July 2007
Justine: Sunset!
Justine: Sunset! (via Twitter / James with friends)
iTunes Music Store sells 3 billionth song
The iTunes Store is on a roll and not slowing down any time soon. Apple announced this morning that over 3 billion songs have been sold through its online music store. The milestone not only marks a major feat for Apple, but also for the digital music industry as a whole. (via Digg / Technology)
FCC sets 700MHz auction rules: limited open...
The FCC today announced its plans for the upcoming 700MHz spectrum auction. Neither Google nor the big telecoms are totally happy: the FCC failed to adopt Google’s proposed ideas, but did support at least two kinds of open access that AT&T and Verizon aren’t very enthusiastic about. (via Digg / Technology)
MIT's Digital Pavillion Building Made from Water
Ever imagine a building could be built from water? Brick, wood and steel are the materials one normally thinks of for building construction - hard substances that don’t flow, change or move over time. That’s why we are amazed by the creativity and ingenuity of some architects from MIT who designed a building which is composed in large part by water (via Digg / Technology)
Delorean making a comback
Back to the future fans dream come true, the Delorean may be coming back into production. (via Digg / Technology)
AT&T Wireless drops iPhone from main page
Rumors that Apple is wearing the pants a little too often in their iPhone relationship with AT&T have received a boost, now that the wireless carrier seems to have stopped promoting the pricey phone on their main page barely a month after its June 29th launch. (via Digg / Technology)
Turn on the Lights or Hang Up Your Jacket?
The “Off” light switch is pretty much what it looks like: a fully-functioning, combination light switch/hook, and therein lies the dilemma. Do you hang up your jacket or turn on the light? — you can’t do both, and nobody likes a wrinkled jacket. (via Digg / Technology)
EnterpriseDB snags information strategist
More than a database
EnterprsieDB has hired a newbie IBM exec as chief technology officer, indicating a possible uplevelling in its strategy as an “information on demand” provider.…
(via The Register)
eBay rethinks firearms policy
Virginia Tech gunman bought ammo clips online
After learning that items purchased on eBay may have been used in the Virginia Tech shootings this past April, the popular online auction site has revised its policy on firearms, weapons, and knives.…
(via The Register)
Justine: I'd never lie to you... I'm playing bingo...
Justine: I’d never lie to you… I’m playing bingo right now. (via Twitter / James with friends)
Techies sue Universal Media Group for overtime pay
You load sixteen servers, what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt
Unpaid overtime is a contentious issue for IT employees, who often wrangle with ill-tempered technology long after everyone else has punched the clock.…
(via The Register)
Solar Cells closer than ever, with new cheaper...
The title says it all. New technology which will 1/4 the cost of solar cells. Now where’s my flying car?? (via Digg / Technology)
467 + Ajax/Javascript/Dhtml examples and demos to...
A great and useful collection. (via Digg / Technology)
10 things your IT department won't tell you
The list offers a nice point-counterpoint of why your IT department considers something a risk, how you can bypass their roadblocks and do it anyway, and perhaps more importantly how to get around it in a manner that won’t completely freak out your IT department. (I’m not saying it won’t just a little.) (via Digg / Technology)
Josh: can't stop browsing this flickr pool for...
Josh: can’t stop browsing this flickr pool for some reason http://www.flickr.com/groups/theitemswecarry/pool/ (via Twitter / James with friends)
Facebook experiencing 'upgrade' outages
Tried to visit Facebook today and had no luck? It appears that the social-networking site has been experiencing some growing pains. No one in CNET News.com’s newsroom was able to access the site starting around 10 a.m. PDT. (via Digg / Technology)
Amarok 2.0 sneak peak
This just in from Planet KDE. Includes screenshot. Some of the new features: An opengl playground at the bottom with an experimental”CoverFlow” inspired album selector; The big central area has just been switched to using Plasma, the cool new desktop and widget technology in KDE4; The new playlist. (via Digg / Technology)
Google on DoubleClick merger: Everyone else is...
