If you look closely at this shot of the bombs allegedly sent from Yemen to Chicago you’ll notice what looks like a small camera up in the corner. Slide down the side and you see the volume buttons and I suspect the silver area is where the battery holder once stuck to the circuit board. It’s clear that this was a phone – probably of modern vintage – so which phone is it? → Read More
This just landed in our inbox: a pitch for a new URL shortener with the slightly amusing name Bu.tt, which is of course described by its creator – John McKinnon – as a shortening service that “kicks it”.
If you think bit.ly or TinyURL or whichever service you fancy just seems too serious for certain linking occasions, Bu.tt is one way to get the job done. → Read More
At the Security Innovation Network (SINET) Showcase at The National Press Club in Washington, D.C., this week, Michael Chertoff, former Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, presented a dire assessment of the cyber-security threat facing our nation. He discussed how rogue governments and hackers are quietly infiltrating our computer systems and the disasters that can be perpetuated—like those you see on the TV show “24”. Chertoff worries that these risks haven’t yet gripped the public imagination; that it may take a “digital 9-11” to get businesses, consumers, and governments to fortify their defenses.
The most troublesome thing I learned by talking with a who’s who of our nation’s security community was that our government doesn’t believe it has the ability to defend us from the rapidly evolving threats. Yes, the National Security Agency and some branches of government have brilliant computer scientists working for them and can defend their own systems; but the rest of us are our own. The Government simply can’t innovate fast enough to keep pace with the pervasive threats and dynamics of the internet or Silicon Valley’s rapidly changing technologies. Indeed, as George Hoyem, a partner at the CIA-backed venture fund In-Q-Tel, noted, there has been a 571 percent growth in malware since 2006; today, 60 percent of all websites are infected. → Read More
I’m not a big fan of gimmick watches. While I love that guys like Tokyoflash are pushing design forward when it comes to wrist wear, I worry that much of their work is too esoteric and could alienate some potential watch nerds with their complexity. The biggest problem, I feel, is that on the low end the watch world is separated, like computer RPGs, into two two camps – the Tolkein-esque “fancy watch” (think Fossil watches that look like they’re from the 1930s) and the Final Fantasy-esque “tech watch.” Luckily, the Phosphor E-Ink World Time straddles the line quite nicely and, as a result, will please almost any watch lover. → Read More
There’s been much hype, crazy valuations, and overall market excitement about businesses that promise to unleash the power of the social graph, location, recommendations and group buying. Facebook’s latest valuation according to SecondMarket is now about $30 billion, Foursquare raised $20 million at a post-money valuation of $115 million while still at a pre-revenue stage, Yelp, short of selling for $550 million to Google, raised over $25 million at an undisclosed but very high valuation, and finally Groupon raised $135 million at a whopping $1.35 billion valuation. So besides their huge success with the investment community, and their users, what do these companies have in common, and what does all this have to do with disrupting Local Commerce?
Editor’s note: The following guest post is by David Marcus, founder and CEO of Zong, a mobile payment provider for Facebook Credits, AT&T and hundreds of leading destination websites and mobile applications → Read More
With the ubiquitous media coverage surrounding the iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch) app market, it’s important to remember that Android also is making huge headway. More than 100,000 apps are now available in the Android Market. Within the last six months, Android devices have reigned supreme, comprising 32 percent of all new smartphone purchases. There is finally a larger selection of models being manufactured and more carriers offering them. When the first Android device launched, I predicted that the OS would surpass iPhone in the coming years. While this looks to be true, those of us involved in the app industry are concerned with something more specific: Who will have the most active app marketplace?
Currently, iOS is still the definitive winner. There is not enough app interest on the Android consumer front to warrant a mass exodus just yet. I have a pretty simple metric for determining the potential of an app market: Is PopCap involved? If the answer is no, then the market is still too green. While PopCap has yet to enter the Android space, they have noted plans to port some of their game titles in the coming months. This supports the notion that Android has big potential, but it’s still too early.
Nevertheless, Android does have serious potential, and there are some fantastic apps already available! Without further ado, here are my top all-time picks for the Android platform, broken down by top free apps, top paid apps, and top games → Read More
Coming Soon: 900GB Torrent Of (Mostly) Every Geocities Web Site Ever Half Of IT People Polled Plan To Stick With XP After It Expires Nice Boots: Cristiano Ronaldo’s CR Mercurial Vapor SuperFly II Have Dynamically Adjusting Studs SteelSeries’ 30 Percent Off Halloween Sale; Pay For Your Gear At 7-Eleven Stores With PayNearMe CrunchDeals: Native Instruments Traktor For Half Price → Read More
MessengerFX, a major player from Turkey, looks to be making good use of the investment recently received from Golden Horn Ventures and is coming out with a whole new face and name. Rebranded LiveGO, the messaging service is actually a completely redeveloped version, although both brands will stay alive for a while, says founder Yusuf Yildirim.
