I?m not really sure why (though I have my own jaded theories), but it seems to me that customer service in general is on a steady decline. My most recent poor experiences came from two airlines, United and Alaska.
Example #1: I was in San Diego attending the Display Search Conference a few weeks ago and had a 4pm flight back to San Francisco. My meetings finished much earlier than I had planned (about noon), so I called up United to try and find an earlier flight. Perfect, there?s a 2:30 with a few seats left according to the phone rep. "Can you please add me to the standby list," I asked the rep. "Sure he said, that?ll be $50."
$50? Really? Just so the guy could make a few clicks of the mouse and add me to the standby list! I mean, seriously? Then he said, "If you don?t want to pay the $50, you can add your name to standby yourself once you?re at the airport."
"But that?s just the thing, I want to do it now, over the phone, so the list doesn?t fill up before I get there," I told him. Even after talking to multiple supervisors I couldn?t get them to wave the fee. "Excuse me, am I talking to customer service?" I asked. "Then where?s my @#%$* customer service?"
Starting tomorrow 50 people will subject themselves to 30 days of nonstop spam. These spam martyrs will be participating in McAfee's S.P.A.M. (Spammed Persistently All Month) Experiment. Okay, we know it's a crass marketing stunt by McAfee, but we thought it was worth looking into.
For the experiment McAfee has outfitted homemakers, government workers, students, and retired professionals with new laptop computers and a new email accounts. The catch, the laptop will not have any spam protection software installed.
Continue reading "I Heart Spam: E-Martyrs Endure 30-Days of Nonstop Spam"
I couldnt agree more with the author of this article. I have had nothing but $#*! expierences with airlines this year. I have flown nearly 75kmiles and can only remember 1 airline that got me to my destination on time as promised. Not Southwest, with thier faultly plane, not Continental and there canceled flights, not United, not Delta who wouldnt spring for my hotel when they made me miss my connecting flight on a 17hr return from South Africa, but a new small airline by the name of Jet Xpress! I tip my cap to whoever is running that show, one of a kind!
Whatever happened to customer service?!?!?!?!?
Google is today clearing one of the last hurdles it faces before truly competing with Microsoft Office. Starting this afternoon, some users of Google Docs word processing app will be able to edit their documents when they don't have an Internet connection.
Not surprisingly, the functionality will be built on Google Gears, the offline synching technology that now powers unconnected use of Google Reader and task manager RememberTheMilk.com.
I haven't been able to test the new functionality yet (I should get hooked up in a few hours), but if it works well this is a huge development. Google's word processor already has almost everything I need to ditch Microsoft Word entirely. Having the ability to work offline will likely make a lot of people -- and businesses -- wonder why they should pay as much as $680 for Office. (Google says it's working on adding offline capability for spreadsheets and presentations created through Google Docs.)
Obviously, there are also lots of companies and individuals that depend on some set of sophisticated tools that Office has and Google Docs doesn't. But the very online nature of Google Docs -- the ability to get to your files anywhere, share them with anyone and see the changes in real time -- offers a lot that Office still can't match.
A lot will depend on how well the implementation of Google Gears works. My previous experience with RememberTheMilk was that you had to go to RTM while you had a connection, then keep that window open to use it offline. A bit clunky. But the Google email promises:
"You'll be able to go to docs.google.com without a connection and work on Google Docs; when you reconnect, your changes will automatically sync up."
I'll post more when I get access.
So, is Gears going to download a copy of every document and spreadsheet, then store it on our hard drives?
If that's the case, I wonder if we'll have an option to decide which docs should or should not be downloaded.
You can have a lot of fun with the recent news that an Alabama 11-year-old has taken over as his school's network manager, so I'll give you a minute to make any jokes you see fit.
Done? Okay. Now let's look at the tragic and seemingly intractable problems underneath the amusement angle.
For as long as personal computers have had a place in education, schools have generally had a nightmarish time actually keeping pace with the technology. Consider the scenario in, say, 1980: It's become clear that this personal computer thing isn't a fad, and parents are clamoring for high-tech education for the kids. The perennially cash-strapped school board has managed to scrape together the funds to buy a bunch of Apple IIs for the schools in their district ... and that's it.
If you're still wondering what's causing all of those Windows Vista crashes we keep hearing about, look no further than incompatibilities between video hardware and drivers.
Tons of dirty little facts have come out in court documents released during the "Vista Capable" court case. One surprising recent revelation is that 48 percent of Vista crashes related to graphical drivers. Thirty percent of those Vista crashes were attributed to buggy Nvidia software drivers ? not Microsoft. About nine percent of crashes trace back to graphic driver glitches gratis Intel and ATI, according to the court documents.
Microsoft Far from Off the Hook
Continue reading "Nvidia Blamed for Many Vista Crashes"
I think what is totally ironic about all of this is... when Microsoft came out with Win ME - I converted to a Mac user. Have owned/used Macs ever since. Last year I decided to build a small pc - basically its a Core 2 duo @ 2.16 ghz with in INTEL 945 chipset. I have ran Vista on it ever since I put the system together. I have yet to have ANY problem with it of any kind - it's the first version of windows that I've liked in years. Funny how everyone else seems to be having problems and almost all of my co-workers hate Vista. lol
Why only on nvidia?So ATI Graphics card don't feel the same fate or most graphics card are nvidia.
I haven't used vista but I think it will be better soon. You remember the times when windows xp was said to be ugly and windows 98 was better.But look at now. Windows xp is really great after years of changes.
I don't know.
Sony Ericsson has chimed in with their pre-CTIA announcement: AT&T Wireless will be carrying the company's chic Z750a handset, which boasts not only quad-band GSM voice and mobile broadband (HSDPA) support, but a neat-looking sub-surface exterior OLED display that shows ghostly-looking caller ID, battery life, text message alerts and other info. This handset was first announced a year ago, but is apparently only now making its debut with the major GSM U.S. carrier.
In what seems to be a growing trend towards colorful cell phones, the Z750a's "reflective mirror" casing will be available in "Mysterious Purple, Phantom Grey, and Rose Pink." (Who comes up with these names? Can I get that job?) Here's what they look like:
Other features include a 2-megapixel camera, a 2.2 inch internal QVGA color screen, a music player, e-mail support and a browser. But wait, here's a potential dealbreaker: There's only "up to 26MB" internal memory (per the news release) and you can only add storage via Sony's Memory Stick Micro.
Oh well, it still looks pretty cool--and at $150 with a two-year contract (or $50 after a $100 mail-in rebate), it won't break the bank. It's due in AT&T stores in the next week or two.
It kills me that these cell phone companies want you to pay hundreds of dollars for their products but they can't give you a quality camera cell phone or PDA that is more than a small 3 mega pixels in size? Come on people get real...other countries now have 12 mega pixels cell phone cameras& PDAs in the market, why is it taking so long for better quality camera phones & PDAs to hit the market in the US? I will not spend any more money on the garbage that is in the market now.
The 3G iPhone will be arriving this summer, according to predictions from industry analysts.
Bank of America analyst, Scott Craig, said that Apple will be producing 11 million iPhone for 2008. Craig says a portion of the iPhones will be the updated 3G iPhone expected to be commercially available in June. Separately, AT&T has already confirmed that the faster iPhone will be available in 2008.
Continue reading "Report: 1 Million 3G iPhones Expected in May"
I agee .. I want a less expensive Iphone! 3g is cool, but WiFi is what I really want, and the iphone has the best interface by far in my opinion, half-way tempted just to get the Itouch! Just for the WiFi connectivity.
Yahoo has launched a niche site aimed at women called Yahoo Shine that features a mix of original blog content, articles, and videos with the help of content partners such as Glamour and Good Housekeeping magazine. Yahoo says Shine won't be anything like your mother's Web site that may have featured lean meatloaf recipes and celebrity gossip.
Shine says it is not attempting to reach the usual women Web site demographic of a "32.5 year-old with 2.2 kids" most women Web sites pander to. Rather the Ladies of Shine proclaim women today "no longer need to stand by passively as the media portrays us as fashion-obsessed diet victims." To that end Yahoo Shine is an attempt at being a "smart, dynamic place for women to gather, get info and to connect with each other and the world around them." Sounds like a pretty generic description to me.
Continue reading "Yahoo Hopes to Attract Woman with Shine Site"
Next up in the pre-CTIA handset parade: Motorola has announced that Alltel and U.S. Cellular will be offering the Motorola Q 9c smartphone in two colors: black (similar to the version already available on Sprint) and lime green. Here's a photo of the lime colored Q 9c:
(Green seems to be gaining some traction as a cell phone color: The AT&T Wireless version of the Palm Centro is white with green accents.)
The Q 9C, for those who are having difficulty monitoring Motorola's various Q's, is a Windows Mobile 6 handset that supports EVDO (mobile broadband on CDMA networks) and GPS.
Alltel expects to offer the handset this summer for $200 with a two-year contract; a mail-in rebate for an additional $100 is available. No details, at this writing, about U.S. Cellular's pricing, or when it should become available.
Listen up, cell phone junkies: CTIA Wireless, the big North American wireless telecom show, starts in Las Vegas tomorrow--and in the first of several pre-show handset announcements, Research in Motion today revealed that its eagerly anticipated BlackBerry Curve 8330 for CDMA networks will be available on Verizon Wireless in May.
Verizon's BlackBerry Curve 8330 will have a silver finish. Here's an image I cropped from a PDF fact sheet:
The BlackBerry Curve 8330 will offer something the GSM models on AT&T Wireless (the BlackBerry Curve 8300 and 8310) and T-Mobile (the Curve 8320) don't, too: true 3G data support. While the AT&T and T-Mobile Curves support only EDGE data speeds (which perform more or less like dialup), the 8330 supports EVDO mobile broadband.
The GPS-equipped 8330 will also support Verizon's VZ Navigator navigation service. Other features include a 2-megapixel camera and the cool Roxio-developed media management software I admired on the BlackBerry Pearl 8120.
I'll be posting additional handset announcements as news embargoes lift later today and tomorrow.
Here in Massachusetts it's phonebook season. That's when the 5-pound Yellow Book directories are plopped in front of hundreds of thousands of Boston doorsteps. For many receiving these hulking phonebooks, myself included, it feels more like a guilty burden.
Guilt comes from feeling the wasteful shame of moving the Yellow Book from doorstep to recycle bin without even taking the phonebook out of the heavy plastic bag it came in. Guilt comes from the feeling of pure waste of paper, and the waste of gas it took deliver the phonebooks, the wasted manufacturing costs involved in making the phonebook, and the clutter phonebooks make in landfills.
Can Tech Tools Replace a Phonebook?
Continue reading "Has Technology Made Phonebooks Obsolete?"
Gee, people reading a magazine called PC World and doing so online using online tools for searching? shocker.
Well, that's me too, but I recently found it was a lot easier to compare what 10 driveway contractors said in their ads in the print book than online. Do I use it every day, no. Do I use it occassionally, yes.
And when I just need to look up the number of a local business when I already know who I'm looking for, I find yellowbook.com works better than google or yahoo.
And how can a couple of books delivered once a year compare to the daily barage of junk mail and the number of newspapers going into landfill?
We get it. You have environmentalist syndrome. Whiny little girls like you make me sick. Not everyone is a dorky nerd like you.
A great site to let you opt out from getting telephone books. Not everyone wants to be swamped with books. Consumers can now ?opt out? of receiving telephone books at www.YellowPagesGoesGreen.org. This organization will contact the publishers and inform them to stop delivering books. This is a free service for consumers. www.YellowPagesGoesGreen.org is working with state and local governments on ordinances concerning the delivery of unsolicited telephone books. www.YellowPagesGoesGreen.org is not against the telephone books but against the delivery of 4 to 5 pounds of paper on people?s door step 5 to 6 times per year and being told it is our responsibility to recycle something we did not ask for. If we need a book we will call. Otherwise I ?opt out? from receiving it. Here are phone numbers of the publishers if you would like to call them instead: The directory publishers listed make it possible for you to stop receiving their books, but they don?t make it easy. None of the menu options includes ?opting-out?. Follow the roadmap and you should get to a customer service representative who can help you.
