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Google Buzz: Another attempt to harness the content firehose
Similar to how Google successfully remolded RSS into a Google tool, the company now wants to remold Gmail into one big Google party
Success: Google's Nexus One shipping support line takes tech support questions
UPDATED Though the support line had been set up for shipping, it now appears Google personnel are happy to hear technical concerns.
Goodnight, moon: What I learned from a space shuttle
Carmi Levy | Wide Angle Zoom: Can the tech sector learn a few lessons from the space program? Certainly, if you believe in learning from someone else's mistakes.
Netflix to FCC: NBCU + Comcast could bypass net neutrality
Weaning itself from the post office as its main means of video transfer, Netflix would like someone to ensure the Internet remains just as unencumbered.
Rhapsody to become an independent company
RealNetworks and Viacom subsidiary MTV Networks have begun the process of spinning off music service Rhapsody into an independent company.
Nvidia debuts new dynamically-switched graphics card technology
Today, Nvidia announced that its Optimus technology for GPU switching will soon be available in a handful of Asus notebooks.
Google lowers 'unusually high' early termination fee on Nexus One
Google has lowered the Nexus One's early termination fees which were twice as high as the norm.
Netgear and Ericsson introduce a mobile broadband hotspot with a twist
It's a mobile broadband hotspot, but it's for use in the home.
Report: Streaming video drove 72% global increase in mobile data consumption
A new study says streaming video is "the single most influential factor driving the need for increased mobile network capacity."
Stymied by continuing Nexus One 3G issues, Google blames the environment
If you're still afflicted with the 3G flip-flop trouble, then you might consider moving. That appears to be the only suggestion Google can give for now.
Wolfram|Alpha makes a strong argument for virtual keyboards
"Answer engine" Wolfram|Alpha has updated its iPhone/iPod Touch app, harnessing the strength of the virtual keyboard.
Rhapsody to become an independent company
By Tim Conneally on February 9, 2010, 5:33 PM
1 Comment
Now nearly a decade old, RealNetworks' online music service Rhapsody is going to be spun off into an independent company. The spin-off will mean that RealNetworks will no longer have operating control over the service, and it will have no single majority owner.
Currently, Rhapsody is a joint venture with RealNetworks and Viacom subsidiary MTV Networks, with real owning 51% of the equity of Rhapsody and Viacom owning 49%.
Continue reading Rhapsody to become an independent company...
Google Buzz: Another attempt to harness the content firehose
By Tim Conneally on February 9, 2010, 3:31 PM
2 Comments
Rather than create another new destination social network like Facebook, Twitter or Foursquare, Google today announced that it has added social networking and location-based features into Gmail, Google Profiles, and Google Maps with a new service called Google Buzz.
Late last week, rumors surfaced that Google was debuting a new "Social Gmail" this week, and that really is kind of what Buzz is. With it, you can post status updates and share links, photos, and location-based updates with your Gmail contacts, and the content being posted by your contacts is automatically ranked according to your interactions with that contact. Ultimately, it's a lot like FriendFeed but with a Google flavor.
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Nvidia debuts new dynamically-switched graphics card technology
By Tim Conneally on February 9, 2010, 11:56 AM
5 Comments
The idea behind notebooks with switchable graphics processors is that the most common tasks are handled by the lower power integrated GPU; but should the user need more complex graphics, a discrete graphics processor will be able to kick in to take care of the hard work.
It's been an option in certain notebooks for more than three years, and it has certainly grown more common as the technology has aged. But it has never quite been a perfect, on-demand solution. In the earliest switchable setups, the computer had to be rebooted for the swap to take place, and in later iterations, it required a physical switch to be thrown or sessions to be reset. and still others could turn on the discrete GPU, but not switch back to integrated once the change was made.
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Google lowers 'unusually high' early termination fee on Nexus One
By Tim Conneally on February 9, 2010, 9:24 AM
7 Comments
At the end of January, the Federal Communications Commission's Consumer Task Force launched an inquiry into the Early Termination Fees (ETFs) of the major wireless providers with a special focus on the Google Nexus One handset.
The Nexus One is unlike other smartphones in that it is sold only by Google and available on multiple carriers. As such, if a customer terminated his contract, he faced early termination fees from both Google and his wireless provider.
