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NetBIOS Design Allows Traffic Redirectioniago-vL writes "Security researchers at SkullSecurity have demonstrated how the NetBIOS protocol allows trivial hijacking due to its design, through the use of a tool called 'nbpoison' (in the package 'nbtool'). If a DNS lookup fails on Windows, the operating system will broadcast a NetBIOS lookup request that anybody can respond to. One vector of attack is against business workstations on an untrusted network, like a hotel; all DNS requests for internal resources can be redirected (Exchange, proxy, WPAD, etc). Other attack vectors are discussed in a related blog post. Although similar attacks exist against DHCP, ARP and many other LAN-based protocols, we all know that untrusted systems on a LAN means game over. NetBIOS poisoning is much quieter and less likely to break other things."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Gizmodo | 26 Dec 2009 | 2:56 am This Week On TechCrunch: Zuckerberg eaten by zebras, Al Qaeda invests in Twitter, Spotify profitable and moreThe only good thing about the deadline for this week's TechCrunch round-up falling on Christmas Day is the absolute certain fact that you won't be reading the results. After all, with the holiday season...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 26 Dec 2009 | 2:32 am This Week On TechCrunch: Zuckerberg eaten by zebras, Al Qaeda invests in Twitter, Spotify profitable and more
Safe in that knowledge, I can pretty claim anything I like. That this week’s top story was Mark Zuckerberg being eaten by zebras, for example, or Al Qaeda investing in Twitter. Hell, I could probably claim that Spotify is profitable and it would still pass entirely without remark. Who would know? Just me and Google’s spider. But I’m a professional – which is why I only missed my Christmas Day deadline by 24 hours – and as such I take seriously my responsibility to bring you this week’s top stories, regardless of whether you care or not. Hell, I’ve even come up with a festive theme in a vain attempt to keep you reading. Even though I know you’re not. Here we go then… On the first day of Christmas, TechCrunch gave to you…. One billion dollar exits On the second day of Christmas, TechCrunch gave to you… Two out of every ten companies suffering from “stealth disease” On the third day of Christmas, TechCrunch gave to you… Four screenings of Avatar
Five hundred and fifty million dollars On the sixth day of Christmas, TechCrunch gave to you… Six-ty thousand nooks will be shipped by Barnes & Noble this year Seven million more dollars raised by ChaCha
Eight million dollars raised by Livemocha
Nine ‘rock-star’ names associated with WePay’s new group payments services
Ten IPO Candidates for 2010 Eleven billion valuation for Facebook
Twelve (at least) religions that I’ve certainly offended by suggesting that the entire world stops for Christmas. I look forward to the comments. Not that I’ll be reading them – after all, it’s Christmas! Have a good week! Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.
Source: Gizmodo | 26 Dec 2009 | 2:01 am China bloggers fined for defamation: report (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 26 Dec 2009 | 1:32 am Top 10 Best iPhone and iPod Touch Apps for $0.99 Cents - Appmodo
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 26 Dec 2009 | 1:05 am SafeSexting iPhone appTeenage sexting has gotten a lot of attention from educators and the media and one company, MountainDev, has adressed the problem with a new iPhone app. Safe Sexting offers a way to edit then send sexy...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 26 Dec 2009 | 1:03 am Philippine Congress Backs Off From Text TaxWith elections for Congress coming up in May 2010, the Committee on Ways and Means of the Philippine Congress is backing off from a plan to tax text messages. Groups opposed to the bill have threatened...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 26 Dec 2009 | 12:38 am Simplifying Search For a Younger AudienceAn article in the NY Times discusses how kids interact with search engines, which are primarily designed for adult users who are familiar with basic internet concepts. From the article: "When considering children, search engines had long focused on filtering out explicit material from results. But now, because increasing numbers of children are using search as a starting point for homework, exploration or entertainment, more engineers are looking to children for guidance on how to improve their tools. ... Stefan Weitz, director of Bing, said that for certain types of tasks, like finding a list of American presidents, people found answers 28 percent faster with a search of images rather than of text. He said that because Bing used more imagery than other search engines, it attracted more children. ... Children also tend to want to ask questions like 'Who is the president?' rather than type in a keyword. Scott Kim, chief technology officer at Ask.com, said that because as many as a third of search queries were entered as questions (up to 43 percent on Ask Kids, a variant designed for children), it had enlarged search boxes on both sites by almost 30 percent."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 26 Dec 2009 | 12:10 am Religion in Video GamesThe Opposable Thumbs blog recently took a look at how religious themes are handled in video games. Most makers of mainstream games are hesitant, given the strong feelings of most consumers on the subject, but other companies are trying desperately to bring religion into the spotlight. Quoting: "Part of the problem is that the game industry is often touted as being a corrupting influence for the youth of the world. Criticism against the game industry has come from leaders as high up as the current Pope, and many of us who have been exposed to sermons bemoaning the influence that games and movies have on kids. Even when groups like the Christian Game Developers Foundation put out a video encouraging developers to create wholesome titles for kids, the attitude conveyed towards current members of the industry was contemptuous at best. Needless to say, games with heavy religious content are usually fringe projects, independently created and oftentimes sporting dodgy production values, because publishers wisely don't want to risk boycotts from legions of the faithful."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Gizmodo | 25 Dec 2009 | 7:00 pm Guatemala: Christmas Day video and audio snapshots
Below, three ambient audio snippets (also recorded on iPhone, using the voice memo app... I mention because I'm always surprised at how good the audio quality is). Click the linked descriptions if you prefer to download the MP3s or other file formats. Enjoy, and happy holidays!
