AP - German prosecutors have launched an investigation of Google Inc. in connection with a privacy breach that involved it recording fragments of people's online activities through unsecured Wi-Fi networks. Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 19 May 2010 | 4:14 am
In a January Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Salesforce.com (CRM) listed among its risk factors “a communication from a large technology company alleging that we were infringing upon some of their patents.” The company didn’t identify the source of the communication or the extent of its allegations, only that the two were in discussions and no litigation had yet been filed.
“We continue to analyze the potential merits of their claims, the potential defenses to such claims and potential counter claims, and the possibility of a license agreement as an alternative to litigation,” the company said. “However, there can be no assurance that this claim will not lead to litigation in the future.”
Well, looks like the claim has indeed lead to litigation, and litigation from a formidable opponent, too: Microsoft (MSFT).
On Thursday, the software behemoth filed suit against Salesforce, accusing the company of infringing nine patents describing things like “Method and system for stacking toolbars in a computer display” and “System and method for controlling access to data entities in a computer network.”
The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle, seeks an injunction against Salesforce and unspecified monetary damages.
“Microsoft has been a leader and innovator in the software industry for decades and continues to invest billions of dollars each year in bringing great software products and services to market,” Horacio Gutierrez, Microsoft’s deputy general counsel of Intellectual Property and Licensing, said in a statement. “We have a responsibility to our customers, partners, and shareholders to safeguard that investment, and therefore cannot stand idly by when others infringe our IP rights.”
An interesting move for Microsoft, which doesn’t typically initiate patent litigation. Though it has been sued many times for patent infringement over the years, the company has only filed a handful of IP suits itself.
That said, Microsoft and Salesforce have been competing more aggressively in the cloud-based CRM space recently.
For $15, you can turn your notebook computer into what looks like a box of Lego. Those keys are in fact stickers which sit atop your MacBook keycaps and turn the keyboard into a sea of dimpled plastic bricks.
The stickers, made from easily-removed vinyl, come from Etsy-seller openandclose. They’re kind of neat, but the toy-nerd in me can’t help spot the non-Lego elements in these “Lego-style” bricks. First, the colors are way off. Whoever heard of pink Lego?
Second, the circular nubbins are too small on the function keys and too big on the letters. Only on the spacebar do you see anything approaching Lego-like proportions. Going by the shadows, though, it looks like openandclose at least made the stickers in real 3D, and didn’t just shade the tops to look as if they are raised.
Available now, for you to buy and use for five minutes before ripping them off in a fit of annoyance.
News Corp. officials do say Murdoch is hopeful about bringing on Gannett (GCI), the publisher behind USA Today and 82 smaller papers. A person familiar with talks between the companies described them as “late stage”. A spokeswoman for News Corp. (NWS), which owns this web site, declined to comment; Gannett officials didn’t respond to a request for comment.
And it’s possible that Murdoch’s lieutenants, led by digital boss Jon Miller, have other deals they’re close to closing in the works.
That’s certainly what Murdoch hinted at in the prepared remarks he delivered at the start of his May 4 earnings call:
Today, we are in final discussions with a number of publishers, device makers and technology companies… and we will soon develop an innovative subscription model that will deliver digital content to consumers… wherever and whenever they want it.
Later, in response to a reporter’s question about the subscription plan, Murdoch went further, announcing that his company would be”giving a press conference in about three to four weeks which we hope will have some important announcements in.”
But that would be a more effective press conference if Murdoch could announce that he’d convinced other big publishers to embrace that model. Right now, at least, he can’t say that.
This might seem like a classic example of Murdoch going off script during an earnings call, which happens with some frequency. But in this case, News Corp. officials have been working on a similar timetable behind the scenes. For instance: I’m told that they have been casting about for a public relations agency to help promote the plan, and have been telling prospective candidates about their proposed schedule.
So it seems that if Murdoch might have been intentionally placing his cart pre-horse, in the hopes that doing so would speed negotiations along. Can’t wait to see if he’s right.
It seems Twitter is poised to go into overdrive in Japan, the world’s third largest Internet nation. Yesterday, we reported that major mobile carrier SoftBank Mobile collaborates with Twitter to bring cell phones with Twitter pre-installed to Japanese customers. And today, Digital Garage (the company’s partner in Japan since 2008) announced [JP, PDF] Twitter’s co-founder and creative director Biz Stone has joined its advisory board.
Established in 1995, Tokyo-based Digital Garage has incubated and localized a number of large web brands, i.e. Twitter, Japan’s leading price engine Kakaku.com, or Infoseek. For the next three years, Stone will not only help the company to grow Twitter’s business in Japan but also advise CGM Marketing [JP], a Digital Garage subsidiary that markets Twitter in this country.
Stone also steps in as a mentor for Open Network Lab, a Y Combinator-like incubator Digital Garage and two other companies established last month in Tokyo, joining the likes of Napster founder Shawn Fanning, Tim O’Reilly, ot LinkedIn CEO Reid Hoffman (who has been a member of Digital Garage’s advisory board since 2007).
At last, it seems that AT&T will allow you to share your iPhone’s internet data connection with other devices. The screen captures you see above come from the newly released iPhone OS 4 beta 4, and show the option to enable internet tethering. This would allow you to share your connection to either your computer (over USB) or an iPad or other mobile device (via Bluetooth).
Huge, right? Especially as AT&T promised us the option to tether would be available by the end of last year. But not so fast. We’ve been here before, over a year ago in fact. When iPhone OS 3 was in its beta stages, developers found that they could switch on tethering and use it. When the final version was released to the public, it was gone.
All iPhones have the software for tethering built in. It is then up to the individual carriers if they will support it. AT&T doesn’t, yet, but pretty much anywhere else in the world you can share your data as you like. While the screen-grabs above are almost certainly legitimate, having a feature flash up in a beta release is not the same as having it actually launch to the public. I’m skeptical.
Can you feel a sense of patriotism for a place that doesn't actually exist? Maybe if it represented some of the best ideals of the people who made it possible, and those who kept it thriving, and you could... Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 19 May 2010 | 3:41 am
Reuters - Samsung Electronics plans to launch the first smartphone based on its own operating system in coming weeks, as it seeks to catch up with bigger rivals in the booming high-end market, an executive said on Wednesday. Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 19 May 2010 | 3:35 am
When it comes to social games and virtual goods, Silicon Valley is relatively new to an industry that Asia has been building since the early 2000s. Zynga, apparently, wants some of that Chinese talent. DigiCha has a great catch about three job listing that were put on Beijing Craigslist– and then promptly pulled down. The three jobs were Chief Technology Officer, Human Resources Manager and Software Engineer. Given that two of those are management, I’m guessing they’re not hiring just one software engineer. DigiCha’s Bill Bishop expects the announcement to be made Thursday.
Online gaming has been hot in China, and the Western tech scene is taking notice. One of Zynga’s biggest competitors, Playfish, already has an office there. One source says its staff is likely to be a big poaching target.
This is different from the Yahoo, eBay, Google round of Valley startups expanding into China, because this time there are already a host of strong Chinese publicly-traded competitors waiting whether they are scrappy upstarts like Giant or giants like Tencent and Shanda. And this time a lot of these companies are going after the talent in China, as much as they are going after the huge Chinese market. Chastened by how badly the dot com bubble crop did, it’ll be interesting to see if the Web 2.0 generation can do any better.
All this means the market for gaming talent in China is getting tighter amid all the interest, and Chinese startups can’t be happy about that. But when it comes to management positions at least there’s one big multinational anyone can poach from: Google. I’ve heard from more than a few sources that Google’s Beijing staff was none-to-happy about the search company leaving them out of the loop earlier this year when it threatened its pull-out of the market.
By Chris Scott Barr LEGOs were a staple in almost every geek’s childhood. I still have mine, and continue to collect more over time. If you’re an exceptionally devoted LEGO fan, why not transform... Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 19 May 2010 | 3:17 am
Japan has been flooded with new cell phones over the last few days. We've shown you KDDI au's 10 new handsets Monday, SoftBank Mobile's 13 new models yesterday, and now it's time for NTT Docomo's summer lineup. Japan's biggest mobile carrier (55 million) unveiled 20 new cell phones [press release in English] yesterday, some of which are just awesome.
Docomo's complete line-up for this summe over at MobileCrunch.
DukeTech writes "This week marks the end of an era for one of the earliest pieces of Internet history, which got its start at Duke University more than 30 years ago. On May 20, Duke will shut down its Usenet server, which provides access to a worldwide electronic discussion network of newsgroups started in 1979 by two Duke graduate students, Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis." Rantastic and other readers wrote about the shutdown of the British Usenet indexer Newzbin today; the site sank under the weight of a lawsuit and outstanding debt. Combine these stories with the recent news of Microsoft shuttering its newsgroups, along with other recent stories, and the picture does not look bright for Usenet.
Japan has been flooded with new cell phones over the last few days. We’ve shown you KDDI au’s 10 new handsets Monday, SoftBank Mobile’s 13 new models yesterday, and now it’s time for NTT Docomo’s summer lineup. Japan’s biggest mobile carrier (55 million) unveiled 20 new cell phones [press release in English] yesterday, some of which are just awesome.
Here’s Docomo’s complete line-up for this summer. (Please note just a few features are listed up below, for example most of these models have TV tuners built in – without me mentioning this. Hit this link for more information on the handsets in English).
Sharp LYNX SH-10B
(rebranded version of the Android 1.6 smartbook ISO01 KDDI showed in March: 5-inch touchscreen with 960×480 resolution, 5.3MP CMOS camera plus 0.43MP front camera, full QWERTY keyboard, Snapdragon processor (1GHz), Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, Wi-Fi, GPS, 4GB of internal memory, Sharp Blu-ray recorder connectivity)
Toshiba dynapocket T-01B
(rebranded version of the Windows Mobile 6.5.3 Professional phone “K01″ KDDI showed in March: 4.1-inch AMOLED capacitive touchscreen (480×800 resolution), 3.2MP CMOS camera, 12.9mm thin body, Snapdragon processor (1GHz), slider QWERTY keyboard,Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR)
NEC N-08B
(4.6-inch full wide VGA (854×480) screen, full QWERTY keyboard, Wi-Fi access-point capability, microSDHC slot, 1,000 hours of standby)
Fujitsu F-06B
(3.5-inch two-way touchscreen with 480 x 960 resolution, 13.2MP camera that lets you shoot full HD videos even under water (waterproof up to 1.5m), HDMI interface, Wi-Fi access-point capability, microSDHC slot, GSM, GPS, Bluetooth, DLNA support)
NEC N-04B
(3.3-inch full wide VGA screen, 12.2MP CMOS camera that lets you shoot HD videos in 1,280×720 resolution, Wi-Fi access-point capability, microSDHC slot, GSM, GPS, Bluetooth, DLNA support)
Panasonic P-04B
(3.3-inch full wide VGA screen, 13.3MP CMOS camera, Blu-ray recorder connectivity, GPS, microSD slot, Bluetooth, GSM)
Sharp SH-07B
(3.4-inch full wide VGA touchscreen, 12.1MP CCD camera that lets you shoot full HD videos even under water (waterproof up to 1.5m), HDMI interface, microSDHC slot, GPS, GSM, Bluetooth)
Fujitsu F-07B
(3.3-inch full wide VGA two-way screen plus OLED mini sub-display, 12.2MP CMOS camera that lets you easily share pictures on social networks, microSDHC slot, GPS, GSM, Bluetooth)
LG L-04B
(2.4-inch screen with 240×320 resolution, 3.1 MP CMOS camera, GSM, designed in collaboration with UK-based Studio Conran)
NEC N-05B
(3.2-inch full wide VGA screen plus OLED mini sub-display, 8.1MP CMOS camera, GSM, GPS, designed in collaboration with Japanese home furnishing store Francfranc)
NEC N-06B
(2.9-inch screen, with QVGA resolution (240×427), 5.1MP CMOS camera, GSM, advanced Deco-Mail functions)
Panasonic P-05B
(3-inch screen with QVGA resolution, 8.1MP CMOS camera, GPS, microSD slot, body with twinkling illumination, one version designed in collaboration with American fashion brand kate spade)
Panasonic P-06B
(3.1-inch full wide VGA touchscreen, 13.2MP CMOS camera, microSD slot, Blu-ray recorder connectivity, GSM, GPS, Bluetooth, waterproof)
Sharp SH-08B
(3.2-inch full wide VGA screen, 8MP CCD camera, GPS, microSD slot, waterproof, designed in collaboration with fashion brand EMILIO PUCCI)
Sharp SH-02B marimekko
(3.4-inch full wide VGA screen, 8MP CCD camera, GPS, Bluetooth, GSM, designed in collaboration with Finnish brand marimekko)
NEC N-07B
(3.3-inch full wide VGA screen, 5.1CMOS camera, Bluetooth, GSM, 760 hours of battery life (standby), designed in collaboration with Tokyo-based design firm amadana)
(TrendHunter.com) The 'Glee' Club cast 'Bad Romance' cover, put fans over the edge in excitement. Each decked out in authentic 'Haus of Gaga' gear, the cast members sing and dance while rocking their... Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 19 May 2010 | 2:24 am
Reuters - Fewer than 2 percent of mobile users in the United States and western Europe used their phone to download music in the first quarter, showing the uphill task facing Apple iTunes challengers like Nokia. Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 19 May 2010 | 2:09 am
PARIS (Reuters) - Fewer than 2 percent of mobile users in the United States and western Europe used their phone to download music in the first quarter, showing the uphill task facing Apple... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 19 May 2010 | 2:09 am
(TrendHunter.com) Troy Lee and Oakley are teaming up again to produce a badass pair of shades that will have your eyes popping out of your head (and then scrambling to get back in because they want to... Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 19 May 2010 | 2:02 am
The Atlantis astronauts have an extra chore on their spacewalking plate. As soon as he floats outside Wednesday morning, Stephen Bowen will try to free a snagged cable on the end of the... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsTech | 19 May 2010 | 2:00 am
The official Twitter for iPhone is live in the AppStore, replacing Tweetie 2. Not available yet in Switzerland though, I get the following message: The item youve requested is not currently available in... Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 19 May 2010 | 1:43 am
(TrendHunter.com) The Italian fashion design house has set up the Moschino 'Love is Free' ATM window display in their Meatpacking district location. The display features an ATM that is continuously... Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 19 May 2010 | 1:40 am
You heard it right! AT&T have finally given their approval to allow their bazillion or so iPhone users to hook their computer up to AT&T’s magical data waves, tether stylee.
