Google Declares: 'Complete Privacy Does Not Exist'

Total privacy may be a thing of the past -- at least, that is Google's assertion in a heated fight over personal privacy rights.

Let me get you up to speed: A Pittsburgh couple is suing Google over its Google Maps Street View service. The couple says the online images of their home shown on the site caused them "mental suffering" and dropped their property value. The drop in value, the couple argues, is because a house that can be viewed on Google Street Views is less private and therefore less desirable.

And that's where things get interesting.

Defining Privacy

Google's response to the couple, posted in its entirety by the Smoking Gun, is you can't expect to have absolute privacy in this day and age.

"Today's satellite-image technology means that even in today's desert, complete privacy does not exist," Google argued in court paperwork.

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Scrabulous Returns from the Grave as Wordscraper

The death of Scrabulous on Facebook may have been a sad event for many, but at least it was a short-lived one. Scrabulous is back, but under a new name and with some minor tweaks to avoid any copyright issues. And thus Wordscraper was born.

The changes begin with minor cosmetic differences. The name, Wordscraper, no longer has an uncanny resemblance to the name of the board game that it mimics, which is the first step in fending off copyright lawyers. The board itself got a slight redesign too, so now all of the tiles are circular, making the board look more like a sheet of bubble wrap than a traditional Scrabble board. But these are seemingly meaningless changes that are more for the sake of lawyers than the fans. Is there any new meat to Wordscraper to make it better than Scrabulous? Oh yes, there is.

The big new feature in Wordscraper is the ability to completely customize your board. Do you want an entire row of double word scores across the middle of the board? Go ahead. There are even new score tiles included by the addition of 4x and 5x word and letter score tiles, so you can create some pretty crazy high score board layouts. And once you?ve created a board layout you can save it for later so you can keep playing games with one of your more eccentric Wordscraper boards. If you just so happen to create a board that is identical to the Scrabble board layout, then Wordscraper isn?t liable. Copyright issue solved. (At least that's the theory . . . but it's a good legal argument for fair use that is inspired by earlier work but is actually a new creation.)

According to the Wordscraper main page on Facebook, the game isn?t finished yet, and more features will be coming in the future. The Agarwalla brothers have really outdone themselves this time, creating a game that trumps their already addicting Scrabulous game by introducing a completely customizable board to ensure that each game will be a fresh experience. It?s only a matter of time before Wordscraper reaches the popularity level of its predecessor, and with the new features it?s sure even to exceed that.

Esquire Says, Go Ahead and Hack its E-Ink Cover

Joel Johnson from Boing Boing Gadgets recently sat down with Deputy Editor Peter Griffin of Esquire magazine and picked his brain over the E-Ink cover for the upcoming 75th Anniversary issue that hits newsstands in October.

Many an interesting tidbit were disclosed by Griffin that should excite both loyalists to the publication and hackers alike.

An E-Ink cover on a magazine would surely fetch more than the usual $5, but not true thanks to Ford, says Griffin. The inside cover showcases the Ford Flex Crossover SUV, which helped defray the cost to publisher Hearst keeping the price of the issue down.

Go Ahead and Hack Esquire

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Blu-ray Comes to Netflix

LG and Netflix made good on their promise to deliver a new set-top box that would stream movies from the online video service.

In September, LG will launch the LG BD300, a Blu-Ray disc player that will stream Netflix videos at standard definition straight to your television. There is no word on price yet, but according to reports LG says it will be "well under $500" and there will be no extra cost to Netflix subscribers.

The Blu-Ray player will allow subscribers to browse for videos on their TVs via the Netflix website as well as read synopses and rate movies.

The LG BD 300 is the third announcement this year between Netflix and console makers. Microsoft's Xbox 360 will start streaming Netflix content for Xbox LIVE Gold members this holiday season and Netflix partnered with Roku in May to develop a Netflix-branded box.

Netflix currently offers a limited selection of movies and television shows as part of its streaming service, with only 12,000 videos from its library of more than 100,000 titles. This may prove to be challenging for the rental company as the digital video delivery market starts to get crowded. Amazon recently expanded its digital business beyond its partnership with Tivo. There's iTunes, a host of free services like Hulu and AOL's In2TV, and Blockbuster recently hired a vice president for studio relations and new media to "lead Blockbuster's efforts to acquire digital content."

French Claim Overclocking World Record

Back in February, a French team that is part of Tom's Hardware managed to double the cycles of an Intel Core 2 Quad 6600 2.4GHz. Now, nearly five months later they are bragging about it, claiming a world record with an overclocked speed of 5.1GHz.

They also apparently just got around to posting some very cool pictures and a video of the milestone. Kudos for the speed record guys, but you won't win any speed records for posting test results and pictures of the accomplishment.

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Next-Gen Macs Will Not Use Intel Chips, Some Say

Apple may be moving away from Intel.

The blogosphere is buzzing about rumors the next generation of MacBooks will ditch the familiar Intel chipsets. Apple's been building Intel-based computers since '06, when it announced it would stop using PowerPC processors in favor of Intel.

Now sources, such as AppleInsider, are reporting "people familiar with (Apple's) plans" are saying change is on the way. Apple's options could include going back to its own proprietary chipset or it could strike a new deal with a manufacturer such as NVIDIA or VIA. AppleInsider is careful to point out "This should not be confused with the primary CPU, which will continue to come from Intel."

Why the Switch?

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Note to Sprint: Viral Videos Are Passe

Did Sprint's marketing department miss the memo that viral videos are now passe? Apparently not, if you take a look at its recent online marketing campaign for the Instinct.

Sprint says it wants you to "Sell Out" by placing the Instinct in your YouTube home video. The first 1000 eligible entrants whose videos consist of a 10-second clip or longer and that feature in some way the Sprint Instinct will receive a whopping $20 for their trouble. Sprint will pay a grand prize of $10,000 to one lucky individual. Here?s a link to the rules.

Only bad things can come from this marketing campaign as far as I?m concerned. More specifically, only bad videos. I?m willing to bet money most entrants will surely be ridiculously inappropriate and feature things such as an infant gnawing and/or drooling on the phone. Actually, if you go to Sprints YouTube channel you can already debut some of the videos.

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See Microsoft's Multi-Touch Spherical Display in Action

This week at Microsoft's Research Faculty Summit, the company is showing off Sphere, an orb-shaped multi-user touch sensitive display. The device is only a prototype at the moment, but can already use a variety of applications including picture and video display, an interactive map of the world, finger painting, and omni-directional video conferencing.

The prototype is based on Global Imagination's Magic Planet video device, with Microsoft adding its own software and touch capability. According to a member of Microsoft's research team, Hrvoje Benko, the Sphere is designed so that users have access to the full 360 degrees of the device and that images do not appear distorted on the curved surface. The video above was taken for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's blog and gives you a sense of the Sphere's cool factor.

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Dell to Rollout iPod Challenger, says Report

Can Dell beat Apple in the iPod game? According to reports it's going to try with a Dell digital music player that could go on sale as early as September. Can Dell succeed is the question, or will it end up another Cuil to Google's, well, Google?

According to the Wall Street Journal Dell has been testing its iPod rival for several months. The plan, according the WSJ, is not only to roll out a player, but an online download service as well.

Micheal Dell is cited in the WSJ report as expressing an interest in expanding Dell's consumer reach to include a "broad range of consumer markets."

The Dell digital music player would be the company's second try at entering the market. In 2003 Dell introduced a line of digital music players that failed in the marketplace. Here is a 2005 review of the Dell DJ Ditty from the PC World archives.

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First Look: IAC Joins How-To Site Fray With Life123.com

Ask.com parent company InterActiveCorp is preparing to launch a new how-to site under the name Life123. The site is live right now in a pre-beta or "alpha" launch mode. IAC has yet to formally announce or promote Life123, but the executive in charge of its development took some time to give me a sneak peek.

IAC it has no specific date set for its launch. But once Life123 does go "live," it will be up against a growing crowd of expert, how-to, and community-driven content sites that may provide some fierce competition.

The format of Life123 is closest to About.com, with "guides" on subjects ranging from health and beauty to technology and travel. However, unlike About, Life123 combines staff-generated content with user-submitted articles and videos.

"We attack each topic in two ways," says Ben Joslin, senior vice president and general manager of Life123.com. "We write what we think is a nice editorialized article on a given topic, and then we present the users two versions: 'keep it brief' and 'learn more.'" It's up to the reader to decide how much time they want to invest in a topic, Joslin says.

Stealing a page from the playbook of community-driven sites such as Squidoo and Google's Knol, Life123 is also allowing its users to register with the site and earn money by contributing content.

Life, as Easy as 1, 2, 3..

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Pirated Music Crackdown...at the Airport?

Ah, airport security. It's all about keeping our skies safe from weapons, dangerous chemicals -- and now, possibly pirated music.

The Australian government is apparently looking at a plan to start searching iPods and other MP3 players at security checkpoints. The sole purpose? Seeking out illegally downloaded songs, according to a "leaked discussion paper" exposed by the media down under (including News Corp's Australian arm, News Digital Media). The Aussies may not be he only ones considering the idea, either: The proposal is said to be part of a broader
international treaty -- one believed to include the good ol' U.S. of A. -- so we could ultimately see the concept pop up here, there, or anywhere.

Under the agreement, agents would be able to issue "criminal sanctions" -- fines, or theoretically even jail time -- if they discover pirated tracks on your player. And to think, here you figured the only risk of downloading the latest Hannah Montana tune was complete and utter embarrassment if your friends found out.

Seriously though, is this what we pay airport security and customs officials to do? Might we soon unwittingly be funding an MP3 mafia with our own tax dollars? How far can the war against illegal downloads go?

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Mini-Microscope Poised to Do a World of Good

The technology inside your digital camera may lead to a Star Trek-style medical tricorder and possibly even replace the traditional microscope. Researchers at theCalifornia Institute of Technology have developed a method of using digital imaging chips found in cameras to create hi-res images of small specimens and cells.

For about the last 300 years microscopes have worked under the same principle, you put something under a light source and then stare at it through a powerful magnifying glass. With the new "optofluidic microscope" however, all you need is a $10 chip, some metal film and a specimen suspended in liquid and you can create a hi-resolution image of whatever you're studying.

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It's Game Over for Scrabulous: 'Scrabulous is Disabled'

It's a dark day for fans of the popular Facebook game Scrabulous. Facebook users who logged on for a little wordplay this morning were met with the following message:

"Scrabulous is disabled for US and Canadian users until further notice. If you would like to stay informed about developments in this matter, please click here."

The shuttering of Scrabulous is most likely in response to Hasbro, the makers of Scrabble, and its lawsuit against the creators of Scrabulous.

Hasbro has asked Facebook to remove Scrabulous from the social network, a request that Facebook has so far refused preferring to remain a neutral party hoping the two parties can reach a settlement.

Last week Hasbro filed a lawsuit against the Calcutta-based brothers Rajat and Jayant Agarwalla, who created Scrabulous, in a New York Southern District court alleging infringement of Hasbro's intellectual properties. The lawsuit came just as Hasbro has released an official version of Scrabble for Facebook.

General counsel for Hasbro, Barry Nagler, has said of the suit against Scrabulous: "We view the Scrabulous application as clear and blatant infringement of our Scrabble intellectual property."

Dell Introduces Slick Studio Hybrid PC

Desktop PCs are, to be blunt, not particularly eye-catching. But Dell's new Studio Hybrid does just that, making an impression with its style and decidedly un-PC-like design. And its price will make you take note, too: A basic configuration starts at $499, without monitor; with monitor, $699.

The first thing you'll wonder about the Studio Hybrid: Where'd they put the computer components that make this gracefully curved, ovally shaped device a bonafide PC? The Studio Hybrid's physical dimensions put it in line with what a typical external DVD burner (with a half-height, desktop-sized drive inside) would require. Except in this case--you get a whole PC, as well as a DVD burner.

Dell bills the Studio Hybrid as being 80 percent smaller than a typical desktop. The company also says the Energy Star 4.0-compliant system uses about 70 percent less power than a typical desktop.

The system can be set in a vertical or horizontal configuration; the glowing blue Dell logo is on the top and bottom (or left and right, if vertical) of the unit, and the name "Hybrid" will automatically orient itself depending upon whether you stand the computer vertically or horizontally. The unit comes with a stand; the stand's two tabs help the Hybrid stay upright.

The Hybrid's clever design packs tons of functionality into its compact package. The ports (HDMI, DVI, gigabit ethernet, a Kensington lock, SP/DIF, and line-in and line-out; a 4-pin FireWire 400 port and three USB 2.0 ports) are all neatly arranged in the back, which helps with cable management. And up front, you'll find a slot-loading 8X dual-layer DVD burner at left (if vertical), and a headphone jack, two more USB ports, and an 8-in-1 memory card reader at right. Come August, you can upgrade the DVD burner to a slot-loading DVD burner/Blu-ray Disc reader, instead.

