Buzz Out Loud Podcast

LG announced that Orange in the U.K. will have the exclusive rights to sell the watch phone. But will anyone who isn't a d-bag want one? We discuss. We also get excited about RIM bringing full Flash to its phones. And Jason forgets how Tom's mind works.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

MySpace buys iLike and turns off automusic play on profiles
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10313405-36.html
http://www.appscout.com/2009/08/myspace_halts_instant_music_st.php

RIM planning on including full Flash and Silverlight support in browser
http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2009/08/19/rim-planning-on-including-full-flash-and-silverlight-support-in-browser/

Orange gets exclusive rights to LG Watch Phone
http://newsroom.orange.co.uk/2009/08/20/orange-brings-the-watch-phone-exclusively-to-the-uk/

Twitter may have been denied patent for Tweet
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10313566-2.html

Ford EV’s will talk to the grid
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2009/08/fords-plug-in-hybrids-will-talk-to-electrical-grid.ars

Besieged by attacks, AT&T dumps celebrity hacker
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/19/att_dumps_kevin_mitnick/

Rural broadband = more jobs, better salaries
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/08/rural-broadband-more-jobs-better-salaries.ars

The Myth of the Isolated Kernel Hacker
http://tech.slashdot.org/story/09/08/20/1342223/The-Myth-of-the-Isolated-Kernel-Hacker?from=rss

NASA probe blasts 461 gigabytes of moon data daily
http://science.slashdot.org/story/09/08/20/1233258/NASA-Probe-Blasts-461-Gigabytes-of-Moon-Data-Daily

Forget doctors. Is there a laptop on board?
http://gizmodo.com/5341675/random-dude-with-a-laptop-called-up-to-cockpit-to-help-pilots-plot-a-new-course

Buzz Out Loud: The novel
http://socialnomics.net/

Vote for Buzz Out Loud at SXSW 2010
http://www.cnet.com/8301-19709_1-10311505-10.html

VOICE MAIL
Mike the Linux Developer – Why ARM is a bad idea for Linux

Dwight on URL shorteners. So what if they go belly up?

E-MAIL
Heys guys,

In episode 1044, you guys talked about the new PS3 slim. But for owners of the 1st and 2nd gen PS3, there is more reason to hold on to their chunkier PS3s. Even those looking to buy a new PS3, if you can, get the 1st or 2nd gen models. Here’s why:
The older models have 4, instead of just 2 USB ports. They even have SACD and built-in flash card readers, something the slim lacks. But most importantly they have either the Emotion Engine or Software Emulation to play PS2 discs, something new PS3 models like the slim can’t do. Also, the option to install Linux has been removed. And there’s just something about having a large shiny imposing PS3 that you simply can’t get with the smaller PS3.

The slim is more energy efficient though and you do get HDMI-CEC Bravia sync.

Devin from Sunny Curacao,
please mention my site: thenokiaguide.com

**********

Hi guys,

I dont understand you making this big deal about the artificial DNA.
This is complete useless for crimescenes. Why would anyone create fake
DNA to frame someone, when every person loses endless DNA-samples
every minute. Just get in someones Car or House and you have His DNA.
Or simpler – just touch him on His shoulder or wait Till He is
Standing up from a chair and you have REAL DNA. Unlike tom said, found
dna was never a sure thing – the framing issue was always there.

Bottom line : in court, fake dna changes nothing.

Lts

Alex from austria

**********

Hey ballers,

You want cheap windows 7? How about free? For all you students out there, many universities are signed up with MSDN Academic Alliance (http://www.msdnaa.net/search/schoolsearch.aspx) – this is a repository of microsoft software, including the windows 7 RTM, which you can get for nothing. I think whatever currency you convert that into, it’s going to stay pretty cheap. (You can also gain access to this by buying an IEEE membership, which is only $15.)
It’s a pretty sweet deal, and most people who have access to it have no idea it exists.
Spread the word,

Helen from NZ

I don't know. It must be the low blood sugar but I called us the podcast of indeterminate lake. But we still were able to talk sensibly about the Twitter DoS targeted at one specific person. We also cheer on the FCC as they hold ISPs feet to the fire. And Adobe is the new Microsoft. We'll tell you why.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

Twitter, Facebook attack targeted one user
http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-10305200-245.html

FCC wants real answers from ISPs on broadband investment
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/08/fcc-wants-real-answers-from-isps-on-broadband-investment.ars

