Archive | February, 2011
Apple’s Pen Patent
It’s just a patent–and it doesn’t jibe very well with Steve Jobs’ declaration that anyone who designs a device that uses a stylus has failed, by definition. But I for one love the idea of an iPad with a screen you could draw on using a pen.
Hotmail Brings E-Mail Aliases to the Masses
3. February 2011
The tech-savvy among us know its completely possible to have a single physical email address, yet be able to make it appear as if we have more through the use of an alias. Well, enter Microsoft, which is bringing this to the masses in the form of what it’s calling throwaway e-mail addresses.
Possible uses for this are almost limitless: For example, you can create an alias to give to untrusted web sites, then create a rule to forward all those potential e-mails to a specific folder to keep your inbox unclogged. Got a less than professional e-mail address? Hide it with a much more dignified one.
“The average person maintains three different email addresses,” Windows Live product management director Dharmesh Mehta reported. He added the updates save the user time by allowing one account to appear as many, rather than the need to maintain several disparate accounts.
Google vs. Bing: The Squabble Continues
3. February 2011
I’ve been watching the odd debate between Google and Bing executives over Bing’s alleged copying of Google search results wih an uneasy fascination. There’s an interesting question here about legitimate and illegitimate uses of clickstream monitoring to shape search results. But both sides have adopted pissy, confrontational tones that haven’t done much to clarify matters. (All Things Digital’s Kara Swisher thinks the whole affair may be a preview of the Larry Page era at Google.)
But Google engineer Matt Cutts has a new post up which I like: His points seem reasonable and he engages in no sniping or whining. I agree with him that Bing honcho Yusef Mehdi’s “We do not copy results from any of our competitors. Period. Full stop.” is, at best, confusing given that (A) Bing does seem to have replicated the nonsense results that Google planted as part of its sting operation; and (B) Bing representatives also seems to have defended watching IE users’ clicks on Google and mixing results based on their actions there into the gumbo of Bing’s algorithm.
At the moment, I think that Google has the edge in this tussle, mostly because it’s explained its stance more coherently and (somewhat) more politely. (Of course, reasonable people may disagree.)
If Microsoft’s stance is that it hasn’t been copying Google results (period, full stop), the best thing it could do would be to explain why that isn’t the case–in language as measured and dignified as Cutts’s. Tell us, Bingfolk: Why haven’t your actions amounted to cloning links from a competitor’s search results?
Confirmed: AT&T, Motorola Have Ruined the Atrix 4G
3. February 2011
When I heaped lavish praise on Motorola’s Atrix 4G smartphone during CES, those plaudits came with a caveat: For this wacky modular computing concept to work, AT&T needed reasonable pricing for the Atrix’s laptop dock and accompanying data plans.
Unfortunately, that won’t be the case. When Atrix 4G pre-orders begin on February 13, the phone itself will cost $200 like almost every other Android superphone on the market — no problems there.
But the laptop dock, which taps the phone’s processor to run a full version of the Firefox browser, will cost $500 on its own. You can get the phone and dock together for $500, but then you’ll have to include tethering (another $20 per month) in your contract. And even if you don’t take the bundle, the dock will still require tethering to access AT&T’s network.
The laptop dock consists only of a screen, keyboard, mouse and battery, and yet it costs the same on its own as an entire high-powered netbook, processor and all. That alone is a dealbreaker. But the real disappointment is AT&T’s attitude towards the very concept of docking. Even though the dock’s sole functionality is to browse the web — and not perform bandwidth-intensive desktop tasks like online gaming or peer-to-peer file sharing — AT&T still treats it like a full-blown laptop.
Shutting Down the Net Cost Egypt at Least $90 Million
3. February 2011
Data from the Organisation for Economic Development indicates that Egypt’s Internet shutdown may have cost the country $90 million or more, PC Magazine reports. That could be low, as the country has done much to attract high-tech to the country, and those losses are not included.
Google Android 3.0 and Motorola Xoom: Hands-On, and Awesome
3. February 2011
[Here's another story from our friends at PCWorld.]
Yesterday I got my first hands-on time with the Motorla Xoom tablet, running Android 3.0. And the one-two punch proved a compelling experience. It’s a very different experience than what one gets on today’s Android 2.2 tablets (led by Samsung Galaxy Tab), or on Apple’s iPad.
