• July 31st, 2008

    Where's my NetShare?

    Jason at TC writes about NetShare, a tethering app that has been pulled from the App store this evening. Looks like someone didn’t like the idea using up lots of mobile bandwidth on an all-you-can eat machine. More as we get it. Macrumors reports that Apple’s App Store was selling a tethering app compatible with the iPhone (both 3G and EDGE) for a brief period earlier this evening. The… → Read More

    July 31st, 2008

    Yahoo Turns Yelp, Yahoo Local and LinkedIn SearchMonkey Apps On In Search

    Yahoo is making a number of changes to its default search experience tonight to add more structured data to results. Yelp, Yahoo Local and LinkedIn SearchMonkey widgets are being added to search results automatically, eliminating the need for users to go into the search gallery and add them manually. SearchMonkey is a key part of Yahoo’s attempts to embrace the semantic web and open… → Read More

    July 31st, 2008

    Tethering Briefly Comes To The iPhone, Tempers Flare

    Macrumors reports that Apple’s App Store was selling a tethering app compatible with the iPhone (both 3G and EDGE) for a brief period earlier this evening. The $10 application, called NetShare, was developed by Nullriver software, and would be a godsend for many iPhone owners. After going up around 8PM EST to the elation of a lucky few, the application was pulled down around 20 minutes… → Read More

    July 31st, 2008

    iShoe helps the elderly by providing balance feedback

    As much as I want to give a knee-jerk snarky treatment to something called the iShoe, I just can’t. The iShoe is designed to help determine how well the wearer is balancing by sensing pressure variations over time. The sensor and corresponding software is being developed to help the elderly catch early warning signs of failing balance. The information is recorded and then that data should be… → Read More

    July 31st, 2008

    Rumor: Nintendo ready to launch DS successor by year's end

    According to Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter, Nintendo has a handheld gaming device in the works ready for launch by year’s end. “We think that the timing of a new product introduction will depend upon the sales profile for the DS, and believe that lower than expected DS hardware sales could trigger an earlier launch for the new device,” Pachter said in an investor note. “DS… → Read More

    July 31st, 2008

    First Look: D-Link DSM-330 HD Media Player

    Here’s a five-minute look at the DSM-330 from D-Link. It’s a DivX Connected player, which basically uses your home PC for most of the menu rendering and downloading horsepower. We’ll have a full review up in the not-too-distant future. So far, I see promise in the plug-ins feature, which allows developers to create their own stuff – I installed a Digg.com thing, an HD movie preview… → Read More

    July 31st, 2008

    Google Street View goes ahead in UK. Thanks again, Privacy International

    So I should say at the outset that there is nothing wrong with the concept of privacy. But in an age of social media, people really are going to have to start getting used to the idea that a lot of what we do in public is going to be “out there”. To digress briefly – as we heard at a session at MoMo London recently, mobile location based social networks in South Africa have… → Read More

    July 31st, 2008

    Alesis Performance Pad builds upon SR-16 drum machine

    Expanding on the popular SR-16 drum machine, Alesis has incorporated eight velocity sensitive pads and released the Performance Pad. The kit-mountable Performance Pad comes with 2 inputs for external kick and hi-hat pedals along with a line-level input for attaching your iPod of CD player. A MIDI output (but not input?) is also incorporated. The 233 included sounds are mappable to any pad. A… → Read More

    July 31st, 2008

    The Consequences of an Ailing Broadband Infrastructure Begin to Surface

    When Akamai missed earnings estimates yesterday, they not only cited a slowing economy but also U.S. broadband bandwidth as a reason for poor earnings and forecasts. This brings up the serious issue of broadband infrastructure in the U.S. and the repercussions of ignoring a system that needs to be upgraded. Akamai CEO Paul Sagan stated that unless broadband speeds increase, growth will taper off… → Read More

    July 31st, 2008

    Review: Samsung i8 digital camera

    Love them or hate them, convergence devices are here to stay and thankfully they’re getting better and better. Case in point, the Samsung i8 digital point-and-shoot camera. This tiny little 8.2-megapixel touting digi not only takes clean and sharp pictures, but it also plays back music and video like its predecessor the i85. Oh, and you can catch up on your latest novel too on the text viewer. → Read More