Dell achieves this feat of miniaturization by using notebook computer components, including Intel Pentium Dual Core and Core 2 Duo CPUs, and 2.5-inch, 5400 RPM notebook hard drives (160GB, 250GB, and 320GB capacities). You also get a choice of 1GB to 4GB of shared system and video memory; options for built-in draft 802.11n Wi-Fi, a TV tuner, or a wireless keyboard and mouse. But, since the system is not expandable (or user-serviceable), you have no graphics option beyond its integrated Intel graphics.

The unit comes with a smoky gray plastic sleeve that sticks out about an inch beyond the chassis itself; this means that the cables coming out the back are mostly tucked within this sleeve. Want a different color to better match your setting or personality? Dell will be offering seven colors in all, including green, red, blue, and orange.

What's most notable about this system is that you're not paying a gigantic premium for the miniaturized design--prices start at $499. This is a first--and a testament to the mainstream status of notebook components.

The physical size, aesthetics, and basic specs of the Studio Hybrid have whet my appetite. The idea of having a stylish, unobtrusive system like this to connect to my television is particularly enticing; suddenly, using a PC as a digital video recorder feels plausible (though I'd want remote control, too, if I were to use the PC that way). But first, I look forward to seeing how this unit performs on our PC WorldBench 6 tests. Stay tuned for our results.

HP, Intel, and Yahoo Mystery Joint Announcement

I've seen a lot of announcements over the years, but this one is is one of the most vague to cross my inbox in a while. Hewlett-Packard, Intel, and Yahoo are to announce a joint research initiative tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. PST, with more details to follow.

What makes this teaser most curious is just that--it's teasing nature. From three of tech's more influential companies. My curiosity becomes even more piqued given that this joint announcement comes so soon after Yahoo's well-publicized takeover woes. Not surprisingly, perhaps, Microsoft--Yahoo's would-be predator--is not mentioned in this brief media alert.

We'll all know more tomorrow morning. But for now, I'm finding it fun to speculate on just what these three companies might be doing in concert with one another that merits such attention. What do you think?

Trekkies Rejoice: Cryptic Confirms Star Trek MMO

Star Trek fans longing to be captain of their own Federation Starship online will be happy to note Cryptic Studios is developing a massively mutliplayer online role-playing game (MMORG) called Star Trek Online. It will be available for both console and Mac formats.

Cryptic Studios has plenty of experience developing MMORPGs via its popular Champions Online franchise. Cryptic says Star Trek Online will let you explore the Star Trek universe in 3D graphics as it "moves into the 25th century." You'll be able to captain your own Federation or Klingon ship, customize it with systems of your choosing, recruit and create your crew, beam down to planets and engage in space battles. There will also be options for player-generated content.

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Top 10 Reasons the Google-Digg Deal Probably Fell Through

Google's negotiations to acquire Digg are over, according to a report released over the weekend by TechCrunch. The site says Google may have abandoned the deal because of personality conflicts between the two teams. I thought, though, there might be more to the story -- and that leads us to our Top 10 Reasons the Google-Digg Deal Probably Fell Through:

10. Yahoo hired away all the nation's acquisition lawyers; no one left to complete the deal.

9. Digg execs were too busy Googling "how to avoid being acquired by Google" to respond to Google co-founder Sergey Brin's e-mails.

8. Google couldn't come up with a catchy enough G-based name for the service ("Gdigg" just wouldn't work).

7. Seemed like an unpopular partnership; too few articles about the merger made it to Digg's front page.

6. Simple conflict: Too many algorithms, too little space.

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Comcast Begs for Love by Giving Away Wiis

In an attempt to distract the public eye from its FCC debacle, Comcast announced that new Comcast Preferred Plus and Platinum Triple Play customers will get a free Wii system with their Comcast subscription.

To qualify you'll need to sign up for a new two year Comcast Triple Play subscription, meaning you will use Comcast Digital Cable, Comcast Digital Voice, and Comcast High-Speed Internet services. But if you're willing to hand all three of those services over to Comcast, then you can sign up between today and August 17th to be eligible for a free Wii system. BroadbandReports.com spoke with an insider at Comcast which stated that in order to be eligible for a free Wii you will need to pass a credit screening threshold "to be determined by market" which sounds sufficiently ominous. Those who don't pass the credit screening threshold will need to fork over a $250 deposit to remain eligible for the "free" Wii.

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Apple Releases iPhone 3G Firmware Update Already?

Apple may be looking to get a jump on last week's criticisms over the iPhone 3G. The company has reportedly released iPhone firmware 2.1 to its beta developers that fixes known flaws and adds new features to recently released iPhone 3G.

According to reports, the new firmware includes a GPS upgrade that can track the direction your traveling and your speed, which suggests a turn-by-turn GPS system may be in the works. Although, since the iPhone SDK forbids the development of such an application, Apple has most likely licensed this ability to a known GPS company, such as Garmin, or will be releasing a turn-by-turn App itself. The new firmware also has the advanced feature of cut, copy and paste, which has apparently eluded Apple engineers until now. Web site ZDNet also says we may see native Internet radio stations as part of the new upgrade.

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FCC Expected to Rule Against Comcast's Web Video Blocking

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is expected to rule on Friday against Comcast over violating federal policy by deliberately preventing some customers sharing video files online.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Comcast admitted "delaying" traffic to file sharing sites and services like BitTorrent but deemed the measure as necessary for user who overburden the company's network.

(Here is a FAQ on Comcast vs. BitTorrent)

FCC is set to require Comcast to stop interfering in the user's online habits and to better disclose its practices to customers. Meanwhile, the measure will likely have a ripple effect making other large Internet service providers think twice before they try implementing similar bandwidth metering techniques.

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Innovative Voice in Tech Passes: Randy Pausch, 1960-2008

Early Friday, virtual reality pioneer, Randy Pausch, 47, died of pancreatic cancer. You may have seen Pausch's popular "Last Lecture" at Carnegie Mellon on YouTube. It was delivered to a packed auditorium of 500 students, friends and faculty members. At the time (Sept. 18, 2007) Pausch believed he had less than six months to live. The lecture quickly became a viral-video hit and as of this writing has been viewed more than 3.5 million times, so far. In May, Time magazine listed Pausch as one of the world's top-100 Most Influential People.

Pausch was a best-selling author and professor of Computer Science, Human-Computer Interaction and Design at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University. He was co-founder of CMU's Entertainment Technology Center, and founder of the Building Virtual Worlds course, which he taught for 10 years. He authored or co-authored five books and more than 70 articles, and founded the ALICE software project. He completed sabbaticals at Walt Disney and Electronic Arts, consulted with Google, and received numerous awards and fellowships.

Carnegie Mellon University has a very nice tribute to Pausch that can be found here.

Master of the Head Fake

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AOL to Kill Off Xdrive and Other Services as it Tightens Belt, say Reports

The sky today is looking dark for a number of AOL Web services and Web sites.

According to an internal memo acquired by TechCruch AOL Vice-President, Kevin Conroy, says three properties ? Bluestring, Xdrive and AOL Pictures ? will "sunset." That's just a nice way of dressing up the fact AOL will kill those services off.

Conroy also noted "we are exploring plans to migrate our users assets to ensure the best possible transition experience." Yeah, I'm sure putting it this way made AOL staff feel a whole lot better about the idea - not.

When It Rains, It Pours at AOL

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Hasbro May Win Court Battle, But it Will Lose the War

Game maker Hasbro is suing the makers of Scrabble clone, Scrabulous. The litigation was filed against Calcutta-based brothers Rajat and Jayant Agarwalla in a New York Southern District court yesterday, and comes just as Hasbro has released an official version of Scrabble for Facebook. Hasbro owns the rights to Scrabble in the U.S. and Canada while Mattel owns the rights for the rest of the world. In addition to suing the Agarwallas, Hasbro has asked Facebook to remove Scrabulous from the social network, a request that Facebook has so far refused preferring to remain a neutral party hoping the two parties can reach a settlement.

There is a big appetite for Scrabble on Facebook with Scrabulous bringing in 506,580 users compared to the Hasbro version of Scrabble with 10, 529 and Mattel's with 9658.

Losing the War

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Sony's E-Book Reader to Offer Lots More Reading Choices

Sony is going open source with its Reader Digital Book portable reading device ? sort of. The consumer electronics giant is throwing open the Reader to support an ebook format being used by major book publishers so it can offer more content to users.

This format, said Sony today, is called EPUB. It is known more technically as "the International Digital Publishing Forum?s XML-based standard format for reflowable digital books and publications." Many book publishers apparently are already publishing upcoming ebooks in this format and this is something Sony wants to capitalize on by making the Reader the first device of its type to support this.

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Firm Aims to Reduce Power Charger Clutter to One 'Green Plug'

Why does every tech gadget you buy need to come with its own power brick or charger? These wall warts are the worst example of e-waste. The tech industry makes 3.2 billion external power supplies each year, and nearly all end up in a box in your closet, in a landfill, or in a scrap heap somewhere in Africa. Isn't there a better way?

That's the question that troubled tech industry veteran Frank Paniagua, who decided to do something about it. He started Green Plug, a business that's developed a design kit that allows consumer electronics makers to provide universal power connectors for their power-sucking gadgets. If adopted by the consumer electronics industry?and that's a big if at this point?the scenario would look something like this: A consumer would buy a single Green Plug-enabled home charger from a tech firm. This device might have several USB ports for charging DC-powered gadgets, including cell phones, laptops, MP3 players, camcorders, and so on. Although Green Plug devices would include a cable to connect to the home charger, they wouldn't need a power separate powerbrick or additional wall plug.

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Comcast Slapped with Three BitTorrent-Related Lawsuits

Comcast can't catch a break lately. First there was the uproar over download caps for BitTorrent and other peer-to-peer (P2P) application users. Then Comcast became the subject of a Federal Communications Commission investigation.

Now lawyers representing angry Comcast customers in California, Illinois and New Jersey have banded together and filed three lawsuits against the cable company alleging the Comcast throttled Internet access and engaged in "unfair and deceptive business practices". Attorneys handling the case are seeking class action status.

The suits each allege that Comcast misled customers in regards to advertised claims of "unfettered" Internet access. Lawyers argue in actuality, Comcast "intentionally blocks or otherwise impedes its customers' access to peer-to-peer file sharing and other Internet applications." By impersonating the computers of users attempting to share files, Comcast sent "reset packets" that instruct the transmitting computers to stop sending data.

The suits were filed in California, Illinois and New Jersey by Washington DC-based attorney Gilbert Randolph.

Comcast Takes a Beating

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Consumer Alert: Report Says Bank Web Sites Insecure

In a study by the University of Michigan researchers found 75 percent of the banking websites it looked at had "at least one design flaw" that could turn the nightmare of identity theft into reality.

According to the study the bank site vulnerabilities it pinpointed are found with the bank sites' webpage design. Researchers say a poorly designed bank sites can "silently" redirect users to third-party sites and display "secure" login boxes on insecure Web pages. Worse, some banks wrongly require its customers to use Social Security numbers or e-mail addresses as logins which a hacker might easily conclude is a victim's default user name.

I can only guess this kind of security flaw is low on the priority list for banks these days who are currently dealing with large-scale mortgage fraud, check fraud, and a foreclosure crisis right now. However, small-scale hacking can have tremendous consequences for the individual customer, and the bank as well, once flaws are exploited.

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iPhone Update: Strong Sales Mix With Nagging Problems

AT&T reported yesterday that the first 12 days of iPhone 3G sales were almost double that of the original iPhone last year. The company also said that it has increased its subscriber base by 1.3 million. This is all good news for AT&T and Apple (who is also reporting near tripling of iPhone sales compared to 2007), but what about the rest of us?

The iPhone 3G is almost sold out across the country, and there is no word on when stocks will be replenished. The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that availability for the device is spotty in the metro-Chicago area, and my own check confirms this with the East Coast showing better availability than in other regions of the country. Of course, you can also go to eBay to try and get your hands on the newest Jesus phone, but some iPhones are going for as much as $1100 over there.

But are customers paying for the quality they've come to expect from Apple?

Dropped Calls, Spotty GPS, and Bluetooth Blues

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Tech Giants Rally Around Wireless Hi-Def Video Standard

Relief may be close for those frustrated with the A/V wires that lurk behind your entertainment center, snake through your walls, and slither behind your HDTV. A consortium of six leading tech companies, including Hitachi, Sharp, and Sony, have formed the group the Wireless Home Digital Interface (WHDI) which aims to replace A/V wires with a wireless technology that it says can handle delivery of uncompressed HD video (including 1080p)- no wires needed.

