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Bad Economy Hits Technorati

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 10:26:00 -0800

Technorati, a San Francisco-based startup site that tracks and indexes blogs, is the latest of the Silicon Valley companies laying off employees and cutting pay for their remaining staff.

President and chief executive, Richard Jalichandra said to “"weather the storm” of the current economic crisis, they will lay off six employees and two other positions within their company will not be replaced.

Their management team will take a 15-25% pay cut, and staff will have 10% of their salaries cut, as well.

Although this news is tough, Mr. Jalichandra remains hopeful about Technorati’s future. "In the long run, Technorati will emerge a stronger and more profitable place for us, and the bloggers we serve, to thrive personally, professionally and financially."

Source

Tech News Countdown: November 21, 2008

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:50:00 -0800

Welcome to the Tech News Countdown, hosted by Alison Haislip. Every Friday, Alison brings you the top 5 tech stories of the week so be sure to watch the show. Otherwise, she'll be sad and you don't want that, do you?

This week Alison brings you the latest on NASA's new water recycling program, researchers shooting for the creation of a cybernetic brain, a woman who wants a webcam in her empty eye socket, Obama's plans for his high-tech Presidential limo, and a doctor who believes that we'll see a spike in births in 9 months due to Obama's victory. Sexy.

Here now, is the Tech News Countdown.

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Monty Python's Own YouTube Channel

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:19:00 -0800

The British comedy group, Monty Python, has launched their own YouTube channel.

While the site features many Python clips, the biggest attention grabber is a video blaming users for "ripping" the show off.

"For three years you YouTubers have been ripping us off, taking tens of thousands of our videos and putting them on YouTube. Now the tables are turned. It's time for us to take matters into our own hands.

They add cheekily, "We know who you are, we know where you live and we could come after you in ways too horrible to tell. But being the extraordinarily nice chaps we are, we've figured a better way to get our own back: We've launched our own Monty Python channel on YouTube."

MP is going to cease "those crap quality videos" posted on YouTube and begin delivering "HQ videos" from the "vault."

While the videos will be free to watch, MP is asking that in lieu of "driveling, mindless comments," fans purchase their movies and TV shows, and "soften our pain and disgust at being ripped off all these years."

Source

China Gets Sony's Blu-ray

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 09:54:00 -0800

As an answer to the illicit trading of new forms of fake discs that have begun in China, Sony Pictures will become the first Hollywood studio to distribute Blu-ray DVDs there.

For 205 yuan (US $30), Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release 30 current and classics in this high-definition format, which Sony developed.

This also corresponds with the launch of Sony's BDP--S350 Blu-ray player.

It's said that Warner Bros. and Disney are to follow shortly.

Initially the Blu-ray DVDs will be imported into China with local production commencing within a year. This can help cut retail prices, as well as receive greater protection against pirate operators.

The illegal discs that are being sold in China use Advanced Video Codec High Definition, "a high- and standard-definition recording format for use in tapeless digital camcorders. But they were packaged in fake blue plastic boxes complete with Blu-ray holograms."

The advent of AVCHD discs is of significant concern for studios, as they can be manufactured with standard blank DVDs, but are playable in Blu-ray disc players, even providing better image quality.

It's estimated that AVCHD discs can make up approximately 10% of the piracy in China in the next six months.

Source

Yahoo's CEO Steps Down

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:00:00 -0800

After Yahoo's CEO Jerry Yang announced on Monday, November 16, 2008, that he was stepping down, Yahoo Inc. shares went up 11%.

This could mean that Microsoft Corp. could make another bid for the Internet company that's faced hollowed earnings and sinking stock prices.

Mr. Yang, who co-founded Yahoo in 1995, demured and resisted at a $47.5 billion takeover offer from Microsoft back in May 2008. Perhaps it's this emotional attachment that also inspired him to decide to step down as CEO so that the company can improve its stocks and revenue.

He won't, however, vacate his current position until a replacement is found. Yahoo is interviewing candidates internally, as well as outside in a search that's being handled by Roy Bostock, chairman of Yahoo and an executive recruitment firm.

Despite Mr. Yang's resistance to step down, the company's board faced tremendous pressure to oust him as Yahoo's shares took a nose-dive to their lowest since early 2003.

When Mr. Yang declined Microsoft's offer, it incited a shareholder revolt which was led by billionaire investor Carl Icahn. Mr. Icahn has ceaselessly continued to lobby for Yahoo to reach a deal with Microsoft that would either have the company sold in its entirety or just its search engine.

After wasting Yahoo's chance to sell to Microsoft, Mr. Yang tried to forge an advertising partnership with Google in hopes of hiking up their profits.

Yahoo also considered a possible acquisition of AOL which had many analysts panning it as a desperate move that would further hurt Yahoo.

Regardless of what shareholders may think of Mr. Yang, it's indisputable that he's made a legacy as an Internet pioneer.

Source

D.I.Y. Developer Gets Rich With iPhone Game

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 12:26:00 -0800

Steve Demeter's new puzzle game Trism for the iPod and iPhone has been so popular that it's earned him $250K in profits the first two months.