? ATT/ Yellow Pages: 1-800-479-2977
? Verizon: 800-555-4833, press 4, then 5, then 2
? DEX: 1-877-243-8339, press 2
? Yellow Book: 1-800-929-3556, press 2
The Motion Picture Association of America continues to fight piracy on all fronts as it pushes Internet service providers to filter copyright-infringing material and continues to pursue and shut down file-sharing services and Web sites.
At a recent technology policy conference Jim Williams, the MPAA's chief technology officer, urged ISPs to cut the cord on copyright-infringers. Williams made many bold statements including saying that "Much of the Internet is being clogged up with stolen goods... I believe they [ISPs] will find the incentive to make their networks for efficient for their paying customers and even went as far to call the copyright infringers as free riders who are not legitimate customers."
ISPs Throttle, Torrentspy Gives Up, and MPAA Looks for New Targets
Continue reading "Piracy Wars: Battlelines Intensify in Fight Against Net Piracy"
I've decide to just to not go to movies in the theaters or buy DVDs.
The MPAA is funded by the movie industry so if they lose enough customers maybe they'll wake up to reality.
If enough people stay out of the theaters and refuse to buy DVDs the MPAA will have more important matters to address.
Money talks. Most of the piracy that the industry worries about amounts to "phantom sales (many people just don't have enough money to attend thousands of movies a month). Heck, I don't even have time to pirate them and watch them late at night- I'm trying to make enough money to cover my rising fuel and food costs!
If the MPAA is really worried about sales why don't they suggest that US citizens boycott the Olympics and not watch it on television; after all, China has taken "piracy" to a professional level.
So I'm testing this batch of HDTVs in the Lab and something is just wrong. As I'm looking at the content on screen, I noticed a chunk of the picture has disappeared off screen! This overscanning is totally ruining my viewing experience.
What is overscanning? When watching high-definition cable programming on an HDTV, you may notice that the set crops out text and station logos. This effect is called overscan, which many HDTV makers enable to eliminate the annoying flickering white bar of information that appears above HD programming. And this is happening on 6 out of the 7 sets I'm testing the lab right now!
The problem is, overscanning is enabled by default on many HDTVs, and adjusting your way out of it is not always easy.
This means that you're not getting the picture the way it was meant to be seen. Frankly, I find it ridiculously distracting to see half of the CBS logo swallowed up by my HDTVs bezel. Moreover, unless you turn off overscanning, you're not getting a true 1920 by 1080 progressive picture when using a Blu-ray player.
The reason manufacturers do this (and, in my opinion, hurt the viewing experience) is because most set-top boxes--cable and satellite alike--don't decode HD compression well enough to hide that flickering bar of digital info. HDTV makers are trying to "fix" that problem by hiding parts of the picture, but the result is that you?re not getting the full picture.
I want my HDTV, the way it was meant to be seen! Clearly, overscan bothers me plenty, but what I want to know is: Do you notice overscan on your HDTV? If so, does it annoy you as much as it does me?
Also, should we note how much an individual set overscans in our reviews? Or do you think I've been covering the HDTV beat way too much and PC World should send me on a vacation before I snap? Let us know in our poll and in the comments section below.
I can't stand the data line flickering at top of screen... but I also don't like cutting off the picture... there are many times there's something of interest in the cutoff sides... especially when I also use the HDTV as a computer monitor. I don't mind a side-to-side stretch... they -can- fill the display screen but they can't eliminate a few lines at the top? How lazy are they? I'm thinking -every- new electronic device needs to be firmware upgradable.
Overscan is an issue, but, I have a larger issue. I am sure I am not alone. I purchased a very expensive 56" DLP Samsung HD tv in May of the year that the PS3 was released. The set is clearly marked as 1060P the front of the screen and in the manual. My wife bought me a PS3 for christmas. I slapped in a BLue Ray disk. It came up in 1080 I ! I set the ps3 to output 1080P and was rewarded with a black screen. After some research I found that the TV is incapable of acepting a 1080P input signal.
Angrily I emailed the company. They tell me that the 1080I signal is upgraded to 1080p for the display. This is not true 1080P because it displays only every other frame. The end result is that I can buy a 1080P to replace my perfectly functional TV or just wait till it wears out. I would like to know your take on this!
The manual, brochures, and lterature don't talk of this.
OBTW I only lose the LOGO when I go to zoom
Overscan is an issue, but, I have a larger issue. I am sure I am not alone. I purchased a very expensive 56" DLP Samsung HD tv in May of the year that the PS3 was released. The set is clearly marked as 1060P the front of the screen and in the manual. My wife bought me a PS3 for christmas. I slapped in a BLue Ray disk. It came up in 1080 I ! I set the ps3 to output 1080P and was rewarded with a black screen. After some research I found that the TV is incapable of acepting a 1080P input signal.
Angrily I emailed the company. They tell me that the 1080I signal is upgraded to 1080p for the display. This is not true 1080P because it displays only every other frame. The end result is that I can buy a 1080P to replace my perfectly functional TV or just wait till it wears out. I would like to know your take on this!
The manual, brochures, and lterature don't talk of this.
OBTW I only lose the LOGO when I go to zoom
Update 3/27: Once again, a PC World staffer has outdone the rest of the caption-writing masses.
Just weeks ago, associate editor Danny Allen took top honors with his caption for this photo. This week, it's senior writer Darren Gladstone's time to shine as the winner of our latest Caption Crunch contest.
Yes, with just three words, Gladstone was able to create a pun that not only poked fun at PC World's WorldBench benchmarking test, but also at Senior Data Analyst Tony Leung's armpits. That's no small feat.
Here's the photo, as well as Gladstone's winning caption.
"One word: WorldStench." -- DarrenGladstone
Now, you may be complaining about a PC World employee winning a PC World caption contest. But here's the thing: you don't really win anything in our Caption Crunch contest. So while Gladstone is our big winner, you also receive the same prize as he does. Kudos!
Thanks for playing, and check back next Friday for another exciting installment of Caption Crunch.
What follows is the original text for this Caption Crunch contest.
Hello, and welcome to another exciting installment of Caption Crunch, the every-other-week contest where we post a photo and you post your most hilarious captions.
This week, the Internet's Greg Adler took a camera down to the PC World Test Center labs and snapped a shot of our Test Center team, hard at work evaluating HDTVs... and armpits, apparently.
Appearing in this photo, from left to right: Test Center Performance Analyst William Wang, Development Analyst Thomas Luong, Senior Data Analyst Tony Leung (with arm raised), Contributing Editor Lincoln Spector, and Test Center Mannequin Gloria, who comes alive at night and dates 1980s actor Andrew McCarthy.
Got a good caption? Post it in our comments section and we'll pick a winner next Friday. Good luck!
Previous Caption Crunch Contests
Tony: this one is 1080p. i can already tell. (stretch...)
William: i don't need your pits in hi-def too, man.
Tony: sorry, i got laid off at toshiba - can't afford deodorant now
William: oh yeah...why are we still testing hd-dvd players?
Tony: cuz the company got a butt load of gift cards from best buy.
"I told you I could knit a T-shirt from one hair...Wanna see the root?"
Thomas: I got it! LOLTechs! I can has Old Spice, kthx.
William: nowai!
In a surprising move, Comcast is now working together with BitTorrent. Take a moment to let that sink in.
Comcast and BitTorrent are negotiating to allow BitTorrent's peer-to-peer software to run more effectively on Comcast's network. The Wall Street Journal today broke the story.
Comcast also reportedly hopes to utilize BitTorrent's technology so that it can transfer video files more effectively over its own network.
Logging into Facebook this morning I noticed a new feature called "People You May Known." The feature is exactly how it is described. The new People You May Known addition to Facebook analyzes similar friends of your friends. If Facebook finds a friend of a friend that is not already on your list of Facebook friends it suggest you might like to add them.
You'll spot the new People You May Know feature on your login page. Facebook showed me three profiles that I might know. When I clicked "see all" it took me to a larger page with more information, more profiles and more options.
Continue reading "Facebook Launches 'People You May Know' Feature"
Photo storage on the Web is nothing new. Nor is image editing. But when the two are combined under the mantle of Adobe's Photoshop, well, that unto itself becomes news. Fortunately, Photoshop Express--Adobe's new free, Web-based service that entered public beta today--offers more substance than just the novelty of its heritage.
Photoshop Express may carry the name of Adobe's flagship image editing software, but the online version bears little resemblance to that. Rather, the software tries to make basic editing and enhancing tasks point-and-click easy. My early impressions after using this service: The Photoshop Express beta succeeds in making serviceable image editing available wherever you have an Internet connection, but it stil has bugs and annoyances to eliminate in this shakedown cruise.
The best part about Photoshop Express--beyond its 2GB of free storage hosted by Adobe--is its interface: The graphical, Adobe Air-based user interface is both accessible and attractive. Building a basic slideshow is a snap, and sharing the slideshow is just as simple.
That's not to say this beta doesn't have work ahead--and lots of it. The worst issues I've had so far: My initial hands-on was frought with false starts, including interminably slow upload times (over a robust cable modem connection) and a finicky upload mechanism that rejected 11 out of 15 of the high-resolution images I tried adding to my online album, for no apparent reason (beyond giving an unhelpful upload failed message; I'll be asking Adobe about this issue and update this item when I hear back from them).
Stay tuned for more details about what I liked and didn't like about Photoshop Express in my upcoming review.
Agree with you 100%. As with the issues you've had - I also experienced the same ones. Very disappointing even in beta phase. For a giant like Adobe - I expect something better. See similar review: http://main.fearlessflyer.com/2008/05/15/photoshop-express-not-too-exciting/
Agree with you 100%. As with the issues you've had - I also experienced the same ones. Very disappointing even in beta phase. For a giant like Adobe - I expect something better. See similar review: http://main.fearlessflyer.com/2008/05/15/photoshop-express-not-too-exciting/
One of the hottest items we saw at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, the Internet-connected Dash Express GPS navigation system, is finally on sale. For the next 30 days, it will be available exclusively at Amazon.com's electronics store (and Dash's own site), for $400.
My colleagues wrote extensively about the Dash Express in a GPS roundup at CES, and today I got to see myself why they were so impressed: a Dash exec dropped one off.
Basically, this is a GPS navigation aide with cell-phone and Wi-Fi connectivity built in; no messing around with Bluetooth phones required to get data. You can use the Dash without paying for the MyDash service that activates the phone connection ($13 a month if purchased on a month-by-month basis, $11 a month if you prepay for a year and $10 if you prepay for two years), but then you'd miss out on all the unique features.
These include the ability to perform Yahoo maps searches from the device, to sync addresses and geo-enabled RSS feeds (Yelp has 'em) from the Web (much easier than typing them in on a touch screen) and to get routing that incorporates real-time traffic data (from other Dash users, road sensors and fleet sources).
I'm taking an evaluation unit out for a spin over the next few days and will be writing a full review. Meanwhile, here's a photo:
Why leave it to us technology eggheads to say what today's very best tech products are? You spend hard-earned money on these procuts -- you tell us!
Take our our Top 100 Products Reader Survey.
This is your chance to tell us about your favorite technology devices, services, and venues--from MP3 players to laptops to broadband services to Web sites.
For your trouble, you'll be entered in a drawing to win an iPod Touch courtesy of PC World.