Tethering was first introduced as an option in iPhone OS 3.0, but AT&T wouldn’t let US users get in on the laptop-on-iPhone action, for fear that their network would explode. So, up until this point, tethering has strictly been an international affair, despite AT&T’s looming promise of “soon“.
While I’m not directly affected by this issue (I’m Australian, and don’t own an iPhone), it’s not like you guys haven’t been waiting like a million years or anything, so I’m happy for you. No, really. *hugs*
If you’ve updated to OS 4.0 beta 4, and you’re not seeing the tethering option, just reset your network settings, and everything should be hunky dory.
By Danah Boyd, Fellow, Harvard Berkman Center for Internet and Society
At SXSW, I decided to talk about privacy because I thought that it would be the most important issue of the year. I was more accurate than my wildest dreams. For the last month, I’ve watched as conversations about privacy went from being the topic of the tech elite to a conversation that’s pervasive.
NPR on how cell phone text messages help teach Pakistani women to read. The Bunyad Foundation established a program to help teach them basic literacy. At the risk of ridicule from their families, they... Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 19 May 2010 | 1:23 am
Facebook has unveiled a new mobile web site that will allow people in more than 45 countries, who arent accustomed to paying for data plans on the phone, to access its site quickly and for free. mocoNews... Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 19 May 2010 | 1:19 am
(TrendHunter.com) Unintentionally hilarious, the Chris Klein 'Mamma Mia' audition has definitely gotten many people laughing. From rambling about Mandy Moore to singing his heart out with utmost emotion... Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 19 May 2010 | 1:18 am
ranulf writes "VG247 is reporting that Sony will reveal their plans for 'premium PSN' services next month at E3, even though they've long stated that one of the PS3's advantages over the 360 is that they offer PSN for free. In addition to the premium services, they intend to offer a free PSN game to subscribers each month (from a choice of 'two to four games'), which should make the premium PSN effectively free if you already bought a game every month. VG247's source claims 'nothing planned will impact the service’s current free aspects,' and that 'there’s nothing in the premium package which will gimp regular PSN users.'"
Apparently, when you publish your Social Security number prominently on your website and billboards, people take it as an invitation to steal your identity.
LifeLock CEO Todd Davis, whose number is displayed in the company’s ubiquitous advertisements, has by now learned that lesson. He’s been a victim of identity theft at least 13 times, according to the Phoenix New Times.
By Michael Learmonth, Senior Editor, Advertising Age
How did a completely unknown start-up named Huddler find itself huddled in a Menlo Park restaurant with 26 top execs from the No. 2 advertiser in the world? It snagged itself a stop on Unilever’s tour of Silicon Valley earlier this month.
Big marketers have been taking get-to-know-you tours of Silicon Valley for years, with tech companies literally rolling out the red — or in Yahoo’s (YHOO) case, purple — carpet.
Well, it took Microsoft long enough to update the features of Hotmail, which is announced this week.
Some new doodads include better filtering, more social integration, lots of multimedia content such as photo slideshows and–perhaps most importantly–the ability to use its Office software documents like PowerPoint within the online email service.
It’s a wonder it took so long for Microsoft (MSFT) to upgrade and innovate–Dear Windows Live Hotmail team, conversation views in email is not new to anyone but you–the service, although it still remains the No. 2 service after Yahoo (YHOO) Mail. Google (GOOG) Gmail is third.
Microsoft, which blogged about the changes here, has called the whole shebang of releases in its Window Live services, “Wave 4.”
Wave 3, um, was in 2008.
Still, here is a very good video about it all that Microsoft did, though I am not sure what is up with the orange-dot lady:
By Jessica E. Vascellaro, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
A backlash over Facebook Inc.’s privacy practices has triggered disagreement inside the company that could force Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg to scale back efforts to encourage users to share more about themselves in public.
The social network has come under fire for a series of recent changes to its policies that have limited what users can keep private, as well as embarrassing technical glitches that exposed personal data.
Privacy advocates have called on regulators to intervene. Some frustrated users, meanwhile, have created websites that highlight what they see as shortcomings in Facebook’s privacy controls.
The site’s privacy travails have rattled Facebook employees and put pressure on Mr. Zuckerberg, who has argued for years that its users should be more open with their information.
According to The New York Times, CBS will launch a sitcom next season inspired by a popular Twitter page written by Justin Halpern called Shit My Dad Says. CBS News explains that the Los Angeles-based... Source: RSS feed - channel BNBlogTech | 19 May 2010 | 12:59 am
astroengine writes "Earlier this month, engineers suspended Voyager 2's science measurements because of an unexpected problem in its communications stream. A glitch in the flight data system, which formats information for radioing to Earth, was believed to be the problem. Now NASA has found the cause of the issue: it was a single memory bit that had erroneously flipped from a 0 to a 1. The cause of the error is yet to be understood, but NASA plans to reset Voyager's memory tomorrow, clearing the error."
More scenes from a book tour: duct-tape Converse, sported by a sterling young man at my signing tonight at the Books, Inc in Palo Alto. They're sweaty, the tape doesn't stick well to the canvas, but man, that's a pair of shoes.
Back in March, I wrote about the problem of check-in fatigue. That is, with so many location-based check-in services now out there, it’s exhausting to open each one every time to check-in to the same place across multiple networks. The solution, for now at least, is Check.in. And it’s ready to open to everyone tonight.
Check.in is an HTML5 web app made by Brightkite that allows you to check-in to a venue on multiple location-based services. Those services including Foursquare, Gowalla, and of course, Brightkite. This works by taking advantage of those services’ APIs alongside some backend place matching that Brightkite does on its end. The result is being able to check-in across multiple services in a few seconds rather than taking a few minutes to load up the various apps and hit the required buttons on each to check-in.
Since Check.in went live in closed beta in March, over 6,000 users have tried it out, generating some 135,000 check-ins, I’m told. The average user checked-in 20 times, and there were over 2 million place queries in the beta period.
That last statistic speaks to why we need some sort of unified Places database (this app just does place matching, not unification). Brightkite had indicated they’d be willing to do something like that, but the problem is the other companies who are all saying the right things now — but may not be so quick to hand over their databases with the places they’ve collected. It’s also an extremely hard problem to solve since not all the data is perfectly aligned (misspellings, slightly off GPS, etc).
The point is, even if everyone seems to say they want it, it’s not happening anytime soon. And so we have Check.in.
Since the closed beta began, Brightkite has also added two new services to the check-in roster: Whrrl and TriOut. Each of these is still experimental alongside Gowalla, which is currently on Check.in thanks to an API work-around (Gowalla has a read-only API at the moment).
Some other data that Brightkite saw during the beta trial was that people check-in most often on Friday, and least often on Sunday. And most users opt to use two of the check-in services, followed by those who choose to use three. Four and five were much less popular (though Whrrl and TriOut weren’t available the entire time), and one was somewhat popular — though I’m not sure what the point of using check.in is if you’re only going to use it with one service.
Since it’s HTML5, Check.in will work with iPhones, Android phones, and yes, the iPad. Just point your web browser here to find it.
Back in March, long-time Plaxo President and CEO Ben Golubleft the social address book company after five years. Today, he’s announcing his next move — he’s taking the reins at Gluster, a startup that offers an open source software solution for storing very large amounts of unstructured data. Golub will replace current CEO Hitesh Chellani who is transitioning to become VP of Operations.
Golub says that during his time at Plaxo he experienced the struggles web companies have to go through to serve large amounts of data to large numbers of customers, which often involved quickly adding large amounts of storage capacity. He says that along with other Web 2.0 companies, large media companies like Comcast, which acquired Plaxo, have to deal with similar problems. Gluster helps deal with these issues, allowing services to use commodity hardware to store large amounts of data while also making it quickly retrievable (Gluster’s software will also work on enterprise-grade storage area networks). The software has been downloaded around 100,000 times.
An anonymous reader writes "The organizers of the game Foldit, where you fold proteins for scientific research, announced that a user has found a protein that may be able to bind influenza viruses. Researchers plan to test the protein in a lab over the next few weeks to see if it might be medically useful."
Ryan Heshka has a new solo show coming up called "Strange Powers." It's opening this Friday (May 21, 2010) at Rotofugi in Chicago.
Vancouver-based painter Ryan Heshka has long fascinated Rotofugi with his painterly pulp science-fiction style... and Rotofugi has always wanted to collaborate somehow with Chicago-based BLAB! magazine. So they've arranged an exhibit of nearly two dozen paintings by Ryan created for an upcoming BLAB! project he and Monte are collaborating on. Both Ryan and Monte will be attending the show.
Ryan Heshka was born in Manitoba, Canada in 1970, and grew up in Winnipeg. Fueled by long prairie winters, he spent a lot of his childhood drawing, building cardboard cities and making super 8 films. Early influences that persist to this day include antiquated comics and pulp magazines, natural history and music, movies and animation that are unintentionally creepy. Formally trained in interior design, he is self-taught as an artist. In addition to gallery shows, he is currently working on several picture book projects for children as well as adults. He lives in Vancouver, B.C., Canada with his fiancee Marinda.
BLAB! is an annual anthology of visual art produced by Chicago-based graphic designer and art director Monte Beauchamp. From its beginnings as a self-published one-shot fanzine conceived over twenty-three years ago, BLAB! has evolved into a highly regarded venue for contemporary artists working in sequential and comic art, graphic design, illustration, painting and printmaking.
ARMONK, N.Y., May 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced new and expanded capabilities to help IBM Business Partners deepen their skills to deliver high-value solutions for clients, while enhancing profitability and creating opportunities for growth. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 18 May 2010 | 10:01 pm
Macworld.com - Weâd be remiss if we let Tuesday pass without noting that Apple has released a pair of Java updates for OS X 10.5 and 10.6. Java for Mac OS X 10.6 Update 2 is aimed at Snow Leopard users, while Java for Mac OS X 10.5 Update 7 does the trick for those of us still using Leopard. Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 18 May 2010 | 9:54 pm
WrongSizeGlass writes "CNET is reporting that Microsoft is suing Salesforce.com in Seattle federal court, claiming it infringes on nine patents. Two of the patents in question are a 'system and method for providing and displaying a Web page having an embedded menu' and a 'method and system for stacking toolbars in a computer display.'" Microsoft says it first notified Salesforce more than a year ago about the alleged infringement.
Appolicious - When the iPad launched last month, it came with big hopes for news apps seeking Kindle alternatives. Though The New York Times was among those publishers that got to create an app early, offering a sneak peek during the iPad demo months before it was available in stores, the resulting New York Times (free) iPad app actually leaves a lot to be desired. Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 18 May 2010 | 8:59 pm
After a short cameo appearance on Iron Man 2, how else is the SpaceX CEO connected to the sci-fi action thriller? Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 18 May 2010 | 8:48 pm
"You're about to make your first air trip? Well, it's high time. A few more years and there'll be scarcely a thrill left in it."
Thus, presciently, begins Popular Mechanics' June 1939 story about what it's like to take the United Airlines "sleeper" cross-country from New York to San Francisco—in only 15 hours. The piece manages to elicit both a painful nostalgia for a classy, Cary Grant-y world most of us never experienced, while, simultaneously, serving as a reminder that, in many ways, we've got it pretty good today (Grandpa's barca-lounger style plane seat, not withstanding).
Wait, we've got it good? Oh, yes. I mean, obviously, it's not all peaches and sunshine up in here. In 1939, for instance, checking in seems to have involved merely a reservation call and a cash transaction—and you only had to be there one hour ahead of time. But I, for one, am pretty happy that my last plane flight (Minneapolis to San Francisco) didn't involve paying more than $2000, publicly disclosing my weight to the gate agent (and everybody in line behind me), or dealing with a plane full of smokers. Also, the airlines seem to have been just as stingy with luggage back then as they are today. And the plane stopped in about four other cities between Chicago and San Francisco, like it was the freaking Megabus.
Here's the thing: I'm not trying to suggest that air travel today is the ideal. But when I first read this story, I caught myself falling for the equal fallacy of thinking that air travel of the past was. Basically, I looked at the pictures and almost got suckered in by 70-year-old United Airlines marketing—when, in reality, all I really want is a saner system for dealing with safety risks, a little more leg room and, maybe, a free sandwich. I wouldn't be willing to take that (admittedly comfy-looking) giant cushy plane seat if I had to take all the other realities of 1930s air travel with it. So here's what I got out of this story—Improving air travel doesn't mean a return to the past, it means shaping something new for the future.