Is Adobe the next (pre-2002) Microsoft?
http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-10304455-245.html

On demand in command; 51% of young ‘Net users view TV online
http://arstechnica.com/media/news/2009/08/half-of-all-young-internet-users-now-watch-tv-online.ars

Crowdsourcing the semantics of numbers with True #
http://arstechnica.com/web/news/2009/08/using-the-web-to-embed-meaning-in-numbers.ars

Fox joins Universal’s war on Redbox DVD rental kiosks
http://arstechnica.com/media/news/2009/08/fox-joins-universals-war-on-redboxs-dvd-rental-kiosks.ars

CERN’s collider to get ’safe’ start in November
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-10305480-76.html

Tech gives humans animal senses
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8188070.stm

Prototype OpenOffice.org gets ribboned
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10305160-2.html

Steam car on course for record
http://www.iwcp.co.uk/news/news/steam-car-on-course-for-record-27792.aspx

VOICEMAIL
Jason in Georgia on a solution for coffee shops
http://briantong.blogspot.com/2009/07/treating-customers-with-respect.html

Steven in Las Vegas with an idea for show balance

EMAIL
Why doesn’t somebody come out with an unlocked GSM compatible e-book reader? This way the device cost will be lower then a Kindle (since you’re not paying for the “whisper net” overhead and you could just pop in your SIM card (given you subscribe to a GSM cellular carrier with data coverage) and after you download your content you just pop the SIM card out and put it back into your cell phone. Or, better yet, make a bluetooth tetherable e-book reader and use your cell phone as the data connection. Unfortunately, AT&T doesn't let you tether unless you have a smartphone with a special data plan.... Bummer...

Jonathan, from Cleveland, OH

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Hey Buzz Crew,

I just listened to episode 1035 and your discussion of how Radio Shack/”The Shack” needs to really try harder if it’s going to compete on the same level with Best Buy…

Well, it just so happens that Radio Shack tried to compete on the level of Best Buy once before and failed miserably at it.

Back in the 1990s, Radio Shack — then known as Tandy Corporation — opened up a chain of computer stores across the country known as Computer City. These were positioned as a direct competitor to the now-defunct CompUSA computer store chain, which at that time was just starting to dominate the retail computer market. During most of that decade, Tandy Corporation invested heavily in expanding this chain of stores, to the point where they were putting stores sometimes literally within arms reach of every CompUSA in the country.

Unfortunately, their rapid expansion (which resulted in the inevitable over saturation of the market), combined with poor management of the chain, eventually led Tandy Corporation into financially troubled waters, causing them to ultimately sell the entire Computer City chain to the very company they were trying to compete with.

Combine this with their badly-planned Incredible Universe chain (which could have been a legitimate competitor to Best Buy if they had actually put those stores anywhere other than in the middle of nowhere), and Tandy was forced to restructure, which eventually led them to rename the corporation as a whole — choosing the name of the chain of stores that represented their core competency: Radio Shack.

Love the show. Keep up the excellent work.

Regards,

Brian Cunningham

**********

Hey Buzz Gang,

Have a 'well actually' for you...well actually it's for fellow Saint John resident Ryan Floyd. I'd just like to reveal that Ryan is not the only listener from Saint John, NB, Canada. I also live in SJ and regularly listen to your fine show. I'm glad Ryan thought he was the only one however, as now I get to say hello and thank you guys for all the tech news/laughs that have very much become part of my routine.

I feel I should contribute something, so here is a link to a TechCrunch article on an interesting panoramic video technology:

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/08/03/if-you-could-see-google-street-view-in-video-it-would-look-like-yellowbird

And the awesomely ridiculous web address:
http://www.yellowbirdsdonthavewingsbuttheyflytomakeyouexperiencea3dreality.com

When trying out the embedded video on TechCrunch, I (quietly) exclaimed something inappropriate for the workplace....

Mr. Rooney
The only listener on Germain Street, Saint John, NB, Canada.

**********

Hello Buzz Crew,

I am responsible for 7×24 support of the internet infrastructure for a very large company. Between all of the web, Java application, and EAI servers my team supports, we have numerous automatic monitors on our systems that sends text messages to our oncall phone in the event there are problems. (In the old days it was an actual pager. For the young-ens out there, that is a box that only receives text messages and you can’t speak into it).