We will make our picks too, sure enough, and we'll publish our Top 100 ranking and yours, the Readers', here and in the pages of the July issue of PC World magazine.
A Craigslist-related scam has left an Oregon man without most of his belongings. According to an Associated Press report, Saturday a pair of ads popped up on Craigslist advertising that the owner of the home had been forced to leave the area and that all of his belongings were free for the taking. The second of the two ads was more specific stating that a horse that had been abandoned by the sheriff's department was free to anyone willing to give it a good home.
Here the kicker: Robert Salisbury, the owner of the home and horse, was out of town and completely unaware of the Craigslist ads and that his house was being cleaned out.
Continue reading "This Craigslist-Related Crime Tops Them All"
All I can say is "ouch". Although one call to the police to report his property stolen and the driver of the truck would have a hard time convincing the police that "the internet said so, it must be true". Time to lock my doors and finally get around to cataloging all my possessions.
Sounds like someone had a grudge against him. Still it is no excuse to pull such a dirty trick on a person. It also shouldn't be too hard to track the person down. Obviously the person who posted the ad on craigslist knew he was going to be out of town. It is now up to the local police and craigslist to find out who is responsible and bring them to court. It will be interesting to find out if this is someone's idea of a prank or if it was revenge for something. Either way, craigslist, the police, and the general public should take this seriously. I am sure there are others who think they could do the same thing to someone they don't like. It seems many of my fellow Americans are becoming very immature and technology is just helping them to carry out there stupid ideas.
Microsoft recently told Fortune magazine that it is looking at developing software for the iPhone.
It was only inevitable that Microsoft would be trying to cash in on the popularity of the iPhone, especially after the release of the iPhone SDK. The iPhone SDK gives Microsoft the opportunity to jump on the millions of people using the iPhone without having to work with Apple, at least directly. The SDK gives Microsoft the ability to produce suites of Office and other applications for the iPhone.
I had mixed feelings about PC World?s rave review of the Creative Zen 32GB MP3 Player.
Having bought one myself a few weeks before, I too had fallen in love with the sleek design, the great-looking screen, and the ability to carry my entire music collection (with plenty of room to grow) in such a small device. But the more I played with it, the more annoyed I became at some truly bone-headed user interface decisions. And when I realized I had a defective player, I discovered Creative's inept customer service.
Let's start with the user interface. What were the designers and programmers thinking when they decided on "features" like these?
?The The Problem. If someone at Creative had finished grade school, they?d know that you don?t alphabetize every title that begins with The under T. Really, it's much easier to find The Beatles under B, The Coup under C, and The Pogues under P.
?Bad Bookmarks. Bookmarking is a great idea, but the Zen's bookmarks only save your place in an individual song. That's right, if you stop in the middle of an album or playlist and make a bookmark, going back to it will play you only the rest of that song.
?Randomize Where? Do you like to play albums and playlists in their intended order, or do you prefer to randomize (ie: shuffle) them? Creative offers this option (along with other "Play Modes"), as a global setting deep within the menu structure. If you start an album and decide, on a whim, "Just today, I want to hear it shuffled," you've got a lot of menus to go through.
I was willing to overlook these problems for the sake of the Zen's size, sound, and coolness factor. But that was before I had to deal with Zen's customer service. More on that in another blog.
In the meantime, what MP3 design decisions drive you up the wall?
The creators of South Park are officially going the way of Trent Reznor and Radiohead by offering up all their South Park episodes and a slew of additional content online, for free. As of today, you can stream (not download) every single episode of South Park from the site SouthParkStudios.com.
Of course, one of the bonuses of this being an online-only venture is that you get to hear the foul-mouthed brats in all their uncensored glory -- no bleeps here. You'll also get to see advertisements. Each episode will have 3 to 4 advertisements.
Continue reading "South Park Opens Vault: Allows Free and Full Episode Access Online"
Google is pushing to launch a national wireless service using what are called white spaces used by TV broadcasters. In a letter to the Federal Communications Commission Google proposed the spectrum could deliver "faster, longer range, higher data rates" than currently available by telecoms and national Wi-Fi hotspot services. (see below for complete letter)
Richard Whitt, Google's Washington Telecom and Media Counsel who wrote the letter, calls the new wireless technology "WiFi 2.0" and touts its ability to deliver "data rates in the gigabits-per-second range." If the FCC gives Google the green light, Whitt said, the service could be available to consumers as early as next year.
Continue reading "Google Pushes to Use TV Band for National "Wi-Fi 2.0" Service"
The Netflix outage that happened yesterday is continuing to have lingering effects as many, many rentals are being delayed from shipping.
Netflix spokesman Steve Swasey told USA Today that the outage that occurred from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. pacific time on Monday also caused a disruption at distribution centers. That disruption will delay many DVD shipments at least one day.
Continue reading "Netflix Website Outage Delays DVD Deliveries"
I am really impressed with Netflix. I can only imagine what a logistics nightmare it is to run the inventory and delivery system they created. The website is fast and easy to use. I only had one disc which did not get received back by Netflix in a day, and I think that was because the bar code didn't show through the envelope so it required manual sorting. Blockbuster doesn't even come close to competing with Netflix on price. I will not stop using Netflix over a single computer outage.
As previously stated, Netflix is an excellent service and website.
It is, of course, impossible for any organization to manage computing and human resources so that they execute perfectly all the time, every time.
It could have been a network failure, network equipment failure, web server, web application, database or storage failure or just a mistake technical personnel made when upgrading or configuring any of the aforementioned.
C'mon, haven't you every accidentally dropped the production database because you thought you were logged in to a development or QA server? :)
The real question here is whether Netflix knew about this outage before it was reported by customers. If they did...Kudos for having proactive web application monitoring like AlertSite.com (whom I work for), and have they adjusted their procedures so they can recover more quickly next time.
I would suggest the costs to avoid all possible failures are too large for most organization to bear and that we should cut them some slack.
And really, is one more day before you receive your next movie really that big of a deal.
11 hours though...that sure is a long time.
Ken Godskind
http://www.alertsite.com
Yeah, you go ahead and shop Blockbuster. Good luck finding anything worth watching. I'll stick with good old Netflix. We can live through 11 hours of no DVD's. Hey, maybe we could go to the park? Whadya say?
The U.S. Department of Justice gave Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio Holdings antitrust clearance moving the two closer to becoming one. Before the two companies are able to complete the $13 billion merger the deal faces scrutiny and approval from the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC is expected to weigh-on the merger sometime soon.
Arguing to allow the merger to go through Justice Department officials said a combined company XM and Sirius won't be able to raise prices in today's market because of competition from broadcast radio, digital music players, and other types of music services.
Continue reading "XM and Sirius Get Important DOJ Merger Approval"
About time. Longest merger in American history. You can thank Jim Cramer for calling out names of bought-off politicians and the NAB who were holding this back.
Today, T-Mobile added the RIM BlackBerry 8820 to its its growing collection of T-Mobile HotSpot @Home phones. This iteration of the BlackBerry 8820, which we reviewed previously on AT&T's network, comes in an attractive deep, dark blue finish, and features support for T-Mobile's myFaves service (single-click access to your five chosen contacts). The 8820 is a quad-band phone with such conveniences as built-in GPS and BlackBerry maps and 802.11 a/b/g wireless for use over the T-Mobile HotSpot @Home service, an add-on plan that allows you to make unlimited calls nationwide over Wi-Fi. This model is only the second BlackBerry to support HotSpot @Home; other phones in T-Mobiles HotSpot @Home stable include the BlackBerry Curve, the Samsung Katalyst, the Samsung t409, and the Nokia 6086.
Microsoft is offering free technical support to all Windows Vista SP1 users experiencing any problems with the update released last week.
The policy is spelled out on a Microsoft Support Page providing a means of contacting Microsoft through email, personal chat, and phone support lines. Our sibling publication Computerworld broke the story.
Normally, free support is limited to those who bought a retail copy of Windows. Those who bought a PC with Windows preinstalled would typically be redirected to their PC manufacturer. However, for Vista SP1, Microsoft is letting everyone in on the free support. As Microsoft Windows team member Brandon LeBlanc states on the Vista blog, "We are offering free-of-charge support to anyone who is having issues installing Windows Vista SP1."
As if I wasn't already wary of upgrading to Vista SP1 from reports of it blocking antivirus software and its driver incompatibilities, now apparently those problems are common enough that Microsoft needs to offer free support to everyone. It's a nice gesture after the fact to provide the support for free, but I would much rather Microsoft make the effort to eliminate the problems in the first place.
Microsoft is a great company and Vista is a WONDERFUL OS
UNTIL you use ANYTHING else!
Too bad for Microsoft that there is competition in the software world!
We should all charge Microsoft (class action) for the tens of hours (hundreds of hours?) we've all spent trying to get our "windows" to work!!!
I have Vista Home Premium on one computer and Vista Business on another. No problemo, it works great.
I have Vista Home Premium pre-installed on my Acer laptop. Upgraded to Vista SP 1 yestreday. I also have Avira Premium Security Suite installed. The download and installation went well with no hiccups. So far my machine is not showing any signs of trouble. So I guess so far so good.
Retailers and other big name Websites are up-in-arms over a new Google search tool that, they say, does more harm than good. The new Google service provides a search-within-search feature for many popular sites, especially retail sites, which are resulting in angry site owners who would rather help their customers find what they are looking for and leave Google out of the site-search equation.
Continue reading "Google Search Tool Irks Website Owners"
Google's orientation is to provide convenience to the consumer. The "angry" retailers are more concerned about their own self-interest than their customers intersts.
Note to "angry" retailers: Get a clue. Learn the concept of "enlightened self-interest." Put you consumers interests ahead of your short-term market interest, and you're customers will keep coming back.
Google's orientation is to provide convenience to the consumer. The "angry" retailers are more concerned about their own self-interest than their customers intersts.
Note to "angry" retailers: Get a clue. Learn the concept of "enlightened self-interest." Put you consumers interests ahead of your short-term market interest, and you're customers will keep coming back.
Two obstacles to easy electronic waste reclamation -- making it pay and making it worth consumers' time -- will be partly eased, if two companies have their way.
NEW Customer Service Cos. and TechForward are two companies that are trying to make it easier for consumers to return unwanted electronics and keep them out of landfills and closets nationwide.
NEW Customer Service's EcoNOW program will work in concert with as yet unannounced retailers (though it already has relationships with Wal-Mart and Best Buy) to allow consumers to bring any electronics they own into a store and receive an in-store credit. Under TechForward's program, which is already under way in some independent Los Angeles electronics stores, consumers pay a little extra to buy a device in order to receive a guaranteed buyback rate later.
In both cases, the devices are cleaned, refurbished and sold or otherwise reused.
Like most existing e-waste programs, neither of these is perfect. But most existing reclamation models are more onerous to consumers, in the form of levies, reclamation fees or limitations on the types of hardware that can be returned. Potential cost savings on future purchases just sweeten the deal, giving consumers more motivation beyond altruism to be environmentally responsible. If EcoNOW and TechForward prove to be financially viable, more companies might just follow in their footsteps.
Hey, a scheduled BlackBerry outage for a change.
Our communications folks tell us that Research In Motion has scheduled a four-hour maintenance window from 11 pm PDT tonight to 3 am PDT tomorrow, Saturday, March 22.
This apparently is a 100% outage affecting everyone using a BlackBerry in the Americas (the United States and Canada).
A tip from our guys: If you have trouble receiving BlackBerry mail Saturday morning, try removing your battery and putting it back in. Your BlackBerry will be forced to search for the RIM network and re-register with it. If that doesn't resolve the issue, check with your guys.
Ever since Amazon first launched its Kindle e-book reader and serviceback in November of 2007, the Web retailer has been out-of-stock. Today, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos took the unusual step of apologizing for the Kindle's ongoing massive shipping delays. The apology and status update was contained in a lengthy letter to Amazon customers, posted on the site's front page.