1) Christmas Day fireworks at noon. So many going off, sounds like weaponized rain.
2) Choir singing "Ave Maria" inside a church built in 1583.
3) Kakchikel Maya father and son street musicians, performing marimba.
Source: Boing Boing | 25 Dec 2009 | 6:24 pm Guatemala: Christmas Day video and audio snapshots(More photos). Feliz Navidad, yo! I woke up at noon here in la Antigua, Guatemala, bleary-eyed from tamale and ponche-fueled Christmas Eve celebrations that lasted 'til 3am, and all of a sudden?...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 25 Dec 2009 | 6:24 pm Top 20 Trends of the Day (Dec 25) - From Beheading Creativity to Time-Traveling Cityscapes (COUNTDOWN)(TrendHunter.com) For the day of December 25th, these are the Top 20 trends, which include Beheading Creativity, Clownish Couture Makeup and Ultra Chic Workwear. The rankings are based on hundreds...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 25 Dec 2009 | 6:20 pm Holiday E-Commerce DDoS Attack Hits EC2 CloudARos writes "A holiday DDoS attack targeted a west-coast DNS provider, which is known for serving large-scale E-Commerce sites (including amazon.com and walmart.com). 'Neustar, which provides DNS services to high profile website addresses under the UltraDNS brand, said the flood of malicious traffic, just two days before Christmas, was directed at the company's facilities in San Jose and Palo Alto, and that the effects were mostly limited to California users.' CNet adds: 'In addition to the high-profile sites, dozens of smaller sites that rely upon Amazon for Web-hosting services were also taken down by the attack. Amazon's S3 and EC2 services were affected by the problems, according to Jeff Barr, Amazon's lead Web Evangelist, who retweeted a report to that effect without clarification and confirmed it in later tweets.'"Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Gizmodo | 25 Dec 2009 | 5:00 pm GAO Warns Space Station May Be a BustThe Government Accountability Office has some somber words for U.S. taxpayers: After 25 years of work and billions of dollars, we may not get our money’s worth out of the International Space Station. There are several reasons for the situation, ...Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 25 Dec 2009 | 4:45 pm Skeptics Question OLPC's Focus With $75 TabletWith the recent announcement of OLPC's shift in focus, many are criticizing the nonprofit's attempt to design what could be seen as unrealistic hardware at an impossible price point. "The OLPC project has become an unrealistic hardware 'dream' and lost its focus on education, wrote blogger Wayan Vota on OLPC News, which has followed the OLPC since its inception. The project comes up with unrealistic hardware designs and price points that destroy its purpose even more, he wrote. 'Excuse me if I get mad at the XO-3 hype. I'm angry at the energy devoted to fantasy XO hardware instead of OLPC educational reality. I miss the original OLPC Mission, where children, not computers, controlled our dreams,' Vota wrote."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Gizmodo | 25 Dec 2009 | 4:00 pm The Wonder Of Apple's TabletIn 2007, just prior to its launch, I was absolutely positive I wasn't going to buy an iPhone. My rationale was that I didn't even like using a cellphone, so why would I want a $600 one? What I wanted was...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 25 Dec 2009 | 3:22 pm The Wonder Of Apple’s Tablet
My point in telling that story is that all signs indicate that we’re closing in on another new Apple product, a tablet computer. And the hype around it is already palpable. But so is the skepticism among many — skepticism similar to what I felt with the iPhone. “Why would anyone want a tablet computer?” “It will be way too expensive, no one will buy it.” “This is all just nonsense Apple hype.” Those are a few of the more common reactions against the still-mysterious device. But I’m not going to be tricked again. Conventional wisdom suggests that Apple will not be able to succeed where so many others have failed. But Apple makes billions defying conventional wisdom. The truth is that most of us don’t understand the allure of a tablet computer because they’ve all sucked up until now. It’s the exact same reason that I didn’t understand the iPhone at first. My cellphones leading up to the iPhone ranged from “okay” to “junk.” The idea of getting one with such a high price tag was insanity to me. But within seconds of using the iPhone, I was able to tell that Apple had made something completely different. It wasn’t a cellphone as I had known them. It redefined the category. And while there are no sure things in the tech world, I would bet that Apple’s tablet will do the same.
