Buzz Out Loud Podcast

Yahoo has a new program to spread kindness. But Cooley hates it. Why? There's no app for that. We also discover the true meaning of holiday hate when Tom and Brian fight over the rights of the customer when shopping. And we review the JooJoo and Boxee. And Natali lets on that she hates Brooklyn. At least when Brooklyn has no food.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

Boxee Beta is cleaner, better, still closed
http://news.cnet.com/8301-19882_3-10410159-250.html

And Boxee Box will launch next year for $200
http://www.gearlog.com/2009/12/200_boxee_box_based_on_d-link.php

Hands on with JooJoo
http://news.cnet.com/8301-19882_3-10410960-250.html

Google introduces real-time search
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/12/google-introduces-real-time-search-google-goggles/

Google introduces Favorite Place info using QR Codes
http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/07/google-goggles-brings-visual-search-to-android-favorite-places/
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/explore-whole-new-way-to-window-shop.html

Google Chrome for Mac finally in beta
http://www.google.com/chrome

…and extensions arrive
https://chrome.google.com/extensions

CRIA faces $6 Billion lawsuit
http://yro.slashdot.org/story/09/12/07/1917245/CRIA-Faces-60-Billion-Lawsuit
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/12/artists-lawsuit-major-record-labels-are-the-real-pirates.ars

Vevo set to launch tonight
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/08/business/media/08vevo.html

Microsoft EnticeCube is like a Google Search of regular people
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10410340-56.html

Sony Reader store gets name change and goes to all ePub format
http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/08/sony-reader-store-goes-100-epub-on-friday/

New digital publishing venture boasts access to 144 million-plus audience; squires talks
http://paidcontent.org/article/419-new-digital-publishing-venture-boasts-access-to-144-million-plus-audien/

Yahoo’s random acts of kindness set
http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=428759

Branson unveils next step toward space flights
http://news.cnet.com/8301-19514_3-10410601-239.html

Voice mail
Thomas in Columbus why he doesn’t buy online from Best Buy

Mark from Philly online ordering frustration

E-mail
Hola Buzzito’s

In episode 1120 you guys discussed the use of a physical Amazon store as a pick up facility. I would definitely use this service as I am a college student and my textbooks are often cheaper on Amazon.com however book lists often come out too late for me to wait for shipping. The presence of a pick up facility would save me some money and I’m sure drive down the cost of books at my school’s bookstore (run by the big bad Barnes and Noble, seriously where’s my Nook).
Love the show keep up the good work
j.carter

**********

Best Of 2009 submissions!
This year’s Best of 2009 episode is going to be entirely listener submitted. So be a part of this listener created experience: Clip out your favorite moments from any episode published in 2009. Export your clip as an MP3 of at least 128kbp. Email the clip to buzz@cnet.com. Subject: Best of 2009 – Episode ####. Deadline for submissions is Friday, Dec. 18, 2009. Please hurry! And with enough people pitching in 2-3 clips, we should end up with an awesome clips show.

One thing Droid users can lord over iPhone fanatics is the new porn app. Yes, with no Apple adult minding its app catalog, Android users can go adult. We also debate the reality of Cyber Monday and congratulate Twitter on being word of the year. Plus, we know you're all wishing for Macs for Christmas, but you're going to get a Netbook. Amazon doesn't lie.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

Black Friday boasts $595 million in U.S. online holiday spending, up 11 percent vs. year ago
http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2009/11/Black_Friday_Boasts_595_Million_in_U.S._Online_Holiday_Spending_Up_11_Percent_Versus_Year_Ago

Twitter’ top word of 2009
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10405994-2.html

Barnes & Noble delaying Nook shipments to stores
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN2942046420091130

Kindle breaks record for sales in a single month during November
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Kindle-Breaks-Record-for-bw-1721662599.html?x=0&.v=1

Macs are Amazon’s most wished for, PC’s most given
http://brainstormtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2009/11/29/macs-are-amazons-most-wished-for/

Leak: The Google Phone “is a certainty”
http://gizmodo.com/5415169/leak-the-google-phone-is-a-certainty

Wikipedia denies mass exodus of editors
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8382477.stm

French court slams eBay with 1.7M fine over LVMH product resale dispute
http://eu.techcrunch.com/2009/11/30/french-court-slams-ebay-with-e1-7m-fine-over-lvmh-product-resale-dispute/
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/11/mininova-buries-pirate-booty-in-its-index-aims-to-go-legit.ars

Porn app store lands on Android phones
http://www.pcworld.com/article/183342/porn_app_store_lands_on_android_phones.html

Online “guilds” mirror real life gangs
http://games.slashdot.org/story/09/11/30/1358241/Online-Guilds-Mirror-Real-Life-Gangs

VOICE MAIL
Anonymous – how Bing is gaining share

E-MAIL
Look! In your hand, on your desk. It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Twitter!!!!!!

