This time last year, Brett Martin took the stage at TechCrunch Disrupt in New York to launch Sonar, a mobile app that connects you to friends and other people nearby, based on your existing social networks. Fast forward to today and the Battlefield runner-up is rolling out a major update to its mobile app that will allow Sonar to finally become the “Here-Now” social network.

The app previously focused on providing relevant information to users about others around them based on connections via Facebook, LinkedIn, Foursquare, and Twitter. Extremely useful for conferences like Disrupt, when you’re at a party or maybe even starting a new job.

So what’s new? Aside from the usual under the hood tweaks, Sonar has crammed in Status, Sonar Presence, Notifications and Messaging. The status update serves as a hyperlocal broadcast tool for those within close proximity and even pushes out a notification to your friends when they’re close by.

Sonar Presence runs in the background to let others know what you’re up to or when friends are nearby, pushing a notification to alert you to folks you are already connected to. Sonar says one way they’re set apart from other apps in the space is that they’re most interested in showing you real connections and people you actually care about. Like others in the space, battery issues remain because current devices aren’t optimized to use GPS properly. You can pause Sonar in the background, BTW.

Notifications will only ping you when friends you actually know and are connected to are nearby.

Messaging is pretty straight forward and lets you lob chats back and forth with other Sonar users. So if you’re heading into the office and Sonar notifies you that a co-worker is close by, you can send a message asking them to hold the elevator or ask if they need a coffee. Sonar also offers a replacement to the irritating “Where are you guys” texts that are a staple of meeting up at a concert or park. Brilliant, no?

Oh, you think you’ve heard this before, have you? How useful is Highlight outside of the San Francisco tech circle? Because it’s pretty worthless in New York. There are folks working in every industry imaginable, not just tech. The connections that I’ve personally made with folks in fashion, entertainment and countless other industries are innumerable thanks to Sonar. And what about getting results anywhere outside of a tech hub? Sonar says they had users in 35 countries just within a week of their launch last year, and have seen usage in more than 65 countries total. If you don’t see the value in a service like Sonar, then you’re totally missing the point and drinking the kool-aid.

Oddly enough, I’d heard this pitch before but it came at a time before the App Store was even a thing. Back in 2008, Mike declared that he’d seen the “Future Of Social Networking.” He described it as such:

A few years from now we’ll use our mobile devices to help us remember details of people we know, but not well. And it will help us meet new people for dating, business and friendship. Imagine walking into a meeting, classroom, party, bar, subway station, airplane, etc. and seeing profile information about other people in the area, depending on privacy settings. Picture, name, dating status, resume information, etc. The information that is available would be relevant to the setting – quick LinkedIn-type information for a business meeting v. Facebook dating status for a bar.

Given the intimate connection we have with our mobile devices, who wouldn’t want this type of service at our fingertips? It’s not like we don’t immediately Google someone we’ve just met anyway.

Mike never disclosed the name of the company and we never heard from them again. But it doesn’t matter. Sonar does just that and more.

Sonar [App Store]

Hundreds have entered. But only one will walk away with the coveted Disrupt Cup. Who will it be? Stick around to find out but in the meantime we’ve got a rockstar lineup on our final day, including a sit down with a handful of local maker types, Chi-Hua Chien and a Hollywood star.

If you’re just joining us be sure to check out previous coverage of the show here.

Here’s what’s on tap for today:

Wednesday, May 23rd

9:00am – 9:10am
Opening Remarks

9:10am – 9:40am
Brooklyn Makers: Ayah Bdeir (littleBits), Duncan Frazier (Bit Banger Labs), Amol Sarva (Peek),Peter Semmelhack (Bug Labs), Bre Pettis (Makerbot)

9:40am – 10:00am
Founders Stories with Cyrus Massoumi (ZocDoc)

10:00am – 10:25am
Revolutionizing Beer with Churchkey Can Co.: Adrian Grenier, Justin Hawkins, Ryan Sowards

