Whilst Fake Steve Jobs has gained the most attention in the fake personal blog scene, a number of other fake blogs have been launched this year. Here’s a quick run down of a few that might be worthy of adding to your feed reader…or maybe not. The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs No list of fake blogs would be complete without the master. Although the blog may have lost its edge since Daniel Lyons was outed as the writer, the site still maintains a strong following and Lyon’s way with words still makes for delicious reading. The Secret Diary of Steve Balmer I’ve been reading this fake blog longer than most on this list, and I’m yet to unsubscribe. It’s not as well written as its Steve Jobs equivalent, but it has the occasionally side splitting post. Probably the closest of the bunch to being a direct clone of Fake Steve. Larry Ellison’s Fake Blog A decent read, if it times a little heavy, but in context it works. Fake Larry made a brief guest appearance on Fake Steve a little while back, so it’s not inconceivable that the author is Daniel Lyons as well, or someone else who perhaps works with Lyons. The Secret Diary of Jonathon Schwartz As the header reads: “Dude, I was the first CEO to even have a blog.” Of course the real Schwartz does maintain his own blog. The way this is written tone wise makes it sound just like Schwartz. The Secret Diary of Bill Gates Unfortunately what could have been the best of the bunch is a let down. Poor context and tries too hard to be funny; the difference between clever satire and stupidity is lost on fake Bill Gates. Some may disagree though. Moving away from corporate heads, there are a number of other fake blogs out there, here’s a couple Fake Scoble To quote the about page: “Scoble himself is so unintentionally hilarious that this site is superfluous –but hey it will be fun. Fake Scoble is about low hanging fruit. Actually, it’s about the fruit beneath the tree. Obvious jokes are going to be the rule of the day.” The Secret Diary of Brad Stone “I outed Fake Steve Jobs. Have you heard of him?” Hit and miss, but has its moments. There must be something ironic though about there being a fake blog for the person who → Read More
I’m hoping this little guy makes the jump across the Pacific, because it’s time for some of you suckers to go back to school! And if school for you was anything like it was for me, it’s just one big long exhausted hangover. But if you want to grow up to be a popular blogger, like yours truly, you’ll need something to keep you awake during those boring classes. I used trucker speed, but only because this stuff hadn’t been invented yet. You wear it on your ear, and if your head dips below a certain angle, its vibrating alarm wakes you up. I’m sure it’s just as safe as a cellphone. I’m sure it’s safer than the crosstops I used. Wake-Up Angel [Design Town, via <a href="http://www.shinyshiny.tv/2007/08/post_47.html"Shiny Shiny] → Read More
Eventbee an event management startup out of Sunnyvale, CA has been a busy little bee lately. They are rumoured to be launching two Facebook apps (one for event registration and one for event recommendation) in the next week or so (who isn’t?). They are also developing a channel on Ustream.tv to cover local events. The company provides a great package of event management tools including online registration, email marketing (souped-up spam) and online event promotion. Their online event promotion tools include a nifty service called Event Network Listing that can only be described as “AdSense for events.” The service lets event planners for a fee list an event on any site or blog in Eventbee’s growing partner network. The partner network consists of sites and blogs that have AdSense-like code embedded on their sites. This allows for highly targeted and controlled event promotion. You can see Eventbee’s network event listings in action on Rajesh Setty’s LifeBeyondCode. Eventbee partners get paid in two ways. First, they get an initial listing fee for each new listing that they get to set in advance. Second, when event ticket purchases are initiated from their site they receive a commission. The commission amount is set in advance by the event planner. Eventbee keeps 29% of the total earnings partners make. Event planners can create customizable event pages on Eventbee’s site just like you can with Eventbrite (see our Eventbrite TC20 page here). Tickets sold from event pages start with fees as low as 1.45% of ticket price, plus a minimum fee of $0.25. RegOnline and Acteva also offer online event registration. Eventbee’s glorified spam, I mean, email marketing service is tightly integrated with their online registration. You can create beautifully designed emails by importing HTML code or using their WYSIWYG editor. The service allows you to track bounced emails, opened emails and online registration URL click-throughs. They currently have over 6,000 event managers. They are self-funded with CEO Bala Musrif claiming to be profitable since 2005 with no plans for raising money. → Read More
The Sony Bravia DAV-IS10 is the stealth bomber of home theater systems. You won’t even know it’s there, thanks to five tiny micro-satellite speakers, each of which is about the size of a baby’s fist. The desktop PC-size subwoofer sits in the corner of a room and pumps out some pretty intense bottom end, while the digital amp/DVD player does some fancy digital processing to pump out 450W of impressively clear audio and HDMI goodness. The whole thing kind of melts into your living room, which means no complaints from your S.O. Plenty of cool connectivity features (some of which are optional) make this a painless way to get into 5.1-channel surround sound. → Read More