I am very excited about the contents of M.I.A.'s new album, judging from the material that's been sneak-leaked so far. But hipsterrunoff points out that the album's title is really problematic from an SEO (search engine optimization) standpoint: /\/\/\Y/\ is supposed to spell out MAYA, using forward and back slashes in a sort of nod to leetspeak and txt-y truncation. Ever try searching for a series of slashes in Google? Yeah. It's gonna be a bit of a marketing problem for her, I'd guess. (via PSFK)
This being springtime, you might have passed a swollen river or waterway nearby and thought, "Hmm. That's looking bad. Is it going to flood?" A new texting service created by the U.S. Geological Survey can send you a message if ... Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 18 May 2010 | 8:32 pm
If you’ve been wondering where the heart rate monitor referenced in the iPod Touch and Nano documentation is, you’re not alone. The first reference to this mythical device showed up last year, and we’re just now getting word on when we might see one.
Word popped up recently on the Nike support forums that we should expect to see the heart rate monitor this coming June 1st. The monitor is expected to work directly with the Nike+ interface that’s been built directly into the iPod Touch since the second generation. No word on pricing or features yet, but the forum post was written by someone who appears to be a Nike employee, so it’s most likely true. Typically heart rate monitors sell for $50 and up, and many require a chest strap that is connected to a wristwatch or some other device.
Reuters - Hewlett-Packard Co's quarterly results beat expectations and it raised its full-year earnings outlook on demand for personal computers and servers as well as a resurgence in its printing business.
Lanxon writes "Wired has a lengthy investigation into the state of PC game mods, and the amateurs keeping the scene exciting in the wake of draconian DRM placed on many PC titles by major studios. It highlights a number of creative modders, such as Scott Reismanis, founder and editor of Mod DB, and his community-driven alternative to Valve's Steam — Desura — which is 'a distribution system, and, like Steam, will sell games and champion indie titles. But the way it handles mods makes it even more exciting.'"
Here is Samuel S Snyder's 1964 "History of NSA General-Purpose Electronic Digital Computers" in all its declassified glory. It's 106 pages and I've only skimmed it, but it looks like awesome vintage computer porn. Love the qualifiers "digital" and "electronic."
Eric swims with whales and when he photographs them, he seems to get on their good side. In addition to an exhibit of his photos, Eric will give a talk on Giant Squid and Sperm Whales, a real-world Jules Verne story.
Three college students built a balloon and sent it to near-space, an altitude of roughly 90,000 ft.. All this to see what they could see -- hey, that's Monterery Bay.
Paul came to Maker Faire in 2007 with his combat robot. Now he returns with Moonraker, which won the $500K prize in the NASA regolith Extraction challenge - it shovels moon dirt into a bucket.
What Make Senior Editor Phil Torrone famously said about laser printers: "Everyone's getting one," can now be said for 3D printers. So check out which 3D printer is right for you.
You only have to sit still for the photos. Then some magic turns your head into a 3D object. Finally, you get to go totally overboard with the tattoo thing. Then it's all over Facebook.
So you want to be seen and not be seen, right? Do you really know who's taking your picture? Here's a fashion show for wearables that might confuse Big Brother or your little sister. (Sun., 3:30pm)
Lynne designs smart garments such as this "bat" jacket that uses sonar technology to help the visually impaired. Lynne is also organizing eTEXTILE: the first Wearable Computing Fashion Show at Maker Faire (Sat, 3:30)
Say what you want about kids these days, but you can feel good that young makers are out in the garage, building a fire-breathing dragon, getting Dad to help with the really hard parts, and naming it after a dragon in a favorite book written by a young author.
You take a couple of average Tesla coils -- no make that Large Dual-Resonant Solid State Tesla Coils -- and synchronize them to music. Then some guy in a metal mesh suit stands between them while guys playing the Edison-powered guitars act like there's nothing unusual happening. I assure you ArcAttack from Austin, TX will rock the house, raise the roof, fry an iPhone, you know, something like that. Remember to stand back during the audience participation segment.
The band OK Go will be our special guests on Sunday afternoon. The band's frontman Damian Kulash sometimes makes big declarations like “We're trying to be a DIY band in a post-major label world” or “Our whole bag is having good ideas and making cool shit.” We're not exactly sure what they'll do on Sunday but they wanted to come to Maker Faire and we wanted to have them. In addition, Adam Sadowsky of Syynlabs was behind the Rube Goldberg machine in the video "OK Go: This Too Shall Pass" and he'll give a talk on Saturday afternoon called "Music, Machines and Life." He will talk about challenges in building such a machine.
This is only a small sampling of the over 600 exhibits that you'll find at Maker Faire Bay Area, May 22 & 23. Come meet the makers: hackers, artists, scientists, tinkerers, roboticists, educators, chefs, musicians, photographers, crafters, cyclists, mechanics, automakers, metal workers, engineers, physicists, puppeteers, and many more.
For more information on tickets, directions and the program schedule, see MakerFaire.com.
Feeling a bit forgetful? Worried that you’re not going to be able to find your way back to your car? Worry no longer, there’s now an Android app for that. All you need is an Android phone, and Chevy Volt with OnStar. Once you’re parked, you can speak your destination into your phone which will then keep track of where you are relative to that point, and help you to find your way back. This is actually just part of GM’s plan for the Volt, which is going to be closely linked with the Google platform when it comes out. In addition to the location feature, you’ll also be able to check the battery level, monitor the vehicles overall health, and even run the A/C before you get in.
THAILAND: Jodi Ettenberg, a Canadian attorney (and longtime Boing Boing reader) who has been live-tweeting the crisis in Bangkok, just now DM'd me: "The military has moved in [to the protest site] and armored personnel carriers are firing rounds. I think this is the big crackdown."
Mark MacKinnon, another Canadian who also happens to be there, echoes the same: "Soldiers, armoured personnel carriers seen advancing towards main Red Shirt protest in Bangkok. Much gunfire."
Others live-tweeting what's unfolding now from the streets in Thailand, where it is 830am local time as I type: @Newley, @BangkokBill, and @vaitor, and Agnes Dherbeys (a freelance photojournalist from France who is on-site now).
[IMAGES: Live-tweeted photos from Florian Witulski aka @vaitor. Left, Saladaeng intersection with "soldiers in total control." Right, "several buildings in Dindaeng set on fire."]
A Saudi woman whose male friend collapsed on being questioned by a member of the notorious morality police (the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice) snapped, and laid a beating on the religious cop. The cop went to hospital with bruises, the woman faces prison and lashings.
According to the Saudi daily Okaz, the woman then allegedly laid into the religious policeman, punching him repeatedly, and leaving him to be taken to the hospital with bruises across his body and face.
"To see resistance from a woman means a lot," Wajiha Al-Huwaidar, a Saudi women's rights activist, told The Media Line news agency. "People are fed up with these religious police, and now they have to pay the price for the humiliation they put people through for years and years. This is just the beginning and there will be more resistance."
"The media and the Internet have given people a lot of power and the freedom to express their anger," she said. "The Hai'a are like a militia, but now whenever they do something it's all over the Internet. This gives them a horrible reputation and gives people power to react."
sopssa writes "Firefox's co-founder Blake Ross is skeptical about the future of Firefox. He says that 'the Mozilla Organization has gradually reverted back to its old ways of being too timid, passive, and consensus-driven to release breakthrough products quickly.' Within the past year Chrome has been steadily increasing its market share, along with the other WebKit-based browsers like Safari. Meanwhile Mozilla's (outgoing) CEO says that while Firefox is more competitive than ever, they're looking forward to their mobile version of Firefox. 'Clearly, both are annoyed at what has happened to their former renegade web browser. But, by many accounts, Firefox is no longer considered to be the light, open alternative it once was.'"
I think it must be hard to feel like a one-man army when you’re wearing such a dorky piece of headwear. The new COMBATREDI (yes, it’s all caps; no, it’s not an acronym) training system pairs a helmet-mounted VR visor with a backpack processing unit to create a rich and immersive “virtual battle space.” Sure, just like a Virtual Boy!
Although they claim realistic graphics and “endless” maneuvering, I’d be concerned about how realistic the movement actually is. I found the gun-shaped projector from Microvision to be pretty engrossing, but I wonder if their little stereo setup (powered by a Core2 Duo and 2GB of DDR2) is as instantaneously responsive? The military thinks so; they’ve sunk quite a chunk of change into the project. You’d think for this many million dollars, they’d get more than 2GB of RAM.
Well, at any rate, it’s better than Halo. If this thing looks interesting, there’s more info over at Danger Room.
AP - Kids under 13 aren't allowed on Facebook, but that hasn't stopped many of them from joining. Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 18 May 2010 | 7:07 pm
Right this second, parents around the country are arguing with their children about using the computer—in particular, whether they’re old enough to start accessing social-networking sites like Facebook. Parents worry about how kids behave with each other online and if they’re interacting with strangers. A new site being launched Wednesday aims to ease those worries by providing training wheels to young kids looking to social network.
Togetherville (Togetherville.com) is designed to function as a safe, kid-centric social network. The site guides kids ages 6 through 10 on how to communicate online with others, using canned responses and parental participation. Togetherville links into Facebook so parents who use the popular social-networking site can have a say in who their children are connecting with and can even interact with their kids online.
[ See post to watch video ]
While there are many kid-friendly sites like Disney’s (DIS) Club Penguin that have a social-networking aspect, Togetherville offers young children their first taste of social networking like grown-ups, using their real-life identities (not cute avatars) and real-life relationships.
Togetherville smartly restricts certain online activities, but does so in ways that don’t make a child feel too restrained. For example, there aren’t any places on the site where a child can enter free-form text. Instead, kids choose from several pre-set quips, including sayings that they or other kids submitted for approval. The quips can range from questions kids ask one another (“Who saw ‘Avatar’?”) to “I (heart) my family.” And rather than directly sending friend requests to other kids, children first send a request to their parents, who give their consent and send the invitation to make the connection.
To review this site, I used accounts for both kids and adults. I was impressed by the clean interface of Togetherville, which is free of advertisements (though ads may be added to the parent side over time). The three core themes of the site are art, entertainment and education. The content is hand-picked by adults—many of whom are either parents on the site’s staff or are volunteers. And includes 2,000 videos from YouTube and 34 games, some of which are educational. Kids can easily save or share content they discovered on the site or created, like their artwork.
This site is available to the public Wednesday after operating in private beta with 800 test users for six months. A couple things about the site still need work. First, if an adult isn’t Facebook friends with another child’s parent, the two children can’t become friends on Togetherville.com. This is something that Mandeep Singh Dhillon, co-founder and CEO of Togetherville Inc., says he intends to change by late summer. He realizes that many kids are friendly with one another irrespective of their parents’ friendships and envisions classrooms using Togetherville by next fall.
Second, Togetherville is still working on the details of an allowance feature, which will be available this summer so the kids can pay for virtual things like premium games or apps. Parents will be able to add money to their kids’ accounts, and just like real money allowances, they’ll be able to take it away. For now, allowance isn’t an issue since everything on Togetherville is free.
To access Togetherville, adults must be Facebook users, though Mr. Dhillon says access through additional platforms and networks will be available later this year. Adults sign in on Togetherville.com by using the Facebook Connect app to link their Facebook account to the website. Then adults can create accounts for children and grant additional administrator access to a designated person, like an aunt or caregiver. Kids sign in on Togetherville.com with their own login and password, so it feels like their own site.
On the adult account’s home page, the adult’s kids are listed in the top left of the screen, with quick links to view each child’s profile and online activities, or to manage his or her friends. For parents wondering who their kids online friends are, there is a section that shows how a child’s friends are connected by displaying other members in the friends’ families, including parents, siblings and other relatives. When kids ask parents for permission to connect with friends, adults are notified via email and with Togetherville.com alerts.
Using a kid’s account, I played games like Mooncakes, which asks users to rank images with the most egg yolks in descending order as fast as possible. A helpful feature in games and videos lets users hit a light bulb icon to dim everything else on the screen, making the activity easier to see—much like what Hulu.com can do while videos are playing. Leaderboards for games list All-Time High Scores, Neighborhood High Scores and My High Scores. This provides something for everyone to feel good about without taking away the thrill of competition.
I watched a video of Hannah Montana singing “The Climb,” and while watching, read video comments from other Togetherville kids, noting that all comments were made using pre-approved quips. I played with a Mother’s Day Card Maker app to drag colorful images and pre-set text onto a screen, creating a stylish design. I saved both the Hannah Montana video and the card in My Trunk, a virtual repository where videos, games and art can be saved. Every activity I did as a kid was visible to others in My Neighborhood (network) on a stream much like Facebook’s “Most Recent” list of friends’ activities.
Parents can engage with their kids, which the Mr. Dhillon says is still acceptable for this age group of kids. Though the pre-set quips were originally designed for helping kids know what to say to one another, parents can use them to better fit in when interacting with their kids online.
Togetherville will continue adding more content, but as is, it provides a social-networking environment that kids can enjoy and that parents will feel comfortable managing.
The world’s largest BitTorrent site is currently going through some rough patches. Last week, Hollywood received an injunction against the Pirate Bay by threatening CyberBunker operator CB3ROB Ltd. & Co. KG from the Regional Court of Hamburg with some serious fines. This injunction basically stated that CB3ROB and Managing Director Sven Olaf Kamphuis were no longer allowed to connect their beloved Pirate Bay website to the internet. Sad news for freeloaders all over the globe right? Not quite so.
