Quarterlife, a made for MySpace TV show that “follows the lives of six twenty-somethings and charts the sometimes excruciating, sometimes comic, often emotional experiences that comprise coming of age as a part of the digital generation” has been picked up by NBC. The deal is the first time a made for internet program has been picked up by a television network in the United States. Quarterlife is produced by Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick, creators of the TV shows My So-Called Life and Thirtysomething. NBC will air the show from its first episode and will tap into pre-recorded (but yet unaired) episodes, with new episodes put on hold by the writers strike. There is even some suggestion that the purchase by NBC is due to the writers strike; stuck with a diminishing supply of fresh content the theory suggests that television networks will look online and to independent productions to fill the airwaves. If true it’s a new additional benefit from the writers strike for online content creators, who’s smiles continue to widen as the strike goes on. Trailer for the show below; the lead character Dylan is a video blogger and much of the footage is from that perspective. With mainstream exposure of video blogging on NBC video startups such as Kyte.tv, Ustream, Justin.tv and others along with a YouTube might also end up getting a boost as well. Quarterlife Trailer http://lads.myspace.com/videos/vplayer.swf Add to My Profile | More Videos CrunchBase Information MySpace Information provided by CrunchBase (via Reuters) → Read More
If participating in PayPerPost wasn’t questionable enough morally before, today it’s now a poisoned chalice as Google has commenced punishing PayPerPost bloggers by completely removing their page rank. IZEA (the new holding company for PayPerPost) CEO Ted Murphy is not surprisingly calling foul on the move, claiming that it’s part of some sort of censorship conspiracy by Google. Better still Murphy claims that it’s part of Google’s attempts to deny competition because PayPerPost is a “a very attractive alternative” to Adsense. Murphy goes on to claim that TechCrunch should be punished because our occasional posts thanking sponsors (like this one) is nothing different to what PayPerPost bloggers do. WTF? TechCrunch, like many blogs occasionally puts up a post (usually monthly) highlighting our great sponsors, but lets look at one of these posts. They nearly always include the words “TechCrunch Sponsors” in the post title, and are very clear that its TechCrunch thanking our sponsors (“Thanks TechCrunch Sponsors”). There is zero editorial on the benefits for or against the sponsors such as PayPerPost, and it’s clear what the post is about, unlike your typical PayPerPost blog post. We also don’t take money for writing editorial content; TechCrunch publishes posts for and against without favor, where as your typical PayPerPost blog distorts the line between truth and paid advertorial. Unlike Michael I’ve never been as strong in my dislike of PayPerPost, and although I’ve never used the service myself (I did sign up for an account when they opened so I could review the service) I’m all for exploring different ways for the little guy to make money, even if personally the ethics and morality of PayPerPost has never sat well with me. Yet if PayPerPost ever wanted friends, wild conspiracy centered posts such as this one just say “mad” to me. This looks and smells like a company that is not in a good way, a company that is lashing out as its business model starts to fail around it. I’m predicting Deadpool within 12 months; I can’t see a lot of bloggers being happy with losing Pagerank so we should see an exodus of bloggers out of PayPerPost (particularly ones with traffic) over the next few months. This will leave PayPerPost with inventory deficiencies that will result in diminished revenues making the PayPerPost business model unsustainable going forward. thanks to Trace for the tip CrunchBase Information PayPerPost Information provided by → Read More
There are a lot of gadgets and consumer electronics we’ve talked about here. In fact, we’re getting close to our 16,500th post. That’s a lot of blogging, but more importantly it’s a lot of gear. We’re fetishists, so we’re able to keep most of it straight in our heads, but what about you, the non-obsessives? Meet ProductWiki, a new user-organized and edited resource that is just what it sounds like: a wiki of stuff you can buy. If you want unbiased reviews of a cellphone, for example, by someone who’s actually used it, and you’ve read our thorough reviews, you can use Product Wiki to see if it’s as advertised. But Wikis only work if you do. Take your favorite or most hated products and add them to the Wiki. Or put in your own two cents on an existing item. Point is, it’s a one-stop resource that you contribute to. We like gear, and we like Wikis, so we like ProductWiki. → Read More
That whole thing where you can run Palm OS apps on Nokia internet tablets, like the N770, 800, and the new 810? It’s not fake, and it seems pretty kickass. Above you see a photo of the VM in action, and I’ve given you a video after the jump. At first glance, it appears to be an academic hack, however when you consider the thousands of touchscreen-friendly apps available freely for the Palm OS, the value of your tablet suddenly goes up. → Read More
Dell’s XPS One is here, and it’s a nice looking machine, to be sure. And for most people it seems to be about the PC you’d expect for the price, and for the form factor, but Computer Shopper thinks it could do more. Shopper thinks it needs a better GPU, and laments its lack of upgradability. But its main competition is, of course, the iMac, where it no doubt got its market, which is also no-upgradable. There’s more, and since I’m against re-inventing the wheel, you should hop over and read the write up yourself. A home run? No. Does it totally suck? Nope. It is what it is, as they say. The Dude abides. Dell XPS Review [CompShop] → Read More
