Judge Deals Blow to RIAA in Music Piracy Case
The Recording Industry Association of America suffered a legal setback this week in a music piracy case where a judge ruled that the sole act of making a music file available in a "shared folder" does not violate copyright laws.
In Atlantic v. Howell, the RIAA made the legal assertion that a "sound recording" that is ripped to a computer and stored in any kind of a shared folder is unauthorized. This was an interesting statement because a shared folder can be a very broad category that wasn't entirely made clear by the RIAA.
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New iPhones to Have Tactile Feedback, says Report
The latest coming from the iPhone rumor mill is that haptic feedback (or tactile feedback) is on its way for the touchscreen phone. An anonymous Apple employee told Palluxo.com that Apple is licensing haptic feedback technology from Immersion Corporation for the iPhone.
Haptic feedback is the ability to "feel" keys when they aren't actually there. One of the biggest complaints of the iPhone is its lack of any kind of haptic feedback. Users cannot feel keys, so it can make it harder to use the touchscreen interface. Using a type of haptic technology, like from Immersion, could answer those complaints by at least providing some kind of a physical response when touchscreen keys are pressed.
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Metallica Changes Its Tune, Finally Decides Web is Good
Metallica, yes that Metallica, has said that it is looking at online distribution methods for delivering digital content, and to be honest, I don't blame them.
Despite Metallica being one of the driving forces behind the Napster shutdown, I'm okay with the band taking cues from Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails by further exploring the online distribution options. In its short lifespan, Napster did a lot for the music industry and Metallica was just trying to protect its assets. If someone were breaking into your home, wouldn't you wield a bat trying to protect your property? Metallica was doing the same thing, but replace the bats with lawyers.
Continue reading "Metallica Changes Its Tune, Finally Decides Web is Good"
As soon as we were able to convert music into a binary format, we opened the doors to downloading music. And no matter how hard people try to crush it, all they can do is help this illegal industry to evolve.
I'm an artist and I recognize all the problem about the internet. But we should learn how to take advantage of this. Music CD are just too expensive for something as needed as music. I think we should start thinking about playing more concerts than selling cd's.
The more people download yout tune, the more people like you!
My 0.02$
CinemaNow Allows Movie Rentals Via Cell Phone
For those who really, really like to plan ahead, the Web-based movie service CinemaNow has introduced a mobile feature that allows you to use your Web-enabled cell phone to download movies.
Not to your cell phone, though. No, the service called CinemaNow Mobile allows you to use your phone to download movies to your computer at home, provided that computer has the CinemaNow Media Manager up and running on it. According to the service's FAQ section, "On CinemaNow Mobile you can browse the same CinemaNow video selection, watch trailers, make purchases and have the video download at any of your PC's."
Cool, But is it Practical?
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Regarding Imacs losing their luster blog:
Has M$ lost its luster? Did it ever have one? Was the long overdue wait for Vista a beautiful luster for its product?
With 7 years to research the XP and improve its luster, Vista was a major corrosion in luster for M$!
Why not talk about this degradation rather than Apple shocking the WoW every month with its new refreshments?
Is there a real question regarding ingenuity, productivity, or practicality comparing M$ with Apple?
M$ is trying and hoping to bury Vista with a quick switch to Win 7.0 for amnesia, as the XP bailed out the ME disgrace!
I think the article should focus on the new luster for M$, if there ever was one, not Apple, that continues to really invent electrical wonders; maybe not every refreshment is a WOW, but they have more WoWs than their rival M$!!
Blockbuster Sharpens Focus on Gamers
Blockbuster is stepping up its game when it comes to wooing Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, and DS systems owners. The fading movie rental giant says it will now focus more on console sales and the video game rental market, following its failed hostile takeover of Circuit City, the number two video game retailer in the United States.
Yesterday, Blockbuster announced its video game retail efforts will now include an expanded video game section in all retail stores along with a "new arrival wall" for video game titles. Blockbuster will also begin selling the Sony PS3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, and Nintendo DS machines in store.
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It depends on what you mean by compete cause gamefly in particular has them beat on pricing, game condition, selection (5000+ titles), supported consoles, convenience, and perks. Gamefly has everything across all platforms, including the PSP and DS. They even include PSP movies in their rental library.
Blockbuster is just flat out expensive! $10 for something like a 5 day game rental. That's ridiculous. And if you rent something you don't like from Blockbuster, you've got to go drop another $10 on a new rental.
They can add all they want. I know from experience that they aren't really all that concerned about gamers needs, not like a gamefly for example. I don't know about everyone else but going back to Blockbuster just because they upped their selection a bit would be like taking a giant step backward in my opinion.
I don't know about everyone else but going back to Blockbuster would be like taking a giant step backward in my opinion.
Google Shows Off Advanced Image Search Technology
Google engineers last week presented an interesting paper at the WWW2008 conference in Beijing which proposes to apply its PageRank system of finding relevant Web pages to radically improve the accuracy of image search results using Google. This new technology is being called VisualRank, according to an fascinating story on the subject in the New York Times.
The paper, titled "PageRank for Product Image Search," (PDF) was published by Yushi Jing and Shumeet Baluja of Google. In it they talk about using PageRank to analyze the "visual link structure" that can be created among a group of similar images. This paper proposes to move away from the current model of many image search engine rankings, described as using "the text clues of the pages in which images are embedded to rank images."
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Grand Theft Auto IV Hype Machine Shifts into Overdrive
On Tuesday the highly anticipated next installment in the Grand Theft Auto series hits stores for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 giving millions of eager GTA IV fans a first chance to go on a virtual crime spree with the game. Of course, that's assuming you aren't a pirate that downloaded the game illegally last week. As the release date nears hype swirls around the game.
GTA IV looks to continue the series long history of both critical acclaim, controversy, and over-hyping. It is a rare occurrence for any game to receive even one perfect score when being reviewed, but already the game has received a perfect score of 10 out of 10 from several gaming websites. Of the 12 reviews I've seen the game has received, 9 are perfect scores.
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Apple's New iMac Lineup Fails to Wow
Today Apple has unveiled a refresh to its iMac line desktop computers adding faster CPU and GPU options. But if you ask me what makes this iMac refresh interesting is the way it is being received, or more so, not received among the Apple faithful that litters the Internet.
Maybe it's because this refresh isn't very glamorous with only faster processors and graphics options. I ask where are the Mac faithful across the Web not dropping everything they're doing to go pick up this updated iMac and post the unboxings on Flickr. Nor are the Apple message boards and social media sites like Digg and Reddit being overtaken with news and interpretation of Apple's latest duds.
In contrast there is a lot of buzz about a video posted to Gizmodo that shows a customer turning on a Psystar Open Computer running the Mac OS.
Is Apple Losing It's Luster?
Continue reading "Apple's New iMac Lineup Fails to Wow"
If it ain't broke, don't fix it!
Macs are overpriced pretty pretty little boxes. Real men use a PC.
Apple evolves as nicely as it revolutionizes. And yes, spelling and grammar is important. Real men don't spout stupid cliches and sound like juvenile idiots. Funnily enough, PC manufacturers are falling all over themselves trying to come up with "pretty little boxes of their own." Then again, it's hard to be observant when one's head is up his butt.
Independent Filmmakers Are Ready to Wreck
A few years ago I had the pleasure of watching Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning, a Finnish feature-length Star Trek spoof that had astonishingly assured special effects and blue-screen work for an amateur production. (The whole thing was put together over seven years by a handful of enthusiasts.) More astonishing was that the film cost only $20,000 to make, making use of consumer equipment, off-the-shelf software, and a lot of creative handiwork.
I'm eagerly awaiting the release of their second film, Iron Sky, in which Nazis who establish a secret moon base in 1945 return to Earth in the present day. But I'm also waiting to see the first tangible results of Wreck A Movie, the group's open-source filmmaking initiative.
Continue reading "Independent Filmmakers Are Ready to Wreck"
Google Forks Out $72 Million a Year for Free Employee Chow
It's known that Google treats its employees pretty nicely, but recent estimations show just how much the Internet-giant appreciates its employees.
One amenity enjoyed by Googlers is two free meals per day. An estimated 9,600 employees across multiple offices enjoy free meals 251 days out of the year that Google is open. This equates to $72,288,000 spent per year by Google just to keep its employees fat and happy.
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The last paragraph says it all. "It's all about keeping the employees happy." I've worked for casinos where the same perk exists and surely there are other companies that do this.
And lets not forget the cost of bonuses, stock options, and golden parachutes given to CEO's. One man/woman can rake in $72 million just for himself.
Video Shows Psystar Mac Clones in Action
Psystar today posted a QuickTime video on its Website featuring a tour of three of its Open Computers, running OSX Leopard, Ubuntu Linux and Windows XP. Here is a look at a version posted to YouTube.
This video proof comes in the knick of time, as Psystar has come under intense scrutiny due to its ever-shifting physical addresses, unreliably functioning website and the swarm of Apple EULA infringement legal troubles bound to descend, which Psystar intends to challenge.
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Did you know that Microsoft Word doesn't recognize the word Psystar and it suggests the correct spelling to be "shyster".. I'm NOT kidding.
Do I smell a conspiracy?
All said.. psystar has not acted very professionally and i think does deserve scrutiny... But also does deserve the benefit of the doubt - even if Microsoft thinks they are a bunch of shysters..
A conspiracy because the spellchecker in word doesn't recognize the word psystar? You forgot to mention that word also suggests the words sister, sitar, spinster, and siesta. OMG, maybe you're right. The Firefox browser spellchecker recommended startup and upstart for the unrecognized word psystar!!!! They are all in it together!!! (this is sarcasm, for those who don't recognize it)
Perhaps a better possibility is that the online world has seen enough internet based fraud schemes to treat an unknown company with wild promises and no verifiable history with more than just a bit of caution. I would really like to see some of the accusations toned down a bit until a product review comes out. Maybe PC world could buy one and have it shipped overnight so their people can test it out. Then some actual light can be shed on the issue.
I will agree with webguy262, though. If you are going to write an article on a video that you post a link to in that article, you need to be accurate.
In my opinion, either this is fake or very very unprofessional and.
