All the Tech Thats Fit to Print | Sean Quigley

Watch Out Segway - Here Comes Toyota

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 22:04:06 -0400

Amazing Waterfall Printer

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 20:06:50 -0400

By Mohammed Haque and Hannath Panagariya

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 17:40:59 -0400

From Apple Geeks Lite

New York Times: T-Mobile to sell HTC Android phone as early as October

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 11:05:57 -0400

From Engadget and Thomas Ricker

Here we go folks. The New York Times is reporting that T-Mobile will be the first carrier to offer Android. According to "people briefed on the company's plans," the HTC phone will go on sale in the US "before Christmas, perhaps as early as October." The NYT's sources also say that the 5-row QWERTY slider More

10 Worst Web glitches of 2008

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 10:59:01 -0400

From Cnet and Rafe Needleman

We have been reminded several times lately that Web 2.0 is in no way a synonym for "reliable." Major services have crashed. Big product launches have fizzled. Users have raised their collective fists in the air. What's going on? Is the Web crumbling? Well, no, it's not. But users' expectations are rising, and Web companies often get themselves into trouble by promising far more than they can deliver. More

Engineering Windows 7

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 10:53:51 -0400

From Ars Technica - Emil Protalinsk

Microsoft has thus far been very tight-lipped on Windows 7; everything that we know about Vista's successor—which is very, very little—has been carefully disclosed to us by Microsoft. The software giant has already been heavily criticized for not having any public channels of communication open. Even Microsoft's own partners have complained that the company isn't telling them much, and they're the ones that really have to know the details so they can align their products accordingly. Anyway, it seems that the stance over at Microsoft is changing, but very slowly: the Engineering Windows 7 blog (E7 for short) is now live. More

Apple Over Reaching?

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 15:09:51 -0400

This weeks, Mac Break Weekly, with Leo Laprote, Alex Lindsay, and the witty Merlin Mann, they spent quite a but of the podcast talking about whether Apple has overextended itself. Merlin, or Oscar as I like to call him, made an interesting point that he feels as Apple grows they need to keep up the same level of launch perfection they have in the past. Otherwise they're just another computer company. The discussion was prompted by an article by Jason Snell at MacWorld.

For my part, especially re Mobile Me, the real issue is not the poor quality of the launch but rather the inability of Apple to live up to an expectation of what Apple has in the delivered last 3 years. A product that work as soon as you turn it on. So when they don't hit out of the park on launch the I agree with Jason Snell and Merlin Mann, there is an issue.

Alex Lindsay makes a point about Windows users moving from PC to MAc. Like eating steak after eating gruel. While this may be true will we still be saying "its good enough" after its no longer steak but a burger from Mcdonalds?

DigiTimes: Google will definitely launch its own branded handset

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 18:33:17 -0400

FROM ENGADGET

Posted Sep 19th 2007 5:07AM by Thomas Ricker

Citing sources at "Taiwan handset makers," DigiTimes is reporting that "Google will definitely launch its own branded handset." However, the Googlephone's OS, hardware specs, production contractor and operating partners have still not been finalized. MORE

NBC who? FOX, CBS show iTunes support

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 18:28:54 -0400

FROM MACENSTIEN

NBC may have decided it can launch its new Fall seasons without the help of the iTunes store, but it appears the other networks are lining up for some free publicity. This week no fewer than 3 high-profile shows are offering their season premieres on iTunes for free. MORE

USB 3.0 coming, will increase transfer speeds tenfold

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 18:23:28 -0400

FROM SCIFI.COM

Right when you think you've got a cable standard down that works with most of your devices, some committee or commission of some sort goes and releases a new, better standard to upgrade to. It's pretty annoying, but it's one of the things you've got to deal with in technology. It moves pretty fast, after all. So first there was USB, then there was USB 2.0, and now, wouldn't you know it, we're about to get USB 3.0. MORE

