’s website promptly went offline.
However, hours later lead counsel K.A.D Camara said the opposite in an interview with Computerworld, as well as an e-mail statement provided to Wired.com. He said Action had been misquoted and that the company plans to ask the judge to decide the legality of Rebel EFI, a piece of software that enables consumers to make their own Hackintoshes. (Though the permanent injunction effectively banned the functionality of Rebel EFI, Rebel EFI was not explicitly mentioned in the case.) Psystar’s website went back online over the weekend.
“Psystar is fighting on,” Camara told Wired.com in an e-mail. “Psystar will file a motion in Judge Alsup’s court asking him to decide the legality of Rebel EFI. Judge Alsup invited us to do that in his injunction order. Psystar will also appeal Judge Alsup’s summary judgment to the Ninth Circuit.”
After Apple filed its lawsuit against Psystar in July 2008 alleging copyright infringement, the Florida start-up filed an antitrust suit against Apple alleging the corporation was violating laws discouraging monopolies.
Camara told Wired.com the antitrust suit will proceed.
In a settlement, Psystar agreed to pay Apple $2.7 million in damages. However, the company will not be required to pay a dime until the appeals process is complete.
See Also:
Photo courtesy of Psystar
The robotic vacuum cleaners is heating up with yet another Roomba-clone, this time from Asus.
Asus, better known fits Eee netbook PCs, is set to introduce the ECleaner robot in China and Taiwan at the end of the month. The robot will be offered by Asus’s subsidiary AGAiT Technology, says The Taiwan Economic News.
It is the second automated vacuum cleaner to debut this month. Last week, Neato Robotics, a Silicon Valley-based startup launched the Neato vacuum cleaner priced at $400.
Since iRobot introduced the first Roomba automated vacuum cleaner in 2002, it has sold more than 3 million units and the gadget has become a hit among geek heads looking for a quick fix to a tiresome chore. But surprisingly, the Roomba didn’t spawn too many competitors–till now.
Asus’ ECleaner is Roomba-like in its shape and form factor but it has a few nice upgrades. The ECleaner includes a 6000-hour UV light for disinfecting the floor, a slot for spreading fragrance and a remote control that fits neatly on top of the vacuum, says Robot Stock News.
Though details are scarce, from Asus’s video, the ECleaner seems to work more like the Roomba in its cleaning, though it has a few pre-programmed patterns. The Roomba uses a randomized algorithm to clean a room, which has led to complaints that it doesn’t always cover an area completely. The Neato has a laser mapping technology that creates an outline of the room and its objects so the robot can move in a systemic back and forth pattern to cover a cleaning surface.
As with the Roomba and Neato, the ECleaner has a photo sensor to detect stairs and avoid falling down. The ECleaner also returns to its battery charge base automatically when it is done with its task or if the battery needs to be recharged.
Asus’ innovation lies not in its ability to offer cutting-edge features but to launch products at prices that make it accessible to a much larger audience. The ECleaner is priced at around $150 (NT$5000), much cheaper than the Neato and competitive with the Roomba.
See Also:
Photo: Asus ECleaner
By Lorraine Luk, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
China Telecom Corp. became the second Chinese mobile operator to sign a deal with Canada-based Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM) to offer BlackBerry devices in the mainland, in a move that could help the telecommunications company gain competitiveness in the third-generation wireless market.
The company joins China Mobile Ltd. in offering BlackBerry devices. The agreement also could help China Telecom gain ground against China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd., which offers Apple Inc.’s (AAPL) iPhones.
China Telecom spokesman Jacky Yung said Monday the company is working out the practical arrangements with RIM. It doesn’t have a timetable yet for when it will start offering the BlackBerry devices.
He also said the company is still in talks with Palm Inc. (PALM) to offer Palm’s handsets in the mainland.
Read the rest of this post on the original site
Outside of a completely simulated appearance in a commercial, we’ve been hard-pressed in finding any video of the LG eXpo’s projector attachment in action. We expected to see some hit the Tubes after the handset launched last week – alas, the projector accessory still hasn’t hit the shelves.
Fortunately, the guys over at MobileSyrup have managed to scrounge one up north of the border. Their verdict? It “looks good” (looks a bit dim to us, even in the blacked out room) but the projection unit gets surprisingly warm with use. That’s probably pretty unavoidable given the concept of slamming a projector into an itsy-bitsy box – just be sure to give it a minute or two to cool down before you stuff it back into your pants. There’s sensitive stuff down there, you know?
