Buzz Out Loud Podcast

Microsoft is apparently willing to pay Rupert Murdoch to block Google from indexing any of his company's Web sites. Are we headed toward a world where the search engine you use determines what news you get? Probably not. We explain why Murdoch may be thinking in an old fashioned limited way rather than in the current infinite Internet way. We also declare the patent office baroque, and ask it to lose weight.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

Microsoft offers to pay News Corp. to “de-list” itself from Google
http://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-offers-to-pay-news-corp-to-de-list-itself-from-google-2009-11
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10403336-93.html

Large Hadron Collider progress delights researchers
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8372737.stm
http://www.dailytech.com/Scientists+Complete+First+Steps+to+Bring+LHC+Back+Online/article16909.htm

Another iPhone worm, but this one is serious
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10403425-2.html

B&N Nook sold out for the holidays
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10402710-1.html

Roku adds Flickr, Facebook, Pandora, and more video channels
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31021_3-10402856-260.html

Farewell, triangles: AOL preps its post-Time Warner look
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10403346-93.html

Smoking may void AppleCare warranty due to “health hazard”
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/11/21/smoking_may_void_applecare_warranty.html

Spotify expands its reach, but still can't get to the U.S.
http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/20091123/spotify-expands-its-mobile-reach-but-still-hasnt-landed-in-the-u-s/

Gameloft and others, reigning in Android plans – game developers pulling back
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE5AJ1EU20091120

Apple’s Schiller Defends iPhone App Approval Process
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/nov2009/tc20091120_354597.htm

Man to marry his video game girlfriend this Sunday
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/11/20/man-to-marry-his-vid.html

VOICE MAIL
Brandon has a way to do hands-free texting

Gil in Iraq has a worry about Digital Britain

E-MAIL
Caroline wrote a great article about the re-branding of AOL as —> “Aol.” + the results of typing “random crap” into Google image search.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10403346-93.html

This is so FAIL, I am having trouble wrapping my head around it.
1) America Online, AOL is an acronym, so why “Aol”?
2) Again, AOL is an acronym not a fraking sentence, WHY IS THERE PUNCTUATION??
3) Based on the write-up, there is a finite number of ‘clip art’-esque backdrops for the now Aol (pronounced “OWL” now in my book). So, I’m glad that the online company went with an image of Scratchy from the Simpsons with an exploding brain containing tinier Scratchy heads. Marketing GENIUS.

Clearly, the marketing team was part of, and stayed with, Time Warner. Not like I’d ever use Aol., but this is some serious marketing FAIL.

Love,
Dr. Karl

**********

Buzz Gang…

I dont remember which episode it was, (1099) but it was when you were
talking
about the ACTA Treaty. I thought I would send this little graphic I threw
together which I will be posing on my sites with a link to the Electronic
Frontier Foundation: http://tekpedia.net/files/2009/11/no_acta.png
https://secure.eff.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=383.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention and many others. Until I heard
this,
I thought the Net Neutrality issue was the big issue, now Im not so sure.

Rob Truman, USN Ret.
Tucson, AZ
http://tekpedia.net/files/2009/11/no_acta.png

**********

A short time ago,
in our very own galaxy……….

Patent Wars
(cue Imperial March)

Hi all in Buzzington,
This has got to be the worst and/or scariest patents I’ve seen. Slashdot has a report that some company called Volomedia, got a patent that grants them exclusive rights to create, download, and sync podcasts. Them and no one else. The way it’s worded not only spells doom for nearly every online news/media site, but possibly TV shows to an extent.

Ok, so I want to patent the rights of creating a sequel work based on an original intellectual property. Oops, there goes the media/entertainment industry.

Please tell me I’m misunderstanding this patent, otherwise BOL and every other podcast that I love could be wind up on the streets.

JoshuaCaleb

**********

Hey BOLers,

I love you guys, but every time you start to talk about Windows Mobile and the Zune and Microsoft’s strategy (or lack thereof), it makes me want to blow a gasket.

While WinMo is clearly behind compared to several other mobile OSes, everyone seems to forget that Windows Mobile has had apps available for a long, long time. I have a great Twitter app (Twikini), an official Facebook app, mobile maps with driving directions (Bing), and more.