Part of it is that Apple has a sterling record with consumer-oriented products. Sure, there are some duds, like the Mighty Mouse. And yes, there are some slip-ups, like my new iLemon. But overall, Apple commands attention in the consumer space because more often than not, they nail it. Going deeper, Apple is not afraid to step outside of the traditional comfort zones to try to create a new product — even if others have failed there before, as is the case with tablets. While this stirs skepticism in some, in many more people, it creates a sense of wonder. What if Apple can do it right this time? It’s exciting partially because it’s no sure thing. It’s exciting because the payoff is potentially huge. By this time next year, we may have a whole new genre of computing. It’s an undiscovered country. But it’s also familiar. There’s a quote from the first season of Mad Men that I think applies in this regard. “But he also talked about a deeper bond with the product. Nostalgia. It’s delicate, but potent,” Don Draper says leading up to his Kodak Carousel presentation. The core idea of a tablet is interesting to people on a fundamental level. At least as far back as Moses with the Ten Commandments, it has been a part of the human psyche. It’s something that couldn’t be simpler. It’s a slate that displays information. It’s not a computer with a mess of peripherals and/or physical buttons. If a media and web-centric computer were being designed today with no thought to what the computing norms of the past were, it would be a tablet. It also points to the future of interacting with computers. The mouse and keyboard will one day die and everything will be touch and gesture-based. I think a lot of people understand that, even if they don’t realize it. That’s why we saw so much interest in the CrunchPad. It was to be a simple, touchscreen device that you could surf the web on. For many people, that’s more than enough of a computer. And the truth is that Apple has already proven the concept. The iPhone is a tablet computer, just smaller. Recently, a former Apple employee was quoted in the New York Times as saying that much of the early work on the tablet exists today in the iPhone. The iPhone is the computer I use the most now day in and day out. And again, I never thought I’d want one. So while the immediate use of the tablet in our homes already riddled with computer may not be apparent just yet, I have no doubt that it will prove itself to be very useful. I have no idea what the tablet will be called (Robin lays out a comprehensive tale of why it may be the “iSlate”), what its specs will be, or how much it will cost. But I’m not going to make the mistake of dismissing it like I did with the iPhone simply because its practicality isn’t immediately apparent. If it succeeds, it will likely redefine the role of computing in our lives just as the iPhone has. That’s exciting. And that’s why we care so much about it. [images: 20th Century Fox and Paramount Pictures] Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors
Source: TechCrunch | 25 Dec 2009 | 3:22 pm Merry Christmas, Meagan Donahue. You Are Going To Machu Picchu
A month ago we ran a contest giving to give away a 7-day adventure trek for two to the ancient Inca ruins of Machu Picchu. As we wrote back then:
And we have a winner, reader Meagan Donahue. Merry Christmas. Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0
Source: TechCrunch | 25 Dec 2009 | 3:20 pm Merry Christmas, Meagan Donahue. You Are Going To Machu PicchuA month ago we ran a contest giving to give away a 7-day adventure trek for two to the ancient Inca ruins of Machu Picchu. As we wrote back then: . . . the winner will be climbing a mountain in Peru...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 25 Dec 2009 | 3:20 pm Wikileaks Needs Help, and Not Just Moneyst1d writes to tell us that Wikileaks has put out a call for help. However, instead of just asking for money, they have also suggested technical and legal avenues for support. In the site's short life, Wikileaks has been at the center of many breaking scandals and investigations. "Wikileaks is currently overloaded by readers. This is a regular difficulty that can only be resolved by deploying additional resources. If you support our mission, you can help us by integrating new hardware into our project infrastructure or developing software for the project. Become patron of a WikiLeaks server or other parts of our technology, adding more pillars to the stability and balance of the WikiLeaks platform. Servers come trouble-free and legally fortified, software is uniquely challenging. If you can provide rackspace, power and an uplink, or a dedicated server or storage space, for at least 12 months, or software development work for WikiLeaks, please write to wl-supporters@sunshinepress.org."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 25 Dec 2009 | 3:15 pm App it Up: Freaky Fotos ProFROM APPLETELL - Freaky Fotos Pro allows you to add ghostly images to your photos. What else would you expect from an app we’re covering on Christmas Eve?
