Spec Bumps for iPod Touch & iPhone
Well Apple may not think it’s big news based on the way they quietly put it out there, but the iPhone and iPod Touch received some much-needed spec bumps today. iPhone is now available in a 16GB flavor, while the Touch now has a 32Gb model. Since Apple introduced the iPod Touch some months ago, this has been pretty much expected, but I would have thought they would have made a bigger deal out of it, especially in the case of the Touch. It’s a beautiful, widescreen device designed for watching movies, but it’s fatal flaw has been piss-poor data storage space. 32GB addresses the issue nicely, and also makes the touch a perfect accessory to Apple’s new movie rental service.
Quick thought on the potential merger
There’s a lot of buzz about Microsoft’s $45 billion bid for Yahoo, and rightfully so. But what some are proposing, including this article, is that the merger will overtake Google. “Bah!” says I! The merger of two so-so search engines does not automatically rocket them into first place. It only gives them a common adversary. Perception, fair or not, is always reality…and right now reality is that it’s Google, then everyone else.
Yahoo’s major issue has always been execution. Is it realistic to think a bloated corporate bureaucracy like Microsoft is going to be it’s savior? Color me skeptical. At best this is a boon for Yahoo’s major stock holders, who’s shares would now be bought at around $11 higher than current market value.
What’s the best possible outcome of this merger? If Microsoft is smart, they will absorb all of their own MSN-branded search functionality into the Yahoo brand name, which despite playing second fiddle to Google in recent years, still carries huge Internet clout. MSN, despite the river of money poured into it, has never been anything more than an “also-ran”. It might also be worth merging their other big online properties, such as Hotmail, into Yahoo. It’s a long-shot, given the relatively few misses Google has suffered over the years, but it’s definitely their best strategey.
MediaPost Publications - Microsoft/Yahoo Would Dominate Online Display, Rival Google In Search - 02/01/2008
IN A DEAL THAT WOULD consolidate the Internet’s No. 1 destination, Yahoo, and its fifth largest, MSN, Microsoft this morning made a bid to acquire Yahoo for a record-setting $44.6 billion. The deal, if completed, would mark the largest yet in the ongoing consolidation among the Internet’s big bodied players, and would once again reset the playing field for online advertising industry.
Sell your crap, Scientology style
Got an old e-meter sitting in your garage collecting dust? Why not exploit your “religion” for fun and profit?
Possibly because they feel guilty for stealing your money (okay, probably not), Scientology is expanding their Craigslist-style classifieds site, Thetalinks, to new cities. As with most things related to this boutique pseudo-religion, vagueness abounds, including whether or not this is an officially run or endorsed Scientology site.
One thing is certain, however: The alien parasites feeding on your human soul likely outnumber the users of this site because a spot-check of 10 random categories yielded only one ad. Perhaps the biggest benefactors of Thetalinks will be ex-Scientologists, since a good used set of basic books will net you around $1900.
Tom, I know this means we can’t be friends anymore. I’m sorry. Love to Katie.
“Second Skin” trailer now online
Virtual worlds are about to get the documentary treatment in “Second Skin”, a very intriguing-looking film. Take a look for yourself.
Camera phones now good for something other than “upskirts”
A company called Thrrum (your guess is as good as mine on pronounciation) is introducing a new feature to their camera phone search software: The ability to purchase items from Amazon via their visual search technology.
The idea is simple, if not a bit “Star Trek” in nature. Snap a photo of an item with your camera phone and the software identifies “automagically” what it is you’re looking at. You can then find more information on said item, and now thanks to the latest software iteration, impulse-buy the hell out of some stuff.
This all sounds very similar in nature to the ill-fated Cue-Cat, which was designed to loosen wallets through the magic of bar codes. To their credit, however, Thrrum is basing their idea on portable technology that people carry with them anyway. Oh, and it doesn’t look like a mummified cat.
It’s said that a fool and his money are soon parted. It’s the job of the digital age to speed that process along, and your journey begins with the $5.99 it costs to download 12 months of Thrrum’s Visual Search Service to a very limited number of Nokia and Sony Ericsson phones. On the plus side, keeping up with the Joneses has finally gone Web 2.0.
Hostway and Tilana Partner to Offer Online Backup
In an increasingly crowded business space, Hostway Corporation and Tilana Systems Corporation have partnered to create an offspring named “GateVault”, a secure online backup service aimed at both home and business users. The arrangement features Hostway providing infrastructure, monitoring and billing, and Tilana providing the platform.
Features are the standard fare for such services: Automatic, unattended backup of selected folders on multiple computers, and easy restore from any Internet-connected PC. Sweetening the deal is the additional versioning feature: The ability to restore not only a deleted file, but a previous version of a file. One other interesting detail is a feature that, in my opinion, some other online backup services get wrong (Mozy, I’m looking in your direction): GateVault continues to store files that you purposely delete from your local system, allowing you to recover them later if you wish. Some services, like the aforementioned Mozy, only maintain an exact mirror of your backed-up folders, so it can often turn into a race against time to get something before your next backup cycle runs.
Pricing for GateVault is the most interesting twist. The service is a flat $14.95 per month, but the amount of disk space you consume is billed on their “Pay Once” policy: A $2 one-time fee per gigabyte used. This might make it a more economical option for people or businesses that need to maintain large off-site backups.
