Archive for August, 2007
Universal Music Goes DRM-Free
Posted by Joe on August 10, 2007 · Comments Off
Universal Music seems to be partnering with anyone but Apple to sell DRM-free music:
Moving to blunt Apple Inc.’s growing power, the world’s largest music company is bypassing the iPod maker to sell thousands of songs in an unrestricted digital format through many other online music stores.
Universal Music Group said Thursday that it would begin selling current and back albums — from a collection of stars as diverse as 50 Cent, Maroon 5, Amy Winehouse and Johnny Cash — without anti-piracy software that restricts their use.
Online retail partners include Best Buy Co., Wal-Mart [...]
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Free Download — McAfee Virus Scan
Posted by Joe on August 9, 2007 · Comments Off
AOL is offering “McAfee Virus Scan Plus – Special edition from AOL” as a free download for anyone with an AOL email account (which is also free). The free software also includes firewall protection. This product replaces the Active Virus Shield formerly offered (made by McAfee competitor Kapersky Labs).
I’ve been using the free version of Avira for years, but I’m tempted to try this out.
Download McAfee Virus Scan Plus – Special edition from AOL here.
UPDATE: I tried out McAfee this evening, and it’s just too resource intensive. And that’s [...]
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Google Offers Paid Storage Plans
Posted by Joe on August 9, 2007 · Comments Off
Google is offering paid plans that increase storage for Google services (currently Gmail and Picasa Web Albums). The extra space is shared between the two services.
Pricing:
6 GB ($20.00 per year)
25 GB ($75.00 per year)
100 GB ($250.00 per year)
250 GB ($500.00 per year)
If you’re a heavy Picasa and/or Gmail user, this may be just what you need. Personally, I can’t imagine filling up the 2.8GB currently offered by Gmail.
More details on Google.com
[via Download Squad]
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OLPC Laptop Gets Rave Review
eWeek tech writer Jim Rapoza is very impressed with the OLPC laptop:
I recently had the opportunity to spend some time at the offices of the One Laptop Per Child project, in Cambridge, Mass. I tested the final beta version of the XO, called B4, and spoke with OLPC President Walter Bender and Chief Technology Officer Mary Lou Jepsen. Based on earlier examinations of the OLPC laptop, I expected to be impressed simply by the system’s economy, low-power capabilities and wireless mesh features. But what I saw exceeded these expectations.
Put simply, the XO is one of the most revolutionary computer [...]
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Sticker Guy Unmasked
Posted by Joe on August 9, 2007 · Comments Off
Cox Newspaper reporter Bob Keefe has been revealed to be the Intel sticker boy.
We’ve now positively identified Keefe, a reporter for Cox Newspapers, as the infamous and dastardly Intel Sticker Guy from Tuesday’s Mac Event. The man who took the road less traveled by and, in a moment where he had the unprecedented chance to ask Steve Jobs any question ever, asked him about why Apple doesn’t put Intel stickers on Macs. We note that the question and answer did not appear in Keefe’s writeup of the event, yesterday.
I wish more manufacturers felt the way Apple feels. [...]
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Didja.com — All Commercials All The Time
Posted by Joe on August 9, 2007 · Comments Off
Like YouTube, only it’s all commercials:
NBC Universal is expanding its battle against YouTube and other viral video sites, using the weight of its top-rated USA cable network to launch an all-advertising website called Didja.com.
Set to launch early next year, site will offer a vast archive of current and classic TV spots, movie trailers and other “brand-related content.” USA-Sci Fi Channel prexy Bonnie Hammer said the goal is to “become the go-to destination for on-demand advertising content.”
If there aren’t enough advertisements in your life, you should be [...]
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Blockbuster Acquires Movielink
Posted by Joe on August 9, 2007 · Comments Off
Blockbuster may soon be offering online movie viewing just like Netflix:
The video rental chain Blockbuster said yesterday that it had acquired the Internet movie provider Movielink to offer video downloading services to customers.
Blockbuster is also acquiring rights to show the films of Movie- link’s owners, which include Warner Brothers Studios, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Paramount Pictures, it said. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“It immediately puts us in the digital download business,†Blockbuster’s chief executive, James W. Keyes, said. “Clearly, our customers [...]