That the Kindle sold out in a hurry--in its first five and a half hours of existence, to be precise--was not surprising to read. After all, Amazon launched the Kindle amid right in time for the holidays. Stories of shipping delays persisted well beyond the holidays, and this note confirms that some Kindle customers have been waiting six weeks for their device.
So is this a case like the Nintendo Wii, where demand simply overshadowed (and continues to overshadow) supply? Or, is there something else that's preventing the company from a more speedy production ramp-up?
Given that Amazon hasn't discussed the number of Kindles sold, it's hard to gauge this. Meanwhile, in his open letter, Bezos says Amazon "didn't expect the demand that actually materialized" and it has "been scrambling" to increase its Kindle manufacturing capacity. He also notes that the company will continue to fulfill orders on a first come, first served basis. Amazon says it expects to have the Kindle back in stock "within the next few weeks."
If you try to order the $399 Kindle today, you get a message noting it's temporarily out of stock due to heavy customer demand. Amazon's sales page says the company will e-mail an estimated delivery date as soon as they have more information.
Anyone else out there still waiting for their Kindle? Those of you who've gotten one--is it worth the wait?
Yes - I agree with all of the PC Readers Above - NINTENDO Wii technology is evil!
Seriously - this is not exactly a tech savvy bunch! Gesture recognition is the future - lets get rid of the mouse already!
I ordered a Kindle 2 1/2 weeks ago and have still not heard anything regarding a ship date. Not even when I got one of Amazon's Costumer Service reps on the phone was I able to get any useful information. I find it very annoying that I can't even get an estimate of how back ordered they are.
It seem the attitude is (almost) that this is soooo good, you should be satisfied with whatever delay is involved, just be glad you got one. I'll tire of this wait fairly soon and cancel my order...
In a scene straight out of 1984, Comcast said it will begin placing actual cameras in DVR units to track data for who is watching the digital television.
This statement is so farfetched I almost don't believe it, but it came out of the mouth of Gerard Kunkel, the senior vice president of user experience for Comcast. At the Digital Living Room conference he said that Comcast is already experimenting embedding cameras into DVR boxes that actually watch the television watchers. Big Brother, anyone?
Comcast is shilling this as a type of customization features. The camera would be capable of recognizing specific individuals and therefore loading a user's favorite channels and on the other hand block certain content as well. Stop the schtick, Comcast. Nobody, and I mean nobody would ever voluntarily allow you to place a camera in a household, for any purpose. It's a shame that I can already imagine the headlines when Comcast does this involuntarily.
Yes - I agree with all of the PC Readers Above - NINTENDO Wii technology is evil!
Seriously - this is not exactly a tech savvy bunch! Gesture recognition is the future - lets get rid of the mouse already!
The camera in my WII is not able to identify me. It identifies the motion of the remote in my hand. I still have to put in information to tell it who I am when I use it. How is this camera in the DVR going to recognize individuals? There is more to this Jenni-Cam than she's letting on. Also, what would happen if Uncle Sam asked for assistance from Comcast in its anti-terrorism efforts?
Ahh, the Jenni-Cam. Those were the days.
That was a revolutionary idea at the time (which unfortunately spawned a Jenny Cam which was pure porn).
This will be interesting to follow - I am eyeing those two lighted eyeballs staring at me right now from the Comcast box ...
Boutique
A Caribbean firm called SlySoft claims to have broken the copy protection technology used on some Blu-ray discs designed to prevent video content from being copied and pirated.
SlySoft has long sold a product called AnyDVD which is a utility that disables a DVD's Content Scramble System (CSS) copy protection technology. Once a DVD's copy protection is disabled, you can copy its content using one of several third-party programs. Now the company SlySoft is upping the DRM-busting ante with a new version of AnyDVD HD 6.4.0.0 ($47) that promises to crack Blu-ray disc copy protection.
Continue reading "Blu-ray Copy Protection Broken - But for How Long?"
Maybe if they want to stop DVD ripping they should offer free replacement discs if one breaks. I don't copy Blu-Ray (Yet) but I copy DVD all the time because I don't want to have to re-buy the master disc.
I will dedicate my life to getting the anti copy protection software. The whole thing is INSANE. We could copy when the quality was low, now we cannot ? Now we have VISTA soley because of DRM. Now we cannot even have a OS that does not drain huge amounts of memory for no reason other than now we could copy something that we may view again because it is better quality. Wake up people, Rothschilds own the patent on BLU-RAY. Just like they control the Central Banks, they have total effect on your way of life. Look how much of a pain it is to copy something now, without DRM. I have burners that I do not use. For what reason do you copy ? Buy the disks, then spend the time to copy it, and then store it. For WHAT ? Something you may watch in some distant BLU MOON day ? We are becomming more FRAGMENTED with the technology instead of getting more simplified. Another OS, Vista, who's sole reason for existence is COPY PROTECTION. Well, I AM MAD AS HELL, AND AM NOT GOING TO T.
Not content with only protecting your physical assets, Wells Fargo has announced it will begin offering online safe deposit boxes of sorts to protect your virtual assets. Called Wells Fargo vSafe, the service can store any standard file format, from word documents, PDFs, audio, and video files. Wells Fargo says birth certificate copies, wills, corporate documents, or even just home movies are all fair game to store in a vSafe in case of natural disaster or a hard drive failure.
Continue reading "Wells Fargo Launches vSafe - An Online Safe Deposit Box Service"
I think trusted names like Banks or Insurance companies could help people feel safer about online storage or even identity protection. This seems like a good idea. I work with scanR - we are not working with Wells Fargo - scanR lets you scan/copy a paper document with your phone... this would be a good way to make digital copies of things like birth certificates and then store them in a virtual safety deposit box.
If New York Assemblyman Richard Brodsky has his way Web companies that track a user's online behavior in order to target them ads would be breaking the law. Brodsky recently drafted a bill that would require Web advertising companies, such as AOL, Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo, to get a Web surfer's permission before tracking Web movements and displaying ads based on those movements.
Surprisingly, according to published reports, the Brodsky has an unlikely supporter - Microsoft.
Brodsky Bill Has National Implications
Continue reading "Bill Would Outlaw Targeted Web Ads"
This is an important issue of civil liberties/privacy. Why should online companies be entitled to spy on my use of the Internet, and then use that information to market products and services to me, based on my usage patterns? This seems inherantly unAmerican to me. Kudos to Brodsky for taking on this issue --and I never thought I would say this -- but congratulations to Microsoft for taking the right stand.
HD DVD buyers are getting relief from Best Buy in the form of $50 gift cards if they purchased a HD DVD player before February 23 from the retailer. Following the lead of Circuit City, Best Buy is doing its best to console bitter HD DVD player owners who placed the wrong bet when buying a next-generation hi-def DVD player. In total Best Buy says it estimates a total of $10 million in gift cards will be distributed.
"At Best Buy, we understood and shared our customers' frustrations as they were being asked to choose one format or the other," said Brian J. Dunn, president and chief operating officer for Best Buy. "Now that the format war is over, we hope these gift cards will reassure our customers that we will help them make a smooth transition into the right technology for their needs."
Only Specific Model HD DVD Players Qualify
Continue reading "Best Buy Forks Out $10 Million in Gift Cards to Burned HD DVD Customers"
Apple is currently in negotiations with music companies to provide an unlimited access option to its iTunes store for Apple iPod and iPhone customers, according to a report by The Financial Times. The plan covers music only and would offer customers the opportunity to either pay a one-time lifetime access price to the iTunes' music library, or a monthly subscription fee, according to the report (paid subscription required).
The plan is said to be similar to the "comes with music" plan that Nokia negotiated last December with record labels. Apple is still in talks with music companies regarding how much Apple will pay for access to the complete music library. The Financial Times references sources close to Apple saying that it is currently offering $20 from every iPhone and iPod sold to music companies as compensation. By comparison, this is only a quarter of the $80 Nokia gives for each device sold.
Apple Embraces Subscription Model
Continue reading "Apple to Offer Unlimited iTunes Access, Report Says"
The whole world's gone touchscreen. Panasonic today announced its first touchscreen digital camera, the Lumix DMC-FX500.
The new offering offers a 3-inch LCD touchscreen, a 10.1 megapixel CCD sensor, 5x optical zoom, a wide-angle 25mm Leica lens, and Panasonic's Venus Engine IV image processor.
According to a press release, the camera will feature joystick input in addition to the LCD touchscreen. The DMC-FX500 will also ship with a stylus and feature a touchscreen keyboard for tagging photos in-camera.
The DMC-FX500 will be available in May for $400.
Other features include the ability to shoot 720p high-def video; face detection for up to 15 faces per shot; optical image stabilization; and automatic exposure, red-eye, and scene correction.
The much anticipated Microsoft Vista Service Pack 1 ships Wednesday, according to information posted to Amazon's Web site. Amazon is telling its customers it will begin shipping orders for boxed copy versions of the Vista operating system with Vista SP1 starting tomorrow.
So far Microsoft has been mum on the exact release date of SP1 to the public. However Microsoft did released the Vista SP1 code to manufacturing last month. As for new Vista customers who buy a boxed version of the OS and preexisting Vista customers, Microsoft has only stated SP1 will be available in the first quarter of 2008. It has made no announcement of the exact date at the Microsoft TechNet Web site - where one would expect to first hear of the public release. In January there were reports Microsoft would release Vista SP1 in "weeks" that never came to fruition.
Continue reading "Vista Service Pack Available Wednesday, so says Amazon"
Apple announced availability of the final release of a Windows version of its browser Safari 3.1. Apple touts speed improvements over Firefox and Internet Explorer claiming Safari loads Web pages 1.9 times faster than IE 7 and 1.7 times faster than Firefox 2.
The release of Safari 3.1 is available today for both Mac OS(R) X and Windows.
Steve Jobs announced that Safari would be available for the Windows platform in June at Apple's World Wide Developers Conference in San Francisco. A public Safari beta for Windows has been available since June.
Core Features
Continue reading "Apple Unleashes Final Version of Safari Browser for Windows"
Flickr Video, an idea that has been brewing for quite some time, is quickly becoming a reality as many Flickr and Yahoo representatives said the service will be available as soon as next month, according to a number of reports.
The rumblings about a video service comes at Flickr's fourth anniversary party that happened over the weekend. Many different Yahoo and Flickr representatives, including co-founder Stewart Butterfield, continually leaked tidbits of information about a video service that surprisingly, isn't here to compete with YouTube.
Continue reading "Flickr Video Coming in April, say Reports"
Technology was supposed to democratize journalism, not narrow the focus of news and limit the number of participatory voices. But that's exactly what's going on, according to a study titled the "State of the American News Media in 2008" authored by the Project for Excellence in Journalism.
Years ago newshounds dreamed of a democratized news front, with all stories given equal play by the introduction of more people expressing a rich diversity of perspectives and opinions on a huge range of topic ? be it online or in print. What the Project for Excellence in Journalism found was instead news outlets have actually narrowed their focus.
Continue reading "Report says Technology Narrows News Media's Focus"
Mud between Nine Inch Nails frontman, Trent Reznor, and Radiohead has begun to fly over Internet music distribution. Reznor said the Radiohead's pay-what-you-want online release of In Rainbows was "insincere" and a "gimick." Reznor made the remarks on an Australian Broadcasting Company television show.
Continue reading "Mud Flies Over Radiohead's Online Release of In Rainbows"
This is the kind of mud slinging I like. Two bands arguing over who is REALLY giving their music away. Granted both want $ for their work. But it sounds like NIN is getting it. How much $ did In Rainbows' make Radiohead?