Could it be better? Absolutely. There are still a lot of aspects of the OS that are behind the times. But if you look at the published required specs for WinMo 7 phones, it looks like it’s going to be really powerful and full of cutting edge features. Additionally, the Zune platform will reportedly be intergrated into Windows Mobile 7, so why would MS put out a Zune phone when ALL the WinMo 7 phones will be Zune phones?

Even though I disagree with your thoughts on Windows Mobile, I still … Love the show.

George A. Roberts IV
President and CEO, Purity Networks, Inc.
http://www.purity.net/

Why the long Face...book? A woman battling depression put some pictures of herself having fun privately on Facebook. Somehow the insurance company found them and cut off her benefits saying she looked happy enough and must be cured. Really? We also get further impressions on Google's Chrome OSD now that we've had more time with it, and YouTube pulls a Hulu, but not in the good way.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

Try out Chrome OS for yourself
http://gdgt.com/google/chrome-os/download/
http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/20/google-chrome-os-available-as-free-vmware-download/
http://news.cnet.com/8301-30684_3-10401919-265.html

Other Stories

YouTube pulls a Hulu — yanking API access from Popcorn Hour, other TV-connected devices
http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/20/youtube-pulls-a-hulu-yanking-api-access-from-popcorn-hour-ot/

Twitter turns on location. Not for Twitter.com just yet.
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/11/19/twitter-location-api/
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/twitter_location_api_possible_uses.php

Sony unveils its answer to Apple’s iTunes
http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/nov2009/gb20091119_588376.htm

Sony hits snag getting its own game out for PSP Go
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2009/11/sony-hits-snag-with-getting-its-own-game-out-for-pspgo.ars?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss

Britain’s new Internet law — as bad as everyone’s been saying, and worse. Much, much worse.
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/11/20/britains-new-interne.html
http://yro.slashdot.org/story/09/11/19/1511255/Secret-UK-Plan-To-Appoint-Pirate-Finder-General

Law firm contemplates class action suit to recompense Xbox Live modders
http://www.itproportal.com/portal/news/article/2009/11/20/law-firm-contemplates-class-action-suit-recompense-xbox-live-modders/

Depressed woman loses benefits over Facebook photos
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2009/11/19/quebec-facebook-sick-leave-benefits.html

Kickers and Science

LHC dimensional apocalypse from midnight
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/11/20/lhc_feedback_roundup/

This Google’s made from 100 percent virgin pulp, not chrome
http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/20/this-googles-made-from-100-virgin-pulp-not-chrome/

VOICE MAIL
Derrek points out something very important about this episode

Mike the truck driver

Shane from Coshocton. Dude! He’s from Coshocton!

E-MAIL
Hi Buzz crew, Chadd the ita in California here. Was just watching the
buzz report on my spealy and wanted to let you know that both my sibs
use their jejaws while operating their fetches. Recently, despite my
protests, I have noticed my parents responding to my text messages while
they are driving the fetch.

All of them are using Blackberries, is there something I can get them
for Christmas that will allow them to text hands free? At least that may
be a step in the right direction.

Love the buzz report

-Chadd
Rialto, California

**********

Hey Buzz Crew

I had heard about your show for a while but only started listening about 8 months ago. After listening to one episode, I decided to listen to all of them. 1,110 episodes later, I’m all caught up. In case you’re wondering, I’m not crazy, I just have a lot of free time at work. Love the show.

Jonathan
Summerville, SC

**********

PC Game moders have created their own Modern Warfare 2 Dedicated Servers.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Modern-Warfare-2-Gets-Dedicated-Servers-Workaround-127188.shtml

The problem with insulting Tweakers and Hackers is that motivates them to
‘code’ you off at the knees, like AgentGOD did.

Give them a dedicated server on the PC or Crack down on moders, watch your
sales drop and piracy rise.

I don’t own the game and don’t plan on buying it anytime soon, but as a PC
Gamer that lives on the Mod and Modding community (when not playing MMO’s)
I am getting tired of game companies buying into the console market
fallacy.