Source: Gizmodo | 25 Dec 2009 | 3:00 pm Merry Christmas EverybodyWish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy new year. I hope you are all resting and taking a much needed break after a very hectic 2009. It is a good time to also focus on what really matters - our loved one...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 25 Dec 2009 | 2:37 pm FCC spills the beans on Asus Eee TabletSection: Computers, Mobile Computers, Laptops  There had been rumors before but now we have solid proof on a new Asus Eee Tablet. The T101MT is going to at least have a 10” display as the name says and will basically be a larger version of Asus’s T91MT. It is also confirmed to have multi-touch support as was perceived before. Other than that though, the only thing else we have learned is that it will have 802.11n Wi-Fi built in. We can assume, though, that it will use Intel’s Pine Trail platform and probably a 1.66GHz Atom N450. With the multi-touch support, it is nearly certain that the tablet will sport Windows 7 as the OS. The FCC filing doesn’t show any hints of a release date but because CES is only 2 weeks away, we wouldn’t be surprised to see this there. I have a feeling that January 2010 will be known as the dawn of the tablet PC. With CES coming and Apple hosting their January 26th event to unveil a big release I expect tablets to be the big feature. Read [Electronista]
Full Story » | Written by Greg Billetdeaux for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 25 Dec 2009 | 2:01 pm Hourtime Podcast: The Lair of the White Watch
Here’s another red-hot watch podcast for all you watch fans out there. Happy Holidays and enjoy.
Source: CrunchGear | 25 Dec 2009 | 1:46 pm Apple owns iSlate.com--the mystery deepens - CNET News
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 25 Dec 2009 | 1:46 pm First Tablet Using Pixel Qi Screen On The WayAzureflare writes "The first device using a Pixel Qi screen has been confirmed. It is produced by Notion Ink, and it appears they took a few design tips from Apple by sticking with a design that has tapered edges. This tablet should give Apple a run for their money, especially considering the recently confirmed rumor of an Apple tablet. 'The Notion Ink smartpad measures 6.3 x 9.8 x 0.6 inches and weighs 1.7lbs; as well as the tri-band (850/1900/2100) UMTS/HSDPA, WiFi b/g and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR it also squeezes in A-GPS, a digital compass, accelerometer and proximity, ambient light and water sensors. Connectivity includes USB, HDMI, a 3.5mm headphone jack and a microphone input, and there’s also a 3-megapixel auto-focus camera with video recording support. Onboard storage is either 16GB or 32GB of SSD, and there's an SD slot for augmenting that.'" Update: 12/25 21:44 GMT by SS : Removed erroneous reference to Nokia.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 25 Dec 2009 | 1:46 pm Sberbank wants GM to compensate for Opel -reportNEW YORK, Dec 25 (Reuters) - Russian state-controlled Sberbank has said General Motors [GM.UL] should compensate it for an aborted attempt to sell a stake in Opel or it will sue, the Associated Press...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 25 Dec 2009 | 1:18 pm Elizabeth Pschorr: A Privileged Marriage (Boing Boing Video)(Watch on YouTube, Dotsub, or download MP4)
A little backstory on how this episode came to be: Ms. Pschorr's grandson, Jason McHugh, has worked with us since the early days of BBTV as a field producer and cameraman. One day when we were on a shoot together, he told me about his grandma, and an autobiographical book she was writing. I asked if we could visit her and record some of her story, and this episode unfolded over the next two years. Jason scanned old photos, love letters, and copied black and white film reels tucked away in boxes at his grandma's home. After the jump, more of those photos, and Jason (who's enjoying the holidays today with his grandmother) shares his thoughts about his family's story, and about the making of the video you'll see above. Jason McHugh writes:
More online: Elizabeth Pschorr Website | Amazon link for A Privileged Marriage
Source: Boing Boing | 25 Dec 2009 | 12:49 pm Twitter Buys Mixer Labs For Geolocation Servicesitwbennett writes "In a blog entry Wednesday, a Twitter official wrote that the company has acquired Mixer Labs, maker of GeoAPI, a service that helps developers build geolocation-aware applications for Twitter. 'Software using the service will allow Twitter users to tag the location where a message was written,' Agam Shah writes in an article on ITworld. 'Twitter did not immediately respond to comment on how much it paid for Mixer Labs.'"Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 25 Dec 2009 | 12:14 pm S.Korea issues warning against 'yellow dust'South Korea's weather service Friday issued a warning against airborne pollution known as "yellow dust", advising residents in western areas to avoid outdoor activities. "Yellow dust...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 25 Dec 2009 | 11:59 am GROU.PS DIY Social Network Platform Reaches 2 Million Users, Becomes More Customizable
