Back in January, with big balls, Google wrote the following:
We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all. We recognize that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China.
In March, Google backed that talk up by redirecting google.cn to google.com.hk, writing the following: → Read More
Yesterday, Digg CEO Kevin Rose tweeted that he’d heard a “huge rumor” that Google was planning to launch a Facebook competitor called “Google Me”, sparking off a wave of speculative reports (Rose has since removed the tweet). Now Adam D’Angelo, who was Facebook’s CTO for years and is now founder of hot Q&A service Quora, is weighing in with more details. And from what he’s hearing, Google Me is indeed very real, and it’s gunning for Facebook.
D’Angelo shared his thoughts as an answer to one of the questions on Quora. Here’s his response: → Read More
Back in May, Google showcased the next version of Android, codenamed Froyo. Chuck full of new features like Flash support, the ability to turn your phone into a Wifi hotspot, and huge speed gains, Android users have been eager to try it out for themselves. Some of them already have — Google rolled out Froyo to a small number of Nexus One years in late May, but most people didn’t receive the update. Now, Froyo is finally rolling out to all Nexus One users over the air, with plans to have it deployed to most people by the end of the week.
From the Nexus One blog:
Starting today, Nexus One users will begin to receive the Android 2.2 (codenamed Froyo) over-the-air software update on their phones. This update provides some great new features including support for making your handset a portable hotspot and support for Adobe Flash within the browser. For a complete list of everything we’ve included in Android 2.2, please see the Android 2.2 Platform Highlights. → Read More
Oooh! it looks like a video of the upcoming Meego-powered Nokia N9 has surfaced.
The video shows us a large screen (or tiny hands), an 8mp camera with flash, a front-facing camera, a full-QWERTY slide-out keyboard (with an angled hinge similar to the N97), and what looks to be a mini HDMI port. → Read More
It seems like only last week that I talked about the final Froyo build rolling out to Nexus One owners across the country.
Now it seems that there is a newer build (FRF85B) rolling out over-the-air to T-Mobile and AT&T users running last week’s FRF83 release. There are also reports that some users running the (Android 2.1) build EPE54B are getting pushed the upgrade. → Read More
This is a good thing to remember, as long as your local Best Buy or electronics store doesn’t mind you plugging stuff into their sets. Just get a USB stick (or better, two or three) and fill it up with pictures that will show off the strengths and weaknesses of the displays you’re considering. It’s a bit of a rough-and-tumble way of checking, since the color settings and such might not be optimized, but put a few test patterns or familiar photos up on there and you’ll be able to spot issues easily. Bringing along a movie you know well is another option, but not so good for comparisons. Some more tips here. → Read More
We knew that Samsung had a winner on their hands with the Samsung Galaxy S, and we knew that a US version would probably be popular, but we didn’t think we’d end up with 5 versions across 5 US carriers.
If you’re stuck deciding on which variant would best suit you, we’ve compiled this handy list outlining the main differences, prices, and launch dates for the next Android super phone, as they compare to the original non-US model. → Read More
So you’ve been shopping for a new camera, but you’re not sure what one you want. Sure, you’ve looked at megapixels, sensor size, and shutter speed until your eyes bleed. But don’t you wish there was an easy way to compare two cameras? Some easy way to look at the nuts and bolts of a couple of cameras to help you make your final decision? Enter Snapsort, a new website designed to allow you to not just compare technical features, but compare them in a way that makes sense to the normal person. → Read More
Electric car manufacturer Tesla is pricing its IPO at $17 per share, according to a release issued this evening. We just wrote today that one day before its scheduled IPO, Tesla Motors increased the allotment of shares that will be sold to the public from 11.1 million to 13.3 million, according to an amendment to its S1 filing. → Read More
Tetris is among the most widely-played games in history. So why is it that relatively few (in my experience) have every truly played it with another person? Probably because the multiplayer Tetris variants have been — well, more hacks than anything else. Sure, linked Gameboy Tetris was awesome, and there are established multiplayer Tetris communities, but as far as the creator of the game is concerned, we’re “not quite there yet.”