When I wrote about the upcoming Orkut redesign yesterday I was hoping for something a little more…I don’t know. Inspiring? Instead we get new icons and rounded corners. I’d love to hear what some of the designers out there think about Orkut. The new look for the second biggest social network on the planet is below. Here’s the old version. I’m underwhelmed. → Read More
For those who might have missed it: Engadget has the scoop on a new software solution that unlocks Apple’s iPhone, allowing it to be used on any mobile carrier worldwide (presuming of course they run a 2G GSM network). The creators of the iPhone hack (iPhoneSimFree.com) claim that the hack is “restore and upgrade resistant”; essentially reseting the phone and/ or loading the latest software updates doesn’t affect the hack. The big question is whether it will be resistant to future updates. So will Apple try to block the hack, or will the Apple engineers in Cupertino be secretly cheering that their gift to mobile users can now be used worldwide and just simply leave the hack alone? It is unlikely that the decision will be Apple’s alone. AT&T will be very unimpressed at the notion that users could buy an iPhone and bypass their network. The iPhone has already proved itself as being a massive confidence boost for what is considered by some to be America’s worst mobile carrier. The tangible benefits of a AT&T exclusive iPhone are also strong: roughly 1 million users are locked in to AT&T plans averaging somewhere between approx. $50-$100 per month per user, a benefit in the hundred of millions of dollars over the life of the contract. AT&T would be hoping for millions of additional users in the future as well. On the other hand, someone, somewhere in Apple must be at least a little bit excited by the notion that more people than ever will now consider buying the iPhone. As much as Apple receives some financial benefit from AT&T in terms of a signup or ongoing payment, the real money for Apple is in the hardware and the Apple services such as iTunes, services iPhone users do and will use. Either way, as long as the iPhone hack works America’s balance of payments should see a very small improvement in the coming months, as first adopters, and tech fiends world wide take iPhones home with them from their next trips to the United States. → Read More
So exactly how big is the new Fat Nano™ going to be? According to ClockSkew.com, who did a mathematical study of the leaked photos when juxtaposed with a 2nd Gen Nano, it should be exactly 3-inches tall. That’s a full half-inch shorter than the current Nano. It will also be 2.3-inches wide, which is almost an inch wider than the current device’s 1.6-inches. Granted, this is speculation that assumes the clickwheel on both devices are the same size, but that’s a good bet. Another good bet is that the Empire knows we’re here, but that’s a different story. For the total analysis, hit the link. New iPod Nano Size Analysis [ClockSkew] → Read More
Zipingo, the small business review site launched by Intuit in late 2005, shut down yesterday. When it launched, Zipingo competed with a slew of other startups that were targeting local business reviews. Of the three that we mentioned – Yelp, Judy’s Book and Insider Pages – only one, Yelp, remains in it’s original form. Judy’s Book changed its model to focus on coupons and deals, and Insider Pages sold for little more than the capital it originally raised to CitySearch. The message above is all that remains of Zipingo. Without coming right out and saying it, the reason they’ve shut it down is that no one was apparently using it. Comscore wan’t tracking them at all (see Yelp v. Insider pages below). Other startups, of course, are joing this space all the time. Google and Yahoo will take their pound of flesh, but upstarts like AskPoodle are giving it a shot as well. Zipingo joins the TechCrunch DeadPool. → Read More
Somewhat calming news after my tantrum the other day; Palm says that the Foleo will still launch “this summer” and that it hasn’t missed the original shipping date yet. So if Palm is to be taken at its word, rumors of the Foleo shipping on August 22nd were false, as were rumors of it being delayed. → Read More
YouBeQB is a new Football game playing site that will snatch up even more time from fantasy sports junkies (see Screaming Sports and FleaFlicker for examples of some of the new thinking around fantasy sports). Watch a game on TV and play along against other players by trying to predict the next play. Users can follow professional or college games. Points are awarded for each correct play called, as well as consecutive correct calls. John Cook has the details on investors, which include HRJ Capital (partners include Hall of Fame football players Ronnie Lott and Joe Montana, and former San Francisco 49ers offensive lineman Harris Barton), Bob Whitsitt, Paul Abramowitz and Bill Savoy. → Read More
The last time Nintedo was in NYC. Did you know that that Nintendo is opening up a huge, badass office at 445 Park Ave. in New York on October 1? Neither did we, but we just got a hot tip that says it’s so. What is it Nintendo could be up to in NYC? The image above gives us a place to start our brains. They’re obviously going to fight the Foot clan. Duh. → Read More
Bill Snitzer, one of the tech guys at BitGravity, is driving to Los Angeles and showing it live on the Internet. He’s got a webcam up showing the drive and a Google Map mashup with a GPS device showing his progress. Bitgravity, located in Burlingame, California, hasn’t officially launched. But the company is the content delivery network (CDN) for Revision3 and other video sites. The quality of the video on this site is significantly better than what you see with other live streaming services like Justin.tv and Ustream. I’m looking forward to hearing more about the streaming technology, as well as the Google Maps/GPS hack (some resources for GPS mashup here and here). Thanks for the tip David. CrunchBase Information BitGravity Information provided by CrunchBase → Read More
