Today’s Top Posts: Videogame fitness from A to Zebra Striped Unitards Sony releases the VGC-LJ25L laptop AKA the WTF-2008 Wooden Suit for Stephen Hawking mystifies all who try to discern its purpose In using AmazonMP3, The Office shows tension between NBC, Apple Chuck Maddox, watch guru, dead Samsung shows a practical use for OLED screens CrunchWord Puzzle! Nature or nuture: XO Laptops will now run Windows Alltel chooses LTE for its future 4G network Atom-based Eee PC 901 on June 3rd for $650 → Read More
It seems a given that mobile social networking is going to be “the next big thing”, but squinting at tiny text is still a pain on today’s phones. To deal with this issue, Blabnote, a British startup that is currently in private beta, has created what may be the world’s first “vocal social network.” To login to the network, you simply call Blabnote from your phone, which uses caller ID to match you to your profile. From there, you can vocally enter any number of commands. For example, if I wanted to create a group for TechCrunch fans, I might say, “Create Group called ‘Team TechCrunch’”. Members can be added by saying, “add Mike and Mark”, and you can send messages to group members in a similar fashion. Blabnote has no shortage of obstacles to overcome, to put it mildly. For one, the entire system is going to rely on voice recognition, which isn’t exactly a perfected technology. Imagine creating a very personal voice message and sending it to an ex-girlfriend on accident – the setup is ripe for disaster. And should you get sick of talking (and listening), you’re out of luck: there is no web management interface, though Blabnote says it will provide an API for third parties. Blabnote could be a useful organization and notification tool for established groups, like soccer teams or clubs. But if it aspires to become a large social network, this company is going to be teetering perilously close to the DeadPool. CrunchBase Information BlabNote Information provided by CrunchBase → Read More
If you’ve been waiting to get your hands on a Helio Ocean — we know you’re out there — have we got a CrunchDeal for you. Helio’s got a special offer right now. A $199 Ocean with a $100 mail-in rebate with any qualifying plan. That’s the best deal we’ev ever seen on the Ocean, one of the CrunchGear staff’s favorite phones. We’ve blogged the shit out of it, and we keep finding new reasons to do so. If your current plan is up and you’re looking for a serious upgrade, snatch it up now. → Read More
UK-based Glubble, a free parental-control add-on for Firefox, has secured a $3 million funding round from existing angel investors to continue the development of its product, which also allows a family circle to link up via Firefox to decide what they can see online. Morten Lund, one of the first investors in Skype, is one of those existing angels. Founded in 2006 by Ian Hayward, Glubble had early support from Firefox users keen to have some kind of parental control on the open-source browser. The full software suite has been downloaded about 100,000 times. A premium service which will be available later in the year. CrunchBase Information Glubble Information provided by CrunchBase → Read More
If you want to live the excitement of flying aimlessly around Chicago until news breaks, pop over to AirFox Live. Chicago’s WFLD has outfitted its news chopper with GPS and its current position as well as what it’s filming appears in a Google Maps window next to the live video feet. Jason Kinkaid at TC says it’s riveting stuff but I don’t want to spoil it for you. It’s usually live at 5:30-8:30 AM CST and whenever news is breaking in the Windy City, which could be any time knowing the excitement that is Schaumburg and its surroundings. → Read More
Remember the awesome transforming and dancing Citroen video from a few months back? Yah, it was very cool, but Chevy’s making fun of it with the above video. It’s cheeky, but cleaver. Well done, Chevy. → Read More
It’s coming up on a year since the iPhone was released, and the second version appears to be just around the corner. So it’s a good time to check in with our readers and see just how many of you actually use the device. Please take a second and let us know where you stand. TechCrunch iPhone Survey ( surveys) → Read More
Attention BlackBerry owners with addictions to terrible coffee- For a limited time RIM is giving BlackBerry Owner’s Club members a $5 Starbucks gift card. It’s worth the few minutes it takes to sign up if you’re a n00b. Or, if you’re already a member, you can login and get yours now. [via Gear Diary] → Read More
