Think you've seen the worst of the global financial collapse? Well, you haven't. Microsoft's dipping its toe into sub-prime software lending, otherwise known as providing free software to startups making less than $1 million. We'd call it the "crack dealer" model, but it doesn't have the same current events gravitas. Also today: we can now officially project that Yahoo is the biggest loser of them all. Sigh.
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EPISODE 846
No more GooHoo: Google pulls out of ad deal with Yahoo
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/ending-our-agreement-with-yahoo.html
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10082800-93.html
Yahoo's React: Disappointed Google Withdrew, But The Deal Was Only 'Incremental' Anyway
http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-yahoos-react-the-deal-was-only-incremental/
CNN’s human hologram on election night
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-10082802-76.html
http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2008/11/04/cnns-election-night.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thOxW19vsTg
http://gizmodo.com/5076663/how-the-cnn-holographic-interview-system-works
FCC opens up wireless 'white spaces;' Assessing winners, losers and wild-cards
http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=10688
http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/11/fcc-approves-wi-fi-on-steroids-good-news-for-consumers-bad-news-for-telcos
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7709775.stm
Sprint Clearwire merger approved
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081105-wimax-combo-gets-fcc-blessing-as-does-verizonalltel-union.html
FCC launches probe into possible cable pricing shenanigans
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081105-fcc-launches-probe-into-possible-cable-pricing-shenanigans.html
Microsoft to give free software to startups
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Application-Development/Microsoft-Launches-Effort-to-Spark-Startups/
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10082506-56.html
The end of an era - Windows 3.x
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7707016.stm
EA Recommends Hilarious Work-Around For RA3 CD-key
http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/11/05/143240
VOICEMAIL
Mark from Florida: what’s up with that CNN wizardry?
http://www.osnews.com/story/19730/Perceptive_Pixel_s_Magic_Wall_Finds_New_Niche
EMAIL
About 3 years ago I did some research for an ISP on P2P indexing and
re-directing (before it was called P4P) because 80% of the traffic on
the ISP was P2P. In the end I advised the ISP NOT to use the
technology. Here’s why:
1 - You need a big ISP for P4P to work. (ours was under 100K subs)
otherwise there’s not enough people to seed it.I guess thats ok for
most U.S. based ISPs though.
2 - Edge networks are expensive and peer traffic prices were in
freefall. It was easier to manage increasing peering costs rather than
balancing edge network costs and fair bandwidth utilisation.
3 - P2P protocols are a moving target.
The biggest problem though was taking the hands-on approach to an
architechture often used for transferring illegal content. The
unknowns there were HUGE and would have been a big risk for bad
publicity, manpower dealing with police requests etc etc.
I really dont expect many ISPs to have much long-term success with P4P.
Love the show.
Steve.
UMPCPortal.
Oh, P.S. THe Dell Mini 12 doesnt use the Intel netbook architechture -
interestingly enough it uses a processor and chipset designed for
MIDs. Could it get more confusing!
Cheers!
Steve ‘Chippy’ Paine
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TMJX,
I answered the call and volunteered at my local polling place. I helped setup the voting machines, and then signed people in to vote for 12 hours! At the end of the night the pole watchers came in for the final tally. Our polling place allowed electronic or paper ballot. Paper ballots were scanned as soon as they were filled out, and at the end of the night the lady in charge printed the detail report for the votes. The “detail report” didn’t contain any details! It mearly printed the total amount of ballots. It did not break down how many votes came in for the candidates. We are required to post those results outside the door of the polling place. The pole watchers went off like molly at Spectacle Fest when she found out that wifii wasn’t free. . . they threatened to call CNN and were making allegations of voter fraud. The lady in charge was crying and saying that she’ll never work the polls again. I calmly called the elections office and asked to speak with IT and in no time was able to print a tally report that had the vote tally on it. Everyone was happy. Go Buzz Brigade! Love the show.
Ron Hudson Jr.
Associate Pastor
Calvary Baptist Church
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Now your done encouraging Americans to vote, could you please
put a call out for any New Zealand buzz listeners to vote. The NZ
election is this Saturday, Nov 8th.
Mark - the long distance voter.
London.
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I haven’t listened to today’s show, yet, but I suspect you’ll be talking about white space spectrum again.
A couple years back, IEEE Spectrum had an article on “smart radio” and using “white space.” This is *my* understanding of a “white space radio.”
The radio samples the spectrum in its current location at the current time. If someone is using this slice of spectrum, move to another. It’s not using space “between” TV channels, it’s using the TV channels that are not active in the current location (city, town, county, valley, whatever).
White space radios cannot interfere with an *active* wireless mike. The radio will perceive that part of the spectrum occupied and look for another chunk. That said, if the white space radio is already operating and you *then* turn on a wireless mike, you may get some interference until the white space radio samples the spectrum and decides to move somewhere else in frequency.
I use the term “radio” to identify an arbitrary wireless communication link. It could be carrying analog signals or various digital modulation schemes on top of which, the designer might implement TCP/IP or other network protocols.
Like the others, LTS (love the show)
Charlie
Steve Ballmer admits Apple knows a thing or two about tablets. The U.K. government says it's sticking with IE 6 despite the entire world saying it's full of security holes. And the U.S. Congress, realizing it's out of money, wants to bring Internet gambling back to the U.S. so it can be taxed.
Email (buzz@cnet.com)
As I watched episode 1278, I saw yet another example of people not seeing the big picture. WHY oh WHY are we trying to make robots that imitate human actions? Why not train a snake to flip a pancake? It makes just as much sense.
ROBOTS ARE NOT HUMANS! Stop wasting countless hours and money trying to make them walk on 2 legs like us! Put some tank treads on those bad boys and be done with it. Screw flipping pancakes, put heating elements in both of the robots "hands" and let him grab a handful of batter and whip out a perfect pancake in any shape that you want!
The whole idea behind robots is to accomplish things that we as humans can't or won't do.... Stop limiting them to human standards...
Thanks and love the show!
Chris J. Sellers
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The new blackberry, the 9780, is a slider phone featuring a physical keyboard AND a touchscreen able to be used while the phone is open or closed. There is a press conference featuring ATT on August 3rd I believe.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
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Friday: What was the last pic taken on Kodachrome?
Two people: A picture of the new digital camera he'll be using from now on
Monday: What would you do with the Higgs Boson if you found it? ”
KotaKity: If I could do anything with it, I would EAT it!
Anonymous: If I find it, it's going right in a box and being shipped to 235 Second St!
Tuesday: Trackpad, mouse, or nubbin?
Mouse, resoundingly.
Nubbin in second
Trackpad in third.
Wednesday: Should a jailbroken phone cancel the warranty?
Resounding no, though there was one yes?!
Thursday: What would you prefer in the new era of Blackberry? Stick with the hardware keyboard? Or touchscreen?
EVERYONE voted to for the hardware keyboard… but most people added that the ideal Blackberry is a combination of both.
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What is the oldest browser that you ACTUALLY USE currently? Send us a comment via Blackberry Messenger. Our PIN # is 24523C65.
Why buy a $499 device to read books when Amazon's new Kindle will do it for $139? We debate. Also, Facebook building a font of all knowledge with Questions. Plus: How to hack ATMs.
Voicemail (800-616-2638)
Micheal’s house of Jailbreaks
Email (buzz@cnet.com)
I am listening to yesterdays podcast (1279) and realized I had read an article about the “”Keyholders to the Internet”" in which it names of the Canadian holding one of the keys. This article was in the Toronto Star http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/841315–the-canadian-who-holds-the-key-to-the-internet was published yesterday morning and clearly id’s the person including the picture and city where he lives. Not only are we trusting these 7 people with this info we are telling the world who these people are and where to find them. Scary!!!