Google takes to its blog to argue that the merger with DoubleClick is no big deal. After all, everyone else is doing the same thing. (via Digg / Technology)
Top 10 Yahoo! Properties
Most Web users probably use at least one Yahoo product on a regularbasis. So let’s take a look at 10 that are among the leaders in theirparticular market segment, or are particularly innovative. These aresubjective selections, because it’s almost impossible to use objectivecriteria to judge such different web properties. (via Digg / Technology)
17 ways to reuse your old NES console
It’s amazing just how many DIY projects exist for old NES units. (via Digg / Technology)
Adobe embroiled in War of the Fed-Ex Kinko Button
Printers of America slam PDF madness
America’s printing companies aren’t too happy about the new FedEx Kinko’s button that’s turned up on Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader. Well, printing companies other than FedEx Kinko’s.…
(via The Register)
Linkedin spurns bug bounty hunter
Will debug for food - but who will bite?
Earlier this month, employees for LinkedIn, a social network site that caters to business people, received an unusual proposition from a security researcher who had just uncovered a vulnerability that put many of its users at serious risk.…
(via The Register)
Eminem sues Apple - again
Most litigacious candy-coated chocolate ever?
Eminem’s music publisher has filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Apple over iTunes downloads, alleging the company is violating copyrights by selling the rapper’s song online.…
(via The Register)
Ubuntu In The United States
The Ubuntu US Teams Mentoring Project is working hard to get an approved Local Community (LoCo) Team in every state by the end of 2007. At the beginning of the year, there were only a couple state teams (see the map). Now, 7 months later, there is a LoCo in just about every state, minus a handful (see the updated map). See http://ubuntu-us.org. (via Digg / Technology)
Interview: Dave Teare on 1Passwd and the iPhone
I started by asking Dave about the company, how they developed 1Passwd, and some general interest questions. We moved on to some juicy iPhone news and beta invites that you’ll certainly want to know about if you use 1Passwd. (via Digg / Technology)
Experts Exchange should be removed from Google...
I was trying to figure out how to extend my wireless network down a few floors a few days ago, and one of my queries brought me to experts exchange. The question looked useful: Using Linksys WAP54G as Wireless Repeater. This is exactly what I wanted to do. However, once I actually […] (via Digg / Technology)
Torvalds rebukes desktop critics
“Linus Torvalds, creator and maintainer of the Linux operating system kernel, has reacted angrily to suggestions that the kernel’s development process is skewed in a way that prevents improvements on the desktop.” (via Digg / Technology)
Apple iWork... '08?
“Apple’s Start Page briefly listed a headline with the title Keynote ‘08. The title was quickly changed, but the name suggests that Apple could even skip the iWork/Keynote ‘07 version that was originally expected at Macworld San Francisco in January. Alternatively, this could be a simple typo…” (via Digg / Technology)
Future iPhones could share data over non-GSM...
A newly-published Apple patent describes a system that would allow two communication devices to share multimedia data over voice channels, thus bypassing the GSM network altogether and even enabling them to translate text and multimedia messages to audible messages. (via Digg / Technology)
Josh: looking forward to getting home to sticker...
Josh: looking forward to getting home to sticker up my macbook with moo sticers, yay! (via Twitter / James with friends)
Sony faces case for 'Cell' patent infringement
Tough times ahead?
Sony could be in some hot water over development of the parallel processing Cell CPU, used in several devices including the PS3. A US company is claiming that Sony has infringed on a patent for “synchronized parallel processing with shared memory” and is seeking retribution through the courts.…
(via The Register)
Gorgeous Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione makes US debut...
Alfa Romeo rolled out the US-bound 8C Competizione at the Meadowbrook Concours d’Elegance in Michigan. Alfa says it’ll cost over $200,000, and fewer than 100 will be imported. Finally, it’s out in the open so photographers can get some decent shots. Youch, it’s hot. (via Digg / Technology)
Leo Laporte - The Tech Guy 374
Episode number374Summary
Blog power, DLP vs. LCoS, and fixing file associations on Macintosh…
For detailed show notes visit techguylabs.com.
Bandwidth for the Tech Guy podcast is provided by DSL Extreme
Teaser
Blog power, DLP vs. LCoS, and fixing file associations on Macintosh…
Hosts
Host: Leo Laporte
Topics
Blog power, DLP vs. LCoS, and fixing file associations on...
Justine: Laying out by the pool with my laptop and...
Justine: Laying out by the pool with my laptop and external hd waiting for a video to encode. Now all I need is some internet. (via Twitter / James with friends)
Daily Giz Wiz 367: Targus Flexible Mobile Keyboard
Episode number367Summary
It’s turn the tables Tuesday, and Leo reviews the Targus Flexible Mobile Keyboard.
