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FCC vows to fight on after net neutrality defeat - V3.co.uk
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 9 Apr 2010 | 4:02 am Masters Golf in 3-D Makes You Say ‘Fore!’
AUGUSTA, Georgia — The nostalgia is so thick in the air at the Masters golf tournament that it sometimes seems a wonder you can see anything at all. Unique among all the majors each year, the Masters has a single home — Augusta National Golf Club — which has allowed a set of traditions to accrue since the tournament’s founding in 1934 that is unmatched in all of sports. From the green jacket awarded to winners, to the $1.50 pimento cheese sandwiches that the attendees eagerly buy, to the azaleas in bloom and the hand-operated scoreboards, the Masters zealously guards its history and unique place in the world. Which is why it’s about the last place on Earth you’d expect to be on the forefront of delivering live 3-D video content online. “That’s the challenge here,” says IBM’s John Kent. “You’re always trying to balance the club’s desire to maintain its history with its desire to innovate.”
Over the years, the Masters was among the first big events to broadcast in color and in high-definition, and this year, it’s taken the leap into three dimensions, not only for the bleeding-edge adopters who’ve purchased 3-D television sets, but also streaming online. The task of taking the 3-D broadcast produced by ESPN and getting it to the web falls to IBM as the technology provider behind Masters.com. The feed enters the IBM web bunker tucked behind the auditorium where the press works at Augusta National, where it hits three racks of IBM servers that crunch not only the 3-D feed, but also the other five channels of video that are offered on the Masters site. According to Kent, one of the keys for the Masters is to try to give each user the best experience possible. So every video stream is encoded at four different bit rates to give the viewer the best video possible, without any skips or stutters. That drive for the best experience was a big factor in IBM’s choice of technology for the 3–D streaming. The company only found out about the plans for the 3D broadcast in January, and immediately set out to compare the different technologies available for 3-D video on computers, trying both passive and active systems, until it settled on the active shutter system sold by Nvidia. “We did a lot of looking at the systems with the people here in Augusta,” says Kent, the technology manager for Masters.com. “Their motto is always ‘quality, quality, quality,’ so that’s what it came down to.” Watching some of the footage revealed both the strengths and weaknesses of 3-D for live sports. On the upside, it captures the extreme changes of elevation at Augusta National, which never seem to come alive on normal broadcasts. The terrain is almost never level on the course, and the 3-D really helps with that. But it feels artificial at times — like there are several distinct dimensional planes, rather than smooth transitions from the foreground to the background. Boosters of 3-D in the home point to the success of Avatar as evidence that the public is hungry for 3-D content, but without the millions and the years that James Cameron spent making the film, it’s hard to capture the same natural feel. Beyond the 3-D coverage, which will stream for 2 hours each day, IBM has come up with some cool ways of slicing and dicing the live video from the tournament. In the streaming player, a DVR-like view appears at the bottom of the window with callouts to key moments during the round. With one click, the viewer can skip to that key moment and then back to the live stream. Also, there are hole-by-hole highlights for many of the players, linked from the leaderboard on the site. It’s a cool way to skip through a round in minutes, seeing much of the key action. To handle all the traffic — last year, Masters.com had 6.6 million visitors during the tournament, and is up about 25 percent this year — IBM relies on a completely virtualized server environment. “It used to be that before a big event, you’d count servers,” says Kent. “Now, we count capacity. And if we need more resources, we can just divert them from somewhere else.” There’s nothing that can capture the feel of walking the course at Augusta National. IBM’s just hoping that Masters.com can come close. 
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 9 Apr 2010 | 4:00 am You don't know tech: The InfoWorld news quiz (InfoWorld)InfoWorld - Apparently, all that iPad hysteria last week still wasn't enough to sate the appetites of the Apple faithful.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 9 Apr 2010 | 4:00 am SOUND MUG: Sony’s tumbler-shaped speaker for your car or home (video)
You can’t use this device as a tumbler and I’m not even sure it makes sense functionality-wise, but Sony Japan announced [JP] the SOUND MUG yesterday, a speaker that’s shaped like a tumbler. To be more exact, the portable device is being marketed by Sony as a dock speaker specifically designed for their Walkmans.
Buyers also get a cigarette lighter socket (12V) so they can use the SOUND MUG in the car as well (see picture above). The 16W speaker can also be controlled with a mini remote Sony will throw into the package. The dock weighs 540g and stands 216mm tall.
The SOUND MUG will be available in orange or black when it hits Japanese stores on April 24 (price: $220). No word from Sony yet regarding a release outside Japan. Here’s Sony Japan’s promo video: Via AV Watch [JP]
Source: CrunchGear | 9 Apr 2010 | 3:52 am India's Reliance finds more gas in KG basin-sourcesMUMBAI, April 9 (Reuters) - Indian energy major Reliance Industries has found natural gas in four more areas in its field off the country's east coast, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 9 Apr 2010 | 3:46 am UPDATE 1-Netflix inks movie rental deal with U.S. studios* Twentieth Century Fox deal includes streaming licenseSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 9 Apr 2010 | 3:20 am Netflix Renews Agreements With Universal, Twentieth Century Fox
Both agreements encompass physical and digital distribution of movies and, in the case of Fox, TV programs. And yes, they include 28-day windows between street date and Netflix catalogue availability for new releases. Here are the details: Twentieth Century FoxThe renewed deal with Netflix brings an expansion of the license for Fox streaming content, including a first-time streaming license for Fox TV shows that includes complete prior seasons of several blockbuster television series like “Lie to Me,” “Bones,” “24,” and “King of the Hill,” as well as complete seasons of TV series such as “Prison Break,” “Arrested Development” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” The distribution deal also includes films like “Aliens,” “The Thin Red Line,” “Romancing the Stone” and “Patton.” Fox Filmed Entertainment and Netflix said new and more choices to be added over the lifetime of the agreement. As part of the agreement, Twentieth Century Fox will have the ability to determine the window on its content in both the physical and streaming formats. The agreement provides for the oft-lamented 28-day window from the street date for new Blu-ray and DVD film releases, and varying dates of availability for its library and new television programming. Netflix had earlier struck a similar deal with Warner Brothers, much to the dismay of my colleague MG Siegler (and many others). Among the first releases under this arrangement will be “Avatar”, which will be available to Netflix customers 28 days after its April 22 street release date. UniversalA similar agreement was reached with Universal Studios: new release titles on DVD and Blu-ray will be made available to Netflix members after a 28-day window, giving Universal a dedicated time period for sales of its physical and digital offerings. Universal says Netflix and its 12 million registered users benefit from this too, because of reduced product costs, significantly more units and better in-stock levels four weeks after street date. The first release covered under the new agreement is the comedy “It’s Complicated,” which will be available to Netflix subscribers 28 days after its April 27 street release date. Additionally, a license for Universal streaming content allows Netflix to provide its members more movies they can watch instantly. The streaming agreement makes films like “Gosford Park”, “Billy Elliott” and library films such as “The Pianist,” “Being John Malkovich” and “Do the Right Thing” available to watch on-demand. Likely, the digital distribution agreements with both studies will propel Netflix higher on the list of comScore’s top online video sites. Especially now that it has released an iPad app, will soon add support for the Wii and is reportedly working on an iPhone app. When the company released its Q4 2009 results back in January, we noted that the percentage of subscribers who watched instantly more than 15 minutes of a TV episode or movie in the last quarter of 2009 was nearly 50 percent, compared to 28 percent for the same period of 2008. Expect that percentage to go up and to the right. Information provided by CrunchBase      
Source: TechCrunch | 9 Apr 2010 | 3:20 am Prisa, Liberty extend deadline for deal approvalMADRID, April 9 (Reuters) - Spain's Prisa and its prospective partner, U.S. fund Liberty Acquisition Group, said on Friday they had agreed to extend their deadline for the indebted media group's creditor...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 9 Apr 2010 | 2:55 am Oz Pirate Party Tells the Elderly How To Bypass the Net Filtermask.of.sanity writes "You're reading Slashdot. So it's fair to assume you're likely a nerd. A nerd who could traverse an Internet filter like side-stepping a puddle. But when Exit International discovered it was earmarked for Australia's Internet filter blacklist, it wanted to ensure its members could access its pro-euthanasia material. But its members share an average age of 70. Not exactly from the tech generation. So Exit International turned to the filter-hating Pirate Party of Australia which supplied a 'hacker,' who then taught a crowded room of grandmas and grandpas how to use proxies and advanced VPN tunnels to access Exit Internation's material — which the Australian government thinks breaches the moral compass of society. Computerworld has the presentation."