This interview, conducted by Gamasutra at one of the many 25th anniversary Tetris events this year, reveals that Alexey Pajitnov has been wrestling with this concept for quite a while. → Read More
Let’s file this one under “potentially frivolous.” Kershaw, Cutter, and Ratinoff are a legal outfit best known for filing against Zynga regarding the notorious Farmville offers, may be filing for a class action lawsuit against Apple. Unlike the Zynga case, this one seems less than legit. That’s assuming they even deem it worthwhile; they’re just collecting data right now: KCR is currently investigating potential problems with the release of iPhone 4. If you recently purchased the new iPhone and have experienced poor reception quality, dropped calls and weak signals, we would like to hear from you. Seems to me that this whole debacle falls under the “caveat emptor” exclusion from seller responsibility — for the moment. → Read More
When the 3DS was announced, Nintendo did it alongside a ridiculous amount of fan service. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been hoping for a new Kid Icarus game for almost my entire life. Along with remakes or reduxes of classics like Ocarina of Time, StarFox, Paper Mario, there were a number of 3rd-party titles and other fun stuff. But Nintendo has never been reliant on third parties for its breakout hits. Occasionally something like GoldenEye comes along and faces them hard, but the big N has always been about its core properties and, let’s be honest, mining nostalgia. So: think about it. What’s the obvious move? New 3D technology… old titles. I guarantee we’re going to see a huge explosion of DSWare/downloadables in the form of back catalog games rendered in 3DS-compatible stereo 3D. → Read More
Well, we can file this one under blatant Apple apologizing, but the story is too funny not to post. You probably saw the funny little Nokia post that went up this morning, detailing the many ways you could hold your phone without affecting the signal. I like that they make fun of their own 7600, too. All in good fun — until the commenters quickly pointed out videos and even manual pages warning of signal loss from the wrong grip method. To be fair, the issue doesn’t seem to be nearly as pronounced in Nokia’s phones, since they don’t locate their antenna in a place covered by the palm during normal use. → Read More
Ah, how refreshing. Another reminder of the upcoming Robocalypse. People, if we do the machines’ work for them, we have no chance. We’re honestly designing autonomous killer robots?! This is a Thai project, but I’m going to go ahead and blame Korea anyway. → Read More
First off, let me say that neatorama.com could be my favorite URL ever. Moving on… A Massachusetts high school science teacher recently put his three best students on a special assignment. They were told to imagine a world where some sort of spacecraft was hurtling toward Earth, and that it was up to them to figure out how they would record the event while onboard a separate aircraft. As you might expect, the teacher then REVEALED THAT HE WAS THE HIGHER POWER~! Wait, no. The teacher then revealed that their little science experiment was, in fact, an actual mission that would be carried out in conjunction with NASA. → Read More
For $13, you can purchase Spot for Earphones, a simple little solution for managing the long cord on your MP3 player’s headphones. It’s certainly a lot more expensive than the perennial Altoids tin earbud case, but it’s a good bit more functional, too. The integrated clip allows you to attach the Spot to any piece of clothing or accessory to keep it handy but out of the way. Roll up the cord for storage, and simply let gravity unroll the cord when you’re ready to use the earbuds again. Video inside. → Read More
Almost immediately after Sprint started rolling out this morning’s over-the-air update for the HTC EVO 4G, we started getting tips claiming that the patch had totally wrecked their handset. Some of the folks complaining had modified their handsets through unofficial means; others were running it just as it came from the factory. Whatever was triggering it, one thing was sure: these handsets were now straight up broken. Pulling the safety cord before too many handsets get bricked, Sprint and HTC have just terminated the distribution of the OTA update. Read Sprint’s comment after the jump. → Read More
The iPhone 4 vs. the EVO 4G. It’s the battle of our time. Or, at least, it was until Verizon unveiled the Droid X, thus continuing the cycle of Android phones one-upping one another from week to week. But regardless, iPhone 4 vs. EVO 4G is an interesting battle — at least among fanboys of the iPhone and Android platforms. And now there’s a great video to personify it.
The video below may look familiar to those who saw the awesome I Will Honor The Embargo video (created by TechCrunch Europe Contributing Editor Steve O’Hear) — both were made using the Xtranormal text-to-movie technology. → Read More