Robert Clark
Prince Albert, SK

Molly and I go off on the Net neutrality debate, not so much about what the meaning of it is, but more on why you shouldn't use lies to defend your position. We also discuss the attractiveness of the Nook from Barnes and Noble, and Molly and Rafe have a BlackBerry fight. About the phones. Not the fruit.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

Retail distribution may tip e-reader race; Barnes & Noble rolls out Nook
http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=26305

Barnes & Noble’s Nook: A virtual e-reader tour
http://www.pcworld.com/article/173999/barnes_and_nobles_nook_a_virtual_ereader_tour.html
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/10/21/barnes.noble.nook/

BlackBerry Bold 9700 (Onyx) now official
http://www.intomobile.com/2009/10/21/blackberry-bold-9700-onyx-now-official.html
http://www.cnet.com/8301-17918_1-10379329-85.html

Google to blend search, music in One Box
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-10379922-261.html

Exclusive: Guess who else is coming to dinner? Twitter-Microsoft Bing deal confirmed, but so is Facebook-Bing
http://kara.allthingsd.com/20091021/exclusive-guess-who-else-is-coming-to-dinner-twitter-microsoft-bing-deal-confirmed-but-so-is-facebook-bing/

Time Warner testing fix to hole in home router
http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-10379477-245.html
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/10/time-warner-cable/

Amazon: Windows 7 is ‘the biggest preorder product of all time’
http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/44377/140/

AT&T enlists employees to oppose Net neutrality
http://news.cnet.com/8301-30686_3-10379360-266.html

Verizon CEO slams Net neutrality at conference
http://news.cnet.com/8301-30686_3-10379932-266.html

Nvidia targeting real-time Cloud rendering
http://tech.slashdot.org/story/09/10/21/1354224/NVIDIA-Targeting-Real-Time-Cloud-Rendering

LHC reaches operational temps, collisions start in 5 weeks
http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2009/10/final-lhc-segment-reaches-operational-temperature-at-19k.ars

GE shows off pocket-size ultrasound scanner
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10379692-2.html

VOICE MAIL
Frank L has a crafty Windows upgrade plan

E-MAIL
Hey BOL
U2 is live streaming their Sunday concert form the Rose Bowl! How cool is that?! http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-10379610-52.html. I went to the Vertigo Tour in LA in 2005, so I know this will utterly fail in comparison, but still, a free, online concert from one of my favorite bands? Sign me up, cuz now I’ll definitely be waiting for the DVD (maybe Blu-Ray?) to come out. Hope this becomes a new trend with music in the very near future. Plus, I also think this lines up with someone’s New Years prediction if I’m not mistaken.

LTS,
Ben the Industrial Engineering Grad Student from Arkansas

Calculator hackers have figured out how to run independent OSes on TI calculators. Unfortunately TI wants to stop them. Why? We have no idea. Also we play fast and loose with physics when discussing black holes and Higgs Bosons. We also totally redefined the word mint. In a bad way, unfortunately.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

Sidekick data restored?
http://twitter.com/wcpreston/status/4848175078
http://twitter.com/ruv/status/4845969713

Wi-Fi is about to get a whole lot easier
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/oct2009/tc20091013_683659.htm
http://www.wi-fi.org/news_articles.php?f=media_news&news_id=909

Apple shipping iPhone 3GS' resistant to jailbreaking?
http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2009/10/13/apple-shipping-iphone-3gs-resistant-to-jailbreaking/

EFF warns Texas Instruments to stop harassing calculator hobbyists
http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2009/10/13
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/10/bloggers-fight-tis-dmca-takedown-over-calculator-hack.ars
http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-10374284-264.html

Family Guy to shill for Windows 7
http://www.pcworld.com/article/173646/family_guy_to_shill_for_windows_7.html

B&N e-reader pics leaked; event confirmed for October 20
http://dvice.com/archives/2009/10/barnes-and-nobl.php

Finland becomes first country to make broadband access a legal right
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/10/14/applause-for-finland-first-country-to-make-broadband-access-a-legal-right/

Twitter cracks down on spam
http://paidcontent.org/article/419-twitter-cracks-down-on-spam/

Artificial black hole created in Chinese lab
http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/24234/

The collider, the particle and a theory about fate
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/13/science/space/13lhc.html

VOICE MAIL
Stefan on gas masks

Rafe on the pressure-sensitive keyboard

E-MAIL
On BOL1083 when discussing the Berners-Lee comment, my head nearly exploded
as my pet peeve was repeatedly forced into my ears.

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS FORWARD SLASH!

There is slash; there is backslash… no forward slash, no backward slash.

