apple television

Google fills search with Zagat ratings

It's time to rate your world on Google+ Local, double down on secrets and lose the hashbang:

Google+ has teamed up with Zagat to add a new feature encouraging users to review local establishments. It's called Google+ Local, and even if you don't use Google+, you'll start to see these ratings pop up around Google search and maps.

Apple CEO Tim Cook shared some interesting comments at the D10 conference Tuesday. To summarize, Cook didn't say if Apple was working on a television set, he vowed that the company will "double down" on … Read more

Facebook's price too high for a 'fad'?

In today's show, the postman always scans twice, a new Kindle could let you read in the dark, and catch all the Pokémon hiding in your living room:

We're keeping a close eye on Facebook as it prepares to go public on the Nasdaq this week. Values for its initial public offering are in the $34 to $38 range. At the high end, it would make Facebook worth more than $100 billion. But we will find out Thursday what the actual initial stock price will be.

But will it keep that high value for long? A poll shows … Read more

Pay $2 to promote your Facebook status?

In today's show, we're buying status updates, finding a new route and building a new game addiction:

Would you pay $2 to get your Facebook status message seen by more people? It's something Facebook is testing in New Zealand. (And tell me your two-cents on the issue via Tout!)

The Foxconn factory for Apple products is preparing to build the much anticipated Apple television set. The chief at the Foxconn spilled the beans in a news conference.

According to 9to5Mac, the next version of iOS will not include Google Maps. Rather, it will have Apple's own mapping software. … Read more

Watching TV backfires during 'SuriTV' parody

As we well know from that recent video of a surly Scot trying to get Siri to fetch him a jammy dodger, misunderstandings can fast spell disaster during conversations between people and voice recognition software.

Check out this amusing parody by comedic duo Tripp and Tyler that envisions a future with "SuriTV." With rumors circulating regularly about the possible emergence of a real Apple TV, it seems like an appropriate time to imagine the positive and negative aspects of having Siri baked into the boob tube. … Read more

Google files for patent on Siri-like TV user interface

Google has filed for a patent on a technology that would let users search their program listings with only the sound of their voice.

According to Patently Apple, which obtained the patent request, Google's application describes a method of allowing users to say a voice command through a mobile device. That command is then relayed to a television or set-top box--likely equipped with the company's Google TV platform--that displays the desired information.

According to Patently Apple, the patent describes one implementation in which a user asks, "When is 'Seinfeld' on?" The software on the television then … Read more

Rumor Has It, Ep. 13: Year-end rumor roundup extravaganza! (podcast)

It's the end of the year show! And we celebrate that, and Hanukkah, with a very special Rumor Has It today.

Instead of rounding up the week's hottest rumors, we've rounded up the year's hottest rumors. Bam! And we bet you can guess what's on our list.

We cover the ones that did come true, the ones that didn't, and the ones that were so annoying, we wanted to scream. Why won't some of these rumors ever die? At least they keep us in business.

What was your top rumor that did come true, didn't come true, or annoyed you to death? Let us know in the comments.

We don't have a show next week, but tune back in January 3, 2012 (!), for the first Humiliation Day of the year. Augh! … Read more

Angry Birds, Adele top this year's iTunes Rewind

As 2011 draws to a close, Apple has once again decided to take a look back at some of the top content on iTunes this year.

Dubbed iTunes Rewind, the roundup lists, among other content, the top-selling movies, apps, books, and music during the year, as well as Apple staff's top picks in each category.

Apple doesn't provide sales figures in Rewind, and it's worth noting that its lists are based solely on iTunes sales. But it still provides solid insight into what we were interested in this year.

Read on to find out which shows, movies, … Read more

Rumor Has It, Ep. 11: Is Google the Internet's next pimp? (podcast)

Wow, today Rumor Has It goes crazy. Things get weird. (But weird in the best possible way.)

It's the first show of the month, which means it is Humiliation Day, and Karyne lost yet again! Emily celebrates by trying out a new accent, and it's not Russian! But then Karyne sort of wins by somehow roping Stephen and Emily into her embarrassing punishment. Everyone is mortified.

After the shenanigans, we discuss Windows 8, laugh at the reported name of RIM's new phone, scoff at the rumored price of the Apple television, and oh man, what doesn't … Read more

Report: Apple TV set could be coming this year

Apple continues to make headway into the living room with its Apple TV set-top boxes, HDMI-sporting Mac Minis, and the latest iPad, which can be hooked up to TV sets using a $39 AV adapter. But the prediction that keeps surfacing is that Apple plans to take a step out of the process of getting content to the TV by offering a TV set of its own.

In a note to investors, picked up by AppleInsider, Ticonderoga Securities analyst Brian White said that Apple was moving towards offering a TV set of its own "at a faster pace than … Read more