Now I wish the Beatles would set their music free on the Net - fat chance. Back catalogs are doomed to rot on iTunes.
I dont see how Trent Reznor making a few criticisms constitutes "mud slinging" especially since Radiohead hasnt responded but I do wish he hadnt said anything because up until now I thought this was a totally cool project.
It is interesting that he accuses Radiohead of a bait and switch when clearly most of the 1.6 million ($ earned so far) is coming from sales of real cds (that dont ship until May) and not downloads. 2500 special collectors editions (sold out) at $300 gets you $750,000.00 right off the bat. What a genius. It's like my father used to say "if you charge enough money you only need to sell one."
That said, I wish they werent sold out and that I had $300.
Trent Reznor Claims he made 1.6 million dollars in the first 7 days, but in actuality, I believe he made over 2 MILLION DOLLARS in the first 24 hours. Take a look at this article for proof:
http://www.qzaki.com/Archive/Nine_Inch_Nails.pdf
When people file complaints about communication services such as telemarketing calls, cell phone billing rates, junk faxes to the Federal Communications Commission it is the agency's job to listen. However, the question of just how closely the FCC is listening is now uncertain.
A report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) (Link PDF) states that of the 454,000 complaints the FCC received between 2003 and 2006, 86 percent of the investigations were closed without any action being taken, and no indication of why. The GAO isn't happy about those numbers.
Continue reading "Does the FCC Ignore Consumer Complaints?"
There is some very interesting subtext here that, so far, seems not to have seen much light of day.
A cable network like Comcast's is a shared media network, that is, all subscibers share bandwidth on a given segment. This type of network has a very unfortunate property. As the bandwidth usage approaches 70 to 80% or so, it goes into what's called "congestive collapse". The result is that the bandwidth available to all users on the particular shared segment goes to zero. This is already happening in parts of Comcast's network and no doubt, P2P traffic is a big contributer.
Verizon, in contrast, does not have this problem with their FIOS network. This network allocates dedicated bandwidth for each subscriber with more than enough to accommodate P2P traffic.
The offer of supporting P4P by Verizon not only helps their own network, but goes to the heart of a rapidly increasing disadvantage for Comcast that will ultimately be very expensive to fix.
Verizon says it will work with, not fight, peer-to-peer file swappers on its network with a new technology called Proactive network Provider Participation (or P4P). Verizon says this technology can solve the bandwidth utilization challenges that surround peer-to-peer technology. Verizon's approach is in stark contrast to Comcast approach to P2P file swapping. Comcast is currently embroiled a controversy surrounding its admitted practice of slowing P2P traffic on its network.
It's unclear if the implementation of P4P technology would have any impact on the massive volumes of pirated content that is swapped online using P2P networks. However, Verizon has publicly stated its interesting in working with P2P companies that deliver legitimate media.
Continue reading "Verizon Warms to File Swappers, Adopts Next-Gen P2P Tech"
This is a great article. About all I can add is that participation in the P4P Working Group is free and open to all ISP's and P2P companies and researchers. For more information, there's a short writeup at http://www.pandonetworks.com/p4p, and you can contact us for more information:
Laird Popkin, laird@pando.com
Doug Pasko, doug.pasko@verizon.com
Marty Lafferty, marty@dcia.info
The Associated Press culled together three previously reported news stories of preinstalled viruses found on new iPods, TomTom GPS navigation gear, and digital picture frames sold by major retailers and aptly points this is a disturbing trend.
I couldn't agree more. PC World ran a report in November 2007 that Seagate had inadvertently sold new hard drives infected with the Virus.Win32.AutoRun.ah password-stealing virus.
Continue reading "Report: Preinstalled Viruses Infect New Tech Gadgets"
Is it possible that the AP report that the virus infection was not malicious is wrong? I am not a conspiracy theorist but, it wouldn't be beyond the realm of possibility that it was done intentionally. Whether it was done by criminal elements or with the consent of the Chinese government would be another thing that would be interesting to find out.
Whether any criminal intent was behind the Seagate infections is irrelevant. This is simply another example of the absolute lack of quality control in manufacturing. It takes money to operate an adequate QC lab. There are the costs of employees, equipment, and overhead to consider. Worldwide, manufacturing facilities have cut their QC departments down to an ineffective level.
If you search the PCW archives you will find a long history of mass failings: memory, motherboards, CPUs, hard drives, power supplies, monitors, etc. It?s cheaper to replace a part than to test it. The only thing making this story news is that it was not a physical hardware failure. It was, however, another example of how manufacturers can not afford to care.
China has consistantly proved they cannot be trusted to be honest and forthcoming.
We have helped them get where they are by buying their poisioned goods.
All to save a dollar we reap what we sow.
A couple of weeks ago, when I was reviewing the Slacker Portable music player, I noticed how much touchscreens had become the norm for today's gadgets. The Slacker player doesn't have a touchscreen, but people kept putting their fingers all over the device's huge 4-inch screen, expecting it to react.
Among the influences Apple's iPhone has had on the tech industry, the touchscreen is near--if not at--the top of the list. It even does a surprisingly good job at keeping its huge screen clear of my greasy fingerprints.
For some applications, the iPhone's touchscreen works brilliantly: resizing browser windows and photos, launching apps with one touch, and flipping through album art.
But in my mind, that usability breaks down significantly when you use the touchscreen to input text, especially a large amount of text. Smart phones are supposed to take care of the entire workforce, not just talkers, and a lot more work is done via written documents, e-mails, and even text messages in my world.
The iPhone has no cut-and-paste feature. The virtual keyboard doesn't flip lengthwise when you're writing lengthy e-mail messages or notes (which is an especially maddening oversight, given that it does flip lengthwise when you're using the iPhone's browser). You can't even turn the iPhone's "predictive text" feature off.
Predictive text helps cut down typing when it works, but it also means the iPhone always thinks it knows better than you, even when you really did mean "woot" instead of "wood" or "PC" instead of "of."
A full-on, hardware QWERTY keyboard is still the best input device for anyone who writes frequently. In fact, I even prefer the undersized QWERTY keyboards found on devices such as the T-Mobile Sidekick and LG eNv to the full-size keyboards I use every day with my desktop and laptop. If someone were to make a Sidekick-sized keyboard--preferably wireless--that I could use with my laptop or desktop, I'd buy it and use it every day. (And if it already exists, please tell me.)
If the next-gen iPhone is a slider phone that slides up lengthwise to reveal a full keyboard, most writers and texters would rejoice. Sure, that would make for a fatter iPhone, but the iPhone doesn't need to be any thinner. It does, however, need to be a bit more writer-friendly.
Does anyone else hate touchscreens, or am I alone? Do you find touchscreens work well for some apps and devices but not others? Would you rather have a combo touchscreen/hardware QWERTY keyboard device? Or are touchscreens just in their infancy and bound to get much better very quickly?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Throughout the article, there was NOTHING but mud-slinging criticisms @ the iPhone. Look at wireless technologies such as bluetooth; they prob were so buggy when they were first released...does that mean you have to go & throw the baby out with the bath water? Just cause it has a few things that you don't like, does that mean that the whole technology is to be shut out?
I also have NO IDEA why "I Hope Touchscreens Aren't the Future" is the heading...clearly, this is an extremely broad subject to claim you're commenting on. ALSO, touch screens AREN'T the future; they're the present. Look @ Palm - they invented the Pilot about 12 yrs ago...very futurish, is it not???
By the way, the iPhone uses MULTI-TOUCH technology which is very different to just plain "touch-screen" tech.
Cummon; I expected something better than this biased crap, PC world.
Hi dstechgeek -- thanks for your comments. I'm not sure why you think these are "mudslinging criticisms" of the iPhone or why you refer to the post as "biased crap."
I paid $400 out of pocket for the iPhone, and I wouldn't have done so if it wasn't an intriguing device. Regarding the "multi-touch" vs. "touchscreen" argument, it's moot in this context: I'm referring to devices that use touch input on a screen, and the iPhone fits that bill. "Multi-touch" is touchscreen technology.
The point of my post is this: the iPhone is the poster child of touchscreen devices and the "bar" against which all other handheld touchscreen devices are measured.
Apple bills it as a smart phone, but it doesn't address all the needs of the mobile workforce. If the iPhone and other touchscreen-only devices seriously want to be considered as productivity devices for the mobile workforce, then there's work to do in order to fit the needs of people with writing-intensive jobs.
I agree with the title. I foresee touchscreens being forced upon us simply because marketers have come to see them as the holy grail of phone features. I've observed a trend to ditch full keypads as the primary input (TS-/near TS-only handsets pop up daily), and there may come a time when it's nolonger economical for manufacturers to maintain perpiheral design paradigms (keyboards as primary input) for the sake of minority groups who don't want to be told what they like.
I have a Touch Dual and like the way the touchscreen augments the keyboard, but I rarely use the OSK. Having to 1) look at the screen, 2) use both hands, 3) correct frequent mistakes because there's no physical interaction with the targeted key just makes the experience frustrating.
Multitouch, haptic and acoustic feedback and smart interfaces all add positively to the touchscreen experience, but still can't equal a real keyboard. You still need to look at the screen!
Update 3/13: The male models have spoken. Nando and Jose Rodas have picked a winner for the latest Caption Crunch contest.
Just a week ago, we posted the following photo of the aforementioned gents using state-of-the-art technological devices. We also asked you to write captions. And just yesterday, the world-famous models in our photo selected the winning caption.
This week's winner
"Hello, Apple? I think the iPillow is broken again. Can you fix it?" -- beakman
Congratulations, beakman! We'd offer up a free date with Luis "Nando" Ibarra and Jose Rodas, but they're busy in Milan buying new and expensive fashions. So, unfortunately, all you get to show for your amazing caption-writing skills is a warm sense of accomplishment.
Tune in next week for a brand-new photo, a brand-new contest, and a brand-new combination of letters on a blog page.
What follows is the original text for this Caption Crunch contest.
Welcome to the fourth installment of Caption Crunch, the world-famous caption contest where we provide the picture and you provide the laughs.
This week, we've got a scintillating snapshot of PC World Test Center Coordinator Jose Rodas (at right) and Facilities Coordinator Luis Ibarra (at left), who simply goes by the name "Nando" when appearing as a male model.
What's going on in this pic? That's up to you. Take your best crack at a caption in the comments section below.
Check back next Friday for this week's winners. Until then, get cracking on those captions.
Previous Caption Crunch Contests
Nando one, Moore's Law zero.
I read you Zordon. Its morphin time! Mastadon!!
"Spock here, Captain."
"Scotty here, Captain."
"Transporter room ready to beam up."
Space exploration just got a lot easier for desktop astronomers. Google announced today it now allows you to explore the vast reaches of space through your Web browser using a new Web-based service called Google Sky. Previously, Google offered a similar version of Google Sky that was only accessible using the Google Earth mapping software program. Now to travel to places like the Sombrero Galaxy (see above) all you have to do is launch your Web browser.
Check out PC World's slideshow Most Spectacular Sights in Google Sky.
Getting Started: Ready, Set, Takeoff
Continue reading "First Look: Google Sky Comes to a Browser Near You"
My 5-year-old is amazed at how cool it is to surf the universe on my 40-inch LCD TV (with media PC attached). I will also forward this to his kindergarten teacher -- what a great teaching tool.
Concern over digital piracy runs rampant and everyday media companies, big shot lawyers and other individuals - with important sounding titles - are tossing out mostly bad ideas to quell the piracy deluge.
Here is a brief look at some fresh anti-piracy tactics under consideration.
Piracy Sin Tax
The idea of a sin tax on piracy has been thrown around recently. Jim Griffin, a digital-strategy consultant and pioneer of this idea wants ISPs to charge an additional $5 a month to its customers. The money collected would be thrown into a pot and used to compensate the artists.
