BBC News - Technology
Net clash for web police projectsA row is brewing over separate projects to use the web to bring people closer to their local police forces.
» 12 Mar 2010, 3:30 am
China's stern warning to GoogleChina's top internet official warns that Google will "pay the consequences" if it does not comply with censorship laws.
» 12 Mar 2010, 7:17 am
HSBC admits huge Swiss data theftAbout 24,000 clients of HSBC's private banking operation in Switzerland had personal details stolen, the bank admits.
» 11 Mar 2010, 10:02 am
Tweeting 'fundamental' in lifeTwitter co-founder Evan Williams believes social networks will become a fundamental way the public communicates with government.
» 12 Mar 2010, 6:17 am
Japan aims its home fuel cells at EuropeJapan is embracing fuel cell to provide electricity and heat in the home. Now it wants to export the systems to the UK and the rest of Europe.
» 12 Mar 2010, 3:46 am
Microsoft rebuffed in Word appealMicrosoft has lost a second appeal in a case that will see it pay $240m (£160m) in damages to software firm i4i.
» 12 Mar 2010, 2:56 am
'Console killer' launches in JuneA gaming service that aims to kill off the traditional gaming console will begin streaming games over the net in June this year.
» 11 Mar 2010, 1:19 am
Web censure 'curbs human rights'Freedom of expression on the web has been curtailed in 2009, the US state department says in its annual human rights report.
» 11 Mar 2010, 11:50 am
Telegraph poles to take broadbandVirgin Media has begun trials of technology to deliver high-speed fibre-optic broadband over telegraph poles in the UK.
» 11 Mar 2010, 9:20 am
Safe and soundHi-tech to stop gadgets being stolen
» 12 Mar 2010, 9:21 am
dot.RoryThe digital election: Should we prepare to be spammed?
» 12 Mar 2010, 4:14 am
CNet Tech News
Apple loses key chip executiveSources say Dan Dobberpuhl, PA Semi's founder and pre-acquisition chief executive, has jumped ship to work at chip-related start-up Agnilux.
» 13 Mar 2010, 9:36 am
Top-rated reviews of the week (photos)Here are a few of CNET Reviews' favorite items from the past week, including the 2010 Mini Cooper S, Falcon Northwest Mach V, and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7.
» 13 Mar 2010, 6:00 am
Work hard, play hard at GDC (audio slideshow)At the 2010 Game Developers Conference, artists, programmers, and designers are sharing their best ideas on the future of gaming.
» 13 Mar 2010, 6:00 am
Wheelie robot brings dinner on the doubleToshiba shows off a two-wheeled autonomous robot than can roll over ramps and balance a tray of food. Wheelie might make a decent waiter.
» 12 Mar 2010, 6:53 pm
Tech finds its place at SXSWi (roundup)As the Web generation descends on the South by Southwest Interactive show in Austin, several location-based start-ups try to put themselves on the map.
» 12 Mar 2010, 6:49 pm
Hunch gets $10 million from Khosla Ventures, othersHunch, a buzzy start-up that answers questions using crowdsourced recommendations, has lined up at least $10 million in funding, according to sources.
» 12 Mar 2010, 6:40 pm
@ScrewYouSXSW vents at absent husbandWe might never know if a Twitter feed purporting to be by a woman left behind on her anniversary weekend by her SXSW-bound husband is real. But it's very funny stuff.
» 12 Mar 2010, 6:40 pm
FCC chairman outlines broadband plan for kidsFederal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski lays out a plan for 21st century digital access, citizenship, literacy, and safety.
» 12 Mar 2010, 5:48 pm
VoxOx now translates as you typeVoxOx's claim on a robust feature set makes it a powerful, if slightly unstable, multi-protocol chat and VoIP client--now with free universal translation for all IMs and tweets.
» 12 Mar 2010, 4:27 pm
'Runaway' Prius: Questions raised about driverThe case of a "runaway" Prius in San Diego demonstrates how claims about electronic flaws requires investigators to look carefully at the human element too.
» 12 Mar 2010, 4:01 pm
Man fined for insulting ex-girlfriend on FacebookA court decides to fine a man for offensive messages sent to his former lover on Facebook. What kind of precedent might this set?
» 12 Mar 2010, 3:49 pm
CNN Tech News
More becoming 'mayors' on FoursquareIn March 2009, Foursquare's founders journeyed to Austin, Texas, to announce their concept: a smartphone app that lets you tell friends where you are. A year later, their location-based networking service is catching on.
» 12 Mar 2010, 11:26 am
Opera browser for iPhone may be 'weeks' awayThe company behind the Web browser Opera is weeks away from submitting it to Apple's iPhone store for approval, a spokesman said Friday.
» 12 Mar 2010, 7:19 pm
MIT researchers discover new energy sourceIt's so tiny, you can't see it with the naked eye.
» 12 Mar 2010, 3:17 pm
SXSW: 'It's spring break for nerds'South by Southwest Interactive, which kicks off today, is billed as a showcase for the brightest minds in technology and a place to see the latest Internet innovations. Here's why it matters.
» 12 Mar 2010, 11:15 am
On Pi Day, one number 'reeks of mystery'The sound of meditation for some people is full of deep breaths or gentle humming. For Marc Umile, it's "3.14159265358979..."
» 12 Mar 2010, 2:08 pm
Beheaded Vikings found at Olympic siteThey were 51 young men who met a grisly death far from home, their heads chopped off and their bodies thrown into a mass grave.
» 12 Mar 2010, 4:57 pm
How safe is cloud computing?Stormy weather could be on the horizon for cloud computing as security experts warn not enough is being done to make sure one of the hottest IT trends is safe.
» 12 Mar 2010, 12:20 pm
YouTube gives Bahraini youth window to worldEsra'a al Shafei is a 23-year-old Bahraini dedicated to providing young people in the region with the opportunity of free expression.
» 12 Mar 2010, 5:12 am
Opinion: Why Assassin's Creed 2 is no funLet's imagine this terrifying scenario for a moment. You come home from a long day of work and sit in front of your computer to try out your newly purchased copy of the video game Assassin's Creed 2, and then ... nothing happens. You face an immobile title screen. You check to make sure everything's plugged in -- yup, sure is -- and simply cannot figure out what's going on. "Why doesn't this game work? It cost me $60!"
» 11 Mar 2010, 9:37 am
Sony unveils Move, its PS3 motion controllerOn Wednesday, Sony unveiled Move, its motion-sensitive controller.
» 11 Mar 2010, 6:44 am
Digg - Tech Industry
FCC Releases Speed Test ToolThe U.S. Federal Communications Commission has launched a broadband test service to help consumers clock the speed of their Internet.
» 13 Mar 2010, 7:10 am
Valve's Gabe Newell shares his thoughts on DRMGabe Newell used his awards speech to speak about his thoughts on the industry... including his thoughts on DRM.
» 12 Mar 2010, 10:30 pm
EFF: Fox and NPR Have Something In Common--DMCA TakedownsThe Fox News Channel boasts that it takes a different approach to news coverage than, say, CBS, NBC, or NPR. But it appears Fox takes the same approach as its competitors when it comes to fair uses of its news coverage in political advertisements.
» 12 Mar 2010, 7:50 pm
Google takes aim at Digg and Fark with Reader PlayReader Play appears to be Google's attempt at stealing some thunder from aggregators such as Digg, Fark.com and Reddit, which regularly showcase the type of humorous videos and images that are found on Play.
» 12 Mar 2010, 6:00 pm
Apple vs HTC: The Real Purpose of AppleMany experts are inclined to believe that Apple’s lawsuit against HTC has another real purpose that is to somehow precipitate Google, whose Android operating system and smart phones based on it are becoming a real threat to the iPhone.
» 12 Mar 2010, 1:30 pm
Five insights into the behaviors of social media usersSometimes it's easy to think we know everything about your everyday Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, or even mobile users. However, we managed to dig up a few tidbits about these people that piqued our interest.
» 12 Mar 2010, 1:10 pm
Google's Own Stated List of Competitors Grows from 2 to 10"Google sees an Internet far more crowded with competitors than just a year ago. At least, that's what the company is telling government regulators."
» 12 Mar 2010, 12:40 pm
Foursquare takes lead in where-am-I apps - CNN.comOne year ago, the founders of Foursquare stepped onstage before a tech-savvy crowd in Austin, Texas, to announce their concept: a smartphone app that lets you tell friends where you are.
» 12 Mar 2010, 12:30 pm
The War At SXSW: AT&T vs 15,000 Data-Crazed VelociraptorsAT&T’s struggles to stay up last year are well-documented. CNN recently ran a piece about how AT&T hopes to avoid a similar fate this year. But actually, “struggles” is way too kind of a word. If you were at SXSW last year and happened to be on AT&T’s network — it was an absolute nightmare.