Love the show.
Sharon
Guelph, Ontario
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Just a few comments on Wednesdays video cast:
If the Internet is down, how do these five people book flights to get to one common area?
Google Chrome has an option to delete browser cookies and flash cookies.
Bryan Gray
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Hey Buzz Crew,
I was a little behind, but I just finished listening to episodes 1278 and 1279. When you were discussing Apple’s new trackpad for desktop, you forgot one interesting aspect: it should would great as a HTPC control system.
Think about it. You already had a small wireless keyboard that could fit nicely with a home theater system. However, a mouse doesn’t really work in the couch environment. With the trackpad and the multi-touch gestures you now have much-improve operation of a HTPC from the couch.
Combine both the wireless keyboard and trackpad with a Mac Mini, as an example, and now you have a adequate control and navigation options for the 10-foot experience.
Love the show,
Angel from Puerto Rico
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Blackberry users: What would you prefer in the new era of Blackberry? Stick with the hardware keyboard? Or touchscreen? Send us a comment via Blackberry Messenger. Our PIN # is 24523C65.
If the Internet breaks, the Tribe of Seven's secret library cards will re-start it. Also: Running your fingers through Princess Leia's hair... mmmm. And: Toss your zombie cookies now! Special guest: Dr. Kiki!
Email (buzz@cnet.com)
iPhone Bumpers — Sadly… Just thought you might like to know why you will only be able to order a free bumper until September 30th, well here in Ireland I just had an O2 sales rep tell me that I would not be able to get an iphone 4 until the end of September. Why you ask well it will come with a free case in the box.
Love the Show
Dara
P.s. I got a HTC Desire
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Add a rebuttal to your point about apple simply flashing a device to repair it, what about when someone uses an unauthorized app to overclock the phone, and it burns out part of the hardware as a result? I’m not a fan of subsidizing others’ curiosity and hobbies, so I think that Apple’s warranty policy canceling coverage for jailbroken phones is not only prudent, but fair for the rest of us.
Joey
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Should a jailbroken phone cancel the warranty? Send us a comment via Blackberry Messenger. Our PIN # is 24523C65.
Who knew -- Apple still makes computers, and today launched a bunch of new ones, plus a ginormous desktop trackpad to go with them. Also: The robot that will make you breakfast. Eventually. Guest: Darren Kitchen of Hak5.org!
Email (buzz@cnet.com)
Hello there buzzers out loud!
I just wanted to comment on a statement last week on episode 1276 about the convoluted process to receive the “”free bumper”". I agree that it seems like a mell of a hess, but as has been my experience with Apple, they’ve yet again exceeded my expectations. I purchased a bumper a few days after I received my pre-ordered iPhone 4 from the Apple Store. I’ve been meaning to go and inquire about getting my $30 back but last week I got an email saying that they noticed I purchased a bumper and will be refunded. When I looked at my bank account, the money had been returned. So, nice job Apple on the experience. Sometimes I think about it and get annoyed about being forced to buy a bumper or else I’d have an iPod touch that could sometimes make calls, but realized I bought one anyway to keep it safe and pretty. So overall it’s been a great experience.
The U.S. copyright office now says that there are instances in which you may hack, fold, spindle, or mutilate copy protection, but just a few, and don't go breaking any other contracts while you're at it. Also, Microsoft wants its employees to build Windows 7 phone apps... for free!
Voicemail (800-616-2638)
El, and Brian’s sweatgrip
Email (buzz@cnet.com)
Hey guys,
I just came across yet another apple developed antenna-gate video, which I am sure you have either seen or heard about already. This time apple targets the moto Droid X. It shows a “”typical”" holding position and it losing bars.
I am getting rather frustrated with Apple pointing fingers. They are simply glorifying the whole “”if they can do it, so can I”" theory. I’ve leaned since I was 5 years old that if other people are doing things that they shouldn’t be doing, I shouldn’t do them, period. Apple really needs to stop pointing fingers, accept it’s fault, grow up and move on. This is getting ridiculous.
BOL co-founder Molly Wood discovers "her people" in San Diego. Also, we're actually talking about white iPhones. How'd that happen? And Mama's taking our Kodachrome away.
Email (buzz@cnet.com)
In episode 1274 Jason mentioned that it would be cool when we have surface to surface laser in response to the story about the new plane blasting laser from Raytheon. It probably wouldn't be cool if you did have surface to surface laser since normally light travels in a straight line. Without the help of a conveniently placed black hole the laser beam isn't curving back down like a missile would. If you did have a black hole handy, both you and your target are pretty much screwed. Well you could bounce it off a mirror, if you just happened to have a mirror in the right spot at the right time. -Donnie Darko
Until recently every time I heard Rafe talking talking about getting hacked, or stealing codes, I constantly thought, ""I don't care, that couldn't possibly, happen to me"" and then I was playing World of Warcraft and someone sent me a message saying I would get into the Cataclysm Beta if I went to the site. So, since I was kind of bored I went to the site (even though I doubted I would actually do anything there) and it looked EXACTLY like the battle.net login for WoW, so like any other stupid little puppet I entered my info and logged in, and then, moments after, realized it was most probably the stupid thing I had ever in any way, done. And now I understand that Rafe isn't an insanely paranoid nerd, he is a justifiably paranoid nerd.
P.S. thanks for the laughs keep it up buzz peeps. (for the horde)
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Blackberry results!
Fri: What alternative (and clean) use of the iPhone 4 bumper can you dream up?
Joshua Caleb: Pacifier - that's why Steve Jobs gave them out, to shut people up!
Grant: Combine it with ballpoint pen, gum and paper clip to fix a broken engine, like McGyver
Founder and Owner of Jayce Inc: Get a Blackberry and you don't need a bumper! Duh!
Mon: What is your alternate use for the pain ray? "Simon O: A new drying section at the car wash
Tighe S: Make a bowl of popcorn!
Gigi G: How about using it in front of malls and stores to keep the smokers away!
Joshua Caleb: Attach to front of car for winter driving - burn off the ice on the road!
Tue: What is the strangest place you would expect to find a Horton Plains Slender Loris?
Mario: A Loris... in a Taurus.
Jennifer: I am sure they have those at IKEA. They have everything.
Wed: What is your favorite functionality cheat, or cheat code?
Arcgore: Who can forget Contra: u-u-d-d-l-r-l-r-b-a-select-start
Andrew P: Hold the reset switch at the same time when powering up your Atari 2600 and you will be invisible on Space Invaders
Terrence: Hot Coffee mod on GTA.
Thur: If you could give a robot one specific ability or talent, what would it be?
Dan: Robo Romeo - make the reobopocalypse uch more enticing.
Shari: I would give the robot the abili8ty to handle recess duty with kindergartners... esp when its 10 degrees outside and nobody knows how to zip a coat!
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Send us a comment via Blackberry Messenger. Our PIN # is 24523C65. Best guess: What was the last pic taken on Kodachrome?
Good news, everyone! Twitter's getting its own servers and Skype will now run in the background on an iPhone. But beware: The IPocalypse is nigh, Apple now has more software insecurity flaws than anyone, and robots can now move faster than you can blink.