Started in 2006 as an online IM service, MessengerFX now reaches 10 million users worldwide. With LiveGO, the team plans to build on this success with a enhanced social experience. → Read More
You know the ultimate test of mans survival is becoming a tourist trap when you can make a 3G video call from its lofty summit. Nepalese firm Ncell has installed 3G towers on the top of Mount Everest, allowing those so inclined to whip out the old iPhone and make a few calls from the top. The coverage, which ends at the summit but is situated at 29,029 feet (five miles) in the air, allows for regular phone and video connectivity with the outside world. → Read More
I’m not sure which is the greater credit to Microsoft: that Windows 7 is the fastest-selling OS of all time, or that the rock-solid XP is still going strong after ten years. Despite numerous warnings and, of course, a great OS update to, a lot of system admins are choosing to stick with the old workhorse for as long as they can, even after it’s no longer supported. Hey, if it ain’t broke, right? → Read More
How unexpected. The 24-70 F/2.8L is one of Canon’s best and most popular lenses, but it’s been around since 2002, and although it’s still an excellent piece of kit, it seems that Canon feels it could use a bit of a reworking. They’ve applied for a patent, made public just yesterday, for what appears to be a new version of the versatile lens. → Read More
Project Diaspora. The open source Facebook-killa. You know the one. Developers got a taste of it last month. And the rest of us were supposed to get a usable alpha build this month. Well, there are only two days left in this month. So it’s shouldn’t be too surprising that they’re pushing the consumer release again.
In a post pointing out some of the progress being made today, the Diaspora team notes: → Read More
CherryPal will be the first to admit that the CherryPad is a low-end device. I mean, getting a fully-functional Android device under $200 is a task, though the numbers of such devices are beginning to swell. But when just a few more dollars could get you a Archos 70 or even a Nook Color, I wonder whether cutting the price that far produces much more in the way of value. According to this review, it doesn’t really sound like it. → Read More
More than 9,000 square miles of U.S. federal Gulf waters are closed to commercial and recreational fishing today thanks to the BP oil spill. However, government offices today claimed that seafood from the Gulf is basically safe to consume, based on the results from their latest battery of tests.
You gonna eat that? Companies responsible for the environmental disaster spilled about 5 million barrels of oil, accidentally. They poured about 2 million gallons of oil dispersants into the Gulf waters on purpose, though. The dispersants were supposed to break up the wildlife-choking slicks into droplets that could be more easily digested by oil-eating bacteria. Or at least, they’d make the water look more like water and less like tar… → Read More
Some slightly misleading figures have been propagating through the websphere, apparently, describing the much-anticipated Adam tablet as having a minimum of 15 hours of battery life, and a maximum of around 20. Notion Ink wants to set the record straight, and while the new figures aren’t quite so high, they’re still quite good, and have the benefit of being not totally wrong. → Read More
Two bits of SteelSeries news for you. One, they, just like pretty much everyone else, are having a Halloween sale right now. You can get 30 percent off the Siberia V2 Black headset, Xai mouse, and Shift keyboard when you use the code SPOOKY31. → Read More
When Google put their faith in Wave, an ambitious new project last year, they knew it was a gamble. But a big part of it was the team behind the project. A team led by Lars Rasmussen, the engineer best known as the co-creator of the hugely successful Google Maps. And now he’s left the company. And from what we hear, he’s heading to Facebook.
Rasmussen confirmed his departure on his Facebook page. Yesterday was his last day of work at Google. He didn’t give any indication where he’ll be heading next, other than he’d be “a whole big ocean closer” (he was living in Australia where the Wave team was based). But the fact that he put all this info on Facebook is telling. From what we’re hearing, he will be joining Facebook. → Read More
Were you lucky enough to attend one of the MLB playoff games this month? Then you’ll want to check out TagOramic, a nifty feature on MLB.com that was built to celebrate the Fall Classic. Over the course of the playoffs, MLB has taken some absolutely massive panoramic photos of each stadium — and they’ve taken them at high enough resolution that you can zoom in and see each and every fan.
The site has also integrated support for Facebook Connect, so even if you didn’t get to attend one of the playoff games, you can sign in and see if any of your friends have been tagged in the photo. It sounds silly, but it’s surprisingly fun to see a shot of your friend mid-hot dog, surrounded by a sea of other fans. → Read More
MG earlier wrote a post about Twitter’s rules regarding its trademarks, logos and so on.
Here’s what struck me, going over the guidelines:
Naming your Application or Product, Applying for a Domain
Do: Use Tweet in the name of your application only if it is designed to be used exclusively with the Twitter platform.
Don’t: Use Tweet in the name of your application if used with any other platform.
Zagg wants to protect your new fancy MacBook Air. The solution is the same transparent film they sell for the iPhone and other mobiles. This version was specifically cut for the new Air so all you’ll need to do is peal and stick. The result is a MacBook Air covered a layer of film developed in the military to help items like helicopter rotors resist scratching, therefore extending their life. Just the thing you need for you new sexy Mac. There are skins for both the 11- and 13-inch flavors with the 11-inch costing $54.99. [via technabob] → Read More
San Francisco, CA
