Well look at that. Early photos of the N82 that’s launching tomorrow. Nokia N82 Press Pics leaked on Nokia site [Unwired View] → Read More
Light AND durable notebooks? Is it possible? Apparently it is. Panasonic’s three new "business-rugged notebook computers" make up the 7 series and include the the T7 tablet replacement, the W7 ultraportable, and the Y7 thin-and-light. They’re rugged, yes, but here’s the kicker; they’re all under 4 pounds. → Read More
Hey, that’s a hell of a deal for a USB TV tuner that does 1080i HD and includes an antenna. It’s available at eCost right now for the next two days or until they run out. There are only 2 left at the time of this writing, so hurry. Hurry! UPDATE: Looks like they’ve been replenishing the stock periodically, letting it go down to zero available and then putting more up for sale. Sneaky. Anyway, still a great deal. Portable HDTV Tuner for PC (VIORE) [eCost] via CNET → Read More
Android is out but you’re just not satisfied. You want an ossified operating system that hasn’t seen updated since the dot-com boom cleaned the Palm-pilot-toting CEOs from board rooms around the world. You want Palm’s Garnet on your brand new Nokia tablet. Well, now you can. Click on the vid to see the latest in 1999 technology running in an emulator. ACCESS Garnet for maemo – First Look [TabletBlog] ACCESS releasing Palm OS Garnet emulator for Nokia’s Internet Tablets [IntoMobile] → Read More
Today’s a big day for World of Warcraft fans. Once the servers come back online at around 1:00 pm EST, users will experience the ecstasy that is Patch 2.3. This is one of the bigger patches of late, with several changes and additions, including Guild Banks, easier leveling from levels 1-60 (increased XP, less XP required to level up, etc.), changes to pre-level 60 dungeons and the introduction of The Gods of Zulman, a level 70+ instance. Being only level 35, it’ll be a while before I’m able to mess around in there, but I’m sure my friends will tell me what’s up. An incredible amount of information, as always, can be found at Wowwiki. It’s going to be long and lonely weekend, that’s for sure. Official Patch News [Blizzard] More Patch 2.3 Info [WoWWiki] → Read More
Version 1.0 of the open-source video player Miro was released earlier today. The non-profit company behind Miro has billed its new product not only as a Joost competitor but a purer one at that. You can check out all of Miro’s perceived advantages here, but to sum them up: Miro is open-sourced, DRM-free, friendly to all content creators, connected to all the popular video sharing sites like YouTube and blip.tv, high definition, full of content, and BitTorrent-enabled. Joost, on the other hand, is proprietary, exclusive towards content creators, DRM-protected, closed to video sharing sites, lacking in content, lower quality, and entirely streaming video. I’ve tried both Miro and Joost, and I like them both but for different reasons. Miro functions more like iTunes and is a good way to download batches of interesting videos from the internet regardless of whether they are professionally-produced or user-generated. Content must be downloaded via HTTP or BitTorrent, not streamed (although Miro can convert streams into downloads from sites like YouTube, blip.tv, and DailyMotion). You can download particular shows or just tell it to give you videos from particular categories (comedy, news, technology, etc.). Since videos must be downloaded, playback is not instant; but the videos load pretty quickly so it’s not a huge drawback. Joost, at least on the surface, is better for viewing professionally-produced content instantly. Since Miro claims to match Joost’s number of commercial channels, however, this may be due simply to how Joost focuses exclusively on professionally-produced content. When you use Miro, you must wade through content not produced by major media outlets to find regular TV shows. And then when you find them, you’ll have to wait until many videos load via BitTorrent. Download speeds will then vary depending on how many people have the seeded the BitTorrent videos. Miro will soon be available for co-branding so that content creators can create their own versions of the player with pre-configured channels filled with their own content. CrunchBase Information Miro Joost Information provided by CrunchBase → Read More
Update (Nick): A Facebook representative contacted us regarding Steven’s issue, we put them in contact, and the problem is resolved. A reader sends a touching email today, complaining that his Facebook account has been deleted for no reason: Dear Michael, I’m a college student at University of Michigan and Facebook has deactivated my account. I’ve noticed, from reading your blog, you have connections to Facebook’s staff. Can you please forward this email to someone or do something… I just can’t be a college student without Facebook. I did nothing to have my account deactivated… it just happened late Sunday night. I’ve emailed them, but they don’t care. Steven xxxx@umich.edu I did a quick search for Steven on facebook but search is still down, so I have no idea if this guy’s profile is back up or not. And frankly, I don’t care all that much, ’cause the last thing I want is for everyone with a Facebook customer service issue to start emailing me. But that sentence in the middle of the email that says “I just can’t be a college student without Facebook” fascinates me. What other brands have this kind of loyalty? Heroin? Anyway, good luck in your quest to get Facebook to care about you again, Steven. And let me know how it all works out. I sincerely hope that this tragedy does not force you to drop out of college and…shudder…resort to becoming a MySpace user along with the rest of the unwashed masses. By the way, remember this? → Read More