10:25am – 10:35am
Special Product Announcement

10:35am – 11:00am
Government Innovation: Why Tech Companies Need To Pay Attention with Greg Ferenstein; Todd Park (US Chief Technology Officer) and Steven VanRoekel (Chief Information Officer)

11:00am – 11:20am
BREAK and BROWSE STARTUP ALLEY

11:20am – 11:40am
Fireside Chat with John Lilly (Greylock)

11:40am – 12:00pm
Power Play with David Lawee (Google)

12:00pm – 12:30pm
Investing: It Was The Best Of Times, It Was The Worst of Times: Mike Abbott (KPCB), Josh Kopelman (First Round Capital), Charlie O’Donnell (Brooklyn Bridge Ventures), Greg McAdoo(Sequoia Capital)

12:30pm – 1:45pm
LUNCH and BROWSE STARTUP ALLEY

12:30pm – 1:30pm
Charity Auction hosted by Outbid

1:45pm – 2:05pm
Fireside Chat with Dan Huttonlocher (Dean of Cornell University Tech Campus)

2:05pm – 2:15pm
Hackathon Hightlights

2:15pm – 2:30pm
Startup Battlefield Alumni

2:30pm – 2:55pm
Fireside Chat with David Kirkpatrick (Author, The Facebook Effect)

2:55pm – 3:15pm
Fireside Chat with Chi-Hua Chien (KPCB)

3:15pm – 3:30pm
BREAK and BROWSE STARTUP ALLEY

3:30pm – 5:30pm
Startup Battlefield Finals

5:30pm – 7:00pm
Cocktail Reception hosted by Hatch/IAC

7:00pm – 7:30pm
Closing Awards Ceremony and Passing of the Disrupt Cup

On one end of the spectrum, networks like Twitter and Facebook have acted as catalysts to organizing events like the Arab Spring or the riots of London. On the other end of that spectrum, networks like Yelp or Foursquare tee up user generated reviews, tips and public-facing profiles. Somewhere in between all that falls hownow, an iPhone app-based social network that lets users publish messages semi-anonymously at a hyperlocal level.

At its core, the app allows all those who have downloaded the app to strike up semi-anonymous conversations with others at a “block” level, “Neighborhood” level, “City” level or “Worldwide” level. There is no sign-up process and though users have the option to post anonymously, they also have the option to create a pseudonym if that tickles their fancy. Betaworks says they may implement a “rules of the road” to help users take full advantage of the network at some point down the road. Messages can be left forever, for 30 days, a day or an hour at any level. (Don’t be surprised if you see local businesses take advantage of this.) Photos can also be shared via hownow and users do have the option of linking their Twitter accounts for cross-posting, too.

Made popular during the peak of the Occupy Wall Street movement, NY-based Betaworks has since acquired hownow to help bolster and fast track the company’s vision for online identity “and the growing significance and opportunities with mobile services.” The app was refreshed and re-released to the App Store last week with tweaks made under the hood and the inclusion of Google Maps. There are no plans to expand to other platforms in the near future.

If you’re like me, you’re probably wondering what sort of user information is stored both locally and afar, right? According to Neil Wehrle, VP of user experience at Betaworks, the only data being stored on Betaworks end includes, “Date, Time, Location, Message Content, and an anonymous ID.” An “anonymous ID key” and a cache of the most recent messages is stored on the user’s device.

hownow [App Store]

Welcome to Day Two, folks. If Day One wasn’t enough for you, then you’re in for a real treat. We have a special product announcement at 11:20, Design Office Hours and an incredible list of Day Two Battlefield contestants.

If you’re wondering what happened yesterday, you may want to check out this, that and this! And don’t forget to follow along as we unveil a brand new batch of Startup Alley contestants.

Follow the team’s coverage here. If you’re unable to attend don’t worry, you can join the conversation on Twitter by following #TCDisrupt.