When the Motorola Xoom was first introduced last month at the CES show in Las Vegas, we only got glimpses of what it could do. Emphasis on the word glimpses: The demos were videos, run by demonstrators who wouldn’t allow hands-on with the device. Today, however, was a completely different experience. After Google’s special event at its headquarters to formally introduce Android 3.0, nearly a dozen developers showed off their apps on the Motorola Xoom, and Google staffers showed off how Honeycomb functions, on the Xoom device.
“Welcome to Hulu Plus, Snooki”
3. February 2011
Hulu and Viacom are best pals once again, with The Daily Show and The Colbert Report returning to Hulu as free streaming videos, available the day after they air on TV.
Hulu also announced that Viacom will bring a bunch of other shows to Hulu Plus, the site’s $8 per month subscription service, including Comedy Central’s Tosh.0 and MTV’s Jersey Shore. (The above headline is a quote from Hulu Chief Executive Jason Kilar’s blog post.) In total, Hulu will add more than 2,000 episodes of Viacom content including Chappelle’s Show, The Hills and Reno 911.
Jon Stewart’s and Stephen Colbert’s satirical news programs were among the most popular shows on Hulu before Viacom pulled them from the site in March 2010, apparently over rights disagreements.
But in addition to the news about Viacom, Kilar used his blog post to publish a manifesto of sorts on the future of digital content, touching on rumors that the site may change direction and become more like an online cable operator.
The Verizon iPhone 4 Reviews Are In. I Bet You Can Guess the Overall Gist
3. February 2011
The Verizon iPhone 4 doesn’t hit stores until a week from today. But if you’re interested in whetting your appetite, read one or more of the reviews which started hitting the Web yesterday evening. They vary in length, comprehensiveness, and attitude, but in many ways they’re remarkably similar. Everyone points out that the AT&T and Verizon flavors of the phone are largely identical. Everyone mentions AT&T advantages, such as international capability, the option to talk and use data at the same time, and–when 3G coverage is strong–the faster data. Everyone talks about the Verizon network’s robustness and discusses the new hotspot feature. And everyone reports a good experience with the Verizon version and gives it a thumbs up–often decisively so over the A&T one.
As usual, the last paragraphs of the reviews often serve as the most concise summary of the overall take. So here they are–along with links to the reviews in their entirety.
AT&T to Double Tethering Cap, Add Wi-Fi Hotspot Service for Some Phones
2. February 2011
Looks like AT&T has realized that its smartphone tethering plan is a raw deal, because the carrier will soon double the plan’s bandwidth cap while also allowing some phones to act as wireless hotspots.
Currently, AT&T charges $20 per month for tethering on top of its $25 per month smartphone data plan. But AT&T doesn’t provide any extra data for this service, so subscribers are confined to the same 2 GB per month for which they’re already paying.
That’ll change starting February 13, when AT&T starts selling phones equipped with Wi-Fi hotspot capabilities. Both wireless and USB tethering will extend users’ bandwidth caps to 4 GB per month for the same $20 surcharge as before. Each additional GB cost $10.
Technologizer and TIME.com: The Details on Our New Partnership
2. February 2011
If you’re the type who examines Web sites really carefully, you may have noticed something new at Technologizer: the “in partnership with TIME.com” labels at the top and bottom of each page. I’m thrilled to say that our site and TIME.com are expanding the collaboration we established back in September, when I began writing a weekly original Technologizer column for TIME.com. (It also shows up in the magazine–for instance, my story on Quora will be in this week’s issue.)
What does our broader arrangement mean for the Technologizer community? In some respects, not much: The site remains an independent business. I still have the honor and responsibility of calling the shots on editorial content and all other issues; the same folks will be writing for the site. But TIME.com’s sales team will be responsible for selling the ads that make Technologizer a viable business. You’ll also see links to Technologizer stories over at TIME.com, alerting new readers to our existence. I’ll continue the Technologizer column for TIME and guest contributions over at TIME’s Techland site–and will contribute some more ambitious stories to TIME.com as well.
In short, the idea is to use our editorial and business partnership to bring more Technologizer to more people than ever. And while Technologizer continues to be an experiment in small-scale, hand-made, small-batch journalism, it’s exciting to team up with one of the most powerful media brands ever.
I’d also like to take a moment to thank all the smart people at Federated Media, the company which signed on to be our advertising partner before the site even existed. Without their enthusiasm, creativity, and hard work on our behalf, there might not be a Technologizer at all; I’ll be grateful for their support forever, and am happy to say we still have some irons in the fire together.
Thanks to you, too: As I never tire of telling people, Technologizer is the best job I’ve ever had, and it’s you guys (here, on Twitter, and on Facebook) that make every day a new adventure. You’re an inspiring bunch.