For more details and a chance to win the Mad Magazine “What The Heck Is It?” contest, visit GizWizBiz.com.
Bandwidth for the Daily Giz Wiz is provided by AOL Radio
Teaser
It’s turn the tables Tuesday, and Leo reviews the Targus Flexible Mobile Keyboard.
Hosts
...
Facebook security glitch exposes user in-boxes
GDP boost expected as users forced to work for a change
Office workers logging into Facebook on Tuesday morning were shocked to discover they were being served up other user’s private pages.…
(via The Register)
Could a Wikipedia backed search engine take down...
Jimmy Wales, the man behind Wikipedia, has laid out plans to create a new search engine that focuses on quality results, rather than complete and total crawling.”The new Wikia search service will combine computer-driven algorithms and human-assisted editing when the company launches a public version of the search site toward the end of 2007” (via Digg / Technology)
Microsoft comes top of the tech pack
MVP
Microsoft is the most valuable technology brand in the world, according to Business Week magazine’s latest ranking of global brands released Tuesday.…
(via The Register)
Apt-get for windows for all your Free as in Beer...
win-get is an automated install system and software repository for Microsoft Windows written in pascal (for the command line client) and php for the online repository. The ideas for its creation come from apt-get and other related tools for the *nix platforms. (via Digg / Technology)
O2 updates Orbit to WM6
Oh! No it doesn’t
Updated: O2 has provided a site where owners of the Xda Orbit can upgrade their device to Windows Mobile 6 (WM6) - at least they could if it worked.…
(via The Register)
Samsung expands snapper series, again
Shutter, not trigger, happy
Samsung shows no signs of slowing down its compact digital camera development schedule. Today in London, the company unveiled three new models under its existing NV series and unveiled the latest addition to its “i” snapper series.…
(via The Register)
Reg health roundup: good and bad news today
Laser printers as bad as cigarettes and not as tasty
An astonishing barrage of IT-industry health related stories broke overnight, engendering an emotional rollercoaster of alternating terror and hope here at Vulture Central.…
(via The Register)
3D handset hits streets of Japan
Time to bin those specs you got with Jaws 3
Our mobile phones will be slimmer, 3G-enabled and sporting 3D fascias. That’s if your expectations are based on handsets now available in Japan, where NEC has just unveiled the world’s slimmest clamshell handset for the W-CDMA network that features a stereoscopic fascia.…
(via The Register)
Intelligent Finance upgrade downs web service
IF only… we hadn’t been ‘taken by surprise’
Intelligent Finance (IF) hit a system upgrade catastrophe on Sunday which left the internet banking service severely disrupted for nearly two days, much to the chagrin of its users.…
(via The Register)
How to Make an Ugly Guitar Hero Guitar Out of...
The default Guitar Hero controllers are alright, but this guy’s made a custom GH guitar himself—out of stuff he had lying around the house. He took the circuit board from a PS1 controller, a strap, miscellaneous household junk, and fashioned a Guitar Hero-esque guitar out of it. (via Digg / Technology)
Worm eats music on infected PCs
This MP3 collection will self-destruct after reboot
Virus writers have unleashed a worm that attempts to delete MP3 files from infected machines.…
(via The Register)
Panasonic zooms in on HD camcorder market
High definition and highly portable
If you’re already besotted with high definition content and have the whole technical set-up, including an HD TV with Sky subscription, then your next step could be an HD camcorder. At least that’s what Panasonic is hoping, as it has unveiled two new tiny models.…
(via The Register)
O2 delays broadband launch to October
On the back of figures showing only a 34,000 increase in new UK mobile customers for Q2 2007, O2 has announced a further delay in the roll out of its broadband service to October. (via thinkbroadband news feed)
The BBC iPlayer 'launch' that wasn't
Works on Vista though
The “open beta” launch of the BBC’s on demand service on Friday has left many licence fee-payers frustrated, as downloads of the iPlayer are still strictly limited.…
(via The Register)
O2 UK reduces churn, while Europe grows more...
Telefonica does well with acquisition
Telefonica-owned mobile operator O2 is showing steady growth in the UK market, with revenues up 10.4 per cent, as it manages to convert customers from pre-paid to contract.…
(via The Register)