GROU.PS, a do-it-yourself social network focused on moderated online collaboration has steadily gained an impressive amount of users and added compelling features to its application. The social network platform has just hit 2 million users, adding another million members in just 6 months. And GROU.PS has amped up its offering for publishers by launching Elastic Modules, which gives publishers the ability to change the way the data is displayed to their visitors. To date, the highest reach of look and feel customization was at the template level; the GROU.PS counts Don Dodge, developer evangelist at Google, is among the community builders that have chosen GROU.PS as their online platform. “Don Dodge’s Startup List” is sort of a Crunchbase for Boston area. The startup’s networks are attractive to users because it lets you run all of your group’s collaboration tools from one GROU.PS domain using a single login. The system supports wikis, photos, links, blogs, calendars, chat, forums, maps, profiles, and subgroups – each of which is available as a plug-and-play module for your community. These modules also allow users to pull in their data from other third party services (flickr, Digg, blogs, etc). The startup, which has over 40,000 networks on its platform, also recently added ActivityRank Pipelines, a point and reward system that lets moderators of a social network measure and rank members’ content contributions and then extend moderation privileges to members based on these rankings. And the social network is launching a subscription model that will allow moderators to charge subscription fees to members (GROU.PS gets a 50% cut on any fees charges). GROU.PS just raised $1 million in funding, bringing the startup’s total funding up to over $2 million. But while the social network is growing, it is still faces major competition form the leader in the space, Ning, which recently hit 37 million users with 1.6 million social networks created on the platform.  Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0
Source: TechCrunch | 25 Dec 2009 | 11:44 am Wind Turbine Puts On Holiday ShowTravelers on Germany's A9 Autobahn are likely to do some double-takes this holiday. That giant light isn't an alien--it's the world's largest spinning Christmas star. Power giant Siemens contracted multimedia artist Michael Pendry for the massive project done in partnership ...Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 25 Dec 2009 | 11:42 am Another Oil Spill In Prince William SoundImage Caption: The tug Pathfinder anchors south of Busby Island in Prince William Sound after the tug went aground on Bligh Reef Wednesday evening creating a light sheen spanning an area approximately three miles long and 30 yards wide about one mile east of Glacier Island Dec. 24, 2009. The Valdez Star, an oil recovery vessel, continues to use oil skimmers to recover as much diesel as possible. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Charly Hengen.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 25 Dec 2009 | 11:05 am Gamertell Mashup: The Grinch-iest villains in video gamesFROM GAMERTELL - Dr. Theobold Suess Geisel’s Grinch is a cranky reclusive villain who eventually comes around and embraces all that which he hated. He’s so iconic that, naturally, there are plenty of video game villains who, in one way or another, are like Grinch… Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 25 Dec 2009 | 11:00 am Why Bite the Google Hand That Feeds You?Techdirt pointed out that not long ago, John Byrne, ex-editor-in-chief of BusinessWeek.com and now CEO of newly founded C-Change Media, decided to tackle the problem of why publications seem to be so vehemently opposed to Google being a part of their business process. While there aren't any earth-shattering revelations, it is a great, succinct description of the problem. "I received several solid answers from followers of this blog, including Frymaster who immediately took sides in the ongoing war between Traditional Media and Google. Wrote Frymaster: 'I reject out-of-hand the assertion that Google is profiting from others' content. Rather, I say that Google profits from connecting users to content. It is a service that most web publishers appreciate greatly. Google, unlike any other search engine ever, goes to great pains to deliver the least-skewed results possible. Google is constantly on the hunt for people who game their system. That's why they succeed. There is a direct connection between Google's user-centric, community-oriented approach and their financial success.'"Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 25 Dec 2009 | 10:39 am Christmas Day Q & A: Santa considering relocation - TheNewsTribune.com
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 25 Dec 2009 | 10:38 am China cracks down on online games: report (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 25 Dec 2009 | 10:34 am Getting started at the App Store (Macworld.com)Macworld.com - Perhaps you were fortunate enough this morning to find a brand spanking new iPhone or iPod touch under the tree. And doubtlessly, you demonstrated the appropriate level of gratitude to whichever friend/loved one/North Pole denizen was thoughtful enough to give you such a present. Now thereâs just one more bit of business before you pour that next cup of egg nog and start tapping away to your heartâs content.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 25 Dec 2009 | 10:28 am UPDATE 2-Russia fears gas problems with Ukraine, stops oilMOSCOW, Dec 25 (Reuters) - Russia has scrapped January oil exports via Ukrainian ports and also said it fears Ukraine will have problems paying for its gas, a sign of a possible repeat of New Year gas...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 25 Dec 2009 | 10:19 am Another tablet, but this one we can actually touch!Section: Computers, Mobile Computers, Laptops