I bet the two guyz above are from Psystar or something, why are they so defensive?
i mean there is no reason to defend Psystar, if there was a real open mac, youtube would've been filled with people showing off this computers, they've been shipping for three weeks. Moreover, no company has ever introduced computers by calling them "bad boyz" and "get them while they're hot", its too cheesy to be true.
Microsoft's SPOT Watches Run Out of Time
Another Microsoft product initiative quietly bit the dust today. MSN announced that time had run out for its SPOT Watches powered by the MSN Direct service. In a post to the online forum SPOTStop Jon Canan, MSN Direct manager, explained SPOT Watches were currently sold out and supplies would not be replenished. There are no immediate plans to launch another watch of this type, Canan wrote. However, the MSN Direct technology behind SPOT watches will live on GPS navigation systems, mobile phones, and smart appliances.
Canan explained Microsoft was moving forward with new devices to embed the MSN Direct wireless service into, and that the watches had run their course.
Lawsuit Alleges News Corp. Hired Hacker for Sabotage
News Corp, one of the largest media companies in the world, is knee deep into a lawsuit involving a computer hacker that claims he was hired nearly 5 years ago to develop satellite television pirating and spying software.
Echostar Communications, the parent company of DISH Network Corp, brought the lawsuit against News Corp's contractor NDS Group, a satellite security company. The hacker in question, Christopher Tarnovsky, was allegedly paid under the table by the NDS Group to develop satellite television pirating software. The purpose of the software is where things get messy.
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Wikipedia Moves Offline: Print Version Coming Soon
Publishing powerhouse Bertelsmann is planning on selling a print edition of the German language version of Wikipedia. Bertelsmann says the Wikipedia print edition will be called "The One-Volume Wikipedia Encyclopedia" and will include 50,000 entries and cost about $32.
Wikipedia entries, according to Bertelsmann, are to be selected based on popularity rather than relevance. (Britney, yes? Madame Curie, no?) In an interview with the Associated Press Arne Klempert, a spokesperson for Wikipedia Germany said "The approach of 'Wikipedia in One Volume' is to give the people the information they are looking for." Klempert explained content for traditional encyclopedias is decided on by a select group behind closed doors.
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You do not want to wait for the Wikipedia book, but you still want to read Wikipedia offline now?
WikiTaxi (http://www.wikitaxi.org) is a portable offline-reader for wikis in MediaWiki format. You can read, search, and browse popular wikis like Wikipedia, Wikiquote, or WikiNews, without being connected to the Internet!
WikiTaxi works well with different languages like English, German, Frensh, Polish, Turkish, and others.
Unlike the book, WikiTaxi is already available now and contains the complete Wikipedia with all articles and links. Wikitaxi runs on Windows 95, Windows 2000, WinXP, Vista or later.
WikiTaxi is Freeware, so visit www.wikitaxi.org and download your copy now!
Why DRM Must Die
If I hadn't already learned that one should never buy music crippled with digital rights management, the recent e-mail I received from the MSN Music Store was enough to convince me.
The form letter informed me that, because "MSN Music is constantly striving to provide you, our user, with the most compelling music experience that we can," I soon won't be able to transfer songs to a new computer.
Not that MSN is totally heartless. "License keys already obtained as of August 31, 2008 will continue to allow you to listen to songs on all the computers that you previously authorized for service."
Luckily, I bought only a few songs before I came to my senses, so this isn't a complete disaster. I'll either find a way to break the copy protection, or I'll buy the songs again--this time as .mp3s. I can assure you I won't be buying them from Zune.net.
It's easy to dismiss this as a typical Microsoft move, and there's a lot of truth to that. But the simple fact is that Napster, MusicMatch, and even the much-beloved Apple could pull the same stunt tomorrow.
As long as you can't play your music without permission from the store that sold it to you, you haven't bought that music; you're only renting it.
"If I buy it, IT'S MINE."
No, that's not how it works.
When you buy music, movies, games, or any other intellectual property, you are buying (1) a copy of the information, (2) a license which to use that information in certain, restricted ways.
If you buy a DVD, you are buying a copy of the movie and a license to watch that movie at home. You are *not* allowed to charge admission, sell copies, or rent copies (AMC/Blockbuster/etc. pay MUCH more for their licenses). If you buy a game, you can't install it on public computers and charge people to play it; your license doesn't allow that (LAN gaming centers pay a lot more for their licenses).
If you buy an MP3 of Umbrella, you can't sell it, rent it, or license it to production companies; you don't get paid royalties when it's played on the radio; because YOU DON'T OWN THE SONG -- Rihanna does -- you only own a license which grants you limited usage. That license can be as restrictive as the seller wants it to be.
The artist has the right to sell his or her music for profit, a consumer does not have the right to earn money from anothers work. Once a artist releases teh song or album for public consumption the end user who purchased the artists music has the rights to listen to taht owned music whereever and however he likes as long as he is not profiting in any way.
Most people who support DRM would have a world where you cannot buy a McDonalds cheeseburger and take it on a picnic, McDonalds demands you eat it there so that they have th chance to make more money.
It is bad enough that a person over 50 years in age has already purchased the same music in 8 track, album, tape, CD, and Mp3 formats over the years. Enough is enough!!!
I don't listen to enough music to steal or pay for it, but DRM is the reason why file sharing will never die. As long as people feel like they're getting cheated when they buy a song, they'll steal it instead.
With this GPS Blackberry You'll Never Be Lost
AT&T announced today it's adding the BlackBerry Pearl 8110 GPS smartphone to its lineup. The Pearl 8110 sports a 2-megapixel camera, 3D maps, traffic alerts and will run you around $150 after assorted contracts and rebates are applied. The new phone will have some Blackberry fans asking the question, "How many Blackberries can I really have?"
This certainly isn't the first Blackberry Pearl to come along ? in fact we've reviewed the 8100, 8120, 8130 and generally liked the Blackberry family of smartphones. This new Pearl, with its built-in GPS and use of AT&T's Navigator mapping application, could make for another nice addition. The smartphone is a decent size ? measuring 4.2- x 2.4- x 0.5-inches and weighing around 3.2 ounces.
Continue reading "With this GPS Blackberry You'll Never Be Lost"
Microsoft Live Mesh: A Closer Look in Pictures
Juggling spreadsheets, music, and reports between PCs may get a lot easier with a new Microsoft service called Live Mesh. The service, announced today, allows you to create a Web-based Live Desktop complete with Windows-like folders that can be shared with others and can be synched to multiple PCs, Microsoft says. Another key aspect of the service is software that runs on any PC linked to the Live Mesh service that allows for remote desktop access to Mesh-connected PCs.
Microsoft's future plans for Live Mesh include extending the service to Macs and cell phones. Microsoft Live Mesh is not currently available to the public. Microsoft is expected to officially unveil Live Mesh at the the Web 2.0 Conference in San Francisco on Thursday. However, starting tomorrow 10,000 developers will be invited to tinker with the service.
Microsoft has not mentioned pricing or availability to the public.
Here is a link to the news story. What follows here are images that illustrate how the service works.
Microsoft Live Mesh in Pictures
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DRM Disaster: Microsoft to Close MSN Music License Servers
Microsoft is stoking the anti-DRM fires with its decision to close its PlaysForSure licensing server that was tied to the shuttered MSN Music store. This will be a hard pill to swallow for those that bought music tracks at the MSN Music store. Come September, when Microsoft says it will retire the licensing server, music tracks purchased from MSN Music before 2006 will only playback on PCs with PlaysForSure DRM installed.
This doesn't mean that the music is disappearing or becoming invalid, it simply means that it will no longer be able to transfer the music to another computer.
Cut Microsoft Some Slack?
Continue reading "DRM Disaster: Microsoft to Close MSN Music License Servers"
This can theoretically happen with the iTunes DRM also. However, they have three things going for them: 1. They're the biggest retailer & their market-share isn't dropping. 2. They have a DRM-free selection 3. They don't offer multiple services for the same thing
Microsoft had "personally" never invested in WM-DRM beyond MSN Music. The Zune ecosystem was a fresh start for them. They made some good and bad decisions there: 1. They started with a clean slate. This allowed for fewer problems, but broke compatibility with existing WM-DRM songs/devices 2. They went partially DRM free & added a DRM-subscription service. This also allowed them new sales + complete point-of-access control a la Apple, but competed against other subscription services 3. Operating both MSN Music & Zune Marketplace was driving an axe through their own foot.
However, WM-DRM is far from dead. It's true that many service providers have left the game: e.g. Yahoo Music sent it's customers over to Rhapsody. The Microsoft+MTV joint venture, Urge, died a quick death & ALSO migrated its users to Rhapsody. However, Microsoft has no benefit from closing down WM-DRM altogether. It makes a bunch of money by simply licensing the technology, while keeping the Zune system safe. The two major WM-DRM providers now are Rhapsody & Napster, which is good, in a way, because of consolidation of catalogues & points-of-access. The primary service offered by both is subscription. Libraries in the US are using the WM-DRM based Overdrive digital audio+e-book system even now, because it fits their needs best. Manufacturers like Sandisk, Creative, Samsung, Sony, Creative & iRiver still support WM-DRM playback & are going strong. Windows XP & Vista (largest market-share) still play it. Only Apple & Microsoft devices (& Mac OS & Linux-es) can't access WM-DRM stuff
Technically, WM-DRM is still the best model for subscription services. The to-buy version of music is going (as it rightly should) DRM-free.
Till then, those of us who are invested in multiple DRM-ed services, must rely on FairUse4WindowMedia, DRMdbg, Hymn and "CD"-based ripping for "inter-operatability"
LaCie Ships 500GB Portable Hard Drive
As a digital photographer, I go through gigabytes of storage as if they were water. To me, the more gigabytes the better in a portable drive--which is why I was excited when Hitachi first introduced its 500GB 2.5-inch hard drive just before the CES show in January.
This 500GB notebook drive has a larger depth than usual. Typically, drives are 9.5mm in thickness; the 500GB drive will be 12.5mm, due to the additional disk platter that takes the storage capacity up to 500GB. This means that not all notebook cases can accommodate the drive.