With the talk of outlawing “texting while driving” does this mean I will have to tell my employer that by law I will have to ignore any system alerts I get during my 2 hours on the road commuting every day?

Pulling over isn’t always an option as by law you are only suppose to pull over on the highway in an “emergency”. I’m not sure the highway patrol will consider high thread utilization on a Java appserver an “emergency.”

Love the show.

Jeff – The Senior Internet Architect from Kansas City

Federal CTO Aneesh Chopra drops by to chat with us about the technology policies of the current U.S. administration. We ask him our own questions as well as some from the audience. Get Chopra's takes on Broadband, health care, Net neutrality, education, and more.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

The following is a rundown of the topics covered in this comprehensive interview and the questions asked by the hosts as well as some questions submitted by fans of Buzz Out Loud. Thanks for your participation, everyone!

ROLE OF FEDERAL CTO
Tom: What is the role of the Associate Director for Technology of Science and Technology Policy and how does it differ from the CIO, FCC, etc…
“As Chief Technology Officer, Chopra’s job will be to promote technological innovation to help the country meet its goals, such as job creation, reducing health care costs, and protecting the homeland. Together with Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra, their jobs are to make the government more effective, efficient, and transparent.” –Obama

BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE
Molly: Do you believe that every American has the right to high-speed Internet access? Should this become a utility that is regulated by the government, with infrastructure and expansion required in the same way as common carrier lines?

Tom: What is the plan to lift the U.S. higher in the rankings for broadband infrastructure and access?

HEALTH CARE
Karl Robstad, MD (’Dr. Karl’): You have previously mentioned health IT as one of your top priorities. As a doctor, the effective rolling out of a cohesive EMR system is something we have all been keeping an eye on ,as the utter lack of cohesion even within hospitals is readily apparent. To that effect, do you plan on supporting the distribution of a single EMR system, country-wide? If so, would you recommend the current VA LIS system or would you support a private effort such as Google’s? Would such integration be mandatory or voluntary? If mandated, what kind of timeline seems feasible? Would a national EMR system give patients full, unfettered access to their medical records, or would there still be an element of professional privilege available?
Thank you for this opportunity.

NET NEUTRALITY
kenwiesener: While I understand that the FCC is currently investigating wireless open access (RM-11361) and handset exclusivity (RM-11497) and that it may not be appropriate to comment on those investigations, my question to Mr. Chopra is how does the Obama administration view Net Neutrality with regard to the mobile product and service space in general and do you believe that it is the role of government agencies such as the FCC, FTC, etc. to regulate mobile application stores like the App Store to ensure equal footing for developers and to promote consumer choice? Thank you for your response!

EDUCATION
Natali: What is the real picture in terms of public education and technology? Do most public schools have technology that will prepare them for the workforce? What are some of the ways that the government is trying to bridge the digital divide in underclassed areas?

SOCIAL NETWORKING AND CYBERSECURITY
cyberman375: What is the Administration's guidance on balancing the emerging capabilities of social networking, and the security constraints? Some issues seem to be easy, such as banning the use of peer-to-peer file sharing on government computers. Others, such as restricting the use of Twitter, would remove what is becoming an important tool for policy makers to communicate directly to people. Given that using Twitter, Facebook and puts some security and operational readiness concerns into non-government hands, how seriously can the Government afford to move services into depending on social networking as a major form of communication? –

OPEN SOURCE
KevinDupuy: With the huge deficit, why doesn’t the Fed Gov switch to proven open source tech, like SUSE or Red Hat instead of Windows?

ONLINE VOTING
Natali: Will we ever have online voting that is both reliable and secure? (also asked on blog by cybergorilla)

U.S. military may ban Twitter, Facebook as “security headaches”
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/08/03/us-military-may-ban.html

Network neutrality in Congress, round three: Fight!
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/08/the-war-over-network-neutrality.ars
http://ostp.gov/

Open Government Initiative
http://www.whitehouse.gov/open/

We're getting Windows 7 at the end of 2009! Although Microsoft won't make that official. We're getting USB 3.0! Though not until 2010. Songbird is almost out in a full version. But it's still just a release candidate. Microsoft is going open source! OK, they said they're interested in looking at Webkit. Prostitutes can advertise on Craigslist! But they have to give a phone number and credit card...

Man, nothing's quite what it seems today.