Apple's fight against iPhone unlocks may result in expensive bricks

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 18:04:19 -0400

FROM ARS TECHNICA

By Jacqui Cheng | Published: September 19, 2007 - 11:39AM CT

Apple will actively work against any SIM unlocks of the iPhone, says Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Jobs made the comments during a Q&A session that took place after yesterday's press event in London announcing availability details of the iPhone in the UK. When asked by a journalist whether unlocking was a concern for the company, Jobs said, "It's a constant cat and mouse game," according to ComputerWorld's account of the discussion. "We try to stay ahead. People will try to break in, and it's our job to stop them breaking in." MORE

Ooma now for sale: Is it worth it?

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 13:24:56 -0400

FROM WEBWARE

By Rafe Needleman – September 18, 2007

A few months ago, my co-worker Stephen Shankland took at look at a pre-production Ooma -- the pay-once-and-you're-done phone service that's going on sale for real today. His experience setting up the Ooma hardware wasn't the best. I just got one of these gizmos myself and checked it out here at the CNET office. I found it to be pretty straightforward to get running, although my setup was much simpler than his. My take: This is a very cool, and very well-priced product. It's also technologically fascinating. It's not just a VOIP box. MORE

IBM takes on Microsoft Office again with Lotus Symphony

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 13:16:57 -0400

FROM CNET

Posted by Martin LaMonica

An emboldened IBM challenged Microsoft's desktop application dominance with the introduction on Tuesday of IBM Lotus Symphony, a suite of free desktop applications. Lotus Symphony is made up of three applications--word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation programs--which IBM already ships as part of Lotus 8.

The offering is in beta and is available as a free download with "community support" from IBM's Web site. IBM is considering other support options, according to a company executive. MORE

Internet-calling FAQ

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 13:04:03 -0400

FROM MACWORLD

By Ted Wallingford

Making calls over the Internet can shrink your home phone and cell phone bills. But voice over IP (VoIP) is more than just thrifty—it mixes traditional calling with new features that simply aren’t possible with a plain old telephone. Ready to jump on the bandwagon? Here are answers to some of the most common questions people have when they’re thinking about making the switch. MORE

Comcast Customers Limited To 90GB/Month

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 12:57:35 -0400

FROM WIRED

By Scott Gilbertson September 17, 2007

Comcast has revealed some details about its mysterious bandwidth limitations. Previously the company had only said that it would shut down customers who went over what the company considered average use. But given that the company doesn't seem to have a definition of average use, it's difficult to know whether you're in danger of being shutdown. MORE

Fear of Web 2.0

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 12:50:50 -0400

FROM READ/WRITE WEB

Written by Richard MacManus / September 17, 2007

Enterprises continue to adopt web technologies and 'web 2.0' trends, but there are two common threads to this adoption. One is that web technologies are step-by-step being adopted by enterprises, but they aren't yet ready to usurp many desktop software apps. The Google Apps vs Microsoft Office debate currently raging is proof of that. The second thread is that enterprises have a fear of web 2.0 tools being mis-used by their employees. I was recently in a TV news segment in my home country, answering the question: should Facebook be banned in the workplace? (for the record, my answer was no!). MORE

Google Docs Adds Presentations

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 12:48:21 -0400

FROM LIFEHACKER

Google finally rounds out their web-based office suite with the addition of a Presentations to Google Docs. Create a whole new slideshow in Presentations or upload an existing PowerPoint file to get started. Kick your web-based presentation into slideshow view mode and invite others to see it real time as you move through slides—with chat built right into the sidebar. MORE

TwitterNotes Organizes Your Notes

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 12:44:21 -0400

FROM LIFEHACKER

Webapp TwitterNotes separates notes to yourself from all the other chatter on Twitter. Simply log on to Twitter and type a note to yourself prefixed by the + sign, and check TwitterNotes to retrieve it later. MORE

Remote Control Your Computer with Your iPhone

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 12:39:27 -0400

FROM LIFEHACKER

t's a phone, it's an iPod, it surfs the web, and it finds the closest restaurant serving fried calamari. If you hack it, you can install killer third-party applications. But in addition to all of that, the iPhone is also a killer remote control. You could spend hundreds of dollars on a multimedia remote with a touchscreen interface, glorious album art, and all of the fixings, but if you've already got an iPhone, you really don't need to. Today I'll show you a number of ways you can use the iPhone to remote control everything from iTunes playback to your Windows or Mac desktops.

