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Thursday, July 9, 2009
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VentureBeat
VentureBeat |
- Mobilizy fires back in augmented-reality browser battle
- MobileBeat2009 on marketing: Velti CEO Alex Moukas, former iPhone marketer Bob Borchers, and more
- FanIQ raises funds to bring interactivity to online sporting news
- Sprint outsources operations to Ericsson in deal worth up to $5 billion
- SolFocus absorbs $77.6M to bring concentrating solar systems to market
- Flat panel lamps from Lumiette could cut lighting energy by 75 percent
- CoTweet raises $1.1M to help companies figure out Twitter
- Glu Mobile chief executive resigns
- Microsoft mystery announcement next week prompted Chrome announcement
- Seven common errors when writing a business plan
- Scoreloop expands social game community for iPhone and web
- Tivo strikes marketing alliance with Best Buy (now you can’t skip Best Buy commercials?)
- Roundup: GPS receivers threatened by smartphones, Chrome overcoverage continues
- iPhone owners may be upgrading fast to 3.0 software
- More answers about Google’s Chrome OS: Yes, it’s free
| Mobilizy fires back in augmented-reality browser battle Posted: 09 Jul 2009 05:11 PM PDT
With the API, a news service like CNN or The San Francisco Chronicle can geotag its historical archive so that a person strolling around downtown San Francisco while holding up their smartphone’s camera can see clips from news stories that happened there 50 years ago, according to Mobilizy’s founder, Philipp Breuss-Schneeweis. Regular users can also add in their own tags, marking up their favorite places to grab coffee or embed videos and photos relevant to specific place. (I added VentureBeat’s office location — see above.) “This is where the community comes in. Geotagging all of these places and historical events is a lot of work and no individual would do it alone,” Breuss-Schneeweis said. “But a community together could build this like with Wikipedia. Nobody expected that it would work so well.” Both Mobilizy and SPRXMobile are trying to become the go-to augmented reality browser by letting other content providers add data from restaurant listings to news stories. Before this week, Layar had five data sets and Mobilizy pulled geotagged information from Wikipedia and recommendation site Qype. Mobilizy is based in Salzburg and is self-funded with six employees.
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| MobileBeat2009 on marketing: Velti CEO Alex Moukas, former iPhone marketer Bob Borchers, and more Posted: 09 Jul 2009 04:32 PM PDT Our MobileBeat2009 conference next Thursday in San Francisco will feature speakers from the entire ecosystem: The top carriers, device-makers, mobile operating system companies, venture capital firms, start-ups and content providers. Last but not least, we’ve got a lineup of experts at mobile marketing and advertising. We’ve already announced a few speakers, including David Smith of MediaSmith, an advertising agency and Getjar’s Ilja Laurs. But here’s a host of others: Alex Moukas, Velti CEo
Bob Borchers, Opus Capital
Dave Katz, Yahoo Mobile
Jason Spero, Admob GM North America
Joe Greenstein, Flixster, Co-Founder CEO
Mark Donovan, Comscore, SVP of Mobile
Mark Pincus, Zinga, CEO
Shervin Pishevar, Social Gaming Network (SGN), CEO
Patrick Mork, GetJar, Vice President of Marketing
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| FanIQ raises funds to bring interactivity to online sporting news Posted: 09 Jul 2009 04:14 PM PDT
Right now, the site has 8 million registered users (with 40,000 signing up every day) and draws about 5 million unique visitors a month, according to VentureWire. When users sign up on FanIQ, they provide a host of information that the site uses to deliver relevant content. The startup says this gives it a leg up over competitors — even goliath ESPN.com — because they know their users better, including their favorite teams, etc. Most sports news sites have large anonymous readerships, and miss out on tailoring content to their interests, FanIQ says. Beyond that, they miss out on the advertising opportunities that come with knowing an audience inside and out. By collecting such specific data, FanIQ says it will provide advertisers with endless options for targeting their products and services. This sounds like a pretty good plant, but by the looks of it (the homepage is absent of ads), this advertising strategy has yet to take off. The company says the recent round of financing will be used to continue developing the site’s features. One of the next projects is to introduce an online betting system where users can wager online currency in various online games. The recent round of funding came from Point Judith Capital.
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| Sprint outsources operations to Ericsson in deal worth up to $5 billion Posted: 09 Jul 2009 04:13 PM PDT
As part of the seven-year agreement, about 6,000 Sprint employees will work for Ericsson Services starting in the third quarter. Rumors were swirling about Sprint Nextel planned to make the move to save money. We’ve got a couple of Sprint Nextel speakers — Russ McGuire, vice president of strategy, and Brian Huey, manager of open strategy — appearing at MobileBeat 2009 next week where it will be interesting to hear more details. The company is the first major carrier to outsource its operations to such a degree. Sprint Nextel will still own its iDEN and CDMA networks. It will determine its network strategy and investments. But now the company can tap Ericsson’s 30,000 services experts and reduce its costs at the same time. In a statement, Sprint President Steve Elfman, said that the network’s performance is likely to be better as Sprint Nextel taps Ericsson’s expertise. It will be interesting to see if this makes Sprint Nextel more competitive with Verizon and AT&T, which are both larger carriers.
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| SolFocus absorbs $77.6M to bring concentrating solar systems to market Posted: 09 Jul 2009 03:57 PM PDT SolFocus, maker of concentrating solar systems, announced today that it has added $30.6 million to its open third round of funding, bringing its total to $77.6 million. The Mountain View, Calif. company says it will use the funds to commercialize its unique solar architecture, which already exists in small pilot mode.
Concentrating solar has picked up momentum recently, with more companies catching onto its benefits. In concentrating systems, glass reflectors are used to concentrate sunlight onto solar cells — just like you can with a magnifying glass, only up to 650 times — upping their energy output. This sounds like a pretty good plan, but the technology comes with a hefty price tag. The real expense are the solar cells themselves, made out of gallium-arsenide instead of the standard crystalline silicon. SolFocus says the gallium cells are capable of pumping out as much as twice the energy as their silicon cousins. Companies like SolFocus argue that concentrating systems are so productive and efficient that not as many expensive cells are needed to begin with. But with silicon prices dropping rapidly, consumers are not as desperate for ways to skimp. This could hurt SolFocus’ business in the short-term, ironically even more so if the economy rebounds and more potential customers can afford to go with silicon. After all, SolFocus buys the cells itself from a third-party before assembling its concentrating systems. Right now, the company has a factory in Mesa, Ariz. that produces 30-megawatts worth of glass reflectors every year. That’s not that high a figure, considering that one megawatt powers roughly 800 homes. SolFocus is hoping to expand this reach by a lot, and the new financing should help. As part of this plan, it landed a deal with Grecian solar developer Samaras Group in March to provide 10-megawatts worth of equipment. It has another 10-megawatt deal in the hopper with EMPE Solar based in Spain. Last year, it provided reflectors for a 500-kilowatt project in Spain and for a 7.2-kilowatt system in San Francisco. The recent round of funding brought SolFocus’ total capital raised to $170 million. This may seem like a substantial chunk of change, but it’s generally not enough for the large capital expenditures that would make the company a major commercial force. That being said, it is moving quickly and has already started bringing in steady revenue, which could attract helpful government support in the coming months. Apex Venture Partners led the $30 million extension, which included New Enterprise Associates, NGEN, Yellowstone Partners and Demeter Ventures.