    July 31st, 2008

    Logitech is set to develop instruments for Guitar Hero World Tour

    Today Activision announced that they plan to collaborate with Logitech to develop “premium” instruments for the new Guitar Hero game. Supposedly the new instruments will be compatible with all the new features found in “World Tour”. Charles Huang, VP of business development for RedOctane said: “With Logitech, we know we have found the right partner who can deliver… → Read More

    July 31st, 2008

    Tap Tap Revenge Approaches 1 Million Users, Music Industry Takes Notice

    Tapulous, the company behind Tap Tap Revenge, has announced that the popular iPhone app will hit 1 million installs some time this weekend. The app is the second we’ve heard from to hit the milestone (Facebook reached it last week), and is another testament to the extremely rapid growth some applications have seen on Apple’s newly launched App Store. Tapulous CEO Bart Decrem says that… → Read More

    July 31st, 2008

    Facebook Introduces FriendFeed-like Features

    Facebook has announced the launch of a new, more structured type of news feed. The service essentially categorizes information from the old feed into separate tabs, enabling users to view activity they find interesting rather than sifting through the clutter. The feed toolbar features four tabs at the moment, including feeds for top stories, status updates, photos, and posted items. Users are also… → Read More

    July 31st, 2008

    Introducing… Silverlight?

    The clock on the NBCOlympics.com site reads 7 days, 12 hours, 31 minutes, and 29 seconds until the start of the Olympics, but the clock countdown on watching NBC Olympics On the Go on the Mac is T minus never. That’s because On the Go is sponsored by Lenovo and powered by somebody called TVTonic, and when you click to install TVTonic you get this notice: Software Compatibility Notice… → Read More

    July 31st, 2008

    Pools and computers usually don’t mix, but China wants to change that

    If this product from China can really do what they say it can, it could make working from in the pool a reality. Not that I would want to work while I was relaxing in the pool but I still would be nice to be able to check if I got an impotent email from the boss man. So far the only information about this product is written in Chinese so I was not able to get any real details on it. By looking at… → Read More

    July 31st, 2008

    iPod rumors: more memory, less price, GPS?

    We know Apple recently warned their resellers to stock up on certain items, in expectation of an inventory and manufacturing crunch. As the supply chain stabilizes itself, rumors abound about what it all means. Most tend to believe that the upcoming iPods will feature larger storage and at cheaper prices. Considering the success of the iPhone 3G, that should be a given. The iPod touch, features a… → Read More

    July 31st, 2008

    NBC Launches On-Demand Olympic Coverage In HD

    NBC has launched its online video hub for the 2008 Olympics, which features free on-demand video for over 20 sports. In order to maximize quality, the videos are available as downloads (you can start watching before the download finishes) and will be in “up to HD” quality. Unfortunately, the video downloads will only be available on Windows machines running Windows Media Center –… → Read More

    July 31st, 2008

    Video: Water-based touch interface for soothing bubble display

    This “physical ambient display” is beautiful and useless — in other words, it’s art. It senses the position of your finger in the water based on electric gradients and adjusts the display based on that. It uses a lot of horsepower to do it; I bet analog equipment with real bubbles could get much the same effect. Not that I’m ragging on this thing — it’s… → Read More

    July 31st, 2008

    My white iPhone 3G crack

    Ladies and gentlemen, I present my iPhone 3G crack. This appeared after a day of fairly heavy usage with lots of pulling in and out of the pocket and briefcase. I didn’t sit on it or smash it but I saw this coming when I pulled it out and noticed some other scuffing. It almost looks as if a thin layer of plastic has rubbed off. I haven’t seen it happening on any other part of the… → Read More

    July 31st, 2008

    FujiFilm Glam Cam expands face detection, looks marvelous

    Aiming for style, FujiFilm today unveiled the FinePix Z200fd. The new “glam cam” has a range of features that digital camera owners have come to expect, and added a couple of new ones. The camera looks cool, no doubt about it, but Fuji hopes to attract buyers with more than just style. The 10 MP camera sports a 5X optical lens, a 2.7” LCD screen and sensitivity settings up to ISO 1600. → Read More