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![Screen shot 2009-12-21 at [ December 21 ] 10.46.50 AM](http://www.mobilecrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Screen-shot-2009-12-21-at-December-21-10.46.50-AM-630x471.png "Screen shot 2009-12-21 at [ December 21 ] 10.46.50 AM")
Man, that was a surreal headline to write. Two baked goods in one sentence, and we’re not even talking about Android.
With over 10 million units pushed, the Cookie is LG’s best selling device ever. It should come as no surprise, then, that it’s getting a sequel.
According to information leaked to PhoneArena, the second coming of the Cookie is tentatively titled the “Muffin”. We’re not sure when it’s set to come out of the oven – but when it does, it’ll reportedly pack a 3″ capacitive touchscreen, 5.0 megapixel camera (as compared to 3.0 on the original), WiFi and HSDPA, Dolby Mobile Sound, and LG’s signature S-Class user interface.
If LG’s going about the Muffin with the same mindset as the original, we can probably expect this to launch somewhere between $250-$350 before taxes and carrier subsidies.
![Screen shot 2009-12-21 at [ December 21 ] 10.54.06 AM](http://www.mobilecrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Screen-shot-2009-12-21-at-December-21-10.54.06-AM.png "Screen shot 2009-12-21 at [ December 21 ] 10.54.06 AM")
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Plenty of iPhone programmers whine about their failure to strike it rich in the App Store, but Tap Tap Revenge developer Tapulous can’t complain. The maker of the popular rhythm game reported sales nearing $1 million per month.
The Palo Alto, California startup told Reuters that it generates the revenue through sales of its games, ads and selling songs inside games.
Apple has sold more than 50 million iPhone OS devices (iPhones and iPod Touch units) to date. Earlier this year, research firm ComScore estimated that one-third of iPhone OS users had installed Tap Tap Revenge, Tapulous’ most popular game title. Many compare the game to Rock Band or Dance Dance Revolution. (In Tap Tap Revenge, you tap glowing dots as they hit the bottom of the screen.)
Tap Tap Revenge 3, the latest version of Tapulous’ game, is $1 in the App Store. There are free tracks, but mobile gamers have to buy some major artists’ songs for 50 cents apiece. The strategy seems to be working for artists, as well as for Tapulous.
Tapulous’ story is uncommon. Several media outlets have described the App Store phenomenon as a digital gold rush, earning some software companies big and small hundreds of thousands of dollars. Apple’s App Store provides a simple business model for developers to market and sell their apps. However, the store is now overflowing with more than 100,000 apps, and the app market is becoming increasingly crowded and competitive. Even those who succeed in selling their apps in big numbers have difficulty retaining their success.
For example, in February 2009, Wired.com reported the story of Ethan Nicholas, who earned $600,000 in a single month with sales of his iPhone game iShoot. Nicholas, who quit his job after iShoot got popular, admitted eight months later in an interview with Newsweek that his success was “pure luck.” He said iShoot had been buried by copycats and other similar titles.
“It’s terrifying,” he told Newsweek, adding that he feared being a one-hit wonder.
So $1 million a month in sales for Tapulous wasn’t an easy feat. Not bad for a staff of 20, huh?
Download Link [iTunes]
See Also:
Unlike here in the States, the iPhone exclusivity deal for the UK wasn’t a big pile of absurd. O2 got exclusivity for 2 years. Once that was up, it was an open game where just about any carrier was free to hop on the iPhone – and hop they have.
Looking to stay competitive with the likes of O2 and Orange UK, Vodafone has just officially confirmed that they’ll be launching the iPhone on January 14th of 2010. £35 a month will get you a free 8GB 3G, while a 32GB 3GS will set you back an additional £239 up front.
Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0
I’ve been using the AT&T Navigator app for iPhone for a couple of months now. This is a free app, but it requires a $10/month subscription from AT&T (or $70 for an annual subscription). I’m not going to belabor the GPS functions too much in this review: it’s almost the year 2010, and the global positioning system has been used to provide turn-by-turn directions for long enough now that any GPS device or application being reviewed should do that basic job. Instead, I’m going to examine how useful a GPS function is on your mobile phone, talk about some of what’s nice (and not-so-nice) about the AT&T Navigator, and look at the value proposition of a $10/month subscription in light of Google’s free turn-by-turn driving directions on the Verizon Droid.
The Not-So-Good
The first thing to know about the Navigator application is that it suffers from the iPhone’s inability to support “background apps”. That is, if you want turn-by-turn directions, you need to leave the Navigator app running on your phone. You can’t pop over to check your email, or even take a call or reply to an SMS, without interrupting the navigation. When you’re on a long stretch of highway, that’s not a big deal; but it can be a little frustrating if you’re sitting in the passenger seat and trying to multitask on your fancy smartphone. (You should never multitask on your fancy smartphone if you’re driving the car!)
