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Stop complaining about the new iPod Shuffle

Apple quietly released a new iPod Shuffle on Wednesday, and much to the surprise of tech pundits and Apple fans, the company moved the controls of the device from the face of the Shuffle to the cord of the earbuds it bundles with the iPod.

According to Apple, anyone who wants to use their own third-party headphones will be required to purchase a third-party Shuffle-controlling dongle that will attach to both the iPod and the headphones.

It didn't take long for the blogosphere to erupt and start saying that this is like the recessed iPhone jack of 2009, in reference to the first-generation iPhone earbud jack that required an adapter for some headphones. When that was announced, Apple caught fire until the second-generation iPhone featured a standard jack.

And now it's happening again. I spent 30 minutes last night looking around the Web, trying to find reactions to this so-called "debacle," and more often than not, I read posts on blogs or complaints on Twitter saying that an additional $15 to $20 for a dongle is ridiculous and that it eliminates all the value of the iPod Shuffle.

I considered that argument and found it flawed.… Read more

The 404 262: Where we're standing tall on the wings of our dreams

Wilson's back and feeling mellow after yesterday's inauguration, so we take advantage of his good spirits to ream him for taking the day off. He gives us an in-depth review of his party at the Apollo and the movie Gran Torino. We also cover a superwide range of hilarious stories today, including Google crimes, the Razzies, school bus stories, the Phantom Bathroom Smearer, and Phacebook Phishers.

According to this article, Australians apparently have terrible manners when it comes to using cell phones and other tech gadgets in public. Some of the statistics listed are: 48 percent of Australians … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 893: Self-eating soup

We're all predictably aghast at Belkin's fake user reviews, but at least they apologised. Cooley and Tom think netbooks are done, but Veronica disagrees. And finally Cooley accidentally invents self-eating soup. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE_893

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Belkin’s Amazon Rep Paying For Fake Online Reviews http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09%2F01%2F17%2F166226&from=rss

Fake reviews prompt Belkin apology http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10145399-92.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

Analysis: EU’s Internet Explorer ruling looks back to 1990s http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20090118-eu-vs-microsoft-bundling-wars-ad-nauseam.html … Read more

Fake reviews prompt Belkin apology

Fake positive reviews of Belkin products were actively solicited by one of its employees, the company admitted on Sunday.

Belkin, a networking and peripheral manufacturer, apologized for the worker's actions, which sought to artificially boost Belkin's status on Amazon while denigrating existing bad reviews.

On Friday, The Daily Background Web site revealed how someone, apparently Belkin business development representative Mark Bayard, had used the Mechanical Turk service to ask users to write positive reviews of a Belkin product at a rate of 65 cents per review. The requests made it clear that writers need have no experience of, … Read more

Belkin's FlyThru checkpoint-friendly laptop case flies first class

We've seen more than our share of new laptop bags that adhere to TSA guidelines for getting through airport security quickly. Almost all follow the same basic premise of a two-compartment bag that butterflies open to lie flat on the X-ray machine conveyor belt. The separate compartment that holds your laptop isn't allowed to have any pockets or any other items (wires, iPods, magazines, etc.) in it, so the TSA checkers can get a clear view of your laptop without requiring it to be pulled out of its bag and run through the machine by itself.

The latest … Read more

Belkin makes PC-to-Mac switch even easier

Back in 2006, Microsoft was only too happy to tout a cable from Belkin that made it easier to move from XP to Vista. It even gave away the devices as part of its CES press kits.

However, a new twist on that cable is likely to get a far chillier reception in Redmond.

While Belkin's original USB cable--the Easy Transfer Cable--was aimed at moving from XP to Vista, its latest product is aimed at those moving to a Mac.

The $50 Switch-to-Mac cable "automatically moves your music, movies, photos, files, and Internet preferences" from a Windows … Read more

Inside CNET Labs 21: What's in a name?

Dong's advice to Vietnamese coming to America? Keep your names people! Let us Americans deal with all that tonal stuff.

Then Dong nerds out over the range and throughput of the Belkin N+ Wireless Router. I think I hear wedding bells.

After that, we discuss the big news of the week. You can probably guess what that is. You've been warned.

To subscribe to this podcast, visit us at our main page and click the link on the right. Don't forget to leave us a voice mail at 1-800-947-6399 or e-mail us at insidecnetlabs@cnet.com.

Listen … Read more