And here’s how the second day breaks down:

Tuesday, May 22nd

9:00am – 9:10am
Opening Remarks

9:10am – 9:30am
Fireside Chat with Jeff Jordan (Andreessen Horowitz)

9:30am – 9:50am
Power Play with John Borthwick (Betaworks)

9:50am – 10:15am
Fireside Chat with Harjeet Taggar (Y Combinator)

10:15am – 10:40am
New Media: Where We Go Now That We’ve Won: Jonah Peretti (BuzzFeed), Gabe Rivera (Techmeme), Henry Blodget (Business Insider)

10:40am – 11:00am
Fireside Chat with Roelof Botha (Sequoia Capital)

11:00am – 11:20am
BREAK and BROWSE STARTUP ALLEY

11:20am – 11:30am
A Special Product Announcement

11:30am – 11:55am
Fireside Chat with Ron Conway and David Lee (SV Angel)

11:55am – 12:30pm
Design Office Hours with Mimi Chun (General Assembly), Jamie Divine (design expert), Jason Morrow (Betaworks), Leland Rechis (Etsy)

12:30pm – 2:00pm
LUNCH and BROWSE STARTUP ALLEY

2:00pm – 2:20pm
How Social Advertising is Working: Tim Armstrong (AOL), Melissa Brenner (NBA)

2:20pm – 2:30pm
How the Battlefield Works

2:30pm – 3:30pm
Startup Battlefield: Session 4: Disrupting Local

Judges:
Cyan Banister
Stephen Messer
David Rosenblatt
Bijan Sabet

3:30pm – 3:45pm
BREAK and BROWSE STARTUP ALLEY

3:45pm – 4:45pm
Startup Battlefield: Session 5: Disrupting Collaboration

Judges:
John Auerbach
Tracy Chou
John Frankel
Greg McAdoo

4:45pm – 5:00pm
BREAK and BROWSE STARTUP ALLEY

5:00pm – 6:00pm
Startup Battlefield: Session 6: Disrupting Identity Networks

Judges:
Michael Abbott
Soraya Darabi
Pat Gallagher
Charlie O’Donnell

6:00pm – 7:30pm
Credit Suisse Networking Reception

6:00pm – 7:30pm
Browse Startup Alley

9:00pm – midnight
After Party hosted by AT&T
Hudson Terrace
621 West 46th Street
Conference badge required for admission

After months of prepping, countless run-throughs and all nighters, it’s time to get this party started. Welcome to TechCrunch Disrupt New York City 2012. I have a feeling this is going to be the best one to date.

Follow the team’s coverage here. If you’re unable to attend don’t worry, you can join the conversation on Twitter by following #TCDisrupt.

So here’s how the day breaks down:

Monday, May 21st

8:50am – 9:00am
Register for TechCrunch TechRecs

9:00am – 9:10am
Opening Remarks

9:10am – 9:20am
Welcome

9:20am – 9:40am
Fireside Chat with Fred Wilson (Union Square Ventures)

9:40am – 10:00am
Founders Stories with Jason Goldberg (Fab)

10:00am – 10:30am
Building the NY Startup Ecosystem: Brooke Hammerling (BrewPR), Josh Miller (Branch), Alexis Ohanian (Y Combinator), David Tisch (Tech Stars), Jake Schwartz (General Assembly),

10:30am – 10:35am
A Special Product Announcement

10:35am – 10:50am
BREAK and BROWSE STARTUP ALLEY

10:50am – 11:15am
When Will Fashion Tech Just Be Fashion?: Neil Blumenthal (Warby Parker), Ashley Granata (Fashism), Jennifer Hyman (Rent the Runway), Alexis Maybank (Gilt Groupe)

11:15am – 11:35am
Power Play with Tom Katis (Voxer)

11:35am – 11:55am
Fireside Chat with David Karp (Tumblr)

11:55am – 12:15pm
Fireside Chat with Brad Garlinghouse (YouSendIt)

12:15pm – 12:30pm
Power Play with Andrew Keen

12:30pm – 2:00pm
LUNCH and BROWSE STARTUP ALLEY

2:00pm – 2:25pm
Engineering on the Best Coast with Harry Heyman (Foursquare), Jason Pearlman (Zynga), Serkan Piantino (Facebook)

2:25pm – 2:30pm
How the Battlefield Works

2:30pm – 3:30pm
Startup Battlefield: Session 1: Disrupting Learning and Decision Making