The company in question is Notion Inc. And they have confirmed a 10.1-inch (I know! Exact dimensions!!), Android OS running tablet. Probably the coolest part of this new tablet, besides the obvious reason of my excitement, is the technology behind the display. It is made by a company called Pixel Qi and is a combination of E Ink and LCD screens. This hybrid has benefits of low power usage and the absence of glare plus color benefits you usually don’t get with E ink screens. So no more worrying about sitting with the sun behind you. Some of the features of this tablet are Wi-Fi, 3G, 1GB RAM, 16 or 32GB flash storage options, and USB charging in addition to the typical power adapter. It will weigh less than 1.7 pounds, be powered by an NVIDIA chip in the Tegra family, and be priced for under $400. The only thing they didn’t share with the world, is the name or a release date; but hey, we can live without a name and we might get a release date at CES in a couple of weeks. I’m sure it was obvious in my writing that I was excited about the all-out release of this tablet. You don’t realize how annoy it is to sift through rumors and decide which ones to report on and which to ignore. And there are so many tablets rumored (Apple, Dell, and Asus to name some recent ones), with hardly any that we have pictures of (JooJoo), that when something like this comes around I get excited. Read [Mashable] Full Story » | Written by Greg Billetdeaux for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 25 Dec 2009 | 10:01 am BANDIT isn't Fooled, Music Still Makes Money!Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 25 Dec 2009 | 10:01 am Waylon Lewis of elephantjournal.com: Lululemon Ad; Naropa University BudgetSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 25 Dec 2009 | 10:01 am Susie's Big Adventure Offers Advice About Considering Marriage to Someone From a Different Culture.Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 25 Dec 2009 | 10:01 am This week in search 12/25/09This is part of a regular series of posts on search experience updates that runs on Fridays. Look for the label This week in search and subscribe to the series. - Ed.Googlers are all about the holidays, and we're always delighted to bring some extra holiday cheer to the web. Here are some of this year's festive digital offerings for you. Holiday Google doodles As you likely noticed, the Google homepage has been adorned with a fun series of holiday postcards this week. From snowmen to festive palm trees, each doodle depicts a postcard with a fun seasonal scene. Did you miss any of them? Check out all five days at our holiday logo gallery. NORAD tracks Santa This week, in partnership with NORAD, we helped share the excitement of following Santa Claus's travels with Google Maps and the Google Earth plugin. At the NORAD Santa site, children have been following the jolly journey from chimney to chimney across the globe. Don't miss the fun YouTube video of Santa's trip last year, as well as some great holiday games to play, at NORADSanta.org. From all of us at Google, have a safe and happy holiday season. We'll see you back here next year! Posted by Andrew Schulte, Associate Product Marketing Manager   
 Source: The Official Google Blog | 25 Dec 2009 | 9:45 am Why the Predator drone encryption doesn’t matter
While I agree with him whole-heartedly – Bruce knows his stuff – this is a huge PR mess for drone warfare. Luckily, these are drones and drones don’t have feelings and I suspect that once insurgents notice that they’re on a drone’s live feed, it’s probably too late.
Source: CrunchGear | 25 Dec 2009 | 9:22 am Apple Shares Peak With Talk Of New GadgetApple Inc.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 25 Dec 2009 | 9:20 am Memory Chip Shortage In 2010DRAMeXchange says while companies try to replace older PCs, there could be a shortage of memory chips by the second half of next year.DRAMeXchange published their forecast on Thursday stating shipments of PCs would rise 13 percent next year, driven by notebooks, with 22.5 percent growth to 160 million units, and pared-down netbooks, set to rise 22 percent to 35 million units.DRAMeXchange told Reuters, "DRAM will likely face a serious shortage in 2H10 triggered by the hot PC sales.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 25 Dec 2009 | 9:15 am Apple’s New Tablet To Be Baptized iSlate? Let’s Dig A Little Deeper Nice scoop by MacRumors, which reportedly retrieved historical evidence that Apple has acquired the domain name islate.com back in 2007. Apparently, the Cupertino company registered the domain through brand protection firm Mark Monitor to conceal the fact that the domain name is theirs, as usual, but was briefly listed as the owner at some point in the past nonetheless.