Continue reading "Music Industry Considers Onerous Ways to Fight Piracy"
Maybe they record industry should try a valid study that proves that piracy is hurting anyone. (I don't think that it is) Once they have REAL numbers, instead of pulling them out their A$$, they may be able to tackle the issue. I think the biggest mistake they are making is in the way they profile pirates. Most people know that piracy is wrong. Most people also know that charging $15 or more for a piece of crap CD is wrong. The solution seems simple to me. Take away the middle man. Lower prices. Very cheap digital downloads that are DRM free. I would gladly pay $5 for a digital album that I could play on ANY device. $10 is a little steep, especially since I don't own an ipod. Make the prices cheaper. Provide better content and explore other methods of generating revenue (advertisements). Piracy would be a none issue. I'd also like to point out that if the record industry wants us to feel bad for the "artists" they need to start making a whole lot less money.
The future is now. A company called Ambient has created a product called the Audeo that can make voice communication without any voice. What, you may ask, but that doesn't make sense? Bear with me for a moment; this is some pretty cool tech.
According to a report appearing in The Nikkei, Toshiba's HD DVD gamble will cost the company $986 million (100 billion yen) for this year. I'd been waiting to see how much Toshiba would charge to the shuttering of its HD DVD business; curiously, Toshiba did not disclose this number at its last earnings report. Nor did the company mention this when it announced its withdrawal from producing HD DVDs last month. The Nikkei report indicates that Toshiba has not confirmed or offered comment on the losses.
Last year alone, Toshiba posted a $400 million loss on HD DVD; then, the company justified it by saying it was an investment in the future. Now, the company is trying to wrap up its HD DVD business by the end of March. It's no surprise that players and movie discs are being deeply discounted, with the discounts getting steeper the further removed we are from Toshiba's decision to pull the plug on HD DVD.
The comments here about SONY having a near "monopoly" aren't supported by what I see around me every day. My observation is that there are very few industries where the competition is as fierce as it is in electronics. And if SONY "won" by offering discounts, paying companies to endorse Blu-Ray, etc.. . . that's called "marketing". How, for example, do you think AMD got so many computer manufacturers who had used nothing but Intel CPUs for years to take a chance on their CPUs?
I suspect that the commenters making these statements are young. I'm only ? year away from my 70th birthday, so I've been around long enough to know some things they probably don?t. Us old folks remember a nearly identical format war 30-40 years ago between video tape formats ? Beta Max and VHS. Beta Max was superior in just about every way, but lost because the VHS supporters did a better job of marketing. And guess what company invented Beta Max and lost major bucks when it lost the war? SONY!
You are exactly right KNRover, Sony has lost the battle of the format wars once before and they have learned from their mistakes, and took the huge risks. Toshiba developed a technology that was based on current DVD's, they rushed it to market spent to beat Blue Ray. If you look at how much money Sony spent in R&D, the problems they had with the new drives cost huge setbacks which also cost them mega bucks. They dropped the price of their ps3's knowing full well that just as a retail store creates loss leaders they would gain that money back in media.
For the first 2 years of this war, those that jumped ship on the HD DVD waggon are fools, I use that term sparingly But I'll explain why, with so much to lose Sony went all in, They developed a far superior product that will actually make a difference for big movie companies against the online options that consumers have.
The consumer doesn't want multiple media options its too expensive and the PS3 was the tipping point!
Amen, Kman!!! Good point KNRover but I'm only 40 and I remember the Beta Max vs VHS format war (it was only 30 years ago). GilinSC is way off the mark. Sony does not and will not control the content that goes onto blu ray discs. They simple hold the patent for the technology format much like JVC held the patent for the VHS video tape format. My guess is GilinSC is a paranoid delusionist.
During the DisplaySearch conference, Lenovo announced that its entire ThinkVision LCD monitor line (9 displays in total) is now EPEAT Gold certified. Two of these nine displays are about 30% more energy efficient. They did this by teaming up with 3M to leverage its Vikuiti optical films that use less energy. Lenovo is the first and only manufacturer to achieve the Gold EPEAT status.
During today's conference Jim Christensen from Lenovo made the announcement and he also made a plea for all other manufactures to hop on board the green wagon. As is, Lenovo will be saving 13,500 tons of CO2 emissions from entering the atmosphere. If the rest of the PC display industry joined in, an estimated 1.9 million tons of carbon emissions could be eliminated.
Reports of iPod Nanos shooting sparks while recharging have government officials in Japan investigating reported incidents.
The iPod in a question in an older-generation iPod Nano that is specific to the Japanese market. Its model number is MA099J/A, reports the Reuters news agency. The cause of the sparking, it is believed, is tied to the lithium-ion batteries used in the iPod Nano.
Here in San Diego at the Display Search conference half the day's presentations have come and gone. Though no hot news has emerged as of yet, plenty of trends have been discussed.
2008 Display Trends
If you're in the market for a large HDTV and you've been holding out with hopes that manufacturers will be making 55-inch displays, then you're in luck! Though no companies have announced such displays as of yet, the word around the industry is that 55-inch is the new 52.
You'll be seeing 1080p on more sets as a standard without the price premium. Also, 30% more HDTVs will have a 120 Hz refresh rate.
Widescreen displays, both on notebooks and PC monitors will be flooding the market.
That's it for now I'm afraid, but keep checking back on the Today@PCWorld blog for more exciting DisplaySearch conference updates.
In a move that is about as shocking as hearing the sky is blue or the grass is green, Wal-Mart has decided to stop selling the Linux-based Green gPC. A company spokeswoman said that Linux wasn't what the Wal-Mart customers were looking for.
The Green gPC first made it into Wal-Mart stores back in October. The big draw of this machine was the fact that it ran a Linux-based operating system. This feature allowed the costs to be cut significantly, bringing the entire machine down to $200.
Continue reading "Wal-Mart Makes Quick Exit From Linux Biz"
Wow, the Linux condescension is palpable in this post.
First, "You'll be stoned to death by penguins" - not for trying to label Linux as a Windows off-brand, but for trying to claim that Wal-Mart's intent was to push Linux as such.
Second, your conclusion that Wal-Mart is pulling the gPC from in-store sales because people didn't "flock to buy the machine with it's [sic] very cheap price tag" is - well, I'll be kind, and say that it is laughable.
If I recall correctly, the gPC disappeared from store shelves within weeks. Apparently, people *did* flock to buy the machine with its very cheap price tag. Also, apparently Wal-Mart *does* still forsee a market for Linux PCs, or else they would also discontinue online sales of the gPC.
chipbennet works for Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart customers don't know the difference between Linux and a Kleen-X.
Funny. Not only do I not work for Wal-Mart; I rarely shop there, either (we prefer Target). That said, I'm not sure how it would even be germane to this blog post or comment thread.
Adoption of faster wireless speeds via the wireless specification EVDO Rev. A has been slow as molasses. But finally there is good news for Sprint customers who will be the first U.S. wireless customers to see a meaningful speed increase thanks to the adoption of EVDO Rev. A.
The use of the EV-DO Rev. A was previously just a dream for Sprint smartphone owners, until now. Sprint has released a patch for the Mogul smartphone giving it access to Sprint's EV-DO Rev. A network. Sprint is now the first provider to give cellphone users access to the Rev. A network.
Continue reading "Sprint Phone to Get Speed Boost with EVDO Rev. A - It's About Time"
Greetings from San Diego, California where the 2008 DisplaySearch US Flat Panel Display conference is taking place this week. This confab may not be of CES proportions - nor does it draw the media hype of CES. However, it is a place where attendees can find out about the latest trends, newest display technologies and the direction the display industry is headed.
Seeing as I'm the HDTV guru for PC World, I'm also here to educate myself so that I can cut through all the HDTV jargon and report to you the best information I can.
Soliciting Your Help and Questions
I'll be posting to the Today@PCWorld blog periodically over the next couple days with news and reports on trends. However, I'd like your help. That is, I'd like to know what topics you'd like me to cover. So take a look at the conference agenda, respond in the comments section and tell me which panels you're interested in. I won't have time to go to every panel, but I'll do my best to report back on as much as I can.
Hulu takes the wraps off of its free video streaming service on March 12, when the service exits its five-month-long private beta phase and becomes accessible to all users. The site has attracted much attention since its introduction, and rightly so: As a joint venture from News Corp. and NBC Universal, the site is backed by some of the biggest content producers around. The latest additions include Warner Brothers, Lionsgate, the NBA, and NHL.
Support from marquee content producers is one of the primary things that sets Hulu apart from the crowd of streaming video competitors (including Joost). Content clearly drives the video market. We've seen this most recently with the Blu-ray Disc vs. HD DVD face-off; there, Blu-ray came out on top once Warner Brothers threw its weight behind the format. Warner's decision gave Blu-ray the support of more than 70 percent of Hollywood's studio content producers, which gave Blu-ray an insurmountable edge over its rival.
Extrapolate that example to Hulu. Hulu's strength is its depth of catalog titles of oldies but goodies (anyone up for some '80s nostalgia with The A-Team or Remington Steele? Excellent...). Need to catch up on The Simpsons season 19, Battlestar Galactica season 3, or canceled-before-its-time or Firefly? Covered. You can find content easily, too: Hulu has a clean, (mostly) consistent presentation that makes navigation a joy. Sure, the videos have some ads, but considering the price of entry (free), that's easy to forgive.
The site has an impressive selection and variety of titles--all big-ticket Hollywood. Many competing sites are littered with video of varying quality from lesser-known entities, which may provide just as much entertainment, only of a different nature than the scripted and reality Hollywood content, or big-game sports--all of which are found on Hulu).
Ultimately, a single on-demand repository for video remains the holy grail of entertainment enthusiasts. Hulu is clearly on its way towards fulfilling that goal; even if the video is simply related clip or interview content that lives on other sites, Hulu provides the index links.
For now, Hulu focuses solely on maximizing the standard-definition streaming experience with surprisingly good-looking video and the solid interface. Sadly, high-def isn't ready for prime-time just yet--the high-def gallery is mostly a clipfest, though the company says more high-def content will come in time.
My biggest gripe with Hulu, aside from the need for more content: The site lacks any means of archiving your favorite shows to your local hard disk--either as a temporary rental for off-line (read: airplane) viewing, or a more permanent digital purchase for your own personal digital library. To me, offline viewing--coupled with an expanding video library--would make Hulu unstoppable.
Just love this whole 1980s retro scene at the moment. Hulu certainly helps me re-live those years. Hopefully Knight Rider 2008 will be picked up for the Fall (and they'll give the car and The Hoff more to do).
In the meantime I'm enjoying the awesome new, digitally remastered Airwolf soundtrack that they've just released called 'Airwolf Themes' which you can download off Apple iTunes Store, or from their official website where there are great teaser samples, http://www.airwolfthemes.com/ I think Hulu's Airwolf pheneomenon is just the tip of the iceberg and really just setting us all up for an Airwolf revival movie too.
Sounds great for those like myself that run a PVR (flat screen tv connected to a dedicated video/audio/tv server that also doubles as a tivo {2tb hard drive, dual 2.5ghz cpu's, full HD, 1gb ddr2 video mem, 2gb ddr2 system mem, 1ghz front side bus})
G-Archiver, a $30 program that can backup a Gmail account to a local PC hard disk, has come under fire recently after accusations have been leveled that the program actually collects Gmail usernames and passwords - something end users might not want to share with the company.
Concerns over G-Archiver, which is distributed by software publisher MateMedia, came to light when a blogger Jeff Attwood posted excerpts of an e-mail from a computer software programmer who felt he was duped by G-Archiver into handing over his Gmail username and password to the program's author.