Judges:
Josh Kopelman
David Lee
David Tisch
Spencer Wang

3:30pm – 3:45pm
BREAK and BROWSE STARTUP ALLEY

3:45pm – 4:45pm
Startup Battlefield: Session 2: Disrupting Processes

Judges:
Adrian Aoun
Fritz Lanman
Dave Samuel
Michelle Zatlyn

4:45pm – 5:00pm
BREAK and BROWSE STARTUP ALLEY

5:00pm – 6:00pm
Startup Battlefield: Session 3: Disrupting Media

Judges:
Chris Fralic
Shana Fisher
MC Hammer
Ron Palmeri

6:00pm – 7:30pm
Browse Startup Alley

9:00pm – midnight
After Party hosted by Getaround
Greenhouse
150 Varick Street
Conference badge required for admission

Today Mayor Bloomberg rolled out the Made in NY Digital Map, an easy way to find New York City’s tech startups and job opportunities. The interactive map keeps startups, investors, developers and designers in the know about what’s going on in Silicon Alley.

From the Made in New York Map site: “The Made in NY Digital Map is a visual testament to the vibrant state of New York’s digital industry – showing a powerful constellation of over 500 homegrown startups, investors and coworking spaces across the five boroughs. Browse by neighborhood, review job postings, or add your own startup to the digital landscape – the Made in NY Map is a living resource that reflects New York City’s dynamic innovation ecosystem.”

According to the site there are currently 324 NYC tech companies looking to hire. Every startup, investor and shared workspace in all five boroughs is mapped out with links to each respective company and job board. This is yet another feather in Bloomberg’s cap in an effort to push New York as the next tech hub.

Maybe I’m thrifty or maybe I’m just too busy to go and try on a pair of jeans in store. Either way, I know I’m not the only one. In the US alone, the apparel and footwear market is a $300 billion business with an estimated 10 percent of transactions occurring online.

But a major issue for both the consumer and retailer boils down to one thing: fit. Far too many times have I had to return all manner of wares because fit was an issue. It’s even worse when it comes to jeans. (Look how terrible little Kevin Arnold looks in those jeans.)

While the ladies have been enjoying the services of True Fit since last fall, the “fit personalization software” specialists are rolling out their patented service for guys shopping for jeans at Macys.com. A mix of algorithms and a “quick” three step process allows the True Fit recommendation engine to work its magic to ensure the best possible fit every time. And with any algorithm, the more you use it, the smarter it gets, says True Fit.

The only caveat as far as I can tell is that you need to know how some of the more popular brands like 7 For All Mankind or Levi’s fit your lower half. The list of brands is extensive so most will find a brand they can identify with. My brand of choice, Onassis, is unlisted, putting me in the SOL crowd.

A larger, bigger picture question remains, though. With the proliferation of technology like True Fit, when will online shopping numbers eclipse those of brick and mortar?

In recent years a flurry of electrified two-wheeled motorcycles and scooters have emerged from companies like Zero, Brammo, Mission Motors, BRD and Evolve. While some are still in the prototype phase (I’m looking at you BRD!), others have shown rapid advancement to meet rider needs, preferences and performance. Though they’re still light years away from their gas-powered counterparts, the release of Brammo’s 100MPH and 100-mile range electric motorcycles later this year will undoubtedly turn some heads.

Originally announced in July 2010, the Oregon-based startup today announced both pricing and availability for the Empulse and Empulse R. During a demo earlier this month in San Francisco, the changes made from the original Enertia were glaringly apparent to me from two feet away. Having ridden the original Enertia, I can say that it wasn’t the most pleasant riding experience. Not that it was uncomfortable by any means but it didn’t feel like any motorcycle I’d ever been on. Geometry on the Empulse is much more akin to something between a Ducati Monster and a supermoto. In other words, I’d have no problem riding the Empulse on the pothole-riddled streets of Manhattan or in the twisties. And if I really needed to carry a passenger I wouldn’t hesitate to throw one on the pillion either, a first for an electric moto. Though I didn’t get a chance to actually ride the Empulse, I’m looking forward to a bit of seat time later on this year.