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Source: Slashdot | 9 Apr 2010 | 2:46 am Review Splitfish Dual SFX EvolutionThis post is syndicated with permission from GamerFront.net Not long ago we received in the SFX Evo from Splitfish for the PS3 and Windows PC. After spending some time with the Evo I will admit that the...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 9 Apr 2010 | 2:42 am BP to cut Thunder Horse output by half -sourceLONDON, April 9 (Reuters) - Oil major BP Plc will cut production at its 250,000 barrels of oil per day Thunder Horse platform in the Gulf of Mexico by half to facilitate planned maintenance, a source...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 9 Apr 2010 | 2:29 am GPS Angel Helps You Avoid Red Light Cameras And Speed TrapsBy Chris Scott Barr For years people have been using radar detectors in their cars to avoid expensive speeding tickets. Those are great, but generally won’t protect you from automatic speed cameras...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 9 Apr 2010 | 2:18 am The iPad Luddites [Voices]By Nick Carr, Blogger, Rough Type Is it possible for a Geek God to also be a Luddite? That was the question that popped into my head as I read Cory Doctorow’s impassioned anti-iPad diatribe at Boing Boing. The device that Apple calls “magical” and “revolutionary” is, to Doctorow, a counterrevolutionary contraption conjured up through the black magic of the wizards at One Infinite Loop. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 9 Apr 2010 | 2:14 am Memo to Gov Agencies: You May Now Tweet, Blog and Facebook [Voices]By Mike Melanson, Writer, ReadWriteWeb Next time you hear about your city council looking to pass a law, make sure to check out their blog, Twitter and Facebook accounts. The Office of Management and Budget issued a memorandum yesterday that should make it easier for government agencies to both communicate with citizens and receive feedback by way of the Internet and social media. The memo, entitled “Social Media, Web-Based Interactive Technologies, and the Paperwork Reduction Act” addresses the bounds of the Paperwork Reduction Act, a law first passed in 1980, and again in 1995, that regulates the ways in which government agencies can collect information. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 9 Apr 2010 | 2:09 am The Twitter Platform's Inflection Point [Voices]By Fred Wilson, Principal, Union Square Ventures I was emailing with a friend of mine yesterday who is a 30 year veteran of silicon valley. He’d written a post that was quite positive about the iPad. I sent him my post which wasn’t so positive. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 9 Apr 2010 | 2:06 am Format Shifting Dead Trees: Can E-Book Piracy Be Ethical? [Voices]By Nate Anderson, Senior Editor, Ars Technica A question of ethics: say you want a new novel bad—really bad—but you want the digital version for your Kindle/iPad/Sony Reader. The publisher, hoping to goose sales of the book in hardcover for $28, isn’t about to offer a $10 e-book version until the novel comes out in paperback. So you buy the hardcover and then pirate a homebrew e-book, which someone has helpfully made available in one of the darker corners of the Internet. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 9 Apr 2010 | 1:59 am Phoebe Prince's bullies get bullied [Voices]By Tracy Clark-Flory, Contributor, Salon.com Three teenage girls accused of relentlessly bullying 15-year-old Phoebe Prince until she committed suicide entered not guilty pleas Thursday, but they have already been found guilty in the court of cyberspace. Anonymous trolls have taken it upon themselves to dole out punishment through a connected series of Web sites (since taken down) created for each of the four girls charged in connection with the case — Ashley Longe, Sharon Chanon Velazquez and Flannery Mullins, all 16, and 17-year-old Kayla Narey. (The anonymous webmaster behind the sites explains that the two boys accused in the case, Sean Mulveyhill and Austin Reynaud, are excluded because “we cannot post text calling theim [sic] RAPISTS until they are convicted and found guilty.”) Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 9 Apr 2010 | 1:54 am FACTBOX-Five facts about the Indian microfinance sectorApril 9 (Reuters) - An initial public offer by India's SKS Microfinance is likely to set the stage for more such offers from microfinance institutions (MFI) in India. [ID:nSGE6120HP]Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 9 Apr 2010 | 1:46 am Indonesia does not expect hitches in BHP, Adaro dealJAKARTA, April 9 (Reuters) - Indonesia does not envisage any hitches approving a proposed partnership on a coal project in Kalimantan between BHP Billiton and local firm PT Adaro , a government official...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 9 Apr 2010 | 1:43 am 1960's Mod Subculture Makes a Comeback in Second LifeIn 1960s London, the mod subculture counted the coolest cats out there, with their tailored suits and their sleek mopeds. The fashion style has made a resurgence every now and again, aided by cult movies...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 9 Apr 2010 | 1:35 am UPDATE 1-Market Chatter -- Corporate finance press digestBANGALORE, April 9 (Reuters) - The following corporate finance-related stories were reported by media on Friday:Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 9 Apr 2010 | 1:33 am UPDATE 3-Macarthur Coal spurns new bid as suitors line up* Macarthur rejects New Hope offer; to vote on Gloucester dealSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 9 Apr 2010 | 1:32 am UPDATE 1-D1 Oils still in equity talks with third parties* Says further announcement to be made in due course (Adds details)Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 9 Apr 2010 | 1:28 am Australia takeover regulator says won't stop MacarthurPERTH, April 9 (Reuters) - Australia takeover regulator turned down Peabody Energy's appeal for the watchdog to prevent takeover target Macarthur Coal from seeking a shareholder vote on Monday for its...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 9 Apr 2010 | 1:27 am Freelancer.com Smashes Through 1,500,000 Users as Largest Crowdsourcing Marketplace in the WorldSYDNEY, Apr.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 9 Apr 2010 | 1:08 am Why Net Neutrality Is Too Important to Leave Up to the ISPsThe recent court ruling invalidating much of the FCC's authority over broadband service providers. This is bad news for lots of different businesses on the web, but it's most chilling to companies that...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 9 Apr 2010 | 1:00 am Daily Crunch: Caravan Edition
Music video for Pixels will give you a magic mushroom
Source: CrunchGear | 9 Apr 2010 | 1:00 am Deep-Diving Great Whites Could Tangle With Giant SquidNew research into the sharks' behavior suggests they might hunt giant squid in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 9 Apr 2010 | 12:57 am F.E.A.R. 3 Announced For This FallWarner Bros. has announced that the third game in the F.E.A.R. saga is in production and planned for release this fall. Unlike the first two games, F.E.A.R. 3 will not be developed by Monolith Productions, but by Day 1 Studios, who ported the original F.E.A.R. to the Xbox 360 and PS3. The new game is being developed for those two consoles and for Windows. "Day One is the studio behind MechAssault, MechAssault 2, and Fracture, so they've got all the mech and shooter experience one could hope for, but what about horror? Publisher Warner Bros. Interactive has that covered as well, with famed horror director John Carpenter (Halloween, The Thing) and 30 Days of Night writer Steve Niles acting as consultants to enhance the game's scary bits. Alma returns for the third game, but her sons, Point Man and Paxton Fettel, are the stars, both featuring unique powers to help create what the developer is calling divergent co-op, where the characters' powers affect each player's game, and not just their own."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 9 Apr 2010 | 12:49 am Telcos: Wireless Sub Growth Slowing Rapidly, Analyst Says [Voices]By Eric Savitz, Blogger and Columnist, Barron’s, Tech Trader Daily It may be hard to imagine given how much attention the market pays to the mobile phone market, but the subscriber growth rate in the U.S. wireless industry is rapidly grinding towards zero. Collins Stewart telecom analyst Greg Miller this morning noted that the industry “continues to slow at a surprisingly fast rate.” The first quarter, he says, could market the first-ever period of negative net subscriber additions in the history of the industry. For AT&T (T), he cut his forecast for post-paid net adds to 499,000 from 632,000 for Q1, and to 2.607 million from 2.976 million for 2010. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 9 Apr 2010 | 12:30 am Open Thread: What Would You Build With a Web of Data?Recently we looked at the state of Linked Data in 2010, noting developments such as governments putting public data online and Thomson Reuters putting structure around commercial data using OpenCalais...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 9 Apr 2010 | 12:15 am FCC presses on with broadband plan despite court ruling (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 9 Apr 2010 | 12:13 am OhGizmo! Review and Giveaway: The HP Touchsmart 600-1055, Part 1By David Ponce HP was kind enough to send us an HP Touchsmart 600-1055 to review. They asked us to determine whether their offering could become an “Entertainment Hub”. It’s a lofty...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 9 Apr 2010 | 12:00 am Looking for David Levine in Venice, CATonight in Venice, California, I ran into an incredibly nice and very distraught man who was looking for his 40-year-old schizophrenic son, who has disappeared somewhere in the vicinity. He was handing...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 8 Apr 2010 | 11:56 pm Looking for David Levine in Venice, CA
Tonight in Venice, California, I ran into an incredibly nice and very distraught man who was looking for his 40-year-old schizophrenic son, who has disappeared somewhere in the vicinity. He was handing out these fliers and had moved into the neighborhood to search. I debated whether to take one and put it on Boing Boing, thinking, "Well, I can't do it for everyone." But then I realized that this didn't mean, "I can't ever do it." If you see David Levine, please ask him to call his parents.
Source: Boing Boing | 8 Apr 2010 | 11:56 pm Is the iPhone Now as Enterprise Ready as the Android?The enterprise may now have what they have wanted for the iPhone. But now they have to decide if such a locked down device is control they want secede to Apple We expect that Apple's tight control over...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 8 Apr 2010 | 11:48 pm TakeBreak Wall Decals Turn Serious Foundation Issues Into Ignorable Pieces Of ArtBy Andrew Liszewski You know what’s better than spending thousands of dollars to remedy the problems that have led to cracks appearing on the walls of your home? Spending just $6 on a sheet of stickers...Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 8 Apr 2010 | 11:46 pm The Economist Weighs In For Shorter Copyright Termslxmota writes "The Economist says that long copyright terms are hindering creativity, and that shortening them is the way to go: 'Largely thanks to the entertainment industry's lawyers and lobbyists, copyright's scope and duration have vastly increased. In America, copyright holders get 95 years' protection as a result of an extension granted in 1998, derided by critics as the 'Mickey Mouse Protection Act'. They are now calling for even greater protection, and there have been efforts to introduce similar terms in Europe. Such arguments should be resisted: it is time to tip the balance back.'"
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Source: Slashdot | 8 Apr 2010 | 11:38 pm Malcolm McLaren, in Memoriam: Buffalo GalsAll that scratchin' is makin' me itch.
Previously:
Source: Boing Boing | 8 Apr 2010 | 11:36 pm Malcolm McLaren, in Memoriam: Buffalo GalsAll that scratchin' is makin' me itch. Previously:Malcolm McLaren, RIPSource: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 8 Apr 2010 | 11:36 pm A very special iPad fail
Source: CrunchGear | 8 Apr 2010 | 11:16 pm NYT ethicist: OK to pirate ebooks once you've bought the hardcoverRandy Cohen, author of the New York Times's The Ethicist column, was asked to venture an opinion on whether it's OK to download a pirate ebook after you've bought the hardcover. He says it's ethical, even if it's illegal:An illegal download is -- to use an ugly word -- illegal. But in this case, it is not unethical. Author and publisher are entitled to be paid for their work, and by purchasing the hardcover, you did so. Your subsequent downloading is akin to buying a CD, then copying it to your iPod.E-Book Dodge (Thanks, Rob!)
Previously:
Source: Boing Boing | 8 Apr 2010 | 11:15 pm Now that Apple is publishing newspapers, can newspapers cover Apple?Dan Gillmor sez, "News organizations are joining the Apple ecosystem. Is this dangerous for journalism? Conflicts of interest? And where's the transparency from organizations that demand it from others?"By appearing on stage at the Apple event and by launching an iPad app that the Times wants to monetize in every possible way -- an app from which Apple will likely make money as well -- the Times is becoming more of a business partner with a company it covers incessantly. And when Apple promoted the Times so visibly before the in-store selling date of the iPad, given the millions of people who visit Apple's home page each month, it was giving the Times a huge boost.Complicating Relationships in Media: Apple, NY Times Dealings Raise Questions (Thanks, Dan!)
Previously:
Source: Boing Boing | 8 Apr 2010 | 11:11 pm Minister for Digital Britain thinks an IP address is an "Intellectual Property address" From the you'd-have-to-laugh-or-you'd-have-to-shoot-yourself department: The Right Honourable Stephen Timms is the UK's "Minister for Digital Britain." He's the guy behind the Digital Economy Bill, which makes the US DMCA look good by comparison. Seriously, this is some terrible, terrible lawmaking. Here's what appears to be a letter the DigiMini sent to another MP, explaining why the Digital Economy Bill needs to go forward. It reads, in part, "Copyright owners are currently able to go on-line (sic), look for material to which they hold the copyright and identify unauthorised sources for that material. They can then seek to download a copy of that material and in so doing capture information about the source including the Intellectual Property (IP) address..." If this letter is genuine (and it seems to be), it means that the guy who's in charge of Britain's digital future thinks that the "IP" in "IP address" stands for "Intellectual Property." The Rt Hon Stephen Timms MP doesn't know what an IP address is (Thanks, JP!)