LaCie packs this drive into its external, portable Rugged Hard Drive chassis. This particular series of hard drives was designed by Neil Poulton, in metal with an orange rubber bumper around it, and internal anti-shock absorbers. The $300 drive is shipping now, and comes with LaCie's own utility for facilitating formating the drive for Mac, Windows, or cross-platform environments. The drive also ships with backup software: LaCie ?1-Click? Backup for both PC and Mac, and SilverKeeper for Mac.
Buffalo and OtherWorld Computing also offer 500GB portable models.
Sony to Bring Movie Downloads to PlayStation 3, Report Says
Sony will debut a movie download service for PlayStation 3 owners starting this summer, according to reports. According to a Los Angeles Times an anonymous Sony official says the video download service will be based on "open standards" and would allow you to download video content to a myriad of computers and hand-held devices including the PlayStation Portable.
The only real acknowledgment Sony seems to have made up to this point about this is a recent post on its official PlayStaton blog. In it Peter Dille, a Sony senior vice president, recounts how 2008 is being called the year of PlayStation 3 and that "digital media download services" will be one of the key pillars for making that work.
Continue reading "Sony to Bring Movie Downloads to PlayStation 3, Report Says"
yay. i'm all good and ready, except for my internet. my part of the city is just starting to get fi-op, but it's not coming fast enough... =(
i naggree but just check this website before making any comment about this
http://www.technologytoday.in
i naggree but just check this website before making any comment about this
http://www.technologytoday.in
Court Approves Airport Laptop Searches - No Probable Cause Needed
All of the contents on a laptop can now be searched without wrongdoing or suspicion from U.S. Customs agents according to a recent federal appeals court ruling (PDF).
This ruling comes about after 43-year-old Michael Arnold was returning to Los Angeles from the Philippines and was selected for the secondary questioning by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. During the search and questioning, one official asked Arnold to turn on his laptop and then handed the laptop off to another customs agent. The other customs agent looked into a pictures folder and found what was believed to be child pornography. The customs agents seized the computer, but let Arnold go. Two weeks later federal agents obtained a warrant for Arnold's arrest.
Continue reading "Court Approves Airport Laptop Searches - No Probable Cause Needed"
They may look at my computer but no way will I give them the passwords to the encryption.
Gestapo is alive and well in good old USA.
So this is why I wasted part of my life in the USMC (20 years). I think the sheep in US dont give a darn about these types of things. They (US congress) has now given telco's a free pass for spying on their customers. Again the sheep are to scared of being sheered.
I could not say it any better than ImaPhake!
The government and Bill Gates both say its for your safety / Security.
It is nothing more than spying & intimidation.
To al the Soldiers who ever fought for freedom myself included, we lost our freedom to our own Governments.
I am not anti government, I Am Anti Corruption.
I guess all those bad guys are just too stupid to figure out how to encrypt their bad stuff..... ya think??
Microsoft Ships XP SP3: Here's What to Expect
It's official. Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 3 is now being shipped to PC manufacturers and volume licensing customers. Existing XP Pro and Home users will have to wait until April 29 to be able to download the service pack directly from Microsoft Download Center or will have to configure their Windows Update to download SP3, according to Microsoft which posted the news at its software developers site TechNet.
According to Microsoft if XP users don't pro-actively request SP3 they can expect to receive XP SP3 alongside other XP updates early this summer when it is pushed to PC users via Windows Update.
What's New in XP3?
Continue reading "Microsoft Ships XP SP3: Here's What to Expect"
Skype Offers Unlimited Calling Plan - $2.95 a Month
Skype announced plans to expand its unlimited long-distance calling service to landlines and mobile phones allowing its U.S. and Canadian customers to pay $2.95 a month for unlimited calls within and between these two countries.
Skype, owned by eBay, offers free computer-to-computer calls between Internet users and up until today maintained a number of different pricing tiers that would allow computer users to place calls to landlines and cell phones.
Continue reading "Skype Offers Unlimited Calling Plan - $2.95 a Month"
Time for a Speed Limit Online?
We've all become accustomed to broadband Internet speeds, with Web pages loading fast and a download of more than three seconds considered an inconvenience. But these things put quite the toll on ISPs, and by 2010 our greedy Internet usage tendencies could put the Internet in a lot of trouble, according to a recent study.
With the ever-increasing popularity of peer-to-peer networking and video downloading from the Internet, and the fact that video is increasingly appearing in HD form, the Internet Innovation Alliance predicts the average household in 2010 will use 1.1 terabyte of bandwidth per month. To put that in perspective, that means that around 20 households will generate as much traffic as the entire Internet did in 1995.
Some ISPs have tried to solve this issue by blocking certain high-bandwidth applications, while others, like Verizon, are adopting a more progressive attitude and charging different fees based on bandwidth rather than speed.
But there could be another solution, says Vint Cerf, Internet pioneer and now chief Internet evangelist at Iinternet behemoth Google: an Internet speed cap rather than a bandwidth cap. "Doubling (capacity) isn't enough," Cerf told USA Today. "These various attempts to constrain consumer demand ? are a reflection of limited capacity and oversubscription." Instead, a limit to the speed of Internet traffic would allow for the bandwidth usage to be more standardized and regulated, Cerf suggests.
Could a speed cap really work, though? In a practical sense, perhaps, but would people really accept that? We have become increasingly reliant on fast Internet access, and I'm not sure people would be willing to give that up. And as long as people are willing to pay more for increased bandwidth, there is little motivation for Internet access providers to change their policies while there is still money to be made.
There was an article posted at Ars Technica on a similar topic last week. In that article they were talking about the backbone of the internet and how it is by no means about to become "flooded"; the issue lies with the ISPs. However, as I see it, talking about what to do with the issue is pointless until we get rid of the ISP oligopolies currently present and see some true competition in the United States. The fact remains that these companies know they have a hold on the market and besides the "choice" between cable/dsl, there is not true competition; there is no where for people to go. So they can sit on their fat ***es and rake in the money, without upgrading their networks. And yes, that is how I really feel. ;-) Throw in some true competition and see the prices drop, the bandwidth increase and a whole lot happier customer base.
Google Rated Most Powerful Brand
It's no surprise that Google is the world's most powerful brand financially with an estimated value at $86 billion, but what about Google's brand ranking in the hearts and minds of the consumers?
Google's top honors comes from the BrandZ study, an oddly named financial brand index from Millward Brown, a research company.
WD's New VelociRaptor Shows Drive Innovation
I admit I'm a storage geek. I'll also be the first to admit that hard drives rarely enter the conversation when it comes to cool, tangible innovations.
Sure, we get to see boosts to hard drive areal density (which is what allows capacities to increase) over time--but then again, experts tell us to expect hard drive capacity to jump, so the drive boosts rarely have the ability to make us speechless anymore (okay, I will be excited when we hit 1.5TB or 2TB in a 3.5-inch drive, or 1TB in 2.5-inch drive, but before you know it, those capacities will seem the norm). Most hard drive innovations are inside the drive, known to the engineers, but not tangible to those of us in the real world.
WD's Cool New Drive
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Google Maps Mashup Makes London an Open Book
Finally, a Google Maps mashup I can get into. Tracking new big box stores, U.S. lakes, and that old standby, celebrity maps? Beyond the first bits of noodling, well... meh.
But local history, geography, and especially reading -- now we're talking. Booktrust, a British organization devoted to encouraging reading, has cooked up a mashup that combines geography and literature. Get London Reading positions thumbnails of over 400 books related to or that take place in London over their relevant locations, right down to the relevant street corner. (It's like a significantly less creepy version of the cabbie's tour of the city in Eddie Campbell's From Hell, the source of the Johnny Depp movie.) Each thumbnail has a popup with a user-modifiable summary.
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Apple Bows to PC Users' Concerns Over Safari Update
Apple received a lot of grief from PC users when it started pushing its new Safari browser inside its Apple software update tool. The beef was that Apple appeared to be sneaking its browser onto computers by leeching onto the update. For many not paying close attention to the update and who didn't un-check the Safari download dialog box the Apple Safari browser was an unwelcome surprise on their PC.
Now Apple hopes to alleviate some of that frustration from PC users by changing the format of the Apple software update tool to separate new software from software updates. Now, instead of Safari being listed right under to the "QuickTime + iTunes" software update, it will be listed in a separate category labeled "New Software."
Unfortunately, the Safari install dialog-box will still be checked by default.
Continue reading "Apple Bows to PC Users' Concerns Over Safari Update"
Apple has been at this for over 20 years now. It would be nice to see a company take the high ground here. If they want their product to get noticed, they should pony up some marketing funds to spread the word instead of sneaking software onto our machines. Yes, you do have the choice, but how many people *really* look at every dialog box that pops up anymore?
Most, not all, people focus in on the words "iTunes" and "update" and go with it. Focus group testing shows this. So when people login and see "Safari" for the first time, the thought's going to be "Where the hell did this come from?" People will feel tricked. That behavior is expected of a virus or the like. Not a leading innovator in software and hardware. Just my two cents though.
I would like to add that I felt especially tricked into this since (I suppose because of an error in my browser or something like that) no description of the new software was displayed in the update tool. I have never heard of "Safari" so I did a search for it and found this page.
Is the most 'alarming' point is that Apple is as disingenuous as any other mega corporation?
Install Quicktime, it installs into your system tray. Why?? A waste of space. To remove the icon, you can't simply right click and disable, there's only an option to close. Disable is, annoyingly, buried 4 tabs deep. So the majority of (dumb) users have a constant Apple advert near their clock.
Way to nag your customers seeking that extra 1% revenue.
Blockbuster Sued Over Facebook Beacon Advertising
Blockbuster is being sued over its partnership with Facebook and its Beacon marketing program which a Texas woman says violated her rights to privacy.
Cathryn Elaine Harris has filed a lawsuit in Dallas stating that Blockbuster violated the federal Video Privacy Protection Act when it shares its rental information. Harris is seeking $2500 per violation by Blockbuster and Facebook, as stated in the act.
Continue reading "Blockbuster Sued Over Facebook Beacon Advertising"
Even Grannies Fight for Net Neutrality
A group of singing and screaming grandmothers known as the Raging Grannies made up the most colorful part of yesterday?s public hearing on broadband network management practices at Stanford University.