As it turns out, a Pirate Bay insider has stated that they have found a seeming simple way to circumvent this whole issue and bring the website back up and running. Apparently all they have to do is set the routing (IP-tunnel) to go through a different ISP. This process will supposedly take several hours to complete. Hurry up guys, I’m almost done season two of Mad Men.
Mr. Chartier's response is below (emphasis added by the editor), followed by the full text of our reader's (very polite) email, after the jump.
From: "Nicolas Chartier" Date: May 15, 2010 2:30:30 AM PDT
To: [redacted]@[redacted].com
Subject: RE: Hurt Locker lawsuit
Hi Nicholas, please feel free to leave your house open every time you go out and please tell your family to do so, please invite people in the streets to come in and take things from you, not to make money out of it by reselling it but just to use it for themselves and help themselves. If you think it's normal they take my work for free, I'm sure you will give away all your furniture and possessions and your family will do the same. I can also send you my bank account information since apparently you work for free and your family too so since you have so much money you should give it away... I actually like to pay my employees, my family, my bank for their work and like to get paid for my work. I'm glad you're a moron who believes stealing is right. I hope your family and your kids end up in jail one day for stealing so maybe they can be taught the difference. Until then, keep being stupid, you're doing that very well. And please do not download, rent, or pay for my movies, I actually like smart and more important HONEST people to watch my films.
best regards,
Nicolas Chartier
Voltage Pictures, LLC [address, phone, other personal details redacted]
Original email from Boing Boing reader Nicholas in Toronto follows.
-----Original Message-----
From: [redacted]@[redacted].com
Sent: Friday, May 14, 2010 6:21 PM
To: Nicolas Chartier
Subject: Hurt Locker lawsuit
Dear Mr. Chartier,
I have recently become aware of Voltage Pictures' intention to sue
thousands of people who are suspected of having used BitTorrent to
download films produced by your company.
I wish to register my disagreement with these tactics, and would
like you to know that as a result of these actions I am boycotting
your films. The majority of the people you are suing were not
seeking to make money from their downloads, and will be financially
devastated by a lawsuit or settlement. While it is completely
understandable that Voltage Pictures wishes to defend its
intellectual property, this is an inhumane way of doing so.
Until Voltage Pictures publicly states that it will not pursue
lawsuits for downloading its films, I will not view, rent or buy
any films produced wholly or in part by your company. I will urge
my friends and family to take the same actions. I do not wish for
the money I spend on entertainment to be used against otherwise
good people.
Microsoft has filed a lawsuit against Salesforce.com, alleging that the CRM company is infringing on nine of its patents. The move is somewhat surprising, as this is only the fourth time that Microsoft has sued another company for patent violations (though it has been the target of plenty of them). Here’s the statement from Horacio Gutierrez, Microsoft’s corporate vice president and deputy general counsel of Intellectual Property and Licensing:
“Microsoft has filed an action today, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, against Salesforce.com for infringement of nine Microsoft patents by their CRM product.
Microsoft has been a leader and innovator in the software industry for decades and continues to invest billions of dollars each year in bringing great software products and services to market. We have a responsibility to our customers, partners, and shareholders to safeguard that investment, and therefore cannot stand idly by when others infringe our IP rights.”
The relevant patent names are:
Method and system for mapping between logical data and physical data
System and method for providing and displaying a web page having an embedded menu
Method and System for staking toolbars in a computer display.
Automated web site creation using template driven generation of active server page applications
Aggregation of system settings into objects
Timing and velocity control for displaying graphical information
Method and system for identifying and obtaining computer software from a remote computer
System and method for controlling access to data entities in a computer network
According to Cnet, in January Salesforce revealed in an SEC filing that “a large technology company” was accusing Salesforce of infringing on its patents. At the time, Salesforce was in discussions with the unnamed company and no litigation had been filed. Sounds like those negotiations didn’t work out. Salesforce declined to comment.
Russian search engine Yandex is now allowing users to limit search to only foreign websites (non Russian sites). Now users can click on the global search filter (as shown in this screenshot) to see results from foreign sources. The global search is also available at the company’s experimental Yandex.com portal launched for testing new search algorithms.
Yandex has been indexing foreign websites and adding global content to its search results for the past two years and caters towards Russian users, obviously. But the feature will allow a users to filter results more accurately if they want an answer from a website outside of Russia.
So, the search query TechCrunch on yandex.ru returns a long list of websites in Russian; but with the global search filter enabled, the results lead to English sites. Currently, Yandex indexes more than 4 billion pages in Latin languages, with the majority of these pages being in English. Yandex’s search results page now has the option to view either local or foreign search results separately. By default, Yandex search prioritizes local websites as before.
Yandex says that user queries in one of the Latin-alphabet based languages total 12-15% of all searches on the search engine. Yandex also plans to expand its search index to deliver multimedia results and other useful answers.
Yandex, which launched in 1997, has been able to outrun Google in Russia. Yandex has an estimated domestic market share of 63.6% according to LiveInternet.ru, with Google trailing at 21.8% in April.
The years are not kind to George and Abraham. The erosive forces of wind, rain, heat and cold constantly badger the granite and other metamorphic rock from which the Mount Rushmore National Monument was carved. Water seeps into cracks, freezes ... Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 18 May 2010 | 6:28 pm
It’s that time again, folks: with another two weeks behind us, Apple has released yet another Beta rendition of iPhone OS 4. Like those that came before it, this fourth Beta release is signed and sealed for developers only — in other words, if you’re not a dev, you’ll have to sit tight for a little while longer. Read the rest at MobileCrunch >>
It’s that time again, folks: with another two weeks behind us, Apple has released yet another Beta rendition of iPhone OS 4. Like those that came before it, this fourth Beta release is signed and sealed for developers only — in other words, if you’re not a dev, you’ll have to sit tight for a little while longer.
If Apple’s development cycle for iPhone OS 4 is staying true to major releases that came before it, we should be quickly approaching the final build. Apple rarely exceeds 6 or 7 Beta releases — so chances are, we’ll see OS 4 ship out to everyone within the next month or so.
Folks much smarter than yours truly are hard at work tearing apart this latest Beta for all the hidden morsels, so we’ll let you know if we hear anything.
Reuters - Yahoo said on Tuesday it has agreed to acquire the user-generated publishing company Associated Content to add more pages to attract advertisers.
Mayor of London and Top Gear slowpoke Boris Johnson is trying to make London one of the most wired cities, just in time for the Olympics. During a recent conference, Johnson announced a plan to install wifi hotspots in “every lampost and bus stop.”
The project, called “Wireless London” is part of Johnson’s attempt to make London the technological center of the world. It makes sense to do this, particularly with the 2012 Olympics coming and giving London a chance to really show off how progressive they are. Currently, there’s no word on how fast the connection will be, or how much it will cost to use. It is an idea who’s time has come, and I hope that there are more cities that run with the same idea.
PALO ALTO, Calif., May 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Jive Software, Inc. - Today Jive Software announced that Tony Zingale has become Jive's permanent CEO. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 18 May 2010 | 6:00 pm
FRANKFURT, Germany and ORLANDO, Fla., May 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Marking their 100th day as co-CEOs of SAP AG (NYSE: SAP), Bill McDermott and Jim Hagemann Snabe today addressed an on-site and online audience of 50,000 customers, partners and employees at SAPPHIRE® NOW, being held simultaneously in Frankfurt, Germany, and Orlando, Florida, May 17-19, 2010. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 18 May 2010 | 5:54 pm
Earlier today, Google announced a new Gmail API that allows developers to create contextual gadgets for Gmail. Google itself uses this API so that when somebody sends you a link to a YouTube video in an email, the video gets embedded right inside the email. Now outside developers can do the same thing to create Gmail gadgets that show the social networking activity or profiles of the person whose email you are reading, or anything else they can imagine. Xobni will be using the new contextual gadgets to finally bring Xobni to Gmail (they’ve already built a quick and dirty Hoover’s gadget for now).
But Xobni is doing something else that could prove even more interesting. It is releasing a developer preview which lets any developer port their Gmail gadgets to Outlook. Xobni, of course, is a popular Outlook plug-in. Using the Gmail API, and contextual gadget created for Gmail can now also exist within Xobni, which exists within Outlook. It’s a backdoor way for Web developers to create gadgets for Outlook by piggybacking on top of the Xobni plug-in.
The gadgets can be triggered off of any contextual information within the email. So, for instance, if there is a link to a Flickr album, the thumbnails can appear at the bottom of the email. Flight times can trigger travel info app, a UPS number can trigger a tracking app.
AP - Hewlett-Packard Co.'s latest numbers show how deeply dependent the company is on personal computers even as it aggressively expands into more lucrative areas.
By R.M. Schneiderman, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
Vice, the hipster magazine turned media company, announced a partnership Monday with chip-making giant Intel (INTC) for a concert series and website showcasing artists using technology in their work. Think producers making music on Gameboys and visual artists using computer-design tools for set installation. The goal: to push the artistic and technological vanguard (and of course to reap the promotional benefits). For Intel, the intended benefits of the effort, which has been dubbed the Creators Project, include not only reaching new customers, but potentially acquiring a patina of cool. We sat down with Deborah Conrad, Intel’s chief marketing officer and asked her about Intel’s role in the project.
Playdom is continuing its shopping spree of game developers. The gaming giant is acquiring social game publisher Acclaim Games today. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Acclaim has built a name for itself in the casual and MMORPG gaming space. The company also has launched RockFree, a Facebook guitar game, in March 2010, which now has tens of thousands of daily active users. Acclaim is currently developing another Facebook game due to launch this summer.
Acclaim will become the newest team to join Playdom’s growing number of gaming studios and talent. Acclaim CEO Howard Marks, a former Activision 2.0 co-founder and Chairman of the Activision Studios, will run the Acclaim studio for Playdom and serve in a senior strategic role for the parent company focused on Playdom’s business development activities. Acclaim’s Chief Technology Officer, Neil Malhotra will now act as the studio’s senior technical officer.
Playdom has been on quite a shopping spree over the past few months. The company, which recently brought on a new CTO, has steadily been expanding its presence on Facebook, most recently acquiring Facebook game developer Offbeat Creations and developer Three Melons. Playdom also invested $5 million in Facebook game developer MetroGames. And Playdom just bough popular branded game developer Merscom.
In November, Playdom raised a massive $43 million at a $260 million valuation, which it is obviously using towards buying companies and talent. According to our stats from November, Playdom has 28 million monthly game users. 60% of traffic is from MySpace v. 40% from Facebook. Playdom’s main competitor is gaming giant Zynga, which is a leading game developer on Facebook.
Roberto123 writes "Network World offers some insights into the way China infiltrates US organizations, physically and via computer, to steal information. Security expert Ira Winkler says there are far more serious threats out there than the 'laughable' uproar over China's hack of Google."
Good news for GPS users, Boeing is getting ready to launch the latest generation of GPS satellites, the “GPS IIF-1″. The new technology provides improved accuracy for military and civilian users, as well as being more resistant to jamming and an improved lifespan.
The satellite is scheduled to be launched on May 20th, and is the first of 12 that will eventually be in orbit over the Earth. Once the new satellites are in place, the new technology is expected to become the new core of the GPS system. The new satellite will be launched from Florida on the Alliance Delta IV rocket this coming Thursday.
It may have taken a long time for the competition to respond to Apple’s iPod and iPhone. Not so with the iPad: All sorts of companies — Google, Sony and Research in Motion, to name a few — are sitting up and taking notice of the iPad, thanks to Apple’s claim that it sold a million of its tablets in less than a month.
Since then, rumors of half-a-dozen new tablets have leaked out. Tablets haven’t been this hot since Moses came down from Mount Sinai.
But with all the news, there’s a lot of confusion. And, so far, none of the tablets is available for purchase, and most haven’t even been officially announced. It’s all vaporware at this point.
That said, here’s an overview of some interesting tablets we expect — or hope — to see this year. And don’t miss our earlier roundup of even more non-Apple tablets.
Verizon, Google Working on a Tablet
Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam confirmed last week that Verizon has been “working on tablets” with Google, combining hardware and Google’s services “to make it a great experience.”
Google hasn’t commented on this, but a few months ago it released a video of what a Google tablet might look like. Considering the company’s dominant position in services like search, e-mail, maps and calendars, it could be an extremely powerful rival to the iPad.
On the other hand, Google doesn’t have a lot of experience designing hardware. Its smartphone, the Nexus One (developed in conjunction with HTC) is far from becoming a smash hit.
Acer is rumored to be presenting a tablet device in less than 2 weeks. Numerous sources suggest the hardware giant would be unveiling a Chrome OS–based device at the Computex show in early June. That would make it the first device to run Google’s operating system tailored for netbooks.
Yet, there have been rumors that Chrome OS might not be ready for prime time until later this year. That doesn’t necessarily mean Acer won’t be unveiling the tablet next month — it’s still unclear whether Google sees Android or Chrome as the ideal platform for tablets.
Google CEO Eric Schmidt said the two operating systems might eventually merge, but right now, Android’s popularity and multitouch capabilities might make it a more likely candidate for Acer’s tablet.