Here’s a story from MediaBistro on the news.
Google Spills the Details on Its Tablet OS, Android 3.0 Honeycomb
2. February 2011
[This article is republished courtesy of our pals at PCWorld.]
The great tease is over: Today, here at its headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., Google showed off Android 3.0, a tablet-friendly operating system also known as Honeycomb. The new tablet OS emphasizes a slick interface, beefed up graphics for games, and support for in-app purchases.
Along with the new operating system, Google also announced an Android Market Website that allows Android phone and tablet users to browse, purchase, and download apps directly to their devices — no wires or USB syncing to a PC needed. The Web-based Android Market is live now.
The live Android 3.0 demos were performed on the upcoming Motorola Xoom tablet. Google showed off other enhancements to the OS, such as a Contact Shortcuts feature that allows you to create quick links to contacts for video chatting or sending e-mail. Google also offered live demonstrations of its video chat feature, new camera interface, visually immersive games, and multitasking capabilities.
Internet “Kill Switch” Efforts In US on Life Support?
2. February 2011
A plan about 16 months in the making to give the President powers to shut down the Internet may have just died an early death thanks to the events in Egypt. According to supporters of the bill, the purpose was to protect US interests from cyberattacks, although critics say it goes too far and could be a threat to free speech.
In Egypt, the Mubarak regime shut down the Internet in the country in an effort to curtail the organization efforts of anti-government protesters. That hasn’t worked too well, and Internet connections were restored in the country this morning. The effort seems to have shone new light on “kill switch” efforts here.
8 Quick Takes on The Daily for iPad
2. February 2011
Tablets now have their first exclusive newspaper in The Daily, which News Corp launched today for Apple’s iPad. It’s not a radical re-imagination of the news, but it goes a bit further with interactivity and multimedia than the existing batch of swipe-to-read apps from media giants like NPR and the New York Times.
I checked in remotely to the live video of Apple and News Corps’ joint press event, and then took a spin through the app itself. Read on for some quick impressions of The Daily.
Android 3.0 Honeycomb Live Blog This Morning
2. February 2011
Quick reminder: I’ll be at the Googleplex this morning with live coverage of the Android 3.0 “Honeycomb” press event, which should provide the most extensive preview to date of Google’s first tablet-friendly operating system. Join me at Technlogizer.com/honeycomb, won’t you? The event starts at 10am PT.
What is the “AOL Way?”
1. February 2011
If you’re a writer with AOL, CEO Tim Armstrong is going to be expecting a whole heckuva lot more out of you real soon. Internal documents obtained by Silicon Alley Insider show that the company is asking its writers to nearly double their output while at the same time make sure they’re making their stories Google-bait.
Content farm? Sure sounds like it! The subject of content farms has gotten a lot of press lately, especially in light of Demand Media’s recent IPO, and decisions by sports-centric Bleacher Report to pay its writers and Yahoo’s purchase of Associated Content. Armstrong must see the value in gaming the search engines, something Demand has done to great effect and success.
Roku, YouTube Give Al-Jazeera English New Paths to Your TV
1. February 2011
Like my colleague Ed Oswald, I’ve been marveling at Al-Jazeera English’s coverage of the protests in Egypt. Particularly, I appreciate how the channel is treating its journalism like a public service, with a free live stream on the Web and a Creative Commons license for other networks to use its footage.
But unlike Ed, I’m not lamenting cable companies’ stonewalling of the channel because, well, I don’t subscribe to cable. Still, I get the desire to watch Al Jazeera English’s coverage on a television, so I’m glad Roku has stepped in with a solution for its set-top boxes. Roku owners can now tap into Al-Jazeera English’s live feed through the Newscaster app in the Roku Channel Store.
That’s a pretty nice development for web video in general. One of the common complaints with cord-cutting is that you lose access to 24-hour news networks such as CNN or Fox News, who only make their feeds available to pay TV subscribers. Al-Jazeera English provides a good workaround, albeit one that won’t give you national news coverage if you’re in the United States.
In addition to Roku, YouTube is now running a live feed of Al-Jazeera English, potentially allowing the Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii and other connected TVs and set-top boxes to access the channel. I’ll be able to test that out on the two consoles’ web browsers in an hour or so, and will update with the results. (Update: No luck with the YouTube feed on Playstation 3 or Wii, but I did get the feed from Al-Jazeera’s own website running in the PS3′s web browser.)
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