Cable companies are excited about the impending switch to digital TV. It’s not just about broadcast, but also the elimination of analog signals via cable as well. That means the operators will require a set-top box for all customers, not just digital subscribers as it is now. This frees up much valuable bandwidth for more digital services, such as HD programming. Not only that, but many basic broadcast customers will become cable subscribers in the switch when their sets no longer work with the analog signals. The cable companies could also resell much of this national bandwidth to the government or other communications providers. In short, the cable indsutry’s lobby is paying off. → Read More
A big thank you to everybody for filling our tips-at-crunchgear-dot-com inbox with wonderful, unique, and newsworthy items. Here are a few that we missed. “Last weekend before holiday… Catch me while you can…I leave on Wednesday the 20th May When you are ready for the ultimate in upscale, exclusive female companionship give me a call. Your pleasure is my business…. → Read More
http://blip.tv/scripts/flash/showplayer.swf?enablejs=true&feedurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcrunchgear%2Eblip%2Etv%2Frss&file=http%3A%2F%2Fblip%2Etv%2Frss%2Fflash%2F919448%3Freferrer%3Dblip%2Etv%26source%3D1&showplayerpath=http%3A%2F%2Fblip%2Etv%2Fscripts%2Fflash%2Fshowplayer%2Eswf This TV spot for the Glyde doesn’t go live until Monday, but we thought we’d share it with you today. It’s not as hokey as the Instinct ads (thank the lord), but it’s still kind of cheesy. It does, however, give a good overview of the phone’s capabilities. → Read More
Epic Gillmor Gang today. Everyone went in with guns blazing over the data portability/ownership debate that has spilled out over the Facebook/Google scuffle. DataPortability founder Chris Saad was also on the call, but failed to take a leadership position in the debate (he did, however, weigh in with a blog post on the subject before the call). Their influence may be waning. As the podcast ended the blog posts started rolling in. Marc Canter, who I accuse of compromising his position as a thought leader in the data portability debate simply because Facebook is suddenly telling him everything he wants to hear, says that his position hasn’t changed (nevertheless, it has). Robert Scoble simply apologized for being on the wrong side of the issue, yet again. And Dan Farber, a Gillmor Gang regular who missed the call, picked up on the analogy to the founding fathers writing the Bill of Rights and wrote about it here. All in all, the group seems to be in alignment after the talk. Data ownership is an important issue that cannot be left in the big co.’s hands. Because if it is, they’ll serve their interests first, and that will lead to more walled gardens. → Read More
Storyblender, which recently launched in private beta, is a new casual animation platform that will appeal to users who want customized movies in a hurry. The site was a presenter at TechCrunch 40. If you’d like to try it out, you can grab one of 500 invites here. The site is straightforward, which is a good thing because there doesn’t seem to be a tutorial yet. New users are presented with the video wizard that offers a number of pre-created movies that can be easily modified. Each movie is broken up along the bottom of the screen into brief scenes in a manner that will be familiar to anyone that has used a video editor like iMovie. The site has hundreds of pre-rendered characters, backgrounds, music, and effects, which can be added to a scene by simply dragging and dropping. Nearly all of these have a distinctly comical look to them – the site doesn’t seem to offer “serious” movie making at this point. Instead, many of the backdrops and characters are better suited for video greeting cards (samples include “<a href="Happy Birthday" and "Party Time!“). Users can lend their own voices to clips, and they can import media from YouTube and Flickr. Members can share their movies with friends, who can modify them further if they wish. Storyblender is competing with other animation sites like Fuzzwich, aniBoom, and JibJab. Here’s one of the sample videos provided by the site: http://www.storyblender.com/flash/StoryTeller.swf?v=20080516172617_4505&host=www.storyblender.com CrunchBase Information StoryBlender Information provided by CrunchBase → Read More