"Internet Freedom, under attack. What do we do? Stand up, talk back," the Raging Grannies shouted outside the Dinkelspiel Auditorium at Stanford University where the FCC hearing was held.
"For a lot of people the Internet is becoming the most important source of communication. It has to be regulated so that open access can be guaranteed, just like with all other communication," said Gail Sredanovic, one of the grannies.
Google Maps See Your Traffic Future
If you were going to waste an hour in futility and boredom next Tuesday, would you want to know now or not? That's the question you have to ask yourself with the latest feature in Google Maps, predictive traffic reports.
By looking at the traffic history for a road, Google Maps predicts how fast traffic will be moving on your route at say, Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. or Wednesday at 10:15 a.m. So if you know you have to pick up your aunt at the airport on Thursday evening, you can either see just how screwed you'll be or wait and let the traffic gods surprise you.
There are, of course, some practical uses for this. You can try to choose a route that won't be so clogged, or reschedule your trip for a less congested time of day (or use the Google Map as evidence for why your aunt should just pay for a cab).
And it's just kind of fun to slide the time setting from one hour to another and see what happens to traffic in your neck of the woods.
Google says it has traffic for 30 major US metropolitan areas. You'll know if your area is included if you have a button labeled Traffic in the upper right of the map you're looking at. Click that button and a box labeled Live traffic will come up. Click the "change" link right next to Live traffic and you'll be able to predict the future.
Hunting Down Psystar: The Web is on the Case
The latest Psystar debacle has only proved one important note: the Internet is a mean place for alleged wrongdoers.
Readers at the technology blog, Gizmodo, physically hunted down the Psystar address to check its legitimacy and found it to be non-existent. Gizmodo's loyal fan base helped unravel this mystery by checking the variety of different addresses posted on the Psystar site as well as looking into the Florida Department of State Division of Corporations and more.
Meanwhile across the Web similar efforts were underway as Psystar's Web site would one hour be up and running accepting orders, and the next down. CNET's Tom Krazit has an excellent roundup of Web reports on Psystar showing how people as far away as the United Kingdom swapped notes with those in the same Florida city Psystar is allegedly located in.
Continue reading "Hunting Down Psystar: The Web is on the Case"
What is with the witch hunt? Apparently none of your readers are old enough to recall that Dell was started by a college dropout in his off-campus apartment. Michael Dell was marketing IBM clones in Popular Tech magazines well before he had a "factory" or office - or even anything more than a mail drop! If Dell had been hounded like Psystar, it is unlikely the Michael Dell would have been anything but another college dropout, insterad of the CEO of the most successful PC manufacturer in history.
As for Apple? Perhaps your readers are so uninformed as to not recall that Apple too was marketing its Apple I at computer shows and in Electronics magazines before they had a "real" office or factory. They too began in a garage.
Perhaps your readers are old enough, or at least informed enough, to know of a little company called Google? Well, guess where Goolge was when it first started marketing itself as a commercial enterprise - in a GARAGE!!! A borrowed garage at that.
Law Would Ban U.S. In-Flight Cell Phone Use
Despite legal and technical progress that would allow for in-flight cell phone use on U.S. carriers lawmakers are proposing a bill that would ground any plans that would allow passengers to make cell phone calls 30,000 feet in the air.
Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-OR) introduced the HANG UP Act that, if passed, would make it illegal to talk on a cell phone while in-flight on U.S. airlines. The law would not attempt to restrict all cell phone use, just "voice communications." According to the bill passengers could still use their cell phones to access the Internet, e-mail and send text messages.
Ringtones in Coach at 30,000 Feet
Continue reading "Law Would Ban U.S. In-Flight Cell Phone Use"
Yeah the cell phone use issue on planes would be "self reglated" by the universal disgust for it just like it "self regulates" its use in restaurants, in movie theaters, on ski lifts, on buses etc. I'm sorry but I'm going to have to disagree with you on that one... Never underestimate the power of self-centric, rude behavior.
FCC to Hold Public Hearing on Net Neutrality
The debate around network neutrality remains a hot topic of discussion among telecom companies and service providers.
Tomorrow, the Federal Communications Commission will hold its second public hearing on broadband network management practices at Stanford University.
Federal regulators say they are considering taking steps to prevent cable and telephone companies from delaying the downloads and uploads of heavy Internet users.
"Obviously network operators can take reasonable steps to manage traffic, but they cannot arbitrarily block access", says FCC Chairman Kevin Martin.
Emotions ran high in February when a similar hearing was held at Harvard Law School. At that hearing the venue filled up early and many people who wished to get in could not. Comcast later admitted to paying people off the street to hold places in line for its employees.
Both of these public hearings were scheduled, in part, because of consumer complaints that Comcast, the nation?s largest cable company, has been slowing down Internet traffic of the file-sharing service BitTorrent.
Comcast argues that the growing popularity of peer-to-peer applications like video-sharing was straining the network, degrading other less-intense uses like Web surfing. Consumer groups and critics say discriminating against some content providers is simply a way for Comcast to get rid of the competition and that assuring network neutrality through regulation is necessary to prevent U.S. broadband providers from blocking or slowing their customers? connections to Web sites or services that compete with services offered by the providers.
Continue reading "FCC to Hold Public Hearing on Net Neutrality"
Starbucks Revives Free iTunes Download Promotion
Starbucks is giving away free music on iTunes with a new "Pick of the Week" promotion that offers customers a free song every week at over 7,000 Starbucks locations across the United States. If this sounds very familiar, it is. Starbucks had a similar promotion last October that provided customers at 10,000 Starbucks locations with a free music download every day for a month.
The unfortunate kicker is that that some swanky Starbucks marketing gurus, formally known as the "Starbucks Entertainment" team, stationed in a cubicle high in the sky is picking the songs that millions upon millions of latte-slurping customers will be able to take home for free and it's not the customer's choice.
Continue reading "Starbucks Revives Free iTunes Download Promotion"
Blog Once at Facebook and Posts Show Up on Blogger, Pownce, and...
Six Apart and Facebook have teamed on a new service called Blog It that lets any blog posted to Facebook automatically be posted to other blogging platforms including Movable Type, TypePad, Pownce, Twitter, Blogger, and WordPress (see complete list below).
What makes Blog It unique is the nature of how it works. Traditionally, Facebook allows users to import data and information around the Web to Facebook. Blog It now flips this process around allowing you to export content. The beauty of the service is rather than updating each blog service individually, you can do it all at once from within Facebook.
Continue reading "Blog Once at Facebook and Posts Show Up on Blogger, Pownce, and..."
Spear Phishing Targets CEOs
A new phishing threat specifically targeting corporate CEOs has found the perfect means to entice its victims into downloading the virus: by disguising itself as a court subpoena. The threat is sent as a fake court subpoena directing the recipient to a Web site to download court documents. On the site they are prompted to download a browser plug-in to view the documents, and it is this "plug-in" that gives away control of the victim?s computer.
The fake subpoena is apparently quite convincing, as it includes the victim?s name, company, and phone number. However, small details like a British spelling variant can tip off victims that it might not be the real deal.
The Web site that CEOs are sent to also seems legitimate at first. It is set up at an address ending in "uscourts.com" which is similar to the legitimate .gov addresses used by California state courts. The web site delivering the malware is actually based in China, however, and the computer that takes control of the victim computers is based in Singapore.
On Monday the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts issued a statement warning about the fake subpoenas and stating not to trust e-mail that purport to be court documents but contain links to sites other than uscourts.gov.
This is serious. I receive legal motion filing notices from a legitimate Texas company using the name uscourts.com. I believe that this is a nationwide alerting service that feeds circuit court notices to subscribers.
The perpetrator is probably the chinese government.
Report: Microsoft Service Pack 3 Expected in April
The anticipated release of Windows XP Service Pack 3 has an official release date of April 21 for manufacturers and April 29 for the public via Microsoft Update with the forced push coming on June 10, according to reports.
Continue reading "Report: Microsoft Service Pack 3 Expected in April"
Like mom and dad used to tell you, "don't hold your breath on that,son". Remember, this is the company that has lost all sense of practicing even a vaneer of good, solid corporate citizenship while marshalling an overwhelming in=house and out-house retained third partys'... a virtual army of Microsoft lawyers such as those that sardonically thwarted US Attorney General, Janet Reno, the entire US Dept. of Justice and the Federal Courts for so many years during the Clinton Administration.Add to thisthe extraordinary additional resources of innumerable patent attorneys generating patent suits faster than than a speeding bullet...its entiire markwting and "PR" resources devising Nixonian -like "Dirty Tricks" tactics aimed at a growing backlashfrom steadfast XP users refusing NOT to buy Vista just because ! All this to say that, Microsoft' has become "the little boy who cried 'WOLF!' too many times". So, I'm not holding my breath on XP's SP3 RTM plans. I'll believe it when I see it
Psystar to Fight Apple OS X EULA
The Psystar story takes another twist as the company now vows to stand up against Goliath Apple promising to fight Apple's end user license agreement that accompanies Mac OS X 10.5.
Psystar recently unveiled a $399 Mac Clone called the OpenMac, which has similar internal hardware as Apple's $2000 Mac Pro. The kicker is that the Psystar computer runs on the Mac OS X. Psystar is now in clear violation of Apple's EULA, which prohibits running the operating system on any piece of hardware without that little Apple logo.
Now Psystar has come out of the gates swinging as it plans on fighting Apple's EULA by slinging around some antitrust law violations. One Psystar employee even said that Apple grossly overcharges for its hardware, stating the computers have a markup of 80 percent.
The good news is that Psystar continues to sell the OpenMac and will likely continue to sell it until a court tells the company to stop.
Making the Mac OS available for other manufacturers may hurt Apple's bottom line initially, but in the long run it will turn more and more people into Apple faithful. Just give in, Apple. It's a great step forward for the personal computer industry.
able510. You sure told him. Thanks for the chuckle! :)
Mmm. To bring this thing up to MacMini (not MacPro) standard it is going to need a few little basic things like:
ethernet
wireless networking
dvi or vga output (not sure which it currently offers - the website doesn't say)
digital and analogue sound in and out
firewire ports
iLife
If it can manage all of the above and shrink its form factor to about a fiftieth of the current size it can certainly claim to be a winner. Until then, I'd suggest it doesn't try comparison advertising against the MacMini in any country or state with decent consumer protection laws!