EPISODE 848

Ballmer rules out new bid for Yahoo
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-10085104-75.html
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10085861-93.html

Microsoft ‘interested’ in open source browser: Ballmer
http://www.techworld.com.au/article/266449/microsoft_interested_open_source_browser_ballmer
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-10085467-16.html

Microsoft aims Windows 7 for 2009 holiday season
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10084486-56.html

Change.gov you can believe in?
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081106-change-gov-you-can-believe-in.html

The real story on WPA’s flaw
http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/11/07/1312246

Project turns GPS phones into traffic reporters
http://mobile.slashdot.org/mobile/08/11/07/0252224.shtml

Craigslist to crack down on ads for erotic services
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10084304-93.html

Songbird taxis to the runway http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10084567-2.html

Worldwide broadband prices drop 20 percent in less than a year
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081107-worldwide-broadband-prices-drop-20-in-less-than-a-year.html

Microsoft shows off USB 3.0 (thanks, Chris)
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-10083822-64.html

VOICEMAIL
Joe from Westside: How to get BOL regardless of 10MB cap!

E-MAIL
Just a short story Jason might find amusing. I’m currently 13 weeks pregnant and while we don’t yet know the gender of our little one, my husband and I were sitting and trying out some different names. We stopped at the name Jason and tried it out with our last name, Howell.

“Jason Howell, That sounds really nice together!”

We were both repeating it for a while before we connected the dots as to why this name sounds so familiar. We were laughing at ourselves after that. We haven’t completely abandoned the name yet so we may be creating a future Jason doppleganger.

Love the Show!

Jamie & Dodge Howell
from Michigan

**********

In show 844 you said you’d really like to know how all the digital-to-analog converter box manufacturers decided that they should setup the boxes to shutoff automatically after 4 hours. Well, they didn’t! The National Telecommunications and Information Administration decided for them.

In order to qualify for the government’s Converter Coupon Program, manufacturers have to meet the specifications listed in this Technical Appendix 1 of the “Final Rule, §301.5″:

http://www.ntia.doc.gov/dtvcoupon/DTVmanufacturers.pdf

Specifically, section 20, “Energy Standards”:

“…Eligible equipment shall provide the capability to automatically switch from the On state to the Sleep state after a period of time without user input. This capability shall be enabled at the factory as the default setting for the device. The default period of inactivity before the equipment automatically switches to the Sleep state shall be four hours…”

Now you know!

Keep up the great show,
Jeremy from Brooklyn

Episode 837

Comcast broadens reach of DOCSIS 3.0, 50Mbps connections
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a4BqkB8tlV.s
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081022-comcast-broadens-reach-of-docsis-3-0-50mbps-connections.html
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10073404-2.html

Broadband users reach their limit
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7684322.stm

Study squashes myth of gamer as antisocial Comic Book Guy
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081022-study-squashes-myth-of-gamer-as-antisocial-comic-book-guy.html

20% of antenna users to let TV sets go dark in 2009
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081022-20-of-antenna-users-to-let-tv-sets-go-dark-in-2009.html

Forecast: Legal P2P uses growing 10x faster than illegal ones
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081022-forecast-legal-p2p-uses-growing-10x-faster-than-illegal-ones.html

Tech layoff spreadsheet
http://news.cnet.com/tech-layoffs/?tag=newsLeadStoriesArea.0

Microsoft issues ‘critical’ patch outside normal cycle
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10073787-83.html

Netflix, Samsung partner on video streaming
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10073519-1.html

Scientists erase specific memories in mice
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/10/23/0315240

Researchers developing cancer-fighting beer
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/10/22/2230223

Voice mail
G-Dog: Xbox Live chatter

E-mail

Think about this the next Christmas while you are wrapping your presents...

[link: http://gizmodo.com/5067362/researchers-build-x+ray-machine-with-scotch-tape ]

"Russian scientists discovered that simple Scotch tape emits x-rays when peeled off glass. New research conducted by colleagues at UCLA has determined that the power that the tape generates is much higher than anyone could have imagined. In fact, they have constructed a machine that generates x-rays by peeling up Scotch tape in a vacuum at the rate of 3 centimeters per second. As you can see in the recent demo they did for the journal Nature, their device was able to successfully generate an x-ray of a finger."

When asked to comment on the safety aspect of scotch tape, the scientist responded with, "I will continue to use Scotch tape during my daily life, and I think it’s safe to do it in your office. No guarantees.”

Haha. Awesome. Youtube video proof at gizmodo too...