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| Flat panel lamps from Lumiette could cut lighting energy by 75 percent Posted: 09 Jul 2009 01:33 PM PDT
When you look at the technology, however, you can see how it might be possible. Lumiette’s lamps are basically sheets of glowing glass powered by electrodes. For this reason, it is easier to configure them for many more applications than standard bulbs. They come in all shapes, sizes and colors — and, like light emitting-diode systems, are easily dimmed. They also hook up more easily to renewable sources of energy, including solar, Lumiette says. At the same time, they don’t make use of regular bulb sockets, which are so ubiquitous at this point that converting consumers might be a challenge. The strategy will probably be to have them installed in new commercial spaces at first.
Actually, the technology for flat-panel lamps has been around for more than a decade — but it is usually relegated to use as back-lighting for liquid-crystal television displays. With the panels said to have a lifespan of up to 60,000 hours, this application makes a lot of sense. Lumiette manufactures its flat-panel lamps in South Korea. It has 72 patents spanning Asia, Europe and the U.S. protecting its technology and related components. It says its process can easily customize lamps to fit individual customers’ needs. For this reason, the price varies. Founded in 2007, the company has sprinted through its development process. It has since brought in an unspecified amount of capital from angel investors and in a first round of venture funding.
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| CoTweet raises $1.1M to help companies figure out Twitter Posted: 09 Jul 2009 01:33 PM PDT
Of course, it’s possible for a company to do customer service on Twitter without CoTweet’s help. But if you want something a little more sophisticated than just a corporate Twitter account, CoTweet allows multiple users to manage multiple accounts, monitor keywords and trends, get email notifications timed to when you are “on duty,” create conversation threads, and more. There are already some impressive users, including WholeFoods, Starbucks, Microsoft, and the city of San Francisco. Salesforce.com is also trying to plug companies into customer discussions on Twitter and elsewhere online through its Service Cloud. In fact, chief executive Marc Benioff has offered Twitter as an example of where the business software and infrasctructure market is going. But Salesforce isn’t focused on Twitter the way CoTweet is. This might limit the startup, but might also offer it an advantage in reaching companies that are particularly interested in Twitter. The public beta is free for now, though CoTweet says it will start charging eventually. Investors include Baseline Ventures, Founders Fund, First Round Capital, SV Angel, Maples Investments, and Freestyle Capital.
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| Glu Mobile chief executive resigns Posted: 09 Jul 2009 11:35 AM PDT
The San Mateo, Calif.-based game publisher has struggled to keep its stock price up in the age of the iPhone. But its press release says Ballard’s departure doesn’t have to do with the company’s financial performance. The company also said that its second quarter results are within previous guidance.Ballard will stay on the board of directors until a replacement is named. The company retained Egon Zehnder, an executive recruiting firm, to find CEO candidates. In December, the company reorganized and said it would cut costs. Ballard also shifted the company’s resources so 30 percent of its efforts would focus on smart phone games for the iPhone and other platforms. Ballard has run the company for six years and said he is looking for a new challenge. Over the years, Ballard has focused on making games by taking brands from other media, such as video game consoles, and adapting them for mobile gaming. But on the iPhone, many brands are falling flat while small, innovative titles from indie developers are the big winners.
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| Microsoft mystery announcement next week prompted Chrome announcement Posted: 09 Jul 2009 08:21 AM PDT
Business Week has an inkling of this as well. In the June 24 cover story on Steve Ballmer and Office 2010 by Peter Burrows, the magazine noted that Microsoft would offer details about its plans related to Office 2010, which will have many web-based functions similar to Google Docs, on July 13. Office 2010 will also have a free, ad-supported version that competes head-on with Google Docs. Microsoft is also said to be working on Gazelle, a Chrome-like web browser. That combination of things means that Microsoft may also be able to do its own stripped-down operating system, if there is demand for it on netbooks. By the time the Chrome OS is ready in the second half of 2010, Microsoft may be there with its own competing software. Microsoft has a conference in New Orleans next week where the announcement will take place.
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| Seven common errors when writing a business plan Posted: 09 Jul 2009 07:29 AM PDT Compiling a formal business plan can be a daunting task for an entrepreneur. The reality, of course, is that these documents are a necessity for any company. And, to be honest, they’re not as hard to put together as you might think. (There are plenty of good books on the subject and some really great software packages, such as Business Plan Pro.) Still, there are some common errors entrepreneurs face when writing a business plan. Procrastination. It’s easy to find distractions (such as your busy schedule) to prevent you from creating a plan. Resist them. And realize that without a document detailing plans for the future, your company is likely to become a rudderless ship at some point. Financial focus. Think in terms of cash rather than profits. Initially, your profit and loss statement should be secondary to your cash flow statement. You’ll need to initially ensure you have enough cash on hand on a day-by-day basis to survive. Cover your bases. Don’t focus too much on your grand idea, but make sure that you have all the fundamentals covered. Bold ideas are hard to sell. Rather, stress that you have the available time, common sense and business smarts to succeed. If you are looking for investors, they will be more interested in you and your people than the idea. Forget the hype. Using colorful language and preconceived notions is an easy trap to fall into, but both are ultimately superfluous. People looking at your business plan want to see hard, solid facts, backed up by very reasonable assumptions. Set milestones, show which tasks you’ve established and apply sound logic to your reasoning. Be realistic. Priorities are important, but you don’t want to set too many. Potential investors are interested in your focus and will shy away if you try and cast too wide a net. Don’t overreach. While you’ll need to project growth, make sure those estimates are realistic and that any growth spurts are tied and referenced to understandable and realistic events. Your projections need to be conservative and you must be able to defend them. Know the playing field. It’s critical to be thoroughly aware of your business competition. If your business plan is too inwardly focused, you lose sight of the big picture, which can be perilous to a small business. A business plan is based, first and foremost, on common sense. Ultimately, you need to believe in all the assertions and assumptions that you’re making. (If you don’t, investors never will.) Solid preparation will position you well for the future.
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| Scoreloop expands social game community for iPhone and web Posted: 09 Jul 2009 03:00 AM PDT
While others see lots of business in making games, Munich, Germany-based Scoreloop is trying to make money from game developers. The last time we wrote about them, I compared their strategy to selling shovels to miners during the Gold Rush. The company is releasing a software developer kit for game developers to make their iPhone games stickier, through a combination of a web site and a social community on the iPhone. Once the game developers integrate Scoreloop’s software into their game, they can create a community for fans of the game. That community also becomes a subset of a larger Scoreloop community where game companies can cross-sell games to fans. Mark Pincus, the chief executive of Zynga, pointed out in a recent interview that, as hundreds of new games appear every day, iPhone gamers can be a fickle bunch. And it’s hard to make games stand out on the iPhone, which has more than 13,000 games available. Gamers are trying out a lot of games, but social features such as multiplayer play, scoreboards, and cross-selling could make the games last longer. Game developers can use Scoreloop to add features such as push notifications, which prompt someone when they should take a turn in a multiplayer game. The Scoreloop Community includes a web site where gamers can make friends, create their own avatars, manage their games, and extend challenges for multiplayer games. It can find friends in Facebook and invite them into the Scoreloop Community, said Marc Gumpinger, chief executive of Scoreloop, in an interview. Players can also use the Scoreloop Community to discover new games. Scoreloop is also launching an app on the Apple App Store that lets players engage in social games on the iPhone. They can use that app to get access to all sorts of games in the broader Scoreloop community. The company competes with Aurora Feint, which is providing its own socialization features for game developers, as well as Ngmoco, which has its own social gaming features. Viximo also launched its own social gaming tool for iPhone developers. Another rival is Geocade, which makes it easy to set up global high score leaderboards. Gumpinger says his company doesn’t compete with its partners, who may be leary of handing over customer data to rival game publishers. Scoreloop’s system builds loyalty through “coins.” You win coins in game matches, by adding friends to your community or by downloading games. You can spend them on multiplayer games or other features. If you buy coins, Scoreloop gets a cut, as does the game developer. Scoreloop can provide analytics information to the game developers. If many gamers drop out of a game at the same point, Scoreloop can tell the game developers that. Then the developers can fix the problem. Scoreloop launched its platform earlier this year. The Scoreloop Community adds the dimension of the web to the platform. Scoreloop’s partners’ games include 8bit Games, Flying, Aeio, Apollo XI, Bug Landing, GeoRain, inTENSity, Monster Mash, Orb, Sorty, Submarine, Tornado Alley, Zombie Pub Crawl and others. Developers are working on 50 more Scoreloop-enabled titles, Gumpinger said. Scoreloop raised an undisclosed amount of money last fall from Target Partners. It has 16 employees. [Are you an entrepreneur or executive active in mobile? Join us at MobileBeat 2009, our mobile conference for industry leaders. Sign up soon.]