Previously:
Source: Boing Boing | 8 Apr 2010 | 11:11 pm Soul Train dancing to Curtis MayfieldTuneUp's Gabe Adiv has been deep into the vintage Soul Train offered on-demand by his cable provider. Inspired to share the boogie, he found this great moment on YouTube. Here are the Soul Train dancers in 1971 getting down to Curtis Mayfield's "Get Down." Source: Boing Boing | 8 Apr 2010 | 11:05 pm Your road trip just got a whole lot more delicious The name may not come tripping off the tongue, but the Southern Foodways Alliance's Oral History Interactive Map is a great tool for planning your spring road trip, especially if your spring road trip revolves around food. And whose doesn't, when you come right down to it? And even if yours doesn't, how much McDonald's can you eat? That much? Really? Wow. But wouldn't you rather generate a complete route map with turn-by-turn directions to places like Car-Lot BBQ in Winfield, AL, where owner Kyle Guin makes his barbecue "the same way Daddy did it," or Solly's Hot Tamales in Vicksburg, MS, where Jewel McCain (above) describes her chili filling this way:
It's ground beef with six different spices in it, and it has the rendered grease from beef fat or kidney fat that we use in there, so they're not really health-conscious food. But they're good to eat and people don't care, they eat them anyhow.Sure you would. The quotes, by the way, are taken from the extensive oral histories that annotate each stop on the SFA's map. Extensive oral histories. Now stop at Burger King. I dare you. (Via Serious Eats.) Source: Boing Boing | 8 Apr 2010 | 11:04 pm The first rule about Poodle Blanket is that you don't ask about Poodle BlanketAwesome: Our secret plans for how to handle a confrontation with the Soviet Union over West Berlin were called "Poodle Blanket". Less-than-awesome: Despite the fact that Berlin is now united and the Soviet Union no longer exists, the Department of Defense continues to insist on keeping the details of Poodle Blanket under wraps. The National Security Archive at George Washington University—which made the first FOIA request for Poodle Blanket (just can't say that enough) documents back in 1992—has an interesting post asking why Poodle Blanket (Poodle Blanket, Poodle Blanket, Poodle Blanket!) is still classified material. (Via Ulrich Boser) Source: Boing Boing | 8 Apr 2010 | 11:02 pm Angry meat supplier steals steaks from people's platesIn another strange case of misguided anger, a meat supplier in Germany started grabbing steaks off of customers' plates because the restaurant couldn't pay him cash up front. The police came, but found no grounds to arrest him on and left.Source: Boing Boing | 8 Apr 2010 | 11:00 pm Qualcomm Announces Leadership Change and PromotionSAN DIEGO, April 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Qualcomm Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM), a leading developer and innovator of advanced wireless technologies, products and services, today announced that Xiang Wang, vice president of Qualcomm CDMA Technologies, has been promoted to senior vice president of Qualcomm and president of Qualcomm Greater China.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 8 Apr 2010 | 11:00 pm Debunk: No, iPhone OS 4.0 Beta isn’t jailbroken.. yet.This’ll be a quick one, because we want to nip this little rumor in the bud before it takes off. A handful of blogs around the vast Internets are reporting that the just released iPhone OS 4.0 Beta has already been hacked to pieces, with a jailbreak solution already being discovered. This is inaccurate. The truth: it’s all just a bit of miscommunication. When asked (via Twitter) when he would start working on a 4.0 jailbreak, well known iPhone hacker ih8sn0w responded “I already have. :)” Short story shorter, this was misinterpreted as “I’ve already jailbroken it” rather than “I’ve already started”, blog posts were written, and the rest is history. While iH8Snow is working on a jailbreak and thinks its possible, they haven’t discovered any way in just yet.
Source: MobileCrunch | 8 Apr 2010 | 10:59 pm Full iPhone OS 4 Event Plus Bonus Footage
Invitations to Apple’s iPhone OS 4 Event were not easy to come by but that doesn’t mean you have to miss out on Steve’s slide show. Apple has posted all 60 minutes of the presentation on its website.      
Source: TechCrunch | 8 Apr 2010 | 10:59 pm 2-million-year-old fossils offer look at human evolution - Los Angeles Times
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 8 Apr 2010 | 10:32 pm Crop Circles, Part Deux: Alien Glyphs, Human Myths, Blogging Bliss
My previous post about crop circles could be considered, among other
things, as a social science test of the role of belief systems in the manipulation of
memes and factual data. One of the meta-questions that interest me has to do with
the spontaneous rejection of new or unpopular ideas, even in the supposedly open, free and
consciousness-enhancing environment of the web.
It seems that what was "forbidden science" in academia is also forbidden in cyberspace. The specific hypothesis offered--that crop circles are the result of a U.K. defense electronics
This does leave several issues unanswered: Who are the hoaxers and what is I don't claim to have complete answers, but my own hypothesis is that the beams Microwave weapon will rain pain from the sky But of course, one can think of many other interesting applications, in the lethal category. Previously:
Source: Boing Boing | 8 Apr 2010 | 10:05 pm Rebel Film Developers Give New Hope to Polaroid FansWhen Polaroid axed its instant film in 2008, not everyone was prepared to watch it go. Here's how the startup the Impossible Project saved it.
Source: Wired: Gadgets | 8 Apr 2010 | 10:00 pm CDC's Smoking Robot Has 2-Pack an Hour HabitA massive puffing cigarette machine plays the guinea pig for researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, revealing for them which brands produce more of which poisons.
Source: Wired: Gadgets | 8 Apr 2010 | 10:00 pm CDC's Smoking Robot Has 2-Pack an Hour HabitA massive puffing cigarette machine plays the guinea pig for researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, revealing for them which brands produce more of which poisons.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 8 Apr 2010 | 10:00 pm Rebel Film Developers Give New Hope to Polaroid FansWhen Polaroid axed its instant film in 2008, not everyone was prepared to watch it go. Here's how the startup the Impossible Project saved it.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 8 Apr 2010 | 10:00 pm April 9, 1860: Phonoautogram Records Sound, But Doesn't Play It BackA French inventor beats Edison to the punch when it comes to recording sound, but he's nowhere near as well-known. For a reason.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 8 Apr 2010 | 10:00 pm Warhammer Online Users Repeatedly OverbilledTheSpoom writes "A screw-up in EA's Warhammer Online billing system has resulted in many players being charged upwards of 22 times for a one-month subscription, filling bank accounts with overdraft fees and the Warhammer forums with very angry players, who are discussing the issue quite vocally. EA has said that refunds are in progress and that '[they] anticipate that once the charges have been reversed, any fees that have been incurred should be refunded as well.' They haven't specifically promised to refund overdraft charges, only to ask customers' banks to refund them once the actual charges are refunded. They seem to be assuming banks will have no problem with this."
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Source: Slashdot | 8 Apr 2010 | 9:53 pm Batten Down the Hatches for Microsoft and Adobe Patches (PC World)PC World - Next Tuesday is both Microsoft's Patch Tuesday for April, and Adobe's quarterly patch release. Combined, there are a total of 27 vulnerabilities being patched in Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat, and the Acrobat Reader application. It will be a busy day for IT administrators and information security professionals to analyze and prioritize the deluge of updates.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 8 Apr 2010 | 9:33 pm Mexico may cut millions of cellphones to fight crime (Reuters)Reuters - Tens of millions of Mexicans could find their cellphones disconnected this weekend if the government goes ahead with a new law meant to fight crime by forcing people to register their identities.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 8 Apr 2010 | 9:25 pm Black market iPads going for a fortune in China and UK
The ironic part is, of course, that these things are costing a mint in China, where they are made. This interesting CNN story follows the exploits of a group of Hong Kong “entrepreneurs” who flew to the US, bought up all the iPads they could (about 200), and flew back to sell them on the streets of that great city. Sure, why not, as long as the TSA says it’s cool? They sell them for upwards of $800 each, making for quite a profit. And some people were buying them for re-resale in China, where, owing to the fact that these things had to be smuggled twice, they go for even more. It’s not exactly illegal, but somehow I doubt Apple would approve. Fortunately, I don’t care whether they approve or not, and neither do the Hong Kongians. Kongfolk? If I can stand being around all my “friends” with iPads for long enough, I plan to buy one off Craigslist when the new version comes out. After all, at that point it’ll have a ton more stuff available and with luck I can get one that was treated gently.
Source: CrunchGear | 8 Apr 2010 | 9:05 pm New LED lightbulb will last 17 years
GE just announced a new lightbulb that’s going to change all that. The new technology combines the omnidirectional light of a incandescent bulb, and the power savings of and LED. The new bulb is expected to last 17 years before it needs replaced, which is about 25 times longer then a 40w incandescent. There’s a down side to the new bulb though, it’s going to cost between $40 to $50. The new bulb produces 450 lumens, which is the equivalent of a 40w incandescent, or 10w CFL, but the LED will only consume 9w of power. Expect to see the new LED bulb sometime in 2011. [via inhabit]
Source: CrunchGear | 8 Apr 2010 | 9:00 pm DIY 80GB iPod TouchAn anonymous reader writes "Having recently acquired an iPod Touch, DeviceGuru blogger Rick Lehrbaum soon found himself with an 80GB iPod paperweight knocking around and collecting dust. Then it hit him: why not use a Pogoplug as an iPod server, effectively filling his nifty new iPod Touch with 80GB of music whenever he has WiFi access? The how-to article at DeviceGuru.com explains how a Pogoplug and iPod Touch combined with free web services at pogoplug.com combine to form the 'PogoPod System.' It also introduces the Pogoplug's new UPnP support, and briefly reviews a couple of UPnP media-rendering iPhone and iPod Touch apps."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 8 Apr 2010 | 8:41 pm Quiet Policy Change Roils Billion-Dollar iPhone Apps Market - Wired News
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 8 Apr 2010 | 8:34 pm Apple Gives Adobe The Finger With Its New iPhone SDK Agreement
So what does that mean? Apple may have just made the flagship feature of Adobe Flash CS5, which allows developers to port Flash applications to the iPhone, totally useless. John Gruber of Daring Fireball was the first to point out the change in the License Agreement. Here’s the relevant text:
The ban appears to directly apply to the new Flash feature, but Adobe said it was still “looking into” the change when we asked them about it. Here’s the brief statement they sent us:
Should this affect Adobe, as Gruber believes it does, it would be a huge loss for the software maker — Adobe CS5 is due to launch in less than four days. It’s also an especially vicious move on Apple’s part, because it seems quite clear that Adobe didn’t know this was coming (they’ve spent many months marketing the upcoming feature, and it obviously took plentiful developer resources to build it). Adobe and Apple have been waging a vocal battle over the last few months, with tensions mounting as Apple announced that the iPad would not offer Flash support. The fact that Google and Adobe are now working tightly to improve Flash integration in Google Chrome probably doesn’t help. There is still quite a bit of ambiguity as to who this might impact. One increasingly prominent tool that could be affected is Sequoia-backed Unity Technologies, which offers a platform for quickly designing three dimensional applications. In the original version of his post Gruber theorized that Unity may be affected, but he’s now less sure. Reached for comment, Unity gave us this statement:
In other words, nobody seems entirely sure what this means quite yet. But the backlash has certainly started. Many developers have taken to forums like Hacker News to voice their opinions, with the most up-voted comment stating “What a horseshit maneuver by Apple.” Some have taken to Twitter to denounce the move, with prominent developer Joe Hewitt (who was responsible for Facebook’s iPhone application for years) tweeting “So much for programming language innovation on the iPhone platform”. If it wasn’t abundantly clear before, it certainly is now: Apple is playing dirty. It doesn’t care what the developer community thinks. It has the users, it has the media’s undying love, and it has an incredibly impressive line of products. If a developer decides to quit the iPhone over this move, that just means less competition for the rest of the developers looking to capitalize on the flourishing platform. The media may pick up on the story briefly, but most people don’t care, so it’ll move on. And the iPhone will keep selling like hotcakes.      