The WHDI special interest group (SIG) says it will embed the technology in a host of household components including HDTVs, multimedia projectors, A/V receivers, DVD and Blu-ray players, set-top boxes, game consoles, and PCs. The range for the WHDI standard is on par with Wi-Fi.

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Will Google Gobble Up Digg?

AOL has Propeller, Yahoo has Buzz and Google has Digg? Well, not quite yet, but rumors are flying that the search giant has signed a letter of intent with Digg and that both sides are very close to a deal with an estimated $200 million price tag. But this is not the first time we've heard of such a rumor. In fact, Digg CEO Jay Adelson told The New York Times in February that if he commented every time this rumor came up, he'd never get anything else done.

A deal that has Google buying Digg presents one major question to me though: why such a low price? Google nabbed YouTube for $1.65 billion two years ago and the company just wrapped up its deal for DoubleClick earlier this year for $3.1 billion. Digg does not have the revenue capability of an ad delivery platform like DoubleClick, but Digg is a pioneer in social news ranking and is extremely popular. Of course, the software behind Digg is not that complicated and Google, if it bought Digg, would probably improve Digg's engineering. But still, I have to say, just $200 million? I suppose with the economy in a slump it really is a buyer's market.

Don't Miss This--PCW's Exclusive Four-Part Series: Broadband Innovations

When electricity was first discovered, no one foresaw that it would be used to power artificial hearts, electric guitars, disco balls or computers.

Now the same thing is happening with the Internet.

When the Internet was first invented in the 1970s it was intended to be a means of transporting information.

"The Internet was meant to carry little pieces of data from one place to another. End of story," says Vint Cerf, co-father of the Internet and Vice President of Google.

Like most of us, he never anticipated that a refrigerator would become an Internet appliance, nor did he foresee the Internet-enabled picture frame.

And while it has enabled the creation of thousands of cool gadgets, the Internet also is transforming the way we live, work, and learn.

When I arrived in Silicon Valley for the first time earlier this year, I was shocked at the poor state of the telecommunications infrastructure.

I'm a visiting reporter covering global developments in broadband for PC World.

In a region renowned as the technology hub of the world, broadband speeds to residents are at best ten percent of what is available in markets such as Japan, Korea and Northern Europe (not to mention my frustrations over the number of dropped calls and terrible cell phone coverage--but that's a different story).

It made me question whether Silicon Valley would be able to maintain its lead as a center for innovation.

Although I still argue that access to decent broadband speeds shouldn't have to be such a rare commodity in this part of the world, I have come to realize that in the end, it's more about the people. Find creative individuals who do their best to exhaust the possibilities of whatever technology is available to them and you'll find innovation.

My search for such individuals, and the amazing people I found, is what motivated me to tell their stories in this series.

What's in the Series

Today's story, called The 21st Century Athlete, focuses on Patrick O'Day, a gamer hoping to make it to the international Digital Games in China this fall.

Tomorrow, in the slideshow Fiber Optics Comes to the Tipi, I tell the story of how the Ktunaxa Nation of Canada uses broadband to save their language and culture from extinction. Don't miss the photo of Leo Williams, one of the last speakers of their language.

Next, in The Film Editor's Dream, I introduce an internationally acclaimed film editor, whose 10 gigabit per second fiber-optic connection is making it possible for him to work with remote film editing in real-time--all while living in a rural community in Sweden.

Finally, in The Doctor Isn't In But Can Still See You, I tell the story of how broadband has changed the way America gets well by facilitating remote drug access and transforming health care in prisons and rural communities.

And there are hundreds of other stories to tell. Keep reading, and I'll give you the highlights of a few more.

Continue reading "Don't Miss This--PCW's Exclusive Four-Part Series: Broadband Innovations"

Web Site Claims It will Soon Sell OS X-Friendly 'Open PCs'

On the heels of Mac-clone maker Psystar getting slapped with a lawsuit by Apple for selling PCs running the Mac OS, a new entrant called Open Tech hopes to sell Mac OS-ready PCs and skirt Apple?s legal wrath. I don't think it can.

According to the Open Tech Web site it hopes to avoid legal trouble by refusing to preinstall OS X Leopard. Instead, Open Tech will provide a do-it-yourself kit for installing OS X Leopard on your own. At its Web Open Tech explains:

"OS X Leopard Will not be pre-installed or included. You can purchase an Open Tech compatible install disc from a third-party vendor or install it yourself using our Do-it-yourself kit."

The company's domain name "iopentech.tk" is traced to Tokelau, a small island in the South Pacific. The site lists no domain registration information for the owner of "iopentech.tk." And some, if not all of the site's Web pages, are hosted on Freewebs.com, a free Website creation and hosting service. I sent an email to Open Tech asking for someone to contact me or answer a few questions. I haven't heard back yet. (will update this blog with latest info)

Ready to Buy a Mac OS-Friendly PC?

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Microsoft Wants to Pay YOU to Make Xbox 360 Games

Want to make money developing Xbox 360 games? Here is your chance. Microsoft launched "Xbox Live Community Games" today with the hope of attracting game coders to create Xbox games, post them to the site, and earn money when people buy them.

Here is how it works. First become a member of the XNA Creators Club, use the XNA Game Studio toolset to develop the game, and submit your creation to Microsoft which will "rigorously peer-review" your creation. If your game has the right stuff it'll be added to the Xbox Live Marketplace catalog for one of three chosen price points of between $2.50 and $10.

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TiVo, Amazon Team to Bring Shopping to Livingroom Couch

TiVo, which was once the innovator in taking the commercials out of TV viewing, is now working its hardest to put those commercials back in, with the help of Amazon.com. The New York Times is reporting TiVo is partnering with Amazon.com to enable a "product purchase" feature on TiVo menus and shows featuring product placement.

As an example of how the product purchase feature works, if a guest on "The Daily Show" has a new book, an alert will show up on screen allowing you to press a button to buy the book through Amazon right then and there. This introduces the problem of taking people out of the show to buy the product, but TiVo will also allow you to just add the product to your Amazon account's shopping cart to be bought later. Or if you do take the time to buy the product, then TiVo will of course tape the rest of the show for you.

Continue reading "TiVo, Amazon Team to Bring Shopping to Livingroom Couch"

Esquire First to Newstands with E-Ink Battery-Powered Cover

Newsstands across America will come to life this September when men's magazine Esquire rolls out the first magazine cover ever to use E-ink. That's the same core technology behind Amazon's e-reader the Kindle, Esquire's cover will flash "The 21st Century Begins Now" and the inside page will feature an E-ink ad by Ford who is sponsoring the effort.

The E-ink displays will be powered by a small battery that was designed in China for Esquire and reportedly cost six-figures to develop. To preserve battery life the covers will be refrigerated en route, and should power the E-ink for about 90 days. After that, your cover is done.

The E-ink technology is developed by a Massachusetts company of the same name.

Continue reading "Esquire First to Newstands with E-Ink Battery-Powered Cover"

iLike Debuts Full-Song Playback, with a Catch

iLike, a social music discovery service, is celebrating it has surpassed 30 million registered users today by offering a new feature: full-length song playback via Rhapsody.

Now here's the catch. iLike said only its users who also happen to subscribe to Rhapsody's Unlimited music service will be able to listen to unlimited playbacks of streams. All non-Rhapsody subscribers only get a measly 25 playbacks per month. The other option if you choose not to sign up is to listen to 30 second song samples. To me this offer is akin to offering a panting dog a taste of water instead of giving it the whole bowl to drink.

Of course the offer sounded too good to be true.

Continue reading "iLike Debuts Full-Song Playback, with a Catch"

Site Claims to Sell iPhone Apps at Half Price

Apple iPhone owners hungry to install popular applications for their phones on the cheap might want to use caution when considering buying and downloading iPhone Apps from anyone besides Apple, according to numerous people expressing concern about the Web site -- iPhoneApps.org which claims to sell top iPhone Apps at half price.

To be clear, I can't vouch for iPhoneApps.org's status, business model, or legitimacy. Nevertheless, the site is under scrutiny and discussion online at Gizmodo and at Apple discussion groups. Sites theorizing about iPhoneApps.org's status are asking, isn't Apple the sole distributor of iPhone applications? Steve Jobs seems to indicate Apple is.

Jobs said that Apple is the exclusive distributor of official iPhone applications when he announced the App Store during a keynote address at the Apple World Wide Developers Forum in June.

As of this writing, the iPhoneApps.org site appears as the top search result for a Google query for "iPhone apps." This, no doubt, boosts the site's visibility and improves the odds it's a stop for iPhone owners searching the Web for Apple iPhone Apps.

Half Price iPhone Apps

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Facebook Charges German Site is an Illegal Knock-Off

Facebook filed court papers on Friday against German social network StudiVZ for copyright infringement. Facebook claims that the German company has copied its "look, feel, features and services." But StudiVZ isn't buying it, according to reports the social network has asked a German court to declare Facebook's suit without merit; however, the company says it has not received any court documents from Facebook yet.

Marcus Riecke, chief executive officer of StudiVZ, has blasted back at Facebook accusing it of attempting to build an international monopoly. Riecke points out the suit comes after Facebook unsuccessfully entered the German market earlier this year.

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Olympics Meets Web 2.0... Almost

It seems strangely fitting that the first Olympics to be held in China is also the first to give its athletes the opportunity to use the Internet, but in a restricted manner.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has given the go-ahead to athletes blogging at the upcoming Olympic Games in Beijing, but has included restrictions to what I think would be the best part: athletes would not be allowed to post images or videos of events or Olympic venues for the duration of the Games -- effectively giving the athletes fewer privileges than any member of the public attending the Games.

Continue reading "Olympics Meets Web 2.0... Almost"

AT&T Pulls Free WiFi Offer Hours After Making It, Again

Just hours after AT&T advertised free nationwide access to AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots for iPhone users today it canceled the offer saying it made a mistake. This is not the first time AT&T has offered free Wi-Fi access to its customers only to quickly renege on the offer days or hours later.

Earlier today Today@PCWorld blogged AT&T announced, via its Web site, it would provide iPhone owners access to free Wi-Fi across its entire hotspot network nationwide. With 17,000 locations in airports, hotels, convention centers, universities and select Starbucks locations, iPhone users will be able to take advantage of their device's Wi-Fi capability.

AT&T stated earlier this morning:
"AT&T knows Wi-Fi is hot, and free Wi-Fi even hotter, which is why we are proud to offer iPhone customers free access to the nation's largest Wi-Fi hot-spot network with more than 17,000 hot spots, including Starbucks. Now users can relax and access music, e-mail, and Web browsing services with their favorite blend in hand from the comfort of their favorite location."

Within hours it removed the Web page that stated this and an AT&T spokesperson publicly admitted: "The Web page was posted in error and is being removed."

In May, the company first announced it would give iPhone owners free access to Wi-Fi across its network only to yank that decision a few days later. Shortly after that the free Wi-Fi plan showed up on the company's website again, only to disappear again.

Facebook Beacon Watches You Online No Matter What

Originally the Facebook Beacon feature, which allowed Facebook to track your online purchases and post info on those purchases to your news feed, garnered a fair bit of controversy forcing Facebook to make the feature an opt-in only feature. But according to study security firm CA Facebook may still be able to track your purchases even if you have opted-out of the Beacon program, and even if you aren't logged in to Facebook.

I've actually encountered this first-hand. A few weeks ago when I purchased my tickets for the midnight premier of The Dark Knight (which, by the way, was amazing) a small message popped up in the corner of my screen asking if I wanted the purchase to show up on my Facebook news feed. I was confused at first because I had immediately opted-out of the Beacon program as soon as I could do so, and I was not signed into Facebook at the time when I bought the tickets. I clicked on the option to say "no" and my ticket purchase wasn't posted in my news feed, but I found it very troubling that Facebook was still able to know what I was doing online even though I had chosen to opt-out and wasn't logged in.

Continue reading "Facebook Beacon Watches You Online No Matter What"

AT&T Lets iPhone Users Surf Its Hotspots Free, Again

UPDATE: 1pm ET

AT&T pulled the Web page that advertised free nationwide access to AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots for iPhone users. Earlier today AT&T posted on its site an announcement that said:

"AT&T knows Wi-Fi is hot, and free Wi-Fi even hotter, which is why we are proud to offer iPhone customers free access to the nation's largest Wi-Fi hot-spot network with more than 17,000 hot spots, including Starbucks. Now users can relax and access music, e-mail, and Web browsing services with their favorite blend in hand from the comfort of their favorite location."

Within hours it removed the Web page and an AT&T spokesperson publicly stated: "The Web page was posted in error and is being removed."

This is the second time the past six months AT&T has offered a free Wi-Fi access plan only later to renege on the offer.

