In the first round, Apple eventually came out and explained themselves, but thus far there has been no word on why they removed Wi-Fi detection apps. These are applications that actively searched for a Wi-Fi signal, but the ban does not impact applications that simply contain a database of Wi-Fi hotspots that can be accessed via the iPhone’s GPS or by entering an address on the iPod Touch.
Apple has offered no comment on why these applications were removed, although it may have something to do with the rule for developers about how an application may not duplicate functionality of the device, and the iPhone and iPod Touch do have the ability to scan for Wi-Fi signals. The question then would be why were they approved in the first place?
With two rounds of purging, should we expect more?
When you’re an unemployed late night talk show host, what do you do with your time? Well, if you’re Conan O’Brien, you change the life of one Twitter user with the simple click of a button.
On February 24th, Conan O’Brien launched a Twitter account that he has been posting to once a day ever since. The Tweets have all been extremely random, and mainly make fun of his unemployed status since he left The Tonight Show.
I’ve decided to follow someone at random. She likes peanut butter and gummy dinosaurs. Sarah Killen, your life is about to change.
Before this Tweet, Ms. Killen had three followers, but as I write this she has 9,438 followers. She has received a free Mac as a gift, been extended an offer for a wedding ring for pending nuptials, been interviewed by MTV and who knows what else.
Will her new found Twitter fame last? Who knows. So long as Conan O’Brien follows only her, she will stay in the spotlight, and it does make for a heck of a joke.
Congratulations Ms. Killen on your new Internet fame, and on your impending nuptials.
(In case you’re curious, Mr. O’Brien’s people reached out to Ms. Killen prior to the Tweet via MySpace to make sure she would be okay with this, but she didn’t believe it would actually happen … apparently he is a man of his word)
While we already explained Chatroulette to you recently, The Daily Show did a video (mildly not safe for work due to some language) that not only demonstrates how odd the site is, but how potentially dangerous it could be for kids. Yes, it is all done with humor, but in his effort to mock the site, Mr. Stewart and his writers may have done the most effective job of demonstrating the problems with it.
Sit back and laugh, but realize … this isn’t too far off from the truth.
This video played last night at the Shorty Awards, and while it’s only funny to people in the tech world … its hilarious to us.
Suze Orman, the financial guru receives a call from “Mark Z.”, an obvious nod to Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, who wants to buy Twitter for $1.5 billion. It really is hysterical and well worth your time to take a look.
TiVo has unveiled its latest home DVR devices, and they’re going to do a lot more than just record your shows for you now.
Known as HD Series 4 and as TiVo Premiere, the new set top DVRs are adding Internet connections to deliver even more content to your TV than the shows you choose to record. Both the TiVo Premiere (320 GB hard drive) and the TiVo Premiere XL (1 TB hard drive) will be able to deliver content from Netflix Watch Instantly, Amazon Video on Demand, Blockbuster on Demand, YouTube, Pandora and more.
Both units will have 1080P outputs and feature expansion slots for additional storage. The Premiere will for $299 and can record up to 45 hours of content in HD recording, while the Premiere XL will sell for $499, record up to 150 hours of HD content and adds THX certification.
Both devices will include Ethernet ports, but if you want to go for a Wi-Fi connection, you will have to purchase a $90 dongle. Also, there will be a Bluetooth enabled QWERTY keyboard released later in the year you will need to buy separably.
One of the biggest additions, and one I have wanted for ages, a meter will show you how much hard drive space you have left at any time. Thank goodness!
The state of Colorado really wants your tax dollars from items you buy online, and if the retailers aren’t willing to collect the taxes, the state wants them to tell you how much you owe.
States have been trying to figure out for some time how to collect sales tax from all of those sales made on sites such as Amazon. The problem is that tax laws say a business must have a presence in a state for that state to collect taxes from it. With online retailers, that has been tricky at best, so states have had to get creative in how they do it.
According to TechFlash, Colorado’s latest gambit is that retailers are supposed to tell you at the end of each purchase how much the customer owes the state, and then do it again in a end of the year summary. Apparently the state then expects the consumer to submit those amounts with their annual state taxes.
While Amazon is the focus of most stories, this impacts all online retailers, and the idea of every retailer trying to keep these types of records is daunting at best. Many online retailers are one to two people operations, so trying to add this to their workload will be a nightmare. Also, most retailers run on pre-packaged shopping cart software which contains no options for this type of thing.
This is going to be interesting to watch, and also potentially very messy.
At least one analyst is predicting that there will be shortages of Apple’s iPad when it launches this month, but it isn’t someone with the best track record when it comes to predictions regarding Apple.
There is no doubt that Apple’s iPad is going to be in high demand when it launches later this month, but Canaccord Adams analyst Peter Misek is saying there may be some supply chain problems that will keep the inventory low, and possibly delay the device all together.
According to All Things D, Mr. Misek said, “We have…heard that the upcoming iPad launch may be somewhat limited as a manufacturing bottleneck has impacted production of Apple’s newest device.” The only problem with this information is that it seems Mr. Misek is the only one to have heard this rumor thus far.
The other unfortunate piece of the puzzle is that Mr. Misek is the same analyst who incorrectly predicted that Apple would announce iPhone OS 4.0 and the iPhone being available on Verizon at its January press event. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your point of view and desire to get an iPad this month, this makes us take his latest tidbit of information with a generous helping of salt.
Whatever the case may be, our advice still holds to skipping this first release of the iPad, and waiting for the inevitable second generation.
No one is quite sure what is going on with Apple and its recent application bans, but something is definitely not right over there.
When you’re an unemployed late night talk show host, what do you do with your time? Well, if you’re Conan O’Brien, you change the life of one Twitter user with the simple click of a button.
This video played last night at 
The state of Colorado really wants your tax dollars from items you buy online, and if the retailers aren’t willing to collect the taxes, the state wants them to tell you how much you owe.
At least one analyst is predicting that there will be shortages of Apple’s iPad when it launches this month, but it isn’t someone with the best track record when it comes to predictions regarding Apple.