Source: TechCrunch | 8 Apr 2010 | 8:29 pm Cloud Computing? Microsoft Office Is Not All In
Microsoft is still fumbling as it tries to navigate its way out of the innovator’s dilemma. The business was built and nurtured on its lucrative suite of Office products— unfortunately, that reliance on Office is now complicating its full migration to cloud computing. Today, we spoke to Senior Vice President Chris Capossela, who acknowledged the challenge of growing profits without pay-to-install software. Microsoft is gearing up for the launch of Office 2010 (available to businesses on May 12 and to the casual consumer in June), marking the first time the software giant will release free web versions of Office applications like Word and Excel bundled into Windows Live. Now that consumers can get these basic applications for free, the company is hoping that pay add-on features will be enough to override the loss. Last week, the president of Microsoft’s business division, Stephen Elop, optimistically told us that while profit margins could (let’s be honest, they will) shrink, overall profits could be supported by new add-ons. When asked how the company will maintain its profits, Capossela first response was paid software: “There’s a few things that we’re doing, number one we’re making it a lot easier for people to buy Office when they buy a new PC. We got a new Office pre-install program that many OEM partners have signed up to use….so when you go and buy a new PC in the fall let’s say you’ll have the Office skus already installed there….making it far simpler.” In our video interview, Capossela eventually goes on mention that there will be paid services on cloud computing, although he did not articulate which services are expected to be the biggest revenue drivers. However, the fact that Capossela heavily (and immediately) highlighted the old pay-to-install Office model, underscores Microsoft’s ongoing dependence on the old cash cow and perhaps, excess optimism. Last month, Steve Ballmer said, “when it comes to cloud, we’re all in.” The company’s head may be in the cloud but one foot is on installed software. Today’s Microsoft is no longer competing in 1995’s software market. The company still has to deal with piracy, but more significantly, it has a viable threat in Google Docs. Microsoft has been very successful in locking down the largest companies as enterprise clients, like Starbucks and GlaxoSmithKline— of the 10,000 largest companies Microsoft serves 70%. But the company is struggling in gaining traction among the smaller potatoes, the start-ups which have been attracted to Google Docs relatively simple and cheap model. Google Docs has become less simple over time, but many entrepreneurs still see it as the easiest and cheapest way to service their companies. The consumer is clamoring for more simplicity but Microsoft’s business model seems to be moving towards more complexity. Because Microsoft can no longer expect to sell as many Office products in the store, it has to rely on a multitude of paid services and options (Exchange Online, Sharepoint, etc.) creating layers of complexity. All that said, Microsoft is moving in the right direction and trying to embrace cloud computing. Personally, I’m excited to use Office 2010 online as a consumer and blogger, with all its rich features— but then again, I won’t be paying for it. (Image: Flickr/FirstMichael) Information provided by CrunchBase Information provided by CrunchBase      
Source: TechCrunch | 8 Apr 2010 | 8:08 pm CrunchRumor: Alienware M11x to get updated Nvidia chipset?
One question that has come up ever since the M11x was released was why didn’t Alienware use the Nvidia Optimus chipset. The chipset that Alienware did use makes switching between the integrated and discreet graphics rather awkward and jarring, and a less then ideal user experience. Well, the rumor rattling around the pipes today is that the M11x may be getting a refresh this summer, and that new chipset may be coming our way.
While it’s a little earlier in the M11x’s life cycle then most, a refresh would be a good thing. In our review of the M11x, one of the few complaints that Devin had was the interruption whenever switching modes. The Optimus chipset would solve this problem of course, and you kind of have to ask yourself why Alienware didn’t use the Optimus from the beginning. There’s also rumors that the new Intuit processor will be added to the product line as well, but again nothing definite. Dell has yet to comment on these rumors, but I think it would be a good move for the manufacturer. [via Gizmodo]
Source: CrunchGear | 8 Apr 2010 | 8:00 pm Gmail Launches Sneak Peek And Nested Labels. You’ll Want To Check These Out Right Now.
After activating Sneak Peak in Labs, either right click on a message or use the handy keyboard shortcut ‘h’, and the preview pane will pop up. You probably won’t be able to see the entire message you’re looking at, but it’s definitely enough to figure out if the message is important or if it should promptly be sent to your archive. You can use the ‘j’ and ‘k’ shortcuts to scroll through your list of messages, looking at a preview of each. My only gripe (and it’s a fairly significant one) is what Sneak Peek does when you actually act on a message. Gmail junkies will know that ‘y’ is the shortcut for ‘archive message’, and it’s key for anyone who is sifting through a lot of Email. Unfortunately, hitting ‘y’ while you’re using Sneak Peek will archive the message as it should, but it also closes your Sneak Peek pane, so you have to hit ‘h’ again. This may not sound like a big deal, but when you’re adding an extra keystroke to an action you have to make a few dozen (or more) times a day, it gets tedious fast.
Alongside Sneak Peek, Labs is also launching a feature called Nested Labels. This allows you to put your labels in a hierarchy, which excites me less, but apparently is oft-requested. Here are the instructions Google offers for using the feature:
Information provided by CrunchBase      
Source: TechCrunch | 8 Apr 2010 | 7:53 pm The TechCrunch Kegerator
Currently on tap: Stella Artois      
Source: TechCrunch | 8 Apr 2010 | 7:53 pm Freelancer.com Traffic Soars to Become the Number One Website Run By an Australian CompanySYDNEY, April 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Freelancer.com, the world's #1 freelance outsourcing marketplace today became the largest website run by an Australian company according to Alexa. Freelancer.com has experienced exponential growth in traffic, registered users and number of jobs being posted.Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 8 Apr 2010 | 7:21 pm Apple Creates Social Gaming Network for iPhone (LiveScience.com)LiveScience.com - During the press conference covering new iPhone OS 4 features, Scott Forstall, senior vice president of iPhone Software at Apple, talked about the growing primacy of iPhone and iPod Touch games in the gaming industry.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 8 Apr 2010 | 7:20 pm QOTD [Digital Daily]
Source: All Things Digital | 8 Apr 2010 | 6:15 pm Adobe Apps: Easier to Pass Through the ‘i’ of a Needle?
If you make an app for the iPhone, it has to be done Apple’s way or the highway. That’s the upshot of new iPhone developer rules, released Thursday without fanfare, even as Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced myriad details of the company’s new mobile operating system to a packed room of reporters. The changes affect the so-called developer’s agreement required to access tools for building apps for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. They add significant new restrictions to software makers hoping to create products for Apple’s mobile devices, which happen to be among the most sought-after in the world. More than a billion apps have already been downloaded so far from Apple’s App Store, creating a billion-dollar software business nearly overnight. It’s also led media companies, including Wired.com owner Condé Nast, to make big bets on emerging platforms such as Apple’s iPad tablet. With so much at stake, some software developers on Thursday bristled at the new agreement, which for the first time appears to bar any app built using “intermediary translation” tools, such as those made by Adobe, from running on its various mobile devices. Instead, apps must be written directly in Objective-C and other approved languages. “So much for programming language innovation on the iPhone platform” said Joe Hewitt, developer of the Facebook iPhone app, via Twitter. “I’m upset because frankly I think Objective-C is mediocre and was excited about using other languages to make iPhone development fun again. It’s so hard to reconcile my love for these beautiful devices on my desk with my hatred for the ugly words in that legal agreement.” Apple has exercised tight control from the start over the iPhone platform, at first refusing to provide a software developer kit, or SDK, of any kind. Under pressure, Jobs ultimately relented, spawning a massive outpouring of creativity. More than 150,000 apps have made their way to the App Store so far. But Apple’s grip over the iPhone has not loosened — and on Thursday appeared to tighten considerably. While the long-term implications of the policy change are not certain, immediate losers appear to be providers of software that translates applications built originally for other platforms, like the web, to run natively on the iPhone OS. A number of companies have created tools offering flexibility to developers who wish to code in different languages and port their software into native iPhone apps. The best-known example of such a tool is Adobe’s Packager for iPhone. The tool lets people build apps using the company’s Flash development tool, then export those apps to an iPhone-native format so they can run on Apple’s mobile devices, which don’t support Flash. The Packager for iPhone is in public beta now, but will be a part of Adobe Creative Suite 5 when it’s released later this spring. Adobe’s Creative Suite is widely used by the publishing industry and by videogame designers, and Apple’s new rule throws a wrench into their plans to publish iPad and iPhone versions of their magazines, newspapers and games using Adobe’s tools. Other cross-compilers (as they’re known) are made by smaller companies like Appcelerator, which are scrambling at the news of Apple’s latest curveball. “It seems like it will be difficult for Adobe to get around this restriction,” said Ross Rubin, an NPD analyst, regarding the updated iPhone developer agreement. “Apple wants to ensure developers use the technologies exposed in its tools and wants to avoid being an assimilated platform. It extends the Flash ban and says Apple is willing to risk doing without certain content rather than ceding control to Adobe.” Apple did not return emails or phone calls seeking comment. “We are aware of the new SDK language and are looking into it,” an Adobe spokesman said in a statement e-mailed to Gadget Lab. “We continue to develop our Packager for iPhone OS technology, which we plan to debut in Flash CS5.” The policy change comes amid a chilling in relations between Apple and Adobe. Addressing his staff shortly after announcing the iPad, Jobs railed against Flash, calling it buggy. He also threw barbs at Adobe for being “lazy,” as first reported by Wired.com. In the past, Apple’s agreement stipulated that applications “may only use documented APIs in the manner prescribed by Apple” and barred the use of private APIs. The same portion of the new iPhone Developer Program License Agreement now reads:
Additional reporting by Wired.com’s Michael Calore. See Also:
Source: Wired: Gadget Lab | 8 Apr 2010 | 6:12 pm Quiet Policy Change Roils Billion-Dollar iPhone Apps MarketApple's new iPhone developer agreement effectively mandates iPhone and iPad apps to be written with Apple's tools. That tosses a wrench into Adobe's workaround that automatically ports Flash-coded software into iPhone and iPad apps.