» 12 Mar 2010, 12:20 pm
China Warns Google - " Bear The Consequences"A Chinese minister made the government's strongest statement yet on Google's future in the country, warning that the U.S. Internet company will have to bear the consequences if it stops censoring its Chinese search site.
» 12 Mar 2010, 9:30 am
President Obama Discusses Three Strikes Anti-Piracy LawHollywood lobbyists are trying to launch an assault on Internet providers and fast track tougher anti-piracy legislation in the United States. Ari Emanuel, the brother of White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, says the industry has been discussing these plans with President Obama outside of the public’s eye.
» 12 Mar 2010, 7:00 am
Engadget
BlackBerry Slider undergoes further undercover inspection, side shots emergeWe're still no closer to finding out whether this is the next iteration of the Bold, Storm or some other BlackBerry line, but the unofficially coined BlackBerry Slider continues to pique our interest. Here in the third round of spy shots, we're seeing the elusive RIM-branded device from a few new angles, namely a round of side shots and a side-by-side with Curve 8900. You'll notice that the new guys is a bit thicker and longer, and you'll also see a complete lack of labeling beside the camera. There's a fair chance that hitting that Source link will simply lead to increased frustration and stress in your life, but c'mon, anything to keep you from finishing up those 2009 taxes is worth a look.BlackBerry Slider undergoes further undercover in
» 13 Mar 2010, 9:29 am
Ceton's quad CableCARD tuner for Media Center available for pre-orderThat's right, you can now reserve your place in line to be the first to record four HD cable shows at once on your Windows 7 Media Center. The bad news is that ship date for the InfiniTV 4 is now May 31st. Ceton wasn't willing to share a specific reason for the 60 day delay, but we suspect CableLabs is to blame -- Ceton refuted this and insisted CableLabs has been very helpful, but we don't buy it. The other big news -- for those that were concerned with noise or fitment options -- is that the latest version of the PCI-E card pictured above no longer includes a fan. The InfiniTV name was the result of over 1000 submissions to Ceton's naming contest, of which Gary Petro came up with winner -- the name is not to be confused with Comcast's XFI
» 13 Mar 2010, 7:23 am
Lian Li's PC-T1R Spider case crawls towards a releaseCustom computer cases that look like spiders aren't generally the sort of thing that are available to public, but Lian Li's new PC-T1R case is one big exception to the rule, and it's now edged a bit closer to a release. Previously only seen in a teaser video, a nearly final version of the case has now landed in the hands of the folks at techPowerUp, who have provided us with our first hands-on look at it. What's more, the site also says that the case should sell for "around €150" (or just over $200) when it's released, and that it will be available in black in addition to red. Of course, there will be some assembly required -- hit up the link below to see what's in store. Lian Li's PC-T1R Spider case crawls towards a release originally
» 13 Mar 2010, 6:42 am
Packard Bell Studio ST media playback drive invades EuropeIt's not much more than a hard drive with HD media playback abilities, but the Packard Bell Studio ST certainly looks nice, doesn't it? It's Europe-only for now, but we're hoping parent company Acer brings over a US-branded version of this box, which holds up to a 2TB hard drive and can do 1080p out over HDMI with Dolby Digital. Codec support is described as "all main formats," which is a little shady, but we'll be forgiving if it's cheaper than the Western Digital WD TV Live HD. [Thanks, Matt]Packard Bell Studio ST media playback drive invades Europe originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Mar 2010 07:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink Notebook Italia | Packard Bell | Email this | Comments
» 13 Mar 2010, 4:52 am
PlayStation Move requires only 2MB of RAM, developers breathe sigh of reliefWhile it's a crying shame that Sony's PlayStation Move won't have full four-player support, at least the technology is efficient; our buddies at Joystiq are reporting that the camera-and-wand based motion control game system will only minimally impact game performance. Quizzing Sony's David Coombes, they found out that the advanced image processing required to make sense of your wild, flailing movements will take only 1-2 MB of RAM. Of course, when you consider that the PS3 has only 256MB of fast XDR memory to begin with, that 2MB isn't as "insignificant" as Sony would have you believe, but coupled with the company's claim that the whole shebang takes "under a frame" of the Cell CPU's processing time, we're inclined to think it won't be muc
» 13 Mar 2010, 2:28 am
Scientists discover method for rapid charging Li-ion batteriesHuzzah! Yet another discovery for us to add to our ever-expanding list of "awesome things that'll never actually happen!" Ibrahim Abou Hamad and colleagues from Mississippi State University have reportedly devised a method of charging batteries that could hasten the process rather significantly, and better still, it could provide "an increase in battery power densities" as well. The only problem? Lithium-ion batteries have been disappointing tech users for years, and so long as Energizer and Duracell are calling the shots, we kind of doubt a lot will be done to improve the longevity of 'em. Skepticism aside, the new method involves some fancy black magic surrounding molecular dynamics simulations, and researchers have found a way to boost c
» 13 Mar 2010, 12:19 am
Make your Magic Mouse oh-so-ergonomic with this pasty silicone gripWhile it's hard to say if Apple's Magic Mouse really needs "fixing" -- it depends somewhat on your grip -- it's not a huge stretch to say that the slender multitouch device doesn't quite fit in the palm of one's hand. Sensing a market opportunity, Will of MMFixed.com recently decided to come to our collective rescue. For $10, he offers a simple silicone block that matches the mouse's contoured surface nicely, with an integrated suction cup that keeps it securely fastened. While it's not quite a one-size-fits-all solution, it's certainly a lot cheaper than buying one of the new whacky, adjustable mice we've seen recently; and if the idea of ergonomics via marshmallow doesn't appeal to you, you can always try the white bread variety. Video af
» 12 Mar 2010, 10:34 pm
Odroid handheld game console due early March sportin' Android 2.1We know you've been champing at the bit for some Odroid news... wait, you forgot already? You know, the Android-powered handheld game system that the manufacturer, Hardkernel, bills "the developer-focused portable game device"? To be honest, we'd hope that the company would focus on game players, but that's really beside the point: the thing finally has a release date: "early March." And for those of you lucky enough to get in on the ground floor, they've gone and upgraded the thing to Android 2.1. Peep it in action after the break.Continue reading Odroid handheld game console due early March sportin' Android 2.1Odroid handheld game console due early March sportin' Android 2.1 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 23:59:00 EST
» 12 Mar 2010, 8:59 pm
How would you change Nokia's N900?Maemo 5 didn't stand on its own for long before being mashed together with Intel's Moblin, but Nokia's N900 still stands as one of the best handhelds for web browsing. It's hardly the world-beater that Nokia (may have) hoped it to be, but that's not because the internals aren't impressive. We're guessing that only a handful of you made the effort to fork over wads of cash in order to pick an unlocked version up, but if you did, you no doubt have some opinions post-purchase. Is the display living up to your expectations? Are you and Maemo getting along alright? How's that keyboard? We're eager to know how you'd tweak the N900 if you had the keys to the design kingdom, and with MeeGo already being announced, we're forbidding you from suggesti
» 12 Mar 2010, 7:47 pm
One man band rocks the iPod touch, rescues the MIDI clarinet from obscurityWe've seen blow-hard electronic music makers in the past (one particular didgeridoo hack comes to mind) but still, when one makes us take note we feel like we just have to pass it along. Onyx Ashanti is an American living in Berlin and a one-man band to boot. His instrument of choice is a Yamaha MIDI wind controller for triggering audio and the TouchOSC app for iPod touch for controlling PureData audio processing. And the music he makes from the two is pretty, pretty wild... see for yourself after the break. Continue reading One man band rocks the iPod touch, rescues the MIDI clarinet from obscurityOne man band rocks the iPod touch, rescues the MIDI clarinet from obscurity originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 21:41:00 EST.