Email (buzz@cnet.com)
That Guy…http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/8302/thatguy72210.jpg
Spotted: Crenshaw and Washington in Los Angeles
Equipment: 27″” imac and Nikon dSLR
Activity: Burning CDs of photographs
Profession: photographer?
kc
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Dear BOLers,
In reference to your “”that guy”" or “”those guys”" found squatting at Wi-Fi hotspots, I submit what a local (Houston area) coffee shop has done to combat the issue. Instead of cutting the internet they just covered up the electrical outlets. It keeps the desktops (and more) away and the laptops or mobile devices surfing the information superhighway…for period of time anyway. I like it because it keeps the seats open and my wife can watch a Netflix TV show and play cards. We have Wi-Fi at home but sometimes it’s good to get out of the house, and a cup of coffee is a small price to pay.
Blake
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Hey Buzz Crew,
I’m just catching up after being away for a few days, and I noticed there were multiple references to Rafe’s pending robopocalypse. I thought that, in addition to that wicked quadrotor you discussed a few months back, the teaching Honda-bots, the gun-toting DMZ bots and the blatantly-Cylon-Raider bots, we should add this borderline-frightening news in bot evolution.
I’m listening to episode 1273 and about halfway through, Rafe mentioned Nokia’s CEO being tossed out over screwing up the acquisition of RIM. Did he mean Palm or was there a separate incident where Nokia considered aquiring RIM as well?
Justin
**********
If you could give a robot one specific ability or talent, what would it be? Send us a comment via Blackberry Messenger. Our PIN # is 24523C65.
500 millionth, actually... but one of the press kits had an embarrassing typo in it. Also, everybody who makes slates is dropping Windows (except HP), we now have lasers shooting down airplanes, and a flashlight for the iPhone is actually a secret tethering app.
Well Actually, you don’t need to have a zune to have and use Zune Pass. You only need the Zune Software and pay for the subscription. The downloaded files are MP3s and work on all devices. You do get 10 songs with your $14.99 subscription which effectively brings the subscription to $4.99 a month (assuming $0.99 per mp3 song)
Thought you should know.
Wayne Dixon
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Hey hey!!
I don’t know if you guys have missed it but Rhapsody is $9.99/month for an all you can listen to service. I signed up a few months ago when they enabled downloading to Ipod touch/iphones. Just yesterday the ios4 update came through for multitasking and now I can listen to millions of songs in the background… Love the service and love the show!!
Ryan from St Pete
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Buzz Crew,
I think there is customer dissatisfaction about Facebook because its almost become obligatory to join. I only have anecdotal evidence, but it seems that when someone says they aren’t on Facebook, there is significant social pressure to join. I know several people who have begrudgingly joined, but continue to complain how they hate the service and its invasive nature (most joined so they wouldn’t miss out on event invitations, one person joined to help promote a webcomic he was working on). Notice all the groups that have similar dissatisfaction from consumers, airlines, cable companies, and IRS e-filing, all are to some extent unavoidable, and thus people are forced to use a service they are predisposed not to like. Facebook needs to work on making itself from a social obligation to something people want to use. Just my two cents.
Love the show!
Rich in Lovely Cleveland
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Hey BOL,
Yesterday you guys were talking about Ultraviolet, and Molly made the argument that DRM never works. For the most part, I agree with her. However, (and it pains me to say this because I do hate most DRM) I can think of one example of DRM that works beautifully: Valve’s Steam network for PC (and now Mac) games. They’ve accomplished this by doing the following:
1. The games are easy to access, and there is an “”offline”" mode for people with intermittent internet connections.
2. There is little to no performance impact.
3. The prices are very good, and there are frequent sales.
4. I can access the content on any of my computers simply by logging in.
5. It has spawned a flourishing indie game industry.
6. The friends list and ability for users to communicate across games is great.
When Steam first debuted, I was skeptical; but today I believe Steam has saved the PC games industry. Valve deserves some recognition for taking the concept of DRM and figuring out how to take it from a negative to the user and make it a clear positive.
Love the show!
Mike the surfer in FL
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The makers of the flashlight app successfully snuck tethering into the iPhone. Along those lines, what is your favorite functionality cheat, or cheat code? Could be anything! Send us a comment via Blackberry Messenger. Our PIN # is 24523C65.
Another decade, another attempt at an almost certainly ill-fated universal DRM scheme. Hooray! This time, it's UltraViolet, and no, Disney (meaning Apple) isn't on board. Also, new details on how Google and China reached their license renewal deal. Upshot: diplomacy in action. And Apple is closing in on surpassing Microsoft in actual revenue. Yowsa.
Two quick points between Friday’s Show and Monday’s Show.
1. I had the infection/virus on my router at home and successfully removed it over the weekend. It is a complete pain; essentially your router sprouts up pop-up ads and browser redirections no matter what browser you are using. It is especially common when clicking on Google links. There is no really simple way to remove all of the malware; but you have to reset your router and clear settings on your computer. (Big thanks to http://www.majorgeek.com for all their help. If you or anyone else happen to get this router infection, head over there and they can help you out). If you notice your computer having a lot of pop-ups or links in Google not working and bringing up “”Google Analytics”" then you most likely have it.
-Chris
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Hey Buzz Crew,
Improv Everywhere did the whole desktop at Starbucks thing back in 2008. And they did it epically with not one, not two, but three desktop computers. And did they use nice portable LCD monitors? No they used CRT monitors.
It's another Monday on BOL, which means breaking news interjections, stumbling analysis, and hilarious Brian Tong jokes that go RIGHT over Molly's head. Turns out you can not actually search for girlfriends on Facebook using the search term, "hot girls." Unless, of course, they self-identify. Plus, a pain ray update!
After El Jobso’s press conference on Friday I realized that there is a
known statistic that exists, that we’ll never see, that would be
fantastic to know. If AT&T knows that the iPhone 4 drops calls at a
rate of 1% higher than the 3GS, they must also know at what rate the
iPhone (pick your version) drops calls compared to other phones.
There is a story on TechCrunch
(http://techcrunch.com/2010/07/18/steve-jobs-att-2/) about how AT&T
refuses to defend itself if it means speaking ill of Apple, do you
think this could be another of those cases. Perhaps AT&T knows that
the iPhone drops calls at a rate of 2 to 3 times that of other
phones, but is afraid of offending the Apple machine?
We'll do you a favor and give you the news in a nutshell: free bumpers (even non-Apple bumpers) and full refunds within 30 days of purchasing your phone if you're still not happy. There you go. Also, Droid X is sold out, the Facebook movie is going to be cool after all, if the new trailer is to be believed, and it turns out Palm was in fact the belle of the ball for a while there, but RIM and Nokia both blew it. Plus: Drunk HULC!
Email (buzz@cnet.com)
The HIGH from a wave form is called a Bi-Neural beet. One freq in one ear and a slightly different beet in the other causes an offset in your BRAIN (BRAINS , mmmmmmm). 100Hz in the left ear and 105 Hz in the right gives you a cognitive beet of 5Hz, which is in the DELTA brain wave area. I use them to help with sleeping. I have had insomnia since I was a child an now I sleep semi-normally. Nothing is perfect and isn’t everything a trick of the mind?
Love the show. YOU GUYS ROCK!!!!!!! (said in Molly’s screaming rock voice).
RWNairn
Live life
Don’t just observe it
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Saw this the other day and had to snap a pic. The worst part: This Starbucks is literally next door to a FedEx/Kinkos. Protip: To avoid looking like a dork, use the $5 you spent on a venti mocha frap to print like a normal person. http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/408/thatguy2.jpg
Travis S
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BLACKBERRY RESULTS!
