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!
Full press release after the break
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.
It seems that the UK government is not a fan of you enjoying free Wi-Fi access with your morning cup of coffee.
According to ZD Net UK, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) issued an explanatory document (Word Doc download) that explains why free & open Internet access should be more closely monitored for potential copyright infringement. It boils down to that coffee shops, libraries, universities and any other business or establishment that offers free Internet access could be held responsible for any copyright infringement done over their connection as if they had done it themselves.
Through out the UK and the European Union, there has been a lot of talk of “three strikes” laws which would have people losing their Internet connections if they were found to be repeatedly be violating copyright by downloading illegal files. This new advice offered by the BIS, if included in the upcoming Digital Economy Bill, would see your local coffee shop being treated no differently.
Each establishment would have the option of choosing to be classified as an “ISP” (Internet Service Provider) or a “Subscriber.” If they should choose the former, this means they would have to keep records of every person that accessed their connection, just like any other ISP. This would be a daunting task for any business, and could quickly kill any interest they have in maintaining a connection. If they should choose to be a “subscriber”, they wouldn’t have to keep the records, but if three copyright infringements were found to becoming from their connection, they could be shut down.
Lilian Edwards, professor of internet law at Sheffield University, told ZDNet UK, “”This is going to be a very unfortunate measure for small businesses, particularly in a recession, many of whom are using open free Wi-Fi very effectively as a way to get the [customers] in.”
Prof. Edwards is correct, and this is another unfortunate example of how the copyright holders are becoming the de facto lords of the Internet. It seems every new law passed in regards to the Web has become about protecting copyrights, and each time you can trace it back to the film and music industries. They are so concerned about their bottom lines, and have enough money to woo politicians, that they are stifling the expansion and innovation that the Internet should bring with it.
There is no doubt that copyrights are being infringed on the Net, we aren’t so naive to believe otherwise, but considering the fact that 1.73 billion people are on the Internet, the number engaging in piracy is just a drop in the bucket. The entertainment industry is helping to punish the Internet as a whole for the actions of a relative few.
Businesses have indeed started to use free Wi-Fi as a way to attract customers, and considering how lousy the connections usually are, they aren’t good enough for anything beyond e-mail. Now you want to use scare tactics to stop them from even offering that? Where are the statistics to show how much piracy is conducted in a Starbucks? My bet would be it’s about as close to zero as you can get, but they won’t stop copyright holders from insisting that one guy who downloaded a Lady Gaga song is enough reason to shut down the whole lot.
The people need to start fighting back and reminding their governments we far outnumber the copyright holders. This isn’t to say we should be downloading copyrighted materials as we see fit, but that the copyright holders should have a lot less say in how and where we get to use the Internet.
If you’re looking for videos of the killer whale attack at SeaWorld, be aware you could get yourself a virus or even get yourself a Rickroll.
People are searching for video footage of the killer whale attack of Dawn Brancheau at SeaWorld in San Diego, and finding themselves the target of Rickroll jokes, or even worse, viruses.
Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos, spoke with Kansas City InfoZine about the situation:
It’s hard to believe that anyone would want to watch video footage of this horrible death, but it’s currently one of the very hottest search terms on the internet. These poisoned pages can appear on the very first page of your search engine’s results, and if you visit the links you may see pop-up warnings telling you about security issues with your computer. These warnings are fake and designed to trick you into downloading dangerous software or handing over your credit card details.
This is not the first time such incidents have happened, and it is always best to be cautious when looking for a hotly sought after video such as this. Always tread lightly with this sort of material, and make sure your anti-virus protection is up-to-date before you go looking. (although in this particular case, we suggest you just don’t look for it because it’s nothing anyone needs to see.)
Ever wondered what some of the statistics are regarding the Internet? Well, you can stop wondering now thanks to The State of the Internet video.
Jess3, a company that bills themselves as “a creative agency that specializes in web design, branding and data visualization,” has created a fantastic video that shows you various information about the Internet in one digestible video. Some of the numbers are amazing, others are scary (81% of all email is spam? Yeesh!), but all of it is quite interesting if you spend any time on the Internet … which you must if you’re reading this.