The good news, though, is that iPod functionality is well integrated into the app. With the press of an on-screen button, you can have access to your playlists, media navigation controls, and more. The music will be muted when the Navigator app needs to speak to you, which minimizes some of the concerns about the always-on nature of the app.
The second thing to know about the Navigator app is that it’s frequently just a little slow. This is a result of being just a little weak in terms of positioning accuracy. It consistently reports me as being anywhere from 50 to 500 feet away from where I actually am. Again, while driving down the highway this isn’t a big deal; but when navigating city streets it’s mighty frustrating to be instructed to turn left onto the street you just passed.
Also, it’s really slow to start up. This is frustrating when you wind up popping in and out of the app — whether because you’re making a call, or using another app. You need to wait patiently for the app to start before you can use it. If you’re en route, it usually remembers this, and asks you if you want to continue navigating to your destination. On a couple of occasions, though, exiting the app while en route resulted in a lost route. When I started the app again, I was presented with the home screen. It seems that there’s a minimum threshold for how long a route must be active before the app saves it. Put another way: don’t start navigating somewhere and then immediately close out of the app.
Finally, the app is really fond of U-turns. If I miss a turn, it will as often as not suggest that I make a U-turn. Maybe that’s okay in most parts of the world, but in Columbus, OH U-turns are illegal except at a few specifically designated intersections. If I don’t make a U-turn, I send the application into a fit as it tries to re-route me with every turn I make. I don’t mind being told to make a U-turn: I know I’m not supposed to do it, so I don’t. Instead, I make a couple of right or left turns to effectively get pointed back in the other direction. The Navigator app has no idea of my intentions, of course, and merrily recomputes a new route for me with every turn.
The Good
That sounds like a lot of negatives, and to be fair they’re legitimate concerns. But in all honesty, I’ve really enjoyed using this application. It’s been my experience that the routing is really good. I’ve never gotten lost using it, and it’s never given me a braindead route that causes problems. Indeed, on a Thanksgiving roadtrip to Cartersville, GA, it provided perfect directions to my sister-in-law’s house in a new development, while my mother-in-law got lost following the instructions from Google Maps.
Real-time traffic reports are included in the subscription fee. That, too, helped at Thanksgiving, so that I could know how far traffic would be bumper-to-bumper as we exited the city.
Probably the biggest selling point for the Navigator app, though, is the use of a server-based routing mechanism. Instead of loading all the map data onto your handset, the map data lives with Telenav. This means that updates can be made in real time, in reaction to important events. For example, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay bridge was closed over the Labor Day weekend this year. If you were using a traditional GPS device, it likely would have been ignorant of this fact, and happily told you to take the bridge to get out of town, leaving you stuck in traffic. Telenav routed around the bridge, since they knew it would be closed, thereby saving their customers a lot of frustration and wasted time.
A recent update to Navigator added full landscape support, which is a nice feature to have. I didn’t have any problems using the application strictly in portrait mode, but landscape is certainly handy sometimes! Here’s a video in which you can see it, and the iPod controls, in action:
So, how does AT&T Navigator, at $10/month, stack up against Google’s mapping service on the Verizon Droid? Alas, I’m not able to answer that question, yet, since I don’t have a Droid. I did ask both AT&T and Telenav, though, how they think things compare.
Here’s a quick comment from Todd Witkemper, from Telenav:
In general, here are a few differentiators that TeleNav products provide that Google Navigation does not have:
• Proven map data that is consistently updated (I’ve read multiple reviews of Google Navigation where the reviewer received incorrect routing)
• Online preplanning/account management
• A real person’s voice for majority of audio commands (vs. text to speech computerized voice)
• Proactive traffic alerts with one-click rerouting (you don’t have to change views to see traffic updates)
• Real-time gas prices, weather, WiFi hot spot listings, commute alerts and movie listings/ticket purchasing (movie info on AT&T Navigator 1.8)
• Route style options like avoiding HOV lanes and toll roads
• Location-sharingTeleNav also supports more than 500 devices in multiple countries.
Seth Bloom at AT&T adds:
AT&T Navigator remains one of our most popular apps to date. We have a great, open and ongoing dialogue with our Navigator customers and feel confident in our track record of making enhancements based on real-time customer feedback.
More choice is always great for consumers, but we’re confident with this app and with our interactive dialogue with our customers that is helping ensure they get a premier voice and visual turn-by-turn GPS experience.