Holy crap, who’s got $38,000 I can borrow? See, there’s this replica of Airwolf on eBay that I’d really like to pick up. I mean, it doesn’t fly, but how badass would this look parked on the roof of my building? You could see it from Queen Anne! People would always wonder, is that where Jan Michael Vincent lives? Of course it’s not, but I could get an eye patch and pretend! I want it! → Read More
If I’ve learned one thing from the internet, it’s that unsolicited offers of free stuff are, more often than not, bad news. Believe it or not, Nigerian princes do not actually want to give you 12 million dollars. Nor do any of those obnoxious advertisers actually want to give you a bunch of free stuff for your cell phone. Sure, you may get a free Flo-Rida ringtone, but chances are you just signed yourself up for some ridiculous contract which states you have to send them $30 dollars per month tucked inside a box of hair. The Inquirer is reporting on a ringtone scam going on in the UK involving content provider 2COMM and service provider Tanla Mobile. Consumers were sent a message promising them a free ringtone, which upon download locked them to a subscription service requiring they pay around 9 dollars per week . Over 450 customer requests to cancel the subscription were ignored, which the company responsible blames on system failures. Yeah, yeah. I know – caveat emptor. Now how do you say “Just because it’s legal to squeeze nonsense like this into the fine print doesn’t mean it’s not lame” in Latin? Photo Credit: cdharrison → Read More
Capcom’s upcoming summer golf title for the Wii is getting some exclusive content just for us Westerners. Isn’t that great? Of course it is. We Love Golf takes advantage of the Wii-mote and let’s you birdie for the win against friends near and far. Capcom decided to include two new characters and the ability to unlock Capcom themed outfits like: Apollo Justice, Arthur, Chun-Li, Jill Valentine and others. → Read More
I’ll let the article do the talking here. Who doesn’t love this vintage computing stuff? I hardly understand most of it since I grew up with DOS, Windows 3.1 and Mac OS 6 more than anything else, but it’s great to take a trip to the deeper past every once in a while. My favorite part: The Compaq computer is designed to be portable, and although it weighs 28 pounds, it achieves that goal. To transport it, you simply secure the keyboard to the main unit by locking two sliding latches. The closed case measures 20 by 8.5 by 15.3 inches and has a built-in carrying handle. So very portable. → Read More
How could you hate him? That Uwe Boll doesn’t like being in the news, he loves it! This time, Popular Mechanics caught up with the outspoken director, and got his take on Stride gum’s crusade against him. Stride’s scheme to get people to sign the petition against him (which only applies to video game adaptations), Boll says, would be like Obama offering people $10 to vote for him—illegally increasing their consumption benefit, in other words. See, four years of schooling and I can now link to random academic papers. Awesome. Again, let me say that I have noting against Mr. Boll. In fact, I rather enjoy his “bite me” attitude. I look forward to more wackiness from the man. → Read More
Happy slapping is a stupid, stupid trend in the UK where idiot chavs walk up to strangers and smack them in the face whist their thuggy friends shoot the event with their cameraphones. It’s dumb. But in the UK some people called Lifewise are using the camphone trend to help stomp out gun crime. They’re using camphones and Skype, among other technologies, to create an anti-violence themed CD and video. It’s targeted at gun crime in the UK and will single-handedly dispose of the horrors of violence in London. → Read More
Look out Intel and AMD, there’s a new kid on the block. He comes from the wrong side of the tracks, kicked out of his former school for staying out at recess long after the bell rang. His name’s Isaiah and he’s gunning for the both of you. Something like that, anyway. The Isaiah chip by VIA will be here later this month and will be aimed at regular notebooks and desktops. VIA’s C7 processor has been somewhat popular with lower-end notebooks and things like fanless media center PCs and car PCs. The Isaiah chip, though, will be interesting to watch, as VIA’s formed a partnership with NVIDIA for an embedded platform that costs less than $50 but is capable of running Vista. via CNET → Read More
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