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| Tivo strikes marketing alliance with Best Buy (now you can’t skip Best Buy commercials?) Posted: 08 Jul 2009 11:59 PM PDT
Tivo is developing a version of its set-top box, which records TV shows and lets consumers skip commercials, to be sold in 1,100 Best Buy stores. Those digital video recorders will allow Best Buy products and services to be advertised to Tivo subscribers on their home TVs. Best Buy is making a multi-year commitment to market Tivo. Best Buy is also financing a project to bring Tivo’s software and video search tools to Best Buy’s own brand of electronics, including its Insignia TVs. The benefits for Best Buy include extending its relationship to customers outside of its stores. Best Buy moved down that path when it bought the music service Napster in September. Tivo is going to make Napster music available to its subscribers on their TVs. Tivo also wants customers to stop thinking of its as just a DVR box company. If these guys get really cozy, don’t be surprised if Best Buy acquires Tivo one of these days.
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| Roundup: GPS receivers threatened by smartphones, Chrome overcoverage continues Posted: 08 Jul 2009 07:01 PM PDT
I for one welcome our new Chrome overlords — PC World columnist David Coursey has a sane, small-business-friendly critique of the whole concept of the Google Chrome OS. Fake Steve vs Chrome – Humorist Dan Lyons puts on his Steve Job persona and drives the car into the swimming pool, literarily speaking. Steve Sinofsky was named head of a big Microsoft division. You can call him the king of Windows. Sony CEO Howard Stringer dismisses chatter that he needs to cut the price of the PlayStation 3, the most expensive game console. Gartner says IT spending to drop 6 percent in 2009. Kids are spending more time online. Nielsen says kids 2 to 11 are spending 63 percent more time online than they did five years ago. EMC to buy Data Domain for $2.4 billion. The storage giant gets even bigger.
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| iPhone owners may be upgrading fast to 3.0 software Posted: 08 Jul 2009 06:08 PM PDT
Trip Hawkins, chief executive of Digital Chocolate, says that iPhone owners seem to be upgrading fast to the newest version of the iPhone’s 3.0 operating system since it was released on June 16. That may mean that iPhone developers may want to adopt the iPhone 3.0 software sooner rather than later. Of course, reports suggest that iPod Touch fans may lag behind the crowd because of fees associated with upgrading. More than 60 percent of Digital Chocolate’s iPhone customers have upgraded to the new OS, Hawkins said in a blog post. The company sells mobile games and has a number of hits on the iPhone. Its tracking software can detect which version of the OS is on the customer’s phone.
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| More answers about Google’s Chrome OS: Yes, it’s free Posted: 08 Jul 2009 05:44 PM PDT
Google released a FAQ today that gave some more details. First, the company says the new operating system will be free. Its allies include Acer, Adobe, ASUS, Freescale, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, Qualcomm, and Texas Instruments. Google will release the project as open source code later this year. And it said it is hiring software engineers in 10 different locations for Chrome OS work. We’ve also heard the following details from background sources. If you’re wondering exactly what a browser operating system is, it’s one that is slimmed down for the sole purpose of running web applications. It is built around the core of a Linux kernel, meaning it uses Linux to handle all of the cooperation that has to take place between software and hardware when you want to make images appear on the screen or print a document. All of the interaction takes place within the browser. But the exact balance between the computing that happens on the client machine and the computing that happens on the server isn’t strictly known. That is, different applications will make different use of computing resources, wherever they are. And different types of computers will also vary in terms of how much they tap the Internet cloud for resources or how much they need a solid hardware client to do the processing tasks. One of the big questions is whether games will be able to run on Chrome OS machines. Right now, running a game on a Linux netbook requires that the game be modified by the game publisher to run on Linux. That’s no trivial task, and game companies will do that only if there is hope of large sales. The Chrome OS can tap Native Client, a Google technology that gives apps running in the browser the power to tap the “native” resources, or the client hardware. O3D, meanwhile, is an applications programming interface (API — meaning a software layer that lets technologies talk to each other) that lets complex 3-D graphics run in a browser. The question is really whether Google is going to do the work required to motivate game companies to adapt their applications for the Chrome OS. Because the Chrome OS project is open source, others will be able to tailor it to their needs. That’s why there isn’t a 100 percent-clear demarcation between where Chrome OS ends and Google’s smartphone-focused Android begins. Customers are going to have a choice when it comes to operating systems from Google. Android will run on many devices. The Chrome OS is browser-focused and is targeted at netbooks. Android and Chrome were born from two different sets of code. There is overlap between the two, but Google thinks customers will sort it out. The project is relatively fresh. In other words, it would be wrong to suggest (as we did in our earlier story) that Google chief executive Eric Schmidt got started on this the day he became CEO in 2001. Rather, the team for the Chrome OS is the same team that worked on the Chrome browser, which debuted in September. It is not a giant team that has been toiling for years and years in an attempt to drop a nuclear bomb on Microsoft. There are some big questions. Intel’s Moblin is a version of Linux with a user interface layer that makes netbooks more user friendly. It isn’t clear whether the Chrome OS and Moblin will be complementary or competitive. We’ll try to squeeze more details out of the Google speakers at our MobileBeat 2009 event next week.
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Alex Moukas is co-founder and chief executive of Velti and, a leading mobile marketing and advertising company, 
Bob Borchers, who until recently served as Sr. Director of Worldwide Product Marketing for the iPhone, but who is now working at venture capital firm Opus Capital, will be a judge on our morning panel. Borchers has more than 20 years operating experience. At Opus Borchers focuses on investments in mobile applications and services as well as adjacent opportunities in both hardware and software. As part of the original iPhone team, Borchers was instrumental in the development, launch and global expansion of the iPhone, iPhone OS, App Store and the recent launch of the iPhone 3GS. Prior to Apple, Borchers was VP of marketing at FusionOne. Borchers also spent six years at Nokia where he co-founded and served as VP of sales and marketing for the Vertu business unit. Borchers holds a Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University and a Masters Degree from a joint program between MIT and the Harvard Medical School in Health Sciences and Technology.