Dell Tablet Coming on AT&T in Late Summer
Dell’s Mini 5 — also known as Streak – will be coming this summer (Europe first, North America a bit later). It takes a different approach than most wannabe iPad killers: It’s significantly smaller, with a 5-inch display, and features a powerful 5-megapixel front-facing camera, 3G connectivity and a 1-GHz processor.
The Mini 5 will be coming on AT&T, running the Android OS. Smaller than a tablet but bigger than a smartphone, it’s an open question whether anyone actually needs a device this size.
HP Kills Tablet Project. HP Resurrects Tablet Project. Stay Tuned
First, Steve Ballmer appeared with a mysterious HP Slate at CES 2010 in January. Then, two months later, Hewlett Packard released a video of the device. Soon after we got some neat-sounding specs: a 1024 x 600 widescreen display, 1-GB RAM, USB port, 3-megapixel camera.
A new report says HP, which recently acquired Palm for $1.2 billion, simply opted to murder Windows 7 as the tablet’s operating system, and that it might go with Palm’s WebOS instead. The project is now code-named HP Hurricane and, according to an HP insider, could be released in the third quarter of this year.
Photo: HP Slate (HP)
Sony Still Looking at Opportunity
Consumer electronics giant Sony must be working on its own tablet, right? Guess again: The company refuses to commit.
“We have been taking a deep look at developing a tablet for a number of years, not just because of Apple, but because it creates some interesting opportunities,” Mike Abary, vice president of Sony’s IT Products unit, told Bloomberg last week.
If it does decide to join the grand tablet wars, Sony, with its popular PSP platform, could curb Apple’s advantage when it comes to mobile gaming.
But so far, all talk of a Sony tablet is just so much hot air.
Not a lot is known about it at this point. It is supposed to launch in December, and will serve as a “companion” device, which might mean you’d use Bluetooth to connect it to your BlackBerry and get online wherever Wi-Fi isn’t available.
MSI Tegra-Powered Tablet
Micro-Star International is launching a tablet powered by the powerful Nvidia Tegra chip, to be presented in June. The device will likely appear in stores this summer.
Users will be able to chose between 8.9- and 10-inch models, and between Android and Windows 7 ones. The pricing, according to Engadget’s report. will be “extremely aggressive.”
FROM GAMERTELL - A new sales site called Glyde offers gamers a way to sell used games at prices closer to market value than what most retailers would pay for the game trade-in. MORE »
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. and LOS ANGELES, May 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Playdom, a leading social gaming company, and Acclaim Games, a developer of social networking and downloadable casual games, announced today that Playdom has acquired Acclaim. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 18 May 2010 | 4:41 pm
SAN FRANCISCO, May 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Xobni, the popular Microsoft Outlook search and relationship add-in, today announced a developer preview of a new platform that lets Gmail(TM) contextual gadgets developers insert Google gadgets inside Microsoft Outlook. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 18 May 2010 | 4:31 pm
There doesn’t seem to be anything particularly wrong with the EZX60 headset. The $79 wireless headset has a digital noise and echo cancellation processor and a battery that will last 12.5 days on standby or 7.5 hours of talk time. All that seems about right these days. The EZX60 is available now if you’re in the market.
Sennheiser Launches Lightweight Mobile Bluetooth Headset for Everyday Use
Sennheiser Communications’ EZX 60 mobile Bluetooth headset (click for hi-res)
OLD LYME, Conn. – May 18, 2010: Sennheiser Communications introduces the stylish new EZX 60 mobile Bluetooth headset. The low-profile headset clings weightlessly to the ear—perfect for all-day wear. Its digital noise cancellation ensures every word comes through clearly, while the digital echo cancellation eliminates annoying echoes. And best of all, it’s incredibly easy to connect to any Bluetooth-enabled phone.
The fashionable EZX 60 will keep you talking all day long no matter how busy your lifestyle. It gives you everything you could ever desire in an affordable, super-light headset: superior Sennheiser sound with digital noise and echo cancellation, one-hand convenience and a discreet, smart design that won’t ruin your look.
Thanks to advanced Bluetooth technology, the EZX 60 eliminates the need for bothersome cables, yet delivers clear sound with every wireless conversation from any Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone.
Superior Sennheiser sound meets Bluetooth
Despite its tiny, discreet design, the stylish EZX 60 boasts the same first-class Sennheiser sound you would normally only expect with a full-size headset. And to make your phoning experience complete, the EZX 60 also features the latest Bluetooth 2.1 wireless technology. This advanced protocol ensures outside interference won’t spoil the EZX 60’s sharp sound—while at the same time eliminating unsightly wires which could get in the way of your hair or outfit.
Echo-stopping sound clarity
Whether you’re racing between business appointments or enjoying an afternoon of shopping in the city, Sennheiser Communications’ digital noise cancellation always ensures carefree conversations in crystal-clear quality—without any annoying background noise. Now, Sennheiser Communications has gone a step further, equipping the EZX 60 with cutting-edge digital echo cancellation. This innovative feature uses the latest digital technology to eliminate all echoes which could disturb your conversation while you’re talking.
Sennheiser Communications’ EZX 60 mobile Bluetooth headset (click for hi-res)
Ease and convenience at every level
The EZX 60 features easy one-hand operation so you can carry your suitcase or handbag—or shopping bags, too—without dropping them to fiddle with your mobile phone. Just clip the headset on either ear and with just one hand, quickly take and end calls or set the volume as it suits you best
Comfort that won’t slow you down
To keep you going for hours on end, the EZX 60 is not only super lightweight (at just 0.4 oz.), but it’s also equipped with a comfortable, soft ear hook. Simply flip and rotate it to effortlessly switch between wearing the headset on your right or left ear, without the need to carry around a second ear hook. The long talk time is an extra plus, delivering up to 7.5 hours of phone conversations and up to 300 hours of standby time.
The EZX 60 is available now with a street price of $79.95.
EZX 60 at a glance:
• Digital noise cancellation reduces background noise for crystal-clear
phone conversations, even when talking on busy streets
• Digital echo cancellation eliminates annoying echoes
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR ensures compatibility with all Bluetooth 1.1, 1.2,
2.0 and 2.1 devices
for hands-free convenience
• One-touch operation to easily take/end calls and adjust the volume
• Weighs just 0.4 oz.
• Can be worn on either ear
• 7.5-hour talk time, with up to 300 hours of standby time
• 2-year international warranty
About Sennheiser Communications
Sennheiser Communications is the result of a joint venture between the electro acoustics specialist Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG and the hearing healthcare specialist William Demant Holding Group. Decades of experience in pro music and hearing healthcare has helped the six-year-old company produce award-winning, innovative headsets.
About Sennheiser
Sennheiser is a world-leading manufacturer of microphones, headphones and wireless transmission systems. Established in 1945 in Wedemark, Germany, Sennheiser is now a global brand represented in 60 countries around the world with U.S. headquarters in Old Lyme, Connecticut. Sennheiser’s pioneering excellence in technology has rewarded the company with numerous awards and accolades including an Emmy, a Grammy, and the Scientific and Engineering Award of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The very instant it was announced that HP had purchased Palm, one idea set the hearts and minds of geeks everywhere aflame: webOS-powered tablets. webOS is a wonderfully glorious OS, hindered only by half-baked hardware – strap that thing onto a big ol’ slab of glass, and you’ve got my money.
Aaaaand sure enough, that’s one of the things that HP’s got lined up.
An anonymous reader writes "German neuroscientists made a breakthrough in 'age-related cognitive decline', a common condition that often begins in one's late 40s (especially declarative memory — the ability to recall facts and experiences). Their new study identifies a genetic 'switch' for the cluster of learning and memory genes that cause memory impairment in aging mice. By injecting an enzyme, the team 'flipped' the switch to its on position for older mice, giving them the memory and learning performance they'd enjoyed when they were young. Now the team ultimately hopes to recover seemingly lost long-term memory in human patients." The video, which explains the gene flipping mechanism, is worth a watch (2:18).
Hurd: after @Palm close expect to leverage webOS “beyond smart phones into form factors such as slates and web-connected printers” $HPQTue May 18 21:09:41 via webHP Official News hpnews
The very instant it was announced that HP had purchased Palm, one idea set the hearts and minds of geeks everywhere aflame: webOS-powered tablets. webOS is a wonderfully glorious OS, hindered only by half-baked hardware – strap that thing onto a big ol’ slab of glass, and you’ve got my money.
Aaaaand sure enough, that’s one of the things that HP’s got lined up. At the tail-end of their quarterly earnings call today, HP CEO Mark Hurd proudly proclaimed that they’re planning on making use of webOS “beyond smart phones into form factors such as slates and…” — wait for it — “web-connected printers”
Well, that’s one product idea we hadn’t thought of. It’s a bizarre idea at first, but with a bit of brainstorming, it makes sense: plenty of printers already have basic applications for stuff like printing Flickr photos and movie tickets from online services. The apps just tend to suck, and the operating systems are almost always completely locked down. webOS, at least in theory, fixes that. Hurray!
Now, someone go make a webOS app that generates ink.
Just as we suspected late last night, Twitter removed Tweetie 2 for the App Store yesterday to make room for the newly rebranded “Twitter for iPhone.” It’s there right now in the App Store, labeled as simply “Twitter” — but you can’t download it just yet, as it’s likely still in the process of being put up.
Without being able to see the app just yet, the thing that immediately jumps out is that it’s labeled as “Version 3.0″ — this suggests there will be some upgrades (beyond just the name) from Tweetie 2 (which, of course, was version 2.0). That said, Twitter for iPhone is actually smaller in file size than Tweetie 2 was (2.4 MB versus 2.8 MB), so I’m not sure what that means. That also doesn’t seem to bode well for the possibility that an iPad version of the app is included.
The reason Tweetie is becoming “Twitter for iPhone” is because Twitter bought the company behind it, Atebits, in April. Tweetie 2 is widely considered to be the best Twitter iPhone app, and Twitter wanted one app to point to for all those people searching the App Store looking for an official way to use Twitter on the iPhone. For Android and BlackBerry, they opted to make their own apps from scratch.
While Twitter for iPhone doesn’t show up in searches of the App Store yet, you can find it in the App Updates area of iTunes if you have Tweetie 2 on your system (though you still can’t download it yet). When it does go live, the (newly free) app can be found here.
Update: MacStories is saying that some international users have been able to download the app successfully. Feel free to send in pictures if you’re able to!
Along with questionable App Store rejections, Apple occasionally makes peculiar approvals. Take for example the app Mirror, which is nothing short of a black screen with a frame. Flipping your iPhone screen off would make a better reflection for checking out your mug.
It’s a joke, get it? Nonetheless, a large number of people fooled into purchasing the app don’t find it very funny.
“No good,” writes customer “Benhoolio.” “Not even a mirror. Total waste of a dollar. Don’t get it. What is the point of looking in to a black screen with a border around it?”
“Can they really just lie to people like that??” writes user MelanieFD. “It’s BULL!!”
About 2,400 additional negative reviews for the app express similar sentiments. Joke or not, this app is not a strong testament for Apple’s push for quality in the App Store — a reason Steve Jobs said he was requiring iPhone and iPad apps to be made with Apple-approved programming languages, effectively banning Adobe Flash code from the platform.
Still, we find it hilarious, and we wouldn’t want Apple banning humor from the App Store. (Satire already seems blacklisted, after all.) The reviews are merely a reflection of how impulsive people are with buying iPhone apps. Mirror costs just a buck (and you shouldn’t buy it). If only people would lighten up.
Nikon’s next generation D4x should be arriving in the next year or so, and it’s always fun to speculate what it will look like. I doubt this is even close, honestly. It is fun to see what industrial designers can come up with when they play though. Keep in mind this is not a actual Nikon design, but rather a speculation on what direction they could go in.
I’m not sure that I’m 100% behind this design, but it’s certainly different from the traditional DSLR look. If anything, it’s closer to the large frame landscape cameras like the Mamiya. At any rate, the design comes from Marc Levinson, who has some other interesting ideas on his site.
Facebook just got a lot more accessible to international users. The social network has launched0.facebook.com, a special mobile-only site that can be accessed free of charge on select carriers. The lightweight site omits photos but includes core functionality like News Feed, status updates, profile Walls and messaging. And most important, Facebook has partnered with over 50 mobile carriers to offer free access to the site, without any data fees.
Not to be confused with the now defunct Facebook Lite, Facebook 0 was originally announced back in February (when it was called ‘Zero’). Facebook has presumably been hammering out deals with carriers since then, and it has quite a few on board with more on the way (you can see a list of countries supported in Facebook’s blog post or the table below).
This mobile site could play a big role in Facebook’s growth going forward, especially given the predictions that browser-equipped mobile phones will be more abundant than PCs in the not-too-distant future. For some people, 0.facebook.com will probably be their only Facebook experience — it may even be the only mobile site they’re accessing from their cell phones.
If you’re in the United States though, don’t bother pulling out your phone to check out the site for yourself — none of the US carriers are on board.
AP - Yahoo Inc. is buying freelance news site Associated Content in a deal that will add a more folksy touch to one of the world's biggest Web sites. Source: Yahoo! News: Technology News | 18 May 2010 | 3:38 pm
itwbennett writes "In a letter to US Representative Ed Markey, FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said that the FTC has begun contacting copy machine makers, resellers, and office supply stores to inform them about privacy concerns over the images that can be stored on the machines' hard drives and trying to 'determine whether they are warning their customers about these risks ... and whether manufacturers and resellers are providing options for secure copying.'"
