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01 Aug 2011 10:34

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Tech: With new Edge, Adobe begins to learn to let go of Flash

  • Adobe has seen the future, and it isn’t Flash. The company has released an experimental version of an app called “Edge,” which essentially does the kind of Web animation Flash is known for … except using CSS and HTML5. Wanna try it? You can download it at the link, kids. Check it out. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Jul 2011 20:00

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Tech: Patent lawsuit-o-rama: Spotify sued just weeks after going stateside

  • Once again, we see patents being used as a tool to shakedown companies who were actually innovative in how they executed, with a ridiculously broad patent that contributed zippo to the actual state of the art.
  • TechDirt’s Mike Masnick • Offering a spot-on take regarding the patent lawsuit filed against the finally-in-the-U.S. Spotify. The company suing, PacketVideo, specializes in mobile streaming solutions, but did not develop the patent, which dates back to 1994. Instead, they bought it a couple of years ago. Masnick, in his argument about patent law, rightly points out that it’s easy to patent an idea (especially one that was already floating around the ether in 1994, like audio streaming), but it’s very hard to do what Spotify does — which is, corral the cats into a room and get them all working in unison. Fact of matter: PacketVideo didn’t put any of the work into getting the labels on board, creating an innovative distribution model, or making it a cinch to use. Spotify did. And it’s another example of how patent law fails to protect real innovation, but instead punishes success. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Jul 2011 14:30

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Tech: Twitter revamps ad offerings to entice more advertisers

  • “Promoted tweets” will now show up directly in Twitter users’ feeds. But they won’t be like ordinary tweets — they’ll appear near or at the top of users feeds, with a little promoted thing nearby (see above). Before, promoted tweets would only show up if a user searched for something relevant — now they’ll show up if you follow a company’s account. “When we decide to follow a favorite brand, business or charitable organization, we expect to be among the first to get a special announcement, access to exclusive content or a great offer,” Twitter stated in a blog post. “That’s why starting today, we’re introducing a way to ensure that the most important tweets from the organizations you follow reach you directly.” Essentially, advertisers pay to ensure visibility. source
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Jul 2011 10:43

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Tech: Signs the 3D fad is over: Nintendo drops 3DS price significantly

  • $80 price drop after only five months on the market source
  • » Poor sales might be the cause: Amid reports that 3DS sales are roughly 39 million units off of projected forecasts, the device, noted for its unique 3D screen (which does not require glasses, by the way), is dropping from $249.99 to $169.99 next month. The 3DS, while well-reviewed, faced a number of problems at launch, including bad timing — with the console having just come out before the devastating earthquake hit Japan, Nintendo’s home and a key sales market. On top of all that, Nintendo is facing unprecedented competition in the portable market, what with mobile phones getting in on the territory Nintendo exclusively dominated for years. Oh, and 3D is hard on the eyes. That seems like a good reason.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Jul 2011 21:57

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Tech: Laptop broken? Enroll in an Owensboro, KY public school

  • FREE Macbooks for kids in Kentucky! source
  • » We were generally supportive of the 2009 stimulus package, but aspects of it are starting to seem a bit questionable, to say the least. Case in point: 2,200 students and staff in the town of Owensboro, Kentucky will soon be enjoying a free Macbook Air, courtesy of the Recovery and Reinvestment Act. While we’re all for providing students with the technical competency needed to compete in the 21st-century global economy, you don’t really need to give everyone a Macbook Air to do that. The cheapest Air is $999; if we assume, for the sake of argument, that Apple gave Owensboro a 50% bulk discount, that’s still over a million dollars of federal money being spent so kids can have free laptops. Opponents of “wasteful government spending,” your Exhibit A is right here.
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Jul 2011 14:08

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Tech: Important LulzSec member reportedly goes down

  • Topiary, LulzSec’s most public member and second-in-command has reportedly been arrested. He’s the one that ran LulzSec’s Twitter and wrote all of their eloquent messages — and he was only 19. Topiary deleted every tweet from his personal twitter and left only one: “You can’t arrest an idea,” pointing more to the fact that he was arrested and even knew it was coming. LulzSec will undoubtedly confirm or deny all of this soon enough, but this all comes on the heels of a sting which nailed 14 members of Anonymous, which reportedly has ties to the more-low-key group. source
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Jul 2011 22:33

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Tech: App lets iPhone users see all of your drunken mistakes

  • A new iPhone app allows you to view real-time video feeds from inside local bars, so you can, in the words of the creators, “see what a venue looks like, to get a head count.” Cool idea, but that means that if you’re in one of said bars, everything you do is being streamed online—whether you know it or not. Bars that opt-in to this aren’t required to tell patrons that they’re being filmed, and the footage is accessible from the company’s website, so it’s not just limited to iPhone users. The creators defend the app’s integrity, saying that “the point of the product is not to make a stalker utility.” Which is a vapid defense, of course, because the intent behind a product has no bearing on the manner in which it’s capable of being used. We suspect Apple might pull this one before too long. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

20 Jul 2011 13:24

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Tech: Apple does a bunch of updates (OSX Lion!), kills off a classic breadwinner

  • cool While exterior changes didn’t happen (did it need any?) the new MacBook Air is a heckuva lot faster and comes with solid-state drives by default.
  • cooler The Mac Mini, sort of the redheaded stepchild of the Mac line, also got a fresh upgrade — notably without an optical drive of any kind.
  • coolest Mac. OSX. Lion. In the Mac App Store. You don’t even need to leave your apartment to upgrade it, guys. Do it naked if you want. source
  • » It’s so hard to say goodbye … Not all changes were in the form of hello, however. The polycarbonate MacBook, a stalwart of the line since Apple’s move to Intel, is gone, effectively replaced by the MacBook Air. It’s the first time in a decade that Apple hasn’t sold a white plastic notebook of any kind. A sad day, but one full of new beginnings, right?
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Jul 2011 12:04

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Tech: Hacker arrests apparently nail a bunch of hangers-on

  • It does look like some of these guys (hackers) were just fools. The PayPal attack in particular. It looks like these bozos must have just said ‘Cool, an attack on PayPal. You can use my machine.’ I think it makes it a lot less likely that that people will join the next digital lynch mob.
  • Former Homeland Security official Stewart Baker • Discussing the nature of the 14 people arrested yesterday in connection with a wide-scale attack on PayPal and other services late last year — a form of retribution, reportedly coordinated by Anonymous for PayPal taking away Wikileaks’ main source of funding. A couple other folks were arrested, too, in a series of raids that represent the largest law-enforcement response to the spate of large-scale hackings that have cropped up since late last year. But if Baker is right, they may not have gotten anyone of note — but a bunch of dudes who fed into the mob mentality. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Jul 2011 14:59

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Tech: Patent lawsuits: HTC feeling the heat after Apple wins ruling

  • 2 Apple patents infringed upon by HTC, a trade commission says source
  • » The judge favors Apple in a key case: This decision might mean that every single Android device violates this patent — and may possibly prevent Android devices from being imported to the U.S. HTC says they can find a way around it, but it will be difficult — it’s not looking good. And, let’s face it — if Apple could get Android phones off the market, they totally freaking would.
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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