If correct, that means we can add a rumor to a rumor: that the unconfirmed, unannounced but most definitely coming (maybe) Apple tablet device will be named iSlate. That would be in line with earlier connections of the ’slate’ term to the illusive tablet computer, based on New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller calling it something to that effect in a speech. Let’s dig a little deeper.
Source: CrunchGear | 25 Dec 2009 | 9:14 am Google sharpens aim on mobile marketing with AdMob (AP)AP - Four years ago, Omar Hamoui was just another ineffectual entrepreneur trying to spruce up his resume in graduate school.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 25 Dec 2009 | 9:11 am Google sharpens aim on mobile marketing with AdMobFour years ago, Omar Hamoui was just another ineffectual entrepreneur trying to spruce up his resume in graduate school. Now, he's poised to become Google Inc.'s newest weapon as the...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 25 Dec 2009 | 9:11 am Jobs Finally "Happy" With Unannounced Apple TabletAll the whispers of an Apple tablet PC seem to be culminating in a flurry of rumors suggesting we may see one as soon as next month. Sources inside Apple are saying that Jobs is finally "happy" with the device after being involved in every detail of bringing it into the light of day. As a side result of these rumors, it seems that Apple stockholders are also getting a bit of Christmas cheer with a significant bump in stock price.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 25 Dec 2009 | 9:06 am New Credit Card Legislation Starting Soon - Interest Rates Rise, Credit Limits DecreaseST. LOUIS, Dec. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Financial blog, ChristianPF.com released an article discussing the effects of the new Credit Card Legislation that goes into effect February of 2010.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 25 Dec 2009 | 9:01 am Susie's Big Adventure Offers Advice About Considering Marriage to Someone From a Different Culture.JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, Dec. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Would YOU be happy married to someone from a totally different culture, religion, and country? Susie answers a reader's questions about what it's really like for an American woman to live in a strictly religious male-dominated society.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 25 Dec 2009 | 9:01 am Russia scraps Jan oil exports via Ukraine -tradeMOSCOW, Dec 25 (Reuters) - Russia has fully scrapped its oil export plans via Ukraine in January and will have to divert some 0.5 million tonnes of crude meant for the port of Yuzhny to other destinations,...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 25 Dec 2009 | 8:57 am College asks students to power down, contemplate (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 25 Dec 2009 | 8:40 am Gazprom: Ukraine has problems paying for gas-RIAMOSCOW, Dec 25 (Reuters) - Russia's gas export monopoly Gazprom said on Friday Ukraine was facing difficulties with payments for its gas, RIA news agency quoted Gazprom Chief Executive Alexei Miller as...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 25 Dec 2009 | 8:39 am Apple stock soars to all-time high - Los Angeles Times
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 25 Dec 2009 | 7:38 am Three last minute gifts under $20 (that aren’t iTunes)FROM APPLETELL - So now you’re hosed. It’s Christmas Eve and you need a truly last-minute present or stocking stuffer. Here are some other gifts you can pull together at the 11th hour. Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article » Source: Gadgetell | 25 Dec 2009 | 7:00 am Jobless MBAs Seek Solace in Support Groups (BusinessWeek)BusinessWeek - Gillian Mager was in the midst of updating her MBA job club members on her networking efforts last June when she broke down in tears. Like most in the support group at the University of California at San Diego's Rady School of Management (Rady Full-Time MBA Profile), her job search had extended beyond graduation and she spent her days sending out reams of resumes, often getting no response back. Making matters worse, she learned shortly before the meeting that a promising job opportunity she'd pinned her hopes on had fallen through.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 25 Dec 2009 | 6:08 am China Becomes New Battle Field for Mobile Internet TechnologySource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 25 Dec 2009 | 6:00 am Ladder-Walking LocustsImage Caption: Desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria) laying eggs during the 1994 locust outbreak in Mauritania. Credit: Christiaan Kooyman/Wikipedia.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 25 Dec 2009 | 5:49 am Scientists Solve Manatee Migration MysteryOnly in recent years have scientists figured out that the secretive Amazonian manatee migrates from shallow to deeper waters.Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 25 Dec 2009 | 5:35 am Apple’s New Tablet To Be Baptized iSlate? Let’s Dig A Little Deeper