NEW YORK, May 18 /PRNewswire/ -- EASEUS Software, a provider of innovative and professional data recovery software, provides users one comprehensive data recovery freeware: EASEUS Data Recovery Wizard Free Edition. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 18 May 2010 | 3:15 pm
SANTA MONICA, Calif., May 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The White House Deputy Chief Technology Officer, Google's former top global lobbyist, has been reprimanded for ethics violations that were revealed after a Freedom of Information Act Request from Consumer Watchdog. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 18 May 2010 | 3:10 pm
Among the team of geologists monitoring Mt. St. Helens at the time of its violent eruption 30 years ago, Don Swanson recounts his experience with poignant clarity. Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 18 May 2010 | 2:58 pm
BUFFALO, N.Y., May 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Wireless is investing in Erie County and expanding its local coverage with a new cell site in North Collins. Source: RedOrbit News - Technology | 18 May 2010 | 2:55 pm
Most days, I bike to work. No spandex, no special shoes; just me and my cruiser (and a basket on the back for my laptop). It’s about 4.5 miles door to door. Now, I give mad props to the folks who bike from San Francisco to Google every week. But biking to work is for regular folks, too. It feels great: the exercise, the fresh air and doing something “green”, all while giving my brain time to warm up for — or decompress after — a hectic work day.
So how can we get more people who live right around Google offices to get off their good intentions and on to their bikes? Well, we did recently release biking directions on Google Maps (including on mobile phones!) but in case that wasn’t enough motivation, there’s no better time to try than on Bike to Work Day!
We celebrated Bay Area Bike to Work Day this past Thursday at Google’s HQ (as usual, Northern California’s date was ahead of U.S. National Bike to Work Day). The rest of our offices will take up the bike-commuting cause at the end of this week and into next week, from Bangalore to Zurich. Last year, 42 Google offices participated in Bike to Work Day — and we hope to top that this time around.
To prepare for Bay Area Bike to Work day, our employees hosted a How to Bike to Work tech talk and volunteered time at a free bike repair clinic. Those Googlers repaired over 40 bikes in 2.5 hours — not bad for an all-volunteer outfit. And we had a whole pile of volunteer group ride leaders plan to lead 20 different rides in from all over the Bay, to help folks get to work safely and in style.
Last year, we aimed for 1,000 riders globally, and beat that handily (1,322 riders total). So we decided to raise the stakes and shoot for 1,000 in Northern California alone. And we did it: 1,019 riders to our Mountain View, San Bruno, and San Francisco offices. That’s a new record for Google and almost five percent of our total employee population!
The longest ride was 71 miles...from Palo Alto. (Via Pescadero. That’s what we call taking the loooong route.) The Santa Cruz crew came straight in and went 55 miles one way...and some of them were talking about biking home, too! 172 Googlers came in from San Francisco — but thanks to Google’s extensive shuttle system, most of them can get a lift back home.
The largest turnout came from Mountain View, of course — 272 folks came from right around the ‘plex. Considering more riders came from SF than Mountain View last year, our super-locals had some pride to win back!
But the real joy was hearing all the people who said, “You know, I never thought I could do it. But it wasn’t so hard after all! I will definitely do it again.” That’s what Bike to Work Day is all about.
Overall, we had tons of fun spreading the bike-commute love here in Mountain View, and we can’t wait to see what our fellow Googlers get up to all around the world. Maybe we’ll even hit our stretch goal: 2010 riders in 2010! In the meantime, check out our photos from Thursday’s party-on-wheels to get psyched for your own ride to work.
Posted by Deb Henigson, Workplace Services Program Manager
For over 500 days, six men will live in isolation, simulating a full-duration flight to Mars. Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 18 May 2010 | 2:35 pm
Reacting to the latest privacy backlash, Facebook will be rolling out new "simplistic" privacy options for its users in the coming weeks, according to Facebook head of public policy Tim Sparapani.
An international team of scientists have discovered that climate change played a major role in causing mass extinction of mammals in the late quaternary era, 50,000 years ago. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 18 May 2010 | 2:09 pm
Image Caption: NASA's Aqua satellite captured a visible image of Tropical Storm 1B (lower left) soon after it formed. This image from the MODIS instrument onboard Aqua was taken at 7:25 UTC (12:25 p.m. Asia/Kolkata time) and shows 1B off the east coast of India. Credit: NASA Goddard / MODIS Rapid Response Team Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 18 May 2010 | 1:50 pm
Image Caption: NASA's Terra satellite captured the ash plume from Eyjafjallajokull Volcano, Iceland, on May 18 at 12:20 UTC (8:20 a.m. EDT), blowing to the northeast due to a low pressure area. Credit: NASA Goddard / MODIS Rapid Response Team Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 18 May 2010 | 1:48 pm
Robots have replaced humans on assembly lines, battlefields, space missions and rescue operations. Now how about doing something useful, like sitting through endless meetings for you?
Meet the Anybots QB, a telepresence robot that can represent you in the office by sitting in conference rooms, going to meetings and rolling about through the cubicle farm. The whole time it does so, it displays a live webcam video of your face, while transmitting to you a live video and audio stream of whatever it’s looking at.
“The QB is an extension of you,” Bob Christopher, chief operating officer of Anybots told Wired.com. “It removes the barriers between people and work so people can teleport themselves to the office space.”
Christopher was formerly the chief executive officer of Ugobe, which made the ill-fated Pleo robotic dinosaur toys. Ugobe closed its doors last year, having failed to make a commercial success of its eerily lifelike toys.
QB won’t replace video conferencing, says Christopher, but it’s a way to look over the shoulder of your colleagues and employees without actually getting into the office. The robot can be manipulated by a user at home or any other location using just a web browser, and can transmit its master’s voice and video.
Think of it as a self-propelled Skype-cam on a stick.
A device with Segway-like balancing properties, the QB has two eyes shaped like a bug’s that give it an aesthetic similar to Pixar’s Wall-E. The cameras (and screen) are mounted atop an adjustable pole, putting them at approximately eye level with your coworkers. QB has eight hours of battery life, supports 802.11g Wi-Fi, comes with a 5-megapixel video camera and a top speed of 3.5 miles per hour. A 320 x 240 LCD screen on QB offers videos and photos, and acts as a control panel.
The $15,000 robot will be available in fall, says Anybots.
Finding ways to make telecommuting easier for office workers or helping teams spread across different locations work together has been a major area of research and product development in robotics. Research firm Gartner estimates the video-conferencing market could grow 17.8 percent between 2008 and 2013, rising from $3.8 billion to $8.6 billion.
Anybots isn’t the only company to try mixing telepresence and robots. Companies like iRobot and WowWee tried to capture some part of that business. IRobot announced ConnectR, a Roomba with a video camera, while WowWee’s Rovio is a little three-wheeled webcam bot. The ConnectR was quietly killed during the Consumer Electronics Show last year, while Rovio lives on. Willow Garage, a Palo Alto robotics company, has also created a telepresence robot called Texai, though that’s not on sale yet.
QB offers a similar experience but makes it more polished — and not so close to the ground. The robot weighs about 35 pounds and its neck can go from 3 feet to 5 feet, 9 inches. And it’s easy to use, says Christopher.
Open up a web browser, log in and with just the Up and Down controls on your computer keyboard, you can move the QB around.
The QB has an Intel Core 2 Duo processor and will soon support 3G networks. And because the robot is not tied to one user, it can be used by different employees logging in from an external location, says Christopher.
“Put a QB in the office and anyone who’s not there can take the robot and move it over to someone else’ desk,” he says. “After the first few minutes, people forget they are talking to a robot.”
That may be possible, but it is difficult to imagine that most companies will want to purchase many of these robots, no matter what the advantages are. At $15,000 apiece, they don’t come cheap.
Check out the video below to see Anybots’ QB at work:
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said Monday that the planet's average temperature for April was 58.1 degrees Fahrenheit, the hottest for any April on record. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 18 May 2010 | 1:10 pm
According to Nick O’Neil, Facebook is preparing to celebrate the 500 million user mark. The timing roughly coincides with the 3 year anniversary of the Facebook Platform. Facebook is aiming to make a big deal (as they should) in light of recent bad press.
“Before the end of this year, the company should near the 600 million user mark and surpass $1 billion in annualized revenue. While the company still faces some risks from competition, the company will be the sole member of the 500 million user league. To think that the company was at 175 million users just over a year ago makes Facebook’s continued growth a dramatic one.”
Enormous growth coupled with questionable privacy moves have prompted some to leave the network. From Facebook is for losers, “Facebook gives you choices about how to manage your data, but they aren’t fair choices, and while the onus is on the individual to manage these choices, Facebook makes it damn difficult for the average user to understand or manage this.”
No matter how you slice it, Facebook has become a juggernaut and managing that many users while looking for profit is going to upset some. Are these just growing pains for the company or will privacy issues become the users call to arms in mass?
As early as age 3, children's reasoning about biological world is influenced by cultural beliefsParents, educators and developmental psychologists have long been interested in how children understand the relationship between human and non-human animals. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 18 May 2010 | 12:41 pm
As if anyone besides Apple needed to inflate the hype surrounding the iPad, a digital marketing team jiggered with the tablet to remotely control a homemade 52-inch blimp at an after-party.
To construct the blimp, the BreakfastNY team followed instructions provided by Wired magazine’s Chris Anderson in his blog DIY Drones and added a camera that shot a live feed viewable on the iPad.
For controlling the blimp, the team used Titanium to write the web code and compile it into an iPad app, as well as OpenFramework for the camera software.
“Everyone was really into it,” said Andrew Zolty, a BreakfastNY employee involved in the project. “It kind of brings out the kids in everyone. People would kiss it and do strange things.”
BreakfastNY made the blimp to promote a silent auction for KidRobot Munny characters created by the world’s leading industrial designers. Whenever the blimp’s camera hovered over a person, the iPad software transformed their faces into those of the Munny characters. The feed was displayed on a big screen for all to see. That’s some pretty in-your-face marketing.
Airplanes are notorious polluters. They're as noisy as a rock concert, spew poisons like volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides into the air as well as dump millions of pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year. In this ... Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 18 May 2010 | 12:37 pm
Image Caption: This is a satellite image of Western Greenland, acquired by NASA's MODIS satellite. The narrow grey band in the center of the image is melting ice, between the rocky coast to the left (west) and thicker, non-melting, higher altitude ice to the right (east). Small lakes form in this region during the summer. Arrow points to darker grey zone of rapidly thinning ice near the outlet of Jacobshavn glacier, which also loses mass due to iceberg calving. Credit: Courtesy of NASA Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 18 May 2010 | 12:25 pm
The continuing backlash against Facebook’s growing power on the web and its ongoing push to make its users share more data has inspired hackers to develop transparency tools that demonstrate the site's privacy threats.
Antibiotics kill both harmful and helpful bacteria. Plus, over time and prolonged use of antibiotics, some bacteria develop a resistance to these drugs. That's causing new and life-threatening strains of bacteria to appear for which no antibiotic has been developed. ... Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 18 May 2010 | 12:09 pm
When AT&T announced the availability of the Pre Plus last week, something was missing: its little sister, the Pixi Plus. Gasp! Panic tore across the nation (911 calls were made and subsequently ignored.) Had AT&T abandoned the Pixi Plus? Had a grand wizard, pissed off because his iPhone won’t stop dropping calls, warped them into another dimension? What was going on?
Turns out, AT&T just plans on launching it a few weeks later.
According to this updated landing page, the Pixi Plus will be launching on June 6th. There’s no official price announced yet — however, initial rumors (which had also positively pinned the launch on June 6th) indicated it’d go for $49.99 after a mail-in rebate and a 2 year contract.
Instapaper is a great way to save items you find on the web for later reading. And it offers a reading list that is easy to read in a variety of ways such as a web browser, iPhone/iPad app, on your Kindle or even printed out on paper.
That said, there has always been a nice way to add new items to your Instapaper reading list by way of a bookmarklet. That has worked well, but now we Chrome users have another good method by way of an extension.
That extension is aptly dubbed Instachrome and gives you the ability to save items to your reading list and more. The extension lives up in your toolbar button and when clicked will give you the option to do things such as text view, check your unread items, starred items and archived options.
Additionally, you can also customize your own shortcut as well as add a new shortcut by hitting Alt + Shift + S.
Fragmentation caused by the different versions of the Android operating system — a cause of concern among developers — is on the decline. The Android OS is coalescing around three major flavors: Android 1.5, aka Cupcake; Android 1.6, or Donut; and Android 2.1, nicknamed Eclair.
Among those, Android 2.1 has the maximum share. About 37.2 percent of Android phones today have the Android 2.1 operating system, up from 27.3 percent in April.
Android 1.5 comes next with about 34.1 percent of Android phones sporting it, followed by Android 1.6 at 28 percent.
The data comes from Android Developers, the official Android developers’ community website, and is based on OS data reported by devices accessing the Android Market during a 2-week period ending May 17.
In the 16 months since the first Android phone hit the market, Google has made four major upgrades to the operating system. But smartphone makers unable to keep up with that pace have continued to introduce new cellphones with older versions of the OS, leading to consumer confusion about what capabilities various Android phones have. But in the past four months, many handset makers, including Motorola and HTC, have been steadily updating the OSes on their older phones. In most cases, they’re upgrading to the latest version, Android 2.1.
Still, in the rapidly changing Android world it is not enough. At its developer conference later this week, Google is likely to release the next update to Android called Android 2.2 or FroYo.