Other than seating position, range and top speed, you might be wondering what else makes the Empulse special. That’s easy to answer, too. For starters, it has a six-speed gearbox and regenerative braking (similar to engine braking) like a normal motorcycle. Brammo’s Brian Wismann, Director of Product Development, told me that he hasn’t had to change his riding style in any way, especially when it comes to entering or exiting corners at speed thanks to upgraded parts like brakes and suspension. He rides a BMW S1000RR, so I’m inclined to believe him.

More importantly, the 9.3 kilowatt battery driving the bike can be recharged in 3.5 hours from your standard plug. And the startup process is basically the same as any gas-powered motorcycle.

Priced at $16,995 the baseline Empulse is equipped with an assortment of Italian made components similar to those on the Ducati 848 StreetFighter. The Empulse R fetches an additional $2,000 and includes a plethora of carbon fiber farkles like front and rear fenders, headlight shroud, tank and tail. A limited run of the Empulse R will come off the line in June and based on demand could hit full production in Q3. The Empulse, unfortunately, won’t be ready till Q1 of 2013. Check out Brammo.com for more details.

Comics on the iPad. A match made in nerd heaven, right?

Well, today it gets even better with the announcement that ComiXology and Marvel Entertainment have entered into a multi-year deal that sees the former exclusively distributing the latter’s digital catalog of English language single issues. Though the deal was actually signed on May 1, the announcement was delayed to make way for a particular movie premiere that some of you may have participated in over the weekend, Peter Phillips SVP and General Manager of Marvel Digital Media, told TechCrunch. Neither company would elaborate on the length of the deal but both agreed that the partnership would allow them to advance the art of digital storytelling.

“This partnership will allow us to innovate and advance the digital storytelling and reading experience,” said ComiXology co-founder and CEO David Steinberger.

Phillips added that ComiXology’s “technology is by far the best.”

Though the ComiXology-powered Marvel app has been in the App Store since 2010, Marvel appears to be making a real push into the digital arena this year. This past March at SXSW, the Disney owned subsidiary announced its digital-only line of comic books called Infinite Comics, a mix of both a traditional reading experience with bits of digital magic like moving graphics, and even demoed an augmented reality companion experience. Marvel also says that by June of this year every $3.99 issue will be made available day-and-date in digital form.

But just how big is the digital comics space? To date, Steinberger says over 65 million issues have been downloaded across all ComiXology’s platforms, including mobile and desktop. Up from the 50 million mark announced by the company just this past January. To put that number into context, the digital comics distributor says it has experienced a 450% growth year over year in Q1. With Marvel seeing a boost in print sales of about 16 percent in the same period. And no surprise here, Apple’s iPad has the largest penetration of mobile devices but Android is coming on strong, says Steinberger.

While Marvel would not disclose the number of downloads (“many, many millions” was the answer given to me) for its branded iPad app, Phillips did say that the success of its latest universe shattering story arc, Avengers vs. X-Men, has kickstarted a download frenzy with close to 10 percent of print buyers redeeming digital download codes. Which is apparently “pretty high.”

With Marvel seemingly posting fantastic numbers, is the other big pub, DC Comics, scared? Not likely. ComiXology has been the sole digital distributor for DC Comics. But Steinberger did have this to say: “We’ll be working closely with Marvel to ensure their branded experience is a unique experience. It will be different than the DC Comics branded experience.” Take that, Batman!

Sadly, Phillips nor Steinberger would divulge any details about the possibility of a subscription model, both stating that the business model is still unclear. Interestingly enough, Phillips did say that his biggest concern was actually addressing the influx of traffic to Marvel’s website from mobile devices. Digital comics on Marvel.com are currently being served through a Flash player, which we all know aren’t viewable on iOS devices.

Marvel Comics [iTunes]

After a disastrous launch and a not-so stellar pivot, Color may finally have found its stride and a rather large core user base. Today, Color and Verizon Wireless have entered a three year deal to bring live streaming video and audio to its fleet of 4G LTE smartphones, including all compatible Android devices and even the iPhone.