Continue reading "Gmail Backup Utility G-Archiver Comes Under Scrutiny"
Two points:
1. How is any app supposed to back up your web mail without logging into the account?
2. Why didn't you post all of the relevant details - the issue was not that it asked for the password, but that it EMAILED IT TO THE PROGRAMS AUTHOR!
One of the hottest Nintendo Wii game releases so far this year, Super Smash Bros Brawl (released over the weekend), only has one significant downside - it may not work on your Nintendo Wii game console hardware.
Nintendo says "a very small percentage" of Wii game consoles will have trouble reading the Smash Bros game. That's because, as Nintendo reports on its support pages, the games comes on a double-layered disc.
Nintendo explains: "Super Smash Bros. Brawl utilizes a double-layer disc which has a large memory capacity. A very small percentage of Wii consoles may have trouble consistently reading data off this large capacity disc if there is some contamination on the lens of the disc drive. Nintendo has specialized cleaning equipment that can resolve this problem. (Please do NOT attempt to clean the lens yourself, as you may damage the system.)"
Get the Free Fix
Continue reading "Warning: Smash Bros Doesn't Work on all Nintendo Wii Consoles"
That's incredibly lame. And so what if they are fixing the problem for free? That's a no brainer. Imagine the outcry if they didn't.
At any rate it's not just Nintendo. Microsoft and Sony's game systems have issues too. Guess it's the nature of the beast. I just figured since the Wii is using older, more widely tested hardware than the 360 or PS3 that it would have less problems, but apparently not.
If the worst problem that the Wii ever has with its hardware is a dirty lens then they are leaps and bounds ahead of both PS3 and 360 in reliability.
It's been almost two years since we first reported that the Beatles were digitally remastering their music catalog in anticipation of making it available on iTunes and other digital music services. Since then, we've watched the Fab Four's surviving members, their estates and Apple Corps (the company that handles the business end of the Beatles' music) slowly inch toward that day.
It's been recently reported in the UK press that Paul McCartney has made a $400 million deal with Apple (the computer company) to distribute the Beatles' music on iTunes, removing one more major obstacle. There's long been talk that the Beatles' music would be available exclusively on iTunes, though it's likely that at some point it would also be made available on other digital outlets. As the Beatles' music is on the EMI label, it would be available DRM-free.
There is currently no date set for the catalog's digital release.
As a side note, the Independent reported yesterday that UK bookmakers Ladbrokes are offering 3-1 odds on "Yesterday" becoming the Beatles' next number one on the charts, and that some estimates (it's unclear who's estimating here) suggest that a digital release of the complete Beatles oeuvre could have the group occupying all of the top 20 positions on the UK charts, something no one has ever done before. While I'm looking forward to digital Beatles music -- I only have one so-so CD compilation of their #1 hits -- I have to wonder how many people younger than, say, 30 are as enthusiastic about the news, and how many people already have Beatles music on CD and will just shrug when it happens.
People can play with more than their checkbooks in Excel. Or they can play sophisticated 3D games in a web browser. That's what's in store for the maiden voyage of "Casual Friday."
HUH?
Admit it. Your mind's already thinking of what you'll be doing this weekend -- or you're trying to sneak in a few rounds of solitaire before it's time to head home. We plan to regularly celebrate slack after a long work week.
So go on, click a few links and play a couple games. And if you have any thoughts, suggestions, or tips for what you'd like to see next week, let us know!
-Darren Gladstone, Senior Writer.
EXCEL REPELS SPACE INVADERS
You've probably seen your fair share of Excel macros. Lord knows we have here in the wonderful world of PC World, but did you know that coders are coming up with some creative uses for those spreadsheets like, say, videogames? Apparently all you need is an office computer, an installation of Microsoft office (no doubt, that'll be pretty hard to find...) and you've got some time to kill. Gamasutra, a game developer-centric Web site, put together a fantastic feature on the phenomenon.
Need a good example? If you like old-school arcade shooting games (Galaga, Space Invaders, whatever), download Dex-Ev. One "minor" problem: it looks to be better suited for older versions of Excel. (Oh, yeah, and you may have to turn Excel's security levels down to get it running. Go to Tools > Macros > Security.)
let's see your next expense report do that.
I love the fact that in this day and age of ridiculously robust graphics engines such as Source (used in the Half-Life 2 Series), Unreal Engine (Gears of War) and CryENGINE2 (Crysis), people are going out of their way to hack apart and take advantage of what is already in front of them. Now if anyone out there is taking suggestions, I'm ready for a couple new game: Kill Clippy. User Account Control: Clicked to Death. What game would you make for Excel?
WEB GAME BLASTING
Web games are getting increasingly sophisticated, no doubt. Even big developers are dabbling. DOOM's creators at Id Software are bringing an ad-supported version of Quake (Quake Live) to a browser near you. However, Indie game developers are breaking into new territory with an ambitious 3D gaming portal called Instant Action. The general idea is that it's a self-contained community. Make friends, chat with 'em and play sophisticated 3D games in your Web browser. All it takes is one ActiveX install and you're good to go.
A few of the titles, such as Marble Blast Ultra and Screwjumper, are already available on the Xbox 360. There's even plans for a first person shooter tribute to Tribes called Fallen Empire: Legions which is on the way for the burgeoning service. That's right, a huge online multiplayer firefight all within FireFox.
All right, what kind of Cray supercomputer will you need to get this working right? Just about anything north of a hyperactive gerbil on a treadmill. Right now, I'm playing the games on a relatively low-spec machine [Intel Pentium 4 2.8-GHz CPU, 1GB RAM, ATI Radeon 9800 Pro GPU] in IE7.
How much will it cost you to play? Nada! Right now, the site is in an open beta, so join the community and try a few games on for size. Of course, consider yourself warned that at some point, you may have to shell out a couple bucks to play the full versions of games.
GAMES OF THE WEEK
Bully: Scholarship Edition
Think of it as Revenge of the Nerds for your Xbox 360 (OK, technically, it's also coming to the Wii). Bully came under ridiculous scrutiny from the media last year. You don't shoot cops. You don't do drugs. There's nothing here you wouldn't see in a PG-13 movie. Honestly, the game is rated T for Teens. You're the newest kid at Bulworth Academy Prep School where teenage romances blossom and bullies try to beat you up in-between classes. Really, it's an ingenious series of action and puzzle mini-games that'll keep you glued to the controls. While it did come out for the PS2 last year, it now sports improved graphics and more levels for the 360. And, dare I say, it's fun.
God of War: Chains of Olympus
If you're looking for the real deal--a bold action game that you can take with you on the road--God of War is fantastic fun on your PSP. You're a bloodthirsty Spartan looking to tangle with the ancient Roman gods. Armed to the teeth with blades and magic powers, you battle through amazingly rendered environments. It really does feel like you're getting a proper console game in a portable device.
It looks amazing, plays great and...well...it's not exactly kid friendly. It's rated M. Meaning, there is lots of bloodshed and if you look hard enough some nudity. Still, for some mature fun to go, you will not be disappointed.
Want to delve deeper into the world of gaming? A great place to start is Matt Peckham's Game On blog. Get there for the latest insights on interactive entertainment.
Have thoughts you want to share? Things you like? Things you don't? Let us know!
What the Ralphy? Matt Peckham is writing for PCWorld, too? When and whooo? Bah, whatevers!
Thanks for the heads-up on Instant Action and the Excel craziness. I fear for my files at the idea of my Office app playing games, though. I'll leave that 'til my fiddle-station computer arrives at my new place (same specs as your junker!)
Chris Avenir, a student at Ryerson University, is facing 146 counts of academic misconduct after being an administrator in a Facebook study group for a freshman-level chemistry course. Study groups is not a new concept at universities, so why do Facebook study groups qualify as a violation of cheating rules? Perhaps it's because a Facebook study group is much easier to track, monitor, and gather substantial proof regarding cheating.
Continue reading "Has Facebook Changed The University Cheating Landscape?"
If people want privacy on their social networking sites, they should consider posting legal terms of service to that effect. See http://hack-igations.blogspot.com/2007/11/privacy-advocates-such-as-nyu-professor.html The idea is not legal advice for anyone, just something to think about. --Ben
At long last, Apple CEO Steve Jobs has unveiled the company?s software development kit (SDK) for the popular iPhone, letting third-party developers create software for the device. Earlier this week, Macworld weighed in with the apps they'd most like to see. But we think these are the five most critical apps that programmers should get cracking on today.
1. Document Editor
BlackBerrys, Treos, and Windows Mobile phones have been able to edit business documents for years, either through built-in apps or third-party add-ons. To really survive on the high seas of the mobile enterprise, iPhone users need the same capability.
2. Video Capture
Almost everyone we know has a phone--smart or otherwise--that can capture video with its camera. If Apple won't add this feature to its devices, someone else should make it happen. Immediately, please.
3. File Manager
If you really do carry a significant amount of data--whether it?s business documents, multimedia files, or anything in between--around on a phone, you want to be able to manage it all without having to go back to your PC. Currently, Apple provides no meaningful way to manage files on the device, through iTunes or otherwise. We?d go so far as to demand application management as part of such a utility, but we doubt Apple would ever give its users so much freedom.
4. Microsoft Outlook/Entourage
Yeah, we said it. Interface aside, the iPhone's e-mail and calendar apps are about as weak as anything we?ve seen on a smart phone. Comparatively (and that's not saying much), Outlook Mobile rocks: It makes it easy to set up meetings, schedule events, and manage contacts from the road through a single program--even for users who aren't on Exchange. If Apple doesn't plug the holes in its own mobile software, Microsoft should. (Though we doubt MS would let Apple take 30 percent off the top.)
5. To Do List
How did Apple manage to ship a mobile extension of iCal without including a way to track tasks? We don?t know, but we?re counting on the development community to right this injustice immediately. While an iPhone version of Outlook or Entourage would solve this problem for desktop Outlook/Entourage users, there ought to be a simple solution for iCal users, too. We?d rant about this some more, but we have too many other things on our To Do list.
Casio today announced a new addition to its line of Exilim point-and-shoot cameras. The EX-Z9 is a slim, ultracompact digital camera available in a range of colors (orange, pink, silver, and black).
The 8.1-megapixel camera also has a "YouTube Capture Mode," which optimizes video footage for quick uploads to YouTube directly from the camera via a USB cable. For higher-quality videos, the EX-Z9 can also shoot clips at a 848x480-pixel resolution.
Other EX-Z9 features called out by Casio are a 3x optical zoom, a 2.6-inch LCD display, Anti Shake DSP digital image stabilization, face detection, and 23 different image-optimization modes.
The EX-Z9 will be available this month for $160. That's a good price, but I'm still a bit more geeked out over the upcoming Casio Exilim EX-F1, which takes 60 shots per second and shoots video at up to 1,200 frames per second. Awesome.
A love-hate relationship is brewing between Apple and Adobe, as Steve Jobs has taken some jabs at Flash.
At an Apple shareholder meeting, the turtleneck-loving Jobs was quick to say that Adobe's Flash player for mobile platforms, the Flash Lite Player, isn't advanced enough for use on the iPhone. He continued to say that "proper" Flash "performs too slow to be useful," on the iPhone, which leads me to believe Flash on the iPhone was at least tested.
Tech giant Robert Scoble has a different take on the matter. His sources believe that the Flash player runs fine on the iPhone, and Apple is just reluctant to use Adobe's PDF renderer.
Flash may be an important format for the Web, but I'm not overly concerned about the situation. The iPhone software development kit, set to launch soon, will likely bring a barrage of applications that could fill the void.
Who cares about Flash? Bring on the SDK, I say.