Bottom Line: if you don’t yet own a dedicated GPS, and you’re tired of the shortcomings of the iPhone’s Maps app, the Navigator app is a good option. Be sure to pay the yearly fee, rather than month-by-month.
Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.
The folks in Lacie’s hard drive research kitchen have a need. A need (dramatic pause) for speed. And a need that they have managed to sate with the shiny new USB 3.0 2Big RAID drive.
Not happy with the already huge speed-jump gained by switching from boring old USB 2.0, the 2Big throws in a RAID 0/1 setup to open the throttle even further, striping the information across two drives to reach a blistering 275MB/s burst speed. Compare that to USB 2.0’s pedestrian theoretical maximum of 480 Mb/s. Notice the lowercase b in the latter, which stands for bits not bytes. This is, Lacies says, fast enough to throw many HD streams around at once, editing and watching in full resolution at the same time.
For you and me it means less waiting when, erm, borrowing our friends’ movie collections.
The 2Bigs will be on sale early in the new year, for a presumably high price-point, and will come in sizes up to 4TB. Of course, this will be rather pointless unless you have a computer capable of using USB 3.0 peripherals at full speed.
LaCie Partners with Symwave to Introduce World’s First USB 3.0 Dual-Drive RAID Storage Solution [Business Wire]
Maine could well become the first state in the Union to require cellphone manufacturers to add a cigarette-like warning to cellphone packaging. The idea is to remind people that cellphones may be dangerous, and that you would do well to limit your exposure to them.
Of course, for every study that comes out that says cellphones may be dangerous, there’s another that says they’re not, or, at the very least, that more data is necessary to make any conclusions.
Whether or not the warning message should be added will be brought before the Maine Legislature next month in a session that’s “usually reserved for emergency and governors’ bills.”
The proposed warnings would advise people, especially children and pregnant women, to limit their exposure to cellphones.
For its part, the CTIA, which is the mobile industry’s public face, says that it always bases its policies on hard science. To date, there has been no definitive “eureka!” study. Of course, that ignores the numerous studies that say, “you know, there’s some evidence here that says we should limit exposure.”
Besides, why make sure a big deal about a warning sticker? What’s so bad about limiting your exposure to cellphones?
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 Baltimore Sun (blog) | Winter Solstice 2009: Facts on Shortest Day of the Year National Geographic Today is the winter solstice and the first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. It's all due to Earth's tilt, which ensures that the shortest day of every year falls around December 21. Since ancient times people have marked the winter solstice ... Jimmy Westlake: Winter solstice Who Put Christ In The Solstice? Winter solstice 2009: What it's all about |
This is the OWLE, an aluminum and silicone case which upgrades the audio and video of your iPhone’s camera. The case comes in a few parts. First, there is the silicone sleeve which protects its delicate body upon insertion to the unibody case, itself milled, MacBook-like, from a single block of metal.
Once ensconced in this safe, easy to hold cocoon, the lens is augmented with a 0.45x wide-angle adapter on the front. This uses a 37mm screw-mount, and any other 37mm-screw lens can be swapped in. The sound gets a boost from a small boom microphone which hooks into the headphone jack, and all four of those corners has a standard tripod thread for steady mounting. Finally, there’s a cold-shoe up top for mounting accessories like continuous lights.
You’ll need an iPhone 3GS to really take advantage, as even with the video-enabling workaround we brought you last week, the camera in the iPhone 3G still sucks. The price of the OWLE is a reasonable $130, which strikes us as fair for what you’re getting.
OWLE iPhone Video/Audio Rig [ThinkGeek]
Opening jars is a thing that most of us do with our hands. Grip, twist, pop! The Lids Off Jar Opener for Black & Decker is for those that can’t perform this simple, everyday task.
At this point, we’d usually chuckle and poke fun at a gadget so sharply focussed on one single job. What’s more, it is a uni-tasker of rather grand mechanical ambitions, a jar-enhancing exo-skeleton more akin to Ripley’s Alien-killing Power-Loader than the rubber glove or grippy lever we’re used to.
But laughing would, in this case, be the wrong thing to do. A quick look at the customer comments on Amazon.com shows almost exclusively five-star ratings, mostly from buyers with arthritis who, however many damp cloths or bowls of hot water they use, will never get the lid off a jar with their bare, gnarled hands. In fact, the only low (two-star) rating came from a buyer who couldn’t fit his jars into the machine, suggesting he may either have a rather large family, or other problems altogether.
All you need to do is pop in the (normal-sized) jar, press down the lid and hit the button. The gripper mechanism automatically adjusts to the size of the lid and a button press opens it up. This, according to the Black & Decker page, “Saves time and simplifies the often-dreaded task of jar opening.” The price of this dread-busting machine? A reasonable $27.