Katz is the VP of mobile advertising and publishing for Yahoo, and will be speaking on the afternoon panel titled “Bringing brand dollars into mobile.” Katz has responsibility for the company's mobile advertising and publishing strategies. Prior to his currenty role, Dave served as Yahoo!'s VP of corporate strategey and head of strategy for Yahoo Mobile. He was also charged with advising on top strategic priorities for Yahoo! Mobile, including Yahoo!'s industry leading mobile advertising partnership with Vodafone UK. Before joining Yahoo!, Dave was a consultant with McKinsey & Company's West Coast TTM practise with clients in software, interactive TV and wireless industries. Dave holds a BA and and MBA from UC Berkeley.
Spero is responsible for global marketing activities in mobile advertising network 
Joe Greenstein a co-founder and CEO of 
While a segment of fans participate in fantasy sports leagues, most stay up to date with their favorite teams simply by reading news online. 
Taking a big plunge into outsourcing, 
Lighting maker 
People make a lot of comments, questions and complaints on microblogging service 
Glu Mobile chief executive Greg Ballard 
Silicon Valley video recording pioneer 
The developers of iPhone apps face tricky questions about when they should release applications that takes advantage of the latest software or hardware from Apple.
Google didn’t have a lot of details behind its just-announced Chrome browser operating system last night. But some new details are flowing out about just how the search giant is approaching the project.| You are subscribed to email updates from VentureBeat To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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IN 2009-11 (ML091240039)
Attached is an PDF version of Information Notice 2009-11, Configuration Control Errors, dated July 7, 2009 (ML091240039), that has been posted to the NRR GCC Web, along with the URL for Web access to generic communications files on the NRC Homepage: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/gen-comm/info-notices/2009/.
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The Latest from Boing Boing
The Latest from Boing Boing |  |
- Response to IEEE paper that characterizes P2P as undesirable and illegal
- Rupert Murdoch reporters in the UK illegally hacked thousands of peoples' data
- Australian anti-censorship video trying to get on Qantas
- Pneumatic alarm-clock that wakes you by bouncing the bed up and down
- Creative Commons licensed secret society for promoting girls' literacy
- Hello, space rendezvous
- Sci-fi couture on the runway
- @BBVBOX: recent guest-tweeted web video picks (boingboingvideo.com)
- Death by Chocolate (no, really): worker dies in hot cocoa mixing vat
- Guatemala: Charges against Twitter user finally dropped
- Wal-Mart's Twitter Account Comes with a 3,379-word Terms of Use Agreement
- Appreciation of "jumping hour" watches that display time as linear
- Pope damns medical patents
- Australian govt memo, 1968: Women become "spinster battle axes;" "men usually mellow"
- Vancouver Olympics to feature US-style "free speech zones"
- Robert Charles Wilson podcast
- Travis Louie's "Monster?" group art show
- Watch out for that lampshade!
- Man, our president is cool.
- Fun times for the Bicycle Film Festival
- Is that a shoe on your head or are you just happy to see me?
- Music and the mind
- God Bless America
- Eco-friendly textile coffins
- Rice paddy crop art of the year
- Rushkoff: "Google's War On The PC"
- Collecting dead souls in social media
- PES animations: Human Skateboard and Fireworks
- United Breaks Guitars, the complaint anthem
| Response to IEEE paper that characterizes P2P as undesirable and illegal Posted: 09 Jul 2009 05:11 AM PDT Kyle Brady, a computer science student, sends us, "a critique of a major IEEE article by Lawrence G. Roberts where he automatically assumes P2P traffic is illegal, unwanted, and should be filtered - then develops the technology to do so." Consider, for a moment, the issue most often cited for "traffic shaping", the practice of filtering a users traffic based on the type and source: legality of content. While there is an abundance of content with questionable copyright origins based on the current interpretations of the DMCA (in America), there is also a sea of legal content being acquired by the same means: Nine Inch Nails, Radiohead, and a number of other musical artists have experimented with a freely available online distribution method, in addition to countless young movie producers that are only interested in their content being available and seen.I've never understood the ISP/admin approach to P2P that says, "We've provided you with a pipe so you can access the Internet, but stop accessing the Internet so much!" If users want P2P, then P2P is what makes paying for an ISP valuable, so why would ISPs want to reduce its availability? That's like a phone company that discovers that teenagers use phones to send a lot of texts to one another, overwhelming their capacity (based on assumptions about how much text users will want to send) who then throttles text-sending rather than changing their assumptions about use-patterns. Incorrect Base Assumptions About Network Management (Thanks, Kyle!) |
| Rupert Murdoch reporters in the UK illegally hacked thousands of peoples' data Posted: 09 Jul 2009 05:05 AM PDT British journalists working for Murdoch papers have been on a crime spree, hiring private eyes to illegally hack into the voicemail and data of thousands of people, including " tax records, social security files, bank statements and itemised phone bills"; Murdoch has paid out over £1M so far to hush it up. The head of the Conservative party's communications is a former Murdoch exec who from the time that much of this crime was committed by his staffers. Senior editors are among those implicated. This activity occurred before the mobile phone hacking, at a time when Coulson was deputy and the editor was Rebekah Wade, now due to become chief executive of News International. The extent of their personal knowledge, if any, is not clear: the News of the World has always insisted that it would not break the law and would use subterfuge only if essential in the public interest.As civil liberties campaigner Dr Ian Brown notes: There are two particularly troubling aspects to this story. The Metropolitan Police, Crown Prosecution Service and Information Commissioner's Office all had prima facie evidence of these crimes, but have declined to take action against News Group. And, mobile phone companies continue to allow access to messages using voicemail PINs set to defaults that are apparently known throughout the media. Perhaps in future:Murdoch papers paid £1m to gag phone-hacking victims |
| Australian anti-censorship video trying to get on Qantas Posted: 09 Jul 2009 05:00 AM PDT Itsumishi sez, "Remember that absurd Internet Filtering Scheme Stephen Conroy and the Australian Government has been continuing to push onto the Australian population? Well GetUp the amazing organisation that has been involved in a lot of great campaigns in Australia has created a very hilarious advertisement they're hoping to get onto every Qantas flight in the country while for next sitting in Parliament. The idea is that most politicians will be flying at some time during this time and they'll be a captive audience. Anyway, the ad is brilliant and they need donations to get it on air, please help!" Censor this? (Thanks, Itsumishi!) Previously: |
| Pneumatic alarm-clock that wakes you by bouncing the bed up and down Posted: 09 Jul 2009 04:52 AM PDT I wish the video was embeddable, as this has to be seen to be believed: the alarm-clock is attached to a pneumatic gas-lift under a bed that picks it up and bounces it up and down like a lowrider car: World's Biggest Alarm Clock Shakes You Out of Bed, is Computer-Controlled (via /.) Previously:
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| Creative Commons licensed secret society for promoting girls' literacy Posted: 09 Jul 2009 04:46 AM PDT  AD sez, "Girls Guild is an ancient secret society complete with a mythological back-story set in Atlantis, secret code and handshake, nemesis, and (perhaps) soon-to-be-ubiquitous symbol -- but with a twist: all of the secrets, iconography and legends are available for retooling, embellishment and propagation under a Creative Commons license." This looks like fun, notwithstanding that Girls Guild appears to be so ancient as to have predated the apostrophe. Introducing Girls Guild (Thanks, A. D. Ammann!) |
| Posted: 09 Jul 2009 04:28 AM PDT Susannah Breslin is a guestblogger on Boing Boing. She is a freelance journalist who blogs at Reverse Cowgirl and is at work on a novel set in the adult movie industry. I'm not sure what this video about, but I'm pretty sure it has to do with astrophysics. "Docking," by Mato Atom, who describes himself as a "hobby astronomer without a telescope." (Thanks, Matt!) |
| Posted: 09 Jul 2009 04:11 AM PDT Susannah Breslin is a guestblogger on Boing Boing. She is a freelance journalist who blogs at Reverse Cowgirl and is at work on a novel set in the adult movie industry.  A little "Blade Runner," a little "Metropolis," a little "Coneheads," things got science-fiction-inspired on the Jean Paul Gaultier runway yesterday during the Fall 2009 Paris couture shows. (Image credit: Left and right: Monica Feudi; center: Simone Manzo) |
| @BBVBOX: recent guest-tweeted web video picks (boingboingvideo.com) Posted: 08 Jul 2009 10:35 PM PDT (Ed. Note: We recently gave the Boing Boing Video website a makeover that includes a new, guest-curated microblog: the "BBVBOX." Here, folks whose taste in web video we admire tweet the latest clips they find. I'll be posting periodic roundups here on the motherBoing.)