What would Unicorn of Rock's first album be titled?
Simien – OMG! Double Rainbow! One Unicorn!
Mike from Paso Robles – Four Horsemen of the Upocalypse
What is your favorite Nicholas Cage film?
Gone in 60 Second – resounding winner
The Rock – runner up
An app that you would design for your phone
Joe S – Molly’s Rantillator! Give it a tech gadget or service and it unleashes her rant about its shortcomings!! Add on packs available. The AT&T sucks pack will be a top seller.
Favorite Remix so far
8 bit news is good news
Kyoto Drums remix
Ted Isham’s remix
BSG Throat remix
Juno Suk
Benito Gonzales
What do YOU think happened to the email that Rafe was reading in the Google Doc?
Tony Kwok – I think the Apple Forum moderators are to blame. Did the email reference Consumer Reports?
Brent Quick – Tom Merritt still has access and was screwing around with you!
What have you done to be “that guy” in the past?
Aaaaaand NOONE admits to being That Guy! How’s that for awesome! :)
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What alternative (and clean) use of the iPhone 4 bumper can you dream up? Send us a comment via Blackberry Messenger. Our PIN # is 24523C65.
On today's show, Buzz Out Loud gets you a tiny bit high ... using a sine wave. Could it be!? Also, we continue our long slog through the Story that Wouldn't End: the iPhone 4 antenna issue. Press conference tomorrow! Also, will the Droid X self-destruct if you try to mod it? Maybe, maybe not. But it seems like the phone world is all about picking your poison these days.
Email (buzz@cnet.com)
I read today in the Globe and Mail about poetry on e-readers (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/breaking-up-is-hard-lines-of-poetry-a-tough-fit-in-e-form/article1639820/). I don’t know if this has come up before on the show, but I thought that the problems associated with poetry in an electronic form which are discussed in the article were interesting, and it hadn’t really occurred to me how the flexibility of e-books, particularly with regard to font size, could change not only the visual aesthetic, but sometimes even the MEANING of poems when they are adjusted to fit the screen.
I particularly liked this small section of the article where the dilemma is explained by the article’s author, and then former U.S. poet laureate Billy Collins explains the difficulty in a more poetic way (of course!):
“The critical difference between prose and poetry is that prose is kind of like water and will become the shape of any vessel you pour it into to. Poetry is like a piece of sculpture and can easily break,”"Collins says.
Nice!
Anyway, as a former English major and now a librarian I think that the growth of e-books has great potential for fostering literacy, and so I’m a fan (plus, I’m a tech geek of course… I am a BOL fan after all!) but I also thought that this was a great example of a resistance to technology that actually has a substantive basis (i.e. it’s not just poets being Luddites as one might expect!) and it’s also a great example of a problem that engineers are hopefully working to solve creatively!
Love the show!
Chad, the Librarian from Toronto
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Why all this talk about microcells? Why not use existing tech that everyone has like T-Mobile is doing. My old Blackberry could go through VoIP over WiFi. It is called UMA. Full bars all over my house, even in my basement. And when I visit my parents in Dubai, I turned off the GSM radio and I still got all my texts and could talk, using my minutes from my plan, but no roaming fees. London was the same way.
My hotel had open WiFi, and just about every pub had it too. Now that I am on Android, I am waiting for it to be able to do the same, and am keeping my Blackberry handy when I go to Europe next winter.
Caution, if you are on DSL and have the BitTorrent going full pace, you will get some choppiness, but it is easily fixed by turning it down. Since I moved to Cable, it has not been a problem.
James Allgood
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Hey buzz crew
In my time in NYC at Starbucks I saw a jut with a newly unbowed iMac. I think it was 27 inch but I can’t tell.the images are attached
Love the show
Nick
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What have you done to become “that guy” in the past? Send us a comment via Blackberry Messenger. Our PIN # is 24523C65.
On today's show, apparently someone left the God particle in a bar or something, it's always sunny in Chile, and how to be "that guy" by bringing your 27-inch monitor to a coffee shop. Oh, and Isaiah Mustafa, otherwise known as the Old Spice guy, is now making custom videos for Twitter people. Without his shirt, of course. Thank goodness.
Email (buzz@cnet.com)
As a developer who has spent the last few months playing with Android I was interested to learn about Google’s new App Inventor, and (like
you) somewhat concerned about the quality of the apps it might produce. Then it dawned on me App Inventor probably isn’t targeted at Android Marketplace developers. Unlike _certain_ competitors, who force everything through their app store, Android’s apps can be loaded onto phones many different ways, including just pushing them directly from your PC.
I suspect App Inventor is intended to help create very personal apps that do simple jobs, useful primarily to the author rather than a wider audience. Indeed this is precisely what the promo video shows
– someone creating a simple app and pushing it straight onto their own phone.
A glance at Android’s publishing guidelines (see links below) backs up this assumption — somehow I can’t see a non technical person wanting to get their hands dirty with cryptographic keys and digital signatures. Still, anything that opens up programming to a wider audience (in the spirit of the old 8 bit days) is a good thing IMHO, so I wish App Inventor well !! :)
Hey bolers,
I can think of an arguably better function for microcells: bringing your cell service along on international travel. International roaming fees are huge, but an Internet connection can be found almost anywhere. If microcell hardware was small enough, they would make great travel companions. If one was a frequent traveler, free calls and texts to your family and friends while abroad could easily recover the cost of the device.
AT&T should market this idea, it could be very popular!
Thanks for the awesome show,
Ryan from Fresno.
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What do YOU think happened to the email that Rafe was reading in the Google Doc? Send us a comment via Blackberry Messenger. Our PIN # is 24523C65.
We're hearing from more folks that AT&T is giving our free microcells to make up for its lousy service. Oh, and so is Verizon. Plus: Apple's Toyota moment, Windows XP gets a reprieve until 2020, and the undead crash their car.
Hey BOL’ers! I had problems with call quality within my house, and Verizon sent me a Network Extender for free! Better than that, there’s no registering required, the first five phones to make a call within range of the device get to be on the extended network. Once one phone hangs up, another slot is opened up. The only requirement is that it be a Verizon phone, but I don’t have to register it, I just make a call and I hear a little chime and it works perfectly. For free. Really ATT? Really?
LOVE THE SHOW
Jacob
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hey I just listened to your podcast from yesterday (mon, July 12) and heard you talking about Androids app inventor. An app like that has already been made for WebOS… ARES.. Both Apps are very similar however Android app inventor takes a couple extra steps then Ares does. Check that out sometime.
Also Palm isn’t charging anymore to enter the developer program (used to be 99.00 but could be wrong) and it’s free to submit apps now to the app catalog (used to be 50.00 per app). Also right now until close to the end of the month Palms having an app sale which almost all apps are half off to consumers but the developers are still getting paid full price for their apps. Palm is paying the difference to developers. I’ve seen Ares and it’s got a nice UI. I’m thinking of trying my hand in app development for WebOS because of the Ares and with fees being waived right now it’s a great time to jump in.
-Josh Nesius-
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Did Molly ever have a torrid affair with a Mac? Did it break her heart into a jillion tiny slivers? I’m a latecomer to Buzz and can imagine no other explanation for her 8.9 Richter scale iPhone rant today. Hatred that strong must have love at its base.
Luvdashow, Arthur P. Johnson
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Hey MoRaJos,
I love the new Remix segment you’ve been doing, hope you keep it up for awhile.(Hear that chatroom?:) Anyway, I’ve been thinking for awhile that it would be cool to put all the remixes in one spot for easy viewing and listening. (take a little of Jason’s workload too:) Soooo, may I present: BOL: The Remixes.