I know this isn’t show-worthy, but I feel better now.

Thank you,

J.R. the GWAIN (guy without an interesting nickname)

**********

While listening to episode 1078, where you were discussing the purchasing of specific genes, I was reminded of a story about some grad students reported by NPR’s RadioLab from more than a year and a half ago. The students were doing some experiments with E. Coli. Not liking the poop smell associated with the bacteria, they got a gene for mintyness from some other researchers and inserted it. I remembered that the students also inserted a gene to make it smell like banana once the E. Coli was ready for them to do their experiment. That was not included in this short article, but is in the audio show if I remembered correctly. Here is a link to an article about it, but the audio podcast is much better (RadioLab is awesome).

http://www.npr.org/templates/text/s.php?sId=90014997&m=1

By the way, if you are mailing a link from the browser on your iPhone and get a call just before you hit send, you get the opportunity to write your entire e-mail again! Sigh. I’ve got to send this quick before another call comes in. Please insert the “love the show” recording here.

Darren Lacey
Telecommunucations infrastructure electronics technician from South Bend, IN

**********

Hey buzz crew,
I don't know if you guys know but Sprint is selling data only plans on their smart phones for $29. No voice (incoming calls blocked, outgoing $0.40 per min) but you can use data and tether (other than Pre and BB 8350i). Here is detail: http://sprintrelaystore.com/data_only_plan.htm

Love the show.

Sam in Houston, TX

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

**********

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

Supposedly, we will get finalization on the 802.11N wireless standard in September. Of course, we've been waiting for that for years now, so we're not too confident. We also almost forget we're talking about the new Yahoo home page, and only I am impressed by Microsoft contributing to the Linux Kernel. But, I still think it's cool!

EPISODE 1023

Yahoo launching front page open to others' content

Microsoft aims at VM market with Linux kernel code offering

Barnes and Noble launches new eBook store with PlasticLogic

UAE Blackberry update was spyware

BlackBerry for Mac

Maine about to test tech to tax your miles, not your gasoline

U.S. agency blocked cellphone while driving safety study

802.11N should be finalized by September

Leaks lead to new Hadron Collider delay

Coming soon: Downloaded 3D movies at home

On today's show, Molly, Rafe, and Brian Cooley take over for Tom, Natali, and sanity. Between ISP censorship in Minnesota, Faceook phishing attacks, and search on Twitter, it doesn't sound rant-tastic but it really, really is. Enjoy.

EPISODE 965

Minnesota orders ISPs to blacklist gambling sites
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10231683-38.html

Facebook hit by phishing attacks for a second day
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10230980-83.html

Manipulating the Palm Pre supply is just wrong
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-10230970-17.html
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a7H6bfrDqVPE&refer=us

Ashok Kumar rains all over Palm’s parade, says Pre will be DOA
http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/20090430/analyst-the-pre-is-doa/

Twitter on-page search goes live
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10231505-2.html

60% of corporations still use IE 6
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10231713-2.html

Acer’s loose lips: Win 7 release October 23?
http://www.trustedreviews.com/software/news/2009/05/01/Acer-Spills-Windows-7-Release-Date/p1

Rumor: Sony to unveil new motion-sensing controller at E3
http://www.joystiq.com/2009/05/01/rumor-sony-to-unveil-new-motion-sensing-controller-at-e3/

Apple to introduce more affordable Macs, sources say
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/04/30/apple_to_introduce_more_affordable_macs_sources_say.html

LHC gets magnet repair
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-10231747-76.html

VOICEMAIL
JC Penney calling

E-MAIL
Dear Buzz Crew,

Just wanted to let you know about yet another “Comcastic” thing that has happened in the world of TV and internet. Earlier this week my parents were confused when they could only get channels 2-29 on the 3 non-cable box connected TV’s in their house. When my father called the cable company, they told him that he needed to connect digital converters to his TV’s in order to get back all of the channels. No, not the one for the over-the-air digital conversion, a special Comcast branded box that costs $2.99 per month to rent. For now, they are not charging for the first 2 or 3 boxes, but who is to say that this policy won’t change in the future? When I spoke to the retention department about this, they told me that the reason for the change was to make room for more bandwidth for internet and TV and that notices were sent out to customers informing them of the change. My problem is that this notice (which my parents probably tossed thinking it was about the over air conversion) comes pretty convenienetly close to the more well known digital conversion thus confusing me and especially my parents. I also couldn’t find anything about the changes on their website, comcast.com. In fact, all I could find was information about how current customers don’t have to do a thing:
http://www.comcast.com/dtv/default.html?INTCMP=ILCCOMCOMAL20644&fss=digital%20transition

Just thought you should know.