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Google’s ‘Letter To The Aggregator’ Program Excites Bloggers
Posted by Joe on August 9, 2007 · Comments Off
Google News will be beta testing a new comment system:
“We’ll be trying out a mechanism for publishing comments from a special subset of readers: those people or organizations who were actual participants in the story in question. Our long-term vision is that any participant will be able to send in their comments, and we’ll show them next to the articles about the story. Comments will be published in full, without any edits, but marked as “comments” so readers know it’s the individual’s perspective, rather than part of a journalist’s report.”
Essentially, [...]
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At FanCovers.com Everyone’s A Star
Posted by Joe on August 8, 2007 · Comments Off
FanCovers.com just went live today. It’s a community site for amateur musicians created by Andy Hin and Cory Liu, two Toronto based undergrads/entrepreneurs. The free service lets users upload and share their own video performances of popular songs by famous artists (known, of course, as covers). The site even has a database of artists and songs to help users correctly credit the original artists when uploading their video.
FanCovers.com is a great idea for a site that amateur musicians and music lovers alike should really enjoy. Since the site just launched today, there aren’t [...]
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Scripps In A Pickle Over Latest Acquisition
Posted by Joe on August 8, 2007 · Comments Off
Scripps Networks has purchased Pickle.com owner Incando Corporation for $4.7 million, its second media purchase in less than a month. Pickle.com is a photo and video sharing site, and the Incando acquisition is primarily for the company’s Web2.0 technology enabling speedy uploads of photos and videos from computers, mobile phones and digital cameras.
“We are committed to our strategy of owning the food, shelter and lifestyle categories online as well as on air,” said John Lansing, president of Scripps Networks. “With the acquisition of Incando, we now have the back-end [...]
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Lift Off
Posted by Joe on August 8, 2007 · Comments Off
So cool:
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) – Space shuttle Endeavour blasted off Wednesday carrying teacher- astronaut Barbara Morgan, who after more than two decades is finally carrying out the dream of Christa McAuliffe and the rest of the fallen Challenger crew.
Endeavour and its crew of seven rose from the seaside pad at 6:36 p.m., right on time, and pierced a solidly blue sky. They’re expected to reach the international space station in two days.
“Good luck, godspeed and have some fun up there,” launch director Michael Leinbach said.
Morgan was McAuliffe’s backup for [...]
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File Sharing 101
Posted by Joe on August 8, 2007 · Comments Off
Wired has posted a “College Student’s Guide to File Sharing“, covering BitTorrent and other P2P networks. Don’t forget to read the legal risks section at the bottom.
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Zeldman Profile In BusinessWeek
Posted by Joe on August 8, 2007 · Comments Off
Web standards evangelist Jeffrey Zeldman is profiled in BusinessWeek. Zeldman’s influence on quality web design and standards usage has been extremely positive overall, but I still associate the rise of CSS with tiny low-contrast fonts and the elevation of style over readability that was in vogue a few years ago. Then again, it may be unfair to associate Zeldman with those things, and current trends in CSS design are very positive — bigger fonts, more contrast, and white backgrounds.
On the web:
A List Apart
Zeldman.com
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Web Seems To Be Catching On
Posted by Joe on August 7, 2007 · Comments Off
Is anyone surprised by this?
U.S. consumers this year will spend more of their day surfing the Internet than reading newspapers or going to the movies or listening to recorded music, according a study released on Tuesday.
The study also estimates that online advertising dollars will overtake other advertising mediums by 2011. It all seems rather inevitable.
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Who’s Walking The Webkinz?
Posted by Joe on August 7, 2007 · Comments Off
Allowing your child to neglect a meatspace pet’s needs, especially food and water, would be immoral and probably criminal. However, I’m at a loss as to why a mom would feel obligated to log into a kid’s Club Penguin or Webkinz account late at night to make sure her virtual pets are properly cared for. It seems like the child would be better served by the parents staying out of it, and letting the kid learn a lesson that can’t be taught as easily in the real world — shirking responsibilities can cause harm to the things we care about.
From the Wall Street Journal:
“Who’s [...]
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Office 2007 Compatibility
Posted by Joe on August 7, 2007 · Comments Off
The free Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack gives older versions of Office file compatibility with Office 2007.