Taking a cue from airplanes and X-wing fighters, the Flying Fish is a new eco-friendly design for sailboats. It’s wind and solar powered, using its extendible solid sails to collect the rays as well as harness the wind. This dual-energy attack makes this super-fast, super-slick boat almost totally self-sufficient. When I’m done taking over the world, this is the boat I’m going to cruise the seas with while running from those of you who have escaped the firing squads. It might look a little fragile, but it’s made to work in winds up to 60 knots (that’s about 70mph to you and I), which would be a ton of fun to drive. The Flying Fish [Yanko Design] Word is the TIE Fighter model is due in ’08. → Read More
http://www.gamevideos.com:80/swf/gamevideos11.swf?embedded=1&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&src=http://www.gamevideos.com:80/video/videoListXML%3Fid%3D16127%26ordinal%3D1194813188068%26adPlay%3Dfalse This video might be NSFW. Singaporian (is that the word?) officials have banned Mass Effect due to a scene in the Xbox 360 game where a human girl gets it on with an alien chick. Pretty tame stuff from a western stand point, but alien sex has always been a soft spot for Singapore. OK, maybe not, it’s probably a knee jerk reaction. In other news, Mass Effect has insane girl-on-alien action. I’m picking it up. Singapore bans Microsoft’s video game for sex scene: paper [Reuters] → Read More
We told you about VholdR at TC40 and I got my grubby mitts on a Beta the other week. I’m extremely excited for this to hit the market in the coming months and while it’s geared towards the active community, just about anyone can use it. You don’t have to be an extreme athlete to own or even want one. The unit itself is super lightweight, under a pound, I think. It’s small and pretty easy to use. There’s an on/off switch under the backing that holds the microSD card (up to 2GB) and a separate external button starts and stops the video recording. What’s neat about the VholdR is that you can mount it horizontally or vertically and turn the lens so that it shoots in the direction you have it set. There are two lasers that are used to level the lens and then you’re good to go. If the glass cover is scratched or broken you can get it replaced without fear of the lens being FUBAR. What sets this apart from the, say, FlipCam is that it eliminates the ‘digital shake’ you experience from certain video cameras. You know, the visible lag that occurs when you move the camera quickly. There’s a bit more so keep reading. → Read More
Hey Mom. i know you read my posts to check up an me, to make sure I haven’t slipped into a heroin-induced coma behind some bathhouse somewhere, but this is the first time I’ve addressed you directly. You see, Xmas is coming. And you always ask me what I want, and I always shrug, and I always end up with a sweater that doesn’t fit. (an aside: when did you start buying them too small? They fit for a year or two there.) But this time I’ve found something. They’re too kitchy for me to ever get them for myself, but I’m full of want. Star Wars embroidered Xmas tree ornaments. These are fantastic. → Read More
There’s a nice little summary of Google’s recent, and expected, wheelings and dealings in today’s Wall Street Journal. It’s more or less everything about Android that we know, what Google wants to do with it, how it wants to conquer the world, etc. But that’s old news. The WSJ also brings up Google’s expected bid for the slice of the 700MHz spectrum. Not only do pundits believe that Google will bid for the spectrum—Google is already running a beta cellphone network at its headquarters under special license from the FCC—but folks and Washington expect it to happen, too. It seems Washington bent some of the rules for the upcoming auction, which will happen early next year, and expects that Google bid. Then there’s the usual “telecoms don’t like that Google is encroaching on their turf” nonsense. Good stuff in there. Google Has Even Bigger Plans for Mobile Phones [Wall Street Journal] → Read More
So last week I did a clean install of Leopard onto my 2GHz Core Duo MacBook and every time I go to watch a video on YouTube or whatever, the fan immediately fires up. I can’t figure it out. I don’t know why it’s running so hot. Has anyone else experience this? I’m not even watching videos right now and the fan is buzzing like crazy. → Read More
We know that Apple’s working on multitouch MacBooks, but it might be Dell that first brings the technology to the market. Buried in a story about Dell’s efforts to go greener is word the the forthcoming Latitude XT tablet PC, which would be Dell’s first, will feature multitouch. We’d heard it was to launch earlier in the month, but so far no go. This is interesting because now we know the technology is going beyond iPhones, which, granted, we knew it would. But it’s not Apple doing it, it’s Dell. Steve! Hey, Mr. Jobs! Wake up! This new tablet might just revolutionize the waning tablet PC market. Of course, we’ve heard rumors that Apple is working on a tablet-style MacBook, but will it beat Dell’s, which is confirmed, to the market? Let the multitouch tablet race begin. OpenWorld: Dell will help corporations go green [Computerworld] → Read More
Change.org uses social networking to help social causes. The site already has it’s own network for linking volunteers to causes and voters to politicians. Now they’ve also launched a new Ning-like DIY white-label social network for non-profits. For the launch, they’ve already partnered with 50 non-profits, like CARE, Greenpeace, and Amnesty International. Any other non-profit can launch their own network as well, as long as you have a government approved tax ID number. You can sign up for one here. Like Ning, non-profit pages are part of their overall network and can be redesigned with a variety of modules. Any member of Change.org can become a member of these networks. They have modules for all an organization’s main needs: events, fund raising, forums, blogs, members, and posting photos/video. I really like how Change.org is evolving overall. The site is about connecting people passionate about a particular cause and not engaging in a shouting match or symbolic gestures of online support. Other useful services for non-profit work include Wild Apricot, Idealist.org, Tree Nation, and Kevin Bacon’s Six Degrees. CrunchBase Information Change.org Ning Information provided by CrunchBase → Read More