Lids Off™ Jar Opener Deluxe [Black and Decker via Core77]
As MobileCrunch reported back in August, three of Japan’s eight top cell phone makers, namely NEC, Casio and Hitachi are going to merge their cell phone businesses next year. Under the agreement, NEC plans to integrate its handset division into a tie-up that already existed between Hitachi and Casio starting April 2010 (the begin of the new fiscal year under the Japanese business calendar).
In the meantime, the companies involved decided on a name for the new venture: NEC Casio Mobile. The company’s capitalization stands at a relatively modest $55 million, with NEC holding a 71% stake, Casio 20% and Hitachi 9%. And as I speculated in my previous article, that new company plans to enter the global market in a (relatively) aggressive way.
NEC Casio Mobile plans to ship a total of five million handsets in markets outside Japan, up more than 200% from the numbers for fiscal 2008 (handset sales of NEC, Casio and Hitachi combined). By the end of 2011, the new company wants to sell handsets, including “smartphones”, in North America. NEC Casio will also enter the Mexican and Australian markets by that time.
In fiscal 2008, the three companies involved in the new venture shipped a combined 8.9 million cell phones, 1.5 million of which found their way outside Japan. NEC Casio follows both Sharp and Panasonic in their plans to bring made-in-Japan cell phones abroad.
Via Nikkei [registration required, paid subscription]
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By Nook or by crook, you will get that book! That is, almost, what Barnes & Noble is saying to those worried about not receiving their Nook e-readers in time for Christmas.
Desperate to get the Nook in time to make some fast Christmas cash, B&N decided an early launch with not enough units would be a good idea. Now, as customers start to worry that the gifts won’t arrive in time for Christmas Day, B&N has sent an email promising a $100 gift voucher to anyone whose Nook doesn’t make it. Here’s a follow up email send to the Consumerist, featuring the somewhat over-PC use of the word “holidays” to refer to Christmas Day itself:
The vast majority of customers who pre-ordered nooks and were given a pre-holiday estimated shipping date should receive their devices in time for the holidays […] Unfortunately, there may be a very small percentage of customers who may not receive their nooks before the holiday.
In its initial email to customers, Barnes & Noble has tried to weasel its way out of the real reason for the problem (not enough Nooks) by blaming shipping:
Although your shipment has been slightly delayed, we are aiming for your order to leave out warehouse in time for you to receive your nook by December 24th.
And how, given the sorry state of the B&N warehouse and its inability to get things out of the door, is the company addressing the problem?
We are sending a special nook Holiday Certificate to the shipping address provided when you placed your nook order. [emphasis in original]
That’s right. Despite not being able to ship the Nook itself, B&N can manage to print and post some gift cards. We guess the company is more experienced with dead tree products than this fancy new-fangled gadgetry after all.
We tease, but this is a nice piece of pre-emptive customer service. At least your unlucky giftee will have something to open on “Holiday” Day Morning, and the bonus of $100 to spend when the thing finally turns up.
Barnes & Noble Will Send You $100 If Nook Doesn’t Show Up By Christmas [Consumerist]
Wheelskates, from company Chariot Skates, look more like some kind of medieval torture device - designed to painfully separate femur from knee - than a new kind of leisure activity. The skates are billed as something between in-line skates, skis, and a bike, and allow you to careen speedily across terrain normally off-limits to small-wheeled roller-skates. But enough of that. You want to see a video of them in action, right?
They look like a lot of fun, and remind me of 1970s UK TV kids show Chorlton and the Wheelies.
It’s tricky to see from the video, but the skates just have one large wheel each. Your legs are strapped in to a series of torsion and leg-supporting struts (made from carbon fiber), placing the feet below the wheel axles for stability. Equilibrium is further helped by putting your weight, and point of balance, onto the balls of the feet, exactly where they would be on pair of bike pedals (assuming you are riding properly).
The FAQ tells us that experienced skaters will be up and rolling in no time, and that the Wheelskates are no harder to learn that regular ‘blades are for novices. It also tells us that there are no brakes, and that they are faster than regular street-skates. This is not surprising as Chariot Skates is based in Australia, home of people who seem to be very good at sports, and home to a large proportion of the world’s deadliest critters. In short, the Australians laugh at danger.
The skates are still being tested, but a launch is planned for February 2010. Price is as yet unknown, but likely to be closer to the cost of a carbon fiber bike than of a pair of cheap inline skates.
Wheelskates [Chariot Skates via Oh Gizmo]
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