-dr. karl J

**********

I thought I would never get a topic on BOL that I could actually write into the show with some intelligence about. Regarding Episode 830 and 835 and the “dirty” environment that the MacBook is made in.

Several issues here from Brian Cooley’s rant, first, about the paint on the machines chipped off? Big chunks of metal moving around and you expect paint to stick to the equipment? Paint is not a maintenance issue, paint is cosmetic. Even if the paint would hold up to the constant hammering of thousands of pounds of aluminum banging against it daily, it also would have to hold up to the constant coolant spray. I am surprised there was ANY paint left.

Second, to his claim of seeing cleaner plants, especially Japanese automotive plants. I have been to American automotive plants, and I have been to Japanese plants in Japan. In any country, in any industry, what they show you on a ‘tour’ is what they want you to see. A clean pretty shop assembling pristine parts on a white floor. They will never show you the compressor room, the stamping plant, or anything dirty, loud, and greasy. They know what perception means. Even silicone wafer plants have a big tank of oil somewhere with a whole bunch of greasy equipment, even if you never see it.

Thanks,
Mike the Lubricant Guy

**********

So the other day I was walking through my local Target, and there sitting at the end of the aisle was a display of the Sony E-readers. OK so it wasn’t one owned by somebody but they had a freaking E-Reader on display at Target. So I stood there and played with it. My mom was just staring at me from across the aisle, thinking how strange I was for thinking this device was so rare and cool. I tried to explain to her what it was but she didn’t get the point. Oh well I guess only true geeks can understand the awesomeness of an E-Reader.

Loving the show,
Josh from Indiana

Several organizations, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation (aka EFF), sent public letters asking the broadcast networks and YouTube to ease up on the copyright takedown notices. Maybe this campaign season will help shed some light on the issues with the way the Digital Millennium Copyright Act is implemented... as long as it's fixed for all of us and not just politicians. We also get into Sony's new, harsh terms of service, as well as LaLa's move to put your music in the clouds.
Listen now: Download today's podcast

EPISODE 835

Groups asks YouTube, networks to cool it with political takedown notices
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10070635-38.html
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081020-fixing-dmca-takedown-problems-through-shaming-legal-reform.html

Sirius/XM: 15 *years* before they can merge their technologies? (Meanwhile, two satellite systems continue with wasteful overlap.)
http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081020/FREE/810209989/1530/FREE

Big Brother is listening (and grabbing): Sony’s new PS3 ToS
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081020-big-brother-is-watching-and-listening-sonys-new-ps3-tos.html

Never mind the radiation: fear the cell phone’s nickel
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081021-never-mind-the-radiation-fear-the-cell-phones-nickel.html

Keyboard sniffers to steal data
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7681534.stm

Lala's spectacular new music service
http://technologizer.com/2008/10/20/lalas-spectacular-new-music-service/
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10071094-93.html

Canadian pol: broadband not a luxury, but basic human right
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081020-canadian-pol-broadband-not-a-luxury-but-basic-human-right.html

Hardcore computer bringing oil submersion cooling to the masses
http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/21/hardcore-computer-bringing-oil-submersion-cooling-to-the-masses/
http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/10/20/1825211

Sony “looking into” PSP-3000 screen-interlacing problems
http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/21/sony-looking-into-psp-3000-interlacing-problems/

Researchers discover the most creative time of day
http://idle.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/10/20/1652246

VOICEMAIL

Anonymous
What is all this fascination with what you’re doing?

E-MAIL
Hey Buzz Crew (and guest)
In regards to yesterdays episode, 834, about Little Big Planet, I’m not sure it was a mistake on the developers part to put the particular song, Tapha Niang, into the game. It’s a beautiful song and they may have just seen it as such. The musician is Toumani Diabate, who is Muslim. His music is widely available and I found the controversial song on iTunes. Will it be pulled from iTunes?

This is not the fist time that sacred Koran text has been injected into video games. In 1998 Zelda: Ocarina of Time; contained a musical track with Islamic phrases, but was pulled from later shipments by Nintendo. Zack & Wiki back in 2007 had Koran phrases removed. I think Call of Duty 4 had some stuff that was objectionable by Muslims, but it was removed as well.
Things might get lost in translation if developers use real-world ideologies and political/religious struggles and real-world places as part of their content. Zombies, aliens, and super-sonic hedgehogs tend not to be easily offended .
Luv da sho!