AMD adds triple-core Phenom processor to desktop roadmap

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 12:33:52 -0400

FROM ENGADGET

Posted Sep 18th 2007 8:21AM by Darren Murph

We'd heard rumblings about this newfangled three-core approach just two days ago, and now it looks like AMD has gone and gotten all official on us. According to the chip maker, the forthcoming Phenom is "expected to be the world's first PC processor to integrate three computational cores on a single die of silicon." MORE

Nanowires developed to retrieve data on the double

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 12:28:20 -0400

FROM ENGADGET

Posted Sep 18th 2007 9:19AM by Darren Murph

Those fond of how quickly flash memory reads and writes their data are sure to adore the research that a few University of Pennsylvania scientists have been working on, as Ritesh Agarwal (pictured) and colleagues have crafted "nanowires capable of storing computer data for 100,000 years and retrieving that data a thousand times faster" than existing micro-drives. MORE

Netgear presentation lends insight into future products

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 12:24:04 -0400

FROM ENGADGET

Posted Sep 18th 2007 10:57AM by Darren Murph

While Netgear certainly boasted about its current range of peripherals, routers and switches during a recent conference, a few presentation slides enabled us to get a brief look at what's coming next from the firm. 'Course, we're already aware of several Q3 launches -- including the SPH200W Skype WiFi phone and a number of Wireless N routers -- but Q4 and beyond hold some pretty interesting treat. MORE

Show Series to Originate on MySpace

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 12:50:08 -0400

FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES

By MICHAEL CIEPLY

Published: September 13, 2007

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Sept. 12 — Hollywood has been dipping its toe in original online content. Two seasoned producers are about to take a full plunge.

Video

BE A FIREFOX GOD

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 12:29:57 -0400

FROM MASHABLE

As the second biggest browser out there, and the biggest open source one, Firefox has a tool for just about anything you can dream up. In this list, Mashable has collected over 300 of the best.

Confirmation of stealth Windows Update

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 12:20:43 -0400

FROM WEB 2.0 BLOG ON ZDNET

BY Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

I can now confirm that the stealth Windows Update that I blogged about yesterday actually exists - because I’ve detected its presence on a machine at the PC Doc HQ.

At the PC Doc HQ we have several systems set not to update automatically.

Verizon files lawsuit over open-access rules in 700MHz auction

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 12:16:28 -0400

FROM ENGADGET

Posted Sep 13th 2007 5:33PM by Darren Murph

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

Talk about gettin' riled up. Verizon Wireless has reportedly "challenged in federal appeals court the FCC's 700 MHz open-access rules," claiming that the auction "violates the US Constitution, violates the Administrative Procedures Act, and is arbitrary, capricious, unsupported by the substantial evidence and otherwise contrary to law." MORE

Most Useful MAC Software

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 12:08:36 -0400

FROM TECH MAGAZINE

The article represents the most popular and useful Mac OS X programs, applications and utilities. I expect you will find something useful for yourself.

Desktop Manager

Virtual desktop manager for the Mac OS X. You can have any number of named virtual ’screens’ (up to available memory) to arrange your programs on. It is a small, unobtrusive application - can be made to be totally invisible if you want. Designed to act like a part of the OS. You can move windows between desktops easily via status-bar menu or Exposé-like ‘Operations Menu’, move windows around in desktops via a desktop-based ‘pager’. Active edge support - switch desktop when the mouse moves past the edge of the screen.