Audio streaming will be exclusive to Verizon’s 4G LTE devices. Video frame rate has also been doubled for higher quality streams. The majority of all upcoming 4G LTE Android smartphones will ship with Color pre-loaded. Verizon iPhone users have the choice to download or update the Color app straight from the App Store beginning today.

What’s really interesting about this partnership is that the Color app will ostensibly be living in the cloud for Verizon users. If Color were to extend the 30-second livestream to 35 seconds, for example, users won’t be forced to update the app to unlock that new feature.

Color is also in talks with ShareWith911.com to integrate certain Color APIs to aid first responders, I’m told.

But this is only the beginning for Color’s “visual tweets,” says Bill Nguyen, CEO and co-founder of Color. “In the future, video will be livestreamed in HD, you won’t have to record videos anymore and our partnership with Verizon will help us get there even faster.”

We’ll have more on what Nguyen hopes to accomplish with Color for the future in an upcoming story.

Color [iTunes]

Color [Google Play]

As a resident of NYC, I find little use for the SF Climates iOS app that all of my San Francisco-based friends (read: social media whores) are boasting over today.

But a lot of you do live there, so you might find it useful. Let’s say you live in the Marina and for some reason need to go to the Dogpatch or vice versa but you’re unsure what the weather is like. Or maybe the grit of the Mission is getting to be a bit much and you want to hang out with a bunch of babies in Noe Valley. Do you pack a sweatshirt or put on shorts?

From personal inexperience, I’ve never been able to layer properly in San Francisco and this would have come in handy last week. Powered by Weather Underground, the free app boasts current temp, wind (speed and direction) and forecast for each of the City by the Bay’s 17 different microclimates (read: neighborhoods).

If only they’d launch one for NYC. *sigh*

Since the app has been in the wild for three weeks, there’s bound to be a few of you who have been using it. If so, have you found it useful?

SF Climates [Apple App Store]

Earlier today, GlobalGrind broke the news that Adam “MCA” Yauch, a founding member of New York’s pioneering hip-hop group the Beastie Boys, had died of cancer at the age of 47.

While the loss of Yauch will be felt for decades to come, the outpouring on Twitter shows just how big an impact the Beastie Boys and Yauch have had on social consciousness. Both Twitter’s global and local trends are currently dominated by tributes to the boys from Brooklyn.

He is survived by his wife and daughter.

RIP MCA.

H/T to Gizmodo for the image.

Two closely watched cases in the music industry are about to go to trial involving a motley crew of characters: Eminem’s producers, Rob Zombie, Rick James (his estate at least) and Steve Jobs.

Apple is claiming that a deposition of Steve Jobs from a 2010 trial involving F.B.T. Productions, producers of several hit Eminem tracks, could, if released, bring competitive harm to the company over “highly confidential and proprietary trade secrets.”

The main trial involves the aforementioned blonde rapper’s producers and Aftermath Records, a division of Universal Music Group, in a debate over whether digital music should be treated as “licenses” and not “sales.” As the Hollywood Reporter puts it, “The two sides are about to go to trial to figure out exactly how much that is worth.”

In a separate case — Rob Zombie and several other musicians have filed a class action lawsuit against UMG — the plaintiffs are asking for documents related to an earlier trial involving F.B.T. Productions and UMG.

So what’s the issue?

According to the Hollywood Reporter, when Jobs was being deposed in 2010 the judge sent nearly everyone out of the court room and again when the deposition was played back to the jury. The dispute stems from the plaintiff’s inability to prove to Apple why the requested documents — which includes information on Apple’s business dealings with record labels — are relevant to their case against UMG. Apple goes even further and blames the musician’s attorney’s for seeking documents that are “broad but indiscriminate.”

So what is Apple hiding? At this point, only Apple and the few folks directly involved with the 2010 trial know but that could soon change if Zombie and friends get their way.