Ya, who cares about Flash? I mean, it's not like no one uses Flash to watch video on the web. And YouTube should be enough web based video for everyone right? The SDK *might* enable web services to have an installable iPhone app, but that is not anywhere as seamless as just being able to have all your site services available via the Safari app. So while you might not care for Flash, many web service operators who offer video solutions and rich media experiences might beg to differ. The user having to download and install ANYTHING has always been a deal breaker as far as development goes. So while the SDK is good, the lack of Flash on the iPhone is a major issue for Apple, which is why Jobs so publicly pointed fingers here, because he feels the pressure to get Flash on board.
With all the claims of piracy in the movie industry, you would think the MPAA would be able to back up its accusations with some evidence. A quick look at the MPAA's home page shows that a majority of the space is spent on addressing movie piracy. However, the MPAA's recently released "Theatrical Market Statistics 2007" tells a different story.
It turns out that despite all of the tales of Internet piracy destroying the movie industry, the MPAA had the highest box office sales ever in 2007. Movie ticket sales reached just over $9.6 billion--a 5.4 percent increase over 2006 and a 3.9 percent increase over the previously largest selling box office year of 2002.
Not long ago I wrote about how the MPAA had fudged research data to say that 44 percent of industry losses were due to college students, when in fact the number was closer to 15 percent.
The MPAA's message just doesn't add up. I realize that movie piracy is a real issue; however, I can't help but feel that the MPAA is putting much more stock in movie piracy than it deserves. Record high profits don't suggest to me that movie piracy will be destroying the industry any time soon.
More proof that these anti-piracy guys are liars. Every time I read an article like this it makes me even more angry. I've been saying it for years... but once again... if piracy is an issue... lets see the proof? Not some bullshit number that was made up.
Samsung's statement today that it would no longer proceed with its BD-UP5500 player doesn't come as a surprise given Toshiba's withdrawal from the HD DVD format. The player was announced at the 2008 International Consumer Electronics Show in January.
The company's statement today notes that "now that Blu-ray has been chosen as the next-generation format, the consumer can move forward with confidence and enjoy the incredible experience that Blu-ray offers. Samsung believes that a multi-format player like the current BD-UP5000 Duo HD Player (Duo) offers the best and only solution for consumers that want access to all available High-Definition (HD) titles in the short term. It remains a practical solution, but the window of opportunity is smaller than it was before. In light of recent announcements, Samsung will not introduce the BD-UP5500 Duo HD Player."
The BD-UP5500 was due by late spring--which makes me all the more curious about Samsung's move with this particular announcement. Presumably, it's not just consumers who benefit knowing that Blu-ray is now the one disc format to rule them all.
Nonetheless, I find it surprising that Samsung, in announcing it was canceling the BD-UP5500, didn't also take the chance to tout a timeline for its next revised, Blu-ray-only player...you know, the one that would have support for BD Live (already announced for upcoming Sony Blu-ray players, due in summer and fall). Right now--knowing such models are on the way--it's hard to recommend any of the existing Blu-ray Disc players currently on the market, including ones like the BD-P1400, an early player that doesn?t even support Bonus View.
Other surprises: Samsung mentioned nothing about the BD-UP5000's free-falling price--it launched at the tail end of 2007 at $800, and now can be found for just $600 at retailers like B&H Photo and Vann's. Nor did Samsung mention how long it expected the BD-UP5000 to be available; the company originally planned to replace the BD-UP5000 with the BD-UP5500, which makes me wonder about the BD-UP5000's current supply in the retail channel--and how long Samsung plans to continue manufacturing it before replacing it with a new Blu-ray-only player (see ruminations above).
for all i care they can cancel all of their blu-ray players too. this has to be one of the least exciting technologies to come down the pike in a long time.
Office Live Workspace, which Microsoft says provides Office app users anywhere access to documents and enables sharing functionality, is now available to anyone who wants to try the product.
It's Microsoft's answer to the popular Google Docs and Spreadsheets online applications, the difference being that the Microsoft service still relies heavily on its for-pay desktop based apps, while Google put it's (somewhat less functional but free) apps online as Web services. Both products provide ample space to store documents.
Microsoft has also added a few new tricks to the Live Workspace service, including a dashboard where you can see the status and changes to your uploaded or shared documents. A clear nod to the wave of interest in and development of online collaboration services.
Also:
? Notifications. People can now receive e-mail notifications about changes made to their workspaces or documents.
? Direct links. People can now bookmark their workspace or a workspace item via a unique URL in a browser window.
? Multi-file upload. People can now upload several files simultaneously by simply dragging and dropping from their desktop.
? Improved sharing. New sharing functionality includes an easier user interface and auto-completion of e-mail addresses.
Read Microsoft's press release here.
See a boatload of screenshots here.
Read our initial hands-on review of Office Live Workspace beta from last December.
Stay tuned for a new hands-on testdrive of the new and improved Microsoft service, when we'll answer the question: Is Microsoft's service really a compelling enough answer to Zoho and Google to keep it in the Web 2.0 game?
cant print or edit online, useless until it gets better
I accidentally stole your data. Unannounced mergers. Acquisitions. Hirings. Firings. Resignations. A wedding proposal. I know it all. Sorry about that.
HBO may be taking a page from the music industry by putting content online free of charge. HBO's recent decision will put episodes of its latest series, In Treatment, online on YouTube and HBO.com. The first four episodes of the series will appear on YouTube; the first three weeks of episodes, which air nightly, will appear on HBO.com.
HBO's decision comes after (but isn't related to) its recently announced online, on-demand service for its subscribers.
HBO's online experiment is intended to garner interest in the new series, which airs episodes Monday through Friday for nine weeks. HBO isn't known for dumping a new series in such a heavy dose, so not only does the online streaming allow regular viewers to watch missed episodes, but it also allows those late to the party to easily catch up.
As we've seen with the music industry, free is definitely good when it pertains to media. HBO is one of the few networks that understands online streaming is the new norm for content. Now, will you do me a big favor and put the entire Sopranos series online?
According to a report in Japan's The Nikkei, Pioneer is planning to cease manufacturing its own plasma panels. According unnamed sources, The Nikkei says the company's withdrawal will come sometime this year. Pioneer would continue to manufacture plasma TVs; rather than make its own plasma panels, though, the company would source those panels from other companies. Currently, in addition to Pioneer, Hitachi and Panasonic are the only other Japanese plasma manufacturers (Korea-based LG also manufactures its own panels).
This news is speculation for now; however, my sources say Pioneer Japan may be making an announcement later this week.
If true, that would be disappointing news to cinema enthusiasts who appreciate the deep black levels Pioneer's Kuro plasma TVs have become known for (including the model we've most recently reviewed, the Kuro PDP-5010FD). The company also had a fair amount of vision and innovation for plasma at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this year, where it showed off a .35-inch thick plasma TV concept design.
Still, the news wouldn't be a complete shocker: Just a week ago, Pioneer announced it had struck a deal with Panasonic to purchase plasma panels for their 42-inch televisions.
For those who think a movie rental store is too cumbersome or digital download too slow, a new option may be in store for you: USB movie rentals.
Ireland-based PortoMedia is looking to make movie rental kiosks as plentiful and convenient as ATMs, all downloading to a USB drive.
This is possible because of PortoMedia's hard drive-based rental kiosks and proprietary USB technology, which supports faster average downloads than standard USB drives.
PortoMedia says its technology can download a standard definition movie in less than a minute. A starter USB kit will cost around $60 (U.S. pricing isn't set), which will provide you with a USB drive, a USB dock, and six movie rentals.
PortoMedia has been testing the service in Dublin, Ireland and reportedly plans to bring the service to the U.S. in the second quarter. The company isn't saying where the PortoMedia kiosks will be showing up, though its site describes co-branding kiosks with partners such as convenience stores.
I think this would be ideal to put in airports. Streaming movies isn't a possibility on airplanes, so a portable USB movie rental is a good alternative. Kiosks already rent discs in many airports, but a movie on a USB device is smaller and quicker, especially if you're heading to the gate.
with our new HD laptops, when can we get some hi def movies on our USB drives for $60?
j/k
Nine Inch Nails has surprised the music industry by coming out of nowhere with a new album release with a different variety of online purchasing options. The album is entitled Ghosts I-IV and is a 36-track instrumental album.
NIN is no stranger to the area of online album releases , but this is a bit different than the "pay what you want" theme made popular by Radiohead.
In this case, NIN has supplied five extensive ways to get Ghosts I-IV. For free you can download the first nine tracks, known as Ghosts I. A $5 fee gets you all 36 tracks as well as a 40-page informational PDF as a digital download. A $10 two-CD set is the third option. Also available is a $75 deluxe edition package that includes the audio CDs, a data DVD, Blu-ray disc, hardcover slipcase and more. Finally, the band offers a $300 ultra package that includes everything -- the deluxe edition as well as four LP180 vinyl discs and two Giclee prints all signed and numbered by NIN frontman Trent Reznor. The latter two packages won't ship until May 1 and the ultra package is limited to 2500 pieces. The three CD packages also include an immediate digital download of the entire album.
Yet again, Reznor proves he knows how to launch an album online. Trent has even gone as far to populate popular BitTorrent trackers like The Pirate Bay with a copy of the free music.
Bonus points for NIN with the digital album download options. You can choose among 320 kbps MP3 files, FLAC lossless files, and Apple lossless files and everything is 100 percent DRM-free.
It's important for other artists and record companies to realize how Reznor and NIN succeed with online releases, and it all comes down to having options. DRM-free options? All the better.
The music industry labels will die, but music will go on! Viva, Nine Inch Nails! Viva, Radiohead! Viva, Vendetta Valentine!
I first learned to type on a small (but fully functional) kids' typewriter sometime in the mid-1970's, but by the time I actually took a typing class in high school, my fingers had been clattering away on computer keyboards for years. Like dialing a rotary phone, it's one of the many things I learned when I was young and rarely, if ever, need to do in these first years of the 21st century.
Inspired by a blog posting on Scobleizer, a wiki was recently started that purports to list skills that are now obsolete, mostly thanks to the rise of high technology.
Dialing rotary phones and changing typewriter ribbons are both there, as are things like sending a telegram (you couldn't if you wanted to, as Western Union axed their service two years ago) and adjusting horizontal and vertical hold on televisions. Nerdier skills listed include using TSR (terminate and stay resident) programs on PCs and parking hard disk heads yourself.
One thing I like about this wiki is how inaccurate it is -- it's a peek into what people think is obsolete, rather than what really is. I know I'm not the only one who still uses command-line ftp, or occasionally tweaks batch files, for instance. Still, the site makes for a good first draft of the references your kids won't understand in twenty years.
Great article.
Your readers might want to try www.Measuredup.com a leading customer service review website where people share reviews with other users and with companies. Companies that are involved with and value customer service read Measuredup to keep up on what people are saying and to be able to improve customer service.
Your disputes could be resolved using MeasuredUp if the company you reviewed reads your review or another consumer could give you advice. When you have good things to say a company could reward you.
It is free and easy to use and your info is private.
I have tried some other sites that are also good but really like this one.
I have similar issues with airlines, too. My beef is about rebooking fees and not being given miles points when I get those discounted promo fares. If these airlines really want to reward their loyal customers, or simply customers, they shouldn't be collecting fees that are unreasonable. Anyway, I'm featuring this post on my blog, too, so that others can join in the conversation.
QQflyboy - Actually, I wouldn't mind paying $50 to change the agreement. But when was the last time the airline paid you to change the agreement. When a ticket is purchased you agree to fly airline XYZ from point A to point B at a certain time on a certain day. Have you EVER been paid $50 when the airline breaks that agreement and instead has you fly 4 hours after the agreed time? and then they change it to point A to point B to point C with 10 minutes between flights and 2 seperate terminals at Atlanta Airport? The reason airlines are in such trouble is because they consider it more important to serve you 3 peanuts and 4 oz of soda in bags and cups with their name on them than to treat you fairlly and with dignity.