My first BOL wiki page! Hope you all like it, link below.
( If link doesn’t work just check the wiki, it’s under ‘all topics’ under ‘B’)
If I may also have permission, I would like to bundle all these into an MP3 set available for free download on somewhere like bandcamp:)
Still lovin the show,
JoshuaCaleb
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Pick your favorite Buzz Out Loud remix so far! Visit the wiki from the email above, and then send us a comment via Blackberry Messenger. Our PIN # is 24523C65.
Consumer Reports says it can't recommend the iPhone 4 because the antenna issue can be replicated and is, in fact, serious. Fanboy response: suck it up and buy a case. Molly response: epic rant. Also, the RIAA's wildly inflated file-sharing damages are smacked down once again, and Reddit begs for money.
Y’all were talking about Hulu and it’s $10 monthly–ad included–subscription service and I have an opposing viewpoint on the issue.
I pay for cable and that cable includes ads. I pay for HBO and HBO includes ads. HBO has ads before and after a program, not during. I pay extra for HBO because I am delivered uninterrupted content and that adds value to the channel; enough value that it’s worth paying for. There is no value to HBO if they interrupted East Bound and Down with ads (or if it censored the awesome Kenny Powers which it would have to do if it did rely on ads like a traditional network). Likewise Hulu is a supplemental service to my cable, and it isn’t quite a cable replacement. It may not be directly linked to my FiOS in terms of a supplemental package for my cable (like HBO is), but I as the consumer view it as supplemental to my cable. If I am paying for supplemental service I would not personally want interruptions. Sure they’re adding more content, and iPad/iPhone apps, but Netflix already exists in this arena for cheaper (and Buffy is available on Netflix instantly too…) and you get those discs at home. If Hulu needs to pack in the cost effectiveness then charge $10 once for the mobile app, or only add ads to the beginning or end of shows.
Simply put the outrage isn’t because there are ads exactly, its because we’re being asked to pay a premium for almost no additional value added. It’s simply not worth it, and we were all waiting in anticipation for something worth paying for.
Love the show!
Peace on ya,
Jason
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hi guys just listened to your latest podcast, thought i would let u know that google sent my house a letter of apology about the wifi packet collecting, and a free google t shirt i dont know y they sent my house this but they did,
it might be the fact that my cousin works for ASIS (Australian Secret Intelligence Service) any way just letting u know
thanks tayler
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Use your Blackberry to send your idea for the app that you would make for your own phone!
Send us a comment via Blackberry Messenger. Our PIN # is 24523C65.
If you find that your employees are goofing off watching porn at work instead of working, does it make logical sense that you should get rid of the porn, or the employee? Exactly. Of course, the government doesn't see it that way, but they're the ones who encoded their like, 900-word mission statement into the U.S. CyberCommand shield. Sigh.
Email (buzz@cnet.com)
I was talking with two of my friends (who are online gamers) about the change in WoW policy. They actually told me about the article you brought up on episode 1265 and then also showed me this article:
Basically a Blizzard employee (Micah Whipple) but out his full name to try and calm people down by saying it’s not that big of a deal. buuuuut the author of this article totally contradicted that by finding out all of Micah’s personal information including address, age and family members’ names.
I definitely see Molly’s point of saying this could actually help stop the harassment, but there are enough people on the internet who aren’t socially adjusted (and I feel like WoW has a reputation for having a large number of them) that would take advantage of having access to full names. I’ve never been interested in playing WoW but this definitely turns me away, and by the sounds of it many other players – even current ones.
Love the show!
-Tori
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Hi BOL,
There is precedent for the placement of code on “”public”" symbols and challenging the code breakers to decrypt it. There is a sculpture at CIA headquarters in Virginia where the final code still is resisting their best attempts at decoding the message. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Sanborn http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kryptos
LOVE THE SHOW!!!
Lance Dong
San Diego, CA
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Use your Blackberry to send us your favorite Nicholas Cage movie!
Send us a comment via Blackberry Messenger. Our PIN # is 24523C65.
On today's show, the NSA announces a new security program that's terrifyingly called "Perfect Citizen" but (at least on the surface) appears to be little more than a series of Star Trek red alert alarms. We're rightfully suspicious. Also, Flash is getting 3D, Pirate Bay is under attack, and the iPhone 4 antenna problem is a hardware issue. We knew that.
Voicemail (800-616-2638)
Anna from Texas: defeat the phishers
Email (buzz@cnet.com)
Hey, Buzz Crew.
I was kind of disappointed that Molly or one of the other ladies in the office wasn’t around to comment on the Blizzard Forums real-ID story. The reason I’m glad I left WOW before this change was implemented came up in the first page of comments on the official forums, in an epic post by player “”Patientzero.”"
3. GENDER: As a female this one bothers me a lot. Not only do I not want to be petitioned by random people for cyberlovin while I am playing a game, but more importantly I do not want to be a target offline. Most males my not understand the fear women have in today’s world about this but it is a real and genuine threat that does, sadly, happen. Women are stalked, hurt, even killed every day and we are taught from a young age to be careful and cautious when dealing with the unknown (aka strangers and the internet). It is a terrible reality about our society and I wish it wasn’t so but fact is it happens.
I have been occasionally harassed while in game for cyberlovin (cannot use the real words they use due to being banned on the forums if I do) and I have reported it when it does and Blizzard has never done a thing about it (repeat violations in some cases and their toons are still in the game with no repercussions). I can’t imagine what would happen if more of these perverts knew I was an actual girl. I shudder the think about it.
I know it’s a little “”serious business”" for BOL, but I had to throw in my two cents.
~GM in Japan
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JRDiamond:
I recently tried the Firefox 4 beta. While its speed hasn’t leaped ahead from what it was it managed more tabs and labor intensive programs simultaneously better than Chrome and Opera. With twelve tabs open each needing to run something in the background I could still listen to heavy metal without it skipping or lagging in Firefox. In both Opera and Chrome I couldn’t listen to even classical music without it skipping or lagging under the same basic circumstances.
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Greetings Jason,
When I heard you on Friday’s show (episode 1262) request the image of Scott’s magical voyage to the Land of ROCK, I knew the time had come.
Donald’s description of the chosen one’s journey was foretold by the ancients “”For when the bell tells the tale, and kin is an epic fail, it shall be time to lift the final bar, from the vision of the magic keytar”".
But to provide such awesome imagery for all to see without any check of “”worthiness”" would be a disservice to all of Rockdom. So the ancients encoded the image in the most advanced form of protection available at the time, Magic Eye. Only those of the chosen shall be able to have their minds blown by the totes killer vision. (Sorry Rafe).
If this is read on the air I’m sure Molly would do a fitting rendition of the above text. Here are the links to the stereo image and depth map. The depth map was used to create the stereo image, and those that are having a hard time can see what they are missing by viewing the depth map. I used the free tool at easystereogrambuilder.com to create the magic eye image.
Have a Blackberry? Use Blackberry Messenger to send us your answer to the following question:
What would Unicorn of Rock’s first album be titled?
Our PIN # is 24523C65.
Germany says nein! to Facebook spamming non-Facebook users. Also, Amazon gets a patent on the Barnes & Noble Nook dual-screen concept, and Netflix begins closing the window on when new movies are available for streaming. Special guest: Darren Kitchen of Hak5!
The E.U. may force Apple to allow Flash on the iPad as well as competitive devices to use iTunes. Like that'll happen. Also: Mario smacks iDrones, and Prince says the Web is over. So, see ya.