Hey all in Buzzington,
Yes, it’s me again. This time with some good news…I think. Just saw this post on TechCrunch and it reminded me of your carrier pigeon vs DSL episode. Only this time, it’s Twitter vs. the mainstream media, with Twitter coming out looking like The Flash. Seriously, the Tiger Woods accident was all over Twitter within minutes; ten minutes later Google was all over it. So in a matter of fifteen minutes everyone in on social networking knew all the details involving the Tiger Woods accident. It took CNN 45 minutes just to get the ‘breaking story’ that “according to officials, Tiger Woods had crashed.”

We are in a major transition here; the internet is taking over, like it or not.

JoshuaCaleb

**********

You remember the story about the “web loyalty” scam where company A gives company B your credit card number and you get a recurring monthly charge in exchange for nothing.

Well, I recently discovered a recurring charge on my wife’s credit card for “VPCLUBUS” for $14.95 a month (VP = Vista Print, one of the participants in this scam). I called the card company to complain, they said they could dispute this charge, or I could file a fraud report, and they’d dispute the whole chain of charges and give me a new card number, but they gave me the phone number for the company and suggested I try to work it out with them first.

So, I called the provided Vista Print 800 number (and recorded the conversation just in case), and was pleasantly surprised with how quickly I was able to get my money back. I got an automated system telling me to type in my rewards number or card number, so I key in the credit card number. The automated thing looked up my info and told me I signed up on Jan 20th, and told me to hit “1″ to cancel my subscription. So I hit “1″. It says its canceled and I get a refund on the last charge, and to hit “0″ if I want to talk to someone. So I hit “0″ and tell the lady that I never signed up and I want a refund for the whole string of charges. They transfer me to someone else who picks up and says: Sorry for any misunderstanding, we’ll refund everything. Expect to see it on your card in 3 days. Here’s my name and reference number for the transaction.

And that’s it. The whole call was 4 minutes and 14 seconds. They get so many of these that they’ve actually streamlined the refund process.

So, BOLers, if you see this kind of charge, call the credit card company, get the number for the loyalty program, and see if you can’t get the whole thing refunded. – Tyler

**********

Hi everybody,

I am split on the whole 3 strikes thing. On one hand, I do some questionable things online that whould probably violate this new law. But on the other hand, such a law is probably the only thing that will make me stop said questionable activities. So… why not?

Love the show – Chris

New technology allows organic brain cells to control robots, leading us to conclude that eventually we'll all be brains in a data center. Also Apple announces a bunch of updates to its computer line as well as a new magic mouse. And the PS3 is now the King of the console hill. Who saw that coming?

Listen now: Download today's podcast

Apple redesigns iMac and 13-inch MacBook, revamps Mac Mini
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10378884-1.html
http://www.apple.com/macbook/
http://www.apple.com/magicmouse/
http://www.apple.com/imac/
http://www.apple.com/macmini/

Barnes & Noble ‘Nook’ e-reader with color touch screen out Thursday for $259
http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/19/barnes-and-noble-nook-color-e-reader-out-tuesday-for-259-says/
http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/20/barnes-and-noble-officially-launches-nook-e-reader-259-pre-orde/

Google actually getting into the phone business?
http://www.thestreet.com/story/10614007/1/exclusive-google-plans-its-own-android-phone.html

PS3 finally wins a month
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-10378392-52.html

Xbox 360 update will lock out unauthorized storage
http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/09/10/19/1959249/Xbox-360-Update-Will-Lock-Out-Unauthorized-Storage

CIA branch invests in tech firm that monitors blogs, Twitter, social media
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/10/19/cia-branch-invests-i.html

Car glass rules could impair cell, GPS, and radio signals in Calif.
http://tech.slashdot.org/story/09/10/19/1844258/Car-Glass-Rules-Could-Impair-Cell-GPS-and-Radio-Signals-In-CA

Internet Archive’s BookServer could ‘dominate’ Amazon
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-10378573-52.html

Quick test’ for airport liquids
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8314419.stm