Wiki image, dontcha know? Surely you’ve heard of the German Enigma machine and the Allied efforts to crack it during World War II. Well researchers, using a rebuilt Colossus machine (yup, that’s it right there), wanted to see how fast they could crack similar codes, only they made it into a contest. They invited amateur coders to see who could crack the code first: a giant, code-cracking machine or some programmer with a bunch of time on his hands. The programmer won. A German programmer, Joachim Schüth, successfully intercepted the intended radio signal and cracked it in less than two hours. The rebuilt Colossus took three hours and 15 minutes to accomplish the same task. Maybe Schüth can tell me why CG’s server goes down for a few minutes seemingly every day? German amateur code breaker defeats Colossus [The Register] → Read More
Well, that was fun while it lasted – for consumers at least. Yak4Ever has sunk back into the TechCrunch Deadpool after reemerging from it in May. This time it looks as though it’s there to stay. We first reported on Yak4Ever when it was called AllFreeCalls back in January. The company exploited a loophole in Iowa telephony law that let them provide free international calls to users. The FCC was basically forcing large telecoms to pay the fees of rural phone companies. AllFreeCalls was able to partner with one of these rural companies to route out-of-state calls through them, thereby enabling out-of-state users to take advantage of the in-state kickbacks. For awhile there, users only had to dial AllFreeCalls, punch in the international number they wanted to reach, and voilà, instant savings. In February, AllFreeCalls was shut down after its rural operator felt too much pressure from a “large USA-based carrier,” which wasn’t all-too-happy about paying $2,000,000 for mostly non-Iowans to save some money. But in May, AllFreeCalls was resurrected as Yak4Ever with a new operator. It provided pretty much the same service, except that now you needed to register with the site and put down the international numbers you wanted to call ahead of time. Now it looks as though the party is over because the big telecoms have simply stopped paying for it. In a blog post today, founder Pat Phelan says that while “we have been underwriting the costs and expenses of project for the past several months…we cant continue to make these losses on and with no sign of the FCC forcing the carriers the pay us we have to take the decision to shut the service down.” Looks like the buck has finally stopped with Yak4Ever. Don’t worry about Phelan, though; his new company Cubic Telecom, which also aims to provide free calls but in this case by selling special SIM cards, is doing quite well. The company’s first product, MAXroam, has hit its 12 month sales target only two months after launching at the TechCrunch40 conference. → Read More
http://www.metacafe.com/fplayer/907849/killer_bean_forever___official_trailer.swf Killer Bean Forever – Official Trailer – video powered by Metacafe Don’t get me wrong, I liked the Matrix movies and the fight scenes were top notch, but everyone has copied that style and it’s getting really, really old, like, eight years old. But it’s not every day you see a bean kicking ass and taking names so I’ll let it slide this time. Killer Bean is the brain child of Jeff Lew who was the lead animator on The Matrix Reloaded, which is why most of the moves are copied from that, but when those Neo moves are combined with the shooting style of Tequila (Hard Boiled) then it’s super badass. I don’t know about everyone else but I like the animated movies that studios like Pixar are putting out. Check out the trailer and let me know what you think. via Oh Gizmo → Read More
The record industry doesn’t have a f—ing clue how to make money. It’s only their fault for letting foxes get into the henhouse and then wondering why there’s no eggs or chickens. Every little college kid, every freshly-scrubbed little kid’s face should have been sued off the face of the earth. They should have taken their houses and cars and nipped it right there in the beginning. Those kids are putting 100,000 to a million people out of work. How can you pick on them? They’ve got freckles. That’s a crook. He may as well be wearing a bandit’s mask. What Mensa member came up with that one, you freckle-faced college kids? → Read More
Here’s the Venus. Let’s forgot about the connotation of the name because there’s nothing girly about this phone. I’m pretty sure I like it more than the Voyager. Again, I didn’t have too much time with this one last month so a full review will follow next week. I just wish the entire screen was touch, but you can’t have everything in life. Enjoy the pics in the mean time. → Read More
The Voyager is the one on the right Well, it’s been a few weeks since I last saw the LG Voyager and I have to admit that it’s way better than I originally thought. Maybe it was the lighting and the lack of time I had with the device, but I sort of like it now. The touchscreen is pretty responsive and it’s way lighter than you’d think considering its size. Expect a full review next week, but here are a few quick thoughts to ponder. The camera seems to have AF, but I haven’t had checked the specs so it could just be something wonky Verizon/LG threw on there. Picture quality is great from the few tests shots I had and the speakers are very good. The UI is simple to navigate. I don’t particularly like that I have use the side lock button to lock the phone (the orange button on the side). I really like that I can jump from one screen to the next without applications or menus being refreshed. So far so good. More pics after the jump. → Read More
San Francisco, CA