10 Ajax Start Pages

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 12:02:36 -0400

FROM READWRITEWEB

Written by Aidan Henry / September 12, 2007 / 26 comments

Ajax start pages are easy-to-use, customizable webpages, allowing you to keep up with the latest news and add interactive content. You can add new RSS feeds and widgets, and move your content around the page. In some ways start pages are the successors to the portals of the 90's. MORE

Social Media for Firefox Extension

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 11:59:24 -0400

From 97th FLOOR

This tool has been in the works and under raps for a really long time. We are finally choosing to release it to the public. Before I get into the specifics I want to thank Patrick Bennett & Charles Berube for design and programming, and Cameron Olthuis for brainstorming and testing it with Mat and I. MORE

Quickly Track Flights with Google Search and Earth Integration

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 12:46:14 -0400

From LIFEHACKER

Tracking a flight in your browser or in Google Earth has never been easier, thanks to Google's integrated search results for flight information.

Teac's GF-650 tabletop player enables vinyl-to-CD transfers

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 12:41:25 -0400

From ENGADGET

It's been a hot minute since Teac introduced its first tabletop vinyl-to-CD sound machine, but the retrofied device is getting an appreciated upgrade in the GF-650. This unit touts an AM / FM radio, auxiliary input jack, wireless remote, CD player, and of course, a record player

IPOD touch first review

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 12:33:44 -0400

FROM ENGADGET

Here it is, ladies and gentlemen, the first review (or at least the first we've seen) of the iPod touch, Apple's new iPhone-aping, widescreen media player / WiFi device. If you can't wait until September 28th (the proposed release date), you can sink your teeth into one lucky critic's view of the new device

The Zen of digital audio players: a review of the Zen Stone Plus

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 12:37:36 -0400

FROM ARS TECHNICA

By Nate Anderson | Published: September 04, 2007 - 11:04PM CT

Creative has its eyes on Apple's shuffle. The company's Zen Stone, released earlier this year, is a testament to the fact that Apple is a leader in industrial design. But the followers aren't necessarily doing a bad job; we found the Zen Stone to be a worthy alternative to the Shuffle for those who want to "think different" when it comes to a minuscule music player. MORE

Microsoft drops $50 of the price of the zune

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 12:31:04 -0400

FROM ARS TECHNICA

By John McBride | Published: September 05, 2007 - 08:08PM CT

Can it really be coincidence that Microsoft shaves $50 off the cost of a Zune the day before Apple gives another lesson in media manipulation? Nah. The Zune Insider blog announced the price cut Tuesday and said the move is "part of the normal product lifecycle, something we've had on the books for months." The cynical among us might say, "If it was on the books for months why did you wait until Apple Event Eve to announce it?" MORE

People after iphone refunds

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 12:26:29 -0400

FROM ARS TECHNICA

Get your iPhone refunds while they last

By Justin Berka | Published: September 06, 2007 - 08:05AM CT

The reaction to the $200 drop in iPhone's price has been fairly negative, particularly among those who recently purchased an iPhone. I'm not going to get into that whole issue (as David did already), but I think it's safe to say that the price drop was certainly unexpected. As a result, many iPhone owners went hunting for refunds from either AT&T or Apple to assuage their wallets. Ars Technica has heard a first-hand account of a successful credit, and others are reporting mixed success, as well.

Of course, in the event of a price drop, Apple Stores will automatically refund you the difference if the price drop occurs within 14 days of the date of purchase. AT&T accepts returns within 14 days and likely has a similar pricing policy. The online Apple Store covers price drops for 10 days (instead of 14, I have no idea why this different), but I suspect they'd overlook that in this case. In any case, if you purchased an iPhone in the past two weeks, getting a refund should be no problem, no matter where you bought it. MORE