FroYo will support an updated Android Market, Flash Player 10.1, and tethering.
It will be interesting to see what this chart looks like in three months.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's track record in predicting the number of Atlantic hurricanes is so abysmal that a trained chimp could do better, says The National Center for Public Policy Research, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.The group is putting this claim to the test, issuing a 2010 Atlantic Hurricane Forecast today determined by a chimpanzee, "Dr. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 18 May 2010 | 11:35 am
For all of the folks who had to wait — and for all of those still left waiting — for Android 2.1 to be ported, smashed, tweaked, and OTA’d onto their handsets, the last few months may have seemed pretty unbearable. If it makes you feel any better, there’s a oh-so-dim light at the end of the tunnel: as of yesterday evening, more Android handsets are running on 2.1 than on any other version of the platform.
Alas, this news comes just as Google’s I/O conference is about to blow through town — and unless something strange happens before next week, everyone’s expecting I/O to serve as the launchpad for the next version that everyone has to wait for and complain about: build 2.2.
On the upside, the ol’ rumormill says that one of Google’s goals with 2.2 is doing away with much of the fragmentation issues of the platform. What exactly that entails, however, is still a mystery. Wrapped inside of a riddle. Inside of an enigma. Inside of a burrito.
Last year at our Google I/O Developer Conference, we launched Google Apps Script, a software tool that lets you customize and automate Google Apps. Today, on the verge of our first birthday, we’re releasing significant updates to Google Apps Script, including its integration with other properties like Google Maps and Google Docs as well as third-party services and databases through the new Java Database connectivity.
Check out our new scripts templates to try out some of the common tasks and processes that this new version of Google Apps Script can easily simplify and automate. And to learn more about how organizations can use it, head over to the Google Enterprise blog. Finally, if you’re attending this year’s Google I/O, we’re holding a session on using scripts to automate business processes — maybe we’ll see you there!
Posted by Jonathan Rochelle, Group Product Manager, Google Apps
McAfee reveled their latest report:McAfee Threats Report: First Quarter 2010. In it, McAfee uncovers the biggest threats to computers as well as an interesting fact: 98% of the new malicious URLs come from just one geographic location. Can you guess where?
If you guessed the US, you’re spot on. “At 98 percent, the United States hosts the majority of new malicious URLs in Q1 2010, as rated by McAfee® TrustedSource® technology. The massive share of new malicious URLs hosted in the U.S. is due to the location of many different Web 2.0 Services, most of which are provided with U.S. locations. Within the remaining 2 percent, China hosted 61 percent and Canada hosted 34 percent.”
“Our latest threat report verifies that trends in malware and spam continue to grow at our predicted rates,” said Mike Gallagher, senior vice president and chief technology officer of Global Threat Intelligence for McAfee. “Previously emerging trends, such as AutoRun malware, are now at the forefront. We were also surprised to find some of geographic difference in spam related topics, such as the volume of diploma spam coming out of China.”
Attackers continued to use the latest search trends to further their efforts. Haiti and Chili earthquake disasters led the list along with Toyota recall, Apple iPad and NCAA March Madness.
Another interesting fact, developing nations are the most infected. With soaring percentages of internet use growth, these users are typically less security savvy and thus become hooked by these malicious URLs and their malware.
Dioxins in general decreasing, but those derived from triclosan increasingSpecific dioxins derived from the antibacterial agent triclosan, used in many hand soaps, deodorants, dishwashing liquids and other consumer products, account for an increasing proportion of total dioxins in Mississippi River sediments, according to University of Minnesota research.The study appears online in the May 18 issue of the journal Environmental Science and Technology.The researchers, from the university's Institute of Technology (soon to be College of Science and Engineering), found that over the last 30 years, the levels of the four dioxins derived from triclosan have risen by 200 to 300 percent, while levels of all the other dioxins have dropped by 73 to 90 percent.In April, the Food and Drug Administration announced it would study the safety of triclosan, which has been linked to disruptions of hormonal function and may also play a role in the evolution of bacterial resistance to antibiotics. In papers published in 2003 and 2009, university civil engineering professor William Arnold and his colleague Kristopher McNeill, a former professor in the university's Department of Chemistry, discovered that triclosan, when exposed to sunlight, generated a specific suite of four dioxins.In the current study spearheaded by Jeff Buth, a recent Ph.D. graduate in chemistry (supervised by Arnold and McNeill), the researchers examined sediment core samples from Lake Pepin, an enlargement of the Mississippi River 120 miles downstream from the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area. The sediment cores, containing a record of pollutant accumulation in the lake for the past 50 years, were analyzed for triclosan, the four dioxins derived from triclosan, and the entire family of dioxin chemicals. The study was a collaborative effort between researchers at the University of Minnesota, Pace Analytical (Minneapolis), the Science Museum of Minnesota and Virginia Tech.“These four dioxins only come from triclosan. They didn’t exist in Lake Pepin before triclosan was introduced,” Arnold said. “In the most current sediments, these triclosan-derived dioxins account for about 30 percent of the total dioxin mass.”Triclosan was first added to commercial liquid hand soap in 1987, and by 2001 about 76 percent of commercial liquid hand soaps contained it, researchers say. About 96 percent of triclosan from consumer products is disposed of in residential drains, leading to large loads of the chemical in water entering wastewater treatment plants.Triclosan is incompletely removed during the wastewater treatment process, and when treated wastewater is released to the environment, sunlight converts some of the triclosan (and related compounds) into dioxins. Triclosan and the dioxins ended up in Lake Pepin sediments by sticking to organic particles in the river, which then sank when they reached the calmer waters of the lake.The toxicity of the dioxins derived from triclosan currently is not well understood, nor is the extent of their distribution in the environment at large, Arnold says.---Image Caption: Researchers collected water samples at Lake Pepin in southeastern Minnesota for this study. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 18 May 2010 | 10:33 am
What a difference a bit makes. NASA engineers believe they have traced the cause of Voyager 2's gibberish to single bit in the spacecraft’s memory. Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 18 May 2010 | 10:29 am
New fossil material redefines Azendohsaurus as a peculiar early reptileAzendohsaurus just shed its dinosaur affiliation. A careful new analysis of A. madagaskarensis—this time based on the entire skull rather than on just teeth and jaws—aligns this 230-million-year-old animal with a different and very early branch on the reptile evolutionary tree. Many aspects of Azendohsaurus are far more primitive than previously assumed, which in turn means that its plant-eating adaptations, similar to those found some early dinosaurs, were developed independently. The new analysis is published in the journal Palaeontology."Even though this extraordinary ancient reptile looks similar to some plant-eating dinosaurs in some features of the skull and dentition, it is in fact only distantly related to dinosaurs," says John J. Flynn, curator in the Division of Paleontology at the American Museum of Natural History. "With more complete material, we re-assessed features like the down-turned jaw and leaf-shaped teeth found in A. madagaskarensis as convergent with some herbivorous dinosaurs."The fossil is a member of Archosauromorpha, a group that includes birds and crocodilians but not lizards, snakes, or turtles. The type specimen of the genus Azendohsaurus was a fragmentary set of teeth and jaws found in 1972 near (and named for) a village in Morocco's Atlas Mountains. The fossils on which the current research paper is based was discovered in the late 1990s in southwestern Madagascar. Named A. madagaskarensis, this specimen was uncovered by a team of U.S. and Malagasy paleontologists in a "red bed" that includes multiple individuals that probably perished together. This species was initially published as an early dinosaur in Science over a decade ago, but the completeness of the more recently unearthed and studied fossils has provided the first complete glimpse of what this animal looked like and was related to. A. madagaskarensis was not a dinosaur.A. madagaskarensis lived during the period of time that dinosaurs, crocodile relatives, mammals, pterosaurs, turtles, frogs, and lizards were getting their start, and all of the continents were connected as the supercontinent Pangaea. A. madagaskarensis was 2 to 4 meters long and weighed between 20 and 50 kilos (about 44 to110 pounds). A. madagaskarensis was an efficient herbivore—"a veritable four-legged weed-whacker," according to Flynn—with teeth modified for slicing vegetation covering not only its jaws, but also the roof of its mouth. Even though early archosaurs were commonly thought to be primarily carnivorous, A. madagaskarensis shows that traits associated with herbivory were much more widespread across archosaur reptiles."Now there are many more cases of herbivorous archosaurs," says André Wyss, professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. "We are rethinking the evolution of diet and feeding strategies, as well as the broader evolution of the group.""This is the way science works," says Flynn, commenting on the reinterpretation of the fossils. "As we found and analyzed more material, it made us realize that this was a much more primitive animal and the dinosaur-like features were really the product of convergent evolution."Wyss adds, "In many ways Azendohsaurus ends up being a much more fantastic animal than if it simply represented a generic early dinosaur."In addition to Flynn and Wyss, authors include Sterling Nesbitt, a former graduated student affiliated with the Museum and Columbia University; J. Michael Parrish, San Jose State University in California; and Lovasoa Ranivoharimanana, Université d'Antananarivo in Madagascar. This research was funded by the National Geographic Society, The Field Museum, American Museum of Natural History, the University of California Santa Barbara, and Worldwide Fund for Nature, Madagascar. ---Image Caption: This is a reconstruction of the skull of the new species of Azendohsaurus. On top is a lateral or side view, and on the bottom, a palatal or roof of the mouth view. Note the teeth covering the palate, a highly unusual feature among reptiles, and the downturned front end of the lower jaw, a feature found independently in many herbivorous archosauromorphs. Credit: S. Nesbitt Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 18 May 2010 | 10:29 am
On Monday, archaeologists in southern Mexico announced they have found a 2,700-year-old tomb of a dignitary inside a pyramid that may be the oldest type of burial documented in Mesoamerica. Source: RedOrbit News - Science | 18 May 2010 | 10:07 am
Azendohsaurus just got demoted. Find out how and why this animal lost its dinosaur status. Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 18 May 2010 | 10:05 am
Asus has recently unveiled two new additions in their family of netbooks. The models are the Eee PC 1015P and the Eee PC 1015PE. First and foremost, the most interesting spec here is that these both come with a 6-cell battery and a promise of 13.5 hours of battery life. Or course, with real world use that is most likely going to be less, but starting out at 13.5 and maybe we can still see somewhere in the ballpark of 9-10. Still impressive if you ask me.
Other features include Windows 7 Starter, a 10.1 inch LED backlit display with a 1024 x 600 resolution, Intel Atom Pineview M N450 processor, 1GB of RAM, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR and options for either a 160, 250 or 320GB hard drive. Additionally you can expect to find a 0.3 megapixel webcam, stereo speakers, VGA, three USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet, headphone out, microphone in and a built-in memory card reader. In terms of exterior colors, the Eee PC 1015P will come in white, black, blue, red and pink with the 1015PE coming in white, black or blue.
Finally, as typical with Asus unveilings, neither model have had their price or release date revealed. Still, expect to pay somewhere right around $400.
You may or may not have seen the totally ridiculous, totally NSFW, 8-bit brilliance that is the film-clip for Flairs’ Trucker’s Delight (note: if 8-bit boobs, poop or misogynistic truckers offend, don’t click that link. Editors Note: Heads up – you’ll need to check your maturity at the door.).
Have you watched it yet? To me, the logical progression from creating a film-clip based on an imaginary game is to make an actual game based on a film-clip based on an imaginary game.
And so I present to you, the first episode of Truckers Delight for iPhone and iPod Touch.
For the merest of $2.99 at the App Store, you can chase after blondes (and their well-groomed poodles), take down rival bikies, and steer 16-wheels of pain with flagrant disregard for all those “road rules” that The Man keeps sticking us truckies* with.
Just take a look at the video, below. You even get to pull the air-horn. Sweet!
*I’m not a real truckie. In fact, I didn’t even get my full drivers license until I was 24.
While it won’t beat Sprint, Verizon announced it will offer it’s first 4G wireless experience in May of 2010. Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam said the company will have five 4G phones from the likes of Motorola, HTC, and Apple. Oops, my bad, not Apple, but Apple was on McAdam’s mind:
“There’s no reason we couldn’t have an iPad,” McAdam said, but added that the first tablets will be Android devices from contenders including Motorola, Samsung and LG
Let’s consider the quote for a moment, it’s an odd statement. Why say it like that? He could have easily mentioned something like, “we’ll have Android Tablets that will not just compete with the iPad, but show it why our 4G service rocks its face off” or something boosting his network. Instead, he either jealously or enviously quips like a 4th grader.
Even something vague like, “we are always talking with Apple about an iPad just for 4G speeds” would make more sense if perhaps he was trying to shield a Verizon iPhone news from us. But to say there is no reason, suggests there is: he’s a spurned Apple lover or Apple and Verizon are doing this iPhone thing and he has to hide it for now.
We’ve shown you the summer cell phone lineup from KDDI (Japan’s No. 2 carrier) yesterday. Today, Japan’s third largest carrier, SoftBank Mobile, showed its own summer lineup during a special press conference, and all of their 13 new models have one thing in common: they all come with Twitter pre-installed.
The buyers of these cell phones will be able to access Twitter either via a pre-installed app or through a pre-installed widget on the homescreen. The background is that SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son himself is a huge Twitter fan (he has almost 300,000 followers) and believes Japan is set to become Twitter country. And in fact, by some measures it’s already No. 2.