Cheers
Rod
Oh, and through in bluetooth and a remote control , too, of course!
Guitar Hero Rocks DS This Summer
Since its PlayStation 2 Debut, the Guitar Hero series has made encores on just about every platform known to man. Consoles, PCs, Macs--and soon the Nintendo DS with Guitar Hero: On Tour.
Birthed from an R&D experiment, developer Vicarious Visions wondered if it was possible to take the Guitar Hero's rhythm-based show on the road. Their solution: A four-fret peripheral that plugs into the GBA cartridge slot of a Nintendo DS. Slip your hand into the strap, slide out the guitar pick stylus, and it is ready to rock. In a sense.
Opening the DS sideways (like a book) you pluck away tunes on the touchscreen, competing in single-player competitions or battling against friends. With over 100 minutes of music (25 tracks) packed into the tiny cartridge, it captures the spirit of the original games.
We sampled the rock anthem "We're Not Gonna Take It" by Twisted Sister with promises of hits from Nirvana, OK GO and No Doubt - to name a few. However, the demo at Nintendo's press day presents two possible pitfalls.
Continue reading "Guitar Hero Rocks DS This Summer"
You don't have to be a big Mac addict to see that this article is a bit sensationalist, if not downright misleading. To wit:
"Psystar recently unveiled a $399 Mac Clone called the OpenMac, which has similar internal hardware as Apple's $2000 Mac Pro."
For $399, you get no operating system, no discreet video card (integrated graphics), no Firewire at all - it's not even as good as a Mac mini. And no iLife suite of software, either.
And, for the sake of accuracy, the smallest processor you can get in a Mac Pro is a QUAD-core XEON at 2.8 Ghz, and the speed options go up from there. The highest option you can get on the Psystar is a Core2Quad @ 1.6 Ghz and that adds $400 to the cost, and it's only an add-on for the $999 'pro' model.
Save some money if you must, but if this little company is out of business in a few months, don't go crying to Apple.
Psystar Sells $399 Mac Clone: Return of the Mac Clones?
Budget conscious Mac shoppers can save a bundle on a $399 mid-level Macintosh computer running OSX called an OpenMac sold by a Florida-based company called Psystar. That beats comparable offerings from Apple, whose cheapest similar computer, a Mac Pro, starts at $2000.
Now for the catch. The Psystar computer appears to violate Apple's end user license agreement (EULA) for Macintosh OSX, which prohibits running the operating system on anything other Apple-branded computers.
Continue reading "Psystar Sells $399 Mac Clone: Return of the Mac Clones?"
Please...This troll on troll mayhem must stop.
I had used Apples since the 80s, Ive used Windows and lately I use a dual boot Windows XP and Ubuntu Linux.
Current Apple computers are running on Linux operating systems with Apple graphics. Anybody who doesn't want to pay Apple prices can go open source and use Linux without Apples graphics. I like Ubuntu which is a free download or you can pay a small fee for a disk.
The Ubuntu operating system is based on Debian Linux just as Apple is. You are free to change whatever you like without asking some corporation for permission. Ubuntu comes with Firefox browser and Open Office already installed along with many apps that do things you won't find on Windows. Linux security like Apples is better than Windows and you can run it on an older computer because it does not need the latest parts to run well.
If you wait till next week the newest version will launch April 24th and that can be installed without partitioning the hard drive.
check this blog http://www.nanojini.com/blog for some more technology news and join and write on it to earn....
check this blog http://www.nanojini.com/blog for some technology news and join and write on it to earn....
Digital TV Carries a Price
Last week the FCC sent out more than $6 million in fines to retailers who were not complying with FCC regulations regarding the sale of analog TVs.
The FCC requires all retailers selling TVs to specifically label any analog TVs that will not be compatible with the February 2009 switch to a digital signal without requiring extra equipment. You might recognize some of the retailers being fined, like Sears, Wal-Mart, Circuit City, Fry's Electronics, Target, Best Buy, and CompUSA. If you're looking to buy a new TV now, be wary of those stores, although that doesn't leave you with many retailer alternatives. It looks like nobody was really paying attention to the FCC regulations regarding labeling analog TVs.
But labeling incompatible analog TVs wasn't the only cause for fines. The FCC also fined Syntax-Brillian and Precor Inc. for importing and selling outdated TVs. That practice goes against the 2002 FCC regulation requiring all imported TVs to be compliant with digital signals. For good measure, the FCC also fined Polaroid and Proview Technologies for failing to include V-chips in their TVs so users could control what content is shown on their TVs.
Is it really the retailer's responsibility to label TVs that won't be compatible after the switch to digital signals next year? Typically I'm wary of the FCC's actions, but I have to agree with it this time. Retailers should be required to label incompatible TVs. Retailers already separate TVs in stores based on features like standard definition versus high definition, and I believe that analog and digital signal TVs should be similarly separated. From a quick (and unscientific) poll, I can say that most people are either unaware of when the switch to digital TV signals occurs, or unaware of any switch at all. Several of these people are tech-savvy people, too, so it's not solely the average Joe consumer who's out of the loop.
@PDX57,
With sincerest regards:
"Something called the internet"..What ever biatach.
The fist time I looged onto the internet was at 1200BPS thourgh a US robotics modem (compuserve): Beat that you pretender!
I'm German in ancestory...I married into the American Sicilian mafia. Hey..I've had an interesting life...I grew up in Los Alamos, NM, hence my STRONG German upbringing; my High school sweetheart is (NOW ) in the plutonium manufacturing division at Los Alamos (ps she's a good lay, and single). And my wife, now, is involved in the American-Italian mafia. Yes; I've seen more drugs than can imagine. AND YES, I'm not kidding, Now, I'm one of the TOP professors in North America (Note: not the US). I've had a "Q" clearance and I decided that I DID NOT WANT TO WORK FOR THE US GOVERNMENT.
Why I'm I even mentioning this? WTF? I gave up on the US when Pussy...er...Bush invaded Iraq for no good reason.
In the end, m$ still sucks...and I know that much of MS BS.
While most of these fines were levied not on TVs but on VCRs which had TV tuners or analog PCI/USB TV tuners for capturing and recording video.
To slam all the retailers for this - is crazy!
My first computer was an Apple IIe clone in 82's. My first Apple games are Autoduel, King Quest, Sundog, Monkey Island, Ultima, and etc.. The copies could be bought from almost all the game store in Hong Kong. Those are the good old days to play cracked game.
I am still a fan of Apple clones.
Poll: What Tech Company Practices Annoy You Most?
Sunset policies that cripple otherwise useful software, dearth of online tech support, rebate runarounds... the list of hot-button items goes on. We're working on a story about the 10 most annoying things tech companies do as a matter of policy (as opposed to mistakes).
My own pet peeve, for example, is the unrelenting upsell: I recently did my taxes with TurboTax online, and while I loved the service, I really resented Intuit's efforts to get me to upgrade to a more expensive version and to buy Quicken.
While we've come up with our own list, we'd like your input on what annoys you most, any experiences you've personally had with these annoyances, and whether we've missed anything that deserves to make the top 10.
This is a chance for you to point the finger at specific offenders--we hope you'll spend an extra few minutes to tell us about your experience with an annoying policy. Click here to get started, and thanks in advance!
Extended warranties that are almost never worth the money. Many push it to the point to where it gets annoying. And why not? It's pure profit for them.
Best Buy's "Performance Service Plan" states that if a repair or replacement has to be done, they will do it using either new or refurbished parts and not necessarily of the same brand as the original. The fact that they mention "refurbished" tells a lot. Why would I be spending, say hundreds of dollars, on a service plan that will repair or replace my product with refurbished parts? I'd rather save my money for a new one. Same goes for the brand of the parts. Suppose they put something that performs sub-par at best? Not saying brand name is everything, but some use higher quality parts.
A company well known for using cheap, inferior parts in PC's and notebooks and for using questionable sales practices is MDG Computers. Just search complaints.com for them and you'll get pages of complaints by people who have been ripped off.
Extended warranties that are almost never worth the money. Many push it to the point to where it gets annoying. And why not? It's pure profit for them.
Best Buy's "Performance Service Plan" states that if a repair or replacement has to be done, they will do it using either new or refurbished parts and not necessarily of the same brand as the original. The fact that they mention "refurbished" tells a lot. Why would I be spending, say hundreds of dollars, on a service plan that will repair or replace my product with refurbished parts? I'd rather save my money for a new one. Same goes for the brand of the parts. Suppose they put something that performs sub-par at best? Not saying brand name is everything, but some use higher quality parts.
A company well known for using cheap, inferior parts in PC's and notebooks and for using questionable sales practices is MDG Computers. Just search complaints.com for them and you'll get pages of complaints by people who have been ripped off.
One of the worst companies I've dealt with is Nero. Their tech support is laughable, and they overpromise & dramatically underperform on their Nero 8 software. I belatedly discovered all the numerous online complaints about them after I bought their software.
To say they are smug, condescending, & incompetent would be an understatement.
Let's hope it won't be long before the word is out on this dog of a company, and it's out of business.
Top Nine iPhone 2.0 Rumors, You Be the Judge
Want to know all about the next generation iPhone? Apple's lips are sealed. But why should that stop iPhone prognosticators from spilling what they think are the beans.
As pent up excitement for the next-generation iPhone builds rumors are popping up everywhere. However, not until Steve Jobs pulls out the next-gen iPhone from his pocket at his keynote at Apple's June World Wide Developers Conference will we really know what's new for the Apple's next iPhone.
Here is a rumor roundup of what is expected so far:
Continue reading "Top Nine iPhone 2.0 Rumors, You Be the Judge"
"One addition found in the beta iPhone 2.0 firmware are business friendly features that support secure "push" email similar to BlackBerry, according to AppleInsider. AppleInsider reports that the next generation iPhone will support Microsoft's business e-mail server software Microsoft Exchange."
AppleInsider is a little behind the times, considering Apple themselves introduced this innovation on their iPhone SDK - Software Development video podcast on iTunes a month or so ago along with other third-party software innovations.
