There’s no doubt about it: 3D is here to stay. Although it’s been almost two years since I gawked at 3D TVs at IFA 2008, there’s still little penetration in the consumer space. Hollywood is going gangbusters with the technology, though: 25 major films are slated to be released in 3D in 2011, and DreamWorks and Disney have promised that all of their animated films will be released in 3D. If you’re a movie buff and want to really enjoy 3D movies in the theater, you might consider the new line of Gunnar Optiks 3D glasses. Caveat: these are passive circular polarized lenses, which work with passive 3D displays. If you’re eyeing one of the new 3D TVs from Panasonic, Samsung, or Sony, you’ll need the active lenses from the TV manufacturer or some kind of universal glasses. → Read More
Apprupt, an affiliate network for mobile apps, has today launched its self-service platform for “appvertisers” (a slightly silly name).
It enables app developers to sign up to apprupt on a cost-per-install basis, enabling them to track their marketing campaigns for both paid and free apps. Features include account management (including campaign spend), and reports and analytics, providing “the ability to determine the ROI at any given time” by measuring the number of app downloads generated. → Read More
A document purportedly leaked to a Microsoft enthusiast blog (yes, there’s truly a niche for everything on the Internet!) lists a number of features that are intended to be included in Windows 8. In addition to USB 3 and Bluetooth 3, there’s talk about faster boot sequences, ambient light sensing, and more. Pardon my yawn: Mac laptops have had superb power management and ambient light sensing for how long, now? Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure Windows 8 will include all manner of wonderful things, but leaking this kind of information isn’t likely to drum up a lot of excitement. I’m especially skeptical of the instant-on stuff, given how bloated Windows installations tend to become over time. → Read More
Fifa , world soccer’s organizing body, has responded to requests for goal-line technology (among other technologies) with a non-response. Said the organization, by way of spokesman Nicolas Maignot, at a media briefing earlier today: “The International FA Board, which Fifa is a member of along with the four British associations, dealt with this topic in March. A clear decision on the use of technology was taken at the time.” He then added, “We will not enter into any debate on refereeing at the daily media briefing. I am not competent to do so.” Competent, you say? /me taps nose → Read More
Perhaps you’ve heard the news by now that Matthew Papakipos, the key architect of Chrome OS, is leaving Google to go to Facebook. While it’s not entirely clear what Papakipos will be doing yet at Facebook beyond joining the engineering team, this is massive news. This is the key component of Chrome OS leaving the company before its launch to join what can perhaps be seen as Google’s most important competitor going forward. So what does Google think about the defection?
“Matt made great contributions to Google and Chrome OS, and we know he’ll do the same in his next endeavors. We wish him the best. We have a deep bench of talent and are very excited about the launch of Chrome OS devices later this year,” a Google spokesperson tells us. → Read More
Whatever you say, Microsoft. The House that Gates built believes that “hardcore gamers” will be the first to buy the Kinect, which comes out in November. Or, in the exact words of one of their marketing managers: “I think we know that hardcore gamers will be the first to go out and buy it, as they are with any product.” That’s interesting, seeing as though a recent survey suggests that only 8 percent of 360 owners intended to buy Kinect (or Natal, as it was known at the time). → Read More
The latest issue of Edge magazine has a fun little article abbot South Korea’s obsession with StarCraft. One of the issues the article brings up is: what happens to the game when Blizzard releases StarCraft II next month? Nobody knows! (My guess is that StarCraft will be around forever, no matter how many sequels Blizzard develops.) Along the same lines, kinda, Blizzard plans to give free copies of StarCraft II to Korean gamers who have an active World of Warcraft account. → Read More
Amazon and other holders of business method patents can breathe easy for now. (One of the most famous business method patents is Amazon’s One-Click shopping cart patent).
In a ruling today, the Supreme Court basically punted on whether or not business method patents, in general, should be upheld. Instead, it ruled narrowly on the business method patent in question in the case, Bilski v. Kappos . That patent was thrown out. In that sense, it affirmed an earlier U.S. Federal Appeals Court ruling.