Source: Wired: Gadgets | 8 Apr 2010 | 6:12 pm Quiet Policy Change Roils Billion-Dollar iPhone Apps MarketApple's new iPhone developer agreement effectively mandates iPhone and iPad apps to be written with Apple's tools. That tosses a wrench into Adobe's workaround that automatically ports Flash-coded software into iPhone and iPad apps.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 8 Apr 2010 | 6:12 pm Alt Text: Ultimate iPad vs. Virtual Boy ShowdownHow does Apple's snazzy new tablet compare to Nintendo's short-lived 3-D videogame console? Let's see now ...
Source: Wired Top Stories | 8 Apr 2010 | 6:05 pm 3D TVs more popular than expected, analysts surprised
Not surprisingly, half of these orders are expected to come from the US. It’s also interesting to note that 3D television will predominately come in sizes 40 inches and larger. Manufacturers are still having problems getting the televisions to the marketplace, as the technology needed to build the new products is still quite expensive. Analysts also expect that the majority of new televisions 40-inches or larger will be 3D ready. [via TWICE]
Source: CrunchGear | 8 Apr 2010 | 6:00 pm Next Jump Takes Over MasterCard’s New Rewards Program, MasterCard MarketPlace
MasterCard’s customer rewards program just got a major upgrade. As part of a deep, three-year partnership with NYC-startup Next Jump, the credit card organization just launched MasterCard Marketplace. Any cardholder can go to the site and sign up for discounts on electronics, computers, clothing, jewelry, and other products from thousands of merchants and manufacturers. Next Jump will operate the program on behalf of MasterCard, and help it advance its overall e-commerce strategy in other ways as well. While it is not a very high-profile company, Next Jump already powers the employee discount and rewards programs for 90,000 companies, including 60 percent of the Fortune 500. Next Jump also powers Overwhelming Offers and Yahoo’s Daily Deals. It’s raised $45 million, and early Google investor Ram Shriram sits on its board. (Read my earlier profile for more details). Next Jump takes an algorithmic approach to reward both good shoppers and good deals. In the MasterCard Marketplace, consumers can rate offers, set alerts, and get ranked based on how much they shop. Each offer, in turn, is also ranked base don its conversion rates. Next Jump has put together a network of 28,000 merchants. They are encouraged to offer products at a discount in return for gaining access to highly-motivated shoppers. In this day and age, everyone wants a special deal. (Note the rise of group discount and flash sale sites). Now everyone with a MasterCard can feel a little extra special.      
Source: TechCrunch | 8 Apr 2010 | 6:00 pm Sun's Solaris Now Getting Quarterly Security Patches (PC World)PC World - Oracle has moved Solaris onto its quarterly security patch schedule, meaning users of the Sun Microsystems operating system will now know months in advance when they will be getting security updates.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 8 Apr 2010 | 6:00 pm Gallery: 15 iPad Apps You Should Download TodayApple's iPad app store has more than 3,000 new programs that will run on the new tablet -- but finding the good stuff is difficult. Wired highlights some of the best games, productivity and media apps.
Source: Wired: Gadgets | 8 Apr 2010 | 6:00 pm Hey, Google Fiber Losers: Build It YourselvesMore than 1,100 communities ask Google to help them get fast broadband -- and only a few will be chosen. A broadband consultant spearheads an effort to have them all work together online to build broadband networks on their own using ingenuity and shared knowledge.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 8 Apr 2010 | 6:00 pm Gallery: 15 iPad Apps You Should Download TodayApple's iPad app store has more than 3,000 new programs that will run on the new tablet -- but finding the good stuff is difficult. Wired highlights some of the best games, productivity and media apps.
Source: Wired Top Stories | 8 Apr 2010 | 6:00 pm NASA unveils sweeping new programs - CNET
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 8 Apr 2010 | 5:48 pm Watch video of the iPhone OS 4 event (Macworld.com)Macworld.com - Looking for something to watch tonight? You could catch the latest episode of FlashForward or Fringe. Or you can learn all about Apple's latest version of the iPhone OS, which was revealed on Thursday. In fact, you can watch the very same presentation made at the invitation-only event.Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 8 Apr 2010 | 5:40 pm Microsoft's CoApp To Help OSS Development, Deploymentbadpazzword writes "Microsoft employee Garrett Serack announces he has received the green light to work full time on CoApp, an .msi-based package management system aiming to bring a wholly native toolchain for OSS development and deployment. This will hopefully bring more open source software on Windows, which will conversely bring OSS more users, testers and developers. Serack is following the comments at Ars Technica, so he might also follow them here. The launchpad project is already up."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 8 Apr 2010 | 5:26 pm Apple’s iPhone OS 4.0 Keynote video now live
Source: MobileCrunch | 8 Apr 2010 | 5:09 pm Apple’s iPhone OS 4.0 Keynote video is now live
Source: CrunchGear | 8 Apr 2010 | 5:09 pm Volcanoes on Venus may be young ... and hot! - msnbc.com
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 8 Apr 2010 | 5:05 pm FCC Takes a Jab at Verizon CEO Over Spectrum [Voices]By Niraj Sheth, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal For the FCC, it’s starting to get personal. The agency took a rare shot at Verizon Communications (VZ) CEO Ivan Seidenberg on Thursday, calling him out by name for comments earlier this week that cast doubt on whether carriers need as much spectrum as the government wants to give them. In its National Broadband Plan, released last month, the FCC said it planned to free up a sizable 500 MHz of spectrum by 2020 for wireless carriers like AT&T (T) and Verizon Wireless, which Verizon jointly owns with Vodafone Group. Much of that will come from TV broadcasters, and the move was widely seen as a coup for carriers who have been calling for more airwaves to meet growing data traffic from customers surfing the Web, watching videos and using applications on their phones. Read the rest of this post on the original site Source: All Things Digital | 8 Apr 2010 | 5:05 pm Modern Warfare 2 DLC stimulating PS3, PC May 4 - GameSpot
Source: Sci/Tech - Google News | 8 Apr 2010 | 4:57 pm Confirmed: Yahoo CTO and Chief Product Officer Balogh to Leave Company [BoomTown]
As BoomTown reported earlier today, Yahoo is searching for a new CTO and chief product officer. Its current exec in charge, Ari Balogh (pictured here), confirmed in an interview this afternoon that he is leaving the company. “It’s probably bad timing, since we are in the midst of recharging Yahoo,” said Balogh. “But this had to do with personal priorities.” By that, he was referring to personal issues in Greece, where Balogh was partially raised, related to an uncle to whom he is close. Balogh will be moving his family there this summer. In a further complication, they cannot travel there by plane, because his daughter cannot fly due to issues around her hearing impairment. The leading candidate for Balogh’s job at Yahoo (YHOO), said several sources, is former Microsoft (MSFT) exec Blake Irving. Balogh would not comment on that, but noted Yahoo was looking at several candidates. Balogh’s parting is one of many among top Yahoo execs recently, under the leadership of CEO Carol Bartz. Advertising sales head Joanne Bradford departed the company to join Demand Media, while longtime tech exec Ash Patel said he would not return from a sabbatical he took last year. Here’s Yahoo’s official statement, for the record:
And here is a statement from Balogh:
Here is a video interview I did with Balogh last July: [ See post to watch video ] Source: All Things Digital | 8 Apr 2010 | 4:52 pm Samsung Bets on a Thin Future
SAN JOSE, California — Samsung is one of several manufacturers betting that consumers want their gadgets to look like the models in fashion magazines: Skinny, glossy and colorful. “Every few years there’s a new buzzword,” says Scott Birnbaum, vice president of Samsung’s LCD business. “First, everything was neat, then everything was cool, now everything is thin.” Slim profiles are already a big factor in mobile phones, digital cameras and MP3 players, where small size has a definite practical advantage. This year, Samsung, LG, Lenovo and other manufacturers are bringing the trend to larger appliances, like TVs and computers. Samsung says it is working on reducing the profile of every component it produces–from processors to displays and memory–while upping the ante on performance. Samsung’s latest TVs are a third of an inch thick. The company is working to shrink them further by building the drivers for the TVs directly into the glass cells rather than putting them on the bezel that surrounds, the display, says Birnbaum. “We think TVs are going to become a liquid crystal piece of art that hangs on the walls of your house,” he says. The company showed off some of the technologies behind its new thin products at a press event here on Wednesday. “Samsung plays in so many different areas of the electronics business from hard drives to flash and memory,” says Rhoda Alexander, an analyst for iSuppli, a market research firm. “So when they try to make everything thin they can layer it all better than anyone else.” Take Samsung’s latest LED-backlit TVs, which Samsung promises will get up to 40 percent skinnier in the next two years. “We can do this because we are reducing the number of LED bars that go on the sides of the TV bezel,” says Birnbaum. “Last year we were using six LED bars on four sides; this year its four bars on two sides. In two years, it will be just two bars across two sides.” Slimming Everything Down
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The iPad’s got a big screen, zippy performance and a decent web browser — but its real potential lies in the thousands of apps — more than 3,000 already — that use that hardware in new and interesting ways.
But as significant of an advancement as the iPad may be compared to its smaller predecessors, one major problem remains: The App Store is still a cluttered mess, and iPad apps only add to the pile.
Furthermore, iPad apps are generally more expensive than iPhone or iPod Touch apps. A few downloads could quickly drive your iTunes bill to the triple-digit range.
Just which iPad apps are worth the splurge? After scouting the store and obsessively testing apps for days, we’ve dug up 15 gems that we believe are the best among the early birds, based on criteria of innovation, fun factor, value and quality interface design. We’ve split them up into three categories: productivity, media and games.
A snazzy to-do list to organize your errands, work projects and house chores, Things is to apps what a five-star restaurant is to eating. The app sports a gorgeous interface that makes the act of checkmarking a completed task truly gratifying. You can add current and future errands to the standard to-do list, and a Projects category helps you brainstorm your long-term work. The most impressive part about Things is the ability to sync all your to-do list items to the Things apps for Mac and iPhone. All three apps combined cost $80, so the Things suite ain’t cheap, but incessantly busy types will appreciate the elegant experience of these apps. The Things iPad app alone costs $20 (download link).
Twitter’s lead engineer for its International team, Matt Sanford, just posted an announcement detailing the microblogging network’s global growth. According to Sanford, over 60% of registered Twitter accounts come from outside the US. The growth in accounts internationally isn’t surprising, considering that we’ve seen Twitter’s worldwide unique visits rise as U.S. traffic plateaus.
Twitter also said that following the availability of its site in Spanish in November, the site saw a 50 percent boost in sign-ups from Spanish speaking countries. It seems that current events and political engagement seem to also precipitate growth for Twitter. Following the earthquake in Chile, signups spiked 1200% and nearly all of those were using Spanish as their language. In Colombia, signups are up 300% after politicians started using the network as a platform to speak to constituents.
India, which is a potentially huge market for Twitter, has seen accounts rise by nearly 100% since the beginning of 2010 because politicians and Bollywood stars have started using the platform to communicate to fans and constituents. Traffic has also grown after a partnership with Bharti Airtel, India’s largest carrier, to ensure that SMS Tweets are sent and received at standard rates.