Talk Nerdy To Me: Which Products Do You Want Reviewed?
Welcome to Talk Nerdy To Me. The every-other-week blog discussion where you get to tell us what's on your mind. We want to hear what you have to say, and this week, we want to know what you want us to review.
We've been discussing doing more hardware reviews than in times past. The plan is to make testing and reviewing even more of a priority to help you with your buying decisions. But we want to make sure we?re hitting your targets.
We're not mind readers (yet), but we try our best to cover what we think you want to see. If you don't tell us, how are we supposed to know, right? Here's your chance to let us know which products float your boat.
You can answer in our poll, or if your product of choice isn?t listed, please let us know in the comments section.
Video surveillance! Specifically, capture cards and cameras to make my existing computer a surveillance powerhouse.
I know you did a How-To last year but it was geared more towards webcams and IP cameras.
What about night vision? Cameras that handle different lighting conditions? The best capture cards if I don't want to go wireless?
I'd like to see a comprehensive review of the Sceptre X24WG-Gamer 24" Monitor. I'm seriously condidering purchasing one and have not been able to find much info about it, although the folks at Sceptre have been most helpful.
I would like to see more hardware reviews, such as motherboards and video cards
also, I would like to see less of this vista bashing
Caption Crunch Winner: When Robot Pandas Attack
Update 4/11: We had a great showing for our latest Caption Crunch contest. Keep up the furious caption-writing!
Alas, there can only be one winner, and we've chosen it. Here is the image we asked you to provide a caption for, in which a cute-but-ferocious robotic panda is clawing a beanie-clad man in the face.
It wasn't until Petey the Security Panda used his patented Chloroform-Hand-Wash that the burglar was finally subdued. -- Dpar
Congratulations to Dpar, if that is your real name. The grand prize this week is a vowel of your choice, which can be inserted between the "D" and the "p" in your username to create a more-pronounceable word. All right!
Thanks for playing, and tune in next Friday for a brand-new installment of Caption Crunch.
What follows is the original text for this Caption Crunch contest.
Hello, and welcome back to Caption Crunch, the every-other-week caption-writing contest that pits you, the reader, against our very own PC World editors.
Here's how it works: we post a pic, and you write the caption in the comments section below. Then, next Friday, we'll pick a winner and post it right here.
This week, we have a very rare shot of a robotic panda in the wild, doing what robotic pandas do best: face-clawing.
Got a great caption idea for this shot? Post it in the comments section below, and good luck!
Previous Caption Crunch Contests
Amazon Hands Out $50 to the HD DVD Unfortunate
Amazon has joined the like of Best Buy and other retailers by voluntarily giving refunds to individuals that purchased HD DVD players.
If you recall, HD DVD recently surrendered to Blu-ray in the next-generation format war. Amazon confirms to those who purchased an HD DVD player prior to February 23 and offered a $50 Amazon.com coupon good for anything (see letter below).
Continue reading "Amazon Hands Out $50 to the HD DVD Unfortunate"
Video Card 512MB GDDR3, PCI Express 2.0, SLI Ready, Dual DVI, HDTV AND 8GB OF RAM AND 2X 700GB. COME ON GUYS WE ALL KNOW APPLE ARE JUST AVERAGE PC LIKE IBM DID WITH THEIR APTIVA. I CANT WAIT TO UPGRADE TO THE NEW INTEL EXTREME CPU THIS YR. I HAVE HAD MANY MACS AND ONLY FOR THEIR LOOKS THATS IT NOTHING ELSE NOTHING MORE. SAME CHIT WITH IPOD/IPHONE JUST LOOKS BECAUSE THEY ARE WAYYY MORE RELIABLE BETTER SMARTER TOY AT A LOWER PRICE THAN ANYTHING FROM APPLE. LETS NOT FORGET WHO MAKE THE MOST RELIABLE MAINBOARDS AND PARTS AND OFCOURSE WE ALL KNOW THE MOST DURABLE LAPTOP ARE NOT APPLES.
FCC Approves Emergency Alerts Via TXT Messages
Do you ignore text messages you receive on your cell phone? Better start reading them ? soon it could be a matter of life or death.
The FCC says in an effort to better warn you about emergencies a new text message warning system will be in place. The text messaging system comes in response to the Warning, Alert and Response Network Act (WARN Act) which required the FCC to establish new and effective ways of alerting the public to emergencies.
Different Types of Alert Messages
Three different types of alerts will be sent via text message: Presidential alerts, imminent thread alerts, and child abduction/amber alerts.
Continue reading "FCC Approves Emergency Alerts Via TXT Messages"
Federal (and state/local) taxes, surcharges, and fees now account for at least 15% of my montly cell phone bill. I'm sure my carrier will comply with this decree - and will pass along further government surcharges to us customers.
All for what, exactly? I rarely use text messaging to begin with, and can't think of hardly any imminent dangers about which I would absolutely need to receive an alert via text message.
Thanks, but no thanks!
Yahoo Near Deal with AOL to Ward Off Microsoft
Yahoo and AOL may be close to a deal that would combine the two into a massive online advertising giant. Meanwhile talk of the deal between Yahoo and AOL is spurring Microsoft to work with News Corp. to make a joint bid for Yahoo. News of the deals comes from a report in today's the Wall Street Journal, owned by News Corp.
A Yahoo partnership with Microsoft and News Corp., if achieved, would create a powerful Internet partnership linking some of the Internet?s biggest destinations: MySpace, MSN, and Yahoo. Microsoft has been trying to buy Yahoo, but Yahoo has rejected Microsoft?s $42-billion takeover offer.
In related news Yahoo says it will test displaying Google search ads on a small number of its search engine queries, a move likely to be interpreted as the latest in a series of Yahoo maneuvers to resist Microsoft's acquisition attempt.
Impact of Deals Good or Bad?
Continue reading "Yahoo Near Deal with AOL to Ward Off Microsoft"
so far, Yahoo360?BETA is not having tech back-up, "working" (like not working at all...) very bad, and looking Kindergarten...like at the begining of computers, before windows!
All the time one gets the "not at this moment, try later" obnoctious notice instead of the work one is doing. Hope it disapears really, treated ciustomers as fdisposable!
donYan
PS3 BD-Live Test Drive
A few weeks back, the PS3 got a Blu-Ray firmware shot in the arm with BD-Live support. The first disc to show off what the big deal is all about came out yesterday - Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. What's the initial impression?
Man, that's an unnecessarily long load time! It takes about a minute (it just feels longer) to reach the BD-Live Menu. From there, you'll get a pane full of downloadable previews (available in SD and HD, of course). In the window to the left, a couple extra scenes not in the film - or in the deleted scenes section of the disc, for that matter. Just click and you can watch a clip.
Eventually. Well, that's because it's downloading content to the PS3's hard drive. So while the extra content is nice (in this case three standard-def deleted / extended scenes), the wait isn't. It's a question of whether or not you can get past the instant gratification of streaming video from the Internet or, y'know, the disc you just bought.
With a quick Internet connection, it's not a huge problem, but if I can stream a video off YouTube in the blink of an eye, it'd be nice to get these extra clips streamed as well. Maybe that'll happen with future iterations.
Another side effect of this download approach is that after dropping in a bunch of BD-Live enabled discs, you'll eventually need to start scouring the PS3's hard drive for excess files to delete. Great so now I need to clear the cache on yet another device! On the bright side, all that content is sorted in an easy-to-flush BD content folder.
Continue reading "PS3 BD-Live Test Drive"
is it just me or is this whole blu-ray thing just a lot of promises about what it will be someday? i'm tired of promises and would like to see some actual results.
I ask myself "What do I gain with BD-Live"? As mentioned in the article youtube is instant video, Blue-ray discs have plenty of storage for extras and my PS3 can both access the internet for youtube and play Blue-ray. After the first BD-Live disc I play with I don't see myself really using it again.
First Impressions: Yahoo's Flickr Video
The rumors were true and Flickr has officially launched a video player. Despite diving into a world already owned and dominated by YouTube, the Flickr video player has quite a bit of potential.
What makes this player stand apart from YouTube is its intended purpose. Flickr has said it wants the video service to complement its enormous photo-sharing service. With that being said, Flickr is limiting videos to 90 seconds and 150 MB in size. This will allow folks to upload short videos that regularly accompany the photos in this day and age.
Only Available for Premium Users
Olympic Tech Sponsors Face Heat as Torch Comes to U.S.
The 2008 Olympic torch comes to the streets of San Francisco Wednesday, where it again faces protesters who seek to draw attention to China's human rights record.
But some activists vow that they won't limit their displeasure to just Olympic representatives. They pledge to direct scrutiny on Lenovo, Samsung, Microsoft, and other Olympic sponsors such as Coca-Cola due to those companies' official involvement in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
However, despite human rights protests against China that have dogged the Olympic torch relay in Greece, France, and England (see video), sponsors appear committed to the torch relay and to the Olympic Games and have spoken very little publicly regarding the protests.
Beijing Olympic Organizers Face PR Nightmare
Continue reading "Olympic Tech Sponsors Face Heat as Torch Comes to U.S."
This is excellent commentary. The Olympics are a farce and have been for many years. It's nothing more than business dressed up as sport. The charade is only more evident due to it being held in China. What puzzles me is that the IOC didn't consider the backlash when it awarded the Games. More comment from a PR perspective at http://theprlab.wordpress.com
Did you know ... if you post any forum entry, at the Lenovo site, in regards to the Olympics and Human Rights and the admin will remove it. Freedom of Speech is another Right that Lenovo cares nothing about.
That is untrue.
Lenovo is permitting discussion on its blogs. Off-topic discussions in its technical forums are not permitted and never have been.
http://lenovoblogs.com/connections/?p=23
David Churbuck
VP Global Web Marketing Lenovo
This Browser Cookie Tracks Your Every Digital Footstep
Here is a Web browser cookie you might not want to bite into.
A company called Phorm is working with British Internet service providers to plant super cookies, of sorts, that are capable of tracking every single Web site you visit. Data collected will be used to better display ads to U.K. Web surfers. Privacy activists are in a tizzy about the plan, stating the breach of privacy is abhorrent and warn U.S. ISPs are the next new market for Phorm's technology.