Love the show,

~Adam - the motion capture actor

**********

Hi,

In episode 964 of Buzz Out Loud you weren’t able to come up with any ideas why someone would want to have something launched automatically when a thumb drive is inserted into a computer running Windows 7. Well, I’m clearly a minority, but as a visually impaired person I sometimes use screen reading software on other computers than my own, e.g. in a public library or at a friend’s house. Then it’s very convenient to just pop in a USB thumb drive and have the screen reader launch and start talking within seconds without me having to do anything. If autorun was disabled, I’d probably have to go to the Start menu, Run, guess the drive letter of the USB drive and enter the path to the executable. Thought I’d just let you know… I guess a confirmation would be OK though, i.e. a message like “Would you like to let this application X run?”. Then I could just blindly (no pun intended) press Y a couple of seconds after the USB drive has been inserted.

Regards,
/David R., Sweden

**********

BOL Crew,

First time email, long time listener, but i am a little disappointed about the constant at&t bashing the past few episodes. I am an owner of an iphone and live in Florida and have never had any call drops or other network issues anywhere any of the southeast states i have traveled constantly to, the network is actually pretty good here. On the contrary to what you guys have seen in California and New York, the Verizon network here sucks. My personal opinion, If you all have problems with your phones, then complain, do something about it. All cell phone carriers do in fact listen to coverage problems and have teams dedicated to looking at these types of issues. I had a sprint phone a couple of years ago and i began to report a dead zone near my phone on the sprint website, and guess what they did? They fixed it. I think it is wrong to say that the carrier sucks if you are just basing it on a couple of markets, when the whole network has over 73 million customers nationwide. Just like they may have coverage issues in some areas, the other cell phone carriers (sprint,verizon, and tmobile) have the same issues in other markets……

And a small clarification, prior to the merger of Cingular Wireless & At&t Wireless, Tmobile, Cingular and At&t all had a network joint venture in the California and New York/New Jersey Markets called GSM facilities, which allowed each carrier to share network coverage in these areas.

I think a fair and balanced discussion of the level of service from the top 3 carriers is needed.

Love the Show

David

**********

Thank you, thank you, thank you Brian Cooley! I have heard for SO LONG about how Vista sucks the big one (hope that’s still censor-safe), but nobody ever seems to have any REAL reasons why. OK, it gets attacked by malcontents, but, as they are malcontents, they’re likeliest to go after a target which has more malicious tools known and available to attack it, which is basically what Brian said. Again in keeping with Mr. Cooley, I have several machines running MS products (2 w/ Vista & 1 w/ XP), they are networked and communicate just fine with each other. I only seem to need to reboot when an update tells me to. Of course they’re not perfect, but is OSX or Linux? Also, what is this love affair with the OS? Shouldn’t it be like a referee in football or basketball? You should not notice them unless there is an infraction! Really, I’m no shill for MS, but I just don’t understand all the bashing they take.

Love the show,
George Armstrong
Signal Mountain, TN

To avoid a trademark problem should we call it gnetbook, pnetbook or knetbook? Cooley thinks all the ideas are pretty. Google wants to mind your power for you, but if they treat that data like they do your posts on blogger you may find your dryer deleted without notice.

EPISODE 908

Sony INT-W250 WebTV High-Speed Linkup
http://www.theonion.com/

You have until the end of the day to download Windows 7
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10160285-56.html

Google PowerMeter
http://www.google.org/powermeter/howitworks.html

Google deleting blog posts without warning
http://www.laweekly.com/2009-02-05/music/google-39-s-new-killer-app-why-are-music-bloggers-39-posts-disappearing-and-who-is-deleting-them/all

Cracking down on Conficker: Kaspersky, OpenDNS join forces
http://arstechnica.com/business/news/2009/02/cracking-down-on-conficker-kaspersky-opendns-join-forces.ars

Intel still wants to manufacture in the US
http://www.infoworld.com/article/09/02/10/Intel_to_invest_7_billion_in_US_plants_1.html