» 12 Mar 2010, 6:41 pm
Palm offering discounted contract-free phones to developers -- too bad they're carrier lockedUsually when we hear the phrase "contract-free developer phone" the words "unlocked" and "GSM" follow shortly thereafter, but apparently Palm didn't get the memo -- it just announced discounted hardware prices for its devices, but they're carrier-locked to Verizon and Sprint. Yeah, that's a big sad face out of us -- it's not like Verizon's going to give you a cheaper plan if you show up with a contract-free device. In fact, you might be better off picking up a $79 Pre on a Sprint contract from Amazon and just canceling after a year or so -- the ETF will have been prorated to $120 by then, putting you way ahead of Palm's $439 price tag. So much for that dream -- at least we still have our fantasy of driving to Mexico for an illicit Telcel Pr
» 12 Mar 2010, 5:45 pm
Gizmodo
Apple's iPad Will (Perhaps Controversially) Read E-Books Aloud [Ebooks]In addition to the orientation-lock button, yesterday's pre-order commencement delivered another surprise nugget: the iPad will read all EPUB books out loud. If you remember the shitstorm that surrounded Kindle's text-to-voice feature, you'll know that this is a bold move. More »
» 13 Mar 2010, 9:47 am
Google Reportedly 99.9 Percent Sure To Shut Down Its Chinese Search [Censorship]Though the last we heard, Google was nearing a compromise that would allow them to stop censoring their Google.cn search results, the Financial Times is reporting that they are almost certainly going to close their Chinese search engine. Since their initial ultimatum in January, Google and China have traded vague statements about reaching a compromise, but, unsurprisingly, talks haven't produced a mutually agreeable solution. [Financial Times] More »
» 13 Mar 2010, 9:39 am
Apple's Magic Mouse Gets Decidedly Unmagical Ergonomic Fix [Magicmouse]The Magic Mouse, for all of its sleek lines and multitouch, uh, magic, can feel a little awkward in the hand. MMFixed has the solution: a stick-on hump that gives your fingers some leverage and your palm some lovin'. More »
» 13 Mar 2010, 8:49 am
FCC Proposing Its Plan For America's Net Future To Congress This Week [Fcc]As the intertubes overtake boob tubes and telephone tubes as our primary mode of communication, it becomes increasingly important to ensure that access is available and affordable for all Americans. The FCC's ambitious new plan looks to do just that. More »
» 13 Mar 2010, 7:23 am
Audio-Technica BoogieBox Speaker Handles the Heaviest of Metals [Speakers]There's no shortage of cutesy portable speakers for listening to music when you're out and about. But if you want something that doesn't feel like it's going to snap in two, the Audio-Technica BoogieBox will do you a solid. More »
» 13 Mar 2010, 6:18 am
A Reminder of How Sad the Internet Can Look Without Flash [Image Cache]When we discussed the iPad and whether it was worth giving in to the peer pressure and pre-ordering it, a commenter decided to remind us of his reason for resisting: No Flash. And yes, it can make things look sad. More »
» 12 Mar 2010, 7:40 pm
This Power Strip Has an Entire Miniature City On It [Art]As part of a graduate show at the Kyoto University of Art and Design, students built miniature cities out of common household objects—including this power strip. They're just missing mini-people. [Spoon Tamago via Crib Candy via Boing Boing] More »
» 12 Mar 2010, 7:00 pm
Black Ninja Monday is When the Commenter Trolls Get Their Due [Comments]Several star commenters have noted recently that the troll factor is rising again. This post is reminder that all comments wasting words and the comment moderator's time wondering about such issues as "why does gizmodo love/hate/get paid by company XYZ?" may result in zero warnings and then a ban. And whatever happens to your comment account, remember: it's not my fault if you lose your account because you said something stupid. Black Ninja Monday is when the action goes down, so you've got two days to turn things around. The obvious choices: You can have fun in troll hell, or join the ranks of the thoughtful, starred, proud and clever commenters everyone appreciates. Again, Monday: that's when there'll be internet blood everywhere. But it
» 12 Mar 2010, 6:25 pm
By Your Accelerometers Combined, I Am Quake Catcher! [Earthquakes]What if computers could be turned into a worldwide earthquake detecting network? With the Quake Catcher software and your laptop's built-in accelerometer, that might just be possible. More »
» 12 Mar 2010, 6:20 pm
Friday Night Funnies: 8 Images to Close Out the Week [Tgif]It's been a long week and we could use a laugh. We've already started worrying about taxes and pre-ordering iPads, among other stresses. To sum it all up, here are some illustrations from a cartoon maestro called Lunchbreath. More »
» 12 Mar 2010, 5:40 pm
R/C Helicopters + Petri Dish + Flying Whale Snot = Science [Machines Vs Nature]Instead of harpooning a whale for samples, wouldn't it be easier to just collect their snot using an R/C helicopter? More »
» 12 Mar 2010, 5:39 pm
Mashable!
Top 10 Twitter Trends for This Week [CHART]Hooray for Hollywood! — the big winner this week in our roundup of the top 10 Twitter trends. From the Oscars to Alice in Wonderland (and of course, Justin Bieber), celebrity — whether be it music or film — dominated the Twitterverse.The latest data, which comes from our friends at What the Trend, gives us a snapshot of what topics dominated Twitter. Given the topical nature of the list, hashtag memes and games have been excluded.Tween-favorite Justin Bieber lost his spot at #1 to the Big Show — AKA the Oscars. The 82nd Academy Awards dominated Twitter on Sunday night and was the most discussed topic of the week as a whole. Don’t feel bad for Bieber though: he’s still number two on the list.Now, who’s hot who not/Tell me who r
» 13 Mar 2010, 9:29 am
Chatroulette Founder Working to Preserve User PrivacyThe creator of Chatroulette has revealed that he is working on a way to preserve user’s privacy, following the launch of Chat Roulette Map, a Google Maps mashups that pinpoints the location of users of the service.Andrey Ternovskiy, speaking in an interview with the New York Times Bits blog, stated, “There is a certain level of anonymity on the Chatroulette that Chatroulette Map takes away, but I plan to add something to my site to allow them to still hide their whereabouts.”Chatroulette Map highlights a Chatroulette user’s location by looking at his or her IP addresses, which is revealed via the peer-to-peer nature of the webcam connection. As well as placing a marker on a map, users are screengrabbed, offering anyone in the world
» 13 Mar 2010, 8:46 am
Giiv Lets You Give Gifts Via Text MessageThis post is part of Mashable’s Spark of Genius series, which highlights a unique feature of startups. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here. The series is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark. Name: Giiv Quick Pitch: Giiv is a mobile gifting service that delivers gifts in real time in the format of a friendly text message. Genius Idea: Gift certificates are an awesome (if occasionally generic) way to say “You rock!” Giiv.com makes this process easier by letting you give gift cards and certificates to someone you care about via text message.Giiv.com is fairly simple: you find a gift that you want to give a friend or loved one, and then you enter in his or her mobile number and a n
» 12 Mar 2010, 5:22 pm
Flickr Co-founder’s Startup Hunch Raises $10 MillionHunch, a New York City-based startup founded by Flickr co-founder Caterina Fake and SiteAdvisor founder/angel investor Chris Dixon, has raised $10 million in funding for its questions and recommendations site.Nearly a year ago, Ms. Fake revealed her new startup to the world. Her goal: to create a service that would help people make decisions via crowdsourced questions and advice from its users. Hunch launched last June and has been growing steadily ever since (it peaked at nearly half a million U.S. visitors last month).According to MediaMemo, the startup has raised $10-$12 million from Khosla Ventures and previous investors General Catalyst Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, and original angel investor Ron Conway (an early investor in G
» 12 Mar 2010, 4:23 pm
Privacy Concerns Put the Kibosh on the Netflix PrizeAmid class-action lawsuits over privacy and subsequent FTC inquiries, Netflix announced today that it will not be pursuing the next Netflix Prize.For more than three years, individuals competed to win the $1 million Netflix Prize, in the process improving the company’s algorithm for recommending movies to its users.When the results were first announced last summer, Netflix followed them up with an announcement that a second contest would take place.Unfortunately, the next iteration is not to be. A class action privacy lawsuit arose when a customer claimed that the rental information that Netflix makes available for use in the contest wasn’t anonymous enough and could theoretically be linked to her and reveal her sexuality.As Ars Technic