Remembering Heath Ledger sans the effort
While not really a tech story, it is web-related. And besides, I am a bit of a Batman fan-boy, so I thought I would bring it to your attention.
Over at the Warner Brothers site for their upcoming film The Dark Knight, they have replaced their movie trailer page with a tasteful, if small, tribute to Heath Ledger. Now I’m not harping on the design. Indeed, the web effort thus far for The Dark Knight has been fairly lackluster considering the film’s budget, so the simplicity of the memorial page is not at issue. But Warner Brothers…do you think maybe you could have taken the time to fill in the html title field?
Sure…let’s remember the guy, as long as it doesn’t require too much effort, okay?
Nikon Announces D60 Consumer DSLR
Fans of the Nikon D40 have something new on the horizon to get excited about. Yesterday Nikon announced their new D60 consumer DSLR will be shipping in February. Pricing not yet available. Features include a new AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR image stabilization lens, in-camera editing tools, a 10.2 megapixel sensor, and a form-factor reportedly similar to the D40.
The in-camera editing tools are intriguing, although the thought of using buttons on the back of a camera to navigate crop or retouch functions is not exactly pleasant. However, as long as the D60 builds on the solid foundation it’s little brother the D40 started, this should be a very attractive consumer camera. The Nikon press release is here.
Journey: Latest band in Second Life
Following on the heels of artists such as U2, Suzanne Vega and Ben Folds Five, the rock band Journey (sans Steve Perry) will apparently be joining the world of the virtual on February 1, 2008. “Journey Rock Band” is their island location in Second Life, and it features more 80’s Journey trivia than is probably healthy.
I logged in and teleported over to the island for a first-hand look. I have to say that the build, while functional, is not particularly impressive. Certainly nowhere near the aesthetic level of some of the other commercial ventures in Second Life such as Scion or CSI:NY. As it’s centerpiece, the island features a rather large ampitheater which, like most large venues in SL, is built to support more visitors than the current Second Life server technology can handle.
I applaud a band like Journey, who is trying to reinvent itself with a new lead singer, for taking the step into virtual worlds. However, I don’t personally think that larger franchises such as they can really benefit from the small, focused demographic that channels like Second Life deliver. Smaller independent artists seem to do very well, case-in-point the U.K. band Angry Man, and more recently Kirsty Hawkshaw.
Have a look at the in-game video I captured of my visit to Journey’s Second Life island, and make sure to notice my avatar’s double-take upon discovering that American Idol’s own “Yo, dawg!” Randy Jackson was at one time the band’s bass player/vocalist. “Yo, dawg” indeed!
Product Review: Bose In-Ear Headphones
I’ve been considering a headphone upgrade ever since I got my 5G iPod a couple years ago. The stock Apple earbuds are decent, but they really don’t do it for a bass-hungry audio junkie like myself. When I got my 8GB iPod Touch at Christmas, I finally decided that a piece of tech that sexy deserved a set of headphones worthy of it’s hawtness. I’ve been looking at the Bose series of headsets because…well, because they’re Bose. I’ve even tested out the “around-ear” and “on-ear” models in the stores, and found them to have very nice, low bass response.
Unfortunately you can’t test the “IE” or in-ear models (who really wants to intermix their ear-gunk with a bunch of total strangers?) because if I had the opportunity to “try before you buy”, I would have never bought these tiny disappointments. At a hundred bucks, they’re easily the most expensive let-down I’ve had with any of my iPod-related gear.
The bass in these earbuds is virtually non-existent, and if you try to kick it up manually using the iPod’s EQ, they produce a terrible buzz. On the plus side, they do produce nice, crisp high tones, but that’s about the only positive I can offer.
Inside the package you will find three different sized sets of covers that are supposed to give you a more comfortable fit. I found the shape of these to be a little odd. They aren’t as uncomfortable as standard earbuds, and they do channel the sound deeper inside the ear, but they don’t really fit well. I tried all three sizes with the same result. To make matters worse, the rubber these covers are made of is very poor quality. Within a couple hours of regular use, the first set had torn.
Something else to consider about these earbuds is the “tube” that feeds sound into the ear. Since the covers are prone to tearing, you have to at least consider how the underlying tube could effect the ear if it came into contact with it, and these things are sharp! I could easily see a situation where someone wearing these accidentally bumps their head, rips the cover and brings the sharp plastic of the tube in contact with the inside of the ear. This hasn’t happened to me personally, but it’s certainly not outside the realm of possibility, particularly if someone uses these in an active situation such as exercising.
The wiring itself, specifically the wire covering, is made of a very soft rubber. During regular use, I found that the earbuds easily got tangled and were a pain to straighten out. They also come with a lanyard designed to make them easier to remove while still keeping them around your neck. The lanyard is difficult to attach, and not particularly effective. It’s easy to feel like your earbuds are strangling you when it’s attached.
To say that I was disappointed by the Bose In-Ear headphones is a huge understatement. For a hundred dollars, I expected them to be made of far better quality materials, and to have a decent low-end. If you’re looking for good bass response, spend the extra money and go with either of the other two Bose headset models, the “Around Ear” or “Over Ear“