Ipod May do More Than apple expects

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 12:16:40 -0400

FROM ARS TECHNICA

iPod touch may do more than Apple expects

By Justin Berka | Published: September 05, 2007 - 06:16PM CT

The iPod touch already has a lot of features, including the usual music and video capabilities and some new Internet and WiFi tricks. In fact, the iPod touch might be so different in both looks and functionality from previous iPods that it's no longer just a media player. But exactly what is it? A media player on steroids, a PDA that plays music, or an ultraportable computer that's as slim on features as it is in depth? I don't know how it should be classified, but I do think the iPod touch will quickly migrate towards the latter two categories and will end up replacing several types of device. MORE

New Ipod Touch announced Today

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 13:55:07 -0400

Apple Event - Live Coverage From Macworld

By Peter Cohen and Jason Snell

Macworld is providing live coverage of today's Apple Event from the Moscone West expo center. Please click your browser's Refresh button for the latest update.

Steve Jobs took the stage at San Francisco's Moscone West expo center promptly at 10:00 AM this morning, to thunderous applause from the crowd.

"Today we're here to talk about music," Jobs said.

"We've distributed 600 million copies of iTunes so far, and customers hve bought and downloaded over 3 billion songs from iTunes. iTunes is the number one online music store in every single one of the 22 countries it operates in," he explained. "We started with just 200,000 songs and we have over 6 million songs in every single one of those stores."

Jobs told the audience that the iTunes Store -- now the number three music retailer in the U.S. behind Wal-Mart and Best Buy, carries over 550 television shows and has sold 95 million TV shows to date. The service features links to over 125,000 podcasts, with more than 25,000 of them featuring video.

"This last stat I want to share with you blew my mind. In the US, of all the music releases in 2006, 32 percent were digital only releases," said Jobs. "They were not released on a CD. Wow. Look how far we've come: A third of the music released in this country was not on a CD. So that gives you a feeling for how far we've coming in the last 5 years in the digital music revolution."

Jobs revealed that Apple plans to release a new version of iTunes on Wednesday evening that will support the products that are being announced today -- the biggest new feature in iTunes will be ringtone support for the iPhone.

"We're going to do ringrtones in our own special way," explained Jobs. "And, of course, these are for the iPhone. And what we want is rather than having someone make ringtones for us, we're going to make a custom ringtone maker. We're going to build it into iTunes, and you can make ringtons from many songs available on iTunes including some songs you've already purchased."

Jobs compared iTunes ringtones to the competition, which cost up to $2.49. "Our ringtones, make 'em yourself, you pay another 99 cents to make the ringtone," he said."

Jobs demonstrated how the new feature works using Aretha Franklin's classic soul number "Respect." All of the songs on the iTunes Store that are "ringtonable" will feature a bell icon column in the music list. You click on the bell, the ringtone maker pops up, and you can click and drag to find the part of the song you want to use as a ringtone. iTunes creates a new file in the ringtone folder, and a new tab in Tunes then lets you decide what to sync to your iPhone.

Jobs played "Give peace a chance," and then added, "That's [for] when NBC calls," referring to Apple's recent dispute with the TV network, which said it will end its partnership to publish shows on the iTunes Store in December.

iPod news

Jobs said that Apple has sold 110 million iPods to date. "The place when the sales curve is strongest is the holiday season," said Jobs. "We're approaching the holiday 2007 season and we want to get ready."

"Today we're going to refresh or replace every product in the lineup," said Jobs.

The iPod shuffle is being updated with "some really nice new colors," said Jobs. Apple is also adding a Product(red) shuffle model, with proceeds going to help fight diseases in Africa.

"Now let's move on to something more substantial: The iPod nano," said Jobs.

The iPod nano is the most popular music player in history, said Jobs. People love it, he added, but Apple wnated to make it better based on customer feedback. New features of the redesigned iPod nano include the ability to watch video on a larger, brighter display. The new iPod nano also features Cover Flow, the ability to scroll through album artwork visually. What's more, the new nano also has games support, more storage features and a full metal design.