More @BBVBOX: boingboingvideo.com |
| Death by Chocolate (no, really): worker dies in hot cocoa mixing vat Posted: 09 Jul 2009 12:24 AM PDT A 29-year old worker died today when he fell into a giant vat of hot chocolate at a New Jersey factory. Hope someone at the scene had the presence of mind to question the oompah-loompahs. BBC report here (Thanks, Antinous) |
| Guatemala: Charges against Twitter user finally dropped Posted: 08 Jul 2009 09:37 PM PDT  Oh, this is righteous and terrific news. Remember Jean Anleu, the mild-mannered, book-loving, code-writing geek who was jailed in May by the Guatemalan government over a single tweet he posted during that country's political crisis? He's a free guy now. The case against him was thrown out today by a Guatemalan appeals court. He has been absolved of all charges. Prensa Libre has a comprehensive article in Spanish here, and this link takes you to Spanish-language audio of the proceedings today. Friends are still collecting funds to cover @jeanfer's sizeable legal bills. If you care to donate, you can do so to his friend Manolo's PayPal account (manolo@manoloweb.net, yes I have vetted it, and yes it's real).
Previously:
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| Wal-Mart's Twitter Account Comes with a 3,379-word Terms of Use Agreement Posted: 08 Jul 2009 09:03 PM PDT  Only lawyers, EULA collectors and legal obsessives will find this funny, but it cracked me up: care to access the 140-character pearls of wisdom streaming forth from Wal-Mart's Twitter account? Well, first you have to agree to the 3,379-word Terms of Use agreement that comes with it. I know, I know, a lot of big corporate entities on social networking sites likely put forth equally verbose TOUs, but -- a "Twitter Discussion Policy"? Awesome overkill. It all starts here. (via @zephoria) |
| Appreciation of "jumping hour" watches that display time as linear Posted: 08 Jul 2009 06:17 PM PDT On the Watchismo blog, Mitch celebrates the launch of the Urwerk King Cobra CC1, a remake of the original "jumping hour" watch, explaining why he's so fascinated with these remarkable, largely extinct timepieces. Urwerk King Cobra CC1 Reintrepretation of 1958 Patek Philippe Cobra Prototype Linear Retrograde Cylinder Jumping Hour Watch Previously: |
| Posted: 08 Jul 2009 05:57 PM PDT The Pope's latest encyclical (a kind of churchy APA) decries "excessive zeal for ... intellectual property, especially in the field of health care." Section 22 of the letter, entitled "Human Development in Our Time," laid out the Pope's vision of human development goals. It also highlighted the failings of the current system, citing rigid ideology, consumerist "superdevelopment", corruption, and "cultural models and social norms of behavior .... which hinder the process of development." Casting a strikingly pragmatic tone, the encyclical underscores the complexity of development issues, which "should prompt us to liberate ourselves from ideologies, which oversimplify reality in artifical ways, and ... lead us to examine objectively the full human dimension of the problems."Pope Benedict XVI encyclical letter denounces excessive zeal for assertions of intellectual property rights in knowledge |
| Australian govt memo, 1968: Women become "spinster battle axes;" "men usually mellow" Posted: 09 Jul 2009 04:20 AM PDT Nat sez, "Spinster battlaxe Skud passed me this 1968 minute from the Director of the Trade Commissioner of Australia explaining why women are ineligible for postings. It's a jawdropalicious blast from the sexist past": Even conceding these points, a woman could not stay young and attractive for ever, and later on could well become a problem.Nat continues, "Bearing in mind this sage advice, I've already begun to regretfully decline my daughter's requests for education and social opportunities, explaining to her that "she could not be regarded as a long-term investment in the same sense as we regard" her brother." Minute to the Director, Trade Commissioner Service (Australia) (Thanks, Nat!) |
| Vancouver Olympics to feature US-style "free speech zones" Posted: 08 Jul 2009 05:52 PM PDT Craig sez, "Looks like Vancouver is getting free speech areas just like the RNC! Yipee! It's so nice of them to set up these areas. I'm sure that even though they're optional, all us polite Canadian folks will be encouraged to full advantage of the designated areas." Good to see the Olympics upholding its tradition of fostering international brotherhood through brutal authoritarian crackdowns, venal rent-seeking, and remorseless forced relocation of unsightly poor people. The head of security for the 2010 Games, RCMP assistant commissioner Bud Mercer, told Vancouver city council on Tuesday, however, that protesters will not be required to limit their activities to the areas.2010 Olympic security plans include 'free speech areas' Some homeless to be moved out of security zones (Thanks, Craig!) Previously:
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| Posted: 08 Jul 2009 05:49 PM PDT Mitch writes in with news of his latest Copper Robot podcast, "Robert Charles Wilson discusses his latest novel, Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America, which is the most fun novel you'll ever read about the collapse of Western civilization and the end of religious freedom and democracy in America. It's an adventure story about the son of pious snake-handling parents in a small town, who leaves home in the company of the nephew of the President of the United States, and goes off to war and New York. The novel has adventure and romance and comedy and sea voyages and rooftop foot-chases and leaping from building to building. It's great fun. I also talked to Wilson about his 24-year career, past books including Darwinia and Spin, his writing process and favorite tools, and how working for a Canadian civil rights education was great education for a writer." Science fiction writer Robert Charles Wilson (Thanks, Mitch!) |
| Travis Louie's "Monster?" group art show Posted: 08 Jul 2009 02:43 PM PDT     Travis Louie, whose art we've featured many times on BB, is curating a large group show opening this Saturday, July 11, at CoproGalley in Santa Monica, CA. The theme and title of the show: "Monster?" Seen above, clockwise from top left, Mark Garro's "Allure," Bob Eggleton's "Eye Monster," Audrey Kawasaki's ""While You're Sleeping," and Jessica Joslin's "Phineas." The entire show is viewable online as well. Monster? show preview (Thanks, Kirsten Anderson!) Previously:
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| Posted: 08 Jul 2009 01:19 PM PDT Susannah Breslin is a guestblogger on Boing Boing. She is a freelance journalist who blogs at Reverse Cowgirl and is at work on a novel set in the adult movie industry. If you liked "RoboGeisha," you'll love "Hausu"! I don't know anything about this movie, except that it was made in 1977, it involves a murderous lampshade, and you should probably not watch it if you don't like blood fountains, disembodied body parts, light fixtures, screaming cats, screaming cat paintings, or screaming cat paintings spewing blood. Maybe in the comments somebody would like to tell us what they're hollering about? Probably NSFW due to some disembodied boobs. (Via Buzzfeed) |
| Posted: 08 Jul 2009 01:04 PM PDT Susannah Breslin is a guestblogger on Boing Boing. She is a freelance journalist who blogs at Reverse Cowgirl and is at work on a novel set in the adult movie industry.  The Big Picture takes a big pixel look back at President Obama's first 167 days in office. He looks cool in pretty much every picture. Well played, Barry, well played. (Image credit: Samantha Appleton) |
| Fun times for the Bicycle Film Festival Posted: 08 Jul 2009 11:53 AM PDT Susannah Breslin is a guestblogger on Boing Boing. She is a freelance journalist who blogs at Reverse Cowgirl and is at work on a novel set in the adult movie industry. Sure, it's a tad Bat for Lashes, but who's keeping track? This delightful promo spot for the Bicycle Film Festival, a "celebration of bicycles through film, art, and music" underway in Minneapolis as of today through July 12, was brought to you by this isn't happiness, one of my favorite blogs. |
| Is that a shoe on your head or are you just happy to see me? Posted: 08 Jul 2009 11:33 AM PDT Susannah Breslin is a guestblogger on Boing Boing. She is a freelance journalist who blogs at Reverse Cowgirl and is at work on a novel set in the adult movie industry.  From the lovely collection of self-portraiture by Kimiko Yoshida. This one has something to do with minotaurs and Picasso. (Via NOTCOT) |