    July 31st, 2008

    Philip Rosedale Doesn't See Browser-Based Virtual Worlds As A Threat to Second Life. Is He In Denial?

    http://blip.tv/scripts/flash/showplayer.swf?enablejs=true&file=http%3A//blip.tv/rss/flash/1139135&feedurl=http%3A//techcrunch.blip.tv/rss/&autostart=false&brandname=TechCrunch&brandlink=http%3A//techcrunch.blip.tv/ Recently, there’s been a growing wave of startups and products appearing that are bringing 3-D virtual worlds to the browser. These include Vivaty… → Read More

    July 31st, 2008

    Review: Nokia E66

    The Nokia E66 will be hitting the U.S. in the third quarter with an unsubsidized price of $500. While that price may sound like it’s a bit (or a lot) on the high side, the phone actually has a fair number of tricks up its sleeve and will likely appeal mostly to corporate users who may never see the price tag to begin with. Lest you think this device is all business, there’s a unique (and… → Read More

    July 31st, 2008

    New Dell Vostro 2510 available for $899

    The new Vostro 2510 has landed for $899 available from the Dell website. List of specs after the jump. → Read More

    July 31st, 2008

    Microbot sticks gently in your gut, snaps pictures

    A Nanorobotics professor at Carnegie Mellon has created a little pill-sized robot that he says can travel safely through the gut and snap good pictures along the way. The problem in the past has been that the adhesive required to stick a camera to an intestinal wall (or whatever) has been permanent. Meaning you’d have to rip out a piece if you wanted to remove the camera. So if you need… → Read More

    July 31st, 2008

    Nokia N96 droppin in the UK on October 1st?

    Just a few months after the N95′s first birthday, Nokia’s prepping to launch it’s big bad brother, the N96. According to rumors floating around the intertubes, this little puppy might be in the hands of Nokia fans as early as October 1st – at least, in the UK. No word yet on US pricing or availability, though past reports have pinned it around $800-$1000 US ducats. Chances… → Read More

    July 31st, 2008

    Microsoft's UnMouse pad: an enormous pressure-sensing trackpad

    This UnMouse pad being shown at the Microsoft Research Summit looks pretty freaking awesome. It’s a super-thin, pressure-sensitive little pad that can take just about as many inputs as you care to give it — and each input contains analog pressure info. Microsoft is working with NYU to put it out there; it’s apparently cheap to make and is almost certainly able to be made in many… → Read More

    July 31st, 2008

    GumGum Rethinks Its Approach. Drops Flash

    Music and movies may grab the most headlines when it comes to piracy, but many content providers on the web are also having trouble managing their images, which are easy to crop, resize, and copy. Some services, like Attributor, try to monitor and track offending images, but the ultimate solution may well lie in removing the temptation in the first place by offering cheap and easy to find legal… → Read More

    July 31st, 2008

    With the closing of Yahoo's music download store, old DRM'd songs now useless

    Oh, Yahoo. Why do you make it so hard to like you? Take this story. Yahoo is shutting down its music download store at the end of September, including the DRM validation servers. Without DRM validation servers, people who purchased tracks outright won’t be able to play them. In other words, people will be left with useless files on their hard drives. Nice. To be fair, it’s not like… → Read More

    July 31st, 2008

    Sprint offers femtocells nationwide

    Sprint is expanding its femtocell offering nationwide, including cheaper unlimited voice plans. The Airave by Samsung hooks up to your home broadband connection to improve indoor wireless coverage for any Sprint phone (Nextel handsets are not compatible yet). Customers can also opt in for an unlimited in-home calling plan starting at just $10 per month. Sprint says the Airave improves coverage up… → Read More

    July 31st, 2008

    New Recommendation System = 40 Percent More Diggs

    One month after launching its new recommendation system, Digg is already reporting positive results. Digg recommends stories based on other members with similar voting patterns and interests. Chief scientist Anton Kast writes on the Digg Blog: – Digging activity is up significantly: the total number of Diggs increased 40% after launch. – The Recommendation Engine is running strong: at any given… → Read More