Acer Aspire One same price, more features--Ackerman got exclusive
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10159263-1.html

Archos to release Android phone / tablet
http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/09/archos-to-release-android-phone-tablet/

Dell multitouch Latitude XD2
http://www.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/corp/pressoffice/en/2009/2009_02_10_rr_001

Kindle 2 doesn’t ship with protective cover, memory expansion slot
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10159832-1.html

New Honda Insight. Cooley’s driven it before it hits showrooms this spring and has some notes
http://automobiles.honda.com/insight-hybrid/

Large Hadron Collider delayed until September
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-10159984-76.html

Marvel comics coming to iTunes
http://www.tuaw.com/2009/02/10/marvel-comics-coming-to-itunes/

VOICEMAIL
Dude from Turkey
Google Sync!

Anonymous
Government site requiring install

E-MAIL
Hey Janato,

Patrick from France here, sharing an idea about what Twitter should do next to help their users, save themselves, and stop global warming in the process. Ok maybe not that last one.

The plan: take hashtags to the next level by making them the second arm of the service.
How it works: users can follow #topics the same way they follow @people, creating a separate feed for all the messages that contain these hashtags.

Undeniable benefits:
1) Topical conversations would be great but Twitter NEEDS (notice the caps) to stay simple and efficient. This does that.
2) Enhanced user experience: you get interesting and relevant info even from people you’re not following.
3) Ads! I don’t think we’d mind an ad an hour in the conversation feed (as long as the regular feed stays clean). They would be extremely targeted, companies would pay solid gold for these spots.

There you go Twitter, problem solved. You’re welcome.

Keep buzzing,

–
Patrick Beja
http://www.frenchspin.com

PS: I have more details along with ways to tackle the issues that would arise from this on my blog: http://www.patrickbeja.com/2009/02/what-twitter-needs-now/

**********

Long time listener…

Wanted to give you a real world example of how bandwidth caps are a problem today…. After moving from Boston to Charlotte last year I signed up for MLB.com so that I can stream Red Sox games. My only cable option is AOL Time Warner who offers a trimmed down MLB package for cable TV for twice the price as buying directly from MLB.com. This year MLB.com is offering HD streams. Considering that each game is 3+ hrs x 18 games/month if AOL moves bandwidth caps to Charlotte this will be a direct example of AOL-TW using their bandwidth control to prevent you from accessing content which they also sell for a marked up price. Is this legal?

Love the show.

Jay

**********

I can’t believe you’ve not thought of who the “powerful backers” of Psystar are, well could be.

Dude you’re getting a Dell!

Think about it; it was just 2 years ago that Michael Dell said “We would offer MacOS,” he wrote, “if customers wanted it and Apple would license it on reasonable terms…It’s Apple’s decision.”

http://money.cnn.com/2007/01/19/technology/fastforward_parallels.fortune/index.htm

Dell is really trying to find new ways to profit, and this would be HUGE. I would buy a Dell MacOS laptop in an instant. The number one reason… accidental protection. Apple doesn’t offer it, Dell does. I think a partnership between Dell and Apple would be beneficial to all.

TRM

**********

Hello Buzz Crew,

Thought you might like to report on the fact that Google maps has a real time map on the natural disaster that is currently occurring in my home state of Victoria, Australia. A massive firestorm hit our bush and wiped out entire towns.

Just another way Google apps can be put to use - There are official sites that travellers can use to check on any dangerous destinations in Victoria but I think they were buckling under load.

http://maps.google.com.au/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=102249094339782735107.0004625ef88fc64cf65fe&ll=-37.361426,145.38208&spn=3.056115,4.669189&z=7&source=embed

Thanks,

Cenzo.