The redesigned iPod nano comes in five colors -- red, black, silver, blue and green. "It's incredibly tiny, it's incredibly thin," said Jobs.

The iPod nano now features a 2.0-inch display that features the same resolution as the previous-generation full-sized iPod: 320 x 240 pixels. "We've achieved this with a screen with the highest pixel density we've ever shipped: 204 ppi," explained Jobs. "And the screen is just gorgeous. We you see it you're going to really love it."

The user interface has been enhanced on the iPod nano -- the left side has the traditional iPod menu, and on the right, a preview of what you're selecting. Jobs also indicated that the new iPod nano ships with three games -- Vortex and Sudoku were both named specifically.

Jobs demonstrated the iPod nano playing video by watching an episode of The Daily Show featuring John Hodgman, the actor who appears as the PC in Apple's "Mac and PC" television ads.

Jobs said the new iPod nano provides 24 hours of audio and five hours of video playback on a single battery charge.

The redesigned iPod nano comes in two versions -- a 4GB version in silver, for $149, and 8GB version in colors, for $199.

"These new nanos have left our factories already. They shipped today, they're on planes, they should be in stores by this weekend," said Jobs. "'A little video for everyone'" is our new line.

The 'classic' iPod

"Now the iPod's got a funny name," mused Jobs. "It's just called 'the iPod' because it was the first one. We though, 'It's time to give it a name.' We're going to call it the iPod classic."

The new iPod still features a click wheen, and it's now in a full metal design in silver and black. The low-end iPod classic (at 80GB) is now thinner than the 30GB thin model that preceded it. Jobs claims the new iPod gets 30 hours of audio playback and five hours of video plaback on a single charge.

Like the iPod nano, the new iPod classic features an enhanced user interface.

Apple is also offering a model that features 160GB of storage.

"This boggles the mind," said Jobs for emphasis. "The first iPod put 1000 songs in your pocket. This new iPod puts 40,000 songs in your pocket. It's amazing."

The new 80GB model costs $249, while the 160GB model costs $349, with availability beginning today.

The iPod Touch

"You know, when we introduced the iPhone in January, we said it was the best iPod ever. And iPhone owners agree with us. It's incredible, with its multitouch UI, its incredible album artwork and video, it is the best iPod ever," said Jobs. "And people have been wondering, when are we going to bring this tech to the iPod? The answer is, we're going to do it today, and this is what the product looks like."

Jobs revealed a new iPod model that looks exactly like the iPhone, but without the ear speaker slit. It's the same size as the iPhone, but 8mm thinner, according to Jobs, who said, "We think it's one of the Seven Wonders of the World."

The iPod Touch sports a 3.5-inch widescreen display, and along its bottom run music, video and photo icons. "Just like the iPhone, this is the best way to share photos on a portable device ever," said Jobs proudly.

The iPod Touch's button-driven interface also showed icons for a calculator, contacts, clock, calendar and settings icons. What's more, the new device has Wi-Fi -- the iPod Touch is the first iPod to feature wireless networking capabilities, with support for 802.11 b and g networks.

"Others have done this and have failed," said Jobs, referring to wireless networking -- and perhaps making a casual swipe at Microsoft's 'iPod killer,' the Zune. "We think we know why it's failed. What's the problem with adding Wi-Fi? Part is getting on Wi-Fi itself."

"When you're at home, you might need a password. When you're in the office, you might have a password," said Jobs. "But everywhere in between can be challenging. You go to any hotel, and to log in, they throw up a Web page. Portable devices don't know how to deal with Web pages. You go to an airport, you'll see a Web page. Even walking through Stanford University, to use their wi-fi, you have to log into a Web page."

The solution, said Jobs, was to add Safari to the iPod touch.

"So you can view all those Web pages, zoom in, log into any wi-fi network pretty much. But beside that, you get an incredible Web browser ... the best Web browser on any mobile platform," said Jobs. YouTube is also supported.