International growth is also probably attributed to the availability of Twitter in German, Italian, French, which was rolled out late last year. Twitter crowd-sourced much of the work for these translations. Twitter is also available in Japanese.
As you'd expect, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff is a constant salesman. At a dinner last night in New York City, he kept showing everybody in the room his newest baby, Salesforce Chatter, which turns Salesforce into feeds of people and customer data. He was showing it on his iPhone, which he wields as a sales weapon. (Benioff cornered one poor CIO with his iPhone demo for a good 20 minutes).
I got Benioff to show me the iPhone app on video (above). It is a supercharged, Chatterized version of Salesforce’s iPhone app which is not yet generally available. But you can see how it is very Facebook-like in that you follow a stream of updates from people you work with. Each one has a profile. But companies and customers also have their own feeds and profiles. Anyone who uses a Twitter app on an iPhone or Facebook or Yammer will find this user-interface familiar.
Benioff might be a big believer in the iPad as a new window onto the cloud, but it is the iPhone that he can whip out every time he meets a customer that is going to help him sell Chatter. At the beginning of the video, Benioff also mentions the news announced earlier today that Chatter will get its own marketplace of apps.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Didn’t get into the BlackBerry Twitter beta when it was locked up tight? Didn’t feel like dabbing with leaked software when the newest version leaked to everyone a few days later? Fear not, dear reader! It’s almost your time to bask in the sweet, sweet RIM-brand Twitter client sunlight.
Tonight at 6 P.M Pacific (9 PM eastern), them fine folks up in Waterloo will be flipping all the appropriate switches to send the Twitter client into the public realm. It’s still considered Beta, but it’s at least solid enough that RIM’s ready for anyone and everyone to play with it. Look for it in the Test Center on the BlackBerry App World or, failing that, BlackBerry Beta Zone.
Let us know what you think, won’t you?
E-reader makers are expanding their retail tentacles. After months of selling the devices directly through their web site, they are turning to retail giants for some help in getting the gadgets into the hands of consumers.
Barnes & Noble’s Nook e-reader is expected to go on sale at Best Buy stores in the U.S. starting April 19, while Amazon’s Kindle might be seen at Target later this month.
The launch of the Apple’s iPad and the imminent arrival of tablets from companies such as HP and Dell has raised the stakes for e-reader manufacturers. The iPad’s color screen, access to the iBooks store and the ability to surf the internet and use apps makes it a multi-purpose device that some consumers are likely to prefer over the black-and-white screen e-readers. Apple says it sold 300,000 iPads by midnight on April 3, the first day of the device’s availability. At least 250,000 digital books have been downloaded by iPad customers so far, says the company.
The increased competition from tablets may have forced e-reader makers to spread their wings. Since the device’s launch in 2007, Amazon has sold the Kindle exclusively through its web site. Barnes & Noble also made its website the biggest channel for Nook though it has been stocking its retail stores with the product.
The move to Best Buy and Target could mean these e-readers will reach more than just the early adopters. Don’t count on any price breaks though. If the leaks are to be believed, the Kindle and Nook will sell for the same price as their online counterparts.
See Also:
Photo: (samuraijohnny/Flickr)
As you know, we here at CrunchGear pride ourselves on bringing you the latest and hottest information on novelty USB drives. Nicholas is particularly a fan. But more to the point, we know you are too. Which is why I’m here to tell you that MIMIBOT just announced their latest, the series 5 Star Wars line. There’s even a Stormtrooper that just might be a little shorter then normal.
MIMOBOT’s series 4 brought us the unmasked versions of Darth Vader, along with several other models, and series 5 looks to be just as exciting. There’s the aforementioned Stormtrooper, which randomly comes as Han or Luke, the Jawa, R2-D2, and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Each model is available in 2GB to 16GB capacity, and will cost you between $30 to $90.
[via Gadget Review]
It looks like Apple just stepped up its attacks against Adobe and its Flash standard–used throughout the Web and apparently hated with much passion by Steve Jobs.
If Daring Fireball’s John Gruber is correct in parsing Apple’s new developer agreement, then Apple (AAPL) is preventing Adobe (ADBE) from using a tool that will port applications created in Flash to Apple’s iPhone and iPad operating systems.
Adobe has been pointing to that workaround as its answer to Apple’s anti-Flash campaign, arguing that developers could create programs that work on most of the Web as well as Apple’s platforms. Now it appears that Steve Jobs and company are forcing developers to choose: Our way or no way.
If true, it’s yet another blow to publisher Condé Nast’s efforts to build tablet magazines with Adobe’s help. Last year, the publisher seemed confident that its effort with Adobe would allow it to create a single digital format that worked on all kinds of iPad-style tablets. But by the end of February, it was rethinking that and began pulling back on plans to work with Adobe.
Caught in the crossfire: Condé’s Wired Magazine, which is supposed to be the first title produced by Adobe that works on the iPad. On the flip side, the other path that Condé has been pursuing–creating less ambitious versions of its titles directly for the iPad, like the GQ app it started selling last weekend–now looks very smart.
I’ve asked Apple and Condé Nast for comment. Here’s Adobe’s response, via spokesman Russell Brady: “Can’t say that much at the moment other than that we are aware of the new SDK language and are looking into it. We continue to develop our Packager for iPhone OS technology, which we plan to debut in Flash CS5.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Reuters - Apple's iPad tablet computer hasn't been out a week yet but there are already over 830 video games that have been developed to suit the large format, high definition, multi-touch screen.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Short Version: Pity the poor HD2. It’s one of the most amazing phones I’ve seen all year but like some ultra-evolved dinosaur at the end of the Cretaceous period, it was born just as a cataclysmic asteroid (Windows Phone 7) was about to change the entire ecosystem. Still, for someone looking for a great media phone and one of the best Windows Mobile Phones I’ve ever seen, you could do worse.
Features:
Pros:
Cons:
The Device
The best thing about the HD2 is that it looks nothing like a Windows Mobile device. For years Windows Mobile has popped up in interface and usability elements like herpes at Studio 54 – it’s always been there, you just have to press the right buttons and you’ll see it. For example, viewing emails used to dump you into Windows Mobiles’ sub par email browser and when you hit the “Start” menu you’d see an ugly list of apps. Somewhere in there was a task manager and a few other vestiges of 1990s technology that Microsoft stuffed into the device.
Windows Mobile 6.5 repaired some of these problems by making most menus icon-based and HTC took things to their obvious conclusion by overlaying their excellent Sense UI over the entire thing. Now you get photorealistic weather icons, easy access to media and messaging functions, and a great experience overall.
The device itself is mostly screen. It has a beautiful 4.3-inch 480 X 800 WVGA touchscreen with a set of buttons for calls as well as Windows, Home, and Back keys along the bottom. There is a full sized headphone jack on the bottom and the phone comes with 16GB of storage. It als includes Blockbuster on Demand access as well as free access to mobiTV for a month. As I mentioned above, T-Mobile included Transformers and Transformers 2: Let’s Try to Make More Money. Obviously these movies are easy selling points for those with light brain damage.
The Good
The central metaphor is a taskbar that appears along the bottom of the screen that contains a number of activities including Home – showing a set of icons including camera, Facebook, YouTube, etc. – as well as Messages, Mail, Browser, Photos, Stocks, Twitter, and Search. The Weather screen is actually quite striking and shows the current time and weather appear in a very cool animation across the screen. Cloud days get delightful clouds while sunny days get, obviously, sun. HTC does this sort of thing well. Their design is beautiful and they do an excellent job of mixing photorealism with readable text to make a great UI.
Going past these initial screens you delve deeper into Windows Mobile 6.5 and, ultimately, despair. Everything works as it should and, in theory, this is more an app phone than a smart phone. It has a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus and flash, Bluetooth stereo support, as well as tethering. Generally it has all the right pieces in all the right places. But then we come to the elephant in the room: Windows Phone 7.
The Bad
The HD2 is a great phone. If you’re in the market for a nice media phone and have to have Windows Mobile for work, get this one. It’s one of the best. If you don’t, then you may want to wait. As far as we know, as of this writing, this phone will not support the new version of Windows Mobile (Windows Phone 7).
Again, if you upgrade every year or eight months, do what you feel. This is a good Windows Mobile Phone and on par with the iPhone in terms of media features. However, the idea that this phone will soon be extinct is disconcerting.
Bottom Line
If you want to future proof your phone investment, you need to rethink the HD2. It’s such a great device – slim, sexy, and plenty of power – but it is like buying the last Palm OS phone just before the Pre is launched. In a few months this phone will be vaguely outdated and in a year it will be obsolete. I do not envy T-Mobile and HTC in their damned-if-you-do/damned-if-you-don’t position, but I want to make it clear that buying this phone, while not a gamble per se, puts the owner in an odd position: they will love the phone but will be very jealous of Windows Phone 7 when it drops.
Perhaps I’m wrong. Maybe WP7 will slip onto here like a pat of butter on a good steak. Only time will tell.
Back when the iPad came out and the SDK was being explored, Greg singled out a few iPad features that we felt would be useful on the iPhone. Unfortunately only one of them seems to have made it in OS 4.0, but it’s a handy one: Bluetooth keyboard support. You can get some quite nice keyboards for a decent price, and they’ll make long emails or blog posts much, much more comfortable.
You can grab the one from Apple if you’re a freak, or do a little shopping around and find one that does a little more.
AP - Apple Inc.'s iPhone and iPad devices will soon be able to run more than one program at a time, an ability that phones from Apple's rivals already offer and that iPhone owners have long sought.
 EuroDroid (blog) | US PIRG, others urge FTC to probe ad data grabs Reuters WASHINGTON, April 8 (Reuters) - The US Public Interest Research Group and two other nonprofits filed a complaint with US regulators on Thursday to demand restrictions on how Google Inc (GOOG.O), Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O) and other companies collect and use ... Google stoked to fight FTC over AdMob Google, Yahoo Ad Programs Draw Fire From Privacy Advocates FTC Blocking of Google Mobile Ad Acquisition Would Be Misguided |
 Telegraph.co.uk | La Vida IPad Means Glances, Glare: Rich Jaroslovsky BusinessWeek April 9 (Bloomberg) -- It's now been almost a week since Apple Inc.'s iPad went on sale. With the reality beginning to replace the pre-launch hysteria, here's a diary of several days spent trying to live my life on it. Day One: I get my review loaner ... Best Buy to Sell Nook, Target Bags Kindle? Five iPad lessons Apple could teach Amazon to save the Kindle Kindle, Nook Coming to a Store Near You? |
Section: Gadgets / Other, ebooks
Earlier today we received the good word that the Nook would soon be available at Best Buy, and now it looks like the Amazon Kindle is also going to be moving in big-box retail territory. Not at Best Buy though, instead it looks like the Kindle is going to be going to Target. So far, and just like the nook, this is yet to be officially confirmed but did come along with an official looking screenshot. This one is showing off what appears to be an inventory system and shows that the Kindle will be available as of April 25. Price wise, expect to pay the same as direct with Amazon—$259.