Vic the Video Game Artist

**********

Talk about in-the-wild, I saw a non Steve Woz segway rider in the wild this past weekend in NYC. I also saw him run over someone’s foot in a crosswalk and the victim shaking his fist and cussin’ in the wild, although sadly, the cussin’ and fist shakin’ is far from rare in NYC.

Love the show…

Charles from Conn.

**********

Hey there JaMoTo & Guest,
There’s no shortage of comments on BoL about Ohio’s uh, irregular voting system. And several months ago Molly put out a request for tech savvy Ohioans to volunteer their services. Well, last week I got the call from the board of elections accepting my request to help. So I’ll be a tech rover for a local (read: uber-rural) precinct troubleshooting voting machines and making sure that things go as smoothly as possible. Thank you for pointing that issue out (although strange to have my civic duty nudged by a West Coast tech podcast). Just wanted you to know that the BoL community is doing our part. Love the show.

Luke in Ohio

**********

Refereing to #830 and the MacBook video:
I'm several episodes back, AND I stopped in the middle of the episode to write this, so I apologize if it's already been established. Machine shops are dirty and greasy!
I visit many machine shops and even the cleanest ones (which are usually a Japanese run plant) are still greasy and dirty. I just watched the Mac video and nothing stood out as being filthy at all.

Cooley mentioned Intel or Asus factories being completely clean. Manufacturing of ICs is completely different then metal manufacturing factories. You HAVE to have grease and coolant in those types of environments. Otherwise all the equipment would rust and seize up. If Cooley's never seen a factory that looked like that, tell him to watch How It's Made on the science channel and look for a product that is manufactured from metal.

P.S. I've ONLY been in factories that look like the one in that video

Greg
NOVA

**********

I’m getting a little worn out by the MacBook Air hate, recalling a
recent nasty comment about the MBA being for “Starbucks posers,” or
something to that effect!…Me? Don’t love Starbucks, do love my
MBA. I’m a bike commuter and gave up a new MacBook for the MBA because
of the significant weight savings and a form factor that is very
comfortable on my back (it’s really smooth and rounded–that’s nice!).
So, it isn’t the very fastest computer, nor the one with the longest
battery life … does every new car have to be the fastest? Does every
new car have to have the best gas mileage (well, maybe these days)?

For a full size, beautiful-screened, full-function work computer with
a great OS that I *will* carry with me everywhere (vs. *have to
carry*) there doesn’t seem to be any competition. Not Netbooks, or
Windows laptops with vista on ‘em.

Granted, my MBA was not bought for full-price (Tom’s suspicion borne
out), but could have been: My company paid 1K for it; I paid the
balance, which worked out to 300 more bones. I might have paid the
balance on the full price, if necessary!

Hate the hatin’, love the show,

Dave in Palo Alto, Calif.

On today's show, the world of anonymous chatting gets even more confusing, thanks to the increasing numbers of computers passing the Turing test. Is it a pervert? Is it a computer? Is it both? In other news, Chrome breaks Molly's heart, Sony breaks all the rules and keeps the PS3 prices high, and people keep preordering G1 Android phones. Who knew?

EPISODE 829

Test explores if robots can think
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/berkshire/7666246.stm
http://tech.slashdot.org/tech/08/10/13/1450205.shtml

Sony rules out PS3 price cuts for holiday season
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0c6d283e-988a-11dd-ace3-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1

1.5 million G1 Android phones preordered
http://www.tgdaily.com/html_tmp/content-view-39701-118.html

Employees, not hackers, cause most corporate data loss
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081012-employees-not-it-responsible-for-most-corporate-data-loss.html

OpenOffice.org overwhelmed by demand for version 3.0
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/10/13/openoffice_org_download_website_dead/

Google’s Chrome declining in popularity
http://tech.slashdot.org/tech/08/10/13/161238.shtml

FCC says Seattle tests back smutless, free broadband proposal
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081012-fcc-says-seattle-tests-back-smutless-free-broadband-proposal.html
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10063866-94.html

Microsoft launches PC Advisor Repair Utility. Going after Apple next?
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/microsoft_goes_after_apple_with_pc_advisor_utility

People prefer angry-faced cars
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/10/13/0631240

YouTube beams up ‘Star Trek’ for long-form video
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10063661-93.html

VOICE MAIL
Remy - Verizon isn’t sleazy.

