If your Windows Phone 7 handset was one of the unfortunate few that got bricked by Microsoft’s little-update-that-couldn’t, you’re going to want to get that fixed quick. At the very latest, you’re going to want to have things all patched up by April 6th. Why? Because it’s Angry Birds Time! Update: Maybe not. More after the jump. → Read More
The specs for the new MacBook Pro appear to have been leaked ahead of the release later today, but only slightly. The Apple Store went offline and details were emerging across blogs who have pulled the specs from German sources, one of those is UK gear blog ElectricPig and 9to5Mac.
However, the release has now come out for the new MacBook Pros which will come in three familiar sizes: 13-inch, 15-inch and 17-inch screens.
The 13-inch new MacBook Pro will have a Intel Core i5 and Core i7 dual-core processor and the 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro models feature quad-core Core i7 processors.
The FaceTime Mac app came out before the new MacBook Pro. This has a FaceTime HD camera which is triple the resolution of previous generations and it built in to the new MacBook Pro.
Thunderbolt has now been confirmed – a new Intel-developed port for high speed data transfer of up to 10GBps.
The aluminum unibody enclosure remains, so no change to design. → Read More
Following the Thunderbolt-centered Intel and Apple announcements, we fully expect that the accessory makers will be coming in droves to support the new protocol. LaCie was among the early adopters of USB 3.0 when that was new, and so it’s no surprise that they’re in the front line with supporting Thunderbolt. Their first entry is this Little Big Disk, featuring the new connector and SSDs on the inside. → Read More
I have the Motorola Xoom here in my hot little hands and I put it through its paces over the past few days and I’d love to demonstrate and explore the device with your questions in mind. What I’m planning is a 12pm Eastern/9am Pacific LIVE STREAM for one hour TOMORROW Friday, February 25, answering the questions you have about the device and going through some of the screens. You’ll also be able to ask me questions via chat and Twitter. → Read More
Repost: This post got buried after going live yesterday and since it’s more important than silly new Macs, it desevers a bit more time on the front page.
Tomorrow Today will be the last time the space shuttle Discovery launches into orbit. And, we’ve got the places for you to watch it all go down live. → Read More
Remember MySpace Music? It was supposed to put online music streaming on the the right track. But with all the layoffs, shrinking audience and turmoil at parent MySpace, MySpace Music is singing the blues. According to comScore, only 17 million people in the U.S. visited MySpace Music in January, 2011, which is down 46 percent from the previous year. Pandora is now bigger on the Web, with an estimated 20.3 million monthly U.S. visitors.
Today, MySpace Music president Courtney Holt is stepping down. He joined two years ago from MTV. But with MySpace itself on the wane and Rupert Murdoch looking to unload it, MySpace Music can no longer hold its own. → Read More
Earlier this week, CrunchGear’s John Biggs sparked controversy (within TechCrunch ranks at least) with a post entitled “Alibaba And The Curse Of Chinese Manufacturing“. In the post Biggs wrote (amongst other things) that…
“Many decry the sad state of American manufacturing but these [Chinese] companies still sell billions in janky garbage that washes up here in huge containers and is sold throughout our 50 great states and, more important, the rest of the developed and developing world.”
Gosh. → Read More
The Motion Picture Association of America says [PDF] the movie industry had its biggest year ever last year. This, despite the fact that folks like the “US Copyright Group” have gone after people for ruining said industry. Down is up, black is white, and the New York Mets are a well-run organization. → Read More
The following probably only applies to people with plenty of extra cash laying about. It’s the Arcade Tables Stealth, a home arcade table that’s loaded up with 60 games. The Germans designed it, so at the very least you know the build quality is solid. → Read More
KashFlow, the feisty UK startup taking on incumbent players like Sage with its cloud-based accounting software for SMEs, has decided it’s time to step on the gas. But to do this, the company is actively seeking a “strategic investor” and isn’t ruling out selling a majority stake, according to a report distributed by Financial Times-owned Mergermarket.
That could entail pairing up with one of the “large traditional accounting services groups” that would benefit from its Software-as-a-Service offering or another software company that would bring both cash and new markets. The aim, according to the report, is to increase KashFlow’s annual turnover from its current £1m (£140,000 in profit) to £2m in 2011. The startup currently claims 10,000 paying users.
However, in an internal memo sent out to KashFlow staff by CEO and founder Duane Jackson seen by TechCrunch Europe, we’ve learned further details of the company’s thinking. → Read More
Though you’re probably hearing about it for the first time now, Intel’s been working on a new interconnection technology for the last few years. “Light Peak”, as it was called up until it was rebranded “Thunderbolt” today, promises a new world of screaming-fast data transfers. The claims are spectacular: 10 gigabit per second transfers (both upload and download!), dual protocol support, and power over the cable. Light Peak… excuse me, Thunderbolt, is truly the interconnect of the future.