The iPod touch's battery lasts for 22 hours of audio playback and five hours of video playback per charge, according to Apple.

The iPod touch is a worldwide product launch, said Jobs. It's the first touch product Apple has shipped outside the Uited States, and it's been localized into many languages.

The iPod touch is coming in two configurations -- 8GB and 16GB, for $299 and $399 respectively. Both models are expected to be available "in just a few weeks," according to Jobs, who said that Apple will ship them in September, "in plenty of time for the holiday season."

One More Thing

"But there is one more thing, if you'll bear with us," said Jobs.

"You might have noticed that there's an empty spot on that dock of the new iPod touch," said Jobs. "What could that possibly be for? Well, it's for a new app we've written called the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store."

"'Finally,' some of you are saying," said Jobs. "It's so cool. So let's take a look at what it is."

Opening the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store displays four buttons: Features, Top Tens, Search and Downloads. You can pick Top 10 songs from all of iTunes or only from specific genres. If you see a song you like, you can preview it, and if you like it, you can tap it to buy it using a Buy Now button. You'll download the song, and the next time you dock your iPod touch to your computer, it will sync back to iTunes.

Adblock Plus - The Nuclear Plug In

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 12:48:03 -0400

FROM ROUGH TYPE

Adblock Plus, the Firefox browser plug-in that erases advertisements from web pages, is a killer of a killer app - or at least it could be if it ever becomes widely popular. Right now, it sits like a coyote at the edge of the net, quietly eyeing all the businesses it would happily devour.

The plug-in, writes Noam Cohen in today's New York Times, has the potential to be an "extreme menace to the online-advertising business model. After an installation that takes but a minute or two, Adblock usually makes all commercial communication disappear. No flashing whack-a-mole banners. No Google ads based on the search terms you have entered. From that perspective, the program is an unwelcome arrival after years of worry that there might never be an online advertising business model to support the expense of creating entertainment programming or journalism, or sophisticated search engines, for that matter." MORE

Apple IPhone Outsells All Other Phones In July

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 12:45:34 -0400

FROM MACRUMORS

According to numbers from iSuppli, Apple's iPhone outsold all smartphones in the United States in July. This represents its first full month of sales and accounted for 1.8% of all U.S. mobile handsets.

The two models of the iPhone on the market sold more than Research in Motion's Blackberry series, the entire Palm portfolio and any individual smartphone model from Motorola, Nokia or Samsung.

The data was collected through a consumer survey of 2 million participants in the U.S.

Cellular-news offers some additional statistics from iSuppli's survey.

- 57% of iPhones bought in July were U.S. consumers 35 years or younger

- 52% Male, 48% Female

- 1/4 of iPhone purchases switched to AT&T from another provider.

Apple had previously stated that they expect to sell one million iPhones by the end of September, with a longer term goal of grabbing 1% of the cell phone market.

Rick Ruben Pronounces the end of the IPOD

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 12:35:36 -0400

FROM ENGADGET

It may not just be a simple coincidence that Rick Rubin, famed Columbia Records head and music producer (Beastie Boys, Johnny Cash, Slayer, Jay-Z, Danzig, Weezer, etc.) has been growing that long beard and wearing flowing, white robes: the man is prophesizin'. According to a recent interview with the eccentric music-maven, Rubin believes that iTunes and similar music-download services are going the way of the Rolling Stones... er, we mean dinosaurs. The Rubinator thinks that the future of music distribution will be some type of subscription service that is accessible at any time, from just about any point of entry. As the Rick-man puts it, "You'd pay, say, $19.95 a month, and the music will come anywhere you'd like. In this new world, there will be a virtual library that will be accessible from your car, from your cellphone, from your computer, from your television. Anywhere. The iPod will be obsolete, but there would be a Walkman-like device you could plug into speakers at home." Additionally, the majestic light of the future that is Rick Rubin feels that, "Either all the record companies will get together or the industry will fall apart and someone like Microsoft will come in and buy one of the companies at wholesale and do what needs to be done." Whatever you say, Rick, just as long as you don't make another Mars Volta record. [Warning: read link requires subscription]

Internet radio Ipods?