Via [Engadget]
Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
Today is a glorious day, comrades! No longer are we shackled to the Google iPhone app to find a dining establishment that serves that robust delicacy of deep fried chicken wings! No longer will we have to put our phones up to our cherubic faces and say “chicken wings” like all the other proletariat saps! No, friends! Now we can install the Frank’s Hot Sauce app! Truly, there is a divine being, and it loves us!
Just look at this map! I’m surrounded by fine establishments serving Frank’s Hot Sauce! Oh, thank the maker!
PARSIPPANY, NJ (April 2010) —FRANK’S® REDHOT®, the #1 brand of hot sauce in America*, is about to turn up the heat for its flavor fans with the introduction of its Frank’s RedHot iPhone application, Frank’s RedHot Wing Restaurant Finder. With a community of flavor fanatics that are as passionate about their wing sauce as they are about their hometown hoops team, wing lovers everywhere will soon be able to locate the best bars and restaurants serving up wings in time for the big games. For true RedHot fans, the option also exists to choose only those restaurants that specifically serve wings sauced with Frank’s RedHot. Flavor fans know that the secret ingredient in the original Buffalo wing sauce, Frank’s RedHot, is the key to authentic Buffalo flavor.
Frank’s RedHot Wing Restaurant Finder allows users to browse and search a large database of bars and restaurants. In addition to finding the Wing Restaurant Finder via the Frank’s RedHot iPhone app, it is also available on the Frank’s RedHot website at www.franksredhot.com/wings/finder. Consumers can search for restaurants and also by location, simply type in your zip code or city in order to retrieve the nearest location where you can satisfy your Frank’s RedHot craving. In addition the Frank’s RedHot app allows you to:
• Locate wing restaurants and bars using the iPhone’s built in GPS enabled map interface with choice of two different views: map view or list view
• Search by bar and restaurant names
• Invite friends to meet up for wings, direct from the app itself
• Access a variety of RedHot recipes including wing recipes as well as classics such as the ever-popular Frank’s RedHot Buffalo Chicken Dip, chili and more* Based on Nielsen Data week ending 12/5/09
“At Frank’s RedHot, we know our flavor fans are so loyal that they insist on no other sauce when it comes to satisfying their craving for delicious Buffalo wings,” says Mansour Fahmy, Senior Brand Manager for Frank’s RedHot. ”It’s exciting to be able to offer them the convenience to satisfy their cravings any time of the day or night, thanks to this new technology.”
The Frank’s RedHot iPhone application is available at the Apple’s App Store and is compatible with the iPhone and iPod Touch. In addition to searching for wing locations via the iPhone app, wing enthusiasts can also access a host of valuable information on the Frank’s RedHot website, www.franksredhot.com including:
• Accessing thousands of additional recipes from the following categories: classics, drinks, dips, snacks and entrees – everything you need to host a RedHot party with fellow wing fans
• Browse reviews written by fellow wing fans
• Watch popular videos featuring Ethel, who “puts that sauce on everything!” as well as how-to recipe demo’s with Chef Kevin Roberts
Boom. [via Giz]
Section: Gadgets / Other, Lifestyle, Miscellaneous
Even money was I’d go blind using a laser. Everything I know about lasers was gleamed from movies like Real Genius so when Wicked Lasers called to suggest I play with one, visions of vaporizing humans from space popped into my mind and I said yes.
The first you thing I noticed with the Evolution Pro is this laser is more of a light saber than a laser pointer. To be clear, this is not a toy, this is an instantly impressive (and instantly scarry to non-laser types) beam of green light. From the moment I uttered, “laser on” women hid, kids ducked - except for my 7 year-old who instinctively wanted to wield the laser and I glanced around for cops rolling up.
The beam is bright. So bright, in fact, a pair of red-tinted glasses is included with the laser. Without the glasses, the beam throws lots of light at close range targets - not just the beam end, but a good five foot circle (in the dark). I hit a colored bucket in the backyard and the lawn was illuminated. Cool.
Quickly you wonder just how far away you can “target” things. The house next door, easy. End of the street? Piece of cake. Across fields and rivers? No problem. It took binoculars to find just how far you can hit, and the beam keeps going.
There are cautions all over this thing, as you can imagine. Apparently the military and police forces will freak if they see a laser dot (as it is typically used for aiming weapons) so I opted not to test that one. Likewise, beaming up into the sky can blind pilots, so that is a bit of a non-starter too. In the manual is an impassioned plea for common sense so governments don’t take away lasers.
It became clear quickly that this is more a weapon than tool. Popping balloons (dark colored ones) is fun, as is burning holes through plastic bags but the question soon becomes, what do you use this for? Making Swiss cheese is the answer given in Real Genius in jest while the sage “Laslow” says no, it’s a weapon. In the end, you get a sense of how powerful this laser is and keeping it in reasonable hands, not those of my insistent 7-year-old is the safe play. Sending the laser back to the company made me feel a bit better about keeping it out of harms way (at least in my house).
The Evolution Pro starts at $117.95 and is available now.
Product site: [Wicked Lasers]
Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
A couple new hooks in the 4.0 APIs seem to indicate a device with a built-in flash. Yes, as in a camera flash:
AVCaptureFlashMode (auto/off/on modes)
AVCaptureDevice.hasFlash
Well, that could mean either a flash on the new iPhone (likely) or an external flash available as an accessory (less likely, but still possible). Or native pairing with certain cameras? That’d be insane. It’s all speculation at this point.
I guess Apple is serious about gaming now. It just announced, as one of its many iPhone "pillars," the development of GameCenter, which our man on the scene, Greg Kumparak, described as "Xbox Live for the iPhone." Match-making, leaderboards, achievement points, the works.
Section: Communications, Web, Google
Way back in November of 2009 we watched as Google purchased Gizmo5, and at the time many had been speculating that the purchase would allow Google to roll out some increased functionality in Google Voice. Well, nothing has been officially announced, however chatter has recently begun suggesting that Google is testing a Voice desktop app on an internal basis. The news is coming by way of TechCrunch who have stated that they received confirmation that a Google Voice desktop app is being tested, and that the app will allow the user to both make and receive calls. Google Voice on the desktop, sounds good. As far as when, maybe soon, maybe as early as this week.
Via [TechCrunch]
Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
The iPhone OS 4.0 event just wrapped up and the faithful are filing out of the Apple venue with a slightly shell-shocked look. What happened? Oh nothing, just multi-tasking, iAd, a huge Mail update and a bunch of other stuff. Yes, the long-awaited OS update for the iPhone has just been run down and we’ve got all the details.
Here, in handy bullet point form, are all the things you need to know about iPhone OS 4.0…
Multi-tasking is coming. They admit they are a bit late to the party. Video here, details below.
Local notifications: in-phone notifications for, say, pop-up alarms and such. Local app stuff.
iBooks: I think we all expected this. It looks just like the iPad version, though somewhat smaller, obviously. Sync bookmarks and such between devices. Comes with Winnie the Pooh!
Section: Communications, Cellphones, Email / IM, Smartphones, Mobile
CNBC suggested Lenovo has been overheard thinking about buying out struggling Palm. The news sent Palms lagging stock up as investors figured out how a takeover might play out. Many questions remain, including if this rumor is even credible, but the constant remains: webOS has tons of potential - most of it wasted on the Pre (et al).
In trading yesterday, Palm stock rose 20%. Lenovo, the Chinese PC maker is the latest in a round of rumors that have included the likes of HP, Dell, even Google and Apple get thrown into the mix. The theories behind such companies being interested is two fold: webOS and Palm’s longstanding patent record. Both have potential value to these suitors.
Over at Monday Note, Jean-Louise Gassee summed up Palm’s precarious position with cash, debts and a lot of Pre and Pixi stock sitting on shelves. He foretells of Palms implosion and eventually just turning off the lights. It’s a decent history lesson in how Palm got to this place.
Could Lenovo make a play for Palm? If so, would they retool the webOS for phone use? Tablet use? Or something we’ve not seen yet?
Read: [CNBC]
Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
Section: Gadgets / Other, ebooks
Those that may be looking to pick up a Barnes & Noble nook will soon be able to do so at yet another retail location. It looks like April 18 will be the date of which Best Buy will begin carrying the nook. So far though nothing has come in the form of an official announcement, but still the screenshot that came along with seems to be legit enough. After all, why would someone take the trouble to fake a story that the nook was going to be available at Best Buy. Either way, if you were looking to purchase a nook, and can wait a little while, go ahead and mark your calendar, April 18, nook at Best Buy.
Via [Engadget]
Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
Better battery life is on the top of most people’s gadget wish lists. Now, a technology breakthrough from MIT offers hope for the mobile masses — but it will have to contend with other experimental approaches in a race to the market that could take years, experts say.
MIT researchers say they have found a way to create batteries that can offer up to three times the energy density of current batteries, while being much lighter. That paves the way for portable devices that could both be lighter and have a much longer battery life than current gadgets.
“You can get battery life in a laptop computer similar that’s three times more than what you have now, even as the battery gets three times lighter, ” Yang Shao-Horn, associate professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at MIT, told Wired.com.
While advances in material sciences and chip design have led to more powerful computers with better displays, battery life has remained a big roadblock. That’s why new battery technologies have become a major area of research. Companies such as GE and IBM are exploring the promise of a new kind of battery called lithium-air. These batteries could replace existing lithium-ion batteries.
Lithium-air batteries have a lithium anode that is electrochemically coupled to atmospheric oxygen through an air cathode. By contrast, current lithium-ion batteries have a carbon anode and a metal oxide-based cathode.
“There’s huge potential for lithium-air batteries,” says Vishal Sapru, industry manager for power and energy system at research firm Frost & Sullivan. “The combination of lithium anode and air cathode not only makes them lighter than lithium-ion but also offers higher energy density.”
Sapru estimates that a typical lithium-air battery can offer an output of 1800 watts per kilogram compared to about 120 to 350 watts per kilogram seen in lithium-ion batteries.
But so far, there has been a lack of understanding about the kinds of electrode materials that could promote the electrochemical reactions that take place in lithium-air batteries, which has held back their development, says MIT’s Shao-Horn.
The answer, she says, according to her team, lies in using gold or platinum as a catalyst.
And despite the bling factor, batteries using these precious metals could still be cost competitive, says Shao-Horn. “We need to have only the surfaces covered by these elements,” she says. “We are not using platinum and gold in the bulk of the battery.”
It’s an interesting breakthrough, agrees Sapru, but one that’s by no means guaranteed a commercial future. Other battery researchers are working on other materials, such as aluminum-polymer laminates, for instance. What will eventually reach the hands of consumers remains to be seen, he says.