Our original report follows:

Once again, AT&T has announced that it will provide iPhone owners access to free Wi-Fi across its entire hotspot network nationwide. With 17,000 locations in airports, hotels, convention centers, universities and select Starbucks locations, iPhone users will be able to take advantage of their device's Wi-Fi capability instead of depending on the battery-power-sucking 3G service.

While this may be cause for celebration some of you may recall that AT&T has been teasing and toying with this idea, and its customers, for several months now. In May, the company first announced it would give iPhone owners free access to Wi-Fi across its network only to yank that decision a few days later. Shortly after that the free Wi-Fi plan showed up on the company's website again, only to disappear again. This time however, the company has published an entire Web page for the plan so we can only assume it's legit.

Continue reading "AT&T Lets iPhone Users Surf Its Hotspots Free, Again"

iPhone App Maker Gets Hit With Major League Cease and Desist

Major League Baseball is crying foul over an Apple iPhone App called Baseball that it says infringes on MLB trademarks. At issue is Baseball's use of MLB team logos inside the application. The free Baseball application (link opens iTunes) for iPhones debuted last Friday as one of hundreds of applications available through iTunes App Store. Baseball, published by Bulbous Ventures, is a reference utility packed with baseball statistics dating back to the 1888 Detroit Wolverines all the way up to San Francisco Giant Barry Bonds' 2007 battering average of .276.

On Monday Michigan's Mark Knopper, owner and sole employee of Bulbous Ventures, received an email from MLB Advanced Media demanding that he remove baseball team logos from his program along with a nearly imperceptible MLB logo used on the application program shortcut. MLB Advanced Media also expressed concern people might wrongfully assume his program was an official MLB iPhone App. MLB also made available its own iPhone app on last week, MLB.com At Bat ($5).

"All of a sudden this labor of love of mine became more labor than love," Knopper says. The avid Detroit Tiger fan says he will comply, but admits disappointment. Knopper, a self-employed Mac programmer, created the Baseball iPhone App for pure amusement and thought it would "cool to just give the program away for free to other baseball fans" like him, he says.

When Good Intentions Go Awry

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T-Mobile 'Sidekick 2008' Coming July 30th: Reports

Sidekick fans wanting to better express themselves rejoice, as the new Sidekick 2008 is coming with new customization just for you. Tech site The Boy Genius Report got an early look at some of T-Mobile's press material regarding the new Sidekick revealing what's new for the device.

First up is the main draw, the customization. You will now be able to customize your Sidekick with a number of prefabricated faceplates, or you can order your own custom faceplate for the device. Site Into Mobile reports that the custom faceplates will be provided from SkinIt. Once you've slapped your own faceplate on the Sidekick you can download a matching background for your screen to complete the theme.

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First Look: Amazon Video On Demand Service

Amazon is tackling video on demand again with a new service aptly named Amazon Video on Demand that gives its customers instant access to 40,000 movie and television programs. Programs are streamed immediately through your browser - unlike with Amazon's existing Amazon Unbox service that required either an additional Windows-based video player or a Tivo DVR. The new offering, according to reports, will also be available to Sony Bravia HDTV owners who elect to drop $300 on a Sony Bravia Internet Video link device.

Amazon Video on Demand is only available to beta testers right now, with general availability slated for later this summer. But I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek at the service and watch Rambo. Oddly enough the beta service offered today is being branded under the Amazon Unbox umbrella.

The only major studio not participating in Amazon's program is Disney, which means both Disney and ABC content are not available. The only other major holdout is HBO. There are no membership fees or monthly purchase plans at the moment, so all content is purchased a la carte.

Popcorn, Soda, Browser: Getting Started

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Going Old School: Wood Guitar Meets Guitar Hero

The company Peak Products is introducing a new gaming accessory for fans of guitar controllers associated with games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band. It is called the Starpex and what makes it cool is the fact it is full sized and made with wood.

An Electric Guitar You Wouldn't Want to Smash

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Harry McCracken's Technologizer Site Goes Live

I was sorry to see Harry McCracken, former editor in chief of PC World, leave us in June. But I am happy to see him back in the saddle as a tech journalist with the debut of his Technologizer site. Technologizer published its first story Wednesday: "Five More Ways to Improve Twitter."

McCracken describes Technologer as an "independent technology information site," with original news, reviews, analysis, and a Ning-powered Technologizer Community.

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Amazon Preps Kindle 2.0 for October Launch, say Reports

We might be seeing two new versions of Amazon.com's e-reader, the Kindle, just in time for the holiday season. The new devices are reportedly aimed at younger readers, which may mean a lower price point, the current Kindle sell for $359.00. A source has told TechCrunch that Amazon will update its current version of the Kindle with a smaller unit that has the same size screen and improved interface. The source suggested that this newer version is a significant jump in design, and is akin to three or four different generations of Apple's iPod in just one update.

Continue reading "Amazon Preps Kindle 2.0 for October Launch, say Reports"

Twitter Acquires Summize: Now, How About a Biz Model?

The micro-blogging pioneer, Twitter has confirmed that it has bought the search engine Summize. The deal makes a lot of sense since Summize was built to search Twitter in the first place, and Twitter has been looking for a competent search engine to deal with its overwhelming amounts of data. Five of the six Summize engineers will relocate to Twitter HQ in San Francisco.

Twitter already allowed you to search by basic information such as a username or location, but Summize allowed for people to search by keywords. With Summize's search engine as an integrated part of Twitter you can use Summize's more detailed Twitter search without ever leaving Twitter. Twitter addicts, your addiction has just been fed.

The financial compensation has not been revealed to the public, but estimates range from $8 million to $30 million and according to TechCrunch the transaction was "mostly stock".

Living in a Twitter Bubble

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OK, EvDO BlackBerry Models Outperform the iPhone 3G

I wrote up PC World Test Center's iPhone 3G battery test results late Sunday afternoon, and since then have noted a number of reader comments complaining (a) that I failed to include any 3G BlackBerry models and (b) that the chart was misleading since I cropped it to start at 3 hours (even though it was clearly labeled).

Well, never let it be said that I don't pay attention to these comments. I went back in the database, and sure enough, found test results for some EvDO BlackBerry models--all of which had outperformed the iPhone by either a little or a lot. I've revised my story and chart to reflect the additional information (I also changed the scale of the chart to address the other complaint), and I apologize to readers (and Research in Motion) for my oversight.

It was, however, an oversight (relating primarily to database issues), and not (as some readers suggested) an intentional decision reflecting a pro-iPhone, anti-BlackBerry bias. While I did buy a 3G iPhone, I greatly admire the craftsmanship and technology that goes into all of RIM's handsets.

I will point out that the true iPhone vs. BlackBerry faceoff will have to wait until we run our tests on the BlackBerry Bold, which will be the first BlackBerry that runs on AT&T's 3G network. (I had considered waiting for the Bold to compare it to the iPhone 3G before buying, but I needed a new phone.) In the meantime, I hope the additional information in the updated story is helpful.

Sony Ups $399 PS3 To 80GB, Unveils New PSP, PS2 Bundles

SCEA's Jack Tretton has plans to get more PlayStation 3s and PlayStation Portables in gamer's hands. This Fall, Sony is set to replace the 40GB PS3 with an 80GB Core model. Selling for $399, it makes a lot of sense for the PS3's future. With all the content they want to push through the online storefront, you really need that hard drive to take advantage of the PS3. Now, it's not just the PS3 that's getting value packs in the works.

Meanwhile, a Ratchet and Clank Entertainment Limited Edition PSP Pack is slated for the for the holidays. Along with a silver PSP comes a 1GB Memory Stick Duo, the game, a copy of National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets, and a voucher for a copy of the 3D puzzle game. A cagey move to try and lure in a handheld-craving audience. But will it coax over people that already own a DS? Drop in enough value (which Sony is) and they have a fighting chance.

Actually, while we're at it, how about a couple PSP games that I got peeks at (and plan to scrutinize closer over the next couple days).
Resistance Retribution is another take on the PS3 franchise. Y'know shoot aliens, avoid their bites -- stuff like that. It looks like a third-person action / shooting game and those are a little tricky to pull off on a handheld. Will they fare better?

Fall will also see Sony launch a new PlayStation 2 Bundle. It'll come with the Lego Batman game and a DVD -- Justice League: The New Frontier. Not too shabby for the kids (though the DVD is a little on the mature side) and not too shabby for a $149 asking price.

E3 2008: Sony's Big Gaming Announcements

Blu-ray may have won the HD wars, but Sony has a lot to prove this year at E3. After all, you load up a pricey console with a BD-drive and a Cell processor CPU, you have to create software to show it off. Sony Computer Entertainment's Jack Tretton says that like it was with the PS One and PS2, the PS3 has a 10 year plan. It makes sense. The PS One was a handy CD-player. The PS2 brought DVDs to every home.
So, what are we getting with the PS3? Glad you asked.

The first, and most obvious are the games. In a dizzying display, SCEA showed off a number of hotly anticipated titles. And when I say dizzyingly, I'm not joking. No less than 60 monitors of various shapes and sizes, all stacked together camped out on the stage at the Shrine auditorium. So much for subtle -- or "green." But enough about that absurdity. You ask me, Little Big Planet is the big news for the show. Maybe they should call this Big Planet, because this beautiful - and simple game - is speaking to a much larger audience. An audience that can build its own games. Simply create your own levels in a cutesy 2D platform game is an obvious hook. And, when it comes this October, look for a game trip through the PC World's offices. I'm working on that one.

Partnering with Sony Online Entertainment (which is coming under the SCEA fold) they are bringing a number of games to not only the PC, but obviously, the PS3. The free-to-play Free Realms, The spy-themed shooter, The Agency and The DC Universe online that'll allow you to interact with some of the most famous characters in comicdom. I'm so ready to create my new guy, The Dork Knight.

Now, speaking of superheroes, here's a big title that I think has the potential to be a standout game for the PS3: Infamous. With a mysterious explosion that rips through a city, you're the only survivor and strange powers are awakening inside. What do you do with your newfound abilities, for either good or bad? That's up to you.
Now how about an online action game of massive proportions? Up to 256 players can jump into an online war in MAG (that stands for Massive Action Game) by Zipper Interactive. Join 8-person squads and advance your online career in what seems like has some potential. But it also seems to remind me of the classic Sci-Fi shooter, Planetside, but recast with more modern military gear. The problems for Planetside back when it shipped were online connectivity and stability. Technical issues that one assumes will be tackled before the game releases sometime in 2009.

Ah, the family games. Buzz, the gameshow game for the PS2 gets a little company this year: a PSP version and a PS3 version. Same goes for SingStar. Makes perfect sense for trying to cater to families, right? That's why you can buy a PS2 for about $129.

The Playstation Network is another big cornerstone for the growth of the PS3. 180 million pieces of content have been downloaded for the PS3 since its 2006 launch, but what else do they have in store? Episodic games. To be specific, Ratchet and Clank Future: Quest for Booty (which picks up where the last retail PS3 game, Tools of Destruction, left off). It will launch this summer for $14.99.

Apparently more are on the way. A couple:
Crash Commando, a classic 2D shooting game. PixelJunk's Eden looks hypnotic. Pain Amusement Park is really a crash test dummy game - meets - jackass. A horror survival game called Siren: Blood Curse. And - get this - a game called Flower. I'm not quite sure what the deal is on this one (stay tuned!) but this trippy little experiment might actually have you control the growth of a flower.

Now here's something that I can get behind: an additional reason to fire up Gran Turismo 5: Prologue. The GTTV feature is actually going to give players an ongoing look at the game's development as you get to see video test drives of the newest rides and partnering auto shows to be "broadcast" onto your PS3. My personal fave is the UK show,
TopGear, which will be viewable shortly.

Now, we've been hearing about the Second Life-like Home for some time now, but what is the deal? Umm, no news, I'm sorry to report. They showed off a couple game-specific Home lounges. It's a nice enough touch seeing on-screen trophies and quick launches into games?but we already knew that. A launch date would be nice, wouldn't it?

Partnering with Sony Pictures is obvious, but the PSN's video delivery service will include MGM, Lionsgate, Warner, Disney, and Fox Pictures from day one. Just go to the revamped PS Store and a new tab at the top lets you toggle between Game downloads and Video. Why, I see an empty space up there on the screen that could allow for Music. C'mon, you know it's going to happen at some point. The sample movie, the SD version of Walk Hard, cost $2.99. Takes about a minute to load and then you could start streaming the whole movie. Want to buy the movie ($14.99) or get the HD version ($3.99)? No problem.

It's doable and here's the part that I think is extra-smart: continuing the connectivity with the PSP. Plug in the portable and you can transfer the movie to your PSP. This particular move is huge. How long do you have to wait to see what new movies they are adding? Wait a couple hours. Tonight, the movie service goes live so, expect to see a couple head-to-head tests on video downloads and quality.

Update: This fall, Sony will also increase the capacity of the $399, 40GB PlayStation 3, to 80GB.