Mr. Demeter, age 29, lives in the San Francisco Bay area. A former bank ATM software designer, he created Trism in his spare time and sold it to Apple last spring. The game has been available for download since July with the App Store.

As it usually takes a team of professional developers, not to mention millions of dollars, to create the ubiquitous fancy video game, industry observers have said that the advent of the iPhone and the App Store has made software development feasible to the average hobbyist.

Scott Steinberg, publisher of DigitalTrends.com and author of Get Rich Playing Games says, "The overhead and barriers to entry are so low that virtually anyone can afford to take a crack, if not several, at hitting a home run."

Mr. Demeter conceived of Trism after attending an iPhone conference in the summer of 2007. It took him another four months to code the game on nights and weekends.

Trism is like Bejeweled whereby players manage a grid of colored triangles. The object of the game is to score points by lining up three or more similar colored triangles in a row.

Two months ago, Mr. Demeter quit his bank job and launched his own developing company called Demiforce with a salaried staff, as well as five games in development--two coming out by Christmas--including Trismology (a spinoff of Trism).

While Mr. Demeter says, "Apple has made it so easy to put [game publishing] in the palms of developers. You just make it and then you submit it to Apple," the market has quickly become over-saturated with 1,500 games available from the App Store.

But you shouldn't let that deter you. Apple will give the successful game developer 30% of the proceeds from the sale of their games. And priced at $5, you can see how Trism became quite the hit.

Source

Obama May Be Unable To Use BlackBerry at The White House

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:24:00 -0800

Anyone who owns and uses a BlackBerry can attest to the fact that he/she is a habitual user of the device. President Elect Barack Obama is no exception.

Bad news for him. As a tech-savvy politician who hopes to be the first Commander-in-Chief to have his laptop sitting on top the historical Oval Office desk at his disposal, he may very well have to leave the BlackBerry back in Chicago.

The Presidential Records Act requires all official correspondence to be public domain. This means that the incumbent President has "to dispose of records that no longer have administrative, historical, informational, or evidentiary value, once he has obtained the views of the Archivist of the United States on the proposed disposal."

During Obama's campaign, he opted out of paper with regards to reports to/from his advisers, instead had them sent directly to his BlackBerry.

Source

Eco Friendly Billboard Goes Up In NYC

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 12:04:00 -0800

In time for New York City's annual New Year's celebration in Times Square, the city will get their first environmentally friendly billboard.

This billboard which will be powered solely by wind and sun is going to advertise Ricoh Americas Corp. The 35,000 lbs. sign will run on 16 wind turbines and 64 solar panels, and is expected to save $12,000 to $15,000 monthly in electricity costs. It should also spare the environment out of 18 tons of carbon.

Because this board is lit by floodlights, it may not have the hypnotic bling of other light-emitted diode billboards. And it also won't have a backup generator. So there's a concern it could go dark when there is little wind or sun.

However, Ricoh spokesman said the turbines should keep the billboard lit up to four without any breeze or bright light.

A little give on bedazzle for the sake of the environment is a good thing, and we hope other advertisers take heed.

Source

Tech News Countdown: November 14, 2008

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:46:00 -0800

Welcome to the Tech News Countdown, hosted by Alison Haislip (she's back!). Every Friday, Alison brings you the top 5 tech stories of the week so be sure to watch the show. Otherwise, she'll be sad and you don't want that, do you?

This week Alison brings you the latest on the death of the Mars Rover, a new Army webcast program that lets users chat with soldiers in Iraq, an Internet football (that's soccer to you) fan club buys their own professional team, a special video game controller for a disabled gamer, and an update on the Craigslist inner-tube thief.

Here now, is the Tech News Countdown.

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Gmail Gives More Features

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 15:22:00 -0800

While they do not have SMS Chat, Gmail has added video and voice chat.

If you have a webcam and a Web browser plug-in, a video chat with other Gmail users is just a click away.

Not having a webcam shouldn't be a deterrent to see friends and family for a chat. If your PC has a microphone plug, you can use it. Google also assists by directing you to Logitech and Buy.com.

Skype better watch out; Google is right on your tail.

Source

Social Changes at Live.com

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 12:20:00 -0800

The significant changes that Microsoft's Live.com portal makes will take it from a mere search engine to a social network. You can take a peek at their new Windows Live Photos and Windows Live People, as well as other services at Home.Live.com.

Whereas Yahoo's strength is email, Microsoft's is Messenger. It has 268 million users, making it the most popular instant messaging service worldwide (compared to 116 million for Yahoo and 6 million for Google Talk).

Any activity that users build out on their profile is then flowed into Live.com for their friends to see. The presumption is that users will want to hang out at Live.com.

Live.com will have access to a plethora of the usual online services, plus downloaded service like mail client, Movie Maker and Photo Gallery.

Time will tell if Microsoft's entry into social networking will be a success in its ability to compete with other sites like Facebook.