Robot controlled by human brain cells
http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/09/10/20/1236208/Robot-Controlled-By-Human-Brain-Cells

VOICEMAIL
Daniel about Verizon

Paul FROM Verizon

E-MAIL
Hey buzz crew,
Before this app came out (wolfram) there was a mobile iPhone formatted
wolfram alpha site that was amazing! I saved it to my home screen but
when I clicked on it today, it led me to a add for the app. **sigh**

Yours truly,
Cameron Tora

**********

Love the show, but you should clarify the Google Voicemail story. Users choose to 'share' those messages – users shared them. Google is now protecting people from their own stupidity which is cool, but please blame stupid people not Google!

thanks,
Natron from Madison, WI

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

Tonight the land rush begins for Facebook usernames and URLs. We'll tell you all about that. Also, Microsoft gets petulant and removes all browsers from its European versions of Windows, which makes Opera mad. And Macs get more worms and trojans.

EPISODE 996

Today is end of analog TV in U.S.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10262022-94.html

Microsoft to sell Windows 7 without IE in Europe: Odd and unnecessary
http://mashable.com/2009/06/12/microsoft-windows-7-internt-explorer-europe/
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10262630-56.html

Opera lashes out over Microsoft’s browser removal
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10262913-56.html

Your Facebook business name: Already reserved?
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10263324-2.html
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10263034-36.html

Twitter launches verified accounts
http://mashable.com/2009/06/11/twitter-verified-accounts-2/

Two new Mac attacks surface
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10263002-83.html

Free anonymous BitTorrent becomes reality with BitBlinder
http://torrentfreak.com/free-anonymous-bittorrent-becomes-reality-with-bitblinder-090611/

Gaming hardware, software sees slump in May
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2009/06/gaming-hardware-software-sees-slump-in-may.ars

DJs buy music on stolen cards’
http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/music/newsid_8094000/8094637.stm

Meteor bounces off German dweeb
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/science/space/5511619/14-year-old-hit-by-30000-mph-space-meteorite.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01422/meteorite_1422354i.jpg

N.Y. man sues dating Web site Match.com for deception
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN0939287520090609

VOICEMAIL

Rod from Washington on MS Money

Mike in Toronto’s ingenius iPhone plan

E-MAIL
Hay Buzz team, how come you are not in HD? yea I know the pixels are right (1.77), but the encoding sucks. You shouldn’t let those other shows hog the bandwidth bucket, its time you stood up for yourself, I may start a petition.
I still love the show despite the video quality.
Congratulations on show 1000, perhaps CBS could give you a bandwidth cake.

Ian

**********

Dear Buzz Folk,

I still have my Calculus textbook, filled with notes, formulas,
graphs, and corrections. And while having an electronic version of
the text would be nice for reference, I think an electronic version
inhibits the learning process. In my calc book, I have tons of little
notes filling in the gaps in examples the authors left out (”It is
left to the reader” and “It can be easily be shown” are my two least
favorite textbook phrases). I can’t imagine taking an organic
chemistry course without the ability to sketch compounds in the
margin. Technology is just not available to do these sort of things
easily and in a country that is behind in math and science education,
cheaper is not always better.

Besides, the cost savings are minimal. “Applied Chemistry – A
Textbook for Engineers and Technologists” costs 107.51 in hardcover on
amazon.com (random example). The kindle version costs 96.76. And I
can’t sell it at the end of the semester for pizza money. I can’t let
a friend borrow it. Or own it after amazon stops producing the kindle
and my kindle dies. Or I could get a version for my laptop,
encumbered with DRM that doesn’t work on my linux/mac or after the DRM
server is shutdown. Yup, that 10.75 I saved was well worth it. Open
textbooks are a possible solution (thinking about writing a statistics
for biologists one myself, after I get tenure) but “usable in the
classroom” quality and open is not always possible.

P.S. Kinldle: The home of the $6,400 ebook.
http://www.amazon.com/Selected-Nuclear-Materials-Engineering-ebook/dp/B001QTVXAK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=digital-text&qid=1244805281&sr=1-1

Mike the statistics professor

**********

Hey buzz crew,

With all the reports about the new iPhone you seemed to miss a ground
breaking event. Since the iPhone 3G S is the same size as the iPhone
3G that means all of your cases and add ons will work with the new
modle! I can’t believe apple forgot to stick it to us the customers
and force us to upgrade all the stuff we have already bought. Is this
the start of a new kinder apple or just an over sight of some project
manager?