The technology launched today on Apple’s latest MacBook Pros, but Apple is just one of a bunch of companies with plans to support Intel’s technology. Thunderbolt devices will slowly trickle out of major industry players over the coming year.
It’s going to be an uphill battle for the standard — the USB horde won’t go without a fight. If you’re going to throw your support behind just one camp in this silly battle (first person to get a Thunderbolt tattoo wins!), you may want to give Thunderbolt a long look. It’s good. → Read More
Outdoor Technology has just come out with some dog-tag-like Bluetooth headphones called OT Tags. You can get them in either black or red and when not in use they hang down like dog tags – see what I mean? The Bluetooth headset offers stereo listening from any Bluetooth device and if the connected device is a phone, then you can also make and receive calls. → Read More
Glam Media, one of the largest publishing and advertising networks on the Web, is revealing its third branded content channel today: health-focused Bliss. Bliss, which will be a content hub of health and wellness sites, joins male-focused vertical Brash and womens entertainment, style and fashion channel Glam.com. Glam’s networks currently have a total reach of 90 million people a month in the U.S and 200 million monthly visitors globally.
Glam says that traditional health and wellness sites (i.e. WebMD) have more narrowly focused on more medical and condition-related topics and are missing the opportunity to reach a wider audience with the prevention and wellness angle. Bliss’ content will include information about diet and nutrition, empowerment, alternative healing, green living, exercise, fitness, parenting, pregnancy and more. → Read More
It really is kind of amazing that Instagram has shot past two million users in just a few months with only an iPhone app. No Android app, no website, no real third-party support. But starting today, that changes as they’re finally ready to unveil their API. And they already have some pretty nice implementations right off the bat to show what it can do.
Co-founder Kevin Systrom says that it would have been easy enough for them to implement a simple API early on, but they didn’t want to do that (that’s why you may have heard about one developer getting unofficial access shut off). Instead, Instagram decided they wanted to make an API that was both massively scalable and provided a realtime feed of everything going on across the service. Today, they’re unveiling this realtime API for four different elements of Instagram: user photos, tags, locations, and geographies. → Read More
Launching today is 140Fire.com, a Y Combinator-backed platform that allows advertisers, publishers, and media buyers to create interactive ad content and polls to overlay on streaming or pre-recorded video.
What does this mean? As you can see in the image above, 140Fire’s real-time editor allows BMW (in this case) to create and serve questions based on what’s happening in the video. Here, in the depths of March Madness, Brian Zoubek has just stepped to the line to shoot a few free throws, so the ad asks viewers “how many free throws will he make?”
Like most video ads, the ads will appear as a small bar on the bottom of the screen, but unlike those of its ilk, they allow viewers to remain in the content, answering polls while continuing to watch the video. According to Founder Jason Wilk, this allows brands to collect data on what viewers are thinking in real-time and monetize those high-interest points in video content. 140Fire can then serve up post-roll ads based on viewers’ responses to the polls. → Read More
A London court has ruled that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange should to be extradited to Sweden to face further questioning on allegations of sexual offences. He has seven days to appeal. The judge said: “I’m satisfied that if a decision is taken to hold the Swedish trial in private that will not breach Article 6 or any human rights.”
He added: “None of the points raised by the #Assange defence establishes an abuse of process,” and that if there have been abuses in the legal process in Sweden, that “the right place for these to be examined and remedied is in the Swedish trial system”. → Read More
This year marks SteelSeries 10th anniversary, and the accessory maker has decided to celebrate by giving away a fair number of prizes. It is, in fact, the largest such giveaway in SteelSeries’ history. How do you enter, and what do you stand to gain? → Read More
Last time we checked in with PayPal, it, along with MasterCard, Visa and others had blocked its services with regards to donations to WikiLeaks foundation.
Today it is being reported that PayPal has taken further action against another WikiLeaks-related fund, in freezing the account of the Courage To Resist foundation which, in conjunction with the Bradley Manning Support Network, gives donations to the Bradley Manning legal defense fund.
In a phone call earlier today, PayPal representative Anuj Nayar told me that this action is not WikiLeaks related and that PayPal has only temporarily restricted the fund, “This has nothing to do with WikiLeaks.” → Read More
Would you like to be a Product Lead for TechCrunch? How about a Sales Marketing Manager? Maybe an Executive Assistant? We have positions open and we are currently looking for qualified applicants. If you would like to work for TechCrunch, please find current job listings below: → Read More
Vizio has been one of the top selling LCD brands the last few years. It seems Vizio and Samsung are constantly leap-frogging one another as the top dog. Well, Vizio’s back on top. The company just posted an iSuppli report indicating the brand reached a 18% shipping marketshare for all of 2010 in North America and a 21% level for just the US. Both Vizio and Samsung saw increased shipments while Sony’s numbers fell. It was Vizio that saw the largest increase therefore claiming the title back from Samsung. It’s good to be king. → Read More
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