“Till these technologies reach commercial manufacturing stage we can’t reliably tell how they will do in terms of costs and accessibility,” says Sapru. “While gold and platinum offer some advantages, aluminum-polymer laminates can be more flexible, so we will have to wait and see.”
Shao-Horn says her team’s ideas are still a long way from commercialization. The group is yet to perfect the chemistry of the charging and discharging processes and increase efficiency of the system, she says.
“Ultimately, just like we have different types of lithium-ion batteries today,” says Sapru, “we will have different lithium-air batteries. But all of this is a couple of years away from reaching consumers.”
Photo: Patrick Gillooly
See Also:
Section: Web, Web 2.0 / Social Networking, Websites
An Arkansas mother is defending herself from a harassment lawsuit filed by her son for allegedly hacking his Facebook account, changing his password and posting slanderous updates. The son is requesting a “no contact” order while the case is pending. The mother claims she was just keeping tabs on his life via Facebook.
From local TV station KATV, the mother says
“you’re within your legal rights to monitor your child and to have a conversation with your child on Facebook whether it’s his account, or your account or whoever’s account. It’s crazy to me that we’re even having this interview.”
The son filing the suit is 16 years old and lives with his grandmother who has custodial rights. The mother insists the relationship she had with her son was going well. Arkansas harassment law is described as, “a person commits the offense if with purpose to harass, annoy or alarm another person without good cause, he engages in conduct or repeatedly commits acts that alarm or seriously annoy another person.”
Something tells us this won’t be the last lawsuit of this nature as more and more parents figure the site out and engage their kids on the site.
Read: [KATV]
Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
Many, many years ago I rendered my Commodore Amiga theft-proof by covering it with teak-effect sticky-backed plastic (I also stuck on a cutout of a man on a lawnmower trundling across the top of the f-keys – don’t ask). My early customizations have been echoed with much more class in the intervening years, but these stick-on notebook skins are the classiest yet: They’re cut from real wood.
The covers come made for the MacBook, with a little Apple cut-out in the center. The wood is backed with an adhesive sheet from 3M, and you just peel and stick. The veneers come in various woody flavors, from bamboo (technically not wood, we know) to cherry, maple, walnut and dull old pine. Skins in the “originals” line cost $35 each, and the laser-etched “artist” series go for $50 a pop. Bonus: no vinyl equals no unsightly bubbles, just smooth, warm dead trees. Available now.
Wooden Skins [KARVT]
Section: Computers, Peripherals, Mice / Keyboards
It feels like we have been talking about the Asus Eee Keyboard for a long time now, oh wait, we have. We first spend some time with it back in January of 2009, and then again in January of 2010 and all we have really seen thus far is specs, promises and word of delay. That said, Asus has just recently released an official promo video for the Eee Keyboard, and just maybe it will go on sale this month like we last heard. Anyone still willing to plunk down the estimated $500 - $600 that this is expected to cost?
Via [Netbooked]
Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
CUPERTINO, California — Apple unveiled details of its next-generation iPhone operating system Thursday in a press event at the company’s headquarters here.
The new operating system, iPhone OS 4, will be released to developers this week and to consumers this summer. It will include support for multitasking, in-app advertising, e-book reading, social gaming and other features.
As expected, the highlight of the new OS will be its support for multitasking of apps.
“We weren’t the first to this party but we’re going to be the best, just like cut-and-paste,” said Apple CEO Steve Jobs, alluding to the fact that cut-and-paste hadn’t been available until a year after the first iPhone launched. “It’s really easy to implement multitasking in a way that drains battery life. If you don’t do it just right your phone’s going to feel sluggish and your battery life is going to go way down. We’ve figured out how to implement multitasking of third-party apps and avoid those things.”
With the new OS, users will be able to press the home button twice to see a menu of all the currently active apps, which appears as a bar along the bottom of the screen. Tapping one of the apps takes you directly into that app. Apps can remain running in the background. Apple demonstrated how you can keep listening to music in Pandora while doing other things on the phone, and how the phone could deliver push notifications to alert users to an incoming Skype call.
“It was really simple to implement. Just a dozen lines of code,” said Skype’s head of product development David Ponsford.
To address privacy concerns, the OS will also let you know (via a notification on the app’s icon) when an app running in the background has requested your location from the device’s GPS.
The announcement comes less than a week after Apple’s launch of its tablet computer, the iPad. Jobs said the company had sold 450,000 iPads to date, and that users have downloaded more than 1 million iPad applications and over 650,000 digital books from the iBooks store.
Jobs also added that the company has sold more than 50 million iPhones and 35 million iPod Touches.
The iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad all run iPhone OS 3.0. The operating system is based on an OS X core, but with a touch-centric interface and optimizations aimed at increasing screen responsiveness and maximizing battery life. The current iPhone OS has been widely criticized for its lack of support for full multitasking: It only allows a few core apps, such as iPod and Mail, to run in the background while another app is active. The OS also restricts add-on software to apps available through Apple’s App Store.
The App Store currently contains 185,000 apps, Jobs said, adding than users have downloaded more than 4 billion apps from it to date. About 3,500 of those apps are optimized for the iPad.
IPhone OS 4 will be available to iPhone 3GS and third-generation iPod Touch users starting summer 2010, and to iPad users starting in the fall. Users of earlier devices, such as the iPhone 3G and first-generation iPhone, will be able to get the new OS this summer, but some features — such as multitasking — won’t work, due to limitations of the older hardware.
The new OS also gives users the ability to group apps in folders, instead of just laying them out on the home screens.
The Mail app has been reworked, with a threaded e-mail view and options to see mail from multiple e-mail accounts in a single inbox. It also adds support for multiple Microsoft Exchange mail servers.
Apple added support for iBooks, which were introduced with the iPad, to iPhone OS 4. That means iPhone users will be able to read iBooks on their devices, with wireless syncing to their other iPhone OS devices. As with the iPad, iPhone OS 4 will ship with one bundled e-book: Winnie the Pooh.
The company touted the operating system’s enhanced enterprise features, including better data encryption, support for virtual private networks, wireless app distribution and more.
It announced Game Center, a social gaming network for iPhone game players. And it unveiled details of its mobile advertising network, iAd.
Developers would like to include ads in their apps, but the tools aren’t there yet, Jobs said. “For the lack of a better way to put it, we think most of these mobile advertisements suck,” Jobs asserted, adding that search-based advertising wasn’t working either. “People aren’t searching on a mobile device like they do on the desktop. What’s happening is they’re spending all their time on apps.”
Jobs emphasized the new ad platform’s immersive, interactive, “emotional” aspects, which enable developers and advertisers to include animations, video, rich graphics and software logic that integrates with the iPhone — so, for instance, users can click on an ad to add a new wallpaper image to their iPhone. He added that the ads are all built using HTML5 — a not-so-indirect jab at Adobe’s Flash platform, which is widely used to provide interactivity and animation in web ads, but which is not supported on the iPhone OS.
“Because iAd is on the iPhone OS itself, we have figured out how to do interactive content without ever taking you out of your app,” he said.
Apple will take a 40 percent cut of ad revenue on its network, giving the other 60 percent to the app developers.
Other features planned for iPhone OS 4 include a 5x digital zoom feature in the camera, and the ability to tap to focus in video. (Tap to focus was already available for still images in iPhone OS 3.)
See below for more photos from the event.
UPDATED 10:20 a.m., 10:40 a.m., 10:54 a.m., 10:58 a.m., 11:07 a.m. PT
Top photo: Apple CEO Steve Jobs demonstrates multitasking in iPhone OS 4.
Brian X. Chen/Wired.com.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs demonstrates the Folders feature in iPhone OS 4.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs demonstrates a Nike advertisement that allows customers to configure and order shoes, within an app running on iPhone OS 4.
The Moonwatch tells you not only the time of day, but the time of month. Well, the time of the lunar month at least. The background to the dial is a moon-phase picture which moves slowly, day-by-day, as the moon waxes and wanes. As a concept design, it doesn’t have to actually work in the real world, and neither does it have to explain how it flips between moon and regular clock hands.
To us, this seems like an ideal use for e-ink, or even regular ol’ black and white LCD. And while knowing the moon-phase isn’t really essential (it won’t stop you being late for meetings, for example), it would be handy to remind you to stay in on the night of a full-moon. Anyone who has had to deal with crazy customers in bars and restaurants on these nights will know exactly what I’m talking about. Also: good for avoiding werewolves.
Moonwatch [The Emotion Lab via Yanko]
FROM APPLETELL - Why the rush with Apple’s iPhone OS 4.0 event? What can we expect to see? We’ll find out today at 1:00 p.m. EDT, so join us here at Appletell for our live blog of the iPhone OS 4.0 event.
MORE »
Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
After delays in manufacturing and then (quite ironically) getting lost on its trip to Gadget Lab Spain, the Dual GPS cradle for the iPod Touch finally arrived for testing this morning. Like the TomTom kit, the Dual is a chunky case with a GPS receiver into which you slip an iPod Touch. From there, any GPS-aware application can access the data just as seamlessly as if you were using a GPS-equipped iPhone.
Unlike the TomTom, it is a slide-on cradle, which means you can use it outside the car (it does come with a separate mounting kit), and it also has a battery inside, used to power the GPS for up to ten hours or (at the slide of a switch) to recharge the iPod’s own battery.
The case also has a speaker (for turn-by-turn instructions) and a microphone (for voice-control, but it also works with any other app, like Skype or Voice Memos). Volume switches on the front, a battery indicator on the back, mini-USB and headphone ports complete the hardware. You can also charge and sync the iPod through this USB port using a standard cable.
As far as testing goes, I have checked that it works (it does) and that it can fit on my bike (it doesn’t – yet. I am midway through hacking the windshield-mount into a handlebar-mount). The speaker is good and loud, the fit and finish of the cradle are good (the windshield mount not so much, but fine for a car if not a bike) and it is compact if heavy. Proper testing will commence this afternoon and weekend.
One annoyance: The Dual ($200) works with a free app for the US and Canada only. If you don’t have this installed, you’ll be asked to do so every time you plug the iPod into it. I could of course just download it, but as it takes up almost 2GB, and I can’t use it in Spain, I’ll have to live with the warnings. This, of course, will be no problem if you live in the right place.
I’m also on the lookout for some good (and cheap or free) GPS apps to test with it. If you have recommendations, leave them below. Apps for navigation, photo geo-tagging and cycling preferred.
GPS Cradle [Dual]
Photo shows MotionX GPS on iPod
See Also:
Section: Imaging, Camcorders
It looks like a few more images of the Flip Slide HD camera have popped up, and these are a little more interesting to see in that they show off the specs of the camera. Basically, the Flip Slide HD appears like it will slide open from the side, but looking at the image (above) it almost looks to be more of a clamshell than a slider. Either way though, the specs are showing that the Slide HD will be available in white with silver trim and be packing 16GB of internal memory which will give you up to 4 hours of recording time. In terms of quality, expect HD 720p at 30 frames per second (1280 x 720, 16:9 widescreen).
Via [Engadget]
Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
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