Love the show!

Kathryn from Portland Oregon
( where AT&T coverage not that bad )

**********

Hey guys,

After hearing you wax poetic about Joss Whedon, I felt you guys would be helpful in getting the word out about Can’t Stop the Serenity 2009.

“Can't Stop the Serenity” is a global fundraising effort featuring charity screenings of Joss Whedon's 2005 film Serenity to benefit Equality Now.

This year, in addition to Serenity, many locations will also be hosting big screen showings of "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog," Joss Whedon’s awardwinning Internet musical sensation.

Fans of Joss Whedon show Serenity on his birthday (June 23rd) to honor him and to raise money for his favorite charity, Equality Now. Equality Now (http://equalitynow.org/) works to end violence and discrimination against women and girls around the world through the mobilization of public pressure.

There are over 47 cities hosting these events throughout the summer. For details about the closest city hosting an event go to http://www.cantstoptheserenity.com.

Thanx.

David Adams
New England Browncoats

http://www.thehey.com
http://www.newenglandbrowncoats.com
http://www.twitter.com/thehey
http://www.cstsboston.com

**********

1000th episode is next week, thanks for all your submissions. Don’t miss the big show Thursday June 18th at the normal time and in the normal feeds live at 10:30 AM Pacific http://www.cnet.com/live

We recap all the announcements from Apple's WWDC keynote, especially ruminating on what the tethering app will cost for AT&T customers. We also rant a bit about the new prices for current iPhone conferences. And don't forget Snow Leopard people. That looks like a good upgrade for a very affordable price.

EPISODE 992

WWDC coverage
http://news.cnet.com/2702-1041_3-116.html

New 15-inch MacBook Pro Non-replaceable battery. No Express Card slot (SD card instead) Up to 3.06 GHZ processor up to 8GB RAM up to 500 GB. $300 price cut. $1699, $1999 and $2299 options 2.53, 2.66 2.8 GHz, and 250 320 and 500 Hard Drive. Includes FireWire port.
13-inch becomes MacBook Pro cheaper at $1199
MacBook AIR also with a price cut.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10259307-1.html

OS X Snow Leopard
Exchange support in Mail, Calendar and Contacts
Crash Resistance. A bad plug-in won’t crash whole browser.
$29 Upgrade.
$49 Family pack.
$10 ‘handling fee’ if you buy a new Mac between now and the September release.
$169 non-upgrade price but includes iLife
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10259248-56.html

Safari 4

New QuickTime 10
HTTP Streaming, editing video within player.
Get 5GB back after upgrade from Leopard.
http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-10259637-12.html

iPhone OS 3.0 Copy paste, tethering (but not for AT&T users), multimedia messaging (later this summer from AT&T) purchase videos and audiobooks from phone. Supports HTTP streaming.
Find My iPhone. Encryption.
In-app purchases NOT available in free apps.
Push notifications

Tom Tom turn by turn navigation
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10259662-1.html
Available June 17
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-12519_7-10259579-49.html

iPhone 3GS Faster processor. Ready for faster HSPA network.
Autofocus
Video recording/editing
Voice control
Compass
Better Battery life, tethering
$199 16Gb, $299 32 Gb and now a $99 iPhone 3G. For new customers only! Loyal iPhone upgarders will pay $18 PLUS $200 extra for the hardware.
Available June 19
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10259830-37.html

*****
EMAIL

Hey Buzz Crew

Apple selling the OS X upgrade at $29.00 is obviously a stab at Microsoft. According to Paul Thurotte on Windows weekly, Microsoft planned on selling the Windows 7 upgrade between $79, for the basic edition, to over $200, for the ultimate edition. Now Microsoft has 2 choices.

Choice 1: Sell Windows 7 at a similarly low price. This means that Microsoft would have to sell many more copies than they originally planned in order to get a good return on their investment.

Choice 2: Sell Windows 7 at their original target price. As soon as they would announce these prices, Apple would put new commercials of PC vs MAC where they would compare their prices and show that Windows is more expensive than Mac. This would be a stab directly at Microsoft’s current “I’m a PC” ads showing that Macs are too expensive.

Either way, Apple has put Microsoft in a position that they did not want to be in. After the Vista PR nightmare, the upgrade to Windows 7 is the most anticipated Windows upgrade since going from 3.1 to 95. Apple had to try to take that away from Microsoft.

Love the Show.