Overview:
By installing the Compatibility Pack in addition to Microsoft Office 2000, Office XP, or Office 2003, you will be able open, edit, and save files using the file formats new to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007. The Compatibility Pack can also be used in conjunction with the Microsoft Office Word Viewer 2003, Excel Viewer 2003, and PowerPoint Viewer 2003 to view files saved in these new formats.
For most users, this update makes upgrading to Office 2007 completely unnecessary. [...]
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TimesSelect Paywall May Be Gone Soon
Posted by Joe on August 7, 2007 · Comments Off
TimesSelect, the NY Times paywall, may be crumbling.
The New York Times is poised to stop charging readers for online access to its Op-Ed columnists and other content, The Post has learned.
After much internal debate, Times executives – including publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. – made the decision to end the subscription-only TimesSelect service but have yet to make an official announcement, according to a source briefed on the matter.
TimesSelect was never popular with the Time’s readers (or writers, for that matter) so this isn’t a huge surprise — even though the [...]
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Apple Updates
Posted by Joe on August 7, 2007 · Comments Off
Visit MacWorld for a detailed roundup of the Apple announcements today. The new aluminum iMac is awesome, but still no mid-range expandable Mac. The cheapest Mac with a pci slot remains over $2,000. There’s a new keyboard Apple fans seem really excited about, though.
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$150 Laptop CEO Interviewed
Posted by Joe on August 7, 2007 · Comments Off
Medison CEO Valdi Ivancic has been interviewed about the controversial $150 laptop the company is selling (but not yet shipping). ZDNet has a translation of the interview. Excerpt:
It is today only scarcely more than a week until the first computers according to plan will be shipped. Ivancic explains the computers that have been ordered to Europe will drop shipped from the company’s supplier in Asia. Computers that are ordered to America will be assembled in Brasil and mailed from there. Ivancic is looking forward to the day when the computers are shipped. – Hopefully on August [...]
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iWork With Numbers
Posted by Joe on August 7, 2007 · Comments Off
Apple’s iWork application suite is finally set to get a spreadsheet application, according to 9to5Mac. This will obviously make iWork more of a competitor for Microsoft Office. iWork currently includes Pages (a word processor) and Keynote (presentation software). The new version, iWork 08, is set to be announced at Apple’s “Mac-related†presentation this morning, according to 9to5Mac’s sources.
Filed in: SL
Video Of Asus EEE PC
Posted by Joe on August 6, 2007 · Comments Off
PC World has video of the Asus EEE PC in action. This is from Computex 2007 last month so it isn’t new footage, but I just came across it. The EEE PC is supposed to hit the market in some shape or form in August or (more likely) September for between $199 and $250.
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VeriSign Secures Web Sites, Not Laptops
Posted by Joe on August 6, 2007 · Comments Off
A laptop with employee data, including Social Security numbers, was stolen from a VeriSign worker:
VeriSign Inc. said a laptop containing the Social Security numbers, salaries and other personal information of current and former employees was stolen from the car of a human resources worker.
VeriSign (nasdaq: VRSN – news – people ), which manages the “.com” and “.net” domain names registry and sells security certificates for Web sites, said Monday that the computer was stolen from the worker’s garage July 12 or 13.
That’s what they call ironic, I think. [...]
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Treo 800P Spy Pics
Posted by Joe on August 6, 2007 · Comments Off
Palm Infocenter has spy photos and video of what may be the Palm Treo 800P. Sources say the device is a GSM model running Palm OS Garnet. It has a micro-SD memory expansion slot and an an infrared port, with power coming from an 1150 mAh Li-ion battery. Check out Palm Infocenter for more details.
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Plaxo Ads Microblogging Platform
Posted by Joe on August 6, 2007 · Comments Off
Plaxo, an online address and calendar application, launched the Pulse social-networking site today.
Now you can play with the beta service yourself. But don’t call it a social-networking site; Pulse is really one part microblogging platform and one part RSS (Really Simple Syndication) reader. And despite the fact that such a description sounds nauseatingly Web 2.0 pitchy, this is a service that Plaxo hopes will appeal to a less technologically adept set of users.
Overall, Pulse’s interface is a lot like Pownce in the sense that it’s a feed of short clips of media from your friends, [...]
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Newbie Facebook Guide
Posted by Joe on August 6, 2007 · Comments Off
Webware has posted a Newbie Guide To Facebook. It’s a good guide, with just enough detail to be useful without overwhelming someone new to Facebook.
Filed in: SL
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