Bigger isn’t necessarily better but in the case of Jawbone’s Jambox, it might actually work out. Typically known for their Bluetooth headsets and the ill-fated-but-not-quite-dead UP band, Jawbone has figured out what their “cool kids” product is and it happens to be a tiny portable speaker.

But for the second generation version, simply called Big Jambox, the company is cranking up the volume from 10 to 11. While it retains some portability, the Big Jambox is really meant for those instances where you have 20 people posted up near the bonfire or you’re looking for a no-fuss micro system for your home entertainment center. At less than three pounds — 2.7 pounds to be specific — it’s still portable but everything else is on steroids. Jawbone says the built-in battery will last up to 15 hours for continuous playback and 500 hours of standby.

A couple of new features sweeten the deal, including a dedicated pairing button and the ability to pair two devices at once. In other words, two separate devices can actively control the music allowing you or your significant other, for example, to pipe different music from two separate sources to one Big Jambox. The Big Jambox will remember up to eight devices and will actively pair itself with the two most recent devices if they’re available over Bluetooth.

The other big feature is LiveAudio, which was made available for original Jambox owners via an update last year. Jawbone explains it as a three-dimensional listening experience. The easiest way to explain it is that there’s varying levels of sound or depth, i.e., you hear a lot more of the track and any nuances you might not have noticed with other speakers. LiveAudio manages to eliminate Crosstalk, so you hear completely different sounds between the left and right side.

While my time with the bigger, badder Jambox was limited, I walked away impressed by this particular feature because it offered a different listening experience than anything else I’ve experienced from a peripheral of this nature. However, it is directional, so you have to be planted in its direct path to get the full experience. If you happen to be somewhere else in the room, you wouldn’t know whether LiveAudio was turned on or off.

We’ll have a full review in the coming days.

Pre-orders begin May 1 with units (red, black, white) in store by May 15 with a $299 price tag.

Specs:

Speakers: Two active drivers, two opposing passive bass radiators

Dimensions: 10″ x 3.1″ x 3.6″

Connections: 3.5mm Stereo Line input, Bluetooth

Earlier today Google released the full report of the FCC’s investigation into the collection of  “payload data” from open Wi-Fi networks — aka passwords, email and search history from open networks — that its fleet of Street View cars obtained between 2008 and April 2010. An earlier and heavily redacted version of the report was released on April 15 but today’s version only redacted the names of individuals.

The report found no violation of any wrong doing by the company because there was no legal precedent on the matter. The FCC found that Google did not violate the Communications Act citing the fact that Wi-Fi did not exist when it was written. However, the FCC did fine Google $25,000 for obstructing the investigation, which was presumably the outcome of Google refusing to show the FCC what the data being collected entailed because it might have shown that the company broke privacy and wiretapping laws. Google says any obstruction was result of the FCC dragging out the investigation. Interestingly enough, the report did reveal that the data harvesting was not the act of a rogue engineer and that said engineer notified the Street View team of what was going on.

(Wait. What? Google knew this was going on! It gets even better.)

Except that those members of the team told the FCC that they had no idea it was going on even though the engineer in question sent documentation of the work being done to the entire Street View team in October of 2006. The report also found that up to seven engineers had “wide access” to the plan to collect payload data dating back to 2006.

From the report:

In interviews and declarations, managers of the Street View project and other Google employees who worked on the project told the Bureau they did not read Engineer Doe’s design document. A senior manager of Street View said he “pre-approved” the design document before it was written. One engineer remembered receiving the design document but did not recall any reference to the collection of payload data.

For a little more background, let’s examine what Alan Eustace, Senior VP, Engineering & Research blogged back in 2010:

Nine days ago the data protection authority (DPA) in Hamburg, Germany asked to audit the WiFi data that our Street View cars collect for use in location-based products like Google Maps for mobile, which enables people to find local restaurants or get directions. His request prompted us to re-examine everything we have been collecting, and during our review we discovered that a statement made in a blog post on April 27 was incorrect.