Apple Sues Mac Clone Maker Psystar

Apple has finally lost patience with Mac clone maker Psystar and is suing the Florida-based company in a federal district court. According to the blog of lawyer Jorge Espinosa Apple filed the lawsuit July 3 alleging Psystar is engaging in "shrink wrap license, trademark and copyright infringement." This, in essence, means Psystar was allegedly knowingly violating copyrights by selling computers "pre-installed with Apple?s OSX operating system."

The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court, Northern District of California.

Meanwhile, a review of the Psystar Web site shows, despite the lawsuit, it's still advertising and taking orders for the Open Computer and OpenPro Computer. Psystar markets its OpenPro Computer ($999) as "If you buy Leopard with your Open Computer we'll install it for free." When I called a sales representative was happy to take my order.

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Coming Soon: Wii Resort, Wii Music and Clone Wars

Showing off what the new advanced Wii MotionPlus attachment can do: Wii Sports Resort. The first activity Nintendo demonstrated: Disc Dog, chuck a Frisbee at the beach and watch your digital mutt run after it. Next was basically a tribute to the old Nintendo game, Wave Runner.

After that, it's time for a little fencing. Whether goofing around in single-player or going toe-to-toe with a buddy, it looks like fun. And it looks like original titles from the Wii lineup, like the sword-swinging Red Steel might benefit from this plug-in. Well, I can hope.

Now here's a thought. You know how Rock Band sells that illusion of being a real drummer? Yeah, well, Nintendo is getting into the action with the release of Wii Music which is slated to hit this fall. And it uses all the peripherals that you might already have. Want to play the drums? Whip out the balance board as your kick drum and start hitting the skins with your WiiMote. Feel like getting a little bluesy with a saxophone?

Hold the WiiMote by itself like you're about to blow into it and hit the buttons. Most music games have you hitting buttons to a rhythm and following buttons on-screen to recreate music. You get maybe 4 different instruments. Actually, there are about 50 different instruments : Piano, Violin, taiko drums, a rock drum kit, and of course a guitar.

I always joke about how Rock Band is teaching me how to play drums, but WiiMusic actually will do that. One mode in the game will actually serve as a trainer for using a virtual kit on WiiMusic. Will it pay off after the lessons? I dunno, but that is probably the one part of the game I'm looking forward to the most is the drum section the rest?.eh, I'm not looking forward to the cowbell (and no, I'm not joking about that).

On the Wii, we know of a couple other games that Nintendo wanted to show off from third party developers:
Instead of having a number of new games, Nintendo is only showing off three that take unique advantage of the Wii. For starters, Star Wars: The Clone Wars -- tied with the upcoming movie (and TV series), you use the WiiMote like a light saber while doing battle. Dur! That has got to be the most obvious application since the Wii came out. Thankfully, It looks promising. Danny and I plan to take turns as Sith Lords later.

Another head-slapper is Shaun White's Snowboarding game. It works with the balance board feature - not a huge shock. In fact, Danny and I had a running bet expecting more games that'll take full advantage of the balance board.

I guess that'll come soon enough. Also shown off during the presser?.a new Rayman Raving Rabbids game (Not much a huge shock since this series has been great for the Wii since its launch) and Call of Duty: World at War (Not much of a shock because that game shows up on every platform known to man).

Coming For Nintendo DS: Flight Info and Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars!

The DS sells upwards of 20 million units in the States alone, so demand for new games and innovative apps is high. No surprise then that Nintendo is testing a range of useful Wi-Fi based apps. Among them: searching for flight information or stats at the ballpark (being tested right now at SafeCo field in Seattle) and finding local restaurants. Not too shabby if they do actually start rolling that out sooner rather than later.

Oh, new games are on the way, too. Guitar Hero On Tour Decade is slated for the fall. The big deal: Song sharing between players (if you have two different versions of the game). Spore Creatures, specific to the DS looks like a build-your-own creature part of the main game.

Now here's the big shocker: Grand Theft Auto hits the Nintendo DS with GTA: Chinatown Wars. That's right, a modern day Liberty City with a custom game engine in an open world. Wow. Didn't see that one coming. The game will launch later this year.

But that was it for the DS news. Seriously, I kinda hoped to hear more concrete info about how the DS will take advantage of Wi-Fi or at least a release schedule plan for these extra features. We plan to corner Nintendo a little later today and get you additional updates throughout the rest of the show.

Wii Gets Animal Crossing, Speaker Phone

Nintendo doesn't want to sit still. At least according to Nintendo's Satoru Iwata. Animal Crossing: City Folk, on the Wii later this year, expands beyond the Gamecube game by giving you a bigger world to explore -- more specifically, a city with a variety of stores (like a stylist to make your character look like your Mii) and ways to interact with other players. Send letters to other players via in-game mail and that can go to other players in the game, to the Wii community boards, to a cell phone text message or email. But the other big way to communicate in the game is through a new speakerphone peripheral for the Wii.

WiiSpeak looks to have the same stylings as the Wii and we'll have to check it out later, but for now the premise is interesting. No need to strap on headsets, everyone in the room is in on the conversation. The big question, if you ask me is how well it'll pick up sound in different room conditions. We have a separate meeting scheduled with Nintendo later today and will update this story -- hopefully with a more hands-on perspective.

Movie Piracy May Not Impact DVD Sales After All

The Motion Picture Association of America loves to talk about how movie pirating is destroying the movie industry, but every time actual sales figures are released the numbers tell a different story. Today this happens yet again as Hollywood Reporter revealed DVD sales have increased for the first half of 2008 over 2007.

Admittedly the growth is small, with DVD sales increasing by 1.1 percent from $6.8 billion to $6.87 billion. Tom Adams, the President of Adams Media Research who performed the analysis of DVD sales doesn't seem worried about the DVD sales though. He told Hollywood Reporter, "The fact is, despite what many on Wall Street seem to think, there is very little digital downloading going on. We're talking about $118 million in 2007 spending, and about $254 million this year -- so against a $24 billion packaged media market it's really not making much of a dent at this point."

Personally, I feel it's very telling that DVD sales are still increasing. When we are hearing reports that one third of DVDs are pirated I wouldn't expect there to be any growth in sales at all, but there is. I won't deny that movie pirating is a real danger for the motion picture industry, but the data shows that most people still value having a physical DVD collection.

Viacom and YouTube Compromise: Privacy Still at Risk

Google agreed last night to hand over YouTube user data to Viacom and other plaintiffs in a copyright infringement case. To quell privacy advocates concerned data would compromise the identities of YouTube users Google and Viacom agreed before the data traded hands Google would "anonymize YouTube user data," according to a Google spokesperson Ricardo Reyes.

Remember "User 4417749"?: Never Forget "4417749"

The new agreement may make Google feel better about handing over its user data, but it shouldn't make you feel better if you care about your privacy. Remember the AOL user data fiasco two years ago, when the online portal mistakenly released the search histories and thus the identity of 650,000 people? Granted, YouTube user IDs and video watching habits are unlikely to put someone at risk for identity theft, but any time to corporations start to share user information, the consumers are the ones that stand to lose.

Continue reading "Viacom and YouTube Compromise: Privacy Still at Risk"

Microsoft, Netflix Team to Bring Movies to Xbox 360 Consoles

Microsoft and Netflix are jumping into bed today, it was announced at the annual E3 Media and Business Summit in Los Angeles, via an exclusive partnership which will bring select streaming content to the Xbox 360. This is an expansion of Netflix's plans to bring movies to home theaters via the Internet, which it already does via its Web site and the Roku Netflix set top box.

(Check out PC World's live blog of the announcement.)

This new partnership will let Xbox 360 owners who are also Netflix subscribers stream "thousands of movies" to their game console. To use this service, much like the current Roku player, you'll have to initially select the movies via the Netflix Instant Queue feature on its Web site so you can later view them on your Xbox 360.

Still Netflix is only making a small fraction of its titles available for download through its partnerships with Roku and now Microsoft. The lack of titles appears to only be a minor complaint of the Roku offering, considering the player is apparently out of stock. Xbox 360 owners already have access to movie titles and video content through the Xbox Live Marketplace Video Store.

Palm Debuts Treo 800w: Can it Compete with iPhone 3G?

Struggling smartphone manufacturer Palm announced its latest model the Treo 800w, a Windows Mobile 6.1 phone targeted towards business users. The phone is available for now only through Sprint.

The Treo 800w's claim to fame that this phone supports EV-DO Rev. A data speeds and WiFi for data and GPS capabilities. The EV-DO Rev. A support gives the phone the potential for some speedy download/upload times in covered areas, with peak data rates reaching 3.1Mbps and 1.8Mbps, respectively.

Continue reading "Palm Debuts Treo 800w: Can it Compete with iPhone 3G?"

E3 2008: Live From Microsoft's Gaming Event

Here are the highlights from Microsoft's E3 Press Briefing (Darren's fingers are killing him from typing furiously to bring you the news). Read on for in-depth details.

-Microsoft is revamping its interface with an even more consumery interface -- and Avatars. Y'know, just like the Wii.
-XNA-based games, created by the community, are coming of age -- and coming to the console later this year.
-Netflix subscribers will be able to watch their movie queue online over Xbox Live (in a word: awesome. No need for that Roku Netflix Player, now).
-Lips. Karaoke. Motion Sensing Mic = good. Duffy = not quite Danny's favorite singer.
- Games, games and more games. Metallica does Guitar Hero games, REM releasing early tracks on Guitar Hero as a download. Rock Band 2 shoots off with Guns and Roses' Chinese Democracy.
-While it's really an EyeToy game a couple years later, I'm actually looking forward to seeing more of You're In The Movies by Codemasters. It looks like a fun little game that I'll probably play with the family.
-This little thing called Final Fantasy XIII is coming to the Xbox 360.
-Security at the MS event sucks hard. While trying to write this wrap up, we kept getting hustled out of the room and down the hall so that we could post this. Hurray, security.

Live Blog: OK, before Darren Glastone and I get started with this LiveBlog of Microsoft's E3 2008 presser, let?s set a couple ground rules:

First, brace yourself a slickly produced presentation. In the past I've seen the likes of Muhammad Ali trot out on stage. My personal favorite moment, though, was during the E3 where Microsoft unveiled Xbox 360. For that one, a bunch of hipster kids sat around the stage on beanbag chairs someone swiped from Urban Outfitters and at a key moment they all froze and crossed their arms in an "X." They actually hired beautiful people to sit there, y'know, just chillin on stage. Right then and there I knew I'd be cool if I bought an Xbox 360. And I am now. Thank you, Xbox.

Second, everybody is number one! For years now, Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony all slice numbers to show how each one has the lead or is poised for future growth. No doubt, we?re about to get another dose. Will someone finally claim dominance in the coveted basement-dwelling grognard demographic? I can only hope.

Third, rumors will be confirmed, others will prove me dumb. Technically, it?s not even a rumor anymore so I doubt they?ll even bring up the fact that the Xbox 360 dropped the price. You can now call the 30GB model, the Xbox 300 ? y?know, to match the price.
You like how I did that? Well, we?ll hear about the rest soon enough.

10:15 OK, so I'm sitting here in the 2nd row, waiting for this thing to kick off and I'm getting treated to a bunch of videos "Street Talk" - whatever. I'm just wondering about why there are a couple Webcams next to a monitor at the front of the stage. I'd like to think it's because it's part of a new interface for the dash board. It'd be pretty sweet if I could navigate menus -- or play some games -- with gripping a gamepad Minority Report-style. I mean, it's not like this hasn't been done before with the EyeToy / EyeToy2.

10:30 Cue the technomusic. You ready to rock this joint?

10:36 Forgetting the hoopla, they dive straight into a quick "yay Microsoft." They've got a bunch of games so inside of seconds, Todd Howard from Bethesda fires up Fallout 3. Opening up the PIPBoy - think a post-apocalyptic iPhone. Firing up some patriotic music on the PiP Boy, Howard starts walking on the nuke blasted road. Howard actually promises about 100 hours of gameplay. You can walk down to Washington, DC and ride an escalator to the top of the Washington monument if you wanted to. I might just do that. And maybe take a couple photos. Their games are amazingly wide open and let you not only go anywhere, but choose your own fate.
Also, says Howard, "We love Xbox Live Marketplace and plan to release a lot of exclusive content only for Xbox 360 and GFW." Nice for MS, bad for the PS3 version.

10:42 OK, Jun Takeuchi, Producer of Capcom's Resident Evil 5 is on the scene. The first thing they start showing is the co-op online mode. One player is Chris, the other Sheva, start working together to solve environmental puzzles. Splitting up to get around a locked cell door -- stuff like that. Oh, yeah. And fight zombies. Speaking of which, I'm staring right now at the united colors of zombie. Sheva takes a couple potshots at zombies and they react to locational damage.