There's a fix coming for the iPhone 4's antenna problems: Apple will make the signal strength meter go higher, no matter what. Seriously? Yes. Also, Steve Jobs did not say, "It's just a phone," Microsoft doesn't care which way you insert your batteries, and there is no space dust on Hayabusa.
After the shortest time on market ever, the Microsoft Kin has been unceremoniously yanked from market. Which, I guess, you could see as swift and decisive action on Microsoft's part, rather than a total failure of the company's mixed-up mobile strategy. Or both. Also, Apple lawsuits, Google's uncertain future in China, and the Woot monkey finds a new home at Amazon.
Voicemail (800-616-2638)
Machinite: how to kill Hulu
Email (buzz@cnet.com)
Hey Buzz Crew,
I just read on cnet news that Steve Jobs says blu-ray won’t come to Macs because “”it will be beaten by Internet downloadable formats.”" He then goes on to say that “”the downloadable movie business is rapidly moving to free (Hulu) or rentals (iTunes).”" Now, is it just me, or does Apple seem to have adopted organized crime’s business model? After you start doing business with them, they start finding out a way to get a cut of every thing you do. It reminds me of that scene from Goodfellas. Antenna doesn’t work? **** you, pay me. You want apps on your tablet? **** you, pay me. You want to watch high definition movies? **** you, pay me. Oh, and if you do read this on the air, please let me know so that I can assume a new identity. Don Jobs might try to have me wacked.
You guys were talking about ditching cable but what about sports? MLB and NBA online streaming packages blackout games in your local market. I live in Philadelphia so that means no Phillies or Sixers for me. Not to mention no ESPN or Monday Night Football. As much as I would love to throw Comcast out on their greedy butts I would DIE without cable. If pro sports ever get a real online streaming option then the cable companies will tremble. Please get the buzz audience to make this happen please. Thank you.
Love the show.
Carl
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I turned on latitude for a day, just to see if I wanted to use it. I kind of like it.
But i forgot to change the settings back to “”Location ins Manually Set”"
Guess what, Google sent me an email telling me I left my privacy setting to automatically report my location.
With this reminder I turned the setting back to “”Hide my location”".
Good for Google.
Michael G
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Hey Guys,
Wanted to share some info on the HTC incredible. I ordered 2 incredibles on June 9th with an expected ship date of June 30th. Well yesterday I received the following note from verizon.
“”Free VZW Msg: Due to overwhelming demand, your Droid Incredible by HTC order is currently delayed by up to 8 business days. We apologize for any inconvenience, and within the next 2 weeks, will send one 25 dollar gift card to your account to thank you for your patience”"
This extra delay is a bit annoying the $25 gift card is a nice peace offering. As for the cause of the delay I am not too sure. I was in the verizon store this past weekend and the manager stated phones are built but they are lacking displays. The manufacturer of the displays is way behind in production. So demand may be high but looks like they have an issue with production as well
I think we can all agree on one thing: flying cars may be cool, but it's going to be a slaughter in the skies--at least at first. Also, the Verizon iPhone is here again! Yay! We'll believe it when we see it, just like we'll believe that Google Me is real and a real competitor to Facebook when we see it and when Google manages to understand actual humans and what they want in a social network. But hey, fingers crossed! Special guest, Darren Kitchen of Hak5!
Voicemail (800-616-2638)
George from Tampa: someone’s always got it worse
Jesse: BOL broke Verizon
Email (buzz@cnet.com)
Molly,
I very seldom write in to shows, though I enjoy BOL everyday.
On your view of the Nexus One getting Froyo before everyone else and how that creates all the fragmentation problems and bad feelings?
No, No, No, No, No, Just NO!
Google has to develop the OS on a vanilla phone, without all the crap and add-ons of the carriers and phone manufacturers, before all the device drivers are created and full of bugs for 10,000 devices. This gives Google a test system that lets manufacturers know if it is a bug on their new phone or an OS bug. HTC has provided the benchmark phone several times, previously the G1 I believe?, and now the Nexus One.
Just before starting the rollout to the general public on the Nexus One Google made the 2.2 Open Source version publicly available to download. This is the version all carriers and phone manufacturers will modify to make their own versions. How long it takes you to get a Motorola Droid update is now up to Motorola, The HTC EVO with HTC Sense will take additional time as well
Every manufacturer now gets the Open Source OS at the same time, and could easily follow its creation in the developers forums testing beta versions if they chose to do so..
The Nexus One is not the problem which creates product fragmentation, but rather the solution for an already fragmented product providing a new single fork for the manufacturers to create from with each new version of Android.
Luv the show!
Drew
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Hi Buzz Crew -
Am I missing something or does Apple reserve the right to track your iPhone every minute of every day and (unless you opt out) sell your location to its “”partners,”" but if you lose your phone, they will only give you that very same information if you have paid them $100 for the year (MobileMe)? In other words, if your phone is gone, Apple will know where it is, and will continue to sell that information to advertisers, but won’t tell you unless you have paid them a little “”protection.”" Seems sleazy.
Doug, one of Many, Many Lawyers in Chicago
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My AT&T experience yesterday included a 20 minute wait in line ( The store had a 200 units) with free water and Krispy Kremes. And cheerleading employees encouraging and talking to us.
I guess that’s how we do it in Georgia.
Today in tech news, Hulu launches its subscription service and we're thinking about going over the top (maybe next year). Also, Farmville is apparently so prevalent that it forced a Firefox update ... or, put another way, Firefox gets a little bit broken so that Farmville people can be happy. Sheesh. Steve Jobs sends more email, Kindle for Android arrives, and we fight for a while about Froyo.
Email (buzz@cnet.com)
Hey Buzz crew…how is this not a bigger story? The HTC Evo is Sprint’s
main “”iPhone”" killer product. They’re running national TV ads for the
Evo, there are posters up around town and plastered all over the Sprint
stores for the product…but it doesn’t exist. It’s not that Sprint is
selling out of Evo’s, they aren’t selling any! The gross sales at
Sprint and ALL local Radio Shack stores in the Seattle metro region for
the last 2 weeks has been $0.00 in HTC Evo sales. Our Sprint stores
haven’t had ANY shipments, not 1000, not 100, not 1 phone in the last 2
weeks. I check back every other day and they just keep repeating the
line “”we’ll let you know when we have some in”". It’s not even that I
have to wait “”x”" days to get one, I can’t even pre-order one if I WANTED
to give them cash. I can go down to the Apple Store and pick up an
iPhone 4 (they still have a few) but Sprint hasn’t had a single Evo
shipped to them in weeks? I can’t pre-order from Sprint’s web site
either. I know there were screen supply issues, but not having any
product available for 2/3 of your launch so far is NOT good. Sprint
already blew it with the Palm Pre…not they’re angering their customers
by not being able to produce any Evo’s…even though they’ll never sell
a fraction as many as AT&T will iPhones. Are they TRYING to make me go
buy an iPhone? I want the Evo, but Sprint is making this VERY difficult.
Dave in Seattle
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Hey BOL crew,
Has anybody ever presented the whole driving distraction problem with Facetime and ubiquitous video calling? A nation full of texting drivers is bad, but a nation full of video callers is pretty bad too. Maybe it’s a good thing that Facetime is wifi only right now.
John
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Hello everyone,
Just wanted to pass along some exciting news. Podcaster, the app that was rejected for duplicating functionality, has finally been accepted into the app store last night after 2 years. Haza!