I bet you think this podcast is about you. Don't you? Don't you!? On today's show, we learn how easy it is to spot a narcissist on Facebook (stay away!), terrible ideas that will criminalize professional eBay sellers and kill eBay even faster than it's killing itself, and how video games might be the only thing that can survive a recession.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

EPISODE 816

Bill would give retailers power to halt online auctions
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080924-bill-would-give-retailers-power-to-halt-online-auctions.html

Users fail to spot fake pop-ups
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7633402.stm

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080923-study-confirms-users-are-idiots.html

T-Mobile soft capping 3G data at 1GB per month
http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/23/t-mobile-soft-capping-3g-data-at-1gb-per-month/

Other G1 flaws
http://gizmodo.com/5053747/android-and-t+mobile-g1s-five-most-obnoxious-flaws

Games are recession-proof earners?
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/09/23/games-are-recessionp.html

China to run out of IPv4 addresses in 830 days
http://tech.slashdot.org/tech/08/09/24/1254235.shtml

Narcissists easy to spot on Facebook--if you know how
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080923-narcissists-easy-to-spot-on-facebookif-you-know-how.html

Google gets political with quotation tool
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10049591-36.html

Two ways to get Comcast to increase the data cap
http://gigaom.com/2008/09/24/two-ways-to-get-comcast-to-ditch-the-data-cap/

LHC shut down until early spring
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-10049188-76.html

Phone that works as car key
http://www.nttdocomo.com/pr/2008/001415.html

VOICE MAIL
Daniel: a phone is a phone

E-MAIL
After listening to Molly and Brian rant on about the SanDisk microSD thing, I started to think about the issues you all raised:

The cards are too small to see album art or album titles
The cards are easy to loose

And also the email that a listener sent in about storing his entire music collection in a Velvetta box when the LHC forces us all underground.

So I started to think...

Wouldn't it be cool if you had a case for all of your microSD albums (so it could hold a whole bunch of them), so you wouldn't lose them. And wouldn't it be cool if this case had a color screen on it, so you could cycle through all of your cards and see the album covers? And wouldn't it be cool if this case could also play the songs on your microSD albums?

Oh yeah, isn't that an iPOD? Store all of your albums in flash memory, be able to see album covers, and listen to your music.

LTS,

Jamie

Hi JaMoTo

Regarding Gregory’s comments (BOL #815) about MP3-CDs, it would seem the BBC have experimented with the format, although not with music. The soundtracks for ‘deleted’ Doctor Who episodes have been released on MP3-CD — for example you can get almost 5 hours worth of classic ‘Troughton’ on one disc (see below). Given that many CD players seem to recognise the format (at least here in Europe) I wonder why it isn’t used more widely? Possibly the licensing costs for a year’s worth of music would be a nightmare?!

Still, works great as an audio book format.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Abominable-Snowman-Audio/dp/0563494182/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1222267428&sr=8-2

LtS,
Simon

(PS. It just occurred to me: why is the snowman “abominable”? I mean what did he ever do to deserve such a title? He just keeps to himself, and never bothers anyone. Clearly he’s been the subject of some kind of slander. Should we start a campaign to clear his name?
I blame Bigfoot! Grrr!! )

Hey Buzzites,

i just heard the discussion about possibly selling MP3 cd’s and how the quality wouldn’t be as good as normal cd audio.

Even though i’m not one of the people that really notices the difference between lossless and high bit rate MP3’s, I agree with Brian C in that i’d rather have the full quality audio than not. But I couldn’t help but think your missing one real option.

Surely you could around get the same amount of lossless audio on a dvd as you could get compressed audio on a cd.

John B off of England.

I laughed when I read “funnerer”. It is a PERFECT way to ridicule Apple’s “Oh, we’re so smart that we can bend grammar rules and it makes us cooler because everyone knows that we are so smart).

It’s only derivative because Chunky chocolate bar pushed that it’s “thickerer” back in the 70’s.
Dana

Exchange on the android is going to take a while. Android may be open, but Exchange is not. Someone (T-Mobile, Google) will have to make a deal with Microsoft to get the specifications of Exchange, and implement it in a /Close sourced/ application. Alternatively, someone can reverse engineer the Exchange protocol, and implement it. There are actually already reverse engineered versions of the protocol out there, but none of them are complete. Enterprises would never release an application like this, so it would probably be a small 2-man shop, and no enterprise would accept an app from such a small shop.
Sargun

While the idea of another physical media for music might seem dumb in the US.. other countries, such as Canada where I live, don’t have access to a wide array of un-DRM online music stores (Amazon.ca sucks!). Canada and other countries probably have more restrictive distribution rules around media, or the online companies just might not have bothered yet (ahem.. Amazon?). So this might be a way to get digital music to those markets, rather than us being force to get it by other.. less legal means. Dumb yes. Completly pointless… maybe not.

LTS

Jamie