But the Court also warned people not to read to much into its decision. → Read More
A quick word to the wise for those about to party with the just-released OTA update for the Sprint HTC Evo 4G: tread carefully. While I’m mostly hearing success stories, we’re also getting a fairly surprising number of tips in our inbox from folks saying that the OTA update just bricked (read: broke) their handset. While the vast majority of this group admits that their handsets were rooted (read: hacked for customization’s sake), some are alleging that their EVOs were daisy-fresh factory configured units. → Read More
Got a Sprint EVO 4G? Go poke at the update button (Settings >> System Updates >> HTC Software Update) a few times — you’ve got some new goodies waiting for you.. → Read More
This product really shouldn’t require any explanation. It’s a strap that charges your camera while it’s hanging around your neck. Genius. Too bad it’s just a concept. On a related note, why aren’t there solar panels in GPS and radar detector windshield mounts? → Read More
Google’s director of engineering Matthew Papakipos is leaving the search giant for Facebook, according to a Tweet he just sent out.
Most recently, Papakipos started and led the Chrome OS project at Google. Papakipos also served as the Director of the HTML 5 Open Web Platform for Chrome OS and created and lead the Chrome GPU hardware project.. Prior to joining Google, he was the CTO and VP of Engineering for software development company PeakStream, which was acquired by Google in 2007. → Read More
It would make a lot of sense, but take this with a grain of salt: major Japanese game and movie retailer Geo Corp. states in its latest financial report [JP, PDF] that both the Nintendo 3DS and the long-rumored PSP-4000 will be released by year end – at least in Japan. On page 23 in the report, Geo lists up all key products for the company’s fiscal year through March 2011 (see the relevant bit pictured above). → Read More
If you’re carrying an EVO 4G and live in St. Louis, MO; Richmond, VA; or Salt Lake City, UT, it’s time to smile: that mandatory monthly $10 fee you pay for the 4G network just got a whole lot more worthwhile. That adds 3 more cities to the slowly growing list of WiMax-enabled cities — a list which, by the way, we’ve got right behind the jump. → Read More
Wal-Mart has the 16GB Zune HD available for $162.54 plus free shipping (and tax, if applicable). It usually retails for $199, so you’re saving quite a bit. Well, provided you were in the market for a Zune HD to begin with. Incidentally, that’s where I bought my Zune HD from, the local Wal-Mart. Fascinating, yes. → Read More
In 2008 Time Magazine really liked TechCrunch and yours truly, putting me on the Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world. I was on the verge of becoming a “cybermogul!”
But things went downhill from there. In 2009 TechCrunch was no longer relevant to, well, anything. TechCrunch was named one of the most overrated blogs. “Stick a fork in this one — it’s done,” said Time. Ouch.
But we’re back, baby! Despite absolutely zero editorial or other changes after our 2009 death, 2010 is a new year, and Time loves us once again. We’re one of their essential blogs: → Read More
Affiliate marketing platform Skimlinks has launched its latest product that aims to make it even easier for publishers to place revenue generating affiliate links in their content.
Dubbed SkimWords, the feature, which is currently in beta, differs slightly from the company’s main offering. Rather than simply converting existing retailer links to affiliate links on-the-fly, it looks at the page’s content and converts any references to known products into fairly non-obtrusive geo-targeted links to retailer sites where the item can be purchased.
The fact that these links are location-aware – at the country level – is perhaps noteworthy since it accommodates a site’s international traffic and therefore hopefully doesn’t leave much money on the table. → Read More
Thermaltake’s latest hard drive docking station might look like the previous model, but around back is the blue-color USB 3.0 port. That means users can slap a hard drive into the dock and transfer files with speeds up to 5Gpbs. Amazing. → Read More
I love me a GPS watch. While they’re not quite as exciting in practice as they are in theory, they’re still great for exercising and keeping yourself on the right trail. I’ve thus far only used Garmin models but I’m quite excited by this new Timex watch for $275. → Read More
Google has made it fairly clear that adoption of Google Apps at schools and colleges is vital to the growth of the productivity suite as a whole. The strategy makes sense; not only do educational institutions represent a huge market for Google Apps, but schools and colleges are where many people get trained, start relying on, and form brand allegiances to productivity apps. Today, Google is announcing that it has signed on two more states, Colorado and Iowa, to extend Google Apps for Education to the 3,000 schools across the two states.
The two states join Oregon, which was the first state to adopt Google Apps for Education in its schools. One of the advantages of “going” Google is the productivity suite’s attractive price point for public schools that are on a budget. → Read More
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