| Posted: 08 Jul 2009 11:08 AM PDT Music can have an overwhelmingly strong hold on the human mind, dramatically swaying our emotions and evoking memories. How come? The new issue of Scientific American Mind surveys recent research on music and the mind. For example, the power of music may come from its influence on regions of the brain responsible for language, feelings, movement, and other unrelated systems. It could also be an important vehicle for emotional communication and connection from which societies emerge. The article looks at studies supporting such theories. From SciAm Mind: The musical tongue may also transcend more fundamental communication barriers. In studies conducted over the past decade, cognitive psychologist Pam Heaton of Goldsmiths, University of London, and her research team played music for both autistic and nonautistic children, comparing those with similar language skills, and asked the kids to match the music to emotions. In the initial studies, the kids simply chose between happy and sad. In later studies, Heaton and her colleagues introduced a range of complex emotions, such as triumph, contentment and anger, and found that the kids' ability to recognize these feelings in music did not depend on their diagnosis. Autistic and typical children with similar verbal skills performed equally well, indicating that music can reliably convey feelings even in people whose ability to pick up emotion-laden social cues, such as facial expressions or tone of voice, is severely compromised."Why Music Moves Us" Previously: |
| Posted: 08 Jul 2009 10:51 AM PDT Susannah Breslin is a guestblogger on Boing Boing. She is a freelance journalist who blogs at Reverse Cowgirl and is at work on a novel set in the adult movie industry.  Artist: Zina Saunders, "Alaskan Roulette," July 4, 2009. (Thanks, Zina!) |
| Posted: 08 Jul 2009 10:50 AM PDT  A textile company and coffin manufacturer are jointly introducing a new line of coffins made from wool or organic cotton. From a press release: This is an innovative coffin and something completely new for the alternative coffin market, but the use of wool in burials is nothing new. The Burial in Wool Act of 1667 made it a legal requirement for the dead to be buried in woollen shrouds in an attempt to boost the struggling woollen industry of the time. With the current social eco agenda, rising concerns on the environmental impact of burials and this innovative product, the industry has come full circle."And from the description of the casket seen here, the Swaledale model: The Swaledale coffin is made in Yorkshire using pure new wool, supported on a strong recycled cardboard frame. Wool is a fibre with a true "green" lineage that is both sustainable and biodegradable. The interior is generously lined with cotton and attractively edged in jute.Hainsworth "Natural Legacy" coffins Previously: |
| Rice paddy crop art of the year Posted: 08 Jul 2009 10:31 AM PDT  It's the season of rice paddy art in Japan and Pink Tentacle has collected some exquisite examples! The massive artworks are grown through the strategic arrangement of rice plants of varying hues. From Pink Tentacle: Rice paddy crop art (2009) (Thanks, Tara McGinley!) Previously: |
| Rushkoff: "Google's War On The PC" Posted: 08 Jul 2009 10:30 AM PDT Doug Rushkoff is bullish on Google's plans to launch a Chrome OS (I blogged the news here on Boing Boing last night). Snip from his essay today in The Daily Beast: Google's War On The PC (Daily Beast) Rushkoff is also the author of the recently-released book Life, Inc..
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| Collecting dead souls in social media Posted: 08 Jul 2009 04:51 PM PDT  Guestblogger Marina Gorbis is executive director at Institute for the Future.Yesterday I posted an essay on Socialstructing--creating organizations around social connections rather than against them. I believe these types of organizational forms are growing and diffusing rapidly throughout the economy. However, I do not see them as panaceas from all our ills since they have a potential to bring with them new kinds of inequalities, exclusions, and Ponzi schemes. So this post looks at potential unintended consequences of socialstructing. One of the best things about speaking Russian (possibly the only thing), is that it gives you an ability to access Russian literature in the original. Over the years I've tried many different translations of Russian writers and was disappointed every time. Nothing compares to the original. Maybe it is impossible to do justice to these texts because many Russian words are so deeply rooted in a uniquely Russian context and life circumstances. What I love about writers such as Gogol and Chekhov is that in portraying life in 19th century Russia they managed to capture universal themes of human inner struggles, desires, and life ironies. They created prototypes of characters and circumstances that are as real today as they were 150 years ago. People just work through those circumstances with a whole new suite of tools and technologies. That leads me to one of my favorite pieces of Russian literature -- Nikolai Gogol's Dead Souls, a novel first published in 1842. The story revolves around the exploits of Chichikov, a personality populating the lower rungs of the Russian society. Driven by a desire to enhance his social standing, Chichikov develops an ingenious scheme. He goes around Russian villages buying up records of dead serfs. It's a brilliant idea that capitalized on a unique and grotesque feature of the feudal Russian society -- ownership by landlords of the people who lived and worked on their land. The number of "souls" one owned was a measure of one's economic and social status. Landowners in fact paid taxes based on how many serfs or "souls" they owned. The government kept count of owned "souls" and this count was based on government census numbers. Unfortunately, the census took place only infrequently and many landowners ended up paying taxes on their dead serfs. Grasping an opportune moment between the two censuses, Chichikov bought records of these dead souls from landowners eager to lighten their own tax burdens. Papers certifying Chichikov's ownership of 400 "souls" rapidly elevated Chichikov's status: landed gentry opened their homes to him, tried to give away their daughters in marriage, and celebrated him at town functions. And all it took was a record of ownership of hundreds of "souls." So every time I see another article or an ad about how to acquire more followers on twitter, friends on Facebook, or otherwise collect more "souls" for money, fame, or reputation, I start thinking about Chichikov. He did come to an ignominous end, finally fleeing town. Makes me wonder. Dead Souls Previously: |
| PES animations: Human Skateboard and Fireworks Posted: 08 Jul 2009 09:06 AM PDT We've featured the incredible stop-motion animation of PES before. Here are two I hadn't seen before, "Human Skateboard" and "Fireworks," that are my new favorites. eatPES Previously: |
| United Breaks Guitars, the complaint anthem Posted: 08 Jul 2009 09:49 PM PDT Udpate: United Airlines has responded. Bottom line: YouTube complaint videos appear to work. Instead of a complaint letter, the band "Sons of Maxwell" have posted a music video aimed at United Airlines over the destruction of one of their guitars on a trip last year: [We] were traveling to Nebraska for a one-week tour and my Taylor guitar was witnessed being thrown by United Airlines baggage handlers in Chicago. I discovered later that the $3500 guitar was severely damaged. They didnt deny the experience occurred but for nine months the various people I communicated with put the responsibility for dealing with the damage on everyone other than themselves and finally said they would do nothing to compensate me for my loss. So I promised the last person to finally say no to compensation (Ms. Irlweg) that I would write and produce three songs about my experience with United Airlines and make videos for each to be viewed online by anyone in the world.United Breaks Guitars (YouTube, via Graham Linehan) |
The largest and finest work is grown in the Aomori prefecture village of Inakadate, which has earned a reputation for its agricultural artistry. This year the enormous pictures of Napoleon and a Sengoku-period warrior, both on horseback, are visible in a pair of fields adjacent to the town hall there.