Keep up the great work.
Almerica
Podcaster Developer
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Hey Molly,
I listened to the show today with beer in hand, hanging on your every word, waiting for the inevitable so I could enjoy my tasty beverage.
Three quarters of the way through the show I started having doubts, but then a glimmer of hope: a perfect opportunity and what do I hear?
“”TOTALLY”"? NOOOOOOOOOO! Utter disappointment, Molly. I hope my pointing it out didn’t end the fun. The totes drinking game was going to be totally bowser.
I remain thirsty, hopefully only until tomorrow’s episode.
Look for Brian Tong's new movement on Facebook: pain-ray-free produce. But the rest of us actually think it's kind of cool that the government pain-ray has been re-tasked to warm freezing plants. Also, the Supreme Court has finally ruled in the Bilski patent case, giving us a relatively non-destructive moderate decision. ACTA is ramping up again, and we make a date to go see "The Social Network."
Email (buzz@cnet.com)
In reference on episode 1257 when u were talking about netflix all for no deliveries on Saturday, that would help them out in there profits cause now with 4 or 5 days a month it will take longer for movies sent through the mail so people are not going to be getting as many movies a month
Love the show
Mickey
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What’s up Buzz Crew? I just got done listening to Fridays show where Raife commented that he’s not ordered a phone cause he doesn’t want it shipped to his AT&T account address. I too, didn’t want mine shipped there (my ex-girlfriends house, the bills in her name still), but that wasn’t gonna stop me even if I had to camp in front of her house to wait for fed-ex. So I ordered, prepared to accept the inevitable. Later that day while checking my order on apples site I noticed I could edit my order. Indeed, it let me change the shipping address to my work easily. No problems at all. Hope this helps :)
Jeremy B. from Milwaukee, WI
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Hey Buzz
Just wanted to share a little cellphone tip with eveyone. My parents have used Verizon for as long as I can rememeber but since I’ve moved to NW Arkansas (aka ATT country) I’ve noticed a dip in service, especially with texts. There were times where a call would come in only to push a few texts along with it through the pipes. I soon figured that calling my voicemail also pushed them through. It only takes about 5 seconds of airtime and I don’t even bother typing in my PIN. Yes Molly, that ain’t right. But it works.
Ben aka ben_jamin in the chatroom
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Hi BOLers,
I believe Rafe started the ball rolling on the demise of OS X.
Follow me on this theory:
1) Rafe talks about his theory on Buzz Out Loud.
2) Listener Writes Steve Jobs
3) Steve Jobs write back denying it
4) Steve Jobs thinks about the ideas merits over a few days or weeks. (queue the Scooby Doo screen fade and creepy music)
5) Steve Jobs puts a plan into place to eliminate OS X.
A plan he never would have thought of if it weren’t for Rafe.
Keep smiling and have fun
Tom Gousios (TomSac in the chat room, when work is slow)
Turns out the iPhone grip of death is simply a "fact of life" with all wireless phones. If holding your phone makes your iPhone 4 signal drop dramatically, Apple would like you to know you should either hold it a different way or buy a case. From them. That sounds logical, right? Right. No, thanks. Also, introducing Rafe's new side project, oneleggedgoat.xxx. Enjoy.
Voicemail (800-616-2638)
Hunter: How to Facetime if you don’t have rich friends
Email (buzz@cnet.com)
Hey BOL,
Regarding the iPhone 4′s antenna problem: I asked one of my RF engineer friends about it. First, he said that Rafe is correct- if your hand shorts the gap between two antennas it will change the length of the antenna, essentially “”de-tuning”" it. So naturally, most people might ask: “”why didn’t they coat the outside with a clear coat?”" The fact of the matter is, they probably did- but my friend said that even if Apple had coated the stainless steel ring, the coating wouldn’t be thick enough to prevent a capacitive bridge; essentially, your hand acts as a capacitor to each antenna, and since this capacitor is shorted on one side (your hand), it will still create a bridge and detune the antennas.
I am willing to bet that this ring will be altered significantly (either removed or encased in some thick coating) in iPhone 5.
Mike the surfer in FL
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Follow up Buzz Out Loud 1256:
I have been an IT manager in a number of companies, and actually advocated the use of cloud services and letting user select their own hardware. When they realized that they were on their own, when loosing files, passwords and devices, and that when it breaks, they get to keep both pieces. Guess who came running back to mommy.
Rant: Don’t kill Gadgettes! We in IT need to keep abreast of technologies. The no spill cup episode is something I keep on my N900 as a prime example of it.
Gil
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Molly, Rafe, and Jason,
Regardless of any technical specs or pricing, there is still one killer reason to buy a Nook.
In two words: gift cards
Basically all I’ve gotten as presents for the last 10 or so years for birthdays and Christmas from people besides my parents are B&N (or, less often, Borders) gift cards. I have never once in my life received an Amazon gift card. I don’t even know if they sell them! So, what would I, the owner of a Kindle, do with all those gift cards? Nothing. Which is why, when given the option, I bought a Nook. Perhaps the Kindle is slightly technically better, but I’d like to use that free money on my awesome new gadget.
Meggie
Evanston, IL
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Molly,
I just wanted to point out that you’ve used the word “”totes”" on every BOL episode this week- three times on Thursday. Drink.
Totes love the show,
Cass
(BT dubs, if you read this on the show, I’m a dude.)
Turns out the newborn iPhones 4 might have a touch of the old jaundice -- it's ok, it's pretty common, just try to lay them in direct sunlight for a few hours. (No, don't try that. Just call Apple.) Top story today, though: a victory for the Internet! That victory? YouTube wins against Viacom! (Viacom plans to appeal.) Also, Rafe was totally right about that antenna thing, he would like to you to know, and when it comes to Twitter and Facebook, well: it's war.
Email (buzz@cnet.com)
Hey this is Brandon from Atlanta,
I tried to activate my iphone yesterday from my mac which is 4 years old and running 10.4.11. The iphone needs 10.5.8 or higher. If I use a pc I can use xp, vista, or windows 7.
So using a 4 year old imac wont work but I can use a 9 year old pc and it will work?
I mean come on apple. This was an annoyance to me, because now I have to transfer all my stuff from my mac to my pc. Luckliy I have a pc that can do this, if some one doesn’t have another computer I guess apple will be getting even more money from them for a new OS on an old computer.
Thanks and I love the show.
Brandon
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During my two hour, roundtrip commute, I listen to podcasts and audiobooks on my iPhone. When I received my new iPhone 4 yesterday, I tried to connect my my Jabra Stone A2DP Bluetooth earpiece but the iPhone cannot find it. Later at home, I tried connecting my Kensington Bluetooth A2DP headset and it would not see it either. My iPhone 4 was able to connect to my wife’s (mono) Motorola H681 earpiece.
It’s nice to know that I can use a Bluetooth keyboard with the iPhone 4, but it would be a lot nicer if I could use my A2DP Bluetooth headsets.
Al from Woodstock, IL
aka @frumpa
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Since pre-ordering was a mess I was going to camp out at my local AT&T store to get the iPhone 4. Then AT&T killed that idea so I called Best Buy and Radio Shack trying to find somewhere that would have an iPhone I could wait in line for. I evidently live in the black hole of Apple stores and have driven over 4 hrs to my closest store in Birmingham AL, I live in Fort Walton Beach Fl. The plan was to camp out, after all both my husband and I have our current phones on eBay. When I got here with all my gear to make it through the night I saw this sign. The kicker is that there are even security guards from the outdoor mall here making sure no one congregates. This is just crazy!! Why couldn’t AT&T and Apple get it together on the pre-ordering instead of the nightmare we had to endure and for people like me we are still enduring just to get a phone. I must be crazy to put up with all of this for the crumbs from Steve Jobs’ table but I know next year I will probably go through it all again. Ahhh iPhone the things I go through to have a relationship with you.