We loooooove Black Friday. It’s our favorite day of the year. It’s that day after Thanksgiving in the USA when the holiday shopping stuff really ramps up. It’s the day of the amazing door-buster specials and long lines and mall corndogs and tired, cranky sales clerks and cheap HDTVs and Jagermeister. It’s also the day, from what BGR hears, that Crackberry addicts can first get their worn-out fingers on Sprint’s Blackberry Pearl 2. → Read More
GPS units are cool toys. Don’t get me wrong, they’re serious devices for some people. I wish to god my cab drivers used them. But for the most part, they’re not essential: we’ve survived thousands of years without them, so it’s time to admit that they’re a convenience. → Read More
We’re trying hard not to make this AppleGear today, but there’s a lot going on, so screw it, we’re giving it to you. We know a 17 year old kid made up a software unlock for the iPhone, with the help of others, that allows it to work with any GSM carrier. He’s using his with T-Mobile, at least until Apple sues him into oblivion so he can’t afford the bill. But you don’t have time to go through all the unlocking steps, do you? No, you want someone to do it for you. And they have. The world’s #2 unlocked GSM iPhone is now on eBay. At time of publishing this, there are 22 bids, topping out at $2,999. Holy OMG crap, that’s a lot for an iPhone. I’m obviously in the wrong business. eBay Auction [GeoHot's Auction] → Read More
Five months in prison for downloading Star Wars Episode III – that seems a little harsh, doesn’t it? Scott McCausland got just that plus he was ordered to replace his Ubuntu Linux operating system with a Windows-based system to ensure compatibility with court-ordered computer monitoring software. → Read More
After SunRocket abruptly closed up shop a little over a month ago, there was a mad-dash by other VOIP providers to scoop up some 200,000 stranded customers. Not too surprisingly, Vonage was one of those providers. According to Sherwood Partners, the company in charge of selling off SunRocket’s assets, Vonage got a hold of and has been using one of SunRocket’s customer lists without permission. → Read More
We know this is a fake Photoshop image. We made it because we couldn’t show the real one anymore. We’re OK with that. So today we’re hearing more rumors swirling around the Interwebs about the forthcoming Fat iPod Nano™, and this thing’s shaping up to be interesting. We already know it exists, as both Gizmodo and CrunchGear have received Cease & Desist orders from Apple’s legal team for showing leaked photos. Thanks for the heads-up, Apple! We also have heard rumors that give a few of the details away, namely that it’ll come in 8GB and 16GB NAND-based configurations. We also heard it won’t be called the Nano, but something else. But now we’re hearing a little more about launch plans, the interface, and another iPod. → Read More
Hey, college kids. What it be down with the jizzy? We here at CrunchGear aren’t as cool as you so we want you to get all up in our grill with your mad ideas for what’s great for college-age students to buy. Drop us a line at tips@crunchgear.com and we’ll give you some mad bling if you help us out. Peace. Word of your mother. → Read More
Over the past half year we have seen arguably the most significant change in the online music industry since Apple launched their iTunes store in 2003. Following Steve Jobs’ open letter clarifying Apple’s position on digital rights management (DRM) in Februrary, major record companies have begun providing their music online free of piracy protection mechanisms. The first major label to take the plunge was EMI Music, which teamed up with Apple in May to release its entire online catalog through a DRM-free area of the Apple music store called iTunes Plus. Also in May, Amazon announced that it would launch an MP3-only online music store with songs from major labels by the end of the year. Just this week, Wal-Mart began selling unprotected MP3s of many Universal Music Group and EMI songs through its website. RealNetworks, MTV, and Verizon have also teamed up to launch Rhapsody America, a music service catered toward mobile phone users that will provide DRM-free downloads, in the near future. Even LimeWare, a P2P software maker, has recently announced that it plans to be part of the DRM-free movement (this time legitimately). Some of the major music companies have been more tentative than others. EMI has thrown the most weight into the DRM-free movement by unlocking all of its online music. While Universal has agreed to release thousands of unprotected albums and tracks through several online retailers – RealNetworks, Google, Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Amazon, and gBox – it has done so on a trial basis that will extend only until January 2008, at which point the company will decide whether it thinks DRM-free music boosts or hurts sales. Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group are still standing on the sidelines of the DRM-free movement and appear to be waiting to see how EMI and Universal fare by opening up. While the progression of things suggests that all online music will eventually be DRM-free, there’s no need to wait to get in on the DRM-free action. Check out the DRM-free online music retailers below to get better quality music that plays on virtually any handheld music device, on any computer, and with any music program. The retailers covered provide music from both major and minor labels. Update: We have been informed by a RealNetworks representative that “there are no current plans for a major overhaul of Rhapsody’s store front when Rhapsody America launches” and “there → Read More