» 12 Mar 2010, 3:32 pm
The Rise of Foursquare in Numbers [STATS]Yesterday, Foursquare turned one. You read that right: The mobile social network that made its splash at SXSW 2009 and has tremendous buzz is just 366 days old.Despite that short amount of time, Foursquare has more than half a million users, 1.4 million venues and 15.5 million checkins, and it’s still growing. Experian Hitwise decided to use this milestone to analyze Foursquare’s growth.As you might imagine, not only have Foursquare’s mobile apps seen growth, but so has Foursquare.com. What did strike us as surprising is that the site’s number-one referrer is Facebook, which accounted for a whopping 33% of upstream visits last week. That’s even bigger than Google (22%) and Twitter (8%) combined. It’s yet another indicator o
» 12 Mar 2010, 3:14 pm
Keyboard Cat: The Next Generation [VIDEO]For years now we have all found solace and joy in Charlie Schmidt’s “Keyboard Cat,” a musically inclined feline with Beethoven-sick skills and a mischievous mien. Now, a new kitty is on the scene: Bento. And believe you me, this Cat’s got synth-drenched magic coming out of his claws.By now we all know the story of Keyboard Cat — a video born 30 years ago when an unemployed performance artist named Charlie Schmidt turned camera and creative eye to his cat, Fatso.Years later, Schmidt uploaded the vid to the Internets and, lo and behold, people liked it. Because, well, people enjoy cats — especially when they’re acting like people.Now, with little fanfare, a new video has been uploaded to Schmidt’s YouTube channel, the descript
» 12 Mar 2010, 2:26 pm
Why Sex-Ed Remains a Challenge for Social MediaGeoff Livingston co-founded Zoetica to focus on cause-related work, and released an award-winning book on new media Now is Gone in 2007.Addressing the very private nature of intimacy remains the most difficult aspect of sex-ed on the social web. While “Public Health 2.0″ is a top priority for related causes and organizations, it can be difficult to approach from a social media standpoint. Because it’s the most private and sensitive of issues, many people are embarrassed or offended by conversations about sex.However, many organizations, from mass media outlets to cause-specific efforts, are still attempting to use social tools to address reproductive health issues. The difficulty in running a successful effort lies in navigating the
» 12 Mar 2010, 2:00 pm
Thanks to Mashable’s Socially Savvy SupportersThanks to this week’s advertisers and partners for enabling us to bring you the latest social media news and resources. Mashable’s sponsors are as social media savvy as our readers!Advertise with us and get noticed.Help us to help you. Mashable is seeking out site sponsors for our large, diverse audience — social media users, venture capitalists, early adopters, developers, bloggers, and many more. You’ll receive hundreds of thousands of views a day in addition to weekly recognition to thank you as our premium sponsors. Are you interested? Contact us for more information and to receive our media kit and rate card.This week, our valued sponsors are Gist, phpFox, Yield Software, Clickatell, Influxis, Microsoft BizSpark, MailChimp, S
» 12 Mar 2010, 1:59 pm
Apple Sells 90,000 iPads in the First Day? [REPORT]The iPad officially became available for pre-order earlier today and while plenty of you are still debating about whether or not to pre-order, it appears as if the device might already sold 51,000 units in just two hours via pre-order. Wow.If you’ve ever doubted how dedicated Apple fans are, the background on how these figures were determined will assuage any doubts. A group of particularly prudent Apple fans from the APPL Sanity Board at Investor Village decided to put together a spreadsheet of order numbers, times that orders were placed and contents of those order. As someone who has been known to obsess over Apple details myself (tracking a freightliner from China to the US with 27″ iMacs on-board in order to better guestimate deliv
» 12 Mar 2010, 12:32 pm
How Musicians Are Using Social Media to Connect with FansGreg Rollett runs a music marketing company from his laptop in Orlando, FL. He is an advocate of the New Music Economy and very hopeful that artists can still live the rock star lifestyle in the digital age. Connect with Greg on Twitter, @g_ro.Today’s musicians, both mainstream and indie, are using social media to connect with fans, build anticipation, and generate revenue in new and unique ways. The products range from singles to mix tapes to digital six-packs, even oddly shaped USB sticks, vinyl, and the occasional traditional album.But how are these artists reaching their new fan bases online through social channels? Much like the business world, social media promotion for musicians is still a very new game, with no exact recipe for pl
» 12 Mar 2010, 11:54 am
MSNBC - Tech and Science
Red Tape: Toyota woes raise car-tech woesWe may never know why runaway Toyotas suddenly seem to be everywhere. The scariest possibility, however, is that faulty computers are driving some victims to their deaths with frightening randomness.
» 12 Mar 2010, 5:29 am
Mobile giving for Chile pales compared to HaitiSo far, Americans have pledged $100,000 in donations via cell phone for victims of Chile's earthquake compared to more than $43 million raised that way for victims of Haiti's Jan. 12 quake.
» 12 Mar 2010, 5:59 am
Orders for Apple's new iPad start todayApple began taking orders online Friday for its new iPad tablet computer, with delivery scheduled for April 3, the same day the iPad goes on sale in stores.
» 12 Mar 2010, 5:32 pm
Cosmic Log: Pluto finds its placeScience editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: Pluto and the other small fry of the solar system are getting their due 80 years after the dwarf planet's discovery was announced to the world.
» 12 Mar 2010, 8:35 am
Feds' e-mail botch earns a raspberryAs the Justice Department hunts for the latest batch of missing federal e-mails, the officials who oversee spending of $71 billion a year for information technology got a big raspberry Friday for a 14-year-long failure to ensure that government e-mails are preserved.
» 12 Mar 2010, 4:19 pm
Some Mars channels carved by lava, not waterComparison of images of Martian channels to lava flows in Hawaii indicates that lava, not water, may have been the creative force behind at least some of the channels, according to a NASA researcher.
» 12 Mar 2010, 3:53 pm
It's daylight science timeIt’s that time of year again, when most Americans lose an hour’s sleep setting their clocks ahead. Here are answers to your questions about the time switch - and about sleep.
» 12 Mar 2010, 11:01 pm
‘FarmVille’ power user: ‘I'm not obsessed’Cathy Hinz is a mom and a grandmother. And until last summer, she wasn’t much of a gamer. But then she got hooked on “FarmVille,” the Facebook game that draws 80 million monthly players. She plays faithfully, daily, surpassing her daughters and her grandkids. She’s a power user.
» 12 Mar 2010, 5:59 am
Privacy issues nix Netflix movie-picking contestNetflix has canceled a sequel to a $1 million contest to improve its movie recommendations.
» 12 Mar 2010, 4:26 pm
Dogs understand growls, even if we don'tDogs emit two primary growls: one for play and one for all other times when dogs are angry, a study confirms.
» 12 Mar 2010, 10:56 am
Internet fraud losses hit $560 million in 2009The cost of Internet fraud doubled in 2009 to about $560 million, the FBI said Friday. The most common type of frauds reported were scams from people falsely claiming to be from the FBI.
» 12 Mar 2010, 1:35 pm
ReadWriteWeb
Weekly Wrapup: Bike Trails, Location Madness, SXSW, And More...Our top stories this week were about cutting the strings that tie us to our desks. And also about stalking celebrities at SXSW. Read on for our coverage and analysis. We also continued our exploration of the significant Internet trends of 2010, including Real-Time Web, Mobile Web and Internet of Things. Note: We've refreshed the format for our longest running feature, the Weekly Wrapup. It now focuses more explicitly on the key trends that ReadWriteWeb is tracking in 2010, as well as giving you the highlights from the leading story of the week. Let us know your thoughts on the new format. Sponsor Story of the Week: Leaving your desk for the cloud, a bike or someplace you'd rather not say. Put.io Turns Torrents Into Streams [Invites]
» 13 Mar 2010, 5:00 am
Will Google's Cloud be a Cozy Nest for Aviary?Aviary, the online creative platform is a visionary tool. When it launched a few years back, the irony of a Flash based Photoshop competitor was, well, ironic. With the launch of Aviary in Google's App Marketplace, we can say that the company is close to making lightening strike twice, this time around creating a home for the creative professional and their most important assets. We want this to work - so we ran it through the paces. Here we got a front-line view on where cloud app meets cloud. We looked forward to counting the pixels that get wasted in the process. Sponsor Aviary and Google will disrupt Microsoft (the default filesystem for the world), and along side it Apple and Abobe, with this simple joining of services that a