Geff,
Geek at Large
Port-au-Prince, Haiti

*****
Guys,

I am sold on the 3GS. The feature set is a rock solid upgrade and kills
almost all the reasons a Palm Pre would be in the running. Still, the
weak link is AT & T, which I hate. But, I hate all carriers, so it is a
wash. Some of the limitations that ATT will put on the phone’s
usability, like tethering, will be negated by the jailbreaking
community, who will enable it. I doubt we will see a Pre jailbreaking
community. So, I still say that the only answer for Sprint (not Palm,
because they will be spreading the device over other carriers) is to
become the value brand. Offer better data packages and cheaper plans.
Otherwise, they are toast when the Pre hits Verizon.

Respectfully,

Clayton
Bloomington, IL

The Jitterbug phone was supposed to make it easy for anyone to call 9111. Seems they left out the people in remote rural areas. Oh, well. Nobody's perfect. It's not like lonely people in remote rural areas need emergency help, right? Also Zune HD is coming in fall and Vista SP2 is here now!

EPISODE 983

Zune HD gets official
http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2009/05/27/zune-hd-gets-official/
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10249364-56.html

Microsoft releases Vista SP2
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-10249913-75.html

Skyfire mobile browser reaches 1.0
http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-10249579-12.html

First commercial LTE base station being tested in Sweden
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10249578-94.html

Play time: In-game ad spending to top $1 billion by 2014
http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-play-time-in-game-ad-spending-to-top-1-billion-by-2014/
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13846_3-10249422-62.html

Mac clone maker Psystar files for bankruptcy
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/05/26/1942250&from=rss
http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/05/26/psystar-filed-for-bankruptcy-apple-lawyers-seen-circling-for-the-kill/

Phony TCP retransmissions can hide secret messages
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/05/27/131236&from=rss

Kindle notes online
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/05/26/kindle-notes-and-highlights-now-accessible-on-the-web/

Jitterbug recall because phones can’t dial 911
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2347661,00.asp?kc=PCRSS03069TX1K0001121

How to use pulsars for interstellar navigation
http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/23576/

Voice mail

Thomas from Columbus – Emergency use for accelerometer

E-mailL
Hi Buzz crew…

If I were writing an app for the iPhone, I would most definitely do something to get Apple to reject it from the app store. What better way is there to get free advertising for your app, once Apple reverses course? This could be a new revenue stream for Apple, I’m thinking.

I’m just sayin’. Maybe Apple isn’t the ogre… maybe it’s the developers themselves!

Keep up the good work.

LOVE THE SHOW

Chris (the geeky triplet Dad)
Canton, MI

——————————————————————
Dear buzz crew:
As I know, I'm the only Iranian BOL listener, so I think it's my duty to report that Facebook IS no longer filtered in Iran. Today around 2:00 PM (Tehran time) Facebook was open to Iranian people.

Best Regards

Siavash

——————————————————————
Hey Buzz Crew,

As I sit here cranking through some numbers on my trusty TI-89
graphing calc, I’m thinking how cool and efficient it would be to have
an e-ink display graphing calc. Crunch some numbers, draw a graph,
then the e-ink keeps it there and doesn’t draw any electrons from the
batteries, right?

Idk, what do you think? Maybe Texas Instruments is listening and it
could be a TI-BOL graphing calc!

- Bob, The Nuclear Engineer

——————————————————————
1,000th episode coming Thursday, June 18. Want to be on the episode? Post a video of yourself. MUST be less than 30 seconds long. And send a link. No attachments. Could be well-wishing, could be memories, epithets we don’t care. We’ll choose from all the messages we get and play a selection on the 1,000th episode as well as post them in the Wiki.

Want to get involved in the production of the show? Find your favorite BOL moment, clip it out of the MP3, or video, and send us the moment. For video, please upload to a video hosting service and send us a link. Email either to buzz@cnet.com

Microsoft just got a patent for disabling your operating system until you pay an "agreed-on sum of money." Also we find out that the Palm Pre is going to sell out, which means Sprint can save a load on advertising. And Moblin is out for beta testing, even if you think the name is dumb.