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CrunchGear
CrunchGear |  |
- Netflix is coming to Sony Bravia HDTVs
- Old and busted: Google Chrome OS; New hotness: Hanna Montana Linux!
- Grilled Meat King: Bandai to sell BBQ simulator toy
- Daily Crunch: Shark Bait Edition
- A third opinion on Google Chrome OS
- Razer’s Moray+, a compact gaming audio solution
- Why we need to chill about ChromeOS
- Felt Mac classic iPhone case is soft ‘n cute
- IR multi-touch surfaces for about $2,000: Very cool
- Happy 100th Birthday Audi, and thanks for all the pianos
- Creative bringing out Zii player with HD camera
- Charge4all, your friendly neighborhood charging tube
- LaCie’s LaCinema Rugged plays 1080p video for $350
- Best idea of all time: a key that is also a keyring
- Explore Stargate Universe’s Destiny with Photosynth
- Let’s slow down with the scary-sounding cyberwar stuff
- Rumor: Nikon’s 2009-2010 roadmap
- Video: Optimus Prime does Letterman’s Top Ten List
- HTC Hero gets done up in pink
- Video: Controlling a 15-ton hydraulic grapple with a Wii remote
| Netflix is coming to Sony Bravia HDTVs Posted: 09 Jul 2009 05:06 AM PDT
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| Old and busted: Google Chrome OS; New hotness: Hanna Montana Linux! Posted: 09 Jul 2009 04:17 AM PDT
What makes Hanna Montana Linux so great, you ask? Here’s three compelling reasons, straight from the Hanna Montana Linux about page:
What are you waiting for? Hanna Montana Linux is available for download today! Hanna Montana and Linux, it’s the best of both worlds!
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| Grilled Meat King: Bandai to sell BBQ simulator toy Posted: 09 Jul 2009 02:41 AM PDT
Just in time for summer, Japan gets a new toy that won’t require you to go out to get the BBQ experience anymore. This actually doesn’t make much sense, but Bandai has announced [JP] an-indoor BBQ simulator toy yesterday, the Yakiniki Ou (roughly: Grilled Meat King). Yakiniku is the name of a number of Japanese grilled meat dishes. Buyers of the Grilled Meat King get the grill, 14 fake food items (sausages, bite-sized meat and vegetables etc.), dishes, sauce, tongs and even a menu. Up to 4 players are supposed to grill the food, flip it and get it off the grill as quickly as possible. The Grilled Meat King drops into Japanese stores July 23 and costs $40. Ask specialized stores Japan Trend Shop, Geek Stuff 4 U or Rinkya to get one shipped outside Japan if you can't wait for Bandai to announce their international sales plans. Via Akihabara News via Gizmodo
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| Daily Crunch: Shark Bait Edition Posted: 09 Jul 2009 12:00 AM PDT |
| A third opinion on Google Chrome OS Posted: 08 Jul 2009 06:45 PM PDT
So instead of breathlessly praising it or dismissing it completely, let’s just… watch and wait.
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| Razer’s Moray+, a compact gaming audio solution Posted: 08 Jul 2009 06:30 PM PDT
It also has what they call “passive noise reduction” built in. Passive noise reduction is also known as putting things in your ears. The Moray+ is really meant to be a mobile gaming headset, for trash talking your DS opponent while sitting at a cafe (no, I don’t do that), so it’s got adapters for both DS and PSP. Its main cord (without the splitter) is actually iPhone compatible, so it’s got that going for it as well. I’ll have a full review of these little guys soon and you’ll find out if they’re worth the asking price of $60.
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| Why we need to chill about ChromeOS Posted: 08 Jul 2009 06:12 PM PDT
We’ve been sitting things out today as our brothers at TC pant over ChromeOS, the latest OS based on Linux to impress, however lightly, upon the synapses of our country’s journalistic elite. ChromeOS can’t beat anything. In fact suggesting that ChromeOS will beat Windows or even OS X is like expecting Coby to come up behind Sony and Samsung next year in Blu-Ray player popularity. As a wise man once said “Ain’t the same ** ballpark. It ain’t the same league, it ain’t even the same ** sport.” ChromeOS is a specialized version of Linux designed for netbooks. It is more like Android than anything else and, as Fake Steve notes, no one will use it. Oh, manufacturers will pay lip service to it and maybe someone will install it on a few million machines but it will be a drop in the bucket compared to the powerful web OSes called Windows 7 and OS X. Google can use ChromeOS to scare Microsoft and move more people to GMail and Google Office apps. That’s about it. And the people that move will be limited to the very few OEMs who will install ChromeOS on new machines. Netbooks are going the way of the Dodo and the race to the bottom will cause them to disappear, replaced by more powerful ultralights that will fill out the middle of the laptop market. These ultralights will be running Windows 7, not Chrome. Fake Steve explains it all thus:
And he’s absolutely right. Anyone can make a Linux install disk, call it “Super Google Linux” and rock out. There even was a Google OS - albeit an unofficial one - called gOS. And we all saw how well that went. Hell, you can even make Hanna Montana Linux for newbies but that doesn’t mean newbies will install it or manufacturers will use it. There’s no reason. Android I’m bullish on. Android is a real threat to Windows Mobile and the HTC Hero put the first chink in Microsoft’s Mobile armor. But the HTC Hero isn’t a Google product, Google gets no cash from it, and, you’ll notice, HTC has modified Android to an extent that makes it closer to the Palm Pre than anything else. HTC took Google’s free operating system and stripped out the Google. ChromeOS isn’t a threat. In fact it’s not even on Microsoft’s radar. It’s nice that Google is offering their philanthropic OS for all and sundry (incidentally, what are the tax implications of this kind of project?) But can it beat Windows? No and never.
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| Felt Mac classic iPhone case is soft ‘n cute Posted: 08 Jul 2009 06:00 PM PDT
He (she?) has actually made an announcement on that front:
I’m not sure how much it costs, but you’ll get back every dollar you spend… in smiles! [via Make and The Daily What]
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| IR multi-touch surfaces for about $2,000: Very cool Posted: 08 Jul 2009 05:38 PM PDT Have a burning need to install a large, multi-touch screen in your home or office? Well you’re in luck. DemandEvolution has created a multi-touch screen for artistic, office, and personal use that requires a projector and can then scan that screen for motion and react accordingly. Take a look at these wacky videos for a clearer picture.