» 12 Mar 2010, 4:20 pm
What Google Will Do in China (SXSW Presentation)Kaiser Kuo presented today at SXSW about Google in China. He spoke about how the Google situation will impact Chinese Internet users, other companies and the Chinese government. In the presentation, Kuo (who also spoke to ReadWriteWeb a week ago) clarified how censorship in China works. Contrary to popular belief, it is not the Great Firewall that has the most impact in China - but something China calls "self-discipline." Kuo also discussed what the next moves will be from Google, since he believes that the ball is in Google's court and Beijing won't push the situation. Sponsor History of Google in China Before getting down to the nitty gritty of the current Google-China standoff, Kaiser Kuo gave some valuable context to Google in China. I
» 12 Mar 2010, 2:55 pm
OneLogin: Enterprise-Class Security Services and OpenID For The Small and Medium Sized BusinessWe're seeing a lot more discussion on the topic of single-sign on for SaaS environments. The issue is becoming more important as security emerges as a top concern for companies considering making the move to cloud-based environments. OneLogin is a new company that offers single sign-on, cloud-based service that allows for small and mid-sized companies to enjoy the same level of security as large enterprise companies. Sponsor Most small companies do not deploy security methods that employ SAML, (Security Assertion Markup Language) an XML-based standard for exchanging authentication and authorization data between security domains. It's expensive to deploy. Open-source tools do exist but require someone to understand how it works and deploy
» 12 Mar 2010, 2:53 pm
Smartphone Users Want Mobile Coupons, Barcode Scanners & Location-Aware AdsOnce upon a time, smartphones were mostly about connecting busy professionals with their email accounts while on the go. Now that smartphones have reached the mainstream consumer market, however, people are looking for more than just email access - and a surprisingly large number of smartphones hardly ever leave their owners' homes. According to a new study from Web analytics firm Compete, 74% of smartphone owners now primarily use their devices for personal reasons, and they often spent the most amount of time with the device at home. Sponsor As we noted last October, when they leave their homes, a lot of consumers with iPhones and phones that use Google's Android operating system are now also using their devices to compare prices and lo
» 12 Mar 2010, 2:13 pm
Chevrolet Blends Mobile and Desktop Augmented Reality at SXSWEveryone has been talking about how this year's SXSW will be the "year of location" as Foursquare and Austin-based Gowalla go head-to-head in a location-based battle royale. Location, however, is not the only emerging technology that will be on display in Austin; American auto maker Chevrolet announced it will be debuting new augmented reality promotions at SXSW this year. Sponsor Festival attendees can download the Chevy iReveal application on the iPhone which will allow them to participate in a scavenger hunt-like game that blends augmented reality with location-based functions. A map in the application shows the location of Chevy vehicle promotions around Austin where users can "unlock" the ability to view 360-degree 3D models of the ca
» 12 Mar 2010, 2:00 pm
Superfeedr Now Adds Location to Feeds AutomaticallyReal-tme feed publishing startup Superfeedr has quietly turned on automatic location data in the feeds it republishes from around the web, we confirmed with the company today. Founder Julien Genestoux explained the feature using Twitter as his example, but the same content extraction and analysis is being done on all kinds of feeds run through the service. "If you turn geolocation on in Twitter, then your feed will include geolocation in your Tweets and we'll just push that through," he said. "If you don't do that but you Tweet about Austin, we will deliver the latitude and longitude for Austin in the XML." In other words, developers building apps on top of Superfeedr's real-time feeds will now know programmatically what geographic locat
» 12 Mar 2010, 12:37 pm
Intel, AOL, Others Help Betaworks Round Up $20MAs we profiled in our Never Mind the Valley series last month, New York is increasing its stronghold on the east coast startup scene. The city's rich media and international business ecosystems make it the perfect launch pad for startups looking to leverage these markets. One other reason the city has seen successful growth of entrepreneurship is the holding company Betaworks, which shows no signs of slowing after raising $20 million from Intel, AOL, RRE Ventures and several others. Sponsor It is a little harder to place a label on Betaworks compared to other similar entities that some would call incubators. The important thing to know is that Betaworks considers itself a holding company and will not only invest in companies but will hold
» 12 Mar 2010, 12:05 pm
One Click Twitter-Clone Now Offered By DreamHostIf you visit the DreamHost blog today, chances are you'll give a quick guffaw, shake your head in dismay at the state of the Internet and quickly close the browser tab. But if you take a moment to read all the way to the end of the post, you'll find that the company has just announced the implementation of a one-click install for its open-source, white label microblogging service Status.net. Sponsor The blog, which features a tattooed beer belly and a cat sitting at a keyboard, is really showing off the proof-of-concept (hopefully) tongue-in-cheek site, PetStatus, a micro-blog for pets. Buried down at the very bottom of the post is the following nugget of exciting information: Status.net, our new one-click software package, powers the
» 12 Mar 2010, 10:36 am
While Facebook & Twitter Sit on Sidelines, MySpace Jumps Into Bulk User Data SalesMySpace has taken a bold step and allowed a large quantity of bulk user data to be put up for sale on startup data marketplace InfoChimps. Data offered includes user playlists, mood updates, mobile updates, photos, vents, reviews, blog posts, names and zipcodes. Friend lists are not included. Remember, Facebook and Twitter may be the name of the game these days in tech circles, but MySpace still sees 1 billion user status updates posted every month. Those updates will now be available for bulk analysis. This user data is intended for crunching by everyone from academic researchers to music industry information scientists. Will people buy the data and make interesting use of it? Will MySpace users be ok with that? Is this something F
» 12 Mar 2010, 10:30 am
Will the Real Twitterati Please Stand Up?The fact of the matter is, we're relatively far and few between, according to a study by Barracuda Networks. One day, we're told Twitter is growing exponentially, the next, it's a dying service that's stalled out like your grandpa's Studebaker. But does growth, or the lack thereof, actually translate into use? Sponsor According to Barracuda Networks, the Internet security research company, Twitter looks to be an insider app, one that many people sign up for and never really use. Or perhaps it's like the sixth grade dance, with a few doing the waltz and the rest lurking on the edges of the room, afraid to ask the girl from math class for a dance. The company analyzed more than 19 million Twitter users and found that a surprisingly small nu
» 12 Mar 2010, 10:11 am
techcrunch
The New Museum Brings Together Seven Artists With Seven Engineers (50 Discount Tickets)What happens when you pair seven visual artists with seven engineers and technologists? The New Museum in New York City is about to find out. An upcoming exhibit called Seven On Seven will put together artists and programmers for one day and tell them to come up with something together. It could be an application, a work of art, a full-blown product, or anything they want. Some of the participating technologists include Delicious founder Joshua Schachter, WordPress co-creator Matt Mullenweg, former Facebook data dude Jeff Hammerbacher, and Tumblr founder David Karp. The seven pairs of collaborators will present their final project at the New Museum on April 17. We have 50 discount codes good for $100 off the $350 ticket price (just
» 13 Mar 2010, 9:25 am
Rushin’ For Fiber, Baltimore Appoints A “Google Czar”A couple weeks ago, we noted the city of Topeka, Kansas' humorous attempt to get Google's attention: by rebranding their city "Google, Kansas." Why would they do such a thing? Because they want in on Google's fiber action — the search giant's proposed plan to sell 1 gigabit-per-second broadband to consumers. Now Baltimore, Maryland is getting in on the fun as well. The city has appointed a "Google Czar" — yes, that's the actual title — to lobby the company to put Baltimore on the list of cities in the initial trial. Tom Loveland, CEO of a local tech company, Mind Over Machines, has been appointed by Baltimore's mayor to take this exalted, but volunteer position.