Resident Evil 5 will be available Friday 13th, March 2009 (in Europe and Stateside). Why am I not surprised by that one?

10:48 Peter Molyneux comes out. "Fable 2 is done," he says. I want to believe, really, I do. Because I'm a huge fan of his games. But his games rarely hit on time. You start as a boy or girl and your character grows with your choices...kinda like the last game. But the cool news (besides the dog companion that trails you through the game) is that this game, like RE5, also supports an online co-op mode. Play your single player game and people can just pop into your world. Will Danny want to join me. Wait. He just said that. He's cleaning up my text and taking photos as we go...

10:55 CliffyB of Epic Games comes out as the first party game demos begin. To illustrate the steroidal rage of the few surviving humans (as they take on the Locusts), he dives right into Gears of War 2. If you asked me to boil it down into a simple description, here we go: a balls-to-the wall action movie in game form. You know, a lot like the last one. The big deal of this level walkthrough is how the revamped engine is looking sharper. The one thing that sticks in my head as I see Cliffy cutting down waves of Locusts and the odd Brumak (did I even spell that right?). It all looks pretty cool, but I'm starting to wonder about the red-and-brown heavy color palate. A lot like it was in the last game. Hey, not complaining. Just observing. I'll still play it and probably dig it.
A new mode called horde. Up to five people can team up and take on waves of enemies. Nice, a kind of nod to old-school arcade shooters. Like a crazy robotron. Also, the game is coming worldwide November 7, 2009.

11:03 And now, Don Mattrick takes to the stage...and here come the stats! According to a Pricewaterhouse Cooper forecast, $48 billion spent on gaming this year. According to NPD, he says, they are 5 million units ahead of the competition. "Xbox 360 will sell more in this generation than the PS3," he says. What, no Wii mention?
Another interesting stat: $1 BILLION bucks spent on Xbox Live content. Movie and TV downloads account for a third of the revaenue generated from the live service, according to Mattrick. And, of course, they are ready to announce new partners with content today from NBC.

11:09 John Shepperd (sp?)The corporate vice president of Xbox live services (sorry, I missed his name. I'll update that in a sec) steps up and talks about how the service is going to change for the 12 million current members: a new dashboard interface with Mii-like avatars called, you guessed, Avatars. Customize your dress-up do---er, I mean, character--and they populate a MyXbox page. And, yes, they are going to build out thousands of pieces of content. Will I get charged to pimping out my online self with some Hugo Boss threads?
It looks a WHOLE lot like a series of windows scrolling through in Vista. Y'know, I'm okay that.

Part of the new community page has a series of options. Say that you want to share photos between a couple buds, it's all viewable in one room. Not earthshaking, but cool

Xbox Live Primetime is a channel that'll be up online in the fall. Imagine playing one vs. 100, where you get to compete for money. Strange, I know.

Now, I was a big fan of Bizarre Creations' arcadey Geometry Wars. But I think I might be ready to fight carpal tunnel in Galaga championship edition.

Other announcements: Portal: Still Alive coming to the Xbox 360 with new levels and in 2009, a South Park game on Xbox Live.

What's interesting is that a million people have downloaded MS's XNA development tools. That means you can download well-done, homebrew games coming this fall. Honestly, I can't wait to see what the community has come up with.

Oh, and here's a little bonus: if you're on Xbox Live and happen to be a Netflix subscriber, you'll be able watch your movies through your Xbox. Ok, that settles it, I'm signing up for Netflix later today.

11:24 Shane Kim, Head of strategy and business development takes to the stage . More than a 1000 games will be available by the end of 2008. Will they all be good? Don't ask. ;p

What I will ask about is when that new content for GTA IV will hit (apparently later this year). Also, the kids get a couple nods as well: Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts (coming this holiday season). It looks a lot like a platform-jumping game with the bonus that you're building oddball gadgets and vehicles to get around the world. In addition, a new Viva Pinata and an updated Scene It that provides online play. But MS trots out a bunch of people on stage to play You're in the Movies by Codemasters. A new game, well, is very EyeToyish with a bunch of minigames. Would I use it? Probably as a drinking game. A special shout out to Genevieve from Microsoft for her awesome dancing skills.

Another interesting feature of You're In The Movies also lets you record and edit yourself -- then upload it online. That actually looks pretty fun. I'm gonna give that a go. And hopefully not make too much of an ass out of myself.

11:38 Kai Huang, founder of Red Octane, comes to the stage to talk about the next Guitar Hero game. It's going to ship the game with more than 85 songs. Plus more available online. Here's hoping for some solid tracks. But they do name drop Van Halen and The Eagles as exclusive to Guitar Hero World Tour. Nice. Even nicer: finding out that the game will have exclusive preview tracks from REM. Also, Metallica's new album will be available for Guitar Hero III in September, and later in the fall when World Tour hits. Until Lars complains about it. Heh.

11:45 Did someone say music? MS is getting in on the action as well with Lips. What's cool is that this karaoke game works with motion-sensitive microphones (and there you have it, folks) that work with your own music and a bunch of tracks including stuff from the latest Virgin Megastore / VH1 pop pusher, Duffy. (and, of course, cue her to come up on stage and belt out her own tune.) E3 may be a shadow of its former self, but that ain't stopping MS. No sir. Danny just told me that, "he's begging for mercy." So hateful, Danny, so hateful.

11:48 Of course, we haven't talked about the "other" music game yet. Alex Rigopolus of Harmonix, comes up on stage to announce an 84-track setlist for Rock Band 2. Guns and Roses will release its first track from "Chinese Democracy" on Rock Band 2. Seriously. The album is actually happening. Nice to add Bob Dylan, but I'm more psyched for the release of AC / DC's Let There Be Rock. Unlike Danny, those Aussies really know how to rock. (sorry, buddy, couldn't resist). Oi!

11:53 Yoichi Wada of Square Enix comes to the stage. What's going on? Are we seeing a crazy bombdrop of news about to happen? Exclusive Japanese Role-Playing games inbound: Infinite Undiscovery launches 9/2 in north America, 9/5 in Europe and 9/11 in japan. Star Ocean: The Last Hope will hit the Xbox 360 in Spring of 2009. The Last Remnant, a pretty hotly anticipated game, is also hitting later this year--November 20 to be precise.
And he just said that the game will launch on Games for Windows as well. Thank you, sir. May we please have another?

12:00 Don is about to try and close this mamma jamma out and then Wada-san cuts in to show a video clip. Like all Square stuff it looks majestic and amazingly creative at first. Serene. And then the gunplay and the high-tech swords and summoned creatures. And it is Final Fantasy XIII BOOM!

Wow. Huge news for Microsoft as it ships to launch in North America and Europe. Obviously, a huge move to cater to Japanese gamers and try to bolster a better foothold in the Asian market. And it's also good to see that MS is making smart moves to secure games that were previously platform-specific.

With GTA IV and Resident Evil 5 - and now this - we are seeing an interesting shift. Hey, are they gonna start working on Metal Gear Solid, next? But they need more than just simultaneous launch - MS needs more exclusives.

Hang on. No Halo news? Not even the RTS game, Halo Wars? Oh well, maybe next year.

And on that note of FFXIII, Mattrick ends the presser. Nicely done, friend. But have we seen enough?

Now that the ball is in Sony and Nintendo's court tomorrow, we'll see how they can fire back.

E3 2008: Microsoft Press Conference T-minus 30 minutes

Last night, while the rest of the game industry was patting itself on the back and partying, a couple gaming luminaries are locked in room. Waiting. Among them: Peter Molyneux (producer of countless hits like Dungeon Keeper, Populous, and the upcoming Fable 2), Todd Howard (he of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and now Fallout 3), and some members of Capcom's Resident Evil 5 team. It's the dry run for Microsoft's presser and these are some of the third party developers I know will be demoing titles.

Until it's their turn to hit the stage, they get shuttled between secure locations. Y'know, so that they don't hear what else the MS marketing machine will soon reveal. You'd figure these guys know a thing or two about keeping a secret, but nobody is taking chances. About an hour and a couple green rooms later, the "da-da-da-dummmm" of a Halo-ish theme pipes through and I think it's Howard who jokingly says, "All right, we're putting this room on lockdown! Microsoft isn't allowed in."

Was it worth the wait for those developers? We're about to find out as we brace for the kickoff keynote for the 2008 Electronics Entertainment Expo (its friends call it, "E3") -- and I brace myself for LiveBlogging the next couple hours.

Stay tuned as we'll be bringing up-to-the-minute coverage of the MS event.

Despite Activation Mess, Apple Calls iPhone Launch Success

While Apple is still mum on its iPhone launch activation fiasco it's not shy about bragging about how many of us snapped up iPhones this weekend and logged on to it App Store. Apple is reporting that since Friday it has sold over 1 million 3G iPhones as well as the boast that there have been over 10 million application downloads from the App Store.

The first number of 1 million iPhones sold is an impressive one considering that the first iPhone took 74 days to reach that sales milestone. Apple has worked hard to make the iPhone a mainstream device, and this is a good indication that it is succeeding. Of course, that's assuming that the activation problems that plagued the first day of sales hasn't soured people's taste for the typically "consumer friendly" Apple.

Enough Bragging, Please Explain Activation Mess?

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GPhone Rumor Mill Shifts into Overdrive: Move Over iPhone

Call it a post-iPhone glow, but hopes are alive once again that Google make its own Google-branded cell phone. It all started on Friday when Dan Cox of the Hollywood Reporter posted a story about an impromptu press conference between Google founders Larry Page and Sergei Brin, CEO Eric Schmidt and a small group of journalists. In his wrap-up, Dan had this to say:

"The trio of Google execs also used the opportunity to talk about the inroads the company is making with its own branded mobile phone as a replacement for the iPhone..."

What?

We've been expecting a cell phone to come out based on Google's Android platform for some time, but a 'branded mobile phone' is not the same thing as, say, an LG phone powered by Google. At first, this was written off as poor reporting since several other news organizations were there, and no one picked up on this news the same way that Dan did.

Continue reading "GPhone Rumor Mill Shifts into Overdrive: Move Over iPhone"

Apple Retail Stores say 'iPhone Problems Solved': Apple Loses its Shine

Apple iPhone owners are breathing easier today as activation problems that plagued yesterday's launch of the iPhone 3G have eased becoming just a painful memory. Yesterday Apple's activation servers just couldn't handle the thousands of simultaneous activations for new iPhone 3Gs. Compounding the problem were many of the estimated 6 million first generation iPhone users who logged on to Apple iTunes servers to update their phone's operating system to the 2.0 software.

Apple retail stores in Boston, Miami, and New York are reporting this Saturday activation problems have "been resolved." Apple support and user forums have also quieted with most contributors reporting successful activations today. Apple has also officially pushed out today an update to iPod Touch owners who had also reported problems Friday upgrading to the 2.0 OS. Ipod Touch users are also reporting successful updates.

Apple Loses its Shine

For Apple, the past 24 hours, was a disaster not only for its customers but for the Apple brand which is known for being customer oriented and for its technical excellence.

Continue reading "Apple Retail Stores say 'iPhone Problems Solved': Apple Loses its Shine"

Caught in iPhone Activation Hell, Part 3

I feel like I'm writing the War and Peace of iPhone horror stories, but honestly, it's been a very long day. And my iPhone still isn't working as a phone, although it's made big strides otherwise.

In mid-afternoon, with iTunes still refusing to recognize my account, I began to wonder if my PC wasn't contributing to the mess. So I switched to a notebook with a fresh install of iTunes. Sure enough, it recognized my Apple account and finally walked me through a proper setup routine. (I also bought an album and downloaded a couple of iPhone apps, just to make sure.)

At this point everything iTunes-related was up and running. I was able to sync my Outlook contacts as well as the apps and music. Surely, I thought, phone service would follow quickly.

I was wrong. While it was gratifying to see all my contacts and the new app icons on the iPhone, the words "No Service" still appeared where AT&T's bars should have been. I tried reseating the SIM card (one of several troubleshooting suggestions on Apple's Web site)--nothing.

So for the third time in today, I called AT&T's customer service (I will give the company credit for having enough people to deal quickly and professionally with what must have been a horrific volume of support calls from frustrated customers). The woman who picked up my call said it appeared my phone hadn't been "fully activated" and transferred me to someone more technical.

One of the first things the tech support guy figured out was that the number on my SIM card (he had me take it out) did not match the number on their records. Oops!

The tech support guy put me on hold while he rectified the discrepancy. But when he came back, he cautioned me that fixing the record-keeping problem would not put me on AT&T's network immediately. Because so many new phones were being activated, the network was backlogged in processing them.