Essentially you’re creating a vertical Microsoft Surface for $1,800 plus $200 shipping. The kit includes a 50-inch screen, IR touch surface, IR video camera, and software and drivers. All you have to do is set up a projector aimed at the surface and flick and twist your way into multi-touch heaven. These good folks also make a 30-inch multi-touch LCD for $5,500. It’s a little bit pricey but hey, it’s the future.
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| Happy 100th Birthday Audi, and thanks for all the pianos Posted: 08 Jul 2009 05:30 PM PDT
They teamed up with Bosendorfer, a trusted name in Pianos for about 180 years now, to make this radical-looking instrument. I’m sure it sounds better than the one my parents have sitting in the garage, but there is a reason pianos are shaped the way they are. I doubt Bosendorfer would make a bad piano, but I can only imagine that the true Pianophile will find something amiss. I do like that bit “curtain” on the left side, though. Do you think it resonates? Anyway, it’s lovely, Audi, but you couldn’t have made a special 100th Birthday Blogger Edition of the R8? [via Dvice]
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| Creative bringing out Zii player with HD camera Posted: 08 Jul 2009 04:55 PM PDT
It does have that iPhone-y outline, doesn’t it? But how else are you going to make a widescreen device that fits in the hand? The lozenge is becoming a very familiar shape these days. [via TechReport]
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| Charge4all, your friendly neighborhood charging tube Posted: 08 Jul 2009 04:30 PM PDT
There are two options: with mat and without mat. I don’t care for the look of the mat, personally (reminds me of a Lego base) and you can save $10 by just getting the tube, so that’d be my recommendation. I actually would find little use for this because I like to spread my gadgets around the area. I have a camera gear table, a gaming table, and so on. Phones get charged by my bed because that’s where I need it to be when I’m sleeping. Still, this might be handy for an office or common area in a house or dorm. [via Crave]
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| LaCie’s LaCinema Rugged plays 1080p video for $350 Posted: 08 Jul 2009 04:00 PM PDT
If money is no issue, and you’re looking to play 1080p content—alt.binaries.hdtv.h264 says hi—on your big screen TV, you really ought to look into getting a proper PC, one with one of those fancy nVidia GPU that you can use to hardware accelerate said Blu-ray rips. That being said, it looks like LaCie just came out with a stand-alone device that should play most of the HD content you "find" online. Oh, it’s called the LaCinema Rugged HD, and LaCie wants $350 for it. The device has a 500GB hard drive, which should be enough for plenty of feature-length movies. (I generally see 1080p movies anywhere from 7GB to 14GB in size.) It works with all the major codecs including H.264 and WMV9; it works with MKV! And as we all know, MKV has become the standard for scene HD releases. So, you put your file(s) on the drive, then plug the device into your TV using an HDMI cable. All of a sudden, you’re watching Che Part One or Watchmen in full HD. (I doubt the LaCie people are thrilled with me referencing piracy so often in this post, but, really, how many of you are sitting there ripping Blu-ray discs? Is that even legal? It happens: people download stuff.) My one concern is that, in my experience, on a lot of the better handled Blu-ray rips have pretty high video bitrates. (Here’s Children of Men, a 1080p Blu-ray rip.) So I don’t know how high that number can climb before the device starts to choke. Video at 720p shouldn’t present any problem.
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| Best idea of all time: a key that is also a keyring Posted: 08 Jul 2009 03:40 PM PDT
Even if that’s true, however, this thing also
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| Explore Stargate Universe’s Destiny with Photosynth Posted: 08 Jul 2009 03:30 PM PDT
Who’s excited about Stargate Universe? Everyone! I knew I wasn’t alone. Anyway, the story is suppose to take place aboard an Ancient ship that’s locked in autopilot so you’ll probably end up seeing a lot of the ship. If you’ve got a few minutes to kill, head over to the just-launched SG-U website for two Photosynths showing the Destiny’s gate room and a random corridor - plus a whole bunch more random media. All I have to say is that this show better be good and not given the 9pm Friday night time slot of death. But even if it’s not good, I’ll probably still end up watching it anyway. I’ve seen every SG-1 and Atlantis episode so I might was well watch this crap too.
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| Let’s slow down with the scary-sounding cyberwar stuff Posted: 08 Jul 2009 03:00 PM PDT
Matt Drudge is running two big stories right now: The Google Chrome OS, and the apparent cyberattack that took down a few U.S. government Web sites. Several outlets, including the AP, are already going with the scary-sounding "It was the North Koreans!" angle, but let’s slow down for a minute. The fact is that no U.S. government official has confirmed any sort of attack. So to say, "Oh My God We’re Under Attack!" right now is a tad premature. The reports that are currently swirling around the Internet quote officials at a South Korean intelligence organization, with a smattering of security experts chiming in for good measure. Second, even if there was some sort of coordinated cyber attack, how is that different from your everyday cyberattack. Quoth the Department of Homeland Security spokesman, "The US sees attacks on its networks every day, and measures have been put in place to minimize the impact on federal Web sites." No need to jump in your fallout shelter just yet. And lastly, just because someone attacks a South Korean Web site, when does that automatically make them the same person who attacks American Web sites? Just because they both happen at the same time doesn’t necessarily mean they’re coming from the same Bad Guys. Just a friendly heads-up, is all. Don’t want any of y’all freaking out over what, so far, is largely nothing.
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| Rumor: Nikon’s 2009-2010 roadmap Posted: 08 Jul 2009 02:30 PM PDT
Nikon Rumors may or may not have Nikon’s 2009-2010 product roadmap, but we kind of hope what it’s the real thing. It’s loaded with six upcoming DSLRs and tons of lens, including the D3000 and D300s being announced on August 4th just like we thought. Then next year we should see the rumored D4 with the D4x coming later in the year, along with the D400 and a Coolpix model that sports a DX sensor. We sure have our fingers crossed that this list pans out.
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| Video: Optimus Prime does Letterman’s Top Ten List Posted: 08 Jul 2009 02:00 PM PDT Optimus Prime goes on Letterman and reads the top ten things that sound cool when spoken by a giant robot. I liked number nine: “Do you have these khakis in a size 114?” [via Topless Robot]
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| Posted: 08 Jul 2009 01:50 PM PDT  When the HTC Hero made its video debut weeks before official announcement, it looked like we'd see this thing hit the shelves in a full array of colors, from Neon Yellow to Turqoise. By the time it became official, however, most of these variations had disappeared. By the time the press event wrapped up, we saw only two variations: one black, one white. It looks like at least two more are in the works, however.
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| Video: Controlling a 15-ton hydraulic grapple with a Wii remote Posted: 08 Jul 2009 01:40 PM PDT No day is complete without a silly video that’s only tangentially related to CG’s modus operandi. Thus, presenting this: a video that shows a man controlling a really big grapple with a Wii controller. Fifteen tons, to be exact. All controlled by your standard issue Wii controller. Madness? Hardly; reality! As they say in Brasil, muito interessante.
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| Posted: 08 Jul 2009 06:22 PM PDT Just to pass some time the day after Sarah Palin announced her resignation as Governor of Alaska, I decided to roam around the internet and see what types of words... |
| AIG And The Failure Of Congressional Oversight Posted: 08 Jul 2009 11:11 AM PDT Michael Lewis has written an extraordinary piece on the AIG failure for Vanity Fair. As with most of his work, the article is informative, funny and written in an easy... |
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