Tech Department
Rumor: Core i7 Mac Pro Coming
“ZDNet is reporting that the next iteration of the Mac Pro will be unveiled next Tuesday, March 16th. Their sources indicate that Intel’s new ‘hexacore’ Core i7-980x chip, which is also expected to be launched next Tuesday, will be in that machine.” Link
Read entire story »
HP Attacks iPad With Own Tablet PC
“H.P. this week put out some marketing materials about its upcoming slate computer, saying the product can run ‘the complete Internet’ better than Apple’s upcoming iPad because the H.P. machine supports Adobe’s Flash software, which is used for the visual effects on many Web sites.” [Link]
Read entire story »
Sex.com Up For Sale Again
“Sex.com, one of the most valuable Internet domain names, will go up for auction next week after the previous owner defaulted on its debts. Escom LLC paid a reported $14 million for the Web site in 2006. But the company failed to repay debt owed to DOM Partners LLC, the New Jersey-based lender that helped finance the deal.” [Link]
Read entire story »
Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer Praises iPhone
“The Seattle Times is reporting that Steve Ballmer, who notoriously laughed at the iPhone, had some good things to say about it last week in a speech he gave at the computer-science building at the University of Washington. “Apple’s done a very nice job that allows people to monetize and commercialize their intellectual property,” he said.” Link
Read entire story »
Goldman Sachs Cuts Nexus One Sales Forecast
“Investment banking and securities firm Goldman Sachs is more or less giving up on Google’s Nexus One. A note Goldman Sachs published this week indicates that it’s cut its 2010 sales forecast by a whopping 71.4 percent. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, the note stated, “We previously estimated that Google might sell 3.5 mn Nexus One units in 2010.” Now, after seeing some data from Flurry, “We forecast that Google sells 1.0 mn Nexus One units in FY2010 . . .”" Link
Read entire story »
VIDEO: iPad Ad As Seen On The Oscars
The first ad for the Apple iPad was shown during the Oscars. Here it is:
VIDEO: First Apple iPad Commercial
Celebrities Reveal Farmville Addiction
AnnaLynne McCord picture
“Celebrities have been quietly coming out of the woodwork lately confessing that they too are Farmville Addicts. Some have even admitted to playing for up to four hours a day! The list of rumored celebrities said to be living it up on the farm in their spare time include the likes of Lady Gaga, Wyclef Jean, AnnaLynne McCord, Avril Lavigne, Ellen and even Rachael Ray.” [Link]
Read entire story »
80% Of The World: Internet Access Is A “Fundamental Right”
“Almost four in five people around the world believe that access to the internet is a fundamental right, a poll for the BBC World Service suggests.
The survey – of more than 27,000 adults across 26 countries – found strong support for net access on both sides of the digital divide.” [Link]
Tubes: Sexy App Avoided Apple Purge, Made Thousands
“Tubes, an app that features more than 120 pictures of lingerie-clad women, was making about $30 a day before the porn purge started on February 15, according to TechCrunch. As sexy apps were gradually removed from the App Store, Tubes found its profits growing until the app was pulling in about $1600 a day. The app cost 99 cents per download.” [Link]
Read entire story »
Apple Sues HTC Over User Interface & More
“Apple just sued HTC for infringing on 20 patents ‘related to the iPhone’s user interface, underlying architecture and hardware.’ The guns are out. Steve Jobs’ biting take on the lawsuit: ‘We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We’ve decided to do something about it. We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours.’” [Link]
Read entire story »
Activision Purges Modern Warfare Gurus From Infinity Ward Studio
“Jason West and Vince Zampella, two lead developers at Infinity Ward, met with Activision earlier today. Then they seemed to disappear and “bouncer-types” showed up at the studio. This Activision filing might explain why. “The Company is concluding an internal human resources inquiry into breaches of contract and insubordination by two senior employees at Infinity Ward,” Acitivsion states in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.” Link
Read entire story »
New Google Chrome Automatically Translates The Web
The Official Google Chrome Blog notes: “Whether you’re catching up on your favorite Arabic gameshow, getting up to speed on the latest Korean mobile gadgetry, or researching the local perspective for a dream trip to Machu Picchu, we’re all constantly reminded that the internet is an amazingly multilingual place. The Google Chrome team is excited to introduce a new beta feature to help our users navigate the multilingual web: instant machine translation of webpages, without the need for any browser extensions or plug-ins.” [Link]
Read entire story »
Apple: We Used Child Labor To Build iPhone, iPod, Macs
iMac picture
“Apple Inc. said three of its suppliers hired 11 underage workers to help build the iPhone, iPod and Macintosh computer last year, a violation it uncovered as part of its onsite audit of 102 factories. ‘Apple discovered three facilities that had previously hired 15-year-old workers in countries where the minimum age for employment is 16,’ the company said in a 24-page report on ‘Supplier Responsibility’ posted on its Web site. The workers were ‘no longer in active employment at the time of our audit.’” [Link]
Read entire story »
Report: Google Nexus One Coming To Verizon
Nexus One picture
“Google’s Nexus One is coming to Verizon on March 23rd, according to a report. The launch announcement is expected during CTIA Wireless 2010 in Las Vegas.” [Link]
Read entire story »
Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Extortion By Yelp
“The suit alleges that the site tried to get a Long Beach veterinary hospital named Cats and Dogs Animal Hospital to pay $300 a month — for a minimum 12-month commitment — to suppress or delete reviews that disparaged the hospital.” [Link]
Read entire story »
Samsung Attempts To Be First With 3D TVs With UN46C7000 Model
“Earlier this week Sears, of all places, announced the ability to pre-order two Samsung 3D TVs, the 46-inch ($2599.99) and 55-inch ($3299.99) members of the UNC7000 series first announced at CES. It appears this series will beat the Panasonic VT25, coming in May, to be the first of the new 3D compatible TVs available for sale.” [Link]
Read entire story »
Twitter To Launch Advertising Platform
“Twitter plans to launch an advertising platform in about a month, according to Seth Goldstein. The chief executive officer and co-founder of socialmedia.com led a panel Monday focused on the next wave of interactive advertising at the IAB Annual Leadership Meeting 2010 in Carlsbad, Calif., that shed light on Twitter’s strategy.” [Link]
Read entire story »
Survey: iPad Interest Higher Than iPhone
Apple iPad picture
“A new survey has found that 13 percent of respondents are likely to buy Apple’s forthcoming iPad, a number greater than the 9 percent who planned to purchase an iPhone before its launch in 2007. Details of the survey from RBC/ChangeWave were released Tuesday by RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky.” [Link]
Read entire story »
Report: Comcast To Have 100Mbps Service In 2010
“A source at cable service provider Comcast says the company is making improvements to its Internet service that will provide 20 percent of its subscribers with 100Mbps download speed by the end of the year. ” [Link]
Read entire story »
Walmart Buys Vudu, On Demand Video Service
“Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Monday it will buy broadband entertainment provider Vudu, a deal that gives the world’s biggest retailer the ability to sell movies directly through TVs and Blu-ray players over the Internet. The deal could give Wal-Mart a way to compete with electronics rival Best Buy Co., which partnered with Sonic Solutions in November to offer Roxio CinemaNow movie-downloading software on all Web-connected devices sold in Best Buy’s U.S. stores.” [Link]
Read entire story »