How long would I have to wait? The tech support guy couldn't say for sure, but he thought no more than 24 hours. So by this time tomorrow, hopefully I'll have a working phone. In the meantime, I can still play with downloaded apps that don't require AT&T's cooperation.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Addendum: About half an hour after I posted everything above, I powered down my iPhone, powered it up -- and lo and behold, AT&T's bars (and 3G bug) had replaced "No Service." I have a phone! Apple and AT&T, all is forgiven--until the next annoyance.

Caught in iPhone Activation Hell, Part 2

Shortly after I finished writing my previous iPhone-activation-hell entry, something seemingly wonderful happened: iTunes displayed a "Let's Get Started" screen. Had my griping been premature?

I filled out the form, gave my iPhone a name, and put in my Apple user ID and password. ITunes asked me what contacts, calendar, e-mail, etc. I wanted to synchronize. I was thrilled; a working iPhone was almost in my grasp!

Yeah, right. After 45 minutes (during which the phone flashed the word "Synchronizing" and iTunes showed a busily twirling icon), the phone still displayed the words "No Service" in the upper left corner. The couple of thousand Outlook contacts I thought I'd transferred were nowhere to be seen, nor were the iPhone apps (for AOL Intant Messenger and Twitter) that I'd tried to download from the iTunes store. My music did show up, but that left me with a rather pricey MP3 (or AAC) player with Wi-Fi--an iPod Touch.

And now iTunes had turned its back on me completely. Whenever I tried to log in, it sent back messages saying it couldn't complete my request because there were problems with the clock on my PC--it wasn't synchronized with Internet time. ITunes' help file also suggested that one of the reasons I couldn't log in (even when my iPhone wasn't attached) was that my PC might not be accepting cookies from iTunes. This seems highly unlikely since I've been a customer for quite a few years.

I called AT&T and got a sympathetic customer service representative who basically said there wasn't much I could do: Apple's servers just weren't prepared for the onslaught of new users. He also said that AT&T's sales people should have done the iTunes part of the activation, and not sent me off to do it on myself. Small comfort at this point.

So, 5 1/2 hours after I left the AT&T store, I'm still without a fully functioning iPhone. And I'm not very happy about it. I'd been looking forward to this day for weeks, which just goes to show that if you trust in technology, you're asking for heartache.

Caught in iPhone Activation Hell

I should have realized it was too good to be true.

I was second on line to buy a 3G iPhone at a small AT&T store in downtown San Francisco, so I breezed in promptly at 8 am local time and picked up a black 16GB iPhone. It took the sales rep 15 minutes to figure out how to put my phone number on the SIM (I suspended the account on my 3+-year-old Treo 650 a month or two ago), but by 8:30 am I was headed to PC World's offices, expecting to complete my activation via iTunes in a few minutes at my desk.

Yeah, right. I hooked up the USB cable, fired up iTunes, got a notice saying I had to upgrade to a new version. This took about 5 minutes, and I tried again. The new version obediently popped up an iPhone icon in the left nav bar; the main pane went white with the word "iPhone" in big grey letters in the middle, and on top a little horizontal barbershop pole says iTunes is accessing the iTunes store.

Then, the bad news: A pop-up window says "We could not complete your iTunes Store request. The network connection timed out. Make sure your network settings are correct and your network connection is active, then try again."

I clicked on OK, disconnected the cable, reconnected, and went through the same drill. Over and over again for more than an hour. What a disappointment!

An Outdoor Inflatable Home Theater System: 10Ft-Screen

Nighttime barbecues in the backyard may never be the same. Home theater company Open Air Cinema has introduced an inflatable home theater system called CineBox Home designed for lawn chairs, pool sides, and outdoor viewing.

The price of the 10-foot inflatable CinBox Home screen is $399. You'll have to fork over $1499 for the complete kit which includes the screen, digital projector, DVD player, sound mixer, LED light for night time set up, all necessary cables, a carrying case and a muffled blowing fan to keep the screen from deflating while you watch your movie outdoors.

Open Air Cinema mentions the screen, when using the blower, inflates in about 30 seconds. I think that's cool and suppose I could pull this off, even if the price of the complete package leaves us using a kiddie pool instead of a full size one to lounge in.

Early iPhone In-Store Activations Go Smoothly, Later Activations Stall

NEW YORK - No shortage of hopeful iPhone 3G customers here at the Roosevelt Field Mall on Long Island, New York. Not only did the Apple Store here have a healthy line that steadily grew throughout the night, but so too did the mall's AT&T store line.

The big wildcard hovering around today's iPhone launch was how Apple Stores would handle the in-store AT&T cell phone sign-up and activation process. Turns out they did so fairly smoothly in the early hours--at least at this outpost--with brute force and with the help of portable gadgetry. However, about an hour and a half on, customers reported being told the payment system was up and down, and activations stalled--which gels with my colleagues' experience now in San Francisco. Another colleague has already reported on his woes trying to upgrade an iPod Touch. Activation problems have also plagued those in the UK.

Activation Continued

Continue reading "Early iPhone In-Store Activations Go Smoothly, Later Activations Stall"

iPhone Curmudgeon Says Stop the Unboxing and Teardown Madness

The second annual Apple iPhone Day is upon us, which means of course the collective Internet will focus all of its attention to taking pictures of the thing in its box, out of its box and trying to pry the device open and dissect it every which way. On this holiest of Apple days I would like to declare a war against unboxing and unnecessary teardowns.

Given it's still early on the first day of the iPhone's release, at least here in the United States, the unboxings and reviews are still a little scarce, but like last year, over the next 48 hours the Internet will be flooded with the unboxings.

Some Facts, As I See Them

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iPhone 3G OS Already Unlocked / 'Jailbroken'

Well that was fast. The iPhone 3G has only been available for a matter of hours - not days - but Gizmodo's iPhone Dev Team is already claiming the new software upgrade is unlocked and working just fine. An unlocked or "jailbroken" iPhone has meant you don't need to be an AT&T Wireless customer to get wireless service with an iPhone. The iPhone hack also has allows jailbroken iPhones to run a host of third-party iPhone applications that have not been approved by Apple.

According to reports, the iPhone Dev team's Pwnage Project has been working on unlocking iPhone 2.0 for several months by examining the firmware that came with the iPhone 2.0 SDK released earlier this year. By mid-March they were already claiming victory, and Gizmodo's tests yesterday seem to prove that it works.

Before You Get Too Excited

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iTunes Store "Unavailable": This iPod Touch Owner is Stuck in Update Limbo

Since I'm a Verizon Wireless customer the closest thing to joining the iFrenzy for the iPhone 3G is taking advantage of Apple's App Store and the wealth new software options available for my iPod Touch. The only problem (sound effect of vinyl record scratching) I can't run any applications from the just opened Apple App Store because I'm locked out. Worse, now that I've updated iTunes to 7.7, I can browse and salivate over applications compatible with my iPod Touch and even download them to my PC. The only problem is my iPod Touch firmware won't update to the latest 2.0 version available today. I've been stuck looking at the message "This version of the iPod software (1.1.4) is the current version."

Problems Are Widespread

I'm not alone. I've been able to find plenty of iPod Touch, first-gen iPhone, and new iPhone 3G owners just like me stuck in the same boat. For over 8 hours I've been unable to update my iPod Touch because the Apple iTunes Store's servers are overwhelmed. The same complaints of not being able to connect to Apple iTunes' servers are coming from hundreds (if not thousands) of first-gen iPhone users and iPhone 3G owners. Apple has quite a mess on its hands.

Bottom line: If you're even considering updating your first-gen iPhone, don't even try. Doing so will likely lock it up. If you're think of buying a iPhone 3G today, don't. Wait till this entire mess is sorted out first. And consider yourself one of the fortunate iPhone 3G users if you aren't having problems activating your new 3G phone. My colleague Denny Arar is having some major headaches with her new iPhone 3G (See Caught in iPhone Activation Hell and Early iPhone In-Store Activations Go Smoothly, Later Activations Stall).

In the interim AT&T has confirmed Apple is having global activation problems. Apple hasn't publicly acknowledged a problem.

UPDATE: At 5:45pm ET Apple's iTunes Servers are still coughing up errors and locking untold thousands out of activating their iPhone 3Gs, updating first-gen iPhones and iPod Touchs. Apple tech support is telling consumers there isn't much they can do and that Apple's servers just weren't prepared for the onslaught of new users. Apple tech support is also pointing part of the blame at AT&T telling one frustrated PC World staffer that Apple should not have told new iPhone 3G owners to try to activate their iPhones from home.

From the Beginning

(Skip to the bottom of this blog for latest on Apple's botched activations.)

Around 8:30am ET a new message popped up in my iTunes 7.7 software under the iPod Summary tab that reads "A newer version of the iPod software is available (version 2.0). To update your iPod with the latest, click Update."

Great I thought until I clicked on "Update." Now I'm getting an error message saying "We could not complete your iTunes Store request. The iTunes Store is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later."

The Saga Continues

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Seagate Beefs Up Desktop Hard Drive to 1.5TB

Seagate announced today it is debuting three new internal hard drives, including what it calls the "world's first 1.5-Terabyte" desktop focused drive. The other two drives are half-terabyte models (500GB) which designed for notebooks.

Seagate's announcement of the 1.5TB Barracuda 7200.11 ups the ante between it, Hitachi and Samsung for the world's largest hard drive. Hitachi, in fact, is just getting around to shipping its second generation 1TB drive, which it claims is also energy efficient.

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1st-Gen iPhone Market Set to Plummet: Cheapskates Rejoice

The 3G iPhone launch is less than 24 hours away, but this blogger's biggest question is not about the 3G iPhone, but rather the first generation iPhone and what is going to happen to that market.

I'll come right out of the woodwork and say that I didn't get the first generation iPhone and have no interest in picking up the 3G iPhone, but what I am interested in is picking up an upgrader's first generation iPhone.

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Samsung Unveils YouTube-Friendly Camcorder

It looks like Samsung is trying to cash-in on the growing trend of YouTube specific digital camcorders with its entry the SC-MX20 released today.

The SC-MX20 is a higher-end camcorder than it's YouTube-friendly camcorder competitors the Flip Video Ultra or the Creative Vado Pocket Video Cam. The SC-MX20 ups the ante with a 680,000 pixel CCD sensor allowing it to capture video at 720x480 resolution - something that neither of the aforementioned can touch.

What Makes the SC-MX20 YouTube Friendly

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Apple Debuts App Store in Advance of iPhone 3G

Apple's App Store has arrived. Apple launched its App Store Thursday which features third-party applications for the iPhone 3G one day in advance of the much anticipated iPhone 3G which goes on sale Friday. The App Store became available this morning when Apple released its 7.7 version of the iTunes software. The App Store will also be available directly from the iPhone 3G's software.

I took a look the App Store and browsed some of the 27 pages of Apps ready to go tomorrow. For social networking there's Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Loopt and Aim, and there are plenty of games, business and utilities apps such as Bloomberg, ISpend, and Oultliner. While many are free, some are quite expensive. I found a golf scoring application for $18.99.

In all there are 500 applications available, 125 of which are free.

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10 Things You Need to Know Before Buying a 3G iPhone

The 3G iPhone goes on sale this Friday at 8am. But before you rush out and buy one you should consider some details about the iPhone 3G that have been revealed in early reviews of the iPhone popping up online. Reviews from from Walter Mossberg, David Pogue, and Edward Biag shed more light on the iPhone 3G's pros, cons, and quirks.

Price

One of the main draws of the 3G iPhone is the fact that it is "half the price" of the old iPhone. However when you take into account the service plan for the 3G iPhone, the numbers look a little different. The new service plan for the iPhone is $70 per month compared to the previous plan of $60 per month. The new service plan also doesn't include text messaging anymore, compared to the old plan which included 200 text messages a month, so you'll have to pay an additional $5 per month to match the old plan. When all is said and done, at the end of a two year contract the new iPhone with the new service plan costs at least $200 more than the old one.

Existing iPhone Owner Gotcha

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Get Paid for Your Flickr Photos

No, this isn't an Internet gimmick: Now your photos posted on photo-sharing Web site Flickr could be purchased by Getty Images, one of the largest picture distributors, thanks to a deal between Yahoo and Getty.

The result may be recognition for the aspiring pro or talented recreational photographer. Getty will search though Flickr for images and, upon finding interesting shots, will invite that Flickr user to participate in the program, which could pay as much as $240 per photo. This is the same rate received by professional photographers selling images to Getty. Rights to the picture are also negotiated under this program.

Getty is used by newspapers, magazines, and other media services all around the world, so this deal has the potential to land your casual weekend photography on the front page of a major-market newspaper or more.

This sounds good for all, right? Not so much. I'd be very concerned as a professional photographer who has worked with Getty in the past. Now the competition has grown exponentially, as every Flickr user is competing with your images for the money from Getty. It's probably time to sign up for a Flickr account, professional photogs.