Phorm Gussies Up its Wikipedia Entry
Continue reading "This Browser Cookie Tracks Your Every Digital Footstep"
Security Firm Warns of Crimeware-as-a-Service Toolkit Trend
Want to start an online criminal enterprise but lack the knowhow to build and maintain it? According to security firm Finjan you don't need to be "connected" anymore to start and run your own cybercrime syndicate.
According to Finjan's Malicious Code Research Center outlined in a new report online criminals that use malware, botnets, and malicious computer code are creating toolkits for other less-computer savvy crooks to use. Stealing a page from software companies that manage desktop software remotely, cybercriminals are doing the same. Toolkits, according to Finjan, are managed remotely from the installation of the crimeware program, to how to best use the toolkit to attack a computer network, to offering ongoing maintenance.
The Crimeware-as-a-service trend is a potentially potent threat to network security, Finjan reports. By making cybercrime toolkits more easily accessible and painless to use can only lead to an increase in number of targeted attacks.
You Do the Crime, You Do the Time
Continue reading "Security Firm Warns of Crimeware-as-a-Service Toolkit Trend"
ASUS Eee Adds Two Letters: XP
Late last year, ASUS broke open the mini-notebook category with the slight, light, and affordable Eee PC 4G. Who wouldn't want a machine that weighs two pounds and measures about 8.9 by 6.5 by 1.4 inches deep? And at $399, the Linux-based box became a viable solution for cost-conscious road warriors and students. While we await review units of the pending Eee PC 900, we do have some news about its little brother currently on the market: As of this week, the Eee line can now come pre-loaded with XP as well for those who fear open-source OSes.
The price of Eee PC XP we looked at costs $469, because it comes with a bundled SD card. Another version without the SD card costs $399 (it will sell on Bestbuy.com today and in retail stores starting April 21), according Asus spokesperson Charlton Ho. [UPDATE: After posting this story, we learned that the $469 version with the extra SD card will only be offered for a couple months before getting phased out. Future models of the Eee PC XP 4G will lack the extra pack-in card altogether.]
Back when reviewing the Eee 4G, we gave the road warrior's apprentice a thumbs up despite its meager system specs. After all, a 900-MHz Intel Celeron M processor, 512MB RAM, and a 4GB hard disk hardly qualifies as "beefy." However, it was enough to let Linux run right. After getting a chance to drive another 4G with XP pre-installed, though, I have to say that the machine motors along at a reasonably brisk pace. It's no speed demon, of course, but it went from powered down to the Windows XP desktop in 60 seconds. It didn't slam into any major performance hiccups that we wouldn't expect. This is an e-mail/word processing system, not a multimedia powerhouse. And with the oddball 800-by-480-pixel resolution, it's hard to squeeze much onto the 7-inch screen. That said, we would've loved to run PC WorldBench on this machine to see how it'd score, but there wasn't enough space to load the benchmarking software.
By far the biggest problem you'll run into is the lack of proper headroom with the installed 4GB hard disk. After the preinstalled Windows XP Pro and Microsoft Works, you're left with about 700MB of clearance. That's enough for your documents, an overloaded browser cache, and maybe a couple albums-worth of MP3s. On the bright side, thanks to the SD card slot in the side you've got a quick upgrade path. I just wouldn't recommend installing programs to external flash cards, as tempting as that may seem.
A personal gripe: As much as I like the design and where the machine is going, I need to emphasize something that my colleague Melissa Perenson touched upon in her review. The keyboard is tiny. No, I mean really tiny. If you're even a remotely goony adult male, you'll have problems with the Eee. You have to rest this thing on a flat surface--or lap--and pray you don't hit the wrong keys. I can't tell you how many times I'd have to type, backspace, and redo just to get my words across. But I digress. This is still a good, affordable machine whether you want to plug numbers into a spreadsheet or take notes in class. And, really, that's what most mini-notes strive to do. I just happen to require a little more keyboard real estate to operate.
Facebook Adds Instant Messaging to Service
Facebook introduced a new Chat feature over the weekend with little fanfare to some of its users. The stealth launch and limited rollout of Facebook Chat (which this Facebook user was not able to test out) was likely to avoid overwhelming the new service and possibly crashing it with hoards of curious Facebook users.
Facebook Chat, as the name suggests, is an instant messaging service tied to your facebook user name. Based on Facebook's blog announcing the feature and reports from those lucky enough to try out the feature, such as Justin Smith of Inside Facebook, when Facebook chat turned on for your account a chat bar appears at the bottom of your browser window on any Facebook page you're viewing. The Chat bar tells you how many people from your Facebook friends list are online at the time. Want to chat with a friend online then just click on a friends user name and up pops a window from the bar you can chat to your friends in.
Continue reading "Facebook Adds Instant Messaging to Service"
Blogging to an Early Grave?
Blogging may join the ranks of coal mining and Alaskan crab fishing as one of the most dangerous jobs, according to a recent report from the New York Times.
The danger factor results from high levels of stress that come with 24-hour, nonstop, sedentary reading and writing. In the world of blogging, time means everything. If you can be the first one to find, analyze, and post the news, then you can reap the rewards of the traffic it will produce, and therefore make more money, as many professional bloggers are paid per click or per post.
Online Banking: Is Security Up to You?
Malware protection out of date? Then don't blame us if your online bank account gets hacked. That was the message sent out by the UK banking industry when the British Bankers' Association (BBA) updated its Banking Code and Business Banking Code last Monday, according to a Friday article on The Register.
The Codes--essentially user agreements that all participating BBA banks use (you can read them here and here)--warn online banking customers that they might be responsible for their own losses if they "act without reasonable care," citing two sections as examples. One of those sections reads: "Keep your PC secure. Use up-to-date antivirus and spyware software and a personal firewall." It should be noted that the clause existed in the code in previous editions; The Register was merely noting that, even with the Codes' revisions, it's still there.
Of course, it's wishful thinking that anyone actually reads their banking agreements that far without going into legalese-induced shock. (When my bank recently made changes to its privacy policy, I called to opt out of their data collection "service." The person who helped me seemed genuinely surprised that I had actually read through all of the fine print.) And anyone who has had any dealings with insurance or banking companies will likely suspect that this clause is through the efforts of an in-house lawyer who found another way to avoid paying out damages.
Continue reading "Online Banking: Is Security Up to You?"
British Bankers' Association here! Good article. Let's get this straight though: it is still the case that customers are not responsible for losses on any of their bank accounts unless they have acted fraudulently or without reasonable care.
Yes we do advise customers to keep their computers secure by using up to date security software. And we also warn against responding to suspicious emails (as do banks).
But the key point is that failure to follow this advice will not necessarily result in a customer being asked to foot the bill for losses. Each bank will have its own approach and will assess each case on its merits. And the burden of proof will always lie with the bank to prove the customer has behaved unreasonably or fraudulently.
And yes please do read the Code for yourself: we worked hard to make it an easy read!
Why take the risk? All operating systems (OS) firmly installed on re-writable media such as harddisk are prone to attacks. As a customer just use an operating system which boots your PC from a NON-REWRITABLE media such as a normal CD explicitely for the banking session. Enough of them are available (Knoppix, Kanotix, PuppyLinux etc.). The CD contains all utilities you need for Online-Banking. For the duration of your Session, it is a hard nut to crack. A back-door left in a session would disappear when you boot your PC again. Give it a try. And to those in the banking establishment: Do you think you have a chance, if a customer prooves, he/she used this method. The PC may show a lot of traces of trojans etc., but these have not a heck of a chance, if the customer boots the PC using the CD. The Logs on Banking-server must show, what OS and Browser was used by cutomer!
Boston University Students Win Important Victory Against RIAA
Score one for college music pirates in the Recording Industry Association of America's war against campus copyright infringement of music. Earlier this week four Boston College students successfully fended off an attempt by the RIAA to force the university to turn over their names to record companies suing BU for their identity.
The ruling, made earlier this week by a U.S. District Judge Nancy Gertner in Massachusetts, was hailed by the attorney representing one of the accused four students, Raymond Sayeg, as a "David and Goliath" victory. Sayeg told The Boston Globe, "The court has recognized the right of privacy of the students."
BU was not named formally in the lawsuit and vows, according to news reports, to turn over any information the court requests.
Not Out of the Woods Yet
Continue reading "Boston University Students Win Important Victory Against RIAA"
Report: Net Crime Losses Total $240 Million in 2007, an All Time High
Craigslist and Ebay are becoming the new back alleys and shady neighborhoods as Internet fraud has reached an all-time high at $240 million lost in 2007, according to The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) in report conducted in partnership the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National White Collar Crime Center.
The report (PDF) shows that, for 2007, the number of Internet scams has been reduced, but the amount lost has risen $40 million. IC3 received 206,884 complaints about online crimes in 2007.
Who is at Risk
The statistics gathered are mind boggling as it shows that men are losing more, on average, and individuals over the age of 60 are losing almost double of what individuals in their 20s are losing.
Continue reading "Report: Net Crime Losses Total $240 Million in 2007, an All Time High"
MySpace Inks Deal with Top Labels for Music Site
Hoping to leverage its enormously popular social network MySpace, News Corp. announced today a partnership with major record labels Sony BMG, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group to create MySpace Music. Record label EMI is noticeably absent from the deal.
MySpace Music is being billed by News Corp. as a place for music discovery, sharing, and socializing. MySpace Music will offer free streaming music paid for with advertising and tools for music management. You'll also be able to share customized playlists with friends, according to MySpace Music.
Continue reading "MySpace Inks Deal with Top Labels for Music Site"
April 1, 2008: The End of 'Rick-rolling'
Rick Astley was huge Tuesday. On April Fools Day, millions of YouTubers were duped into watching his video when they clicked on the featured videos at the top of the page. They all got Rick-rolled.
I case it hasn't happenned to you, you've been Rick-rolled when somebody sends you a juicy link (like "Brittney Busted for Prostitution!"), and after you click it you're immediately directed to an 80s Astely video on YouTube.
But now everybody's hip to it. The element of surprise is gone. If somebody rolled me today, I'd just groan.