» 13 Mar 2010, 9:20 am
An Ecosystem Is Born: Animoto Opens Up APIWe're big fans of Animoto, a website that lets you easily create photo and video slideshows matched to music. The site is constantly innovating its nifty product, most recently adding an iPhone app and the ability to incorporate video. For those not familiar with Animoto, the startup basically allows you to take your images, video and your music and mash them together to create cool videos. What makes the videos cool is the company's technology that renders the pictures so they're in-step with the music you've chosen, adding nice transition effects. This morning, Animoto is opening up its API, allowing partners to now incorporate Animoto's compelling technologies into independent sites The first API that being rolled out for the Animoto P
» 13 Mar 2010, 5:12 am
MySpace’s Mid Level Management Structure Is CrumblingThe problem with all of these people who are walking out the door at MySpace isn't so much the number of them, because MySpace is trying to replace them by hiring more people. It's the fact that the best people are leaving, and taking a lot of the knowledge base with them. Three star senior employees left to go to cross-town startup Gravity, we reported earlier this week. And tonight we've heard that Jeff Webber, the engineering director that oversees the email, instant messaging and other "communications" platforms for MySpace, resigned earlier this week as well to join a startup. He's been at MySpace for nearly three years and was one of the star engineers and leaders, says one source. Other recent departures - VP and General Manager of
» 12 Mar 2010, 9:32 pm
E-Book Readers: Will Secondary Features Win Consumers’ Hearts Or Leave Them Cold?How many e-book readers do you think are out there right now for you to choose from? If you did a little digging, I bet you'd find 50 or so. Maybe 10 really worth checking out. But right now is a bit of a weird period in e-reader history. The Kindle cemented e-readers in the consumer headspace, catapulting them from weirdo alternative technology to mainstream gadget. That's what the iPad threatens to do with tablets — we'll see about that. But the Kindle and the iPad are two important forces in the current e-reader wars; the question, upon the answer of which depends the success of many a device, is whether "bonus" features like second screens and weird form factors in e-readers will be enough to differentiate them from the high-profile d
» 12 Mar 2010, 6:47 pm
MyBrandz: Finally, You Can Find People Who Love Nike, Apple, And Ferrari As Much As You DoEver wanted to tell the world how much you love BMW, Coca-Cola, and any of the other biggest brand names on Earth? Here's your chance: MyBrandz is a new community site that looks to let people talk about their favorite brands with other users, allowing them to share their favorite products, photos, and more. You may remember MyBrandz as the company that convinced a guy to tattoo the YouTube logo to his arm a few months back. My initial reaction to the site was that it was a bit bizarre — is there really an audience of people who want to talk about how much they love these multibillion dollar corporations (many of which couldn't give a hoot about their customers)? And then I remembered the throngs of die-hard Apple fans that police inte
» 12 Mar 2010, 3:50 pm
South Asian Mobile Social Network Mig33 Sending Twice As Many Messages A Day As TwitterMobile social networks have tremendous potential to flourish in developing countries where mobile phone usage trumps internet connectivity. SMS based social networks like SMSGupshup have gained considerable traction in Asia because of this. For example, in India, there is currently a 10 to 1 mobile-to-PC ratio. Mig33, a mobile social network that involves VoIP calls, instant messaging, e-mail, text messaging, and picture sharing, has accumulated 35 million registered users of its service and is growing fast in South Asian markets such as Indonesia and India. Assuming 3 to 10 percent are active on a monthly basis, that would be 1 million to 3.5 million active users. Mig33's users are now sending over 1 million virtual gifts a month, and p
» 12 Mar 2010, 2:02 pm
It’s Hard To Watch The Newsosaurs Turn A Blind Eye To Their Own ExtinctionSometimes it is obvious where the world is headed, but some people and industries become frozen in place and time. They are like the duckbilled dinosaurs happily munching on the still-abundant plants around them when the meteor strikes instead of the small furry mammals underfoot who take cover every day by natural habit. In the print newspaper industry, it's the same story. Everyone wants to wall off the Web and keep grazing on declining ad revenues. A week ago, I wrote a post based on a conversation I had with Silicon Valley entrepreneur and investor Marc Andreessen in which he made the case that print media companies would be better off shutting down their print operations now ("Burn the boats") and move forward unencumbered into the
» 12 Mar 2010, 11:47 am
Brightkite’s Sneaky Plan To Get Regular Users Into Location: Group TextBrightkite is tricky. Tricky and smart. While larger than most of their location-based rivals with over 2 million users, they know that in the past year they've lost some momentum to the newer check-in services like Foursquare and Gowalla. So they're trying to do something unique to swing momentum back in their favor. Today, at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, Brightkite is unveiling its new Group Text service. It's both a feature on the website and a standalone application in the App Store (it should be available shortly). With it, Brightkite is latching onto one of the most popular and fast growing categories in mobile applications: group texting. Unlike regular text messaging, this type of app allows you to message many people all a
» 12 Mar 2010, 11:41 am
CauseWorld’s New App Melds The Check-In With The Check-OutLast night, we wrote about a CauseWorld teaming up with TechCrunch to provide double karma points during the SXSW festival starting today in Austin, Texas. These points, obtained through checking-in at various locations, can be used to donate to charities through big brands that support the app. It's a great feature, and we hope you'll use it in Austin. What we didn't talk too much about is the app itself that enables it, CauseWorld, which just released a new version of its iPhone app in the App Store. We first covered the app back in December, but now it has been significantly upgraded. One of the core ideas behind the app has always been the intersection of the mobile and physical world (something I've thought a lot about as well). A new
» 12 Mar 2010, 10:30 am
FunMail’s FunTweet Visualizes Twitter Streams With Pretty PicturesWe've written about FunMobility's nifty picture messaging app for the iPhone and Android, called FunMail, that allows users to blasts their text into the application, which then breaks down whatever the user typed for context and places fun graphics with your original text. Now, FunMobility has caught the Twitter bug and is launching FunTweet, a web service which turns any Twitter stream into visual messages that are related to the text. Similar to FunMail, FunTweet will turn text in Tweets into a matching image. On FunTweet's site, you sign in with your Twitter credentials and the service will draw your Tweets from your Twitter homepage feed and display each tweet as a FunMail image on FunTweet. Users can also enter a @UserName, a HashT
» 12 Mar 2010, 9:58 am
TechNewsWorld
Data Storage: It's Time to Grow UpToday's data-storage customer has lost his voice in a sea of vendor jockeying and positioning. This glut of vendors creates a noisy industry and a crowded marketplace, where all vendors sound the same and marketing materials are nearly indistinguishable from vendor to vendor.
» 13 Mar 2010, 5:00 am
FCC Testing Tool May Out ISPs' Bogus Speed ClaimsThe FCC unveiled a set of digital tools for consumers Friday to figure out the state of national broadband service in the United States. One tool, the Consumer Broadband Test, measures broadband service speed and latency and is available in online fixed and mobile app versions. The other is the Broadband Dead Zone Report.
» 12 Mar 2010, 12:27 pm
Can a Clown-Nosed Wand Move the Needle for PS3?Sony put PlayStation 3 fans in a tizzy by whipping out its latest controller, which it calls the "Move." It looks a whole lot like a black version of Nintendo's WiiMote controller, only it's got this big, clown-nose ball on the end of it. That ball actually serves a purpose. The Move's motion is partially registered by a camera PS3 users will set on top of the television.
» 12 Mar 2010, 9:58 am
Old Dogs, a Straying Audience and New Media TricksThe U.S. Census Bureau has started mailing out its forms, so I would like to take this opportunity to announce a new demographic category for those of us who will be writing "journalist" in the "occupation" box: Old New Media Dogs. T-shirts and business cards are forthcoming.
» 12 Mar 2010, 5:00 am
Android Has Enough Class for OperaUsers of Android smartphones now have a new option for browsing the Web: A beta version of Opera Mini 5 was released Thursday for the Linux-based Android platform. New features in the software, which is an upgrade to the current version 4.2, include tabbed browsing, Speed Dial, Opera Link and Download Manager.
» 12 Mar 2010, 9:16 am
Will the iPad Bookshelves Be Sparsely Stocked?There are rumors that Apple's iPad launch has already run into some rough patches that are uncharacteristic for the company, but how much substance is actually behind them? One frequently mentioned challenge is having a sufficiently impressive array of available content that's compatible with the device.
» 12 Mar 2010, 5:00 am
Verizon Tips Its 4G Handset HandVerizon will have the first handset running on its Long-Term Evolution 4G network by the middle of next year -- about six months ahead of schedule -- according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. The development of LTE means faster cellular data transfers than the 3G networks now in widespread use by U.S. carriers, though exactly when LTE will become common has long been a source of uncertainty.
» 11 Mar 2010, 2:50 pm
PlayStation's Got the Moves, but Who's Got Game?Sony demonstrated its Move motion controller for the PlayStation 3 console at the 2010 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco on Wednesday, following up on its first demo at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles last June. Together with the Move, Sony will release the Move sub-controller, a one-handed controller that's similar to the Nintendo Wii "nunchuck" and is an optional accessory for some games.
» 11 Mar 2010, 12:12 pm
Corel's X3 Photo Editor Paints a Pretty PictureIn the Windows world, photographers looking for an alternative to Adobe Photoshop that will save them cash without skimping on power typically have turned to Corel's PaintShop Photo Pro. The program has consistently kept pace with the evolving needs of shutterbugs over the years and the latest "X3" version of the software continues that tradition.
» 11 Mar 2010, 5:00 am
Ubuntu Dumps the BrownColor is not typically a topic of much discussion on the Linux blogs, but in recent weeks, it's been drawing a lot of attention. Why, you ask? Simple: Ubuntu recently announced a major change to its longstanding "Human" earthtone-palette theme and branding. "I don't know whether to call it 'poo brown' or 'dirt brown,' but either way it is seriously awful," said Slashdot blogger hairyfeet.
» 11 Mar 2010, 5:00 am
Vlingo Faces Off With the Dragon: A Speech-to-Text SmackdownWhen Apple enabled in-app purchases for iPhone applications, it seemed as though the days of "free" and "paid" versions of any given app were coming to an end. Soon, I thought, everything in the store would start out free as a teaser and then charge for an upgrade. That hasn't exactly panned out universally, but Vlingo's new voice application does charge in the way I thought all apps would charge by now.