E-MAIL
Hi Buzz Crew,

What do you guys think of this new way of clogging up those spam bot
servers:
http://www.auditmypc.com/freescan/antispam.html

It’s a different way of getting the spammers: instead of blocking e-mails, it clogs up their servers (as ant trap manufacturers would say, stopping it at the source). The description on the site is pretty good, but essentially it tricks spam bots into opening the Web page– full of useless, yet convincing e-mail addresses–and makes them regenerate it via the link at the bottom, thereby feeding them more useless e-mail addresses, and the cycle continues.

–Jonathan

Hey BuzzCrew (+1),
Just to let you know, if you select a Beatles track (I did Come Together), and ask iTunes to make a Genius playlist, it now does! I’ve been checking after iTunes updates my Genius every week, and after updating last night, it now creates the playlists. I guess it’s finally gathered enough data from users iTunes libraries to make Genius playlists. Either that, or The Beatles have come to iTunes.

Love the show!
Dave,
Melbourne, Australia
aka DaveBinM

In today's show, Rafe joins us for a discussion of useless video blobs, the implications of, uh, Internet "shopping," the NPD numbers that read Tom's mind, and the U.S. Senate's "enormous gift" to Big Content (per Ars Technica). Also, we rouse the Buzz Militia from their stupor to launch an attack on Apple's arbitrary and annoying App Store approval process. Save Podcaster!

Listen now: Download today's podcast

EPISODE 808

Committee amends, approves 'enormous gift' to Big Content
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080911-committee-amends-approves-enormous-gift-to-big-content.html
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10039745-38.html

Apple rolls back problem driver in new iTunes 8 update
http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/?p=543
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10040273-37.html

MySpace Music adds user playlists, Amazon links
http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/09/myspace-music-a.html

NPD numbers for game consoles
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080912-madden-09-owns-360-moves-back-in-front-of-ps3-in-sales.html

Video game industry shows signs of slowing
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-10040111-52.html

Et Tu, Mozilla? Firefox 3 to get privacy mode
http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/09/12/065230

iPhone Takes screenshots of everything you do
http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/09/hacker-says-sec.html

100Mbps. 2010. Over the air. Don't be surprised.
http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=10010

Japan tops world broadband study
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7610534.stm

Seinfeld and Gates hit the road for Vista
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10039646-56.html

VOICE MAIL

Gabriel
My guess on iTunes.

Bill Portland
A couple of iTunes announcements we missed.

Rob from Philly
I had to install Real Player.

E-MAIL

On yesterday’s show (807), you mentioned that TiVo should buy Sling. However, Sling is owned by Echostar (Dish Network), who has a dispute with TiVo over their DVR technology. A great idea would be for Dish to license TiVo’s DVR technology and TiVo to license Dish’s Sling technology.

Bennie Jr.

Hey Buzz people,

That’s right, Apple has rejected my application because it duplicates the functionality of the desktop iTunes application. What!

Here is the e-mail they sent

“Since Podcaster assists in the distribution of podcasts, it duplicates the functionality of the Podcast section of iTunes.”

That just sucks. It really sucks. Maybe they should reject all calculator applications because they already have a calculator.

Anyway, just thought you would want to know as this is juicy news.

Keep up the good work.

Alex S.
from New Jersey

Hey there all powerful buzz crew.
Just wanted to let ya’ll know that the analog signal is being used to display a message with the hot line.
I know this because I took a day trip to the beach and in the morning my portable TV worked but after lunch every station had that notice.
By the way I thought it was cool that the FCC paid fire departments $15 per converter they helped install, I think I read it in the WSJ, but do a live.com search to be certain .
Love the show.
Stephen
Charlotte, N.C.

typing from my phone so forgive the lack of proper CAPS. Episode 807 10 mins 16 seconds in, Tracfone will not deduct credits for text messages received if they are not opened. However, you can look in the in-box and read the first 50 characters as they scroll by in the preview. Love the show.

Michael

On 806 you were talking text msg fees and on 807, no calls or e-mails about US Cellular having free incoming text messages and calls. They did follow the crowd up to the $0.20 for outgoing messages, so they are not all goody goody. I didn’t e-mail or call because you I was sure someone would. Oh, and I love my BlackBerry and haven’t thought once about switching to that other phone, what was it called…
http://www.uscc.com/uscellular/SilverStream/Pages/x_page.html?p=f_calltextpix

Thanks,

John, the bad speller (wish I was something cooler)
Peoria, Ill.