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 12:49:19 -0400

FROM ENGADGET

Sensing a small gap in existing September 5th iPod rumors, vnunet.com is joining the fray and citing an "industry insider" with word on a digital radio iPod. Apparently the device will stream iTunes songs wirelessly, with a "Buy Now" option if the mood strikes. While internet radio has been a feature of iTunes since time began, it's never really been a big thrust for Apple, and to say that we're skeptical about this "report" is a major understatement. We're also not sure Apple is ready to leave its precious digital hub and finally allow consumers to make purchasing decisions on the go, but we're certainly all for it. Let's file this one under "baseless" until tomorrow when all shall be known

Hundred Gadget Giveaway - Round Three

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 12:44:29 -0400

Engadget is one of my 4 daily required sites top to keep up on the latest in the the world of technology. They are now in the midst of doing a great giveaway. Head over there to find out more.

Back to School?

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 12:38:17 -0400

FROM LIFEHACKER

Back To School Shop Smart for College Gadgets College students, take note: your gear doesn't have to be as expensive as your classes plus room and board. After three years at college, blogger Paul Stamatiou knows what it feels like to live in a cramped space when you're low on dough. In a detailed weblog post, he lists affordable equipment for school from computers (laptops preferred) to calculators to headphones—decent gear that won't break the bank. His write-up applies to students who might be spending the year with a roommate as well as those living in tight quarters. If you're on campus and about to start classes but still need to pick up some essentials, Paul's guide should give you some pretty good direction. A Realistic Back to School Guide for College Students [Paul Stamatiou].

Install Third Party Applications on you Iphone

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 12:34:23 -0400

FROM LIFE HACKER

In less than two-months time, a persistent and merry band of iPhone hackers have been pushing out application after killer application for the iPhone, and hacking your iPhone to install those applications has become dead simple. Today I'll show you how to download, install, and manage third-party software on your iPhone, and I'll highlight a few of the best available right now.

All of the content of this article and more is available in How to Do Everything with Your iPhone, a book I've co-written with Jason Chen of Gizmodo, available for pre-order now. (The cover of the book will be updated and improved, promise.)

The Best iPhone Apps

Before you go through any of this work, you probably want to see what kind of third-party software is available. Check out the gallery below for a look at some of the best apps currently available.

The Village, Monoculture, and Facebook

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 11:13:17 -0400

Something that has been bothering me more and more lately is the global village. The global village, you remember , where we all live together on one small planet, we're all one people etc etc.

The thing that bothers me about this is that we are not all one people and I don't like the idea that we are.

Now hold on folks, I can hear the murmurs already, "why that man is a racist". Well friends nothing could be further from the truth. I really enjoy and love meeting people from other cultures, learning their viewpoints and cultures, BUT, and you'll notice that was a big but, the very thing that makes a culture is it's uniqueness.

If we're all part of the same village, were all the same , and that uniqueness is gone. The authentic tastes of Asia, the music of Latin America, the literature of Africa, the scholarly traditions of the Middle East all become blended into one large tasteless stew.

Not only things like food, music and culture, but the perspectives that other people have coming from a culturally different viewpoint all gain a grey sameness.

You go to Hong Kong, Prague, Liverpool, Buenos Ares, Jerusalem, and you find McDonalds's, you see CNN, you have the serious beginnings of a Monoculture.

I would like to see this stop thank-you very much. I would like for us all, in what ever country we live in, to look to our own roots and re energize them rather than looking to the television to tell us what's culturally relevant.

We then end up getting to know each other with in our own cultures rather than a number of "friends" on face-book.

I myself am guilty of face-book by the way and i understand it's allure.

But friends lets look to our own stories first and cherish them rather than those from the monoculture.