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Netgear and Ericsson introduce a mobile broadband hotspot with a twist
By Tim Conneally on February 9, 2010, 1:20 AM
3 Comments
We have seen a couple of mobile broadband hotspots come to market in the last year, the Novatel MiFi on Sprint and Verizon, and the recent Sprint Overdrive from Sierra Wireless. They're pocket-sized, battery-powered devices with a 3G connection that can connect a handful of devices to the Internet wherever they're plopped down.
Today, Netgear and Ericsson announced that they have created a 3G mobile broadband-connected router like these devices, except that it's not pocketable and battery powered.
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Report: Streaming video drove 72% global increase in mobile data consumption
By Tim Conneally on February 8, 2010, 12:27 PM
2 Comments
A new study from subscriber management company Allot Communications today says that worldwide mobile broadband consumption increased approximately 72% in just the second half of 2009.
Though the Federal Communications Commission is worried that there won't be enough bandwidth in the United States to support the growth in mobile broadband use, the Americas are actually being outpaced by both the Asia Pacific region (APAC) and the Europe/Middle East/Africa region (EMEA) in terms of growth rate. APAC experienced an 86% growth in mobile broadband consumption, and EMEA experienced 70% growth, while use in the Americas grew by 59%.
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Wolfram|Alpha makes a strong argument for virtual keyboards
By Tim Conneally on February 5, 2010, 7:01 PM
10 Comments
I don't keep my personal preference for mobile devices with physical keyboards a secret; the sensation of hitting real keys is an indivisible part of the text entry experience for me, and it's not likely to change any time soon.
But there is one area where physical keyboards are woefully inferior to virtual ones: adaptability. A virtual keyboard can represent any alphabet or be arranged in any configuration the user or software needs, and a physical keyboard simply can't keep up with that.
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Motorola Droid gets its first official multi-touch gesture
By Tim Conneally on February 5, 2010, 3:40 PM
2 Comments
The Droid has gotten pinch-to-zoom in Google Maps.
Immediately after Google introduced the multitouch gesture on the HTC Nexus One browser, photo gallery, and maps applications, owners of the popular Motorola Droid began to ask if their devices would receive the same update, since it is widely known to support multi-touch input.
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Original Xbox being phased out of Xbox Live online play, but alternatives exist
By Tim Conneally on February 5, 2010, 1:16 PM
6 Comments
Microsoft today confirmed the long-running rumor that support for the original Xbox will be terminated on the Xbox Live online game servers. The company announced that April 15, 2010 will be the last day legacy Xboxes will be able to play on Xbox Live.
"This isn't a decision we made lightly, but after careful consideration, it is clear this will provide the greatest benefit to the Xbox Live ommunity," Marc Whitten, General Manager of Xbox Live announced today. Whitten noted that Halo 2, a version of the popular first person shooter for the original Xbox still retains a dedicated community of players.
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Apple asks developer to remove Android mention from App Store
By Tim Conneally on February 5, 2010, 12:37 PM
15 Comments
Apple has asked one mobile app developer to refrain from mentioning Google's Android mobile operating system in its iTunes App store descriptions, or face rejection.
The description of the 99ยข "Flash of Genius" flash card app included the text: "Finalist in Google's Android Developer's Challenge!"
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ISPs are not responsible for illegal downloading, says Australian court
By Tim Conneally on February 4, 2010, 2:49 PM
9 Comments
Australian federal courts have decided that the country's second largest ISP, iiNet, is in no way responsible for the illegal actions of its subscribers.
In 2008, iiNet was sued by more than 30 film and television industry companies for copyright infringement; or more accurately, for the copyright infringement of its customers using BitTorrent to download pirated content. The group alleged that iiNet failed to take appropriate measures to stop customers from illegally sharing files with the P2P software.
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Symbian now 100% open source, and looking for developers to fill in the gaps
By Tim Conneally on February 4, 2010, 11:31 AM
8 Comments
The world's most widely-used smartphone platform is now completely free and open. Today, the Symbian Foundation announced that the entire 33 million lines of Symbian^3 code is now free under the Eclipse Public License.
The platform was only sort of open source before...sort of. When the Symbian Foundation launched in 2009, parts of the source code were made available to members of the foundation under a transitional license. But now, all of the third-party intellectual property has been removed from Symbian^3 and it can be downloaded and used freely by anyone.