Not too long after Google’s announcement of $10-million worth of prize money to Android application developers, Robert Scoble has weighed in with a few reasons (seven) why he’s not too keen on the whole deal. He cites the prize money as the very reason that the developer API is "uninspired" comparing the fact that iPhone developers don’t even have an SDK and there’s still a ton of programs for it. → Read More
And people wonder why kids these days resort to piracy. I was just browsing Beatport looking for a certain mix of The Gossip’s “Jealous Girls.” Lo and behold it’s on the site, mine for $1.49, which isn’t entirely unreasonable (I once paid $2.49 for a single MP3), especially considering it’s a DRM-free 320kbps MP3. So I go ahead and click “buy,” only to be told “hey there, hot stuff, that song is territorially restricted, better luck next time.” Oh really? So because I couldn’t legally purchase the song, as I was fully prepared to do, I fired up SolarSeek and within two minutes had it playing in iTunes. How are music companies expected to compete with illegal downloads when good samaritans like myself can’t legally purchase them? It’s simply mind blowing that stupid things like territory restrictions still exist. /end rant Get your act together, Beatport → Read More
You know, for all the cool gadgets and accouterments your place has, I sincerely doubt it’s anything compared to this Saudi Prince’s. Airbus said yesterday that it will outfit one of its A380 jets for Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. The “flying mansion,” as it’s known, costs some $300 million and comes with a free coffee maker. (Those princes love their joe!) The plane is big: each wing can hold 70 cars and is as tall as a seven-story building; my apartment fits a bed and an iMac. Whoever said money doesn’t buy happiness? I’d be plenty happy flying through the air drinking martinis and placing bets on thoroughbred horses, then stopping off at Côte d’Azur to gamble away hundreds of millions of dollars. Plenty happy. Saudi Prince Buying ‘Flying Palace’ Jet [AP/Breitbart] → Read More
Rupert Murdoch Originally uploaded by duncandavidson When Rupert Murdoch first went after Dow Jones, he suggested that he might take down the Wall Street Journal‘s online subscription wall. Well, it looks like he is going to actually do it. He told a group of investors today in Australia: We are studying it and we expect to make that free, and instead of having one million (subscribers), having at least 10 million-15 million in every corner of the earth. The WSJ.com is one of the few remaining mainstream media sites that charges a subscription. (The New York Times gave up on its premium subscription service, TimesSelect, in September). The WSJ.com is also one of the few such successes, with about one million paid subscribers bringing in $50 million a year. But the prospect of 10 million or more visitors coming to a free site changes the calculus. For instance, the WSJ.com could probably get a $25 CPM (cost per thousand) for its ads, maybe higher. Assuming it could show a conservative 20 ads a month to 10 million Website readers at a $25 CPM, that right there is $60 million in annual revenues ($25/1,000 visitors X 20 ads/month X 12 months X 10,000,000 visitors = $60,000,000). Add in the fact that search engines will have an easier time finding individual stories and bloggers will be able to link to them, and those number can go even higher. (Photo courtesy Duncan Davidson, taken at this year’s Web 2.0 conference). → Read More
Talk about crowd sourcing. Fans’ community website MyFootballClub has agreed a deal to take over Blue Square Premier outfit Ebbsfleet United. The 20,000 MyFootballClub members have each paid £35 to provide the £700,000 necessary for the takeover and will all own an equal share in the club, be able to vote on transfers, player selection and major decisions. Ebbsfleet chairman Jason Botley told the BBC “We are united in believing this is a great opportunity.” What we need next is a text messaging system so that the fans can control which players are put on or taken off during the game… [via] → Read More
Watch out, kid. OLPC is gunning for you. Wait a minute, people. I know babies need their laptops, but the OLPC program is charging $24.95 for shipping. In fact, ZDNet blogger Larry Dignan got “hit” with the shipping charge, leading to mass hysteria over at the old Dignan house while daddy Dignan raged through the basement looking for his hidden whiskey and meth while Mrs. Dignan and the kids hid in a closet upstairs. The absolute nerve of some people, charging $24.95 for two $200 laptops, one of which goes to needy kids overseas. I’ll tell you what: let’s boycott those snakes and crooks over at OLPC and make our own Windows-based OLPC called the VUOLPCPCH2KBRATWGFS (Vista Ultimate One Laptop Per Child Provided that Child Has $2000 But Rest Assured They Will Get Free Shipping). That’ll stick it to those dirtbags. Buying the XO laptop: The shipping may sting [ZDNet] → Read More
DivX announced this morning that its technology will soon be alive and well inside your PS3 console. “Our technology will expand the multimedia functionality of PS3 by enabling users to enjoy access to the broad library of content in the DivX digital media format,” said DivX CEO Kevin Hell. I’d like to announce this morning that I’ve never known of someone with the last name "Hell" before now. Heller? Yes. Hell? No. Developers have been able to access the technology since a November 2nd upgrade of the PS3′s software developer kit so it shouldn’t be too much longer until you’ll be able to access DivX content on your console. DivX Technology to be Added to PLAYSTATION®3 [BusinessWire] → Read More