If correct, that means we can add a rumor to a rumor: that the unconfirmed, unannounced but most definitely coming (maybe) Apple tablet device will be named iSlate. That would be in line with earlier connections of the ’slate’ term to the elusive tablet computer, based on New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller calling it something to that effect in a speech. Let’s dig a little deeper. Other iSlate Domain Names There’s a lot of islate-related domain names with different TLDs that Apple most definitely does not own (islate.org, islate.net, islate.be, islate.nl, islate.es, and so on) but I did find a couple of interesting things trolling whois servers. A search for islate.co.uk lists Mark Monitor as the owner, just like islate.com. This could be meaningless, but we know for sure Apple works with Mark Monitor for other domain names and the United Kingdom is a key market for the company. Registration date: 17 November 2006. Unfortunately, the whois server for German TLDs (whois.denic.de) is currently down, so I can’t look up who secured islate.de at this point. Update: owned by Innovative Dynamics GmbH since December 2007. But look up who the owner of islate.fr (country TLD for France, a third key country for Apple in Europe) is: a Paris-based IP property attorney firm called Wilson & Berthelot. Guess who the technical contact for the domain name registration is? Mark Monitor. And doesn’t Apple work with law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in the States? Coincidence, or not? Other related domain names that were secured through Mark Monitor: islate.info and islate.biz, both of which were registered on the same date as islate.co.uk: 17 November 2006. Update: islate.jp (Japan) was registered by Mark Monitor on 29 November 2006, while islate.cn (China) was registered through the company on 18 November 2009. The plot thickens. The ISLATE Trademark (United States) On November 21, 2006 a company called Slate Computing (registered in Delaware) filed for a US word mark for ‘ISLATE’. Notably, that was right around the time at least three islate-related domain names were registered. You won’t find any information about any company called Slate Computing online, although according to the filing these are the goods and services they offer:
That’s quite a list for a company that doesn’t even have its own website, but it matches exactly what Apple’s business is all about. Is Slate Computing just a shell company created by Apple, or is someone trying to play a number on them? More on that later. Either way, the USPTO record shows that an opposition was filed on June 10, 2008. In case you’re interested, the domain name slatecomputing.com is owned by a company called “Cayman Ninety Business” – with an office address on the Cayman Islands – which according to Domain Tools owns over 11,000 other domain names (all the marks of a savvy domainer and/or cybersquatter at play). The ISLATE Trademark (Europe) I did a search for ‘islate’ on OHIM, and founded out that same Slate Computing has filed for a trademark for the term in the European Union as well. It was filed in 21 November 2006, on the same day the filing for the ISLATE word mark was registered in the US. Listed as legal representative on the form: UK-based Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge, the same law firm Apple worked with for securing the EU-wide trademark for the term ‘Macbook’, for one. Then I noticed something else on the record for the European ISLATE trademark: the priority country that was registered is Trinidad & Tobago. Why that matters? Because Apple has a history of listing Trinidad & Tobago as the priority country for European trademarks – just look up ‘iphone’ on OHIM and you’ll see I’m right. Conclusion Here’s what I think happened, based on the evidence presented above: Apple decided on the name iSlate for a new product it was working on, whether it will ultimately turn out to be for their new tablet computer or not, in November 2006. That same month, they moved to file for a trademark for the name in the United States and Europe under disguise, setting up and using Slate Computing LLC as a shell company, and securing a couple of available domain names through Mark Monitor (islate.co.uk, islate.biz and islate.info). Then, they acquired the domain name islate.com from whoever owned it at that point. MacRumors reports that the domain name was under ownership of a company called Data Docket, Inc back in 2006, and a search for that company turns up this interesting article on that company. Either way, Apple reportedly got a hold of the domain name early 2007, right about the time they also secured islate.fr, supposedly. The evidence is overwhelming: if there’s going to be a new tablet from Apple coming out next month, chances are that it’ll be christened iSlate. Feel free to start lauding or ranting on the chosen name. (Original image: MacRumors) Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0
Source: TechCrunch | 25 Dec 2009 | 4:20 am
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In 2007, just prior to its launch, I was absolutely positive I wasn’t going to buy an iPhone. My rationale was that I didn’t even like using a cellphone, so why would I want a $600 one? What I wanted was a touch screen iPod — basically, an iPhone without the phone. In other words, I wanted an iPod touch, but that didn’t exist yet, so I would sit back and wait, I told myself. Then came iPhone launch day: June 29, 2007. Curiosity about the launch day hoopla drove me to an Apple store. There was a line around the block just to get in. So again, there was no way I was getting an iPhone. But then I started to wonder why so many people were lined up for this device — what was I missing? A few hours later I returned to the Apple Store. I waited in a much shorter line to get in. I walked up to the iPhones out on display, picked one up, played with it for all of 10 seconds. I left the Apple store $600 poorer.
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Finally! A tablet that is more then just a rumor! No speculations, no rumors. Just confirmed specs from the company itself. What a relief.
Nice scoop by 