In that blog post, and in a technical note sent to data protection authorities the same day, we said that while Google did collect publicly broadcast SSID information (the WiFi network name) and MAC addresses (the unique number given to a device like a WiFi router) using Street View cars, we did not collect payload data (information sent over the network). But it’s now clear that we have been mistakenly collecting samples of payload data from open (i.e. non-password-protected) WiFi networks, even though we never used that data in any Google products.

However, we will typically have collected only fragments of payload data because: our cars are on the move; someone would need to be using the network as a car passed by; and our in-car WiFi equipment automatically changes channels roughly five times a second. In addition, we did not collect information traveling over secure, password-protected WiFi networks.

So how did this happen? Quite simply, it was a mistake. In 2006 an engineer working on an experimental WiFi project wrote a piece of code that sampled all categories of publicly broadcast WiFi data. A year later, when our mobile team started a project to collect basic WiFi network data like SSID information and MAC addresses using Google’s Street View cars, they included that code in their software—although the project leaders did not want, and had no intention of using, payload data.

As soon as we became aware of this problem, we grounded our Street View cars and segregated the data on our network, which we then disconnected to make it inaccessible. We want to delete this data as soon as possible, and are currently reaching out to regulators in the relevant countries about how to quickly dispose of it.

Fair enough. But the following excerpt from the report doesn’t quite sit so well with me: “We are logging user traffic along with sufficient data to precisely triangulate their position at a given time, along with information about what they were doing.” To be more specific, the last portion about knowing “what they were doing” seems a bit peculiar. Why would Google need to know what they were doing? Seems irrelevant if you’re just mapping the location of networks, doesn’t it?

So how did Google spin this to the media? It said the data mining was “inadvertent” and that Google now has stricter privacy controls than in the past. Oh and the company hopes the release of the full report would allow them to “put this matter” in the rear view mirror.

Crazy, right? Or maybe not! Discuss.

Correction: April 28, 2012 9:46PM PT

An excerpt from the report has been added regarding the pre-approval of a document sent out by “Engineer Doe” to the Street View team that detailed the work being done and included the fact that Google would be collecting such data.

So Google X founder Sebastian Thrun was on Charlie Rose last night showing off his latest creation, Project Glass. Which, if you haven’t seen by now, is quite possibly one of the most ambitious consumer products to come out of the Googleplex in recent memory. But until Thrun’s appearance on Rose, we didn’t actually know how the glasses would work other than the sizzle reel that was put together earlier this month.

A couple of things struck me as odd, though. Thrun never actually gave any voice commands during his demo of the glasses, while in the video everything was driven by voice. But that’s not what has me worried about Project Glass. During the interview, Thrun snapped a photo of Rose and uploaded it to his Google+ account. So far, it appears to work as advertised but take a look at the image quality and tell me whether or not it’s acceptable in this day and age. It’s not, it’s terrible.

But this is a much larger issue for Google and it’s one they don’t seem to be taking very seriously. At one point in Google’s history, the company we’re so beholden to actually made some really great products. Not that they were ever perfect, mind you. Google has grown complacent and comfortable with launching half baked products that they or others would eventually fix. Just look at Android, for instance. It’s still a work in progress, which is the fundamental issue with nearly every new Google product launched in the last few years.

Back to my original point – the optics on those Google glasses stink. Look at what Apple has been able to accomplish with the iPhone camera, especially the 4S. If there’s one takeaway that every product manufacturer needs to learn from Steve Jobs it’s that the marriage between hardware and software will always reign supreme. Sony is unable to replicate the iPhone 4S’s image quality in any of their smartphones with the same optics. The same could be said for Nokia’s Lumia 900 and its Carl Zeiss 8-megapixel camera, which, by the way, is advertised in commercials. Even HTC is making an effort to improve the optics on their devices with software tweaks and they seem to be working. The Titan II, for instance, has a pretty killer camera. But I digress.

Early on in the interview, Thrun admits that he likes taking photos and proved that Glass works. But at what point do you stop trying and innovating just because it works?

Glass has serious potential, whether it’s in the medical field for the handicapped or supplanting the Bluetooth headset wearing fashionistas but Thrun and his team have a long road ahead of them if this first public demo is any indication.

Be excellent again, Google. That’s all we ask.