EPISODE 978

Palm Pre to run $549 off-contract
http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/19/palm-pre-to-run-549-off-contract/

Sprint's CEO thinks there will be a Pre shortage, decides not to take advantage
http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2009/05/20/sprints-ceo-thinks-there-will-be-a-pre-shortage-decides-not-to-take-advantage/

Microsoft wins patent for crippling your computer until you pay up
http://gizmodo.com/5261677/microsoft-wins-patent-for-crippling-your-computer-until-you-pay-up

Microsoft expands Netflix ties; will Window Media Center appeal to the masses?
http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-microsoft-expands-netflix-relationship-with-windows-media-center-deal/
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10245258-93.html

Craigslist sues SC AG for declaratory relief
http://blog.craigslist.org/2009/05/cl-sues-sc-ag-for-declaratory-relief/

Mac OS X users vulnerable to major Java flaw
http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/05/19/2344239

Intel brings rich UI to Moblin Linux platform
http://arstechnica.com/open-source/reviews/2009/05/hands-on-intel-brings-rich-ui-to-moblin-linux-platform.ars

Virgin Airlines goes fleet-wide with WiFi service
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10245381-94.html

All your movies on a single DVD
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,25515035-1702,00.html

Robot Warriors will get a guide to ethics
http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/05/19/2151227

Monster by Mail’s summer of supervillains
http://www.monsterbymail.com

If you like funny things and smart things, you will like this
http://www.myextralife.com/

One-thousandth episode coming Thursday June 18. Want to be on the episode? Post a video of yourself. MUST be less than 30 seconds long. And send a link. No attachments. Could be well-wishing, could be memories, epithets...we don’t care. We’ll choose from all the messages we get and play a selection on the thousandth episode, as well as post them in the Wiki.

Also, Photoshop contest! Design the Thousandth Episode podcast artwork! Rules: Use the BOL logo in some capacity, and go nuts! Submissions should be 300×300 JPEG. E-mail the image to buzz@cnet.com

VOICEMAIL
Paul starts a suport group for BOL listeners.

Dwight the Key Grip loves compasses in phones

Don has even more reasons to love the compass in the phone. And schools us.

E-MAIL
The reason the Russians, China and the EU developed or are developing their own Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) is because they don't want to rely only on the US military for positioning data. Should the US decide, they could scramble the signal tomorrow and then accuracies would go from 1 meter to 100 meters (Selective Availability). As to why would anyone need more than one: at any given time the most GPS only satellites you will see at any given time is 12 and that many is rare. Compare that to the 18 satellites that I was tracking yesterday morning when combining the GPS and Glonass constellations. And when Galileo comes online, that number will increase to an average of 24 satellites at a time for multi-constellation capable receivers. All these satellites won't be that beneficial to in-car nav units, but high precision centimeter grade accuracy units used in Land Surveying, Construction, Agriculture and Aeronautical applications will be greatly enhanced. More is better.

Take care,
Daniel
GPS Specialist

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Buzz!

You were half right Tom-

Ricky Gervais switched from Podcast to “Audiobooks” that are about an hour long (and Hi-Lar-i-ous) each. He’s actually tried a few different models including “free for a while” where if you downloaded the podcast with in the first week or two you’d have it for free, but if you wanted it from the back catalog it’s a couple of bucks. Seems pretty fair in the sense that you did have a chance at getting it for free at one point.

The current Audiobooks come out once a month and are $2 each and I buy everyone one based on how great the previous podcasts are. They seemed to be selling well because I tend to see it at the top of the Audiobooks list in Itunes.

And, again, I highly suggest them.

Sorry I haven’t had much to say lately, I’ll work on that. Also, won’t be in Cali for 1000-but I’ll be listening!

Later,

Frank L.

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Hey Buzzcrew,

Not to drag this out longer than needed, but Tom should be able to name another successful (at least last I heard) paid podcast as he and his wife have been guests: Mac OS Ken Day 6. Additionally, this is an example of something going paid when it was free because it is only marginally more Apple-centric than Ken Ray’s previous radio show/free podcast Technocracy Radio. As you said, paid works alongside free as long as there is a value-add.

What I am more interested in is how successful the public-radio model works for podcasts and other new media. I know Leo Laporte gets a lot of funding from donations, but he also has more advertisers than anyone else in new media. People like Dan Carlin (Hardcore History, Common Sense) might offer a better gauge for the success of donations. I know BOL analysis specials/interviews are rare, but someone needs to do an in-depth on the state of new media.

-Brian in Fort Worth

P.S. Decided to reread Tom’s book Boiling Point — Not a good idea in a recession, especially while living in Texas when the governor talks about seceding in public remarks (see Tax-Day Tea Parties). For those unfamiliar, he just said that current spending policies will cause high taxes and could make some people want to secede.

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

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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

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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