So what's next?
Well, we need to wait awhile (tragedy + time = comedy) and then try to find another bogus link to something as perfect as a Rick Astley video. It won't be easy to find. David Hasselhoff? Nah. Too exposed (literally, way too exposed).
How about mall rocker Debbie Gibson! Maybe.
Meatloaf? Nah, that's just mean.
I thought Astley was pretty cool about the whole thing in his comments to the Los Angeles Times:
"I am aware of it, obviously. It's kind of weird, really ... because I don't really perform much anymore. I'm not out there every week to do something with my former career. It makes me laugh. I'm sure it annoys a lot of other people."
At least the dude knew when to just let his old career die. Few things are sadder than a has-been celebrity who still lusts for fame.
Reviving the Astley legacy might mean a few dates in shopping malls and old folks homes as he fights like hell for an opening slot at the Sands.
I actually ran into Astley on a flight coming into LAX one time. I said, "Dude, you were on MTV! You sang that 'Never Gonna Give You Up' song!" But, alas, he only smiled and said, "Would you care for another beverage before we land sir?"
We wish you the best, Rick. Thanks for the laugh, and now the spotlight moves off you once more. We're gonna miss those dance moves.
First Look at Google Docs Offline: Glitchy but Promising
My first few hours with offline capability in Google Docs has been a little rough. On one PC, it didn't work at all as advertised. On another, it works, but there are sometimes confusing quirks and holes.
Google is rolling out offline functionality in waves to Docs accounts. When yours is activated, you'll see this image in the upper right corner:
Clicking Offline will prompt you to install Google Gears, or allow Google Docs to use it if you already have Gears installed. Once Gears is installed, Docs will synchronize your documents between its servers and your browser. I found synching to be pretty quick -- 192 documents took only about two and a half minutes to synch on my office connection. Once you're set up, you can access docs.google.com in your browser even if you're offline. You can make changes to existing documents and, once you reconnect to Google's servers, those changes will be saved to the original document.
TROUBLE IN PARADISE
Continue reading "First Look at Google Docs Offline: Glitchy but Promising"
As with all first releases, there are some minor glitches. I think the innovators at G will quickly come to the table with some great fixes that'll enhance the G-Experience handsomely. I myself usually wait a few days after a release(my sit-back & watch mode, T-wolf wariness)before I jump into a program looking for the exciting climax of a successful endeavor.
I've found MS Workspace to be accurate and trouble-free, and superior to Google Docs, offline or online. Yes, one must have MS Office to process the documents, but the up- and down-loading works very well. Only one person can edit a document, whereas many can in Google Docs, but the value if full Office capabilities overrides that benefit, IMHO. There are still far too many incompatibilities between Google Docs and MS Office for Docs to penetrate the business environment. And there, everyone has MS Office.
A Closer Look at Future Intel Atom Devices
Intel introduced five mobile Atom processors today at the Intel Developer Forum in Shanghai. The processors are designed for mobile Internet devices and embedded computing platforms.
Intel says the chips are optimized to give gadgets outfitted with the chips a full Internet experience and long battery life in a host of new pocket-sized devices.
Here is a look at some concept devices from several companies.
Intel Atom Chips to Power Host of New Mobile Gadgets
Intel is making another big push into the mobile landscape with Mobile Internet Devices, or MIDs, which are Internet-specific devices located in the area between smartphones and laptops.
Hoping to steal a bit of thunder from Apple and Asus with their iPhone and Eee PC, Intel is looking to fill that gap between smartphones and laptops with small and simple Internet-enabled devices. To begin, the devices being called MIDs will not include any kind of voice abilities, but will be focuses primarily on data.
Continue reading "Intel Atom Chips to Power Host of New Mobile Gadgets"
iPhone Shortage Hints at 3G Models Coming Soon
A shortage of new iPhones across the U.S. suggests Apple is making way for its next-generation 3G models that promise much higher wireless data rates. According to a Piper Jaffray report 20 stores are sold out of iPhones and other stores are in short supply suggesting an 80 percent probability new iPhones are on their way soon.
Before you start getting too excited Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster also added there is a 20 percent chance iPhones are in short supply because Apple is having manufacturing problems.
The suspected cause of the iPhone shortage is that Apple is attempting to clear out inventory of the current iPhone in preparation for the release of the new 3G iPhone that takes advantage of AT&T's (HSDPA) data network.
Continue reading "iPhone Shortage Hints at 3G Models Coming Soon"
Love the iphone that is currently out now. I am glad to know that more people will hopefully own this great piece of technology. Everyone should have a cool gadget of some sort to call their own.
life would be really dull with out these great gadgets. Rock on iphone ~ Krstohl
Love the iphone that is currently out now. I am glad to know that more people will hopefully own this great piece of technology. Everyone should have a cool gadget of some sort to call their own.
life would be really dull which out these great gadgets. Rock on iphone~ Krstohl
What Sprint's Samsung Instinct Phone Has that the iPhone Doesn't
I've just left a ritzy Sprint-Samsung lunch where journalists were invited to check out the Instinct handset announced earlier in the day by Sprint CES Dan Hesse, and here are the main talking points about the most serious iPhone wannabe to date:
1. It's a true 3G phone, with support for Sprint's high-speed EVDO Rev. A data network. It doesn't support Wi-Fi, but let's face it--cellular coverage tends to be a lot more ubiquitous and you don't have to deal with setup whenever you're connected. I personally didn't even consider getting an iPhone because it doesn't support AT&T's fastest (HSDPA) data network.
2. It's got real GPS and a real navigation application. Apple's cell phone tower triangulation with Google Maps is better than nothing, but it's not GPS. Here's an image of the Instinct's navigation app:
3. It's almost certainly going to be cheaper than the iPhone--even if you have to pay to bump up the included 2GB Micro SD storage card to the maximum supported 8GB model, which I see being sold online for under $50. Sprint didn't announce pricing, but I'm hearing it will be $200-$250 or thereabouts (with a two-year contract, of course) when it ships in June. And Sprint will support it with Simply Everything plans offering all data services (including GPS) on top of voice service starting at $70 a month with limited minutes and $100 a month for no limit on voice calls.
Continue reading "What Sprint's Samsung Instinct Phone Has that the iPhone Doesn't"
actually the iphone 3g does require you to sign a contract with at&t when you purchase your phone so that is the reason for the price cut. You will no longer be able to own an iphone without having it activated with at&t.
actually you need to sign a contract with at&t when you purchase the iphone 3g, you wont be able to get it unless you do, thats the reason for the price cut
Recent posters: Please look at the date of the original. It was written in early April, long before we knew when a 3G iPhone was coming, much less how little it would cost. Also, my post was not a review--just a product announcement.
I posted an actual review (that took Apple's announcement into account) a few days ago. http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,147354/article.html
And kokorotto is absolutely right -- you must sign a contract. AT&T is subsidizing the new iPhone (the traditional U.S. carrier practice) because it expects to make up the subsidy on the service you have to buy. I wrote about why the new iPhone is so much less expensive than the old one here: http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,146894/article.html
Apple Sued Over "Millions of Colors" Display Claim
Apple is facing another class action lawsuit, this time regarding the latest release of 20-inch iMacs and their inability to properly display "millions of colors."
The lawsuit was filed by Chandra Sanders, a Texas resident and unhappy Apple owner. In her lawsuit she claims that Apple knows that the iMac monitors can only display 252,144 true colors, despite constantly marketing the iMac as displaying "millions of colors" on its Web site and in marketing material.
Should Apple Be Turning Red Over This?
Continue reading "Apple Sued Over "Millions of Colors" Display Claim"
This isn't a matter of how many colors the thing can display, this is a matter of lies, damn lies, and Steve Jobs reality distortion field.
Holy crap! Are you people seriously proposing that they put, "Our technology uses 256,000 actual colors, but produces the effect of millions of colors," ?!? You have GOT to be kidding me! How is this even a discussion?
This CANNOT be anything more than a painfully obvious ploy of some dolt bent on making a quick buck in a culture of ambulance chasing lawyers and thousands of well-meaning doctors forking over millions in malpractice insurance.
Do corporations and societies need accountability? Are there people out there bent on deception sure, and there is no shortage of corporations seeking nothing more than the almighty dollar no matter the cost, absolutely, but I'm sick & tired of lazy, greedy, money-grubbing, nit-pickers with nothing else better to do with their lives than make big deals about nothing, waste all of our time, and refuse to earn an honest wage.
It turns out that most LCD displays suffer from this, unless you up the ante and get a pricier one. I read an article that lays it out pretty well...
http://compreviews.about.com/od/multimedia/a/LCDColor.htm
It comes down to quality verses performance. Most people (except pro users) would opt for better performance for watching movies or playing games. The 6 bits per pixel allow for faster response times. Pro users would rather 8 bits per pixel for the quality, but that comes with a price.
This is less a problem with Apple, and more something that the LCD industry needs to address. It is interesting to note that a 1680x1024 screen only has 1.7 million pixels, so what are you going to do with the extra 14.3 million colors exactly?
Google Books Adds Scratch and Sniff, and More..
Google Books has been long flummoxed by how to display a variety of books from pop-ups, Braille books, and flip books. But no longer are scratch and sniff books an obstacle. Today Google launched a breakthrough technology adding odor to aromatic book titles such as Black Pepper, The Cheese Companion, and Gorillas in the Mist.
Here is how it works. When your browsing a title look for the Google Scratch and Sniff logo. Nathan Naze, a Google Software Engineer explains in his blog post: "Using special equipment and tricky JavaScript, we're now able to capture some of the smells during the scanning process and then embed them in your web browser when you preview these titles in Google Book Search."
April Fools - Of Course
Continue reading "Google Books Adds Scratch and Sniff, and More.."
Its about time the RIAA is fed its lunch
It's about time someone stands up to this RIAA BS!
Artist gets like $2 per cd ; cd costs like $15 so who takes $13? could it be the parasites like RIAA etc, and they are not fighting for the artist ,the fighting for to continue to receive free cash... I am sorry I am gonna puke now... like I puke for Bush, Cheney,FDA,ADA,NSA,Allien controlled Government;Hey people we are f.....d