We know now, through some weird Internet grapevine, the contents of the Xbox 360 Fall Update. Scheduled for release on December 4, the update will let players buy classic Xbox1 games like Halo for some 1,200 Microsoft Points. (Right now, 1,200 MSP works out to about $14.99 USD.) Additionally, European players will be able to download movies on demand, though the exact launch date for that service is still unknown. What’s most interesting here is that the original article, found on CVG, has since been removed. That could be the result of any number of things, from mere technical errors to Microsoft pushing a button on the original story. I imagine this will be sorted out shortly. Xbox 360 Fall Dashboard Update Revealed [Next Gen] 360 Dashboard update detailed – download Halo! [CVG, but the link is dead...] → Read More
Wow, this putter blows the previously mentioned Star Trek putter right out of the water as far as geek factor is concerned. At $899, it costs more than most people’s entire set of golf clubs but for the uber-rich out there, why not pick one up? What the hell, huh? Might as well. It uses a "micro Inertial Navigation System (INS)" to "identify the putter face position in relation to the ball at impact and display the information immediately on the vibrant color LCD." It can then relay information to you about the tempo, path, speed, and hand vibration levels of your putts. Sadly, it’s not USGA approved. Adams DiXX Digital Training Putter [BHMGolf.com] via The Red Ferret Journal → Read More
In a clear signal that the principles of Web 2.0 are entering the work space, Huddle, a UK ‘enterprise 2.0′ startup, has raised $4m in a Series A funding round from VCs Eden Ventures to expand the team, increase marketing and generally amp-up their game. Eden Ventures has previously invested in Reevoo and Truphone. Ben Tompkins, Partner at Eden Ventures commented in a release: “Huddle has integrated secure team workspaces into social networking platform that is intelligent, easy to use, and satisfies the security and management requirements of any global IT department.” Huddle only launched 6 months ago but says it has averaged a 25% growth in new users per month. Clients so far include Edelman, Jazeera Airways, John Lewis, Reuters and UNICEF. If you have used Basecamp, you’ll be aware that collaborative workspaces could be done so much better, and Huddle certainly has a product which would give a lot of corporate systems a run for their money for considerably less cost because it is light-weight collaboration on the Web. → Read More
Yes, the painfully original XM-Sirius “logo” strikes again Judging by a number posts from earlier in the year, I can tell that a few of you are fans of, or at least followers of, of satellite radio. It may interest you to know that today is the day when shareholders of both XM and Sirius vote the proposed merger up or down. It’s expected that both groups will give the merger the thumbs-up, which is nice and all, but for the merger to actually happen, it needs to be approved by the FCC and the Department of Justice. Not too long ago, I defended the merger mainly because listeners have many other options to get their audio fix, be it their iPod/Zune/whatever, regular radio, music-playing cellphones, etc. Truthfully it won’t bother me one way or the other, but I am quite interested to see how the various regulators decide on this one. Ahead of the Bell: XM and Sirius Vote [AP/CNN Money] → Read More
The social invite/event party is getting crowded. There’s Evite, Eventful, Upcoming, Windows Live Events, Zvents, Socializr, MyPunchbowl, Skobee, Renkoo, MadeIt, and ImThere, not to mention Facebook. Now, IPartee is trying to squeeze into the room. The Toronto-based startup, which was in the TechCrunch40 Demo Pit, emerged from private beta today. It is now open to anyone who wants to create a social network around concerts, clubbing, or other events. You can create a profile for yourself, for an event, or for a venue. Some of IPartee’s features include a social network, polls, personal calendars, event and venue calendars, groups, event photos, and event reviews. IPartee does a decent job at tying all of these things together. The ability to sell tickets through the site will come soon. People like to socialize around events, and the Web makes it easier to plan, promote, and find events. What IPartee needs, though, is a Facebook app and an OpenSocial app because nobody wants to recreate their social network just to do one thing. Here is a group page for Montreal Indie Music: Here is a 19-year-old’s profile page: CrunchBase Information IPartee Evite Eventful Upcoming Zvents Socializr MyPunchbowl Skobee Renkoo MadeIt ImThere Information provided by CrunchBase → Read More
O2 is reporting that they sold “tens of thousands” of iPhones over the weekend, which means that tens of thousands of Brits are wandering the streets with mini-computers as we speak. O2 is very please and believes this is in line with expectations. As there are only twenty thousand people in Britain at any one time — they’re too polite to push onto the island so most of them stay on Ibiza until it’s their turn to come back — this means the majority of the population owns an iPhone. Excellent work, O2! iPhone sales are in line with expectations, says O2 chief [Guardian] → Read More
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