» 11 Mar 2010, 5:00 am
TechRadar
Opinion: Why HTML5 isn't a Flash killerHTML5 is a Flash killer. Hmmmmm. Say it over in your head a few times. Sounds pretty good, doesn't it? In fact, if I wrote a blog post with such a snappy, eye-catching title as that, it might even get a few Diggs. Heck, it might even make the front-flipping-page! (Front page of the Programming section, maybe – let's not go nuts.) Unfortunately, there's a little problem with my initial statement. OK – I admit it – it's a big problem. It's the kind of hulking problem that, if it asked to borrow a quid from you, would end up with your wallet, any loose change in your pockets and the keys to your car. And that problem? Well, you may have guessed by now, but the whole premise that HTML5 will kill Flash is utter bunkum. Unfortunately, that
» 13 Mar 2010, 4:00 am
Guide: How to power up your Apple Magic MouseApple's Magic Mouse can recognise four points of contact on its touch-sensitive surface, but only two-fingered gestures are catered for by default. Don't take this personally though, because there's a great application that helps you get the most out of your Magic Mouse by adding new gestures, three-and four-fingered taps and clicks. MagicPrefs is a free download, which can be found here. Once you've run it for the first time, it appears as a System Preferences pane or you can manage it through an optional menu bar icon too. From the new preferences window, your Magic Mouse can be configured to do far more than is possible using the standard System Preferences pane for mouse input. At the top of the MagicPrefs window sits two slider bars. T
» 13 Mar 2010, 2:00 am
Catch up: this week's most popular postsThis week on TechRadar we reported on a slip from Play.com which possibly revealed the Apple iPad's UK price. We also got confirmation of when the HTC legend will be appearing in the shops and heard rumours about the Xbox 360's planned makeover.Google Street View was also in the headlines with news that its camera cars and bikes have now mapped over 95% of the UK's streets, but worries on privacy weren't far behind.We also revealed the 10 fastest graphics cards in the world today, looked at some of the oddest arguments that have raged on Wikipedia's pages, and argued the case for and against DRM in games.Read on for this week's most popular stories on TechRadar…Top five news storiesHas the iPad UK price been revealed by Play.com?Apple has
» 13 Mar 2010, 1:00 am
SXSWi 2010: Weak passwords and lack of AV a major issue in social network securityEven after many high-profile hacking and phishing attacks on social networking accounts, and constant messages urging people to be vigilant, the biggest problem with web security is still weak passwords.Speaking at South by South West Interactive, an industry panel of security engineering managers from Twitter, Facebook and Microsoft discussed the approaches they use to secure their web services.Del Harvey is Director of Trust and Safety at Twitter. "I have a team of 20 folks, which given that the team at Twitter is about 160, is a very large team and we deal with ensuring the user expectations for privacy are there, and when bad things happen we work to fix them."Harvey says education is an on-going problem: "The current biggest thing that
» 12 Mar 2010, 9:12 pm
China warns Google to obey or 'pay the consequences'Google has been warned by China that it must follow the country's censorship rules or "pay the consequences".The chilling message was given by Li Yizhong, Chinese Minister of Industry and Information Technology, who was speaking at China's legislation session.Giving the reasons why China needs strict censoring laws, he explained: "We need to preserve our nation's interest, our people's interest, we cannot be relaxed with any information that will cause harm to the stability of our society, to our system, and to the health of our under-age young people."Abide and respectWhen it comes to Google, Yizhong said that whether the company disband from China was "up to them" but if it did continue, then the country's laws must be obeyed."I hope that
» 12 Mar 2010, 8:26 am
Vodafone UK confirms HTC Legend and DesireVodafone UK has finally confirmed that it will be bringing the HTC Legend and HTC Desire to the UK.The two phones will be offered on Vodafone's network, with the Legend an exclusive handset for the carrier.Vodafone was on stage at the launch of the HTC duo at Mobile World Congress and stated that it was bringing the phones to Europe, but inexplicably Vodafone UK refused to admit it was bringing either to our shores.The truth is out thereBut now the truth is out, as we revealed earlier this week, and customers can start getting excited about getting the two hottest handsets of the year.In our HTC Legend review, we saw a phone that we consider a real contender for phone of the year. And for our hands on HTC Desire review it also became clear
» 12 Mar 2010, 8:24 am
Sky adds ITV HD, Hallmark HD and Sky Sports 4 HDSky has announced another raft of new HD channels – with the announcement of ITV1 HD, Hallmark Channel HD and Sky Sports 4 HD pushing the tally to 40. The Sky platform has the edge over its rivals in sheer volume of HD channels, and it appears this gap will not be reduced any time soon, with the satellite broadcaster aiming for another 10 by the end of 2010. Sky News HD is poised to arrive in the coming months, and the addition of ITV 1 HD on April 2 means that Sky subscribers will be able to get all World Cup matches in HD. Virgin Media has also announced the addition of ITV1 HD to its channel line-up. Hallmark and Sky Sports 4 HDHallmark Channel HD will join the Sky platform on June 28 and April 29 will see the addition of Sky Sports 4
» 12 Mar 2010, 6:55 am
Apple iPad pre-ordering for US goes liveApple is now taking pre-orders for the Apple iPad, with the gadget now available from $499 in the US.The announcement was made after Apple posted its usual We'll Be Back Shortly message on its website – which is always a thinly veiled hint that some new release is coming to the store.While the message was also posted on the UK version of the store, there is still no iPad pre-ordering facility available. And, what's worse, we are still no closer to finding out the price.April UK releaseThe Apple iPad was announced by Steve Jobs back in January. The tablet device should be winging its way to the UK late April, but there is still no confirmation on who will be the data carriers for the 3G version.In fact, there are already a trickle of sites
» 12 Mar 2010, 6:42 am
This week in music-making techOur colleagues over on MusicRadar publish in-depth music-making hardware and software reviews, tutorials and features powered by industry expert magazines Computer Music and Future Music. From DAWs, virtual instruments and plug-in FX to hardware synths, grooveboxes and controllers, here are MusicRadar's top music-making tech picks this week…The 11 best DAW software apps Based on the results of a poll voted for by the MusicRadar community, these are the most-popular Digital Audio Workstations on the market today. Read the 11 best DAW software apps to find out which one reigns supreme, or scroll down for an in-depth review of each product. Ableton Live 8 reviewIt's not without its faults, but this is by far the most powerful Live yet - stun
» 12 Mar 2010, 6:30 am
Valve's Newell hits out at DRM on gamesValve's Gabe Newell has slammed copy protection on computer games – accusing some digital right management of 'wrapping negatives' around a user's experience. Valve are one of the leading lights in gaming, and Newell's comments at GDC follow Ubisoft's decision to install a copy protection that requires an always on internet connection for the games to run. "One thing that you hear us talk a lot about is entertainment as a service," said Newell."It's an attitude that says 'what have I done for my customers today?'"It informs all the decisions we make, and once you get into that mindset it helps you avoid things like some of the Digital Rights Management problems that actually make your entertainment products worth less by wrapping those ne
» 12 Mar 2010, 6:14 am
TechWeb
VoiceCon 2010 Spotlights ConvergenceEnterprise communications is speeding toward a convergence of voice, data, and video. See it all come together at VoiceCon 2010 in Orlando, March 22 - March 25.
» 13 Mar 2010, 4:00 am
MIX10: Microsoft, PreEmptive To Launch Silverlight Analytics ToolsMicrosoft will unveil Silverlight Analytics Framework at the Web designers & developers conference kicking off March 15 in Las Vegas, while Preemptive will launch Runtime Intelligence Analytics Provider for Silverlight.
» 12 Mar 2010, 12:51 pm
Microsoft Xbox Sales Top Wii, PS3But sales of all gaming hardware, including the Sony PS2, PlayStation Portable, and Nintendo DS, are down from a year ago.
» 12 Mar 2010, 12:19 pm
Microsoft, Motorola Strike Bing DealThe agreement puts Microsoft's Bing search on Motorola's Android smartphones.
» 12 Mar 2010, 10:35 am
China Warns Google To Obey LawPromising consequences if Google flouts China's censorship laws, Chinese authorities also chide the U.S. for its human rights record.
» 12 Mar 2010, 10:01 am
Infor Flex Smooths App UpgradesSoftware and service bundles are designed to make implementation time and cost predictable.
» 12 Mar 2010, 9:52 am
Accident Fund Names Lisa Riddle VP of Claims and Medical OperationsWorkers' comp carrier taps Riddle to oversee strategic direction of claims operations and medical cost management.
» 12 Mar 2010, 9:38 am
DRC Enables Cloud Delivery of DecisionMaker Rating EnterpriseDecisionMaker Rating Enterprise customers will be able to minimize overhead, create multiple cloned environments and quickly perform "what if" analysis with version 7.1, the vendor says.
» 12 Mar 2010, 9:34 am
ING to Use Virtual Desktops for Disaster RecoveryUsing RingCube's virtual desktop, which copies apps, data and permissions to a USB drive.
» 12 Mar 2010, 8:14 am
Examiner Sees Accounting Gimmicks in Lehman DemiseLehman Brothers used accounting gimmicks and had been insolvent for weeks before it filed for bankruptcy in September 2008, but there was not extensive wrongdoing, a court-appointed examiner has found.