Source

Tech News Countdown: November 7, 2008

Fri, 7 Nov 2008 16:04:00 -0800

Welcome to the Tech News Countdown, hosted by Alison Haislip, even though the very capable Blair Herter is filling in for her this week. Every other Friday, Alison brings you the top 5 tech stories of the week so be sure to watch the show. Otherwise, she'll be sad and you don't want that, do you?

This week Blair brings you the latest on naughty Craigslist ads seeking sex in exchange for tickets to Obama's victory speech, the possibility of life on Saturn, a giant magnetic shield, an amazing robotic jellyfish, and a teen's awesome new name.

Here now, is the Tech News Countdown.

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Tech News Countdown: October 31, 2008

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 14:30:00 -0700

Welcome to the Tech News Countdown, hosted by Alison Haislip. Every Friday, Alison brings you the top 5 tech stories of the week so be sure to watch the show. Otherwise, she'll be sad and you don't want that, do you?

This week Alison brings you the latest on newly surfaced UFO evidence, the Pentagons plan for a pack of human-hunting robots, scientists try to figure out how to wipe memories, a new visual distress beacon of stranded astronauts, and a different set of scientists try to create a portable brain scanner that could help NASA monitor the health of their astronauts.

Here now, is the Tech News Countdown.

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Tech News Countdown: October 24, 2008

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:05:00 -0700

Welcome to the Tech News Countdown, hosted by Alison Haislip. Every Friday, Alison brings you the top 5 tech stories of the week so be sure to watch the show. Otherwise, she'll be sad and you don't want that, do you?

This week Alison brings you the latest on Scientology's crusade against a hacker, an advance in paper tech, the Large Hadron Collider is still undergoing repairs, more concerns with voting machines, and a new video game character based on Japan's current Prime Minister, Taro Aso.

Here now, is the Tech News Countdown.

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Tech News Countdown: October 17, 2008

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:28:00 -0700

Welcome to the Tech News Countdown, hosted by Alison Haislip. Every Friday, Alison brings you the top 5 tech stories of the week so be sure to watch the show. Otherwise, she'll be sad and you don't want that, do you?

This week Alison brings you the latest on the new anti-piracy law signed by President Bush, an update on the Palin hacker, the fake Bigfoot gorilla suit is on sale, a Japanese plant starts a blog, and an elephant gets tested with a warning program that can warn locals if they get too close.

Here now, is the Tech News Countdown.

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Tech News Countdown: October 10th, 2008

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 18:40:00 -0700

Welcome to the Tech News Countdown, hosted by Alison Haislip. Every Friday, Alison brings you the top 5 tech stories of the week.

This week Alison brings you the latest on the airline wi-fi, sub-orbital space pr0n, recognizing Smoot's unit of measurement and quite possibly the cleverest criminal ever to post on craigslist.

Here now, the Tech News Countdown.

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Tech News Countdown: October 3, 2008

Fri, 3 Oct 2008 15:00:00 -0700

Welcome to the Tech News Countdown, hosted by Alison Haislip. Every Friday, Alison brings you the top 5 tech stories of the week so be sure to watch the show. Otherwise, she'll be sad and you don't want that, do you?

This week Alison brings you the latest on the government's feedback problem, a new plan to divert tsunamis, space tourism, Portugal's alternative energy, and the latest on a technology and sex expo in San Francisco.

Here now, is the Tech News Countdown.

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Tech News Countdown: September 26, 2008

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 15:35:00 -0700

Welcome to the Tech News Countdown, hosted by Alison Haislip. Every Friday, Alison brings you the top five tech stories of the week so be sure to watch the show. Otherwise, she'll be sad and you don't want that, do you?

This week Alison brings you the latest on the Palin e-mail hacker, a vodka smuggling ring, Japan's plan for a space elevator, a new solar cell from a teenager, and social networking becomes more popular than porn on the internet.

Here now, is the Tech News Countdown.

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Tech News Countdown: September 19, 2008

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 13:34:00 -0700

Welcome to the Tech News Countdown, hosted by Alison Haislip. Every Friday, Alison brings you the top 5 tech stories of the week so be sure to watch the show. Otherwise, she'll be sad and you don't want that, do you?

This week Alison brings you the latest on McCain's BlackBerry business, AT&T's new price policy, airborne Wi-Fi censorship issues, Israeli dog DNA testing, and a stupid paramedic with an insatiable appetite.

Here now, is the Tech News Countdown.

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Tech News Countdown: September 12, 2008

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 16:36:00 -0700

Welcome to the Tech News Countdown, hosted by Alison Haislip. Every Friday, Alison brings you the top 5 tech stories of the week so be sure to watch the show. Otherwise, she'll be sad and you don't want that, do you?

This week Alison brings you the latest on the Large Hadron Collider (are we all gone?), more e-voting concerns regarding a computer virus, an underground soccer stadium, Apple's "Let's Rock" event, and a new way to hitchhike.

Here now, is the Tech News Countdown.

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