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SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone okayed for 3G streaming
By Tim Conneally on February 4, 2010, 10:24 AM
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The $30 iPhone app which lets users watch content from their SlingBox "placeshifting" set top box will finally be un-crippled, Sling Media Inc announced this morning.
Like many other potentially bandwidth-hungry applications on Apple's iPhone, SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone was only cleared for use over Wi-Fi. When users wanted to watch content from their Slingbox SOLO, PRO-HD, or PRO on the go, they could only do it at a Wi-Fi hotspot. Users of the BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Palm, and Symbian versions, meanwhile, did have 3G access.
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Comcast to rebrand cable, Internet services as Xfinity
By Tim Conneally on February 3, 2010, 9:21 PM
19 Comments
If you're one of the more than 25 million Comcast subscribers, the bill you get next month may be for a service called Xfinity.
Beginning February 12, Comcast will begin rebranding its cable, Internet, and digital voice services in 11 markets under the Xfinity name, which it first debuted in December when the company began the process of acquiring NBC Universal.
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Tetris TV: A look at the weird places we've stuck Tetris
By Tim Conneally on February 3, 2010, 7:56 PM
2 Comments
True story: When I was a freshman in college in the late '90s, my roommate and I had an NES in our dorm room that people would come over and play with. Though we had just reached the 64-bit era of consoles at that point, people loved to come play games from our formative years and socialize.
Everything was fine and fun until somebody gave us a Tetris cartridge.
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Buffalo Technology tweaks its mini network drive to perfection
By Tim Conneally on February 3, 2010, 5:46 PM
6 Comments
Buffalo Technology's LinkStation Mini dual-drive network storage solution has been looked upon quite favorably. Om Malik called it "almost perfect", and its startlingly tiny profile (only 1.6" x 3.2" x 5.3") and quiet operation earned it high marks across the board.
Besides the somewhat high price of the unit, the only complaint users and reviewers seemed to have with the LinkStation was its rather unwieldy Web-based user interface.
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Online video is not a complete solution, says study
By Tim Conneally on February 3, 2010, 12:39 PM
12 Comments
Though it seems like streaming TV services are getting more diverse and robust by the week, Parks Associates today said the number of people who consider them a viable replacement to their cable or satellite subscriptions is actually shrinking.
According to the consumer research firm's "All Eyes on Video" study, the percentage of broadband-connected homes that would consider canceling their pay TV subscriptions in favor of online video has steadily declined for the last two years.
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Motorola launches its next Android-based device on Verizon
By Tim Conneally on February 3, 2010, 10:54 AM
11 Comments
Since well before Motorola released even its first Android device, a render of a seafoam green and silver slider phone called "Calgary" was floating around the Android blogs. It wasn't until today that Motorola officially announced this phone. Now known as Devour, the new Android device will be available on Verizon Wireless in March.
Looking like the slightly smaller cousin of the popular Droid, Devour is Verizon's third Android phone, and first that carries Motorola's trademark MotoBLUR interface (built upon Android 1.6). In many respects, Devour looks quite a bit like the Droid, except with specs a little lighter to encourage affordability. The display, for example, is a 3.1" HVGA capacitive touchscreen with 320 x 480 resolution instead of 3.7" (480 x 854); and the camera is 3 megapixels instead of 5.
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Google Nexus One gets proper multitouch
By Tim Conneally on February 2, 2010, 5:00 PM
10 Comments
A new software update for the Nexus One Android phone will finally offer the famous "pinch to zoom" functionality found in other "superphones" such as the Apple iPhone, Palm Pre, and HTC HD2. This news came from Google earlier today.
The famous multitouch gesture has been present on Android phones outside of the US (including the Nexus One) but due to unspecified reasons, the American version of Android has not fully supported it.
Engadget shuts down commenting: Comment about it here!
By Tim Conneally on February 2, 2010, 2:34 PM
63 Comments
Popular gadget blog Engadget has been forced to turn off comments for an undetermined period because the posters have gotten a bit overzealous with poor-form commentary.
In the post announcing the temporary ban today, Editor-in-Chief Joshua Topolsky said, "What is normally a charged -- but fun -- environment for our users and editors has become mean, ugly, pointless, and frankly threatening in some situations... and that's just not acceptable. Some of you out there in the world of anonymous grandstanding have gotten the impression that you run the place, but that's simply not the case."
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