The outdoor mall police decided to make everyone leave the parking lot and threatened us with arrest for trespassing if we were on the property at all including the sidewalks next to the street. They then called the police when cars lined up in the turning lane to access the outdoor mall which security had coned off. About a hundred people were there at midnight, I came at 6 and emailed you earlier about this craziness. I am far from home and have no where to go so I am now in a random gas station parking lot hoping that my long drive and over 12 hours of waiting will pay off. Why couldn’t they just get there pre-order system to work.
Sarah
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I keep hearing you guys say that Kindle only supports it’s own format but it supports
AZW, TXT, MOBI, and PRC Plus Word and PDF via emailing the doc.
90% of my books on my Kindle are from Project Gutenburg as PDF or MOBI and they are all awesome.
Plus the Kindle has web browsing (painfully slow but still). Of course now that I have an iPhone, I don’t care about the browsing but before that it was awesome :)
Anyway I just wanted to be clear that Kindle supports all kinds of formats.
My boss JUST got her Kindle last week so she was a bit bummed when she heard about the price drop. She called them and they said they’ll refund the price difference.
Tom Risor
Just like with my Harley, if you have to ask why I use Macs, you probably wouldn’t understand.
We shall call the iPhone 4 "little smudgy" (because Rafe calls his iPad "big smudgy"). Kent German drops by the show to let us get a look at the shiny new toy that comprises, basically, the first half of our broadcast. Then, though, tune in for an update on the Droid X announcement that happened today, Android app privacy concerns, and Facebook's inexorable cruising toward 1 billion users.
Open WiFi is not realy like leaving your house door unlocked
You don’t have to enter the house to get stuff.
Your WiFi router is a radio station broadcating to the public.
It’s more like putting your bank and credit card statements in the recycle bin,
and putting the recycle bin on the curb for pickup.
If you didn’t shred the papers first, don’t complain when your idenity is stolen.
Love the show,
Henry C
Livonia MI
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Hi Molly, Rafe and Jason,
Just thought I’d throw my two cents in the ring concerning the ebook reader war. One point in favor of the Nook, in my opinion, is the ability to read adobe epub books. Many libraries have a very good selection of ebooks that I’m able to borrow and read on my Nook – for free. Personally I think that makes the extra $10 a little easier to take.
Buzz Out Loud: the podcast that carries you through your formative years and even into college. We've got a great email about it, in fact. Also, we were totally right about the e-book price war--Kindle is now down to $189. Also, Apple will now collect your precise geographic information and share it with its partners. You can't opt out or anything, but hey, at least they let you know. Also: a Molly rant. Like, a real one. It's at the end. Enjoy!
Voicemail (800-616-2638)
Steve from Iowa has an idea for Pimp My Ride
Email (buzz@cnet.com)
“Hey Buzz Crew,
I don’t agree with you at all Molly, I don’t think Google lied so much as didn’t care. I believe they did collect that data on accident, and that it was fragmented. I’m not saying it should have been collected, but stuff happens. So there might have been a few user names and passwords in how much data from how many users? Why are you getting mad at Google? They force encryption on all their logins so even if you are on an open wifi it’s still encrypted. Be mad at any site that uses clear text to transmit login data! If Google picked up this on accident, think what someone could get on purpose!
Derek the IT guy from Holland, MI
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Hey MoRaJa,
Long time listener first time e-mailer. I just wanted to chime in and say that I sold my 16GB iPhone 3GS that was carrier locked to AT&T still for a whopping $365! Paying for my 32GB iPhone for in the process! Needless to say, there is a huge market for huge iPhones.
I other news, I got an e-mail last night that says I will be receiving my iPhone 4 on the 23rd, as opposed to the 24th. Apparently Apple and AT&T would like to try and keep the activation server meltdown of last year from happening again.
Thanks for being cool!
Jeremy P.
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Tomorrow, June 22, will be my one year anniversary of listening to BOL. This last year has been tough, it was my senior year of high school and it did not go as smoothly as planned. Through the apathy, the procrastination, the college applications and scholarships, personal struggles and having to define who I was and the person I wanted to become, you guys were there. Whenever an essay loomed over my head or an academic competition breathed down my neck, Buzz Out Loud was there as a shelter in the storm and as shield to the deafening level of work that I subjected myself to.
With what seemed to be an almost tragic end to my high school years, was Tom leaving. But I realized something; it made sense. I was moving on into a new phase of my life, and BOL was moving into a new phase with me. I will move forward into college still listening to Jason, Molly and now Rafe on a daily basis. And I know it will be a comfort and little bit of a reminder of home. So thanks for being there, and being able to go with me. I know that one day the show must end, as all that truly matters in life does, but I just hope that it can last another four years. Thanks again.
Here's the thing: Google keeps insisting that the data it snared from open WiFi hotspots isn't a big deal, it's useless, it was an accident, and so on. But now, some French investigators discovered that the "useless data" contains obvious passwords and recognizable snippets of email. Which isn't as "useless" as Google suggested, you know? Also, Apple iOS 4 is here; the Nook is, hopefully, resetting e-book reader prices to somewhere they should be; and you decide: Toshiba folding tablet, awesome or DOA? Or both?
Email (buzz@cnet.com)
Hey Buzz crew,
I admit, I'm not a fan of going Chicken Little about something as small as random drive-by packet sniffing, but I do feel that Google really may be much less technically aware than they are thought to be. Not only were they collecting this data "unknowingly," but now we learn that they actually collected passwords in this so-called "useless data?" What's going on with Google? It seems that they have either terrible judgment regarding security (Buzz), or they are just plain incompetent. Anywhere else, breaches would lead to serious heads rolling, and I have a hard time believing there is or EVER was any legitimate reason for Google to have ever collected this. Also, I take offense to Eric Schmidt's defense stating “”Who was harmed? Name the person.”" The way Google operates, even if they know who the person is, we likely never will unless a third party exposes their identity. Love the show.
I’m a long-time listener and I just wanted to check in on the whole AT&T MicroCell issue. I understand where your criticism is coming from, but I recently purchased one of these units and I must say that I am very satisfied with it. I live in an old brownstone apartment in Chicago and have had problems getting a signal in certain rooms. I’ve noticed that this is not so much an AT&T issue as it is a general radio transparency issue- friends who are on other networks also seem to have a difficult time when they come over. I now have full bars in almost every corner of my apartment and will be getting rid of my landline. The savings from not paying for a landline will pay for the MicroCell in a matter of months. I also wanted to correct a misconception that you seem to have about the MicroCell. It doesn’t actually improve AT&T’s network. You need to register your individual cell number to the MicroCell (up to 10 numbers per device) and only registered devices can use the boosted coverage.
I was sad to see Tom leave and I kinda think that Leo Laporte is like the Yoko Ono of Tech podcasts, but I love the show and continue to listen.
On today's show, we counted up all the times AT&T is making you pay them to deliver various bits, and frankly, we're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore. Then again, it's not like Verizon's not headed in the same direction, and it's not like our shareholder-dependent capitalist society would have it any other way. (Don't worry, we don't do that for long.) Also, iPhone 4's display may be "gorgeous," but it's the reason for all the production shortages.
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