Take a look for yourselves and leave your thoughts in the comments.
JESS3 / The State of The Internet from Jesse Thomas on Vimeo.
It’s a big day for Google’s popular Gmail product as some features from the Lab section are moving into full production, while a few others are headed for the trash bin.
Google announced today that six features are moving out of the Lab area and in to full production use:
These have been some of the most useful features in the Lab, and now you won’t have to do anything extra to use them.
At the same time, five features are being cut:
None of these were that terribly useful, so not too sad to see them go.
Enjoy the new features if you hadn’t already added them via Labs to your account (like I had done with most of them). I particularly like the YouTube Previews as it saves you having to go out to the site.
The official launch of Bloom Energy was today, and with that comes even more evidence that this company could really change the future of the world.
Just the other day we brought you the story of Bloom Energy and its new product called Bloom Energy Servers (the press has been instructed to stop calling them Bloom Boxes for some reason). Essentially these devices are renewable fuel cell power sources, and depending on what type of fuel you use in them, they can be completely carbon neutral.
The Bloom Energy website has also finally launched, and if you check out the stories of corporations that have been testing the technology, it’s easy to see how this new system may change the world. Imagine Walmart stores that are totally carbon neutral in their energy consumption. The mega-retailer has installed the devices at two stores in California, and while they are not yet on biofuel, which is the option for completely eliminating their carbon footprint, each store eliminated 1 million pounds of carbon. If you read through the rest, you will quickly see the potential benefits if even these devices never make it to homes. Obviously something is seriously going on here when the likes of eBay, Google, Coca-Cola and so on send representatives to speak glowing words about another company at their press conference.
However, homes are in the plans, albeit ten years down the road. Imagine having a Bloom Energy Server in your garage, hooked up to a solar panel on the roof. Completely clean energy running your entire home. The power companies are going to have a fit.
Now, imagine Bloom Energy Servers taken to remote villages in rural portions of countries.
It isn’t that often that you see a new technology which could actually change the world, but for once I think we have. I think we are seeing the dawn of an entirely new paradigm in energy generation. Not only will this be cheaper in the long run, but it could help save the environment. I’m ready to sign up for a consumer version of these devices tomorrow if I could.
Pretty much every one out there has wanted to make a video at some point from a wedding, a graduation and so on, but who has the time to learn a difficult video editing program for this one time event? Enter Flixtime.
A joint effort by the folks from AudioMicro and Fotolia, Flixtime is a site that allows you to import your own photos and videos, as well as use some royalty free options from Fotolia, and then set them to music provided by AudioMicro to produce a high definition video to share with friends and family.
That really is it. In about three minutes you can create a free 60-second video to do with as you please, and due to the royalty free nature of the music and photos you may use as filler, you have no concerns about copyright infringement when you place your video on a site such as YouTube.
“We have been getting more and more demand from users who want a tool that easily creates stunning videos by using images and text. Companies from all over the world have video needs, whether for websites, projects, or presentations. Until now, production costs were very high,” says Fotolia and Flixtime CEO Oleg Tscheltzoff. “Just like we democratized stock images on Fotolia by offering images for under $1 USD, we have made videos accessible and affordable to countless companies. Instead of investing tons of money in equipment, talent, and a location to produce videos, our users can simply use their content, or the images and music provided by Flixtime, to create the videos they envision.”
Ryan Born, CEO of AudioMicro says, “We are very pleased to partner with Flixtime to provide the music for such an amazing technology. With just one click, Flixtime users can bring energy and emotion to their videos by adding music. We’ve supplied a handpicked selection, spanning nearly every musical genre and style. With tracks for everyone, Flixtime users are sure to have the perfect soundtrack and take their videos to the next level.”
It’s worth a definite look, and if all you need to do is make one video, there isn’t a whole lot of reason to go anywhere else.