» 12 Mar 2010, 7:39 am
NYSE Euronext CEO: Appetite for Financial Reform FadingThe appetite and sense of urgency for world financial reform have waned as markets have rebounded and the world economy has shown signs of recovering, the head of exchange operator NYSE Euronext said.
» 12 Mar 2010, 7:39 am
Washington Post - Tech News
Second Life's virtual money can become real-life cashDana Moore sells rain. He sells a lot of it, for about a buck per reusable storm.
» 7 Mar 2010, 9:00 pm
Tax-preparation software from TurboTax and H&R Block have drawbacks, benefitsTax-preparation programs are an unnecessary evil. We don't need special software to pay other bills, but our elected representatives' perpetual tinkering with the tax code makes paying for our share of government so mind-numbingly complex that most of us must outsource the math.
» 13 Mar 2010, 9:00 pm
Pre-orders brisk for Apple's new iPadNeither recession nor gadget overload shall slow the mania surrounding the introduction of Apple's iPad mobile computer.
» 12 Mar 2010, 9:00 pm
Cable firms seek FCC help in fee disputesSeveral major cable companies and a public interest group asked the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday to intervene in disputes over transmission fees to prevent broadcasters from withholding signals from subscribers.
» 9 Mar 2010, 9:00 pm
Pros and cons to Facebook's fast-growing role in digital photographyThe glossy print, it seems, is losing its sheen. According to estimates from IDC, 42 billion photos will be printed worldwide, both commercially and personally, in 2013. That's a third fewer than the 63 billion printed in 2008. Meanwhile about 124 billion photos are on pace to be shared through...
» 13 Mar 2010, 9:00 pm
Featured Advertiser» 13 Mar 2010, 9:00 pm
China holds firm against Google, says firm must obey its lawsBEIJING -- China's top Internet regulator warned Google on Friday that it must obey Chinese laws or "pay the consequences," in the bluntest official reaction yet to Google's threat to pull out of China unless the government stops censoring the Internet.
» 12 Mar 2010, 9:00 pm
Wide Web of diversions gets laptops evicted from lecture hallsOn a windy morning in downtown Washington, a hundred Georgetown Law students gathered in a hall for David Cole's lecture on democracy and coercion. The desks were cluttered with books, Thermoses and half-eaten muffins.
» 8 Mar 2010, 9:00 pm
Iran blocking foreign, domestic Web sites to curb anti-government activistsTEHRAN -- The bearded blogger stood before an effigy of an Islamic warrior towering over the letters "WWW."
» 9 Mar 2010, 9:00 pm
Security gaps exploited in grade scandal remain, may be difficult to closeMontgomery County school officials have not yet closed gaps in their computer system that allowed students at a high-performing Potomac high school to change dozens of grades using a device that can be bought from Amazon.com for $69. And other school systems, including Fairfax County, remain just...
» 9 Mar 2010, 9:00 pm
Video Vault, cult movie rental favorite, to close in AprilAnother video rental store might have been content to boast a "Horror" section, but Alexandria's Video Vault always catered to far more specialized tastes.
» 8 Mar 2010, 9:00 pm
Wired News
Google '99.9%' Sure To Shut China Search Engine: ReportTalks with China over censorship have reached an apparent impasse and Google, the world's largest search engine, is now "99.9 percent" certain to shut its Chinese search engine, the Financial Times reports.
» 13 Mar 2010, 8:41 am
E-Readers Will Survive the Onslaught of TabletsA slew of new tablets are set to hit the market but they won't kill e-readers. Tablets and E Ink-based reading devices are likely to co-exist, targeting different groups of consumers.
» 12 Mar 2010, 4:50 pm
Research Reveals Early Signs of Autism in Some KidsWhat if you could reliably diagnose autism at age 14 months? Findings in a new study could lead to better outcomes for autistic kids because of early intervention.
» 12 Mar 2010, 2:45 pm
FBI Hoaxes Boost Online FraudAn FBI report says the amount of reported damages stemming from online fraud has more than doubled to $560 million. And the No. 1 consumer online complaint concerned e-mail scammers posing as the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
» 12 Mar 2010, 2:38 pm
McLaren Cribs From Planes, Flutes to Build Faster F1 CarsThe MP4-25 offers an innovative solution to the age-old problem of maximizing downforce in the curves and minimizing drag on the straights.
» 12 Mar 2010, 2:30 pm
Big Earthquakes Cause Premature BirthsLarge earthquakes can shorten pregnant women's gestation period by small but significant amounts, a new study finds.
» 12 Mar 2010, 2:10 pm
Dual-Screen E-Reader Makes a Half-Assed DebutTwice the screen but half the quality, the Entourage eDGe is a lofty e-reader that falls short in nearly every area.
» 12 Mar 2010, 1:00 pm
A Cooperative Approach to Advance Electric RacingA new form of motor sport needs a new form of governance, one where the teams have a say in making the rules, settling the disputes and share in the profits.
» 12 Mar 2010, 12:43 pm
NetFlix Cancels Recommendation Contest After Privacy LawsuitTo settle a privacy lawsuit, Netflix is canceling a second round of its innovative contest to improve its movie recommendations. The lawsuit claims the anonymized user data given to outside researchers put users at risk of being identified.
» 12 Mar 2010, 11:50 am
Watch Streaming Video on Your MobileChances are, if you have a newer mobile phone, it's a television screen in your pocket. These tiny smartphones are truly smart, and the latest mobiles are connected to the internet and sport a sharp small screen.
» 12 Mar 2010, 11:30 am
Video: Cold, Little Comet Is No Match for Big, Hot SunA NASA satellite captured a small comet on its way to meet the sun. Things will not turn out well for the comet.
» 12 Mar 2010, 11:20 am
Yahoo! News - Technology
Innovation on display at Games Conference
(AP)AP - Motion controls and social gaming were the hot topics at this week's Game Developers Conference, the annual convention of game designers, programmers and executives.
» 13 Mar 2010, 2:21 am
Apple gives chief operating officer $5M bonus
(AP)AP - Apple Inc. is giving its chief operating officer a $5 million bonus for "outstanding performance" running the company while CEO Steve Jobs was on medical leave.
» 12 Mar 2010, 2:43 pm
Court OKs TV rules opposed by Comcast, Cablevision
(AP)AP - A federal court Friday upheld regulations that require cable TV companies to make sports programming and other channels they own available on equal terms to rival TV providers such as satellite companies.
» 12 Mar 2010, 1:11 pm
No .xxx yet: Internet agency delays porn decision
(AP)AP - Porn Web sites can't park themselves at a ".xxx" address quite yet.
» 12 Mar 2010, 9:47 am
Chinese minister insists Google obey the law
(AP)AP - China's top Internet regulator insisted Friday that Google must obey its laws or "pay the consequences," giving no sign of a possible compromise in their dispute over censorship and hacking.
» 12 Mar 2010, 11:32 am
Privacy issues nix Netflix movie-picking contest
(AP)AP - DVD-by-mail service Netflix Inc. has canceled a sequel to a $1 million movie-recommendation contest, avoiding a potential courtroom drama over the privacy rights of its subscribers.
» 12 Mar 2010, 4:01 pm
Google "99.9 pct" sure to shut China search engine: report
(Reuters)Reuters - Talks with China over censorship have reached an apparent impasse and Google, the world's largest search engine, is now "99.9 percent" certain to shut its Chinese search engine, the Financial Times said on Saturday.
» 13 Mar 2010, 2:34 am
Steve Jobs finally wins approval to tear down house... possibly
(Macworld.com)Macworld.com - Steve Jobs is accustomed to bringing the house down—unveiling remarkable devices like the iPad, the iPhone, and the original iPod make that a pretty common occurrence. Now, though, after an extended battle, the Apple CEO can finally bring down the other house he’s been trying to raze for so long. Maybe.
» 13 Mar 2010, 8:52 am
China's new generation picky about factory jobs
(AP)AP - Factory worker Chen Qinghai frowned as he looked at a tall bulletin board full of help-wanted notices from companies making everything from photocopiers and DVD drives to mobile phones and car parts.
» 13 Mar 2010, 8:11 am
Summary Box: Court OKs cable TV access rules
(AP)AP - THE DISPUTE: Cable TV providers challenged a five-year extension of federal regulations requiring them to make channels they own available to rivals such as satellite TV.
» 12 Mar 2010, 1:44 pm
Xbox 360 Outsold Wii in February, Says NPD
(PC World)PC World - Microsoft's Xbox 360 outsold Nintendo's Wii in February to claim the top spot in the U.S. monthly sales ranking for the first time in more than two years, analyst group NPD said Thursday. Overall the industry had a poor month with total sales down 15 percent from February last year.
» 12 Mar 2010, 4:23 pm