The service will be rolled out in the upcoming months, so you should get snapping.

Rumor: Apple to Launch iPhone Apps Store Before the 11th

Chatter on Apple-centric sites points to the long-awaited iPhone App Store launching by 12PM EST on July 10. Apple has not confirmed any exact launch time for the App Store, but this theory would track with the time zone differences--already, the iPhone 3G will be on sale four hours earlier than that time in New Zealand. Presumably, the App Store will only launch once both the iPhone 2.0 firmware and iTunes 7.7, which are required in order to access the iPhone App Store--so keep an eye out for an iTunes update on Thursday.

Walt Mossberg to Join Fox News: What?

The Wall Street Journal's master of all things tech, Walt Mossberg, is joining up with his News Corp. brethren on the Fox Business News channel to talk tech with hosts Dagen McDowell and Brian Sullivan.

Mossberg's first appearance will be today at 11:30am ET, and then he will appear regularly every Thursday at the same time after that. According to The New York Times, Mossberg is the first prominent journalist from WSJ to show up on Fox News.

Watch Out Neil Cavuto

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Merriam-Webster Adds Fanboy, Malware, Webinar to Official Geek Lexicon

Venerable icon of the print age the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary is set for its 11th edition come September 1. The reason we techies should care? A number of words from our tech-laden lexicon, are among the over 100 new words included. (see below for a selection of new entries)

Some very choice tech words made the cut including "webinar" - "a live online educational presentation during which participating viewers can submit questions and comments" and "malware" - "software designed to interfere with a computer's normal functioning" and "netroots" - "the grassroots political activists who communicate via the Internet esp. by blogs."

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One Third of Consumers are DVD Pirates?

Honestly, how many of you rip, copy, and burn your Netflix DVD rentals and then send them right back for another? According to a report titled Consumer Home Piracy Research Findings July 2008 (pdf) nearly one third of people copy DVDs. Of those that copy DVDs in the U.S. over half are copying DVDs rented from sources like Blockbuster and Netflix.

The study commissioned by anti-piracy firm Macrovision for Futuresource Consulting found that copying DVDs is on the rise compared to 2007. Survey participants admit to copying about 12 DVDs on average in the past six months.

How Are They Doing It?

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Sony Fixes PS3 Firmware Fiasco: We Test the Fix

As reported last week, Sony's highly anticipated 2.40 firmware update for the PlayStation 3 caused many systems to unexpectedly become 'bricked,' meaning that the systems stopped functioning and were basically as useful as a large, black, shiny brick.

Today Sony is fixing its firmware mistake with the release of firmware update 2.41. The 2.41 update does everything that the 2.40 update was supposed to do, without the annoyance of making your system completely useless. That means PS3 fans can now enjoy all of their trophies and the in-game cross media bar in brick-free bliss.

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Gmail Rolls Out Remote Security Features

Sometimes the most simple and obvious feature can be the most secure as Google is rolling out a feature that allows you to monitor remote activity on your Gmail account.

With this new service, Google will monitor the Internet protocol addresses of every computer used to sign into your Gmail account. It will then display that information at the bottom of your main page including how many locations your Gmail account is logged in to, as well as the last activity time.

Check out a list of PC World Gmail Tips.

Remote Log Out Feature

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iPhone 3G Reality Check: AT&T's 3G Coverage Called Into Question

Before you head out to your local Apple Store on Friday to pick up the new iPhone 3G, you may want to double check you're going to be able to take advantage of AT&T's 3G network. The problem? There is no guarantee you'll have access to it. According to Gear Diary, AT&T's national 3G coverage is spotty at best, and the blog claims that 90 to 95 percent of the United States is not 3G ready. If this is true, it means the large number of Apple fans who plan on buying the latest iteration of the iPhone will be stuck paying 3G prices for the slower EDGE service.

But Apple fanboys are riding to the rescue of Steve Jobs and dispute Gear Diary's conclusion. According to others, the map (click on image above. dark blue spots show the 3G service) is misleading because it is based on data from March 31, 2008 and does not include AT&T's recent expansion of 3G service earlier this year. It should be noted that AT&T covers about 275 markets right now and plans to expand even further to 350 U.S. markets by the end of 2008.

Here is a link to AT&T's official coverage map.

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Pioneer Develops Massive 400GB Optical Disc

Pioneer says it has developed a 16-layer optical disc capable of storing 400GB of data. The company says it is the world's first 16-layer read-only optical disc. There's no word though when it will be available.

Pioneer says the disc has a per-layer capacity of 25GB making existing Blu-ray optical discs look downright small by storage-capacity standards. The 25GB-per-layer claim is equal to that of one Blu-ray Disc.

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LG's Latest Chocolate Rev Takes New Form: Due July 14

LG has announced a release date for the Chocolate 3, according to reports and that date is July 14 on the Verizon network.

What makes this announcement news-worthy is the new, interesting form factor being taken by the Chocolate 3. The previous two versions of this phone came in a familiar slider form-factor, but the third revision of the phone will come in the clamshell-style.

Inside the handset comes one specific feature that is rare to the handset world. The LG Chocolate 3 will also feature an FM transmitter, which means this music-centric phone will be able to easily transmit your tunes to a FM radio, like the one in your car. In addition to the transmitter, the Chocolate 3 will also include expandable memory support up to 8GB, a 1.76-inch outer screen, 2.2-inch internal screen, 2-megapixel camera, stereo speakers, Bluetooth and more.

The Chocolate 3 will be available with available July 14 for $129 after rebates and a two year contract.

Study Finds Firefox Users Safest, IE Users Unsafe

Mozilla Firefox users are the safest Web surfers on the Internet, according to a study by The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Google and IBM's Internet Security Services. According to the study Firefox users were the most likely to use an updated version of their browser.

Researchers determined Firefox users are by far the safest Web surfers on the Web during an 18-month study. The study based its conclusions of safety on how often users of different browsers updated to the most recent version of browser software. Much of the credit to Firefox's safety ranking stems from its ease of self updating by the software. Unlike IE which has to update via Windows Update, Firefox has a self-contained updating mechanism which translates into Mozilla users being far more likely to have the most up-to-date (and safest) version of their browser.

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The National Film Board of Canada Expands Its Audience

As a Canadian cinephile, I'm often frustrated that more people outside of the country don't realize what a rich cinematic history we have.

A lot of that history is bound up in the National Film Board of Canada (the NFB, for short) which has spent the last 69 years pushing at the frontiers of, among other things, animation and documentary filmmaking.

A pal who works at the NFB recently tipped me off to their latest online initiative. Over on beta.NFB.ca they've created a free, public online repository of NFB shorts and features, starting with over 300 films from their archives. The films can be shared and embedded YouTube-style, as well.

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Google Ordered To Release User Logs

The urge to watch and share the latest funny clip from the Daily Show and other Viacom-owned subsidiaries has landed Google and its YouTube service in a lot of hot water as a judge has ordered the video-sharing service to turn over its logs.

In the Viacom v. Google case, filed last year, "logs" refers to "all data from the Logging database concerning each time a YouTube video has been viewed on the YouTube website or through embedding on a third-party website," explains the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The logs will contain the username of the YouTube user as well has the Internet protocol address of the computer watching each video.

Viacom is getting the logs as part of its ongoing copyright infringement suit against Google; whether it gets ongoing reports might depend on the outcome of the suit. The court denied Viacom's request for Google's proprietary search code.

The legal significance of this ruling disregards any kind of privacy precedence established by the Video Privacy Protection Act. The VPPA was established in 1988 after Robert Bork's video rental history was released while he was being consideredfor a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. The VPPA was covered VHS video tape rentals.

Now, while VHS video tapes are significantly different than digital video files watched on YouTube, the same concept applies. It's all about privacy. With the information that the court ordered Google to disclose, Viacom gets information that may identify everybody who's ever watched a Viacom video on YouTube, which would include anything from Comedy Central, MTV and more.

For safety reasons, until this mess gets sorted out you're better off going to Hulu for your daily dose of truthiness.

Sony Update 'Bricks' Some PS3 Consoles: Firmware Pulled

Sony has pulled the latest PlayStation 3 firmware update after complaints that it is causing problems with the game console and sometimes bricking (cannot function in any capacity) PS3s. It's unclear how widespread the problem is. Sony claims problems with its PS3 firmware (2.4) have only affected an isolated number of customers' machines.

There have been a number of people on the Sony PS3 forums who have described problems with the PS3 update made available just yesterday. One camp of PS3 users complain of their consoles are freezing up. Others have had better luck, but report once the firmware has been installed games such as Metal Gear Solid 4 will produce errors delivering a black screen.

No official word yet from Sony on the root of the problem or a fix. Sony will post updates to its official blog as more information becomes available.

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Citibank Customer PIN Codes Stolen from 7-Eleven ATMs

It looks like those "security" PINs that banks give us specifically to ensure our money isn't stolen are not as secure as we'd hoped. Citibank ATMs inside a number of California 7-Eleven stores were hacked, giving crooks access to PIN codes to many Citibank customers, according to an Associated Press report.

According to the AP hackers exploited a weakness in the ATM network giving crooks access to PIN codes that were not being properly encrypted. At fault, according to the AP report, is Microsoft software used by ATM operators who use a version of Windows on machines. The advantage of a Windows OS is that it more easily allows the ATMs to be diagnosed and repaired remotely. The downside, it appears, is Window's vulnerabilities.

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Bono Blasts ISPs for Turning Blind Eye to Music Piracy

In a letter sent to NME Magazine, U2's Bono has weighed in on the issue of music piracy criticizing Internet service providers for showing indifference to the piracy of music taking place on their networks and letting it go on.

This isn't the first time we've heard a U2 representative blasting ISPs. Earlier this year, Paul McGuinness, U2's manager, pointed fingers toward the ISPs and now in the letter to NME Magazine, Bono has agreed with his manager saying "that it is disturbing to see internet service providers and technology companies profit from the so-called 'disintermediation' of the music business."

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Google Inks Deal to Use Tele Atlas Maps on Android OS

Google has signed a deal with digital-map maker Tele Atlas which allows Google to use the firm's map data on a host of devices including cellphones and gadgets based the much anticipated Android operating system. Under the terms of the 5-year deal Google will also continue to use Tele Atlas mapping data on a host of Google services such as Google Maps and Google Earth.

Tele Atlas owns GPS device maker TomTom which assures a cozy relationship between Google and TomTom. Under the terms of the deal Google has agreed to send end-user mapping data back to Tele Atlas when it concludes user edits to maps. This, one would hope, would be a very efficient way for end-users help both Google and Tele Atlas to more accurately update maps with road closures and other type of mapping information.

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Netflix Listens to Members, Keeps Profiles Feature

Good news for all those who have lost faith in the power of the Internet - it work!

Netflix was reportedly going to do away with its user profiles feature, but after much outcry from you, the DVD rent-by-mail company will be keeping its profile feature and has now even decided to improve it.

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Google's Crawlers Can Now Index Flash Pages

A big annoyance of the Internet, flashy and unnecessary Flash-built Web pages, is being remedied with an announcement that Google has developed a way to index those Flash-built pages for its search engine.

The problem with Flash Web pages is that the URL address always remains the same. Despite how deep you dig into a Flash page, the Web address is always the same, which makes it hard to not only link to specific items on a Flash page, but also makes it difficult for the search engine crawlers to index Flash pages beyond the main page.

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More Xbox 360 Price Drops?

If you are thinking of buying an Xbox 360 you may want to wait a couple weeks. There are reports Microsoft is about to drop the price of the Xbox 360. The Hollywood Reporter is citing an anonymous source who says that the Xbox 360 will knock $50 off the price tag of its 20GB model from $349 to $299.

If the rumors are true, the new price point would make the Xbox $100 cheaper than Playstation 3's cheapest model, and just $50 more than the Nintendo Wii. The Xbox price drop also comes just weeks before the video game world descends on Los Angeles for the E3 Expo in mid-July. This would also be the second time Microsoft dropped the price of the Xbox since the console's launch in 2005. At the time, the price cut came just before Halo 3 (slide show) hit the shelves, but according to many reports the latest price drop does not coincide with an anticipated release.

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McAfee Spam Experiment Sheds Little New Light on Spam-demic

You don't have to be a member of Mensa to predict if you go around asking for spam you'll get it. But that's exactly what security firm McAfee did with its Spam Experiment conducted in April. The test asked 50 people from ten countries to defy common sense and for 30 days surf the Web on a computer with no anti-spam software. Participants were encouraged "to go where most Internet users would not dare" in an effort to see what would happen. Guess what, they were spammed.

The spam test results, released today, are predictable. In total participants received 104,832 spam e-mail messages or about 2096 each during the 30 days. Most of those who received spam were in the U.S. followed by Brazil and then Italy. Men received more spam than women.

More Spam-tastic Statistics

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