Twitter CEO Evan Williams, who joined SoftBank’s press conference from San Francisco (via Ustream), said he has high hopes in Japan because it’s such a highly advanced mobile nation and Twitter is easy to use on cell phones (around 37% of active users use Twitter on their phones). The collaboration with SoftBank is a good start: The company boasts 22 million subscribers, and its user base has been growing nicely over the past few years. SoftBank as a whole, one of Asia’s biggest telcos, currently has a market cap of $26 billion.
The widget has been developed by Twitter in the US and will be available starting early next month (another widget that will be pre-installed on the next SoftBank cell phones is made by a third party). SoftBank subscribers with older handsets will be able to download the new Twitter apps and widgets at that point in time, too.
And here are all the “Twitter cell phones” SoftBank showed today, along with the main specs (needless to say, they all have many more features):
Sharp mirumo2 944SH
(3.2-inch full wide VGA touchscreen (480×854 resolution), 3-inch memory sub-display, 8MP camera, digital TV tuner, Wi-Fi, waterproof, Bluetooth, microSDHC card slot)
Sharp AQUOS SHOT 945SH
(3.2-inch full wide VGA display, 12.1MP CCD camera, records video in 720p, digital TV tuner, Wi-Fi, waterproof, Bluetooth, HDMI interface, GSM, two-way stereo microphone)
Panasonic 942P
(3.1-inch full wide VGA touchscreen, 13.2MP CMOS camera with auto focus, digital TV tuner, Wi-Fi, waterproof, Bluetooth, GSM)
Samsung 941SC
(3.3-inch AMOLED touchscreen with 100,000:1 contrast ratio and 180 degree viewing angle, 8.1MP camera, digital TV tuner, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GSM)
Sharp SOLAR HYBRID 842SH
(3-inch QVGA screen (240×400 resolution), lets you make a two-minute call time after 10 minutes of solar charging, waterproof, Bluetooth, microSDHC slot, follows the 936SH from last year)
Sharp 945SH G
(based on the 945SH shown above, special Gundam robot version to celebrate the anime’s 30th anniversary, features a number of Gundam-specific contents and comes with a special dock)
Stanza has not yet been updated for the iPad. Maybe it’s coming soon and will be awesome, or maybe the current owner, Amazon, has killed it to reduce competition for its money-making Kindle app. Either way, unless you want to read your e-book collection on a blocky, pixel-doubled screen, you’ll have to switch readers. But what of all the books you already have in your Stanza library?
You two have grown so close over the last month, that it seems that all you now need to achieve completeness is a video review.
Oh, hullo, looky here!
Phone Dog have just posted their 13 minute review of the device!
The basic gist is that it’s (obviously) no match for the Snapdragon-powered Incredible, but is a good, solid alternative to a messaging phone (albeit with a data plan attached).
The reviewer even recommends it over a Kin One or Two, even though he says the keyboard is “so so”.
Funnily enough, just like the Kin, there doesn’t appear to be a retweet option in the Twitter client. Bizarre.
But enough of me, why not hear it straight from the horse’s Phone Dog’s mouth?
Its not often we see a company offer up a press release for something they are not launching. That said, there is always that case, and it has just happened with Acer and the rumored Chrome OS device.
In short, Acer will not be announcing a Chrome OS based device during Computex 2010 and furthermore, Acer has confirmed that they have “no short-term plans for such a product.”
Keep reading to check out the full press release…
Acer will not launch a Chrome OS netbook at Computex
Manno, 17 May 2010 – Despite recent rumours in the press regarding the launch of Chrome OS based netbooks at Computex, Acer today confirms that it has no short-term plans for such a product.
Acer believes that Google Chrome OS is without doubt an exciting product announcement and deserves it’s full attention as well as an in-depth study of its potential from a consumers perspective.
Acer is naturally interested in any product or service that enhances the overall experience of its products and will of course be following the development and progress of Google Chrome and the evolution of Google’s overall product strategy very closely.
***
Detailed information on Acer products and a catalogue with prices in PDF format are available on Acer’s website www.acer-euro.com
For the first time ever, as part of this year’s Doodle 4 Google competition, we’re heading straight to classrooms all across the United States. From Gig Harbor, WA to Niceville, FL, Googlers are visiting the schools of our top 40 Regional Finalists to celebrate art and technology with thousands of K-12 students and teachers.
With our top 40 Regional Finalists unveiled, it’s now your turn to vote on the top 40 doodles! Starting at 6:00 a.m. PDT today through May 25 at 5:00 p.m. PDT, you can cast your online votes for your favorite Regional Finalist’s doodle (one from each of the four grade groups). On May 26, we’ll announce the national winner at our awards ceremony in New York City, and the winning design will appear on google.com on Thursday, May 27. The national winner will also receive a $15,000 college scholarship and $25,000 towards a new computer lab for their school.
The Doodle 4 Google contest is all about designing and dreaming big, and this year we asked students to design our Google logo with the theme, “If I Could Do Anything, I Would...” More than 33,000 submissions poured in from all 50 states, and we were absolutely delighted by the creativity and talent of the submissions we saw. How exactly did we get from 33,000 to the top 40? We were lucky to have in our judging process not only Google employees but also 12 Expert Jurors, well-known cartoonists and animators from companies like Disney, Pixar Animation Studios and The Peanuts Gang/Charles Schulz.
In addition to our top 40 Regional Finalists, we’d like to congratulate the 400 State Finalists as well as our Extra Credit Technology Booster award winners.
Doodle 4 Google wouldn’t have been possible without the help and guidance of teachers and administrators who work hard every day to encourage art and creativity in the classroom — it is this sort of creativity that will lead to tomorrow's designers, technologists and engineers.
Posted by Marissa Mayer, VP, Search Products & User Experience
When Spencer Nugent cuts something with scissors, he likes to be in control. For him, a bouncing bottom blade is waste of time and just plain uncomfortable, while the double-handled design of conventional scissors twists your wrist to an awkward angle.
Nugent decided to fix this, and came up with the Comfort Grip Scissors. These keep the lower blade still, flat down on the table top, while the upper blade snicker-snacks and does the the cutting. The handles, too, have moved, one inside the other: you simply squeeze them together to close the blades.
Especially good in this concept redesign is the choice of materials. The metal blades and orange loop-handles are so familiar that when you see them morphed like this there is a momentary mental disconnect, like walking into a neighbors apartment, identical in layout to your own, only furnished differently. Get these off the drawing board and into stores, Spencer, and I’ll buy a pair right away.
The longest 4 years of Bob St. Germain’s life have finally come to an end, with Verizon letting him loose from his $18,000 debt.
To save you having to read the article I just linked to (I’m nice like that), I’ll bring you up to speed:
Once upon a time, Bob St. Germain signed up to a Verizon phone plan that included 2 years of free data. His son, Bryan, didn’t know that the free period had ended when he downloaded about 800MB of data while tethering the phone to his PC one rainy day in 2006.
4-year-long-story short, Bob refused to pay, tried to sue, and now, today, Verizon have agreed to let Bill’s bobsled Bob’s bill slide.
It’s not all rainbows and unicorns, however, as Bob’s bad bill has blemished his credit. Bummer for Bob.
I remain resolute in my continued ridicule of the Pogo Stylus for the iPhone. The entire point of the iPhone is that you don’t need to pull out a little metal pencil to tap the screen. You’re supposed to do it with your fingers. Still, if you insist on it, for instance if you have the cute sugar-cube-shaped Square credit-card reader and want to let people sign their names on screen, then this companion case will at least stop you losing the pen.
The case, from Pogo maker Ten One Design, is called the Tango. It is also the “world’s first case specifically made for the Pogo Stylus”, and we’d guess it will also be the last, this being a somewhat niche category. The case is leather on the outside, micro-suede on the inside and flips open to let you quickly doodle on the screen without removing the iPhone 3GS from within. The stylus sits in a clip on the side.
Compared to the stylus itself, which goes for a rather optimistic $15, the case is reasonable at $40, especially as it comes with its own Pogo stick.
Somewhat hypocritically I was shopping online for a Pogo just this morning. A stylus for the iPhone may be dumb, but a stylus to use with iPad drawing and painting apps? Fantastic.
Stanza, our favorite iPhone e-reader application, has not yet been updated for the iPad. Maybe it’s coming soon and will be awesome, or maybe the current owner, Amazon, has killed it to reduce competition for its money-making Kindle app.
Either way, unless you want to read your e-book collection on a blocky, pixel-doubled screen, you’ll have to switch readers.
But what about all the books you already have in your Stanza library? Here we show you how to extract you books from Stanza, pretty them up and put them into iBooks on your iPad.
Getting books into Stanza is easy. You can beam them across your Wi-Fi network using the companion desktop application or with the clunky but powerful e-book manager Calibre. You can buy them from within the application itself, or you can add online repositories of varying legitimacy.
Once the books are on there, though, they’re stuck. You can jailbreak your iPhone and go fishing around in the file system, looking for the books. Or you can download a Java app that will churn through the iPhone backups on your computer and sift out the books within.
Download the app, called “Stanza Book Restore Tool”, from Lexcycle, the developers of Stanza. Point it at your backup folder (on the Mac you’ll find it in Users/yourname/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup), choose a destination and hit “Recover Books”. All the books will be copied to your computer.
But what then? Now you have a bunch of EPUB files littering your desktop. You could drag them straight into iTunes, where they’ll be imported into your book collection, but the lovely cover artwork you enjoyed in Stanza will be gone, replaced by text on a generic, plain book cover. What you need is the aforementioned Calibre, previously seen on Gadget Lab in the service of adding Instapaper and other newspapers to your Kindle.
Download the free Calibre app for Mac or Windows, drag in the EPUB files and then go to work. Your books’ title and author data should be cleanly filled out already, but if you right-click on a book (or hit the e key) you can edit the metadata. The easiest way is to let Calibre pull the info down from the internet.
Once this is done, click the “Download cover” button to do just that. Calibre gets it right 99 percent of the time. If you don’t like the cover, you can add your own from an image file.
The next step is essential if you want to import all the new keywords and cover art along with the books into iTunes. You need to convert the books to EPUB.
But wait. They’re already EPUB files, right? Yes, but right now the newly added metadata isn’t baked into the files. Running an export won’t create new files, but it will replace the old one with the newly enriched versions.
Do this as a bulk action and go make a coffee. If you’re using a Mac, don’t get too scared when its fans start to spin like a leaf-blower.
Next, you need to separate out all the EPUB files and just drag them into iTunes. The problem is that they’re stuck inside subfolders. On a Mac, the best way is to run a spotlight search on the Calibre catalog folder, choosing “file extension=epub” as your search term. Drag those files onto the iTunes icon and wait.
Once the import is done, you’ll see a beautiful library of e=books ready to sync to iBooks on the iPad.
In a 
Japan has been flooded with new cell phones over the last few days. We've shown you 
Back in March, I wrote about the problem of 
Back in March, long-time 
I am very excited about the contents of M.I.A.'s new album, judging from the material that's been sneak-leaked so far. But 
If you’ve been wondering where the heart rate monitor referenced in the iPod Touch and Nano documentation is, you’re not alone. The first reference to this mythical device showed up last year, and we’re just now getting word on when we might see one.
Here is Samuel S Snyder's 1964 "History of NSA General-Purpose Electronic Digital Computers" in all its declassified glory. It's 106 pages and I've only skimmed it, but it looks like awesome vintage computer porn. Love the qualifiers "digital" and "electronic."
According to the Saudi daily Okaz, the woman then allegedly laid into the religious policeman, punching him repeatedly, and leaving him to be taken to the hospital with bruises across his body and face.
The world’s largest BitTorrent site is currently going through some rough patches. Last week, Hollywood received an injunction against the Pirate Bay by threatening CyberBunker operator CB3ROB Ltd. & Co. KG from the Regional Court of Hamburg with some serious fines. This injunction basically stated that CB3ROB and Managing Director Sven Olaf Kamphuis were no longer allowed to connect their beloved Pirate Bay website to the internet. Sad news for freeloaders all over the globe right? Not quite so.
Microsoft has filed a lawsuit against Salesforce.com, alleging that the CRM company is infringing on nine of its patents. The move is somewhat surprising, as this is only the fourth time that Microsoft has sued another company for patent violations (though it has been the target of plenty of them). Here’s the statement from Horacio Gutierrez, Microsoft’s corporate vice president and deputy general counsel of Intellectual Property and Licensing:
Mayor of London and 
Good news for GPS users, Boeing is getting ready to launch the latest generation of GPS satellites, the “GPS IIF-1″. The new technology provides improved accuracy for military and civilian users, as well as being more resistant to jamming and an improved lifespan.
Facebook just got a lot more accessible to international users. The social network has 
Instapaper is a great way to save items you find on the web for later reading. And it offers a reading list that is easy to read in a variety of ways such as a web browser, iPhone/iPad app, on your Kindle or even printed out on paper. 
McAfee reveled their latest report:McAfee Threats Report: First Quarter 2010. In it, McAfee uncovers the biggest threats to computers as well as an interesting fact: 98% of the new malicious URLs come from just one geographic location. Can you guess where?
While it won’t beat Sprint, Verizon announced it will offer it’s first 4G wireless experience in May of 2010. Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam said the company will have five 4G phones from the likes of Motorola, HTC, and Apple. Oops, my bad, not Apple, but Apple was on McAdam’s mind:
Its not often we see a company offer up a press release for something they are not launching. That said, there is always that case, and it has just happened with 
